2005 Five-Year Astrology Recap
Since I’m counting “decades” as years zero through nine, the period from 2009 to 2005 comprises another five-year mark in our reverse-chronological trip through Fantasy Astrology Baseball League history. With this milestone, I thought it would be a good time for another five-year retrospective using my Astrology Lineups By Year document, looking at the most consistent players over that span. In addition, I’m adding an additional layer: after each player who made the lineup all five years in question, I calculated their total points, and a points-per-season average.
A five-year recap seemed like a good time to bring back my year-to-year chart showing point totals over the last half-decade.
The sign with the most consistency in this five-year period was Sagittarius, with six players making the starting lineup every year of the half-decade. Not only that, two of them were real-life teammates as well: Phillies middle infielders Chase Utley (12,219 / 2,443.8) and Jimmy Rollins (12,100 / 2,420). Ahead of both of them in terms of total points is fellow NL East infielder David Wright (12,285 / 2,457) at third base. Add to that centerfielder Vernon Wells (9,399 / 1,879.8) and one of the best defensive catchers of all time Ivan Rodriguez (6,096 / 1,219.2) and you have the makings of a fantasy powerhouse. Joe Nathan (10,682 / 2,136.4) solidified the back of the bullpen, which also two legends who made the team four out of five years: Mariano Rivera and Jonathan Papelbon.
Aries had four players appear in the lineup all five years, but not all played the same position each year. First baseman Mark Teixeira (12,370 / 2,474), catcher Joe Mauer (9,260 / 1,852 per), and closer Jose Valverde (7,478 / 1,495.6) were the consistent three. Miguel Cabrera (12,235 / 2,447) split his time between third base, first base, and left field – although I cheated eligibility rules and put him at 3B for two of his 1B years, in deference to Teixeira. On the pitching side, Greg Maddux, Felix Hernandez, and Mark Buehrle made the rotation four out of five seasons.
Teixeira finished behind Pujols and A-Rod, but I had already made cards for the other two.
The player who scored the most points over this five-year stretch was Albert Pujols (14,447 / 2,889.4), so it’s no surprise that he made the Capricorn starting lineup all five years. He was protected in the lineup by left fielder Matt Holliday (12,163 / 2,432.6), while late-inning leads were protected by closer Francisco Rodriguez (10,362 / 2,072.4). Capricorn leads the zodiac in players with four starting seasons: four batters and three pitchers. The offensive group features Hanley Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Victor Martinez, and Mike Cameron. And on the pitching side, we have A.J. Burnett, Ted Lilly, and Brad Lidge.
We’ve heard a lot about Alex Rodriguez (13,306 / 2,661.2) this decade, so it’s no surprise that he made the Leo lineup all five of these seasons. A-Rod shares the five-year honor with left fielder Carl Crawford (10,846 / 2,169.2) and closer Brian Fuentes (7,484 / 1,496.8). The Lions did have a lot of consistency, as five others made the team four times: Grady Sizemore, Javier Vazquez, Billy Wagner, Jorge Posada, and Huston Street.
The only Gemini batter who made the lineup all five seasons was Carlos Lee (11,164 / 2,232.8), but again, only if you cheat him over to first base in one of the years. Two starting pitchers had the honor: Jake Peavy (9,376 / 1,875.2) and Carlos Zambrano (8,743 / 1,748.6). The Twins had five players with four seasons: Jose Reyes, Raul Ibanez, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, and Jonathan Broxton.
Libra was all about speed and defense and saves in this five-year period, with Brian Roberts (10,981 / 2,196.2) and Ichiro Suzuki (10,926 / 2,185.2) solidifying the top of the lineup, and Trevor Hoffman (8,586 / 1,717.2) locking down the back end of the bullpen. Those three were supported by three starting pitchers and one outfielder who made the lineup four times: Pat Burrell, John Lackey, Matt Cain, and Jered Weaver.
For Taurus, Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones (9,801 / 1,960.2), closing pitcher Francisco Cordero (8,460 / 1,692), and middle infielder Felipe Lopez (8,471 / 1,694.2) made the team all five years, but only if you agree to allow the latter to play second base for a year when he was in reality a dedicated shortstop. Four-of’s include Carlos Beltran, Roy Halladay, Brandon Webb, and Brandon Inge, but only if you allow the third baseman to return to his once-and-future position of catcher.
The two Cancer players who made the lineup all five of these years are not only two of the best Cancer players of all time, but they had almost identical fantasy point totals in this time span: Derek Jeter (10,921 / 2,184.2) and CC Sabathia (10,920 / 2,184). The Crabs have six players with four-year consistency, putting them in a second place tie behind their fellow Negative Cardinal sign (Capricorn): Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Delgado, Torii Hunter, Brad Hawpe, Tim Hudson, Ben Sheets, and Scot Shields.
Pisces has a top batter and a top pitcher who made their starting lineup all five of these years: Bobby Abreu (11,806 / 2,361.2) and Johan Santana (11,900 / 2,380). The Fish did have plenty of consistency through the rest of the lineup: Curtis Granderson, Paul Konerko, Dan Uggla, Brian McCann, and Bronson Arroyo.
Aquarius has been an astrology bottom feeder for many years, but the one player who made their starting lineup all five years - first baseman/outfielder Lance Berkman (11,285 / 2,257) - is one of the best of that time period. He also had plenty of four-year support, including Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, Chone Figgins, Russell Martin, Scott Kazmir, and Aaron Cook.
The only Virgo to make the starting lineup all five years was starter Dan Haren (10,245 / 2,049), and he was supported by just three players with four apiece: Derrek Lee, Jason Bay, and Roy Oswalt. Meanwhile, Scorpio didn’t have a single five-year player, but their four-year crowd was pretty impressive: Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, Johnny Damon, Orlando Cabrera, and Jamie Moyer.
Next week, I’ll share the first astrology-related findings of my journey through the rosters of my newest video game obsession: MLB The Show 21.