Empire Writes Back Best of Series: Best seasons from this decade – Introduction

Welcome to the Empire Writes Back best seasons of the 2010’s tournament! Let’s take a look at what it’s all about, shall we?

Great sports seasons are one thing that fans tend to always remember, and us here at Empire Writes Back are going to try to remember all the best seasons from New York athletes this decade. Whether it was something in particular like a stretch of dominant games, or a an award someone receives, the truly spectacular seasons are the ones that stick around in our minds.

The debates about which seasons are the best are endless as well. Usually, it’s which player should have won an award, who had a better year, who was more exciting to watch and so on, people will always have these arguments and there will always be debates.

That is why I have decided that in the spirit of tournament season to put together the Empire Writes Back best seasons of the 2010’s tournament.

First off, these are individual seasons. There will be no team’s season on this list and a team’s performance will not factor into the list’s ranking.

The timeframe of this list is from 2010-2019. I understand that we are only two months into 2019 and the list theoretically could change, but tournament season unfortunately falls before the 2019 MLB and NFL seasons so we can’t add them in here. Plus, we already have enough of a substance size to work with, there are plenty to choose from already.

After doing some research, I have put together what I think are the best 32 seasons of the 2010’s across the four major sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). This list also doesn’t include teams we don’t cover.

To qualify, a player must have either won a major award, been a finalist for a major award, or been an all-star/pro bowler in their respective sports that season.

With that being said, here are the matchups for the Empire Writes Back best seasons of the 2010’s tournament:

(1) 2018 Jacob deGrom vs. (32) 2014 Juan Lagares

(2) 2017 Aaron Judge vs. (31) Sheldon Richardson

(3) 2017-18 Taylor Hall vs. (30) 2017-18 Mat Barzal

(4) 2012-13 Carmelo Anthony vs. (29) 2016 Jeurys Familia

(5) 2011-12 Henrik Lundqvist vs. (28) 2014 Jacob deGrom

(6) 2014-15 John Tavares vs. (27) 2014 Odell Beckham Jr.

(7) 2012-13 Henrik Lundqvist vs. (26) 2011 Eli Manning

(8) 2018 Saquon Barkley vs. (25) 2016 Noah Syndergaard

(9) 2012-13 John Tavares vs. (24) 2011 Jose Reyes

(10) 2010 Robinson Cano vs. (23) 2012 Derek Jeter

(11) 2012 R.A. Dickey vs. (22) 2015 Brandon Marshall

(12) 2013 Matt Harvey vs. (21) 2012-13 Tyson Chandler

(13) 2017 Luis Severino vs. (20) 2012 David Wright

(14) 2013-14 Carmelo Anthony vs. (19) 2011 Mariano Rivera

(15) 2011 C.C. Sabathia vs. (17) 2014-15 Rick Nash

(16) 2015 Odell Beckham Jr. vs (17) 2010-11 Amar’e Stoudemire

You can vote for each matchup on our Twitter, @Empirewritesbck. Each one will last one day, and I will be doing a write-up for each matchup.

The tournament will be starting on March 1st and will end on March 31st, when the winner will be announced on our Twitter as well as the Empire Writes Back website.

Personally, I am very excited for this. I am very interested to see how this tournament will turn out and can’t wait to see who you all think has had the best individual season of the 2010’s.

I also understand that not every great season that qualifies can be on this list. However, I tried to do my best in putting together the best list I can while also having some disparity of players.

The first matchup will be on March 1st, so make sure you check back in to see who’s in the first matchup, and make sure to vote on our Twitter for who you think should win!