80s Game suggested list of players to add

I posted this several months ago on the TSN site and just thought I would bring it over here to the new forums. Bernie says that they will look at the 80s game after all the bugs of the transition are worked out.

The entire pricing structure needs to be updated and we need to add some more players to the pool. The 70’s game has 720 players. The 80’s game has 648 players. The 90’s game has 833 players. Expansion has to be taken into account to these numbers. Seattle and Toronto were only in the 70’s for three years in the 70’s. Colorado and Florida were in the league for most of the 90’s. I think a good number for the 80’s player pool should be in the 730-745 range.

I went through every team’s roster from 1982-1987 and looked at every player looking for prospects to add to the player pool. I used the following arbitrary criteria. Must have at least 5 years with at least 100 AB or 40 or so IP for a RP or 100 IP for a SP. (Some amount of leeway was given to catchers for the minimum ABs.) If the player had 4 or 5 of such years within 1980-1989 that met this criteria I listed him in group A. If the player had 3 years in the 80s and 2 years in the 70s or 90s I listed him in group B. I only wanted players that had at least 3 qualifying seasons in the 80’s. These limits are not TSN/SOM’s but simply mine for use in compiling this list. They have used some players with less playing time per card or with only two years in the decade of the game. One other thing I have noticed is that for players who played for more than one team in a given year TSN/SOM does not use a combined stats card, they use a card with stats from only one of the teams. I took this into account when looking at the stats. In the list below you will see a team in parenthesis after a suggested year next to some players. When you do you will know the player played on more than one team that season and I am suggesting which team’s card to use.

Some players had more than 5 seasons that met the minimum playing time criteria I used so for those players other years could be substituted for ones I have suggested. I tried to stay away from unusually good or bad seasons where possible. If all players in group A hitters and pitchers are added that would bring the player pool up to 731. That is on the low end of what I propose as the target range for the player pool. Maybe we add some of the group B players and/or don’t use all the players from group A. This post is simply to start a discussion and is not meant to be a final answer. I put a lot of work into researching these players because I love the mystery card games (all three decades) and want them all to be as much fun as possible and because I enjoyed doing it. LOL

The players below are simply listed alphabetically within each group and not in any order of preference. There are not many superstars. They are largely ageing vets at the end of their career, young players that would be superstars in the 90s or bench players for the most part.



HITTERS (Group A)
Bench, Johnny – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Bonds, Barry – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Bosley, Thad – 80, 81, 85, 86, 87
Burroughs, Jeff – 80, 81, 82, 83, 85
Butera, Sal – 80, 81, 82, 85, 86
Cangelosi, John – 86, 87, 88, 89, 94
Coles, Darnell – 84, 86, 87 (PIT), 88 (PIT), 89
Cotto, Henry – 84, 87, 88, 89, 90
Dent, Bucky – 79, 80, 81, 82 (TEX), 83
Galarraga, Andres – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Gross, Greg – 80, 83, 84, 85, 86
Hairston, Jerry – 83, 84, 85, 86, 87
Harper, Brian – 83, 84, 88, 89, 90
Harper, Terry - 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
Hebner, Richie – 80, 81, 82 (DET), 83, 85
Javier, Stan – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 (LAD)
Jeltz, Steve – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89
Jones, Lynn – 79, 81, 82, 84, 85
Krenchicki, Wayne – 82, 83 (DET), 84, 85, 86
Kuiper, Duane – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Lefebvre, Joe – 80, 81, 82, 83 (PHI), 84
Lyons, Steve – 85, 86 (BOS), 87, 88, 89
Meacham, Bob – 84, 85, 86, 87, 88
Monday, Rick – 78, 80, 81, 82, 83 (then again maybe that ’81 season is just too good?)
Money, Don – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Moore, Charlie – 80, 82, 83, 85, 86
Morales, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Morgan, Joe – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Nicosia, Steve – 79, 80, 81, 82, 84
Nixon, Otis – 85, 86, 88, 89, 90
O’Malley, Tom – 82, 83, 86, 87, 90
Ortiz, Junior – 83 (NYM), 87, 88, 89 (the 5th year could be [84/91 - bad] or [86/90 – good])
Otis, Amos – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Perez, Tony – 80, 81, 82, 83, 86
Picciolo, Rob – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (possibly use ’77 for ’84 but that would throw him down into Group B with only three 80’s seasons)
Piniella, Lou – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Ramos, Domingo – 83, 85, 86, 89, 90
Reed, Jeff – 86, 87, 88 (CIN), 89, 90
Russell, John – 84, 85, 86, 89, 90
Sakata, Lenn – 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
Sierra, Ruben – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Simpson, Joe – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Skinner, Joel – 86 (NYY), 87, 88, 89, 90
Squires, Mike – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Thomas Derrel – 79, 80, 81, 83, 84 (MON)
Thompson, Scot – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (SF)
Venable, Max – 80, 82, 83, 85, 86
Washington, Ron – 82, 83, 84, 85, 88
Watson, Bob – 79, 80, 81, 82 (ATL), 83
Wellman, Brad – 83, 84, 85, 88, 89
Wohlford, Jim – 79, 80, 82, 83, 85
Woods, Gary – 77, 81, 82, 83, 84
Wright, George – 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 (TEX)
Yastrzemski, Carl – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83


