My 128-team APBA GO double-knockout
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Just wrapped up 8 games in the Unbeaten Bracket. Winners improve to 4-and-oh. Losers drop to the once-beaten (Loser’s) Bracket:
(#128) 1914 Hoosiers defeat (#16) 1917 White Sox 3-1
Cinderella Hoosiers win again behind Falkenberg’s CG 6-hitter; Scheer 1-2, BB, RBI(#89) 1915 Phillies defeat (#105) 2002 Athletics 6-3
Alexander beats A’s on CG 3-hitter w/ 10 K’s; Paskert 3-5, RBI; Cravath 2-run homer(#68) 1929 Cubs defeat (#116) 2008 Cubs 6-3 (12 innings)
All-Chicago tilt ends on Grimm’s 3-run HR in 12th; ‘29 Cubs’ McMillan 2-5, HR, 2 RBI(#124) 2015 Blue Jays defeat (#85) 2008 Rays 4-1
Jays’ Pillar & Travis each go 3-4 w/ 2 runs; Revere 1-3, 2 RBI; Price CG 2-hitter, 9 K’s(#2) 1927 Yankees defeat (#18) 2016 Cubs 13-0
Lazzeri 3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI; Collins 2-4, 4 RBI; Hoyt CG 4-hitter, 7 K’s; Cubs out-hit 14-4(#90) 1950 Phillies defeat (#106) 1998 Astros 4-3
4-run Bot 4th inning holds up; Ennis 3-run HR; Seminick 2-4, RBI; Roberts CG 6-hitter(#19) 1920 Indians defeat (#94) 2000 Mets 9-2
CLV busts game open w/ 6-run 8th; Speaker 3-4, 3 RBI; Jamieson 3-4; Johnston 3 RBI(#86) 1930 Cardinals defeat (#70) 1921 Yankees 5-3 (10 innings)
Gelbert’s 2-run single in Top 10th the difference after Ruth’s 2-run double in Bot 8thOf note: Out of the eight unbeaten teams remaining, seven are from 1950 or earlier. Of all the post-1951 representatives in the tournament, only the 2015 Blue Jays are still undefeated.
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Just wrapped up 8 elimination games in the once-beaten Bracket.
Losers are knocked out.(#65) 1941 Dodgers elim (#45) 1997 Marlins 14-0
Davis CG 4-hit shutout; Reiser 4-5, 3 RBI; Medwick 3-5, HR, 4 RBI; Owen 3-5, HR, 3 RBI(#101) 1998 Braves elim (#76) 1959 White Sox 3-0
Lopez, Lockhart solo HR’s; Glavine 1-3, RBI in addition to CG 3-hitter w/ 3 K’s, 3 BB’s(#97) 2007 Rockies elim (#21) 1968 Tigers elim 2-1
Francis outduels Lolich in great pitching matchup; Helton 2-4, HR, RBI; Northrup 2-4(#108) 1977 Phillies elim (#8) 1911 Athletics 4-3
All-Philly showdown sees 8th-seeded A’s blow 3-0 lead; Maddox 2-4, 3 RBI, Schmidt 2-4(#50) 2014 Giants elim (#66) 2004 Cardinals 5-3
SF chases Carpenter w/ 5-run 1st inning, on Belt grand slam; Walker HR, 3 RBI in loss(#87) 1948 Braves elim (#38) 1971 Pirates 6-0
Voiselle hurls CG 4-hit shutout, 6 K’s, 2 BB’s; Dark 3-5, 2 RBI; Torgeson 2-3 w/ 2 BB’s(#46) 2001 Diamondbacks elim (#31) 1914 Braves 2-1
Boston commits 5 errors, 3 by HOF’er Evers; Gonzalez snaps 1-1 tie w/ solo HR in 7th(#55) 1995 Indians elim (#71) 1925 Senators 7-2
CLV rallies from early 2-0 deficit; Alomar 4-4, RBI; Belle 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Baerga 3-5, RBIOf note: Of the original 128-GTOP field, only 24 teams remain.
Of those 24 teams, only six were actual World Series champions that season. -
Three-man rotations, with starting order determined by Innings Pitched that season.
So, starters are easy to determine in Games #1 thru 5 for every team.
By a team’s sixth game, they are allowed to use a Starting Pitcher who had the 4th- or 5th-most IP’s that season. (In some cases, that will be an upgrade over the #3 guy.)
A team then keeps that 3-man rotation the rest of the way. -
Just wrapped up 8 elimination games in the once-beaten Bracket.
Losers are knocked out.(#65) 1941 Dodgers elim (#18) 2016 Cubs 9-3
BRKLN scores 6 runs in Bot 7th; Walker, Lavagetto 3 hits each; Reiser, Reese 3 RBI each(#106) 1998 Astros elim (#101) 1998 Braves 6-5
Alou HR’s twice and drives in 3 to pace HOU; Biggio 2-4, 2 RBI; Reynolds K’s 10 in 6 IP(#94) 2000 Mets elim (#97) 2007 Rockies 6-4
Mets build early 5-0 lead and hang on; Bell 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 Walks; Piazza 2-run HR(#70) 1921 Yankees elim (#108) 1977 Phillies 4-3
Ward belts 2-run HR in Bot 8th; Ruth 1-2, HR, RBI, 2 Walks; Luzinski hits 5th HR in loss(#50) 2014 Giants elim (#16) 1917 White Sox 9-5
SF wins despite committing 3 errors & being out-hit 13-9; Panik 3-4, RBI; Belt HR, 3 RBI(#87) 1948 Braves elim (#105) 2002 Athletics 4-3
Sain tosses CG 6-hitter, 6 K’s, 4 BB’s; Dark 2-4, 2 RBI; Hatteberg 3-4, 2 RBI in loss(#46) 2001 Diamondbacks elim (#116) 2008 Cubs 5-1 (10 innings)
Red-hot Sanders drives in 5, belting grand slam in Bot 10th for 7th HR of tournament(#55) 1995 Indians elim (#85) 2008 Rays 6-3
Five different Indians hit solo homers; Hershiser 7 IP, 6 K’s, 0 BB; Pena 2 HR’s in lossOnly 16 teams remain… 8 are undefeated and 8 are once-beaten.
Tournament Batting Leaders:
HR’s - Sanders (2001 AZ) 7; Luzinski (1977 PHLN) 5
RBI’s - Sanders (2001 AZ) 16; Heath (1948 BOSN) 12
SB’s - Law (1983 CHIA) & Lofton (1995 CLV) 5 each
AVG (min 20 PA’s) - Biggio (1998 HOU) .571; Rice (1925 WSH) .522
SLG (min 20 PA’s) - Sanders (2001 AZ) 1.440; Belle (1995 CLV) 1.130Tournament Pitching Leaders:
Wins - Bumgarner (2014 SF) 3; 23 pitchers tied with 2
ERA (min 18 IP) - Voiselle (1948 BOSN) 0.00; Falkenberg (1914 IND) 0.50
K’s - Bumgarner (2014 SF) 22; Johnson (1998 HOU) 20
Saves - 8 pitchers tied with 2 each -
Four more teams have been bounced from the Loser’s Bracket (and the tournament) the past couple of days…
(#65) 1941 Dodgers elim (#106) 1998 Astros 5-1
Reese has pair of RBI doubles and goes 3-4 w/ 2 RBI; Wyatt tosses CG 2-hitter w/ 7 K’s(#70) 1921 Yankees elim (#94) 2000 Mets 6-0
NYY scores 4 in Bot 1st; Ruth 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Pipp 3-4, RBI; Shawkey CG 5-hit shutout(#87) 1948 Braves elim (#50) 2014 Giants 6-3 (sorry, @Honus1908 :disappointed: )
Red-hot Heath goes 4-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB; Spahn tosses CG 6-hitter with 6 K’s, 1 BB(#46) 2001 Diamondbacks elim (#55) 1995 Indians 3-2
Gonzalez belts 2-run HR in 1st; Johnson fires CG 5-hitter, 9 K’s; Lofton 4-4, 3 SB’s in lossThe field is now down to 12 teams. The 8 unbeaten clubs now face each other in the next 4 games. The combined record of the teams still in the tournament is 58-and-4.
Will post updated pics of the brackets following the next round of four games.
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Following four games on the Winner’s Bracket, we are now down to four unbeaten teams…
(#89) 1915 Phillies defeat (#128) 1914 Hoosiers 7-3
First poor pitching performance by Indy; Cravath 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Whitted 3-5, SB, RBI(#68) 1929 Cubs defeat (#124) 2015 Blue Jays 7-2
Cubs rock Dickey early; Cuyler 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Wilson, 2-3, BB; Bush CG 4-hitter, 7 K’s(#2) 1927 Yankees defeat (#90) 1950 Phillies 3-2 (10 innings)
Collins singles in Meusel with bases loaded & nobody out in 10th; Moore CG 3-hitter(#19) 1920 Indians defeat (#86) 1930 Cardinals 8-3
Coveleski quiets hot STL bats w/ CG 6-hitter, 4 K’s; Speaker 3-4, 2 RBI; O’Neill 2-4, RBITwelve teams remain in the hunt, of original 128. All brackets are pictured below…
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I am nearing the end of this project. Here are the results of my eight most-recent games.
Unbeaten Bracket:
(#68) 1929 Cubs defeat (#89) 1915 Phillies 5-3
Cuyler triple helps Cubs rally from 3-1 deficit with 3-run 6th inning; Cuyler 2-3, BB, RBI(#19) 1920 Indians defeat (#2) 1927 Yankees 6-2
Tribe strikes for 4 runs in Bot 1st; Speaker 3-4, HR, RBI; Caldwell CG 6-hitter, 7 K’s
Once-beaten Bracket:
(#86) 1930 Cardinals elim (#65) 1941 Dodgers 9-2
Cards pound out 14 hits; Wilson 3-4, SB, RBI; Douthit, Adams, Gelbert each w/ 2 RBI(#70) 1921 Yankees elim (#90) 1950 Phillies 8-0
Mays fires CG 3-hit shutout 5 K’s, 2 BB’s; Miller 2-5, 3 RBI; Ruth 1-2, 2 BB, SF, 2 RBI(#87) 1948 Braves elim (#124) 2015 Blue Jays 3-2
After Encarnacion 2-run HR in 1st, Masi belts 2-run HR in 6th; Masi 2-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI(#128) 1914 Hoosiers elim (#46) 2001 Diamondbacks 7-5
AZ loses despite belting 5 solo HR’s, two by Miller; Esmond 3-5, 3 RBI, Carr 3-5, RBI(#87) 1948 Braves elim (#86) 1930 Cardinals 6-2
Braves chase Hallahan w/ 4-run 3rd inning; McCormick 3-3, BB, RBI; Sain CG 8-hitter(#128) 1914 Hoosiers elim (#70) 1921 Yankees 5-1
Falkenberg (3-0) spins CG 5-hitter w/ 7 K’s, 2 BB; Scheer 2-3, BB; Ruth 2-3, BB in loss=====
Only six teams are still in the running. Here are the remaining six (possibly seven) games in the tournament:
Game #249 (Loser is eliminated)
(#89) 1915 Phillies vs (#87) 1948 BravesGame #250 (Loser is eliminated)
(#2) 1927 Yankees vs (#128) 1914 HoosiersGame #251 (Winner advances to championship)
(#68) 1929 Cubs vs (#19) 1920 IndiansGame #252 (Loser is eliminated)
Winner GM #249 vs Winner GM #250Game #253 (Loser is eliminated)
Winner GM #252 vs Loser GM #251Game #254 (Championship final)
Winner GM #251 vs Winner GM #253
(Winner of GM #253 must win twice) -
We are now down to the Final Four of what has been a great GO tournament…
Game #249 (Loser is eliminated)
(#89) 1915 Phillies elim (#87) 1948 Braves 4-0
Alexander tosses amazing CG 2-hit shutout, striking out 8 and walking only one, to end gritty Braves’ 8-game win streak; Luderus belts 2-run HR; Bancroft, Paskert & Whitted each go 2-4Game #250 (Loser is eliminated)
(#2) 1927 Yankees elim (#128) 1914 Hoosiers 7-0
Cinderella tourney finally ends for Federal League-champion Hoosiers; Ruth homers twice and drives in 4; Meusel & Combs 3 hits each; Hoyt CG 4-hit shutout w/ 2 K’s and goes 2-4 at the plateGame #251 (Winner advances to championship)
(#68) 1929 Cubs defeat (#19) 1920 Indians 3-1
Cubs played without injured 1B Grimm; Root escapes first-inning, bases loaded jam with nobody out; Root finishes with CG 6-hitter w/ 3 K’s and adds key RBI triple in Bot 4th; McMillan & Taylor each go 2-3; Unbeaten Cubs will get Grimm back for first title game, but have also lost Stephenson for one contestGame #252 (Loser is eliminated)
(#89) 1915 Phillies (Mayer (2-0), 1.50) vs (#2) 1927 Yankees (Moore (2-0), 1.42)Game #253 (Loser is eliminated)
Winner GM #252 vs (#19) 1920 Indians (Coveleski (2-0), 2.50)Game #254 (Championship final)
(#68) 1929 Cubs (Bush (2-0), 1.00) vs Winner GM #253
(Winner of GM #253 must beat 1929 Cubs twice) -
@ncord Their pitching has carried them. In seven games (all wins), their team ERA is 1.34. That’s the best in the tournament, just ahead of the 1927 Yankees (at 1.36). What’s remarkable about the Cubs though, is that they don’t have an A-ranked pitcher on the team. The three top starters (Root, Bush, Malone) are all B’s. And every other pitcher on their roster is either a C or D… and only 2 of their 12 pitchers have a Z. Given all that, the Cubs’ pitching has really over-achieved in this tournament.
Their offense has been led by Hack Wilson (.444, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Kiki Cuyler (.393, 1 HR, 6 RBI). But other than that, only one regular (Zack Taylor, .318) is batting above .240. Charlie Grimm leads the team in HR (3) and RBI (8), but is hitting only .182. Hartnett is one of six Catchers on the roster, and has only one appearance in seven games. (He had just 29 real-life PA’s in 1929.)
As a team, the Cubs are batting only .237 with a SLG of .422. Both those numbers are fairly average for teams who won at least two games in the tournament.
The fact that they are undefeated at 7-and-oh is really a testament to their pitching. -
1927 Yankees win Game #252, eliminating the 1915 Phillies.
Wilcy Moore tosses a CG 4-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking only one.
Phils dodge a bullet in the top of the third, as Yanks load the bases with nobody out. But Gehrig lines to shortstop Bancroft, who tags the runner on second, then throws to third to complete a triple play.
New York takes the lead in the fourth inning, on Collins two-out, two-run HR. Yanks then add single runs in the 7th and 9th innings, en route to a 4-0 victory.
Philadelphia entered the game with a tournament-best .318 team batting average. But the Phillies were held to four harmless singles by Moore, who improved his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.96.
Yanks now face the 1920 Indians, with the winner earning the right to meet the 1929 Cubs for the tournament championship…
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And then there were two.
The 1920 Indians used two big innings to crush the ‘27 Yankees 10-2, eliminating 2nd-seeded New York from the tournament. It was the Yankees’ second loss to the Tribe in four days.
New York starter Urban Shocker retired the first nine Indians and held a 1-0 lead after three innings. But things unraveled quickly for him in the top of the fourth, when the Indians took advantage of three extra-base hits to push five runs across.
From there, Cleveland pitcher Stan Coveleski held the Yankees to only one more run the rest of the way. And the Tribe put things out of reach with a four-run rally in the top of the ninth.
Elmer Smith paced the Indians with three hits, a walk and 2 RBI. Bill Wambsganss drove in three runs, while Charlie Jamieson and Larry Gardner chipped in with two hits apiece.
Coveleski (3-0, 2.33) went the distance, allowing eight hits and one walk, while striking out two.
Shocker didn’t escape the fourth inning and suffered the loss in his first decision of the tournament. New York’s Babe Ruth finished with 5 HR’s, a batting average of .379 and a slugging percentage of .931.
The Indians will now face the unbeaten 1929 Cubs for the championship. Cleveland, which must win twice, will send Ray Caldwell (2-0, 2.50) to the mound in the first game.
Chicago will counter with Guy Bush (2-0, 1.00) in front of what is expected to be a packed house at Wrigley Field.
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@RandySteinman Ah, yes. I forgot about Hack WIlson. That team was the year before he rolled off 191 RBI.
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CUBS WIN!!
CUBS WIN!!The 1929 Chicago Cubs have capped an improbable unbeaten ride to capture my GTOP-128 Tournament. A come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the 1920 Cleveland Indians gave the Cubs the title in the double-knockout event. Chicago capped the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record.
The final saw the Cubs, for the first time, trailing after seven innings. But they rallied in the bottom of the eighth. Gabby Hartnett, pinch-hitting for starting pitcher Guy Bush (3-0, 1.73), led off the inning with a triple. Pinch-runner Danny Taylor was immediately singled home by Norm McMillan to tie the game, and McMillan later scored the winning run on a two-out single by Kiki Cuyler.
Hal Carlson then pitched the top of the ninth for his first save. Carlson was the Cubs’ star out of the bullpen by also posting two wins in the tournament, allowing only one hit and no runs over his 5.2 innings of relief.
In fact, the entire Chicago staff was the hero of this six-month event. The Cubs finished with a tournament-best 1.54 ERA, despite not having an A-ranked pitcher on the roster. While their three starters (Bush, Charlie Root and Pat Malone) were all B’s, the nine other pitchers were all C’s and D’s… and only two of those twelve hurlers were blessed with a Z. Over their 76 total innings pitched, the unblemished Cubs had a WHIP of 1.14 and an OBA of .203.
Offensively, Chicago relied on two outfielders to do most of the heavy lifting. Hack Wilson (.448, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Kiki Cuyler (.406, 1 HR, 8 RBI) were a constant threat as the team’s four-five hitters in the lineup. Zack Taylor (.280) and McMillan (.273) were the only two other regulars to finish with a batting average higher than .190. Charlie Grimm hit three homers and drove in eight, but batted only .160. Rogers Hornsby batted .185 with no HR’s and three RBI.
As a team, Chicago batted only .238. That ranked 30th of the 64 teams in the tournament that played four games or more. Their SLG % of .421 ranked 17th of those 64. In other words, nothing special. The struggles of many of the Cubs’ hitters only validated the value of the team’s entire pitching staff. As a World Series runner-up, 1929 Chicago began the tournament seeded 68th in the 128-team field.Tournament Batting Leaders:
HR’s - Sanders (2001 AZ) 8; Three players tied with 5
RBI’s - Sanders (2001 AZ) 17; Heath (1948 BOSN) 15
SB’s - Lofton (1995 CLV) 8; Law (1983 CHIA) & Cuyler (1929 CHIN) 5 each
AVG (min 30 PA) - Lofton (1995 CLV) .548; Sanders (2001 AZ) .452
SLG (min 30 PA) - Sanders (2001 AZ) 1.290; Ruth (1921 NYY) 1.045Tournament Pitching Leaders:
Wins - Eight pitchers tied with 3
ERA (min 25 IP) - Hoyt (1927 NYY) 0.35; Falkenberg (1914 IND) 0.67
K’s - Alexander (1915 PHIN) 24; Johnson (2001 AZ) 23
WHIP (min 25 IP) - Moore (1927 NYY) 0.57; Hoyt (1927 NYY) 0.65
Saves - Eight pitchers tied with 2Thanks for your patience as I reported on my tournament. Am taking a bit of a break now.
Roll on!Randy Steinman
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@RandySteinman Looks like a great tournament and a lot of fun. I am in the middle of a couple double elimination and one triple elimination tournament. The double are all Yankee teams back to 1947 and all Pirate teams back to 59, moving along into the 3rd and 4th rounds. The Triple is playoff wild card and teams that would have been wild card going back to 1953. Not sure if I will finish this one, a lot of games. I just play the top seed against the bottom seed and so on in each round with winners bracket getting a bunch of byes and even the 1 loss bracket a couple byes. I will post some updates soon. It is a lot of fun and a chance to play games with most of the great players and teams from the past.
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Thanks, @RonNichols. I am now onto my next project. 128 GTOP teams, broken down into eight 16-team brackets (ie. Cobb Division 1901-1917, Ruth Division 1918-1935, etc, right up to Pujols 2008-2019).
Each bracket is a triple-knockout. The eight eventual winners will then square off in a final triple-knockout division to determine the champion.
All on APBA GO. I try to play a game or two a day, as my schedule allows. Great fun.
