CDL proudly unveils 20th anniversary logo!

[CDL Commish]

With the start of 20th season, 1988, right around the corner the CDL proudly unveils our new logo celebrating the vast history of the league.



Thank you to all past and present owners for making the CDL a truly remarkable league, one that is still very active after being around for so long!

[CDL Commish]

Oh, also congratulations to our 19th champion, Chuck Groening and his San Francisco Giants!

[CDL Commish]

So with the start of our 20th season, here are a couple observations which is testimony to the longevity of the CDL.

-The first (1969) rookies of the year were Rick Renick of Detroit and Jerry Moses of Pittsburgh

-The first MVPs were Harmon Killebrew of Cleveland and Rico Carty of Chicago.

-The first Cy Youngs went to Claude Osteen of Minnesota and Bill Hands of Montreal.

-The most (1987) recent rookies of the year are Barry Bonds of Toronto and Barry Larkin of San Diego.

-The most recent MVPs are Jim Presley of Boston and Gary Carter of the Cubs.

-The most recent Cy Youngs are Don Robinson of California and Fernando Valenzuela of Atlanta.

The current members of the CDL hall of fame are...
P Hoyt Wilhelm
1B Ernie Banks
RF Willie Mays
LF Al Kaline
LF Hank Aaron
CF Roberto Clemente
SP Bob Gibson
1B Orlando Cepeda
3B Harmon Killebrew
1B Willie McCovey
CF Frank Robinson
SP Don Drysdale
2B Pete Rose
1B Dick Allen
SP Milt Pappas
SP Claude Osteen
SP Fritz Peterson
SP Sam McDowell
SP Bill Singer
SP Denny McLain
SP Tom Seaver
SP Steve Carlton
CF Reggie Jackson
SP Larry Dierker
SP Steve Kline
2B Rod Carew (Just voted in by GMs)

You can view all the CDL Hall of Famers and their career stats here...

http://www.cdl.ootp-leagues.com/hof/

[Cooleyvol]

Congrats, Matt!

[sporr]

Congrats on 20 sim years!

[LivnLegend]

20 seasons is a great accomplishment. Congrats!

[Hammer755]

Congrats!!! 20 years is something to be proud of.

[LaggTime]

and one i,m proud to be in,great job guys and a great league.

Jeff

[The Professor]

Awesome! Congrats...

[dime]

Fritz Peterson! The wife-swapper! Excellent.

[MTXperience]

Originally posted by dime
Fritz Peterson! The wife-swapper! Excellent.

So THAT'S why he was on the ballot...

[bigphesta]

Yes. The CDL Rocks!

And let's not forget the "Team with the Most MVP's of all time : Chicago CUBS!" (ok, second to SF, but that guy gets all the props!

[Specs]

After three glorious CDL seasons, Mark Cooley left his St. Louis Cardinal franchise as a broken man. His team had lost its two premier draws, starting pitcher Dave McNally to a career ending injury, and Jim Palmer to free agency. With the loss of these players, the team was in shambles. Matt Skutley took a chance on an inexperienced and completely incompetent owner, myself, when choosing the newest member of his league. For 7 seasons I endured the pains of the St. Louis franchise, and left due to personal reasons for the first time. In 1972, the team suffered greatly, but in 1973 Dave Parker came on board. He won the Rookie of the Year award – at least in my heart, the game felt it went to Lynn McGlothlen, but what does OOTP know? The Cardinals suffered through 1974 as well, but in 1975 everything clicked and the wire-to-wire championship seemed within reach until Sam Stauder came on board and ruined my hopes and my dreams by overtaking my three game lead. The Cardinals have never been to the playoffs since, although under new management they are getting closer. By 1978, I had to let real life get in the way, and I gave the team to another owner

I came back two seasons later after my replacement, Andrew Rollins, left the team. We got through 1980 with huge success, finishing 81-81, the team’s best performance since the ill-fated 1975 season. In 1981, we went ballistic on the free agent and trade markets, grabbing talent and poising ourselves for a huge season. Unfortunately, much to my chagrin, we were not completely able to succeed and I left once again a broken man. I came back in 1985 for my 10th season as the GM of the Toronto Blue Jays and led the team to a 32-27 record en route to finishing 69-93 that season. The following year the franchise had a team-record 89-73 season, but two key career-ending injuries set the franchise back. I now had no choice other than to disband the team and start over.

I remember the days when we were on Sport Planet, sharing forums and then when Sam and Daryl led us to the promised land with vBulletin, and finally when we joined the OOTP-Leagues server. I remember my second favorite player, Dave Parker, now an Indian in pursuit of the league doubles record, and will watch tonight’s trial just to see him on the witness stand. I remember Bob Knepper, my favorite, and know that he has played for me whenever we’ve both been in the league, rewarding me year after year. I remember becoming the ATR’s whipping boy all to well, and wonder what he would say about the Grimsley-for-Blair, Pocoroba, Gagliano, and Speier deal. I remember Vern Ruhle, Chet Lemon, Lance Parrish, Pedro Guerrero, Jay Howell, and Barry Bonds, and the hope that came with each and every one of them. Oh how I remember the CDL, the best league on the net, and the bane of my existence until I win a title.

[Cooleyvol]

Did I run the Cardinals for three seasons? I was thinking it was less than that.

Nonetheless, I, too remember the early days of the CDL--that god-awful yellow/green color scheme that was the first incarnation of the league's site.

Yes, for all you who never knew......I was there when it was all formed..........Matt and I had ran a HH league together for many seasons and after GDBA was established, Matt had a hankering to again run his own league.
Asked to help, I agreed and actually coined the league's name........Cooperstown Diamond Legends...........where the hell did that come from? I'll never know, but I've watched with a bit of pride as this 'latter day' Glory Days took off and flourished with Matt at the helm.

Congrats to all who have called/call the CDL home.........its a great league!

[Catfish]

Matt, Brian and Sam for keeping this league, the loveable CDL, running like a finely tuned watch...don't ever recall a sim not done...these guys truely made it easy for all us owners to keep up, keep involved and get excited about sim baseball. thanks guys...

chuck groening
cdl champs'87

[UKSubs]

It's hard to believe the CDL is finishing up its second real life year as well.

We've seen 19 World Series champions, some amazing playoff series (1973 World Series, 1979 NLCS, 1984 NLDS, 1987 World Series), at least 50 different owners (we only have five original owners and only four owners who have never left and returned), a fantastic webpage, a dedicated commissioner and some of the most historically correct players around.

I would also like to say that Lynn McGlothin deserved to win the NL ROY in 1973 over the mediocre Dave Parker for the crucial role he played in bringing the Astros their only World Series.

[Randall]

Pretty cool