2006 Season
2006 - Houston Astros World Series Champions
Replaying the 2006 season was my first foray into "modern" baseball. Previously all my replays have been from the 70's. I chose 2006 because the Detroit Tigers made an improbable run all the way to the World Series despite many previous years of mediocrity. It was the re-birth of baseball in Motown which saw them be contenders for about the next ten years (yet never winning a championship). This would be the first time there would be Wild Card teams in my postseason play. I managed the Tigers and let the computer manage all the other teams. It was an enjoyable replay despite the fact that I couldn't recapture my Tigers success. I finished three games behind New York for the Wild Card spot.
In the American League Toronto won the A.L. East with the best record in baseball (100-62). Minnesota won the A.L. Central by four games over Detroit and Los Angeles won the A.L. West by nine games over Oakland. New York captured the Wild Card. In the National League, Philadelphia won the East by one game over New York, giving the Mets the Wild Card. Houston won the Central by 11 games over Chicago and San Diego won the West by eight games over Los Angeles.
In the Divisional Playoffs New York beat Minnesota 3-2 and Los Angeles swept Toronto 3-0. Houston beat New York 3-2 and Philadelphia beat San Diego 3-2.
The A.L. MVP was David Ortiz (.290-58-170). A.L. Cy Young winner was Johan Santana (24-3, 2.46, 276K) Santana took home the pitching triple crown. N.L. MVP was Ryan Howard (.308-58-173). N.L. Cy Young winner was Chris Carpenter (15-8, 2.58, 204K).
Here is how the replay compared to real life in some basic categories:
The AL had a .275 AVG (.275 Real), .340 OBP (.339 Real), .437 SLG (.437 Real), .777 OPS (.776 Real), 11479 Runs (11262 Real), 2645 HR (2546 Real), 4.70 ERA (4.56 Real), .984 FLD (.984 Real)
The NL had a .260 AVG (.265 Real), .329 OBP (.334 Real), .420 SLG (.427 Real), .749 OPS (.761 Real), 12309 Runs (12337 Real), 2834 HR (2840 Real), 4.36 ERA (4.85 Real), .983 FLD (.983 Real)