Yankees take North League traveling title for 2019

The fight for the North League lineal championship began between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, but it really ended with the New York Yankees, who put themselves way ahead with two titles and seven defenses in the middle of the summer.

The New York Yankees fell short of their usual aspirations in 2019, bowing out with a six-game loss to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

By the light of the championships chronicled on these pages, though, no one was better in 2019 than the Yankees.

In the two highest level competitions, the First Division and the Super League, the Yankees won the championships. The Yankees also finished a strong second place in the American League and interleague lineal championships.

Then, we have the four-by-four, which places each club in six distinct but related competitions. In future years, we'll say that any team winning three of these will qualify for the next year's Super League, if that club hasn't already qualified through the pyramid or the league-wide lineals. In 2019, the Yankees won four. 

Those would be the North League East Division, the East League North Division, the Eastern lineal and, here, the Northern lineal. The Cleveland Indians won the other two titles in the Northeast -- the Northeast Conference and the Northeast lineal.

Opening these traveling titles in the cardinal regions (north, south, east, west) presented a small challenge, as there is no such thing as a standing champion from established competitions to be the obvious caretakers. So, we tried to be fair and balanced about it, and we all know how that goes. 

The Boston Red Sox won the 2018 World Series, so we gave them dibs here started them as the East Champion. The Los Angeles Dodgers, as the National League pennant winners in 2018, were the clear choice as the caretaking West champion.

What about North and South? It's fair to start one in the American League and the other in the National League. The Houston Astros, with 103 wins in 2018, were the obvious choice in the South. So, we're going National League in the North. It happens that the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers each won 95, tied for the league's Central Division championship with the best record in the NL. The Major Leagues decided it with a playoff game, won by Brewers.

We decided to do it a different way. Fortunately, the Cubs and Brewers were to start the 2019 season against each other. So, instead of deciding to name one or let the playoff decision from a year earlier stand, we just put the North lineal on the line in that series without picking a caretaker beforehand. Just this once. Because it made the most sense.

The Brewers won that series to open 2019, as well, and defended it once to kick off this championship. In the end, the Brewers were better than most teams in the North, winning two titles for a total of 14 games in the championship.

But that's not the Yankees. Somehow, we didn't pick the Yankees as one of the four clubs to caretaker a lineal in a cardinal region, despite their winning 100 games in 2018 before being bounced from the playoffs by the eventual world champs. The Yankees didn't care about that, of course. They simply went out and won their two cardinals, the East and the North.

In the North, they finished with 29 games of championship. The Yankees did their big damage by winning the championship in mid-June and hanging on through six defenses until the last week of July.

Dodgers win first West lineal season

The Dodgers, who won the National League pennant in 2018, were the best team in the West that year, and were thus given the first West League lineal championship for safe keeping. They kept it just safe enough to squeeze by the Chicago Cubs for the 2019 title.

The Dodgers won the first running of the Western lineal baseball championship, but barely.

As the National League champs in 2018, the Dodgers were the best credentialed team in the Western half of baseball entering 2019, and thus they were given caretaking of the start-up title. The Dodgers mounted three successful defenses.

That's about the best the Dodgers did with it. They actually won three titles outright later in the season, but managed only one defense between them. They still finished on top of the chart with 23 games of title.

But it didn't have to go that way. The Chicago Cubs ruined the first Dodger defense of a title they actually earned, taking two of three at Wrigley Field April 23-25. After that, the Cubs rang up four defenses.

The Cubs took one more crack at the championship, taking it from the San Diego Padres with a two-of-three on the road, but they immediately lost it the same way in San Francisco. Never again crossing paths with this lineal title, the Cubs finished with 17 games of championship.

Dodgers drop Cubs at NL traveler finish

The Chicago Cubs stormed through September so fiercely that they went to October with a chance to for Team of the Year in the National League traveling championship. But the Dodgers put a stop to that in the National League Championship Series.

