A little bit of history: 2007

And so the game begins.

2007 saw the Milwaukee Brewers leap from the middle of the pack in 2006 to become World Sries Champions for the very first time.  Aided by top notch performances from the lies of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy and Zach Johnson, they walked the NL Central division with the best overall record in a 105 win regular season before 1 game victories over the Phillies and Mets in the playoffs and finally a 4-2 win over the Angels.

The other 4 qualifiers were Minnesota, LA Dodgers, NY Yankees and for the first time Tampa Bay, who ended up with the top AL record.

American League Eastern Division W L Pct GB PO Tampa Bay Devil Rays 102 60 .630 - * New York Yankees 96 66 .593 6.0 * Baltimore Orioles 86 76 .531 16.0 Boston Red Sox 83 79 .512 19.0 Toronto Blue Jays 74 88 .457 28.0 Central Division W L Pct GB PO Minnesota Twins 100 62 .617 - * Cleveland Indians 89 73 .549 11.0 Kansas City Royals 80 82 .494 20.0 Chicago White Sox 74 88 .457 26.0 Detroit Tigers 68 94 .420 32.0 Western Division W L Pct GB PO Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 85 77 .525 - * Seattle Mariners 70 92 .432 15.0 Oakland Athletics 68 94 .420 17.0 Texas Rangers 62 100 .383 23.0

National League Eastern Division W L Pct GB PO New York Mets 100 62 .617 - * Philadelphia Phillies 98 64 .605 2.0 * Atlanta Braves 81 81 .500 19.0 Florida Marlins 70 92 .432 30.0 Washington Nationals 59 103 .364 41.0 Central Division W L Pct GB PO Milwaukee Brewers 105 57 .648 - * Pittsburgh Pirates 81 81 .500 24.0 Cincinnati Reds 73 89 .451 32.0 Houston Astros 73 89 .451 32.0 St. Louis Cardinals 73 89 .451 32.0 Chicago Cubs 66 96 .407 39.0 Western Division W L Pct GB PO Los Angeles Dodgers 94 68 .580 - * San Diego Padres 91 71 .562 3.0 Colorado Rockies 83 79 .512 11.0 Arizona Diamondbacks 82 80 .506 12.0 San Francisco Giants 64 98 .395 30.0

Post Season American League Division Series National League Division Series Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3 0 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Milwaukee Brewers 3 2 Philadelphia Phillies Minnesota Twins 3 2 New York Yankees New York Mets 3 1 Los Angeles Dodgers American League Championship Series National League Championship Series Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3 4 Minnesota Twins Milwaukee Brewers 4 3 New York Mets World Series Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2 4 Milwaukee Brewers

League Leaders - Batters Pos Player Team AVG 1 J. Mauer MIN 0.365 2 R. Howard PHI .358 2 J. Morneau MIN .358 4 F. Sanchez PIT .348 5 C. Pena - .345 Pos Player Team HR 1 R. Howard PHI 61 2 A. Pujols SLN 47 2 J. Thome CHA 47 4 A. Rodriguez NYA 44 5 T. Hafner CLE 43 Pos Player Team RBI 1 R. Howard PHI 154 2 J. Morneau MIN 151 3 D. Wright NYN 140 4 A. Rodriguez NYA 133 5 T. Hafner CLE 126

League Leaders - Pitchers Pos Player Team W 1 B. Sheets MIL 21 2 J. Santana MIN 20 3 C. Sabathia CLE 19 3 J. Smoltz ATL 19 5 7 tied w with 17 Pos Player Team ERA 1 2 tie with 2.46 1 F. Castro PHI 2.46 1 B. Sheets MIL 2.46 3 S. Kazmir TBA 2.57 4 M. Pelfrey NYN 2.69 Pos Player Team K 1 M. Garza MIN 251 2 J. Santana MIN 229 3 J. Peavy SDN 224 4 S. Kazmir TBA 221 5 J. Beckett BOS 214