Ugly ducks in AL-LABR: epilogue

Earlier this year, I wrote about my "Ugly Duck" implementation of the LIMA Extrema strategy in LABR-NL. When that column was published in June, the team was in contention, lurking two points out of the lead. By the end of the season, this group of "Ugly Ducks" jumped in front and pulled away, winning LABR-NL by 12.5 points. What lessons can we take from the success of this strategy?

History of the strategy

As a reminder, this "Ugly Ducks" strategy is hardly a new idea. It is basically a hybrid of Ron Shandler's LIMA plan and Larry Labadini's $9 pitching staff, with additional credit to HQ's Josh Paley for his reminder of a Roger Anderson's observation originally made over a decade ago: in LABR competitions, the amount of money...

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