The Strat-O-Matic Notebook

Number 4

How'd Strat Do?

Strat-O-Matic has now been used twice in 5Y League history, even though I had concluded that once was enough after first using it in the final season of the original 5Y League. The game has its quirks, as all game do, but it is a very fun game to play, and the numbers come close to what actually happened in 1951. Since the 5Y League is a draft league, it is reasonable to expect a variance in the stats as the players are not used the same way they were in real life. Some players faced pitchers they never batted against, some batted against pitchers who were teammates of theirs in '51. Some players never got selected to play. That's what happens in a draft league, especially this one since it uses a completely random selection process. By far, the hardest stats to recreate are ERA and W/L records for pitchers, so I never fret about whether or not a game engine can replicate what actually happened on the mound. That being said, I get a kick out of seeing how close the game comes to real life results, and like the others used in this project, Strat does not disappoint.

I highlighted in red the players who very nearly replicated on the table top what they did on the field in 1951. As is my custom, I have used the top ten Division One batting and pitching leaders with their real-life stats in parenthesis.

Enjoy!

Batting - Avg., Doubles, Triples, HR

J.Robinson .361-32-5-21 (.338-33-7-19)
R.Ashburn .360-29-4-3 (.344-31-5-4)
S.Musial .358-28-11-26 (.355-30-12-32)
F.Fain .351-31-1-9 (.344-30-3-6)
V.Stephens .315-20-3-19 (.300-21-2-17)
D.DiMaggio .307-35-4-12 (.296-34-4-12)
J.Wyrostek .307-20-8-1 (.311-31-3-2)
E.Valo .303-23-9-10 (.302-27-8-7)
M.Vernon .301-34-5-7 (.293-30-7-9)
T.Williams .300-31-5-31 (.318-28-4-30)

Pitching - ERA, Hits Allowed, Strikeouts, Walks

E.Lopat 2.79-232-92-71 (2.91-209-93-71)
P.Minner 2.81-162-65-58 (3.79-219-68-64)
V.Trucks 2.86-160-89-85 (4.32-153-89-75)
H.Wehmeier 2.86-154-94-93 (3.70-167-93-89)
B.Lemon 3.00-196-136-130 (3.52-244-132-124)
J.Hearn 3.22-206-70-75 (3.63-204-66-82)
S.Maglie 3.22-238-130-87 (2.93-254-146-86)
E.Blackwell 3.42-190-136-117 (3.44-204-120-97)
B.Rush 3.57-197-132-76 (3.84-212-129-68)
J.Dobson 3.58-164-59-43 (3.61-136-67-51)