What if--David Ortiz had stayed with the Minnesota Twins?

mjj55409 · 03-25-2020, 11:56 AM

Today's Athletic has an article titled: "What if … David Ortiz had stayed with the Minnesota Twins?" It's an analysis of what might have been had the Twins not released Ortiz in December of 2002 and had the Red Sox not signed him in January of 2003.

So--inspired by TigerFan's Will Clark/Don Mattingly dynasty (https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...p?t=312514)--I wanted to run the David Ortiz scenario through OOTP21 and see how that alternative history unfolds.

I started a new historical sim for 2003 with most of the standard settings. I'm using 3-year recalc, and I've turned off story lines. After starting the game, I moved Ortiz from Boston to Minnesota. I won't be running a team, but my focus will most likely be on Ortiz, the Twins, the Red Sox, and the American League.

mjj55409 · 03-25-2020, 12:49 PM

At the All Star break, the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians were locked in a good race for the AL Central Division crown, with the Twins holding 1.5 game lead over the Indians heading into the break. Though the Twins had to put Johan Santana on the DL at the end of June with an elbow strain. Santana was 11-2 with a 2.46 ERA at the time. He would be out until mid-August.

David Ortiz had a good first half, hitting .290/.370/.543 and tied for the AL lead in home runs with 23. He also would win the HR Derby at the All Star game.

In the second half of the season, the Twins struggled a bit without Santana and the Indians were simply red hot. While the Twins played .500 ball in August and September, the Indians had a record of 20-8 in August and an astonishing 22-3 in September. Needless to say, the Indians ran away with the Central, while the Twins managed to finish in front of the Angels for the wild card.

The Twins had played their Divisional Series opponent--Seattle--9 times in the regular season and lost all 9 games. The playoff series went the full 5 games, but Seattle prevailed. Seattle went on to win the franchise's first World Series.

David Ortiz ended up hitting .277/.368/.507 with 32 home runs and 123 runs batted in. The 123 runs batted in were the most for a Twin since Killebrew had 140 in 1969.

For the Red Sox, Kevin Millar (.301/.380/.484, 24 HR, 97 RBI) was the primary first baseman. He was not given a qualifying offer in the off season. Boston used Shea Hillenbrand (.283/.306/.419, 16, 71) at DH.

Cleveland's Victor Martinez (.333/.397/.618, 32, 119) won both the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP. Pedro Martinez (21-8, 2.82) of the Red Sox won the AL Cy Young.

In the National League, Barry Bonds (.333/.488/.599, 40, 97) won his 3rd straight MVP award. Chicago's 23-year-old Mark Prior (15-10, 2.19) takes home the NL Cy Young. The Rookie of the Year was Florida's Miguel Cabrera (.309/.365/.536, 34, 120).

mjj55409 · 03-25-2020, 03:53 PM

The Red Sox were hit hard in the off season, losing Nomar Garciaparra, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, and Manny Ramirez to free agency. They signed Kevin Brown (6 year/$35M). They also traded Shea Hillenbrand to the Dodgers for relievers Guillermo Mota and Matt Belisle. And the big one--Derek Lowe to the Indians for first baseman Ben Broussard.

The most substantial Twins loss was Torii Hunter (who signed with San Diego). Their big "splash" was reliever Armando Benetiz (2 years/$5.7M). During the 2003 season, they had traded C AJ Pierzynski to Arizona for SP Miguel Batista. And they also acquired second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr from Balitmore for Chris Gomez, Michael Restovich, and Rob Bowen.

The largest contracts handed out went to Roy Halladay, whom the Mets signed for 6 years at a total of $200 million. The Red Sox gave the 39-year-old Kevin Brown 2 years, $35.6 million. And the Dodgers gave Manny Ramirez a 4 year contract worth $57.6 million.

mjj55409 · 03-25-2020, 04:03 PM

Some injury news as Opening Day approaches:

Boston's Kevin Brown has a partially torn labrum. He's expected to miss 2 or 3 months.

The Yankees's Rogers Clemens ruptured his UCL this spring and will miss the entire season.

Arizona's Curt Schilling only pitched once this spring as he battles elbow tendinitis. It's unknown when he may resume throwing.

BNN has the Yankees winning the AL East in a close race with Boston, Cleveland over Minnesota in the Central, and Seattle easily winning the West. Minnesota is favored for another wild card. BNN is also expecting great things from Ortiz--projecting him to top the AL with 46 home runs.

In the NL, it's Florida in the East, St. Louis in the Central, and Arizona in the West, with Philadelphia, Houston, and San Francisco all in the wild card hunt. BNN thinks a 40-year-old Bonds may top 50 home runs.

mjj55409 · 03-25-2020, 04:32 PM

At the break, the Yankees, Indians, and Angels all have big divisional leads, while Minnesota leads the wild card race.

A big trade was announced on the eve of the All-Star game: Kansas City is sending outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Yankees in exchange for first baseman Chris Woodward and minor league infielder Alberto Callaspo. Beltran--who was named to the All-Star team--is hitting .272/.351/.528 with 22 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He'll be a free agent at the end of 2004.

David Ortiz does lead the AL in home runs with 31. That's a 58 home run pace and just 1 away from his career high of 32 (hit in 2003).

However, in the National League, Barry Bonds already has 40 home runs, which is a 74 home run pace--1 better than his record of 73. Bonds is also hitting .405, but that's not leading the league. That honor goes to Colorado's Todd Helton and his .411 average.

