Determining the Greatest Team of All-Time (considering all 3329 teams)

[msc123123]

I’ve decided to set out to determine who is the greatest team of all time according to OOTP. This has been done in the past but I want to do it differently. I’m making no prior assumptions about which teams should get to compete for the greatest team of all time. This is not a 64-team bracket. This is not the top 30 pre-determined teams. Who am I to say whether the 1939 New York Yankees or the 1884 Altoona Mountain Citys are more deserving of a spot in the final round? Which of the 3329 major league teams from 1871 to 2021 should get to compete for the greatest team of all time? I say all of them!

How will I do this? It’s a good question. The general plan is as follows, go from 3329 teams to 300 teams, go from 300 teams to 30 teams, and go from 30 teams to the greatest team of all-time. Within that general framework, teams will compete in randomly assigned leagues where the top teams will move on and the bottom teams will be eliminated. But when I say random, I don’t just mean just the teams. As an additional wrinkle, each league will be assigned a setting year to compete in. Using 2022 standard settings, would crush teams without strong relievers or a designated hitter and advantage newer teams. Randomly selecting the year will force teams to show they could compete no matter the era if they truly want to be the best.

I will be posting a league’s result every 1 or 2 days so stay tuned to see which teams are progressing and I will also include aggregate reports on teams/years/leagues so you can see how they compare over history.

[msc123123]

To start, we have the Seeding Round. Do not let the name fool you as we are moving straight into high stakes competition. The Seeding Round will contain 67 leagues of 49 or 50 teams and only the top 25 teams in each league will remain in the tournament. Additionally, teams will have an opportunity to skip future rounds by performing at the top of each league. For example, the winners of the 67 leagues will automatically advance to the final 300 teams. See below for a more detailed explanation of how the seeding round works:

Teams: 3329
Leagues: 67 leagues of 49/50 teams
Schedule: 3 games against each opponent (144/147 games)
All playoff series are Best of 7
Top 8 teams advance to a playoff
1st advances to the Top 300 teams
2nd-4th advance to Round 3
5th-8th advance to Round 2
9th-16th compete in a single series (9th against 16th, 10th against 15th, etc.)
9th-12th advance to Round 2
12th-16th advance to Round 1
16th-24nd advance to Round 1 without competing in a playoff
25th-32nd compete in a last chance playoff
25th advances to Round 1 serving as essentially a last in to keep track of in future rounds

A link to the Full Results for the round (updated as they come in):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

A note:
In the seeding round expect some teams to get absolutely demolished. Some teams at the start of baseball had 1 or 2 pitchers for the whole season and they will have no option but to start them every day in a 144/147-game season. Their only hope will be to get a league setting year in the 1800s, where I will reduce the number of games to reflect the schedule of that era. Similarly, rosters for Negro League teams can be fuzzy so some of them may also lack the depth to perform up to snuff with MLB teams, even with a roster of 4- and 5-star players.

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 1

Settings year:
1950

Highlights:
And the very first spot in the top 300 goes to the 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers earned their spot, defeating the 1926 New York Yankees and the 1941 New York Yankees, both 4-1. The 1941 New York Yankees will be advancing directly to Round 3 thanks to a unanimous Cy Young for Marius Russo. The MVP race was unanimous, in that the 1926 New York Yankees deserved it. The only point of contention was whether Babe Ruth or Lous Gehrig should win the honors. They received 25 and 24 first place votes each but in the end Babe Ruth won it by only 4 points. All 25 advancing teams were from either the American League or the National League. The final spot in Round 1 went to the 1961 Chicago Cubs, who swept the 2004 Philadelphia Phillies in the play-in championship.

