Division by Division

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 04:30:00 +0000

After downloading the year-by-year standings for the history of the league I decided to have some fun with the data. The Excel charts for each division show the division standings since 2002. I was unable to figure out how to display them on the league's posting board. Rather than bothering somebody else to post them, I decided to create this site. This is my first attempt at creating a site that somebody would actually look at. I'm learning as I go.

Here are the Line Graphs displaying historical win totals for each divsion.

Beginning with the NL East

All Time Win Pctg: .499

DMBO WS Titles: 0

DMBO Pennants: 0

NL Wild Card Qualifiers: 3

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 4

Teams finishing in Last Place: 3

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 5

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 0

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 6

Median GB by Last Place team: 30

Mets are Orange

Phillies are Red

Marlins are Light Blue

Braves are Blue

Nationals/Expos are Green

The Mets came in last in 2002 & 2003, then won 4 of the next 5 titles.

The Phils have the best overall record and four division crowns.

From 2002 through 2010 Florida was within a few games of .500.

The Braves won the division in 2002 and came in 2nd the following year.

The Expos/Nats franchise fluctuates between 70 and 90 wins. In 2007 90 wins was good enough to finish first.

2011 Season

Philadelphia wins its third consecutive title. Nationals move up to 2nd place. Florida has its best season to date. They win 28 more games than they did in 2010. They remain in the pennant chase until the final week of the season. The team officially changes its name to Miami Marlins. Mid-season the Braves get new owners while dropping to 4th place. The Mets, by their own admission, are re-building.

NL Central

All Time Win Pctg: .513

DMBO WS Titles: 6

DMBO Pennants: 8

NL Wild Card Qualifiers: 4

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 3

Teams finishing in Last Place: 4

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 3

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 3

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 7.5

Median GB by Last Place Team: 39

Cards are Purple/Maroon

Astros are Orange

Cincy is Red - what else?

Milwaukee is Light Blue.

Cubs are Dark Blue.

Pirates are Gold.

The Cards early dominance clearly stands out.

The Astros were strong early on. Looking to return to their Glory Days.

Cincy had a good beginning, went into a dip, but have recovered.

Milwaukee had its early struggles; things have gotten much better lately.

The Cubs are still looking to move northward.

The Pirates have 5 last place finishes to their discredit.

2011 Season

Cardinals claim their first division title since 2006. St. Louis goes on to win the NL Pennant only to lose the World Series to Detroit. The Pirates overachieve to finish second. Milwaukee underachieves and finishes a game behind Pittsburgh. Houston wins 18 of its final 20 games and almost catches the Brewers. The Reds fall to 5th place. At the end of the season the Reds original owner decides to leave DMBO. The Cubs are tredding water. The upcoming 2012 seson will be the final year the NL Cental will contain six clubs. Beginning in 2013 the Astros switch over to join the AL West.

NL West

All Time Win Pctg: .487

DMBO WS Titles: 0

DMBO Pennants: 2

NL Wild Card Qualifiers: 3

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 5

Teams finishing in Last Place: 4

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 5

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 1

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 5

Median GB by Last Place Team: 35

Dodgers in blue

Padres in green

Arizona is red

Colorado in purple

Giants in black

LA has the best overall record plus they have three titles.

SD started strong then had some down years; the situation has improved.

The Giants have been very good with five titles and only two losing seasons.

Through 2010 Arizona's best year was 79 wins. Yet they only have two last place finishes.

Colorado suffered through three consecutive 100 loss seasons; since then the trend is upward. Won the division in 2009.

2011 Season

Giants and Arizona each win 90 games; by virtue of tie-breaker rules SF is the division champ. 2011 is the first season Arizona is over .500. The Padres finish a strong 3rd place with 85 wins. The Dodgers recent struggles continue. Colorado endures its worst season ever and finishes last for the 6th time in 10 years.

AL East

All Time Win Pctg: .481

DMBO WS Titles: 2

DMBO Pennants: 4

AL Wild Card Qualifiers: 4

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 4

Teams finishing in Last Place: 5

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 3

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 5

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 10

Median GB by Last Place Team: 39

Orioles are Orange

Boston is Red

Toronto is Blue

Tampa in Green

NYY in Black

Toronto was the dominant franchise with five consecutive championships. Jays have two WS Trophys.

Baltimore was often the club nipping at Toronto's heels.

Boston's line would make a great blueprint for a roller coaster.

The Yanks took the first AL Pennant; still looking for number two.

The Rays were holding things together through 2007..

2011 Season

Boston comfortably wins its second consecutive AL East title. Baltimore's 74 wins are good eoungh for 2nd place. The Yanks manage to eek into 3rd place with 68 wins. Tampa with DMBO Commish Rob Williams now fully in charge, improves by 15 games to nudge ahead of Toronto into 4th place. The Blue Jays, once a powerhouse suffer through their worst season and are now learning how the other half lives.

AL Central

All Time Win Pctg: .506

DMBO WS Titles: 2

DMBO AL Pennants: 6

AL Wild Card Qualifiers: 4

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 2

Teams finishing in Last Place: 5

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 4

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 5

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 9

Median GB by Last Place Team: 35

Twins are Green

Tigers in Orange

Royals in Blue

Indians in Red

White Sox in Black

Minnesota won this division seven times. They have the most DMBO division championships. They lay claim to 4 AL Pennants.

The three times the Twins didnt win the title, the White Sox did.

Until 2011 Cleveland never strayed too far from .500.

Looks like Detroit is finally moving in the right direction.

The same can be said of the Royals, who won the DMBO WS in 2010.

2011 Season

The White Sox win 100+ games again to claim the AL Central Title. Detroit enjoys a magical season. Not only do the the Tigers improve by 24 games, they battle their way to the World Series and defeat the Cardinals to give the AL Central back-to-back WS Titles. Not only does KC surrender its WS Trophy to Detroit, they finish 6 games under .500. At the end of the season the Royals get a new owner. For the first time ever Cleveland wins fewer than 70 games. In 2009 the Twins won their 5th consecutive title, since then its been consecutive last place finishes.

AL West

All Time Win Pctg: .513

DMBO WS Titles: 0

DMBO Pennants: 0

AL Wild Card Qualifiers: 2

Competitiveness within Division

Teams finishing in 1st Place: 3

Teams finishing in Last Place: 3

Div Titles decided by 5 games or less: 1

Div Titles decided by more than 10 games: 8

Median GB by 2nd Place Team: 19

Median GB by Last Place Team: 39

Oakland is in Green

Angels in Red

Texas in Blue

Seattle in Gold

The A's took the first five titles. They have never finished under .500.

Texas came in 2nd place in 2002 through 2005. They've easily won the two most recent division titles.

From 2004 through 2008 the Angels showed consistent improvement; winning the division in 2007 & 2008.

The Mariners finished second in 2006 & 2007.

2011 Season

Texas, despite winning nine fewer games than they did in 2010, wins its 3rd consecutive AL West title. Seattle with 94 victories, is the best team to not qualify for the playoffs in either league. Oakland remains the only DMBO to never finish under .500. At year's end their owner departs DMBO. The Angels can take solace in the fact that depite their last place finish the AL West is the only division where they would have finished last. 2012 will be the final season the AL West will have have four teams. The Astros join this division in 2013.

DMBO Appendix Website

Division by Division