Without further adieu, lets get on with some nuggets from the 2009 season player ratings.

You see it here.  No JAM rating for Chris Carpenter.  I tried every way I could to give Carp a JAM rating, but his .264/.375 BA/SLG with RSP/2 outs sank his ship like the great Bismarck German battleship going down to torpedo planes.  Here we have what may be the NL Cy Young winner and he was just mediocre in JAM situations.

Chris Carpenter did earn situation ratings for both OFF (very few walks to lead off batters) and ON (very few HR with runners on base).

Now if Adam Wainwright wins the Cy Young he does have a JAM (.194/.272).

This is like when 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee did not get a JAM rating (Cliff did get a JAM rating in 2009 thanks to a sterling .226/.301 BA/SLG performance with RSP/2).

Wandy Rodriguez who had an excellent season also ended up NOT getting a JAM rating (.260/.403).

Whew! How about Matt Cain (.101/.152)?  Now THAT is getting out of a JAM!

Seems like an annual rite of passage that Derek Jeter's range is discussed.  This year Jeter
worked out extensively in the off season to improve his range and reports were that his range had improved.  Despite an undewhelming Range rating of 3.90, Jeter did go from a John Dewan Fielding Bible plus/minus rating of -11 to +5.  Jeter C+ Range rating.

Jeter's teammate Mark Teixeira slipped a bit, but still scored excellent range (B+).  Teixeira didn't slip hitting in the clutch (.355 BA/.597 SLG) and will be a terror in the clutch on his 2009 player card.

Johnny Damon's throwing arm is at +1 and hanging off the cliff looking at +2 below.  Damon ranked 11th in runner advancement among LF (.321).  Maybe not the +4 arm that Joe Girardi imagined in Game 3 of the ALCS when he pulled him in favor of Jerry Hairston and in the process giving up the Yankees DH and Mariano Rivera in one swoop.

Skip Schumaker's move from the OF to 2b was a success - sort of.  Skip improved as the season went on, but could only finish with C Range because of a poor start (-14 plus/minus).

Prince Fielder had what Brewer owner Mark Attanasio called the best season by a hitter in Brewers history. That would have to be an outstanding performance given some of the great seasons put up by Fielder himself, Ryan Braun and of course Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount.  Hammering away with a .343 BA and .600 SLG with RSP/2, Fielder was certainly a very large terrorizing hitter in clutch situations to any pitcher in 2009.

Ryan Howard was a curious case.  Despite hitting only .222/.444 with RSP/2, Howard was terrorizing in clutch hitting situations (.344/.781) as defined by the BIS clutch hitting performance definition:

A hitter's performance in the most critical situations. Like obscenity, a "clutch situation" may be best defined as "I know it when I see it." The determinants here are the things that make you feel it in your gut, including the lateness of the inning, the closeness of the score, the number of outs and men on base, the stage of the season, and the importance of the opponent.

Unheralded Brian McCann also terrorized pitchers in clutch situations (.325/.584) helping to lead the Braves to challenge for a wild card berth.

Chipper Jones may be the single most surprising player to receive a clutch hitting rating in 2009.  Jones fell off dramatically after leading the league in hitting in 2008.  While batting only .264 with a .430 SLG overall, Chipper was every bit a clutch hitter in 2009 rising to the occasion and hitting .313 with a .656 SLG.  Overall Jones had a 1.225 OPS with RSP/2 and he hit .333 with a .526 SLG with RSP. Retire?  Not yet Chipper.

As you surmised, Brad Lidge NO JAM (.294/.441 RSP/2).

Huston Street was on the cusp, but was way more effective with no one on base than in a JAM.

How many closers have ERA's of 5.80?  Pittsburgh has Matt Capps with ugly stats with RSP (.350/.567).

Young rising Oriole star Adam Jones garners an A Range rating and -2 Throwing arm.  Jones had the highest Range factor among all cf.

Rating Oakland now and Mark Ellis did get a Clutch hitting rating despite a poor Bill James Clutch hitting performance. 

In the end, having 52 AB's with RSP/2 and a  .423 BA/.673 SLG put him over the edge.  Ellis .423 BA with RSP/2 was 2nd in MLB among all players with 50 AB or more in RSP/2 situations. 

Ellis Range took a big hit though down to a C+.

Another sleeper for clutch hitting is Casey McGehee.  A little short on AB with 43, but I don't see how you can ignore .512/.953.  Forget Chris Coghlan, McGehee should have been NL rookie of the year.

Best AL OF arm?  That would belong to the canon arm of Toronto's Jose Bautista (B/-3) whose Assists, Kills and Extra Base pct. were all outstanding.

The 2009 season player card set can be ordered here.

Last Saturday, August 1 at 6P ET, Jamie Hall and I got together for the launch of the first ever live face to face game ever played with the new upcoming DYNASTY League Baseball Online version.

The launch was as perfect as a Mark Buehrle perfect game and maybe even more exciting to watch and play.

I sent my 2006 Cardinals vs. Jamie's 2006 Tigers in Game 1 of the 2006 World Series at Comerica Park.  OK, these are both our favorite teams so this was like Baseball nirvana for us with the Tigers and Cardinals not having played vs. each other in the World Series since 1968 and 1934.

The missing "League" is now found
Before we started the game, I was telling Jamie that the "League" in DYNASTY League Baseball has been missing since DYNASTY League Baseball debuted in 1994.  By that I mean a really easy way for people to join a league, for Commissioners to run leagues and for people to connect and play vs. each other across long distances. 

The draft room will allow you to draft live and show which players have been selected, which players are left in the draft, what your roster currently looks like, how many dollars of your budget you have left to bid on players and which roster slots you still need to fill.

Dan Mintz, Reede Stockton, Jamie and myself have been planning and talking about an Online version for a long time.  It really wasn't until the past two years that the Baseball stars and sun were in perfect alignment to create the opportunity to develop what is a truly cutting edge technological marvel.   

Realizing that most DYNASTY League Baseball and Pursue the Pennant fans have never played an Online game the question is "What is this and why do I need it?"

There are three type of ways you will play your opponent:

• You vs. another live opponent
• You vs. computer manager
• Computer manager vs. computer manager

Which type of game you will play depends on you and your opponent.

Solitaire play options are also available. 

There will be two primary play options:

• Greatest Teams tournaments
• Continous draft leagues that use the Official DYNASTY League Baseball rules
  
  
  You always have time for DYNASTY League Baseball Online
  The neat thing is that there is always time to be in a league or tournament no matter how busy you are with work, family and friends.   If you find you are getting busy you can always have the computer manager take over and play games for you until you have more time to play the games live.

DYNASTY League Baseball Online runs on Windows or Apple Macintosh
How do I install the Online version and start playing?  You don't install it - it is all ready to go for you. 

You start your Internet Explorer, Fire fox or if you are on an Apple Macintosh, your Safari browser, and log on with your user name and password at a new web site being created just for DYNASTY League Baseball Online TBA. 

If you are already in a draft league or Greatest tournament the first thing you'll see is your up to date draft league standings and Greatest Teams tournament results and rankings. If this is your first time logging in you will choose your Greatest team for the Greatest Teams tournaments.  You also will be able to select a franchise for a continuous private or public draft league.

So now what after I select my team?  Click on the link to the game you want to play.  That is as easy as it was for me to connect and play Jamie.  One click and the first thing you will see on your screen is the outside of the ball park that you are playing in.  Click enter and you enter the ball park just as if you had walked into the ball park.

Similar to the Windows version, the next thing you will do is select your starting pitcher.  DYNASTY League Baseball Online includes injury and pitcher rest tracking as well as Use rating tracking so you can easily see who is available for the game.

You can see any players player card while you are selecting your pitcher and lineup.  You also have the OBP and SLG vs. LH and vs RH breakdowns.  Previously I would pull out my Bill James Handbook to look up these stats, but now they are all there.  Click on the Magglio Ordonez player card screen below to check it out.

The lineup selection screen now allows you to move players up or down in the lineup. 

Next we enter Comerica Park.  It is one thing to see screen shots and another to actually see the game interface on screen.  One word left my mouth.  "WOW!"  Joe DiMaggio would call it the Marilyn Monroe screen interface. Gorgeous!

You control your own mouse all of the time - you don't have to share the mouse even though the game is turn based.

What I absolutely loved were the new tool tips.  When you roll over a player rating on screen a tool tip comes up describing the rating.

 


Want to see a player card?  Just move your mouse over the player name and the player pops up for you.  The player cards look identical to the player cards in the board game in every respect.

The Cardinals struck first in the 1st when Albert Pujols launched a Justin Verlander pitch to center field for a home run.  I flipped when I saw the red target flash in center field where Pujols had just deposited the ball and then watched as Pujols circled the bases. 

The screen shot below is from another Pujols HR in a different game, but if you click on it you'll get the full size image.

 The game is far from a static text game and that is one of the first things you will notice.  There are all kinds of things flashing and moving during the game that really adds to the enjoyment of playing.  Also helps when your team is winning as mine was 2-0.

Worried about a disconnection or crash?  Don't be.  Your game is automatically saved and will take you right back to where you left off so a game will never be lost.

Scott Spiezio opened up the top of the 2nd inning with a solo shot to right. Gee that flashing target is cool! Cardinals 3  Tigers 0

For each play result either the pitcher card or hitter card will come up on screen depending on which player card the result is on.  The dice roll is shown below the player card and the play results flashes right on the player card.  Click below to see a play result on Nate Robertson's player card:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 During the game, you'll also see the various Situation ratings highlight when they are in effect with a description of the Situation rating.  In the screen shot below, the ON rating (rarely allows HR with runners on base) is in effect for Justin Verlander.

 

 

Top of the 3rd and Spiezio hits a solo shot to center field to make it 5-0 Cardinals.

Top of the 5th and Spiezio homers to right field for his third HR of the game!  Cardinals 6-0

Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter is just dominating until the 8th when Craig Monroe slams a two-run home run to left.

 Final score Cardinals 6  Tigers 2

 

 

No exporting or importing needed for instant updated stats and standings
Now think of youself playing in a tournament or league where other players are playing and the scores are updated instantly for everyone to see along with the current standings, stats and league leaders.  No exporting or importing of files.  How cool is that?

Box score and Game Summary are easily accessible during and after the game

InauguralBox.html

I absolutely love the new Game Summary!

InauguralGameSummary.html


Shown below is the final game screen with the Cardinals winning 6-2 over the Tigers.  You can click on the screen to see Jason Isrinhausen warming up in the bullpen in the 9th inning - just in case.  The bullpen is right on the main game screen and shows you who it warming up and if they are ready.

Well, there you have it - Game 1 of DYNASTY League Baseball Online and there are so many more features still to come!  Amazing as the 1969 Mets don't you think?  I sure think so.

 

 

 

Thank you to all of the great fans of Pursue the Pennant and DYNASTY League Baseball for 25 fantastic fun years of playing!

Some of the history is captured at the DYNASTY League Baseball reviews and feature link with a new column just added "Yanks Control Board Meeting" from Michael Bauman of the Milwaukee Journal and MLB.com that left us all smiling.

We are celebrating 25 years of Pursue the Pennant and DYNASTY League Baseball during the AT&T Park Tour Tournament Express September 11-13. Your invitation to this amazing event is at the DYNASTY League Baseball League link. 

If you are on Facebook, you can read about the AT&T Park Tour Tournament event at the DYNASTY League Baseball Fan page. 

The Tour Tournament leads off Friday, September 11 from Union Station in Los Angeles, CA with connections from San Diego, Anaheim and Santa Barbara where we will board Amtrak's Coast Starlight premier train with first class accomodations and private roomettes.

If you live in the San Franciso bay area there is an opportunity to join us on Saturday, September 12 for the Tour of AT&T Park, Greatest Teams bracket tournament and Dodgers vs. Giants game. 

All of you native Giant and A's fans in the bay area we want you to join our group coming from Los Angeles!

If you live in other parts of the country please contact us so we can help you connect into Los Angeles or San Diego.

As our on-board chef prepares breakfast, we'll watch some of the most spectacular scenery in the USA roll by in the Dining car.  After breakfast, we'll head to the one of a kind Pacific Parlour car (the only passenger Parlour car on Amtrak) accessible to first class passengers only and ideal for gaming. In fact, it has a cabinet of board games.  The Pacific Parlour car will be serving appetizers, wine and cheese so prepare to be pampered.  This doesn't even happen in the Legend seats at Yankee Stadium!

Our Greatest Teams tournament will allow you to select from any of the great teams. I'll be on the tour tournament event of course and will be skippering the 1985 Cardinals.  You'll have your chance to play me with your favorite greatest team as well as all the other fans on the trip which will be some of the top competition.

On Saturday September 12 we'll head out to AT&T Park for a tour.  On your behind-the-scenes ballpark tour of sensational AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, you will get to go places only the players and staff go including:

The Field Warning Track
The Dugouts
Indoor Batting Cages
The Visitors' Clubhouse
The Press Box
The Luxury Suite
Ballpark Features and Views 
  After the tour, we'll be starting up a local mini-Greatest Team bracket style tournament right at AT&T Park that DYNASTY League Baseball fans from the Bay Area can join in with the group from San Diego and Los Angeles.

The tournaments will include play with the Board version, Windows version and the debut on the new Online version using the Giants Wi-Fi broadband wireless network at AT&T Park.

After the tournament our group will see the Dodgers battle the Giants at AT&T Park.



At the league page there are links to recaps of previous tour tournaments which have some incredible stories to be told. 

 A hurricane at Fenway Park, the lost George Brett folder, the miracle comeback on the Three Rivers express, the young titans battling in the Amtrak cafe car enroute to the Busch

Stadium Express are just a few of many stories.  Above, Dan Treuden (middle) and Mike Mack (right) join me with the Green Monster looming behind before the hurricane hit on the Fenway Park Oympic Stadium Express Tour Tournament.

AT&T Park Express Tour Tournament includes:

- Greatest Teams tournament

Team selections are at this MLB.com News Blog:
http://dynastyleaguebaseball.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/04/new_greatest_teams_tournament.html

- Round trip first class rail fare with private roomette and chef prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner on both Friday and Sunday.

- Two nights San Francisco Hilton Garden Hotel

- Tour of AT&T Ball Park

- Club Level ticket to Giants vs. Dodgers September 12, 2009

Double occupancy: $448

Tour, Tournament and Game only on September 12 for local DYNASTY League Baseball fans in the Bay area: $124

Space is limited...

Team selections on first come basis.

Deadline for reservations is Monday June 15, 2009

Call 561-494-2711 or email orders@designdepot.com

See you in September!

- Mike

The DYNASTY League Baseball 1957 season board version card set is being re-released this Summer in the new color format with updated vs. LH and vs. RH batting and pitching splits.  The 1957 season Windows version will also be updated with new vs. LH and vs. RH splits.

What would have it been like to sit in the empty chair and have dinner with Eddie Mathews (middle) in what looks like a typical German restaurant in Milwaukee?

First off, you haven't eaten unless you've been to one of Milwaukee's famous German restaurants the king of which is Karl Rausch's.

Most of you are like me. We never had the chance to see the great stars of the 1950's. So here is your chance to learn a bit more`and take in some of the images of what Baseball was like in 1957.

My Grandfather from my father's side of the family owned an Optical company near Mitchell St. in Milwaukee.  In the 1950's, Mitchell St. was a thriving area and some of the Milwaukee Braves would come in as customers including Eddie Mathews.  The unique thing about the Milwaukee Braves and their fans is that it was a mutual love affair.  It was more than the Milwaukee attendance records that were set while outdrawing larger markets in Chicago and New York.  The fans loved the Braves and the Braves loved the fans. 

From the new book "Milwaukee Braves: Heroes and Heartbreak" author William Povletich explains the love affair: "People ask me what the common theme is for all the guys I talked to, and it's almost like they all have been brainwashed with the same script," Povletich said. "It's 'We loved Milwaukee. When we came here our money was no good. They installed lockers in the dugout and filled it with meat and dairy products and ice cream. When we came home from a game, there'd be cases of beer on our front porch.

