[Nick Soulis]

The 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates probably had the most dramatic win of the section taking game seven in extra innings at the Astrodome on an Adam LaRoche double to eliminate a good 1997 Astros team. Pittsburgh won the last two road games to prove their resiliency. In another seven game series the 1974 Braves behind a shutout performance by Carl Morton in game seven outlasted the 2023 Red Sox. Darrel Evans and Dusty Baker filled the void for an aging Hank Aaron.

Leo Durocher lead the 1941 Dodgers to a six game win over the 1976 Royals as Dolph Camilli made everyone forget George Brett. A Willie Mays playing in his prime had little to no support with the 1956 Giants as the 2011 Athletics swept New York in a series that should not have been that easy. As expected, the 1928 Reds took out the 101 loss 2010 Mariners who had big names like Ichiro, Felix, and Griffey. Age could careless what your name is. Another series faced off two Reds teams from the early days and the Christy Mathewson lead 1917 team defeated the 1934 Reds club in five games as righty Fred Toney won twice.

Bobby Cox won his 19th game of this competition as the Braves took care of business against the 1980 Cardinals as John Smoltz saved all four games for Atlanta. Another Cardinals team however from 1970 had a good draw and defeated the 1918 Braves as Lou Brock was on fire to earn an MVP. Mike Trout reminded everyone just how good he is as the 2016 Angels took out the 2003 Rays in five. Trout pulled a hamstring in game two but played through the pain to win the MVP and hit close to .500.

Finally a battle of 1993 was worth the watch as Joe Torre and the St. Louis Cardinals were stunned by the Padres in five games despite two extra inning games. Tony Gwynn his .409 in what can be considered his hitting prime. Series between two teams from the same year can be quite tricky.