The Top 75 Dynasties of 2005

[Autism Speaks]

Originally Posted by CTSoxFan

Big Six is the best dynasty writer here. Craig Knox is close, but their two styles are completely different, so I would say the two of them are tied for best writers on OOTP.

And IMO, neither can hold a candle to GForce.

That's what is so great about this forum. Different writers reach different people in different ways.

[CTSoxFan]

Exactly, I think GForce is an excellent writer, but I enjoy reading Six and Craig a lot more.

[ifspuds]

As one of the Keystone League's biggest fans, I'm very happy to see it this high in the countdown. By the time I started reading the dynasty forum regularly, Pat O'Farrell was already about 750 pages long and I never got up the energy to tackle it as a whole. So when Big Six started the Keystone League, I made sure to go along for the ride from the beginning. I'm very glad I did.

For me, the main reason it's so successful is that Big Six doesn't try to do too much with it. No pictures, no fancy text color, no exhausting wait between updates, just a straightforward discussion of the league, a good balance between stats and story. I think one of the best things a dynasty writer can do is to know the story you want to tell and stick to it. It's a corollary to the "Write For Yourself" maxim of successful dynasties: tell me the story you want to tell, and if you do that well, you'll get readers. Big Six is very good at doing this.

[Autism Speaks]

BTW...I'm not saying at all Big Six isn't a great writer. He's one of my Top 5 and someone whose posts I always check when something new is posted.

[Y0DA55]

Originally Posted by Dale And Eli's Dad

Only 4 popcorns?

I speak only for myself, and I tend to be very critical when handing out 5.

Originally Posted by Dale And Eli's Dad

And IMO, neither can hold a candle to GForce.

That's what is so great about this forum. Different writers reach different people in different ways.

Comparing writers is so hard. There are so many different ways to write the same thing. I tend not to label someone the "best" writer as who am I to judge that. I know who I like to read and what types of writing I like, but I can hardly speak for everyone.

Originally Posted by ifspuds

As one of the Keystone League's biggest fans, I'm very happy to see it this high in the countdown. By the time I started reading the dynasty forum regularly, Pat O'Farrell was already about 750 pages long and I never got up the energy to tackle it as a whole. So when Big Six started the Keystone League, I made sure to go along for the ride from the beginning. I'm very glad I did.

For me, the main reason it's so successful is that Big Six doesn't try to do too much with it. No pictures, no fancy text color, no exhausting wait between updates, just a straightforward discussion of the league, a good balance between stats and story. I think one of the best things a dynasty writer can do is to know the story you want to tell and stick to it. It's a corollary to the "Write For Yourself" maxim of successful dynasties: tell me the story you want to tell, and if you do that well, you'll get readers. Big Six is very good at doing this.

I totally agree with your second paragraph spuds. Spot on.

[Y0DA55]

#26 – “Return To Glory: Pittsburgh Pirates 2005 and Beyond Dynasty”

Started by: CTSoxFan

If you know your OOTP dynasties in this forum, then you might remember Five Faces: The 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Exposed. After all, I did already give a brief little summary of it.

Anyway, I enjoyed the “Five Faces” because there was more than one point of view. “Return to Glory” is the same way. You’ve got the GM, the owner, a beat writer, and a pitcher. Not that this is any different from other dynasties that use multiple sources for their posts, but CT spells it out that this is how he is going to do it.

Originally Posted by jaykno14

I love the realism aspect of your dynasty!

I agree. And this is a huge plus for this dynasty. I don’t even know how to explain this, you are just going to have to check it out. But it’s almost as if you are in the middle of a real baseball season.

Just so you know, this one has made it through a year and a month (game time) and is still currently being updated. So I definitely suggest checking this one out.

Worth a Look Score:

[CTSoxFan]

26, I never expected to be that high. Thanks Yoda

[Y0DA55]

Your welcome! It's been a good read.

[Y0DA55]

#25 – “VOTE: Time Warp HOF Ballot 1955”

Started by: Matt from TN

Just as an FYI, I didn’t include the rest of the Time Warp HoF Ballots in the rankings as it would just get stale. So I chose the biggest one so that others could get a taste of this one.

This one just happened to be from exactly a year ago.

Regardless of whether you are involved in Time Warp or not, the voting is open to everyone (although this current thread’s voting was closed a long time ago). Occasionally there is some banter about who should be elected and who doesn’t live up to being a Hall of Famer, and it’s pretty interesting if you like comparing players from different eras.

