Sat Aug 05, 2023 11:45 am
Meet the owners/teams competing in the (mostly) geographic 80s league
The East is comprised of the 4 teams with the highest payroll
Generationm1 is leading the Montreal/Toronto club—Generation has won 22 championships using the Back to the 80s player set and is coming off of back to back playoff visits in the best teams of the 90s seasons which wrapped up just before this league. The Montreal Blue Jays are off to a solid start with a record of 8-4. Starting outfield of Tim Raines, Lloyd Moseby and Andre Dawson and DH platoon of Cliff Johnson/Al Oliver. Impressive starting staff of Jimmy Key, Steve Rogers, Bryn Smith and Dave Steib.
BurleyNorseman chose the Boston Red Sox/Baltimore Orioles combo with the first pick in the team draft. Burley has led his teams to the playoffs in 8 of his 22 mystery game seasons. With an impressive lineup including Jim Rice, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and Wade Boggs and a staff led by Roger Clemens, the club will be a contender all season long. Burley is tied for first with a record of 8-4.
The San Francisco A’s are led by RichardGagnon—Richard has captured an impressive 28 championships in Back to the 80s player set. The A’s have an explosive offense with Jose Canseco, Kevin Mitchell, Mark McGwire, Jack Clark and Will Clark. The A’s have gotten off to a 4-8 start.
JJB92 is in charge of the California Dodgers—JJB92 is just under .500 using the 80s set and captured one championship thus far. The Dodgers will likely rely on starting pitching with Orel Hershiser, Jerry Reuss, Ken Forsch and Mike Witt. The offense is led by Pedro Guerrero, Rod Carew, Fred Lynn and Bobby Grich. The Dodgers are currently 4-8 with Orel Hershiser off to a 0-3 start.
Central—the next 4 teams in terms of payroll reside in this division.
HoustonMetFan passed on leading the Houston/Texas club and chose the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia club. Houston has won 10 championships in the 80s set. The Pittsburgh Philiies are leading the division leveraging an impressive starting pitching rotation of Steve Carlton, Doug Drabek, Rick Reuschel and Rick Rhoden—interestingly, Jose Deleon is being used as the closer and has already recorded 4 saves. Bobby Bonilla has already launched 4 home runs/10 RBIs. The Phillies are tied for the league best record at 9-3.
NewGuy1912 is making his debut using the 80s set and is leading the Kansas City/St. Louis franchise—New won season one of the best of the 90s propelled by an amazing 24 game winning streak leading the Seattle Mariners who won the championship. Not too surprisingly, the RoyalCardinals are running wild on the base paths. They already have 31 stolen bases in 12 games. The team is 7-5.
BRifas is calling the shots for the Cleveland Reds. B has made the playoffs in 3 of the 13 80s teams he has managed. The Reds have an impressive outfield of Eric Davis, Dave Parker, Joe Carter and Brett Butler. Mario Soto, Tom Candiotti, Tom Browning and Len Barker comprise the starting rotation—the team record is 5-7
Drabb9529 is in charge of the New York Yankee/New York Met club. Drabb has made the playoffs in 1/3 of his 6 Back to the 80s club and captured one championship. The Mets/Yankees have a starting staff of Dwight Gooden, Ron Guidry, Ron Darling and Tommy John. Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield and Darryl Strawberry will provide the offensive fireworks for the team. The Mets/Yankees are off to a slow start at 3-9.
West—the west is home to the 4 teams with the lowest roster payroll available to the owners.
FatDaddy054 chose the Chicago Cubs/Chicago White Sox club. Fat has captured 22 championships in the 80s player set and has made the playoffs in about 1/3 of the seasons. The White Cubs currently have the best record in the league—Britt Burns, Floyd Bannister, Scott Sanderson and Lamar Hoyt comprise the starting rotation and the offense is led by Ryne Sandberg, Leon Durham and Greg Luzinski. The Cubs/White Sox are tied for the league best record at 9-3. The club has the best run differential at +31, one of only two teams with a double digit positive run differential.
Killermarc brings his 10 championships expertise and is calling the shots for the Atlanta Tigers. With a lineup featuring Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Dale Murphy, the team will be strong defensively up the middle all season long. Bob Horner has already launched 4 home runs in the first 12 games. The starting staff is comprised of Pascual Perez, Eric King, Zane Smith Jack Morris and Dan Petry. The Tigers are at 6-6 after 12 games.
LM Bombers has captured 19 championships in the 80s player set and is leading the Milwaukee Twins. LM is no stranger to the playoffs making the final four in over 40% of entries from the 80s. The Twins have an impressive collection of hitting led by Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. The starting staff also looks impressive with Bert Blyleven, Teddy Higurea, Don Sutton and Chris Bosio. The Twins are 5-7.
The SeattleDiego Padres/Mariners are being led by KaiserWill4. This is Kaisers first foray into the 80s—he led the New York Yankees in the best of the 90s season 2 in his only other mystery league team. The Padre/Mariners will be relying on Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey and Kevin McReynolds and Mark Langston, Eric Show and Mike Moore on the mound. The team is off to a 4-8 start.
Hitters off to a great start
Toby Harrah Cleveland Reds .431/.463/.726
Cecil Cooper Milwaukee Twins .417/.482/.604
Bobby Bonilla Pittsburgh Phillies .408/.463/.796
Top hitter with salary under $3 million
Damaso Garcia Montreal Blue Jays .340/.367/.447
Hitters struggling after the first 12 games
Phil Bradley SeattleDiego Padre Mariners .088 /.184/.177 in 36 plate appearances
Jim Gantner Milwaukee Twins .100/.217/.150 in 46 plate appearances
Tim Wallach Montreal Blue Jays .120/.185/.160 in 53 plate appearances
Hitter with salary over $6 million who would like a restart
Gorman Thomas Milwaukee Twins .130/.231/.239 1 home run/5 RBI in 52 PA’s
Pitchers off to great start
Jack Morris Atlanta Tigers 2-0, 1.59 ERA, .77 WHIP
Floyd Bannister Chicago White Cubs 1-1 1.59 ERA .86 WHIP
Rick Rhoden Pittsburgh Phillies 3-0 1.64 ERA 1.05 WHIP
Top starting pitcher with salary under $3 million
Bruce Hurst Baltimore & Boston 2-0 2.76 ERA 1.10 WHIP
Starting pitchers who would like a do-over
Len Barker Cleveland Reds 0-2, ERA of 11.04, WHIP 2.25
Atlee Hammaker San Francisco A’s 0-3 ERA 10.57 WHIP1.75. Atlee was released by the A’s last night.
Teddy Higuera Milwaukee Twins 0-1 ERA of 10.47, WHIP of 2.26
Dishonorable mention:
Alejandro Pena of the California Dodgers has been a disaster---4 innings pitched over 3 games. ERA? 24.75
Pitcher under $3 million in danger of being released
Jeff Robinson San Francisco A’s : 13 innings pitched,9.00 ERA, 2.08 WHIP