Fantasy Baseball Manager of the Year

Introducing the MOTY Historical Rankings: 1940 - 2008

October 26, 2008 — Ah, yes, the Fall Classic. There’s no better time of the year than October (fantasy draft season running a very close second!). And after the Rays knotted the matchup at 1-1, it looks like the 2008 World Series could be a classic showdown. But more on the Phils and Rays below.

Right now, Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers and all the other clubs’ fans are already starting to go through withdrawal.

So, what better time to unveil a brand new Fantasy Baseball Manager of the Year feature — the MOTY Historical Rankings. Sixty-eight MLB seasons worth of MOTY#s, stats and rankings for every player, on every team, from 1940 to 2008. With more and more decades coming your way over time until you have every stat for every player at your finger tips.

And lest we forget, an important point: access to the MOTY Historicals does come with a price — an interest in baseball, if not a full-blown case of ga-ga love.

Other than that, access to the historical players is free.

And for now, so are all the active players. Once we start unveiling the 2009 MOTY draft tools early next year — projections, ComboCats, Talent Tiers, etc. — access to the active player historicals will be included in the $9.99 annual subscription. So you’ll be able to research players’ entire careers and compare their trends with their ’09 projections.

But you’ll always be able to compare Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax. The 1977, 1961 and 1941 World Series champion Yankees teams.

For those of you unfamiliar with the MOTY system, the new Historicals work just like MOTY’s projection and in-season rankings. They’re ranked by MOTY# (each player’s overall fantasy baseball value, weighted toward the 5x5 scoring system). With 27 sortable stat categories. And the power of the MOTY Scope™ advanced filtering player search tool, now with an additional “Year Range” filter, allowing you to sort, filter and rank players from specific seasons, players by position for any decade or era, even every player in a franchise’s history. Any combination of up to 6 filters you like.

The possibilities are literally limitless. And really, really fun. For example, you can quickly discover:

• The most valuable Boston Red Sox player from 1950 to 1960 — based on MOTY#.
• Every Phillies starting pitcher who’s won 20+ games. And in what years.
• The Baltimore Oriole who hit the most homeruns since 1940 (including St. Louis Browns players).
• Every pitcher in the last 68 years who has recorded 250+ strikeouts, but still suffered a losing season. Including those still actively playing.
• By decade, the players who hit 30+ home runs and stole 30+ bases in a season. (Go ahead, play with the Year Range dropdowns).

Spend a little time with the MOTY Historicals, and you’ll know the answer to all those questions — and a million others you think up yourself. You’ll become the Tim Kurkjian of your water-cooler crowd. And the foremost authority on your favorite team.

If you play simulated fantasy baseball games that let you draft players from any year, you just hit the mother lode. The MOTY Historicals are the best way to find the players you want throughout the years.

If you play regular fantasy baseball, the Historicals are a great way to start scouting players now for you ’09 draft.

And if you’re just a baseball history buff, you’re gonna have a blast digging through the past, rediscovering players, comparing eras and finding great stories and discussion points. Not to mention a fair share of arguments.

But to get everybody started — and get back to the Fall Classic — here are the “All Fantasy” rosters for this year’s World Series franchises.

Tampa Bay Rays “All-Fantasy” team

Only a 10-year franchise, the Rays have had a fair share of valuable players for fantasy teams over the last decade. Though, it’s quite obvious the core of their “All Fantasy” team is found on this year’s surprising roster.

Uh, yeah, this rotation looks fairly familiar.

Philadelphia Phillies “All-Fantasy” team

Interestingly, like the Rays, a handful of 2008 Phillies prove to be among their most valuable players since 1940, fantasy-wise. And, no, that’s no mistake — Dick Allen in 1966 edged out Mike Schmidt’s 1980 MOTY# for all-time 3b. But because the dh gets used in the World Series, Schmidt fills that spot here for Philadelphia’s finest.

You’re not imagining things — you’re going to find some explosive MOTY#s for pitchers throughout history. Most notably in the pitching dominant 1960’s. What, you thought they lowered the mound by 5” and contracted the strike zone in 1969 for nothing? Far from it. And great fodder for future MOTY Talks. Not to mention comparing the “Pitching ’60s” with the “U.T.M.” Era from the mid-1990’s through the early 2000’s (that would be the “Unconventional Training Methods” Era).

We hope you enjoy the MOTY Historicals as much as we do. And look forward to any comments and thoughts you have. In fact, feel free to drop us an email any old time.

Questions, thoughts, cool stories you've discovered in the MOTY Historicals? Drop us an email. Your comments might show up here in a future MOTY Talk.

Share this: del.icio.us | Digg | StumbleUpon