Top 106 Baseball Players: #91 - Rube Waddell

Rube Waddell

Rube Waddell was one of the greatest pitchers ever to take the mound at his peak, but other struggles prevented him from reaching his full potential as one of the greatest few pitchers to ever live.

In the first 5 years of his career, he played for 7 teams, including 4 minor league teams, because he quickly wore out his welcome everywhere he went. He was known to sneak off in the middle of a game to go fishing, or to leave the field to chase a passing fire truck. He was also a raging alcoholic, and it is said that he spent his entire first signing bonus on alcohol.

In 1902, he was picked up by the Philadelphia Athletics, where manager Connie Mack was able to keep him somewhat under control for a few years, and the following 6 years were some of the most productive any pitcher has ever had.

He led the league in strikeouts for 6 consecutive seasons, and topped 300 strikeouts in 1903 and 1904, a feat no other pitcher would reach in consecutive seasons until Sandy Koufax in 1965 and 1966. Not only did he have a huge number of strikeouts, but he led the league by an enormous margin each time, with no pitcher coming within 100 strikeouts of him in either of those seasons.

The next season he dropped to 287 strikeouts, but he accomplished another major feat when he won the pitching Triple Crown, topping the league with a 1.48 ERA and 27 wins as well as the usual strikeouts. His team reached the World Series that year, but he didn't pitch, and there is some controversy as to the reason, as he and the team claimed a shoulder injury, but had conflicting stories as to what happened. There is also a rumor that he was paid by a gambler to skip the Series, but that has not been proven.

After the 1907 season, despite still being the league's top pitcher, the A's grew tired of his antics and sold him to the Saint Louis Browns, where his performance regressed quickly, and by the end of 1910 he was out of the majors completely. He died of tuberculosis just a few years later, leaving behind a strange and amazing legacy.

It is unclear what caused Waddell's bizarre behavior, and it's unfortunate that there was no help available to him for his possible mental health disorder, because he was one of the most talented pitchers to ever take the mound, but even in his abbreviated career, he showed enough greatness to be included on this list of the all-time greats.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #92 - Billy Williams

Billy Williams

Billy Williams was the star for the Chicago Cubs for a long time, but never reached the playoffs in his 16 years with the team, despite the fact that he was among the top few players in the league for several years in the 1960's and 1970's.

He made his Major League debut in 1959, but didn't get called up full time until 1961, when he was named the Rookie of the Year with 147 hits and 86 RBI's, numbers that he would surpass in nearly every season for the rest of his career.

He was known as the NL Iron Man for his streak of 1117 consecutive games played between 1963 and 1970, which was the NL record until Steve Garvey passed it in 1983. While it never approached Lou Gehrig's streak in the AL, or Cal Ripken's later streak, going for more than 6 years without missing a day is very impressive.

He was twice the runner-up in the NL MVP voting, although he should have been the winner in 1970, when he led the league with 137 runs, 205 hits, and 373 total bases, while also reaching career highs with 42 home runs and 129 RBI's.

Two years later he reached similar numbers, this time leading the NL with a .333 batting average and 348 total bases, but again came in #2 behind Johnny Bench. After one more solid season with the Cubs, his production started to drop off, and he was traded to the Athletics.

With the A's he was finally able to taste the playoffs, but he went 0 for 7 in his lone career playoff series. The next season his average dropped to .211, which was by far a career low, and he retired as a result.

While he was not flashy, he was reliable and consistent, showing up every night and getting a lot of hits. At one point he reached 20 home runs in 13 straight seasons, which further proves the point. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1987 and had his number retired by the Cubs the same year, and now he has also found himself on the list of the best baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #93 - Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs was one of the best hitters of the past 40 years, and was always in contention for the league batting title throughout the 1980's. He was never a power hitter, but he still always struck fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers.

He reached the majors in 1982, and as a rookie he hit .349, which would have won him his first batting title, but he did not have enough plate appearances to be included on the leaderboard.

Over the next 9 seasons, he finished in the top 5 in batting average every year, including 5 batting titles, and 4 in a row from 1985-1988, making him one of 5 players in history to accomplish that, joining Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Ty Cobb, and Rogers Hornsby. He also reached 200 hits in 7 consecutive seasons, which was the AL record until Ichiro Suzuki broke it. He had a peak of 240 hits in 1985, the highest total for any player since 1930.

Even though it was well known that he wasn't a power hitter (he only reached double digits in home runs twice in his career), he nevertheless led the league in intentional walks 6 straight times from 1987 to 1992, which shows that pitchers feared him even knowing that he wouldn't hit it out of the park.

He reached the playoffs 6 times in his career, advancing to the World Series twice. With the Red Sox in 1986, he hit .262 in the playoffs, well below his career average, and they lost to the Mets in 7 games. When he returned a decade later with the Yankees, he hit only .158 through the playoffs, but still received a World Series ring. In his other 4 playoff seasons, he hit .364, but his teams lost the Divisional Series each time.

In his final season, while playing for Tampa Bay, he became the 23rd to reach 3000 career hits, and was the first one to reach 3000 on a home run, which was extra special considering that only 118 of his career hits were homers. He retired at the end of that season, and is among the top 35 all time in hits, doubles, walks, batting average, and on base percentage.

Boggs was one of the best ever at both making contact and getting on base, and despite his relative lack of playoff success, he will long be remembered as a tough out and one of the best to ever play the game.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #94 - Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. was destined to be a star from the time he was a small child. His father was an All-Star outfielder, and Junior was the #1 overall pick in the 1987 draft. When he reached the Major Leagues in 1989, his father was still playing for the Cincinnati Reds, making them the first father-son duo to play in the majors at the same time.

To make that relationship even more interesting, Ken Sr. joined the Mariners the following season, and in September 1990 they hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning of a game against the Angels, a feat that has never been and probably never will be duplicated.

Griffey was a great power hitter, even if he didn't look like it. He hit at least 40 home runs 7 times in 8 seasons from 1993 to 2000, falling short just once when he broke his wrist in 1995. He even had 40 home runs in 1994, when the season was cut short by a strike, and he was within striking distance of the single-season record at the time.

In 4 of those seasons he led the AL in home runs, reaching 56 twice, including the 1998 season when he was overshadowed by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. He was awarded the MVP in 1997 after leading the league in runs, home runs, RBI's, and total bases.

Seattle traded him away to his hometown of Cincinnati after the 1999 season amid worries that he wouldn't stay in free agency, and he had one more star-level season for the Reds before the injury bug really started to bite. He had season-ending injuries in 3 straight seasons, and his production when he was on the field dropped off as well.

In 2005, he bounced back somewhat, batting 35 home runs while hitting .301, which earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award. He hung around for 5 more seasons, reaching numerous home run milestones on the way, and ended his career with 630. At one point he reached #5 on the all-time list, but has since fallen behind Alex Rodriguez, and could fall behind Albert Pujols in the near future.

Griffey never reached the World Series, but he had a memorable playoff run in 1995. The Mariners went down 0-2 to the Yankees in the ALDS, but Griffey turned in one of the best playoff series performances of all time, becoming just the second player ever to hit 5 home runs in a single playoff series, and he capped it off by scoring from first base on a double in the bottom of the 11th inning, sliding into home to win the series. Despite failing to reach the World Series that year, he still had the best overall playoff performance of any player that postseason.

Had his career not been derailed by injuries, there is no telling how high he might have climbed on this list. Still, even with just half a career at full strength, he received a great honor from the Hall of Fame voters, receiving the highest vote total ever in his first season on the ballot, and he definitely deserves his spot on this list.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #95 - Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton is the name of a current Major League baseball player, but it is also the name of one of the all-time greats, and this ranking belongs to the old-time Hall of Famer. Hamilton was one of the greatest baserunners of all time, as well as an incredible batter.

Hamilton reached the majors in 1888 with the Kansas City Cowboys, and in his first full season he led all players with 111 stolen bases while also batting .301, which would be the lowest average he would have until his final season, and it would be a sign of things to come.

After his second season, the Cowboys folded, so he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he led the Majors in 5 categories in his second season, with a .340 average, 141 runs, 179 hits, 102 walks, and another 111 steals, and that wasn't even his best season.

In 1894 he set a record that still stands, scoring 198 runs, a number that no one has even approached, with Babe Ruth's 177 in 1921 the next highest. He also stole 100 bases and walked 128 times, both also tops in the league, while batting .403, which was only good for fifth that year, and was only the fourth-best on his own team.

Over the course of his career, he led the league in stolen bases 5 times, and his career total stood at 937 when he retired, a number that wouldn't be matched until Lou Brock stole his final base in 1979. The number has since been adjusted to 914 after reviewing box scores due to different rules on counting steals in the 1800's, but he is still #3 all time, trailing only Brock and Rickey Henderson.

He is also one of 3 players in history to average more than one run scored per game over his career, and his on-base percentage in #4 in history, behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and John McGraw. He was also the first player ever to hit a leadoff and game-ending home run in the same game, something that has happened only 4 times since, and that's even more impressive considering that his biggest season only contained 7 home runs.

While many will try to discount his accomplishments because of the era in which he played, the fact is that Hamilton was a great player for many years, easily the best baserunner of his era, and one of the best ever at getting on base and scoring runs, so he deserves to be included as one of the all-time greats.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #96 - Bill Dickey

Bill Dickey

Bill Dickey was the catcher for the early Yankees dynasty, playing alongside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio during his 17-year career, and he was a member of 7 World Series champions, and had an important role in many of those wins.

Dickey took over the starting catcher job in New York in 1929, when he was just 22 years old. He steadily improved over his first several years in the league, until he became a bona fide star in the late 1930's, when he finished the decade with 4 straight seasons with at least 140 hits, 20 doubles, 20 home runs, 100 RBI, and an average of .300, and he finished in the top 6 of the MVP voting in each of those seasons.

He was known as a great batter throughout his career, finishing with a .313 average, and his peak came in 1936, when he hit .362, which was #3 in the league and the best recorded for a catcher up to that point, and has only been surpassed once in the 82 years since.

His durability was also one of his key attributes. He caught over 100 games in 13 straight seasons, which is still a record. The streak survived a month-long suspension in 1932 due to breaking an opponent's jaw with a punch, but a shoulder injury in 1942 finally broke the streak.

Dickey was also important in the World Series. He twice hit over .400 for the Series, twice had 5 RBI, and in 1943 hit the home run that won the World Series for the Yankees over the Cardinals at age 36.

He was another great baseball player who took time away from his career to serve his country, joining the Navy in 1944 and missing two Major League seasons as a result. He returned briefly in 1946, serving as manager and part-time catcher, before retiring after the season.

In all, Dickey reached the World Series 8 times with the Yankees, winning it all 7 times, and was one of the greatest batters ever to play his position, and he was the mentor of the next great Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra, whom he coached for the first decade of his great career. He may not have been the biggest star, but he was an important part of what made the Yankees great for so long.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #97 - Charlie Keller

Charlie Keller

The first player of many to spend the majority of his career with the Yankees to make this list is Charlie Keller, who is not well-known, and was often overshadowed during his playing career as well due to sharing the outfield with Joe DiMaggio.

Keller broke into the majors in 1939, and made an immediate impact. He posted an average of .334 that season, and walked 81 times in only 111 games, while the Yankees won the pennant and reached the World Series.

He was the star of the World Series, leading the Yankees in runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBI's, and batting average, and he became the first rookie ever to hit 2 home runs in a World Series game, a feat that has been matched 3 times since. It was probably the best performance by a rookie in World Series history, and the biggest reason he made this list.

In 1941, the Yankees returned to the World Series, with Keller again playing an important role, finishing #2 in the league in home runs and #4 in walks. He again led the team in hits, runs, and RBI's in the World Series, and also had the most doubles, and the Yankees beat the Dodgers in 5 games.

American was getting into World War II at this point, and by 1943 many players had left the league to join the troops, and Keller ended up being the best player in the AL that season, finishing #1 in walks, #2 in home runs, #5 in runs, and #6 in RBI's, and the Yankees made it back to the World Series, which they won despite Keller struggling for once.

He spent the next season and a half in the Marines, returning once the war ended, and though he played several more seasons, he never quite reached the production level he was at before he enlisted.

While his peak period was much shorter than that of most players on this list, he played at the same level as Joe DiMaggio for several years, and outplayed him by far in 2 World Series victories, so he deserves to be remembered for his contributions to the Yankee dynasty.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #98 - Dan Brouthers

Dan Brouthers

Dan Brouthers was known as the first great slugger in baseball, and he is one of just a handful of players from the 19th century to make this list, due to having 12 straight seasons of leading the league in at least one major statistical category.

As was the case with most players back then, Brouthers' career was very nomadic. He played for 10 different teams in his 19 seasons, with his longest tenure in one city just 5 years, which ended when the Buffalo Bisons folded following the 1885 season.

That stretch in Buffalo was the best of his career, as he led the league in slugging percentage all 5 years, while also leading in batting average and hits twice, and triples, homers, and RBI's once each. He reached his peak batting average of .374 in 1883, and he never hit below .300 in his career.

After Buffalo folded, he was sold to the Detroit Wolverines, where he led the league in doubles 3 straight years, along with slugging percentage and runs scored twice and home runs once. In 1887 the first "World Series" was played, but it was just an exhibition series between the top 2 teams and wasn't considered to be of any importance, and Brouthers appeared in just one of the 15 games.

Detroit folded after the 1888 season, and he was purchased by the Boston Beaneaters, where he led the league in batting average and times hit by a pitch (14), but he left after the season to form a new league with many other players who had just formed the first-ever baseball players union, of which he had been voted vice president.

The new league lasted just two seasons, and he returned to the NL with the Brooklyn Grooms, where he had his best individual season. He led the league with 197 hits, a .335 average, 124 RBI's, and 282 total bases, and probably would have won the MVP if it existed at that point.

