How important is the bench?

That is somewhat a rhetorical question for me. I have found that the bench can become the '10th' man, for better or worse. There are a few qualifications to this; a) Applies to non-dh leagues. There is minimal pinch-hitting and no double-switches in DH leagues. Combine that with a team that is not especially injury prone and the bench is a non-factor. b) Applies to $80mm leagues and below. $100mm teams are kind of on the fence depending on how they are put together. The higher salary leagues render the bench less impactful in a couple ways. Higher salaried players have more1*, 1**, and 0's than lower salaried players. And the bench in higher salaried leagues will consist of high salaried backups, meaning the risk for a big drop off in production is mitigated.

Which brings me to the reason I started meditatin' on this subject. I love this team's bench. And so far, I have no doubt, they are a key reason for the team's success.

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1395262

This bench has answered the bell every time they are called to duty. The team is pinch-hitting at a .352 clip. Thanks to Beckert and Boswell who handle most of the pinch-hitting. And the backups for both higher injury risk players are performing beyond expectation (Ed Ott, J.C Martin, and John Ward). Even Fregosi, and Gaspar have been serviceable. I'll stop now that I've thoroughly jinxed any chance I have of this continuing through the end of the season.

Anybody else have good backup/pinch-hit stories/seasons they can remember?

When filling out my bench I focus on something I read once about Earl Weaver where he said he wanted his bench guys to be able to hit first and defense was a secondary concern. So I typically fill out my bench with a lot of 3's and 4's.

With that said, your bench is performing way above expectations. Enjoy it while it lasts... there are many teams that can show you teams with Gaspar hitting .170.

One of the things I always enjoyed about SOM is having the opportunity to pinch hit or platoon various guys. When I first started playing the on-line game I noticed a lot of the expert veterans would load their teams up with 6 or 7 .500 $ players who they rarely used. Where is the value in that? Having six .50 players you never use is a waste of 3 million bucks. So I almost always go for slightly more expensive backups and guys who can fill a role somewhere on the team, whether it is pinch running, defensive replacement, or a left handed specialist out of the pen. I like platoons as well because they give you a deeper bench.

I have often wanted to propose a theme league where you have to carry 28 guys at all times and none can be under a million bucks. This would add a lot of strategy and a different kind of realism to the game.

I have had some big performances out of past benches. I just had a 1960s team lose in the finals that had a great pinch hitting record. I may post this team or another if I have time.

One of the reasons this team won 96 games is they went 65 for 167 (.389 batting average) in pinch hitting with 3 HRs.

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1393187

Trim the fat. Money on the field wins far more consistently than money on the bench. That was the number one rule I was taught when I started this game. The percentages are against expensive benches. Therefore I say the bench is one of the foremost keys to success.

Not important at all. I'd replace it with Lazy Boy recliners.

Not important at all. I'd replace it with Lazy Boy recliners.

So if you happen to get hit by the injury bug (especially if you have a couple key injury 1 players) you just write it off?

I get back ups in the .7M-.9M for guys that can go down for 15 and don't much worry about 3 game max injury risks, as long as they aren't a 5 in the field.

Cool team, but why do you have three catchers? The value you get from JC Martin is less than the value of bullet-proofing Parrish if Ott gets hurt (sorry, I know this is a tangent).

To respond to some of the above posts, I think one should avoid 0.50 players for the most part, because their value could be ANY positive number below 50. Five 50 players are worth at most 2.5, but could be worth half that or maybe even less. So, other things being equal, I try to get bench guys who are 51 or higher.

I also think this issue (the bench) is what makes no-DH leagues so much better -- for MY taste, of course .... I don't think I'm ever going to play another 20XX DH league. I'm annoyed that no-DH leagues are hard to fill in the mystery games. Greatly prefer the senior circuit's games in real life. (Yes, making pitchers bat is arbitrary -- but ... welcome to sports! EVERYTHING is arbitrary. Why is it called FOOTball? Because almost nobody on the field is allowed, at any given moment, to use his HANDS. Arbitrary rule, but the soul -- sole? -- of the game.)

Cool team, but why do you have three catchers? The value you get from JC Martin is less than the value of bullet-proofing Parrish if Ott gets hurt (sorry, I know this is a tangent)

How does one bulletproof Parrish? Habit I've always had of carrying 3 catchers in non-dh leagues. With pinch-hitting, catchers increased injuries (usually 2's), and double switching it's rare that my third catcher doesn't see some significant playing time. And truly for .5MM it's just a crapshoot if a different position player, who usually backs up 1,1* or 1**'s, would see any significant playing time.