REGIONAL #212:  I initially thought this draw was going to be entirely stocked from the 21st century, but at the last minute a White Sox team from the 90s snuck in to provide a little more variety.  I thought the Sox might have another shot to lose in the regional final, like they had in the previous two, because there were some squads in here that I suspected might be stinkers, such as an Orioles team from the early 2000s and last year’s Tigers.  Chronologically, the team closest to a pennant was a Yankees team three seasons after their most recent one (in 2009, can you believe that?), a version of the Dodgers five years before a flag, and a Rangers squad midway between their 2011 and 2023 wins.   My hunch was a Dodgers vs; Yankees matchup in the final, guessing that the Yanks would make up for a first round exit in the prior bracket by winning this one.  The ELO ratings apparently didn’t know about my jinx, because they predicted the White Sox to defeat the Dodgers in the final, seeding the Yankees third in a generally weak bracket.  

First round action

The 2014 Rockies lineup did not look like one that would lose 96 games, as eight of their nine were in double digit homers led by Nolen Arenado, Corey Dickerson and the oft-injured Troy Tulowitzki, and their DP combo involved two 1s; it was interesting to see that their Pythagorean projection was nearly 10 games better than their actual record.  Although their pitching staff suffered the typical Coors hangover, Jorge de la Rosa (14-11, 4.10) wasn’t a terrible option at the top of the rotation.  They were ELO underdogs to the 2017 Angels, who had an 80-82 record with Mike Trout finishing 4th for AL MVP with Andrelton Simmons and midseason acquisition Justin Upton also getting votes; however, like the Rockies the rotation was a mess and JC Ramirez (11-10, 4.15) was the best of the bunch.  But it was a different Justin making a name for himself in the top of the 1st, that being Justin Morneau with a two-run homer to make the Rockies mountain high.  Wilin Rosario wills a solo shot in the 2nd and Michael Cuddyer adds a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the 3rd and Colorado now leads 4-0.  The hits just keep coming, as a 2-out RBI single in the 4th by Franklin Stubbs is followed by a 2-run double from Morneau, and Ramirez exits without tossing a scoreless inning.  Yusmeiro Petit comes in to contribute a scoreless 5th and the Angels briefly have some hope, but Charlie Blackmon leads off the 6th by converting Petit’s HR split and the hole just keeps getting wider and deeper.  De la Rosa loses his shutout in the 8th when Martin Maldonado finds the pitcher’s HR result for a solo shot, and then with two out in the bottom of the 9th Luis Valbuena connects for a long 2-run homer, but it’s far too late to make a difference and the Rockies move on with the 8-3 win.  

The 2012 Dodgers were the 2nd seed in this bracket, going 86-76 behind Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and a couple of Ellises, but the real advantage was Clayton Kershaw (14-9, 2.53), who was runner-up in the Cy Young ballots although he won the award in both the prior and the following season.  The 2003 Orioles lost 91 games but they were not as bad as I’d first imagined, with an all “2” .300 hitting outfield led by Melvin Mora, although Pat Hentgen (7-8, 4.09) was their least frightening starter since they had traded away Sidney Ponson in midseason.  Mora launches a solo shot into the pavilions at Chavez Ravine in the top of the 1st for an early advantage, but in the bottom of the inning LA leadoff hitter Shane Victorino nails Hentgen’s solid HR result, and then back-to-back errors by O’s 3B-4 Tony Batista and 1B-3 Jeff Conine sets up Ethier for another roll on Hentgen’s solid big fly; the inning finally ends when #9 hitter Dee Gordon misses Hentgen’s split homer result for a flyB.  Undaunted, the Orioles find all the hits on Kershaw’s card, and RBI singles by Deivi Cruz and Brook Fordyce and a sac fly from Luis Matos immediately tie the game back up in the top of the 2nd.  In the 3rd, Hanley Ramirez locates Hentgen’s solid HR, the 3rd time in 3 innings, and the Orioles have to find someone in the pen with an out at 4-9, with BJ Ryan filling the requirement.  A two-out RBI single from Adrian Gonzalez provides additional padding in the 4th, although Ryan does the job in the 5th thanks to two consecutive 4-9 rolls.  Baltimore PH Jack Cust cuts the deficit to one with a long solo homer in the 8th.   Kershaw gets one out in the 9th but then allows two singles, and Kenley Jansen is summoned with the tying run on 3rd.  With the infield in, Matos rolls a gbB and the runner is nailed at the plate, so now there are two out and All-Star Melvin Mora at the plate.  Jansen blows it by him, recording the strikeout and the save as the Dodgers survive the 6-5 scare to advance.  

The 2014 Yankees went 84-78 as the last of the Jeter-era squads that have done so badly in this tournament.  Jeter was 40 years old here, as was his teammate Ichiro, and Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, and Brian Roberts were all well past their sell-by date as well.  The good news was that Masahiro Tanaka (13-5, 2.77) got votes for Rookie of the Year and although Mariano Rivera had retired the previous season, there were still some great arms in the pen.  They faced a 78-84 2017 Rangers team that had nobody in common with this year’s Series winner, with a 38 year old Adrian Beltre as their top weapon along with 7 big swingers in the lineup with over 100 whiffs, but Yu Darvish (6-9, 4.01) not looking too bad if he can manage to keep the ball in the Stadium.  The Yankees get off to a dubious start when Jacoby Ellsbury leads off the bottom of the 1st by getting knocked out of the game with an injury.  The Rangers get on the board first in the top of the 4th with a Mike Napoli single, and then a 2-base error from SS-4 Jeter opens the door for a two run double courtesy of Rougned Odor.  However, in the 6th the Yanks get a pinch hit RBI double from Francisco Cervelli, and then with two out Mark Teixeira lofts a 2-run blast to knot the game at 3-3.  A leadoff single by Odor in the top of the 7th and New York doesn’t mess around, pulling Tanaka for Dellin Betances and his 1.40 ERA; however, he is immediately greeted by a moon shot from new catcher Robinson Chirinos.  Three batters later and it’s Beltre’s turn for a 2-run homer and the mood in the Bronx is getting ugly.  It gets better in the bottom of the inning when Ichiro finds the solid HR result on Darvish for a two-run poke of his own, and when Brett Gardner follows that with a triple Darvish is gone for Jose “Wilder Thing” LeClerc.  To his credit, LeClerc doesn’t walk the next batter, Martin Prado–instead, he allows another 2-run homer and once again the game is tied.  The Yanks bring in Adam Warren to begin the 9th, but after a double and a walk they decide to end that experiment, summoning closer David Robertson to try to get out of the jam.  He whiffs Beltre for one out, but then walks Joey Gallo to bring up Elvis Andrus–and Elvis has left the building with the bases loaded for a grand slam.  It’s now the Rangers’ turn to try a 9th inning reliever, and Matt Bush survives an error by 2B-4 Odor to close out the 11-7 win for the Rangers, and the end of the Jeter years goes pretty much like the rest of the era with a first round exit for the Yankees.

This was a first round matchup between the top and bottom seeds in the regional, with the 1991 White Sox earning top billing with 87 wins in their crappy new ballpark, with Frank Thomas 3rd in the MVP ballots and Black Jack McDowell (17-10, 3.41) attracting some votes for Cy Young.   Although the Sox teams are typically jinxed in my tournament, this time they had the good fortune to draw the 2022 Tigers in the first round, who lost 96 games but still outperformed their Pythagorean projection.  It seemed to me that this Tigers team would have a hard time beating the ‘62 Mets, although Tarik Skubal (7-8, 3.53) was a credible option in the rotation–the only one.  However, it’s the Tigers who take the lead in the bottom of the 4th when DH Kerry Carpenter leads off the inning with a long homer, and that’s followed by back to back doubles from Eric Haase and Javier Baez that make it 2-0.   Because the Sox can’t muster any offense against Skubal, they feel compelled to pull McDowell when he issues a leadoff walk in the 6th, with Scott Radinsky assigned to keep it close and he retires the side without incident.  The mishaps continue for the Sox as Robin Ventura is knocked out of the game in the 7th with an injury, no doubt from getting punched by Skubal.  As a vague gesture of a threat, Lance Johnson gets a one-out single in the top of the 9th to bring up the Big Hurt as the tying run, and there is Hurt all right as Thomas grounds into a double play; the Sox are mere Skuby snacks for Skubal’s 2-hit shutout as the Tigers pull off the 1 vs 8 upset, 2-0, to head to the semifinals.  

The survivors

The 2012 Dodgers were the top remaining seed in the bracket although they barely survived the first round; they did benefit from the typical advantage of the better teams with having a deeper rotation for later rounds, and Chad Billingsley (10-9, 3.55) was just one of a number of viable options.  The 2014 Rockies hoped that Tyler Matzek (6-11, 4.05) could pitch well enough to allow their powerful offense to prevail, and it looked promising as the Rockies led off the top of the 1st with a Drew Stubbs double followed by a Justin Morneau single that allows the fleet Stubbs to beat the oft-uncooperative split die and score.  In the 2nd, Drew Stubbs drives a hanging Chad curveball for a 2-run triple, and Morneau picks up another RBI with a single that is also off Billingsley’s card, but the Dodgers show signs of life in the bottom of the 3rd with Bobby Abreu and Matt Kemp driving in runs to narrow the gap to 4-2.   Matzek gets wild in the 4th and Abreu draws a bases-loaded walk to make it a one-run game, and in the 6th an error by 3B02 Aranado sets up an RBI double for Andre Ethier that ties the game.  With runners now on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, the Rockies bring in the infield for Hanley Ramirez, who promptly get a gbA++ for a two-run single and Matzek is gone for closer Latroy Hawkins, but Ramirez steals second and scores on a Mark Ellis single; Shane Victorino replaces Ellis after a fielder’s choice so he steals second and scores on an Abreu single and by the time Hawkins gets the final out the Dodgers lead 8-4.  Corey Dickerson then leads off the 6th for the Rockies with a homer that begins to narrow the gap, and when Billingsley allows a couple of singles in the 7th the Dodgers move to the pen for Scott Elbert, but the Rockies get a run on a Tulowitzki fielder’s choice.   The Dodgers respond in the bottom of the inning when Ramirez singles, steals second again, and races home on a Victorino single; Victorino steals second and he scores on a double by Dee Gordon off Hawkins’ card.  With a solid lead, the Dodgers bring in Randy Choate for the ninth and he sets the Rockies down in order and LA moves to the finals with a 10-6 comeback win.  

The 8th seeded 2022 Tigers knocked out the bracket favorite with an excellent pitching performance, but as is typical of a 96-loss team the rotation got ugly quickly, with Drew Hutchison (3-9, 4.53) having some rough spots on his card.  For the 2017 Rangers, Andrew Cashner (11-11, 3.40) was a decent option and they were hoping he’d allow them to rest a bullpen that was needed to survive round one.  Rangers leadoff hitter Delino Deshields walks in the top of the 1st, steals second, and then scores on an Adrian Beltre hit; then Elvis Andrus, who won the opening game with a 9th inning grand slam, contributes a 2-run homer in his next at bat for a 3-0 Texas lead.  Carlos Gomez leads off the 3rd with a homer, and two batters later Beltre belts a solo shot and the Tigers withdraw Drew and try Jose Cisnero, who ends the inning quickly.  The Tigers try a comeback in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff homer by Jeimer Candelario who converts a HR 1-4/flyB split on Cashner, and Kerry Carpenter later adds a two out RBI single to narrow the deficit.   In the 4th, the Rangers respond by knocking hits past SS-3 Javier Baez and 1B-3 Harold Castro to score a run, and then both sets of bats cool down.  In the 9th the Rangers watch in horror as Gomez gets injured, but it’s apparently minor and he’ll be back for the final if Cashner can hold on.  And in the bottom of the 9th, he retires Harold Castro, he retires Willi Castro, and since Detroit can’t get Fidel to sign a contract, Cashner snuffs out Candelario and wraps up a six-hitter and a 6-2 win that sends the Rangers to the finals.  

The regional final featured the #2 seeded 2012 Dodgers and Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.61) against the #5 seed 2017 Rangers and Cole Hamels (11-6, 4.20), who was coming to the end of his experience in Texas.  Carlos Gomez, back from his injury suffered in the semifinal, makes a return in style with a solo homer in his first AB in the bottom of the 1st, and three batters later Joey Gallo makes contact for a 2-run shot and a quick 3-0 Texas lead.  Andre Ethier serves notice that this game isn’t over by converting Hamels’ HR split to lead off the 2nd, and after a couple of walks and an error by 1B-3 Mike Napoli loads the bases for the Dodgers, Bobby Abreu converts a two-out DO 1-12/flyB on Hamel’s card that clears the bases and LA vaults to a 4-3 lead.  That doesn’t last, as a 2-out 2-run homer by Adrian Beltre in the bottom of the inning returns the Rangers to the lead and the Dodgers decide to waste no time in going to their strong bullpen, Brandon League replacing Harang who doesn’t last two innings.  Beltre adds a 2-out RBI single in the 4th and that’s followed by Gallo’s second homer of the game, a 3-run blast and the Rangers are looking unstoppable as they climb to a 9-4 lead.  In desperation, the Dodgers summon closer Kenley Jansen in the 6th, and they try to cut into the lead in the 7th but are thwarted when Mark Ellis (1-12+2) is nailed at the plate trying to score on a Victorino double.  The Rangers score another in the bottom of the 7th courtesy of a 2-base error by Dodger 3B-4 Hanley Ramirez, and Hamels hangs on, surviving three Texas errors to close out the 10-4 win and provide the Rangers with their third regional title, their first for a team from this millennium.  These Rangers were built on the Dave Kingman model, a team that collectively either struck out or homered, and the latter worked for them in this bracket with 10 dingers in the three games. 

Interesting card of Regional #211:  I don’t believe I’ve ever selected a card from the “current” set for this feature, but with a bracket loaded with modern teams I figured that Jose Cisnero should get his moment in the sun, if he can locate it.  Sporting a gaudy 1.08 ERA, Cisnero had one of the lowest H/9 rates in the regional, but also had the highest BB/9 rate.  I found myself wondering if this might be the highest ratio of BB/9 to ERA in printed Strat card history, but my googling left me unable to determine the answer to that question.  It has to be close, though; Cisnero’s BB/9 of 6.8 was pretty much the same as the all-time career “leader” in that regard, Tommy Byrne, who holds that record by nearly a full walk per inning over his nearest competitor.   Byrne managed to assemble a winning career record despite accomplishing such feats as once walking 150 batters in 143 innings, although he developed better control later in his career, like some others such as Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax.  However, Byrne’s career 4.04 ERA is more in line with what might be expected out of a pitcher with his (and Cisnero’s) control issues.  For this card, Cisnero was age 33 which might be a bit late to start developing pinpoint accuracy, although I should point out that in 2023 he managed to lower his BB/9 rate by a full three walks per game.  Unfortunately, his H/9 nearly doubled and his ERA climbed to 5.31, suggesting that maybe he’s better off when he doesn’t throw strikes. 

REGIONAL #211:   The last team pulled in this bracket was a pennant winner, the 2001 Yankees representing a Jeter-era team from the heart of the steroid years.  The first team pulled was an Indians team from 1947 that was one season away from one of the all-time great Tribe squads.  In between were many intriguing entries, like the Dodgers from a year after Kirk Gibson’s Series, a Twins team two seasons before their miracle 1987 run, a Mariners team two seasons after the powerhouse that unfortunately lost to these very Yankees in 2001, a White Sox team a few years before their long-awaited 2005 pennant, and a Pirates squad of roughly the same vintage that made the semifinals in the previous bracket.  Although the Jeter Yankees have repeatedly come up short in this tournament, I thought that maybe this group would capture the crown, and best the Dodgers in the final–although that would require LA to get past the Indians in round one, which should be a challenge.  The ELO rankings surprised me by ranking the Mariners as the top squad in this group, meaning that they might at last get a chance to avenge themselves against the 2001 Yanks, if they can get past a highly rated A’s team.  Assuming they can do both, they were ELO favorites over the Dodgers in the finals.

First round action

The 1947 Indians had most of the players but they were not the same team as their all-time great version that would emerge the following year; they went 80-74 and while their great DP combo of Boudreau and Gordon were in the top 10 in the MVP votes, Larry Doby had only a handful of appearances and they showed the stress of being the first black player in the AL.  They did have the 2nd place MVP votes for a pitcher in those pre-Cy Young days, Bob Feller (20-11, 2.68) ready to go against the 1989 Dodgers, who had basically an identical ELO rating to the Indians.  The Dodgers went 77-83 after famously limping their way to a Series championship in the preceding season, with an aging lineup of former AL stars like Eddie Murray, Willie Randolph, Alfredo Griffin and of course Kirk Gibson not getting better, just older.  However, their pitching staff was top-notch, with Orel Hershiser (15-15, 2.31) bulldogging his way to 4th in the Cy Young votes.    The first time through their elderly lineup, the Dodger his Feller’s 4-6 TR 1-6/SI three times, with Jeff Hamilton and Mike Scioscia converting the split twice in a row in the second inning and then Gibson finding a different single on Feller’s card to give LA a 2-0 lead before most Dodger fans get to their seats.  In the 3rd, Hank Edwards puts the Indians on the board with a homer that’s a solo shot only because Boudreau was wiped out on a Gordon DP ball on the preceding roll, but the Dodgers lead is cut to one.  Feller finds his stuff, allowing only one hit in the final five innings, but the Indians can’t sustain a rally; Gordon gets a leadoff single in the 9th but Eddie Robinson ends the game by hitting into Cleveland’s 5th DP (one on a LOMAX) of the game to give the Dodgers the 2-1 win and the trip to the semifinals.

The 2001 White Sox had Frank Thomas out with injuries most of the season, but they still finished over .500 at 83-79 with production from Maggio Ordonez and Paul Konerko, and Mark Buehrle (16-8, 3.29) had the best WHIP in the AL but didn’t muster a single Cy Young vote.  They looked like world-beaters compared to the 105-loss 2010 Pirates, who had a young Andrew McCutchen and one of the worst rotations I’d seen in recent regionals, “fronted” by Ross Ohlendorf (1-11, 4.07) and his .083 winning percentage.  One thing both teams have in common is some gaping defensive holes, and in the 2nd the Sox score first thanks to a 2-out 2-base error by Bucs SS-4 Ronny Cedeno.  In the top of the 3rd, two Sox stolen bases off Pittsburgh C-4 Ryan Doumit lead to two RBI singles from Ordonez and Konerko, and Carlos Lee adds to the lead with a leadoff homer in the 4th.  In the bottom of the inning, Garrett Jones gets the Pirates on the board with a sac fly but he’s injured in the process, and his tournament is likely over, but Delwyn Young adds a 2-out RBI double and the Sox lead narrows to 4-2.  In the 5th, Cedeno is injured and the Pirates bench is looking pretty empty, while in the 6th the Sox bring in two youngsters who will star for the pennant-winning 2005 team to replace two 5’s in the field.  Konerko rips a 2-out RBI double past injury replacement 1B-4 John Bowker to give Buehrle a little insurance, but Doumit quickly responds with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to make it a 2-run game again.  Buehrle tries to hang on, but he’s tagged for two straight singles in the bottom of the 9th and with one away, the Sox summon closers Keith Foulke.  2B-3 Ray Durham then drops a grounder to load the bases and put the winning run on 1st, but with a depleted bench it’s up to #9 hitter Lastings Milledge, who makes no lastings impression as he hits into a DP and the Sox survive and advance with a 5-3 victory.

This first round game matched the two top seeds of the regional.  The 2003 Mariners had the best ELO rating in this bracket and won 93 games, but aside from Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone, who finished 10th in the MVP voting, nobody else in the lineup had an OPS over .800; still, Jamie Moyer (21-7, 3.27) did win 20 games at age 40 and was 5th in the Cy Young balloting and he was backed by a deep bullpen.  The 2004 A’s won 91 games in the waning years of their “Moneyball” era, transitioning to a team led by a young rotation fronted by Tim Hudson (12-6, 3.53).  Oakland threatens in the top of the 2nd but Jermaine Dye ends the inning getting tossed out at home (1-12+2) trying to score on a Damian Miller single.  The Mariners don’t need to test Edgar Martinez’s slow legs in the bottom of the inning, as Carlos Guillen delivers an RBI double to drive him in easily from 2nd and give Seattle the lead.  In the 5th, Olerud doubles in Ichiro and Hudson stops flowing, getting racked for a double by Randy Winn that scores Olerud, a 2-run single by Guillen, and a 2-out triple from Dan Wilson that completes a 5-run inning and the Mariners are looking like they intend to take their second regional in a row.   The A’s can’t figure out the junk that Moyer is tossing at them, and he finishes with a 7-hit shutout as the Mariners cruise to the semis with an easy 6-0 win against a team that was supposedly their top competitor. 

The last game of round one featured the only pennant winner in the bracket, the 2001 Yankees, but they were only seeded third despite winning 95 games, more than either of the two teams that had better ELO ratings.  Perhaps it was because the Jeter-era teams have done terribly in this tournament; although the Yanks have won 10 different regionals, none of them were by a Jeter-led squad–even though 16 of those teams made the postseason.   This version was a typical example, with Jeter and Tino Martinez getting MVP votes, as did Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens (20-3, 3.51), who was a runaway winner of the Cy Young award.  Against that firepower, the prospects for the #7 seeded 1985 Twins did not look good, but although they only won 77 games, they had a core in place of Puckett, Hrbek and Gaetti that would win the AL two years later, and Bert Blyleven (17-16, 3.16) was spinning curveballs at the top of the rotation.  Clemens is greeted with two singles in the top of the 1st that set up a Dave Engle sac fly, and they add to their lead when Gaetti doubles and scores on a Roy Smalley single in the 2nd.  A 2-run single by Mark Salas in the 3rd continues the woes for Clemens, but the Yanks finally get on the board in the bottom of the inning when Alfonso Soriano singles, steals second off C-4 Salas, and scores on a Chuck Knoblach single that makes it 4-1 Twins.   Clemens then starts to gain his form, and Scott Brosius knocks a sac fly in the 6th that cuts the lead to two, but when Puckett singles in the 8th it’s Rivera time for the Yanks, who ends the threat in a flurry of strikeouts.  However, with two out in the top of the 9th Gaetti nails a solo shot to provide some insurance for Blyleven, but that proves unnecessary as he retires Jeter with a runner in scoring position for the final out and the Twins pull off the 5-2 upset as yet another Jeter-led pennant winner exits in the first round.  

The survivors

It was a Zoom double-header for the semifinals, with the first game on tap featuring the 2003 Mariners managed by StratFan Rick, who had led the M’s to a regional title in the previous bracket.  With no other takers, I volunteered to helm the 1985 Twins in what appeared to be a mismatch between the #1 and #7 seeds, although both Seattle’s Joel Pineiro (16-11, 3.78) and the Twins’ Frank Viola (18-14, 4.09) were decent enough workhorses.  Viola was pitching from the stretch much of the night, allowing three hits in the top of the 1st but getting bailed out courtesy of Ichiro and Randy Winn both getting caught stealing by rubber-armed Twins C-4 Mark Salas.  However, Winn contributes a sac fly in the 3rd and the Mariners draw first blood, and in the 5th they load up the bases for John Olerud, who smacks a 2-run single to provide additional padding.  The Twins can’t manage a second hit against Piniero until the 5th, and although the third time through the order they begin to get some baserunners, they repeatedly leave those runners in scoring position with no payoff.  In the 8th, the Twins again bring the tying run to the plate and Rick has seen enough of Piniero, summoning Rafael Soriano and his 1.53 ERA to end the threat; he does exactly that, blowing through four straight Twins to notch the save to share in Piniero’s 6-hit shutout as the Mariners head to their second straight regional final with the 3-0 win.  

The second Zoom semifinal featured my #6 seeded 2001 White Sox, seeking to atone for the ‘59 team’s demise in the previous regional, against the 4th seed 1989 Dodgers, with the Tall Tactician stepping in to the role of Tommy Lasorda for the game.  The strength of these Dodgers was the rotation, and Tim Belcher (15-12, 2.82) was a round two starter who came in 6th in the Cy Young voting; for the Sox, Sean Lowe (9-4, 3.61) was only voted most likely to be traded to Pittsburgh after the season.  Those votes increased in the top of the 3rd when John Shelby, the .183 hitting Dodger CF, finds and converts Lowe’s 5-5 HR split for a solo shot and a 1-0 lead, which looked pretty substantial since I had now gone 17 straight innings without scoring in a Zoom game.  However, that streak was broken in the 4th by an aging Jose Canseco, in the final year of his career, smoking an RBI double to tie the game, and an injury to Dodger DH Franklin Stubbs put a crimp in an already suspect LA offense.  With 1st base open and two away, TT elects to walk dangerous (with the bat and the glove) Carlos Lee to load the bases to get to Royce Clayton; the role of 3-8 hits the hole in Clayton’s strong column to end the inning–and it would have been a solid HR on Lee, so TT chose wisely.  In the 6th a leadoff double by Jose Valentin rattles TT, who seeks to take advantage of a strong Dodger bullpen by moving to Alejandro Pena; that move proves less effective as the first batter he faces, Paulie Konerko, ignites the scoreboard with a 2-run homer and the Sox lead 3-1.  However, in the 7th it’s Jeff Hamilton’s turn to find and convert Lowe’s 5-5 HR for another solo blast, and with closer Keith Foulke only having two innings of eligibility remaining, the Sox hope that unheralded Matt Ginter can hold LA at bay.  He gets the final out of the 7th, but he allows 2 straight hits to begin the 8th, with the second one by Willie Randolph scoring the tying run, and I’ve got to move to Foulke to try to stay in the game.  Foulke does his job, as does Mike Morgan for the Dodgers, and TT inserts closer Jay Howell for the bottom of the 9th hoping to send the game to extra inning, as Foulke is now burnt and the remainder of the Sox bullpen is ghastly.  But Howell walks the leadoff hitter, defensive replacement Aaron Rowand, and then Royce Clayton rips a grounder that gets past immobile 1B-4 Eddie Murray for a single that sends Rowand to 3rd as the winning run with nobody out.  Up to the plate steps #9 hitter Sandy Alomar Jr., who loft a flyball deep enough for Rowand to score and the Sox survive a see-saw game for a 4-3 win on a walk-off sac fly.  

For the second regional in a row, it was going to be a ChiSox/Seattle final, but this time the tables were turned as it would be the 2003 Mariners coming in as the top seed against an underdog 2001 White Sox team that was seeded 6th in the bracket.  I managed to jinx the Sox in the prior bracket in a live Zoom game, but this time it would be the typical solitaire rolloff, where my Sox jinx has been particularly pronounced.  However, it didn’t seem to me like a jinx would be required for the Sox to lose this one, with Jon Garland (6-7, 3.69) having control issues and their only good reliever burned, while the Mariners would have a solid pen available in support of Ryan Franklin (11-13, 3.57).  Things start rough for Garland in the bottom of the 1st as Ichiro singles, decides not to test Alomar’s arm after getting caught stealing twice in the semifinal, and then he uses his speed to race home on a Randy Winn double to give Seattle the quick lead.  Bret Boone then singles past SS-2 Royce Clayton and John Olerud brings both runners home with another double; a single gets by P-3 Garland, a walk loads the bases, and the 9th hitter of the inning, Jeff Cirillo, rips a 2-run single as the Mariners bat around en route to a 5-0 lead after one inning.  As if that’s not enough, Paul Konerko begins the 2nd inning by getting knocked out of the game with an injury,  and when Winn knocks a 2-run double when he misses Garland’s HR split in the 4th, the Sox move to Matt Ginter out of the pen who ends the inning without further damage.  In the 5th, Mariners 3B-2 Cirillo drops a grounder, and that rattles Franklin as he loads up the bases and then issues two consecutive walks to Magglio Ordonez and Jose Valentin; Cirillo then atones by turning a nifty DP to end the inning as Seattle still leads comfortably at 7-2.  Jose Canseco knocks a solo HR in the 8th off Franklin’s card, but even though Franklin is tiring he hangs on and whiffs Canseco for the last out in the 9th to secure the 7-3 win and the regional title for the Mariners, as they defeat the White Sox in the bracket final for the second time in a row.  

Interesting card of Regional #211:  This selection features another installment in the “pretty good final Strat cards of their career” series.  This is the last card for the infamous Jose Canseco, and if you blinked you might not have even known that he ever played for the White Sox, but he did and he played an important role here in leading the team to the regional final.  He didn’t get a full season of at-bats at age 36, perhaps because the Sox already had a DH in the Big Hurt and Canseco’s bad fielding (rf-5(+1)e16 for those curious) by this time was legendary after a fly ball bounced off his head for a homer.  Still, an OPS of .843 isn’t too shabby, pretty close to his career mark of .867; he certainly didn’t want this to be his last card, as he attempted to sign with several teams after this in an effort to reach 500 career homers, but he ended with 468 after this season.  However, by this time there were whispers about the source of his home run power (curiously absent in his identical twin brother, Ozzie), whispers that Canseco emphatically confirmed in his 2005 tell-all autobiography _Juiced_ in which he claimed to have introduced steroids to the baseball world beginning in 1985.  If he wasn’t one before, that book certainly made him a pariah in the baseball world, and when his name first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, he received only 1.1 percent of the vote despite a slew of impressive accomplishments such as being the first 40-40 hitter in MLB history.  Although he will probably never make the HOF, he is the GOAT in one respect:  he does hold the record for the player with the most career homers who was stopped by the police while driving with a goat wearing diapers in the back seat.  

REGIONAL #210:  After nearly 1,700 teams have played in this tournament, my random team selector program finally popped out one I’ve been dreading for a while–the pennant-winning Go Go Sox of 1959, one of my favorite teams.  If I like them so much, then why should I dread this draw?  It’s the jinx; all of my beloved Sox teams, the 2005 champs, the 1983 winning uglies, the 1977 South Side hit men, the 1967 hitless wonders, even the 1919 Black Sox–every one of them were knocked out in the first round, not a single victory among them.  The bracket even looked pretty winnable, with nobody else within immediate range of a pennant; the closest was probably a Red Sox team three years after the infamous Bill Buckner Series.  The rest of the bracket looked to me to be pretty middling, but I figured that the Chisox would exit in round one as is traditional, and that the Red Sox would go on to take the regional, with my guess of the Rockies losing in the final being a totally random selection.  The ELO ratings did have the White Sox as the favorite over an apparently good Mariners team in the final, but they also suggested that all of the other teams in the top half of the bracket were nearly as good as the Chisox, further reducing their odds of survival.  But, you gotta roll the dice and take your chances.

First round action 

The Friday Night Strat crowd agreed to humor me and allow me to try to beat the jinx by playing my 1959 White Sox live in the Zoom game of the week, with StratFan Rick agreeing to take the helm of the 2010 Padres.  The Go Go Sox won the AL with a 94-60 record, and they were all about speed, pitching and defense, led by AL MVP Nellie Fox; however, there were some rumblings in the crowd when I selected Bob Shaw (18-6, 2.69) for the start over their Hall of Famer Cy Young winner.  But I liked Shaw’s control against a good 90-72 Padres team that won 90 games, with Adrian Gonzales finishing 4th in the MVP voting with more homers than most of the Sox added together, and an unbelievably good bullpen ready to back up Mat Latos (14-10, 2.92) who got some Cy Young votes himself.  I wrestled with the decision about the DH for the Sox, with big Ted Kluszewski flexing his biceps while the lineup was being set, but at the last second I opted to put backup catcher John Romano at DH.  That decision proved to be an astute one as Romano blasts a solo shot in the bottom of the 1st to set off the exploding scoreboard  at Comiskey Park.  However, the celebration proved to be short-lived, as in the top of the 3rd the Sox defense looks more like the ‘62 Mets as errors by 3B-2 Bubba Phillips and SS-1 Luis Aparicio leave the crowd stunned and lead to three unearned runs for a 3-1 Padres lead.  Then, in the bottom of the 4th Romano comes to the plate and it’s another 2-4 roll, this one reaching the upper deck for another solo shot, and before the inning is out a Jim Landis RBI triple ties things up.  Both pitchers then settle in, but after the traditional 7th inning stretch trivia session Jim McAnany knocks a single, and first base coach Eaglesfly Roy calls for Jungle Jim Rivera as a pinchrunner.  He advances to 2nd on a grounder and then Phillips atones for his earlier error with a single, the fleet Rivera races home, and the Sox lead.  In the 8th, Rick pulls Latos for Joe Thatcher and his 1.29 ERA, but an RBI knock by Sherm Lollar adds an insurance run and Shaw holds on in the 9th for a jinx-defying 5-3 win, with all of the San Diego runs being unearned.

