World Championships of Fictional Sports Teams: Baseball Winner

Rules and Overview
First Round
Semifinals
Championship game matchup

Now it all comes down to this. The Angels vs the Indians. The winner is crowned as the greatest fictional baseball team of all time.

Naturally, this was the hardest one to choose. Both of these teams were lousy at one point, but ended up winning the American League pennant because something inspired them to believe. The Angels had the help of real angels to propel them to victory, then when the angels abandoned the team, it was the belief of a little orphan boy who inspired them to win the pennant on their own. The Indians were put together because the owner thought they would be so bad that attendance would drop and she could move the team to Miami. When the team caught wind of this plan, they were determined to prove her, and the rest of the baseball world, wrong. A team of has-been's and a couple of never-will-be's went on an inspired late season run and won the pennant on a bunt-and run.

How do you choose between the two?

Readers, you voted, you gave me the reasons, you decided. Here now, is your winner:

#3 California Angels (Angels in the Outfield)
Vs
#2 Cleveland Indians (Major League)
Winner: Indians
The divine angels, per the rules set down by Christopher Lloyd, could not interfere with the championship game, so the California Angels needed to do it on their own. The problem for them is that this would be their first game in months that they had to play with their own abilities, while the Indians have been betting better and better with every game. After relying on angels to do most of their work, the Angels team doesn't remember how to properly swing a bat, how to execute a double-play, and Mel Clark (Tony Danza) can't throw more than 84 MPH. The Angels are exposed for the awful athletes that they really are.

Meanwhile, the Indians have everything working in their favor. They have homefield advantage, where the fans will be singing "Wild Thing" instead of waving their arms like angel wings. They have players who have developing their natural talent all season and are peaking in this game. They have a power hitter who can finally hit a curveball, a third baseman who is finally winning to dive for grounders, and a closer whose stuff tops out at 101 MPH. The Indians are just too good.

The kid tries to stand up on the edge of the dugout and wave angel wings to inspire the Angels, but is hit by a foul ball off the bat of Willie Mays Hayes and nurses a mean shiner for the rest of the night. Angels manager George Knox is eventually tossed out for arguing a play at second, and the Indians go on to win easily and take home the championship. Jake Taylor gets the girl, Knox adopts the kids out of simpathy, and both teams go on to make crappy sequels.

After the game, the kid asks Al the Angel "Why? How come the angels didn't help out the Angels against these voodoo-worshiping, wife-stealing players?"

"It's simple," Al replies. "Because it's more important to learn to do it on your own that wait for a magical handout. Didn't you learn anything from what I said? Plus, He doesn't really care which team wins or loses, he's more focused on important things, like trying to keep the Universe and Existence from ripping apart."

The Indians win it! The Indians win it! Oh my God the Indians win it!


My big thanks to everyone who participated in this series, I had a blast. I can't wait to do it all again in the future with football and basketball. But remember, this concept doesn't just end because the baseball tourney is over. That's the great thing about this debate, there are so many movies, each with different teams and different arguments for and against, that something like this can go on forever. That's the beauty of these fictional teams: you never know what could happen when they face off, and that's why we talk about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, your winner for greatest fictional baseball team of all-time: The Cleveland Indians from "Major League"!