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Sven Draconian · 04-02-2007, 11:59 PM

Steve was a bit puzzled when he first had opened the book. The picture looked authentic, the records were neatly kept and looked authentic, yet these did not look like turn of the 20^th century stats They looked closer to the 70s than the era of Cobb, Young and Nap Lajoie. And the players were on a lot of different teams, he had counted one player as on 8 teams in 4 years, even with trades that was hardly possible. As he approached the old mans home he had a mind full of questions

He explained his confusion, which the man found amusing.

“Try not to pay too much attention to those early years. Look at the stars and how the game was played, but the players were free to jump around as much as they wanted. Contracts were binding and things changed considerably in 1901. I was just wondering if you would actually bother to read it”

Steve still had one question, “But the stats, nobody was hitting even 15 home runs consistently in that era, these numbers are more than double that. Why so different”

This answer, was simple “Several reasons, one was a higher player quality the other was smaller parks. They had fences from the get-go, for crowd control and there was nothing like the Polo Grounds or Forbes field where you had just massive outfields”

The man pulled a few more books from his shelfs,

“The other is, well they were smarter. The FWL never developed a bias against walks and taking pitches. They wanted to win first, and the figured out quick that getting on base was a bit part of winning. Major League Baseball had a whole bunch of bush league slap ballers that would rip your head off for making the game go long by waiting for pitches,. FWL players figured you were keeping them off the line longer if the game went on longer”

Steve looked at the massive volume of books he had just been handed and skimmed through the titles, including many thin volumes labeled “Players of the Decade” with sequential numbers, A pair of similar books by the same author, “Greats of the Factory League” and “Goats of the Factory League”, a trio of very large volumes, one entitled “The Complete Yearly History of the Factory Workers League,” “Newspaper Man: The FWL as told in the News” and “The Factory Workers Baseball League Hall of Fame Index”. He kept looking and saw various player biographies, various “Team History” books and s spiffy illustrated “A Ballpark Factory”.

“These should keep you busy for quite a while. Id start with the Complete History myself, but try not to pay too much attention to the first 10 years or so, the “league” didn't gain its true form until 1901. Id suggest keeping a pace, read 10 years, look at the greats of the decade and then read their biographies and look up various entries about them It'll let you relive the league”

He tossed one last small book to him, “How the Factory League Started”

The man grinned at the last one “I've already told you most of that one, but old man tend to leave things out. I'd give it a brief going over eventually”.

When Steven arrived back at his place, he wasted no time before starting to study.

04-02-2007, 11:59 PM	#3
Sven Draconian Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 432	Steve was a bit puzzled when he first had opened the book. The picture looked authentic, the records were neatly kept and looked authentic, yet these did not look like turn of the 20^th century stats They looked closer to the 70s than the era of Cobb, Young and Nap Lajoie. And the players were on a lot of different teams, he had counted one player as on 8 teams in 4 years, even with trades that was hardly possible. As he approached the old mans home he had a mind full of questions He explained his confusion, which the man found amusing. “Try not to pay too much attention to those early years. Look at the stars and how the game was played, but the players were free to jump around as much as they wanted. Contracts were binding and things changed considerably in 1901. I was just wondering if you would actually bother to read it” Steve still had one question, “But the stats, nobody was hitting even 15 home runs consistently in that era, these numbers are more than double that. Why so different” This answer, was simple “Several reasons, one was a higher player quality the other was smaller parks. They had fences from the get-go, for crowd control and there was nothing like the Polo Grounds or Forbes field where you had just massive outfields” The man pulled a few more books from his shelfs, “The other is, well they were smarter. The FWL never developed a bias against walks and taking pitches. They wanted to win first, and the figured out quick that getting on base was a bit part of winning. Major League Baseball had a whole bunch of bush league slap ballers that would rip your head off for making the game go long by waiting for pitches,. FWL players figured you were keeping them off the line longer if the game went on longer” Steve looked at the massive volume of books he had just been handed and skimmed through the titles, including many thin volumes labeled “Players of the Decade” with sequential numbers, A pair of similar books by the same author, “Greats of the Factory League” and “Goats of the Factory League”, a trio of very large volumes, one entitled “The Complete Yearly History of the Factory Workers League,” “Newspaper Man: The FWL as told in the News” and “The Factory Workers Baseball League Hall of Fame Index”. He kept looking and saw various player biographies, various “Team History” books and s spiffy illustrated “A Ballpark Factory”. “These should keep you busy for quite a while. Id start with the Complete History myself, but try not to pay too much attention to the first 10 years or so, the “league” didn't gain its true form until 1901. Id suggest keeping a pace, read 10 years, look at the greats of the decade and then read their biographies and look up various entries about them It'll let you relive the league” He tossed one last small book to him, “How the Factory League Started” The man grinned at the last one “I've already told you most of that one, but old man tend to leave things out. I'd give it a brief going over eventually”. When Steven arrived back at his place, he wasted no time before starting to study.