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Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time
A must-have for any diehard baseball fan, this lively, authoritative book answers the classic question "Who was the greatest team of all time?" It's a debate nearly as old as the sport itself. Sure, there have been plenty of great baseball teams--but which was the best ever? While it seems like an unwinnable argument, the authors of Baseball Dynasties have risen to the challenge. They took the top fifteen teams of the twentieth century, ran them through rigorous statistical analysis, and threw in some good old-fashioned opinion in their quest to determine, definitively, who was the greatest team in the history of baseball. Looking at continued brilliance over time (no one-season wonders allowed), Hall of Famers on the roster, offensive and defensive production, performance in the postseason, and numerous other tangibles and intangibles, Eddie Epstein and Rob Neyer put each team under the microscope--and picked a winner. Who will come out on top? Was it the 1927 Yankees, the legendary squad blessed with both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? Or how about Earl Weaver's 1970 Orioles, who over a three-year span dominated their opponents at a higher level than any other team this century? Full of anecdotes, intriguing facts, and scores of statistics, Baseball Dynasties is a fascinating look at baseball history certain to provoke, entertain, and edify baseball fans of all ages.
388 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 22, 2018
3.5 Stars I was really excited to read this book and it had some really terrific information about teams I did not know much about. I feel like so many people don't know much about so many of the older teams from the early 1900s. However, the book was already a bit dated as it was written after the 1999 season. In an attempt to avoid bias, the authors used a lot of statistical formulas to determine the "best" teams. This led to waaaaay more math than I planned. I love statistics, but not the ones near and dear to these author's hearts. And I ended up disagreeing with some of their choices. The 1986 Mets are on the list because their "SD" score is very high, yet they only won one World Series and hardly made the playoffs otherwise. I feel like that is the author's falling so in love with their stats that they miss the point of the book. But the research is beyond amazing. And the 1906 Cubs made the list :)
July 23, 2020
Rob Neyer could write the phone book and I'd buy it. And enjoy it. Instead, he and Eddie Epstein chronicle baseball's greatest dynasties. They go team-by-team, and fill in the details of each team, how they were built, how the dynasty eventually fell apart, who is (or should be) a Hall of Famer from each group, and in the end, they each rank their top teams. The book is 20 years old now, and I do find myself wondering which (if any) teams since the 1998 Yankees would make the book now. If there's another edition, I'll buy it and find out!
May 18, 2020
Very enjoyable read, even 20+ years after publication. Lots of background info provided, along with numerous interesting sidebars on the teams and players. Good stuff.
June 25, 2020
Well-reasoned, comprehensive, and fun. One of those baseball books you keep coming back for.
October 22, 2007
Neyer and Epstein attempt, what many before have tried, to uncover the greatest baseball team of all time. Previous baseball scholars usually concentrated on one season while these authors chose to take a three year range of each team in the book (hence the title). Importantly they developed a system to measure teams of different eras. As many serious fans know, the style of play from early in this century is vastly different from today’s game.
Before I get further into my review, I must caution. This book is for the serious baseball fan. I doubt the casual fan will have much interest. And the non-fan should just forget it. Neyer and Epstein’s research and data are thorough, sometimes too thorough. I am a serious baseball fan. I surround myself with statistics and lore. My Total Baseball is well thumbed through, I catch games whenever I can and part of how I make my living is buying baseball books. But even for me sometimes, it was too much. It is the single biggest flaw in Baseball Dynasties.
The authors use a method to measure the standard deviation (SD) of each team. In very layman terms it measures the dispersion of a group of numbers. The higher the SD the more dispersed the numbers. Neyer and Epstein then use the SD in a statistic they call the Standard Deviation Score. In the book it is defined as “A measure of a team’s performance in a given season, relative to its league, uses its runs scored and runs allowed totals and how many SDs from the mean (or average) those totals were.” WHEW!
SD numbers do not fluctuate from era to era. (Don’t ask me to explain this. Just trust me. Neyer and Epstein make it clear in the book.) It’s this fact that is the cornerstone of their arguments for the teams involved. Oh sure they discuss other factors and the book even opens with a glossary of statistical terms to help you understand some of these other factors.
Luckily for me and other readers, this book is a lot more than a collection of data. Rob Neyer is an excellent writer and Epstein is pretty darn good himself. They alternate sections within chapters, discussing various facets of the teams. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes and the sidebars themselves are almost worth the price of admission.
The basic premise of the book is that using the SD method and other factors, the authors chose the fifteen greatest dynasties of all time. From each dynasty, they chose what they felt was the greatest team and then proceeded to examine and dissect.
As with any book of this sort, fans will have disagreements with the teams picked and omitted. (Like why the ‘86 Mets but none of the 90's Braves?) To the authors’ credit they spend an entire chapter discussing why some of the teams were left out. And for the most part their arguments are compelling. (Though I still think a Braves team that were in first place 8 of 9 times should have been included.)
And what would a book of great teams be without a chapter on the not-so-great. The only problem with this chapter is that it holds no big surprises. I won’t say who the worst “dynasty” of all time is, but “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry would be proud.
So who do they pick as the best of all time? That would be telling, but unlike the worst it isn’t who’d you expect. And they make an excellent point. They do a great job of convincing you that every team was worthy of being on their list. (My one real exception would have to be the ‘86 New York Mets. One year and two second place finishes a dynasty not make.)
Throw in the chapters on the best of the Negro Leagues and the 19th century, you have an excellent book for the serious baseball fan. Baseball Dynasties would be a welcome addition to the baseball fanatic’s bookshelf.
Before I get further into my review, I must caution. This book is for the serious baseball fan. I doubt the casual fan will have much interest. And the non-fan should just forget it. Neyer and Epstein’s research and data are thorough, sometimes too thorough. I am a serious baseball fan. I surround myself with statistics and lore. My Total Baseball is well thumbed through, I catch games whenever I can and part of how I make my living is buying baseball books. But even for me sometimes, it was too much. It is the single biggest flaw in Baseball Dynasties.
The authors use a method to measure the standard deviation (SD) of each team. In very layman terms it measures the dispersion of a group of numbers. The higher the SD the more dispersed the numbers. Neyer and Epstein then use the SD in a statistic they call the Standard Deviation Score. In the book it is defined as “A measure of a team’s performance in a given season, relative to its league, uses its runs scored and runs allowed totals and how many SDs from the mean (or average) those totals were.” WHEW!
SD numbers do not fluctuate from era to era. (Don’t ask me to explain this. Just trust me. Neyer and Epstein make it clear in the book.) It’s this fact that is the cornerstone of their arguments for the teams involved. Oh sure they discuss other factors and the book even opens with a glossary of statistical terms to help you understand some of these other factors.
Luckily for me and other readers, this book is a lot more than a collection of data. Rob Neyer is an excellent writer and Epstein is pretty darn good himself. They alternate sections within chapters, discussing various facets of the teams. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes and the sidebars themselves are almost worth the price of admission.
The basic premise of the book is that using the SD method and other factors, the authors chose the fifteen greatest dynasties of all time. From each dynasty, they chose what they felt was the greatest team and then proceeded to examine and dissect.
As with any book of this sort, fans will have disagreements with the teams picked and omitted. (Like why the ‘86 Mets but none of the 90's Braves?) To the authors’ credit they spend an entire chapter discussing why some of the teams were left out. And for the most part their arguments are compelling. (Though I still think a Braves team that were in first place 8 of 9 times should have been included.)
And what would a book of great teams be without a chapter on the not-so-great. The only problem with this chapter is that it holds no big surprises. I won’t say who the worst “dynasty” of all time is, but “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry would be proud.
So who do they pick as the best of all time? That would be telling, but unlike the worst it isn’t who’d you expect. And they make an excellent point. They do a great job of convincing you that every team was worthy of being on their list. (My one real exception would have to be the ‘86 New York Mets. One year and two second place finishes a dynasty not make.)
Throw in the chapters on the best of the Negro Leagues and the 19th century, you have an excellent book for the serious baseball fan. Baseball Dynasties would be a welcome addition to the baseball fanatic’s bookshelf.
December 1, 2016
Great book for baseball lovers who enjoy comparing, contrasting and debating. Even if I didn't agree with all of their conclusions or methodology, I really appreciated that the authors had a system they used to evaluate the best teams from different eras. It isn't a perfect system (it relies on each team's offensive and defensive standard deviations from the league average each year), but it makes some sense and is a great way of comparing teams across the years.
The book reads very similarly to Bill James' Historical Abstract, which is to say it covers a lot of statistics, alongside stories about each team, peppered with short tangents about specific players or events related to the chapter (which are entertaining in their own right). I will definitely keep it on the shelf and refer to it when discussions about the best baseball teams arise. Also note: It was published in the year 2000, so it barely encompasses the Yankee dynasty of the late 90's and doesn't include any 21st century teams.
The book reads very similarly to Bill James' Historical Abstract, which is to say it covers a lot of statistics, alongside stories about each team, peppered with short tangents about specific players or events related to the chapter (which are entertaining in their own right). I will definitely keep it on the shelf and refer to it when discussions about the best baseball teams arise. Also note: It was published in the year 2000, so it barely encompasses the Yankee dynasty of the late 90's and doesn't include any 21st century teams.
May 13, 2011
This is one of my favorite “find something to flip through for lunch” books. I’ve always like Rob Neyer’s approach to sabermetrics and baseball. Great topic, and there are a lot of fun sidebars to support the main approach to each dynasty team. I also like the fact that Neyer and Epstein took the time to compare their strongest dynasties against each other.
I’m not so big on the Standard Deviation method as the best way to determine whether one team is better than another, but it’s a very clear standard to add to their mix of considerations. Another significant plus: Neyer and Epstein at least take the time to give an honorable mention to the turn-of-the-century Pirates.
I’m not so big on the Standard Deviation method as the best way to determine whether one team is better than another, but it’s a very clear standard to add to their mix of considerations. Another significant plus: Neyer and Epstein at least take the time to give an honorable mention to the turn-of-the-century Pirates.
April 25, 2010
This book is great if you are baseball history fan or a statistician. If you are not one of those two things then this book is probably not for you. I love baseball and I love the "greatest x" books but this was not something I could read.
February 19, 2011
Great book, especially for baseball and stats geeks like myself. Wish there were fewer Yankees teams included and some Pirates teams had been added to mix. Regardless, would strongly recommend to any fan of baseball history
February 29, 2012
Fits into that very blah middle ground of being interesting on neither a technical nor a narrative level, since the methodology is very simplistic and the quality of writing is just so-so. Still, it's fun to randomly flip through.
January 10, 2008
Baseball history buffs rejoice. This book is replete with stats and anecdotes and commentary and all sorts of whatnot about the greatest teams the majors ever produced.
June 23, 2010
teams,history
March 18, 2011
Very interesting, recommended for baseball fans of course. Can be a little hard to understand the way they figure stats.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews