Greatest Team in Your Lifetime

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HD MM

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Nov 2, 2006
15,837
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Believeland, Ohio
Answer this question based on your team in which you are a fan of.

So far, I must say that the Greatest Team I've ever seen in Cleveland was without hesitation, the 1995 Cleveland Indians. As a matter of fact, this was one of the greatest teams I've ever witnessed, regardless of team affiliation. Needless to say, that summer of '95 was indeed memorable, despite the unfulfilled ending. Here's why...

  • 2nd season in newly built Jacob's Field. The start of a 455 straight sellout streak.
  • 100-44 regular season record, 1st place in the AL Central. Advanced to World Series, first since 1948.
  • 6 All-Stars: Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Dennis Martinez and Jose Mesa.
  • 2 Gold Gloves: Kenny Lofton (OF) and Omar Vizquel (SS).
  • 7 out of 9 players in the starting lineup hit .308 or above.
  • Team pitching ERA of 3.88. Only team in the AL with a staff ERA under 4.00.
  • Closer Jose Mesa had an ERA of 1.13 and 46 saves.
  • 6 guys with at least 15 HR, 5 with at least 75 RBI (Thome had 73).
  • 1st in BA, 1st in SLG, 1 in OBP, 1st in RBI, 1st in HR, 1st in Hits, 1st in Runs and K'd the fewest.
  • Clinched division on 123rd game of the season.
One of the scariest offensive lineups ever assembled. Notice Manny hit 7th!.....

Kenny Lofton- cf
Omar Vizquel- ss
Carlos Baerga- 2b
Albert Belle- lf
Eddie Murray- dh
Jim Thome- 3b
Manny Ramirez- rf
Paul Sorrento- 1b
Sandy Alomar Jr.- c

The bench:

Dave Winfeld
Jeromy Burnitz
Brian Giles.

A formidable pitching staff and bullpen....

Charles Nagy
Dennis Martinez
Oral Hershiser

Paul Assenmacher
Eric Plunk
Julian Tavarez
Jose Mesa

When all is said and done, 4-7 hitters will have combined for over 2,000 HRs, and include two of the four guys ever with 500 HRs and 3,000 hits.

Unfortunately for the Tribe though, we ran into the best starting pitching staff ever assembled in the World Series, ie: perennial Cy Young Award winners Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery.


Final Note:

That season was very memorable to me and I cherish being a part of that team as a fan. Unfortunately though, that season was yet another lesson to me as a Cleveland fan in teaching me that nothing in life is a given.

For this reason I try and not get too attached to this year's Cavaliers team. However, if this '08-'09 Cavs team does the unthinkable and keeps this amazing season going and wins 65 games, they may enter the discussion. If they win it all, they will take over the discussion and I will have to modify my above answer. But for now, that '95 Indians team remains the Greatest Team I've ever witnessed as a Cleveland Sports fan. Thank you for the memories Tribe!
 
Humm...I will have to get back with specific stats, but here are a few of my "Detroit" best of all time teams during my time

1984 Tigers
1. 35-5 Record to start Season
3. Jack Morris No hitter
3. First place wire to wire

1997 Red Wings
1. First cup in about 40 years after some previous setbacks

1989 Pistons
1. First Title
2. Got over the Boston Celtics Hump

1991 Detroit Lions (Dont Laugh, my lifetime)
1. 12-4 Record
2. Went to NFL Title game
3. Rally around Mike Utley, paralized that season
Please note: During the semi final game against the Cowboys, it was noted that the Lions and Cowboys were going to be the teams of the 90's....Well at least one team got that memo...lol
 
Well, technically it's in my lifetime even though I was too young to see them play. The 1985 Chicago Bears. My dad and my older brothers who are old enough to remember said they just came and got you on defense every play. And they're all Jet fans, not Bear fans.

I suppose the best team I saw was the 1998 Yankees. Just overpowered people.


Sandra
 
As far as a one of MY teams, it was the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. They destoyed EVERYONE, they had ONE close game, a 26-24 win over #14 VT, but other than that game...the average score for all other games was 44-8! That team had 6 1st team All-Americans, 13 1st Team All Conference, 5 players selected in the 1st round, 14 players total taken in that years draft. And 10 players being a finalist for ALL of the top college football awards. I was VERY fortunate to see all the home games at the Old Lady, the Orange Bowl.

Here is a telling stat:

RB Clinton Portis: 240 carries for 1,304 yards (5.43) with 11 TD. 16 catches for 151 yards and 1 TD.
RB Frank Gore: 64 carries for 565 yards (8.83) with 5 TD. 1 catch for 14 yards and 0 TD.
RB Willis McGahee: 69 carries for 321 yards (4.65) with 3 TD

In 12 games, they got almost 2200 yards of rushing, 19 TD and 7 yards PER CARRY out of the running back position.

Many consider that Hurricanes team one of the, if not THE greatest college football team of all time. I for one think they ARE.

I was a 1st hand witness to THE most incredible season EVER in NBA history when the Chicago Bulls went 72-10 in the 95-96 season. I was working IT for Chicago Sportschannel both in studio and at Chicago Stadium. I went to a few of the road games and there is NEVER be a team like this one. When they went on the road, EVERYONE wanted to see them play. They were Rollin Stones, they were Bruce Springsteen, they were the Beattles of the NBA. People would wait for them at the airports like heroes coming hoe from war. They would party like you could not believe(BELIEVE ME they did....1st hand knowledge), but on the court....they were ALL BUSINESS! They were assasins! They were the BEST finishers of games. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were 1st team ALL NBA. Michael, Scottie and Rodman made the 1st team ALL Defensive Team. WITH the playoffs, the Bulls ended the season 87-13....think about that....MJ was MVP of the league AND the Finals...only man to ever be a Finals MVP 4 times..and the list goes on and on....

....I could have been witness to TWO of THE MOST dominant season by any two teams ever.
 
96 Bulls
Best signal season record in history of NBA
Went 15-3 in the postseason.
Greatest player in NBA history IMO.

76 Reds
Loaded with future hall of famers
Went 7-0 in the post season. Only team in history to do that since divisional playoffs started.


Best team dynasty (Ok, I'm biased here)
North Carolina's women soccer team
Won 19 of the 27 NCAA women soccer championships - no other team has won more than twice.
Carolina's all-time record is 673-33-21, a winning percentage of just over .940
Only team in women's soccer to have gone unbeaten and untied. They have done it 5 times.
Had a 101 game undefeated streak.
They are 100-7-1 in NCAA Tournament play. The next most tournament wins is 48 by Notre Dame.
 
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I was a bit young to really appreciate it, but Jerry Tarkanian's Rebels were pretty special.

Was never really a sports fan till my late teens (30 now), so being a Chiefs fan it's a lot of 'if only...' seasons, so I defer to UNLV's Runnin Rebels as the best team I was a fan of (and inadvertantly, was one of the few things I ever remember getting the whole town to fixate on).

Though the XFL had it's highest attendance numbers here too... damn you Tommy Maddox.
 
Well, technically it's in my lifetime even though I was too young to see them play. The 1985 Chicago Bears. My dad and my older brothers who are old enough to remember said they just came and got you on defense every play. And they're all Jet fans, not Bear fans.

I suppose the best team I saw was the 1998 Yankees. Just overpowered people.
Click to expand...

No 1994 Rangers, Sandy?
 
Being a Buffalo fan has been just as difficult as it is for Cleveland fans.

There have, however, been some great Buffalo-area teams:

1990 Bills
13-3 record

Third of six AFC East titles in an eight-year span

Highest-scoring team in football

9 Pro Bowl selections

Bruce Smith- 19 sacks and NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Jim Kelly- led the NFL in passer-rating (Historically significant because Steve Young would hold that distinction for the next four years in a row)

Put up 44 points against a very good Dolphins team in the snow in the AFC Divisional Playoffs

In the AFC Championship Game against a very talented and impressive Raiders team, put up 51 points in a game that Salsa attended

Somehow, they lost in the Super Bowl to a Giants team that I still regard to this day as the slowest, least talented, most boring, and uninteresting team to ever win the Super Bowl. They had a 13-3 record, but they played like an 8-8 team

This hurts more than the other losses, because the Redskin and Cowboy teams Buffalo faced in the next three Super Bowls were teams that, IMO, were better teams. Those Giants teams were NOT. They were just slow, unathletic and lucky.

Of all the great Sabre teams I've ever seen, there are only two that crack my list when combining a great record and great umbers:

1989-90 Sabres

Went 45-27-8 for 98 points, third-best in the NHL

Pierre Turgeon has 106 points

Turgeon and Dave Andrechuk both had 40 goals

Darren Puppa tied for the league-lead in wins and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy

Four players elected to the All-Star team- Turgeon, Andreychuk, Puppa, and Phil Housley

Alas, the Sabres lost in the first round of the playoffs (That lasted from 1984-1992) against the Canadiens.

As a Buffalo fan, it just KILLED me to see that- every damn year, it always was the same old story- not only did Buffalo have as much playoff success over that era as the Memphis Grizzlies do, but the Canadiens and Bruins ALWAYS met in the second round. As a Buffalo fan, I loathed those teams- and to this day, I STILL hate the Habs

2006-07 Sabres

4 30-goal scorers (Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek, Chris Drury, Jason Pominville)

40-goal scorer Thomas Vanek

3 Sabres made the All-Star game (Ryan Miller, Briere, Campbell), and Briere won the game MVP!

Most wins and points in the NHL

Ryan Miller became the first Sabres goalie to ever win 40 games in one year, something Hasek never did in Buffalo

Won 53 games and had 113 points

After beating the Islanders in a five-game series that felt like seven, and beating the Rangers (including an overtime game that broke poor Sandra's heart), Buffalo lost to a team that, once again, I felt was inferior- the Ottawa Senators.

Three of those losses could have gone either way (Two games went to overtime, the other was a 1-0 game), but what kills me is that not only was that one of Ottawa's least impressive teams (I can name five Sens teams that were better) since then, Ray Emery, the goalie who allowed only 9 goals in that series, is not even playing in the NHL anymore!

No offense, KCK Halo, but your Ducks were lucky to face a pretty overrated Sens team in the Finals!
 
This is easy for me: 1986 Boston Celtics

Many say the greatest basketball team of all time.

The '86 Celtics had four members of the NBA's 50 greatest basketball players of all time: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Walton.

The team also had defensive stopper (and 5 time all-star) Dennis Johnson, and great outside shooting from guards Danny Ainge and Jerry Sichting, and forward Scott Wedman.
 
As far as a one of MY teams, it was the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. They destoyed EVERYONE, they had ONE close game, a 26-24 win over #14 VT, but other than that game...the average score for all other games was 44-8! That team had 6 1st team All-Americans, 13 1st Team All Conference, 5 players selected in the 1st round, 14 players total taken in that years draft. And 10 players being a finalist for ALL of the top college football awards. I was VERY fortunate to see all the home games at the Old Lady, the Orange Bowl.

Here is a telling stat:

RB Clinton Portis: 240 carries for 1,304 yards (5.43) with 11 TD. 16 catches for 151 yards and 1 TD.
RB Frank Gore: 64 carries for 565 yards (8.83) with 5 TD. 1 catch for 14 yards and 0 TD.
RB Willis McGahee: 69 carries for 321 yards (4.65) with 3 TD

In 12 games, they got almost 2200 yards of rushing, 19 TD and 7 yards PER CARRY out of the running back position.

Many consider that Hurricanes team one of the, if not THE greatest college football team of all time. I for one think they ARE.
Click to expand...

I just wish they faced a more worthy opponent in the Rose Bowl instead of overrated Nebraska and Eric Crouch, the worst Heisman winner ever.
 
HD MM said:
Answer this question based on your team in which you are a fan of.

So far, I must say that the Greatest Team I've ever seen in Cleveland was without hesitation, the 1995 Cleveland Indians. As a matter of fact, this was one of the greatest teams I've ever witnessed, regardless of team affiliation. Needless to say, that summer of '95 was indeed memorable, despite the unfulfilled ending. Here's why...

  • 2nd season in newly built Jacob's Field. The start of a 455 straight sellout streak.
  • 100-44 regular season record, 1st place in the AL Central. Advanced to World Series, first since 1948.
  • 6 All-Stars: Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Dennis Martinez and Jose Mesa.
  • 2 Gold Gloves: Kenny Lofton (OF) and Omar Vizquel (SS).
  • 7 out of 9 players in the starting lineup hit .308 or above.
  • Team pitching ERA of 3.88. Only team in the AL with a staff ERA under 4.00.
  • Closer Jose Mesa had an ERA of 1.13 and 46 saves.
  • 6 guys with at least 15 HR, 5 with at least 75 RBI (Thome had 73).
  • 1st in BA, 1st in SLG, 1 in OBP, 1st in RBI, 1st in HR, 1st in Hits, 1st in Runs and K'd the fewest.
  • Clinched division on 123rd game of the season.
One of the scariest offensive lineups ever assembled. Notice Manny hit 7th!.....

Kenny Lofton- cf
Omar Vizquel- ss
Carlos Baerga- 2b
Albert Belle- lf
Eddie Murray- dh
Jim Thome- 3b
Manny Ramirez- rf
Paul Sorrento- 1b
Sandy Alomar Jr.- c

The bench:

Dave Winfeld
Jeromy Burnitz
Brian Giles.

A formidable pitching staff and bullpen....

Charles Nagy
Dennis Martinez
Oral Hershiser

Paul Assenmacher
Eric Plunk
Julian Tavarez
Jose Mesa

When all is said and done, 4-7 hitters will have combined for over 2,000 HRs, and include two of the four guys ever with 500 HRs and 3,000 hits.

Unfortunately for the Tribe though, we ran into the best starting pitching staff ever assembled in the World Series, ie: perennial Cy Young Award winners Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery.


Final Note:

That season was very memorable to me and I cherish being a part of that team as a fan. Unfortunately though, that season was yet another lesson to me as a Cleveland fan in teaching me that nothing in life is a given.

For this reason I try and not get too attached to this year's Cavaliers team. However, if this '08-'09 Cavs team does the unthinkable and keeps this amazing season going and wins 65 games, they may enter the discussion. If they win it all, they will take over the discussion and I will have to modify my above answer. But for now, that '95 Indians team remains the Greatest Team I've ever witnessed as a Cleveland Sports fan. Thank you for the memories Tribe!
Click to expand...


That Indians team was very special.

They had one of the deepest bullpens I ever saw.

Besides the guys you mentioned, they also had Alan Embree (who was a huge cog in my Red Sox finally winning it all) and Jim Poole.

Embree, Poole and Assenmacher were all reliable lefties (a rarity to have three effective lefties), and from the right side you had Plunk, Tavarez and Mesa (who was DOMINATING in '95).

With that very balanced bullpen, Mike Hargrove had all the answers in the late innings.
 
boomer69 said:
:up+1,000,000

Sorry HD, but the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds was the best team ever!!!...:D

And the Indianapolis Colts of 2006-7 weren't too shabby, either!!!...;)
Click to expand...

Read the first sentence of my original post again. This isn't any sort of competition. There are no right or wrong answers. I was just looking for each poster to share their own accounts and recollections of the greatest team in which they were a fan of in their lifetime.
 
CeltsHD said:
This is easy for me: 1986 Boston Celtics

Many say the greatest basketball team of all time.

The '86 Celtics had four members of the NBA's 50 greatest basketball players of all time: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Walton.

The team also had defensive stopper (and 5 time all-star) Dennis Johnson, and great outside shooting from guards Danny Ainge and Jerry Sichting, and forward Scott Wedman.
Click to expand...

Absolutely this Celtics team was awesome! I would love to create some kind of mythical matchup of the '86 Celts and the '95-'96 Bulls. It would be an absolute treat to see those two dynasties trade blows back and forth.
 
HD MM said:
Answer this question based on your team in which you are a fan of.

So far, I must say that the Greatest Team I've ever seen in Cleveland was without hesitation, the 1995 Cleveland Indians. As a matter of fact, this was one of the greatest teams I've ever witnessed, regardless of team affiliation. Needless to say, that summer of '95 was indeed memorable, despite the unfulfilled ending. Here's why...

  • 2nd season in newly built Jacob's Field. The start of a 455 straight sellout streak.
  • 100-44 regular season record, 1st place in the AL Central. Advanced to World Series, first since 1948.
Click to expand...

What happened to the other 18 games?
 
HD MM said:
Absolutely this Celtics team was awesome! I would love to create some kind of mythical matchup of the '86 Celts and the '95-'96 Bulls. It would be an absolute treat to see those two dynasties trade blows back and forth.
Click to expand...


And to think JUST DAYS after winning the '86 title the Celtics drafted, with the #2 overall pick, Len Bias (who was considered to be one of the greatest college players ever).................................but two days after the draft, he was gone. :(
 
CeltsHD said:
And to think JUST DAYS after winning the '86 title the Celtics drafted, with the #2 overall pick, Len Bias (who was considered to be one of the greatest college players ever).................................but two days after the draft, he was gone. :(
Click to expand...

Yes, tragic story indeed. :(

BTW, my Cavs had the #1 overall pick that year and selected Center Brad Daugherty.
 

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