This is a possible page covering the MLB Dream Bracket, which I mentioned in the "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American sports broadcasting" page.


The MLB Dream Bracket was a simulated single-elimination tournament that was conducted by Major League Baseball in the spring of 2020. It was designed to occupy the MLB calendar as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season and suspended all MLB-related operations.

Simulated games were played during April and May, with MLB.com issuing the final report on May 5.

Structure

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The tournament featured all-time rosters from the 30 MLB teams. To fill out the bracket and avoid the possible use of byes, two additional teams were named: one with top players from Negro league baseball and another with MLB players 25 years of age and younger. Seeds were based on historical team performances. This criteria was used in descending order:

  • Most wins in the World Series
  • Most pennants (league championships)
  • Best winning percentage

American League and National League teams were placed in opposite sides of the bracket and did not meet until the finals. The Negro League Stars were placed with the AL teams, and the 25 & Under Stars were placed with the NL teams. Both additional teams were awarded eighth seeds.

Games were played using the Out of the Park 21 simulation program. MLB.com generated box scores and play-by-play for each game.

All series were best-of-7 and there was no re-seeding after any rounds.

Player selection

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MLB named 26 players to each team, divided into 11 pitchers, two catchers, and 13 other position players. Individual players were eligible to be placed on multiple teams. To allow for more realistic outcomes, the best three seasons for each player on their team(s) were averaged to produce a composite profile. (For example, for Babe Ruth's time with the New York Yankees, his 1920, 1923, and 1927 seasons were used.)

Designated hitters were used in each game, regardless of which teams participated.[a]

There was no limit as to how many teams for which an individual player could be selected.

Players on multiple teams

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Played for four teams

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Played for three teams

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Played for two teams

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Bracket

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Numbers indicate how many games were won by each team.

First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinal Final
               
1 NY Yankees 4
16 Seattle 2
1 NY Yankees 4
9 Cleveland 3
8 Negro leagues 3
9 Cleveland 4
1 NY Yankees 4
12 Houston 3
5 Baltimore 0
12 Houston 4
12 Houston 4
4 Detroit 2
4 Detroit 4
13 LA Angels 3
1 NY Yankees 4
AL
3 Boston 3
6 Minnesota 1
11 Toronto 4
11 Toronto 2
3 Boston 4
3 Boston 4
14 Texas 3
3 Boston 4
7 ChiSox 1
7 ChiSox 4
10 Kansas City 1
7 ChiSox 4
2 Oakland 1
2 Oakland 4
15 Tampa Bay 2
A1 NY Yankees 4
N4 Cincinnati 3
1 St. Louis 4
16 Colorado 2
1 St. Louis 4
9 Philadelphia 2
8 25 & Under Stars 1
9 Philadelphia 4
1 St. Louis 3
4 Cincinnati 4
5 Pittsburgh 4
12 Arizona 2
5 Pittsburgh 2
4 Cincinnati 4
4 Cincinnati 4
13 Washington 3
4 Cincinnati 4
NL
3 LA Dodgers 2
6 Atlanta 1
11 Miami 4
11 Miami 1
3 LA Dodgers 4
3 LA Dodgers 4
14 San Diego 1
3 LA Dodgers 4
15 Milwaukee 3
7 Chi. Cubs 4
10 NY Mets 1
7 Chi. Cubs 3
15 Milwaukee 4
2 San Francisco 2
15 Milwaukee 4

Game results

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First round

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AL: Cleveland Indians def. Negro League Stars

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The Indians defeated the team of Negro League greats, 12-3, in the deciding game.[1]

Despite being the lower seed, the Indians hosted all games.

Game Result Box score Play-by-play
1 Indians 3, Negro Leagues 2 [2] [3]
2 Negro Leagues 7, Indians 3 [4] [5]
3 Negro Leagues 10, Indians 1 [6] [7]
4 Indians 9, Negro Leagues 3 [8] [9]
5 Negro Leagues 5, Indians 4 [10] [11]
6 Indians 19, Negro Leagues 6 [12] [13]
7 Indians 12, Negro Leagues 3 [14] [15]

AL: Detroit Tigers def. Los Angeles Angels

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In another series that went the distance, the Tigers beat the Angels to overcome a 3-games-to-1 deficit. The webcast (details below) was taped only hours after Tigers great Al Kaline died.[16]

Game Result Box score Play-by-play
1 Angels 7, Tigers 4 [17] [18]
2 Tigers 6, Angels 4 [19] [20]
3 Angels 9, Tigers 4 [21] [22]
4 Angels 7, Tigers 5 [23] [24]
5 Tigers 7, Angels 3 [25] [26]
6 Tigers 4, Angels 0 [27] [28]
7 Tigers 12, Angels 7 [29] [30]

Second round

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This round is equivalent to the Major League Baseball Wild Card Series.

Quarterfinals

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This round is equivalent to the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series.

Semifinals

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This round is equivalent to the American League Championship Series and the National League Championship Series.

Final

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This round is equivalent to the World Series.

New York Yankees def. Cincinnati Reds

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The two "pennant winners" split the first two games at Yankee Stadium. After Andy Pettitte and Mel Stottlemyre combined for the shutout in Game 3, the Reds took the next two games at Great American Ballpark. New York then took Game 6 with Mariano Rivera striking out the side to earn the save. In Game 7, the Yankees used a five-run fifth inning to pull away from the Reds and win the virtual title.[31]

Game Result Box score Play-by-play
1 Yankees 8, Reds 4 [32] [33]
2 Reds 6, Yankees 4 [34] [35]
3 Yankees 6, Reds 0 [36] [37]
4 Reds 7, Yankees 2 [38] [39]
5 Reds 5, Yankees 2 [40] [41]
6 Yankees 4, Reds 3 [42] [43]
7 Yankees 11, Reds 6 [44] [45]

Webcasts

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Selected games of the Dream Bracket simulation were streamed live on MLB.com's Twitch page and archived on MLB.com. Telecasts were based on OOTP's quick-play mode and averaged 30 minutes in length. The commentators were Scott Braun and Jon Morosi.

Interactive element

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DraftKings was the presenting sponsor of the tournament and offered one-day fantasy sports contests for cash prizes.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ At the time of simulation, only AL teams used the DH. For the 2020 season, it was used in NL games, and in 2022 - after a one-year break - the rule change became permanent.

References

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  1. ^ Bell, Mandy (2020-04-20). "Thome, Lajoie lead Tribe to Dream Bracket win". MLB.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  2. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Round of 32: Negro Leagues vs. Indians". MLB.com. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  3. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Round of 32: Negro Leagues vs. Indians" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  4. ^ "Negro vs. Indians". MLB.com. 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  5. ^ "Negro vs. Indians" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  6. ^ "Indians vs. Negro". MLB.com. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  7. ^ "Indians vs. Negro" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  8. ^ "Indians vs. Negro". MLB.com. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  9. ^ "Indians vs. Negro" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  10. ^ "Indians vs. Negro". MLB.com. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  11. ^ "Indians vs. Negro" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  12. ^ "Negro vs. Indians". MLB.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  13. ^ "Negro vs. Indians" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  14. ^ "Negro vs. Indians". MLB.com. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  15. ^ "Negro vs. Indians" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  16. ^ Beck, Jason (2020-04-21). "Miggy, Cobb power Tigers past Halos in Bracket". MLB.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  17. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Round of 32: Angels vs. Tigers". MLB.com. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  18. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Round of 32: Angels vs. Tigers" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  19. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers". MLB.com. 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  20. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  21. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels". MLB.com. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  22. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  23. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels". MLB.com. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  24. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  25. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels". MLB.com. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  26. ^ "Tigers vs. Angels" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  27. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers". MLB.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  28. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  29. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers". MLB.com. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  30. ^ "Angels vs. Tigers" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  31. ^ Hoch, Bryan (2020-05-05). "DiMaggio, Gehrig power Yanks to Bracket crown". MLB.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  32. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Finals: Reds vs. Yankees". MLB.com. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  33. ^ "MLB Dream Bracket Finals: Reds vs. Yankees" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  34. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees". MLB.com. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  35. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  36. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds". MLB.com. 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  37. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  38. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds". MLB.com. 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  39. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  40. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds". MLB.com. 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  41. ^ "Yankees vs. Reds" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  42. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees". MLB.com. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  43. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  44. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees". MLB.com. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  45. ^ "Reds vs. Yankees" (PDF). MLB.com. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2022-04-25.