Commissioner's Top 12 Pre-Tournament Ranking (2024)

Well last year I called it my final pre-tournament ranking, but here I am back for another installment for the fifth straight year. I have kept the number of participants mentioned here at 40. I believe we have at least 35 participants in this year's tournament who were not in the tournament last year, so they should know which players they do not want in their leagues! This isn't necessarily a list of the best mystery set players, but these are the folks who have proven to be highly competitive in this tournament year after year. In addition to the top 12, I also have a list of 16 honourable mentions who I expect to be strong contenders for the top 24 as well. I have also highlighted 6 participants who struggled in last year's tournament who I think will be stronger this year and could potentially be contenders, as well as 6 participants who did not participate in last year's tournament who might have some unexpected success this year. Let's get to the list!

Commissioner's Top 12 Ranking:
12. davehaller - A strong tournament last year in which he made it all the way to the championship round has davehaller in the top 12 this year. He's not a one-hit wonder, having finished in the top 60 of the tournament every time he's participated in the past 10 years, including top 20 finishes in 2015 and 2016. He has a winning percentage of .526 or higher in all 5 of the mystery sets, including a .582 mark in the 2000's set where he has never missed the playoffs in any of his leagues.(Last year rank: none)

11. Jimmy_C - He finished last year in a surprisingly low 80th place, making it two straight years out of the top 24. He keeps a spot on this list though because before disappointing showings in the last two years, he had finished in the top 15 in 7 of the previous 8 years, including 5 straight trips to the top 12 championship round from 2017-2021. (Last year rank: 7)

10. colormeimpressed - Consider me impressed with colormeimpressed as he made it to the championship round last year after finishing 6th through 6 rounds. He has a winning percentage of .521 or higher in all mystery sets and he has made the playoffs in 64% of his 70's and 80's teams. (Last year rank: none)

9. daveaq31 - He finished out of the semi-finals last year after having finished in the top 24 six straight years, reaching the top 15 in 4 of those tournaments. He is particularly strong in the 60's and 70's set, but has yet to figure out the 2000's set which has contributed to his tournament struggles the past couple of years. (Last year rank: 6)

8. pushpin76 - Another person dropping in the list this year after missing out on the semi-finals last year, finishing outside the top 25 for just the second time in the previous 8 tournaments. A two-time tournament champion, pushpin76 is particularly strong in the 90's and 2000's sets. (Last year rank: 5)

7. ed1447 - After making the championship round in 2022, ed1447 just missed out on a return trip to the finals last year when he finished 12th and lost on a tie-breaker. He has a winning percentage of .538 or higher in all of the mystery sets, and owns a .555 lifetime winning percentage across all sets. (Last year rank: none)

6. Lee300 - Lee300 moves up on the list to the number 6 position, where he was on the 2022 list, after making the playoffs in the championship round of last year's tournament. He also made the playoffs of the championship round in 2021, and was the tournament champion back in 2016. Look out for Lee300 in the 80's where he has a .545 winning percentage. (Last year rank: 11)

5. jaywalker72 - For the second straight year, jaywalker72 finished in 3rd place in the tournament and made it to the championship round. Accomplishing that two years in a row deserves a spot near the top of this list. He continues to be extremely consistent across all mystery sets, but he has figured out the 2000's set faster than anyone, owning a .580 winning percentage and a 87% playoffs made percentage. (Last year rank: 8)

4. hallerose - Last year hallerose failed to make the championship round of the tournament, finishing in 14th place through 6 rounds. That marked the first time EVER that he failed to make the tournament championship round, although he has never won it. He owns the best lifetime winning percentage of all players with more than 125 seasons played across all sets of 365 with a .566 winning percentage. Across the 70's, 80's and 90's sets his winning percentage is above .570, and he's made the playoffs an incredible 75% of the time with those sets. (Last year rank: 2)

3. sphilipp8 - He has made it all the way to the top 12 championship round in 7 of the past 10 years. He has an incredible tournament last year, finishing in 1st place though 6 rounds before losing in Game 7 of the tournament championship final to gritch. It was gritch who eliminated sphilipp8 in the playoffs of the championship round in 2022 as well, so we'll see if they meet at the end for the 3rd year in a row.(Last year rank: 4)

