Minimum Win Rule -Vote Procedures

 Figured since it is year 1 with the new rule. Should go over the mechanics. 

Min. Win threshold is 63W

Any owner who hasn't had a win total 62 or lower in the past gets a (1) time exception.

UPDATE: (1) time exception is per franchise and owner together. If an owner had less than 63W in the past with a different franchise they still have their exemption for their current franchise

I think this makes sense since they currently gain no benefit from that other team's season

Any replacement owner is also exempted 

At the end of the season I will  post any owners who are up for review. 

The voting period will run from last game of regular season to the cycle before the ALCS/NLCS series start. That way everyone involved knows the outcome in a timely fashion. 

Please send me a trade chat with your vote by team. 

As previously mentioned, the intention of this rule is not to kick out an owner that had a bad or unlucky season but to give league membership a voice if they feel something untoward has occurred. 

Please trade chat me if there is any questions. Will update this post or add an additional blog post if necessary. Trying to avoid clogging the world chat. 

New World Rules Proposal

To an amazing collection of owners, 

As mentioned in the world chat, I have been travelling and was able to get the world recruited but not in the best position to address the series of concerns raised. 

Historically, I have been a believer in the Hunter owner community and placed minimal guard rails on ownership believing everyone would operate in the best interest of the world. This has obviously been stretched beyond it's limit and some revised rules need to be implemented. 

I generally prefer a simple set of rules that allowed for discretion but the new set will be a little more black and white. 

I appreciate the owners that set me trade chats with suggestions. 

I propose, that the minimum win requirement be raised to 63W every season, effective S71. 

Effectively setting the floor to avoid 100L seasons. To reward owners who have not pressed the limit of the world win requirement, any owner who has not lost 100 games. They are allowed a 1 season exception down to the 57W (old world rules). 

I view this as fair to the owners who have not abused the existing rules in the past. While not rewarding owners who prompted the need for change and closing the door behind them. 

Also moving forward owners who do not meet the minimum win of 63W, will be put to vote by the league for return the next season.

Finally, for players being egregiously out of position for the purposes of losing. Ie: C in SS or 1b in CF. Or fielding a rotation full of single A pitches,  should it occur for 10 games or more. The team will not be allowed to participate in the following year's rule 5 draft and most set the players selected to 0. 

These issues I will need support in highlighting. 

I know the question will be what is egregious, it will come with discretion and be a know it if I see it situation. This would not apply to a team playing a DH in RF to get a major bat into the lineup for the purposes of attempting to win. This applies to actively making your team worse to suppress your win total. The commish would determine egregious, for reference what occurred last season was egregious.

This is currently a proposal but I am leaning heavily towards it's implementation effective immediately. If possible could owners post comments at the bottom of this post. To leave the world chat for current season issues. 

HOF by the Numbers UPDATE

As we are in  a new HOF voting period, I figured I would update a blog post from 2020 around our composition of the HOF

The HOF currently has 69  members  here are a few key stats

There are 25 pitchers and 44 hitters in the HOF

Of the 25 pitchers ALL of them were starters with the exception of Mel Cortes who pitched as a tandem starter. There are 0 closers or relievers in the Hall.

Of the 44 pitchers here are the position break-down (the position a player played MOST games in his career are used).

1b/DH/LF/RF represent 29 of the 44 hitters, going around the diamond, I've added OPS next to everyone's names I know some have more counting stats which matters but I wanted to add something to provide context around the diamond. Since the last update the only non 1b/DH/LF/RF to join the hall was Hector Peters (2b), Weldon Cooke (2b) & Haywood Lowry (3b)

C: (1) Robinson Rodrigo (.854 OPS)

1b: (13) Lou Stevenson (1.114 OPS), Rich Peters (.969 OPS), David Trinidad (.906 OPS), Ken Sisler (.934 OPS), Matt Buchanan (.978 OPS), Rondell Sandowski (1.026 OPS), Mark Iwamura (.978 OPS), Terrance Wood (.969 OPS), Randy Dickens (.953 OPS), Jonathan Griffin (. 968 OPS) , Dan Petrick (.910 OPS), Cristobal Baerga (.989 OPS), Erubiel Belliard (.977 OPS)

2b: (4) Mendy Clemens (.905 OPS),Glen Peters (.906 OPS), Weldon Cooke (.954 OPS), Hector Peters (.957 OPS)

3b: (5) Angel Bolivar (.899 OPS), Guillermo Sanchez (.922 OPS), Britt Perkins (.922 OPS), Felipe Sosa (.952 OPS), Haywood Lowry (.820 OPS)

SS:  (3) Alan Grimsley (.922 OPS), Eruibel Johnson (.916 OPS), Gary Morton (.850 OPS)

LF: (9) Albert Henley (1.040 OPS), Magglio Javier (1.022 OPS), Braden Cox (.943 OPS), Branch Gardner (1.049 OPS), Michael Bocachica (.903 OPS), Bredan Weekes (1.025 OPS), Kevin Fujikawa (.983 OPS), Brant Rowand (.941 OPS),

CF: (2) Garret Biggio (.969 OPS), Patrick Bynum (.956 OPS)

RF: (5 Yamid Molina (.938 OPS), Frank Zhang (1.151 OPS), Bruce Kaufman (.923 OPS), Ed Burks (.976 OPS), Philip Goodwin (.941 OPS)

DH: (3) Sam Wheeler (.985 OPS), Ty Langston (.951 OPS), Gene Rucker (1.028 OPS)

Hunter All-Time Batting Records

Had some time to kill so was poking around the All-Time Hunter batting records to see if any active players were in the mix and learned that there were quite a few records in play for active players. MOST of the records are the ones at the fringes ie: Most pinch hits. However, there were a couple active players who's names popped up a few times. One at the beginning of his career and another at the end of what will likely be a HOF career. 

Below are all the records where an active player sits in the top 5

All-Time Batting Stats

Caught Stealing

3.  Andrew Holtz (38)- London Calling : 200 (1 away from 2^nd  Frank Zhang and 38 away from 1^st  Branch Gardener)

 

Hitting Streak

3.  Andres Fernadez (30)- Philadelphia Sultans of Swat: 38 (1 away from 1^st place tie Wally Golub and Willie Reagan)

 

Infield Hits

4. Tony Saito (35)- Free Agent: 426 (47 away from 3^rd Albie Cortez)

 

Isolated Power

4.  Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: .357 (.04 away from 3^rd Lou Stevenson)

 

Number of Pitches Seen

3. Dweezil Ferrell- Free Agent: .382 (.01 away from 2^nd  Bill Lofton and .02 away from 1^st Gregg Cox)

 

On-Base Percentage

5.  Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: .428 (.09 away from 4^th Roy Christenson)

 

On-Base Plus Slugging

3.  Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: 1.110 (.04 away from 2^nd  Lou Stevenson apparently Andujar’s nemesis).

 

Pinch Hits

5. Renato Segui (33)- New Britain Yorkies: 133 (2 away from 4^th, 34 away from 1^st Naoto Yosida)

 

Runs

4. Yonder Solarte (37)- Free Agent: 1981 (121 away from 3^rd  Hector Peters)

 

Runs Created per 27 Outs

 4. Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: 10.54 (Tied for 3^rd, .21 away from Lou Stevenson)

 

 

Sacrifice Hits     

3. Herbert Wilkins (36)- Free Agent: 102 (1 away from 2^nd and 4 away from 1^st Bey Jackson)

 

Secondary Average

2. Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: .519 (.22 away from 1^st Lou Stevenson)

 

Slugging Percentage

4. Enrique Andujar (25)- New York Yankees: .682 (.03 away from Lonny Iglesias)

 

Stolen Base Percentage

1. Benito Hechavarria (27)- New Britain Yorkies: .974

3. Lastings Paul (34) – Free Agent: .970

 

Triples

2. Yonder Solarte (37)- Free Agent: 137 (2 away from 1^st Cal Newfield)

                            

Owner Review & Trades/World Chat

 All, 

Sorry for the delay was away since Friday with my son for a hockey tournament. I figured a blog post would be a better forum instead of getting it buried in the chat. 

1) Owner Reviews

As per league rules any owners with back to back seasons with more than 105 lossses come up for commissioner review. These reviews have been completed but haven't been publicly posted. As I stated before moving forward any owner reviews will be posted in the chat. With timf as previously stated, at 3-28, he was flagged that he would be in jeopardy of following into a commissioner review. Subsequent to that timf record dramatically improved and did not end up with the first overall pick. As a result I made the decision to allow him to stay. 

At the time several owners reached out to me regarding timf start. Several of the same owners that have been active in the forums. I responded to all trade chats and gave updates on the situation. It was at that point I considered the situation resolved. 

2) Trades and World Chat

Hunter is an extremely active trade world. As a commissioner my stance on trades has always been if there is two willing owners unless there is obvious collusion I never veto a trade. This is because every owner values their players and trades differently. With some recent seasons having over 100 trades there will be more than a few you likely disagree with or become jealous of, I know I do. 

With respect to the world chat the thing I find most confusing and frustrating in relation to the Vancouver-Augusta trade, was the time to discuss the merits of the trade was while it was pending. I know I saw the trade and was jealous of timf for having landed an ace but reviewed the trade and thought I might have offered more but it wasn't a bad trade on the merit then moved on with my day. 

Augusta not assigning the players isn't great but I don't think that creates a scenario to relitigate a trade and start tossing out allegations and questioning the ethics and morals of other owners.

I reached out to carmanjr and he stated this was likely a sign that he needed to move on from HBD because he wasn't invested the way he should be. Bigalric has agreed to return the players but at this point I can't get carmanjr to respond. I also suspect for a potential outgoing owner the bruhaha likely didn't increase his engagement. 

As an owner I am jealous that I didn't get Mench but the time to have the discussion around Mench was the time of trade not a week afterwards. That said, I don't think there was a discussion because timf did give up a lot to get him. 

I welcome conversations about trades while they are pending especially if something seems off, however I do ask that in any conversations owners are respectful of other owners and that other owners may value players differently. 

I always always recommend if you are moving a star to post it in the chat to try and maximize your deal. With that said I know there have been times that players have been posted and have gone for less than what other owners feel they offered. Once again not all GM eyes match. 

If any owners have any concerns on the above please feel free to sitemail or trade chat. 

 

Trader Catfish Hunter

 As many have noticed this season has been an extremely active year for trades within Hunter. However, for those who have been around since the beginning, know that Hunter has always been an active world in relation to trades. 

Whether your selling or buying there is normally an owner willing to facilitate your needs. Below are some fun stats in relation to Hunter's active trade history. 

Hunter started out hot and heavy with deals from day one. Season 1 saw 60 trades and every season had more than 30 deals until Season 23. 

Per Decade of Hunter 

(1-10): Averaged: 53 trades a season

(11-20): Averaged: 45.2 trades a season

(21-30): Averaged: 29.6 trades a season

(31-40): Averaged: 23.1 trades a season (This is our low water decade which would still rate as an above average trade market)

(41-50): Averaged: 33.9 trades 

(51-54 so far): Averaged 33.5 trades

Average ALL seasons: 36.7 trades

The record for most trades in a season league wide was season 10 with (66). The league cracked 60 trades two other times in season 1 (60) and season 7 (61). Since the record setting season 10, the highest season has been (54) in seasons 20, 22 and 45. 

The lowest number of trades made occurred in season 31 with (12). There have only been 9 seasons with less than 20 trades. Most of which occurred during the S31-40 decade (7 times). Not sure what happened to everyone else in that period. I know I became less active. As I call those my lost HBD years (2 children were born)

Thus far this season there has been 41 trades processed or accept, which would rate it has the 24th highest trade season in Hunter History. To crack the top 10, another 10 trades would have to be made. 

Ode to Josias Morales

 Every season in the retirements section I like to sort by the oldest player to retire because normally the oldest player to retire is a Hunter legend or at least someone who put together a great career. Call it early scouting for the HOF ballot. 

This year the oldest player to retire was Josias Morales at the age of 45..... which caught my eye because normally the oldest is like 40-42. So I assumed Morales had to be an NL legend that I was unaware of and in some ways he is. That said I spent way too much time digging into the Legend of Josais Morales so I figured I should at least share

Hailing from  San Luis Rio Colorado Mx, Morales signed as an international free-agent with the Portland Pigeons....... I never remember Hunter having a team called the Portland Pigeons but they did exist for 1 season, as the now Augusta franchise spent (4) seasons bouncing around from Cincy to Portland Helena to Dover before the steady ownership of carmanjr was put into place. Anyone remember the Dover Dragons.

Morales started at Low A in season 30 and finished the season 1-8, going 12/18 Sv opps and sported a 4.85 ERA. It was a rough start for the 22 year old rookie but hey he was doing what he loved playing baseball. 

Josias rode buses and stayed at it starting  S31 at Low A before being jumped to AA at mid-season. Speaking with him at the end of his career he was surprised not only by the promotion but skipping over Hi A and then being inserted as the closer for Cincy's AA team. He ended the season going 12/17 and an ERA of 5.28.  

Sure it was a rough first year in  AA but he had always dreamed of being a ML closer so he figured he was all set only 2 levels from the bigs at age 24. The off-season saw another move for the franchise to Helena and new management saw Morales future very differently. he was taken out of the closer role and turned into a Set B but moved up to AAA and after some early success really struggled in his new role with his ERA jumping to 6.42 and 5.47 over the next two seasons. The franchise had moved once again to Helena before finally moving to Augusta for S35. 

This is where the past grows hazy and Morales is reluctant to discuss what exactly happened. As a 27 year old at AAA Morales had his best season at that level posting a 3.93 ERA. 

Then poof S36 disappear while under contract with Augusta Josias did not pitch a single game. Rumors of drugs, woman and alcohol issues all swirled. The most consistent rumor was that Morales had been caught in an illegal cock fighting ring during the off-season and he was suspended with pay for S36. At this point we may never know the truth. What ever the truth was it took him years to repair his reputation as he pitched a combined  8 innings in S37-S39. 

A lot of people would consider this a cross-roads, you're 32 years old you've been riding buses for a decade and you are averaging 2 IP per season. This is where a lot of people would walk away, go find a real job but NOT Josias Morales. This is where the legend grows he doubled down on his attempt to make the major leagues and committed himself to a conditioning regiment of taking the stairs instead of the elevator at his apartment building and this dedication paid off immediately. Ripping off a 5 year stretch of sub 4 ERAs before having his best season ever in S45 with a 2.83 ERA.

Morales always spoke highly of  the Augusta franchise but you can tell he felt like that was when he should have gotten a call to the bigs and that disappointment clouded the rest of his career. His ERA spiked to 6.10 and 4.98 in S46 and S47. 

Morales at this point is no longer a young man and once again no one would have faulted the then 41 year old from walking away. Instead he once again re-committed himself and started taking the stairs again and cut his smoking down to half a pack a day. This resulted in a turn back the clock season for the ages the 41 year old who was now older than some of the parents of his teammates posted his best career ERA of 1.71 ERA. 

But like a star that shines brightest just before it explodes that was the last highlight for Morales who ERA balloned to 6.17 and 4.76. He kept playing hoping to finally either make the bigs or at least participate in a minor league playoff game, but it was not meant to be. 

