Single Season Leaders Updated - Pitchers

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/ATL_Pitt_Single_Season.htm

Multiple Appearances in Top 10

• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 1st in IP
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 1st in QS
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 1st in GS
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 3rd in WHIP
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 3rd in K
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 4th in H/9
• Pedro Martinez (OFB) 10th in CERA
• Greg Maddux (SH) 2nd in QS%
• Greg Maddux (SH) 4th in ERA
• Greg Maddux (SH) 4th in CG
• Greg Maddux (SH) 6th in QS
• Greg Maddux (SH) 7th in CERA
• Bobby Jenks (SH) 1st in Reliever ERA
• Bobby Jenks (SH) 1st in Reliever WHIP
• Bobby Jenks (SH) 2nd in Reliever RCERA
• Eric Gagne (SH) 2nd in Reliever ERA
• Eric Gagne (SH) 9th in Reliever RCERA
• Cy Blanton (TWW) 3rd in QS
• Cy Blanton (TWW) 7th in QS%
• Bill Bernhard (OFB) 3rd in IP
• Bill Bernhard (OFB) 4th in GS
• Porter Charleston (MRE) 1st in Reliever W
• Porter Charleston (MRE) 8th in G
• Juan Marichal (OFB) 4th in IP
• Juan Marichal (OFB) 6th in GS
• Randy Johnson (DB) 5th in K/9
• Randy Johnson (DB) 8th in K

Single Appearance in Top 10

• Ed Walsh (DT) 2nd in L
• Graeme Lloyd (BS) 3rd in Reliever WHIP
• Greg Holland (TWW) 3rd in Reliever RCERA
• Red Ryan (WPM) 3rd in Reliever in W
• Randy Jones (DCC) tied for 4th in W
• Ed Reulbach (NVB) 5th in H/9
• Jeff Gray (MRE) 5th in Reliever WHIP
• Bruce Sutter (BS) 6th in Sv
• Greg Vean (NVB) 6th in Reliever RCERA
• Bucky Walters (PRL) 7th in BB
• Dennis Eckersley (OFB) 7th in Reliever WHIP
• Rob Murphy (DCC) 7th in Reliever W
• Jeff Russell (SM) 8th in Reliever RCERA
• Roy Halladay (PBE) 10th in QS
• Ted Lyons (PBE) 10th in GS
• Jeff Russell (SM) 10th in Reliever WHIP

"Top 10" Seasons Updated

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/All_Time_Leaders.htm

ATB XV was apparently the "Year of the Reliever" as four new members have been added to the Top-10 list:

• #1 - Bobby Jenks (SH)
• #3 - Greg Holland (TWW)
• #5 - Greg Vean (NVB) - I call foul, Greg frickin' Vean?
• #9 - Greame Lloyd (BS)

Elsewhere

• Eric Gagne (SH) had the 5th best closer season ever
• Greg Maddux (SH) had the 6th best starter season
• Oscar Charleston (SPB) comes in 5th for best offensive seasons.  This is still quite a feat, he's the first person to crack the top-10 since ATB 11.

20 Resims: #15 - North Valley Bears

North Valley is another good team that in any given season had a legitimate chance at making the playoffs.  It’s apparent than ATB XV was a league of parity and we’ll soon see that half the league ended up between 77 and 85 wins and two-thirds of the league had win total’s between 70 and 90.

The question of the day is not so much about the Bears, and instead about negro leaguer Willie Wells.  After a stellar 500 resims (.271 / .351 / .490) Wells was grabbed by TJ at #6 overall, only to bust, batting .232 / .309 / .388 in the regular season.  Turns is TJ was mostly vindicated.  Wells may not be worth a Top-10 pick, but in the resims the great fielding shortstop batted .258 / .333 / .463 in  a park that suppresses home runs and doubles, very good numbers and more than acceptable for a 1st rounder.

Wells had some help.  Ken Williams, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Mize, Ryan Howard, and Vlad Guerrero combined to hit 160 home runs and Pete Browning swiped 80 bases a year.

