SCHEDULE: ROUND 1 - REGION 1:
One of the more enjoyable teams from my childhood was those bash brothers teams of the 88-90 Oakland A's. This will be a fun one, and possibly very high scoring as well.
5) 1989 Oakland A's vs. 12) 1998 Houston Astros
1989 Oakland Athletics
5 Seed – Region 1
Record: 99-63
Result: Won World Series 4-0 over San Francisco Giants
Entry to Tournament: At large bid (Ranking/Reputation)
Elo Rank: 82
Key Players:
Mark McGwire (1B) 33 hr, 95 rbi
Jose Canseco (OF) 17 hr, 57 rbi
Rickey Henderson (OF) .294, 52 sb
Carney Lansford (3B) .336, 81 r, 37 sb
Dave Stewart (SP) 21-9, 3.32 era
Dennis Eckersley (RP) 4-0, 33 saves, 1.56 era, 0.607 whip
Notes:
This A’s team is odd in that the stats weren’t as impressive as other years, looking even less impressive when viewed through modern lenses. But they were the one team of three straight pennant winners to get the World Series win. They become even more dangerous considering the reigning MVP of 40/40 , Jose Canseco, was limited to 65 games in real life but will be in the lineup full time here.
Carney Lansford managed an OPS+ of 131 with only 2 HRs! Try that today.
To give some context to the suppressed offensive age we were in, the A’s finished 4th in the league in runs and no one on the team scored more than Lansford’s 81.
Manager Tony LaRussa is widely credited with the advent of the new age bullpen including placing dominant pitchers in the closing role with his usage of Dennis Eckersley.
Further reading:
https://thesportsnotebook.com/1989-o...tory-articles/
1998 Houston Astros:
12 Seed – Region 1
Record: 102-60
Result: Lost NLDS 3-1 to San Diego Padres
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (best Astros team ever*)
Elo Rank: 110
Key Players:
Craig Biggio (2B) .325, 20 hr, 88 rbi, 123 r, 50 sb
Jeff Bagwell (1B) .304, 34 hr, 111 rbi, 124r
Moises Alou (OF) .312, 38 hr, 124 rbi, 104 r
Randy Johnson (SP) 10-1, 1.28 era, 0.984 whip, 12.4 K/9, 322 ERA+ (w/ Houston)
Billy Wagner (RP) 30 sv, 2.70 era, 1.18 era
Notes:
*This Astros team ranks fairly well with metrics and that is with only have Randy Johnson for half a year. But the fact they lost in the first round of the playoffs should push the 2017 Astros team that did win it all ahead of them. However, the committee decided in light of the sign stealing scandal that the 2017-2019 Astros, all of whom would be recognized as better than the ’98 team, would be ineligible.
Randy Johnson, after getting acquired via trade mid-season and losing only one time, lost twice in the NLDS (to no fault of his own, giving up 3 ER in 14 IP).
Houston finished 1st in runs scored and 2nd in runs against in the NL.
This team has 3 HOFs on the roster.
Further reading:
https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2019/1...houston-astros
https://houseofhouston.com/2017/09/3...ary-fate-1998/