Taurus - All-Star Baseball 2001 Retrospective

We're now about a week into Taurus season 2020, the first Taurus season in MANY years when we didn't have baseball to watch. I'm prepping something new and different for the analysis of the 2020 Taurus Fantasy Astrology Baseball squad, using the custom uniform creator in MLB The Show 20. But in the meantime, here's what the Bulls roster looked like two decades ago, to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of All-Star Baseball 2001!

I'm starting with the pitching staff, since I found a good photo of David Wells from the Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue for the 1999 season (the year on which ASB01's statistics are based, it's a long story). Wells was newly acquired by the Blue Jays prior to that season, and he serves as a very serviceable number two starter on this Taurus team, even though he didn't reprise his ace-like numbers from 1998, when he was with the Yankees (2,234 overall fantasy points in 98 vs. 1,562 in 99). The staff ace is John Smoltz (with a team leading 1,773 pitching points), who in real life was part of Atlanta's vaunted Big 3 with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine (who are both Aries). The starting staff features two more lefties in addition to Wells: Sterling Hitchcock of the Padres (1,487 points) and Mike Sirotka of the White Sox (1,250), although they do not show up in that order in the game's rotation, since I leaned heavily into ASB01's letter grade player rating system when I was arranging the rotation.

This preference given to the game's player ratings over fantasy points from the previous season is why veteran starter Todd Stottlemyre gets the nod in the game, despite just 687 fantasy points in 1999, his first with the Diamondbacks. Many other starting pitchers outscored Stottlemyre in 99, including Charles Nagy (1,158 points), Steve Woodard (1,137) and the enigmatic Hideki Irabu (1,124), but you can't argue with that sweet B+ rating (the other three had to settle for B's). The Taurus bullpen was led by a closer/setup pairing from the Detroit Tigers: Todd Jones (1,372 points) and Doug Brocail (929). Those two were supported by Mets setup reliever Turk Wendell (821) and situational Phillies lefty Rheal Cormier (just 472 points, but it's important to have a weapon against those tough left-handed hitters).

While NL MVP Chipper Jones was the team's top batter in 1999 (with an eye-popping 3,057 fantasy points), AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Beltran was a close second (2,381). What's more, the SI Royals team preview features a nice "Next Up..." blurb previewing his award-winning first full season. Just think, Beltran was THIS close to landing his first MLB managerial gig exactly 20 years later... Despite being a centerfielder by trade, Beltran shifts to left field in this Bulls lineup to make room for Chipper's Braves teammate (and namesake) Andruw Jones (2,211), who took home his second of what would be ten consecutive Gold Glove awards in 99. Actually, if I had to do this lineup over again, I would probably put Beltran in right field, leaving left field for Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn (just 1,446 points in an injury-shortened 99 season), and reserving the DH spot for Ben Grieve.

Speaking of Ben Grieve (1,764 points), the lumbering A's slugger set the AL Rookie of the Year stage for Beltran, winning the award in the previous season in 1998. His career never really panned out, especially considering the offensively-charged environment of the turn of the millennium. Elsewhere on the diamond, you probably couldn't imagine a bigger waste of defensive excellence than putting the slick-fielding Omar Vizquel at first base, but when your other starting shortstop option is Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, you could do a lot worse. Also, the only players who had first base eligibility in the Taurus player pool were Frank Catalanotto (834 points) and John Vander Wal (738). On an interesting cusp-related note, between the time I took the above screenshot of the Taurus lineup and now, when I'm writing this post, I did a deep dive into the birthdates of some players who were on the cusp of two different astrological signs, and I discovered that catcher Chris Widger - born 5/21/1971 in Wilmington DE, and who I had previously identified as a Gemini - was in fact a Taurus (according to helloastrology.com). Widger outscored projected Taurus starter Brook Fordyce by a narrow margin of 1,041 to 991 fantasy points in 1999, but since they both have a flat B rating in the ASB01 game engine, I don't know if I would have made that change if I discovered the discrepancy sooner. As far as the bench is concerned, we have Miguel Cairo (1,223 points) backing up speedster Eric Young Sr. (1,615) at second base, slugging third baseman Ken Caminiti (1,090) as another potential option at first base (he played 33 games there for the Braves in 2001), and yet another Jones (Jacque, 999) as a centerfield capable backup outfielder.

The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2 - Story

In case you hadn't heard, I recently finished my Let's Play series of Rockstar Games' epic western action-adventure masterpiece Red Dead Redemption 2 on my YouTube channel. This effort, which I started way back in May of 2019, has produced 32 episodes of highly bingeable content for these safer-at-home times, and it's not over yet. So far I've only covered the main storyline (Chapters 1 thru 6) - I haven't tackled the two chapters worth of epilogues. In that time period, I was so focused on plaything through the game again and editing the episodes down into episode-sized chunks that I hadn't paid much attention to the two official music albums that were released in support of the game: one titled "Original Soundtrack" and the other "Original Score."

Many of the track titles on these albums share names with missions in the game, but as is the case with many soundtrack albums, the track listing doesn't come close to matching up with when they appear in the game. So I've gone through all the tracks on both albums and arranged them in chronological order, at least according to when I played each mission in my Let's Play (the game gives you a lot of freedom as far as the sequencing of certain missions). I've also noted the episode of my Let's Play and the mission title in which each musical theme appears (in the rare cases where the track title/mission title do not match up). Fair warning: there are MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you want to enjoy the story of the game with a blank slate, I would highly recommend watching my Let's Play BEFORE reading this musical recap.