At the end of S51 he was informed that he was being sent down to AA, a level he hadn't pitched at since he was 23 year old. Management wanted him to be a role model for the kids so he agreed to stay but his heart wasn't in it and he posted a career worst 9.92 ERA. 

And with that Josias Morales walked away from baseball and into the sunset. I asked if he would be back as a coach, he commented that it was all still too raw for him to deal with. 23 seasons is a long time to not make the majors and never make the playoffs. 

I for one expect him to be back baseball is in his blood you don't ride buses for 4 seasons to pitch 8 total innings if you don't love it. 

In the end Josias Morales made 1.5 million dollars playing baseball for 23 seasons and ended his career with a 4.29 ERA and 617 IP pitched. While he never won an award, or made the playoffs or the major leagues he has won this owner's respect. 

He also managed to pocket a cool $2431 dollars per inning pitched which is not bad work if you can get it.

Hunter HOF #'s

All,

Just spent a little time digging into Hunter's HOF and figured these stats might be of some interest to the league and posting it here is easier than World Chat.

The HOF currently has 50 members from the 50 members here are a few key stats

There are 19 pitchers and 31 hitters in the HOF

Of the 19 pitchers ALL of them were starters with the exception of Mel Cortes who pitched as a tandem starter. There are 0 closers or relievers in the Hall.

Of the 31 pitchers here are the position break-down (the position a player played MOST games in his career are used).

1b/DH/LF/RF represent 20 of the 31 hitters, going around the diamond, I've added OPS next to everyone's names I know some have more counting stats which matters but I wanted to add something to provide context around the diamond.

C: (1) Robinson Rodrigo (.854 OPS)

1b: (7) Lou Stevenson (1.114 OPS), Rich Peters (.969 OPS), David Trinidad (.906 OPS), Ken Sisler (.934 OPS), Matt Buchanan (.978 OPS), Rondell Sandowski (1.026 OPS), Mark Iwamura (.978 OPS)

2b: (1) Mendy Clemens (.905 OPS)

3b: (4) Angel Bolivar (.899 OPS), Guillermo Sanchez (.922 OPS), Britt Perkins (.922 OPS), Felipe Sosa (.952 OPS)

SS:  (3) Alan Grimsley (.922 OPS), Eruibel Johnson (.916 OPS), Gary Morton (.850 OPS)

LF: (6) Albert Henley (1.040 OPS), Magglio Javier (1.022 OPS), Braden Cox (.943 OPS), Branch Gardner (1.049 OPS), Michael Bocachica (.903 OPS), Bredan Weekes (1.025 OPS)

CF: (2) Garret Biggio (.969 OPS), Patrick Bynum (.956 OPS)

RF: (4) Yamid Molina (.938 OPS), Frank Zhang (1.151 OPS), Bruce Kaufman (.923 OPS), Ed Burks (.976 OPS)

DH: (3) Sam Wheeler (.985 OPS), Ty Langston (.951 OPS), Gene Rucker (1.028 OPS)

As I stated in the World chat I think we undervalue positions and relative to their historical peers. Alexi Garces (.950 OPS- Catcher) and Julian Pena (.908- 3b) should receive real HOF consideration

Charter Owner Interview Series -- bjb2378

It felt necessary, given the description of his basketball prowess, to have bjb2378 be the next interviewer. Also, he's one of the most decorated players on the entire website. But mostly, it was to see if I could bait him into a response about his hardcourt playing days....

The Basics
Where do you live (feel free to go into life wandering detail here with college and everything):

I'm in a Chicago suburb and I've been in the area for most of life. I went to college in Atlanta and returned afterwards. It is very hard to leave this city despite all of its warts. Many of my friends from grade school through high school are still here plus many of my law school classmates. 

What do you do for a living?

As you'd expect from Shucky's note, I'm a lawyer too. It does seem like there is a disproportionate number of us in this game. It would be interesting to figure out why.

Family?

I have a wife and three kids. They are a handful these days, but well worth it. I hope one day to get one of them into WIS, so we can have three generations playing. The oldest is 6, so it may be a while.

What WIF games do you play?

I play HBD and HD. I like them both for different reasons. HBD was my first "love" and the depth of the game is fantastic. 

Titles (In Hunter/out of, and non-HBD titles):

33 HBD titles with 8 coming in Hunter. I don't know how many total HD titles I have won, but a fair number as well. 

Favorite rivalries:

Of course the rivalry with djbradford is #1. It is fun to beat pops in anything. But the rivalry with Jahu has been fun too because we are both long-timers in this league. More recently, MDukes has had a great team and we have had some crazy playoff series. And, I guess Shucky and VZhao, but those are more pity games...

Favorite player (if you can remember, in and out of Hunter):

This is tough. There are so many. Right now Yadiel Molina is in his final season and has won 8 Cy Young Awards. He continues the long line of great SF pitchers including Felipe Bournigal, Pete Daly, and Quentin Lary among others. In Riley, I have had a bunch too, but I won't bore you all with that.

Let's Go Deeper
Based on information from a previous WIFs interview, it would appear that you're a White Sox fan. As a fellow Chicagoan -- but a Cubs fan, living on the North Side -- how would you describe the divide between Cubs and White Sox fans? And then to a larger extent, that North Side-South Side divide?

The difference between Cubs fans and Sox fans, IMO, is that Sox fans care about the product on the field, while Cubs fans care about the product in the stands. Its tough though, Wrigley is the best beer garden in the city. (Remember beer gardens, don't those sound great right now?) (editor's note: I'm not insulted. I'm not insulted...I'm not insulted. If I keep saying it over and over, it's true, yes?)

Most fanbases don't have the...umm...fortune of experiencing multi-generational world championship droughts ended as both of our baseball teams have. What was the 2005 World Series run like for you? Has the shine of that title waned at all in the 15 years since?

The 2005 World Series was a magical time. I was at both World Series games here in Chicago and still can remember the Konerko grand slam, the Podsednik walk-off, and Jenks striking out Bagwell.

Also nice, I received a barbecue package from Shucky when his Asterisks lost that series. Couldn't have happened to a better franchise.

You mentioned BBQ from Shucky, and it made me realize hey, you moved out to the burbs, you've probably got a nice back yard out there for grilling and such now, don't you? Is puttering around the yard (and doing "manly Dad things") a good diversion for you?

We only moved last spring, so we are still settling in. Three kids makes it difficult to do anything around here. But, I have never been one of those guys who invests a day in smoking a pork shoulder or anything like that. Too much time, not enough reward. I need to focus on WIS instead...

As someone who has stepped away from WIF and recently come back, you forget about the fun of the different aspects of all the games. The extreme camaraderie of HBD is always the attraction here, but what is it about HD that keeps you active there?

The camaraderie in HD is also good, but not the same as HBD. The game, however, is lower effort, but still interesting in a different way. The recruiting model is exciting and competitive. 

Since, as of this question being sent, I've taken a 2 game lead for the #1 seed in the AL, do you have any advice for me on beating your team should we get to meet up in the ALCS?

The best way not to lose to the Night Demons is not to play us. In all seriousness, the top of our rotation is as good as it gets, but our offense is a little lacking. But, you tell me, what weaknesses do you see?

I think that, the way to beat your team is to get to load up on lefty starters against your offense and to get to the bullpen -- you're not going to do that second part easily, and probably not by scoring a ton of runs so I'd imagine an offense that is evenly balanced lefty/righty, but with as high of batting eye as possible to maybe draw as many pitches/AB as possible. 

You also had to know I was going to make you go through my team. Same Q back at you -- how do you beat the Returns?

In terms of beating your team, it seems like the answer is easy. Just pray the SimGods roll your way and you can steal a game against Kelly. Then load-up on LH bats to have a chance against your other starters and get a lead before the bullpen gets involved. I also think throwing Lefties against you will help. Now, where can I get one of those?

