Soaring to New Heights: The Story of the Charlotte Flight (OOTP 18)

[CalBears]

A man lays flat in a cabin, facedown. Is he sleeping? Is he dead? Whatever he is, he’s been like this for a long time. How long? Nobody knows.

Suddenly a wood panel dislodges from the ceiling, and falls as if in slow motion, headed straight for our mystery man. The moment of truth…it hits him straight in the back with a THWACK, and clatters to the floor.

For a moment, the man is still, and maybe he really is dead. But then he begins to stir, before rising on his knees.

“WHAT YEAR IS IT?” he cries, ghosts of past failed OOTP dynasties haunting him. It has been 5 years since he last tried, an effort that lasted less than a page. But something tells him this time will be different (maybe it’s that he’s finally out of school and has job and is in a new town with no one he knows with oodles of free time. Nah, that can’t be it.)

(Operation Sports note: I have my own track record of trying dynasties on this site, with varying degrees of success, although this is my first baseball one here. I started posting the OOTP board, but I figured I'd bring it over here as well. Onto the good stuff!)

[CalBears]

So I’m back. Kinda doubt anyone is left over from when I was writing here (I was 17 the last time, holy ****), but if you are, it’s good to see you again. I will be continuing the tradition of my last two failed dynasties of taking over the team in the league with the least amount of hope and trying to turn them around while writing way, way too many words about it. I try to take my inspiration from the legendary cknox(http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ad.php?t=61831), but I’m just a pale imitator. Read his stuff, real talk.

I even bought a fresh shiny OOTP 18 to help inspire me to see this through. Although truth be told I haven’t watched baseball really since high school, so my knowledge is lacking. So to find this team, I do things the old-fashioned way- simulate a year into the future, and find a team with a garbage farm system and an even more garbage big league club. Call me a masochist, but I feel like I’m up to a challenge. You know, with that 5 year gap between saves and all.

Unfortunately, the MLB has changed quite a bit. No longer our teams run by total idiots (sorry, Jim Bowden!), and most teams are at least in decent shape, with clear direction. So we start anew, with fresh teams. Lord knows baseball needs to do something to drum up interest. So put a team in Vegas, and bring in another just along for the ride. That’s where I come in, taking a team of guys other teams gave away for free in a city that's just a tag along, leading them to the glorious final destination of 65 wins.

But that’s where my managerial touch will come in. These scrubs will be playing 70 win ball in no time under my watch, that’s for sure. But wait, who are these guys going to be, and what happened in that year we simmed? Let's find out...

[CalBears]

Confession Time: I've never seen any of the Back to the Future movies. A real blind spot, for sure, although I'm just shocked they made three of 'em. And people say we have too many sequels today! Anyway, a year has past in the fictional OOTPland. A year can change a lot after all, whether it’s in the state of American politics or the reputation of one Robinson Cano. Shame, shame!

The World Series match-up almost resembled real life, with the Houston Astros making it the World Series (although they had to chalk some up to luck, having survived an extra innings wildcard oneoff with the Blue Jays). They then blew through the poor Tribe of Cleveland 3-1 on the divisional side with 3 straight wins to end the series. On the other half of the AL, the Rangers absolutely blew the doors off of the cold and sad AL East champion Orioles, a 3-0 sweep without a game within 3 runs. That left the AL East without a win in 4 tries (take that, east coast bias!) and the two Texas teams to show down in the AL finale.

The Astros took a commanding 3-0 lead to the series with lockdown pitching (only 5 runs allowed in 3 games!), but the Rangers battled back with 2 consecutive wins to send it to a Game 6 in their home park. All the memes seemed primed to mock the team with the hill in center, although I’m not sure baseball has the cachet anymore to get ‘Houston blew a 3-0 lead’ meme status. It didn’t matter, though, as A.J. Reed blasted two home runs and the ‘Stros proved their Texan bonafides once and for all with an 11-5 victory.

On the other side of the bracket, the D-Backs took home a wildcard win over the Bryce Harper-less (relax, he got hurt) Nationals 13-4, with Stephen Strasburg getting lit up and sent to the showers very early. Unfortunately, there would be no throwback to the Craig Counsell glory days for Arizona, although who knows what would happen if they brought back the old jerseys. The Cubs beat em 3-2 in the NLDS, while the New York Mets (the New York Mets????? OOTP needs fixing pls patch) took quick care of the hated Dodgers 3-1 in the NLDS. Even If it’s totally unrealistic, anything to make the Dodgers lose is okay by us.

Cubs-Mets went the full 7, with the Cubs nearly blowing a 3-1 lead but holding on to take the final Game 7, setting up Cubs-Astros in the World Series, the city of Chicago nearly exploding at the thought of going back to back after waiting 50 million years for just one. Could Chicago do it?

The answer looked like no. Jon Lester looked like the former Oakland A great that he is, notching a Game 1 win despite 3 Astro home runs. But that’s where the party seemed to end for Chicago. First, Carlos Correa’s solo shot the 8th inning of Game 2 provided the difference in a 1-0 game to make it 1-1 going back to Houston. Then, the Astros made it a bash party at home, winning back to back game to take a 3-1 lead.

Ah, the 3-1 lead. The most cursed lead in all of sports. You know who knows about curses? The Chicago Cubs.

Undeterred, Oakland legend Jon Lester picked up his second win of the series on the road to send it back to Wrigley. Then, a 4 run sixth was enough for a 4-2 win in Game 6, sending it to a final Game 7 for the second consecutive year.

The Billy Goats jumped ahead early, scoring in the second and third to go up 2-0 on Houston starter Collin McHugh. But ‘Guy Everybody Thought Was A Disappointment For A Sec There’ Jake Arrieta would allow them to equalize with a 2 run seventh of their own off a Yulieski (Yulieski? I miss the good ol days of Yuniesky) Guriel 2 run shot. So to the tenth we go.

Wade Davis was on top of it in the top half. Will’y mo’ Harris was not, hitting a batter and allowing the walkoff single to World Series MVP Starling Marte. Cubs win, again, and our national disaster of year old babies never having seen the Cubs win a World Series is finally over!

Around the rest of the league, the Angels missed the playoffs by a game, proving Mike Trout will never, ever, have nice things, while the Yankees and Red Sox both finished below .500. The White Sox were as awful and disgraceful as it gets, losing 101 games in a very generous act of solidarity to the Phillies in the NL, who also lost 101. The Indians won 113 (!!!) games, mainly cause the Central was horrible. Maybe the OOTP sims weren't so inaccurate after all...

The Braves also missed the playoffs by a game, while the Cubs led the NL with 100 wins. The Mets and Dodgers followed up with 96. Nobody taught the rest of the NL sharing or commiseration (shout Tom DeLonge for teaching me that word) with the last place Phillies, cause the next worst team behind them was the Padres with 92 losses.

Now on to learn more about the last place team to come...