1st January 1889
The Quakers missed out on the pennant for a third year running and the fans are hoping that this is the off season that finds that elusive piece that will make them winners. The owner was very happy with the way things turned out and decided to stick with the current front office. The GM Al Haney earned himself a new 5 year contract extension.
The NL Awards dinner was all about star hitter Sam Thompson for the Quakers. He was voted the NL Batter of the Year as expected and also picked up a Platinum Stock award.
There was also a Platinum Stick award for Billy Nash.
The GM and manager were quick off the mark to try and improve the team as they traded 22 year old Pitcher Bill Crowell to the Louisville Colonels in exchange for 29 year old Pitcher Joe Brown.
The team lost 4 players this year through retirement.
The first player to announce his retirement was First Baseman Jake Goodman. Goodman spent 11 years playing professional baseball but only 5 of those saw him make Major League Appearances. Those five seasons saw him play in 192 games and claim 138 hits. He scored 69 runs with 48 RBI's and an average of .232 (Real life stats 70 games, 75 hits, 33 runs, 27 RBI's for an average of .256)
The next player who is hanging up his cleats is Catcher George Miller. Like Jake Goodman, Miller spent a lot of his time playing minor league ball but did manage to play 152 games during his 12 year career. He also managed to earn 1 golden glove and an All Star Appearance along with 3 MLB Championship Medals during his time with the Chicago White Stockings. As well as 152 games he hit the ball 111 times and scored 60 runs with 59 RBI's for an average of .241 (Real life stats 17 games, 11 hits, 10 runs, 6 RBI's for an average of .193)
The final 2 players to retire didn't make much of a dent on the annuls of major league history. U Sheridan managed only 1 game (Real life stats 1 games 0 average) while U Booth never made it to the big time (Real life stats 1 game, 0 average)
After 3 good finishes the First Year Player Draft this year saw the team only get 4 picks. Their first round pick was used to select Pitcher Amos Rusie. The full draft log is given below
All draftees signed by the deadline.