#10: 1964 Chicago White Sox, 50.4 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 1964 White Sox lost the pennant by a single game to the Yankees, with the Baltimore Orioles another game back in a torrid race.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Sox offense was limited, as their 642 runs ranked 7th in the league, and their 106 homers ranked 9th in the 10-team AL. Their best offensive categories were OBP (3rd), walks (1st), and strikeouts (1st). This was an offense that made contact and drew walks to compete with their AL rivals. Pitching was the major strength for the Chicagoans, with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.102 WHIP, numbers that easily topped the AL. The Chicago staff was very stingy with walks and also yielded the fewest hits of any team.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nRon Hansen<\/a> and Pete Ward<\/a> were the team’s offensive leaders, aided by Floyd Robinson<\/a>. Hansen (20 homers, 85 runs) played well at shortstop, and Ward (23 homers, 94 RBI, .282 BA) added plenty of production from third base. Robinson batted .301 with a .388 OBP to round out the Sox’s top producers. On the mound, Gary Peters<\/a> authored a 20-8 record and 2.50 ERA, while Joe Horlen<\/a> won 13 with a sparkling 1.88 ERA and the AL’s top WHIP and hits per 9 innings numbers. Juan Pizarro<\/a> went 19-9, John Buzhardt<\/a> added 10 wins, and knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm<\/a> saved 21 games at age 41.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1961 Tigers won 101 games but still finished 8 games behind a powerful Yankees squad in the AL pennant chase. The Tigers’ win projection was 98, so they had a bit of good fortune, but were still a strong team.<\/p>\n\n\n Offense powered the Tigers to their 101 wins, as their 841 runs led the AL. Their 180 homers trailed the slugging Yankees and Angels, but they led the league in BA and OBP while placing second in OPS. Detroit’s pitching was solid, with third-place rankings in ERA and WHIP, and the top spot in strikeout-to-walk rate, courtesy of issuing the fewest free passes in the AL.<\/p>\n\n\n First baseman Norm Cash<\/a> had a career year, leading the AL in BA (.361), OBP (.487), and OPS (1.148) while slugging 41 homers with 132 RBI and 119 runs scored. Al Kaline<\/a> also had a fine season, batting .324 with a league-best 41 doubles and Gold Glove defense, and Rocky Colavito<\/a> was close behind after slugging 45 homers with 140 RBI while batting .290. This trio accounted for more than 80% of the Tigers’ positional WAR. The pitching staff was led by Frank Lary<\/a> (23-9), who tossed an AL-best 22 complete games. Don Mossi<\/a> topped the AL in the fewest walks per 9 innings metric while winning 15, and Jim Bunning<\/a> posted a 17-11 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1963 Twins finished third in the American League pennant race, 15.5 games back of the Yankees. However, the Twins were a very unlucky team for the season, finishing 7 games below their projected win figure. The Yankees were slightly lucky on the year (+4 wins over projection); put those together and the Twins were just two games worse than the Yanks.<\/p>\n\n\n The Twins were a strong offensive club, leading the AL with 767 runs, 53 more than the Yankees. They clobbered 222 homers to easily top the AL, and they ranked first in BA and OPS, and a close second in OBP. Their pitching was above average, but not exceptional – third in ERA, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk rate.<\/p>\n\n\n Bob Allison<\/a> had a fine season, leading the AL in runs (99) and OPS (.911) after a 35-homer season. Jimmie Hall<\/a> added 33 homers in his rookie year, and catcher Earl Battey<\/a> added 26 more round-trippers. Harmon Killebrew<\/a> led the AL with 45 homers, and Rich Rollins<\/a> batted .307. Camilo Pascual<\/a> was the ace of the pitching staff, going 21-9 and leading the league with 18 complete games and 202 strikeouts. Dick Stigman<\/a> (15) and Lee Stange<\/a> (12) combined for 27 wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1963 Cardinals were the runner-up to the Dodgers in the NL, as the Dodgers were 7 games over their win projection, and the Cardinals were one below their projected 94 wins.<\/p>\n\n\n The Cardinals led the NL with 747 runs, and also led the league in doubles and triples. They also topped the league in BA and OBP, and finished a single point behind the Giants in OPS. The pitching staff was rather average, finishing 7th in ERA, 5th in WHIP, and 6th in strikeout-to-walk rate.<\/p>\n\n\n Dick Groat<\/a>, Bill White<\/a>, Curt Flood<\/a>, and Ken Boyer<\/a> all provided offensive firepower as well as defensive skill. Groat led the way (.319 BA, 43 doubles (NL-best), 85 runs), while White picked up a Gold Glove in addition to slugging 27 homers with 109 RBI. Flood was also a Gold Glove winner, while batting .302 with 112 runs, and Ken Boyer picked up a Gold Glove to go with 24 homers and 111 RBI. On the mound, it was primarily Curt Simmons<\/a> and Bob Gibson<\/a> leading the way. Simmons posted a 15-9 record with 6 shutouts and a 2.48 ERA, and Gibson racked up 18 wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The <\/mark>1962 Giants defeated their Los Angeles rivals in a single-game playoff to claim the NL pennant. They then lost a heartbreaking 7-game World Series to the Yankees.<\/p>\n\n\n The Giants topped the league with 878 runs, 36 more than the Dodgers. They also launched 204 homers and swept the BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS categories behind a deep offense. The Giants ERA ranked just 6th in the NL, but they were 2nd in WHIP. Still, it was the offense that made the Giants pennant winners.<\/p>\n\n\n Willie Mays<\/a> recorded one of his best seasons, mashing an NL-best 49 homers, with 141 RBI, 130 runs, 18 stolen bases, and a .304 BA, plus a Gold Glove in center field. Right fielder Felipe Alou<\/a> batted .316 with 25 home runs and 98 RBI, and third baseman added a Gold Glove to go with his .297 BA. The Giants pitching was led by the trio of Billy O’Dell<\/a> (19-14), Juan Marichal<\/a> (18-11), and Jack Sanford<\/a> (24-7). All three had ERAs in the mid-3s, so they weren’t dominant, just solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s it for the third entry in our MLB Team Rankings for the 1960s decade! Stay tuned for the countdown from #5 to #1, arriving in a few days. As always, thanks for reading!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to the second countdown post in our series of MLB team rankings for the 1960s. After decades with eight teams per league, the 1960s brought two waves of expansion – two new AL teams in 1961, two new NL teams in 1962, and two more for both in 1969. As a reminder, the teams […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[72,41,66,47,64],"class_list":["post-4543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashboards","tag-1950s","tag-mlb-statistics","tag-rankings","tag-team-war","tag-war162"],"yoast_head":"\n#9: 1961 Detroit Tigers, 50.5 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#8: 1963 Minnesota Twins, 50.7 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#7: 1963 St. Louis Cardinals, 51.1 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#6: 1962 San Francisco Giants, 52.0 WAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSummary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n