This was another first round matchup between two teams that were pretty highly ranked.  The 2014 Pirates surprised me by being the #3 seed, as they won 88 games and made a brief postseason appearance as a wild card.  Andrew McCutchen came in 3rd in the MVP votes and Josh Harrison also received some MVP support, while their bullpen was strong and the rotation was solid, fronted by Edinson Volquez (13-7, 3.04).  I was also surprised to discover that the 1989 Red Sox were only the #5 seed, as I had picked them to win the bracket, but they were barely over .500 at 83-79.  Still, with Wade Boggs leading the league in OBP and doubles (51!), and Roger Clemens (17-11, 3.13) on the mound this was not a team to take lightly.  However, an error by 3B-3 Boggs in the top of the 1st sets up an RBI single for Starling Marte, and Travis Snider adds another and the Pirates jump out to a 2-0 before many Fenway fans can get out of the T station.  However, they got there in time to watch the Pirates defense collapse, with errors from 3B-2 Harrison and SS-3 Jordy Mercer populating the bases for RBI hits from Ellis Burks and Danny Heep, and Jody Reed adds a sac fly and Boston takes a 4-2 lead after only one inning of play.  The Pirates are undaunted, as in the top of the 2nd they rake Clemens’ card for hit after hit, with RBI singles by Neil Walker and McCutchen and a 2-run double from Harrison quickly putting the Pirates back in the lead.  When Clemens allows two straight hits to start off the 5th, it’s apparent that he doesn’t have his stuff today and the Bosox trot out Lee Smith to try to keep the Pirates from adding to their total, but Pedro Alvarez greets Smith with an RBI single and then #9 hitter Ike Davis knocks a 3-run homer over the Green Monster prompting some fans to head  back to the T station.  They miss RBI singles from Heep and Reed in the bottom of the inning, and the game enters the 6th with the Pirates leading 10-6.  Ike Davis leads off the 7th with his second homer of the game, a 2-run shot that extends the gap, and meanwhile Volquez is cruising until the 9th.  Then, the Red Sox begin reeling off the hits, loading the bases for a squib RBI single from Burks followed by a grand slam from Nick Esasky, and don’t look now but suddenly it’s a one run game and there’s still only one out.  The Pirates then reluctantly have to turn the game over to closer Mark Melancon, and although Heep immediately finds a single on Melancon’s 1.90 ERA card, the reliever retires the next two in order to wrap up a wild 12-11 win for the Pirates.  

The 2017 Rockies had a decent 87-75 record with Nolen Arenado and Charlie Blackmon finishing 4th and 5th respectively in the MVP votes, and Jon Gray (10-4, 3.67) was a pretty good starter at the top of the rotation, at least by Colorado standards.   They faced the 1984 Indians, with a mirror image 75-87 record, who had Bert Blyleven (19-7, 2.87) finishing 3rd in the Cy Young ballots and Andre Thornton getting a few MVP votes as their main offensive threat.  Blyleven has a no-hitter going until the 4th, until a walk and a Trevor Story home run off Bert’s card ends that abruptly; the Indians try to respond quickly in the 5th but Brett Butler (1-16) is nailed at home trying to score on a Julio Franco single.  In the bottom of the inning, the Rockies load the bases with two out and Arenado rips a 2-run single past 2B-4 Tony Bernazard to extend their lead.  The Tribe get on the board in the 6th, although the run comes when Jerry Willard hits into a DP so it’s a bit of a mixed blessing.  Story adds a second 2-run homer to his resume in the 8th, this time off his own card, and Gray finishes out the game allowing 7 hits as the Rockies enjoy Story time en route to an easy 6-1 win.

I learned from Strat colleagues that the 1995 Mariners held a special place in the hearts of Seattle fans, as they won the AL West with a 79-66 record and were the first M’s team to reach the postseason, downing the Yankees but ultimately falling short in the ALCS.  They had Edgar Martinez finishing 3rd in the MVP votes, Jay Buhner was 5th, and Randy Johnson (18-2, 2.48) was 6th and an easy winner of the Cy Young award, although the remainder of the rotation would likely need a killer Norm Charlton to bail them out in relief.    They faced the 1996 Twins, who compiled a mediocre 78-84 record and although they had MVP vote-getters at the top of the order in Paul Molitor and Chuck Knoblauch, the rotation was a mess with Brad Radke (11-16, 4.46) sadly better than other options.  The M’s get off to a fast start in the bottom of the 1st as Vince Coleman singles, steals second, and scores on an Edgar single; Buhner then doubles and he and Edgar both score on a Tino Martinez single, and it’s the Martinez’s 3, Twins 0, with Carmelo phoning in requesting a tryout.  The M’s decide they don’t need Carmelo as the next batter, Mike Blowers, puts one in the seats for a two-run shot and the Kingdome is deafening.  Down 5-0 and still with only one out, the Twins pull Radke who has amassed a 135.00 ERA and try Mike Trombley, and he only gets out of the inning unscathed because Alex Diaz misses a SI 1-18 split.  The Twin get a leadoff double from Roberto Kelly in the 2nd and then a walk and a single load the bases with nobody out; that brings up Twins SS Pat Meares, who rolls a 1-12 for the LOMAX and it’s a triple play which is what the Big Unit was planning all along.   However, the bad Seattle defense rears its ugly head in the 3rd, as 2B-4 Joey Cora drops a Knoblauch grounder, who steals second and then scores when LF-4 Coleman manages to turn a Ron Coomer fly ball into a double.  A walk to Marty Cordova and then Kelly finds a DO 1-9/flyB at Johnson’s 6-3 result; he converts the split for a two out, two run two bagger and its a whole new ballgame.  In the 4th, Cora tries to make up for his terrible glove work with a two out RBI single; Coleman then singles Cora to 3rd and Trombley drops a Gar grounder to allow Cora to score for additional insurance.  Tino Martinez then leads off the 5th by wrapping one around the foul pole for another run and Trombley exits for a wild Dan Naulty, and that doesn’t go well, with two errors and a Luis Sojo triple making it 10-3.  Naulty finally gets out of the inning in an unusual way; with three A stealers in a row for the Mariners, Alex Diaz, Cora and Coleman all reach first consecutively, and with C-4 Greg Myers behind the plate, all three attempt a steal of second, and all three are thrown out consecutively–the first time I think I’ve ever seen that happen.  The Twins show signs of life in the 7th as Coomer and Cordova hit back to back doubles off Johnson’s card with two out, and when Cordova scores on a Kelly single the Seattle lead is cut to three and the Mariners are pondering whether their ace is going to be able to hold on. And he does, finally putting together a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th to finish out a sloppy 10-7 win, assisted by the Twins committing five errors and hitting into a triple play. 

The survivors

This was a semifinal final matchup of the top two seeds in the bracket.  The pennant winning 1959 White Sox had survived my jinx in a FTF zoom game in round one, but now it was time to see if they could do so in solitaire mode, which is where the bad mojo most strongly manifests.  On the bright side, the Sox would be able to trot out a Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer in Early Wynn (22-10, 3.16) to battle the 2014 Pirates, who put up a 12-spot in the first round but still barely managed to win.  However, the Bucs had a deep rotation and Vance Worley (8-4, 2.85) had a better ERA and better control than Wynn, so it was hard to argue the Sox had an advantage there.  In the top of the 5th, the Sox miss their third HR split of the game but Earl Torgeson’s 1-16 missed split still results in an RBI triple; Aparicio singles him home and is then caught stealing by C-1 Russell Martin, but the Sox now lead 2-0.  Travis Snider then leads off the bottom of the inning with a gruesome 10 game injury, and in the 7th Nellie Fox’s two-out double scores the 1-14+2 Torgeson to provide Wynn with a little insurance, forcing the Pirates to summon Tony Watson and his 1.63 ERA from the pen to put out the fire.   He does so, and is helped when Sherm Lollar leads off the 8th with the 4th missed HR split of the game for the Sox and is promptly stranded at second.  However, in the 9th Aparicio knocks a two-out single and this time successfully steals second; as designed, Nellie Fox responds with another hit and the 1-17+2 Aparicio dashes home–and is safe on a split roll of 19.  SS-1 Aparicio then makes his second error of the regional on the first ball of the bottom of the 9th, but Wynn bears down and retires the next three in a row to seal the two-hit shutout–with both hits coming from Andrew McCutchen.  The Sox thus pull out the 4-0 win in classic Go Go style and head for the finals, much to my surprise.  

The #2 seeded 1995 Mariners’ rotation got a lot worse after Randy Johnson, and with the shortened season the M’s only had two options to choose from for this semifinal, neither of them good.  The start went to Tim Belcher (10-12, 4.52), with Seattle hoping for five decent innings before going to some strong arms in the pen.  Although the #5 seed 2017 Rockies had more options, they were equally bad, with German Marquez (11-7, 4.39) getting the start despite having trouble keeping the ball in the park.  The top of the 1st starts bad for Seattle as DJ LeMahieu raps a leadoff single followed by a long homer by Charlie Blackmon, while in the bottom of the inning Joey Cora leads off reaching first on an error by C-3 Jonathan Lucroy, but then Lucroy promptly throws him out trying to steal second and the M’s swear off base-stealing forever.  However, Rockies 1B Mark Reynoldsis knocked out of the game with an injury to lead off the 2nd, and in the bottom of the inning Marquez issues a 2-out walk to Mike Blowers and then Dan Wilson finds Marquez’s solid HR result and the game is tied.  Not to be outdone, Blackmon finds and converts Belcher’s HR split to lead off the third for his second dinger of the game and the Rockies regain the lead, but a two-out double by Edgar in the 5th ties the game once again.  Jay Buhner follows with another double that scores two and the Mariners grab the lead for the first time, which puts Marquez at the 5-run threshold and the Rockies waste no time in bringing in Pat Neshek with his 1.59 ERA.  He gets out number three, but after five the Mariners lead 5-3 and a couple of promising youngsters in Griffey Jr. and ARod are free to enter the game to shore up the defense (and the offense).  Seattle is hoping that Belcher can go a little longer and preserve the pen, but injury replacement Pat Valaika hits a double in the top of the 6th after missing the HR split and the Mariners summon the unhittable Norm Charlton who quickly dispatches the Rockies to prevent any damage.  The Mariners get consecutive singles from their two kids and then Alex Diaz successfully beats out a bunt for the second time this game, loading the bases for EMart who clears them with a double and the Mariners are pulling away.  Buhner then puts the exclamation point on things with a 2-run homer and Neshek has to go after not recording any outs in the 7th.  Chris Rusin comes in to end the inning, but the Mariners are in double digits and to preserve Charlton the Mariners bring in Bill Risley.  That goes terribly wrong in the 9th, as an RBI single by Lucroy, a 2-run double from Gerardo Parra, and a 3-run homer by Ramiel Tapia off Risley’s card, and suddenly it’s a two run game with two out and powerful injury replacement Valaika at bat.  The Mariners can afford no more of that so in comes Jeff Nelson to try to get the one needed out; it’s a 6-12 roll but Valaika isn’t the DH and it’s an out on Nelson who earns the one-roll save to send the Mariners into the finals as they cling to the 10-8 win.  

With two core member favorites doing battle, it was time for an emergency Friday Night Strat zoom meeting between my 1959 White Sox and StratFan Rick’s 1995 Mariners for the regional crown.  Both teams had legacies of achievement that fell just short–the Go-Go Sox eliminated in six games in the Series by the Dodgers after winning their first pennant since the Black Sox fiasco, while the M’s lost in six in the ALCS to the Indians after making their first postseason appearance after becoming an expansion team.  I liked the pitching matchup of my Barry Latman (8-5, 3.75) against the Mariners’ only remaining option, Chris Bosio (10-8, 4.92), but Bosio starts the game with three perfect innings while Latman escapes jams, including one created by SS-1 Aparicio’s error that extends his streak of three straight games with an error.  But Little Looie atones with a single in the 4th, when he steals second on C-3 Dan Wilson and scores on a Nellie Fox single.  Sherm Lollar adds an RBI single but the Sox strand two runners to end the inning up 2-0.  In the 5th, Earl Torgeson rolls Bosio’s HR 1-11 result but misses the split for the 5th straight HR split missed by the Sox in this regional, and Torgeson is stranded at second to keep the game at 2-0.  In the 6th, Tino Martinez puts one into the seats for a solo shot and the Kingdome comes to life, with Rick heading to the bench to insert promising rookies with names like ARod and Griffey Jr.  And that pays rapid dividends, as Junior belts a 2-run homer in the 7th and Seattle leads, and the Chisox in desperation turn to Turk Lown for help.  Unfortunately, the Mariners pen has far better options, and Jeff Nelson tosses a hitless 8th while the literally unhittable Norm Charlton does the same in the 9th, closing out a combined 4-hitter as Seattle captures their third regional (joining 1990 and 2007) with the 3-2 win.  And my beloved Sox will Go-Go back into the storage drawers, hoping someday for the endless single elimination tournament-loser’s bracket edition.

Interesting card(s) of Regional #210:  This is a tale of two very different Cy Young winners from the two teams that made the finals in this regional.  39-year old Early Wynn won the award in 1959 when only one winner was named across both leagues; he captured 81% of the vote while also finishing third in the MVP voting, bested by two of his White Sox teammates.  Wynn led the league in wins but also in walks allowed, as reflected in his card.  31-year old Randy Johnson won his Cy Young with a 97% share and came in 6th in the MVP votes; he led the league in winning percentage, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and fewest HR/9, and he walked a little more than half as many as Wynn, finding remarkable control after leading the AL in walks issued three years in a row in the early 90s.  Johnson was so much better than the other pitchers in his rotation that it bordered on comical; for Wynn, I didn’t even start him in the first round as I felt that teammate Bob Shaw (third in the Cy Young votes) had a better card.  In short, I think Johnson’s card looks a lot more impressive than Wynn’s.  However, in this bracket it was Wynn with the far better performance, a 2-hit shutout of the #3 seed in the regional, while Johnson was battered for seven runs by the worst team in the bracket and his Mariners only won because their opponents committed five errors.  Still, both of these pitchers led their team to the edge of glory, in real life and in this tournament, although here it was really Johnson's bullpen teammates who pushed the Mariners to the regional crown.

REGIONAL #209:  The last regional boasted two pennant winners, but I didn’t spot any in this draw, although it looked to me like there were a couple of teams that might have come close.  The 1995 Blue Jays had won the AL two years previously, with no pennants being awarded in the prior year, and there was a pre-pandemic Phils team that would win the NL three seasons later.  There were a couple of Cleveland teams from the aughts that I suspected were decent, and I vaguely remembered a good Orioles team from around a decade ago but couldn’t recall if it would have been in 2014.  Other entries involved the Cubs, Mets, and Rangers that I suspected were okay, with nobody jumping out to me as a terrible team.  I selected the Jays to win, guessing that it would be over the Phils assuming some of the stars of their current team were starting to fall into place.  The ELO ratings indicated that I had picked the worst team in the bracket to prevail, although they did confirm my suspicions about the Orioles, indicating that they were the best team in the bracket as well as the best team in MLB that season.  Those ratings selected the O’s over the 2008 version of the Indians in the finals.

First round action

The 2014 Orioles were the top seed in the bracket, winning 96 games and the AL East for the first time in quite a while, and they did so with the likes of Manny Machado and Nelson Cruz, who finished 7th in MVP voting, while Chris Tillman (13-6, 3.34) topped a decent rotation.  Although the 2004 Indians were only a .500 team at 80-82, they did have a steroid-era lineup with everyone but Omar Vizquel in double digits in homers, with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner getting some MVP votes and Jake Westbrook (14-9, 3.38) having a good season in an offense-heavy era.  Things don’t begin well for Tillman, as the first batter of the game, Matt Lawton, finds Tillman’s HR result for an instant Cleveland lead, and then after Hafner wipes out Vizquel on a DP, Martinez launches a homer that makes it 2-0.  Breakfast favorite Coco Crisp doubles in the 2nd and he snaps home on a single from Jody Gerut to widen the margin, and after a walk to Lawton, Tillman then tosses another gopher ball to the unlikely Vizquel for a 3-run blast.  Tillman then exits with a 32.34 ERA for his efforts, and Darren O’Day comes in to end the inning but the O’s now trail 6-0.  Cleveland gives one back when a run scores in the 3rd on an error by 1B-2 Ben Broussard, but Westbrook gets Chris Davis to do one of his 173 strikeouts to end the inning with runners in scoring position.  Back to back doubles by Ron Belliard and Gerut to lead off the 4th quickly put Cleveland back up by six, and the Baltimore cause isn’t helped any when Machado is injured for three games in the bottom of the 5th.  An RBI double in the 7th by Broussard off Orioles closer Zach Britton scores Vizquel, but it’s icing on the cake as Westbrook closes out the 5 hitter and the Indians easily eliminate the bracket favorite 8-1, but they need to cut down on the three errors they made if they seek to advance much further.  

The 1995 Blue Jays had many of the names but not the performances from their pennant winners from a few seasons before, going 56-88 in a strike shortened season whose innings limitations resulted in a very shallow starting rotation, with things getting ugly quickly after Al Leiter (11-11, 3.64).  They did have more offense than the 1992 Cubs, who had pretty much nothing after Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson, but the Cubs had a better 78-84 record largely due to one Greg Maddux (20-11, 2.18), who won his first of four straight Cy Young awards in his final season with the Cubs.  But it’s the maligned bottom of the order who starts things off for the Cubs in the bottom of the 2nd, with an RBI single from Doug Dascenzo followed by a 2-run double contributed by Jose Vizcaino, and by this time Leiter has failed to get out the bottom of the order and must face the top.  And sure enough, Mark Grace drives in a run with a single and after a walk to Sandberg, Dawson clubs it into the Wrigley bleachers and Leiter is gone in favor of Tony Castillo, who finally gets the last out of a seven-run inning.  With Maddux on the mound, it’s unfathomable that the Jays can come back in this one, and errors by Jays SS-3 Alex Gonzalez and 2B-1 Roberto Alomar in the 4th add another run to the Cubs lead.  With 8 runs and Maddux in their favor, the Cubs begin substituting for key personnel to cut down on injury risk, but it’s the Jays who get bit by the injury bug, losing John Olerud in the top of the 7th.  Toronto finally gets on the board in the 8th when Paul Molitor races home on a Devon White double, but it’s nowhere near enough and the Cubs coast to an 8-1 win and a spot in the semifinals.

The 2008 Indians were now the top remaining seed in the bracket, but I thought their ELO ranking was a bit optimistic for an 81-81 team, and although Grady Simmons got some MVP votes the real star of this team was Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (22-3, 2.54), whose eye-popping record gives some idea of how bad the team was when he wasn’t pitching.  They faced an 89-loss 2001 Rangers team from the heart of the steroid era, and although they couldn’t field or pitch much, they could hit, with the entire lineup above .400 SLG%, ARod and Rafael Palmiero combining for about 100 HR between them while both getting MVP votes, but the rotation was dreadful with Doug Davis (11-10, 4.45) the least frightening option.   The Indians get going in the bottom of the 1st with Sizemore drawing a walk, stealing second on rifle-armed Pudge Rodriguez, and then racing home on a single from future Ranger Shin-Soo Choo.  Davis holds it together until the 5th, when a single and two walks load the bases with nobody out, and then an error by 2B-3 Michael Young, a Simmons sac fly, and a 2-out single from Kelly Shoppach scores all three baserunners, although 1-11 Ryan Garko is cut down at the plate for the 3rd out. In the top of the 6th, Palmiero juices a solo shot to make it 4-1, and in the 7th Mike Lamb singles in Pudge to narrow the deficit to two.  A leadoff single in the bottom of the inning and the Rangers summon closer Jeff Zimmerman to try to keep it close, and he ends the threat with no damage.  A solo blast from ARod in the 8th brings the Rangers within one, but the Indians decide to stick with their ace, and he carries the slim margin into the 9th where he sets down Texas in order, holding on to give the Indians the 4-3 win and their second representative of the regional in the semifinals.

The 2019 Phillies had some of the pieces in place for their recent pennant-winning version, such as MVP vote-getter JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, and Aaron Nola (12-7, 3.67), and the entire lineup did post SLG% over .400, but this was a mediocre 81-81 team with some defensive holes and a weak back end of the rotation.  They were still favored over the 1994 Mets, who went 55-58 in a strike-shortened season, but they had Bret Saberhagen (14-4, 2.74) finishing 3rd in the Cy Young votes while Rico Brogna had a killer partial year and Bobby Bonilla actually kind of earned his paycheck.  The Phils draw first blood in the bottom of the 3rd when Cesar Hernandez races home on an Andrew McCutchen double, while in the meantime Brogna grounds into DPs in both of his first two ABs.  However, third times a charm as in the 6th Brogna finds Nola’s HR result for a solo shot that ties the game, while in the bottom of the inning Corey Dickerson comes in to DH for the Phils and promptly strikes out and gets injured with Harper stranded in scoring position.  When Nola allows a single and a walk off his card to begin the 7th, Philadelphia summons Adam Morgan as one of the few relievers they have without serious longball issues, but Kevin McReynolds singles past SS-3 Juan Segura before Morgan can whiff Kent and Brogna, and the Mets now lead by one.  That lead doesn’t last long, as a walk and an error by 1B-2 Brogna set up a 2-run double by McCutchen, rolled off Saberhagen’s card, and the Phils regain the lead.  When 3B-4 Bonilla throws one into right field for a 2-base error to begin the bottom of the 8th, the Mets move to John Franco to try to change their fortunes, but Realmuto knocks an RBI single to provide a little insurance.  To preserve Morgan for a semifinal game, the Phils bring in closer Hector Neris for the 9th, who walks PH John Cangelosi but then records two straight strikeouts; however, he then allows a double to McReynolds and 1-17 Cangelosi gets the stop sign as the tying run is now at 2nd with two out.  Jeff Kent then comes to the plate and goes down swinging, and Neris records the scary save of the Phils’ 4-2 win by striking out the side, with a few interruptions.

