Chicago Cubs’ March Madness Bracket- Sweet Sixteen

Chicago Cubs: Weeghman Region Sweet 16

• 8 seed Greg Maddux defeats 1 seed Cap Anson
• 5 seed Hippo Vaughn defeats 4 seed Clark Griffith
• 3 seed Frank Chance defeats 6 seed Charlie Root
• 2 seed Gabby Hartnett defeats 7 seed Phil Cavarretta

Maddux is the big winner in this round, taking out the number one overall seed in Anson. While Anson was the best Cub by WAR ever, Maddux had a higher career WAR because of his years with the Braves.

And, while I wasn’t around to see Anson play, Maddux revolutionized pitching without throwing hard and will probably be one of the last pitchers ever to win 300 games. In fact, amid guys trying to hit triple digits, every single current pitcher who doesn’t throw in the mid-90s is at some compared to Maddux in some kind of way, shape, or form. Example: Kyle Hendricks.

Griffith won 152 of 237 of his career games with the Cubs while Vaughn won 151 of his 178 career games while on the Northside. While their win totals were almost identical as Cubs, Vaughn’s Cub ERA was nearly a full run lower (3.40 to 2.33). Granted, they played in slightly different eras, as Vaughn started towards the end of Griffith’s career, but that difference can’t be overlooked. So, even though total career wins for Griffith, Vaughn gets the win in this matchup.

In the bottom part of the bracket, you’ll have the All-Vegetable Garden matchup, as “Old Tomato Face” (Hartnett) takes on “Husk” (Chance). Here’s how the Sweet 16 shakes out in the Weeghman Region:

• 8 seed Greg Maddux vs. 5 seed Hippo Vaughn
• 3 seed Frank Chance vs. 2 seed Gabby Hartnett