On the Subject of Tough Divisions

[Outta Leftfield]

Every player who's been around for a while has been in a tough division or two, but how many have been in one this tough? After 124 games, we're about to make the final turn into intradivisional play and every team has a record better than any team in another division. Here are the standings:

[code:1:5fe2f5ae85]
Cats 2 78-45 .634
Graverobbers3 75-48 .610
Gems 73-50 .593
Pro Crastinators 65-58 .528
Table edited with thanks to bjs for formatting advice.][/code:1:5fe2f5ae85]

Only one other team in the league has a record over .500 (.512). Obviously, two teams in our division aren't going to make the playoffs, even though all four might be considered playoff-worthy. I seem to recall another division like this that was discussed on the old boards. I'm not sure how many times this has occurred, but it's got to be rare.

This is a part of my long personal history of being in tough divisions. Of the 13 leagues I've been in so far (including two currently in progress), my divisions have had 33 teams at .500 or over (average would be 26). That means just 19 teams below .500. No division I've been in has ever had fewer than two winning teams. Seven have had three winning teams, including the one current one listed above that has four winning teams as we head into the final intra-divisional stretch. When you figure that each team plays the others in its division 72 times, and thus there's a strong tug toward .500, that's pretty unusual.

How about results? In my eleven completed leagues, my division has produced the wildcard six times and the World Champ six times. This tendency to win championships is a reflection on the whole division. I was champ three times, but other teams from the division were champ three times as well. I was wildcard twice, but other teams were wildcard four times. Three of the six wildcard teams won championships. Clearly a seventh wildcard team will be produced by my 12th league.

In nine of the eleven completed leagues, at least one team from the division made the Finals. Twice, two teams made the finals--including, of course, the wildcard. Seventeen playoff teams, six wildcards, six champs, and eleven finalists in eleven leagues are amazing numbers! All are well beyond the law of averages. :shock:

Has anyone else had a similar kind of experience? It's certainly been challenging for me, but I guess the good effect is that I've come to feel that I can't expect to ever back into the playoffs. It's kind of like always playing in the AL East. You've got to have a very tight team or you're never going to make it. :wink:[/code]

[nycalderon]

I was in a division where at about the same point I was on course to win 97 and miss the playoffs... the bottom 2 teams tailed off... including me.. and he division finished:

Rough Riders 105 57 .648 -
VI Schnitzel 102 60 .630 3.0
Addicts 90 72 .556 15.0 ME
Knights 83 79 .512 22.0

For most of the season these 4 teams had the 4 best records... and then at the very end one team edged out the knights...

[bjs73]

[code:1:efedc5aec8]EAST W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA
Raider Nation 98 64 .605 - 57-24 41-40 900 782
DC Fog 67 95 .414 31.0 35-46 32-49 750 910
Oscar's Gamblers VIII 66 96 .407 32.0 36-45 30-51 653 761
fairy queens 64 98 .395 34.0 33-48 31-50 726 864

CENTRAL W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA
Steinbrenner's Millionaires 108 54 .667 - 51-30 57-24 897 677
Kings County Warriors 78 84 .481 30.0 37-44 41-40 836 853
Reading Rednecks 71 91 .438 37.0 36-45 35-46 702 791
Stankwell Falls Iron Claws 70 92 .432 38.0 35-46 35-46 677 795

WEST W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA
Hoboken Ratings Push V 90 72 .556 - 46-35 44-37 797 726
Beastie Boyz 89 73 .549 1.0 46-35 43-38 883 779
MAPLE GROVE TWINS8 89 73 .549 1.0 43-38 46-35 765 679
Forty Winks 82 80 .506 8.0 42-39 40-41 755 724
[/code:1:efedc5aec8]

The East and Central each had one dominant team while the West was more balanced. It made the race in the West very exciting in the last 20 games.

The other teams in the league besides the divisional winners were all sub .500 though. :shock:

P.S. Sometimes using "Code" helps columns line up a little better but it isn't perfect.

[Outta Leftfield]

[quote:45ecf705c6="nycalderon"]

For most of the season these 4 teams had the 4 best records... and then at the very end one team edged out the knights...[/quote:45ecf705c6]

It's hard for all four teams to stay above the whole league for the entire season, since each division plays .500 against itself for the final 36 games. That's a pretty strong drag toward the mean.

In some ways, the record at game 126 is a better indicator of the division's overall quality, I think, because it better shows how the division has done against its extra-divisional rivals. Another division of mine had all 4 teams above .500 at that point, but one of them was driven below during the final intradivisional stretch. Still, that division--not surprisingly-- produced the wild-card, a finalist, and the ultimate champion.

[abnerdoubleday]

My toughest 4 deep division was the Chamberpots league:

Final West Division Standings
Team W L Pct GB
of David 96 66 .593 - my team
Mashers 89 73 .549 7.0 - manager was jet40
Wildcats 87 75 .537 9.0 - manager was monkeyboy157
Gila Monsters 86 76 .531 10.0 - manager was honestiago

This league had one team way out of the mix, so not as tough as having four solid teams, but this division was tough.

Final Central Division Standings for TSN_9923
Team W L Pct GB
PineTar3 100 62 .617 - manager was mjruth
Go Crazy 99 63 .611 1.0 - my team
Canucks50 97 65 .599 3.0 - manager was penngray
blue eyes 49 113 .302 51.0

This division was a bit more balanced, but still tough:

Final West Division Standings for TSN_8743
Team W L Pct GB
American Giants 94 68 .580 - my team
Company 94 68 .580 - manager was bjs73
Sharks III 91 71 .562 3.0 - manager was tgmfp
Giants 79 83 .488 15.0

Another 3 strong division:

Final Central Division Standings for TSN_10223
Team W L Pct GB
Taxmen 98 64 .605 -
Flounders 94 68 .580 4.0 - manager was tgmfp
Delays 92 70 .568 6.0 - my team
Crackers 60 102 .370 38.0

I am in a league that is set to start Monday (TSN_11443) that looks to be tough. Outta Leftfield and A'sWintheSeries are in my division. :shock:

[Outta Leftfield]

abner,

Dont forget our TSN_9223
[code:1:9668ed2f3e]
Crushers7 99 63 .611 --my team
Habaneros 92 70 .568 7.0--manger Fidel Castro (??)
BallGame 89 73 .549 10.0--manager abnerdoubleday
Stars 75 87 .463 24.0--manager jorge hernandez
[/code:1:9668ed2f3e]

The Stars were above .500 before the final divisional round, if I recall correctly.

[abnerdoubleday]

Great catch OL. That was indeed a tough one. 8)

[KingLouie]

[quote:021d44c477="Outta Leftfield"]
This is a part of my long personal history of being in tough divisions:[/code][/quote:021d44c477]

Has it ever occured to you that this is just HAL's way of saying, "I love you?" Either that or he's sick of you winning all the time and he's trying to run you out of the league. :lol: :lol:

[Outta Leftfield]

I'm not so sure that HAL loves me. In fact I believe, in the immortal words of some previous poster on these boards, that, [b:f200e4e798]"HAL hate me!"[/b:f200e4e798] :shock: :cry: :x :shock:

[Panzer ace]

How about this division?

Final West Division Standings
Team W L Pct GB
Trees 91 71 .562 - Panzer ace
Experiment 88 74 .543 3.0 Yountfan
Kittys 87 75 .537 4.0 Uglyjerry
Gatecrashers 84 78 .519 7.0 Czaoth

3 of the teams scored over 1000 runs. Yountfan and I met in the finals. The league included IMB, TRich, CATom, Qksilver and Frankzappa.