SCHEDULE: ROUND 1 - REGION 1:
1) 1939 New York Yankees vs. 16) 2007 Colorado Rockies
1939 New York Yankees
1 seed – Region 1
Record: 106-45
Result: Won World Series 4-0 over Cincinnati Reds
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Yankee team ever)
Elo Rank: 1
Key Players:
Joe DiMaggio (OF) .381, 30 hr, 126 rbi, 108 r, 1.119 ops, 184 OPS+
Bill Dickey (C) .302, 24 hr, 105 rbi, 98 r
Joe Gordon (2B) .284, 28 hr, 111 rbi, 92 r
Red Ruffing (SP) 21-7, 2.93 era
Notes:
Not the most star studded of Yankees teams, and not the one that gets talked about much as the best ever. But they have six members of the HOF (though Lou Gehrig was 36 and only played 8 games before his streak sadly came to an end) and ranked 1st overall in the Elo rankings.
This team won their 4th straight World Series and were in the midst of a run that saw 7 AL pennants in 8 years and 6 WS titles.
The Yanks won 106 games before sweeping a good Reds team in the WS.
24-year-old Joe DiMaggio won his first of 3 MVPs and of 2 batting titles.
Yankees were ahead of their time using a strong bullpen, with Steve Sundra and Marius Russo 236+ IP and 19-4 combined record.
Further reading:
https://startspreadingthenews.blog/s...s/36-39jan2019
2007 Colorado Rockies
16 seed – Region 1
Record: 90-73
Result: Lost World Series to Boston Red Sox 4-0
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Rockies team ever)
Elo Rank: 596
Key Players:
Matt Holliday (OF) .340, 36 hr, 137 rbi, 120 r, 150 OPS+
Troy Tulowitzki (SS) .291, 24 hr, 99 rbi, 104 r, 6.8 WAR
Notes:
The 2007 Rockies gain their entry due to being the best Rockies team ever, but they are clearly deserving of the lowest overall seed in the tournament.
They did not win their division, and only hit the 90-win mark with the benefit of a 163rd game to win the tiebreaker for the wild card. But they did win 20 of final 21 regular season games to force that wildcard playoff. Once they reached the playoffs they made the most of it, sweeping both the NLDS and NLCS for a surprise World Series run. Before being swept in the WS they had won 27 of 28!
Matt Holliday led the league in AVG, RBI, Hits, Doubles, and Total Bases, barely missing the MVP.
The Rockies didn’t have a SP with a sub 4.00 ERA, which even in 2007 and Coors Field is not good.
Further reading:
https://www.9news.com/article/sports...ield/480548055