Greatest American League
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In continuing with creating the Greatest Major Leagues, I will be starting to create the Greatest American League. Just like the Greatest National League, only world series winners are eligible to compete for a spot to represent their franchise. Teams with an automatic bid are the 2002 Los Angeles Angels and the 2017 Houston Astros. Franchises with two WS winning teams will compete in a best of 11 series. Teams with three or more WS winners will play each other in a series of 10 round robin games. The exception will be the New York Yankees and their seven billion championship teams. I hope you guys will enjoy reading about the process towards the creation of the Greatest American League as the odyssey continues!
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The Toronto Blue Jays of 1992 and 1993 battled in a best of 11 series for a place in the Greatest American League. The teams split the first 10 games; strangely, the “road” team won every single game. The 11th and final game went like many of the games in this series, back and forth with offensive fireworks. The '93 Jays led 5-2 until Kelly Gruber of the '92 Jays tied the game with a three run bomb in the sixth. The game went to extra innings when the '93 Jays finally came out on top thanks to a walkoff RBI double by John Olerud.
Despite only hitting .238 as a team, the '93 Blue Jays scored 60 runs in the series thanks to 45 extra base hits, 18 stolen bases and 45 walks. Roberto Alomar led the team in hitting at .375 with three home runs, 15 RBI, eight stolen bases and a 1.152 OPS. Olerud hit .349 with a 1.051 OPS and Rickey Henderson hit .342 and led the team in runs scored with 15. Pitching wasn’t great, as the '93 Jays had a team ERA of 4.54. Todd Stottlemyre went 2-0 in the series with a 3.20 ERA. Duane Ward pitched four scoreless innings in relief and saved two games.
The '92 Blue Jays brought a fair amount of offense to the table as well as they scored 52 runs in the series and hit .254 as a team. Dave Winfield led all hitters in the series at .400 with an OPS of 1.147. Joe Carter hit .302 with five homers and 11 RBI. Their pitching was horrific as they had a team ERA of 5.04. Juan Guzman was the best pitcher in the series going 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA. Every other starter had ERAs higher than 4.35. Closer Tom Henke had two saves and two losses with an ERA of 10.80 in five innings.
The next series will pit the Cleveland Indians of 1920 and 1948 against each other. The 1920 Indians were led by player/manager Tris Speaker who flirted with .400 before settling for .388 and a 1.045 OPS. Lou Boudreau led the '48 Tribe in hitting at .355 and Bob Feller and Bob Lemon paced the pitching staff.
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The 1948 Cleveland Indians became the next team to earn a spot in the Greatest American League after beating the 1920 Indians in the best of 11 series 6 games to 3. The two teams split the first six games before the '48 Indians won the final three games thanks to dominant pitching.
The '48 Indians had a team ERA of 1.69 and held the '20 Indians to a .173 batting average. Gene Bearden and Scott Zoldak won both of their starts with ERAs of 0.56 and 0.47 respectively. Dale Mitchell led the team in hitting at .455, and Joe Gordon slugged four homers and drove in eight RBI.
The 1920 Indians struggled at the plate mightily; Wheeler Johnson (.290) was the only starter to hit above .250 in the series. Tris Speaker was a disappointment, hitting just .222. Jim Bagby did not pitch like a shutdown ace, going 1-2 with a 4.29 ERA.
The next battle will be between the 1985 and 2015 Kansas City Royals. The '85 Royals were the crowning achievement for Hall of Famer George Brett who hit .335 with 30 HRs that season. 21 year old whiz kid Bret Saberhagen won 20 games with a 2.87 ERA. Dan Quisenberry submarined a lot of batters on his way to 37 saves with a 2.37 ERA. The 2K15 Royals were champs after going to the World Series the year before losing to the San Francisco Giants. Kendrys Morales was the top hitter for the 2K15 Royals at .290 with 22 HRs. On paper, it looks like the '85 Royals have a stronger squad, but stranger things have happened.
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In what I would consider an upset, the 2015 Kansas City Royals outlasted the 1985 Kansas City Royals six games to three in their best of 11 series to earn their spot in The Greatest American League. Despite the '85 Royals having two grade A starters in Bret Saberhagen and Charlie Liebrandt, the 2K15 Royals out hit the '85 Royals .245 to .233 and outpitched them (3.04 ERA vs, 3.49 ERA).
The 2K15 Royals won the first four games of the series before Saberhagen and Liebrandt pitched back-to-back shutouts to get the '85 Royals back in it briefly. Ultimately, the 2K15 Royals proved to be just a little bit better.
The star of this series was 2K15 starting pitcher Chris Young who won both of his starts with a 1.06 ERA and 0.71 WHIP. The '85 Royals wasted leadoff hitter Lonnie Smith’s torrid series at the plate thanks to a lack of timely hitting. Smith hit .343 and stole seven bases, but he only scored four runs. George Brett hit .296 but just had two RBI in 8 games before getting injured.
The next series will feature the 1987 and 1991 Minnesota Twins. The '87 Twins only won 85 regular season games but caught fire in the playoffs. They had a lot of power; four players, Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and Kent Hrbek hit 28 or more homeruns. Puckett also hit .332 that season. Frank Viola led the pitching staff with a 17-10 record and a 2.90 ERA. The 1991 Twins won 95 regular season games and were driven more by their pitching. The trio of Jack Morris, Scott Erickson, and Kevin Tapani combined to win 54 games with a 3.20 ERA. Closer Rick Aguilera saved 42 games with a 2.35 ERA. It will be a classic battle between offense vs. pitching.
