Suggestion for Revision of the 80's game

[LMBombers]

Bernie says: “At long last, we'll be refreshing one or both of the '70s and '80s Mystery Card games, bringing it/them into the central SOM Online site. Based on our resource constraints, we may end up having to choose just one. “

If we only get to choose one to be refreshed and brought into the central SOM Online site I think the easy choice is the 80s game. The entire pricing structure needs to be updated and we need to add some more players to the pool. The 70’s game has 720 players. The 80’s game has 648 players. The 90’s game has 833 players. Expansion has to be taken into account to these numbers. Seattle and Toronto were only in the 70’s for three years in the 70’s. Colorado and Florida were in the league for most of the 90’s. I think a good number for the 80’s player pool should be in the 730-745 range.

I went through every team’s roster from 1982-1987 and looked at every player looking for prospects to add to the player pool. I used the following arbitrary criteria. Must have at least 5 years with at least 100 AB or 40 or so IP for a RP or 100 IP for a SP. (Some amount of leeway was given to catchers for the minimum ABs.) If the player had 4 or 5 of such years within 1980-1989 that met this criteria I listed him in group A. If the player had 3 years in the 80s and 2 years in the 70s or 90s I listed him in group B. I only wanted players that had at least 3 qualifying seasons in the 80’s. These limits are not TSN/SOM’s but simply mine for use in compiling this list. They have used some players with less playing time per card or with only two years in the decade of the game. One other thing I have noticed is that for players who played for more than one team in a given year TSN/SOM does not use a combined stats card, they use a card with stats from only one of the teams. I took this into account when looking at the stats. In the list below you will see a team in parenthesis after a suggested year next to some players. When you do you will know the player played on more than one team that season and I am suggesting which team’s card to use.

Some players had more than 5 seasons that met the minimum playing time criteria I used so for those players other years could be substituted for ones I have suggested. I tried to stay away from unusually good or bad seasons where possible. If all players in group A hitters and pitchers are added that would bring the player pool up to 731. That is on the low end of what I propose as the target range for the player pool. Maybe we add some of the group B players and/or don’t use all the players from group A. This post is simply to start a discussion and is not meant to be a final answer. I put a lot of work into researching these players because I love the mystery card games (all three decades) and want them all to be as much fun as possible and because I enjoyed doing it. LOL

The players below are simply listed alphabetically within each group and not in any order of preference. There are not many superstars. They are largely ageing vets at the end of their career, young players that would be superstars in the 90s or bench players for the most part.



HITTERS (Group A)
Bench, Johnny – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Bonds, Barry – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Bosley, Thad – 80, 81, 85, 86, 87
Burroughs, Jeff – 80, 81, 82, 83, 85
Butera, Sal – 80, 81, 82, 85, 86
Cangelosi, John – 86, 87, 88, 89, 94
Coles, Darnell – 84, 86, 87 (PIT), 88 (PIT), 89
Cotto, Henry – 84, 87, 88, 89, 90
Dent, Bucky – 79, 80, 81, 82 (TEX), 83
Galarraga, Andres – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Gross, Greg – 80, 83, 84, 85, 86
Hairston, Jerry – 83, 84, 85, 86, 87
Harper, Brian – 83, 84, 88, 89, 90
Harper, Terry - 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
Hebner, Richie – 80, 81, 82 (DET), 83, 85
Javier, Stan – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 (LAD)
Jeltz, Steve – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89
Jones, Lynn – 79, 81, 82, 84, 85
Krenchicki, Wayne – 82, 83 (DET), 84, 85, 86
Kuiper, Duane – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Lefebvre, Joe – 80, 81, 82, 83 (PHI), 84
Lyons, Steve – 85, 86 (BOS), 87, 88, 89
Meacham, Bob – 84, 85, 86, 87, 88
Monday, Rick – 78, 80, 81, 82, 83 (then again maybe that ’81 season is just too good?)
Money, Don – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Moore, Charlie – 80, 82, 83, 85, 86
Morales, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Morgan, Joe – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Nicosia, Steve – 79, 80, 81, 82, 84
Nixon, Otis – 85, 86, 88, 89, 90
O’Malley, Tom – 82, 83, 86, 87, 90
Ortiz, Junior – 83 (NYM), 87, 88, 89 (the 5th year could be [84/91 - bad] or [86/90 – good])
Otis, Amos – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Perez, Tony – 80, 81, 82, 83, 86
Picciolo, Rob – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (possibly use ’77 for ’84 but that would throw him down into Group B with only three 80’s seasons)
Piniella, Lou – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Ramos, Domingo – 83, 85, 86, 89, 90
Reed, Jeff – 86, 87, 88 (CIN), 89, 90
Russell, John – 84, 85, 86, 89, 90
Sakata, Lenn – 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
Sierra, Ruben – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Simpson, Joe – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Skinner, Joel – 86 (NYY), 87, 88, 89, 90
Squires, Mike – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Thomas Derrel – 79, 80, 81, 83, 84 (MON)
Thompson, Scot – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (SF)
Venable, Max – 80, 82, 83, 85, 86
Washington, Ron – 82, 83, 84, 85, 88
Watson, Bob – 79, 80, 81, 82 (ATL), 83
Wellman, Brad – 83, 84, 85, 88, 89
Wohlford, Jim – 79, 80, 82, 83, 85
Woods, Gary – 77, 81, 82, 83, 84
Wright, George – 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 (TEX)
Yastrzemski, Carl – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83


