2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 26

We're starting to get down to nitty gritty time in the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions!

I started this project back in April, taking 128 teams, including every World Series champion plus at least one representative from every existing Major League team that hasn't won, and built this tournament starting with a double round robin. Within eight groups of 16, teams have played 75 of their 90 games, and there are 15 games left to filter the field down to half of what we started with.

So far, two of the 64 postseason spots have been claimed by the 1927 Yankees and 1944 Cardinals, with more likely to come in this round. If the tournament ended today, anyone with at least 39 wins would be guaranteed a postseason spot, though depending on group, fewer wins may be enough to punch a ticket. To lead a group, anywhere between 46 and 54 wins is required, with the aforementioned '27 Yankees holding that 54-21 record.

You can view the schedule, scores, and standings from the tournament here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play ball!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 25

We're now 80 percent of the way through the group stage of the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions, and starting in this round we should start to see teams punch their tickets to the postseason!

I've tried to keep this side of it updated, but with 72 games in the books, if the tournament ended today, a 38-34 record would guarantee a postseason berth, with a 37-35 mark all but locking one up (two 37-35 teams would miss the cut in their respective groups). Some teams at .500 or below are still on track to make it where groups are a little more top-heavy. At the top, some group leaders are sitting at just 43-29, with 48 wins being the minimum total to lead a group outright (one group has a tie at the top between two 47-25 teams). Our top overall seed, if the tournament ended today, would be the 1927 New York Yankees, at 52-20.

You can view the full standings, as well as schedules and scores, here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 24

I'm trying to really get caught up, and with the conclusion of this round, I'll have just three weeks' worth of games left to simulate in the group stage of the MLB Tournament of Champions!

When I looked at the standings last round, everything seemed clear: every team with a winning record through 66 games would advance to the postseason, and some .500 and below teams would advance in groups where the middle was more balanced. At present, a 36-33 record is the mark to achieve to for sure be in a postseason slot with 21 games to go; in some groups 35-34 isn't enough to make it (one group has a five way tie for the final spot at 34-35), while other groups have 32-37 teams that would advance. Meanwhile, the 1927 New York Yankees became the first team in the tournament to the 50 win plateau, though the next closest team in the whole tournament is just two games back of that mark.

You can view the full standings, as well as the schedule of games and scores from prior games here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 23

During the process of getting through this round of play, we will reach the three-quarter pole of group play in the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions!

I started this back in April, and chaos at work combined with travel have me way behind in completing this, but I'm anticipating being done by the end of baseball season, especially with how far group play has come and the amount of time each round requires.

66 games into the tournament, a winning record is enough to advance to the postseason, where the field will be trimmed in half. In some groups, .500 or even a few games below is enough to survive the cut as well. If the tournament ended today, the worst team to survive would be the 2016 Washington Nationals at 30-36.

On the other end of the spectrum, to win a regular season group title, anywhere from 39 to 47 wins is the required total. It'll make things interesting in the postseason with such disparate groups, but I hope to solve that by making the first three rounds stay within the confines of groups.

You can view the schedule and standings for the tournament here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play ball!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 22

We are 70 percent of the way through the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions, and continue to roll on!

With 27 games to go, no one has been eliminated and no one has clinched yet, but over the next few rounds we'll start to see that. We have seen three no-hitters in the tournament (two by 1965 Sandy Koufax, which is pretty cool), and I think with that we've almost matched the total from the 2017 tournament.

As for the standings, anywhere from 38 to 46 wins is enough to lead a group at this point, while a 33-30 record is enough to guarantee making the postseason. Some groups are a little chaotic, where there's fix or six teams above .500, and then a bit of a cliff, while elsewhere teams at 32-31 would miss the postseason if it started today. To help ensure some balance, I'm going to keep the first three rounds of the postseason within groups, and hopefully the cream will rise to the top.

You can view full standings, plus scores and schedules, here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 21

The 4th of July holiday and vacation to Texas delayed this even further, so we're really behind, but I will get the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions finished!

We are, at present, two-thirds of the way through the group stage of the tournament, which leaves each team 30 more games to try and secure their place in the postseason. After five more weeks of games, half of the tournament field will be eliminated (though possibly to play in a double-elimination consolation tournament; we'll see).

At this point, anywhere from 37 to 43 wins is enough to give you first place in a group and home field advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs. 32 wins guarantees you an advancement to the postseason, with only one group where 31 wins isn't enough and a few groups that have teams with sub-.500 records slated to make it in if the tournament ended today.

You can view the full standings, as well as a schedule of series, here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play ball!