Round 3 S40


Paul Waner Featured-Card

Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner is the odds-on favorite this season, facing fellow Cooperstown inductees Bid McPhee and Joe Tinker, in addition to a bunch of dead-ball era players, such as Hub Collins, Ed McKean, Herman Long, and the nefarious Hal Chase. 21st-Century All-Star Shawn Green is along for a little spice. It takes a top-4 finish to guarantee a slot in Round 5.

Paul-Waner-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Paul Waner
Full Name: Paul Glee Waner
Nicknames: Big Poison

Hub-Collins-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Hub Collins
Full Name: Hubert B. Collins
Nicknames: None

Bid-McPhee-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Bid McPhee
Full Name: John Alexander McPhee
Nicknames: King

Shawn-Green-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Shawn Green
Full Name: Shawn David Green
Nicknames: None
Twitter: @shawngreen15

Ed-McKean-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Ed McKean
Full Name: Edwin John McKean
Nicknames: Mack

Herman-Long-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Herman Long
Full Name: Herman C. Long
Nicknames: Germany, Flying Dutchman

Hal-Chase-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff

Played as: Hal Chase
Full Name: Harold Homer Chase
Nicknames: Prince Hal, The Prince

Joe-Tinker-Card Baseballs Greatest Player Playoff Card

Played as: Joe Tinker
Full Name: Joseph Bert Tinker
Nicknames: None

The Results

Paul Waner had a decisive first-place finish but the battle for second through seventh was waged until the final week of the season. In fact, with a single game left on their schedules, Shawn Green, Hub Collins, and Bid McPhee had identical 76-77 records. Had Herman Long defeated Collins, there would have been a 3-way tie for fourth. Although they failed to qualify, McPhee and Long had positive run differentials which gives them each an outside chance to skip ahead to Round 5. Despite finishing second in batting average, Hal Chase finished dead last. He must have thrown a few games during the season.

Season Highlights

  • Paul Waner led all teams in hitting with Waner5 winning the batting title with a .314 average.
  • Long8 had a 23-game hitting streak and Waner4 ended the season on an 18 game tear.
  • Shawn Green defeated Herman Long 1-0 in a 22-inning game.
  • Hub Collins shutout Joe Tinker 15-0.
  • The fans got their money’s worth as Paul Waner and Shawn Green combined for 37 hits in a nine-inning game, Green going down 18-6. Green: 6 13 1 Waner: 18 24 0 .
  • No-Hitters
    6/24 Pedro Martinez of the Bid McPhee team no-hit Hub Collins on 102 pitches, striking out 12 and walking one.

Tim Bruno

Tim has been a baseball fan for most of his life and has played a great deal of baseball and softball over the years. Although his playing days are long behind him, he remembers back when he was an extremely fast catcher with an extremely bad arm. He has been playing Strat-o-Matic baseball since he was 14. Tim is currently living in southwest France and writes A LOT about coffee at Procaffeination.com. He has also written Procaffeination: A Coffee Lover's Dictionary, which will be available soon. You can find out more about Tim's writing at TimothyBruno.com and if you want to contact him about the tournament, drop him an email at Tim@BaseballsGreatestPlayerPlayoff.com

Recent Posts

link to Round 4 S26

Round 4 S26

The Hitters We are treated to a true mix of players for this elimination round, covering a broad swath of baseball history. Top seed Herman Long hails from the 19th century with...