The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (AL, Round One, Group 3)

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

Survivor Series 2018 is Sunday (Also, every match in Survivor Series history ranked)

Is Survivor Series still canon? Each year, rivalries, even blood feuds like Becky/Charlotte, are cast aside for a couple of weeks so the McMahons can proxy fight.  Smackdown wrestlers and RAW wrestlers, absent all pretense of backstory or character consistency, then rally together in support of their "brand".  Not in the spirit of competition, it's not "come on guys, let's win the game" - it's "no hatred has ever been felt like the hatred consuming us all for the wrestlers on the television show that airs on a different night - it burns like a thousand suns and we will not speak of it again until next November"

Here's this year's card.

Brock Lesnar (Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champion)
-The Universal Title is positioned as the main belt in the promotion (even beyond the WWF Title?  Bruno?  Hogan?  Austin?  That title?  Yup.) Everyone's mad at Brock now; his "I don't care about the fans or the other wrestlers or wrestling" gimmick, which was designed to turn him heel, has turned him heel and he's got a ton of "just go away now" heat.  Not with me - I don't care about that noise, I just want good wrestling matches.  When Brock's in with a good guy, they still happen. Apparently, who he'll be in the ring with is one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived; Danielson turned heel on Tuesday, took AJ Styles' title, and he'll be in this never before seen (well, outside of my Counterfactual) matchup.  My guess is the only way Danielson gets booed is to really be a chickenshit heel and I'd expect that going forward.

(4 1/4 stars - pretty goddamn good, Danielson fought from underneath, really as a scrappy babyface for most of the match, Lesnar beats him)

Seth Rollins (IC Champion) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (US Champion)
-You know who had two 4 1/2 star matches this year?  Chris Jericho.  So, sure, if you said "Nakamura's lost it, he's just a guy now" I'd understand - but if he has two 4 1/2 star matches in NJPW the year after his WWE deal expires, would you be surprised?  Ambrose isn't on the card, he just turned on Rollins and his interfering seems pretty much the obvious finish.

(3 1/4 stars - it was fine, too deliberately paced in the first half to have a much higher rating than this, Rollins goes over)

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair
-Ronda's got the RAW Women's title and was supposed to face Becky Lynch - Becky got busted up in the go home RAW (which they should use to turn her into a monster babyface) and bumped from the match in favor of Charlotte.  Turning Ronda to build to Ronda/Becky at Mania makes sense, they don't need to do that now, now she should just beat Charlotte in the best match they can have - but at some point before Mania (maybe during Mania) having her NXT shootfight pals join her as a ass stomping heel stable who go head up with the homegrown women makes a lot of sense.

(3 3/4 stars - only the non finish keeps this from being a solid 4 star match, post-match violence was fun, although I would have liked to see them do it the other way)

Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) (Raw Tag Champions) (with Drake Maverick) vs. The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) (SmackDown Tag Champions) (with Big Show)
-Who is the best wrestler in the promotion? I don't mean who is having the best matches, I mean who is the
best wrestler? I might still pick Cesaro (I'd pick Ricochet, but Cesaro would be in the top 5). AoP is
a perfectly good big man tag team. None of these matches matter and no one will ever talk about
who wins or loses them after Sunday.

(yikes, the finish)

Team Raw (Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Bálor, and Bobby Lashley) (with Baron Corbin and Lio Rush) vs. Team SmackDown (The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe)
-Rey Mysterio is one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived and has just made his return to the
promotion; Samoa Joe is one of the best
North American wrestlers of the 21st century --- and the two guys this promotion most cares about
are the guy from the Real World and the promoter's kid. Vince should have turned over the booking
of this promotion 15 years ago. I assume this is the main event and the Smackdown group is going
over.

(3 stars, perfectly acceptable elimination match, they squashed Joe, which is a helluva use of resources)

Team Raw (Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson), The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel), Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Kalisto, and/or Gran Metalik), and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)) vs. Team SmackDown (The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods), Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, and/or Killian Dain), Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and The Colóns (Epico Colón and Primo Colón))

(pre show match, it was good)

-Yeah, 20 guys is a lot of guys - but I'm here for it.  The Revival and Usos are excellent teams; Gable and Kalisto are very good wrestlers and if Metalik is in the match that would make his first major WWE PPV appearance. This is perfectly good Survivor Series fodder and they'll probably give it 9 minutes.

Team Raw (Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Natalya, and Ruby Riott) (with Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) vs. Team SmackDown (Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, and TBA)

-this will not be good.

(this was not good)

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Mustafa Ali 

-in June, Murphy and Ali had a match on 205 Live that I have rated as the 59th best match in the history of the World Wrestling Federation and neither of these guys is one of the 20 best workers in the promotion.  That's how much talent there is.  It drips from every corner of the company.  If they give this match 20 minutes it steals the show.

(4 stars, they gave it 12:30 minutes and it was nearly the best match on the show)

That's it man. Yeah, you should watch this.  Bryan Danielson's wrestling Brock Lesnar, are you out of your mind?  Of course you watch this.

Here's every match in the history of Survivor Series ranked. Ratings are mine; times are approximate.  Possible I've missed some, I'm just a dude.  For comparison - I've rated 52 WWE matches this year at 4 stars and up.  In the history of Survivor Series - there have been 5.  Every NXT Takeover is better than any Survivor Series.  

1.      (96) Bret Hart d. Steve Austin 28:30 4 ¾

2.      (17) Non Title: Universal Champ Brock Lesnar d. WWF Champ AJ Styles 15:30 4 1/4

3.      (92) WWF Title: Bret Hart d. Shawn Michaels 26 min 4 ¼

4.      (16) A.J. Styles & Dean Ambrose & Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt & Shane McMahon d. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho & Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman 53 min 4 

5.      (95) WWF Title Bret Hart d. Diesel 25 min 4

6.      (02) Tags: Los Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero) d, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, and Edge and Rey Mysterio 19:30 3 ¾

7.    (17) The Shield d. The New Day 21:30 3 3/4 

8. (97) WWF Title Shawn Michaels d. Bret Hart 12;30 3 ¾ 

9.      (96) WWF Title: Sid d. Shawn Michaels 20 min 3 ¾

10.    (16)    Enzo Amore & Big Cass & Kofi Kingston & Big E & Primo & Epico & Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & Cesaro & Sheamus d. Jason Jordan & Chad Gable & Heath Slater & Rhyno & Tyler Breeze & Fandango & Usos & Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder  19 min 3 3/4

              

11.      (87) Strike Force/Jim Powers/Paul Roma/British Bulldogs/Rougeaus/Killer Bees d.

Hart Foundation/Demolition/Greg Valentine/Dino Bravo/Islanders/Bolsheviks    30:30  3 ¾

12. (01)Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and The Big Show) d. Team Alliance (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) 45 min 3 ½

13. (02)World (Elimination Chamber) Shawn Michaels d. Triple H  (with Ric Flair), Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Kane, and Chris Jericho 39 min 3 ½

14. (03)Team Bischoff (Chris Jericho, Christian, Randy Orton, Scott Steiner and Mark Henry) d. Team Austin (Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley) 27 min. 3 ½

15. (11) WWF Title CM Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio 17 min 3 1/2 

16. (96) Doug Furnas/Phil Lafon/Godwinns d. Owen/DaveyBoy/New Rockers  20:30 3 ½

17. (17) Usos d. Sheamus/Cesaro 16 min 3 1/2

18. (12) Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio) (with Ricardo Rodriguez) d. Team Foley (The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) and Randy Orton) 26 min 3 1/2 

19.  (94) WWF Title Bob Backlund d. Bret Hart 35 min 3 ½

20. (04)IC Shelton Benjamin d. Christian (with Tyson Tomko) 13:30 3 ½

21. (09) WWF Title: John Cena d. Triple H and Shawn Michaels 21 min 3 ½

22. (05) Triple H d Ric Flair 27 min 3 ½

23. (13) CM Punk and Daniel Bryan d The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) (with Bray Wyatt) 3 ½ 

24. (13) The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns) and The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger) defeated Cody Rhodes/Goldust, The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) & Rey Mysterio 23:30 3 1/2

25. (95) 123 Kid/Chris Candido/Dr Tom/Louis Spicoli d. Marty Jannetty/Hakushi/Bob Holly/Barry Horowitz  18:30 3 1/2 

 26. (93) Heavenly Bodies d. Rock N Roll Express 13:30 3 ½

 27. (88) Powers of Pain/Rockers/Young Stallions/Hart Foundation/British Bulldogs d.

Demoliton/Bolsheviks/Brainbusters/Conquistadors/Rougeaus  42 min 3 ½

 28. (16) Cruiser: Brian Kendrick d. Kalisto 14 min 3 1/2 

29. (09) Team Miz (The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger) d Team Morrison (John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, and Finlay) 21 min 3 ¼

30 (09) Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Christian) d Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk, and William Regal) 21 min 3 ¼

31 (98) Mankind d. Steve Austin 10:30 3 ¼

32. (05) Booker T (with Sharmell) d Chris Benoit 14:30 3 ¼

33. (05)WWF Champ John Cena (c) defeated Kurt Angle 14 min 3 ¼

34. (91) Ted Dibiase, The Mountie, The Warlord & Ric Flair d. Bret Hart, Roddy Piper, The British Bulldog & Virgil. 3 ¼ 21:30

35.      (92) Randy Savage/Mr. Perfect d. Ric Flair/Razor Ramon 3 ¼ 16:30

36.       (16) IC: Miz d. Sami Zayn 3 1/4 14 min

37.      (07) WWF Title Randy Orton (c) defeated Shawn Michaels 18 min 3 ¼

38. (14) Bray Wyatt d. Dean Ambrose (DQ) 23 min 3 1/4 

39. (99) Hollys/Too Cool d. Edge/Christian/Hardys 14:30 3 ¼

40. (12) Team Clay (Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio) (with Cameron and Naomi) d Team Tensai (Tensai, Primo, Epico and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) 18:30 3 ¼

41. (04) Jr. Title: Spike Dudley d Billy Kidman, Chavo Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio 9 min 3

42. (04) Tables: The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and Spike) and Jeff Hardy d 3-Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal) and Rico 14 min 3

43. (10) US: Daniel Bryan d Ted DiBiase 10 min 3

44. (96) Undertaker d. Mankind 15 min. 3

45. (08) World Title: John Cena d Chris Jericho 21 min 3

46. (97) Doug Furnas/Phil LaFon/Davey Boy/Anvil d. Marc Mero/Steve Blackman/Vader/Goldust 17 min 3

47. (04) Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven) d Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista, and Snitsky) (with Ric Flair) 24 min 3

48.      (94) British Bulldog/Razor Ramon/Fatu/Barbarian/123Kid d. HBK/Diesel/Owen Hart/Anvil/Jeff Jarrett 22 min 3

49.      (07) Team Triple H (Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and Kane) defeated Team Umaga (Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Montel Vontavious Porter, Finlay and Big Daddy V) 22min 3

50. (11) Dolph Ziggler d. John Morrison 10:30 3

51. (10) John Morrison d Sheamus 11 min 3

52. (99) IC: Chyna d. Chris Jericho 13:30 3

53. (07) World (Cell) Batista (c) defeated The Undertaker 21 min 3

54. (93) Randy Savage/Razor Ramon/123 Kid/Marty Jannetty d. Diesel/Adam Bomb/IRS/Rick Martel  36 min. 3

55. Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan and Ryback) defeated Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev and Luke Harper) (with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury and Lana) 43 min 3

56. (89) Rick Rude/Curt Hennig/Rougeaus d. Roddy Piper/Bushwackers/Jimmy Snuka 21:30 3

57. (05) Team SmackDown (Batista, Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton) (with Bob Orton and Jillian Hall) defeated Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Carlito and Chris Masters) 24 min 3

58. (05) US Title: Chris Benoit (c) defeated Chavo Guerrero (with Vickie Guerrero) by submission 8:30

59. (10) Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) defeated Kaval 9:30 3

60. (15) Dean Ambrose d. Kevin Owens 11 3

61. (15) Roman Reigns d. Alberto del Rio 13:30 3

62. (11) The Rock and John Cena defeated Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) 21:30 3

63. (90) Ted Dibiase/Undertaker /Honky Tonk Man /Greg Valentine d. Hart Foundation/DustyRhodes/Koko B Ware 14 min 3

64. (00) WWF Title: Kurt Angle d. Undertaker 3 16 min

65. (15) WWF Title: Roman Reigns d. Dean Ambrose 9 min

66. (12) World: Sheamus d The Big Show 14:30

67. (01) Tags (Cage): The Dudley Boyz  (with Stacy Keibler) d The Hardy Boyz 15:30

68. (00) The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn) (with Terri) d D-Generation X (Road Dogg, K-Kwik, Billy Gunn and Chyna) 12:30

69. (12) WWF Title CM Punk d.  Ryback and John Cena 18 min

70. (03) Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, John Cena, Hardcore Holly, and Bradshaw) d Team Lesnar (Brock Lesnar, The Big Show, Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones and A-Train) 13:30

71. (04)            Team Guerrero (Eddie Guerrero, The Big Show, Rob Van Dam, and John Cena) defeated Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Carlito, Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak) 12:30

72. (08) Team HBK (Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG), and The Great Khali) d. Team JBL (John Bradshaw Layfield, Kane, MVP, John Morrison and The Miz) 18 min

73. (10) Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Chris Masters, Big Show, and MVP) d. Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and Cody Rhodes) 18 min

74. (11) Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Hunico, and Dolph Ziggler) d. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Kofi Kingston, and Sin Cara) 22 min

75. (17) Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Triple H d. Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, and John Cena 33:30

76. (15) Ryback/Usos/Lucha Dragons d. New Day/Sheamus/Barrett 17 min 30 sec 

77. (13) World: John Cena d. Alberto Del Rio 16 min

78. (01) US/IC Title: Edge d Test 11 min

79. (00) The Rock d  Rikishi 11:30

80. (17) Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Asuka, and Bayley d. Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina, Naomi, and Natalya 18:30

81.  (95) Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Watanabe & Lioness Asuka vs. Alundra Blaze, Sakie Hasegawa, Kyoko Inoue, & Chapparita Asari. 10 min

82. (08) Team Orton (Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, Cody Rhodes, and Mark Henry) (with Layla, Manu and Tony Atlas) d Team Batista (Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, and R-Truth) 16:30

83. (03) Tags: Basham Brothers d. Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo) 7 min

84. (07)Tags: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch d Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes 7 min

85. (95) Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, The British Bulldog &  Sid (w/Ted Dibiase & Jim Cornette) d. Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon & Dean Douglas (w/Mr. Fuji) 27:30

86. (97) The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal), Ahmed Johnson and Ken Shamrock d The Nation of Domination (The Rock, Faarooq, Kama Mustafa and D'Lo Brown) 20:30

87. (87) The Jumping Bomb Angels, Velvet MacIntyre, Rockin’ Robin & The Fabulous Moolah d. Judy Martin, Leilani Kai, Dawn Marie, Donna Christanello & Sherri Martell 20:15

88. (07) ECW Title: CM Punk d. John Morrison and The Miz 8 min

89.  (10) WWF Title: Randy Orton d. Wade Barrett 15 min

90. (01) Euro Title: Christian  defeated Al Snow 6:30

91. (02) Jr Title: Billy Kidman defeated Jamie Noble 7:30

92. (06) Team DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk and the Hardy Boyz) d Team Rated-RKO (Edge, Randy Orton, Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox and Gregory Helms) 11:30

93. (09) WorldTitle: Undertaker d Chris Jericho and The Big Show 13:30

94. (12) Antonio Cesaro d R-Truth 7 min

95. (17) Charlotte d. Alexa 15:30 min

96. (02)Women: Victoria d Trish Stratus 7 min

97. (88) Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo w/Frenchie Martin, Ravishing Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan, Harley Race & Mr. Perfect d. Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Ken Patera, Tito Santana & Scott Casey 30:30

98.  (00) Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) d Edge and Christian and Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather) 10 min

99.  (89) Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty d. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Haku & Andre the Giant. 21:30

100. (98) XPac draw Steve Regal 8 min

101. (04) WWF Title: John Bradshaw Layfield d. Booker T 15 min

102. (00)Steve Austin NC HHH 25 min

103. (98) WWF Title: The Rock d. Mankind 17 min

104. (00) Kane d Chris Jericho 12:30

105. (10) World: Kane d. Edge 13 min

106. (03) World Title: Goldberg d Triple H (with Ric Flair) 12 min

107. (99) WWF Title: Big Show d. HHH/Rock 16 min

108. (17) Baron Corbin d. Miz 9:30 min

109. (00) Euro: William Regal d. Hardcore Holly. 5:30

110. (01)William Regal d Tajiri 3 min

111. (99) Tags:  New Age Outlaws d.. Mankind & Al Snow 14 min

112. (03) Kane d Shane McMahon 13:30 min

113. (99) Kurt Angle d. Shawn Stasiak. 6 min

114. (06) Mr. Kennedy d The Undertaker 9 min

115. (96) The Stalker, Jake Roberts & Rocky Maivia d. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry Lawler, Crush & Goldust (w/Marlena) 23:30

116. (94) Tatanka, Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, Tom Pritchard & Jimmy Del Ray (w/Ted Dibiase) d. Lex Luger, Adam Bomb, Mabel, Billy Gunn & Bart Gunn (w/Oscar) 23:30

117. (89) Dusty Rhodes, The Red Rooster, Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake d. Big Bossman, Bad News Brown, Rick Martel & Honky Tonk Man (w/Slick & Jimmy Hart) 22 min

118.  (87) Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Brutus Beefcake, Jake Roberts & Jim Duggan (w/Elizabeth) d. Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Hercules, Danny Davis & Harley Race (w/Jimmy Hart & Bobby Heenan) 24 min

119. (06)Team Cena (John Cena, Kane, Bobby Lashley, Sabu and Rob Van Dam) d Team Big Show (The Big Show, Test, Montel Vontavious Porter, Finlay (with Hornswoggle) and Umaga 12:30

120. (09)Batista defeated Rey Mysterio 7 min

121. (15) Tyler Breeze d. Dolph Ziggler 6:30

122. (99) The Godfather, D-Lo Brown & Headbangers d. Acolytes & Dudleys 9:30

123. (99) Van Venis, Mark Henry, Gangrel & Steve Blackman d.. The British Bulldog & Mean St Posse 9 min

124. (98) Rock d. Ken Shamrock 8:30

125. (98) Ken Shamrock d. Goldust 6 min

126. (97) Kane d. Mankind 9 min

127. (06)World Title:  Batista defeated King Booker 14 min

128. (15) Women: Charlotte d. Paige 14 min

129. (03)Women: Molly Holly (c) defeated Lita 7 min

130. (87) Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, The One Man Gang, Butch Reed & Rick Rude (w/Slick & Bobby Heenan) d. Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Patera & Don Muraco (w/Oliver Humperdink) 23 min

131. (89) Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts & Demolition d Ted Dibiase, Zeus & The Powers of Pain (w/Mr. Fuji & Virgil). 26:30

132. (97) The Truth Commission (The Jackyl, The Interrogator, Sniper, and Recon) d. The Disciples of Apocalypse (Crush, Chainz, 8-Ball, and Skull) 10 min

133. (06) Team WWE Legends (Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes and Ron Simmons) (with Arn Anderson) d Team Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Nicky and Mikey) (with Mitch) 10 min

134. (98) Mankind d. Al Snow 4 min

135. (98) Rock d. Undertaker 8:30

136. (13) IC: Big E Langston d. Curtis Axel 6 min

137. (98) Undertaker d. Kane 7 min

138. (04)The Undertaker d Heidenreich (with Paul Heyman) 16 min

139. (90) Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, Tugboat & the Big Bossman d. Dino Bravo, the Earthquake, Haku & the Barbarian (w/Jimmy Hart & Bobby Heenan). 16 min

140. (90) Rick Martel, Warlord, Power and Glory (with Slick) d. Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka,  Rockers  18 min

141. (93) Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, The Undertaker d. Ludvig Borga, Jacques Rougeau, Crush, Yokozuna 28 min

142 (97) The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) and The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) d. The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) and The New Blackjacks (Blackjack Windham and Blackjack Bradshaw) 15:30

143. (14) Tags: Miz and Mizdow d. Usos, Goldust and Stardust and Los Matadores 15:30

144. (93) Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart and Keith Hart v. Shawn Michaels, the Black Knight, the Red Knight and the Blue Knight. 31 min

145. (02)  WWF Title: Big Show d Brock Lesnar 4 min

146. (00)Steve Blackman, Crash Holly and Molly Holly defeated T & A (Test and Albert) and Trish Stratus 5 min

147. (96) Faarooq, Vader, Fake Diesel & Fake Razor (w/Clarence Mason, PG-13 & Jim Cornette) NC Flash Funk, Savio Vega, Yokozuna & Jimmy Snuka  9:30

148. (10) Tags: The Nexus (Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) (c) (with David Otunga, Michael McGillicutty, and Husky Harris) defeated Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov 5 min

149. (01)Battle Royal 7:30

150. (92) The Nasty Boys & the Natural Disasters d. The Beverly Brothers & Money Inc 16 min

151. (95) The Undertaker, Henry Godwinn, Fatu & Savio Vega v. King Mabel, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Isaac Yankem & Jerry Lawler 14:30

152.  (88) The Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Sam Houston, the Blue Blazer & Jim Brunzell d. The Honky Tonk Man, Dangerous Danny Davis, Outlaw Ron Bass, Greg Valentine & Bad News Brown (w/Jimmy Hart). 18 min

153. (90) The Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado & The Road Warriors d. Mr. Perfect & Demolition (w/Mr. Fuji & Bobby Heenan). 14 min

154. (88) Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Hillbilly Jim, Hercules & Koko B. Ware (w/Elizabeth) d. The Big Bossman, Akeem, King Haku, the Red Rooster & Ted Dibiase (w/Slick, Virgil & Bobby Heenan) 29 min

155. (91) The Beverly Brothers & The Nasty Boys d. The Rockers & The Bushwhackers 23 min

156. (89) Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, Greg Valentine & Earthquake d. Jim Duggan, Ronnie Garvin, Bret Hart & Hercules. 23:30

157.    (16) Charlotte & Bayley & Alicia Fox & Nia Jax & Sasha Banks d. Becky Lynch & Naomi & Natalya & Alexa Bliss & Carmella 17:30

158. (15) Undertaker/Kane d. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper 10:30

159. (08) The Undertaker d The Big Show 13 min

160. (91) WWF Title: Undertaker d. Hulk Hogan 12:30

161. WWF Title: Randy Orton d. Big Show 11 min

162. (11) World Title: Big Show defeated Mark Henry 13 min

163. (92) Headshrinkers d. High Energy 7:30

164. (92) Tatanka d. Rick Martel 11:30

165. (95) Goldust vs. Bam Bam Bigelow 8:30

166. (90) The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan & Tito Santana d. Ted Dibiase, Rick Martel, the Warlord, and Power & Glory (w/Slick & Virgil) 9 min

        

167. (98) Al Snow d. Jeff Jarrett 3:30

168. (99) Kane d. XPac 4 min

169. (06) Women: Mickie James defeated Lita 8:30

170. (99) The Big Show d. Albert, Viscera, Mideon & Big Bossman 1:30

171. (98) Steve Austin d. Big Boss Man 3:30

172. (97) IC: Steve Austin d. Owen Hart 4 min

173. (16) Goldberg d. Brock Lesnar 1:30 

174. (13) Mark Henry d. Ryback 5 min

175. (11) Beth Phoenix d Eve Torres 4 min

176. (10) Women:  Natalya d Lay-Cool (Layla and Michelle McCool) 3:30

177. (01)Women: Trish Stratus d Lita, Jacqueline, Mighty Molly, Jazz, and Ivory 4:30

178. (04)Women Trish Stratus d Lita 1:30

179 (15) WWF Title: Sheamus d. Roman Reigns :30

180. (98) Mankind d. Dwayne Gill :30

181. (98) Rock d. Boss Man :30

182. (14) Women: Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) d. AJ Lee 30 sec.

183. (06)Women: Trish Stratus d Melina 6:30

184. (09) Team Mickie (Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Gail Kim, and Eve Torres) d Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Jillian Hall, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox) 10:30

185. (08) Team Raw (Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, and Jillian Hall) (with Santino Marella) d Team SmackDown (Michelle McCool, Victoria, Maria, Maryse, and Natalya) 9:30

186. (13) Team Total Divas (Natalya, The Bella Twins , The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) Eva Marie, & JoJo) d Team "True Divas" (AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Aksana, &Summer Rae) 11:30

187.   Team Fox (Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi and Natalya) (with Tyson Kidd) d. Team Paige (Paige, Cameron and The Slayers (Layla and Summer Rae) 14:30

188. (00)Women: Ivory  d Lita 5 min

189. (12) Women Eve Torres (c) defeated Kaitlyn 7 min

190. (98) Women: Sable d. Jackie 3 min

191. (92) Big Boss Man d. Nailz 6 min

192. (92) Yokozuna d. Virgil 4 min

193. (91) The Big Bossman & The Legion of Doom d. Irwin R. Shyster & The Natural Disasters (w/Jimmy Hart) 15:30

194. (91) The Texas Tornado, Tito Santana, Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter d. Colonel Mustafa, the Berserker, Skinner & Hercules 14 min

195. (90) Nikolai Volkoff, Tito Santana & the Bushwhackers d.. Sgt. Slaughter, Boris Zhukov & the Orient Express (w/Gen. Adnan & Mr. Fuji) 10:30

196. (98) Tags: The New Age Outlaws d. Mark Henry & D-Lo Brown and The Headbangers 10:30

197. (93) The Bushwhackers & Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) d. Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger & The Headshrinkers (w/Luna Vachon & Afa) 11 min

198. (02)Vince McMahon d The Undertaker 12 min

199. (08) WWF Title: Edge d Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov 14 min

200. (92) Casket Match: The Undertaker d Kamala (w/Kim Chee & Harvey Whippleman) 7 min 

201. (07) Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly d. Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria and Layla 5 min

202. (99) Tori, Debra, Mae Young & Moolah d. Jacqueline, Luna Vachon, Ivory & Terri Runnels 2 min

203. (14) Adam Rose and The Bunny defeated Slater Gator (Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil) 2:30

204. (05) Theodore Long (with Palmer Cannon) d Eric Bischoff 5:30

205. (07) The Great Khali d Hornswoggle 3 min

206. (94) Casket Match: The Undertaker d Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette). 15:30

207 (94) Jerry Lawler, Sleazy, Cheesy & Queasy vs. Doink, Dink, Wink & Pink 16 min

The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (NL, Round One, Group 2)

The previous bracket is here.

National League Round 1-Group 2

2. 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates (1st in NL)
v.
127. 1889 St Louis Browns (Cards) (2nd in AA)

-The '06 Pirates are already in the field of 64; four years younger versions of Honus Wagner (28) and Fred Clarke (29) look to join them. They take on a 21 year old Silver King, a 29 year old Charlie Comiskey, and the future St Louis Cardinals.


C Browns-Boyle
1B Pirates-Bransfield
2B Pirates-Ritchey
SS Pirates-Wagner
3B Pirates-Leach
LF Pirates-Clarke
CF Pirates-Beaumont
RF Browns-McCarthy
SP1 Browns-King
SP2 Browns-Chamberlain
SP3 Browns-Stivetts
Cl Push
Double: Bat WAR Pirates
Double: Pit WAR Browns

Pirates 8 Browns 7 - this was a clear battle between the Pirate bats and the Browns arms; in the end, the Pirates escape the early ouster to move to the next round.