The Chicago Cubs turned a season nowhere near the 2017 National League (NL) traveling championship into a photo finish at the end. But they fell short in their bid to wrest the season title from the Dodgers during the NL Championship Series (NLCS).

The final numbers show the Cubs with 27 games of title defense, compared with 23 for the Dodgers. That puts the Cubs on top of the final standings, but does it make them Team of the Year?

The Cubs won the title twice and defended it five times in seven tries. But the Dodgers won four championships, even though they managed only four defenses in seven tries. The Dodgers played for the title 12 times, fashioning a 27-13 record in those games, while the Cubs were 22-17 in their 11 tries for the championship.

Most of all, though, in the end, when season honors were on the line, the Dodgers thumped the Cubs in a five-game NLCS. So, even though the Cubs are on top of the standings, the Dodgers have most else in their favor, including the prize at the end of the season. The Dodgers are Team of the Year.

But the Cubs were the better story. As the Cubs began a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the New York Mets on Sept. 12, they were a sorry 4-8 in games for the NL traveler, including one title with no defenses, as well as two other failed attempts at the crown.

The Cubs then went streaking, sweeping the Mets, then the St. Louis Cardinals at home, winning three out of four on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, then winning three of four in St. Louis. Back home to end the regular season, the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds two out of three.

Coincidentally, the Cubs held a mere two-game lead in the NL Central as the Sept. 12 games began, so their rally to the end conferred the additional benefit of a division title, which they won by six games. From Sept. 12 to the end of the regular season, the Cubs were 14-3 with five series victories.  

The Cubs took the prize through the NL Division Series (NLDS), defeating the Washington Nationals in five games. But the Dodgers, taking the Cubs down so decisively with four wins in a five-game NLCS, rightly claimed the title at the end.

Red Sox make mark, fly through First Division

The Boston Red Sox won their second First Division title in 2017, setting the record for the largest winning margin in the games behind column. The San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers fell to the bottom.

New to the First Division in 2017, the Boston Red Sox cruised to the title by five games on their partner in promotion, the Cleveland Indians.

The First Division title normally is a pretty tight affair, but the Red Sox ended the campaign with the largest margin in the history of this competition. The Red Sox won the inagural First Division in 2010 by four games on the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays claimed the 2011 top tier title by the same margin over the San Francisco Giants in the two previous largest margins.

The 2010 title was Boston's only previous First Division championship.

The Giants and Texas Rangers fell to the bottom of the First Division in 2017 and are headed to the Second Division in 2018. Coming up from the Second Division to the First Division are the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees.

The Diamondbacks will be in the First Division for the first time in their history. The Yankees were an original First Division team in 2010 but finished last in the tier in 2013 to be demoted and are headed back to the top level for the first time since then. The Yankees won the Second Division in 2017 by one game over the Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers, who missed the second promotional spot by percentage points.

The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets both won promotion to the Second Division for 2017, but both found the soup a little too thick at the higher level and they're both going back to the Third Division in 2018. In their place are the last two World Champions, the Chicago Cubs (2016) and the Houston Astros (2017), the top two Third Division clubs of 2017.

The fight to stave off relegation to the Fourth Division came down to two losers and one survivor, with the Miami Marlins coming out of it in the preferred position. The Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves are going down to the Third Division in 2018.

The Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins, easily the best two Fourth Division teams in 2017, are going up to the Third Division in 2018.

Dodgers dominate to capture NL traveling title

The Dodgers are finishing May by making a big move with the National League traveling championship. Hitting and pitching at a high level, the Dodgers are angling to become the third team this year to defend the title.

Cody Bellinger hit two homers for the Dodgers in a four-game stretch for the Dodgers while they played for the National League traveling championship (Johnmaxmena2/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license).

Closing out May, the Dodgers are playing their best baseball of the 2017 season. With five straight wins through May 29, the Dodgers aren't just winning. They are dominating.

It happens that the last four of those victories coincide with the traveling championship across the National League. The Dodgers now hold the title for the second time this season.

The Chicago Cubs arrived at Dodger Stadium with the NL traveling title on May 26, but it wasn't long before the Dodgers took it away. The Dodgers won three straight from the Cubs by a combined score of 18-4.

The Dodgers began a four-game series in St. Louis on May 30 with a 5-1 win against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Looking a little more closely at this four-game run by the Dodgers, we can see how sharp they've been against the defending World Champions and another club that has been a king in the NL for this entire century.

In those four games, the Dodgers hit 10 home runs. Balance has been key. Chase Utley and Cody Bellinger were the only Dodgers with two homers in this small run, so six players hit the other six homers.

As the composite batting numbers from the four games show (courtesy of baseball-reference.com), the Dodgers batted only .250. But 16 walks and 10 homers papers over a lot of batted-ball outs. They also paper over a lot of non-batted outs. The Dodgers struck out 41 times in these four games, the one disturbing trend across the team.

Pitcher by pitcher, start by start – and especially reliever by reliever – the Dodgers were all but untouchable. Their staff ERA in the four games was 1.25

On May 26, Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood pitched five shutout innings. He won, raising his mark to 6-0 and dropping his ERA to 1.69. Pedro Baez and Chris Hatcher each pitched two shutout relief innings to secure a 4-0 win.

The next day, Brandon McCarthy pitched six shutout innings, improving his numbers to 5-1 and 3.28. Ross Stripling finished a 5-0 win against the Cubs with three shutout innings.

On May 28, all of America anticipated a pitcher's duel between Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Jon Lester of the Cubs. But Lester lasted not even four innings, and Kershaw hung around for barely more than that. Four Dodgers relievers combined for 4 2/3 hitless, shutout innings in a 9-4 Dodgers win.

On to St. Louis. On May 29, Dodgers starter Rich Hill gave up one run in five innings. Four Dodgers relievers combined for four shutout innings in a 5-1 win for the Dodgers.

The pitching numbers (from baseball-reference.com) are here, but one key set of numbers isn't. In these four games, the Dodgers produced 15 shutout relief innings.

Long-term, the Dodgers won't hold up if four out of five starts last only five innings. Their batters can't be striking out 10 times per game, either. Short-term, though, the Dodgers rolled up key wins against strong competition. And dominated with the NL traveling championship.

Famously, the Cardinals have owned the traveling championship in the NL since it launched in 2011. But the early indications in 2017 show that we could see different results.

The Cardinals whiffed on their first try at the NL traveler when they lost two of three at home to the San Francisco Giants May 19-21. With their Monday loss to the Dodgers, the Cardinals lost four of their first five games with the NL traveler this season.

The leading teams so far in 2017 are the Dodgers, the Giants and the Miami Marlins. The Marlins notched a title with three defenses in April. The Giants have a title with two defenses in May.

The Dodgers, Giants, Marlins, Cubs, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds all have won titles this season. But the Marlins and Giants are the only clubs to successfully defend it.

The Dodgers and Giants are the only clubs that have won it twice this season.

Yanks, D-Backs hold Second Division lead

It's still early, of course, but the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks are the top two clubs right now in the Second Division across big league baseball. The First Division, meanwhile, is as tight as ever, with five clubs within a game of the top.

Starlin Castro is batting .368 (14-for-38) for the New York Yankees in their Second Division games this season (Arturo Pardavilla III/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

Where our ordinal divisions with promotion and relegation are concerned, the big winner has to be the First Division champion, obviously. Next in line, though, are the clubs that win their way into the First Division for the following season.

So, the early returns in the baseball season point to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees, tied on top of the Second Division, each at 6-3. But it is early, and there's nothing to be gained from calling favorites.

The entire rest of the Second Division, excepting the New York Mets, is within two games of the top. And because of how inter-league play is set up this season (NL West vs. AL Central, NL Central vs. AL East and NL East vs. AL West), all of the Second Division has a thick schedule.

That is, every Second Division club except the last-place Mets. But the Mets still have another 20 games within the Second Division. They're not done, either.

The First Division has tightened up a bit since we checked a couple of weeks ago. Now, the top five clubs are within a game of each other.

The same can't be said in the Third Division, where the Houston Astros have opened up a three-game lead.

The Third Division lines up in an oddly balanced way. The Angels, the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners all are in the AL West, so they will play each other a lot. The Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies all are in the NL East, so they will play each other a lot. The remaining two clubs are the Chicago clubs.

The Chicago clubs are lightly scheduled in the Third Division this year, which means they must make the best of the few opportunities out there. Entering May 19, the Cubs have 21 more games, and the White Sox have 20, including their May 19 game against the Mariners.

So, it is early for the White Sox, but they are in relegation position and it isn't that early. And it's early for the Cubs, but they are in promotion position and it isn't that early.

Bosox, Indians take early First Division lead

The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians, two new First Division clubs, are the early leaders. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies went off to a fast start in the Third Division.

With Freddy Galvis (13) at shortstop, the Philadelphia Phillies won their first six games in the Third Division (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

We shouldn't too surprised by the early going in the First Division. The two new teams are on top.

It's only the first week of May, of course. But history says new promotions thrive in the First Division. And recent champions flounder.

The Cleveland Indians (3-0) and the Boston Red Sox (5-2), newly promoted, are the early leaders. The San Francisco Giants (4-3) are right behind after winning two of three this week from the Dodgers (3-4) in Los Angeles.

The Washington Nationals, the only team yet to debut in the First Division, play their first game within the tier on May 29 in San Francisco. That will begin a run of nine First Division games in two weeks for the Nats.

The Second Division still awaits participation from half of its clubs. The New York Yankees have the early lead, thanks to a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. But the Cardinals will have plenty of chances to catch up because this level includes two other National League Central clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

By contrast, the Third Division has seen heavy participation. The Philadelphia Phillies took the early lead, winning their first six games at this level before visiting Chicago and losing two games so far this week against the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs, of course, won the World Series last year, but they still couldn't escape the Third Division, despite a 26-13 showing at this level. As it happened, the Detroit Tigers (35-16) and the New York Mets (28-13), surpassed the Cubs for promotion with their over-whelming performances.

At the bottom of this group, the Seattle Mariners already have cause for concern, losing 10 of their first 15 games. 

In the Fourth Division, it's still very early. The team to watch is the Baltimore Orioles, who were knocked back into this group as a result of the 2014 playoffs and haven't been able to escape. 

Cubs, Mets split Bud Selig East

A tight race in the Bud Selig East ended with no clear winner. The title ended in a split between the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets split the Bud Selig East in 2016.

For the Cubs, it was something of a repeat, as they won the Bud Selig East in 2015. For the New York Mets, it was something of a first-time championship. But it wasn't fully anything for either club. Half of a championship.

The Mets were the easy percentage winners – 46-26 and .639. But the Cubs, at 60-38 and .612, finished one game ahead of the New Yorkers. So, the title is shared.

The Mets are the fourth different club to win the title in the league's seven-year history. The Cubs have won twice, the New York Yankees have won twice, the Cleveland Indians have won twice and the Chicago White Sox have won once.

The Yankees, who won the American League-only Joe Cronin League in 2016, fared much worse in this regionalized mashing of the Joe Cronin and Chub Feeney Leagues, finishing 4 1/2 games off the pace.

Previous seasons:

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Mets capture Feeney title for first time

The New York Mets ripped through their Chub Feeney League schedule with a .644 winning percentage, taking the championship from the hard-charging Chicago Cubs.

The New York Mets won their first Chub Feeney League championship in 2016 in a whopping percentage points advantage over the Chicago Cubs.

The Mets, being the only Eastern team in the Feeney League, tends to play a lighter schedule. In 2016, the Mets plied that schedule for a 38-21 record and a .644 winning percentage. The Cubs, who play a much heavier schedule as a Midwestern club, finished the year 60-46, which only was one-half game behind the Mets in the games behind column, but their .595 winning percentage finished well behind the Cubs.

The Mets became only the third different team to win the Chub Feeney League in its seven years of existence.

The Cincinnati Reds won the first three championships, when the league included only six teams. When the league expanded to eight clubs in 2013, the St. Louis Cardinals began a three-year run with the title.

In 2016, the Cardinals finished in third place, four game behind the Mets.

Previous seasons:

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Cubs deny Tribe Selig East three-peat

The Cleveland Indians made a nice bid for their third consecutive Bud Selig East championship, but no one was going to beat the Cubs, who won two-thirds of their games after July.

The Cleveland Indians fell short in their bid for an unprecedented three-peat in the Bud Selig East, overtaken by the hard-charging Chicago Cubs in the final two months of the season.

A tight race at midseason became a Cubs romp as the Chicagoans went 26-13 down the stretch to prevail by five games.

On July 31, The Cubs, Indians, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox all were within 1½ games of the league lead. But while the Indians (20-15 in the last two months) and the Yankees (17-13) won going down the backside, neither could keep up with the Cubs.

The Cubs became the fourth club to win the Bud Selig East in the league's six-year history. The Yankees and Indians each have won twice and the White Sox have won it once.

Mets play spoiler as Cards cop Feeney crown

In the National League, the New York Mets won the 2015 pennant. But in the Chub Feeney League, composed entirely of National League clubs, the Mets were spoilers, enabling the St. Louis Cardinals to prevail over the Chicago Cubs.

In the National League, the New York Mets won the 2015 pennant. But in the Chub Feeney League, they were spoilers.

With late help from the Mets, the St. Louis Cardinals won their third consecutive Chub Feeney League championship, this time by 1½ games over the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals have won all three championships since the league expanded to eight teams in 2013 due to the Houston Astros moving to the American League and, therefore, the Joe Cronin League.

The Cincinnati Reds won the first seasons of the league, 2010-2012, when it had six teams.

The Cubs held a one-half game lead, at 54-33, over the St. Louis Cardinals (54-34) entering the National League Championship Series, which happened to feature two Feeney clubs, the Cubs and Mets.

Of course, the Mets swept in four games, which didn't help their own case much. With the sweep, the Mets (37-31) still finished fourth in the Feeney League.

But the four losses killed the Cubs, who fell all the way to 54-37, finishing 1½  games behind the Cardinals.

Long Cubs rally captures Central League crown

None of our regional leagues had more strong clubs at the top in 2015 than the Center League. The Cubs staged a furious rally from the end of July through the playoffs to capture the championship.

 

The Chicago Cubs rallied from nowhere to win the Center League in 2015, covering eight games in just more than two months and putting themselves over the top with a strong showing in the National League playoffs.

On the morning of July 31, the Cubs were 27-27 in the Center League, 7½ games off the pace set by the Kansas City Royals (37-22), who led the St. Louis Cardinals (36-23) by a game. Even the Detroit Tigers (33-27) were ahead of the Cubs.

But the Cubs mounted a fierce rally through the final two months, capping the regular season with eight consecutive wins to come up 56-40, bringing themselves to within one game of the Cardinals and Cubs, both 57-39.

The Cubs then took care of their business, given a chance during the playoffs, which gave them two Center League foes. Beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in one game, then winning three of four from the Cardinals in the National League divisional series, the Cubs surpassed the Cardinals and the Royals, who did not have Center League opposition during the playoffs.

The Cubs wound up winning the Center League, dramatically, by a one-half game over the Royals and Cardinals.