You got to read shucky's description of your low-post game...accurate or is he just jealous of your skills? And obviously, I have to give you the chance to describe shucky's game here as well...

I haven't played ball against Shucky in a while and he certainly described my game from 15 years ago. These days, I think it has morphed into crafty old-man game. And, Shucky is selling himself short in that regard. He was by far the best player in our class and was deadly from deep. I think a rec-league Klay Thompson may be a good comp.

I feel like with the rec-league Klay Thompson comp, you're being WAY nicer to him than he was to you...

You're right that Klay is too nice. Perhaps more of a rec league JR Smith...

Champions Series Interviews -- shucky

Wanted a softball on my first interview so I went with someone that I've played against in shucky - a championship winning owner here in Hunter. He turned in an engaging and entertaining interview.

The Basics:
Name: Mark

Age: 40

Where you live: I live in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston. I went to Texas A&M for undergrad and lived in Chicago for law school. Other than that, I've lived in an around Houston my entire life.

What do you do: I'm an attorney. Specifically, I'm an eminent domain lawyer. 

How many HBD titles (in Hunter/out of): 13 titles total. One in Hunter.

Favorite rivalry (in and out of Hunter): They are personal rivalries more than with any team. I started playing WIS at the urging of bjb (a good friend of mine) and started with our other good friend victorzhao. Always enjoy playing (and beating) those guys. Like I did for my title in Hunter. :)

Favorite player you've had: Domingo Toca in Riley. International prospect that signed on my way to the airport (still remember getting that message years ago). He ended up in the Top 5 overall in almost every hitting category, including both home runs and steals.

What are some of the strategies you use for team building: Nothing too unusual or exciting, really. Financial payroll and flexibility are really important, obviously. I try to adjust where I spend money based on the age and potential of a given team. So, for instance, I'm open to spending big on international players one season and, then, front-loading bonuses in another to try and free up money in the future.

Let's Go Deeper
One more quick HBD question: With regards to team building - do you favor any type of scouting for the amateur draft, and why?

I'm a bit lost on the amateur draft now, honestly. I kind of fly blind and hope for the best.

Being an eminent domain lawyer in Texas, given all the wall building talk, gives me lots of questions lol. Though with urban sprawl being what it is in Texas does a lot of your job involve more infrastructure projects than anything else?

My job is entirely driven by infrastructure. Roadways. Pipelines. Power lines. The Wall. It's a very fun and interesting practice. You get to do way more "traditional lawyer-type things" than almost any other non-criminal practice.

Being on the inside of so many different infrastructure projects, what are the things in the near future that you see that will make our daily lives easier/better? How do you see things changing post Covid-19, especially with regards to commuting daily?

I'm most interested to see how infrastructure needs could be impacted. Certainly, if the economy goes into a depression, the condemning entities may not have the funds to start as many projects. I think we'll certainly see that with oil and gas companies. Also, this could really impact how people work going forward. For instance, do a significant number of people continue working from home? If so, that could change the way we travel into work. Which could impact things like the need to widen/create roadways.

With the halting of sports because of Covid-19, how are you passing the time? Do you find yourself missing sports more or less than you thought? 

Sitting at home, like everyone else. Trying to maintain a semblance of a schedule. Honestly, I think I miss it less because baseball hadn't officially started and I'm not a huge NBA fan. Certainly, if this impacts the college football season, I'll be singing a much different tune. (Interviewer's note: I took a shower today and felt like I accomplished a lot).

As a Chicagoan, I'm always interested in hearing about people's time here in the city, especially when they're close to me in age -- where'd you go to law school, what neighborhood did you live in, any favorite places you used to frequent?

Went to the University of Chicago and lived in Hyde Park all three years. Loved the time there. Cliched answer, but my favorite place is Wrigley. My wife (a big Cubs fan) and I went to tons of games during law school and even made it back for a game during the 2016 WS.

What was it like being at Wrigley for those games, especially being able to be there with your wife as a big fan?

The WS game was as close to a major college football game atmosphere as you'll ever find at a baseball game. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be there with my wife, who has loved the Cubs since she was a little girl watching Mark Grace on WGN. And, as a lifelong Cubs fan, she never really believed the day would come. Well worth the money we paid.

Did you play any sports growing up?

Lots of basketball and lots of tennis. Had some good on-court battles with bjb back in the day. Don't underestimate his post-up game.

If you had to compare bjb's post game to any player, who does he remind you of?

Think old guy at the Y in a young guy's body. Uses his body well. Good passer. Deceptive moves. And really competitive.

Thanks to shucky -- he was genuinely a game interviewee and it was fun catching up with someone I used to play with so long ago. One caveat to the interview is I now get to crash on his couch if I'm ever in Houston. I probably should have mentioned that before but...I'm sure he won't mind.

Charter Owner Interview Series: Dizzlebob

Dizzlebob has been an owner in Hunter since season 1 and has owned the Pittsburgh Studdabubbas the entire time in the NL North. During his ownership the team has made (1) World Series appearance, (5) NLCS Appearances and won the AL North (8) times. Also as mentioned Dizzlebob is one of three commissioners in the history of Hunter along with Leppykahn, who I used to be the God of Hunter since he created the world and myself (Jahu43).


Real Name (First Name is good):
Jack

How did you find out about HBD and how did you end up in Hunter?
I was playing the WIS college football game and, when the site started advertising HBD, I wanted in. I wound up in Hunter simply because I thought it was going to fill quickest at the time I signed up. I'm not a baseball guy, though, which isn't surprising for anyone who lives in...

City:
Pittsburgh

Description of where you were in your life when you joined Hunter (mid to late 2006): (age, martial status, job, etc)
I guess I was 38 years old. Recently married with a baby girl. I was a graphic artist at a design firm in the South Side of Pittsburgh and I had recently begun coaching youth volleyball at a nearby catholic school.

Do you know any Hunter members in real life, present or past?
I've known Carmandjr since the early 90s. We worked at Camelot Music together back in the days when such a store existed. He's been in my fantasy football league since 1993 (he actually won this year!) and I introduced him to HBD. You would think a guy with a user name like "Carmandjr" would be a cool, manly, muscle car dude—"car man?"—but his name is C. Armand Jr. and he drives a Hyundai.


Favorite Player and Favorite pitcher that played for your team and why?
LF - Willie Drew - Willie Drew
I drafted Willie and he played 15 seasons with Pittsburgh and still holds the record for most home runs in Studdabubba history (413). Every time he hit one over the fence, the voices in my head would scream "Dreeewwwww".
SP - Butch Griffith - Butch Griffith
The Studdabubbas were terrible at drafting pitching for the first 17 seasons or so. Butchie changed that and still holds the record for most wins as a Studdabubba (152). I think he is also the only Studdabubba to ever win a Cy Young.



Favorite Player and pitcher that never played for your team and why? [I didn't have a pitcher]
The guy who came to mind first was Frank Zhang because he was, like, the first stud in the league. Leppykhan picked him up was an International Free Agent in season 4 with no competition—he got him for less than 10M. He still has the best batting average of anyone who played a full career in Hunter.

Comish Edit: Sorry Wolfy, Dizz is right I know your boy has the highest every average in Hunter but Zhang did it with a "Real" career worth of at bats

Least Favorite Hunter Owner (Only accepting owners that no longer play HBD) and why, don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but like to add spice
We had a couple disruptive owners over the last 50 seasons but Radek was the one that stands out to me. He would go on rants about how the sim was wrong and how other team's players were performing better than he thought they should. It became tiresome and I think a few owners left because of him.

Comish Edit: For those who weren't here Radek literally complained every season all season about how power ratings world especially in Coors. It was like Groundhog every season except it wasn't fun like the Bill Murray classic

Biggest Hunter Rivals and why:
Well, I'm not sure he's a rival because I don't pose any threat to him but djbradford has been a pain in my arse for years. I keep waiting for him to go back to the AL but he never does.

Comish Edit: He's never allowed back in the AL


How does it feels to be part of the very special club one of the three Commissioners of Hunter?
I'm glad my reign is over. I don't even recall how long I ran the league but the whole time I knew I was just keeping it warm for Jahu.

Comish Edit: I took over commissionership from Leppy in season 21 but somewhere between then and now between children and my job I was unable to perform to an acceptable level as Comish and Dizz did myself and the world a huge favor by stepping in. Without Dizz we don't make season 50, more on that......

Best Hunter Moment:
Since I never win anything, my favorite Hunter moment was the Season 21 rollover which I recounted a few years back: https://hbd-hunterworld.blogspot.com/2014/

Comish Edit: For those who haven't read it Dizz recounts the story well but the part that he very much undersells is his sleuthing to suss out that ABU was a bad league to merge. If not for Dizz figuring it out we would have merged we wouldn't be in season 50, we'd be season 29 and likely it would be a dead world as the merger would have likely broken the wills of the remaining owners. Kudos Dizz you saved Hunter

Favorite Hunter Owner by whatever definition you want to use:
Of course, I'm a big carmandjr fan but I'll say Jahu. Not only did he save Hunter but he actually tried to mentor me on how to play HBD back in the early years. That clearly didn't work but it was still really cool of him.

Comish Edit: Thanks Dizz and to be clear so people don't go searching Pittsburgh-Louisville trades (9 ever) trying to piece together an Astro-like conspiracy we only discussed on of his other active teams. 

What is the best part of Hunter?
It's a secret family of strangers. We check in with each other everyday but we don't know each other's names. And we've been doing it for 14 years. And I rarely talk about Hunter. I've been playing for 13 years and I bet my 15 year-old daughter has no idea I play an online baseball game with a bunch of other weirdos. The only reason my wife knows is because it shows up on the credit card every once in a while.

After 13 years where are you in your life now? (age, martial status, childern job etc?)
I'm now 51. Last year, my wife and I quit our real jobs and we now own an online gift shop that sells nerdy porcelain dinnerware (www.calamityware.com). This career change also gave me the opportunity to take a gig as a high school volleyball coach. We made the playoffs our first year but lost in the first round—sound familiar? If HBD is any indication, that's as far as my coaching abilities will ever take me.

Comish Edit: Congrats on the new gig Dizz, there is some pretty cool stuff on the site. Given as Dizz as already pointed out that we are a bunch of online weirdos be sure to check it out. 

Any words to celebrate Hunter 50?
Probably not the celebration you imagined, but I sometimes wonder how Hunter will end. Will we play another 13 years and eventually start to die off? I'll be 64! If you're like me and your family doesn't know about HBD, will we even know when someone has died? I know my wife isn't going to log on to tell you all that I croaked.
What I really think will happen is that technology will advance and the WIS website will suddenly stop working. And, since nobody seems to be around to fix it, it will all just cease to exist.
Dang, that got dark. Happy Anniversary!?


Comish Edit: Well that took a turn for the dark

Charter Owner Interview Series: Dufferman

Welcome to owner number 2 of the charter owner chat series Dufferman has owned the Baltimore BayDogs in the NL East for all 50 seasons of Hunter. While there are still 8 charter owners in Hunter Dufferman is one of 5 owners who has spent all 50 seasons with the same team.



Real Name (First Name is good): Ed

How did you find out about HBD and how did you end up in Hunter? I was playing SimLeague Baseball when HBD was introduced. I really enjoyed SLB and thought. building my own team would be interesting so I looked for a league to sign up with. Hunter was the first that had openings so I joined uup.

City: Bel Air MD. (north of Baltimore)

Description of where you were in your life when you joined Hunter (mid to late 2006): (age, martial status, job, etc). I was 50 years old, married with one son and a supervisor in an organization on Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Do you know any Hunter members in real life, present or past? No

Favorite Player and Favorite pitcher that played for your team and why?
(Assuming Rich Peters for player, still best HOF plaque, he has 2). You're correct on Peters - still the best player I've had and worthy of at least 2 HoF plaques. Favorite pitcher is James Sinclair, my original closer. He had 471 career saves, is 4th overall in Hunter for saves and still holds 4 of the top 5 single season save records for the BayDogs - and he pitched on some bad teams!

Comish Edit: I believe this is a little known fact, Rich Peters by his HOF plaque is the greatest player Hunter and maybe HBD in general. Having just rechecked the HOF, Peters is down to one plaque. On the plaque that remains he is credited with 1116 HR and 2892 RBIs, which 2x his career numbers, they used to have a correct plaque a well. So the apparently coded so you can't have two plaques BUT you do get to keep double the numbers)


Favorite Player and pitcher that never played for your team and why? I guess for pitcher it would have to be Bob Creek because he was so dominating. And for hitter it would be Branch Gardner for his sustained excellence.

Comish Edit: Those are great choices Bob Creek wears his Louisville cap proudly in the hall. Branch Gardner  often states that the 316 AB he spent in Louisville was the greatest point in his career. Which is weird for a guy with 10951 career AB, 8 MVP and countless Silver Slugger and All-star appearances . In all seriousness Gardner would be on the short list of greatest Hunter players of all time

Least Favorite Hunter Owner (Only accepting owners that no longer play HBD) and why, don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but like to add spice. Don't have one.

Biggest Hunter Rivals and why:The BayDogs have always been a bottom feeder, with just a couple exceptions) so we really haven't had any big rivals. I will say that the New Britain Yorkies managed by djbradford seem to have our number.

Comish Edit: Dufferman you are in fine company DJ and his 12 titles has ALL of our numbers


Best Hunter Moment: Without a doubt, winning the Division title in season 19 - our first title even though we won with a losing record. We went on to have 3 more good seasons before returning to the bottom.


Favorite Hunter Owner by whatever definition you want to use: I don't really have one but if I had to choose I'd say dizzlebob because I like the name.

Comish Edit: Continual reminder that Dizz is an unsung hero in Hunter who also was the commissioner for a stretch of seasons. 

What is the best part of Hunter? It has always been a friendly world, without much drama (that I can remember), had good commissioners and active owners.


After 13 years where are you in your life now? (age, martial status, childern job etc?). I'm 63, still married, still one son, now retired. Just survived colon cancer and still playing HBD!

Comish Edit: Very happy to hear about the good health news as I am sure the rest of the league is

Any words to celebrate Hunter 50? It's my favorite league and in the HBD universe it is amazing that Hunter has lasted for 50 seasons given the difficulty of filling the worlds. And I hope it lasts another 50 seasons!


Comish Edit: I agree it's my favorite league and already starting research for Hunter 100, ours will blow the NFL 100 out of the water

Charter Owner Interview Series: Wolfhoundkl

As mentioned in my prior post there are still 8 owners around from season 1 of Hunter. The first person in this series is Wolfhoundkl. Wolf is in his 3rd stint with Hunter, he played seasons 1-19 are the Texas Beefeaters in the AL South, which is now Tropicana's Little Rock Returns. Then returned for a short stint S23-25 in the NL East as Tampa Bay Manatees which is now Bluenoser's Syrcacuse Sultan of Swat before finally rejoining us in the NL north as the Toronto Trashpandas his current team.