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@ncord I took the 2015 Royals to the big Michigan APBA Tournament a couple of years ago. Lots to love about them… overall team speed, defense, relief pitching.
Needless to say, they didn’t live up to my expectations. I think I finished 3-and-5. -
@RandySteinman They were definitely better than I thought. A sneaky good team. It will be interesting to see how they will do once I have the rest of the teams put together!
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In the battle to represent the twin cities, the 1991 Minnesota Twins beat the 1987 Twins six games to five in a best of 11 series to earn their spot in the Greatest American League. The '91 Twins trailed 5-3 in the series before ripping off the final three games. Game 11 was won by Jack Morris 6-0; Morris lived up to his reputation for big performances in big games as he pitched a three hit shutout in the series-clinching win.
It was an odd series statistically. The '87 Twins hit just .206 as a team but scored nearly as many runs as the '91 Twins (50 to 51) who hit .270 as a team. A big factor was the 17 homeruns the '87 Twins hit in the 11 games. Speaking of twins; Kirby Puckett hit exactly .354 for both the '87 and '91 Twins! Despite holding the '87 Twins to a .206 batting average, the '91 Twins had a higher team ERA (4.13 to 3.85). Kevin Tapani of the '91 Twins destroyed Frank Viola of the '87 Twins in the battle of the staff aces; Tapani was 2-0 in his three starts with a 1.73 ERA while Viola went 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA.
The next play in series will be between the Chicago White Sox teams of 1906, 1917, and 2005. The '06 White Sox defeated their cross town rivals the Cubs in the World Series that year; the Cubs would win back to back championships the following two seasons. The '06 White Sox were a weak hitting team (shortstop George Davis led the team in OPS at .694) but used their speed to scratch out runs; five players stole 20 or more bases. When your team has a ridiculous staff ERA of 2.13, you don’t need a lot of runs. The '17 White Sox were on top of the world two years before becoming the most disgraced team in the history of sports. The ‘17 Sox were led by Shoeless Joe Jackson who hit .301 with a .805 OPS. Every starter stole at least 10 bases led by Eddie Collins’ 53. Eddie Cicotte led the pitching staff with a 1.53 ERA and he won 28 games, but he didn’t win 30 games so no bonus…Almost 100 years later, the 2005 White Sox went 11-1 in the playoffs to win their most recent World Series. The 2K5 White Sox have a big advantage in power; eight of their starters would have easily been the best home run hitter on the other two teams, led by Paul Konerko who clocked 40 that season. Their pitching was more ordinary, or normal, with a staff 3.61 ERA led by Mark Buehrle who was 16-8 with a 3.12 ERA. Each team will play 10 games against the other two; it will be interesting to see if unreal pitching and speed will triumph over modern post steroid era (we think?) power.
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In the battle of the three Chicago White Sox championship franchises, the 1917 White Sox narrowly beat out the 2005 and 1906 White Sox teams with an 11-9 record to gain entry into the Greatest American League. They lost their series against the 1906 Sox 6-4 but dominated the 2005 Sox 7-3. They were the only team to hit over .200 as a team (.215) and held their opponents to a 2.50 ERA. Joe Jackson led the team in hitting at .307, but their most valuable player was Buck Weaver who hit .280 with 13 RBI and delivered key hit after key hit. Jim Scott was nearly unhittable; he finished 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 14 hits allowed in 35 innings. Albert Russell was even stingier with a 1.40 ERA and a 3-1 record.
The 2005 White Sox had a disastrous series against the '17 Sox in which they hit just .129 as a team(!) but rebounded to win seven out of 10 against the '06 Sox to finish at 10-10 overall. They hit a lot of home runs, 26 in 20 games compared to ONE combined from the '06 and '17 teams, but a lot of them were solo blasts as they often had trouble getting runners on base. Only one starter, Scott Podsednik, hit above .200 (.238). Paul Konerko led the team in homers and RBI with 5 and 11 respectively. Their pitching was ok; their team ERA was 3.05. Jon Garland was by far their most effective starter, going 3-2 with a 2.03 ERA. Dustin Hermanson was outstanding out of the bullpen as he picked up a win and six saves in eight appearances with a 2.16 ERA.
The 1906 Sox finished 9-11 after starting strong in their series against the 1917 Sox. They scored the fewest runs (52) but pitched the best with an amazing team ERA of 2.02. George Davis lead the team in hitting (.333), runs scored (9), RBI (10), and stolen bases (10). Ed Walsh (1.59), Nick Altrock (1.59), and Doc White (1.99) had miniscule ERAs, but their anemic offense often wasted their great efforts.
The next play in series of games will be between the Baltimore Orioles of 1966, 1970, 1983, and (thanks to @anluc7 and his 1994 season replay) the 1994 team as well. The 1966 O’s had a monster season from Frank Robinson (.316, 49 HR, 1.047 OPS). Boog Powell barbecued 34 homers. 20 year old Jim Palmer won 15 games with a 3.46 ERA. Palmer was even better for the 1970 squad as he won 20 games with a 2.71 ERA; he was one of three 20 game winners that season with Dave McNally (24-9, 3.22 ERA) and Mike Cuellar (24-8 3.48 ERA) being the others. Powell led the '70 O’s in homers with 35 while hitting .297. 22 year old Cal Ripken led the '83 Orioles with a .318 average and 27 home runs. Eddie Murray wore out opposing pitching with a .306 average and 33 home runs. Mike Boddicker won 16 games with a 2.77 ERA and Scott McGregor won 18 games with a 3.18 ERA. The 1994 Orioles were led at the plate by Rafael Palmeiro who hit .319 with 23 home runs in 111 games. Six players on this team had an OPS over .800. Mike Mussina was their only dependable starter; he punched in a 16-5 record with a 3.06 ERA. The '66, '70, and '83 teams look fairly even on paper, but the '94 squad is a wildcard here. Can they catch fire again like they did in the 1994 replay?
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Three championship Baltimore Oriole teams and a bonus team from 1994 battled for their spot in the Greatest American League. In the end, the 1970 Baltimore Orioles came out on top with a 20-10 record, four games ahead of the 1994 Orioles.
The '70 Os had the best balance of offense and pitching. They scored 4.6 runs a game while the pitching staff had a 3.11 team ERA. The top two hitters in the order, Don Buford and Paul Blair created a lot of offense. Buford hit .293 with 20 runs scored and 21 RBI. Blair hit .273 and led the team in home runs (7), RBI (22) and runs scored (21). Three starters had ERAs below 2.70. Mike Cuellar finished 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA. Jim Palmer was also 5-2 with a 2.44 ERA. Dave McNally was 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA.
The 1994 Orioles finished with a respectable 16-14 record. Rafael Palmeiro led the team in hitting at .291 with seven homers and 15 RBI. leadoff hitter Brady Anderson led the team in RBI with 19 and stolen bases with 11. Mike Mussina dominated most of his nine starts with a 5-1 record and 1.70 ERA. Lee Smith saved seven games in 10 appearances with a 2.45 ERA.
The 1983 Orioles finished 14-16 despite having all four starting pitchers finish with ERAs below 3.20. Storm Davis was their top starter at 4-3 with a 2.03 ERA. This team really struggled at the plate. Only two players who started every game hit over .200! Eddie Murray hit .233 with 8 HRs and 18 RBI.
At 10-20, the 1966 Orioles were very disappointing. They averaged just over three runs a game and had by far the worst pitching with a team ERA of 4.01. Luis Aparacio was the only starter to hit above .250 at .288. Boog Powell and Frank Robinson hit a lowly .230 each. Steve Barber was their only consistent starting pitcher (3-2 with a 3.13 ERA). Everyone else had an ERA of 4.0 and above.
The next play in season pits the Detroit Tiger teams of 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. The '35 Tigers were led by player-manager Mickey Cochrane who hit .319 with a .452 OBP. Four starters hit .300 or better; the best was 24 year old Hank Greenberg who hit .328 with 36 dingers and an absurd 168 RBI. The '45 Tigers were more pitching-centered, led by Hal Newhouser who finished 25-9 that year with a 1.81 ERA. Speaking of pitching, that would describe the '68 Tigers as well, led by Denny McClain at 31-6 with a 1.98. This team could also score runs; four players hit 20 or more homeruns, led by Willie Horton (.285, 36 HRs). The '84 Tigers won 104 games thanks to a big season from Kirk Gibson (.282, 27 HRs, and 29 SBs). I think the '68 Tigers look like the best squad on paper, but that’s why we (I) play the games!
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The 1968 Detroit Tigers became the next team to qualify for the Greatest American League with a 21-9 record, outlasting the 1935,1945, and 1984 Tigers. The '68 Tigers came out on top despite nobody consistently dominating at the plate or on the mound. Willie Horton hit .270 with seven home runs, 23 RBI, and a team-leading .841 OPS. Denny McClain, a grade A and C starter, was effective if not spectacular as the ace; he finished 4-3 with a 2.83 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 70 innings. The '68 Tigers had a deep bullpen led by closer Roy Face who piled up 13 saves in 15 appearances with a 2.57 ERA.
The 1935 Tigers finished 16-14 after losing seven out of ten to the '68 Tigers. Pete Fox hit .294 with an incredible 32 RBI despite just hitting three home runs (two of them grand slams). Hank Greenberg hit just .246 but delivered six home runs, 24 RBI and 24 runs scored. Lynwood Rowe was outstanding on the mound; he finished 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA. The other starters had ERAs above 4.
The 1984 Tigers finished 12-18. Kirk Gibson was terrific, hitting .283 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 21 runs scored and nine stolen bases. They had one of the weaker performing pitching staffs with a 4.18 team ERA. Jack Morris finished 3-4 with a 3.73 ERA.
The 1945 Tigers finished 11-19; they had a lot of trouble scoring runs, 105 despite hitting .248 as a team. Hal Newhouser was the biggest bust of all of the players. Another grade A and C pitcher, Newhouser was 1-7 with a 4.21 ERA in his nine starts.
