SWEET SIXTEEN PLAYOFFS:

ROUND TWO, AMERICAN LEAGUE: ATHLETICS VS INDIANS

This is the eighth in a series of reports on a simulated playoff of the sixteen “original franchise” teams. The results of the first-round American League “brackets” are in NOTES 459-461. The first results of the NL brackets are in #462-464. See NOTES #459 for the background and “ground rules.” In the first playoff among the “Elite Eight,” the Tigers won and moved on to face the winner of this series for the right to play in the final series.

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SWEET SIXTEEN PLAYOFFS:

ROUND TWO, AMERICAN LEAGUE: SENATORS VS TIGERS

This is the seventh in a series of reports on a simulated playoff of the sixteen “original franchise” teams. The results of the first-round American League “brackets” are in NOTES 459-461. The first results of the NL brackets are in #462-464. See NOTES #459 for the background and “ground rules.”

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SWEET SIXTEEN PLAYOFFS: CARDINALS VS CUBS

This is the sixth in a series of reports on a simulated playoff of the sixteen “original franchise” teams. The results of the first-round American League “brackets” are in NOTES 459-461. The first results of the NL brackets are in #462 and 463. See NOTES #459 for the background and “ground rules.” So far in the NL, the Phils, Dodgers and Pirates have advanced.

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SWEET SIXTEEN PLAYOFFS: PIRATES VS GIANTS

This is the fifth in a series of reports on a simulated playoff of the sixteen “original franchise” teams. The results of the first-round American League “brackets” are in NOTES 459-461. The first results of the NL brackets are in #462. See NOTES #459 for the background and “ground rules.” So far in the NL, the Phils and Dodgers have advanced.

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1988 seems to me like two light years away, instead of just two decades.

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ME AND ELIOT

My tribute to Eliot Asinof appeared in NOTES #350, not too long ago, and I do not need to reprint it here. Indeed, there is much about Asinof and Eight Men Out in my book, so much that I can recommend Burying the Black Sox as a companion to 8MO, or a the Making Of. “Six Hours,” my account of my 2003 visit with Asinof at his Ancramdale home (in #305), was surely the highlight of our relationship. But there was more, and here is the rest of the story.

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I enjoy linking history to today, events in baseball’s past to what is happening this season. So the title above not only fits the two items in this issue, but covers a lot of my stuff.

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This issue concludes my eleven-part series on “Baseball History,” with a look at 1995-200. It’s been fun writing this series, and I recommend it to others. No, seriously — try it, see what happens.

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This was supposed to be an issue covering the 1990s, but it turns out that it just covers the first five years of that span. I predicted a somewhat different take on this decade, and I was right about that. But I had not expected my excerpting and reflecting on my old scorebooks, to take up so much space. Rather than post a 30-page issue, I’ll return to the Nineties in #447.

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In the ninth of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1981 to 1989.

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In the eighth of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1971 to 1980.

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In the seventh of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1961 to 1970.

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In the sixth of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1951 to 1960.

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In the fifth of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1941 to 1950.

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In the fourth of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1931 to 1940.

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In the third of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1921 to 1930.

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In the second of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1911 to 1920.

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In the first of a 10-part series, the author takes an in-depth look at Major League Baseball history from 1900 to 1910.

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