Debut League 1985

I know that I mentioned it before, but the great thing about Out of the Park Baseball (which I am playing OOTP 20) is that you can do simulations very quick, slow, or any rate you feel comfortable with.

For some of my readers, you will remember my idea of doing season simulations based on where Major League players made their MLB debuts with. 

For example, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, Johnny Bench & Hal McRae will play for the Cincinnati Reds for their entire careers, because that is the team they made their debuts with. While other Big Red Machine staples like Joe Morgan (Astros) and George Foster (Giants) will play elsewhere. 

I have done a couple seasons with the 1920's (which I do plan to go back to), but wanted to do the era that inspired me to do it in the first place. Since I was a teen, I remember thinking the debut idea with my early edition of APBA cards in the 1990's. I thought then, "Wow! Could you imagine the New York Mets' pitching staff in the mid 1980's with Dwight Gooden, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Mike Scott & Ron Darling"?!

Of course, with expansion, players like Ruppert Jones will play entire careers with the Seattle Mariners, and not their actual MLB debuts, any player that was on those initial expansion years will be playing their careers for those expansion teams. Ruppert made his actual debut with the Royals in 1976. The reason for this is pretty obvious... Otherwise the expansion teams would have a difficult time fielding a team, which they already have a hard time doing (even with this rule in place) in the early years of those franchises' existence.

Here is a list of each franchise's interesting players and combinations, thanks to their MLB debuts for 1985...

ATLANTA BRAVES

• Lead-off man RF - Brett Butler.
• Veteran outfielder Dusty Baker.
• Slugger Darrell Evans, who led the A.L. with 40 home runs in 1985 -- Now add him in the middle of the lineup with Dale Murphy and Bob Horner.
• The old knuckle-baller Phil Niekro is back with the Braves.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

• Bobby Grich and Doug DeCinces are with the O's, instead of the Halos.
• Don Baylor, skills diminishing, still hit 23 HR & 91 RBI in 1985.
• Orioles rotation: Storm Davis, Mike Boddicker, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor and Dennis Martinez. 

BOSTON RED SOX

• Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn are back with their original team.
• Pretty solid rotation in Roger Clemens, John Tudor, Bob Ojeda, Oil Can Boyd & Bruce Hurst.
• Team closer Don Aase, who had 14 saves in 85' & 34 saves in 86'.

CALIFORNIA ANGELS

• Veteran star Carney Lansford.
• The Angels have Tom Brunasky during the middle of his power production years.
• Top 3 in rotation: Mike Witt, Kirk McCaskill & Frank Tanana.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

• Chet Lemon and Brian Downing, two players who became bigger names elsewhere.
• Hall of Fame Closer Goose Gossage leads a bullpen featuring Terry Forster, Tim Stoddard & Juan Agosto.

CHICAGO CUBS

• Joe Carter takes his 10 years of 100+ RBI's to Wrigley Field.
• Andre Thornton is at tail-end of career, while Mel Hall is just beginning.
• Killer bullpen includes Willie Hernandez, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, Donnie Moore & Dennis Lamp.

CINCINNATI REDS

• Veterans Dave Conception, Hal McRae, Ken Griffey & Dan Driessen join youngster Eric Davis in the lineup.
• Charlie Leibrandt, Mario Soto, Tom Browning and two decent years in Jay Tibbs (85' & 86') are slated 1-4 in the rotation.
• Stellar bullpen in Jay Howell, John Franco, Tom Hume, Jeff Russell & Ron Robinson.

CLEVELAND INDIANS

• Buddy Bell, Von Hayes & Chris Chambliss all checker the lineup.
• Dennis Eckersley and Tommy John head the rotation.
• Consistent reliever Steve Farr is at the dawn of his career.

DETROIT TIGERS

• The usual suspects Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson & Lance Parrish are all in Motown, while joined by Tiger originals Steve Kemp, Jason Thompson & future star Howard Johnson.

HOUSTON ASTROS

• Veterans Mike Easler and Cliff Johnson are the pop in a relatively weak lineup.
• Joaquin Andujar and Floyd Bannister head the Stros' rotation.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

• Ken Phelps bats cleanup, who hit 108 home runs in between 1985 and 1988 -- while he averaged 34 HR & 81 RBI per 162 games, during this period.
• Solid rotation in Bret Saberhagen, Danny Jackson, Mark Gubicza, Atlee Hammaker, and Dennis Leonard. 
• Pretty good bullpen arms in Dan Quisenberry, Aurelio Lopez, Mark Huismann & Bob McClure.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

• The Dodgers' rotation is so good in Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Bob Welch, Rick Rhoden & Rick Sutcliffe, that pitchers Doyle Alexander, Don Sutton, Charlie Hough & Sid Fernandez have been relegated to the bullpen.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

• Kevin Bass and Darrell Porter joins a productive lineup that features Paul Molitor, Robin Yount & old 1970's names such as Gorman Thomas and Sixto Lezcano.

MINNESOTA TWINS

• Hall of Famer Rod Carew enters last season of career.
• Outfielder Gary Ward will be part of a lineup that hosts plenty of dependable Twinkies in Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Graig Nettles & Tim Teufel.
• Rotation is headed by Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola and Mark Portugal.

MONTREAL EXPOS

• Prospect Andres Galarraga joins Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Larry Parrish & Tim Wallach.
• Pitcher Bryn Smith is in 2nd year of a underrated, good 8-year run that witnessed Smith winning 81 games, earning a 3.51 ERA & 1.172 WHIP during that span.

NEW YORK YANKEES

• Lineup doesn't feature much after Don Mattingly, Steve Balboni & Mike Pagliarulo.
• Ron Guidry is the ace, followed by pitchers-on-the-rise in Jose Rijo & Jim Deshaies.
• Dave Righetti, Ron Davis, Gene Nelson & Tippy Martinez sport a pretty good pen.

NEW YORK METS

• Best rotation in the game: Dwight Gooden, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Tom Seaver & Jerry Koosman. Emergency starter Tim Leary sits in bullpen.
• Excellent bullpen in Jeff Reardon, Jesse Orosco, Greg A. Harris, Juan Berenguer & Calvin Schiraldi.
• Hubie Brooks is in early stage of his strong production years, which spanned from 1984-1991.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

• Lineup features Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Reggie Jackson. 
• Dwayne Murphy (20 HR) has last decent year, while Mike Davis breaks out in 1985, batting .287 with 24 HR & 82 RBI for year 1 of a good three-year run.
• Future Star Jose Canseco makes MLB debut.
• Rollie Fingers enters last season of his HOF career.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

• Strong infield bats in Ryne Sandberg, Mike Schmidt, Julio Franco & Keith Moreland.
• Other supporting veteran bats include: Bob Dernier, Ozzie Virgil & Lonnie Smith.
• Reliever Mark Davis is just emerging.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

• Pretty good all-around team in all areas.
• Lineup features Dave Parker, Tony Armas, Willie Randolph, Tony Pena & Al Oliver (final year).
• John Candelaria, Jose DeLeon, Ed Whitson, Pascual Perez & Bruce Kison rounds out the rotation. 
• Pretty good pen in Kent Tekulve, Gene Garber, Rod Scurry, Don Robinson & Al Holland.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

• Excellent top 4 to the lineup in Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn, Kevin McReynolds & Dave Winfield -- with 3 of them going to the Hall of Fame.
• Durable & decent rotation in Dave Dravecky, Dennis Rasmussen, Eric Show, Mark Thurmond & Andy Hawkins.
• Gary Lucas & Bob Shirley are strong bullpen arms, but the rest of the pen is a wash.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

• Chili Davis and Jack Clark are the meat of the lineup. Davis has many big years ahead, while Clark's huge 1987 season (.286, 35 HR, 106 RBI & 1.055 OPS) is approaching.
• One good year left in George Frazier (21 HR & .792 OPS), while Dan Gladden is just getting started.
• Bob Knepper and Dave LaPoint are the only decent starting pitchers for San Fran.
• Bullpen stars the trio of Scott Garrelts, Greg Minton & Gary Lavelle.

SEATTLE MARINERS

• Youngsters Mark Langston and Mike Moore head a rotation that features veterans Rick Honeycutt, Bud Black & Shane Rawley.
• Rising stars Danny Tartabull and Jim Presley joins Alvin Davis, 85' breakout Phil Bradley, Dave Henderson & Ruppert Jones in the lineup.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

• Solid rotation headed by Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, which features 1983 N.L. Cy Young Award winner John Denny, Danny Cox, Bob Forsch & Jerry Reuss. 
• Lineup is full of talent in Willie McGee, Keith Hernandez, Andy Van Slyke, Tom Herr, Terry Pendleton, Jose Cruz, Terry Kennedy and Garry Templeton.
• The pen is not good, with rookie Todd Worrell emerging onto scene.

TEXAS RANGERS

• Pete O'Brien and Oddibe McDowell were stars.
• Bill Madlock, Roy Smalley & Jeff Burroughs are at the twilight of their careers.
• Tom Henke is the Rangers' closer.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

• The lineup features Blue Jays originals that were staples in the Jays' 1980's lineups -- starring Jesse Barfield, George Bell, Lloyd Moseby, Tony Fernandez, Willie Upshaw & Ernie Whitt.
• Dave Stieb and Jim Clancy are 1-2 in the rotation, while Jim Acker will get a shot as the closer.