Modeling OOTP v14 HOF on RL HOF

[VanillaGorilla]

Edit: The lists of first Ballotters, 3 timers, and RL HOFers are updated here http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post3551710

-----------------

Geggus gets good love from OOTP.

He was a HOFer in my first run through.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post3397459

The clock ran out on him for getting in the second HOF.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post3484711

He had a solid career, here, but will not reach the HOF. He was on the 2044 championship Marlins team, but at age 37 with a rotation that had HOFers Randy Johnson, Jim Whitney and Early Wynn, there wasn't a lot of work to do.

[David Watts]

Cool. Funny that he's a starter for you. He only started in my replay for 1 season, about 6 or 7 years into his career. He did alright, but was right back in the pen the following year.

[VanillaGorilla]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Cool. Funny that he's a starter for you. He only started in my replay for 1 season, about 6 or 7 years into his career. He did alright, but was right back in the pen the following year.

In the second league, Geggus had 488 saves. It is interesting how the player development occurs. Same guy, same (lack of) RL stats, completely different role results.

[VanillaGorilla]

An outlyingly large class gains membership to the converted tractor shed which is this HOF.

The gap between the expected number of entrants and the actual number has closed, a bit, with the 9 entrants in 2097. 5 of the entrants are pitchers, which brings their total to 53 out of 171. This is precisely the expected ratio.

-------------------------------------------

Curt Schilling was drafted by the Braves with the 4th overall pick of the 2031 draft. He gives his induction speech at the age of 85 years and 85 days. While it is my sincere desire that Mr. Schilling is giving speeches IRL at the age of 85, I hope that he is a bit younger than that when he delivers his "Thank You"s in Cooperstown.

Schilling tossed 24 seasons in the bigs, hanging up the spikes following the 2056 season.

He was given a loyalty rating of "very high" here. He pitched with the Braves through 2047. He enters the HOF as the Braves career strikeout leader with 3097.

In 2047 he put togehter the best season of his career. He posted a mark of 23-5 eith an OOTP ERA of 2.75 (npa ERA+ 178). He struck out 393 men in 247 2/3 IP while walking only 27. That's a K/W ratio of 14.56...not too shabby. This was more than enough to win him the CYA.

He parlayed that performance into a nice contract with Jacksonville, where he won 17 then 19 games before the team decided to use him as a closer. At the age of 38 Schilling notched 22 saves. Unhappy with that role, but happy in the Sunshine State, he signed on with the Marlins, where he was used as a starter, again.

For his career, Schilling won 234 (t-15th, Bert Blyleven and CC Sabathia) games vs 183 losses. He also had 62 career saves. His career OOTP ERA was a very nice 3.86. He struck out 3941 men (19th, between Bobby Nathews and John Smoltz) in 3684 IP (17th, between Early Wynn and John Smoltz). He gave up only 782 career walks. He was prone to giving up the long ball. He surrendered 516 HR in his career (5th, between Steve Carlton and Brit Burns).

Schilling appeared in 7 post seasons and 2 WS, but never won a title.

He threw 52 complete games (33rd, one more than Lefty Grove, Jim St Vrain, and Matt Kilroy). 13 of those were shutouts (t-42nd, Steve Carlton and Ed Walsh).

Schilling pitched 1 no hitter, here, and was an All Star three times.

Black Ink: 29 (42)
Gray Ink: 163 (205)
HOFm: 128.4 (171)
HOFs: 41 (46)

Gorilla Composite: 3.1 (4.0)

Using the standards in place here and applying them to his RL numbers, Curt Schilling should be in the HOF.

---------------------------------------

Will Clark was selected with the 5th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2057 draft.

Named the 28th best prospect, he promptly proved himself better than that by taking home ROY honors with a 322/381/608 (npa OPS+ 162) rookie season in which he hit 38 HR, drove in 131 and scored 111 times. He ripped 52 doubles, a number that would stand as a career high.

In his FA season of 2063 he cracked a career high 216 hits and also posted career highs in HR (43), RBI (137) and R (126). He left Boston to sign a deal with St Louis.

In his first year as a Red Bird he took home the NL Batting crown by batting .397. He had and OBP of .456 and a slg% of .721 that gave him a npa OPS+ of 211.

In each of hist 11 seasons Clark would bat no lower than .309 and have an OBP of at least .375. In 10 of those seasons he would have a slg% of at least .545 and an OPS of .900. 5 times he had an OPS above 1.000.

In 2067 he, along with HOFers Ron Santo and Harmon Killebrew, led the Cardinals to a WS victory.

Sticking to a monochromatic theme, Clark joined the Reds. There he hit .378 in limited play. Not because of injury, but he found himself in a log jam with HOFer John Mayberry and potential HOFer Darell Evans. Evans was traded midseason and Clark left as a FA in the off season.

Clark's skills quickly diminished, but he had no quit in him. He did not play at all in 2071 or 2072. In September of 2073 he signed a deal with the Red's AAA affiliate. He got one final chance to play in 2074, but he wasn't the same guy that had been in 7 All Star games and won 2 Gold Gloves. He retired following the 2074 season at the age of 37.

Will Clark had an impressive career slash line of 333/404/585 (17th, one spot behind Hank Aaron/33rd/63rd, one spot behind Jim Gentile and Kent Hrbek). He ranks 39th on the career OPS list, one spot ahead of Jim Ray Hart.

He had 333 HR on 1871 hits.

He enters the HOF at the age of 59.

Black Ink: 14 (13)
Gray Ink: 137 (94)
HOFm: 169.5 (84)
HOFs: 46 (42)

Gorilla Composite: 3.5 (2.5)

Using the standards in place here and applying them to RL, Will Clark falls short of entering the RL HOF, though I will offer no objection if he someday is entered by the Veterans Committee.

[VanillaGorilla]

Eric Davis was the 5th player selected in the 2056 draft, by the Cubs. The Cubbies were on a hot streak with draft picks in this time.

A .238 average and 15 HR in 116 games is how his career started. He put things together in his second season when he slashed 398/392/702 (npa OPS+ 191) to lead the league in slg and OPS.

In 2062 he hit a career high 54 HR to lead the league. He also drove in a career high 137 and scored a career high 127 to lead the Cubs to a WS victory. HOfers (and former 1st rd draft picks by the Cubs) Joe Adcock and Eddie Collins were also on the squad. Collins won the MVP that would have belonged to Davis in 9 out of 10 seasons.

Davis also won a WS with Diamondbacks in 2069. HOFers Albert Belle and Lou Gehrig were also on that squad, as will be an entry to follow.

Davis retired following the 2074 season with 459 HR (100th) on 1852 hits. He slashed 269/351/517. He scored 1317 runs (also 100th) and had 1222 RBI. His career numbers were kept down due to recurring injuries. Other than his 2062 season, Davis was never able to play in more than 131 games. Davis did steal 361 bases in his career (50th, two fewer than Roberto Alomar).

He was fearsome force, when healthy. A 6 time All Star, Davis enters the HOF at the age of 60.

Black Ink: 7 (0)
Gray Ink: 71 (61)
HOFm: 81 (24)
HOFs: 50 (27)

Gorilla Composite: 2.3 (1.1)

----------------------------------

Edgar Barnhart becomes the oldest player to give an induction speech. 144 days after his 105th birthday, the 5' 10" Barnhart hoisted his amazingly fit 190 lb frame to the podium.

Barnhart was a 3rd rd pick of the Florida Marlins in 2009. Barnhart bounced around quite a bit in his career, but the relief pitcher was an asset wherever he went. Having made 5 starts as a 19 year-old rookie, the rest of his 53 appearances that season, and the 1165 of his career (3rd, between Huston Street and Tom Henke), would be in relief.

Barnhart saved 249 games in his career (33rd). If he wasn't used as a closer much, it did not bother him. He just did his job. He struck out 1439 men in 1185 IP while walking only 318. He posted a 3.78 OOTP ERA for a career that lasted through 2028.

In 2026 he saved 16 games and struck out 101 in 71 1/3 IP as he gave the Austin Controllers a solid BP presence as they won the WS. Players from that squad previously inducted into the HOF include Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and John Smoltz.

He left for the San Diego Jewels in 2027, and there he provided solid MR innings as he again tasted WS victory. Hank Aaron followed Barnhart to the West Coast for the championship run, where they joined HOFers-to-be Frank Robinson and Willie Stargell.

Barnhart was only once an All Star, but the Veterans Committee, as they sifted through the records, found a player that was quality throughout his career, even if he didn't get the flashy save total. Inducting a centurion is pretty cool, too.

As will be the case with almost all RP who enter, Barnhart is a floor breaker.

Black Ink: 0
Gray Ink: 17
HOFm: 71.2
HOFs: 15

Gorilla Composite: 0.8

[VanillaGorilla]

Hal Newhouser was the 5th player taken in the 2069 draft. He went to the Marlins.

He won 13 and lost 13 as rookie. He struck out 211 batters in 225 1/3 IP. A solid start, but he would develop tremendously.

In 2074 he made the leap from solid pitcher with upside, to upper elite starter. He was 14-8 with a 1.99 OOTP ERA (npa ERA+ 213) while striking out 280 in 194 1/3 IP.

In 2075, he was 6-1 with a 1.24 OOTP ERA (npa ERA+ 334) when an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He gained his health for the post season and made 4 starts. Still recovering, his pitch count was limited, and he didn't have complete command. He went 1-2 with a 4.50 OOTP ERA in the posteason, but he showed his stuff by fanning 32 men in those 24 IP.

There were concerns that his career would be derailed by injuries. Newhouser proved these fears to be baseless, for the time being. He made no appearance on the injury report for the next 6 complete seasons. He would start at least 34 games in each. He would lead the league in IP three times.

He had a collection of fine teammates, some of whom will end up in the HOF, but Newhouser is the first to join from this squad that did win the WS.

In 2076 he had everything together. He had health, experience, and talent. It almost was not fair.

Newhouser went 25-3 with a 1.44 OOTP ERA (npa ERA+ 293!). He struck out 362 batters in 256 1/3 IP and led his team to the post season, where they fell in the LCS. This output represented what would be the best season of his career, and earned him the Cy Young Award. His 108.2 VORP for this season stands as the league record. He enters the HOF 18th on that career list, between the next entrant and Pedro Martinez.

In 2077, Prince Fielder joined the Marlins and helped put them over the top to win another WS. For his part, Newhouser won his second straight Cy Young Award by posting his 4th straight sub 2.00 OOTP ERA as he went 17-7, 1.92 (npa ERA+ 224) with 348 K in 253 2/3 IP.

In 2078 his ERA "soared" to 2.38 and his npa ERA+ "plummeted" to 182. Nice down season. He recorded a career high 366 K in in 265 IP, posting a 23-6 record to take his 3rd straight CYA.

A 21-5 record in 2079 with a 2.40 OOTP ERA (npa ERA+ 175) earned him his 4th consecutive Cy Young Award.

In August of 2083, he suffered a torn flexor tendon and was out for 12 months. The Marlins decided to not offer him a contract, and he left the team as their all time win and strikeout leader, having fanned over 3000 hitters as a Marlin.

In July of the next year, the Angels gave him a one year deal. He made 15 relief appearances before tearing his flexor tendon, again, and missing another 13 months.

As a 40 year-old in 2087, he was in the BP for the San Diego Jewels and had a solid season going before he needed bone chips removed from his deteriorating elbow. He is credited as being on the Jewels WS winning roster, and his teammates were more than happy to award him his post season share.He is the first player from that team to enter the HOF.

Still finding work at age 42, he tore his labrum in May of 2089. That would be his last game.

Newhouser won 202 games (48th, one more than Johnny Vander Meer) while dropping 121. He also picked up 7 saves. He fanned 3448 men (38th, one spot ahead of Early Wynn) in 2971 1/3 career IP (71st). He walked 893.

He threw 18 shutouts (t-10th, Carl Hubbell and CC Sabathia) in 40 CGs.

A 7 time All Star, Newhouser fell just a few votes shy of entering the HOF on his first ballot. He enters on his second at the age of 49.

Newhouser had a career OOP ERA of 3.023, 0.005 better than Pedro Martinez for 18th place, all-time.

Black Ink: 67 (47)
Gray Ink: 178 (180)
HOFm: 197.5 (140)
HOFs: 50 (34)

Gorilla Composite: 4.8 (3.5)

---------------------------------------------

David Price is the 13th active player to enter this HOF. I expected to have 13 active players if the induction total reached the 209 base point. So, the active players have been slightly over represented, this time.

Price was taken by the Angels with the 13th pick in the 2064 draft.

He was sporting a 10-2 record as a rookie when he was put on the shelf with an injury.

He was a solid youngster in Los Angeles, but left for a big payday in Washington for the 2071 season, joining a squad that had won three straight division titles and 2 WS, including the 2070 title with a 117 game win regular season.

He went 18-5 for the 113 win Nationals in 2071. They lost the LCS to the eventual champion Reds.

He went 15-7 for the 105 win Nats in 2072, who lost the WS to Detroit.

In 2073 he went 18-6 for a 95 game winning Nationals team that lost to the eventual champion Diamondbacks in the LCS. Price sported a 2.81 ERA for a npa ERA+ of 152. This ERA+ figure was the same as what he had the previous season with a 2.65 OOTP ERA. He struck out 223 men in 227 innings and took home the CYA.

Though not having the spectacular seasons some of his classmates did, Price was a durable inning eating horse.

Price pitched for 23 seasons, seeing his last action in 2087. He pitched in 5 play-offs, but never won a WS.

He ranks 10th in career wins with 248 (between Rube Waddell and Nolan Ryan)vs 186 losses. He had a career OOTP ERA of 3.63 and struck out 3800 batters (21st, between John Smoltz and Tim Keefe) in 3971 IP (12th, between Nolan Ryan and Perdy Coleman). He made 601 career starts, 9th All Time, between Bert Blyleven and Charlie Ferguson.

He ranks 17th, one spot above Hal Newhouser, on the career VORP list.

A three time All Star, Price enters the HOF at the age of 53.

Black Ink: 8
Gray Ink: 168
HOFm: 99.3
HOFs: 43

Gorilla Composite: 2.5

---------------------------------------------

Doc McJames was chosen by the Mariners with the 6th overall pick by the Mariners in the 2071 draft. He underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery his rookie year and missed all of 2073 because of that.

He came back in 2074 to win the CYA with the lowest ERA for a season in league history. He won the award in 2075, also (with an ERA more than double his previous season...how 'bout that?).

McJames is a shooting star entry, and I think his stat page hits the main points of his selection more efficiently than what I would type.

His 2776 strike outs rank him 79th all-time.

He ranks 32nd in career OOTP ERA.

A three time All Star, Mc James enters the HOF at the age of 44.

Black Ink: 44
Gray Ink: 128
HOFm: 104.2
HOFs: 40

Gorilla Composite: 3.1

[VanillaGorilla]

Better than 10,000 words of mine:

[VanillaGorilla]

Gary Sheffield was selected by the Diamondbacks with the 7th selection of the 2067 draft.

His rookie season he made three trips to the DL losing almost 3 months of playing time. He still managed to slash 313/369/496 (npa OPS+ 123) in 69 games.

In 2069, he again missed close to 3 months due to injuries, but slashed 368/436/548 (npa OPS+ 164). He was healthy for the post season. There he made up for lost time by slashing 476/542/738 with 3 HR in 10 games as he, Lou Gehrig, Albert Belle, and fellow classmate Eric Davis, led the D-Backs to WS victory. It s very cool that Davis enters the same year, as a Veteran Selection, as does Sheffield, who is getting in on his First Ballot.