MVP:
1. Babe Ruth (1926 New York Yankees) - .342/44/113/14.4 565 (25)
2. Lou Gehrig (1926 New York Yankees) - .368/43/159/11.4 561 (24)
3. Nap Lajoie (1901 Philadelphia Athletics) - .371/39/160/8 392

Cy Young:
1. Marius Russo (1941 New York Yankees) - 24-4/2.27/144/6.9 343 (49)
2. Danny MacFayden (1936 Boston Bees) - 22-8/2.83/96/8.1 169
3. Dave Koslo (1949 New York Giants) - 23-8/2.71/110/8 149

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 2

Settings year:
1949

Highlights:
The 2nd seeding round league came down to a game 7 between the 1927 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1971 Baltimore Orioles. In the end, the 1927 St. Louis Cardinals scored a 7-2 victory to earn a spot in the top 300. This league also features our first case of being a home-year team. This is the term I am using to describe a possible advantage teams have by playing with the same settings as they played in. The 1949 St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of the situation and earned a bye to Round 2. The National Association winning 1875 Boston Red Stockings finished second to last in the league 34-110, underscoring the difficulty the National Association will face to qualify a team out of the seeding round. We did see our first Negro League team to qualify. The 1924 Chicago American Giants have a bye until the 2nd round after an impressive 85-59 season. The 1912 Washington Senators will have a rather dubious distinction. Despite Walter Johnson winning the Cy Young unanimously, they weren’t able to advance out of the round. The 1998 Chicago Cubs won the last-chance playoffs over the 1933 Boston Red Sox in 7 games so we will keep an eye on them in Round 1.

MVP:
1. Cristobal Torriente (1924 Chicago American Giants) - .402/19/137/11.9 676 (47)
2. Mike Schmidt (1980 Philadelphia Phillies) – .331/32/112/10.7 407
3. Walter Johnson (1912 Washington Senators) - 377 (2) See Cy Young for stats plus 2.1 batting WAR

Cy Young:
1. Walter Johnson (1912 Washington Senators) – 22-9/2.14/156/10.5 343 (49)
2. Phil Douglas (1915 Cincinnati Reds) – 23-10/2.37/131/7.8 192
3. Roy Oswalt (2005 Houston Astros) - 19-10/2.13/133/7.9 136

[GOMS]

Thanks for sharing, eagerly looking forward to more updates!

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 3

Settings year:
1969

Highlights:
The Yankees had this one locked up before the first pitch was thrown in the championship match. The 1932 New York Yankees took down the 1955 New York Yankees in 7 games to advance to the top 300 teams. They are the first team who won the World Series to qualify for the top 300 teams. The 1925 Hilldale Club, the first winner of the Colored World Series to participate, were eliminated with a 50-94 record but it’s not all bad news for non-NL/AL teams. The second team from the American Association (1889 Philadelphia Athletics) and first from the Negro National League II (1944 Philadelphia Stars) have made it out of the Seeding Round. The 1967 California Angels earned the final Round 1 by winning all three of their play-in playoff series in 7 games.

MVP:
1. Jim Edmonds (2004 St. Louis Cardinals) - .357/33/101/12.4 635 (40)
2. Ty Cobb (1912 Detroit Tigers) – .343/30/103/10.3 443 (4)
3. Lou Gehrig (1932 New York Yankees) - .322/44/124/10.1 407 (5)

Cy Young:
1. Claude Passeau (1943 Chicago Cubs) – 21-6/1.69/143/7.3 291 (34)
2. Whitey Ford (1955 New York Yankees) – 20-6/1.95/211/6.8 233 (13)
3. Red Ruffing (1932 New York Yankees) – 18-9/2.58/257/6.9 90 (2)

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 4

Settings year:
1942

Highlights:
This season, the champion proves why we need to consider all 3329 teams when determining the best. This league featured 3 World Series Champions, but at the end of the day, the 1894 Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the 1944 St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games to earn a spot in the top 300. The 1894 Pittsburgh Pirates did not even finish with a winning record in 1894 but they were able to earn a spot in the top 300 teams. This season also shows us what a difference a year makes. The 1992, 1993, and 1994 St. Louis Cardinals, all found themselves in the same league. The 1992 and 1993 versions earned a bye to Round 2 while the 1994 version will have to go through Round 1. League 4 also included our first advancer from the East-West League as the 1932 Detroit Wolves have made it to Round 1. The 1882 Chicago White Stockings did something that I didn’t think was possible. They qualified to round 1 despite having only two pitchers. Both pitchers pitched over 550 innings and Fred Goldsmith won the Cy Young to get their team into the next round. The 1966 New York Yankees took the final spot in Round 1, beating out the 1962 Chicago White Sox 4-3 in game 7 of the play-in championship.