2014 Bud Selig East standings and summary

Despite falling from first place in the Joe Cronin League, the Cleveland Indians defended their championship in the Bud Selig East. The Indians won the 2014 Selig East title by three games over the New York Yankees and four over the Tampa Bay Rays.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Cleveland Indians finished their 2014 Major League season at 85-77, three games out of the American League playoffs. But the eastern crop of teams in the Joe Cronin and Chub Feeney Leagues was so weak that the Indians still won the Bud Selig East for the second consecutive season.

The Indians finished 47-35, three games ahead of the New York Yankees and four ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. Another interesting contrast between how the Major League season plays out and what can happen in a league like this. As subtraction tells us, the Indians were 38-42 against clubs that aren't in the Cronin or Feeney Leagues.

Among Bud Selig East teams, the Indians had the best Major League record, with the Yankees right behind them at 84-78. Every other team in the Bud Selig East was below .500 during the Major League season.

2014 Chub Feeney League standings and summary

The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals went to the National League Divisional Series neck-and-neck on top of the Chub Feeney League. The Cardinals prevailed in that series, and in the Chub Feeney League. The Cincinnati Reds, who won the first three Feeneys, fell all the way to the league basement.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Once again, the Chub Feeney League came down to the Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League playoffs. Once again, the Cardinals prevailed.

This time, the Cardinals beat the Dodgers in a four-game divisional series during the National League playoffs, securing a three-game margin on the Dodgers in the Chub Feeney. Entering the series, the Cardinals held a one-game lead on the Dodgers in the Chub Feeney League, so the Dodgers would have prevailed if they had won in three or four games. However, it went for the Cardinals.

The Chicago Cubs with their youth movement made a surprising run in the Chub Feeney League. Though the Cubs again finished last in the National League Central, they were 43-41 in the Chub Feeney League, putting them in third place, four games back of the lead.

The Cincinnati Reds, who won the Chub Feeney League in each of its first three years, plummeted all the way to the Chub Feeney basement in 2014, finishing 8½ games out of the lead.

2013 Bud Selig East standings and summary

The Cleveland Indians won their first Bud Selig East title in 2013, taking advantage of an expanded field to beat out the Cincinnati Reds and the Tampa Bay Ray. The Indians had never before finished higher than fifth in the Bud Selig East.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Just as the Cleveland Indians made a big move up in the Joe Cronin League, they also came a very long way in the Bud Selig East as the 2013 season developed. 

In the first three years of the Bud Selig East, the Indians finished fifth twice and sixth once in a six-team circuit, never finishing within 13½ games of the lead. In 2013, though, the Indians dominated in every way, winning the league by 3½ games over the newly entered Tampa Bay Rays and five games over the Cincinnati Reds.

During the 2013 Major League season, the Indians finished 92-70 for the first wildcard. They ended up losing that wildcard game to the Rays.  

The Indians' rise in the Bud Selig East and the Joe Cronin League somewhat is in step with their rise in the American League Central division. The difference is that the Detroit Tigers stood between the Indians and the AL Central title, whereas the Tigers are no part of the Joe Cronin or Bud Selig Leagues.

2013 Chub Feeney League standings and summary

The St. Louis Cardinals won the expanded Chub Feeney by five games over the Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds, who had won the first three Feeney titles. The Cardinals clinched victory at the very end, when the beat the Dodgers in a six-game National League Championship Series.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The St. Louis Cardinals took full advantage of the new order in the Chub Feeney League, winning the loop by a comfortable five games over the Dodgers and the three-time defending champion Cincinnati Reds.

In fact, the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds were the only clubs to break even or better in the expanded Feeney League. Among the newcomers, the best was the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished 41-42, 13 games out of first place.

The Dodgers had a chance to win it in the National League playoffs, as they faced the Cardinals during the championship round. Entering those playoff games, the Cardinals were 53-30 and the Dodgers were 38-21, so the Cardinals held a three-game lead. If the Dodgers had swept that series, they would have won the Feeney, and they would have tied the Cardinals for the Feeney if they had won the series in five games. 

Instead, the Cardinals won it in six, padding their cushion over the Dodgers in the end.

2012 Bud Selig East standings and summary

The Bud Selig East came down to a battle between the champions of the Joe Cronin and Chub Feeney Leagues. In the end, the Chicago White Sox out of the Cronin prevailed, beating the Reds by 1½ games. Oddly enough, the White Sox and Reds never played each other, even though the interleague schedule in the Major Leagues pitted the Central divisions of each league against each other.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

For the second straight year, the winners of the Joe Cronin and Chub Feeney Leagues were in the same Bud Selig division, the Bud Selig East.

So, it was a close race between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds for the Bud Selig East title. The White Sox prevailed by 1½ games. The Reds and White Sox should have played each other in 2012, as the Major League interleague play schedule put the AL Central against the NL Central. But the Reds, for whatever reason, didn't play the White Sox. Instead, they played the New York Yankees. And the Sox, instead of playing the Reds, played the Dodgers.

The Reds and White Sox played out a tight race even though neither club was especially good in interleague play. The Reds were 6-6 against teams from the Joe Cronin League and the White Sox were 7-8 against clubs from the Chub Feeney League.

2012 Chub Feeney League standings and summary

The Cincinnati Reds won the Chub Feeney League once again in 2012, making themselves the only Chub Feeney winner in the first three years of the competition. With the league expanding in 2013, the Reds will go down as the only club to win the Chub Feeney in its six-team configuration.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

For the third straight season, the Cincinnati Reds won the Chub Feeney League. They will, in fact, go into the books as the only team to win the Chub Feeney under its six-team configuration.

The Chub Feeney League will be almost unrecognizable in 2013. Because the Houston Astros are being moved from the National League to the American League, they also are being moved from the Chub Feeney League to the Joe Cronin League. That gives the Cronin seven teams and the Feeney only five, so an expansion will be necessary. For 2013, the Feeney League will add the Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.

The St. Louis Cardinals finished 2½ games behind the Reds. Both teams went to the NL playoffs that year, but they did not face each other, or the Cards would have had an opportunity to win the league under the wire.

2011 Bud Selig East standings and summary

The New York Yankees won their second consecutive Bud Selig East title in 2011, beating the Cincinnati Reds by 7½ games. The Yankees claimed something of a double championship, as they also won their first title in the Joe Cronin League.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The New York Yankees cruised to their second consecutive title in the Bud Selig East in 2011.

Once again, it came to the Yankees against the Chub Feeney League champs, the Cincinnati Reds. However, the Reds faltered badly in their interleague games, going a combined 2-7 against the Yankees and Cleveland Indians. Thus, the Yankees prevailed over the Reds by 7½ games in 2011 after beating them by only one-half game in 2010.

The Reds actually finished closer to last place than to first place. The Chicago Cubs, the last-place team, finished 14 games behind the Yankees.

2011 Chub Feeney League standings and summary

The St. Louis Cardinals can claim the World Championship for 2011, but they weren't as good as the Cincinnati Reds in the Chub Feeney League. The Reds beat the Cardinals in the Chub Feeney by 1½ games after going 9-6 against the Cardinals during the regular season.

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Cincinnati Reds won their second straight Chub Feeney League title in 2011, despite falling from the top of the standings in the National League Central.

After winning the NL Central in 2010, the Reds fell to 79-83 overall in 2011. However, they were 29-19 in 2011 against the NL Central teams in the Chub Feeney League — the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. That gave the Reds the cushion they needed to win the Chub Feeney.

The Cardinals sneaked into the NL playoffs as the wildcard and won all the way through the World Series. But they finished 1½ games behind the Reds in the Chub Feeney League, and it was all in the win column. The difference was that the Reds beat the Cardinals in nine of their 15 meetings head-to-head.