OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The Continental League comes to the MLB in 1961

uruguru · 07-18-2023, 03:14 PM

August

For the 8/1 Rule V draft, the only player I would like is RP John Boozer. He would replace John Stokoe as my swingman out of the bullpen. Not game-changing, but a decent upgrade imo. RNG gives me the 15th overall pick. Boozer is taken by the New York Mets with the 12th pick. I leave the draft empty-handed for the 3rd straight month. The Texas Rangers are in last place with a 43-57 record, and they make 4 draft picks, so it is still serving a purpose.

For the month, we go 16-12 and are now 68-61. Unfortunately, we are also 9 games out and in 4th place, passed by the New York Mets. Buffalo enters September with a comfortable 7 1/2 game lead over the Atlanta Crackers.

The 7/31 trades worked out great, though. LF Bob Nieman is batting .330 with a .411 OBP and .587 SLG since arriving, a 175 OPS+, lol. This performance earned him CL Player of the Month honors for August. Welcome to the Continental League, Bob. CF Walt Moryan is batting .302 with a .368 OBP plus .462 SLG. That's a 130 OPS+. Welcome to the Continental League, Walt. I hope you both enjoy your stay!

Our #1 SP David Busby is leading the lead in wins (16), ERA (2.08) and 3rd in strikeouts (147). He won Pitcher of the Month in August with a 5-0 record and 2.20 ERA. It's the second time he's won the award and he's clearly the front-runner for pitcher of the year. This is the part of the season now where we start looking at individual player accomplishments as the pennant starts drifting out of reach. C John Orsino leads the league with 23 homers, ahead of 3B Ed Olivares (20 HR). Olivares is currently in the middle of a 4-week DL stint for plantar fascitis. I refuse to look up what that is.

Texas' Tony Oliva is leading the league with a .346 AVG, 84 runs, 269 total bases (a big lead) and enjoyed a 25-game hitting streak earlier in the season. Odds on favorite for the MVP, imo.

In the majors, with no expansion staffs to beat up on, Mantle is leading MLB with 41 homers, a far cry from his actual 1961 performance. Eddie Mathews and Billy Williams are close behind with 39 homers. Barring a freakish September, no one is going to hit 50.

September

9 games out, the chase is over so the 9/1 Rule V draft is a time to look to 1962. We only have to carry players for a month to keep them permanently, but there are absolutely zero prospects in the draft. Still I find two younger players I want to pick: SS Jay Ward and OF Chico Salmon. These are sidegrades or minor downgrades over IF Chuck Hiller and CF Pete Whisenant, but they are younger which is very important with the offseason looming.

RNG gives me the 17th overall pick, which does not bode well. However, only 3 players are drafted before my turn. The Rockies take Ward with the #3 pick, the Twins take SP Jim Bronstad with the #4 pick, and the Rangers take Salmon with the #11 pick. Geez! Going home empty-handed again. Thanks, RNG.

Sept 12. We win our 77th game of the season, starting the month at 9-2. This is significant because our only owner goal for the season was to play .500 and this win accomplishes that. We are now back in 2nd place and just 5 games behind Buffalo, as close as we've been in a long time. However, there are only 13 games left so realistic hopes are still slim.

Sept 16. After a disappointing split of our final 2-game series with Buffalo to remain 5 1/2 out, we sweep the Braves on a Sunday doubleheader on the same day that Buffalo is swept by the Twins in a double-header... now 3 1/2 out with 9 games to go! Still a longshot but no games left vs. Buffalo, but hope clings on!

Sep 20. Mickey Mantle just hit his 50th home run for the Yankees. Bad prediction on my part. SP Sammy Ellis has gone 4-0 this month and leads the majors with 19 wins. The top 3 strikeout pitchers in the CL are my top 3 starters. I feel good about that. We are currently at 81-65, 3 games behind Buffalo. Rally caps are on.

Sep 22. In an 11-1 beatdown of the Twins, S Sammy Ellis wins his 20th game. He's 20-9 with a 3.02 ERA. I still think Busby wins the Cy but you never know with voters. 20 wins carries weight and Busby would need to win both of his last 2 starts to get there. We're still 3 games out. Buffalo is not the powerhouse it was early in the season, but this may be too little, too late, for us.

Sep 23. The Milwaukee Braves are now 7 games up on the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and have clinched the 1961 NL Pennant.

Sep 24. We take 2 of 3 from the Twins but drop to 4 behind as the Bisons sweep Toronto. They are refusing to play by the script we sent them, lol. With 5 games left, we are on the verge of elimination. We now require a total collapse by Buffalo, and that's not going to happen.

Sep 26. Ellis finishes his season with a 9 inning no-decision as we lose to the Mets in 14. The Bisons win, so we are 5 games out with 4 games left. Eliminated. Still, it was sort of exciting near the end. Now I can start planning for 1962.

Sep 30. The New York Yankees hold off a desperate, late-season rally by the Boston Red Sox, defeating them 7-3 in Fenway Park, to clinch the AL pennant with just one game left in the season.

Oct 1. In a shock to no one, SP Sammy Ellis wins Pitcher of the Month for September. He was amazing and a key part of the near-comeback by the team. He went 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA over 6 starts and finishes the season with a 20-9 record and 2.95 ERA. He'll get some Cy Young consideration, for sure. We have pitchers.

Oct 2. We lose to the Twins and finished the season at 84-70. Thanks to a massive late-season surge by the New York Mets, we finish in 3rd place and will pick ahead of them in the upcoming first-year player draft. Note that Mickey Mantle had an incredible last-month surge and finished with 56 home runs for the Yankees!

As I prepare the schedule the 3-team round-robin World Series between the Yankees, Braves and Bisons... I do have this small consolation:

07-18-2023, 03:14 PM	#35
uruguru All Star Starter Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 1,289	August For the 8/1 Rule V draft, the only player I would like is RP John Boozer. He would replace John Stokoe as my swingman out of the bullpen. Not game-changing, but a decent upgrade imo. RNG gives me the 15th overall pick. Boozer is taken by the New York Mets with the 12th pick. I leave the draft empty-handed for the 3rd straight month. The Texas Rangers are in last place with a 43-57 record, and they make 4 draft picks, so it is still serving a purpose. For the month, we go 16-12 and are now 68-61. Unfortunately, we are also 9 games out and in 4th place, passed by the New York Mets. Buffalo enters September with a comfortable 7 1/2 game lead over the Atlanta Crackers. The 7/31 trades worked out great, though. LF Bob Nieman is batting .330 with a .411 OBP and .587 SLG since arriving, a 175 OPS+, lol. This performance earned him CL Player of the Month honors for August. Welcome to the Continental League, Bob. CF Walt Moryan is batting .302 with a .368 OBP plus .462 SLG. That's a 130 OPS+. Welcome to the Continental League, Walt. I hope you both enjoy your stay! Our #1 SP David Busby is leading the lead in wins (16), ERA (2.08) and 3rd in strikeouts (147). He won Pitcher of the Month in August with a 5-0 record and 2.20 ERA. It's the second time he's won the award and he's clearly the front-runner for pitcher of the year. This is the part of the season now where we start looking at individual player accomplishments as the pennant starts drifting out of reach. C John Orsino leads the league with 23 homers, ahead of 3B Ed Olivares (20 HR). Olivares is currently in the middle of a 4-week DL stint for plantar fascitis. I refuse to look up what that is. Texas' Tony Oliva is leading the league with a .346 AVG, 84 runs, 269 total bases (a big lead) and enjoyed a 25-game hitting streak earlier in the season. Odds on favorite for the MVP, imo. In the majors, with no expansion staffs to beat up on, Mantle is leading MLB with 41 homers, a far cry from his actual 1961 performance. Eddie Mathews and Billy Williams are close behind with 39 homers. Barring a freakish September, no one is going to hit 50. September 9 games out, the chase is over so the 9/1 Rule V draft is a time to look to 1962. We only have to carry players for a month to keep them permanently, but there are absolutely zero prospects in the draft. Still I find two younger players I want to pick: SS Jay Ward and OF Chico Salmon. These are sidegrades or minor downgrades over IF Chuck Hiller and CF Pete Whisenant, but they are younger which is very important with the offseason looming. RNG gives me the 17th overall pick, which does not bode well. However, only 3 players are drafted before my turn. The Rockies take Ward with the #3 pick, the Twins take SP Jim Bronstad with the #4 pick, and the Rangers take Salmon with the #11 pick. Geez! Going home empty-handed again. Thanks, RNG. Sept 12. We win our 77th game of the season, starting the month at 9-2. This is significant because our only owner goal for the season was to play .500 and this win accomplishes that. We are now back in 2nd place and just 5 games behind Buffalo, as close as we've been in a long time. However, there are only 13 games left so realistic hopes are still slim. Sept 16. After a disappointing split of our final 2-game series with Buffalo to remain 5 1/2 out, we sweep the Braves on a Sunday doubleheader on the same day that Buffalo is swept by the Twins in a double-header... now 3 1/2 out with 9 games to go! Still a longshot but no games left vs. Buffalo, but hope clings on! Sep 20. Mickey Mantle just hit his 50th home run for the Yankees. Bad prediction on my part. SP Sammy Ellis has gone 4-0 this month and leads the majors with 19 wins. The top 3 strikeout pitchers in the CL are my top 3 starters. I feel good about that. We are currently at 81-65, 3 games behind Buffalo. Rally caps are on. Sep 22. In an 11-1 beatdown of the Twins, S Sammy Ellis wins his 20th game. He's 20-9 with a 3.02 ERA. I still think Busby wins the Cy but you never know with voters. 20 wins carries weight and Busby would need to win both of his last 2 starts to get there. We're still 3 games out. Buffalo is not the powerhouse it was early in the season, but this may be too little, too late, for us. Sep 23. The Milwaukee Braves are now 7 games up on the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and have clinched the 1961 NL Pennant. Sep 24. We take 2 of 3 from the Twins but drop to 4 behind as the Bisons sweep Toronto. They are refusing to play by the script we sent them, lol. With 5 games left, we are on the verge of elimination. We now require a total collapse by Buffalo, and that's not going to happen. Sep 26. Ellis finishes his season with a 9 inning no-decision as we lose to the Mets in 14. The Bisons win, so we are 5 games out with 4 games left. Eliminated. Still, it was sort of exciting near the end. Now I can start planning for 1962. Sep 30. The New York Yankees hold off a desperate, late-season rally by the Boston Red Sox, defeating them 7-3 in Fenway Park, to clinch the AL pennant with just one game left in the season. Oct 1. In a shock to no one, SP Sammy Ellis wins Pitcher of the Month for September. He was amazing and a key part of the near-comeback by the team. He went 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA over 6 starts and finishes the season with a 20-9 record and 2.95 ERA. He'll get some Cy Young consideration, for sure. We have pitchers. Oct 2. We lose to the Twins and finished the season at 84-70. Thanks to a massive late-season surge by the New York Mets, we finish in 3rd place and will pick ahead of them in the upcoming first-year player draft. Note that Mickey Mantle had an incredible last-month surge and finished with 56 home runs for the Yankees! As I prepare the schedule the 3-team round-robin World Series between the Yankees, Braves and Bisons... I do have this small consolation: Attached Images Last edited by uruguru; 07-18-2023 at 04:32 PM.