1. "By 1899, The Age of Outlaws and Gunslingers Was At An End"
Album: Original Score, Track 1
Artist: Jeff Silverman, Woody Jackson, Luke O'Malley
Let's Play: Episode 1 (Chapter 1, Mission 1 - Cold Open)

When you begin a new story in Red Dead Redemption 2, the first thing you see is a series of four text titles on a black screen setting up the world of the game. Predictably enough, this music cue is what plays when these titles run across your screen. The title of this track is the first screen, followed by these three:

America was becoming a land of laws...

Even the west had mostly been tamed.

A few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyed.

2. "Outlaws From the West"
Album: Original Score, Track 2
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 1 (Chapter 1, Mission 1)

The first mission of the game is called "Outlaws From the West," and part of the track with the same name during this mission. Actually, it plays during the cutscene signaling the END of the mission, as Dutch, Arthur, and Micah rescue Sadie Adler from what's left of her burning homestead. And the snippet of the track you hear during the actual game is quite different than the version included on the album, which has a much fuller arrangement and a pronounced drum track.

A more complete version of this track plays in Episode 3 of my Let's Play, during the mission titled "Who The Hell is Leviticus Cornwall?" (Chapter 1, Mission 5) as we're on the way to rob our first train of the game. The consequences of this particular heist will haunt Arthur and his merry band of outlaws throughout the rest of the game, as the above-mentioned Leviticus Cornwall expends his significant resources in an attempt to track us down and bring us to justice.


3. "Mountain Hymn"
Album: Original Soundtrack, Track 8
Artist: Rhiannon Giddens
Let's Play: Episode 3 (Chapter 1, Mission 6 - Eastward Bound)

With the train job complete, we get treated to a nice montage of the gang traveling eastward, down from the mountains, towards their new camp in Horseshoe Overlook near Valentine (which also marks the end of Chapter 1). The music that plays during said montage includes some of the non-lyrical elements of "Mountain Hymn" from the Original Soundtrack album. The full version of this track also plays during the end credits, but we'll save that for another time.


4. "An American Pastoral Scene"
Album: Original Score, Track 17
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 9 (Chapter 2, Mission 19)

Chapter 2 has some of my favorite musical moments of the game, including the haunting soulful fiddle when Arthur and Hosea ride into the mountains to hunt a bear (Exit, Pursued by a Bruised Ego), the hopeful triumphant battle theme when Arthur, Javier, and Charles rescue Sean from a group of bounty hunters (The First Shall Be Last), and the absolutely inspired comedic saloon piece when Arthur and Lenny go out drinking (A Quiet Time). But the only representation of Chapter 2 in the official albums is from Micah's second mission "An American Pastoral Scene." This mission, which we first have to unlock by breaking Micah out of jail (in Blessed Are the Meek?, which itself has a nice playful battle theme), features Arthur and Micah robbing a banking stagecoach, only to get ambushed by some O'Driscolls. However, the track on the album doesn't play during any of this exciting action; it's what you hear while Arthur and Micah leisurely ride their horses to the robbery location.


5. "Blessed Are the Peacemakers"
Album: Original Score, Track 3
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 16 (Chapter 3, Mission 12)

Towards the end of Chapter 3 (in which the gang moves to a new camp at Clemens Point in the state of Lemoyne), Micah brokers a meeting between Dutch and his arch-nemesis Colm O'Driscoll to settle their long-running feud. It turns out (rather predictably) that the whole thing was a setup: Colm's plan was to capture Arthur, and use him as bait to lure Dutch and the gang into a trap, where the law would be waiting for them. Arthur manages to escape, despite being wounded and exhausted, and this track plays during a cutscene where his loyal horse carries his unconscious form back to camp.

6. "Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern"
Album: Original Score, Track 18
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 16 (Chapter 3, Mission 14)

Soon after the debacle with the O'Driscolls (well, actually a few weeks after, in the timeline of the game), young Jack Marston, son of John Marston and Abigail Roberts, gets kidnapped by one of our new enemies Catherine Braithwaite, as payback for us meddling in the affairs of her family. The gang rides out to Braithwaite Manor, accompanied by this track, and then proceeds to kill everyone in the vicinity and torch the plantation house to the ground.

7. "There She Is... A Real City, The Future"
Album: Original Score, Track 9
Artist: Mario Batkovic
Let's Play: Episode 17 (Chapter 3, Mission 15 - The Battle of Shady Bell)

Before the gang destroyed Braithwaite Manor, we learned from Catherine Braithwaite that her sons had delivered young Jack to Angelo Bronte, the crime lord who runs the city of Saint Denis. This short track plays when Dutch and Arthur first ride to the outskirts of this marvel of civilization to try to get information about Bronte's whereabouts (which is also the cutscene that signals the start of Chapter 4).


8. "Country Pursuits"
Album: Original Score, Track 16
Artist: Arca, Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 22 (Chapter 4, Mission 16)

We ended up getting Jack back from Angelo Bronte rather quickly, but Bronte continues to do us wrong, including convincing us to rob a trolley station, which turns out to be a complete disaster. (That mission, Urban Pleasures, has a memorable, if somewhat repetitive musical motif of its own.) Dutch gets it into his head that Bronte set us up, so he enlists the help of a fisherman named Thomas to help sneak us into Bronte's house so we can take revenge. This track plays when Dutch first introduces Thomas to Arthur, and the two outlaws help the fisherman and his partner Jules deal with some gator troubles.

9. "Revenge is a Dish Best Eaten"
Album: Original Score, Track 5
Artist: Mario Batkovic, Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 22 (Chapter 4, Mission 17)

With Thomas's help, the gang sneaks into Angelo Bronte's house under the cover of night, systematically eliminates his guards, drags him from his opulent bedroom, rows him out into the swamps, drowns him off the side of the boat, and feeds him to a hungry alligator. Actually, it's Dutch and Dutch alone who performs those last two acts, displaying some early signs of his mental decline, which will continue to plague the gang for the rest of the game.

10. "Banking, The Old American Art"
Album: Original Score, Track 8
Artist: Michael Leonhart, Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 23 (Chapter 4, Mission 18)

With Bronte dealt with, the gang has just one more big score planned, the one that's supposed to get us enough money to leave the country and start a new life on a tropical island somewhere: robbing the bank of Saint Denis. Hosea and Abigail are all set to draw the police away with a distraction, while the rest of us loot the vault, but based on the somber tone (and dissonant tones) of this track, which plays while Dutch outlines the plan as we travel from camp into the city, things aren't likely to go according to plan...


11. "Everybody Wake Up"
Album: Original Score, Track 10
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 23 (Chapter 4, Mission 18 - Banking, the Old American Art)

As you might have expected, the bank job was a disaster. Hosea and Lenny were killed, John was arrested, and the rest of us had to escape by stowing away on a ship bound for Cuba and bribing the captain. However, things take yet another turn for the worse when the ship gets caught in a storm and ends up sinking. The title of the track refers to Dutch trying to wake us all up in the moment of crisis. We just can't catch a break...


12. "Welcome to the New World"
Album: Original Score, Track 11
Artist: Senyawa, Colin Stetson
Let's Play: Episode 23 (Chapter 5, Mission 1)

The start of Chapter 5 is marked by Arthur waking up after being shipwrecked on the island of Guarma. The first part of this track plays while Arthur wanders aimlessly along an admittedly very pretty beach while searching for the rest of his party. They are eventually reunited, but soon fall into even more trouble, getting captured by the local militia, whose mission it is to protect the evil Alberto Fussar's sugar plantation.

The second part of this track (the plucked guitar and subtle vocals starting at around 1:05) actually plays during the intro to a mission from Episode 24 called "Hell Hath No Fury," where Arthur and the gang help Haitian freedom fighter Hercule Fontaine in his battle against Fussar, who has enlisted the help of the Cuban navy. The music during the actual firefight is much more epic, but it doesn't appear on the official soundtracks.


13. "Paradise Mercifully Departed"
Album: Original Score, Track 12
Artist: Senyawa, Woody Jackson, Colin Stetson
Let's Play: Episode 24 (Chapter 5, Mission 5)

This next track, however, is plenty exciting, with cool island rhythms to boot. It plays during the very next mission, where the gang has to eliminate Fussar and rescue the captain of the boat that Hercule has arranged to take us back to the mainland. This mission is fun because it shows a rare instance of Arthur and Micah working together effectively without things going horribly wrong.


14. "Unshaken"
Album: Original Soundtrack, Track 1
Artist: D'Angelo
Let's Play: Episode 25 (Chapter 5, Mission 6 - Dear Uncle Tacitus)

The gang splits up and heads to shore separately, with Arthur being dropped off at the Van Horn trading post. It's a long journey from here to the Gang's last known hideout at Shady Bell, which is the perfect opportunity for a stirring travel montage accompanied by D'Angelo's dulcet tones! NOTE: the version of this song that appears in my Let's Play is in a different key than the official album version; I tried to pitch-shift it down to keep YouTube's algorithm from recognizing it, but it got flagged for copyright anyway.


15. "Fleeting Joy"
Album: Original Score, Track 14
Artist: Colin Stetson, Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 25 (Chapter 5, Mission 7)

Almost immediately after locating the gang's new hideout, the Pinkertons show up and start shooting up the place. Talk about bad luck... or is it? This track perfectly captures the sense of desperation in this mission as Arthur mows down as many Pinkertons as possible with a gatling gun in the middle of the swamp.


16. "Doctor's Opinion"
Album: Original Score, Track 13
Artist: Colin Stetson
Let's Play: Episode 25 (Chapter 5, Mission 8 - A Fork in the Road)

After we drive off the Pinkertons, Sadie takes it on herself to come up with a plan to free John from federal prison, where he has been languishing since the failed bank robbery. But as Arthur rides to meet her in Saint Denis, he collapses from a coughing fit, and is helped to the doctor by a kindly stranger. I won't spoil the specific diagnosis he gets, but suffice it to say, it's not good news.

17. "Icarus and Friends"
Album: Original Score, Track 15
Artist: Colin Stetson, David Ralicke, Jeff Silverman
Let's Play: Episode 25 (Chapter 5, Mission 9)

Even the diagnosis of a terminal illness doesn't mean we get to take a break from our outlaw lifestyle. Immediately after being discharged from the doctor, Sadie explains the particulars of her plan: fly over the penitentiary in a hot air balloon to make sure John is there, then break him out some other day in a completely separate mission, the music of which does not appear on the soundtrack albums.


18. "Mrs. Sadie Adler, Widow"
Album: Original Score, Track 4
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 30 (Chapter 6, Mission 16)

To understand the full emotional weight of this track, we have to go back to the very first mission of the game, where Sadie Adler hid and watched helplessly as the O'Driscoll gang murdered her husband and took over their home. Even after we ensured that the leader of the gang, Colm O'Driscoll, was hanged by the neck until dead, Sadie won't be satisfied until the entire lot of them are eradicated, and now she knows where the rest of them are holed up. This track embodies the rage she feels as she and Arthur complete her quest for revenge.


19. "It All Makes Sense Now"
Album: Original Score, Track 6
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 32 (Chapter 6, Mission 20 - Red Dead Redemption)

That's right, the final mission of the main storyline is called "Red Dead Redemption," same as the previous game in the series. You'd think they could have picked something that would have avoided the need for a whole disambiguation Wikipedia article. This is also the mission where the SPOILERS start to get crazy, so please, please, PLEASE watch the Let's Play if you haven't already before reading any further.

The cutscene at the start of this mission actually starts with a version of the first few bars of the track "Outlaws from the West," from way back in the very first mission, but this is the music that plays when you first get control of Arthur during the mission. For some background, John was supposedly killed during the previous mission (at least according to Dutch and Micah), so when John's wife Abigail gets captured by the Pinkertons, the rest of the group decides to let her go. Only Arthur and Sadie are willing to ride to her rescue, and they do so to the heroic strains of this track. A couple of other bombshell reveals in this mission: Agent Milton, the leader of the Pinkertons, reveals that Micah has been a rat all along, and Abigail knows the location of the chest where Dutch has been hiding the gang's savings!


20. "That's the Way It Is"
Album: Original Soundtrack, Track 3
Artist: Daniel Lanois
Let's Play: Episode 32 (Chapter 6, Mission 20 - Red Dead Redemption)

After saving Abigail (or, more accurately, being saved BY Abigail), Arthur is determined to travel back to camp and tell Dutch the truth about Micah. As he rides, we get a very emotional traveling montage, underscored by Daniel Lanois's lyric track "That's the Way It Is." As an interesting note, remember that the choices that you make during the game affect your character's honor level, and the album version of the track is what plays if you have net positive honor at this point in the game. If you are heartless enough to have accrued negative honor, there's a slightly different instrumental backing track, plus different snippets of dialogue that you hear while riding.


21. "Red Dead Redemption"
Album: Original Score, Track 19
Artist: Woody Jackson
Let's Play: Episode 32 (Chapter 6, Mission 20)

As if things weren't confusing enough, there is now a game, a mission, AND a music track, all titled "Red Dead Redemption." This track plays during said mission, but only if you make a particular decision. Towards the end, the game lets you choose whether to help John get to safety, or return to camp to recover the money. If you make the honorable choice to go with John, you hear this track as the two of you scurry up to the top of a mountain, and during the ensuing fist fight with Micah.

On the other hand, if you choose the dishonorable path of returning to camp, you hear a different music track: "Mountain Finale" by Daniel Lanois from the Original Soundtrack. It's much less emotional than the high-honor version, but a lot more epic, as you have to fight your way through a bunch of Pinkertons to get down the mountain. Also, the fist fight with Micah becomes a knife fight, so the stakes are a little higher in that regard as well.

22. "Crash of Worlds"
Album: Original Soundtrack, Track 5
Artist: Rocco DeLuca
Let's Play: Episode 32 (Chapter 6, Mission 20 - Red Dead Redemption)

Regardless of which path you choose at the end of the mission, Arthur Morgan ends up convincing Dutch to part ways with Micah, before succumbing to his Tuberculosis, while gazing at a beautiful sunrise. Actually, if you end the game with low honor, Arthur ends up getting killed by Micah, but I took the positive route in my Let's Play. Also, as with "That's the Way It Is," the album version of Rocco DeLuca's "Crash of Worlds" is from the high honor cutscene in the game - the low honor version is more somber, with distorted vocals, and it doesn't last quite as long.


So that's a chronological ordering of the tracks on the albums of Red Dead Redemption 2, at least according to how I played through them in my Let's Play. Actually, even though the game does give you the freedom to play some missions in different orders, looking back at the playlist I made, I think the order of the missions listed above remains the same, regardless of individual player choices. If you're familiar with the soundtrack albums, you might also notice that there are many tracks that are not included in the above list, but that's because those tracks only appear in the game during the Epilogues, which I will likely start posting after a short break. In the meantime, happy listening!

Aries - All-Star Baseball 2001 Retrospective

When I first fired up my copy of MLB The Show 2020, I was mostly looking forward to using it as a simulation engine to flesh out my patented Fantasy Astrology Baseball lineups. This project is temporarily on hold, because I’m currently obsessed with my Road to the Show created character, Krys Regnom, #24 (an anagram for RyskMonger42, get it?), but that’s a story for another time. I was particularly excited about this year’s version of MLB The Show because it marks the 20-year anniversary of my second favorite baseball video game of all time: All-Star Baseball 2001 for the Nintendo 64. While the title would suggest that we won't hit that milestone until 2021, ASB01 was actually released prior to the 2000 MLB season, based on stats from 1999. (Remember that the naming conventions of sports games were a little wonky until 2006 - that's why you have both MLB 2006 and MLB 06: The Show released in back-to-back years for the same franchise.)

