Tournament of World Series Champions
 

I just got OOTP 17 last week and was immediately hit with an idea, which I shared on the forums of a league that I'm in. Shortly afterward, someone suggested I should think about sharing it here. I tell you all that so you know why I'm already a good distance into the first round of my tournament before I even posted here...

Also, I had already gotten a few series in before someone asked for screenshots (I have no idea why I hadn't thought of that), so some of the early ones don't have any. Sorry about that.

Anyway, here's what I'm doing: I'm taking all 111 World Series champions and putting them in a tournament to see who really is the best. If you're at all interested how I determined their starting points, my ranking system was mostly arbitrary. I used regular season winning percentage as the #1 factor; the better they did in the regular season, the better the rank. The first tie breaker was number of losses in that year's World Series. Potentially tough for the few teams that played best-of-nine, but I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Especially considering the second tie breaker is a random number generator. The higher ranked team gets home field AND strategy set up in their year. If the higher ranked team is one of the teams that won a best-of-nine World Series, the series will be best-of-nine, otherwise it will be best-of-seven.

I had considered doing "play-in" series based on the league champions of 1904 and the final standings and playoff format of 1994, but I decided against it. Since this is about World Series champions, it didn't feel right to include teams that didn't win one.

Since there are fewer than 128 teams, the following teams got first round byes (listed from #1-17 ranking)
1909 Pirates
1927 Yankees
1907 Cubs
1998 Yankees
1939 Yankees
1932 Yankees
1929 A's
1912 Red Sox
1942 Cardinals
1905 Giants
1919 Reds
1944 Cardinals
1910 A's
1961 Yankees
1915 Red Sox
1911 A's
1970 Orioles

I've attached a file showing the bracket at the start of the tournament.

Here are all of the results from series I don't have a screenshot for (again, sorry about that).

1953 New York Yankees (#27) 4, 1990 Cincinnati Reds (#102) 2
MVP: Yogi Berra (NYY 1953) .400/.433/.880, 4 HR, 13 RBI, Grand Slam 1st inn. Gm 3 (but the Reds came back to win it in the 9th)
This one was back and forth, at least for the first 4 games. Then the Yankees won 3 in a row.
Scores:
NYY 7 Cin 2
Cin 9 NYY 7
Cin 6 NYY 5
NYY 7 Cin 4
NYY 5 Cin 3
NYY 8 Cin 7
The 1953 Yankees' next opponent will be the winner of the 1951 Yankees / 1926 Cardinals matchup.

1958 New York Yankees (#79) 4, 1995 Atlanta Braves (#50) 1
MVP: Elston Howard (NYY 1958) .625/.625/.917, 1 HR, 15 RBI
An absolute cakewalk for the Yankees, who won games 2 & 3 by a combined score of 29-1. The Braves' vaunted pitching core of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine were knocked around easily, especially Smoltz. The only exception was a great game by Maddux in Game 4, the Braves' only win.
Scores:
NYY 4 Atl 1
NYY 17 Atl 1
NYY 12 Atl 0
Atl 4 NYY 1
NYY 10 Atl 4
The 1958 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1915 Red Sox, who had a 1st Round bye.

1941 New York Yankees (#25) 4, 2003 Florida Marlins (#104) 0
MVP: Joe DiMaggio (NYY 1941) .438/.550/.688, 1 HR, 5 RBI
A fairly easy sweep for the '41 Yankees. The Marlins looked like they'd let themselves back into the series in Game 3, when they came back from a 7-0 deficit with 5 runs in the 7th and 2 runs in the 8th to tie it up, only to give up the game winning run another 8 innings later in the 16th. That's also 3 straight series invloving a Yankees team, and 3 straight Yankees wins.
Scores:
NYY 11 Fla 2
NYY 6 Fla 0
NYY 8 Fla 7 (16)
NYY 2 Fla 1
The 1941 Yankees' next opponent will be the winner of the 1968 Tigers / 2012 Giants matchup.

1921 New York Giants (#61) 5, 2004 Boston Red Sox (#68) 4
MVP: Irish Meusel (NYG 1921) .439/.439/.659, 1 HR, 10 RBI
Our first series that guarantees the Yankees won't win (although a New York team still did), and also our first 9-game series, which went to the wire. If it had been 7, the Red Sox would've won it. It looked like a close series of lopsided games, as 4 of the first 5 games were blowouts, 2 for each side. The Red Sox's real-life comeback spirit showed itself in Game 6, when they went into the 7th inning down 3-0 and came out of it leading 4-3 and took a 4-2 lead in the series. But allowing 3 runs to the Giants in the 10th inning of Game 7 started a string of 3 straight Giants victories. Pedro Martinez dominated his Games 1 and 4 starts, and did well in the deciding Game 9, but it wasn't enough.
Scores:
Bos 12 NYG 3
Bos 13 NYG 6
NYG 8 Bos 0
Bos 3 NYG 0
NYG 11 Bos 3
Bos 4 NYG 3
NYG 11 Bos 8 (10)
NYG 4 Bos 1
NYG 7 Bos 1
The 1921 Giants' next opponent will be the 1998 Yankees, who had a 1st round bye.

1993 Toronto Blue Jays (#86) 4, 1956 New York Yankees (#43) 0
MVP: Rickey Henderson (Tor 1993) .333/.579/.833, 2 HR, 4 RBI
There technically can't be any upsets when every team is a champion, but this one is close. Especially considering it was a clean sweep of part of the Yankee dynasty of the 1950s. MVP Rickey Henderson started out the series with a home run, and it was all Toronto from then on. Yankees legend Whitey Ford lost both Games 1 and 4, and Mickey Mantle hit a paltry .125. The series ended, much like the 1993 World Series, with a walk-off home run. This time it was a Devon White solo shot.
Scores:
Tor 4 NYY 3
Tor 7 NYY 1
Tor 5 NYY 3
Tor 4 NYY 3
The 1993 Blue Jays' next opponent will be the winner of the 1930 A's / 2011 Cardinals matchup.

1954 New York Giants (#41) 4, 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers (#88) 2
MVP: Don Mueller (NYG 1954) .615/.630/.615, 0 HR, 2 RBI
It was a back and forth series, but in the end the Giants were too strong. Their pitching was fantastic, with 4 complete games, and it doesn't hurt that Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Al Dark all hit over .350, and none of them even came close to Mueller's 16-for-26 series (.615).
Scores:
NYG 6 LAD 1
LAD 4 NYG 1
NYG 10 LAD 4
LAD 2 NYG 1
NYG 7 LAD 5
NYG 5 LAD 0
The 1954 Giants' next opponent will be the winner of the 1928 Yankees / 1985 Royals matchup.

1975 Cincinnati Reds (#19) 4, 1987 Minnesota Twins (#110) 0
MVP: Johnny Bench (Cin 1975) .526/.550/1.105, 2 HR, 10 RBI
The Twins were no match for the power of the Big Red Machine, going down quickly in 4 straight. A 9th inning comeback in Game 3 fell short, otherwise they may have extended the series a bit.
Scores:
Cin 10 Min 1
Cin 9 Min 5
Cin 8 Min 7
Cin 7 Min 2
The 1975 Reds' next opponent will be the winner of the 1946 Cardinals / 1962 Yankees matchup.

1950 New York Yankees (#35) 4, 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers (#94) 0
MVP: Yogi Berra (NYY 1950) .500/.571/1.063, 2 HR, 10 RBI -- 1953's Yogi Berra has also been MVP
Only Game 2 was ever in doubt, with it going back and forth a number of times. The Yankees had a 6-1 lead, but the Dodgers scored 4 in the 5th and 3 in the 6th to make it 8-6. But then the Yankees scored 3 in the 8th to take the lead back, 9-8. Then the Dodgers scored in the top of the 9th to tie it at 9. Then in the bottom of the 9th, a walk and an error put the Yankees' Johnny Hopp on 3rd, and Yogi Berra hit a walk-off single to win it 10-9. Pitching phenom Fernando Valenzuela was rocked in both of his starts, despite only giving up 1 earned run in Game 4. With 2 out in the 3rd, Johnny Hopp hit a routine grounder that should've ended the inning harmlessly, but 2B Steve Sax mishandled it. The Yankees then scored 8 times before the inning finally ended.
Scores:
NYY 5 LAD 0
NYY 10 LAD 9
NYY 4 LAD 1
NYY 16 LAD 3
The 1950 Yankees' next opponent will be the winner of the 1917 White Sox / 2001 Diamondbacks matchup. (See below)

1977 New York Yankees (#54) 4, 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers (#75) 1
MVP: Graig Nettles (NYY 1977) .474/.500/.684, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Two straight Yankees/Dodgers series, two straight fairly easy Yankee victories, despite the fact that this time they went up against the likes of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Maury Wills. You can't blame it on Koufax, as both games against Yankee ace Ron Guidry were epic pitching duels, with Koufax giving up only one run in 17 innings (Game 1 1-0 loss), while striking out 20 and getting the Dodgers' only win in Game 4. Guidry struck out 15 in his matching 17 innings, only giving up the 2 runs the Dodgers scored in Game 4.
Scores:
NYY 1 LAD 0
NYY 5 LAD 2
NYY 9 LAD 2
LAD 2 NYY 0
NYY 7 LAD 3
The 1977 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1919 Cincinnati Reds, who had a 1st round bye.

And now for the ones with screenshots...

1917 Chicago White Sox (#30) 4, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (#99) 2
MVP: Shoeless Joe Jackson (CWS 1917) .421/.560/.737, 1 HR, 3 RBI
A closely contested series against 2 teams from very different eras. The home team won each of the first four games, with Chicago finally breaking the streak in Game 5 en route to an 8-4 road win, including scoring 6 runs in the 2nd inning. Game 6 was an easy win for the White Sox, winning 7-2. Randy Johnson was brilliant in this series, but it wasn't enough.
Scores:
CWS 5 Arz 2
CWS 2 Arz 1
Arz 10 CWS 3
Arz 4 CWS 1
CWA 8 Arz 4
CWS 7 Arz 2
The 1917 White Sox's next opponent will be the 1950 Yankees, who just swept the 1981 Dodgers in 4 games.

1928 New York Yankees (#24) 4, 1985 Kansas City Royals (#105) 0
MVP: Joe Dugan (NYY 1928) .500/.529/.625, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Despite the fact that it was a sweep, and the fact that Game 3 was a blowout, this was an incredibly close contest. Even Game 3 was 1-1 until the 8th inning, when the Yankees scored 6. The Royals were in every game, but the Yankees were just better. And that's with Babe Ruth only getting 3 hits the entire series, all singles.
Scores:
NYY 6 KC 5
NYY 4 KC 2 (10)
NYY 7 KC 1
NYY 2 KC 1
The 1928 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1954 Giants, who beat the 1988 Dodgers in 6 games.

1903 Boston Americans (#23) 5, 1974 Oakland Athletics (#106) 1
MVP: Cy Young (Bos 1903) 2-0, 18.0 IP, 10 HA, 0 BB, 10 K, 0.00 ERA
Boston dominated the series, but Oakland was in most of the games. Both Games 2 and 3 were won on walk-off hits, and Catfish Hunter only gave up one run in Game 4. Unfortunately for him, he was facing MVP Cy Young, who was virtually untouchable in each start.
Scores:
Bos 9 Oak 1
Bos 4 Oak 3
Bos 2 Oak 1 (10)
Bos 1 Oak 0
Oak 5 Bos 2
Bos 7 Oak 4
The 1903 Americans' next opponent will be the winner of the 1949 Yankees / 1991 Twins matchup.

1949 New York Yankees (#42) 4, 1991 Minnesota Twins (#87) 3
MVP: Bobby W Brown (NYY 1949) .577/.645/.769, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Let's hear it for the home team! This series went the distance due to the fact that the home team won every game. New York won two 1-run games at home, looking pretty good in the process. But the Twins not only looked like they were going to make a series of it with two 4-run wins, but Brian Harper's 5 hits and Kirby Puckett's 2 home runs and 7 RBI in Game 5 led to a 14-1 thrashing that made it look like the Twins were in complete control. But it was not to be, as the Yankees seized control back in New York, and never let go.
Scores:
NYY 2 Min 1
NYY 5 Min 4
Min 7 NYY 3
Min 5 NYY 1
Min 14 NYY 1
NYY 8 Min 3
NYY 3 Min 1
The 1949 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1903 Boston Americans, who just beat the 1974 A's in 6 games in a best-of-nine.

1934 St. Louis Cardinals (#52) 4, 1933 New York Giants (#77) 2
MVP: Jack Rothrock (SL 1934) .364/.440/.909, 3 HR, 8 RBI
A matchup between two World Series winners from consecutive years, the Giants and Cardinals played each other fairly evenly, won by the Cardinals with an 11th inning walk-off hit by Burgess Whitehead.
Scores:
SL 14 NYG 2
NYG 5 SL 3 (10)
SL 8 NYG 1
NYG 4 SL 3
SL 10 NYG 4
SL 8 NYG 7 (11)
The 1934 Cardinals' next opponent will be the 1910 Philadelphia A's, who had a 1st round bye.

1920 Cleveland Indians (#37) 5, 1945 Detroit Tigers (#92) 1
MVP: Hank Greenberg (Det 1945) .417/.462/.750, 1 HR, 5 RBI
While the Tigers dominated Game 2, the Indians dominated the rest of the series, easily winning it 5-1. Elmer Myers won two games, and Stan Coveleski struck out 13 in 19.2 innings (over 2 games). Despite his team losing 5 out of 6, the Tigers' Hank Greenberg was named MVP.
Scores:
Cle 5 Det 4 (12)
Det 8 Cle 1
Cle 9 Det 3
Cle 4 Det 2
Cle 5 Det 2
Cle 3 Det 2
The 1920 Indians' next opponent will be the winner of the 1940 Reds / 1959 Dodgers series.

1967 St. Louis Cardinals (#48) 4, 2007 Boston Red Sox (#81) 2
MVP: Dick Hughes (SL 1967) 2-0, 0.56 ERA, 16.0 IP, 4 BB, 11 K
Neither Lou Brock nor Orlando Cepeda had a good series, but the Cardinals proved to be too strong. The Red Sox showed some of the come back spirit of the Red Sox teams of the era, going down 3-0 in the series and winning the next two. But Dick Hughes' 2-hit, 9 strikeout performance in Game 6 brought the series win for the Cards.
Scores:
SL 2 Bos 0
SL 3 Bos 2
SL 2 Bos 1
Bos 10 SL 4
Bos 6 SL 2
SL 1 Bos 0
The 1967 Cardinals' next opponent will be the 1970 Orioles, who had a 1st round bye.

1963 Los Angeles Dodgers (#64) 4, 1989 Oakland Athletics (#65) 0
MVP: Don Drysdale (LAD 1963) 1-0, 9.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 HA, 1 BB, 6 K
The A's kept two of the games close, but the Dodgers were the better team for the entire series. Jim Gilliam hit .412, Sandy Koufax won 2 games, and Don Drysdale threw a 4-hit complete game shutout.
Scores:
LAD 6 Oak 2
LAD 2 Oak 0
LAD 12 Oak 1
LAD 3 Oak 2
The 1963 Dodgers' next opponent will be the 1909 Pirates, who had a 1st round bye as the #1 seed in the tournament.

1984 Detroit Tigers (#33) 4, 2010 San Francisco Giants (#96) 2
MVP: Howard Johnson (Det 1984) .375/.423/.708, 2 HR, 6 RBI
The Tigers looked to be on their way to an easy victory with wins in the first three games (two of which were big), but Juan Uribe's walk-off homer in Game 4 avoided the sweep, and Matt Cain kept the Tigers down in Game 5. However, Milt Wilcox took no-hitters into the 7th inning of both Games 3 AND 6 to help the Tigers avoid a collapse. (Game 3 ended up a 2-hitter, and Game 6 a 3-hitter. Wilcox did give up a run in the 3rd inning of Game 6 on 2 walks, a fielder's choice and a sac fly)
Scores:
Det 17 SF 5
Det 6 SF 4
Det 6 SF 0
SF 3 Det 2
SF 5 Det 3
Det 5 SF 1
The 1984 Tigers' next opponent will be the winner of the 1908 Cubs / 1996 Yankees series.

1980 Philadelphia Phillies (#103) 4, 1931 St. Louis Cardinals 2
MVP: Manny Trillo (Phi 1980) .440/.440/.960, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Our first triple-digit-ranked winner, the 1980 Phillies upset the heavily favored 1931 Cardinals behind Manny Trillo, Steve Carlton and Lonnie Smith, among others. St. Louis had a good chance of leading the series 2-1 after Game 3, with a 9th inning comeback that erased a 3-1 deficit and sent the game to extra innings. But Pete Rose hit a walk-off single in the 10th, giving that 2-1 edge to the Phillies. While the Cardinals did win Game 5, the Phillies were never really in trouble after Game 3.
Scores:
Phi 11 SL 1
SL 4 Phi 2
Phi 4 SL 3 (10)
Phi 3 SL 2
SL 4 Phi 0
Phi 9 SL 3
The 1980 Phillies' next opponent will be the winner of the 2009 Yankees / 1973 A's series.

1969 New York Mets (#53) 4, 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates (#76) 0
MVP: Art Shamsky (NYM 1969) .467/.556/.533, 0 HR, 4 RBI
The Miracle Mets essentially cruised into the second round, winning all four games of their series with the '71 Pirates, despite Tom Seaver getting shelled in Game 2. (Nolan Ryan pitched 3 scoreless innings to get the win) The Pirates put up 9th inning comebacks in Games 2, 3 and 4, but all fell short.
Scores:
NYM 6 Pit 5 (10)
NYM 9 Pit 8
NYM 4 Pit 1
NYM 4 Pit 2
The 1969 Mets' next opponent will be the 1944 Cardinals, who had a 1st round bye.

1992 Toronto Blue Jays (#82) 4, 1913 Philadelphia Athletics (#47) 1
MVP: Roberto Alomar (Tor 1992) .462/.500/.654, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Game 1 was two exciting games in one! Down 9-6, the Blue Jays scored 4 in the top of the 9th to take a 10-9 lead. But the A's scored in the bottom of the 9th to tie it, loaded the bases, but couldn't finish. Then Toronto's Joe Carter hit a solo inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th, taking an 11-10 lead. A triple by George Brickley in the bottom of the 11th, followed by a single by Home Run Baker tied it at 11. Again the A's loaded the bases after that, and again they couldn't finish. It wouldn't be for another 7 innings that the Blue Jays would break it open with an RBI single by Kelly Gruber, a bases loaded double by Turner Ward, and another RBI single by Manuel Lee to take it 16-11 in 18. The Blue Jays had 26 hits in the game, and the A's had 28. It was all Blue Jays after that until more late inning heroics in Game 4, where the A's were down 6-2, but scored 2 in the 8th and 6 in the 9th to avoid the sweep. They couldn't do more than that though, and fell in 5.
Scores:
Tor 16 Phi 11 (18)
Tor 5 Phi 3
Tor 6 Phi 3
Phi 10 Tor 6
Tor 6 Phi 5
The 1992 Blue Jays' next opponent will be the winner of the 1936 Yankees / 2006 Cardinals series.

2005 Chicago White Sox (#63) 4, 2002 Anaheim Angels (#66) 1
MVP: Tadahito Iguchi (CWS 2005) .455/.478/.773, 2 HR, 7 RBI
All of the games of this series were close, but Chicago managed to pull out most of them. Anaheim's one win came in Game 1, when a 9th inning comeback by the White Sox fell short, despite scoring 3 runs. That game also included 3 lead changes by the 3rd inning. All the runs of Game 2 came in the 3rd and 4th innings, Game 3 featured another 3-run late-game comeback (this time by Anaheim in the 8th) which fell short, Game 4 was a pitcher's duel won by Mark Bueherle, and Game 5 started with a 2-0 Angels lead, which was chipped away and eliminated from the 5th-9th innings.
Scores:
Anh 9 CWS 7
CWS 5 Anh 3
CWS 6 Anh 5
CWS 2 Anh 1
CWS 5 Anh 2
The 2005 White Sox's next opponent will be the 1927 Yankees, who had a 1st round bye as the #2 seed.

1937 New York Yankees (#21) 4, 2014 San Francisco Giants (#108) 0
MVP: Lou Gehrig (NYY 1937) .444/.500/.833, 1 HR, 7 RBI
Another "Golden Age" Bronx Bombers team, another quick victory. The Giants were in each of the first 3 games, but weren't able to contain the Yankee offense. The Giants led Game 1 by scores of 1-0 and 3-1, but gave up 1 or 2 runs in every inning from the 5th to the 8th. With 2 runs in the top of the 6th in Game 2, the Giants tied the score at 4. But in the bottom of the same inning, the Yankees busted it open with 6 more runs. The Giants led Game 3 2-1 after 6, but the Yankees scored 5 in the 7th and another 5 in the 8th to cruise to victory. Game 4 was all Yankees, starting with a 5-0 lead after 4.
Scores:
NYY 7 SF 4
NYY 11 SF 5
NYY 11 SF 2
NYY 6 SF 3
The 1937 Yankees' next opponent will be the winner of the 1947 Yankees / 2015 Royals series. (Yes, from 1937/2014 to 1947/2015)

1982 St. Louis Cardinals (#100) 4, 1938 New York Yankees (#29) 2
MVP: Keith Hernandez (SL 1982) .455/.538/.864, 1 HR 12 RBI
Another upset, this time of one of those "Golden Age" Yankees teams, the one from the year following the previous series (they can't ALL win, right? Right?). The Cardinals looked to cruise to a series victory, going up 3-1 in the first 4 games. The Yankees won Game 5, despite a late-inning comeback by the Cards, to keep the series alive. St. Louis led Game 6 the entire way, but still had late-game excitement. Leading 6-4, the Cards got another 3 in the top of the 9th, making it 9-4. The Yankees then scored a run and got the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the inning, with a second run coming on a fielder's choice for the first out. But then Bruce Sutter relieved Dave LaPoint, and quickly got the final two outs on a strikeout of Frankie Crosetti and a flyout by Red Rolfe.
Scores:
SL 9 NYY 2
NYY 6 SL 5
SL 7 NYY 5
SL 7 NYY 2
NYY 5 SL 4
SL 9 NYY 6
The 1982 Cardinals' next opponent will be the winner of the 1943 Yankees / 1964 Cardinals series. Yes, another Yankees/Cardinals series.

1947 New York Yankees (#44) 4, 2015 Kansas City Royals (#85) 2
MVP: Joe DiMaggio (NYY 1947) .417/.500/.792, 2 HR, 9 RBI
The Royals put up a fight, taking Games 3 and 4 at home (winning Game 4 on a walk-off single by Kendry Morales) after losing 2 blowout games in New York. And Game 5 was an offensive explosion that could've gone either way. The Royals scored 4 in the 1st and 3 in the second to jump out to a 7-0 lead. But then the Yankees scored 11 in the 3rd to immediately go up 11-7. After 7 innings, the score was 12-12. But the Yankees scored the go-ahead run in the 8th and added 4 more in the 9th to win it 17-12.
Scores:
NYY 8 KC 2
NYY 8 KC 1
KC 4 NYY 3
KC 5 NYY 4
NYY 17 KC 12
NYY 2 KC 0
The 1947 Yankees' next opponent will be the... 1937 Yankees, who swept the 2014 Giants in 4 games.

The Yankees are like the basketball team that gets the most lottery balls.
But it only takes 1 team to win it so you never know.

1968 Detroit Tigers (#40) 4, 2012 San Francisco Giants (#89) 1
MVP: Earl Wilson (Det 1968) 2-0, 14.0 IP, 1.93 ERA, 6 K, 3 BB, 10 HA
The Giants held off a small late-game comeback in Game 1 to beat 31-game-winner Denny McLain and make it look like they were going to compete in this series, if not win it outright. However, in Game 2 they couldn't figure out series MVP Earl Wilson, Game 3 saw their own 7th inning comeback fall short, and in Game 4 they took a 1-0 lead but couldn't hold it or score again. Game 5 looked better for the Giants, as they had a 2-0 lead after 6. The Tigers got 1 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th to take a 4-2 lead. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Pablo Sandoval hit a 1-out solo homer to close the gap to 4-3, and Joaquin Arias hit a 2-out triple to threaten to tie the score. But Pat Dobson got Nate Schierholtz to fly out to center to end the series.
Scores:
SF 5 Det 3
Det 4 SF 1
Det 3 SF 2
Det 3 SF 1
Det 4 SF 3
The 1968 Tigers' next opponent will be the 1941 Yankees, who swept the 2003 Marlins in 4 games.

1976 Cincinnati Reds (#45) 4, 1916 Boston Red Sox (#84) 0
MVP: Gary Nolan (Cin 1976) 2-0, 16.0 IP, 0.56 ERA, 6 K, 1 BB, 12 HA
The Red Sox just couldn't handle the Big Red Machine, not scoring a single run in Cincinnati (although they did finally score 2 in the 1st inning of Game 3). None of the games were really close, and the Reds beat up Boston pitcher Babe Ruth on two occasions. Johnny Bench had a horrible series, going 1-for-15, but it didn't matter behind great offensive series from George Foster, Ken Griffey, Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, as well as terrific pitching from every Red that took the mound.
Scores:
Cin 11 Bos 0
Cin 3 Bos 0
Cin 7 Bos 3
Cin 6 Bos 1
The 1976 Reds' next opponent will be the winner of the 1986 Mets / 2000 Yankees matchup.

1957 Milwaukee Braves (#55) 4, 2013 Boston Red Sox (#74) 3
MVP: Hank Aaron (Mil 1957) .300/.344/.800, 5 HR, 9 RBI
A back and forth series all the way, the Braves and Red Sox went to the limit. Game 1 was 3-2 Boston until the bottom of the 9th, where the Braves tied it. But Boston scored 4 in the top of the 10th, topped by a 3-run home run by Dustin Pedroia to seal the win. Boston had another lead (2-0) in Game 3. But the Braves put up 3 in the 6th and 4 in the 7th to take it. Then, in Game 7, Boston led 3-2 and then made it 4-2 in the top of the 8th. But Milwaukee scored 3 in the bottom of the 8th, including a 2-run homer by Hank Aaron. Don McMahon kept the Red Sox scoreless in the 9th for the series win. Hank Aaron was named MVP, despite starting the series 1-for-10.
Scores:
Bos 7 Mil 3 (10)
Mil 8 Bos 7
Mil 7 Bos 3
Bos 12 Mil 3
Mil 6 Bos 2
Bos 5 Mil 2
Mil 5 Bos 4
The 1957 Braves' next opponent will be the 1905 Giants, who had a 1st round bye.

1996 New York Yankees (#97) 4, 1908 Chicago Cubs (#32) 0
MVP: Andy Pettitte (NYY 1996) 2-0, 18.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 4 K, 1 BB, 14 HA
Despite being a much lower seed, the Yankees blew right through the Cubs in four straight games. The Cubs had a 4-2 lead in Game 2, but the Yankees chipped away at it until they led 7-4. The Cubs managed a 1-run comeback in the 9th, but it wasn't enough. The Cubs then made a quick comeback from an early 2-0 deficit in Game 3 by scoring 2 in the 3rd, only to let the Yankees retake the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Cubs tied it again in the 7th, but allowed the winning run in the 8th. It looked very much like the Cubs would at least avoid a sweep, as they led Game 4 4-0 after 5. But they gave up runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th to make it 4-3, and then, without making a single out, in the 9th inning the Yanks put up a single, a walk, a reached-on-error, a run-scoring single, and finally, a walk-off single by Mariano Duncan.
NYY 5 ChC 0
NYY 7 ChC 5
NYY 4 ChC 3
NYY 5 ChC 4
The 1996 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1984 Tigers, who beat the 2010 Giants 4-2.

1925 Pittsburgh Pirates (#51) 4, 1924 Washington Senators (#78) 1
MVP: Glenn Wright (Pit 1925) .476/.500/.762, 0 HR, 4 RBI
In 1925, the Pirates came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Senators in 7 games. In this series, they're playing against essentially the same team, but with a quicker win. Game 1 was perfect for the fan that likes a lot of offense. Washington scored 6 in the first and were up 8-3 after 3. But by the time the 6th inning ended, the Pirates led 12-11. The Senators tied it in the 7th, but the game was won by the Pirates in the bottom of the 9th with a walk-off Clyde Barnhart double. The Senators also took a large lead early in Game 2, 4-0. But that's all they'd score, and the Pirates scored 3 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th and 5th, and another 2 in the 7th. After extending the series by winning Game 4, Washington took another early lead in Game 5, but the Pirates tied it at 2 in the 4th. Then Pittsburgh scored a run in the 8th and another in the 9th to seal the series.
Scores:
Pit 13 Wsh 12
Pit 7 Wsh 4
Pit 5 Wsh 2
Wsh 6 Pit 5
Pit 4 Wsh 2
The 1925 Pirates' next opponent will be the 1961 Yankees, who had a 1st round bye.

1979 Pittsburgh Pirates (#71) 4, 1906 Chicago White Sox (#58) 1
MVP: Bill Madlock (Pit 1979) .450/.450/.600, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Most of the games were close -- in fact, Game 3 was the only blowout -- but Chicago was nearly always on the short end of the stick. Pittsburgh's Bert Blyleven pitched wonderfully in getting 2 wins, and John Candelaria pitched a complete game shutout in a Game 4 pitcher's duel. The loser in that game, Nick Altrock, was possibly the best pitcher in the series, ending with a 0.53 ERA. Other than MVP Bill Madlock, no one on either team hit over .300.
Scores:
Pit 2 CWS 1
CWS 3 Pit 1
Pit 13 CWS 3
Pit 1 CWS 0
Pit 2 CWS 1
The 1979 Pirates' next opponent will be the 1929 A's, who had a 1st round bye.

1962 New York Yankees (#83) 4, 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (#46) 2
MVP: Elston Howard (NYY 1962) .480/.536/.720, 1 HR, 6 RBI
The Cardinals started out with a strong Game 1, but only managed to win one other close game, with the Yankees absolutely dominating the final three. New York's first win came in Game 2, when they made a 9th inning comeback with 2 runs in the inning. They nearly did it again in Game 3, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with 2 out, but Dale Long grounded to short. The Cardinals felt that same magic in Game 5, scoring 4 in the 9th. Unfortunately, they started the inning down by 8, so they still lost by 4.
Scores:
SL 6 NYY 1
NYY 3 SL 2
SL 4 NYY 3
NYY 10 SL 5
NYY 12 SL 8
NYY 13 SL 1
The 1962 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1975 Reds, who swept the 1987 Twins in 4 games.

1978 New York Yankees (#62) 4, 1966 Baltimore Orioles (#67) 3
MVP: Boog Powell (Bal 1966) .462/.548/.962, 4 HR, 9 RBI
A very well-fought series, the Yankees went up 3 games to 1, but Baltimore won the next 2 to force Game 7. The Orioles were up 3-1, but the Yankees scored 2 in the 8th to tie it and it went to extra innings. Thurmon Munson hit a walk-off solo home run to win the series.
Scores:
NYY 3 Bal 1
NYY 5 Bal 3
Bal 9 NYY 2
NYY 4 Bal 1
Bal 7 NYY 4
Bal 10 NYY 3
NYY 4 Bal 3 (10)
The 1978 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1907 Cubs, who had a 1st round bye.

1952 New York Yankees (#57) 4, 1922 New York Giants (#72) 2
MVP: Eddie Lopat (NYY 1952) 2-0, 18.0 IP, 1.00 ERA, 4 K, 4 BB, 10 HA
Even though the series went 6 games, the Yankees seemed to be in control the entire way. The Giants stayed in it mainly due to pitcher Jesse Barnes, who went 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA, and also hit .429. Ross Youngs hit .500, but beside the two of them, no Giant regular hit over .227. Yankees pitching led the way for them, with Allie Reynolds and MVP Eddie Lopat getting two wins each, and being nearly unstoppable on the mound. Reynolds also hit .400 with 4 RBI (second most on the team). Mickey Mantle led the regulars with a .385 average, but only drove in 2 runs.
Scores:
NYG 4 NYY 1
NYY 6 NYG 3
NYY 8 NYG 2
NYG 6 NYY 3
NYY 9 NYG 3
NYY 1 NYG 0
The 1952 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1912 Red Sox, who had a 1st round bye.

1930 Philadelphia Athletics (#22) 4, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals (#107) 3
MVP: Mickey Cochrane (Phi 1930) .621/.645/.862, 0 HR, 8 RBI
This was an exciting back-and-forth series, where the road team won each of the first 6 games, usually fairly dominantly. The streak nearly ended in Game 4, when Philadelphia took a 5-2 lead into the 9th, but the Cardinals came back with 2 runs and a runner on 3rd, but Yadier Molina grounded to second to end the game. Game 5 was another close one, with the score tied at 3 entering the 9th. But the A's Mickey Cochrane went 5-for-5 and drove in the winning run in the top of the 9th. Game 7 was a masterful pitching performance by Lefty Grove, who finally won a game for a home team. All the runs were scored by the 4th inning, so the A's spent the rest of the game teetering on a one-run lead.
Scores:
SL 3 Phi 1
SL 11 Phi 4
Phi 9 SL 2
Phi 5 SL 4
Phi 4 SL 3
SL 9 Phi 2
Phi 2 SL 1
The 1930 Athletics' next opponent will be the 1993 Blue Jays, who swept the 1956 Yankees in 4 games.

1935 Detroit Tigers (#59) 4, 1983 Baltimore Orioles (#70) 2
MVP: Pete Fox (Det 1935) .391/.440/.870, 3 HR, 12 RBI
The Tigers seemed to be cruising to an easy series victory, going up 3 games to 1, including coming back from a 4-2 deficit in Game 4 with 2 runs in the 8th and another in the 9th to win it 5-4. But the Orioles took Game 5, breaking a tie score in the 7th and leading from there, and fought a very tough Game 6, that was a dramatic 1-1 pitchers' duel through the 6th. But the Tigers broke it open with 7 runs in the 7th, looking to take the series in a blowout. Baltimore had a big inning of their own to come, as they scored 4 more in the 9th, bringing themselves within 3 and threatening to send the series to a 7th game. But with 2 out and the bases loaded, Jim Dwyer grounded to second, ending the game and the series.
Scores:
Bal 5 Det 3
Det 8 Bal 4
Det 5 Bal 3
Det 5 Bal 4
Bal 6 Det 4
Det 8 Bal 5
The 1935 Tigers' next opponent will be the 1932 Yankees, who had a 1st round bye.

Hello,

This is absolutely fantastic. I have been having trouble setting up something similar as when I create a fictional league then switch over to putting in historical teams, the team names appear but not the players. Is there something I am missing? Thanks for the help and thanks for posting your results.

I'm just using the Historical Exhibitions. I haven't tried doing it through a fictional league, so unfortunately I can't help with that.

But I've just set up each series through the Historical Exhibitions option on the start screen, and gone from there.

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (#34) 4, 2008 Philadelphia Phillies (#95) 1
MVP: Jackie Robinson (Brk 1955) .381/.500/.810, 3 HR, 6 RBI
The Phillies won Game 1 pretty handily, the game never really in doubt. But it was all Dodgers after that. Not that the Phillies didn't have their chances. They were up 3-0 going into the 7th inning in Game 3, but the Dodgers scored 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to tie it, and then pounced on them for 7 in the 9th. Game 5 was similar, with the Phillies being up 5-4 in the 9th inning, but giving up another 4 runs in the top of the 9th, incuding a 3-run homer by Carl Furillo.
Scores:
Phi 10 Brk 5
Brk 6 Phi 4
Brk 10 Phi 3
Brk 8 Phi 5
Brk 9 Phi 5
The 1955 Dodgers' next opponent will be the winner of the 1923 Yankees / 1997 Marlins matchup.

1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (#56) 4, 1972 Oakland Athletics (#73) 0
MVP: Dick Groat (Pit 1960) .500/.526/.778, 1 HR, 3 RBI
This series was a snoozer, with Pittsburgh not only winning, but dominating in every aspect. Even Game 2, which was the closest game, was 5-0 Pittsburgh late in the game, with the A's scoring all 3 of their runs in the final 2 innings, in their attempt to make a comeback. The A's Darold Knowles and Blue Moon Odom each had ERAs over 10, and Dave Hamilton, in giving up 6 earned runs in only 1/3 of an inning, had an ERA of 162.00. Both Sal Bando and Tim Cullen hit well, but no other Oakland regular hit over .214. On the other side, nearly every Pirate had a great series, with Dick Groat, Smoky Burgess and Don Hoak all hitting over .400. The Pirates only used 4 pitchers, and none of them really faced any trouble.
Scores:
Pit 7 Oak 2
Pit 5 Oak 3
Pit 18 Oak 1
Pit 5 Oak 1
The 1960 Pirates' next opponent will be the 1942 Cardinals, who had a 1st round bye.

1959 Los Angeles Dodgers (#101) 4, 1940 Cincinnati Reds (#28) 1
MVP: Duke Snider (LA 1959) .450/.500/.800, 2 HR, 6 RBI
A big upset in the rankings, the Dodgers won 4 straight after dropping Game 1, when their 9th inning comeback fell short. They had a more successful late-game comeback in Game 2, when the Reds were up 3-1, but the Dodgers scored 2 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th. They did it again in Game 3, also down 3-1, where they scored 5 in the bottom of the 9th, capped by a 3-run walk-off homer by Duke Snider.
Scores:
Cin 5 LA 4
LA 6 Cin 4
LA 6 Cin 3
LA 5 Cin 3
LA 6 Cin 2
The 1959 Dodgers' next opponent will be the 1920 Indians, who beat the 1945 Tigers in 6 games in a best-of-nine series.

1936 New York Yankees (#18) 4, 2006 St. Louis Cardinals (#111) 1
MVP: Joe DiMaggio (NYY 1936) .391/.400/.652, 1 HR, 6 RBI
The Yankees scored all of their runs in Game 1 in the 2nd inning, but that was all they needed. The Cardinals came back in Game 2 with a 4-hit shutout thrown by Jeff Suppan. Not to be outdone, the Yankees' Monte Pearson threw a 4-hit shutout of his own in Game 3. Game 4 was hotly contested, as it was tied at 6 going into extra innings. The Yankees scored 5 in the top of the 10th, but the Cardinals came back in the bottom of the inning to score 2 more and loaded the bases with one out. Unfortunately for them, David Eckstein hit into a double play to end the game. Game 5 was never in doubt, with the Yankees leading from start to finish and Cards not challenging.
Scores:
NYY 4 SL 3
SL 3 NYY 0
NYY 7 SL 0
NYY 11 SL 8 (10)
NYY 12 SL 3
The 1936 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1992 Blue Jays, who beat the 1913 A's in 5 games.

2009 New York Yankees (#39) 4, 1973 Oakland Athletics (#90) 0
MVP: Jorge Posada (NYY 2009) .529/.579/.941, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Not long ago, we had a series where the 1972 A's were easily swept by the 1960 Pirates. Now the 1973 A's have been swept by the 2009 Yankees. The difference is, the first 3 games of this series were highly competative. Game 1 was scoreless until the bottom of the 8th, when the Yankees scored a single run. The A's immediately matched it in the top of the 9th, and the game went into extra innings. The game ended in the 11th inning, with a leadoff double by Melky Cabrera, followed by a walk-off double by Jerry Hairston Jr. Game 2 featured a great pitching performance by Oakland's Vida Blue, who only gave up single runs (one unearned) in the 5th and 7th innings. But he was outplayed by AJ Burnett, who gave up only 2 hits in 8 innings. Mariano Rivera pitched an uneventful 9th. While the first two games were pitchers' duels, Game 3 was anything but. The Yankees scored 3 in the 1st and 4 in the 3rd, but the A's came back with 5 of their own in the bottom of the 3rd. They then scored 1 and 2 runs, respectively, in the 6th, for an 8-7 Yankee lead. In the 9th, the Yanks burst it open with another 6 runs. The A's scored 1 more run in an attempted comeback that fell way short.
Scores:
NYY 2 Oak 1 (11)
NYY 2 Oak 0
NYY 14 Oak 8
NYY 11 Oak 2
The 2009 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1980 Phillies, who beat the 1931 Cardinals in 6 games.

1964 St. Louis Cardinals (#93) 4, 1943 New York Yankees (#36) 2
MVP: Lou Brock (SL 1964) .467/.484/.800, 2 HR, 7 RBI
I apologize, I did this one right before my trip last week, and in the rush to get ready for it, I wasn't able to create a good writeup of this series. But the Yankees won Game 1 fairly impressively, only to lose the next 3 games. Despite the Yankees' comeback victory in Game 5, the Cardinals couldn't be denied and dominated Game 6 to take the series.
Scores:
NYY 7 SL 4
SL 10 NYY 3
SL 7 NYY 6
SL 7 NYY 6
NYY 3 SL 2
SL 13 NYY 3
The 1964 Cardinals' next opponent will be the 1982 Cardinals, who also beat a Yankees team (1938) in 6 games.

1923 New York Yankees (#31) 4, 1997 Florida Marlins (#98) 3
MVP: Bob Shawkey (NYY 1923) 3-0, 27.0 IP, 0.33 ERA, 15 K
After the first two games, this series looked like it would be another easy Yankee victory. In Game 1, they shut out the Marlins until the 9th inning. Game 2 was even more dominant, with the Yanks scoring 11 runs in the 4th inning alone, and Wally Pipp going 5-for-5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI. The Marlins came back to win a very close Game 3, only to fall victim to a 4-hit shutout from Bob Shawkey in Game 4. But then Florida won another close one in Game 5, and a Game 6 that they dominated every bit as much as the Yankees dominated Game 2, scoring 3 in the 6th and 6 in the 7th. What could've been a dramatic Game 7 became all Yankees behind a second 4-hit shutout by Shawkey.
Scores:
NYY 6 Fla 2
NYY 14 Fla 2
Fla 3 NYY 2
NYY 5 Fla 0
Fla 3 NYY 2
Fla 13 NYY 1
NYY 4 Fla 0
The 1923 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1955 Dodgers, who defeated the 2008 Phillies in 5 games.

1948 Cleveland Indians (#49) 4, 1918 Boston Red Sox (#81) 0
MVP: Dale Mitchell (Cle 1948) .368/.368/.684, 0 HR, 7 RBI
This may have been a sweep, but all of the games were close and usually exciting. Cleveland led Game 1 4-3 after 8, but Boston tied it up in the 9th to send it to extra innings. The Red Sox then scored 2 in the 10th, on a Babe Ruth solo home run, and a wild pitch that scored Wally Schang. Only 3 batters came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th. Unfortunately for Boston, it was Dale Mitchell, who doubled, Lou Boudreau, who walked on 4 straight pitches, and Ken Keltner, who hit a 3-run walk-off home run. Game 2 was a pitchers' duel and was scoreless until Cleveland scored 2 in the bottom of the 6th. Boston came back in the 9th again, with an RBI triple by George Whiteman. But Russ Christopher came in to pitch for the Indians and stranded him there. Game 3 made it the 3rd straight game where Boston attempted a 9th inning comeback. But they started off down 6-0, so their 3 runs weren't enough. There was no late-game magic for the Sox in Game 4, but there was for the Indians. Boston led 2-1, but gave up 4 in the 8th as the Indians finished them off.
Scores:
Cle 7 Bos 6 (10)
Cle 2 Bos 1
Cle 6 Bos 3
Cle 5 Bos 2
The 1948 Indians' next opponent will be the 1911 A's, who had a 1st round bye.

1951 New York Yankees (#38) 4, 1926 St. Louis Cardinals (#91) 3
MVP: Vic Raschi (NYY 1951) 3-0, 27.0 IP, 2.00 ERA, 16 K, 11 HA, 9 BB
Another Cardinals/Yankees matchup, this one coming down to the wire. The Yankees broke open a close Game 1 with 3 in the 6th and 4 in the 8th. A 2-2 Game 2 was won by the Cardinals in the top of the 9th with an RBI triple by Bob O'Farrell, an RBI double by Chick Hafey, and an RBI single by Pete Alexander. They then won Game 3, which was 1-1 in the 9th, on a walk-off single by Heinie Mueller. The Yanks won Game 4, but the Cardinals came back from a 4-1 deficit in Game 5 to score 4 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th. The Yankees scored 1 in the 9th, but couldn't keep the rally going. The Cardinals had Game 6 tied at 2, despite 4 errors. But it became yet another game won in the 9th, thanks to 3 more Cardinals errors (yes, they had 7 for the game), including one by Taylor Douthit that allowed the winning run to score. Game 7 wasn't won in the 9th; it was won in the 10th. Both pitchers went the whole way, each only giving up one run each over the first 9 innings. Flint Rhem couldn't hold the Yankees in the 10th, allowing a 2-out series-clinching walk-off double by Bobby W Brown. Vic Raschi pitched 27 innings, but only had 2 complete games (8.0 IP in Game 1, 10.0 IP in Game 7).
Scores:
NYY 8 SL 5
SL 5 NYY 2
SL 2 NYY 1
NYY 3 SL 1
SL 7 NYY 5
NYY 3 SL 2
NYY 2 SL 1 (10)
The 1951 Yankees' next opponent will be the 1953 Yankees, who are almost the same team and beat the 1990 Reds in 6 games.

1914 Boston Braves (#60) 4, 1999 New York Yankees (#69) 1
MVP: Dick Rudolph (Bos 1914) 2-0, 1.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 11 K, 4 BB, 16 HA
For the most part, the Braves were never in danger in this series. Games 1 and 2 were blowouts, and while not a blowout, Game 5 was never in doubt. Game 3 had the teams trading runs until they had a 3-3 tie going into the 9th. Braves 2B Johnny Evers scored when Yankee catcher Jorge Posada overthrew the first baseman on a pickoff attempt. Dick Rudolph finished the complete game by retiring all 3 Yankees he faced in the bottom of the 9th. The Yankees barely avoided a sweep when, leading 4-3 going into the 9th inning of Game 4, Mariano Rivera gave up a 2-run home run to Hank Gowdy to give Boston a 5-4 lead. But in the bottom of the 9th, Braves pitcher Paul Strand gave up an RBI single to Chuck Knoblauch and then, after intentionally walking Paul O'Neill to load the bases with one out, delivered a full-count, walk-off walk to Derek Jeter. (Who intentionally walks someone to get to Jeter?)
Scores:
Bos 6 NYY 0
Bos 7 NYY 1
Bos 4 NYY 3
NYY 6 Bos 5
Bos 6 NYY 2
The 1914 Braves' next opponent will be the 1939 Yankees, who had a 1st round bye.

1986 New York Mets (#20) 4, 2000 New York Yankees (#109) 2
MVP: Sid Fernandez (NYM 1986) 2-0, 1.13 ERA, 16.0 IP, 18 K, 6 BB, 10 HA
Game 1 was a blowout, but innings 4-6 did feature Dwight Gooden playing for both teams at the same time. Granted, it was the Mets' fresh-faced, young phenom against the Yankees' grizzled, end-of-the-career veteran, but I think it was the first time something like this has happened in the tournament (but certainly not the last). Anyway, Game 2 easily went to the Yankees and, despite the close score, the Mets had no worries in Game 3. Game 4 was a pitchers' duel between Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens, and it was 1-1 after 9. In the top of the 10th, Wally Backman hit a 2-RBI single to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. But the Yankees didn't go quietly, and they started the bottom of the 10th with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Glenallen Hill all hitting singles, which were followed by a Bernie Williams sac fly. But neither David Justice nor Jose Canseco could advance the runners, and the Mets held on for a 3-2 win. The Yankees came back with a 3-2 win of their own in Game 5, and then tried a 9th inning comeback in Game 6, while down 2-0, to avoid a series loss. But with 2 out and David Justice on 2nd, Tino Martinez hit a single to left, and Justice tried to score... but he was cut down by a throw from Mookie Wilson to end the series.
Scores:
NYM 10 NYY 2
NYY 5 NYM 2
NYM 4 NYY 2
NYM 3 NYY 2 (10)
NYY 3 NYM 2
NYM 2 NYY 0
The 1986 Mets' next opponent will be the 1976 Reds, who swept the 1916 Red Sox in 4 straight.

And that's it for the first round!

The updated bracket is attached to this post.

Let's look at a couple of stats. Top seeds were 37-10 in the first round, so it looks like I did a decent job of seeding. Or I got lucky. One or the other. Yankees teams went 17-5, which just shows that it is really hard to knock off the Bronx Bombers.

Now we have the second round coming up, and I'll try to get that started tomorrow. Here are your matchups:
1909 Pirates vs. 1963 Dodgers
1996 Yankees vs. 1984 Tigers
1911 A's vs. 1948 Indians
1970 Orioles vs. 1967 Cardinals
1912 Red Sox vs. 1952 Yankees
1941 Yankees vs. 1968 Tigers
1942 Cardinals vs. 1960 Pirates
1928 Yankees vs. 1954 Giants
1998 Yankees vs. 1921 Giants
1982 Cardinals vs. 1964 Cardinals
1910 A's vs. 1934 Cardinals
1986 Mets vs. 1976 Reds
1939 Yankees vs. 1914 Braves
1959 Dodgers vs. 1920 Indians
1944 Cardinals vs. 1969 Mets
1937 Yankees vs. 1947 Yankees
1927 Yankees vs. 2005 White Sox
1923 Yankees vs. 1955 Dodgers
1915 Red Sox vs. 1958 Yankees
1936 Yankees vs. 1992 Blue Jays
1929 A's vs. 1979 Pirates
1980 Phillies vs. 2009 Yankees
1905 Giants vs. 1957 Braves
1903 Americans vs. 1949 Yankees
1907 Cubs vs. 1978 Yankees
1917 White Sox vs. 1950 Yankees
1961 Yankees vs. 1925 Pirates
1975 Reds vs. 1962 Yankees
1932 Yankees vs. 1935 Tigers
1953 Yankees vs. 1951 Yankees
1919 Reds vs. 1977 Yankees
1930 A's vs. 1993 Blue Jays

Place your bets!

1912 Boston Red Sox (#8) 4, 1952 New York Yankees (#57) 0
MVP: Smoky Joe Wood (Bos 1912) 2-0, 0.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 14 K, 4 BB, 0 HR, 8 HA
The Yankees had a shot in a couple of games, but this one was all Red Sox. Game 1 was a 4-hit shutout by Boston's Smoky Joe Wood. With a 3-2 lead with two out and no one on in the bottom of the 9th of Game 2, the Yankees looked to tie the series. But Tris Speaker walked on 4 straight pitches and Larry Gardner brought him home with a triple. Tom Gorman was brought in to pitch to try to take it into extra innings, but Duffy Lewis's grounder to second was misplayed by Kal Segrist and the winning run scored. Game 3 was another Smoky Joe Wood 4-hitter (this time giving up 1 run). The Yankees were determined to avoid the sweep, and kept it close most of the game, with it being 7-7 after 7. But the Sox put up a run in the 8th, then another in the 9th to take the series.
Scores:
Bos 6 NYY 0
Bos 4 NYY 3
Bos 9 NYY 1
Bos 9 NYY 7
The 1912 Red Sox's next opponent will be the winner of the 1941 Yankees / 1968 Tigers matchup.

1961 New York Yankees (#14) 4, 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates (#51) 2
MVP: Elston Howard (NYY 1961) .393/.393/.750, 2 HR, 8 RBI (This is the 3rd time Howard has been MVP, for 3 different Yankee teams)
The Yankees and Pirates had a good series, but the favored Yanks came out on top. Game 1 was scoreless for the first 5 innings, but then the Pirates scored 3 in the 6th. The Yankees answered with 4 in the 7th... and that's all the scoring. Game 2 was high scoring, with the Yankees leading the entire way, and the Pirates returned the favor once back in Pittsburgh for Game 3. The Pirates evened the series with a 6-hit shutout by Lee Meadows in Game 4. Game 6 was close the whole way, but the Yankees scored in the 1st inning and never gave up the lead. Game 6 wasn't so dramatic, with the Yanks putting up a big lead in the first 4 innings and the Pirates never really challenging.
Scores:
NYY 4 Pit 3
NYY 12 Pit 7
Pit 12 NYY 5
Pit 5 NYY 0
NYY 4 Pit 3
NYY 7 Pit 2
The 1961 Yankees' next opponent will be the winner of the 1975 Reds / 1962 Yankees matchup.

1964 St. Louis Cardinals (#93) 4, 1982 St. Louis Cardinals (#100) 3
MVP: Bill D White (SL 1964) .500/.548/.679, 1 HR, 5 RBI
This looked like it was going to be a boring series, with the '64 Cardinals dominating the first 2 games, and coming back from a 4-1 deficit in Game 3 with 4 in the 7th and 2 each in the 8th and 9th, and with Bob Gibson scheduled for Game 4, after throwing a 4-hit shutout in Game 1. But the '82 team got to Gibson for 2 runs in Game 4, and that's all they'd need behind Joaquin Andujar's own shutout. The '82 Cardinals then won Game 5 handily, and nearly let a 9-3 lead get away in Game 6, giving up 3 in the 8th and another run in the 9th. So what could've (should've?) been a sweep now went to 7 games, and what a Game 7! Both teams scored a single run in the 1st inning, and went scoreless for the next 6. Then Ken Boyer's sac fly in the bottom of the 8th scored Doug Clemens, to give the '64 Cards a 2-1 lead. But the '82 Cards weren't done yet. After 2 quick strikeouts to start the top of the 9th, Dane Iorg and Ken Oberkfell hit back-to-back singles, threatening to score again. But Ozzie Smith grounded out to short to end the series.
Scores:
SL64 4 SL82 0
SL64 5 SL82 1
SL64 9 SL82 6
SL82 2 SL64 0
SL82 6 SL64 1
SL82 9 SL64 7
SL64 2 SL82 1
The 1964 Cardinals' next opponent will be the winner of the 1998 Yankees / 1921 Giants matchup.

1905 New York Giants (#10) 4, 1957 Milwaukee Braves (#55) 2
MVP: Joe McGinnity (NYG 1905) 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 18 HA
The Giants made a comeback at home in Game 1, as the Braves were up 4-1 after 5. But New York scored 3 in the 6th to tie it, and scored the winning run in the 8th on an Art Devlin single. After the Giants dominated Game 2, Milwaukee came back with a fairly easy win of their own in Game 3. They traded wins in the next 2 games, but the Giants weren't letting the Braves get a sniff at a Game 7, utterly crushing them in Game 6 behind Dan McGann's 3 hits, Bill Dahlen's 3 RBI, and despite a poor performance from Christy Mathewson.
Scores:
NYG 5 Mil 4
NYG 8 Mil 3
Mil 6 NYG 2
NYG 4 Mil 2
Mil 4 NYG 1
NYG 12 Mil 5
The 1905 Giants' next opponent will be the winner of the 1903 Americans / 1949 Yankees matchup.

1929 Philadelphia Athletics (#7) 4, 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates (#71) 1
MVP: Jimmy Dykes (Phi 1929) .455/.500/.591, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Game 1 was a hotly contested game that saw the A's answer Pittsburgh each time they scored. The Pirates scored 1 in the 3rd, Philly scored 1 in the 4th. Pittsburgh scored 3 in the 7th, the A's scored 3 in the 8th. Then the Pirates scored another 3 in the 9th. Then the A's scored 2 of their own in the bottom of the 9th, but with 2 out and the bases loaded, Al Simmons grounded to second. The series was all Philadelphia after that, however. After winning Game 2 handily, the A's scored 2 in the 10th to take Game 3. Game 4 was very close, and was won in the 7th inning on... a balk by Bert Blyleven. The Pirates tried to make it a series with Game 5, which also went into extra innings. But this became a reverse of Game 1, with the A's scoring 2 runs in the top of the 13th, and the Pirates scoring a run in the bottom of the inning, but Dave Parker struck out to end the series.
Scores:
Pit 7 Phi 6
Phi 6 Pit 2
Phi 7 Pit 5 (10)
Phi 3 Pit 2
Phi 5 Pit 4 (13)
The 1929 A's next opponent will be the winner of the 1980 Phillies / 2009 Yankees matchup.

1963 Los Angeles Dodgers (#64) 4, 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates (#1) 2
MVP: Sandy Koufax (LAD 1963) 2-1, 0.75 ERA, 24.0 IP, 20 K, 1 BB, 13 HA
If there was good evidence that my ranking system is flawed, or conversely that any team can win, this was it. The #1 seed has already gone down, and it seemed pretty easy, despite going 6 games. While the Pirates did manage to beat MVP Sandy Koufax in Game 1, he only allowed 1 earned run. Game 2 was a pitchers' duel until the Dodgers played small ball to score 4 in the 11th. The Dodgers never trailed in Game 3, but the Pirates came back from a 2-1 deficit in Game 4 by scoring 2 in the 9th with a 2-RBI double by George Gibson. That would be the last time the Pirates would smile, as Johnny Podres threw a 2-hit shutout against them in Game 5, and Koufax and L.A. controlled Game 6 from start to finish.
Scores:
Pit 3 LAD 1
LAD 5 Pit 1 (11)
LAD 3 Pit 1
Pit 3 LAD 2
LAD 3 Pit 0
LAD 4 Pit 2
The 1963 Dodgers' next opponent will be the winner of the 1996 Yankees / 1984 Tigers matchup.