MLB Showdown Cards

#ShotsFriday

                Here is a strategy many people would like for me to define. The “Pingers” is a term that I actually stole from my days in Magic the Gathering… the card game nerds understand me here my jock readers judge me. The term is used in that game basically to describe a card that repeatedly does the smallest amount of damage but can perpetually do this act throughout the game. The point is that these cards inflict a series of small damage to hopefully add up to enough to win.

Thus the MLB Showdown version of the Pinger looks very much like a series of near identical players. Due to the 5,000 point cap many players operate using roughly 2,000 or so points per batter. This in an NL line-up yields a 250 point average per play. 250 points usually buys you a 9, speed B, 20 HR, 18-19 2B player. There are slight variations depending on position and such but that would be my definition of a Pinger type player. Pingers hate speed C players since speed B players don’t steal and their players have few extra-base hits. This means double-plays are killer and take away chances to fight probability with attempts. For whatever reason these players cannot stand the idea of a player not having a homer. Since 10 on-base, 20 HR, speed B players run roughly 350 points that is too much to have a truly homogeneous line-up. They also have this irrational fear of 8 on base and below assuming they never get the advantage. They will use them more than Money Ball players (which we will discuss next week). The theory here is anyone in the line-up could be the star on any night. We will peak at some variations of Pinger players.

The lead-off hitter can sometimes be slightly different than the rest of the line-up. This may be the traditional 10, speed A, no homer that many players covet. The problem here is those players are 300+ points and really put the pressure on the 3-4 hitters. That means more points need to be spent on the 3-4 hitters to be successful. That throws all the averages off and the theory falls apart. The solution? 9, speed A no homer. Trading a speed for a homer is not uncommon since the points come out to about a wash. This appeals to the conventional wisdom of having a highish on-base with high speed at the top and stays in the 250 ish point range. These lead-off hitters are going to be out produced by lead-off hitters in a less homogenously distributed point line-up.

2 hitters are likely the most proto-type Pinger player in the line-up, 3-4 hitters are where these guys can distort their line-up. You won’t see a 500 pointer in a true Pinger line-up but you may see a low 400 pointer as a 3 and a high 300 pointer as a 4. In my experience this is a 10, 19-20 HR speed B as the 3 and a 9, 18-20 speed B as a 4. Scary? Not at all compared to other people paying +1,000 points on those spots. Pure Pingers may spend as low as 700 points for these spots and attack you with pure depth. Depth is hard to counter with enough rolls.

5-6-7 hitters may look like triplets here. The 7 hitter for some Pingers is the tell on how dedicated they are to the theory. A 9 or 8 speed C with 19-20 or 18-20 HR may show up here as a type of book end. This is almost entirely dependent on who is coming up last. Assuming an NL line-up the 8 hitter is usually a punt for almost every line-up… except true Pingers. True Pingers are going to save 100 points in their 3-4 hitters to spend 100 on their 8 hitter. This guy may take the 50 points must of us budget for the 8 hole and beef it to 150 or more. An 8 19-20 or 9 who can’t homer may be lurking near the pitcher. This gets tough because thin bullpens late in games don’t have spots for easy 0’s. Don’t be shocked if you see pitchers batting 8 and an 8, speed B, 20 HR in the 9 hole.