My goal is to present a ranking of the last 10 championship teams in the most objective way possible. This means focusing on just the stats. In this case, I’m using run differential, league record,and where the team finished in the standings as the three main criteria. Before I get to the countdown, let me first list the league leaders in these categories for each year starting in 2010.
Run Differential:
2010: Goldfarb 4.0
2011: Peragine 2.7
2012: Younger 5.5
2013: Wallman 4.8
2014: Applebaum 5.2
2015: Bykofsky 4.2
2016: Jacoby 4.6
2017: Pollock 4.5
2018: Pollock 4.6
2019: Pollock 3.4
Best Regular Season Record:
2010: Goldfarb(17-5)
2011: Pollock/Goldfarb/Carlin(14-8)
2012: Younger(18-4)
2013: Wallman/Jacoby(16-6)
2014: Applebaum(19-3)
2015: Beilis/Bykofsky(16-6)
2016: Marrone(17-5)
2017: Brock(16-6)
2018: Pollock(18-4)
2019: Pollock(17-5)
Now onto the Rankings:
10. 2018 Team Applebaum
Regular Season: 8-14
Run Differential Ranking: 13th
An argument can be made that the 2019 team is more deserving of the 10th spot due to run differential, but there is no getting around the fact that this was an 8-14 team that won the championship. The whole post season was defined as the year all the favorites collapsed early in the playoffs. It was only fitting that a team with this bad of a regular season would end up being crowned champions.
9. 2019 Team Applebaum
Regular Season: 11-11
Run Differential Ranking: 16th
Ok, this is painful since it was my team on the losing end of this championship. If this was a ranking of the biggest upset in the championships, this very well would be #1. The 11-11 team defeating the 17-5 team. The 16th best run differential team beating the #1 ranked run differential team. Applebaum’s 2018-2019 back to back championships are a testament to getting hot at the right time and defying the odds.
8. 2012 Team Harris
Regular Season: 12-10
Run Differential Ranking: 8th
This is another one that hurts. Team Pollock was 17-5 and one win away from the Finals when Harris came storming back, won game 2 and then game 3 of the semi-finals. In fact, if this was a list of the most impressive run en route to a championship, the 2012 Harris team might take the top spot. Not only did they beat a 17-5 team in the semi-finals, but they defeated Younger’s 18-4 team which also featured the best run differential of any team the entire decade. 2012 Team Younger is the best team statistically not to win the championship. The Championship Harris team is the last on this list to have a negative run differential on this list. From #7 onward, each team ranked in the top 5 in run differential and had a record of 14-8 or better.
7. 2015 Team Granese
Regular Season: 14-8
Run Differential Ranking: 5th
This team had a very good season, but some may remember this as the year they got Pat Brock as a fortuitous 3rd round mid-season replacement. Certainly that helped propel them to the title. Here’s some Championship trivia: The 2015 Granese club is the only championship team that went to a third game in every playoff series.
6. 2016 Team Goldfarb
Regular Season: 14-8
Run Differential Ranking: 4th
Goldfarb had one of the best decades of any captains, finishing .500 or better in all but one season. It’s almost hard to believe that this was his only trip to the finals. Even though two other teams had a better record in 2016, I remember going into the playoffs thinking Goldfarb was going to be almost unstoppable. This was the first year the Brocks had a penalty, which enabled Guy to get them mid first round when they would have normally gone first overall. Justin and Pat Brock became the first two players to win back to back championships in 10s.
5. 2011 Team Pollock
Regular Season: 14-8
Run Differential Ranking: 5th
I had a hard time deciding whether the 5th-7th spots on this list considering all three teams under consideration had the same record and similar run differential rankings. What set 2011 Team Pollock apart from the two previous clubs is that we finished the season with the best record. I remember entering this playoffs thinking we were the best team, and I think we played with a swagger that definitely helped. No doubt that was aided by our ability to pick UH Right each round and teams being afraid to pitch to JZ(who was intentionally walked literally 20+ times during the playoffs). The reality is we only had the 5th best run differential and only .4 runs better than our 11-11 Finals opponent, Team Beilis. Still, the 2011 Team Pollock is one of four teams to finish with the best record and cap it off with the title.
4. 2010 Team Lapine
Regular Season: 14-8
Run Differential Ranking: 2nd
Looking back at the first four picks, it’s no wonder why this team won it all. Glen Roland in the first round, in what would be his MVP year, Justin Brock in the second round, rookie Dave Polzer in the third(the last time a rookie was drafted in the first three rounds and also win the championship), and Pat Brock in the fourth. Just like with the 2016 Goldfarb team, there were three other clubs that had better records in 2010 than Lapine’s team but they still always seemed like they were the team to beat.
3. 2013 Team Jacoby
Regular Season: 16-6
Run Differential Ranking: 2nd
It may be hard to believe, since for the last three seasons Jacoby has gone 7-15, 7-15,8-14 and hosted both play-in games, but there was a time when Jacoby’s teams were a juggernaut. Starting with this 2013 team, Team Jacoby went 16-6 in three out of the next four seasons. What some people may have forgotten is they were one miraculous Barth Frank catch away from being eliminated in Round One. After that, they never looked back, winning every game afterwards. They’re one of only two teams in the 2010s to only lose one playoff game during their championship run.
2. 2017 Team Pollock
Regular Season: 15-7
Run Differential Ranking: 1st
The beginning of a magical three year run that featured three consecutive 15+ win seasons with the best run differential in each(could be a 4th this year?) This 2017 team felt special as soon as we drafted Eluit and Clamp in the first two rounds. I’ll always remember the gutsy game 3 of the semi-finals against Team Feldman where half our team was playing injured. It’s a reminder of how close each championship team comes at one some point in the playoffs from being eliminated. The 2017 Pollock team is one of only two that won the title while also having the best run differential that season. The other team is….
1. 2014 Team Applebaum
Regular Season: 19-3
Run DIfferential Ranking: 1st
The greatest team in Marlboro Softball history. Everything clicked for this team as if there was some magical force at play. I mean, even their 10th round pick batted .553 that year. It’s a team that averaged a decade best 14.9 runs per game(More than a full run better than the second best of the decade). I remember a member of the team, who will remain nameless, telling me “We would have averaged even more if we didn’t keep mercying every team”. This team earned that swagger. It’s funny that Applebaum bookends this list. His 2018-2019 championship teams got hot at the right time but clearly did not have the best team factoring in regular season performance. This team, however, is hands down the most dominant team of the decade. The only to hit the Trifecta of best record, best run differential, and win the championship.
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