$60 Million: Stolen Bats Not Bases
At this low of a cap without the help of SBs and AVG, walks plus HR hitting seem to be the only way to reliably score runs. I decided I wanted to focus on quality of IP/PA instead of quantity so decided I wanted a high minus singles park but still allowing HRs which led me to select South Side Park. Having such a large disparity what my offense can do and what my pitching gives up (170 vs. 2 HRs allowed, 639 vs. 184 BBs allowed) should give me a substantial advantage versus most opponents. Hoping the low PA, low IP with the -3 singles park will keep fatigue manageable. Having Bardin’s pitching staff in my division will help pump up my offensive numbers…
Ballpark: South Side Park (HR LF/RF:0/0 1B:-3 2B:-1 3B:1)
Offense: PA 4838, AVG .238, OBP .344, SLG .419, OPS .763, 170 HRs
Pitching: IP 1204, OAV .264, WHIP 1.16, ERA 2.73, BB/9 1.38, HR/9 0.015
$80 Million: More Seasonal Changes
My original team was very disappointing (sub .500) so I don’t expect this version to fair any better. I can only hope most owners front loaded in round #1.
Ballpark: Target Field (HR LF/RF:-4/-4 1B:0 2B:1 3B:1)
Offense: PA 5702, AVG .286, OBP .369, SLG .390, OPS .759, 202 SBs
Pitching: IP 1340, OAV .219, WHIP 1.01, ERA 2.36, HR/9 0.22
$90 Million: A Midsummer Shoeless Nap
With the success of my round #1 $90m team with its focus on pitching, I decided to again look for a pair of elite pitchers which could be paired together. Ended up looking at 1908 Addie Joss along with 1917 Eddie Cicotte so this led me to use Nap Lajoie with Shoeless Joe Jackson as a means to get both. I’m hoping that my offense can again generate enough runs to win some low scoring games (otherwise I’m in for a world of hurt).
Ballpark: Comiskey Park (I) (HR LF/RF:-1/-2 1B:1 2B:0 3B:1)
Offense: PA 5682, AVG .299, OBP .366, SLG .405, OPS .771
Pitching: IP 1381, OAV .210, WHIP 0.96, ERA 1.74, HR/9 0.06
$100 Million: Team Adjusted ERAs
With an early pick in round #1, I focused on getting some good starting pitching and got the 1906 Cubs which gave me 3 good SPs. Each selection afterwards, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t locked into any one particular set of players so that if my later selections got taken, I could alter plans easily. Wish I got some better relievers but was just too difficult to get everything.
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium (II) (HR LF/RF:0/0 1B:0 2B:-1 3B:-1)
Offense: PA 6312, AVG .300, OBP .382, SLG .478, OPS .860, HRs 193, SBs 178
Pitching: IP 1419, OAV .211, WHIP 1.01, ERA 1.94, HR/9 0.27
$110 Million: Rising Salary Inflation
With the unlucky draw of picking last, my first instinct was to get a pitcher that nobody else hopefully could afford… 1888 Silver King. For offense, I decided going with Polo Grounds and getting primarily affordable double hitters would fit in my budget. That meant having to save money in the early rounds and carefully watching everyone’s selection during the middle rounds. At one point, it looked like yankeeso7 might go for 88 King which would of wrecked my plans so I thought about shifting but by the 23rd round it was apparent I was the only one able to pull it off so in the end I went with my original plan.
Ballpark: Polo Grounds (HR LF/RF:-1/-1 1B:-1 2B:3 3B:0)
Offense: PA 5879, AVG .318, OBP .385, SLG .480, OPS .865, 112 HRs, 137 SBs (417 2Bs)
Pitching: IP 1475, OAV .209, WHIP 0.93, ERA 1.79, HR/9 0.09
$120 Million: Double Steps
Looking at how pitching staffs would be mostly 4 or 5 elite/good starters and a lot of big money elite relievers, scoring runs looks to be at a premium. I expected most starters to be dead-ballers, so I decided to go with doubles mostly as means of scoring on offense (and using Polo Grounds as my home park).
Ballpark: Polo Grounds (HR LF/RF:-1/-1 1B:-1 2B:3 3B:0)
Offense: PA 6017, AVG .324, OBP .409, SLG .491, OPS .900, HRs 117, SBs 167 (380 2Bs)
Pitching: IP 1468, OAV .193, WHIP 0.87, ERA 1.56, HR/9 0.12