At the nominal "half way" point of the 2019 season I began thinking about which NL division was distinguishing itself as the class of the league. The Dodgers are clearly on pace to have another dominant season and put away the West; in the Central there never seems to be a team more than a game or 2 in front and the last place team (currently only 4.5 back) is just a good week away from being 1st. And you may recall before the season many publications predicting the East to be a 4-team race and possibly the most competitive. But is the best division the one that beats up on each other, or one lead by a clear leader causing other teams to rise to meet the challenge?
Looking at the current MLB standings at the All Star break we see the obvious leaders in the National League but also some indirect clues as to which division is playing the best ball in the Senior Circuit. The Dodgers are the only team with 60 wins, followed by only 1 team, the Braves, with more than 50 - all the rest of the NL have yet to break the 50-win plateau. L.A. is also on their way to winning well over 100 games with their .652 win percentage and may be the only NL team to achieve this feat.
When looking at run differential, the Dodgers again lead as the only team with triple-digit runs in the positive; the Braves again 2nd overall but allow a whopping 432 - as many or more as some other top division teams score. The East is a 4 team race for now but the Mets may be beginning to fade; the Central is tight as a tick's wallet and still anyone's to win, while the West may be all but over by now.
Is the East better for the greater level of competition? Is the Central the best due to the near-equal level of talent? Or is the West driven by the torrent of power at the top of the standings? It may be that the better way to judge these divisions is not how they compete amongst themselves, but how they fare against the rest of the league - outside their division. The following table concentrates all wins and losses against non-division teams, excluding inter-league games:
NL East | NDW | NDL | ND% |
Atlanta | 28 | 21 | .571 |
Wash | 15 | 22 | .405 |
Phila | 18 | 18 | .500 |
NYM | 14 | 23 | .378 |
Miami | 13 | 20 | .394 |
TOTAL | 88 | 104 | .458 |
NL Central | |||
Chicago | 24 | 20 | .545 |
Milwau | 20 | 19 | .513 |
St. Lou | 23 | 20 | .535 |
Pitt | 16 | 23 | .410 |
Cincy | 17 | 16 | .515 |
TOTAL | 100 | 98 | .505 |
NL West | |||
LAD | 30 | 14 | .682 |
Arizona | 18 | 12 | .600 |
S.Diego | 19 | 21 | .475 |
Colorado | 17 | 18 | .486 |
S.Fran | 12 | 17 | .414 |
TOTAL | 96 | 82 | .539 |
This table shows that there may be more separation than just looking at the overall standings. The NL East has three teams that are below .500 against non-division teams, while the Central boasts 4 teams that are over .500 against non-division rivals; finally, while the West does claim 2 teams with .600 or better records the rest of the division is sub-500. My take here is that the East has improved, especially the young and talented Phillies and Braves, but still has room to improve when compared to the more seasoned and battle-tested Central division; the West is not as deep talent-wise as the Central but probably has 1 of the most dangerous playoff teams and the likely NL representative in the World Series.
I must admit I'm biased and think the best NL division should include Philadelphia, the NY Mets, and Atlanta. I think they are close but probably need more growth, especially the younger, up-and-coming clubs. What do you think? What am I obviously overlooking? What do you think is the best division in the National League?