63. 1922 New York Giants (Won WS)
v.
66. 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers (Lost WS)

-it's the first Giants/Dodgers matchup of the tournament - the '20 Giants got bounced in Round 1, they're back two years later - Frankie Frisch is 24, Dave Bancroft is 31; there's Ross Youngs/Irish Meusel - a 31 year old Casey Stengel's on this team. They meet the Dodgers - 33 year old Jackie Robinson/33 year old Pee Wee Reese/28 year old Gil Hodges/25 year old /Duke Snider/30 year old Roy Campanella.  We got Giants/Dodgers, let's do it.  

C Dodgers-Campanella
1B Dodgers-Kelly
2B Dodgers-Robinson
SS Giants-Bancroft
3B Giants-Groh
LF Dodgers-Pafko
CF Dodgers-Snider
RF Giants-Youngs
SP1 Dodgers-Erskine
SP2 Dodgers-Loes
SP3 Giants-Douglas
Cl Dodgers-Black
Double: Bat WAR Giants

Double: Pit WAR Dodgers

Dodgers 10 Giants 6 - The Dodgers have the offensive advantage and the top end pitching edge and move to the next round.  

31. 1997 Atlanta Braves (Lost NLCS)

v.

98. 1936 Chicago Cubs (2nd in NL)

-The '97 Braves: 31 year old Greg Maddux/31 year old Tom Glavine/30 year old John Smoltz.  Andruw Jones is 20, Chipper's 25, Kenny Lofton is 30 - it's the '97 Braves taking on the 1936 Cubs: Stan Hack and Billy Herman are both 26; Gabby Hartnett is 35 - the Cubs might be fighting uphill here, can they knock off the Braves?

C Braves-Lopez
1B Braves-McGriff
2B Cubs-Herman
SS Braves-Blauser
3B Push
LF Push
CF Braves-Lofton
RF Cubs-Demaree
SP1 Braves-Smoltz
SP2 Braves-Glavine
SP3 Braves-Neagle
Cl Braves-Wohlers
Double: Bat WAR Braves
Double: Pit WAR Braves

Braves 12 Cubs 2 - the methodology favors more modern teams, and when you add that to a modern team who was better anyway, you get a runaway Braves win. 

34. 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates (lost NLCS)
v.
95. 1923 New York Giants (lost WS)


37 year old Roberto Clemente and 32 year old Willie Stargell pace the Bucs; these 1920s Giants teams have struggled so far, losing twice in the tournament, they're back - 25 year old Frisch, 32 year old Bancroft, heck, Travis Jackson's on this team at 19.  

C Pirates-Sanguillen
1B Pirates-Stargell
2B Giants-Frisch
SS Giants-Bancroft
3B Pirates-Hebner
LF Pirates-Davalillo
CF Pirates-Oliver
RF Pirates-Clemente
SP1 Pirates-Blass
SP2 Pirates-Moose
SP3 Pirates-Briles
Cl Pirates-Giusti
Double: Bat WAR Pirates
Double: Pit WAR Pirates

Pirates 14 Giants 2 - the biggest blowout of the tournament; take a more modern team that is also better than their opponent - and this is the result.  


15. 1975 Cincinnati Reds (Won WS)
v. 
114. 1886 St Louis Browns (Cards) (Won WS)

-The '76 Reds already advanced; the '89 Browns did not.  Morgan/Rose/Perez are all in their 30s (31/34/33) while Bench/Foster/Griffey are in their 20s (27/26/25).  22 year old Bob Caruthers leads the Browns - given trends, it would be startling to see an upset here.


C Reds-Bench
1B Reds-Perez
2B Reds-Morgan
SS Reds-Concepcion
3B Browns-Latham
LF Browns-O'Neill
CF Push
RF Reds-Griffey
SP1 Browns-Foutz
SP2 Browns-Caruthers
SP3 Browns-Hudson
Cl Reds-Eastwick
Double: Bat WAR Reds
Double: Pit WAR Browns

Reds 8 Browns 7 - Considering the Reds were heavily favored and then won the first four matchups, this was significantly closer than anticipated.  That pitching weakness is gonna catch up to Cincinnati in a tournament like this.  

50. 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers (lost WS)
v.
79. 1962 San Francisco Giants (lost WS)

-more than a little excited about this one; it's the first appearance of a San Francisco Giants team and they are taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This is fantastic. Steve Garvey's 28, Ron Cey's 29, Davey Lopes is 32 and Reggie Smith is as well to lead the Dodgers. For the Giants it's 31 year old Willie Mays, 24 year old Willie McCovey, 24 year old Juan Marichal, 24 year old Orlando Cepeda.  Giants/Dodgers!

C Giants-Haller
1B Giants-Cepeda
2B Dodgers-Lopes
SS Dodgers-Russell
3B Giants-Davenport
LF Dodgers-Baker
CF Giants-Mays
RF Dodgers-Smith
SP1 Dodgers-Sutton
SP2 Dodgers-Hooten
SP3 Dodgers-John
Cl Dodgers-Hough
Double: Bat WAR Giants
Double: Pit WAR Dodgers

Dodgers 10 Giants 6 - pitching won this one; LA swept all four pitching matchups and easily won the overall pitching battle.  San Francisco's bats couldn't make up the difference and it's LA who moves on.

