The American Baseball Association (ABA) - A fictional baseball history (v2.0)

[Boozie1580]

This is a re-boot of the fictional league I started here. I messed up a few things with league totals and the player creation modifiers (I was getting way too many K's and way too many foreign players), so I'm starting from scratch. I'm also changing the name of the league because I discovered after the fact that there are at least two active online leagues already called the United Baseball League. As with before, I'm creating the league in 1860 and will start actively following it a decade later. Also as before, I'm going to be using some of the logos from cephasjames's set, as well as Questdog's names - thanks to both of them for their awesome work. I saved my previous league as a quickstart so the players who were there in 1860 will exist in this league as well. It should be interesting to see how differently the teams develop. Hopefully there won't have to be a v3.0! Here goes:

January 5th, 1860 - First professional baseball league formed in New York

Eight of the most successful business owners in America met in New York City to finalize their plans for a new professional baseball league, known as the American Baseball Association (ABA). The league will begin play in just a few months. All players who apply to play in the league will be selected by clubs in a draft that will take place in February. The teams will play a 162-game season, followed by a playoff to determine the league champion. The 1st-place club will play a five-game championship series against the winner of a 3-game set between the 2nd- and 3rd- place finishers.

The owners have issued a statement that they will welcome expansion in the future if a city and potential owner come forth. In the meantime, the eight franchises that will compete this season are as follows:

Baltimore Barons
Boston Beans
Brooklyn Hustlers
Chicago Chiefs
Cincinnati Steamers
New York Goliaths
Philadelphia Bruisers
St. Louis Prospects

[Boozie1580]

March 1st, 1870

Let's fast-forward ten years and see where each franchise has been and where they're headed, starting with...



Baltimore Barons

Last season: 70-92, 7th place

Championships: 0

First place finishes: 0

Playoff Appearances: 2 (1861, 1868)

1870 Outlook:

The Barons weren't quite as bad as their record last season, finishing 9 games below their "expected" record of 79-83. This season, they'll be without 2B Frank Ogden, one of the best infielders in the league who was traded to Cincinnati for a pair of young pitchers. If they plan on competing this year, they'll need a huge season from CF Sam Helm. The 25-year-old Helm led the league with 10 home runs en route to the 1868 Rookie of the Year award. He wasn't quite as good last season, but still hit a solid .288/.356/.428.

To make matters worse, they'll be without their best pitcher, SP John Burr, who tore a ligament in his elbow last September. They signed 36-year-old SP Dad Reeves to replace him - Reeves was a very good pitcher a few years ago, but it's unclear how much he has left in the tank.

[Boozie1580]

Boston Beans

Last season: 76-86, 4th place

Championships: 0

Playoff appearances:0

1870 Outlook: Boston has been a doormat for most of the decade, but they're starting to show some signs of life. They have a terrific young all-around player in 23-year-old RF Socks Webb, an above-average hitter who already has a Gold Glove under his belt. A bounce-back year from 1B Harvey Abernathy would help too. Abernathy is a former top prospect with tons of talent, but at age 27 he's still never turned it into results. Last season was his worst full season yet, posting a .632 OPS in 153 games.

SP Fritz Dill is the #1 starter for the Beans. Dill is a pitcher capable of leading the league in strikeouts (which he has), but also leading the league in walks (which he also has). At age 28, he's entering his prime and Boston will rely on him to get them to their first ever playoff appearance.

[Boozie1580]

Brooklyn Hustlers

Last season: 97-66, 1st place, Won Championship Series

Championships: 2 (1866, 1869)

Playoff appearances: 5 (1860, '64, '66, '67, '69)

1870 Outlook:
Brooklyn won their second championship last season thanks to a tremendous lineup that scored the most runs in league history. 1B Charlie Maruna, a 26-year-old German, is probably the best hitter in the game today. He's won two out of the last three MVP awards, holds the single-season record for home runs with 18, won the triple crown in 1867 at age 23, and batted .340/.404/.501 last year. Veteran 2B Martin Ward is still one of the league's best all-around infielders at age 33, and next to him is young SS Mike Schneider, the 1867 Rookie of the Year. Speedy LF Pop Huffman was last season's Rookie of the Year at age 22. With the amount of young talent they have in the lineup, they should be stacked for years to come.

Brooklyn's pitching isn't anything to write home about, but if they can be anything close to league average, the Hustlers should be a championship contender once again.

[JaBurns]

I will be following the reboot with interest, good luck.

[Boozie1580]

Chicago Chiefs

Last season: 74-88, 6th place

Championships: 0

First place finishes: 0

Playoff Appearances: 2 (1863, 1866)

The Chiefs have been mediocre for most of their existence. Outside of a pair of 3rd place finishes, they've generally been a slightly under .500, 6th-place-type team for past decade. Chicago's strength is the outfield: RF Charlie Cummins led the league in OPS two years ago is one of the best all-around players in the game, and CF Monte Stephens had a very promising rookie year last season. They've got a pair of a good young catchers in Phil Starlin and Jack Berry, so one of them might be trade bait for some pitching. Chicago does have a talented young pitcher in SP John Hibbs, but at age 22 he's not quite there yet: he led the ABA in home runs allowed last season.

[Boozie1580]

Cincinnati Steamers

Last season: 68-94, 8th place

Championships: 3 (1860, 1864, 1865)

First place finishes: 2 (1864, 1866)

Playoff appearances: 2 (1860, 1862-66)

Cincinnati was the class of the ABA for the first part of the decade but has fallen on hard times lately. SP Myron Tallon is the main reason why: he's been the second-best pitcher in the game for the past decade (we'll get to the best pitcher later). He won the 1866 and 1868 Best Pitcher Awards, sporting a 2.99 ERA exactly in each of those years. Tallon is 37 years old, and the rest of the Steamers roster is not very impressive.

That could change soon. Cincy has by far the best crop of upcoming young talent, with the #1, #2, and #6 prospects in the game. SS Frank Patton will make his debut this year, and the only prospect ranked higher than him is fellow shortstop, 20-year old Jumbo King. Patton will probably move to third base when King is ready to crack the lineup. Meanwhile, SP Ed Wood has yet to pitch in the ABA, but Steamer fans are already predicting that he'll be the heir apparent to Tallon.

[Boozie1580]

New York Goliaths

Last season: 92-70, 3rd place

Championships: 4 (1862-63, 1867-68)

First place finishes: 5 (1862-63, 1865, 1867-68)

Playoff Appearances: 7 (1862-65, 1867-69)

The Goliaths have been the class of the UBL thus far, winning the most championships and making the most playoff appearances. Their 3rd place finish last season was actually very disappointing, because their roster is absolutely loaded. 2B Josh Low was the 1868 MVP at just 23 years old, and is just now entering his prime. LF Warren Peacher was the 1868 Championship Series MVP and is probably the fastest player in the game, with a ridiculous 193 steals over the past two seasons. SS Kick Christensen is a phenomenal fielder and an above average hitter, and had a 7.4 WAR season last year at age 24. RF Dan Hall is a 2-time MVP who's starting to slow down at age 35, but he's still an above average hitter. Hall is the league career leader in home runs, with 82.

The reason for New York's success, however, is none other than SP Charlie Curtis. The 35-year old has been a Goliath for his entire career and has won six Best Pitcher awards, including last season. He's led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts in eight of the past ten years, and is the career leader in virtually every pitching statistic. Curtis is the first truly legendary player in this young league.

[Boozie1580]

Philadelphia Bruisers

Last season: 96-67, 2nd place

Championships: 1 (1861)

First place finishes: 2 (1860-61)

Playoff Appearances: 5 (1860-62, 1867, 1869)

Philly got off to a very strong start at the inception of the league, but then struggled for several years before making a recent comeback. Last year's team finished a surprising second place, but many think that performance was smoke and mirrors, and that they'll come back to Earth this season. They'll also be without SS Carney Ranson, a very good player who signed with St. Louis for this year.

If the Brusiers are for real, it'll be because of SP Ed Dunbar. The 35-year-old has changed teams eight times in his career, and this will be the first time he's ever been on the same team's opening day roster two years in a row. Last season, Dunbar had a career year, completely out of nowhere, leading the league with a 2.81 ERA. If he can repeat that, Philly has a chance to get back to the playoffs. If not, it'll be tough.

[Boozie1580]

St. Louis Prospects

Last season: 76-86, 5th place

Championships: 0

First place finishes: 0

Playoff appearances: 3 (1861, 1865, 1868)

The Prospects have actually been better than the numbers above indicate: they've been the first team out of the playoffs four times and have never finished below sixth. They just haven't been able to break through with a truly great team. This year they've made some moves to try to do that - most notably, they have a shiny new toy in SS Carney Ranson, who had a career year in Philadelphia last season hitting .327/.365/.444. The acquisition of Ranson means that Bill Clark will slide over to second base. The 37-year-old Clark is one of the better players in the league's history, and he's a two time MVP (1863, 1865).

Their pitching is anchored by SP Jim Tetzlaff, who has been a very good pitcher for a long time, despite a lack of awards (he has Charlie Curtis and Myron Tallon to thank for that). Like Clark, Tetzlaff is nearing the end of his career at age 35.