MVP:
1. Mike Smith (1894 Pittsburgh Pirates) - .330/15/79/9.4 563 (28)
2. Luis Robert (2021 Chicago White Sox) – .354/17/88/7.6 372 (2)
3. Troy Tulowitzki (2014 Colorado Rockies) - .331/22/98/8.3 344 (3)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
13 to Blondie Purcell (1880 Cincinnati Reds) who had 10.5 total WAR as a two-way player and finished 4th in MVP voting
2 to Charlie Ferguson (1885 Philadelphia Quakers) who had 12.8 total WAR as a two-way player and finished 5th in MVP voting
1 to Hank Edwards (1951 Cincinnati Edwards) who led the league with .379 AVG and .947 OPS and finished 10th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Fred Goldsmith (1882 Chicago White Stockings) – 37-32/2.86/189/8.2 283 (34)
2. Larry Corcoran (1882 Chicago White Stockings) – 36-25/3.13/286/8.7 151 (5)
3. Ewell Blackwell (1951 Cincinnati Reds) - 23-7/2.35/135/6.1 76

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
7 to Guy Bush (1925 Chicago Cubs) who led the league in ERA and WHIP and finished 4th in Cy Young voting
3 to Ken Holtzman (1973 Oakland Athletics) who pitched 8 shut-outs and finished 5th in Cy Young voting

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 5

Settings year:
1977 with DH

Highlights:
In only 5 leagues we have our first franchise to have two teams in the top 300. The 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers beat the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 to earn a spot in the top 300 teams. The 1884 Washington Nationals become the first team to advance out of the Seeding Round from the Union Association. The craziest individual season so far has to go to Monte Ward of the 1880 Providence Grays. The 1880 Providence Grays only had two pitchers. However, they relied on Ward to pitch double the number of innings of the other pitcher. In his 824 innings pitched, he was able to score 499 strike-outs, over 200 more than anyone else has in any league to this point. Unfortunately, the positives stop there. Ward gave up 246 HRs on his own, more than all but 1 other team in all 5 leagues, on his way to -23.4 WAR. The final Round 1 spot went to the 1894 Chicago Colts after they beat the 1934 New York Giants in 5 games.

MVP:
1. Jimmie Foxx (1932 Philadelphia Athletics) - .361/41/128/8.9 645 (42)
2. Luis Gonzalez (2001 Arizona Diamondbacks) – .333/36/114/6.7 323
3. Jose Hernandez (2002 Milwaukee Brewers) - .344/21/103/8.8 296

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
4 to Greg Maddux (1997 Atlanta Braves) who won the Cy Young and finished 7th in MVP voting
3 to Max Lanier (1942 St. Louis Cardinals) who finished 3rd in Cy Young voting and finished 8th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Greg Maddux (1997 Atlanta Braves) – 23-5/2.22/168/10.4 310 (38)
2. Charlie Buffinton (1888 Philadelphia Quakers) – 24-8/2.79/196/8.6 192 (6)
3. Max Lanier (1942 St. Louis Cardinals) – 19-3/1.78/173/8.5 154 (5)

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 6

Settings year:
2014 without DH

Highlights:
Given that the league settings were 2014, there was a good opportunity for a younger team to earn a spot in the top 300. The 2021 Boston Red Sox took advantage beating the 1990 Oakland Athletics in 5 games to claim a top 300 spot. Even with only 6 qualified teams, we can guarantee a minimum gap of 127 years between the qualifying teams as a result. The league also featured our third unanimous Cy Young winner in Pete Alexander (1917 Philadelphia Phillies). All 25 advancing teams came from either the NL or the AL. The 1906 Cincinnati Reds won the last spot in Round 1 by defeating the 2009 Florida Marlins 4-2.

