10 Team Historical Save (also-rans)

[goesto11]

This is sort of an ‘also-rans’ concept. I’ve started a historical save in 1946, removed 6 teams, moved the remainder into one league (the American League), and deleted any player with an overall potential rating at 55 or above. I think it will be interesting to see who rises to the top and becomes a baseball legend without all those supremely talented players getting in their way… note that, with each draft, I will cull the class in the same way – removing any player with an equal to or greater than 55 POT.

I'm doing 162 games per season, with the DH (heathen!), and am taking 3 teams into the playoffs - it'll be a WC, 1-game playoff, followed by a 7-game series pitting the pennant winner versus the 2nd or 3rd place club.

1946 Preseason Predictions are attached…

[goesto11]

Don Kolloway, of the Woodinville Cougars, went 4 for 4 with a two-bagger, a homer, 3 RBI, and a run in the Cougars’ 5-2 win over the Bellevue Players. Kolloway’s teammate, and Woodinville’s Ace, SP Mickey Harris also turned in a great performance, putting in 8.2 innings of work while allowing only 5 hits and 2 earned runs. He also fanned 8 batsmen on the day which puts him into a two-way tie with Snoqualmie’s SP Red Embree for the league lead… Red, unlike Mickey, wasn’t able to secure the Opening Day win as he allowed 6 earned, gave up a homer, and walked 5 to go with his 8 K’s as his Killer Bees dropped their opener to the Lynnwood Devils by a score of 6-2.


In other news… Redmond’s LF Taffy Wright showed the patience of a saint as he drew four free passes off the Sammamish pitching staff during his club's 5-4 opening day win over the Lions. He also scored twice on the day. Not bad for the 34-year old elder statesman.

[goesto11]

Renton’s SP, Hank Borowy, hurled our league's first-ever complete game shutout… he went the distance today against the Bothell Brainiacs, gave up 3 hits, doled out two free passes, and fanned a couple of lookie-loos during the Roosters 3-0 victory.


And… Snoqualmie’s CF Babe Young charged our first ever multi home run game to his permanent record going 2 for 4 with 2 jacks, 3 RBI, and 2 runs during the Killer Bees 5-3 loss against the Lynnwood Devils. Babe is considered a top 20 power bat in our league… I think he might end up being a bit better than that.

Note: While it may seem that way, it is not my plan to go day-by-day in my posts about this league... The way I play the save is I SIM it DbD, looking in on the box scores, and suchlike. What I'll likely do is post any individual performances that are of interest to me along with a weekly look at the award winner and power ranking, and lastly a low-key update at the start of each month that shows the table and talks, a bit, about the trends of the top clubs.

[goesto11]

The Lynnwood Devils and Issaquah Pinks each earned the first series sweep in league history today… Lynnwood’s dominant performance came at home against the Snoqualmie Killer Bees while Issaquah accomplished the feat on the road against the hapless Shoreline Streetcars.


Also, speaking of hapless, Shoreline’s 2B, Buddy Blattner, put the league's first-ever Golden Sombrero on the board during the Streetcars’ game three loss against Issaquah. May his name live on forever in trivia game infamy…

[HumanRainDelay]

Sounds entertaining.

Reminds me of David Letterman's scholarship at Ball St. for "the average student" in celebration of the "C" student that he was in college.

[goesto11]

Our first Player of the Week Award was handed out today… Woodinville’s RF Chuck Workman earned the honors by putting in some serious work, man (thanks, I’ll be here all week). He hit .409 (9 for 22) with 3 homers and 6 RBIs for the 3-3 Cougars.

And, here are the first-ever weekly team power rankings for Major League Baseball:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Issaquah Pinks (155.0)
2) Sammamish Lions (124.0)
3) Lynnwood Devils (120.0)
4) Bothell Brainiacs (91.0)
5) Woodinville Cougars (91.0)
6) Renton Roosters (89.0)
7) Shoreline Streetcars (59.0)
8) Bellevue Players (57.0)
9) Redmond Scholars (57.0)
10) Snoqualmie Killer Bees (57.0)

Note: Sammamish got the nod over Lynnwood by virtue of having an identical overall record coupled with a 2-1 record against the Devils.


Shoreline’s C Clyde Kluttz had himself something of a game today… he finished 4 for 5 with two, two-baggers, a triple, 5 RBI, and a run in the Streetcars’ hard-fought, 13-10 win over the Bellevue Players. The EBH’s represented Clyde’s first of the season – he now has 5 singles, 2 doubles, and that ever-elusive triple listed on his permanent record.

[goesto11]

Lynnwood, now sitting on a 4-4 record after opening the season with a 4 game winning streak, continued their slide against the Bothell Brainiacs today… a loss that was no doubt ushered in by RF Chet Laabs’ superior play at the plate – he finished 3 for 3 with 3 homers (a first in our league), 5 RBI, and 3 runs to lead the Brainiacs to a 5-2 win in the City of Lynnwood. Also, we don’t want to overlook the hurlers today as Snoqualmie’s Kirby Higbe threw a complete-game, 4-hit shutout with 10 Ks during a 5-0 win for his Killer Bees over the Issaquah Pinks, and Woodinville’s Bucky Walters threw the first 1-hitter in league history during a 3-1 win over the Sammamish Lions.

[HumanRainDelay]

Issaquah's fan base is saying: "Never listen to the 'experts'" with respect to pre-season predictions. Unfortunately, regression to the mean waits in the shadows.

[goesto11]

Originally Posted by HumanRainDelay

Issaquah's fan base is saying: "Never listen to the 'experts'" with respect to pre-season predictions. Unfortunately, regression to the mean waits in the shadows.

[goesto11]

Issaquah and Sammamish played the highest-scoring game in league history today – a 14-12 win for the 7-3 Pinks – the game included 6 doubles, a triple, 4 home runs, and 6 total pitchers…

[goesto11]

Shoreline’s C Clyde Kluttz took home the player of the week honors… he went 9 for 19 (.474 BA) with one, moonshot home run, and 8 RBIs over 5 games played…

Your leaders in doubles…
Wally Moses, BEL, 6
Peanuts Lowrey, WOO, 5
Clyde McCullough, REN, 5
Bama Rowell, WOO, 5
Pete Suder, ISS, 5


Side note… I really want Peanuts Lowrey to become a beast in the save. He will be dubbed the Culver City Kid – if he becomes the savage I want him to be, I think that nickname will have a nice ring to it.

And, the weekly power ranking…

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Issaquah Pinks (121.0, o)
2) Shoreline Streetcars (111.0, ++)
3) Bothell Brainiacs (108.0, +)
4) Sammamish Lions (108.0, -)
5) Renton Roosters (90.0, +)
6) Woodinville Cougars (89.0, -)
7) Snoqualmie Killer Bees (73.0, ++)
8) Redmond Scholars (71.0, +)
9) Lynnwood Devils (69.0, --)
10) Bellevue Players (60.0, -)

[goesto11]

Our first calendar month is in the books… and, seeing as though it is not technically a full month, I won’t make a big fuss about it. So, then, a few things, oddities, and otherwise…


CF Leon Culberson

1. The longest game in league history, so far, happened on April 18th – it was a 20-inning affair pitting heated rivals Redmond and Sammamish against each other in Lions territory. The Lions walked it off in the bottom of the 20th on a CF Leon Culberson run-scoring single. 4 batsmen had 11 plate appearances during the game, and, interestingly (or not), no one had over 4 hits for the game – in fact, only Sammamish leadoff man, LF Johnny Lindell, and Redmond DH (I know, I know) Johnny Bernardino were able to collect more than three hits during the marathon tilt.
2. The current record for most runs scored in a game belongs to Sammamish’s 1B Ed Stevens (who, by the way, is not a great baserunner) – his line for that game was 2 for 2, with 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BBs, and 4 runs. It is his only Player of the Game win so far this year and it happened during a 9-inning game that came only 3 days after that marathon 20-inning slog I chronicled above.
3. Issaquah’s Frank Mancuso and Bothell’s Ray “Your Steal has been Redacted” Mueller have caught 80% of the base runners who have tried to get one over on them. Also, Mueller has a Catcher’s ERA of 2.12 which leads the league.

Expanded table, as of May 1st, is attached…

[goesto11]

Lynnwood Centerfielder, Wally Judnich, became the second player to hit 3 trucks in a single game during his club's 12-4 dismantling of the Woodinville Cougars – he went 4 for 5 with 3 TRUCKS, 6 RBI, and 4 runs for the game. Which gets me thinking – I don’t think we’ve had a GRAND SLAM yet… I mean, I’m too lazy to verify that, but am pretty sure we haven’t.

Ok, turns out that I wasn’t too lazy and that I was wrong… it has happened once so far…

• 4/25 – CF Terry Moore (SAM) hit a GRAND SLAM against Issaquah’s RP Al Gettel during a 14-12 loss. It was his second jack of the day.

[Syd Thrift]

This is CRAP Bellevue should be #1 if anyone should be scraping the basement it’s stupid Woodinville where my stupid brother lives CROSSROADS 4 LYFE

[goesto11]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

CROSSROADS 4 LYFE

Indeed, Sir, indeed.

[goesto11]

Lynnwood’s Wally Judnich is our Player of the Week – 17 for 30 (.567) with 4 homers and 9 RBIs for the 3rd Place Devils.

The Weekly Power Ranking…

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Renton Roosters (140.2, ++)
2) Bothell Brainiacs (128.2, +)
3) Lynnwood Devils (97.7, ++)
4) Snoqualmie Killer Bees (95.7, ++)
5) Sammamish Lions (93.7, -)
6) Issaquah Pinks (82.3, --)
7) Woodinville Cougars (72.8, -)
8) Shoreline Streetcars (70.8, --)
9) Bellevue Players (65.3, +)
10) Redmond Scholars (60.3, -)

It’s funny how, when you make a custom league filled with cities/towns that you know well, you develop teams you loathe… for me, in this league, that team is Renton (I also low-key dislike Woodinville). So, this is gross. And, sadly, right now I kinda find myself cheering on the Streetcars as their consistently poor performances pull at my heartstrings a little bit.

[goesto11]

Issaquah’s SP Eddie Lopat hurled a near-masterpiece today as the Pinks defeated the Redmond Scholars by a score of 3-0. Lopat charged a complete game, 1-hit shutout to his account, and earned his first victory of the year after taking an L in 3 of his first 4 starts (one no-decision, obvs). Also notable – this CG shutout comes after managing to go for only 2.1 and 2 innings during his last two outings, respectively. The kid is on a come up – you heard it here first. Only 2 K’s on the day for Lopat – 11 ground outs, 13 fly outs, and more than a little bit of help from his friends.

[goesto11]

Three complete game shutouts today…

1. Ken Raffensberger (BOT), 4 hits, 4 Ks – Brainiacs get the win over Sammamish.
2. Paul Erickson (WOO), 3 hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks – yet the Cougars took the loss, 1-0, against Shoreline (best of both worlds, I suppose).
3. Oval Grove (BEL), 2 hits, 3 free passes – the Players beat Redmond by a score of 5-0.

[goesto11]

Bellevue First Baseman, Eddie Waitkus, won player of the week honors – he racked up 12 hits in 25 attempts with no longballs, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs.

Your leaders in runs so far…
Wally Judnich, LYN, 23
Vance Dinges, ISS, 18
Ken Keltner, REN, 18
Pat Seerey, LYN, 18
Sam Chapman, REN, 17

Weekly Team Power Rankings:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Bothell Brainiacs (129.4, +)
2) Renton Roosters (118.2, -)
3) Issaquah Pinks (95.6, ++)
4) Snoqualmie Killer Bees (94.6, o)
5) Lynnwood Devils (93.6, -)
6) Bellevue Players (92.4, ++)
7) Sammamish Lions (85.4, -)
8) Shoreline Streetcars (85.4, o)
9) Woodinville Cougars (67.0, -)
10) Redmond Scholars (34.4, o)

Nice to see Renton drop down a peg…

[goesto11]

May 18th, 1946

2B Jimmy Bloodworth, who came in as a PH and stayed through the 9th, went 2 for 2 with a homer, 5 RBI, and a run for Lynnwood as the Devils easily dispatched the Sammamish Lions by a score of 15-5. So far this season, Bloodworth has managed to squeeze his way into 6 of Lynnwood’s games, including two as a starter. He's gone 8 for 15 with 2 homers and 8 riblets during those appearances – interesting to me because the Lynnwood Skipper has him sitting behind Frankie Gustine whose bat is superior, barely, but is not nearly as good as Jimmy B in the field.

May 19th, 1946

SP Phil Marchildon hurled a complete game, 3 hit shutout to lead his Shoreline Streetcars to a 5-0 win over the much-reviled Renton Roosters… what’s interesting/note-worthy here (besides the fact that his performance came at the expense of the Roosters) is that Marchildon handed out 7 free passes over the course of the contest. Here he was the beneficiary of 3 double plays and did, despite being so wild, manage to fan 7 hapless hitters… those 8 walks are a Shoreline and League regular-season record.

May 20th, 1946

Renton’s Sam Chapman is your Player of the Week – the 30-year old California native went 13 for 25 with a couple of long balls and 7 RBIs to help his club climb their way back to the top of the table this week.

So, who leads the Major League Baseball in walks percentage?
Elbie Fletcher, SNO, 20.5
Pat Seerey, LYN, 17.0
Hal Wagner, SAM, 16.7
Oscar Grimes, SHO, 15.7
Ed Stevens, SAM, 14.9

Here are the current team power rankings for Major League Baseball:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Bothell Brainiacs (124.1, o)
2) Renton Roosters (120.1, o)
3) Snoqualmie Killer Bees (113.9, +)
4) Lynnwood Devils (94.6, +)
5) Sammamish Lions (91.0, +)
6) Issaquah Pinks (89.0, --)
7) Shoreline Streetcars (86.4, +)
8) Bellevue Players (79.8, -)
9) Woodinville Cougars (74.8, o)
10) Redmond Scholars (14.4, o)

Renton & Bothell are now tied atop the MLB table with identical 21-11 records. Bothell closed out the week on a 2-game winning streak while Renton has now dropped two in a row.