Season 67 Draft Review - 10 Seasons Later

This is something new I want to do when I have time, recapping a draft 10 seasons after it occurs.  It's challenging to do a draft recap of one that just took place due to not having adequate scouting, but 10 seasons allows to get a feel for how good or bad the picks were.  I am going to focus just on the 1st round (excluding supplemental picks) for this iteration, but may expand for future seasons.  With that, let's begin!

This was definitely one of the weaker draft classes I have seen.  Assuming I didn't miss anything, there have only been 2 players in the 1st round to even make an all star game.  Four of these picks turned into Type D picks for the following season.

Best Pick: Jaret Medders (#1)

Best Value: Fred Thurman (#27)

Pick-by-Pick Review:

1. New York Metros - Jaret Medders (P)

• The Season 72 Rookie of the Year, Medders has been a solid starting pitcher for the Metros and has a career ERA of 3.03 as of the time of this post.  He hasn't gotten a lot of recognition however as he has yet to make it to the All Star Game.  Medders got a new 5-year contract from the Metros before last season and is set to be a primary cog in the surging New York team that is currently leading the NL East and is 2nd in the NL.  All things considered a fairly solid #1 pick.

2. Anaheim Agitated Aardvarks - Hainley Lomasney (1B)

• The #2 pick in the draft, Hainley Lomasney has been a steady albeit unspectacular player so far in his career.  Anaheim traded him after a couple of seasons to Montreal for pitcher Rico Pascual in Season 69 which seemed to benefit both teams.  Lomasney's best trait is his eye which is why he has a career OBP above 0.350.  He has also been typically been a 20-25 HR per year player.  The downside is he is really just a 1B/DH, which makes the production a little bit disappointing for a #2 pick.

3. Austin Appaloosas (Season 77 now Jackson) - Felipe Florimon (P)

• He's not a huge innings eater, but Felipe Florimon has been a solid pitcher the last few seasons with Oklahoma City and now Jackson.  However, with just 54 stamina/24 durability, he needs to be used out of the pen.  His first few years in Nashville were rough, but his ERA the last few seasons has been 3.55, 5.26, 2.98, and now 3.06 this season as of this post, so it seems like he has turned the corner.

4. Syracuse Sugar Maples (New York - AL) - Cesar Alvarez (C)

• After a long time in the minors, Cesar Alvarez finally got some full-time action in the majors last season and produced to a slash line of 0.282/0.350/0.480 as a full-time DH.  Offensively, he clearly has the talent, but most managers likely would not prefer to use him behind the plate given his defensive limitations.  He is 28 so now is the time to use him, but he is underwhelming for the #4 pick.

5. Montreal Expos - Orlando Perez (P)

• Perez did not sign, which worked out well for Montreal because their Type D pick in Season 68 was a solid pitcher in Kenneth Christenson.

6. Portland Lastplace - Danys Casilla (P)

• Casilla also did not sign for Portland.  Their Type D pick in Season 68 was pitcher Derek Bonds who was traded to Salem and has been great for them.

7. Trenton Tea Baggers (Milwaukee) - Theo Laffey (SS)

• Traded the season after being drafted Theo Laffey has been a steady 3B for the Colorado franchise with a career 0.800 OPS, 13 plus plays to 0 negative plays, and a career fielding percentage of 0.979 at 3B.  Unfortunately, he is showing signs of decline at age 31 so his best days might be over.  He may not fit the billing of a top 10 pick, but at least he has carved out a decent career.

8. Scottsdale Berzerker Mulletheads (Boise) - Dioner Querecuto (C)

• A good two-way catcher, Querecuto had been a staple for the Scottsdale/Boise franchise before being traded last season.  A career slash line of 0.281/0.357/0.496 and one all star game appearance to his name, he is having a career year so far in Season 77 and could be headed to his second.  A pretty good pick all things considered.

