384 to 1 -- Massive playdown to crown Greatest Team of All Time

[rockford]

The 1942 Yankees were clearly the cream of crop in the fourth grouping, finishing first by 22 games (after 10 seasons) with a .549 win percentage. The Yankees entered the GTOAT tournament ranked 34th, then went .552 in the first round to finish 64th but failed to qualify.


The ascension of the ’42 squad gives the Yankees another run of teams from three consecutive years in the Quarterfinals, from 1941-43.


The 2017 Indians finished second at .534, overcoming a shaky start to win four of the last five pennants and three championships to overtake the 1917 Giants. The Indians were originally seeded 121st, then rose to 100th after the first round with a .535 win percentage.


The 1917 Giants were consistently good but not great in the Second Chance, but that was enough to get them to the Quarterfinals. While peaking at 87 wins and failing to win a pennant, they never had a losing season and finished a comfortable seven and eight games ahead of the 1949 Dodgers and 1994 Expos. The Giants were ranked 94th at the start of the GTOAT tournament, rising to 78th after the first round with a .545 win percentage.


Here's a look at how the top 12 teams coming into the Second Chance fared:
1913 Giants (Qualified)
2009 Yankees (likely in Last Chance)
1905 Pirates (Qualified)
2011 Yankees (likely in Last Chance)
1914 A’s (Qualified)
2016 Cubs (likely in Last Chance)
1974 Reds (likely in Last Chance)
1942 Yankees (Qualified)
1956 Yankees (likely in Last Chance)
1927 Yankees (Qualified)
1958 Yankees (likely in Last Chance)
1928 Giants (likely eliminated)

[rockford]

The 12 teams advancing from the 64-team Second Chance Qualifier have been seeded 73rd to 84th in the Quarterfinals.


73 .560 2019 Twins
74 .553 1914 A’s
75 .549 1942 Yankees
76 .545 1927 Yankees
77 .543 1907 Cubs
78 .534 1967 Cardinals
79 .534 2017 Indians
80 .531 1917 Giants
81 .530 1905 Pirates
82 .529 2003 Yankees
83 .529 2013 Red Sox
84 .527 1913 Giants

From the 100-team Quarterfinal, and we’ll reduce to our “Great 48” Semifinal (top 48 teams based on win percentage in the Quarters). From there, the field will be reduced to a Sweet 16, then to an Elite Eight. Those final eight teams will compete for the title of GTOAT.


But for now, attention is on the Last Chance Qualifier, where the final 16 slots in the Quarterfinals will be doled out.


The Last Chance is a 96-team competition. The top 24 seeds are teams that participated in the Second Chance Qualifier and finished with a .500+ win percentage but failed to qualify. The next block of seeds goes to an additional 64 teams that racked up a .500+ win percentage in the first round but failed to qualify for the Second Chance.


Five more teams – from the Angels, Blue Jays, Brewers, Rays and Rockies – will be allowed in to make sure every franchise has a representative in either the Last Chance or the Quarterfinals.


That leaves three open slots in the Last Chance, which will be utilized to provide opportunities for notable players who otherwise would not be represented in the Last Chance or Quarterfinals. For instance, Henry Aaron is not on a team currently alive in the tournament. (Hammerin’ Hank is on two teams that made the GTOAT tournament: the ’57 Braves went .482 in the first round, while the ’58 squad went .483.)


If it becomes difficult to identify two other notable players not represented on teams still alive in the tournament, the focus will turn to teams with the highest original seeds that haven’t advanced.

[rockford]

After further review, it appears Henry Aaron may be the only truly major historical figure not on an active team. So we’ll proceed with accepting the 1958 Braves into the Last Chance Qualifier.


That leaves two slots to fill out the 96-team field. Those will go to the 1931 A’s and the 1912 Red Sox, two teams that made it into the Second Chance but narrowly missed out on advancing. The ’31 A’s were initially seeded 10th, finished the first round 99th, then went .498 in the Second Chance. The ’12 Red Sox were seeded 16th, were 94th after the first round, then went .493 in the Second Chance.


So with that, the Last Chance Qualifier is about to get underway. Here are the 16 teams favored to make it through the tourney and advance as seeds 85 to 100 in the Quarterfinals:


1966 Dodgers
1949 Dodgers
1994 Expos
1978 Dodgers
1958 Yankees
1951 Dodgers
1949 Cardinals
1946 Cardinals
1906 Pirates
1922 Giants
2011 Yankees
1951 Yankees
1952 Dodgers
1948 Braves
1963 Twins
2009 Yankees

[rockford]

The 1952 Dodgers breezed to first place in Pool A of the Last Chance Qualifier, winning five pennants and three championships en route to a .566 win percentage. The Dodgers were seeded 13th in the 96-team Last Chance; the top 16 teams were favored to advance to the Quarterfinals.


The Dodgers were initially seeded 130th in the GTOAT Tourney, and remained 128th after failing to qualify in the first round. They went .515 in the Second Chance, finishing fifth in their league.


The 1912 Red Sox were the surprise second-place team, finishing 39 games back after 10 seasons of play. The Sox were one of eight wild card teams added to fill out the 96-team field, and were seeded 91st in the Last Chance. The ’12 Red Sox began the GTOAT tourney seeded 16th, sunk to 94th after the first round, then went .493 in the Second Chance and appeared to be eliminated before getting the wild card nod.


The 1949 Cardinals finished third in Pool A, 16 games behind the second-place Red Sox. The Cards were seeded seventh in the Last Chance. They started the tournament 152nd, then rose to 132nd after the first round. They went .522 in the Second Chance, finishing fifth in their league.


The Last Chance Qualifier consists of six pools of teams. The top three teams in each pool will be eligible to advance to the Quarterfinals; only 16 of those 18 teams will advance, taking seeds 85 to 100 in the Quarters.


Eligible to advance:
.566 1952 Dodgers
.540 1912 Red Sox
.530 1949 Cardinals

[rockford]

A question arises, and I'd appreciate any input.

Currently, the plan is to advance the top three teams from each 16-team pool. But ... what if a team finishes lower in its pool, but still has a higher winning percentage than some teams that finish in the top three in other pools?

Which makes most sense?:

A) Advance the top three in each pool, no exceptions.

B) Advance the teams with the highest winning percentages, regardless of what pools they're from.

Thoughts?

[rockford]

The 1960 Yankees outdueled the “Cinderella” 1948 Braves by 11 games after the two teams headed into the last of 10 seasons tied atop the pool. The Braves had forced the tie by besting the Yankees by 20 games in the previous season.


The Yankees were seeded 116th at the start of the tourney, and slid to 155th after the first round, failing to qualify for the Second Chance.


The ’48 Braves were originally seeded 311th in the GTOAT tourney, but rose to 114th after the first round and qualified for the Second Chance, where they went .514 and finished sixth in their league.


The third team qualifying from this pool is the 1942 Red Sox, who finished six games behind the Braves. The Sox entered the tourney seeded 200th, but jumped all the way to 85th after the first round. They were .510 in the Second Chance, tied for seventh in their league.


Despite placing in this pool, both the Braves and Red Sox are on thin ice in regard to making it to the Quarterfinals. Even if the “top three in each pool are eligible” scenario is used, the two lowest win percentages won’t make the cut, and they’re currently on the bottom.


If the alternative “all top winning percentages advance” scenario is used, the ’42 Red Sox would already be out.


Eligible to advance:
.566 1952 Dodgers
.540 1912 Red Sox
.536 1960 Yankees
.530 1949 Cardinals
.529 1948 Braves
.525 1942 Red Sox

[rockford]

A record-keeping snafu prohibits reporting on each of the last four pools of the Last Chance, but we do have the overall results.


First of all, it was decided to advance the top teams by winning percentage, rather than just looking at the top three finishers in each pool.



So … here are the teams moving on from the Last Chance, to be seeded 85 to 100 in the Quarterfinals of the GTOAT Tournament (ranked by win percentage in Last Chance):


85 1951 Yankees .569
86 1952 Dodgers .566
87 1974 Reds .560
88 1992 Braves .550
89 1922 Giants .542
90 1958 Yankees .542
91 2017 Astros .541
92 1912 Red Sox .540
93 1961 Tigers .539
94 1940 Tigers .539
95 1974 Dodgers .537
96 1960 Yankees .536
97 1906 Pirates .536
98 1970 Twins .534
99 1909 Tigers .533
100 1949 Cardinals .530

Honorable mention
Here are the teams that performed well in the Last Chance, but didn’t quite make it into the Top 100 Greatest Teams of All Time:
1948 Braves .529; 1994 Expos .528; 1953 Yankees .527; 1995 Indians .527; 2016 Cubs .525; 1942 Red Sox .525; 1912 Cubs .525; 1962 Dodgers .523; 1931 A’s .521.

[rockford]

We started with 384 teams. Now, after three qualifying tournaments and nearly 420,000 simulated games, we have arrived at our 100 Greatest Teams of All Time.

[rockford]

Play is about to begin in the play-in round of the Quarterfinals. The eight lowest-seeded teams will be placed in a single league and put through 10 154-game seasons. Only the top four teams (by winning percentage) will advance.


