Welcome to another edition of What If? Fantasy Baseball. In case you're not familiar with this concept, this is where I look back at a season long before fantasy baseball became a prominent or permanent fixture in American society. I'll calculate the numbers on what that player's season would have looked like if the fantasy game existed then or wasn't as known. Today, I'm paying tribute to my grandfather who died back in February. His favorite baseball team was the Pittsburgh Pirates and favorite player was Roberto Clemente. So we flash back to his NL MVP winning year of 1966. But before we do that, let's look at the Sporting News fantasy scoring system in place for this.
Point system for Sporting News(batting):
Out: -2 points
Run Scored: 5 points
Single: 5 points
Double: 10 points
Triple: 15 points
Home Run: 20 points
Run Batted In: 5 points
Walk or Hit By Pitch: 3 points
Strikeout: -1 point
Stolen Base: 10 points
Caught Stealing: -5 points
Point system for Sporting News(pitching):
Win: 30 points
Save: 30 points
Hold: 5 points
Loss: -15 points
Inning Pitched: 15 points
Hit Allowed: -5 points
Earned Run Allowed: -10 points
Walk or Hit Batsman: -3 points
Strikeout: 3 points
Here are the stats and SN points for Roberto Clemente's 1966 season:
Outs: 436 = -872 points
Runs Scored: 105 = 525 points
Singles: 131 = 655 points
Doubles: 31 = 310 points
Triples: 11 = 165 points
Home Runs: 29 = 580 points
Runs Batted In: 119 = 595 points
Walks + Hit By Pitches: 46 = 138 points
Strikeouts: 109 = -109 points
Stolen Bases: 7 = 70 points
Caught Stealing: 5 = -25 points
Total SN Points: 2,032 points
Points Per Game: 13.19
Clemente played in 154 games in 1966.
Roberto Clemente was well known for being the first Latin player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as well as dying in a plane crash in an earthquake relief effort while going to Nicaragua on December 31, 1972. He bypassed Hall of Fame qualifications, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. He played in an era where pitching was dominant, but that didn't stop him from batting .317 in his career.
Clemente had .317 batting average which was 5th in the National League in 1966. He also finished second with 119 RBIs, third with 202 hits, and second with 342 total bases on the season. His efforts earned him his only career MVP award edging out Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and 27-game winner Sandy Koufax by ten points in the voting(218 to 208).
His game highlights of the 1966 season included a 5-RBI performance with a home run on July 6 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in a 10-5 win. He had a multi-homer game on August 7 against the Cincinnati Reds with 5 RBIs at home in a 9-7 loss. Clemente had four 4-hit games in 1966: May 1 against the New York Mets, August 7 against Cincinnati, August 26 at the St. Louis Cardinals, and September 9 against the Cardinals at home.
The Pittsburgh Pirates stayed in contention for the National League pennant much of the 1966 season, but fell short by three games to the Dodgers with a 92-70 record. The Dodgers fell to the Baltimore Orioles in a World Series sweep.
From 1960 to 1972, Clemente hit at least .300 every year except 1968 when he batted .291 during a season dominated by pitching. Also, he batted over .340 four times with a high of .357 in 1967 while also winning four batting crowns in his career. Clemente wasn't a power hitter, but he was a consistent hitter as well as exceptional fielder that had one of the best outfield throwing arms ever.
The Puerto Rican legend was one of the best all-around players in the game, and helped the Pirates win two World Series titles in 1960 and in 1971. His graciousness and generousity to go along with endless charitable work were very notable as well. In fact, Major League Baseball now names one player every year for the Roberto Clemente Award given to the one who shows character and contributes to charitable communities.
Clemente's legacy as a skilled baseball player are only surpassed by his never ending generousity he brought to the game and charities he so graciously gave back to. He was a terrific human being.
Previous What If? Fantasy Baseball posts:
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's 1927 season
Ted Williams' 1941 season
Thanks for viewing!
5/04/2009 03:53:00 PM
David Funk
6 comments:
Wow.. what a great edition of What if.. Dave.. honestly, I was never a fan of baseball.. I dont know, maybe its more of a guy thing..
But I had fun reading your entry. Keep posting.. Happy Monday
First of all ... nice job of not only honoring a good player, but also two good human beings (Clemente & your grandfather) ... nice touch.
Only 13 pts per game? Wow ... I would have guessed higher. On the other hand, we know that defense doesn't get fantasy points but sure impacts the game.
Well done.
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Umma, thanks for the comment. Yeah, baseball is more of a guy thing, and I used to follow it religiously for a long time although I still do.
Always appreciate your comment my sweet friend!:)
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Frank, thanks for the good words about my grandfather. He used to go to games all the time at Three Rivers Stadium. He did see games at their new ballpark, too.
I thought Clemente's numbers would have been higher, too. He did set a career high in strikeouts and did have a fair amount of outs, but 13 points a game is still strong for a batter as you know. He was one of the best defensive and all-around players.
Thanks for the comment good buddy!:)
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Grandfather make it to Forbes too?
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Frank, I'm fairly certain he did attend games at Forbes Field.� I may have to see if one of my relatives has any pictures or anything to see for sure.� Will definitely have to find that out!
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