The Greatest OOTP Teams of All-Time League

[Highlander]

I'm finally at the stage where I thought I'd share what happens in my Greatest OOTP Team of All-Time League. I have spent the past month or so running sims to get a representative team for all 30 current franchises. Here's how I determined them-

All teams from 1901-2024 were used except those from partial seasons (1981, 1994, 1995, 2020) and a very small number of teams that I had to remove to give me an even number of teams for certain franchises....it was always the team with the worst winning percentage in the history of that franchise.

I set up leagues of teams within each franchise. For ones that have been around since 1901, there were 4 leagues created. One with the teams from 1901-1932, one for 1933-1964, one for 1965-1999 and one for 2000-2024. Franchises that started in other years had either one or two leagues made in pretty much the same way.

Next, each league was run through 8 seasons....one for each of the eras I am using teams from. The years used were 1910, 1933, 1953, 1971, 1986, 1999, 2010 and 2022. All teams used the DH in the years it was active, regardless of whether they actually used it themselves in real life. That gave each league 4 seasons with a DH and 4 without.

Each league had 4 divisions and the winner of each went to the playoffs with no wildcards. I kept track of the winning and losing team for each of the 8 seasons and the team that won the most World Series would move on. If there was a tie, the tie breaker was how many times they went to the Series altogether. If that was also a tie, then the teams would face off in a one-on-one 8 season playoff using the same 8 years and the team with the most wins over the other would move on. Hope that all makes sense!

Finally, for franchises with 2 or 4 leagues, the winners faced off in another 8 season battle without playoffs. It was all about who got the most seasons where they beat the other teams....or if it was a tie, then which team had the most wins in total. For a couple of teams that started more recently (like Arizona) they only had one season so the winner of that single season just moved on.

My thinking is that to be considered the greatest team of all time, you have to be able to win in all eras...or at least win in more eras than other teams that you are competing with. I felt this was the best way I could think of to run teams through a real "gauntlet" of having to face off against each other in a multiple era tournament of sorts. I also used 1-year recalc and bumped the adjust/weaken levels for AB a little higher so I got ratings based on exactly how each player played in their given year without having partial seasons affect things too much. Overall I was pretty happy with the results.

Now you can see why it took a month or more to get these teams settled! As you might expect, there are some all-time great teams that came out of this and a fair number of surprise teams that must have some magic that OOTP really likes.

Where we will go from here is a set of 8 more seasons with these 30 teams. They are set up in leagues/divisions as in current real life. The difference will be that only one Wildcard per league will move on....so it will be 3 division winners and a Wildcard battling out to make the World Series. I will keep track of which team wins the most World Series and also which team ends up with the most wins through the 8 seasons. I am using Interleague Play and a balanced schedule, so everyone gets to play everyone else pretty evenly.

I think that leaves just one more big reveal before I start simming the league.....the actual teams involved! That will be what comes next. I'll reveal each division and the teams representing their given franchises. See if your favorite team is the one that made it through...again, there will be some strange ones but also some that most of you could easily guess. I have a few that I think will be the favorites to come out of this as THE best team of all time, but there are definitely a number of candidates.

If anyone has any questions for things I missed, let me know. Otherwise I will reveal the NL East in the very near future.

[WooBallFan43]

GOATed series loading...

[Highlander]

Here's a look at the teams from the first division....the NL East-

National League East

The Philadelphia Phillies franchise starts us right off with one of the biggest surprise teams to come out of this. They will be represented by the 1984 Philles. While their 4th place finish in the NL East and 81-81 record doesn’t inspire much fear in a league with a number of all-time great teams, they made it through and have a number of solid players that form a team that may be tougher than you’d think. They are led on offense by a rookie Juan Samuel at 2B who led the league with 19 triples and stole 72 bases, along with HOF 3B, Mike Schmidt who had his usual league leading 36 HR and 106 RBI and a league leading .919 OPS. The under the radar part of this offense, though, was their bench and platoon players- 1B Len Matuszek (262 AB, 14 HR, .350 OBP), OF Sixto Lezcano (256 AB, 14 HR, .371 OBP), OF Garry Maddox (241 AB, .282), 1B Tim Corcoran (208 AB, .341, .440 OBP), OF Greg Gross (202 AB, .322, .393 OBP).....and the list goes on. This team had so many guys with 150-250 or so AB that were fantastic. Even with my “adjust players with less than X AB” level at 250, some of these guys do really well. Pitching-wise, they are led by Steve Carlton (13-7, 3.58 ERA), Jerry Koosman (14-15, 3.25 ERA) and John Denny (7-7, 2.45 ERA in just 22 games) with Al Holland (5-10, 28 Saves, 3.39 ERA) and Larry Andersen (3-7, 2.38 ERA) leading the bullpen.

Next up is the New York Mets franchise. They give us one of the least surprising teams, as they will be represented by the 1986 Mets. A 108-54 record and World Series championship shows how great this team was. On offense, they were led by HOF C Gary Carter (24 HR, 105 RBI), 1B Keith Hernandez (.413 OBP, 83 RBI), and OF Darryl Strawberry (27 HR, 93 RBI, 28 SB). They also had their share of part-timers who did well in 2B Wally Backman (.320), OF George Foster (13 HR in 233 AB), IF/OF Kevin Mitchell (.277, 12 HR in 328 AB), as well as the OF duo of Lenny Dykstra (.822 OPS, 31 SB) and Mookie Wilson (.289, 25 SB). Pitching was where this team excelled with Dwight Gooden (17-6, 2.84, 200 Ks), Ron Darling (15-6, 2.81, 184 Ks), Bob Ojeda (18-5, 2.57) and Sid Fernandez (16-6, 3.52, 200 Ks) could all be aces on other staffs but form an incredible staff here. Add in RP Roger McDowell (14-9, 22 Saves, 3.02) and Jesse Orosco (8-6, 21 Saves, 2.33) among others in the bullpen and you have quite a staff.

The Miami Marlins franchise are next and their team was a bit of a surprise too. It wasn’t one of their World Series winning teams. They will be represented by the 2005 Marlins. They finished 3rd in the NL East with an 83-79 record. The offense was led by 1B Carlos Delgado (.301/.399/.582, 33 HR, 115 RBI), OF Miguel Cabrera (.323/.385/.561, 33 HR, 116 RBI) and OF Juan Pierre (96 R, 57 SB). The pitching staff had Dontrelle Willis (22-10, 2.63), AJ Burnett (12-12, 3.44, 198 Ks) and Josh Beckett (15-8, 3.38) with Todd Jones (1-5, 2.10, 40 Saves) as the closer.

The Atlanta Braves franchise had a long history of great teams to draw from, but the 1998 Braves came out on top. They won the NL East with a record of 106-56 but surprisingly lost in the NLCS to the Padres. Their offense is loaded with C Javy Lopez (.284, 34 HR, 106 RBI), 1B Andres Galarraga (.305/.397/.595, 44 HR, 121 RBI), HOF 3B Chipper Jones (.313/.404/.547, 34 HR, 107 RBI, 16 SB) and OF Andruw Jones (31 HR, 90 RBI, 27 SB). The pitching staff is full of HOFers- Greg Maddux (18-9, 2.22, 204 Ks), Tom Glavine (20-6, 2.47) and John Smoltz (17-3, 2.90, 173 Ks in 168 IP). Plus they had non-HOFer Denny Neagle (16-11, 3.65). Kerry Ligtenberg (3-2, 2.71, 30 Saves) led the bullpen.

Finally, the Washington Nationals franchise will be the first one represented by a team from a different city than where they are currently, as it was the 1987 Montreal Expos that made it through. While this team didn’t stand out as a favorite to make it and only finished 3rd in the NL East, they did have a 91-71 record. Their offense has one name we’ve seen before in 1B Andres Galarraga (.305, 40 doubles, 90 RBI) along with 3B Tim Wallach (.298, league leading 42 doubles, 26 HR, 123 RBI), HOF OF Tim Raines (.330/.429/.526, league leading 123 R, 18 HR, 50 SB) and OF Mitch Webster (.361 OBP, 101 R, 33 SB). Pitching was a weaker point on this team, but there are a few stand-outs- Dennis Martinez (11-4, 3.30) and RPs Andy McGaffigan (5-2, 12 Saves, 2.39),Tim Burke (7-0, 18 Saves, 1.18) and Bob McClure (6-1, 3.44) led the way. The wildcard, however, is Pascual Perez. He went 7-0 with a 2.30 ERA in just 10 games, but he ends up really good to give this team a real ace.

Lots of surprise teams in this division, but no matter who came through for the Phillies/Marlins/Nationals, I figured this division would come down to the Mets and Braves. The Phillies had some teams I thought could compete, but this 84 team came out of nowhere. The Marlins and Expos teams could surprise, but it seems like the Mets and Braves are just miles above the rest of the division and both could contend for the overall title.

Up next, the NL Central....where we get some of the older franchises in the NL.

[Highlander]

National League Central

The Milwaukee Brewers franchise gets us started in the NL Central. They will be represented by the only real surprise team in this division, the 2017 Brewers. 1982 gave them a run, but couldn’t beat them out. The 2017 team’s offense is pretty short on big names, but they had a lot of power. 1B Eric Thames (31 HR in 469 AB), 3B Travis Shaw (.273, 31 HR, 101 RBI), OF Domingo Santana (.278, 30 HR, 85 RBI) and 1B Jesus Aguilar (16 HR in 275 AB) all put up strong numbers. They also had 7 players with double digit SB numbers. On the pitching side, the big names are few and far between as well. Zach Davies (17-9, 3.90), Jimmy Nelson (12-6, 3.49, 199 Ks in 175.1 IP), Chase Anderson (12-4, 2.74) and closer Corey Knebel (1-4, 1.78. 39 Saves, 126 Ks in 76 IP) led the way. They also had a rookie reliever named Josh Hader who was just getting going, but went 2-3 with a 2.08 ERA and 68 Ks in 47.2 IP.

The Chicago Cubs franchise is up next and has a long history to find a team from. However, it was the unsurprising and more recent 2016 Cubs that came through. They were World Series champions and had a record of 103-58. Those early 1900’s teams just didn’t have the pitching depth to compete in later eras or one may have made it. The 2016 team had a strong offense, led by 1B Anthony Rizzo (.292/.385/.544, 43 doubles, 32 HR, 109 RBI), SS Addison Russell (21 HR, 95 RBI) and MVP 3B Kris Bryant (.292/.385/.554, 39 HR, 102 RBI, a league leading 121 R) among other strong contributors. The pitching staff was excellent with Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44, 197 Ks), Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10, 190 Ks) and Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13, .98 WHIP) among others. The bullpen is a little weaker….Aroldis Chapman isn’t included in the import…..but they just have to bend and not break.

The Cincinnati Reds franchise comes in next with one of the least surprising teams in the whole league. They will be represented by the 1975 Reds. While any one of 2-3 Big Red Machine teams could have been the one someone predicted, this 1975 team won the World Series and went 108-54 on the season and would have been my guess. They are loaded on offense with HOF C Johnny Bench (.283, 28 HR, 110 RBI), HOF 1B Tony Perez (.282, 20 HR, 109 RBI), HOF 2B Joe Morgan (.327/.466/.508, 107 R, 16 HR, 94 RBI, 67 SB), HOF 3B Pete Rose (.317, .406 OBP, league leading 47 doubles, league leading 112 R) and OF George Foster (.300, 23 HR). Gary Nolan (15-9, 3.16) and Don Gullett (15-4, 2.42) lead an underrated staff. The bullpen is pretty loaded too with the big four of Rawly Eastwick (5-3, 2.60, 22 Saves), Pedro Borbon (9-5, 2.95, 5 Saves), Clay Carroll (7-5, 2.62, 7 Saves) and Will McEnaney (5-2, 2.47, 15 Saves).

The St. Louis Cardinals franchise is up next and they will be represented by the 1944 Cardinals. I did a different tournament a year or two ago with a totally different format and the 1943 Cards came out the winners, so while I expected them to come out, this 1944 team is really similar and may be even better. They won the World Series and went 105-49. The offense is the slightly weaker part of this team, but still has guys like C Walker Cooper (.317/.352/.504), 1B Ray Sanders (.295, 102 RBI), 3B Whitey Kurowski (20 HR, 87 RBI), HOF OF Stan Musial (.347/.440/.549, league leading 51 doubles, 14 triples, 12 HR, 94 RBI, 112 R) and OF Johnny Hopp (.336, .404 OBP). Pitching is what drove that 1943 team in the last tournament I did and it will be what drives this one. The whole staff is fantastic. A few examples are- Mort Cooper (22-7, 2.46), Ted Wilks (17-4, 2.64), Red Munger (11-3, 1.34, 121 IP), Blix Donnelly (2-1, 2.12, 2 Saves, 76.1 IP) and the list goes on.

Finally, we come to the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise that was full of very good possibilities. It is rare for an early 1900’s team to make it through something like this because they often lack the pitching depth for bullpen purposes in later eras. However, the 1909 Pirates were the team that made it through. They actually have a fairly deep pool of pitchers that can help out in later years. They won the World Series that year and finished 110-42. On offense, they are led by HOF SS Honus Wagner (.330, .429/.489- led the league in all 3, league leading 39 doubles, league leading 100 RBI, 35 SB), 2B Dots Miller (13 triples, 87 RBI), OF Fred Clarke (.287, .384 OBP, 97 R, 31 SB) and OF Tommy Leach (6 HR, league leading 126 R, 27 SB). Most guys had 1-4 HR but they still end up having some strong power in later eras. On the pitching side, they are phenomenal. Similar to the 44 Cards above, pretty much the whole staff is great, but a few examples are- Howie Camnitz (25-6, 1.62), Nick Maddox (13-8, 2.21), Babe Adams (12-3, 1.11) and a whole bunch more.

I don’t even know how to predict this division. It feels like the Brewers could be in huge trouble and may lose 100 games. I know the 44 Cards will be in the mix, based on how well their 43 counterparts performed in that earlier tournament I did. They could win the whole thing. The 09 Pirates will be very tough as well because that offense really blows up in later years and the pitching is just so good. Then there’s the 75 Reds who are just incredible as well. They did really well in that other tournament I mentioned too. I’m not as sure about the 2016 Cubs, but they have great starting pitching for their era and it should perform well all over, plus a very good offense. This will definitely be a division to watch!

[Highlander]

National League West

The Los Angeles Dodgers franchise starts us off with a long history of fantastic teams as possibilities to represent them. In a bit of a surprise to me, it was the 2017 Dodgers that came through. They were 104-58 and lost to the Astros in the ALCS, so they were clearly a strong team, but I really thought that one of those great 1950’s teams might come through. The 2017 team was led on offense by ROY 1B Cody Bellinger (39 HR, 97 RBI), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22 HR), 3B Justin Turner (.322/.415/.530) and OF Yasiel Puig (28 HR). The pitching has future HOFer Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31, 202 Ks), Alex Wood (16-3, 2.72), Rich Hill (12-8, 3.32, 166 Ks in 135.2 IP) and Kenley Jansen as the closer (5-0, 1.32, 41 Saves, 109 Ks in 68.1 IP).

In a pretty big surprise for the San Diego Padres franchise, it was the 2007 Padres that came through to represent them. They finished 3rd in the NL West that year with a record of 89-74. They had a pretty strong offense led by 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.282, 101 R, 46 doubles, 30 HR, 100 RBI) and SS Khalil Greene (27 HR, 97 RBI). The staff is led by Cy Young winner Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54, league leading 240 Ks), Chris Young (9-8, 3.12) and a 41 year old HOF Greg Maddux (14-11, 4.14). The bullpen was a real strength led by the duo of Trevor Hoffman (4-5, 2.98, 42 Saves) and Heath Bell (6-4, 2.02, 102 Ks in 93.2 IP).

The San Francisco Giants franchise will be represented by the 1951 New York Giants. This team went 98-59 and lost the World Series to the Yankees that year. They are led on offense by C Wes Westrum (.400 OBP, 20 HR, 70 RBI in 361 AB), SS Al Dark (.303, 114 R, league leading 41 doubles), HOF OF Monte Irvin (.312/.415/.514, 24 HR, league leading 121 RBI), ROY and HOF OF Willie Mays (.356 OBP, 20 HR) and OF Bobby Thomson (.293/.385/.562, 32 HR, 101 RBI). Their pitching was a staff with no real big names, but did have two aces in Sal Maglie (23-6, 2.93) and Larry Jansen (23-11, 3.04).

While the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise hasn’t been around long compared to many others, it won’t be a surprise that they will be represented by the 2001 Diamondbacks. They went 92-70 and won the World Series over the Yankees. Their offense was very solid with 1B Mark Grace (.298, .386 OBP), OF Luis Gonzalez (.325/.429/.688, 128 R, 57 HR, 142 RBI), OF Reggie Sanders (33 HR, 90 RBI). The pitching staff is very top heavy with the incredible duo of Curt Schilling (22-6, 2.98, 293 Ks) and HOF Randy Johnson (21-6, league leading 2.49, league leading 372 Ks). Byun-Hyung Kim (5-6, 2.94, 19 Saves, 113 Ks in 98 IP) led the bullpen.

The Colorado Rockies are another recent franchise and they will be represented by the 2009 Rockies. They went 92-70 and lost the NLDS to the Phillies that year. As always, the Rockies are all about offense and this team had HOF 1B Todd Helton (.325, .416 OBP), SS Troy Tulowitzki (.297/.377/.552, 101 R, 32 HR, 92 RBI, 20 SB), 3B Ian Stewart (25 HR), OF Seth Smith (.293/.378/.510, 15 HR in 335 AB), OF Brad Hawpe (.903 OPS, 42 doubles, 23 HR) and OF Carlos Gonzalez (.878 OPS, 13 HR, 16 SB in 278 AB). Pitching is another story, but they did have Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12, 3.47, 198 Ks) and Huston Street (4-1, 3.06, 35 Saves).

Not the strongest of divisions, but it is still a tough one to predict. The Dodgers and Giants seem to be the favorites, but the Schilling/Johnson duo along with Luis Gonzalez may carry that Diamondbacks team. The Padres and Rockies seem like they will struggle.

[Highlander]

American League East

First up in the AL East, we have the Toronto Blue Jays franchise. If 2025 were included in this, that team may have made it, but in this case it was the surprising 1984 Blue Jays that will be the representative. They went 89-73 and finished 2nd in the AL East that year. Their offense was full of Blue Jays legends, including C Ernie Whitt (15 HR in 315 AB), 1B Willie Upshaw (19 HR, 84 RBI), OF Dave Collins (.366 OBP, league leading 15 triples, 60 SB), OF Lloyd Moseby (.368 OBP, league leading 15 triples, 18 HR, 92 RBI, 39 SB), OF George Bell (.292, 26 HR) and DH Cliff Johnson (.304/.390/.507, 16 HR in 359 AB). The pitching staff will be the weak link, but has a couple of strong SP in Dave Steib (16-8, 2.83, 198 Ks) and Doyle Alexander (17-6, 3.13).

Next is the franchise with likely the most teams that could have been used for this competition, the New York Yankees. The team that will represent them is the 1939 Yankees. They may not be as famous as some others, but they went 106-45 and swept the Reds in the World Series. The offense is absolutely relentless with HOF C Bill Dickey (.302/.403/.512, 24 HR, 105 RBI), HOF 2B Joe Gordon (.876 OPS, 28 HR, 111 RBI), 3B Red Rolfe (.329, .404 OBP, league leading 139 R, league leading 46 doubles, OF George Selkirk (.306/.452/.517, 103 R, 21 HR, 101 RBI), HOF MVP OF Joe DiMaggio (.381/.448/.671, 108 R, 30 HR, 126 RBI) and Charlie Keller (.334/.447/.500). The pitching wasn’t quite as good, but still has a bunch of great arms with HOF Red Ruffing (21-7, 2.93), HOF Lefty Gomez (12-8, 3.41), Bump Hadley (12-6, 2.98), Steve Sundra (11-1, 2.76) and Marius Russo (8-3, 2.41) among others.

The Boston Red Sox have a long history, but many of their teams have been pretty bad. The one that made it through to represent them was the 2004 Red Sox. They were the ones that broke the “no championships” streak as they went 98-64 and swept the Cardinals in the World Series. Their offense was led by C Jason Varitek (.872 OPS, 18 HR, 10 SB), OF Manny Ramirez (.308/.397/.613, 108 R, league leading 43 HR, 130 RBI), OF Johnny Damon (.380 OBP, 123 R, 20 HR, 94 RBI, 19 SB), HOF DH David Ortiz (.301/.380/.603, 47 doubles, 41 HR, 139 RBI). The pitching staff is better than it looks because of the era and has a couple of really tough starters in Curt Schilling (21-6, 3.26, 203 Ks) and HOF Pedro Martinez (16-9, 3.90, 227 Ks), plus Keith Foulke (5-3, 2.17, 32 Saves) as the closer.

The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t been around long and have yet to win a World Series, but their pool of good teams is actually pretty big. The one that made it through and will represent them is the 2011 Rays. They went 91-71 and lost in the ALDS to the Rangers. Their offense is led by 2B Ben Zobrist (.353 OBP, 46 doubles, 20 HR, 91 RBI, 19 SB), 3B Evan Longoria (31 HR, 99 RBI) and OF BJ Upton (23 HR, 81 RBI, 36 SB). The pitching is also solid with James Shields (16-12, 2.82, 225 Ks), David Price (12-13, 3.49, 218 Ks), Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.95) and Kyle Farnsworth (5-1, 2.18, 25 Saves) as the closer.

Finally, it’s the Baltimore Orioles franchise. They had a long history like some of the other teams in this division and will be represented by a great team in the 1969 Orioles. That team went 109-53 but lost the World Series to the famous Miracle Mets. The offense is led by 1B Boog Powell (.942 OPS, 37 HR, 121 RBI), HOF 3B Brooks Robinson (23 HR, 84 RBI), OF Paul Blair (.285, 102 R, 26 HR, 20 SB) and HOF OF Frank Robinson (.308/.415/.540, 111 R, 32 HR, 100 RBI). While that offense is really good, the pitching is fantastic (not to mention the defense on this team with all-time greats in Brooks and Blair and then Mark Belanger at SS). The pitching staff is almost all really good, including guys like Mike Cuellar (23-11, 2.38), Dave McNally (20-7, 3.22), HOF Jim Palmer (16-4, 2.34), Eddie Watt (5-2, 1.65, 16 Saves), Dick Hall (5-2, 1.92, 6 Saves) and Pete Richert (7-4, 2.20, 12 Saves) among others.

What a division this is, even if it is pretty top heavy. The Yankees and Orioles will likely battle this one out, but don’t count out that Red Sox team. Interestingly, I wrote a description of this type of league (not mentioning any teams I was using) into Chat GPT and asked it which team would come out on top (I included that I was using OOTP to do it) and they predicted that the 1939 Yankees would be the team to rise above the rest. I guess we will see! It is interesting to see some of the insight Chat GPT had on the results I got with some of the surprising teams that came through. It was able to give a pretty good explanation for why OOTP might send through teams like the 84 Blue Jays, 84 Phillies, 07 Padres, etc instead of more famous and successful real life teams going through. There are a few more of those surprising teams to come….along with some really famous ones.

[Highlander]

American League Central

The First AL Central franchise is the Cleveland Guardians. We go back a few decades for their representative team with the 1948 Indians. That team was 97-58 and won what is still their last World Series. Their offense is fantastic and is led by HOF 2B Joe Gordon (.371 OBP, 32 HR, 124 RBI), HOF MVP SS Lou Boudreau (.355/.453/.534, 116 R, 18 HR, 106 RBI…and oh, by the way he was also the manager!), 3B Ken Keltner (.917 OPS, 31 HR, 119 RBI), OF Dale Mitchell (.336) and HOF OF Larry Doby (.301, .384 OBP). As if that offense wasn’t enough, they also have a great staff led by two more HOFers. The staff includes HOF Bob Lemon (20-14, 2.82), HOF Bob Feller (19-15, 3.56) and Gene Bearden (20-7, league leading 2.43) as starters. They also have a great bullpen with guys like Russ Christopher (3-2, 2.90, league leading 17 Saves), Steve Gromek (9-3, 2.84) and HOF Satchel Paige (6-1, 2.48….age 41) among a few others.

Next we have the Detroit Tigers and the team that will represent them is probably the biggest surprise of all for me. There were a number of teams I would have guessed but it was the 1986 Tigers that made it through a really tough gauntlet to get here. They came in 3rd in the AL East with a record of 87-75. How they beat out teams like 84, 68, the Hank Greenberg teams and the Ty Cobb teams, I will never know. However, they do have a pretty strong collection of players. The offense has C Lance Parrish (22 HR in 327 AB), 1B Darrell Evans (.356 OBP, 29 HR), HOF SS Alan Trammell (107 R, 21 HR, 25 SB), OF Kirk Gibson (28 HR, 34 SB) and OF Johnny Grubb (.333/.412/.590, 13 HR in 210 AB). Pitching is not a big strength, but they do have HOF Jack Morris (21-8, 3.27, 223 Ks), Willie Hernandez (8-7, 3.55, 24 Saves), Eric King (11-4, 3.51, 3 Saves…but made 16 starts) and Mark Thurmond (4-1, 1.92, 3 Saves in 51.2 IP with 4 starts).

The Kansas City Royals franchise is quite a bit younger than the first two and haven’t had a ton of great teams. Still, it was a little surprising to see the 1989 Royals make it through. They were a pretty solid team though, finishing in 2nd place in the AL West with a 92-70 record. Their offense was more scrappy than powerful with HOF 1B George Brett (.362 OBP, 80 RBI, 14 SB), 3B Kevin Seitzer (.387 OBP, 17 SB), OF Bo Jackson (32 HR, 105 RBI, 26 SB) and OF Jim Eisenreich (.293, 27 SB). The pitching was stronger with Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen (23-6, league leading 2.16, 193 Ks), Mark Gubicza (15-11, 3.04), Tom Gordon (17-9, 3.64) and Jeff Montogomery (7-3, 1.37, 18 Saves).

The Minnesota Twins franchise went way back in time for their representative. It was the 1930 Washington Senators that made it through. They were not a well-known team to me but finished 2nd in the AL that year with a record of 94-60. They are actually a pretty impressive team with an offense led by 1B Joe Judge (.326/.410/.509, 11 triples, 10 HR, 80 RBI in 442 AB), HOF MVP SS Joe Cronin (.346/.422/.513, 127 R, 41 doubles, 13 HR, 126 RBI, 17 SB), HOF OF Sam Rice (.349, .407 OBP, 121 R), OF Sam West (.328) and HOF OF Heinie Manush (.362/.406/.559, 33 doubles, 8 triples, 7 HR in 356 AB). The pitching doesn’t seem quite as good, but the numbers for this era are pretty solid. They had guys like Bump Hadley (15-11, 3.73), General Crowder (15-9, 3.60), Garland Braxton (3-2, 3.29, 5 Saves) and Ad Liska (9-7, 3.29 in a swingman role).

The Chicago White Sox will finish off this division. They have only won 3 World Series over their long history, but the team that will represent them is not one of them. It will be the 2021 White Sox, a team that finished 93-69 and lost in the ALDS to the Astros. Their offense is full of partial season/bench guys with good power, along with some full time guys. SOme of the best were C Yasmani Grandal (.420 OBP, 23 HR in 279 AB), 1B Jose Abreu (.351 OBP, 30 HR, 117 RBI), SS Tim Anderson (.309, 17 HR, 18 SB) and OF Luis Robert (.946 OPS, 13 HR in 275 AB) among others. The pitching had four guys get Cy Young votes and was really good. They had guys like Lucas Giolitto (11-9, 3.53, 201 Ks), Dylan Cease (13-7, 3.91, 226 Ks), Lance Lynn (11-6, 2.69, 176 Ks in 157 IP), Carlos Rodon (13-5, 2.37, 185 Ks in 132.2 IP). They also have a great bullpen led by closer Liam Hendriks (8-3, 2.54, 38 Saves, 113 Ks in 71 IP).

This is a pretty wild division. The Guardians/Indians look really tough, but that Senators team could be a problem as well. Then there is this 2021 White Sox team. Their pitching staff is really good and if the right combination of partial season guys come together on offense, they could really challenge I think. The Royals and Tigers seem outmatched but they made it this far so who knows?

[Highlander]

American League West

First up in the AL West is the Seattle Mariners franchise. They will be represented by the team that set the record for most wins in a 162-game season, the 2001 Mariners. They went an incredible 116-46, but then lost in the ALCS to the Yankees. The offense is terrific, with 1B John Olerud (.301, .401 OBP, 21 HR, 95 RBI), 2B Bret Boone (.331, 118 R, 37 HR, league leading 141 RBI), OF Mike Cameron (25 HR, 110 RBI, 34 SB), HOF, MVP, ROY OF Ichiro Suzuki (league leading .350, 127 R, league leading 56 SB) and DH Edgar Martinez (.306/.423/.543, 23 HR, 116 RBI). The pitching is also really good with Freddy Garcia (18-6, league leading 3.05), Jamie Moyer (20-6, 3.43), Joel Pineiro (6-2, 2.03, 75.1 IP with 11 starts) and a solid bullpen led by Arthur Rhodes (8-0, 1.72, 3 Saves, 83 Ks in 68 IP) and closer Kaz Sasaki (0-4, 3.24, 45 Saves).

Next it is the Houston Astros franchise. They are represented by the 2019 Astros. They went 107-55 and lost the World Series somehow to the upstart Nationals. Despite the World Series loss, this team is loaded everywhere. On offense they have 1B Yuri Gurriel (.298, 31 HR, 104 RBI), 2B Jose Altuve (.298, 31 HR), 3B Alex Bregman (.296/.423/.592, 122 R, 41 HR, 112 RBI), OF Michael Brantley (.311, 22 HR, 90 RBI), OF George Springer (.292/.383/.591, 39 HR, 96 RBI) and ROY DH Yordan Alvarez (.313/.412/.655, 27 HR in just 313 AB). The pitching is a bit top heavy with the top two guys, but they are two of the best seasons ever with Cy Young winner Justin Verlander (21-6, 2.58, 300 Ks in 223 IP) and Gerrit Cole (20-5, league leading 2.50, 326 Ks in 212.1 IP). They also have closer Roberto Osuna (4-3, 2.63, 38 Saves).

The Texas Rangers are the next franchise and they have a dark horse in this competition with the 2011 Rangers. That team went 96-66 and lost the World Series to the Cardinals. They went a very long way in that previous tournament I mentioned earlier and a lot of that was how much OOTP seems to love their offense. They have guys like 2B Ian Kinsler (121 R, 32 HR, 77 RBI, 30 SB), HOF 3B Adrian Beltre (.296, 32 HR, 105 RBI), OF Josh Hamilton (.298, 25 HR, 94 RBI), OF Nelson Cruz (29 HR, 87 RBI), DH Michael Young (.338, 41 doubles, 106 RBI) and a guy that does really well in Mike Napoli (.320/.414/.631, 30 HR in just 369 AB). The pitching is not as strong, but somehow did pretty well last time. They have CJ Wilson (16-7, 2.94, 206 Ks), Matt Harrison (14-9, 3.39), Alexei Ogando (13-8, 3.51) and a bullpen led by Darren Oliver (5-5, 2.29, 2 Saves) and Neftali Feliz (2-3, 2.74, 32 Saves).

The Athletics are the one franchise in this division that went “old school” and they went WAY back. They will be represented by the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics. This team went 96-57 and beat the Giants in the World Series. Their offense is tough with the famous $100,000 infield, consisting of 1B Stuffy McInnis (.324, 90 RBI, 16 SB), HOF 2B Eddie Collins (.345, .441 OBP, league leading 125 R, 55 SB), and HOF 3B Frank “Home Run” Baker (.337, .413 OBP, 116 R, league leading 12 HR, league leading 117 RBI, 34 SB). They also have OF Eddie Murphy (.391 OBP, 105 R, 21 SB), OF Rube Oldring (101 R, 40 SB) and OF Amos Strunk (.305, 12 triples in 292 AB) among others. The reason they could make it this far, though, was they (like the 09 Pirates) have enough pitching depth to survive in the later eras. They do more than survive in many cases with guys like HOF Eddie Plank (18-10, 2.60, 4 Saves), Carroll Brown (17-11, 2.94, 1 Save), Bob Shawkey (6-5, 2.34 in 15 starts) and HOF Charles “Chief” Bender (21-10, 2.21, league leading 13 Saves).

And we come to the final team in the division and the league representing the Los Angeles Angels franchise. That team will be the 2014 Angels (kind of anticlimactic, I know!). They went 98-64 and lost the ALDS to the Royals. Their offense features the great duo of 1B Albert Pujols (28 HR, 105 RBI) and OF Mike Trout (.939 OPS, league leading 115 R, 36 HR, league leading 111 RBI, 16 SB) and a scrappy supporting cast. On the mound, they have some strong arms in Jered Weaver (18-9, 3.59), Garrett Richards (13-4, 2.61), Matt Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04) and wildcard Cory Rasmus (3-2, 2.57 in just 6 starts). The bullpen is really good with Huston Street (1-2, 1.71, 17 Saves) and Joe Smith (7-2, 1.81, 15 Saves) leading the way.

As with all the divisions, it will be tough to predict this one. I can see any of the Astros, Mariners or A’s making it through, but I also know that Rangers team might be tough. I don’t see the Angels doing much. Their offense is pretty punchless after Pujols and Trout. Enough speculating….let’s get this started!

[Highlander]

As an overview, here's a look at the whole league.....






As a reminder (or in case I forgot to say some of this), the playoffs will be made up of the 3 division winners in each league and 1 Wildcard team. Obviously we will be watching to see if any team can win multiple World Series over the 8 seasons. I will also compile each team's record to see which team wins the most games over the course of the 8 seasons.

Other notes- injuries are turned off, fatigue is set to Moderate, both leagues will use the DH in the four "DH seasons" for continuity from the franchise tournaments that decided which teams made it this far. I think that is all as far as details about the seasons. If there is something else you want to know, just ask!

My plan is to report out each month. What I report may evolve and may change depending on the month we are in. The next post should be about April of 1910...unless I remember something else I missed!

[Highlander]

April Players of the Week

AL
4/4/1910- P Bob Lemon (CLE48)- 2-0, 16 IP, 7 K, .56 ERA
4/11/1910- OF Mike Trout (LAA14)- .583, 5 RBI
4/18/1910- P Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 3-0, 19 IP, 10 K, 1.42 ERA
4/25/1910- P Garrett Richards (LAA14)- 2-0, 18 IP, 6 K, 0.00 ERA

NL
4/4/1910- P Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 2-0, 20 IP, 12 K, .45 ERA
4/11/1910- 1B Andres Galarraga (MON87)- .542, 2 RBI
4/18/1910- P Max Lanier (STL44)- 2-0, 18 IP, 10 K, 0.00 ERA
4/25/1910- P Greg Maddux (ATL98)- 2-0, 16.2 IP, 10 K, 0.00 ERA

April Rookies of the Month

AL
P Marius Russo (NYY39)- 4-2, 61.1 IP, 1.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 31 K

NL
P Pat Darcy (CIN75)- 4-2, 59.1 IP, 2.43 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 17 K

April Players of the Month

AL
OF Mike Trout (LAA14)- .406/.464/.614, 23 R, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 9 SB

NL
OF Lenny Dykstra (NYM86)- .386/.457/.515, 33 R, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 14 SB

April Pitchers of the Month

AL
Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 5-1, 65.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 37 K

NL
Larry Jansen (NYG51)- 6-3, 2 Saves, 67 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 33 K

Other Notes
Joel Pineiro of the 2001 Mariners pitched the first no-hitter in the league, as he walked 1 and struck out 1 in a 10-0 win over the 2011 Rangers.

Mike Trout had two games where he went 5-5 this month, but not surprisingly based on their more recent history, the Angels lost both games.

It is actually surprising that the Angels aren’t better so far. Trout was POTM, Garrett Richards had a POTW and C Chris Iannetta is off to an incredible start, hitting .417 with 26 RBI to lead all of baseball in both categories.

Mark Gubicza of the 1989 Royals may win the award for worst start to the season…at least for pitchers. He is currently 0-6 with a 9.14 ERA.

Other than the two saves he got, I’m not sure how Larry Jansen beat out Clayton Kershaw of the 2017 Dodgers for pitcher of the month. Kershaw is a big reason the Dodgers have the best record in the league so far. His April was 5-1, 53 IP, .85 ERA, .83 WHIP, 36 K. He also had an amazing 11 Inning complete game win in his first start in March where he gave up just 1 run and struck out 7.

[Highlander]

May Players of the Week

AL
5/2/1910- OF Jim Eisenreich (KC89)- .464, 3 RBI
5/9/1910- OF Yordan Alvarez (HOU19)- .500, 3 R, 7 RBI
5/16/1910- OF Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .458, 9 R, 1 HR, 13 RBI
5/23/1910- C Jason Varitek (BOS04)- .529, 2 HR, 7 RBI
5/30/1910- OF Stan Javier (SEA01)- .550, 8 R, 3 RBI

NL
5/2/1910- OF Mitch Webster (MON87)- .538, 9 R, 6 RBI
5/9/1910- P Max Lanier (STL44)- 2-0, 17.2 IP, .51 ERA, 9 K
5/16/1910- P Brent Suter (MIL17)- 2-0, 0.00 ERA
5/23/1910- P Chris Young (SD07)- 2-0, 17.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 9 K
5/30/1910- OF Tim Raines (MON87)- .560, 9 R, 5 RBI


May Rookies of the Month

AL
P Marius Russo (NYY39)- 5-2, 62 IP, 1.74 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 38 K

NL
P Brent Suter (MIL17)- 4-3, 58 IP, 2.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 18 K


May Players of the Month

AL
OF Yordan Alvarez (HOU19)- .364/.453/.556, 17 R, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 17 RBI

NL
OF Stan Musial (STL44)- .382/.462/.569, 14 R, 9 doubles, 5 triples, 17 RBI


May Pitchers of the Month

AL
Jim Palmer (BAL69)- 7-0, 62.2 IP, 1.87 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 36 K

NL
Bob Ojeda (NYM86)- 6-1, 59.1 IP, 1.67 ERA, .91 WHIP, 18 K


Other Notes
The 2017 Dodgers look really tough and it is all about their pitching- Clayton Kershaw (11-3, 1.27), Alex Wood (10-3, 1.57), Rich Hill (8-4, 1.89) and Kenley Jansen (2-0, 6 Saves, .96) have all been incredible. However, the highest BABIP among them is Hill at just .238, so a turn in luck could be coming at some point.

Chris Iannetta (LAA14) had quite a cool down. .429 with 26 RBI in his first 26 games…..and then .213 with 6 RBI in the next 23.

The good news for Mark Gubicza(KC89) is that his ERA has dropped to 6.46. The bad news is that he is now 0-10.

League Leaders- A look at the top 2 in a few key categories

AL Batting Average- Eddie Collins (PHA13)- .365, Ichiro Suzuki (SEA01)- .352
NL Batting Average- Stan Musial (STL44)- .396, Wally Backman (NYM86)- .379

AL Runs- George Selkirk (NYY39)- 47, Dave Collins (TOR84)- 45
NL Runs- Lenny Dykstra (NYM86)- 54, Whitey Lockman (NYG51)- 43

AL Home Runs- Evan Longoria (TB11)- 8, Ken Keltner (CLE48)- 7
NL Home Runs- Cody Bellinger (LAD17)- 7, 4 players with 4

AL RBIs- Boog Powell (BAL69)- 44, Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- 40
NL RBIs- Todd Helton (COL09)- 38, Kevin Mitchell (NYM)- 37

AL Steals- Dave Collins (TOR84)- 39, Craig Gentry (TEX11)- 36
NL Steals- Tim Raines (MON87)- 37, Joe Morgan (CIN75)- 33

AL ERA- Firpo Marberry (WAS30)- 1.37, Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 1.51
NL ERA- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 1.27, Alex Wood (LAD17)- 1.57

AL Wins- Chief Bender (PHA13), Jim Palmer (BAL69), Bob Feller (CLE 48)- all with 10
NL Wins- Larry Jansen (NYG51) and Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 11

AL Saves- Dick Hall (BAL69)- 8, 2 players with 6
NL Saves- Heath Bell (SD07) and Tug McGraw (PHI84)- 8

AL Strikeouts- Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 82, Bob Feller (CLE48)- 78
NL Strikeouts- Randy Johnson (ARI01)- 109, Sid Fernandez (NYM86)- 92

AL WHIP- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- .98, Lucas Giolitto (CHW21)- 1.02
NL WHIP- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- .79, Alex Wood (LAD17)- .87

[Highlander]

June Players of the Week

AL
6/6/1910- P Firpo Marberry (WAS30)- 2-0, .50 ERA
6/13/1910- OF Yordan Alvarez (HOU19)- .522, 2 R, 4 RBI
6/20/1910- P Luis Leal (TOR84)- 2-0, 18 IP, .50 ERA, 5 K
6/27/1910- P Joel Pineiro (SEA01)- 2-0, 17.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 K

NL
6/6/1910- 2B Dots Miller (PIT09)- .458, 1 HR, 12 RBI
6/13/1910- 1B Andres Galarraga (MON87)- .517, 3 RBI
6/20/1910- OF Von Hayes (PHI84)- .667 (14-21), 6 RBI
6/27/1910- OF Juan Pierre (FLA05)- .500, 8 R, 3 RBI


June Rookies of the Month

AL
P Jose Urquidy (HOU19)- 4-0, 50.2 IP, 1.60 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 7 K

NL
P Pat Darcy (CIN75)- 6-0, 57 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 12 K


June Players of the Month

AL
OF Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .385/.430/.510, 12 R, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 5 SB

NL
OF Johnny Hopp (STL44)- .358/.430/.579, 23 R, 7 doubles, 7 triples, 16 RBI, 11 SB


June Pitchers of the Month

AL
Oral Hildebrand (NYY39)- 6-0, 64 IP, .70 ERA, .83 WHIP, 28 K

NL
Pat Darcy (CIN75)- See stats above in NL ROY


Other Notes
On 6/6, the league shared that Ernie Whitt (TOR84) leads the league in OPS with the bases loaded at 1.528.

