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1968: After the Athletics bolted Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, for Oakland following the 1967 season, Major League Baseball which was looking to expand to 24 teams grants Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, one of its 4 expansion teams to begin play in 1969.
1969: Playing their very first game in the place the Athletics once called home Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, Municipal Stadium, the sports betting Royals rally from a 3-1 deficit to win in extra inning against the Minnesota Twins. The sports betting Royals would not win much that first season, but they would put a respectable 69-93 record for an expansion team. In fact of the 4 new teams debuting throughput baseball the sports betting Royals would post the best record, and would even see Lou Piniella take home individual honors by winning the Rookie of the Year. 1970: In their 2nd season the sports betting Royals actually take a step backwards finishing in 4th place with a 67-95 record. 1971: In just their 3rd year of existence the sports betting Royals post their first winning season, finishing in 2nd Place in the Western Division with an 85-76 record. This is the fastest an expansion team at that time accomplished such early success. 1972: The up and coming sports betting Royals take a step backwards, and fall to 4th Place with a disappointing 76-78 record. 1973: The sports betting Royals move into their very own stadium called sports betting Royals Stadium. The stadium's prominent feature is water fountains beyond the OF fence. They are added to the stadium because Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, is known as the city of Fountains. That first year at the stadium, the sports betting Royals also host the All Star Game, which is won by the NL 7-1. The new stadium is installed with Astroturf and sports betting Royals management begins to build a team around speed, and pitching a move that would pay off within a few years. The year also sees the debut of a young 3rd Baseman named George Brett who would become the centerpiece of sports betting Royals baseball for the next 20 years. The sports betting Royals would show some of that promises in that first year too, finishing in 2nd Place with a solid 88-74 record. 1974: The sports betting Royals take another step backward as they finish the season in a tail spin after playing above .500 for most of the season as they win just 9 of their last 26 games on the way to finishing in 5th place with a 77-85 record. 1975: After a disappointing finish, the sports betting Royals were off to a slow start, when Manager Jack McKeon was fired and replaced by Whitey Herzog. The move pays off as the sports betting Royals get back in the race, before settling for 2nd Place with a 91-71 record. However, with a team built around developing players like George Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson, and Dennis Leonard the sports betting Royals put together a solid nucleus that will stay together and remain mostly intact for the next decade, in which the sports betting Royals were a perennial playoff contender. 1976: With Whitey Herzog taking the reins from the start of the season fans through out Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, were optimistic that they sports betting Royals were ready to take the next step. Led by George Brett who wins his first Batting Crown the sports betting Royals would not disappoint, winning 90 games to beat out the Oakland Athletics by 3 games to claim their first division title, with a 90-72 record. In the ALCS the sports betting Royals would be matched up against the New York Yankees who's postseason history is unmatched by anyone in baseball history. In the first postseason game played in Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, a pair of George Brett misplays and Catfish Hunter's dominating pitching handcuffed the sports betting Royals. However the sports betting Royals would bounce back in front of their home fans the next night as Paul Splittorff's 5.2 Innings of scoreless relief enabled the sports betting Royals to tie the series at one game apiece heading to New York. After losing Game 3 the sports betting Royals would bounce back to rough up Catfish Hunter in Game 4 to send the series to a 5th and deciding game. In Game 5 the sports betting Royals and Yankees would each trade 2 runs in the 1st Inning. However the Yankees would score 2 in the 3rd and 2 in the 6th to take a 6-3 lead into the 8th. However the sports betting Royals would not show any quit as George Brett blasted a 3-Run homer down the RF line of Yankees Reliever Grant Jackson to tie the game. Unfortunately for the sports betting Royals, Chris Chambliss would end the sports betting Royals season with a leadoff Series Winning Homer in the Bottom of the 9th. 1977: The sports betting Royals as a team don't have any one-individual player put up spectacular numbers; instead they have the whole team contribute to put up solid