Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Im just wondering what type of success anyone had drafting small ball teams where u might have only one true hr hitter batting 4th or no hr hitter at all.

Anyone win 100 games?
Anyone win the championship?

I usually don't try for HR hitter per se when setting up a small ball team.

In my last 30 teams, I've played 13 "small ball teams".
9 made the playoffs
2 won the Championship.

This one won 106 games and the Championship.
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1108647

Just make sure your smallball player gets about 29 doubles and 11 triples per season every 569 at bats like that team and you'll do fine.

Had just 1 "power hitter", went into playoffs as Wild Card with 87 wins, breezed through the playoffs to win it all in a $60M, 24 team league!

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1118226

These are the successful teams that I've had in small ball parks in 2011/2012 (none of these are keeper leagues):

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/808397
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/812721
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1104068
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1108073
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1114055
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/821025

None of them won more than 100 games, but 2 of them had over 90 wins. These teams made the playoffs.

My strategy in 2011/2012 in small ball parks is to maximize base hits, while de-emphasizing walks and home runs. However, I'm finding that it helps to have 1 or 2 batters with decent home runs (like Yadier Molina) to help swat people home. But the overall idea is (1) maximize hits, while having good pitchers that minimize hits. Without hits, walks just get stranded. (2) Good base running, and good arms in the outfield. (3) good defence, esp. at 2b, ss and CF.

The most striking and extreme example of this strategy is the third linked team above, which outhit their opponents by almost 3 hits per game (they outhit their opponents by 442 hits). This team got 93 wins.

(The only team in the above list that DIDN'T follow this strategy was the second one linked above. That team had a small run differential, and relied on one-run wins with a good bullpen, in a $100 million cap league. So the second linked team above really doesn't fit the same patter as the other teams linked above. The sixth linked team is also a $100 million cap team, but more closely follows the "base hit differential" strategy).

You can pay for these attributes my avoiding players with high home runs. If you're going to pay for salaries with high home runs, go "really big" with a player like Miguel Cabrera. Reason - a lot of his home runs are "pure" home runs that don't depend on ballpark readings. And, both Cabrera and Molina have good batting averages - so you keep the theme going of maximizing base hits.

This seems to be working well for me fairly consistently in 2012.

Hope this helps! Good luck!!!