It took me over FOUR years to complete this simulations. As you (hopefully) recall, it started with 30 different managers drafting 30 different teams. The results of the draft can be found HERE for an explanation of the rules and the full First Round of the draft, and you can go HERE for a breakdown of the various teams as well as some voting from the respective managers on how they felt the teams stacked up.
In brief recap, the teams were made of players from 1991 thru 2021, as the draft was held prior to the 2022 season. Teams had a 9,000 pt salary cap, had to field 13 hitters and 12 pitchers, and could draft any eligible player as long as that player was not already drafted -- for example, when the Athletics selected 1996 Mark McGwire in Round 1, it meant that the Cardinals could not take 1998 Mark McGwire for their team.
Thanks to the simulator created by Savard, we were able to plug in every team's 25 man rosters and simulate a full 162 game season... 101 different times!!! We did a series of posts that you can find under the blog's "30 for 30" tab on "Year 0," which ended with the Red Sox defeating the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
In the remaining 100 years of simulations, 55 did not need a "Game 163" or tiebreaker. Those 56 seasons were successfully simulated by Savard, leading to fully computerized results for 56/101 seasons. The results of the 31 playoffs from years "1 through 50" can be found HERE. Unfortunately, Savard's laptop was destroyed and the simulator was lost between the completion of the 56
seasons and when the various tie breakers could be simulated. He was unable to recreate the simulator... and thus, the greatest MLB Showdown marathon of my life began - as I played out BY HAND a total of 45 different postseasons, meaning I played out 484 different series, not counting various play-in games and tie-breakers for division titles. Overall, I expect I played nearly 2,000 games over the last 4 years to get this done... it has been a grind that I am very pleased to cap off now -- first with this post that gives a broad overview, and then subsequent posts on a team-by-team basis to properly memorialize the highs and lows, as well as team building lessons, from each of the franchises.
Now, what you've all been waiting for, we will go through the "big picture" results. Unsurprisingly, the top of the charts remain very similar to the first 31 years of results. The Brewers and Astros remained the dominate teams in the simulation. Indeed, here are the number of pennants and titles from the 56 years of "nothing but computer" playoff results, which saw the Brewers take home 14 titles and the Astros lead the way in the AL with 10 titles titles, giving these two teams a whopping 24/56 of the computer simulated championships. However, there was still variety, as half the league managed to capture a title in the simulator seasons:
However, the gap closed when human hands played out the games, as the strategic elements from certain drafting strategies - for example, the speed and bullpen focus of Kansas City or Pittsburgh - along with the expanded playoff helped add some diversity to the World Series in the other 45 seasons. By the time all 101 playoffs were finished, all 30 teams had won at least one title, with 29 teams capturing multiple pennants before it was all said and done. Milwaukee and Houston slowed their pace as well, although the two juggernauts still ended up with far more titles and pennants than the pack:
With all 101 seasons complete, I think it's also interesting to see how success varied from division to division. The AL West remains the most competitive/impressive division to me, as it is one of only two divisions to have every franchise win multiple World Series and one of two divisions with a pair of franchises with 5+ championships. Most telling, the AL West was the only division that had every franchise make the postseason 10+ times and every AL West team went dancing in October 20+ times!!
The AL West and NL Central took home the most pennants and titles, but it is interesting to sort the divisions by their winning percentage in the World Series:
- AL Central - 14-10 (58.33%)
- AL West - 23-19 (54.76%)
- NL Central - 24-21 (53.33%)
- NL East - 14-14 (50%)
- AL East - 15-20 (42.86%)
- NL West - 11-17 (39.29%)
That's right - the must maligned AL Central, which sent multiple teams with losing records to the playoffs as division champs over the course of 101 years, ended up the mightiest when their team made it to the big dance! Every team in the division went at least .500 in the World Series.
Expanding a little further on the graphic above, I have sorted the teams by a final points tally (with each team receiving 5 points for each championship, 3 points for each pennant, 2 points for each division title, and 1 point for each playoff berth), and it really demonstrates some clear tiers in simulation success for the various teams:
The top tier is in a league by itself: Milwaukee and Houston, the only teams to cross the "300 point" threshold and they both do so by a lot, with a combined 27/101 championships and winning 49/202 possible pennants. Collectively, they made the postseason over 94% of the time.
The next tier are the teams that were consistently fighting Milwaukee and Houston in the postseason, year after year after year: Tampa Bay, LA Dodgers, and Montreal. These three teams all made the playoffs at least 75 times, with a combined 162 division titles between the three of them. It was not enough to hold a stranglehold on their respective divisions, these three teams combined for 40 pennants on top of their divisional dominance.
Tier 3 is a bit broader but features teams that were consistent threats to make a run in the playoffs, often as wild cards but as division champs about 1/4 or 1/5 seasons: Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, Arizona, Chicago White Sox, LA Angels, and Cleveland. Each of these teams won at least 3 world series titles and was in the playoffs more than a 1/3 of the seasons; Cleveland and the White Sox are the weakest teams included herein, as the other squads were a fixture in over half of the postseasons played, but the White Sox won the most AL Central crowns of any team while Cleveland had a great pennant %. thanks to their big rotational boost by dropping the fifth starter in the playoffs... that said, the Red Sox are a cut above, with a great 21% pennant success rate that is the closest to rivaling the Astros in the AL... if not for the Rays taking the majority of the AL East division crowns, the Red Sox would have a great chance at climbing from the top of Tier 3 to the bottom of Tier 1!
Tier 4 is for the teams that made the playoffs less frequently or sputtered out earlier in the postseason that the teams in Tier 3: Chicago Cubs, Atlanta New York Yankees, Kansas City, Seattle, Oakland, San Diego, and Texas. Each of these teams was a frequent flyer in the postseason, but commonly as a wild card team. The Rangers are such an interesting team, as they won more World Series titles (2) than division crowns (1). Fun fact - they were 1/1 in capturing the World Series as a division champ, as they rode their place as the #1 seed all the way to the Year 49 championship! I think each of these managers can be proud of their squad and see that they were always a break or two away from a World Series contending season but probably have an idea or two on how they'd tweak their team if they could re-simulate.
Tier 5 is for the remaining teams - and while each of these managers may have some big picture changes that he or she would make to the squad, each team is a champion. If we had only taken that ONE year of the 101 as the official "sim," they would be walking away with ultimate bragging rights, after all! This tier includes the New York Mets, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Baltimore, Colorado, Miami, San Francisco, and Cincinnati. The most obvious "easy fix" would be getting Baltimore some outfield defense help, as its +2 outfield was a field day for opposing teams. It's funny how something seemingly so small as the difference in 3 or 4 difference in arm strength from other outfields can sink a franchise, but that's how closely constructed these rosters are from one another!
As a final breakdown of the teams before we get into the year-by-year results, here is a breakdown of each franchise's highest win total, lowest win total, and average wins in the 101 seasons:
From these results, the best averages were the Brewers (96.1 average wins), Astros (94.1 average wins), Expos (89.1 average wins), Cardinals (88.5 average wins), Dodgers (88.4 average wins), Rays (86.6 average wins), and Phillies (85.9 average wins). Indeed, only 13 teams averaged a winning season across the 101 years. However, 23 teams won at least 90 games in a season, with the "worst" best season being a commendable 86 wins. The AL West and NL East are the only divisions that can put a claim on having every team in the division win at least 90+ games once. Moreover, 10 teams broke the century mark and won at least 100 games in a season. It truly speaks to the parity of these teams that 1/3 were constructed with enough fire power to have a dominating 100 win season with just a few lucky rolls here and there... while 12 different teams lost at least 100 games in a season, showing how teams capable of winning a World Series can fall into disaster with a few bad bounces due to whatever weakness the sim did not like (RIP Baltimore OF, Colorado fifth starter, and general Cincinnati rotation construction/OF defense). Generally, teams had about a range of 35 wins/losses between the highest and lowest win total, showing how truly random results could be from year-to-year!
Now, we'll go through the champions of each season... and if you were curious, YES I will have the full rosters to share for each team when I make individual team posts at a later time. For this post, I will get through the remaining seasons from Years 0-50, and then a follow-up post will have the full 50 seasons from Years 51-100.
The championship for Year 0 can be found HERE and the results for Years 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46 and 47 can be found HERE. More details on the seasons will be in the individual team pages that I will be working on in the coming weeks. Crucially, I do have stats for seasons 0-50, so I'll do what I can to integrate those numbers into the posts as well, maybe even with a wrap up "All 30 for 30 Teams" post for the best players from various seasons.
Year 1
This was a fun season where no one reached 100 wins but eight teams crossed the 90 win threshold, and only four teams failed to hit 70 wins. It is crazy to me that the Astros merely tied for the AL West title in years 0 and 1, and they were locked into a Game 163 with Seattle for their playoff lives in Year 1... and in that final game of the year, it was the Mariners - behind just enough from Jamie Moyer in five innings before the bullpen held on for dear life while Ichiro scored three times and Griffey & Cruz added homers - who triumphed 7-5.
The three-seeded Phillies hosted the 91-win Cardinals in Round 1 and after dropping Game 1, came cruising back to take 2 and 3 at home. This was my first series - in fall of 2022 - trying the new playoff format and I was immediately taken by the fun of this "all the games in Philly, not a one-and-done" system. Meanwhile, the Cubs made LA their home, cruising to a 2-0 "sweep" of the 93-win Dodgers. In the AL, the Mariners continued their winning by taking two quick wins from the feisty Royals, and the Tigers were able to pull things out in Fenway thanks to a Miguel Cabrera three-run bomb in the win-or-go-home Game 3.
The Cubs continued their hot streak in the NLDS, taking out the #1 seed Diamondbacks in four quick games while the Brewers/Phillies engaged in an instant classic, going the full 5 games. Games 2 and 4 went to extra innings, with Philly prevailing in both of those games. In the end, Milwaukee put their home field advantage to good use and leaned heavily on their deep bullpen in the final game, coming away with a strong 3-0 win.
The #1 seeded Rays made quick work of upstart Detroit, and the #2 seeded White Sox ended the Mariners' spunky run in four games (gentleman's sweep), setting up a showdown between the AL's top seeds in the ALCS. While the Rays pitching was dominate in Game 1 and Game 5 (well done 2018 Blake Snell), the heavy-hitting top half of the White Sox lineup was dominate in the other games, chasing Tampa's starters and building leads that were insurmountable for the small-ball Rays.
Meanwhile, a rivalry near-and-dear to my heart played out in the NLCS -- my beloved Brewers against the hated Cubs, my team vs my good friend Miles' team.... and unfortunately, Miles got the better of me in this series, taking it in seven games. And not just in seven games... I hate to admit it, but my Brew Crew blew a 3-0 lead. I was already looking forward to reigniting a classic AL Central rivalry, of a sharp navy blue v black card World Series battle, of potentially asking the White Sox manager to face off against me..... Aaaaaaand then I choked it all away! Turns out having the best rotation in the sim was a boon to the Cubs, and their starters locked in (only 3 runs in the final 4 games for Milwaukee) while Slammin' Sammy Sosa smashed four homers in that same time frame.
And so, the World Series battle of Year 1 was the classic battle of the Red Line... and it went FAST, with the White Sox taking a gentleman's broom to the Northsiders, smashing them in the first three games before allowing the denizens of Wrigley a win in front of their home fans before finishing things off at the Rate. That's right, after two seasons, we have two "Sox" champions!
Here is a quick summary of all the above, and I'll be leaning on these sc
reenshots as we go on so this post is not TOO long:
Year 2
The Astros and Expos raced to the #1 seeds, but it was a logjam in the AL West that caused some complicated play-in scenarios for the #5 and #6 seed in the AL. In the end, it was the Angels who triumphed in Game 163 over the A's, and the Pirates ended up being a big beneficiary of the expanded playoff rule, squeezing into the sixth seed after seemingly missing the playoffs by a heartbreaking single game. We also saw the first Padres' division title this year, as well as another Royals playoff berth.
In general, the less frequently playoff-bound teams tended to win their divisions or earn wild card berths in the "strange" years that required playing things out by hand, as it seemed like there were more ties/log jams when the dominate teams had off years (such as the Dodgers winning 81 games, Rays winning only 85, and Phillies/Cardinals having very rare losing seasons). This was a fun playoffs, with the following 6-seeded Angels going on a run while the Mets came very, very close to forcing an all Wild Card World Series when they forced a Game 7 after going down 3-0 to the Brew Crew:
But in the end, the World Series match up was between Milwaukee and the upstart, 2002-like LA Angels... and unfortunately, it was not like 1982 in this season.
YEAR 2 CHAMPION: Los Angeles Angels
The Angels cruised to a 4-2 series win over the Brewers, going up 3-0 and closing it out with Shohei on the mound... he also happened to hit two dingers on the same day, thereby bringing in the World Series MVP. It's important to note, I did not keep track of playoff stats - I wouldn't have finished this in five years if I had, but I wrote down the big things and Ohtani's Herculean Game 6 against my team was something that I could *not* let be lost to history!
Year 3
This season was all about the race to 100 wins between the Astros and Tigers, with another fun division title race taking place in the NL East, resulting in a Game 163 between the Expos and Phillies, with a lot on the line since the winner would grab a Bye with the #2 seed. The Cubs and Braves also battled for the #6 seed in an extra game. Year 3 incorporated the first team with a sub-.500 record into the playoffs (you're welcome, Texas), and they ended up going on a scary tear! Here's how the postseason went:
The White Sox returned to the World Series quickly, and they'd have to tame the Martinez aces of Montreal if they wanted to be the first team to obtain multiple rings. The World Series was back-and-forth, resulting in a Game 7 at The Rate. Despite home field advantage, the Expos were the prevailing favorites because they were sending their Ace Pedro Martinez to the mound. In Year 3, Pedro's regular season was dominate (20-6, 2.10 ERA, 11.5 k/9)... but it did not matter against the top of the White Sox order, who hammered him in the first and third innings, giving a strong bullpen a big cushion to work with as the White Sox hung on in Game 7, taking the W 9-4.
YEAR 3 CHAMPION: Chicago White Sox
Year 6
Fast-forwarding past two seasons that Savard simmed out, we have a very, very crazy season in Year 6. Honestly, this is one of my favorite years in the full 101, even if my beloved Brewers failed to make the postseason. On one hand, the Reds finally had a winning season, with their 83 wins and the Brewers' 86 wins insufficient to crack the Top 6... on the other hand, the AL had three-way tie for the #5 and 6 seed between a trio of 82-win teams! Even more bizarre, the Twins took home the AL Central crown by going *double checks notes* a mere .500??? That's right, with 81 wins, the Twins squeaked into their first postseason. Also, fun note, that division crown made the AL Central the first division to have each team take home a division crown! With only one 90+ win team in the AL, it felt wide open... and it truly was, as you can see from the playoff results:
That's right, year 6 featured a very unique World Series matchup between a pair of unexpected three seeds: Minnesota and San Diego. I apologize for the WC results for the NL - frankly, I cannot remember the exact series results off the cuff but you can obviously see who triumphed. Honestly, going into the playoffs, I expected to have a classic Cardinals v Yankees world series and then... this match up, which would be a ratings MESS in reality, but was so much fun to play out! Indeed, despite the Twins jumping out to a 2-0 and 3-1 lead in the series, the Padres forced a Game 7 and came out on top in the final showdown 6-2, getting them their first title!
Year 6 Champion: San Diego Padres
Honestly, the Padres were a blast to play through - major shouts to their manager for constructing such a fun combination of speed/power from different eras in the lineup alongside a rotation of Tier 2, no doubles guys who can pitch deep. The pitching really came through for them in the playoffs, with Jake Peavy in particular feeling like a great "ok, we're going to be ok" guy whenever their backs were up against the wall!
Year 7
This was another very fun season, and the expanded playoff removed the need for a Game 163 between the Giants and Expos. As you can see below, this was a Wild Card powered playoffs!
The Blue Jays and Giants had their first World Series berths in Year 7, and I was impressed with both teams on their way to a Pennant win.
My first impression of playing with Toronto - what a fun squad! The bench depth that likely hurt them during the postseason resulted in some fun "defensive boosts" late in games in the playoffs. I know they had at least one clutch double play in the ALCS thanks to Orlando Hudson subbing in late. Meanwhile, the Giants had a lot of strong starting pitching - particularly with the classic Lincecum/Cain duo and then a deep bullpen - to help quiet the strong offenses they faced, often at the last minute. Yes, the Giants took five games to vanquish their rival Dodgers in the NLDS and a full seven to overcome the Phillies in the NLCS, but they came into the World Series with high spirits.
The World Series was another instant classic, going the distance as the teams traded games back-and-forth. However, in Toronto, the Blue Jays pulled a Gary Carter to walk off the G-Men thanks to a three-run blast by Vlad Jr. that broke the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the ninth, giving them a 6-3 win and their first World Series glory!
Year 7 Champion: Toronto Blue Jays
Year 8
Year 8 was another year where the expanded playoff made my life easier, as the three-way log jam of 86-win teams in the AL made it easy to identify the three wild card teams (the Rays just missed out at 85 wins). In the NL, the usual suspects won the divisions, but the sixth playoff team was the spunky Pirates, just edging out the division rival Cubs and FOUR NL East teams that tied at 81-81 in a bizarre but fun ending. The AL West was arguably crazier, with every team finishing above .500. However, this World Series would end up with a pair of division champions squaring off:
In the second "rivalry" World Series that I got to play out, a third straight World Series went seven games, and heartbreak ensued for the boys in blue... truly there seemed to be Angels in the outfields of Orange County in games 4-7 of the World Series. The Dodgers leapt out to a 3-0 series lead, and then the Angels came fighting back. By the time Game 7 rolled around, the Dodgers felt like they had no momentum, with Trout and the absurd infield defense of the Angels destroying their Cali rivals 11-3. The win gave the Angels their second title in the young simulation!
Year 8 Champion: Los Angeles Angels
Year 11
The Reds finally made a postseason thanks to the expanded playoffs, with the Marlins and Rockies knocking on the door too - I truly enjoyed the variety that going to six teams allowed, and boy oh boy, the Reds were a lot of fun to play with! Meanwhile, the Tigers were able to win Game 163 to take a Bye, forcing the multi-time champion White Sox on the road in the wild card round. Here is how the playoffs went:
All the excitement I had for another unique matchup resulted in the most common world series when the computer was simulating playoffs - the Brewers versus the Astros. Considering how often these teams made it, I guess it was only a matter of time before the "basic" World Series occurred for me, but it still felt underwhelming. The classic seven game ALCS battle between the Astros and Tigers, and, even though it was quick, the five game NLCS Brewers vs Reds (with four games going to extra innings!) were much more fun. In the end, Milwaukee took home the title in six games.
Year 11 Champion: Milwaukee Brewers
Year 13
Now THIS was a fun playoffs! With the Colorado Rockies benefitting from the new six seed thanks to the tie between the White Sox and Angels preventing Savard from simulating this one in the early months of 2022, they proved to be a formidable team. Indeed, as highlighted in the prior sim results post, the Rockies punted their fifth starter. This made it VERY difficult for the Rockies to contend, as they often went around 4-28 in the 32 games that their fifth starter began. However, that made the Rockies a SCARY good team in the postseason, when the fifth starter vanished from the rotation... this was on full display in the Year 13 playoffs, which made it 2/2 playoff berths where the Rockies won the Pennant, and they'd be facing off another fun but unconventional team in the sim, the Kansas City Royals, who spoiled a pinstripe slugfest between the Rockies and Yankees.
In the end, the Rockies tear could not be slowed by the Royals army of Tier 2 starters, with Colorado getting out to leads in Games 1, 2, 4, and 5, thereby nullifying the Royals' best weapon: the bullpen. The Rockies went 13-2 in the postseason, frequently putting up 6+ runs, on route to their first World Series title.
Year 13 Champion: Colorado Rockies
Year 15
After expansion cured the need for a Game 163 between the Rays and Angels, we got another one between the DBacks and Phillies. The playoffs resulted in some familiar faces back in the World Series:
It has been unexpected to me how much west coast participation we've seen in the World Series, and Year 15 features another California matchup, this time between the two least historically successful CA franchises... however, they're the only two teams in this sim that already have a title. The Padres were unable to join the Angels in the multi-ring club this time, as the Angels soared to their third title in this part of the simulation alone, largely thanks to the A++ infield defense (shout out to +8 Andrelton Simmons manning shortstop), in six games.
Year 15 Champion: Los Angeles Angels
Year 24
After a long stretch of sim-able seasons, we had a fun midwestern World Series in Year 24, featuring a familiar champion and one of the great "what if" teams of the sim, the power-happy St. Louis Cardinals. Also, this is an unfortunate year for the Rangers, winning 97 games but being relegated to the four seed, where they immediately ran into a Verlander-Scherzer buzzsaw. Also, shout out to one of the most epic Game 163 matchups that I've played, with a walk-off single by Devers sending the 82-80 Red Sox to the playoffs.
White Sox vs Cardinals was one of the most aesthetically pleasing World Series that I've had the pleasure of playing out, the black v red card battle being an instant classic. Unfortunately, the games themselves were not as pleasurable, with the White Sox prancing to a third title under my simulating in a succinct five games.
Year 24 Champion: Chicago White Sox
Year 28
This was one of the messiest seasons that I saw in the simulation, and it resulted in some very funky "Game 163" play for me. With Houston and Milwaukee as the #1 seeds, it felt like a lot of battling for second place, with another dull Brewers v Astros world series on the horizon... but fortunately, the cards did not cooperate, leading to a very fun World Series match-up between the mecca of showdown (Cleveland) and my good friend Mikey's Arizona Diamondbacks:
In the World Series, the Johnson/Schilling combo went 4-0, helping the DBacks to their first title under my rolling... that said, the Guardians really shined to me during this playoff, particularly with their terrifyingly good lineup!
Year 28 Champion: Arizona Diamondbacks
Year 30
x
No, your eyes do not deceive you - this is a Houston-less playoffs!! Plus, Milwaukee barely squeaked into the five seed for another rivalry matchup with the Cubs. This reminds me - I'll have to breakdown the most common playoff rivalries that emerged over the 101 seasons, particularly for match-ups like the Dodgers v the Expos, Astros v Rays, etc. etc.... but speaking of the Rays, this was a great bounce back year for them, as they cruised in the 2-seed to a World Series berth, where they would face off against the 2-seed from the NL, the still ringless St. Louis Cardinals, fresh off a hard fought NLCS triumph over the #1 seed Phillies.
In the World Series, the two very differently built teams went the full seven games, where Blake Snell took the mound for the Rays and absolutely silenced the Cardinals bats. By pushing enough runs across with small ball, Snell turned over a solid 3-0 lead to the 'pen, which continued the shut out, resulting in a 4-0 Game 7 win for the Rays!
Year 30 Champion: Tampa Bay Rays
Year 32
Year 32 featured another runaway #1 seed Milwaukee season, wracking up 103 wins... it would not be enough to get them to a World Series. In terms of fun postseason berths, a rare Baltimore division title occurred (with a mere 83-79 record) and Houston lost the division crown in Game 163, giving the A's a clear path to the #1 seed. It is wild that the three best teams in the AL were in one division this season, and they would all get to square off in the playoffs. Meanwhile, 5/6 NL teams were usual suspects, with the Braves sliding into the #4 seed. Here are the results of the postseason:
As often seems to happen when the Brewers win 100+ games, it is the two seeded Diamondbacks who end up winning the NL Pennant... and this time, they'll face off against the #1 seed A's, who made the World Series for the first time in my play through. Another first time pennant winner was almost crowned thanks to the deep run the Orioles made, including an impressive and gritty win over the hard charging Guardians... in the end, Brady Anderson and Chris Davis' power ran out, letting the A's ease into the World Series 4-1 in an anticlimactic Game 7 after a very high scoring first few games of the ALCS.
In this World Series, the big pitching duo from Arizona were completely outclassed, as Big Mac, Rickey, and Jason Giambi put the hurt on the snakes. Indeed, this was the first sweep in a while and never felt close once the dice started rolling.
Year 32 Champion: Oakland Athletics
Year 36
The additional sixth seed proved to be a season-altering change in Year 36, as the dangerous Marlins snuck into the final playoff spot alongside five 90+ win teams, including playoff staples Milwaukee, Montreal, and the LA Dodgers. Game 163 was needed to decide the tight NL East and determine the #2 seed, which was Atlanta in a low-scoring pitchers dual.
On the AL side, the White Sox were the team that ended up crawling out of the gutter to win the division by a slim 2 game margin, with all teams within reach going into the final few series of the season. Meanwhile, the Rays and Astros were the class of the league again, with playoff regulars Oakland, LA Angels, and Boston rounding out the field. While the ALCS was a battle of familiar titans, the NL was in for a first time pennant winner as a well-balanced, well-oiled and streaking team embraced the vibes of '97 to go on a historic run:
Of all the inter-league rivals to square off in a World Series, outside of Milwaukee vs Minnesota, I think the Marlins v Rays matchup was one that I least anticipated... but it was a super fun series! First off, the teal background vs sky blue card matchup did not clash like I thought it would. Second and more importantly, it was an evenly matched series where 4/7 games went to extra innings. Small ball was at a premium for both teams. Jose Fernandez outdid himself in Game 7, pitching a complete game shut out to secure a 2-0 Miami win, bringing home the first title to South Beach in the 30 for 30 league!
Year 36 Champion: Miami Marlins
Year 38
We had two Game 163s in Year 38 - the first in another "mid off" for the AL Central crown between the Royals and the White Sox, and the second for the six seed berth in the NL between division rivals Atlanta and Montreal. The AL Central battle was an epic 13 inning brawl that entered the 10th inning tied at 1-1, so it had A LOT of twists and turns and fun, especially since both teams have such good bullpens. Alex Gordon's double in the bottom of the 13th drove in the winning run, sending KC back to the postseason.
Milwaukee entered as another 100 win favorite and, once again, failed to even make the World Series. They were run out of town by the Cardinals in a hotly contested, bitter NLDS series, made only worse for me as a Brewers fan by the fact that the Cardinals were constructed by my good friend Kyle - I may have been best man in his wedding, but I hate losing to him all the same!
In the AL, I thought this may be the year that the Yankees finally break through, especially with "weak" KC coming to the Bronx in the ALDS... as you can see below, I imagined the wrong team would be going on a hot streak to the World Series:
Year 38 featured another fun rivalry matchup, which always delighted me to have, although this was not the same type of classic as Miami v Tampa or the LA Dodgers choke job against the LA Angels; no, this was a beatdown, with the heavy lineup of the Cardinals silenced by the Royals pitching. KC opened up small leads in all four games, letting their deep and oppressive bullpen shut the door. Brooms swept the Cardinals all the way back to the Mississippi, not even giving them time to stop for a quick bite or drink at one of the many fine bars/diners/restaurants in Columbia as they were blown back across Rt. 70.
Year 38 Champion: Kansas City Royals
Year 41
Year 41 had a very typical playoff results with a notable exception - the 80 win Minnesota Twins took the six seed. Based on how I've played with them on the past, and how well "bad" teams seemed to play once they made the playoffs, I suspected that the Twins may go on a crazy run... but it ended immediately at Fenway, with the Red Sox smashing Johan Santana in Game 1 and cruising to a Game 2 win too. Boston took that momentum to take out the 98 win Tigers in five games, and then took out the high-octane Texas Rangers in six games to return to the World Series.
On the NL Side, the #1 seed Cubs were on cruise control, handling the Phillies and Dodgers to return to the World Series for another shot at a title after whispers (from me to team owner Miles) that the Billy Goat curse may have transferred from reality to Showdown.
In the battle of the historically cursed franchises, we finally got the World Series we were denied in 2003. The Cubs were a team on a mission, their starting staff going at least 7 innings in every start and Sosa powering the team to a 4-2 series victory.
Year 41 Champion: Chicago Cubs
Year 43
A fun division title to note was the NL West, where the Giants came out on top and the DBacks/Dodgers both failed to make the playoffs... things were less exciting in the NL Central and East, as the classic Milwaukee/Montreal division titles happened again. We did get a Game 163 for the 6 seed, as the Braves and Cardinals squared off.
Over in the AL, a Game 163 between Minnesota and the Yankees was averted by the playoff expansion. Only the Rays won more than 90 games, making this one of the most wide-open playoffs on the AL side in 30 for 30 history. The AL Central teams proved resilient, with the White Sox and Twins meeting in a midwestern ALCS after they knocked off the classic bye teams (Astros and Rays). Meanwhile, the Giants and Marlins faced off in the NLCS, with seven different pitchers duals coming out in favor of the east coast team!
