Best Baseball team of all time

[Nick Soulis]

FINAL SERIES

New York! New York! Series Even
Final Series Comes Down To One Game After Yankee Win

Yankee Stadium - Should we really have expected anything less? The Final series after so many battles and series before it has come down to one deciding game. All the drama and intrigue has lead up to one more moment to determine the greatest. The New York Yankees of 1953 made sure of this as they defended their home field and snuck past the 1906 Cubs 6-5 to tie the series.

The Cubs as usual put the pressure on the home team needing only one win to take the series and broke out 2-0 against Eddie Lopat. The Yankees on the other hand against Bob Wicker left the bases loaded in the first inning leaving some doubt. Bad defense however visited the Cubs again and an error by the pictcher set the Yanks up well in the 2nd. Gil McDougald tied the game with a single and only a double play off the bat of Yogi Berra prevented a bigger inning.

The fourth error by Harry Stenfeldt scored another run in the fourth inning and along with two hits the Yankees gave Lopat a two run lead. McDougald singled a run in again in the 6th inning and the home team was up by three runs.

The Cubs came back strong in the 7th inning after Johnny Evers came up with came up with the bases loaded and one out. Evers lined a shot down the right field line and cleared the bases with a triple with the third run just beating the tag at the plate. The clutch hit was just what the Cubs needed but they couldnt get the crucial go ahead run in from third with less then two outs.

In the bottom of the 7th with Mickey Mantle on second and two outs Hank Bauer became the man of the moment. Bauer lined a single to right and Mantle raced home. Doc Gessler fired the ball home but the slide and legs of Mantle were fast enough to put the Yankees ahead. The Yankees showed time and time again in this series they they can play small ball when they need to, and today was an example of this.

The Cubs had their chances to tie the game and in the 8th Frank Chance stole his way to third base but with two out Lopat got Johnny Kling to ground out to third to end the inning. In the 9th the Cubs went quickly as everyone seemed to accept the fate of a deciding seventh game.

Now Three Finger Brown will take the mound and face Whitey Ford for everything. Both pitchers are the true definition of aces and wont be unfamiliar with throwing in a big game. The 06 Cubs of course failed to win the World Series in their season and some wonder if they have the resolve to end a series they so easily thought they had.

The Yankees are class and are playing their best baseball again. Luck will surely have a part in the winner but the Yankees love the drama and have the confidence of a winner, only they could have come back the way that they did.

One game of baseball, for the title of best of all time.
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Game 6
Series tied at 3

MAJOR LEAGUE 1953 CHICAGO CUBS 1906 AT NEW YORK YANKEES GAME ID: 1239 - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 1953 - GAME LOG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Chicago Cubs 1906 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 7 3 New York Yankees 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 X 6 12 1

CHICAGO BATTING LINESCORES NEW YORK BATTING LINESCORES

Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI J. Evers 2B 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .296 0 7 S. Hofman CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .267 0 1 F. Chance 1B 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .292 0 3 D. Gessler RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .217 1 1 H. Steinfeldt 3B 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .364 1 3 J. Kling C 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 .273 0 3 F. Schulte LF 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .154 0 1 J. Tinker SS 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .500 0 10 B. Wicker P 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0 a-J. Sheckard PH 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .278 0 0 O. Overall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 b-J. Slagle PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 Totals 32 5 7 4 2 3 15 a - J. Sheckard pinch hit for B. Wicker in the 7th b - J. Slagle pinch hit for O. Overall in the 9th BATTING Doubles: J. Evers (1, 7th Inning off E. Lopat, 3 on, 2 outs) Total Bases: F. Chance , J. Evers 3 , H. Steinfeldt 2 , J. Tinker , S. Hofman 2-out RBI: J. Evers Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Wicker , J. Kling , D. Gessler , S. Hofman GIDP: J. Kling , D. Gessler Team LOB: 3 BASERUNNING SB: F. Chance 2 (6) , J. Evers (2) CS: S. Hofman (1) FIELDING Errors: B. Wicker (3) , H. Steinfeldt (4) , J. Tinker (3) Double Plays: 3 (Tinker-Evers-Chance, Chance-Tinker-Wicker, Overall-Kling-Chance) Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI G. Woodling LF 3 1 1 1 2 0 3 .238 0 6 G. McDougald 2B 5 0 3 2 0 0 1 .348 0 4 Y. Berra C 5 0 2 0 0 0 4 .263 0 1 J. Collins 1B 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 .087 1 1 M. Mantle CF 5 1 2 0 0 0 6 .316 0 2 I. Noren RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .143 0 1 B. Brown 3B, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .200 0 0 B. Martin SS 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 .294 0 1 a-H. Bauer PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .353 0 2 b-A. Carey 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 E. Lopat P 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 .000 0 0 Totals 36 6 12 4 3 2 25 a - H. Bauer pinch hit for B. Martin in the 7th b - A. Carey substituted for H. Bauer in the 8th BATTING Doubles: G. Woodling (1, 6th Inning off B. Wicker, 0 on, 2 outs) Total Bases: Y. Berra 2 , G. McDougald 3 , B. Brown , G. Woodling 2 , M. Mantle 2 , B. Martin 2 , H. Bauer 2-out RBI: G. McDougald , H. Bauer Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: E. Lopat , Y. Berra , G. McDougald ,B. Brown , I. Noren GIDP: Y. Berra , G. Woodling , M. Mantle Sac Bunt: E. Lopat Team LOB: 11 FIELDING Errors: E. Lopat (1) Double Plays: 2 (Martin-McDougald-Collins, Martin-McDougald-Collins)

CHICAGO PITCHING LINESCORES NEW YORK PITCHING LINESCORES

Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA B. Wicker 6.0 9 5 2 1 1 0 97 61 2.25 O. Overall L (1-1) 2.0 3 1 1 2 1 0 37 25 4.15 PITCHING Game Score: B. Wicker 40 Batters Faced: B. Wicker 30, O. Overall 11 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: B. Wicker 10-7, O. Overall 3-1 Pitches - Strikes: B. Wicker 97-61, O. Overall 37-25 WP: O. Overall HB: O. Overall Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA E. Lopat W (1-0) 9.0 7 5 4 2 3 0 110 70 5.63 PITCHING Game Score: E. Lopat 56 Batters Faced: E. Lopat 36 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: E. Lopat 10-11 Pitches - Strikes: E. Lopat 110-70 WP: E. Lopat HB: E. Lopat 2

GAME NOTES

Player of the Game: Johnny Evers Ballpark: Yankee Stadium Weather: Clear skies (56 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 13 mph Start Time: 7:05 pm EST Time: 2:31 Attendance: 65903

[Nick Soulis]

FINAL SERIES

The Game We All Love
Yankees Culminate Comeback To Become Greatest

Yankee Stadium - It is most likely appropriate that any tournament to determine the greatest baseball team would end with a Yankee team on top. The 1953 Yankees celebrated on their home field after reversing a series that seemed lost, winning four games in a row to win the final series against the 1906 Cubs. The Yankees won the greatest tournament of all time and survived the vigors of so many games and trials to shine at the game that we all love.

Somewhere in the air everyone expected the Yankees to finish things. After the fight they showed to win three in a row and tie the series the ending seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Whitey Ford and Three Finger Brown were as determined as ever to bring their side the win, and the Cubs once again held a lead late and were breaths away from claiming victory.

Manager Frank Chance doubled in the 5th inning to give the visitors a two run lead and give Brown the cushion the Hall of Famer would need. A Johnny Kling home run extended the lead to three runs as the hole for the Yankees grew but the team responded quickly.

The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the 6th and after a ground out scored a run, Billy Martin singled to score Mickey Mantle and cut the Cubs lead to one. Brown kept fighting with the one run lead and got out of a trickey 7th inning. In the 8th he had two outs and the light hitting Billy Martin coming to the plate, the Cubs were only four outs away.

Martin has the focus and competitive edge to be perfect in these moments. On a 1-2 count the crack and sound of the bat said it all. Martin hot one over the left field wall about 400 feet away and the Yankees had tied the game. Martin hit 64 home runs in his career, he wasnt exactly the power source that anyone expected, yet few were shocked that Martin came through in such a spot.

Cubs heads dropped but the fight went on and as would be expected the game went into extra innings after little produced in the 9th other then both starters were pulled from the game.

In the 10th against Orvall Overall, Mickey Mantle drew a leadoff walk. Andy Carey then flew out to center field. Bobby Brown then harmlessly flew out to left field. Then the Yankees got a break they needed when Overall threw a wild pitch moving Mantle to scoring position. Don Bollweg then came to the plate as a pinch hitter. Bollweg singled in the hole in right and the ball was through.

Mantle beat the throw to the plate by a few feet and the Yankees walked off with the championship. A complete turnaroudn from a 3-0 series disadvantage, when all thought they were lost the Yankees came through.

Congratulations to Casey Stengal and the 1953 Yankees, the greatest baseball team of all time!
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Game 7
53 Yankees win series 4-3

GAME ID: 1240 - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH, 1953 - GAME LOG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Chicago Cubs 1906 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 3 New York Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 4 8 0

CHICAGO BATTING LINESCORES NEW YORK BATTING LINESCORES

Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI J. Evers 2B 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 .281 0 7 J. Sheckard LF 3 1 2 0 1 1 2 .333 0 0 F. Chance 1B 5 0 1 2 0 0 4 .276 0 5 D. Gessler RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .222 1 1 a-F. Schulte RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143 0 1 H. Steinfeldt 3B 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 .308 1 3 J. Kling C 3 1 2 1 2 0 1 .320 1 4 O. Overall P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 J. Slagle CF 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 .182 0 0 J. Tinker SS 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 .429 0 10 M. Brown P 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .273 0 0 b-P. Moran C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Totals 38 3 8 3 5 3 25 a - F. Schulte substituted for D. Gessler in the 8th b - P. Moran substituted for M. Brown in the 10th BATTING Doubles: F. Chance (1, 5th Inning off W. Ford, 1 on, 1 out) J. Evers (2, 3rd Inning off W. Ford, 1 on, 0 outs) Home Runs: J. Kling (1, 6th Inning off W. Ford, 0 on, 0 outs) Total Bases: M. Brown , J. Kling 5 , F. Chance 2 , J. Evers 2 , D. Gessler , J. Sheckard 2 Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , M. Brown 2 , H. Steinfeldt 2 , D. Gessler 2 Team LOB: 10 BASERUNNING SB: F. Chance (7) , H. Steinfeldt (4) FIELDING Errors: J. Evers (3) , J. Tinker 2 (5) Double Plays: 1 (Brown-Tinker-Chance) Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI G. Woodling LF 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 .208 0 6 H. Bauer RF 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .318 0 2 Y. Berra C 5 0 2 0 0 0 3 .292 0 1 J. Collins 1B 4 1 0 0 1 1 4 .074 1 1 M. Mantle CF 3 2 0 0 2 0 2 .273 0 2 A. Carey 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 0 0 B. Brown 2B 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 .267 0 1 B. Martin SS 3 1 2 2 1 1 2 .350 1 3 b-I. Noren PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 0 1 W. Ford P 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143 0 0 a-G. McDougald PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 0 4 J. Sain P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 c-D. Bollweg PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 0 1 Totals 37 4 8 4 6 3 19 a - G. McDougald pinch hit for W. Ford in the 8th b - I. Noren pinch hit for B. Martin in the 10th c - D. Bollweg pinch hit for J. Sain in the 10th BATTING Doubles: B. Brown 2 (2, 2nd Inning off M. Brown, 0 on, 2 outs; 4th Inning off M. Brown, 0 on, 2 outs) Home Runs: B. Martin (1, 8th Inning off M. Brown, 0 on, 2 outs) Total Bases: Y. Berra 2 , B. Brown 4 , H. Bauer , B. Martin 5 , D. Bollweg 2-out RBI: , B. Martin 2 , D. Bollweg Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: W. Ford , J. Collins , M. Mantle , B. Martin GIDP: Y. Berra Sac Bunt: A. Carey Team LOB: 11 BASERUNNING CS: A. Carey (1)

CHICAGO PITCHING LINESCORES NEW YORK PITCHING LINESCORES

Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA M. Brown L (1-2) 9.1 7 4 2 6 3 1 141 88 1.32 O. Overall 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 3.86 PITCHING Game Score: M. Brown 59 Batters Faced: M. Brown 42, O. Overall 3 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: M. Brown 12-11, O. Overall 0-1 Pitches - Strikes: M. Brown 141-88, O. Overall 5-4 Inherited Runners - Scored: O. Overall 1-1 HB: O. Overall Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA W. Ford 8.0 8 3 3 4 3 1 120 72 2.25 J. Sain W (1-1) 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 23 11 6.23 PITCHING Game Score: W. Ford 53 Batters Faced: W. Ford 36, J. Sain 8 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: W. Ford 10-11, J. Sain 4-2 Pitches - Strikes: W. Ford 120-72, J. Sain 23-11 HB: J. Sain

GAME NOTES

Player of the Game: Billy Martin Ballpark: Yankee Stadium Weather: Partly Cloudy (57 degrees), wind blowing out to left at 22 mph Start Time: 7:05 pm EST Time: 3:02 Attendance: 65860

[Nick Soulis]

1953 New York Yankees
The Best Team Of All Time

So the end has come and the 1953 Yankees are the winners. What else did you expect? I had fun doing this thread and it was actually my first OOTP thread that started about two years ago. Thank you all for following and I hope you enjoyed it.

Moving on however if you know me you know I cant sit still and not play this great game. So a new project is coming, one that will give the great teams another chance to relive their magic. Afterall, we have to keep trying over and over again to dethrone these Yankees, even if it will never happen.

[tomwolf2008]

WOW, it's so fitting that the final series of this dynasty featured comeback from 0-3 hole, what a game

and...congrats on completing this huge project

[mirrf]

Yea, congrats! It must have taken a lot of perseverance to finish this up. I really enjoyed this.

[ShagVT]

Sigh - the sad fate of the Cubs fan.

Close to 20 years ago Baseball Weekly ran an interesting concept tournament that was along the lines of what you did here, but with an interesting twist. They took a bunch of hall of famers - I think it was 32 of them - and set up a tournament with a team full of all of those hitters.

So you take the 13 best seasons of Babe Ruth and put those players, so maybe Ruth 27 is hitting cleanup, Ruth 23 hitting #3, etc.

For pitching, they made a collection of hall of fame pitchers, and each player has the same pitching staff.

What do you think?

[Nick Soulis]

Originally Posted by ShagVT

Sigh - the sad fate of the Cubs fan.

Close to 20 years ago Baseball Weekly ran an interesting concept tournament that was along the lines of what you did here, but with an interesting twist. They took a bunch of hall of famers - I think it was 32 of them - and set up a tournament with a team full of all of those hitters.

So you take the 13 best seasons of Babe Ruth and put those players, so maybe Ruth 27 is hitting cleanup, Ruth 23 hitting #3, etc.

For pitching, they made a collection of hall of fame pitchers, and each player has the same pitching staff.

What do you think?

Yes I thought it was very fitting that the Yankees beat the Cubs in the final series afterall the Yanks win everything and the Cubs lose em.

I think the above idea is a very good one, you should give it a try! It would be tough to beat a team of Ruths though.

As for me I have been working for some time now on a new project that again searches the question of who the greatest was.

I will be announcing this in the next few days and it will be another long project. More details to come shortly and I hope people enjoyed this one and will follow again.

[BabyLemonade]

Congratulations for completing this..It was very interesting idea & full enjoyable to read !

(No happy ending though..)

[yougo1000]

I wish the Cubs could win but the typical Cubs lose.