MLB Dream Bracket 2 Preview: 1983 White Sox vs. 1965 Twins

A position-by-position breakdown of a tough matchup

Starting Thursday, the MLB Dream Bracket is back, this time with two of the best iterations of each MLB franchise. Here’s a full, broad lens preview, but today we’re going to get into the nitty-gritty and preview the first actual first-round matchup for the 1983 White Sox, the 1965 pennant-winning Twins. 

It’s always fun to face a division rival, and even more so when it’s a pair of historically proven sides duking it out for Central supremacy. Let’s take a look at how the rosters match up — and check MLB.com this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Central for results.

Rotation

White Sox: LaMarr Hoyt, Richard Dotson, Floyd Bannister, Britt Burns, Jerry Koosman

Twins: Mudcat Grant, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual

As you all know, the `83 version of the Pale Hose fell short of a pennant, but they were a regular-season stud, leading all of baseball with 99 wins and sporting a healthy 96-66 Pythagorean record. (The Baltimore Orioles, who would knock out the ChiSox and go on to win the title, had a matching 96-66 Pythagorean in the regular season.)

That 1983 squad was highlighted by a league-leading offense and a red-hot second half, but the full-season pitching was nothing to sneeze at. Hoyt and Dotson both won 20-plus games (24 and 22, respectively), while tossing a combined 500 innings. Bannister and Burns were nothing to grab a tissue over, either, both sporting ERAs at least 18% better than league average, with Bannister rocking the 10th-lowest FIP in all of baseball (3.12). A 40-year-old Koosman was far from his prime (4.77 ERA), but he probably won’t be used much in a best-of-seven series.

For the Twins, it was also a top-tier offense powering the machine, but the foursome listed above was very solid in its own regard, with Perry (136 ERA+) and Kaat (126 ERA+) shining in particular. The highest ERA of the bunch was Pascual at 3.35, but this was a notably modest offensive era compared to 18 years later when Hoyt and the boys were pitching.

Honestly, this first category is as close as can be, with the only potentially slight difference being that Chicago could go five deep, and maybe Koosman can be valuable as a swingman in this series.

Edge: Slight edge to Chicago.

Bullpen

White Sox: Dick Tidrow, Kevin Hickey, Juan Agosto, Salome Barojas, Dennis Lamp

Twins: Dick Stigman, Jerry Fosnow, Dave Boswell, Jim Merritt, Bill Pleis, Johnny Klippstein, Al Worthington, Mel Nelson

Both teams excelled in one-run games, which can be a result of good fortune, but it is also usually telling of a strong and reliable bullpen. For the Pale Hose, five players had at least five saves, with Lamp collecting the most, at 15. It was Barojas who had the lowest ERA, though, with a 2.47 ERA, while Agosto had the best FIP, at 2.85. Lamp, Tidrow, and Barojas combined for a wild 296 ⅓ innings among the three of them, so don’t be surprised if that trio is leaned on heavily.

Over in Minnesota, Worthington (2.13 ERA) and Klippstein (2.24) were the two stars. However, it’s worth noting that both quite easily outpaced their FIPs (3.34 and 3.67), so it will be interesting to see if these simulation creations are based on a formula that looks at results (ERA) or process (FIP).

Edge: Yet another close one, but for extended depth, the White Sox have a small edge with the bevy of pitchers they used in big moments all season.

Infield

White Sox: Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Julio Cruz, Vance Law, Scott Fletcher

Twins: Earl Battey, Don Mincher, Jerry Kindall, Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles

There’s a good shout for 1983 as Fisk’s best year in Chi-town, with a third-place finish in the MVP race based on a 4.3 rWAR season (4.6 fWAR). Fletcher’s excellent defense up the middle will be a big plus, as will the solid all-around offensive output from Paciorek (.307/.347/.462).

In the opposing dugout, the Twins sport the 1965 MVP thanks to a bonkers campaign from Versalles. He led the league in runs, doubles, and triples, as well as total bases, and was worth a spicy 7.2 rWAR. He was the main cog in the infield, but ex-White Sox Battey was strong behind the dish as well, worth more than three wins thanks in large part to an excellent 119 OPS+.

Edge: The depth of the White Sox is better, but they have no single piece that is on the same level as Zoilo was in `65, so we’ll say edge to Minnesota here.

Outfield/DH

White Sox: Ron Kittle, Rudy Law, Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski

Twins: Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, Tony Olivia, Harmon Killebrew

This is a tough category for the Sox. Not to be a slave to WAR, but of the quartet for Chicago above, Law had the highest at 3.2, while the lowest of the Minnesota quartet was Allison at 4.2. That being said, Kittle and Luzinski will be no joke for the Twins pitching to handle, with the two putting up a combined 67 homers and 195 RBI.

Edge: Let’s hope this isn’t the difference, because it’s a big edge to Minnesota.

Bench

White Sox: Marc Hill, Jerry Dybzinski, Greg Walker, Mike Squires, Tony Bernazard, Jerry Hairston, Dave Stegman

Twins: Jerry Zimmerman, Frank Quillici, Bernie Allen, Sandy Valdespino, Joe Nossek

All right, the Winning Ugly White Sox are back in our good graces here, as the bench is a definitive edge to Chicago. La Russa was all about plug-and-play with this squad, and it’s actually one factor I’m worried won’t carry over to the Dream Bracket 2. In Dream Bracket 1, Eddie Collins was notably left on the bench, and that matter was made even worse by the fact that he basically never got into games, even as a pinch-hitter, thus wasting arguably their best talent.

For the Twins, they really had no useful pieces off the bench, with not a single OPS+ above 80 in the ranks above.

Edge: The White Sox have the definite edge here, the question will be how much that matters.

Final Thoughts

The Win Uglies were always going to be a tough team to truly appreciate in a simulation, and after looking at the two teams’ rosters, I still feel that way. If La Russa actually got to pull the strings, I’d feel a lot better, but hey, anything can happen in a seven-game series.