Hardball Dynasty-Fisk World

Long Post on Career Stats and HOF Class

2011-03-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've compiled career Win Shares as well as the most common stats for the 17 seasons of Fisk. I'll provide some lists of career leaders for various stat categories beyond just the top 5 available from the website. I'll start with those lists and move to a Hall of Fame discussion.

Let's look at hitters first. We'll start with career leaders in hits, runs, RBIs, HRs, AVG, and OPS. (For all of these stat tables, click to enlarge.)

Now, a look a pitchers. Here we'll view wins, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, winning percentage, and saves.

The next view is of the top players and pitchers when it comes to Win Shares.

My Hall of Fame votes this year went to Nate Singleton, Jaime Morris, Stan Farley, Omar Bonilla, and Al Brown. Here's my rationale.

Nate Singleton should be an absolute lock. To me, it's an easy argument that he is second only to Antonio Chen as the greatest player in world history. Singleton is the all time leader in hits (2,983), runs (2,025), and RBIs (2,390). He's second only to Denny Wagner in home runs with 752. He is second to Chen in career Win Shares (430). He should be a first ballot HOFer.

Jaime Morris was a consistent top-notch player for every one of the first fourteen seasons. Morris ranks fourth all-time in both hits (2,686) and batting average (.330). His 355 Win Shares are good for eighth all-time and second amongst first basemen. His numbers are solid and should be good for recognition in the Hall.

My third vote goes to Stan Farley. His 193 career Win Shares are only good for 22nd amongst pitchers, but he entered season one at 32 years old. Farley had eight seasons under his belt prior to the world creation and posted great numbers in seasons four through seven. I created an extrapolation of what type of numbers Farley may have put together prior to world creation, and the result leads to a career Win Share total of about 380! His numbers for ERA (3.28), WHIP (1.17), and winning percentage (.664) are all in the top fifteen all-time.

Omar Bonilla was my next vote. Bonilla does not stack up as well in terms of Win Shares where his 194 rank 20th amongst pitchers. Bonilla did have four seasons before world creation which may have been good for another 60 Win Shares or so. His best season was at age 35 in season eight. However, he did accumulate 180 career wins (17th) in just twelve seasons. He is eighth all-time in ERA (3.15), seventh in winning percentage (.684), and third in WHIP (1.13). These impressive rankings and the fact that he spent a short time with the Ugly Sox were key factors in my decision. In addition, he has been close and is running out of eligibility.

I struggled to decide where my fifth vote would go. In the end, I decided to go with Al Brown. He ranks 26th in Win Shares (excluding pitchers) and sixth for center fielders. Brown is one of only seven players with 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases. He's nearing the end of his eligibility, and I felt he deserved one last vote from me.

I would have given a vote to Placido Ferrer instead of Brown, but he showed up in the list twice. I didn't want to waste a vote on him if the counts would not be tabulated correctly. Ferrer ranks fifth in both home runs (686) and RBIs (1,934), eighth in runs (1,617), and tenth in hits (2,480). These impressive numbers equate to tenth all-time in Win Shares at 321. He'll get one of my votes next year.

I also gave strong consideration to Todd Torres who, like Stan Farley, probably had a handful of great seasons before season one. The same goes for hitters Cap Dawkins, Diego Andujar, Wiki Galvez, and Barry Oliver. Galvez is second amongst true shortstops in Win Shares, so perhaps he is worth closer consideration. (By the way, Torres is the only pitcher with 100 career wins and 100 career saves.)

In retrospect, I probably should have given my fifth vote to Graeme Lockwood who racked up 2,539 hits and 312 Win Shares. The Win Shares totals are good for eleventh amongst hitters and first amongst center fielders. Other hitters in the same general neighborhood as Al Brown (in Win Shares) are Harry Molina, Adrian d'Amico, Timothy Mulder, Billy Nunnally, and Alex Lucano. The pitchers who rank close to the cutoff for that fifth vote are Jay Young, Tris McEnroe, and Pedro Telemaco (who also had four seasons prior to world creation).

Stan Roosevelt ranks highest in Win Shares amongst the relief pitchers who are eligible (excluding Todd Torres). If we isolate the top 30 all-time in saves (175 or more), then Roosevelt is seventh in ERA (3.48), sixth in WHIP (1.22), and third in K/9 (8.08). I think you can make a decent argument for him, but, in my opinion, he was not dominant enough as a reliever to get one of my five votes. Talmadge Carson's case isn't as good as Roosevelt's despite his 504 career saves.

Season 17 Win Shares

2011-03-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

American League

MVP: Alan Ramirez. This guy is the real thing. Seattle has kept him in CF where he earned 4.9 WS, but it was his 56 HR, 144 RBI, and 1.025 OPS that led him to a total of 28.8 WS. He's only 25. Carter Fassero, Les Sandberg, Terry York, and pitcher Felipe Medrano round out the top five.

Cy Young: Felipe Medrano. Kansas City's ace wins his second straight Cy Young according to Win Shares while registering his personal high of 24.3 WS. The rest of the top five include Tommy Wilkinson, Juan Suarez, Brad Chouinard, and Gary Bennett.

Rookie of the Year: Paul Wanatabe.

Gold Gloves: Les Flynn (C), Mario Kydd (1B), Carter Fassero (2B), Vasco Guerrero (3B), Lawrence Lobstein (SS), Miguel Chavez (LF), Brace King (CF), and Jose Zorilla (RF).

Silver Sluggers: Pascual Franco (C), Alex Yoshii (1B), Placido James (2B), Terry York (3B), Louie Kim (SS), Wascar Neruda (LF), Alan Ramirez (CF), Darrel Lane (RF), and Lou Flynn (DH).

National League

MVP: Walter Roberts. Roberts had another great season for his second WS MVP. His 29.5 WS beat out Jerrod Ogea's 28.6 (in his bid for a fifth WS MVP) driven by a solid .954 OPS and over 1300 innings behind the plate. After Ogea, the rest of the top five include Eswalin Belliard, rookie Carlton Hinske, and veteran pitcher Stephen Harrison.

Cy Young: Stephen Harrison. This is Harrison's sixth Cy Young (and fourth in a row) according to Win Shares. Rookie Andrea Walker, Jack Jones, Walt Hubbell, and Pasqual Eusebio all followed Harrison in the top 5.

Rookie of the Year: Carlton Hinske.

Gold Gloves: Moises Castillo (C), Sting Thornton (1B), Matt Duchscherer (2B), Greg Brandt (3B), Daniel Pillette (SS), Fausto Gomez (LF), Carlton Hinske (CF), and Will White (RF).

Silver Sluggers: Walter Roberts (C), Eswalin Belliard (1B), Geraldo Cabrera (2B), Junior Witt (3B), Tim Reese (SS), Alfonso Morales (LF), Carlton Hinske (CF), Jerrod Ogea (RF), and Felix Huang (P).

Season 17 Champions!

2011-02-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Raidersfan and the Houston Home Wreckers for winning the Season 17 World Series! Houston defeated Aceman2124's Atlanta Chopahawkers 4 games to 2 to claim the trophy. Fisk World News has named Christian Martin MVP of the Series. Martin had 7 hits, 3 Home Runs and 5 RBI's.

Now we look foward to Season 18, time to start up the hot stove once again!

Cy Youngs and MVP's Season 17

2011-02-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

The voting is done and the Cy Young and MVP winners for Season 17 are as follows:

AL

MVP

Alan Ramirez
Seattle
Dead Rockstars
Age: 24	B/T: S/R
Born: Dundalk, MD
Position(s): CF/CIF/2B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ramirez is the beast power hitting Center Fielder for the Dead Rockstars. He crushed 56 home runs and drove in 144 runs, and all at the age of 24. Ramirez will be a finalist on the MVP ballot for many more seasons to come.

Cy Young

Felipe Medrano
St. Louis
Storm
Age: 33	B/T: R/R
Born: Seattle, WA
Position(s): P (SP2)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Veteran right hander for the Storm wins his first ML Cy Young Award. He posted a 19-7 record with 2.12 ERA in 225 innings on the mound.

NL

MVP

Jerrod Ogea
Buffalo
Wings
Age: 31	B/T: L/L
Born: Mclean, VA
Position(s): RF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

This is Jerrod Ogea's fifth MVP award in 9 seasons at the ML level. He hit 42 dingers and drove in 106 runs with a .330 batting average.

Cy Young

Stephen Harrison
Milwaukee
Suds Utd
Age: 36	B/T: S/L
Born: Whiteriver, AZ
Position(s): P (SP1)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Harrison takes home his second ML Cy Young award in 15 seasons on the mound. The veteran lefty for the Suds Utd posted a 16-5 record with a 2.06 ERA in 226.2 innings on the mound.

Managers of the Year, Season 17

2011-02-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Tui0job of the Washington Do Nothing Senators (NL) and Farren83 of the St. Louis Storm (AL) for winning the Season 17 manager of the year awards

NL Division and Wildcard Projections

2011-02-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

NL North- Milwaukee Suds Utd (Jtbrodzeller)
-Milwaukee's pitching has been next to none all season long, but will their 24th ranked batting hurt them in the playoffs?
Projected playoff seed: 3

NL East- Atlanta Chopahawkers (Aceman2124)
-My gut feeling tells me that Atlanta will be the divsion winner here. However the Washington Do Nothing Senators have made a late charge to contest the title. This one could go down the last series of the regular season.
Projected playoff seed: 2

NL South- Florida Boiler Bangers (Bsproat1)
- Florida easily wins the South division and takes the number 1 seed in the NL.
Projected playoff seed: 1

NL West- Salem Fresh (misterfresh)
- Salem wins the West for the 8th season in a row, and by over 30 games most likely.
Projected playoff seed: 4

WILDCARD:
5th seed- Washington D.C. Do Nothing Senators (Tui0job)
-Washington makes it back to the playoffs for the first time since season 14. A 4th ranked pitching staff and 8th ranked fielding team gets them to the 5th seed.

6th seed- Pittsburgh Parsimonious Paladins (Timb116)
-Tough call here as there are four teams pretty close for the 6th seed. My projection is for last seasons World Series Champs to sneak in to the playoffs once again at the 6th seed. However Charleston, New York, and Buffalo are lurking just behind them making for an exciting finish.

AL Division and Wildcard Projections

2011-02-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Projected Division Winners:

AL North- Cleveland Grievous Angels (Johndish)
-A strong lineup currently ranked third in the league in batting has the Grievous Angels flying high this season.
Projected playoff seed: 4

AL East- St. Louis Storm (Farren83)
-The Storms second ranked pitching staff will lead them into the playoffs after a disappointing second place finish last season.
Projected playoff seed: 3

AL South- Houston Home Wreckers (Raidersfan)
-Houston is currently in the top five in pitching, batting, and fielding. They are the team to beat in the AL, and are the odds on favorite to represent the AL in the World Series.
Projected playoff seed: 1

AL West- Seattle Dead Rockstars (rtconnelly)
-This is a close race with Seattle only two games up on the Las Vegas Hangovers. With Seattle's easier schedule over the last nineteen games, I predict they will take the division title.
Projected playoff seed: 2

WILDCARD
5th seed--Las Vegas Hangovers (Bxtxcx)
-The number one rated batting lineup in the league makes it into the playoffs for the second straight season. Vegas has a much easier remaining schedule than Tampa. They will over take them for the 5th seed.

6th Seed--Tampa Bay Trump (Kavancamp)
-Tampa is middle of the road in all aspects of the game, but thats enough to earn them the 6th seed in the AL.

Fisk #62 in HBD World Rankings on Knucklebones HBD Radio Show

2011-01-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

On 1-14-11 the Knucklebones radio show ran a special 2 hour rankings show. Every league that has completed 10 seasons or more made the rankings. The rankings were compiled by tomjames using his computer ranking program. Fisk ranked #62 out of 128 leagues, which puts us right about in the middle. The complete rankings can be found here: http://hbdnews.blogspot.com/2011/01/hbd-league-rankings.html

Top 10 Power Rankings 1-13

2011-01-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

1.Houston Home Wreckers 57-24
Pitching#4/ Batting#1/ Fielding#1

2.Florida Boiler Bangers 55-26
Pitching#8/ Batting#5/ Fielding#14

3.Tampa Bay Trump 53-28
Pitching#12/ Batting#8/ Fielding#28

4.St. Louis Storm 50-31
Pitching#1/ Batting#14/ Fielding#8

5.Cleveland grievous angels 47-34
Pitching#9/ Batting#3/ Fielding#9

6.Las Vegas Hangovers 47-34
Pitching#16/ Batting#2/ Fielding#10

7.Atlanta Chopahawkers 48-33
Pitching#7/ Batting#17/ Fielding#5

8.Pittsburgh Parsimonious Paladins 47-34
Pitching#6/ Batting#7/ Fielding#17

9.Charleston Low Country Ambush 48-33
Pitching#3/ Batting#26/ Fielding#3

10.Seattle Dead Rockstars 44-37
Pitching#15/ Batting#11/ Fielding#4

Outside Looking In
11.Salem Fresh 44-37
12.New York Cavaliers 45-36

Top 10 Power Rankings 1-4

2011-01-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Going to start a weekly top 10 power rankings. The rankings are determined by adding Losses with the pitching, batting and fielding rankings and then dividing that number by 4 to get a score for each Franchise. The lower the score, the higher rank your team is. The top 10 for this week are:

1. Houston Home Wreckers 39-18
#6 Pitching/ #2 Batting/ #1 Fielding

2. St. Louis Storm 36-21
#1 Pitching/ #5 Batting/ #8 Fielding

3. Florida Boiler Bangers 42-15
#3 Pitching/ #7 Batting/ #14 Fielding

4. Cleveland grievous angels 35-22
#7 Pitching/ #1 Batting/ #11 Fielding

5. Seattle Dead Rockstars 35-22
#11 Pitching/ #6 Batting/ #4 Fielding

6. Atlanta Chopahawkers 36-21
#9 Pitching/ #8 Batting/ #6 Fielding

7. Pittsburgh Parsimonious Paladins 34-23
#8 Pitching/ #4 Batting/ #13 Fielding

8. Las Vegas Hangovers 34-23
#14 Pitching/ #3 Batting/ #18 Fielding

9. New York Cavaliers 33-24
#10 Pitching/ #25 Batting/ #2 Fielding

10. Salem Fresh 32-25
#5 Pitching/ #15 Batting/ #17 Fielding

Season 16 Managers of The Year

2011-01-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

Please congratulate Timb116 of the NL and Johndish of the AL for being their leagues manager of the year!

Timb116 led his Pittsburgh Parsimonious Paladins to a 87-75 record and to a wild card berth as the 6th seed. Pittsburgh then went on a cinderella playoff run to win the World Series. Congrats to Timb!

Johndish's Cleveland Grievous Angels finished with a 110-52 record and won thier 4th AL North division title in 5 seasons. The Angels won the divison by 25 games and won the AL Championship. Congrats to Johndish!

Season 16 Win Shares

2010-12-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

American League

MVP: Carter Fassero. His continued stellar play at 2B propels him to another Win Shares MVP with a total of 26.6 WS. Alex Snopek finished 6th with 23.9 behind Neifi Almonte, Neifi Franco, Stu LaRocca, and Christian Martin.

Cy Young: Felipe Medrano. Kansas City is more of a hitter's park than Seattle which catapulted Medrano to 20.2 WS. Bartolo Seanez finished 4th with 19.5 behind Angel Rosado and Paul Kojima.

Rookie of the Year: Dario Lo.

Gold Gloves: Paul Lush (C), Neifi Almonte (1B), Carter Fassero (2B), Terry York (3B), Alfonso Nunez (SS), Stu LaRocca (LF), Vasco Guerrero (CF), and Alex Snopek (RF).

Silver Sluggers: Andrew Thome (C), Neifi Almonte (1B), Carter Fassero (2B), Neifi Franco (3B), Lawrence Lobstein (SS), Christian Martin (LF), Alan Ramirez (CF), Alex Snopek (RF), and George Wakeland (DH).

National League

MVP: Jerrod Ogea. Ogea was dominant with 31.8 WS. Phil Graves, Geraldo Cabrera, Eswalin Belliard, and Michael Kojima round out the top 5.

Cy Young: Stephen Harrison. Karl Gordon was awesome out of the bullpen (good for 12th in WS), but this system places more emphasis on IP. Carlos Espinosa, J.P. Rowand, Enrique Cortes, and Louie Maranon all followed Harrison in the top 5.

Rookie of the Year: Alex Sinclair.

Gold Gloves: David Butler (C), Livan Ortiz (1B), Geraldo Cabrera (2B), Denny Wagner (3B), Delino Veras (SS), Marvin O'Leary (LF), Tim Reese (CF), and John Martin (RF).

Silver Sluggers: Malachi Mitchell (C), Sting Thornton (1B), Geraldo Cabrera (2B), Junior Witt (3B), Jesus Serra (SS), Phil Graves (LF), Benito Cruz (CF), Jerrod Ogea (RF), and Louie Maranon (P).

Managers of the Year!

2010-08-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Please congratulate our first Managers of the Year!
AL - Raidersfan - Houston Home Wreckers 106-56

NL - Rbennett99 - Charleston Low Country Ambush 96-66

Power Rankings, 7-14-10

2010-07-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

110 games down, 52 more to go.

1. Salem Fresh 73-37 -- Can anyone stop Salem from making it back to the World Series? This blogger doesn't think so. Jerome Stern appears to be a shoe in for the NL Cy Young award. Phil Graves is showing why he is worth every bit of that 20 Mil salary, having 44 home runs and 101 RBI's already.
Batting #3, Pitching #7, Fielding #23

2. Houston Home Wreckers 68-42 -- Houston is benefiting from great all around play. The pressure is on though because Jackson is nipping at their heels in the AL South. Mario Kydd continues to be the star talent here with a .310 avg in just over 400 at bats.
Batting #8, Pitching #6, Fielding #8

3. Cleveland grievous angels 66-44 -- The biggest suprise in the rankings this time around, Cleveland climbs all the way from 9th to 3rd. Pitching has drastically improved from the 22nd rank to #9. The call up of rookie SP Jesus Martin has put a charge in Cleveland's pitching staff. He is 8-2 with a 3.08 Era in his first 14 ML starts.
Batting #2, Pitching #9, Fielding #4

4. Kansas City Storm 67-43 -- KC Pitching has hit a bit of a slump lately, with only Ace Brad Chouinard holding up the staff. He is 14-6 with a 3.33 Era. The bats continue to keep the team rolling, led by the power trio of Sting Dunham, Kevin Nakajima, and Juan James.
Batting #4, Pitching #16, Fielding #2

5. Montreal Expos 63-47 -- The 1st ranked batting team in the majors comes in at #5. Antonio Chen is still the man with a .312 avg, and Rip Kapler has been a pleasant suprise for the Expos with a .359 avg in 421 at bats.
Batting #1, Pitching #13, Fielding #22

6. Jackson Five 65-45 -- Jackson is also benefiting from great play in all categories. Nate Singleton is leading the offense with 23 homers and 74 rbi's. The starting pitchers are slumping right now, but solid bullpen pitching is making up for it.
Batting #6, Pitching #8, Fielding #6

7. Florida Boiler Bangers 66-44 -- Florida is riding the hot bat of Rookie slugger Eswalin Belliard. He has a stellar .326 avg with 31 home runs and 83 rbi's, making him a solid option for the NL rookie of the year. The Pitching staff has made some headway since the last rankings but still has a ways to go.
Batting #10, Pitching #15, Fielding #13

8. Seattle Dead Rockstars 63-47 -- Seattle makes it back into the top 10 this week at #8. Seattle GM rtconnelly has really been feeling the pressure from the top brass as Las Vegas is a little to close for comfort. On the field, 2nd year center fielder Alan Ramirez is having a remarkable season. He has a .313 avg, 38 homers and 101 rbi's, he has also swiped 22 bags. The starting pitching staff is pretty solid right now, being led by Stan Newfield and Julio Ordonez, each with 12 wins. It would appear that rtconnelly's job as GM is safe, for now that is.
Batting #22, Pitching #3, Fielding #11

9. Milwaukee Suds Utd 62-48 -- All you can say for Milwaukee is, the pitching is hot and the Batting is very very not. The starting staff has 4 out of 5 pitchers under a 3 era. The bullpen is absolutly lights out led by Bosco Sweeney and his stellar 1.78 era in 81 innings of SUA work. The Bats are gonna have to heat up for the Suds if they wanna get back to a World Series.
Batting #32, Pitching #1, Fielding #3

10. Texas Tycoons 61-49 -- George Stanley and Steve White continue to impress the Texas fans with thier bats. Stanley has 35 homers and 86 rbi's, while White has 32 homers with 81 rbi's. The starting pitching staff sustained a pretty heavy blow, losing ace pitcher Rico Ordaz to the 15 day DL. As soon as he returns, Texas should be able to look to erasing Florida's 5 game division lead.
Batting #9, Pitching #10, Fielding #21

Just outside the top

11. Buffalo Wings 62-48
12. Chicago Ugly Sox 61-49
13. Atlanta Chopahawkers 58-52
14. Las Vegas Hangovers 59-51
15. Charleston Low Country Ambush 58-52

Power Rankings, 6-28

2010-06-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

The rankings for this week as of the PM1 Cycle, 6-28

1. Houston Home Wreckers 43-24 - Houston takes the top spot this week, up from number 5 last week. Houston has made vast improvements in their pitching ranking, going from 11 to 4. They have won 8 of their last 10.
-Batting #10, Pitching #4, Fielding #11
-Last 10 games: 8-2

2. Salem Fresh 40-27 - Salem is on a bit of a slump right now having lost 6 of their last 10 games. I don't believe they'll be down for long though. Jerome Stern continues to dominate on the mound for the Fresh.
-Batting #6, Pitching #12, Fielding #24
-Last 10 games: 8-2

3. Montreal Expos 42-25 - The Expos retain their number 3 ranking. As always, Antonio Chen continues to keep this team up in the rankings. The fielding rankings have made a decent improvement over the last week.
-Batting #1, Pitching #15, Fielding #19
-Last 10 games: 8-2

4. Texas Tycoons 41-25 - Texas slips two spots this week mainly due to problems in the field. Their fielding ranking tanked from 11 to 22.
-Batting #5, Pitching #5, Fielding #22
-Last 10 games: 6-4

5. Kansas City Storm 40-26 - KC drops down 1 to the 5 spot this week. Team batting average has improved quite a bit over the week but the team era has slacked a bit.
-Batting #3, Pitching #11, Fielding #2
-Last 10 games: 5-5

6. Buffalo Wings 42-24 - Buffalo moves all the way from the 10 spot to number 6 this week. They are on a hot streak, winning 8 out of the last 10 games.
-Batting #4, Pitching #14, Fielding #4
-Last 10 games: 8-2

7. Jackson Five 42-25 - Jackson improves from number 9, up to 7 this week. Batting average and pitching rankings are up into the top 10 while the fielding drops from 1 to 3.
-Batting #8, Pitching #9, Fielding #3
-Last 10 games: 8-2

8. Milwaukee Suds Utd 40-26 - Down 1 spot from last week, the Suds continue to lead the league in Pitching while being dead last in the batting department. Fielding has been a slight problem lately, dropping from number 4 to 8.
-Batting #32, Pitching #1, Fielding #8
-Last 10 games: 5-5

9. Cleveland grievous angels 37-30 - Cleveland busts into the top 10 this week at number 9. Strong rankings in batting and fielding have them on an up swing in a very tough division. If the pitching staff can manage an improvement in the near future, look out for Cleveland to move up fast.
-Batting #2, Pitching #22, Fielding #1
-Last 10 games: 8-2

10. Florida Boiler Bangers 38-28 - The number 6 from last week is down to 10 this week. Fielding improved, but everything else took a hit. They are making a comeback though having won 7 of the last 10.
-Batting #12, Pitching #20, Fielding #15
-Last 10: 7-3

Moving out from last week: Seattle Dead Rockstars #8 on 6-21 rankings.

Just outside of top 10:
11.Las Vegas Hangovers 37-29

12.Seattle Dead Rockstars 36-30

13.Pawtucket Patriots 36-31

14.Atlanta Chopahawkers 36-31

15.Mexico City Border Crossers 36-31

Power Rankings, 6-21

2010-06-21T12:54:00.001-07:00

I've decided to put out a top 10 power rankings updated every Monday. I probably won't get this detailed about the teams every week, just depends on my schedule.

Here are the power rankings at the 47 game mark.

1. Salem Fresh 30-17 -- Salem is once again the team to beat this season. Juan Merced is absolutly killing opposing pitching with a .356 avg, 16 homers and 51 RBI's so far. Also, Jerome Stern is showing some serious Cy Young potential with a 7-1 record and a 1.77 ERA. Salem's bullpen is led by LRA Richard Koch who has a 1-0 record and a 0.93 ERA.
Pitching #5, Batting #4, Fielding #26

2. Texas Tycoons 29-19 -- The two big sluggers George Stanley and Steve White have carried Texas to number 2 in the rankings. Stanley has a .288 avg, with 20 homers and 42 RBI's. White sports a .352 avg, with 19 homers and 46 RBI's. On the mound Rico Ordaz is leading the Texas staff with a 5-0 record and a 2.60 ERA.
Pitching #8, Batting #3, Fielding #11

3. Montreal Expos 29-19 -- The bats are hot in Montreal with 4 players over a .300 avg. They are led as always by the great Antonio Chen with a .333 avg, 11 homers and 28 RBI's. #5 pitcher Sandy Schneider is leading the Pitching staff so far with a 6-2 record and a 3.27 ERA.
Pitching #16, Batting #1, Fielding #24

4. Kansas City Storm 29-19 -- Donne Stewart and Sting Dunham lead the number 6 offense in the league in KC. Stewart has a .340 avg, 5 homers, and 31 RBI's. Dunham has a .296 avg, 13 homers and 52 RBI's. The starting pitching staff is performing very well, led by Ace Brad Chouinard and veteran Tony Moya. The bullpen is also strong, led by Setup man Ted Ellis and Closer Gregg Rhodes who has 10 saves and a 1.86 ERA.
Pitching #9, Batting #6, Fielding #2

5. Houston Home Wreckers 29-19 -- This offense is led by Houston hero Mario Kydd and the young sensational slugger Christian Martin. Kydd has a .335 avg, 11 homers and 36 RBI's. Martin has a .277 avg, 16 homers and 37 RBI's. The Pitching staff has very good ERA's all around. They are led by Ace starter Juan Suarez who is 5-4 with a 3.48ERA. In the bullpen, Hulk Bass leads the way at 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA. Closer Stubby Sowders is also having a terrific season thus far with 8 saves and a 2.53 ERA.
Pitching #11, Batting #11, Fielding #13

6. Florida Boiler Bangers 28-19 -- Florida is led by the sensational rookie Eswalin Belliard. At just 22 years old he has a .349 avg, 12 homers, and 36 RBI's. The starting pitching staff is struggling this season with an average ERA near 5. That is ok though because the bullpen is picking them up with an average ERA under 4.
Pitching #17, Batting #8, Fielding #23

7. Milwaukee Suds Utd 27-20 -- Milwaukee is and interesting story, being ranked dead last in Batting but they are #1 in the pitching category and #4 in fielding. The Pitching staff is amazing, every starter is under 3 on ERA. Number 4 man Aurelio Barrios has the lowest ERA so far at a 2.05. In the Bullpen, SUA man Jim Cust has a 3-0 record with a 1.40 ERA and Closer Brad Newman has 8 saves with a 1.59 ERA.
Pitching #1, Batting #32, Fielding #4

8. Seattle Dead Rockstars 27-20 -- No sophmore slump for Alan Ramirez, the 22 year old has a .318 avg, 21 homers and 49 RBI's. Carter Fassero is also off to a terrific start with a .271 avg, 12 homers and 46 RBI's. On the mound number 5 man Julio Ordonez is going crazy with a 7-0 record and a 1.89 ERA. The veteran starter Stan Newfield also continues to pitch well at 36 years old, he is 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA.
Pitching #2, Batting #10, Fielding #12

9. Jackson Five 27-20 -- Stu LaRocca is swinging the lumber well this season with a
.312 avg, with 11 homers and 34 RBI's. Alex Yoshi is also producing good numbers, he has a .271 avg, with 10 homers and 37 RBI's. On the mound, the starters are struggling, so its all about the bullpen. Jackson has 5 relievers under a 3.4 ERA, they are led by LRA Gregory Granger, he is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA thus far. The pitching staff is also helped greatly by Jackson's number 1 ranked Fielding unit.
Pitching #12, Batting #15, Fielding #1

10. Buffalo Wings 27-20 -- The Buffalo offense revolves around the monsterous bat of Jerrod Ogea. He has a .382 avg with 17 homers and 52 RBI's. Denny Singleton leads the starting staff with a 7-2 record and a 2.74 ERA. In the bullpen, Bryan Harris is the man with a 4-1 record and a 3.19 ERA.
Pitching #18, Batting #5, Fielding #6

Just outside of the Top 10
11. Washington D.C. Do nothing Senators 27-21

12. Las Vegas Hangovers 26-22

13. Atlanta Chopahawkers 25-22

14. Pawtucket Patriots 24-23

Trade News

2010-05-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

The Trading block is on fire this offseason as everyone seems to be getting in on the action. Lets take a look at some of the more notable trades completed thus far.

->The Buffalo Wings send Ismael Fernandez and Tom Watson to the San Diego Smoke in exchange for Phil Kelly , Merv Everett , Hersh Hunter and 3 million in cash to cover some salary.

Phil Kelly along with recently promoted SP Denny Singleton gives the Buffalo Wings two ace style SP's at the top of the rotation. Plus Buffalo gets a proven shut em down closer in Merv Everett. These additions make Buffalo's pitching staff much more respectable and should serve to get the Wings into the thick of the division race in the NL North.
Buffalo also recieved Hersh Hunter, who is a good all around corner outfielder with a decent bat. Overall I give Buffalo an A+ on this trade.

San Diego gains two SP prospects in Fernandez and Watson. They also manage to clear almost 18 million in payroll, thus paving the way for a rebuilding project for manager reefer 124. As far as grades go, I give San Diego a B on this one. The Pitchers are middle to bottom of the rotation types, but the salary room gained brings the grade into the B range.

->The Washington D.C. Do nothing Senators trade Irv Kohlmeier and Gerald Zheng to the Portland Polecats in exchange for Vitas MacFarlane and Clarence Jennings.

For Washington, McFarlane is a decent defensive minded Center Fielder with very little Batting skill, definitly a bottom of the lineup type. Clarence Jennings is an interesting pickup, he has the ratings that would make him the staff Ace on a lot of clubs. However, his stats have suffered over the years from pitching on mediocre ball teams. He has a good chance of revitalizing his career with Washington. I give Washington a solid B+ on this trade.

Portland gains a decent bat in the outfield with the youngster Irv Kohlmeier. A downside for Kohlmeier is his expensive 6.5 mil arb salary which will likely increase next season when he goes shopping for a long term deal. They also get Gerald Zheng, a low control/vR long relief prospect. With his vR rating that low, i see him as a LRB/mopup guy at the ML level. Portland gets a C in this trade.

Season 15 New Owners

2010-05-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all new owners.

-Pengoman Pawtucket Patriots

-Rockybill1 Toledo Top-Hatters

-Timb116 Pittsburgh Parsimonious Paladins

-Bobferg Nashville Nailers

-Steve1967 Portland Polecats

-Reefer124 San Diego Smoke

Season 14 Cy Young's and MVP's

2010-05-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

AL Cy Young
Stan Newfield - Jackson Five(moteydm)

Hardball Dynasty's

Stan Newfield

AL MVP
Louie Kim - Cleveland Grievous Angels(johndish)

Hardball Dynasty's

Louie Kim

NL Cy Young
Stephen Harrison - Milwaukee Sud Utd(jtbrodzeller)

Hardball Dynasty's

Stephen Harrison

NL MVP
Michael Kojima - New York Cavaliers(nshah88)

Hardball Dynasty's

Michael Kojima

Season 14 World Series

2010-05-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Salem Fresh (NL) take the Season 14 World Series 4 games to 1 over the Cleveland Grievous Angels (AL).

This was the third World Series title for the Fresh and Owner Misterfresh . They also won the title in seasons 11 and 12.

For the Grievous Angels and Owner Johndish, this was their first appearance in the World Series. Johndish becomes the fourth owner in Fisk history to reach the World Series from the 6th seed.

Congratulations to both owners for having an outstanding season.

Season 14 Hall Of Fame

2010-02-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

The votes are in, and first players inducted into the Fisk Hall Of Fame are:

B.J. Kotsay
Kotsay played 12 ML seasons at CF and RF in Fisk with a .306 career batting average. He won 1 MVP award in season 5, and had 6 appearances in the all-star game (seasons 3 thru 8). Kotsay also logged 6 straight seasons of 30 or more Home Runs with 100 or more RBI's.

Brad Womack
Womack played 9 seasons at 1B in Fisk with a .305 career batting average. He won 2 MVP awards in seasons 2 and 3, and had 3 appearances in the all-star game (seasons 1 thru3). Womack turned in 7 straight seasons of 30 or more Home Runs with 100 or more RBI's. In seasons 1 thru 4 he recorded home run totals of 55, 58, 66, and 68.

2010-01-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

Fisk season 14 updates

-Aceman2124 has relocated the Philidelphia Utleys to Atlanta.
Atlanta Chopahawkers

New Owners

-Kujhawker has returned after a season away from Fisk. He takes over the old Salt Lake City Stocktons franchise, relocating them to Omaha.
Omaha Knights

-Kavancamp has taken the Jacksonville franchise and relocated them to Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay Trumps

-Hiker4life has taken the Hartford franchise and relocated them to Montreal.
Montreal Expos

- Jharris643 has taken the Minnesota franchise and relocated them to Syracuse.
Syracuse Orange

-Xicochi has taken the San Diego franchise and relocated them to St. Louis.
St. Louis Barley Hops

-Taco 4209 has taken the Austin franchise and relocated them to Montgomery.
Montgomery Rebels

-Zamiam has taken the Vancouver franchise and relocated them to Arizona.
Arizona Argyle Sox

-Evancavan has taken the Cincinnati franchise and relocated them to Agusta.
Augusta Cancer Quanbumi

Welcome to all the new owners!

Season 13 NL Awards

2010-01-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

Cy Young
SP Ajax Baker, 21-4, 2.93era

Hardball Dynasty's

Ajax Baker

MVP
RF Jerrod Ogea, .383AVG, 29HR, 106RBI

Hardball Dynasty's

Jerrod Ogea

Rookie of the Year
LF Sterling Gaillard, .293AVG, 21HR, 70RBI

Hardball Dynasty's

Sterling Gaillard

Fireman of the Year
Closer Corky Witt, 48saves, 4.92era

Hardball Dynasty's

Corky Witt

Season 13 AL Awards

2010-01-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

Cy Young
SP Lariel Martinez, 21-5 2.91era

Hardball Dynasty's

Lariel Martinez

MVP
2B Antonio Chen, .357Avg, 41HR, 132RBI

Hardball Dynasty's

Antonio Chen

Rookie of the Year
P Hank Rivers, 2.93era

Hardball Dynasty's

Hank Rivers

Fireman of the Year
Closer Stubby Sowders, 41 saves, 2.03era

Hardball Dynasty's

Stubby Sowders

Season 13 World Series

2010-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Houston Home Wreckers take the Season 13 World Series 4 games to 1 over the Milwaukee Suds Utd.

The Home Wreckers were led by season 13 AL Cy Young winner Lariel Martinez , All Star Closer Stubby Sowders who won the AL fireman of the year award, and All Star 1st Baseman Mario Kydd.

The Suds Utd were led by their All Star pitchers, SP Daryl Salazar and RP Brad Newman, as well as their Gold Glove fielders, SS Osvaldo Saenz, 2nd Baseman Guy Tresh, and 3rd Baseman Delino Veras.

This was the Home Wreckers first World Series title and their second appearance.
For the Suds Utd, this was their first time back to the World Series since winning the title in season 1.

Could this be true???

2008-07-07T07:50:00.001-07:00

Season 7 Awards: Part III

2008-05-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

CY YOUNG AWARDS (AL & NL)

Let's start by taking a look at the AL Cy Young Award nominees:

Jesus Lee
Stan Newfield
Jay Young
Everett Hunter
Ignacio Pineda

24-2. 214/51 K/BB ratio. 0.97 WHIP. 2.19 ERA. .206 OAV. Wow! Jesus Lee put together an amazing stat line and has led the Wichita pitching staff to the World Series and a likely championship. Lee's 24-2 record is good for a .923 WPCT, .201 points higher than the Ruby Slippers own .722 WPCT. Lee tied Pineda with his 24 wins, was third in the AL with 235 IP, finished second in Ks only three behind teammate Sidney Hall, topped the AL with his low OAV, WHIP and ERA. So, three strikeouts kept him from winning the AL Triple Crown of pitching.

Mexico City's Stan Newfield also put together an impressive campaign. His 2.26 ERA and 1.03 WHIP are very comparable to Jesue Lee. In fact, Newfield's numbers are nearly as good as Lee in all but two major categories: Newfield registered a 21-8 record and had a less impressive 203/60 K/BB ratio. Additionally, Mexico City posted a 91-71 record as a team (.562 WPCT); Newfield's own WPCT was .724 (.162 points higher). However, there is one key factor working in Stan's favor: Mexico City has a Park Factor of .959 vs. the Wichita Park Factor of .924.

Jay Young is another Wichita starter up for the award. Young went 21-7 with a 2.36 ERA and 205 K. He also led the AL with a .204 OAV. Jay has very good numbers across the board, but falls just shy of Jesus Lee is just about every category. Given the play for the same team, this allows for a quick and direct comparison, and Young falls just short.

Louisville's Everett Hunter is a perennial contender for the Cy Young. This season he accumulated a 22-4 record, a 176/45 K/BB ratio, and 1.10 WHIP. Hunter's ERA is not as microscopic as our first three nominees checking in at 3.55. However, Louisville is much more of a hitter's park. Everett falls short in most core statistical categories, but his 22-4 record is good for seven additional wins versus his team average (Louisville had a .580 WPCT vs. Hunter's .846 WPCT). He also was second to Lee in the AL in K/BB ratio.

Ignacio Pineda is yet another Wichita starter. Pineda went 24-5 for a better record than Young. However, Pineda pales in comparison to both Young and Lee in just about every other category. He gave up more runs, hits, home runs, and walks than both of them tossing fewer innings.

The winner is... Stan Newfield. Really?

Newfield: 30 WS
Lee: 25 WS
Young: 23 WS
Hunter: 22 WS
Pineda: 18 WS

What makes the difference? Most of the difference is due to the easier park conditions for Wichita pitchers. Newfield is credited with saving 114 runs versus a replacement level pitcher in Mexico City whereas Lee is credited with "only" 99 runs saved. The combination of the Park Factor and Wichita's defense leads to a half run per game advantage for Wichita pitchers. Lee's ERA also benefits from three more unearnerd runs which is enough to give Newfield a lower "RA" (run average) than Lee. Interestingly, Jay Young did not allow a single UER which closes the gap in the race as well (but not enough).

Footnote: Stan Farley and Russ Daniels also registered 22 WS and finish ahead of Pineda.

Moving on to the NL... the nominees:

Michael Hardy
Luis Ozuna
Ricky Kubinski
Tris McEnroe
Brendan Henry

Michael Hardy led Milwaukee and the ML with a 1.77 ERA. Hardy also led the ML with a .187 OAV, allowed only 8 HR (best among those with more than 162 IP), and led the NL with a 1.01 WHIP. Hardy was kept to an average of 73 pitches per game as Milwaukee went to a four man rotation. This led to him registering only 18 decisions (16-2) in his 37 starts.

Luis Ozuna went 16-6 with 161 K and a 2.72 ERA. His ERA is good for fourth in the NL. With Tampa Bay going 82-80, Ozuna's WPCT clocks in .221 points higher than his team. Ozuna was also the best hitting pitcher in the league posting a .297 BA and scoring 14 runs in 74 AB. His 13 HR allowed was second best to Hardy among qualifiers.

Iowa City's Ricky Kubinski narrowly missed being a bona fide ROY the year candidate since he pitched 54.2 innings last year. The 23 year-old went 17-2 adding depth to the already great Iowa City staff. His 2.91 ERA and 1.16 were both very good but not league-leading.

I found a glitch in my spreadsheet formulas today which results in Tris McEnroe being dethroned as last year's Cy Young Award winner. He had another very good season this year in Milwaukee's new four-man rotation. Averaging just 75 pitches per game, he posted a 2.51 ERA and 1.06 WHIP which are best in the NL if you exclude teammate Michael Hardy. His 14-6 record is not as good either which, by direct comparison, shows that he will likely not be the winner this time around either.

Brendan Henry of Philadelphia put up a 20-9 record whcih was good enough to lead the NL in wins. The workhorse hurled 242 innings which was tops in the ML. His WHIP of 1.34 and 3.75 do not rate with the best of the lot, but he makes up for some of that in his sheer volume of work. He also led the NL in quality starts with 25, batters faced with 1040 and GB/FB ratio at 2.2.

The results please:

Hardy: 27 WS
McEnroe: 25 WS
Kubinski: 22 WS
Ozuna: 22 WS
Henry: 18 WS

Another footnote... several pitchers check in with more WS than Henry: Bonilla, Thomas, Harrison, Devereaux, Witt, and Rogers all had between 19 and 21 WS. I would suspect that Henry would be a likely contender amongst "typical" sportswriters due to leading the league in wins.

Season 7 Awards - Part II

2008-05-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

NL MVP AWARD:

The nominees are...

Wilson Truman
Christian Miller
Al Brown
Wiki Galvez
Gene Morris

Let's start by taking a look at Wilson Truman. The LF posted a huge .338/.412/.732 batting line on the shoulders of a ML leading 62 HR. His defense was less than stellar, but he made up for that with 127 runs scored and an NL leading 162 RBI. Truman missed the NL Triple Crown by only 3 points in batting average to Wiki Galvez. Monterrey proves to be a slight advantage for hitters with a Park Factor of 1.015.

Christian Miller is truly a stud 1B. Three straight seasons with an OPS over 1.100 and 60 HR is very good, and he's only 26. But, how does Season 7 stack up? 61 HR, 118 R, 124 RBI, and 18 more BB than Ks. His batting line checks in at .305/.407/.702; each number a little less than Truman's. Philadelphia calculates to a Park Factor of 0.985 - a slight disadvantage for hitters.

The other Philadelphia star is CF Al Brown. His play in CF was very good (not quite worthy of a Gold Glove) which is a a plus in terms of overal value versus Truman and Miller. Brown's line of .280/.335/.587 is solid, but does not stack up against our first two candidates. However, he did add 52 SB to his 43 HR, 119 R and 123 RBI.

New York's Wiki Galvez completed his third year at 3B recording 230 assists, turned 24 DP and committed only 6 errors for a FLD PCT of .980. Wiki also led the NL in batting average turning in a line of .341/.398/.511. Galvez doesn't have the big power that our first three stars have with only 51 extra bases. He doesn't have speed either stealing only two bases. However, Wiki struck out only 37 times which is second best amongst qualified hitters (Reid Hernandez of Salem registered only 33 whiffs in 549 PA).

Gene Morris rebounded from a sub-par season last year after a huge season 5 performance. The darkhorse in this race from the under-.500 Indianapolis Immigrants, Morris scored 104 R, stole 28 bases, smacked 43 doubles and led the ML with 12 triples. His batting line of .312/.390/.498 doesn't shine as bright as our big hitters, and his defensive play in LF isn't enough to put him in the same class as our big hitters.

So, who receives my endorsement? Based on Win Shares, the results are in:

Truman: 37 WS (35.5 OWS, 1.2 FWS)
Miller: 30 WS (28.3 OWS, 2.2 FWS)
Brown: 27 WS (19.3 OWS, 8.0 FWS)
Morris: 27 WS (24.9 OWS, 2.1 FWS)
Galvez: 26 WS (21.3 OWS, 4.9 FWS)

Truman and Miller were pretty close in their stats. Miller did have an overwhelming edge in BB (83 vs. 63) and K (65 vs. 104), but Truman's OPS edge of 36 points on 5 more extra base hits and 22 more singles offsets that advantage. Ultimately, Truman contributed a larger percentage of his team's offensive output than Miller (26.66% vs. 21.88%), and the offensive output of Philadelphia and Monterrey are quite similar. Philly had one less win and thus three less total Win Shares. The Cheese offense is credited with 46.7% of their value, while the Utley's have a slightly lower percentage at 45.9%. So, 3.5 more OWS are at-stake for Monterrey, and Truman gets a larger percentage of his team's output on a larger base. That makes the difference.

Next post we will review the AL Cy Young race.

Season 7 Awards - Part I

2008-05-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

I spent time over the weekend copying/pasting data off the site to my spreadsheets to calculate Win Shares for Season 7. Instead of posting all my awards here at once, I thought I'd put in an entry for each of the awards. Hopefully, I can get through the MVP, Cy Young and ROY award posts before voting concludes. So, without further ado...

American League MVP

Nominees (from website):
Antonio Chen
Nate Singleton
Phil Graves
Mario Kydd
Placido Ferrer

Chen got off to a slow start, but came on strong as the season progressed. His batting line ended at .322/.416/.724 good for top OPS in the AL. His 61 HR was good for the AL lead; he added 165 RBI and scored 152 runs. Did I mention that he had 95 SB in 101 attempts?! His numbers truly are amazing. Oh, he also played great 2B with .988 FLDPCT, turned 108 DP and had no "-" plays. One last note, I have Wichita at a Park Factor of .924 - good for the second toughest park in the league for offense.

Nate Singleton put together a great season for the Ruby Slippers as well. Singleton doesn't play the tough position that Chen plays, but played a very respectable LF. However, defense is not the key for him. Nate posted a .297/.350/.638 line and led the ML with 172 RBI. He homered 59 times and swiped 37 bases. While impressive, Chen is better on almost any meaningful comparison.

Phil Graves had another very good season for the Jaxsonville jarheads. Graves was a bit of a utility man on defense posting over 400 innings at both 3B and LF while receiving playing time at 2B, RF and CF as well. He didn't really excel at any of the positions. Graves hit 59 homers leading to a .316/.395/.702 batting line. These are very solid numbers, but, again, Chen still has him in just about every category.

The Rookie. Mario Kydd - .343/.408/.635. Pretty good. Kydd had arguably the best rookie season we have seen in this world driving in 135 RBI, scoring 132 runs on 47 HR. Kydd played a respectable 1B, but the pattern emerging is clear. No one is better than Chen.

But, let's look at one more player... Placido Ferrer. Ferrer played DH for Mexico City and put up a batting line of .298/.365/.603. His 47 HR, 125 RBI, 118 R, and 20 SB are all impressive. But, he falls short of Chen (sorry for being a broken record); he doesn't even earn the honor of team MVP according to Win Shares with that honor going to Greg Serra.

So, who is my AL MVP? You guessed it: Antonio Chen. Again.

Chen: 50 Win Shares (41.5 Offense, 8.3 Fielding)
Kydd: 38 WS (35.2 OWS, 2.4 FWS)
Graves: 36 WS (32.7 OWS, 2.9 FWS)
Singleton: 32 WS (29.2 OWS, 2.6 FWS)
Ferrer: 27 WS (27.0 OWS, 0.1 FWS)

Next post will look over the NL MVP candidates. It should be more interesting.

Sterling Dunston: Man or Demigod?

2008-05-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

As suggested by Mr. Connelly, today we will look at Sterling Dunston, LF for the Seattle Dead Rockstars.

Sterling Dunston
Seattle
Dead Rockstars
Age: 25	B/T: R/R
Born: Vandenberg Afb, CA
Position(s): LF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Man or Demigod?

What would make Mr. Dunston a "demigod"? According to Wiktionary, a demigod is the offspring of a god and a mortal. Whatifsports does not give us information on the lineage of our simulated athletes, so we'll take a less literal meaning in looking at our specimen.

So, how good is Sterling Dunston. Well, not good enough to qualify for AL ROY voting. But, we'll take a deeper look in case the award is indeed a sham as the Seattle owner suggests. Dunston went .269/.334/.559 in his rookie campaign. Hardly staggering numbers for a 25 year-old rookie. His 47 HR are quite impressive making him tied for 10th in the bigs. Houston ROY candidate, Mario Kydd, also blasted 47 HR. But the comparison stops there. Kydd had 219 H (good for 2nd in the ML) to Dunston's 145, scored 132 R compared to 78, smacked 40 two-baggers versus 14 for Dunston, struckout just 78 times as opposed to 128 whiffs by Dunston, ... I could go on. Kydd is clearly superior.

There are countless other examples. Dunston is solid, but unless the league is full of demigods or baseball talent is not the best measure to find godly DNA, then I don't think our study bears out.

I'm going to vote that Dunston is just a man. I suppose he is an imaginary man, but that's not relevant here.

2008-04-18T23:41:00.001-07:00

A look back at the #1 draft pick...

With this years amateur draft recently taking place, we now welcome to the league the lastest #1 pick and take a look back at where the previous #1 picks are now at...

This year's top draft pick is...

Juan Merced
Minnesota
Millers
Age: 22
B/T: L/L
Born: Suffolk, VA
Position(s): CF/1B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Juan received a 4 million dollar signing bonus from the club and he is working his way up the system at a very rapid pace. He currently is playing on the AA farm club and looks to be a great building piece for Minnesota's future plans.

Now let's take a look back to the #1 picks from the previous years and see where they are at now...

Last year, the Boston Nittanies selected as their first pick...

Chan Shinjo
Boston
Nittanies
Age: 23
B/T: R/R
Born: St. Johns, MI
Position(s): P (SP3)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

After signing to a 4 million dollar bonus this past season and posting a respectable 6-6 record in his rookie season with the club, Chan has struggled to find the right combination this current season. As of the posting of this, he is pitching at Boston's AAA club and has posted a cummulative record of 3-11 between AAA and AA.

During Season 5, the #1 pick was selected by the Minnesota Millers and received a 4 million dollar signing bonus. He was...

Gary Bird
Minnesota
Millers
Age: 22
B/T: S/R
Born: House, NM
Position(s): P (SP5)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Gary has been recently placed in the starting rotation on the ML club with Minnesota after acting as the team's closer for the past 2 seasons. He was 15 for 15 in save situations this past season with the parent club and converted 15 saves in 17 chances so far this current season.

During Season 4, the #1 selection was also made by the Minnesota Millers. Receiving a $4,131,000 signing bonus was...

Walt Hubbell
Wichita
Ruby Slippers
Age: 21
B/T: R/R
Born: Amarillo, TX
Position(s): P (SP1)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Traded to Wichita during Season #5, Walt is now enjoying his 1st full season with the AAA club and has posted a stellar 14-5 record and has had a decision in each of the 19 games he has pitched in. He currently has an ERA of 2.96.

Looking back at Season #3, the top pick was held by Pawtucket (now Minnesota) and the player selected was Carlos Paz.

He was never signed by the club and never made an appearance in the game other than to be the 1st player selected...

Back in Season #2, Boston (now Charleston) held the rights to the 1st player selected and chose...

LaTroy Guerrero
Charleston
Low Country Ambush
Age: 25
B/T: L/L
Born: Pine Bush, NY
Position(s): P (SP3)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Currently in a contract that pays 9.2 million through Season 10, this 5 year veteran on the parent club has a career ML record of 41-60 and is currently 0-3 this season...

Finally, the inaugural season featured the 1st selection by Wichita of...

Antonio Chen
Wichita
Ruby Slippers
Age: 24
B/T: R/R
Born: Okemah, OK
Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Antonio worked his way up Wichita's minor league system and this home-grown product is currently in his 4th full season with the parent club. Coming off his best season to date last year (.307-56-179), Antonio is having another banner season as he already has posted 27 homers and 70 RBI's in 90 games. This 3 time ML All-Star is a real bargain as his current salary is only $2,530,000...

Season 6 Win Shares

2008-04-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to the Fisk World Blog. Thanks to kevbo for setting this up. Since I didn't post the Season 6 Win Shares results in the forums, I thought this would be a good place to start on the blogosphere. Without further ado...

AL MVP: Antonio Chen - 2B - Wichita

Antonio Chen
Wichita
Ruby Slippers
Age: 24	B/T: R/R
Born: Okemah, OK
Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Chen had an amazing year in his third full season going .307/.396/.669 with 46 SB. He is also my Gold Glove choice with only 6 errors and 105 double-plays. Chen's campaign was good for 44 Win Shares (35.7 Offense, 8.7 Fielding) which was far and away the best in the league.

NL MVP: Geraldo Lee - 2B - Los Angeles

Geraldo Lee
Los Angeles
Dodgers
Age: 30	B/T: R/R
Born: San Isidro, DO
Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Lee's line of .372/.460/.608 and solid defense up the middle was good for his third straight MVP by way of Win Share totals. Lee racked up 34 WS (27.3 OWS, 6.4 FWS) as he continues to be the best pure hitter in the entire World. He put those totals up while playing only 136 games and brought his career batting average up over .360!

AL CY YOUNG: Everett Hunter - Charleston

Everett Hunter
Louisville
Legends
Age: 35	B/T: S/L
Born: St. Augustine, FL
Position(s): P/1B/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Everett Hunter had a truly great year which was good for 31 Win Shares. Hunter maintained a WHIP under 1.0 (0.97) while hurling over 260 innings. His dominance was good for a 23-6 record and he led the league with a 2.13 ERA. He takes the Cy Young by a landslide in the AL.

*** Edited ***
NL CY YOUNG: Lou Jefferson - Philadelphia & Omar Bonilla - Iowa City

Lou Jefferson
Philadelphia
Utleys
Age: 32	B/T: L/L
Born: Anaheim, CA
Position(s): P (SP2)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Omar Bonilla
Iowa City
Corn Huskers
Age: 33	B/T: R/R
Born: Higuey, DO
Position(s): P (SP1)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Lou Jefferson and Omar Bonilla both had great seasons yielding 27 Win Shares each. Tris McEnroe came in a close third with 26 WS.

AL ROOKIES OF THE YEAR: Greg Serra - CF - Mexico City & Jimmie Gabriel - 2B - Cleveland

Greg Serra
Mexico City
Border Crossers
Age: 24	B/T: L/R
Born: Richland, NJ
Position(s): CF/IF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Jimmie Gabriel
Cleveland
grievous angels
Age: 27	B/T: R/R
Born: Lake City, AR
Position(s): CF/2B/OF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Serra had a solid rookie season posting 23 WS (18.2 OWS, 5.2 FWS) playing CF, driving in 127 runs and sporting an OPS of .904. At 23 years old, he has a big future in front of him. Jimmie Gabriel, at 26, also sported a 23 WS (16.5 OWS, 6.3 FWS) rookie year which was good for co-honors. He hit .326 with 117 runs scored and 36 stolen bases.

NL ROOKIES OF THE YEAR: Santiago Segui - C - New York & Phillip Cirillo - 2B - Milwaukee

Santiago Segui
New York
Cavaliers
Age: 23	B/T: L/R
Born: Moca, DO
Position(s): C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Phillip Cirillo
Milwaukee
Suds Utd
Age: 24	B/T: R/R
Born: Middle Island, NY
Position(s): 2B/IF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Segui's .826 OPS at age 22 along with his solid defense behind the plate were good for 21 WS (13.3 OWS, 7.4 FWS) with the Cavaliers. Phillip Cirillo's contributions for Milwaukee were good for co-honors. The 23 year old played 160 games, scoring 98 runs with 24 HR. His solid defense at 2B added to his totals giving him 21 WS (14.4 OWS, 6.2 FWS).

AL SILVER SLUGGERS:

C - Alex Harris - Omaha - 21.6 OWS
1B - Jaime Morris - Jacksonville - 30.8 OWS
2B - Antonio Chen - Wichita - 35.7 OWS
3B - Pedro Bocachica - Cleveland - 18.2 OWS
SS - Denny Wagner - Boston - 28.8 OWS
LF - Nate Singleton - Wichita - 33.7 OWS
CF - J.J. Whitehead - Jacksonville - 21.6 OWS
RF - B.J. Kotsay - Charlotte - 32.4 OWS
DH - Louie Osborne - Houston - 26.1 OWS

NL SILVER SLUGGERS:

C - Juan Guzman - Milwaukee - 16.5 OWS
1B - Christian Miller - Philadelphia - 26.2 OWS
2B - Geraldo Lee - Los Angeles - 27.3 OWS
3B - Wiki Galvez - New York - 17.5 OWS
SS - Julian Martinez - Nashville - 16.7 OWS
LF - Billy Nunnally - Monterrey - 26.0 OWS
CF - Al Brown - Philadelphia - 16.9 OWS
RF - A.J. Spencer - Monterrey - 13.5 OWS
P - Wayne Thomas - Iowa City - 0.3 OWS

AL GOLD GLOVES:

C - Tim Peterson - Charlotte - 8.8 FWS
1B - Darrel Lane - Cleveland - 2.6 FWS
2B - Antonio Chen - Wichita - 8.7 FWS
3B - Fernando Limon - Houston - 5.4 FWS
SS - Francis Miller - Houston - 8.9 FWS
LF - Barry Oliver - Charlotte - 2.2 FWS
CF - Alex Maduro - Chicago - 8.2 FWS
RF - Kris Hammond - Wichita - 2.0 FWS

NL GOLD GLOVES:

C - Wilson Walton - Iowa City - 15.1 FWS
1B - Eddie Steele - Louisville - 3.1 FWS
2B - Wiki Montanez - Nashville - 9.7 FWS
3B - Wiki Galvez - New York - 6.2 FWS
SS - Benny Estrella - Atlanta - 11.1 FWS
LF - Mickey Garcia - Nashville - 2.6 FWS
CF - Bernie Gonzalez - Texas - 10.0 FWS
RF - Ron Page - Cincinnati - 2.2 FWS