What if there had always been two divisions....

by thegashousegang on Nov 26, 2008 9:45 AM EST Comment 7 comments

in each league since 1901? Well, Brandon Isleib on the Hard Ball Times has tackled this question in two articles on the site. He works on the scheduling splits and projects the winners for each year in each division. I found the two articles interesting and hope you do too.

To read them go here and then read this page. It is interesting to see how the Cardinals did in a two division set up. Of course this is all speculation, but what else is there during the off season?

A big thank you to my friend Steve who sent these links to me for we have had some great conversations today about them. Your thoughts?

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1947-1952

That’s interesting to see the Cardinals would have won the “NL West” all six seasons, even though the Cardinals didn’t win any NL pennants during those years.

The only time any of the other three “NL West” teams finished in the upper half of the league from 1947-1952 was 1948, when the Pirates finished fourth. The Cubs were going through the first six years of a 20-season streak of finishing in the bottom half of the league. The Reds were a perennial “second division” team.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Nov 26, 2008 11:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

If the divisions had been set up back then.....

the fans would look back differently on their team’s history because they would’ve made it to the post season more often in many cases. If what this article described had come to pass we would be talking about all those Redbird teams that made it to the playoffs during the 1940’s and early 1950’s. Even the AL Browns would’ve made it to the post season several times….. imagine that! :)

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.-Rogers Hornsby

by thegashousegang on Nov 26, 2008 6:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

holy crap

the giants have more division crowns than the yankees!

by nybirdfan on Nov 28, 2008 10:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hard to even imagine isn't it?

Divisions would’ve changed the look of baseball back then a lot. The Giants could’ve creamed that division almost yearly for a while if it had existed. I wonder if that had come to pass if they would’ve stayed in NY……. Anything can happen in the playoffs so the Giants could have 26 Titles by now.

The Cardinals would’ve been on quite a roll in the 40’s and early 50’s too…. Of course its all a “if” game… but I found it interesting.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.-Rogers Hornsby

by thegashousegang on Nov 29, 2008 2:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Part 3 is now out.....

It covers the years 1953-68. To read it go to:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/a-league-divided-part-3-1953-1968/

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.-Rogers Hornsby

by thegashousegang on Dec 11, 2008 5:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

1967 NL

The Cubs could have ended their 22-season title drought in 1967 winning the NL East and played the West champion Cardinals in the NLCS, according to this article.

However, the Braves were in Atlanta, and not Milwaukee, in 1967. The article doesn’t have the Braves changing divisions with the franchise move. The Braves should have been in the East, and the Cubs in the West. I don’t think the NL would have put the Cubs and Cardinals in different divisions, anyway.

Cincinnati should have been listed as the “NL East” champion in 1967. The Reds were five games better than the Phillies. I don’t know how the Reds did against the Phillies that year. Even if there was an unbalanced schedule back then, I think the Reds still would have won the “NL East”.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Dec 11, 2008 6:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Your right the Braves moved in 1966.

It would’ve realigned the teams and you got it, Cincy would’ve won the East. Hopefully someone will point this out to him so he can correct it.

I find these articles interesting. I’m looking forward to his next one. It will be interesting to see the two divisions broken into three with a wildcard to see how different the baseball world could’ve been during those years. Hopefully he will have the teams in the right place this time. :)

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.-Rogers Hornsby

by thegashousegang on Dec 11, 2008 6:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs