Previous Decades: 1970s, 1960s.

Famous for its pitching splendor, the 1960’s brought runs scoring back down to levels not seen since the deadball era of the 1910’s. Many casual fans do not realize the trend actually began a decade earlier, in 1951, which ushered in a 20-year era that mostly belonged to the starting pitcher.

The image below charts the average runs scored per game in Major League Baseball from 1903 to present. Runs scored declined almost 30% between the high point in 1950 (4.85 r/g) and 1968 (3.42 r/g).

With relief pitchers not yet stereotyped solely into late inning roles, and starting pitchers routinely going the distance, the fantasy game was nothing like we see today. The best batting stats of the decade seem rather typical:

AVG:   .365 – Mickey Mantle (1957)
RS:    132 – Mickey Mantle (1956)
HR:    52 – Mickey Mantle (1956)
RBI:   145 – Al Rosen (1953)
SB:    56 – Luis Aparacio (1959)

However, the effect of the era is apparent once we move to the pitching side of the equation:

W:     28 – Robin Roberts (1952)
ERA:   1.97 – Billy Pierce (1955)
WHIP:  0.95 – Warren Hacker (1952)
SO:    263 – Herb Score (1956)
SV:    27 – Ellis Kinder (1953)

Wins are up significantly and saves are down to the lowest levels we’ve come across. Not shown here are the incredible innings pitched totals as well. No pitcher since 1980 has reached 300 innings pitched, while the 1950s alone had seven.

(An interesting side note, though not germane to a discussion on the 1950s, is the fact 300 inning occurrences increased through 1969, before declining into non existence about a dozen years later.)

Finally, before getting to the players, below is our customary graph of the basic fantasy batting stats. As expected, batting averages declined throughout the1950s, starting off at around .265 and ending 10 points lower. Stolen bases increased significantly, starting at one stolen base ever 130 at bats, and ending at a stolen base every 92. Home runs were fairly constant, though occurring at a higher rate in the earliest part of the decade.

Keep in mind that this decade was the last in which every year featured the 154 game schedule. In 1961 baseball expanded to 162 games, more than a 5% increase, allowing season totals forever after too look a bit better than those that came before.

Top-10 Players of the 1950s

10) Eddie Mathews, 3B
Peak Avg in Decade: 12.1
Overall FBHOF Score: 71.7

Mathews smacked 25 home runs in his 1952 rookie year and 16 “fantasy worthy” seasons later ended his career well past the 500 HR plateau at 512. He reached 40 or more four times in the ‘50s and is currently ranked as the 3rd best third bagger of all time, behind Mike Schmidt and George Brett

His fantasy finest season came in ’59. Batting .306 / .390 / .593, he also added 118 R, 46 HR, and 114 RBI in his stat line, and finished the year as the 5th best batter in baseball. A cross decade star, Mathews has four 11+ FBHOF points seasons to his credit in the 1950s, and two 13 point seasons to start the 1960s.

9) Minnie Minoso, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 12.4
Overall FBHOF Score: 68.0

A very good major leaguer, Minoso was even better as a fantasy baseball player. The seven time all star had the same number 10+ point seasons in the decade and was a rare 5-tool star. I am reminded of a modern day Bobby Abreu at his peak, only with a longer period of success.

During his career Minoso scored 90+ runs nine times; batted over .300 eight times; stole 17 or more bases seven times; and hit 19+ home runs or drove in 90 or more runners five times. His best season came in 1954:.320 AVG, 119 R, 19 HR, 116 RBI, 18 SB, 13.4 Points.

8. Stan Musial, 1B
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.3
Overall FBHOF Score: 71.9

“Stan The Man” is sold short by when analyzing his tenure within the 1950’s only. His career actually spans three decades and a few of his great seasons came in the 1960’s. Musial was pure hitter, one of the best baseball has ever seen. Including batters from the 1800s, Musial is among the all time greats in many career statistics:

.331 AVG – 30th
.417 OBP – 23rd
.559 SLG – 21st
.976 OPS – 14th
1949 RS – 9th
1951 RBI – 6th
725 2B – 3rd
6134 TB – 2nd

Fantasy wise, Musial was incredibly consistent in the 1950s, recording five seasons between 12.8 and 13.9 points. His 5 year peak during the decade was .341 AVG, 116 R, 29 HR, 109 RBI.

7) Hank Aaron, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.5
Overall FBHOF Score: 98.8

You may recall Aaron was ranked as the 2nd best player of the 1960s as well, and now that we’ve completed the review of the 1950’s, his career stat line is complete. It’s pure gold. Aaron is the second best fantasy baseball player we’ve ever seen, and he currently owns the all time mark for total career points.

In a span of 11 years, the outfielder has an unheard of ten seasons of 15 or more FBHOF points. I would be surprised if any player, even going back through the 1920s, could duplicate this feat. Six of Aaron’s best seven seasons occurred in the 1960s, the one outlier being 1959: .355 AVG, 39 HR, 116 R, 123 RBI, and 8 SB.

Aaron became fantasy eligible in 1954. One year later he reached 11 FBHOF Points and only dipped below 10 points eighteen years later in 1972.

6) Ernie Banks, 1B
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.6
Overall FBHOF Score: 77.4

“Mr. Cub’s” three best seasons came while he manned shortstop, but for his career he played more games at first base (1534 vs. 1050) than short and thus is considered a corner infielder for our purposes. I fibbed a bit as well; in fact, he was eligible at shortstop over the course of his six best season, a consecutive year stretch from 1955 through 1960.

During this time he averaged 41 HR, 101 R, 116 RBI, 5 SB, and batted .294. He was also a top-5 batter four times.

5) Warren Spahn, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.7
Overall FBHOF Score: 74.7

The first pitcher on our top-10 list, Span was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, alongside Roberto Clemente, the only two voted in by the BBWA this year. Like Musial, Spahn’s career covered three decades but he Spahn at lease, was at his best in the 1950’s. His best season came in 1953: 23 W, 1.06 WHIP, 2.10 ERA, and 148 K in 266 IP. As with most of his peers, he didn’t maintain a high (by today’s standards) strikeout rate.

Interestingly, and perhaps unfortunately, Spahn also saved three games. In 1953, only four major league pitchers recorded 15 or more saves, and Spahn therefore gets an inordinate amount of credit for his three. This nuance will be typical with many of the pitchers of his era and earlier. No doubt, had fantasy baseball been invented in 1950, Saves would not have been a core scoring statistic. We’re stuck with it though, and Spahn’s 29 career saves make positively impact his overall score.

4) Mickey Mantle, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 14.7
Overall FBHOF Score: 90.8

Moving from 5th place into 4th marks the beginning of a new tier of 1950s greats. The 8th through 5th slots are differentiated by just 0.4 FBHOF points. The jump into 4th is a full 1.0 FHBOF points. Deservedly so – Mantle was a hitting machine, and as we saw in the introduction, owns the best single season results in the decade in 3 of the 5 offensive fantasy stats.

Mantle was still great heading into the early 1960’s, but few in the history of the sport match his 19.0 point season in 1956.

His peak 5-year average during the decade: .322 AVG, 121 R, 39 HR, 99 RBI, 15 SB. His scores by year:

1951- 3.8
1952 – 10.8
1953 – 9.1
1954 – 10.9
1955 – 12.1
1956 – 19.0
1957 – 15.6
1958 – 15.8
1959 – 11.1

3) Duke Snider, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 14.8
Overall FBHOF Score: 80.0

Snider typically falls short in his inevitable comparison to Mantle and Willie Mays. All three were of course New York centerfielders during the 1950’s and all three were no brainer Hall of Fame selections, but at least in terms of fantasy baseball, Snider can run with Mantle – during the 1950’s at least.

When lining their best years up side by side, in order of greatness as opposed to chronological, the similarities are striking:

Snider        Mantle
17.67          18.98
15.11           15.80
14.68          15.58
14.65          12.06
11.98          11.14
10.80         10.94
10.16          10.83
9.64            9.07
5.98            3.84
3.70

In one of the most underrated seasons of all time, Snider in 1954 batted .336 with 132 R, 42 HR, 126 RBI, and 16 SB. He was the best fantasy batter of the season, for the second consecutive year. Mantle and (mostly) Mays would take honors in five of the next six seasons.

2) Robin Roberts, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 16.7
Overall FBHOF Score: 92.0

Really. In his New Historical Abstract, Bill James ranks Roberts as the 16th best pitcher of all time. He’s a Hall of Famer and a six time 20 game winner. He led his league 27 times in various important statistical categories. Yes, to this day, he gets little credit as one of the all time great pitchers.

Perhaps it was the era in which he pitched. Following Roberts good fortunes in the 1950’s came the greatest pitching era of all time. With this of course, came some of the greatest pitching names of all time – Koufax and Gibson plus significant single season performances of historical importance – Denny McLain’s 31 wins in 1968 and superb seasons out of Juan Marichal and Don Drysdale. Roberts never struck out 200 batters, never had an ERA under 2.50, nor a WHIP below 1.00.

What he did do was finish 6 of the 10 seasons in the Top-3, and four consecutive as the best overall pitcher in the game. From 1952-1955 he averaged 24 W, 1.07 WHIP, 2.90 ERA, 172 K’s, and 4 saves per season.

He’s on his own plane when looking at 4-year peak scores among starting pitchers of the 1950s:

17.4 – Robin Roberts
14.1 – Warren Spahn
11.8 – Early Wynn
11.7 – Billy Pierce
11.2 – Mike Garcia

1) Willie Mays, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 17.5
Overall FBHOF Score: 102.3

Through the 1950’s, Willie Mays is the greatest fantasy player of all time. His stats speak for themselves. Please pay particular attention to the sheer number of double digit FBHOF Point seasons, identified in the “score” column.

The tail end of the 1960s is famous for its strong favoritism towards the pitcher. In 1968 the average NL batter had a slash line of .243 / .300 / .341. The AL batters were worse off still – .230 / .297 / .339 and the league’s runs scoring was at its lowest point in the 20th century. Throughout the decade, as one moves closer to the 1970s, stolen bases and batting average were on the decline, though home runs were on the rise:

This created an environment where the fantasy standouts were relatively low average power hitters with a good deal of speed. The word relative is key however, as a .300 batting average in 1968 is more like a .335 average in today’s batting environment. As we did with the 1970s, here are a few examples of Fantasy Era players and their FBHOF scores:

• 90+ Points: Only two players have ever amassed 90 or more FBHOF points: Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds
• 80-89 Points: 7 Players are in this grouping, think Roger Clemens
• 70-79 Points: 15 players score in this bucket, the most common. Think of them as the average FBHOF’er – Ryne Sandberg, Jeff Bagwell, and Curt Schilling types.
• 65-69 Points: 12 Players. The low-enders such as Don Mattingly and Jose Canseco
• 52-64 Points: Only pitchers can score as low as 52 and get elected, David Cone is a great example

The ten best players of the 60’s were all Outfielders, Starting Pitchers, and First Basemen. Before admiring this group, a few words on the best of the rest at each position.

Catcher – Johnny Bench had the highest average peak score of the 1960s, but only played in 1968 and 1969 and two years a dynasty does not make. When looking at the 1970s, his FBHOF score was a fine 68.61 and adding these two new seasons in jumps his score up to 76.7, 24th best all time regardless of position.

The best fantasy catcher of the decade was Joe Torre. His 68.6 FBHOF points is well within the range of Hall of Fame criteria and he was at his best in 1964 with 13.1 FBHOF points. He batted .321 with 20 HR, 87 R, and 109 RBI. Torre also has two other 10 point seasons and currently sits second all time at the position. This is a bit unfair though, since his best season was as a third baseman in 1971.

Second Base – There are no offensive stars here as only two times did a second bagger record 10-points in the entire decade. In 1961 as a rookie, Jake Wood stole 30 bases and scored 96 runs amassing 12.0 FBHOF points in the process. Two years later, Tony Taylor batted .281 with 102 runs scored for exactly 10.0 FBHOF points. Neither had noteworthy fantasy careers however, and the prize for best of the decade falls to Don Buford. While never a star, he did have four seasons of 7.7 or more points and his peak 5-year average of 7.5 points is easily best in the decade.

Third Base – No player at the hot corner meets FBHOF requirements but Ron Santo comes awfully close. The life long Chicagoan scored between 10.9 and 12.5 FBHOF points each year between 1963 and 1968, with an overall score of 63.6, 5th best all time from what we’ve investigated. He was routinely capable of 30 HR, 100 RBI, and 90 Runs Scored.

Shortstop – While not as weak of a position as their middle infield counterparts, the shortstops of the 1960’s weren’t very good either. The best of them was Maury Wills, he of the best fantasy stolen base seasons ever.

Closer – 32 saves was the highest recorded in a single season, and Hoyt Wilhem reached 152 on the decade.

Top-10 Players of the 1960s

10. Bob Gibson, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 12.9
Overall FBHOF Points: 71.6

Though still great at the start of the 1970s, Gibson turned in his finest work between 1966 and 1969. In total, the pitcher had seven 10+ FBHOF points seasons, tied for 5th best we’ve seen. He recorded the 6th best pitching season of the decade in 1968 – 22 W, 0.85 WHIP, 1.12 ERA, 268 K.

9. Jim Bunning, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.0
Overall FBHOF Points: 68.5

Bunning won at least 17 games six times between 1961 and 1967 and was incredible during the last two in which he averaged 18 W, 1.02 WHIP, 2.35 ERA, and 252 K’s

8. Orlando Cepeda, 1B
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.6
Overall FBHOF Points: 72.2

Went .311 with 46 HR, 105 R, 146 RBI, and 12 SB in 1961. Averaged a very good 31 HR, 93 R, 105 RBI, and .315 Average in his next best four years.

7. Don Drysdale, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 13.8
Overall FBHOF Points: 71.7

Had three 14+ FBHOF seasons between 1960 and 1964. During these three years he averaged 19 W, 1.05 WHIP, 2.62 ERA, 238 K’s. During the decade Drysdale won 18 or more games four times; had an ERA under 3.00 seven times, and a WHIP better 1.20 eight times.

6. Lou Brock, OF
Peak Avg in Decade: 3.9
Overall FBHOF Points: 83.1

His career spanned 18 years and was very good in both the 1960’s and 1970s. In the earlier part of his baseball life from 1962 to 1969 he totaled 89.2 FBHOF points, and ended his career in 1979 with an additional 85.6 FBHOF points. Between 1964 and 1974 he recorded at least 10 FBHOF points per season for 11 straight seasons. 1967 was his finest – .299 AVG, 113 R, 21 HR, 76 RBI, 52 SB.

5. Juan Marichal, SP
Peak Avg in Decade: 14.8
Overall FBHOF Points: 79.4

A devastating pitcher in both 1963 and 1965, but was only an elite fantasy pitcher for a total of 5 seasons. His 5 year peak ranks 6th all time among starters, during this stretch he averaged 23 W, 1.00 WHIP, 2.29 ERA, and 225 K’s.

4. Frank Robinson
Peak Avg in Decade: 15.5
Overall FBHOF Points: 80.1

Played from 1956 through 1976 but his greatest seasons came in the 1960s. They are prolific enough to admire individually:

1962 – 17.8 Pts, .342 AVG, 134 R, 39 HR, 136 RBI, 18 SB
1966 – 16.4 Pts, .316 AVG, 122 R, 49 HR, 122 RBI, 8 SB
1961 – 15.9 Pts, .323 AVG, 117 R, 37 HR, 124 RBI, 22 SB
1965 – 13.6 Pts, .296 AVG, 109 R, 33 HR, 113 RBI, 13 SB
1964 – 13.6 Pts, .306 AVG, 103 R, 29 HR, 96 RBI, 23 SB

3. Willie Mays
Peak Avg in Decade: 16.4
Overall FBHOF Points: 88.5

Only two batters since the 1960s have recorded 5 seasons of 15.5 FBHOF points. Given that Mays’ career started in 1951 and has five Top-5 MVP seasons during the decade, it is safe to assume he’ll end up with more. His power was awesome, reaching 40+ home runs four times in the 1960s. Two others matched this accomplishment, but Harmon Killebrew batted .267 and Hank Aaron is next up on this list.

2. Hank Aaron
Peak Avg in Decade: 16.8
Overall FBHOF Points: 92.9

Aaron is the new single season record holder for most FBHOF Points in a season for a batter. In 1963 he went .319 with 121 R, 44 HR, 130 RBI, and 31 SB for 19.7 FBHOF points. He had eight additional seasons of 14 or more FBHOF points, reaching the 30-HR plateau an incredible eleven times. Like Mays, Aaron too had his share of great seasons in the unexplored 1950s and both have a great chance at being named the greatest fantasy player that ever lived when all is said and done.

1. Sandy Koufax
Peak Avg in Decade: 17.5
Overall FBHOF Points: 89.1

In 1994 Greg Maddux was masterful, and few pitchers have dominated batters as often and as easily as he did. In 202 innings batters were held to a .502 OPS (.207 / .243 / .259) and routinely looked silly getting bad wood on the ball. His ERA was 1.56 and his WHIP 0.90, only Doc Gooden had a better ERA during the fantasy era and nobody topped his WHIP until Pedro Martinez in 2000. The Mad Dog, in a strike shortened season, gave up 3 runs or less in 24 of his 25 starts (13 of which were 1 run or less).

He was unhittable. From a fantasy standpoint, the only knock on his season was a relatively low 156 strikeouts. This mattered little in real-life, but this K/9 rate of “just” 6.95 did hold back his fantasy scoring.

Keep this season in the back of your mind. Now picture the same thing only with the pitcher punching out 382 batters, almost two and half times as many, then picture that same pitcher doing it three times in four years.

Sandy Koufax’s FBHOF score surpassed 20 points, a new record in and of itself, three times – in 1963, 1965, and 1966. His fantasy lines:

No player in fantasy history (that we’ve seen) has been remotely as good as Koufax during their three year peaks. The Top-10 three year peak scores:

20.8 – Sandy Koufax
17.9 – Randy Johnson
17.5 – Hank Aaron
17.3 – Pedro Martinez
17.1 – Alex Rodriguez
17.0 – Joe Morgan
16.8 – Greg Maddux
16.7 – Frank Robinson
16.7 – Willie Mays
16.6 – Steve Carlton

“Stars of the 1970’s Who Missed FBHOF Enshrinement Due to 1979 Cutoff”

The 1970s provided fans a different brand of baseball than we’re accustomed too today. In the early part of the decade, the frequency of the stolen base was below what we even see today, but by the latter portion of the decade, stealing increased dramatically and kicked off the a mini-era where were the steal valued highly. This eventually led to the famous 1980’s St. Louis Cardinal teams that stole seemingly at will. In 1985 Willie McGee, Terry Pendleton, Ozzie Smith, Andy Van Slyke each stole at least 30 and Vince Coleman reached 110.

On the other hand, there were relatively more home runs hit in the 1970s than the 1980s. As an example, players hit 40 or more home runs 20 times in the 1970s vs. just 13 in the 1980’s (the 1990s had 72, but that is beside the point). Contrarily, batting averages have risen steadily each decade, after the league average bottomed out at .244 in 1972.

