How would an all-time Orioles team fare in simulation?

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

April 18, 2020, 6:38am

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How would an all-time Orioles team do against all-time teams from the rest of Major League Baseball? We're about to find out through the magic of game simulation.

Obviously, they can't actually take the field!

MLB, in conjunction with Out of the Park Baseball, on Thursday unveiled the MLB Dream Bracket with the tournament to begin Monday and Tuesday. The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current MLB franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars.

The 26-man rosters for each of the teams were compiled by MLB.com and consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.

The full rosters for each of the 32 competing teams, which include a combined 185 Hall of Famers, 115 Most Valuable Players, 61 Cy Young Award winners and 67 Rookie of the Year Award winners, can be viewed by clicking here.

ORIOLES ROSTER

Pitchers: Jim Palmer, Mike Mussina, Dave McNally, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Mike Cuellar, Mike Boddicker, Zack Britton, Darren O'Day, Gregg Olson, Tippy Martinez.

Starters:
C: Chris Hoiles
1B: Eddie Murray
2B: Roberto Alomar
3B: Brooks Robinson
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.
LF: Boog Powell
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Frank Robinson
DH: Rafael Palmeiro

Bench: Ken Singleton, Harold Baines, Brian Roberts, Manny Machado, Mark Belanger, Rick Dempsey.

The teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 16 in each league. The Yankees are No. 1 seed in the American League, followed by the A's, Red Sox, Tigers and Orioles at No. 5. Then the rest of the AL starting at No. 6 shows the Twins, White Sox and Negro League stars seeded eighth, followed by the Indians, Royals, Blue Jays, Astros, Angels, Rangers, Rays and Mariners.

The seeding was based on World Series titles and pennants won, postseason appearances and regular season winning percentage. The Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars are No. 8 seeds in the American League and National League, respectively.

In the first round, the fifth-seeded Orioles face 12th-seeded Houston, with the winner advancing to face the winner of fourth-seeded Detroit against the 13th-seeded Angels.

The Yankees can put out a lineup that includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson. Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson head up the Negro Leagues roster. In the National League, a Cardinals roster that includes Bob Gibson, Stan Musial and Rogers Hornsby is the No. 1 seed, followed by the Giants, Dodgers and Reds.

The round of 16 will be played out April 23 and 24. The quarterfinals are April 27 and 28. The semifinal matchups will be contested April 30 and May 1 with the finals spanning May 4 and 5.

Playing this tourney through simulation makes is possible that Ruth, a hitter on the Yankees roster, could face himself, with the Baltimore-born Bambino a pitcher for Boston.

Click here to see the bracket. The results of the Orioles against Houston, with the winner advancing to the round of 16, is expected to be published tomorrow at 10 a.m. on MLB.com.

Smith is looking good: MLB, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Sony Interactive Entertainment recently announced the creation of the MLB The Show Players League, the first-ever competitive MLB The Show league solely featuring major league players. Thirty players have agreed to represent their teams and play each other in this inaugural online event to engage fans around the world and raise funds for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada.

As you can see in the tweets below, Dwight Smith Jr. is representing the Orioles. He's doing very well so far and really gets into the games. It's been kind of exciting to watch. This will continue throughout April. Each player plays a total of 29 regular season, three-inning games. Following this, the top eight teams will advance to the postseason, which will largely mirror the MLB playoff format and culminate in a World Series.

Just like in real baseball, the AL East is tough. The standings through Friday:

10-2 - Blake Snell (Tampa Bay)
9-3 - Dwight Smith Jr. (Orioles)
9-3 - Bo Bichette (Toronto)
7-5 - Tommy Kahnle (New York)
1-7 - Eduardo Rodriguez (Boston)

Through Friday's games, Smith was tied for the third-best record behind Joey Gallo of Texas (at 11-1) and Snell. Smith could be playoff-bound. His next group of games is tonight at 9 p.m.

MLB, the MLBPA and SIE will donate $5,000 on behalf of each participating player to a Boys & Girls Club affiliate in their team's community. The stakes for the competition are enhanced, with the championship player earning an additional $25,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club in his community.

Fans can engage with the players in a variety of viewing experiences on the Official MLB YouTube page, Sony San Diego's Twitch page or any of the individual players' feeds.

MLB The Show is officially licensed by MLB and the MLBPA. Follow MLB The Show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest information and updates.