LansdowneSt's Facegen Checklist

[LansdowneSt]

Outfielder Joe “Pop” Durham played parts of three major league seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (87 games in 1954 and 1957) and St. Louis Cardinals (six games in 1959). He also played 10 years in the minors with a total of five teams enduring the racism that came with playing on a traveling ballclub in the South. In 1954, Durham hit the first home run by an African American in modern Orioles’ history. After his playing career ended, he worked for the club for more than a half-century.

“No player has spent more years in the Orioles’ organization than Joe Durham,” reported the Baltimore Sun. “I’ve been on their payroll in some capacity since 1954,” Durham told an interviewer as his tenure with the team stretched into a sixth decade. As an octogenarian, he continued to make autograph appearances at Camden Yards. Late in his life, Durham discovered how much his struggles as a racial pioneer had inspired others. “I didn’t realize it until after I had finished playing,” he said. “You go back, get invitations to different places, and that’s what they talked about, the integration or infiltration of black players in baseball, especially in the South.” At the time of his passing in 2016, the Orioles honored him with a moment of silence before taking on the White Sox that evening at Camden Yards. “Joe lived, ate and dreamed baseball,” said Sallie, his wife of 58 years. “When we left the hospice center Wednesday night, my daughter put the Orioles game on TV for him. Joe couldn’t open his eyes, but the nurses said he could still hear.” - SABR

There was no facegen for him. Made this one.

[LansdowneSt]

In late 2019, the Tampa Bay Rays reached an agreement to sign Japanese slugger Yoshi Tsutsugo to a two-year, $12 million contract after paying a $2.4 million posting fee to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The then-28-year-old outfielder had earned five straight [league redacted] All-Star selections for Yokohama starting in 2015. He made his debut for the Central League club at the age of 18 and developed into one of Japanese baseball's top power threats. He joined Tampa Bay coming off a 2019 campaign where he posted a .272/.388/.511 triple-slash line with 29 home runs across 131 games. Overall, he had then recorded 185 homers over six years in the ***, including a career-high 44 longballs in 2016.

In 2021 he was traded to the Dodgers. Upon his release, the rebuilding Pirates took a chance on him, and he hit .268 with 8 HR in 43 games. The Bucs resigned him for the '22 season.

Redid the facegen seeking a better complexion.

[LansdowneSt]

Milwaukee Brewers scout Felix Delgado “found [Ed Romero playing in the mountains of Puerto Rico two years ago.” Romero was 17 at the time. “After one workout, the Brewers signed … Romero, along with four others.” He came to the majors briefly in 1977 as injuries hobbled the Brewers infield and then returned in 1980 for good. He played a total of eight years in Milwaukee before being traded to Boston for Mark Clear. With the Red Sox, he played in 100 games during the Sox '86 pennant run but his playing time fell off in the years to come under manager Joe Morgan who pigeon-holed him as an off-the-bench utility player only. He concluded his career with stints in Atlanta, Detroit and a brief return to Milwaukee. All told, he played 12 years and over 2,111 plate appearances slashed .247/.298/.302. - SABR

Redid the facegen. I was a Spike Owen fan as a kid, but always liked Ed. As an aside, his son, Eddie, became a Red Sox scout and signed the previously posted utilityman, Tzu-Wein Lin...

[LansdowneSt]

Max Manning was a man of many nicknames. Newark Eagles teammate Jimmy Hill gave him the moniker Dr. Cyclops, by which he became best-known in baseball circles. Hill had just seen the 1940 movie with that title, but he could not recall seeing any other player who wore glasses — especially thick spectacles like Manning’s — so the name seemed fitting to him. Eagles co-owner Abe Manley, Manning’s longtime employer, developed such a good rapport with him that he called him Milio — a contraction of the name Maximilian (though that was not Manning’s full first name) — so he also became known by that sobriquet. In Cuba, where Manning played four seasons, he was called Professor, in reference to the scholarly appearance that his glasses bestowed upon him; this particular nickname became most apropos as Manning went on to a lengthy career as a teacher once his tenure as a star pitcher in the Negro and Latin American baseball leagues ended. While many people call to mind the lanky, bespectacled Dr. Cyclops who starred for many years with the Newark Eagles, his daughter Belinda reminded everyone that there was much more to her father, saying, “I want him remembered as someone who had strength of character, not only in baseball but also in what he taught in the classroom and what he brought to the community.”

Didn't see an fg for him in the CUF. This is an update to a facegen I posted in an older NeL thread some months back but never in the CU Faceback thread or here. I cleaned it up and am putting it in my "done" pile...

[LansdowneSt]

After graduating from Duke University in 1974, John Poff made it to the majors for 31 games in 1979 and 1980. He hit .218 in 91 plate appearances. The first baseman-outfielder retired after the winter of 1981-82. “My career in baseball was frustrating,” he later said. “I wanted and felt I deserved a lot more time in the big leagues.” Poff went on, however, to leave a mark as a writer – something he always wanted to be. A friend named Tom Drake said, “During John’s extended minor-league career, I often pictured him on those long bus rides, writing poetry or reading Chaucer while everyone else was playing cards or reading comic books or Playboy.” Poff offered numerous insights on the game and American society as a contributor to the literary journal Elysian Fields Quarterly. His most eloquent piece – “Donnie Moore: A Racial Memoir” – was the cover story of the Spring 1995 issue. Looking back, the editors called it “arguably the best writing we’ve ever published.” - SABR

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

April 24, 1985. The Astrodome in Houston. Nolan Ryan has just pitched eight strong innings for the Astros against the Cincinnati Reds, and his night is done. With the Astros trailing 3-1, Houston manager Bob Lillis tells Ty Gainey to grab a bat. He’ll make his major-league debut pinch-hitting for Ryan in the bottom of the eighth.

“When I got the word I was going up to the major leagues, it was a relief from all the hard work I had put in, all the extra batting practice, all the trials and tribulations in the minor leagues,” Gainey said. “To get there and finally have the dream you’ve had since you were a young kid come true … it’s really something else.” Over three years with the Astros, he played in a total of 57 games, getting 124 plate appearances, batting .216 with a single home run and 7 RBIs.

After his time with the Astros, he played in the Indians’ and Pirates’ organizations, and reached superstar status with the Mexico City Reds of the Mexican League and the Orix Blue Wave in Japan (in the same outfield as Ichiro for two years). In 1995, Gainey became the first player since 1956 to win the triple crown in the Mexican League with a .411 average, 27 homers and 115 RBI.

“Everywhere I would go, I hit,” Gainey said. “There were times when it didn’t seem like I was ever going to make an out. People would say things like, ‘Hey, do you know you have a 12-game hitting streak?’ To me, that wasn’t anything. I was just playing a game, having fun.” - scnow.com

The CUF facegen had an old suffix of ty- so that's where the before comes from. Redid the facegen and dressed him as a Diablo where he had his best years on the diamond. That's fg #1,000 moved to the done pile. Taking the rest of the night off. Maybe I'll actually play the game instead of making fgs this evening

[Baby Ruth]

Originally Posted by silvam14

It is a bit irritating that updates just overwrite whatever is in your game folder. I just made a habit of backing things up regularly even though it’s a pain because it takes forever

I'm a little late to the game on this thread (always looking for improved dead ball players), what does this mean? Do the files in your fg folder get overwritten when a patch comes out or something? Does that include updates to the public beta? I'd hate to find I'm losing all the players I'm updating.

[LansdowneSt]

I've had an issue where in OOTP 22, when a patch would come out it would overwrite/install about 1700+ plus facegens every time. It would simply see they were not all there and that would trigger the patch to add them all again. And when it adds one that is already one I've replaced, it overwrites it. So, while the dead ballplayers were fine, the ones that ship with the game (all current MLB'ers) that I may have redone would get overwritten. At first, I didn't notice, and my Jacob deGrom would appear fine to me for a while because the game would continue to use the one in the cache (that was mine), but if I hit refresh facegen in the editor tab, the game-shipped one appears because that what had snuck in my folder.

As the maker of my own fgs, I have all the ones I made in a separate, safe folder though, so I didn't lose it - but every time there is a patch, I go back to my backup folder and just copy all and paste them all in the OOTP fg folder. At least no more OOTP 22 patches are expected but I anticipate the problem will recurr in the next iteration. Again, that's why my true fg folder is not the one in the game and it is those contents I drop in every so often to ensure mine clear any patch-overwritten ones.

[Baby Ruth]

Oh boy. So I'd guess I'd better see if I can turn off Steam's auto-update, so I don't lose anything your FaceGenners have created. Then I can at least back up my folder before updating.