numbers, as the team win it's 2nd straight Western Division Title with a franchise best record of 102-60. The sports betting Royals would move on to face the New York Yankees again in the ALCS. The sports betting Royals would get off to a fast start blowing out the Yankees 7-2 in Game 1 at the Bronx. However, the Yanks would bounce back to win Game 2 and send the series to KC tied at a game apiece. In Game 3 lead by the hitting of Hal McRae, and the pitching of Dennis Leonard the sports betting Royals won 6-2 to get within one game of their first trip to the World Series. However, the Yankees would bounce back behind the relief efforts of Sparky Lyle to force a 5th and deciding game. In Game 5 the sports betting Royals would take a 1-run lead to the 9th, but the Yankees would score 3 times, to beat the sports betting Royals for the 2nd year in a row. 1978: For the 3rd year in a row the Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, sports betting Royals are masters of the AL West domain with a 92-70 record, as everyone seems to contribute again. In the ALCS for the 3rd year in a row the sports betting Royals opponents are the New York Yankees. Going into this year's series the sports betting Royals have an advantage since the Yankees had to battle trough a tough 1-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox the day before the start of the ALCS. However the sports betting Royals are unable to capitalize as the hitting of Reggie Jackson, and 2-hit pitching of Jim Beattie, and Ken Clay combine to beat the sports betting Royals in Game 1. The sports betting Royals would bounce back to take Game 2 to even the series at 1 game apiece meaning for the 3rd year in a row the series would be tied after 2 games. In Game 3 thanks to 3 Homers from George Brett the sports betting Royals would lead 5-4 into the 8th Inning of a back and forth affair in the Bronx. However, a 2-run Homer by Thurman Munson would doom the sports betting Royals. The next night the sports betting Royals would only manage 1 run on 7 hits as they watched the Yankees advance to the World Series for the 3rd year in a row. 1979: sports betting Royals pitching struggle and the sports betting Royals manage to only post am 85-77 record. However they would stay in the race until the final week of the season falling only 3 games back of the California Angels. After the season sports betting Royals management determine a change is needed and Jim Frey replaces Whitey Herzog as Manager. 1980: The change of managers seems to work as the sports betting Royals bounce back to dominate the AL West again with a 97-65 record, winning the division title by comfortable 14 games. Leading the way is George Brett who was hitting over .400 as late a Labor Day. Brett would fall off only a little and end the season with an outstanding .390 Batting Average earning him the AL MVP. In the ALCS the sports betting Royals would face the New York Yankees for the 4th time in 5 years. The sports betting Royals would get off to fast start as Larry Gura allows only 2 runs despite giving up 10 hits in the sports betting Royals Game 1 victory. In Game 2 the sports betting Royals would stay hot as 4 straight 3rd Inning hits led to a 3 -0 lead. The Yanks would cut the lead to 1, and the game went to the 9h with sports betting Royals leading 3-2. In the 9th sports betting Royals relief ace Dan Quisenberry came on to save the game but it would end up being a bumpy ride. With 2-outs Yankees 2B Willie Randolph raced home with what seemed to be the tying run. However he was out and the sports betting Royals took a 2-0 series lead heading to the Bronx. In Game 3 the sports betting Royals would complete the sweep, and dust off the monkey on their backs thanks to a majestic 7th Inning 3-run Homer by George Brett. After finally beating the Yankees the sports betting Royals face the Philadelphia Phillies in their first trip to the World Series. In Game 1 the sports betting Royals would take an early 4-0 lea, but could not hold it as the Phillies erupted for 5 runs in the 3rd to beat the sports betting Royals 7-6. The sports betting Royals would grab a lead in the Game 2 as well, but even Dan Quisenberry could not hold it as the Phillies took a 2-0 lead with series heading to Kansas City, the home of online sports betting,. In Game 3 the sports betting Royals would take 3, 1-run leads only to be tied the very next inning, as the game went deadlocked into extra Innings. The sports betting Royals would win the game in the 10th Inning thanks to Willie Aikens' game winning triple. In Game 4 the sports betting Royals would take an early 5-0 thanks to Aikens' 2nd 2 Homer game of the series. The Phillies would make it close, but Quisenberry would hold them off to knot the series at 2 games apiece. In Game 5 the sports betting Royals would take a 3-2 lead to the 9th Inning but Quisenberry was unable to hold it as Del Unser, and Many Trillio drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the 9th Inning. However, The sports betting Royals would load the bases in the bottom of the inning off a tiring Tug McGraw, but Tug would harness every bit of his strength to strike out Jose Cardenal to send the Series back to Philly with the Phillies leading 3-2. The loss in Game 5 would end up being the end, as the sports betting Royals would fall 4-1 in Game in 6. 1981: The sports betting Royals would get off to a bad start losing 30 of their first 50 games, when the season was halted because of a player's strike. When play resumed 2-months later Major League Baseball decided to have a slit season, and the sports betting Royals were given new life. However through the first 20 games they were only at .500, and manager Jim Frey was fired and replaced by Dick Howser. The moved paid off, as the sports betting Royals would win 20 of their last 33 to win the division by a game over the 1st half winner Oakland Athletics, despite a mediocre overall record of 50-43. However, In the Division series between two Western Division Champs, the sports betting Royals would put up little challenge falling in 3 straight. 1982: Led by Willie Wilson who leads the AL in hitting, and Hal McRae who leads the league in RBI the sports betting Royals win 90 games again. However, it is not enough as the sports betting Royals fall 3 games short of the Division title. 1983: On July 24th in a game in New York against the Yankees George Brett hits a 2-out Home Run in the 9th Inning to give the sports betting Royals a 5-4 lead. However, Yankee catcher Rick Cerone and manager Billy Martin argue that Brett had too much pine tar on his bat. (Pine Tar is a sticky substance batters use to get a good grip on the bat.) The Umpires examine the bat and determine that their is more then the allowable 18 inches of pine tar on the bat and use on obscure rule to over turn the HR and give the Yankees the game 4-3. Seeing this makes Brett go ballistic and he runs out of the dugout to argue with umpires. Brett is so enraged he has to restrained by several players and coaches. The sports betting Royals would protest the Umpires decision, and the American League agrees, and the call is overturned and the game is resumed 3 weeks later. In the resumption Dan Quisenberry sets the Yankees down in order to win the game 5-4,as the Yanks make a mockery of the League's ruling by playing several players out of position including Pitcher Ron Guidry in CF. However, the season would otherwise be a big disappointment for the sports betting Royals who finish 20 games out of 1st place in 2nd Place with a disappointing 79-83 record, while Willie Aikens, Vida Blue, Jerry Martin, and Willie Wilson spent part of the season in a Florida Prison on drug charges. 1984: Despite only posting an 84-78 record the sports betting Royals finish in 1st place in a mediocre season for the AL Western Division. Highlighting the season is Dan Quisenberry who saves a then record 44 games. In the ALCS the sports betting Royals would face a juggernaut team in the Detroit Tigers who make quick work sweeping them in 3 straight games. 1985: The sports betting Royals led by 30 HRs from Steve Balboni, and George Brett, find themselves in a tight pennant race throughout the season. Meanwhile on the mound Bret Saberhagen wins 20 games and the Cy Young, as Quisenberry leads the AL in saves yet again. The battle for the Division would go down to the wire as the sports betting Royals won 91 games to beat out the California Angels by a one game. In the ALCS the sports betting Royals would face the Toronto Blue Jays. Things get off to a rocky start when the sports betting Royals are blown out in Game 1, and Dan Quisenberry blows Game 2 to give the Jays a 2-0 series lead. In the 3rd game the sports betting Royals bounce back to win, behind the 4 for 4 efforts of George Brett. However, a 1-0 lead in Game 4 disappears as Al Oliver drives in 3 runs of Dan Quisenberry. Had the loss occurred a season before the series would be over and the Blue Jays would be off to the World Series with a 3 games to 1 series victory. Fortunately for the sports betting Royals Baseball moved the ALCS from a best of 5 to a best of 7 and the sports betting Royals still had faint life. In Game 5 the sports betting Royals sent the series back to Toronto with a complete game shut out by Danny Jackson. The sports betting Royals would show even more life in Game 6 when George Brett delivers a HR to put the sports betting Royals ahead to stay to force a 7th and deciding game. In Game 7 the sports betting Royals would stun the Jays again as Jim Sundberg's bases loaded triple broke the game wide open and sent the sports betting Royals off to their 2nd World Series. In the World Series, Missouri became the center of the sports World as the Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, sports betting Royals met up with their Show Me State rival St. Louis Cardinals in the I-70 World Series, named for the highway linking the 2 cities. In Game 1 the Cardinals get off to a fast start beating the sports betting Royals 3-1. The sports betting Royals would fall further behind after Dan