Kerry Wood and Mark Prior career rewinds: 2005 Recap

So before we get into 2005, there's something I need to bring up about MVP Baseball 2004, a game that is turning out to be a problem child. I've noticed a discrepancy in the stats, for example, at the end of the the 2005 season MVP Baseball 2004 has Mark Prior at 831.0 IP. But if we look at the actual numbers it doesn't add up. He had 328.0 IP in his two season previous to 2004. In 2004 he had 217.2 IP and in 2005 he had 228.1 IP. All of which adds up to 774.0 IP, which leaves of 57.0 IP short of he reported total. The stat tracking system is pretty limited and doesn't allow you to view it in a season to season breakdown. My only guess is that it's adding in post-season stats to the seasons we are simming, but doesn't include and post-season stats from 2003. (Prior has 59 total wins but MVP is saying 62, and he's recorded 3 post-season wins in the two seasons simmed.)

I'm honestly not going to go through the process of trying to parse out these numbers as it's already a bit of a pain stat tracking with MVP Baseball to begin with, so forgive me.

All that said, before we get into the 2005 season lets take a look at the roster changes the Cubs went through for both MVP Baseball 2004 and Out of the Park Baseball 2026,

(*) Denotes randomly generated players.

MVP Baseball 2004

2005 Starters:

C: Michael Barrett

1B: Derrek Lee

2B: Todd Walker

SS: Nomar Garciaparra 3B: Aramis Ramirez

LF: Todd Hollandsworth

CF: Corey Patterson

RF: Sammy Sosa

2005 Bench:

LF: Ruben Mateo

SS: Ivan Franco (*) C: Henry Blanco CF: Shane Victorino

SS: Mendy Lopez

2005 Starting Rotation:

RHP Mark Prior

RHP Kerry Wood RHP Carlos Zambrano LHP Ted Lilly RHP Ryan Dempster

2005 Bullpen:

LHP Cliff Lee

RHP Kyle Farnsworth LHP Rhéal Cormier LHP Bruce Chen LHP Dan Serafini RHP Joe Borowski

RHP LaTroy Hawkins

OOTP26

2005 Starters:

C: Michael Barrett

1B: Derrek Lee

2B: Todd Walker

SS: Nomar Garciaparra

3B: Aramis Ramirez

LF: Todd Hollandsworth

CF: Corey Patterson

RF: Sammy Sosa

2005 Bench:

RF: Jason Dubois

SS: Brendan Harris

C: Henry Blanco

CF: David Kelton

2005 Starting Rotation:

RHP Mark Prior

RHP Kerry Wood

RHP Carlos Zambrano

RHP Greg Maddux

RHP Matt Clement

2005 Bullpen:

LHP Glendon Rusch

RHP Michael Wuertz

RHP Sergio Mitre

RHP Todd Wellemeyer

RHP Jon Leicester

LHP Kent Mercker

RHP Kyle Farnsworth

RHP LaTroy Hawkins

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A Quick Overlook: 2005

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MVP Baseball 2004

2005 Season

April:

Team Record: 19-6, 1st +2.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 5 G, 31.2 IP, 2-1, 2.89 ERA, 27 K, 7 BB, 1.21 WHIP

Mark Prior: 6 G, 36.1 IP, 4-2, 1.87 ERA, 36 K, 6 BB, 0.99 WHIP

Other Notables:

RF Sammy Sosa 25 G, .386/.446/.752, 11 HR, 25 RBI, 1.198 OPS

CF Todd Hollandsworth 25 G, .382/.433/.697, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 1.130 OPS

May:

Team Record: 39-14, 1st +4.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 11 G, 69.2 IP, 5-2, 2.66 ERA, 66 K, 25 BB, 1.32 WHIP

Mark Prior: 11 G, 69.1 IP, 7-2, 2.59 ERA, 71 K, 17 BB, 1.17 WHIP

Other Notables:

RF Sammy Sosa 600th career HR.

SP Ted Lilly 11 G, 62.1 IP, 5-1, 3.34 ERA, 61 K, 18 BB, 1.17 WHIP

June:

Team Record: 57-21, 1st +4.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 16 G, 101.0 IP, 7-2, 3.23 ERA, 95 K, 42 BB, 1.38 WHIP

Mark Prior: 16 G, 105.1 IP, 9-2, 2.93 ERA, 98 K, 28 BB, 1.23 WHIP

Other Notables:

SP Carlos Zambrano 15 G, 98.2 IP, 2.94 ERA, 7-3, 79 K, 41 BB, 1.52 WHIP

1B Derrek Lee 78 G, .321/.443/.586, 16 HR, 49 RBI, 1.029 OPS

July:

Team Record: 74-30, 1st +7.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 22 G, 139.0 IP, 9-3, 3.89 ERA, 123 K, 69 BB, 1.47 WHIP

Mark Prior: 22 G 144.2 IP, 13-3, 2.74 ERA, 137 K, 37 BB, 1.18 WHIP

Other Notables:

All-Stars: SP Kerry Wood, SP Mark Prior, SS Nomar Garciaparra, RF Sammy Sosa, 1B Derrek Lee, 3B Aramis Ramirez, C Michael Barrett, CL LaTroy Hawkins

August:

Team Record: 90-42, 1st +6.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 27 G, 170.1 IP, 12-3, 3.53 ERA, 145 K, 80 BB, 1.42 WHIP

Mark Prior: 27 G 177.2 IP, 16-3, 2.85 ERA, 169 K, 53 BB, 1.19 WHIP

Other Notables:

SP Cliff Lee 16 G (12 GS) 81.2 IP, 8-0, 2.52 ERA, 69 K, 24 BB, 1.11 WHIP

LF Todd Hollandsworth 100th career HR.