03-25-2020, 11:56 AM	#1
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	What if--David Ortiz had stayed with the Minnesota Twins? Today's Athletic has an article titled: "What if … David Ortiz had stayed with the Minnesota Twins?" It's an analysis of what might have been had the Twins not released Ortiz in December of 2002 and had the Red Sox not signed him in January of 2003. So--inspired by TigerFan's Will Clark/Don Mattingly dynasty (https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...p?t=312514)--I wanted to run the David Ortiz scenario through OOTP21 and see how that alternative history unfolds. I started a new historical sim for 2003 with most of the standard settings. I'm using 3-year recalc, and I've turned off story lines. After starting the game, I moved Ortiz from Boston to Minnesota. I won't be running a team, but my focus will most likely be on Ortiz, the Twins, the Red Sox, and the American League. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs Last edited by mjj55409; 03-25-2020 at 11:57 AM.

03-25-2020, 12:49 PM	#2
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	2003 Recap At the All Star break, the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians were locked in a good race for the AL Central Division crown, with the Twins holding 1.5 game lead over the Indians heading into the break. Though the Twins had to put Johan Santana on the DL at the end of June with an elbow strain. Santana was 11-2 with a 2.46 ERA at the time. He would be out until mid-August. David Ortiz had a good first half, hitting .290/.370/.543 and tied for the AL lead in home runs with 23. He also would win the HR Derby at the All Star game. In the second half of the season, the Twins struggled a bit without Santana and the Indians were simply red hot. While the Twins played .500 ball in August and September, the Indians had a record of 20-8 in August and an astonishing 22-3 in September. Needless to say, the Indians ran away with the Central, while the Twins managed to finish in front of the Angels for the wild card. The Twins had played their Divisional Series opponent--Seattle--9 times in the regular season and lost all 9 games. The playoff series went the full 5 games, but Seattle prevailed. Seattle went on to win the franchise's first World Series. David Ortiz ended up hitting .277/.368/.507 with 32 home runs and 123 runs batted in. The 123 runs batted in were the most for a Twin since Killebrew had 140 in 1969. For the Red Sox, Kevin Millar (.301/.380/.484, 24 HR, 97 RBI) was the primary first baseman. He was not given a qualifying offer in the off season. Boston used Shea Hillenbrand (.283/.306/.419, 16, 71) at DH. Cleveland's Victor Martinez (.333/.397/.618, 32, 119) won both the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP. Pedro Martinez (21-8, 2.82) of the Red Sox won the AL Cy Young. In the National League, Barry Bonds (.333/.488/.599, 40, 97) won his 3rd straight MVP award. Chicago's 23-year-old Mark Prior (15-10, 2.19) takes home the NL Cy Young. The Rookie of the Year was Florida's Miguel Cabrera (.309/.365/.536, 34, 120). __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs Last edited by mjj55409; 03-25-2020 at 12:51 PM.

03-25-2020, 03:53 PM	#3
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	2003 - 2004 Off Season The Red Sox were hit hard in the off season, losing Nomar Garciaparra, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, and Manny Ramirez to free agency. They signed Kevin Brown (6 year/$35M). They also traded Shea Hillenbrand to the Dodgers for relievers Guillermo Mota and Matt Belisle. And the big one--Derek Lowe to the Indians for first baseman Ben Broussard. The most substantial Twins loss was Torii Hunter (who signed with San Diego). Their big "splash" was reliever Armando Benetiz (2 years/$5.7M). During the 2003 season, they had traded C AJ Pierzynski to Arizona for SP Miguel Batista. And they also acquired second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr from Balitmore for Chris Gomez, Michael Restovich, and Rob Bowen. The largest contracts handed out went to Roy Halladay, whom the Mets signed for 6 years at a total of $200 million. The Red Sox gave the 39-year-old Kevin Brown 2 years, $35.6 million. And the Dodgers gave Manny Ramirez a 4 year contract worth $57.6 million. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

03-25-2020, 04:03 PM	#4
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	2004 Opening Day Some injury news as Opening Day approaches: Boston's Kevin Brown has a partially torn labrum. He's expected to miss 2 or 3 months. The Yankees's Rogers Clemens ruptured his UCL this spring and will miss the entire season. Arizona's Curt Schilling only pitched once this spring as he battles elbow tendinitis. It's unknown when he may resume throwing. BNN has the Yankees winning the AL East in a close race with Boston, Cleveland over Minnesota in the Central, and Seattle easily winning the West. Minnesota is favored for another wild card. BNN is also expecting great things from Ortiz--projecting him to top the AL with 46 home runs. In the NL, it's Florida in the East, St. Louis in the Central, and Arizona in the West, with Philadelphia, Houston, and San Francisco all in the wild card hunt. BNN thinks a 40-year-old Bonds may top 50 home runs. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

03-25-2020, 04:32 PM	#5
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	2004 All-Star Break At the break, the Yankees, Indians, and Angels all have big divisional leads, while Minnesota leads the wild card race. A big trade was announced on the eve of the All-Star game: Kansas City is sending outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Yankees in exchange for first baseman Chris Woodward and minor league infielder Alberto Callaspo. Beltran--who was named to the All-Star team--is hitting .272/.351/.528 with 22 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He'll be a free agent at the end of 2004. David Ortiz does lead the AL in home runs with 31. That's a 58 home run pace and just 1 away from his career high of 32 (hit in 2003). However, in the National League, Barry Bonds already has 40 home runs, which is a 74 home run pace--1 better than his record of 73. Bonds is also hitting .405, but that's not leading the league. That honor goes to Colorado's Todd Helton and his .411 average. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs