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Questdog · 05-16-2014, 12:32 AM

My name is Riley Barlow. I'll be 34 years old in a couple of months and Mr. Reese hired me this past winter to put together a ball club to represent Troy, New York, in the new Liberty League. I was born out in Portland, Oregon, but I've lived in and around Troy and Albany most of my life. When I played I was a fair pitcher, but I'm not good enough to pitch in this new league. But I am good enough to build a team and lead them to some victories. I like to think I am an acute judge of talent and I know how to lead a group of men. I'm not overly educated and no one would pick me as the smartest fella in the room, but I can usually figure stuff out eventually since I don't mind working hard at it. I'm extremely loyal to those who earn my trust and I never turn my back on a friend. I love the game of baseball and really enjoy the teamwork required to be a successful club. Playing the game well is more important to me than winning or losing.

Since Troy is almost the smallest city to have a team in the Liberty League, Mr. Reese set me a fairly low budget to spend on acquiring players. This was a bit of a handicap, but I am pretty happy with the players I managed to sign.

Editor's Note - There was an inaugural draft held to pick the 35 players for each team with the largest cities getting first pick in each round. The order of the draft with market size in parentheses: 1. New York (10), 2. Philadelphia (9), 3. Boston (9), 4. St. Louis (6), 5. Baltimore (4), 6. Washington (4), 7. Troy (3) and 8. Detroit (3). Market sizes are set such that the league average is 6 and no team is higher than 10. Population of the current metropolitan area in 1876 was used as the base.

I had 35 players to pick a team from when we began our Spring Workouts.

Editor's Note - Another difference between major league baseball in 1876 and the Liberty League is that the Liberty League will always play 6 weeks of Spring Training Games (36). I play stats only with 'Other' ratings on a 1 to 10 scale with ratings higher than 10 shown. I need the Spring games so I can evaluate my talent.

I thought I had my starting nine all picked out before we started any training, but the practice games really made me question who our best nine were. I was pretty certain that Dan Melvin was going to be in the box for the Haymakers when our first game that counted came around. I gave him the highest contract of any of the players I signed. But Abe Lowe out-pitched him in the practice games and will be our pitcher against Detroit when we open the season at Putnam Grounds in Troy on April 3.

I also signed Marty Rodgers as my shortstop because I was dazzled by his fielding work in the Association. But he did not play the position very well this Spring and didn't hit a lick (.174). Both Emil Moore and Enoch Polm outplayed him. Moore was the better fielder and Polm was the better hitter, but both looked better at everything than Rodgers. I finally decided to start Polm because he was fielding pretty well and just knocking the cover off the ball (.375) and keep Moore on the squad as a replacement player. I was planning on sending Rodgers to our Rochester farm team in the International Association to figure his game out. But fate intervened and both Moore and Polm got hurt, so Rodgers will being starting after all. At least for a few weeks until Polm is ready to play. Moore is going to miss most of the season and won't be available until August at the earliest.

Frank Scarborough also played himself out of a job in centerfield. Ed Tomlinson will get the initial assignment there, but the question is still open about who will be the permanent resident.

The Haymakers starting nine for the opening game with their fielding percentage in the Spring games:
p Abe Lowe - .857
c Deacon Stone - .885 and threw out 7 of 12 base stealers
1b Willard DeVaux - .944
2b Dan Owens - .905
ss Marty Rodgers - .821
3b Joe Lees - .946
lf Dick Carver - .906
cf Ed Tomlinson - .923
rf Porter Thorpe - .897

We have three really top flight hitters in the middle of our lineup with 2b Dan Owens, rf Porter Thorpe and 1b Willard DeVaux. Thorpe had an especially good Spring, leading all Liberty League hitters with 21 RBI and batting over .400 most of the way until finally settling down to .360.

I really think we have a chance to win the Championship this year, though New York and Philadelphia look very strong. And Boston was right there with them all Spring. We went 19-17 in our practice games, but I was not especially trying to win anyone them, being more interested in evaluating my players.

Editor's Note - Just where is it that you can look up a player's fielding percentage in Spring Training games in OOTP? The answer is nowhere. I kept score manually to figure them. With defense being at such a premium in 1876 I wanted to know exactly how well my players were performing so I could decide who to play. No matter what era I play in I want good defenders starting for me, but when the league fielding percentage is .866, it is even more important to have plus fielders in the lineup!

05-16-2014, 12:32 AM	#12
Questdog Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: In a dark, damp cave where I'm training slugs to run the bases...... Posts: 16,142	My name is Riley Barlow. I'll be 34 years old in a couple of months and Mr. Reese hired me this past winter to put together a ball club to represent Troy, New York, in the new Liberty League. I was born out in Portland, Oregon, but I've lived in and around Troy and Albany most of my life. When I played I was a fair pitcher, but I'm not good enough to pitch in this new league. But I am good enough to build a team and lead them to some victories. I like to think I am an acute judge of talent and I know how to lead a group of men. I'm not overly educated and no one would pick me as the smartest fella in the room, but I can usually figure stuff out eventually since I don't mind working hard at it. I'm extremely loyal to those who earn my trust and I never turn my back on a friend. I love the game of baseball and really enjoy the teamwork required to be a successful club. Playing the game well is more important to me than winning or losing. Since Troy is almost the smallest city to have a team in the Liberty League, Mr. Reese set me a fairly low budget to spend on acquiring players. This was a bit of a handicap, but I am pretty happy with the players I managed to sign. Editor's Note - There was an inaugural draft held to pick the 35 players for each team with the largest cities getting first pick in each round. The order of the draft with market size in parentheses: 1. New York (10), 2. Philadelphia (9), 3. Boston (9), 4. St. Louis (6), 5. Baltimore (4), 6. Washington (4), 7. Troy (3) and 8. Detroit (3). Market sizes are set such that the league average is 6 and no team is higher than 10. Population of the current metropolitan area in 1876 was used as the base. I had 35 players to pick a team from when we began our Spring Workouts. Editor's Note - Another difference between major league baseball in 1876 and the Liberty League is that the Liberty League will always play 6 weeks of Spring Training Games (36). I play stats only with 'Other' ratings on a 1 to 10 scale with ratings higher than 10 shown. I need the Spring games so I can evaluate my talent. I thought I had my starting nine all picked out before we started any training, but the practice games really made me question who our best nine were. I was pretty certain that Dan Melvin was going to be in the box for the Haymakers when our first game that counted came around. I gave him the highest contract of any of the players I signed. But Abe Lowe out-pitched him in the practice games and will be our pitcher against Detroit when we open the season at Putnam Grounds in Troy on April 3. I also signed Marty Rodgers as my shortstop because I was dazzled by his fielding work in the Association. But he did not play the position very well this Spring and didn't hit a lick (.174). Both Emil Moore and Enoch Polm outplayed him. Moore was the better fielder and Polm was the better hitter, but both looked better at everything than Rodgers. I finally decided to start Polm because he was fielding pretty well and just knocking the cover off the ball (.375) and keep Moore on the squad as a replacement player. I was planning on sending Rodgers to our Rochester farm team in the International Association to figure his game out. But fate intervened and both Moore and Polm got hurt, so Rodgers will being starting after all. At least for a few weeks until Polm is ready to play. Moore is going to miss most of the season and won't be available until August at the earliest. Frank Scarborough also played himself out of a job in centerfield. Ed Tomlinson will get the initial assignment there, but the question is still open about who will be the permanent resident. The Haymakers starting nine for the opening game with their fielding percentage in the Spring games: p Abe Lowe - .857 c Deacon Stone - .885 and threw out 7 of 12 base stealers 1b Willard DeVaux - .944 2b Dan Owens - .905 ss Marty Rodgers - .821 3b Joe Lees - .946 lf Dick Carver - .906 cf Ed Tomlinson - .923 rf Porter Thorpe - .897 We have three really top flight hitters in the middle of our lineup with 2b Dan Owens, rf Porter Thorpe and 1b Willard DeVaux. Thorpe had an especially good Spring, leading all Liberty League hitters with 21 RBI and batting over .400 most of the way until finally settling down to .360. I really think we have a chance to win the Championship this year, though New York and Philadelphia look very strong. And Boston was right there with them all Spring. We went 19-17 in our practice games, but I was not especially trying to win anyone them, being more interested in evaluating my players. Editor's Note - Just where is it that you can look up a player's fielding percentage in Spring Training games in OOTP? The answer is nowhere. I kept score manually to figure them. With defense being at such a premium in 1876 I wanted to know exactly how well my players were performing so I could decide who to play. No matter what era I play in I want good defenders starting for me, but when the league fielding percentage is .866, it is even more important to have plus fielders in the lineup!