This chart depicts what was just mentioned – the Major League Batting average year by year, as well as the frequency in HR’s and SB’s in the form of “per at bat’ stats:

Let’s take a moment to ground us on the scoring tiers we saw during the Fantasy Era.

• 90+ Points: Only two players have ever amassed 90 or more FBHOF points: Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds
• 80-89 Points: 7 Players are in this grouping, think Roger Clemens
• 70-79 Points: 15 players score in this bucket, the most common. Think of them as the average FBHOF’er – Ryne Sandberg, Jeff Bagwell, and Curt Schilling types.
• 65-69 Points: 12 Players. The low-enders such as Don Mattingly and Jose Canseco
• 52-64 Points: Only pitchers can score as low as 52 and get elected, David Cone is a great example

70 Pointers
78.8 – Jim Rice, OF
73.7 – George Brett, 3B
70.8 – George Foster, OF

Rice is close to being an inner circle, elite FBHOF’er. He finished first among batters in 1978 and 1979, and finished in the Top-5 in 1977 and 1983. He was a monster at the plate reaching 39 or more home runs 4 times and 125+ RBI three times. He also hit for average, topping out at .325 in 1979. His 1978 season is the 3rd best we’ve seen tod date, a wonderful 18.5 point juggernaut campaign. He batted .315 with 121 R, 46 HR, 139 RBI, and 7 SB. He also has a total of seven 11+ FBHOF point seasons, which is tied for 10th all time.

With an excellent 3-year peak of 14 FBHOF points, Brett was an easy choice for ‘induction’. His average line during these three years was .347, 105 R, 26 HR, 112 RBI, 14 SB – great numbers for a third basemen of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. He is however, not nearly as good as Rice was at his peak. Brett does have an incredible twenty fantasy worthy seasons in is career, 4th best from 1970 or later.

Best known for his 1977 season of 52 HR and 149 RBI, Foster also put up great numbers in 1976, 1978, and 1981 giving him a 4 year peak score of 14.7. His 5th year is lacking considerably though, and greatly diminishes his overall FBHOF score. Foster was great three times and better than average three more times.

60 Pointers
69.5 – Nolan Ryan
69.2 – Dave Winfield
68.4 – Cecil Cooper
67.8 – Dwight Evans
67.7 – Reggie Jackson

The Ryan Express ranks as the 8th best starting pitcher in the last 40-odd years. This is likely better than most would rate him for non-fantasy purposes, but Ryan had ten 8+ FBHOF point seasons – 10th best among all players, and 4th best among pitchers. Year in and year out his strike out totals were off the charts, which off-set some of the seasons his WHIP or Win totals were only ordinary. He never had a monster fantasy season, his value was in consistency: 20 seasons of double digit wins; 8 seasons of 15+ wins; 12 seasons with WHP’s better than 1.25; 8 seasons with sub-3.00 ERA’s; and 6 seasons of 300+ strikeouts. He finished as a Top-10 pitcher ten times, but never rated best in any single season

Winfield is much like Evans, but with a longer peak as evidenced by putting their career scores side by side – Winfield kept it up a while longer.

Reggie Jackson is someone we need to spend some time on. Jackson was one of baseball’s premier sluggers, belting 25 or more thirteen times. He was also a solid RBI man, averaging 103 per season during his 5 year peak. What too many people forget was his speed. Mr. October averaged 20 steals a season for the first 8 years of his career, topping out at 28 in 1976. Because of this, his best two fantasy seasons came prior to his famous 41 HR year of 1980:

1973: .293 with 99 R, 32 HR, 117 RBI, 22 SB
1974: .289 with 90 R, 29 HR, 93 RBI, 24

While never the best fantasy player in a given year, he does have four Top-10 finishes among batters, and five Top-5 appearances among outfielders.

Cooper has already gotten quite a bit of press for a non-Hall of Famer, and deservedly so.

50 Pointers
57.8 – Bert Blyleven
56.2 – Ron Guidry
56.1 – Don Sutton

Each were very good though none reached the dominance of Nolan Ryan. Blyleven has five Top-10 finishes to his credit; Guidry four; and Sutton six. Only Guidry reached #1 pitcher status after winning 25 with a 0.95 WHIP, 1.74 ERA, and 248 K’s in 1978. His 18.0 FBHOF Points ranks 6th best to date.

“Other FBHOF Worthy Players”
Fourteen other players would be in the FBHOF had the 1970’s counted. This group wasn’t at the top of their games during any extended portion of the 1980s, and it’s easier to justify their exclusion. However, there are some truly great ones from the 1970s, beginning with Joe Morgan.

Morgan’s 88.1 FBHOF Score is 4th best all time, and his peak score of 80.1 is 3rd best. He was an incredible second basemen hit for average, power, and had great speed. He nabbed the Top-2B award every year from 1971 to 1977, also finished 1st among all batters three times in 1972, and 1975-1976. His peak year was 1976 where he amassed 18.4 FBHOF points, 4th best we’ve seen. He batted .320 with 113 R, 27 HR, 111 RBI, and 60 SB. His 5-year peak average is wonderful: .303, 113 R, 22 HR, 85 RBI, and 62 SB, all from a second basemen.

To put his greatness into perspective, here are his scores during his 7-year run as the best second basemen in comparison to the next best. Not only was Morgan great, he was in a class all to himself.:

Tom Seaver rates as the 6th best fantasy pitcher ever. He was the #1 starter three times and in the Top-10 nine times. Seaver never reached 300 strikeouts as some of his predecessors (such as Steve Carlton and Sandy Koufax) but he was remarkably consistent and first-rate in his rate stats: a sub-3.00 ERA nine times and a sub-1.15 WHIP eight times. And it’s not as if he couldn’t strike people out – he struck out more than 7 _ batters per inning nine times and averaged 252 per season during his 5-year peak.

Here are the rest of the 1970’s players who racked up enough points to be FBHOF worthy:

Lastly, there are two other current FBHOF’ers that saw their final scores rocket into elite stratosphere once the 1970’s counted. Mike Schmidt ended his career with an official tally of 70.5 FBHOF points, good, but nowhere need great. Three monster seasons were omitted from his record though:

These three seasons raised his final FBHOF score from 70.5 to 83.8.

Steve Carlton is in a similar situation. At the tail end of his career, the left-hander pieced together a few good seasons to sneak is as a FBHOF’er. Taking his career in total though, he’s a shoe-in, and one of just four pitchers to record two seasons of 17+ FBHOF points. The season left off his Fantasy record? His best ever, in 1972: 27 W, 0.99 WHIP, 1.97 ERA, 310 K.

The FBHOF will have more on the 1970s in coming weeks.

Year: 2001
First Time All Stars: 8 – Bret Boone, Keith Foulke, Freddy Garcia, Luis Gonzalez, Paul Lo Duca, Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Javier Vazquez
3 Time All Stars: 3 – Robb Nen, Curt Schilling, Larry Walker
5 Time All Stars: 6 – Roberto Alomar, Randy Johnson, Chipper Jones, Mike Piazza, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa
10 Time All Stars: 2 – Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux
Future FBHOF’ers: 14 – Alomar, Bonds, Todd Helton, Johnson, Jones, Maddux, Piazza, Pujols, Rodriguez, Schilling, Sosa, Walker
Snubs: 2 – Vladimir Guerrero (11.6), Bobby Abreu (11.0)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Johnson (17.9)

2001 was the last hurrah for the fantasy all-stars. During the 1980’s no team reached the level of 10 Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famers on its roster. In the early 1990’s, the number FBHOF’ers per team rose steadily until maxing out at 14 in 1997 and 1998, and maintained this approximate level for the next three years. Now, in 2001, we find it’s the last team to take the field with double digit home FBHOF’ers.

Several all time greats made their last All-Star appearance: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Brown, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, and Larry Walker had their last great season and only the addition of Albert Pujols helped off-set their losses.

This isn’t to say 2001 wasn’t a good team as both the infield and outfield were Top-10 material. Going around the diamond Todd Helton, Bret Boone, Alomar, Alex Rodriguez, Jones and Pujols averaged an astounding .330 with 120 R, 39 HR, and 126 RBI. The outfield was even better: .330 AVG, 126 R, 48 HR, 126 RBI, and 17 SB. The best of the lot was Sammy Sosa who batted .328, hit 64 HR, and drove in 160 RBI.

Randy Johnson, with 17.9 FBHOF points, made up for what was otherwise a mediocre starting rotation. He won 21 games and struck out 372 batters, the third highest mark since the beginning of the 20th century.

In a famous 7 game set, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series. Gonzalez, Johnson, and Schilling represented the victors. Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera the losers.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 21st
IF: 6th
OF: 7th
SP: 16th
RP: 25th
Overall: 16th

Year: 2002
First Time All Stars: 14 – Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman, Eric Gagne, Jason Giambi, Byung-Hyun Kim, Billy Koch, Derek Lowe, Magglio Ordonez, Roy Oswalt, Jorge Posada, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada, Jim Thome, and Barry Zito
3 Time All Stars: 1 – Vladimir Guerrero
5 Time All Stars: 4 – Pedro Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa
10 Time All Stars: 1 – Barry Bonds
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 – Bonds, Guerrero, Johnson, Martinez, Piazza, Albert Pujols, Rodriguez, Schilling, Sosa
Snubs: 2 – Jeff Kent (11.0), Shawn Green (10.7)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Johnson (18.1)

No stars, no problem.

14 first time All-Stars make up a large portion of the 2002 squad, yet this team was among the best of the fantasy era, ranking 6th overall. The key for was their formidable starting rotation, led by another great season from Randy Johnson. He owns the best consecutive two year score all time, compiling 36 FBHOF points in 2001 ad 2002. Fellow starters Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez were excellent as well, combining for 43 W, 555 K, 0.96 WHIP, and a 2.81 ERA.

For the second year in row, the infield was superb. Jason Giambi was near his peak, hitting 41 HR and driving in 122; Albert Pujols batted .314 and drove in 122; Rodriguez enjoyed his 57 HR, 142 RBI year; Miguel Tejada had 131 RBI and 34 HR; and Jim Thome hit 52 out of the park.

Saying goodbye were Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa. In 2002 the Anaheim Angels edged out the San Francisco Giants 4 games to 3 in the World Series. Barry Bonds was the lone representative for the fantasy all-stars.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 26th
IF: 5th
OF: 17th
SP: 3rd
RP: 16th
Overall: 6th

Year: 2003
First Time All Stars: 9 – Carlos Delgado, Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Esteban Loaiza, Javy Lopez, Mark Prior, Scott Rolen, Jason Schmidt, Vernon Wells
3 Time All Stars: 2 – Todd Helton, Albert Pujols
5 Time All Stars: 2 – Pedro Martinez, Alex Rodriguez
10 Time All Stars: 1 – Barry Bonds
Future FBHOF’ers: 13 – Bonds, Helton, Martinez, Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield
Snubs: 2 – Nomar Garciaparra (11.5), Edgar Renteria (11.4)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Pujols (17.2)

This was a solid year, with all positions with the exception of starting pitcher, solidly above average. The most impressive aspect of the 2003 team was the relief corps, which ranked 5th. This is the best ranking given to closers since the days of 120 inning seasons from the early 1980’s.

Eric Gagne led all relievers with 9.1 FBHOF points, the highest mark of what we’ll call the modern closing era. He was unhittable posting a 0.69 WHIP and 1.20 ERA in 82 innings. He also struck out 137 and saved 55 games. Joining him in the pen is Keith Foulke (0.89 WHIP, 2.09 ERA, 43 Sv) and Billy Wagner (0.87 WHIP, 1.78 ERA, 44 K). Foulke dazzled fantasy owners with 9 wins as well.

Albert Pujols was rated best on the team. It was his finest fantasy season as he raised his batting average to .359 while maintaining his usual run production numbers, in this case 137 R, 43 HR, and 124 RBI. Gary Sheffield gets little credit when compared to his contemporaries, but he could mash. His .330 AVG with 126 R, 39 HR, 132 RBI, and 18 SB added up to 15.9 FBHOF points, second most on the team.

Also of note was Javy Lopez and his 43 HR and 109 RBI out of the catcher position. It was the 6th best single season for a catcher. Mark Prior teased us all with his only great season – 18 W, 1.10 WHIP, 2.43 ERA, and 245 K.

The Florida Marlins defeated the New York Yankees in six games. Florida had no fantasy All Stars; the Yanks had one, Alfonso Soriano.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 10th
IF: 13th
OF: 10th
SP: 19th
RP: 5th
Overall: 8th

Year: 1998
First Time All Stars: 4 – Vinny Castilla, Derek Jeter, Tom Gordon, Jason Kendall
3 Time All Stars: 4 – Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling
5 Time All Stars: 8 – Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 14 –Belle, Biggio, Bonds, Kevin Brown, Clemens, Griffey, Johnson, Jones, Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Piazza, Rodriguez, Schilling, Sammy Sosa
Snubs: 2 – Jeff Bagwell (11.1), Vladimir Guerrero (11.0)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Sosa (16.7)

Last week we saw how the 1997 squad ranked best overall among the 28 all star teams. While this is true in a statistical sense, many fans will likely look towards the 1998 team as the one to beat. Their team average FBHOF score is different only by the smallest percentage points – 12.08 vs. 12.07 – and frankly, this means there is no difference as I do not pretend that the math behind the FBHOF scoring system is reliable up to the hundredth decimal point.

Further, and more telling, the starting rotation is entirely made up of Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famers, 5 of 6 of which are likely headed to Cooperstown as well. Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, and Curt Schilling are joined by Kevin Brown, an excellent pitcher in his own right.

On offense, many names remain the same: Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr, Chipper Jones, Mike Piazza, and Alex Rodriguez make back to back All Star appearances. But there were a couple of upgrades, in name at least, too. Mark McGwire replaces Andres Galarraga, Albert Belle ditched Tony Gwynn, Juan Gonzalez instead of Raul Mondesi plus Sammy Sosa had his career year in 1998. For the first time ever all batters and staring pitchers reached 10 or more FBHOF points. This team had no weaknesses.

The ‘for fun’ fact that brings it all home? FBHOF’er Jeff Bagwell and Vlad Guerrero weren’t good enough to make this team; in 1997 the snubs were Tino Martinez and Vinny Castilla. There is no comparison.

The World Series featured the 114 Win New York Yankees, represented only by Derek Jeter. They defeated the San Diego Padres 4 games to none. Kevin Brown, the fantasy pitcher of the year, was their #1 starter.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 4th
IF: 3rd
OF: 14th
SP: 5th
RP: 15th
Overall: 2nd

Year: 1999
First Time All Stars: 9 – Shawn Green, Vladimir Guerrero, Mike Hampton, Jose Lima, Kevin Milwood, Manny Ramirez, Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner, Scott Williamson
3 Time All Stars: 9 – Roberto Alomar, Jeff Bagwell, Kevin Brown, Nomar Garciaparra, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez, Mark McGwire, Ivan Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 –Alomar, Bagwell, Brown, Griffey, Guerrero, Johnson, Jones, Martinez, Piazza, Ramirez
Snubs: 2 – Rafael Palmeiro (11.3), Juan Gonzalez (11.0)
16 Pt Season: 2 – Martinez (18.1), Johnson (17.8)

This year’s version of Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson make up fantasy baseball’s historical best 1-2 punch. Martinez was technically awesome. Only five pitchers in the fantasy era have maintained a WHIP of 0.92 over the course of 200 or more innings, and despite starting just 29 games, he laid claim to 23 wins. On the other hand, Johnson was a workhorse. His WHIP was a full .10 higher and his ERA 0.40 higher, but Johnson was only 3-tenths of a FBHOF point behind Martinez for the #1 ranking of the year. Why? Innings pitched.

Above you can see that Martinez outperformed his NL counterpart in these critical rate statistics, especially in strikeout to walk ratio.  Johnson’s numbers were great in their own right, but no one could conclude that he was the ‘better’ of the two.  However, Johnson made 6 more starts than Martinez and lasted a shade deeper into each.  The question becomes would a fantasy owner rather, for instance, a 2.07 ERA in 213 IP or a 2.48 ERA in 271 innings?

Simple math.  Assume a standard fantasy rotation of 6 starters and 3 relievers, and pretend they each maintained an exact league average ERA of 4.37.  Replace a starter with Martinez and compute the new team ERA.  Then swap out Martinez for Johnson and compute his impact to the team.  Answer – the impacts are exactly the same:

4.022488 – Team ERA w/Martinez
4.022957 – Team ERA w/Johnson

Moral of the story?  Innings pitched matters.  A great deal.

Kevin Millwood and Kevin Brown were very good 3rd and 4th starters but Mike Hampton and Jose Lima (! – 21 W, 1.22 WHIP, 3.58 ERA) were worse than average for All Stars.

On offense, Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez combined to make the best All Star catching tandem in history:  .320 AVG, 216 R, 75 HR, 237 RBI, and 27 SB between them.

Elsewhere, Barry Bonds played in just 102 games (batting .262 in the process) and misses an All-Star nod for the first time since 1989. He would go on to be elected each year from 2000 to 2004, giving him 14 appearances in a 15 year stretch.  Recurring All-Stars Albert Belle, Craig Biggio, Nomar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr, and Mark McGwire made their last team in 1999; Roberto Alomar, Shawn Green, Vlad Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, and Billy Wagner made their first.

In the World Series the New York Yankees won their 3rd title in 4 years, pounding the Atlanta Braves 4-0.  Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera represented the AL Champions while Chipper Jones and Millwood stood for the NL victors.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 1st
IF: 9th
OF: 20th
SP: 2nd
RP: 14th
Overall: 3rd

Year: 2000
First Time All Stars: 6 – Armando Benitez, Johnny Damon, Darin Erstad, Todd Helton, Richard Hidalgo, Jeff Kent.
3 Time All Stars: 7 –Roberto Alomar, Jeff Bagwell, Kevin Brown, Pedro Martinez, Robb Nen, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa
5 Time All Stars: 5 – Trevor Hoffman, Randy Johnson, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza
10 Time All Stars: 1 – Barry Bonds
Future FBHOF’ers: 13 – Alomar, Bagwell, Bonds, Brown, Vladimir Guerrero, Helton, Johnson, Jones, Maddux, Martinez, Piazza, Rodriguez, Sosa
Snubs: Troy Glaus (11.6), Andruw Jones (11.1), Frank Thomas (11.1)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Pedro Martinez (18.2)

The freak rosters made up of abnormal amounts of All Time fantasy greats continued in 2000, though the quality of seasons diminished. Dropping 14 slots, the first team of the new century is ranked just 15th, mostly due to an outfield crew that was in the bottom third in All Star history. Darin Erstad, Johnny Damon, and Richard Hidalgo had very good seasons but not even they would argue they were equal to those they replaced: Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Larry Walker.

Starting pitching continued to be great and 2000 was the 4th consecutive season where the position was in the Top 6. Pedro Martinez became the first player in fantasy history to have back to back 18+ FBHOF point seasons. Take you pick as to which is better:

1999 – 213 IP, 23 W, 0.92 WHIP, 2.07 ERA, 313 K
2000 – 217 IP, 18 W, 0.74 WHIP, 1.74 ERA, 284 K

The first subway series in 44 years transpired in October, with the Yankees winning 4 games to 1. Flushing featured Mike Piazza and Armando Benitez as All Stars while the Bronx Bombers countered with, well no one, not even a snub.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 9th
IF: 11th
OF: 22nd
SP: 6th
RP: 24th
Overall: 15th

Year: 1995
First Time All Stars: 11 – Edgar Martinez, Jose Mesa, Mike Mussina, Hideo Nomo, Tim Salmon, Pete Schourek, Sammy Sosa, Mike Stanley, Jon Valentin, Mo Vaughn, Mark Wohlers
5 Time All Stars: 4 – Barry Bonds, David Cone, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 – Albert Belle, Craig Biggio, Bonds, Cone, Randy Johnson, Maddux, Mike Piazza, Sosa, Thomas,
Snubs: 2 – Chuck Knoblauch (11.9), Reggie Sanders (11.7)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Maddux (17.3)

1995 was the calm before the storm. This team was ranked 14th overall and the All-Stars would soon head into a stretch of four consecutive Top 10 teams, finishing with the best three of all time.

With the exception of relief pitching, all other positions were ranked between 8th and 16th making the team about average in total. For every Mike Piazza (12.6 FBHOF points) there seemed to be a Mike Stanley (5.9 FBHOF points) to counterbalance the team more towards mediocrity. Greg Maddux had an incredible year (17 FBHOF Points, 19 W, 0.81 WHIP, 1.63 ERA) but his All-Star teammate David Cone managed just 9.2 FBHOF points.

One important aspect of 1995 stands out though. Not only was Maddux great, but for the first time in the fantasy era there were two 16 point pitchers in the same year. Joining Maddux is #2 starter Randy Johnson who tossed 214 innings with a 1.05 WHIP and 2.48 ERA, winning 18 and striking out 294.

On offense, Albert Belle and Dante Bichette led the way with 15+ FBHOF point seasons and hitting 90 HR and 254 RBI combined.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 16th
IF: 12th
OF: 11th
SP: 8th
RP: 27th
Overall: 14th

Year: 1996
First Time All Stars: 11 – Kevin Brown, Ellis Burks, Ken Caminiti, Jeff Fassero, Pat Hentgen, Chipper Jones, Chuck Knoblauch, Robb Nen, Alex Rodriguez, Mel Rojas, John Smoltz
3 Time All Stars: 4 – Albert Belle, Dante Bichette, Ken Griffey Jr, Mike Piazza
5 Time All Stars: 2 – Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 – Belle, Bonds, Brown, Griffey Jr, Jones, Maddux, Piazza, Rodriguez, Smoltz
Snubs: 3 – Brady Anderson (11.7), Gary Sheffield (11.6), Frank Thomas (11.5)
16 Pt Season: 2 – John Smoltz (16.8), Ellis Burks (16.2)

Due to the strength of their potent offense, the 1996 All Stars rank 7th overall. The infield was very good (7th) with only the 2nd catcher Ivan Rodriguez failing to score 10 FBHOF points. First Basemen Andres Galarraga hit 47 HR and drove in 150; Second Basemen Chuck Knoblauch batted .341 with 140 R; Third Basemen Ken Caminiti hit 40 HR; and future FBHOF’er Alex Rodriguez made his first All-Star appearance batting .358 with 141 R, 36 HR, 123 RBI, and 15 SB as the starting shortstop. Other FBHOF’ers making their first all star appearances were Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, and Kevin Brown.

Smoltz was the best player on the team with 16.8 FBHOF points after putting up career highs in Wins, WHIP, ERA, and strikeouts. Ellis Burks’ season was the best ever for a non Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer, he went: .344 AVG, 142 R, 40 HR, 128 RBI, 32 SB for 16.2 FBHOF points.

The outfield, led by Burks, was stellar, finishing 5th overall. Barry Bonds had a 40/40 season and a .300 batting average; Albert Belle hit 48 HR and almost reached 150 RBI; Kenny Lofton stole 75 bases with 132 runs and a batting average well over .300; and Ken Griffey Jr. had one of his best years going 125 / 49 / 140.

Multiple time All Stars Bichette, Lofton, Hideo Nomo, Mo Vaughn made their last All Star appearances in 1996.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 12th
IF: 7th
OF: 5th
SP: 18th
RP: 18th
Overall: 7th

Year: 1997
First Time All Stars: 6 – Nomar Garciaparra, Darryl Kile, Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi, Jeff Shaw, Larry Walker
3 Time All Stars: 6 – Craig Biggio, Andres Galarraga, Ken Griffey Jr, Trevor Hoffman, Ivan Rodriguez, Randy Jonson
5 Time All Stars: 5 – Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 14 – Jeff Bagwell, Biggio, Bonds, Clemens, Griffey, Johnson, Chipper Jones, Maddux, Martinez, Piazza, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling, Thomas, Walker
Snubs: Vinny Castilla (11.2), Tino Martinez (10.2)
16 Pt Season: 2 – Larry Walker (19.4), Roger Clemens (16.2)

Never in the history of fantasy baseball has such a collection of talent been assembled. This team has it all:

.350+ AVG: Tony Gwynn, Mike Piazza, Larry Walker
50+ HR: Ken Griffey Jr
140+ R: Craig Biggio, Walker
140+ RBI: Andres Galarraga, Griffey
20+ W: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson
Sub-1.00 WHIP: Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez
Sub-2.00 ERA: Martinez
300+ K: Curt Schilling, Martinez
40+ S: Jeff Shaw

The only missing attribute was a preeminent base stealer, though six players did have 25 or more, capped off by Biggio’s 47.

This team was also second to none in terms of elite seasons. A record five players recorded FBHOF scores of 15 or better:

The crown jewel of the ’97 All Stars is Walker, who amassed more FBHOF points in a single season than any other batter in fantasy history. Walker was good enough to lead the league in On Base percentage, Slugging Percentage, OPS, Total Bases, Home Runs, Runs Created, Extra Base Hits and several other Sabermetric minded stats like Offensive Winning Percentage and Adjusted Batting Runs. He was also Top-Three in Runs, Hits, Doubles, and RBI. It was an all around masterful season and I for one can’t wait to see how it stacks up against the greats of earlier decades (hint hint about future FBHOF developments).

Frank Thomas and Galarraga appeared on their last All Star roster and welcomed newcomers Nomar Garciaparra, Darryl Kile, Martinez, and Walker.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 2nd
IF: 14th
OF: 4th
SP: 1st
RP: 22nd
Overall: 1st

Year: 1992
First Time All Stars: 10 – Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Brady Anderson, Darren Daulton, Travis Fryman, Marquis Grissom, Doug Jones, Dennis Martinez, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield
3 Time All Stars: 6 – Barry Bonds, Joe Carter, David Cone, Dennis Eckersley, Greg Maddux, Mickey Tettleton, Kirby Puckett
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Roger Clemens, Paul Molitor, Ryne Sandberg
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 11 – Alomar, Bonds, Clemens, Cone, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas
Snubs: 2 – Terry Pendleton (11.4), Ray Lankford (11.2)
16 Pt Season: None

The finest All-Star teams were assembled in the late 1990’s, coinciding exactly with the period of off the charts offensive levels and thanks to the ability a handful of great pitchers who were able to maintain their own production levels despite this increase. While the early 1990’s featured some of the worst all star squads, several key greats made their first appearances in this timeframe. Roberto Alomar, Albert Belle, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, and Frank Thomas each made their first all star team between 1990-1993.

This wasn’t much of a help in 1992. In only a few rare cases in baseball history do players have their best season the first time they’re considered great, rather, they start good, become great, level off to good again and then retire. So while the 1992 team may be riddled with all-star names, they hadn’t quite reached superstar status yet. In fact, the 1992 team is the second worst on record.

Their two defining qualities were the catchers and relief corps – which happen to be the two least important aspects of any fantasy team. Darren Daulton and Mickey Tettleton were power hitting backstops, averaging 29 HR, 96 RBI, and 81 R between them. Daulton even threw in 11 stolen bases for good measure. The two were good enough to be ranked 2nd best among all star teams that didn’t feature Mike Piazza.

No closer had an ERA above 2.00 and Doug Jones, Dennis Eckersley, and Duane Ward combined to strike out nearly 300 batters.

The Toronto Blue Jays, led by fantasy All Stars Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, and Ward bested the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2 in the World Series.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 6th
IF: 26th
OF: 19th
SP: 28th
RP: 9th
Overall: 27th

Year: 1993
First Time All Stars: 11 – Kevin Appier, Rod Beck, Albert Belle, Juan Gonzalez, Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Jeff Montgomery, Rafael Palmeiro, Mike Piazza, Billy Swift, John Wetteland
3 Time All Stars: 4 –Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Ron Gant, Frank Thomas
5 Time All Stars: 1 – Paul Molitor
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 – Roberto Alomar, Belle, Bonds, Griffey, Johnson, Maddux, Molitor, Piazza, Thomas
Snubs: Marquis Grissom (11.7), Lenny Dykstra (11.7)
16 Pt Season: Bonds (17.0)

After a long hiatus of ten consecutive well below average teams, the All-Stars of 1993 finally cracked the Top 15. This was not a great team, but after finishing 27th the year before, their 11th place finish was quite remarkable.

The key areas of improvement were in the outfield and starting pitcher positions. Barry Bonds was the best player in fantasy baseball, amassing 17.0 FBHOF points, the first exceptional fantasy season since 1988 when Jose Canseco recorded 18.3 points. Bonds combined power, speed, and a high average as only a select few have done before – .336 AVG, 129 R, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 29 SB. Joining him in the outfield were Ken Griffey Jr, Juan Gonzalez, Albert Belle, and Ron Gant who between them averaged 106 R, 41 HR, 118 RBI, and 18 SB.

While the outfield improved considerably, it was nothing compared to how much better the 1993 pitchers were over their predecessors. They rank 11th, a 17 slot improvement, due to the fact five pitchers scored 11 or more FBHOF Points. Compare this to 1992 when just 2 accomplished the feat. Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer’s Greg Maddux (20 W, 2.36 ERA) and Randy Johnson (19 W, 308 K) led the charge with 14.5 and 13.9 FBHOF points respectively. While not great names, Jose Rijo, Kevin Appier, and Bill Swift all had great seasons with a combined average 18 W, 1.09 WHIP, 2.62 ERA.

FBHOF’er catcher Mike Piazza made his first in a string of ten consecutive All-Star appearances in 1993, beginning a stretch of greatness unparalleled in fantasy baseball. No player has dominated his position like Piazza. The only catcher elected to the FBHOF, Piazza has the best three year positional score in the history of fantasy baseball. The official FBHOF score is comprised of two data points – scoring against the peers at a player’s position, and a scoring against all players. Looking solely at the positional component:

Piazza ranks first in 3-year peak and second in 5 and 10 year peak scores.

The 1993 World Series featured the famous Joe Carter walk-off home run to lead the Blue Jays past the Phillies in 6 games.  Roberto Alomar and Paul Molitor represented Toronto, and Darren Daulton Philadelphia.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 14th
IF: 20th
OF: 13th
SP: 11th
RP: 7th
Overall: 11th

Year: 1994
First Time All Stars: 6 – Jeff Bagwell, Dante Bichette, Jeff Brantley, Trevor Hoffman, Kenny Lofton, Ivan Rodriguez
3 Time All Stars: 7 – Carlos Baerga, David Cone, Doug Drabek, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Bret Saberhagen, Matt Williams
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: 13 – Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Bonds, Albert Belle, Clemens, Cone, Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Jonson, Maddux, Mike Piazza, Saberhagen, Thomas, Ripken,
Snubs: Jose Canseco (11.3, 2nd Snub), Paul Molitor (11.2), Kirby Puckett (11.1, 2nd Snub)
16 Pt Season: Maddux (18.8), Bagwell (17.6)

Two aspects of the 1994 team stand out – no other season featured two players to reach 17+ FBHOF points, and this was one hell of an outfield. The outfielders collectively rank second, behind only the 1981 team which featured four players with 14 or more points. Three players reached 14 this year – Albert Belle (36 HR, .357 AVG, 101 RBI), Ken Griffey Jr (40 HR), and Barry Bonds (37 HR, 29 SB). Keeping in mind that nearly 30% of the season was lost due to the strike, these numbers are impressive.

The best offensive player of the season was Jeff Bagwell. He batted .368 with 104 R, 39 HR, 116 RBI, and 15 SB en route to 17.6 FBHOF points – 5th best all time and tops among first basemen. It was his first year as an all star and he would eventually be elected to three more All-Star squads.

The premier player of 1994, regardless of position, was Greg Maddux who turned in the best season in fantasy history, recording 18.8 points. Using funny math and adding back the missing 30% of the season due to the strike, we arrive at a line of 21 W, 0.90 WHIP, 1.56 ERA, and 203 K. Complete domination.

Unlike the great seasons of Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson that would soon be upon the fantasy community, Maddux was the only pitcher of his time to be 50% better than his closest competition. This is reflected in the FBHOF scoring system. The table below depicts the elite pitching seasons of the fantasy era along with the scoring of the next best pitcher of the year:

Maddux had no equals.  Later in the 1990s, it was a constant battle between Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez.  In 1994 Maddux stood alone atop the pitching community.

Several new All-Stars of 1994 would go on to have great careers: Ivan Rodriguez (6 ASP), Trevor Hoffman (5 ASP), Craig Biggio (4 ASP), and Dante Bichette (3 ASP).  Three 3-time all stars made their last appearance this year as well – Carlos Baerga, Doug Drabek, and Matt Williams.

In one of the biggest mistakes in baseball history, the 1994 World Series was canceled due to labor strife.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 15th
IF: 25th
OF: 2nd
SP: 10th
RP: 28th
Overall: 17th

Year: 1989
First Time All Stars: 11 – Craig Biggio, Bobby Bonilla, Will Clark, Jose DeLeon, Bo Jackson, Fred McGriff, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Moore, Ruben Sierra, Mickey Tettleton
3 Time All Stars: 4 – Eric Davis, Orel Hershiser, Mike Scott, Ryne Sandberg
5 Time All Stars: 2 – Rickey Henderson, Robin Yount
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 5 – Biggio, Henderson, Bret Saberhagen, Sandberg, Young
Snubs: 3 – Lonnie Smith (10.6), Julio Franco (10.5), Don Mattingly (10.3)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Saberhagen (16.5)

All Star teams suffered through their worst stretch of the fantasy era between the 1986 and 1992 seasons. No team ranked higher than 19th and four of the six lowest ranked teams came from this period. There were few endearing qualities with the 1989 team since catchers, outfielders, and starting pitchers each ranked in the in the lower quartile when compared with their peers from other years. Even middle infielders were below average, ranking 17th, while relievers at least held their own at 10th.

1989 was the first year several future recurring all stars made their first. Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio had his first great year, as a catcher, and Bobby Bonilla, Fred McGriff, Ruben Sierra, and Mickey Tettleton also made their first appearances. Alternatively, the fantasy Baseball All Star squads said goodbye FBHOF’er Robin Yount and other greats such as Orel Hershiser, Mike Scott, and Eric Davis who would make their final All Star appearances this season.

Several popular players of the day enjoyed their best seasons. Will Clark batted .333 and drove in 111 runners; Bo Jackson hit 32 HR, stole 26 bases, and had 105 RBI; and Kevin Mitchell went off with 47 bombs and 127 RBI.

Nobody was better than Howard Johnson though. Johnson is a borderline Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer who enjoyed the best year of his career this year. He missed the 40/40 club by 4 home runs, had over 100 runs and RBI, and recorded enough hits to bat .287. His 15.9 FBHOF points was the best among batters.

Bret Saberhagen was the leading fantasy pitcher, besting all starters in Wins, WHIP, and ERA.

The Oakland Athletics, led by All Stars Rickey Henderson and Mike Moore, swept the San Francisco Giants in the earthquake interrupted “Bay Bridge” World Series.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 22nd
IF: 17th
OF: 21st
SP: 22nd
RP: 10th
Overall: 24th

Year: 1990
First Time All Stars: 10 – Barry Bonds, Rob Dibble, Doug Drabek, Cecil Fielder, Ron Gant, Kelly Gruber, Ramon Martinez, Dave Stewart, Bobby Thigpen, Matt Williams
3 Time All Stars: 6 – Roger Clemens, Carlton Fisk, Howard Johnson, Lance Parrish, Darryl Strawberry, Frank Viola
5 Time All Stars: 2 – Eddie Murray, Ryne Sandberg,
10 Time All Stars: 1 – Rickey Henderson
Future FBHOF’ers: 5 – Bonds, Clemens, Henderson, Murray, Sandberg,
Snubs: 4 – Jose Canseco (10.7), Lenny Dykstra (10.3), Andre Dawson (10.3), Fred McGriff (10.2)
16 Pt Season: Sandberg (16.4)

In 1990 improvements to the outfield and relief corps were offset by declining scores to catchers, middle infielders, and starting pitchers. In all, the 1990 squad was ranked a lowly 23rd. On a positive note, the 1990 All-Stars introduced the fantasy world to Barry Bonds. He batted .301 with 104 R, 33 HR, 114 RBI, and 52 stolen bases in the first of his fourteen All Star appearances. Additionally, the All Star careers of several other fantasy greats were launched – Doug Drabek, Cecil Fielder, Ron Gant, Matt Williams. Of the four, Gant had the best career (56.8 FBHOF points) and Fielder had the best year – 51 HR and 132 RBI.

This season also marked the end to several great All Star careers. Two excellent catchers, Lance Parrish and Carlton Fisk, had their last all-star quality seasons and ended their careers with 6 All Star appearances between them. This was also the last appearances for three timers Darryl Strawberry and Frank Viola.

The biggest losses however, were Rickey Henderson and Eddie Murray, both of whom are members of the Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame. Murray was good enough for long enough to make 7 All Star appearances and Henderson was a step above him still, with 1990 being the last of an incredible 10 appearances. Henderson in particular ended on high note batting .325 with 119 R, 28 HR, 61 RBI, and 65 SB.

Roger Clemens was the pitcher of the year winning 21 games and striking out 209 batters in 228 innings. His ERA was under 2.00. 1990 was also the year of Dennis Eckersley (0.61 ERA, 0.61 WHIP) and Bobby Thigpen’s 57 saves. Rob Dibble was the third closer selected (98 IP, 136 K, 1.74 WHIP) making the closers the lone standout on the team.

After sweeping the year before, the A’s were themselves swept at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds in one of the biggest upsets in memory. Dibble represented the Reds while the A’s countered with 3 – Dave Stewart, Bob Welch, and Eckersley.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 27th
IF: 23rd
OF: 8th
SP: 23rd
RP: 8th
Overall: 23rd

Year: 1991
First Time All Stars: 7 – Tom Glavine, Bryan Harvey, Mark Langston, Jose Rijo, Frank Thomas, Duane Ward, Mitch Williams
3 Time All Stars: 2 – Julio Franco, Paul Molitor
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken, Ryne Sandberg
10 Time All Stars: None
Future FBHOF’ers: Barry Bonds, Clemens, David Cone, Greg Maddux, Molitor, Ripken, Sandberg, Thomas,
Snubs: Rafael Palmeiro (11.5), Chris Sabo (11.1)
16 Pt Season: None

The key aspect of the 1991 Fantasy All Star team is the middle infielders. Julio Franco, Cal Ripken, and Ryne Sandberg were the best grouping since 1985 and averaged 13.6 FBHOF points, almost as many points as the outfielders. Together they hit 75 HR, scored 311 times, drove in 292 runners, stole 64 bases, and had a combined batting average of .315. The middle infielders wouldn’t be this good again until Alex Rodriguez burst onto the scene five years later.

The catchers, Mickey Tettleton and Benito Santiago, were both multiple time All-Stars who delivered about average productions for All Stars. They had power hitting 48 home runs and producing 176 RBI. Their weak batting averages (.263 and .267) prevented higher scoring.

Jose Canseco led the offense with 14.8 FBHOF points – he hit 44 HR, with 115 R, 122 RBI, and 26 SB. Fellow outfielders Ruben Sierra, Ron Gant, and Joe Carter were all multi year all stars and Barry Bonds had not yet reached superstar status. Together, they were roughly average when compared to other All Star outfields.

Pitching is a glaring weakness on the 1991 team. Roger Clemens was having another fine year (18 W, 1.05 WHIP, 2.62 ERA, 241 K) and Tom Glavine was very good (12.5 FBHOF Points) but no other starter cracked 10 points. That leaves 4 starters with an average score of just 8.9. David Cone was the worst of the lot thanks to a mediocre 14 Wins and a 3.29 ERA.

The 1991 World Series was one of the best ever, a 7 game duel decided by a 10th inning single by pinch hitter Gene Larkin in a scoreless game. The Twins won despite no fantasy All Stars on their roster.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 17th
IF: 8th
OF: 16th
SP: 25th
RP: 19th
Overall: 28th

Year: 1986
First Time All Stars: 15(!) – Jesse Barfield, George Bell, Joe Carter, Roger Clemens, Eric Davis, Jody Davis, Gary Gaetti, Mike Krukow, Roger McDowell, Kirby Puckett
, Dave Righetti, Steve Sax, Mike Scott, Mike Witt, Todd Worrell
3 Time All Stars: 3 – Don Mattingly, Mike Schmidt, Fernando Valenzuela
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Gary Carter, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 7 – Clemens, Henderson, Mattingly, Puckett, Ripken, Schmidt, Fernando Valenzuela
Snubs: Tim Raines (11.4), Von Hayes (11.3), Jim Rice (11.0), Tony Gwynn (10.9)
16 Pt Season: Mike Scott (17.3)

An incredible 15 first time all stars made the 1986 team. The vacuum was in part created by several greats that made their last All Star appearance on the 1985 team. While still productive, both Tim Raines and Dwight Gooden were never considered elite again. Eddie Murray, who would improbably make the 1990 All Stars, started a 4-year period of less than spectacular play and new blood in the likes of Don Mattingly emerged as the best first basemen.

1986 was also the final year of Gary Carter’s seven year reign as the best fantasy catcher in game. Between 1987 and 1992 following Carter’s departure, nine different catchers would make All-Star appearances.

This churn resulted in a less than spectacular team, one that finished just 19th of the 28 teams we are to investigate. But it was the first year future Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer’s Kirby Puckett and Roger Clemens made the all-stars. Fan admired Eric Davis would also make this team, stealing 80 bases and hitting 27 home runs. Clemens was the key All Star rookie however, as he would go on to become an inner circle FBHOF’er and record more FBHOF points than any other pitcher in fantasy history. While not considered a true rookie, 1986 was the first year Clemens made 30 or more starts. He won 24 games with a 0.97 WHIP, 2.48 ERA, and 238 K’s for a sweet 15.5 FBHOF points.
He wasn’t the best player of the year however, that distinction goes to Mike Scott who recorded 17.3 FBHOF points, 9th highest of the fantasy era, and the best mark for a non-hall of famer. The rest of the starting rotation was made up of one time all stars Mike Witt and Mike Krukow, three time all star Jack Morris, and one of the last good seasons of FBHOF’er Fernando Valenzuela. Starters were the lone bright spot, finishing 7th in the rankings.

The principal concern with the 1986 All Stars is a poor showing from the catchers and middle infielders. Jody Davis, back up catcher to Carter, is elected with the 2nd worst All Star score for catchers ever. The middle infielders had a different problem – Cal Ripken, Steve Sax, and Alan Trammell each had good years, averaging 10.2 FBHOF points, but 1986 marked the first time no middle infielder reached the 12 point plateau, the cut-off used for “great” seasons. This results in a raking of just 27th.

Outfielders performed close to the average with Kirby Puckett (.328, 119 R, 31 HR, 96 RBI, 20 SB) and Rickey Henderson (130 R, 28 HR, 87 SB) leading the charge. Closers were now fully into the period of less innings pitched, which reduced their fantasy value considerably:

Clemens’ Red Sox lost to Carter’s Mets in one of the more memorable World Series.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 24th
IF: 27th
OF: 12th
SP: 7th
RP: 21st
Overall: 19th

Year: 1987
First Time All Stars: 11 – Tim Burke, Tony Gwynn, Tom Henke, Howard Johnson, Jimmy Key, Mark McGwire, Matt Nokes, Benito Santiago, Darryl Strawberry, Frank Viola, Bob Welch
3 Time All Stars: 4 – Andre Dawson, Dwight Evans, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell
5 Time All Stars: 1 – Dale Murphy
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 4 – Clemens, Dawson, Paul Molitor, Murphy
Snubs: Tim Raines (11.9), Vince Coleman (11.2), Kirby Puckett (11.1)
16 Pt Season: None

The late 1980’s into the early 1990’s was a period of few standouts. The number of 12 Point, 16 Point, and 18 Point seasons was all down from levels established in the early and mid 1980’s, and well off the pace of the late 90’s into early 2000’s. Only until recently as parity gripped teams and players alike, have the numbers returned to a level near the late 1980’s.

The chart below depicts the number of each season type (12, 16, or 18 points) by year. The Y-Axis is represents the number of season types per team, on average. For instance, in 1998 every other team, 50%, would expect to have a 12 point player. This is twice as much as the all time low of 1994, when 1 in 4 teams would have a 12 point player.

With no 16 point seasons, or 15 point seasons for that matter, there are few standouts in 1987 – every non catcher recorded somewhere between 10.8 and 14.3 points.  The best of the bunch was George Bell and his 47 home runs.  Mark McGwire belted 49 homers, but scored lower than Bell in every other category, especially RBI where he fell short 134 to 118.    Darryl Strawberry (39 HR, 36 SSB), Eric Davis (37 HR, 50 SB), Andre Dawson (49 HR, 137 RBI), and Dale Murphy (44 HR, 115 R) all had memorable seasons but none scored particularly highly.

1987 is famous for its offensive explosion.  In the 5 year period after the 1981strike, baseball averaged less than 13 players with 30 or more home runs.  In 1987 the figure spiked to 28.  Baseball also averaged less than 1 player per season hitting 40 home runs prior to 1987.  Then the number more than quadrupled to four (Bell, Dawson, McGwire, Murphy).  Even the number players who hit 10 and 20 or more home runs increased considerably, 20% and 55% respectively.  Because of this, it was difficult to stand out, which reduces a players FBHOF score.  Simple supply and demand – if more players are hitting 30+ homers, the less an owner has to fight for there services, reducing each players overall value.

The pitchers were no better off than the batters.  Starters rank 20th overall and relievers 13th, though the impact of closers is already small as we have seen.   Roger Clemens (20 W, 1.18 WHIP, 2.97 ERA, 256 K) was pitcher of the year, though his stats add up to just 13.7 points.  He’s followed in the rotation by Jimmy Key (just 161 K), Mike Scott (16 W, 3.23 ERA), Frank Viola, Jack Morris, and Bob Welch.  This was also the first time no All Star relievers reached 100 innings pitched.

The 1987 World Series featured FBHOF’ers Kirby Puckett and Frank Viola.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 5th
IF: 15th
OF: 26th
SP: 27th
RP: 2nd
Overall: 22nd

Year: 1988
First Time All Stars: 11 – Jose Canseco, David Cone, Mark Davis, Dennis Eckersley, John Franco, Julio Franco, Andres Galarraga¸ Mike Greenwell, Teddy Higuera, Danny Jackson, Barry Larkin, Ernie Whitt
3 Time All Stars: 4 – Roger Clemens, George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Ryne Sandberg, Dave Winfield
5 Time All Stars: 1 – Henderson
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 7 – Canseco, Clemens, Cone, Henderson, Molitor, Kirby Puckett, Sandberg
Snubs: Andy Van Slyke (12.0), Will Clark (11.4), Kirk Gibson (11.0), Kevin McReynolds (10.4), Joe Carter (10.2)
16 Pt Season: Canseco (18.3)

The 1988 All-Stars are our worst ranked team in fantasy history. The Catchers and infielders are ranked last, the relievers 3rd to last, and the starting pitchers were barely average. If it weren’t for featuring the 3rd best offensive season of the Fantasy Era, this team would have been dreadful.

Starting with the positives – future Fantasy Baseball Hall of Famer Jose Canseco was awesome. He hit 42 home runs and stole 40 bases to be baseball first “40/40’ man. He hit over .300 and accumulated 120+ Runs and RBI. His 18.3 FBHOF points is just 1 of 4 such seasons in fantasy history. Fellow outfielder Kirby Puckett was also enjoying the best fantasy season of his career, adding 15.8 FBHOF points after batting .356 with 109 R, 24 HR, 121 RBI and 6 stolen bases. This gave the outfielders a 3rd place ranking.

Starting pitcher Orel Hershiser narrowly missed enshrinement into the FBHOF, falling short by just one-tenth of a point. His 1988 FBHOF score of 13.4 was the best of his career too, winning 23 games with a 1.05 WHIP and 2.26 ERA. This was also the season of his famous 59 consecutive scoreless innings streak. Joining Hershiser were FBHOF’ers Roger Clemens and David Cone, both of who were very good but not great. The 1988 starting pitching ranks 14th, exactly average.

The main problem with this squad is the entire infield; because of their deficiencies a record 54.9 FBHOF points were left off the team as Andy Van Slyke, Will Clark, Kirk Gibson, Kevin McReynolds, and Joe Carter were omitted. Van Slyke’s 12.0 FBHOF points is the second worst snub of all time. He had 101 R, 100 RBI, 25 HR, and 30 SB and was ranked as the 7th best batter and finished 4th in the NL-MVP voting.

Instead of the likes of Van Slyke and Clark, the 1988 team was saddled with catchers Ernie Whitt and Tony Pena. Whitt at least had 16 HR and 70 RBI, respectable for a catcher, but Pena was bad for an All Star by any standard – .263 AVG, 55 R, 10 HR, 51 RBI. Much of the rest of the infield was of poor quality too. Julio Franco, Barr Larkin, and Ryne Sandberg all failed to reach 10 FBHOF points and only one of the six infielders, George Brett, reached the 100 RBI plateau.

Along with past great Dave Winfield, 1988 would be Brett’s last All Star appearance. However, the career’s of David Cone (5 All Star appearances), Andres Galarraga (3), Julio Franco (3), Dennis Eckersley (3), and Canseco were just emerging.

The 1988 World Series featured the famous Kirk Gibson home run off of Dennis Eckersley, catapulting the Dodgers to a relatively easy 5 game victory. The Dodgers featured FBHOF’er Fernando Valenzuela, while the Athletics countered with Canseco.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 28th
IF: 28th
OF: 3rd
SP: 14th
RP: 26th
Overall: 28th

Year: 1983
First Time All Stars: 11 – John Denny, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Guerrero, La Marr Hoyt, Jack Morris, Jesse Orosco, Jim Rice, Dave Stieb, Lou Whitaker
3 Time All Stars: 5 – Cecil Cooper, Andre Dawson, Rickey Henderson, Eddie Murray, Robin Yount
5 Time All Stars: N/A
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 8 – Steve Carlton, Dawson, Henderson, Dale Murphy, Murray, Tim Raines, Cal Ripken, Yount.
Snubs: Ron Guidry (8.5), Lloyd Moseby (10.9), Mike Schmidt (11.1), Willie Upshaw (11.2)
16 Pt Season: 1 – Murphy (16.6)

By 1983 several players had emerged as recurring fantasy greats. Steve Carlton, Cecil Cooper, Rickey Henderson, Eddie Murray, and Robin Yount each were elected to their 4th consecutive All-Star team, and all but Cooper would eventually be inducted into Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame. Cooper falls just short of FBHOF requirements only since his 5th best season came one year before the 1980 cutoff.

On offense, Dale Murphy was king, enjoying his best season as a professional – .302, 131 R, 36 HR, 121 RBI, and 30 SB for the #1 batter ranking that year. His 16.6 FBHOF points rank 16th in the fantasy era. The rest of his outfield peers were solid themselves, finishing 9th in the positional rankings from 1980-2007. Two other stars of the 1970’s – Jim Rice and Dave Winfield – joined FBHOF’ers Tim Raines and Andre Dawson to give the outfielders an average of 13.5 points between them.

The 1983 bullpen ranks #1 all time. The names do not conjure up memories of the best seasons ever, but from a fantasy standpoint Dan Quisenberry, Jesse Orosco, and Al Holland delivered over 340 innings of 0.99 WHIP, 1.88 ERA baseball, along with 26 wins and 87 saves.

Starting pitching was relatively weak as Mario Soto, the #1 starter, had just 13.5 FBHOF points, the 5th worst mark for the #1 pitcher in a given year. He’s joined by first time All Stars Jack Morris, La Marr Hoyt, John Denny, and Dave Stieb. FBHOF’er Steve Carlton is the 6th starter, though this was his last great year.

Joe Altobelli’s Baltimore Orioles would win the World Series in 1983, topping the Philadelphia Phillies in just 5 games. Murray and Ripken are their representatives.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 7th
IF: 21st
OF: 9th
SP: 21st
RP: 1st
Overall: 9th

Year: 1984
First Time All Stars: 8 – Tony Armas, Bert Blyleven, Mike Boddicker, Dwight Gooden, Willie Hernandez, Don Mattingly, Tony Pena, Juan Samuel
3 Time All Stars: 5 – Dale Murphy, Cal Ripken, Mike Schmidt, Mario Soto, Tim Raines
5 Time All Stars: 2 – Eddie Murray, Rickey Henderson
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: 9 –Gooden, Henderson, Mattingly, Murphy, Murray, Raines, Ripken, Ryne Sandberg, Schmidt
Snubs: Bud Black, Jim Rice
16 Pt Season: None

1984 wasn’t a prime year for great baseball lines and it shows when constructing the fantasy All Star squad. Instead of an all time great Mike Schmidt leading the league in home runs like he did in 1983, it was Tony Armas. Instead of Jim Rice and the RBI crown, it was Armas again. Dale Murphy was a stud in 1983, amassing 16.6 FBHOF points after batting .302 with 131 R, 36 HR, 121 RBI, and 30 SB. One year later the best line in fantasy was just 13.6 FBHOF points when Ryne Sandberg batted .314 with 114 R, 19 HR, 84 RBI, and 32 SB.

Two young players from New York did have a major impact on the game however, and would eventually become greats, if just for a short period of time. In the National League, Dwight Gooden threw his first major league pitch in April, becoming one of the finest pitchers in baseball over the next 3 or 4 years. The same is true for the Yankees first basemen, Don Mattingly, who won a batting title and drove in 100 runners in his first full time season.

Overall though, the Infielders, Outfielders, and Staring Pitching all rank in the lower half of FBHOF scoring, with the latter two positions coming in with some of the worst scores on record.

A positive about 1983, and of the period between 1982 and 1985, was the quality of the catching crew. The only better 4 year period of the fantasy era was 1997 to 2000 thanks to the likes of Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez. In the early 80’s it was six time All Star Gary Carter (and he’s not in the Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame?) along with Lance Parrish and Carlton Fisk, both three time all stars.

In the World Series the Detroit Tigers cemented their place in history as one of the great single season teams, winning 104 games and easily dispatching the San Diego Padres 4 games to 1. Not one regular Tiger is on this team, though closer Willie Hernandez was spectacular, reaching 10.5 FBHOF points thanks to a line of 140 IP, 9 W, 0.94 WHIP, 1.92 ERA, and 32 saves. Those were the days for relief pitching.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 5th
IF: 15th
OF: 26th
SP: 27th
RP: 2nd
Overall: 22nd

Year: 1985
First Time All Stars: 9 – Kirk Gibson, Tommy Herr, Orel Hershiser, Bob James, Willie McGee, Donnie Moore, Dave Parker, Bret Saberhagen, John Tudor
3 Time All Stars: 3 – Dale Murphy, Cal Ripken, Fernando Valenzuela
5 Time All Stars: 3 – Gary Carter, Rickey Henderson, Eddie Murray
10 Time All Stars: N/A
Future FBHOF’ers: Dwight Gooden, Henderson, Don Mattingly, Murphy, Murray, Cal Ripken, Saberhagen, Ryne Sandberg, Valenzuela
Snubs: Tim Raines (11.5)
16 Pt Season: Henderson (16.6), Gooden (18.3)

This was a fun team to explore, one riddled with great seasons. Only 1997 saw more 15-point campaigns, and 1985 is also ranked 4th in 10-point seasons. Rickey Henderson, Dwight Gooden and Don Mattingly were each at the height of their successes while Orel Hershiser, Eddie Murray, and Dale Murphy were in the midst of their second best seasons of the Fantasy Era. Additionally, Gary Carter joins Henderson and Murray to create our first team with three 5-time all stars.

The standouts of 1985 were the infielders who combined to average 13.6 FBHOF points. In the 18 year period between 1877 and 1996, Don Mattingly was the only major leaguer to drive in 145 runners; Sandberg stole 54 while contributing 26 HR and 113; George Brett went .335 / 108 / 30 / 112; Ripken hit 26 HR and had 100+ R & RBI; and finally, Murray drove in 124 and hit 31 HR. Only middle infielder Tommy Herr had less than 12 FBHOF points and he was very good regardless – .302 AVG, 97 R, 110 RBI, 31 SB. Only one infield of the fantasy era ranked better, the 2005 squad of Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Young, Derek Lee, and Chone Figgins.

The outfield was great too, ranking 6th overall. Again, only one player scored less than 12 FBHOF points and their collective average stats were 110 R, 28 HR, 100 RBI, and 32 SB.

While not exactly week, starting pitching was an area where the 1985 team did not rank well above average. Gooden was amazing – 277 IP, 24 W, 0.97 WHIP, 1.53 ERA, 268 K and John Tudor and Hershiser made a formidable 1-2-3, but at the tail end Bret Saberhagen and Bert Blyleven couldn’t match Gooden’s FBHOF score between them. And for the first time not a single closer reached 6.5 points, ranking 23rd of 28 teams.

The Kansas City Royals, thanks in large part to All Stars Brett and Saberhagen, bested the St. Louis Cardinals in a hard fought 7 game series. Cardinal All-Star and starting pitcher Tudor, was shelled after two great performances in games 1 & 4.

Positional Ranking Among the 28 Teams
C: 3rd
IF: 2nd
OF: 6th
SP: 13th
RP: 23rd
Overall: 4th