DREAM league project is (finally) ready to go.

[Augetout]

At LONG last the wacky project I have been working on is at a point where: All research has been conducted, all rosters have been created and then added to the game, all lineups have been installed, and all pitching staffs have been organized. 30 teams with 25 players each, (15 position players and 10 pitchers) with most (26 to be exact) being derived from the best season at each position from 1978 thru 1994, a time period that roughly speaking is the beginning of my obsession with baseball until the end of that obsession when the strike of 1994 cancelled the rest of the season, (I have since recovered). 2 teams (Marlins and Rockies) are made up of the same criteria but between the years of 1993 thru 2001, and 2 teams (Rays and Diamondbacks) using players from 1998 thru 2001. Meaning no offense to any of the four expansion teams, but I didn’t go to all this trouble to create this dream league so I could watch a team from outside the initial period dominate. Having said that it looks like the Rockies and Diamondbacks will end up contending despite the constricted time periods involved.

The Expos are in the league, and the Nationals are not. Call it “Creator’s choice” although I would point out that it will be interesting to see a team that barely sniffed the playoffs during the chosen time period competes in a division (and league) full of teams made up of playoff and world series players.

Interleague play, being blasphemous, is not part of this dream league.

The DH, despite being blasphemous, is in effect for both the American and National League teams.

Some exceptions to the time periods allowed have been made, so Mark ‘the Bird’ Fydrich’s 1976 season (among a small number of other such seasons) is included.

I minimized the effects of the juiced-ball years of 1987 and 1994 whenever and wherever possible.

While a given player can only appear once on a given team, it is allowed for players to appear for multiple teams, thus there might be a time when California Angels Bert Blyleven faces off against Cleveland Bert Blyleven.

Fun? Facts:
1. Larry Andersen is on 2 rosters
2. Bert Blyleven is on 2 rosters
3. Mike Boddicker is on 2 rosters
4. Bill Caudill is on 2 rosters
5. Doug Corbett is on 2 rosters
6. Dennis Eckersley is on 3 rosters
7. Steve Farr is on 2 rosters
8. Alex Fernandez is on 2 rosters
9. Rich ‘Goose’ Gossage is on 2 rosters
10. Greg A. Harris is on 2 rosters
11. Bryan Harvey is on 2 rosters
12. Roberto Hernandez is on 2 rosters
13. Al Holland is on 2 rosters
14. Rick Honeycutt is on 2 rosters
15. Bruce Hurst is on 2 rosters
16. Fergie Jenkins is on 2 rosters
17. Randy Johnson is on 2 rosters
18. Dennis Lamp is on 2 rosters
19. Greg Maddux is on 2 rosters
20. Roger McDowell is on 2 rosters
21. Chuck McElroy is on 2 rosters
22. Randy Myers is on 2 rosters
23. Phil Niekro is on 2 rosters
24. Gregg Olson is on 2 rosters
25. Jesse Orosco is on 2 rosters
26. Dan Plesac is on 2 rosters
27. Rick Reuschel is on 2 rosters
28. Nolan Ryan is on 2 rosters
29. Curt Schilling is on 2 rosters
30. Lee Smith is on 3 rosters
31. Rick Sutcliffe is on 2 rosters
32. Bruce Sutter is on 2 rosters
33. Bill Swift is on 2 rosters
34. Greg Swindell is on 2 rosters
35. Frank Viola is on 2 rosters
36. Roberto Alomar is on 2 rosters
37. Moises Alou is on 2 rosters
38. Alan Bannister is on 2 rosters
39. Jay Bell is on 2 rosters
40. Bruce Bochte is on 2 rosters
41. Wade Boggs is on 3 rosters
42. Barry Bonds is on 2 rosters
43. Bobby Bonilla is on 3 rosters
44. Bob Boone is on 2 rosters
45. Ellis Burks is on 2 rosters
46. Brett Butler is on 3 rosters
47. Jose Canseco is on 2 rosters
48. Rod Carew is on 2 rosters
49. Gary Carter is on 2 rosters
50. Joe Carter is on 2 rosters
51. Ron Cey is on 2 rosters
52. Chris Chambliss is on 2
53. Jack Clark is on 2
54. Dave Collins is on 2
55. Craig Counsell is on 2
56. Andre Dawson is on 2
57. Doug DeCinces is on 2
58. Lenny Dykstra is on 2
59. Tony Fernandez is on 2
60. Carlton Fisk is on 2
61. Scott Fletcher is on 2
62. Julio Franco is on 2
63. Andres Galarraga is on 2
64. Kirk Gibson is on 2
65. Mark Grace is on 2
66. Alfredo Griffin is on 2
67. Toby Harrah is on 2
68. Rickey Henderson is on (only?) 2
69. Keith Hernandez is on 2
70. Reggie Jackson is on 2
71. Ray Knight is on 3
72. John Kruk is on 2
73. Carney Lansford is on 3
74. Chet Lemon is on 2
75. Greg Luzinski is on 2
76. Fred Lynn is on 2
77. Bill Madlock is on 2
78. Fred McGriff is on 4!
79. Kevin McReynolds in on 2
80. Paul Molitor is on 2
81. Eddie Murray is on 2
82. Al Oliver is on 2
83. Rafael Palmeiro is on 2
84. Dave Parker is on 2
85. Larry Parrish is on 2
86. Terry Pendleton is on 3
87. Tony Phillips is on 2
88. Darrell Porter is on 2
89. Johnny Ray is on 2
90. Bip Roberts is on 2
91. Pete Rose is on 2
92. Benito Santiago is on 2
93. Steve Sax is on 2
94. Kevin Seitzer is on 2
95. Gary Sheffield is on 2
96. Ted Simmons is on 2
97. Lonnie Smith is on 2
98. Garry Templeton is on 2
99. Mickey Tettleton is on 2
100. Jason D. Thompson is on 2
101. Dickie Thon is on 2
102. Greg Vaughn is on 2
103. Larry Walker is on 2
104. Gary Ward is on 2
105. Matt Williams is on 2
106. Dave Winfield, (last but not least) is on 2

7 players made it onto 3 rosters. McGriff managed to make it to 4! That leaves 98 players that made it onto 2 rosters, of which 35 are pitchers, and 63 are position players.

Many, like Reggie Jackson were likely expected, but some (Allan Bannister?) might not have been expected to make 1 roster let alone 2.

Both Randy Johnsons are the tallest players in the league, listed at 6’10”, while both Bip Roberts are the shortest at 5’7”.

Phil Niekro, or more accurately the New York Yankees version of Phil Niekro, is the oldest player in the league at 44, although he is tied with Texas Rangers Nolan Ryan. 5 39 year-olds are in the league, by the way, and Edgar Renteria is the only teenager (and is the youngest) at 19.

8 Canadians are in the league.

6 Cubans are in the league, which is either Fidel Castro’s fault, or an indication that Cuban players aren’t all that and a bag of chips, although only 5 players hail from Mexico…

Division Previews:

A.L. EAST

The A.L. East is where the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is, and where during the chosen time period for both teams, the Curse of the Bambino was still in full effect. It is the division where the Blue Jays after well over a decade of ho-hum performances built a mini-dynasty in the early 1990s. It is the division of the Orioles and eventually the sacrilegious Tampa Bay Rays (only spring training games should be played in Florida, and/or Arizona for that matter). As mentioned, it is the division of the Curse of the Bambino, but it is also the division of ‘Bucky F-ing Dent’, Billy Buck’s leaky 5 hole, Ripken playing over 2000 games without missing even one, Joe Carter’s game 6 walk off HR, and so on.

The Contenders: Blue Jays, Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox (in no particular order)

The also-ran: The Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays will have an ‘ok’ offense, but a poor starting rotation and mediocre bullpen. They have Wade Boggs, as do the Yankees and Red Sox, but they have the ‘worst’ version, a .281 hitting shell of the Wade Boggs who spent well over a decade winning batting titles while eating chicken. Fred McGriff is in Tampa Bay as well, but none of that will matter when the staff ‘ace’ has an ERA of 3.56, which while being a full half-run better per 9 innings than anyone else in the rotation, is not very good. In the end the Rays will give up lots of runs, and will not be able to score often enough to keep up.

The BoSox were contenders for most of the chosen time period, and in 1986 came within a bad hop grounder away from winning the World Series. The Red Sox have a lineup with 6 of the starting 9 have OPS above .900, where the first 5 hitters have batting averages over .310, where 5 of the 9 have 39 or more doubles, and 5 of the 9 have 20+ HRs. It has batting champions and AL MVPs but no World Series rings. It is a stout lineup that will score tons of runs despite having no players from the 2000s, when the curse of the babe finally went away. The pitching rotation has an ace in Roger Clemens, with the rest of the rotation being solid. The bullpen, which wasn’t really ever a main strength of Boston’s, is also solid---not great but solid. The Red Sox will outscore more opponents than not, and will contend in the AL East.

The Yankees started the chosen time period by winning the World Series in 1978, and returning in 1981, but from there-----oye. I won’t go into great detail on the foibles of the 1980s Yankees, but I will mention that Willie McGee, Fred McGriff, Mike Morgan, Tim Burke, Doug Drabek, Jay Buhner, and Al Leiter, all who have made it onto rosters in this dream league, were Yankees before being traded for a bunch of players that are noticeably absent from any rosters in the dream league. Still, the top 5 hitters in the lineup are all in the Hall of Fame, and without Steinbrenner’s meddling, the Yankees will have a chance to contend. The starting rotation is anchored by 1978 Ron Guidry, and overall it is a solid if not awesome rotation. The bullpen is anchored by Goose Gossage’s 1981 season, when his ERA was a paltry 0.77! In what amounts to mostly 8 inning games, with Rickey Henderson’s 80 SBs being followed by the .342 of Wade Boggs, the .352 of Donny Baseball, 1982 Winfield’s 37 HRs, 1980 Reggie Jackson’s 41 HRs, and so on, the Yankees will contend in the AL East.

The Orioles lost the World Series in 1979, and won in 1983, but were also the worst team in baseball at times during the late 1980s. 2 thru 7 in the starting lineup have OPS north of .900, with 2 thru 8 in the starting lineup having 20+ HRs. Opposing pitchers might want to pitch around 1982 John ‘tonight let it be’ Lowenstein, but he is followed in the lineup by 1982 Eddie Murray’s .316 with 32 HRs, and Cal Ripken Jr.’s 1991 season of .323 and 34 HRs, so that might not be the best idea. Gold glovers at 1st, Shortstop, and 3rd base make the lineup seem even better. The starting rotation has a couple of aces in 1978 Jim Palmer and 1992 Mike Mussina, with the rest of the rotation being comprised of some Lefties from Weaver’s days as manager and 1983 ace Mike Boddicker. It is a solid staff, even given that it is not as good as some of the rotations the O’s sported in the days before the chosen time period. The bullpen has 3 relievers with ERAs below 1.88 and the ‘worst is Tippy Martinez at 2.35. The Orioles will contend in the AL East.

The Blue Jays spent much of the chosen time period as an also-ran, but did win 2 World Series trophies in 1992 and 1993. Offensively, the first 3 hitters hit .326 or better. The first 6 hitters are all 30+ doubles guys, and the only guy without 15+ HRs is the number 8 hitter, Rance Mulliniks who starts over Kelly Gruber due to the combination of his .324 average and me liking to say ‘Rance’ and ‘Mulliniks’ even more than I like saying ‘Gruber’. The starting rotation has 1985 Dave Stieb for an ace which not coincidentally was the first year the Blue Jays made it to the post-season. Slots 4 and 5 are relatively weak, and will need help from the more than able bullpen, where 3 of the 5 have ERAs under 2.00, and the ‘worst’ is 1989 David Wells’ 2.41 ERA. The Blue Jays can outhit most teams, have the speed to outrun teams when necessary, and can outpitch most teams. All while having a gold glove 2nd baseman, Jessie Barfield’s absolute cannon in right field, and an overall solid defense. The Jays will contend in the relatively loaded AL East.

[Augetout]

A.L. CENTRAL
In the chosen time period, the Twins, Royals, and Tigers won World Series championships, while the White Sox occasionally slipped into the playoffs, and the Indians wallowed in the mire that was their experience in the AL East back then. The Indians did make it to the World Series in 1995 (the year after the cutoff for non-expansion teams) but lost to the Braves. Remarkably they made it back to the World Series again in 1997, but managed to lose to the expansion Marlins. Oh, and let’s not forget losing the 2016 World Series to the team formerly knowns as ‘lovable losers’, i.e. the Cubs. With 3 of the 5 teams in the division being World Series Champions, the AL Central should loaded, right? Let’s see:

The contenders: Royals, Tigers, and Twins.

The also-rans: The White Sox, and Indians.

The White Sox, if you ever listened to WMAQ in Chicago, were perennial contenders-just ask ‘em, during the chosen time period, but only made the playoffs twice during the chosen time period, in 1983 and 1993. They’ve had good players, but didn’t put it together during the chosen time period. For this league, the lineup is a mixture of the softball-uniformed early ‘80s teams, and the early 90s teams. The ChiSox will score runs, but with the relatively low batting averages and lack of team speed, it will likely be inconsistent. The starting rotation is solid, but not at an elite level. The bullpen is better, and should be able to preserve leads when given the chance. If the karmic dice fall correctly, the White Sox could contend, and not many teams will look forward to playing against them, but the starting rotation will probably cause them to reside in mediocre-land most of the time.

The Indians if asked, would probably answer that it ‘figures’ someone would go to the trouble of creating a league with each team’s best players, but still manage to leave the Indians out in the cold by choosing a time period that doesn’t suit the Tribe. Having said that, Cleveland’s lineup is dangerous in a few ways: The top 2 lineup spots each have a 60+ SB guy and the top 3 spots in the lineup have hitters with averages of .341 and above. The top 7 hitters are all above .300, and slots 3 thru 8 all have 20+ HRs. 1978 Andre Thornton hit 33 HRs, which is good for 8th in the Indians starting lineup… Offense won’t be the problem, but the Starting pitching rotation will. The first 3 are solid, and the 4 and 5 pitchers aren’t horrible, but in a division like the AL Central, solid and not ‘horrible’ aren’t likely to result in success over a 162 game schedule. The bullpen might help, but without help from the starters they will wear down. The Indians will scare some teams, but will most likely not contend in the AL East.

The Twins won the World Series in 1987, and 1991. Lots of offense, decent defense, and timely good pitching was their recipe for success. For this league it might be much of the same, although to a lesser degree. As it turns out, the Twins have had some pretty damned good pitchers in non-World Series years. The lineup is stout, with the first 7 hitters having batting averages north of .301, and the top 6 hitters all having 29 or more doubles. The 1994 version of Chuck ‘new kids on’ Knoblauch leads off with a .312 average, along with 45 doubles and 35 SBs. He is followed by 1977 Rod Carew and his .388 batting average. In the 3 slot is a .356 hitting Kirby Puckett, and so on throughout the lineup. The only relatively weak spot in the lineup is Roy Smalley at #9, and while his .271 average might give opposing pitchers the illusion of relief and/or a resting spot, his 24 HRs will say otherwise. The starting rotation has a good top 3, with the 4 and 5 spots being solid but not great. The bullpen isn’t outstanding, either, so not unlike that actual Twins of the day; these Twinkies will have to win with good hitting, good defense, and timely appearances of good pitching. Odds are that the Twins will contend on a consistent basis in the AL Central.

The Tigers, much to my teenage chagrin, won the World Series in 1984 over my beloved Padres. Worse yet, I disliked them intensely before that unhappy occurrence due to their habit of beating the Brewers. Led by manager Sparky Anderson, (the Reds made a booboo when they decided Sparky’s best days were behind him), the Tigers always found a way to win. Sure they traded John Smoltz away for a rental version of Doyle Alexander, but every team has a similar skeleton somewhere in a given closet. For this league, the Tigers’ lineup is an interesting mix of World Series winners and players from the Fielder ‘era’, along with a sprinkling of players from the late 1970s. 1978 Ron LeFlore and his 68 SBs lead off, with 1993 Tony Phillips’ .443 OBP hitting second in the hopes that someone will be on base when 1987 Trammell’s .343 comes to the plate, or when cleanup hitter 1990 Cecil Fielder’s 51 HRs arrive. In all, 6 of the 9 starters are good for 20+ HRs, and 5 of the 9 are good for 30+ doubles. The Tiggers will score their share of runs, to be sure. 1976 Mark ‘the bird’ Fidrych and his 2.34 ERA is the staff ace, with the rest of the staff being relatively mediocre for a league of this sort. The bullpen is solid, and if the Tigers have a lead in the 8th or 9th inning the game will probably be over. That starting rotation, though, suggests that too often there won’t be a lead for the Tigers bullpen to protect. The Tigers will contend, but they will not dominate, in the AL Central.

The Royals lost the World Series in 1980 (to the Phillies) and if not for Denkinger’s horrible call in game 6 of the ’85 series, they would have lost that one too, but enough of me whining! The Royals of the late 1970s and through the mid-1980s was a team that considered itself in the mix to contend year in and year out. It didn’t hurt that the team leader was a future Hall of Famer in George Brett, but if we’re being honest we’ve seen teams do worse with more. This lineup has Willie Wilson and Amos Otis in the first 2 slots, with George Brett in the 3 hole. Slots 2 thru 7 are good for 20+ HRs. Slots 3 thru 7 have OPS north of .900. The starting rotation has 1989 Bret Saberhagen as an ace, with none of the 5 starters having an ERA above 2.72. The bullpen has 3 pitchers with ERAs under 2.00, and 2 pitchers with WHIP under 1.000. It is probably the best staff in the AL Central, and thus the Royals will contend for the AL Central title, with or without a return of Don Denkinger!

[Augetout]

A.L. WEST

The Contenders: Rangers, Astros, A’s, and Angels

The also-ran: Mariners

During the chosen time period, the Astros were in the National League West, and made a couple of appearances in the playoffs back when rainbow uniforms and stadiums, not band-boxes were still ‘cool’. The chosen time period leaves the A’s 1970s teams who won 3 straight World Series out of the mix, but the cupboard is not bare in Oakland… The Angels were near-misses on a couple of occasions, and the Rangers and Mariners were yet to be playoff-capable. The A’s 1989 win is the only World Series win for teams in this AL West. Perhaps the best news is that neither the Twins nor the Royals, teams who spent a good deal of the chosen time period dominating the AL West, are in the realigned AL West.

The Mariners were not a very good team for much of the chosen time period, although in 1995 they finally made the playoffs, and have had some infrequent success since. Nonetheless they have a decent lineup anchored by 1994 Ken Griffey Jr.’s 1.076 OPS season. Being honest though, it is a team that has yet to draft Alex Rodriguez. It is also a team that has ‘pre-God’ Randy Johnson as its ace despite his ERA being a full half point higher than it is for the other team he is an ace on, the D-Backs. Such is the luck of this northwest team. Neither the starting rotation nor the bullpen is likely to hold up against other teams in the AL West, and the lineup simply isn’t good enough to overcome that set of difficulties.

The Rangers, like the Mariners, never made it to the playoffs during the chosen time period. They sniffed such things on occasion, but never found a way to get there until their run of success that began in 1996. For this league their lack of real world success does not preclude their chances, as much like the Expos the Rangers have assembled a pretty powerful lineup with a pretty good pitching staff to back it up. The Rangers have a rotation that has the Ryan Express, but Nolan is not the staff ace. The lineup boasts 4 hitters at above the .310 mark, with 5 starters having more than 30 doubles, and with the 3-5 hitters having 112 HRs between them. The Rangers should be a fun team to watch.

There was a time when the Astros were contenders and were not cheating! Realignment brought the Astros to the American League which should be to the advantage at least in pitching of the Astros, and so it is. Nolan Ryan’s 1982 1.69 ERA is good for staff ace, and the only starting pitcher with an ERA north of 2.37 is J.R. Richard with a 2.71 ERA in his last full season before his tragic stroke. The Astros’ rotation is on par with the Dodgers rotation. The bullpen has 2 pitchers with ERAs under 2.00 and the ‘worst’ has an ERA of 2.65 so it might not be a great idea to knock their starting pitchers out of games. Back in the day the Astros played in the Astrodome with walls that were placed as far away as the stadium’s design allowed. Thus the Astros spent well over a decade valuing speed over power, and it shows in their lineup. The top 5 hitters are at .309 or better, and other than the defensive wizard of a catcher Alan Ashby, there are no weak spots in the lineup. All that and the Astros get the benefit of 1994 Jeff Bagwell, or as some might call it the beginning of the band-box/steroid-dominated era. Still, many a team would love to have a .368 hitter with 32 doubles, 39 HRs, and 15 SBs sitting in the 3 hole, which is what the Astros enjoy with Bagwell. The other half of the ‘brothers B’, Craig Biggio also has his 1994 season stats, with 44 doubles and 39 SBs to go with his .318 average, and .411 OBP. The ‘rainbow’ Astros are well-represented, though, as Jose Cruz, Cesar Cedeno, Alan Ashby, and most of the pitching staff come from the days of the orange rainbow. Houston has a lot of ways to beat other teams, and will contend in the relatively weak AL West.

Given that the A’s are the only team from the newly-aligned AL West to win a World Series, they should dominate the division, right? Maybe, but while they will contend they most likely will not dominate. This is despite having 1990 Rickey Henderson, 1988 Jose Canseco’s 40/40 year, McGwire’s 49 HR year, and so on. In fact the top 3 spots in the lineup combine for 142 stolen bases, which is more than any team had in 2019 or the pandemic-shortened 2020 seasons. The A’s entire starting staff sports ERAs under 3.00, and the ‘worst’ ERA in the bullpen is 1989 Rick Honeycutt’s 2.35 ERA. Oh, and 1990’s Dennis Eckersley has the 9th inning locked down to the tune of a 0.61 ERA with a 0.614 WHIP. Opponents might want to score before the 9th, as scoring in the 9th doesn’t seem likely.

It seemed like every year Gene Autry’s impending death compelled the Angels front office to acquire every aging star they could lay hands on, to no avail. They had chances, to be sure, losing in the ALCS in 1979, 1982, and 1986. Thus perhaps it makes sense that each year the Angels front office might have concluded that they were ‘one player away’ from winning it all. In any event, the lineup is stocked with Hall of Fame players who started with other teams but came to the west coast to play for the Angels. The pitching staff is solid, with no starting pitcher having an ERA above 2.93, and a bullpen with 2 relievers under the 2.00 ERA level. All that and an all-time Bermanism, Bert “be home” Blyleven is on the Angels staff. With 4 hitters with 30+ HRs, and a solid pitching staff, the Angels will contend in the AL West.

Quirks:

The Angels and Red Sox both start Fred Lynn.

The Angels and Yankees both start Reggie Jackson.

The Angels and Orioles both start Doug DeCinces.

The Angels and Twins both start Rod Carew.

3 teams in the AL West have names starting with the letter ‘A’ (Astros, Angels, A’s)

[Augetout]

N.L. EAST PREVIEW

The Contenders: Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Expos.

The also-ran: The Marlins.

The Phillies went to 3 World Series during the chosen time period, winning once in 1980.

The Braves went to the playoffs 4 times during the chosen time period, and to the World Series twice, losing both times.

The Mets went to the World Series and won the Championship in 1986.

The Marlins went to and won the World Series in 1997.

The Expos went to the NLCS in 1981 and were in a position to go back to the playoffs in 1994 before the strike cancelled the playoffs and World Series.

Despite winning the World Series in 1997, the Marlins are unlikely to contend in the NL East. Their starting rotation just doesn’t have the ‘horses’ to stay in a race for 162 games, although in a short series the Marlins still are a dangerous team. Some might wonder why I didn’t extend the number of seasons available for the expansion teams, among them the Marlins. The answer is that I wasn’t really paying that much attention to baseball during those years, and I’ll be damned if I go to all this work just to watch a team full of players I never paid any attention to make it to the playoffs or worse, the World Series!

The Expos would seem to be the least likely team to contend, given that they are the only NL East team that didn’t make it to the World Series during the chosen time period(s). But one look at the Expos lineup tells a different story. Had Rickey Henderson gone into the car business instead of playing the outfield, there is an argument to be made that we would be talking about Tim Raines as ‘the best leadoff hitter of all time’ instead of him rarely being mentioned. #2 hitter Al Oliver is starting on the Pirates and Rangers in addition to the Expos, and is another player that is rarely mentioned. Andres Galarraga is starting for the Expos and Rockies, as is Larry Walker. Gary Carter starts for the Expos and the Mets. Steve Rogers is perhaps the best starting pitcher from the era that you’ve never heard of. The Expos, who aren’t even in MLB anymore, have something to prove and the ability to contend in the NL East.

The Mets are used to playing second fiddle to the AL Yankees, but in the 1980s The Mets went to the playoffs twice to the Yankees once, and won the World Series (’86) once, to the Yankees tally of zero. Whereas the Yankees gave up on or traded away a roster’s worth of All Stars (there’s actually a website that tracks that sort of thing for the 1980s Yankees), the Mets added All Stars in Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter to go along with some homegrown talents, and won ‘the whole thing’ in ’86. For this league the Mets have an outstanding starting rotation and an excellent bullpen to go along with 3 starters with 30+ HRs, a good defense and 2 more with 20+ HRs. Gooden, Cone, et al will keep the Mets in the mix, and it will be fun to find out if the “Amazin’ Mets” can get the timely hits they’ll need in order to capture the NL East crown.

The Braves didn’t win a World Series in the chosen time period, but they went to 2, and eventually won in ’95. The team was built around starting pitching and finding enough offense to win games. In order for this Braves team to contend, the formula will be much the same, but with the knowledge that finding enough offense will be easier this time around. The first 7 hitters are 300+ hitters. The 3-5 slots all are 30+ HR guys, and it pays to note that the chosen time period doesn’t include Chipper Jones! It does, however, include 2 time MVP Dale Murphy. Between the years of 1978 thru 1994 the league average for WHIP was somewhere between 1.307 and 1.430. The highest WHIP for a Braves starting pitcher is 1.187… ‘nuff said?

The Phillies won the World Series in 1980, were a perennial contender in the 1970s, and lost more World Series (2) during the chosen time period than most teams went to. As the Redbirds skipper Whitey Herzog, also 1-2 in World Series during the chosen time period said: “I’d rather be 1 for 3 than 0 for 0.” Getting ready for this project, or more accurately killing time I should have been spending on schoolwork, I recently began watching MLB Network ‘team of the ‘X’’ shows. It pays to note that Mike Schmidt was named the best 3rd baseman of the 1970s AND 1980s… The Phillies lineup is a mixture of its World Series teams and standout seasons, as is the pitching staff. Thus, perhaps the best left-handed pitcher I have yet to see, Steve Carlton is the staff ace followed by 1992 Curt Schilling, and 1983 John Denny (the ace on the 1983 team that lost to the O’s in the World Series). The only 2 players in the top 7 slots in the lineup who didn’t hit .300 are named Mike Schmidt (48 HRs) and Darren Daulton (.908 OPS). The Phillies will, as did the teams their lineup in this league is made up of, contend in the NL East.

QUIRKS:

The Mets and Phillies are both starting Lenny Dykstra.

Kevin McReynolds starts for the Padres and Mets.

Pete Rose starts for the Phillies and Reds, despite both teams drawing from years that are past Rose’s prime years.

The Cardinals traded Steve Carlton away early in his career, I guess because they were sick of not being included in discussions about how stupid the Mets were to trade Nolan Ryan away…

I remember Mike Krukow more from when he pitched for the Giants, but while he is on the Phillies rotation, he is not on the Giants rotation…

Willie McGee was one of those players the Yankees traded away during their decade without a World Series championship of the 1980s…

Lonnie Smith won a ring with the Phillies in 1980 and the Cardinals in 1982 but missed out on a ring with the Braves, who won the year after he retired (from the Orioles). Results for this league? Lonnie Smith starts in LF for the Braves, is a reserve outfielder for the Redbirds, and is not on the Phillies roster. Go figure.

Bobby Bonilla, starting for the Mets, will also start for the Marlins, and is a reserve for the Pirates, although I believe the Mets are the only team still sending him a paycheck…

Curt Schilling is the #2 starter for the Phillies and also for the D-Backs.

[Augetout]

N.L. CENTRAL Preview

The Contenders: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds. Every team in the division can win the division, albeit for different reasons.

