MLB: The NL all-time bracket, bottom half edition
By Bill Felber
MLB: The NL All-Time Bracket (Bottom Half Edition)
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. 1998 San Diego Padres
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers arguably occupied the peak of the franchise’s most glorious period. Although they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games, the ‘Boys of Summer’ won 105 regular-season games.
These were the Dodgers of Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, and Pee Wee Reese, most in their physical primes. Snider hit 42 home runs and Hodges 41. Campanella, Hodges, Snider, Robinson, and outfielder Carl Furillo all topped .300, paced by Furillo’s .344.
Campanella’s 142 RBIs led three Dodgers who were over 100.
The club effectively iced the pennant with a 13-game August winning streak.
The 1953 team won the Dodger bracket by polishing off the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers in six games, the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers in five, and the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers, also in six.
The 1998 World Series Padres won 98 games, six more than any Padres club has ever done.
Tony Gwynn hit .321 in 1998 while left fielder Greg Vaughn hit 50 home runs and drove in 119.
Acquired from the World Series-winning Marlins the previous December, Kevin Brown was 18-7 in 35 starts for his new team and filled the role of staff ace. Trevor Hoffman saved 53 games.
The Padres won the San Diego bracket by beating the 1978 and 1989 teams in four games each, then defeating the 1996 Padres in a five-game championship match.
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Game 1: The 1953 Dodgers rolled to a 105-49 record and .682 percentage. The 1998 Padres only won 98 games, and they lost 64, a .605 percentage. That’s an easy win for 1953.
Game 2: In the 1953 World Series, the Dodgers lost to New York in six games, a .333 percentage. The 1998 Padres had a .500 post-season record, eliminating Houston in a four-game division series and beating the Braves in six before losing to the Yankees in four straight. This series is even at one game each.
Game 3: The 1953 Dodgers amassed a 114 OPS+, 14 points better than San Diego’s 100.
Game 4: The 1998 Padres pitched to a 108 ERA+, beating the 1953 Dodgers by three points. The series is again even, now at 2-2.
Game 5: The 1953 Dodgers compiled a 54.1 WAR, nearly 11 points superior to San Diego’s 43.5.
Game 6: The Dodgers seek to wrap it up on the basis of a .980 fielding percentage that was five points better than the league average. The 1998 Padres fielded .983, but that was only two points better than the league average.
Result: 1953 Dodgers in six games.