Field Of Dreams

[Nick Soulis]

I am sure if every baseball player who ever played the game, alive or gone, could get another chance at an atbat, a defensive play, or a season, they would jump at the chance. The game gives us a special feeling of youth and hope, and thats a great part of the joy of OOTP, bringing the names and the teams back to try again.

So in my mind I see the baseball Gods picking two teams out of many and giving them the chance to play again. Kind of a field of dreams that I am sure every player would jump at the chance at.

Here is to W.P. Kinsella, who passed away just a few weeks ago.

I also love the randomness of any match up and being able to pick a team from history and actually study it to see how good or bad they really were. Most of the time that is what I do on my free time, just pick two teams randomly and play out a series, I might as well post the results.

In this thread I will simply take every team in MLB history and randomly pick two for seven games series. We may see upsets or great performances, but the matchups should be interesting in any event.

I will keep track of the winners and theoretically I will do something with the winners and keep playing but lets get started and see what happens.

All series will be best of seven, and stats and recaps as well as MVP's will be posted.

Series Results
Series 1: 2008 Chicago White Sox over 1922 Washington Senators 4 games to 2
Series 2: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals over 2013 Washington Nationals 4 games to 3
Series 3: 1965 Boston Red Sox over 1976 New York Yankees 4 games to 2
Series 4: 2006 San Diego Padres over 2014 Kansas City Royals 4 games to 2
Series 5: 1974 Cincinnati Reds over 1942 New York Giants 4 games to 0
Series 6: 1991 San Diego Padres over 1920 New York Yankees 4 games to 0
Series 7: 1948 Pittsburgh Pirates over 1988 Cleveland Indians 4 games to 2
Series 8: 1986 Toronto Blue Jays over 2007 St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3
Series 9: 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers over 1934 Chicago White Sox 4 games to 2
Series 10: 1912 Detroit Tigers over 2000 Minnesota Twins 4 games to 3
Series 11: 1998 Anaheim Angels over 2008 Kansas City Royals 4 games to 3
Series 12: 1937 Cincinnati Reds over 1999 Colorado Rockies 4 games to 2
Series 13: 1994 Houston Astros over 1984 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 2

[Nick Soulis]

2008 Chicago White Sox vs 1922 Washington Senators

2008 White Sox
Record: 89-74, Finished 1st in AL_Central
Pythagorean W-L: 89-74, 811 Runs, 729 Runs Allowed
Manager: Ozzie Guillen (89-74)
General Manager: Ken Williams
Scouting Director: Douglas Laumann
Ballpark: U.S. Cellular Field

1922 Senators
Record: 69-85, Finished 6th in American League
Pythagorean W-L: 71-83, 650 Runs, 706 Runs Allowed
Manager: Clyde Milan (69-85)
Ballpark: Griffith Stadium

[Nick Soulis]

Series 1

White Sox Hit Big Train And Senators



Walter Johnson may be past his prime in 1922 with his team but his reputation always follows him. Johnson lost both games of this series and lasted only 7.2 innings two starts. Johnson just didnt have his dominant stuff and the 34 year old legend couldnt come through.

The 2008 White Sox broke open a tight series in game 5 when John Danks threw a shutout in a 6-0. Finally in the clincher of game six, Mark Buerhle pitched like an ace in the 3-1 win at US Cellular Field and the series win.







MVP: Nick Swisher (.438, 2 HR, 5 RBI)

[Nick Soulis]

1946 St. Louis Cardinals (98-58) vs 2013 Washington Nationals (86-76)]

1946 Cardinals
Record: 98-58, Finished 1st in National League
Pythagorean W-L: 97-59, 712 Runs, 545 Runs Allowed
Manager: Eddie Dyer (98-58)
Ballpark: Sportsman's Park III
Attendance: 1,061,807 (4th of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 104, Pitching - 101
One-year: Batting - 105, Pitching - 102
Postseason: Won World Series

2013 Nationals
Record: 86-76, Finished 2nd in NL_East
Pythagorean W-L: 84-78, 656 Runs, 626 Runs Allowed
Manager: Davey Johnson (86-76)
General Manager: Mike Rizzo
Farm Director: Bob Boone
Scouting Director: Kris Kline
Ballpark: Nationals Park
Attendance: 2,652,422 (6th of 15)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 103, Pitching - 101
One-year: Batting - 103, Pitching - 103

[Nick Soulis]

Series 2

Masters Of The Seventh Game



The drama of the 1946 World Series is well known to most baseball history buffs but the team behind it. The Cardinals of the era know how to win and refuse to choke. There was some question as the 2013 Nationals fought back while down 3-1 in the series and won two games in a row to build the dramatics.

