2020 MLB Tournament!!!

[jaa36]

This is based on this article by the excellent Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/one-gian...0-game-season/

Premise: MLB and the MLBPA never get their act together for a regular season but decide instead to just have a long playoff. In Szymborski's version, each team would enter into a postseason tournament- he suggested rounds of best-of-15, though OOTP only allows up to best-of-nine. He also suggested throwing in AL and NL Futures teams to round out 32 teams, which I love. I put only players that had an ETA of 2021 or later on those teams as to not raid the MLB teams too badly.

I simmed forward until August, held a two-week spring training, and set up playoff matchups based on last season's records. The series are three home, off day, three away, off day, home-away-home, so nine games in eleven days, though all games will be at one site- for example, the AL Future Stars, the Astros, the White Sox and the Rangers will all play the first round in Houston. Each team is allowed 28-man rosters.

I also set up a random outcome of players catching COVID-19, which would result in them going out for two weeks, and putting other players on the team at risk of catching it also (with an "outbreak" within a team causing them to have to drop out).

I'll play as both the Phillies and the Mariners, because anyone's got a chance!!


News so far:
-Oneil Cruz (NL Future Stars) and Hanser Alberto (Orioles) were both diagnosed with COVID-19, but fortunately look to be recovering, and no one else on their teams were infected.
-Tyler Chatwood came to camp in the best shape of his life, apparently staving off the COVID-19 fifteen.
-Roberto Osuna, Evan Longoria, Mike Minor, Nick Burdi and Carlos Martinez all suffered season-ending injuries during "spring" training.
-Leudy Pena (NL Future Stars) injured himself on a treadmill. D'oh!

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Things have not started so well for the teams I control- both the Phillies and the Mariners have dropped the first three games of their series. Turns out I can only control one team per day, but I played two games with each team.

Indians vs Mariners

Game 1: Indians 4, Mariners 1. Shane Bieber struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings in the series-opening win. Domingo Santana hit a two-run homer and Cesar Hernandez reached base three times. J.P. Crawford was tossed after arguing balls and strikes and suspended for two games.

Game 2: Indians 5, Mariners 1. Mike Clevinger dominated the M's, striking out eleven in seven innings. Santana homered again, and Hernandez and Oscar Mercado drove in two runs apiece.

Game 3: Indians 3, Mariners 2. This time it was Aaron Civale's time to shine, as he went seven innings and allowed just five baserunners and one run. Santana homered for the third game in a row, some nice payback for a team that dumped him last season. The M's loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Braden Bishop and Dylan Moore both struck out to end the game.


Cubs vs Phillies

Game 1: Cubs 11, Phillies 8 (10 innings). Victor Caratini hit a walk-off three-run homer to win it for the Cubs in extras. Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in four for Chicago; he reached base all five times he was up.

Game 2: Cubs 5, Phillies 4. Consecutive homers in the eighth inning by Kris Bryant and Caratini brought the Cubs from behind and gave them a two-run lead. Jose Quintana got the win, allowing one run in 3 2/3 innings of relief. With a run in and two runners on, Bryce Harper fouled off four straight pitches, then popped up to the third baseman to end the game.

Game 3: Cubs 3, Phillies 2. With the Phillies' bullpen gassed, Reggie McClain was entrusted with the lead in the ninth inning. It did not work out, as he gave up a single to Willson Contreras, and a two-run walk-off homer to Ian Happ.


Around the rest of the league, one nice surprise was that the AL Future Stars were able to take a game from the Astros.

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I have proven to be an inept manager, as both the Phillies and the Mariners have been eliminated in six games.

Indians vs Mariners

Game 4: Mariners 2, Indians 1. A pair of RBI doubles by Daniel Vogelbach gave the M's the only win of this series. Kendall Graveman allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings, and Austin Adams and Matt Magill provided scoreless relief the rest of the way.

Game 5: Indians 2, Mariners 1. Shane Bieber pitched seven shutout innings for his second win of the series. Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer to provide all the scoring for Cleveland. An Evan White homer in the ninth made things interesting, but Phil Maton was able to close out the game.

Game 6: Indians 9, Mariners 4. The M's scored four runs in the seventh, but Roberto Perez answered back with a grand slam in the eighth to lead to the five-run final margin. Cesar Hernandez had three hits, and Oscar Mercado homered and drove in three. Domingo Santana won the series MVP, hitting .333 with three home runs. The Mariners managed just 11 runs in the six-game series.


Phillies vs Cubs

Game 4: Cubs 4, Phillies 2. Javier Baez hit a two-run homer off Nick Pivetta in the first inning to start things off on a good note for Chicago. Alec Mills allowed two unearned runs to get the win. The Phillies struck out 16 Cubs hitters, but couldn't do enough on offense to make it matter.

Game 5: Phillies 6, Cubs 5. Andrew McCutchen reached base all five times he was up, including a home run. Bryce Harper led off the ninth with a walk-off home run. The Phils got 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief from their bullpen after a shaky start by Aaron Nola.

Game 6: Cubs 3, Phillies 1. Kyle Hendricks allowed one run in six innings as the Cubs closed out the series. Victor Caratini had two hits, including a home run. Andrew McCutchen won series MVP honors despite the Phillies losing, as he hit four home runs and drove in nine.


Otherwise, the Yankees, Dodgers and Pirates have also advanced.

[jaa36]

The first round is in the books. There were a few upsets... the Pirates swept the Nationals, the Blue Jays beat the Rays, and the Orioles beat the Twins. Only two series went the full nine games.

We move on to the Sweet Sixteen, which will be played at the same sites as the first round.

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The Astros, Blue Jays, Indians and Angels advanced in the AL, while the Cubs, Rockies, Mets and Braves moved on in the NL. Two of the top three teams from last year (the Yankees and the Dodgers) were knocked out in the last round.

J.A. Happ was diagnosed with COVID-19, but fortunately none of his teammates were affected.

The next round will feature Astros vs. Blue Jays (in Houston), Indians vs. Angels (in Cleveland), Cubs vs. Rockies (in Chicago), and Braves vs. Mets (in Atlanta).

[jaa36]

All four of the Elite Eight series ended in an upset, and the Blue Jays, Angels, Rockies and Mets are the last four teams alive.

The Blue Jays defeated the Astros in eight games. Teoscar Hernandez was series MVP, hitting .370 with two home runs.

The Angels knocked out the Indians in seven games. Luis Rengifo was the series MVP (of course), with 11 hits.

The Rockies beat he Cubs in eight games. Tony Wolters won the MVP with 12 hits.

And the Mets had the easiest time, beating the Braves in just six games, with Brandon Nimmo getting the MVP with eight hits and a home run.

Next up: the League Championship Series.

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The Mets and the Angels have advanced to the World Series- an unlikely pairing from an unlikely season. The Angels were just 72-90 in 2019, and the Mets 86-76. The World Series will all be played at Citi Field, with the clubs alternating who bats first as previously.

The Mets defeated the Rockies in eight games, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the next four. Jake Marisnick hit .393 with three home runs and eight RBI to win series MVP. Dominic Smith hit for the cycle in Game Five, a 17-inning affair that the Mets eventually won 9-8.

The Angels also won in eight. They took the first four games of the series, but Toronto won three in a row to make things interesting before Los Angeles finally closed things out. Mike Trout won the MVP, hitting .393 with five homers and driving in ten.

In other news, Eric Thames of the Nationals was diagnosed with COVID-19.

[jaa36]

The New York Mets are your 2020 World Series Champions! The Mets won a thrilling nine-game series to defeat the Angels. Michael Conforto hit .333 with three home runs to win the series MVP.

The clubs battled back and forth for the duration, with six games decided by two runs or less, including the deciding game, in which Jacob deGrom won his sixth start of the postseason and Dominic Smith homered to give the Mets the lead.

Mike Trout hit just .242 with no home runs in the series. What a bum...

Ian Happ of the Cubs was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the last day of the World Series.