9. Louisville Brown-Forman (New Orleans) - Babe Strausborger (P)

• Good pitchers are hard to find, but The Babe was a solid find at pick #9 for Louisville.  The Rookie of the Year in Season 71, Strausborger has a career ERA of 3.74 and 80 wins to his name thus far.  He has struggled a little bit as of late, but is still a good value for pick #9 in a weak draft class.

10. Anaheim Agitated Aardvarks - Bobby Randolph (CF)

• Their second pick of the 1st round, Anaheim had another solid pick with Bobby Randolph, a defensive wizard in CF.  Somehow Randolph has yet to win a gold glove despite 82 plus plays and a career fielding percentage of 0.980.  He isn't known for his bat, but still has a 0.700 OPS for his career.  Maybe not the huge draft Anaheim was hoping for but still solid value from their second 1st rounder.

11. Fresno Grizzlies - Ross Pose (CF)

• Pose didn't sign and unfortunately Fresno didn't get a Type D pick for it either.

12. Seattle Run - Harry Mujica (P)

• A seemingly pretty good lefty reliever, Mujica hasn't gotten a lot of time in the majors as he only has 2 ML years up until now.  However, he is having a solid Season 77 with a 1.40 ERA in over 25 IP.  If he can continue this stretch into the future, Seattle could still get some good value from this pick.

13. Cheyenne Sioux Nation (Colorado) - Johnny Halman (P)

• Halman has stuck around as a starting pitcher for the Colorado franchise, but hasn't had a ton of success.  He has a career ERA around 5 and a losing record for his career, but he has been durable never having gone on the DL.  He has played in some tough home parks, so his ERA would likely be a lot better in a pitcher's park or even more neutral parks.

14. New Orleans Krewe (Wichita) - Cecil McNichol (3B)

• Touted as a good 3B with some offensive upside, McNichol has underachieved bouncing around from team to team as a RF with below average offense. 

15. San Antonio Stars (Houston) - Jason Davis (CF)

• Drafted as a defensive CF, Jason Davis has mostly lived up to the defense and shown signs of being able to get on base with a career OBP of 0.341.  The lack of SBs is maybe the one downside or else Davis would have been a really good pick at #15.

16. Baltimore Blue Rocks (Washington DC) - Jose Javier (CF)

• Another solid defender up the middle, Javier has just a career OPS of 0.688, but is having a career year this season in DC with a slash line of 0.296/0.351/0.427.  If he had produced like this his whole career, he would have been a steal.

17. Norfolk Tides - Enerio Burgos (P)

• Burgos didn't have much of a career, but it's surprising that he already retired despite a career ERA of 4.42.  

18. Philadelphia AllStarIncs - Sadie Bates (SS)

• Bates is a good defender and had some good numbers in Norfolk putting up an OPS between 0.747 and 0.785 each of his four seasons there.  He is in AAA now, but if he gets back to the majors again he could still provide some two-way value.

19. Vancouver Fighting Skeletons - Happy Wagner (P)

• It took him a few seasons to settle in, but Happy Wagner has been a great value pick for Vancouver at #19.  Wagner has a career ERA of 3.50 with ERAs of 3.23, 2.86, and 2.87 in the last 2+ seasons.  This could be one of the better long-term picks in this draft.

20. Salt Lake City Mountaineers (Toledo) - Lon Ward (2B)

• Ward has a career OPS just below 0.700, which would be okay if he played an important defensive position, but he has never proven to be anything better than a LF.

21. Toronto Yankdawgs - Milt Jones (P)

• Jones never amounted to much in the majors and has retired with a career ERA of 5.12.

22. Cincinnati Chevy's (Chicago) - Kristopher Andrews (P)

23. Cincinnati Chevy's (Chicago) - Vance Torres (P)

• Cincinnati had back-to-back picks and didn't sign either one nor did they get a Type D pick out of it.  An unfortunate waste of draft capital for them.

24. Scranton Parade Days (Cincinnati) - Danny Davis (RF)

• Danny Davis is a free agent, but his major league career is likely over with a career OPS of 0.687.