MVP:
1. Rickey Henderson (1990 Oakland Athletics) - .324/35/109/11 565 (27)
2. George Sisler (1920 St. Louis Browns) – .376/32/129/9.2 508 (18)
3. Sammy Strang (1906 New York Giants) - .327/43/149/10.2 367

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
4 to Pete Alexander (1917 Philadelphia Phillies) who won the Cy Young and finished 7th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Pete Alexander (1917 Philadelphia Phillies) – 21-2/1.92/251/9.1 343 (49)
2. Eppa Rixey (1917 Philadelphia Phillies) – 17-7/2.2/225/8.2 184
3. Red Ames (1906 New York Giants) – 20-8/2.79/300/7.4 88

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 7

Settings year:
1897
Note: 19th century baseball tends to differ significantly from modern day or even 20th century baseball. Triples are more common than HRs, there will often be less than 5 pitchers in a starting rotation, and errors are much more common.

Highlights:
Seeding Round League 7 did not feature a single World Series winner. The 2013 Detroit Tigers took advantage of this weaker group to earn a spot in the final 300 teams. The 1885 New York Giants were on their way to winning the spot, up 5-3 in Game 7 of the championship, until they gave up 6 runs in the top of the 9th. Eppa Rixey, who got second in Cy Young voting in Seeding Round League 6, followed up that performance with a unanimous Cy Young for the 1920 Philadelphia Phillies. The 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings became the third team from American Association to make it out of the seeding round. The 2014 Boston Red Sox won the play-in championship in similarly spectacular fashion, defeating the 1997 Oakland Athletics 7-6 in Game 7 with 3 runs in the 9th to earn them the spot.

MVP:
1. Reggie Sanders (1995 Cincinnati Reds) - .383/17/105/8.4 597 (32)
2. Willie Wilson (1979 Kansas City Royals) – .383/2/83/9.5 393 (5)
3. Minnie Minoso (1948 New York Cubans) - .429/4/91/9.2 383 (9)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
3 to Mike Dorgan (1885 New York Giants) 8.1 WAR in only 116 games due to injury and finished 5th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Eppa Rixey (1920 Philadelphia Phillies) – 34-15/2.39/127/10.4 343 (49)
2. Tully Sparks (1905 Philadelphia Phillies) – 30-16/2.5/112/6.6 163
3. Ken Raffensberger (1952 Cincinnati Reds) – 28-16/2.96/91/8.9 148

[Nick Soulis]

This is excellent stuff and a great format, I love that you are including the teams from the 1800's. Was wondering how you import negro league teams....

Going tt enjoy following!

[msc123123]

Originally Posted by Nick Soulis

This is excellent stuff and a great format, I love that you are including the teams from the 1800's. Was wondering how you import negro league teams....

Going tt enjoy following!

I import all teams using the import historical players feature (this allows me to use Neutralized Stats). For the Negro League teams, I use the baseball reference rosters and if I can't find a player I load the historical league and try to find them (or their stats attached to another player) in OOTP. I am able to get about 98% accurate rosters but some teams will still miss a player or two that aren't in OOTP.

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 8

Settings year:
1887
Note: 19th century baseball tends to differ significantly from modern day or even 20th century baseball. Triples are more common than HRs, there will often be less than 5 pitchers in a starting rotation, and errors are much more common.

Highlights:
The 1930 St. Louis Cardinals defeated the 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers in 5 games to become the 2nd St. Louis Cardinals team to earn a top 300 spot. Kiki Cuyler (1929 Chicago Cubs) was the first player to win the MVP unanimously, thanks in part to his league-leading 189 stolen bases. The 1890 Syracuse Stars advanced to Round 1, becoming the 3rd American Association and 7th non-AL/NL team to make it out of the Seeding Round. The 1927 Philadelphia Athletics won the play-in playoffs over the 1981 Baltimore Orioles in 6 games and will be found in Round 1.

