OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The National Pastime: The United States Baseball Federation rises

KCRoyals15 · 11-26-2024, 05:29 PM

1931

After the inflated offensive levels of the previous years, the USBF stepped in and introduced slightly deader baseballs to try and balance the scales between hitting and pitching and it works: scoring dropped by .7 runs per game and batting averages fell by 20 points.

New York and St. Louis repeated, winning the New England League and Midwest Association, respectively. Meanwhile, the Washington Senators won a franchise-record 108 games, winning the Eastern League for the fifth time in eight years. Kansas City, meanwhile, won just 88 games, but edged out Memphis by a game and Minneapolis by two to win the Western League for the 24th time in 32 years.

Despite a 20-win disparity between the two teams, Kansas City pulled off a huge upset in the Eastern Semifinals, defeating Washington in a seven-game series, while New York also pulled off a six-game upset over a St. Louis squad that won ten more games during the season. In the Eastern Championship, it was New York coming away with a victory, earning their fourth National Championship and second in a row with a five-game victory.

The PCL saw the Los Angeles Angels return to the top spot, while San Francisco and Seattle tied for second at 117-83, requiring a one-game playoff which the Seals won for the right to face the Angels. In a seven-game tussle, Los Angeles took the Pacific Coast League title.

For the second straight season, it was a true transcontinental series as New York and Los Angeles squared off, though the Gothams’ quest to repeat was dashed as the Los Angeles Angels defeat New York Gothams, 4-2 to win their third National Championship—all in a six-year stretch.

For the second time, we see a star two-way player earn an MVP award, as Detroit’s Robert Stinson earned the honors. He turned in his only 20-win season, going 20-15 with a career-best 3.23 ERA. On top of that, the soft-tossing lefty appeared in 134 games at the plate, and slashed /350/.393/.463 with 19 doubles, 10 triples, 6 homers, and 59 RBI, stealing 34 bases along the way.

On the hill, New York ace D.J. Schreck reached his peak, going 29-8 with a 2.50 ERA, leading the EBF in wins, starts (40), and innings (339) in a rather easy vote. Amazingly, despite a long and distinguished career, this would be Schreck’s only POTY award.

Minneapolis shortstop Kevin Penhorwood previously won an MVP in 1925 and has had a strong decade-long run that was capped off by setting an EBF record by swatting 72 doubles this season, while hitting .347 and driving in 134 runs. For mystifying reasons, though, Penhorwood showed up in 1932 a shell of himself and was out of baseball a year later. He only recorded 45 hits after swatting 218 of them in 1931.

Two arms earned their 300th win, as Washington RHP Mike Sasser picked up his milestone win on July 1, amidst a resurgent 24-4 season at the age of 39. Meanwhile, just two days later, Kansas City’s Tony Stewart also earned number 300. Like Sasser, he also won 20 games (20-13 record) this season at 39 years old.

In the Hall of Fame elections, three titans on the mound earned their due:

RHP Justin Rodrigues (1910-25), 99.1%
RHP Nicky Croucher (1908-25), 96.1%
RHP Andy Epperson (1906-25), 87.7%

Another year, another Jared Krieger MVP award, his fifth in six seasons. This was arguably the worst of those five campaigns—and he still slashed .339/.410/.525 and 265 hits, a league-leading 168 runs, 51 doubles, 20 triples, 18 homers, and 135 RBI. All-in-all, it added up to some more hardware.

More hardware went to San Francisco righty Mike Overall. The 36-year-old went 25-11 with a career-best 2.69 ERA, leading the PCL with 44 starts and logging a career-most 344.2 innings on his way to a second-straight Pitcher of the Year vote.

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 87-53, defeats Atlanta
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 80-46, defeats Worcester
Texas League: San Antonio Missions, 77-50, defeats Houston
River Valley League: Wichita Larks, 93-47, defeats Dayton
Rocky Mountain League: Boise Broncos, 79-48, defeats Ogden (2nd straight)
Coastal League: Charlotte Hornets, 82-58, defeats Jacksonville
Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 72-54, defeats Lincoln
Great Lakes League: Akron Rubbermen, 84-56, defeats Allentown
Southwest League: Fresno Raisin Eaters, 97-57, defeats San Diego (2nd straight)
Southern Association: Shreveport Captains, 67-59, defeats Beaumont

11-26-2024, 05:29 PM	#37
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	New York to LA 1931 After the inflated offensive levels of the previous years, the USBF stepped in and introduced slightly deader baseballs to try and balance the scales between hitting and pitching and it works: scoring dropped by .7 runs per game and batting averages fell by 20 points. New York and St. Louis repeated, winning the New England League and Midwest Association, respectively. Meanwhile, the Washington Senators won a franchise-record 108 games, winning the Eastern League for the fifth time in eight years. Kansas City, meanwhile, won just 88 games, but edged out Memphis by a game and Minneapolis by two to win the Western League for the 24th time in 32 years. Despite a 20-win disparity between the two teams, Kansas City pulled off a huge upset in the Eastern Semifinals, defeating Washington in a seven-game series, while New York also pulled off a six-game upset over a St. Louis squad that won ten more games during the season. In the Eastern Championship, it was New York coming away with a victory, earning their fourth National Championship and second in a row with a five-game victory. The PCL saw the Los Angeles Angels return to the top spot, while San Francisco and Seattle tied for second at 117-83, requiring a one-game playoff which the Seals won for the right to face the Angels. In a seven-game tussle, Los Angeles took the Pacific Coast League title. For the second straight season, it was a true transcontinental series as New York and Los Angeles squared off, though the Gothams’ quest to repeat was dashed as the Los Angeles Angels defeat New York Gothams, 4-2 to win their third National Championship—all in a six-year stretch. For the second time, we see a star two-way player earn an MVP award, as Detroit’s Robert Stinson earned the honors. He turned in his only 20-win season, going 20-15 with a career-best 3.23 ERA. On top of that, the soft-tossing lefty appeared in 134 games at the plate, and slashed /350/.393/.463 with 19 doubles, 10 triples, 6 homers, and 59 RBI, stealing 34 bases along the way. On the hill, New York ace D.J. Schreck reached his peak, going 29-8 with a 2.50 ERA, leading the EBF in wins, starts (40), and innings (339) in a rather easy vote. Amazingly, despite a long and distinguished career, this would be Schreck’s only POTY award. Minneapolis shortstop Kevin Penhorwood previously won an MVP in 1925 and has had a strong decade-long run that was capped off by setting an EBF record by swatting 72 doubles this season, while hitting .347 and driving in 134 runs. For mystifying reasons, though, Penhorwood showed up in 1932 a shell of himself and was out of baseball a year later. He only recorded 45 hits after swatting 218 of them in 1931. Two arms earned their 300th win, as Washington RHP Mike Sasser picked up his milestone win on July 1, amidst a resurgent 24-4 season at the age of 39. Meanwhile, just two days later, Kansas City’s Tony Stewart also earned number 300. Like Sasser, he also won 20 games (20-13 record) this season at 39 years old. In the Hall of Fame elections, three titans on the mound earned their due: RHP Justin Rodrigues (1910-25), 99.1% RHP Nicky Croucher (1908-25), 96.1% RHP Andy Epperson (1906-25), 87.7% Another year, another Jared Krieger MVP award, his fifth in six seasons. This was arguably the worst of those five campaigns—and he still slashed .339/.410/.525 and 265 hits, a league-leading 168 runs, 51 doubles, 20 triples, 18 homers, and 135 RBI. All-in-all, it added up to some more hardware. More hardware went to San Francisco righty Mike Overall. The 36-year-old went 25-11 with a career-best 2.69 ERA, leading the PCL with 44 starts and logging a career-most 344.2 innings on his way to a second-straight Pitcher of the Year vote. Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 87-53, defeats Atlanta Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 80-46, defeats Worcester Texas League: San Antonio Missions, 77-50, defeats Houston River Valley League: Wichita Larks, 93-47, defeats Dayton Rocky Mountain League: Boise Broncos, 79-48, defeats Ogden (2nd straight) Coastal League: Charlotte Hornets, 82-58, defeats Jacksonville Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 72-54, defeats Lincoln Great Lakes League: Akron Rubbermen, 84-56, defeats Allentown Southwest League: Fresno Raisin Eaters, 97-57, defeats San Diego (2nd straight) Southern Association: Shreveport Captains, 67-59, defeats Beaumont Last edited by KCRoyals15; 12-11-2024 at 12:41 AM.