[AESP_pres]

Cap Anson just retired in my simulation so I asked ChatGPT to write an hommage for him since he was the greatest player of the league history at that point in time...
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Cap Anson Bids Farewell to the Diamond

The End of an Era in Chicago and in Baseball

After twenty-seven seasons of professional ball, the game’s grand patriarch has finally laid down his bat. Adrian “Cap” Anson, the face of Chicago baseball and the living embodiment of the sport’s first generation, has retired. From the dusty fields of Rockford in 1871 to the grand parks of the 1890s, Anson’s name became synonymous with excellence, discipline, and the unrelenting pursuit of victory.

A Career That Spanned the Birth of the Game

When Anson first appeared for Rockford as a 19-year-old, professional baseball itself was still learning to walk. Over 2,689 games later, he leaves as the career leader in games played, hits, singles, doubles, runs scored, and RBIs—an unmatched testament to endurance and mastery.

His lifetime marks read like a monument carved in granite:

3743 hits, good for a .332 batting average

1829 runs batted in and 2170 runs scored

622 doubles, 130 triples, 102 home runs

1025 walks and a .390 on-base percentage

74.8 WAR, the sum of more than two decades of excellence

From the dead-ball 1870s to the lively 1890s, Anson adapted to every rule change and every era’s style, remaining productive even as others faded. His 1894 season at age 42, when he batted .395 with 190 hits and 113 RBIs, stands as one of the most astonishing late-career feats ever witnessed.

The Captain and His Colts

For nearly two decades, Anson was more than Chicago’s first baseman—he was its commanding officer.
Between 1880 and 1897, as player-manager, his clubs captured four league pennants (1880, 1881, 1882, and 1885) and one World Championship in 1885. His managerial record of 1,363 wins to 833 losses (.621) over 18 seasons ranks among the greatest the game has known.

In Chicago, discipline was gospel. Players spoke of “Anson’s Law,” a stern code of punctuality and precision. Yet even those who bristled at his iron rule respected the results. Under his watch, the White Stockings became the prototype of the professional ball club—drilled, tactical, and always contending.

A Model of Consistency

From 1876 through 1890, Anson was a fixture atop league leaderboards. He hit over .300 in 19 different seasons, and .340 or better 10 times. Between 1881 and 1888, he enjoyed a peak few hitters have ever matched:

.366 average (1884) with 25 home runs and 117 RBIs

.341 and 120 RBIs (1886) during a pennant chase

.349 average and 18 home runs (1888), finishing second in the league in both power and production

He never captured a Most Valuable Player trophy but he finished top three four times (1881, 1882, 1884, 1886) and was annually among baseball’s most respected bats.

Defensive Anchor at First

While remembered for his bat, Anson’s fielding at first base helped define the position. Over 2,400 games at the bag, he posted a .975 fielding percentage, remarkable for the era’s primitive gloves. His sure hands and broad reach stabilized countless Chicago infields. Whether handling errant throws from Williamson or scooping low liners from Pfeffer, “Cap” gave pitchers confidence that every grounder had a safe home.

Legacy Beyond the Lines

Anson’s influence stretches far beyond statistics. He professionalized the sport—turning what had been a gentleman’s pastime into a business and a career. His clubs trained with military rigor, traveled with purpose, and expected to win. The younger generation—men like George Davis, Hugh Duffy, and Ed Delahanty—grew up watching Anson’s mastery of both leadership and hitting.

Few men have served as player, captain, and field general for so long. Even in decline, Anson remained a dangerous hitter and a strategist of high repute. His final campaign, at age 45, saw him reach base nearly 40% of the time and draw 91 walks—a number matched only by the league’s youngest stars.

A Giant Among Pioneers

Measured by modern analytics, his career OPS+ of 147 and wRC+ of 138 confirm what generations have seen: Anson was not merely a product of his time—he was ahead of it.
Among all players of the 19th century, he stands as:

#1 in Hits and RBI

#4 in Stolen Bases

#6 in Home Runs

A top-10 finisher in WAR fourteen different seasons

He bridged the game from its amateur roots to its professional age and left a foundation for every generation to come.

The Curtain Falls

When the final out of 1897 was recorded, the cheers at West Side Grounds lingered a little longer. There stood a man who had seen it all: underhand pitching, bare hands, and now gloves and grandstands. “Cap” Anson’s retirement is more than the end of a career—it marks the closing of baseball’s first great chapter.

The records will one day be surpassed, but the legend of Adrian Anson—the first true captain of professional baseball—will remain as enduring as the game itself.

Voices from the Men Who Knew Him

“Anson could size up a ballclub the way a banker sizes up a ledger—every figure in its place. If he asked you for two, you gave him three.”
— Fred Pfeffer, 2B, Chicago (1883–92)

“I’ve never pitched to a man who punished a mistake more mercilessly. If you missed the corner by an inch, he’d find it with the barrel and send it skipping to the alleys.”
— John Clarkson, P, Chicago (1884–87)

“He kept us sharp as a tailor’s needle—no loafing, no loose play. When Cap took the field, even the grass seemed to stand at attention.”
— George Gore, CF, Chicago (1879–86)

“Anson ran a clubhouse like a revival tent—orderly, spirited, and full of conviction. I learned there’s a right way to play this game, and he insisted upon it.”
— Billy Sunday, OF, Chicago (1883–88)

“Third base feels less lonely when your first baseman catches everything you dare to throw. Cap turned hard chances into routine outs and made the rest of us look clever.”
— Tom Burns, 3B, Chicago (1879–89)

“When the score tightened and the crowd went quiet, Anson’s voice carried: ‘One run at a time, boys.’ Somehow, one became four.”
— Jimmy Ryan, OF, Chicago (from 1885)

“Anson was the hinge on which Chicago’s great door swung. As a young pitcher I valued strikes; as a club executive I valued standards. Anson set both.”
— Al Spalding, P/Executive, Chicago (teammate 1876–77; club magnate thereafter)