MVP:
1. Kiki Cuyler (1929 Chicago Cubs) - .395/8/86/11.6 686 (49)
2. Babe Ruth (1923 New York Yankees) – .383/14/88/7.7 441
3. Harvey Hendrick (1928 Brooklyn Robins) - .332/13/75/7 294

Cy Young:
1. Watty Clark (1928 Brooklyn Robins) – 36-13/2.05/155/9.8 325 (43)
2. Rube Marquard (1913 New York Giants) – 34-13/2.06/162/9.5 211 (6)
3. Greg Swindell (1991 Cleveland Indians) – 30-17/2.26/158/9.6 147

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 9

Settings year:
1927

Highlights:
Another league, another organization earning their second spot in the top 300. The 1953 New York Yankees defeated the 1984 San Francisco Giants in 6 games to earn the spot. However, it wasn’t all good news for the Yankees. The 2009 New York Yankees became the first World Series winning team to not make it out of the seeding round. After going 72-72, good enough for 32nd and a spot in the play-in championship, they lost in the first round to the 1960 Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games. The 1960 Dodgers eventually lost the play-in final to the surviving 1998 Chicago White Sox in 4 games. Looking at what made the 2009 Yankees fail, Mariano Rivera was essentially useless because 1927 was prior to the regular use of relievers and their starting pitchers finished 31st in the league for ERA. This league also featured the most impressive two-way player yet. Guy Hecker (1886 Louisville Colonels) earned over 6 WAR in both batting and pitching, winning the MVP award unanimously and garnering the second most votes for the Cy Young. He also won two silver slugger awards, one as a P and one at LF.

MVP:
1. Guy Hecker (1886 Louisville Colonels) – .415/7/88/6.6 686 (49) see pitching stats in Cy Young stats
2. Craig Grebeck (1991 Chicago White Sox) – .388/7/125/8.1 409
3. Gibby Brack (1939 Philadelphia Phillies) – .419/9/83/6.9 371

Cy Young:
1. Brandon Webb (2006 Arizona Diamondbacks) – 25-8/2.23/111/6.5 292 (32)
2. Guy Hecker (1886 Louisville Colonels) – 26-6/2.31/96/6.1 247 (17)
3. Burt Hooton (1977 Los Angeles Dodgers) – 21-9/2.46/102/6.1 119

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 10

Settings year:
1957

Highlights:
Just by random chance, league 10 featured 2 of the 3 100+-win teams of the 19th century. This would serve as a real test for 19th centuries staying power. The results, as has often been the case in these simulations, were mixed. The 1892 Boston Beaneaters finished 70-74, so bad that they didn’t even earn a spot into the play-in playoff to try and make round 1. On the other hand, the 1899 Brooklyn Superbas had a 100-win season on their way to sweeping the 1932 New York Giants in the championship and earning a spot in the top 300. Other highlights from the league included the Player’s League earning their first team to make it out of the seeding round with the 1890 New York Giants. The lowlight of the league has to go to the 1932 Little Rock Grays. The Grays set a record for worst record that I’m confident will not be broken, 0-144. The Grays, who only played 17 recorded games, are missing their most common first and second basemen as well as a number of backups in OOTP on an already small roster. The end result was a team of 7 position players and 4 pitchers. The closest the Grays got to a win was their second game, where they only lost by 6 runs. For the play-in spot, the 1904 Chicago Cubs did it the hard way. Not only did they win all three of their series in 7 games, but they won the finals game 7 in extra innings after coming back down three runs in the bottom of the 9th.

MVP:
1. Tris Speaker (1920 Cleveland Indians) – .345/43/125/10.5 676 (47)
2. Denny Lyons (1890 Philadelphia Athletics) – .353/31/128/10.1 448 (2)
3. Willie Mays (1968 San Francisco Giants) – .329/36/119/8.9 390

Cy Young:
1. Jeff Pfeffer (1920 Brooklyn Robins) – 18-7/2.16/165/9.2 217 (21)
2. Jake Weimer (1904 Chicago Cubs) – 15-14/2.4/191/9.6 186 (8)
3. Guy Hecker (1886 Louisville Colonels) – 28-32/3.67/266/10.8 139 (16)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
3 to Carl Hubbell (1932 New York Giants) who earned 9.6 WAR and finished 4th in Cy Young voting
1 to Burleigh Grimes (1920 Brooklyn Robins) who earned 9.3 WAR and finished 5th in Cy Young voting

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 11

Settings year:
1971

Highlights:
The 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers have become the fourth team from the Dodgers franchise to earn a spot in the 300. They did it by only losing 2 totals games in their three playoff series on the way to the championship. The 1935 Pittsburgh Pirates lost the finals but will have the distinction of being the first team to win both the MVP and the Cy Young, with Cy Blanton winning the Cy Young unanimously. In the play-in the finals featured a battle with quite a year gap. In the end, the 1889 Columbus Solons beat the 2010 Chicago White Sox scoring 3 runs in the 9th inning to win Game 7 5-4. The Columbus Solons franchise only lasted three seasons in the 19th century so to get at least one of those three into Round 1 will keep the franchise from being fully eliminated in the seeding round.

