The Myth of Parity Lacking
This is the first in what I hope to be many Special Guest Posts here on The Sublime Sportsman. Here, Robertus passes the laptop to Jacob Luckey, local baseball disciple and aficionado, who addresses the myth of parity, as it pertains to the two American pasttimes, Major League Baseball and the National Football League. As always, comments are welcome.
The Parity, Lack of, Myth
While the NFL is praised for its parity, Major League Baseball is maligned for its lack of a salary cap, its guaranteed contracts, and its Yankee dominance. But let us examine the championships for each league since the inception of the Super Bowl in 1966.
NFL (24 teams in 1966, 32 now)
Team, no. of championships played for (record in)
Cowboys 8 (5-3)
Broncos 6 (2-4)
49ers 5 (5-0)
Steelers 5 (4-1)
Raiders 5 (3-2)
Redskins 5 (3-2)
Patriots 5 (3-2)
Dolphins 5 (2-3)
Packers 4 (3-1)
Bills 4 (0-4)
Vikings 4 (0-4)
Total record for tier: 30-26
Giants 3 (2-1)
Rams 3 (1-2)
Baltimore Colts/Ravens 3 (2-1)
Bengals 2 (0-2)
Chiefs 2 (1-1)
Eagles 2 (0-2)
Bears, Falcons, Panthers, Titans, Chargers, Jets, and Buccaneers, 1 each (3-4)
Total record for tier: 9-13
Twenty-four of the 32 teams have played for the championship.
The Indianapolis Colts (20 years relocated), Cardinals, Saints, Texans, Jaguars, Seahawks, Browns, and Lions have never played for the championship; the Texans and Jaguars are expansion teams of the past roughly 10 years, leaving the Cardinals, I. Colts, Browns, Seahawks, Lions, and Saints as the teams to reasonably have been expected to play for the championship that have failed to do so. All but the Colts have been mediocre for some time (combined, 18 winning seasons in the past 15).
Fourteen different teams have played for the championship in the past 10 years. Eight different teams have played for the championship in the past 5 years.
MLB (20 teams in 1966, 30 now)
Team, no. of championships played for (record in)
Yankees 10 (6-4)
Oakland 6 (4-2)
Orioles 6 (3-3)
Dodgers 6 (2-4)
Cardinals 6 (2-4)
Reds 5 (3-2)
Braves 5 (1-4)
Mets 4 (2-2)
Red Sox 4 (1-3)
Total record for tier: 24-28
Phillies 3 (1-2)
Pirates 2 (2-0)
Marlins 2 (2-0)
Blue Jays 2 (2-0)
Tigers 2 (2-0)
Twins 2 (2-0)
Royals 2 (1-1)
Giants 2 (0-2)
Padres 2 (0-2)
Indians 2 (0-2)
Angels 1 (1-0)
Diamondbacks 1 (1-0)
Brewers 1 (0-1)
Total record for tier: 14-10
Twenty-two of the 30 teams have played for the championship.
The White Sox, Devil Rays, Rangers, Mariners, Astros, Cubs, Rockies, and Nationals have never played for the championship; three of these teams (the Devil Rays, Rockies, and Nationals) are expansion teams of the past roughly 10 years, two others are playing this year (the White Sox and the Astros), and two others have been very competitive at times in the past five seasons (the Mariners twice lost in the American League’s championship series, in 2000 and 2001; and the Cubs two seasons ago lost in the, well, you know), leaving the Rangers as the only team to reasonably have been expected to play for the championship that has failed to do so while appearing quite hapless (they’ve only twice won more than 90 games).
Thirteen different teams have played for the championship in the past 10 years. Nine different teams have played for the championship in the past 5 years.
Conclusion
Among the teams in each sport that have played in five or more championships, 44 championships total were played for by those teams in each sport.
Thirteen Super Bowl teams played in three or fewer; 13 World Series teams played in three or fewer.
Only three teams in MLB that have been to the championship since 1966 have not played in more than one, and one of those (the Diamondbacks) is an expansion team of the past roughly 10 years; in contrast, seven NFL teams have played in only one Super Bowl, and only two of those are expansion teams of the past 10 years.
Teams in the NFL with four or more appearances (total of 56 appearances) are four games over .500; teams in MLB with four or more appearances (total of 52 appearances) are four games under .500. Obviously, the records are similarly inverted for the teams with three or fewer appearances. In other words, the top teams in the NFL have been more dominant than the top teams in MLB.
Only three MLB teams that have had ample opportunity to play for the championship have not done so, whereas six NFL teams with ample opportunity have not done so.
