In the most recent AM game of a 120M twist league I'm in, my mop, 1914 Guy Cooper, hit a grand slam in his first (and so far only) at-bat of the season.  In real life, Cooper hit 0 HR in 9 AB.

I posted this in our league message forum, and of course was paid back for it in the very next game.  My opponent's starting pitcher in the PM game, 1967 Al Downing (RL: 1 HR in 66 AB), hit a grand slam against us.   For good measure he added two solo shots, as well.    

Believe It or Don't!

i believe it all, because as dave niehaus used to say, every day you come to the ballpark you see something you never saw before

I had 1922 Tilly Walker in a 110M theme league that just finished its regular season.  He put up a pretty disappointing batting line of .227/.299/.399 (the league average was .282/.343/.387).  

However, you might say he was a clutch .227 hitter: Walker finished 4th in the league with 138 RBI!

Believe It or Don't!

More Clutch Hitting

In the Take Two theme ($90M cap), 1980 Mike Schmidt is off to a blazing start.  16 games in and he's hit 9 HR for a line of .327/.464/.927 and 21 RBI.

Schmidt, however, does not lead the league in RBI.  That would be 1934 Joe Medwick, with 22.  He's hit 0 HR, and his line is .297/.307/.446.  

Medwick's 1st in RBI, despite being 49th in slugging!

Believe It or Don't!

Who are the guys in front of Medwick and what are their OBP,  does Medwick bat 5th???

He bats 3rd.  The batters in front of him are usually a combo of 1934 Frankie Frisch (who has only a .306 OBP here), 2014 Lorenzo Cain (.522 OBP) and 2014 Jarrod Dyson (.485 OBP).

No hitters are of course relatively unusual.

No hitters in the world series are exceptionally rare, having occurred exactly once in all of MLB history.

No one in MLB history has ever thrown a no-hitter in the series-clinching game, and I do not believe that I have ever seen it happen in WIS either.

Well, in the 1988 NWP World Series, Dwight Gooden just did it....

... And he LOST the game.

(Yes I know MLB technically doesn't count it as a no-hitter under these circumstances...I think they're silly.  He allowed no hits in a complete game.  It's a no-hitter.)

WIth his team trailing 3 games to 2, Doc took the mound for the Gangs of New York in game 6 against the Cleveland Electros, who were looking to close out the series at home.  In the bottom of the first, Cleveland's leadoff batter, Gerald Young, reached on an error by Cal Ripken.  Fred Lynn then grounded into a double play, and Gooden proceeded to retire the next 19 batters in a row.  Through 7, he had faced the minimum of 21 batters. 

The score remained 0-0, as Electros' starter John Tudor pitched 7 shutout innings, and reliever Jeff Parrett held New York scoreless in the 8th.

In the bottom the 8th, Cleveland's Andy Van Slyke drew a walk and promptly stole second base.  Two infield outs advanced Van Slyke to 3rd, and Gooden appeared to get out of the inning when pinch hitter John Shelby grounded to Frank White.  But White booted it, Van Slyke scored, and Cleveland had the only run they would need.

Parrett set down New York 1-2-3 in the 9th as the Electros closed out the series with a 1-0 win.  Gooden, despite allowing no hits, took the loss.  It was his only defeat in the postseason, as he finished 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA.

Man, that's some tough luck.

By Hook or By Crook

I've got a team in a 1929 prog fighting for a pennant.  We just lost to a non contender, in a game closed out by Cy Moore.  Moore notched his 20th save of the season, good for 6th overall in the league.  He's blown 8 saves, too -- which doesn't seem so bad, when you consider his ERA is 13.50!

Believe It or Don't!

I just had a team finish the season 16-44 in the division and 47-45 against everybody else.

Believe It or Don't!

Saved by the Rookie

In a 1929 prog, my team entered the season without a full-time SS after we failed to draft or trade for one.  I was stuck with the AAA SS, who in real life was 2001 Deivi Cruz and his ho-hum line of .256/.291/.379 with 28 doubles, 1 triple and 7 HR. 

We just won game 160 of the season to clinch the pennant, and now Cruz will be benched to rest up for the playoffs.  He finishes the season with 1 triple and 7 HR, to match his real life totals.  However, he hit 46 doubles, and put up a line of .332/.368/.491.  What's more, in the last 5 games -- must-wins for us -- he came through with 14 hits, 6 doubles, 3 HR and 18 RBI.  In four of the five games he was named Player of the Game.

Believe It or Don't!

Posted by contrarian23 on 3/15/2015 3:43:00 PM (view original):
No hitters are of course relatively unusual.

No hitters in the world series are exceptionally rare, having occurred exactly once in all of MLB history.

No one in MLB history has ever thrown a no-hitter in the series-clinching game, and I do not believe that I have ever seen it happen in WIS either.

Well, in the 1988 NWP World Series, Dwight Gooden just did it....

... And he LOST the game.

(Yes I know MLB technically doesn't count it as a no-hitter under these circumstances...I think they're silly.  He allowed no hits in a complete game.  It's a no-hitter.)

WIth his team trailing 3 games to 2, Doc took the mound for the Gangs of New York in game 6 against the Cleveland Electros, who were looking to close out the series at home.  In the bottom of the first, Cleveland's leadoff batter, Gerald Young, reached on an error by Cal Ripken.  Fred Lynn then grounded into a double play, and Gooden proceeded to retire the next 19 batters in a row.  Through 7, he had faced the minimum of 21 batters. 

The score remained 0-0, as Electros' starter John Tudor pitched 7 shutout innings, and reliever Jeff Parrett held New York scoreless in the 8th.

In the bottom the 8th, Cleveland's Andy Van Slyke drew a walk and promptly stole second base.  Two infield outs advanced Van Slyke to 3rd, and Gooden appeared to get out of the inning when pinch hitter John Shelby grounded to Frank White.  But White booted it, Van Slyke scored, and Cleveland had the only run they would need.

Parrett set down New York 1-2-3 in the 9th as the Electros closed out the series with a 1-0 win.  Gooden, despite allowing no hits, took the loss.  It was his only defeat in the postseason, as he finished 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA.

see last post on pg9.

I had Pete Falcone throw perfect game in game 7 of a 1976 progressive. That was in 2004-ish

I could use one of those 76 Pete Falcone World Series no hitters about now! (Note: I had the winning team in contrarian's post above, so lightning can strike twice in a month, right?!)

Posted by crazystengel on 3/30/2015 1:54:00 AM (view original):
Saved by the Rookie

In a 1929 prog, my team entered the season without a full-time SS after we failed to draft or trade for one.  I was stuck with the AAA SS, who in real life was 2001 Deivi Cruz and his ho-hum line of .256/.291/.379 with 28 doubles, 1 triple and 7 HR. 

We just won game 160 of the season to clinch the pennant, and now Cruz will be benched to rest up for the playoffs.  He finishes the season with 1 triple and 7 HR, to match his real life totals.  However, he hit 46 doubles, and put up a line of .332/.368/.491.  What's more, in the last 5 games -- must-wins for us -- he came through with 14 hits, 6 doubles, 3 HR and 18 RBI.  In four of the five games he was named Player of the Game.

Believe It or Don't!

This team went to the WS (no other playoff rounds in a 12-team league) and lost, 4-3.  On a team with some pretty good firepower (Babe Ruth, Bill Terry, Johnny Frederick, Carl Reynolds), the rookie SS topped all our batters in average (.300), slugging (.620) and RBI (7). 

Believe It or Don't!

I'd also like to give credit to ljemd, the owner of the team that defeated us.  He's been in this prog all 29 seasons of its existence.  Prior to this season, he hadn't made the playoffs since 1904, a 25-year drought.  This is his first WS win.

Believe It or Don't!

So I recently entered an OL team just for fun (even named them "Just For Fun").  I was looking to put together about the best offense I could for an OL, while still meeting the pitching IP minimum.  Put them in Coors, of course.

This league ended up being like no other OL I've ever seen.

First, a look at my offense...here are the stats for the 8 regulars:

Player	SN	B	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	STRK	L STRK
Jeter, Derek	1999	R	156	765	307	343	59	12	41	190	137	78	12	0	0	.448	.538	.718	1.256	12	56
Foxx, Jimmie	1938	R	159	694	303	292	44	9	98	233	193	85	4	0	0	.421	.547	.934	1.481	7	19
Mauer, Joe	2006	L	139	655	247	284	60	10	28	239	121	34	7	0	0	.434	.524	.684	1.207	0	19
Hamilton, Billy	1893	L	132	594	229	262	51	6	26	200	113	15	14	0	0	.441	.537	.678	1.215	19	28
Ruth, Babe	1932	L	143	583	256	220	23	3	81	244	189	66	3	0	0	.377	.530	.844	1.374	5	16
Hornsby, Rogers	1923	R	136	583	200	261	53	7	56	263	90	34	3	0	0	.448	.523	.851	1.374	21	21
Jones, Chipper	2008	S	133	567	193	254	39	2	46	261	133	52	4	0	0	.448	.550	.767	1.317	1	17
Williams, Ted	1954	L	135	527	242	253	39	3	71	294	204	25	4	0	0	.480	.622	.970	1.592	19	24

Note that "56" at the top right for Jeter...yep...he matched Joe D's hit streak.

Some pretty amazing numbers.  Not sure which I am more impressed by.  Foxx's 98 homers, or Ted's .622 on base percentage.

Of course, the pitching staff was pretty ugly:

Player	SN	T	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
Hughey, Jim	1899	R	60	28	5	0	11	14	4	6	235.3	433	332	306	32	138	47	.388	.459	.582	2.43	11.70
Knepper, Charlie	1899	R	48	27	8	0	13	12	1	3	232.3	427	319	274	47	131	55	.384	.453	.600	2.40	10.61
Potter, Nels	1939	R	55	29	0	0	13	11	2	3	208.0	351	249	227	58	114	91	.368	.438	.625	2.24	9.82
Keough, Matt	1982	R	45	27	1	0	9	15	2	2	206.3	351	281	271	66	162	85	.383	.476	.680	2.49	11.82
Lamp, Dennis	1980	R	45	26	0	0	11	10	0	0	184.7	343	240	214	44	106	75	.397	.461	.629	2.43	10.43
Mattern, Al	1911	R	36	25	0	0	6	10	2	2	147.3	336	265	251	39	117	57	.442	.515	.696	3.07	15.33
Spatz, Cary (P)	2015	L	52	0	0	0	11	2	0	1	85.3	133	109	102	30	58	52	.354	.439	.670	2.24	10.76
Hasegawa, Shigetoshi	2003	R	52	0	0	0	5	1	0	4	63.7	73	38	37	14	24	30	.282	.345	.467	1.52	5.23
Stamper, Tony (P)	2015	R	25	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	61.0	69	43	43	18	27	35	.282	.356	.604	1.57	6.34
Harris, Bill	1931	R	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	3.3	4	3	3	0	1	1	.308	.400	.308	1.50	8.10

We somehow managed to fnish over .500 (86-76) which I wasn't expecting...but here's the mindblowing part.  Despite scoring 2369 runs, hitting 475 homers... we did not come close to leading the league in either category.

Furthermore, we allowed 1879 runs (and 348 HR)...and again, were not even close to the worst in the league.

Apparently, several other owners had the same idea as I did, and from the early banter in the league forum, it appears they may have been friends who decided to join together (before anyone asks, I do NOT think there was any collusion here.)

These were the overall team totals for runs scored:

Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Yippy Skippy	162	6806	2552	2580	417	68	860	2475	1321	806	78	0	1	.379	.483	.839	1.322
double troube	162	6781	2389	2478	386	83	815	2304	1233	814	70	5	1	.365	.466	.807	1.273
ugly again	162	6538	2387	2315	484	46	599	2299	1492	812	111	7	2	.354	.479	.717	1.196
Just for Fun	162	6809	2369	2681	431	61	475	2242	1317	568	67	0	1	.394	.494	.684	1.178
even more dingers	162	6444	1900	2169	374	48	603	1862	1096	1085	60	0	0	.337	.436	.690	1.126
Fungus	162	6322	1871	2208	315	67	257	1763	1163	601	76	141	62	.349	.453	.542	.995
MUSSEL STEW	162	6374	1759	2296	542	70	243	1681	876	509	54	207	42	.360	.438	.582	1.020
Dark Side	162	6137	1689	1941	331	34	408	1628	1151	823	89	9	6	.316	.429	.581	1.010
LEAGUE AVERAGE	162	6282	1666	2126	369	63	330	1593	924	641	63	198	51	.338	.426	.575	1.001
more dingers	162	6209	1647	1962	316	50	496	1595	955	825	68	6	14	.316	.411	.623	1.034
Blue Herrons	162	6325	1645	2091	364	57	367	1559	894	773	62	137	49	.331	.416	.580	.996
BO CHASERS	162	6284	1584	2200	416	71	207	1531	760	503	54	318	42	.350	.422	.538	.960
Vitamins	162	6216	1556	2113	372	51	388	1506	670	525	52	145	49	.340	.407	.603	1.010
Killer & The Babe	162	6040	1538	1955	346	45	355	1470	971	588	56	148	41	.324	.419	.572	.991
Duck Soup	162	6163	1535	2096	336	72	181	1438	771	484	61	676	146	.340	.416	.506	.922
Bottom Of The Barrel	162	6209	1519	2133	336	82	175	1422	876	528	51	376	70	.344	.426	.509	.935
3 A.M. Eternal	162	6219	1493	2091	358	67	128	1403	884	382	52	325	112	.336	.420	.477	.897
Fuzzy Sugaree	162	6352	1468	2217	424	82	110	1377	682	444	50	322	79	.349	.414	.494	.908
Yeldarbs Royals	162	6267	1458	2085	355	106	256	1385	701	731	44	311	43	.333	.401	.546	.947
Mrs. Peel meet Mr. Steed	162	6170	1410	2071	388	51	268	1370	683	576	62	200	86	.336	.405	.545	.950
Hit Men	162	6267	1366	2176	369	77	80	1293	612	465	47	594	143	.347	.407	.469	.876
Slap City	162	5993	1304	1910	332	60	100	1247	809	320	55	309	107	.319	.401	.444	.845
Returning Clueless	162	5928	1260	1748	266	92	174	1183	762	637	52	338	81	.295	.378	.459	.837
Yankees	162	5822	1165	1675	307	32	202	1119	818	778	82	85	16	.288	.381	.456	.837
All Stars 1987	162	6100	1121	1833	292	37	182	1083	669	803	49	83	27	.300	.372	.450	.822

The average team in this league scored 1666 runs (more than 10 per game).  Imagine being in an OL, scoring 1121 runs, and realizing that you were LAST in the league in scoring?

The league leaderboards were, as you might imagine, ridiculous.  Foxx's 98 HR for my team?  That was 19th in the league.  Here are the top 18:

Rank	Name	SN	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	STRK	L STRK
1	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	714	363	317	39	4	161	438	208	96	9	0	0	.444	.569	1.186	1.755	7	28
2	Ruth, Babe	1921	162	682	337	325	62	13	152	405	225	70	11	2	0	.477	.608	1.274	1.883	21	21
3	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	691	391	324	45	11	152	397	234	83	3	0	0	.469	.603	1.226	1.828	0	20
4	Ruth, Babe	1920	162	712	377	304	59	5	146	352	224	111	4	0	0	.427	.565	1.139	1.704	14	30
5	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	679	334	307	49	9	142	356	217	83	9	0	0	.452	.588	1.178	1.766	1	25
6	Greenberg, Hank	1938	162	724	309	291	36	4	137	354	166	83	13	0	0	.402	.518	1.030	1.549	7	16
7	Ruth, Babe	1920	162	694	362	268	53	7	135	418	230	113	15	0	0	.386	.543	1.066	1.610	1	25
8	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	657	263	293	28	6	131	340	204	85	9	0	0	.446	.579	1.105	1.684	6	33
9	Ruth, Babe	1920	152	655	368	269	53	7	131	296	241	97	3	0	0	.411	.571	1.113	1.684	2	22
10	Ruth, Babe	1930	162	687	317	325	50	10	125	365	210	60	11	0	0	.473	.597	1.121	1.718	0	18
11	Ruth, Babe	1930	162	745	351	314	51	10	122	276	227	66	4	0	0	.421	.557	1.008	1.565	2	32
12	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	670	277	289	39	4	119	334	169	95	7	0	0	.431	.546	1.034	1.581	9	15
13	Greenberg, Hank	1938	162	768	307	292	44	3	117	329	140	79	11	0	0	.380	.479	.902	1.381	2	14
14	Ruth, Babe	1920	162	672	309	271	57	7	111	290	204	130	8	0	0	.403	.543	1.004	1.547	0	27
15	Schmidt, Mike	1980	162	741	255	275	42	13	110	293	126	102	14	0	0	.371	.469	.908	1.378	4	15
16	Ruth, Babe	1927	162	642	241	254	39	3	109	293	170	101	9	0	0	.396	.522	.975	1.497	4	17
17	Schmidt, Mike	1980	152	707	253	257	54	6	109	279	153	111	8	0	0	.364	.480	.919	1.399	4	11
18	Ruth, Babe	1920	151	603	272	236	39	5	101	292	191	109	1	1	0	.391	.536	.975	1.511	3	22

Yup.  18 players hit more than 100 homers.

And of course, the standings were a mess as well.  Six teams won 42 or fewer games...12 teams won 100 more...and 4 of those 100-game winners ended up missing the playoffs.

MLB110524 in case anyone is interested in seeing more of the details.