A blog analyzing Major League Baseball through the lens of Astrology
Welcome to Astrology Baseball, a project where I arrange MLB players into teams based on their astrological signs, and then pit those teams against each other in mock fantasy seasons.
2021 Gemini Pitchers
It’s always nice to end a feature on a high note, and that’s what this Gemini pitching staff allows us to do. I know that’s somewhat surprising for a last place team, but with enough injuries and a weak enough offense, even a star-studded group of hurlers can end up in the bottom of the league.
2021 Gemini Batters
We’ve finally done it: we’ve reached the bottom of the 2021 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League barrel. This shouldn’t be taken as a slight against Gemini by any means – they do have the game’s best pitcher, after all. But there has to be a last place sign, and in the Twins’ case, their offense just simply didn’t measure up.
2021 Taurus Pitchers
Believe it or not, but Taurus was the last sign to have a starting rotation made up entirely of 2,000-plus point scorers. This was way back in 2006, and the rise of bullpenning and juiced balls have prevented such an accomplishment from happening again. Let’s just say that the current iteration of Taurus pitchers are not nearly as strong, but there are some ace-caliber arms in the bunch.
2021 Taurus Batters
No 2021 sign better embodies the difference between various evaluation methods than Taurus. In my weekly fantasy league, Taurus finished with the best record in the Earth Division, and then defeated Pisces and Libra in the playoffs to claim the FABL title. However, when comparing the point totals of the signs’ official lineups, the Bulls end up in the bottom two.
2021 Scorpio Pitchers
When I say Scorpio pitching is in a lull, I don’t mean that they don’t have any top tier options to start big games. Of course, the 2021 Scorpions finished in last place in the Water Division by a sizable margin, so the current crop of pitchers is pretty gloomy, especially in the relief department.
2021 Scorpio Batters
My reverse-chronological trip through Fantasy Astrology Baseball League history has taken me to the mid-1980s, a period where Scorpio ran roughshod over the rest of the league. So it’s a bit of a shock for me to see this sign in the bottom third in 2021. But the karmic wheel continues turning, and I’m sure Scorpio will be back on top in no time… from a cosmic perspective, at least.
2021 Sagittarius Pitchers
The Sagittarius pitching staff has been somewhat inconsistent over the last several seasons. After decades of being carried by a stable of lights-out relievers – including the likes of Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Lee Smith, and Dave Righetti – a promising group of starters looks ready to take the reins.
2021 Sagittarius Batters
Looking at the signs during the 2019-20 offseason, I really thought that Sagittarius had a chance to win the league, thanks to the top two ranked fantasy players (Christian Yelich and Ronald Acuna Jr.) and a good-enough supporting staff to work with. Obviously, the world completely changed before that season could get started, and since then a combination of injuries and inconsistency has prevented the Archers from reaching their potential.
2021 Aries Pitchers
One theme that I’ve noticed more than anything else while doing this project is the cyclical nature of Fantasy Astrology Baseball. For example, today’s Aries player pool includes several of the top closers in the league, whereas in the mid-1980’s, the Rams often struggled to field even three relief pitchers who reached my 700-point threshold for database inclusion.
Aries 2021 Batters
Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, according to its positioning of the karmic wheel. It has the reputation as the angriest sign. And it’s the last sign to enjoy a true Fantasy Astrology dynasty, scoring the most collective points in the league in five of the six years between 2013 and 2018.
Cancer 2021 Pitchers
Traditionally, at least in the last 30 years that I’ve analyzed for this project, Cancer’s offense has been much stronger than their pitchers. That trend continues in 2021, with a world class collection of infielders and designated hitters completely outclassing a Crabs pitching staff that couldn’t even field five starters with more than 1,000 points on the season.
Cancer 2021 Batters
I try not to give preferential treatment to Cancer in my analysis, but every once in a while, my “home-sign” bias creeps in. Lord knows I tried to bend every conceivable positional eligibility rule in the Crabs’ favor when putting together my official lineups for 2021. But try as I might, I couldn’t get them to outscore Pisces in the Water Division, even with two-way star and AL MVP Shohei Ohtani in the mix.
Aquarius 2021 Pitchers
Even though Aquarius’s official starting lineup scored the fifth most points in the 2021 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League, the sign had the fewest overall players from which to build said lineup. Last time, I looked at most of their 42 batters, and now it’s time for an in-depth look at the 53 pitchers who made up the 2021 Water Bearers player pool.
Aquarius 2021 Batters
In the 30-plus years of Fantasy Astrology Baseball League history that I’ve analyzed, the ONLY time Aquarius won their division was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. A 60-game sample is 2.5-times shorter than what we get in a regular season, but Aquarius built on that success, finishing fifth overall in 2021.
Capricorn 2021 Pitchers
While Capricorn has some top tier batters anchoring their lineup, the Sea-Goats always seem to have outstanding pitching depth to go along with them. In 2021, only Gemini had more starting pitchers with 1,000 or more fantasy points. However, this year’s crop of Capricorn hurlers includes one particularly controversial name.
Capricorn 2021 Batters
Now that we’re done with the leaders of the four elemental divisions, it’s time to start moving down the standings. While Capricorn finished behind Virgo in the Earth Division, they had the third-highest point total overall, at least as far as their optimal starting lineup is concerned.
Leo 2021 Pitchers
In a season without a healthy Mike Trout, the Leo pitchers really had to carry the load for their offense. But luckily the leaders of the Fire Sign had enough high quality arms to propel them to the playoffs. Here’s a look at (pretty much) every relevant pitcher on the 2021 Leo Lions.
Leo 2021 Batters
Leo got off to a strong start in 2021 and never looked back, leading the Fire Division in my weekly fantasy baseball league basically wire-to-wire. Unfortunately, the Lions fell to Libra in the semifinals, thanks to strong performances from not one, but TWO 2021 Cy Young Award winners.
Pisces 2021 Pitchers
Pisces took top spot in the 2021 Water Division, mostly thanks to its star-studded infield and rookie-laden outfield mix. While the starting pitching depth left something to be desired, mostly due to injuries, a strong bullpen picked up the slack, and will surely shorten games in a hypothetical offseason tournament.
Pisces 2021 Batters
This is the third in-depth look into the 2021 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League teams, but the starting lineup for Pisces actually scored the fourth-most points in the league. I’m skipping third-place Capricorn, who finished second to Virgo in the Earth Division, and I want to cover all four elemental leaders before getting into the runners-up.