Ought to a pair of asterisks be appended to right this moment’s rankings of the very best major-league golf equipment within the interval from 2016 via 2020?

You may make a very good case.

The 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers, who locked down first place within the five-year rankings, performed in a Covid-shortened season. The 2017 Houston Astros, who positioned third within the standings for the half-decade, had their world title overshadowed by a well-publicized scandal.

However baseball’s energy construction has resisted the urge to deal with both membership any otherwise. The Dodgers had been accorded full championship honors in 2020, however their truncated 60-game schedule. And the Astros had been allowed to maintain their 2017 World Sequence trophy, even after allegations surfaced of widespread dishonest.

The Dodgers posted a 43-17 document in 2020, giving them the best single-year successful proportion (.717) in baseball’s Fashionable Period, which matches all the way in which again to 1961. Their staff rating of 94.085 factors was the very best within the 2016-2020 span and the fourth-best amongst all 1,656 golf equipment that competed through the previous 62 seasons. (Click on right here to be taught extra concerning the system for TS, which is plotted on a 100-point scale.)

The 2016 Chicago Cubs, who gained the franchise’s first World Sequence title in 108 years, completed second within the standings for the half-decade, adopted by the 2017 Astros, the 2017 Dodgers, and the 2018 Boston Purple Sox.

Right now’s rankings are a part of a unbroken collection that may attain its conclusion subsequent Monday. Observe these hyperlinks to learn earlier installments:

Scroll under for a breakdown of the ten highest-rated ballclubs from 2016 to 2020. Every is proven with its win-loss document and its Fashionable Period percentile, which is the share of all groups that performed between 1961 and 2022 that it outperformed.

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• Report: 43-17

• Crew rating: 94.085 factors

• Fashionable Period percentile: 99.8%

• Supervisor: Dave Roberts

• Stars: Proper fielder Mookie Betts was shipped off to Los Angeles by the Boston Purple Sox in a blockbuster winter commerce. He proceeded to bat .292, win a Gold Glove, and end second within the race for the Nationwide League’s Most Precious Participant Award. Shortstop Corey Seager led the Dodgers in runs batted in (41) and batting common (.307).

• Backside line: Los Angeles simply gained its eighth straight Nationwide League West crown, then eradicated the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays en path to 2020’s world championship. The Dodgers’ postseason document was 13-5.

• Report: 103-58

• Crew rating: 92.166 factors

• Fashionable Period percentile: 99.8%

• Supervisor: Joe Maddon

• Stars: Third baseman Kris Bryant was named the Nationwide League’s Most Precious Participant after bashing 39 homers, driving in 102 runs, and batting .292. First baseman Anthony Rizzo paced the Cubs with 109 RBIs. Pitcher Jon Lester went 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA.

• Backside line: Chicago followers had been dreaming of a championship ever because the Cubs’ earlier world title in 1908. The 2016 membership breezed via the NL Central by 17.5 video games over runner-up St. Louis, then scored playoff victories over the Giants and the Dodgers earlier than squeaking previous the Cleveland Indians in a seven-game World Sequence.

• Report: 101-61

• Crew rating: 84.140 factors

• Fashionable Period percentile: 98.5%

• Supervisor: A.J. Hinch

• Stars: Second baseman Jose Altuve (.346) gained his third American League batting title in 4 seasons. He was rewarded with the league’s MVP trophy. Shortstop Carlos Correa hit .315 and drove in 84 runs. Heart fielder George Springer swatted 34 homers.

• Backside line: The Astros knocked off the Dodgers in Recreation Seven of the 2017 World Sequence, bringing Houston its first championship. The common season had been a easy affair, with the Astros taking the AL West by 21 video games, however the playoffs had been something however simple. Houston’s postseason document was 11-7.

• Report: 104-58

• Crew rating: 82.495 factors

• Fashionable Period percentile: 98.1%

• Supervisor: Dave Roberts

• Stars: Pitcher Clayton Kershaw led the Nationwide League in wins (18) and earned run common (2.31). He positioned second to Washington’s Max Scherzer in balloting for the Cy Younger Award. Third baseman Justin Turner batted .322 with 21 homers and 71 runs batted in.

• Backside line: The NL West race wasn’t a lot of a problem, with the Dodgers ending 11 video games forward of the pack. Nor did the NL playoffs pose any problem, as Los Angeles misplaced just one sport in ousting Arizona and Chicago. However the World Sequence towards Houston led to disappointment.

• Report: 108-54

• Crew rating: 81.765 factors

• Fashionable Period percentile: 97.8%

• Supervisor: Alex Cora

• Stars: Proper fielder Mookie Betts gained the Most Precious Participant Award after main the American League in runs scored (129), batting common (.346), and slugging common (.640). Pitcher Chris Sale long-established a 12-4 document with a microscopic 2.11 ERA.

• Backside line: The Purple Sox grabbed the AL East lead from the New York Yankees in early July and powered to an eight-game lead by the top. Boston cruised via the playoffs with an 11-3 document, capped by a five-game World Sequence overcome the Dodgers.

• 6. Houston Astros (2019), 107-55, 97.1%

• 7. Los Angeles Dodgers (2019), 106-56, 96.9%

• 8. Los Angeles Dodgers (2018), 92-71, 96.7%

• 9. Tampa Bay Rays (2020), 40-20, 96.3%

• 10. Cleveland Indians (2017), 102-60, 95.8%