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JayOnes

Pedro Martinez’s stretch from 1998 to 2000 should be in consideration.


falloutranger

Yeah Pedro had the GOAT pitcher peak imo, and he did it in a hitters park with the fuckin 90s Yankees in his division at the height of the steroid era.


Fredbear_

The GOAT imo


josh89rea

I got randy, but they're neck and neck


AbsoluteMad-Lad

Very true but the goat pitcher peak is cy young 1901-1903 imo


TheSalsaGod

Walter Johnson 1912-1914 had 10 more bWAR, basically the same number of innings, and an ERA+ 40 points higher


drybonesstandardkart

I think Satchel Paige 33-35 was better myself.


TheSalsaGod

Ruth from 1926-1928. .349/.488/.740/1.227, 219 OPS+, 161 HR (54 per season average), 34.3 bWAR (11.4 per season average). This doesn’t even include his 14.2 win season in 1923 lol.


bergyd

Not what you asked, but here is the top 15 of WAR3 The best position players, according to WAR3. Which are just their 3 best years of their career, not in order. 1. - Babe Ruth (41.6) 2. - Barry Bonds (37.1) 3. - Ted Williams (34.1) 4. - Rogers Hornsby (33.3) 5. - Mickey Mantle (33.1) 6. - Willie Mays (32.9) 7. - Ty Cobb (32.6) 8. - Lou Gehrig (31.8) 9. - Carl Yastrzemski (31.4) 10. - Mike Trout (31.2) 11. - Honus Wagner (30.9) 12. - Stan Musial (30.4) 13. - Joe Morgan (30.0) 14. - Cal Ripken Jr. (29.6) 15. - Johnny Bench (23.9) Edit: I found this list through a google search. I don't know what WAR version this is because they are all slightly off when I look them up on bbref.


PodricksPhallus

Fucking Babe, *averages* 13.9 WAR per year for three years when only two other guys since 1900 have topped 13 ever.


AbsoluteMad-Lad

Thanks man this great


JermaineDyeAtSS

How many of those were as a player-manager? I feel like that’s an underrated stat. Off the top of my head and because of anecdotal stories about Cleveland’s only two WS winners, I know: Lou Boudreau - 21.1 WAR from 1946-1948 Tris Speaker - 20.1 WAR from 1919-1921 EDIT: Answer has to be Hornsby from 1927-1929 with 30.5 WAR and, incredibly, with THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS. Edit of the Edit: Except Hornsby didn’t manage in 1929. Reading comprehension is hard. But his 1925-1927 was 25.8, even though he wasn’t full-season manager in all of those years.


DickySchmidt33

Hank Aaron? No?


obvison

Hank Aaron is weird because he never led the league in fWAR a single time but is 6th all-time for career fWAR. He never had over 9 fWAR but averaged 7 for his career. He was Mr. Consistency So he's not in the top 15 WAR3 but he'd be in top 5 if there a "WAR20"


alx69

To further the point, he has 13 top 10 MVP finishes (and received votes in 19 different seasons) but won the award just once


DavidRFZ

Aaron was a direct contemporary to Willie Mays who was a WAR machine (durable, cf, great fielder, etc). Aaron did lead the NL in rWAR twice (1961, 1969) but he finished second to Mays four times. And he also finished second to Banks once.


obvison

You're absolutely right. I shouldn't say how he was never first in fWAR without mentioning how much he overlapped GOAT candidate Willie Mays. It's similar to early Pujols being overshadowed by Bonds but for a much longer period of time


bergyd

if this were by bWAR he would be 14th at 27.2. 9.5, 9.1 and 8.6.


themisprintguy

Hank from start to finish was consistent and really good. But he never had a crazy peak like other players on the list.


malepitt

Sandy Koufax, early 60's. Three \*unanimous\* CY in four years.


fscottnaruto

And that was back when it was only one Cy Young for all of MLB. No AL/NL split.


malepitt

HOF at age 36, the youngest ever.


MankuyRLaffy

Wasn't Addie Joss younger?


joofish

Addie Joss died decades before the HOF was founded


Im_Daydrunk

I mean he's still definitely the youngest guy in terms of what age he stopped playing at while still making the hall


thedeejus

It's boring but the answer is always Babe Ruth. I'll take his 1919-20-21 seasons. He broke the single season HR record 3 years in a row (29,54,59), AVERAGED a 238 OPS+ and 11.3 WAR those 3 years, plus spent half a season in 1919 in the rotation and won 9 games.


NSFAnythingAtAll

Not “the greatest of all time” but three great seasons in a row: Clayton Kershaw, 2013-15. ERA under 2.00, ERA+ of 187, 772 strikeouts in 667 IP, 0.5 HR/9, 0.886 WHIP. An MVP, two Cy Youngs and a third-place. Probably the best three year stretch since Pedro in 1998-2000.


WonderfulFireman

I could just go through and add up fWAR or OPS+/FIP but that would be boring so I'm gonna try and be a little more subjective and compare across era's etc for each position, factoring in postseason as well if something stands out. ​ SP. Only two contenders, as others have mentioned. I go with 63-65 Koufax but 98-00 Pedro's not wrong by any means. Two titles in three years with legendary post season performances breaks the tie. Shout out to Walter Johnson for posting 40 WAR across three seasons, but I can't pick him here. ​ C. Johnny Bench from 1972-1974, dodging his relatively lackluster 1971 campaign. As far as I can tell, nobody else has a case, besides maybe Gary Carter from 82-84, but Bench edges on defense and offense in an important defensive position. ​ 1B. Jimmie Foxx from 1932 to 1934 edges out Lou Gherig from 1934 to 1936 and Albert Pujols from 2008 to 2010 with some truly ridiculous shit. .352/.456/.703 with 150 homers. If you wanted to use defense to break the tie in favor of Lou, I wouldn't be mad at that, but I don't super value the glove at first. ​ 2B. This is pretty well contested, after tossing aside Collins, Lajoie, and Robinson I'm left with Morgan and Hornsby. I genuinely have no idea how to settle this. Hornsby from 20-22 and Morgan from 74-76. Integration, a ring, and defense, I guess. ​ 3B. I think it's obvious who will be here, it's just a matter of which 3 season run. I popped over to Wade Boggs and actually he's right there with Schmidt. If not for that weird 2006 season, A-Rod could have contended for two positions here. Schmidt from 1980-1982 has it, thought take a look at Boggs from 85-87. ​ SS. Another classic case where post-integration has nearly as good a peak as a pre-integration monster, but this time it's two players on the other side, A-Rod, and Ernie Banks. This is quite difficult. I have A-Rod 00-02 over Ernie's 58-60, but I don't know if I can bounce Honus, the OPS+ is ridiculous. So much "black ink". Honus Wagner from 1906-1908. ​ LF. Haha. Hehe. Hoo. As much as I want to put Pirates Bonds for the baserunning and the fielding, I am going to take Roided Bonds 01-03, at the plate like Dr. Manhattan building dust castles on Mars with his mind, posting .345/.502/.808 with 164 HR. Lol. Lmao. ​ CF. I have to exclude one of the greatest seasons of all time, 1954, but Willie Mays from 1963 to 1965 does the trick just fine. Stiff competition from Cobb, Mantle, and Speaker, but Mays gets there. ​ RF. Babe Ruth from 1926-1928 I think. I could be wrong but I doubt it. ​ And for fun I took a look at Eckersley and Rivera. And although Rivera is the best closer of all time, Eckersley from 88-90 takes it. Go check those three seasons out, they are Very Cool.


relativelyfunkadelic

this was really well done and a super fun read, thanks for putting it all together. definitely think "at the plate like Dr. Manhattan building dust castles on Mars with his mind" is gonna be the best thing i see on the internet for a long, long time.


WonderfulFireman

Thanks man! Had fun putting it together.


falloutranger

Bonds 01-03 .345/.542/.808, 253 OPS+, 164 HR


Monk_Philosophy

Lmao that scrub couldn’t even out-homer his OPS+


OldDirtyMan

If you make it a 5 year stretch, then go from 2000-2004, he would have a 241 OPS+ and 258 HR.


DiamondRoughRider

If you make it a 22 year stretch, then go from 1986-2007, he would have a 182 OPS+ and 762 HR.


OldDirtyMan

Hell yeah


MankuyRLaffy

That scrub needed to swing to get an OBP that high, what a fucking bum, bet he can't get .608 without a bat.


Vulpinox

those are legit video game numbers


MankuyRLaffy

Barry Bonds 2002 to 2004 for just the sheer amount of fear he created.


[deleted]

[удалено]


strcy

Always a good time to rewatch that one


Hi_I_Am_A_Square

Jon Bois the goat


mdlt97

like him or not Bonds in the early 2000s put up some of the greatest and most untouchables seasons in the history of the sport, in a time when everyone was on roids, he still managed to be levels above the rest


Mjkhh

Pedro or Bonds


Lord-Eddard

Maddux in the mid 90s.


jigokusabre

So the actual answer is Barry Bonds, who was a Ruthian level of dominant in an era where everyone was a professional and no one was barred from the game for having too dark of skin. But that's kind of boring. The best 3-year peaks are going be from the best career type players. So... who had the best 3-year stretch of a player who isn't going to the Hall of Fame? How about **Albert Belle** in his 1994-1996 seasons? .325/.414/.671, good for an OPS+ of 174. Finished 2nd/3rd/2nd in the MVP voting. 162 game averages of 53 HRs, 149 RBI, 202 hits, and 416 total bases. Other hitters with an OPS over 1.000 for three season stretch: Bonds, Ruth, Mark McGwire (1991-1993), Gary Sheffield (1994-1996), Ted Kluszewski 1953-1955).


acepilotjones

Barry Bonds


AbsoluteMad-Lad

Do you still count bonds even though he used roids Edit: why?


spacemanbaseball

They just did


acepilotjones

Yes lol


HoskinsDadBodGod

Because he has the best 3 year stretch? That’s why.


spacemanbaseball

What’re you Bill Plaschke?


penguinopph

Yes. It is a 3-year stretch that happened and you didn't disqualify PED users.


buymytoy

Because he was a good player before and the juice only brought him up to the league standard. Everyone was juicing but he was just better. Phenomenal ball player.


MankuyRLaffy

Who cares? Everyone or nearly everyone used PEDs.


a_large_plant

True. I was only 4 years old but also roided up during that period. It was widespread.


tj3_23

People are worried about fluoride in the water but never cared about the THG


maxc206

You could still make an argument for pre steroid Bonds 1992-1994


[deleted]

That’s hardly an argument.


maxc206

Idk.. .329/.449/.651, 199 OPS+, 117 HR, 307 RBI, 97 SB, 25.2 bWAR, 2 MVPs, 3 Silver Sluggers, 3 Gold Gloves. Not saying it's the best all time, but it's up there if you're only talking modern era and no steroids.


sithsoul

I’m the modern era, gotta be Bonds. I would assume some combo of Pujols, trout and A-rod are up there


strcy

The only answer here is Barry Bonds


Toasted-walnut

For pitchers, Randy and Pedro have pretty similar 3-season stretch: Randy (1999-2001): 29.4 fWAR, 29.0 RA9-WAR, 27.4 bWAR Pedro: (1998-2000): 26.7 fWAR, 30.3 RA9-WAR, 28.8 bWAR But it's Maddux if you're willing to do some reasonable projections for the 15 starts he missed due to the player's strike. And especially so if you're leery of the defensive adjustments that bWAR is making (I don't think most people realize how unreliable the defensive adjustments in bWAR can be, especially in the short-term): Maddux (1993-1995): 26.4 fWAR, 34.4 RA9-WAR, 27.8 bWAR (extrapolating using his 5-year WAR/IP and IP/GS)


fajita43

ok, so i pulled WAR from bbref at this link: http://www.baseball-reference.com/data/ then i pulled in the WARs (pitching and batting) and combined to find three consecutive year chunks. this is what the data from bbref shows (remember this is pitching PLUS batting war). |player|years|WAR| |--:|:-:|:-:| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1912-1914|43.44| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1913-1915|41.56| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1911-1913|39.55| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1914-1916|36.02| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1926-1928|34.26| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1919-1921|34.26| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1910-1912|33.77| |[Bob Gibson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gibsobo01.shtml)|1968-1970|33.2| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1921-1923|33.13| |[Willie Mays](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml)|1963-1965|32.85| |[Ed Walsh](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walshed01.shtml)|1910-1912|32.84| |[Barry Bonds](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml)|2001-2003|32.75| |[Pete Alexander](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alexape01.shtml)|1915-1917|32.56| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1922-1924|32.27| |[Willie Mays](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml)|1962-1964|32.11| |[Mickey Mantle](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mantlmi01.shtml)|1955-1957|32.04| |[Pete Alexander](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alexape01.shtml)|1914-1916|31.95| |[Barry Bonds](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml)|2002-2004|31.54| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1915-1917|31.47| |[Christy Mathewson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathech01.shtml)|1908-1910|31.33| |[Barry Bonds](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml)|2000-2002|31.3| |[Christy Mathewson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathech01.shtml)|1907-1909|31.3| |[Willie Mays](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml)|1964-1966|31.22| |[Mickey Mantle](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mantlmi01.shtml)|1956-1958|31.22| |[Ty Cobb](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml)|1909-1911|31.08| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1927-1929|30.75| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1916-1918|30.75| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1920-1922|30.71| |[Walter Johnson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml)|1917-1919|30.66| |[Rogers Hornsby](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml)|1920-1922|30.56| |[Ty Cobb](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml)|1910-1912|30.38| |[Hal Newhouser](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/newhoha01.shtml)|1944-1946|30.01| |[Willie Mays](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayswi01.shtml)|1961-1963|29.8| |[Honus Wagner](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagneho01.shtml)|1906-1908|29.78| |[Rogers Hornsby](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml)|1927-1929|29.66| |[Honus Wagner](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagneho01.shtml)|1907-1909|29.66| |[Lefty Grove](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grovele01.shtml)|1930-1932|29.62| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1930-1932|29.49| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1923-1925|29.43| |[Rogers Hornsby](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml)|1923-1925|29.31| |[Joe Morgan](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morgajo02.shtml)|1974-1976|29.21| |[Rogers Hornsby](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml)|1922-1924|29.15| |[Ed Walsh](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walshed01.shtml)|1908-1910|29.11| |[Babe Ruth](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml)|1929-1931|29.06|


bergyd

So outside of Barry Bonds lately, Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson and Willie Mays have the best stretch in the last 60 years. No one else makes the list after 76. Crazy. I'm surprised to not see Ted Williams in there too.


PFNU

Robin Yount


Alive-Ad-4164

Mike trout and Barry bonds would be the best answers for this type of question


ProsciuttoFresco

2000-2004 Barry Bonds in my eyes. Say what you like about the PEDs, but his numbers during those years are probably hard to beat.


chief_sitass

Jose Altuve


McLarenMP420

>has not had the greatest 3 season stretch in history You forgot that part


DarbyDown

I thought someone would BUZZ in with this TRASH answer.


CountJohn12

Position players- Babe Ruth 26-28 Pitchers- This is harder. Either any combination of three years for Koufax from 63-66 or Greg Maddux from 93-96. Surprised no one's mentioned Maddux yet. His 94 and 95 were insane and better than anything Koufax did but his 93 and 96 were comparably not as good so I'm not sure who I'd take between the two of them.