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CivicEvo · 05-20-2016, 12:01 AM

Thought it'd be fun for this update to take a look at the 34 players who debuted in the USABL in 2001. This was an interesting year for the league, with it being the first year of the expansion Philadelphia team. As such, there's very clearly a ton of players on this list who have shuffled through Philly along the way. But to take a look at the top 10, here's the analysis:

Analysis

- John Chambers is so unheralded at this point, it's almost comical. The 2001 Rookie of the Year leads the pack with 5.5 career WAR, all coming with Philadelphia. He's developed into an extremely valuable catcher, with a career slash of .296/.361/.429 in 174 games with 14 homers and 75 RBI. After Milo Hoover and Aaron Klink, a case can easily be made that Chambers is the 3rd best catcher of all time. Luckily for him, he was rewarded in 2002 with the All-Star Award at catcher, when he hit .337 with an OPS of .867 and 1.4 WAR.

- Andrew McKinney pretty much came out of nowhere to become a starting player in this league. The only player to win an All-Star award at two separate positions (2B, 2001; CF, 2004), McKinney has 3.1 career WAR as a contributing member for Los Angeles and Dallas. The Oregon native has a career .254 average with 11 HR and 71 RBI in 213 games.

- Ray Phillips broke out on the scene as the starting 3B for the 2003 New York team, when he hit .272 with 3 HR and 16 RBI in 179 plate appearances. After that season, he signed with Dallas before being moved to Los Angeles, where he has 1.2 WAR in just 77 games for the club. For his career, Phillips has 12 HR in 176 games while playing a solid third base.

- Travis William never really got much of a chance before he signed with the expansion Philadelphia team in 2001 as a 31 year old. Not really expected to contribute much, William has spent the last 5 years carving out a nice career for himself starting for parts of four seasons with Philly, Dallas, and San Francisco. His career 1.8 WAR ranks 4th amongst the 2001 class. He's now back in Philadelphia as a bench player, likely in the twilight of his career.

- Umair bin Wasim came out with two huge years for Dallas in 2001 and 2002, leading the league with 6 wins in 2002 (and a 2.01 ERA!). He signed with his hometown Philadelphia club in 2003, where he was a total disaster, shocking everyone around the city. He's since bounced around in California for two years, with mixed results at best. For his career, he is now just 14-13 with a career 4.74 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. Still, his 1.2 WAR ranks tied for 5th for 2001 debuts.

- Abel Floyd has spent his entire career with Chicago, after originally being picked by the club in the 24th round of the Inaugural Draft in 2000. He's been used generally as a utility pitcher, starting or relieving whenever the team needs him to do so. He has a career 9-8 record with a 4.13 ERA and 2 saves over his 5 year career. Now 27, the Atlanta native finds himself back in the rotation as he goes for his 3rd consecutive championship with the club.

- Bill Baird is one of those players that has found himself around the league in back again. Over the last 5 years his career path has been: Philadelphia -> Los Angeles -> Chicago -> San Francisco -> Los Angeles. Still, he's carved a niche out for himself playing in 168 games and hitting 13 HR with a .760 OPS in that time. His 1.1 career WAR ranks 7th all-time for 2001 debuts. He's currently backing up George O'Bryan on LA's bench as they push for their 2nd franchise playoff appearance.

- Landon Harper started his career in Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2001, playing only sparingly. In fact, from 2001-2002, he only had 26 combined plate appearances! Harper was then moved to Philadelphia in a blockbuster for ace Mike Cooper, where he really got his start in the league. He's been solid since, even getting traded back to Chicago this year in the surprise trade for ace Gerardo Alvarez. Since his return, Harper is hitting .387 with an .876 OPS in 35 plate appearances backing up star Calvin Miller at 3B.

- Allen Pierce is another one of those players that has floated around the league for much of the last 5 years. He's a solid starter, despite playing for a plethora of awful teams. His career 8-15 record is nowhere indicative of his performance, despite a lower strikeout rate (5.4/9 IP). Now with San Francisco (located near his hometown San Jose!), Pierce has a 2.04 ERA in 7 starts - though unfortunately that has not translated into the win column this year.

- Timothy McDaniel is the last player to be outlined in this update. McDaniel has played 4/5 seasons with Los Angeles, taking only a small detour to Dallas in 2003. Largely a middle reliever, McDaniel has a career 6-4 record with 2 saves and a 4.25 ERA in 70 appearances for his career. He currently remains in a similar role with LA in 2005.

--

Standings Update - September 4, 2005

Just three games to go for everyone, here's where we stand:

Both Los Angeles and New York have CLINCHED playoff spots, but not the division. This will be Los Angeles' 2nd playoff appearance, and New York's 6th (they have never missed the dance).

Dallas and San Francisco have both been eliminated. Obviously, San Francisco just wants to forget about this year by now...

Philadelphia leads Chicago by 3 games in the standings with 3 games to play. What this means is one win by Philadelphia OR one loss by Chicago, and Philadelphia will clinch their FIRST trip to the playoffs.

The two teams do NOT play each other in the final three games. Philadelphia plays LA, SF, NY.
Chicago plays DAL, LA, SF.

In addition, all non-eliminated teams but Chicago can still win the division. If Chicago gets in, they will be in the 2 out of 3 first round series. If Philadelphia gets in, they could still win the division and clinch the first round bye. What this means is that the playoff matchups have not been determined at all to this point!

Next? The last update of the regular season coming, where we will see if Philadelphia can seal the deal for the first time in franchise history. And if they can, will they win the division? Who will they play? Who will win the regular season and get the bye?

05-20-2016, 12:01 AM	#79
CivicEvo All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 672	Debut Year - 2001 Thought it'd be fun for this update to take a look at the 34 players who debuted in the USABL in 2001. This was an interesting year for the league, with it being the first year of the expansion Philadelphia team. As such, there's very clearly a ton of players on this list who have shuffled through Philly along the way. But to take a look at the top 10, here's the analysis: Analysis - John Chambers is so unheralded at this point, it's almost comical. The 2001 Rookie of the Year leads the pack with 5.5 career WAR, all coming with Philadelphia. He's developed into an extremely valuable catcher, with a career slash of .296/.361/.429 in 174 games with 14 homers and 75 RBI. After Milo Hoover and Aaron Klink, a case can easily be made that Chambers is the 3rd best catcher of all time. Luckily for him, he was rewarded in 2002 with the All-Star Award at catcher, when he hit .337 with an OPS of .867 and 1.4 WAR. - Andrew McKinney pretty much came out of nowhere to become a starting player in this league. The only player to win an All-Star award at two separate positions (2B, 2001; CF, 2004), McKinney has 3.1 career WAR as a contributing member for Los Angeles and Dallas. The Oregon native has a career .254 average with 11 HR and 71 RBI in 213 games. - Ray Phillips broke out on the scene as the starting 3B for the 2003 New York team, when he hit .272 with 3 HR and 16 RBI in 179 plate appearances. After that season, he signed with Dallas before being moved to Los Angeles, where he has 1.2 WAR in just 77 games for the club. For his career, Phillips has 12 HR in 176 games while playing a solid third base. - Travis William never really got much of a chance before he signed with the expansion Philadelphia team in 2001 as a 31 year old. Not really expected to contribute much, William has spent the last 5 years carving out a nice career for himself starting for parts of four seasons with Philly, Dallas, and San Francisco. His career 1.8 WAR ranks 4th amongst the 2001 class. He's now back in Philadelphia as a bench player, likely in the twilight of his career. - Umair bin Wasim came out with two huge years for Dallas in 2001 and 2002, leading the league with 6 wins in 2002 (and a 2.01 ERA!). He signed with his hometown Philadelphia club in 2003, where he was a total disaster, shocking everyone around the city. He's since bounced around in California for two years, with mixed results at best. For his career, he is now just 14-13 with a career 4.74 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. Still, his 1.2 WAR ranks tied for 5th for 2001 debuts. - Abel Floyd has spent his entire career with Chicago, after originally being picked by the club in the 24th round of the Inaugural Draft in 2000. He's been used generally as a utility pitcher, starting or relieving whenever the team needs him to do so. He has a career 9-8 record with a 4.13 ERA and 2 saves over his 5 year career. Now 27, the Atlanta native finds himself back in the rotation as he goes for his 3rd consecutive championship with the club. - Bill Baird is one of those players that has found himself around the league in back again. Over the last 5 years his career path has been: Philadelphia -> Los Angeles -> Chicago -> San Francisco -> Los Angeles. Still, he's carved a niche out for himself playing in 168 games and hitting 13 HR with a .760 OPS in that time. His 1.1 career WAR ranks 7th all-time for 2001 debuts. He's currently backing up George O'Bryan on LA's bench as they push for their 2nd franchise playoff appearance. - Landon Harper started his career in Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2001, playing only sparingly. In fact, from 2001-2002, he only had 26 combined plate appearances! Harper was then moved to Philadelphia in a blockbuster for ace Mike Cooper, where he really got his start in the league. He's been solid since, even getting traded back to Chicago this year in the surprise trade for ace Gerardo Alvarez. Since his return, Harper is hitting .387 with an .876 OPS in 35 plate appearances backing up star Calvin Miller at 3B. - Allen Pierce is another one of those players that has floated around the league for much of the last 5 years. He's a solid starter, despite playing for a plethora of awful teams. His career 8-15 record is nowhere indicative of his performance, despite a lower strikeout rate (5.4/9 IP). Now with San Francisco (located near his hometown San Jose!), Pierce has a 2.04 ERA in 7 starts - though unfortunately that has not translated into the win column this year. - Timothy McDaniel is the last player to be outlined in this update. McDaniel has played 4/5 seasons with Los Angeles, taking only a small detour to Dallas in 2003. Largely a middle reliever, McDaniel has a career 6-4 record with 2 saves and a 4.25 ERA in 70 appearances for his career. He currently remains in a similar role with LA in 2005. -- Standings Update - September 4, 2005 Just three games to go for everyone, here's where we stand: Both Los Angeles and New York have CLINCHED playoff spots, but not the division. This will be Los Angeles' 2nd playoff appearance, and New York's 6th (they have never missed the dance). Dallas and San Francisco have both been eliminated. Obviously, San Francisco just wants to forget about this year by now... Philadelphia leads Chicago by 3 games in the standings with 3 games to play. What this means is one win by Philadelphia OR one loss by Chicago, and Philadelphia will clinch their FIRST trip to the playoffs. The two teams do NOT play each other in the final three games. Philadelphia plays LA, SF, NY. Chicago plays DAL, LA, SF. In addition, all non-eliminated teams but Chicago can still win the division. If Chicago gets in, they will be in the 2 out of 3 first round series. If Philadelphia gets in, they could still win the division and clinch the first round bye. What this means is that the playoff matchups have not been determined at all to this point! Next? The last update of the regular season coming, where we will see if Philadelphia can seal the deal for the first time in franchise history. And if they can, will they win the division? Who will they play? Who will win the regular season and get the bye?