Subscribe!Now the the 2006 Major League Baseball regular season is over, let's see how the final standings play out given the promotion/relegation criteria I wrote about in August.
The final standings are shown in the table below.
| American League 2006 First Division | ||
| Team | Record | GB |
| New York Yankees | 97-65 | - |
| Oakland Athletics | 93-69 | 4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 90-72 | 7 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 89-73 | 8 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 87-75 | 10 |
| Boston Red Sox | 86-76 | 11 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78-84 | 19 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 75-87 | 22 |
| National League 2006 First Division | ||
| Team | Record | GB |
| New York Mets | 97-65 | - |
| San Diego Padres | 88-74 | 9 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 85-77 | 12 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83-78 | 13.5 |
| Houston Astros | 82-80 | 15 |
| Atlanta Braves | 79-83 | 18 |
| Florida Marlins | 78-84 | 19 |
| Washington Nationals | 71-91 | 26 |
| American League 2006 Second Division | ||
| Minnesota Twins | 96-66 | - |
| Detroit Tigers | 95-67 | 1 |
| Texas Rangers | 80-82 | 16 |
| Seattle Mariners | 78-84 | 18 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 70-92 | 26 |
| Kansas City Royals | 62-100 | 34 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 61-101 | 35 |
| National League 2006 Second Division | ||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 88-74 | - |
| Cincinnati Reds | 80-82 | 8 |
| San Francisco Giants* | 76-85 | 11.5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 76-86 | 12 |
| Colorado Rockies | 76-86 | 12 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 67-95 | 21 |
| Chicago Cubs | 66-96 | 22 |
| *Giants had one game with the St. Louis Cardinals rained out. If promotion/relegation were actually implemented then this game would have been made up since it obviously effects the standings. However, as it stands I will proclaim a three-way tie between Arizona, Colorado, and San Francisco based on wins. | ||
In the American League, the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers would be relegated to the second divsion with the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers promoted to the first division. The Red Sox would face the Rangers in a playoff series for the final first division spot. Since the Red Sox won the season series with the Rangers 5-4, the Red Sox keep their first division status.
The American League championship series would be played between New York Yankees and the Oakland A's. Since this series has a chance of occuring I will hold judgement as to who would represent the American League in my hypothetical World Series. As it stands now, Oakland won the season series 6-3, so if they do not meet in the real ALCS then that will decide my league champion.
The Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals are relegated to the National League's second division while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds are promoted to the first division. It becomes trickier to decide which team from the second division gets to play the Braves for the final first division spot. Had the Giants played and won the the make-up game with the Cardinals, they would have the honor. However, I can't assume that they would win or lose that game, so I will proclaim a three-way tie for third place based on wins. Now we have a group of three teams, let's see how they faired against each other. Against the Giants and Rockies, Arizona was 20-18, agains Arizona and the Rockies, the Giants were 19-18, and against Arizona and the Giants, the Rockies were 17-20. Thus the Rockies are eliminated, but since we don't have an even number of games played by all three, we must again proclaim a tie, this time between the Giants and Arizona. In the regular season, the Giants were 11-8 against Arizona, so they would play the Braves. Against the Braves, the Giants went 4-3, so they would win promotion and the Braves would be relegated.
The National League championship series would be played between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres. The Mets went 5-2 against San Diego in the regular season. However, as in the AL, this NLCA might actually occur, so I will not yet proclaim a NL champion.
In summary, the 2007 Major League Baseball First and Second Divisions are shown below.
|
American League 2007 1st Division | National League 2007 1st Division |
| Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays | Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals |
| 2007 2nd Division | 2007 2nd Divison |
| Baltimore Orioles Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Devil Rays Texas Rangers | Arizona
Diamondb
acks Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Florida Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals |
