OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The North American Baseball Federation (Promotion/Relegation)

ArquimedezPozo · 12-27-2022, 12:55 PM

Hitters
CF Casey Smith, Ft. Worth Cats, 2015
Smith, almost unquestionably, was the greatest star of the 2010s. A Rookie of the Year winner with Ft. Worth following his stellar age 22 season, averaging 8.4 WAR over the next five seasons. That included his greatest season, 2015, in which he won his second D1 CF Gold Glove while hitting .318/.422/.585 with 32 homers and 40 steals. He led the league in OBP, Slugging, WAR, triples, RC, wRC+, and wOBA, and was a unanimous choice for D1 MVP. And though his Cats lost to Boston in the Division Championship, it wasn’t because of Smith, who gave his club a .385/.467/.615 batting line with a homer and a double in the six game tilt.

LF Jim McCabe, Havana Sugar Kings, 2016
McCabe was, during his career, one of the most criminally underrated players in the game - he was a 12-time All-Star, but won just a single Platinum Stick and was otherwise unrecognized by his peers despite retiring with over 73 WAR, a top-20 total among position players and 4th among all left fielders. That Platinum Stick came in his 2016 season, in which he powered his Havana Sugar Kings to the best season on their history (to that point). McCabe hit 20 homers, stole 30 bases, and led the league with a .327 BA and .437 OBP, to go along with a .540 Slugging percentage. He lost the award to John Hansen, who made headlines with his 47 homers, but McCabe was the superior player.

CF Omar Arteaga, Toronto Maple Leafs, 2014
Arteaga’s 2014 was hardly the equal of his electrifying 2007, nor did it match his incredible 2008 or 2009 campaigns. But it was still the best of any D2 player in 2014, and the last great season of his short but brilliant career. His career-best 46 homers (tied with his 2009 total) was also tops in D2, along with his .605 SLG and 185 wRC+. Arteaga would play just three more seasons, but his performance in 2014 was a major factor in returning Toronto to Division 1, where Arteaga began and ended his career.

SS Craig Wilson, Calgary Outlaws, 2013
Wilson, among the greatest shortstops in the history of the NABF, won his only Gold Glove in 2013 and was the only true bright spot in a dismal Calgary season. At age 29, Wilson put up a line of .310/.402/.460 while shining defensively, adding up to an 8.4 WAR campaign that netted him a narrow second to Seattle’s slugger Danny Diaz.

1B James Keesler, Phoenix Firebirds, 2017
Keesler’s Triple Crown 2017 remains one of the few great moments in the long sad history of the Phoenix Firebirds. It tops Firebirds records in single season BA (.324), OBP (.422), SLG (.649), WAR (8.2), HR (48), as well as Runs, Hits, RBI, and Total Bases. With 88 wins, 2017 is the third best season in Phoenix’s history, and it’s not hard to see why, as Keesler put the club on his back en route to a third place finish, albeit one in which the club finished 16 games over .500.

Pitchers
SP Geoff Finnell, Boston Bees, 2017
The greatest pitching season in Boston Bees history belongs to Finnell in 2017, when - at age 26, he won 18 games with a 2.35 ERA, 2.81 FIP (league leading 67 FIP-) and 6.7 WAR. Finnell’s 2017 ranks as the seventh best by WAR in the history of the usually offense-first Division 1, and the highest of the Cycle 3/Cycle 4 era. He won his second Pitcher of the Year for his efforts in 2017, and hoisted a trophy at the end, though he wasn’t spectacular in the Bees victory over Ft. Worth, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

SP Ben Mettler, Los Angeles Angels, 2016
If Finnell’s 2017 is the best D1 pitching season of the Cycle 3/Cycle 4 era, Mettler’s is a close second, and perhaps the most important: while Finnell anchored a deep Boston rotation, Mettler’s backup was shallow as the Angels tended to batter opponents rather than smother them. But while the murderer’s row of Raul Romero, Dennis Sokol, and Francisco Carreno were the biggest factor in getting the Angels to the Championship Series, Mettler was next, putting up a 6.6 WAR season with a 2.86 ERA and 2.76 FIP while winning 13 games. In the Championship Series win over Boston, Mettler won two critical games, holding the Bees’ potent offense to just 11 hits and two walks over 17 innings; though it was ultimately Carreno who won the Championship Series MVP, Mettler had a powerful case.

SP Malcolm Bush, Indianapolis Clowns, 2015
2015 was the only season of Malcolm Bush’s incredible, criminally underrated career in which he took home hardware: the 2015 D2 Pitcher of the Year put up 9.2 WAR and a 46 FIP- with 11.9 K/9 (he struck out over a third of the hitters he faced) and won 16 games for the disappointing Clowns. While it wasn’t Bush’s last great year - he would top 5 WAR five more times in his career - it was his last legendary one, and somehow the only one that voters saw fit to reward.

SP Jim Betz, Havana Sugar Kings, 2016
Betz is on the NABF’s pitching Mount Rushmore: more wins (229) than any other pitcher, with the second highest pure pitching WAR, behind only Bush, and a career 3.00 FIP, tied for seventh all-time. He is also a member of the elite 3000 K club, alongside Bush, Oliver Chase, John Lawrenz, and other all-time greats. But 2016 was his greatest season, as he became just the second D2 pitcher to win 20 games while earning 8.6 WAR, the second highest total in D2 history (behind only Bush’s 2015 season, above). Though his miniscule 2.11 ERA was aided by a .250 BABIP, his FIP of 2.44 was hardly pedestrian, and went along with 264 strikeouts against just 59 walks. He was rewarded with the Pitcher of the Year trophy, the first of his three.

SP John Lawrenz, Washington Senators, 2013
2013 was a big year for the Washington Senators. For one thing, it was the first time the team finished above .500 in its history, after six years of failure: they ended the year in second place just five games back of the Charlotte Hornets. For another, it was the first truly great season authored by their greatest player, starter John Lawrenz, a power pitcher who ranks among the greatest in the game despite his anonymity. Lawrenz’s 2013 was a masterpiece that saw his strike out 276 batters to lead D3 for the first of five consecutive seasons, while putting up 7.1 WAR and a 63 FIP-. Lawrenz’s 274 Ks were the most of any pitcher in the history of D3 to that point, and the third most by anyone in the NABF. Lawrenz, who still ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts in the NABF, won the first of his three Pitcher of the Year awards in 2013 as he opened a new era for the Senators.

Two-Way Players
2B/SP Hector Rayfield, Boston Bees, 2017
None of Hector Rayfield’s numbers in 2017 scream ‘all-time great’ until you put them together. Rayfield hit .283/.346/.474 with 23 homers from second base, playing decent defense and collecting 3.5 WAR at the plate, but he also went 16-8, with a 3.69 FIP that was overshadowed by an ugly 4.73 ERA (the product of a .327 BABIP). Rayfield gave the Bees 187 innings of reliable pitching and 550 PAs of reliable hitting in the same season, and while he had better seasons on one side of the ball or another at varying points in his incredible career, this was the season where his two-way ability was most balanced and most valuable, giving the Bees 7.2 WAR in a championship season. And in the Division Championship? Rayfield batted .321/.367/.357, scoring nine runs while also winning Game 2 against Ft. Worth.

Next: The Rise of the Terrapins (Cycles 5 and 6)

12-27-2022, 12:55 PM	#6
ArquimedezPozo Minors (Triple A) Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 226	Greatest Individual Seasons, 2013-2018 Hitters CF Casey Smith, Ft. Worth Cats, 2015 Smith, almost unquestionably, was the greatest star of the 2010s. A Rookie of the Year winner with Ft. Worth following his stellar age 22 season, averaging 8.4 WAR over the next five seasons. That included his greatest season, 2015, in which he won his second D1 CF Gold Glove while hitting .318/.422/.585 with 32 homers and 40 steals. He led the league in OBP, Slugging, WAR, triples, RC, wRC+, and wOBA, and was a unanimous choice for D1 MVP. And though his Cats lost to Boston in the Division Championship, it wasn’t because of Smith, who gave his club a .385/.467/.615 batting line with a homer and a double in the six game tilt. LF Jim McCabe, Havana Sugar Kings, 2016 McCabe was, during his career, one of the most criminally underrated players in the game - he was a 12-time All-Star, but won just a single Platinum Stick and was otherwise unrecognized by his peers despite retiring with over 73 WAR, a top-20 total among position players and 4th among all left fielders. That Platinum Stick came in his 2016 season, in which he powered his Havana Sugar Kings to the best season on their history (to that point). McCabe hit 20 homers, stole 30 bases, and led the league with a .327 BA and .437 OBP, to go along with a .540 Slugging percentage. He lost the award to John Hansen, who made headlines with his 47 homers, but McCabe was the superior player. CF Omar Arteaga, Toronto Maple Leafs, 2014 Arteaga’s 2014 was hardly the equal of his electrifying 2007, nor did it match his incredible 2008 or 2009 campaigns. But it was still the best of any D2 player in 2014, and the last great season of his short but brilliant career. His career-best 46 homers (tied with his 2009 total) was also tops in D2, along with his .605 SLG and 185 wRC+. Arteaga would play just three more seasons, but his performance in 2014 was a major factor in returning Toronto to Division 1, where Arteaga began and ended his career. SS Craig Wilson, Calgary Outlaws, 2013 Wilson, among the greatest shortstops in the history of the NABF, won his only Gold Glove in 2013 and was the only true bright spot in a dismal Calgary season. At age 29, Wilson put up a line of .310/.402/.460 while shining defensively, adding up to an 8.4 WAR campaign that netted him a narrow second to Seattle’s slugger Danny Diaz. 1B James Keesler, Phoenix Firebirds, 2017 Keesler’s Triple Crown 2017 remains one of the few great moments in the long sad history of the Phoenix Firebirds. It tops Firebirds records in single season BA (.324), OBP (.422), SLG (.649), WAR (8.2), HR (48), as well as Runs, Hits, RBI, and Total Bases. With 88 wins, 2017 is the third best season in Phoenix’s history, and it’s not hard to see why, as Keesler put the club on his back en route to a third place finish, albeit one in which the club finished 16 games over .500. Pitchers SP Geoff Finnell, Boston Bees, 2017 The greatest pitching season in Boston Bees history belongs to Finnell in 2017, when - at age 26, he won 18 games with a 2.35 ERA, 2.81 FIP (league leading 67 FIP-) and 6.7 WAR. Finnell’s 2017 ranks as the seventh best by WAR in the history of the usually offense-first Division 1, and the highest of the Cycle 3/Cycle 4 era. He won his second Pitcher of the Year for his efforts in 2017, and hoisted a trophy at the end, though he wasn’t spectacular in the Bees victory over Ft. Worth, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. SP Ben Mettler, Los Angeles Angels, 2016 If Finnell’s 2017 is the best D1 pitching season of the Cycle 3/Cycle 4 era, Mettler’s is a close second, and perhaps the most important: while Finnell anchored a deep Boston rotation, Mettler’s backup was shallow as the Angels tended to batter opponents rather than smother them. But while the murderer’s row of Raul Romero, Dennis Sokol, and Francisco Carreno were the biggest factor in getting the Angels to the Championship Series, Mettler was next, putting up a 6.6 WAR season with a 2.86 ERA and 2.76 FIP while winning 13 games. In the Championship Series win over Boston, Mettler won two critical games, holding the Bees’ potent offense to just 11 hits and two walks over 17 innings; though it was ultimately Carreno who won the Championship Series MVP, Mettler had a powerful case. SP Malcolm Bush, Indianapolis Clowns, 2015 2015 was the only season of Malcolm Bush’s incredible, criminally underrated career in which he took home hardware: the 2015 D2 Pitcher of the Year put up 9.2 WAR and a 46 FIP- with 11.9 K/9 (he struck out over a third of the hitters he faced) and won 16 games for the disappointing Clowns. While it wasn’t Bush’s last great year - he would top 5 WAR five more times in his career - it was his last legendary one, and somehow the only one that voters saw fit to reward. SP Jim Betz, Havana Sugar Kings, 2016 Betz is on the NABF’s pitching Mount Rushmore: more wins (229) than any other pitcher, with the second highest pure pitching WAR, behind only Bush, and a career 3.00 FIP, tied for seventh all-time. He is also a member of the elite 3000 K club, alongside Bush, Oliver Chase, John Lawrenz, and other all-time greats. But 2016 was his greatest season, as he became just the second D2 pitcher to win 20 games while earning 8.6 WAR, the second highest total in D2 history (behind only Bush’s 2015 season, above). Though his miniscule 2.11 ERA was aided by a .250 BABIP, his FIP of 2.44 was hardly pedestrian, and went along with 264 strikeouts against just 59 walks. He was rewarded with the Pitcher of the Year trophy, the first of his three. SP John Lawrenz, Washington Senators, 2013 2013 was a big year for the Washington Senators. For one thing, it was the first time the team finished above .500 in its history, after six years of failure: they ended the year in second place just five games back of the Charlotte Hornets. For another, it was the first truly great season authored by their greatest player, starter John Lawrenz, a power pitcher who ranks among the greatest in the game despite his anonymity. Lawrenz’s 2013 was a masterpiece that saw his strike out 276 batters to lead D3 for the first of five consecutive seasons, while putting up 7.1 WAR and a 63 FIP-. Lawrenz’s 274 Ks were the most of any pitcher in the history of D3 to that point, and the third most by anyone in the NABF. Lawrenz, who still ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts in the NABF, won the first of his three Pitcher of the Year awards in 2013 as he opened a new era for the Senators. Two-Way Players 2B/SP Hector Rayfield, Boston Bees, 2017 None of Hector Rayfield’s numbers in 2017 scream ‘all-time great’ until you put them together. Rayfield hit .283/.346/.474 with 23 homers from second base, playing decent defense and collecting 3.5 WAR at the plate, but he also went 16-8, with a 3.69 FIP that was overshadowed by an ugly 4.73 ERA (the product of a .327 BABIP). Rayfield gave the Bees 187 innings of reliable pitching and 550 PAs of reliable hitting in the same season, and while he had better seasons on one side of the ball or another at varying points in his incredible career, this was the season where his two-way ability was most balanced and most valuable, giving the Bees 7.2 WAR in a championship season. And in the Division Championship? Rayfield batted .321/.367/.357, scoring nine runs while also winning Game 2 against Ft. Worth. Next: The Rise of the Terrapins (Cycles 5 and 6) Attached Images Last edited by ArquimedezPozo; 12-27-2022 at 12:57 PM.