[sansterre]

Final Standings League 1-1

DH League (Playoff Teams Only):

1. 1997 New York Yankees, 152-88 (+1)
2. 2013 Boston Red Sox, 149-91 (+5)
3. 2015 Toronto Blue Jays, 148-92 (+1)
4. 2001 New York Yankees, 141-99 (-1)
5. 2015 Houston Astros, 141-99 (+5)
6. 2005 New York Yankees, 139-101 (+6)
7. 1998 Texas Rangers, 138-102 (+4)
8. 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, 136-104 (-2)
9. 2003 Seattle Mariners, 136-104 (+6)
10. 1978 Boston Red Sox, 135-105 (+4)
11. 1982 Chicago White Sox, 134-106 (+1)
12. 1978 Texas Rangers, 132-108 (+4)
13. 1988 Kansas City Royals, 130-110 (0)
14. 2015 Kansas City Royals, 129-111 (+4)
15. 2010 Texas Rangers, 129-111 (-3)
16. 1977 New York Yankees, 128-112 (+1)

Original League (Playoff Teams Only):

1. 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates, 156-84 (+3)
2. 1964 Cincinnati Reds, 142-98 (+8)
3. 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates, 139-101 (-4)
4. 1955 Cleveland Indians, 136-104 (+6)
5. 1903 Cleveland Naps, 135-105 (+6)
6. 2004 San Francisco Giants, 133-107 (+2)
7. 1954 Cleveland Indians, 132-108 (-1)
8. 1964 Baltimore Orioles, 131-109 (+7)
9. 1987 San Francisco Giants, 131-109 (+2)
10. 1916 New York Giants, 130-110 (+7)
11. 1987 St. Louis Cardinals, 128-112 (+1)
12. 1989 Chicago Cubs, 127-113 (+5)
13. 1923 Detroit Tigers, 127-113 (+4)
14. 1958 New York Yankees, 126-114 (+5)
15. 1963 New York Yankees, 125-115 (-5)
16. 1907 Philadelphia Athletics, 125-115 (-2)


Playoffs:

Qualifying Round:

1997 Yankees defeat 1977 Yankees 4-2
1992 Blue Jays defeat 2003 Mariners 4-2
2015 Blue Jays defeat 2015 Royals 4-0
2001 Yankees defeat 1988 Royals 4-2
2015 Astros defeat 1978 Rangers 4-2
1982 White Sox defeat 2005 Yankees 4-3
1998 Rangers defeat 1978 Red Sox 4-1
2013 Red Sox defeat 2010 Rangers 4-2

1907 Athletics defeat 1902 Pirates 4-1
1964 Orioles defeat 1987 Giants 4-1
1958 Yankees defeat 1991 Pirates 4-2
1955 Indians defeat 1923 Tigers 4-2
1989 Cubs defeat 1903 Naps 4-3
2004 Giants defeat 1987 Cardinals 4-3
1916 Giants defeat 1954 Indians 4-3
1964 Reds defeat 1963 Yankees 4-2

Sweet 16:

1997 Yankees defeat 1992 Blue Jays 4-3
2001 Yankees defeat 2015 Blue Jays 4-1
1982 White Sox defeat 2015 Astros 4-0
1998 Rangers defeat 2013 Red Sox 4-2

1964 Orioles defeat 1907 Athletics 4-3
1955 Indians defeat 1958 Yankees 4-1
1989 Cubs defeat 2004 Giants 4-3
1964 Reds defeat 1918 Giants 4-0

Quarterfinals:

1997 Yankees defeat 2001 Yankees 4-2
1998 Rangers defeat 1982 White Sox 4-3

1964 Orioles defeat 1955 Indians 4-2
1964 Reds defeat 1989 Cubs 4-2

Pennant Series:

1997 Yankees defeat 1998 Rangers 4-3
1984 Orioles defeat 1964 Reds 4-3

World Series:

1997 Yankees defeat 1964 Orioles 4-3


Final Rankings (so far) for purposes of advancing to the next round:

So, before I post these. Teams may compete with the rest of their leagues for wins, but all 900 teams are compared with each other for purposes of advancing, so we won't really know who's advancing until everyone's played, though things should be pretty clear. Teams are credited 1 point per win in the regular season, and receive an addition 1.5 points per playoff series won. Teams not only qualify for the next round with these points but also are seeded into the next round based upon them. Points don't carry over into the next round. Without further adieu:

1997 Yankees: 159.5
1902 Pirates: 156
2013 Red Sox: 151.5
2015 Blue Jays: 149.5
1964 Reds: 146.5
2001 Yankees: 145
2015 Astros: 142.5
1998 Rangers: 142.5
2005 Yankees: 139
1991 Pirates: 139
1955 Indians: 139
1992 Blue Jays: 137.5
1982 White Sox: 137
1964 Orioles: 137
2003 Mariners: 136
1978 Red Sox: 135
1903 Naps: 135
2004 Giants: 134.5
1978 Rangers: 132
1954 Indians: 132
1916 Giants: 131.5
1987 Giants: 131
1988 Royals: 130
1989 Cubs: 130
2015 Royals: 129
2010 Rangers: 129
1977 Yankees: 128
1987 Cardinals: 128
1958 Yankees: 127.5
1923 Tigers: 127
1907 Athletics: 126.5
1963 Yankees: 125
2004 Dodgers: 124
1961 Yankees: 124
______________________ <- Theoretical Cutoff
1972 Athletics: 124
2013 Rays: 123
1975 Red Sox: 122
1967 Giants: 122
2004 Phillies: 122
1955 Red Sox: 122
1980 Reds: 122
2001 Diamondbacks: 122
1979 Red Sox: 121
1908 Tigers: 121


Final Thoughts on League 1-1:

Well. A hefty mix of randomness and not. The 1902 Pirates getting knocked off first round was clearly a surprise. Any time you get 32 teams in a tournament you get a lot of randomness. But I'd like to talk about a few teams.

The 1997 New York Yankees: This team is not known for being particularly dominating. After all, they lost in the ALDS; how good could they be? The answer is, quite good. They finished 96-66, with a pythag of 100-62 and an SRS of 1.2. Their batters combined for a mediocre (for teams in this tournament) 23.7 WAR, led by Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter. But their pitching was fantastic, combining for 32.8 WAR and led by Andy Pettitte (8.4 WAR) and David Cone (6.8 WAR). Long story short, this was a damned good team, a worthy winner to League 1-1. It's a shame that all the talent on this team never worked out in real life. JK. The 1998 Yankees are probably the scariest DH team coming down the pipe. Stay tuned!

The 1964 Orioles and 1964 Reds: On the surface these teams look flukey, and they are a bit. A superficial glance at them reveals that neither made the playoffs in real life. So what led them to doing so well here? Well first off, luck plays a role of course. But these teams were better than they looked. Cincinnati (92-70, 0) missed the playoffs by 1 game (giving them the second best record in the NL) but had a 4-game better pythag than the Cardinals. Baltimore finished 97-65, finishing a game behind the White Sox who finished a game behind the Yankees. Each of these teams are not historically great but was better than we might remember them, not unlike Cleveland from last year.

The 1961 Yankees: Anyone who read this carefully might have been surprised to find the '61 Yankees out of the playoffs, with a serious shot at not making the next round. I know that I was. A big part of this is luck. They had the 18th best record, but only four teams had a better pythag. They were clearly at least middle of the pack for the playoff teams here. But don't get it twisted. The '61 Yankees were a great team, but they probably aren't as great as you think they are. Yes, 109-53 is a great record (+6 makes them quite lucky, but 103-59 is still quite impressive). Their lineup was worth 36.2 WAR, with 63% of it coming from Micky Mantle, Roger Maris and Elston Howard. On one hand, those three are great (seriously, Mantle was a monster) but the lineup after that is not particularly strong. The real weak spot is the pitching staff: 12.9 WAR between them. Their 4-man rotation is 3.8 WAR (Whitey Ford), 3.6 WAR (Bill Stafford), 2.2 WAR (Ralph Terry) and 1.0 WAR (Rollie Sheldon). Don't hear me say they weren't great; they're certainly better than the '64 teams that ended up in the pennant series. But don't fall for thinking that these guys are in the same vein as the '27 Yankees. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they're not terribly close.