Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan
Baltimore Orioles win World Series 4-0 over the Brooklyn Superbas!
Then announce they're moving to New York to become the Highlanders!
Huh?
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Heh. IRL that first baseman of yours Burt Hart was banned for life in 1901 because he hit an umpire while protesting a call. This was the biggest thing among many things that infuriated Orioles manager John McGraw, who'd been lured to the AL by league president Ban Johnson. Their star pitcher "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity (the man who was, I believe, the origin of the term "iron man" to denote a player with outstanding endurance) was also banned for life but that ban was lifted after a week. The Orioles were also involved in several incidents in which the umpires awarded their opponents extra bases afte learning that Baltimore players were doing things like tripping guys and hanging onto peoples' belts when they tagged up. Generally speaking, McGraw represented a style of play that Johnson was looking to expel from baseball. McGraw wasn't about to stop playing this way and Johnson wasn't about to cave in on this issue, so something had to happen.
The next season McGraw got New York Giants owner John T. Brush to secretly buy the Baltimore Orioles. Upon doing so, the team released 10 players, who immediately signed with the Giants and Cincinnati Reds. The rest of the American League actually had to loan Baltimore players so that they could play out the rest of the season. *Then* the following year, the league, who had taken over the team after Brush's little ploy, kind of half sold it/half sold a brand new franchise to interests in New York City.
Just a little history lesson from Mr. Thrift.