In 2073 he hit a career high 52 HR and a career high 129 RBI while slashing 320/405/654 (npa OPS+ 184) to win the MVP. He and Gehrig, again, hoisted the WS trophy. An interesting note is that no pitcher had more than 11 wins (three had 11).

He repeated as MVP winner in 2074. Though limited to 125 games, he hit 44 HR. He scored and drove in 121 while einning the batting title with a slash line of 358/445/709 for a career high npa OPS+ of 209.

In 2076, he won his third WS with Lou Gehrig.

Sheffield last played in the majors in 2089, but did not retire until 2091. He enters the HOF with 2895 hits (17th, between George Davis and Joe Adcock), 498 doubles (61st), and 626 HR (33rd, 4 behind Mickey Mantle, 5 ahead of Rafael Palmeiro). He collected 1818 RBI (21st, between Stan Musial and Billy Williams) and scored 1832 times (10th, between Mike Schmidt and Larry Doyle).

He drew 1204 walks (26th) and took 131 beanings for the team that bumped his slash line to 314/397/580 (85th/58th, one spot ahead of Prince Fielder/71st), ranking 45th in career OPS, between Albert Belle and Dan Brouthers.

Sheffield won a Gold Glove in RF and saw action in 13 All Star Games. He enters the HOF at the age of 48.

Black Ink: 16 (4)
Gray Ink: 179 (123)
HOFm: 231.5 (158)
HOFs: 76 (61)

Gorilla Composite: 4.9 (3.3)

Using the standards in place here and applying them to RL, Gary Sheffield should gain entry into the RL HOF.

------------------------------------------------

Tim Jordan was selected by the Indianapolis Stripes with the 14th pick in the 2073 draft. The two parties did not come to terms and he returned to the draft pool.

The Indians used their 10th pick to take Jordan in 2074, and he went to play in Cleveland.

334/418/682 (npa OPS+ 189) with 37 HR in 117 games was more than enough to gain Jordan ROY honors, along with the MVP, in 2075.

Jordan had an INCREDIBLE start to his career. In his first 10 seasons he never batted below .310. He never had an OBP below .413. He never had a slg% below .632 (!!!).

He had an OPS above 1.100 in 8 of his first 10 seasons. He had a npa OPS+ above 200 five times.

In 2080, he again won the MVP. He hit a career high 58 HR and had a career high 148 RBI with a npa OPS+ of 203 from a 331/413/731 slash line. He also achieved legendary status by winning a WS in Cleveland. Herb Score was on that team, but the Tribe traded him mid season for a marginal catcher when their starter was lost for the season.

Jordan would win the MVP in 2081, and again in 2082.

For his career he slashed 313/415/650 (89th, one spot behind Billy Williams/19th/t-10th, Willie Mays). He enters the HOF ranking 6th on the career OPS list, between Mickey Mantle and Mark McGwire.

He had 553 HR (t-56th, Stan Musial) amongst his 1929 hits.

After 2084, injuries limited his playing time and downgraded his output, at first to mere star, eventually to pedestrian.

Still, by the time he finally did call it quits in 2091 he had 1408 RBI (t-95th, Javy Lopez) and 1382 runs scored (76th, between Tony Perez and Bill Skowron). His 1086 walks rank him 48th all-time. He also stole 206 bases.

Jordan won one batting crown, three home run titles, and led the league runs scored six times.

An 8 time All Star, the 1Bman enters the HOF one week before his 44th birthday.

Black Ink: 57
Gray Ink: 183
HOFm: 271.5
HOFs: 55

Gorilla Composite: 6.3

-------------------------------------

Hal Newhouser enters his third OOTP HOF.
Doc McJames, Curt Shilling, Will Clark, Gary Sheffield, and Tim Jordan enter their second OOTP HOF.
David Price, Edgar Barnhart, and Eric Davis enter their first OOTP HOF.

Hal Newhouser is the 52nd RL HOFer to gain entry, here.

Notable players joining the league in 2097 include: Bill Madlock, Red Faber, Jake Peavy, Davey Johnson, Jose Reyes, Larry McWilliams, Milton Bradley, Preston Wilson, and Jody Davis.

[VanillaGorilla]

David Price rounded out HOF membership for the top 10 career win list. I didn't include the 20th place on the season list because it was a tie that went down to position 43.

[VanillaGorilla]

David Price also filled out the HOF membership for the top 10 in GS. There were 92 players with 36 starts in a season, so I left those out.

[VanillaGorilla]

Graig Nettles was chosen by the Mariners with the 6th pick in the 2067 draft.

As one would expect from Nettles, he was a fine glove man, winning 3 GGs a 3B. He also appeared in 7 All Star Games.

Nettles avoided the season ending injury most of his career, but was a regular on the DL. In spite of this, he hit at least 20 HR in each of his first 16 seasons, topping 40 four times.

He retired following the 2067 season with 607 HR (38th, between Ken Griffey Jr and John Mayberry Sr). His 2308 career hits are just short of the top 100.

He posted 1628 RBI (56th, one spot ahead of Al Kaline) and crossed the plate 1409 times (71st, one more than Ryan Klesko and three behind Tommie Agee). His 1086 career walks (t-48th, Tim Jordan) gives him a Saber-friendly 286/372/561 career slash line.

Nettles shocked the baseball world by having his best offensive season at the age of 39. He hit a career high 58 HR and posted a career best 127 RBI in 138 games as he beat the long odds of breaking into the 600 HR club.

In 2075 he led the Marlins offense with 40 HR and along with last year's inductee Hal Newhouser, brought a WS trophy to South Florida.

Nettles enters the HOF at the age of 52 ranking third on the career ZR for 3Bmen, behind Tim Wallach and leader Mike Schmidt).

Black Ink: 7 (4)
Gray Ink: 99 (56)
HOFm: 137.5 (63)
HOFs: 65 (31)

Gorilla Composite: 3.2 (1.6)

-------------------------------------------

Graig Nettles enters his second OOTP HOF.

Notable players entering the league in 2098 include: Roy Campanella, Denny Driscoll, Pedro Astacio, Red Lucas, Jim Bouton, Joey Cora and Pat Tabler.

[VanillaGorilla]

Sadie McMahon was taken by the Indians with the 13th overall pick in the 2073 draft.

In his first 7 seasons, he compiled a record of 112-53 and won 2 Cy Young Awards.

His first came in 2078 when he won a career high 23 games while losing 8. His OOTP ERA of 3.18 gave him a npa ERA+ of 129. He was not a big K guy, but cold put people away. McMahon fanned 231 men in 249 IP. He did have good control and kept the ball in the park, as evidenced by the 61 walks and 17 HR he allowed in those 249 IP.

It is interesting to note this award, as it indicates that OOTP does give weight to victories, probably on a graduating scale (a 20th win worth more than the 19th win which is worth more than the 18th win). McMahon ranked 7th in ERA, in 2078, and ranked 3rd in VORP and WAR. A total of three different players were ahead of McMahon on the VORP/WAR lists, also, yet McMahon got the hardware. One of those players had 18 wins, the other two had 16.

In 2080, he won his second CYA. He was 20-9 with a 2.52 OOTP ERA (npa ERA+ 171) and struck out 278 men in 275 1/3 IP. He gave up only 12 HR on the year and walked only 45 as he tabulated a career best 12.0 WAR.

He was also the only Indian starter with double digit wins for a team that also featured Tim Jordan hitting 58 HRs. Jordan and MaMahon were the key parts to the Tribe winning the WS as he took the hill 3 times and took home 3 wins while earning a 1.50 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.

Shoulder and forearm issues limited his playing time in 2081. In 2084 he fractured his elbow and the Indians chose to let him go, having made all 288 ML appearances as a starter.

The Braves signed him and he pitched exclusively in relief for them. However, the elbow injury had taken its toll on his stuff and control, which were both halved post injury.

McMahon tried to adapt to his new physiology, and he did not quit easilly. He never again pitched in the major leagues, but he spent 6 seasons in the minor leagues trying to regain a ML form.

McMahon is another shooting star entry. His .631 win % from 135 victories and 79 defeats ranks him 36th, All-Time.

In 1999 2/3 IP, he struck out 2029 men. He walked 487 (70th career Opp OBP of .293) and gave up 171 HR. In this environment, the HR total is amazing.

Three times an All Star, McMahon enters the HOF at the age of 45.

Black Ink: 36 (27)
Gray Ink: 117 (95)
HOFm: 86.5 (79)
HOFs: 35 (22)

Gorilla Composite: 2.7 (2.0)

Using the standards in place here and applying them to RL, Sadie McMahon falls short of being in Cooperstown.

--------------------------------------------

In the 2070 draft, Bob Horner was the 15th player selected. He went to play for the Royals.

He broke into the league by leading the league in HR, with 50, and taking home ROY honors.

In his first 5 seasons, he would lead the league in HR 4 times never hit fewer than 50 in a season. Some years, he hit quite a few more.

As a 20 year-old, in 2072, he hit 80 HR. A slash line of 346/408/789 was good for a npa OPS+ of 212 and made him an overwhelmingly easy MVP selection.

In 2074 he hit 73 HR and drove in a career high 158 runs and scored a career high 134 to win his second MVP.

In 2075 he led the Royals to the WS with a traditional line of .327/53/134. He hit 7 HR in 11 post season games, but fell to the Marlins in six games. This would be his only post season appearance.

After sitting out the 2089 season, Horner found work wth the Astros and hit 21 HR in 394 AB. However, his .244 average steered the Astros, and every other team, from signing him in 2091, as he sat on 699 career HR.

2092 came and went without an offer.

In July of 2093, at the age of 41, Cleveland gave him a minor league deal, which he accepted. On September 2, he connected for his 700th HR. He retired at the conclusion of the season. Not only did he hit his 700th HR (16th, between Frank Howard and Orlando Cepeda), but more surprisingly, he also hit his 8th career triple in his Swan Song season.

Horner collected 2520 career hits (61st, between Pablo Sandoval and Carlton Fisk) while putting together a slash line of 293/361/584 to place him 63rd on the career slg% list. He ranks 93rd in career OPS.

He has 1725 (36th, one spot behind the Mike Piazza/Carlton Fisk tie) and 1517 runs scored to his credit (t-43rd, Al Rosen).

A 6 time All Star, Horner enters the HOF at the age of 47 in his first year of eligibility. He enters as a 1Bman.

Black Ink: 26 (0)
Gray Ink: 173 (56)
HOFm: 248.5 (16)
HOFs: 53 (22)

Gorilla Composite: 4.8 (0.9)

---------------------------------------

Sadie McMahon enters his first OOTP HOF.
Bob Horner enters his second OOTP HOF.

Notable players joining the league in 2099 include: Stan Coveleski, Don Mattingly, Larry Hisle, Ron Hunt, Jack Fournier, Jake Weimer, Boog Powell, Jimmie Hall, Bob Turley, Stan Williams, Vern Fuller, Dale Long, Travis Jackson and Jo-Jo White.

[VanillaGorilla]

Clayton Kersahw was selected by the Marlins with the 9th pick in the 2071 draft. He becomes the 14th active MLBer to enter this HOF.

As a 19 year-old rookie, he went 14-9 with an OOTP ERA of 3.15 (npa ERA+ 128) and struck out 209 men in 205 2/3 IP on 31 starts.

Kershaw had a solid, lengthy, and sometimes spectacular career, here.

In each of his first 14 seasons he had an ERA+ above 100.

During those years he won 2 WS with the Marlins. Coming off a career high 314 K season in 2074, in 2075, with ace Hal Newhouser on the shelf, the 22 year-old came up big for the Fish.

He won 17 games versus 10 losses, taking up Newhouser's slack, very well. He ahd a npa OPS+ of 148 on a 2.80 OOTP ERA and struck out 283 batters in 241 innings. HOFer Graig Nettles was also on that squad.

In 2076, Kershaw was off to a blazing start (8-3, 1.14) when a hamstring and then a bruised hand truncated his season.

He came back in 2077, and along with a healthy Newhouser and added veteran presence Eddie Collins, won his second WS.

Kershaw pitched in the bigs through 2092. He compiled a record of 217 wins (35th) and 171 losses (and 9 saves) with an outstanding career OOTP ERA of 3.37 (64th).

He struck out 3582 men (26th, one spot behind CC Sabathia) by pitching in, get this, 3582 1/3 IP (22nd). He walked 976.

Kershaw ranks 15th on the career WAR list and 16th on the VORP list. No retired player ranks higher that is not already in the HOF.

A three time All Star, Kershaw enters the HOF at the age of 46.

Black Ink: 2
Gray Ink: 153
HOFm: 95.6
HOFs: 42

Gorilla Composite: 2.2

---------------------------------------

Clayton Kershaw enters his second OOTP HOF.

Notable players joining the league in 2000: Elmer Flick, Jason Bay, Sherry Magee, Albert Pujols, Tony Gwynn Sr, Pedro Guerrero, Brad Penny, Lonnie Smith, Jim Kaat, Larry Dierker, Sean Casey and Rollie Fingers.

[VanillaGorilla]

The writers elected no one this year, but the Veterans Committee dipped into the past and plucked out Ben Oglivie.

Oglivie was the 17th overall pick in 2050 draft.

When I reviewed Oglive, he struck me as a Jim Rice type of selection. Coincidentally, his most similar player here is none other than HOFer Jim Rice.

Like the RL Rice, he was one of the most feared hitters, in his prime. Like the RL Rice, he won one MVP.

In 2058, Oglivie won the MVP with his best season, at the age of 28. He had career highs in hits (191), HR (51), RBI (144, led league) runs (118) and games played (153). He also had a career high 58 walks. In each of his previous three seasons he had batted over .300 and drove in over 100 runs. In none of those seasons did he strike out less than 100 times. In 2058 he fanned only 85.

He posted career highs in all slash categories as his 336/397/692 line made for a 191 npa OPS+.

Six times he batted over .300 and six times he drove in 100 runs. All of his .300 seasons were 100 RBI seasons. In four of those seasons he ht over 40 HR.

He made the playoffs once. He batted .300 in 40 AB in 2057, but the Rockies fell to the Astros in the WS in 5 games.

He finished his career in 2065 with 1816 hits and 426 HR. He accounted for 1234 RBI and 1077 runs scored. His career slash line is a nice 306/361/598, giving him the 49th best slg% (between Lou Gehrig and Orlando Cepeda) and 70th best OPS, all time (one spot behind Jose Canseco).

Somehow, Oglivie was named to but one All Star squad. Nevertheless, one day before his 71st birthday, Ben Oglivie enters the converted tractor shed that is this HOF.

As a former PA guy, the name "Oglivie" would have been a great one to call out (I would have asked his permission to say "Benjamin" instead of just "Ben". That repeated dash-dot-dash cadence, but elongated for his last name, would be spectacular).

Black Ink: 6 (4)
Gray Ink: 99 (38)
HOFm: 114 (32)
HOFs: 46 (18)

Gorilla Composite: 2.6 (1.0)

--------------------------------

Ben Oglivie enters his first OOTP HOF.

Notable players joining the league in 2101 include: Dizzy Dean, Preacher Roe, Ernie Banks, Dick Allen, Del Unser, Cy Young, Danny MacFayden, Barry Zito, Joe Kelly, Johan Santana, Rickie Weeks, and Rick Sutcliffe.

[VanillaGorilla]

Red Ehret was the 12th player taken in the 2073 draft. He was selected by the Giants. He didn't sign with them and was chosen with the 4th pick overall by the Fort Worth Blockbusters in 2074.

Ehret is a quasi-shooting star entry. He broke on to the scene with command and control and immediately established himself as a fine pitcher. In his sophomore season, at the age of 20, he won the Cy Young Award matching the 16 wins from his rookie season. That total he would gain chalk up in his third season.

In his CYA season of 2076, he was 16-8 with a league best 2.22 OOTP ERA for a npa ERA+ of 191. He was a control pitcher who kept the ball down, throughout his career. This was on dispaly in '76, as he gave up just 6 HR in in 255 IP. He walked 62 and struck out 215.

Injury limited him to 28 starts in 2078, then 16 starts in 2079. A rotator cuff blew on him and the 2080 season was lost in his first start (but he did pick up the win).

Sometimes things work out when things go bad. A repaired rotator cuff will alter a pitcher's motion, and that usually spells disaster. However, when Ehret returned, his new form was that of a strikeout pitcher.

In 2081 he struck out a career high 289 men in 259 IP. He still had his command of the low zone, as he gave up just 19 HR, and maintained his control, as well. He walked just 45 men.

He posted a 25-6 record (career high for wins) and an OOTP ERA of 2.61 (npa ERA+ 159) to win his second CYA.

Ehret was never below .500 for a season in his first 11 years.

In 2086 he was 11-17 for a 93 win Astro team while sporting a npa ERA+ of 97. Maybe the record was the result of bad luck or maybe it was a harbinger of things to come, but injuries took their toll, again, in 2087. Ehret was never the pitcher, again, that he once was.

He last pitched in the majors in 2090. He did a couple stints in the minors, but after not being called up in 2093, he called it quits.

Ehret was 181-118 for his career. He is tied with Matt Kilroy for 88th place on the career win list. His career OOTP ERA of 3.42 is an excellent figure which is 0.002 higher than Sandy Koufax's. Ehret enters the HOF 85th on the career ERA list.

He struck out 2278 batters in 2721 IP while walking only 618, which is just a hair over 2 per 9 IP. He gave up 0.85 HR per 9 IP.

Ehret was an All Star 4 times. He enters the HOF at the age of 46.

Black Ink: 32 (1)
Gray Ink: 147 (67)
HOFm: 89 (36)
HOFs: 40 (9)

Gorilla Composite: 2.8 (0.7)

----------------------------------------------

Willie McCovey is no-brainer First Ballot entrant into the converted tractor shed.

McCovey, like Ehret, was originally drafted in 2073. McCovey decided to sign with the team that selected him 4th overall, the Red Sox.

First things first:

McCovey enters the Hall as the career leader in home runs. He slugged 946 to surpass Hank Aaron's previous mark of 932.

A write up McCovey is easy. The items that are omitted from it are enough for a HOF entry, themselves.

McCovey hit 50 HR 11 times.
McCovey hit 60 HR 5 times.

In 2090, at the age of 36, and now a Brave, he hit a career high 74 HR and drove in a career high 155 runs as he won his 5th of 5 career MVPs.

In 2078, he won a batting title with a .378 average, led the league in RBI, but his HR total of 54 finished second to HOFer Tim Jordan's 58.

7 other seasons, though, he won the HR crown.

In 2084 he hit 60 HRs and led the Ft Worth Blockbusters to the WS. In the post season he hit 8 more HR in 11 games, slashing a demigod like 458/558/1102 as the FWB took the title. McCovey is the first player from this squad to enter the HOF.

McCovey's career slash line of 302/395/654 produced 2839 hits (21st) and 2247 RBI (3rd, between Mays and Hank Greenberg). He ranks 9th on the career slg% list, between Kevin Mitchell and Willie Mays. His 13th on the OPS list, again, between Mitchell and Mays.

One real cool note is that McCovey played in 2681 games. This is the same number of games in which Willie Mays played, and ranks them tied for 9th places.

He walked 1355 times (16th...curiously, he was hit 135 times) and scored 1955 runs (7th, between Greenberg and Shoeless Joe Jackson).

McCovey won 4 GGs at 1B and was named to 13 All Star teams. he enters the HOF at the age of 47.

Black Ink: 65 (31)
Gray Ink: 227 (126)
HOFm: 384.5 (110)
HOFs: 70 (44)

Gorilla Composite: 7.9 (3.6)

------------------------------------------------

Red Ehret and Willie McCovey both enter their second OOTP HOF.

Notable players joining the league in 2102 include: Jimmy Walsh, Josh Devore, Bobby Mitchell, George Perring, Shane Mack, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper, Willie Crawford, Glenallen Hill, Dick Green, Dave Stewart, Don Kessinger, and Cecil Espy.

[VanillaGorilla]

With just short of 16,000 players (including those taken in the 2102 draft who were placed on ML rosters within a week following the draft), the league has run out of historical players. That means that the HOF class of 2103 will be the last one.

This means that by using AAA only, under these circumstances, approximately 8 out of 9 RL ML players made an appearance at the NL level here. With that being the case, the target number for HOFers, here would be 186 (adjusting from the 209 expectancy if 100% of the players had played).

There are 178 player currently in the HOF. There will be either 1 or 2 members in the Class of 2103. That puts the final number right in the ball park.

One big item of note:

The leader in HR (McCovey), hits (Collins), and wins (Walter Johnson) are all repeat leaders from the previous HOF run through on v13. Also, Nolan Ryan is the career leader in BB issued, in both.

Even though the league was played with different league modifiers and different park settings, these results were consistent. Bottom line inference from this is that it is the ability of the player that trumps all other influences.

[VanillaGorilla]

Tris Speaker has had the best career (longevity included) for a hitter who will not be in the HOF. Reason being that he has yet to retire.

Speaker won 4 MVPs (2084, 2086, 2087 and 2089), 6 GGs, and appeared in 9 ASG.

He led the league in hits 3x, doubles 5x, SB 1x, RBI 3x, R 2x, IBB 3x, EBH 4x, BA 7x, OBP 3x, SLG 2x, OPS3x, WAR 5x.

Speaker won WS in 2094 and 2102.

[VanillaGorilla]

Hugh O'Neil went from "Who?" O'Neil when he made the previous HOF as a 147th draft pick to "HUGE" O'Neil, here, when he was a 5th overall pick.

Perhaps the best pitcher in the history of the league, O'Neil is the career leader in VORP and WAR. He also is at the top of the career ERA, K/9, WHIP, OppOBP (.228) and OppOPS (.563) lists.

He holds the single season records for WHIP (0.64), OppOBP (.193) and WAR (16.1) from the 2087 season.

8x Cy Young winner (2086, 2087, 2090, 2091, 2092, 2096, 2098, and 2099), ROY, 12X AS.

Led league in W 5x, W% 6x, IP 4x, K 10x, ERA 7x, TRIPLE CROWN 4x, WHIP 11x, K/W 13x, H/9 5x, W/9 13x, K/9 10x, SHO 4x, and VORP 8x.

Won WS in 2098 and 2102 (was injured coming back from 13 month recovery in first appearance of 2102. Was on DL for post season).

[VanillaGorilla]

When I made the statement at the beginning of the run through that I would get approximately 200 entrants, I had not considered the fact that not all players would reach the ML, thus reducing the number expected to be enshrined, here.

I have done the final screenings and 2 players will enter in the final class. This results in 180 entrants. As posted previously, factoring in the % of players that didn't play in the majors, this number comes very close to the adjusted expectation of 186.

For running a simulation like I did, perhaps it would be appropriate to base each year's selection based on the number of players that enter the draft pool, since they are all ML players, whether or not they reach the ML in the simulation.

However, the ultimate intent of these exercises is to create a methodology for creating a HOF induction process that resembles the RL process under any league parameters. If the number of players drafted was to be used as the base, that would result in a horrific skew if, for example, a full set of minor leagues was used. I think it is best to simply accept a low target number for final HOF population, here, than to alter the formula to result in a particular result under particular circumstances.

Numbers are silly, sometimes. Throughout the run of the league, pitchers were underrepresented in proportion to hitters. This was merely a function of randomness. At the end of the run, the pitchers wind up being overrepresented (by 2). There is no mechanism to "make-up" for previous results, in place. This is simply the nature of randomness.

Many posts will follow, including the final class, and I will probably be going overboard with some of this stuff, but I am very excited about how far this project has come, and even more excited about where it will go.

I do want to emphasize the obvious, here: The OOTP product that is the foundation for this project is spectacularly solid. Because, and only because, it is so damn good, could I do (or would I even think of doing) what I have done here, or what I am planning to do.

The reason that I would ever have found the HOF process of the software insufficient is ONLY because OOTP produces tremendous game output. If OOTP sucked, then there would be no desire to have a realistic simulation of the HOF process.

I keep this thought in mind when I read complaints about the software. If Markus and Co. did not put out such a marvelous product, which they constantly improve, NOBODY would care enough to worry about something like, oh, I don't know, a HOF selection process that is based on something other than arbitrary raw statistical achievement in selected categories.

[VanillaGorilla]

The final pitcher in the HOF is another unknown....Unkown McDoolan.

McDoolan was a second rd draft pick of the Rockies in 2033, the 60th overall.

McDoolan has the lowest K/9 number, 1.70, I can recall seeing for a HOFer. However, his control was outstanding, and it is that which was his bread and butter.

McDoolan enters the HOF 3rd on the career BB/9 list with a 0.87 number, one spot behind HOF John H Murphy and one spot ahead of Hugh O'Neil.

He collected 234 saves (52nd) in a career that lasted through the 2046 season.

In that time, he won 3 World Series.

In 2038 he shared closing duties with fellow HOFer Larry Wolf. McDoolan had 23 saves, Wolf 22. Nice Bully! Oh, a rotation with Randy Johnson as the ace isn't bad, either. The Orioles also featured HOFers George Brett and Shoeless Joe Jackson.

With that talent base, it isn't surprising that the O's won again in 2041. Gone were Brett, Johnson and Wolf. Mc Doolan notched 20 saves as he raised the trophy with newcomer Bill Skowron and again with Shoeless Joe.


In 2045 McDoolan made the transition to starter for the Austin Controllers. He won a career high 11 games tossing to Gary Carter in their WS year.

McDoolan pitched 1018 innings and surrendered a grand total of 101 walks.

He finished his career with a 64-70 record and a 4.04 OOTP ERA.

With an OSA Stuff rating of 3 for most of his career, McDoolan provided remarkable evidence to the fact that pitching is about much more than bending the ball.

At the age of 89, Unknown McDoolan becomes known for entering the HOF.

Black Ink: 3
Gray Ink: 23
HOFm: 50.9
HOFs: 10

Gorilla Composite: 0.7

As is the case with most relief pitchers entered, McDoolan is a floor breaker.