This page is for my dad.
In 1954, Cleveland won 111 games but was swept in the World Series. The Yankees won 103 games but didn’t win the pennant. Leo Durocher hit Willie Mays sixth for much of the season and actually asked him to hit fewer home runs in order to help the team win, and he still won the MVP and made probably the most famous catch in Major League history on the way to the Giants winning the World Series.
But will these results be duplicated upon replaying the 1954 season? I plan on finding out. Strat-0-Matic did an interesting thing with this set when they included each team’s most used lineup in their information sheet. It’s interesting also because they recommend using a 5 man rotation but allowing a few pitchers on each team to pitch every fourth day instead of every fifth. As a manager today, there are tough decisions to make in regards to lineup construction, pitching usage, and strategy. Do you play with modern understanding of strategy and statistics, or try to replicate the game as it was played in 1954?
I’m hoping to fall somewhere in between. I will use a five man rotation but as needed use the more durable starters on short rest sometimes. I will try to design the lineups the same way I do with my 2014 set, keeping in mind on base percentages and slugging percentages. And I will not sacrifice bunt runners from first to second in the same way that was done in 1954. But I will allow starting pitchers to go much deeper in games.
Let’s see how the season plays out this time.
Books and Bookmarks 