Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Howdy,

60s league. You've chosen a "bomber" park that favors lefties ('64 Candlestick, similar to '70s Tiger stadium). Which of the two similarly priced 2nd basemen would you chose? BTW, my division also has a second '64 Candlestick AND a Fenway!
Bill Mazeroskie: $4.10 and a 1e15 defensive rating. Bats right-handed. (mean OPS is .676. Decent power, but with a .305 OBP.)
Dick McCauliff: $3.75 and a 3e26 defensive rating. Bats Left-handed. (Mean OPS is .784. .353 OBP).

A reminder: 2nd base gets nearly as many defensive chances per game as SS. Further, my division-at this point-is 50% lefty starting pitching. Please weigh in!

If my shortstop was a pretty good fielder (2e19 or something like that), I'd put in McAuliffe. If my shortstop were someone like Bert Campaneris or Maury Wills (not that great of a fielder), I'd put in Mazeroski. Mazeroski doesn't appear to be a very popular selection among 60's managers, however. McAuliffe has some sizzle and he had that one killer year. Mazeroski is not a great sacrifice bunt, guy, either, which always surprises me.

Also, you got the salaries reversed. McAuliffe is the 4.10m player and Mazeroski is the cheaper player, so SOM has weighed in on who is worth more.

Here is what I see in the league I am in right now. Mac has played in 57 games and his OBP against leftys is .226 and .389 against rightys, with 7 home runs in 209 ABs. Maz has played in 76 games and his OBP against leftys is .344 and .297 against rightys, with 6 home runs in 250 something ABs. Mac has 35 xouts fielding out of 69 xtotal (66% outs) and 10 errors in his 57 games. Maz has 69 xouts fielding out of 78 xtotal (88% outs) and 8 errors in his 76 games.

To me I would pick Maz with his range of 1 and lower number of errors on his card at 2b of 15 over Mac with his range of 3 and 26 errors on his card at 2b. I tend to like/chose defense up the middle. To me the difference between a 1 and 3 is significant up the center.

Also Mac's batting balance is right for every year. Maz more chances to do better against leftys.

I would chose Maz with the pitching you describe and the range/errors that he has over Mac. Also range and errors are not a mystery, they are a constant no matter the year.

To me, it greatly depends on who the SS is and if it's a DH league. I don't want two potentially weak bats and a pitcher. If you have a DH and a decent ss, you can carry a weak Maz card. If I had Apparicio I might take a chance on McCauliff. If I had a "3" rated SS I would go for Maz. McCauliff's OPS will be subject to chance, while Maz's defense is not. Plus, as pointed out previously, Maz can be decent offensively.

Howdy,

I've got a "2" (Wills) at SS. I've decided to keep McAuliffe, as he's murdering RHP. I'm platooning him with Tommy Helms (A "2", who also can come in handy defensively in the late innings) who is conveniently murdering LHP. Wills can't seem to hit his weight or get any walks.
Thanks for all the helpful replies; rich discussions like this really enhance the SOM experience for me.

PS: This is a no DH league, btw.