The only Pirates team in the bracket is the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, and the one that Wagner plays on (the 1902 Pirates) are in the Aaron Bracket.
WAGNER BRACKET
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| One of history's surprise World Champions: The 1914 Boston Braves. |
1937 New York Yankees (1)
Vs.
1914 Boston Braves (16)
The 1937 New York Yankees are easily one of the best teams to ever play the game, where they exactly rank at the top is more of the question, in some ways this team may be more dangerous than the praised 1927 Yankees team. On the other side, the 1914 Boston Braves are one of the strangest, most surprising success stories in Major League history.
The Yankees are led by the two-headed dragon named Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Gehrig batted .351, 37 HR & 159 RBI (Leading the league in Bases on Balls, OBP & a 1.116 OPS!), while DiMaggio batted .346, led the league with 46 Home Runs, and had 167 RBI (with a 1.085 OPS, while leading the league with a .673 Slugging Pct.)! One player was in his second-to-last full season (Gehrig), while the other (DiMaggio) was in his second full season -- two glorious careers at different areas of their career. Ruth is retired, while Mantle is still a 6 year-old boy somewhere in Oklahoma.
The lineup also had a big year by catcher Bill Dickey (.332, 29 HR & 133 RBI), while both George Selkirk (.328, 18 HR & 68 RBI, 1.046 OPS in 256 at-bats) and Tommy Henrich (.320, 8 HR & 42 RBI, .972 OPS in 200 at-bats) contributed in limited play.
Both teams have durable starters 1-3 in their rotation, while the Yankees may have a little more to work with in the bullpen.
The Boston Braves will have a tough time though keeping up with the Yankees' powerful lineup, the Braves biggest slugger may be outfielder Joe Connolly, who didn't get his first real break until the prior season at age 29, and really wouldn't add much more in a short 4-year career that spans from 1913-1917. During the 1914 season, Connolly led the Braves with 9 HR while he was fourth on the team with 65 RBI; he would also have career bests in Batting Avg (.306) and OPS (.886). The team also had Hall of Famers Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville.
PREDICTION: The Yankees should not have a hard time taking this series from Boston, 3-1. Only two teams in the entire tournament have a OPS lower than .658!
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| 1985 Toronto Blue Jays (8) |
Vs.
1993 San Francisco Giants (9)
This series might be the tale of two "choke artists", the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays that surrendered a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Kansas City Royals, and Barry Bonds & the 1993 San Francisco Giants, that would get caught by the Atlanta Braves for the N.L. West Division Crown (Atlanta would end up moving to the N.L. East, the following season).
The Blue Jays had a lot of talent, including their young outfield (above) in George Bell, Lloyd Moseby & Jesse Barfield. The three stars combined for 73 HR & 80 SB's! Besides the usual in Willie Upshaw, Ernie Whitt & Tony Fernandez, the team got some good contribution from part-timers Rance Mulliniks, Garth Iorg, Cliff Johnson & Cecil Fielder. The team's top 3 are stellar in Dave Stieb, Jimmy Key & Doyle Alexander, while the bullpen has 5 pitchers with at least Grade B's in APBA!
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| Bonds made a splash in his first season w/San Fran |
The San Francisco Giants have a good balanced lineup led by the 1993 N.L. Most Valuable Player in Bonds (.336, 46 HR & 123 RBI) and Matt Williams (.294, 38 HR & 110 RBI), with additional pop from Will Clark and Robby Thompson (who had a career year). The rotation is anchored by career years from Bill Swift (21-8, 2.92 ERA & 157 K's) and John Burkett (22-7, 3.65 ERA & 145 K's). They have plenty of relievers, but not as many top notch guys as the Jays have in their pen. The Giants' Rod Beck had a monster year at closer, with 48 Saves & a 2.16 ERA!
These two teams are smack dab in the middle of the overall rankings in the tournament, and match-up almost identical in all major statistics:
- Toronto: .615 winning pct, .269 AVG, (.334 OBP / .425 SLG) .759 OPS, 158 HR & 144 SB's, with a 3.31 ERA & +171 run differential.
- San Fran: .636 winning pct, .276 AVG, (.343 OBP / .427 SLG) .770 OPS, 168 HR & 125 SB's, with a 3.61 ERA & +172 run differential.
PREDICTION: I'm going to lean with the team with home-field advantage on this one, and that is the Toronto Blue Jays, plus they have a stronger bullpen and a little more on the bench as well.
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| Lemon, Feller & Wynn: 3 Hall-of-Famers in the rotation for 54! |
1954 Cleveland Indians (5)
Vs.
1934 St. Louis Cardinals (12)
Now looking at the match-up and the lineups, the Cardinals may have not gotten a fair shake when it came to the rankings, this 1934 St.Louis Cardinals are pretty much the same group that knocked off the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics dynasty in the World Series. Plus these are the same 1954 Cleveland Indians, that were favored to defeat the 1954 New York Giants and ended up losing the series.
Even though the Cardinals didn't run away with their league (95 wins & only a run differential of +143) while the Cleveland Indians had a record of 111-43 (and a run differential of +242), they clearly have a better hitting team (.288/led N.L. to the tribe's .262 Avg), they have a better OPS (slightly), and definitely more speed. The Indians are one of the more slower base-running teams in the tournament. The Cards pitching doesn't seem to be as bad as a 3.69 ERA in 1934 would show, or at least that's the case if the game doesn't come down to the bullpens; as they are led by Dizzy Dean, and his brother Paul Dean. The Indians are anchored by Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Early Wynn, with the third slot taken by Mike Garcia, while Bob Feller (another HOF'er) ends the rotation in the fourth spot of the rotation.
Larry Doby is the star for the tribe with great support coming from Al Rosen and Bobby Avila, the Cards are led by player/manager Frankie Frisch and Joe Medwick (both Hall of Famers), and a career year in Ripper Collins, who led the N.L. with 35 HRs in 1934 (He also batted .333 & 128 RBI's!).
PREDICTION: The Tribe pulls this out 3-2, unless Dizzy Dean can win both of his outings in this series, than it could be the Cardinals. This will be closer than the rankings indicate.
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| The Roar of 84' - The Tigers celebrate their remarkable season! |
1984 Detroit Tigers (4)
Vs.
1980 Kansas City Royals (13)
The 1984 Detroit Tigers made Major League Baseball history, by storming out of the gates and winning a unheard of 35 games out of the first 40 games played! That's a winning percentage of .875! They never trailed during the season, leading the whole way to be one of a few teams to ever accomplish that! It will be interesting to see if this team can get far in the tournament despite it's place in history, since they are dealing with the best of the best teams to have ever taken the field.
Their first opponent will be the 1980 Kansas City Royals, Royals fans would probably prefer the 1985 Kansas City Royals to take their shot at the 84' Tigers instead. I don't blame them for thinking that with only one Grade B reliever in the pen in Dan Quisenberry. The Tigers have much more to work with in the bullpen (thinking about Aurelio Lopez and A.L. MVP/Cy Young - Willie Hernandez alone) and on the bench, the Tigers have a lineup in which they can mix and match really well... the lineup uses about the same 14 players, and not strictly 9 batters.
This will be a series featuring an entire series with the Designated Hitter in play, remember wherever and whoever the home team is from what era, is the difference if pitchers hit or if the DH rule is in play. For the Tigers, their one experience in exhibition play for me against a National League team did not fare well for them -- they got swept by the 1986 New York Mets, 4-0.
The Tigers' best three full-time hitters in terms of OPS was Kirk Gibson (.282, 27 HR, 91 RBI & 29 SB's), Chet Lemon (.287, 20 HR & 76 RBI) & Alan Trammell (.314, 14 HR, 69 RBI & 19 SB's); while Lance Parrish led the team with 33 Home Runs. They will have to go head-to-head with possibly the greatest Third Baseman in MLB history in George Brett and his 1980 season in which he flirted with .400, by hitting .390! The Royals though, only have one other full-time player over an .800 OPS, and that was Hal McRae (.297, 14 HR & 83 RBI).
PREDICTION: The Tigers will take the series, 3-1. In APBA terms, both teams pitching grades don't fly off the pages, but the Tigers have much more depth on the bench and interchangeable parts when it comes to putting together a lineup.
This will be a series featuring an entire series with the Designated Hitter in play, remember wherever and whoever the home team is from what era, is the difference if pitchers hit or if the DH rule is in play. For the Tigers, their one experience in exhibition play for me against a National League team did not fare well for them -- they got swept by the 1986 New York Mets, 4-0.
The Tigers' best three full-time hitters in terms of OPS was Kirk Gibson (.282, 27 HR, 91 RBI & 29 SB's), Chet Lemon (.287, 20 HR & 76 RBI) & Alan Trammell (.314, 14 HR, 69 RBI & 19 SB's); while Lance Parrish led the team with 33 Home Runs. They will have to go head-to-head with possibly the greatest Third Baseman in MLB history in George Brett and his 1980 season in which he flirted with .400, by hitting .390! The Royals though, only have one other full-time player over an .800 OPS, and that was Hal McRae (.297, 14 HR & 83 RBI).
PREDICTION: The Tigers will take the series, 3-1. In APBA terms, both teams pitching grades don't fly off the pages, but the Tigers have much more depth on the bench and interchangeable parts when it comes to putting together a lineup.
*** To Be Continued / Part 2 of the Wagner Bracket Preview***
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