[Boozie1580]

June 1st, 1870

Standings

Team         W   L   GB
New York     37  15  -
Philadelphia 32  19  4.5
Cincinnati   28  25  9.5
Baltimore    27  26  10.5
Chicago      27  27  11
St. Louis    23  30  14.5
Boston       20  33  17.5
Brooklyn     17  36  20.5

Brooklyn's follow-up to their championship season has been a complete debacle. Their pitching has gone from mediocre to flat-out awful, led by "#1 starter" Jake McConkey, who is 2-16 with a 4.90 ERA. Even more surprising is that the offense that set an ABA record for runs scored last year is dead last in scoring this season. Reigning MVP Charlie Maruna is hitting .384, but the other eight guys are letting him down.

Boston has been predictably terrible. The team has been unable to find a decent second starter behind Fritz Dill (8-17, 3.83 ERA), and the lineup isn't producing either. One bright spot is 22-year-old rookie CF Hi Berg, who is batting .342 and leading the entire ABA in slugging percentage. Berg was just drafted in December, and has wasted no time in making an impact.

St. Louis is struggling in spite of another solid season from SP Jim Tetzlaff (7-13, 3.11 ERA), who's not showing any signs of slowing down at age 35. New acquisition SS Carney Ranson has disappointed, OPSing only .661 after a breakout .810 mark a year ago.

Chicago has been decent, and is actually leading the league in runs scored. That might not hold up for long, because star LF Charlie Cummins is sidelined for the next 6 weeks with an oblique strain. Cummins was having a tremendous year, hitting .360/.438/.522. Young SP John Hibbs is pitching well after going through some growing pains last year - he's 8-8 with a 2.77 ERA.

Baltimore is third in runs scored and third in runs allowed, so they've been solid all around. They've been led by another solid season from LF Sam Helm (.321/.362/.429, 25 SB). If they can keep up this pace until SP John Burr returns in a couple months from elbow surgery, they could be looking at a playoff appearance.

Cincinnati has gotten off to a good start thanks to solid starting pitching from both young Preston Henderson (9-10, 3.17 ERA) and Myron Tallon (8-7, 3.39 ERA), who seems like he still has it at age 37. 2B Frank Ogden, acquired in a trade with Baltimore this offseason, has already hit for the cycle against his old team and is hitting .291 with a career-best .798 OPS.

Philadelphia has quieted all of the "fluke" talk from last season, by allowing the fewest runs in the league and getting off to a great start. SP Ed Dunbar followed up his surprising breakout year with an excellent start (9-2, 2.22 ERA), but has missed time with a strained MCL. Luckily, little-known SP Mark Eaton has picked up the slack in a major way, going 13-6 with a 2.25 ERA as Dunbar's replacement in the rotation. Another relative unknown, 1B Paul Jarka, is having a monster year (.344/.387/.509, 3 HR). Add in the league's best defense and this is a tough team.

New York is right where everyone expected them to be. SP Charlie Curtis (17-5, 3.05 ERA, league-leading 209.1 IP) is his usual self, and young Ambrose Welsh (14-5, 3.31 ERA) has been nearly as good. 2B Josh Low is regaining his 1868 MVP form, hitting .362 on the season. Catcher Steve Reed's bat is catching up to his glove at age 24 - he's hitting .342 with 3 home runs. One blow to the team has been a ruptured Achilles tendon for leadoff hitter LF Warren Peacher. He was hitting .369 and already had 22 steals when he was injured on May 4th. He may return in time for the playoffs.

[Boozie1580]

August 1st, 1870

Standings

Team         W   L   GB
New York     69  35  -
Philadelphia 67  38  2.5
Cincinnati   53  52  16.5
Baltimore    52  53  17.5
Chicago      52  54  18
Boston       46  59  23.5
Brooklyn     42  63  27.5
St. Louis    39  66  30.5

The last two months of the season should be fun, since both the top spot and the final third playoff spot are up for grabs. New York and Philadelphia have set themselves apart as the clear top teams, and New York still has the edge for now. That's mostly thanks to their two stars - SP Charlie Curtis (31-12, 2.78 ERA) looks like he's on his way to his seventh Best Pitcher Award, and 2B Josh Low (.342, league-leading 9 HRs) is making his case for his second MVP award. Philadelphia, meanwhile, made the biggest trade of the season back in June after getting SP Ed Dunbar (20-8, 2.81 ERA) back from injury. SP Mark Eaton, a relative unknown who had a 2.44 ERA through 24 starts filling in for Dunbar, was immediately shipped to Brooklyn for a pair of young players when Dunbar returned. That could come back to haunt the Bruisers if they suffer another pitching injury, but maybe they were right to sell high on someone who was just having a few good months. Eaton is 12-5 with a 3.89 ERA for Brooklyn since the trade.

There's also a very tight race for the 3rd and final playoff spot. Chicago is currently in 5th, but they might be the team best equipped to challenge one of the top two teams in a playoff series. They've scored the most runs in the league, and that's with star RF Charlie Cummins (.349 AVG, .924 OPS) having missed almost seven weeks with an oblique injury. With him back, they should continue to score a ton of runs.