Most dominant team you've assembled/seen

[BoSoxFan]

I'm doing a fictional league, and in the fourth year, an Atlanta Windsurfers team is absolutely dominating the league. They lead the AL in batting average, slugging, OPS, Runs Scored, hits, extra base hits, and home runs in the offensive department, as well as in ERA, starters' ERA, Runs allowed, Hits allowed, Opponents batting average, BABIP, Walks allowed, and defensive efficiency in the defensive department. This is hands-down the most dominant team I have ever seen. If you put together the old league record for runs scored and the old record for runs against, the team you put together would have a run differential 49 runs worse than Atlanta's. The funny thing is, they don't even have the best record in the league. They had a 112-50 record in the regular season, matching the old record, but the Bakersfield Beatnicks had a 117-45 record. However, Bakersfield's luck was a lot better. Atlanta had a mind-numbing 122-40 Pythagorean W-L expectancy, as opposed to Bakersfield's 114-48. We've yet to see what happens in the playoffs, but Atlanta is the clear favorite to go all the way. What's the most dominant team that you've either assembled, or seen?

[Tram2Whitaker]

in 13, my Houston Astros had Johnathan Singleton come into his own, 2 #1 picks at pitcher (would have been 3, but one got lost in rule 5 because I forgot to put him on the 40 man), and a few other highly touted prospects for utter domination of the American League between 2016 and 2022; winning the world series in 2019 and 2021. During that run, they had 120 wins in 2018, 105 in 2017, 20, and 21; with the last being a 156 game season. Oddly enough, the first W.S. we won, was on a down season (2019:88-74). The beginning of the stretch was 98-64, the end was 96-60.

Salaries got too unwieldy to keep the team together (Singleton re-signed after 2020 for 10yr/270million); so I had to rebuild.

[BoSoxFan]

A bit of an update: I've changed the playoff format this season. There are two eight-team divisions per subleague, and four teams from each division in the playoffs. There are playoffs within every division, and the division champions of each division in the subleague faceoff in the subleague championship series. Each playoff series is a 2-2-1-1-1 best-of-seven series. Atlanta's opponent in the Division Semis is Queens, a team with a 79-83 record. So far, I've simulated Game 1, a game which Atlanta won 15-1, and outhit Queens 18-3.

[fromtheline]

I have just started a game with the 2001 Mariners. I wanted to see what it would be like if A-Rod didn't sign with the Rangers. I went into commissioner mode and edited him back to Seattle, with his shiny new 10-year, $200+ million contract.

I am currently in the last few days of April, and have only lost three games, if I remember correctly. Hitting is amazing all throughout the order, but pitching is inconsistent. It has been hard to find playing time for my four bench players.

[JMDurron]

My 2019 Red Sox in my MLB Quickstart were my most dominant team ever. 139-23 over 162 games, and swept the Pirates out of the World Series.

1st in every offensive category except HRs (3rd), Ks (7th), and SBs (2nd). 1st in every defensive category that the almanac will show. Won the AL East by 63 games.

As an aside, WHY DOES THE ALMANAC NOT SHOW DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY?!?

1188 runs scored, 495 runs allowed.

The almanac was generated on Dec 31st, so my initial offseason moves created gaps in the roster.

[BoSoxFan]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

My 2019 Red Sox in my MLB Quickstart were my most dominant team ever. 139-23 over 162 games, and swept the Pirates out of the World Series.

1st in every offensive category except HRs (3rd), Ks (7th), and SBs (2nd). 1st in every defensive category that the almanac will show. Won the AL East by 63 games.

As an aside, WHY DOES THE ALMANAC NOT SHOW DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY?!?

1188 runs scored, 495 runs allowed.

The almanac was generated on Dec 31st, so my initial offseason moves created gaps in the roster.

Record at home was 70-11... I mean, that's like a basketball home record.

[BoSoxFan]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

My 2019 Red Sox in my MLB Quickstart were my most dominant team ever. 139-23 over 162 games, and swept the Pirates out of the World Series.

1st in every offensive category except HRs (3rd), Ks (7th), and SBs (2nd). 1st in every defensive category that the almanac will show. Won the AL East by 63 games.

As an aside, WHY DOES THE ALMANAC NOT SHOW DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY?!?

1188 runs scored, 495 runs allowed.

The almanac was generated on Dec 31st, so my initial offseason moves created gaps in the roster.

If you plugged in the runs scored/against into the record books, this team would be number 4 in runs allowed among 162-game seasons, and number 1 all time in runs scored.

[Tram2Whitaker]

Anyone else notice how his "backup" catcher had 25 home runs?

I know you probably don't want to have a catcher at DH, but if he hits 25 HR in 300 ABs, imagine what he could do with 500.

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by Tram2Whitaker

Anyone else notice how his "backup" catcher had 25 home runs?

I know you probably don't want to have a catcher at DH, but if he hits 25 HR in 300 ABs, imagine what he could do with 500.

Yeah, the problem is having two excellent C, 5 excellent OFers, and a decent IF, aside from a stud SS. Brentz, the RF, was the primary DH, with Marquez basically alternating between C and DH down the stretch. Marquez is going to be the primary C in 2020, with Davis backing him up. Thankfully, Fleming is rated at all 4 IF positions, so I only need 1 backup IF and can fit all 5 OFers and both Cs on the roster.

My goal is to have an all-drafted team. Davis and Marquez at C are both drafted, I let the excellent incumbent 1B (not pictured) go to make room for the draftee Briggs. Ford at 2B is a draftee, but Cruz at SS and Walters at 3B are traded players. The entire OF consists of drafted studs. The pitching rotation is now all-drafted, but the bullpen is heavy with traded players/waiver wire pickups. Since all 5 OFers are drafted, and I really want to try to develop/keep some HOFers for their entire careers, I need to use all 3 OF spots and the DH spot to rotate the 5 of them. That way, I can make the 5th OFer the backup to all 4 other spots with "every 4th game" as the starting setting. Davis at C is going to be the odd man out.

[Westheim]

Is that Zach Walters, the Nationals' minor leaguer?

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Is that Zach Walters, the Nationals' minor leaguer?

I believe so, I got him from the Orioles in a trade. The Orioles got him from the Nationals with 3 other players in exchange for Adam Jones in mid-2012. I got him straight up for SP Hector Santiago during the 2015 season.

[chucksabr]

Not meaning to be heretical or anything, but with so many people assembling utterly dominant teams in this game, is it possible that it might be a bit too easy to do?

[Westheim]

From personal experience: NO.

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

Not meaning to be heretical or anything, but with so many people assembling utterly dominant teams in this game, is it possible that it might be a bit too easy to do?

I don't think my team was assembled using what one would consider to be "normal" OOTP league playing. I am ruthless about using the waiver wire to my advantage, scout using the editor (I never edit ANYONE though, but that removes the fog of war), and have draft pick trading enabled. I wouldn't take my team's dominance as a knock against how easy/hard it is to dominate in OOTP while playing as most players do.

I also started this league in OOTP13, so you can't really blame the end result purely on OOTP14 AI logic anyway. My league is its own unique little snowflake, and should probably not be taken as being representative of larger issues.

It is, however, perfectly relevant to the thread topic. I'm also not sure that "so many people" have assembled such teams, based on the sample size of 3 of us talking about teams we've done, with 1 of them being an upgraded 2001 Mariners, and BoSoxFan's 2 teams, of which at least 1 must be AI controlled.

[pjh5165]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

Not meaning to be heretical or anything, but with so many people assembling utterly dominant teams in this game, is it possible that it might be a bit too easy to do?

Sure it is if you want to exploit the AI. And to be clear, I am not saying that there's anything wrong with playing like that at all. Play the way you want to play, doesn't bother me one bit .

But personally, I don't intentionally rip off the AI on trades and use normal scouting accuracy and have mid-market budgets and I find the game plenty challenging, especially when it comes to making dominant teams that win championship after championship.

[Matt Arnold]

My best team was around 130-32. Forget exactly how much I dominated everything, but that team was amazing. Although given my usual work, that team probably lost in the first round. Would have been around 2018-2019 in my Astros quickstart.

On the point, I think it is too easy in some ways to assemble a dominant team. It's getting harder with every iteration - I found with OOTP 10ish, you could fairly reliably take the worst team in the league and make the playoffs within 2-3 years, and be a solid WS competitor in 3-4. With the recent game, it was easily 4 or 5 years before I made the playoffs as the Astros, and they are lucky that they actually have a few good prospects and no insanely bad contracts before.

I didn't "cheat" while making that team - no editor, hardly any waiver wire pickups. A few good rule 5 picks helped me along, and some big deals. I'm not sure how to make it harder on us, without having the game resort to moves like making our prospects bust at a rate 3x the league average.

[fromtheline]

Originally Posted by fromtheline

I have just started a game with the 2001 Mariners. I wanted to see what it would be like if A-Rod didn't sign with the Rangers. I went into commissioner mode and edited him back to Seattle, with his shiny new 10-year, $200+ million contract.

I am currently in the last few days of April, and have only lost three games, if I remember correctly. Hitting is amazing all throughout the order, but pitching is inconsistent. It has been hard to find playing time for my four bench players.

Nine losses now in the first week of June. Man if I had more consistent starting pitching..

[BoSoxFan]

Update: Atlanta won the Queens series in six games. Game 2 was won on a walk-off two-run double with none out in the ninth, and with Queens winning by 1. Queens won Game 3 8-2 as the series shifted to Queens, and also won Game 4 on a great performance by Mike Raymond (44HR this year, 69 last), despite Atlanta's offense's starting to get going at the end. The series shifted to Atlanta, where Atlanta blew Queens out yet again, and then finished the job in Game 6 in Queens. Atlanta will play Columbus in the AL East Finals. Columbus won 99 games in the regular season, including 7 of 13 against Atlanta, good enough for second in the division. Columbus won their AL East Semi series against the Bronx in six games, despite receiving a 20-0 clobbering in Game 4 which tied the series at 2 apiece.

Another update: The AL East Finals has shifted to Columbus, with the series tied at 1.

[BoSoxFan]

Originally Posted by fromtheline

Nine losses now in the first week of June. Man if I had more consistent starting pitching..

The Windsurfers had eleven losses in the month of July alone!

[BoSoxFan]

I made my fictional league to be as lopsided as possible (no "competitive balance") for this very reason: I like dominant teams, and it looks like the Windsurfers will be that team, as they have plenty of $ for free agents.