Embed from Getty Images
The 2010s marked a decisive change from the first decade of this millennium in the DTBL. The previous decade saw two teams dominate the landscape with the Kings opening it up with four straight titles from 2000-2003 and the Darkhorses doing the same from 2007-2010. This decade, half of the franchises won at least one championship and only the 2019 Kings were able to successfully defend a title. The 2010s started with arguably the craziest season in league history as the Darkhorses and Naturals became the first co-champions. Two years later, the Naturals were involved in another epic finish as they just barely edged out three other teams to win another title. The second half of the decade belonged to the Kings, as they have now won three of the past four championships.
As we enter a new decade, it is time to take a look back at the past 10 years in the DTBL. Here are some of the best teams and players of the 2010s.
Franchise of the Decade: Kevin’s Kings
It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Kings in the 2010s. In 2013, they were able to put an end to their ten year title drought, barely edging out the Mavericks for the fifth championship in franchise history. The remainder of the decade was pretty crazy for them. Three times, they finished in the bottom half of the standings, including a dreadful last place finish in 2015 and a ninth place finish in 2017. But they somehow managed to turn each of those poor years into a championship run the following year. All told, they won four championships in the decade, the most of any franchise. They weren’t the most consistent franchise, but titles are what matter most and nobody had more of them than the Kings. The clear second choice for this honor would be the Naturals who won three titles, all coming in the same years the Giants won the World Series (2010, 2012, 2014).
Team of the Decade: 2015 Jay’s Jackalope
The Jackalope made their championships count. Both of their title winning seasons were among the most impressive this league has ever seen. It is difficult to compare teams from different seasons since so much of fantasy success is relative to the competition. So simply going with the team with the most standings points doesn’t necessarily make them better than title winning teams from other years. What sets apart the 2015 Jackalope, and their 2011 squad too for that matter, was the manner in which they dominated the rest of the league. They won the league by a record breaking 19 points over the Mavericks. The Jackalope offense was led by MVP winner Josh Donaldson and runner-up Paul Goldschmidt. Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta led the pitching staff and won both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards, giving the Jackalope a clean sweep of the three major awards. The year started with the Jackalope making some major March trades, dealing away franchise icons Albert Pujols, Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke. But in return, they acquired Josh Donaldson, Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon, all of whom continue to reap benefits for them today. It was one of the most impressive roster shake-ups we’ve ever seen. Honorable mention in this category could go to a bunch of different teams. Certainly the 2011 Jackalope who also won the league by double digits, the 2014 Naturals who set the record for most total points (89), the 2019 Kings who successfully defended their title with a much stronger season in the follow-up, and the 2017 Mavericks who finally cashed in a championship to go along with their historically dominant pitching staff for much of the decade.
Player of the Decade: Mike Trout, Mavericks (2012-2019)
This was about as easy of a decision as you will find. Mike Trout has been in the DTBL for eight seasons now. In all eight seasons he has made the All-Star team and received MVP votes. Shockingly, he only has one MVP award to his name so far. But he has finished in the top five of that vote six times, including each of his first five seasons. He also won the Rookie of the Year award in 2012. In the 2010s, he led all DTBL players in PAR (71.0) by more than 20 points. His decade ranks in the five offensive categories: .308 average (5th), 280 home runs (3rd), 736 runs batted in (14th), 882 runs scored (1st), 195 stolen bases (7th). Keep in mind that many players had a two year head start over him in the counting categories. In 2015, his worst season according to PAR, he hit .299 with 41 home runs. A second round pick by the Mavericks in 2012, Trout holds the franchise career record in homers, runs and stolen bases and is second in RBI. Nobody else really garnered any consideration for this honor, but let’s just say Paul Goldschmidt was the runner-up.
Pitcher of the Decade: Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks (2010-2019)
This was a pretty easy choice too, and yes, it is another Maverick. In the 2010s, Clayton Kershaw won a pair of Cy Young awards, finished in the top four for that award seven straight years and made seven DTBL All-Star teams. His numbers during the four year stretch of 2013-2016 were downright silly, posting ERAs below 2.00 in three of those years. He won the Cy Young in 2013 and 2014 with ERAs of 1.83 and 1.77. He posted a double digit PAR for seven straight seasons (2011-2017). For the decade, his 2.30 ERA and 0.961 WHIP were easily the best among qualified starting pitchers. His 154 wins ranked third as did his 2,131 strikeouts. Somehow, the Mavericks nabbed him in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. He is the franchise leader among starting pitchers in every relevant category. Two other pitchers had similarly great decades: the Kings veteran duo of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. But unlike those two, Kershaw was an elite performer for the entire decade. Scherzer didn’t really reach that level until 2013 and Verlander had some down years in the middle of the decade.
Now let’s move onto the All-Decade players. I’ve selected 46 players and split them into first and second teams. Unlike the honors I’ve bestowed above, these selections were mostly objective. I went with the players who accumulated the highest PAR in the decade, with exceptions at two positions: catcher and relief pitcher. Because even some above average performers at those positions have trouble accumulating positive PAR, I didn’t want to ding players for longevity in which some negative PAR years may have dragged their total down. Also, I didn’t want to reward a few closers who have had just a couple great years, enough to put them near the top of the PAR leaderboard. So I looked at the full set of numbers to make my decisions at those two positions. For players who changed positions throughout the course of the decade, they were classified at whichever position they appeared in the most seasons. Without further ado, here are 46 of the best players from the 2010s.
First Team All-Decade
C – Victor Martinez (Naturals ’10-’15, Mavericks ’16, Kings ’17): .301 AVG, 115 HR, 504 RBI, 389 R, 5 SB, 10.8 PAR
C – Buster Posey (Demigods ’11-’19): .302 AVG, 118 HR, 590 RBI, 521 R, 23 SB, 4.8 PAR
1B – Paul Goldschmidt (Jackalope ’12-’19): .294 AVG, 235 HR, 781 RBI, 778 R, 123 SB, 51.0 PAR
2B – Jose Altuve (Demigods ’12-’19): .316 AVG, 125 HR, 514 RBI, 693 R, 240 SB, 43.0 PAR
3B – Nolan Arenado (Naturals ’14-’19): .298 AVG, 215 HR, 677 RBI, 574 R, 13 SB, 42.2 PAR
SS – Francisco Lindor (Demigods ’16-’19): .284 AVG, 115 HR, 327 RBI, 423 R, 81 SB, 28.3 PAR
1B/3B – Miguel Cabrera (Naturals ’10-’18, Mavericks ’19): .317 AVG, 265 HR, 928 RBI, 783 R, 14 SB, 43.2 PAR
2B/SS – Robinson Cano (Kings ’10-’19): .302 AVG, 227 HR, 851 RBI, 791 R, 34 SB, 38.4 PAR
OF – Mike Trout (Mavericks ’12-’19): .308 AVG, 280 HR, 736 RBI, 882 R, 195 SB, 71.0 PAR
OF – Nelson Cruz (Mavericks ’10-’11, Gators ’12-’17, Komodos ’18-’19): .283 AVG, 338 HR, 941 RBI, 761 R, 49 SB, 47.6 PAR
OF – Mookie Betts (Kings ’15-’19): .302 AVG, 134 HR, 447 RBI, 575 R, 116 SB, 41.3 PAR
OF – Andrew McCutchen (Naturals ’10-’17, Choppers ’18-’19): .286 AVG, 219 HR, 763 RBI, 864 R, 165 SB, 40.7 PAR
OF – Ryan Braun (Jackalope ’10-’19): .295 AVG, 236 HR, 796 RBI, 753 R, 164 SB, 40.3 PAR
DH – Edwin Encarnacion (Jackalope ’10, Naturals ’11, Mavericks ’12-’14, Darkhorses ’15-’19): .265 AVG, 307 HR, 883 RBI, 752 R, 39 SB, 42.3 PAR
SP – Clayton Kershaw (Mavericks ’10-’19): 2.30 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 154 W, 0 SV, 2,131 K, 112.6 PAR
SP – Max Scherzer (Jackalope ’10, Kings ’10-’19): 3.07 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 155 W, 0 SV, 2,348 K, 98.3 PAR
SP – Justin Verlander (Kings ’10-’19): 3.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 159 W, 0 SV, 2,210 K, 95.5 PAR
SP – Zack Greinke (Jackalope ’10, Naturals ’11-’14, Moonshiners ’15-’19): 3.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 152 W, 0 SV, 1,852 K, 75.1 PAR
SP – Chris Sale (Naturals ’11, Choppers ’12-’19): 3.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 102 W, 6 SV, 1,907 K, 68.9 PAR
RP – Craig Kimbrel (Choppers ’11-’19): 2.14 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 27 W, 344 SV, 855 K, 34.6 PAR
RP – Kenley Jansen (Mavericks ’11-’19): 2.35 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 29 W, 295 SV, 827 K, 32.1 PAR