Even more than 100 years later, he is still #8 all time in triples, and his career batting average of .342 ranks ninth among all players. He was the all-time leader in home runs from 1887-1889, a distinction held by only 10 players in history. When the old-timers committee was created for the Hall of Fame, he was in the first class elected by that group, and there is no doubt that it was well deserved.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #99 - Frankie Frisch

Frankie Frisch

Frankie Frisch was one of the great players in the early days of the sport, and his competitiveness helped his teams reach the World Series 8 times in his career, coming away with 4 victories.

He is one of the few players ever to never play in the minor leagues, instead being brought straight to the New York Giants in 1919 at the age of 21 from Fordham University, where he was a 4-sport star. In just his third season, he led the Major Leagues in stolen bases, a feat he would match twice more in his career.

In addition to leading the league in steals, he also led the team to the World Series that year, where they beat the Yankees in 8 games (it was a best of 9 series that year), and a repeat title the following season, this time taking out the Yankees in 5 games. Frisch went 8 for 17 in that Series, his best career World Series performance.

He showed his all-around prowess over the next couple of seasons, in which he led the league once each in runs scored, hits, total bases, putouts, and strikeout average, and those two seasons ended in the World Series as well, though they lost in those appearances.

Near the end of the 1926 season he had a falling out with Giants manager John McGraw after McGraw berated him in front of the entire team for missing a sign, and he walked out on the team for a while, before returning to finish out the season with the understanding that he was leaving. After the season he was traded to Saint Louis for Rogers Hornsby.

During his time in Saint Louis, the Cardinals reached 4 World Series, while the Giants only made it once. He led the league in steals in his first season there, and in 1931 was awarded the NL MVP when he did it again. While they did get to 4 World Series and won 2 with Frisch on the roster, he did not play well in his Cardinal World Series trips.

There are two facets of Frisch's game that stand out above the others. For 15 consecutive seasons, from 1920 to 1934, he finished among the top 7 in the league in stolen bases, and was in the top 5 in 14 of those seasons. His strikeout rate was also remarkably low, with 13 seasons in which he was among the ten lowest in the league in strikeouts per at-bat, and he is still #13 all time in that stat, with only one strikeout per 33.5 at-bats in his career, never totaling more than 28 in a season. Taken all together, he had a great career that deserves to be remembered.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #100 - Todd Helton

Todd Helton

Todd Helton was one of the best players in all of baseball for a few seasons after the turn of the century, and when he retired after 17 seasons with the Colorado Rockies, he owned just about every batting record in the franchise's history.

During his rookie season of 1998, Helton led all rookies in batting average, home runs, RBI, total bases, and extra base hits, and led all NL rookies in hits and runs. He came in #2 in the NL Rookie of the Year vote behind Kerry Wood, who had an amazing season pitching for the Cubs.

Two years later, he had his very best season, and very nearly won the Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average and RBI, along with doubles, total bases, and extra base hits, but ended up with only 42 homers, 7 behind Barry Bonds for the lead. He was also just the 5th player in history to record 200 hits, 40 homers, and 100 RBI's, runs, extra base hits, and walks in a single season, along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank Greenberg, all of whom retired before 1950, and still somehow only finished 5th in the MVP voting.

The following season he reached his career high with 49 home runs, which tied the Rockies' franchise record, and surpassed 100 extra base hits again, becoming only the third player ever to do that twice in a career, joining Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein, and he was the only one to do it in back-to-back seasons. His great season was overshadowed by Barry Bonds hitting 73 home runs, but Helton was definitely one of the top players in the league at only 27 years old.

Helton kept his batting average over .300 for 10 consecutive seasons to open his career, and he had at least 35 doubles in each of those seasons as well. For 6 straight seasons, from 2000 to 2005, he finished in the top 4 in the league in batting average. He is #19 all-time in doubles, and is also among the top 100 all-time in batting average, runs, hits, total bases, home runs, RBI's, and walks.

Despite his excellent regular season numbers, Helton only made the playoffs twice in 17 seasons, and in the 2007, when the Rockies reached the World Series, Helton struggled, getting only 9 hits in 41 at-bats during the playoffs, and his career playoff batting average (.211), is significantly lower than his regular season average (.316)

He may not have been a great playoff player in limited opportunities, but when you look at the whole of his career, he was a great hitter who also had power, he performed at a very high level for a long time, and he was robbed of an MVP that he definitely deserved.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #101 - Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman was known as one of the members of the Houston Astros' "Killer B's" lineup early in his career, and while the other two are already in the Hall of Fame, Berkman is the one who has a World Series ring and a place on my list of the greatest players of all time.

Berkman reached the big leagues in 1999, and although he had played first base all his life, was placed in the outfield because Jeff Bagwell was already the starter at first, and wasn't going anywhere soon, so he spent the first 6 years of his career playing in an unnatural position, but it was worth it to get his bat in the lineup.

During his 12 seasons as an Astro, he reached 30 doubles 7 times, 30 home runs 5 times, and a .300 average 4 times, and also led the league in RBI's once. Houston was a perennial contender, and made 3 playoff runs, each time getting one step farther than the previous appearance, culminating in a World Series trip in 2005, where they lost to the White Sox. Berkman was the lone Astro star who played well in the Series, getting 5 hits, 5 walks, and 6 RBI in the four game sweep, while Bagwell and Biggio combined for 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 RBI.

His production began to decline in 2009, and midway through 2010 he was traded away to the Yankees, where he played mostly DH, which still didn't help the aging star, and he was released at the season's end.

He signed on with the Saint Louis Cardinals, where he experienced a renaissance, batting .301 with 31 homers and making the All-Star team for the 6th time, which earned him the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He also helped the Cardinals win the World Series that year, and he wasn't just along for the ride. He led all players in the series with 11 hits, posting a .423 average, and played a major role in game 6, when he hit a home run in the first inning, scored a run with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth to help send the game to extra innings, then earned an RBI in the bottom of the tenth to tie the game again.

It would be the last hurrah for Berkman. He played two more seasons, but spent far more time on the disabled list than on the field, which prompted him to retire in 2013. At the time, he was #4 all time in home runs among switch hitters, behind Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones. Throughout his career, he always played at another level in the playoffs, and as a result he was able to become a champion before he retired.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #102 - Mickey Cochrane

Mickey Cochrane

Mickey Cochrane was one of the best catchers in the Major Leagues during the late 1920's and 1930's, winning 2 MVP's, 3 World Series and 5 pennants during a 13-year career behind the plate.

He broke into the majors in 1925 at age 22 and made an immediate impact, performing so impressively that he replaced Cy Perkins, one of the best catchers in the league, as the team's starter early in his rookie season. He finished the season batting .331, a number he would surpass several times in his career.

He was known as a great leader and a star on defense, which were obviously taken into account in 1928, when he was awarded the AL MVP award despite batting only .293 and hitting only 10 home runs in a season in which Babe Ruth hit 54.

The following season the Athletics reached the World Series, and Cochrane was the star, leading all players by reaching base 13 times in only 22 plate appearances, and Philadelphia beat the Cubs in 5 games. The A's repeated the feat the following season, and Cochrane was just as good, reaching base 10 times in the series and hitting 2 homers, the most of any player in the Series.

