Immaculate Grid: Show Off Your Useless Baseball Depth Knowledge!
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8/9 with a high 334 rarity score. I screwed up and guessed Joey Votto for Reds .300 hitter instead of just going with Rose right away.
My strategy is that I try to remember big deadline trades between the two teams and then use the lesser-known players. For example if it's the Red Sox and Twins I remember that they made a big deal in 1995: the Sox received Rick Aguiliera for Frankie Rodriguez and a bunch stuff that didn't do much. Aguiliera might rank a 2 or 3%, but no one remembers Frankie Rodriguez, so you can get him in the decimaled percentages.
I'm not gonna lie: when I play this, I try to pull names from my head, but more than half the time I treat it as a research challenge and mess around on b-ref until I find an answer. Which I know is not the spirit of the game, so I never share my score. It's more a learning exercise for me...I already know I fail the memory test.
I think that’s a fine way to play too! As long as you’re not boasting about your score
I nearly did that, but caught myself. George Bell was my Blue Jay choice in the same category and caught myself again as it seems there was a George Bell who played in the early 1900s. Always check that there isn't another player with the same or similar name before you click onto your choice.
I’m such a dweeb that I do both! I play once “off the dome” and then again on a different device where I look up players to try to get a better rarity score (the ones I post here are the first version!)
Yeah I'm amazed that he didn't hit .300 career lifetime. And I have no recollection of Tommy Herras a Met at all.
So I'm officially addicted to the point where after I complete a grid I spend the day thinking of alternative answers that would have lowered my rarity score. Today sitting at work I came up with Charlie Williams, the guy the Mets traded to SF for Willie Mays as an alternative to Duke Snider for NYM/SFG, but turns out both are at 0.2%. However, if I had gone with Arky Vaughan instead of Honus Wagner it would have dropped my RS from 26 to a Brand Name-like 6. Probably the last chance I'll get at a single digit RS for a while.
When it includes the Rockies, D-Backs and Padres, I'll be quite happy with my 9/9 for 75 points. That said, I think this is the first time I've picked a most popular answer. Also, the ridiculous number of brain cells I've unfortunately dedicated to the careers of former Canton-Akron Indians paid off in square one.
Yeah, I'm gonna hate any grid with DBacks, Rockies and SBs. 7/9 rarity score 284 and I had to resort to using the Human Cheat Code. I'm just glad I was able to think of a Cleveland player with over 30 SB's besides Willie Mays Hayes 
It sure was. Thought for sure my streak was over. Rockies/Padres was the tough one for me and I was not confident at all that I was remembering correctly that he was briefly a Rockie. He was.
I plunked in two squares right away (COL-STL and CLE stolen bases) and now I’m just sitting here trying to remember random dudes that played for the D-Backs, Rockies, and Padres. Not good!
8/9/276
I threw a spitball with Larry Walker as the CR w/ 30+ stolen bases. He's the only name I could remember. Checked it later. He had one season with 30+. Phew.
I could not even guess at a Diamondback that had 30+.
I really liked my middle / center cell.
I threw a spitball with Larry Walker as the CR w/ 30+ stolen bases. He's the only name I could remember. Checked it later. He had one season with 30+. Phew.
I could not even guess at a Diamondback that had 30+.
I really liked my middle / center cell.
If I didn't have Tony Womack help me win a rotisserie league in 1999 with an insane number of stolen bases (Nomar and Pedro helped that year too ), I would have never hit 9/9
), I would have never hit 9/9
I can't do this without looking up some players on BR.com. So take my rarity score of 107 with a grain of salt.
8/9 Rarity 243
Surprised Womack was as high as he was until I saw the short list of D'Backs. My guess for Rockies 30 SB guy was Preston Wilson. He stole 36 for the Marlins, but his best season for the Rockies was 14.
Surprised Womack was as high as he was until I saw the short list of D'Backs. My guess for Rockies 30 SB guy was Preston Wilson. He stole 36 for the Marlins, but his best season for the Rockies was 14.
Instead of wasting time staring at this one today, I decided to have a little fun with my earlier pick for one player grid. 30+ SB inspired me.
Could have added HOF and 3000 hits, etc... but kept it "simple".
Could have added HOF and 3000 hits, etc... but kept it "simple".
8/9 231. This was a tough one with the National League West ( I never really get to see much of those teams) featuring 2 expansion teams. Whiffed on SD/Colorado and had to grab two of the more obvious choices which drove the score up. Only 2 former Sox today.
Agree, when I started playing before seeing discussion here I perused MLB Discussion before searching and finding the thread in P&G.
I’d encourage folks to use this thread, but without going through the P&G one I’m not sure if anyone posted anything they’d want for public viewing.
My streak is over. 16 straight days of 9/9 (including both puzzles on All Star Tuesday). Damn Tigers ROY tripped me up.
I do this a lot, too. I think it's fun to try to find the weirdest possible combination and/or learn about some players I've never heard of before. Or go down the rabbit hole of just learning about the journeyman ends of careers for otherwise famous players.
What I often do as a middle ground - I'll guess a player, look on B-ref and see if I'm right, and if I am, I'll put the player in the grid - but I'll only "count" the score if my first nine guesses were all correct.
This game reminds me that my brain absolutely refuses to recognize Rookie of the Year as an important award. Probably because the rules seem so arbitrary and so many of the best players are never eligible since they come up midseason, so the award often just becomes "identify the young player who can put up a 3-WAR season while satisfying these random criteria."My streak is over. 16 straight days of 9/9 (including both puzzles on All Star Tuesday). Damn Tigers ROY tripped me up.
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I did just okay overall, but I liked my four team/team answers
I wonder how many people had the same misunderstanding about that lower right-hand corner as I did.
I guess about 12% of players!
I guess about 12% of players!
I got greedy today. With just the Angels MVP left I opted for score over grid. I left that for last knowing that there were two answers that were complete lay ups, but I got cute thinking that I could get a sub 50 score. It didn't happen. One empty square with a score of 140. Most of these grids have me racking my brain as I try to recall my late 60s-mid 80s baseball cards for the two team players. I'm finding that at nearly 63 years old my recollections aren't as sharp as I would like to think. Many of the stat/award squares are guesses based on successful players of the era.
8/9 RS 145. I can't believe that Craig Kimbrel won a ROY award and Chipper Jones, Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews and Dale Murphy did not.
And how can anyone on this board NOT go with Freddie Lynn for bottom right? edit: because everyone else actually read the rules and knew that the two awards don't have to come in the same season
And how can anyone on this board NOT go with Freddie Lynn for bottom right? edit: because everyone else actually read the rules and knew that the two awards don't have to come in the same season
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I may stare at this some, today. Just glad I got to use this, as I'm sure many others are.
edit - @Deweys New Stance, I bet you were expecting someone else. Posted without seeing yours. Lower percentage, too!
edit - @Deweys New Stance, I bet you were expecting someone else. Posted without seeing yours. Lower percentage, too!
Lol, I didn't even think of him because for some reason I was thinking the player had to win both awards in the same season. My bad.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's part of why he's a lower percentage.
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9/9 Rarity 135
[
Should have went with Burroughs at Tex/Atl and Teixeira at LAA/Atl. Don Baylor has to be the lowest of the 4 Angels to win MVP (Trout, Ohtani, Vlad Sr)
/SPOILER]
[Should have went with Burroughs at Tex/Atl and Teixeira at LAA/Atl. Don Baylor has to be the lowest of the 4 Angels to win MVP (Trout, Ohtani, Vlad Sr)
/SPOILER]
I was really curious about these two . Wondering if the more recent might be better remembered.
I found a place for both. I just got a 7/9
I checked MVP and ROY in the same season was remembered more.
It might not work for everyone but something that helps me is expansion years, so think 1961, '62, '69, '77 etc.
So for the Sox in the '60 expansion draft they lost Jerry Casale to the Angels and Willy Tasby to the Senators.
Or how about Lou Piniella (Cle/Seattle) or Hoyt Wilhelm (CWS/KC) in '69. Nothin' to it right?
So for the Sox in the '60 expansion draft they lost Jerry Casale to the Angels and Willy Tasby to the Senators.
Or how about Lou Piniella (Cle/Seattle) or Hoyt Wilhelm (CWS/KC) in '69. Nothin' to it right?
Agree with you that this is a helpful technique, but speaking as a 60’s/70’s baseball nerd who read Ball Four about a dozen times as a teenager, Lou Piniella doesn’t count in this game for the Pilots. He never played a regular season game for them because he was traded to the Royals at the end of spring training. As Bouton wrote, “Lou Piniella has the red ass”
edit: and I had to look this one up to be sure, Hoyt Wilhelm was taken by KC in the expansion draft, but he was traded that winter to the Angels and never played a game for the Royals. But he still makes for a pretty good cheat code in this game; pitched for nine different teams.
2nd edit: sorry for being That Guy. Had to sit through my son's piano lesson and had nothing to do except look up Hoyt Wilhelm's career on my phone.
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