[Highlander]

National League Central

The Milwaukee Brewers franchise gets us started in the NL Central. They will be represented by the only real surprise team in this division, the 2017 Brewers. 1982 gave them a run, but couldn’t beat them out. The 2017 team’s offense is pretty short on big names, but they had a lot of power. 1B Eric Thames (31 HR in 469 AB), 3B Travis Shaw (.273, 31 HR, 101 RBI), OF Domingo Santana (.278, 30 HR, 85 RBI) and 1B Jesus Aguilar (16 HR in 275 AB) all put up strong numbers. They also had 7 players with double digit SB numbers. On the pitching side, the big names are few and far between as well. Zach Davies (17-9, 3.90), Jimmy Nelson (12-6, 3.49, 199 Ks in 175.1 IP), Chase Anderson (12-4, 2.74) and closer Corey Knebel (1-4, 1.78. 39 Saves, 126 Ks in 76 IP) led the way. They also had a rookie reliever named Josh Hader who was just getting going, but went 2-3 with a 2.08 ERA and 68 Ks in 47.2 IP.

The Chicago Cubs franchise is up next and has a long history to find a team from. However, it was the unsurprising and more recent 2016 Cubs that came through. They were World Series champions and had a record of 103-58. Those early 1900’s teams just didn’t have the pitching depth to compete in later eras or one may have made it. The 2016 team had a strong offense, led by 1B Anthony Rizzo (.292/.385/.544, 43 doubles, 32 HR, 109 RBI), SS Addison Russell (21 HR, 95 RBI) and MVP 3B Kris Bryant (.292/.385/.554, 39 HR, 102 RBI, a league leading 121 R) among other strong contributors. The pitching staff was excellent with Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44, 197 Ks), Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10, 190 Ks) and Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13, .98 WHIP) among others. The bullpen is a little weaker….Aroldis Chapman isn’t included in the import…..but they just have to bend and not break.

The Cincinnati Reds franchise comes in next with one of the least surprising teams in the whole league. They will be represented by the 1975 Reds. While any one of 2-3 Big Red Machine teams could have been the one someone predicted, this 1975 team won the World Series and went 108-54 on the season and would have been my guess. They are loaded on offense with HOF C Johnny Bench (.283, 28 HR, 110 RBI), HOF 1B Tony Perez (.282, 20 HR, 109 RBI), HOF 2B Joe Morgan (.327/.466/.508, 107 R, 16 HR, 94 RBI, 67 SB), HOF 3B Pete Rose (.317, .406 OBP, league leading 47 doubles, league leading 112 R) and OF George Foster (.300, 23 HR). Gary Nolan (15-9, 3.16) and Don Gullett (15-4, 2.42) lead an underrated staff. The bullpen is pretty loaded too with the big four of Rawly Eastwick (5-3, 2.60, 22 Saves), Pedro Borbon (9-5, 2.95, 5 Saves), Clay Carroll (7-5, 2.62, 7 Saves) and Will McEnaney (5-2, 2.47, 15 Saves).

The St. Louis Cardinals franchise is up next and they will be represented by the 1944 Cardinals. I did a different tournament a year or two ago with a totally different format and the 1943 Cards came out the winners, so while I expected them to come out, this 1944 team is really similar and may be even better. They won the World Series and went 105-49. The offense is the slightly weaker part of this team, but still has guys like C Walker Cooper (.317/.352/.504), 1B Ray Sanders (.295, 102 RBI), 3B Whitey Kurowski (20 HR, 87 RBI), HOF OF Stan Musial (.347/.440/.549, league leading 51 doubles, 14 triples, 12 HR, 94 RBI, 112 R) and OF Johnny Hopp (.336, .404 OBP). Pitching is what drove that 1943 team in the last tournament I did and it will be what drives this one. The whole staff is fantastic. A few examples are- Mort Cooper (22-7, 2.46), Ted Wilks (17-4, 2.64), Red Munger (11-3, 1.34, 121 IP), Blix Donnelly (2-1, 2.12, 2 Saves, 76.1 IP) and the list goes on.

Finally, we come to the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise that was full of very good possibilities. It is rare for an early 1900’s team to make it through something like this because they often lack the pitching depth for bullpen purposes in later eras. However, the 1909 Pirates were the team that made it through. They actually have a fairly deep pool of pitchers that can help out in later years. They won the World Series that year and finished 110-42. On offense, they are led by HOF SS Honus Wagner (.330, .429/.489- led the league in all 3, league leading 39 doubles, league leading 100 RBI, 35 SB), 2B Dots Miller (13 triples, 87 RBI), OF Fred Clarke (.287, .384 OBP, 97 R, 31 SB) and OF Tommy Leach (6 HR, league leading 126 R, 27 SB). Most guys had 1-4 HR but they still end up having some strong power in later eras. On the pitching side, they are phenomenal. Similar to the 44 Cards above, pretty much the whole staff is great, but a few examples are- Howie Camnitz (25-6, 1.62), Nick Maddox (13-8, 2.21), Babe Adams (12-3, 1.11) and a whole bunch more.

I don’t even know how to predict this division. It feels like the Brewers could be in huge trouble and may lose 100 games. I know the 44 Cards will be in the mix, based on how well their 43 counterparts performed in that earlier tournament I did. They could win the whole thing. The 09 Pirates will be very tough as well because that offense really blows up in later years and the pitching is just so good. Then there’s the 75 Reds who are just incredible as well. They did really well in that other tournament I mentioned too. I’m not as sure about the 2016 Cubs, but they have great starting pitching for their era and it should perform well all over, plus a very good offense. This will definitely be a division to watch!