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MLB: The franchise all-time bracket, the final four

By Bill Felber

TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 21: Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki #51 of the Seattle Mariners applauds fans as he is substituted to retire from baseball during the game between Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome on March 21, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 21: Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki #51 of the Seattle Mariners applauds fans as he is substituted to retire from baseball during the game between Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome on March 21, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

The 1902 Pirates, 1907 Cubs, 1927 Yankees and 2001 Mariners compete for the honor of being called the best team in MLB history. Only one can emerge.

We’re down to the final four survivors from a 30-team bracket comprised of the winners of separate eight-team bracket challenges for each MLB franchise.

That means that to even reach this point the four semi-finalists had to defeat three of the best teams in the histories of their respective franchises, then also polish off the best teams from three additional franchises.

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The semi-finalists playing for the all-time American League championship are the 1927 New York Yankees and the 2001 Seattle Mariners.

The National League survivors, both dating back more than a century, are the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1907 Chicago Cubs.

If you missed any of the franchise bracket challenges or the first three rounds of the 30-team champions’ bracket preliminaries, you can find those installments using the search button on this website. Use the franchise nickname and keyword “bracket.”

The format is identical to previous bracket challenges.

Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:

  1. Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
  2. Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
  3. Game 3: Team OPS+
  4. Game 4: Team ERA+
  5. Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
  6. Game 6 (if necessary: Fielding percentage above the league average for the season in question.
  7. Game 7 (if necessary): The standard for Game 7 is Hall of Famers or, in the case of contemporary teams, likely future Hall of Famers.
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