The survivors

Despite their mediocre records, the #3 seeded 1992 Cubs and the #4 seed 2004 Indians were among the better teams in this lackluster bracket, with the Cubs having a solid Mike Morgan (16-8, 2.55) against a CC Sabathia (11-10, 4.12) who had better years.  Andre Dawson hawks up an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st to give the Cubs an early lead, and in the 2nd Mark Grace singles home a run and he races home on a Ryne Sandberg double to extend the margin.  Meanwhile, the Indians hit into three rally-killing DPs in the first five innings, but finally Victor Martinez avoids the DP in the 6th, instead posting an RBI double; Ben Broussard follows with a single that scores one but 1-9 Martinez is nailed at the plate and the Indians still trail by one.  A leadoff single by Steve Buechele in the bottom of the inning and the Tribe replace Sabathia with Bob Howry to try to keep the game in reach, and he does the job setting down the bottom of the Cubs order.  The Indians get the tying run to third with one out in the 8th, but Morgan gets out of the jam as the Cubs don’t entirely trust their bullpen, and although Casey Blake leads off the top of the 9th with a single, Coco Crisp follows with yet another DP and the Cubs and Morgan hang on to a 3-2 win to earn a trip to the finals.

With one Cleveland team gone from the semifinals, it was up to the #2 seeded 2008 Indians to try to move on against the 2019 Phillies, who had just watched their older selves eliminated in the 2023 NLCS.  The Indians were a bit nervous going with the same starting pitcher who had earned the loss for the 2004 team in the other semifinal, CC Sabathia (6-8, 3.83), but their other options were dreadful, while the Phils weren’t too enthusiastic about Jason Vargas (7-9, 4.51), especially with a bullpen that was taxed after round one.  The Indians take the lead in the top of the 2nd with a 2-run homer from Ben Francisco, while Sabathia is effective until the 5th, when two walks and an error from 1B-3 Ryan Garko loads the bases for Rhys Hoskins, who clears them with a triple.  But the Phils aren’t done yet, as doubles from Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto add another two runs and Philadelphia now leads 5-2 after five.  Realmuto adds a 2-out RBI single in the 7th and Sabathia is pulled for Rafael Perez, but in the 8th Hoskins converts a TR 1/DO split for his second multi-RBI triple of the game and the Phanatics are going wild at the Bank.  Vargas then retires the side in order in the 9th and the Phils move on to the finals with the 8-2 victory, with Sabathia accomplishing the dubious feat of being the losing pitcher in both semifinal games.  

The #3 seeded 1992 Cubs reached these finals by virtue of timely production from their big three of Grace, Sandberg, and Dawson, as well as from a strong rotation with Frank Castillo (10-11, 3.46) being the next up.  The #5 seed 2019 Phillies had relied on big games from different players, Andrew McCutchen in round one and Rhys Hoskins in the semifinal, and they were down to Zach Eflin (10-13, 4.13) although a complete game semifinal win left their bullpen fully rested for this final if Eflin should struggle.  But once again the Cubs core comes through with Andre Dawson knocking a solo homer in the top of the 1st for a quick lead, while the Phils try to respond in the bottom of the inning but leave the bases loaded without pushing a run across.  Sandberg drives in another run in the 3rd on a fielder’s choice following an error by Phils SS-3 Jean Segura, and the Phils continue to strand runners in scoring position.  Sensing that runs are going to hard to come by, Philadelphia moves to reliever Adam Morgan to begin the 6th even though Eflin was pitching decently, and the second batter he faces is Dawson, who deposits it into the grandstands for his second solo shot of the game.  The Phils get a solo homer from Maikel Franco in the 7th, and then pinch hitter Corey Dickerson knocks another in the 8th and suddenly it’s a one run game and the Cubs send out closer Bob Scanlan to try to quench the flames.  He retires the side, and when Morgan holds in his last inning of eligibility in the top of the 9th, it’s up to Scanlan to try to preserve the slim lead.  Although he issues a walk to Franco, he puts down the Phils, retiring round two hero Rhys Hoskins for the final out as the Cubs take the regional with the tight 3-2 win, their 11th bracket victory.  The ‘92 team thus joins the 1990, 1995, and 1996 Cubs for a nice run of bracket winners; Andre Dawson gets regional MVP honors with three homers and six RBI, meaning that he single-handedly knocked in more runs than Cubs opponents scored (5) in the three games.  

Interesting card of Regional #209:  The 1994 card set has a variety of interesting oddities, due to the strike year cutting short the season after many players had gotten off to hot starts.  One of these cards was from a guy with a great baseball name, Rico Brogna;  there is even a Mets podcast named after him.  However, I discovered that Brogna actually preferred football and was a highly recruited quarterback coming out of high school, but he signed with the Tigers following the advice of his father for financial security.   Brogna’s allegiance to the Tigers took a hit during his first stint in the majors as a late-season call-up in 1992.  The Tigers were playing the Rangers in Arlington and Brogna’s parents flew in to watch him for the first time as a major leaguer; he was in the lineup batting 8th as the DH, and six of the first seven Detroit batters reached base, knocking the right-handed Texas starter out of the game. His replacement was a lefty, which prompted Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, whose team already led 3-0, to call Brogna back into the dugout and send up a pinch-hitter–in the first inning. When Brogna was later traded to the Mets before the 1994 season, he “yelled in joy” when heard the news.  The Mets kept Brogna in Triple A ball to start the season, but when David Segui struggled, Brogna was called up in June and proceeded to go on a tear.  When the season ended because of the strike, he was third in the league in batting although still officially a rookie.  Unfortunately, he never quite lived up to the promise of this card, but he had a number of decent seasons with the Mets and Phillies despite being impeded by chronic pain associated with a severe genetic form of spinal and joint arthritis, and he retired at age 31.

REGIONAL #208:  I thought there was something fishy about the draw for this bracket, mainly because three of the teams were Marlins.  And, although most versions of the Marlins weren’t very good, this trio included one of the more improbable World Series winners in recent memory, the 1997 Marlins.  However, they weren’t the only unlikely Series champ in here, as the draw also included the Twins of 1987 of the homer hankies in the uncomfortably loud Metrodome, and with them on the other side of the bracket these two Series winners could potentially face off in a very intriguing final.  Most of the other teams in the group didn’t look like very stiff competition, although there was an Angels team that I guessed might have some potential.  I was picking the final I was pulling for, guessing that the Twins would prevail over the ‘97 version of the fish in the finals.   The ELO ratings confirmed my suspicions about the Angels, indicating that they were an appreciably better team than the Twins and picking them as victors over the pennant-winners in both the semifinals and the finals.  

First round action

I don’t believe I’ve ever run across a World Series winner with a worse ELO rating than the 1987 Twins, who weren’t placed among the top 1000 teams and with an 85-77 record were only the 12th best team in baseball in ‘87 by the ELO metric.  Even so, they had three guys in the lineup with 30+ homers in Hrbek, Gaetti and Brunansky, and that didn’t even count Kirby Puckett, who finished 3rd in the MVP voting.  Even though the back part of their rotation was suspect, Frank Viola (17-10, 2.90) was strong at the top, earning 6th place in the Cy Young votes before winning it the next season.  They looked to me like big favorites over the 2011 Marlins, who lost 90 games burning through three different managers in the process and had as their main claim to fame, one Mike Stanton before he became Giancarlo.  They also had Javier Vasquez (13-11, 3.69) as their staff ace in what proved to be his final year in baseball, and if needed they had some nice cards in the bullpen ready to go.  Puckett goes yard in the bottom of the 1st to deafening applause in the Metrodome, and then both pitchers settle in for a duel.  When Hrbek leads off the bottom of the 7th with a double, the Marlins bring in Steve Cishek to try to keep it close, but then his 3B-4 Greg Dobbs drops a grounder to make it 1st and 3rd; in comes the infield, and Gaetti finds his gbA++ to rip a single past 3rd and the Twins extend their lead. Cishek then walks the bases full, and although the infield manages to nail the runner at the plate on two consecutive grounders, #9 hitter Steve Lombardozzi draws a two out walk to put the Twinkies up by three.  However, in the top of the 9th Stanton leads off with a tape measure home run, and the Twins eye their pen and there is no relief in sight.  So Viola bears down to retire three in a row to finish out a 5-hitter and the Twins survive and move on with the 3-1 win. 

The 2014 Angels were the top seed in this bracket over two World Series winners, winning 98 games and the AL West only to get swept in the ALDS.  They boasted AL MVP Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, along with a pretty good pitching staff from whom Garrett Richards (13-4, 2.61) was selected for the round one start.  It seemed kind of wasteful to use him against the 112-loss 1965 Mets, who were one of the 25 worst teams of all time according to ELO and I thought they looked worse than their more infamous 1962 counterparts; they couldn’t really hit or field, and Jack Fisher (8-24, 3.93) managed to lose 24 games despite earning a pretty nice card.  The bottom of the 2nd proves dangerous for the Angels, as Pujols rolls an injury to lead off but he’s able to shake it off and stay in the game, but two batters later Josh Hamilton is knocked out with another injury.  That seems to wake up their bats, as David Freese leads off the bottom of the 3rd with a homer and the Angels get another run courtesy of a 2-base error by the Mets best fielder, SS-2 Roy McMillan.   From there, Fisher is in control, but unfortunately for him Richards dominates the feeble Mets lineup and he finishes with a four-hit shutout as the Angels scrape by with a 2-0 win, and Hamilton will return for their presumably more challenging semifinal against the pennant-winning Twins.

Because there was a Series-winning Marlins squad in this half of the bracket, it might be easy to overlook the 2004 Marlins but they had also been a Series-winner in the prior season and despite a dropoff, they were still over .500 at 83-79 with 21 year old Miguel Cabrera getting MVP votes and Carl Pavano (18-6, 3.00) finishing 6th for the Cy Young.  The 1991 Royals had a similar 82-80 record, with their main weapon being Danny Tartabull who led the AL in SLG% and received some MVP votes; Bret Saberhagen (13-8, 3.07) headed up a decent rotation and there was help in the pen if needed.  In the top of the 2nd, 38 year old KC icon George Brett singles in a run and then he scores on a Kurt Stillwell double and the Royals grab the lead.  The Marlins tie it in the 3rd, with an RBI single from Cabrera and then an error from 3B-3 Bill Pecota setting up a run-scoring fielder’s choice on a Damion Easley grounder.  The Royals respond immediately, with another elder statesman, Kirk Gibson, clouting an RBI double in the 4th, and they add to the lead in the 5th when Tartabull triples in one run and scores another on a sac fly.   KC seems intent on giving the game back as SS-3 Stillwell makes his second error of the game in the 5th to set up a Jeff Conine RBI single, but the Marlins leave the bases loaded and the Royals still lead 5-3 after five.  A Pecota single in the 7th and the Marlins quickly go to Armando Benitez and his 1.29 ERA, but with two away 1B-3 Jeff Conine drops a grounder and then Mike McFarlane knocks a 3-run homer and the Royals push out the defensive replacements to try to lock things up.  Saberhagen does exactly that, finishing with four hitless innings en route to a 3-hitter and the Royals cruise to the semifinals with an 8-3 victory.  