Here are our contestants

#93 1961 Tigers
101-61-1 (.620)
2nd in AL, 8 games behind Yankees
HOF – Jim Bunning (17-11, 3.19 ERA), Al Kaline (.324, 19 HR)
Other notables – Norm Cash (.361, 41 HR), Rocky Colavito (.290, 45 HR)
Originally seeded 156th; .510 in First Chance, 166th overall; .539 10th in Last Chance

#94 1940 Tigers
90-61-1 (.556)
1st in AL; lost World Series in seven games to Reds
HOF – Earl Averill (.280, 2 HR), Charlie Gehringer (.313, 10 HR), Hank Greenberg (.340, 41 HR), Hal Newhouser, (9-9, 4.86 ERA)
Other notables – Rudy York (.316, 33 HR), Barney McCoskey (.340, 4 HR), Bobo Newsome (21-5, 2.83 ERA), Schoolboy Rowe (16-3, 3.46 ERA), Tommy Bridges (12-9, 3.37 ERA)
Originally seeded 340th; .515 in First Chance, 150th overall; .539, 9th in Last Chance

#95 1974 Dodgers
102-60 (.630)
1st in NL West; lost World Series in five games to A’s
HOF – Don Sutton (19-9, 3.23 ERA)
Other notables – Ron Cey (.262, 18 HR) , Steve Garvey (.312, 21 HR), Mike Marshall (15-12, 21 Sv, 2.42 ERA), Andy Messersmith (20-6, 2.59 ERA), Jim Wynn (.271, 32 HR)
Originally seeded 119th; .502 in First Chance, 192nd; .537, 11th in Last Chance

#96 1960 Yankees
97-57-1 (.626)
1st in AL; lost World Series in seven games to Pirates
HOF – Yogi Berra (.276, 15 HR), Whitey Ford (12-9, 3.08 ERA), Mickey Mantle (.275, 40 HR)
Other notables – Jim Coates (13-3, 4.28 ERA), Elston Howard (.245, 6 HR), Roger Maris (.283, 39 HR), Bill Skowron (.309, 26 HR)
Originally seeded 116th; .513 in First Chance, 155th; .536, 12th in Last Chance

#97 1906 Pirates
93-60-1 (.604)
3rd in NL
HOF – Fred Clarke (.309, 1 HR), Honus Wagner (.339, 2 HR, 53 SB), Vic Willis (23-13, 1.73 ERA)
Other notables – Lefty Leifield (18-13, 1.87 ERA)
Originally seeded 230th; .532 in First Chance, 136th; .518 in Second Chance; .536, 13th in Last Chance

#98 1970 Twins
98-64-0 (.605)
1st in AL West; lost ALCS in three games to Orioles
HOF – Bert Blyleven (10-9, 3.18 ERA), Rod Carew (.366, 4 HR), Jim Kaat (14-10, 3.56 ERA), Harmon Killebrew (.271, 41 HR), Tony Oliva (.325, 23 HR)
Other notables – Jim Perry (24-12, 3.04 ERA)
Originally seeded 245th; .506 in First Chance, 183rd; .534, 14th in Last Chance

#99 1909 Tigers
98-54-6 (.620)
1st in AL; lost World Series in seven games to Pirates
HOF – Ty Cobb (.377, 9 HR, 76 SB), Sam Crawford (.314, 6 HR)
Other notables – George Mullin (29-8, 2.22 ERA), Ed Willett (21-10, 2.34 ERA) Ed Killian (11-9, 1.71 ERA)
Originally seeded 74th; .519 in First Chance, 136th; .533, 15th in Last Chance

#100 1949 Cardinals
96-58-3 (.611)
2nd in NL
HOF – Stan Musial (.338, 36 HR), Red Schoendienst (.297, 3 HR), Enos Slaughter (.336, 13 HR)
Other notables – Eddie Kazak (.304, 6 HR), Marty Marion (.272, 5 HR), Red Munger (15-8, 3.87 ERA), Howie Pollett (20-9, 2.77 ERA)
Originally seeded 152nd; .520 in First Chance, 132nd; .522 in Second Chance; .530, 16th in Last Chance

[rockford]

Standings after three seasons (pennants won in parentheses):



GB
-- 1940 Tigers .558 (2)
10 1961 Tigers .537
16 1949 Cardinals .524
25 1960 Yankees .504 (1)
35 1970 Twins .483
37 1974 Dodgers .478
41 1906 Pirates .470
51 1909 Tigers .448


Hank Greenberg’s bat propelled the 1940 Tigers to an early lead in the Play-In Round of the Quarterfinals. Greenberg hit .295 with 47 home runs and .306 with 42 as the ’40 Tigers won the pennants in Years 2 and 3 and built a 10-game lead.