One might bring up bad owners, bad fans, and/or small markets, but that’s for another post. The data presented above make the case against the inarticulate argument that the NFL comes closer to achieving parity and that this parity explains its appeal.
The Parity, Lack of, Myth
While the NFL is praised for its parity, Major League Baseball is maligned for its lack of a salary cap, its guaranteed contracts, and its Yankee dominance. But let us examine the championships for each league since the inception of the Super Bowl in 1966.
NFL (24 teams in 1966, 32 now)
Team, no. of championships played for (record in)
Cowboys 8 (5-3)
Broncos 6 (2-4)
49ers 5 (5-0)
Steelers 5 (4-1)
Raiders 5 (3-2)
Redskins 5 (3-2)
Patriots 5 (3-2)
Dolphins 5 (2-3)
Packers 4 (3-1)
Bills 4 (0-4)
Vikings 4 (0-4)
Total record for tier: 30-26
Giants 3 (2-1)
Rams 3 (1-2)
Baltimore Colts/Ravens 3 (2-1)
Bengals 2 (0-2)
Chiefs 2 (1-1)
Eagles 2 (0-2)
Bears, Falcons, Panthers, Titans, Chargers, Jets, and Buccaneers, 1 each (3-4)
Total record for tier: 9-13
Twenty-four of the 32 teams have played for the championship.
The Indianapolis Colts (20 years relocated), Cardinals, Saints, Texans, Jaguars, Seahawks, Browns, and Lions have never played for the championship; the Texans and Jaguars are expansion teams of the past roughly 10 years, leaving the Cardinals, I. Colts, Browns, Seahawks, Lions, and Saints as the teams to reasonably have been expected to play for the championship that have failed to do so. All but the Colts have been mediocre for some time (combined, 18 winning seasons in the past 15).
Fourteen different teams have played for the championship in the past 10 years. Eight different teams have played for the championship in the past 5 years.
MLB (20 teams in 1966, 30 now)
Team, no. of championships played for (record in)
Yankees 10 (6-4)
Oakland 6 (4-2)
Orioles 6 (3-3)
Dodgers 6 (2-4)
Cardinals 6 (2-4)
Reds 5 (3-2)
Braves 5 (1-4)
Mets 4 (2-2)
Red Sox 4 (1-3)
Total record for tier: 24-28
Phillies 3 (1-2)
Pirates 2 (2-0)
Marlins 2 (2-0)
Blue Jays 2 (2-0)
Tigers 2 (2-0)
Twins 2 (2-0)
Royals 2 (1-1)
Giants 2 (0-2)
Padres 2 (0-2)
Indians 2 (0-2)
Angels 1 (1-0)
Diamondbacks 1 (1-0)
Brewers 1 (0-1)
Total record for tier: 14-10
Twenty-two of the 30 teams have played for the championship.
The White Sox, Devil Rays, Rangers, Mariners, Astros, Cubs, Rockies, and Nationals have never played for the championship; three of these teams (the Devil Rays, Rockies, and Nationals) are expansion teams of the past roughly 10 years, two others are playing this year (the White Sox and the Astros), and two others have been very competitive at times in the past five seasons (the Mariners twice lost in the American League’s championship series, in 2000 and 2001; and the Cubs two seasons ago lost in the, well, you know), leaving the Rangers as the only team to reasonably have been expected to play for the championship that has failed to do so while appearing quite hapless (they’ve only twice won more than 90 games).
Thirteen different teams have played for the championship in the past 10 years. Nine different teams have played for the championship in the past 5 years.
Conclusion
Among the teams in each sport that have played in five or more championships, 44 championships total were played for by those teams in each sport.
Thirteen Super Bowl teams played in three or fewer; 13 World Series teams played in three or fewer.
Only three teams in MLB that have been to the championship since 1966 have not played in more than one, and one of those (the Diamondbacks) is an expansion team of the past roughly 10 years; in contrast, seven NFL teams have played in only one Super Bowl, and only two of those are expansion teams of the past 10 years.
Teams in the NFL with four or more appearances (total of 56 appearances) are four games over .500; teams in MLB with four or more appearances (total of 52 appearances) are four games under .500. Obviously, the records are similarly inverted for the teams with three or fewer appearances. In other words, the top teams in the NFL have been more dominant than the top teams in MLB.
Only three MLB teams that have had ample opportunity to play for the championship have not done so, whereas six NFL teams with ample opportunity have not done so.
One might bring up bad owners, bad fans, and/or small markets, but that’s for another post. The data presented above make the case against the inarticulate argument that the NFL comes closer to achieving parity and that this parity explains its appeal.
posted by robertus at 6:37 PM
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