SCHEDULE: ROUND 1 - REGION 4:
Will try to get these next two series' played today, at which point we will be halfway through round #1. In this one, the 1904 Giants get their first chance at an elimination series since they refused to play the World Series 116 years ago.
5) 1904 New York Giants vs. 12) 2015 Toronto Blue Jays
1904 New York Giants:
5 Seed – Region 4
Record: 106-47
Result: Won the NL – no World Series played
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Giants team ever)
Elo Rank: 17
Key Players:
Christy Mathewson (SP) 33-12, 2.03 era, 1.04 whip, 33 cg, 367.2 ip
Joe McGinnity (SP) 35-8, 1.61 era, 0.96 whip, 170 ERA+, 408 ip, 38 cg and 7 games finished in 51 games
Notes:
Picking between 1904 and 1905 for the best ever was splitting hairs. We ultimately went with 1904 because they never had a chance to play elimination games in a postseason (their own fault, mind you), so here they get that chance.
Weighted the metrics strongly to get them such a high seed. We shall see if warranted.
Six members of the half of fame
Further Reading:
https://bosoxinjection.com/2020/05/1...-championship/
https://www.deseret.com/1994/8/17/19...4-world-series
2015 Toronto Blue Jays:
12 Seed – Region 4
Record: 93-69
Result: Lost ALCS 4-2 to Kansas City Royals
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Blue Jays team ever)
Elo Rank: 161
Key Players:
Josh Donaldson (3B) .297, 41 hr, 123 rbi, 122 r, 151 OPS+
Edwin Encarnacion (DH) .277, 39 hr, 111 rbi, 94 r, 148 OPS+
R.A. Dickey (SP) 11-11, 3.91 era, 1.19 whip
David Price (SP) 9-1, 2.30 era, 1.00 whip, 179 ERA+, 10.5 k/9
Notes:
The 1993 team gets all the love, given the repeat title, and in walk off fashion. But the 2015 team actually ranks much better objectively, despite the lack of results on the field.
Josh Donaldson won the MVP, and David Price was dominant in 74 innings after a mid-season acquisition. Near or topping the league lead in many offensive categories, this team is going to need Price and a lot of rain to get Price back on the mound. Quite possibly over-seeded when looking more closely.
Further reading:
https://jaysjournal.com/2015/09/25/2...great-offence/
https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/ml...s-imagination/