The next franchise to compete for a spot in the Greatest American League will be the Boston Red Sox teams from 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. The 1903 Sox were managed by third baseman Jimmy Collins who also hit .296 and stole 23 bases. Their #1 starter was the award model Cy Young who won 28 games with a 2.08 ERA. The 1912 Red Sox also had a player/manager, Jack Stahl, who hit .301. Tris Speaker hit .383 with 53 doubles and 52 stolen bases. They also had one of the great pitching names, 22 year old Smoky Joe Wood who won 34 games (!) with a 1.91 ERA. The brief but spectacular Babe Ruth era began with the 1915 champs where at age 20 he won 18 games with a 2.44 ERA on the mound and hit .315 with a .952 OPS at the plate. The original Ohtani followed that up with a 23 win season the following year with a 1.75 ERA and a .272 average at the plate. He played 59 games in the outfield for the 1918 team and hit .300 with a .966 OPS while also going 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA in 19 starts. 86 years later, the 2004 Red Sox got rid of the Babe Ruth curse thanks to new Hall-of-Famer David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez who both hit 40 plus home runs and Curt Schilling and his bloody sock who won 21 games with a 3.26 ERA. Ortiz was a big part for the 2007 and 2013 championship teams as well, hitting .332, with 35 homers and a 1.066 OPS in 2K7 and .309, 30 dingers and a .959 OPS in 2K13. The 2018 Red Sox had two players, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, with an OPS over 1.0. Betts hit .346 with 32 homers and 30 steals while Martinez hit .330 with 43 dingers. It will be interesting to see if a team before the 1920s or one of the modern 21st century teams will come out on top.
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Nine Boston franchises played an 80 game play-in season to earn a spot in the Greatest American League. In the end, it came down to the final game between the oldest Boston champion from 1903, so old they were called the Americans not the Red Sox, and the most recent champs from 2018. The 2K18 Red Sox prevailed 5-1 on the backs of their powerful offense and deep bullpen. Here are the final standings:
2018 Red Sox 46-34
1903 Americans 45-35
1915 Red Sox 41-39
1912 Red Sox 41-39
1918 Red Sox 39-41
2013 Red Sox 39-41
2007 Red Sox 37-43
2004 Red Sox 37-43
1916 Red Sox 35-45The 2K18 Red Sox and the '03 Americans were by far the best two teams in the Boston play-in season. Six players from the 2K18 Red Sox hit double figures in homeruns. Meanwhile the 1918 and 1916 Red Sox hit less than 10 homeruns as a team! 2K18’s power enabled them to score 4.1 runs a game despite having just a .211 team batting average. Mookie Betts led the team in hitting with a .318 average; he also led the team in runs scored (55), stolen bases (24), and OPS (1.021) while hitting 18 home runs. JD Martinez got off to a slow start but exploded in his last 30 games to finish .236 with a team-leading 22 HRs and 72 RBI. He drove in 37 runs in his final 30 games, 15 in the final series against the '03 Americans alone. Andrew Benitendi gave pitchers fits in the leadoff spot, hitting .282 with 10 triples, 10 homers, and 53 runs scored. The 2K18 Sox had a team ERA of 3.25, a lot of it on the strength of the bullpen. The combo of Craig Kimbrel, Ryan Brasier, Bobby Poyner, Hector Velasquez, Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, and Steven Wright combined for a 14-4 record with a 2.18 ERA in 173 2/3 innings. Kimbrel saved 21 games as the closer. Rick Porcello was their winningest starter at 12-7 with a 3.07 ERA. Chris Sale struck out 156 batters in just 125 1/3 innings while finishing 6-6 with a 2.80 ERA. The Americans had the highest team batting average at .262 and tied the 1912 Red Sox with the most runs scored with 349. They had the most triples of any team, 66. Shortstop Freddie Parent led the team in hitting (.326), triples (13), RBI (54), and stolen bases (25). Parent was one of three players to steal 20 or more bases; leftfielder Pat Dougherty hit .310 and led the team in runs scored with 53 while stealing 20 bases, and centerfielder Chick Stahl hit .304 with 20 steals and 47 runs scored. Cy Young and Bill Dinneen carried the Americans pitching staff with nearly identical numbers; Young finished 13-8 with a 2.52 ERA while Dinneen was 12-9 with a 2.62 ERA. The Americans had the exact opposite of the modern day deep bullpens which cost them some games. George Winter logged 68 1/3 innings as the only option from the pen and finished 4-5, 9 saves, and a 5.66 ERA.
The Tris Speaker led 1912 and 1915 Red Sox teams were the only other teams to finish above .500. Speaker led the 1915 Sox in hitting at .305 with 17 stolen bases and 49 runs scored. The '15 Sox was also the first of the teams featuring Babe Ruth. Ruth DHed on the road against the modern teams and hit .289 overall with eight of the team’s 14 homeruns. He was not quite as successful on the mound, going 4-7 despite a 2.96 ERA. The rest of the staff was very good; Ernie Shore finished 11-10 with a 2.95 ERA, George Foster (no, not the Reds guy) was 12-11 with a 3.10 ERA, and Hubert Leonard finished 9-5 with a 3.15 ERA. Speaker led the 1912 Sox in almost everything: average (.341), runs scored (57), homeruns (7), RBI (60), and stolen bases (34). The pitching staff was led by Smoky Joe Wood who was 14-8 with a 2.32 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 209 2/3 innings.
The 1918 and 2013 Red Sox teams finished just below .500 for different reasons. The '18 Sox scored only 3.5 runs a game and hit just six homeruns as a team, four of them by Ruth. He doubled as the leftfielder and a cog in the pitching staff; he led the team in RBI with 43 while hitting .245 and was 5-8 on the mound with a 2.82 ERA. The weak offense negated many quality starts from a pitching staff with a team ERA of 2.92 led by Carl Mays (11-10, 2.33 ERA), Joe Bush (12-11, 2.82 ERA), and Sam Jones (8-5, 2.85 ERA). The 2K13 Red Sox hit just .208 as a team and had mediocre starting pitching. Power from guys like David Ortiz (.241, 16 HRs, 41 RBI) and an outstanding bullpen kept them in games. Koji Uehara saved 20 games with a 2.22 ERA and the combo of Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Miller, and Craig Breslow combined for a 10-5 record with a 1.71 ERA.
The Ortiz-led teams of 2004 and 2007 fared even worse than the 2013 squad. The 2K7 Sox were the worst hitting team (.198) and scored 3.86 runs a game. Ortiz hit .235 with 20 HR, 28 doubles, and 48 RBI and runs scored to lead the team. Yes, .238 was the best average on the team. Josh Beckett was stellar as the staff ace, going 13-8 with a 2.29 ERA. The former phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka was another story. “Dice K” was sliced and diced to the tune of a 1-15 record and 5.77 ERA. Johnathan Papelbom was shaky as the closer as well; he finished with 18 saves but a 5.52 ERA. The 2K4 Sox only hit marginally better as a team (.204) but scored more runs (4.4 a game) thanks to hitting 96 homers (compared to 77 from the 2K7 squad). Ortiz hit just .200 with 15 HRs but led the team in RBI with 49. The 2K4 Sox had the highest team ERA (4.29). Curt Schilling was bloody-sock-solid, finishing 12-7 with a 3.54 ERA. Tim Wakefield was a disaster; he was 3-11 and had the highest ERA of any of the Boston starting pitchers (6.29). The bullpen was slightly better, led by Keith Foulke who saved 20 games with a 2.20 ERA.
The 1916 Red Sox brought up the rear because they couldn’t score runs (3.29 a game) and what little bullpen they had was terrible. Centerfielder Tilly Walker was their best hitter (.260, 3HRs, 38 RBI). Ruth did not deliver as the ace of the pitching staff or at the plate; he was 7-12 with a 3.34 ERA on the mound and .205 with one HR at the plate. Dutch Leonard and Carl Mays carried the load for the team when they started. Leonard was 11-8 with a 2.51 ERA while Mays was 11-4 with a 2.19 ERA. Rube Foster served as the team’s closer, but he was more of an opener. Foster finished 0-7 with 10 saves and a 5.79 ERA.
Back when I started this Boston project eight months ago, Houston only had one World Series championship in their history, the cheaters from 2017. That changed last October when the 2022 squad vanquished my Phillies to win their second championship. Therefore, the 2K17 and 2K22 Astros will battle it out in the best of 11 games to decide who will represent the Houston Astros in the Greatest American League.
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not surprised at all that the Boston results… the other ‘modern’ teams just don’t match up as well. The averages make sense… I bet all the hits are doubles and homers! Disappointing the Babe didn’t do better though.
I gotta ask, what are you going to do with the Yankees? With this format, that would be like 2 full seasons worth of games!
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Yeah, with that many teams, I will approach the Yankees differently. With, at last count, 27 world championship teams, I will have each team play the other in six game series. This will mean each team will play a 156 game play-in season, so the representative from the Yankees franchise will be richly deserved. I will do updates after every Yankees series since it will probably take 18 months to 2 years to complete. Two other teams have to be figured out first: the Astros, which will be taken care of this week, and the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics who have nine teams themselves, so in reality I’m still several months away from tackling the massive Yankee project.
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The best of 11 series between the 2017 and 2022 Houston Astros went back and forth and came down to the last game. In the end, the 2017 Astros prevailed and will represent Houston in the Greatest American League.
The 2K17 Astros won the first three games at home; they won game one 5-3 on the strength of a bases-clearing triple by Jose Altuve in the 4th. They trailed 5-1 in the 7th inning of game two but came roaring back with three runs in the bottom of the 7th and went ahead for good 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth on a George Springer two-run dinger. They won game three with less drama 7-2; Brian McCann homered and drove in three runs.
The 2K22 Astros won two of the next three games at home; They pounded the 2K17 ‘Stros 11-2 in game four. Yordan Alvarez hit a grand slam in the game. Game five was rained out, taking out the teams’ aces for the rescheduled game five. The 2017 Astros jumped out with four runs in the first inning and held on to win game five 5-2. The 2K22 Astros came back to win game six 9-8 in a wild one that had several lead changes. Kyle Tucker hit two homers and drove in four in the win.
After the 2K17 Astros won game seven 7-2 to take a 5-2 series lead, the 2K22 Astros won the next three games to force a final game 11. Cristian Javier introduced pitching into the series with a 3-hit, 9 strikeout gem in game 8 in a 5-0 win. They held on to win game nine 5-4 despite a three-run rally in the 9th by the 2K17 'Stros. Michael Brantley hit a two-run walk off homer in the 9th of game ten 5-3.
In the final game of the series, Yulieski Gurriel blasted a three run homer to give the 2K17 Astros a 4-2 lead; they would hold on to win 5-4.
Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve led the 2K17 Astros offense that scored 52 runs in the series. Correa hit .390 with 2 HRs, 10 RBI, 9 runs scored and a 1.176 OPS. Altuve hit .289 with 2 HRs, 8 RBI, 9 runs scored, and a .979 OPS. Dallas Kuechel was the diamond in a starting rotation full of coal in this series. Kuechel finished 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA. The other starters, Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, and Mike Fiers combined for a 6.24 ERA. Ken Giles was a perfect 4-4 in save opportunities with four scoreless innings.
The 2022 Astros also scored 52 runs in the series. Michael Brantley led the team in hitting at .382 with a 1.035 OPS. Yordan Alvarez hit .286 with 5 HRs, 12 RBI and a 1.042 OPS. Alex Bregman hit .275 with 3 HRs and led the team in runs scored with 9. Cristian Javier won both of his starts with a 1.00 ERA. The rest of the staff, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, and Jose Urquidy had a combined 5.92 ERA.
Two more franchises are left to fill for the Greatest American League. The next franchise is the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics. Like Boston, they have nine championship teams. The first five (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930) were all managed by legend Connie Mack. The early Mack teams were led by pitching; The highest ERA from the top four starters of the 1910 team was Eddie Plank at 2.01. Sheesh! The ironically nicknamed Home Run Baker hit 11 of those for the 1911 team. That was Barry Bonds 2000s back in the day. Charles Bender was a dual threat pitcher for the 1913 team: 21 wins in 21 starts and 13 saves along with a 2.21 ERA. The 1929 and 1930 A’s had more firepower at the plate with Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Simmons and the legendary Lefty Grove on the mound. They dominated the early 1970s with three straight titles in 1972, 1973, and 1974: Reggie, Catfish, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers. Finally, you have the 1989 team that was supposed to be a burgeoning dynasty with the Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire) and Rickey Henderson. On paper, one of the 1970s teams looks like the most balanced, but the 1910 squad with their brick walls on the mound will be tough to beat.
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Nine teams battled in an 80 game play-in season for the representative from the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletic franchise. One thing was clear; the Connie Mack-led Philadelphia A’s teams between 1910 and 1930 was one of the more overlooked dynasties in the history of baseball. These five teams dominated the Oakland teams in the standings. In the end, it was the 1929 Philadelphia A’s narrowly coming out on top. Here were the final standings:
1929 A’s: 54-26
1930 A’s: 52-28
1913 A’s: 46-34
1910 A’s: 45-35
1911 A’s: 41-39
1972 A’s: 34-46
1974 A’s: 34-46
1989 A’s: 28-52
1973 A’s: 26-54The 1929 A’s averaged 4.6 runs a game despite hitting just .230 as a team and had a team ERA of 3.24. Bing Miller led the team in hitting at .301 with 11 triples. Jimmy Dykes hit .284 with 11 homers, 10 triples, 26 doubles, 52 RBI, and 61 runs scored. Mule Haas hit .268 with 49 RBI. Al Simmons hit .264 with 13 homeruns and a team-leading 80 RBI. Jimmie Foxx led the team in homeruns with 14 and runs scored with 63 while hitting .254. On the mound, Lefty Grove led the way with a 13-4 record and a 2.69 ERA. Bill Shores finished 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA. George Earnshaw was erratic but often effective; he finished 9-8 with a 3.49 ERA. He walked 106 batters in 170 1/3 innings and gave up 116 hits.Eddie Rommel turned out to be the best closer as he finished 5-2 with 25 saves and a 2.17 ERA.
The 1930 A’s finished second on the strength of a juggernaut offense that averaged 5.4 runs a game while hitting .250. Their team ERA was identical with the 1929 A’s at 3.24. The 1930 Al Simmons card is the greatest I’ve ever seen (1s at 11 and 66, 2 at 33, 6’s at 22, 44 and 55!) and his production didn’t disappoint. Simmons hit .317 with 25 homeruns, 90 RBI, 71 runs scored, and a 1.001 OPS. Simmons wasn’t the only one who raked. Mickey Cochrane hit .300 with 10 homers, 68 runs scored, and 51 RBI. Jimmie Foxx hit .284 with 23 homeruns 79 RBI, 67 runs scored and a 1.006 OPS. Pitching was Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, and pray. Grove dominated with a 14-3 record and a 1.54 ERA. Earnshaw finished 12-4 with a 2.45 ERA. six of the other seven pitchers on the staff had ERAs of 4.09 or higher.
The 1913 A’s had the best team batting average at .256 and stole 139 bases while averaging 4.5 runs scored a game. Homerun Baker hit only three, but he drove in 60 while hitting .326 with 22 doubles and 26 stolen bases. Danny Murphy hit .317 with 11 triples and 49 RBI. Eddie Collins hit .288 with 53 RBI, 50 runs scored and 38 stolen bases. Starters Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, and Boardwalk Brown had ERAs below 3. Bender was 14-5 with a 2.34 ERA, Plank was 11-6 with a 2.66 ERA, and Brown was 9-6 with a 2.76 ERA.