Quisenberry blew another 9th inning lead. This would put the sports betting Royals in a position no team has ever comeback from losing the first 2 World Series games at home and coming back to win the series. The sports betting Royals would gain some revenge winning Game 3 in St. Louis 6-1. However, the Cards bounced back to take Game 4 and the sports betting Royals faced another 3-1 deficit. As he did in Game of the ALCS Danny Jackson kept hope for the sports betting Royals alive pitching a complete game victory to send the series back to Kansas City, the home of online sports betting,. Game 6 would start out as a pitcher's duel between the Cards Danny Cox, and Charlie Leibrandt, it would end as one of the most controversial games in World Series history. The game was scoreless until the Cardinals broke on top 1-0 in the 8th inning. The Game would go to the bottom of the 9th with Cards leading 1-0 and being just 3-outs from a Championship. Jorge Orta would lead the inning off by beating out an infield single despite replays showing he was out. The sports betting Royals would then capitalize after a single and a passed ball set up runners on 2nd and 3rd, as Dane Iorg hit a game winning single to force a decisive 7th game. Ironically Orta would be erased on a fielder's choice, and despite the frustration of the St. Louis Cardinals the umpire's mistake was only a small part of the sports betting Royals game-winning rally. With the Cardinals still frustrated over Game 6 the sports betting Royals, would take full advantage and would romp to an 11-0 victory to claim their first ever World Championship. 1986: Coming off their championship the sports betting Royals get off to a rough start, and fall way behind the eventual division Champion Angels early. Things would only get worse as Manager Dick Howser left the team after managing in the All-Star Game. Howser who had been expiring headaches for most of the season discovers that he has a cancerous brain tumor. After undergoing radiation and brain surgery Howser attempts a comeback in spring of 1987, but he was forced to leave again in mid-March. The news would only get worse as the cancer would comeback, and claim his life at the young age of 51. Howser's number 10 would be retired, and his leadership of the 1985 Championship team would never be forgotten. Without Howser the sports betting Royals would finish in 3rd place with a 76-86 record. The sports betting Royals send shockwave that are felt in baseball and the NFL, as Bo Jackson the NFL's number 1 draft pick, and Heisman Trophy winner refuses to sign with Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and announces he will play baseball with sports betting Royals. Bo will make his debut, and despite looking overmatched at times showed a pure raw talent. 1987: One year after spurning the NFL Bo Jackson signs a deal with Los Angeles Raiders. However he does not quit the sports betting Royals instead stating football would be his hobby Bo Jackson makes history by becoming a 2-sport athlete. The move angers some in the sports betting Royals front office who suggest it would slow down the development of his baseball skills which show signs of a bust out as he smacks 22 HR, as the sports betting Royals battle the Minnesota Twins all year before falling 2 games short of the a division Championship with an 83-79 record. 1988: The sports betting Royals would post an 84-77 record finishing in 3rd place as Bo Jackson's raw talent continued to develop. 1989: The raw talent of Bo Jackson reaches its potential as he has a break out year. With 32 homers and 105 RBI Bo becomes a nationwide phenomenon. His outstanding All Star Game MVP performance and the launching of his national "Bo Knows" commercials aid the budding phenomenon. "Bo Knows" would even out grow the world of pro sports, and would become the most popular commercial catch phrase since "Where's the beef?" With Bo becoming a vital cog of the offense the sports betting Royals would finish in 2nd Place with a 92-70 record. 1990: The Bo Jackson phenomenon continues to grow, but signs of physical burn out begin to appear. Highlights of Bo's season come when first he catches a ball in Baltimore and proceeds to run up and down the CF fence, His next highlight comes in Yankee Stadium when he smacks 3 HR in his first 3 at bats. However, Bo would get injured, and would not get a 4th AB. The injury came when he dove for a ball that would become an inside the park HR. In an ironic twist the ball is hit by Deion Sanders, who himself makes a name by playing both baseball and football. Three weeks later as almost like the fates meant it Bo Jackson hits a HR in his first AB after getting off the Disabled List. Bo is not the only Royal to have individual success. George Brett captures his 3rd batting title with a .329 average, making history by becoming the first player ever to win batting crowns in 3 different decades. Despite the individual success the sports betting Royals would struggle to finish in 6th Place with a 75-86 record. 