The team attempted a 3-peat the following year, but struggled offensively and fell in 7 games in a rematch with Saint Louis. Just 7 years into his career, he already had 2 World Series rings and had come very close to another, and had an MVP as well. After 2 more seasons in Philadelphia, Detroit traded for him in order to install him as a player-manager.

Under Cochrane's leadership, the Tigers immediately rose to the top of the league, and he was awarded another MVP, even though Lou Gehrig won the Triple Crown that year. The Tigers played in the World Series that season, then took home the title the next year, with Cochrane leading the team on the field and in the dugout.

He missed most of the following season after a nervous breakdown, then was hit in the head by a pitch in 1937, fracturing his skull and ending his career. Forced into retirement at age 34, he held the mark for highest career batting average by a catcher (.320) until 2009, when he was surpassed by Joe Mauer.

Despite having his career cut short, Cochrane was a proven leader and winner, reaching the World Series 5 times in his career and winning it 3 times. He also proved his skill as a manager, coaching his team to the Series at age 31, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947, becoming only the third catcher to join that club.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #103 - Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub is yet another example of a player who played at a high level for a long time but never quite achieved superstar status. He played 23 seasons in the Major Leagues for 5 different teams, and was remarkably consistent from 1966 to 1978, recording between 145 and 186 each season in which he was healthy.

His career began slowly following his call up to the Major Leagues just after his 19th birthday, with a few disappointing seasons that made people question the relatively large salary he was earning. He finally started to fulfill his promise in season 4, and by season 5 had become an All-Star, leading the league with 44 doubles while batting .333 for the season.

After a couple of good seasons, he still wasn't gaining popularity in Houston, but his big break came with a trade to expansion Montreal before the 1969 season. He was instantly popular in Montreal, and he helped out by taking French lessons in his spare time, as well as performing well on the field, hitting 29 and 30 homers in his first two seasons in Canada.

After three seasons up north, the Mets put together a trade for the star player, hoping to get to the playoffs. He broke his hand and missed half of his first season in New York, but the following season they were able to make a huge late-season push to reach the postseason, where Staub played some of the best baseball of his career.

He hit three home runs in the ALCS against Cincinnati before separating his shoulder making a catch against the wall in the 11th inning of game 4, which caused him to miss the final game of the series, which his team still won, earning a trip to the World Series. Despite being unable to throw overhand during the Series, Staub batted .423 with 11 hits and 6 RBI, but the Mets lost to Oakland in 7 games. It would be his one and only career trip to the playoffs.

He remained a solid player for several more seasons, even after yet another trade, this time to Detroit, before finally making his way back to New York to finish out his career. After hitting one home run in his final season, he became one of 4 players in history to hit a home run in both his teens and his 40's, and the other 3 players are all ahead of him on this list.

Perhaps the best part of Staub's game was his patience at the plate. He was among the top 10 in times reaching base 8 different times, and walks and on-base percentage 6 times, with a total of over 4000 times reaching base in his career, which is #44 all-time. He never received even 8% of the vote on the Hall of Fame ballot and is no longer eligible, but even though he was never a dominant player, he was very good for a very long time, and deserves to be remembered among the best players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #104 - Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer

For the Baltimore Orioles, the Jim Palmer era represents the glory days. Palmer is the only player who appeared in all 6 World Series in Orioles history, and he was one of the best pitchers in baseball for a full decade, consistently finishing near the top of the Cy Young voting.

Other than his high leg kick, not much about Palmer's game was flashy. He wasn't a strikeout master, but he was a workhorse and extremely consistent, winning at least 20 games 8 times in 9 years during the 1970's. He led the majors in innings pitched 4 times, starts twice, batters faced twice, and complete games once, and his career spanned 19 seasons with Baltimore.

He also had a reputation for not giving up big plays, proven by the fact that he never gave up a Grand Slam or back-to-back home runs in his entire career. He was the league leader in ERA twice, and still has the third-lowest career ERA of any starting pitcher since 1920. Those traits were a large part of the reason that his teams consistently made the playoffs and reached the World Series.

In his first World Series appearance in 1966, he pitched a complete game shutout against the Dodgers, becoming the youngest pitcher ever to do that, and he still holds that record. The feat is even more amazing considering the fact that the opposing pitcher that day was Sandy Koufax, and that the Dodgers were huge favorites to win the Series. The Orioles ended up pitching two more shutouts in a row to sweep LA and take their first-ever title.

In the 1970's, he pitched more innings and won more games than any other AL pitcher. He also won 3 Cy Young Awards and finished in the top 5 three other times, while also picking up 4 Gold Gloves and another World Series ring in 1970. Palmer was the gold standard for pitching in the decade.

By 1983, he was 37 years old and no longer a regular in the rotation, but he was brought in in relief during Game 3 of the World Series, and threw 2 shutout innings to clinch the victory and earn the win, making him the only pitcher in history to win a World Series game in 3 different decades. He retired midway through the following season, and the Orioles have not returned to the World Series since.

Palmer was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980 in his first year of eligibility, with 92.6% of voters including him on their ballot. He may not have been a huge star, but much like David Cone below him, he was a very good pitcher for a very long time, he helped his team win when it mattered, and he was very consistent and reliable throughout his career.

NBA Playoff Odds

For the first time in several years, the Warriors and Cavaliers are not locks to reach the NBA Finals, and they may not even be favorites thanks to strong teams in each conference emerging this year, along with Stephen Curry sitting out due to an ankle injury for at least the first round. I took the data from every game played this season, adjusted for momentum and playoff experience, and worked out the odds of any team beating any other in a series to determine each team's championship odds. Here is my breakdown of each team's chance to pass through each round and ultimately win the title, along with my picks for each round:

Odds of Winning First Round

1. Raptors - 91.95%
2. Rockets - 91.92%
3. Warriors - 83.3%
4. 76ers - 82.7%
5. Celtics - 77.9%
6. Cavaliers - 70.5%
7. Trail Blazers - 59.5%
8. Thunder - 52.6%
9. Jazz - 47.4%
10. Pelicans - 40.5%
11. Pacers - 29.5%
12. Bucks - 22.1%
13. Heat - 17.3%
14. Spurs - 16.7%
15. Timberwolves - 8.08%
16. Wizards - 8.05%

Odds of Reaching Conference Finals

1. Rockets - 78.0%
2. Raptors - 74.8%
3. Warriors - 67.1%
4. 76ers - 53.7%
5. Celtics - 36.4%
6. Cavaliers - 18.6%
7. Trail Blazers - 14.8%
8. Thunder - 10.16%
9. Spurs - 10.15%
10. Jazz - 9.2%
11. Pelicans - 8.0%
12. Heat - 5.7%
13. Pacers - 4.253%
14. Bucks - 4.251%
15. Timberwolves - 2.7%
16. Wizards - 2.4%

Odds of Reaching NBA Finals

1. Rockets - 61.3%
2. Raptors - 57.7%
3. Warriors - 24.4%
4. 76ers - 20.2%
5. Celtics - 10.2%
6. Cavaliers - 8.9%
7. Thunder - 4.2%
8. Jazz - 3.8%
9. Trail Blazers - 2.4%
10. Spurs - 2.2%
11. Pacers - 1.3%
12. Pelicans - 0.9%
13. Timberwolves - 0.75%
14. Heat - 0.71%
15. Wizards - 0.6%
16. Bucks - 0.4%

Odds of Winning NBA Finals

1. Rockets - 46.6%
2. Raptors - 25.9%
3. Warriors - 13.3%
4. 76ers - 5.4%
5. Celtics - 1.91%
6. Cavaliers - 1.87%
7. Thunder - 1.6%
8. Jazz - 1.4%
9. Spurs - 0.8%
10. Trail Blazers - 0.6%
11. Pelicans - 0.21%
12. Timberwolves - 0.19%
13. Pacers - 0.14%
14. Heat - 0.052%
15. Wizards - 0.049%
16. Bucks - 0.03%

My Picks

First Round

(1) Raptors over (8) Wizards in 5
(2) Celtics over (7) Bucks in 5
(3) 76ers over (6) Heat in 5
(4) Cavaliers over (5) Pacers in 7
(1) Rockets over (8) Timberwolves in 5
(2) Warriors over (7) Spurs in 5
(3) Trail Blazers over (6) Pelicans in 6
(5) Jazz over (4) Thunder in 7

Second Round

(1) Raptors over (4) Cavaliers in 5
(3) 76ers over (2) Celtics in 6
(1) Rockets over (5) Jazz in 5
(2) Warriors over (3) Trail Blazers in 5

Conference Finals

(1) Raptors over (3) 76ers in 7
(1) Rockets over (2) Warriors in 7

NBA Finals

(1) Rockets over (1) Raptors in 6

Top 106 Baseball Players: #105 - David Cone

David Cone

David Cone was never the best pitcher in the league, and never really reached superstar status, but he was in the upper echelon of Major League pitchers for about a decade, even as he switched teams every couple of years, and he accomplished quite a few impressive feats over his long career.

One of the highlights of the early part of his career was a 19-strikeout performance he recorded for the New York Mets while facing the Phillies on the final day of the 1991 season, which is still tied for the second-most ever in a single game. He had joined the Mets in a trade immediately after their 1986 World Series title, but the team grew progressively worse over his time there, though it was the strongest phase of his career statistically.

He became a World Series champion the following year after a late-season trade to Toronto, but he was merely a serviceable starter during the championship run, despite having led the league in strikeouts for the 3rd consecutive season. He left for his hometown Kansas City Royals the next year, where he was awarded the AL Cy Young Award in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

After another short stop in Toronto, he was traded to the New York Yankees, where he earned four more World Series rings in his stay of just over 5 years. He did not perform well in his first and last World Series with the Yankees, but in 1999 he was very good, allowing only 1 hit in 7 innings of his start against the Braves.

Earlier that season he had joined a very exclusive club when he threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos, one of only 23 players to accomplish that to date, and the circumstances were pretty special. That night was Yogi Berra night at Yankee Stadium, and Don Larsen, who had thrown a perfect game in the World Series for the Yankees years earlier, had thrown out the first pitch and was in attendance at the game. It is still the only perfect game in interleague play, other than Larsen's World Series perfecto.

His long career as one of the better pitchers in the league wasn't enough to impress the Hall of Fame committee, only receiving votes from 3.9% of the voters, which was not enough to keep him on the ballot for the next year. He is still the only pitcher to have a Cy Young, 19-strikeout game, and 5 World Series titles, and for that reason, he has earned the right to be remembered as one of the best baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #106 - Dizzy Dean

Dizzy Dean

Dizzy Dean was a superstar pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930's, spending 6 years as one of the top pitchers in the entire league and leading the Cardinals to a World Series title, and he was also known as a bit of a braggart, but he backed it up with his performance.

One famous story occurred in 1937, when he bragged before a game that he would strike out Vince DiMaggio 4 times that day. He was successful the first three times they faced each other, then DiMaggio popped the ball up behind the plate the next time he came up. Dean yelled at his catcher to drop the ball, which he did, then Dean finished off the at-bat with another strikeout.

Before the 1934 season, he famously bragged that he and his brother, Paul, would combine to win 45 games that season. The brothers outdid that prediction, winning 49 games between them, not including the 4 games they won in the World Series. Dizzy won 30 games that season, and is still the last National League pitcher to reach that milestone, 84 years later.

That season was the biggest reason that Dean made this list. Not only did he win 30 games, he led the league in strikeouts for the third straight year, pitched 7 shutouts, and was named the league MVP, in addition to posting a 1.67 ERA in the World Series and pitching a complete game shutout in Game 7 to clinch the Series.

During the 1937 All-Star Game, Earl Averill hit a line drive straight back at the mound, hitting Dean in the foot and breaking his big toe. He rushed back from the injury too quickly, which caused him to change up his throwing motion to compensate for the injury, which in turn caused him to injure his throwing arm, effectively ending the productive portion of his career. He did pitch 4 more seasons with the Chicago Cubs, but was never the dominant pitcher he had been before the injury.

After retiring, he became a broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. While calling a game for the Browns in 1947, he became frustrated with the string of poor pitching performances they had had, commenting on air that he could pitch better than 9 out of the 10 pitchers on their roster. In order to sell some tickets, the Browns had Dean pitch the final game of the season, in which he threw 4 shutout innings and recorded a hit in his lone at-bat, before pulling his hamstring rounding first base and exiting the game. He returned to the broadcast booth, happy that he had proven his point.

Dean retired with 4 strikeout titles, was once the MVP and twice the runner-up, was largely responsible for a World Series title, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953. He may not be remembered much today, owing partly to retiring over 70 years ago and passing away over 40 years ago, but at his best he was one of the best pitchers baseball has seen.

NBA Predictions - 11 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Brooklyn at Boston - Celtics by 8.5
New York at Cleveland - Cavaliers by 7.5
Toronto at Miami - Raptors by 4.5
Washington at Orlando - Wizards by 3.5
Milwaukee at Philadelphia - 76ers by 6.5
Detroit at Chicago - Pistons by 3
Denver at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 2
San Antonio at New Orleans - Pelicans by 1
Memphis at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 11.5
LA Lakers at LA Clippers - Clippers by 4
Utah at Portland - Trail Blazers by 0.5
Houston at Sacramento - Rockets by 12.5

Results

NBA: 3-3 (.500) 795-422 overall (.653)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 71-91 overall (.438)

Top 106 Baseball Players - Intro

Anyone who has known me or followed me for a while knows that I love to rank things, especially sports teams and athletes. While I have not included baseball on my blog much in the past, mostly because of the difficulty in predicting the outcome of games, I am still a fan of the game, and I have spent numerous hours over the past year analyzing the numbers from every player in every season to create a ranking of the top baseball players of all time.

There are several potential problems to consider when trying to rank baseball players. One of the biggest ones is the steroid scandal that tarnished the image of many great players in recent years. It is particularly difficult to deal with this because there are some players who probably would have been great enough to make this list anyway, and to not include them would be an inaccurate portrayal of the history of baseball. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell how much impact the cheating had, and when it occurred, so rather than arbitrarily removing players or statistics, I decided to mark the six questionable players with an asterisk on this list, and have included an extra 6 players at the bottom to make up for the spots they may have unfairly taken.

Another issue is that pitchers and batters have two very different jobs on the field, so it is difficult to compare them and determine which is better than the other. To overcome this, I broke down statistics by plate appearance (for batters) or batters faced (for pitchers) and used the same statistics for each, just in reverse. Each batter was rated on hits, home runs, RBI's, runs scored, walks, etc. per plate appearance and compared against the average for all batters in the league for that season, then received a rating for how far above the average they were across all categories in that season, with players below average being thrown out, and for pitchers they were rated on how far below those averages they were.

Players were awarded points based on how far above average they were in each season, and a cumulative total was compiled covering the player's entire career. Playoff stats were also included, counting at 10% of regular season stats, since a single player's influence on getting a team to the playoffs is much smaller in baseball than in other sports, but when a player had a completely dominant postseason, it often ended up boosting the player's standing significantly due to the smaller number of players in the postseason.

Also, due to the fact that baseball has been around for nearly twice as long as the NBA or NFL, and the fact that there are many more players on a baseball roster than there are basketball players or NFL quarterbacks, the level needed to reach this list was incredibly high, meaning that there are only 4 players currently on MLB rosters that have reached the top 106, two batters and two pitchers, so there will be a lot of looking back on historical players in this countdown. Hopefully you will enjoy reading and learning about these players over the course of the summers as much as I have enjoyed putting this all together. Watch for the first entry in the countdown sometime in the next couple of days.

Rankings

106. Dizzy Dean - P - STL - 1930's
105. David Cone - P - NYY - 1990's
104. Jim Palmer - P - BAL - 1970's
103. Rusty Staub - RF - NYM - 1970's
102. Mickey Cochrane - C - PHA - 1930's
101. Lance Berkman - 1B - HOU - 2000's
100. Todd Helton - 1B - COL - 2000's
99. Frankie Frisch - 2B - NYG - 1920's
98. Dan Brouthers - 1B - BUF - 1880's
97. Charlie Keller - LF - NYY - 1940's
96. Bill Dickey - C - NYY - 1930's
95. Billy Hamilton - CF - PHI - 1890's
94. Ken Griffey Jr. - CF - SEA - 1990's
93. Wade Boggs - 3B - BOS - 1980's
92. Billy Williams - LF - CHC - 1960's
91. Rube Waddell - P - PHA - 1900's
90. Justin Verlander - P - DET - 2010's
89. Sam Crawford - RF - DET - 1900's
88. Vladimir Guerrero - RF - ANA - 2000's
87.* Rafael Palmeiro - 1B - TEX - 1990's
86. Clayton Kershaw - P - LAD - 2010's
85. Enos Slaughter - RF - STL - 1940's
84. Chief Bender - P - PHA - 1910's
83. Lefty Gomez - P - NYY - 1930's
82. Eddie Murray - 1B - BAL - 1980's
81. Duke Snider - CF - BRO - 1950's
80. Ed Walsh - P - CHW - 1900's
79. Bob Feller - P - CLE - 1940's
78. Amos Rusie - P - NYG - 1890's
77. Roberto Alomar - 2B - TOR - 1990's
76. Allie Reynolds - P - NYY - 1950's
75. Tim Raines - LF - MON - 1980's
74. Derek Jeter - SS - NYY - 2000's
73. Tony Gwynn - RF - SDP - 1990's
72. Goose Goslin - LF - WSH - 1920's
71. Eddie Plank - P - PHA - 1910's
70. Home Run Baker - 3B - PHA - 1910's
69. Cap Anson - 1B - CHC - 1880's
68. Hank Greenberg - 1B - DET - 1930's
67. Frank Thomas - DH - CHW - 1990's
66. Lou Brock - LF - STL - 1960's
65. Nap Lajoie - 2B - CLE - 1900's
64. Dazzy Vance - P - BRO - 1920's
63. Mike Mussina - P - BAL - 1990's
62. Johnny Mize - 1B - STL - 1940's
61. Kid Nichols - P - BSN - 1890's
60. Miguel Cabrera - 1B - DET - 2010's
59. Don Sutton - P - LAD - 1970's
58. Warren Spahn - P - MLN - 1950's
57. Rogers Hornsby - 2B - STL - 1920's
56. Tim Keefe - P - NYG - 1880's
55. Paul Molitor - DH - MIL - 1990's
54. Bernie Williams - CF - NYY - 1990's
53. Bert Blyleven - P - MIN - 1970's
52.* Pete Rose - 1B - CIN - 1970's
51. Carlos Beltran - CF - NYM - 2000's
50. Al Kaline - RF - DET - 1960's
49. Gary Sheffield - RF - FLA - 1990's
48. Charlie Gehringer - 2B - DET - 1930's
47. Red Ruffing - P - NYY - 1930's
46. Greg Maddux - P - ATL - 1990's
45. David Ortiz - DH - BOS - 2000's
44. Al Simmons - LF - PHA - 1930's
43. George Brett - 3B - KCR - 1980's
42.* Alex Rodriguez - SS - NYY - 2000's
41.* Manny Ramirez - LF - BOS - 2000's
40. Mariano Rivera - P - NYY - 2000's
39. Mel Ott - RF - NYG - 1930's
38. Steve Carlton - P - PHI - 1970's
37. Joe Morgan - 2B - CIN - 1970's
36. Tom Seaver - P - NYM - 1970's
35. Carl Hubbell - P - NYG - 1930's
34. Chipper Jones - 3B - ATL - 2000's
33. Jimmie Foxx - 1B - PHA - 1930's
32. Lefty Grove - P - PHA - 1930's
31. Grover Cleveland Alexander - P - PHI - 1910's
30. Frank Robinson - RF - CIN - 1960's
29. Honus Wagner - SS - PIT - 1900's
28. Carl Yastrzemski - LF - BOS - 1960's
27. Joe DiMaggio - CF - NYY - 1940's
26. Cy Young - P - BOS - 1900's
25. Tris Speaker - CF - CLE - 1910's
24. Curt Schilling - P - PHI - 2000's
23. Willie Mays - CF - SFG - 1960's
22. Whitey Ford - P - NYY - 1960's
21. Christy Mathewson - P - NYG - 1900's
20. Rickey Henderson - LF - OAK - 1980's
19. Pedro Martinez - P - BOS - 1990's
18. Sandy Koufax - P - LAD - 1960's
17. John Smoltz - P - ATL - 1990's
16. Ted Williams - LF - BOS - 1940's
15. Yogi Berra - C - NYY - 1950's
14. Mickey Mantle - CF - NYY - 1950's
13. Stan Musial - 1B - STL - 1940's
12. Eddie Collins - 2B - PHA - 1910's
11. Albert Pujols - 1B - STL - 2000's
10.* Roger Clemens - P - BOS - 1990's
9. Hank Aaron - RF - MLN - 1960's
8. Walter Johnson - P - WSH - 1910's
7. Ty Cobb - CF - DET - 1910's
6. Randy Johnson - P - ARI - 1990's
5. Nolan Ryan - P - CAL - 1980's
4. Bob Gibson - P - STL - 1960's
3.* Barry Bonds - LF - SFG - 2000's
2. Lou Gehrig - 1B - NYY - 1930's
1. Babe Ruth - RF - NYY - 1920's

NBA Predictions - 10 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Phoenix at Dallas - Mavericks by 8.5
Charlotte at Indiana - Pacers by 4.5
Philadelphia at Atlanta - 76ers by 7.5
Boston at Washington - Celtics by 0.5
Golden State at Utah - Jazz by 1.5
Houston at LA Lakers - Rockets by 7.5

Results

NBA: 8-1 (.889) 792-419 overall (.654)
Results: 0-1 (.000) 71-90 overall (.441)

NBA Predictions - 9 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Toronto at Detroit - Raptors by 5
Chicago at Brooklyn - Nets by 4.5
Oklahoma City at Miami - Thunder by 0.5
Cleveland at New York - Cavaliers by 3
Orlando at Milwaukee - Bucks by 7
Memphis at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 10
Sacramento at San Antonio - Spurs by 11.5
Portland at Denver - Nuggets by 2
New Orleans at LA Clippers - Clippers by 1.5

Results

NBA: 4-3 (.571) 784-418 overall (.652)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 71-89 overall (.444)

Basketball Predictions - 8 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Indiana at Charlotte - Hornets by 0.5
Dallas at Philadelphia - 76ers by 9
Atlanta at Boston - Celtics by 11
Detroit at Memphis - Pistons by 3.5
Orlando at Toronto - Raptors by 14
Utah at LA Lakers - Jazz by 3
Golden State at Phoenix - Warriors by 11

Results

NBA: 9-7 (.563) 780-415 overall (.653)
Upsets: 1-2 (.333) 71-88 overall (.447)

NBA Predictions - 6-7 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Dallas at Detroit - Pistons by 4
Charlotte at Orlando - Hornets by 1
Cleveland at Philadelphia - 76ers by 5.5
Atlanta at Washington - Wizards by 8.5
Chicago at Boston - Celtics by 11
Miami at New York - Heat by 3
Indiana at Toronto - Raptors by 7
Sacramento at Memphis - Grizzlies by 2.5
New Orleans at Phoenix - Pelicans by 7
Minnesota at LA Lakers - Timberwolves by 0.5

Denver at LA Clippers - Clippers by 1
Milwaukee at New York - Bucks by 2
Brooklyn at Chicago - Bulls by 0.5
Oklahoma City at Houston - Rockets by 8.5
New Orleans at Golden State - Warriors by 6.5
Portland at San Antonio - Spurs by 2

Results

NBA: 4-2 (.667) 771-408 overall (.654)
Upsets: 70-86 overall (.449)

NBA Predictions - 5 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Golden State at Indiana - Warriors by 2
Washington at Cleveland - Cavaliers by 2.5
Portland at Houston - Rockets by 8.5
Brooklyn at Milwaukee - Bucks by 6.5
LA Clippers at Utah - Jazz by 5
Minnesota at Denver - Nuggets by 2.5

Results

NBA: 4-2 (.667) 767-406 overall (.654)
Upsets: 70-86 overall (.449)

NBA Predictions - 4 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Philadelphia at Detroit - 76ers by 2.5
Dallas at Orlando - Mavericks by 0.5
Miami at Atlanta - Heat by 4
Boston at Toronto - Raptors by 5.5
Memphis at New Orleans - Pelicans by 8.5
San Antonio at LA Lakers - Spurs by 1.5

Results

NBA: 8-5 (.615) 763-404 overall (.654)
Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 70-86 overall (.449)

NCAA Basketball Rankings - Final (Part 1)

For the first time since I started keeping track over a decade ago, Villanova became the first team ever to be ranked #1 every single week in my rankings, and they capped it off with another championship. Here are my full final 2018 rankings:

				Record
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	MOV	SOS
1	1	Villanova	-23.44	36	4	1	3
2	2	Duke	-19.35	29	8	9	9
3	3	Virginia	-19.14	31	3	5	17
4	4	Purdue	-18.12	30	7	7	34
5	6	Michigan State	-17.46	30	5	4	58
6	5	North Carolina	-17.08	26	11	43	1
7	7	Cincinnati	-16.84	31	5	2	86
8	9	Kansas	-16.36	31	8	48	2
9	11	Michigan	-16.12	33	8	24	32
10	10	Xavier	-15.7	29	6	33	27
11	8	Gonzaga	-15.67	32	5	3	100
12	14	Texas Tech	-15.4	27	10	45	22
13	12	Tennessee	-15.4	26	9	46	4
14	16	West Virginia	-15.28	27	11	32	44
15	19	Clemson	-14.8	25	10	55	14
16	15	Ohio State	-14.74	25	9	47	30
17	17	Houston	-14.35	27	8	12	74
18	20	Kentucky	-14.11	26	11	68	5
19	13	Auburn	-13.97	26	8	37	49
20	18	Wichita State	-13.69	25	8	20	72
21	24	Butler	-13.44	21	14	85	8
22	28	Penn State	-13.25	26	13	52	47
23	23	Florida	-13.11	21	13	77	16
24	22	Nevada	-13.08	29	8	21	65
25	26	Seton Hall	-12.74	22	12	91	20
26	25	TCU	-12.29	21	12	76	23
27	21	Arizona	-12.14	27	8	38	66
28	27	Creighton	-11.99	21	12	63	56
29	30	Texas A&M	-11.96	22	13	112	7
30	41	Florida State	-11.83	23	12	90	31
31	36	Middle Tennessee	-11.66	25	8	30	91
32	29	Virginia Tech	-11.36	21	12	79	55
33	43	Loyola-Chicago	-11.21	32	6	23	102
34	48	Western Kentucky	-11.06	27	11	39	77
35	34	Miami	-11.01	22	10	92	42
36	38	Davidson	-10.94	21	12	34	81
37	31	Louisville	-10.93	22	14	121	33
38	32	Notre Dame	-10.9	21	15	89	45
39	33	Saint Mary's	-10.88	30	6	14	193
40	35	Rhode Island	-10.85	26	8	51	71
41	40	Baylor	-10.79	19	15	108	50
42	37	Arkansas	-10.67	23	12	122	21
43	39	NC State	-10.46	21	12	106	60
44	45	Texas	-10.44	19	15	149	12
45	47	Maryland	-10.29	19	13	99	57
46	44	Louisiana	-10.17	27	7	6	211
47	55	Syracuse	-10.06	23	14	159	15
48	51	San Diego State	-9.927	22	11	41	101
49	53	Kansas State	-9.915	25	12	127	38
50	49	Oklahoma	-9.898	18	14	155	13
51	46	Missouri	-9.87	20	13	120	41
52	42	USC	-9.827	24	12	72	70
53	56	Old Dominion	-9.712	25	7	19	136
54	50	Arizona State	-9.697	20	12	67	76
55	52	Murray State	-9.484	26	6	8	273
56	54	Marquette	-9.433	21	14	165	25
57	63	Buffalo	-9.299	27	9	29	118
58	69	Mississippi State	-9.259	25	12	110	68
59	61	Nebraska	-9.232	22	11	114	54
60	58	Boise State	-9.154	23	9	36	126
61	62	Alabama	-8.966	20	16	189	6
62	57	Vermont	-8.911	27	8	17	147
63	59	St. Bonaventure	-8.897	26	8	60	82
64	60	Oklahoma State	-8.853	21	15	166	46
65	78	Utah	-8.64	23	12	101	67
66	64	New Mexico State	-8.557	28	6	13	281
67	70	Providence	-8.463	21	14	208	10
68	65	LSU	-8.403	18	15	158	43
69	68	Georgia	-8.388	18	15	169	19
70	67	UCLA	-8.206	21	12	96	64
71	72	UNC Greensboro	-8.144	27	8	16	276
72	71	Furman	-8.122	23	10	18	238
73	76	Belmont	-8.002	24	9	31	161
74	77	Bucknell	-7.877	25	10	28	151
75	66	South Dakota	-7.859	26	9	11	309
76	75	South Dakota State	-7.857	28	7	22	258
77	73	BYU	-7.749	24	11	64	111
78	81	Northern Kentucky	-7.709	22	10	15	272
79	74	Boston College	-7.682	19	16	168	39
80	79	Oregon	-7.595	23	13	104	88
81	80	East Tennessee State	-7.458	25	9	26	239
82	82	Indiana	-7.369	16	15	176	52
83	83	Wisconsin	-7.323	15	18	215	28
84	86	St. John's	-7.194	16	17	230	24
85	87	South Carolina	-7.146	17	16	192	37
86	85	Fresno State	-7.124	21	11	50	198
87	84	Montana	-7.072	26	8	25	260
88	89	Northeastern	-6.701	23	10	54	137
89	90	Utah Valley	-6.631	23	11	27	279
90	88	Stephen F Austin	-6.538	28	7	10	340
91	92	Northwestern	-6.494	15	17	185	53
92	91	Georgia State	-6.337	24	11	44	213
93	94	Temple	-6.221	17	16	197	26
94	93	SMU	-6.034	17	16	134	92
95	96	Iowa	-5.91	14	19	216	51
96	98	Marshall	-5.87	25	11	88	116
97	95	Wake Forest	-5.654	11	20	252	18
98	97	Penn	-5.373	24	9	61	229
99	104	UAB	-5.356	20	13	69	217
100	107	Northern Colorado	-5.298	26	12	42	282
101	99	Stanford	-5.293	19	16	186	69
102	106	Georgetown	-5.129	15	15	219	75
103	103	Illinois	-5.044	14	18	224	63
104	101	New Mexico	-5.038	19	15	118	113
105	102	Oregon State	-4.913	16	16	153	90
106	111	Charleston	-4.911	26	8	57	247
107	105	Vanderbilt	-4.889	12	20	273	11
108	108	UNLV	-4.839	20	13	126	139
109	110	Saint Joseph's	-4.77	16	16	125	89
110	114	Toledo	-4.754	23	11	80	173
111	109	Tulsa	-4.702	19	12	133	105
112	118	DePaul	-4.673	11	20	260	36
113	112	UT Arlington	-4.648	21	13	98	146
114	100	Canisius	-4.627	21	12	56	218
115	121	Washington	-4.539	21	13	194	80
116	117	Winthrop	-4.407	19	12	40	295
117	115	UCF	-4.407	19	13	174	85
118	120	Ole Miss	-4.323	12	20	285	35
119	113	Iona	-4.262	20	14	105	106
120	123	Iowa State	-4.207	13	18	289	29
121	119	Rider	-4.105	22	10	93	131
122	125	Missouri State	-4.081	18	15	124	119
123	122	Florida Gulf Coast	-4.039	23	12	35	335
124	124	Albany	-4.01	22	10	62	256
125	116	Grand Canyon	-3.974	22	12	53	329
126	135	Jacksonville State	-3.929	23	13	71	245
127	128	Minnesota	-3.884	15	17	253	59
128	126	Colorado	-3.795	17	15	241	61
129	132	Harvard	-3.794	18	14	109	108
130	133	Wright State	-3.604	25	10	66	261
131	129	Georgia Tech	-3.602	13	19	284	48
132	131	UC Santa Barbara	-3.585	23	9	49	294
133	134	Georgia Southern	-3.465	21	12	81	214
134	127	Mercer	-3.418	19	15	84	209
135	137	Wyoming	-3.289	20	13	175	96
136	139	Northern Iowa	-3.25	16	16	179	103
137	130	Wofford	-3.249	21	13	97	233
138	141	Bradley	-3.098	20	13	151	123
139	138	UC Davis	-3.088	22	11	75	222
140	143	Towson	-3.009	18	14	94	232
141	142	William & Mary	-2.996	19	12	116	155
142	167	UMBC	-2.926	25	11	86	267
143	149	Louisiana Tech	-2.919	17	16	137	215
144	145	Idaho	-2.852	22	9	59	306
145	146	Rutgers	-2.737	15	19	265	83
146	147	Hofstra	-2.694	19	12	135	140
147	136	San Diego	-2.552	19	14	146	168
148	196	North Texas	-2.532	21	17	136	182
149	140	Liberty	-2.527	21	15	74	318
150	148	Weber State	-2.527	20	11	70	320
151	144	Eastern Washington	-2.491	20	15	102	179
152	152	Valparaiso	-2.465	15	17	154	134
153	151	Portland State	-2.412	20	14	87	246
154	150	VCU	-2.398	18	15	198	109
155	163	Eastern Michigan	-2.202	22	13	82	301
156	154	Lipscomb	-2.184	23	10	78	277
157	157	Radford	-2.181	23	13	113	192
158	155	Nicholls	-2.174	21	11	58	324
159	162	Illinois State	-2.082	18	15	236	73
160	158	Utah State	-2.064	17	17	196	104
161	156	UC Irvine	-2.044	18	17	119	153
162	161	Southern Illinois	-2.02	20	13	178	128
163	160	Evansville	-2.02	17	15	172	149
164	159	Fort Wayne	-1.956	18	14	83	307
165	153	Wagner	-1.83	23	10	65	322
166	165	La Salle	-1.733	13	19	227	87
167	168	Drake	-1.722	16	17	188	107
168	164	Monmouth	-1.594	11	20	203	93
169	169	Troy	-1.572	16	17	150	175
170	176	UNC Asheville	-1.522	21	13	144	177
171	170	Saint Louis	-1.512	17	16	209	125
172	171	UT San Antonio	-1.497	20	15	138	242
173	181	Oakland	-1.375	19	14	132	200
174	205	UIC	-1.258	20	16	111	280
175	175	North Dakota State	-1.225	15	17	128	225