On 6/13, the league revealed that Dave Collins (TOR84) leads all LFers in extra base hits with 28.

On 6/27, the league shared that among rookie pitchers, Satchel Paige (CLE48) and Marius Russo (NYY39) lead in quality starts with 18.

Triples haven’t been a category I’m tracking down below, but there is a great race for the combined league lead as both Juan Samuel (PHI84) and Dave Collins (TOR84) are tied with 24 already as of the end of June! Interestingly they both come from the 1984 season.


League Leaders- A look at the top 2 in a few key categories

AL Batting Average- Eddie Collins (PHA13)- .375, Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .352
NL Batting Average- Andres Galarraga (MON87)- .370, Stan Musial (STL44)- .357

AL Runs- George Selkirk (NYY39)- 62, Dave Collins (TOR84)- 59
NL Runs- Lenny Dykstra (NYM86)- 72, Johnny Hopp (STL44)- 65

AL Home Runs- Evan Longoria (TB11) and Ken Keltner (CLE48)- 8
NL Home Runs- Cody Bellinger (LAD17)- 7, Andres Galarraga (MON87)- 6

AL RBIs- Boog Powell (BAL69)- 62, Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- 57
NL RBIs- Todd Helton (COL09)- 38, Johnny Bench (CIN75), Ray Sanders (STL44)- all with 53

AL Steals- Dave Collins (TOR84)- 54, Craig Gentry (TEX11)- 44
NL Steals- Tim Raines (MON87) and Joe Morgan (CIN75)- 51

AL ERA- Firpo Marberry (WAS30)- 1.43, Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 1.47
NL ERA- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 1.23, Denny Neagle (ATL98)- 1.55

AL Wins- Chief Bender (PHA13) and Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 14
NL Wins- Larry Jansen (NYG51)- 15, Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 14

AL Saves- Dick Hall (BAL69)- 11, 2 players with 8
NL Saves- Tug McGraw (PHI84)- 13, 3 players with 9

AL Strikeouts- Gerrit Cole (HOU19)- 118, Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 115
NL Strikeouts- Randy Johnson (ARI01)- 155, Sid Fernandez (NYM86)- 134

AL WHIP- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- .94, Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 1.03
NL WHIP- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- .77, Rich Hill (LAD17)- .97

[Highlander]

July Players of the Week

AL
7/4/1910- P Jeremy Hellickson (TB11)- 2-0, 0.00 ERA
7/11/1910- P Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 2-0, 18 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 K
7/18/1910- SS Elvis Andrus (TEX11)- .500, 5 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI
7/25/1910- OF Luis Robert (CHW21)- .538, 5 R, 4 RBI
8/1/1910- 3B Alex Bregman (HOU19)- .538, 4 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI

NL
7/4/1910- P AJ Burnett (FLA05)- 2-0, 18 IP, 0.00 ERA, 6 K
7/11/1910- C Walker Cooper (STL44)- .519, 2 HR, 10 RBI
7/18/1910- P Larry Jansen (NYG51)- 3-0, 20 IP, 1.35 ERA, 6 K
7/25/1910- OF Andruw Jones (ATL98)- .524, 1HR, 6 RBI
8/1/1910- OF Tim Raines (MON87)- .419, 6 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI


July Rookies of the Month

AL
P Marius Russo (NYY39)- 6-1, 63 IP, 1.57 ERA, .97 WHIP, 30 K

NL
P Pat Darcy (CIN75)- 4-2, 48 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 11 K


July Players of the Month

AL
OF Frank Robinson (BAL69)- .330/.400/.532, 19 R, 3 doubles, 5 triples, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 5 SB

NL
OF George Foster (CIN75)- .385/.434/.604, 16 R, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 4 SB


July Pitchers of the Month

AL
Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 5-0, 77 IP, 1.17 ERA, .84 WHIP, 39 K

NL
Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 6-0, 66.2 IP, 1.08 ERA, .76 WHIP, 41 K


Other Notes
On 7/4, the league shared that Jose Urquidy (HOU19) leads all rookie pitchers in OBA at .205. In an update of the same stat on 7/11, he still led at .212 with Jeremy Hellickson (TB11) close behind at .213.

On 7/12, Dave McNally (BAL69) pitched a shutout against the Athletics. That in itself is not remarkable as we get multiple shutouts each day in 1910. What is remarkable is that the final score was 20-0! McNally was big with the bat as well, going 3-6 with 3 RBI.

On 7/20, Cliff Johnson (TOR84) became the first player I’ve seen in the league to get 6 hits in a game, as he went 6-6 with a double an 2 RBI against the Athletics. It didn’t help the outcome of the game, however, as the A’s were able to hold on for a 10-9 win in 10 innings.

On 7/25, the league shared a pretty unsurprising stat. Clayton Kershaw (LAD17) leads the entire league in BABIP at .195. That's how his ERA just keeps dropping as the season goes on. An amazing season so far for him.


League Leaders- A look at the top 2 in a few key categories

AL Batting Average- Eddie Collins (PHA13)- .376, Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .345
NL Batting Average- Andres Galarraga (MON87)- .352, 2 players at .346

AL Runs- George Selkirk (NYY39)- 86, Dave Collins (TOR84)- 83
NL Runs- Lenny Dykstra (NYM86)- 97, Johnny Hopp (STL44)- 87

AL Home Runs- Ken Keltner (CLE48)- 10, 2 players with 9
NL Home Runs- Cody Bellinger (LAD17) and Andres Galarraga (MON87)- 9

AL RBIs- Boog Powell (BAL69)- 84, Frank Robinson (BAL69)- 77
NL RBIs- Keith Hernandez (NYM86)- 73, George Foster (CIN75)- 71

AL Steals- Dave Collins (TOR84)- 74, Craig Gentry (TEX11)- 56
NL Steals- Tim Raines (MON87)- 66, Joe Morgan (CIN75)- 64

AL ERA- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 1.54, Marius Russo (NYY39)- 1.79
NL ERA- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 1.19, Denny Neagle (ATL98)- 1.40

AL Wins- Gerrit Cole (HOU19) and Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 19
NL Wins- Larry Jansen (NYG51)- 21, Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 20

AL Saves- Dick Hall (BAL69)- 12, 2 players with 11
NL Saves- Tug McGraw (PHI84)- 15, Rawley Eastwick (CIN75)- 13

AL Strikeouts- Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 158, Gerrit Cole (HOU19)- 157
NL Strikeouts- Randy Johnson (ARI01)- 216, Sid Fernandez (NYM86)- 181

AL WHIP- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- .91, Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 1.08
NL WHIP- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- .77, Denny Neagle (ATL98)- .98

[Highlander]

August Players of the Week

AL
8/8/1910- P Jim Hardin (BAL69)- 2-0, 18 IP, 1.00 ERA, 7 K
8/15/1910- 3B Brooks Robinson (BAL69)- .393, 4 R, 8 RBI
8/22/1910- P Bob Lemon (CLE48)- 2-0, 18 IP, 0.00 ERA, 7 K
8/29/1910- P Freddy Garcia (SEA01)- 2-0, 18 IP, .50 ERA, 9 K

NL
8/8/1910- P Ron Darling (NYM86)- 2-0, 18 IP, .50 ERA, 10 K
8/15/1910- OF Luis Gonzalez (ARI01)- .500, 4 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI
8/22/1910- OF Mitch Webster (MON87)- .481, 5 R, 4 RBI
8/29/1910- SS Honus Wagner (PIT09)- .480, 4 R, 6 RBI


August Rookies of the Month

AL
P Marius Russo (NYY39)- 5-1, 52 IP, 1.04 ERA, .77 WHIP, 23 K

NL
OF Dexter Fowler (COL09)- .380/.417/.620, 26 R, 4 doubles, 11 triples, 6 RBI, 14 SB


August Players of the Month

AL
OF Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .376/.463/.516, 13 R, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 5 SB

NL
2B Joe Morgan (CIN75)- .402/.542/.522, 17 R, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 14 SB


August Pitchers of the Month

AL
Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 6-1, 2 Saves, 59 IP, 1.98 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 35 K

NL
Vic Willis (PIT09)- 5-4, 93 IP, 1.55 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 24 K


Other Notes
On 8/8, the stat keepers for the league reported a pretty amazing number. None other than Dave Collins (TOR84) leads all of baseball in extra base hits with 52. The next closest is pretty big group of players with 42. Even more amazing, 40 of Collins’ extra base hits are triples!

