North American Baseball League

[Hacksaw86]

This is a new experience for me, writing up what happens in my league. I am hoping it helps with immersion and allows me to stick with a Universe for a long period of time. Not sure how often I will fall into posting in real time; most likely in game monthly updates with things that happen with my team or interesting things around the league. Here goes nothing!

In addition, a big thank you to low (see his Mod thread here: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=303562). All city and team names, logos, caps and jerseys are his creation.

[Hacksaw86]

By the year 1900, baseball had grown in popularity, but a successful coalition had never been created. Some startups had attempted and failed; most notably the esteemed National League (NL.) Seeing a great opportunity after the NL folded in 1897, city leaders and notable businessmen met to discuss the possibility of taking advantage of this potentially profitable market. 32 cities were selected to take part in this new organization, owners selected from each city. The only problem was they needed a leader, somebody that could tie everything together and give these businessmen and politicians a clear direction and vision for how to make their league successful. Somebody that knew baseball. That man was Roger Wyckoff.

Roger had been a close advisor to multiple owners in the now defunct National League. His baseball mind was well known throughout the new owners; after a quick vote he was unamimously approved as the commishioner for their league. Roger had new ideas for the NABL, ones that the NL had not been bold enough to accept. A true playoff system, which would give more teams an opportunity to win a Championship. Players could leave their original team that drafted them after a few years, they would no longer simply be employees of that team for their entire career. Another professional hitter would come to bat instead of the pitcher, creating more offense. All of these changes came down to one thing; creating more fan interest and revenue for the teams. Only time would tell if this different way of playing the game would work, but everyone was invested in these new ideas.

Fast forward to 1949. The NABL has become a huge success. Still set at 32 teams, each individual club has three minor league temas affiliated to grow their draft picks and build a farm system. The original brains behind the league, Roger, has long retired. He had high hopes for his son Louis to take over in some fashion; Louis however had no interest in "taking part in a child's game." He went on to make his fortune as a lawyer and had a son of his own, Kyle.

Kyle Wyckoff grew up at his Grandfather's side, learning the game and drinking in all the knowledge his grandfather had. Kyle did not realise that Roger had amassed his own personal wealth from his years of working within the NABL. At 33 years old, Kyle met with Roger and was presented with a unique opportunity. Roger's good friend was the owner of the St. Louis Archers, the Wyckoff's hometown team. They needed a new General Manager and Manager. The job was offered to Kyle, and of course he readily accepted the position. This is a story of Kyle and his run with the franchise of the St. Louis Archers; a team that has only made 9 playoff appearances without a single NABL Championship in their 50 year history.

[Hacksaw86]

I simmed fairly quickly through my first season, before deciding to write and come up with this. My top SP is Sean Holien, who I signed to a 7 year FA contract in the offseason. A bit pricy, but I needed that top of the rotation guy. And only 28 at the end of 1950, so there shouldn't be too many bad years at the end of his contract unless he has some unforeseen aging. He does have an opt out after the third season, so there is a possibility he won't be around for the backloaded contract anyway.

A couple top tier hitters, Matt Grow who I use as my DH, and Chris Gerber in CF. Both are high contact, good speed and not much power. Gerber is also fantastic defensively, Grow is solid enough but I had another option to use in RF and just used him as a DH.

I only made one in-season trade for Jason William. My team is severely lacking in the power department, and I was hoping he would give me a boost. Unfortunately his power dropped off after I acquired him, and he was injured for 2-3 weeks near the end of the season and missed most of the playoffs.

Overall a good first season at the helm, with a Wild Card finish and third best record in my League. Biggest needs in the offseason are a couple middle of the order bats and possibly another bullpen arm. Relievers aren't as high of a priority, but I did only have the 11th best bullpen ERA (3.44), while my starters were first overall (3.37.)

[Hacksaw86]

1950 NABL Awards

International League Great Glove
P: Kevin Brown - San Antonio Stallions
C: Eric Patricia (4th time winning) - Portland Pioneers
1B: Jason Altschuler - Portland Pioneers
2B: Dave Resnick (2) - Kansas City Wheat Kings
3B: Manny Coreas (2) - Ottawa Senators
SS: Joel Dirk - Boston Bombers
LF: Ryan Stensrud (3) - Tacoma Squids
CF: Cesat Segura: (9) - Winnipeg Frostbite
RF: Victor Avila (3) - Tacoma Squids

Patriot League Great Glove
P: Chris Jackson (2) - Phoenix Devils
C: Dan Marlow (2) - Cleveland Bobcats
1B: Guillermo Castillo - Anaheim Dolphins
2B: Esteban Vega (3) - Dayton Aviators
3B: Alex Araujo - San Diego Panthers
SS: Eli Posada (4) - Las Vegas Rollers
LF: Gary Shoeman (5) - Richmond Regiment
CF: Matt Simpson - Baltimore Blackbirds
RF: Bobby Fierro - Fort Wayne Warriors

Jeremiah Odom Award (Best Reliever)
IL: Brad Banks (3) - Chicago Cardinaly
PL: Dave Gomez - Tampa Pirates

International League Platinum Stick Award
C: Zeke Rios - Ottawa Capitals
1B: Jason Altschuler (2) - Portland Pioneers
2B: Dale Hope (3) - Salt Lake City Saints
3B: Jon Milner - Boston Bombers
SS: Jose Salinas (2) - Baton Rouge Reapers
LF: Jonathan Martinez - Portland Pioneers
CF: Ronnie Flewelling (2) - Baton Rouge Reapers
RF: Jose Juarez - Memphis Kings
DH: Matt Grow - St. Louis Archers

Patriot League Platinum Stick Award
C: Roman Sisneros - Phoenix Devils
1B: Ken Carey (4) - Mobile Mallards
2B: Manny Cordero - Cincinnati Spartans
3B: Robert Pardo (2) - Cleveland Bobcats (I didn't sign this guy after 1949...oops.)
SS: Tony Arias - San Diego Panthers
LF: Jimmy Sanguinacco - Baltimore Blackbirds
CF: Ricky Carrillo - Charleston Shiners
RF: Jesus Orta - Richmond Regiment
DH: Jason Holland (2) - Washington Eagles

Rookie of the Year
IL: Rafael Vasquez - Vancouver Bruins (.278/.331/.468 21 HR 81 RBI 3.7 WAR)
PL: Jon Trejo - Phoenix Devils (.300/.337/.457 18 HR 74 RBI 2.4 WAR)

Manager of the Year
IL: Cody Gittins (3) - Vancouver Bruins
PL: Sean Jones - Mobile Mallards

Efrain Hernandez Award (Best Pitcher)
IL: Sung-Woo Lee - Vancouver Bruins (20-6 2.45 ERA 229 K's 7.7 WAR)
PL: Jeremy Owen - Anaheim Dolphins (13-7 2.51 ERA 135 K's 5.3 WAR)
*St. Louis Archers had two Pitchers receive votes. Ben Myers (14-6 2.83 ERA 147 K's 46 WAR) and Sean Holien (14-10 2.56 ERA 172 K's 5.0 WAR)

Ramon Luciano Award (Most Valuable Player)
IL: Tony Sico (3) - Vancouver Bruins (.299/.378/.536 31 HR 95 RBI 5.8 WAR)
PL: Jesus Orta - Richmond Regiment (.315/.385/.558 27 HR 73 RBI 5.8 WAR)
*Four St. Louis Archers received votes, Chris Gerber (.333/.370/.482 11 HR 80 RBI 5.9 WAR) had one first place vote. Matt Grow (.320/.367/.484 12 HR 61 RBI 2.8 WAR), Sean Holien and Ben Myers also grabbed a few votes.

Onto arbitration and Free Agency!

A screenshot of the players I named my awards after:

[Hacksaw86]

Overall, the 1950 off-season has been fairly quiet on my front, outside of the signing of Jose Juarez. He provides some much needed punch in the middle of my lineup (stats are set to 1985, HR aren't necessarily the only way to win games.)

I traded Jose Jimenez to the Chicago Cardinals for Alexis Moreno. Jimenez wanted a spot in the starting lineup, and with the addition of Juarez there was no room for him there. Moreno's main draw is his power, it's something I didn't have in a pinch hitter. He is a cheaper option and also happy with a bench spot, and gives me solid enough defense at the corner outfield if I need to plug him in there at some point.

Chris Neil was added for a lefty in my bullpen. Previously had all right handed pitchers, so an option from the other side will be nice.

And Nick Gerbec was grabbed in the Rule 5. Already good enough to be a fourth or fifth outfielder, and I will be curious to see how he develops, he is somebody I can possibly start in the upcoming couple years.