The staff averaged a 3.97 team ERA, solid numbers that put them almost exactly at league median.  Harry Brecheen was a legitimate ace (15-11, 3.63) and the rotation as a whole averaged a 4.18 ERA.  Their bullpen could have used a top flight reliever, but TJ chose to wait on draft day, selecting his first reliever in round 10, and his second in round 14.  This results were predictable – no one with a 3.25 or better ERA.

TJ’s bears made the playoffs 9 times and in 7 of those instances won the division.  With 1 or 2 more top end players this team easily could be ranked in the top half of the league.

800 OPS Batters: 
None

Sub 4.00 ERA Starters
3.63 – Harry Brecheen

Sub 3.25 ERA Relievers
None, though Keith Foulke (3.27) and Jim Brewer (3.34) were close

Best Value Draft Pick
Rd 13 – Ryan Howard (.720 OPS, 36 HR, 89 RBI)

Bust Draft Pick
Rd 2 – Roger Clemens (4.11 ERA, 1.42 WHIP).  Not terrible numbers, but you need more from a 2nd rounder who is to be your ace

20 Resim Results

24) 64 wins, Downsouth Brews

23) 66 wins, Colorado Green Sox

22) 72 wins, Lancaster Pretty Ladies

21) 69 wins, Detroit Tigers
20) 74 wins, Platte County Burnt Ends
19) 75 wins, Leesburg Snowhole
18) 77 wins, Planet 10 Red Lectroids
17) 78 wins, Rochester Beau Brummels
16) 79 wins, Otherton Fishbiscuits
15) 79 wins, North Valley Bears

NL MVP Winner

1) 80 Points-Charleston, Oscar (SPB) - (16, 0, 0 / 16 ballots)
1) 24 Points-Griffey Jr, Ken (BS) - (1, 6, 1 / 8 ballots)
1) 18 Points-Mantle, Mickey (HH) - (0, 5, 3 / 8 ballots)
1) 13 Points-Barnes, Ross (DCC) - (0, 3, 4 / 7 ballots)
1) 11 Points-Gehrig, Lou (BS) - (0, 2, 5 / 7 ballots)
1) 3 Points-Mays, Willie (SM) - (0, 1, 0 / 1 ballots)
1) 2 Points-Vaughan, Arky (SM) - (0, 0, 2 / 2 ballots)
1) 1 Points-Lajoie, Nap (NFB) - (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)
1) 1 Points-Browning, Pete (NVB) - (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)

Well, to each his own.  Not Charleston winning, but the fact Charleston was left off 1 ballot completely.  Hard to believe but true.  Charleston won handily nonetheless, picking up 80 of a possible 85 points.

In second was Ken Griffey Jr who hung with Charleston for most of the 1st half before slowing down.  A third center fielder, Mickey Mantle, takes third as well.

NL Reliever of the Year

1) 72 Points-Sutter, B (BS) ----- (13, 2, 1 / 16 ballots)
2) 31 Points-Eckersley, D (OFB) -- (2, 6, 3 / 11 ballots)
3) 13 Points-Meredith, C (PCP) --- (1, 2, 2 / 5 ballots)
4) 12 Points-McGraw, T (DCC) ----- (1, 2, 1 / 4 ballots)
5) 11 Points-Gordon, T (LS) ------ (0, 3, 2 / 5 ballots)
6) 5 Points-Murphy, R (DCC) ------ (0, 1, 2 / 3 ballots)
7) 3 Points-Hall, D (OFB)  ------- (0, 1, 0 / 1 ballots)
8) 2 Points-Russell, F (SM) ------ (0, 0, 2 / 2 ballots)
9) 2 Points-Kuo, H-C (SPB) ------- (0, 0, 2 / 2 ballots)
10) 1 Points-Brewer, J (NVB) ----- (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)
11) 1 Points-Gregg, V (NVB) ------ (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)

Another no brainer, Sutter recorded 44 saves with a 1.83 ERA.  Eckersley was probably better but the classic stats (ERA, Sv, K) don't pop like Sutter's.

Races Update

AL West

All Eyes turn toward the three game set 9/27-9/29

AL Wild Card

Red Lectroids will not go away, making strides and hurting their "Mechanic" rivals at the same time.

Both teams can't lose another game

NL Wild Card

Is basically over

Wild Card Races

Time Almost Up for the "Mechanics" and Bears

With around 14 games remaining time is running out for the "Mechanics" and Bears.  Both teams are 4.5 games out and do not control their own destiny's.  No matter how well they play, the need the Wild Card leading Fishbiscuits and Wildlings to lose more than they win as well.

In the American League, the "Mechanics" have a legitimate chance at holding up their end of the bargain.  They have 12 games remaining, 9 of which are at home.  The face the Burnt Ends 4 times, the Red Lectroids 3, the Red Eagles 3, and Ball Four 2.  Only the Red Eagles have a winning record.  However, during the season, the "Mechanics" have exactly a .500 record against these squads.

The Bears on the other hand are in a true predicament.  8 of their remaining 13 games are on the road and they face the Miners 6 times, the Pandas 4, and the Pretty Ladies 3.  The Miners are heading to the playoffs and the Pandas are the hottest team in the league.  They've lost 13 of 16 against the Miners, but are well over .500 against the Pandas and Ladies.

Both teams should be considered extreme long shots, with Carlisle having a slightly better chance to catch up.

Standings Summary - Week 11

It's a case of too little too late.  The Puerto Cabellas Pandas were a pre-season favorite for the NL West title but instead of struggled to stay above .500 all season long.  With a 10-3 record this week, Brad has shown just how dangerous his team could have been.  The Pandas batted .301 / .340 / .341 as a team with Phil Caveretta (.380 / .415 / .480) and Tip O'Neill (.373 / .389 / .686) enjoying notable success.

Their bats helped Puerto Cabellas in sweeping both Helena and North Valley, and taking series from DC, Shamokin, and the Pretty Ladies.

Noodles Hahn and Babe Adams anchored the rotation, going undefeated in 5 starts with a combined 2.50 ERA.  The bullpen was key for the entire week however - Steve Reed, Steve Bedrosian, BJ Ryan, Ellis Kinder, and Jonathan Papelbon combined for 30.2 innings of 3-run ball.

It was a ho-hum week in the American League, with no single team catching fire to claim "Team of the Week" status.  Ball Four ended up with the best Run Differential (a quite good +29) so they get the honors.

Justin Duchscherer started two games and gave up just 1 run while a quartet in the pen shone above the rest.  All Grabowski and Kenley Jansen didn't give up a run in 10 innings and Mariano Rivera and Frankie Rodriguez allowed just 2 runs to score in 20 innings.

The offense powered the team on most nights, smacking 21 home runs in 15 games. Jim Edmonds had a 1.232 OPS thanks to 6 homers, scoring 16 in the process.  Heavy Johnson added 5 shots batting .387 / .433 / .629 in the process.  The team batted .294 / .358 / .460.

There were no major changes to the Wild Card race.  Both the Wildlings and Fishbiscuits have a 4.5 game lead with their magic numbers down to 9 games.

Elsewhere, the Red Eagles and Shadows clinched playoff births with the Hoplites on the brink, sporting a magic number of 1.  The Beaters, Fanclub, and Miners all have at least a 6-game lead for the divisional crowns and barring disaster will head to the playoffs as well.

If the playoffs ended today:
- Wildings @ Red Eagles
- Fanclub @ Hoplites

- Fishbiscuits @ Shadows
- Miners @ Beaters

The Playoff Race

Isn't exactly edge of your seat stuff.  In what's shaping to be the most boring ATB XV regular season in recent memory, it also promises to be the most exciting post-seasons in recent memory.

With the close of Sim 10A only one division crown was (nominally) up for grabs - the AL West.  Across the remaining 5 divisions the average division lead  was almost 13 1/2 games, with 4 and possibly 5 teams accelerating towards 100 win seasons.

The Sparta Hoplites and Manetheren Red Eagles are on pace for 104 and 103 win seasons respectively.  Over in the senior circuit, the Birghton Shadows are on pace for 101 wins while the Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters and Shamokin Miners are on pace for 97 and 93 wins, respectively.  Since the All-Star break the two best teams in ATB are the Beaters and Miners, so it stands to reason they have legitimate shots and 100 wins.  The Miners have won 30 of 43, a historic type of run.

Here are the # of 100 win seasons since records started being kept in ATB 6:

0 - ATB 6
1 - ATB 7
0 - ATB 8
1 - ATB 9
1 - ATB 10
3 - ATB 11*
2 - ATB 12
1 - ATB 13
1 - ATB 14

*What a great year this was.  Bellevue Freakin' Franchise won 106 games with a +238 run differential and took home the title.  John McDonald Fanclub won 109 games, but were swept in the opening round.  And the Windy City Potato Pickers won 111 games but they two were swept in the first round.

Anything can happen in the playoffs and the Wild Card Contenders (The Wall, Rusty Kuntz, Carlisle, Otherton, and North Valley) will certainly take umbrage with it, but the thought of four 100-win teams facing off in League Championship Series would be memorable to say the least.

If the regular season ended today we'd have:

American League
#3 John McDonald Fanclub @ #1 Sparta Hoplites
#4 Wildlings of the Wall @ #2 Manetheren Red Eagles
(Note, TWW cannot play SH because they are in the same division)

National League
#4 Otherton Fishbiscuits @ #1 Brighton Shadows
#3 Shamokin Miners @ #2 Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters

Standings Summary - Week 9

The Divisional races have lacked excitement for some time but there is still great action for the handful of teams fighting for a playoff spot.  This week in the National league, the North Valley Bears, in desperate need of a big week, struggled to stay above .500 yet again and tumbled from the Wild Card lead.  Just a few sims ago TJ's squad  was among the very best in ATB but have gone 16-24 since July 1st and tumbled almost (but not completely) out of the playoff race.

Taking their place for the Wild Card lead are the 12-4 Otherton Fishbiscuits, our Sim Team of the week.   Ernie Banks carried the offense on his shoulders, drilling 7 home runs (half of the Biscuits team total) and driving in 13.  He batted .340 / .426 / .811 and is in the running for Players of the Week honors.  He also had help from first basemen Bill Terry who batted .354 with 5 extra base hits.

Playing in the Bee Hive, Brian B dreamt of weeks like this when devising his draft strategy 10 weeks ago.  As a team, the Biscuits turned in a 2.81 ERA and opponent batters were held to a .635 OPS.  The great Pedro Martinez led the rotation (4 GS, 3-0, 26 IP, 16 H, 25 K) and Dick Hall was the star in the pen (14.2 IP, 1 ER).

Otherton did what they had to against a relatively weak set of opponents in Sim 9. They swept the Bears and  Blackbirds, and took 3 of 5 from the Pretty Ladies and Snowhole.  They did take 2 of 3 from a surging and borderline elite Shamokin Miner team which must have felt good.

It's also worth noting that the DC Chips, a perennial powerhouse that has struggled all season, got hot as well winning 10 of 14.  They are still 6 out of the Wildcard but bear watching.  

In the American League, Rusty Kuntz crumbled losing 9 of 13 and more importantly, losing both the Division and Wild Card leads.  Holding their heads above water John McDonald took a 1.5 game lead in the West, while the Wildlings grabbed the Wild Card lead with a 9-4 sim.

The team of the week however, were the 9-3 Planet 10 Red Lectroids.  Ivar A's team swept Ball Four and the Green Sox, took 3 of 5 from the Red Eagles, and split a two game series with John McDonald.

Mike Scott and Johan Santana were superb, combining to go 6-0, giving up just 13 hits in 42 innings.  The rest of the team helped too (2.26 team ERA) but Theodore Trent was of special note.  Trent made two starts resulting in 2 complete games and a 0.50 ERA.  The bullpen was stellar, tossing 24 IP to the tune of a 1.85 ERA.

Offensively, the Red Lectroids batted .264 / .310 / 424 and were led by Ty Cobb (.310 / .341 / .476) and Joe Gordon (.407 / .448 / .741 in a platoon).

Wild Card Race as of the End of Sim 9

Power Alley Great 8

Power Alley - Week 8

+8 Carlisle "Mechanics"
+3 Leesburg Snowhole

-3 DC Chips
-5 North Valley Bears
-3 Lancaster Pretty Ladies
-5 Colorado Green Sox

Standings Summary - Week 8

The American League team of the week is once again the Sparta Hoplites.  I tried to make a case for the 11-4 Carlisle "Mechanics" but Sparta simply had a better week, outscoring their opponents by 43 runs (76 RF, 33 RA) wich more than doubled Carlisle's run differential.  

The Hoplites are firing on all cylinders.  Their offense was good in Week 8 (.272 / .352 / .406) but it was their pitching that made them team of the week.  Incredibly, just one pitcher - Jerry Reuss - had an ERA over 2.75 and his was well below the league average anyway.  It's worth a list:

0.00 ERA - Eric Gagne (9 IP)

0.00 ERA - Andrew Bailey (1 IP)

1.59 ERA - Bobby Jenks (5.2 IP, and finally gave up a run!)

1.64 ERA - Greg Maddux (22 IP)

1.80 ERA - Warren Hacker (25 IP)

2.14 ERA - Kevin Brown (21 IP)

2.25 ERA - Kevin Saucier (4 IP)

2.45 ERA - Steve Howe (7.1 IP)

2.74 ERA - Frank Sullivan (23 IP)

3.46 ERA - Jerry Reuss (13 IP)

There were four offensive stars this week as well.  Orator Shaffer hit .390 / .439 / .542, Chipper Jones had a .460 OBP, Rico Petrocelli smacked 5 home runs, and Edgar Martinez continued a quietly great season batting .339 / 397 / .464.

En route to their 11-3 record, the Hoplites swept the Green Sox, took 2 of 3 from the Fanclub, and 4 of 5 from the All Stars.  They also split a 2 game series with the Beau Brummels and had sole victory over the Brews.  Only once did they yield more than 4 runs.

Over in the National League, Spanish Harlem continued the torture on owner Justin P.  A great team despite being prone to extended winning and losing streaks, the Pinata Beaters opened up a 9 game lead on the division thanks to a stellar 12-2 sim.

The opened the week with a 7 game winning streak, sweeping the Bears and Panda's after concluding rubber match with the Biscuits with a victory.  After losing two in a row at the hands of the streaking Miners, they kicked off an in progress 5 game winning streak salvaging the last game against the Miners then taking two each from the Pretty Ladies and the Bears.

It's bad news for the league that the struggling Jesse Tannehill turned his season around this week.  In three starts he went undefeated, completing two games, and gave up just 11 hits in 25 innings.  John Tudor and Harvey Haddix were stellar too, combining to give up just 9 runs in 6 starts.

Oscar Charleston must be battling the flu as the star center fielder batting just .340 / .476 / .500.  Not too worry as the team's infielders filled the roles of superstar.  Cupid Childs batted .426 / .446 / .648, John Olerud led the team in RBI and Wade Boggs had a .932 OPS.

Wild Card Standings

Power Alley Great 8 - Week 7

Power Alley Great 8 - Week 6

Power Alley - Week 6

+4 Puerto Cabellas Pandas
+3 John McDonald Fanclub
+3 Rochester Beau Brummels
+3 Downsouth Brews

-4 Platte County Burnt Ends
-3 North Valley Bears
-3 Colorado Green Sox
-3 Leesburg Snowhole

The Great, the Good, the Ugly - Week 6

Red Ryan 10-2 out of the Pen

It may be the last hurrah for Stearnes, who is clinging to 1 RBI lead over Griffey's Grotesquely Swollen Jaw

A Tale of 3 Teams in the NL West

With a record 25-9 On May 10th, the North Valley Bears had the best record in baseball.  They were in the midst of an 8 game win streak and had opened up an 8 game lead over the Shamokin Miners with a 6-4 victory over DC.

Over the following month, through June 6th to be exact, the Bears became the epitome of an average team, winning 13 of 26 with a run differential just a shade south of zero.  At the time, they still enjoyed a 6 game lead, weathering a run by Puerto Cabellas who had won 7 of 8.

Since June 7 the Bears have been outscored by 19 runs and have lost 12 of 17.  The lead on the division has become almost non-existent and they're suddenly in a tight race as the all-star break approaches.

What happened?

Since the second week in May the Bears have struggled on offense, mustering only a team OBP of .307 and ranking 19th in run scoring.  Regulars Johnny Mize, Mike Schmidt, Vlad Guerrero, Ryan Howard, and Red Schoendeinst have each had sub-.290 on base percentages, truly awful. Add to this the fact that first rounder  Willie Wells, .500 resims be damned, is an apparent bust batting .216 / .293 / .365 on the season, it takes little imagination to figure why this team has struggled.

Enter the Shamokin Miners.  Since June 5 the Miners have easily been the best team in baseball, winning 16 of 20 and outscoring their opponents 107-52, both figures tops in ATB.  While their offense has been solid,  their pitching is largely responsible for the .800 winning percentage and dominated the league.  Their team ERA is 2.37 and WHIP just 1.11, both tops in ATB as well. I don't know where to begin with the details, so lets list 'em all:

Miners ERA by Player
0.00 - Damaso Marte (4.1 IP)
0.00 - Jeff Russell (5.2 IP)
0.67 - Ray Prim (13.1 IP)
0.84 - Preacher Roe (10.2 IP)
1.50 - Fergie Jenkins (36 IP, 5-0)
2.35 - Jack Quinn (7.2 IP)
2.93 - Eddie Cicotte (30.2 IP)
3.03 - Jack Chesbro (35.2 IP)
3.72 - Scott Stratton (29.0 IP)
5.06 - Joe Sambito (5.1 IP)

Sambito is the scourge of the clubhouse, poor guy.

Similarly, the Panda's have had recent successes as well.  They kicked off an 8 game winning streak on May 5th, and ultimately won 10 of 12 before leveling off for a week.  Presently, they're enjoying a 4 game win streak to close the gap to 1.5 games and now have a percentage point lead over the Miners for the NL Wild Card. If you recall, just one team from each league is awarded a Wild Card birth.

After a slow start, both George Brett (.337 / .377 / .523 since May 5) and Tip O'Neill (.295 / .342 / .532) have turned it around while Babe Herman as had continued success, driving in 40 runners in 48 games.  Playing their home games in Fenway Park, the Panda starting pitching has struggled with a 5.30 ERA (5.67 since May 5) but the pen has been bolstered by the May 19th Wildling trade that brought in Jonathan Papelbon.  Their bullpen ERA is been 2.66 since the trade while the team has gone 23-13 with the best record in the NL.

It's too early to predict the outcome of the division though there are critical warning signs for North Valley.  Against their rivals they've won just 4 of 12 (1-7 vs the Miners).  Meanwhile, the Miners appear to be in the drivers seat having won 6 of 9 against the Pandas and 13 of 17 overall.

Regardless of who wins, it's great to see at least one division in a tight playoff race .

Power Alley Great 8 - Week 5

I changed the Great 8 graph to show the annual trend in the Power Alley "Quality Wins" as opposed to simply the overall rank position of each team.  The higher the number the better.