Baseball Premier League

[NYY #23]

As we prepare to head into the 1902 season there are a couple of things that I wanted to mention. First promotion/relegation will occur the first day of the offseason, after all of the awards have been handed out. At that point the next year's draft class will be imported, and they'll be mixed with the fictional players that are created.

This year's class was led by Hal Chase, and I'm using the Spritze database so players will import at 18 years old, and get a change to make a mark by signing with any team, and trying to make their mark in the Premier League. If there are any players that you'd like to know how they did or how they are doing feel free to ask. I still have plans to do some looking back at some of the early greats of the association, and also some of the duds, like Cap Anson, but I'll probably wait a couple of years to do that until things stabilize.

I really want to balance League A, B, and C out to 22 teams. For 1902 only I'm going to do the normal promotion and relegation between the Premier League and League A, and balance things out. Essentially six teams must go. I'll see how things shake out for 1902, invoke the best interests of baseball clause, and see how things shake out.

[NYY #23]

Arizona Wins Premier League Cup in Debut Season

The Arizona Wrens were promoted to the Premier League this year, and won 121 games to capture the Premier League Cup their first year in the league. Arizona scored more runs (993) than any other team in the league this year, while allowing the second fewest (679).



Jack Chesbro led the team with 31 wins and a 1.98, but Chesbro wasn't the only starting pitcher on the Wrens to have an impressive year. John Baker (30-14, 3.02), Ed Walker (28-14, 3.06), and Jesse Tannehill (31-8, 3.22) give Arizona a very strong rotation, and with a trio of 28 year olds plus the 26 year old Baker Arizona will be a tough team to beat for years to come.

That's before adding in 26 year old 2B Charlie Hickman, who hit .343 with 14 home runs, 143 RBI, 129 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases. 30 year old Kip Selbach hit .342 this season, and rookie catcher Rip Williams hit .310 in 116 games.

Arizona wasn't alone in their immediate Premier League success as the Salt Lake City Bees debuted with a 115 win season in second place. With a trio of starting pitchers under 25 - James Drohan (32-10, 1.50), Addie Joss (32-8, 1.82), and Rip Ragan (25-17, 2.41) to go along with the top ranked defense and young lineup it looks like the Bees and Wrens will both remain teams to beat.

Joining Arizona and Salt Lake City in the battle for the Spalding Cup is last year's Spalding Cup finalists the Las Vegas Aces and Sacramento Grizzlies, both of whom won over 100 games this year.

Standings


Promotion/Relegation Preview

Last year the Providence Whalers narrowly avoided relegation, and this year they escaped returning to a promotion/relegation series by finishing one game ahead the Virginia Mariners. The Mariners will be facing off against the Reading Railers in the first series, with the Railers trying to gain entry into the Premier League for the second straight year.

The second series will feature a pair of New England teams, the Hartford Owls and Boston Pilgrims. The final series will be between the 56-112 Manchester Mills and the Minot Mallards. The Mallards and their strong pitching staff featuring a 22 year old Christy Mathewson (22-12, 2.21) will test the Mills.

[toxicavenger74]

First, I really enjoy reading this dynasty. Second, which type of league setup do you like better, a standard franchise setup or a promotion relegation setup like this?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger74

First, I really enjoy reading this dynasty. Second, which type of league setup do you like better, a standard franchise setup or a promotion relegation setup like this?

Thank you. I'm really enjoying the promotion/relegation set-up, but it is more work than a standard franchise set-up. I don't necessarily want to say I like promotion/relegation better, but I do like to try different types of leagues, and this certainly adds different aspects that I'm enjoying quite a bit, and I'm anxious to find out how things turn out 10, 20, 30 years down the road.

[NYY #23]

[NYY #23]

[NYY #23]

Sacramento Grizzlies (104-64) vs. Arizona Wrens (121-47)

The first semi-final matchup features last year's runner-up, the Sacramento Grizzlies against the new kid on the block, the Arizona Wrens. The Grizzlies have both the fourth ranked offense and allowed the fourth fewest runs. George Treadway (.296, 17 HR, 103 RBI) and Cy Seymour (.323, 2 HR, 73 RBI) lead the offense, with Jim Buchanan (21-13, 2.19) the ace of the staff featuring a quartet of 20 game winners.

I've already talked a little bit about the Wrens, but as a brief recap - they scored more runs than any other team, allowed the second fewest, and had three 30 game winners (John Baker, Jack Chesbro, and Jesse Tannehill). Their weakness is defense, although their defense is ranked 9th, so they aren't terrible. Arizona won the regular season series 6 games to 2.

Game 1

John Baker made his Spalding Cup debut with a complete game four hit shutout for the Wrens while striking out 9. His dominant performance was supported by 4 runs on 9 hits with Charlie Hickman picking up a big 2 run double.

Game 2

Jim Duncan had a solid year behind the plate for Arizona, hitting .268 with 9 home runs and driving in 90 runs. In Game 2 Duncan stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a pair of runners on base with Arizona down 3-2. Jim Duncan hit the first pitch in the stands to give Arizona a 5-3 walk off victory, and a 2 to 0 series lead.

Game 3

Arizona put eight runs on the board before Sacramento scored on the way to a 14-3 blowout to go up 3 games to none in the series. Jack Chesbro picked up the win for Arizona with their offense pounding out 22 hits, led by Dan Larsen and Charlie Frank picking up four hits apiece.

Game 4

The series started the same way it ended with John Baker picking up the complete game win as the Wrens completed the sweep of the Grizzlies with a 3-2 win. It was a come from behind win with Arizona scoring two runs in the top of the ninth with RBI singles by Kip Selbach and Charlie Hickman.

[NYY #23]

Las Vegas Aces (109-59) vs. Salt Lake City Bees (115-53)

The defending Spalding Cup Champion Las Vegas Aces are the underdog this year as they set to take on the Salt Lake City Bees. It was an injury plagued year for the Aces' ace Gus Thompson, who went 9-11 with a 2.83 ERA after going 26-16 with a 1.99 ERA last year. But Thompson is healthy now, and with Elliot D'Antonio (22-21, 3.11), Harvey Cushman (27-15, 2.87) and Sammy Morris (28-7, 2.32) the Aces have more than enough pitching, allowing the second fewest runs in the league. Their offense scored the 2nd most runs in the league with Dan Potts (.331, 4 HR, 100 RBI) and Jake Stenzel (.282, 4 HR, 122 RBI) anchoring their lineup, but their defense was horrible (ranked 22nd in the league).

I've talked about the Bees and their pitching in the season recap, but with the 6th ranked offense and best defense in the league it should be an exciting series, although the Bees dominated the season series 7-1.

Game 1

Both pitchers showed their dominance in today's game with Gus Thompson allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 for the Aces, and James Drohan allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 8 for the Bees. The difference today was 3 errors by the Aces and 2 unearned runs as the Bees capture the season opener 4-2.

Game 2

Once again it was sloppy defense that decided the game, this time with a trio of errors leading to 6 unearned runs, but it was the Bees that committed the miscues and the Aces taking advantage with an 8-4 win.

Game 3

With Addie Joss holding Las Vegas to 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 6 it was the Bees taking the 2-1 series advantage with a 5-2 win. Four of the five runs scores by the Bees were unearned, with the Aces committing 6 errors in the game.

Game 4

Game 4 featured a rematch of Game 1 starters Gus Thompson and James Drohan, with similar results, right down to the defensive miscues by the Aces, who committed four errors and allowed two unearned runs in the Bees 3-2 win. Other than the unearned runs their pitching lines were nearly identical (9 IP, 1 ER, 6 K) with Thompson allowing 6 hits versus 4 for Drohan. The Bees are now one win away from advancing to the Spalding Cup Finals.

Game 5

The Bees advance to the Spalding Cup Final after defeating the Aces 8-5 while pounding out 17 hits. Armando Veloz and Nick Wise each picked up 3 hits for the Bees, with Rip Ragan earning the win.

[StLee]

I'll be rooting for the New Orleans Crescents, of course. But, just in case they can't find their way up to the Premier League, I'll mark the Grand Island Prairie Dogs as the team I'm rooting for with the BROOKLYN Dodgers getting my runner-up approval.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by StLee

I'll be rooting for the New Orleans Crescents, of course. But, just in case they can't find their way up to the Premier League, I'll mark the Grand Island Prairie Dogs as the team I'm rooting for with the BROOKLYN Dodgers getting my runner-up approval.

The Crescents finished in an 8th place tie and they have potential to move up. Their pitching staff is young and strong, and they allowed the 3rd fewest runs in the league. Harry McIntire (16-18, 2.34), Buttons Briggs (25-8, 1.79), Luke Fields (10-25, 3.47), and Eddie Herr (20-11, 2.52) give them a strong rotation, but their offense is the main reason they aren't in the Premier League now.

They made a couple of moves that I like to improve their offense though, trading for RF Terry Taylor (.309, 50 RBI) and CF Burt Hart (.285, 54 RBI) and have 19 year old shortstop Solly Hoffman (.278, 57 RBI). They'll be a team to watch next year.

Sometimes watching a season and just reporting at the end of the year you miss some things, but the Prairie Dogs spent the majority of the year in fourth place, but injuries/bad luck so them go 23-32 to end the season. They've been a fun team to watch develop though, and they should continue to be competitive.

The Dodgers have been a slightly better than middle of the pack team for almost twenty years now, regardless of the league. I wish there was more to say about them, but they don't have many stars, or bad players, and are a little bland right now. I'll keep an eye on them though, and their moves to see if that changes.

[NYY #23]

Reading Railers vs. Virginia Mariners

Last year the Reading Railers lost their opportunity to gain entry into the Premier League with a loss to the Providence Whalers in five games, but after finishing third they'll get another shot at promotion. Zach McAndrews (16-17, 2.46), Ryan Price (18-16, 2.35), and Jack Dunleavy (18-17, 2.98) form the rotation which allowed the 7th fewest runs in League A, with Nate McCabe (.277, 15 HR, 100 RBI) leading the 7th ranked offense.

They'll be facing an aging Virginia team who were outscored 933-704 with their starters posting a 4.33 ERA. Both Billy Ging (19-21) and Hal Mauck (17-23) lost more than 20 games for the Mariners.

Game 1

The Mariners got out to an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single by Pat Beck with Billy Ging holding the Railers scoreless for 7 innings, but an RBI single by Judge McCredie in the 8th and an RBI double by Nate McCabe in the ninth gave the Railers a 2-1 come from behind win. Jack Dunleavy picked up the win with a complete game 7 hitter, striking out 6.

Game 2

George Boice pitched a complete game three hit shutout for the Railers, who rolled over the Mariners 11-0 to take a 2-0 series lead. It was Nate McCabe who had the big game for Reading with a pair of hits and five RBI, including a home run. McCabe has driven in six during the series.

Game 3

The second time was the charm for the Reading Railers who will move up to the Premier League in 1903 after their 11-7 win to complete the sweep over the Virginia Mariners. Zach McAndrews survived a poor outing (8 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 0 K) to pick up the win with every starter getting at least one hit for Reading.

[NYY #23]

Boston Pilgrims vs. Hartford Owls

Good pitching seems to be the key to success for moving up in League A, which makes the Boston Pilgrims a dangerous team. Hooks Wiltse (24-12, 2.05), Matt Cox (22-12, 1.72), Ed Stein (16-16, 3.32), and Egyptian Healy (21-12, 2.79) make up the Pilgrims' rotation, which allowed the second fewest runs in the league. The Pilgrims offense scored the 8th highest run total in League A.

Game 1

For six innings Ed Stein was holding the Owls offense to just 1 run with the Pilgrims clinging to a 2-1 lead, but Lance Lacy tied up the game with an RBI triple followed by four consecutive singles to put the Owls up, and they would hold on to the 4-3 win.

Game 2

The Pilgrims evened up the series with a 10-1 blowout win, with Egyptian Healy picking up the win and Reddy Grey, Manny Soto, and Bill Gray each driving in two runs.

Game 3

For the second game in a row the Pilgrims got strong pitching from their starter with Hooks Wiltse picking up the complete game shutout while striking out 4. Wiltse added an RBI single in the Pilgrims 2-0 win and the Pilgrims are now one win away from joining the Premier League.

Game 4

After jumping out to an early 6-0 lead the Pilgrims held on for a 6-5 win. Matt Cox picked up the win with a complete game, allowing 10 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), walking 1, and striking out 2. Casey Driscoll and Ernie Murphy each drove in two runs for the Pilgrims.

[NYY #23]

Minot Mallards vs. Manchester Mills

One year ago the Minot Mallards won a promotion/relegation series to move from League B to League A, and this year the Mallards will get the opportunity to advance to the Premier League. If pitching and defense win games the Mallards enter the series as the heavy favorites, having the best pitching and defense in League A. The Mallards rotation features Sylvester Loucks (22-11, 1.71), Christy Mathewson (22-12, 2.21), Bill Hill (19-14, 2.17), and Len Swormstedt (22-13, 2.91).

The Mallards will certainly need as much pitching as they can get, because their offense is the worst in the league. They will be taking on a Manchester team that lost 112 games. Bob Miller had one of the worst years imaginable going 4-35 with a 6.05 ERA. Newcomer Hal Chase hit just .218 in his rookie year.

Game 1

After losing 26 games for Manchester this season Gussie Gannon delivered a complete game 8 hitter while allowing 2 unearned runs and striking out 6 to give the Mills a 4-2 win. John Nauman drove in a pair of runs, with rookie Hal Chase and Gannon driving in a run.

