2020-21 Offseason Pick 5 contest

It’s that time of year again. That’s right, it’s the revival of an annual tradition started by the Over The Monster forefathers.

It’s time to Pick 5 again.

If you are new to Over The Monster or missed it in previous years for whatever reason, Pick 5 is an annual competition where we, well, pick five players to join the Red Sox organization over the coming off-season. It sounds simple in nature, but nobody ever does well. Last year, the winner only had one correct answer: A Random Human picked Collin McHugh (as well as Dellin Betances, Brock Holt, Tanner Roark, and Justin Smoak). We ended up having to use every tiebreaker just to name a winner.

It is much easier said than done to actually do well. It is legendarily hard, in fact. Since the inception of Pick 5 in 2011, nobody has ever even gotten three picks correct. Thus the need for tiebreakers.

You might be wondering how to participate.

From now until two days after the conclusion of the World Series, you may comment in the comment section below this post with your five picks (preferably in alphabetical order for my benefit, but you won’t be penalized if you don’t).

Players can be free agents (excluding those with options on the Red Sox) or under contract with another team, i.e. trade acquisitions. Once a set of five is posted you cannot chose the same 5 players.

For example: If BobZupcic says “Trevor Bauer/Jackie Bradley Jr./Nick Castellanos/Masahiro Tanaka/Tetsuto Yamada” as his five, then .406 cannot choose the same five players. Additionally, you cannot choose those same five players in another order (so no Jackie Bradley Jr./Nick Castellanos/Masahiro Tanaka/Trevor Bauer/Tetsuto Yamada list from .406). From here on out, let’s assume .406 chose the same players, except instead of Yamada, he chose George Springer, and that’s the only difference.

Checking in on the Red Sox shifting success

Photo by Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Or lack thereof.

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Addressing J.D. Martinez, you can select him, but he will only score you a point if he opts out of his contract and signs back with the Red Sox as a free agent. You will not score a point if he simply doesn’t opt out.

You can choose any player under contract with another team. You can choose any player who reaches free agency, including players with options on other teams.

How to Win!

As we go through the offseason and players are acquired by the Red Sox either as FA or via trade you will receive 1 pt for each player of your Pick 5 group that makes their way to the Red Sox organization, whether major leagues or minor leagues. In the event of a tie, we have some tiebreakers.

Tiebreaker #1 will go to the Pick 5 with the highest overall 2021 salary of properly chosen players.

Tiebreaker #2 will go to the Pick 5 with the highest overall AAV for a single player to sign with the Red Sox. (example - if the Red Sox sign Trevor Bauer and he gets $28 million per year, he will beat Masahiro Tanaka who got whatever it is below $28 million)

Tiebreaker #3 will go to the player who correctly guesses how many players are offered qualifying offers. Any player who is offered a QO qualifies, including players on the Red Sox.

Tiebreaker #4 will go to the player who correctly guesses how many years Trevor Bauer gets in free agency (whether or not he signs with the Red Sox does not matter).

Tiebreaker #5 will go to the Pick 5 that is submitted earliest by time stamp. We are doing this, because we really do not want a tie, and there is more incentive to post later in the cycle to have more information to make your picks. As this is the last tiebreaker, we expect this will not have to be used. It will only be used if we still somehow have a tie after all four other tiebreakers have been used.

Any questions about tiebreakers can be directed at me in the thread at the bottom. The rules themselves are fairly simple. Just pick a unique list of five players in the comments below. Make sure to include your tiebreaker answers in there as well. You can all pick Trevor Bauer, so long as you all don’t pick the exact same four players beyond that. You get one entry. Make it count.

We will call the contest over on the day of the first televised Red Sox Spring Training game. If a player hasn’t signed by then, they will have missed the deadline for this competition. We need to crown a winner before the season starts.

OTM Pick 5 Hall of Champions

2020 Pick 5 Winner: A Random Human (1)

2019 Pick 5 Winners: Chris Sanford, crossedsabres8, Dabageldond, Good_Better_Betts, mattowens04, ty42198, and xii_dex (2)

2018 Pick 5 Winners: Chelista625, Bogey2Short, SirBenjaminPK, Ricochet!, crossedsabres8, REDSOXFAN1973, timtime321 (2)

2017 Pick 5 Winners: sguglie2, titio1300, On to Lansdowne Street (1)

2016 Pick 5 Winner: Rick Bentsen (2)

2015 Pick 5 Winner: RogueNine (2)

2014 Pick 5 Winner: .406 (2)

2013 Pick 5: Pick 5 Writer’s Strike

2012 Pick 5 Winner: aubatron2011 (2)

2011 Pick 5 Winner: mg050369 (2)

Happy picking everybody. Remember, the deadline is two days following the conclusion of the World Series. May fortune ever be in your favor.