The All-Time Best MLB Teams From Each AL Franchise

Just when you are convinced that Reggie Jackson and the 1977 New York Yankees team is the greatest in franchise history, some old-timer from the block pipes in about Babe Ruth and the 1927 Murderers’ Row from 50 years earlier.

Alas, these are the century-long debates that only baseball can produce, where “Shoeless Joe” Jackson fans dish it out with the Paul Konerko fans in Chicago. Is George Brett your royalty or is it Lorenzo Cain?

Here are our all-time best teams from each American League franchise.

Baltimore Orioles

Normally when you boast a dynamic duo of Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and 1970 American League MVP Boog Powell, all eyes would focus on the hitters. However, in the case of the 1970 Baltimore Orioles, who went 108-54 en route to a World Series title over the Cincinnati Reds (4-1), all eyes were focused on defense, whether it was the Gold Glove-work of third baseman Brooks Robinson stealing the show — and stealing doubles and triples away, too — on every televised playoff game. Or it was the pitching exploits of Dave McNally (24-9 record), Mike Cuellar (24-8) and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer (20-10), who all finished 2-4-5 in the AL Cy Young balloting.

Boston Red Sox

Who would have thought that a franchise with a history as rich as the Boston Red Sox — except for that 86-year title drought between 1918 and 2004 — could possibly have its best franchise season from its newest and ninth World Series champion. But that is precisely what happened when the 2018 Boston Red Sox made the top of this list, thanks in large part to its franchise-best wins mark (108-54), along with its postseason dominance (11-3) over the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Who performed better — rightfielder Mookie Betts or designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who respectively finished 1-4 in the American League MVP voting — will be debated by BoSox fans forevermore.

Chicago White Sox

Thank God the 2005 Chicago White Sox and their World Series championship team helped us not have to choose between other two ChiSox scandal-tainted teams from a century ago. Granted, nobody in Hollywood is going to build a movie around Paul Konerko — “Shoeless Ko?” — or this really good pitching staff. But, hey, this team got good reviews in Chicago and that’s all that really matters. The 2005 ChiSox went 99-63 in the regular season and 11-1 in the playoffs. Konerko, who had .534 slugging and .375 on-base percentages, with 40 homers and 100 RBI, finished sixth in the American League MVP voting. And four pitchers had ERAs under 4.00 with a collective 63-33 win-loss record (Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia).

Cleveland Guardians

You are not likely going to find two better middle infielders on any World Series championship team than the 1948 Cleveland Indians Hall-of-Fame set of shortstop Lou Boudreau and second baseman Joe Gordon. The season the two put up for these 97-58-1 Indians was just stellar, with Boudreau posting .534 slugging and .453 on-base percentages, with 18 home runs, 106 RBI and 116 runs, while Gordon had .507 slugging and .371 on-base percentages, with 32 homers and 124 RBI. Pitchers Bob Lemon, Bob Feller and Gene Bearden won 20, 19 and 20 games, respectively, in the regular season and anchored a staff that held the Boston Braves to one run or less in four of the six World Series games.

Detroit Tigers

The World Series title for the 1984 Detroit Tigers was especially sweet for such homegrown Tigers as Hall of Famers Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, not to mention Lou Whitaker and Kirk Gibson, among others. But quite frankly, they deserved it, leading the American League wire-to-wire and finishing with a franchise-best wins record (104-58) and 7-1 postseason mark over the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres in the World Series. Morris, Dan Petry and Milt Wilcox were also impressive throughout, winning 19, 18 and 17 games, respectively, in the regular season.

Houston Astros

It was a long time coming for the franchise once known as Houston Colt .45s back in 1962 to be considered legit contenders. But thanks to a couple World Series titles in the last seven years, it appears as if the Houston Astros have finally arrived. For our taste, however, we are going with the 2022 Houston Astros and their title team that went 106-56 in the regular season and 11-2 in the playoffs over the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Several Astros from this team — pitcher Justin Verlander, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and second baseman Jose Altuve — appear to be headed down their own Hall-of-Fame paths already.

Kansas City Royals

As fun as the 2015 Kansas City Royals championship run was, we cannot usurp Hall of Famer George Brett and his World Series champions that did the deed first. Those 1985 Kansas City Royals 30 years earlier had AL MVP runner-up Brett’s bat (.585 slugging and .436 on-base percentages, with 30 homers, 112 RBI and 108 runs), Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen’s arm (20-6 with 2.87 ERA) and Cy Young Award third-place finisher Dan Quisenberry’s relief (league-leading 37 saves).

Los Angeles Angels

Back when they were the 2002 Anaheim Angels, they had an astonishing pitching staff that had a collective 3.69 ERA in this remarkable 99-63 season. No Cy Young Award winners here, though Jarrod Washburn did get one third-place vote (18-6 with a 3.15 ERA). It was just a good collection of starters and relievers with Ramon Ortiz and Kevin Appier headlining the five-man staff, while closer Troy Percival led the bullpen. Good hitters, too, with Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus and Tim Salmon heading the crew.

