Suppose the World Series winner from the previous season held a championship they had to defend every game, sort of a “championship belt”. I’ll call this the “traveling championship”. Once the traveling champion loses, the championship is then transferred to the team that beat them. Then, that team goes on to defend the title. This goes on until the end of the regular season and the last team to hold the title is the “Traveling Champion”.
You might ask:
What does this tell us?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Is the “traveling champion” the best team?
Most likely no.
Why do this?
It’s fun, or at least I think it is.
Without further adieu, the current 2015 Traveling Champion is the Cleveland Indians. Here is how it got there:
| Date | Champion | Defeated |
|---|---|---|
| 4/7 | ARI | SFG |
| 4/8 | SFG | ARI |
| 4/10 | SDP | SFG |
| 4/13 | ARI | SDP |
| 4/14 | SDP | ARI |
| 4/18 | CHC | SDP |
| 4/19 | SDP | CHC |
| 4/22 | COL | SDP |
| 4/25 | SFG | COL |
| 4/27 | LAD | SFG |
| 4/28 | SFG | LAD |
| 4/29 | LAD | SFG |
| 5/4 | MIL | LAD |
| 5/5 | LAD | MIL |
| 5/6 | MIL | LAD |
| 5/7 | LAD | MIL |
| 5/13 | FLA | LAD |
| 5/15 | ATL | FLA |
| 5/19 | TBD | ATL |
| 5/20 | ATL | TBD |
| 5/22 | MIL | ATL |
| 5/23 | ATL | MIL |
| 5/25 | LAD | ATL |
| 5/27 | ATL | LAD |
| 5/28 | SFG | ATL |
| 5/30 | ATL | SFG |
| 6/2 | ARI | ATL |
| 6/4 | NYM | ARI |
| 6/5 | ARI | NYM |
| 6/7 | NYM | ARI |
| 6/9 | SFG | NYM |
| 6/11 | NYM | SFG |
| 6/13 | ATL | NYM |
| 6/14 | NYM | ATL |
| 6/17 | TOR | NYM |
| 6/20 | BAL | TOR |
| 6/24 | BOS | BAL |
| 6/25 | BAL | BOS |
| 6/29 | TEX | BAL |
| 7/1 | BAL | TEX |
| 7/2 | TEX | BAL |
| 7/3 | ANA | TEX |
| 7/9 | SEA | ANA |
| 7/10 | ANA | SEA |
| 7/11 | SEA | ANA |
| 7/12 | ANA | SEA |
| 7/23 | MIN | ANA |
| 7/25 | NYY | MIN |
| 7/29 | TEX | NYY |
| 8/1 | SFG | TEX |
| 8/2 | TEX | SFG |
| 8/7 | SEA | TEX |
| 8/8 | TEX | SEA |
| 8/9 | SEA | TEX |
| 8/10 | BAL | SEA |
| 8/11 | SEA | BAL |
| 8/14 | BOS | SEA |
| 8/16 | SEA | BOS |
| 8/17 | TEX | SEA |
| 8/18 | SEA | TEX |
| 8/19 | TEX | SEA |
| 8/20 | DET | TEX |
| 8/21 | TEX | DET |
| 8/25 | TOR | TEX |
| 8/27 | TEX | TOR |
| 8/31 | SDP | TEX |
| 9/1 | TEX | SDP |
| 9/4 | ANA | TEX |
| 9/5 | TEX | ANA |
| 9/6 | ANA | TEX |
| 9/7 | LAD | ANA |
| 9/9 | ANA | LAD |
| 9/13 | HOU | ANA |
| 9/14 | TEX | HOU |
| 9/18 | SEA | TEX |
| 9/19 | TEX | SEA |
| 9/20 | SEA | TEX |
| 9/23 | KCR | SEA |
| 9/25 | CLE | KCR |
Here is the number of games each team has successfully defended the championship:
| Team | Successfully Defended | Times Won Championship |
|---|---|---|
| TEX | 15 | 13 |
| ANA | 12 | 6 |
| LAD | 9 | 6 |
| ATL | 6 | 6 |
| SDP | 6 | 4 |
| BAL | 5 | 4 |
| SFG | 4 | 6 |
| NYM | 3 | 4 |
| NYY | 3 | 1 |
| TOR | 3 | 2 |
| ARI | 2 | 4 |
| COL | 2 | 1 |
| SEA | 2 | 9 |
| BOS | 1 | 2 |
| KCR | 1 | 1 |
| MIN | 1 | 1 |
| CHC | 0 | 1 |
| CLE | 0 | 1 |
| DET | 0 | 1 |
| FLA | 0 | 1 |
| HOU | 0 | 1 |
| MIL | 0 | 3 |
| TBD | 0 | 1 |