Pick your $30 Baseball Team - And we'll settle it on the field

[BYU 14]

In going with the $15 Basketball Theme, I have compiled a list of the top baseball players at each position, which is an amalgam of SABR, ESPN and USA today lists.

You have 30 dollars to select 10 players (8 position, 1 RHP, 1 LHP) and every team will get Mariano Rivera and Dennis Eckersley as their relievers.

Once we get at least 12 teams (no more than 16) we will see who is the best GM in the dynasty forum using OOTP 15. Each team will play a 2 game home and home against the other teams, so you will play a total of 44 games in a 12 team league or 60 in a 16 team league.

The settings will be current day, with the exception of use relief pitchers, which will be set to rarely. Games will be spaced out since with only 2 starters we will need to allow rest. Each team can pick their own ballpark and each player will be imported from their best season (I.E Ruth will be 1927, Walter Johnson 1913, etc) To add a little fun, the winning GM will receive a Steve Garvey '74 MVP autographed baseball. I know, it's only Steve Garvey, but it is the only signed ball I have two of. :)

Here is the list, have fun.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x32/Kidbrit/OOTP/30BaseballTeam.jpg (http://s184.photobucket.com/user/Kidbrit/media/OOTP/30BaseballTeam.jpg.html)

[PurdueBrad]

Alright, The Bulletproof Vests:

RHP Roger Clemens $3
LHP Sandy Koufax $5
C Pudge Rodriguez $3
1B Willie McCovey $2
2B Jackie Robinson $1
3B Brooks Robinson $1
SS Honus Wagner $5
RF Barry Bonds $3
CF Mickey Mantle $2
LF Ted Williams $5
CL Mariano Rivera

[PurdueBrad]

Dola, the Bulletproof Vests will play in Fenway. Thanks for running this BYU!

[BYU 14]

I won't have a team in the league if we get enough interest, but here is mine

1B Hank Greenberg 1
2B Eddie Collins 3
3B Albert Pujols 4
SS A-Rod 3
C Mike Piazza 1
RF Babe Ruth 5
CF Mickey Mantle 2
LF Rickey Henderson 3

RHP Walter Johnson 5
LHP Steve Carlton 3

[BYU 14]

Dola, the Bulletproof Vests will play in Fenway. Thanks for running this BYU!

Welcome, should be fun (and you get both Eckersley and Rivera) :)

[rowech]

Not to be too critical but Pujols at 3b is fairly silly just to get him in, Bonds never played right field, where is Ernie Banks at shortstop?

Think this needs to have 10 players at each position and not just five.

[Julio Riddols]

The Wet Noodles (Playing at Safeco Field)

RHP Greg Maddux
LHP Randy Johnson

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Jackie Robinson
3B Albert Pujols
SS Ozzie Smith
RF Barry Bonds
CF Joe DiMaggio
LF Rickey Henderson

Do we get to set our batting order, or will that be handled by the game?

My lineup:

Henderson
DiMaggio
Bonds
Pujols
Gehrig
Rodriguez
Robinson
Smith
Pitcher

[BYU 14]

Fair points Rowech, Pujols would have made the 1B list as well based on the aggregate rankings and I felt there were more quality 1B than 3B, at least from an offensive standpoint, so executive decision. Ernie is a player you can definitely make a case for but he came in at 6 or 7 overall, though I personally could put him over Ozzie for the bat and bump Jeter up to 4. Had to make some tough choices to keep the 1-5 dollar format which is simple and easier to run.

Edit on Bonds, could not see bumping Rose (I know I could have put him at 3B too, but he started in LF) and since Bonds was listed as LF and OF in baseball reference I took a liberty (and he did actually play a game in RF) :)

[BYU 14]

The Wet Noodles (Playing at Safeco Field)

RHP Greg Maddux
LHP Randy Johnson

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Jackie Robinson
3B Albert Pujols
SS Ozzie Smith
RF Barry Bonds
CF Joe DiMaggio
LF Rickey Henderson

Do we get to set our batting order, or will that be handled by the game?

Teams will set their own, I feel that will be an important part of the outcome.

[CU Tiger]

What era is Barry Bonds from? Makes a huge difference on the compostion of my team. :D

Sorry just re read

[BYU 14]

What era is Barry Bonds from? Makes a huge difference on the compostion of my team. :D

Sorry just re read

2002 (I can't use that ridiculous 2001 season) :)

[CU Tiger]

RH Maddux $2
LH Johnson $4
C Ivan Rodriguez $3
1 Gehrig $5
2 Jackie Robinson $ 1(wish I could get Sandburg here)
SS A Rod $3
3 Pujols $4
LF Rose $1 (really wish I could get Ricky but Rose will get on base for Roid Bonds to knock him in over and over)
CF Cobb $4
RF Bonds $3
RP Rivera

We are the Tigers and we will play in Yankee Stadium...Bonds and that short porch in right should be a great combo

[Coffee Warlord]

RHP - Greg Maddux (2)
LHP - Sandy Koufax (5)
C - Carlton Fisk (2)
1B - Jimmie Foxx (4)
2B - Rogers Hornsby (5)
3B - Brooks Robinson (1)
SS - Derek Jeter (1)
RF - Hank Aaron (4)
CF - Mickey Mantle (2)
LF - Stan Musial (4)
CL - Mariano Rivera

edit: The Fighting Trout obviously must play at Wrigley.

[PilotMan]

I present to you the J & J Express

RHP Walter Johnson
LHP Randy Johnson

C Mike Piazza
1B Willie McCovey
2B Nap Lajoie
3B Albert Pujols
SS Alex Rodriguez
LF Stan Musial
CF Mickey Mantle
RF Barry Bonds

We will play at Petco in San Diego.

[sterlingice]

I tried to put together a pre-WW2 team. Unfortunately, there are some positions that didn't have players there so I had to improvise. I also had to work pretty hard to make the salaries fit since there were not a lot of options. For instance, it kills me that I can't get Rogers Hornsby as he's got a pretty good leg up on 2B but that $5 just won't fit. Not having Gehrig is also criminal but Foxx had a pair of amazing seasons himself and, using the lineup, tool, all of the worst lineups have him hitting last. Pedro would have been fun to be on the list for his years of crazy in the late 90s.

5 Walter Johnson
1 Lefty Grove
1 Mike Piazza (RH, 1997) .362/.431/.638
4 Jimmie Foxx (RH, 1932) .364/.469/.749 (alt: 5 Lou Gehrig LH)
2 Nap Lajoie (RH, 1910) .384/.445/.514 (alt: 3 Eddie Collins LH)
1 Brooks Robinson (RH, 1964) .317/.368/.521 (alt: 2 Eddie Mathews LH)
5 Honus Wagner (RH, 1908) .354/.415/.542
5 Babe Ruth (LH, 1923) .393/.545/.764
1 Tris Speaker (LH, 1912) .383/.464/.567
5 Ted Williams (LH, 1946) .356/.499/.648

For the record, I think every team should have Piazza at $1 as his 1997 is 1st or 2nd of all time for C, depending on BR or FG. Als, Tris Speaker (1912) or Mickey Mantle (1956-1957) at 1/2 should be no brainers, too. I think Brooks Robinson is a bit of a hole at 3B, even at $1. I think just spending the extra $1 for Mathews is a pretty big step up.

There are some significant LR balance issues but with minimal RPs, I guess it doesn't matter as much. Again, a bit constrained by budget. If I Could have Collins instead of Lajoie, this would look better for balance.

Preliminary Lineup vs RHP
Williams(L)-Ruth(L)-Speaker(L)-Foxx(R)-Piazza(R)-Wagner(R)-Lajoie(R)-Robinson(R)-Pitcher

Preliminary Lineup vs LHP
Williams(L)-Foxx(R)-Piazza(R)-Ruth(L)-Speaker(L)-Wagner(R)-Lajoie(R)-Robinson(R)-Pitcher

Fun tools to play with:
Fangraphs best seasons of all time: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2014&month=0&season1=1871&ind=1&team=&rost=&age=&filter=&players=
(takes a while to load if you do something like that)
Baseball-Reference base season of all time: Single-Season Leaders &amp Records for WAR Position Players - Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_season.shtml)
Lineup tool: Lineup Analysis (http://www.baseballmusings.com/cgi-bin/LineupAnalysis.py)

Let's look at our pitchers:
Walter Johnson's 1912 or 1913 are in the top 20 all time for bWAR
Lefty Grove's 1931 and 1936 are 54th and 100th, respectively
fWAR has Walter Johnson's 1910 as his top season at 10.0 (still top 30 all time) and Lefty Grove's is 8.1 and 7.9 in 1930-1931. Yuck (ok, only "yuck" when putting together a "best of all time" list).

I have to be honest, I'm a lot more worried about the pitching and how the dead ball era will be translated than about the hitting. Those OBPs and SLGs look like they should play in any era. But the pitchers, well, neither K/9 and BB/9 are spectacular- they're not bad at 7.6/7.3/6.3 and 1.8/1.8/1.0. For Johnson, it's that miniscule HR/9 that keeps everything looking pretty with FIP around 2 or lower. And a lot of value for both come from extreme durability, something that's not nearly as important in a short season. Cy Young and Christy Mathewson fare no better. I mean, Cy Young's best season by WAR is 1901 but his K/9 is 3.8 and his BB/9 is 0.9; the value is derived from a 0.15 HR/9 and 371 IP. Compare this to Maddux's 1995 season: 9.7 WAR in only 209 IP but 7.8 K/9, 1.0 BB/9, and 0.3 HR/9 or Roger Clemens 1997 with 10.0/2.3/0.3. Christy Mathewson is interesting in that his best bWAR seasons are 1903 (6.5/2.4/0.1) and 1908 (6.0/1.0/0.1) and he had a FIP of 1.62 in 1909. If I were going to make a change, it might be to drop down from Johnson to Mathewson and upgrade to Mathews or Collins. All this conversation makes me think "Greg Maddux at 2/Clemens at 3 are more of a steal than the older guys, tho". Unfortunately, I think Grove is also a bit problematic when trying to find value as you could do better higher up the list.

As for the stadium:
NOTE: I think building a team for Coors would be a fun exercise for this: ground ball pitchers, power hitters especially on the infield, and great outfield defense.

4 top-150 SLG seasons (Piazza, Williams, Foxx, Ruth with no others in the top 500)
4 top-150 OBP seasons (Ruth, Williams, Foxx, Speaker with Lajoie and Piazza in the top 500)
That looks to me like it's a slightly more OBP oriented team than power. However, my outfield is, well, to be nice, lacking in fielding. A bandbox might suit us better. I can't find splits for pitchers back at that time so there's no toying with that in our decision. Minute Maid Park or Yankee Stadium seems to fit the bill. While the Crawford Boxes are tempting, that center field is huge and we have noone to cover that. So I think Yankee Stadium fits this team.

SI

[BYU 14]

Love the analysis SI and I agree, Hornsby is substantially ahead of the pack at 2B, just fitting in that salary with some of the other big guns.

but that's what makes it fun...

[BYU 14]

6 teams in, 6 spots left for minimum to play.

[sterlingice]

FYI: If I were working without constraints, this would probably be my team:

$2 Maddux ($3 Clemens)
$3 Carlton ($1 Grove)
$1 Piazza
$4 Foxx
$5 Hornsby
$3 Brett ($2 Mathews)
$3 Rodriguez
$3 Bonds
$2 Mantle
$4 Musial ($5 Williams)

With the players in parens as the guys I strongly considered with some wiggle room. Williams is so hard to leave off the team but there is a big drop off to slip from Carlton down to Spahn or Grove or from Brett's 1980 to Mathews.

SI

[britrock88]

I'll come back to this, BYU!

[korme]

LHP Koufax - $5
RHP Maddux - $2
C I. Rodriguez - $3
1B Gehrig - $5
2B Lajoie - $2
3B Pujols - $4
SS Rodriguez - $3
LF Rose - $1
CF Mantle - $2
RF Bonds - $3

This team pains me to fill out. Not a fan of many of them - but, I will win. So thus, they will be named the Gay Vultures and they will play at Shibe Park.

[korme]

BYU what is going to happen if OOTP says you have incomplete rosters?

[BYU 14]

BYU what is going to happen if OOTP says you have incomplete rosters?

If editing the size does not work, I will add some fictional players and lock the lineups.

I will be using the season replay, with no injuries of course, so we can find a way around it.

[tarcone]

The Tigerhawks playing at Busch Stadium


RHP- Clemons $3
LHP- Carlton $3
C- Rodriguez $2
1B- Carew $3
2B- Robinson $1
3B- Schmidt $5
SS- O Smith $2
RF- Aaron $4
CF- Cobb $4
LF- Henderson $3

We went with the strikeout pitchers and guys with average and speed. Schmidt and Aaron drive them all home. Cant wait.

[laser]

The Lasers who will play at Camden Yards

RHP - Cy Young 1

LHP - Lefty Grove 1

C - Johnny Bench 5

1B - Hank Greenberg 1

2B - Joe Morgan 4

3B - Albert Pujols 4

SS - Alex Rodriguez 3

LF - Ted Williams 5

CF - Tris Speaker 1

RF - Babe Ruth 5

[BYU 14]

3 more spots

[larrymcg421]

The Sabres will play at Coors Field

RHP - Young (1)
LHP - Spahn (2)
C - Piazza (1)
1B - Foxx (4)
2B - Hornsby (5)
SS - A-Roid (3)
3B - Pujols (4)
LF - Williams (5)
CF - Mantle (2)
RF - Bonds (3)

[BYU 14]

2 more spots guys and I will get it set up

[MikeVic]

I'll give it a shot if you need teams.

Here are the Canadians, playing out of the Rogers Centre.
RH Greg Maddux 2
LH Left Grove 1
C Mike Piazza 1
1B Lou Gehrig 5
2B Joe Morgan 4
3B Eddie Mathews 2
SS Alex Rodriguez 3
RF Babe Ruth 5
CF Mickey Mantle 2
LF Ted Williams 5

[bhlloy]

The Fluffy Sheep playing at Petco:

RHP - maddux 2
LHP - koufax 5

C - piazza 1
1B - carew 3
2B - robinson 1
3B - pujols 4
SS - arod 3
RF - bonds 3
CF - mays 5
LF - henderson 3

[BYU 14]

League Full, thanks guys

Have 12 teams, I will set up a thread in the dynasty area later and start importing the players.

Once I get that done I will let everyone know and you can set lineups

[Vince, Pt. II]

Too late, but here's my squad:

RHP - Greg Maddux
LHP - Randy Johnson

C - Mike Piazza
1B - Willie McCovey
2B - Rogers Hornsby
3B - George Brett
SS - Ozzie Smith
LF - Barry Bonds
CF - Willie Mays
RF - Rickey Henderson

Lineup:

RF Rickey Henderson
2B Rogers Hornsby
CF Willie Mays
LF Barry Bonds
1B Willie McCovey
C Mike Piazza
3B George Brett
SS Ozzie Smith

[BYU 14]

Too late, but here's my squad:

RHP - Greg Maddux
LHP - Randy Johnson

C - Mike Piazza
1B - Willie McCovey
2B - Rogers Hornsby
3B - George Brett
SS - Ozzie Smith
LF - Barry Bonds
CF - Willie Mays
RF - Rickey Henderson

Lineup:

RF Rickey Henderson
2B Rogers Hornsby
CF Willie Mays
LF Barry Bonds
1B Willie McCovey
C Mike Piazza
3B George Brett
SS Ozzie Smith

I'll do a second go round and get you in Vince, probably change up a couple of players

[BYU 14]

Okay guys, thread is up in the dynasty forum, please set your lineups there and we will be off.

