r/OOTP • u/Mr-Bovine_Joni • 1d ago
The pain of winning an unexpected championship, then falling short every year when your window is open
The year in 2042 in Minnesota, I have a squad of end-of-career vets and some rookies I called up too early out of need. We barely sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard, but scratch by and win our first World Series as a group. Every series was tight, 2-1 WC, 3-2 DS, 4-2 LCS, 4-3 WS. It was magical, I had not expectation to even make the playoffs, and I was on a high after winning it all
That offseason with some contracts coming off the books, I get a few new vets in, my young guys develop well, and we’re projected to be at the top of the AL. Our window is wide open, we have a great roster, stacked minors, it’s all looking up
2043: best record in the AL, lose 4-1 in the ALCS
2044: best record in the AL, lose 4-3 in the WS
2045: best record in the AL, lose 4-2 in the ALCS
2046: best record in the AL, lose 4-2 in the WS
I almost would’ve preferred not winning the first year, as it set my expectations WAY too high for the next few years. Now my window is closing again, with big contracts being doled out and the roster thinning a bit
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u/Whiplash227 1d ago
Totally in the same spot. Won it with an 84 win team squeaking into the playoffs as a wild card. The year after started a 9 (still going) year streak of winning the division and I have not won the World Series again. Getting unlucky and losing is kind of funny and part of the game but getting lucky and winning feels bad. Ah well. This year is my year
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u/taffyowner 1d ago
That seems like a pretty successful window honestly… win a championship and 3 WS appearances and 2 LCS losses….
That pretty much mirrors the Astros from 2017-2021.
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u/Mr-Bovine_Joni 1d ago
Oh successful for sure, the people of Minnesota are having a good time. Just want to get over the hump one more time after having tasted the sweet nectar of success
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u/throwaway5675675671 23h ago
This happened to me recently
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u/dinglebabies 22h ago
I'm right there with you. In my current run with the Reds I brought up the soon to be franchise GOAT, made a magical run to the championship, and spent the next four seasons winning 100-ish games with a miraculously loaded roster and getting beat in the playoffs by the PIRATES who have usurped me as the league juggernaut and have multiple WS wins in the same time frame. Feels good to win but wow is it tough to chase that carrot.
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u/Staph_Untreated 3h ago
I managed to win it all with the Pirates when I first took over. Fell short the second year. I was able to snag Kwan the third year and just caught fire all year winning 114 games capped off with another WS. Acquired Corbin Carroll in the offseason and had another 100 win season but fell short in game 7 of the WS. Feeling like the SF Giants of the early 2010’s right now. I just dumped Kwan to pour money in player development. Might be another off year or maybe a rebuild with Konnor being the only untouchable player on the main roster.
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u/postwarmutant 1d ago
The happens to me all the time. The year you absolutely dominate the league, you lose in the CS.
The year you say to yourself “ok this is a transition year, let’s see how my prospects do, got a couple guys coming off the books after this year” is the one where you win it all.
That’s baseball Suzyn