1955 Fantasy Astrology Recap
View the 1955 FABL Lineups Here!
One nice piece of trivia about the 1955 Fantasy Astrology Baseball season is that all four division winners remain the same, regardless of positional eligibility shenanigans. Another is that the top three scoring signs were all Fire Signs. Sagittarius, once again led by Al Kaline (2,541 / 16.7), takes the top spot. Leo is in second, without a 2,000-point scorer to their name; versatile hurler Joe Nuxhall (1,989 / 39.8) came the closest. Aries had the starting pitcher for the real-life American League All-Stars Billy Pierce (2,366 / 71.7), and also the first baseman of the real-life World Series champion Dodgers Gil Hodges (2,026 / 13.5), but ended up in third place overall.
With the Archers as one division winner, they would take on Aquarius in the Positive Polarity playoff. In a twist of fate, considering their place in the standings so far in the 2020s, the Water Bears have the makings of a full-on dynasty with Ernie Banks (2,568 / 16.7), Henry Aaron (2,378 / 15.5), and Al Smith (2,296 / 14.9) who played right field and third base while leading off for Cleveland. Red Sox ace Frank Sullivan (2,117 / 60.5) would be the highest-scoring pitcher in the PP playoff. For Sagittarius, two Bobs – Rush (1,830 / 55.5) and Friend (1,834 / 41.7) – compiled almost identical full season point totals, but the latter had more relief appearances than starts.
In the Negative Polarity, a playoff match between Taurus and Scorpio would be as close as can be: the two signs were separated by only seven (7!) points on the season. The Bulls had the both the NP MVP in Willie Mays (3,162 / 20.8) and the AL MVP in Yogi Berra (2,006 / 13.6). While legendary ace Warren Spahn (1,885 / 48.3) had a down year – it was the only time he missed the All-Star game between 1949 and 1959 – Tigers righty Billy Hoeft (2,034 / 63.6) stepped up to lead the staff. The Stingers had the best offense in the game, led by Stan Musial (2,463 / 16.0) and Roy Campanella (2,068 / 16.8), the real-life National League MVP. But on the mound, they didn’t have a single pitcher break 1,400 fantasy points, with Warren Hacker (1,395 / 39.9) of the Cubs coming painfully close.
Two more signs bear mentioning, even if they didn’t win their divisions. Libra had both major award winners in the Positive Pole: Mickey Mantle (2,638 / 17.9) of the Yankees, and Robin Roberts (2,790 / 68.0) of the Phillies. And Virgo had the most epic 1-2-3 in the sport: Dodgers center fielder Duke Snider (2,908 / 19.6), Redlegs first baseman Ted Kluszewski (2,678 / 17.5), and the Splendid Splinter himself, Ted Williams (1,988 / 20.3). Virgo also had the top Negative Pole pitcher, Bob Turley (2,110 / 58.5), who slots in after the top six positive point-scorers.
As far as the two “R” awards (Relievers and Rookies), the above-mentioned Bob Friend had the most points among positive relievers, but if you prefer someone with fewer than 10 starts, you have his Sagittarius sign-mate Ray Narleski (1,607 / 26.7) . In the Negative Polarity, Capricorn closer Tom Gorman (1,333 / 23.4), newly acquired by the Kansas City Athletics in the previous offseason, leads the pack. As far as rookies are concerned, Gemini co-ace Herb Score (2,195 / 66.5) won the AL Rookie of the Year award, where he surely had plenty of his victories saved by his real-life teammate Narleski. Score’s Gemini sign-mate Bill Virdon (1,445 / 10.0) won the NL RoY for the Cardinals, but the Astrology version of the award would go to a different St. Louis batter: Taurus third baseman Ken Boyer (1,614 / 11.0).