CBBL's 1890 Start Modifications

cbbl · 05-24-2021, 07:38 PM

See this thread for an introduction to the various mods I'll be posting in this and other subforums.

As posted elsewhere, my fictional universe starts in 1890 with the formation of the California League (centered in the Bay area), and introduces 7 other leagues (all but 2 which fold before 1904). To replicate era-appropriate baseball, I'll build my own schedules for these leagues.

To keep the thread concise, I'll edit this post as I add more schedules, though reply posts may provide some explanation about the schedules and what I'm trying to accomplish.

Schedules planned so far (keep checking back as this list and the attachments expand):

* 1890 California League - 4 teams, 36 games (weekends only)
* 1891 California League - 5 teams, 60 games (Wed, Fri, weekends)
* 1891 Pacific League - 4 teams, 60 games
* 1892 Pacific League - 5 teams, 60 games (See below)
* 1893 Pacific League - 6 teams, 72 games (See below)
* 1893 Pacific Northwest League - 4 teams, games TBD (See below)

Later seasons will come, well, later...

[UPDATE: After learning a few things, I opted to abandon my 2-year league and start fresh, but this time I started in 1888. So schedules I add here may not align with my intro post above]

* 1889 California Association - 4 teams, 72 games

cbbl · 05-24-2021, 07:56 PM

OK, first up ... a little background about the 1890 California League schedule attached above.

The schedule is modeled after the real life California League of 1880, which had four San Francisco-based ball clubs form a league intending to play 60 games amongst its members. The league would play on Saturdays and Sundays, with Saturday games at Oakland Baseball Grounds, and Sunday games at Recreation Grounds in San Francisco.

As with many of these early leagues, reality didn't match intentions. One of the team's membership in the league was revoked after having played only 3 games and was not replaced. About 18-20 games into the season, another team withdrew from the league, leaving only 2 teams. The league decided to call the season and crown a champion at that point. It then started a new season 2 weeks later with a new team replacing the withdrawn team (still leaving the league with only 3 teams). The incoming team's roster was weak and no competition for the 2 other teams, and about 12 games in the league again called the season and began a championship series played between the top two teams. Interestingly, this championship series was a best of 5, but although one team won it's third game to bring the series to 3-1 and guarantee the championship, the two teams played the fifth game anyway.

While I'm not sure if OOTP can handle this level of chaos (specifically the split season with two different playoff structures), it can handle teams folding and unbalanced schedules -- which is what I intend to do with my 1890 California League.

The schedule attached above, however, represents the plan - that four teams play 36 games each. However, as I discuss in my vision thread, two of these teams will not finish the season and only one will be replaced. For my universe, I'll do that my manually modifying the league and schedule at that point.

I will, however, try to remember to post the schedule actually played when the season is over, in case anyone wants to have a schedule with that kind of chaos built in.

Anyway...

The attached schedule has the four teams play on Saturdays and Sundays only (except for one game held on Friday, 7/4) at either Recreation Grounds (San Francisco) or Oakland Baseball Grounds (Oakland). No actual home fields exist -- any team might be the home team at any field. The baseball grounds are programmed into the schedule and not dependent on the team's "home field" per OOTP.

There are also a number of doubleheaders in the season (about 15% of the games, which is in line with the period), of which sometimes the home team changes between the two games (and in one case, the opponent is different).

All games are day games, usually starting around 12:00PM (3:00PM for late games), but some games starting earlier. IRL, games of this era lasted less than 2 hours -- we'll see if OOTP handles that correctly.

As you might expect, the schedule is unbalanced, and doesn't even out until the season's end.

Any questions or comments, let me know!

cbbl · 06-11-2021, 04:01 PM

OK ... the 1891 schedules are posted. The California League is a discombobulated mess (on purpose!) with 5 teams each playing single-game series on Wednesdays, Fridays, and the weekends. While the schedule doesn't dictate the stadium, all teams are in the same city and play at the same ball park. As expected, the games are all day games. A couple single-team double headers here and there (one team plays twice against different opponents). A true messy 19th century schedule!

The Pacific League schedule is a bit more organized. Weekends only, all day games, with 3 stadiums across 4 teams. 60 games across 42 days of baseball...with 36 true double headers.

Enjoy!

cbbl · 07-14-2021, 07:08 PM

About the 1889 California Association schedule...

4 teams, 72 games, double-headers played on Saturdays and Sundays, with single games Tuesday and Friday afternoons. All day games. Stadiums not specified.

05-24-2021, 07:56 PM	#2
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	OK, first up ... a little background about the 1890 California League schedule attached above. The schedule is modeled after the real life California League of 1880, which had four San Francisco-based ball clubs form a league intending to play 60 games amongst its members. The league would play on Saturdays and Sundays, with Saturday games at Oakland Baseball Grounds, and Sunday games at Recreation Grounds in San Francisco. As with many of these early leagues, reality didn't match intentions. One of the team's membership in the league was revoked after having played only 3 games and was not replaced. About 18-20 games into the season, another team withdrew from the league, leaving only 2 teams. The league decided to call the season and crown a champion at that point. It then started a new season 2 weeks later with a new team replacing the withdrawn team (still leaving the league with only 3 teams). The incoming team's roster was weak and no competition for the 2 other teams, and about 12 games in the league again called the season and began a championship series played between the top two teams. Interestingly, this championship series was a best of 5, but although one team won it's third game to bring the series to 3-1 and guarantee the championship, the two teams played the fifth game anyway. While I'm not sure if OOTP can handle this level of chaos (specifically the split season with two different playoff structures), it can handle teams folding and unbalanced schedules -- which is what I intend to do with my 1890 California League. The schedule attached above, however, represents the plan - that four teams play 36 games each. However, as I discuss in my vision thread, two of these teams will not finish the season and only one will be replaced. For my universe, I'll do that my manually modifying the league and schedule at that point. I will, however, try to remember to post the schedule actually played when the season is over, in case anyone wants to have a schedule with that kind of chaos built in. Anyway... The attached schedule has the four teams play on Saturdays and Sundays only (except for one game held on Friday, 7/4) at either Recreation Grounds (San Francisco) or Oakland Baseball Grounds (Oakland). No actual home fields exist -- any team might be the home team at any field. The baseball grounds are programmed into the schedule and not dependent on the team's "home field" per OOTP. There are also a number of doubleheaders in the season (about 15% of the games, which is in line with the period), of which sometimes the home team changes between the two games (and in one case, the opponent is different). All games are day games, usually starting around 12:00PM (3:00PM for late games), but some games starting earlier. IRL, games of this era lasted less than 2 hours -- we'll see if OOTP handles that correctly. As you might expect, the schedule is unbalanced, and doesn't even out until the season's end. Any questions or comments, let me know! Last edited by cbbl; 05-24-2021 at 07:58 PM.

06-11-2021, 04:01 PM	#3
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	OK ... the 1891 schedules are posted. The California League is a discombobulated mess (on purpose!) with 5 teams each playing single-game series on Wednesdays, Fridays, and the weekends. While the schedule doesn't dictate the stadium, all teams are in the same city and play at the same ball park. As expected, the games are all day games. A couple single-team double headers here and there (one team plays twice against different opponents). A true messy 19th century schedule! The Pacific League schedule is a bit more organized. Weekends only, all day games, with 3 stadiums across 4 teams. 60 games across 42 days of baseball...with 36 true double headers. Enjoy!

07-14-2021, 07:08 PM	#4
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	About the 1889 California Association schedule... 4 teams, 72 games, double-headers played on Saturdays and Sundays, with single games Tuesday and Friday afternoons. All day games. Stadiums not specified.