By itself I don’t know if this thread holds its own, but it’s a VERY nice addition to the Time Warp Universe.

Worth a Look Score:

[Big Six]

Wow, I would have NEVER expected the HoF thread to make any list of the top dynasties of the year, much less crack the top 30! Thanks for the props, Yoda. Hopefully your writeup will convince more of the forum's readers to vote in the Hall of Fame elections. I'm in the process of transferring my Pat O'Farrell league files from one computer to another, and when that task is completed, I'll be putting up another ballot.

And back to back with the Keystone League? How cool is that? I'm very glad I decided to resuscitate the KL after the crash. I missed it, and it looks like most of its readers came back, too.

Finally, thanks to all of you for your compliments. I'm honored by the comparisons to people whose writing I read regularly and enjoyably, and I'm flattered by everybody who takes time to read my dynasties and comment on them.

I'm glad there are so many different kinds of stories being told here. "There's something here for everybody" is a cliche, but I honestly think it applies here.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by Y0DA55

#25 – “VOTE: Time Warp HOF Ballot 1955”

Started by: Matt from TN

Just as an FYI, I didn’t include the rest of the Time Warp HoF Ballots in the rankings as it would just get stale. So I chose the biggest one so that others could get a taste of this one.

This one just happened to be from exactly a year ago.

Regardless of whether you are involved in Time Warp or not, the voting is open to everyone (although this current thread’s voting was closed a long time ago). Occasionally there is some banter about who should be elected and who doesn’t live up to being a Hall of Famer, and it’s pretty interesting if you like comparing players from different eras.

By itself I don’t know if this thread holds its own, but it’s a VERY nice addition to the Time Warp Universe.

Worth a Look Score:

funny I was just reading that one earlier on

[Y0DA55]

Originally Posted by Big Six

Thanks for the props, Yoda. Hopefully your writeup will convince more of the forum's readers to vote in the Hall of Fame elections.

I'm glad there are so many different kinds of stories being told here. "There's something here for everybody" is a cliche, but I honestly think it applies here.

Not a problem. I always enjoy reading your stuff, so its only fair to give you props.

And I totally agree that there is something here for everyone...

And if there isn't, you can always make one yourself.

[Y0DA55]

#24 – “The United States Baseball Federation”

Started by: marc

Much like a couple other dynasties that have been on the boards before, this one is an ancestor dynasty, where board members sign up their ancestors to play in this fictional league. This dynasty spans 4 years, and I think that more than anything, this one ended because of lack of interest (and/or the fact that summer was starting and people were spending less time in front of their computers).

It’s an easy read with short summaries on either teams, or games (usually playoffs), and has some stats for you statheads. Although I usually don’t ritualistically follow these kinds of dynasties, I like that they are there to peak in on every now and then.

If there was something that I would advise if this were to be done over again it would be to space out the posts. In a span of a couple days, he posts 20 some odd times. There has to be a better way to organize your information so that readers don’t feel overwhelmed when trying to keep up with the story. Looking back on it now, it doesn’t seem to bad, but if one day you check it out and read it all and then the next day there are like 20 more posts, it gets a little intimidating.

Worth a Look Score:

[Y0DA55]

#23 – “The 1994 Seattle Mariners”

Started by: Magatsu

GCo05.

Yep, it hit this one too. I wasn’t paying attention to this one while it was going on (although I knew of its existence) so I have no idea what happened in the playoffs that got lost in the crash. Magatsu said he would update the ’94 thread, but he hasn’t done so yet, and I don’t think I would hold my breath at the moment.

He did create the 1995 Thread” and he is “currently” at the trade deadline. Although, only he knows if this will be updated again as it hasn’t since February and he hasn’t been on since early March.

Back to the 94 thread, it’s a shame the crash at this one up. He was doing a lot of work in those posts of his and it really showed. Each post had a similar format: Week in Review, Around the League, and In the Spotlight. It allowed him to focus on the Mariners but keep the readers abreast of the goings-ons around the league and what cool things were a’happenin’.

Now that I have jumped on the Mariners bandwagon out here (yeah, what a bandwagon to jump on… I know. They’re the home team, and I feel like I have to give them a little love. My heart still bleeds Mets blue), this is one that I would pay much more attention to at the moment. Too bad it’s not currently going.

Worth a Look Score: (in its current form, I can’t give it more than that (because the year didn’t finish)… which sucks. The GCo05 lost you a popcorn Mags as this one would have been a 4 or a 5 for sure, but based on present readability, we are cheated out of the ending of the season)

[canadiancreed]

odd that. he hasn't been back since the DoCBA closed up shop. That is kind fo weird.

And I think he did win it all before the crash came

[Sdpm100]

I know who won in '94 (only because myself and Jestor predicted who would win each playoff series and ended up picking one league champion each) - Montreal won the WS they may have had IRL over Cleveland in a short series (maybe a sweep?). The Mariners didn't reach the playoffs.


Btw, I've been reading along Y0DA, but haven't contributed because I can't remember many of the early ones - it's probably because I wasn't around actually (or it's my bad memory ).

Looking forward to the top 20.

[Y0DA55]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I know who won in '94 (only because myself and Jestor predicted who would win each playoff series and ended up picking one league champion each) - Montreal won the WS they may have had IRL over Cleveland in a short series (maybe a sweep?). The Mariners didn't reach the playoffs.

Thanks for the update. It's too bad that I missed it while it was going on.

Btw, I've been reading along Y0DA, but haven't contributed because I can't remember many of the early ones - it's probably because I wasn't around actually (or it's my bad memory ).

There are a lot of these things, and it's hard to read them all. But I hope you have been checking some of them out to see if you like them or not.

Originally Posted by sdpm100

Looking forward to the top 20.

Me too!

[Y0DA55]

#22 – “Diary Of A Can't Miss Prospect”

Started by: Dale and Eli’s Dad

So let me start by saying that I never really started reading this one until about a week ago. As I mentioned last year, there are certain dynasties that I just get excited that I have to read them, and this was one of them. I also am not fully through this one yet (there is a wee bit of reading involved), but if I wait to summarize this one, we’ll be here all year waiting for me to finish this thing (and I don’t want to have to keep staring out the window at gorgeous days for very much longer).

Dale Ellison is an 18 year old rookie in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, and this thread follows his progress in diary format. It’s in the first person, much like “Short Hop” or “Bubba Jones.”

Originally Posted by GForce

Really nicely done DAED...you've got an excellent format going on here and you're playing it out very well. It's funny, the young leader is a bit unbelievable, and had you picked the wrong franchise I don't know it would have flown (regardless of real/fake players)...but doing it with the Tigers just seems like it could actually happen.

Not to be nitpicky, but some of the events in this dynasty are a bit unbelieveable (I won’t mention them as you’ll just have to read it to find out for yourself , but an example would be the young leader storyline that GForce mentioned) which hurts the realness a bit. As an 18 year old, it’s kind of hard to imagine someone making the impact that this kid is.

However, besides that…

Originally Posted by messenjah

I'll be honest, at first I wasn't quite getting into the story, but since page two, I've been riveted. Great work DAED.

DAED does a very good job at telling this story, and I plan on finishing reading the thread later today (I am at the midpoint of Dale’s first season). Another tidbit that is mentioned somewhere is that Dale Ellison is a combination of DAED’s sons names, which is a really nice touch.

It may take a little while to get into (it did for me), but now I just have to finish the story and begin waiting for the next chapter. I’m looking forward to it.

Worth a Look Score: ½
(I just feel like scoring tough today. It’s so close to a 5’er for me though).

[ifspuds]

Yeah, Ellison's a little too good, both as a player and as a human being, but sometimes, it's kinda nice to read a story where the good guys are really good.

I've been a fan of DoaCMP from the very beginning. It's earnestly and lovingly written, and DAED's enjoyment in writing is so plainly evident that you can't help but go along. I also really like how he spaces his posts. He gets through stretches of time without bogging down in the day-to-day, and hits the points of the story *he* wants to tell. That's what makes DoaCMP most effective in my mind.

[Autism Speaks]

Did you finish it yet, Y0DA?

Ellison IS too good as a player and it's for a reason that I hope people will keep reading long enough to understand.

And I hope readers will stay with the twists and turns that are planned for Dale. (I have about five seasons of the off-field drama outlined...we'll see how the game results twist where that goes!)

Let's just say as I wrote the outline I was surprised with where the story seemed to be driving itself. And I saw Dale making decisions that I didn't like him making but couldn't stop him.

I'll let you decide what that means.