OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Baseball In The Tar Heel State: A Fictional Experience

AZTarHeel · 08-05-2009, 01:41 AM

Let's see if I can kick-start this one again (inspired by the other North Carolina state dynasty on these boards)...

1920 Western Carolina League — Season Recap

Lexington, Mooresville split titles
Indians win regular season, Moors take playoff series

The Cooleemee dynasty was finally halted in the Western Carolina League, which serves as a feeder for the North Carolina State League. While the Weavers were pretty solid once again, their five-year reign as champs of the developmental circuit came to an end in 1920.

Lexington (which supports Durham) and Mooresville (which feeds Charlotte) both finished 74-46 in the final standings. The Indians won a one-game playoff to determine the regular season crown. The Indians then captured the first two games in the best-of-five playoff series before the Moors roared back to take the next three. In the decisive Game Five, Mooresville scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 3-2 triumph. Wow, some good baseball there.

Lexington's success early in the season was driven by likable 25-year-old catcher Boyd Carlson. Carlson was shipped off the Durham after about 70 games but was rewarded for a stellar showing in the WCL by being named the top batter for 1920. He compiled a .373 batting average during his time in Lexington and a .459 on-base percentage this year. In 71 games he piled up 85 hits, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 37 RBIs and 29 runs scored. Carlson would be pretty productive during a 73-game stint with Durham as well, hitting better than .300. His minor league days appear to be over. More on the Bulls when we wrap up the NCSL's regular season (and playoffs).

Hickory's Joe Gallagher, who has been around since 1916, was voted the WCL's best pitcher. Gallagher posted a 17-8 record. In 259 innings (30 starts total) he yielded 181 hits and 35 walks, while striking out 269 and compiling a fine 1.42 ERA. Nice. His career record is 51-30 at the D-League level, so maybe he'll got a shot at the bigs next year in Asheville.

Some other Western Carolina League highlights:
• There were some serious offensive outbursts throughout the league in 1920. Eric Hoover of Marion enjoyed a 5-for-6 day against Shelby on June 26. He cranked out seven RBIs, helped in large part by a grand slam. Should we mention that Hoover is a starting pitcher? Four other dudes went 5-for-5 in games this season (though none were pitchers). Gustavo Martinez of Mooresville did it twice.

• Cooleemee pitcher Jerome Edwards struck out 16 in a two-hit win over Mount Airy. Edwards was 12-0 with a 1.41 ERA before moving up to Greensboro (where he was less stellar at 6-13, 4.64 ERA). The kid is only 23. He's got a bright future ahead.

• Maybe the best pitching performance of the year in the WCL came from Statesville's Bruce Beltran. On June 2, against Mount Airy, Beltran went 11 innings, gave up just three hits, struck out 12 and didn't walk anyone. Alas, neither Statesville nor Mount Airy could score during that stretch, and the game went another two innings before the Graniteers prevailed 2-0 in 13 frames. Why does it always seem to work that way?

• Mooresville's Logan Lorn led the WCL with 19 pitching wins. Lexington's Jonas Gundar (great name), from Brazil, had the best ERA at 1.01. Gundar went 15-1 with a 1.01 ERA before joining the Durham Bulls for the stretch run. The Bulls seem to be loading up.

• Shelby pitchers Don Weeks (22 losses), Dudley Law (19 losses) and Travis Larkin (18 losses) led the WCL in pitching futility. Ouch. The group earned just 14 wins total.

Poor Larkin was 1-18 with an ERA of 5.32. He struck out 39 and walked 89! Interestingly he was credited with 11 quality starts. Were his injuries in July (dead arm) and August (back) real injuries or did Larkin just want to get away from the game for awhile? Seriously, he might be the worst pitcher I've even seen in my OOTP experiences. Someone to keep track of for sure, to see if he'll rebound. He's only 19-years-old. For some reason, his morale is "angry." Gee, wonder why. Let's see if any other team in the WCL or NCSL for that matter matches Shelby's overall crappiness (31-89 record). Maybe it's the ugly green and yellow uniforms...

Up next: the big boys in the North Carolina State League wrap up the 1920 season. The Greensboro Patriots aren't last!!

08-05-2009, 01:41 AM	#97
AZTarHeel All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,748	Let's see if I can kick-start this one again (inspired by the other North Carolina state dynasty on these boards)... 1920 Western Carolina League — Season Recap Lexington, Mooresville split titles Indians win regular season, Moors take playoff series The Cooleemee dynasty was finally halted in the Western Carolina League, which serves as a feeder for the North Carolina State League. While the Weavers were pretty solid once again, their five-year reign as champs of the developmental circuit came to an end in 1920. Lexington (which supports Durham) and Mooresville (which feeds Charlotte) both finished 74-46 in the final standings. The Indians won a one-game playoff to determine the regular season crown. The Indians then captured the first two games in the best-of-five playoff series before the Moors roared back to take the next three. In the decisive Game Five, Mooresville scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 3-2 triumph. Wow, some good baseball there. Lexington's success early in the season was driven by likable 25-year-old catcher Boyd Carlson. Carlson was shipped off the Durham after about 70 games but was rewarded for a stellar showing in the WCL by being named the top batter for 1920. He compiled a .373 batting average during his time in Lexington and a .459 on-base percentage this year. In 71 games he piled up 85 hits, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 37 RBIs and 29 runs scored. Carlson would be pretty productive during a 73-game stint with Durham as well, hitting better than .300. His minor league days appear to be over. More on the Bulls when we wrap up the NCSL's regular season (and playoffs). Hickory's Joe Gallagher, who has been around since 1916, was voted the WCL's best pitcher. Gallagher posted a 17-8 record. In 259 innings (30 starts total) he yielded 181 hits and 35 walks, while striking out 269 and compiling a fine 1.42 ERA. Nice. His career record is 51-30 at the D-League level, so maybe he'll got a shot at the bigs next year in Asheville. Some other Western Carolina League highlights: • There were some serious offensive outbursts throughout the league in 1920. Eric Hoover of Marion enjoyed a 5-for-6 day against Shelby on June 26. He cranked out seven RBIs, helped in large part by a grand slam. Should we mention that Hoover is a starting pitcher? Four other dudes went 5-for-5 in games this season (though none were pitchers). Gustavo Martinez of Mooresville did it twice. • Cooleemee pitcher Jerome Edwards struck out 16 in a two-hit win over Mount Airy. Edwards was 12-0 with a 1.41 ERA before moving up to Greensboro (where he was less stellar at 6-13, 4.64 ERA). The kid is only 23. He's got a bright future ahead. • Maybe the best pitching performance of the year in the WCL came from Statesville's Bruce Beltran. On June 2, against Mount Airy, Beltran went 11 innings, gave up just three hits, struck out 12 and didn't walk anyone. Alas, neither Statesville nor Mount Airy could score during that stretch, and the game went another two innings before the Graniteers prevailed 2-0 in 13 frames. Why does it always seem to work that way? • Mooresville's Logan Lorn led the WCL with 19 pitching wins. Lexington's Jonas Gundar (great name), from Brazil, had the best ERA at 1.01. Gundar went 15-1 with a 1.01 ERA before joining the Durham Bulls for the stretch run. The Bulls seem to be loading up. • Shelby pitchers Don Weeks (22 losses), Dudley Law (19 losses) and Travis Larkin (18 losses) led the WCL in pitching futility. Ouch. The group earned just 14 wins total. Poor Larkin was 1-18 with an ERA of 5.32. He struck out 39 and walked 89! Interestingly he was credited with 11 quality starts. Were his injuries in July (dead arm) and August (back) real injuries or did Larkin just want to get away from the game for awhile? Seriously, he might be the worst pitcher I've even seen in my OOTP experiences. Someone to keep track of for sure, to see if he'll rebound. He's only 19-years-old. For some reason, his morale is "angry." Gee, wonder why. Let's see if any other team in the WCL or NCSL for that matter matches Shelby's overall crappiness (31-89 record). Maybe it's the ugly green and yellow uniforms... Up next: the big boys in the North Carolina State League wrap up the 1920 season. The Greensboro Patriots aren't last!! __________________ Current Dynasties Baseball's Rebirth in the Old North State (1945-) The Tobacco State League: A Summer With the Red Springs Red Robins From the Way-Back Machine (WAY old dynasty stories): The Steve Victory Story: Tournament Dreams College Basketball! Baseball In The Tar Heel State: A Fictional Experience The Arizona League: Real Players. Fictional Teams Last edited by AZTarHeel; 08-05-2009 at 12:47 PM.