In game seven the home Cards fell behind by a run against Gio Gonzalez. Thats when Danny Litwhiler came through with a two run home run to put his team ahead, one of his three RBI on the day. Whitey Kurowski would seal the game with a long shot of his own in the 7th as the Cards beat the 13 Nats 6-2.

They would have it no other way.













Series MVP: (.379, 2 HR, 5 RBI)

[Nick Soulis]

1976 New York Yankees (97-62) vs 1965 Boston Red Sox (62-100)

1976 Yankees
Record: 97-62, Finished 1st in AL_East
Pythagorean W-L: 97-62, 730 Runs, 575 Runs Allowed
Manager: Billy Martin (97-62)
General Manager: Gabe Paul
Farm Director: Patrick Nugent
Scouting Director: Pat Gillick
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium IIx
Attendance: 2,012,434 (1st of 12)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 98
One-year: Batting - 100, Pitching - 98
Postseason:
Lost World Series (4-0) to Cincinnati Reds
Won AL Championship Series (3-2) over Kansas City Royals

1965 Red Sox
Record: 62-100, Finished 9th in American League
Pythagorean W-L: 69-93, 669 Runs, 791 Runs Allowed
Manager: Billy Herman (62-100)
General Manager: Mike Higgins (Fired 9/16/1965)
Scouting Director: Neil Mahoney
Ballpark: Fenway Park
Attendance: 652,201 (7th of 10)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 106, Pitching - 108
One-year: Batting - 108, Pitching - 110

[Nick Soulis]

Series 3

Red Sox Stun Steinbrenner And Yankees



One Hundred losses.

It is often the benchmark of a truly terrible baseball team and an ugly symbol at the end of a lost season. With that in mind, no one could have imagined the way the 1965 Boston Red Sox disposed of Billy Martin and his 1976 pennant winning Yankees team.

George Steinbrenner had to be beside himself as Boston played determined baseball and upset their rivals in an upset for the ages. The Red Sox set the tone in game one as Earl Wilson earned the 7-1 and would be the first of his two outstanding starts. The real drama came in game six, with the Yankees up late in the 8th inning, Tony Conigliaro hit a 490 foot three run home run to give his team a one run lead.

"Its beyond happiness right now" said Carl Yazstremski, "we played without pressure and made it happen.

One hundred losses has been redefined.











MVP: Earl Wilson (2-0, 0.56 ERA, 9 K, 4 BB)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 4



2014 Kansas City Royals (89-73) vs 2006 San Diego Padres (88-72)

2014 Royals

Record: 89-73, Finished 2nd in AL_Central
Pythagorean W-L: 84-78, 651 Runs, 624 Runs Allowed
Manager: Ned Yost (89-73)
General Manager: Dayton Moore
Farm Director: Scott Sharp
Scouting Director: Lonnie Goldberg
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Attendance: 1,956,482 (11th of 15)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 104, Pitching - 103
One-year: Batting - 104, Pitching - 104
Postseason:
Lost World Series (4-3) to San Francisco Giants
Won AL Championship Series (4-0) over Baltimore Orioles
Won AL Division Series (3-0) over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Won AL Wild Card Game (1-0) over Oakland Athletics

2006 Padres

Record: 88-74, Finished 1st in NL_West (Schedule and Results)
Pythagorean W-L: 86-76, 731 Runs, 679 Runs Allowed
Manager: Bruce Bochy (88-74)
General Manager: Kevin Towers
Scouting Director: Bill Gayton
Ballpark: PetCo Park
Attendance: 2,659,757 (8th of 16)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 91, Pitching - 90
One-year: Batting - 94, Pitching - 94
Postseason:Lost NL Division Series (3-1) to St. Louis Cardinals

[Nick Soulis]

Series 3

Padres Impress In Taking Of Royals



The 2006 San Diego Padres came into this series as a considerable underdog even though they won almost the same amount of games as their opponents. The Padres answered the bell however and won the close games including two of three in Kansas City to move on.

Jake Peavy struck out 14 batters in his 13 innings of work while Mike Cameron hit two home runs and drove in five runs. James Shields was great for the Royals in two starts inclduding a complete game shutout in game 5 but it wouldbnt be enough. Adrian Gonzalez went 4-5 in the clinching game six with two RBI.

[IMG]blob:http://imgur.com/66d67206-d960-4c92-94c7-457ae03b7223[/IMG]

[Nick Soulis]

1974 Cincinnati Reds (98-64) vs 1942 New York Giants (85-67)

1974 Reds

Record: 98-64, Finished 2nd in NL_West
Pythagorean W-L: 96-66, 776 Runs, 631 Runs Allowed
Manager: Sparky Anderson (98-64)
General Manager: Bob Howsam
Farm Director: Chief Bender
Scouting Director: Joe Bowen
Ballpark: Riverfront Stadium
Attendance: 2,164,307 (2nd of 12)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 96
One-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 97

1942 Giants

Record: 85-67, Finished 3rd in National League
Pythagorean W-L: 84-68, 675 Runs, 600 Runs Allowed
Manager: Mel Ott (85-67)
Ballpark: Polo Grounds V
Attendance: 779,621 (2nd of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 101, Pitching - 101
One-year: Batting - 103, Pitching - 102

[Nick Soulis]

Series 5

Red Machine Disposes Of Giants



The deciding game took an amazing 21 innings at the Polo Grounds before Johnny Bench hit a three run home run, but in the end it was four straight wins for the 1974 Cincinnati Reds.

Fred Norman shutout the 1942 Giants in the opening game and the Reds defense and rally hitting was just too much for Mel Ott and his men. Bench ended the series as MVP and had three long balls in four games. Joe Morgan hit .333 and proved to be too much.

Game 4 anyway you look at it however was a game for the ages, 21 innings, almost 7 hours of baseball with 17 pitchers combined used.









Series MVP: Johnny Bench (10/23, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .458 OBP)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 6



1920 New York Yankees (95-59) vs 1991 San Diego Padres (84-78)

1920 Yankees

Record: 95-59, Finished 3rd in American League
Pythagorean W-L: 97-57, 838 Runs, 629 Runs Allowed
Manager: Miller Huggins (95-59)
Ballpark: Polo Grounds V
Attendance: 1,289,422 (1st of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 104, Pitching - 101
One-year: Batting - 102, Pitching - 99

1991 Padres

Record: 84-78, Finished 3rd in NL_West
Pythagorean W-L: 80-82, 636 Runs, 646 Runs Allowed
Manager: Greg Riddoch (84-78)
General Manager: Joe McIlvaine
Farm Director: Ed Lynch
Scouting Director: Randy Smith
Ballpark: Jack Murphy Stadium
Attendance: 1,804,289 (9th of 12)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 103, Pitching - 103
One-year: Batting - 100, Pitching - 100

[Nick Soulis]

Series 6

Padres Dominate Ruth And Yankees



No doubt that teams will be up to play against the legend of Babe Ruth but the 1991 San Diego Padres went above and beyond in a four game sweep of the 1920 Yankees. The Babe himself had a very rough go of it in one of his most iconic seasons, Ruth went 2 for 16 in the series with only one home run against Padres pitching.

The Padres opened the series with a 2 hit shutout from Andy Benes and Dennis Rasmussen would be lights out in game four in another shutout Padres win. Game two was where the dramatics of the series were after Darren Jackson won the game with a solo home run in the 12th inning. Fred McGriff even had an inside the park home run in this series as San Diego outplayed the Yanks at every turn.

The Babe will surely have better days.









Series MVP: Andy Benes (1 CG, 9 K, 9 IP, 1 shutout)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 7



1948 Pittsburgh Pirates (83-71) vs 1988 Cleveland Indians (78-84)

1948 Pirates

Record: 83-71, Finished 4th in National League
Pythagorean W-L: 78-76, 706 Runs, 701 Runs Allowed
Manager: Billy Meyer (83-71)
Ballpark: Forbes Field
Attendance: 1,517,021 (2nd of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 102, Pitching - 103
One-year: Batting - 105, Pitching - 105

1988 Indians

Record: 78-84, Finished 6th in AL_East
Pythagorean W-L: 74-88, 666 Runs, 731 Runs Allowed
Manager: Doc Edwards (78-84)
General Manager: Henry Peters (Hired 11/2/1987)
Scouting Director: Jeff Scott
Ballpark: Cleveland Stadium
Attendance: 1,411,610 (12th of 14)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 102, Pitching - 103
One-year: Batting - 101, Pitching - 102

[Nick Soulis]

Series 7

Pirates The Better Club In Six



The 1948 Pittsburgh Pirates took a commanding three games to none lead and, although they made it interesting, wrapped the series up in six games. Wally Westlake hit two home runs in game six back at Forbes Field to cool the surging 1988 Indians who wish they would have started faster.

Danny Murtaugh ended up the man of the series as the infielder ended with 11 hits in 20 atbats and six RBI. Tom Candiotti was good for Cleveland and won a crucial game five in front of the home fans but Elmer Riddle won two games in the series and struck out nine in 15 innings.

Young Greg Swindel took two losses and allowed nine earned runs in just over six innings.










