1st January 1887
The fans of the Wolverines have had to suffer another year with the club in the basement of the AL and are hoping that this year will see the owner and front office find the magic to improve the team. The owner decided to have a complete clear out from the front office. GM Sadao Ikeda decided to retire and manager David Estes was fired.
The owner selected a rookie GM as a replacement in the form of Julio Ramirez. The new manager is Kyle Finley who apart from a strong 1873 where he won the MLB title has had a very average career in management. The fans are worried with this as the new front office doesnt give them confidence over seeing improvements.
No Wolverines made it to the AL awards dinner this year.
The team has seen 5 players retire this year.
The biggest name to leave baseball is First Baseman Bill French. French spent 10 years in the league with the Cincinnati Red Stockings and Detroit Wolverines. He managed to play 213 games during those years to pick up 133 hits from 539 at bats. He scored 76 runs with 60 RBI's for an average of .247. (real life stats 5 games, 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 RBI and an average of .222)
The other big name to retire was Right Fielder Mike Golden. Golden also spent 10 years in professional baseball but didn't set the league alight. He spent his career with the Cleveland Blues and the Detroit Wolverines and played 144 games for 86 hits in 402 at bats. He scored 51 runs with 29 RBI's and an average of .214. (real life stats 107 games, 38 runs, 90 hits, 35 RBI's and an average of .217)
The new front office decided to trade 27 year old right fielder John Reccius to the New York Giants in exchange for 28 year old pitcher Jim Conway and 24 year old minor league catcher Ed Colgan.
The team made 5 selections in the first year player draft. The first selection was spent on Right Fielder Mike Tiernan. The full draft log is given below
The team failed to sign the 5th round draft pick Pat Murphy.