REGIONAL #217:  The first team to get picked by the random team selector was a pennant-winning Indians team, although it looked to me like they would have some stiff competition in the bracket.  There was a Cardinals team that had won the NL two years earlier, and entries from the Yankees, Mariners, and A’s that were all in the middle of some pretty good runs.  A Reds team and a contemporary version of the Brewers felt like they could be dark horses, and I suspected that the Tigers were likely to be pretty bad.  My guess was that the Indians would be the favorite and that they would prevail over the Mariners in the finals; the ELO rankings had the same predictions, while also highlighting that the Tribe could face a serious challenge from a highly rated Yankees team in the semifinals.  

First round action

The 1995 Indians won 100 games and the American League, and were ELO ranked as the 30th best team in baseball history.  They had Albert Belle as the MVP runner-up and Manny Ramirez also got votes, while Cy Young runner-up Jose Mesa as the closer could back up a rotation with Dennis Martinez (12-5, 3.08) getting the round one start.  The Tribe weren’t a perfect team, however, as defensively they were a combination of great and terrible fielders, with little in-between.  The 2022 Brewers couldn’t match the firepower of the Cleveland lineup but they still won 86 games with a pretty good pitching staff fronted by Corbin Burnes (12-8, 2.94), who finished 7th in the Cy Young votes.  Manny launches a solo shot in the top of the 2nd to afford Cleveland the early lead, while Martinez is shaken up in the bottom of the inning but to the relief of the Indians is able to remain in the game.  However, in the bottom of the 3rd the Brewers’ .199 hitting catcher Victor Caratini is able to turn a 1-1-1 roll into a solo homer that ties the game, and two batters later Hunter Renfroe crushes a 2-run shot and the Indians are wondering if Martinez is more hurt than he appears. Brewers DH Keston Hiura adds another solo shot in the 4th, but they lose Renfroe who is knocked out of the game with an injury in the next inning.  When Martinez issues a leadoff walk in the 6th, he’s taken out and Mesa gets the call to preserve the fading hopes of the Indians, and he does his job but the Tribe can’t get anything off Burnes.   So Burnes faces the top of the Cleveland order in the top of the 9th for the win, and he whiffs the first two batters to face Albert Belle; Burnes tries for the trifecta and Belle deposits the attempt deep in the outfield of the former Miller Park.  That brings up Jim Thome, who flies out harmlessly and the favorites fall to the Brewers 4-2, with Burnes allowing only two hits–both solid homers–while striking out 10.

The 2017 Yankees were the #2 seed in the bracket, as they won 91 games and lost the ALCS in 7 games from a wild card spot.  They were armed with the Rookie of the Year in Aaron Judge, who finished 2nd in the MVP vote and put up 52 homers to lead a lineup where everybody exceeded .400 SLG%, while Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98) was 3rd in the Cy Young ballots.  All of this spelled trouble for the #8 seeded 2004 Tigers, who lost 90 games but that was one of the biggest improvements of all time given that they had lost 119 the year before.  This team had a couple of big bats in Carlos Guillen and Pudge Rodriguez, who was 10th in the MVP votes, but their rotation was painful with Jeremy Bonderman (11-13, 4.69) the best of bad options.  Bonderman doesn’t allow a hit until the top of the 4th, but the second hit of that inning was a 3-run homer by Todd Frazier, and after a two-base error from Bonderman himself, Jacob Ellsbury nails a two-run double and the Yanks lead 5-0.  Frazier comes up again in the 5th, and the result is the same as he knocks his second 3-run blast of the game; the Tigers get on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Pudge sac fly, and they decide to burn up closer Ugueth Urbina in an effort to get back in the game for the 6th.  RF-2 Trout misplays a single in the 8th that sets up an RBI hit for Brandon Inge, but that’s nowhere near enough as Severino closes out a 5-hitter and the 8-2 win.  The Yanks move on despite committing four errors and having Trout go hitless, issues that may need to change if they hope to advance against better competition in later rounds.

