The Best of the Worst Baseball Championship

[hillm2ca]

Every serious baseball fan at one point or another wonders which Major League Baseball team is the best ever. Not me. I like losers, has-beens, and teams that are downright awful. Thus, I have decided to start a tournament in which I try to answer the question of who is the best worst team of all time in the modern era. I found a list compiled by Mcubed.net that lists in consecutive order the worst Major League Baseball teams in the modern era. Below, I will reveal who these wondrous teams are, explain how the tournament will function, as well as preview the first matchup. So, grab some PBR and let's get ready for some mediocre baseball.

[hillm2ca]

1 1916 Philadelphia Athletics 36 117 .235 54.5
2 1935 Boston Braves 38 115 .248 61.5
3 1962 New York Mets 40 120 .250 60.5
4 1904 Washington Senators 38 113 .252 55.5
5 1919 Philadelphia Athletics 36 104 .257 52
6 2003 Detroit Tigers 43 119 .265 47
7 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates 42 112 .273 54.5
8 1909 Washington Senators 42 110 .276 56
9 1942 Philadelphia Phillies 42 109 .278 62.5
10 1941 Philadelphia Phillies 43 111 .279 57
10 1932 Boston Red Sox 43 111 .279 64
10 1939 St. Louis Browns 43 111 .279 64.5
13 1928 Philadelphia Phillies 43 109 .283 51
13 1915 Philadelphia Athletics 43 109 .283 58.5
15 1911 Boston Rustlers 44 107 .291 54
16 1909 Boston Doves 45 108 .294 65.5
17 1911 St. Louis Browns 45 107 .296 56.5
18 1939 Philadelphia Phillies 45 106 .298 50.5
19 1945 Philadelphia Phillies 46 108 .299 52
19 1937 St. Louis Browns 46 108 .299 56
21 1938 Philadelphia Phillies 45 105 .300 43
22 1926 Boston Red Sox 46 107 .301 44.5
23 1961 Philadelphia Phillies 47 107 .305 46
23 1910 St. Louis Browns 47 107 .305 57
25 1965 New York Mets 50 112 .309 47
25 1925 Boston Red Sox 47 105 .309 49.5
27 1920 Philadelphia Athletics 48 106 .312 50
28 1903 St. Louis Cardinals 43 94 .314 46.5
28 1903 Washington Senators 43 94 .314 47.5
30 1963 New York Mets 51 111 .315 48
30 2013 Houston Astros 51 111 .315 45
30 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks 51 111 .315 42
33 1905 Brooklyn Superbas 48 104 .316 56.5
34 1908 St. Louis Cardinals 49 105 .318 50
34 1943 Philadelphia Athletics 49 105 .318 49
34 1946 Philadelphia Athletics 49 105 .318 55
34 1906 Boston Pilgrims 49 105 .318 45.5
38 1969 Montreal Expos 52 110 .321 48
38 1969 San Diego Padres 52 110 .321 41
40 1932 Chicago White Sox 49 102 .325 56.5
40 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates 50 104 .325 55
40 1923 Philadelphia Phillies 50 104 .325 45.5
40 1907 Washington Senators 49 102 .325 43.5
40 1949 Washington Senators 50 104 .325 47
40 1952 Detroit Tigers 50 104 .325 45
40 1906 Boston Beaneaters 49 102 .325 66.5
47 1979 Toronto Blue Jays 53 109 .327 50.5
47 1940 Philadelphia Phillies 50 103 .327 50
47 1964 New York Mets 53 109 .327 40
47 1996 Detroit Tigers 53 109 .327 39
47 1928 Boston Braves 50 103 .327 44.5
52 1912 New York Highlanders 50 102 .329 55
53 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates 51 103 .331 47
53 1921 Philadelphia Phillies 51 103 .331 43.5
53 1927 Philadelphia Phillies 51 103 .331 43
53 1954 Philadelphia Athletics 51 103 .331 60
53 1908 New York Highlanders 51 103 .331 39.5
53 1927 Boston Red Sox 51 103 .331 59
53 1905 Boston Beaneaters 51 103 .331 54.5
60 1979 Oakland Athletics 54 108 .333 34
60 1998 Florida Marlins 54 108 .333 52
60 1914 Cleveland Naps 51 102 .333 48.5
63 1977 Toronto Blue Jays 54 107 .335 45.5
63 1988 Baltimore Orioles 54 107 .335 34.5
65 1948 Chicago White Sox 51 101 .336 44.5
66 1930 Philadelphia Phillies 52 102 .338 40
66 1950 Philadelphia Athletics 52 102 .338 46
66 1956 Kansas City Athletics 52 102 .338 45
66 1930 Boston Red Sox 52 102 .338 50
66 1951 St. Louis Browns 52 102 .338 46
66 1988 Atlanta Braves 54 106 .338 39.5
72 1976 Montreal Expos 55 107 .340 46
72 1907 St. Louis Cardinals 52 101 .340 55.5
72 1913 St. Louis Cardinals 51 99 .340 49
72 2012 Houston Astros 55 107 .340 42
72 1912 Boston Braves 52 101 .340 52
77 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 55 106 .342 48
77 1904 Philadelphia Phillies 52 100 .342 53.5
77 2002 Detroit Tigers 55 106 .342 39
80 1919 Philadelphia Phillies 47 90 .343 47.5
81 1954 Pittsburgh Pirates 53 101 .344 44
81 1955 Washington Senators 53 101 .344 43
81 1908 Brooklyn Superbas 53 101 .344 46
81 1934 Cincinnati Reds 52 99 .344 42
81 1912 St. Louis Browns 53 101 .344 53
81 1949 St. Louis Browns 53 101 .344 44
87 1970 Chicago White Sox 56 106 .346 42
87 1963 Washington Senators 56 106 .346 48.5
87 1921 Philadelphia Athletics 53 100 .346 45
87 1936 Philadelphia Athletics 53 100 .346 49
87 2002 Milwaukee Brewers 56 106 .346 41
87 2005 Kansas City Royals 56 106 .346 43
87 2011 Houston Astros 56 106 .346 40
87 1922 Boston Braves 53 100 .346 39.5
95 1906 St. Louis Cardinals 52 98 .347 63
95 1945 Philadelphia Athletics 52 98 .347 34.5
97 1934 Chicago White Sox 53 99 .349 47
97 1981 Toronto Blue Jays 37 69 .349 23.5
97 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 53 99 .349 46
100 1978 Seattle Mariners 56 104 .350 35