HITTERS (Group B)
Allenson, Gary – 79, 81, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Anderson, Jim – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
Ayala, Benny – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Bell, Jay – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Bevacqua, Kurt – 78, 79, 82, 83, 85
Biittner, Larry – 78, 79, 80, 82, 83
Bilardello, Dann – 83, 84, 85, 86, 89 (only 4 seasons of over 100 AB)
Bochy, Bruce – 78, 79, 84, 85, 86
Burks, Ellis – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Candaele, Casey – 86, 87, 88 (MON), 90, 91
Cruz, Todd – 79, 80 (CHW), 82, 83 (BAL), 84 (can’t hit a lick so do we really care?)
Eisenreich, Jim – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Essian, Jim – 79, 80, 82, 83, 84 (only 4 of these seasons over 100 AB, you would have to go back further in the 70’s for another 100+ season. The 1983 season is close though.)
Gallego, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Garcia, Kiko – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
Geronimo, Cesar – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Hill, Marc – 79, 80 (SEA), 82, 83, 84 (only two seasons of 100+ AB in the 80’s)
Hodges, Ron – 76, 77, 82, 83, 84
Johnson, Lamar – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Johnstone, Jay – 79 (SD), 80, 81, 82 (CHC), 83 (1981 has below 100 AB)
Karkovice, Ron – 86, 88, 89, 90, 91
Kingery, Mike – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 (1989 has 76 AB, you could substitute an awful 1991 season.)
Lake, Steve – 83, 85, 87, 89, 91 (1983 has only 85 AB)
Larkin, Gene – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Lee, Manuel – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Liriano, Nelson – 87, 88, 89, 90 (MIN), 94
Magadan, Dave – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Mayberry, John – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (NYY)
McBride, Bake – 78, 79, 80, 81, 83
McKay, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
McLemore, Mark – 87, 88, 89, 92, 93
Milbourne, Larry – 79, 80, 82 (CLE), 83 (PHI), 84 (1983 only 66 AB)
Murcer, Bobby – 78, 79 (NYY), 80, 81, 82
Narron, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 84, 85 (can’t hit, does he really matter?)
Palmeiro, Rafael – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Perkins, Broderick – 78, 79, 81, 82, 83
Pujols, Luis – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (he is so awful does it really matter?)
Quinones, Luis – 86, 87, 89, 90, 91
Rayford, Floyd – 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 (1987 only 50 AB)
Revering, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81 (NYY), 82 (TOR)
Rudi, Joe – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Stanley, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Staub, Rusty – 79 (DET), 80, 81, 82, 83 (Are his 80, 81 & 83 cards too good for a part time player?)
Surhoff, BJ – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Tenace, Gene – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
White, Jerry – 78 (CUBS), 79, 80, 81, 82
Williams, Matt – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91


PITCHERS (Group A)
Beckwith, Joe – 80, 82, 83, 84, 85
Bird, Doug – 79, 80, 81 (CHC), 82, 83
Castillo, Bobby – 80, 81, 82, 83, 85
Easterly, Jamie – 81, 82, 83 (CLE), 84, 85
Fingers, Rollie – 80, 81, 82, 84, 85
Forster, Terry – 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
Franco, John – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89
Garrelts, Scott – 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 (another player who mixes RP only with mostly SP seasons but the difference here is that his best season was as a SP so I think it is OK to list him as a S/R.)
Gura, Larry - 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Havens, Brad – 81, 82, 83, 86, 88 (CLE)
Hooton, Burt – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Howell, Ken – 84, 85, 86, 87, 89
Jenkins, Fergie – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Koosman, Jerry – 79, 80, 82, 83, 84
McGraw, Tug – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Monge, Sid – 80, 81, 82, 83 (SD) and either 79 or 84 (DET)
Morgan, Mike – 82, 86, 87, 89, 90
Niekro, Phil – 80, 82, 83, 84, 85
Palmer, Jim – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Perry, Gaylord – 79, 80 (TEX), 81, 82, 83 (SEA)
Plesac, Dan – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Reed, Ron – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Renko, Steve – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Seaver, Tom – 80, 81, 83, 84, 85
Sosa, Elias – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Tidrow, Dick – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Tobik, Dave – 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Torrez, Mike – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83
Underwood, Tom – 79, 80, 81 (OAK), 82, 83
Witt, Bobby – 86, 87, 88, 89, 90


PITCHERS (Group B)
Aguilera, Rick – 85, 86, 87, 89 (MIN), 90 (only 4 years as a SP & one dominant RP card makes it difficult I think. Maybe he is better left in the 90s as a RP?)
Augustine, Jerry – 79, 80, 81, 82, 83 (he is not very good so it might not matter)
Fisher, Brian – 85, 86, 87, 88, 92 (3 seasons as mainly a SP but 1 season as a dominant RP might be crazy if listed as a S/R and is able to start with those stats. Very much like Aguilera in that respect.)
Fryman, Woodie – 78 (MON), 79, 80, 81, 82
Henneman, Mike – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Hood, Don – 78, 79 (NYY), 80, 82, 83
Hrabosky, Al – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Jackson, Michael – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Jones, Doug – 87. 88. 89. 90, 91
Lancaster, Les – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
LaRoche, Dave – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Maddux, Greg – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Magrane, Joe – 87, 88, 89, 90, 93 (These are the exact cards he has for the 90s game. Even though 3 years are in the 80s would we really want a duplicate like Mike Keough is for the 70s/80s?)
Matlack, Jon – 77, 78, 80, 81, 82
May, Rudy – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82
Medich, Doc – 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 (TEX)
Myers, Randy – 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Owchinko, Bob – 79, 80, 81, 82, 84 (1981 he only had 39 IP. Maybe use 1978 in place of 1981?)
Rijo, Jose – 86, 88, 89, 90, 91
Roberge, Bert – 79, 82, 84, 85, 86 (maybe he didn’t really play enough)
Sanchez, Luis – 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 (all the seasons in the 80’s but his first season only has 33 IP. Is it enough?)
Searage, Ray – 81, 85, 86 (CHW), 87, 89 (Similar to Luis Sanchez but he has two seasons of only 30 something IP instead of only one.)
Thomas, Roy – 79, 80, 83, 84, 85 (He has a few starts in these 5 years. If he would be listed as RP only then I would move him into Group A.)

Love the hard work Randy. The 80s is my favorite mystery game, but spicing it up with a few new players would be nice. I think the reasoning behind your A and B lists is solid.

Mike

The list of players is fantastic, though I'm a fan of including those really good seasons to create that one year wonder type player. The final decision on player seasons should ultimately be left up to SOM though.

I look forward to the infusion of new players to the 80s game, but I do not look forward to the repricing. I will miss drafting those great bargain players. To me, it'll be like relearning the game.

I agree about including the big year as well. It is disappointing that 90s Brady Anderson doesn't have his 50 HR year. SOM needs to fix that soon, it would make Anderson get picked once in a while.

Show some love for LARRY GURA. Two great years, two average years, and a horrible year to close from 1978, 79, 80 1982-83.

Back to the 80's was my first SOM online game and it remains my favorite, admittedly because I know the card set so well. I also feel they got the pricing right (I'm in the minority here, I'm sure) and there are scads of bargains to be had.

Adding to the set could change the game profoundly but...why not? You did an amazing job and if SOM adds even another 50-60 cards, it would almost become a whole new game! I say do it.

Show some love for LARRY GURA. Two great years, two average years, and a horrible year to close from 1978, 79, 80 1982-83.

Great catch Rebel. I completely overlooked Larry Gura. I think when I saw his name I thought he was already in the game but I was remembering him from the 70s game instead I'm sure. He should be a no brainer as he had 5 seasons all in the 80s with over 150 IP.