The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (NL, Round One, Group 1)

The methodology and AL Bracket 1, Round 1 is here.

National League

Round One  Group One

1. 1906 Chicago Cubs (Lost WS)
v.
128.  1888 New York Giants (World Champions)

Tinker (25) /Evers (24)/Chance (29) and Three Finger Brown (29) against Buck Ewing (28)/Roger Connor (30) Tim Keefe (31)/Mickey Welch (28); I made a decision to dump the 19th century teams at the bottom of the bracket (pythag heavily skews toward earlier teams given the smaller set of good competition, I don't want to ignore them but also not have the entire tournament be a battle of 19th century guys) let's see how that turns out.  

C Giants - Ewing
1B Giants - Connor
2B Cubs-Evers
SS Cubs-Tinker
3B Cubs-Steinfeldt
LF Cubs-Sheckard
CF Cubs-Slagle
RF Giants-Tiernan
SP1 Giants-Keefe
SP2 Giants-Welch
SP3 Cubs-Reulbach
Cl Push
Double: Bat WAR Cubs
Double: Pit WAR Cubs

Cubs 10 Giants 5 - This Cubs team is gonna be a tough out; they just rolled up the Giants on the offensive side and moved onto the next round.  

64. 1994 Montreal Expos (1st in AL East)

v.

65. 1939 Cincinnati Reds (Lost WS)

-The Expos season got short because of the labor action (which will continue to impact them here) they're paced by an all 27 year old OF - Walker/Grissom/Alou.  They take on the National League Champion Reds, with 30 year old Bucky Walters and a balanced offense with two 28 year olds on the right side of the infield, Frank McCormick and Lonnie Frey.

C Reds-Lombardi
1B Reds-McCormick
2B Reds-Frey
SS Reds-Myers
3B Reds-Werber
LF Expos-Alou
CF Expos-Grissom
RF Expos-Walker
SP1 Reds-Walters
SP2 Reds-Derringer
SP3 Expos-Fassero
Cl Reds-Thompson
Double: Bat WAR Reds
Double: Pit WAR Expos

Cincinnati 10 Montreal 6 - Cincinnati swept the infield and won the top line pitching matchups to knock out the Expos, that's the only Montreal team in the field, so the Expos are no more.  

32. 1986 New York Mets (Won WS)

v.

97. 1953 Milwaukee Braves (2nd in NL)

It's the swaggering '86 Mets; Dwight Gooden is 21, Darryl Strawberry 24, Lenny Dykstra 23 and Keith Hernandez 32.  They meet the Braves (in their first year in Milwaukee)- 32 year old Warren Spahn, 21 year old Eddie Mathews. 

C Mets-Carter
1B Mets-Hernandez
2B Mets-Backman
SS Braves-Logan
3B Braves-Mathews
LF Braves-Gordon
CF Mets-Dykstra
RF Mets-Strawberry
SP1 Braves-Spahn
SP2 Mets-Darling
SP3 Mets-Ojeda
Cl  Mets-McDowell
Double: Bat WAR Mets
Double: Pit WAR Push

Mets 10  Braves  4 - The bats got it done for the Mets; overcoming the performance of the future Braves Hall of Famers.  

33. 1976 Cincinnati Reds (WS Champions)

v.

96. 1920 New York Giants (2nd in NL)

-The second half of the back to back Champion Reds; Joe Morgan's 32, Johnny Bench is 28, Pete Rose is 35 and George Foster's 27.  It is an all time great offensive attack.  The Giants counter with offense of their own; 22 year old Frankie Frisch and 29 year old Dave Bancroft.  

C Reds-Bench
1B Reds-Perez
2B Reds-Morgan
SS Giants-Bancroft
3B Reds-Rose
LF Reds-Foster
CF Reds-Geronimo
RF Giants-Youngs
SP1 Push
SP2 Reds-Zachry
SP3 Giants-Toney
Cl Reds-Eastwick
Double: Bat WAR Reds
Double: Pit WAR Push

Cincinnati 10  NYG 3 - well, this was pretty overwhelming; the Giants were an offense first team with passable pitching and the Reds were an all time offense first team with passable pitching.  This sets up the scenario in the next round where 1976 George Foster will face 1986 George Foster.

