Derek Bain

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family. Co-chair of the SABR Games and Simulations Committee since August 2022 along with Mark Wendling. Visit my Amazon author page to check out my books, promotional videos, and post a review if you're a Hardball Retro fan! My Books: “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds”, published in September 2024 with co-author John Racanelli, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds was recognized with the 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award. Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. “Hardball Architects” examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives. Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. A cross-section of essays that I penned for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog spanning nearly a decade touching on subjects including "Taking the Extra Base", "General Manager Scorecard", "Worst Trades", "BABIP By Location" and "Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic". Rediscover your favorite hardball arcade and simulations in "Play Retro Baseball Video Games In Your Browser" or take a deep dive into every franchise's minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations in "Minors vs. Majors". “Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills. Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here “Hardball Retrospective - Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each "original" team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 - 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Contact me on BlueSky - @hardballretro.bsky.social

Colt .45’s / Astros – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1975 Jose Cruz 272.1 1963 Jimmy Wynn 233.8 1975 Joe Niekro 133.1 1962 Bob Aspromonte 85.2 1962 Turk Farrell 59.5 2014 Collin McHugh 46.8 1962 Al Spangler 43.8 1967 Jim Ray 38.9 1962 Ken Johnson 36.4 1965 Norm Miller 32.4 Correctly answered by Matthew Bloss, Michael Danes, Jon Winkler, Brian Bohem, Tom … Read more

Marlins – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 2006 Dan Uggla 113.2 1993 Jeff Conine 79.2 2006 Cody Ross 58 2014 Justin Bour 53.3 1994 Antonio Alfonseca 33.3 1993 Pat Rapp 31.8 1994 Greg Colbrunn 27.2 1993 Chuck Carr 25.9 1993 Bret Barberie 21.7 1993 Bryan Harvey 18.4 Correctly answered by Matthew Bloss, Jon Winkler, Tom Siegler, Neil Bush, Bryan Hartman, … Read more

Tigers – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1953 Al Kaline 439.4 1963 Denny McLain 111.4 1955 Charlie Maxwell 98.5 1976 Milt Wilcox 72.9 2002 Craig Monroe 46.9 2000 Shane Halter 29.8 1965 Fred Scherman 29 1955 Earl Torgeson 25.2 1957 Steve Boros 23.5 2004 Chris Shelton 22.8 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Matthew Bloss, Michael Danes, Jon Winkler, Tom … Read more

Rockies – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1993 Vinny Castilla 98 1993 Eric Young 60.9 2012 Adam Ottavino 42.6 1993 Steve Reed 39.4 1993 Curt Leskanic 39.2 1993 Darren Holmes 35.8 1993 Armando Reynoso 31.3 1993 Charlie Hayes 29.6 1993 Joe Girardi 23.7 2014 Chris Rusin 21.1 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Michael Danes, Neil Bush, Matthew Bloss, Jon … Read more

Indians – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1962 Luis Tiant 91.1 1962 Vic Davalillo 63.7 1974 Rico Carty 44.3 1980 Miguel Dilone 31.7 1965 Stan Williams 31.1 1979 Carmelo Castillo 24.5 1961 Chuck Essegian 21.7 1960 Frank Funk 21.4 1963 Don McMahon 20.8 1992 Derek Lilliquist 18.6 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Matthew Bloss, Michael Danes, Michael Murray, Jon … Read more

Reds – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1957 Leo Cardenas 120.1 1963 Deron Johnson 59.8 1957 Jerry Lynch 51 1954 Art Fowler 36.7 1956 Don Pavletich 35.5 2017 Scooter Gennett 35.3 1967 Ted Abernathy 34.6 1955 Hersh Freeman 32.4 2012 Alfredo Simon 24.5 1978 Junior Kennedy 23.1 Correctly answered by Jon Winkler, Brian Bohem, Neil Bush and Michael McConchie … Read more

White Sox – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1960 Floyd Robinson 126.8 1972 Jorge Orta 108.6 1950 Chico Carrasquel 94.6 1980 Greg Walker 80 1954 Dick Donovan 79.3 2005 Bobby Jenks 62.5 1981 Greg Luzinski 61.9 1956 Gerry Staley 57.2 1965 Ed Herrmann 56.7 2009 Alex Rios 56.2 no correct answers! Select one of the four choices then click Vote … Read more

Cubs – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1953 Ernie Banks 332.4 1963 Glenn Beckert 120.8 1981 Jody Davis 105.2 1950 Paul Minner 74.9 1970 Milt Pappas 59.2 2008 Kosuke Fukudome 52.5 2013 Hector Rondon 37.2 1970 Joe Pepitone 34.7 1977 Willie Hernandez 33.5 2012 Luis Valbuena 32.2 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Matthew Bloss, Michael Danes, Michael Murray, Jon … Read more

Red Sox – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1964 Reggie Smith 171.7 1995 Troy O’Leary 85.1 1963 Joe Foy 54.1 2003 Kevin Millar 43.9 1965 Sparky Lyle 41.3 1971 Cecil Cooper 39 2007 Daisuke Matsuzaka 37.9 2008 Daniel Nava 36.6 1966 Jose Santiago 30.6 2007 Hideki Okajima 28.3 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Matthew Bloss, Michael Danes, Jon Winkler, Tom … Read more

Browns / Orioles – Other Acquisitions (1950-2018) – Win Shares Leaders

by

Year Player WS 1963 Paul Blair 179.7 1963 Curt Blefary 77.5 1955 Hal Brown 69 1958 Hoyt Wilhelm 68 2001 Jay Gibbons 61.5 2007 Jeremy Guthrie 56.1 1956 Bob Boyd 49.7 1954 Billy O’Dell 49 1968 Elrod Hendricks 44.5 1979 John Lowenstein 44.4 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Michael Danes, Michael Murray, Jon Winkler, Brian … Read more