The 1910 A’s struggled a little more to score runs but had dominant pitching (2.68 team ERA). Rube Oldring led the team in hitting at .298 with 14 triples, 12 stolen bases, and 54 runs scored.Danny Murphy hit .293 with 12 triples, 17 steals, 45 runs scored and 46 RBI. Two of their four starters had ERAs below 2! Jack Coombs was 10-8 with a 1.88 ERA. Charley Bender was 10-3 with a 1.37 ERA.
The 1911 A’s averaged 4 runs scored a game with a 3.73 team ERA. Charley Bender led an otherwise mediocre starting pitching staff with a 8-2 record and a 1.83 ERA.
The Oakland teams all struggled to score runs; the 1989 team actually scored less than three runs a game. Some highlights: Joe Rudi hit .255 with 27 doubles and 50 RBI for the '74 A’s while Reggie Jackson hit .252 with 17 homers, 19 stolen bases, and 46 RBI. Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, and Storm Davis combined for a 20-34 record despite ERAs of 3.16, 3.02, and 3.32 respectively. Catfish Hunter was 7-10 with a 2.29 ERA for the '74 A’s and 7-10 with a 2.56 ERA for the '72 A’s. Rollie Fingers was surprisingly erratic across the board; he was 2-2 with 19 saves and a 3.33 ERA for the '74 A’s, 1-6 with 15 saves and a 3.92 ERA for the '73 A’s and 4-5 with 15 saves and a 3.45 ERA for the '72 A’s.
Meanwhile, a thirteenth team will enter the Greatest American League in the form of the 2023 Texas Rangers. That leaves the New York Yankees and their 27 title teams. Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Reggie, Jeter. This will be fun and very long. Each team will play the other in six games apiece, totally 156 games per team. I will provide updates after every six game series; otherwise you may never hear from me again!
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Before I report on the first Yankee series, I will be handling the pitching staffs differently compared to all of the other previous franchises. I had been going with four-man staffs, but since all of the Yankee teams will be playing 156 games, all of the Yankees pitchers will have approximately the same amount of starts they had from their respective seasons.
The first Yankee series was between the first two titleholders: The 1923 and the famous “murderer’s row” from 1927. Like most baseball fans, I knew about the Lou Gehrig replacing Wally Pipp story, but I never knew that Pipp was a part of the first Yankee championship team in 1923. His squad took three of the first four games in this series before the '27 Yankees won the final two games to split the series.
Waite Hoyt, the staff ace for the '27 Yankees, was the standout player in this series. He won both of his starts, a 3-hit shutout in a 3-0 game one win and he gave up only one run in their game six 6-1 win. Hoyt has a 0.50 ERA with a 0.50 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. Hoyt was one of the few pitchers that was effective in a series that averaged 10 runs scored a game.
After getting shut out in game one, the '23 Yankees offense went off in the next three games. They overcame a 5-0 deficit in game two and scored six runs in the 7th inning, three from a homerun by Babe Ruth, to win 9-6. After winning game three 7-2, they took a 9-0 lead in game four. The '27 Yankees battled back and cut the lead to 9-7 with six runs scored in the 7th inning. The '23 Yankees scored six runs of their own in the following inning to seal a 15-8 win. The '27 Yankees cooled off the '23 Yankees bats in the final two games, a 4-3 12 inning game won on an Earle Combs walkoff double and 6-1.
Here were some of the other standout performances: 1923 Babe Ruth hit just …211, but walked 9 times and hit 3 homers for a 1.201 OPS. He scored six runs and drove in nine. 1927 Ruth hit .318 with two homeruns, six RBI, and a 1.172 OPS. Bob Meusel hit .304 for the '27 Yankees and drove in nine runs in the series. 1923 Waite Hoyt also pitched well, winning his only start and compiling a 1.64 ERA in two appearances.
The 1927 Yankees will play the 1928 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1927 Yankees took on their next door neighbor, the 1928 Yankees, and came away with another six game split.
Three of the games were one-run games, including Game One won by the '28 Yankees 3-2. Game Two was the most dramatic contest of the series; the game was either tied or changed leads six times before the '27 Yankees won 5-4 on a Lou Gehrig walk off double. Game Three was an outlier blowout won by the '28 Yankees 14-5 in which every player either scored or drove in a run. The '27 Yankees won the next two games 5-4 and 6-3. In the latter game, Babe Ruth drove in four of the runs with a homerun and a triple. The '28 Yankees forged a split in the series with a 8-6 triumph.
'27 Ruth hit .428 in the series with three homeruns and eight RBI to bring his overall numbers to .372 with five HRs, 14 RBI, 13 runs scored, and a 1.393 OPS. Earle Combs is off to a good start, hitting .321 with 10 runs scored. Bob Meusel’s average dropped to .289, but he still has a .950 OPS and 12 RBI. Lou Gehrig is off to a solid start, hitting .295 with three HR and 11 RBI. Waite Hoyt is off to a dominant beginning; he won his third start to bring his record to 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Bob Shawkey has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and has earned two wins and two saves.
'28 Combs hit .414 in the series and tied Ruth for the most runs scored with seven. Ruth hit .300 with three homers and a team-leading six RBI along with Gehrig who hit .391 in the series. George Pipgras won both of his starts with a 3.05 ERA. The 1928 Yankees will take on the 1932 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1928 Yankees flexed their muscles by beating the 1932 Yankees five out of six games to boost their record to 8-4.
They won the first two games 6-1 and 6-3 respectively. Lou Gehrig drove in four of the runs in game two with a double and a homerun. The '32 Yankees won their lone contest in game three 9-2; Bill Dickey had five RBI on a two-run double and a three-run homer. After a rain out, the '28 Yankees beat the '32 Yankees in a 10-6 shootout in game four; Bob Meusel hit a grand slam and drove in six runs. George Pipgras introduced pitching in game 5 as he pitched a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win. The '28 Yankees closed out the series with a 7-5 win, a series they averaged seven runs scored a game!
'28 Babe Ruth had a monster series: .550 with three homeruns and eight RBI. He is now hitting .425 overall with six homeruns, 19 runs scored, 14 RBI, and a 1.524 OPS.Ruth is one of five players currently hitting above .320. Tony Lazzeri is hitting .358 with a 1.007 OPS. Earle Combs is hitting .327 with 11 runs scored. Lou Gehrig is hitting .326 with 14 RBI and a .994 OPS. Joe Dugan is also hitting .326.With the shutout, George Pipgras ran his record to 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA.
1932 Ruth and Lazzeri were the only players to hit above .300 in the series. '32 Lazzeri hit .360 with a 1.087 OPS while Ruth hit .350 with a 1.031 OPS. '32 Pipgras won their only game and has a 2.01 ERA with four appearances; overall their pitching struggled mightily with a team 4.75 ERA. The 1932 Yankees will face the 1936 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1932 Yankees rebounded by taking five out of six games from the 1936 Yankees, the first championship team without Babe Ruth and with Joe Dimaggio, to even their record at 6-6.
The '32 Yankees won the first five games of this series: They won Game One 16-7; Ruth hit two homeruns and Bill Dickey drove in five runs with a triple and a homer. They won Game Three 6-5 after trailing 5-0; they scored three in the 7th on a two-run homer by Dickey and a solo blast by Joe Sewell back-to-back. The '36 Yankees avoided a sweep by winning game six 14-4; Bob Seeds came off the bench for an injured George Selkirk and hit two homeruns in that game.
Dickey had a tremendous series for the '32 Yankees; he hit .376 with two homeruns and nine RBI. Overall, he is hitting .304 with four HRs and 18 RBI. Ruth dropped to .289 but has six homeruns, 14 RBI, and a 1.122 OPS. Tony Lazzeri leads the team in hitting at .367 with 10 RBI and a 1.022 OPS. George Pipgras has two complete games in two starts and is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Jumbo Brown has been solid in a mixture of starts and the bullpen, 1-0 with a 2.80 ERA.
Lou Gehrig had a ridiculous series for the '36 Yankees; he hit .542 with four homeruns, seven RBI, 12 runs scored and a 1.746 OPS! Dimaggio hit .444 with a 1.168 OPS. The '36 pitching staff was woeful with a team ERA of 7.00. They will face the 1937 Yankees in the next series.
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The series between the 1936 and 1937 Yankees had a lot of fireworks; the teams combined for 20 homeruns in the six game series, with the '36 Yankees winning four out of six to improve their record to 5-7.
The '37 Yankees won the first two games; Joe Dimaggio hit a go-ahead two-run homer in game one to give them a 5-3 win and Red Ruffing narrowly missed a no-hitter in game two, a 12-0 blowout. The no no was broken up in the 9th on a Lou Gehrig double. Tony Lazzeri led the offense with two homers, a triple and 5 RBI. The '36 Yankees won the remaining four games of the series. Game four went 14 innings with the '36 Yankees scoring six runs in the 14th to win 11-5. Dimaggio hit two homeruns for the '36 Yankees in a 11-6 win in game five. Game six was the most dramatic one of the series; the lead changed hands four times. Jake Powell gave the '36 Yankees a 5-3 lead in the 6th with a three-run homerun. The '37 Yankees put five runs across in the 7th on a bases-clearing double by Bill Dickey and a two-run dinger by Dimaggio to put them in front 9-6. That lead didn’t last long as George Selkirk hit a two-out three run tater to tie the game. The '36 Yankees went back out in front for good in the 9th when Powell lined a RBI single that led to another run on a throwing error by Selkirk for an 11-9 win.
It’s not often you can say a hitter’s average dropped nearly 100 points and is still hitting well over .400, but that’s what Lou Gehrig is doing for the '36 Yankees. Gehrig is hitting .457 with six homeruns, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored an a 1.500 OPS. Likewise, Dimaggio “dropped” to .364 with four homers, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, and a 1.084 OPS. Powell hit .348 in the series to boost his overall average to .326 with three homeruns and 10 RBI. Pitching continues to be rough; Johnny Broaca is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA, but the rest of the staff and it’s 6.15 team ERA has been mostly trash.
The 1937 Yankees hit .271 in the series with 12 homeruns. Dimaggio hit .407 with four dingers, nine RBI, and a 1.374 OPS. Gehrig hit .364 with a 1.412 OPS. Two more starters had a 1.0 or better OPS: Tommy Henrich (.318, 1.263 OPS) and Lazzeri (.292, 1.039 OPS). Ruffing (1-0 1.50 ERA in one start and three appearances ) provided one of the few quality starts for a staff that had a 4.76 team ERA in the series. The '37 Yankees will take on the 1938 Yankees in the next series.