RP – Aroldis Chapman (Mavericks ’11, ’15-’17, Jackalope ’12-’14, Komodos ’18-’19): 2.28 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 27 W, 271 SV, 796 K, 27.2 PAR
RP – Jonathan Papelbon (Kings ’10-’15, Jackalope ’15-’16): 2.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 27 W, 217 SV, 462 K, 8.8 PAR
Second Team All-Decade
C – Yadier Molina (Choppers ’10-’16, Cougars ’17-’19): .289 AVG, 120 HR, 645 RBI, 500 R, 53 SB, -0.1 PAR
C – J.T. Realmuto (Darkhorses ’16-’19): .282 AVG, 73 HR, 266 RBI, 290 R, 32 SB, 5.6 PAR
1B – Joey Votto (Naturals ’10-’19): .306 AVG, 229 HR, 745 RBI, 825 R, 66 SB, 38.2 PAR
2B – Ian Kinsler (Moonshiners ’10-’16, Jackalope ’17-’18): .268 AVG, 163 HR, 609 RBI, 835 R, 148 SB, 28.5 PAR
3B – Adrian Beltre (Choppers ’10-’18): .307 AVG, 226 HR, 781 RBI, 691 R, 10 SB, 34.9 PAR
SS – Trea Turner (Naturals ’16-’19): .292 AVG, 60 HR, 199 RBI, 306 R, 145 SB, 28.1 PAR
1B/3B – Freddie Freeman (Demigods ’12-’19): .296 AVG, 199 HR, 698 RBI, 699 R, 39 SB, 36.2 PAR
2B/SS – Brian Dozier (Moonshiners ’14-’19): .245 AVG, 157 HR, 437 RBI, 521 R, 77 SB, 22.2 PAR
OF – Charlie Blackmon (Cougars ’15-’19): .309 AVG, 142 HR, 389 RBI, 561 R, 87 SB, 37.3 PAR
OF – Bryce Harper (Darkhorses ’13-’19): .278 AVG, 197 HR, 576 RBI, 607 R, 70 SB, 35.1 PAR
OF – Christian Yelich (Darkhorses ’14-’19): .304 AVG, 134 HR, 481 RBI, 550 R, 111 SB, 34.8 PAR
OF – Giancarlo Stanton (Jackalope ’11-’19): .268 AVG, 278 HR, 701 RBI, 627 R, 36 SB, 34.4 PAR
OF – Carlos Gonzalez (Kings ’10-’17): .293 AVG, 197 HR, 648 RBI, 638 R, 97 SB, 33.7 PAR
DH – Albert Pujols (Jackalope ’10-’14, Mavericks ’15, ’18, Choppers ’16-’17, Darkhorses ’18): .272 AVG, 250 HR, 813 RBI, 630 R, 49 SB, 34.6 PAR
SP – David Price (Naturals ’10-’18, Komodos ’19): 3.29 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 134 W, 0 SV, 1,804 K, 62.4 PAR
SP – Madison Bumgarner (Cougars ’11-’19): 3.16 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 111 W, 0 SV, 1,664 K, 59.9 PAR
SP – Felix Hernandez (Jackalope ’10-’14, ’18, Moonshiners ’15-’17): 3.20 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 104 W, 0 SV, 1,595 K, 52.1 PAR
SP – Jon Lester (Naturals ’10-’12, Choppers ’13-’19): 3.56 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 144 W, 0 SV, 1,773 K, 51.0 PAR
SP – Corey Kluber (Demigods ’14-’19): 2.94 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 83 W, 0 SV, 1,238 K, 50.9 PAR
RP – Francisco Rodriguez (Moonshiners ’10-’11, Mavericks ’12, Naturals ’14, Kings ’15-’17): 3.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 23 W, 181 SV, 407 K, 7.0 PAR
RP – Greg Holland (Gators ’12-’13, Naturals ’13-’17, Komodos ’18, Mavericks ’19): 3.06 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 14 W, 198 SV, 428 K, 4.5 PAR
RP – David Robertson (Cougars ’12-’19): 2.93 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 31 W, 127 SV, 515 K, 8.1 PAR
RP – Roberto Osuna (Moonshiners ’16-’19): 2.80 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 13 W, 134 SV, 270 K, 13.8 PAR
I thought about writing a short blurb for each player above, but decided that would take far too much time. Here are a couple links to leaderboards for the decade, for your perusal:
Batters
Pitchers
Feel free to chime in below if you feel some player(s) were snubbed. What an amazing decade it was in the DTBL. Here’s to the 2020s being just as great. Happy New Year!