16. 1912 New York Giants (Lost WS)

v.

113. 1911 Chicago Cubs (2nd in NL)

-An organizational rematch from earlier in the bracket; 31 year old Christy Mathewson leads the Giants against Tinker (30) Evers (29) Chance (34) and Three Finger Brown (34). It's 5 years later, can this Cubs team also advance?

 C Giants-Meyers

1B Giants-Merkle
2B Giants-Doyle
SS Cubs-Tinker
3B Cubs-Doyle
LF Cubs-Sheckard
CF Giants-Becker
RF Cubs-Schulte
SP1 Giants-Mathewson
SP2 Giants-Marquard
SP3 Giants-Tesreau
Cl Giants-Crandall
Double: Bat WAR Giants
Double: Pit WAR Giants

Giants 12 Cubs 4 - the first two Giants teams in the bracket fell, but this one rode a helluva pitching advantage to victory.  

49. 1988 New York Mets (Lost NLCS)

v.

80. 1915 Phillies (Lost WS)

-two years after the '86 World Championship team that already advanced in the bracket comes the '88 Mets.  Strawberry's 26, Hernandez and Gary Carter are now 34, Gooden is only 23. They take on 28 year old Grover Cleveland Alexander, a pre-Giant 24 year old Dave Bancroft and the Phillies.

C Push
1B Phillies-Luderus
2B Mets-Backman
SS Phillies-Bancroft
3B Mets-Johnson
LF Mets-McReynolds
CF Mets-Dykstra
RF Phillies-Cravath
SP1 Phillies-Alexander
SP2 Phillies-Mayer
SP3 Mets-Cone
Cl Mets-Myers
Double: Bat WAR Mets
Double: Pit WAR Mets

NYM 10 Phillies 5 -superior depth allows the Mets to bust open a tight series; they double up advancement through the bracket

17.  1943 St Louis Cardinals (Lost WS)

v.

112. 1879 Boston Red Caps (Braves) (2nd in NL)

-22 year old Stan Musial leads the Cardinals against the future Braves, with 23 year old Tommy Bond who pitched 555 innings and started 64 games.  

C Cards-Cooper
1B Cards-Sanders
2B Cards-Klein
SS Cards-Marion
3B Cards-Kurowski
LF Braves-Jones
CF Braves-O'Rourke
RF Cards-Musial
SP1 Braves-Bond
SP2 Cards-Lanier
SP3 Cards-Pollet
Cl Cards-Krist
Double: Bat WAR Cards
Double: Pit WAR Cards

STL 13 Boston 3 - the '79 game is just too primitive for the Red Caps to compete; shorter season, smaller rosters, they've got top end talent but that's really it and the Cards wipe them out.  

48. 1906 Pirates (3rd in NL)

v. 

81. 1904 Reds (3rd in NL)

-32 year old Honus Wagner leads the Bucs; 25 year old Noodles Hahn paces the Reds - the first NL bracket wraps up Round 1.

C Reds-Schlei
1B Pirates-Nealon
2B Push
SS Pirates-Wagner
3B Pirates-Sheehan
LF Pirates-Clarke
CF Reds-Seymour
RF Reds-Dolan
SP1 Pirates-Willis
SP2 Reds-Harper
SP3 Pirates-Leifield
Cl Push
Double: Bat WAR Pirates
Double: Pit WAR Reds

Pirates 8 Reds 6 - Close on every turn, but it's Wagner/Clarke and the Pirate bats that carry the day.

That's the bracket.  Here's who we'll see in this bracket in the Round of 64.

1. 1906 Cubs

v.

65. 1939 Reds

32. 1986 Mets

v.

33. 1976 Reds

16. 1912 Giants

v.

49. 1988 Mets

17. 1943 Cardinals

v.

48. 1906 Pirates

Next time - it's back to the AL where we'll meet the second overall AL seed - the 1927 New York Yankees.