Series MVP: Danny Murtaugh (11/20, .550 AVG, 6 RBI, .609 OBP)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 8



2007 St. Louis Cardinals (78-84) vs 1986 Toronto Blue Jays (86-76)

1986 Blue Jays

Record: 86-76, Finished 4th in AL_East
Pythagorean W-L: 88-74, 809 Runs, 733 Runs Allowed
Manager: Jimy Williams (86-76)
General Manager: Pat Gillick
Ballpark: Exhibition Stadium
Attendance: 2,455,477 (2nd of 14)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 103, Pitching - 101
One-year: Batting - 107, Pitching - 106

2007 Cardinals

Record: 78-84, Finished 3rd in NL_Central
Pythagorean W-L: 71-91, 725 Runs, 829 Runs Allowed
Manager: Tony La Russa (78-84)
General Manager: Walt Jocketty (Fired 10/3/2007)
Farm Director: John Vuch
Scouting Director: Jeff Luhnow
Ballpark: Busch Stadium III
Attendance: 3,552,180 (3rd of 16)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 99
One-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 100

[Nick Soulis]

Series 8

Jays Survive Cardinals In Even Series



The 1986 Toronto Blue Jays won the seventh and deciding game against the 2007 St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 at Exhibition Stadium to win this series. George Bell was named MVP mostly due to the fact he drove in three runs in the deciding game but in truth it was a series of many stars.

David Eckstein hit .400 for the Cardinals and Chris Duncan drove in 9 runs. Adam Wainright threw 14 scoreless innings including a gem in game five that put the Cards on the brink. The game five win set the Cards up for needing only one win in the final two games in Canada but could not get the job done.

Tony Fernandez hit .414 for the series and Ernie Whitt had a monster game where he went 4-5 with 4 RBI in a 12-6 win. The Jays just wouldnt say die and even used Dave Stieb well out of the bullpen to win their cause.

A very good series between two evenly matched teams.











Series MVP: George Bell (.433, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 13 H)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 9



1959 Los Angeles Dodgers (88-68) vs 1934 Chicago White Sox (53-99)

1959 Dodgers

Record: 88-68, Finished 1st in National League
Pythagorean W-L: 82-74, 705 Runs, 670 Runs Allowed
Manager: Walter Alston (88-68)
General Manager: Buzzie Bavasi
Ballpark: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Attendance: 2,071,045 (1st of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 107, Pitching - 107
One-year: Batting - 102, Pitching - 101
Postseason:Won World Series (4-2) over Chicago White Sox

1934 White Sox

Record: 53-99, Finished 8th in American League
Pythagorean W-L: 56-96, 704 Runs, 946 Runs Allowed
Managers: Lew Fonseca (4-11) and Jimmy Dykes (49-88)
Ballpark: Comiskey Park I
Attendance: 236,559 (7th of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 102, Pitching - 104
One-year: Batting - 99, Pitching - 103

[Nick Soulis]

Series 9

Drysdale Shutout Decisive In Series Win



Don Drysdale took the mound in his normal bulldog manner as the 1934 White Sox had just even the series at two in game four. It was now game 5 and the 1959 Dodgers knew they needed this decisive game to avoid a real upset scare in this series.

Drysdale responded in a big way and went 7 strong shutout innings before the Dodgers closed out the game and would close out the series in six games. Drysdale won both of his starts and struck out 17 men in 14 innings of work.

Duke Snider had four home runs in the series and would take the MVP honros although Drysdale makes a good case. The Sox had fought back well after a bad 13-1 loss in game one in Los Angeles. Zeke Bonura has his moments for Chicago with three home runs but after game four the magic was gone.

As for Drysdale, he just wasnt going to lose when he was needed the most by this championship club.










Series MVP: Duke Snider (9/21, 4 HR, 8 RBI, .429)

[Nick Soulis]

Series 10



1912 Detroit Tigers (69-84) vs 2000 Minnesota Twins (69-93)

1912 Tigers

Record: 69-84, Finished 6th in American League
Pythagorean W-L: 71-82, 720 Runs, 777 Runs Allowed
Manager: Hughie Jennings (69-84)
Ballpark: Navin Field
Attendance: 402,870 (4th of 8)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 97, Pitching - 98
One-year: Batting - 95, Pitching - 96

2000 Twins

Record: 69-93, Finished 5th in AL_Central
Pythagorean W-L: 69-93, 748 Runs, 880 Runs Allowed
Manager: Tom Kelly (69-93)
General Manager: Terry Ryan
Farm Director: Jim Rantz
Scouting Director: Mike Radcliff
Ballpark: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Attendance: 1,000,760 (14th of 14)
Park Factors: (Over 100 favors batters, under 100 favors pitchers.)
Multi-year: Batting - 104, Pitching - 105
One-year: Batting - 106, Pitching - 107