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Old 11-29-2019, 03:40 PM   #52
Jamee999
All Star Reserve
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 769
INTERMISSION: Who The Heck Are Some Of These Guys?

In this sim, almost all of the best position players were also excellent players in real life. The leaderboards are topped by names like Babe Ruth, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, Jimmie Foxx, and Nap Lajoie - all inner-circle Hall of Famers in real life and in the simulated universe. However, the same thing isn't true about the pitchers. While there are some familiar names, such as Walter Johnson, many of the top hurlers in this universe will likely be unfamiliar to most readers. Here is a brief portrait of the real-life careers of a few of the top moundsmen in The Chaos List.

Cy Blanton - Darryl Blanton was an Oklahoman lefty who made a splash for the Pirates, leading the National League in ERA in 1935, and throwing four shutouts in 1935 and 1936. MLB stats: 68-71, 3.55 ERA

SABR Bio: "In 1935 Cy Blanton broke in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a blaze of glory. The hard-throwing right-hander with an array of screwballs, curves, and sinkers led the National League in ERA and tied for the lead in shutouts, and was the hardest-to-hit pitcher in the big leagues. In his first four seasons he averaged 14 wins and 226 innings despite suffering from chronic elbow tenderness. Weeks after tossing an ill-fated no-hitter in a meaningless exhibition game in 1939, Blanton tore ligaments in his elbow, effectively ending his career. He won only 12 more games over the next four years as he battled injuries and the effects of alcoholism that led to his death in 1945 at the age of 37."

Pete Donohue - A tall Texan, Donohue was a 20 game winner three times for the Reds in the 1920s, after reaching the big leagues aged only 20. MLB stats: 134-118, 3.87 ERA.

SABR bio: "A member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, Pete Donohue was a right-handed pitcher from Texas who won 127 games for them over a 10-year stretch, including three years of 20 or more wins in the early to mid-1920s. He led the league with 27 complete games in 1925 and wins in 1926. By his late 20s, however, he'd lost his edge and his career sputtered out quickly with brief stints for the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians, before ending with an 0-1 season for the 1931 Boston Red Sox."

Harry Krause - Krause was a lefty who had success for the Athletics as a rookie in 1909, winning 18 games, and leading the AL in ERA. His first ten starts in that season were all at least seven innings, and conceding two or fewer runs, which is still a record to start a season. His major league career was done by 1912, though the Californian would win 249 games in the Pacific Coast League. MLB stats: 36-26, 2.50 ERA

Baseball Almanac: "When Joe Jackson was asked who were the toughest pitchers he faced, he replied, 'Harry Krause and Reb Russell.' "

Guy Morton - Morton was a starter from Alabama who played for Cleveland between 1914 and 1924. He twice led the AL in K/9, and was known for having an extremely quick fastball. His son, "Moose" Morton, played a single game for the Red Sox in 1954. MLB stats: 98-86, 3.13 ERA

SABR Bio: "Guy Morton reported to New Orleans for spring training in 1914 with Cleveland. After a few workouts his manager, Joe Birmingham, was unimpressed. “He doesn’t know how to stand on the rubber even. He doesn’t know how to hold the ball.” What he did have was a tremendous fastball and Birmingham declared, “[O]nly one pitcher in the country has more speed and that is one Walter Johnson.” Birmingham entrusted Morton to minor-league manager Lee Fohl to turn him into a pitcher instead of a thrower. With Fohl’s guidance, Morton went on to pitch 317 games over 11 seasons with Cleveland."

Joe Wood - "Smoky Joe" was a hard-throwing righty for the deadball era Red Sox. He was excellent in his early 20s, going 34-5 with an ERA under two in 1912, and winning three games in the World Series. However, he would blow his arm out in 1915, and would never be a regular big league pitcher again. Impressively, though, he would make a comeback for Cleveland as an outfielder, often playing in a platoon. MLB stats: 117-57, 2.03 ERA.

SABR Bio: "Joe Wood's reign as one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball history lasted a brief two seasons, but it left an indelible impression on those who witnessed his greatness first-hand. "Without a doubt," Ty Cobb later recalled, "Joe Wood was one of the best pitchers I ever faced throughout my entire career." In 1911 and 1912, Smoky Joe Wood won 57 games for the Boston Red Sox, including a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns on July 29, 1911, and an American League record-tying 16 straight wins in the second half of the 1912 campaign. He was by no means large or overpowering, standing 5'11 3/4" and weighing in at 180 pounds, but concealed in his lanky frame was one of the most overpowering fastballs of the Deadball Era. "I have seen a lot of speedy pitchers in my time," Red Sox catcher Tubby Spencer quipped in the spring of 1909, "but Joe Wood can make sparks fly better than anyone else I ever saw throw a ball." Three years later, Walter Johnson could only agree. "Can I throw harder than Joe Wood?" he asked a waiting reporter. "Listen, mister, no man alive can throw harder than Smoky Joe Wood.""

Last edited by Jamee999; 11-29-2019 at 09:22 PM.
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