Posted by oldtimer59 on 9/10/2024 6:13:00 PM (view original):
redcped, here are your boxes:
1) CHC at MIL - 9/21/2005
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200509210.shtml
2) SD at LA - 4/22/1984
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198404220.shtml
3) ARZ at WASH - 4/28/2018
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS201804280.shtml
4) OAK at SEA - 7/2/1996
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA199607020.shtml
5) STL at CHC - 7/4/1957
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN195707042.shtml
6) MONT at HOU - 5/22/1969
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU196905220.shtml
7) CLE at DET - 6/6/1935
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193506060.shtml
8) OAK at MINN - 7/25/1977 - AL - Metropolitan Stadium
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN197707250.shtml
1) Derrick Turnbow, Dana Eveland, Prince Fielder
2) Tony Gwynn, Alan Wiggins, Rick Honeycutt, Craig Lefferts
3) Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle, Jeremy Hellickson
4) Billy Taylor, Damon Mashore, Manny Martinez
5) Stan Musial, Hobie Landrith, Dick Schofield
6) Maury Wills, Ron Brand, Don Bryant
7) Joe Vosmik, Odell Hale, Schoolboy Rowe
8) Mitchell Page, Dave Goltz, Sheldon Mallory
I always start with pitching to see what I can build and what options it leaves me. In this case at least I had a few decent starters to work with, starting with Patrick Corbin, who I don't think has actually been good since 2018 but is somehow still pitching. Then I have two workhorses in Dave Goltz (305 IP) and Schoolboy Rowe (296), but I'll need a 4th starter for 15-20 outings. I chose Rick Honeycutt over a very homer-prone Mark Prior since we are in a +1 park that's hitter friendly as it is.
I had to use stud closer Sean Doolittle (0.93 ERC# and 0.62 WHIP#), and he'll have company with Craig Lefferts (106 IP, 2.34 ERC#) and Derrick Turnbow (68, 2.24) for the late innings. I've only got 1,388 IP in a 1.07 park, so that could be problematic.
I've never quite had depth at 1B like in this collection, headlined by 1977 Rod Carew and 2005 Derrek Lee, not to mention 1996 Mark McGwire, 1935 Hank Greenberg, 1957 Stan Musial, and 2018 Paul Goldschmidt. Carew was unaffordable, and Lee and Greenberg topped $8M that makes it tough. McGwire would probably crush a ton of homers, but his shortage of PA meant finding a good backup for even more $$. So I ultimately went with Musial, a .351 hitter who's as good as any of them and can really take advantage of the +2 singles park.
Musial will be joined by a couple more high average bats in Tony Gwynn (.356) and Joe Vosmik (.338), and the latter's 20 triples should be really useful in a +2 park. The third OF is low-cap superstud Mitchell Page, who comes in under $5M and brings great speed and a fine bat.
Elsewhere in the infield are Odell Hale, a solid bat with A range and 80 speed, and a pair of fast switch hitters up the middle in Maury Wills and Alan Wiggins. The only position I basically punted was catcher, where three guys who can't hit will share duties but only cost $4M between them.
I wound up needing to fill bench spots from specific years, and I added to my five fast lineup members with four more guys who can run. The catchers and Musial will be pulled for a lot of pinch runners if they're on base late. Not much hitting to be found there, though. All in all, it feels like a competitive team if the pitchers don't wear out and keep us in games.