Spos,

I wrote my first reply after you had posted your first data and before you had posted your second. Obviously, the PTL limits have a significant impact and can influence results greatly depending on where they are set. That means that setting the limits has to be done very carefully if one wants to closely replicate "real" results. The basic game engine seems to do that better without major adjustments to limits. Based on your test one can certainly see why Tom Tippett resisted suggestions to normalize results.

I realize that this option is being provided primarily to avoid overusage in draft leagues of players who had great stats with limited playing time, but that could also occur in standard replays. In my current 1949 AL replay, I have had to "sit" Joe DiMaggio in about half of the Yankees' games because he was injured in "real life" and really did not play regularly until late June. In real life, DiMaggio played in 76 games, batting .346, with 14 HR and 67 RBI. Extrapolated to a whole season that would have meant about 25-30 HR and 130-140 RBI. In real life the Yankees won the pennant by a game over the Red Sox. With DiMaggio and his "inflated" stats in the Yankee lineup everyday the Yankees' margin in most replays would likely be greater.

BTW, I am now at September 14 in my replay. The race has been very close all season. The Red Sox now lead by 1.5 games, with the Yankees holding a one game advantage in the loss column. The two teams have 5 head-to-head games remaining, so the race is likely to go down to the wire just as it did in real life. My overall league stats reflect real life stats with reasonable accuracy, once again another reflection of the wonderful DMB game engine.