Each Franchise's Best Team - 162 Season Simulation

Nedgar75 · 05-13-2016, 01:35 PM

Watching the 16 in '16 video on the OOTP channel yesterday got me thinking about each franchise’s all-time best team. I wondered what would happen if all those teams played, but a full season rather than a tournament.

I spent my day at work on the web doing research on baseballreference and reading various opinions and sites on line with their takes on which team was best for each franchise.

In some cases, there were no-brainers:

2001 Mariners (116 wins)
1982 Brewers (only WS team)
2001 DBacks (only WS team)
2007 Rockies (only WS team)
2008 Rays (only WS team)
2002 Angels (only WS team)
2011 Rangers (better WS team)
1998 Padres (only WS team)

In some cases, franchises had two or more great teams and I went with consensus best of all time:

1927 Yankees over 1998
1970 Orioles over 1969
1976 Reds over 1975
1929 Athletics over 1931
1984 Tigers over 1967
1986 Mets over 1969
1992 Blue Jays over 1993
2015 Royals over 1985 (George Brett confirmed this)
1997 Marlins over 2003
1980 Phillies over 2008
1995 Braves over 1998
1934 Cardinals
1906 Cubs over 1907 (116 win Cubs vs. WS winner)
1953 Dodgers over 1955 (WS winner) and 1963 (WS winner) because it was a great year for Jackie Robinson
1909 Pirates over 1971 and 1979 Pirates because of Honus Wagner and better pitcher

In a few cases it was a personal judgment with some bias toward recency:

2004 Red Sox over Babe Ruth era Sox
1991 Twins over 1924 Senators because I have fond memories of the Twins/Braves series
1917 White Sox over 2005 White Sox because I have always been interested in the Black Sox and the team was effectively the same group
1954 Giants over teens/early 1920's Giants because of Willie Mays
1948 Indians over 1995 (I am a bitter Mariners fan who holds fondly remembers their run in ’95 and how the Indians beat us)
2012 Nationals over 1994 or 1980 Expos (I have never like the strike-shortened seasons though I did enjoy the Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson Expos)

My list differs from someone else doing the same exercise, but I this is what I went with. Setting up the league to play the full 162 schedule, interleague play, AL DH rules (since 9 of the 15 AL teams played with the DH), no injuries, no minor leagues, no roster size limits. Had to pick a start date in settings for the AI to adjust for pitcher usage, etc. – split the difference and choose 1955 to try to strike a happy medium. Also going back to each team and adjusting rotation to 3, 4 or 5 man based on historical use.

I am not sure how this will play out as I don’t know how the mash-up of eras will work with player usage but will give it a try – if anyone is interested I will post results as I go.

grmagne · 05-13-2016, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nedgar75

In some cases, there were no-brainers:

2001 Mariners (116 wins)
1982 Brewers (only WS team)
2001 DBacks (only WS team)
2007 Rockies (only WS team)
2008 Rays (only WS team)
2002 Angels (only WS team)
2011 Rangers (better WS team)
1998 Padres (only WS team)

One of the teams listed as "only WS team" was actually in the WS 14 years earlier. You'll probably realize it right away when you take a 2nd look.

That is an interesting idea for a simulation, though!

Nedgar75 · 05-13-2016, 04:54 PM

Oops. Forgot about '84 Padres. Well I think the '98 team would still be considered the superior team anyway.

daves · 05-15-2016, 05:15 PM

There is an OOTP channel?

thehef · 05-16-2016, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daves

There is an OOTP channel?

I did not know that either. Just found it here: https://www.youtube.com/user/OOTPDevelopments

Number4 · 05-18-2016, 02:32 PM

I think allowing some teams a 3-man rotation while forcing others to use 5 gives the 3-man-teams a massive advantage, if the stamina levels you choose permit this. They get the best pitchers out there against your #4 and #5 guys, and in this era, starters are rarely pulled, so the modern bullpens won't come into effect.

Nedgar75 · 05-20-2016, 01:48 PM

Yes it will be interesting to see how the pitcher usage patterns play out.

After setting up the league I am finding I need to go through each teams roster and set the rotations and lineups based on historical usage. I am also setting each teams strategy to mirror their reality at the time (the defaults did not necessarily reflect this after I did the import). The other factor beside pitcher usage is where the at bats will come from when the DH is used for teams that didn't play during the DH era.

I am 80% done with the set up and will start playing the simulation this weekend. The last bit I am struggling with is injuries. I have this set on the lowest setting right now with a 5 day DL. I had originally wanted to keep it off but want to force some irregularity in the lineups for variety. I may start the league with injuries but if I am seeing a rash of long-term injuries I will shut it off (which I think I can do mid-season).

Nedgar75 · 05-21-2016, 12:52 PM

Sorry for the poor formatting. Here is the preseason prediction generated by OOTP:

AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS EAST DIVISION

Baltimore 1970 Orioles 91 71
New York 1927 Yankees 86 76
Boston 2004 Red Sox 86 76
Toronto 1992 Blue Jays 86 76
Tampa Bay 2008 Rays 69 93

AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS CENTRAL DIVISION
Cleveland 1948 Indians 89 73
Detroit 1984 Tigers 84 78
Chicago 1917 White Sox 82 80
Kansas City 2015 Royals 71 91
Minnesota 1991 Twins 66 96

AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS WEST DIVISION

Texas 2011 Rangers 86 76
Philadelphia 1929 Athletics 82 80
Seattle 2001 Mariners 81 81
Houston 2005 Astros 74 88
Anaheim 2002 Angels 71 91

NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS EAST DIVISION

New York 1986 Mets 92 70
Philadelphia 1980 Phillies 86 76
Atlanta 1995 Braves 85 77
Florida 1997 Marlins 79 83
Washington 2012 Nationals 72 90

NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS CENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago 1906 Cubs 99 63
Cincinnati 1976 Reds 89 73
Pittsburgh 1909 Pirates 86 76
St. Louis 1934 Cardinals 79 83
Milwaukee 1982 Brewers 75 87

NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS WEST DIVISION

Brooklyn 1953 Dodgers 86 76
San Diego 1998 Padres 78 84
Colorado 2007 Rockies 76 86
Arizona 2001 Diamondbacks 76 86
New York 1954 Giants 73 89

Nedgar75 · 06-04-2016, 02:35 AM

Not sure how to post image so its attached.

Nedgar75 · 06-15-2016, 03:58 AM

Updated.

Chillidog · 07-11-2016, 06:29 PM

any updates?

want to see if my Orioles will win it all

for me I like the 1971 Orioles, just for the simple fact that they had 4 - 20 games winners, makes it a little special for me (though I agree with you that the 1970 was a better team)

05-13-2016, 01:35 PM	#1
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Each Franchise's Best Team - 162 Season Simulation Watching the 16 in '16 video on the OOTP channel yesterday got me thinking about each franchise’s all-time best team. I wondered what would happen if all those teams played, but a full season rather than a tournament. I spent my day at work on the web doing research on baseballreference and reading various opinions and sites on line with their takes on which team was best for each franchise. In some cases, there were no-brainers: 2001 Mariners (116 wins) 1982 Brewers (only WS team) 2001 DBacks (only WS team) 2007 Rockies (only WS team) 2008 Rays (only WS team) 2002 Angels (only WS team) 2011 Rangers (better WS team) 1998 Padres (only WS team) In some cases, franchises had two or more great teams and I went with consensus best of all time: 1927 Yankees over 1998 1970 Orioles over 1969 1976 Reds over 1975 1929 Athletics over 1931 1984 Tigers over 1967 1986 Mets over 1969 1992 Blue Jays over 1993 2015 Royals over 1985 (George Brett confirmed this) 1997 Marlins over 2003 1980 Phillies over 2008 1995 Braves over 1998 1934 Cardinals 1906 Cubs over 1907 (116 win Cubs vs. WS winner) 1953 Dodgers over 1955 (WS winner) and 1963 (WS winner) because it was a great year for Jackie Robinson 1909 Pirates over 1971 and 1979 Pirates because of Honus Wagner and better pitcher In a few cases it was a personal judgment with some bias toward recency: 2004 Red Sox over Babe Ruth era Sox 1991 Twins over 1924 Senators because I have fond memories of the Twins/Braves series 1917 White Sox over 2005 White Sox because I have always been interested in the Black Sox and the team was effectively the same group 1954 Giants over teens/early 1920's Giants because of Willie Mays 1948 Indians over 1995 (I am a bitter Mariners fan who holds fondly remembers their run in ’95 and how the Indians beat us) 2012 Nationals over 1994 or 1980 Expos (I have never like the strike-shortened seasons though I did enjoy the Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson Expos) My list differs from someone else doing the same exercise, but I this is what I went with. Setting up the league to play the full 162 schedule, interleague play, AL DH rules (since 9 of the 15 AL teams played with the DH), no injuries, no minor leagues, no roster size limits. Had to pick a start date in settings for the AI to adjust for pitcher usage, etc. – split the difference and choose 1955 to try to strike a happy medium. Also going back to each team and adjusting rotation to 3, 4 or 5 man based on historical use. I am not sure how this will play out as I don’t know how the mash-up of eras will work with player usage but will give it a try – if anyone is interested I will post results as I go.

05-13-2016, 04:54 PM	#3
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Oops - Padres Oops. Forgot about '84 Padres. Well I think the '98 team would still be considered the superior team anyway.

05-21-2016, 12:52 PM	#8
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Preseason Predictions Sorry for the poor formatting. Here is the preseason prediction generated by OOTP: AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS EAST DIVISION Baltimore 1970 Orioles 91 71 New York 1927 Yankees 86 76 Boston 2004 Red Sox 86 76 Toronto 1992 Blue Jays 86 76 Tampa Bay 2008 Rays 69 93 AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS CENTRAL DIVISION Cleveland 1948 Indians 89 73 Detroit 1984 Tigers 84 78 Chicago 1917 White Sox 82 80 Kansas City 2015 Royals 71 91 Minnesota 1991 Twins 66 96 AMERICAN LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS WEST DIVISION Texas 2011 Rangers 86 76 Philadelphia 1929 Athletics 82 80 Seattle 2001 Mariners 81 81 Houston 2005 Astros 74 88 Anaheim 2002 Angels 71 91 NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS EAST DIVISION New York 1986 Mets 92 70 Philadelphia 1980 Phillies 86 76 Atlanta 1995 Braves 85 77 Florida 1997 Marlins 79 83 Washington 2012 Nationals 72 90 NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS CENTRAL DIVISION Chicago 1906 Cubs 99 63 Cincinnati 1976 Reds 89 73 Pittsburgh 1909 Pirates 86 76 St. Louis 1934 Cardinals 79 83 Milwaukee 1982 Brewers 75 87 NATIONAL LEAGUE PREDICTED STANDINGS WEST DIVISION Brooklyn 1953 Dodgers 86 76 San Diego 1998 Padres 78 84 Colorado 2007 Rockies 76 86 Arizona 2001 Diamondbacks 76 86 New York 1954 Giants 73 89

06-04-2016, 02:35 AM	#9
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Standings/Leaders After April Not sure how to post image so its attached. Attached Images

06-15-2016, 03:58 AM	#10
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Standings/Leaders After May Updated. Attached Images

05-15-2016, 05:15 PM	#4
daves Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,803	There is an OOTP channel?

05-18-2016, 02:32 PM	#6
Number4 Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 460	I think allowing some teams a 3-man rotation while forcing others to use 5 gives the 3-man-teams a massive advantage, if the stamina levels you choose permit this. They get the best pitchers out there against your #4 and #5 guys, and in this era, starters are rarely pulled, so the modern bullpens won't come into effect.

05-20-2016, 01:48 PM	#7
Nedgar75 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Seattle Posts: 8	Yes it will be interesting to see how the pitcher usage patterns play out. After setting up the league I am finding I need to go through each teams roster and set the rotations and lineups based on historical usage. I am also setting each teams strategy to mirror their reality at the time (the defaults did not necessarily reflect this after I did the import). The other factor beside pitcher usage is where the at bats will come from when the DH is used for teams that didn't play during the DH era. I am 80% done with the set up and will start playing the simulation this weekend. The last bit I am struggling with is injuries. I have this set on the lowest setting right now with a 5 day DL. I had originally wanted to keep it off but want to force some irregularity in the lineups for variety. I may start the league with injuries but if I am seeing a rash of long-term injuries I will shut it off (which I think I can do mid-season).

07-11-2016, 06:29 PM	#11
Chillidog Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 148	any updates? want to see if my Orioles will win it all for me I like the 1971 Orioles, just for the simple fact that they had 4 - 20 games winners, makes it a little special for me (though I agree with you that the 1970 was a better team)