[tarcone]

Looking over my team, I think I have a great lineup (Obviously), but on our context. Defensively, we are outstanding. Cobb and Henderson will cover tons of ground in the OF and Aaron will hold his own.
The infield is top noitch as well. Smith to Robinson to Carew. Money in the bank. And Schmidt is no weak link. And if he struggles, Smith can cover the ground behind him.
Pudge will be solid.
Batting will be fun to watch. Speed, contact and power. We have it all. Henderson, Robinson and Cobb at the top of the order? We will turn singles into triples. Then comes the Home run king followed by a 500 HR club member. The next 3 are there to give pitchers troubles. Pudge protects Schmidt, Carew just gets on and Ozzie will surprise.
The pitching staff will get tons of Ks. If not, the defense is there for them.

The Tigerhawks are here to win the ultimate prize of a autgraphed Steve Garvey baseball.

So, who comes in 2nd?

[Julio Riddols]

I'll take second. I'll write the name of my imaginary cat on a whiffle ball.

[sterlingice]

I'll take second. I'll write the name of my imaginary cat on a whiffle ball.

Then I hope to be in the running for the Mr. Fluffypants wiffle ball! :D

SI

[korme]

My only suggestion for the next go-round is that you list players by $$ value by their best individual WAR season. Because you did it by best overall player but yet are simulating with their best season, people could cherry pick cheaper guys who had incredible single seasons.

[MizzouRah]

RHP - Greg Maddux $2
LHP - Randy Johnson $4
C - Mike Piazza $1
1B - Rod Carew $3
2B - Joe Morgan $4
3B - Eddie Mathews $2
SS - Ozzie Smith $2
RF - Barry Bonds $3
CF - Willie Mays $5
LF - Stan Musial $4

[BYU 14]

My only suggestion for the next go-round is that you list players by $$ value by their best individual WAR season. Because you did it by best overall player but yet are simulating with their best season, people could cherry pick cheaper guys who had incredible single seasons.

This is a great idea and I will definitely implement it and list the season I am using. As it is with this group, I looked at their three best seasons and picked the one that was kind of the peak norm, so as an example, the season that Bonds will use is a monster season, but not the outlier 73 HR year.

[BYU 14]

Dola, this will also bring some new players into the equation.

[CU Tiger]

This is a great idea and I will definitely implement it and list the season I am using. As it is with this group, I looked at their three best seasons and picked the one that was kind of the peak norm, so as an example, the season that Bonds will use is a monster season, but not the outlier 73 HR year.

Didnt Bonds have more HR/at bat the season that you are using though?
I know his BB tripled from the 73 season and his BA went up almost 50 points IIRC

[DanGarion]

Maddux 2
Koufax 5
Piazza 1
Gehrig 5
Robinson 1
Pujols 4
Rodriguez 3
Bonds 3
Mantle 2
Musial 4

[BishopMVP]

Didnt Bonds have more HR/at bat the season that you are using though?
I know his BB tripled from the 73 season and his BA went up almost 50 points IIRCYeah, he might not have the counting stats he put up in 2001, but his OPS was higher in 2002. .328/.515/.863 vs. .370/.582/.799. Heck, 2004 was even better from that perspective - .362/.609/.812. An OBP over .600! The 3rd highest OBP ever was Ted Williams and his .406/.553/.735 in 1941 - and you can put that in the other corner, along with Mickey Mantle's .365/.512/.665 for a $10 outfield!

Past that, I think you gotta splurge on Hornsby at 2nd, snap up Piazza at C, and then focus on pitchers. Single season, I'd love a Pedro or Bob Gibson, but they're not even on here! So I'll take Greg Maddux at RHP and Lefty Grove at LHP, which leaves me with $11 remaining for 1B, 3B, SS. A-Rod at $3 is a douche, but .314/.422/.645 at SS is too good to pass up, I'll splurge on Gehrig, and that leaves $3 3B - George Brett and his .390/.454/.664 slots in just fine.

RH: Greg Maddux (2)
LH: Lefty Grove (1)
C: Mike Piazza (1)
1B: Lou Gehrig (5)
2B: Rogers Hornsby (5)
3B: George Brett (3)
SS: A-Rod (3)
LF: Ted Williams (5)
CF: Mickey Mantle (2)
RF: Barry Bonds (3)

[Young Drachma]

Neat idea.