SCHEDULE: ROUND 1 - REGION 4:
We are down to our last eight series' of the first round. Region 4 will be first to finish.
3) 2001 Seattle Mariners vs. 14) 1965 Minnesota Twins
2001 Seattle Mariners:
3 Seed – Region 4
Record: 116-46
Result: Lost ALCS 4-1 to New York Yankees
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Mariners team ever)
Elo Rank: 34
Key Players:
Bret Boone (2B) .331, 37 hr, 141 rbi, 118 r
Ichiro Suzuki (OF) .350, 127 r, 56 sb
Freddy Garcia (SP) 18-6, 3.05 era, 1.12 whip, 135 ERA+
Notes:
An extraordinarily balanced team with a good staff, great bullpen, and solid offense with more than a couple bench contributors. After setting the record for wins that was only 3 years old, they bowed out way too easily in the ALCS. Still a loaded team that will get another chance to prove they belong among the best ever.
Further reading:
https://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/...that-never-won
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/20...attle-mariners
https://fansided.com/2017/04/06/2001...gotten-legacy/
1965 Minnesota Twins:
14 Seed – Region 4
Record: 102-60
Result: Lost World Series 4-3 to Los Angeles Dodgers
Entry to Tournament: Automatic bid (Best Twins team ever)
Elo Rank: 233
Key Players:
Zoilo Versalles (SS) .273, 19 hr, 77 rbi, 126 r, 27 sb, 7.7 WAR
Tony Oliva (OF) .321, 16 hr, 98 rbi, 107 r, 141 OPS+
Harmon Killebrew (3B) .269, 25 hr, 75 rbi, 78 r, 145 OPS+ (only 113 games)
Jim Kaat (SP) 18-11, 2.83 era, 1.24 whip, 126 era+
Notes:
Only 1 HOF on this team (and missed a large chunk of the season) and a low objective ranking as well. They find their way in as the best Twins team ever, ranking significantly better than even the lovable 1991 champs.
Recruiting from Cuba was a big part of the building of the franchise in the early 60’s, and two of them will carry the offense in Versalles and Oliva while a third, Pascual, is expected to be a strong #4 in the rotation.
Further reading:
https://sabr.org/journal/article/a-s...he-late-1960s/