The Brewers have a mini-playoffs year and a losing World Series season along with the years of “Lach’s losers” etc. but still managed to assemble a powerful lineup, with 3 Hall of Fame players starting. The Milwaukee Braves used to say “Spahn and Sain then pray for rain” and so it was for most Brewers teams, who usually had 1 or 2 decent pitchers backed up by a throng of mediocrity. In this league, however, the Brewers have the best from numerous years, thus a Cy Young Award winning Pete Vuckovich is the 5th starter, and in truth would not be on the team if not for an unwritten rule to include MVP and Cy Young winners on the respective rosters whenever possible. In any event, Bambi’s Bombers, Harvey’s Wallbangers and Treb’s rebels (?) are well-represented. If the Brewers string hits together, the pitching should reward them with wins.

The Cardinals went to 3 World Series, winning one against the then American League Champion Brewers, then losing the Denkinger series in ’85 and to the Twins in ’87. All three World Series teams were managed by Whitey Ford, so it is only appropriate that most players on the Redbirds roster are his type of players. The Cardinals will not always need to manufacture runs, but they certainly can do so whenever needed. With 6 switch-hitters starting, other teams will find it difficult to get good matchups against St. Louis. The Cardinals rotation has 4 staff aces and is the staff closest to the ability level of the Dodgers staff.

The Cubs are no longer the ‘lovable losers’ but in the time period chosen they still were, although a couple of seasons Chicago made it into the playoffs only to break their fans’ hearts in 1984 and ’89 when they lost to the Padres and Giants, respectively, despite having the NL MVP both years, and a Cy Young winner in ’84. The starting lineup has 2 NL MVP seasons represented, and 2 NL Cy Young Award winners along with the usual over-representation of All Star players inherent in this league. The 4 and 5 slots in the starting rotation are a little weak for this division, but having a one-two punch of Maddux and 1984 Sutcliffe will be fun to watch. Holy Cow the 3 and 4 hitters have 97 HRs between them, and the chosen time period doesn’t even include most of the Steroid era!

The Pirates went to and won the World Series in 1979, in addition to going to and losing the NLCS 3 times in 1990, ’91, and ’92. Winning 4 division titles makes for a good-sized talent pool, and all 4 teams are represented on the roster. The Bucs’ starting rotation is anchored by 2 staff aces and the ‘worst’ starter sports an ERA of 2.81. The lineup is made up of heavy hitters with high averages. In fact 1978 Willie Stargell’s .295 is the ‘worst’ in the starting lineup. 3 players hit better than .320 and 4 have OPS well north of .950. Teams with dominant left-handed starters might, emphasis on ‘might’ enjoy that the Pirates have 5 left-handed hitters in the everyday lineup. More accurately they will enjoy it until they find out the 5 hitters are named: Easler, Bonds, Parker, Stargell, and Van Slyke…

The Reds were probably happy to get out of the Dodgers division right up until they found out that the NL Central is probably an even tougher division from top to bottom. The chosen time period misses the best years of the ‘big red machine’ but Cincinnati did manage to get to the playoffs in 1979, and to win the ‘whole thing’ in 1990. Additionally the Reds were one of the teams ‘most hosed’ by the strike-shortened travesty of dividing the season into two parts, as they missed the cut despite having the best overall record in there then-home of the NL West. In any event, the Reds still manage to have a powerful lineup despite missing out on the ‘best years’ of the franchise, and will contend for the NL Central title. Think of how things might have looked if they had the best Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, etc. years! The Reds starting rotation has 1 Hall of Fame pitcher in Tom Seaver, and if not for some injuries he would likely have been joined by Rijo, and Soto, as both had filthy stuff. The starting lineup has 4 Hall of Fame players (counting Rose). In the final analysis, the ‘not so big Red Machine’ still has plenty of weapons, and will be contenders in the NL Central.

QUIRKS:

The Pirates and Reds are both starting Dave Parker.

Both the Cardinals and Brewers are starting Ted Simmons at Catcher.

Both the Cubs and Cardinals have Lee Smith on their rosters.

Both the Cubs and Cardinals have Bruce Sutter on their rosters.

Dennis Eckersley is a starter for the Cubs, and Red Sox, and God of all relievers for the A’s.

None of the players on the Brewers roster played for the Brewers in the National League…

The 3 teams, two of which are in the NL Central (now), which were involved in the monster trades after the 1980 season, all made the World Series within 4 years of the trades, and all were partly due to the trade. That would be the Padres, Cardinals, and Brewers for those scoring at home.

Pete Vuckovich, one of the players involved in that monster 1980 trade, almost made the Cardinals roster in addition to being the 5th starter for the ‘Crew.

The Brewers roster has 3 Hall of Fame members.

The Cubs roster has 6 HoF players.

The Cardinals roster has 5, and Willie McGee should be!

The Reds roster has 5, again counting Rose.

The Pirates roster has 3 counting Bonds and more than a couple who should be in the HoF…

The Cardinals, Pirates and Reds all won a World Series during the chosen time period, while the Brewers lost a World Series and the Cubs failed to make the World Series.

[Augetout]

N.L. WEST Preview

The contenders: The Giants, Dodgers, and Padres.

The maybe-contender(s): The Rockies

The likely also-ran(s): The Diamondbacks.

Working from the presumptive bottom, the D-Backs will score some runs, but their pitching just cannot be expected to hold up during a full 162-game season. Randy Johnson is a legitimate ace, with his 2.49 ERA and 1.009 WHIP, but most games he will be facing off against other teams’ aces, which will mitigate Johnson’s impact on the pennant race.

The Rockies can score runs, especially at home, but their pitching is terrible. While they have a better chance than the D-Backs at contending, it will have to come in the form of 7-6 ballgames, as there is no significant expectation of their starting rotation being able to consistently stop other teams from scoring.

The Padres have the lineup to contend, and the pitching to allow the lineup a chance to score enough runs to win games. San Diego will have to be careful with the bullpen or there will be games where they will have to ride a starter well past his ability to contain the other teams’ offenses. Having Tony Gwynn’s .394 year in the 3 slot with 2 speedsters who get on base a lot will be interesting to watch, as will the 4 thru 8 slots, where each is in danger of going deep in every at bat.

The Giants have a powerful offense as well, and pitching that will stand up to (even) the Dodgers’ staff. Not many opposing pitchers are going to enjoy facing Bonds, Mitchell, the Clark ‘bros’ and Matt Williams in succession. How far the Giants go will depend, however, on how well the top 3 in the rotation (Swift, Hammaker, and Garrelts) perform.

The Dodgers would be contenders just based on their starting rotation, which to my mind is the best in the league. Their bullpen will also be excellent, and unlike many Dodgers teams of the chosen time period, the offense will likely score runs in bunches. Look for Bob Welch and Jerry Reuss, the 4 and 5 starters for the Dodgers, to be where much of the potential for separation resides. No other team can count on a 2.31 ERA and 2.51 ERA out of their 4th and 5th starters.

The overall winner might very well come from the NL West, but only if the old adage that ‘good pitching beats good hitting’ stays true.

QUIRKS: Both the Dodgers and Giants have Brett Butler starting in CF and leading off.

The Giants went to the World Series in 1989, but of the 25 roster slots only 4 are occupied by 1989 players.

The Dodgers went to 3 World Series during the chosen time period, winning in 1981 and 1988, but not even one starter is from either of the 2 World Champion teams, with 2 starters being from the team that lost to the Yankees in 1978.

1988 NL MVP Kirk Gibson is on the Dodgers’ bench…

The Padres went to the World Series once during the chosen time period, in 1984. Only two players, both pitchers, from the World Series year, made the team. It pays to note that at least 9 Padres players are also on other teams’ rosters. The joys of a ‘small market’ team having to part with most of their homegrown talent…

In 2001 The D-Backs became the next team to have won more World Series titles than the Padres…

In 2020 4 players had OPS above 1.000-----The Rockies starting lineup for this league also has 4…

Best name given by Berman: Brett ‘frankly I don’t give a damn’ Butler.

[Augetout]

All games will be played manually to the best of my impartial abilities. Updates, given that I work full time, have returned to finish my degree (also full time), and have a wife, might not be able to be done daily as I would hope.

Any help on getting the damned game to allow me to post game recaps onto the forums will be greatly appreciated.

[Augetout]

Opening Day did not go as planned. I thought I could disable the 'baseball world keeps going' deal, so I could play all games manually, but it didn't work. Help appreciated.

[Augetout]

Dream League is on hold while waiting on some help to enable me to play the games manually.

All teams are controlled by me, but when attempting to play games the box that would stop the rest of the league from playing in the background is grayed-out.

Any help is appreciated.

[GoTribe]

Typically, the box becomes "active" right when you start a game. Start a game and then uncheck the simulate world box.

[italyprof]

I wish I knew how to stop the games from simming simultaneously. This is a wonderful project and this description is brilliantly written.

I hope someone knows how to enable you to play each game through for each team. know that you can do it by setting up a tournament, but I think then you are stuck with an elimination system, not a whole season as you want and I would as well. I was disappointed when I used the quickstart of all-time teams with their greatest all-time rosters, created a fantasy draft and drafted a team only to find that I could not play a whole season through, only a tournament.

[Augetout]

Originally Posted by Brad K

At the beginning of each day uncheck the box for simulate real world in background.

So this is the issue that needed a remedy. It is tested and it works like a charm.

Now, (insert appropriate verbal outburst), I have to re-enter all of the players as I had to get a new laptop, both for school and so I could avoid heat issues from this game (sounds odd, I know) causing problems. New rig works great, but the league must be re-entered and restarted.

On the plus side, restarting the league might have some additional benefits in the form of pitcher stamina (it was way too low) and tweaking which variables need to be where on the hitting/stats side of things. The way the game takes care of stuff like that would seem to complicate the project a bit, although the worst-case scenario is that the stats are skewed enough that another season or additional seasons end up being warranted.