I will get into the interview shortly but just to add a little colour I personally know Wolf as he was a housemate from my university years at McMaster University. Him and I were really big fans of a simulation game called baseball mogul, once HBD launched he was the first person I knew that I tried to get to join and we went head to head for 19 seasons in the AL south and not to boast but I hold a career record of 131-65 versus Wolf's teams (Okay maybe that was meant as a boast. Which might explain why his last two returns have been the Louisville free confines of the NL. All kidding aside time to start the interview

Real Name : Kristian

How did you find out about HBD and how did you end up in Hunter? Jahu and I go way, way back, to undergrad actually. I have a hard time saying no to the guy, so I was sort of an easy mark when he presented the idea to me. Back in the day I remembered him playing the NCAA basketball version and thinking it seemed kind of neat but that's not a sport or league/association I understood very well at the time; baseball was way more accessible for me.

City: Toronto


Description of where you were in your life when you joined Hunter (mid to late 2006): Eesh. Uh, I guess that was early law school for me, so I had a LOT of spare time to fill* at my computer having just moved to a new city and not having a lot of friends.
*work smart, not hard, folks

Do you know any Hunter members in real life, present or past?: Jahu and I lived together in iundergrad and are fortunately still tight to this day. A couple other owners in the league I know from that period of my life but haven't really kept up with (you know who you are) and ex-owner shmish0 and I have known each other since grade 4 and still play squash every other week or so!

Comish Edit: For those that don't remember shmish0 was a great owner and playing as the Salt Lake City Mormons from S6 to S34 winning two titles. Making him one of only 6 owners with multiple titles. I bug Kristian every season to get him to return.

Favorite Player and Favorite pitcher that played for your team and why?: Glenn McCarty (https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=61690) was my personal hero the first dozen seasons I played. He's still who I wanna be when I grow up. Didn't have much in the way of pitchers back in the day but Jose Diaz
(https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerStats.aspx?pid=732353) despite never quite living up to the hype at least felt like a potential elite arm at a stage in the game I needed one.

Comish Edit: I thought for sure Kristian pick was going to be Bruce Kaufman and his 632 career HR, 1669 RBIs, .923 OPS and MVP and only Beefeater HOFer. That said Glen Mccarty is 2nd all time in OBP with .451 and 4th all time in batting average with .342 career marks

Favorite Player and pitcher that never played for your team and why?: Basically anyone good jahu ever had because he wouldn't shut up about them and he made me jealous. Actually no, almost forgot...Who here remembers Dusty Nation? Best name in the history of virtual sports, right there.

Comish Edit: This story checks out

Least Favorite Hunter Owner (Only accepting owners that no longer play HBD) and why, don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but like to add spice: I don't really remember the league makeup from ~30, 40 seasons ago when I was really active and engaged. (but really it's jahu)

Comish Edit: Dude?!

Biggest Hunter Rivals and why: Freakin' louisville, again, for the aforementioned reasons

Best Hunter Moment: Honestly? coming back last season. I was never any good at the game but just having the menus back on my screen after most of a decade away felt like pulling on a cozy pair of slippers.

Favorite Hunter Owner by whatever definition you want to use: Definitely not jahu, going to have to go with Bjb always respected his never ending stream of Cy young pitchers

What is the best part of Hunter?: it seems to be like the best hobbies in that it will expand to fill as much time as you need it to, buti f you're just in it for a lark it needn't be a chore.
After 13 years where are you in your life now? (age, martial status, childern job etc?): 36, running my own law practice in toronto, living the good life on my own in a new place. Been a messy few years but things are starting to fall into place little by little.
Any words to celebrate Hunter 50? : I can't believe I'm back doing this. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment...and THIS will be the year I hand-rank all the top 500 prospects for the draft. Definitely. For sure. Maybe. I think.

Welcome to Hunter's 50th Anniversary Season

50 seasons....…. that's a long time, by my recollection and perhaps someone can correct me I believe Hunter launched in the fall of 2006  which is crazy to think about.

During this anniversary season I am going to try and run a few different features in addition to the Power Rankings on the blog. The first that I'm going to run is to celebrate the thing that makes Hunter so great and that's YOU the owners. In the first series I will be running  will focus on those that have been here from the start. The owners that were here in Season 1...…….. 14 years ago.

So look for posts on the blog about the following owners, some have been with us for all 50 seasons others have left only to find their way home.

We have 8 owners from season 1

tbook
mdukes
dufferman
dizzlebob
bjb2378
pfontaine
jahu43
wolfhoundkl

Pretty incredible to have 25% of the owners from season 1 still in the league

Look for the first post to go up tomorrow.

S49 Power Ranks Start of Season:

10. Montreal Rippers: Last Season (96-66) Last Rank: 2

As Ferris Bueller once said life comes at your fast...… Life has definitely came at the Rippers quickly. This is an extremely talented roster but has an unbelievable 14 players on their ML roster that are 33 or older. The plus side for the Rippers is these are still talented players but the Rippers farm is bare and they are up against the cap. Unless the GM can get very creative this might be the Rippers last ride. 

9. Iowa Cornhuskers: Last Season (88-74) Last Rank: Honourable Mention (HM)

The Cornhuskers crack the top 10 for the first time. Last season they rode the HM train start to finish but manage to jump Atlanta and Montreal's aging teams. Once again this team will go as Cristobel Baerga goes who unbelievably didn't win the MVP last season with a 1.126 OPS. The NL MVP race last season was historic. Following two first round exits Iowa looks poised to make a deeper run

8. Jacksonville Juicers: Last Season (97-66) Last Rank: 5

The Juices won their division for the 8th straight time last year and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. This team still boosts one of the top rotations in Hunter however while not as dramatic as Montreal who has installed oxygen tanks on the bench this season, the Juicers average age is drifting up north of 30. This Juicers team every time I look at it I'm shocked they haven't won the championship. The window isn't closed yet but father time is undefeated. 

7. Louisville Sluggers: Last Season (94-68) Last Rank: 7

Expect more of the same from Louisville this season, returning almost an identical roster. The next wave of Sluggers won't be arriving until end of season call-ups. With half the roster under 30, any progression this season will have to come from within.

6. Monterrey Heat: Last Season (105-57) Last Rank: 6

The Heat finished last season with the best record in Hunter but for the 2nd straight season did not manage to win a playoff round. The Heat's roster from last season returns mostly in tact however they did lose Jionvanni Guyer to Scranton, while he was probably the top FA pitcher he did not manage to crack the Heat playoff rotation. For the first season since joining Hunter Mjs22 has had a quiet off-season. It likely he's confident in a team that managed to win 105 games last season

5.Vancouver Lumberjacks: Last Season (97-65) Last Rank: 4

Vancouver's lineup in absolutely loaded and Duster Lester pickedup a Co-MVP but perhaps the Lumberjacks best player wasn't even nominated.....Hector Peters hit 60 HR and had 140 RBIs while playing 2nd best and could not find his way on to the ballot. If Peters comes into the season with a chip on his shoulder the NL should be very worried. 

4. Scottsdale Dawgs: Last Season (101-61) Last Rank: 3

The Dawgs made a nice run to the NLCS last season before eventually falling in 6 to the eventual champions NY. The Dawgs look to build on that success from last season and is the same for most of the top teams they return virtually the same roster. I joked last season that Phillip Goodwin spent his off days flying to Iowa to rip Cristol Baegara posters off water towers. It turns out this was an effective strategy because at the tender age of 25 Goodwin picked up his first MVP

3. New York Yankees: Last Season (101-61) Last Rank: 10

It's a good thing I'm hungry because it's time to eat crow. This is what I wrote just before the playoffs started

"Sooo you know it's going to get spicy when a 100W team is the 10th spot...… I predicted that New York would fade in the 2nd half but they didn't. Just when I look at the roster I see a deep roster that is very good but doesn't make the "jump" when the roster gets trimmed down. " 

Well it's clear I don't know anything as the Yanks went on to the World series. Hat tip Shucky. I won't make the same mistake this season. Welcome to the top 3 :)

2. Washington DC Generals: Last Season (95-67) Last Rank: 9

The Generals in the Power Ranks have been a lot like the elevator industry..... it has it's ups and downs. Last season the Generals started as the 1 team and then stumbled out of the gate only to rebound and make a run to the ALCS. So the talent I saw on the roster came to play once weight of lofty Power Rank expectations were removed. Let's see if they are better able to handle the pressure this season. 

