2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 28

We're now 90 percent of the way through the group stage of the MLB Tournament of Champions, and each team has just nine games left to try and position themselves for a run at the Championship of Champions!

By my quick count, 13 of the 64 postseason berths have been clinched to this point; these teams are guaranteed at worst a top-eight spot in their respective group. If this stage ended today, every team with at least 42 wins would make the postseason, though some 41-40 teams would miss the cut while at least one below .500 team would advance in their group. As for the tops of each group, the 1927 Yankees and 1964 Cardinals have clinched their respective group titles and thus home field advantage for at least the first three rounds of the playoffs. Our worst group leader sits at 49-32, while the '27 Yankees lead the tournament with a 59-22 mark.

You can view the full standings, plus see the remaining schedule and scores from all games here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play ball!

2019 MLB Tournament of Champions: Group Play Round 27

We're down to the final two weeks of group play in the 2019 MLB Tournament of Champions!

I started this project all the way back in April with every World Series champion, plus at least one representative of every other franchise totaling 128 teams. Each of those teams have played 78 of their scheduled 90 games to date, which makes these last two weeks all the more critical.

I split the field into eight groups of 16 teams, and the top eight from each group will advance to postseason play. If group play ended today, a 41-37 record would guarantee a postseason berth, though depending on the group, a 38-40 teams could still advance. To lead a group, anywhere from 46 to 56 wins is the bar to reach. I just feel bad for the 1987 Minnesota Twins, who are sitting at an abysmal 19-59 record.

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

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!