MLB March Madness

[vtbub]

In yet another attempt to start and finish a dynasty, I bring you this:

There is no true measure of what team could truly be called the best of all-time. From the pre-modern era from 1876-1900, followed by the deadball era, to today's DH inflated offensive stars, finding one team that stands out above all the others is nearly an impossible task....until....nope, sorry, it's an impossible task.

But with the help of an APBA Excel helper, we can do a tournament of some kind. Not quickly mind you, I'm in school and work part time now, so this won't be finished next month. And the track record of playing games to write about is not good, yet this is a doable project.

We took 64 teams from 1938-1993 and will face them off in an NCAA-style event, except my counting skills are crap and I ended up with 66 teams and baseball is never a winner take all event.

Why '38-93? I have APBA-style cards from all those seasons to begin with. I think deadball baseball is too far removed from came after it, and really doesn't interest me. There weren't many seasons done from '94 on, so consistency would be lost, so '38-'93 it is.

Before revealing the teams, some ground/houe rules. I'm using a modified version of the Master game for APBA. 30 pitching grades instead of five and the helper deals with extra fielding rolls. APBA is a good hitting simulation, but things should be a bit more spot on with the pitchers.


There are really no ballpark effects. While games will be played on some neutral fields, it's just eye candy.

No injuries will carry over from round to round. No one wants to read about some bench dude that played three weeks while Mickey Mantle was nursing a stubbed toe.

The play-in round and the first round are best of three affairs. Higher seed has all games at "home".

Round of 32 and Regional Semi's are best of 5. Higher seed bats last in games 1,2, and 5.

Regional finals, Final Four, and World Series will be best of seven, 2-3-2 format.

No franchise has more than four teams picked and no back to back teams are in. You would literally have half the field be from the Bronx.

There will be a play-in for the 63rd and 64th teams. Higher seed hosts on site.

3-Man minimum starting rotation. Pitchers will be yanked after ten baserunners or their first baserunner in scoring position after pitching to 27 batters. Spot relievers after 9 baters, closers after six. Shutouts are excluded.

Unless the home team used the DH, there will be no DH used.

[Travis]

WAMCO represent!

[vtbub]

The Teams

I'll announce the seedings and game sites later.

BOSTON/MILWAUKEE/ATLANTA BRAVES: 48, 57, 93

The 48 squad lost the World Series to Cleveland and features Waren Spahn and Johnny Sain. the 1957 team features Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, along with Spahn as they beat the Yankees that year in seven. The1993 team clinched on the last day of the year in the last four division playoff race. They had a better record than the previous two pennant winners and have something to prove.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 69, 71, 79, 83

Strong rumors persist that the 1969 Orioles, loseres to the Mets in the Series, will be the overall #1 seed. They won and impressive 108 games in 1969 and feature pitching, power, and defense. This will be their chance to show just how good they are. The 1971 team feaatures 4 20 game winners, the only team in baseball history to do so, that's why they are in. Like the other two bridesmaids, the 1979 Orioles had a great regular season and underperformed again come October. The '83 squad actually won the whole damn thing and features Cal Ripken, drawer of eyeballs if this was a real tournament.

The '66 team gets the slight, but the stars were there for '69 and '71 and that's why they weren't picked. The '70 team actually won the Series, but the '69 team was significatly better.


BOSTON RED SOX: 46, 67, 75, 86

The four pennant winners. Ted Williams, Yaz, Fred Lynn, and Roger Clemens play the role of leading men for a franchise that was snakebit. The '46 team was the strongest, the '75 team the weakest.

In a bigger field, '49 and '78 would make the cut as both teams lost the last weekend to the Yankees. The four that got in are a good representation of Boston royalty.

CHICAGO CUBS: 45, 69, 84

The bleacher bums get three teams in. The last pennant winners get in, taking advantadge of war time talent to win the National League. 1969 is a lucky loser team, they faded to the astounding Mets that September and finally get the chance to see what might have been. Rick Sutcliffe and his amazing 16-1 season are the reason why the '84 NL East winners get the invite over the '89 squad.


More later

[vtbub]

I have no idea why I have the thumbs down icon on the last post...

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 59, 83, 93

Slim pickings for the South-Siders, so all three playoff teams grab the nod. The '59 go-go Sox should be an interesting team, a fore runner if those 80's St. Louis teams. LaMarr Hoyt leads the '83 AL West winners and Frank Thomas is the '93 big hurt.

CINCINNATI REDS; 40, 70, 75, 90

Here is a case for a team that you could see seven seasons worthy of being here. The Big Red Machine is here twice, the '70 squad that destroyed the NL and the fabled '75 team, considered an all-time great. People forget that the Reds won back to back pennants in '39 and '40, the '40 team won the whole thing. The '90 team was possibly one of the most overacheiving teams in history, sweeping the A's in the Series.

1961 and 1976 were teams that were incredible, Frank Robinson in '61 and the '76 team that swept New York. It was tough to weed out four here.

CLEVELAND INDIANS: 48, 54

In the 55 seasons this tournament pulls from, the Indians were just awful after 1960. The '54 team was swept by the Giants, despite winning 108 games and the '48 team won everything, stopping the Red Sox in a 1 game playoff then the Braves in six. Bob Feller and Lary Doby highlight here.

DETROIT TIGERS: 61, 68, 84

The Tigers were the bridesmaid of the early 1960's, slugging and pitching their way past everyone but the Yankees. Norm Cash and his corked bat lead the '61 club while pitching leads the other two. Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich should bring the '68 Tigers deep into the tourney, while the '84 Tigers may be the most underrated all-around team of all-time. They started 35-5, and when you had to win a game, you weren't betting against Jack Morris.

HOUSTON ASTROS: '86

I almost went with the '80 teamas well, but Mike Scott's brilliance on the mound made this team a must. Scott just shu the league down in 1986 and the Mets, to a man, say that if the LCS had gone seven, Scott beats them easily. Nolan Ryan gets at least one start here too.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 77, 80

One of the things I used for criteria was how did teams stack up against the rest of the league in adjusted OPS and ERA, and despite winning the Series, the 1985 team was average outside of Brett Saberhagen. The '77 team set the table for what was to come and George Bett and his .390 average gets the '80 team the invite.

CALIFORNIA ANGELS: 86

Like other teams, the 79 and 82 teams weren'tbig winners during the season. The '86 team was probably the best team until they won it in '02, but the cutoff here is 1993. A tragic story of bad managing and one horriffic 9th inning kept this team from the pennant.

BROOKLYN/LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 41, 53, 62, 74

There are no right answers here. Like the Yankees, you could fill a quarter of a bracket with great Dodger teams, these four teams won all over 100 games. The '41 Bums were the sat of something special. The '53 team had the decades best record and features Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson. The '6 team lost a playoff to San Fan, but featured Maury Wills straling, and Drysdale/Koufax pitching. Sandy missed a chunk of the '62 season, he gets full honors here. The '74 team is unknown, they won more games than all the great Dodger teams of the late '70's and 80's and had a higher winning percentage than the '81 crew. Of all those teams, this one dominated the NL best, and they got the invite.

If team selection was unlimited, '55 and '81 would have come next.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 82

Another underrated team, Harvey's Wallbangers could flat out hit, and after ading Don Sutton in the stretch drive, they could flat out pitch. In a day where there were always 3 to 4 strong teams in the AL Eat, Milwaukee held it's own and finally broke through in '82.

MINNESOTA TWINS: 65, 91

Sorry Sens fans, Washington did nothing from '38-'60.

The '65 Twins lost a heartbreaker to the Dodgers behind solid pitching and Harmon Killebrew's bat. They probably should have won in '66 and '67 as well, but they didn't. A solid team.. The '91 Twins were considerbly better than their '87 counterparts during the sason and they are here. Kirby Puckett, Dan Gladden and Jack Morris lead this scrappy bunch.

MONTREAL EXPOS: 81

If any team deserves a mulligan, it's this one. Filled with fuure Hall of Fame hitters and an underrated pitching staff, Montreal was an inning from the World Seris. While not a great team, the cinderella potential here is too good to pass up.

[vtbub]

NEW YORK YANKEES: 39, 53, 61, 78

It's kinda like have sixteen children, you love them all, but you have to have some favorites.

There is no way to be objective here, you simply must trust your gut.

The '39 team had Dimaggio and the tail end of Gehrig and destroyed the AL and then the Reds. Bill Dickey is also on this team, perhaps the single most dominant regular season team of all time.


1953 was the 5th straight championship season, the team of Mantle, Berra, Allie Reyolds and Phil Rizzuto. Ironically, only the '54 Yankees broke 100 wins during the Casey Sengel era ('49-'60), but this team is like the late 80's 49ers, just the best team playing the best in the sport.

1961 features Roger Maris and Whitey Ford along with Mantle and Berra and a ton of Hr's, 240 to be exact.

1978, well while ertainly not my favorite team of all time, ignoring Ron Guidry's 25-3 seems silly, and Reggie Jackson, and Craig Nettles defense, and Thurman Munson's last full season, and, oh yes, that comeback from 14.5 behind Boston.


No team suffered in the four team limit like the Yankees. They were just so deep and so strong.

[vtbub]

To get things speeded up, here are the rest of the teams:

METS: 69, 86, 88
A'S: 71, 88
PHILLIES: 50, 76, 80, 93
PIRATES: 60, 71, 79, 91
PADRES: 84
GIANTS: 51, 54, 62, 93
CARDS: 42, 46, 67, 85
BLUE JAYS: 85, 92

Next up, the pairings show.

[vtbub]

(Aired 7/31/94)

Selection Sunday

Hello friends, and welcome to ABC Sports coverage of The Ultimate Fall Classic. Over the next 8 weeks, we will pair down the best modern day 66 teams down to one, the ultimate baseball champion.

Hello, I'm Jim McKay, and joining me is legendary Yankee slugger, Babe Ruth.

Hi Jim, it's swell to be here.

Babe will be paired with Al Michaels as we progress with the tournament, which we can now say will finish in Chicago.

(video clip plays)

The final four teams will play their best of seven semi-finals and final at historic Wrigley Field and Comisky Park. The road to Chicago starts now.

(Dramatic Olympic-style video and music plays, shoowing sweeping vistas of Downtown Chicago and vicinity while sponsor names are mentioned)

We can now also reveal where games will be played and whee the regionals will be held as we reveal the top eight seeds.

Now, each of te eight will host a sub-regional, like those you are familiar with durig the NCAA Tournament. The regional sites, however, are neutral sites, but were selected by the top four seeds themselves. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 9ET and you can call 1-888-555-MLB1 to order.

The top 8:

1. 69 Orioles
2. 39 Yankees
3. 86 Mets
4. 75 Reds
5. 42 Cards
6. 53 Yankees*
7. 54 Indians
8. 84 Tigers


The 27 Yankees would crush them all. Surprised to see two Series losers in the Top 8. They will have something to prove Jim.

When we come back, the play-in games.

[vtbub]

Welcome back. We've showed you the top eight, now let's show you the bottom four.

These games will be Fiday, Saturday, and Sunday if required and can be seen here on ABC starting at 4 ET/1 PT.


84 Cubs at 84 Padres for the 63rd seed. Babe?

Chance for the Cubs to redeem themselves for choking away the pennant. Rick Sutcliffe better show up. The Cubs are deeper and those Padre uniforms are just awful.

Alright, and for the 64th seed, the 86 Angels and the 81 Expos.

I'll be in Montreal for that Jim, great beer and food up in Canada, and those French flappers....oh, the games...If the Expos hope to advance, they need rookie Tim Raines to play like a veteran. California needs to show they can pitch.


Thanks Babe.

Now, you know that Memorial Stadium is hosting one sub-regional. The two teams that advance from Baltimore travel 37 miles to Washington to play at RFK in the Washington Regional.

(music and video)

These matchups wil run Tuesday and Wednesday August 9th and 10th and if any go the distance, game 3, remember this is a best of three now, the deciding game will be on August 13th, a Saturday.

(1) 69 Orioles vs 86 Angels/81 Expos
(32) 51 Giants vs (33) 46 Red Sox

(16) 46 Cards vs (49) 48 Braves
(17) 57 Braves vs (48) 59 White Sox

I like Baltimore and St. Louis to advance here. I'm not sold on the O's being #1, but that pitching behind Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer is just too much here. If the seeds hold, I like the 46 Cards, 57 Braves math-up to go the distance, Waren Spahn was a better pitcher in 1957 than in 48.

Frank Robinson, Ted Williams, Wilie Mays, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron in the same pod, boy I'm glad I'm not pitching.

Okay, these games are at Tiger Stadium:

(8) 84 Tigers vs (57) 83 White Sox
(25) 80 Phillies vs (40) 88 A's

(9) 71 Orioles vs (56) 93 White Sox
(24) 60 Pirates vs (41) 93 Braves

I'm going Oakland and Baltimore here. While the '84 Tigers were incredible, I think the A's pitching behind Dave Stewart is equal to Jack with the power of Canseco and McGwire, I think they win.

I think Baltimore leaves Detroit undefeated, 4 20 game winners wil be too much, those Pirates mayhave fooled Casey Stengel in 1960, but their pitching is not as deep.

More after this

[larrymcg421]

Go 1993 Braves! Despite the postseason disappointment, that was one of our most talented teams. 51-17 record to finish the season.

[vtbub]

We are back and, as you saw earlier, the 1975 Reds are the fourth seed and will host a sub-regional. They have chosen Kansas City and Royals Stadium to host their quarter of the draw.

These games will be August 9th and 10th, with any game three's on the 13th, on Saturday.

At Riverfront Stadium

(4) 75 Reds vs (61) 71 A's
(29) 65 Twins vs (36) 85 Blue Jays

(13) 40 Reds vs (52) 77 Royals
(20) 83 Orioles vs (45) 48 Indians

Explain Jim, how the Blue Jays are a higher seed than the Indians. Whoever did the seedings needs his head examined (I goofed). The 75 Reds have their hands full, they are a four on reputation alone, the pitching is ok, the offense is good, but the A's will give them a run, like they did in the '72 Series.

I'm thinking upsets here, Oakland and the 40 Reds, a swell club, go to KC.

We will talk to the chair of the committee, Ron Juckett after the pairings have been announced.

These games are at Sportsmans Park in St. Louis:

(5) 42 Cards vs (60) 91 Pirates
(28) 93 Phillies vs (37) 86 Astros

(12) 68 Tigers vs (53) 93 Giants
(21) 78 Yankees vs (44) 86 Red Sox

I was talking to little Barry Bonds the other day and the smug SOB says he's going to pass me and Henry, I wonder what the hell shot up his butt to think that, a great slugger, but too wispy.

I like St. Louis and Detroit here. Houston will pull the upset, simply based on pitching and Boston falls short, Guidry and Figuroa are better than Clemens and Hurst. And, before you huckleberry's write in to ask, no, I did not curse the Red Sox, just North Station. They would always lose my luggage and send it home. My wife then grew to love Chanel no 5,'nuff said.


Thanks Babe. We know half the field, andafter this word and a message from our ABC stations, the second half of the draw.

[CraigSca]

This looks kinda cool. I'll be following this :)

[vtbub]

I'll post the other half tomorrow and since the plan is to play these in the order of posting, if there is a team you would like to see play sooner than later, let me know.

FYI, the play-in series is done and the Washington region has been started, so I will be ahead of where you are reading, but if you would like a series done out of order, let me know.

[Young Drachma]

Go '92 Jays!