1991: On January 13th in an AFC playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Raiders the worst fears of the sports betting Royals becomes a reality, when late in the 3rd quarter Bo Jackson is tackled form behind by David Fulcher. At first the injury does not appear that serious but Bo would miss the rest of the game and the following week's AFC Championship game in Buffalo. A few weeks later prior to the start of spring training Bo was still hurting. sports betting Royals' team doctors would quickly discover that Bo's hip was completely ripped out of his socket. The injury would lead to a hip replacement. The sports betting Royals who had only allowed Bo to play football if he agreed any injury caused by the NFL could lead to the termination of his contract cut ties with the star OF. Bo Jackson would later attempt a comeback with Chicago White Sox but he would never be the same and would quietly retire after the 1994 season with California Angels. Without Bo the sports betting Royals would finish in 6th Place again with an 82-80 record. 1992: On September 30th in Anaheim George Brett becomes the 22nd player in baseball history to get his 3,000th career hit. However, the sports betting Royals would still struggling finishing in 5th Place with a 70-92 record. 1993: The end of 2 eras in Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, Baseball highlight the season. The first end comes when team founder Ewing M. Kauffman passes away after a long illness. Before he passed on the city of Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, renames Royal Stadium (which will soon be renovated and turned into a grass field) in his honor. The other change will come when George Brett retires, after 20 years of great baseball in Kansas City, the home of online sports betting,. Brett's career would end with 3,154 hits and a lifetime 305 average. In Brett's swan song the sports betting Royals would finish in 3rd Place with an 84-78 record. 1994: Just a decade after the sports betting Royals run of 7 division titles in 10 years with a World Championship the sports betting Royals would become the symbol of small market woes in baseball, despite David Cone wining the Cy Young, and leading sports betting Royals into contention for the Central Division Championship with a 64-51 record. Owners would use the sports betting Royals as a prime example of a team that will be unable to compete if the economics of the game go unchanged the owners go into discussions over a new collective beginning. The players arguing the owners are lying, and go on strike August 12th, and eventually led to the cancellation of the World Series. The strike would not end until April 1st when a judge finally orders an injunction, and after replacement players are used in Spring Training. However, despite labor peace the economics go unchanged and the sports betting Royals find themselves slipping into baseball's abyss. 1995: With the team losing money the sports betting Royals are forced to trade away Cy Young winning pitcher David Cone. Despite the loss of Cone the sports betting Royals would hover around the .500 mark all season before finishing in a distant 2nd with a 70-74 record. 1996: For their first 27 seasons the sports betting Royals were able to avoid finishing in last place. However, in the sports betting Royals 28th season the sports betting Royals would no longer be able to avoid the cellar finishing 75-86 and 24 games out of 1st place in the AL Central. 1997: The sports betting Royals who did not finish in Last Place for their first 27 seasons finish in the cellar for the 2nd season in a row with a 67-94 record. 1998: The sports betting Royals escape last place, but continue to struggle posting an awful 72-89 record, for their 4th straight losing season. 1999: On April 30th during a game against the World Champion New York Yankees a group of frustrated sports betting Royals fans stage a protest over the economic state of baseball. The fans bring signs to the ballpark blaming the Yankees spending and the economic of baseball for ruining the sports betting Royals chances of competing. The fans also throw fake dollar bills on the field, and turn their backs away from the field when the Yankees take their turn at-bats. The group would make one more clear statement by staging a mass walkout after the 5th inning. However, it would have little effect on the season as the sports betting Royals suffered an awful 64-97 season, and the Yankees won another World Championship. One star Kansas City, the home of online sports betting, fans could enjoy was Carlos Beltran who won the Rookie of the Year with 22 homers and 108 RBI. 2000: The sports betting Royals show some promise as young players like Johnny Damon, and Jermaine Dye begin to make a name for themselves, and help lead the sports betting Royals to make a run at finishing .500, before finishing with a 77-85 record. However, economics would step in again as the sports betting Royals are forced to trade Johnny Damon in the off-season. 2001: The sports betting Royals new closer Roberto Hernandez struggles early as the sports betting Royals get off to a terrible start. Things would only get worse, as the team was forced to trade Jermaine Dye before the trade deadline. The sports betting Royals would on to match their franchise worse 64-97 record, on the way to finishing in last place again. 2002: The sports betting Royals would get off to a lousy 8-15 start as Manager Tony Muser is fired, eventually Muser, would be replaced by Tony Peņa as the sports betting Royals were well on their way to 8th straight losing season. However, one bright spot would be Mike Sweeney who was near the top of the AL in batting all season with a .340 average. However, Sweeney would miss most of the last 2-months as the sports betting Royals hit the century mark in losses for the first time ever finishing in 4th place with a 62-100 record. 2003: Coming off a 100-loss season not much was expected out of the sports betting Royals. However they would break out of the gate like gangbusters winning their first 9 games on the way to a tremendous 16-3 start. However in May the sports betting Royals would hit a wall posting just a 10-19 record as they found themselves below .500 in early June, as their pitching staff, which was strong early, was now besieged with injuries and poor performance. Just as it looked as if the sports betting Royals were heading back to the reality of losing baseball they rebounded thanks to the addition of Jose Lima who helped stabilize their rotation by winning his first 4 decisions after starting the year with the independent Newark Bears. The sports betting Royals would end the first half as the surprise of baseball leading the AL Central by 7 games with a 51-41 record. However in August the dog days of summer would begin to take their toll as the sports betting Royals lead melted away with Lima breaking down physically. To replace Lima the sports betting Royals would reacquire Kevin Appier who was a star pitcher for the sports betting Royals for a decade. However it would not prevent the sports betting Royals from losing their grip on first place as they entered September a game and a half out of first in a 3-team race. The sports betting Royals would never regain their lead as they faded in September finishing in 3rd place with an 83-79 record. However, there was still plenty to celebrate in the sports betting Royals first winning season in 9 years as Tony Peņa was an overwhelming selection for Manager of the Year, while Angel Berroa was selected the Rookie of the Year, with 17 Homers and 73 RBI, with 92 runs scored. 2004: After their surprising season the sports betting Royals entered 2004 with a renewed sense of optimism as they were a favorite in the AL Central Opening Day would only heighten those good feelings as the sports betting Royals used a stirring 6-run 9th Inning rally topped by a walk off home run by Carlos Beltran to beat the Chicago White Sox 9-7. However, the joy would be short lived as the sports betting Royals suffered through an awful April that immediately sank their playoff hopes, as the team's struggling finances forced them to shop around Carlos Beltran, a free agent following the season. As the sports betting Royals struggled Beltran remained the sports betting Royals lone bright spot with a team high 15 homers and 51 RBI when he was traded to the Houston Astros in a 3-way deal, which also involved the Oakland Athletics for prospects. From their things would only get worse as the sports betting Royals won just 1 of their next 14 after the June 24th trade on the way to finishing in last place with the worst record in franchise history at 58-104. 2005: The sports betting Royals struggles continued as they got off to another miserable start posting an 8-26 record through their first 34 games when Manager Tony Peņa resigned. Under Interim Manager Bob Schaefer the sports betting Royals would not fair much better winning just 5 of 16 before Buddy Bell takes over on May 31st. The hiring of Bell seemingly sparked some life in the otherwise comatose sports betting Royals as they won their first 4 games including a 3-game sweep of the New York Yankees. Injuries would take their toll again on the sports betting Royals as Ken Harvey was limited to just 45 games while Mike Sweeney spent time on the DL for the 5th year in a row. After playing better under Bell for nearly 2 months the dog days of summer had a brutal bite on the sports betting Royals as they lost 19 straight in August, as the sports betting Royals ended up in last place again with a a ranchise worst 56-106 record. |
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American League East NY Yankees | Boston | Toronto | Baltimore | Tampa Bay Central Detroit | Minnesota | Chicago White Sox | Cleveland | Kansas City West Oakland | LA Angels | Texas | Seattle National League East NY Mets | Philadelphia | Florida | Atlanta | Washington Central St. Louis | Cincinnati | Houston | Milwaukee | Pittsburgh | Chicago Cubs West LA Dodgers | San Diego | San Francisco | Arizona | Colorado |