[hillm2ca]

For the tournament, I am going to be using the "Historical Exhibition" feature and each match up is going to involve a 7 game series in a single elimination format (I will be posting a bracket soon.) The winner of the series advances and the loser goes home. I will treat team #100 on the list as the #1 seed, which in this case is the 1978 Seattle Mariners, and #1 on the list as the #100 seed. Matchups are based by selecting two teams who are in the same spot on the opposite sides of the list. So, you guessed it, the first series will feature the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics versus the 1978 Seattle Mariners.
Finally, for each series, I will write a brief preview, followed by a game by game series recap, and other nonsense commentary.

[hillm2ca]

The first matchup in the Best of the Worst Baseball Championship will feature the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics battling (sorta) the 1978 Seattle Mariners. The Athletics come into this series with a record of 36-117 but at least they have one of the best bat boys in this series. The 1978 Seattle Mariners, meanwhile, enter the contest with 56-104 record, but they do look awful good in those hats with that stylish boat anchor on the front.

Player to Watch (Athletics): The Athletics best player is arguably outfielder Amos Strunk who batted .316 with 3 HR's and 49 RBI's in 1916. He will be one guy to watch out for in this Clash of the Titans series.

Player to Watch (Mariners): Superbeast Leon Roberts comes in after batting .301 with 22 HR's and 92 RBI's in 1978 and he is looking to kill the ball, even if he has to take steroids to do it.

I will have the results of this first series tomorrow and everything else that you need to know.

