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You never expect much when simming the first half of a season in Out of the Park.
Generally, a season begins with a fair split of wins and losses, though the occasional streak pops in. I have had a Marlins team pop off a 15-game winning streak in April, but that streak was surrounded by an appropriate win-loss split.
You never expect an opening month like this.
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The Wonder Years decided to start off my simulation by winning their first 22 games, only losing Game 23 on a two-out come-from-behind walk-off two-run homer. After a month, they dominated the offensive categories, with three players batting over .390:
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After simming another month, the Years continued their dominance, remaining in the single digits in losses. I wondered why.
Then I remembered the bench-depleted Bristol Barstools were in their division.
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With exactly nine position players and nine men in the lineup, the Barstools’ non-pitchers are all completely exhausted. Were I permitting myself to interfere, I’d have put pitchers in the field for a game or two just to give them rest, but instead, the Barstools went 0 for May.
And fittingly, most of the Barstools’ suffering has come at the Years’ expense.
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In the above game, Joe Mays struck out 17 batters. It must really suck to live in Bristol.
Having now simmed to the All-Star break, one observation did come true: the Wonder Years’ three-batters-over-.390 pace could not be sustained.
For the most part.
If you are not Rich Reese.
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Reese is dominating the league right now, on pace to finish with record-breaking hit and RBI totals, and with a chance to break the MLB marks for runs scored and batting average as well.
On the pitching side of statistics, another record is absolutely going to fall:
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Walter Johnson is on pace to wallop the MLB strikeouts record, and two of his Special Ks teammates are on a similarly torrid path.
Meanwhile, the entire Years’ starting rotation might win 30 games apiece.
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Obviously the Wonder Years are the story right now, but let’s check the standings at the break:
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...those 70-20 Inside Baseballers look awfully impressive as well.
Led by .381-hitting Kent Hrbek and 30 homers from Jimmie Hall, the Baseballers have put a nice lead up in the Benjamin Division. Additionally, Baseballer Tony Oliva led the Benjamin squad to a 7-2 All-Star Game win over the TJ squad, belting a three-run home run. As a team, they are first or second in their division in every team stat:
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Through half a season, the favorites to compete for the Gud Twins Trophy are the Years and the Baseballers, but remember: the season is solely for bracket seeding (within divisions).
Once the bracket starts, anything can happen.
And if there’s anything I’ve learned from past OOTP tournaments, anything will.
Introduction | Season (first half) | Season (second half)
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