We are now over a fifth of the way through the first round. George Brett is our only Hall-of-Famer and he faces off against Omar Vizquel, Doc Cramer, Mark Teixeira, Lefty O’Doul, Ralph Garr, Sam Wise, and Bobby Murcer.
The Hitters
![George Brett Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/george-brett-card-730x1024.png)
Top Seed George Brett had a long and distinguished career with the Kansas City Royals that saw him rack up impressive career totals across a broad range of offensive categories. He totaled more than 3,000 hits, 600+ doubles, 300+ home runs, and a lifetime average of .305, all at a time when pitching dominated baseball.
![Omar Vizquel Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Omar-Vizquel-Card-730x1024.png)
Omar Vizquel may yet get elected to the Hall-of-Fame. He had a 24-year career of solid production that almost got him to 3,000 hits. Known mostly for his terrific fielding ability – his eleven Gold Gloves attest to that – he nonetheless put up some outstanding numbers that helped him qualify for the tournament.
![Doc Cramer Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/doc-cramer-card-730x1024.png)
Doc Cramer played in the bigs for 20 years and retired with over 2700 hits and a .296 batting average.
![Mark Teixeira Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Mark-Teixeira-card-730x1024.png)
The most recent hitter in today’s league is three-time Gold Glove first baseman, Mark Teixeira. However, it is his power that landed him in the tournament. 408 doubles and 409 home runs put him in a rarefied company as one of only 24 hitters to achieve that feat.
![Lefty O'Doul Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Lefty-Odoul-card-730x1024.png)
He only had seven years as big league regular, but in that short time Lefty O’Doul made his mark: Two batting titles and a career batting average of .349.
![Ralph Garr Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ralph-Garr-card-730x1024.png)
Growing up in Cleveland, my first Strat-o-matic game set featured the Indians and the Atlanta Braves. On that team was Ralph Garr and his league-leading .366 batting average. It was his lifetime .306 average that qualified him for the tournament.
![Sam Wise Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Sam-Wise-Card-730x1024.png)
Sam Wise was a nineteenth-century player who managed to hit 112 career triples, mostly with the Boston Beaneaters.
![Bobby Murcer Baseball's Greatest Player Playoff](https://baseballsgreatestplayerplayoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Bobby-Murcer-card-730x1024.png)
For some reason, Bobby Murcer was always a favorite. This five-time all-star gets an invite.
The Results
Player | Wins | Losses | Pct. | GB |
Lefty O’Doul | 111 | 43 | .721 | *WON* |
George Brett | 89 | 65 | .578 | 22.0 |
Bobby Murcer | 79 | 75 | .513 | 32.0 |
Sam Wise | 74 | 80 | .481 | 37.0 |
Ralph Garr | 70 | 84 | .455 | 41.0 |
Mark Teixeira | 69 | 85 | .448 | 42.0 |
Doc Cramer | 64 | 90 | .416 | 47.0 |
Omar Vizquel | 60 | 94 | .390 | 51.0 |
Lefty O’Doul spanked the rest of the league on the strength of a .257 average vs a league average of .213, winning 16 straight at one point and never losing more than 3 in a row.
Despite owning the Top 10 Strikeout leaders, one Sam Wise managed a 3-HR game, with 8 RBI. One Roger Clemens struck out 14 batters in 7 2/3 innings and there were 3 no-hitters, two by Tom Seavers and one by a Clemens.
O’Doul and Wise are joined by George Brett and Bobby Murcer in Round 3. The others head to Round 2 for a second chance.