[hillm2ca]

Game 1:
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 4
1978 Seattle Mariners 5

WP: Byron McLaughlin (1-0)
LP: Bill Morrisette (0-1)

Perhaps it would be a bad omen for the Athletics when starter “Bullet” Joe Bush left the game with an undisclosed injury after striking out Mariners’ leadoff hitter Jose Cruz in the 1st. While the Athletics took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second courtesy of a Charlie Pick ground out that scored Stuffy McInnis, the Mariners would come back with 4 runs in the bottom of the third capped by Bill Stein’s RBI double. Catcher Bob Stinson would later homer for the Mariners in the bottom of the 7th to make it 5-3 Mariners.
The Athletics, however, would make the Mariners fans nervous, scoring once more in the top of the 8th to make it 5-4 but were ultimately shut down by reliever Enrique Romo in the 9th to close this one out.
Byron McLaughlin, who would earn Player of the Game honors, pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and striking out two.
Game 2:
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 3
1978 Seattle Mariners 7

WP: Rick Honeycutt (1-0)
LP: Jack Nabors (0-1)

Mariners’ outfielder Leon Roberts would turn out to be the hitting hero in Game 2. With the Athletics leading 2-0, Roberts drilled a three run homer into the left center field seats at the Kingdome off of Athletics’ starter Jack Nabors to make it 3-2. The Mariners’ Roberts, Bob Stinson, and Bruce Bochte would each contribute two hits in the victory.

Meanwhile, Rick Honeycutt picked up the victory, going 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs, and 3 strikeouts, but he did also manage to walk 6 as well.

Game 3:

1978 Seattle Mariners 15
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 2

Game 3 would take place at Shibe Park in Philadelphia and it turned into a rather ugly affair for the Athletics. Bruce Bochte’s two run RBI single off of Athletics’ starter Elmer Myers in the third would make it 3-0. Later, Myers was chased off in the 5th as the Mariners would score 6 more runs, including a solo homerun by Tom Paciorek. Before it was all said and done, the Mariners would triumph for another 5 runs in the top of the ninth. The Mariners’ Craig Reynolds, Leon Roberts, and Paciorek would each contribute three hits, with Roberts and Paciorek also garnering 3 RBIs a piece.

Mariners’ starter Paul Mitchell was dominant against the Athletics, holding them scoreless through 6 innings before yielding the only two runs the Athletics would score in this game in the 7th. In the end, Mitchell would go eight innings for the victory, allowing only 6 hits, walking 2, and striking out 2.

Game 4:

1978 Seattle Mariners 2
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 14

WP: Tom Sheehan (1-0)
LP: Glenn Abbott (0-1)

The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, facing elimination against the 1976 Seattle Mariners, got their revenge in this contest, clubbing the Mariners 14-2. Athletics’ starter Tom Sheehan carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before surrendering a single to Leon Roberts. He would eventually go the distance in this one, allowing only four hits while striking out seven. Sheehan would also help himself out at the plate with a 2-run double of his own in the 4th inning.

The Athletics had 18 hits, including their first home run of the series, a two-run shot by Whitey Witt in the fourth off of Mariners’ starter, Glenn Abbott who allowed 5 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. The Athletics would go on to score nine runs in the 4th inning.

Bob Stinson’s 2-run homer in the7th, his 2nd in the series, would account for the only scoring for the Mariners.

Game 5:

1978 Seattle Mariners 14
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 5

WP: Byron McLaughlin (2-0)
LP: Jack Nabors (0-2)

The 1978 Seattle Mariners claimed the series victory against the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics in a 14-5 drubbing. The Mariners scored six runs in the 1st inning which included home runs by Bob Stinson and Bruce Bochte, but the Athletics would counter with 2 runs in the bottom of the first.

In the sixth inning, trailing 7-3, Athletics’ right fielder Rube Oldring hit a two-run homerun off of Mariners’ reliever Jack Montague to bring the Athletics within two, 7-5. However, the Mariners would counter with another 6-run inning in the top of the seventh, including another home run by Stinson, to essentially seal the victory.

