Last Group is Here.
American League Round One, Group 3
3. 1942 New York Yankees (Lost WS)
v.
126. 1957 Chicago White Sox (2nd in AL)
-DiMaggio and Joe Gordon are both 27 and Bill Dickey's 35. The Sox have a 23 year old Luis Aparicio, a 31 year old Minnie Minoso, and a 29 year old Nellie Fox.
C Push
1B White Sox-Torgeson
2B Yankees-Gordon
SS Yankees-Rizzuto
3B White Sox-Phillips
LF Yankees-Keller
CF Yankees-DiMaggio
RF Yankees-Henrich
SP1 Yankees-Bonham
SP2 White Sox-Donovan
SP3 Yankees-Ruffing
Cl White Sox-Staley
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR Push
Yankees 9 White Sox 4 - that OF sweep really made it tough on the Sox; the Yankees advance
62. 1904 Boston Red Sox (Americans) (1st in AL)
v.
67. 1979 Baltimore Orioles (lost WS)
-37 year old Cy Young leads the Sox against 23 year old Eddie Murray. The Red Sox take on the Orioles.
C Orioles-Dempsey
1B Orioles-Murray
2B Orioles-Dauer
SS Red Sox-Parent
3B Red Sox-Collins
LF Orioles-Roenicke
CF Red Sox-Stahl
RF Orioles-Singleton
DH Red Sox-Dougherty
SP1 Red Sox-Young
SP2 Orioles-Flanagan
SP3 Red Sox-Tannehill
Cl Red Sox-Gibson
Double: Bat WAR Orioles
Double: Pit WAR Push
Baltimore 8 Boston 7 - Wow, what a game - despite losing 3 of the 4 head to head pitching matchups, the Orioles were able to earn an overall pitching push - and that allowed their superior bats to just, by as thin a margin as there could be, squeak out a victory.
30. 1932 New York Yankees (Won WS)
v.
99. 1933 Washington Senators (Lost WS)
-Ruth's 37, Gehrig's 29, Dickey's 25. And there are 6 other Hall of Famers on this team. It's the Yankees. The Senators have four of their own, including a 26 year old Joe Cronin.
C Yankees-Dickey
1B Yankees-Gehrig
2B Yankees-Lazzeri
SS Senators-Cronin
3B Yankees-Sewell
LF Yankees-Chapman
CF Yankees-Combs
RF Yankees-Ruth
SP1 Senators-Crowder
SP2 Yankees-Ruffing
SP3 Senators-Stewart
Cl Senators-Russell
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR Senators
Yankees 10 Senators 6 - Washington won the pitching battle but the Yankee bats are just an onslaught and they move on.
35. 1954 Chicago White Sox (3rd in AL)
v.
94. 1942 Boston Red Sox (2nd in AL)
-We've already seen the '57 Sox fall in this bracket; three years earlier Minoso is 28, Nellie Fox is 26 -- we've also seen the '49 Sox fail to advance; lets drop back 7 years and see a 23 year old Ted Williams, a 23 year old rookie named Johnny Pesky, a 24 year old Bobby Doerr.
C White Sox-Lollar
1B White Sox-Fain
2B Red Sox-Doerr
SS Red Sox-Pesky
3B White Sox-Michaels
LF Red Sox-Williams
CF Red Sox-DiMaggio
RF White Sox-Rivera
SP1 Red Sox-Hughson
SP2 White Sox-Keegan
SP3 Red Sox-Dobson
Cl White Sox-Johnson
Double: Bat WAR Red Sox
Double: Pit WAR White Sox
Total WAR Tiebreak - Red Sox
Boston 9 Chicago 8 - it's the first tiebreak of the tournament; Boston had a little bigger edge with the bat than Chicago did on the mound and they move on.
14. 1929 Philadelphia A's (won WS)
v.
115. 1948 Boston Red Sox (2nd in AL)
-both the '31 and '32 A's have already failed to advance; here we find the '29 A's and they meet, once again, a Red Sox club. The A's are bringing some A list talent, pun intended. Lefty Grove is 29, Foxx is 21, Simmons 27, Cochrane 26. It's still Williams (29) Doerr (30) Pesky (29)
C A's-Cochrane
1B A's-Foxx
2B Red Sox-Doerr
SS Red Sox-Stephens
3B Red Sox-Pesky
LF Push
CF Red Sox-DiMaggio
RF A's-Miller
SP1 A's-Grove
SP2 A's-Walberg
SP3 A's-Earnshaw
Cl A's-Shores
Double: Bat WAR A's
Double: Pit WAR A's
A's 11 Red Sox 4 - tight game blown apart when we got to the mound; the A's pitching margin over the Sox was enormous and they move on.
51. 1955 New York Yankees (Lost WS)
v.
78. 1921 Cleveland Indians (2nd in AL)
-hey, it's the Mick, he's 23, and a 30 year old Yogi, and a 26 year old Whitey. It's the 50s, it's the Yankees, you know the deal. For the Tribe - it's a 33 year old Tris Speaker, a 22 year old Joe Sewell.
C Yankees-Berra
1B Yankees-Skowron
2B Yankees-McDougald
SS Indians-Sewell
3B Indians-Gardner
LF Indians-Jamieson
CF Yankees-Mantle
RF Yankees-Bauer
SP1 Indians-Coveleski
SP2 Yankees-Turley
SP3 Indians-Mails
Cl Indians-Caldwell
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR Indians
Total WAR-Indians
Indians 9 Yankees 8 - Only the second tiebreak, this one incredibly close, the Indians mound advantage carries the day and they bounce the Yankees.
19. 1911 Philadelphia A's (Won WS)
v.
110. 1934 New York Yankees (2nd in AL)
24 year old Eddie Collins, 25 year old Home Run Baker, 35 year old Eddie Plank, 27 year old Chief Bender - a quartet of Hall of Famers leading the A's --- they meet the Yanks, the Babe is 39, Gehrig 31 and Dickey's 27 (and the Yanks have 5 additional Hall of Famers)
C Yankees-Dickey
1B Yankees-Gehrig
2B A's-Collins
SS Yankees-Crosetti
3B A's-Baker
LF A's-Lord
CF Yankees-Chapman
RF Yankees-Ruth
SP1 Yankees-Gomez
SP2 A's-Plank
SP3 A's-Morgan
Cl Yankees-Murphy
Double: Bat WAR Push
Double: Pit WAR Push
Yankees 7 A's 5 - Man, the Yankees are tough to beat.
46. 1915 Boston Red Sox (Won WS)
v.
83. 1985 Toronto Blue Jays (lost ALCS)
-Speaker's 27, the Babe is 20, that's some top line HOF talent for the 1915 Sox. The Jays have the all 25 year old outfield - Jesse Barfield, George Bell, Lloyd Moseby and a 27 year old Dave Stieb and 24 year old Jimmy Key.
C Jays-Whitt
1B Sox-Hoblitzell
2B Push
SS Jays-Fernandez
3B Jays-Iorg
LF Jays-Bell
CF Sox-Speaker
RF Jays-Barfield
DH Push
SP1 Jays-Stieb
SP2 Sox-Shore
SP3 Jays-Key
Cl Sox-Mays
Double: Bat WAR Sox
Double: Pit WAR Jays
Blue Jays 9 Red Sox 6 - hard to get in the field if you're a modern team, meeting that .600% pythag threshold requirement is just tougher as quality of play improves across the board, but if you're in the field - then the balance tips toward the modern teams and they edge past Boston here.
Here's the next round for this group:
1942 Yankees
v.
1979 Orioles
1932 Yankees
v.
1942 Red Sox
1929 A's
v.
1921 Indians
1934 Yankees
v.
1985 Blue Jays
We head back to the NL for Group 3, led by the 1909 Cubs
