Although this would likely never happen, it would be awesome to witness a 30-Team Triple Elimination Tournament in Major League Baseball. I took a shot at predicting how the results might look in this hypothetical scenario.
Rules:
The tournament will have two sides of the bracket: a 15 Team Triple Elimination Tournament for the American League, and a 15 Team Triple Elimination Tournament for the National League.
The ballparks that will host the American League Side will be Citi Filed in Flushing, Yankee Stadium in Bronx, and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The ballparks that will host the National League side will be Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, and Petco Park in San Diego.
The American League Side of the Bracket will have all games begin on Friday, May 29 while the National League will begin play on Saturday, May 30. The winners of the American League and National League Brackets will meet in a best-of 3 championship.
Real time injuries matter. For example, Michael King was placed on the 15-day IL on May 25 (Retroactive to May 22) so he won't be eligible to pitch in this tournament until June 6.
The Seeding was based on MLB.com's Power Rankings as of May 19. Since there has been an unbalanced schedule played so far this year, ranking the teams similar to how college football does it would be the fairest way to seed the teams. Teams that are listed on the top of each matchup will be the designated home team.
American League:
1. Detroit Tigers
2. New York Yankees
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Cleveland Guardians
6. Texas Rangers
7. Kansas City Royals
8. Houston Astros
9. Boston Red Sox
10. A's
11. Toronto Blue Jays
12. Tampa Bay Rays
13. Los Angeles Angels
14. Baltimore Orioles
15. Chicago White Sox
National League:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. New York Mets
3. San Diego Padres
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Chicago Cubs
6. San Francisco Giants
7. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Arizona Diamondbacks
9. Atlanta Braves
10. Cincinnati Reds
11. Milwaukee Brewers
12. Washington Nationals
13. Miami Marlins
14. Pittsburgh Pirates
15. Colorado Rockies
Friday, May 29
AL Game 1: (9) Red Sox defeat (8) Astros by a final score of 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Garrett Crochet and Framber Valdez
AL Game 2: (5) Guardians defeat (12) Rays by a final score of 5-2
Starting Pitchers: Gavin Williams and Drew Rasmussen
AL Game 3: (4) Mariners defeat (13) Angels by a final score of 3-2
Starting Pitchers: Luis Castillo and Yusei Kikuchi
AL Game 4: (3) Twins defeat (14) Orioles by a final score of 5-4
Starting Pitchers: Pablo Lopez and Tomoyuki Sugano
AL Game 5: (6) Rangers defeat (11) Blue Jays by a final score of 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Nathan Eovaldi and Kevin Gausman
AL Game 6: (10) A's defeat (7) Royals by a final score of 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Luis Severino and Kris Bubic
AL Game 7: (2) Yankees defeat (15) White Sox by a final score of 8-0
Starting Pitchers: Max Fried and Sean Burke
Saturday, May 30
NL Game 1: (9) Braves defeat (8) Diamondbacks by a final score of 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Chris Sale and Corbin Burnes
NL Game 2: (12) Nationals defeat (5) Cubs by a final score of 6-5
Starting Pitchers: Mackenzie Gore and Matthew Boyd
NL Game 3: (4) Phillies defeat (13) Marlins by a final score of 7-0
Starting Pitchers: Zack Wheeler and Ryan Weathers
NL Game 4: (14) Pirates defeat (3) Padres by a final score of 2-1
Starting Pitchers: Paul Skenes and Dylan Cease
NL Game 5: (6) Giants defeat (11) Brewers by a final score of 4-2
Starting Pitchers: Logan Webb and Freddy Peralta
NL Game 6: (10) Reds defeat (7) Cardinals by a final score of 5-3
Starting Pitchers: Hunter Greene and Sonny Gray
NL Game 7: (2) Mets defeat (15) Rockies by a final score of 6-1
Starting Pitchers: Kodai Senga and German Marquez
AL Game 8: (1) Tigers defeat (9) Red Sox by a final score of 4-1
Starting Pitchers: Tarik Skubal and Walker Buehler
AL Game 9: (4) Mariners defeat (5) Guardians by a final score of 5-3
Starting Pitchers: Bryan Woo and Tanner Bibee
AL Game 10: (6) Rangers defeat (3) Twins by a final score of 4-3
Starting Pitchers: Jacob deGrom and Joe Ryan
AL Game 11: (2) Yankees defeat (10) A's by a final score of 6-3
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Rodon and Jeffrey Springs
AL Game 12: (11) Blue Jays defeat (14) Orioles by a final score of 7-4
Starting Pitchers: Chris Bassitt and Dean Kremer
AL Game 13: (7) Royals defeat (15) White Sox by a final score of 6-1
Starting Pitchers: Seth Lugo and Shane Smith
AL Game 14: (12) Rays defeat (13) Angels by a final score of 5-4
Starting Pitchers: Ryan Pepiot and Tyler Anderson
