Any Given Sunday - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

Pitcher
Christy Mathewson (Texas Longhorns) - 4th Silver Slugger Award
.264/.286/.321, 53 AB, 0 HR, 0 SB, 55 wRC+, -0.4 WAR

Catcher
Alfredo García (Pittsburgh Rivercats)
.379/.500/.603, 58 AB, 3 HR, 2 SB, 214 wRC+, 1.3 WAR

First Baseman
Arturo Figueroa (Los Angeles Bombers)
.397/.463/.638, 58 AB, 4 HR, 0 SB, 201 wRC+, 0.9 WAR

Second Baseman
Vicente Marín (Texas Longhorns)
.355/.487/.532, 62 AB, 2 HR, 11 SB, 178 wRC+, 1.3 WAR

Third Baseman
Bernardo Acevedo (Dallas Texans)
.362/.472/.552, 58 AB, 2 HR, 4 SB, 196 wRC+, 1.0 WAR

Shortstop
Toby Patton (Kansas City Natives)
.367/.458/.567, 60 AB, 4 HR, 17 SB, 189 wRC+, 1.2 WAR

Left Fielder
Brian Wells (Denver Bears)
.365/.452/.673, 52 AB, 3 HR, 7 SB, 208 wRC+, 1.1 WAR

Center Fielder
Luis Ramos (Buffalo Blizzard) - 2nd Silver Slugger Award
.404/.500/.544, 57 AB, 1 HR, 8 SB, 186 wRC+, 1.2 WAR

Right Fielder
Robbie Mitchell (Pittsburgh Rivercats)
.382/.533/.564, 55 AB, 2 HR, 4 SB, 195 wRC+, 1.2 WAR

[NYY #23]

Pitcher
Smoky Joe Wood (St Louis Lions) - 3rd Silver Slugger Award
.250/.308/.250, 48 AB, 0 HR, 0 SB, 51 wRC+, -0.4 WAR

Catcher
Felipe Rosales (New Orleans Crescents) - 2nd Silver Slugger Award
.365/.368/.651, 63 AB, 5 HR, 0 SB, 182 wRC+, 0.9 WAR

First Baseman
Mike Anderson (Atlanta Thrashers)
.319/.476/.511, 47 AB, 2 HR, 0 SB, 190 wRC+, 0.7 WAR

Second Baseman
Bruce Burns (Chicago Blues) - 7th Silver Slugger Award
.305/.474/.559, 59 AB, 4 HR, 1 SB, 196 wRC+, 1.0 WAR

Third Baseman
Lúcio Torres (Washington Maroons)
.265/.419/.490, 49 AB, 2 HR, 0 SB, 162 wRC+, 0.8 WAR

Shortstop
Jorge Rojas (Seattle Angels) - 3rd Silver Slugger Award
.400/.493/.617, 60 AB, 2 HR, 9 SB, 219 wRC+, 1.4 WAR

Left Fielder
Shoeless Joe Jackson (Washington Maroons) - 2nd Silver Slugger Award
.328/.446/.459, 61 AB, 2 HR, 11 SB, 155 wRC+, 1.2 WAR

Center Fielder
Luis Roldán (Baltimore Atlantics)
.283/.434/.633, 60 AB, 6 HR, 7 SB, 197 wRC+, 1.0 WAR

Right Fielder
Miguel Cardenas (St Louis Lions) - 3rd Silver Slugger Award
.276/.394/.672, 58 AB, 5 HR, 2 SB, 177 wRC+, 0.9 WAR

[NYY #23]

Both the Reliever of the Year and Rookie of the Year can be hit or miss with so few games per year, so I only mention those awards when it was a legit winner. That was the case this year with Bill Goodwin of the Pittsburgh Rivercats, who was named Reliever of the Year in the ABC after going 1-1 with 3 saves and a 1.35 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

[NYY #23]

Fraser Davenport of the Dallas Texans was named ABC Pitcher of the Year after going 9-5 with a 3.18 ERA. Davenport struck out 123 batters in 121 2/3 innings this year while walking 56 batters. It was Davenport's second Pitcher of the Year Award, and first since 1903 when he went 12-3 with a 3.13 ERA.

Finishing in second place was Orlando Ramos of the Kanas City Natives who went 9-6 with a 3.09 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 139 2/3 innings. Third place went to John Davis of the Cincinnati Tigers who finished with a 9-7 record and 138 2/3 innings in 17 starts.

[NYY #23]

For the sixth time in his career and third straight year Pedro Rodriguez of the Arizona Wildcats was named Pitcher of the Year. Rodriguez was 8-5 with a 2.95 ERA this year with a NBC leading 181 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings.

The 36 year old Rodriguez finished ahead of Luis Cano of the Atlanta Thrashers (12-4, 2.62 ERA) and Jose Garcia of the Philadelphia Liberty (10-6, 2.29 ERA).

[NYY #23]

35 year old catcher Alfredo Garcia of the Pittsburgh Rivercats was named Most Valuable Player in the ABC after he hit .379 with 3 home runs, 16 RBI, and a league leading 18 runs scored. This year was a relief for Pittsburgh fans, and likely Garcia as well as he bounced back from a year in which he hit just .238 last year while hitting just 1 home runs and driving in 9 runs.

Finishing in second place was 25 year old Toby Patton of the Kansas City Natives who hit .367 with 4 home runs, 17 RBI, and 15 runs scored. In third place was another Rivercat, Robbie Mitchell. The 28 year old Mitchell hit .382 this year with 2 home runs and 11 RBI.

[NYY #23]

Luis Roldan of the Baltimore Atlantics was named MVP in the NBC after hitting .283 with a league leading 6 home runs, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored.

37 year old veteran Bruce Burns of the Chicago Blues finished second, hitting .305 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. In third place it was Jorge Rojas of the Seattle Angels, who hit .400 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI.

[NYY #23]

Before I get into the 1910 offseason I've been moving slowly the past week or so, but thinking about what I want to do next. With the NFL season winding down I want to avoid shutting this down. That's a trap that I've wanted to avoid from the beginning, but with the current structure that's a hard thing to do. To some extent setting up the league from the beginning like how you want it in the end boxes you in a little bit.

So I've decided to worry less about making things like the NFL, and letting things evolve a little bit starting with the 1911 season, and we'll see how things play out.

But first some news with two players hanging it up for good.



Felix Nuno was the first player who announced his retirement after 11 seasons in the league, and he was one of the first pitchers that caught my attention back in 1900 before I started posting. He went 11-5 that year as a 32 year old with a 2.65 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings as a 32 year old. He'd never equal that success again, but I feel like you get attached to certain players when you follow them every game for 11 years, even though in the end it didn't turn out to be too impressive of a career. I have to admit I was rooting for him to get that ring in 1908 when San Diego lost in the Championship Game to the Wildcats.



Ben Howell had a little bit more of an unusual career, and found himself heading to the Championship Game as a 40 year old after the best season of his career, ironically losing the Championship Game to another 40 year old in 1907. As a whole his career was also not too impressive, but it didn't seem like he could be stopped in 1907.



Then finally once again Adalberto Doll is on the move again after just one season in Baltimore where he hit .301 with 10 RBI and 13 runs scored. He'll be heading to Detroit in exchange for reliever Miguel Lopez and shortstop Manny Martinez. Hopefully his stay in Detroit will last longer than his stay in Baltimore.

Finally let's take a look at the Hall of Fame results before we begin the 1911 season -

C Mauro García 9.9 (2nd year)
C Juan Flores 4.7 (1st year) Dropped
SS Héctor Valdés 4.7 (2nd year) Dropped
LF Tom Watkins 0.4 (1st year) Dropped

[NYY #23]

For eleven seasons the National Baseball League operated without competition as the only professional baseball league in the country, but that will change tomorrow when the Federal League officially opens its' doors in Boston where the Trolleys are set to host the Chicago Lincolns kicking off the 1911 Federal League season.

Boston owner Matt Ramsey will be on hand to watch the game, and was one of the men responsible for bringing the fourteen team Federal League to fruition. With franchises in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis the Federal League will be competing head to head in a limited number of markets, but will also be bringing professional baseball to nine new markets.

While all games will be played on Sunday the Federal League will have almost a two month start on the National Baseball League, and will set themselves apart by playing a 26 game season, with all fourteen teams placed in a single division and the top four teams in the league heading to the playoffs. In another twist that sets the Federal League apart each team will be allowed to send a "designated hitter" to bat in place of the pitcher.

In order to be successful the Federal League knows it will need to field major league caliber talent, which the league feels confident that they can do.

[NYY #23]

Tim Johnson of the Newark Trotters was the week one standout in the Federal League, pitching a complete game three hitter with nine strikeouts as the Trotters beat the Portland Beavers 3-1. The 30 year old Johnson is one of the better pitchers in the Federal League, and pitching in his prime. Shortstop Jose Serrano was a perfect 3-3 at the plate for Newark with an RBI double and two runs scored.



In Boston it was Kevin Caldwell who picked up the complete game win for the Trolleys as they beat the Chicago Lincolns 5-1. Shortstop Jose Rivera was 4-4 at the plate for the Trolleys with a run scored in the win.

[NYY #23]

Arturo Figueroa has only played two full seasons with the Los Angeles Bombers, but has hit 4 home runs in each of those seasons while hitting .314 and .397 respectively. His time in Los Angeles came to a surprising end today though as the Bombers traded Figueroa to the Massachusetts in exchange for 37 year old veteran reliever Jorge Cruz (1-3, 11 SV, 3.45 ERA, 28.2 IP, 31 K) and former first round pick shortstop Jose Martinez. The 19 year old Martinez looks to be a couple of years away from the majors, but he's penciled in as the shortstop of the future. While this could turn out to be a good move for the Bombers it was a questionable move for the immediate future, leaving Francisco Salazar as their starting first baseman and losing one of their top hitters in Figueroa.



In Federal League action it was Wynn 'Cupcakes' Keys of the Omaha Farmhands who was named Player of the Week after pitching a complete game two hit shutout as Omaha beat the Louisville Kings 3-0. Miguel Ramirez picked up 3 hits for Omaha while hitting a solo homer and scoring two runs.



Paul Ward improved to 2-0 on the season as the Providence Bees beat the New York Hawks 3-2 to remain one of only three unbeaten teams in the Federal League. The 40 year old Ward struck out 10 batters in the win while Jayson Bowen drove in the go ahead single in the top of the eighth with a two out single.

[NYY #23]

Cletus Crowley improved to 3-0 on the season with a complete game win as the Minnesota Golden Gophers topped the Boise Cutthroats 4-2. The 26 year old struck out 5 batters while allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. Ruben Moreno went deep for Minnesota in their win.



39 year old Jim Mitchell knows he doesn't have much time left playing professional baseball, but he is making the most of it as he went 2-5 at the plate with a double, homer, and 5 RBI as the California Golden Bears remained undefeated with a wild 9-7 win over the Albany Woodcutters. Vicente Casas was a perfect 4-4 at the plate for California.



The Providence Bees kept pace behind the arm of Paul Ward, who struck out 13 batters in the Bees 4-3 win over the Louisville Kings. The Bees got RBI singles from Ramon Benitez, Jesus Cruz, and Julio Rodriguez in the win.

[NYY #23]

In a week of dominating pitching performances in the Federal League none were as dominant as Tim Johnson's four hit shutout for the Newark Trotters, who beat the California Seals 1-0. Johnson struck out a franchise record 14 batters for Newark, while Millard Jenkins drove in the only run of the game. Johnson was named Player of the Week in the Federal League for his efforts.



Ray Thompson pitched the week's second four hit shutout while striking out 8 in the Sacramento Senators' 10-0 win over the Louisville Kings. Every Sacramento starter had at least one hit in today's blowout win, and every starter but Thurman Thomason drove in a run. Celso Doutel hit his first home run of the season for Sacramento, while teammate Juan Martinez hit his second.



Wynn Keys won his third game of the year as Omaha beat Albany 3-1 while striking out 12 batters and allowing 1 run on 5 hits. Oscar King drove in two runs for Omaha.

