A New York State Of Mind: Replaying the New York Highlanders/New York Yankees History, 1903-Present - Page 15

Powderguy · 04-23-2009, 04:38 PM

It's good to see Josh Gibson getting lots of love in your dynasty. I always wonder how good he would have been if only he would gotten a chance in the real major leagues. You always hear some many stories about him from the negro leagues. Too bad he never got the opportunity.

gollum65 · 04-23-2009, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powderguy

It's good to see Josh Gibson getting lots of love in your dynasty. I always wonder how good he would have been if only he would gotten a chance in the real major leagues. You always hear some many stories about him from the negro leagues. Too bad he never got the opportunity.

Yeah, there were a few Negro League stars that I really wanted to see. Gibson was supposed to be better then Ruth, and Willard Brown was supposed to be a better home run hitter then Gibson. And Cool Papa Bell was supposed to be the fastest man alive. In the dynasty he just retired with over 1,000 stolen bases. If those were his real numbers he'd rank 2nd all time to Rickey Henderson. And of course there was Satchel Paige, who I probably under-rated in the game as it doesn't look like he'll win 300 games in the dynasty.

And yes, I was very surprised to see Philly take on the Blue Jays name for a few seasons. Glad they switched back so quick. What would Toronto be called if Philly had kept that name?

CatKnight · 04-23-2009, 06:42 PM

The Toronto Torontonians?

Powderguy · 04-23-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

The Toronto Torontonians?

LOL, nice one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gollum65

Yeah, there were a few Negro League stars that I really wanted to see. Gibson was supposed to be better then Ruth, and Willard Brown was supposed to be a better home run hitter then Gibson. And Cool Papa Bell was supposed to be the fastest man alive. In the dynasty he just retired with over 1,000 stolen bases. If those were his real numbers he'd rank 2nd all time to Rickey Henderson. And of course there was Satchel Paige, who I probably under-rated in the game as it doesn't look like he'll win 300 games in the dynasty.

And yes, I was very surprised to see Philly take on the Blue Jays name for a few seasons. Glad they switched back so quick. What would Toronto be called if Philly had kept that name?

Yup, a favorite quote I always see about Cool Papa Bell is “Cool was so fast, he could turn out the light and jump in bed before it got dark.”

gollum65 · 04-24-2009, 10:08 AM

Someone asked who were the players the Red Sox had that enabled them to win 3 AL pennants in 4 years. Some of the more well known names are Ralph Branca, Bobby Estalella, Tommy Henrich, Eddie Stanky, & Rudy York. York hit 40 homers and 125 RBI last season. 19 year old Ralph Branca won 16 games and led the team in ERA with 2.70. And a former real life Cub named Vern Olson won 24 games and has won at least 15 games every season he's played in Boston.

I'll be posting an offseason HoF ballot for the "veteran's committee" soon, so keep reading please as I'll need people's input.

Jeff49 · 04-24-2009, 10:53 AM

What would Toronto be called if Philly had kept that name?

The Toronto Phillies, what else? Heck, the name would be available, after all. Makes as much sense as the Lakers in Los Angeles with no natural lakes keeping Minnesota's Land of 1,000 Lakes nickname, or worse case, Utah keeping the Jazz nickname after they moved from New Orleans, a city known for its jazz music, to a city with no jazz history.

gollum, those players for Boston don't seem too imposing, other than Rudy York, maybe. Must be some Red Sox mystique voodoo going on in Fenway.

Bobby Estalella?

Edit: okay, I googled Estalella. Played the equivalent of about four full seasons in the 1940s, was kicked out of MLB baseball for a few years for joining the Mexican baseball league. Not very tolerant in those days.

gollum65 · 04-24-2009, 11:12 AM

1945 Offseason "Veteran's Committee" Hall Of Fame Ballot:

OF Lloyd Waner: "Little Poison" played 20 seasons for the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, & A's. The little brother of Paul Waner (1943 inductee) had 2,386 hits, 362 doubles, 105 triples, 55 homers, and 964 RBI. His career average was .308 and his 593 walks helped him put up a .359 lifetime OBP. His SLG was .403, his OPS was .762, and his VORP was 257.5. Lloyd won 2 World Series rings, one with the Cubs in 1935 and one with the Red Sox in 1943.

P Rip Sewell: I'm sure you guys know I favor putting Sewell in, but I'll put him on the ballot first anyway. Rip played all 14 seasons as a Yankee. His record was 84-75 with 165 saves and a 3.07 ERA. His WHIP was 1.35 and his career VORP was 171.8. Opponents batted .253 against him. Sewell was selected to 9 All Star games and he won 5 World Series rings. Sewell is 4th all time in saves.

For comparison I'll bring up 1 player, and nominate a 2nd. Jack C. Ryan, who is still the all time leader in saves with 200, was not elected by you guys. Ryan's ERA & WHIP were a lot lower then Sewell, but he pitched in the dead ball era, retiring in 1926. One guy who had an almost identical career was Garland Broxton....

P Garland Broxton: Garland Broxton pitched 21 seasons for the Browns, Dodgers, Pirates, Reds, Senators, & Red Sox. He posted a 45-70 record with 177 saves and a 3.73 ERA. His career WHIP was 1.40 and his VORP was 233.4. Opponents batted .274 against Broxton. He was selected to 2 All Star games and won 2 World Series rings. He's currently 3rd all time in saves.

3B Johnny Hodapp: Johnny Hodapp played 20 seasons for 8 different teams. He had 2,471 hits in 8,532 at bats for a career average of .290. He had 433 doubles, 78 triples, 71 homers, and 833 RBI. His 476 walks helped him garner a .328 career OBP. His career SLG was .384, his OPS was .711, and his VORP was 197. Hodapp won 2 Gold Gloves and went to 4 All Star games. He might go down right now as "the best player never to win a World Series". Guess he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

gollum65 · 04-24-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff49

Bobby Estalella?

Edit: okay, I googled Estalella. Played the equivalent of about four full seasons in the 1940s, was kicked out of MLB baseball for a few years for joining the Mexican baseball league. Not very tolerant in those days.

I certainly recognized Estalella's name, but I might be confusing him with his grandson who was also named Bobby and who also played in the majors between 1996 and 2004.

gollum65 · 04-25-2009, 11:59 AM

So nobody has opinions on any of the players listed above? Everyone is encouraged to answer, even if you hate the Yankees. Nobody's perfect.

Johnny Canuck · 04-25-2009, 03:01 PM

Even though I'm not perfect (

), I'll give it a shot. I'd say Sewell would be elected - he was the premier reliever on the best team of the era, and was certainly recognized during his time (9 AS appearances). Conversely, I don't think Broxton gets in - his numbers are worse than Sewell, & probably Sewell gets in as the 'token' reliever of the era.

Hodapp probably misses out, while Waner is a real tough choice - I could see him being voted in by the VC decades later.

captaincarl · 04-25-2009, 06:35 PM

For me to stay consistant with the players that I "elect", I vote Lloyd Waner and Johnny Hodapp in due to number of hits combined with the high career batting averages.

The problem with electing relief pitchers during the seasons so far is that they were basically pitchers that couldn't make it as starters for their teams and the starters were asked to go very deep into, if not complete, their starts. I vote thumbs down for both Broxton and Sewell because their WHIP ratios are way to high for a dominate reliever, no matter what era they pitch in.

CatKnight · 04-25-2009, 11:35 PM

Yes to Hodapp, No to the others

As captaincarl says, a reliever in this era was actually a failed starter. If I WAS to favor one it would be Broxton, not Sewell (higher VORP)

Hodapp won two gloves and went to 4 ASG, Waner's World Series wins don't signify - that means he was on good teams.

gollum65 · 04-27-2009, 09:33 AM

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I'd love to see some more opinions on the HoF candidates.

Offseason Recap & 1946 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductions: OF Cool Papa Bell, IF/C Travis Jackson, 1B Freddie Lindstrom, SP Chet Brewer

Cool Papa Bell played 22 seasons for the Yankees, Indians, & Browns. He had 3,234 hits in 10,711 at bats for a lifetime .302 average. He hit 217 doubles, 79 triples, 122 homers, 1,016 RBI, and scored 1,688 runs. Bell drew 725 walks which gives him a career .346 OBP. His SLG was .371, his OPS was .717, and his career VORP was 244.3. Cool Papa Bell stole 1,001 bases. Guess he had to hang around to get those last 2.

He ranks 10th all time in runs scored, 9th in hits, 1st in singles, 1st in stolen bases (and caught stealing), and he's currently tied for the single season record for steals with 79. Bell won 10 Gold Gloves, was a 2 time All Star, and won 1 World Series ring in 1934 with the Yanks.

Travis Jackson came up as a SS, but you'll remember that I converted him to catcher because at the time I had a good SS named Rogers Hornsby.

Jackson went on to play 24 seasons for 5 different teams. Stonewall had 3,460 hits in 11,072 at bats for a lifetime average of .313. He had 508 doubles, 148 triples, 269 homers, 1,630 RBI, and scored 1,842 runs. He drew 1,553 walks which helped him post a career .396 OBP. His lifetime SLG was .458, his career OPS was .854, and his career VORP was 818.3. Jackson won 2 Gold Gloves (both at catcher), was a 7 time All Star, and won 2 World Series rings. Jackson currently ranks 4th in runs scored, 6th in hits, 6th in singles, 15th in doubles, 7th in RBI, & 2nd in walks.

Freddie Lindstrom played 23 seasons for 6 differnt teams, but spent the first half of his career as a Pittsburgh Pirate. He put up 3,668 hits in 11,604 at bats for a lifetime average of .316. He had 549 doubles, 175 triples, 171 homers, 1,654 RBI, and he scored 1,727 runs. He drew 724 walks and his lifetime OBP was .357. His career SLG was .438, his OPS was .795, and his VORP was 588. Lindstrom won 2 Gold Gloves, was a 6 time All Star, and won 2 World Series rings. Lindstrom ranks 7th in runs scored, 2nd in hits, 5th in total bases, 2nd in singles, 9th in doubles, & 5th in RBI.

Chet Brewer pitched 18 seasons for the Indians, Yankees, & Browns. His lifetime record was 273-181 with a career ERA of 3.63. He struck out 2,136 batters while walking 1,172. His career WHIP was 1.27, his VORP was 598.7, and opponents batted .254 against him. Brewer won 20+ games in a season 4 times, won 3 Pitcher of the Year awards, and was a 5 time All Star. He won 2 World Series rings.

Yankees 1945 Award Winners: Joe DiMaggio won his 2nd career MVP Award (his 1st in the AL).

Draft Recap: Only a few well known names in this draft. With the 4th pick the Yanks took P Carl Erskine. Hank Bauer went to the Reds, & Wally Post went to the Browns.

Notable Offseason Transactions:

November 22, 1945: Signed free agent 3B Jimmy Outlaw to a 1 year contract @ $14,000
Another placeholder at 3rd base while I wait for Larry Doby to mature.

Spring Training Injuries: None

Strengths: Our pitching is pretty good and we're very good up the middle. We also have a good hitting lineup.

Weaknesses: We're still a very young team with kids like Nellie Fox and Minnie Minsoso trying to stay with the big club.

Projected Record: I'll say we take the next step and finish above .500 by winning 80 games.

1946 Budget: $2,019,501 (#3 in the league)

1946 Payroll: $1,172,266 (#15 in the league)
It's been a long time since our payroll was in the bottom 5. But we're a young team so it's not surprising.

1946 Opening Day Roster:

gollum65 · 04-29-2009, 12:00 PM

1946 Season Recap:

Final 1946 Standings:

1946 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:

1946 Year In Review: So obviously my expectations for the 1946 Yanks were wildly optimistic. The 97 losses is the most the Yankees/Highlanders franchise has had since I started the dynasty in 1903. The scary thing is that according to the pythag record, we weren't even this good.

The season started out poorly and by May 1st it was already clear that we were in for a tough year. Then when Joe DiMaggio was lost for the season on July 7th with a thigh injury, I knew we were in danger of having our worst season ever, especially considering that DiMaggio only hit 4 homers the whole season before the injury. I have no idea where his power went. It better come back next year or I'm in big trouble.

While our pitching staff did finish with the worst ERA in the AL, I actually think we were pretty good there. My top 3 pitchers, Feller, Ferris, & Drews all had ERAs near 3.00. Spahn was also showing a little promise with a 3.95 ERA on the season before he was lost for the year with an arm injury on the same day DiMaggio was hurt.

The problem was the young hitters just aren't ready. While Yogi may well win another Gold Glove, his bat hasn't shown any improvement yet and he still struggled to hit .200. The same goes for Doby, Fox, and Minoso, who all barely managed to break the .200 barrier. If I drop those kids down to AAA, the game tells me none of them are even ready for AAA. So I may just let them spend a year in the minors, sign some scrubs for next season, and suffer through another losing campaign. At least we get the #1 pick in this year's draft.

Around the league: Josh Gibson won another batting triple crown. The 34 year old picked up his 2nd straight and 3rd career batting, home run, and RBI titles playing for the Cubs. During the season Gibson became the 2nd player in MLB history to pass 500 home runs. He finished the season with 504. Satchel Paige outplayed my expectations. He won 19 games for the Reds. In his final game, the last game of the season for the Reds, he picked up his 300th career win, beating the Pirates 4-2. Ted Williams hit .302 and won the AL home run and RBI titles with 31 and 107. Former Yankee Willard Brown hit just .243, but he finished 2nd in the NL in homers and RBI with 30 and 100. And remember Leon Day? He was part of the 1943 trade that brought Yogi to the Yankees. Well Leon went 17-13 for the White Sox and led all of baseball with 244 strikeouts.

1946 All Star Yankees: P Cliff Chambers was selected to his 1st AS game. He responded by missing most of the rest of the season with arm injuries.

1946 New York Yankees Transactions:

July 29, 1946: Traded 1B Dick Sisler, P Jess Dobernic, & RF Ken Wood to the Cubs for LF Luke Easter & P Art Houtteman
After DiMaggio went down I needed someone who could hit a home run. Easter can barely hit his body weight for averge, but he can hit the ball deep. He hit 9 homers in 54 games after I re-acquired him. If you extrapolate that out, he would hit 27 for a season. I may keep him around for next year and let DiMaggio protect him in the lineup. Houtteman is a promising young SP prospect. Sisler deserved to start somewhere, and he was the player the Cubs wanted in the deal.

July 31, 1946: Traded P Hank Wyse, 3B Jimmy Outlaw, P Sam Nahem, P Sal Maglie, OF Vince DiMaggio, SS Pee Wee Reese, P Dick Koecher, & $27,000 cash to the Giants for LF Fred Singleton, P Duane Pillette, SS Sammy Meeks, and P Lum Harris
Harris was the guy I was after in this trade. He's a good young pitching prospect. Singleton is an expensive veteran, and I plan to let him go to free agency, but may change my mind if I'm going to have all the youngsters in the minors next year. The other 2 were throw in prospects. Wyse & Maglie never showed much promise, and Outlaw, Nahem, and DiMaggio were veterans who were begging for trades. I hadn't intended on trading Pee Wee, but he never played up to his potential in pinstripes, and I had a young SS prospect named Vic Barnhart was pushing to be a starter and was a target of a lot of trade offers. After trading Reese I let Barnhart play the rest of the year and he hit .249 and put up a .976 fielding percentage. Not sure if I'll stick with him next year or not. Probably will.

August 9, 1946: Claimed P Sonny Dixon & P Ben Wade off waivers from Cincy & Cleveland respectively
Dixon was a real life Yankee and a good young relief pitcher. I took Wade because of his strikeout potential. A 5 stuff rating is pretty high for this era of baseball.

World Series Matchup: The '40s are quickly becoming the decade of the Red Sox and Phillies. For the Sox it's the 4th World Series in 5 years, and 8th in team history. For the Philadelphia franchise it's the 3rd straight World Series appearance, 4th since 1940, and 7th in team history. The Red Sox are after title #4, while the Phillies are trying to win their 5th.

The teams split the first 2 games in Boston. The Red Sox went into Philly and won 2 out of 3 to send the series back to Boston with a 3-2 Red Sox lead. The Red Sox won game 6 by a 4-3 score. The Boston Red Sox win their 4th World Series!

Jeff49 · 04-30-2009, 06:19 PM

The 1940s are not turning out to be too kind to the Yankees. You're rewriting the record books, all right.

But I'm looking for a revival in the 1950s when your youngins' start making their names better known. I wonder what rookies come up in 1947, since you have the first pick.

You groomed your former Yankees well, apparently, Gibson, Brown, Paige and Day. Too bad they weren't doing all that for you instead of those other teams.

gollum65 · 05-01-2009, 08:23 AM

I'll give you a hint about the 1947 prospects: The Chairman Of The Board

I'll try to post the update later this morning.

gollum65 · 05-01-2009, 10:38 AM

Here's another "Veteran's Committee" Hall of Fame ballot for you guys. I decided not to put Sewell, Broxton, Waner, or Hodapp into the HoF. The point about relievers just being failed starters carries a lot of weight. And while most of Sewell's stats are better then Broxton, Broxton has more saves. So if 1 doesn't get in, the other should either. As for Waner & Hodapp, I just feel that they had so many hits because of their longevity. If you look at the rest of their stats, they were pretty mediocre.

1946 Offseason "Veteran's Committee" Hall Of Fame Ballot:

C Bill DeLancey: You'll remember that Delancey was my starting catcher for the first 8 seasons of his career, and was only traded because I had gotten Gibson. The real Delancey only played parts of 4 seasons and retired due to contracting TB. In the dyansty DeLancey played 15 seasons for the Yankees, Braves, & Pirates. He had 2,057 hits in 7,275 at bats for a lifetime .283 average. He had 391 doubles, 73 triples, 213 homers, 1,212 RBI, and scored 1,040 runs. He drew 806 walks helping him post a career .353 OBP. His lifetime SLG was .444, his OPS was .797, and his VORP was 451. DeLancey won 6 Gold Gloves, was a 9 time All Star, and won 4 World Series rings. He retires at just 35 years old.

SP Ray Brown: The 38 year old retires after 14 seasons for the Braves, Cards, and Giants. He spent his last 10+ years as a New York Giant. Brown posted a lifetime 231-149 record with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He won 20+ games 3 times, and had double digit wins every year of his career except the last. He finished with 1,976 strikeouts and opponents batted .254 against him. His career VORP was 671.6. Brown won Pitcher of the Year in 1937, a Gold Glove in 1934, and was selected to 5 All Star games. He won a World Series ring in 1937 with the Giants. At the time of his retirement Brown has the best winning percentage of any qualified pitcher on record with a .608 career %. He also ranks 10th all time in strikeouts, 9th in VORP, & 9th in WHIP.

SP Paul Derringer: Duke Derringer played 16 seasons, all for the Phillies except his last which was with the Braves. He has a lifetime 247-219 record with a 3.74 ERA. He had 1,891 strikeouts and a career 1.27 WHIP. His lifetime VORP was 733.8. Oppoenents batted .272 against him. Duke won 20+ games 4 times. He won Pitcher of the Year twice and was a 7 time All Star. He earned 3 World Series rings in Philly. He's currently 12th all time in wins, 12th in innings pitched, 14th in strikeouts, and 12th in WHIP.

RP Boom Boom Beck: Gotta love the name. Boom Boom played 21 seasons for the Yankees, Giants, and Red Sox, spending 18 of those years in a Giants uniform. He had a career 84-90 record with 185 saves and a 3.76 ERA. His WHIP was 1.39 and his VORP was 198.2. Opponents batted .269 against him. He was a 5 time All Star and won 3 World Series rings. Beck currently ranks 2nd all time in saves.

gollum65 · 05-01-2009, 12:14 PM

Offseason Recap & 1947 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductions: SS Joe Cronin, IF Martin Dihigo

Joe Cronin played 22 seasons for the Cards, Giants, Dodgers, & Braves. He had 2,797 hit in 9,533 at bats for a lifetime .293 average. Cronin picked up 575 doubles, 92 triples, 190 homers, 1,402 RBI, and scored 1,440 runs. He drew 1,207 walks which helped him post a lifetime .372 OBP. His SLG was .433, his OPS was .805, and his VORP was 553.2. Cronin won a Gold Glove in 1933, an MVP trophy in 1940, and was selected to 5 All Star games. With all his success, he never won a World Series ring, which makes him currently one of the best players in baseball history without a title. He ranks 6th all time in doubles.

Martin Dihigo played 21 seasons for the Pirates, Reds, and Browns. He's widely considered one of the best infielders in baseball history. El Maestro had 2,869 hits in 10,100 at bats for a career .284 average. He had 261 doubles, 51 triples, 22 homers, 899 RBI, and he scored 1,371 runs. He drew 1,305 walks, but he wasn't a very patient hitter. He struck out over 1,700 times and currently holds the single season records for strikeouts with 140 in 1941. Dihigo's OBP was .365, his SLG was .327, his OPS was .692, and his VORP was 207.3. Martin won 7 Gold Gloves, was selected to 1 All Star game, and won a World Series ring with the Reds in 1933. At the time of his retirement he was 6th all time in singles.

Yankees 1946 Award Winners: None
It's the first time since I started the franchise that I didn't have an award winner on the team. Not surprising considering how bad they were last year.

Draft Recap: The Yankees 1st pick was a famous Yankee star, Whitey Ford. Our second pick in the 1st round was a shortstop named Willie Jones. With our first pick in round 2 we took Don Larsen. Larsen of course wasn't a great pitcher, but he's famous for the greatest pitching performance in World Series history. The only other "big" name was Harvey Haddix who was taken by Detroit. It's nice to have the Chairman of the Board in a Yankee uniform from the start of his career.

Notable Offseason Transactions: Considering the struggles of our kids last year, I decided to let most of them play in the minors this year. Yogi, Doby, Minoso, and Fox are all at AAA, which is where the game says they are ready to play. Larsen and Ford start their careers in AA. So because of the holes I now had in the majors, I had to sign some veterans to act as placeholders for a year or 2.

October 10, 1946: Executed the option on Bob Feller
It was important to keep Rapid Robert in New York. He's not currently willing to talk about a new deal, but hopefully he'll come around.

November 14, 1946: Signed free agent CF Chet Ross to a 2 year contract worth $31,000 (season 2 is a team option)
Ross will serve as our backup CF this year. If he plays well I might bring him back in 1948.

November 21, 1946: Signed free agent SS Jim Schilling to a 1 year contract @ $27,080
He'll platoon with Willie Jones at SS this year.

December 19, 1946: Signed free agent 3B Johnny Lucadello to a 1 year contract @ $14,500
He'll platoon at 3B with rookie Bobby Rhawn.

February 17, 1947: Signed P Harry Feldman to a 3 year extension @ $26,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option).
Unlike guys like Warren Spahn, who was released, Feldman has proven he can pitch at this level.

February 22, 1947: Signed free agent C Frankie Hayes to a 1 year contract @ $30,000
Hayes played hard to get, which is why he didn't sign till late February. I'm hoping Yogi will be better suited for big league play in 1948.

March 1, 1947: Signed free agent CF Dom DiMaggio to a 2 year contract worth $385,000 (season 2 is a mutual option)
The battle to sign Dom DiMaggio was one of the longest bidding wars I've seen yet in this game. I made my first offer the day he hit the market and it took till March 1st to discourage the rest of the teams who were after him. I had to get him as he was the best option available who wouldn't cost me a 1st round pick. Hopefully he'll be better then Vince, because I most likely had to overpay to get him.

Spring Training Injuries: None

Strengths: Our pitching should be pretty good and we have decent depth

Weaknesses: As we saw last year, 1 major injury could derail the whole season. Yes, we have depth at most positions, but it's all very young depth.

1947 Budget: $1,997,441 (#7 in the league)
Obviously ownership doesn't like the constant losing.

1947 Payroll: $1,330,045 (#13 in the league)

1947 Opening Day Roster:

Jeff49 · 05-01-2009, 04:28 PM

I'll give you a hint about the 1947 prospects: The Chairman Of The Board

Frank Sinatra? Boy, this is an alternate universe. Youse guys is really gettin' desperate.

Oh, Whitey Ford you mean. Never mind.

Jeff49 · 05-01-2009, 05:04 PM

Official Veterans' Committee Member Ballot

Bill DeLancey - yes
Ray Brown - yes
Paul Derringer - yes
Boom Boom Beck - no

Comments: DeLancey: 9-time all-star, 6 Gold Gloves, 4 W.S. rings are all huge for a catcher. Probably ranks high in offensive stats among just catchers? Sounds like Johnny Bench or someone like him, with a little less power. DeLancey is really interesting, because everyone speculates about how he would have done without his illness.

Ray Brown: I have a better appreciation for pitcher career winning % after reading Bill James' book on the HOF this winter. Brown with the #1 winning % in league history and over 200 wins makes it easy to vote for him.

Paul Derringer: A reluctant yes. Ray Brown would have to go 16-70 to lower his career record to Derringer's. But Derringer has the awards - Pitcher of the Year twice, 7-time all star and three rings, four 20-win seasons, a VORP higher than Brown's, so he should go in too, but James would not like Derringer's win %.

Boom Boom Beck: saved a lot of games - not as many as relief pitchers will later - but a losing record makes it real hard to vote for him. One more Boom and maybe, but as it is ......

04-23-2009, 04:38 PM	#281
Powderguy All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: PA Posts: 724	It's good to see Josh Gibson getting lots of love in your dynasty. I always wonder how good he would have been if only he would gotten a chance in the real major leagues. You always hear some many stories about him from the negro leagues. Too bad he never got the opportunity. __________________ GREEN BAY PACKERS AND FLORIDA GATORS!! Road Through Baseball History (1871- Relive Baseball History From The Start (1871-1892) Hustling in the World Baseball Federation *Tampa Bay Rays: Destined for Greatness

04-24-2009, 10:53 AM	#286
Jeff49 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	What would Toronto be called if Philly had kept that name? The Toronto Phillies, what else? Heck, the name would be available, after all. Makes as much sense as the Lakers in Los Angeles with no natural lakes keeping Minnesota's Land of 1,000 Lakes nickname, or worse case, Utah keeping the Jazz nickname after they moved from New Orleans, a city known for its jazz music, to a city with no jazz history. gollum, those players for Boston don't seem too imposing, other than Rudy York, maybe. Must be some Red Sox mystique voodoo going on in Fenway. Bobby Estalella? Edit: okay, I googled Estalella. Played the equivalent of about four full seasons in the 1940s, was kicked out of MLB baseball for a few years for joining the Mexican baseball league. Not very tolerant in those days. Last edited by Jeff49; 04-24-2009 at 10:59 AM.

04-27-2009, 09:33 AM	#293
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I'd love to see some more opinions on the HoF candidates. Offseason Recap & 1946 Season Preview: Hall Of Fame Inductions: OF Cool Papa Bell, IF/C Travis Jackson, 1B Freddie Lindstrom, SP Chet Brewer Cool Papa Bell played 22 seasons for the Yankees, Indians, & Browns. He had 3,234 hits in 10,711 at bats for a lifetime .302 average. He hit 217 doubles, 79 triples, 122 homers, 1,016 RBI, and scored 1,688 runs. Bell drew 725 walks which gives him a career .346 OBP. His SLG was .371, his OPS was .717, and his career VORP was 244.3. Cool Papa Bell stole 1,001 bases. Guess he had to hang around to get those last 2. He ranks 10th all time in runs scored, 9th in hits, 1st in singles, 1st in stolen bases (and caught stealing), and he's currently tied for the single season record for steals with 79. Bell won 10 Gold Gloves, was a 2 time All Star, and won 1 World Series ring in 1934 with the Yanks. Travis Jackson came up as a SS, but you'll remember that I converted him to catcher because at the time I had a good SS named Rogers Hornsby. Jackson went on to play 24 seasons for 5 different teams. Stonewall had 3,460 hits in 11,072 at bats for a lifetime average of .313. He had 508 doubles, 148 triples, 269 homers, 1,630 RBI, and scored 1,842 runs. He drew 1,553 walks which helped him post a career .396 OBP. His lifetime SLG was .458, his career OPS was .854, and his career VORP was 818.3. Jackson won 2 Gold Gloves (both at catcher), was a 7 time All Star, and won 2 World Series rings. Jackson currently ranks 4th in runs scored, 6th in hits, 6th in singles, 15th in doubles, 7th in RBI, & 2nd in walks. Freddie Lindstrom played 23 seasons for 6 differnt teams, but spent the first half of his career as a Pittsburgh Pirate. He put up 3,668 hits in 11,604 at bats for a lifetime average of .316. He had 549 doubles, 175 triples, 171 homers, 1,654 RBI, and he scored 1,727 runs. He drew 724 walks and his lifetime OBP was .357. His career SLG was .438, his OPS was .795, and his VORP was 588. Lindstrom won 2 Gold Gloves, was a 6 time All Star, and won 2 World Series rings. Lindstrom ranks 7th in runs scored, 2nd in hits, 5th in total bases, 2nd in singles, 9th in doubles, & 5th in RBI. Chet Brewer pitched 18 seasons for the Indians, Yankees, & Browns. His lifetime record was 273-181 with a career ERA of 3.63. He struck out 2,136 batters while walking 1,172. His career WHIP was 1.27, his VORP was 598.7, and opponents batted .254 against him. Brewer won 20+ games in a season 4 times, won 3 Pitcher of the Year awards, and was a 5 time All Star. He won 2 World Series rings. Yankees 1945 Award Winners: Joe DiMaggio won his 2nd career MVP Award (his 1st in the AL). Draft Recap: Only a few well known names in this draft. With the 4th pick the Yanks took P Carl Erskine. Hank Bauer went to the Reds, & Wally Post went to the Browns. Notable Offseason Transactions: November 22, 1945: Signed free agent 3B Jimmy Outlaw to a 1 year contract @ $14,000 Another placeholder at 3rd base while I wait for Larry Doby to mature. Spring Training Injuries: None Strengths: Our pitching is pretty good and we're very good up the middle. We also have a good hitting lineup. Weaknesses: We're still a very young team with kids like Nellie Fox and Minnie Minsoso trying to stay with the big club. Projected Record: I'll say we take the next step and finish above .500 by winning 80 games. 1946 Budget: $2,019,501 (#3 in the league) 1946 Payroll: $1,172,266 (#15 in the league) It's been a long time since our payroll was in the bottom 5. But we're a young team so it's not surprising. 1946 Opening Day Roster: Last edited by gollum65; 04-27-2009 at 09:34 AM.

04-30-2009, 06:19 PM	#295
Jeff49 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	The 1940s are not turning out to be too kind to the Yankees. You're rewriting the record books, all right. But I'm looking for a revival in the 1950s when your youngins' start making their names better known. I wonder what rookies come up in 1947, since you have the first pick. You groomed your former Yankees well, apparently, Gibson, Brown, Paige and Day. Too bad they weren't doing all that for you instead of those other teams. Last edited by Jeff49; 04-30-2009 at 06:22 PM.

05-01-2009, 04:28 PM	#299
Jeff49 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	I'll give you a hint about the 1947 prospects: The Chairman Of The Board Frank Sinatra? Boy, this is an alternate universe. Youse guys is really gettin' desperate. Oh, Whitey Ford you mean. Never mind. Last edited by Jeff49; 05-01-2009 at 05:17 PM.

04-23-2009, 06:42 PM	#283
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	The Toronto Torontonians?

04-24-2009, 10:08 AM	#285
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	Someone asked who were the players the Red Sox had that enabled them to win 3 AL pennants in 4 years. Some of the more well known names are Ralph Branca, Bobby Estalella, Tommy Henrich, Eddie Stanky, & Rudy York. York hit 40 homers and 125 RBI last season. 19 year old Ralph Branca won 16 games and led the team in ERA with 2.70. And a former real life Cub named Vern Olson won 24 games and has won at least 15 games every season he's played in Boston. I'll be posting an offseason HoF ballot for the "veteran's committee" soon, so keep reading please as I'll need people's input.

04-24-2009, 11:12 AM	#287
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	1945 Offseason "Veteran's Committee" Hall Of Fame Ballot: *OF Lloyd Waner:* "Little Poison" played 20 seasons for the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, & A's. The little brother of Paul Waner (1943 inductee) had 2,386 hits, 362 doubles, 105 triples, 55 homers, and 964 RBI. His career average was .308 and his 593 walks helped him put up a .359 lifetime OBP. His SLG was .403, his OPS was .762, and his VORP was 257.5. Lloyd won 2 World Series rings, one with the Cubs in 1935 and one with the Red Sox in 1943. P Rip Sewell: I'm sure you guys know I favor putting Sewell in, but I'll put him on the ballot first anyway. Rip played all 14 seasons as a Yankee. His record was 84-75 with 165 saves and a 3.07 ERA. His WHIP was 1.35 and his career VORP was 171.8. Opponents batted .253 against him. Sewell was selected to 9 All Star games and he won 5 World Series rings. Sewell is 4th all time in saves. For comparison I'll bring up 1 player, and nominate a 2nd. Jack C. Ryan, who is still the all time leader in saves with 200, was not elected by you guys. Ryan's ERA & WHIP were a lot lower then Sewell, but he pitched in the dead ball era, retiring in 1926. One guy who had an almost identical career was Garland Broxton.... *P Garland Broxton:* Garland Broxton pitched 21 seasons for the Browns, Dodgers, Pirates, Reds, Senators, & Red Sox. He posted a 45-70 record with 177 saves and a 3.73 ERA. His career WHIP was 1.40 and his VORP was 233.4. Opponents batted .274 against Broxton. He was selected to 2 All Star games and won 2 World Series rings. He's currently 3rd all time in saves. *3B Johnny Hodapp:* Johnny Hodapp played 20 seasons for 8 different teams. He had 2,471 hits in 8,532 at bats for a career average of .290. He had 433 doubles, 78 triples, 71 homers, and 833 RBI. His 476 walks helped him garner a .328 career OBP. His career SLG was .384, his OPS was .711, and his VORP was 197. Hodapp won 2 Gold Gloves and went to 4 All Star games. He might go down right now as "the best player never to win a World Series". Guess he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

04-25-2009, 11:59 AM	#289
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	So nobody has opinions on any of the players listed above? Everyone is encouraged to answer, even if you hate the Yankees. Nobody's perfect.

04-25-2009, 03:01 PM	#290
Johnny Canuck Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brampton, Ontario Posts: 93	Even though I'm not perfect ( ), I'll give it a shot. I'd say Sewell would be elected - he was the premier reliever on the best team of the era, and was certainly recognized during his time (9 AS appearances). Conversely, I don't think Broxton gets in - his numbers are worse than Sewell, & probably Sewell gets in as the 'token' reliever of the era. Hodapp probably misses out, while Waner is a real tough choice - I could see him being voted in by the VC decades later.

04-25-2009, 06:35 PM	#291
captaincarl Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Barrington, RI Posts: 4,362	For me to stay consistant with the players that I "elect", I vote Lloyd Waner and Johnny Hodapp in due to number of hits combined with the high career batting averages. The problem with electing relief pitchers during the seasons so far is that they were basically pitchers that couldn't make it as starters for their teams and the starters were asked to go very deep into, if not complete, their starts. I vote thumbs down for both Broxton and Sewell because their WHIP ratios are way to high for a dominate reliever, no matter what era they pitch in.

04-25-2009, 11:35 PM	#292
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	Yes to Hodapp, No to the others As captaincarl says, a reliever in this era was actually a failed starter. If I WAS to favor one it would be Broxton, not Sewell (higher VORP) Hodapp won two gloves and went to 4 ASG, Waner's World Series wins don't signify - that means he was on good teams.

04-29-2009, 12:00 PM	#294
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	1946 Season Recap: Final 1946 Standings: 1946 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings: 1946 Year In Review: So obviously my expectations for the 1946 Yanks were wildly optimistic. The 97 losses is the most the Yankees/Highlanders franchise has had since I started the dynasty in 1903. The scary thing is that according to the pythag record, we weren't even this good. The season started out poorly and by May 1st it was already clear that we were in for a tough year. Then when Joe DiMaggio was lost for the season on July 7th with a thigh injury, I knew we were in danger of having our worst season ever, especially considering that DiMaggio only hit 4 homers the whole season before the injury. I have no idea where his power went. It better come back next year or I'm in big trouble. While our pitching staff did finish with the worst ERA in the AL, I actually think we were pretty good there. My top 3 pitchers, Feller, Ferris, & Drews all had ERAs near 3.00. Spahn was also showing a little promise with a 3.95 ERA on the season before he was lost for the year with an arm injury on the same day DiMaggio was hurt. The problem was the young hitters just aren't ready. While Yogi may well win another Gold Glove, his bat hasn't shown any improvement yet and he still struggled to hit .200. The same goes for Doby, Fox, and Minoso, who all barely managed to break the .200 barrier. If I drop those kids down to AAA, the game tells me none of them are even ready for AAA. So I may just let them spend a year in the minors, sign some scrubs for next season, and suffer through another losing campaign. At least we get the #1 pick in this year's draft. Around the league: Josh Gibson won another batting triple crown. The 34 year old picked up his 2nd straight and 3rd career batting, home run, and RBI titles playing for the Cubs. During the season Gibson became the 2nd player in MLB history to pass 500 home runs. He finished the season with 504. Satchel Paige outplayed my expectations. He won 19 games for the Reds. In his final game, the last game of the season for the Reds, he picked up his 300th career win, beating the Pirates 4-2. Ted Williams hit .302 and won the AL home run and RBI titles with 31 and 107. Former Yankee Willard Brown hit just .243, but he finished 2nd in the NL in homers and RBI with 30 and 100. And remember Leon Day? He was part of the 1943 trade that brought Yogi to the Yankees. Well Leon went 17-13 for the White Sox and led all of baseball with 244 strikeouts. 1946 All Star Yankees: P Cliff Chambers was selected to his 1st AS game. He responded by missing most of the rest of the season with arm injuries. 1946 New York Yankees Transactions: July 29, 1946: Traded 1B Dick Sisler, P Jess Dobernic, & RF Ken Wood to the Cubs for LF Luke Easter & P Art Houtteman After DiMaggio went down I needed someone who could hit a home run. Easter can barely hit his body weight for averge, but he can hit the ball deep. He hit 9 homers in 54 games after I re-acquired him. If you extrapolate that out, he would hit 27 for a season. I may keep him around for next year and let DiMaggio protect him in the lineup. Houtteman is a promising young SP prospect. Sisler deserved to start somewhere, and he was the player the Cubs wanted in the deal. July 31, 1946: Traded P Hank Wyse, 3B Jimmy Outlaw, P Sam Nahem, P Sal Maglie, OF Vince DiMaggio, SS Pee Wee Reese, P Dick Koecher, & $27,000 cash to the Giants for LF Fred Singleton, P Duane Pillette, SS Sammy Meeks, and P Lum Harris Harris was the guy I was after in this trade. He's a good young pitching prospect. Singleton is an expensive veteran, and I plan to let him go to free agency, but may change my mind if I'm going to have all the youngsters in the minors next year. The other 2 were throw in prospects. Wyse & Maglie never showed much promise, and Outlaw, Nahem, and DiMaggio were veterans who were begging for trades. I hadn't intended on trading Pee Wee, but he never played up to his potential in pinstripes, and I had a young SS prospect named Vic Barnhart was pushing to be a starter and was a target of a lot of trade offers. After trading Reese I let Barnhart play the rest of the year and he hit .249 and put up a .976 fielding percentage. Not sure if I'll stick with him next year or not. Probably will. August 9, 1946: Claimed P Sonny Dixon & P Ben Wade off waivers from Cincy & Cleveland respectively Dixon was a real life Yankee and a good young relief pitcher. I took Wade because of his strikeout potential. A 5 stuff rating is pretty high for this era of baseball. World Series Matchup: The '40s are quickly becoming the decade of the Red Sox and Phillies. For the Sox it's the 4th World Series in 5 years, and 8th in team history. For the Philadelphia franchise it's the 3rd straight World Series appearance, 4th since 1940, and 7th in team history. The Red Sox are after title #4, while the Phillies are trying to win their 5th. The teams split the first 2 games in Boston. The Red Sox went into Philly and won 2 out of 3 to send the series back to Boston with a 3-2 Red Sox lead. The Red Sox won game 6 by a 4-3 score. The Boston Red Sox win their 4th World Series!

05-01-2009, 08:23 AM	#296
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	I'll give you a hint about the 1947 prospects: The Chairman Of The Board I'll try to post the update later this morning.

05-01-2009, 10:38 AM	#297
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	Here's another "Veteran's Committee" Hall of Fame ballot for you guys. I decided not to put Sewell, Broxton, Waner, or Hodapp into the HoF. The point about relievers just being failed starters carries a lot of weight. And while most of Sewell's stats are better then Broxton, Broxton has more saves. So if 1 doesn't get in, the other should either. As for Waner & Hodapp, I just feel that they had so many hits because of their longevity. If you look at the rest of their stats, they were pretty mediocre. 1946 Offseason "Veteran's Committee" Hall Of Fame Ballot: C Bill DeLancey: You'll remember that Delancey was my starting catcher for the first 8 seasons of his career, and was only traded because I had gotten Gibson. The real Delancey only played parts of 4 seasons and retired due to contracting TB. In the dyansty DeLancey played 15 seasons for the Yankees, Braves, & Pirates. He had 2,057 hits in 7,275 at bats for a lifetime .283 average. He had 391 doubles, 73 triples, 213 homers, 1,212 RBI, and scored 1,040 runs. He drew 806 walks helping him post a career .353 OBP. His lifetime SLG was .444, his OPS was .797, and his VORP was 451. DeLancey won 6 Gold Gloves, was a 9 time All Star, and won 4 World Series rings. He retires at just 35 years old. SP Ray Brown: The 38 year old retires after 14 seasons for the Braves, Cards, and Giants. He spent his last 10+ years as a New York Giant. Brown posted a lifetime 231-149 record with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He won 20+ games 3 times, and had double digit wins every year of his career except the last. He finished with 1,976 strikeouts and opponents batted .254 against him. His career VORP was 671.6. Brown won Pitcher of the Year in 1937, a Gold Glove in 1934, and was selected to 5 All Star games. He won a World Series ring in 1937 with the Giants. At the time of his retirement Brown has the best winning percentage of any qualified pitcher on record with a .608 career %. He also ranks 10th all time in strikeouts, 9th in VORP, & 9th in WHIP. SP Paul Derringer: Duke Derringer played 16 seasons, all for the Phillies except his last which was with the Braves. He has a lifetime 247-219 record with a 3.74 ERA. He had 1,891 strikeouts and a career 1.27 WHIP. His lifetime VORP was 733.8. Oppoenents batted .272 against him. Duke won 20+ games 4 times. He won Pitcher of the Year twice and was a 7 time All Star. He earned 3 World Series rings in Philly. He's currently 12th all time in wins, 12th in innings pitched, 14th in strikeouts, and 12th in WHIP. RP Boom Boom Beck: Gotta love the name. Boom Boom played 21 seasons for the Yankees, Giants, and Red Sox, spending 18 of those years in a Giants uniform. He had a career 84-90 record with 185 saves and a 3.76 ERA. His WHIP was 1.39 and his VORP was 198.2. Opponents batted .269 against him. He was a 5 time All Star and won 3 World Series rings. Beck currently ranks 2nd all time in saves.

05-01-2009, 12:14 PM	#298
gollum65 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 925	Offseason Recap & 1947 Season Preview: Hall Of Fame Inductions: SS Joe Cronin, IF Martin Dihigo Joe Cronin played 22 seasons for the Cards, Giants, Dodgers, & Braves. He had 2,797 hit in 9,533 at bats for a lifetime .293 average. Cronin picked up 575 doubles, 92 triples, 190 homers, 1,402 RBI, and scored 1,440 runs. He drew 1,207 walks which helped him post a lifetime .372 OBP. His SLG was .433, his OPS was .805, and his VORP was 553.2. Cronin won a Gold Glove in 1933, an MVP trophy in 1940, and was selected to 5 All Star games. With all his success, he never won a World Series ring, which makes him currently one of the best players in baseball history without a title. He ranks 6th all time in doubles. Martin Dihigo played 21 seasons for the Pirates, Reds, and Browns. He's widely considered one of the best infielders in baseball history. El Maestro had 2,869 hits in 10,100 at bats for a career .284 average. He had 261 doubles, 51 triples, 22 homers, 899 RBI, and he scored 1,371 runs. He drew 1,305 walks, but he wasn't a very patient hitter. He struck out over 1,700 times and currently holds the single season records for strikeouts with 140 in 1941. Dihigo's OBP was .365, his SLG was .327, his OPS was .692, and his VORP was 207.3. Martin won 7 Gold Gloves, was selected to 1 All Star game, and won a World Series ring with the Reds in 1933. At the time of his retirement he was 6th all time in singles. Yankees 1946 Award Winners: None It's the first time since I started the franchise that I didn't have an award winner on the team. Not surprising considering how bad they were last year. Draft Recap: The Yankees 1st pick was a famous Yankee star, Whitey Ford. Our second pick in the 1st round was a shortstop named Willie Jones. With our first pick in round 2 we took Don Larsen. Larsen of course wasn't a great pitcher, but he's famous for the greatest pitching performance in World Series history. The only other "big" name was Harvey Haddix who was taken by Detroit. It's nice to have the Chairman of the Board in a Yankee uniform from the start of his career. Notable Offseason Transactions: Considering the struggles of our kids last year, I decided to let most of them play in the minors this year. Yogi, Doby, Minoso, and Fox are all at AAA, which is where the game says they are ready to play. Larsen and Ford start their careers in AA. So because of the holes I now had in the majors, I had to sign some veterans to act as placeholders for a year or 2. October 10, 1946: Executed the option on Bob Feller It was important to keep Rapid Robert in New York. He's not currently willing to talk about a new deal, but hopefully he'll come around. November 14, 1946: Signed free agent CF Chet Ross to a 2 year contract worth $31,000 (season 2 is a team option) Ross will serve as our backup CF this year. If he plays well I might bring him back in 1948. November 21, 1946: Signed free agent SS Jim Schilling to a 1 year contract @ $27,080 He'll platoon with Willie Jones at SS this year. December 19, 1946: Signed free agent 3B Johnny Lucadello to a 1 year contract @ $14,500 He'll platoon at 3B with rookie Bobby Rhawn. February 17, 1947: Signed P Harry Feldman to a 3 year extension @ $26,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option). Unlike guys like Warren Spahn, who was released, Feldman has proven he can pitch at this level. February 22, 1947: Signed free agent C Frankie Hayes to a 1 year contract @ $30,000 Hayes played hard to get, which is why he didn't sign till late February. I'm hoping Yogi will be better suited for big league play in 1948. March 1, 1947: Signed free agent CF Dom DiMaggio to a 2 year contract worth $385,000 (season 2 is a mutual option) The battle to sign Dom DiMaggio was one of the longest bidding wars I've seen yet in this game. I made my first offer the day he hit the market and it took till March 1st to discourage the rest of the teams who were after him. I had to get him as he was the best option available who wouldn't cost me a 1st round pick. Hopefully he'll be better then Vince, because I most likely had to overpay to get him. Spring Training Injuries: None Strengths: Our pitching should be pretty good and we have decent depth Weaknesses: As we saw last year, 1 major injury could derail the whole season. Yes, we have depth at most positions, but it's all very young depth. 1947 Budget: $1,997,441 (#7 in the league) Obviously ownership doesn't like the constant losing. 1947 Payroll: $1,330,045 (#13 in the league) 1947 Opening Day Roster:

05-01-2009, 05:04 PM	#300
Jeff49 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	Official Veterans' Committee Member Ballot Bill DeLancey - yes Ray Brown - yes Paul Derringer - yes Boom Boom Beck - no Comments: DeLancey: 9-time all-star, 6 Gold Gloves, 4 W.S. rings are all huge for a catcher. Probably ranks high in offensive stats among just catchers? Sounds like Johnny Bench or someone like him, with a little less power. DeLancey is really interesting, because everyone speculates about how he would have done without his illness. Ray Brown: I have a better appreciation for pitcher career winning % after reading Bill James' book on the HOF this winter. Brown with the #1 winning % in league history and over 200 wins makes it easy to vote for him. Paul Derringer: A reluctant yes. Ray Brown would have to go 16-70 to lower his career record to Derringer's. But Derringer has the awards - Pitcher of the Year twice, 7-time all star and three rings, four 20-win seasons, a VORP higher than Brown's, so he should go in too, but James would not like Derringer's win %. Boom Boom Beck: saved a lot of games - not as many as relief pitchers will later - but a losing record makes it real hard to vote for him. One more Boom and maybe, but as it is ......