Am already more than halfway thru a triple-knockout tournament I’m playing on GO, featuring 24 teams from the 1970’s and '80s. Three-man starting rotations. No DH’s. Optional Pitching, Pitcher Fatigue and Advanced Fielding are in play.
I expect this solitaire project will be around 85 games when completed. So far, I’ve played 45 games.
To start, the tournament has been divided into three brackets:
70’s Division:
Undefeated: '71 A’s
One loss: '78 Red Sox, '79 Expos
Two losses: '75 Reds, '77 Phillies
Eliminated: '74 Dodgers, '77 Yankees, '79 Pirates
Early 80’s Division:
Undefeated: '83 White Sox
One loss: '83 Orioles, '84 Cubs
Two losses: '82 Brewers, '82 Angels
Eliminated: '80 Royals, '80 Astros, '84 Padres
Late 80’s Division:
Undefeated: '85 Blue Jays
One loss: '88 A’s, '88 Dodgers
Two losses: '85 Yankees, '86 Red Sox
Eliminated: '84 Tigers, '85 Cardinals, '86 Mets
The eventual three bracket champions will all advance to the semi-finals. The three bracket runners-up will also have a chance to be the fourth semi-finalist.
So far, every team has played at least three games. The early batting MVP (minimum 13 PA’s) has been Jose Canseco with a .583 BA, 1.583 SLG and 2.199 OPS. Canseco shares the HR lead with 3, tied with Mike Schmidt and Mike Pagliarulo. Canseco also leads the tournament with 8 RBI, while Johnny Bench has 7.
The Most Valuable Pitcher so far has been the Angels’ Ken Forsch (B-Z). In 16-1/3 innings, he’s 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA. In 16 innings, Orel Hershiser (A-X) has an ERA of 0.56 and a WHIP of 0.31. Roger Clemens (A-XYZ) has 15 K’s in 15+ innings.
Thru 45 games, the tournament Batting Average is .227, the ERA is 3.68, and the Fielding % is .982.
Since I average a game a day, the tournament should wrap up close to New Year’s Day.
