Division series results and records

[Rangers GM (Stephen)]

It's a public holiday in the UK, and I have plans for much of the day. I have set the matchups in Fantrax, and will get to the full update/analysis when I can (unless Adam beats me to it).

[Marlins GM (Dan)]

I still hold true the adage that in order to be the best, you need to beat the best. I just wasn't up to that task this week.

Congrats Rockies on a well-fought battle, and good luck going forward (both to you, and your opponents!).

- Dan (Marlins)

[Astros GM (Adam)]

Congratulations to the Orioles, Royals, Rockies, and Braves! Have fun in the Championship Series!

Commiserations to the Rays, Rangers, Marlins, and Brewers. Looking back, all these matchups were very close. The season you had is something to be proud of.

The following records were set:
RBI: Rockies tied for 5th with 41.
SB: Braves entered a 2-way tie for 2nd with 9; Brewers took 4th place with 8; Royals and Rangers entered a 5-way tie for 5th with 7 apiece.
W: Rangers entered a 7-way tie for 4th with 7.
K: Royals took 3rd with 91.
SVH: Orioles entered a 2-way tie for third with 11; Rays entered a 5-way tie for 5th with 9.

[Rockies GM (Mike)]

Aug 28, 2023 9:13:36 GMT -5 Marlins GM (Dan) said:

I still hold true the adage that in order to be the best, you need to beat the best. I just wasn't up to that task this week.

Congrats Rockies on a well-fought battle, and good luck going forward (both to you, and your opponents!).

- Dan (Marlins)

Thanks Dan. Appreciate the high level of competition.

[Braves GM (Eric)]

Barely scraped by Bill’s Brewers…thankfully Eddie Rosario decided to steal his first bag and I played Bethancourt that one day he hit a HR. Both our teams struggled to score and drive in runs all week, our pitching was equally bad for most of the week…though Canning’s early Sunday performance put me on edge all day! Bill ran into some bad luck over and over, or else I could not have escaped that beastly squad.

Bill, you’ve put together a great core, and I know you’ll be right back in the mix next year. Have a productive offseason, and I hope to see you again in the 2024 postseason.

-Eric

[Rangers GM (Stephen)]

Thanks Adam. Records page updated accordingly.


I would like to add my own congratulations to the winners. Looking at the stats, it seems to me that all teams were fairly evenly matched over the week and pretty much any combination of opponents across the whole field could have resulted in close matchups.
I find this parity and level of competitiveness incredibly exciting, and I think we're in for a real hum-dinger of a last few weeks.

Perhaps my only other note is that of the four remaining teams, only the Royals stand as a past winner. If they are unable to come out on top, Mibble will see it's 9th winner in 9 season. Incredible.


I can't begin to imagine the deflation that real-life baseballers must feel when their season comes to an end. All that work, all that effort - and it can come down to such a simple thing as one decision, one piece of magic, one bad performance or one blow up. I feel it in our tiny little corner of the internet, where I invest a few minutes a day (OK, maybe a bit more than a few minutes). But for it to be your whole life that could be determined on one swing of the bat, one gust of wind, one speck of dust in an umpires eye, or bounce of the ball?
Man, what a way to live.

[Rangers GM (Stephen)]

I just realised that I inaccurately named this thread 'championship series' rather than 'division series'. I have amended it.


Brief CHAMPIONSHIP series update:

At risk of sounding like an unimaginative broken record... everything is close and it's all to play for!

In the AL, KC and BAL sit locked in a tie at 5-5-0. As higher seed, BAL hold the homefield advantage tie-breaker.
Even though we're halfway through the matchup some of the pitching categories already look out of reach - partly due to some extreme performances. If we were to lazily double the first week's performance, KC would crush the current LCS W record and come 2nd in K's, whilst BAL would enter a tie for 2nd in SVHD and also go 1st for highest (!) ERA.
With KC probably confident in claiming 4 of the 5 pitching categories, the pressure will be on BAL to claim at least 4 of the hitting categories. They do currently lead 4 of those hitting categories, but they each look precarious.

In the NL, ATL lead #1 overall COL 5-3-2.
COL hold a nice lead in BA, but this is balanced by ATL having a steady advantage in SVHD. Every other category could be swayed by a day or two's worth of stats, and barring something weird this one should come down to the final day with either team in contention.

Again, I must commend all teams for their quality and competitiveness. Good luck to all.

[Rangers GM (Stephen)]

Final Championship Series update as we head into the weekend:

ATL has led COL for most of the matchup, and now enjoys a 7-3-0 advantage. That's far from the whole story, however, as even at this late stage the matchup is so close that there is only one category that the Braves currently lead that would be a genuine surprise to wake up tomorrow and see Rockies having flipped it. The remaining 6 all look up for grabs. Likewise, only one of the Rockies categories looks safe from immediate challenge. There are still more twists and turns to come here, I feel.

Over in the AL, KC leads 7-2-1. Capturing R (currently tied) and HR (1 behind) look like realistic targets, but this would still leave BAL seeking one further category for the tie (and win on homefield advantage). Where that category is doesn't look immediately apparent to me, so the Orioles are going to have to pull something out of the bag from somewhere to spice this one up.

[Orioles GM (Andy)]

Sept 8, 2023 6:06:18 GMT -5 Rangers GM (Stephen) said:

[Rockies GM (Mike)]

Congratulations to the Braves and Royals.  Enjoyed my rookie season.

Mike