The Paul bracket

(1) 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers (104-58) vs. (16) 1024 Boston Braves (53-100): The Dodgers spent most of the season looking like a historically great team, but they hit a skid in September and wound up losing the World Series in seven games. Still, 104 wins is enough to make them the No.2 overall seed, and they should have no trouble with the lowly Braves. The left-handed heavy Dodgers are a particularly tough matchup for Boston right fielder Casey Stengel, a noted platoon player. The Braves also have Johnny Cooney, who is as close to a successful two-way player (pitcher and position player) as was seen in the majors in the 20th century.

(8) 2017 Tampa Bay Rays (80-82) vs. (9) 1924 Philadelphia Athletics (71-81): The Rays are one of three 2017 AL teams with 80-82 records. Some power, good defense, reasonable pitching, but overall problems scoring runs. The A's are notable to this Minnesotan for Joe "Unser Choe" Hauser, who spent much of his career putting up truly heroic home run numbers for the Minneapolis Millers in the 1930s.

(5) 1961 Baltimore Orioles (95-67) vs. (12) San Diego Padres (71-91): The Orioles were turning the corner. Brooks Robinson hit .287 with 38 doubles and, of course, brilliant defense, and Jim Gentile hit 46 homers with 141 RBIs. The Padres might be the biggest overseed in the tournament; their run differential suggests they should have more than 100 losses and be a No. 16 seed.

(4) 2017 Minnesota Twins (85-77) vs. (13) 1924 Chicago White Sox (66-87): The Twins making the playoffs (barely) induced me to play this tournament. The White Sox boast five Hall of Fame players: Ray Schalk, Eddie Collins, Harry Hooper, Red Faber and Ted Lyons, but finished last anyway.

(3) 2017 Boston Red Sox (93-69) vs. (14) 2017 Cincinnati Reds (68-94): Boston's lineup was surprisingly unproductive by their standards. Cincinnati's Joey Votto was great, as usual, but the pitching was a disaster.

(6) 1924 Detroit Tigers (86-68) vs. (11) 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates (75-87): The Tigers boast a rare Hall of Fame outfield: Heinie Manush in left, Ty Cobb in center, Harry Heilmann in right. The Pirates had a disappointing season, but Andrew McCutcheon had a good bounce-back season.

(7) 1961 St. Louis Cardinals (80-74) vs. (10) 2017 Miami Marlins (77-85): Miami has an outstanding outfield (Marcel Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton) and other good lineup pieces. The Cardinals have an aging Stan Musial plus Bob Gibson, Ken Boyer and Curt Flood.

(2) 1924 New York Giants (93-60) vs. (15) 2017 Philadelphia Phillies (66-96): The Giants, who lost a classic World Series in seven games, have seven Hall of Famers, no more than two of them truly deserving. The Phillies had a strong September to avoid 100 losses; had they hit triple digits, I would have had all three Philly teams as 16 seeds.