Power Ranking MLB's Most Iconic Franchises: #6-10
Now is when the real fun begins. We’ve moved our way into the top 10 of the MLB franchise icon rankings. These teams are close to the fronts of baseball fans’ minds when you think about the sport’s past, present, and future. They’re the teams that have been around forever, have had established stars amongst their ranks, and have climbed to the mountaintop and back multiple times.
- Oakland Athletics.There’s no denying the A’s have done some traveling. Starting in Philadelphia, the A’s were Connie Mack’s baby. He led them on dynastic runs followed by painful rebuilds multiple times during his half century as manager. Then came the unfortunate 13-season stretch where the A’s moved to Kansas City and essentially served as a feeder team to the Yankees. There was a 40-year stretch between 1931 and 1971 that the team didn’t make the playoffs. But out of that drought came separate dynastic runs.
By the time the A’s had moved to their current home by the Bay, the team was almost ready to compete. In 1972, the dam broke and the team was on its way to the first of three straight World Series titles. Reggie Jackson developed his reputation as Mr. October and helped move the Athletics back into the public consciousness for good. Another run of three straight World Series appearances came from 1988 to 1990, but resulted in just one title. Another once-in-a-generation talent by the name of Rickey Henderson was in the fold by then. Despite regularly contending for a playoff spot, the A’s inability to win playoff series’ (they’ve won just one playoff series since 1992) and inability to upgrade from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum puts them at risk of falling out of the top 10 at some point.
- Chicago White Sox.It hasn’t exactly been an easy road for the White Sox. Since 1917, the White Sox have won a playoff series in just one season. Luckily for them, that came in 2005 when the team won three playoff series’ and a World Series title. There is the Black Sox scandal of 1919 that gives the franchise a bad name, but hey, it’s been more than a century and all press is good press when it comes to icon rankings.
Surprisingly, the White Sox are relatively lacking for star power historically. Many of the best players in franchise history were banished from baseball as a result of the Black Sox scandal in fact. Luke Appling, Frank Thomas, and Wilbur Wood are a few standouts from over the years. That’s hardly the franchise history roster you expect to see from a team in the top 10. But the White Sox have been around a mighty long time and play in the third-largest media market in the country. That’s enough to make them the 14th-most valuable franchise in the sport and keep them right on the edge of the top 10 for now. With thrilling young stars waiting in the wings, don’t be surprised if the greatest stretch in team history comes over the next decade.
- Pittsburgh Pirates.Pick an era in baseball history. The Pirates were probably relevant for at least part of it. Their franchise stars are spread out by era in a way that very few franchises’ stars are. You have Honus Wagner from the early days, Roberto Clemente in the 1960s and 70s, who also crossed over with slugger Willie Stargell. Heck, we can’t forget about Barry Bonds or Ralph Kiner either. While the Pirates’ struggles of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, in which they didn’t have a winning season between 1993 and 2011, are still fresh in our memory, we can’t forget their past. The franchise won two of its five World Series titles in the 1970s and were among the most successful teams in that era outside of the Athletics.
While they may be in a smaller market, the Pirates are able to climb firmly into the top 10 on this list by sustaining success (seven stretches of five or more winning seasons in a row), winning titles, and churning out superstars. When you think about some of the most iconic franchises in the sport, the Pirates are toward the top of the list.
- Atlanta Braves.The Braves are another team that’s done a lot of traveling over the years. A man who was on the team in two different cities just happened to break the home run record while wearing a Braves uniform. There’s no doubt the arrival of Hank Aaron helped really make the Braves a household brand. Of course, Turner Broadcasting also helped make them the Team of the South after the move to Atlanta. To dominate an entire region like that is impressive and has been carefully orchestrated.
When you look beyond Hank Aaron, you start to remember that Atlanta has employed some of the game’s biggest stars outside of the one-time Home Run King. “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain” was the refrain about Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, one of the most dynamic pitching duos in the history of the sport. They did their damage in Braves uniforms. Eddie Mathews was one of the best hitters the game has ever seen. Chipper Jones may just be the greatest switch hitter in the game’s history. John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine in the same rotation is just unfair. Playing in a market they dominate coverage in and seemingly on the cusp of contending for World Series titles, the Braves are firmly entrenched in the top 10 for quite some time.
- Chicago Cubs.Ah, yes, the lovable losers. For so long, the Cubs were a franchise associated with losing. Currently in the middle of the franchise’s most successful stretch ever, these Cubs are re-writing the history that came before them. While it appears their championship window is close to shut, this group of Cubs players will forever be remembered as having helped break the 108-year World Series curse.
Playing as the most popular team in the third-largest city in the country and with a franchise history roster that boasts the likes of Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, and Ron Santo, it’s easy to see why the Cubs are nearly in the top five despite having not won much during the course of their history. The Cubbies are among a handful of teams in the league that are a national brand, so nobody’s going to “discover” who they are if they win a few more titles in the near future, but that would certainly help their brand. It’s a brand that was built on losing for so long and now, maybe, just maybe, they’re beginning to change that.