End of Round Two

Sixteen teams remain. 

Seven of them -- the Twins, the Brewers and the Reds of the Great Lakes bracket; the Braves and Cardinals of the Dixie bracket; the Nationals of the Metroplex bracket; and the Dodgers of the West bracket -- are from the 2019 season.

Four are from 1973: the Expos and Orioles of the Metroplex bracket and the A's and Giants of the West.

Three are from 2009: the Marlins of the Dixie bracket, the Rockies of the West and the Blue Jays of the Great Lakes.

One is from 1969: The Yankees of the Metroplex

One is from 1961: The Cardinals of the Dixie.

One franchise (the St. Louis Cardinals) has two teams still alive. Two of the wild card teams are still alive.

Two No.1 seeds remain.

Three No. 2 seeds remain.

One No. 3 seed remains

Two No. 4 seeds remain.

The other eight teams are seeded 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 10, 11 and 13. That last is the 1973 Expos in the Metroplex bracket.

The third round pairings, higher seed first:

West: 2019 Dodgers (1) vs. 2009 Rockies (5); 1973 A's (2) vs. 1973 Giants (6)

Dixie: 2019 Braves (2) vs. 2009 Marlins (6); 2019 Cardinals (4) vs. 1961 Cardinals (8)

Great Lakes: 2019 Twins (1) vs. 2019 Brewers (4); 2019 Reds (10) vs. 2009 Blue Jays (11)

Metroplex: 2019 Nationals (2) vs. 1973 Orioles (3); 1961 Yankees (8) vs. 1973 Expos (13)

The sweet 16

The second round is complete, and the 64-team field has been winnowed to 16. One fourth of the tournament remains to be played.


Of the 16 teams left:

• Four are from 1987, obviously. (The 1987 teams were segregated into the Ringo bracket.)
• Six are from 1969
• Six are from 2009.

The 1969 teams won four of the six second-round head-to-head series with 2009 teams. There will be just two such series in the third round, both featuring a pair of genuine win-it-all contenders: the 69 Twins vs. the 09 Angels and the 09 Red Sox vs. the 69 Orioles. For the tournament as a whole, 1969 teams have won 14 head-to-heads, 2009 16.

• Nine are American League teams
• seven are National League teams

This is probably a bit distorted because the Ringo bracket was set up with the NL teams in one half and the AL teams in the other.

• Seven won more than 90 games
• Two won more than 100
• Three had losing records

One World Series champ (1969 Mets) was eliminated in the second round, as was one World Series loser (09 Phillies). The other World Series participants (69 Orioles, 87 Twins, 87 Cardinals and 09 Yankees) remain.

The 09 Yankees have yet to face a team with a winning record, and (presuming they keep winning) won't until the final four. The 69 Orioles also haven't faced a winning club through the first two rounds, but will meet a very strong 09 Red Sox team in the third round. The 09 Reds, the Yankees' third round opponent, are the one team left that hasn't faced a sub-.500 club.

The tournament began with 25 franchises represented. Fifteen had three entries, from 1969, 1987 and 2009; nine had two entries, from 1969 and 2009; and one, the Blue Jays, had one, for 1987. Forty-eight series later, 11 franchises have been eliminated completely -- Expos/Nationals (three teams); Mets; Pirates (three); Indians; Senators/Rangers (three); Tigers (three); Braves (three); Padres (three); Athletics; Phillies; and Royals (three). Two franchises, the Twins and Giants, have two versions in the third round.

Round 2 recap: John bracket

Advancing: 09 Angels, 09 Giants, 69 Twins, 09 White Sox.

Eliminated: 09 Cardinals, 69 Mets, 09 Nationals, 09 Pirates.

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Two of the series went six games, one went five, one went four. Of the 28 possible games, 21 were played.

Three American League teams advanced, one National League team. Three 2009 teams advanced, one 1969 team. The DH will be used in part of both third-round series. The 1969 and 2009 teams split their head-to-head matchups.

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There was one clear upset, the 2009 White Sox defeating the 2009 Cardinals. The 1969 World Series champion Mets were ousted by the 2009 Angels, but that was not a genuine surprise.

Round Two recap: Paul bracket

Advancing: 69 Astros, 69 Pilots, 09 Reds, 09 Yankees.

Eliminated: 69 Braves, 09 Indians, 69 Senators, 69 Tigers

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There were two seven-game series, one five-game series and one four-game series. Of 28 potential games, 23 were played.

Two 1969 teams advanced, two 2009 teams. The one series that pitted a 2009 team against a 1969 team went to the 2009 Reds.

Two American League teams advanced, two National League teams. NL teams won two of the three AL-NL matchups.

One third round series will involve the designated hitter.

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There was one truly notable upset -- the 1969 Seattle Pilots topped the 1969 Atlanta Braves. But in two other series, a team with a lesser regular season record won.

The 2009 Yankees are now in a position to reach the final four without facing a team with a winning regular season record.

Round 2 recap: Ringo bracket

Advancing: 87 Blue Jays, 87 Cardinals, 87 Giants, 87 Twins.

Eliminated: 87 Astros, 87 Expos, 87 Rangers, 87 Royals.

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One series went seven games, one went six games, two went five games. There were no sweeps. Of the 28 possible games, 23 were played.

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As the Ringo bracket was made up solely of 1987 teams and had the American and National League teams grouped together, the four surviving teams are all from 1987 and evenly split between AL and NL. There were no true upsets. The third round pairing of the Giants and Cardinals matches the real life NLCS of 1987, won by St. Louis in seven games. Three of the four teams were in the real life post-season, with the Blue Jays the exception.

Round 2 recap: George bracket

Teams advancing: 69 Cubs, 69 Dodgers, 69 Orioles, 09 Red Sox.

Teams eliminated: 09 Athletics, 09 Padres, 09 Phillies, 09 Royals.

Two of the four series went the full seven games, two went six. Of the 28 possible games, 26 were played.

The 1969 teams left in the bracket won all three of their series. Three 1969 teams advance, one 2009 team advances. There are two American League teams left, two National League team. There will be one partial DH series in the third round, 09 Red Sox vs. 69 Orioles.

There were no real upsets in the second round, although the A's came mighty close to pulling one off against the Orioles.