FanPost

A Unique Simulated Re-Do of the 2008 Tigers

Just about every Detroit Tigers fan knows the general story of the 2008 version of the team. After the trades for Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis, to go along with 2007 MVP runner-up Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, and the like, the Tigers were projected by many to score somewhere in the range of a gazillion runs that season, and be a lock for a World Series appearance. They won the offseason, so they should be the best team, right?

Alas, that team started 0-7, the pitching faltered, Renteria and Willis more or less flopped, and the team finished with the worst record that they would have in the Jim Leyland era, at 74-88. A difficult year for fans, including me, who had such high hopes for the team that year to finally get their first 21st-century World Series title.

That same year, one of my favorite baseball video games of all time, MLB Power Pros 2008, was released for the Nintendo Wii. Even though it was released in the middle of the season (July 29), this game included full 25-man (mostly) Opening Day rosters for all 30 MLB teams, in-depth stat tracking, and cartoonish graphics that have, depending on who you ask, stood the test of time. The Tigers, offseason champions they were, were one of the best teams you could play as (aside from the stacked Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies teams). Here's just a small sampling of how good the Tigers hitting abilities were in this game:

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For the uninitiated, A's, B's, and C's are good ratings, D's are average, E's and F's aren't as good, and G's (not pictured) are the worst rating you can get. Most pitchers didn't have high batting stats in this game (mostly G Contact and G Power), but it surprised me that Todd Jones had some of the better hitting ratings among Tigers pitchers not named Dontrelle Willis. Take that as you will.

So, I figured I would fire this game up for old times sake, and simulate the 2008 season, to see if the Tigers could win a World Series in this simulated environment. I originally wanted to do it with this year's team edited in, but I couldn't find the time to create ratings for all the players, or create them in the create-a-player mode. I blame college for this.

So, without further ado, here's a condensed recap of how the team did, simulating two months at a time. I did not play out any games of this season by myself, or reset the game, just so everything's fair. I did not make any trades or acquisitions, and played straight through.

March/April

Record: 13-15, third place, three games back in the AL Central

What's worse? Miguel Cabrera hitting .209, or a healthy Kenny Rogers with an ERA in the 8's? These Tigers started out well enough, with a 10-2 record, then proceeded to lose 13 of their next 15. On the bright side, Curtis Granderson currently has a .362 average, with nine home runs, second in the AL to New York's favorite baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, who had 10. Cabrera, along with his .209 average, had a .321 OBP and .374 SLG, which reads almost like an Alex Avila slash line nowadays. Nevertheless, the team should turn it around the next couple months, right?

May/June

Record: 42-41, third place, one game back

The ship seems to have righted. Granderson now is at 25 home runs (leading MLB), Cabrera's batting .270 with 17 home runs, Verlander has eight wins (albeit an ERA still in the 5's), and Dontrelle Willis has a respectable 3.97 ERA and seven wins at this point. Magglio is doing OK for himself, too, slashing a decent .266/.382/.402. Kenny Rogers is starting to show his age, though, with a 5-5 record and an ERA in the 8's.

Looking at the standings now, we're only one game back of...oh dear...the Twins. Lord help us these next few months.

July/August

Record: 72-65, third place, three games back

Those pesky Twins are hard to keep down. They're still in first place as we head to the last month of the season. At this point, Verlander is leading the team in wins with 14, Granderson is still leading the AL in dingers with 31, and Kenny Rogers' ERA is still in the 7's. Improvement! Maybe!

Looking at the standings around MLB at this point, there are a few oddities, even for 2008 standards. For instance, the Nationals are over .500! They're still 16 games back of the MLB-leading Mets, but that's progress for a team that, in real life, weren't as good as this in 2008.

Last month of the season. Can we make the playoffs?

September

Close, but no cigar.

The team finished 88-74, second place in the Central, and only one game behind the Indians for first place, and one game behind the Rays for the Wild Card. It did come down to the final game of the year, losing to Tampa Bay 1-0. I forgot that we played them on the last day of the season, which, if this had happened in real life, probably would've been agonizing to watch from a fan's perspective.

Granderson finished the sason with 35 home runs, Verlander had 15 wins with an ERA of 4.82, Miggy hit in the .270s, with 29 home runs, and a team-leading 132 RBI. Here are some of the team leaders in some different categories:

Batting Average: Carlos Guillen, .335
Hits: Edgar Renteria, 196
Doubles: Carlos Guillen, 34
Triples: Placido Polanco, 14
Stolen Bases: Curtis Granderson, 27
ERA: Jeremy Bonderman, 4.04
Strikeouts: Justin Verlander, 180
Saves: Todd Jones, 20

If you would like to know the stats of some of the Tigers players from the season, let me know in the comments, because I know I didn't cover everyone's stats in here.

As a team, these Tigers scored the fourth-most runs in MLB (second in the AL) with 984, tied for the most dingers in MLB with 234, and the pitching gave up the fewest home runs in baseball, with 145. Their overall run differential was +211, giving up 773 runs.

This result is actually about where I thought this simulation would end up: just on the cusp of the playoffs, but not enough to get in. The offense was pretty good, and the pitching, more or less, was average. However, it was an improvement on what the actual Tigers did that year, and you can't quite argue with that at all.

I hope you enjoyed this simulated look at the 2008 Tigers, and perhaps if I get some time this summer, I can do this kind of a simulation with an edited-in 2015 team.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.