Subscribe!Now that the regular season for Major League Baseball is complete, it is time to recap the hypothetical divisions and apply the promotion/relegation rules I proposed in previous posts here and here. To summarize the rules:
- Top two teams in each 1st division play for spot in the World Series.
- Top two teams in each second division will be promoted to the first division next year.
- Bottom two teams in each first division will be relegated to the second division next year.
- Third place second division team will play third to last place first division team for a spot in next year's first division.
- If the first division team in the fourth to last spot has a losing record and the fourth place second division team has a winning record, they will play for a spot in next year's first division. Same rule applies for fifth and sixth place second division teams and fifth and sixth to last first division teams.
| American League First Division | National League First Division | ||||||
| Team | Wins | Losses | gb | Team | Wins | Losses | gb |
| NY Yankees | 103 | 59 | 0.0 | LA Dodgers | 95 | 67 | 0.0 |
| LA Angels | 97 | 65 | 6.0 | Philadelphia | 93 | 69 | 2.0 |
| Boston | 95 | 67 | 8.0 | St. Louis | 91 | 71 | 4.0 |
| Minnesota | 87 | 76 | 16.5 | Florida | 87 | 75 | 8.0 |
| Tampa Bay | 84 | 78 | 19.0 | Chicago Cubs | 83 | 78 | 11.5 |
| Milwaukee | 80 | 82 | 23.0 | Cincinnati | 78 | 84 | 17.0 |
| Chicago Sox | 79 | 83 | 24.0 | Houston | 74 | 88 | 21.0 |
| Toronto | 75 | 87 | 28.0 | NY Mets | 70 | 92 | 25.0 |
| American League Second Division | National League Second Division | ||||||
| Team | Wins | Losses | gb | Team | Wins | Losses | gb |
| Texas | 87 | 75 | 0.0 | Colorado | 92 | 70 | 0.0 |
| Detroit | 86 | 77 | 1.5 | San Francisco | 88 | 74 | 4.0 |
| Seattle | 85 | 77 | 2.0 | Atlanta | 86 | 76 | 6.0 |
| Oakland | 75 | 87 | 12.0 | San Diego | 75 | 87 | 17.0 |
| Kansas City | 65 | 97 | 22.0 | Arizona | 70 | 92 | 22.0 |
| Cleveland | 65 | 97 | 22.0 | Pittsburgh | 62 | 99 | 29.5 |
| Baltimore | 64 | 98 | 23.0 | Washington | 59 | 103 | 33.0 |
Promoted/Relegated Teams This year the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and New York Mets would all be relegated to the second divisions while the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, and San Franscisco Giants would be promoted to the first divisions.
Promotional Playoffs In the American League, the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Rangers would play for a spot in the 2010 first division. As these teams did not meet during the regular seasons, their records against common opponents will be used. Milwaukee was 19-30 while Seattle was 29-27 against Colorado, San Diego, Arizona, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Franscisco, Minnesota, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, and Detroit. Seattle had the better record and thus win promotion to the first division while Milwaukee is relegated to the second divison.
The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds would meet in the National League Promotional Series. The Reds went 6-3 against the Braves during the regular season and, despite having a losing record, retain membership in the first division while the Braves remain in the second division.
League Championship Series The American League Championship Series would be played between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels. This series was the actual one played this year and the Yankees won it 4-2.
In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies would play for a spot in the World Series. Again, this series was actually played with the Phillies winning 4-1.
World Series The World Series in this hypothetical promotion/relegation league would be played between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Since this matchup is this year's actual World Series, the hypothetical and real champions are both the New York Yankees.*
In summary, the table below shows the teams in the 1st and 2nd divisions for each league for the 2010 season.
|
American League 2009 1st Division | National League 2009 1st Division |
|
Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers |
Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Colorado Rockies Florida Marlins Los Angeles Dodgers Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals |
| 2009 2nd Division | 2009 2nd Divison |
|
Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays |
Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Houston Astros New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres Washington Nationals |
*Previous WS Champs: Hypothetical (Real): 2005 Cardinals (White Sox), 2006 Mets (Cardinals), 2007 Re d Sox (Red Sox), 2008 Red Sox (Philadelphia), 2009 Yankees (Yankees).