I just recently took an in-depth look at the Aries Rams projected lineup for the 2020 season. And since we’re still several days from the end of the current Aries season, I’m now jumping back 20 years to look at how the Aries roster looked, through the eyes of the ASB01 game engine. As with any video game based simulation, the batting lineup and pitching rotation will be based less on real world production, and more on the game’s player rating system, which uses letter grades, rather than the 1-100 scale from the more modern games. Also, since I don’t have the capability of capturing footage directly from my N64, you’ll have to make do with photos of my TV screen.

Wow, it’s crazy how far video games have come since the year 2000, huh? Actually, it’s kind of to be expected, isn’t it? Either way, since we don’t get a heckuva lot of information from these screenshots, I’ll supplement them at the bottom with an excerpt from the database I use to compile these rosters. But for now, marvel at the innocent simplicity of how these lineup screens were arranged. You could scroll to the right to view more stats, but they didn’t let you look at player attributes - for that, you had to navigate to the Scouting Report or Player Movement sections. The Switch Lineup button only differentiated between AL and NL ballpark (i.e. DH or no DH), so you didn’t have to slog through setting different lineups vs. right-handed or left-handed pitchers. Also, in addition to the 25-player active roster, each franchise only had 10 spaces for minor league players, rather than full rosters for Triple-A and Double-A, plus another 15 A-Ball spots. Times sure were simpler back then...

But enough about the inner workings of 20-year-old video games. What kind of firepower were the Aries Rams working with back in 1999-2000? The short answer is: not a whole lot, at least not relative to the superpowered offensive climate of the time. Third baseman Scott Rolen (an actual real-life Phillie at the time) garnered a coveted A+ overall rating, and he’s supported by a couple of A- players in Jeromy Burnitz and Brian Jordan. But those latter two outfielders and Rolen’s real-life teammate Rico Brogna at first base were the only three hitters to top 2,000 fantasy points in 1999, and all three barely even eclipsed that threshold. For context, only one other sign had fewer 2,000-point batters: the Gemini Twins have only two, but they both scored 3,000 points (hello Jeff Bagwell and Manny Ramirez). Of course, leadoff hitter Marquis Grissom just missed 2,000 with his power/speed combo, and both Rolen and David Justice would have approached that milestone with full seasons.

Of course, fantasy point totals aren’t the only way to evaluate a player, especially in a multi-level simulation like a video game. Justice has the contact-hitting profile that goes well as a tablesetter at the top of the lineup, even if he lacked the home run power of some of the bigtime point-scorers. Alex (S.) Gonzalez was putting up his usual decent production in 1999, before a torn labrum cut his season short. Bret Boone on the other hand was still a couple of seasons from breaking out with the 2001 Mariners. On the other side of the ball, Brad Ausmus gets the starting nod because of his sterling defensive reputation, even though according to his blurb from Sports Illustrated's pre-2000 baseball preview, Jason Varitek is also "a good glove man and handler of pitchers." Speaking of defense, Rolen earned eight Gold Gloves in his career, and his backup, not-yet-21-year-old Adrian Beltre, is no slouch himself. Rounding out the bench (which is not shown on the starting lineup page) is speedy infielder Quilvio Veras and slugging outfielder Glenallen Hill.

On the pitching side, this team was a lot more impressive than on offense. While you might not see the gaudy point totals reminiscent of today’s aces, remember that the juiced ball era of the late 2010’s pales in comparison to the juiced PLAYER era of the late 1990’s, driving pitching point totals down across the board. For example, while they averaged just under 1,600 points between them, the duo of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine was rightly feared across the league. Shane Reynolds was the ace of a very talented Houston Astros pitching staff (then in the National League). Jon Lieber was a very serviceable workhorse in his first year with the Cubs. Veteran Bret Saberhagen pitched well when healthy, but it's a bit of a stretch to include him here, since he missed the entire then-upcoming 2000 season due to injury. Since I allow two additional starters to serve as long relievers, the righty-lefty combination of Masato Yoshii and Wilson Alvarez are also on the roster.

Since ASB01 doesn’t show the bullpen on the Starting Rotation screen (although it does give you letter grade ratings for each starter’s individual pitches, which is pretty neat), you can refer to the above chart for the team’s remaining relievers. Although Antonio "El Pulpo" Alfonseca is technically the closer, Indians fireballer Steve Karsay is the highest-rated reliever on the roster. He also ended up serving as Cleveland's ninth-inning specialist in 2000, the only year reaching 20 saves. Interestingly enough, Mike Trombley racked up saves in '99 with the Twins, but lost the closer's role to Ryan Kohlmeier when he went to the Orioles... not that there were many save opportunities for that club.


I took these screenshots just before the release of MLB The Show 2020, so I won't have too much time to fire up the old N64 and do many 20-year-old simulations. But depending on how long the 2020 season is delayed (if it happens at all), I might revisit these lineups as the karmic wheel spins.

