Pennant Race Visualizer

September 11, 2006 11:38 AM

Baseball Race."[A]n online application that allows you to view any Major League Baseball season, split by league or division (even wild card races), as an animated, date-by-date race between the various teams you choose."
posted by brain_drain (22 comments total)

Okay, I don't even like baseball and I think this is cool.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:51 AM on September 11, 2006

I just watched the great '65 AL race (I won't tell you who won, but I was thrilled with the outcome as a young fan) -- what fun! Thanks for this post. (Pedantic note: When they say "any Major League Baseball season," they mean any season back to 1901, ignoring the fact that there have been major leagues back to 1876, or 1871 if you count the National Association.)
posted by languagehat at 11:55 AM on September 11, 2006

Wow. Really cool idea. Best example of summarizing time-based data I've seen in a long time.
posted by StarForce5 at 12:30 PM on September 11, 2006

The last two months of the classic 1951 NL race are particularly fun to watch.
posted by brain_drain at 12:32 PM on September 11, 2006

That was a neat visualization. Poor Royals.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:03 PM on September 11, 2006

*cries*
posted by hangashore at 1:05 PM on September 11, 2006

Okay, the '65 AL race is fun, but two years later was one of the more famous horse races ("To dream... the impossible dreeeeeammm..."). Hint - don't use the play button; advance the slider to 22 August and note the spread between the top four teams. Now, either advance it manually (with the slider) or slow down the play speed and watch the flip-flop fun!

Less of a horse race and more the stumbling of blind greased pigs - the 1973 NL East (start around 1 September).
posted by hangashore at 2:02 PM on September 11, 2006

two years later was one of the more famous horse races ... slow down the play speed and watch the flip-flop fun!

Oh yeah. Lots of fun. If you didn't happen to be a Twins fan. You bastard.
posted by languagehat at 2:10 PM on September 11, 2006

I was (and ever will be) an Expos fan. Punishment enough.
posted by hangashore at 2:14 PM on September 11, 2006

This is great. My dad will have fun reliving his childhood Senators misery!
posted by kosem at 2:26 PM on September 11, 2006

The '51 race is very cruel and only sadists could enjoy it.
posted by Danf at 2:47 PM on September 11, 2006

One of the sports sites used to offer pennant race graphs... not animated, but still a compelling view on how momentum could shift over a season.

One example I did by hand was AL West, 2001, here (.gif) Seattle did very well overall, but really pulled away from the pack around game 40. The A's show their habit of starting 40-40 and finishing 60-20.

Are there still pennant race graphs out there?
posted by kurumi at 3:09 PM on September 11, 2006

What a great site. Depressing for a Phillies Phan!
posted by JKevinKing at 3:38 PM on September 11, 2006

That is actually much more informative, kurumi, although possibly a little less fun. I wonder what the longest win 1 lose 1 streak is in MLB history :P
posted by Chuckles at 3:41 PM on September 11, 2006

MATLAB Pennant Race graph generator.
posted by Chuckles at 3:46 PM on September 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

hangashore: You're not alone. I specialize in reminding Brave's fans they didn't win the East in '94.
posted by ?! at 4:09 PM on September 11, 2006

Great post. I remember the fantastic horse race between the Orioles and the Brewers at the end of 1982, but had forgotten that the Red Sox were leading the division for most of the season, only dropping back for good in August.
posted by escabeche at 6:27 PM on September 11, 2006

This is absolutely brilliant. Thanks so much for the post.
posted by .kobayashi. at 7:50 PM on September 11, 2006

Okay, the '65 AL race is fun, but two years later was one of the more famous horse races

yeah, you should have been watching it at the time ... i was disappointed ... the next year, things went better ...

and damn, 3 of those four teams are back at it this year
posted by pyramid termite at 9:14 PM on September 11, 2006

How quick people forget the 1914 NL pennant race. The Boston Braves were in last place and 15 games out of first on July 4, caught the Giants on September 2, then went out to win the division by 10+ games and the World Series.
posted by dw at 9:19 PM on September 11, 2006

The '64 race is one of the closest and great to see in this format. I only know this because of which team wins...
posted by rfbjames at 11:34 AM on September 12, 2006

Love.
posted by Dick Paris at 1:02 PM on September 12, 2006