09:37 AM - October 13, 2016 by Steve_OS
Out of the Park Developments simulated the ALCS 10 times in OOTP 17, check out the results below.
Out of the Park Baseball 17 correctly picked the Cubs, Blue Jays, and Indians to win their Division Series, and as this was being written, we were waiting to see if OOTP was correct in choosing the Dodgers to join them.
With the American League Championship Series teams set, though, we thought we'd sim the series 10 times in OOTP 17. As with the four Division Series, we set up the rosters, lineups, and pitching rotations according to the best available information and let 'er rip.
After 10 sims, the Blue Jays emerged victorious seven times, sweeping the Indians once, dispatching them in five games twice, taking the series to six games three times, and going the distance once. The Indians' wins were a sweep, in six, and in seven.
Toronto averaged over five runs a game in six of the sims, while the Indians only achieved that three times. Clearly the Blue Jays' big bats have the edge over the Indians' vaunted starting pitchers.
In the second sim, the Blue Jays swept the Indians while outscoring them, 25-15, but the third and fourth games were extreme examples of what could happen in this series: Toronto won Game 3, 10-9, and finished off Cleveland in Game 4, 2-1. Roberto Osuna saved two games and Jose Bautista hammered three home runs.
The third sim went the distance as the Indians blew a 3-2 series lead and lost Games 6 and 7 by scores of 4-3 and 4-1, with Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber taking the losses, respectively. The Blue Jays' heavy hitters did little, though, so Devon Travis's three dingers ended up leading the team.
In the seventh sim, Toronto prevailed in six games but only scored 19 runs to Cleveland's 13. Travis hit .320 with a pair of home runs and Josh Donaldson hit .261 with a pair of long balls, but Troy Tulowitzki hit an anemic .190 and Bautista only managed an .091 average. Kluber outdueled Stroman, 1-0, to open the series, but Bauer was on the losing end of a 9-4 Game 2 and the last four games were one-run affairs, with Osuna notching a win, a loss, and a save during that stretch.
The eighth sim saw Toronto hit just .203 and score 10 runs as they were swept by Cleveland, who scored 26 runs and hit .319. Sim nine was the most evenly matched series: Cleveland won in seven, scoring 36 runs and hitting .265 while Toronto scored 35 runs and hit .263. Donaldson and Bautista each hit four home runs but Marcus Stroman posted a 4.50 ERA. Tyler Naquin and Jason Kipnis hit .480 and .400, respectively, but Kluber and Bauer posted 4.02 and 8.10 ERAs, respectively. In the end, though, fate was on the Indians' side as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the series.