SCHEDULE: ROUND 1 - REGION 2:
4) 1995 Cleveland Indians vs. 13) 1985 New York Yankees
1995 Cleveland Indians:
4 Seed – Region 2
Record: 100-44 (strike shortened)
Result: Lost World Series 4-2 to Atlanta Braves
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Indians team ever)
Elo Rank: 30
Key Players:
Albert Belle (OF) .317, 50 hr, 126 rbi, 121 r, 177 OPS+
Jim Thome (3B) .314, 25 hr, 73 rbi, 92 r, 157 OPS+
Manny Ramirez (OF) .308, 31 hr, 107 rbi, 85 r, 147 OPS+
Kenny Lofton (OF) .310, 93 r, 54 sb, gold glove
Dennis Martinez (SP) 12-5, 3.08 era, 1.17 whip, 152 OPS+
Orel Hershiser (SP) 16-6, 3.87 era, 1.20 whip
Notes:
One of the better offenses even for the steroid era. 7 of the regulars were at least 108 OPS+ or higher. The two that weren’t were primary catcher Tony Pena, who himself was 75 but when combined with 65 games of Sandy Alomar the catcher position was almost league average offensively, and Omar Vizquel who was one of the best defensive players in the game.
Albert Belle led the league in HR, RBI, R, Doubles, SLG, and Total Bases while finishing 2nd in the MVP voting.
Three hall of famers, though one, Dave Winfield, was a shell of his former self by this point.
Further reading:
https://www.cleveland.com/datacentra...s_hold_th.html
https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/...-lineup-111316
1985 New York Yankees:
13 Seed – Region 2
Record: 97-64
Result: 2nd AL East to Boston Red Sox
Entry to Tournament: At large bid (Wildcard – Key Player Don Mattingly)
Elo Rank: 127
Key Players:
Don Mattingly (1B) .324, 35 hr, 145 rbi, 107r, 156 OPS+
Rickey Henderson (OF) .314, 24 hr, 72 rbi, 146 r, 80 sb, 10.0 WAR
Ron Guidry (SP) 22-6, 3.27 era, 1.10 whip, 11 CG in 33 GS
Notes:
This team originally got in as a pure wildcard. I wanted a team from my early childhood, and my favorite player (Mattingly) to make at least one appearance in this tournament. I decided that its my tournament and I can do what I want! To help feel better about it I decided to seed them 16, let them run into one of the all-time Yankee greats early, and be gone. But as I looked into them more, they were actually a very good team despite not getting into the playoffs. 97 wins, 3 future hall of famers, the MVP winner, league leaders in RBIs, Runs, SBs, Doubles, and Wins. Top 2 or 3 in most offensive categories as a team. 2 of the top 3 in the MVP voting, and 2nd in Cy Young voting. Finally, a 127 ELO ranking helped justify their inclusion further as it is higher than 21+ other teams in the contest. So I gave them a reprieve from near certain death as a 16 seed, and they have a fighting chance as a 13 seed, though still an incredibly tough draw.
Further reading:
https://thesportsnotebook.com/1985-n...tory-articles/