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Rules: 1845-1899
Rules: 1900-present

The best indicators of truly great baseball teams, of course, are the number of games they've won. Nearly forty clubs have won over 100 games in a season since 1900, but only nine of them managed to win 108. Those nine teams are automatically included in our survey of baseball's best teams.

There are, however, a number of great teams that didn't reach the 108-win plateau -- namely, those that played fewer than the 154- or 162-game standard seasons. For those clubs, we've set a .700 winning percentage as the benchmark: the 1909 Pirates, 1931 Athletics, and 1939 Yankees all fall into this category. (The 1907 Cubs and 1970 Orioles would also, but we've chosen the superior 1906 and 1969 editions to represent their respective dynasties.)

These twelve clubs, as demonstrated by their season-long dominance and remarkable records, have earned the right to be considered as "the best of the best."

Editor's Note: For good measure, we've included a capsule on the 1987 Twins created in a different context for MLB.com (obviously not on a par with the other teams listed here) and a profile of the 1942 Cardinals originally produced for a 1998 feature titled Run For Glory.
Also: Teams are listed in reverse chronological order.

THE TEAMS
114-48 / .704	» 1998 New York Yankees
	.	The '98 Yankees had no superstars, but consistent excellence from their entire roster helped them win an AL-record 114 regular-season games
85-77 / .525	» 1987 Minnesota Twins
	.	The 1987 Minnesota Twins were no juggernaut, but rode an unprecedented home-field advantage to garner the first championship in franchise history
108-54 / .667	» 1986 New York Mets
	.	The Mets were the best team in the majors in '86, and knew it. Their swagger, cockiness, and uncanny knack for winning infuriated their opponents
104-58 / .642	» 1984 Detroit Tigers
	.	After a 35-5 start, it was smooth sailing for Sparky Anderson's veteran club -- only the third team ever to spend an entire season at the top of the standings
108-54 / .667	» 1975 Cincinnati Reds
	.	The first "Big Red Machine" team to win it all, with a combination of power and speed rarely seen before or since
108-54 / .667	» 1970 Baltimore Orioles
	.	The centerpiece of a dominant three-year run, the 1970 version staked its claim as the best of the bunch by accomplishing what the other two couldn't manage -- winning the World Series
109-53 / .673	» 1969 Baltimore Orioles
	.	The '69 Orioles represented the pinnacle of Baltimore's defense-oriented and pitching-rich baseball tradition
109-53 / .673	» 1961 New York Yankees
	.	Mantle and Maris weren't the only outstanding individual performers on the '61 Yankees; they also had a fine pitching staff and stellar defense
111-43 / .721	» 1954 Cleveland Indians
	.	Bill Veeck's willingness to sign black players was criticized by some, but his '54 Indians, well-stocked with black stars, set an AL record with 111 wins
106-48 / .688	» 1942 St. Louis Cardinals
	.	The first of three consecutive pennants for the Cardinals, the first team to develop raw, unproven ballplayers in a farm system
106-45 / .702	» 1939 New York Yankees
	.	The '39 Yankees overcame early-season obstacles to win 106 games and sweep the Cincinnati Reds for their fourth consecutive World Series victory
107-45 / .704	» 1931 Philadelphia A's
	.	"Connie's Bull Elephants" featured six future Hall of Famers, three 20-game winners, and a pair of great streaks; 17 consecutive wins in May and 13 in July
104-46 / .693	» 1929 Philadelphia A's
	.	After a valiant but unsuccessful run at the powerful Yankees in 1928, Mack's "White Elephants" finally took the pennant in 1929
110-44 / .714	» 1927 New York Yankees
	.	Few teams have been able to totally demoralize their competition like the '27 Yankees; their "Murderer's Row" included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
110-42 / .724	» 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates
	.	Led by Honus Wagner, the '09 Pirates had the highest winning percentage (regular season and post-season) of any modern World Series champ
116-36 / .763	» 1906 Chicago Cubs
	.	The '06 Cubs finished twenty games ahead of the second-place Giants with the most wins of any team in baseball history
103-36 / .741	» 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates
	.	The '02 Pirates romped through the season with the second-best winning percentage of the twentieth century, but never faced the AL champs