GOWDY86: CHAPTER 6: DETROIT ZOOMS TO #1

                          JACK MORRIS AIMS FOR THE CY YOUNG AWARD


I love this project.  There are several interesting components.  1986 MLB teams, Inside Pitch board game, Digital Diamond board companion to keep your scoresheets and league stats.  Kick in plenty of free time given retirement.  What more could you ask for ??

How about a King of the Hill format tweaked to perfection.  You start off with a relegation tournament to see who will qualify for the 24th slot in the regular season.  In this case, the Chicago Cubs won the final spot, outlasting the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates.  

The Cubs joined the other 23 teams which were divided into 3 divisions ( Eastern, Central and Western) .  The project last  8 chapters and in each chapter each division plays 8 games.  You win , you keep playing.  The great aspect of this format is it mixes the best of equal opportunity and meritocracy.  Going up and down the division totem pole allows equal opportunity but you have to win to keep playing.  The cream rises to the top unless a lesser team goes on a hot streak and upsets the  preseason favorites. Every game is like a playoff game yet you play enough games to avoid small sample sizes for determining the playoff contestants.   3 division champs and the top 3 wildcard teams will square off for 6 chapters of a king of the hill playoff format. 

So, how is it going ??  174 games and 6 chapters are in the books and here are the standings:

Western

Houston 7-5
San Francisco 7-5
San Diego 7-5
California 6-5
Minnesota 6-6
Texas 4-6
Oakland 4-6
Los Angeles 3-6

Central

Detroit 13-4
St. Louis 6-6
Milwaukee 6-6
Kansas City 6-6
Chicago AL 6-6
Cincinnati 3-4
Chicago NL 3-6
Cleveland 1-6

Eastern

New York NL 9-5
Boston 9-5
Baltimore 9-6
Philadelphia 5-5
Montreal  4-5
Atlanta 3-6
New York AL 2-5


Chapter 6 Notes

So if the playoffs were determined today, here would be the 6 qualifiers:

1. Detroit 13-4
2. New York NL 9-5
3. Houston 7-5
4. Boston 9-5
5. Baltimore 9-6
6. San Francisco 7-5


Detroit, Baltimore and the San Diego ripped off 5 wins in chapter 6.  Jack Morris, the Tiger ace, currently leads the 86 Gowdy project in wins (4), complete games (3), IP (44) and  strikeouts (39).   The Tigers can blow you out of the water with homers.  Lance Parrish, Darrel Evans and Kirk Gibson all lead the project with 6 HRs and all 3 are in the top 5 in RBIs.  Lance Parrish ranks 5th in the project with a 1.156 OPS. 

Baltimore reeled off 5 wins thanks in large part to the efforts of Fred Lyun and Scott McGregor.  Lynn ranks among the top 5 in runs (16), home runs (5), OBP (456), SLG (719) and OPS (1.175).  McGregor checks in with 4 wins while holding down the #2 slot in the rotation.

San Diego climbed into the Western Division race with 5 wins.  Kevin McReynolds ranks 4th in the project with a 1.163 OPS.  Tony Gwynn is in a slump but the Padres seem to be ridding some good rolls of the dice.  They hope it continues through the last 2 rounds of the project.

A couple of final thoughts on chapter 6.  Each team uses a 4 man rotation based on innings pitched.  Injuries are a part of the game but injuries are based on division games played, not team games played. 

Two chapters to go with plenty of teams vying for the playoffs.  I will keep you posted once chapter 7 is completed. 

PS Check out the Inside Pitch board game when you get a chance.  It is simply a blast.