1. San Francisco Night Demons: Last Seaon (100-62) Last Rank; 1

Despite losing the 7th game of the World Series I still have to give SF the top spot. The Night Demons rotation is truly frightening. This rotation will continue to anchor the team for the next 3-4 season. The light at the end of the tunnel is Yadeil Molina and his 7 Cy Youngs has turned 36....the downside is he has a makeup of 89 and hasn't started to fade yet.

Beginning of Season 49: Honourable Mention

Sorry for the delay in getting these up have been traveling the last two weeks. Without further ado

Honourable Mentions:

New Britain Yorkies: Last Season (79-83) Last Rank: Honourable Mention (HM)

Believe in the infrastructure Dj has been able to reload and retool on the fly and has been a model of success every since moving his team to the NL in season S22 and hasn't missed the playoff since season 25.  He also picked up 3 WS titles before jumping to the NL. Having reviewed this years roster it appears the Yorkies last season was there bottom and they are about to begin what will likely be a long cycle up.

Altanta Cheesgrits: Last Season (91-71) Last Rank: 8

Early in the off-season Atlanta announced that they were open to trading their veteran players however in an uncharacteristic pre-season the trade market stayed relative quiet. Atlanta comes into the season with a strong team full of grizzled but still good veterans who are currently looking to make once last run together after their S47 championship. This remains a dangerous team that will be hunting for a playoff spot.

Boston Minutemen: Last Season (81-81) Last Rank: Not Ranked (NR)

The Minutemen have been lurking around the fringes of the NL playoff race for the last 2-3 seasons I suspect this will be the season they jump into full blown contention. They are off to a great start in S49 and their lineupe is lead by perennial All-Star Lou Lindor and Dean Zeid. Most importantly they will have a full season of future ace Tito Donald.

Scranton Tailgaters: Last Season (85-77) Last Rank: HM

Last season the Tailgators kept all AL playoff teams on their toes until the final week of the season. While it has been a quiet off season for most of Hunter. The Tailgators have been sneakily shopping in the free agency bargain bin. In all the Tailgators signed 3 type A FA and 3 type B FA, included in this haul was in my opinion the best FA available Jioyer Guyer who along with Benji Thornton bolsters the rotation. The remaining for signings were all good stick flexible defenders. I don't rank the Honourable Mentions but Scranton was my number 11 and I fully expect them to battle the Rippers for the AL North title.

Power Ranks- Top 10 End of season

This is being done following game 159...…. the only mystery left in the season is whether Montreal or Washington will finish 3rd in the AL and who will grab the 5-seed in the AL, Atlanta or Lousiville. 

This is not intended to shoot sunshine up anyone's ass but it would not surprise me if any of the top 10 took home the title this year. It's been a long time since I felt the playoff field was this deep. When I did these rankings I had a team drop 5 spots when looking into underlying stats...…. and another jump 3..... It's going to be a very tight playoff. 

10. New York Yankees: 100-59, Last Rank: 8, First Rank 9

Sooo you know it's going to get spicy when a 100W team is the 10th spot...… I predicted that New York would fade in the 2nd half but they didn't. Just when I look at the roster I see a deep roster that is very good but doesn't make the "jump" when the roster gets trimmed down. 

This is a good time to point out that this is shucky's 7th divison title in 8 seasons since joining Hunter

9. Washington Generals:  93-66, Last Rank: HM, First Rank 1

Well the Generals have been the most interesting Power Ranking team...… they re-enter the top 10 as they cruise to their 4th straight division crown and with a 22 game division lead. With three games left they will end the season with the 3rd to 6th best AL record which highlights the parity in the AL

8. Altanta Cheese Grits: 90-69, Last Rank: 4, First Rank: 5

The defending champs faded a bit in the 2nd half but still posses a roster that will DEFEND their title. No one will be happy when they see the Cheese Grits on their schedule. Also I mentioned 2 NL divisons that may have all 4 teams finish .500 or above. Which would make most think those were the top 2 divisions in Hunter...… I've been making Thunderdome jokes all year and the AL South leads all other divisions by a cumulative 20 wins and is sending 3 teams to the playoffs for the 3nd straight year.  If your in the AL better win your division. 

7. Louisville Sluggers: 92-67, Last Rank: 5, First Rank: 7

This is a roster built more for the playoffs than the regular season. The delta between pitchers to who in the regular season but disappear for the playoffs may not be larger. 

6. Monterray Heat: 104-55, Last Rank: 6, First Rank: 8

Mjs22 entered Hunter by kicking down the door to the playoffs and Thunderdome. This season marks the 3rd straight playoffs and 2nd straight division title. At this point in the standing you need to pick nits. While the pitching is improved I still see a team that's better suited for the regular season than the playoffs but I could also be very wrong. 

5. Jacksonville Juicers: 92-67   Last Rank: 9, First Rank: 3

Had a strong second half and lead the NL in expected win %. The Juicers pitching staff is likely the top staff in all of Hunter. Will be a formidable playoff opponent to face. 

4. Vancouver Lumberjacks:95-64    Last Rank: 3, First Rank: 10

Ownership stayed engaged all season. Hector Peters the Hunter man of mystery ends the season with 60 HR and 140 RBIs which may not be enough for the NL MVP buy losing the division the Lumberjacks have to chop a lot more wood to win the series

3. Scottsdale Dawgs: 100-58  Last Rank: 2, First Rank: 6

Philip Goodin decided he was sick of Cristobel Baerga mug and put together a historic 2nd half. The Dawgs held off the Lumberjacks to win their 2nd straight NL West title. Scottsdale enters the playoff as the favorite from the NL

2. Montreal Rippers: 95-64 Last Rank: 7, First Rank: 4

For a large portion of the 2nd half the AL MVP was dominated by Rippers with their holy trinity. Jonathan Griffin is looking to add his 2nd World Series ring to his overstuffed trophy case. The Rippers path likely includes a stop the next town.

1. San Francisco: 99- 60 Last Rank: 1, First Rank: 2

So permeant marker it is...…… will anyone stop the mad titan or is he truly inevitable  

S48- Season End Honourable Mentions

So gents I promised 3 sets and I will deliver but this one is going to be abbreviated. It's my wife's birthday weekend, my son has hockey 4x (insert Canada joke) and I have my end of year beer league ball tourney.... so below please see honourable mentions


Before I get into the Honourable mentions I do want to deliver praise to two of the most competitive divisions in Hunter. With 3 games left there is a chance that the worst record in the NL South and NL East is 81-81. Good seasons to Boston, Baltimore, Memphis and New Orleans who all just missed making the sections below. They represent the Honourable Honourable Mentions

New Britain, Record: 79-80. Current Rank: HM Last Rank: HM   (Honourable Mention), First Rank: HM

So I stated in my first power rankings talent wise I didn't see a playoff team but put New Britian in Honourable mentions because he had made the playoffs every year since S25.... Well that streak will continue. For those that think this might be the demise of New Britian sorry but his next Tsunami of titles is about to hit land. His AAA, AA and Hi A minors have a combined win percentage of .715 which is equivalent to 115W season in the majors.

St. Louis Pounders: 81-76. Current Rank: HM, Last Rank: NR (Not Rated), First Rank: NR

The Pounders with 3 games left look to improve upon last year's win total of 81 wins. Ktryan has stepped in admirably and guided a ship that had hit an ice berg to a 1-3 win improvement.

Iowa Cornpickers:  88-71 Current Rank: HM, Last Rank: HM, First Rank: HM

I always say Honourable Mention thank they are in no particular order, but Iowa came in at number 11. Cristobel Baerga had an amazing season and his chiselled chin is the pride of Iowa water towers but the NL has perhaps one of the most hotly contested MVP races of all time. To the point there will be one MVP and 3 player cards that will be very confusing to future owners on how they didn't win MVP.

I do want to give a hat tip to Tbook for his 3 playoff appearance in the last 4 season and a kudos for returning to Hunter as he was one of the world's charter owners

Scranton Tailgaters 84-75 Current Rank: HM, Last Rank: HM, First Rank: NR

If you are an AL playoff team you will find the gritty Tailgaters wildly annoying...… they lingered in the playoff picture to game 155...… which means limited rest for the playoff teams headed into the playoffs. A kudos to Aaronwayne for a minimum of a 22W improvement and while it's small consolation the best record for a non-playoff team

Boise Bombers 80-79 Current Rank: HM, Last Rank: HM, First Rank: HM

I fully expected the Bombers to be playing for the AL 6th seed this season at they had average approx. 90W for the 5 seasons prior to last year.... Then they started like a rocket only to fade. I struggle to figure out if this is a 2 year aberration or a decline prior to the rebirth of a model franchise..... Selfish note...… glad they aren't in the playoffs because they are Kryptonite to my team

Power Ranks (S48) - Midseason (5-1)

As popularized in the TV show "The League" we are now down to the vinegar strokes...….


5. Louisville Sluggers (53-36) Last Rank: 7

The Sluggers are a balanced overall team currently sitting 3rd in runs and 6th in ERA, with the 2nd highest Exp. Win % in Hunter. Ownership has solved the bullpen woes that plagued it's team last season but early injures to the pitching staff has shown just how susceptible this team is to key pitching injuries. The battle for the Thunderdome and likely  first round bye could  come down to game 162.

4. Atlanta Cheesegrits (53-37) Last Rank: 5

I will admit I missed on the Cheesegrits….. I had put them 5th out of respect to for the defending champs but expected to be moving them back down to the 8-10 range in this update. The Champs are showing why they should not be doubted. Kevin Fujikawa has turned back to clock to support an already potent Cheesegrits offense. Plus Atlanta attendance has spiked even more than usual for a title defense due to the number of career milestones they have to celebrate for Fujikawa this year. Having already reached 3000 hits and 700HR  and 800 SB all in this season. Oh yeah.... their pitching staff is very good as well. The callback to a joke I made in the first power ranks...….insert Ric Flair WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! here.

3. Scottsdale Dawgs(55-35) Last Rank: 6

The Dawgs have flipped flop offensive spots with Monterrey this season, last season's number 2 offense currently sits at top the league by 20 plus runs. This balanced lineup currently boasts 5 of the NL's top 20 players in runs created. Phillip Goodwin may slow in the 2nd half of the season as unsubstantiated rumors have him flying to Iowa on his off days to rip Baerga's face off water towers and pull his picture from wallets. In all seriousness Goodwin is posting an MVP caliber year but looks likely to run into the human embodiment of actual Cornpicker

2. Vancouver Lumberjacks (54-36) Last Rank: 10

After I posted the first rankings I got a message from timf saying that I had undervalued his team. I responded saying "Agreed, but only if the manager doesn't go on a mid seasons sabbatical like last season". This season the management hasn't fallen asleep at the wheel and instead has kept the hammer down. The biggest challenge that the Lumberjacks are going to face this season is that they play in Thunderdome Jr and the Dawgs aren't going to sit, roll-over or play dead (Dad jokes I got them). I see from the world chat that I have sent a few people down the Carlos Baerga rabbit hole...…. now I only recommend this if you can handle it, dig into the Lumberjacks top player Hector Peters but be careful as your will walk away confused and questioning everything you know about HBD

1. San Francisco Night Demons (53-37) Last Rank: 2

The more things change the more things stay the same. Let me harken back to the year 2013....it was a simpler time: legends Nelson Mandela and Paul Walker were both still alive, Breaking Bad was still on TV and we were in the Iron Man 3 portion of the MCU (foreshadowing). This also happened to be the last year that power rankings were done.... below are quotes from the year end power ranks for S26 and S27 about the Night Demons (ranked 1 both times).

"I might as well write this in permanent marker another year another top spot"

"I have a feeling at some point I'm going to end up with "1.San Fransisco" burned into my screen because I've typed it so many times."

Quotes by legendary & historic commissioner Jahu43

So much like Thanos at the end of End Game, I think Bjb sits behind his computer and states "I am inevitable", he's made the playoffs 46 of 47 seasons and has 8 titles. This years teams is once again high on talent and deep on pitching and leads the world in expected win %. 

The biggest question will be if anyone gets to be Iron Man and upset the mad Titan (I guess spoiler alert but it's literally the biggest movie of all-time and came out months ago...….if I ruined it, I'm sorry but only the kind of sorry where you feel you have to apologize). 

Power Ranks S48 - Midseason (10-6)

Once again time for feelings to get hurt and noses to get bent...….welcome to the top 10...….

10. Boston Minuteman (51-38) Last Rank: Honourable Mention

In the first Power Ranks I mentioned that Boston based on some off-season tweaks should make a push for the playoffs....and right now they sit with the 4th best record in the NL but cling to the final playoff spot with Iowa and Baltimore nipping at their heels. Led by Lou Lindor and a strong pitching staff Boston should battle for the playoffs and potentially the NL East.

9. Jacksonville Juicers (49-40) Last Rank: 3

The Juicers drop from 3 to 9, is very similar to Washington's drop from 1-11. Not necessarily an indictment on the team. More a reflection of how razor thing the margins are for the top teams in Hunter. As per usual the Juicers are lead by perennial MVP candidate Eruibel Belliard and an elite pitching staff. The Juicers are the favorite to win the NL south and would not be shocked to see them jump back into the top 3 before the season is over.

8. New York Yankees (58-31) Last Rank: 9

So if dropping Jacksonville and Washington wasn't controversial enough the Yankees check in at 8 despite the fact they have the best record in all of Hunter. The Yankees are a very good team hence is why they are 8th in what's a razor thing rankings. Looking at some of the underlying numbers the Yankees are currently 51pts above their expect win % and currently have a 16-9 record in 1run games. NY does have a very strong bullpen, which is normally a key factor in 1 run record. I expect the Yanks to win the AL East but fall back to the pack in terms of win total.

7. Montreal Rippers (50-39) Last Rank: 4

Expected win total as a tale of two cities while NYY have been outplaying their pythagorean number, Montreal has been dramatically underplaying theirs. Montreal is playing below by 50 pts and 11-18 in 1 run games, however their expected number which edges NYY .612 to .600.  It looked as though this might be the season that Montreal rose to be a dominant force but lack of support for the Rippers all world trio of Cooke, Wood and Griffin has left them short of expectations. Closer Tomas Delgado has reached Brad Lidge versus the Cardinals with Socks Bennett of the Louisville sluggers playing the role of Albert Pujols, 17 for 25 and a .5.01 ERA isn't going to cut it as a closer for a WS contender. Montreal has the talent to make a big run in the 2nd half but also has a couple question marks.

6. Monterrey (56-33) Last Rank: 8 

Current leader in the Thunderdome which if the season ended today would send 3 teams to the playoffs again and boasts the top 3 AL records. Monterrey's heavy investment in improved their pitching staff has not shown the dividends one would have expected at this point in the season, only resulting in a modest improvement from 4.42 ERA (S47) to 4.37 ERA (S48). That said the Monterrey pitchers talent wise are better than .05 improvement which should concern any AL team in the 2nd half as they should only get better. Monterrey offense continues to be among the leagues best, finishing first in runs last season and currently sits 2nd so far this year.