Lead Story - 2/1/2026

Season 16 Preview

Season 16 is upon us! There are 162 games to be played, but this much we seem to know. The aside from the 2nd wild card, three National League teams, the Expos, Colts, and Mets, enter as virtual locks to make the playoffs. In the American League, Seattle would still seem to be king, and California seems safe, but there things are a little bit more up in the air. Let's take a quick look at how things might shake out.

American League West:

California: Season 15 Record - 88-74, +24

Key Players:
MVP: CF, Fred Lynn11 - .273, .348, .495, 32 HR's and 106 RBI, +29D
CY Material: SP, Nolan Ryan - 11-16, 3.94, 1.44, 8.0 K's per nine

Strengths: Outfield and 1b: Lynn and franchisee Shane Mack16 give California solid outfield defense with decent bats. At first the combo of Carew10 and Jason Thompson give you a shot at .800 OPS.

Weaknesses: Bullpen Depth: John Verhoeven is pretty good at the top (8-1, 4.00, 1.33), and Mark Clear had a good year (3-0, 3.46, 1.28), but after Lloyd Allen the quality of relievers drops off fast and furious.

Prediction: 87-75

Seattle Mariners: Season 15 Record - 92-70, +77

Key Players:
MVP: CF, Ken Griffey13: .277, .350, .897, 40 HR, 113 runs scored, 127 RBI, +18D
CY Material: SP, Bob Stoddard: 17-12, 3.71, 1.28, Season 9 & 13 Cy Young

Strengths: Outfield: Griffey13, Ivan Calderon (.283, .363, .561, 38 HR, 107 RBI), and Jerry White (Season 13, .289, .340, .449, 22 HR, 126 runs scored) are one of the best Trio's in MLB. Add the bat of Edgar Martinez 16 to the mix at DH and this team has a serious ability to score runs.

Weaknesses: Power up the middle. Catcher Kevin Pasley (6 HR), 2b Harold Reynolds11 (0 HR), and SS Omar Visquel15 (0 HR), basically neutralize the power of every Seattle monster at the top of the lineup. If the big dogs have a bad day, there is nothing to save them.

Prediction: 94- 68

Oakland A's: Season 15 Record - 79-83, -9

Key Players:
MVP: 1b, Mark McGwire: .291, .378, .641, 44 HR, 119 RBI
Cy Material: RP, Steve Ontiveros, 7-4, 2.84, 1.11, 151 Innings.

Strengths: Infield corners: McGwire and franchise player Randy Ready16, mean that Oakland has the corners covered well.

Weaknesses: Middle infield offense: Shooty Babitt (.218, .293, .354, 7 HR) and Walt Weiss (.204, .252, .275, 4 HR) hardly inspire confidence when offense is needed from the bottom of the lineup.

Prediction: 82-80

Texas Rangers: Season 15 Record -69-93, -101

Key Players:
MVP: C, Darrell Porter16, Just franchised and ready to rip.
Cy Material: Danny Darwin, 9-9, 3.29, 1.16

Strengths: Closer: Len Barker is inconsistent, but if he can regain the form of Season 14 (7-9, 2.08, 0.96, 7.7 K's per 9, 37 saves to 3 blown saves), he is a potential Cy-Young contender.

Weaknesses: Infield corner power. 1b Mike Hargrove and 3b Bill Madlock combined for 14 HR's in season 15. That's a good month for Mark McGwire of the A's

Prediction: 70-92

American League Central:

Toronto Blue Jays: Season 15 Record: 80-82, -45

Key Players:
MVP: DH, Fred McGriff - .281, .370, .606, 47 HR's, 118 runs scored, 143 RBI's
Cy Candidate: RP, Victor Cruz - 8-6, 2.70, 1.06, 37 saves.

Strengths: Hitting in general. 1b John Olerud, .288, .378, .442, 3b Roberto Alomar, .310, .370, .433, DH McGriff, Jesse Barfield13, .263, .315, .450, 30 HR's, OF Joe Charboneau, .739 OPS, 24 HR's, 2b Danny Ainge, .732 OPS, give Toronto a deep and talented lineup.

Weaknesses: Starting pitching. Guzman, 4.83, Key8, 5.30, Perry11, 5.34, Kobel, 4.91, are the four pitchers in front of fifth starter Eric Plunk. The park is small, but c'mon.

Prediction: 85-77

Minnesota Twins: Season 15 Record - 78-84, +18

Key Players:
MVP: 2b, Chuck Knoblauch16 is ready to roll as the team's franchisee.
Cy Material: SP, Tom Griffin, 12-16, 3.83, 1.25, 8.0 K's per nine.

Strengths: Middle Infield Defense: Thon13 and Knoblauch won't let anything on the ground get through the infield.

Weaknesses: Lack of power. Maybe Brunansky hits 20 HR's. Doubtful anybody else does.

Prediction: 78-84

Chicago White Sox: Season 15 Record - 64-98, -166

MVP: OF Chet Lemon9: .289, .355, .533, 30 HR, 132 RBI.
Cy Candidate: Britt Burns, terrible stats in the past, but young and improving

Strengths: Catcher. Carlton Fisk14 and Brian Downing11 are a solid platoon at this position.

Weaknesses: Pitching, pitching, pitching. There hasn't been much to work with here. When your ace (Barrios) goes 3-18, 6.04, 1.53, you know you're int trouble.

Prediction: 64-98

Cleveland Indians: Season 15 Record - 63-99
MVP: There really isn't one.
Cy Material: SP, Rick Waits, 11-12, 3.52, 1.30

Strengths: We're looking. Maybe Rick Waits.
Weaknesses: This team hit 51 HR's last season. There have been many seasons in the league when individual players have hit more. Johnny Weekly (Seasons 3, 6, 7, 8) did it four times, Darrell Porter2 (Seasons 7, 9, 10) did it three, Rusty Staub (Seasons 6 & 7) did it twice, and Gary Gaetti (Seasons 8 & 9) did as well. The list only goes down to 58 HR's, so many more may have as well.

Prediction: Worst record in baseball

National League:

NL East:
Montreal Expos: Season 15 Record - 105-57, +241
Key Players:
MVP: OF Tim Raines, .325, .391, .501, 116 runs scored, 56 SB.
Cy Material: Steve Rogers (won the Cy) 19-6, 3.10, 1.24

Strengths: Starting pitching. Top end relief. The five starters combined for a 77-33 record. Of six relievers, only one had a WHIP above 1.18.

Weaknesses: 3b: Tim Wallach13 is merely average at .233, .279, .372, with 11 HR and +11D.

Prediction: 104-58

New York Mets: Season 15 Record - 90-72, +169
Key Players:
MVP: 1b Mike Jorgeson13, OF Ken Singleton, OF Jim Hickman15, 3b Wayne Garrett9. None is an individual MVP, but all had an OPS over .800
Cy Material: Nolan Ryan, 17-14, 2.76, 1.17, 6.4 K's per 9

Strengths: Starting pitching and lineup consistency. The four position players named above all had 22 or more HR's and 84 or more RBI's. The Mets rotation rivaled the Expos going 75-56.

Weaknesses: D-WAR: Good fielding percentage, but not a lot of range.

Prediction: 91-71

Philadelphia Phillies: Season 15 Record-87-75, +46
Key Players:
MVP: 1b Greg Luzinski, .297, .375, .597, 72 doubles, 39 HR's, 107 runs scored, and 122 RBI's
Cy Material: SP Marty Bystrom, 15-9, 3.39, 1.16

Strengths: 1-2 Punch in the starting rotation. Bystrom and Larry Christenson, 12-9, 3.63, 1.31, make a nice top end. Bonus for import Jeff Stone if ownership lets him run wild and steal 100+ bases.

Weaknesses: Bullpen depth. The top end is solid with Davis14, Al Holland, and a strangely effective Bob McClure; the bottom end is worrisome.

Prediction: 88-74

Pittsburgh Pirates: Season 15 Record - 87-75, +67
Key Players:
MVP: Import Brian Giles promises to be the real deal. Keep an eye on franchise catcher Jason Kendall16 as well.
Cy Material: Jason Schmidt13, 16-7, 3.87, 1.28, 7.4 K's per 9.

Strengths: With the addition of Giles and the franchising of Kendall16, the offense looks ready to produce at a high level.

Weaknesses: Top end bullpen. The Pirates lack a lock down guy to get them out of trouble spots.

Prediction: 90-72.

NL Central:
Houston Colt 45's: Season 15 Record - 101-61, +154
Key Players:
MVP: Cesar Cedeno9, .269, .337, .519, 44 doubles, 10 triples, 30 HR, 112 runs scored, 106 RBI's... and it was a down year! Season 14: .323, .397, .619, 46 doubles, 12 triples, 36 HR's, 124 runs scored, 156 RBI's.
Cy Material: RP Terry Forster, 19-2, 2.99, 1.17 in 171 innings out of the pen.

Strengths: Lots of power. Four players hit 29 or more HR's and five hit 30 or more doubles. Toss in 26 triples for Joe Morgan and that's a lot of extra base hits.

Weaknesses: D-WAR, at only +10 was one of the lowest in the league. If they had better range an already top-notch pitching staff would be lights out.

Prediction: 102-60

Milwaukee Brewers: Season 15 Record - 75-87, -69
Key Players:
MVP: Darrell Porter2, .293, .377, .682, 49 doubles, 49 HR's, and 124 RBI. At 36-years-old has 705 HR's. Certainly could make a run for 800 before he's done.
Cy Material: RP Ray Searage, 8-4, 2.44, 1.06

Strengths: Good power in addition to Porter2. Five other players hit 19 or more HR's.

Weaknesses: Starting pitching. Top three starters had ERA's of 5.53, 5.63, and 5.18. Why is Teddy Higuera still in the minors?

Prediction: 70-92

San Diego Padres: Season 15 Record - 75-87, -97
Key Players:
MVP: Tony Gwynn14, .335, .398, .463, 112 runs scored, 40 SB.
Cy Material: RP Luis DeLeon, 11-10, 3.52, 1.06

Strengths: Outfield. Gwynn14, Lezcano15 (.294, .361, .485), and Dave Robinson .753 OPS make a nice trio.

Weaknesses: The pitching is pretty brutal

Prediction: 68-94

Chicago Cubs: Season 15 Record - 63-99, -117
Key Players:
MVP: OF Leon Durham9, .293, .362, .512, 102 runs scored, 100 RBI.
Cy Material: Cue laughter

Strengths: Middle infield. Sandberg10 and Dunston are pretty solid up the middle both offensively and defensively.

Weaknesses: Pitching. It is sooooooo bad. It is not inconceivable that the Colt 45's or Expos win more games individually than the two Chicago teams do combined.

Prediction: 58-104

1/24/2026

Season 16 Offseason Schedule:

Between Seasons: X = Completed Step (goal complete/deadline)
1.) Progressions: X
2.) Imports: X
3.) 162 Stats: X
4.) Drop to 40: X
5.) Rank Supplemental Draft: X
6.) Supplemental Draft: X
7.) Drop back to 40 - X
8.) Retire F-agents over 40 and ranked under 20: X
9.) Turn on Waivers. X
10.) Franchise players due: X
11.) Season Preview: if I have time
12.) Season Start: Monday 7pm Central

1/10/2026

World Series History

Season 15: Colt 45's over A's in 6
Season 14: Expos over A's in 5
Season 13: Angels over Expos in 6
Season 12: Colt 45's over Twins in 6
Season 11: Twins over Expos in 6
Season 10: Blue Jays over Expos in 5
Season 9: Mariners over Expos in 7
Season 8: Blue Jays over Expos in 5
Season 7: Rangers over Expos in 7
Season 6: Phillies over Twins in 6
Season 5: Twins over Phillies
Season 4: Twins over Pirates
Season 3: Phillies over Rangers
Season 2: Angels over Pirates
Season 1: Pirates over Angels

League Chat Box

Robinson delivers in clutch, Padres 1969 win

Dave Robinson drove in 4 runs, carrying San Diego to a 9-8 victory over the Cubs 1974. | Box

Big game for McGwire lifts A's 1977 to victory

Mark McGwire drove in 4 runs, carrying Oakland to a 11-6 victory over the Indians 1969. | Box

Messersmith14 dominates, Angels 1971 win 8-1

Andy Messersmith14 was brilliant last night, allowing just 2 hits over 8 innings, leading the Angels 1971 to a 8-1 win over the Brewers 1971. | Box

Noles whiffs 9 in 3-0 win

Dickie Noles struckout 9 Houston batters in a 3-0 win for the Phillies 1969. | Box

Calderon outburst not enough to carry Mariners 1977

Ivan Calderon blasted 2 homers, but it wasn't enough to lift the Mariners 1977 over the Pirates 1984. Pittsburgh won by a score of 6-4. | Box

2/2/2026

Pete Rose Era Rebuilds, Season 16

Pete Rose Era Rebuilds is a low maintenance custom league where terrible franchises from the 60's, 70's, and 80's get to try and build to respectability. Unique League Features: 1.) Detailed Season Previews, 2.) Mid-Season All Star Update, 3.) Playoff Preview and Summary, 4.) Draft Analysis, 5.) Periodic News Updates.