[Highlander]

Alright, it's time to finish out Round 2! As always, there were some surprises in this last group of matchups......

1962 New York Yankees vs. 1999 Houston Astros

The real 1962 Yankees are not as well known as their 61 counterparts, but they went 96-66 and beat the Giants in the World Series, so they were also a very good team. In the first round, they went 85-77 to slide into this round.

The 1999 Astros won their division at 97-65, but lost to the Braves in the Division Series. They went 97-65 in the 1st round, so they were pretty strong there.

This matchup started off with a close one in the 62 season, as the Yankees edged the Astros 82-80. Then in the 99 season, the Astros came alive and won big by a 93-69 margin. That lets Houston advance to the 3rd round, 173-151.....no word on whether any signs were stolen in this series.


2004 Boston Red Sox vs. 1904 New York Giants

The 2004 Red Sox were the team that finally broke through for Boston. They only finished in 2nd place in the AL East at 98-64, but went on to beat the Yankees in a 7 game series in the playoffs and then sweep the Cardinals to win the World Series and break "the curse". In the 1st round here, they were a very strong 98-64.

The 1904 Giants were one of the many dominant Giants team of the first two decades of the 1900's. This team was especially strong, with a record of 106-47. Even though a World Series was played in 1903, there was no formal agreement between the two leagues and the Giants' owner refused to play a team from an "inferior league", so no World Series happened in 1904.

This was bound to be an interesting matchup between teams 100 years apart from each other. The 04 season went to the home team, as the Giants won it 83-79. The pitching depth issues that have hurt many of these early era teams bothered this Giants team most of all, as they dropped the 2004 season by a huge 133-29 margin. The Giants only had 2 pitchers in the bullpen.....one gave up 78 HR and one walked over 300 batters. They were just forced to be used WAY too much with no one else on the roster. Because of that huge margin, the Red Sox move on, 212-112.


1992 Atlanta Braves vs. 2002 Houston Astros

The real Braves went 98-64, then lost the World Series to the Blue Jays. They went 92-70 in the 1st round to get here.

The Astros of 2002 were only a 2nd place team that barely scraped into the 1st round. They went 84-78 that year, but due to the number of other 90+ win/playoff teams, I had to include them in round one....somehow, they came out with a 91-71 record to move on.

Based on real life success, the Braves seemed to be at an advantage here.....and they were. The 92 season went Atlanta's way 96-66 and then to remove any doubt, the Braves did even better in the 2002 season, going 101-61 to advance to the 3rd round 187-127.


1943 St. Louis Cardinals vs. 1951 New York Yankees

The 43 Cards were a dominant 105-49 in the NL that year, but then lost to the Yankees in 5 games in the World Series. They went 90-72 to get here. though.

The 51 Yankees are another team like the 62 Yankees that have a more famous predecessor. The 1950 team seems to be talked about a lot more, but the 51 team went 98-56 and beat the Giants in the World Series. They had a 92-70 record in the 1st round in order to advance.

This looked like a close one on paper, with the Cardinals having a pitching advantage but the Yankees having the better offense. The Cards came out an won their home season by 12 games, 87-75. That made it tough on the Yankees to have to win big in a season not too far removed from the first one. They came REALLY close, winning the 1951 season 86-76 to fall just short. The Cardinals squeaked by in this one, 163-161.


2008 Boston Red Sox vs. 1984 Toronto Blue Jays

The 2008 Red Sox came in 2nd place to the Tampa Rays with a 95-67 record. They advanced to the LCS, but were beaten by Tampa in 7 games. For the 1st round, they went 95-67 to advance here.

The 1984 Blue Jays are the first and only Toronto team to make it this far, which was a bit surprising. This team went 89-73 and came in 2nd place to the more famous Tigers team that I assumed would be here in Toronto's place. However, the Jays went 91-71 to get past those Tigers and represent the 84 season.

This was another matchup where one team seemed to have an advantage based on real season success, but it wasn't quite as lopsided as some others have seemed. In the 84 season, the Red Sox showed they were indeed the better team as they won 89-73. Toronto actually made it a bit closer in the 08 season, but still fell well short...losing 87-75. The 2008 Red Sox move on by a margin of 176-148.


1944 Detroit Tigers vs. 1989 Kansas City Royals

The Tigers had a few teams in the 40's that were very good, but full of relatively unknown players. Hal Newhouser was a common player on those teams, however, and was an incredible pitcher. This Tigers team went 88-66 to finish second to the Browns, so they weren't as strong as some of the others. They made it to this round with an 85-77 record, which again shows their lack of dominance....but here they are!

The 89 Royals are the only representative of the Royals franchise. They actually finished in 2nd place to the A's that year with a record of 92-70. However, they advanced here with an impressive 99-63 record, so there may be more to them than it seems.

This matchup saw a couple of real life 2nd place teams square off and was pretty much as close as you might expect. The Tigers won their home season by a close 85-77 margin. The Royals needed a decent victory in their 89 season to advance.....and they just got it, going 88-74 to move on by a 165-159 margin.


1905 Chicago White Sox vs. 1937 New York Giants

For the 3rd matchup in a row, we have a team being the only representative of their franchise....and this one is the most surprising with how long the White Sox have been around compare to Toronto and Kansas City. The 05 Sox were 92-60 and finished 2nd to the A's that year. In the 1st round, though, they went a solid 91-71.

The 1937 Giants are one of the many Giants teams that were very strong int he 30's, but ended up losing to the Yankees int he World Series. This one went 95-57, then lost to the Yankees in 5 games. Still, they were able to scrape together an 89-73 record to represent their season here.

The Giants came right out and showed they belong here by beating the White Sox in their home season, 84-78. That put pressure on a Chicago team that was the only hope for their franchise. Coming from an early era, their pitchers were limited, but only having to play in 1937 may not make that a factor. Or maybe it would.....the Giants blew Chicago away in the 37 season, 104-58 to advance by a 188-136 margin.


1916 Philadelphia Phillies vs. 1967 St Louis Cardinals

The real 1916 Phillies went 92-62 to finish second to the Brooklyn Robins in the NL. They went 88-74 to get here and are the last chance for the Phillies to get a team into the 3rd round.

The 67 Cardinals are are hoping to fare better than their 68 counterparts did a little earlier in this round. In real life, they went 101-60 and then beat the Red Sox in the World Series. They weren't dominant in the 1st round, however, going 88-74.

This matchup saw a couple of teams looking to make up for past teams in their franchise that have failed to advance. However, the pressure was heavier on the Phillies. Both teams fought hard in the 1916 season and they finished at 81-81, making it all come down to the 67 season. Once again, the Phillies couldn't make it happen, as St. Louis won their home season handily, at 91-71 to advance by a 172-152 margin.


2022 St. Louis Cardinals vs. 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers

The most recent team in the competition ended up in the very last matchup. As a refresher, this Cardinals team won their division at 93-69, but lost to the Phillies 2-0 in the Wildcard round. They went a solid 91-71 in the 1st round to advance.

The 1942 Dodgers went 104-40, but still finished 2nd to a Cardinals team that went 106-48 and beat the Yankees in 5 games in the World Series. The Dodgers scraped by at 88-74 in the 1st round, though, to get by both of those teams.

The Cardinals jumped right out in the 42 season to a big 93-69 lead and surprise the Dodgers by beating them soundly in their home season. Brooklyn tried to fight back....and they did make it much closer.....but the Cardinals won their home season as well, by an 87-75 margin. The 2022 Cardinals advance 180-144.

So there you have it....Round 2 is complete! I'll do another post to sum up the teams that have moved on and introduce what will happen in round 3!