2020 Review: Troubles

Back in the preseason I wrote about Troubles and why you should care about it in the fantasy game. I know no one uses the category, but I still like it as a way to look at those players who tend to slip through the cracks in the 5×5 games (much less so in points leagues). In what follows we will take a look back at 2020 to see who did, or didn’t, perform in the category in 2020.

SOME PLAYERS SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS

Players hit homers.
We know who they are.

Guys swipe bags. Well, a few do.
We know why they are.

Guys produce runs – either with their bat (RBI) or their legs (runs).
We know who they are.

Guys produce a ton of base hits leading to impressive batting averages.
We know who they are.

But what about the “other” guys?

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM?

Years ago, I glanced at my Sports Weekly newspaper to read the fantasy column by John Hunt. There I read the simple yet stunningly appropriate idea of Troubles, which if I remember correctly, and let’s face it I have a steel trap for a mind, was sent in by a reader who had a league that used the category. Perhaps your league might consider adding it this season as well once you learn how easy it is to record.

SO, WHAT ARE TROUBLES?

Troubles are a combination of triples and doubles (hence TR-OUBLES). The formula is mighty simple to figure out, in fact it might be the simplest one I ever share with you. Here it is.

Troubles = Triples + Doubles

Let’s get to the 2020 leaderboard since you don’t need to hear any pontification from me on this one.

2020 DOUBLES LEADERS

There were three men with 20-doubles: Freeman, Smith, Hernandez.

Walker (18) and Iglesias (17) rounded out the top-5.

Then there were 15 others with at least 15 doubles.

2020 TRIPLES LEADERS

Triples are just rough. In normal instances, 10 triples gets you a shot to be top-3 in the league. That’s over 162 games of course. When you cut the season down to 37 percent of that… that’s when you end up with an even messier leaderboard than normal when it comes to triples.

Tucker led the league with six.

No one had five.

Three men had four: Turner, Yastrzemski, Story.

There were 13 men with three.

2020 TROUBLES LEADERS

So, let’s get to it. Remember, we’re talking doubles + triples.

Freddie Freeman led the way with 24. He had only one triple.

Dominic Smith was second with 22.

Third was Cesar Hernandez with 20.

The top-3 men in doubles also led in Troubles in 2020. That’s not overly surprising. With such a limited slate of games played in ‘20, it was likely that there wouldn’t be enough triples to significantly upend the doubles leader board.

Trea Turner is the first player on the list with more than one triple. He came in 4^th with 19 which was one ahead of Kyle Tucker who led baseball with six triples. His Triples mark was 18, the same as Mike Yastrzemski and Jake Cronenworth. That last guy, Jake C., is perfect example of what we’re trying to accomplish with Troubles. Cronenworth had a very solid 5×5 season going .285-4-20-26-3, and qualifying at multiple spots was a big boost to his value, but he really was nothing more than a mixed league depth play. He’s top-10 in Troubles though where he gets his due for a solid offensive season.

Tommy LaStella was a similar performer to Cronenworth, a usable piece in very deep leagues, but even then a boring one. However, in Troubles he comes in the top-20 in the league. Same can be said of Maikel Franco, even if he didn’t actually hit a triple.

You can play in a points league and count measures like doubles and triples, but if you are playing 5×5, 6×6 or something along those lines, and have an interest in addition a simple category you can actually understand, maybe Troubles is the answer you have been looking for?

For the entire list, you can click on the link.