All-Time Boston Red Sox League: who's your first-round pick?
WhatIfSports.com's Boston Red Sox Dream League is a haven for Beantown baseball. We've collected diehard Red Sox fans and challenged them to assemble a 25-man roster that can outlast 19 competitors over the course of a 162-game simulated season. The draft is currently in progress and will take place over the next 10 days. With the first round in the books, we're checking in to see which top names are off the board. But before we dig into the draft selections, let's cover a couple basics:
What is SimLeague Baseball?
Imagine if Stan Musial, Ken Griffey Jr. and Hank Aaron played in the same outfield. What if Randy Johnson, Clayton Kershaw and Tom Seaver pitched in the same rotation? In SimLeague Baseball, you can make it happen. SLB transcends eras as a roster can be stocked with any MLB player from 1885 to the present. But it's not as easy as just picking your 25 favorite players. You'll need to pick which season of a player to use. Will it be 1969 Tom Seaver (2.21 ERA, 25 wins) or 1973 Tom Seaver (2.08 ERA, 19 wins)? Not only will different seasons of players perform differently, they have different salaries as well. As you assemble a roster, you'll need to account for a limited budget. If you want the aforementioned outfield of Musial, Griffey and Aaron, for example, you may have to balance it with a cheaper pitching staff.
Once your SimLeague Baseball roster is all set, your team will play a 162-game schedule, with three games simulated each day. Owners are in charge of setting lineups and rotations, managing fatigue, trading with other owners and much more.
Red Sox Dream League Rules
The Red Sox league has a unique set of rules to add to the challenge. Here are the most important to know:
Okay, with that covered, let's check out every first-round selection, including commentary from some owners. To monitor how the rest of the draft plays out, follow along with every selection.
Red Sox Draft: First Round
Round one witnessed six seasons of Cy Young drafted, four of Ted Williams, two of Babe Ruth, two of Jimmie Foxx, two of Pedro Martinez and one each of Joe Wood, Dutch Leonard, Roger Clemens and Tris Speaker. 13 pitchers were taken (including eight of the first nine picks), five outfielders and two first basemen/catchers. The remainder of the draft will play out over the next 10 days. You can follow along with every pick, or wait until the draft has completed to check out the draft recap. We'll be checking in with the Red Sox league periodically throughout the season, so stay tuned!
