Fantasy Baseball Advice

The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame in conjunction with Razzball.com, are electing the All-Star teams of the Fantasy Era. For every season from 1980 to today full 23 man rosters will be created and analyzed. In the second installment the 1995 through 1997 seasons are identified.

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

The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame in conjunction with Razzball.com, are electing the All-Star teams of the Fantasy Era. For every season from 1980 to today full 23 man rosters will be created and analyzed. In the second installment the 1992 through 1994 seasons are identified.

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

The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame (in conjunction with Razzball.com) is a new website dedicated to recognizing the accomplishments of Major League ballplayers during the “fantasy era” (1980-present). The greatest of these players will be elected to the Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame.

In a continuation from last week, Part II of the starting pitcher class is enshrined today.

I have a confession to make – chick’s may dig the long ball, but I dig a sub-2.00 ERA.  I have always been a sucker for starting pitching and would take 1994 Greg Maddux over 2001 Barry Bonds every day of the week.  I weep openly when reviewing the 1906 Chicago Cubs rotation and pine for the next Walter Johnson.  An elite starter is the most potent weapon a team can field as he alone has the singular ability to render every other player at the park virtually meaningless.  It didn’t matter who Bob Gibson or Randy Johnson faced when they were at their best because making contact was a fruitless exercise.

Five starting pitchers are to be enshrined today, four of which are immortals that separated themselves from the rest of baseball like no quartet has done before.  Randy Johnson, Gregg Maddux, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez are all first ballot Hall of Famers when considering skill and skill alone.  They are elite Fantasy Hall of Famers as well.  No players, at any position, improved their team’s chances at winning more than these four.

But first we pay our respects to #5 all time, Curt Schilling, a starter who battled himself and injuries for 9 years before becoming a fantasy star.  Schilling’s best season came as a 35 year old with the Diamondbacks in 2002.  He won 23 games, held his WHIP down to 0.97, and struck out a whopping 316 batters.  The year before he won 22 with a 1.08 WHIP and had 293 strikeouts.  In 1997 and 1998 he also struck out an extreme number of batters, giving him three 300+ strikeout seasons.  Since 1990 Schilling is one of just three pitchers to strike out this many; has the second most such season seasons since 1980; and third most since the deadball era ended.  Yet, Schilling never finished any season as the best fantasy pitcher, with good reason though – his competition was fierce.

The Top 25-Fantasy Pitchers:

Schilling was superb, scoring over 72 points while contributing in just 4 categories, but had no where near the impact of the “Big Four”.  Martinez, ranked 4th, scores full 17% better than Schilling, who himself scores 15% better than Kevin Brown.

Holding fantasy value aside for the moment, one can make a convincing argument that no pitcher in the history of the game was more dominant over a two year stretch than Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000, the latter year being the single greatest pitching performance in the history of the sport in my opinion.

I think we are all now familiar with Baseball-Reference.com at this point, and likely all familiar with ERA+, but in case you are not, ERA+ is a statistic that shows how much better than average a pitchers ERA is, when considering ballparks (it is more difficult to pitch at the Ballpark in Arlington than it is at Shea).  Holding aside the 1800’s where the game was vastly different than it is today (9 balls, batters get to call their own pitch, etc) here is the Top 10 list of best seasonal ERA+ scores:

291 – Pedro Martinez, 2000
279 – Dutch Leonard, 1914
271 – Greg Maddux, 1994
262 – Greg Maddux, 1995
259 – Walter Johnson, 1913
258 – Bob Gibson, 1968
253 – 3-Finger Brown, 1906
243 – Pedro Martinez, 1999
242 – Walter Johnson, 1912

As impressive as it is to have an era 191% better than league average, it is probably more impressive to be this much better than the next best.  Further, in 2000, Martinez had an unheard of WHIP of 0.74.  That figure is so good it’s unjust, perhaps even Wiffle Ball good, and is best mark all time 1800’s be damned.

Martinez had more to his career than 2000 of course.  He also finished first among pitchers in 1999 and recorded 4 other Top-5 seasons, giving him a stellar record of performance during his peak:  19 W, 0.92 WHIP, 2.18 ERA, 278 K during his best 5 years.

It’s odd thinking about this now, and it isn’t just a reaction to the recent criticism Roger Clemens has brought upon himself, but somehow the greatest pitcher likely since the 1930’s has gone underrated.  Make no mistake, Clemens was awesome over a period of almost 20 years.  In 1986, his third year in the bigs, and in his first season as a full time starter, the Rocket won 24 games, struck out 238 batters (in 254 innings), recorded a WHIP of 0.97 and an ERA of 2.48.  In his 22nd season as a major league starter, Clemens came through a 1.87 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in just over 211 innings of work.  In between he won 17+ games eleven times; had ERA’s well below league average thirteen times; and struck out 185+ batters 14 times.

As a fantasy player Clemens was at his best in 1997 when tossing for the Blue Jays:  21 W, 1.03 WHIP, 2.05 ERA, 292 K’s and the #1 pitcher ranking in the game, a feat he achieved on three earlier occasions as well in 1987, 1990 and 1991.  His 5 year peak average looks like this:  21 W, 1.06 WHIP, 2.56 ERA, 260K with finishes of 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

What separates Clemens from Greg Maddux for fantasy purposes is an utterly dominant season.  At his best, Clemens scored 16.2 FBHOF points.  Maddux finished both his 1994 and 1995 seasons with more points, and more points by far.  In 1994, a strike year of course, Maddux won 16 games mostly because of his off the chart rate stats – 0.90 WHIP and 1.56 ERA.  He also struck out 156 batters, which seems low, but is quite good when considering he lost as many as 10 starts, perhaps 60-65 total K’s.  This line of thinking is instructive – prorating for the whole season his stat line becomes:  22 W, 0.90 WHIP, 1.56 ERA, 221 K which just happens to be the single most dominating performance in fantasy history – 18.8 FBHOF points.

The following year he bested Clemens top performance again, this time with 17 points due to a 0.81 WHIP and 1.63 ERA.  In all Maddux has four #1 finishes to his name and his peak 5 year average is masterful:  18 W, 0.96 WHIP, 2.03 ERA, 183 K.

Finally, we end with Randy Johnson, of whom it can be argued, for fantasy anyway, was Clemens and Maddux rolled into one.  Clemens was amazing for his longevity – 12 seasons of 8+ FBHOF points.  Maddux scored so high due to his tantalizing rate stats – eight seasons with a WHIP under 1.10 and seven with ERA’s under 2.65.  Johnson himself is just shy of Clemens with eleven “Hall of Fame” worthy seasons and does indeed match Maddux for incredible ERA’s and falls just one short on WHIP side of the ledger.

Remembering that pitchers can score in just four categories we also need to bring up Johnson’s record of six seasons scoring 16+ FBHOF points.  How good is this?  In 2000 Johnson had 19 W, 347 K, 1.12 WHIP, a 2.64 ERA and it basically doesn’t count towards his Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame credentials since it wasn’t good enough to count as part of his 5 year peak.

Further, Johnson struck out 300 or more batters twice as much Schilling and all told bested the 290 mark another nine times. Nine! What do you get when you combine the power of Schilling with the finesse of Maddux, and then mix in the sustained greatness of Clemens?  You get the best Fantasy Baseball player in history.

A chart of some key metrics for our last five inductees, because, yes, I love great pitchers: