Greatest Single Season Ever

[Falcons In 2012 19,275]

I was looking into Mike Trout’s  first 9 seasons and stacking them up against Griffey & Bonds.  That led me down a long rabbit hole.  But ultimately, I want to know who you guys think has claim of the greatest season ever.  My opinion comes down to 3 players.  I’ll list my reasoning.  But add yours if you disagree:

 

Barry Bonds - SF:  

The year is 2001.  Love him or hate him, say what you want, but Bonds broke Mark McGwire's home run record and Babe Ruth's slugging-percentage record. Oh, and he broke Ruth's single-season walks record, too. Essentially, 2001 was when Bonds began to assault Ruth’s  legacy as the game's most devastating hitter.  .328 BA, 1.34 OPS, .867 SLG, 73 HR’s and 137 RBI’s.  Simply unbelievable, steroids or not

One can make a strong case for Bonds 2005 season being his best.  240 BB’s, .363 BA and 1.41 OPS

 

Pedro Martinez- BOS: 

The year is 1999.  In a year in which American League pitchers combined for a 4.86 ERA, Martinez posted a 2.07 ERA that was nearly a run-and-a-half lower than the No. 2 man on the list. He also won 23 of 27 regular-season decisions before chucking 17 scoreless innings in the playoffs.

 

Babe Ruth - BOS: 

The year was 1919 and is nowhere near his most talked about season.  But it was the genesis of modern baseball.  His numbers don’t jump off the page unless compared to the next best: 

  •  Home Runs: Ruth set a baseball record by hitting 29.  10 teams hit less than Ruth did by himself.  Next best player managed just 12 HR’s

  •  AB’s per HR:  Ruth hit a HR every 14 AB’s.  Tillie Walker was 2nd at 43.9 AB’s per HR

  •  Adjusted Batting Wins: Ruth - 7.7.  Cobb - 4.4.

  •  WAR:  Ruth - 9.1    Hornsby - 6.7

While these offensive numbers stand on their own, it’s Ruth’s versatility in 1919 that gives him the edge over every other season before or since.   The Babe pitched an incredible 29 and two-thirds consecutive scoreless innings across two World Series.  And despite it being his last year on the mound, in 1919 Ruth went 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA and CG’s in 18 of his 19 starts.  Truly unbelievable

[JDFIII 206]

Babe did these things at a time when no one else was. He would still be dominant in today's game. Imho, the best to ever play.

[LouDog 3,166]

Id put Maddux's 95 season near the top of the list if not the best. 1.63 era 19-2 record. It was an unreal season. He was the definition of dominant.

Edited July 16 by LouDog

[Falconsfan567 34,504]

1 hour ago, LouDog said:

Id put Maddux's 95 season near the top of the list if not the best. 1.63 era 19-2 record. It was an unreal season. He was the definition of dominant.

Yeah I was gonna mention that one.

[Falcons In 2012 19,275]

4 hours ago, LouDog said:

Id put Maddux's 95 season near the top of the list if not the best. 1.63 era 19-2 record. It was an unreal season. He was the definition of dominant.

I thought about it.  His two years between 94-95 are unrivaled.

35-8. 1.60 ERA, 20 CG’s and over 415 IP’s with  56 BB’s

• Maddux started 740 games. In 236 of them, he didn't allow a walk.
• He went to a 3-0 count to five batters in 1997. He faced 893 batters that season.

And My Fav Game:

Date: July 22, 1997
Teams: Braves at Cubs
Time of game: 2:07
Pitches: 76
Strikes: 63

Maddux threw 76 pitches in a complete game, and he threw strikes with 83 percent of his pitches. He went to a two-ball count twice, and he didn't throw a ball in the third or fifth innings. The breakdown of pitches by inning:

1st: 7
2nd: 11
3rd: 9
4th: 11
5th: 7
6th: 7
7th: 7
8th: 9
9th: 8

[Falcons In 2012 19,275]

4 hours ago, JDFIII said:

Babe did these things at a time when no one else was. He would still be dominant in today's game. Imho, the best to ever play.

At some point, Ruth led the entire league in:

HITTING

Hits                            

Home Runs

Walks

RBI’s

Strike Outs

Batting Average

SLG%

OPS

Total Bases

 

PITCHING:

Wins

ERA

Games Started

Complete Games

Shutouts

Hits Per 9

HR’s Per 9

27 scoreless innings pitched across 2 World Series

[JD dirtybird21 13,377]

Barry Bonds. The steroid thing is completely silly. They didn’t make him better at baseball. That year was unbelievable