Twist w/ a Hero: Season Nine (New Kids on the Block)

1. finn2030 - 1965 Houston Astros
2. steve9955 - 1970 New York Mets
3. midknight - 1973 California Angels
4. sawbuxx - 1979 Montreal Expos
5. shadowspawn - 1980 Houston Astros
6. NebHusker - 1984 Milwaukee Brewers
7. thebubbaq- 1985 New York Mets
8. trd3 - 1986 California Angels
9. zephyr1949 - 1986 New York Mets
10. winterhawk - 1987 Toronto Blue Jays
11. frank_drebin - 1989 Montreal Expos
12. mars2010- 1989 Texas Rangers
13. Chisock - 1993 New York Mets
14. tywebb3 - 1993 Toronto Blue Jays
15. ETSTim - 1996 San Diego Padres
16. burningcouch - 1996 Seattle Mariners
17. finn2030 - 1997 Seattle Mariners
18. Jesters - 1998 Toronto Blue Jays
19. gees51 - 1999 New York Mets
20. DarthDurron - 2005 Houston Astros
21. richabbs - 2007 New York Mets
22. fatboydad54 - 2007 San Diego Padres
23. mars2010 - 2017 Houston Astros
24. sawbuxx - 2017 Washington Nationals



sitemail list:
mars2010, finn2030, shadowspawn, NebHusker, thebubbaq, trd3, zephyr1949, sawbuxx, frank_drebin, Chisock, ETSTim, burningcouch, Jesters; richabbs; gees51; steve9955; tywebb3; fatboydad54; midknight; DarthDurron; winterhawk

We soon will be launching Twist with a Hero (Season Nine) – New Kids on the Block. This will be the ninth of what I hope to be many seasons for Twist with a Hero. With Season Eight wrapping up very soon, we are ready to begin filling the open spots for our ninth season.


THE PREMISE:

I love twist leagues, but some of the teams I’d like to use aren’t ideal because they are extremely weak at one position or because they come from an era in which the WHIPs and OAVs are a little too high. Being able to select a “franchise hero” could help even things up a little. (Who wouldn’t like to see if they could improve the 2017 Astros by adding either Jeff Bagwell or Nolan Ryan to the roster?)

Another thing that bugs me is that the same few choices get used in virtually every single twist league. It seems like it’s hard to be competitive if you don’t select one of those oft-used, cookie-filled teams. To curb that effect, each iteration of the Twist w/ a Hero League will feature a sub-theme to significantly narrow the list of available teams to choose from.Season Nine’s sub-theme will be New Kids on the Block. Choose a selected season from a franchise that came into existence in 1961 or later.

Other future possible sub-themes are listed below.

THE RULES:

1. Basic rules--

• $110 MM cap.
• Clones – No
• DH – No
• WW- No
• Trades - No
• AAA – No.
• Injuries – On.

2. Your team. Subject to restriction by the "sub-theme," you may pick any single season team from MLB history, and twist any player on their roster. (Rosters are determined by baseball-reference.com). For Season Nine, you may select two teams, but must do so in a manner that ensures that your teams will be in opposite leagues. (Ex. If you choose the 2017 Astros as your first team, you’re going to want to select a team from much earlier in time for your second team to ensure that your teams will be in opposite leagues.)

NOTE: No <$300K exceptions will be allowed for Season Nine.

3. Your hero. You are allowed to select one “hero” to improve your roster. A “hero” must come from the same franchise as the team you have selected, and cannot have a salary over $9,999,999.

4. Team blacklist. Teams are exclusive each season. Teams that make the playoffs will be blacklisted for all future seasons. See below for the listed of blacklisted teams.

5. Heroes blacklist. Heroes used in one season will be blacklisted for use as heroes the following season. They will be removed from the blacklist before the season after that. (Example: If a team used 2001 Randy Johnson as their hero in Season Eight, no team can use any version of Johnson as its Hero in Season Nine. All versions of Johnson would be available to use as a Hero again in Season Ten.) See below for the list of blacklisted players for Season Nine.

6. Stadium. Use the stadium your team actually played in during your selected season. If that stadium is not available in WIS, then use WIS Park.

7. Division alignment. Divisions will be realigned and teams will be placed in chronological order of the selected seasons.

8. Team Names. Please include your selected season and franchise in your team name.

9. Sub-Theme. Season Nine’s sub-theme will be New Kids on the Block. Choose a selected season from a franchise that came into existence in 1961 or later.