Shortly after Pursue the Pennant began in September of 1984, Bob Allen and I took the Amtrak train from Milwaukee to Chicago to meet with the Advertising agency that we were designing the Pursue the Pennant logo and Ad campaign with.  Bob was the Milwaukee Braves PR Director for all 13 winning seasons of Milwaukee Braves history from 1953-1965 and was also Hank Aaron's agent.  He actually had the Milwaukee Braves Championship trophy in his house!  Bob did not want to have the Braves memorabilia taken to Atlanta when the Braves were hijacked to the deep south.

Bob Allen borrowed his 1957 Official scorebook to me so I could research the Milwaukee Braves vs. LH and vs. RH splits.  I sent copies of his scorebook to retrosheet.org to help with the project of finding original scorebooks from past seasons.

Bob Allen appears in the dugout at the start of this incredible video with rare color footage of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Joe Torre and Eddie Mathews in Milwaukee County Stadium. How lucky is this kid?  Best day ever?  You bet. When you get right down to it isn't this really what Baseball is all about?

My parents took me to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play vs. the Atlanta Braves in August of 1973.  I became a Cardinals fan in 1967, but had never seen them play in St. Louis.  We went to the historic Chase Park Plaza hotel that the Braves were staying at and sure enough here comes Hank Aaron walking through the lobby. Hank was in the midst of his chase of Babe Ruth's home run record. I went up and told him I was from Milwaukee and Hank signed my baseball. 

Later that day we went to Stan Musial's restaurant and as soon as we walked in there was "Stan the Man".

Stan was extremely friendly and asked me where I was from and "Can you hit?"  I said, "Yeah!"  Stan signed the same baseball Hank signed. Best day ever?  Certainly right at the top of the list.

This Spring while at the St. Louis Cardinals camp in Jupiter, FL I ran across Peter Gammons and told him about the 1957 Milwaukee Braves winning the DYNASTY League Baseball ESPN.com Greatest Teams bracket style tournament. Peter's reaction was, "How did that happen?"

Peter would put the 1939 Yankees at the top of his list, but what about the 1957 Milwaukee Braves?

Below are Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract rankings for the Milwaukee Braves:

BILL JAMES POSITIONAL RANKINGS INDEX

Del Crandell, C____________30
Red Schoendienst, 2B_______28
Eddie Mathews, 3B___________3
Johnny Logan, SS___________39
Hank Aaron, RF______________2
Joe Adcock, 1B_____________43
Bobby Thomson, RF__________59
Warren Spahn, P_____________5

The big three of Eddie Mathews (3), Hank Aaron (2) and Warren Spahn (5) may be the highest ranking trio of any greatest team.

By comparison, the 1939 New York Yankees big three had Joe DiMaggio (5), Joe Gordon (16) and Bill Dickey (7) as their highest ranking trio.  Below: Joe DiMaggio playing casino on a train trip with teammates.  Too bad Joe and the rest of the Yankees didn't have a copy of the  DYNASTY League Baseball board version on the train to have their own tournaments! The 1950's marked the last decade that players would travel by train.  In 1957, the furthest most western team was still Kansas City.

From the Wisconsin Historical Society:

The Milwaukee Braves were already a very good baseball team when Albert "Red" Schoendienst joined them in June of 1957. Featuring future Hall of Famers Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews and Henry Aaron and a strong supporting cast, the Braves had dueled the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1956 National League pennant, losing by a single game on the last day of the season.

Schoendienst, a 12-year veteran and 10-time All-Star, was just what the Braves needed. Acquired from the New York Giants, Red brought sharp hitting and excellent fielding to the second base position, along with a wealth of baseball knowledge and understated experience. Many people consider Scheondienst the player who transformed the Braves from a competitive team in 1956 to World Champions in 1957.

Henry Aaron recalled, "I'll never forget it. Red came in to the clubhouse and put on the Braves' uniform, and it made us all feel like Superman. We knew he was going to mean so much to our ballclub that wouldn't show up in the boxscore. He provided the leadership in the clubhouse and on the field. He was never a rah-rah college kind of guy, but he definitely became the leader of that ballclub."

Above: 1957 World Series hero Lew Burdette and wife celebrate winning the championship in Milwaukee.

What about some of the great stars of the 1950's that Eddie Mathews and the Braves played against?  Let's take a look:

Above: Pull up a chair. Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle all part of the new 1957 season DYNASTY League Baseball re-release. 

Above: Mickey Mantle had one of his best seasons in 1957.  .421 BA with A Power vs. LH and .339 with A Power vs. RH on his DYNASTY League Baseball player card.  Where do you think this ball is heading?

Above: Maybe the bleachers in Old Yankee Stadium, one of the parks included in the new ULTIMATE Ball Park charts for the 1957 season.

Above: Before his knee injury, Mickey Mantle could really run and was the fastest player in the AL earning a 10 Baserunning rating on his 1957 DYNASTY League Baseball player card.


 Above: Ted Williams hitting in Old Comiskey Park.  Williams had one of his best seasons in 1957 hitting .388 with an OBP of .528 and SLG of .731.  With RSP, Williams hit .373 with an .800 SLG easily earning him a Clutch hitting rating on his 1957 DYNASTY League Baseball card.   

Left: The joy of Willie Mays playing for the New York Giants in Wrigley Field.  1957 was the last year the Giants would play in New York before moving to San Francisco. Has there ever been a better defensive CF (Mays A+/65/-3 defensive player ratings)? 

What couldn't Willie Mays do?  Run (10 Baserunning rating),
hit (.333 BA), hit for power (A Power), get on base (.411 OBP), and hit in the Clutch (Clutch hitting rating earned in part by hitting  .361 with a .701 SLG in Close and late situations).

You'd be hard pressed to come up with better CF than in the 1950's with Mantle, Mays and Duke Snider.

 

Above: Polo Grounds DEEP CF distance of 430 feet for a HR off the DYNASTY League Baseball ball park chart.
Left: Duke Snider hit 40 HR in 1957 (A Power) in the last year the Dogers would play in Brooklyn.






























Above: Ebbets Field.  Has anyone hit a 395 foot HR into the DeSoto car dealership in RF using the DYNASTY League Baseball Greatest Team Ball Park charts?

Left: Frank Robinson in the Crosley Field clubhouse. The clubhouse is typical of what they looked like in the 1950s'.

I had the chance to meet Frank Robinson while working for the Baltimore Orioles and he is a super guy - friendly and open. On the field he was a tremendous team leader (A Intangible rating) and a fierce competitor who would cut your heart out.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked stars.  Somehow he was not elected on the MLB All-Century team even though his 586 HR ranked him 5th on the All-Time HR list.  Bill James ranks Frank Robinson as the third best RF of All-time.

 
Left: Frank Robinson is ripped!  Robinson was a tremendous athlete and fierce competitor having played with Celtics Bill Russell on his high school basketball team.

In 1957, Robinson was coming off his previous  rookie of the year season with the Reds and hit .322.  Robinson was also an outstanding outfielder with the Reds (A+/80/-2).

Above: Ernie Banks playing shortstop.  Other shortstops had more range (Banks has B range on his 1957 player card), but how many hit 43 HR?

Above: Mr. Cub.  Fans could literally reach out and touch the players at Wrigley Field.

Hope you enjoyed dinner with Eddie Mathews and remember this is the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950's so remember to pick up the check!

I've been playing the 1972 World Series recently and to jog your memory it is regarded as one of the tightest World Series of All-Time with six of the seven games being decided by one run.

You can read more about 1972 World Series in the Sports Illustrated Mustaches All the Way story by William Leggett.

To get started with the Windows version though you may need to update your ball park file at the DYNASTY Download if you have not already.  To check if you already have the updated ball park file go to pre-game setup and click on the ball park button shown below:



Next, you'll be able to view all of the ball park effects by selecting the radio button on the left for All Seasons shown below:

Scroll down to Oakland and you should see a year range from 1970 to 1995.  If you don't see that year range for Oakland Alameda you will want to update your ball park chart.dyn file at the DYNASTY Download.

You should always select the correct year of the game you are playing in pre-game setup because the game uses that to determine which ball park effects and ball park image to use in the game you are playing.  

If you encounter a ball park image for the wrong home team it may be that the year for that ball park is not available yet as part of the ball park effects.  This may happen with some of the past season sets for certain parks. The remedy is to select the next closest year in pre-game setup that is available by looking at the year ranges of that park.

After you have completed pre-game setup and clicked Play Ball you should see the ball park image display.  If not, you need to complete step 3 found in your v2.2 install insert.

And finally a BIG CAUTION about never using the Groundskeeper menu option to view Stadium pictures.  It's like kryptonite to the game so just stay away from that feature.  It was only included as a way to test the ball park images and should have been taken out in the final version of the game.  It will corrupt your game and you will get VACANT results in the lineup and all kinds of other funky errors.  Stay away from that menu option and you'll be fine. If you have used that menu option and the game is coming up with strange errors like the VACANT error and skipping players in the lineup chances are you will need to delete and reinstall the game.

     

 

JAM rated pitchers can dominate non Clutch Hitting rated batters with runners in scoring position and 2 out and in close and late situations in DYNASTY League Baseball.  They also are the kryptonite to otherwise terrorizing Clutch hitters by neutralizing their Clutch hitting ability.

Pitchers in DYNASTY League Baseball are awarded a JAM situation rating based on their performance primarily with RSP/2 and in Close and late situations with RSP/2 weighted more heavily. 

I asked Dennis Martinez in our previous interview why he pitched so well in JAM situations and the answer seems to be in part being able to bear down in those situations.  Great pitchers with great stuff more often than not perform exceptionally well in jam situations. 

NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is a great example.  Lincecum has made a meteoric rise to best pitcher in the NL.  I love watching this guy pitch.  Lincecum is a fast working pitcher who absolutely attacks the batter with a blazing fastball.  In RSP/2 situations, Lincecum allowed a BA and SLG of .200/.311.

Lincecum: JAM

After having a mediocre year in 2007 and failing to get a JAM rating, Mariano Rivera came back with a vengeance in 2008.  Rivera had a 1.40 ERA for the Yankees and a dominating RSP/2  BA/SLG of .045/.045.  Your eyes are OK and it isn't a typo: .045

Rivera: JAM

This years biggest surprise at not getting a JAM? AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.  Lee had a tremendous season, but not in JAM situations where his RSP/2 BA/SLG was .289/.382.  What Lee did do well was keeping lead off runners off base and was awarded an off situation rating (off ratings awarded to pitchers who rarely walk the lead off batter).

Here is a guy I hate to see pitching vs. either of my favorite teams the Cardinals and Brewers.  My lasting memory of Roy Oswalt was during Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS.  Albert Pujols had just launched a Brad Lidge pitch onto the railroad tracks at Minute Maid Field in Game 5 to save the Cardinals season and send the series back to old Busch Stadium. Oswalt faced off vs. Mark Mulder as I watched from my center field bleacher seat.  The momentum was all with the Cardinals as Cardinal fans were sky high and Astro fans were deflated. Everyone hoped this would not be the last game at Busch Stadium, but Oswalt ended the Cardinals season and Busch Stadium in a completely dominating performance.
 

Oswalt was as tough as ever in 2008 with RSP/2 BA/SLG of .189/.243.

Oswalt: JAM


The Red Sox pitching staff, even without the injured Curt Schilling who perennially is as tough in JAM situations as any pitcher, still came through exceedingly well in the JAM situation awards.

Lead by "Dice K" Matsuzaka, the Red Sox staff has four JAM rated pitchers for 2008.  Daisuke Matsuzaka blew away hitters with RSP/2 with a BA/SLG of .153/.222.  Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett and emerging lefty ace Jon Lester join Matsuzaka for Baseball's most dominating pitching staff in JAM situations.


Matsuzaka: JAM

Beckett: JAM

Lester: JAM

Papelbon: JAM

Smashing the All-Time single season saves record held by Bobby Thigpen in 1990, Francisco Rodriguez recorded an amazing 62 saves in 2008.  In both Close and late .194/.264 and RSP/2 situations .208/.292, K-Rod excelled at getting out of jams.  

48 batters stepped to the plate with RSP/2 and 20 of them went down in smoke to K-Rod.