So far there has been little doubt who the tournament’s most impressive player is, but it hasn’t translated to success for his club. Ty Cobb won three straight MVP awards by hitting more than .340 with 28 homers each season, but his 1909 Tigers are mired in last place, 51 games off the lead.

[rockford]

Standings after six seasons (pennants won in parentheses).

GB
-- 1961 Tigers .547 (2)
20 1940 Tigers .525 (2)
37 1974 Dodgers .506 (1)
37 1960 Yankees .506 (1)
50 1949 Cardinals .492
53 1906 Pirates .489
67 1970 Twins .474
83 1909 Tigers .457

The 1961 Tigers moved atop the standings by winning pennants in Seasons 5 and 6, the latter powered by an MVP turn by Norm Cash, who led the league in batting average (.355) and home runs (47).


Cash, Rocky Colavito and Al Kaline all received MVP votes in the two seasons. Jim Bunning won one Pitcher of the Year award and finished third in the other season, rolling up a 42-29 record with an era a little over 3.00.


The 1974 Dodgers won their first pennant -- led Jimmy Wynn and Tommy John – to break into the top three in the standings.


Ty Cobb’s streak of consecutive MVPs ended at four. He was third and fourth in MVP voting the other two seasons.

[rockford]

Standings after nine seasons (pennants won in parentheses):

GB
-- 1961Tigers .545 (4)
33 1940 Tigers .522 (2)
48 1974 Dodgers .511 (1)
51 1960 Yankees .509 (1)
68 1906 Pirates .496 (1)
79 1949 Cardinals .488
113 1970 Twins .464
115 1909 Tigers .462

Norm Cash provided another MVP season (.330, 42 home runs) as the 1961 Tigers won two more pennants, giving them four in a row.


Pitchers Vic Willis (16-11, 3.02 ERA) and Ed Karger (14-12, 2.90) helped the 1906 Pirates break that string with their first pennant. The hurlers finished one-two in Pitcher of the Year balloting in Season 9.


But the Bucs still trail the 1960 Yankees by 17 games for the all-important fourth position in the standings. The top four teams advance in the tournament, the bottom four are eliminated.

[rockford]

(Pennants in parentheses)



GB
-- 1961Tigers .549 (5)
42 1940 Tigers .521 (2)
58 1974 Dodgers .511 (1)
72 1960 Yankees .502 (1)
88 1949 Cardinals .492
94 1906 Pirates .488 (1)
122 1909 Tigers .469
127 1970 Twins .466



The Play-In Round went pretty much as expected, with the four highest-seeded teams advancing to the next round.


The 1961 Tigers finished on top, a comfortable 42 games ahead of the 1940 Tigers. The 1974 Dodgers and 1960 Yankees will also advance.


Ty Cobb of the 1909 Tigers was far and away the Most Valuable Player in the round, winning six seasonal MVPs outright and sharing another. He finished with 877 MVP votes over 10 seasons, followed by Norm Cash (1961 Tigers) at 651 and Hank Greenberg (1940 Tigers) at 570.


Vic Willis (1906 Pirates) won four Pitcher of the Year awards on the way to claiming the tournament’s Most Valuable Pitcher award with 241 votes. Jim Bunning (1961 Tigers) got 230 votes, and Howie Pollett (1949 Cardinals) got 218.


Most Valuable Players (ranked by MVP votes; seasonal MVPs in parentheses):

877 Ty Cobb (1909 Tigers) (7)
651 Norm Cash (1961 Tigers) (2)
570 Hank Greenberg (1940 Tigers)
502 Stan Musial (1949 Cardinals) (1)
339 Rudy York (1940 Tigers)
299 Mickey Mantle (1960 Yankees)
270 Honus Wagner (1906 Pirates) (1)
241 Jimmy Wynn (1974 Dodgers)
240 Rocky Colavito (1961 Tigers)
142 Sam Crawford (1909 Tigers)

Most Valuable Pitchers (ranked by Pitcher of the Year votes; seasonal Pitcher of the Year awards in parentheses):


241 Vic Willis (1906 Pirates) (4)
230 Jim Bunning (1961 Tigers) (3)
218 Howie Pollett (1949 Cardinals) (2)
141 Tommy John (1974 Dodgers)
128 Ed Karger (1906 Pirates) (1)

[rockford]

With the field reduced to 96 teams after the Play-In Round, assignments are being made for Quarterfinal pool play.


