MLB Dream Bracket: Who wins between the Yankees and the Red Sox?
By Manny Gómez
MLB Dream Bracket: Yankees vs Red Sox
The Offensive Advantage
For the tournament, MLB has designated 15 offensive players to each team, one for each position including DH and six bench players. As such, here is each team’s offensive roster:
New York Yankees: Yogi Berra, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Robinson Cano, Roger Maris, Graig Nettles, Paul O’Neill, Bill Dickey
Boston Red Sox: Carlton Fisk, Jimmie Foxx, Dustin Pedroia, Wade Boggs, Nomar Garciaparra, Ted Williams, Mookie Betts, Dwight Evans, David Ortiz, Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, Jim Rice, Manny Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts, and Jason Varitek.
Believe it or not, traditionally, each team features some incredibly similar offensive numbers. In fact, in terms of Batting Average (AVG) and (OBP), the Yankees and the Red Sox have the exact same numbers – .298 AVG and .381 SLG lifetime.
Where each team differs, however, is in their power production. For example, the Yankees’ lifetime Slugging (SLG) is .513 to the Red Sox’s .503 SLG.
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Similarly, each team’s advanced stats are also separated within .10 points. The Yanks have a .395 lifetime wOBA while the Red Sox feature a .386 wOBA. And in terms of wRC+, the New York’s 138 wRC+ edges Boston’s by just 6 points.
Where things become daunting for Boston is in wins. When totaling each team’s WAR, Yankees players are worth 209.4 more wins than the Red Sox.
Given all this information, I think it’s safe to say that the offensive edge has to go to the New York Yankees.