2. gritch - After losing the deciding Game 7 of the tournament championship in 2022, gritch made it back to the same spot in 2023, but this time he got the win to capture his first (but probably not last) tournament championship. He quite simply has dominated the Mystery sets in his short time playing them, having made the playoffs in 70% of his Mystery seasons, owning a winning percentage of .543 or higher in 4 of the 5 sets. (Last year rank: 3)

1. franky35 - The emergence of gritch has been a great challenge to franky35 the past few years, but the GOAT did win 3 of the previous 4 championships before last season. Last year marked the 10th straight time that franky35 has made the top 20 in the tournament, with 5 straight yeats in the top 3. He has made the playoffs in over 70% of his Mystery card seasons. He is still the man to beat in this tournament. (Last year rank: 1)

16 Honourable mentions who are likely strong contenders for the top 24 (in no particular order):
barrmorris - He made it to the championship finals league last year, finishing 9th though 6 rounds.

canauscot - He finished in the top 20 in each of the past 2 years.

chris_s - He finished in the top 20 in 2017, 2020 and 2022.

djkalle - He finished 8th last year to advance to the championship round, making it 8 out of 10 years he's finished in the top 40.

fakesportsfan - He finished 12th last year to advance to the championship round. He also finished in the top 40 in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

jmdziuban2 - He has finished in the top 24 in 4 of the past 6 tournaments.

jsanders3rd - He has finished in the top 20 in the past two tournaments. He has made the playoffs in 80% of his 2000's leagues.

Juiced JC - This guy has finished in the top 35 in 6 of the last 7 tournaments, reaching the semi-final round in 2023 and the championship round in 2018.

maestro1 - A player to watch despite limited mystery set experience, having made the playoffs in more than half of his leagues.

Match - He reached the semi-final round last year and has an incredible track record in the 70's and 80's sets in particular.

Rigged Splits - He has placed in the top 40 six years in a row, having reached the championship round in 2020 and 2021.

RJnewman - He just missed advancing to the semi-final round last year. He reached the championship round four times between 2015 and 2019, and missed the top 12 on a tie-breaker in 2020.

SteadyEddie33 - He made it all the way to the championship round last year, and also finsihed in the top 30 in 2012, 2013 and 2019.

stratorat - He advanced to the semi-final round in 2021 and 2023, and reached the championship round in 2021.

Takanahana - He reached the championship round in 2019 and 2022.

waynick - He made it to the semi-final round the past 2 years, and reached the championship round in 2016 and 2019.

6 sleepers who will place significantly higher in the tournament than last year (in no particular order):
RICHARDGAGNON (51st last year), Moodywoody (60th last year), guardman9 (62nd last year), Ciachefpete (70th last year), piloneus382 (104th last year), brifas (133rd last year)

6 Particpants who weren't in the tournament last year to look out for (in no particular order):
1959elroy, hendrix08, jddoug, papavj, taxchiefs, ths92110


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Disagree with the list? Feel like someone was "snubbed"? Leave a comment and let me know!

Juiced JC

Wow! Always an annual treat - not easy to work up, so thanks, JC, for the effort again this year!

Any one of the honourable mentions, including the well-deserved mention of the author himself, could be a finalist.

Incredible roster of players - thankful to be in the mix!

Good luck to everyone!

Thanks for the rankings. It is a real treat to read your analysis of the top competitors. I find it helpful to know the players I can look at to increase my knowledge of the game, including the great Juiced JC who I competing against in the 60s league. I am afraid he is already teaching me something based on the way he is scooping up my drops. I feel I might be the minnow among sharks.

Oh, bythe way, I was in the tournament last year.

Thanks JC for your rankings. It helps the community feel engaged, and see how accurate our predictions are going to be. It is great to see all these new talented players joining the community, and all have a debt of gratitude to you for making it all happen.

Good luck this season.

Oh, bythe way, I was in the tournament last year.

Sorry about that BINGOMANIAC, for some reason I had you on the list of people who weren't in it last year. Anyway, I've edited the list and added a replacement for you to that part of the ranking.

Another reason why this is the best run tournament on the Strat site. Thanks as always for your efforts.

As for the analysis, I'm not sure I'm top 12 worthy anymore - the competition keeps getting tougher every year! Other than that, it seems spot on, although I wouldn't be shocked if Moodywoody has a comeback year and wins his 4th. He's due.

