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.
2024 Aquarius Preview
I spend a lot of time dunking on Aquarius for being generally hapless in the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League standings. And while that diagnosis probably holds true in 2024, at least the Water Bearers aren’t ranked at the very bottom, according to MLB.com’s ranking of the top 300 players.
1946 Fantasy Astrology Recap
1946 is considered the first year of the Baby Boomer generation. Back then, the postwar optimism was high, the baseball was segregated, and the division winners in the Fantasy Astrology Baseball league were all pretty cut and dry – the same Final Four as in 1947, in fact.
1947 Fantasy Astrology Recap
1947 is year two of including Negro League players in my Astrology All-Time Database, and while it’s great to analyze the statistics and learn the history of the best Black and Latin players of the day, it’s also frustrating to see how much these players could have accomplished were they not excluded from the established Major League ranks at the time.
1948 Negro League Batters
The 1948 Aries Rams had a pretty solid outfield when considering only players in the established Major Leagues at the time. But there’s another Aries outfielder who just emerged on my database for the 1948 season: leftfielder Lester Lockett of the Baltimore Elite Giants (pronounced EE-light). That’s because 1948 is the last year where Baseball Reference has statistics for the Negro Leagues, of which BEG were the champions.
1948 Fantasy Astrology Recap
I was very excited to reach 1948 in my reverse chronological trip through baseball history, because it’s the last year with readily available Negro League statistics. I could wait to learn about the influx of amazing athletes, and add them to my All-Time Major League Astrology database, because the Negro Leagues are Major Leagues.
1949 Fantasy Astrology Recap
We’ve reached a milestone as we enter the 1940’s: 1949 was the last year, reverse-chronologically speaking, before my database will include Negro League teams. At least there’s a silver lining for this last year of predominantly white baseball: the top four scoring signs in 1949 all made the Fantasy Astrology postseason!
FABL 1950s Recap
The calendar flipping to 2024 seems like a perfect excuse to dust off this old blog and start posting regularly. When last we left our reverse-chronological trip through Fantasy Astrology Baseball History, we had finished the last year of the 1950s. So before starting a new decade, it’s fitting to look back at the ten years we just covered.
2023 All-Star Reserves
It’s finally here: the day of the MLB All-Star Game! Which means it’s time to tally up the astrological signs of the rosters, including starters, pitchers, and reserves. Full disclosure: I know this does not technically represent the full rosters, because several players have been replaced due to injury.
2023 All-Star Pitchers
Last time, I broke down the 2023 All-Star starting lineups in terms of astrological signs. Leo was the clear leader, with five of the 18 players under consideration. The Lions were ahead of a crowded second place field: five different signs had two players each.
2023 All-Star Starters
The onset of summer is the time when baseball’s top players come together for the All-Star Game, which this year is taking place in Seattle on July 11. The starters were announced last Thursday, with the full rosters being added just two days ago.
2023 Gemini Season - Positive Signs
Last week, I wrote about the clear separation between the top and bottom halves of the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League. As of Gemini Season 2023, the top six teams reached 9,000 fantasy points (What? 9,000!?), while the bottom six had not eclipsed that milestone. But in a stroke of luck, the two 9,000-point Positive signs were the leaders of their respective divisions.
1950 Fantasy Astrology Recap
Here’s a sobering fact: in the 1950 Astrology Baseball Classic, the Gemini pitchers would have had to bat for themselves. This isn’t because the Designated Hitter wasn’t established in the Major Leagues until the 1970’s – the reason the 1950 Twins had to send their pitchers to the plate… is that there were only eight (8!) Gemini MLB position players in 1950.
1951 Fantasy Astrology Recap
Fantasy Astrology Baseball in the early 1950’s is categorically different than what we see in the early 2020’s. In today’s game, with 30 teams and a massive player pool to choose from, it’s no problem to build 12 full rosters. However, in the middle of last century, with only 16 MLB teams, it’s a struggle for each sign to fill a starting lineup, let alone a full roster.
1952 Fantasy Astrology Recap
When looking at the 1952 Leo Lions roster, I was struck by a thought, almost a sort of catchphrase: “It’s not about having the BEST players; it’s about having the best MIX of players.” In fact, this catchphrase applies to any type of fantasy roster building. And it basically echoes the age-old sentiment Depth over Star Power.
1955 Fantasy Astrology Recap
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, takes the top spot. Leo is in second, without a 2,000-point scorer to their name. Aries had the starting pitcher for the real-life American League All-Stars Billy Pierce, but ended up in third place overall.
1956 Fantasy Astrology Recap
One thing that stands out about the FABL-leading 1956 Sagittarius Archers is that their starting roster includes four former Negro League players. Not only that, but Minnie Minoso, Larry Doby, Harry Simpson, and Sam Jones all broke into the AL/NL hierarchy with the Cleveland Indians. It’s curious that despite the club’s racist mascot and moniker, they seemed to be at the forefront in terms of recruiting Black and Latin players.
1957 Fantasy Astrology Recap
Fans of New York baseball surely recognize 1957 as a bittersweet year: it was the final seasons of both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants before both clubs set out for greener pastures in California. But from a Fantasy Astrology perspective, 1957 was even more monumental, because it was the last full season where Aquarius finished in first place in fantasy points!
1958 Fantasy Astrology Recap
In the 10-year stretch from 1958 to 1967, only two signs led the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League in point totals. Leo had a seven-to-three advantage over Libra, but the 1958 season went to the Scales, the only sign to score as many as 25,000 points on the year.
1959 Fantasy Astrology Recap
In my recap of the 1960 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League season, I remarked on my anxiety of populating 12 FABL teams from a pool of just 16 MLB teams. Those fears proved to be moot… but as we burst into another decade, we are immediately confronted with some drastic consequences of a league that’s half the size of today’s.
Opening Day 2023
As we prepare for Major League Baseball in 2023, we have one last day without any games to cram in as many sidequests as possible. Read those last-minute magazine articles. Crack open a pack or two of cards. Pop in the newest licensed video game. And reader, I’ve done all of these activities.