One of my favorite aspects of
ATB is the long term rivalries that develop between owners. Aside from the fact everyone simply wants to win, the unpredictability of the playoffs only enhances the contention between franchises.
For instance, last season, the Lusitania Death Speakers had the most wins in the game and had perhaps the greatest end of season 20-resim of all time. Yet for Mike S, his 4-3 League Championship Series loss to the 86 win San Diego Puff was a blow. Had we won the World Series, in his mind at least, his Death Speakers would have been the best ATB team of all time.
This lead me to research some of my past teams, and I uncovered the
Manetheren Red Eagles in this
post a few days ago.
Since then, I have also uncovered a team so good it almost had to be a typo. The ATB X DC Chips had a +325 Run Differential and 113 wins.
Or how about the ATB VII Franklin Lakes Pillpoppers - 108 wins, a +239 RD, and the best team ERA in ATB History? Or the ATB XI Windy City Potato Pocketers - 111 Wins, +230 RD, and the best WHIP of all time.
This seems like a question begging to be answered. To do so, I'll run a side project during the season and perhaps into the off-season, time permitting. I have scoured the annals to find the best 28 teams we have full records of (ATB VI through current) and I'll pit them against each other in a battle of 20 resims.
The catch, to draw out the excitement, is that I won't run all 20 sims at once, rather post the results in a leisurely fashion over the next couple of months. When all 20 sims are done, the best team will be crowned using a formula that takes into account Total Wins, Division Titles, and Playoff records.
The teams were selected using the following methodology
- All 18 division winners since ATB VI are automatically eligible.
- From here, I took teams with 95+ wins, or
- 150+ Run Differentials, or
- 1000 Runs Scored, or
- Top 3 Team ERA's, or
- Top 20 Pythagorean Records.
Here are my current thoughts on the competing teams:
89 Smitko's (ATB VI) - Mike S
Bellevue Freakin' Franchise (ATB XI) - Brad P
DC Chips (ATB X & XII) - Steve C
Discordia Low Men (ATB VI) - Lou P
Dumai's Wells Oathbinders (ATB XII) - Lou P
Dyersville Black Sox (ATB IX) - Mike T
Franklin Lake Pillpoppers (ATB VI, VII, & VIII) - Justin P
Harlem Rangers (ATB X) - Jeff B
Helena Handbasket (ATB XII) - Joe T
Hudson County Holy Rollers (ATB VIII) - Mike S
John McDonald Fanclub (ATB X, XI, XII) - Jason B
La Chap au Sts Neanderthals (ATB XI) - Justin P
Lima de Equipo (ATB X) - Brad P
Lusitania Death Speakers (ATB XII) - Mike S
Manetheren Red Eagles (ATB IX) - Lou P
North Dakota No Scorers (ATB VI) - Sean S
Pangea Tyrannosaurus Rex's (ATB X) - Justin P
Pittsburgh Pulverizers (ATB VII) - Sean S
Planet 10 (ATB XI) - Ivar A
Sonoran Black Diamonds (ATB XII) - Justin P
St. Louis Slammers (ATB VIII) - Jason S
Van Nest Phighting Philbens (ATB VIII) - Jeff B
White Meadow Lk Black Stones (ATB XI) - Mike S
Windy City Potato Pocketers (ATB XI) - Lou P
Winterfell Direwolves (ATB X) - Lou P
If you have a particularly fond memory of one of your old squads and want them to be a part of the action, drop me a line. Unless they are awful, I am sure we can find room for them!
