Which juggernaut team was more dominant - 2021 Ark or 2022 Tenn?

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#1

The answer may surprise you.

I believe most here would say Tennessee, because of the way they mauled people, especially the first half of the season.

But from an objective, metrics point of view, the two teams are very close to each other.

Both will finish the season (even after Omaha, which neither made it to in those respective seasons) with THE most wins and THE best W/L record in the country. Both won the Regular Season SEC Championship and both won the SEC Tournament.

Both led the nation in Home Runs - though Tennessee hit more (HOWEVER, in a very “HR friendly” park that is 10 feet shorter in the power alleys and center field, and does not have the prevailing wind blowing in that Baum-Walker has). Tennessee also led the nation in ERA, while we had THE best pitcher in the nation (Kopps).

In RPI, the distance between Tenn (RPI .6256) and second ranked Stanford (.6036) is a whopping .0220; However, Arkansas’ RPI in 2021 was actually significantly higher (.6310), and the distance between us and eventual National Champion MSU (.6084, after they won in Omaha) was an even larger gap of .0224).

The main reason we came out a little ahead in the metrics? Strength of schedule we played vs. the Vols’ SOS this season. We not only had the best record in the country, but we also posted that record playing THE hardest schedule in the nation (Tenn SOS this season stands at 28th). IMO, that’s even more impressive a feat than having the most HR and best ERA (which Tennessee had this season).

We won EVERY series we played in last year (until the Super), while Tenn dropped a series at Kentucky.

And, even though we didn’t make it to Omaha, we had the best record against teams that were there (9-3)…even better than National Champion MSU ended up with (7-4)…including a sweep of MSU at their place.

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#2

Well done, Wiz. All the talking heads talked about Tennessee like they were the 27 Yankees, but we were pretty damn good ourselves last year.

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#3

The best thing about Tn this year was that it didn’t make it past the super regional. There’s no doubt in my mind they were the best team this year, but listening to people, especially Vile fans, you’d think there had never been a better college baseball team. Worse yet, they thought this was just the beginning of dominance.

I expect TN has finally joined most of the rest of the SEC in putting together a regular nationally competitive program. But that’s it. They’re not special. They’ve pulled themselves up to the point where no one thinks, well TN & KY, are the two worst SEC programs.

#4

I’d say the 2022 Vols were more dominant over the course of the season.
Team BA: .308
Team ERA: 2.51
Wins: 57
Series sweeps: 10 (6 in SEC)

2021 Hogs were obviously very good too, but numbers not as dominant.
Team BA: .267
Team ERA: 3.77
Wins: 50
Series sweeps; 6 (2 in SEC).

Hogs lost at least one game in 8 of 10 SEC series. Tennessee lost only one game in 3 of 10 series, lost one series 1-2, and swept the other 6.

#5

I understand your argument but - with respect - believe I did a pretty good job of neutralizing it in my OP. Ultimately, WINNING and WHO YOU PLAYED are more important than Batting average, Home Runs and ERA. Not to mention that the Ballpark you play in impacts all of those non-W/L metrics in a way that favors Tennessee.

But in the end, you win or you lose. And we had a significantly more difficult schedule than this year’s Vols (including winning 3 of 4 against last year’s Vols, all on the road; they didn’t have to play us this year). Also, by a fluke of the schedule, nearly ALL of Arkansas most difficult opponents were played ON THE ROAD last season, making their sparkling records against Top tier teams even more impressive.

That’s why the objective “power” ratings give the 2021 Hogs the slight nod over the 2022 Vols.

#6

You ask a question that requires opinion to respond (objective references aside, this discussion is still conjecture). Then you seemingly try to correct the opinion that differs from your position. Sorry, but that’s amusing to me.

Obviously both of the teams in question were very good. Thus, multiple points can be made either way.

Watching both teams closely, my eyes tell me the answers is Tennessee when asked, who was more dominant? (And no one is happier than me that that group is now at home).

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

#7

Just defending “my position” in the debate, Hogstetrician. Not upset with you, nor do I feel that your argument is not sound - it is. I simply feel that the metrics on our side of the argument outweigh - if ever so slightly - those that they have on theirs.

But you’re right - it’s just my opinion.

However, I bring it up because to hear the media talking, Tennessee was the best team of all time…and I feel, and have all this past year - that WE had a historically dominant season last year for the reasons stated above. And in reviewing both seasons, they are very, very close when you factor in all of the variables. I do believe reasonable and baseball-savvy people can disagree about which one was the “more” dominant.

And that’s what boards like this are for, IMO.

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#8

The take home message is clear…. both teams were very good without much differentiation regarding “dominance”.

Thus, when anyone (media or otherwise) claims Tennessee was clearly the best team of all time, more pause should be given to the 2021 Hogs.

Of course, now, both teams will be mentioned much more in the same breath.

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#9

Thinking just a bit more about it, I guess the motivation for the OP is that even though we were everybody’s Number 1 most of last season, and got a lot of praise, I didn’t hear anyone say that we were “one of the great teams of all time” like they have with Tennessee.

And the thing is, in real time (i.e., during last season, as we were living it), I KNEW that we were in the middle of something special. It’s just that the “common” fan is affected more by Home runs and strikeouts that the metrics we were crushing that aren’t as obvious. People SEE Home Runs and big offensive explosions, but most are unaware that we played the most difficult schedule in the country, and that most of the more difficult games (i.e., against higher ranked teams) were away from home.

I don’t know that any team has ever finished with the best record in the country against the #1 most difficult SOS. That’s a truly remarkable achievement, and IMO more significant than having both the most HR and the best ERA. I don’t like Tennessee, but I do respect what they did this season. I just don’t see it as any more fantastic that what we did last year, and I wanted to make my point.

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#10

Truth is, outside of Kopps, and the last half of the season performance by Wicklander, our pitching last year was just okay.

As far as the lineup, not one regular hit more than .284, and we struck out 562 times! So, we hit home runs or we didn’t hit much at all.

So, even in the middle of the season last year, it’s understandable if people didn’t consider that team “the best of all time”.

#11

The sad part is that it doesn’t matter because we didn’t win it all. Five years from now nobody outside Ark or TN will be talking about either team. Even hog fans will think more about a certain pop up that fell to the ground 3 years earlier

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#12

Tennessee got all the media coverage cause they were the "bad boys"who did outlandish things that drew attention to them…we…like always took care of our business in the "no nonsense business"manner that is a DVH team…and the media tends to favor sensationalism as opposed to business

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#13

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