18. 1908 New York Giants (2nd in NL)
v.
111. 1886 Chicago Cubs (White Stockings) (lost WS)

-The 1912 Giants have already advanced, we back up 4 years to see 27 year old Christy Mathewson lead his club into battle.  They face Cap Anson (34) King Kelly (28) and John Clarkson (24). 

C Giants-Bresnahan
1B Cubs-Anson
2B Giants-Doyle
SS Giants-Birdwell
3B Giants-Devlin
LF Cubs-Dalrymple
CF Cubs-Gore
RF Giants-Donlin
SP1 Giants-Mathewson
SP2 Giants-Wiltse
SP3 Cubs-Flynn
Cl Cubs-Ryan
Double: Bat WAR Giants

Double: Pit WAR Giants

Giants 11 Cubs 5 - the matchups were close, with the Giants extending that edge on the team results.  Another McGraw team hits the field of 64

47. 1935 St Louis Cardinals (2nd in NL)

v.

82. 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers (lost WS)

-We've already seen the '43 Cards advance into the next round; 8 years prior it was a 23 year old Ducky Medwick, a 37 year old player/manager Frankie Frisch, and the Dean Brothers (Dizzy, 25 and Paul, 22) leading the charge.  And we just saw the '77 Dodgers advance into the bracket; this team is basically that team - Reggie Smith's 33 - Garvey/Lopes/Cey are 29/33/30. Can the Dodgers give this squad two shots at this bracket?


C Dodgers-Yeager
1B Push
2B Dodgers-Lopes
SS Dodgers-Russell
3B Dodgers-Cey
LF Cards-Medwick
CF Cards-Moore
RF Dodgers-Smith
SP1 Cards-Dean
SP2 Push
SP3 Dodgers-John
Cl Push
Double: Bat WAR Dodgers

Double: Pit WAR Cards

Dodgers 8 Cardinals 5 - the Dodger infield didn't lose a matchup and the overall Dodger bats were just too strong for the Cardinal squad.  The '78 team joins the '77 team.

Group 2, Round of 64:

2. 1902 Pirates

v.

66. 1952 Dodgers

31. 1997 Braves

v. 

34. 1972 Pirates

15. 1975 Reds

v.

50. 1977 Dodgers

18. 1908 Giants

v.

82. 1978 Dodgers

Back to the AL we go for Round 1, Group 3 and the third overall seed in the AL- the 1942 Yankees.

The Greatest MLB Tournament Ever Created (AL, Round One, Group 2)

The previous bracket is here.

2. 1927 New York Yankees (Won WS)
v.
127. 1919 Chicago Black Sox (Threw World Series)

Maybe the most famous baseball team against certainly the most infamous; it's 32 year old Babe Ruth and 24 year old Lou Gehrig leading the '27 Yankees against 31 year old Shoeless Joe and his disgraced teammates.  

C White Sox-Schalk
1B Yankees-Gehrig
2B Yankees-Lazzeri
SS Yankees-Koenig
3B White Sox-Weaver
LF White Sox-Jackson
CF Yankees-Combs
RF Yankees-Ruth
SP1 White Sox-Cicotte
SP2 White Sox-Williams
SP3 Yankees-Shocker
Cl Yankees-Moore
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR Yankees

NYY 11 White Sox 5 - The Sox gave it all they could; keeping it tight with the Yankees throughout, but New York had a freakish offensive season that will make the Yankees hard to put down.  

63. 2007 Boston Red Sox (Won WS)
v.
66. 1907 Detroit Tigers (Lost WS)

-31 year old David Ortiz, 23 year old Dustin Pedroia, 27 year old Josh Beckett, and a 40 year old Curt Schilling in his final season paced the Sox - they take on the Tigers, their 1915 squad advanced in Bracket 1 - this group as a 20 year old Ty Cobb and a 27 year old Sam Crawford.

C Sox-Varitek
1B Sox-Youkilis
2B Sox-Pedroia
SS Tigers-O'Leary
3B Sox-Lowell
LF Tigers-Jones
CF Tigers-Crawford
RF Tigers-Cobb
DH Sox - Ortiz
SP1 Push
SP2 Sox-Beckett
SP3 Tigers-Siever
Cl Sox-Papelbon
Double: Bat WAR Sox
Double: Pit WAR Sox

Red Sox 11 Tigers 5 - Detroit ran the table in the OF to make it a game, but Boston's pitching edged them out and the totality of the Red Sox offense was just too much for the Tigers.  

31. 1961 New York Yankees (Won WS)

v.

98. 1950 Boston Red Sox (finished 3rd in AL)

It's the 61 in '61 season - 29 year old Mickey Mantle, 26 year old Roger Maris, Yogi's 36, Whitey Ford's 32 - it's the Yankees taking on their rivals from Boston; 32 year old Bobby Doerr, 31 year old Johnny Pesky, a half season for 31 year old Ted Williams. The Yankees organization won each of their games in Group 1 can they keep that streak going here?

C Yankees-Howard
1B Sox-Dropo
2B Sox-Doerr
SS Sox-Stephens
3B Push
LF Sox-Williams
CF Yankees-Mantle
RF Yankees-Maris
SP1 Sox-Parnell
SP2 Yankees-Push
SP3 Sox-Terry
Cl Push
Double: Bat WAR Yankees
Double: Pit WAR Sox

Red Sox 8 Yankees 6 - the end comes quickly to the '61 Yankees, New York had a big edge from its top end bats, but the Sox won the pitching battle and the infield to narrowly advance.

34. 1931 Philadelphia A's (lost WS)

v.

95. 2013 Detroit Tigers (lost ALCS) 

The A's are bringing some lumber.  Al Simmons is 29, Mickey Cochrane 28, Jimmie Foxx is 23.  Oh - and they've got a 31 year old lefty by the name of Grove.  Detroit's bringing arms - 31 year old Justin Verlander, 28 year old Max Scherzer - and they've got a Hall of Fame bat in their lineup too, 30 year old Miguel Cabrera.  

C A's-Cochrane
1B A's-Foxx
2B A's-Bishop
SS Tigers-Peralta
3B Tigers-Cabrera
LF A's-Simmons
CF Tigers-Jackson
RF Tigers-Hunter
DH Tigers-Martinez
SP1 Tigers-Verlander
SP2 A's-Grove
SP3 Tigers-Fister
Cl Tigers-Benoit
Double: Bat WAR A's
Double: Pit WAR Tigers

Detroit 10 Philadelphia 7 - Detroit's arms overcome the A's bats and the upsets continue in AL Group 2

15. 1937 New York Yankees (Won WS)

v.

114. 1952 Cleveland Indians (2nd in AL)

-22 year old Joe DiMaggio and 34 year old Lou Gehrig lead the Yankees (Ruth played with Gehrig; Gehrig played with DiMaggio; DiMaggio played with Mantle; Mantle played with Roy White; White played with Willie Randolph; Willie Randolph played with Don Mattingly; Mattingly played with Mariano Rivera; Mariano Rivera played with Brett Gardner who remains on the Yankees today) add in 30 year old Bill Dickey and you've got some legendary bats with this club.  The Indians have 28 year old Al Rosen and 28 year old Larry Doby - plus some arms, 31 year old Bob Lemon and 32 year old Early Wynn.  It's the '37 Yankees and the '52 Indians.


C Yankees-Dickey
1B Yankees-Gehrig
2B Indians-Avila
SS Indians-Crosetti
3B Indians-Rosen
LF Indians-Mitchell
CF Yankees-DiMaggio
RF Yankees-Selkirk
SP1 Yankees-Gomez
SP2 Indians-Garcia
SP3 Indians-Wynn
Cl Yankees-Murphy
Double: Bat WAR Push
Double: Pit WAR Yankees

Yankees 8 Indians 6 - oh man is this close - the biggest advantage though is the Yankee top end bats, Cleveland's top player is Doby - and he loses to DiMaggio.  

50. 1904 Cleveland Indians (Naps) (4th in AL)
v.
79. 2002 Boston Red Sox (2nd in AL East)

We've already seen a Naps team lose to a team from the 1960s, here, they play an even more contemporary club, the '02 Sox.  Cleveland's got 29 year old Nap Lajoie and 28 year old Elmer Flick; the Sox have Pedro (30) Manny (30) and Nomar (28).  Who will live to see the next round?

C Sox-Varitek
1B Indians-Hickman
2B Indians-Lajoie
SS Red Sox-Garciaparra
3B Indians-Bradley
LF Red Sox-Ramirez
CF Red Sox-Damon
RF Indians-Flick
DH-Indians-Stovall
SP1 Sox-Lowe
SP2 Sox-Martinez
SP3 Sox-Moore
Cl Sox-Urbina
Double: Bat WAR Sox
Double: Pit WAR Sox

Sox 12 Indians 5 - tough to be a turn of the century club in this tournament, Boston's a little big better all the way around and that adds to the win

18. 1954 New York Yankees (2nd in AL)
v.
111. 2011 Texas Rangers (Lost WS)

22 year old Mantle, 29 year old Yogi, 25 year old Whitey Ford - it's the '54 Yankees; 32 year old Adrian Beltre, 30 year old Josh Hamilton, 29 year old Ian Kinsler - it's the '11 Rangers. 

C Yankees-Berra
1B Yankees-Collins
2B Rangers-Kinsler
SS Rangers-Andrus
3B Rangers-Beltre
LF Rangers-Hamilton
CF Yankees-Mantle
RF Yankees-Bauer
DH-Rangers-Young
SP1 Rangers-Wilson
SP2 Yankees-Grim
SP3 Rangers-Holland
Cl Rangers-Feliz
Double: Bat WAR Push
Double: Pit WAR Rangers

Texas 10 NYY 5 - we really start to see the power of the modern teams in this Group; underdog contemporary teams beating, in some cases, heavily favored teams from the past - one way to look at it is as a proper valuing of the quality of modern baseball - another way is that the methodology of the tournament puts too many thumbs on the scale.

47. 1922 St Louis Browns (Orioles) (2nd in AL)
v.
82. 1988 Oakland A's (Lost WS)

It's 29 year old George Sisler and 31 year old Urban Shocker against 23 year old Jose Canseco and 24 year old Mark McGwire.  Can the modern teams get another win in AL Group 2? 

C Browns-Severeid
1B Browns-Sisler
2B Browns-McManus
SS A's-Weiss
3B A's-Lansford
LF Browns-Williams
CF A's-Henderson
RF A's-Canseco
DH-Browns-Collins
SP1 Browns-Shocker
SP2 Browns-Vangilder
SP3 A's-Davis
Cl A's-Eckersley
Double: Bat WAR Browns
Double: Pit WAR Browns

Browns 11 A's 6 - closer than the score indicates, the Browns were just a little bit better all the way around to earn some respect for the older teams in the bracket. 

When we return to this group....

1. 1927 Yankees
v.
63. 2007 Red Sox

98. 1950 Red Sox
v.
95. 2013 Tigers

15. 1937 Yankees
v.
79. 2002 Red Sox

111. 2011 Rangers
v.
47. 1922 Browns

We're headed back to the NL now for Group 2, with the #2 seed in the NL, the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates.