I am really busy lately. But, I am trying to do the write-up thing. I want to share what I was thinking while building teams for the six themes.
I think three-peat is enough. I should give others a better chance to win Schwarze's WISC. So I will not return to the 2017 WISC.
$65M, Big City, Small Payroll
W65m LA Moneyball: 101W-61L at Dodger Stadium (HR LF/RF:-1/-1 1B:2 2B:-4 3B:-3)
Division Series Runner-Up
My offense strategy in a low cap league is to build a fast team that can score some runs with very few XBHs in a game. As for pitching I like to draft pitchers with low erc# and hr/9#. I usually use about 50% of the budget to get ~1350 innings (~100 innings from scrubs) and the other 50% to get ~5300 PAs.
I believe most useable and affordable pitchers are from the deadball era and the LA teams just do not have any. So I drafted most of my innings from the NY teams and the Chicago teams. I spent ~20M on the position players from the LA teams because I needed to do so. Fortunately there are many cheap position players from LA teams who have good obp, good avg, and excellent speed. As a result I can put up a great team with great speed and good pitching. I only drafted two slow position players for my starting lineup, the catcher Elston Howard '59 and the first base man Vic Saier '16 (speed = 68). I drafted Vic Saier '16 because he has great defense range and high obp#. I selected Dodger Stadium as my home park because it is very friendly to speed hitters with limited power.
My starting lineup is listed below:
Name (Bats) |
Pos |
Speed |
PA/162 |
HR |
SB |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
$ |
Jim Gilliam '59 (S) |
3B* |
80 |
681 |
3 |
23 |
.282 |
.387 |
.345 |
4.24M |
Luis Polonia '91 (L) |
CF* |
92 |
662 |
2 |
48 |
.296 |
.352 |
.379 |
3.94M |
Chone Figgins '04 (S) |
LF^ |
100 |
638 |
5 |
34 |
.296 |
.350 |
.419 |
4.25M |
Dode Paskert '20 (R) |
RF* |
90 |
602 |
5 |
16 |
.279 |
.366 |
.396 |
4.04M |
Vic Saier '16 (L) |
1B* |
68 |
625 |
7 |
20 |
.253 |
.356 |
.357 |
3.91M |
Luis Castillo '07 (S) |
2B* |
77 |
615 |
1 |
19 |
.301 |
.362 |
.359 |
3.80M |
Maury Wills '60 (S) |
SS* |
87 |
589 |
0 |
50 |
.295 |
.342 |
.331 |
3.90M |
Elston Howard '59 (R) |
C ^ |
52 |
499 |
18 |
0 |
.273 |
.306 |
.476 |
3.11M |
Hitting Stats: 5390 PAs, .281 avg, .349 obp, .378 slg, 219 SBs @ 68%, $33.24M
Pitching Stats: 1351 IPs, 2.51 era, .253 oav, 1.17 whip, 0.18 hr/9, $31.72 M
$80 Million: Noodle Arm Catchers & Gopher Ball Pitchers
W80m Nokes Noodle Bar, 90W-72L at SBC Park (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:1 2B:0 3B:2)
World Series Winner
Position players:
This theme encourages players who can hit a lot of homeruns and/or steal a lot of bases. I do not think it is possible to have many good sluggers in an 80m cap team since homeruns are very expensive in SLB. Therefore the better offense strategy for this theme is to build a team with high SBA/100SBO (SB attempt rate) and good SB/100SBA (successful rate of SB attempts). It does not mean I have to give up HR/9#. I still can draft players with the ability to hit homeruns if possible. Good defense range is a must since it reduces the obp of their opponents. So I used the four criteria to filter hitters and then found some great speed hitters.
I did not select any version of Vince Coleman. I selected Max Carey '20 and Willie McGee '90 instead because of their range and speed. The last outfielder I selected was Tim Raines '81, who usually outperforms Vince Coleman in SLB. I was not able to find a fast first base man who has great range. I went with Wally Moon '56 because he has an A+++ range and a great ops#. My catcher is Matt Nokes '87 who has a great HR/100# number and a relatively good CS percentage. My lineup is shown below.
Name (Bats) |
Pos |
PA/162 |
HR |
SB |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
Fielding |
$ |
Bill Joyce '97 (L) |
3B* |
604 |
3 |
33 |
.304 |
.441 |
.433 |
D/A+ |
4.62M |
Max Carey '20 (S) |
CF* |
597 |
1 |
52 |
.289 |
.369 |
.348 |
C/A+ |
4.57M |
Roberto Alomar '89 (S) |
2B* |
702 |
7 |
42 |
.295 |
.347 |
.376 |
D+/A |
4.90M |
Jose Reyes '06 (S) |
SS* |
703 |
19 |
64 |
.300 |
.354 |
.487 |
B/D+ |
5.53M |
Tim Raines '81 (S) |
LF* |
545 |
5 |
71 |
.304 |
.391 |
.438 |
C/C- |
4.95M |
Willie McGee '90 (S) |
RF* |
665 |
3 |
31 |
.324 |
.373 |
.419 |
D/A+ |
5.22M |
Wally Moon '56 (L) |
1B^ |
655 |
16 |
12 |
.298 |
.390 |
.469 |
D/A+ |
4.69M |
Matt Nokes '87 (L) |
C * |
508 |
32 |
2 |
.289 |
.345 |
.536 |
B+/B+/D- |
3.82M |
Bench:
I drafted some extreme bench hitters to maximize my chance to win in late game. For example, I drafted Babe Ruth '35 (9 HR/100# and 0.358 obp#) for pinch-hit, and Otis Nixon '86 (79.31 SB/100SBA and 79% SB rate) for pinch-run.
Pitching:
I tried to draft pitchers with low HR/9# and whip. I went with four men rotation, in which Odalis Perez '02 is my ace. The other starters are good but not excellent. I believe bullpen is the key to win this league. I drafted some decent relievers to reduce the impact of late-game drama.
Hitting Stats: 5449 PAs, .294 avg, .371 obp, .432 slg, 383 SBs @ 75.8%, $40.59M
Pitching Stats: 1363 IPs, 2.63 era, .236 oav, 1.07 whip, 0.79 hr/9, $39.40 M
$100M, Four Letter Words (WMJF)
W100m Just Wait For Me, 102W-60L at AT&T Park (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:1 2B:0 3B:2)
World Series Winner
I like to draft ~5500PAs and ~1450 IPs in a 100m cap league. My strategy for this theme was to build a speed team with good defensive range. So I used W and M to get some of my favorite cookies at one time. They are Willie McGee '90, Wally Moon '56, and Willie Wilson '90. These guys are cheap, but they still can score a lot of runs. Most importantly, they have good defensive range. Then I started to try some possible combinations, CG, BJ, and FJ. Finally I chose FJ as my final two letters. F got me Frankie Frish '21 (2B), who is one of my favorite player in sim; J got me Jimmy Johnson '23 (SS), Joe Jackson '16 (OF), John McGraw '95 (3B), Joe McGinity '04 (SP), Walter Johnson '17 (SP), Joe Wood '17 (SP), Josh Johnson '11 (RP), Jake McGee '12 (RP), and Jack McDowell ‘87(RP). FJ got me Jimmie Foxx '28 (C).
This team looks like a typical cookie team. They are able to compete in any open leagues. The lineup is shown below:
Name (Bats) |
Pos |
PA/162 |
HR |
SB |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
Fielding |
$ |
John McGraw '95 (L) |
3B* |
572 |
2 |
61 |
.369 |
.459 |
.448 |
D+/A- |
5.50M |
Jimmy Johnston '23 (R) |
SS^ |
729 |
4 |
16 |
.325 |
.378 |
.426 |
C/A+ |
6.62M |
Wally Moon '56 (L) |
1B^ |
655 |
16 |
12 |
.298 |
.390 |
.469 |
D/A+ |
4.69M |
Joe Jackson '16 (L) |
LF* |
694 |
3 |
24 |
.341 |
.393 |
.495 |
B-/C+ |
6.91M |
Frankie Frisch '21 (S) |
2B^ |
728 |
8 |
49 |
.341 |
.384 |
.485 |
C/A+ |
7.39M |
Willie McGee '90 (S) |
RF* |
665 |
3 |
31 |
.324 |
.373 |
.419 |
D/A+ |
5.22M |
Willie Wilson '82 (S) |
CF* |
621 |
3 |
37 |
.332 |
.365 |
.431 |
B+/A+ |
6.40M |
Jimmie Foxx '28 (R) |
C ^ |
501 |
13 |
3 |
.328 |
.416 |
.548 |
D/A+/A+ |
5.00M |
Hitting Stats: 5632 PAs, .326 avg, .386 obp, .454 slg, 262 SBs @ 68.2%, $49.97M
Pitching Stats: 1428.7 IPs, 1.94 era, .207 oav, 0.98 whip, 0.18 hr/9, $50.03 M
$110M, Equally Distributed
W110m 1895-1943, 96W-66L at Palace of the Fans (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:2 2B:4 3B:3)
World Series Runner-Up
I like to draft ~5600PAs and ~1480 IPs in a 110m cap league. My strategy was to build a team that enables deadball pitchers and fast hitters with good defensive range. Then I tried several possible choices and accidentally found 1895-1943 by 2, which got me good starting rotation, great bullpen, great lineup with speed and defense, and great bench. This team is made up of many well-known cookies. It is very competitive in any 110M league.
Position players:
Name (Bats) |
Pos |
PA/162 |
HR |
SB |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
Fielding |
$ |
Jimmy Sheckard '03 (L) |
CF* |
734 |
9 |
67 |
.332 |
.423 |
.476 |
C-/A+ |
7.40M |
Bill Joyce '97 (L) |
3B* |
604 |
3 |
33 |
.304 |
.441 |
.433 |
D/A+ |
4.62M |
Frankie Frisch '21 (S) |
2B^ |
728 |
8 |
49 |
.341 |
.384 |
.485 |
C/A+ |
7.39M |
Sam Crawford '09 (L) |
1B^ |
706 |
6 |
30 |
.314 |
.366 |
.452 |
C/A+ |
6.09M |
Max Carey '25 (S) |
RF* |
657 |
5 |
46 |
.343 |
.418 |
.491 |
D/A+ |
6.51M |
Mike Donlin '01 (L) |
LF* |
657 |
5 |
33 |
.340 |
.409 |
.475 |
D/A+ |
5.71M |
George Davis '99 (S) |
SS* |
501 |
1 |
34 |
.337 |
.393 |
.418 |
B/A |
4.93M |
Bill Dickey '33 (L) |
C * |
575 |
14 |
3 |
.318 |
.381 |
.490 |
A-/A/A |
5.37M |
Starters:
Pitcher |
G |
IP/162 |
ERA |
OAV |
WHIP |
K/9 |
BB/9 |
$ |
Christy Mathewson '05 (R) |
43 |
359.0 |
1.28 |
.205 |
0.93 |
5.47 |
1.70 |
13.92M |
Eddie Cicotte '17 (R) |
49 |
365.0 |
1.53 |
.203 |
0.91 |
3.90 |
1.82 |
13.68M |
Eddie Plank '15 (L) |
42 |
283.0 |
2.08 |
.218 |
0.99 |
4.94 |
1.81 |
11.70M |
Bullpen:
Pitcher |
G |
IP/162 |
ERA |
OAV |
WHIP |
K/9 |
BB/9 |
$ |
Ed Doheny '95 (L) |
3 |
32.0 |
6.66 |
.325 |
2.18 |
3.16 |
6.66 |
230K |
Art Nehf '19 (L) |
13 |
119.0 |
1.50 |
.196 |
0.87 |
2.12 |
1.68 |
4.87M |
Early Wynn '41 (R) |
5 |
43.0 |
1.58 |
.226 |
1.13 |
3.38 |
2.25 |
1.27M |
Ed Reulbach '13 (R) |
15 |
120.0 |
2.05 |
.202 |
1.01 |
3.76 |
2.78 |
3.72M |
Al Grabowski '29 (L) |
6 |
54.0 |
2.52 |
.227 |
1.04 |
3.96 |
1.44 |
2.15M |
Nick Maddox '07 (R) |
6 |
57.0 |
0.83 |
.178 |
0.83 |
6.33 |
2.17 |
2.39M |
Bill Harris '31 (R) |
4 |
33.0 |
0.87 |
.194 |
0.97 |
2.90 |
2.61 |
1.28M |
Johnny Niggeling '43 (R) |
6 |
54.0 |
0.88 |
.153 |
0.86 |
4.24 |
3.00 |
2.69M |
Hitting Stats: 5712 PAs, .326 avg, .399 obp, .460 slg, 343 SBs @ 61.80%, $52.05M
Pitching Stats: 1519 IPs, 1.68 era, .208 oav, 0.97 whip, 0.09 hr/9, $57.91 M
1/30/2017 1:28 AM (edited)