A unique playoffs leading to a fun World Series... while I doubt this would be a ratings bonanza, it was a lot of fun to play out! Going the full seven games, the teams went back and forth. Miami leaned on its starting staff and high end relief at the end of the bullpen, while the Twins leaned on their power hitting stars. In Game 7, it was not the Twins primary hitting stars that saved the day, but real life World Series hero Kirby Puckett who hit two home runs to give the Twins their first championship!
Year 43 Champion: Minnesota Twins
Year 48
After a Game 163 battle between classic NL West rivals Dodgers and DBacks, the playoffs were ready to roll. This is a season where I thought Milwaukee was in line for another pennant victory, but it was the OG Milwaukee baseball team that got hot and overcame a 3-1 series deficit to win their first pennant in a season that I simulated. The Braves would face off against a team from another old home of the franchise - Boston. The Red Sox season could be considered a success just by knocking off arch-rival New York in the wild card round, but they knocked off their fellow Sox team in the ALDS and a hard fought seven game ALCS over the Astros.
The Braves went down two games to one early on, but the team got on another three game winning streak to clinch their first championship. Atlanta was such an interesting team to play with, as their fifth starter was the same tier as their #1 starter Tim Hudson, so they continued to use him throughout the playoffs with spot starts. It was a fun strategic element, and it helped Atlanta earn their first title!
Year 48 Champion: Atlanta Braves
Year 49
While it was fun to see the Blue Jays and Mariners make it to the postseason, the highlight of this season was the Texas Rangers *finally* breaking through to win the AL West. While they frequently made wild card berths, this was the only season the Rangers managed to win the division. Of course, with their 96 wins, Texas was the #1 seed during this season. Their path ended up being relatively easy too, facing the fifth seeded Blue Jays in the ALDS and the 88 win Royals in the ALCS.
In the NL, the Dodgers went on a hot streak against the NL Central, taking out St. Louis in the wild card round, the #1 seed Brewers in the NLDS, and crushing the Cubs in the NLCS.
In the World Series, the Rangers were a team on fire that the Dodgers could not put out, although the Dodgers took games 3 and 5 to make things interesting. Cliff Lee had a complete game win, helping push the Rangers to the promised land for the first time in this simulation. The Rangers lineup was insane this season, with THREE hitters having 35+ dingers, SEVEN hitters having 20+ dingers, and (incredibly) all NINE regular hitters having 18 or more home runs!!! Truly, this was one of the greatest offensive outputs by any team en route to a title.
Year 49 Champion: Texas Rangers
Year 50
Thank you for reading this far! Here are the final standings from this post, with Years 51-100 coming soon!
For Year 50, we saw the AL West's runner ups go on a winning spree in the postseason, as the A's and Rangers ran through the competition to square off in the ALCS. The two rivals went the full seven games, with Cole Hamels showing up big in Game 7, pitching 7 shut out innings while homers from Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez pushed the Rangers to back-to-back pennants.
In the National League, the #1 seed Expos survived their two arch-divisional rivals, with Pedro out-dueling Roy Oswalt in Game 5 of the NLDS. Side note - the Phillies #4 and #5 starters were essentially identical, so I went with Oswalt since I loved him in real life. Then, the Expos took down the Braves in quick order to earn a World Series berth, setting up one of the best pitching vs hitting World Series match ups yet.
Early on, it seemed like the Rangers would claim back-to-back titles, leaping out to a quick 2-0 series lead, with the Series headed back to the States... where the Expos bounced back, taking all three games to go back to Canada with a 3-2 series lead. The Rangers were undaunted in Game 6, winning 9-1 behind five different home runs... but in Game 7, the Expos turned the ball over to Pedro Martinez for another crucial game, and their ace did *not* disappoint. My generation's surefire best starter turned in a legendary complete game, surrendering only two hits and two walks as the Expos secured a 6-0 win, taking home their first championship that I played out by hand!
Year 50 Champion: Montreal Expos
OK so after seasons 0-50 have been discussed, here is the breakdown of where all the teams stand, stats from pure simulations and my postseason play combined:
Once again, thank you for reading all of this! I've got another MASSIVE post coming in the next week or so to run through the Years 51-100, and then starting some posts to breakdown each team. I'll post all the cards for all the teams (over 600 cards), along with a discussion of each teams' best seasons, best players and stats, and some analysis of their performance.
If there is any information/stats you want me to delve into, please let me know!
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