When the Los Angeles Dodgers open up the World Series next week against either the New York Yankees or Houston Astros, they’ll be in the midst of one of the hottest playoff runs by a league champion in recent memory. They smoked the Arizona Diamondbacks and the defending-champion Chicago Cubs by a combined 48-19 margin, giving them the third-best run differential in the division and championship series1 of any pennant winner since MLB expanded its playoff structure in 1995:
Top pennant winners by run differential
1995-2017
| RUNS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | YEAR | TEAM | SCORED | ALLOWED | DIFFERENTIAL |
| 1 | 2007 | Boston Red Sox | 70 | 36 | +34 |
| 2 | 1996 | Atlanta Braves | 54 | 23 | +31 |
| 3 | 2017 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 48 | 19 | +29 |
| 4 | 2005 | Chicago White Sox | 47 | 20 | +27 |
| 4 | 2010 | Texas Rangers | 59 | 32 | +27 |
| 6 | 2009 | Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | 31 | +24 |
| 7 | 2002 | Anaheim Angels | 60 | 37 | +23 |
| 7 | 2009 | New York Yankees | 48 | 25 | +23 |
| 7 | 2008 | Tampa Bay Rays | 64 | 41 | +23 |
| 10 | 1995 | Atlanta Braves | 46 | 24 | +22 |
| 10 | 1995 | Cleveland Indians | 40 | 18 | +22 |
And the way the Dodgers blew away the National League field was especially impressive. They swept Arizona in three games, then won the first three games of the NLCS over Chicago, ultimately finishing the Cubs off in five. In other words, they needed only eight games to reach the World Series — that’s nearly two fewer than we’d have expected from a typical pennant winner against LA’s opponents, based on their Elo ratings:2
Which pennant winners cruised through the field
League winners who took the fewest games in the Division Series and Championship Series relative to expected, 1995-2017
| LDS | LCS | TOTAL | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | TEAM | OPP. | GMS | EXP. GMS | OPP. | GMS | EXP. GMS | GMS | EXP. GMS | DIFF |
| 2014 | KCR | ANA | 3 | 4.13 | BAL | 4 | 5.83 | 7 | 9.95 | -2.95 |
| 2007 | COL | PHI | 3 | 4.11 | ARI | 4 | 5.66 | 7 | 9.77 | -2.77 |
| 2016 | CLE | BOS | 3 | 4.16 | TOR | 5 | 5.88 | 8 | 10.03 | -2.03 |
| 2005 | CHW | BOS | 3 | 4.15 | ANA | 5 | 5.89 | 8 | 10.03 | -2.03 |
| 2006 | DET | NYY | 4 | 4.14 | OAK | 4 | 5.88 | 8 | 10.01 | -2.01 |
| 1999 | NYY | TEX | 3 | 4.10 | BOS | 5 | 5.88 | 8 | 9.98 | -1.98 |
| 2017 | LAD | ARI | 3 | 4.11 | CHC | 5 | 5.87 | 8 | 9.98 | -1.98 |
| 1995 | ATL | COL | 4 | 4.07 | CIN | 4 | 5.87 | 8 | 9.94 | -1.94 |
| 2009 | NYY | MIN | 3 | 4.11 | ANA | 6 | 5.93 | 9 | 10.03 | -1.03 |
| 2012 | DET | OAK | 5 | 4.13 | NYY | 4 | 5.83 | 9 | 9.96 | -0.96 |
Between these two measures, the Dodgers’ 2017 postseason run has to be on the short list for most dominant in modern history. It’s no guarantee they’ll win the Fall Classic, of course — among the eight teams above them on either list, only the 2007 Red Sox, 2005 White Sox and 1999 Yankees ended up actually winning the World Series. But for now, the Dodgers can celebrate their National League pennant in style.