MVP:
1. Arky Vaughan (1935 Pittsburgh Pirates) – .309/25/69/12.4 533 (22)
2. Vince DiMaggio (1940 Pittsburgh Pirates) – .324/32/110/9.3 506 (18)
3. Ty Cobb (1916 Detroit Tigers) – .345/22/82/10.9 416 (6)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
3 to Cy Blanton who won the Cy Young and finished 8th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Cy Blanton (1935 Pittsburgh Pirates) – 22-6/2.01/183/9.1 343 (49)
2. Mark Baldwin (1889 Columbus Solons) – 21-13/2.74/240/7.6 138
3. Bill Swift (1935 Pittsburgh Pirates) – 18-7/1.97/154/8.6 117

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 12

Settings year:
1934

Highlights:
Led by MVP Ted Williams, the 1941 Boston Red Sox defeated the 1992 Cincinnati Reds in 7 games to earn a spot in the top 300 teams. The Cy Young winner was not as lucky as George Bechtel and the 1874 Philadelphia Whites will not even make it out of round 1. The Whites can take solace in the fact that they had the best performance to date for a National Association team with 68 wins on only two pitchers. Two more Negro National League teams have advanced with the 1926 Kansas City Monarchs moving to round 2 and the 1928 Cleveland Tigers making round 1. One of the all-time best names in MLB history, the 1890 Pittsburgh Burghers, were able to win the play-in and keep the franchises only team alive.

MVP:
1. Ted Williams (1941 Boston Red Sox) – .408/30/116/10.8 681 (48)
2. King Kelly (1884 Chicago White Stockings) – .395/13/94/9.1 401
3. Jimmie Foxx (1941 Boston Red Sox) – .374/23/137/8.7 349

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
1 to George Bechtel who won the Cy Young and finished 8th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. George Bechtel (1874 Philadelphia Whites) – 37-25/3.58/261/15 339 (48)
2. Mickey Harris (1941 Boston Red Sox) – 21-6/2.62/105/5.1 155 (1)
3. Zack Greinke (2019 Arizona Diamondbacks) – 22-8/2.74/108/5.7 90

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 13

Settings year:
2018 with DH

Highlights:
The Oakland Athletics have earned their first spot in the top 300 as the 2005 Oakland Athletics swept the 1980 Cleveland Indians in the finals. With the DH on, a number of older teams survived by having a strong hitting pitcher serve as DH when they weren’t pitching. One example of this was Pink Hawley (1895 Pittsburgh Pirates), who led his team in both Home Runs and Strikeouts on his way to the MVP. Unfortunately, our second ever World Series winner to not make it out of the seeding round is the 1918 Boston Red Sox. Despite the team featuring a 5-star Babe Ruth, they did not have the depth to survive 2018 baseball and finished the season 60-84 in 39th place. To earn the final spot, the 2004 San Francisco Giants defeated the 1995 Montreal Expos in 5 games in the playoff series final.

MVP:
1. Pink Hawley (1895 Pittsburgh Pirates) – 17-7/2.34/226/8.9 (and 1.9 batting WAR) 441 (21)
2. Barry Bonds (2004 San Francisco Giants) – .358/51/124/9.1 409 (11)
3. Manny Ramirez (2002 Boston Red Sox) – .340/53/168/6.9 405 (10)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
7 to Eddie Murray (1982 Baltimore Orioles) who had 7.2 WAR and finished 4th in voting with 392 votes

Cy Young:
1. Rick Reuschel (1985 Pittsburgh Pirates) – 16-4/1.77/230/8.4 244 (24)
2. Randy Johnson (1995 Seattle Mariners) – 17-8/2.41/311/9.3 136 (8)
3. Johnny Podres (1959 Los Angeles Dodgers) – 15-7/1.8/229/7.4 109 (4)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
8 to Schoolboy Rowe (1935 Detroit Tigers) who led the league with 21 wins, had 6.6 WAR, and finished 4th in Cy Young voting
3 to Pink Hawley (1895 Pittsburgh Pirates) who had 8.9 Pitching WAR, won the MVP and finished 5th in Cy Young voting
1 to Jim Gardner (1895 Pittsburgh Pirates) who had 8 WAR and finished 6th in Cy Young voting
1 to Pedro Martinez (2002 Boston Red Sox) who led the league with .83 WHIP, had 7.7 WAR, and finished 8th in Cy Young voting

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 14

Settings year:
1975 without DH

Highlights:
Going into the finals, the 1971 Oakland Athletics were looking to make it the 2nd A’s champion in as many leagues but in the end the 1911 Pittsburgh Pirates won 4-2. They are the 2nd Pittsburgh Pirates team to earn a birth in the top 300. Vida Blue (1971 Oakland Athletics) won the unanimous Cy Young as his team earned a bye to the third round. League MVP Pete Browning was not as lucky as the 1882 Louisville Eclipse did not make it out of the Seeding Round. He is the only MVP to date who won’t be able to defend his title. The final team to sneak in was the 1947 Detroit Tigers, who beat the 1968 Boston Red Sox 4-2 in the play-in final.

MVP:
1. Pete Browning (1882 Louisville Eclipse) – .419/13/103/11.4 (and 1.9 batting WAR) 574 (32)
2. Vince DiMaggio (1940 Cincinnati Reds) – .367/36/105/9.4 490 (12)
3. Kiki Cuyler (1924 Pittsburgh Pirates) – .360/27/93/8.7 420 (4)

Note: The other first place votes went as follows:
1 to Vida Blue (1971 Oakland Athletics) who won the Cy Young and finished 8th in MVP voting

Cy Young:
1. Vida Blue (1971 Oakland Athletics) – 22-7/1.94/197/8.6 343 (49)
2. Claude Osteen (1966 Los Angeles Dodgers) – 21-7/2.11/126/7.9 184
3. Babe Adams (1911 Pittsburgh Pirates) – 17-7/1.91/151/9.1 126

[msc123123]

Seeding Round League 15

Settings year:
1927

Highlights:
This league came down to a final between two very different teams. One team, the 1887 St. Louis Browns, were from the 19th century and won the American Association by 14 games. The other, the 2011 San Diego Padres, were a 21st century team who finished last in their division 31 games back of the conference champion. But when the dust settled, the 2011 San Diego Padres earned their spot with a 9th in running in Game 7 of the championship. The 1935 Brooklyn Eagles advanced to round 1, becoming only the 2nd Negro National League II team to make it out of the seeding round. Also advancing to round 1 is the 1931 New York Giants who swept the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates in the play-in final.

MVP:
1. Bob Caruthers (1887 St. Louis Browns) – .349/13/103/6.8 (and 6.1 pitching WAR) 676 (47)
2. Billy Hamilton (1893 Philadelphia Phillies) – .382/16/85/10.3 440 (2)
3. Bob Black (1884 Kansas City Cowboys) – .315/4/90/3.9 (see Cy Young for pitching stats) 317

Cy Young:
1. Pete Donohue (1922 Cincinnati Reds) – 24-9/2.46/86/7.8 327 (44)
2. Warren Spahn (1946 Boston Braves) – 22-10/2.64/109/5.8 160 (2)
3. Bob Black (1884 Kansas City Cowboys) – 21-9/2.82/114/7.4 135 (3)

Overall Stat:
I’ve decided to start adding in an overall stat for records set in all leagues that have been run. For the first stat, here are the top 5 in Gray Ink to date.
1. Babe Ruth – 67 in 6 seasons
2. Walter Johnson – 59 in 5 seasons
3. Guy Hecker – 54 in 3 seasons
4. Lou Gehrig – 51 in 4 seasons
5. Randy Johnson – 51 in 10 seasons