Players Missing from MLB The Show 20

Ever since MLB 20: The Show came out on Tuesday, I've been poring over the default rosters, compiling a database of where all the players are located in terms of batting orders and pitching rotations. Or rather, I've been adding that information to my existing database, built on 40-player rosters, non-roster invitees, and players with MLB experience in 2019. And I came across some rather disturbing discrepancies: 20 players among MLB.com's top 800 fantasy players (including three members or MLB.com's top 100 prospects) were omitted from the game's player pool. Here's the full list, starting with offensive players, followed by pitchers.

Gavin Lux, MLB's #2 prospect, is projected to start at second base for the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers (whenever the season ends up starting). Since he's absent from the game's code, utility player Enrique Hernandez gets the virtual nod at LA's keystone. Going by fantasy ranking, next up is Nationals infield prospect Carter Kieboom (#21 on MLB's top 100 prospects list), who has a good chance to take one of Washington's non-Trea Turner infield spots - either second or third base, depending on where new acquisition Starlin Castro ends up. Without Kieboom in the game, fellow newcomer Asdrubal Cabrera is in the starting lineup at the hot corner for the defending World Series champions. The next two players on the list are both imports from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball: Shogo Akiyama was brought in to join a crowded Reds outfield mix, while Yoshitomo Tsutsugo was brought in to join a crowded Rays DH mix. Since neither player has any MLB experience, I guess it's sensible that the game's developers wanted to wait on creating player models for them until they got a chance to see them play in the states. I don't know, is that how programming for sports video games works?

None of the other missing offensive players ranked below 600 on MLB's top 800, so they're unlikely to make a major impact in 2020, but there are some notable names. Jake Fraley is looking like the favorite to grab one of the starting corner outfield jobs in Seattle until Mitch Haniger is ready to return. Abraham Toro could have some added utility to an Astros club mired in turmoil, since he made his MLB debut long after the time period covered in the sign-stealing scandal. Willi Castro could see some time in the unsettled infield mix for the rebuilding Tigers. The Rangers acquired outfielder Adolis Garcia in a minor trade, after he was designated for assignment by the Cardinals. And the lone non-rookie player on this list, Luis Rengifo, was ALMOST included in a trade from the Angels to the Dodgers (centering on LAD outfielder Joc Pederson), but those talks were scuttled after Boston bowed out of the original configuration of the Mookie Betts blockbuster.

Moving to the pitchers - and, quite honestly, the whole reason I first realized something was amiss - burgeoning Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk (#60 on MLB's top 100 prospects list) is nowhere to be found in the game's player pool. While it's true the Puk managed little more than a cup of coffee in his major league debut last season, after spending most of the year recovering from an injury, the same is true of Jesus Luzardo, ANOTHER A's prized lefty (#12 on the prospects list), and he's firmly entrenched as Oakland's number two starter. Six spots behind Puk on MLB's fantasy rankings, we have Josh Lindblom, a former fringe major leaguer who became a star pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization, and is now attempting a stateside return. Much like famed KBO slugger Eric Thames on the offensive side, Lindblom is attempting said comeback with the Milwaukee Brewers, yet he doesn't appear anywhere on their virtual rotation. The Dodgers were hit particularly hard by these omissions, as they lost not only their top infield prospect, but also one of their best pitching prospects in Tony Gonsolin, although their rotation still looks stacked, even without the cat-shirt enthusiast. Going out of order here, the only dedicated reliever on this list is James Karinchak, who spent some time as a closer in Cleveland's minor league ranks in 2019.

I skipped to Karinchak above because I want to group the next two pitchers together. Kwang Hyun Kim and Shun Yamaguchi both spent their careers to date pitching in overseas leagues - the former in the KBO and the latter in the NPB - but are scheduled to make their major league debuts whenever the season gets underway. Both pitchers are also looking at rather unsettled roles: had the season opened as planned, Kim was all but assured a spot in the Cardinals' rotation, due to an injury to Miles Mikolas. But with the delayed start to the season giving the returning expat additional time to recover, Kim could be ticketed for starting his MLB career with a bullpen role. Yamaguchi has actually had success as both a starter and a reliever in Japan, and given the lengths to which Toronto went to improve their pitching staff in the offseason, it was always rather unlikely that Yamaguchi would start the year in the rotation. In the lone Fantasy Astrology reference I'll make in this post, both of these pitchers represent the Cancer Crabs, a sign that has historically lacked depth in the starting pitching department.

Of the final five pitchers on this list, three are veterans (i.e. non-rookies) who didn't see any time in the majors last year due to injury. Kendall Graveman and Chad Kuhl are both recovering from Tommy John surgery (the former was given a make-good deal by the Mariners, while the latter remains with the Pirates), while Cardinals lefty Austin Gomber was pitching in the minors when he went down with biceps and shoulder issues in May. The other two are lower level prospects who could see extended opportunities due to health issues elsewhere on their respective clubs. The Indians acquired Logan Allen (alongside Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig) in a trade with the Padres (and the Reds) at last year's July 31st deadline, and he could help Cleveland fill in for injured hurlers Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco. Patrick Sandoval struggled in both the majors and the minors last year, but the Angels will likely need him to step up early in the year due to uncertainty surrounding Shohei Ohtani (as a pitcher, anyway) and Griffin Canning.

All-Star Baseball 2001 - 20 years later

As I was rooting around the video games in my old room at my parents' house this Thanksgiving season, I realized that we are approaching the 20-year anniversary of the second-greatest baseball video game of all time: All-Star Baseball 2001 from Acclaim Sports. While the title would suggest that we won't hit that milestone until 2021, ASB01 was actually released prior to the 2000 MLB season, based on stats from 1999. (Remember that the naming conventions of sports games were a little wonky until 2006 - that's why you have both MLB 2006 and MLB 06: The Show released in back-to-back years for the same franchise.) Since my Nintendo 64 miraculously still works, and we still have a lot of offseason ahead of us, I thought this would be a good opportunity to extend my Astrology Baseball project into the previous decade... not to mention the previous MILLENNIUM.

In addition to featuring state of the art polygonal graphics and a hauntingly catchy menu song, ASB01 provides letter grades for each of the 1,092 players in the game, with just 32 of which earning the coveted A+ mark. I'll go over each of those players here, noting which sign they belong to, and touching on the overall Astrology landscape as baseball prepared to enter the 2000's. This should be enough to tide you over until I manage to create Astrology-themed rosters and simulate an entire season, using patented Controller Pak technology.

Three different signs had exactly five players with A+ grades, but I'm starting with Scorpio because their crop of A-plusses is by far the most impressive. Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez actually finished second overall in '99 fantasy points, but he did lead all MLB in points per game (minimum 40 innings) en route to the AL Cy Young award. I guess the game developers didn't think Pedro's real-life pitch mix was scary enough, because they replaced his changeup with a devastating screwball, which breaks just like his curve, but in the opposite direction. Joining Martinez in the Scorpions rotation is Phillies starter (and generally despicable human being) Curt Schilling, whose points-per-game average would have put his total in the 2,200 - 2,300 range if he had pitched a full season. (Five years before the "bloody sock" incident, Schilling was plagued with shoulder inflammation in '99 that eventually led to offseason surgery.)

Moving to the offensive side, the October/November team is led by centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr., who missed his third consecutive 50-home run season by just two, although he still led the AL in that category. In the game, Griffey appears on the roster of the Cincinnati Reds, following a February 2000 trade from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko, among others. Another offseason trade victim, outfielder Shawn Green took his power/speed combo (42 HR, 20 SB) from Toronto to Los Angeles, in what was the first blockbuster trade that I remember having an effect on my baseball life. ("With Raul Mondesi on the Blue Jays, we won't hear any more chants of RAUUUUUUUL at Dodger Stadium!?") In a roster-construction note, when I build these simulated lineups, I will likely put Green at first base, even though he didn't play there regularly until 2004, because SCO also has the likes of Griffey, Sammy Sosa (the sign's fifth A+ player), Gary Sheffield, Dante Bichette, and Johnny Damon available for the outfield/DH slots.

Sagittarius has the same amount of A+ players as the sign that precedes it on the calendar, but SAG's group totaled about 2,000 fewer fantasy points than SCO's in 1999. That's not to take anything away from Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who won the AL MVP award that year, with a 35-HR, 25 SB season. Pudge also took home the seventh of his ten consecutive Gold Gloves, and the sixth of six consecutive Silver Sluggers behind the plate. Or Rockies slugging right fielder Larry Walker, who led the NL in all three "triple slash" categories (.379 AVG, .458 OBP, .710 SLG) as well as OPS (obviously). Of course, Walker only made it into 127 games that year, and the rarefied air of the pre-humidor Coors Field might have had something to do with his production, but he's a top tier talent nonetheless. Rounding out the A+ hitters for the Archers is Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, whose inclusion really dates the piece, given that his son Cavan just made his debut this past season for the Blue Jays at his father's old position. Speaking of Sagittarius dads, Ivan's son Dereck Rodriguez came up a season prior as a pitcher for the Giants, but he struggled through a sophomore slump in 2019.

Moving to the pitching side, we have two Hall of Famers who were teammates on the Yankees for eight years. Last year, Mariano Rivera became the first player to be unanimously voted into the Hall following a career as one of the most effective and decorated relief pitchers of all time. While the ASB01 engine does not include a cut fastball, which was Mo's signature pitch, the game still finds ways to make him just as unhittable as he was in real life. Starter Mike Mussina was still with the Orioles, his original team, when this game was released, but he would sign a free agent contract with the Yankees the very next year, and stay there through his retirement in 2008. Despite finishing out the back half of a Hall of Fame career in New York, would you believe that 1999 was the last time Moose made an All-Star team in his career?

Of the five Leo players who earned an A+ rating from All-Star Baseball 2001, the majority of them have dealt with serious performance enhancing drug issues in their illustrious careers. Going by 1999 fantasy points, Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez nearly cracked 2,500 points on the year, despite playing in only 129 games due to knee surgery. Later he would be suspended the entire 2014 season stemming from his ties to the Biogenesis scandal. Giants left fielder Barry Bonds also suffered through an injury-shortened 1999 season, as he was limited to 102 games after surgery to repair a torn triceps tendon and bone spur. While his career didn't extend into the era where it was actually illegal to use steroids, his well-publicized link to them has kept Bonds and his thicc neck out of the Hall of Fame, despite holding the all-time records for home runs and walks. Yankees starting pitcher Roger Clemens is the most curious A+ player in the game, as his 1999 season (his first in New York) was decidedly pedestrian: a 14-10 record, 4.60 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and 4.3 BB/9 over 30 starts and 187.2 innings. I guess he was still dining out on his consecutive AL Cy Young awards in '97 and '98 with the Blue Jays. As far as his ties to PED's, Clemens was famously named in the 2007 Mitchell Report, which was released just months after what would prove to be The Rocket's final season.

Now moving to the (ostensibly) clean players, we have Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who won the AL batting title in 1999 (the first of two consecutive times he would take home the crown, but we couldn't possibly know that at the time this game was released). When putting these rosters together, Nomar's presence will push A-Rod over to third base, where he would later play for the majority of his time with the Yankees, starting in 2004. Interestingly enough, this Lions team will likely consist of an all-shortstop infield, as Edgar Renteria of the Cardinals will occupy second base. Leo's final A+ player is Astros closer Billy Wagner, who leads a lights-out bullpen that also includes A-grade relievers John Wetteland, Troy Percival, and Jeff Zimmerman, not to mention B+ closer Danny Graves.

Remember how Pedro Martinez finished second overall in 1999 fantasy points? He was eclipsed only by NL Cy Young winner Randy Johnson, in his first year with the Diamondbacks (but his 35th year representing Virgo). The Big Unit would go on to win the next three Cy Youngs, in addition to taking home a World Series title in 2001, where he shared WS MVP honors with fellow ASB01 A+ starter Curt Schilling. During this simulation, Johnson will pitch to an A+ catcher (and fellow Hall of Famer) Mike Piazza, who finally settled in New York for '99 after splitting the previous year between the Dodgers, Marlins, and Mets. To round things out, Virgo has two A+ outfielders who had polar opposite career tracks: Albert Belle was known for his volatile personality and played for three different teams in his career ('99 was his first with the Orioles), while Bernie Williams had a charming, soft-spoken demeanor, and spent his entire playing days with the Yankees.

Remember how Barry Bonds has been frozen out of the Hall of Fame despite holding a monumental home run record? The same is true for Libra slugger Mark McGwire, who was the first major leaguer to hit 70 home runs, which he did in 1998, breaking Roger Maris's long-standing record of 61* in the process. (There's not footnote corresponding to that asterisk, it was just a reference to the Billy Crystal TV movie of the same name.) There was never really any doubt that Big Mac was juicing, but the ASB01 developers don't care how you become great, just whether or not you have A+ level talent. Joining him in a power-packed Scales lineup is outfielder Juan Gonzalez, who went from the Rangers to the Tigers in a blockbuster trade following the game's platform '99 season. Libra's last A+ player actually did make it into the Hall of Fame, as there are no steroid accusations tainting the career of longtime Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, despite a '99 season that was more excellent than otherworldtly.

Three different signs had two A+ players, but only Gemini boasts two 3,000 point scorers among them. Astros first baseman and leader of the "Killer B's" Jeff Bagwell had such a great 1999 (he played in all 162 games and had a 40-30 season, while leading the NL in runs and walks) that he pushes fellow Hall of Fame first baseman Frank Thomas to the DH slot. Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Indians right fielder Manny Ramirez has been the victim of a PED-related freezeout, similar to Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, et al. Despite Aquarius's status as a perennial fantasy astrology bottom-feeder, the sign does boast some impressive talent at the top of its depth chart. Roberto Alomar was at the top of his power/speed game in '99 (although the jury is out on whether Manny's PED influence might have spread around the Cleveland clubhouse) and Vladimir Guerrero was in his prime as one of the game's best pure hitters. Aries has the curious distinction of having two A+ players who each failed to eclipse 1,800 fantasy points in 1999: Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen played in only 112 games after his season ended in August because of a back injury, but Hall of Fame Braves starter Greg Maddux has no excuse, having pitched 219.1 innings over 33 starts.

Of the four signs that had just one A+ player each, Taurus leads the charge with NL MVP winner Chipper Jones, one of six players who scored more than 3,000 points during the 1999 season. In a funny side note, despite Chipper's career-high 45 home runs and 1.074 OPS that season, the Braves third baseman was not named to the All-Star team, the only time he was snubbed between 1996 and 2001. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was the face of the All-Star Baseball video game franchise from 1998 through its end in 2005. 1999 was arguably the Cancer Crab's finest season, as Cap'n Jeets put up career highs in runs, hits, homers, and all three triple-slash line categories. Speaking of people who are the face of things, Pisces pitcher Kevin Brown made the cover of the 1999 Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue, after signing a seven-year, $105 million contract with the Dodgers, the first ever nine-figure contract in MLB history. Rounding out ASB01's A+ players is Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez, who didn't have a phenomenal '99 season (although he did lead the AL in OBP) and offers nothing in terms of defensive value (he managed only five games at first base that year), but it's nevertheless fascinating that all 12 astrological signs have at least one A+ representative.


So there you have it, a 20-year retrospective into the underlying statistics behind All-Star Baseball 2001, one of the best baseball video games of all time. As it happens, in the same trip back home where I rediscovered my N64, I also found a copy of MLB 10: The Show for PS2 lying around. Remember, by the time of that game's release, the titles of baseball video games had changed to reflect the year of the upcoming season, which means I have the means to do both a 20-year AND a 10-year retrospective as we approach the 2020 season. I guess I know what I'm doing with my weekend now...