Earlier this week MLB 2K10 revealed its team numeric ratings. MLB 10 The Show has now divulged its rankings of all 30 Major League teams across four categories. The New York Yankees are this year's overall No. 1.
The Show's rankings come in four flavors: Overall, hitting, pitching and defense. I've broken them out here.
Overall Team Rankings
1 Yankees
2 Red Sox
3 Phillies
4 Dodgers
5 Rays
6 Braves
7 Angels
8 Rockies
9 Cubs
10 Rangers
11 Diamondbacks
12 Twins
13 White Sox
14 Giants
15 Blue Jays
16 Cardinals
17 Mets
18 Brewers
19 Reds
20 Orioles
21 Mariners
22 Astros
23 Athletics
24 Tigers
25 Padres
26 Marlins
27 Royals
28 Nationals
29 Pirates
30 Indians
Team Hitting Rankings
1 Yankees
2 Red Sox
3 Phillies
4 Rangers
5 Rays
6 Rockies
7 Angels
8 Cubs
9 Braves
10 Dodgers
11 Twins
12 Blue Jays
13 Diamondbacks
14 Orioles
15 Mets
16 Giants
17 Reds
18 White Sox
19 Brewers
20 Cardinals
21 Marlins
22 Mariners
23 Nationals
24 Astros
25 Pirates
26 Padres
27 Royals
28 Indians
29 Tigers
30 Athletics
Team Pitching Rankings
1 Yankees
2 Dodgers
3 Red Sox
4 Braves
5 Diamondbacks
6 White Sox
7 Phillies
8 Athletics
9 Cubs
10 Angels
11 Twins
12 Rays
13 Giants
14 Tigers
15 Cardinals
16 Rockies
17 Brewers
18 Padres
19 Mariners
20 Royals
21 Reds
22 Mets
23 Rangers
24 Astros
25 Blue Jays
26 Nationals
27 Pirates
28 Indians
29 Orioles
30 Marlins
Team Defense Rankings
1 Red Sox
2 Mets
3 Mariners
4 Dodgers
5 Phillies
6 Yankees
7 White Sox
8 Rays
9 Astros
10 Blue Jays
11 Rangers
12 Orioles
13 Cardinals
14 Tigers
15 Royals
16 Angels
17 Athletics
18 Nationals
19 Reds
20 Pirates
21 Giants
22 Braves
23 Twins
24 Rockies
25 Indians
26 Cubs
27 Diamondbacks
28 Brewers
29 Marlins
30 Padres
Again, I am plainly astonished at the rank given to Boston's hitting. I'll admit to not being the most sophisticated analyst of stats but this seems either reputational in nature or based on past performance, and in David Ortiz's case, past performance that's two years ago. By the same token, I'm flummoxed by the Red Sox' No. 2 rating in pitching, but that's an incremental difference between it and the No. 1 where I believe it should be. The Phillies' No. 7 pitching is a real eye-popper to me. The Roy Halladay trade was Dec. 16 and I can scarcely believe these rankings reflect a roster before that date.
Other notes: The Cardinals and Cubs are almost completely swapped compared with MLB 2K10. They go from 7 and 13 in 2K10, respectively, to 9 and 16 here. Might not be an apples to apples comparison because 2K gave ratings, and these are positions relative to one another, but still, it's curious.
Update: EnigmaNemesis points out this Operation Sports thread, featuring an SCEA community manager, explaining how the ratings are developed. "Player ratings are not done by human hands," he says. It's all done by a program that examines the past three years, with the most recent year given the most weight.
MLB 10 The Show is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and releases March 2.
MLB 10 The Show Team Rankings [Pasta Padre]