There will be six 16-team pools. Each will be put through 10 154-game seasons, after which the 48 teams with the highest winning percentages will advance to the Semifinals.


This round will go a long way toward separating the contenders from the pretenders. The top 72 seeds all made it this far by simply performing extremely well in the initial qualifier. They haven’t been tested since, whereas the lower seeds have already survived two or three qualifiers to get this far.


Pool 1 has some intriguing matchups. League 1 features not only the current highest seed – the surprising 1933 Yankees, originally seeded 233rd – but three strong Dead Ball-era contenders, including the two teams who were originally seeded 1-2 at the start of the GTOAT Tournament, the 1906 Cubs and 1902 Pirates.


League 2 features three teams of recent vintage (2019 Nationals, 2017 Indians and 2017 Astros). The Nationals will be trying to prove they really belong, after beginning the tournament seeded 349th.


League 2 also includes the unfortunate pairing of the 1971 and 1972 Pirates.


Here are Pool 1's league assignments, listed by each team’s current seeding, with original seeding in parentheses:



League 1
1 1933 Yankees (233)
13 1902 Pirates (2)
25 1986 Mets (36)
37 1976 Reds (111)
49 1906 Cubs (1)
61 1909 A’s (163)
73 2019 Twins (146)
85 1951 Yankees (91)


League 2
7 1937 Yankees (43)
19 1951 Giants (137)
31 2019 Nationals (349)
43 1972 Pirates (164)
55 1955 Yankees (142)
67 1971 Pirates (278)
79 2017 Indians (121)
91 2017 Astros (139)

[rockford]

#1 1933 Yankees
91-59-2
2nd in AL, 7 games behind Senators
HOF – Earle Combs, Bill Dickey (.318, 14 HR), Lou Gehrig (,334, 32 HR), Lefty Gomez (16-10, 3.18 ERA), Tony Lazzeri (.294, 18 HR), Herb Pennock, Red Ruffing, Babe Ruth (.301, 34 HR), Joe Sewell
Notable –
Originally seeded 233rd; .656 in First Chance, 1st

#13 1902 Pirates
103-36-3
1st in NL by 27.5 games
HOF – Jack Chesbro (28-6, 2.17 ERA), Fred Clarke (.316, 29 SB), Honus Wagner (.330, 42 SB)
Notable – Ginger Beaumont (.357, 33 SB), Deacon Phillippe (20-9, 2.05 ERA), Jesse Tannehill (20-6, 1.95 ERA)
Originally seeded 2nd; .597 in First Chance, 13th

#25 1986 Mets
108-54
1st in NL East; Won World Series in seven games over Red Sox
HOF – Gary Carter (.255, 24 HR)
Notable – Keith Hernandez (.310, 13 HR), Wally Backman (.320), Darryl Strawberry (.259, 27 HR, 28 SB), Dwight Gooden (17-6, 2.84 ERA), Bob Ojeda (18-5, 2.57 ERA), Ron Darling (15-6, 2.81 ERA
Originally seeded 36th; .579 in First Chance, 25th

#37 1976 Reds
102-60
1st in NL West; Won World Series in four games over Yankees
HOF – Johnny Bench (.234, 16 HR), Joe Morgan (.320, 27 HR, 60 SB), Tony Perez (.260, 19 HR)
Notable – Pete Rose (.323, 10 HR), George Foster (.306, 29 HR)
Originally seeded 37th; .564 in First Chance, 37th

#49 1906 Cubs
116-36-3
1st in NL; lost World Series in six games to White Sox
HOF – Mordecai Brown (26-6, 1.04 ERA), Frank Chance (.319, 57 SB), Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker
Notable – Jack Pfiester (20-8, 1.51), Ed Reulbach (19-4, 1.65)
Originally seeded 1st; .560 in First Chance, 49th

#61 1909 A’s
95-58
2nd in AL, 3.5 games behind Tigers
HOF – Home Run Baker (.305, 4 HR), Chief Bender (18-8, 1.66 ERA), Eddie Collins (.347, 63 SB), Eddie Plank (19-10, 1.76 ERA)
Notable – Cy Morgan (16-11, 1.65 ERA), Harry Krause (18-8, 1.39 ERA)
Originally seeded 163rd; .546 in First Chance, 76th

#73 2019 Twins
101-61
1st in AL Central; lost divisional series in three games to Yankees
Notable – Nelson Cruz (.311, 41 HR) will be mostly irrelevant as there is no DH, Max Kepler (.252, 36 HR), Eddie Rosario (.276, 32 HR), Jose Berrios (14-8, 3.68 ERA), Jake Odorizzi (15-7, 3.51)
Originally seeded 146th; .530 in First Chance, 109th; .560 in Second Chance, 1st in tourney

