2016 Cleveland Indians

Spring Training has begun, marking the start to the 2017 baseball season. The new season comes on the heels of one of the best World Series ever, with an instant classic Game 7 that saw this scrappy, bullpen reliant Indians team nearly come back in the ninth inning again All Star closer Aroldis Chapman. Sadly, despite overcoming massive injuries to the rotation, the Indians will be remembered as that team that blew a 3-1 lead to the Cubs. In reality, Cleveland put together an amazing run, neutering high-powered Boston and Toronto offenses with savvy bullpen moves and clutch hitting.

The 2016 Cubs and Indians both have complete squads uploaded on the site, so feel free to use these teams to replay the World Series! Hopefully, your showdown simulation will be as epic as the real thing!

SHOWDOWN HALL OF FAME: Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is the greatest hitter of all-time, at least by Showdown standards. In fact, it was Bonds' ridiculous 2001 campaign that caused the original Showdown cards to adjust their formula, as his extreme OBP and 73 HRs broke the formulas. Luckily, here at Greatest MLB Showdown, we are unwilling to bend our methods! So, get ready for the greatest of Barry's seasons in the original card format. For you Pirates fans, no worries-- we've got his early 90s MVP seasons included here as well (including the season that Terry Pendleton robbed him). Yes, I realize there's a real possibility Bonds used steroids to enhance his game, which clearly takes a big leap from his early 90s MVP days to his early 00s MVP season. Here at The Greatest MLB Showdown Project though, we aren't in the business of judging or excluding players, just recording respective Showdown cards of historical legends. So, feel free to ban him from your leagues or let him play and watch some fireworks unfold from his (metaphorical) bat!

Without further ado, an ode to a player who's still waiting for his Hall of Fame induction, but is the FIRST player inducted to the MLB Showdown Hall of Fame.

2003 Chicago Cubs

One of the most heartbreaking teams in baseball history, the 2003 Chicago Cubs were supposed to be the team that broke the Billy Goat curse. Unfortunately (for Chicago and my middle school classmates on the Chicago bandwagon), the Cubs ended up adding to the C-U-R-S-E legend. As a Showdown team, the 2003 Cubs are heavy on the pitching and light on the on-base percentage. It almost pushed them to a World Series showdown with the Yankees, but the Bartman incident (followed by the Gonzalez error and an epic bullpen collapse) doomed the team in Game 6, before they blew a lead in Game 7 as well.

Without further ado, one of the most heartbreaking baseball teams in history:

1994 Montreal Expos

We're back! It's been a busy transition into 2017 thanks to law school finals, the holidays, and spending time with family. However, the next team is ready for launch: the best Expos team ever assembled!

The 1994 Expos are one of the most legendary "what if" teams in baseball. On pace for over 100 wins, the Expos best opportunity for a World Series berth was stopped by the baseball strike. Sadly, when baseball came back in 1995, the Expos had been dismantled. Before long, their best all stars would be on other rosters and they'd be playing last place ball in a near empty Olympic Stadium.

However, for the first time, we can see just how good that Expos team really was by printing their MLB Showdown squad out and pitting them against teams of other eras. Overall, their batting order leaves a lot to be desired, but the world class pitching of the Expos makes them a real contender to take down anyone. Without further ado, the Montreal Expos of 1994:

2003 Marlins

The Florida Marlins somehow have two World Series titles in around twenty seasons, despite never winning their division. Meanwhile, the Brewers, Expos/Nationals, Mariners, Rockies, and Padres have zero titles in 200+ seasons of existence. The 1997 Marlins was probably the more talented roster, featuring young players that would go on to be stars (and maybe featured some Hall of Famers): Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria and more. However, we needed to make the 2003 Marlins first! As kids that mainly grew up in the Chicago suburbs, that epic Bartman-feuled collapse and the corresponding Marlins upset of the Yankees was the first truly magical postseason most of us saw (or most painful, depending if you're a pro or anti Cubs fan).

Something many of us forget is the Cubs and Marlins dispatched a pair of 100 win teams in the first round (Atlanta and San Francisco), and the Marlins did all this without a true power hitter or an OB 10 in the lineup! A balanced team with a solid rotation and weak bullpen, the Marlins truly are a case of a manager getting hot with his rolling (or fortunate that the other manager keeps giving up big hits off his own chart).

Hopefully you enjoy this underdog team!

2004 Boston Red Sox

Perhaps the most legendary team of the new Century: the miracle, 30 for 30 subject Boston Red Sox of 2004. These Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino after overcoming a 3-0 deficit to their arch rival, the New York Yankees. Heroes abound on this bunch of idiots, including David Ortiz's clutch power hitting, Curt Schilling and his bloody sock, and Kevin Millar and his big mouth. Honestly, I love this team's lineup and have to acknowledge how great the Ortiz/Manny combo in the middle of the order was for them.

Enjoy this famous team, I know I enjoyed putting them together.

2004 Cardinals

Happy birthday week to a good friend of the Greatest MLB Showdown Project, Kyle Jacoby! A veteran chart creator and the unluckiest roller we know, Kyle's a lifelong Cardinals fan. His favorite team of all-time was not the plucky 2006 or 2011 wild-card to World Series champion teams, but the 2004 juggernaut version. Winners of 105 games, the Cardinals profiled as one of the better Showdown teams of this century and their lineup does not disappoint. Turns out Larry Walker kept up his torrid Rockies statistical pace in St. Louis after being dealt to the redbirds, giving St. Louis one of the most devastating 2-3-4 spots in Showdown. Perhaps the most intriguing part of this team (and all the good 2004 teams) is the lack of stellar starting pitching. Frankly, as card creators, it can get a little dull plugging in three tier 2 starters and a tier 3 guy at the back end of the rotation. The Cardinals do not fit that mold, with a tier 3 ace followed by a couple tier 4s and a really, really bad Matt Morris. With an ok bullpen, we think it'll be fun to try squeezing four or five innings from some of these starting while letting a potent offense swing away and outscore opponents.

Also, the rest of the 2004 ALCS and NLCS participants (and 2003 for that matter) are coming soon! So if you want to replay any of 7-game epics from the early 2000s, just copy/paste these cards, print them out, and let us know how it goes!!!

For you Cardinals fans out there, it's also your chance to back up the endless whining that if the Cardinals had gotten home field advantage through their better record (instead of Boston securing home field through the All Star game), it would've been an entirely different 2004 World Series.

Anyway, here's the 2004 Cardinals: