OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - THE BASEBALL ALLIANCE: Baseball in the British Isles

joefromchicago · 04-24-2013, 08:24 PM

1989-90 OFF-SEASON

AWARDS

Empire League
Hitter: Daniel Robertson, Westminster (.317, 40 HR, 102 RBI, 107 R, 23 2B, .402 OBP, .578 SLG)
Pitcher: Neil "The Silver Fox" Storr, London (22-7, 1.94 ERA, 268.2 IP, 183 K, 1.02 WHIP, .224 OAVG)
Manager: Floyd Major, London (92-62, 1st place)
Rookie: Shawn Barton, Birmingham (12-7, 3.75 ERA, 172.2 IP, 86 K, 1.52 WHIP, .277 OAVG)

Dominion Association
Hitter: Bill Callaghan, Manchester (.319, 18 HR, 95 RBI, 86 R, 34 2B, 16 K, 48 SB, .374 OBP, .490 SLG)
Pitcher: Jimmy Burden, Stoke (23-5, 2.13 ERA, 253.1 IP, 136 K, 1.06 WHIP, .223 OAVG)
Manager: Nick Heler, Sheffield (81-73, 2nd place)
Rookie: Jim Garvock, Sheffield (.284, 26 HR, 95 RBI, 84 R, 31 2B, .338 OBP, .522 SLG)

The big question at the awards ceremony was who would win the outstanding hitter trophies. In the EL, Robertson missed out on the batting and home run crowns, but he led the League in runs scored as well as slugging percentage and on-base percentage, which earned him his second award as the loop's best hitter. In the DA, Theo Fellick of the pennant-winning Potters led the majors with 111 RBI, but Callaghan's batting title, along with his forty-eight stolen bases, clinched the Association's honors.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Alliance saw a trio of no-hitters recorded for the first time since 1985. John Balloch, who has fallen on some hard times since winning forty-one games for Nottingham over the 1986-87 seasons, blanked Plymouth 9-0 on 21 August. The right-hander, who missed five weeks with back spasms and finished the campaign with a 9-6 record, gave up no walks, but his teammates committed three errors to ruin an otherwise perfect pitching performance. Two days later, Neil "The Silver Fox" Storr put an exclamation point on a superb season by shutting down Liverpool's lineup, yielding only one walk and an unearned run in a 5-1 triumph. Stoke hurler Bob Getchell completed the trifecta with a 4-0 victory over Leeds on 2 September. Acquired from Dublin on the eve of the trade deadline, Getchell struck out five and walked one in his masterpiece.

ALLIANCE NEWS

It was a shallow free-agent pool this year. Right-handed pitcher Sean Armstrong, a seventeen-game-winner in each of the last two seasons for Dublin, made a splash with a $9.5 million deal that will have him in a Bristol uniform for the next five years. Aberdeen took a three-year, $6.8 million gamble on Garvin Shakescraft, who has patrolled London's center field for the last six years but who has hit only .257 in that time. Southpaw starter Milo Emerson will be trading his Southampton duds, which he has worn for the last nine campaigns, for Dublin green after signing a five-year, $9.7 million pact. Veteran third baseman Behellagh McCrane will be taking his .302 career batting average to Dublin after signing a two-year deal worth $4.7 million. McCrane hit .305 with sixty-six homers during his four-year stint with Bristol.

WESTMINSTER NEWS

After their dismal finish in 1988, even seventy-four wins looked good to the Peers, who continue their rebuilding efforts. Daniel Robertson continued to tear up the League with his slugging and carried off his second outstanding hitter award. Twenty-two-year-old Toby Mitchell contributed 94 RBI and settled into his position at first base. The rest of the lineup, however, was a disappointment, and the Peers only managed a collective .241 average, good for thirteenth out of the League's fourteen teams. The pitching, on the other hand, didn't even reach that level, falling all the way to the basement with a 4.07 staff ERA. Jordan Nairn tried to hold the rotation together, but his 14-16 record and 4.27 ERA wasn't enough. The one bright spot was the bullpen. Andrew Spurrell, ending a six-year experiment as a starter, appeared in forty-two games and saved twenty-four, while right-handed youngster Harry Conway notched a microscopic 0.71 ERA in thirty-four trips to the mound.

The plan now is to wait for Venezuelan phenom Ismael "Cy" Valdes to mature enough to crack the starting rotation. The twenty-one-year-old right-hander, the second pick overall in the 1989 rookie draft, swiftly advanced through the minors and is expected to battle for a spot on the major-league roster in spring training. There's no comparable help coming up from the minors on the offensive side of the ledger, however, which leads some observers to think that any help will have to come from the open market.

04-24-2013, 08:24 PM	#448
joefromchicago Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 3,703	1989-90 OFF-SEASON AWARDS Empire League Hitter: Daniel Robertson, Westminster (.317, 40 HR, 102 RBI, 107 R, 23 2B, .402 OBP, .578 SLG) Pitcher: Neil "The Silver Fox" Storr, London (22-7, 1.94 ERA, 268.2 IP, 183 K, 1.02 WHIP, .224 OAVG) Manager: Floyd Major, London (92-62, 1st place) Rookie: Shawn Barton, Birmingham (12-7, 3.75 ERA, 172.2 IP, 86 K, 1.52 WHIP, .277 OAVG) Dominion Association Hitter: Bill Callaghan, Manchester (.319, 18 HR, 95 RBI, 86 R, 34 2B, 16 K, 48 SB, .374 OBP, .490 SLG) Pitcher: Jimmy Burden, Stoke (23-5, 2.13 ERA, 253.1 IP, 136 K, 1.06 WHIP, .223 OAVG) Manager: Nick Heler, Sheffield (81-73, 2nd place) Rookie: Jim Garvock, Sheffield (.284, 26 HR, 95 RBI, 84 R, 31 2B, .338 OBP, .522 SLG) The big question at the awards ceremony was who would win the outstanding hitter trophies. In the EL, Robertson missed out on the batting and home run crowns, but he led the League in runs scored as well as slugging percentage and on-base percentage, which earned him his second award as the loop's best hitter. In the DA, Theo Fellick of the pennant-winning Potters led the majors with 111 RBI, but Callaghan's batting title, along with his forty-eight stolen bases, clinched the Association's honors. ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Alliance saw a trio of no-hitters recorded for the first time since 1985. John Balloch, who has fallen on some hard times since winning forty-one games for Nottingham over the 1986-87 seasons, blanked Plymouth 9-0 on 21 August. The right-hander, who missed five weeks with back spasms and finished the campaign with a 9-6 record, gave up no walks, but his teammates committed three errors to ruin an otherwise perfect pitching performance. Two days later, Neil "The Silver Fox" Storr put an exclamation point on a superb season by shutting down Liverpool's lineup, yielding only one walk and an unearned run in a 5-1 triumph. Stoke hurler Bob Getchell completed the trifecta with a 4-0 victory over Leeds on 2 September. Acquired from Dublin on the eve of the trade deadline, Getchell struck out five and walked one in his masterpiece. ALLIANCE NEWS It was a shallow free-agent pool this year. Right-handed pitcher Sean Armstrong, a seventeen-game-winner in each of the last two seasons for Dublin, made a splash with a $9.5 million deal that will have him in a Bristol uniform for the next five years. Aberdeen took a three-year, $6.8 million gamble on Garvin Shakescraft, who has patrolled London's center field for the last six years but who has hit only .257 in that time. Southpaw starter Milo Emerson will be trading his Southampton duds, which he has worn for the last nine campaigns, for Dublin green after signing a five-year, $9.7 million pact. Veteran third baseman Behellagh McCrane will be taking his .302 career batting average to Dublin after signing a two-year deal worth $4.7 million. McCrane hit .305 with sixty-six homers during his four-year stint with Bristol. WESTMINSTER NEWS After their dismal finish in 1988, even seventy-four wins looked good to the Peers, who continue their rebuilding efforts. Daniel Robertson continued to tear up the League with his slugging and carried off his second outstanding hitter award. Twenty-two-year-old Toby Mitchell contributed 94 RBI and settled into his position at first base. The rest of the lineup, however, was a disappointment, and the Peers only managed a collective .241 average, good for thirteenth out of the League's fourteen teams. The pitching, on the other hand, didn't even reach that level, falling all the way to the basement with a 4.07 staff ERA. Jordan Nairn tried to hold the rotation together, but his 14-16 record and 4.27 ERA wasn't enough. The one bright spot was the bullpen. Andrew Spurrell, ending a six-year experiment as a starter, appeared in forty-two games and saved twenty-four, while right-handed youngster Harry Conway notched a microscopic 0.71 ERA in thirty-four trips to the mound. The plan now is to wait for Venezuelan phenom Ismael "Cy" Valdes to mature enough to crack the starting rotation. The twenty-one-year-old right-hander, the second pick overall in the 1989 rookie draft, swiftly advanced through the minors and is expected to battle for a spot on the major-league roster in spring training. There's no comparable help coming up from the minors on the offensive side of the ledger, however, which leads some observers to think that any help will have to come from the open market. __________________ American-Ethnic (and Canadian) Namesets Historical Minor League Schedules 1870s City/Team Nickname Randomizers "It's Usually Sunny in Philadelphia" weather mod Negro League Schedules Last edited by joefromchicago; 05-09-2013 at 03:59 PM.