TECMO Super Baseball Fantasy Draft - Round 1

            TECMO Super Baseball is the greatest baseball video game ever made. Based on the 1994 season, TECMO was one of the first games to keep full season statistics for an entire 162 game season. Even more amazing, the game gives you the option to literally play every single game of the season (which is a feature that currently is only offered in Madden). My goal before I croak is to play every single game of the season (picking which team to play in a given game based on pitching match-ups, home field advantage, personal bias, ect.). As of today, I’m through the first week of May (roughly 26-28 games played for each team). It’s taken me three years to get to this point.

            To complement this nerd quest, I created a TECMO Super Baseball Fantasy League (you read that sentence right). I drafted ten 25-man rosters, with no bias to any particular team. To emphasize how nerdy this really is, I have a 3-page Excel spreadsheet dedicated to it. Since it would be ridiculous to keep track of daily lineups, all 25 players are active every single day. There won’t be any add and drops, so each team is stuck with what they have. The positions that needed to be filled are…

C

1B
2B
3B
SS
2 CIFs (1B or 3B)
MIF (2B or SS)
LF
CF
RF
3 OFs
UT
8 SPs
2 RPs (I think relief pitchers are stupid)

            Before we get to the draft, there are a few things about the game you should know.

1. Both teams from Canada rock. Toronto was coming off two straight World Series titles, and Montreal is the most athletic team in the game.
2. Rob Dibble’s fastball tops out at 110 mph.
3. Tom Candiotti throws a knuckleball that travels 29 mph.
4. Both eastern divisions are vastly superior to every other (I guess not much has changed in 20 years).
5. The home run jingle is the best sports video game music ever. I attempted to find a clip of it on YouTube, but alas there is something that can’t be found on the Internet.
6. 1994 was the year of the strike, so in a way, you could say that when I finish this, I will have officially decided the World Series winner for 1994.

          Now without further ado, the first round of the TECMO Super Baseball Fantasy Draft.

1-1: Barry Bonds, LF, San Francisco Giants

            Back in 1994, Barry Bonds wasn’t a steroids abusing dickhead yet. Instead, he was simply a dickhead. Bonds is an absolute monster in the game (ironically enough, his only attribute that he isn’t close to being full is his “clutch” rating) who can belt balls 500 feet or steal bases at will. He’s lived up to his status as the first overall pick in this ridiculous draft, easily ranking as the top offensive player through 20 games. As it stands, he's on pace for the first 100-60 season for home runs and steals in baseball history.

Stats through 20 games: .471, 13 HRs, 32 RBIs, 29 Rs, 8 SBs

1-2: Ken Griffey Jr., CF, Seattle Mariners

            Griffey will forever be known as “The Best Player That Hopefully Wasn’t On Steroids During The Steroids Era”. Griffey didn’t get nearly enough props for speed in this game (he’s only ranked a 10 out of 15, which would equate to a 67 on a 100 point scale), but fortunately he hits the ball out of the park enough so he only needs to trot around the bases.

Stats through 20 games: .345, 12 HRs, 31 RBIs, 23 Rs, 2 SBs

1-3: Frank Thomas, 1B, Chicago White Sox

            Frank Thomas had a giant fucking nose.

Stats through 20 games: .369, 9 HRs, 24 RBIs, 21 Rs, 1 SB

1-4: Roberto Alomar, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays

            Most people forgot that Alomar was the most important player on a team that won two straight World Series after he spit in the face of an umpire in 1996.

Stats through 20 games: .389, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs, 21 Rs, 16 SBs

1-5: Albert Belle, LF, Cleveland Indians

            Belle wasn’t quite Mike Tyson Crazy, but he wasn’t far off from Carl Everett Crazy. Other than hitting 50 home runs in a strike shortened 1995 season (he wasn’t juicing or anything, no way), his most notable accomplishment was still getting checks from the Baltimore Orioles five years after he had played his last game with them.

Stats through 20 games: .409, 8 HRs, 27 RBIs, 19 Rs, 1 SB

1-6: Mike Piazza, C, Los Angeles Dodgers

            In TECMO Super Baseball, Mike Piazza is far and away the best catcher. It’s not even close. Drafting him at six is similar to taking Rob Gronkowski around the turn in fantasy football drafts this year, only there isn’t a guy like Jimmy Graham you could’ve taken a round later. In retrospect, he probably should’ve gone second or third.

Stats through 20 games: .476, 10 HRs, 32 RBIs, 17 Rs, 0 SB

1-7: Matt Williams, 3B, San Francisco Giants

            In real life, Matt Williams actually had a chance of breaking the home run record in 1994 before the strike killed the season (he had 43 homers in 112 games, which is roughly a 60 homer pace). So far in TECMO land it looks like Williams will have a shot at breaking the batting average record.

Stats through 20 games: .512, 10 HRs, 27 RBIs, 25 Rs, 0 SB

1-8: David Justice, RF, Atlanta Braves

            Hard to decide whether hitting the go-ahead home run to win Atlanta’s only World Series or once being married to Halle Berry is the more notable accomplishment in David’s life. I think I’ll vote for the latter.

Stats through 20 games: .353, 8 HRs, 21 RBIs, 17 Rs, 2 SBs

1-9: Juan Gonzalez, LF, Texas Rangers

            Juan got off to a slow start in the first 20 games, but he cranked out eight bombs in his next six games.

Stats through 20 games: .360, 5 HRs, 20 RBIs, 14 Rs, 1 SB

1-10: Rafael Palmeiro, 1B, Baltimore Orioles

            It’s fun video time!

            Fortunately we don’t care about steroids in TECMO land, so we can be happy that he’s the most versatile first basemen in the game.

Stats through 20 games: .329, 7 HRs, 18 RBIs, 20 Rs, 4 SBs