Dolphin Ratings - Major League Baseball

Explanation: Each team is listed with its record, overall score differential, and its ratings. Brief explanations of the ratings follow.

Schedule The number in this column is the effective opponent strength of a team. In other words, they would be expected to have the same record had they played all games against an opponent of this predictive rating at a neutral site. Because this calculation depends on the strength of the team in question, it is not possible to rank schedules using these values.
Expected Losses For college teams, this number is the number of losses an average ranked (top 15 hockey; otherwise top 25) team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. For pro teams, this is the number of losses an average team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. Unlike the schedule ranking, this value can be used to rank schedules.
Standard Ranks teams in an order such that a team is "probably better" than all teams ranked lower than it. This calculation uses margin of victory only for computing a team's opponents strengths; the team's rating itself is computed using only wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule
Median Likelihood Determines the likely ratings for each team, based on its wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule. This generally produces the same or similar ratings as the standard ranking.
Predictive Both schedule strength and rating vs. schedule strength are determined considering both the wins and losses and the score differentials. This rating contains none of the biases in the standard rating, but does weight recent games slightly more than past games since those are a better indication of the team's current strength. This rating is the best of the first three for seeing how good teams are, and thus is the best for predicting future results.
Improved RPI Rating The improved RPI formula is similar to the standard RPI, except that the schedule strength is carried out to infinite depth instead of ending with opponents' opponents, thus allows for a better comparison of isolated groups of teams than is given by the standard RPI calculation. It is similar to the simple rating, except that all games are given equal weight.
Scoring. This value indicates how many points a team would be expected to score if it played an identical team.
Offense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team scores. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to score the league average number of points. This does not necessarily rate a team's offensive abilities, as a fast pace in basketball or big-play defense in football can make a team score more points.
Defense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team allows. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to allow the league average number of points. The same caveat in the predictive-offense rating applies here.
Ballpark. This is an adjustment to the scoring ranking applied at home to account for ballpark effects.

In order to increase early-season stability, the three main rankings, the improved RPI, and the college pseudopoll include priors based on the previous season final predictive ratings and occasionally incorporating preseason predictions of various major publications. The other rankings for college sports do not include priors, and thus can be wildly unstable early in the year. A team whose rankings are affected by this prior is noted with a P following its rankings.

Full Ranking

                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
ST. LOUIS         112  65  923  726 -0.006 87.397    1  0.262    1  0.224    2  0.196    1 0.5328    9  0.625    2  0.241    5  0.151   23 -0.159
BOSTON            109  67 1039  837  0.014 88.376    2  0.260    2  0.214    1  0.226    2 0.5319   14  0.577    3  0.226    3  0.227    3  0.317
N.Y. YANKEES      107  66  963  866  0.013 86.862    3  0.254    3  0.210    6  0.111    3 0.5293    2  0.797    1  0.330   23 -0.107   20 -0.104
ATLANTA            98  69  824  704 -0.023 81.489    4  0.136    4  0.130    5  0.115    5 0.5181   17  0.566   10  0.104    7  0.126   19 -0.096
HOUSTON            98  75  868  750  0.011 86.677    5  0.113    5  0.120    3  0.127    4 0.5185    8  0.630    5  0.177   11  0.076   18 -0.088
OAKLAND            91  71  793  742  0.017 81.670    6  0.097    6  0.113    9  0.070    6 0.5164   25  0.474   17 -0.026    4  0.166   11  0.058
ANAHEIM            92  73  848  759  0.019 83.304    7  0.095    7  0.109    7  0.105    7 0.5160   13  0.590    8  0.117    9  0.093   12  0.014
LOS ANGELES        94  72  773  707 -0.024 81.030    8  0.062    8  0.094   13  0.033    9 0.5135   23  0.496   19 -0.042    8  0.108   24 -0.164
TEXAS              89  73  860  794  0.016 81.624    9  0.058    9  0.092    8  0.076    8 0.5137   22  0.502   15  0.006    6  0.146    2  0.383
CHICAGO CUBS       89  73  789  665 -0.002 80.336   10  0.039   10  0.079    4  0.124   10 0.5134   27  0.409   18 -0.028    1  0.277   10  0.114
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
MINNESOTA          93  73  797  736 -0.033 80.370   11  0.036   11  0.078   11  0.055   12 0.5094   29  0.385   24 -0.118    2  0.228    9  0.118
SAN FRANCISCO      91  71  850  770 -0.040 77.946   12  0.034   12  0.075   10  0.060   11 0.5111   12  0.600   11  0.081   13  0.039    8  0.167
PHILADELPHIA       86  76  840  781 -0.019 79.386   13  0.009   13  0.038   12  0.040   13 0.5049    4  0.714    6  0.173   21 -0.093   14 -0.013
SAN DIEGO          87  75  768  705 -0.047 77.554   14  0.006   14  0.029   14  0.027   14 0.5044    7  0.633   12  0.081   19 -0.026   29 -0.292
CHICAGO WHITE SOX  83  79  865  831 -0.004 80.403   15  0.004   15  0.018   16  0.015   15 0.5008   11  0.611   13  0.046   18 -0.017    5  0.239
FLORIDA            83  79  719  700 -0.020 79.338   16  0.002   16  0.006   17  0.006   16 0.5005   18  0.561   16 -0.009   15  0.022   28 -0.267
CLEVELAND          80  82  858  857 -0.013 79.838   17 -0.002   17 -0.020   18 -0.013   18 0.4958    3  0.764    7  0.170   28 -0.197   15 -0.038
BALTIMORE          78  84  842  830  0.013 81.472   18 -0.003   18 -0.023   15  0.022   17 0.4976   16  0.573   14  0.018   14  0.027    6  0.234
CINCINNATI         75  86  747  905  0.022 81.793   19 -0.010   19 -0.044   27 -0.133   19 0.4940    1  0.926    4  0.225   30 -0.491   30 -0.345
PITTSBURGH         72  89  680  744  0.011 80.993   20 -0.027   20 -0.081   20 -0.056   20 0.4897   20  0.535   21 -0.097   17 -0.016   25 -0.217
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
TAMPA BAY          70  91  714  842  0.031 82.324   21 -0.041   21 -0.090   25 -0.113   21 0.4872   15  0.576   23 -0.115   24 -0.111   17 -0.085
DETROIT            72  90  827  844 -0.010 80.080   22 -0.050   22 -0.099   19 -0.025   23 0.4845    5  0.714    9  0.108   26 -0.158   16 -0.070
N.Y. METS          71  91  684  731 -0.007 80.315   23 -0.071   23 -0.108   21 -0.066   22 0.4845   24  0.484   26 -0.152   16  0.021   22 -0.137
TORONTO            67  94  719  823  0.027 82.053   24 -0.109   24 -0.123   22 -0.093   24 0.4830   30  0.380   28 -0.270   10  0.084    4  0.284
MILWAUKEE          67  94  634  757  0.019 81.616   25 -0.120   25 -0.127   26 -0.119   25 0.4826   28  0.396   29 -0.283   12  0.044   13 -0.009
COLORADO           68  94  833  923 -0.020 79.544   26 -0.165   26 -0.147   23 -0.094   26 0.4793   19  0.542   25 -0.127   20 -0.060    1  0.598
MONTREAL           67  95  635  769 -0.004 80.619   27 -0.168   27 -0.147   28 -0.147   27 0.4779   21  0.531   27 -0.191   22 -0.103   26 -0.241
SEATTLE            63  99  698  823  0.041 83.497   28 -0.188   28 -0.159   24 -0.108   28 0.4775   10  0.614   20 -0.074   25 -0.142   27 -0.257
KANSAS CITY        58 104  720  905  0.022 82.349   29 -0.242   29 -0.224   29 -0.208   29 0.4661    6  0.691   22 -0.098   29 -0.318   21 -0.117
ARIZONA            51 111  615  899  0.002 81.148   30 -0.269   30 -0.312   30 -0.307   30 0.4550   26  0.420   30 -0.450   27 -0.164    7  0.171

NL WEST
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
LOS ANGELES        94  72  773  707 -0.024 81.030    8  0.062    8  0.094   13  0.033    9 0.5135   23  0.496   19 -0.042    8  0.108   24 -0.164
SAN FRANCISCO      91  71  850  770 -0.040 77.946   12  0.034   12  0.075   10  0.060   11 0.5111   12  0.600   11  0.081   13  0.039    8  0.167
SAN DIEGO          87  75  768  705 -0.047 77.554   14  0.006   14  0.029   14  0.027   14 0.5044    7  0.633   12  0.081   19 -0.026   29 -0.292
COLORADO           68  94  833  923 -0.020 79.544   26 -0.165   26 -0.147   23 -0.094   26 0.4793   19  0.542   25 -0.127   20 -0.060    1  0.598
ARIZONA            51 111  615  899  0.002 81.148   30 -0.269   30 -0.312   30 -0.307   30 0.4550   26  0.420   30 -0.450   27 -0.164    7  0.171

NL CENTRAL
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
ST. LOUIS         112  65  923  726 -0.006 87.397    1  0.262    1  0.224    2  0.196    1 0.5328    9  0.625    2  0.241    5  0.151   23 -0.159
HOUSTON            98  75  868  750  0.011 86.677    5  0.113    5  0.120    3  0.127    4 0.5185    8  0.630    5  0.177   11  0.076   18 -0.088
CHICAGO CUBS       89  73  789  665 -0.002 80.336   10  0.039   10  0.079    4  0.124   10 0.5134   27  0.409   18 -0.028    1  0.277   10  0.114
CINCINNATI         75  86  747  905  0.022 81.793   19 -0.010   19 -0.044   27 -0.133   19 0.4940    1  0.926    4  0.225   30 -0.491   30 -0.345
PITTSBURGH         72  89  680  744  0.011 80.993   20 -0.027   20 -0.081   20 -0.056   20 0.4897   20  0.535   21 -0.097   17 -0.016   25 -0.217
MILWAUKEE          67  94  634  757  0.019 81.616   25 -0.120   25 -0.127   26 -0.119   25 0.4826   28  0.396   29 -0.283   12  0.044   13 -0.009

NL EAST
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
ATLANTA            98  69  824  704 -0.023 81.489    4  0.136    4  0.130    5  0.115    5 0.5181   17  0.566   10  0.104    7  0.126   19 -0.096
PHILADELPHIA       86  76  840  781 -0.019 79.386   13  0.009   13  0.038   12  0.040   13 0.5049    4  0.714    6  0.173   21 -0.093   14 -0.013
FLORIDA            83  79  719  700 -0.020 79.338   16  0.002   16  0.006   17  0.006   16 0.5005   18  0.561   16 -0.009   15  0.022   28 -0.267
N.Y. METS          71  91  684  731 -0.007 80.315   23 -0.071   23 -0.108   21 -0.066   22 0.4845   24  0.484   26 -0.152   16  0.021   22 -0.137
MONTREAL           67  95  635  769 -0.004 80.619   27 -0.168   27 -0.147   28 -0.147   27 0.4779   21  0.531   27 -0.191   22 -0.103   26 -0.241

AL WEST
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
OAKLAND            91  71  793  742  0.017 81.670    6  0.097    6  0.113    9  0.070    6 0.5164   25  0.474   17 -0.026    4  0.166   11  0.058
ANAHEIM            92  73  848  759  0.019 83.304    7  0.095    7  0.109    7  0.105    7 0.5160   13  0.590    8  0.117    9  0.093   12  0.014
TEXAS              89  73  860  794  0.016 81.624    9  0.058    9  0.092    8  0.076    8 0.5137   22  0.502   15  0.006    6  0.146    2  0.383
SEATTLE            63  99  698  823  0.041 83.497   28 -0.188   28 -0.159   24 -0.108   28 0.4775   10  0.614   20 -0.074   25 -0.142   27 -0.257

AL CENTRAL
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
MINNESOTA          93  73  797  736 -0.033 80.370   11  0.036   11  0.078   11  0.055   12 0.5094   29  0.385   24 -0.118    2  0.228    9  0.118
CHICAGO WHITE SOX  83  79  865  831 -0.004 80.403   15  0.004   15  0.018   16  0.015   15 0.5008   11  0.611   13  0.046   18 -0.017    5  0.239
CLEVELAND          80  82  858  857 -0.013 79.838   17 -0.002   17 -0.020   18 -0.013   18 0.4958    3  0.764    7  0.170   28 -0.197   15 -0.038
DETROIT            72  90  827  844 -0.010 80.080   22 -0.050   22 -0.099   19 -0.025   23 0.4845    5  0.714    9  0.108   26 -0.158   16 -0.070
KANSAS CITY        58 104  720  905  0.022 82.349   29 -0.242   29 -0.224   29 -0.208   29 0.4661    6  0.691   22 -0.098   29 -0.318   21 -0.117

AL EAST
                                                    STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE    BALLPARK 
TEAM                W   L   PF   PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
BOSTON            109  67 1039  837  0.014 88.376    2  0.260    2  0.214    1  0.226    2 0.5319   14  0.577    3  0.226    3  0.227    3  0.317
N.Y. YANKEES      107  66  963  866  0.013 86.862    3  0.254    3  0.210    6  0.111    3 0.5293    2  0.797    1  0.330   23 -0.107   20 -0.104
BALTIMORE          78  84  842  830  0.013 81.472   18 -0.003   18 -0.023   15  0.022   17 0.4976   16  0.573   14  0.018   14  0.027    6  0.234
TAMPA BAY          70  91  714  842  0.031 82.324   21 -0.041   21 -0.090   25 -0.113   21 0.4872   15  0.576   23 -0.115   24 -0.111   17 -0.085
TORONTO            67  94  719  823  0.027 82.053   24 -0.109   24 -0.123   22 -0.093   24 0.4830   30  0.380   28 -0.270   10  0.084    4  0.284

DIVISION     W   L   PCT  RNK RATING
AL WEST    335 316 0.515    1  0.049
AL EAST    431 402 0.517    2  0.040
NL CENTRAL 513 482 0.516    3  0.030
NL EAST    405 410 0.497    4 -0.013
AL CENTRAL 386 428 0.474    5 -0.046
NL WEST    391 423 0.480    6 -0.073

Home field advantage amounts to:
     0.057 points in main ratings (0.058 for semineutral)
     0.009 points in improved RPI (0.006 for semineutral)
Average of 2.65 points per score

Predict score:








Team Strength vs. Time Plot:






posted: Sun Oct 12 21:39:45 2025
games through: Wed Oct 27 2004

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