Retraction: Early Draft Picks Post

Late last week I basically praised the genius of Brad for his LIMA plan that resulted in back to back World Championships. While he still may be a genius, both he and Steve C of the DC Chips were to quick to point out that Lima de Equipo didn't in fact win ATB X and it was Chippendale's Chips to bring home the title two seasons ago.

How did Steve pull off a World Title in the first year of his existence? Picking second overall certainly helped, and the Chips enjoyed a stellar season out of Barry Bonds - .330 / .490 / .615, 47 HR, 157 R(!), and 125 RBI.

After that it was defense all the way to round out the Top-5 picks for his team. 1909 Eddie Collins was drafted 2nd, followed by 1925 Oscar Charleston, 1910 Pop Lloyd, and 1997 Larry Walker. Each of them ranked among the best defensive players at their positions, and each recorded an Ex defensive rating.

Only Walker excelled with the stick though, batting .291 / .361 / .498 with 32 HR, 116 R, and 124 RBI while Collins and Lloyd barely recorded OPS scores over .700. Charleston did knock in and score over 100, but his .338 OBP and 21 HR's were atypical for a Top 5 draft pick. Still, the focus on defense was a success and more than a few teams the following season attempted to follow suit. Overall, DC enjoyed Ex fielders at C, 1B, 2B, SS, CF, and RF with a Vg defender in LF. His third base platoon was genius too - an Ex defending Ron Santo vs lefties and perhaps the greatest ever ATB season out of Howard Johnson - .510 SLG, 35 HR, 123 RBI.