[NYY #23]

Michael Fuch turned in a dominating performance for the Boise Cutthroats this week, allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 15 batters, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to pick up the win as the Louisville Kings won their first game of the year and beat the Cutthroats 2-1. A key error led to an unearned run for the Kings, while Andrew Powell drove in the other run of the game.

The Trolleys needed extra innings on the road, but beat the Sacramento Senators 7-4 in 10 innings. Vernon Wadland hit the big three run homer in the tenth to seal the Trolleys victory, with Alfredo Macias and Jose Rivera also going deep.



Jose Rivera was named Batter of the Month after his big month for the Trolleys, hitting .474 with 3 home runs, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored.



Pitcher of the Month honors went to Wynn Key of the Omaha Farmhands, who went 4-1 in April with a 2.80 ERA, striking out 53 batters in 45 innings.

25 year old Jose Castro of the Sacramento Senators was named Rookie of the Month after hitting .333 with 3 RBI.

[NYY #23]

While the intention wasn't to primarily cover the Federal League I've been spending a little bit more time with the league to get to know the teams and the players a little bit better. While the Federal League will play some part in the future, the main attraction is set to kick off next week.



Things have gotten tight in the Federal League where there is a six team tie for first place between Boise, Minnesota, Providence, California, Omaha, and Sacramento. While the close race is good for the Federal League, the National Baseball League isn't worried yet, with the big market cities where a Federal League team will compete with a NBL team not fairing as well. The Lincolns (2-7), Hawks (4-5), and Trolleys (5-4) haven't done enough yet to worry the NBL franchises in Chicago, New York, and Massachusetts.



Luis Lopez of the Boise Cutthroats was named Batter of the Month after hitting .462 with 3 home runs, 8 RBI, and 6 runs scored. He was a big reason why Boise was undefeated in May, along with Michael Fuch who was 4-0 in May with a 2.50 ERA. Included in the month was a dominant 17 strikeout performance by Fuch in a 9-3 win over the Beavers. Lopez also won the Rookie of the Month Award.



Fuch lost the Pitcher of the Month Award to Ray Thompson of the Senators, who was also 4-0, but had a 0.75 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 36 innings. Thompson also had a dominating start against the Beavers, pitching a five hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Portland. Earlier in the month Thompson pitched a one hit shutout against the Albany Woodcutters in a 5-0 win.

[NYY #23]

It was Opening Week action in the NBL and Pedro Rodriguez looked like he was in midseason form for the Arizona Wildcats, striking out 10 batters in a four hit shutout as the Arizona Wildcats beat the Philadelphia Liberty 1-0. Aruturo Silvera drove in the only run of the game on a solo homer in the bottom of the first for Arizona. The loss wasted a solid return to the mound for Jose Garcia, making his first start since going down with a partially torn labrum before the playoffs began last year.



Eddie Cicotte made his first career start for the Milwaukee Bisons, and it was a good one. The 27 year old pitched a complete game six hit shutout as the Bisons beat the Motors 1-0 in an Opening Week win. Jim Roy drove in the only run of the game with a two out single in the top of the second.



After making four starts last year Stan Coveleski is back starting for the Los Angeles Bombers, and picked up the win as the Bombers beat the Crescents 7-3. All 3 of the Crescents runs came in the ninth inning. Mark Cruz had a big day for the Bombers going 2-2 at the plate with a pair of walks, solo homer, and RBI double. Francisco Salazar added a three run homer for the Bombers.



Smoky Joe Wood struck out nine while allowing just 2 hits in a shutout against the Muskies, as the St Louis Lions won the game 6-0. Wood added two RBI with a fifth inning triple in the win.



Jose Escamilla of the Tampa Pirates was named the number one prospect in the NBL this year. The 24 year old starting pitcher looks to be the heir to 35 year old Ronald Zuwiski in Tampa. Zuwiski did win his first start of the year though, beating the Breakers 4-3.

[NYY #23]

Vincente Ramirez of the New Orleans Crescents struck out 14 batters in 13 innings as the Crescents edged out the Wildcats 3-2 in extra innings. Pedro Rodriguez was on the losing end of the battle, giving up 10 hits and walking 5 batters in 12 1/3 innings. Johnny Evers was the hero at the plate for the Crescents driving in a pair of runs, including a walk off single in the bottom of the thirteenth.



John Davis picked up his second win of the season for the Cincinnati Tigers with 9 strikeouts in 11 innings as the Tigers knocked off the San Diego Sailors 5-4 in 12 innings. Alex Gomez hit his second home run of the game in the top of the twelfth to put the Tigers up for good.

In Seattle the Saints came to town and dominated the Angels with a 19-8 win. 22 year old Manny Valentin had the biggest game of his short career with a grand slam and bases loaded triple to drive in 7 runs in the win. Both John Ward and Luis Miguel Diaz added 4 RBI for the Saints.



Stan Coveleski won his second straight start for the Bombers, who knocked off ABC West rival the Kansas City Natives 5-3. Rafael Perez hit a pair of home runs for the Bombers, with Mark Cruz adding a solo shot.

[NYY #23]

Dustin Locke improved to 3-0 on the year for the Massachusetts Generals with a four hitter while striking out 8 as the Generals beat the Legion 3-1. Locke drove in one run with his bat with Bob Perry and Ernest Lindsey each adding RBI doubles for the first place Generals.

In the ABC West the Bombers got back to back singles in the top of the ninth from Arthur MacCombish and Stan Coveleski as they edged the Titans 3-2 to remain undefeated for the year. Coveleski struck out 5 in earning his third win of the year.

In the ABC South the Nashville Hornets continue to surprise with their third straight win to remain undefeated on the year. Six players drove in at least one run as the Hornets knocked off the Texans 7-5. David Hazard improved to 3-0 despite giving up at least 4 runs in each of his starts.



Smoky Joe Wood struck out 16 batters for the Lions who knocked off the Bisons 5-3 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The 21 year old Wood is now 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA while striking out 37 batters in 27 innings. Even more importantly for Wood his 3.3 walks per nine innings is two walks per nine innings lower than his previous best.



Veteran pitcher Ronald Zuwkiski held the Sailors to 1 run on 7 hits in 11 innings as the Pirates won 2-1 in 11 innings to improve to 3-0 in the NBC South. 25 year old first baseman Don Spencer drove in both runs in the Pirates win with a homer and double.

[NYY #23]

The Tampa Pirates remained undefeated with an impressive 8-0 win over the Brooklyn Saints. 35 year old Ronald Zuwiski held the Saints to 6 hits in the shutout while picking up 3 strikeouts and walking none.



In St. Louis Smoky Joe Wood pitched a three hit shutout in a 2-0 win over the Motors. Miguel Cardenas was 2-4 at the plate with an RBI for the Lions.



Pedro Rodriguez pitched a one hit shutout for the Wildcats as they kept pace in the NBC West with the Lions in their 3-0 win over the Muskies. Leon Mejia drove in two runs for Arizona. Rodriguez was named Player of the Week in the NBC for his efforts.



38 year old Wilson Harris was making his first career start for the Texas Longhorns, and was named Player of the Week in the ABC after a complete game 5 hit shutout win over the Hurricanes.

[NYY #23]

I think I'm really just impatient, because after a while of doing this dynasty I always seem to grow tired moving week to week. I don't want to abandon this dynasty though, although I've considered wrapping it up. For now I'm going to plan on posting updates as interesting things happen. I've moved through the 1911 season, so I'll begin by going back and taking a look at some of those interesting events, and see how that works out.

------



Rex Ray became the second pitcher to reach 100 wins in their career after beating the Atlantics 8-3, joining Erik Crawford of the Titans in the 100 club. The 36 year old Ray improved to 2-1 on the season with a 2.33 ERA with his 100 win, but things would go downhill from that point. Ray finished the year with a 4-11 record and 4.69 ERA, the lowest win total of his career, and also the highest ERA.



His 102 career wins trails Crawford and his 108 wins. While Crawford is still just 33 years old he appears to have reached the end of the line, going 0-5 with a 7.21 ERA and losing his spot in the rotation for the 1-15 Titans. How the mighty Titans have fallen.