On 8/15, the league reported on which RF leads the position in WAR and it wasn’t even close with Stan Musial (STL44) at the top with 8.0 WAR. Ichiro Suzuki (SEA01) is a distant 2nd with 5.4.

On 8/29, we found out that Red Munger (STL44) leads all rookie pitchers in K/9 with 4.9.

The 1989 Kansas City Royals were the first team eliminated from the playoffs.

League Leaders- A look at the top 2 in a few key categories

AL Batting Average- Eddie Collins (PHA13)- .354, Joe DiMaggio (NYY39)- .351
NL Batting Average- Stan Musial (STL44)- .345, Johnny Hopp (STL44)- .338

AL Runs- George Selkirk (NYY39)- 111, Dave Collins (TOR84)- 105
NL Runs- Lenny Dykstra (NYM86)- 115, Johnny Hopp (STL44)- 110

AL Home Runs- Joe Gordon (CLE48)- 12, 2 players with 11
NL Home Runs- Luis Gonzalez (ARI01)- 12, 2 players with 9

AL RBIs- Boog Powell (BAL69)- 104, Frank Robinson (BAL69)- 94
NL RBIs- Keith Hernandez (NYM86)- 97, George Foster (CIN75)- 93

AL Steals- Dave Collins (TOR84)- 90, Craig Gentry (TEX11)- 74
NL Steals- Tim Raines (MON87)- 80, Joe Morgan (CIN75)- 78

AL ERA- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 1.65, Marius Russo (NYY39)- 1.65
NL ERA- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- 1.43, Denny Neagle (ATL98)- 1.70

AL Wins- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- 24, 3 players with 23
NL Wins- Larry Jansen (NYG51)- 24, 2 players with 22

AL Saves- Darren Oliver (TEX11)- 13, 2 players with 12
NL Saves- Huston Street (COL09)- 17, 2 players with 16

AL Strikeouts- Gerrit Cole (HOU19)- 196, Bump Hadley (WAS30)- 193,
NL Strikeouts- Randy Johnson (ARI01)- 263, Sid Fernandez (NYM86)- 222

AL WHIP- Justin Verlander (HOU19)- .91, Marius Russo (NYY39)- 1.05
NL WHIP- Clayton Kershaw (LAD17)- .82, Alex Wood (LAD17)- 1.00

[Highlander]

We are about 20 days from the end of the season and there aren't a lot of close races, but there's a couple of races to mention.

The only real division race that seems in play is the NL Central between the Reds and Cardinals. Cincy has led most all of the way, but the Cards continue to hang close and anything can happen. The Reds have a pretty good 4 game lead and both teams have 15 games left with 9 at home and 6 on the road. The winning percentage of the teams the Reds play is only .466, while the Cards play teams with a .517 winning percentage. That makes another advantage for the Reds. They do not play each other.

In the NL Wildcard, it is likely that whichever team loses the NL Central will be the Wildcard. The only other team that seems in play is also in the NL Central. The Cubs are just 3 games behind St. Louis. The Cubs also have 15 games left with a 9/6 split and face teams with a .507 winning percentage. They do have a 3 game series at St. Louis, so that will obviously be huge. One other note on the Cubs. They started the season from March-May going 23-30 but have gone 51-31 since June 1st.

Over in the American League, the divisions seem to all be well in hand. However, the Wildcard spot is wide open. Baltimore has just a 1 game lead over Washington and Seattle with Texas just 4 back. Here's a look at how they all match up-

Baltimore- 15 games (6 home/9 away), .503 Winning Percentage left, No games against the other teams

Washington- 18 games (9/9), .537, No games against the others

Seattle- 18 games (9/9), .552, 3 games at home vs. Texas

Texas- 15 games (6/9), .500, 3 games at Texas

[Highlander]

Wow....it is now 9/5 and the Mariners just finished a 3-game sweep of the Rangers that put Seattle into a 1 game lead over Baltimore and left Texas 6 games out of the race. Washington is two behind Seattle. Over in the NL, the Cubs are now 2.5 behind the Cards.

[Highlander]

I've run a ton of these sims to get all of the teams into this league and now as I get to the end of the season, I see that the number of games played this season are messed up. Each season was supposed to be 162 games. For some reason some teams had 150 games and some 153. So frustrating. I think I am just going to go with it....they did wacky things back in the 1910's, so this will just be one. I'll make sure things are the way they should be going forward since I've already posted everything for the season.

[Highlander]

You can see the schedule issues in the standings above for yourself, but again....it's 1910! They didn't know what the were doing back then!

As you can see, both Wildcard races were pretty wild! The Cubs caught and tied the Cardinals by going 12-4 in September while St. Louis only went 8-8. There was a one game playoff and the Cubs won it 4-3 behind 8 innings by Jake Arrieta over Mort Cooper. Anthony Rizzo drove in 2 runs and Ben Zobrist went 3-3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI.

Over in the AL, that sweep Seattle pulled off over Texas propelled them into the lead and they never gave it up, going 12-6 for the month. Washington just missed out on tying things up, going 11-7 while Baltimore fell apart and went just 7-8 for the month.

Here's the playoff matchups to start things off-

In the AL, it will be- 2001 Mariners vs. 1939 Yankees and 1948 Indians vs. 2019 Astros

In the NL, it will be 2016 Cubs vs. 2017 Dodgers and 1975 Reds vs. 1986 Mets

[Highlander]

The 2016 Cubs vs. 2017 Dodgers

Game 1- Much like in real life, Clayton Kershaw struggled in the playoffs after having a masterful regular season. Clayton went all 9 innings, but gave up 4 runs while Kyle Hendricks and Carl Edwards combined to give up just 3 as the Cubs took game 1. Willson Contreras and Addison Russell each drove in 2 for Chicago.

Game 2- There must be something about the Dodgers pitchers in the playoffs, as Alex Wood struggled like Kershaw after a terrific regular season. Kris Bryant had 2 doubles and a triple for the Cubs and Jon Lester was just good enough as the Cubs won this one 6-4. Carl Edwards got his 2nd save in a row.

Game 3- The Dodgers had an incredible top 3 pitchers on their staff all season and the Cubs only went 5-7 against the Dodgers during the season. Things have certainly changed here in the playoffs, as the Cubs scored 6 runs off of Rich Hill to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Jake Arrieta went 8 innings to get the 6-3 win despite walking 7. Willson Contreras drove in 3 for Chicago.

Game 4- Clayton Kershaw pitched 9 innings of 1-run ball to try to redeem himself, but it still wasn’t enough as he was matched by Kyle Hendricks who also went 9 and gave up just 1 run. The bullpens took over and it wasn’t until the 15th inning that David Ross would get a pinch hit single for the Cubs and eventually score on an error to send the Cubs to the next round and leave Dodgers, who had the best record in the NL, wondering what the heck happened. Ben Zobrist was named series MVP for the Cubs.


1975 Reds vs. 1986 Mets

Game 1- Don Gullett and Ron Darling faced off for the Reds and Mets respectively and both went the distance. However, it was the Reds’ defense that mostly decided this game as 2 errors led to 2 unearned runs against Gullett and the Mets used those runs to send them to a 4-1 win.

Game 2- Sid Fernandez pitched a complete game shutout and Gary Carter threw out 4 potential base stealers for the Reds as the Mets took a 2-0 lead in the series by winning this game 4-0. Carter also drove in 2 runs for the Mets.

Game 3- The Mets are 1 game away from the next round of the playoffs as Bob Ojeda pitched a complete game 6-4 win over Pat Darcy. Mookie Wilson had a 3-run double in the 1st inning to really put the Mets in a great place to start the game.

Game 4- The Reds took out their frustrations on Ron Darling as they blitzed him for 9 runs in the 1st inning and went on to win this one 12-1 to stay alive for at least one more game. The Reds had 5 players drive in 2 runs each and Don Gullett threw all 9 innings to get the win.

Game 5- Don Chaney of the Reds made an error in this game that led to 4 unearned runs and 5 runs in total in the 5th inning and that was all the Mets needed as Sid Fernandez gave up just 1 run to give the Mets a 5-1 and advance them to the next round. Sid was also named series MVP.


2001 Mariners vs. 1939 Yankees

Game 1- It took 10 innings but the Mariners were able to outslug the Yankees 7-5. The starters who dueled to a tie were Marius Russo for the Yankees and Freddy Garcia for Seattle. The game came down to Arthur Rhodes and Johnny Murphy though and Edgar Martinez came through with a 2-run triple off of Murphy to help lead Seattle to the win.

Game 2- The Yankees battled back behind a complete game from Lefty Gomez and a great game from Joe Gordon who went 3-5 with a HR and 4 RBI. Meanwhile, Seattle’s Joel Pineiro couldn’t find the plate and walked 8 while giving up 7 runs in 5.1 innings as the Yankees won this one, 7-3.

Game 3- The Mariners scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to break up a 1-1 pitchers duel between Jamie Moyer and Red Ruffing. Moyer closed out the game for the Mariners in the 9th to give them a 3-1 win in the game and 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 4- The Yankees took advantage of 3 Seattle errors to score 5 unearned runs against Freddy Garicia and their bats did the rest on the way to a series tying 9-5 win. They had trailed 5-4 heading into the 9th, but got 5 of their runs in that inning. A pinch hit, bases loaded triple by Buddy Rosar was the big blow for NY. Marius Russo gave up 5 runs in just 7 innings, but his bullpen held it for him.

Game 5- The Yankees scored a run in the 9th to tie the game at 3-3 and send it to extra innings. Then in the 11th, they scored 7 runs against Norm Charlton and Jeff Nelson to take a 10-3 win. Lefty Gomez went all 11 for the Yankees to get the win. The big blows in that 11th inning were a 3-run double by Babe Dahlgren and a 2-run double for Frankie Crosetti.

Game 6- Red Ruffing went 9 innings and the Yankees scored single runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th to overcome a 2 run lead by Seattle and with the game 4-3 and move on to the next round. Joe Gordon was named series MVP for the Yankees.



1948 Indians vs. 2019 Astros

Game 1- The Astros and Indians also went to extra innings in their first game, but it was 14 innings before a winner was found. Bob Lemon went 11.2 innings for Cleveland and Justin Verlander went 12 for Houston before the bullpens took over. It was a Jose Altuve triple and then an RBI single for George Springer off of Cleveland RP Gene Bearden to send Houston to a 2-1 win.

Game 2- Both starting pitchers went 6 innings in this game, but it was 41-year old (at least!) Satchel Paige who gave up just one run while Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole gave up 7. The bullpens on both teams held each other scoreless so it was an easy 7-1 win for the Indians to tie the series.

Game 3- You have to love 1910. Bob Lemon threw 183 pitches in his 11.2 innings just 3 days before this game and then threw another 149 in a complete game 3-1 win over Wade Miley. Cleveland scored all 3 of their runs in the 6th driven on an RBI single by Dale Mitchell and a 2-run single by Joe Gordon.

Game 4- Justin Verlander and Bob Feller had dueling complete games in this one and it took a 9th inning run for Houston to break up a 4-4 tie and give them a 5-4 win to tie the series. George Springer drove in 2 for Houston.

Game 5- Satchel Paige was at it again, going 6 innings and Gene Bearden went 3 to hold the Astros to 2 runs. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole only gave up 2 earned runs in 8 innings himself, but 3 Astro errors led to 3 more runs and the Indians won this one 5-2. Lou Boudreau and Jim Hegan both drove in 2 for Cleveland.

Game 6- Bob Lemon added to his legendary series by pitching a complete game 4-0 shutout to send Cleveland to the next round of the playoffs. Joe Gordon hit a 2-run HR in the 6th for the first runs of the game and the only ones Cleveland ended up needing. Bob Lemon was, of course, named series MVP. He pitched an amazing 29.2 innings in the series and gave up just 1 run.

So, in the NL we have the red hot 2016 Cubs who are 20-4 over their last 24 games against the 1986 Mets who have been one of the best teams in the league all season. In the AL, we have a couple of old school teams from 1939 and 1948. One interesting note is that HOF 2B Joe Gordon is a key player on both teams. The Yankees were a much more consistent team all season and Cleveland seemed to cool off near the end of the season, going 22-22 the last two months….but as the Cubs have shown, the playoffs are a whole new season.

[Highlander]

The 2016 Cubs vs. The 1986 Mets

Game 1- Lenny Dykstra got 2 hits, 2 runs and stole 3 bases while Sid Fernandez held the Cubs to 1 run over his 8 innings to lead the Mets to a 3-1 win. Dwight Gooden, of all people, got the save. Kyle Hendricks pitched well for Chicago, giving up just 1 earned run, but he took the loss.

Game 2- This game was a 1-1 pitchers duel between Jon Lester of the Cubs and Ron Darling of the Mets….until the 8th inning, when the Cubs defense fell apart leading to 2 unearned runs. That was all that was needed and the Mets went on to another 3-1 win to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3- The Mets were down 4-1 heading into the 9th inning. John Lackey was rolling for the Cubs….but that all came to an end, as the Mets put up 5 runs in the top of the 9th, highlighted by a bases clearing triple by Mookie Wilson. Jesse Orosco pitched 2 innings to get the win for NY as they take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

Game 4- Kyle Hendricks got the start for the Cubs after a great one in a losing effort in game 1. He came through again with a strong out that was just enough to keep the Cubs alive. Kris Bryant’s 2-run triple got the scoring going for the Cubs and they went on to win the game over Sid Fernandez, 5-3.

Game 5- Jon Lester pitched a 4-hit shutout for the Cubs as they continued to rally back against the Mets. Dexter Fowler hit 2 triples to help lead the Cubs to a 4-0 win over Ron Darling and the Mets to send this series to game 6.

Game 6- It’s not often a team goes out to a 3-0 lead in a series and it ends up going 7 games. This is going to be one of those rare times, however, as the Mets’ bats have turned ice cold all of a sudden. John Lackey followed up Lester’s shutout with one of his own as the Cubs won this game 2-0. Bob Ojeda took the loss for the Mets.

Game 7- Kyle Hendricks went to the mound for the Cubs in this one to try to extend the Mets’ scoreless streak. If you only looked at his earned runs, you’d think he did it…..but the Cubs defense was the story in this game as 4 errors, including one by Hendricks himself, led to 4 unearned runs and a 4-3 win for the Mets. Wally Backman got 3 hits for NY which helped him earn the series MVP as the Mets move on to the World Series.



1939 Yankees vs. 1948 Indians

Game 1- The Yankees struck first with 2 unearned runs in the 1st off of Bob Feller and with Marius Russo on the mound, it seemed like the Indians were in trouble. However, they scraped across a single run in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th while Bob Feller shut things down. Cleveland won it 4-1 as their version of Joe Gordon got off to a hot start going 4-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.

Game 2- After each team scored a single run in the 1st, the Yankees exploded for 8 runs in the 3rd off of Satchel Paige. He walked 5 to help their cause. The Yankee bats just kept hitting after that and went on to a 14-3 win with Lefty Gomez getting the victory. Red Rolfe had the best of a number of strong games for NY as he went 2-5 with 3 runs and 4 RBI.

Game 3- It was Red Ruffing for NY with Bob Lemon finally getting his first start after an incredible ALDS performance. Bob wasn’t bad, but he didn’t have the magic he had against the Astros as he gave up 4 runs in his 9 innings. Ruffing was up to the task and only allowed 1 run in his 8.2 innings as the Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 4-1 win. Babe Dahlgren and Charlie Keller scored all 4 runs for the Yankees with each getting 2 hits.

Game 4- In a rematch of game 1, it was Marius Russo against Bob Feller and neither was on their game as there were 5 HR hit in this game. The two Joe Gordons accounted for 3 of them, with 2 for the Cleveland version. However, the other HR were hit by George Selkirk and Marius Russo himself as the Yankees went on to a 4-3 win to get to within one game of the World Series.

Game 5- Lefty Gomez pitched his second great game of the series as he went all 9 for a 4-hit shutout to clinch a spot in the World Series for the 1939 Yankees. New York knocked around Satchel Paige again for 5 runs in 6 innings with Joe Gordon and Babe Dahlgren each knocking in 2. In the end, it was a 5-0 win and Lefty Gomez was named series MVP.


Well, the New York Subway System started back in 1904, so it was plenty of time to make this a true Subway Series. It's the 1939 Yankees and the 1986 Mets. I saw these two teams as two of the top contenders to win this whole thing, but wasn't sure how they'd do in 1910. I guess they did alright! It should be an interesting series as both teams are strong all around but the Mets seem to have the pitching advantage while the Yankees have the stronger lineup. After I said that, I went and checked the actual numbers for the season.....it ends up that the Mets scored the most runs in the NL at 698 while the Yankees were 2nd in the AL at 679. The Mets were tied for 2nd in runs against at 522 and the Yankees were 2nd in the AL, only giving up 476. So it actually worked out the opposite of what I said. That's why we play the games!