With the few tweaks to my roster this off-season, I feel like I can make a legitimate run at the division this year. My owner only expects a winning record, so I should be able to easily exceed his expectations.

[Hacksaw86]

Some good news, some bad news coming out of Spring Training. To get the bad news out of the way, RP Ryan Brown is out for about the next three weeks dealing with shoulder tendinitis. I had plans to use him as my main setup man in front of my stopper, Neil. Should still be OK, as I have other options to plug in for a bit. His injury prone rating is classified as "Wrecked" so it's not really out of the expected.

On to the better news, preseason predictions have me finishing in first place! Take it with a grain of salt though, I don't always trust those.

I also now have the #1 rated overall prospect in baseball with Edwin Riojas! He is a couple years away most likely. Got lucky with him, an International discovery that took place before I took over the team. His defense looks just average, but good power and speed. My current SS position is a little weak, but if he keeps developing like I think I should have a good option in a couple years.

[Sizeman21]

I really like this league so far. Not your everyday MLB league, it's got a bit of character with the team names. I love Lows logos, they add so much life to a league.

I am a STL native, so I will be rooting for the Archers! Hopefully 83 wins is gunna be enough this season!

[Hacksaw86]

Originally Posted by Sizeman21

I really like this league so far. Not your everyday MLB league, it's got a bit of character with the team names. I love Lows logos, they add so much life to a league.

I am a STL native, so I will be rooting for the Archers! Hopefully 83 wins is gunna be enough this season!

Thank you! Let me know if there is anything else around the league you are curious to see and I can post that up too.

[Hacksaw86]

Around the League:

- Juan Cardenas, a rookie for the Baltimore Blackbirds is hitting .419, leading the Patriot League; also took home Rookie of the Month.
- Dave Resnick of the Kansas City Wheat Kings hit for the cycle on 4/22.
- Mike Legette of the Chicago Cardinals recorded his 2,000th hit on 4/25. (All-time leader has 2,978.)

St. Louis Archers Top Performers and Notes:
- Started off the first month of the season better than I had even hoped at 19-9. My best stretch was an 9 game winning streak from 4/9-4/18, also won 12 out of 13 including the previous 4 games.
- My lineup is leading the charge, leading the league in BA, Runs Scored and Hits. Top 3 in most other categories except Home Runs, only 13th there...I expected that though with how my team is built.
- Pitching is struggling more than I had hoped, only 6th best ERA, 6th for Starters and 7th for Bullpen. Not going to make any changes yet, I have a couple guys that have been under performing, it should balance out with my offense most likely over performing so far.
- Sean Holien is 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA
- Bobby Lopez is hitting .336, had a 26 game hitting streak dating back to last season that ended on 4/28.
- Gary Madden is hitting .360, good for 2nd in the International League.
- New Acquisition Jose Juarez is off to a good enough start. .240/.390.542, 7 HR and 20 RBI's, on pace for 34 and 97.
- Rookie DH Mauricio Morales is slashing .353/.398/.630, 6 HR and 17 RBI, pacing for 29 and 83.

[Hacksaw86]

Around the League:
- Patriot League Rookie of the Month: Alex Sandoval from the Mobile Mallards. .297 for the month, 7 HR and 21 RBI.
- International League Rookie of the Month: Zack Flavin from the Ottawa Capitals. Odd choice here just from what OOTP provided on the news page, but he had 10 saves for the month and a 2.45 ERA, registering only 5 K's in 11 IP.
- PL Pitcher of the Month: Jason Laney from the Richmond Regiment. 5-1 2.13 ERA for the month.
- IL Pitcher of the Month: Monte Ortiz from the Bronx Barbarians. 5-0 1.78 ERA for the month.
- PL Hitter of the Month: Ian Harvey from the Charleston Shiners. .381/.492/.590 5 HR 26 RBI and 22 Runs scored.
- IL Hitter of the Month: My own Jose Juarez! .381/.425/.570 7 HR 26 RBI 18 Runs Scored.
- Cesar Segura from the Phoenix Devils recorded his 2,000th hit on 5/3.
- Gouncallo Hespanha from the Tampa Pirates scored his 1,500th career run on 5/4.

St. Louis Archers Top Performers and Notes:
- Our lead in the division has grown to 6 games over Chicago after a 20-9 record this month, also the best record in the entire league right now.
- Ended the month on a current 8 game win streak and 9-1 in my last 10.
- My pitching staff bounced back nicely, after a strong month we are 2nd in overall (3.27) and starter's ERA (3.31), and third best bullpen ERA(3.12) for the year.
- Offense is still going strong outside of HR's, walks and baserunning. I was a bit too aggressive on the basepaths early in the year, our strategy has been adjusted and it's been getting better, after another month or two we should be higher up the list there as well.
- My top two in the lineup have really helped spark the lineup: LF Matt Grow slashed .336/.370/.479, 16 RBI, 8 XBH and 29 runs scored; CF Chris Gerber slashed .357/.410/.509, with 13 RBI, 11 doubles, and 20 runs scored.
- Jose Juarez (stats listed above and Bobby Lopez took advantage of all the baserunners, both drove in 26 runs for the month.
- Rookie Mauricio Morales had another solid month, hitting .293/.320/.345 while driving in 21...his power really dropped off though with only 1 HR and 3 doubles. Curious to see if this is an outlier or if his first month was just above his head.
- SP Ben Myers had another solid month, going 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
- SP Sean Holien solid as always. 3-2 with a 1.88 ERA.
- RP Chris Neil (forgot to mention him last month) picked up 4 saves and 3 wins, along with a 2.25 ERA. For the year he is 6-3 with 8 Saves and a 1.83 ERA, definitely performing as well as not better than I had hoped when signing him.

No real concerns moving forward, I don't need to make any changes with having a .684 winning percentage after the first two months. A lot is coming up in June however. Draft on 6/5, and the All-Star game is on 6/11.

[Sizeman21]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw86

Around the League:
- Patriot League Rookie of the Month: Alex Sandoval from the Mobile Mallards. .297 for the month, 7 HR and 21 RBI.
- International League Rookie of the Month: Zack Flavin from the Ottawa Capitals. Odd choice here just from what OOTP provided on the news page, but he had 10 saves for the month and a 2.45 ERA, registering only 5 K's in 11 IP.
- PL Pitcher of the Month: Jason Laney from the Richmond Regiment. 5-1 2.13 ERA for the month.
- IL Pitcher of the Month: Monte Ortiz from the Bronx Barbarians. 5-0 1.78 ERA for the month.
- PL Hitter of the Month: Ian Harvey from the Charleston Shiners. .381/.492/.590 5 HR 26 RBI and 22 Runs scored.
- IL Hitter of the Month: My own Jose Juarez! .381/.425/.570 7 HR 26 RBI 18 Runs Scored.
- Cesar Segura from the Phoenix Devils recorded his 2,000th hit on 5/3.
- Gouncallo Hespanha from the Tampa Pirates scored his 1,500th career run on 5/4.

St. Louis Archers Top Performers and Notes:
- Our lead in the division has grown to 6 games over Chicago after a 20-9 record this month, also the best record in the entire league right now.
- Ended the month on a current 8 game win streak and 9-1 in my last 10.
- My pitching staff bounced back nicely, after a strong month we are 2nd in overall (3.27) and starter's ERA (3.31), and third best bullpen ERA(3.12) for the year.
- Offense is still going strong outside of HR's, walks and baserunning. I was a bit too aggressive on the basepaths early in the year, our strategy has been adjusted and it's been getting better, after another month or two we should be higher up the list there as well.
- My top two in the lineup have really helped spark the lineup: LF Matt Grow slashed .336/.370/.479, 16 RBI, 8 XBH and 29 runs scored; CF Chris Gerber slashed .357/.410/.509, with 13 RBI, 11 doubles, and 20 runs scored.
- Jose Juarez (stats listed above and Bobby Lopez took advantage of all the baserunners, both drove in 26 runs for the month.
- Rookie Mauricio Morales had another solid month, hitting .293/.320/.345 while driving in 21...his power really dropped off though with only 1 HR and 3 doubles. Curious to see if this is an outlier or if his first month was just above his head.
- SP Ben Myers had another solid month, going 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
- SP Sean Holien solid as always. 3-2 with a 1.88 ERA.
- RP Chris Neil (forgot to mention him last month) picked up 4 saves and 3 wins, along with a 2.25 ERA. For the year he is 6-3 with 8 Saves and a 1.83 ERA, definitely performing as well as not better than I had hoped when signing him.

No real concerns moving forward, I don't need to make any changes with having a .684 winning percentage after the first two months. A lot is coming up in June however. Draft on 6/5, and the All-Star game is on 6/11.

St. Louis are off to a great start! Need to keep up the pace.