[LansdowneSt]

I can't speak to how Steam updates. I have lots of steam games but my OOTP is the stand-alone game. Also, the only ones at risk of getting overwritten are the 1,700-ish that represent current MLB'ers. But if you have favorites from the forums or make ones yourself, always best to have a back-up file so you can replace any overwritten one you come across.

[Baby Ruth]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

I can't speak to how Steam updates. I have lots of steam games but my OOTP is the stand-alone game. Also, the only ones at risk of getting overwritten are the 1,700-ish that represent current MLB'ers. But if you have favorites from the forums or make ones yourself, always best to have a back-up file so you can replace any overwritten one you come across.

I'm in the habit of nabbing anything I see posted where I prefer the 'after' to the 'before', regardless of era (since I will eventually get there in my universe). I don't want to lose any of the quality work that's been done. Unfortunately, it seems Steam doesn't let you not update a game, but you can set it to only update when you launch it (from what I can see). Hopefully, it at least indicates there's an update so that one has time to backup their files.

[LansdowneSt]

After being selected by the Montreal Expos in the 2nd round of the 1990 amateur draft, Tavo Álvarez quickly established himself as the team's top pitching prospect but, after a hot start in the minors, arms woes slowed his development. He was one of those prospects that wasn’t expected to do great things, but perhaps be a #3/#4 type pitcher. Given that the Expos were in pretty good shape back then, that might have contributed to the delay in his development. Once he did get to the bigs in 1995, he did himself no favors, going 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA. He was bounced out of baseball after 1996, despite going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Injury casualty? Sort of. He was never the same after a calf muscle injury in 96 and struggled all his career to keep his weight down. - natscards.wordpress.com

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Leo Norris was given the shortstop job on the 1936 Philadelphia Phillies as a 28-year-old rookie. While his .265 batting average was below the team average of .281, his 11 home runs were fourth on the team and his 76 RBI were third on the team. His range was good, but he made 45 errors. In 1937, he continued to slug well, with a slugging percentage of .407 that was higher than in 1936, but he gradually lost his job. He appeared in 116 games. He was at shortstop only 20 times, losing the job to George Scharein, and was at third base 24 times, behind Pinky Whitney. Mostly, he was at second base, appearing 74 times behind Del Young. His fielding percentage was about the same as the other players, but his range was not as good.

Redid the facegen. The one in the CU Facepack was quite old and in need of a redo.

[LansdowneSt]

Jeffrey Marquez woke up in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday a minor league prospect and by evening he was in Chicago putting on the new No. 48 jersey of the major league White Sox. He was called up when White Sox ace Jake Peavy was put on the 15-day disabled list. Marquez doesn't know if he'll start or work out of the bullpen, and it's unclear if his stay will be short or long term. What he does know is he was just handed the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I was a little shocked at first,” he said by telephone from Chicago. “I was scheduled to start the next day (in Charlotte). It's awesome. It's what I've been dreaming about since I was a little kid. I'm pitching good and feeling good,” Marquez said. “I rode a taxi to the ballpark and looked around the stadium,” he said of his arrival Wednesday. “It was like the first day of school all over again. I've been in camp with the White Sox the last two years, so I know a lot of the guys. I went up to everybody, shook their hands and told them how glad I was to be there. They all said congratulations.” - thereporter.com

He finally made his major league debut with the White Sox on July 9, 2010, giving up two runs in one inning of relief against the Kansas City Royals. He was sent back to the minors after that game. The next year he was claimed by the Yankees and pitched an additional four innings in the Majors.

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Daniel Albion "Jumping Jack" Jones, Jr. played in the majors in 1883, splitting the season between the Detroit Wolverines and Philadelphia Athletics. With a strong showing in September 1883, he helped the Athletics win the American Association pennant by one game over the St. Louis Browns. Even before graduating from Yale, however, Jones began playing professional baseball. In early 1883 he played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in the Northwestern League. The Toledo baseball club was racially integrated that year, having Moses Fleetwood Walker as one of its catchers. It is not known whether Jones pitched to Walker during the season.

While playing major league baseball, Jones became known as "Jumping Jack" Jones, and was considered "the twirling marvel of his time." The nickname was based on his distinctive pitching delivery which involved "a leap skywards to give further impetus to the ball." While Jones's delivery drew ridicule, it also caused confusion on the part of batters. A newspaper account in September 1883 noted that his "habit of jumping high in the air" caused batters to become confused, noting that he generally delivered the balls other ways "until two strikes are called, when he jumps up in the air and pitches the ball in various and curious curves." Another account, published in 1892, observed: "Jumping Jack Jones was the marvel of the age when a pitcher was allowed to indulge in a few jig steps before he delivered the ball. While he was engaged in the delightful occupation of unjointing himself the frightened batsman was not sure whether the ball or an arm or a leg was coming over the plate."

Jones studied dentistry at his mother's successful practice for three years and then attended Harvard Dental School, receiving a D.D.S. degree in 1889. He also received an M.D. degree from Yale Medical School in 1890. Late in life, he retired from dentistry and took up "voice training." - Wikipedia

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Ubaldo Heredia, at age 31, pitched ten innings in two games for the Montreal Expos going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. He was indicted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 and went on to be a scout after he retired from the field. Below is the concluding paragraph of an article about him unbutchered by Google Translator.

Heredia se siente agradecido y orgulloso de su trayectoria, finales y victorias con los Leones del Caracas, su entrada al Salón de la Fama de jugadores del caribe, entre otras hazañas. En especial, el reconocimiento al salón de la fama despiertan emociones en este pelotera “fuera de serie” que hoy constituye uno de los mayores orgullos de béisbol profesional venezolano.

Redid the facegen. (Rehizo el facegen)

[LansdowneSt]

Jaime Cocanower spent parts of four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. His big-league career, spanning 1983 to 1986, was marred by control problems. In 356 2/3 major league innings, he struck out 139 batters but walked a whopping 201. He also holds the record by recording one wild pitch in 8 consecutive games during the 1985 season. In his busiest season, he went 8-16, 4.02 in 33 games (27 starts) in 1984. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Johnny Lush began his professional career in 1904 with the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies. Right out of the gate he played both sides of the ball.

As a pitcher he went 66-85 with a 2.68 ERA (97 ERA+) and 6.6 rWAR. As a hitter he had 1,090 plate appearances, a .630 OPS (97 OPS+) and 2.9 rWAR. On 1 May 1906 he became the youngest man to ever pitch a no-hitter. He beat Brooklyn 6-0. In 1907 he moved to Cardinals and threw a second no-hitter in August 1908, also against Brooklyn. The game ended after six innings because of rain and is not currently recognized by MLB as a no-hitter.

To the very end, Johnny Lush kept plugging away at being a two-way player. The stats tell the clear tale of someone who could have been a darn good professional pitcher had he just focused on that element of his game. Alas, Johnny thought he could do both and he kept playing both year-after-year with diminishing results. File Johnny Lush as a failed two-way player, but a pitcher with a lot of wasted talent. Lush moved to Hawaii after he was through with baseball and opened a high-end antique and jewelry business that made him quite a bit of money. - wordsabovereplacement.com & verdun2.wordpress.com

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

In 1888, 21-year-old Ed Seward was the ace of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association with a 35-19 record, a league-leading 272 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA (146 ERA+) and the distinction of having hurled a no-hitter against the Reds. The next year, he developed a sore arm in April. Despite his stated intention of not using Seward in spring training games, Manager Bill Sharsig let him pitch a full game against Boston when his arm not in shape. Seward started the regular season 2-9. Sharsig was criticized a couple of times during the season for overworking his ace while his staff was hurt. Seward came to Bill’s defense at one point, saying he volunteered to pitch two straight games in Columbus because Phenomenal Smith had a sore arm. Ed and the other pitchers weren’t helped any by two new rules passed over the winter. One gave the batter a base on four balls, in place of the previous five, and the other declared the batter would no longer be out when the catcher caught a foul tip. These changes were the main reasons the league ERA rose from 3.06 in 1888 to 3.85 in 1889. In 1890, the A's were awful and Seward's sore arm persisted. A year later he was out of the game.

Redid the facegen as I couldn't abide my Random Debut pitching staff continuing with that old one

[Baby Ruth]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Johnny Lush began his professional career in 1904 with the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies. Right out of the gate he played both sides of the ball.

I'm glad to see this one come up. As current manager of the Cardinals, he's my #3 pitcher. He's up for the NL's Platinum Stick for P as we enjoy the offseason between 1911 and 1912. He hit .319 in 144 AB this season.