Top Baseball Teams in Texas History

[Texas-Baseball 3]

Hello all. I recently published two books on Texas baseball. Please see the links in my bio or the bottom of the page if you are interested in checking them out. 

In one book, I list the top 100 teams in Texas history. Of course, it is just one man's opinion! But I did spend three years researching the project and interviewed a bunch of MLB players and legendary Texas coaches. The book features all age levels, from Little League through MLB.  Book two is solely high school teams.

Below are my rankings for the top 10 overall teams.....and the top 10 high school teams. In both books, I go 100 deep!

What's your top 10?????

Overall Top 10

1. Houston - Little League - 1966
Won the LL World Series, back when it was all single elimination. Houston went 14-0. They hit 29 home runs and threw seven shutouts.

2. Howard Hawks - JUCO - 2009
Britt Smith's team went an incredible 63-1.

3. Elkins - High School - 2002
The Knights went 35-1. Were led by three future MLB players: Matt Carpenter, James Loney and Chad Huffman. Wardell Starling was also a stud.

4. University of Texas - D1 College - 1983
Coach Cliff Gustafson's team went 66-14 and were led by an amazing pitching staff of Roger Clemens, Mike Capel, Kirk Killingsworth and Calvin Schiraldi - all who won 12 or more games.

5. Banditos - 12U Select - 2006/07
They had an incredible 155-game winning streak over a four-year period. Numerous MLB players have went through the Banditos program. The 2006 group went 59-0, followed by a 48-0 record in 2007.

6. South San - High School - 1967
Coach Cliff Gustafson's team went 39-0. South also won the title in 1966, going 36-5. South had a 52-game winning streak between 66-68.

7. West University (Houston) - Senior League - 2014
Current top MLB pitching prospects John Doxakis and Joe Gobillot led West to back-to-back Senior League World Series championships.

8. D-Bat Mustangs - 18U Select Team - 2005 
Had probably the top pitching staff at the high school age level in Texas history. The Mustangs went 46-4 behind Clayton Kershaw, Shawn Tolleson, Chad Bettis, Chase Anderson, Mike Bolsinger, Mark Cohoon and Jordan Walden. Zach Britton played for a portion of the season. 

9. Argyle - High School - 2018
Argyle won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 19, going a combined 77-1. 

10. University of Texas - D1, College - 1975
Keith Moreland supplied the offense, Jim Gideon (17-0), Richard Wortham (15-1) and Martin Flores (10-1) the pitching for Gustafson's Longhorns who went 59-6.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVTGDLPL

High School

1. Elkins 2002
The Knights went 35-1. Were led by three future MLB players: Matt Carpenter, James Loney and Chad Huffman. Wardell Starling was also a stud.

2. South San 1967
Coach Cliff Gustafson's team went 39-0. South also won the title in 1966, going 36-5. South had a 52-game winning streak between 66-68.

3. Argyle 2018
Argyle won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 19. They were a perfect 37-0 in 2018 and went 40-1 in 2019. 

4. Woodlands 2006
Led by MLB players Paul Goldschmidt, Brett Eibner and Kyle Drabek, Woodlands went 38-1.

5. Calallen 2008
Coached by all-time Texas win's leader Steve Chapman, Calallen went 42-1. Logan Verrett and Jared John were the key players.

6. Colmesneil 1986
Jerry DuBose won 17 games for Colmesneil and coach Ben Stewart. They went a perfect 28-0.

7. Lorena 2003
HOF coach Greg Blanchard's team went 31-0. Adam Hornung, Josh Blakley and Jake Weghorst were the studs.

8. Richard King 1967
Burt Hooton went 15-1, threw three no-hitters and averaged 13 Ks per game!

9. Brenham 1986
Cubs won three straight titles (1986, 87 and 88) behind legendary pitcher Jon Peters. 

10. Waxahachie 1926
Won 65 straight games, including back-to-back titles in 1925 and 1926. MLB player Paul Richards was the stud.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVT8KWLF

[Fletch 5800]

Your criteria is a bit odd. Mixing 13U select teams with college teams doesn't exactly seem fair but whatever. Also, no love for the '02 squad? They went 57-15 and won the Big 12 and of course the national championship. 

 

God damn, 2 of those 59 wins the '06 Banditos had were against the team I was on. They fucking pounded us in a couple different tournaments in Round Rock. Those dudes were on a different level

Edited March 4, 2023 by Fletch

[ClubWhatever 12120]

2023 Texas Longhorns 

[Texas-Baseball 3]

7 hours ago, Fletch said:

Your criteria is a bit odd. Mixing 13U select teams with college teams doesn't exactly seem fair but whatever. Also, no love for the '02 squad? They went 57-15 and won the Big 12 and of course the national championship. 

 

God damn, 2 of those 59 wins the '06 Banditos had were against the team I was on. They fucking pounded us in a couple different tournaments in Round Rock. Those dudes were on a different level

It wasn't "which team could beat which team".....otherwise you couldn't compare the top Little League team of all time with the worst MLB team in history.

My book is about the best "teams."  Before my books there were no books out there that recognized and honored all these great Texas baseball teams.  All I'm doing is trying to give a bunch of amazing teams/players/coaches some extra glory and recognition for their accomplishment.  I think that is a good thing to do, as these teams/players/coaches deserve it.

The 2002 Texas team is in the book. I only listed the top 10 teams here, whereas the books honors the top 100. I actually did a long interview with Justin Simmons of the 2002 team. Simmons went 16-1 with a 2.52 that year.

UT has more teams in the top 100 than any other program.