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Questdog · 11-14-2015, 09:28 PM

Friday, April 20, 1888 Opening Day in the Liberty League

Detroit Wolverines (78-48 .619 Champions of the Liberty League last year) at
Pittsburgh Puddlers (55-67 .451 6th place last year)

Al Rice, Det. (23-7.6) (R 15-12 3.26 9.4-1.6-3.4 last year) vs. Tom Lilly, Pitt. (28-6.4) (L 11-14 3.49 9.6-1.8-3.2 last year)

Pittsburgh's Recreation Park is a tough place to hit and the toughest place to hit a home run in the Liberty League. With the changes made in New York at the Polo Grounds and in Louisville's Eclipse Park, it is probably not the toughest place to hit overall anymore, but still pretty friendly to pitchers.

Lilly was a star in the GNA, but suffered through an injury-riddled disappointing season in his first go 'round in the Liberty League. The 3 seasons prior to last he won at least 30 games every year.

Won - 13 to 7

Well, that game went against everything I thought was going to happen. Rice was not sharp, but Lilly was even worse. We scored a run in the 1st, but then they scored twice in the bottom half on 4 hits and 2 passed balls by C Jimmy Babcock (31-6.9). But then we kept scoring and they did not until it was too late.

Rice allowed 11 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run.

We had 13 hits and made 3 errors. Pittsburgh made 6.

2B Ed Aldrich (24-6.8) doubled in his first plate appearance for the Wolverines. He ended up with 2 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Sam Cowan (32-5.1) had 2 hits to match his total season output of a year ago. He had a double, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs. RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. 3B Jesse Flanders (27-5.4) hit a double and drew 2 walks, stole a base, scored 3 times and had an RBI. SS Ed Engelhardt (23-5.0) was the star of the game with 3 hits, including a double and a bases-loaded triple. He stole a base, scored a run and had 5 RBIs.

For the Puddlers, rookie 1B Lou Green (23-5.9) had 2 hits, stole a base and scored 2 runs. C Wilson Wendling (27-4.1) had 3 hits with a double and 3 RBIs.

I am delighted at the offensive outburst, but the performance of Al Rice, especially in a pitcher's park, is troubling. Hopefully, it is an isolated case and we were lucky that it happened when we scored so many runs.

Liberty League:
Boston (3) at Louisville (4): William McLeod (28-5.6) (1-0) over Dave Wolf (25-4.7) (0-1). Louisville scored on a bases-loaded 2-out error by Wolf in the bottom of the 9th to win. Each team had 9 hits, but Boston made 6 errors and Louisville only made 2. For Boston, RF Charlie Warner (34-9.2) hit a home run. The Shamrocks (née Red Caps) are trying to do what the Wolverines are also trying: to win with young inexperienced pitching. They did not trade, but released both of their aces of the recent past, Joe Peters and Charlie Morlock. Morlock is the all-time leading winner in Liberty League history with 297 career victories. Both Peters and Morlock signed on with Pittsburgh, but only Peters made the team. Morlock was sent to Buffalo. Hopefully, he will get a chance to get those 3 more wins to reach 300. Editor's Note: Normally, I would intervene in such a situation and try to find Morlock a place to pitch, but they did not care about 300 wins back then and besides, he's a Red Cap!

New York (2) at Cincinnati (8): John Stevens (31-8.2) (1-0) over Jack Roberts (36-6.1) (0-1). Stevens allowed 8 hits, no walks and struck out 5. It was the 241st win of his career and when all is said and done, he might be the all-time leading winner in League history. Roberts only allowed 6 hits, but his Gotham mates made 8 errors while the Reds did not make any. For the Gothams, newcomer CF Jimmy Sleeman (25-3.3) hit a home run.

Cleveland (6) at Indianapolis (9) in 10 innings: Jimmy Euler (27-5.5) (1-0) over Lou Townley (26-3.4) (0-1). The Hoosiers re-aligned their fences to allow more home runs this year and it worked for this game. They hit 3 and the Spiders hit none. RF Ed Wakefield (28-5.8) hit one with 2 outs and 2 runners on in the bottom of the 10th to win the game. 3B Fred Boss (24-6.0) and SS Jake Steitz (29-4.7) also hit balls over the shortened fences. Townley only gave up 6 hits (half of them over the fences) and a walk and struck out 7 in the game. Tom Nelson (21-6.6) had an eventful debut for his new team. He started at first base and hit 2 doubles and a triple and scored 2 runs but also made 3 errors.

Grand National Association:
Washington (7) at Providence (4): Sammy Berry (28-5.5) (1-0) over Tom Ashton (24-5.2) (0-1). Berry allowed 9 hits, walked 3 and struck out 5. At bat, he had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. C George Wright (32-4.8) hit his 1st home run of the season.

The St. Louis Terriers activated P Ted Ryther (34-4.3) from the Disabled List today and released him. He was a big part of their surprising over .500 finish last year as an expansion team. He was 30-25 and was 5th in the GNA in ERA at 3.58 and finished 3rd in the Hurler Trophy voting. The injury did not appear to be too serious: it was reported as a muscle pull that happened 3 weeks ago. Before the injury his Spring pitching stats were pretty good. We'll see if anyone picks him up.

11-14-2015, 09:28 PM	#1620
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	Friday, April 20, 1888 Opening Day in the Liberty League Detroit Wolverines (78-48 .619 Champions of the Liberty League last year) at Pittsburgh Puddlers (55-67 .451 6th place last year) Al Rice, Det. (23-7.6) (R 15-12 3.26 9.4-1.6-3.4 last year) vs. Tom Lilly, Pitt. (28-6.4) (L 11-14 3.49 9.6-1.8-3.2 last year) Pittsburgh's Recreation Park is a tough place to hit and the toughest place to hit a home run in the Liberty League. With the changes made in New York at the Polo Grounds and in Louisville's Eclipse Park, it is probably not the toughest place to hit overall anymore, but still pretty friendly to pitchers. Lilly was a star in the GNA, but suffered through an injury-riddled disappointing season in his first go 'round in the Liberty League. The 3 seasons prior to last he won at least 30 games every year. Won - 13 to 7 Well, that game went against everything I thought was going to happen. Rice was not sharp, but Lilly was even worse. We scored a run in the 1st, but then they scored twice in the bottom half on 4 hits and 2 passed balls by C Jimmy Babcock (31-6.9). But then we kept scoring and they did not until it was too late. Rice allowed 11 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. We had 13 hits and made 3 errors. Pittsburgh made 6. 2B Ed Aldrich (24-6.8) doubled in his first plate appearance for the Wolverines. He ended up with 2 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Sam Cowan (32-5.1) had 2 hits to match his total season output of a year ago. He had a double, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs. RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. 3B Jesse Flanders (27-5.4) hit a double and drew 2 walks, stole a base, scored 3 times and had an RBI. SS Ed Engelhardt (23-5.0) was the star of the game with 3 hits, including a double and a bases-loaded triple. He stole a base, scored a run and had 5 RBIs. For the Puddlers, rookie 1B Lou Green (23-5.9) had 2 hits, stole a base and scored 2 runs. C Wilson Wendling (27-4.1) had 3 hits with a double and 3 RBIs. I am delighted at the offensive outburst, but the performance of Al Rice, especially in a pitcher's park, is troubling. Hopefully, it is an isolated case and we were lucky that it happened when we scored so many runs. Liberty League: Boston (3) at Louisville (4): William McLeod (28-5.6) (1-0) over Dave Wolf (25-4.7) (0-1). Louisville scored on a bases-loaded 2-out error by Wolf in the bottom of the 9th to win. Each team had 9 hits, but Boston made 6 errors and Louisville only made 2. For Boston, RF Charlie Warner (34-9.2) hit a home run. The Shamrocks (née Red Caps) are trying to do what the Wolverines are also trying: to win with young inexperienced pitching. They did not trade, but released both of their aces of the recent past, Joe Peters and Charlie Morlock. Morlock is the all-time leading winner in Liberty League history with 297 career victories. Both Peters and Morlock signed on with Pittsburgh, but only Peters made the team. Morlock was sent to Buffalo. Hopefully, he will get a chance to get those 3 more wins to reach 300. Editor's Note: Normally, I would intervene in such a situation and try to find Morlock a place to pitch, but they did not care about 300 wins back then and besides, he's a Red Cap! New York (2) at Cincinnati (8): John Stevens (31-8.2) (1-0) over Jack Roberts (36-6.1) (0-1). Stevens allowed 8 hits, no walks and struck out 5. It was the 241st win of his career and when all is said and done, he might be the all-time leading winner in League history. Roberts only allowed 6 hits, but his Gotham mates made 8 errors while the Reds did not make any. For the Gothams, newcomer CF Jimmy Sleeman (25-3.3) hit a home run. Cleveland (6) at Indianapolis (9) in 10 innings: Jimmy Euler (27-5.5) (1-0) over Lou Townley (26-3.4) (0-1). The Hoosiers re-aligned their fences to allow more home runs this year and it worked for this game. They hit 3 and the Spiders hit none. RF Ed Wakefield (28-5.8) hit one with 2 outs and 2 runners on in the bottom of the 10th to win the game. 3B Fred Boss (24-6.0) and SS Jake Steitz (29-4.7) also hit balls over the shortened fences. Townley only gave up 6 hits (half of them over the fences) and a walk and struck out 7 in the game. Tom Nelson (21-6.6) had an eventful debut for his new team. He started at first base and hit 2 doubles and a triple and scored 2 runs but also made 3 errors. Grand National Association: Washington (7) at Providence (4): Sammy Berry (28-5.5) (1-0) over Tom Ashton (24-5.2) (0-1). Berry allowed 9 hits, walked 3 and struck out 5. At bat, he had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. C George Wright (32-4.8) hit his 1st home run of the season. The St. Louis Terriers activated P Ted Ryther (34-4.3) from the Disabled List today and released him. He was a big part of their surprising over .500 finish last year as an expansion team. He was 30-25 and was 5th in the GNA in ERA at 3.58 and finished 3rd in the Hurler Trophy voting. The injury did not appear to be too serious: it was reported as a muscle pull that happened 3 weeks ago. Before the injury his Spring pitching stats were pretty good. We'll see if anyone picks him up. Last edited by Questdog; 11-14-2015 at 09:41 PM.