The Yankee Baseball League: The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell, vol. 2

[Big Six]

Hotel Green
Danbury, Connecticut

Mr. Roy Hitt
1105 St. Gregory Street
Cincinnati, Ohio

April 28, 1930

Dear Roy,

Thank you for the card you sent to me the other day. It was good to hear from you, and I'm glad your back is feeling better. You should do everything you can to get yourself in tip-top shape, because I think you could come out to this league and be an All-Star, even at your age.

The competition hasn't exactly been intense. I still can't believe that bunch from Torrington managed to beat me, and they're the only club that has so far. Torrington is first in the league, but if that hick Jackson hadn't gotten lucky and guessed right on a fastball, I would have pitched another shutout. I would have had 3 shutouts so far, but the manager took me out of two of them. I guess he doesn't want me getting too much press, so they can keep my salary lower. If my teammates had bothered to score before the bottom of the eighth, I wouldn't have been taken out for a pinch hitter.

My catcher, Rodriguez, is supposed to be a good ballplayer, but he's hitting .182. I always thought Pat O'Farrell would know a good player from an ordinary one, but it looks to me like he's overestimated how good these guys really are. I suppose if you really want to make something happen, you see what you want to see.

Anyway, a couple of the guys and I are going to play some pool in the hotel lobby now. I'm in the mood for some competition, and I'm sure not getting much on the ball field these days.

Write back soon,
Chris [Howlands]

[Big Six]

1105 St. Gregory St.
Cincinnati, Ohio

Mr. Christopher Howlands
Hotel Green
Danbury, Connecticut

May 5, 1930

Dear Chris,

I had to wait a few days before I replied to your letter, because I learned some time ago that it is never best for a man to write something when he is angry, unless he's damn sure he wants the recipient to know how angry he is. I suppose I've cooled off enough to reply now.

The arrogance of your letter to me surprised me, because I had never known you to be that kind of man. Certainly, you have never displayed that kind of demeanor in your relationship with Margaret, or I might never have consented to her marrying you. I realize a pitcher must feel confident in order to do his job well, but you are taking that confidence much too far!

Before I continue, allow me to thrust my credentials into your face. I pitched in the major leagues for eighteen seasons. I won 337 games and struck out over 3300 batters. There is a World Series ring on my finger, and a second one on a chain in my wife's jewelry box. And there is a plaque with my name on it in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Would it not be fair to say that it is possible that I might know a bit about pitching, Chris? Might I know a bit more about it than a fellow who pitched a year in the Southern Association?

One lesson I learned very well is that no matter how good you believe you are, the game of baseball has a way of putting you into your place. I lost 260 games in my career, too. I allowed over 5700 hits, and almost 2200 earned runs. I walked almost 1500 batters. That amounts to a lot of battles lost to talented players who got the better of me. Are you so cocky that you think this can't--and won't--happen to you sometimes?

Son, I haven't been out to watch you pitch, so I can't offer an opinion on how good the competition in the Yankee League really is. However, this I can say: if Pat O'Farrell says a man can play baseball, then he can play baseball.

What's Archie Graham batting? .340 or so? Graham played in the big leagues, and he's how old? 26? 27? If the league was as poor as you make it seem, he'd be batting .500. I hope your teammates aren't aware of your opinions of their ability. If they are, you're probably a lonely young man. And, if your opponents have learned what you think of them, don't dig in at the plate. Someone's going to send one at your bean and, while I hope it doesn't hit you, a close one that puts you on your seat wouldn't do you any real harm, and you'd deserve it!

I hope you receive this letter in the spirit in which it is written--a warning against letting your head get too big over a wonderful month's worth of success on the ball field. Please try to cultivate the appearance of humility, even if you can't cultivate humility itself. While I want you to do well on the field, I want you to be a good man even more. You are family now, and I care about you very much.

I've gone on too long. Please think about what I have written to you, Chris.

My best regards,
Roy

[Big Six]

Danbury News
May 14, 1930

STARS FALL IN PITTSFIELD, 7-4
Howlands Hit Hard; Clubs Now Tied In Standings

PITTSFIELD--The Danbury Stars and the Pittsfield Mohawks have been moving in opposite directions lately. Danbury has been playing uninspired ball, while the Pittsfielders have recovered from a slow start and are looking like the club everyone thought they would be as the Yankee League season began.

Yesterday, the Mohawks battered the Stars ace, Chris Howlands and, before a crowd that nearly filled Springside Park, they defeated the Danbury club, 7-4.

Pittsfield plated three runs in the second, a single tally in the third, and three more in the seventh, when they sent Howlands to the clubhouse to enjoy a nice, hot shower. A home run by Millard Tate, the Injuns' second baseman, with two men on marked Howlands' farewell.

"I thought I had pretty good stuff today," said Howlands, who allowed 10 hits and seven runs, six earned, in 6.1 innings of work. Sometimes good hitters are going to get you, though. That's what good hitters do."

The Stars and Mohawks are now tied for third in the league, with identical 19-21 records. Still, Howlands believes his club can reverse its fortunes. "We'll turn things around soon," he said. "We're still holding our heads high."

For his part, Howlands looks to rebound quickly from yesterday's set-back. "A veteran pitcher reminded me that games like this will happen," he said with a smile...

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
June 9, 1930

...The Baccalaureate Assembly for the Class of 1930 at Stockbridge High School was held last night...

Misses Elizabeth O'Farrell and Rebecca Burridge from the Class of 1931 and Miss Ann Deloitte, of the Class of 1933, performed three songs. Misses O'Farrell, Burridge, and Deloitte comprised the Girls' Trio that won a silver medal at the Massachusetts Literary Meet in April...

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
June 16, 1930

YANKEE LEAGUE RACE TIGHTENS UP EVEN MORE
Four Teams Within A Game Of Top Spot

PITTSFIELD--As the Yankee League season approaches the halfway mark, four of the loop's six teams find themselves in a battle for the lead that couldn't be much closer.

The Torrington Patriots hold the top spot with a 38-33 record, with the Danbury Stars, the Fitchburg Blue Sox, and the Pittsfield Mohawks jammed behind them at 37-34. The Stars and Mohawks have been playing excellent ball in June, each going 9-5 this month, and their hot streaks have enabled them to join the other two clubs at the top of the standings.

In fact, none of the six teams should consider themselves out of the race. The tailenders at present, the Holyoke Papermakers, are still a tough club with a 31-40 record, which puts them seven games off the pace. The annals of baseball are filled with stories of teams who made up far larger deficits than this over the course of 80 games or so...

Since he was shifted to the third spot in the Blue Sox batting order, Archie Graham has been swinging an even more dangerous bat. At the beginning of the season, Graham was the Blue Sox' leadoff man, where his excellent strike zone judgement and top-notch speed made him a good fit. Archie's talent for hitting for extra bases quickly caught the eye of his manager, who shuffled his batting order a month ago, and the fun began.

Graham leads the league with a .341 average, gets on base 43 percent of the time, and boasts a league-best .968 OPS. He's still swiping sacks, too; his 23 steals is tops among Yankee Leaguers.

"I like batting third," Graham said. "I enjoy driving in runs (he has 45 RBI), and I enjoy being aggressive as a hitter, while still trying to be selective at the same time. That approach is working well for me right now..."

[Big Six]

148 Cherry Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Mr. Bill Carrigan
54 Pine Street
Lewiston, Maine

June 23, 1930

Dear Bill,

Thank you for your letter of the 19th. And thank you, even more, for the honesty and frankness of your reply to mine. I knew that was exactly what I would receive from you, and that is why I wrote to you in the first place.

After reading your letter, I can finally understand why you have found so much happiness and fulfillment away from baseball. You enjoy the time you spend with your family every bit as much as I do, and you have settled again in your home town, where you and Beulah have many good friends. Both those things are true of me as well, as you know, and they both bring me a great deal of happiness. I am thoroughly enjoying spending more time with Sarah, who seems more beautiful than she was when I courted her, and my children bring me an immeasurable amount of joy.

There is one thing, however, that is true of you and is not the case with me. You have found a profession that seems to satisfy you as much as baseball did, one in which you believe you are doing good for your community and one that provides you with an engaging level of challenge. It sounds like you enjoy managing a bank as much as you did managing a ball club, and that your efforts to serve your customers and make your bank thrive gives you as much pleasure as a triple to right or a winning club.

I'm not that lucky, Bill. I suppose I could study the law and attempt to begin a practice, but I'll be 43 years old in a few months. It took years for my father to establish his practice, and he's recently taken his shingle down. Some of his former clients might eventually retain me, but I would worry that I'd never be able to do right by them as my Dad did. To put it simply, pal, baseball is all I know how to do.

To my disappointment, I'm finding that running a league isn't for me, at least not now. I don't like sitting behind a desk all day, and I would rather have a bat or a ball in my hand than a telephone. There is a gentleman in our office by the name if Jim McFarland who ran a Class C league somewhere in the midwest, and who is now acting as the league's president. He's doing quite a bit of the tough work of running the league right now, and to his credit he's not complained a bit. Still, I don't think it would take much effort to persuade Jim to take my job, and if he did, I would be free to pursue another line of work.

Do you follow what I'm thinking, Bill? I've never coached or managed a club, though people have told me I'd be good at it. I got tired of traveling during my last years with the Sox, but the short jaunts around the Yankee League wouldn't be too bad. If you can come up with a good reason why I shouldn't think more about this, pick up the telephone and give me a call, good and quick!

Give Beulah and your kids my best.

Your pal,
Pat

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
July 9, 1930

O'FARRELL RESIGNS
Yankee League Commissioner Steps Down, Vows To Remain Part Of League

PITTSFIELD--The Yankee Baseball League announced today that Pat O'Farrell had resigned the office of league commissioner, effective immediately.

League President Jim McFarland was introduced as the new commissioner.

Several days ago, O'Farrell called for a press conference, which was assumed to be a routine matter. His resignation, therefore, came as a complete surprise, and drew audible gasps from the reporters present. This response brought a smile to O'Farrell's face, and he quickly spoke to set the matter straight.

"I have not been fired or asked to step down," he explained. "Nor am I, or is the League, in any sort of legal or financial trouble. I'm in perfect health, both physical and emotional. So there's no tragic story here at all."

O'Farrell admitted that a job that confines him to an office is not the job for him, at least not now. "When I was approached and asked to help set up a baseball league in our region, I accepted without hesitation because I love baseball, and was missing being part of the game. I didn't anticipate being asked to serve as commissioner, but I was flattered and I accepted. It turns out it's not a position I'm well-suited for, and I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner. That would have saved a lot of trouble, I think."

He expressed his complete faith in his successor, McFarland. "Jim has been doing a lot of good work for the league, work he's not been given credit for. Now you'll all see what a pro Jim is. He'll be a great commissioner."

When asked what he planned to do now, O'Farrell smiled again. "I suppose I'm unemployed now, aren't I? I have a wife and five children, so I better not be without a job for long." The reporters laughed along with O'Farrell, who proceeded to answer their question more directly.

"I'm committed to the Yankee League," he stated. "I want to do what I can to help it succeed. Maybe I'll see if one of the clubs could use a coach. Or maybe I'll see if someone will let me try my hand at broadcasting a game over the radio. I don't think you've seen the last of me."

All of us who cover the Yankee League certainly hope we'll see more of Pat.

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
July 14, 1930

O'FARRELL TO MOHAWKS?
Pittsfield Club Rumored To Be Pursuing O'Farrell

PITTSFIELD--Pat O'Farrell just finished cleaning out his desk at the Yankee Baseball League office, and it looks like at least one club is already trying to persuade him to make his retirement a very brief one.

Sources within the Pittsfield Mohawks club state that club officials have approached O'Farrell with an offer of some sort of employment with the club. The nature of this offer has not been confirmed; in fact, there is no additional evidence that an offer has been made at all.

The position of manager would be the most logical place for O'Farrell, but team owner Ron Hancock firmly stated the Mohawks were not looking to replace their manager. "We are playing good ball. We're in the thick of the race. This is not the time to change managers."

With a record of 52-45, the Mohawks are currently in second place, a game behind the league-leading Fitchburg Blue Sox. Despite the fact the Mohawks pitching staff has, by most accounts, under-performed, there is no reason to dispute Hancock's assertion.

Still, it would not come as a complete surprise to see Pat O'Farrell in a Mohawks suit before the season ends. A man with his experience, evidenced by his collection of World Series jewelry, would undoubtedly help any club in any capacity he found himself.

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
July 20, 1930

The Eagle received this letter in its offices yesterday, with a very kind request that the paper print it in its entirety.

Dear Mr. Pat O'Farrell,

We, the young baseball fans of Pittsfield, would like to ask you to do us a favor. We are all big fans of yours. Some of us rooted for you when you played for the Red Sox. We read about you in the newspaper and sometimes we listened to games on the radio. But only one of us ever got to see you play, and some of us were too young to know about baseball when you played.

We would like very much to watch you play. We know you were a great player and we think you would still be a great player in the Yankee Baseball League. We know you live in Stockbridge. Pittsfield is closer to your home than the other teams in the league. We read that you like to spend a lot of time with your family and that you have five children. We think that is a good thing. We think you should play for the Pittsfield Mohawks because then you could see your family as much as you would like.

We read that the Mohawks might make you a coach. We think you would be a good one, but we would rather see you play. Please think about playing for the Mohawks. We will write a letter to the team asking them to sign you up as both a player and a coach.

We hope you are having a good summer. Tell your family hello for us too.

Your fans in Pittsfield,
Charlie Flippen
Hank Bassett
Jenny Bassett
Peter Bassett
Billy O'Reilly
Mary O'Reilly
Stan King
Lewis King
Tommy Prescott
[22 more names]

****
Much of this letter was dictated to me by my daughter, who is almost seven years old and is in first grade. (She wouldn't want me to let you believe she was barely six.) We are all home from school for a snow day, and she asked me what I was doing. When I told her I was writing a story, she wanted to help, so I asked her to help me write a letter from children to a baseball player, asking him to play for their favorite team. This is what we came up with.

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
July 25, 1930

O'FARRELL JOINS MOHAWKS STAFF
Will Begin Coaching Duties Immediately

PITTSFIELD--Today the Pittsfield Mohawks announced the signing of Pat O'Farrell to a contract that will add him to the club's coaching staff for the remainder of the 1930 season.

Speculation about O'Farrell's intentions, which began when he resigned from the Yankee League's commissionership, had dominated league chatter for the last two weeks, even though the loop features a dandy three-team contest between Fitchburg, Pittsfield, and Torrington, with Danbury close at their heels. The news comes with the Mohawks tied for second with Torrington, three games behind the Blue Sox' pace.

O'Farrell's duties have not been specified, but it is expected that he will work actively with the team's infielders and advise the entire squad on the art of batsmanship.

The contract includes nothing about O'Farrell appearing as a player, and the Mohawks have not added him to their active or reserve roster.

[Let's Play Two]

Big Six,


It's good to see Pat back with us. I wasn't around for the original story, but once I discovered it I read it with great pleasure. I became a Pat O'Farrell fan for life.


And it's good to see Pat on the field. He does seem like the kind of guy who would rather be sitting in the dugout than sitting behind a big desk somewhere.


Hopefully in two or three years, I'll still be signing in and looking for the next post in this thread.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Let's Play Two

Big Six,


It's good to see Pat back with us. I wasn't around for the original story, but once I discovered it I read it with great pleasure. I became a Pat O'Farrell fan for life.


And it's good to see Pat on the field. He does seem like the kind of guy who would rather be sitting in the dugout than sitting behind a big desk somewhere.


Hopefully in two or three years, I'll still be signing in and looking for the next post in this thread.

Thanks, Let's Play Two. I needed some time away from the Pat O'Farrell story, because it was starting to feel like a chore to write. There don't seem to be many people around the Dynasty Forum who were here when the first TBBLOPO began. It was fun to read through the posts from 2003, 2004, 2005 and see the names of forum-friends from back in the day.

I appreciate the comments, so stop by often. New (and old) fans are always welcome.

[Big Six]

148 Cherry Street
Stockbridge Massachusetts

Mr. Bill Carrigan
54 Pine Street
Lewiston, Maine

July 30, 1930

Hi, me boyo,

I'm not sure if you got the news way up there in Maine, but I'm back in uniform again. I'm a Pittsfield Mohawk!

About a week ago, I decided I wanted to give coaching a try. I talked to Sarah and the kids, and every one of them encouraged me to get back onto the field. Sarah was unsure about how she felt at first, because she's paid her dues as a baseball wife for so long. When she realized I'll be coming home most nights, she put her support behind the idea one hundred percent. The longest trip from Stockbridge to another league city is the journey to Fitchburg, which is about 120 miles away. That's a lot more manageable than the long western trips we used to make with the Red Sox!

There is something else I wanted to share with you, too. My first day with the club, I was working with some of the fellows in the batting cage. I was demonstrating something to them, and I was hitting line drive after line drive. John Sanders, the manager, said "You've got a better swing now than any player in the league." I didn't believe him--Archie Graham, for one, is a swell hitter, and he's fifteen years younger--but I had to admit I felt comfortable in the cage.

I decided to take some infield, and I discovered that I couldn't range far enough to play second base anymore--but I had no problems at all when I moved over to first. I decided to give third base a try, and once I got my arm loosened up, I was doing fine there, too.

I sat down with John, and he expressed some interest in adding me to the roster as a player, too. We are all set at first base; Chandler Maxwell is batting well over .300, he's a fine fielder, and he's only 23. However, there's been a hole at third all season long. John told me I could probably help the team on a part-time basis right now.

The idea appeals to me enough that I'm going to continue working out, and if things go well, I might be doing more than coaching. Sarah and the kids think it's a fine idea, especially the younger boys, who don't really remember seeing me play. A few of the newspaper boys have been watching, and I think they believe they are on to something, but I haven't seen anything in the papers yet. I doubt I'll be able to keep this a secret very long, but I wanted to share it with you first.

Wish me luck, pal!
Pat

[Big Six]

Holyoke Transcript
August 2, 1930

Men who have passed their fortieth birthday can still play baseball, and if they want to, they should. Nothing says a fellow should put his glove in the attic if he doesn't want to.

There are plenty of ways a grey-haired gent can enjoy the game. He can toss the ball around with his children. He can play in a Bachelors vs. Married Men game at a church social on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon.

He should not try to join a club in a league as fast as the Yankee League has turned out to be.

Pat O'Farrell, are you listening?

There is no doubt you were among the biggest stars the National Game has ever known. Your accomplishments with the Red Sox have made you a hero to many fans throughout New England and the nation.

It's been reported that you're thinking seriously about turning your new coaching job with the Pittsfield Mohawks into something more. You shouldn't.

One of two things will happen. You will either discover many of your formidable skills are intact, or you will discover they have disappeared.

If your skills are intact, you will make the proud men who never had the opportunity to play in the American League look less than heroic. You'll steal the attention that should rightfully be theirs, and turn the circuit into the Patrick O'Farrell League. That is neither gentlemanly nor fair.

If your talents have faded, you will look pathetic, as you wave at pitches you once hit to the far reaches of the yard and stumble after balls in the field you once handled with grace. You will spoil the memories we all have of your prime years in Boston red.

Incidentally, you are much more likely to experience the second fate than the first. The quality of play in the Yankee League isn't American League standard, but it's turned out to be quite good. You are likely to hurt your pride--or something more painful--if you try to keep up.

There is nothing at all to be gained by a return to the field.

Don't do it, Pat.

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle
August 4, 1930

PAT O'FARRELL: "I AM GOING TO PLAY"
Mohawks Activate Red Sox Icon

HOLYOKE--The Pittsfield Mohawks made a roster move today, activating player-coach Pat O'Farrell, an infielder, and sending infielder Bruno Moon to their reserves.

A simple transaction, the likes of which baseball clubs make every day; a transaction that would generally attract very little notice, since it is taking place in a small, new, regional baseball league in western New England.

But, since the player involved is one Patrick Joseph O'Farrell, this simple roster adjustment has caught the attention of an entire region, and has intrigued baseball fans throughout the nation.

When the Yankee Baseball League opened its inaugural season in April, O'Farrell was the league's commissioner. However, O'Farrell discovered he missed the game on the field and, after resigning last month, wasted little time in accepting a position as a coach with the Mohawks. Once he put a uniform back on, O'Farrell couldn't resist the lure of the game on the field, and he began to work out with the players on a regular basis. Yesterday, he went to skipper John Sanders and simply said, "I'll play."

O'Farrell said he had been taking batting practice "until I can't find anyone to throw to me," and that he feels good at the plate. O'Farrell will celebrate his 43rd birthday in September, and he is admittedly "a few steps slower" in the field. But Sanders believes O'Farrell can play third base capably enough to stay in the lineup, and he is even more certain that he will hit well enough to help the Pittsfielders win ballgames.

"This is not a publicity stunt," Sanders replied firmly when asked about the team's reasons for bringing O'Farrell back to the field. "Pat O'Farrell will make us a better team. When you watch him take batting practice, you think he's 32, not 42. The ball still jumps off his bat."

The Mohawks currently sit in second place, five games behind Fitchburg. They are one game ahead of Torrington and three ahead of Danbury for the second spot, which brings with it a berth in the Yankee Series. "We're in a tough fight for the post-season," Sanders explained. "I think Pat gives us what we need to make the Series."

O'Farrell will not be in today's starting lineup against the Holyoke Papermakers, but Sanders said he won't hesitate to call on him if he needs a crucial base hit. "Who wouldn't want Pat O'Farrell at the plate with a ballgame on the line?" Sanders asked with a smile.

The fact that O'Farrell might make his debut in Holyoke adds another intriguing twist to the story. The Holyoke Transcript printed an editorial last week, an open letter to O'Farrell begging him to take his position in the coach's box, not the batter's box, and claiming that no good could come from Pat's return to the field.

"Anyone who thinks I decided to play so I can get my name in the papers doesn't know me at all," O'Farrell said when asked about the Transcript article. "I've had my share of that. I'm playing because I like to play baseball. I think I can help the Mohawks win.

"And my kids want to see me play," he added with a smile.

They, and the other baseball fans of western New England, will soon have the chance to do just that.

[Jabez54]

Big Six, I take it you were originally from Massachusetts, huh ... great Dynasty stories ... grew up around Sudbury but roamed around Boston, as a Southie ...

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Jabez54

Big Six, I take it you were originally from Massachusetts, huh ... great Dynasty stories ... grew up around Sudbury but roamed around Boston, as a Southie ...

Thanks, Jabez54. I'm actually not from Massachusetts; I was born in Baltimore and grew up there, too.

My family does have a New England connection, though. My father's dad is from Coventry, Connecticut. He was a big Red Sox fan, and he took that allegiance with him when he moved to Baltimore in 1943. The Orioles were a minor league team then. Grandpa remained a Sox fan, although he began to root for the Orioles when they arrived in Baltimore.

The Red Sox have always been my second favorite team, by a wide margin. Pat O'Farrell might well have been an Oriole if his story had been set after 1954, but since he's from a half-century earlier, casting him as a Red Sox player was a natural choice.

I've still got some relatives in Connecticut, and my wife went to college in Massachusetts. The area is a favorite destination for family vacations, so I thought it would be fun to set this story in western New England.

Thanks again for your comment, and I hope you'll keep reading (and commenting, too)

[Big Six]

Pat in his Pittsfield Mohawks uniform

I got the idea for bringing Pat back as an active player when I read that it wasn't uncommon for players from Pat's era to continue their careers in the minors after they left the big leagues. He's almost 43 in August 1930, which would make him older than most of the "continuees," but it wouldn't be unheard of for a man his age to keep playing.

In Volume 1, Pat retired from the Red Sox at the end of the 1928 season, soon after he turned 41. He hit .254 in his final season with the Red Sox, with 8 home runs, 54 RBI, and 103 runs scored. He slashed .254/.346/.368, and he stole 51 bases in 65 attempts, so his legs weren't gone, either. Those numbers were far from vintage O'Farrell--his career slash line was .327/.428/.502--but he wasn't completely overmatched, either.

I'm assuming a player who held his own in the big leagues in 1928 would be able to come close to his peak MLB numbers in an independent league two years later.

• He'd be able to figure out Yankee League pitchers well enough to hit over .300.
• Pat was a classic Dead Ball Era slugger, who hit lots of doubles and triples, so I gave him a lot of Gap power.
• He'll probably pull up at second with a double more often than he used to, rather than going for three.
• Pat will be a mobile, smart baserunner, and he'll be able to steal a base when the situation calls for it. He won't be stealing 50 bases, though.
• Pat always drew lots of walks, and he'd certainly be able to do the same in the Yankee League.

He will be a very dangerous man with a bat in his hands.

Pat was never an outstanding fielder, and he slipped quite a bit more in the last years of his Red Sox career. He was a real defensive liabilty in 1928. I decided he'd move from 2B to a less demanding position. I rated him at 1B and 3B, where he's a little below average defensively. I also gave him the ability to play LF in an absolute emergency. Since the Mohawks have a good first baseman already, Pat will see most of his action at third.

Here's how Pat's ratings will look:

I won't manage the Mohawks, so it will be up to the computer manager to determine how often, and how, he'll use Pat. I have a feeling his bat will keep him in the lineup regularly and, for the sake of the story, I hope that's what happens.

[Big Six]

I realize not posting for almost two months will tend to destroy any momentum a story might once have had...but if anyone out there is still interested in following Volume 2, I'll be picking the story back up promptly. One thing after another kept me from having much time for OOTP for a while.

Hopefully I'll be able to write a bit more regularly now. I've been missing the Yankee League.

Hope a few of you will still enjoy following along.

[Tyke]

Still here, Big Six, and looking forward to seeing how Pat's return to the diamond goes.