1st January 1889
The fans of the Red Stockings were looking for improvements in their playing squad during the off season so they can challenge for the pennant next season. The owner was happy with the way the season went last year and decided to give the Manager John Williams a 5 year contract extension.
The NL Awards dinner had a major highlight this year as Hugh Duffy was honoured for his excellent first season in the big league. He managed to earn enough votes to be awarded the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
There was also a Platinum stick award for Mike Griffin.
It was very quiet on player recruitment this year so the retirements were being watched closely by the fans. The fans were happy to see that no current active roster members decided to retire and were honoured when it was announced that a long term major league player would call their club the last he would play for. This player was Second Baseman Joe Quest. Quest spent 18 years playing baseball since the inaugural season in 1871. During that time he played baseball with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Boston Beaneaters, Philadelphia Quakers and our Cincinnati Red Stockings. While he played for 18 years he never won any awards apart from 1 MLB Championship Medal that he will cherish from the 1871 Brooklyn win. His career totals include 559 games played with 416 starts, 428 hits, 215 runs and 156 RBI's for an average of .236.(real life stats 596 games, 499 hits, 300 runs, 161 RBI's for an average of .217)
The second player to call an end to their career Catcher Doc Kennedy. Kennedy played a few years in the majors during his time in the league but most of his time was spent in the minors. He played for both the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cincinnati Red Stockings during a 11 year career. He managed 101 games with 70 starts. He hit 89 times and scored 53 runs with 30 RBI's for an average of .311 (real life stats 160 games, 160 hits, 67 runs, 53 RBI's for an average of .260)
The final player to retire is U Evans. Evans never managed to make the big time and played no games for the top club. (real life stats 1 game, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 RBI for an average of .500)
The First Year Player Draft saw the team make only 4 draft picks. The first round pick was used to gain Short Stop Ollie Beard. The full draft log is given below.
All draftees signed by the deadline.