LansdowneSt's Facegen Checklist

[LansdowneSt]

You’d be hard pressed to find two more disparate back-to-back seasons than the ones Charlie Pittinger put together in 1902 and 1903.

Pittinger, an imposing, fireballing right-hander, won 27 games in 1902 for the Boston Nationals, second only to Hall of Famer Jack Chesbro that season. He was also second in the league in complete games (36) and innings pitched (389⅓). His win total as of 2014 was still tied with that of teammate Vic Willis (who coincidentally also won 27 games that year for the third-place Bostons) for the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves franchise record for most wins in a season. With the American League routinely raiding the NL for its best players, Pittinger parlayed his excellent season into an almost unheard-of two-year contract from Boston at the princely sum of $4,000 per season.

But instead of another dominating season, Pittinger had one of the worst seasons recorded by a pitcher. In 1903 he led the National League in five negative pitching categories: losses (22), earned runs allowed (136), hits allowed (396), home runs allowed (12), and walks allowed (143). He was still a workhorse, pitching 351⅔ innings. With his large salary, his season didn’t endear him to Boston management.

Pittinger never did have another season like 1902 but he did go on to some success, winning 23 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1905. However, his career and his life, which was filled with tragedy, both ended prematurely. The effects of diabetes forced him to retire in 1907 and ended his life in 1909 at the age of 37 (insulin would not be available for another twelve years). He endured the death of both a daughter and his wife during his short lifetime. And the press was merciless with him about his looks during his career, calling him among other names, Horse Face or Dog Face. - SABR

Redid the facegen.

[actionjackson]

The quality of these is very impressive. The speed at which they are uploaded is very impressive as well.

[LansdowneSt]

Ed Morris was a star left-handed pitcher who set several records, some of which stand. One of the first players from California to star in the major leagues, he was the ace of the Pittsburgh Alleghenies in the mid-1880s. He was arguably the top southpaw hurler of the 19th Century. He played for Pittsburgh in three different leagues. He was nicknamed "Cannonball" for the velocity with which he threw. He was a temperamental player who would often sulk, earning him accusations of not trying his best. All told, he finished his seven-year career with a record of 171-122 with a 2.82 ERA (115 ERA+). His 1885 season for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys racked up 13.3 bWAR. Off the field, he had jobs ranging from the ownership of a billiards hall to deputy warden of a jail. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

David Eckstein is up next, and he’s filled with familiar anticipation and butterflies. He’s been on-deck thousands of times as a major league ballplayer, a few steps from home plate, waiting his turn. But this is different. He’s ready to donate a kidney because that’s what people with his last name do.

He’s been preparing most of his life, and, as with an at-bat, he’s watched others experience it first. Only three months ago, David’s brother Rick, the hitting coach for the Washington Nationals, donated a kidney to their oldest brother, Ken. An entire scorecard of Ecksteins, in fact, has either needed or donated kidneys. Everybody goes under the knife. The current Eckstein box score: Five kidney transplants with six more anticipated. Two family members and a close friend have donated kidneys. Until now, David has been left out because of a career that has earned him nearly $20 million. Fans love him. Baseball people respect him. Numbers crunchers deride him. His family spares him.

A 10-year major league veteran and most valuable player of the 2006 World Series, David might never have made it to the big leagues without his family’s collective inability to filter toxins and waste products from their blood. One of the smallest players in baseball at 5-feet-7, 175 pounds, he is an overachiever known for a tireless work ethic and relentlessly positive attitude. “Everything my family went through gave me a life lesson at an early age that a game is just a game, it’s not life-or-death,” he says. “But along with that, it taught me to never take a day for granted. I’m looking forward to the transplant,” he says. “I consider it a privilege. I knew at some point it would be my turn.”

Transplanted kidneys usually begin to fail after 10 to 20 years, depending on the age of the donor, and that’s why Ken, whose first transplant came in 1991, needed a second one in December. A blood test established that Rick, like Ken, was O-positive, and no questions asked, Rick gave up a kidney. Now one of their sisters and several nieces and nephews are showing signs of renal failure.

That puts David in the Eckstein on-deck circle. - "Beloved Baseball Family Gives To Live," Orange County Register, By: Steve Henson 3/27/2011

If that's not cool enough, his wife runs a website store called "Her Universe" that has clothes based on Star Wars, DC/Marvel and all sorts of other cool stuff.

https://www.heruniverse.com/customer-service/about-us/

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Rob Bowen was a spare catcher for four teams over his five-year MLB career.

Catchers often make the best managers, which makes sense. They’re calling the shots behind the plate; they’ve got to know the plans and have all the necessary info at the ready. It makes sense, then, that law enforcement also is a good spot for a former catcher. And Rob Bowen is thriving in his new career, having been tops in his police academy class and now working as a K9 and SWAT team officer in Georgia. – SF Chronicle

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Mike Lehane was the regular first baseman for the Columbus Solons in 1890 and 1891. While he was a decent enough fielder, his hitting was below average. Lehane in 1890 hit .211 and in 1891 hit .215. After that the American Association folded. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen. All these are from my Random Debut game...

[LansdowneSt]

Mert Hackett (Mortimer Martin Hackett) played for the Boston Beaneaters, the Kansas City Cowboys and the Indianapolis Hoosiers over the course of his 5-year major league career. From 1883-1887, he slashed .216 / .231/ .318 (65 OPS+). After baseball, Mert Hackett was a policeman in Cambridge for 42 years. He is the brother of Walter Hackett and a cousin of John Clarkson, Walter Clarkson and Dad Clarkson. The press often called him Mertie. - bRef Bullpen Wiki

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Erasmo Ramírez was just 20 years old and in the United States for the first time, stationed, in all places, Clinton, Iowa. A native of Nicaragua, he’d played his first two pro seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League and to feel very much like a stranger in a strange land.

He was alone. He didn’t speak the language or understand the food, let alone the Iowan way of life. All he wanted to do was pitch and chase his dream of getting to the big leagues. So why was this writer from New York following him around asking him really bizarre questions? “In the moment, I thought he was crazy,” said Erasmo Ramirez, now 30 and approaching his 10th big-league season. “I thought he was just kidding around, following me all over the place asking me stuff. I went to my teammates, like, he’s crazy. I didn’t know what was going on.” What was going on was then-an aspiring writer named Lucas Mann was working on what eventually became a book entitled “Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere.”

Ramirez’s journey since then could warrant a sequel. He matured into a power-arm, sinker-balling starting pitcher who blossomed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. Then, almost randomly, he was dispatched to the bullpen. He didn’t like it at first, but he thrived in the swing-man role. - Detroit Free Press

Redid the facegen. Never seen him with the goatee before. The goatee is the CU Facepack fg and the second one is the one that ships with the game.

[LansdowneSt]

He moves with a sway or a strut more than a walk. Chest out, arms swinging, Chris Devenski leaves the mound like the next pitcher to take it is his tenant. Devenski, 26, took an atypical path to his place as a mainstay in the Astros bullpen. He first attracted attention as a senior at Cerritos Gahr High, in the spring of 2008. One National League scout who has followed him since said Devenski walks the way he does because his intestinal fortitude is stronger than any other big-league pitcher. “The swagger we have is unbelievable,” acknowledged Mike Devenski Jr., his father. “It’s like you have so much confidence in what you’re doing that you’re overwhelmed by yourself.” - LA Times

Devenski was dominant for the Astros in his first two years and the end of the second year was capped by the 'Stros winning the 2017 World Series. Since then, he has come back to earth and last year signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks though he got into only eight games.

I didn't post the one that ships with the game, but it wasn't any good. Shown is the one in the CU Facepack. Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Centerfielder Dan Long played in 21 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1890. He batted .156 (26 OPS+). After his playing days ended, he managed the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League from 1908 through 1912 before becoming a court reporter in the police court in San Francisco, CA. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen as it was one of those fake Bickford faces. They are a scourge.

[LansdowneSt]

From bluebirdbanter.com on their ranking of Reed Johnson #59 on their 2021 Top 60 Greatest Blue Jays list:

Reed Johnson was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 17th round of the 1999 amateur draft out of Cal State Fullerton, where he was named an Academic All-American and played baseball and soccer. Reed worked as hard as any major leaguer. His high socks, great defense, hustle, and willingness to take one for the team made him a fan favorite in Toronto. Johnson had his career season, with the Jays, in 2006. He was everything you could want in a leadoff man hitting .319/.390/.479 scoring 86 runs and driving in 49 with 12 homers. He also led the AL by being hit by a pitch 21 times. After starting the season in his usual platoon, he became a full-timer in July. In the off-season before the 2008 season, the Jays, inexplicably, signed Shannon Stewart and released Johnson in spring training. I still have no idea why you would release Johnson, who was a year removed from a career season, to play Stewart, who was several years removed from his last decent season. Add into the equation that Johnson could play all 3 outfield spots very well, while Stewart could only LF, and barely adequately at that.

Of course, Stewart had a terrible season for the Jays and was released during the season, while Johnson hit .303/.358/.420 in 109 games with the Cubs. Thanks, JP. As a Blue Jay, in 5 seasons, he hit .281/.342/.410 with 42 home runs in 610 games.

I know I like him far more than I really should. Reed wasn’t a perfect leadoff hitter. It’d be better if he would take some more walks, maybe cut down on his strikeouts, and he didn’t steal a lot of bases. But his hustle, defense, good arm in the outfield made him a great fourth outfielder type. On the negative side, he had the worst little patch of facial hair in the major leagues.

Redid the facegen.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Redid the facegen as it was one of those fake Bickford faces. They are a scourge.

Y'know I never really noticed them until we started our work with the Bucs FGs. Now I see them everywhere and have grown to hate them so much that I won't even trade for a guy beladen with one. (NB If it's someone I really want I usually hit you up for the correct one...)

[AESP_pres]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

I didn't post the one that ships with the game, but it wasn't any good.

As usual... for some reasons the team who create them like smiling pictures and think that it looks good.

[AESP_pres]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Redid the facegen as it was one of those fake Bickford faces. They are a scourge.

Goes back from the first FG project, if we didn't have a picture to work with it was the FG assign to the player. No idea why we didn't decide to do nothing in those cases in place of that... that face is annoying when 10 players or more look like that during a 19th century season.

[hfield007]

do you have a clint hurdle as a player?? what i have in my game is def as a manager hes much older looking

nvm searched the thread and saw you did it!! appreciate it!

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by hfield007

do you have a clint hurdle as a player?? what i have in my game is def as a manager hes much older looking

nvm searched the thread and saw you did it!! appreciate it!

Glad you found him back on page 4

[hfield007]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Glad you found him back on page 4

added about 400 lesser but notable players from 40s to 70s to my quickstart over last few months and just continually amazed how often you have some of the worst facegens fixed!

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by hfield007

added about 400 lesser but notable players from 40s to 70s to my quickstart over last few months and just continually amazed how often you have some of the worst facegens fixed!

And I have about 200 more that I've done that I have not had time to post At some point, I'll just zip'em for all...

[LansdowneSt]

Carlos Felipe Peña. Top prospect. All-Star. Owner of a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award. Character in an Academy Award-nominated movie. Peña's place in baseball history was cemented in 2003 with the publication of "Moneyball." Few pieces of writing have impacted the history of the game to the extent of Michael Lewis' book, which examines how the Oakland A's of the early 2000's managed to build a dominant baseball team on a tiny budget. And, Peña was a prominent figure in that story.

Lewis' story begins before the 2002 season with general manager Billy Beane fretting over how to fill the hole at first base vacated by MVP and All-Star Jason Giambi. The early returns on Beane's first idea of converting former catcher Scott Hatteberg into a first baseman during the offseason wasn't working out too well, so he had to explore other options. The solution: Trade for Rangers mega-prospect Carlos Peña. He arrived with high expectations. "Everyone said that Carlos was going to be the next Alex Rodriguez," Lewis quotes Hatteberg as saying.

It was no surprise that he was the team's Opening Day first baseman. He started the first 35 games for the 2002 A's before ultimately being replaced by one of the heroes of Lewis' narrative: Hatteberg. Not long after he lost his job, Beane traded him to the Tigers as part of a three-team trade in exchange for a pitcher he coveted in Ted Lilly. "In two short months with the Oakland A's," Lewis writes, "Carlos Peña had transformed himself from a player Billy Beane had coveted more than any other minor leaguer into a player everyone valued more highly than Billy did." - mlb.com

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

James Thomas McGuire, who would be known as “Deacon Jim” based on his gentlemanly, fair-play approach to the game, was the most durable catcher of his era. It was widely reported that he was never put out of a game or fined. He was steady in performance and temperament with some of his greatest baseball years taking place for terrible teams. He was not flamboyant but hardworking, and though he was appreciated as a baseball great in his home of Albion, Michigan, his place in baseball history is all too often overlooked. He endured aches, pains, and injury — including breaking every finger of both hands — to create a legacy of resilience and fortitude that encompassed a then-unheard-of 26 big-league seasons at arguably the sport’s most demanding position. - SABR

Redid the facegen. The old one looked like an older manager one but either way was made from a sepia/yellow-toned image. Nearly all the photos I found from his playing says had a mustache.