The 1997 Marlins were surprise World Series winners coming out of the wild card spot as a fairly young expansion team, but they won 92 games with Moises Alou and Charles Johnson both getting MVP votes and Kevin Brown (16-8, 2.69) was a formidable round one starter.  Fellow Floridians, the 2003 Rays lost 99 games, with their main bright spot being Aubrey Huff, who got a few MVP votes himself; however, their rotation was certainly not winning any awards with Jeremi Gonzalez (6-11, 3.91) the only decent option.  Johnson puts one into the cheap seats of Pro Player Stadium for a solo shot in the 2nd to put the Marlins ahead, but the Rays respond immediately, with Julio Lugo ripping an RBI double past RF-4 Gary Sheffield to tie it in the top of the 3rd.  However, Luis Castillo leads off the bottom of the inning with a triple and he scores of a Sheffield fielder’s choice to put the Marlins back up, 2-1.  Johnson adds an RBI triple in the 6th to provide a good foundation for a cycle, and he scores on an Edgar Renteria sac fly to extend the Marlins lead.  Carl Crawford singles home a run for the Rays in the 7th, and Brown hang in there until the 9th, when he allows a couple of squib singles and a walk to load the bases with one out.  After a mound conference, the Marlins decide to stick with their ace, and he fans Lugo to bring up Huff, who lofts a deep fly that’s hauled in on the warning track to seal the 4-2 win for the Marlins.

The survivors

A high profile semifinal here pits the top seeded 2014 Angels and Jered Weaver (18-9, 3.59), who led the AL in wins, against the Series champion 1987 Twins and Bert Blyleven (15-12, 4.01), who led the AL in home runs allowed with 46.  The Twins jump out to a lead when Angels C-4 Chris Iannetta drops a popup that ultimately leads to a run on a Tom Brunansky fielder’s choice.  However, the Angels’ bats wake up in the 2nd, with RBI singles from Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick giving LA the lead, but they leave the bases loaded which could come back to haunt them.  Blyleven begins the bottom of the 4th by committing a two-base error, and then he delivers a gopher ball to David Freese; the next batter is Hamilton and he rolls the same solid HR result on Blyleven to go back to back and the Twins opt to try Jeff Reardon out of the pen, even though he has longball issues of his own.  He proves more effective, and the Twins rally in the 6th with a couple of hits and a key error from LA 2B-2 Kendrick, setting up a two run Brunansky single and then a walk loads the bases.  At that point it’s the Angels’ turn to visit the bullpen, and Joe Smith and his 1.81 ERA is summoned to try to hold the lead; a whiff and a nice play by SS-2 Erick Aybar and lead holds at 5-3.  Kevin Jepsen comes in for the Angels for the 8th and 9th, and he chugs along nicely until with two out in the 9th, when Tim Laudner crushes a solo shot into the grandstand of Angels stadium and it’s a one-run game, with PH Randy Bush coming in to hit in the ninth spot.  Jepsen delivers, and Bush grounds out to Pujols and the Angels hold on for the 5-4 win and a spot in the regional final.  

The #2 seeded 1997 Marlins were last of two remaining Series winners in this bracket, and their quest to meet the top seed in the finals involved getting past the #5 seed 1991 Royals, who had already upset one Marlins team in this bracket and looked forward to doing it again.  It was a pretty good pitching matchup with Alex Fernandez (17-12, 3.59) of the Marlins against Kevin Appier (13-10, 3.42), but Jim Eisenreich finds and converts Fernandez’ HR split as the second batter of the game, and the Royals rap three more hits against Fernandez culminating in an RBI single by Kirk Gibson and KC quickly leads 2-0.   Meanwhile, the Marlins can’t get anything going until the bottom of the 5th, in which they record four hits but only one run, and that on a Devon White sac fly, as Moises Alou whiffs to end the inning with the bases loaded.  However, in the 6th Darren Daulton ties it up on a solo homer, and with the game resetting for the 7th inning the Marlins bring in Livan Hernandez, who was four innings short of eligibility as a starter.  When Appier walks two in a row in the bottom of the 7th, the Royals counter with the unhittable Joel Johnson and his 0.40 ERA, but in the 8th the Marlins roll on their cards and Bobby Bonilla lumbers home (1-12) on a Daulton double to put the Floridians ahead for the first time in the game.  The Marlins then bring in defensive replacements and reliever Jay Powell for the top of the 9th, but Brian McRae finds a single on Powell to lead off and Terry Shumpert bunts him into scoring position to bring up the top of the order.  But Charles Johnson hangs on to a foulout, and Eisenreich goes down swinging and the Marlins head to the finals with the come from behind 3-2 win.  

In a rare regional final between the two top seeds, it was the favored 2014 Angels and Matt Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04), the Rookie of the Year runner-up, against the surprise Series winner 1997 Marlins who would be starting Rick Helling (5-9, 4.47) from among a few other equally suspect options.  Both teams had been forced to tax their bullpens in tough semifinal games which would limit their availability for the final.  And that quickly proves to be a concern for the Angels, as Shoemaker is injured getting the last out in the bottom of the 1st; they bring in rested closer Huston Street in long relief, going all-out to try to take the bracket.  However, Moises Alou singles off Street’s card in the bottom of the 3rd and he scores on a 2-out double from DH Darren Daulton and the Marlins lead 1-0.  Meanwhile, the Angels aren’t jelling against Helling, who throws 6-innings of one-hit ball, but the Marlins are nervous about Helling’s longball result and move to game one winner, rookie sensation Livan Hernandez, to begin the 7th inning.  The rookie holds serve, but he’s toast after two innings and the Marlins entrust Jay Powell to earn his second straight save of the regional in the 9th.  Angels #9 hitter Erick Aybar misses a DO -15/SI split to begin the inning, but Powell strikes out Howie Kendrick and then Chris Iannetta hits into the DP to leave Mike Trout in the on-deck circle and send the Marlins on with the 1-0 victory that earns them their third regional win, joining 2005 and 2013.  Hernandez, the 1997 Series MVP as a rookie, has to earn consideration for Regional MVP as well, with the win in the semifinals and a critical hold in the finals.  The win also brought back memories for me, as I watched that 1997 Series with my mother, who lived in South Florida and was rooting for the Marlins.  She has been gone for some time, but I think she would enjoy the fact that her Marlins defied my expectations once again.  

Interesting card of Regional #208:  The Strat cards for the 1991 season reflected a transition year in many respects.  It was the first season of “new” card patterns which we have seen ever since; it was the last season of basic statistical information at the bottom of the card before more extended stats like SLG% and OBP were included; and it was the only season with the heavy bold line between the year designation and the statistical information, the latter of which continued to have background shading apparently to insure that the aging eyes of their core customer base wouldn’t be able to read them without an electron microscope.   Of course, in this 1991 set there weren’t a lot of pitcher’s cards better than this one from 24 year old rookie Joel Johnston, who somehow managed to lose the Royals semifinal game in this bracket.  It’s hard to see how he could lose, as the guy only allowed nine hits in 22+ innings.  However, like the player presented in the last installment of this feature, Johnston never really got a chance in the majors; in addition to 1991, where his WHIP was 0.806, the only other season where he had more than 10 innings pitched was in 1993, when the WHIP was 1.069 in 52 innings.  He did pitch in three other seasons with fewer than five innings pitched in each of them, and his ERA in those was in double digits all three seasons, but it’s hard to argue that he really got much of a shot and he was out of the majors at age 28.   Having leafed through a lot of truly terrible relief pitchers on the 1,650+ teams that have played so far in my tournament, it’s hard to imagine that nobody was willing to give him a serious try after 1993.

REGIONAL #207:  This draw looked like an entertaining group with a nice mix of eras and some teams that I suspected were pretty good.  The most obvious quality squad was the pennant-winning 1931 Cardinals, who got to make a late entry into the tournament thanks to Strat finally including a never-before released team in a Diamond Gems set.  But it looked to me like they would have some serious competition; an Astros team two years before their first (and last?) NL pennant, a White Sox team the season after the Winning Ugly division-winners who’d already been eliminated in the first round of Regional #130, and a Padres team two years after their first NL pennant.  There was also another White Sox team of the same vintage as one who had an unexpectedly strong showing in the previous bracket, and a contemporary Cleveland team who was trying to screw up my text search system by changing their team name.  I figured the ‘84 Sox would meet the same fate as their ‘83 versions and lose in the first round to what was likely a good Astros team, who I picked to upset the Gas House Gang in the semifinals and then ride that momentum to beat the Indians/Guardians/Naps/Spiders in the finals.  Although the ELO rankings had the Astros as the second-best team in the bracket, they also put the Cards among the 75 best teams of all time and picked them over Cleveland for the regional crown.

First round action

The 2003 Astros included many of the same names that would win the NL two years later, and in this first round game they would get a chance to avenge the World Series sweep that team suffered at the hands of the White Sox.  This version of the ‘stros won 87 games with a heart of the order that included five guys with SLG% over .500; however, Roy Oswalt (10-5, 2.97) was by far their best starter although their bullpen was excellent.  It didn’t really seem like a fair fight, because the 1984 White Sox were a pale imitation of the team that had won the AL West the previous year, losing 88 games with virtually everyone except Harold Baines suffering a serious decline in performance; it would be up to new “kid” on the block, 39 year old Tom Seaver (15-11, 3.95), to give Houston a problem.  Ron Kittle rolls one of the six home run results on his card for a solo shot in the top of the 2nd, and from there on out Tom is terrific, only allowing two hits in the first 8 innings.  However, Lance Berkman leads off the bottom of the 9th with a single, and then Bagwell draws a walk to put the winning run on with nobody out.  The Sox stick with their veteran, but Jeff Kent doubles and the game is tied with the winning run now on 3rd.  Seaver looks Tony Larussa back to the dugout and delivers to Adam Everett, who rips a single, Bagwell trots home, and the Astros walk off with a 2-1 win to give Oswalt the victory to go with his 3-hitter.

