For those of you who lament the current usage of starting pitchers (or should I say lack of usage) – this auction is for you. I obviously love analytics and interpreting numbers or else I would not be involved in these auction projects, but the reality is that strict adherence to what the numbers say should only be applied in a simulation environment, in real life baseball, the numbers should GUIDE decisions, not MAKE decisions. It’s easy to forget that you’re dealing with human beings who happen to be athletes, if on a given day a pitcher is performing at the apex of his abilities, and is passing the “eye” test for dominance, then you leave him in the game – analytics be damned!
All those who cringed when Blake Snell was taken out of game six of the 2020 World Series after only 73 pitches will enjoy this auction simulation.
As you know, 1968 has been called “the year of the pitcher”, and with good reason, the combined ERA that year was 2.98, 13th lowest in MLB history, the WHIP was 1.19, 5th lowest in history, and all the seasons lower in ERA & WHIP were all from the pre 1920 dead ball era, the combined OPS ranked 111th out of 119 MLB seasons, so as you can see scoring runs was a rare event indeed!
In preparing for this auction it was evident that a few extra dollars would have to be allocated to the hitters, but how much more? that’s always the mystery to be solved in these auctions.
Although additional attention to hitters was necessary, I have to admit I had visions of having both Bob Gibson & Denny McLain on my team – can you imagine that lethal duo on the same squad with those 1968 stats? Alas, my opponent was to sharp to let that happen, I was able to snag Gibson as my opening salvo, but a few rounds later when I tried to acquire McLain, my opponent would not allow it, the price got up to $35, and although I thought of going higher, I opted to save the money for my hitters instead.
My disciple in avoiding McLain was rewarded when I was able to acquire Willie Horton, Bill Freehan, Dick McAuliffe, Jim Northrup & Al Kaline. I was probably happiest with the Freehan purchase since I had him valued a few dollars higher than the $18 I paid for him.
My opponent kept pace with the shrewd acquisitions of Lou Brock, Curt Flood & Norm Cash, I really wanted Cash, but Orlando Cepeda was nominated before Cash and I chose to lock in some profit at $14, anticipating that Cash would be sold for a higher price. Lou Brock was another player I targeted, but when the bidding got to $26 I backed off, also confident that since I owned Freehan, I could stifle Brock’s running game.
The auction is essentially a chess match, you’re always projecting your future moves, your opponent’s future moves and the projected selling prices of the players, to compound the challenge, all these elements are reconfigured after every purchase.
On the pitching side, I was able to complement Gibson with Ray Wahburn & Eal Wilson and also picked up Don McMahon to be my closer. Oh and by the way – what a hitter Earl Wilson turned out to be, he hit 11 home runs in only 104 ABs!!
My rival GM also did a nice job of complementing his ace by picking up Nelson Briles, Steve Carlton & Mickey Lolich, but fell short on rounding out the back end of his pitching staff, also falling a bit short on the total amount of innings purchased.
One of the challenges of a two team auction is motoring the number of pitchers (innings) you have purchased compared to the players left and the number of dollars still at your disposal.
In this auction my opponent fell about 100 innings short which caused his pitchers to perform in a fatigued state towards the latter end of the season, that, and a slight hitting advantage by my team proved to be the difference between the two squads.
MVP – In a year where hitters were definitely at a disadvantage, Willie Horton was clearly the best batsman. Horton led the league in Home Runs, RBIs, Runs, and most importantly in OPS. Bill Freehan was a close second, but the trophy goes to Willie!
CY YOUNG – Who else could it be? I was tempted to also given Bob Gibson the MVP award, but I would like to keep the MVP award just for hitters. Gibson closely mirrored his historic actual season with his simulation results. Bob delivered 303 magical innings, 26 victories and a microscopic 1.04 ERA, almost identical to his historical 1.12 ERA. Oh, and did I mention 10 shutouts!
Year | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Away |
1968 | St.Louis Tigers | 104 | 58 | 0.64 | – | 58-23 | 46-35 |
1968 | Detroit Cardinals | 58 | 104 | 0.36 | 46 | 35-46 | 23-58 |
Players | Tm | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SB |
HORTON, W. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.266 | 519 | 87 | 138 | 21 | 1 | 37 | 87 | 67 | 0 |
FREEHAN, B. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.241 | 532 | 76 | 128 | 24 | 1 | 29 | 74 | 90 | 0 |
CEPEDA, O. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.207 | 598 | 63 | 124 | 15 | 0 | 20 | 61 | 39 | 7 |
NORTHRUP, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.199 | 572 | 59 | 114 | 22 | 6 | 18 | 84 | 58 | 0 |
WERT, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.178 | 512 | 33 | 91 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 54 | 26 | 0 |
SHANNON, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.231 | 592 | 54 | 137 | 26 | 2 | 15 | 68 | 43 | 3 |
CASH, N. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.272 | 427 | 42 | 116 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 58 | 43 | 1 |
WILSON, E. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.231 | 104 | 13 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 0 |
STANLEY, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.200 | 589 | 54 | 118 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 51 | 39 | 0 |
FLOOD, C. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.257 | 626 | 61 | 161 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 39 | 3 |
SCHOFIELD, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.297 | 148 | 19 | 44 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 11 | 0 |
MARIS, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.215 | 279 | 26 | 60 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 12 | 0 |
McCARVER, T. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.239 | 452 | 36 | 108 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 23 | 0 |
McAULIFFE, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.170 | 594 | 58 | 101 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 31 | 82 | 2 |
BROWN, G. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.265 | 102 | 15 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 0 |
BROCK, L. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.236 | 652 | 73 | 154 | 36 | 10 | 5 | 41 | 38 | 47 |
MATCHICK, T. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.175 | 331 | 17 | 58 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 13 | 0 |
JAVIER, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.197 | 539 | 32 | 106 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 22 | 5 |
TRACEWSKI, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.109 | 137 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 4 |
KALINE, A. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.232 | 358 | 44 | 83 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 42 | 10 |
HAGUE, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.174 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
PRICE, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.226 | 53 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
DAVIS, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.322 | 59 | 18 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
MATHEWS, E. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.117 | 60 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
OYLER, R. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.152 | 79 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
TOLAN, B. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.179 | 240 | 13 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 7 |
GRANGER, W. | St.Louis Tigers | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LASHER, F. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
WARDEN, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
HOERNER, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PATTERSON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
McMAHON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
MIKKELSEN, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
WYATT, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
CAIN, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.167 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SIMMONS, T. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
NELSON, M. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.125 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
WILLIS, R. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.091 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
JASTER, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.105 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
COMER, W. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.100 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
DOBSON, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.154 | 39 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
SPARMA, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.064 | 47 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
HILLER, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.020 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CARLTON, S. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.067 | 75 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
LOLICH, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.107 | 75 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
WASHBURN, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.095 | 74 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
BRILES, N. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.125 | 80 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
GAGLIANO, P. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.176 | 102 | 9 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
GIBSON, B. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.097 | 93 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
McLAIN, D. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.156 | 122 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
EDWARDS, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.190 | 163 | 11 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 1 |
MAXVILL, D. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.195 | 488 | 34 | 95 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 41 | 0 |
Total | 0.208 | 10691 | 1009 | 2226 | 334 | 56 | 230 | 951 | 843 | 90 |
Players | Tm | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | TA | RC | RC/G | PA |
HORTON, W. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.266 | 0.351 | 0.524 | 0.875 | 0.26 | 0.85 | 91.7 | 6.1 | 593 |
SCHOFIELD, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.297 | 0.344 | 0.507 | 0.851 | 0.21 | 0.81 | 26 | 6.6 | 160 |
BROWN, G. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.265 | 0.353 | 0.480 | 0.834 | 0.22 | 0.84 | 18.5 | 6.7 | 116 |
FREEHAN, B. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.241 | 0.374 | 0.453 | 0.827 | 0.21 | 0.87 | 98.1 | 6.2 | 663 |
WILSON, E. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.231 | 0.257 | 0.548 | 0.805 | 0.32 | 0.75 | 14.5 | 4.5 | 114 |
CASH, N. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.272 | 0.335 | 0.415 | 0.750 | 0.14 | 0.69 | 60.2 | 5 | 474 |
SHANNON, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.231 | 0.281 | 0.358 | 0.639 | 0.13 | 0.56 | 60.4 | 3.5 | 643 |
NORTHRUP, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.199 | 0.276 | 0.353 | 0.629 | 0.15 | 0.56 | 54.8 | 3 | 646 |
FLOOD, C. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.257 | 0.301 | 0.323 | 0.624 | 0.07 | 0.52 | 63.5 | 3.6 | 673 |
BROCK, L. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.236 | 0.276 | 0.345 | 0.621 | 0.11 | 0.59 | 61.8 | 3.1 | 696 |
KALINE, A. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.232 | 0.318 | 0.279 | 0.597 | 0.05 | 0.54 | 33.9 | 3.2 | 404 |
CEPEDA, O. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.207 | 0.263 | 0.333 | 0.596 | 0.13 | 0.51 | 50.9 | 2.8 | 649 |
PRICE, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.226 | 0.255 | 0.340 | 0.594 | 0.11 | 0.49 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 55 |
McCARVER, T. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.239 | 0.275 | 0.314 | 0.589 | 0.08 | 0.47 | 38.2 | 2.9 | 476 |
MARIS, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.215 | 0.250 | 0.326 | 0.576 | 0.11 | 0.46 | 21.9 | 2.5 | 306 |
STANLEY, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.200 | 0.252 | 0.297 | 0.549 | 0.1 | 0.45 | 45.3 | 2.5 | 648 |
WERT, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.178 | 0.219 | 0.301 | 0.520 | 0.12 | 0.43 | 33.7 | 2.1 | 549 |
HAGUE, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.174 | 0.208 | 0.304 | 0.513 | 0.13 | 0.42 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 24 |
McAULIFFE, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.170 | 0.271 | 0.236 | 0.507 | 0.07 | 0.45 | 41 | 2.2 | 680 |
EDWARDS, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.190 | 0.265 | 0.239 | 0.504 | 0.05 | 0.43 | 11.5 | 2.3 | 181 |
MAXVILL, D. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.195 | 0.257 | 0.227 | 0.484 | 0.03 | 0.38 | 29.7 | 2 | 535 |
JAVIER, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.197 | 0.226 | 0.252 | 0.478 | 0.06 | 0.37 | 30.6 | 1.8 | 575 |
OYLER, R. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.152 | 0.236 | 0.241 | 0.476 | 0.09 | 0.39 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 90 |
MATCHICK, T. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.175 | 0.223 | 0.254 | 0.476 | 0.08 | 0.38 | 19.5 | 1.9 | 355 |
GAGLIANO, P. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.176 | 0.222 | 0.225 | 0.448 | 0.05 | 0.35 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 109 |
TOLAN, B. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.179 | 0.195 | 0.221 | 0.416 | 0.04 | 0.32 | 10.1 | 1.3 | 246 |
TRACEWSKI, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.109 | 0.208 | 0.161 | 0.368 | 0.05 | 0.34 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 154 |
MATHEWS, E. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.117 | 0.197 | 0.167 | 0.364 | 0.05 | 0.29 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 66 |
DOBSON, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.154 | 0.195 | 0.154 | 0.349 | 0 | 0.24 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 44 |
NELSON, M. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.125 | 0.222 | 0.125 | 0.347 | 0 | 0.29 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 10 |
McLAIN, D. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.156 | 0.154 | 0.189 | 0.343 | 0.03 | 0.22 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 131 |
WASHBURN, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.095 | 0.193 | 0.149 | 0.341 | 0.05 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 87 |
CAIN, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.333 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 6 |
BRILES, N. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.125 | 0.155 | 0.175 | 0.330 | 0.05 | 0.24 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 88 |
GIBSON, B. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.097 | 0.184 | 0.118 | 0.303 | 0.02 | 0.25 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 114 |
LOLICH, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.107 | 0.152 | 0.133 | 0.285 | 0.03 | 0.21 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 80 |
JASTER, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.105 | 0.150 | 0.105 | 0.255 | 0 | 0.17 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 21 |
COMER, W. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.100 | 0.100 | 0.100 | 0.200 | 0 | 0.11 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 41 |
WILLIS, R. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.091 | 0.091 | 0.091 | 0.182 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 11 |
SIMMONS, T. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 0.167 | 0.000 | 0.167 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 6 |
CARLTON, S. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.067 | 0.067 | 0.093 | 0.160 | 0.03 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 76 |
SPARMA, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.064 | 0.063 | 0.064 | 0.126 | 0 | 0.07 | 0.1 | 0 | 48 |
HILLER, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.020 | 0.020 | 0.020 | 0.039 | 0 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
WYATT, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
McMAHON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
MIKKELSEN, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
HOERNER, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
PATTERSON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
LASHER, F. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
WARDEN, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 0.208 | 0.269 | 0.314 | 0.583 | 0.11 | 0.5 | 919 | 2.8 | 11781 |
Pitchers | Tm | W | L | SV | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | HR | SO |
GRANGER, W. | St.Louis Tigers | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0.78 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34.2 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
GIBSON, B. | St.Louis Tigers | 26 | 4 | 1 | 1.04 | 37 | 35 | 21 | 10 | 303 | 163 | 4 | 223 |
McLAIN, D. | Detroit Cardinals | 19 | 17 | 3 | 1.45 | 57 | 44 | 18 | 9 | 379 | 157 | 22 | 317 |
McMAHON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 8 | 5 | 36 | 1.60 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78.2 | 34 | 3 | 52 |
HOERNER, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 2 | 5 | 13 | 1.91 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.2 | 22 | 5 | 44 |
WILSON, E. | St.Louis Tigers | 22 | 10 | 0 | 2.21 | 34 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 248 | 182 | 14 | 164 |
PATTERSON, D. | St.Louis Tigers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2.21 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73.1 | 55 | 3 | 42 |
BRILES, N. | Detroit Cardinals | 14 | 19 | 0 | 2.34 | 51 | 33 | 8 | 4 | 277 | 183 | 29 | 152 |
LASHER, F. | St.Louis Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.36 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.2 | 19 | 0 | 15 |
WASHBURN, R. | St.Louis Tigers | 12 | 11 | 0 | 2.38 | 34 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 253.2 | 186 | 11 | 94 |
HILLER, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2.44 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 147.2 | 125 | 7 | 84 |
CAIN, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.90 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 26 | 0 | 13 |
CARLTON, S. | Detroit Cardinals | 9 | 21 | 0 | 3.69 | 48 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 236.1 | 198 | 24 | 180 |
DOBSON, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3.77 | 26 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 143 | 12 | 87 |
MIKKELSEN, P. | St.Louis Tigers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.80 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 26 | 1 | 15 |
LOLICH, M. | Detroit Cardinals | 8 | 18 | 1 | 3.99 | 47 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 246 | 206 | 39 | 220 |
JASTER, L. | St.Louis Tigers | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4.70 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 86 | 5 | 30 |
NELSON, M. | St.Louis Tigers | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4.75 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 56 | 2 | 25 |
SPARMA, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 3 | 15 | 0 | 5.34 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 148.1 | 162 | 27 | 84 |
WILLIS, R. | Detroit Cardinals | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5.37 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 63.2 | 88 | 10 | 43 |
WARDEN, J. | St.Louis Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.2 | 29 | 1 | 20 |
WYATT, J. | Detroit Cardinals | 2 | 6 | 4 | 7.20 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 61 | 11 | 47 |
Total | 162 | 162 | 72 | 2.77 | 781 | 324 | 74 | 33 | 2935 | 2226 | 230 | 1970 |