September/October:

Team Record: 114-48, 1st +14.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 33 G, 208.0 IP, 17-3, 3.33 ERA, 185 K, 92 BB, 1.40 WHIP

Mark Prior: 33 G, 217.2 IP, 19-4, 2.65 ERA, 199 K, 68 BB, 1.20 WHIP

Other Notables:

SP Carlos Zambrano 28 G, 175.2 IP, 14-7, 3.25 ERA 157 K, 80 BB, 1.45 WHIP

Postseason:

Team Record: 9-4, World Series Loss

Kerry Wood: 4 G, 27.2 IP, 2-1, 2.28 ERA, 31 K, 16 BB, 1.37 WHIP

Mark Prior: 5 G, 31.2 IP, 2-0, 2.84 ERA, 20 K, 10 BB, 1.42 WHIP

Other Notables:

2B Todd Walker, 13 G, .373/.475/.588, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1.068 OPS

SS Nomar Garciaparra 12 G, .385/.548/, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.150 OPS

Season:

Team Record: 114-48, 1st +14.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 33 G, 208.0 IP, 17-3, 3.33 ERA, 185 K, 92 BB, 1.40 WHIP

Mark Prior: 33 G, 217.2 IP, 19-4, 2.65 ERA, 199 K, 68 BB, 1.20 WHIP

Other Notables:

RF Sammy Sosa 162 G, .321/.409/.637, 51 HR, 127 RBI, 1.046 OPS

1B Derrek Lee 162 G, .325/.425/.585, 36 HR, 108 RBI, 1.008 OPS

Career Update:

Kerry Wood: 1x Rookie of the Year, 2x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger, 215 G, 1375.0 IP, 93-66, 3.58 ERA, 1500 K, 676 BB, 1.26 WHIP.

Mark Prior: 1x Cy Young, 3x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger, 124 G, 831.0 IP, 62-24, 2.97 ERA, 818 K, 258 BB, 1.20 WHIP

OOTP26

2005 Season

April:

Team Record: 17-7, 1st +1.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 5 G, 28.2 IP, 2-2, 3.77 ERA, 28 K, 15 BB, 1.67 WHIP

Mark Prior: 5 G, 33.0 IP, 2-1, 3.27 ERA, 32 K, 9 BB. 1.06 WHIP

Other Notables:

N/A

May:

Team Record: 36-15, 2nd -0.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 10 G, 65.2 IP, 6-2, 3.29 ERA, 64 K, 24 BB, 1.22 WHIP

Mark Prior: 11 G, 69.1 IP, 4-3, 4.02 ERA, 67 K, 19 BB, 1.28 WHIP

Other Notables:

5/6 SP Greg Maddux 300th career win in 6-2 vs. Phillies

5/22 SS Nomar Garciaparra 200th career HR in 3-1 W vs. White Sox

June:

Team Record: 49-29, 2nd -2.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 16 G, 101.2 IP, 8-3, 3.36 ERA, 111 K, 35 BB, 1.18 WHIP

Mark Prior: 16 G, 104.1 IP, 7-3, 3.19 ERA, 107 K, 26 BB, 1.15 WHIP

Other Notables:

6/20 RF Sammy Sosa 600th career HR in 4-3 win @ Brewers

July:

Team Record: 63-42 2nd -4.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 21 G, 135.1 IP, 10-5, 2.99 ERA, 157 K, 43 BB, 1.13 WHIP

Mark Prior: 21 G, 138.2 IP, 12-3 2.73 ERA, 144 K, 36 BB, 1.10 WHIP

Other Notables:

All-Stars: C Michael Barrett, 1B Derrek Lee, 2B Todd Walker, SS Nomar Garciaparra, RF Sammy Sosa (All-Star MVP)

August:

Team Record: 84-49, 1st +5.5 GB

Kerry Wood: 27 G, 179.0 IP, 15-5, 2.61 ERA, 193 K, 46 BB, 1.01 WHIP

Mark Prior: 27 G, 180.0 IP, 17-3, 2.65 ERA, 180 K, 44 BB, 1.05 WHIP

Other Notables:

1B Derrek Lee Batter of the Month

SP Kerry Wood Pitcher of the Month

8/26 LF Todd Hollandsworth 100th career HR.

September/October:

Team Record: 107-55 1st +11.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 32 G, 211.1 IP, 17-6, 2.85 ERA, 240 K, 58 BB, 1.07 WHIP

Mark Prior: 33 G, 224.2 IP, 22-3, 2.44 ERA, 226 K, 53 BB, 1.00 WHIP

Other Notables:

SP Greg Maddux 3,000th career Strikeout.

9/25 Cubs clinch NL Central

9/30 Derrek Lee hits 200th career HR.

RF Sammy Sosa leads MLB in HR (45)

Postseason:

Team Record: 11-3 World Series Win

Kerry Wood: 4 G, 27.1 IP, 3-0, 2.30 ERA, 30 K, 6 BB, 0.91 WHIP

Mark Prior: 4 G, 23.1 IP, 2-1, 1.93 ERA, 24 K, 8 BB, 1.16 WHIP

Other Notables:

3B Aramis Ramirez 14 G, .321/.350/.696, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 1.046 OPS

2B Todd Walker, 14 G, .333/.385/.633, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 1.018 OPS

LF Todd Hollandsworth 14 G, .404/.426/.673, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1.099 OPS

SP Greg Maddux 3 GS, 19.0 IP, 0-1, 2.84 ERA, 9 K , 1 BB, 0.95 WHIP

Season:

Team Record: 107-55 1st +11.0 GB

Kerry Wood: 32 G, 211.1 IP, 17-6, 2.85 ERA, 240 K, 58 BB, 1.07 WHIP

Mark Prior: 33 G, 224.2 IP, 22-3, 2.44 ERA, 226 K, 53 BB, 1.00 WHIP

Other Notables:

1B Derrek Lee 160 G, .315/.391/.594, 41 HR, 120 RBI, .984 OPS

RF Sammy Sosa 154 G, .273/.346/.559, 45 HR, 117 RBI, .906 OPS

3B Aramis Ramirez 152 G, .288/.330/.495, 27 HR, 95 RBI, .825 OPS

C Michael Barrett 139 G, .314/.388/.532, 17 HR, 79 RBI, .920 OPS, 1x Silver Slugger

Career Update:

Kerry Wood: 1x Rookie of the Year, 1x All-Star, 1x World Series Champion, 206 G, 1315.1 IP, 91-60, 3.54 ERA, 1525 K, 590 BB, 1.22 WHIP

Mark Prior: 1x Cy Young, 3x All-Star, 1x World Series Champion, 115 G, 764.0 IP, 61-25, 2.82 ERA, 873 K, 206 BB, 1.10 WHIP

2005 Summary

It was a very good season for both Cubs squads, as both teams would end up winning 100+ games, with the MVP squad winning 114, falling just 2 shy of tying the franchise and MLB record.

Sammy Sosa continues to mash in both simulations, Sosa finished with 51 homeruns and a 1.046 OPS in MVP, while he also hit 45 homeruns (leading the MLB) and had a .906 OPS in OOTP. Derrek Lee has begun to take over the mantle of offensive face of the franchise, he drove in over 100 runs in both simulations.

The MVP season saw the Cubs send 8 players to the All-Star game, including both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. 6 Cubs would also win Silver Slugger awards in MVP. OOTP saw the Cubs send 5 players to the All-Star game while C Michael Barrett was the lone Silver Slugger winner in OOTP.

The pitching duo combined for 36 wins to just 7 losses in MVP, and while Wood's WHIP was 1.40 (reminder MVP simulations tending to result in higher WHIP numbers) he posted his second lowest ERA of his career, second to his 2003 season. Mark Prior posted another sub 3 ERA season in MVP with a very healthy 1.20 WHIP, earning him a Cy Young for his efforts.

The duo would be even better in OOTP, which saw both post an ERA below 3 as the duo combined for 39 wins and over 450 strikeouts. Priors efforts won him a Cy Young, as both simulations saw him hauling in his first Cy Young award.

Both teams saw October baseball, with both teams making their way all the way to the Fall Classic. In OOTP the Cubs would meet the Cleveland Indians (perhaps a preview of 2016?) and the Cubs would prevail in 6 games capturing their first title since the 1908 World Series. Both starters were masterful in the post-season, both of them posted sub 2.50 ERA, with Prior posting a sub 2.00 ERA in 8 combined starts. Over in MVP the Cubs would steamroll the NL opposition to get to the World Series, not dropping a single game on their way. But the 2005 Yankees proved too much, as they would race out to 3-0 series lead. The Cubs would take the next 2 games but a decisive game 6 saw the Yankees put the Cubs back on the hunt for the illusive World Series ring. The duo of pitchers was relied on heavily, as they would pitch 9 of the 14 total playoff games, with each posting a sub 3.00 ERA.

With the end of the season, both squads won't see too much turnover as most of the lineups are under contract heading into 2006. In MVP Rheal Cormier retired, and in OOTP, I went ahead and nabbed Alfonso Soriano a year ahead of when he joined the Cubs in real life.

Both Wood and Prior continue to develop in both simulations, giving the Cubs perhaps the best 1-2 punch of starting pitchers in the league. Can the 2006 Cubs in MVP finally win a title? Can the 2006 OOTP Cubs repeat like the 1907-1908 Cubs of old? These answers and more in our next installment of the Kerry Wood and Mark Prior career rewinds!