HITTERS (Group B)
Allenson, Gary – 79, 81, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Anderson, Jim – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
Ayala, Benny – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Bell, Jay – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Bevacqua, Kurt – 78, 79, 82, 83, 85
Biittner, Larry – 78, 79, 80, 82, 83
Bilardello, Dann – 83, 84, 85, 86, 89 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Bochy, Bruce – 78, 79, 84, 85, 86
Burks, Ellis – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Candaele, Casey – 86, 87, 88 (MON), 90, 91
Cruz, Todd – 79, 80 (CHW), 82, 83 (BAL), 84 (can’t hit a lick so do we really care?)
Eisenreich, Jim – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Essian, Jim – 79, 80, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 of these seasons over 100 AB, you would have to go back further in the 70’s for another 100+ season. The 1983 season is close though.)
Gallego, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Garcia, Kiko – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
Geronimo, Cesar – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Hill, Marc – 79, 80 (SEA), 82, 83, 84 (only two seasons of 100+ AB in the 80’s)
Hodges, Ron – 76, 77, 82, 83, 84
Johnson, Lamar – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Johnstone, Jay – 79 (SD), 80, 81, 82 (CHC), 83 (1981 has below 100 AB)
Karkovice, Ron – 86, 88, 89, 90, 91
Kingery, Mike – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 (1989 has 76 AB, you could substitute an awful 1991 season.)
Lake, Steve – 83, 85, 87, 89, 91 (1983 has only 85 AB)
Larkin, Gene – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Lee, Manuel – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Liriano, Nelson – 87, 88, 89, 90 (MIN), 94
Magadan, Dave – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Mayberry, John – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (NYY)
McBride, Bake – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
McKay, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
McLemore, Mark – 87, 88, 89, 92, 93
Milbourne, Larry – 79, 80, 82 (CLE), 83 (PHI), 84 (1983 only 66 AB)
Murcer, Bobby – 78, 79 (NYY), 80, 81, 82
Narron, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (can’t hit, does he really matter?)
Palmeiro, Rafael – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Perkins, Broderick – 78, 79, 81, 82, 83
Pujols, Luis – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (he is so awful does it really matter?)
Quinones, Luis – 86, 87, 89, 90, 91
Rayford, Floyd – 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 (1987 only 50 AB)
Revering, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81 (NYY), 82 (TOR)
Rudi, Joe – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Stanley, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Staub, Rusty – 79 (DET), 80, 81, 82, 83 (Are his 80, 81 & 83 cards too good for a part time player?)
Surhoff, BJ – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Tenace, Gene – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
White, Jerry – 78 (CUBS), 79, 80, 81, 82
Williams, Matt – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91


PITCHERS (Group A)
Beckwith, Joe – 80, 82, 83, 84, 85
Bird, Doug – 79, 80, 81 (CHC), 82, 83
Castillo, Bobby – 80, 81, 82, 83, 85
Easterly, Jamie – 81, 82, 83 (CLE), 84, 85
Fingers, Rollie – 80, 81, 82, 84, 85
Forster, Terry – 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
Franco, John – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89
Garrelts, Scott – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 (another player who mixes RP only with mostly SP seasons but the difference here is that his best season was as a SP so I think it is OK to list him as a S/R.)
Havens, Brad – 81, 82, 83, 86, 88 (CLE)
Hooton, Burt – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Howell, Ken – 84, 85, 86, 87, 89
Jenkins, Fergie – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Koosman, Jerry – 79, 80, 82, 83, 84
McGraw, Tug – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Monge, Sid – 80, 81, 82, 83 (SD) and either 79 or 84 (DET)
Morgan, Mike – 82, 86, 87, 89, 90
Niekro, Phil – 80, 82, 83, 84, 85
Palmer, Jim – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Perry, Gaylord – 79, 80 (TEX), 81, 82, 83 (SEA)
Plesac, Dan – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Reed, Ron – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Renko, Steve – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Seaver, Tom – 80, 81, 83, 84, 85
Sosa, Elias – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Tidrow, Dick – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Tobik, Dave – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Torrez, Mike – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Underwood, Tom – 79, 80, 81 (OAK), 82, 83
Witt, Bobby – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90


PITCHERS (Group B)
Aguilera, Rick – 85, 86, 87, 89 (MIN), 90 (only 4 years as a SP & one dominant RP card makes it difficult I think. Maybe he is better left in the 90s as a RP?)
Augustine, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83 (he is not very good so it might not matter)
Fisher, Brian – 85, 86, 87, 88, 92 (3 seasons as mainly a SP but 1 season as a dominant RP might be crazy if listed as a S/R and is able to start with those stats. Very much like Aguilera in that respect.)
Fryman, Woodie – 78 (MON), 79, 80, 81, 82
Henneman, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Hood, Don – 78, 79 (NYY), 80, 82, 83
Hrabosky, Al – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Jackson, Michael – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Jones, Doug – 87. 88. 89. 90, 91
Lancaster, Les – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
LaRoche, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Maddux, Greg – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Magrane, Joe – 87, 88, 89, 90, 93 (These are the exact cards he has for the 90s game. Even though 3 years are in the 80s would we really want a duplicate like Mike Keough is for the 70s/80s?)
Matlack, Jon – 77, 78, 80, 81, 82
May, Rudy – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Medich, Doc – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (TEX)
Myers, Randy – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Owchinko, Bob – 79, 80, 81, 82, 84 (1981 he only had 39 IP. Maybe use 1978 in place of 1981?)
Rijo, Jose – 86, 88, 89, 90, 91
Roberge, Bert – 79, 82, 84, 85, 86 (maybe he didn’t really play enough)
Sanchez, Luis – 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 (all the seasons in the 80’s but his first season only has 33 IP. Is it enough?)
Searage, Ray – 81, 85, 86 (CHW), 87, 89 (Similar to Luis Sanchez but he has two seasons of only 30 something IP instead of only one.)
Thomas, Roy – 79, 80, 83, 84, 85 (He has a few starts in these 5 years. If he would be listed as RP only then I would move him into Group A.)

[voovits]

Fantastic list. You clearly did a lot of research on compiling the list. Great work.
I also agree that the 80s game should take priority over the 70s game.
I'll miss the old interface and the nice bargains, but it'll be worth it.

Someone should bring this thread to Bernies attention.

[jayhawk81]

I agree as well, I don't even play the 80s because of the limited player pool, lousy interface and it seems like a greater standard deviation around the actual simulation results when compared to the season.

[The Conndor]

Wow... great work LM. I am blown away by how many players are actually not represented in the set. Being a former baseball-card geek with a retentive memory, I can honestly say that I remember just about every single one of these guys. Granted, with many of them, their not being in the game is no great loss to us... but it would be awfully cool to revitalize the player set. Also, since many of us (like me) are fond of theme leagues, widening the player pool would make doing franchise-based theme leagues that much more entertaining. I cannot afford to play any teams currently, but I will be following this post with interest nevertheless, in the hopes that this movement gains momentum.

[voovits]

BTW, I know this is not shared by everyone, but I would support having at least 1 bad/below average season for every player. Having a player that's considered a 5 season keeper removes some of the strategy because you know you don't have to worry about that player.
Every game has some of those, and that's fine, but too many would start to remove the fun.

[canauscot]

Great work as usual LM.
I agree with 80's first and cleaning up some of the glaring misses (the has-beens and yet-to-bes) but that said my two biggest gripes are 70's (Lynn no '75 and how lousy Palmer is).

[voovits]

By the way, you have Benito Santiago on your list and he's already in the game as the unnamed San Diego #33

[LMBombers]

Good catch Voovits. I have removed him from the list.

[visick]

Nice work Randy, thanks...

Though I don't play the mystery games very often, there's a special place in my heart for the 70's/80's game. It's a time when I really loved the actual game and often played the board game on my front steps.

visick

[ROBERTLATORRE]

Lot's of good work Randy.

So the 70s is being left behind? I only really play the 70s, almost never the 80s or 90s.