MLB Replay....A new History

[rjl518]

congrats to a team who has never won the world series IRL...the Rangers of Texas

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1983-84 Offseason News and Notes

Mark McGwire and his amazing power potential goes first overall to the Minnesota Twins. Greg Maddux is a pretty nice 2nd overall pick to the Mets. I feel like this is a solid depth type draft. Alot of good players, no real great potential players outside the obvious ones. Tom Glavine does not look like a HOFer early on, and the Royals take Norm Charleton, who i have joked a million times as being the worst pitcher in baseball history!!!

There were no suitable HOF nominees these season, so i went back in looked back and found two worthy players who were passed over by the game when first eligible. Gil Hodges was a winner. Being the best hitter on the Dodgers dynasty makes you worthy. Mickey Mantle had some great years, and he was a member of a Tigers team that won 3 titles in a row. That Tigers team could be argued as being one of the greatest single teams of all time. Both well deserved.

I was looking at the amount of .400 hitters this league had seen. 17 times a player has hit over 400. I was wondering when the last time anyone had really gotten close, as i couldn't remember, so here is the top single season batting averages sorted by year.

This is from the top 100 list. What it means is no player has had a top 100 average season since 1943. The lowest average to appear on that list is .364. So, nobody has hit over .364 in atleast 40 years.

The Montreal Expos finally do something right!

i don't know what the Dodgers are thinking. Dave Stieb has been fantastic the last 4 years. Maybe its a money thing. Maybe they were upset with his World Series Performance. I don't know, but the Expos just acquired an ace!

Here are the offseason trades.

Here are the top free agents and where they went

Bob Horner leaves the Cubs. Wow. Cubs should have opened the bank for him. Jays and Orioles look like they are involved in an arms race. They are spending!

[HerbertMcHoover]

I liked Buhner on 4, Bichette on 5, Caminiti, Glavine, Leiter and round two pick Omar Vizquel the most. Great move by the Expos to get Dave Stieb. I love the Orioles getting Horner and Blue Jays had a nice offseason as well.

[rjl518]

the mets get maddux...i love it

[darnoff]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

Mark McGwire and his amazing power potential goes first overall to the Minnesota Twins. Greg Maddux is a pretty nice 2nd overall pick to the Mets. I feel like this is a solid depth type draft. Alot of good players, no real great potential players outside the obvious ones. Tom Glavine does not look like a HOFer early on, and the Royals take Norm Charleton, who i have joked a million times as being the worst pitcher in baseball history!!!

How does Omar Vizquel look?

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by darnoff

How does Omar Vizquel look?

2 months into the season, and Vizquel is up with Detroit's AAA team. Looks like he was just promoted. It's the 2nd time he's been promoted this year. Tore up AA. If he continues to hit in Evansville, he should be a September call up this season.

[darnoff]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

2 months into the season, and Vizquel is up with Detroit's AAA team. Looks like he was just promoted. It's the 2nd time he's been promoted this year. Tore up AA. If he continues to hit in Evansville, he should be a September call up this season.

Thanks. Such an underrated player. Nearly a Hall of Famer. I like his defensive skill and contact potential.

[George_Bell]

1984 MLB Preview

Top Player

Top Pitcher

Top Prospect

[darkcloud4579]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

Anything that makes the Jays better I am for. They have been terrible. I need Toronto or Montreal to do something soon!!!



I was wondering if OOTP would play the original schedule or the strike shortened schedule. I wouldn't have had a problem if it went with reality, but i doubt the game can handle what actually happened

What I do for strike-shortened seasons is just change the length of the season for that year and do a shorter year. It's pretty doable. The game could do the playoffs and you could do a 1st half and 2nd half, tho you'd have to set it that way from the start, you couldn't stop it and restart it.

[HerbertMcHoover]

Damn, what's going on with the Yankees?

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by HerbertMcHoover

Damn, what's going on with the Yankees?

Slowly and surely, they are building a nucleus that will LOSE TO MY BLUE JAYS!!!!

[George_Bell]

1984 MLB Regular Season

The Orioles had what I though was the best offseason in baseball. They signed former 2 time MVP Ken Landreaux. They picked up Bob Horner, who I think is a game changer. With these additions, the Orioles are predicted to finish last in all the American League. Other then me, George Bell, the Orioles don’t actually have a lot of offense. Horner himself will make up for that though. The pitching is bad. Mark Langston is the opening day starter, and he’s not ready. At 22, he needs another year in AAA. Dave Stewart has been a flop, and 3 more rookie/not ready pitchers make up the rotation. So that arms race I mentioned, ya, the Orioles even with those signings, are indeed a long way away from winning.

Here is a look at the top 10 prospects heading into 1984

David Palmer makes the Brewers again out of spring training. He must have something on them, as his 9-13 record, with a 6.27 ERA last year suggests he isn’t very good. Palmer, amazingly, goes 1-1 in his first 3 games, including a complete game shut out!!! What do the Brewers do… They send him down to single A right after…haha… This team seems to have no idea what they are doing. Somehow, based on the amount of talent they have, they sit in 2^nd place, just 2 games behind the Jays heading into June. Free agent signing Jack Morris has been amazing, winning 7 games, with a 2.22 era early on.

Speaking of my Blue Jays, they have baseball’s best record, at 31-20, and are still without Bret Saberhagen, who won’t be back until September. The Jays have Jose Canseco, Jimmy Key and Terry Mulholland developing in the minors right now. They are indeed one of baseball’s “it” teams of the moment. Impact players getting ready to join!

One of the most dominant pitchers of this era’s careers maybe coming to an end. 40 year old Bill Singer suffered a season ending injury, after 11 terrible starts. Singer's won twice this year, but has seven losses and a 8.15 era still with the Reds. Signer's last win was the 350^th of his career, but he’s lost 45 games in the last 3 years. He’s not the same anymore. A free agent after this season, I can’t see him coming back for another year. Singer is a first ballot HOFer.

Singer

Look whose coming to Broadway!

Dave Winfield had a comeback 1983 season with the Giants. He hit .302, with 14 home runs, and 58 rbi’s. 43 walks brought his obp to almost 400! As a part time player, it was a fantastic season. He signed a 1 year deal with Atlanta, who decided to not use him at all. 20 at bats in 2 months. He did hit a home run. He immediately slots in as the Yankees starting RFer. It will be interesting to see if Winfield can be resurrected in pinstripes!

Trades from the first half of the season

The Blue Jays are serious about winning.



Jose Canseco and Terry Mullholland, Toronto’s top two prospects head to St. Louis for starting pitcher Jeff Byrd. Byrd is having a fantastic season, and looking at his history, it’s not a fluke. He’s been a good pitcher for a few years now. This should be a nice boost for the Jays, without losing anything from their current roster. I think Canseco has the power to be a very big player, so losing him hurts. Lets see if this move pays off for the Jays.

2nd half trades that took place after the all-star game

There aren’t any real pennant races heading into September. Barring a big comeback, Toronto will get a rematch with Texas, San Diego will surprise everyone with their first division crown, and the Pirates will make it back to the postseason.

Reggie Jackson is about 3 years away from becoming the all time walks leader. Reggie had a horrible year. He’s 38, and hit .208, by far his worst batting average. He hit 21 home runs, with 61 RBI’s. He walked 120 times though, and only stuck out 88 times, which is his lowest mark in 10 years. Those 120 walks give him 1796 for his career. That’s about 300 behind Floyd Wicker, who is actually still playing, well, sitting on the Astros bench. Reggie also is approaching 700 home runs. Milestones on the horizon, as Reggie will bounce back next year!


Ok, well, the Padres blew it. They go 9-17 in September, while the Astros go 19-8. A 10 game difference, and Houston wins the NL West by 2 games.



David Palmer goes 8-13 with Stockton in A ball, a ERA of 4.83. He pitches 37 innings for the Brewers on the season, posting a 6.82 ERA.

Dave Winfield struggles badly in New York. As the full time Right Fielder, he hits .209 with 3 home runs.

Jeff Byrd falls off a bit in Toronto. His isn't bad, but is ERA shoots up to 4.02, which would be a career worst over a full season. He's still a solid starter though, and his September was more inline with what the Jays expected.

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

This Ranger team is clearly better then last year. They scored more runs, hit more home runs, allowed fewer runs. They also broke my heart and beat my Blue Jays, who had baseball’s best record in 5 easy games. They do a lot of things very well. Offense up and down the lineup, but the defense is poor, and that may hurt them.

The Pirates are completely different just 2 years after finishing dead last. The pitching staff is baseball’s best, and they are young. Don Mattingly is a .330 hitter, and Odibe McDowell is a power hitting MVP candidate. It’s a fantastic team makeup, that is very capable of string together 4 or 5 more pennants this decade.

[HerbertMcHoover]

YES DAVE WINFIELD! Even though he had a bad year, hope the Yanks resign him.

Interesting Tom Glavine for Bruce Sutter deal. KC gets Eddie Murphy and White Sox got Quiz, which are nice moves as well.

LolPadres. If they didn't trade Mike Schmidt, they would have won the division.

[rjl518]

nice to see your Blue jays win the division...

Lets go Mets...1986 is almost here!

[George_Bell]

Von Hayes leads off the World Series with a home run. The Ranger lead does not last though, as Pittsburgh scores single runs in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th. With a 3-2 lead, Ron Oester, who only hit 1 AAA home run all season, knocks a 2 run shot out of the park. Armed with a 3 run lead, Nino Espinosa dominated Ranger hitters. The 31 year old would go the distance, striking out 8. Pittsburgh wins the opener 5-2.

Tom Candiotti has trouble finding the strike zone early, walking Dion James and Don Mattingly. Both men would score thanks to singles by Oddibe McDowell and Mickey Tettleton. Pirates lead 2-0 early. In the seventh, McDowell and Tettleton again drove in runs with RBI singles, and the Pirates lead was stretched out to 6-1. Attempting to complete the game, Pasquel Perez came out to pitch the ninth inning with that 6-1 lead.

2 walks and 2 singles ended Perez’s day. He leaves with the tying run at the plate. In comes closer Steve Bedrosian, who saved 40 games with a 1.86 ERA on the year.

Wow, that was close. The Pirates hold on, but come oh so close to an almost unbelievable collapse. This will either be a turning point for Texas, are such a let down, that they have nothing left.

Roger Clemens World Series debut is tainted early. Mike Fitzgerald takes Clemens deep in the 2^nd. A two run shot, and Texas has the early lead. The build the lead to 4-1, before loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth. Clemens’ final pitch of the night is a fast ball to Harry Spilman, who sends it 394 feet over the right field fence. Grand Slam. Rangers win 8-2.

Willie Aikens and Mickey Tettleton key a 3 run third inning, erasing the Rangers early 1-0 lead. Oddibe McDowell then hits a 2 run shot in the 5^th, and the Pirates lead by 3 half way through. Texas scratches their way back into it, scoring 3 times to bring the deficit to 1, but Bedrosian closes the door, and Pittsburgh holds onto a 6-5 win.

Pittsburgh wants to win the World Series today. Dion James gives them a 2-0 lead with a 2 out, 2 run single in the first. They strike twice again in the 2^nd, and the Rangers are in trouble. It’s 5-0 Pittsburgh, when a 2 out error keeps the Rangers alive in the 4^th. Four hitters later, the Rangers have scored 4 unearned runs, cutting the lead to 5-4.

The teams trade runs in the fifth and the Rangers tie it in the sixth! In the ninth, the Rangers walk the first 2 Pirate batters. A wild pitch advances the runners to 2^nd and third. It would probably make sense to walk slugger Oddibe McDowell. The Rangers pitch to him and he drives a double to center field, scoring two. McDowell would score two batters later. Steve Bedrosian comes on and gets a 1,2,3 ninth inning, and the Pirates win game five 9-6. Pittsburgh are the World Champions!!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]