2011 Boston Red Sox Showdown Simulation Tournament from Whatifsports.com

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WhatIfSports.com is proud to partner with NESN to present a tournament featuring the greatest Red Sox squads ever assembled, known as "The Showdown for the Ages."

Over the next four weeks, we'll showcase the top 16 Boston teams as chosen by a panel at NESN.

Utilizing our award-winning MLB simulation engine, we played each series 51 times, with the championship round simulated 501 times for good measure. Which team will be crowned as the best Boston has to offer?

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Holders of the hallowed comeback, the 2004 team will forever be engrained in the hearts of Red Sox Nation. Led by the slugging prowess of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and bolstered by a solid starting staff, Boston won 98 games in ’04 on their way to a Wild Card berth.

After disposing of the Angels in the ALDS, the Sox dropped three straight to the detested Bronx Bombers in the Junior Circuit’s championship series. Yet two straight walk-off wins courtesy of Big Papi in Fenway gave the Sox new life, and Curt Schilling’s valiant effort in Game Six brought the series to a seventh game.Thanks to two home runs from Johnny Damon, Boston exiled their historical oppressors in dramatic fashion.

The World Series outcome against St. Louis seemed preordained and anticlimactic, as the Sox swept the National League champs to capture the club’s first title in 86 years. 

Although not as accomplished as their ‘04 brethren, the 1999 squad wasn’t lacking in the theatrics department.

In Game 5 of the ALDS, starter Bret Saberhagen was knocked out of the game by the first inning. Pedro Martinez, who had been dealing with a sore back, took over in the fourth and proceeded to blank the Tribe, submitting a six-inning no-hit performance as Boston took the series three games to two.

Alas, the Sox would meet their demise against the vaunted Yanks, losing in the ALCS four games to one. 

Despite breaking the curse, the 2004 team falls in an epic upset thanks to the efforts of ’99 Pedro and Nomar Garciaparra. While receiving outstanding performances from Schilling, Lowe, and Martinez in their remarkable playoff run, the pitching staff of ’04 was prosaic in the regular season. Schilling was the only regular with a sub-3.90 ERA.

The ’99 squad moves on, winning the series in six games. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1999 58.8% - 2004 41.2%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Taking an up-and-coming Tampa Bay Rays team to seven games in the ALCS is how this team should be remembered. Rather, 2008 is recalled as the campaign where one of the most feared hitters in Red Sox history, Manny Ramirez, was excommunicated from the Church of Fenway.

A shame indeed, as Man-Ram’s controversial exit overshadowed the MVP season of Dustin Pedroia (.326 average, 118 runs, 83 RBI). Losing the heart of a lineup would derail most teams, but Boston proceeded to capture the Wild Card and overthrow the Angels in the ALDS. 

In today’s game, 97 wins usually guarantees home-field advantage. This was not the case in 1977, when each league was divided into just two divisions. The Sox held the AL East lead until surrendering it in mid-August, during a funk where manager Don Zimmer’s club lost nine of 11 ballgames.

The ’77 edition of the Sox did feature a lineup of four 100-RBI members in Jim Rice, Butch Hobson, Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk. But Boston’s undoing lied in their arms, or lack thereof, as four of the five starters possessed ERAs over 4.25. 

The 2008 club showcases their perseverance by taking care of the ’77 squad in six games. Credit goes to the ’08 staff, featuring stalwart studs in Jon Lester (16-6, 3.21 ERA) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90 ERA), which kept the dangerous bats of Rice and Hobson at bay. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 2008 68.6% - 1978 31.4%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

The 1915 Sox featured a staff so strong that one of their 18-game winners was left out of the World Series rotation. That pitcher, who sported a 2.44 ERA and owned the second-best ratio of hits allowed per nine innings in the league, went by the name of George Herman Ruth.

Smokey Joe Wood was the foundation for the Sox pitching corps, posting a league-best 1.49 ERA. Following suit was Ernie Shore, whose 1.64 ERA mark was good enough for third in the American League.

In regards to offense, outfielders Tris Speaker (.322 average, 108 runs) and Duffy Lewis (.291 average, 76 RBI) provided the pop. This Boston crew would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games to take the World Series crown. 

Despite two titles, the ’86 team remains a thorn in the side of Red Sox Nation. Lost in the Buckner Boot is: A) Buckner’s success in ’86, hitting 18 bombs and 102 RBI, and B) Dave Henderson’s homer in Game 5 of the ALCS to bring back Boston from the dead.

Yet history’s omission bias remembers the Buckner Blunder above all else in Game 6, seemingly disregarding Boston’s bullpen collapse in Game 7 as a major contributor to a New York Mets victory. 

Unfortunately for Buckner and company the heartbreak continues, as the overpowering pitching of Wood, Shore, Rube Foster and the rest of the 1915 team is too much to overcome. Despite valiant efforts from Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst, the ’15 squad sends home Johnny Mac’s men in a seven-game soiree. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1915 78.4% - 1986 21.6%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

The 2004 ALCS comeback has locked up its legacy thanks to mounting a historic comeback out of a 3-0 deficit, but the 2007 Lazarus-like revival against Chief Wahoo deserves just as much eminence.

Thanks to Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, and unlikely hero J.D. Drew, Boston bounced back from a 3-1 hole to conquer Cleveland in the ALCS.

The Red Sox would go on to sweep Colorado in the Fall Classic to seize their second title in four years. 

The 1946 Boston team clinched a berth in the World Series thanks to a 104-50 record, winning the AL pennant by 12 games over the Detroit Tigers.

The catalyst for the Sox was Ted Williams, who hit .342, 38 homers, 123 RBI, and a ridiculous .497 OBP on his way to earning MVP honors that season. Teddy Ballgame received help from Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr and All-Stars Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky.

The Sox ended up losing to the Cardinals in seven games in the Series, notable for the “Mad Dash” misery in the bottom of the eighth. 

But there’s no heartbreak for the Splendid Splinter this time, as the ’46 team pulls the upset by knocking off the ’07 World Champs. Williams and first baseman Rudy York provided the offensive fireworks, with Tex Hughson and Dave Ferriss blanking their ’07 comrades. Although he was the ’07 ALCS MVP, Beckett can’t find his grove, giving the ’46 group the win in six contests. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1946 66.7% - 2007 33.3%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Smoky Joe Wood submitted one of the finest pitching seasons in baseball history in 1912, going 34-5 with 10 shutouts and a 1.01 WHIP in 344 innings. Hall of Famer hitter Tris Speaker wasn’t too shabby himself, earning MVP honors after posting a .383 average with 10 long balls and 136 runs.

The 1912 Sox steamrolled through the American League, winning 105 games before battling the New York Giants in the World Series.

This matchup is memorable for the fact that eight games were played, as Game 2 was declared a tie due to darkness. Boston would eventually claim the title thanks to Wood, who won three games in the series. 

Nothing symbolizes Red Sox sorrow like the 2003 team. Thanks to the exploits of Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the ALCS, this team’s commendable 95-win effort was for naught.

All anguish aside, this season did serve as the breakout campaign of David Ortiz, who slugged 31 bombs and 101 RBI. Pedro Martinez also submitted his last transcendent season in a Boston uniform, with a 2.22 ERA. 

While he probably wishes he pulled Pedro before the eighth inning, Grady Little can take solace in knowing his 2003 crew polished off the World Champion 1912 team in seven games. The staff of 1912 was simply no match for the hitting prowess of Big Papi, Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 2003 51.0% - 1912 49.0%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

The “Impossible Dream” team of 1967 was the root of the Red Sox Nation movement, as spirit and interest in baseball was somewhat dormant in the New England area during the Sixties.

Thanks to the efforts of Carl Yastrzemski, who achieved the last Triple Crown feat with 44 home runs, 121 RBI and a .326 average, a Boston team projected to be pedestrian won 92 games to earn a trip to the World Series.

The Sox lost to St. Louis in the Series, but not before taking the highly-favored Cardinals to seven games. 

A twenty-one year old Babe Ruth led the way for the 1916 Sox, compiling a 23-12 record with a 1.75 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Ruth improved his play in the postseason, surrendering just one run in 14 innings of work in the World Series, which Boston won in five games over the Brooklyn Robins. At the plate, third baseman Larry Gardner hit .308 with 62 RBI to pace the Red Sox to 91 wins. 

While many designated him god-like status, the ’67 squad made the great Ruth look human, as the Impossible Dream team walked-off with the upset in six games.

Yastrzemski and first baseman George Scott proved to be too powerful at the plate for Ruth and Dutch Leonard, while Jim Lonborg and Lee Stange dazzled and befuddled the ’16 team. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1967 88.2% - 1916 11.8%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

This team serves as a bittersweet memory for the Nation, as insipid Bronx fans would joylessly rain “1918!” chants upon the Red Sox until reversing the curse in 2004.

Boston was bolstered by a pitching staff with four starters that posted ERAs under 2.25. Babe Ruth tied for the league-lead in homers despite playing just 95 games in the field for Boston. The 1918 squad would go on to defeat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the World Series. 

Carlton Fisk desperately pleading for that white sphere to stay fair is the iconic image that one conjures about the ’75 Sox.

What gets lost in the minutiae of history is the epicness of Game 7, which was settled in the top of the ninth, thanks to a bloop single from Joe Morgan, giving the Reds a 4-3 victory. Fred Lynn pulled off the rare feat of earning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season, thanks to a .331 average, 21 homers, 105 RBI and 103 runs scored. 

No late-game heroics altered this series, leaving Fisk and the ’75 Sox out in the proverbial cold as the 1918 roster moves on to the next round. Outfielder Harry Hooper put on a hitting exhibition against Bill Lee and Luis Tiant, and pitcher Bullet Joe Bush silenced the ’75 Sox at the plate. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1918 58.8% - 1975 41.2%

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Known then as the Boston Americans, the 1903 club won the franchise’s first World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates when the Fall Classic consisted of a best-of-nine series.

The Americans featured Hall of Famers Cy Young—who went 28-9 with a 2.08 ERA—and third baseman/manager Jimmy Collins. Also contributing was the bat of Patsy Dougherty, who led the league in runs with 107 and hit .331. 

We could discuss the MVP season of Jim Rice (.315, 46 home runs, 139 RBI) or the vaunted Boston bats that ranked second in the league in runs and homers, but 1978 is remembered for two correlated catastrophes: Boston blowing a 14-game lead over New York, followed by the Sox losing a one-game playoff to the Yanks, thanks to light-hitting Bucky Dent sending a three-run shot over the Green Monster in the seventh inning. 

The Americans wasted little time in taking care of the Sox, as Young and the ’03 arms disposed of the ’78 team in five games. Also contributing to the winning cause was shortstop Freddy Parent, who hit .304 during the 1903 season. 

Winning Percentage of 51 Simulations: 1903 68.6% - 1978 31.4%