25. Madison Doodoo Heads - Junior Hegan (P)

• Hegan has had a tough time of things in hitter-friendly Madison.  His career ERA of 5.06 would likely be much better in another park, but he started to show signs of turning things around last season with a 4.36 ERA.  Madison will have a tough decision next season on whether or not to keep him around for the long haul.

26. Texas Tweakers - Dan Schneider (C)

• Schneider has been traded a few times, but he has shown to be a valuable pick late in the 1st round.  He isn't known for his defense, but Schneider's offense is what makes him a great find.  He has a career OBP of 0.380 and total OPS of 0.829 although admittedly doesn't have a ton of plate appearances.

27. Trenton Tea Baggers (Milwaukee) - Fred Thurman (SS)

• A solid defender with some offense, Fred Thurman is a 3x All Star which is the best of this list.  He achieved those mostly with defense and was a Gold Glove winner at 3B last season.  His offensive numbers aren't special, but they aren't bad either with a career 0.728 OPS.

28. Portland Lastplace - Jim Baker (P)

• Portland turned this Type D pick into another Type D pick.

29. London Royals (Boston) - Charlie Peterson (CF)

• London followed the Portland route and got a Type D pick for not signing Peterson.

30. Columbus Clippers - Sergio Day (CF)

• Another defensive 2B, Columbus immediately traded Day the following season.  Day has been great in the field but has a career OPS just shy of 0.700.  He has great speed, but his lack of baserunning has held him back from being a great player.  He has stolen 141 bases but has been caught 117 times.

31. Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (Austin) - Chun-Lim Martin (P)

• Martin can say he pitched 15 innings in the majors, but that's all he can really claim as he looks like a career minor league from here on out.

32. Scranton Parade Days (Cincinnati) - Manuel Calles (P)

• Calles was a solid value pick at #32 as he has pitched over 600 innings with an ERA currently at 3.72.  He is locked up until Season 79 for Cincy, the franchise that drafted him.

33. Pittsburgh Privateers (Minnesota) - Matt Mattheus (RF)

• Mattheus didn't sign and Pittsburgh didn't get a Type D pick for it.  I don't think they cared since they were in the middle of their 4-peat of titles.

34. Salem Pitches - Matty Baez (SS)

• Baez is a pretty good defender but his lack of offense has held him back in the majors.  He may not get another chance at this point.

Season 75 Midseason Recap

We are 75 games into the 75th season of Mantle, and playoff races are starting to take shape.  In the American League, 4 of the 6 teams that made the playoffs look poised to make it back to October baseball.  Only 3 teams can say the same in the National League which has extremely tight races in the NL South and NL West.  Let's recap some of the stories from the first half of the season.

American League

Current Playoff Picture:

1. Fresno (48-27)
Tied-2. Minnesota (44-31)
Tied-2. New York (44-31)
Tied-2. Houston (44-31)
WC1. Anaheim (43-32)
WC2. Dover (43-32)

In the hunt:

Madison (38-37)

Philadelphia (36-39)

Texas (36-39)

The AL has already seen some separation between the playoff teams and non-playoff teams as Madison is the closest team out of the playoff picture but they are 5 games back.  Anyone in the playoff hunt outside the top 6 is going to have to go on a run pretty soon if they expect to play postseason baseball.

Biggest Surprise - Fresno Grizzlies (48-27)

Currently the #1 team in the AL, the Fresno Grizzlies are on a 103-win pace thanks to solid all around play in all facets of the game.  They are 5th in runs scored, 4th in runs allowed, and 5th in fielding percentage through the 75-game mark.  Maikel Cervantes (0.289 AVG, 22 HRs, 65 RBIs) is an MVP candidate for his stellar two-way play and Valerio Bastardo (9-2, 2.18 ERA) is a Cy Young candidate leading their pitching staff.  Together they will have to keep up their great play to hold off several teams that are within striking distance.

Biggest Disappointment - Salem Pitches (35-40)

It's a little bit unfair to put them in this category, but the Salem Pitches' 19-season playoff streak is at risk of coming to an end with Salem 8 games out of the final playoff spot.  You wouldn't know it by their run differential though, as they are +9 through 75 games.  They unfortunately have a handful of players that are just struggling this year such as the aging potential future hall of famer Mitchell Forrest, fellow veteran pitchers Andy Stone and Damion Cho, and sluggers Dennis Lorenzen and Ali Villafuerte.  An injury to star pitcher Matty Guerrero hasn't helped as well.

MVP - Dana Robinson, Houston Romans

The Romans made a big splash bringing in Dana Robinson on a max contract, but he has been worth every penny so far, leading the AL in HRs, SLG, and OPS.  Together with fellow team Raul Pulido, the Romans might have the top two candidates for MVP at the end of the year.

Cy Young - Derek Bonds, Salem Pitches

The brightest spot for Salem this season, Derek Bonds has the best ERA in the AL and has the IP and wins to get him a nomination.  This race is pretty wide open right now though, so there's a good chance this changes by the end of the year.

National League

Current Playoff Picture:

1. Toledo (55-20)
2. Columbus (43-32)
3. Boise (40-35)
4. Montgomery (40-35)
WC1. Montreal (42-33)
WC2. Florida (40-35)

In the hunt:

Vancouver (40-35)

Jacksonville (38-37)

Portland (38-37)

Biggest Surprise - Toledo Freight Depot (55-20)

I wanted to give this to Boise, but I had to give it to Toledo, who has the best record in the entire league and is on-pace to win 22 more games than a season ago.  They have the Cy Young favorite in Willie Iglesias (more on him below), the #2-4 top OPS hitters in the NL in Ebenezer Cuyler, Randall Russell, and Parker Peavy.  They've scored the 2nd most runs in the league and are #1 in runs allowed.  They were already a great team, having won 96 games last season, but it seems like everyone is stepping up this season.  They're doing this even after losing Type A free agent Ray High and Type B free agent P.T. Sosa.  With the #1 seed looking like a lock, Toledo can focus the second half of the season on staying healthy and getting ready for the playoffs.

Biggest Disappointment - Portland Lastplace (38-37)

They are still above 0.500, but Portland has gone downhill from last year.  Their pitching has always been their strength, and that hasn't fallen off much.  They were 3rd in team ERA a year ago and they are 3rd again this season, and their offense has gone from 25th to 29th.  However, there is still time for them to turn it around as they are only 2 games out of the division lead.  They have more competition than normal this year, so it will be up to their offense to turn it around soon.

MVP - Robbie Stinson, Jacksonville Deplorables

He is only throwing out 19% of stolen base attempts, but Robbie Stinson's offensive numbers have been off the charts this season.  He is #1 in the NL in HRs, OBP, SLG, and OPS which is 100 points better than the next highest players.  The offense should be enough to overcome the defense for Stinson to be the eventual MVP.

Cy Young - Willie Iglesias, Toledo Freight Depot

The runaway favorite right now, Willie Iglesias has been awesome for Toledo.  He has 3 more wins than any other pitcher in the NL, the best ERA by 0.70 runs, and is 3rd in the NL in IP.  Barring a meltdown the second half of the season, Iglesias should have the Cy Young in the bag.

Mantle and The 100-Win Season

In Season 72, only one team managed to win 100 games and it was exactly 100 wins.  That got me thinking, how many times has 100 wins happened in Mantle and how does that compare to MLB.  As it turns out, in MLB history there have been 119 teams that won 100 games.  The Yankees have done it the most at 21 times and the most number of teams to win 100 games in a season is 4 (2019 and 2022).  Obviously in HBD we have 32 teams and have always had 162 games in a season, so I would expect more than MLB.  Here's what I found in the data:

Through Season 74, there have been 160 times where a team won at least 100 games, an average of 2.16 per season.  The most number of 100-win teams in a season has been 5 and that has happened three times in the world's history:

• Season 17
• Season 50
• Season 70

There have been five instances where no team won 100 games and the last time that happened was over 30 seasons ago:

• Season 4
• Season 27
• Season 31
• Season 38
• Season 41

The franchises with the most 100-win seasons are the current Toronto franchise and the now departed Monterrey franchise with 17 each.  Anaheim is the only other franchise with double digit 100-win seasons at 14.  There are four franchises that have never won 100 games: Dover, Oklahoma City, New York, and Vancouver.  13 of the 32 franchises have not won 100 games more than 3 times, or roughly 40% of the league.  So even though it does happen in our world more often, it's still not very common and most teams haven't done it much.  I hope you found all of this information interesting.

By the way, the most wins in league history is 120 by the Norfolk franchise in Season 17, and that team actually ended up losing in the World Series!  My next post will talk more about the top ten teams by record of all time.  Stay tuned!

What's In a Record: League Records Through Season 69

As someone who has been in a handful of HBD leagues, I am always interested in my team's history when I join a new world.  If you're interested in some of the league's historical records, here's how things stack up through the first 69 seasons of the league's history:

Most Wins

The current Richmond franchise has the overwhelming lead in wins with 6,051, the only franchise above 6,000 winning 54.1% of their games.  They have had two separate dynasties in their history.  The first came in the beginning stages of the league when welsh5 won 3 titles with his Florida Lockdown in the first 29 seasons of the league.  Eventually, tricklesee would take over in Season 49 and win 3 titles of his own in Oklahoma City.  Together, they amassed 4,490 of the franchise's wins.

Most Titles

While the Richmond franchise has the most wins, they are tied for the 2nd most World Series titles with the Milwaukee and Anaheim franchises at 6.  The Toronto franchise actually leads the way with 7 titles.  Four different owners have led the franchise to a title, but it is jonas1102 who has the most with 3.  Jtpsops has the most recent title in Season 52, but things eventually went downhill under his reign.  It has taken a little bit, but erbgotti has gotten this once proud franchise back on track and will be looking for title #8 this season.

For the full historical records, see the table below.  I'll try and update this every season!

Season 68 World Series Recap: Pittsburgh Does It Again!

 Another Mantle season is in the books, and it was the Pittsburgh Privateers coming away with their 4th consecutive World Series title, winning in 7 games over the Columbus Clippers.  The teams alternated wins in the first four games before Columbus ace Albert Juarez pitched a 1-hitter in game 5 to give Columbus a 3-1 win and a 3-2 series lead.  Pittsburgh would bounce back in game 6 with a 6-5 win.  In game 7, a 3rd inning 3-run HR by Calvin Floyd gave Columbus the early lead.  However, Pittsburgh would rally back with a Bryson Hatcher RBI double in the 5th and a Mo Serrano 2-run HR in the 6th.  Former clipper Raul Nunez broke the tie with a solo HR in the 8th and Pittsburgh would close out the series in the 9th for a 4-3 win.  Congrats to aaron_clarke for the series win and another great season!

Season 68 NL South Recap: Changing of the Guard

The NL South has been dominated recently by the Oklahoma City Shipbuilders, winners of the division for the last 12 seasons.  However, this year saw a changing of the guard with Jacksonville winning the division for the first time since Season 51, only their 4th division title in franchise history.  They did so led by Damaso Nunez and the league's 6th best pitching staff according to ERA.  However, what seemed like a sure thing for Jacksonville almost wasn't.  After 96 games into the season, they led the division by 12 games with a 56-40 record.  From there, things spiraled and they actually trailed Oklahoma City by 2 games with 23 games left in the season.  They rallied however and clinched the division with 3 games left in the season.  We'll see if they can keep it going in the playoffs.

Oklahoma City seems to be shifting towards a youth movement as they traded future HOF pitcher Harry Chavez to Toronto for two prospects.  Louisville similarly traded future HOF 1B P.T. Feliz to Pittsburgh for two young hitters and veteran reliever Bryan Relaford.  Despite moving these players, both teams played some of their best baseball down the stretch and nearly nabbed the division title.

It wasn't a great year for New Orleans, but they did add talented OF Happy Taylor with the 6th pick in the draft and a couple of IFAs that could find themselves in the majors in a few years.