#85 1951 Yankees
98-56
1st in AL; won World Series in six games over Giants
HOF – Yogi Berra (.294, 27 HR), Joe DiMaggio (.263, 12 HR), Mickey Mantle (.267, 13 HR), Johnny Mize, Phil Rizzuto
Notable – Eddie Lopat (21-9, 2.91 ERA)
Originally seeded 91st; .544 in First Chance, 84th; .516 in Second Chance; .569 in Last Chance, 1st in tourney

[rockford]

#7 1937 Yankees
102-52-3
1st in AL; won World Series in five games over Giants
HOF – Bill Dickey (.332, 29 HR), Joe DiMaggio (.346, 46 HR), Lou Gehrig (.351, 37 HR), Lefty Gomez (21-11, 2.33 ERA), Tony Lazzeri, Red Ruffing (20-7, 2.98 ERA)
Notable – George Selkirk (.328, 18 HR)
Originally seeded 43rd; .618 in First Chance, 7th

#19 1951 Giants
98-59
1st in NL; lost World Series in six games to Yankees
HOF – Monte Irvin (.312, 24 HR), Willie Mays (.274, 20 HR)
Notable – Sal Maglie (23-6, 2.93 ERA), Larry Jansen (23-11, 3.04)
Originally seeded 137th; .585 in First Chance, 19th

#31 2019 Nationals
93-69
2nd in NL East; won World Series in seven games over Astros
Notable – Anthony Rendon (.319, 34 HR), Juan Soto (.282, 34 HR), Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA), Patrick Corbin (14-7, 3.25 ERA), Max Scherzer (11-7, 2.92 ERA)
Originally seeded 349th; .570 in First Chance, 31st

#43 1972 Pirates
96-59
1st in NL East; lost NLCS in five games to Reds
HOF – Roberto Clemente (.312, 10 HR), Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell (.293, 33 HR)
Notable – Richie Hebner (.300, 19 HR), Al Oliver (.312, 12 HR), Steve Blass (19-8, 2.49 ERA)
Originally seeded 164th; .564 in First Chance, 43rd

#55 1955 Yankees
96-58
1st in AL; lost World Series in seven games to Dodgers
HOF – Yogi Berra (.272, 27 HR), Whitey Ford (18-7, 2.63 ERA), Mickey Mantle (.306, 37 HR), Phil Rizzuto, Enos Slaughter
Notable – Elston Howard (.290, 10 HR)
Originally seeded 142nd; .556 in First Chance, 58th

#67 1971 Pirates
97-65
1st in NL East; won World Series in seven games over Orioles
HOF – Roberto Clemente (.341, 13 HR), Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell (.295, 48 HR)
Notable – Manny Sanguillen (.319, 7 HR), Steve Blass (15-8, 2.85 ERA), Doc Ellis (19-9, 3.06 ERA)
Originally seeded 278th; .541 in First Chance, 89th

#79 2017 Indians
102-60
1st in AL Central; lost divisional series in five games to Yankees
Notable – Jose Ramirez (.318, 29 HR), Corey Kluber (18-4, 2.25 ERA), Carlos Carrasco (18-6, 3.29 ERA)
Originally seeded 121st; .535 in First Chance, 100th; .534 in Second Chance, 11th in tourney

#91 2017 Astros
101-61
1st in AL West; won World Series in seven games over Dodgers
Notable – Jose Altuve (.346, 24 HR, 32 SB), Carlos Correa (.315, 24 HR), George Springer (.283, 34 HR)
Originally seeded 139th; .519 in First Chance, 139th; .541 in Last Chance, 7th in tourney

[rockford]

Standings after three seasons of play (pennants and championships in parentheses):


GB
-- 1902 Pirates .595 (2-1)
21 1972 Pirates .550 (1-1)
23 1976 Reds .545
29 1937 Yankees .532
31 2017 Indians .528 (1-0)
36 1933 Yankees .517 (1-0)
42 1955 Yankees .504 (1-1)
42 1906 Cubs .504
47 1951 Giants .494
53 1986 Mets .481
54 2017 Astros .478
56 2019 Twins .474
62 1971 Pirates .461
66 2019 Nationals .452
69 1909 A’s .446
72 1951 Yankees .439


The 1902 Pirates stormed out with three straight seasons of 90 wins or more to move in front of what looks to be a tightly contested pool.


Bucs hurler Jesse Tannehill won three straight unanimous Pitcher of the Year awards, fashioning a record of 62-22 with an ERA between 1.83 and 2.25 each year.


The Pirates are seeded 13th in the Quarterfinals after beginning the GTOAT tourney as the No. 2 seed.


The 1972 Pirates (seeded 43rd in the Quarters) used their first 90-win campaign in Season 3 to move into second place in the standings. Willie Stargell (.288, 40 HR) led the charge, along with Richie Hebner (.303, 29 HR) and Roberto Clemente (.326, 17 HR).


The 1976 Reds, seeded 37th, clung to third place, aided by two MVP seasons from Joe Morgan (.309, 29 HR and .285, 27 HR).


The No. 1-seeded 1933 Yankees played two sub-.500 seasons before winning their first pennant, but are mired in sixth place.


This is Pool 1 of six 16-team pools. Each pool will play 10 154-game seasons. The 48 teams with the highest winning percentages advance to the Semifinals.

[rockford]

Standings after six seasons of play (pennants and championships in parentheses):


GB
-- 1902 Pirates .575 (3-2)
31 1937 Yankees .541 (2-1)
33 1972 Pirates .539 (1-1)
33 1976 Reds .539 (1-1)
64 2017 Indians .505 (1-0)
64 1906 Cubs .505
66 1951 Giants .503 (1-0)
79 1955 Yankees .489 (1-1)
80 1933 Yankees.488 (1-0)
81 2019 Twins .487
87 1986 Mets .481
88 2017 Astros .479
93 1971 Pirates .474
95 1909 A’s .472 (1-0)
98 2019 Nationals .469
111 1951 Yankees .455

The 1937 Yankees bumped off two pennants and a championship in the last three seasons to jump from fourth to second place in the standings. Bill Dickey (.338, 45 HR) and Lou Gehrig (.325, 50 HR) earned MVPs, and Lefty Gomez (23-7, 2.73 ERA) took home a Pitcher of the Year award.


Despite that success, the Yankees couldn’t quite keep up with the front-running 1902 Pirates. The Bucs padded their lead by two games in the last three seasons, primarily behind the arm of Jesse Tannehill, who has won all six of his league’s Pitcher of the Year titles. He was 57-30 with an ERA around 2.30 in the last three seasons. He’s 119-52 with a sub-2.30 ERA in six seasons.


The 1976 Reds got their first championship behind another MVP performance from Joe Morgan (.287, 37 HR), his fourth. But the 1972 Pirates, boosted by strong performances from Roberto Clemente, edged past the Reds and hold onto third place by a whisker.


The 1933 Yankees, who went from the 233rd seed to No. 1 after the First Chance Qualifier, couldn’t crack .500 in their last three campaigns and have plummeted to ninth in the standings, 80 games out. More importantly, they’ve slid beneath the .500 mark. While not a guarantee, a .500 record is required for a reasonable expectation of advancing to the Semifinals.


The pool remains hotly contested, with only 19 games separating the 8th and 15th positions, and single-season shifts of up to 20 games occur. Virtually every team has a chance of advancing with four seasons to go.

[rockford]

Standings after nine seasons of play (pennants and championships in parentheses):


GB

-- 1902 Pirates .576 (5-4)
54 1937 Yankees.538 (2-1)
54 1976 Reds .538 (1-1)
71 1972 Pirates .525 (2-2)
101 1906 Cubs .504
103 1951 Giants .502 (1-0)
104 2017 Indians .501 (1-0)
112 1933 Yankees .496 (1-0)
117 1986 Mets .492 (1-0)
118 1955 Yankees .491 (1-1)
129 2019 Twins .483
131 2019 Nationals .482 (1-0)
132 2017 Astros .481 (1-0)
135 1971 Pirates .479
158 1909 A’s .462 (1-0)
176 1951 Yankees .449

Two things became apparent in the last three seasons: the dominance of the 1902 Pirates, and the relative parity of the rest of the pool.


The Pirates won two championships while nearly doubling their lead to an insurmountable 54 games heading into the final season. Jesse Tannehill’s streak of Pitcher of the Year awards ended at six, but he followed the interruption by capturing two more trophies with campaigns of 19-9, 2.11 ERA and 24-5, 2.38 ERA.



The 1937 Yankees and the 1976 Reds remain deadlocked in second place, with the 1972 Pirates 17 games behind them, still (theoretically) within striking distance of second. The Reds have been fueled by two more MVP seasons from Joe Morgan (.287, 27 HR and .323, 35 HR). The Yankees benefited from an MVP turn by Lou Gehrig (.350, 42 HR). The Pirates got two Pitcher of the Year performances from Bob Moose (15-14, 2.81 ERA and 17-15, 2.72 ERA ).


While the top four teams are secure, six others go into the final season with reasonable opportunities to finish in the top half, and have at least some chance of advancing to the Semifinals.

[rockford]

Final standings after 10 seasons, with pennants and championships in parentheses:



GB

-- 1902 Pirates .574 (6-5)
57 1937 Yankees .537 (2-1)
62 1976 Reds .534 (1-1)
66 1972 Pirates .531 (3-2)
108 2017 Indians .504 (1-0)
110 1906 Cubs .503
119 1986 Mets .497 (1-0)
124 1951 Giants .494 (1-0)
124 1933 Yankees .494 (1-0)
127 1955 Yankees .492 (1-1)
132 2019 Twins .488
141 1971 Pirates .482
144 2017 Astros .481 (1-0)
145 2019 Nationals .480 (1-0)
169 1909 A’s .464 (1-0)
195 1951 Yankees .447

The 1902 Pirates capped the competition with their third straight championship -- behind another Pitcher of the Year performance from Jesse Tannehill -- and cruised to a first-place finish in Pool 1.


Tannehill captured nine of his league’s 10 Pitcher of the Year awards, six unanimously. Tannehill was 20-6, 1.95 ERA IRL, but a performance like this may give rise to speculation about unfair Dead Ball-era advantage. Four of the league’s top five pitchers were from Dead Ball teams (as were 11 of the top 13).


On the other hand, great pitching didn’t necessarily translate into a great finish in the standings. Despite Dead Ball pitchers dominating, Dead Ball teams finished 1st, 6th and 15th.


Beyond Tannehill, the rest of the Pirates staff also ranked highly in the league’s Most Valuable Pitcher balloting -- Ed Doheny (6th), Jack Chesbro (8th), Deacon Phillippe (9th) and Sam Leever (11th).


While the Bucs enjoyed a 57-game cushion over their nearest rival, teams finishing second through fourth – 1937 Yankees, 1976 Reds and 1972 Pirates – were within nine games of each other.


Joe Morgan (1976 Reds) was easily his league’s Most Valuable Player, taking six of the seasonal awards. Lou Gehrig (1933 Yankees) won two seasonal MVPs and edged Eddie Collins (1909 A’s) for second place in the league.


Bill Dickey (1937 Yankees) took the other league’s MVP, winning four seasonal awards along the way. The ’37 Yanks dominated the league’s balloting, with Lou Gehrig a close second, followed by George Selkirk (3rd) and Joe DiMaggio (5th). Teammate Lefty Gomez was the league’s hands-down Most Valuable Pitcher, taking four seasonal awards.


Beyond the top four teams, parity largely prevailed throughout the pool, and hardly any contestant could be overly excited by the results. Only six of 16 teams finished with winning records, with the 2017 Indians and 1906 Cubs just barely above the break-even mark (.504 and .503).


That means even teams finishing in the upper half – the 1986 Mets at .497, and the 1951 Giants and 1933 Yankees, both at .494 – may not make the Semifinals. The ’33 Yankees had been a surprising #1 seed coming into the Quarters. Now they’re on the brink of elimination.




Most Valuable Players
Top 15 players ranked by MVP votes; number of seasonal awards won shown after team

1766 Joe Morgan (1976 Reds) 6
1464 Bill Dickey (1937 Yankees) 4
1280 Lou Gehrig (1937 Yankees) 3
1029 Lou Gehrig (1933 Yankees) 2
1002 Eddie Collins (1909 A’s) 1
999 George Selkirk (1937 Yankees) 1
791 Mickey Mantle (1955 Yankees) 1
745 Joe DiMaggio (1937 Yankees)
515 Mitch McGarver (2019 Twins)
492 Anthony Rendon (2019 Nationals)
492 Willie Stargell (1972 Pirates)
466 Bill Dickey (1933 Yankees)
401 Juan Soto (2019 Nationals)
372 Frank Chance (1906 Cubs)
355 Honus Wagner (1902 Pirates)




Most Valuable Pitchers
Top 10 pitchers ranked by Pitcher of the Year votes; number of seasonal awards won shown after team

1051 Jesse Tannehill (1902 Pirates) 9
691 Lefty Gomez (1937 Yankees) 4
373 Mordecai Brown (1906 Cubs)
354 Bob Moose (1972 Pirates) 2
245 Larry Jansen (1951 Giants) 1
186 Sid Fernandez (1986 Mets) 1
167 Eddie Plank (1909 A’s)
163 Hack Pfiester (1906 Cubs)
158 Corey Kluber (2017 Indians)
149 Andrew Miller (2017 Indians)