Fastball 1-2-3! This simple game gives quick results on the outcome of a baseball game in under 5 minutes. You roll 3 ten-sided dice (10d) of different colors. If the die has a 10 on it, count it as 0. Each die represents a new batter, and one roll could end the inning 1-2-3. To make is superfast, all the season's as-played-lineups scoresheets with ready to go ratings are included. Just print and roll. The game is based on two staples of baseball statistics, the on base average (OBA) and the slugging percentage (SLG) of a player. Stolen bases and other stats like SF, SH, GIDP are thrown into the calculation to further enhance a player's rating. You can't rate Lou Brock without taking his great base stealing into account, and thus his SLUG rating is higher than his actual SLG percentage. Conversely, CS is an out, and GIDP is an extra out, and are computed into the OBAG rating, which differs from the normal OBA. Here's the actual formulas: OBAG = (BB + HBP + HITS) (AB + BB + HBP + CS + GIDP) SLUG = (1B + 2Bx2 + 3Bx3 + HRx4 + SB - CS + SF + SH) AB [Note: CS + GIDP added to normal OBA calculation] [Note: SB - CS + SF + SH added to Slg % calculation] OBAG means On Base Average Grade and SLUG means his slugging/stealing grade. If he doesn't steal and is a slug on the base paths, then his SLUG is very close to his real SLG percentage. The bigger the difference, the less of a "slug" the player is. The pitcher influences the outcome of the play with his Pitcher Grade rating (PG) which affects both OBAG and SLUG. The PG is a 2 digit number that is altered before his first pitch. The new rating is what he keeps for the game. For example, his PG is 24. Roll one 10d and add it to the PG. If the new number stays in the 20's his PGg (PG for the game) = 2. If the addition brings the new number into the 30's, his PGg = 3. Thus, adding to 24, a die roll of 6, 7, 8, or 9 will increase the PG. Pitcher grades that are negative, like Bob Gibson's 1968 PG -10 rating, stand as is. They do not alter. Always subtract from the OBAG and SLUG to come up with the adjusted batter ratings. PG's are ERA based. The pitcher's PG is added to the OBAG to give an ON rating. For example, if the OBAG is 38 and the PG is 2, the addition of the two gives the number 40. His ON rating is 4 versus this pitcher. If the addition had kept the number in the 30's his ON rating would have been 3. This is not a rounding procedure. It must add up to the next multiple of 10 for the change to take place. The pitcher's PG is added to the SLUG to give a SPT value (slug points). For example, if the SLUG rating is 55 and the PG is 2, the addition of the two gives the number 57. His SPT value is 5 versus this pitcher. If the addition had increased the number into the 60's his SPT rating would have been 6. An average pitcher's PG = 50. Higher numbers are worse, and lower are better. Great seasons will have negative PG ratings. To determine the outcome of a play you roll one die for each at bat. Add the die # to the batter's ON rating. If it's 10 or more the batter reaches bases base. In your scorebook record his SPT value for this at bat. If the die # and ON rating is 9 or less then record an out in your scorebook. I use a zero to designate no points. Once 3 outs have been recorded you then total the number of SPT's the team accumulated during the inning. To determine if any runs were scored, refer to the Runs Table. This is one example. Runs Tables change depending on the year and league the teams are in. SPT 10 14 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58 62 Runs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 0-9 total SPT's does not score a run. 10-13 SPT's scores 1 run. 14-17 SPT's scores 2 runs. 18-21 SPT's scores 3 runs. 22-25 SPT's scores 4 runs, and so on, as each new 4 points adds another run. Here's the quick chart with break off points. The chart can go as high as the number of points scored in an inning. So 66 SPT's would produce a 15th run, etc. Different seasons like 1968, The Year of the Pitcher, use different Runs Tables. Fewer SPT's are needed for each run. SPT 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 Runs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 You can pinch hit and put in new pitchers whenever you feel necessary. If a pitcher gives up 7 runs then all batter's ON and SPT grades go up by 1. An 8th run adds 2, etc. If a pitcher tires then increase the batter ratings by one. Refer to the pitcher's BFP rating. Once the BFP rating has been reached, add 3 more batters. If on the 4th batter a batter reaches, increase the next batter's ON and SPT by 1. For each succeeding batter who reaches, increase by one more. Use BFP as a guide. If a pitcher is making a spot start, then increase his BFP to 18. If a pitcher is throwing a shutout, do not adjust his rating even if he has reached the above rules.
Game Setup: 1968 Baltimore Orioles OBAG SLUG Robinson, Brooks 30 43 Powell, Boog 33 44 Johnson, Davey 30 38 Belanger, Mark 27 30 Blefary, Curt 30 36 Buford, Don 36 49 Blair, Paul 27 34 Robinson, Frank 38 47 Motton, Curt 29 35 1968 Houston Astros PG Giusti, Dave 49 Giusti is pitching against this DH lineup in a Grapefruit League game. Roll 1 die to see what Giusti's PG grade is going to be. Let's say you roll 3. Add 3 to his PG 49 to get 52, thus his PG grade is 5 for this game. Here's the batters adjusted OBAG and SLUG ratings, adding Giusti's PG grade to the numbers from the table above. 1968 Baltimore Orioles OBAG SLUG Robinson, Brooks 35 48 Powell, Boog 38 49 Johnson, Davey 35 43 Belanger, Mark 32 35 Blefary, Curt 35 41 Buford, Don 41 54 Blair, Paul 32 39 Robinson, Frank 43 52 Motton, Curt 34 40 Here's the final ON and SPT ratings, taking the first digit from the numbers in the above table. 1968 Baltimore Orioles ON SPT Robinson, Brooks 3 4 Powell, Boog 3 4 Johnson, Davey 3 4 Belanger, Mark 3 3 Blefary, Curt 3 4 Buford, Don 4 5 Blair, Paul 3 3 Robinson, Frank 4 5 Motton, Curt 3 4 Example inning: (use the 1968 green Runs Table, the second one on Page 1 with 8, 12, 16, 20, etc.) Brooks Robinson leads off with an ON rating = 3. Die roll 4. Total 7. Out. Powell up. ON rating = 3. Die roll 7. Total 10. On base with 4 SPT's. Johnson. ON = 3. Die roll 9. Total 12. On with 4 SPT's. (8 SPT's so far, 1 run scored) Belanger. ON = 3. Die roll 0. Total 3. Out. (2 out in the inning). Blefary. ON = 3. Die roll 8. Total 11. On with 4 SPT's. (12 SPT's means 2 runs have now scored) Buford. On = 4. Die roll 6. Total 10. On with 5 SPT's (17 SPT's means 3 runs have now scored) Blair. ON = 3. Die roll 8. Total 11. On with 3 SPT's (20 SPT's means 4 runs have now scored) Frank Robinson. ON = 4. Die roll 5. Total 9. Out. 3 outs. Inning over. It's quickest to roll 3 different colored dice at the same time. Always read them in the same color sequence, like red, white, and blue. If a second roll is needed to complete the inning, do not carry over unused dice into the next inning.
Making it Real Easy - Print Scoresheet There are 2 pdf files, one for the AL and one for the NL. Each contains the whole schedule of scoresheets, day by day, ready to print with all the grades you need to play right on the scoresheet. You can search on any text, like date, pitcher, team, to find your game. Relief Pitcher Grades A relief pitcher could change the batter ON-SPT ratings as follows: Subtract the starter's PG and the reliefer's PG and roll 2 dice. All the batters in the lineup are affected IF a change is in order. Example 1: the starter's PG-53 minus the reliefer's PG-17 equals 36. Roll 2 dice. If 01-36 then reduce all batter ratings by one. Example 2: the reliefer's PG-87 minus the starter's PG-53 equals 34. Roll 2 dice. If 01-34 then increase all batter ratings by 1. When different relief pitchers are brought into the game, always do the calculation from the starter's PG! Adding Layers - Tracking Strikeouts While it doesn't affect the outcome of the game, you can track strikeouts with the KG rating and the batter's KRAT. You get the ensuing KO rating exactly like you compute the ON and SPT's. If the KO rating equals or is greater than the die roll number, then a strikeout occurs. Thus, die rolls of 0 are always strikeouts, 1's usually, 2 sometimes, 3 or more are big K batters. Considering Defense If you wish to make defensive ratings for really good or really bad fielders, don't do it if playing within the context of the actual MLB team. But, if you have a drafted team of players from different MLB squads, if you want to give Brooks Robinson a MINUS 1 or MINUS 2 rating, go ahead. When computing the pitcher's PG grade, use this in the computation. Conversely, you might want to give a player like Dave Kingman a PLUS 1, or more. The P1 to P8 columns are his positions played for that team, P1 being his most played position (based on games played at the position, including partial games). You can tinker with the game any which you prefer. I have considered making 0's a double play number where the most recent runner on base is wiped off the bases along with his SPT's. However, if a run has already scored, do not wipe it away too. Use Autoscore I have also included a handy scoresheet spreadsheet that was made with Microsoft Excel. You can take the starting lineups from any game during the actual MLB season and instantly have a scoresheet ready to go. Here's how: Go to the "Lineups" tab. Click on the row number of the game you want to play, Click the blue button at the top. ** If it doesn't work, make sure the cell pointer in the "print-scoresheet" tab is in cell A1. Note that the scoresheet computes all of your player ratings so you are ready to immediately go. The red random number at the top in Column I is used to calculate the pitcher's PG and KG When you want to make a new scoresheet, click the "New Scoresheet" button. This will create a tab "use-autoscore (2)" on which you can score a game. It will do all the computations for you as you plug in 0's and SPT values into the player cells. Use the Roll button to give a new random number in column J; do the math for the current batter by adding his ON grade to this red random number. If 10 or more he gets on base. Refer to the SPT grade and click the corresponding value button to input the information into the proper cell. Make sure at the end of each half-inning to place the cell pointer into the other team's due up batter's cell. Also, after the #9 slot has batted, make sure to click in the cell back at the top of the order. When you want to put in new pitchers just type their ratings in at the top of the sheet. They will not affect the batter grades until the roll button if clicked, which will re-calculate the spreadsheet. When you want to put in pinch hitters just type their name over the name of the player they are replacing, but remember to also type in their obag, slug, and krat ratings. There's a couple of rows showing for pinch hitting in the #9 slot. There are also hidden rows if you wish to show more. When the game is complete you can delete the tab "use-autoscore (2)" and re-create a new one from the original "use-autoscore". If you wish to save the game you can just leave it. Excel allows 250 or so tabs in any one workbook. Computer Playing Tips I play in the following sequence: McCovey up, On grade 4 (click Roll button) + 3 (random die#) = 7. Not 10, thus out. (click value 0 button). 1 out. Mays up, On grade 4 (click Roll button) + 7 (random die#) = 11, he's ON, SPT 5 (click value 5 button). Other Playing Tips If speed is of the essence, then don't fool around too much with pinch hitter ratings. Just give any pinch hitter 3's for both ON & SPT.
Some Weird Abbreviations 'Tsp' on the scoresheet means Total SPT's for each player... if you want to keep them. 'tm' on the team sheets means stint for that player. If they go to a second MLB team during the season, it shows 2. A third MLB shows 3. I even saw one player with a 1 and a 3 on the same team sheet, so he must have been traded back to his original team. Computing Your Own Pitcher Grades Pitcher PG ratings are based on ERA, with PG-50 the league average. As a general rule of thumb if ERA is half of league average the PG is zero. If the league ERA is 4.00 then a PG-0 would give an ERA around 2.00. Thus, every 10 PG points are 0.40 ERA points. 8,12,16,20 if 3.5 runs 9,13,17,21 if 4 runs 10,14,18,22 if 4.5 runs 11,15,19,23 if 5 runs The actual tables for each league are constructed taking slg and oba into account. A program runs millions of at bats to establish the run tables. Strikeouts are set at zero for league average k/9 and with each 10% difference getting a plus or minus one. Thus if league average is 6 and pitcher average 9, then pitcher is +5. Batter krat is strikeouts divided by ab+bb+hbp+sf. Tinkering Around You can do whatever you wish to the game. Here's a good idea that has come up. Also, it will slow you down a bit as you do the extra checks. Track homeruns. If a player rolls a 9 then ADD the other 2 dice. If it reaches a certain plateau the player might homer. To compute a player's homerun number you divide his HR's by his plate appearances. Let's say he hit 25 homers in 500 plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitch plus sac flies). That's an.050 clip, so if the dice combination is 10 or higher for the other 2 dice, it's a homerun. Here's the odds chart for 2 ten-sided dice added together. The dice total is in brown. 0 = 1/100, 1 = 2/100, 2 = 3/100, 3 = 4/100, 4 = 5/100, 5 = 6/100, 6 = 7/100, 7 = 8/100, 8 = 9/100, 9 = 10/100, [+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18 = 55/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 10-18) 10 = 9/100, [+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18 = 45/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 11-18) 11 = 8/100, [+12+13+14+15+16+17+18 = 36/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 12-18) 12 = 7/100, [+13+14+15+16+17+18 = 28/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 13-18) 13 = 6/100, [+14+15+16+17+18 = 21/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 14-18) 14 = 5/100, [+15+16+17+18 = 15/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 15-18) 15 = 4/100, [+16+17+18 = 10/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 16-18) 16 = 3/100, [+17+18 = 6/100 (cumulative addition of the higher totals 17-18) 17 = 2/100, [+18 = 3/100 (cumulative addition of the higher total 18) 18 = 1/100 Using the above chart the.050 clip would be almost achieved using dice totals of 10-18, thus giving.045 of the.050 percentage clips. You could call it as his rounding off, or you could add another 5 clips using dice totalling 4, thus a HR if total is: 4, 10-18. What if he hits a homer but the inning did not produce enough SPT's to score a run? Do you give the team a run? That's up to you. You really shouldn't. But it's your game. Nothing like losing 1-0 while two of your players hit homeruns. Some super great homeruns ratio's exceed the.100 clip and would actually take the homeruns into rolling 8's as well. If you want to do that, it's your game. You could even add the whole gamut of the "how did he get on" question. Was it a walk, single, double, triple, homer? Maybe a flip card system would work best with that, but your player would need a whole new set of ratings, basically, a chart. A deck of playing cards could do the trick, taking out face cards, being left with Aces to tens (use as zero). Player gets ON, flip a card to see how he did it. If he homered in 20% of his ONs, then 1-2 is a homer (Aces and two's). If he doubled in 20% too, then 3-4 is a double. If he tripled in 2% of his ONs, then 5-1, and 5-2 produce a triple. You get 5-1 by pulling a second card. If you see a 5 then pull an Ace, and there you have a triple. But it's not intended to be this kind of game. If you want a 5 minute game, stick to the basics.
Ordering Order any season from 1901 to 2012. Each season is $3, or 10 seasons for $20. Paypal: gsovan@yahoo.ca Please do not distribute these files. They are copyrighted to: Greg Sovan 2013. Greg ps. Special thanks to the Lahman database for providing the statistical information to produce these ratings. Special thanks to Mark Miller's site, Retrosheet and and Yahoo's ATM Group for providing as-played-lineups.