We’ve reached the Sweet 16. No huge surprises thus far, with all of the ones and twos and three of the threes advancing. Scott Rolen is the biggest “Cinderella” and he’s a six seed over in the Champions Region.
Which means that there are a lot of big names and the decisions start to get a little tougher. You’ll see what I mean starting right off the bat.
1) Ozzie Smith vs. 5) Albert Pujols
How they got here: Smith eliminated Brendan Ryan 42-0 and Vince Coleman 32-1; Pujols wiped out Skip Schumaker 30-12 and Jose Oquendo 19-14.
Notes: Apparently the animosity toward Pujols has waned quite a bit in the past few years. Still, he goes up against a living legend that has had one vote cast against him in the entire tournament.
2) Willie McGee vs. 3) Mark McGwire
How they got here: McGwire took out Ray Washburn 42-3 and Ray Lankford 18-14; McGee smashed Ken Dayley 45-0 and Tom Herr 28-3.
Notes: This is a similar matchup to the other semifinal. McGwire’s got some baggage, but he was extremely popular in his day. Yet he’s going up against someone from that era that holds a ton of meaning to today’s fans.
We’ll do the Ballpark Village semis at 10!