HOF Candidates for Season 23

In Season 22, there were a lot of strong candidates that were deserving of the HOF, but only two former Seattle players managed to reach the necessary votes to be enshrined.  A season later, there's even more competition.  Let's break down some of the top candidates for Season 23:

Should Be A Lock

Jose Terrero - A 3-time Cy Young champion, Jose Terrero was one of the aces for the Toledo Bend and was a big reason why they won two World Series in a three-year span.  He only won one of his Cy Young awards there, but manged to win two more in Charlotte/Augusta in a very competitive American League (think all the Seattle pitchers).  Terrero is currently 4th all time in strikeouts (although he's going to be passed by Cookie Figaro in the first month of the regular season), has a career 3.17 ERA and made it to 8 All Star Games in his career.  He has the best resume of anyone up for the HOF and should be a lock in his first year of eligibility. 

Probably Makes It

Aramis Cortazar - He doesn't have quite the resume that Jose Terrero does, but Aramis Cortazar was still an excellent pitcher that is likely destined for the HOF.  He is 4th all time in wins (274), a 6-time All Stat, and has 3 Cy Young awards to his name.  His ERA isn't as impressive as you would like for a HOF pitcher (3.51), but when he was on his game, he was one of the best in the league.  I'll be curious to see if his ERA holds him back, but I think he will get into the HOF either this year or in the future thanks to those wins and Cy Youngs.   

Could Go Either Way

Joakim Fernandez - A long-time Seattle player, Fernandez has the award history you would expect from a hall of famer.  He won AL Rookie of the Year in Season 5, appeared in 9 all star games, was a silver slugger winner 5 times, and won 2 gold gloves in LF.  He doesn't have an MVP award which I think puts him a notch below being a lock, but he does have 2,404 hits and 489 HRs for his career history, and his numbers likely would have been more impressive in a more hitter friendly ballpark.

Trey Munro - I think I am a little bit higher on Trey Munro than most, but I think he should be in the HOF.  Unfortunately for him, he hasn't gotten the votes needed in his first few years of eligibility.  Early in his career, he didn't play on some of the best teams and I think that affected his numbers.  He really hit his stride when he signed with Charlotte in Season 9.  That's where had had 4 of his 5 all star appearances, won his only Cy Young and threw his only No Hitter.  He finished his career with an ERA of 3.12 and is 2nd all time in strikeouts with 3,063.  He is also 3rd all time in quality starts with 340 despite only starting 500 games for his career.

Chadd Kendrick - Kendrick is someone that I and some others have overlooked, but I think he deserves consideration for the HOF.  His 536 saves are 5th all time, and he finished his career with a staggering 2.19 ERA which is 2nd all time, only to the great Cookie Figaro.  His .907 save percentage is the best of all qualified pitchers in league history.  He is also a 10x all star and a 4x Fireman of the Year.  The only knock on him is his innings pitched, as he had only 915 for his career, but he was dominant in those innings.  Considering how hard it is for a closer to win Cy Young, I think he has done enough to get the nod for the HOF.

Charles Payton - Another player that some may have overlooked, Payton has come close to the HOF getting 11 votes a couple years ago and 12 votes last year, but hasn't gotten over the hump yet.  He has a career slash line of 0.308/0.376/0.537 along with 2,458 hits and 461 HRs.  He won Rookie of the Year, was an all star 7 times, silver slugger 5 times, and won 2 MVP awards.  He did have the benefit of playing in some hitters parks such as Toronto and Texas, but his numbers are still good enough to warrant consideration for the HOF.

Sean Turner - Despite playing over half his career in Seattle, Sean Turner's numbers were very good for playing so many games in a pitcher's ballpark.  He finished with 547 HRs. 2,285 hits, and a career 0.886 OPS.  He was also a 3x silver slugger, 2x all star and most impressively, a 2x MVP.

Livan Guerrero - Another excellent reliever, Livan Guerrero is the all time saves leader with 691.  He also has a whopping 10 all star game appearances and 6 Fireman of the Year awards.  He also has two seasons pre-merger, so it's very possible/likely he has over 700 saves for his career.  The knock however is on his ERA which finished at 3.80.  Thus, I have to put Kendrick over him in terms of closers, but Guerrero is someone I could see making the HOF in the future.

Socrates Russell - Of all the hitters up for the HOF this season, no one has a better career OBP or OPS than Socrates Russell.  Russell had a career 0.399 OBP, thanks to his world leading 1,366 walks and he hit the impressive 500 HR mark.  He was mostly a C/DH in his career and won 5 Silver Slugger awards.  His hit total (2,094) isn't as high as some of the other candidates on this list, but he still deserves consideration for his other excellent offensive numbers.

Jimmie Pena - A good all around player, Jimmie Pena was a home run machine (578, tied for 5th all time), but also was a solid defender (3x Gold Glove winner).  He only made it to 3 All Star games, so it will be interesting to see how much the voters like his HR numbers, which were helped later in his career playing in New York.

Good Stats But Lacking Accolades

Peter Donald - A pitcher who falls firmly into the polarizing category, Peter Donald was a strikeout machine, but his ERA was lacking.  He's the world's all time leader in strikeouts with 3,243 and his 265 wins are currently 5th all time, but his ERA barely starts with a 3, at 3.99.  Despite that ERA, he has the most quality starts in league history with 374, so when he was on he was hard to hit.  However, he had only 3 all star games to his resume, and no other awards.  I think if he managed to win a Cy Young or two, he would be a lock, but it's hard for me to see him make the HOF with an almost-4 ERA.

Del Matsumoto - He is 3rd all time in saves with 596, has 6 all star games and 1 Fireman of the Year award along with a 2.91 ERA for his career.  I debated putting him in the either way category, but I felt like the other closers on this list were more deserving based on their award history.

My votes:

• Jose Terrero
• Aramis Cortazar
• Trey Munro
• Chadd Kendrick
• Joakim Fernandez

Meet the Owner: aoscott2 - Part 2

We learned a lot about aoscott2 in part one of this interview.  Now in part 2, we learn a little bit more about him and his thoughts on WIS/KML: 

Being located outside of the US, how did you get an interest in baseball and what are you favorite teams?

I’m from Maryland and a veteran.  I moved to Sydney, Australia in July of 2019 before COVID because it made more sense for my girlfriend since I was living in San Francisco at the time.  She lived closer to her family and my family was on the east coast.

When it comes to college “Its all about the U!”  Anything about the Miami Hurricanes (alumni) and I’m from Maryland so, Crabcakes and beer while watching the Orioles & Ravens.  I live in Sydney, Australia now so, its hard to keep up.  Just think when I wake up I’m reviewing the “PM” game while I make coffee and they other two games are later.  I was a Denver Broncos fan before Baltimore got a team so, I pull for both.  In the NBA I’m a Heat fan pre & post LeBron.

What would you like for the new owners of WhatIfSports to add?

Oh, where to begin?  LOL … not in any order

1.) I want them to keep minor league records (W/L) and all-time Franchise (W/L) records.  Similar to the Player Records.  They do it in Gridiron Dynasty

2.) An incentive to commit to a “World” for multiple seasons.  Somehow lock us in to create stability and make it easier on Commissioners 

3.) Post Season Awards

        a. World Series MVP

4.) Give a bonus for progressing in the minor league playoffs for your players

5.) Take a look at coaching

        a. Add contracts for multiple years

        b. Take a look at Fielding Coaches (unfortunate when they leave)

6.) If I have maxed out scouting, then I should at least see the top 10 prospects

7.) A button to give a base stealer the green light to steal whenever they like

8.) I would like to be able to sign players to longer term contracts

        a. I would agree with having to commit to a world for a few seasons for that option

I would say most importantly, just meet with players that have been playing the game and do a Microsoft Teams meeting and ask questions.  Then actually give us an update of what is going on and progress.  All leaders know what a “Action Plan” is.  Whomever, is the leader needs to act like it. The only thing I have seen change was Ballparks from the last ownership which wasn’t hard to change (some codes).

What is the toughest Thing/Decision/Result you had to make/overcome in Hardball Dynasty?

There are a lot of things, however, this one sits with me!

Season 17 NLCS

Games 6 & 7 against Cheyenne (editor21) and we are up 3-2.  We proceed to get shut out over the course of 22 innings.  That series and losing to Cheyenne the same way during the regular season (18) prompted me to go get another bat.  Not to mention Cheyenne lost their starting pitcher early in that game and for the World Series unfortunately for them.   For some reason I couldn’t score enough against Anaheim (Jperiodj), New Orleans (Peoria) & Cheyenne.  Hated those guys in a healthy competition kinda way.  So, I talked to Fresno (Kenfox) and we made a blockbuster deal in season 18.  I look back on it and I would not have made that trade if I had won.

What KML Teams Do you See Coming On Soon?

Philadelphia has the best player and Montreal has the best pitcher from what I see.  A lot of league records are going to be broken soon.  

In the “AL” El Paso has pitching, and Toronto is always there in contention.  Would like to see Toronto break through once as long as its not against me (just being honest).

Philadelphia has a lineup but, Cincinnati has an experienced owner so, that alone will make it tough on Philly.

Seattle is the true dynasty because they only lost their division once in the history of our world.

In the end its hard to say but those teams are great.

In the NL Montreal is going on their run now.  Better pitching staff than what I have.  They will carry the banner soon because they have an experienced owner with titles to his name.  Unfortunately, Chicago is in the same division and they have a team that just wins in they playoffs.

Scranton is coming up in my division.  They beat me down at the end of the season and I decided to look them up.

New Orleans always makes the playoffs and win there division.  They will have high payroll and continue to compete.  If you want to learn something about that “Trade Chat” him about it.  Lots of information there

Fresno looks like a team that’s all in now so, they should be in control until Cheyenne comes back because I see what they are drafting.  

In the end its Montreal because if his “ACE” can pitch like he did all season and against me in the NLCS (22) your looking at a workhorse pitching Games 1, 4 & 7 of a long series.  I witnessed that teams pitching being almost unhittable with Turranga leading the way and he is tough to beat.   

How did you feel about your playoff run in Season 22?

Season 22 was the hardest by far playoff I have been apart of!  I didn’t get a chance to sit back and relax watching because I knew everyone was much stronger than last year.

Chicago can grind you out with pitching and defense combined with just enough power.  I should have lost that series however, Henderson Long proved why he is the MVP and hit a three run homer in the 6th inning and we hold on for a 4-3 win.  My bullpen struggled in the playoffs and blew game 4 late.  That was a struggle.

Then I was able to verify again why Vic Turraga deserved the Cy Young  and how strong Montreal’s starters are.  That series went the distance and I had a game where I had two runs on two hits.  I watched the game seven ticker while waiting for the train in Sydney.  A woman asked me what was so funny as I read my player scored from first on a double.  I lied because I would have had to explain what I was doing and Aussies  she basically made me pause in a critical moment of game 7.

The World Series with El Paso had an exciting because of game 4.  My Big 3 pitchers were tired and I run a 4 man rotation in a seven game series.  The NL Playoffs were rough because I was pushed to the max by Chicago and Montreal which tired them out.  I was able to see (well watch the ticker) my outfield gun down two players at the plate to stop me from losing in 9 innings (forgot which inning the first one) and to prevent a walkoff World Series win.  

If you guys have any questions feel free to reach out.  I’ll even set up a Microsoft Teams meeting to review if you like.

Thanks again to aoscott2 for this great interview!

Meet the Owner: aoscott2 - Part 1

Welcome back to our "Meet the Owner" series!  For our second interview, I wanted to interview someone who has been a big part of the recent history of KML, aoscott2 who in addition to having a great team, has also been a big help to the world in participating in multiple owner swaps.  I greatly appreciate him for doing this and because of how much content he provided, I am breaking it up into two blog posts.  Without further ado, here's the scoop on aoscott2:

Given your recent success, what advice would you give to a newer user that is just starting HBD?

1.) This is a very tough game with a lot of information to not just learn but, master.  I would start with reading the forums because owners ask questions and you can get a lot of information from there.  That is where I learned more about 80% of what I know.  Whenever owners ask me questions about anything I have always been helpful so, feel free to reach out.  

*Editor's note: the HBD Discord is also a great place to learn/ask questions

2.) Go in depth on the successful teams.  Watch the players they sign and how they build their teams.  Try to find a correlation between who they sign and figure out why.  You want a Gold Glover on your team look at the gold glove winners defensive ratings and tailor your draft, international signing and free agent signing around that.   Look at the past award winners. 

3.) With that said, “I would not trade with anyone for the first year or two.”  It takes time to learn and understand the ins and outs around arbitration, contracts, player & coach ratings and not to mention you have to learn the interface while figuring out who are you top players in the minors.  If you’re in your first season, budget for next season is due right away!  I think that should be a private world rule for first time owners.

4.) What I have told new and experienced owners who asked for help is to watch your game ticker and that will help you understand how important it is to have the proper range for your fielders and why you want the minimum range on your catcher to stop the passed balls.  While watching you will notice “shallow flyout to LF” or “bloop single to LF” and ask yourself do I have the proper range out there are not.  Infield single use to kill me when I first started.  Now it kills me in the playoffs.  By doing this you will start to see where you need help.  When your player makes an error look at his stats and verify if you have the minimum defensive ratings for that position.  Then take notice if that led to a run and remember that just drove up your pitch count by facing an extra batter.  You will start to treat it like watching it live and get upset which should get your competitive juices flowing.  No matter how good your pitching is you will need to have the defense to support your pitcher or your pitcher will have up and down seasons.  If you get to the playoffs you will be exposed sooner or later.     

5.) If you're in KML read the post from “Seattleace” about parks.  He is the GOAT of our world and we all can learn something from that.

What type of players do you look for?

So, I’m not here all night I’ll talk about the second most important thing to me on my team.  They run side by side for me:

1.) High health ratings

        a. You need to be available  

2.) High Makeup 

        a. To help with keeping decline low

No answer is correct, however, availability is everything to me and if you are healthy then part of your contract is fulfilled.  I don’t have to spend 550K or so to replace you when I could be putting that money to International Free Agents.  I also don’t have to promote a player if need be or add another 300K to the payroll.  It seems like nothing but every 300K adds up to 1 million.

I will also say that it doesn’t help all the time.  My pitcher Yasmani Ordonez had a 99 health rating and I had a 20/20 budget (Medical and Training).  He went on the 60 day DL in back to back seasons 18 & 19.  Luckily, he came back for the playoffs both times.  His health rating dropped from 99 to 96.  His rating dropped too however, I benefited by not resigning him early in Arbration and I saved 500K per season on the life of his current contract.  I believe my 20/20 budget helped him along with his decent makeup rating too.

So, I like my players above 60 for Health and Makeup.  I’m willing to let makeup go alittle but I don’t make exceptions for health.  In Baltimore the minimum to be traded for in Health and Makeup is a 120 average between the two.

What do you like about HBD?

I like how in depth it is.  Lots of moving parts.  It fun to draft players and watch them grow through their careers.  Then watch them move up on the single season list along with career list.

What Private World Rules would you like to see?

I don’t really like MWR for new owners or owners that join a world for like 2-3 seasons.  The problem is you are taking over a terrible team that will be OLD and carrying high salaries.  My real reason for feeling that way is because the budget either matches the previous owner or you can reset everything however you can’t max out your scouting how you would like while rebuilding.  I had a situation where I had to punt the draft and the player signed anyway even though the “Mom” was the agent.  If you think about it you need 2-3 seasons to get your vision going and get the budget correctly aligned with how you want it.

I also don’t want to take away draft picks.  That is part of the fun and we need talent on that team to get owners to take over that team in case we lose the owner.  I would make the owner sign a Type A free agent by offering “max” money.  Typically, teams that aren’t winning have money to sign International Free agents so, make them at least sign a Type A guy to move the talent around.  Or give the commissioner the ability to edit that teams draft position.  Maybe the rule could be that you can’t draft in the top 5 for 3 straight seasons so, they commissioner can move them to like the 17 pick or something?  I can see that it could be a problem giving someone that control so, let the commissioner open a ticket up if it’s a private world rule.  Easily done during “Budget” time.

World Series 22 Preview

 

                       

                      El Paso Don Juan'svs     Baltimore Crab Cakes

                              (86-76)                                                                                              (112-50)

World Series 22 is here, and it’s a rematch from the 20th World Series between the back to back Champs Baltimore Crab Cakes from the National League and the revenge seeking El Paso Don Juans of the American League.  The lead-in to this World Series feels different because Baltimore played the maximum number of games possible to get here, needing 5 games to beat Chicago and 7 games to beat Montreal.  El Paso played in more games, but they will have the benefit of the extra rest going into the World Series.  After taking out two 100 win monsters in Cincinnati and Philadelphia, they then disposed of their 3rd AL East opponent in Augusta in five games.  They will need the extra rest to take on the juggernaut Baltimore that emerged from the dust of the NLCS and is attempting the first 3-peat in league history.  Let's break down the matchup.

El Paso is led by justinuv who has been with us since season 15 to turn around a franchise into not just playoff contenders but World Series contenders.  They have been in the American League Championship Series the last three seasons and they will make their second World Series appearance.  They are led by their All-Star pitchers Walt Ratliff, Bart Ward, and Shane Blevins.  Ward is up for the Cy Young and Ratliff is a finalist for the Fireman Award.  Brutus Munro rounds out their excellent pitching staff.  El Paso’s strength like last time these two teams met is their pitching staff, but their offense has manufactured runs in the playoffs both via the long ball and with small ball.  They have 14 HRs and 23 SBs so far these playoffs, and they will need to do a little bit of everything to get past Baltimore.

Baltimore is led by aoscott2 who has been in the league since Season 8.  Baltimore brings its own All Star infield in Marquis Affeldt, J.O. Gomez, Neil Andreoli and Caleb Barker and not to forget Henderson Long and Charley Campbell in the outfield.  Cozy Kennedy and Yasmani Ordonez round of the list of All-Stars.  Long turned in an all-time record breaking Homerun season by finishing second all-time and is now crowned the single-season RBI king.  Additionally, they have three gold glovers up the middle of their defense (Gomez, Barker, Campbell) and a gold glover in RF (Cristobal Urias).  We could go on and on about this team but you get the idea.  

We'll see if El Paso can defy the odds and prevent Baltimore from a 3-peat and its 4th title in the last 5 seasons.  Good luck to both teams in World Series 22!

HOF Candidates for Season 22

Spring Training has begun in Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and that means it's time to vote for players to be forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  So far six players in the league's history have had their names immortalized, and now it's time to see who will join them.  Let's break down some of the top candidates:

Should Be A Lock

Juan Alvarez - The world's all-time leader in hits (3,351), doubles (600), RBIs (1,998), and 2nd all time in home runs (699), Alvarez should be a lock to have his name enshrined in the HOF this season.  He is one of the most complete hitters in league history, with only future HOFer Kirk Michaels really rivaling him in some of these categories.  Alvarez is an 11x all star, a 10x silver slugger, a 3x MVP, and he even hit for the cycle and won a HR Derby.  

Could Go Either Way

Walt Belisle - I debated where to put Walt Belisle, as he is one of the more intriguing players on this list.  He played his enter major league career in Seattle, so he had the help of a more pitcher friendly ballpark and an excellent team behind him.  This helped him finish 3rd all time in wins with 306 and he finished with a career ERA of 3.38. He had 9 all star appearances and even won 1 Cy Young award.  His strikeout rate wasn't as impressive as some other pitchers on this list, but he still finished with 2,664 Ks for his career.  I do wonder if he pitched his entire career with another team would he have the stats, but I do think he deserves consideration.

Joakim Fernandez - Another long-time Seattle player, Fernandez has the award history you would expect from a hall of famer.  He won AL Rookie of the Year in Season 5, appeared in 9 all star games, was a silver slugger winner 5 times, and won 2 gold gloves in LF.  He doesn't have an MVP award which I think puts him a notch below being a lock, but he does have 2,404 hits and 489 HRs for his career history, and his numbers likely would have been more impressive in a more hitter friendly ballpark.

Trey Munro - I think I am a little bit higher on Trey Munro than most, but I think he should be in the HOF.  Unfortunately for him, he hasn't gotten the votes needed in his first couple of years of eligibility.  Early in his career, he didn't play on some of the best teams and I think that affected his numbers.  He really hit his stride when he signed with Charlotte in Season 9.  That's where had had 4 of his 5 all star appearances, won his only Cy Young and threw his only No Hitter.  He finished his career with an ERA of 3.12 and is 2nd all time in strikeouts with 3,063.  He is also 3rd all time in quality starts with 340 despite only starting 500 games for his career.

Chadd Kendrick - Kendrick is someone that I and some others have overlooked, but I think he deserves consideration for the HOF.  His 536 saves are 5th all time, and he finished his career with a staggering 2.19 ERA which is 2nd all time, only to the great Cookie Figaro.  His .907 save percentage is the best of all qualified pitchers in league history.  He is also a 10x all star and a 4x Fireman of the Year.  The only knock on him is his innings pitched, as he had only 915 for his career, but he was dominant in those innings.  Considering how hard it is for a closer to win Cy Young, I think he has done enough to get the nod for the HOF.

Charles Payton - Another player that some may have overlooked, Payton has come close to the HOF getting as many as 11 votes, but hasn't gotten over the hump yet.  He has a career slash line of 0.308/0.376/0.537 along with 2,458 hits and 461 HRs.  He won Rookie of the Year, was an all star 7 times, silver slugger 5 times, and won 2 MVP awards.  He did have the benefit of playing in some hitters parks such as Toronto and Texas, but his numbers are still good enough to warrant consideration for the HOF.

Sean Turner - Despite playing over half his career in Seattle, Sean Turner's numbers were very good for playing so many games in a pitcher's ballpark.  He finished with 547 HRs. 2,285 hits, and a career 0.886 OPS.  He was also a 3x silver slugger, 2x all star and most impressively, a 2x MVP.

Livan Guerrero - Another excellent reliever, Livan Guerrero is the all time saves leader with 691.  He also has a whopping 10 all star game appearances and 6 Fireman of the Year awards.  He also has two seasons pre-merger, so it's very possible/likely he has over 700 saves for his career.  The knock however is on his ERA which finished at 3.80.  Thus, I have to put Kendrick over him in terms of closers, but Guerrero is someone I could see making the HOF in the future.

Good Stats But Lacking Accolades

Peter Donald - Another pitcher who falls firmly into the polarizing category, Peter Donald was a strikeout machine, but his ERA was lacking.  He's the world's all time leader in strikeouts with 3,243 and his 265 wins are currently 5th all time, but his ERA barely starts with a 3, at 3.99.  Despite that ERA, he has the most quality starts in league history with 374, so when he was on he was hard to hit.  However, had only 3 all star games to his resume, and no other awards.  I think if he managed to win a Cy Young or two, he would be a lock, but it's hard for me to see him make the HOF with an almost-4 ERA.

Del Matsumoto - He is 3rd all time in saves with 596, has 6 all star games and 1 Fireman of the Year award along with a 2.91 ERA for his career.  I debated putting him in the either way category, but I felt like the other closers on this list were more deserving based on their award history.

Rico Guerrero - Rico Guerrero did not get a nomination, but I wrote this up about him ahead of time.  After spending his entire big league career in Montreal, Rico Guerrero has some really good numbers to his name - a career slash line of 0.312/0.381/0.537, 2,594 hits, and 470 HRs.  However, he only has 2 all star appearances and 2 silver sluggers to his name in addition to winning Rookie of the Year.  The lack of awards come from the fact that he was a converted catcher in right field, meaning he had a ton of errors and negative plays going against him. 

My votes:

• Juan Alvarez
• Trey Munro
• Chadd Kendrick
• Joakim Fernandez
• Walt Belisle

World Series 21 Preview

  

                       

                      Toronto Savagevs     Baltimore Crab Cakes

                              (103-59)                                                                                              (116-46)

Don't call it a dynasty...yet.  The 21st World Series is here, and the Baltimore Crab Cakes are seeking their 3rd title in 4 seasons.  Standing in their way is the Toronto Savage in a rematch of the Season 18 World Series.  Toronto was swept in that series, but they've added some new faces since then and now they're looking for revenge.  Let's break down the matchup.

Toronto is led by shiish who is an original KML owner.  After a slow start with Toronto, shiish has led the Savage to the playoffs for 10 straight seasons including 9 consecutive division titles.  They swept Jacksonville in the ALDS and defeated El Paso in 6 games to reach the World Series for the 2nd time.  Toronto's strength is in their starting pitching, with 3 finalists for the AL Cy Young award.  Irving Montanez is the long time Toronto veteran. He suffered through the 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Crab Cakes, but this time he has help in the form of Robel Andersen and Ray Carter, the two other Toronto Cy Young candidates who weren't on the team three seasons ago.  Reymond Vega is the anchor in the bullpen and finished with 48 saves.  They will need to shut down the Baltimore offense to win this series. Toronto's offense was also solid, finishing 8th in runs scored.  They are led by MVP candidate Yonder Neruda (0.302/0.394/0.529) who was 5th in the majors in OBP this season and slugger, Yamid Moreno (0.292/0.351/0.620).  The power hitter Moreno was picked up in a trade last season and finished this season tied for 10th in HRs with 46.   If speedy leadoff man Stu Richardson can get on base, it will be up to Neruda and Moreno to drive him home.  Toronto finished tied for the AL's best record with Seattle and won the tiebreaker for the #1 seed.

Baltimore is led by aoscott2 who took over a rebuilding team and has turned them into a powerhouse.  In this year's playoffs, they swept Fresno in the NLDS and overcame Chicago in 6 games. Similar to Toronto, Baltimore is led by their pitching staff and had the best ERA in baseball. They have four(!!) Cy Young candidates.  Cozy Kennedy has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the league having won the previous four Cy Young awards, but his teammate Mac Rollins may have dethroned him after finishing the year with 21 wins and a 1.94 ERA. Avisail Mercado and Yasmani Ordonez round out the rest of the rotation for a team that allowed only 477 runs, less than 3 per game. Their offense wasn't quite as good as last year's #1 offense but they still managed to finish the season at 9th in runs scored.  They have a trio of MVP candidates, including Henderson Long who was 3rd the the majors in HRs at 57, and the walk machines Charley Campbell and Marquis Affeldt who were 2nd and 3rd in the majors in BBs with 103 and 100, respectively. 

In a matchup of two teams that both have dominant pitching and above average offenses, the team that can get those timely hits will be the one to hoist the trophy in the end. If Toronto wins, it will be obviously a big celebration for their first championship. If Baltimore wins, I think we can safely call them a dynasty. Good luck to both teams in World Series 21!

Meet the Owner: seattleace

Welcome to our first "Meet the Owner" series!  Based on some feedback I've gotten on blog ideas, this seemed like a good way to get to know some of the other owners around the league.  I figured I would start with one of our original owners, seattleace who has led his team to 10 AL pennants and 7 titles in KML's first 20 seasons.  Thank you so much to seattleace for doing this and giving some great responses!  Without further ado, here is what we learned about seattleace:

Who are your favorite sports teams and/or athletes?

Seattle everything.  The Mariners are at the top, but love the Seahawks and like the Kraken.  Miss the Sonics. Edgar Martinez is my all time favorite, with Griffey Jr, Russ Wilson, Harold Reynolds (personal experience with him), and Steve Largent + Jim Zorn right up there. 

What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

#1 is '95 ALDS, when Edgar drove Griffey home to beat the Yankees.  Personally, I played HS sports, but our school stunk across the board and I was pretty average.

What about your favorite HBD experience?

I'd say finding my game.  It took awhile.  There are 2 parts to this game; GM and Manager.  The amount of time I have spent using Excel and PPT to map out which part of the field hitters are hitting to (using play by play, "line drive single to LCF - I'd color code these onto a PPT), then putting them into Excel, apply opposing pitcher strengths/weaknesses, i.e. GB/FB, Velocity, et al.  Even looking at pitch types.  It was a colossal waste of time.  This may change with new ownership, though the "weighting" of so many attributes are inferior to a handful of core ones.

Once I found a rhythm in my gameplay strategy, the GM role came into place, organically.  Ballpark IS a very big piece.  So what works for me in Seattle, with a deep LCF & RCF, may not work so well, in say Madison.  And if you are in Yankee stadium, your CF wall is 100 feet shorter than most all other ballparks...you play 81+ games there.

So I've gotten to a point where I feel good about playing Seattle, weighting that short list of core player attributes, updating manager settings, and using historical stats more than anything.  All the data is there.  Just one example; if a hitter has a number of GIDP compared to PA, don't put him after a singles or high walks rate hitter.  If your opponent attempts a ton of SB, make sure your catcher has a good arm = high CS rate.

So that's it.  Just getting to a point where I am both comfortable with playing the game, having fun with it, and not overthinking it and wasting a bunch of time on finding low-likelihood predictors.

What advice would you give to a newer user that is just starting HBD?

Number 1, look at what experienced and successful owners are doing.  My first ring came in Hornsby, and there was a player named mcbain10, who not only did I dig deep into how he sets his rosters day to day, and his gameplay settings,  but where he allocated his budget, etc.  and what were the most common attributes of his players, and which ones he did not prioritize.  Plus, he was cool.  He'd answer questions that many players would not, due to the competitive nature of this game.  So reach out to owners.  We'll all be better as a world, if you get better and stick around for a long time.  

Number 2, know your ballpark, and have a strategy around it.  Build your entire team around your ballpark.  Look at other worlds, go look at other franchises who play in your ballpark.  Are they successful?  What's making them successful?  A good tactic for this is to look at players stats, then apply Home vs. Away splits.  Do they overperform at Home (or in my case with Seattle, are they even or close)?

Number 3, not all Attributes are equal.  Not even close.  My opinion, for pitchers and batters alike, vs.R is King and vs.L Queen.  That's not to suggest you ignore the others, they are important (most of them), but a player's dynamic and likelihood for success (in your ballpark, mainly), becomes an equation that you'll want to understand sooner than later.  99 Power is useless if he has 7 Contact and his splits are 24/26.  100 Velocity is useless if his control is 37, and his splits are low.  If you're playing Yankee stadium, a hitter with 85 PWR and 50 GB/FB, is probably going to hit more HR's at home than a RH hitter with 92 PWR and a 33 GB/FB in Safeco, because my LCF is 388, and Yankee stadium's CF is 308.

Number 4, Last thing, despite much of what I said above, it's NOT easy to be successful.  You're playing with people who have 100's of seasons of learnings and failures.  Focus on finding your game.  Be it Whitey-Ball with staunch defense, baserunning, and pitching, and the occasional 3-run homer...or whatever, find where you begin to identify understandings and build on those.

So with all that said, know your ballpark, look at player attributes, but most importantly, use the data - the stats.  At scale, it doesn't lie.  And use them for both building your team, but also gameplanning your opponents.

Outside of HBD, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

I play a lot of pickup soccer and basketball, some crappy golf outings, work a lot, family time...try to watch sports, but less so now when trying to find a game is like a scavenger hunt with all the apps out there.  But HBD is my biggest "time suck", but I enjoy it.  Especially this world.

Thank you once again to seattleace!  Great information here!