[Charlie Hough]

I've seen some strange releases in my recent historical games as well, plus some really bad waiver transactions that made no sense relative to the player's talent or contract.

One example was Toronto not offering arbitration and letting Alfredo Griffin become a free agent in 1980. He had just played in 152 games as a starter with very solid stats, a small contract demand, and better ratings than anyone else at the position in the organization.

Another example was San Francisco waiving Larry Herndon right before the first season of my simulation, which began in 1980. Herndon had similarly strong ratings, an inexpensive contract, and was significantly better than two other outfielders that the Giants chose to keep on the main roster. Herndon was promptly claimed off waivers, costing the Giants a valuable player.

The AI also released Milt Wilcox right after I had signed him to a minor league deal with a major league option. For some reason, all of MLB passed on Wilcox despite him having solid ratings and coming off a 16-win season. So I signed him and assigned him to AAA, with a plan to use him if I had an injury in the rotation or performance issues. But the AI then released him, and I had to reverse that move and put him back on the roster.