Minnesota Twins

Not only did the 1991 Minnesota Twins upset the Atlanta Braves when they were beginning their attempts at a dynasty, Minnesota did so four years after the 1987 Twins champions ended a 63-year title drought. Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Greg Gagne and Dan Gladden were four of those starters who were on both World Series championship teams and ran it back in 1991 to the tune of a 95-67 record and 8-4 postseason mark over Toronto and Atlanta.

New York Yankees

Is it Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Murderers’ Row of the 1927 New York Yankees? Or is it Joe DiMaggio and Lefty Gomez from the 1939 New York Yankees? Or last but not least is it Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and the 1998 New York Yankees? We ran algorithms, A.I. and APBA games at all hours while consuming Mr. Coffee, Baby Ruth and Reggie! chocolate bars to come up with the answer, which is … (drumroll please) … the 1927 Yanks, who went 110-44-1 (.714) and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, four games to zero by a collective 23-10 margin. Gotta go with the two greatest Yankees in baseball history along with their Murderers’ Row cohorts Earle Combs, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri. You got a problem with that?

Oakland A’s

Longtime Oakland Athletics fans will tell you there was no time like the early ’70s when the A’s were three-peating long before Pat Riley trademarked the word. But of the 1972, 1973 and 1974 World Series championship teams, we are rolling with the 1974 Oakland A’s because that was when 28-year-old team leaders Reggie Jackson, the 1973 AL MVP, and Catfish Hunter, the 1974 AL Cy Young Award winner, were both in the primes of their Hall of Fame careers. The A’s were 90-72 in the regular season and 7-2 in the postseason, beating the L.A. Dodgers, 4-1, in the World Series.

Seattle Mariners

It is too bad the 2001 Seattle Mariners’ legacy will be one of the greatest MLB teams who did not win the World Series. But that’s what happens when you post an unfathomable 116-46 record (.716), only to lose to the New York Yankees, 4-1, in the American League Championship Series. Nonetheless, kudos to AL MVP and Rookie of the Year Ichiro Suzuki, Hall of Fame designated hitter Edgar Martinez, who had .543 slugging and .423 on-base percentages and pitcher Freddy Garcia, who finished third in the Cy Young Award balloting. It’s not often the Mariners contend this hard and it is a credit to these three, among others, that they won as many games as they did.

Tampa Bay Rays

The 2020 Tampa Bay Rays did not have time on their side due to the pandemic-shortened season, but this 40-20 squad nonetheless played in an actual World Series. And though they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic, they rose to the occasion becoming the best team in franchise history. The .667 winning percentage is a franchise high–by .060 percentage points, mind you. They followed that up a season later with a 100-62 mark, and two years after that with a 99-63 record. Second baseman Brandon Lowe, who had a .564 slugging and .362 on-base percentage in 2020, has been in Tampa Bay for the whole run — including the 90- and 96-win precursor seasons in 2018 and 2019. He could have told you how good they were years ago.

Texas Rangers

It took a long time for the Washington Senators to become Texas Rangers to become World Series champions — 62 years to be precise. But now that they’ve arrived, it is time we trumpet the 2023 Texas Rangers as the greatest in franchise history. The 90-72 Rangers just knew how to get the job done in the postseason, going 13-4 against Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series. No one ever will forget shortstop Corey Seager’s role in all this — just as he did three years prior with the L.A. Dodgers, leading both teams to World Series titles and winning both the 2020 and 2023 World Series MVP awards.

Toronto Blue Jays

To-MAY-toe, to-MAH-toe. Who can choose between the 1992 and 1993 World Series champion Blue Jays teams? It is basically the same teams mirroring the same accomplishments with the same authority. We’ll take the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays since they did it first, but that really is the only distinction here. The ’92 Jays were 96-66 in the regular season and 8-2 in the postseason; the ‘93 Jays were 95-67 in the regular season and 8-2 in the playoffs. Go figure. So congrats to Robbie Alomar, John Olerud, Joe Carter and Juan Guzman, among others, for getting it done nice and getting it done twice.

5 Teams on the Bench

1917 Chicago White Sox: Two years before the Black Sox Scandal — where White Sox players were kicked out of baseball for fixing games — the ChiSox won the 1917 World Series, led by Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Collins, Buck Weaver and Eddie Cicotte, among others.

1939 New York Yankees: When historians make MLB all-time great 25-man rosters, you will often see the names of four 1939 Yanks there: Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey and Lefty Gomez.

1953 New York Yankees: Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford were the icons who made this team special.

1977 New York Yankees: Who can forget the 1977 World Series where Reggie Jackson hit 5 home runs in 20 at-bats, scoring 9 runs and driving in 8?

2007 Boston Red Sox: David Ortiz and his BoSox brethren swept the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series, capping the finest of his three title runs in the early 2000s.