Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

I went through every season I've ever done of 1986 and nobody has used him in a single league.

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/pl ... 101/266782

I'm intrigued by him. He has a great clutch rating and the e11 is reasonable at 1B for a platoon player. I have him set to platoon with Ray Knight at 1B. I have had success with Ray Knight in the past playing full-time so I am considering it as it scares me I can't find any stats for anybody ever using him after going through 15 or seasons. Not a single person used him.

Have any of you ever seen him used? If so is he usable in a platoon? He is slow but his card but I figure he isn't a terrible fit for Houston based on the low number of BP HR's.

very simple reason,

that HORRIBLE catcher rating.

when your main catcher and backup both get injured and you're forced to put that behind the plate, good luck!

If he had no catcher rating I'm sure he would be used more.

You don't need no stinking backup C when you have Harry Spilman on your roster.

on my all-time worst team (I was really lazy with the 5 free 1986 teams) I got Spillman after game 138 because i just experimented with a hopeless team and I think there weren't many LHP in my division, and he had an 1.195 OPS as a catcher with only one PA vs LHP ... with no errors, which is just luck

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/61703

Since there aren't any 600+ PA catchers in the 1986 set, I pretty much think he's not useable under the vast majority of situations. Maybe if you had Pena AND a lowish injury 2nd catcher? Still risky, and it increases his relative price by the cost of that backup catcher making it difficult to justify for me.

Another thought would be a team with, say, Pena, Charlie Moore (playing in rf where he is a 2(-2)e6 yet still a very capable backup catcher at 3(0)e8 ) and then Spilman. That might really minimize Spilman's time donning the tools of ignorance. That might be about the most optimal experiment team to see what Spilman could do without taking too much of a salary hit. Moore is, somewhat interestingly, +14 clutch, a * stealer, a good fielder at two positions, and a good bunter. Might work at a neutral/pitching parks OK.

Jeeze, I guess I have to start another 86 team...

apolivka wrote:That might really minimize Spilman's time donning the tools of ignorance. That might be about the most optimal experiment team to see what Spilman could do without taking too much of a salary hit.

You forgot about using him in a platoon at first base -- a reasonable experiment.

If I had Spilman, I would definitely carry a typical starting and typical backup catcher too. The amount of time your first and second string catcher would be injured at the same time would be negligible if any. I would also be sure to have enough 3B, 2B, and LF depth so that HAL never puts him there, either.

That being said, with the damage Spilman could cause you at C, 3B, 2B, LF and against lefty pitchers, I think he is not worth using.

ClowntimeIsOver wrote:

apolivka wrote:That might really minimize Spilman's time donning the tools of ignorance. That might be about the most optimal experiment team to see what Spilman could do without taking too much of a salary hit.

You forgot about using him in a platoon at first base -- a reasonable experiment.

That was my plan. I was planning on platooning him with Ray Knight at 1B but I chickened out and replaced Spilman with Chambliss. I still would really like to try Spilman some time as I think if I could avoid him catching then I find his card very intriguing.