The top-seeded 1931 Cardinals weren’t quite the Gas House Gang yet, as they were short a couple of Dean brothers, but they made up for it with big contributions from Chick Hafey and Jim Bottomley, as Hafey won the batting title and both received MVP votes.  Combine them with a solid rotation, and you get a team that wins 101 games and defeats the powerful A’s in the Series; Syl Johnson (11-9, 3.00) would get the game one start, who like the rest of the staff allowed hits but few homers.  They were huge favorites over the #7 seeded 2007 Orioles, who lost 93 games, but the O’s did have Erik Bedard (13-5, 3.16) who led the league in strikeout rate and came in 5th in the Cy Young ballots.  In the bottom of the 2nd, Frankie Frisch rips a 2-out, bases loaded double past RF-2 Nick Markakis to drive in two, and in the 4th the Cards unleash another barrage of hits including a Charlie Gelbert RBI single and a 2-run double from Jimmie Wilson.  This leads Baltimore to inspect their bullpen, which has a sizable collection of some of the ugliest cardstock ever printed, so Bedard stays in but now trails 5-0 after four.  The O’s get on the board in the 6th when Miguel Cabrera drives in fleet Brian Roberts with a single, but SS-3 Cabrera gives the run back in the 8th with a two-base error that sets up another RBI single from Gelbert.  The Orioles have no response, and Johnson wraps up a 3-hitter as the Cards cruise to the semifinals with a 6-1 win.  

The 1986 Padres had won the NL two years before, but they had not aged gracefully and this team lost 88 games, with Gwynn and Garvey still leading the team and Dave Dravecky (9-11, 3.07) having a typically decent showing in his last full season with San Diego.  Even so, they were slight ELO favorites over the 87-loss 2008 Royals, who had little to brag about other than Zack Greinke (13-10, 3.47), who would win a Cy Young the following season.  However, the Royals rap three straight singles off Dravecky’s card with two out in the 1st, and then a 2-base error from SS-2 Garry Templeton and it’s 2-0 KC before the Padres swing the bat.  San Diego does respond in the 2nd, as Kevin McReynolds leads off the inning with a homer and Garvey almost makes it back to back, missing the split but settling for a triple, and when KC brings the infield in to try to preserve the lead Terry Kennedy nails the gbA++ for a game-tying single.  Two batters later, Marvell Wynne converts his HR split for a 2-run shot and a Padres lead, and they add to it in the 4th with back to back doubles from Gwynn and McReynolds.  In the 4th, KC catcher John Buck commits back to back passed balls and the Padres lead extends to 6-2, and Dravecky seems to have recovered from his first inning issues.  When Greinke issues a walk to Wynne in the 6th, the Royals see no point in conserving closer Joakim Soria and his 1.60 ERA/42 saves killer card, so he comes in and issues a walk, makes an error, and loads the bases for Tony Gwynn, who knocks a grounder that backup 1B-3 Ryan Shealy boots and the hole gets deeper.  From there Soria asserts control but it’s far too late as Dravecky closes out the 7-2 Padres win.  

Officially the Guardians by this time but retaining their legacy name here for tournament text search purposes, the 2022 Indians won 92 games and the AL Central with good up the middle defense, a strong bullpen, and a decent rotation fronted by Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88), who received Cy Young votes; however, the lineup wasn’t scaring anyone and the bottom of the order made fans wish pitchers were still batting.  They were still big favorites against the #8 seeded 2014 White Sox, 89-game losers who nonetheless had a formidable Chris Sale (12-4, 2.17) finishing 3rd for the Cy Young.  With two out in the bottom of the 1st, Jose Abreu crushes a long solo shot to put the Sox up, and that apparently bothers the Biebs as two batters later Alexei Ramirez converts a pitcher’s card homer for another two runs, and two more batters and Tyler Flowers blast a second two-run shot and the Sox lead 5-0 after one.  In the top of the 5th, Cleveland’s .163-hitting catcher Austin Hedges rolls his homer at 1-2 for a two-run, two-out poke, and Sale struggles but manages to get the third out before incurring further damage.  Meanwhile, Bieber has recovered nicely after his first inning woes, but when he allows a leadoff single to Abreu in the 7th the Spiders see no point in preserving their pen, and Sam Hentges comes in and quickly douses the threat.  In the 8th, Sox 3B-4 Conor Gillaspie boots a grounder to set up a long 2-run homer by Oscar Gonzalez that makes it a one-run game, and the Sox eye their pen but decide to let their ace try to close things out.  Sale responds with two straight strikeouts, and then he sets Cleveland down in order in the 9th and the White Sox hang on to head to the semifinals with the 5-4 upset.

The survivors

This semifinal is the feature game of the bracket with the top two seeds facing off, the 1931 Cardinals and the 2003 Astros in a battle of two very different baseball eras.  The dropoff for the Cards in the rotation after round one seemed smaller than that for the Astros, as Wild Bill Hallahan (19-9, 3.29) led the 1931 NL in wins, strikeouts, and of course walks, while Wade Miller (14-13, 4.13) was merely serviceable for the Astros.  In the top of the 2nd the Jeffs are moving on up, as Bagwell walks and Kent triples him in, but Hallahan strands Kent at third to prevent further damage.  The situation only gets worse for the Cards, as a 2-out error by SS-2 Charlie Gelbert opens the door for a four hit, four run inning and the bracket favorites now trail 5-0 and still don’t have a hit to their credit until Jim Bottomley pokes a single in the bottom of the 4th.  But the Astros get some very bad news when RF Richard Hidalgo is injured for four games to lead off the 5th inning, but in the 6th Geoff Blum does something for the Astros that he’ll do to them in the Series two years later–hit a homer, and some of the Sportsman's Park fans are beginning to head for the trolleys.  In response, the Cards get on the board in the bottom of the inning when Frankie Frisch flashes home on a Bottomley fielder’s choice, but George Watkins leads off the 7th by missing Miller's HR 1-11 split with a 12 and he gets stranded at second.  In the 8th, Bottomley drives in another with a sac fly and then a 2-out double from Ripper Collins drives in another.  This requires a mound visit from manager Jimy Williams, and as the Miller told his tale, Williams’ face at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale; Jimy then summons Brad Lidge from the pen, and he strikes out George Watkins to retire the side.  For some insurance in the top of the 9th, Morgan Ensberg raps an RBI  double past Cards CF-3 Pepper Martin; Wild Bill then walks the bases loaded for Jeff Kent, who clears them with a 3-run double that gives him five RBI and puts him a homer short of a cycle.  That leaves Lidge with easy mop-up duties, and as usual he makes things interesting loading up the bases for Chick Hafey and then striking him out to end the game; the 10-3 win puts the Astros in the finals as favorites but missing one of their biggest bats.

Neither the 1986 Padres nor the 2014 White Sox appeared to be very good teams, but they both had surprisingly solid starters available for this semifinal game, with the Padres’ Eric Show (9-5, 2.97) facing off against the Sox and Jose Quintana (9-11, 3.32).  It’s not a good start for the Sox in the bottom of the 1st as their leadoff hitter Adam Eaton goes down with a seven game injury on their first roll, and it doesn’t get any better when 1-13 Conor Gillaspie is cut down at the plate attempting to score on a Jose Abreu double.  Kevin McReynolds breaks the ice by leading off the top of the 4th with a homer, but the Padres fielding crumbles in the bottom of the inning with errors by 3B-3 Craig Nettles and 2B-3 Tim Flannery setting up an RBI double from Alexei Ramirez on his second missed HR split of the game, and the Sox take a 2-1 lead.  In the 6th, Dayan Viciedo misses another HR split but his double scores two as Chicago extends their lead, and the Padres show Show the door in favor of the elder Lance McCullers to end the inning.  San Diego’s luck doesn’t get any better when 1-16 Marvell Wynne is cut down trying to score in the 7th, and they do try a two-out rally in the 9th with John Kruk driving in Flannery to make it a two run game.  That brings up Tony Gwynn as the tying run, and the Sox give Quintana one more batter; he comes through as Gwynn grounds out and for the second regional in a row, a bad Sox team of relatively recent vintage advances to the bracket final, winning 4-2 courtesy of four costly Padre errors.

Once again, the regional final was the Zoom game of the week, giving me the opportunity to jinx the bottom-seeded 2014 White Sox live against StratFan Rick who would be managing the #2 seed 2003 Astros.  Both teams had suffered injuries to an outfielder who was a key part of their offense, Richard Hidalgo for Houston and Adam Eaton for the Sox, although it seemed to me that the Astros had plenty of bats to spare. The pitching matchup didn’t look too favorable for the Sox either, with John Danks (11-11, 4.74) tending to allow hits that went a long way, while Tim Redding (10-14, 3.68) was a less frightening option for the Astros.  The first inning is a portent to things to come, as Redding strikes out the side, while Danks is pitching from the stretch a lot but manages to keep Houston off the board for a while.  However, in the 4th a costly error by Sox 3B-4 Conor Gillaspie sets up a sacrifice fly from injury replacement Brian Hunter, and the Sox keep getting railroaded by Redding.  When the game hits the 6th inning, I go to the fully rested Sox bullpen for Zack Putnam and his 1.98 ERA because I’m doubting there will be a lot of scoring on either side, and he holds off the Astros while the Sox mount a threat in the 6th but are shut down by Houston reliever Octavio Dotel with nothing to show for their efforts.  Then, one of the killer B’s finally does something for Houston (not Berkman with his four strikeouts), as Jeff Bagwell leads off the 8th with a long blast to provide some insurance.  Rick then summons Billy Wagner who blows through the Chicago lineup as the Astros pitchers share a 3-hit shutout and Houston takes the 2-0 win earning the 6th regional victory for the franchise, with 2003 now joining the 2004 squad for a single elimination mini-dynasty.

Interesting card of Regional #207:  When Tony Gwynn is your teammate, it's kind of difficult to post the top batting average on the squad, but in 1986 that honor went to one Randy Asadoor.  Not exactly a household name, I had absolutely no memory of Randy when I stumbled across his card even though I’m pretty certain that I played in a draft league at the time, but Asadoor probably wasn’t eligible as he was only included as an “extra player”.  Over the course of this feature, I’ve made mention of certain Strat cards that were great “first cards” in a player’s career, or super “final” cards, but for Asadoor, this is BOTH–the 55 ABs represented here were the only appearances of his entire career, making for a career batting average right up there with Ty Cobb.  It’s kind of difficult to imagine that a 23-year old middle infielder would never get another chance after hitting over .360, but it might have had something to do with his defense; for example, in 15 games at third base in ‘86, he made 5 errors, earning him a 3B-4e37 from Strat but by my calculations he would have merited an e54 if that were an option.  As a final unusual feature of the card, although it may be difficult to tell from the scan this card is miscut, with the top edge cut at much less than a 90 degree angle.  Perhaps such issues with the die cutter during this season prompted the game company to make the unfortunate decision to go with the perforated cards for the 1987 season, as ‘86 was the last die-cut set.  I must not be alone in rueing that day, because Strat has now figured out that some of us will lay out a bundle for modern limited edition die-cut sets, albeit ones printed in unusual colors.