International League/Random Debut League

[David Watts]

Mark McGwire has now strung together three straight 50 home run seasons,55,55 and 50. The season prior the 50 streak he hit 48. 208 home runs over 4 seasons. Pretty darn incredible....(especially in a game in which he supposedly has to share his home runs(). Preseason predictions have him hitting 64 in 1985, but he's off to slow start so far with only 9 home runs a week into the month of May. McGwire is actually behind his Great Lakes teammates, Reggie Smith, Ping Bodie and Frank Baker who all have 10 home runs a piece. The Loons hit 230 home runs in 1984 and are predicted lead the league again in 1985. Frank Baker picked up his 3rd MVP trophy in 1984 hitting around .354 with 30+ home runs and a 100+ RBI. A couple cats I've never really heard are off to a torrid pace in 1985 in the homerun department Bob Brower and Joe Rizzo. Grease is the word.

[David Watts]

McGwire streak of 50+ home runs came to an end in 1985, but he still managed 40+ bombs and is quickly moving up the all time home run list. Not sure if he has a chance of catching Mel Ott(685 or there about), but he may end up number 2 on the all time home run list as early as next season.

Barry Bonds is probably a sure bet MVP winner in 1985, unless the voters decide to go with Frank Baker once again. Bonds fell just shy of 50 home runs in 85 and finished in the top 3 in RBI's. His Toledo Mud Hens just clinched their trip to the League Championship season this morning by defeating the Louisville Redbirds. The Mud Hens now sit and wait one more game as the series between the Arkansas Travelers and the Great Lakes Loons have game seven still left to play.

One of the strangest things I've seen in a while is taking place with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Rattlers have been one of the International Leagues best performing teams throughout history. I think as of the end of 1985 they have the leagues 3rd best winning percentage. The Rattlers were pretty bad in 1984, but they decided to take things to an all new level in 1985, by losing at least 114 games......if they lost on the final Sunday, they lost 115, which is a new International League record. Not sure what's going on, but this once proud franchise is going off the rails. They started the 85 season by losing their first 18 or 19 games.

[David Watts]

The 1985 League Championship was a fun one to watch if you like great pitching. Each of the first 6 games were pitching duels to the very end. The matchup featured the Arkansas Travelers vs the Toledo Mud Hens. Both of these teams finished the regular season with 101-61 records. Arkansas got the best of the Mud Hens during the regular season, beating them 5 out the 6 times the faced them.

The Mud Hens would take the series, winning the only non competitive matchup in blowout fashion. Toledo scored 10 runs in game 7 with MVP Wally Westlake leading the way. Westlake hit well over .400 for the entire post season, winning MVP honors in the Division Series and the League Championship Series. Barry Bonds went snowflake cold in the LCS, before righting the ship in game 7. Toledo got great pitching from all their starters, but Dazzy Vance continues to be one of the best pitchers to ever grace an International League mound. Vance has a strange career, as he pitched a couple seasons in his early 20's and then disappeared for several seasons. He returns when he's around 30 years old and the dude has been flat out dominant. He is currently the leagues best strikeout pitcher and his ERA is always among the leagues best. Another pitcher that is doing almost the same thing Vance is Dolph Luque. Luque was the 1985 Cy Young winner. He too pitched briefly in early 20's and then disappeared for some time. Both of these guys pitched until they were 44 in real life, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of their careers play out.

Ivan Rodriguez is probably the brightest star in this years upcoming amateur draft.

[David Watts]

Oh man, add Tommy Holmes, Enos Slaughter and Lou Pinella to the list of new draftees available. That's better than just Ivan Rodriguez

This years Hall of Fame inductee is some cat named Scott Brown. If you get a chance take a look at Scott's Baseball Reference page. Dude played all of 1 season(1981) in the big leagues, throwing a grand total of 13 innings for the Cincinnati Reds. He had a nice 2.77 ERA with 7 strikeouts and only 1 base on balls. This translated to roughly 269 saves and 100+ victories all in relief during his illustrious OOTP International League career. His saves total has been second to only all time leader Mariano Rivera for years, but I'm thinking Kenley Janson may end up passing him in the near future. I used to let this type of thing really get under my skin, but for some reason I've actually come to enjoy the storyline of the nobody becoming more than somebody. I guess as long as I never end up with Tom Veryzer hitting 714 home runs

[LansdowneSt]

Scott Brown typically gets mentioned when players use "double weight" current year but make no adjustment to the default Weaken & Make Bads. So a three-year recalc with double weights finds 26 innings. The default weaken is 10 IP and the adjust defaults to 25 IP. So, he just clears it and the 26 IP is regarded as a full representation of his skill. As discussed in the past, I triple the Adj/MBad's on three-year recalc. I do so even if I use the double weights as I don't mind some small samples playing out.

Enjoying the thread.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Scott Brown typically gets mentioned when players use "double weight" current year but make no adjustment to the default Weaken & Make Bads. So a three-year recalc with double weights finds 26 innings. The default weaken is 10 IP and the adjust defaults to 25 IP. So, he just clears it and the 26 IP is regarded as a full representation of his skill. As discussed in the past, I triple the Adj/MBad's on three-year recalc. I do so even if I use the double weights as I don't mind some small samples playing out.

Enjoying the thread.

I tried that triple the Adj/Mbads on 3 year recalc deal for most of OOTP25(was it suggested prior to 25 or 24, can't remember) and finally made the decision to go back to the defaults. I was seeing way too many of the superstar players taking on video game like persona's when using the triple Adj. Hitting .400 was happening way too much. In my current league spanning 1946-1985, I've only had one player finish a season hitting above .400. If double weight is the source of the issue, I will simply not use it in my next random debut league. Thank you---Not sure you realize how much I appreciate your knowledge.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by David Watts

I tried that triple the Adj/Mbads on 3 year recalc deal for most of OOTP25(was it suggested prior to 25 or 24, can't remember) and finally made the decision to go back to the defaults. I was seeing way too many of the superstar players taking on video game like persona's when using the triple Adj. Hitting .400 was happening way too much. In my current league spanning 1946-1985, I've only had one player finish a season hitting above .400. If double weight is the source of the issue, I will simply not use it in my next random debut league. Thank you---Not sure you realize how much I appreciate your knowledge.

Sometimes in my RD's - because everyone coming in made the bigs at some point - I keep the draft class rounds much less than what the game might otherwise default to. My incoming talent restrictions tend to give players that are irl Hall of Very Good into HOF'ers which I don't mind. So, draft rounds, is the one other variable that can be considered.

In either case, you can see how it is "how good the HOF/star player's peers are" that can drive those many (too) great seasons. Elevating the role players into decent players is a fair approach at increasing the talent pool vs more rounds of drafting and thus elevating the average player's talent level, so I see how you use the low default Weaken/Make Bads to balance that. You may end up through experiment runs, settling on the right (different) numbers for you and thus find a sweet spot . There is no magic to the default Adjust/Make Bads other than they work well for historical one-year recalc play. The game should encourage folks to adjust them more as needed imo.

And thanks for the kind words

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Sometimes in my RD's - because everyone coming in made the bigs at some point - I keep the draft class rounds much less than what the game might otherwise default to. My incoming talent restrictions tend to give players that are irl Hall of Very Good into HOF'ers which I don't mind. So, draft rounds, is the one other variable that can be considered.

In either case, you can see how it is "how good the HOF/star player's peers are" that can drive those many (too) great seasons. Elevating the role players into decent players is a fair approach at increasing the talent pool vs more rounds of drafting and thus elevating the average player's talent level, so I see how you use the low default Weaken/Make Bads to balance that. You may end up through experiment runs, settling on the right (different) numbers for you and thus find a sweet spot . There is no magic to the default Adjust/Make Bads other than they work well for historical one-year recalc play. The game should encourage folks to adjust them more as needed imo.

And thanks for the kind words

I also use a combo of recalc and the development engine in my leagues. At times I really wish the development engine was a lot more potent when it comes to dealing with players that move beyond their recalc years I actually use a somewhat high setting of 130 or 135 for my TCR setting(at least in this league, anyway) I wouldn't mind seeing OOTP add an additional Make Bad setting that takes into effect career at bats and career innings pitched. Or maybe simply takes into account the number of years a player played MLB. If the game see's a guy like Brown, it could let him thrive for a season/2 or 3, but then just crush him as a whole.

I don't use large drafts in my random leagues. Usually around 6 or 7 rounds with enough players for an additional round or 2. This league did feature larger drafts for awhile, because I decided to use the very high injury settings. Still way too few injuries, so I'm down to 5 round drafts now with enough players for 6.

[David Watts]

The International League has its first player with 4000 hits. Tris Speaker whose career started in 1964 when he was 19 years old and continue today in 1986(41). Speaker is flat out amazing. 186.6 WAR, 859 doubles and 305 home runs. A career OBP of .422. Oh and he's played his entire career for the Peoria Chiefs.

[David Watts]

With a little over a month left in the 1986 season Mark McGwire lacks just 4 home runs from joining the 600 home run club. There's only one player currently in that club, Hall of Famer Mel Ott. McGwire has been on a tear as of late propelling himself into the 1986 home run race with 38 home runs. Ernie Banks and McGwire's teammate Frank Baker are clustered together in race with 37/38 home runs. Barry Bonds isn't far behind with 35.

Ted Trent picked up win number 250 tying him with recently retired Kid Nichols. The pair now share the 4th most wins in league history. Trent only needs 3 more wins to catch Rick Reuschel in the 3rd spot. Meanwhile, Greg Maddux is only 9 wins shy of reaching 250. Maddux is having another stellar year on the mound, but his Dayton Dragons sure seem to waste a lot of his outings.

St. Paul and Louisville sit a top their respective division so far, but Fort Wayne is only a couple games back of St Paul in the Northern Division race. Louisville's cushion is roughly 5 games in the Southern Division. The race for the Wild Cards is as usual wide open. Fort Wayne, Corpus Christi, New Orleans, Dayton, Peoria and Arkansas are all bunched together. The 3 Wild Card will more than likely go down to the final day of the season.

[David Watts]

As we enter the final month of the season Mark McGwire is now sitting at 598 home runs. He has 40 home runs so far in 1986 and is leading the home run race.

Jordan Zimmermann enters September with 20 wins.

Harold Baines is steadily working his way toward becoming a member of the
3000 hit club. He should achieve the feat sometime during the first half of 1987. He's been a study in consistency his entire OOTP career. Glad he's going to reach the 3000 mark.

Kind of perplexed by this seasons Lou Brock. Brock has rode the pine a lot this season and when he has played he hasn't exactly shined. He's around 34 years old, so I'm hoping he still has some great seasons coming, but I'm really worried in regards to his decline.

Last years champs the Toledo Mud Hens have really fallen off the table this season. Been under .500 almost from the get go. The final month will probably be a tough one for the Mud Hens, as Barry Bonds will miss the vast majority of the month if not all of it. Bonds was in the contention to win his second home run title in a row, but will have to regroup and come out strong in 1987. Rumor has it the ball might be juiced in 87, but who knows?

[David Watts]

[David Watts]

This years Hall of Fame inductee is Rube Waddell. Can't believe he fell just 2 strikeouts shy of reaching 4000.

[David Watts]

Harold Baines picks up hit number 3000.

[David Watts]

Turkey Stearnes is now a member of the International League. Crazy thing is, he wasn't selected in the first round and almost wasn't picked in the 2nd round. His falling allowed for him to be selected by the Great Lakes Loons. The Loons were good enough last season to make the post season. Christmas came early in Saginaw.

The Loons year in an year out blow away the competition in the Home Run department. Would have to check for exact number, but I think they hit 250+ home runs as a team last year. I have to think adding Stearnes won't hurt their power numbers in any way. It's roughly May 18th and Turkey already has 11 home runs Including Stearnes, the Loons already have 3 players with double digit home runs.

Al Simmons also joined the league for the 1987 season.

Ted Trent is now number 3 on the all time wins list, passing Rick Reuschel. Greg Maddux is not far behind Trent, but has started the 87 season in a slump.

[David Watts]

Pretty darn amazing.....The wins leader board is now Jose Mendez, Hilton Smith and Ted Trent. The Negro Leaguers are making their presence known.

[David Watts]

Who is Eddie Robinson? International League managers and pitchers are learning you don't mess with Mr. Robinson at the plate. Early into the month of June 1987, Robinson is leading the league with 20+ home runs. He's on pace to hit 60.

As expected the ball is flying out of stadiums at a record pace in 87. Guessing we will have quite a few teams hit 200 or more this season. Also as expected the Great Lakes Loons are leading the pack. Crazy thing is, Mark McGwire has decided to go 100% Dave Kingman this season. McGwire is still hitting home runs, but his batting average is in the neighborhood of .160. He is also either very cold or too accepting of others feelings, as he's had a snowflake next to his name for close to a month now

Turkey Stearnes is now up to around 19 home runs for the Loons. League GM's have to be checking their resumes knowing they let this guy fall all the way to the end of the 2nd round in last years draft. Rookie of he Year looks to be heading Stearnes way.

Dazzy Vance continues to shine on the mound.

[David Watts]

Take a look at the rise and fall of Reggie Jefferson. Dude had quite the run, but when it ended, it ended quickly.

[David Watts]

[David Watts]

Whole career has been great so far, but look at the last two season. 30-4. Wow