A big factor this year is going to be Barry Bonds. The finals decade is the 2000s and Bonds is likely to be the #1 pick although Pedro is a possibility. Bonds on a good year is a big plus, especially in the 2000s where there are a lot of cheap players to fill out the roster. I continue to believe that the 2000s set plays better in a 24 team format because there are so many players (except decent starting pitching). Anyway, the value of the #1 pick in the finals might make sphilipp the favorite because he had the #1 pick last year, although since he picked Pedro in the 90s he could take him again in the 00s. But gritch is a great player on a roll. As for me, I haven't been playing well for over a year - I feel like I've lost it or maybe everybody else has gotten better. I'd rank gritch #1, sphilipp #2 which is the same as last year's finish.
As for 3X champ Moodywoody, the problem isn't the finals but the regular season where he hasn't won enough to make the finals lately. Also, I'm not sure how much experience he has in the 00s and whether his masterful strategy in the 80s carries over into the 00s. Nobody wins as routinely as hallerose in the 70s-90s, but I'm not sure his slugger strategy can carry into the 90s without Bonds. So, if he gets Bonds, I think hallerose will finally win it all, and he might just do that.
I'm predicting JuicedJC to make the finals this year. He was close last year but maybe the exhaustion of being he commissioner caught up with him in the semi-finals. Juiced put together another fantastic preseason ranking - two oversights I think are Delbird and Rube who usually are near the final 12.

All your work is much appreciated Juiced JC (and now jaywalker too). What a well-run tournament and a fun list above to read over. Good luck to everyone.

A big factor this year is going to be Barry Bonds. The finals decade is the 2000s and Bonds is likely to be the #1 pick although Pedro is a possibility. Bonds on a good year is a big plus, especially in the 2000s where there are a lot of cheap players to fill out the roster. I continue to believe that the 2000s set plays better in a 24 team format because there are so many players (except decent starting pitching). Anyway, the value of the #1 pick in the finals might make sphilipp the favorite because he had the #1 pick last year, although since he picked Pedro in the 90s he could take him again in the 00s. But gritch is a great player on a roll. As for me, I haven't been playing well for over a year - I feel like I've lost it or maybe everybody else has gotten better. I'd rank gritch #1, sphilipp #2 which is the same as last year's finish.
As for 3X champ Moodywoody, the problem isn't the finals but the regular season where he hasn't won enough to make the finals lately. Also, I'm not sure how much experience he has in the 00s and whether his masterful strategy in the 80s carries over into the 00s. Nobody wins as routinely as hallerose in the 70s-90s, but I'm not sure his slugger strategy can carry into the 90s without Bonds. So, if he gets Bonds, I think hallerose will finally win it all, and he might just do that.
I'm predicting JuicedJC to make the finals this year. He was close last year but maybe the exhaustion of being he commissioner caught up with him in the semi-finals. Juiced put together another fantastic preseason ranking - two oversights I think are Delbird and Rube who usually are near the final 12.

My thoughts on this post:

1. Always great to hear from the GOAT.
2. Franky had all-time bad luck in the finals draft, dug out of a huge hole and amazingly finished .500 by blitzing his division to finish the season. FAR from “lost it”.
3. Agree, gritch’s very detailed play is going to be hard to beat. Very strong 1A to Franky’s 1 - if he wins again this year, then I agree he wears the crown.
4. Bonds is great, and I’ve seen gritch put up an all-time season with him, but I’ve put the win % up that Juiced highlighted without Bonds a definitely more than one way to win that set.
5.As I posted above, almost all 40 players mentioned could be finalists if things fall the right way and I am looking forward to seeing who else steps up during the tourney!
6. Can attest, the way Juiced runs this tourney is top notch, and can confirm there is a lot of detail that goes into it being that way. Pulling for him, except in the 60s
7. I look forward to this every year! Join your league early, join often, and set ready for draft!

Let’s go!

I was surprised to see that Juiced still kept me on his top 12 list this year after I went down in flames last year. I was very good at picking bad pitcher cards last year, so hopefully that's out of the way.

But it really is a testament to the fact that there are managers who are really improving in the game and playing very well. Also, throw in the mystery card factor and it always flattens out the curve between experienced managers and newer players.

This is a great tournament and it is very professionally run. Although there are some managers that might have the odds on them to win, due to the randomness of the cards anyone can win (and anyone can go down in flames). Thank you to Juiced for setting it up again and Jaywalker for committing to learning and taking over from Juiced.

And now the 2 greatest words in baseball...PLAY BALL