Who knew that so many of the players I chose for these All-Star Teams didn't have cards???
Sorry it took a bit longer than I liked, and it did keep me away from other important matters (like updating the Sports Card Blogroll for example). But it is finally done. All 50 teams, and all 650 players, and all 1762 roster spots, have now been accounted for by the means of Topps baseball cards (and honestly, would there have been any other way to put these displays together???)
So now it is on to the matter of how the tournament will commence. All teams (with the exception of the 2011 teams, 48 in all) will participate. There will be two leagues (an American League, and a National League, of course) consisting of 24 teams each. Each league will consist of two twelve-team conferences, and each conference will consist of two six-team divisions. Confused yet? Here is the breakdown per League:
- League - 24 teams, 2 conferences
- Conference - 12 teams, 2 divisions
- Division - Six teams
The home stadiums for each team will be the site of that year's All-Star Game. Regardless of what league the team plays for (NL or AL), depending on what year they represent, they will play their home games at that stadium.
The stadiums for both NL and AL teams:
- 1987 - Oakland, Oakland-Alemada County Coliseum
- 1988 - Cincinnati, Riverfront Stadium
- 1989 - Anaheim, Anaheim Stadium
- 1990 - Chicago N, Wrigley Field
- 1991 - Toronto, Skydome
- 1992 - San Diego, Jack Murphy Stadium
- 1993 - Baltimore, Orioles Park at Camden Yards
- 1994 - Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Stadium
- 1995 - Texas, The Ballpark in Arlington
- 1996 - Philadelphia, Veterans Stadium
- 1997 - Cleveland, Jacobs Field
- 1998 - Colorado, Coors Field
- 1999 - Boston, Fenway Park
- 2000 - Atlanta, Turner Field
- 2001 - Seattle, Safeco Field
- 2002 - Milwaukee, Miller Park
- 2003 - Chicago A, U. S. Cellular Field
- 2004 - Houston, Minute Maid Park
- 2005 - Detroit, Comerica Park
- 2006 - Pittsburgh, PNC Park
- 2007 - San Francisco, AT&T Park
- 2008 - New York A, Yankee Stadium
- 2009 - St. Louis, Busch Stadium
- 2010 - Anaheim, Angel Stadium of Anaheim
(For the record, when I add the 2011 teams later on...and they will get a chance to compete later, the home field for both teams will be Arizona's Chase Field).
So yes, there will be NL cities hosting AL games, and AL cities hosting NL games. That's just how it's going to have to work. The AL will be playing with designated hitters, the NL will have the pitchers bat, just like the leagues play now.
Each league will be split into two conferences: Eastern and Western. The teams will be set based on where their "home fields" are located. The divisions are determined by whether the "host" team's stadium is an NL or AL team. The divisions for both leagues are as follows:
- Eastern Conference Division 1 (AL Stadiums)
- 1991 (Toronto)
- 1993 (Baltimore)
- 1997 (Cleveland)
- 1999 (Boston)
- 2005 (Detroit)
- 2008 (New York A)
- Eastern Conference Division 2 (NL Stadiums)
- 1988 (Cincinnati)
- 1994 (Pittsburgh)
- 1996 (Philadelphia)
- 2000 (Atlanta)
- 2002 (Milwaukee)
- 2006 (Pittsburgh)
- Western Conference Division 1 (AL Stadiums)
- 1987 (Oakland)
- 1989 (Anaheim)
- 1995 (Texas)
- 2001 (Seattle)
- 2003 (Chicago A)
- 2010 (Anaheim)
- Western Conference Division 2 (NL Stadiums)
- 1990 (Chicago N)
- 1992 (San Diego)
- 1998 (Colorado)
- 2004 (Houston)
- 2007 (San Francisco)
- 2009 (St. Louis)
Each team in the respective conferences will play each other in a unbalanced schedule of 162 simulated games (like a regular season) thanks to the SBS (Strategic Baseball Simulator). Each team will play 18 games (9 home, 9 away, 90 games) against teams in their own division, and 12 games (6 home, 6 away, 72 games) against teams in their conference (Eastern vs. Eastern; Western vs. Western). After the season is done, the top four teams in each division (32 teams total, 16 from each league) will advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs will be comprised of a best-of-seven 10,000 simulated games (just like the All-Star Games I played on my regular blog of which you can see the results on the sidebar). It will be a 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3 format by division. The winners of the divisions will face each other in the Conference finals. The winners of the Conference finals will then duke it out in a League finals. There will be one AL winner and one NL winner by the time this all plays out.
Whichever team survives their League's championship will then face each other in a final seven series (not best of seven) 10,000 simulated games "World Championship All-Star Game" (can't say World Series). Regardless of who wins the the seven series, there will be one All-Star Game simulation to determine a final champion.
The season starts after the All-Star Game. It gives me time to get all the stadiums and divisions attached to each team's data file. I've been looking forward to doing this for quite some time now. I've been running a few tests, but nothing official. I can tell you that every team has somehow found a way to get to the playoffs. So it should be interesting.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