I will have two teams in Season Nine. I will select my teams no earlier than 12^th and 24^th.

Blacklisted Teams

1904 New York Giants
1907 Boston Americans -- SEASON 1 CHAMPS ("Lovable Losers")
1909 Chicago Cubs
1909 Pittsburgh Pirates
1911 Chicago Cubs
1913 Chicago Cubs
1916 New York Giants
1918 Chicago Cubs
1920 Detroit Tigers
1928 Philadelphia Athletics -- SEASON 3 CHAMPS (“A.L. Juggernauts”)
1933 New York Giants
1939 New York Yankees
1942 New York Yankees
1947 Pittsburgh Pirates
1955 Cleveland Indians
1961 St. Louis Cardinals
1965 San Francisco Giants -- SEASON 4 CHAMPS ("N.L. Rivals")
1966 Los Angeles Dodgers
1967 Boston Red Sox
1969 Baltimore Orioles
1970 Baltimore Orioles -- SEASON 8 CHAMPS ("Super Skippers")
1970 Chicago Cubs -- SEASON 5 CHAMPS ("That Seventies League")
1971 Baltimore Orioles
1972 Los Angeles Dodgers
1973 San Francisco Giants
1974 Boston Red Sox
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers
1975 Los Angeles Dodgers
1975 New York Mets
1976 Philadelphia Phillies
1979 New York Yankees
1982 Milwaukee Brewers -- SEASON 2 CHAMPS ("World Series Losers")
1985 St. Louis Cardinals
1986 Chicago Cubs
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers – SEASON 6 CHAMPS (“October Baseball”)
1988 St. Louis Cardinals
1990 Pittsburgh Pirates
1990 St. Louis Cardinals
1991 Houston Astros
1992 Los Angeles Dodgers
1995 Cleveland Indians
1996 Atlanta Braves
1996 Cleveland Indians
1996 New York Yankees
1997 Baltimore Orioles
2000 Houston Astros
2000 New York Yankees - SEASON 7 CHAMPS ("Hall of Fame Ballot")
2001 Atlanta Braves
2003 New York Yankees
2004 Boston Red Sox
2004 Houston Astros
2005 New York Yankees
2005 St. Louis Cardinals
2006 Los Angeles Dodgers
2007 New York Yankees
2008 Los Angeles Dodgers
2008 San Diego Padres
2009 Los Angeles Dodgers
2009 Philadelphia Phillies
2009 St. Louis Cardinals
2010 Los Angeles Dodgers
2011 Texas Rangers
2012 Los Angeles Angels
2013 Detroit Tigers


Heroes Blacklist for Season Nine:
Banks, Ernie
Bender, Chief
Bernhard, Bill
Collins, Eddie
Cueto, Johnny
Dickey, Bill
Gibson, Bob
Hamilton, Billy
Henderson, Rickey
Hollocher, Charlie
Hornsby, Rogers*
Jackson, Shoeless Joe
Johnson, Randy
Koufax, Sandy
Larkin, Barry
Martinez, Victor
Niggeling, Johnny
Olerud, John
Ripken Jr., Cal
Robinson, Jacie
Ruth, Babe
Trosky, Hal
Wright, David

*used as a Hero by multiple teams in Season Eight

Future Sub-Themes Include (not necessarily in the order listed):

1. World Series Winners- Eligible teams must have won World Series in the selected season.
2. World Series Losers- Eligible teams must have lost the World Series in the selected season.
3. Pennant Winners- Eligible teams must have played in the World Series in the selected season.
4. October Baseball- Eligible teams must have made it to the postseason in the selected season.
5. Early Exits- Eligible teams must have made it to the playoffs, but not the World Series, in the selected season.
6. Wildcard Teams- Eligible teams must have been a wildcard team in the selected season.
7. Wait 'Til Next Year- Eligible teams must not have qualified for postseason play.
8. 100 Game Winners- Eligible teams must have won 100 games in the selected season.
9. .500 Club- Eligible teams must have finished the season with a record of no more than two games below or above .500.
10. Lovable Losers - Owners will be limited to selecting from among the teams that lost at least 90 games in the selected season.
11. The Biggest Losers – Owners will be limited to selecting from among the teams that lost at least 100 games in the selected season.
12. National League Rivalries- 6 Cardinals and 6 Cubs teams in the NL; 6 Dodgers and 6 Giants teams in the AL.
13. AL Juggernauts vs. The World- 6 Yankees and 6 Red Sox teams in one league; 12 different American League franchises represented in the other league.
14. Original Sixteen- Choose a team/selected season from 1901-1960, a 60-year stretch in which the MLB was comprised of sixteen teams.
15. New Kids on the Block- Choose a selected season from a franchise that came into existence in 1961 or later.
16. 1960s Expansion Alums- Choose a team/selected season whose roster includes at least one person who played either for the ’61 Angels, ’61 Senators, ’62 Colt 45s or ’62 Mets.
17. 1969 Expansion Alums- Choose a team/selected season whose roster includes at least one person who played for either the ’69 Expos, ’69 Padres, ’69 Pilots or ’69 Royals.
18. 1990s Expansion Alums- Choose a team/selected season whose roster includes at least one person who played for either the ’93 Marlins, ’93 Rockies, ’98 Diamondbacks or ’98 Devil Rays.
19. Saving Nolan Ryan- Your team/selected season must feature at least one player who played with Nolan Ryan. (Example: Nolan Ryan and Ken Boyer played together on the 1966 Mets. You may select any team that features Boyer on its roster in the selected season.)
20. Iron Horse, Iron Man – 12 teams/selected seasons feature at least one player who played with Lou Gehrig (Example: Lou Gehrig and Stan Coveleski played together on the 1928 Yankees. You may select any team that features Coveleski on its roster in the selected season); 12 teams in the other league must feature at least one player who played with Cal Ripken Jr.
21. Movers & Shakers- 12 teams in one league will be made up of franchises in their final 10 years before moving to a new city (examples include 1944-’53 St. Louis Browns, 1948-’57 Brooklyn Dodgers, etc.); 12 teams in the other league will be made up of franchises in their first 10 years after a move to a new city (examples include 1954-’63 Baltimore Orioles, 1958-’67 LA Dodgers, etc.).
22. Cactus League- Choose from teams that currently play Spring Training ball in Arizona.
23. Grapefruit League- Choose from teams that currently play Spring Training ball in Florida.
24. California Dreamin’- Choose from Padres, Angels, LA Dodgers, SF Giants and Oakland A’s.
25. Big Apple- Eligible teams include Yankees, Mets, Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Giants.
26. Show Me State- Eligible teams include Cardinals, Royals, Browns & KC Athletics.
27. Founding Fathers- Eligible teams must feature a player whose last name is either Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock or Jay during the selected season.
28. Rust Belt- Eligible teams must come from “Rust Belt States” of Pennsylvania, Ohio or Michigan or feature a player named “Rusty” (ex. Rusty Staub, Rusty Kuntz, etc.) during the selected season.
29. Stanley Cup- Eligible teams must have played in an “NHL Original Six” city (Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Detroit or New York) or feature a player with the last name of “Stanley” (ex. Bob Stanley, Mickey Stanley, etc.) or first name of “Stan” (ex. Stan Musial, Stan Javier, etc.) during the selected season.
30. Shortstops & Backstops- 12 teams must feature a Hall of Famer whose primary position was shortstop (as determined by http://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/hall-of-famers-by-position#shortstops-(24) ) in the selected season; 12 teams must feature a Hall of Famer whose primary position was catcher (as determined by http://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/hall-of-famers-by-position#catchers-(18) ).
31. Super Skippers- Eligible teams must have been managed by a Hall of Famer (whether they were inducted as a manager or player) during the selected season.
32. HOF Ballot- Roster must include at least one player who appears on the 2018 Hall of Fame Ballot (as determined by http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_2018.shtml)
33. This Means WAR- 12 teams must feature rosters which include one of the Top 24 all-time career leaders among position players in Wins Above Replacement (as determined by https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_career.shtml ); 12 teams must feature rosters which include one of the Top 24 all-time career leaders among pitchers in WAR (as determined by https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_pitch_career.shtml ).
34. Longball Legends vs. Leaders- 12 teams must feature rosters which include one of the Top 24 all-time career home run leaders; 12 teams must feature rosters which include one of the Top 24 active home run leaders (as determined by baseball-reference.com).
35. Hit Kings- Select from teams whose rosters include one of the Top 24 all-time career hits leaders (as determined by baseball-reference.com).
36. Stolen Base Kings- Select from teams whose rosters include one of the Top 24 all-time career stolen base leaders (as determined by baseball-reference.com).
37. Strikeout Kings- Select from teams whose rosters include one of the Top 24 all-time career strikeout leaders (as determined by baseball-reference.com).
38. Deadball Era- Choose a team from 1919 or before.
39. The 1920s- Choose a team from the 1920s.
40. The 1930s- Choose a team from the 1930s.
41. The 1940s- Choose a team from the 1940s.
42. The 1950s- Choose a team from the 1950s.
43. The 1960s- Choose a team from the 1960s.
44. The 1970s (aka “That Seventies League”) - Choose a team from the 1970s.
45. The 1980s- Choose a team from the 1980s.
46. The 1990s- Choose a team from the 1990s
47. 21^st Century- Choose a team from 2000-2017.
48. Something Old, Something New- 12 teams from the Deadball Era; 12 teams from the 2010-2017.
49. Lucky Sevens vs. Crazy Eights- 12 teams must come from selected seasons ending in 7 (1887, 1897, 1907, 1917, 1927, 1937, 1947, 1957, 1967, 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 or 2017); 12 teams must come from selected seasons ending in 8 (1888, 1898, 1908, 1918, 1928, 1938, 1948, 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998, 2008, 2018).
50. Senior Circuit- Choose from franchises that played in the National League during the selected season.
51. Junior Circuit- Choose from franchises that played in the American League during the selected season.
52. Beasts from the East- 12 teams must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the NL East; 12 must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the AL East.
53. Fly Over Country- 12 teams must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the NL Central; 12 must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the AL Central.
54. Wild, Wild West- 12 teams must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the NL West; 12 must feature rosters from franchises that currently play in the AL West.
55. We are open for other suggestions…

[This space reserved for Questions/Answers]

The Twist w/ a Hero format is one that typically yields a great deal of competition. In Season Eight (Super Skippers), 7 of the 8 playoff spots were not determined until the final day (final 3 games) of the regular season.

Lots of good options remain available, especially from the Mets, Expos/Nationals, Astros, Blue Jays, Rangers and Royals.

I'll return with the 1996 San Diego Padres

I'll take the 1980 Houston Astros

Posted by shadowspawn on 4/30/2018 3:57:00 PM (view original):
I'll take the 1980 Houston Astros

Welcome aboard! I'll set up the league and send the league # out once we've 12 have sign up.

Thinking about joining? One team I'd like to suggest is the 1994 Montreal Expos. Their offense is loaded with big bats like Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom. Adding someone like Gary Carter or Ryan Zimmerman to that lineup could make them really scary! As far as the pitchers are concerned, you start with Pedro Martinez and a stacked bullpen (John Wetteland, Mel Rojas, Jeff Shaw and Gabe White). Add Max Scherzer or Dennis Martinez to the mix and you'd have one of the top staffs in the league... Sign up today!

(P.S. I'm not just throwing out teams that I see as potential blood donors as suggestions. I almost always end up taking one of my "suggested" teams as my 2nd team. In fact, I made the Season 8 playoffs with the 2009 Dodgers- one of the teams I suggested in the Season 8 signup thread.)

Do you have "The Right Stuff" to "Hang Tough" in Twist w/ a Hero 9: New Kids on the Block?

Another team worthy of consideration is the 1983 Milwaukee Brewers. The '82 Brew Crew took home the title in Season 2: World Series Losers. The '83 squad's loaded lineup is substantially similar to that bunch, with guys like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper and Ted Simmons to build around. With Don Sutton, Mike Caldwell and Tom Candiotti, the pitching staff ain't bad, either. Adding someone like Ben Sheets or Teddy Higuera as a Hero would give you a strong rotation that should keep you in most ballgames until that loaded offense can put a few runs on the board... Sign up today!

The 1970 Orioles and the 1975 Mets have advanced to the World Series in TWAH 8 - Super Skippers.

Looking for a team from the 1970s for Season 9? The 1971 Astros could surprise some teams. With Don Wilson, Larry Dierker and J.R. Richard at the top of the rotation, the pitching staff is going to be strong. They could be ridiculously good if 2015 Dallas Keuchel or 1988 Mike Scott got added as a Hero. The offense features a good mixture of speed and power, centering around Joe Morgan, Cesar Cedeno and Jimmy Wynn. Adding 1997 Jeff Bagwell or 2001 Lance Berkman as a Hero would make that offense even scarier... Sign up today!

We've gotten stuck on 12 teams in (including 3 TBDs) for a couple of days. Normally I like for owners to hold off selecting their second team until after we're at least halfway full, but if any of the owners who already have selected one want to go ahead and declare their second team, feel free to do so.

I'm in for a 2nd team. Still researching for now though.

Count me in, but I am still researching a team so let's say TBD for now!