Rank the First Basemen

[TheGoodDoc]

I'd have to agree with the rest of the posts... Hernandez is my No.1 , followed by Eddie Murray.. Jack Clark has given me nothing but misery..never had cecil, but i've seen him rip it up.

[hechojazz]

Having looked elsewhere for power in my first 80s team, I've got Thornton slated to be my first baseman. Anybody have any experience with him? I'm playing in Tiger Stadium. At 4.41mil, he's obviously not one of the studs. But for the price, he seems to offer decent slugging and OBP, promises to be a run producer, and I wanted a righty bat with some pop to offset my largely lefthanded power guys.

[bjs73]

I've been giving Thornton alot of thought myself as to his production. This is after nearly 40 80s teams. :shock: He's always available and I guess the reason is his price tag and his strong slant towards LH pitching. His card isn't [i:219fb1f07f]that[/i:219fb1f07f] bad against RH pitching but he is an excellent offset to a heavy LH lineup.

I just looked over my database and I've only finished the season with him once. I picked him up in mid-season to play 1B for my Tigers team to do the same thing for me as you want him to do for you: provide offense against those LH pitchers in the game.

I ended up with one of his "lesser" cards (1983) but he did still produce quite well for me. He still carried a .362 OBP vs righties on that card despite being down to a .235/.331 BA/SLG. I think that if you can afford it, it'd be worth it if your division rivals have a decent balance of LH starters. And if the rest of your lineup demolishes RH pitching, then Thornton would be an added bonus considering his OBP.

[Outta Leftfield]

I've gotta say I like the 6M 1Bs. I have had great years out of W Clark, Murray and Hernandez and in those years I think they are worth every penny. Also, the occasional off-year, but in that case you can easily trade down a bit. Jack Clark can be great, too, but then again I would tend to play him in RF, where he's a 3 and where his errors aren't so bad, or at DH. I don't like J Clark's errors at 1B. I've never used Cooper or Mattingly but am guessing they're really good too, most of the time.

If not the expensive guys then maybe a 3M type like Aikens, Thompson or Alvin Davis, with a cheap RHB to platoon with him like Ron Jackson or Benzinger. They are 4s but have relatively low errors, are lefthanded--and are a lot cheaper than Thornton. Also worth considering is Durham. And though Luzinksi is a high error guy, he's a balanced RHB at a reasonable price. I'd prefer him in LF or DH because of the errors, though. A nice thing about Luzinski is that he's usually so balanced that he doesn't need a platoon. Then again, let's not forget John Kruk! Let's face it, there are a lot of good options at 1B. :wink:

[nycalderon]

I am trying Hernandez for the first time at the Astrodome- team starts tomorrow. I have never tried Mattingly or Murray but I have seen both do real well. I had Cooper a few times and he can be great. I had him go .352, .538, .394 in Yankee Stadium once.

If I am in a HR park I almost always try to get McGwire. He's a threat to go 50 to 65 HRs in Murph or Kingdome every time out.

On the subject of Thornton I had him once in Tiger stadium (a time when I failed to get Big Mac. I had the 1982 4L card and he ripped lefties but not so good vs righties. Overall he was .252, .432, .360. I would try him again in a pinch but he wouldn't be my first choice. As someone said he is a good hedge in a lefty leaning lineup.

I personally like Carew a lot and love him in a pitchers or singles park. I think the 77 card is one of the best in the set and I have had him hit .380 with that card and I have another team where he's hitting .375.

[JIMDAKE]

hecho's team will be interesting, it's the only homer park in the league. The rest, self included (Busch), are pretty much in '80s NL pitchers park paradise (this decade's bulldozer-food). It'll be fun to visit anyway. :shock:

I've currently got Joyner, any comments on him? Would it be worth starting a 4?

[AdamKatz]

what park are you in?
Joyner is good in them all but in a pitchers park or singles park I would stick with him. In a power park alot of the cheaper "4" power guys are acceptable to save money but if you have nothing else to spend the money on, Id stick. who is available and how much dough do you have?

[AdamKatz]

Joyner in Royals-only 12 HRs but good avg-slg-and obp nonetheless

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=54099

[cplake]

That's good to know about Joyner. I am using him for the first time. The season starts Monday. I usually get K Hernandez, but got a little cocky and moved him down my AD list. Seanreflex scooped him up.

I'll let you know how he does in Dodger Stadium.

[JIMDAKE]

I'm in Busch, not a lot of cash but am deep in bench/DH; have Bonilla & Seitzer if Leflore doesn't pan out. :? Looks like 50/50 leftie SP*s in my division, would you platoon Joyner? Where did you bat him?