Draft Order For 2018

Now that the World Series is complete, we have a complete order for the first round of the 2018 draft. The top four picks this year were determined by a lottery system.

1. St. Louis Maulers (held by Death Valley)
2. Sudbury Snappers
3. Lake County Nighthawks
4. Little Rock Scorpions
5. Fighting Irish
6. California Roadrunners
7. Miami Hustlers (held by Spokane)
8. Mohawk Valley Lions
9. Spokane Hooded Crows
10. West Side Bluejays
11. Rochester Pilots
12. Rosehill Hornets
13. Cape Cod Breakers
14. Wilmington Razorbacks
15. Elysian Fields Flying Dutchmen (held by St. Louis)
16. Northwest Stars
17. Brooklyn Dodgers
18. Northeast Huskies
19. Goldenrod Gators
20. Death Valley Drivers

Note that the draft order will revert to reverse order of standing for the second round and all subsequent rounds. That means the 109-loss Scorpions will lead off the second round, followed by the Snappers (98 losses), Nighthawks (95) and Maulers (95).

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Active MMDA Manager Register 2017

Northwest manager Ray Ross traces his MMDA roots back to 1989 and has thus managed a league game in each of the past four decades. Next time you converse with Ray, congratulate him on finishing his 29th season in the league in 2017.

Five other MMDA managers joined up in the 1990s and remain active to this day: James Bailey, Jim Baker, Steve Frediani, John Tresca and Steven Tresca. However, a complete statistical record for the MMDA goes back only to 1995, so that's where I drew the line when creating our league's all-time managerial register.

A new wrinkle added this year is Fibonacci win points. This concept was introduced by Bill James in his book Whatever Happened To The Hall Of Fame?, and it balances teams' win totals with their winning percentage to arrive at one pleasing number.

The formula is simply wins (times) winning percentage (plus) wins (minus) losses—or W * PCT + W - L. So rather than rank managers by total wins or by winning percentage, I chose to rank them by Fibonacci win points to balance quality and quantity.

No	Manager	W	L	Pct	Yrs	Playoff	HighW	HighL	Fibonacci
1	John Tresca	2145	1581	.576	23	17	120	124	1799
2	Ray Ross	2098	1628	.563	23	19	117	92	1651
3	Steven Tresca	2064	1662	.554	23	18	108	123	1545
4	James Bailey	1973	1753	.530	23	13	105	102	1265
5	Matt Eddy	1318	1274	.508	16	9	113	113	714
6	Steve Frediani	1788	1938	.480	23	9	106	116	708
7	John Lamanna	738	558	.569	8	7	108	78	600
8	Mike Johnson	898	884	.504	11	5	97	97	467
9	Jim Baker	1705	2021	.458	23	2	112	117	464
10	Mike Siddon	1266	1488	.460	17	2	98	103	360
11	Tim Ednoff	518	454	.533	6	3	99	89	340
12	Jim Derer	514	458	.529	6	2	101	87	328
13	G. O'Connor	491	481	.505	6	3	103	95	258
14	J. Gruttadauria	468	504	.481	6	1	87	94	189
15	Ryan McCabe	534	600	.471	7	1	93	108	185
16	Tom Edwards	392	418	.484	5	1	90	105	164
17	Clyde Elkins	375	435	.463	5	2	94	102	114
18	Dave Jones	502	632	.443	7	1	88	106	92
19	Kevin Kasunich	115	209	.355	2	0	64	111	-53
20	Mike Renick	136	350	.280	3	0	53	124	-176

Remember, this data covers the 1995 through 2017 seasons.

Steven Tresca won his 2,000th game in 2017. James Bailey will join the 2,000-win pantheon in 2018.

Drivers Prevail In Dramatic 2017 World Series

GAME 1
Gators 4, Drivers 0
Aaron Sanchez was masterful for the Gators, throwing a compete-game two-hitter. Wilmer Flores tagged Brandon Finnegan for two homers, driving in three of the Gators' four runs.

GAME 2
Drivers 5, Gators 3
The Drivers scratched together a run in the first inning and Goldenrod tied it up in the third. Each team threw up a two-spot in the fourth. Things settled down for the next three innings until the eight when Todd Frazier dropped a bloop single into left field, scoring Yoenis Cespedes and Jedd Gyorko. The Death Valley bullpen of Alex Wood, Chris Devenski and Kelvin Herrera locked down the last three inning to help get the W for the Drivers.

GAME 3
Drivers 2, Gators 1
This was another surprising pitcher's duel. The Gators were able to get to Aaron Nola in the fifth for a run when Jarrod Dyson plated Russell Martin. It looked like that was all the Gators would need as they entered the bottom of the ninth, but then Randal Grichuk stepped to the plate and dumped a home run into the right field seats. Todd Frazier came in to pinch-hit and singled, followed by a Adeiny Hechavarria single. With two on and one out, Welington Castillo shot a grounder up the middle to plate Frazier, and the exuberant Driver faithful celebrated the walk-off and a 2-1 series lead.

2017 Wrap: Award Winners & League Leaders

A recap collecting important—or at least interesting—tidbits from the just-concluded 2017 season.

Postseason Awards

Here are the MMDA end-of-season award winners, as selected by the Strat-O-Matic game engine. 

MVP
Player	Team	AB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	BB	SO	SB	OBP	SLG
B.Dozier	Stars	659	34	6	49	125	.255	45	158	8	.313	.548
R.Cano	Huskies	671	36	3	36	92	.319	40	104	0	.362	.542
D.Oritz	Huskies	565	68	1	40	122	.327	69	85	0	.403	.664
K.Seager	Stars	641	34	4	41	110	.309	52	116	3	.365	.566
F.Freeman	R'backs	637	41	7	41	121	.298	64	188	2	.366	.578

Voters went heavy for home runs and RBIs this season, selecting Northwest second baseman Brian Dozier as MVP after his 49 and 125 led the MMDA in both categories. He also ranked seventh in runs scored (108), eighth in X-percentage at second base (.838) and ninth in slugging (.548). The gap between Dozier and MVP runner-up Robinson Cano, the Northeast second baseman, was narrow at 372 points to 368.

The best offensive season probably belongs to Northeast DH David Ortiz, who finished fourth in the batting race (.327), first in doubles (68), seventh in home runs (40), second in RBIs (122), first in slugging (.664), fourth in on-base percentage (.403) and first in total bases (375).

CY YOUNG
Pitcher	Team	W	L	ERA	GS	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	AVG	BB9	SO9
R.Porcello	Stars	20	7	2.60	34	0	243	219	39	179	24	.239	1.4	6.6
M.Scherzer	Dutchmen	17	10	3.01	34	0	239	174	69	270	39	.198	2.6	10.2
K.Jansen	Breakers	2	0	1.26	0	39	50	26	5	83	5	.152	0.9	14.9
C.Kimbrel	Stars	3	1	2.65	0	38	51	34	28	76	4	.186	4.9	13.4
A.Miller	Lions	1	1	1.72	0	47	68	45	15	106	5	.182	2.0	14.0

Northwest righthander Rick Porcello claimed the Cy Young Award, giving the Stars a clean sweep of the major postseason hardware. Voters valued his effectiveness and durability. Porcello led the MMDA in wins (20) and walk rate per nine innings (1.45), while ranking second in ERA (2.60), innings (243), complete games (eight) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.59). He placed third in winning percentage (.741).

Final Power Ranking For 2017

The final poll for the 2017 season. Teams sorted by wins. Ties broken by run differential.

OPS+ and ERA+ are adjusted for ballpark context.

RD stands for run differential and PF for park factor multiplier. BB% and SO/BB ratio do not include intentional walks.

Power Ranking 

No	Team	W	L	PCT	Division	R/G	OPS+	RA/G	ERA+	PF	RD
1	Northeast	98	64	.605	Northeast	5.20	111	4.75	99	1.046	73
2	Goldenrod	96	66	.593	Central	5.20	108	4.69	100	1.036	84
3	Northwest	95	67	.586	Pacific	5.34	104	4.18	117	1.072	188
4	Brooklyn	94	68	.580	Pacific	4.65	97	4.08	114	1.027	93
5	Elysian Fields	92	70	.568	Pacific	4.83	107	3.93	115	1.009	145
6	Death Valley	92	70	.568	Atlantic	4.46	93	4.08	111	1.027	61
7	Wilmington	91	71	.562	Atlantic	4.93	113	4.10	105	0.977	135
8	Cape Cod	88	74	.543	Northeast	4.31	106	4.27	97	0.925	6
9	Rosehill	86	76	.531	Central	4.08	89	4.19	107	0.999	-17
10	Rochester	82	80	.506	Atlantic	4.92	105	4.47	104	1.033	73
11	Spokane	80	82	.494	Pacific	3.80	84	3.94	108	0.922	-22
12	West Side	80	82	.494	Northeast	4.94	105	5.38	91	1.084	-71
13	Mohawk Valley	79	83	.488	Atlantic	3.68	98	3.94	102	0.886	-42
14	Miami	75	87	.463	Northeast	4.73	108	4.98	90	1.009	-40
15	California	73	89	.451	Pacific	4.45	102	4.64	92	0.936	-31
16	Fighting Irish	68	94	.420	Northeast	4.57	99	5.27	82	0.997	-113
17	St. Louis	67	95	.414	Central	3.58	84	4.09	108	0.989	-82
18	Lake County	67	95	.414	Central	4.24	100	5.20	81	0.957	-155
19	Sudbury	64	98	.395	Atlantic	4.42	93	5.10	93	1.028	-110
20	Little Rock	53	109	.327	Central	4.33	92	5.41	82	1.032	-175

2017 MMDA Draft Supplemental Rounds

Results for the supplemental rounds—this year the eighth through 13th rounds—of the 2017 MMDA draft are as follows. For the first seven rounds—the "regulation" phase—visit the 2017 Draft Results.

EIGHTH ROUND

Gators eighth-rounder Roman Quinn

141 Roadrunners Robbie Ross, lhp, Red Sox
142 Huskies Sammy Solis, lhp, Nationals
143 Bluejays Nick Wittgren, rhp, Marlins
144 Irish Daniel Hudson, rhp, D-backs
145 Dodgers Jett Bandy, c, Angels
146 Manatees Aaron Blair, rhp, Braves
147 Breakers Jhoulys Chacin, rhp, Angels
148 Maulers Jake Thompson, rhp, Phillies
149 Dutchmen Jerry Blevins, lhp, Mets
150 Gators Roman Quinn, of, Phillies
151 Lions Brock Stewart, rhp, Dodgers
152 Drivers Nate Karns, rhp, Mariners
153 Crows Tommy Pham, of, Cardinals
154 Nighthawks Daniel Coulombe, lhp, Athletics

NINTH ROUND

155 Roadrunners Dan Jennings, lhp, White Sox
156 Huskies Adam Libertore, lhp, Dodgers
157 Bluejays Daniel Descalso, 2b, Rockies
158 Irish Ariel Miranda, lhp, Mariners
159 Dodgers Ezequiel Carrera, of, Blue Jays
160 Breakers Alec Asher, rhp, Phillies
161 Maulers Tyler Saladino, 3b, White Sox
162 Gators Jake Barrett, rhp, D-backs
163 Lions Ronald Torreyes, 2b, Yankees
164 Drivers Ian Krol, lhp, Braves
165 Crows Chris Coghlan, of, Cubs
166 Nighthawks Adam Rosales, 2b, Padres

Examining 15 Years Of League History In Five-Year Windows

Note: I updated this file with a corrected calculation for ERA+, which altered a few pitching and balance leaders (March 18, 2017).

The MMDA just completed its 15th season of play in its "online" era. This means we have comprehensive player, team and league data for every season from 2002 through 2016.

To celebrate this odd anniversary, I sliced the data into three five-years periods to see how things shook out. Which were the best regular-season teams from 2002 to 2006? Which teams dominated the playoffs from 2007 to 2011? Which players or teams established league records from 2012 to 2016?

Now we have the answers to these esoteric questions and more.

Granted, dividing the seasons into five-year buckets based on chronology is arbitrary. So at the end of this piece, I divide MMDA history into periods along lines that a historian might draw.

In the tables below PF stands for park factor. Pyth stands for Pythagorean record.

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I. Period One: 2002–2006

The best regular season managers from 2002 to 2006 as ranked by wins.

No	Manager	W	L	Pct	R/G	OPS+	RA/G	ERA+	Home	Road	PF	Pyth
1	Steven Tresca	470	340	.580	5.89	119	4.80	103	+23	+42	100	.589
2	John Tresca	451	359	.557	4.94	101	4.52	109	+21	+25	100	.537
3	James Bailey	450	360	.556	5.48	109	4.78	107	+30	+15	109	.561
4	Ray Ross	441	369	.544	4.62	94	4.13	115	+7	+29	93	.544
5	Mike Capriotti	440	370	.543	4.65	93	4.30	112	+26	+9	104	.538

Active MMDA Manager Register 2016

In the continuing tradition of lifting ideas from Baseball-Reference, I created an all-time register for the 20 active managers in the MMDA.

A similar table to the one that appears here also runs at the bottom of our site's Playoff History page, but even I sometimes forget it's there. So I embellished the data from that page and created a more prominent space for it here on the blog.

Thanks to commissioner James Bailey's record keeping from the early years of the MMDA, I had access to comprehensive won-loss and playoff data back through the 1995 season. So that's where I drew the line for this table. Five active managers played in the league in 1994 or earlier, but the results of those seasons are not reflected here.

Managers are sorted here by career wins. Remember, this data goes back only through the 1995 season.

No	Manager	Yrs	W	L	Pct	G	HighW	HighL	Playoffs	WSWon	PennWon
1	John Tresca	22	2047	1517	.574	3564	120	124	16	2	5
2	Ray Ross	22	2003	1561	.562	3564	117	92	18	2	5
3	Steven Tresca	22	1976	1588	.554	3564	108	123	17	2	3
4	James Bailey	22	1891	1673	.531	3564	105	102	13	1	1
5	Steve Frediani	22	1708	1856	.479	3564	106	116	9	0	3
6	Jim Baker	22	1614	1950	.453	3564	112	117	1	0	0
7	Matt Eddy	15	1239	1191	.510	2430	113	113	9	2	3
8	Mike Siddon	16	1193	1399	.460	2592	98	103	2	0	0
9	Mike Johnson	10	831	789	.513	1620	97	97	5	0	0
10	John Lamanna	7	642	492	.566	1134	108	78	6	1	1
11	Ryan McCabe	6	466	506	.479	972	93	108	1	0	0
12	Dave Jones	6	435	537	.448	972	88	106	1	1	1
13	Jim Derer	5	428	382	.528	810	101	87	2	0	0
14	Tim Ednoff	5	424	386	.523	810	99	89	2	0	0
15	G. O'Connor	5	399	411	.493	810	103	95	2	0	0
16	J. Gruttadauria	5	388	422	.479	810	87	94	1	0	0
17	Tom Edwards	4	317	331	.489	648	90	105	1	0	0
18	Clyde Elkins	4	283	365	.437	648	94	102	1	0	0
19	Mike Renick	2	83	241	.256	324	45	124	0	0	0
20	Kevin Kasunich	1	51	111	.315	162	51	111	0	0	0

Most Decorated Managers Of The Past Decade

Bill James once proposed a method for evaluating managers' worthiness for enshrinement in Cooperstown. He assigned weighted values to various accomplishments, such as World Series championships (eight points each), pennants not resulting in a championship (five), division titles (three), career wins (one point per 200) and 100-win seasons (one).

Last year, I applied James' manager standards to the past decade of MMDA play, and John Tresca's Northeast Huskies ranked No. 1 for the 2006-2015 period.

This year I applied those same standards to the past 10 seasons of MMDA play, 2007-2016, to see if anyone challenged John for the top spot. This time, however, I substituted top-four playoff seedings for division titles, because division titles are practically meaningless in our league format.

MMDA teams receive no bonus for winning their division and, in fact, just three of the past eight league champions won their division, whereas two teams that qualified for the playoffs as the No. 8 seed—2012 Goldenrod and 2016 Lake County—actually won the whole thing.

I included division titles in the table below, even though it does not count toward the final score. The Avg-W column is simply Wins divided by Years.

No.	Manager	Years	Avg-W	WS	Penn	Div	Top-4	Wins*	100-W	Total
1	John Tresca	10	98	1	2	8	8	978	7	53
2	Matt Eddy	10	94	2	1	5	3	941	2	36
3	Ray Ross	10	93	1	2	4	3	925	3	34
4	Steven Tresca	10	86	1	1	1	4	862	3	32
5	John Lamanna	7	92	1	—	3	4	642	1	24
6	Steve Frediani	10	79	—	2	2	1	794	—	16
7	James Bailey	10	85	—	—	4	3	853	1	14
8	Dave Jones	6	73	1	—	—	—	435	—	10
9	Jim Baker	10	78	—	—	1	1	781	1	7
10	Jim Derer	5	86	—	—	1	1	428	1	6
11	Tim Ednoff	5	85	—	—	1	1	424	—	5
	Ryan McCabe	6	78	—	—	—	1	466	—	5
	George O'Connor	5	80	—	—	1	1	399	1	5
14	Clyde Elkins	4	71	—	—	—	1	283	—	4
15	Mike Johnson	9	85	—	—	1	—	762	—	3
	Mike Siddon	10	74	—	—	—	—	742	—	3
17	Tom Edwards	4	79	—	—	—	—	317	—	1
	Jim Gruttadauria	5	78	—	—	—	—	388	—	1
19	Kevin Kasunich	1	51	—	—	—	—	51	—	0
	Mike Renick	2	42	—	—	—	—	83	—	0
* Teams awarded one point for every 200 wins

Top 10 Uncarded Prospects Omitted From 2017 Draft

By Matt Eddy

Shortstops Corey Seager and Trea Turner were the top two rookies in the National League in 2016, but neither will be available for selection in the upcoming MMDA draft. That's because both were first-round picks last year following September callups in 2015.

Yoan Moncada might be the most dynamic
power-speed prospect in baseball

The Scorpions took Seager No. 4 overall and the Huskies snagged Turner, who also plays center field and second base, at No. 15. Both teams appear quite wise for making those selections.

Despite the fact that this year's draft lacks Seager and Turner, two of the game's most promising young shortstops, it is not deficient in talent overall. For example, the only two American League players to receive first-place votes in rookie of the year balloting—Tigers righthander Michael Fulmer and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez—are both draft eligible. So are the other five AL players to receive ROY votes.

The depth of the 2016 rookie crop is impressive, but of course not every rookie receives a card from Strat—and only carded players may be drafted in the MMDA. Still, just think how much better this year's draft class would look if some of the following rookies were eligible for selection.

To repeat: The following players made their big league debuts in 2016 but are not eligible for the MMDA draft in February. Keep tabs on them for the 2018 draft, because I can't be wrong about all of them.

1. Yoan Moncada, 2b/3b, Red Sox (now White Sox)

Moncada went just 4-for-19 with 12 strikeouts during a September callup with the Red Sox, but he has few rivals in terms of physical ability, not to mention a long list of credentials. The 21-year-old Cuban claimed the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year award in 2016, for a season he spent at high Class A Salem and Double-A Portland. In 106 games overall Moncada hit .294/.407/.511 with 15 home runs, 37 doubles-plus-triples, 45 stolen bases and 72 walks. Just don't expect him to win any Gold Gloves.

The Red Sox traded Moncada and three other prospects to the White Sox for Chris Sale at the 2016 Winter Meetings.