It's just a game: 2K8 baseball preview

I enjoyed the Sweet 16 simulation I did on College Hoops 2K8 so I figured I would see what 2K Sports would produce when it came to baseball. Using Major League Baseball 2K8, I simulated the entire baseball season to see how teams will finish and which players will have the big years. Obviously this is just for fun, but it's interesting to see how things turned out. Here are some results:


AMERICAN LEAUGE
East Champ: New York Yankees
Central Champ: Cleveland Indians
West Champ: Los Angeles Angels
Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

Batting Leader: Victor Martinez, .351
HR Leader: Vladimir Guerrero, 51
RBI Leader: Alex Rodriguez, 170
Runs Leader: Bobby Abreu, 144
SB Leader: Chone Figgins, 63

Wins Leader: Chien-Ming Wang, 18
Saves Leader: Francisco Rodriguez, 51
ERA Leader: Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2.90

MVP: Alex Rodriguez (.269, 48 HR, 170 RBI, 140 Runs, 31 SB)
Cy Young: Daisuke Matsuzaka (16-8, 2.90 ERA)
Rookie of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury


NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Champ: New York Mets
Central Champ: Milwaukee Brewers
West Champ: Colorado Rockies
Wild Card: San Diego Padres

Batting Leader: Prince Fielder, .324
HR Leader: Ryan Howard, 50
RBI Leader: Mark Teixeira, 149
Runs Leader: Jose Reyes, 134
SB Leader: Jose Reyes, 90

Wins Leader: Franklin Morales, 20
Saves Leader: Trevor Hoffman, 53
ERA Leader: Johan Santana, 2.62

MVP: Mark Teixeira (.284, 47 HR, 149 RBI, 127 Runs)
Cy Young: Johan Santana (17-7, 2.62)
Rookie of the Year: Franklin Morales


AL PLAYOFFS
Yankees defeat Indians, 3-1
Angels defeat Red Sox, 3-1

Yankees defeat Angels, 4-1


NL PLAYOFFS
Brewers defeat Rockies, 3-1
Mets defeat Padres, 3-1

Mets defeat Brewers, 4-1


WORLD SERIES
Mets defeat Yankees, 4-1


So, apparently the addition of Johan Santana was the key for the Mets. The Yankees and Red Sox might now be kicking themselves for not pulling the trigger on deals to bring the lefty to their rotations. Now we'll just have to wait and see if things really play out this way.



Noteworthy performances from some Indians:

Victor Martinez - .351, 25 HR, 104 RBI, Best Hitting Catcher award, All-Star
Travis Hafner - .315, 34 HR, 48 2B, 109 RBI, 105 Runs, All-Star
Grady Sizemore - .255, 18 HR, 52 2B, 70 RBI, 99 Runs, 27 SB, Best Fielding CF award
Jhonny Peralta - 19 errors (league leader)
C.C. Sabathia - 14-11, 3.56, All-Star
Fausto Carmona - 12-9, 3.74
Cliff Lee - 16-9, 3.86, All-Star