Byron McLaughlin would pick up his second win of the series, but he ended up only pitching 5 innings. Meanwhile, the Athletics would use 8 relievers after starter Jack Nabors’ exit in the second inning.

So, the 1978 Seattle Mariners advance in the tournament! Their opponent in Round 2 will be the winner of the 1935 Boston Braves vs. 1938 Philadelphia Athletics series which is up next.

Series Highlights:

Mariners’ catcher Bob Stinson was named the series MVP, batting a stout .529 with 4 HR and 9 RBI…Mariners’ Leon Roberts would also claim 9 RBI in the series while batting .450…Byron McLaughlin of the Mariners led all pitchers on both sides with 2 victories…42-year old Nap Lajoie, an eventual Hall of Famer, went 0 for 10 in the series for the Athletics…Athletics 3B Charlie Pick was the Athletics’ best player, leading the A’s with a .389 batting average.

[hillm2ca]

The next series in the Best of the Worst Baseball Championship will feature the 1935 Boston Braves against the 1938 Philadelphia Athletics. I will have the preview of this series in an upcoming post, so stayed tuned...

[hillm2ca]

For those who may be following this, I will have more for you soon. My wife and I had a baby this week so I have not had much time available to sim further so sit tight!

[hillm2ca]

Series Preview:

1935 Boston Braves: The Braves not only had it rough with a 38-115 record, but they drew only 232,000 fans at Braves Field during the 1935 campaign. Wally Berger is the offensive leader for the Braves, topping the club with 34 HR's, well ahead of the second highest total of 6 HR by Babe Ruth as he played his final season in the big leagues. The Braves' major weakness is their starting rotation as no regular starter finished with an ERA under 4.60 and one of them, Ben Cantwell, managed to lose 25 games. Ouch!

1938 Philadelphia Athletics: The Athletics enter this series as the favorite with a 53-99 record. Led by manager Connie Mack, the A's have some offensive bright spots in Bob Johnson who led the team with 30 HR's and 113 RBI's and Wally Moses who batted over .300.

Can the Babe pull off one more miracle? Can Connie Mack in his advanced age survive this series? Will this be the greatest series ever?

[hillm2ca]

Danny MacFayden of the Braves would lead his team in a 4-0 shutout victory against the 1938 Phillies in Game 1, but unfortunately for the Braves, it would prove to be their only victory of the series. Meanwhile, the Athletics would rely on excellent pitching, led by Al Hollingsworth who went 1-0 with a 0.59 ERA for the series, including 10K's in 15 1/3 innings.

Hersh Martin of the Phillies would connect with the only homerun of the series, a solo shot that broke a 4-4 tie in the 7th in Game 4. As a matter of fact, Martin's bomb would strike a fan in the head attending his first ever Major League baseball game. The fan would later chuck the ball on the field and was promptly removed for making obscene gestures to other fans in the bleachers. The fan was later interviewed after the game and was quoted as saying, "I'm sober now...I don't remember anything about it." Finally, Martin would later be named the MVP of the series, after going 8-20 (.400 AVG) with a home run and 2 RBI.

In the post game press conference, Martin would iterate how we would enjoy his time off before the 1938 Phillies second round series against the 1978 Seattle Mariners, stating that, "I have a farm with cows on it...They need me now."

In other news, the legendary Babe Ruth would not make an appearance for the Braves in this series. Meanwhile, Connie Mack credited the chili dogs his team ate after their Game 1 loss to the Braves as the deciding factor in their victory.. "Gotta love 'em...They're how I met my wife."

[hillm2ca]

Of course, every knows that the 1962 New York Mets were the quintessential awful team in the modern era. Having gone 40-120 in the regular season, the Mets have few serious threats in their lineup, although they do have elder veterans Frank J. Thomas (34 HR's in 1962) and Richie Ashburn and Gil Hodges who were once stars during the prime of their careers. The Mets also have Roger Craig in their starting rotation who would later become one of the most prominent managers/pitching coaches in the Major Leagues in the 1980s. In real life in '62, Craig would go 10-24 with a 4.51 ERA but trust me, there are pitchers who are a lot worse on this team.

On the other side of the field are the 1981 Toronto Blue Jays who are only a few years removed since entering the MLB as an expansion franchise in 1977. An interesting storyline will be to see how 3B Danny Ainge - who would later star in the NBA - will do in this series. Ainge would only bat .187 with 0 HR and 14 RBI in real life in 1981 so it is unlikely that he will do anything noteworthy in this contest but who knows. In addition, despite a puke worthy 37-69 record during the strike-shortened '81 campaign, the Blue Jays field some solid young talent comprised of the likes of Dave Stieb, George Bell, Jesse Barfield, Willie Upshaw, Ernie Whitt, Lloyd Moseby, and Damaso Garcia who would later be significant contributors to the Jays' rise to the top of the AL East and subsequent playoff appearance in 1985.

I will be following this series a bit more closely than the last one so I will provide a more detailed account once it is completed.

[hillm2ca]

Game 1:
1962 Mets 0
1981 Toronto Blue Jays 1

Game 1 featured an epic pitching duel between Jays' starter Dave Stieb and Mets' hurler Al Jackson. Stieb carried a no-hitter into the fifth before surrendering a single to Mets' 2B Charlie Neal and would go on to pitch 8 1/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits while striking out 10 before yielding to Joey McLaughlin who finished the game while earning the save. Meanwhile, Jackson took a very tough loss as he threw a complete game through 8 innings while striking out 8.

John Mayberry's 459-foot solo HR in the 1st inning would account for the only scoring in the series' opening game at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

Game 2:

1962 Mets 8
1981 Blue Jays 5

Whatever offense was lacking in Game 1 was more than compensated for in this contest as both the Mets and the Blue Jays combined for 29 hits and 6 HR's.

Damaso Garcia hit a lead off HR in the 1st off of Mets' starter Roger Craig and the lead would hold for the Blue Jays before Choo Coleman 2-run bomb off of Luis Leal would give the Mets a 2-1 lead. John Mayberry would connect with his second HR of the series in the 4th to tie the score. Otto Velez would follow Mayberry with another home run in the same inning to give the Jays the 4-3 lead.

The Mets would put together a big inning in the 5th, led by Choo Choo Coleman's 2 RBI single to give the Mets the lead 5-4 and sending Leal to the showers. Jim Marshall would follow with another RBI single to make it 6-4. Meanwhile, Lloyd Moseby would hit a solo HR for the Blue Jays to make it 6-5.

The Mets would go on to score two more runs on RBI singles by Jim Hickman and Elion Chacon in the ninth, closing out the victory for the Mets 8-5. Roger Craig would get the win but the Mets would go to the bullpen seven times in this contest in order to seal the victory.

Game 3:

1981 Blue Jays 4
1962 Mets 8

Buck Martinez's pinch-hit HR in the 9th would bring the Jays closer to a comeback at the Polo Grounds in Game 3, but ultimately the Mets would prevail as they held on to an 8-4 victory.

Charlie Neal, Jim Hickman, and Choo Coleman would each net two hits a piece for the Mets while John Mayberry would connect for his third home run in as many games.

Game 4:

1981 Blue Jays 5
1962 Mets 8

The Blue Jays were unable to hold a lead at the Polo Grounds in Game 4 and fell to the Mets 8-5. Lloyd Moseby launched a 3-run HR in the first with the Jays adding to their lead with 2 more runs in the 4th to make it 5-1.

The Mets would storm back with 2 runs in the fourth and 2 more in the fifth to tie the score. But, it was Frank J. Thomas's 2-run double in the 6th off of Jays' reliever Nino Espinosa that would be the deciding factor in the Mets victory followed by an RBI single by Jim Hickman later in the game.

Game 5:

1981 Blue Jays 0
1962 Mets 3

Al Jackson got his revenge after taking a heartbreaking loss in Game 1, going 8 innings in the victory while striking out 11 Blue Jays' hitters. The Mets offense was all about Marv Throneberry who accounted for all of the Mets scoring, delivery an infield RBI single in the 1st, followed by solo HR's in the 3rd and 7th innings off of Jays' starter Jim Clancy.

The Jays, meanwhile, missed out on some early scoring opportunities by loading the bases in the 1st and 4th innings but were not able to benefit from any kind of clutch hitting.

General Notes:

Mets' 2B Charlie Neal would earn series MVP honors, going 11 for 18 (.611) and netting 5 RBIs...Choo Choo Coleman of the Mets delivered 6 RBIs for the Mets in the series...Blue Jays' starter Dave Stieb would go 1-0 in two appearances, taking a no-decision in game 4 but, meanwhile, garnering 17 K's in 13 IP...Mets' starter Al Jackson would put up 19 K's in 16 IP while going 1-1 in the series...John Mayberry of the Blue Jays hit 3 HR while going 6-20 (.300)...Danny Ainge did not play in the series, having only been activated prior to Game 5 along with George Bell who also did not play.

The 1962 Mets will go on to Round 2!

[gglennwill]

Just discovered this a month late and am really enjoying it! I agree with you, I get tired of all the "best teams of all time" tourneys, when there are so many other teams out there to play. I thought of doing this type of tournament myself; in fact, I even thought of instead of taking the winner, in each series see which team can LOSE the best four out of seven. Then you could really find out who the worst team was!

[hillm2ca]

I might try your idea Gglennwill for the next go-around! I will be posting some more later this week when I get some more time and some more sleep. Thanks gglennwill and everyone else who is following this thread - I will be posting more here soon!

[hillm2ca]

The 1904 Washington Senators were actually managed by a guy named Milachi Kittridge (pictured below) for the first seventeen games of the season. He was fired, of course, after leading this stellar cast to a 1-16 record before being replaced by player-manager Patsy Donovan who hardly did better. At least he had nice hair. Meanwhile, the Senators would finish 38-113 for the year so it was unsurprising that they barely drew over 131,00 fans for the season. However, groupie attendance: 0.

OK, so it was the dead ball era but the Senators only batted .227 for the year. So, I hope they like to bunt and play small ball - it is their only chance.

On the other end of the field are the 1934 Chicago White Sox who compiled a 53-99 record. They are considerably more exciting than the lowly Senators, led by two eventual Hall of Famers in Al Simmons, who batted .344 for the year with 18 HR's and 108 RBI's, and infield extraordinaire Luke Appling (.303, 2 HR, 61 RBI's) who is tired of being referred to as "The Apple." And do not forget Zeke Bonura. Not only does he have a killer appetite for Blatz Beer, he is one helluva a hitter, leading the White Sox with 27 roundtrippers and 110 RBI's. One could easily wonder, with such offensive production, why this team could have been so terrible? Obviously, the pitching was a huge let down and it did not help that they had a guy in their rotation actually named Sad Sam Jones. I'm not kidding!

So, there you have it folks, another series preview. I will be posting the results of this contest in the next couple of days. I would place my bets on the 1934 Chicago White Sox winning this one, but in the "Best of the Worst Baseball Tournament," even miracles can happen.

[hillm2ca]

The 1904 Washington Senators were actually managed by a guy named Milachi Kittridge (pictured below) for the first seventeen games of the season. He was fired, of course, after leading this stellar cast to a 1-16 record before being replaced by player-manager Patsy Donovan who hardly did better. At least he had nice hair. Meanwhile, the Senators would finish 38-113 for the year so it was unsurprising that they barely drew over 131,00 fans for the season. Groupie attendance: 0.

OK, so it was the dead ball era but the Senators only batted .227 for the year. So, I hope they like to bunt and play small ball - it is their only chance.

On the other end of the field are the 1934 Chicago White Sox who compiled a 53-99 record. They are considerably more exciting than the lowly Senators, led by two eventual Hall of Famers in Al Simmons, who batted .344 for the year with 18 HR's and 108 RBI's, and infield extraordinaire Luke Appling (.303, 2 HR, 61 RBI's) who is tired of being referred to as "The Apple." And do not forget Zeke Bonura. Not only does he have a killer appetite for Blatz Beer, he is one helluva a hitter, leading the White Sox with 27 roundtrippers and 110 RBI's. One could easily wonder, with such offensive production, why this team could have been so terrible? Obviously, the pitching was a huge let down and it did not help that they had a guy in their rotation actually named Sad Sam Jones. I'm not kidding!

So, there you have it folks, another series preview. I will be posting the results of this contest in the next couple of days. I would place my bets on the 1934 Chicago White Sox winning this one, but in the "Best of the Worst Baseball Tournament," even miracles can happen.

[hillm2ca]

All right, I will be honest - I had zero interest in this series since it is difficult for me to get excited about teams that predate me by several, several decades. At any rate, the 1904 Washington Senators win in 5 games against the favored White Sox, led by RF Lew Drill (pictured below) who led the Senators with a .368 average while also driving in three runs in the series. Teammate Barry McCormick, however, would lead his team with 5 RBI.
There were a couple of close games in this one, but the most interesting was Game 4 when the Washington Senators, trailing the White Sox 6-5, scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th to carry themselves to a 7-6 victory. Highball Wilson would collect his first of two victories in this contest in Game 4 while Lew Drill would garner all three of his series RBI's.
For the White Sox, Al Simmons was actually named series MVP, smashing Senators pitching at a .476 clip while he and 1B Zeke Bonura, unsurprisingly perhaps, hit the only 2 HR's of the entire series. And, in case you are wondering, Sad Sam Jones went 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 IP, along with 5 BB's and 7 K's.
Thus, the 1904 Washington Senators will move on in the tournament and enjoy that ice cold PBR which is so coveted in the Best of the Worst Baseball Championship. I will have a series preview of the next matchup which, if I recall correctly (I cannot see my teams list from the posting screen) features the 2003 Detroit Tigers. As a lifelong Tigers' fan, I am looking forward to that one you know, because of Dmitri Young and all.

[hillm2ca]

I have a confession to make; I am momentarily skipping the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics vs. 1945 Philadelphia Athletics series for now - which came up next on the list - because I want to see how a damn' Tigers team does in this thing. Don't worry, the A's v. A's series will follow this one.

2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119).

As mentioned in the previous post, I am a huge Tigers' fan so I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness this train wreck of a team 13 years ago. This Tigers' team is led by Dmitri Young whose 29 HR's was more than anyone else on the team, although Carlos Pena (18 HRs) and Craig Monroe (23 HRs) provided some respectable punch for a Tigers' club that was otherwise lousy in scoring runs. But the real ironic beauty of this team is the pitching which was 50 shades of terrible. Poor Mike Maroth was 9-21 while Adam Bernero was a dismal 1-12, but was 50 for 50 in making his therapy appointments with the sports psychologist in 2003. The bullpen is not very solid either as Chris Mears and Franklyn German LED the team with 5 saves! 5 fricken saves! As a matter of fact, the entire bullpen only managed 27 saves for the entire year.

1906 St. Louis Cardinals (52-98).

The Cardinals do not have much for offense, but it was the deadball era so perhaps they can be forgiven for it. Harry Arndt leads the Cardinals' offensive tsunami with a .270BA, 2HR, and 26 RBI's while their pitching staff is anchored by the likes of Buster Brown (not kidding) (8-16, 2.64 ERA), Ed Karger (5-16, 2.72 ERA), and Fred Beebe (9-9, 3.02 ERA). Again, ERA totals such as these typify the deadball era so it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals' staff will handle a more modern offense, even one as dreadful as the Tigers.

I am predicting that the Tigers will win this one because I kinda have to. But I have had a track record of not always picking correctly so my opinion is about as a valuable as a Jeff Blauser rookie card. I will be following this series very closely so I will be posting a more detailed summary in the next couple of days. Happy holidays everybody!

[hillm2ca]

Game 1:

2003 Tigers 2
1906 Cardinals 4

The Tigers lost a heartbreaker in Game 1 at Robison Field in St. Louis after catcher Brandon Inge launched an errant throw into left field on a double steal attempt with two outs in the 7th, tying the score at 2-2. Harry Arndt and Shad Berry would add RBI singles later in the inning off of Tigers' reliever Jamie Walker to take a 4-2 lead.

Warren Morris homered for the Tigers, a 2-run shot in the top of the sixth to give Detroit a then 2-1 lead which held until the Inge fiasco in the seventh.

Cardinals' starter Ed Karger, despite a no-decision, pitched a masterful game, striking out 12 and allowing only six hits in 6 2/3 of a inning.

Game 2:

2003 Tigers 1
1905 Cardinals 4

Tigers' starter Steve Sparks was solid in Game 2, going 7 innings, allowing 3 runs, 1 earned but, unfortunately, was tagged with a loss as the Tigers offense struggled to plate runs in this contest. In the end, Sparks would be outdueled by the Cardinals' Fred Beebe who also pitched seven innings while, like his teammate Karger in Game 1, netted double digit strikeout totals with 10.

Cardinals 2B Pug Bennett continued his hot hitting, leading the Cardinals offense with 3 hits, including an RBI single in the 8th off of Tigers' reliever Chris Mears. For the Tigers, their only scoring would come on an RBI groundout by Ramon Santiago in the top of the 1st.

Game 3:

1906 Cardinals 8
2003 Tigers 1

Game 3 was an ugly affair for the Tigers as starter Nate Robertson was yanked in the second after surrendering 6 early runs to the Cardinals. Harry Arndt was the offensive hero for the Cardinals, clubbing a grand slam in the top of the 1st, followed by a 2-run RBI single in the top of the second, sending Robertson to the proverbial showers. Doc Smoot would also contribute two RBI's to the Cardinals cause courtesy of run scoring doubles in the 5th and the 7th.

The Cardinals' Buster Brown came close to a complete game, going 8 and 1/3 innings and was able to keep the Tigers to one run as he scattered 10 hits. Meanwhile, the Tigers missed on several scoring opportunities with 9 men left on base. Warren Morris' RBI single in the 3rd would account for the only scoring for Detroit, although Alex Sanchez, Dmitri Young, and Craig Monroe did contribute 2 hits a piece.

Game 4:

1906 Cardinals 12
2003 Tigers 5

This one was fugly for the Tigers as starter Jeremy Bonderman and reliever Nate Cornejo were each touched up for 5 runs by the 5th inning. Cardinals' catcher Mike Grady had 3 hits and 4 RBI while Doc Smoot added three hits for St. Louis.

Brandon Inge homered in the bottom of the 9th for the Tigers into the abandoned seats in left field at Comerica Park and promptly stubbed his toe on home plate. However, a miracle comeback was not to be as the Tigers were quickly retired in the ninth following Inge's homerun.

The 1906 Cardinals are your series' winners and will move on to round 2.

Series Notes:

Cardinals 2B Pug Bennett was named series MVP, going 5-19 (.600) with 2 RBI's...Nate Cornejo was dreadful out of the bullpen in his two appearances for the Tigers, going 2.2 IP, allowing 9 hits, with a 16.88 ERA...There were only 3 HR's hit in this series, a grand slam by Cardinals' Harry Arndt, with the other two struck by Warren Morris and Brandon Inge for the Tigers...Tigers' reliever Steve Avery, who appeared in his final major league season in real life for the Tigers in 2003 after missing a couple of seasons due to injury made two appearances and finished with a 6.75 ERA in an inning and a third.

[BaseballMan]

After you find the biggest loser you could have it play the winner of a best team tourney. Be kinda surprising if the best worst team won

[hillm2ca]

I like the idea, for sure. I was also thinking about, after the tournament is completed, doing a one-season league with these teams. At the pace that I am going right now, it might be a while until I get there