The #3 seeded 1996 Mariners were a potent offensive squad, with ARod 2nd and Griffey Jr. 4th in the MVP ballots and Jay Buhner also receiving votes.  However, they only won 85 games, largely because of a gruesome rotation with Jamie Moyer (13-3, 3.98) the only starter with an ERA under five.  The 2011 Reds were the #6 seed with but weren’t far behind with 79 wins, although offensively only Joey Votto had much of a season to brag about, finishing 6th for MVP, while Johnny Cueto (9-5, 2.31) headed a rotation that looked considerably better than that of the Mariners.   In the top of the 2nd, Joey Cora hits into a bases loaded double play to kill an inning, and then the first batter in the bottom of the frame, Jay Bruce, knocks one out of the park to add to the pain.  A two-out single by Dan Wilson in the top of the 4th scores Junior to tie the game, but in the bottom of the 5th a Moyer error sets up a 2-run homer from Drew Stubbs and the Reds regain the lead, but lose LF Chris Heisey for the tournament with an injury to end the inning.  In the top of the 8th Griffey Jr. launches a 2-run moon shot that ties the game again, and the M’s take no chances with Moyer’s gopher ball and summon Norm Charlton to begin the 8th.  Charlton tosses two scoreless innings but so does Cueto and the game heads to extra innings.  Cueto begins the 10th by fanning ARod but then Griffey launches a long solo shot and Jay Buhner follows with a double and it’s obvious Cueto is spent, and he is replaced by the wild Aroldis Chapman, who strikes out two in a row to end the inning.  However, the Mariners take their first lead of the game into the bottom of the 10th, and decide to stick with Charlton although the Big Unit is warming up in the pen.  He gets two quick outs but then Votto singles and injury replacement Todd Frazier draws a walk, and the winning run is now on base with two away and Bruce at the plate.  Charlton delivers, Bruce grounds it back to him and Norm tosses it to Paul Sorrento for the easy out and the Mariners survive a come-from-behind 4-3 win and advance.  

The last first round game of the regional paired two teams that I had thought would be better before I set their lineups.  The 2008 Cardinals did win 86 games and they did have the MVP in Albert Pujols, but there were some holes in the lineup and the rotation wasn’t that great after a decent Adam Wainwright (11-3, 3.20).  The 1998 A’s lost 88 games, with sluggers like Jason Giambi and Matt Stairs getting far eclipsed in that infamous steroid year, but it wasn’t much of a gamble to start Kenny Rogers (16-8, 3.17) in one of his best seasons.  The A’s begin the top of the 1st according to plan, as 39-year-old Rickey Henderson draws a leadoff walk, steals second, and scores on a Giambi single, and in the 2nd a Wainwright error sets up an RBI single from Ben Grieve that makes it 2-0 A’s.  From there, Wainwright is in command but it’s to no avail as Rogers knows when to hold ‘em against the Cards, and Kenny retires Pujols for the final out and finishes up a 4-hit shutout as the A’s head to the semifinals with the 2-0 win.  

The survivors

The 2022 Brewers had already eliminated the top seed in the first round and now had their sights set on the #2 seeded 2017 Yankees in the semifinals.  The Brewers were back to full strength with Hunter Renfroe back from his game one injury, and they had a solid Brandon Woodruff (13-4, 3.05) on the hill backed by a rested bullpen.  However, the Yanks were also 100% with Sonny Gray (10-12, 3.55) tapped for the start.  New York gets an RBI single from Didi Gregorius in the bottom of the 1st for an early lead, but in the top of the 4th a passed ball by NY C-3 Gary Sanchez and a sac fly from Tyrone Taylor put the Brewers on top 2-1.  From there, Woodruff is dominant, whiffing Yankees left and right until he runs into Aarons in the bottom of the 8th, when PH Aaron Hicks doubles with two out and then Aaron Judge knocks an RBI single off Woodruff’s card to tie the game going into the 9th.  A leadoff double by Willy Adames off Gray’s card and the Yankees head to the pen for Adam Warren, who strikes out the first two batters he faces but then Luis Urias pokes a single and Adames (1-13+2) slides under the tag with a 15 split to give the Brewers the lead.  Milwaukee then hands the ball to Woodruff for the bottom of the 9th to close out his effort, and he retires the side in order to finish with 12 strikeouts in a 3-2 Brewer win that propels them to the finals.  

The 1996 Mariners were now the top remaining seed in the bracket, and they were facing the #7 seeded 1998 A’s who had made the semifinals courtesy of a great pitching performance.  Unfortunately for Oakland, they were now looking at a huge dropoff in the rotation to Tom Candiotti (11-16, 4.94) and it only gets worse from there; however, pitching prospects in Seattle were even more frightening, with Sterling Hitchcock (13-9, 5.35) on the mound and closer Charlton burnt for the game.  Hitchcock appears to be directing a horror movie in the bottom of the 1st, allowing a 2-run homer to Ben Grieve and then loading the bases to set up a run-scoring walk to Ryan Christenson for a quick 3-0 A’s lead.  The Mariners respond in the top of the 2nd, as although Jay Buhner misses a HR split, he scores on a Joey Cora double that makes it a one-run game.  Although at this point it was looking like a high-scoring affair, both starters settle in and make it through the 5th with no further incident, but both are on a short leash in a tight elimination game.  Hitchcock’s leash is the first to be yanked when he allows a 2-out double in the 6th, and he’s replaced by the limited-inning Randy Johnson in an effort to stay in the game, who does the job in whiffing PH Bip Roberts to end the inning.  A leadoff single by Buhner in the 7th and Candiotti is replaced by Gil Heredia, but Cora hits his second double of the game and a gamble by the Mariners pays off as 1-10 Buhner beats the throw home to tie the game.  Dave Hollins follows with a single and 1-14 Cora also takes the extra base successfully and Seattle has their first lead of the game.  In the bottom of the inning, Rickey Henderson leads off with a walk and steals second, but the Big Unit bears down and strikes out the heart of the A’s lineup in order to end the threat.  ARod then leads off the top of the 8th by converting a TR 1-3 split off Heredia’s card, and Oakland has seen enough and summons closer Billy Taylor, who looks like he will strand the runner at third with two quick outs, but then Buhner rolls a no-doubt solid homer for another two runs.  Now armed with a three run lead, the Mariners seek to preserve Johnson and risk Mike Jackson to close things out, but the second batter he faces, Miguel Tejada, finds Jackson’s solid 4-5 HR result for a solo shot that narrows the gap.  Things get even worse for Seattle in the bottom of the 9th, as defensive replacement 3B-2 Andy Sheets commits a 2-base error to put the #9 hitter for the A’s in scoring position, and then Henderson converts a HR 1-8/flyB for a game-tying two-run shot and there is still nobody out.  With nothing but nightmares left in the pen, Seattle is stuck with Jackson, and he recovers to retire three straight and the game heads to extra innings.  In the top of the 10th, Taylor starts out in trouble with a walk and an ARod single, and he never gets out as RBI singles from Paul Sorrento, Buhner, and Cora stake Jackson to a three run lead entering the bottom of the 10th.  He allows a leadoff single but Tejada hits into a DP and the cardiac Mariners survive their second straight extra-inning game to head to the finals with the 9-6 win.

The 2022 Brewers had eliminated the #1 and #2 seeds in the bracket to reach the finals, and now they had the chance to continue the streak in facing the #3 seeded 1996 Mariners.  As the #4 seed themselves, the Brewers were no slouch and their deep rotation made a decent Eric Lauer (11-7, 3.69) available, while the Mariners were hoping that Bob Wells (12-7, 5.30) could keep the ball in the park long enough for a tired bullpen to take over.  Wells does record two quick outs in the top of the 1st, but then the wheels come off, as a couple of hits and an error by 3B-3 Dave Hollins scores one run and fills the bases with Brewers, and Tyrone Taylor clears them with a mammoth blast and the Kingdome is deathly quiet.  The volume gradually grows as the M’s lead off the bottom of the inning with two straight singles and the ARod puts one in the stands for a 3-run shot and the fans begin to remember that this Seattle team had to come from behind to win both of their first-round games in extra innings.  The Mariners load the bases in the 2nd with nobody out, and after a sac fly by Edgar Martinez that makes it a one-run game, ARod hits his second 3-run homer of the game in as many at-bats.  With a fully rested pen, Milwaukee wastes no time in using it with Devin Williams and his 1.93 ERA picked to stop the bleeding.  Williams walks a couple in the 4th and then faces ARod’s third AB, and he rips it into the gap for a double that scores one although 1-11 EMart is out at the plate by a mile.  Wells gets through five innings without allowing additional runs, but when he issues a walk in the 6th the Mariners take no chances and summon the Big Unit out of the pen, who has two innings of eligibility remaining, and he retires the side without damage.  However, in the 7th Hunter Renfroe finds and converts Johnson’s HR result for a solo shot that brings the Brewers within two, and in the bottom of the inning Mariner 1B Paul Sorrento has to leave the game with an injury.  The Mariners bring on Norm Charlton to try to close things out, and he gets two outs in the 9th but Kolten Wong doubles and Renfroe drives him in with a sharp single, making it a one-run game with the tying run on first and cleanup hitter Rowdy Tellez at the plate.  Charlton delivers, Tellez lofts it deep to CF but Griffey Jr hauls it in at the warning track to give the Mariners the 8-7 win and their 5th franchise regional title, joining the 1995 team to form a mini-dynasty in the tournament.  

Interesting card of Regional #217:  It seems like if I were assembling a team of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history, I think this card would definitely make the squad..  Aaron Judge was unanimously elected Rookie of the Year for 2017, and he finished 2nd in the MVP ballots to Jose Altuve; I would argue that he was more deserving of the MVP award that season than were either of the only two rookies ever to be named MVP in baseball history (trivia alert:  who were they?).  He tied the Yankees rookie record for home runs, held by Joe DiMaggio, before the All-Star break, and during that break he won the Home Run Derby just for good measure.  In September he hit longball number 49 to break Mark McGwire's record for most homers by a rookie; however, that record didn’t last very long as it was bested by Pete Alonso in 2019.  Unlike Alonso, who bashed his way to lead the Mets to win Regional #61, Judge couldn’t muster a single homer in this bracket and his Yankees bowed out in the semifinals.  However, he’ll get a few chances for redemption in this tournament in future regionals, including Judge’s infamous 2022 MVP season in which he eclipsed Roger Maris’ AL home run record.