- Scoring for the MLB Pick One is TOTAL BASES for a given player on a given day. There is no rookie bonus for the MLB Pick One Challenge.
- The game runs through Opening Day through the last game of the World Series and each player can only be selected once for the entirety of the Challenge.
- There will be a spreadsheet where you can see who everybody has taken from each club, a day-by-day scoresheet with the most up-to-date scores, individual scoresheets so you can see every player you personally have picked in one sheet, a record book to see the best (and worst) of different individual categories throughout the year, and possibly more. These will be all shared with all participants through Google Docs.
- The entry fee is $10 payable within the first week of the MLB season please. Top score gets all unless we surpass ten participants in which at that point second place will get their money back.
Now for the new rules for the MLB Pick One, some brand new and some utilizing changes made for the games that have come in between the two seasons.
- The BREAK GLASS LIST is a mechanism that nobody has used across any of these games to date, but I'm still keeping it in just in case this is the time. You can send me a list of players, however long or short you desire, that in case of emergency, or just plain forgetfulness, will be your pick for the day. We all have lives and flake out on something as minute as the Pick One and having that safety net could be incredibly beneficial.
- LAST MAN IN makes its MLB Pick One debut for 2022. For the MLB Challenge, if you haven't made a pick by the last game of the evening you will have the opportunity to get the final batter (non-pitcher) of the final game of the night. If you have already taken them, you will get the second-to-last batter. If and only if you have taken both of those hitters, that is the time where you will take a zero if your Break Glass List is empty.
- With the relative success of the Triple Double Down in the NBA Pick One, I thought it would be a bit spicy to insert a once-a-month rubber banding mechanism to the MLB one as well. Enter the HOME RUN HERO. Once a month you can use this tool while making a selection and every home run the player you pick that day hits counts double! A two home run day, something that happened with regularity in the 2021 Challenge, would get you a score higher than last season's top score and then some.
- FINANCIAL RELEGATION makes its way to the MLB Pick One Challenge for this season. We all know the MLB season is a bit of a slog with a 162 game schedule. But to keep these interesting at both ends of the table, the person who finishes in last place will have to PAY TWICE. Since we don't have a second division in the Pick One Challenge, I feel this is a good way to keep everyone interested throughout and force the strategy of picks to remain even if the top spot may be out of reach.
As always, get your picks into me via text, social media DM, phone call, or Hogwarts owl. I am not going to make a submission form for this game unless people really want it as all use of the NFL one died by mid-season and the NBA one didn't make it past Opening Night.
18 players were selected while on two different teams this season. Billy McKinney nearly was the lone three club man this season, but had his one selection while in Milwaukee changed at the final hour when he was left out of the starting lineup on May 5th against the team that oddly enough he'd end the season with, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs, Indians, and Marlins tied for most on the "first team" side with three selections apiece while the World Series champion Braves led the way on the "second team" side with four picks.
Joey Gallo- Rangers, Yankees / Marwin Gonzalez- Red Sox, Astros / Josh Harrison- Nationals, Athletics
Cesar Hernandez- Indians, White Sox / Jordan Luplow- Indians, Rays / Starling Marte- Marlins, Athletics
Billy McKinney- Mets, Dodgers / Joc Pederson- Cubs, Braves / Albert Pujols- Angels, Dodgers
Anthony Rizzo- Cubs, Yankees / Eddie Rosario- Indians, Braves / Kyle Schwarber- Nationals, Red Sox
Travis Shaw- Brewers, Red Sox / Jorge Soler- Royals, Braves / Abraham Toro- Astros, Mariners
TOP SINGLE DAY SCORER- Rafael Ortega, Chicago Cubs Rafael Ortega had only hit three home runs all season before he led off for the Cubs on August 1st against Erick Fedde and the Washington Nationals. The journeyman outfielder would match that total on the day and add a single for good measure to earn 13 points. Only three other players hit double digits all season: Trey Mancini (11- 5/19), Jose Siri (10- 9/13), and Kike Hernandez (11- 10/15). |
REGULAR SEASON MVP- Brendan Rodgers, Colorado Rockies He was such a big part of the 2021 MLB Pick One Challenge he had to be added to the 2022 header graphic. Brendan Rodgers was selected five times in the Challenge and for each of those five times he earned his selector the day's top score. Shohei Ohtani and Nick Castellanos were able to accomplish that feat four times during the regular season while playoff performances allowed Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor to reach the 4X plateau themselves. |
POSTSEASON MVP- Chris Taylor, Los Angeles Dodgers As mentioned above, CT3 earned four top scores over the course of the 2021 MLB season. Three of those came in the playoffs which despite his Dodgers falling short of the World Series was enough to earn him postseason MVP honors for the Pick One Challenge. Yordan Alvarez, Mookie Betts, and Carlos Correa all had two top score performances in the 2021 postseason. |
| TEAM(S) OF THE YEAR- Los Angeles Dodgers & Houston Astros After the regular season came to a close, the Blue Jays, Rockies, and Angels all were tied on 13 top scores for their clubs. Since none of those teams made the postseason, it allowed for both the Dodgers and the Astros to surpass them and finish tied with the joint-most top scores in their respective camps with 14. Despite both making the postseason, the White Sox and Rays tied for the least number of top scores with 4. |
All Player Images From Baseball Reference. Dodgers, Astros logos from Sportslogos.net.