Lead Story - 5/3/2026

Season 17 Preview

Season 17 is here! And is our custom, here is a quick preview of each division:

American League West:
Season 16 Results:
Seattle: 98-64, +209
California: 87-75, +48
Oakland: 81-81, +85
Texas: 78-84, -50

Season 17 Predicted Standings:
Seattle: 96-66
Oakland: 89-73
California: 79-83
Texas: 73-89

Seattle's core remains strong with very little age regression. No major imports or significant franchise help means they are pretty much the same team. Oakland franchises RP Jeff Russell, which adds depth to the pen. Being that they have little age regression and California has a lot, we see them swapping places in the standings. Texas remains the bottom feeder. They have some decent young players, but they also have a lot of older guys that they need to phase out.

American League Central:
Season 16 Results:
Chicago: 89-73, +126
Toronto: 84-78, +25
Minnesota: 83-79, +5
Cleveland: 53-109, -269

Season 17 Predicted Results
Chicago: 91-71
Toronto: 87-75
Minnesota: 72-90
Cleveland: 57-105

Fresh off their first postseason appearance, Chicago franchises SP Tom Seaver and instantly makes themselves the favorite in the division by doing so. In Tom Griffin and Seaver the Sox now have two aces to couple with a prolific offense, which makes them a slight favorite over a Jays team that can match them with the bats, but not with the arms.

Toronto's franchising of Ricky Henderson17 does make their offense wickedly dangerous, but not quite dangerous enough to win the division. Minnesota will continue to be a pesky annoyance with great defense, a high on-base percentage, and some decent arms, but they lack the HR power to make a playoff push. Cleveland added Joe Carter17, which means their team HR total may finally tick up after roughly 16 straight seasons of decline.

National League East
Season 16 Results:
Montreal: 110-52, +211
New York: 101-61, +138
Philadelphia: 86-76, -5
Pittsburgh: 80-82, +30

Season 17 Predicted Results:
New York: 102-60
Montreal: 101-61
Philadelphia: 85-77
Pittsburgh: 79-83

The Mets have methodically built a solid squad and the addition of another solid bat and glove in franchisee Bill Schroeder17 means we think they finally get over the hump and win the division. The team did not experience a lot of age regression, and where there was, some progression replaced the loss.

Make no mistake, Montreal will have something to say about this. They too didn't see a lot of regression, and have a roster full of young and progressing stars as well. We don't know who will win this division, but we know who it won't be... Philly and Pittsburgh. Instead, those two teams will fight it out for the 2nd wild card. We give Philly the edge based on the continued progression of OF Jeff Stone, SP Marty Bystrom, and RP Mark Davis14. But don't count Pittsburgh out. They did have a better run differential than Philly last season and certainly could steal that final slot.

National League Central:
Season 16 Results:
Houston: 84-78, +74
Chicago: 62-100, -145
San Diego: 61-101, -178
Milwaukee: 59-103, -304

Season 17 Predicted Results:
Houston: 91-71
Milwaukee: 66-96
Chicago: 66-96
San Diego: 62-100

Houston almost certainly can win this division with 70 wins. Last year it would have only taken 63. But as their World Series Title shows, it's not how many regular season wins that matters, it's whether you get hot in the playoffs. Really, the only question in this division is whether one of the other three teams can crack the 70 win barrier.

5/3/2026

Season 17 Offseason Schedule:

Between Seasons: X = Completed Step (goal complete/deadline)
1.) Progressions: X
2.) Imports: X
3.) 162 Stats: X
4.) Drop to 37: X
5.) Rank Supplemental Draft: X
6.) Supplemental Draft: X
7.) Drop back to 37 - X
8.) Retire F-agents over 40 and ranked under 15: X
9.) Turn on Waivers. X
10.) Franchise players due: X
11.) Season Preview:
12.) Season Start:

4/20/2026

Imports Season 17

You may see doubles on your roster until I am able to clean them up.
Import Threshold: 75 AB or 35 IP

Mets 62-78: Key Import, SP Kevin Kobel, age 25
Angels 71-87: Key Imports, SP WIllie Fraser, age 23, OF Devon White, age 25
Indians 69-85: Key imports: Putrid class. I pity the owner of this franchise.
Pirates 84-00: Key Import: OF John Vander Wal, age 34
Mariners 77-93: Key Imports: OF Greg Litton, age 29, Brad Holman, age 25
A's 77-93: Key Import: 2B Brent Gates, age 23
Rangers 72-88: Key Import: RP Craig McMurtry, age 29
White Sox 68-84: Key Imports: RP Gene Nelson, age 24, and an interesting franchise option in Tom Seaver, age 40.
Blue Jays 77-93: Key Imports: OF Rickey Henderson, age 35, DH Paul Molitor, age 37.
Expos 69-85: Key Imports: SP Floyd Youmans, age 21, RP Tim Burke, age 26.
Phillies 69-85: Key Import: RP Don Carmen, age 26.
Cubs 74-90: Key Import: SP Mike Harkey, age 24.
Padres 69-85: Key Import: RP Lance McCullers, age 21.
Brewers 71-87: Key Import: C B.J. Surhoff, age 23.
Colts 62-78: Key Import: SP Vern Ruhle, age 27.
Twins 81-97: Key Imports: None of note

4/12/2026

World Series History

Season 16: Colt 45's over Mariners in 5
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

4/11/2026

A Series Worth Watching: Colts and Mariners is Finally a Battle of Titans

For the past couple of seasons the World Series became a sleepy affair when a mediocre (at best) A's team kept knocking out the mighty Mariners and crashing the party. Not this year! Seattle took its 98 wins and +209 run differential and crushed both Toronto and Chicago in route to their first World Series appearance since their championship in Season Eight. Over in the National League the Colts may not seem like a top tier team having gone 84-78 with only a +74 differential (89-73 Pythag record), but they are the defending champs and are only a season removed from 101 wins themselves. And so finally the Fall Classic appears to actually become a classic.

Seattle is led by their ace pitcher and Cy Young runner up Bob Stoddard. Though he didn't take home baseball's top pitcher's award this season, he did do so in seasons nine and 13, and his 19-10, 3.62, 1.21 stat line was certainly in line with his strong historical performance. Seattle's pitching staff wasn't a one man show either. Number two Edwin Nunez was an astounding 18-5, 4.02, 1.18, and the bullpen boasted some solid ERA's from Steve Burke (1.40), Ed Vande Berg (1.85), and Bill Wilkinson (2.70).

What made Seattle truly great, however, was their bats. MVP and outfielder Ivan Calderon (.308, .375, .643, 61 doubles, 51 HR's, 154 runs scored, 138 RBI's) was the only player in baseball with an OPS over 1.000 at 1.018. He was not alone. First baseman Alvin Davis slashed his way to .285, .371, .566, with 45 doubles, 42 HR's, 128 runs scored and 122 RBI's. DH Edgar Martinez16 hit 34 HR's with 140 RBI's. And OF Ken Griffey13 added 39 HR's and 101 RBI's of his own.

So how can the Colts possibly hope to compete? Well, they have good starting pitching that seems to be getting hot at the right time. SP and number one, Don Wilson was only 15-14, but his 3.04 ERA and 1.02 WHIP were considerably better than Stoddard's. In addition, JR Richard and Larry Dierker also won 15 games and had four and two shutouts respectfully. Out of the pen Terry Forster had a down year at 10-2, 4.07, 1.33, but he is only a season removed from 19-2, 2.99, 1.17, and two seasons removed from 11-2, 1.34, 0.92. If he gets hot he has the ability to shut the M's bats down.

Admittedly, the offense struggled this season, with only a mediocre .733 OPS. That said, five players hit between 22 and 27 HR's, and Cesar Cedeno9 is a guy who has posted a 1.016 OPS over the course of a full season within recent memory.

All told, The Mariners appear to be slight favorites, but don't count out the champs. Season 16 appears ready to close with a bang!

League Chat Box

McGee15 in the zone for victorious A's 1977

Willie McGee15's hot bat helped the A's 1977 to a 9-8 win over the Twins 1981. McGee15 collected 4 hits in the game. Ron Kittle of the Twins 1981 had 4 hits in the game. Chuck Knoblauch16 of the Twins 1981 had 4 hits in the game. | Box

Sierra15 delivers in clutch, Rangers 1972 win

Ruben Sierra15 drove in 6 runs, carrying Texas to a 16-4 victory over the Blue Jays 1977. Texas's Bill Madlock had 4 RBIs. Mike Hargrove of the Rangers 1972 had 4 hits in the game. | Box

Red-hot Yount9 can't overcome Padres 1969 onslaught

A 4-RBI game from Robin Yount9 couldn't lift the Brewers 1971 to victory. San Diego prevailed by a score of 10-8. San Diego's Gene Richards had 4 RBIs. Luis Salazar recorded 4 hits. | Box

Canseco sparks 6-2 win for A's 1977

Jose Canseco's hot bat helped the A's 1977 to a 6-2 win over the Twins 1981. Canseco collected 4 hits in the game. | Box

Durham9 delivers in clutch, Cubs 1974 win

Leon Durham9 drove in 4 runs, carrying Chicago to a 5-3 victory over the Pirates 1984. | Box

4/12/2026

Pete Rose Era Rebuilds, Season 17

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.