MLB 2k8 Historic Teams of the Past 20 Years

[el_jefe061]

With my excess amounts of free time and the cold weather outside, I'm doing an MLB 2k7 Roster with teams from specific years, going all the way back to 1987. For many teams, I'm unsure of what year to use. Here are the tams so far. I'm using two sets due to multiple years for some teams, one set with the 90's/80's version, and the other with the 2000's. (Completed in Bold):

Set One:

Arizona Diamondbacks-2001

Atlanta Braves-1995

Baltimore Orioles-1999

Boston Red Sox-2004

Chicago Cubs-2003

Chicago White Sox- 2005

Cincinnati Reds-1999

Cleveland Indians-1997

Colorado Rockies-2007

Detroit Tigers-2006

Florida Marlins-2003

Kansas City Royals-1989

Houston Astros-2003

Los Angeles Angels-2002

Los Angeles Dodgers-1988

Milwaukee Brewers- 1992

Minnesota Twins-1991

New York Mets-2000h

New York Yankees-2000

Oakland A's-2001

Philadelphia Phillies-1993

Pittsburgh Pirates-1992

San Diego Padres-1998

San Francisco Giants-2002

Seattle Mariners-1997

St. Louis Cardinals-2004

Tampa Bay Devil Rays-1998

Texas Rangers-1992

Toronto Blue Jays-1993

Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)-1994

Set Two (Different Teams Italicized):

Arizona Diamondbacks-2001

Atlanta Braves-1995

Baltimore Orioles-1996

Boston Red Sox-1998 or 1999

Chicago Cubs-2003

Chicago White Sox-2000

Cincinnati Reds-1999

Cleveland Indians-1995

Colorado Rockies-1995

Detroit Tigers-2006

Florida Marlins-1997

Kansas City Royals-1989

Houston Astros-2003

Los Angeles Angels-2002

Los Angeles Dodgers-2004

Milwaukee Brewers- 1992

Minnesota Twins-1991

New York Mets-2000

New York Yankees-1998

Oakland A's-1990

Philadelphia Phillies-1993

Pittsburgh Pirates-1992

San Diego Padres-1998

San Francisco Giants-1993

Seattle Mariners-2001

St. Louis Cardinals-2001

Tampa Bay Devil Rays-1998

Texas Rangers-1992

Toronto Blue Jays-1993

Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)-1994

Total Number of Unique Teams: 43 Total Number of Complete Teams:15

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Any input would be greatly appreciated, whether you're one of the few who play 2k7 or not. If you're interested in obtaining the roster or helping me, feel free to PM me.

In time, I'll also need input on ratings of the teams so there's rankings of the teams from top to bottom. I have an idea that the '98 Yankees will be #1, and the '98 Devil Rays will be #30, but no idea in-between. Here is a template for the team rankings (Set 1/Set 2):

Team Rankings

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Edit: If I get time, I'll probably throw in some teams from earlier years or all time teams, since 2k8 has more signature styles from players like Bob Gibson, Lou Gehrig, etc.

[tebjr]

1995 Braves.

[sedihawk]

Great idea. But I wouldn't go 1998 Seattle. 1997 Seattle is a better choice (one of the highest single-season in HR's for one team in the AL). Or you could go with the 2001 Mariners, with their 116 wins.

[HFLR]

1998 Yankees

[Darkslide820]

Please go with the 1998 Yankees over the 2000 Yanks. 114 wins and one of the best pitching staffs ever.

I'd say 1996 O's. When I watched the Jeffrey Maier game on Yankees Classics this year, I took one look at their infield and I was like, "Damn!"

You should probably go with the 2005 White Sox because of the historical significance and because it was a very solid overall team. Great postseason pitching, too, even though that wouldn't translate into the game.

The 2004 Red Sox are probably the third or fourth most historically significant team ever, but I think the 2007 team would beat them pretty easily.

I think the 2004 Devil Rays were the franchise's best, with their most wins, best winning streak, and highest finish.

[MrDudleyDoWright]

Yankees should be 1996. This idea is super el_jefe

[MrDudleyDoWright]

LA Dodgers should be 1988

[el_jefe061]

1995 Braves.

For some reason I was thinking the 96 team won the World Series. My mistake, it should be the World Series team.

Great idea. But I wouldn't go 1998 Seattle. 1997 Seattle is a better choice (one of the highest single-season in HR's for one team in the AL). Or you could go with the 2001 Mariners, with their 116 wins.

I can't remember my reasoning for going '98, but comparing the two teams, '97 makes a lot more sense. I didn't want to go 2001 because they don't have Jr. or Randy.

Please go with the 1998 Yankees over the 2000 Yanks. 114 wins and one of the best pitching staffs ever.

The '98 Yanks are one of the best teams ever, but what sparked this little project was when I was reading something about the 2000 World Series. Not to mention Roger Clemens, and that they're the last of the World Series winners. It probably wouldn't take much to add the '98 Yanks, so they'll be in addition to 2000.

I'd say 1996 O's. When I watched the Jeffrey Maier game on Yankees Classics this year, I took one look at their infield and I was like, "Damn!"

I like the O's as the better team than '98, easily, but '98 has Albert Belle. It may be just one player, but you can't deny how much better playing with crazy Albert Belle in next gen is. I may do both teams anyway, although I don't want to.

You should probably go with the 2005 White Sox because of the historical significance and because it was a very solid overall team. Great postseason pitching, too, even though that wouldn't translate into the game.

I'm going with both, but one reason I like the 2000 Sox is the fact that I can play with Valentin, Ordonez, Lee, and a healthy Frank Thomas.

The 2004 Red Sox are probably the third or fourth most historically significant team ever, but I think the 2007 team would beat them pretty easily.

Significance is more important, to me. Plus, it is great to play with a team that doesn't have J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo, but Millar, Nixon, the Hebrew Hammer Gabe Kapler, and Pedro.

I think the 2004 Devil Rays were the franchise's best, with their most wins, best winning streak, and highest finish.

The '98 Rays were far worse than the 2004 Rays, but they were both mediocre. I'd personally rather go with the inaugural mediocre Devil Rays team with Wade Boggs and the Crime Dog.

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I still need to decide between the '98 Red Sox and the '99 Red Sox. The '99 Red Sox made it to the ALCS, but the '98 Sox had Mo Vaughn. It's essentially success vs. Mo Vaughn.

The '98 Team had Vaughn and the last year of Eck, but the '99 Team had Daubach, Offerman, Valentin, Nomar, O'Leary, Saberhagen, Martinez, and Wakefield as a closer. I'm leaning towards the '99 team slightly, just because it seems to be better top to bottom. It's close though.

I still need a Dodgers team, and although the '88 team is the logical choice, I don't want to go back that far. '04, '02, '00, '96, and '88 are all candidates. I would probably pair a 90's/00's team with the '88 team. So the question is, which of the later teams should go with '88.

I'm leaning towards the '01 Cardinals because of Pujols. I'd plug in Ankiel in the rotation anyway, meltdown and all.

All that leaves is which Milwaukee Brewers team. I'm thinking the '92 Brewers, winners of 92 games with Paul Molitor, Cal Eldred, Surhoff, and an older Robin Yount.

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One thing that cannot be overstated is playing with former players and teams. Robb Nen and his slider, beating the Yanks with the '03 Marlins, pinch running Dave Roberts, and Griffey/A-Rod/Johnson in Seattle. It's reliving the moments in next-gen.

The only problem so far has been faces. Some players are duplicated (Schilling in Arizona and Boston, Johnson in Seattle and Arizona, Justice in Cleveland, New York, and Atlanta, etc.), so I find the generic face which matches the real face the best. Obviously they're not going to look the same close up, but from in game (mound to box, broadcast view) perspectives, I've been pleasantly surprised with the results. The only thing that hasn't turned out is mustaches, so Raffy Palmeiro and Wade Boggs look nothing like the real versions.

I'll also say it once again, if anyone is willing or able to help me, I'm all for it. The ratings and certain teams I never followed are probably not as close as they could be. If you have a 360 Transfer kit and 2k7, your help would be greatly appreciated.

[pujols]

00 Cardinals.

[el_jefe061]

All of the teams are now selected and finalized, unless I'm convinced otherwise. I've added the 2001 Seattle Mariners because they were too good of a team to leave out. I also selected the 1999 Reds instead of the 1995 Reds, because they were a much better team in 1999 despite not making the playoffs. The '95 Indians have been added as well.

I left out the 1988 Athletics, because, besides Jose Canseco, McGwire, and Eck, there weren't too many players I'm interested in playing with. I may consider putting in the 1990 A's, but that would be at the very end.

I'm also still having trouble deciding between the 1998 and 1999 Red Sox, although it looks a lot like I'll just have both; a third set just for the 1998 Red Sox.

[GEOLINK]

I would go with the 1998 Yankees, ma man.

[Yankee4Life]

Why only going back as far as 1987?

[Darkslide820]

I agree. He should include all the way back to 1887!

[el_jefe061]

Why only going back as far as 1987?

It just feels like a good benchmark. If I had unlimited amounts of time and motivation, I'd probably pick the best or favorite team from every franchise. However, too many of those teams would be completely comprised of generic players, so I'd have to create every player on the team manually. That would just take too much time. It's a pain on a console.

It's also good to play with players who I remember from years ago or teams that essentially disbanded. Having Nomar on the Sox, non-roided Barry Bonds, A-Rod/Randy/Griffey, and guys like Ankiel who I remember well were really the focus. As much as I'd like to hit with Ted Williams or to fulfill Pedro's Babe Ruth wish, it's just not something I have a personal connection with.

However, if I ever get around to it, I probably would do a historic roster. When you're manually creating a '27 Yankees Squad, you get tired and complacent creating guys who weren't Gehrig or Ruth. With the historic roster, you get the best players at every position. I did create a Red Sox All Time team, and having a 3/4/5 of Williams/Vaughn/Ortiz with Fred Lynn leading off is awesome.

From my experience, this is the best way to play 2k7. You can get through a franchise, but even with a downloaded roster (With a named "farm system") the Franchise mode just doesn't feel right with all 3 levels, not to mention the computer makes the worst trades ever. This glaring hole is the major problem with the game. There are no real huge gameplay problems, fielding animations can be a problem as can ball physics, but they don't ruin the game. The good thing is both of these issues are going to (Brinkman has stated he's fixing both of these) fixed for 2008.

If anyone who hasn't already started playing 2k7, I would recommend trying something like this to start. Historic teams are a ton of fun, it feels more like fun than work than with some franchises. This is as close as I'll ever get to seeing Nomar back in a Sox jersey, so I like it a lot.

I think this would be a great idea for anyone who would be willing to do it for MVP, and I'm sure it would be a lot easier to do with MVP Edit than with a controller on the manual roster editor. Anyone who's good with classic teams should give it a shot.

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I'm about halfway done with Set One, a third done with the entire thing. One thing I've noticed is how prevalent steroid users or players named in the Mitchell Report are on here. The '92 Rangers, '01 A's, '00 Yankees, and '02 Giants all had a ton of users. There's probably superstars on half of those teams as well.

[MrDudleyDoWright]

[pujols]

Do a 1999 roster set.

[el_jefe061]

This project is going to be revived for 2k8(360) when it comes out, and with anyone's help it would go very fast. Please PM me if you're interested in helping with this. I also would need help transferring the MVP ratings and minor league players to 2k8.

[el_jefe061]

Since I finally accepted MLB 2k8 as a game I'm going to play, despite the fact that it's not very good (at least in my opinion), I'm going to try and do this for 2k8. Woot.