Game 2

The Mallards evened up the series after scoring 5 runs in the first three innings with Len Swormstedt picking up the win. Adam Olivier tripled and drove in two runs for the Mallards.

Game 3

It was Sylvester Loucks turn to pitch the Mallards to victory after allowing 2 runs on 8 hits while striking out 7. Loucks was one of three players to drive in 2 runs with Joel Greeley and Truck Eagan the other Mallards driving in two in their 10-2 win.

Game 4

It looked like the Mills would even up the series after leading 5-4 while heading into the ninth inning, but it was Bert Cunningham drawing a pinch hit walk to lead off the ninth, and Sam Crawford hitting a two run homer to give the Mallards the 6-5 win to capture the series. Christy Mathewson picked up the win for the Mallards with 8 innings while allowing 6 hits, 5 runs, walking one, and striking out 7. It would be yesterday's starter Sylvester Loucks who would come on to pitch the ninth innings to ensure the Mallards victory.

[NYY #23]

Salt Lake City Bees (115-53) vs. Arizona Wrens (121-47)

The Spalding Cup Final would feature the two newest teams in the Premier League, who would appear to be evenly matched, splitting the season series four games apiece. Both teams featured strong pitching and solid hitting. While just the second Spalding Cup, this series would set the bar high for future Spalding Cup battles.

Game 1



The Salt Lake City Bees would sent Addie Joss (32-8, 1.82) to the mound against Jack Chesbro (31-10, 1.98) of the Arizona Wrens for a memorable pitching duel that would go in to extra innings. For four innings the game would remain scoreless, with the Bees taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth with a triple by Nick Wise, and a sacrifice fly by Mike Jacobs. An inning and a half later the game would be tied up when Charlie Frank reached on an error, and came home to score when Jack Chesbro reached on an error.

The score would remain tied at one and the game would head into extra innings. With Addie Joss and Jack Chesbro both still on the mound the Bees would take advantage of a two base error by Wrens centerfielder Charlie Frank, his second of the game. One batter later Harry Wolverton would single home the go ahead run, and Salt Lake City would bring on Doc Scanlan in relief to close out the game. Addie Joss would pick up the win with 11 1/3 innings, allowing 9 hits and just 1 unearned run. While he took the loss Jack Chesbro would end up pitching all 12 innings, and also gave up just 1 earned run. The Bees head in to Game 2 with a 1 game to 0 advantage.

Game 2



John Baker put on an impressive show in Game 2 with a complete game two hit shutout, walking none and striking out 4 as the Wrens evened the series with a 5-0 win. The offensive start for Arizona was Charlie Frank, who picked up 3 hits while driving in 3 runs. James Drohan took the loss for the Bees.

Game 3



Game 3 would feature a pitching battle between Ed Walker of the Wrens against Rip Ragan of the Bees. Arizona would get on the board first in the second inning with back to back RBI singles by Joe Kenney and Ed Walker to take a 2-0 lead. The Bees would tie the game in the bottom of the third when Hans Lobert tripled home a run and Kevin Ratter picked up an RBI single.

The Bees would take the lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Mike Jacobs that would make it 3-2, and neither team would score another run. Rip Ragan would pick up the complete game win after allowing 7 hits, 2 unearned runs, walking 1, and striking out 3 as the Bees took a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4



After a twelve inning pitching duel in Game 1 both Jack Chesbro and Addie Joss would take the mound again for Game 4. One again Joss would emerge victorious, this time with a complete game four hit shutout as the Bees won 1-0 and now hold a 3 game to 1 advantage over the Wrens.

Jack Chesbro was charged with the loss, despite allowing just 1 run in 8 innings to lower his postseason ERA to 0.62. Nick Wise drove in the games only run for Salt Lake City with a second inning RBI single.

[NYY #23]

Salt Lake City Bees (115-53) vs. Arizona Wrens (121-47)

Game 5



On the brink of elimination the Arizona Wrens turned to John Baker to save their season, and Baker delivered with a complete game 3 hitter while striking out 10 as the Wrens won 3-1. Rip Williams drove in a pair of runs for Arizona.

James Drohan took the loss for Salt Lake City after 9 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 9 K.

Both pitchers showed their dominance in today's game with Gus Thompson allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 for the Aces, and James Drohan allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 8 for the Bees. The difference today was 3 errors by the Aces and 2 unearned runs as the Bees capture the season opener 4-2.

Game 6



The Wrens and Bees set a Spalding Cup record with a 17 inning game which the Wrens pulled off the 7-6 win to send the series to a winner take all Game 7. Arizona showed determined throughout the game, coming back from a 3-0 deficit, 4-3 deficit, and finally a 6-4 deficit in the 13th inning.

Charlie Frank was the goat in Game 1 for the Wrens, but a walk-off single in the bottom of the 17th helped redeem himself. For the game Frank was 4-8 with 2 RBI, and remained error free. Joseph Herr added 4 hits and 2 RBI for the Wrens. Arizona starter Ed Walker would leave the game after 13 innings, with Jesse Tannehill coming on in relief to pick up the win with four hitless innings while striking out 5. Doc Scanlon took the loss in relief for Salt Lake City.

With the Wrens win both teams will face off in a winner take all seventh game.

Game 7

With the series tied at three games apiece we'd once again see a matchup between Addie Joss and Jack Chesbro. The last time the two faced off in Game 4 it resulted in a 1-0 game. We'd again get to see a pitching duel today that would end in a 1-0 game. Once again it would be Joss who would pick up the complete game shutout win as the Bees capture their first Spalding Cup. Jack Chesbro once again gets the loss to drop to 1-3 in the postseason this year. 38 innings, 32 hits, 3 earned runs, 27 strikeouts, and a 0.71 ERA.

But a somewhat shaky fourth inning in which Chesbro allowed back to back singles to Kevin Ratter and Harry Davis to lead off the inning gave the Bees the base runners they needed. Two fielders choices later and the one and only run of the game would score.



----
Spalding Cup Most Valuable Player



After the game Addie Joss would be named the Spalding Cup Most Valuable Player after a dominating Spalding Cup performance where he was 4-0 in 4 starts with a 0.47 ERA, allowing 25 hits and 2 runs in 38 1/3 innings, while walking 5 and striking out 17.

------------

[goroyals]

Heck of a Championship Series there. A 17-inning Game 6, then a pitcher's duel extraordinaire in Game 7. Good stuff.

Hope Louisville can make it to the Premiership one day.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by goroyals

Heck of a Championship Series there. A 17-inning Game 6, then a pitcher's duel extraordinaire in Game 7. Good stuff.

Hope Louisville can make it to the Premiership one day.

That was definitely a fun series to watch. I don't think I could have asked for a better series, and it definitely helped me get a little bit more interested. I'm hoping that we'll continue to see an Arizona/Salt Lake rivalry.

Louisville has been a team that I've been keeping an eye on because they made one move that caught my attention, acquiring Willie Keeler -



He's had a rough year this year with injuries, but hit .337 when healthy, and he's been part of a push by Louisville acquiring some veterans - 1B Tom Cotter (.326, 79 RBI) and John Pickett (.312, 82 R, 53 RBI). While they did finish fifth in League B they had some key injuries, but I think they have a good shot to move up to League A next year, and are headed in the right direction.

[NYY #23]

In just two years League A has sent five teams up to the Premier League, out of a potential six. Maybe even more impressive is that the Wolverines and Vols who were relegated from the Premier League finished in 16th and 17th place. With the Mallards, Pilgrims, and Railers all moving up to the Premier League next season that leaves the door open for the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Toledo Mud Hens, and Boston Red Sox to fight it out for their own chance to be promoted.

While the success of League A has already been better than expected, it was also the cause of turmoil following the 1902 season. The St Louis Terriers owner were struggling to compete with the Cardinals at the turnstiles, and owner Brian Burrow, Jr. didn't have the passion for baseball as his father who passed away during the season. Burrow made a deal to sell the team to the Cardinals, who planned to strengthen the holes in their roster with Terriers players before President Spalding stepped in to stop the transaction. Spalding would issue a fine and planned to relegate the Terriers to League C, but it was Burrow that would refuse to pay the fine and walk away from the league, folding the Terriers in the process.

Spalding would gave the former Terriers' players permission to sign with any team in NABA. That would leave NABA with 93 members, and set off a series of events. The first event was to suspend the promotion/relegation series between League A and B, along with League B and C. The second even was to relegate the Pennsylvania Patriots to League B, which would leave both the Premier League and League A with 22 teams apiece. That would also lead to change in both League B and League C.



And places 23 and 24:

[NYY #23]

With the addition of the Pennsylvania Patriots the number of teams in League B grew to 25, meaning three teams must go. Due to their close proximity to Philadelphia the Wilmington Blue Rocks are the first team on the chopping block, with the Newark Trotters also folding. That leaves the Pittsfield Mohawks heading to League C.



Places 23 and 24:

[NYY #23]

In order to round out the numbers the Stockton Ports, Memphis Chicks, and Birmingham Rebels will be removed from League C.



Places 23 and 24: