30 for 30 League -- PART ONE (30 game standings and stats)

 In case you missed it, our most ambitious league yet had its draft and a full 30 team league of 25 man rosters made of players from the past 30 years is ready to roll.... and it has begun rolling!! The teams are going to each play a full 162 game schedules and it's being fully simulated by the great Savard the Goat, who's used the simulator he's created for some truly special simulations on this blog before!

The season is being simulated in five parts, and each time I'll be providing updates on the standings and stats here: 

• 30   game mark
• 62   game mark
• 92   game mark
• 122 game mark
• 162 game mark

So here we are after 30 games and there are a couple players making a huge impact for their teams:

BIG MAC is leading the way for hitters at a .351/.492 with 14 HR

Now let's get to the standings:

2021 MLB Showdown Set -- AL Champion Houston Astros

"To feel so desperately that you're right. Yet to fail all the same. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives" 

Likewise, the biggest villain in baseball won its third AL pennant in five years.

Houston has unquestionably been the most hated franchise in baseball since news of its cheating in 2017 became public. They were able to dodge the boobirds and haters in the mostly fan-less 2020 pandemic season, but faced many jeers along the way this year.... and it didn't matter. The big orange villain from Texas cruised to 95 wins (an incredible 101 pythagorean wins!!!) and through its AL competition in the playoffs. 

It's odd -- in five seasons, Houston has either gone to the World Series or ALCS every single year. It's an extremely impressive run and Dusty Baker deserves all the credit in the world for what he's been able to do during his two years at the helm. Also the cheating factor is going to have many dismissing this squad's greatness (and their run may be over if Correa leaves this offseason), but this five year stretch is arguably the best five year run of any franchise since the turn of the century... but the lack of finishing in the World Series is a HUGE counter to that argument (even though I'd take their run/teams over the Giants 2010-14 squads). 

Speaking of villains, here's prime Beltran...... who also fell short in the postseason for the Astros during his hey-day. Now onto the 2021 Houston Astros:

2021 MLB Showdown Set -- World Series Champion Atlanta Braves

 The weather outside my still be frightful, and the lockout is not delightful..... but we've got a plethora of new Showdown cards to share -- the entire 2021 Set!!! Once again, this set was made entirely on the MLB Showdown Bot, which is how we made the 2019 remake set too. What does this mean? For starters, it guarantees consistency in point values and across seasons. Not only does this mean guys from 2019 set can easily cross with 2021 and vice versa, but these cards fit seamlessly into the original 2001 set! Thanks to Matt's hard work with cutouts, we've got OVER 700 players coming to the blog over the next few weeks. That's right -- thanks to the speed at which cards can be made/calculated on the BOT, we made a lot of more "marginal" statistical players and, frankly, cards per roster since we could! 

Per feedback from you, the readers, we're releasing cards with bleed to make it easier for y'all to use these free cards at home and we're releasing them one team at a time instead of dumping full divisions.

The first team to be released, per tradition, is the World Series champions -- the Atlanta Braves!! Atlanta entered the postseason as the 3 seed in the NL, only winning 88 regular season games, but in a recipe for success straight out of 1995, rode excellent pitching through the postseason and onto breaking the seemingly always heart-breaking curse that's been felt by the city of Atlanta these past 25 years and change. Those 88 wins are also deceptive because the Pythagorean W-L record was 94-68, which is far more indicative of a team's Showdown strength. But speaking of 1995, here's a little treat:

The famed and Cooperstown enshrined big three, circa 1995

Now, let's get to the most recent champion from the ATL:

"30 for 30" League -- Preseason Predictions!

One of the most intense simulations is about to get underway -- all 30 franchises managed by a different MLB Showdown player, with 9000 point rosters filled out through a 25 round draft, that are about to face off in a full 162 game season thanks to Savard the GOAT's epic simulator!

Here's a full breakdown of the "30 for 30" League Rules and here's an explanation of Savard's sim!

This epic Pedro card got sniped from Boston,

but there's no reason y'all can't enjoy his epicness in your own leagues!

Before the simulation gets going though, we've got a comprehensive preview for everyone:

• Power Rankings
• Playoff Predictions
• Manager Reflections

Challenge - For Sale By Owner

 

For Sale By Owner

Hello boys, I'm back! My last challenge may have been almost three years ago, and it's probably an accident that I still have permission to post here, but it's looking to be a long offseason, which means its a perfect time for a new challenge.

 

Y'all have been busy since I've been gone, with showdown bots and an exploding discord, so I thought I'd poke around and see about a new challenge. For this one I made a custom card with that lovely bot, with hilariously fun consequences as seen below!

 

 

Here's Chris Sale, a man whose career has been defined by two tenures, one with the White Sox and one with the Red Sox. Should Sale ever make the Hall, he'll go in with the Sox! In my first challenge in almost 3 years, we're going to face off against career Chris Sale.