A Revised Mid-Atlantic League

Harry Doyle · 04-09-2022, 09:22 PM

Introduction

The original MAL operated from 1925 to 1951, minus 3 years for World War II (24 seasons). In that time span the league had 52 teams from 27 unique communities across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – plus one team from New York and another from Maryland.

The longest running team was from Johnstown, PA that competed in the league for 19 seasons.

I wanted to replay the league, but had to simplify all the yearly changes to make it manageable. I removed multiple name changes and considered multiple appearances of the same city/town over the years as the same team. I also standardized the variable schedule lengths to 100 games for 6 teams (6 seasons), 140 games for 8 teams (17 seasons), and 165 games for 12 teams (only in 1931). Each season from 1925 to 1936) will be split to provide the championship teams while in 1937 the split season will be dropped in favor of a 4 team playoff configuration.

As each team leaves the league per the historical record, I will throw their rosters into the Free Agent pool to keep careers unbroken, and at the 3 year WW2 break (1943 to 1945) I will only return players in 1946 who rated in the top 10% of WAR ratings in 1942. All other players in 1946 will be new.

Below is the master team chart I will use to add/remove teams each year.

For those who are following my logic so far, you may have already seen a potential flaw in my plan, which is;

…the possibility that a playoff team may be the one scheduled to be removed the following season per the historical record.

For example, in 1939 Johnstown leaves the league after 14 seasons – what if Johnstown is a playoff team in 1938?

To try and eliminate such a scenario, I will “force trade” their best player (measured by WAR rating) for a reasonable group of second tier players in the last year of their historical existence. That will keep the team’s star player in the league (but on another team) at the cost of weakening the exiting team to try and insure they do not win their division. If that fails, I will blame the team removal on Front Office incompetency.

I will play out the 1925 through 1951 seasons and report on each season January through December. Each season “report” will try and condense all the important highlights of the season into a (hopefully) interesting read.

In 1952, instead of ending the league, I will begin to populate it with eight more teams to form two 8 team leagues with a “world series” and begin reporting results on a monthly basis – maybe even taking over a team.

As you can see, I plan to run this league long-term, but ultimately it will depend on the readers. If there is a lot of interest, I will continue – if not I’ll likely continue the league privately. As those of you who have done this, your well aware the amount of work involved to report results in an interesting manner. Feedback is critical to making it worth the effort.

Harry Doyle · 04-09-2022, 10:30 PM

Decided to use black & white photos in keeping with the time period.

Harry Doyle · 04-10-2022, 09:14 PM

(This is the initial season of my Mid-Atlantic League.)

Harry Doyle · 04-16-2022, 10:10 AM

Just a bump to make sure I don't fall off the bottom of the list. Life threw in a couple speed bumps.

04-09-2022, 09:22 PM	#1
Harry Doyle Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Great Lakes Posts: 74	A Revised Mid-Atlantic League Introduction The original MAL operated from 1925 to 1951, minus 3 years for World War II (24 seasons). In that time span the league had 52 teams from 27 unique communities across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – plus one team from New York and another from Maryland. The longest running team was from Johnstown, PA that competed in the league for 19 seasons. I wanted to replay the league, but had to simplify all the yearly changes to make it manageable. I removed multiple name changes and considered multiple appearances of the same city/town over the years as the same team. I also standardized the variable schedule lengths to 100 games for 6 teams (6 seasons), 140 games for 8 teams (17 seasons), and 165 games for 12 teams (only in 1931). Each season from 1925 to 1936) will be split to provide the championship teams while in 1937 the split season will be dropped in favor of a 4 team playoff configuration. As each team leaves the league per the historical record, I will throw their rosters into the Free Agent pool to keep careers unbroken, and at the 3 year WW2 break (1943 to 1945) I will only return players in 1946 who rated in the top 10% of WAR ratings in 1942. All other players in 1946 will be new. Below is the master team chart I will use to add/remove teams each year. For those who are following my logic so far, you may have already seen a potential flaw in my plan, which is; …the possibility that a playoff team may be the one scheduled to be removed the following season per the historical record. For example, in 1939 Johnstown leaves the league after 14 seasons – what if Johnstown is a playoff team in 1938? To try and eliminate such a scenario, I will “force trade” their best player (measured by WAR rating) for a reasonable group of second tier players in the last year of their historical existence. That will keep the team’s star player in the league (but on another team) at the cost of weakening the exiting team to try and insure they do not win their division. If that fails, I will blame the team removal on Front Office incompetency. I will play out the 1925 through 1951 seasons and report on each season January through December. Each season “report” will try and condense all the important highlights of the season into a (hopefully) interesting read. In 1952, instead of ending the league, I will begin to populate it with eight more teams to form two 8 team leagues with a “world series” and begin reporting results on a monthly basis – maybe even taking over a team. As you can see, I plan to run this league long-term, but ultimately it will depend on the readers. If there is a lot of interest, I will continue – if not I’ll likely continue the league privately. As those of you who have done this, your well aware the amount of work involved to report results in an interesting manner. Feedback is critical to making it worth the effort. Attached Images __________________ Harry Doyle: That's all we got, one goddamn hit? Monte: You can't say goddamn on the air. Harry Doyle: Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway. Last edited by Harry Doyle; 04-10-2022 at 09:41 AM.

04-09-2022, 10:30 PM	#2
Harry Doyle Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Great Lakes Posts: 74	1925 Team Overview Decided to use black & white photos in keeping with the time period. Attached Images __________________ Harry Doyle: That's all we got, one goddamn hit? Monte: You can't say goddamn on the air. Harry Doyle: Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway. Last edited by Harry Doyle; 04-10-2022 at 09:41 AM.

04-10-2022, 09:14 PM	#3
Harry Doyle Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Great Lakes Posts: 74	1925 Mid-Atlantic League Season (This is the initial season of my Mid-Atlantic League.) Attached Images __________________ Harry Doyle: That's all we got, one goddamn hit? Monte: You can't say goddamn on the air. Harry Doyle: Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway.

04-16-2022, 10:10 AM	#4
Harry Doyle Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Great Lakes Posts: 74	Bump Just a bump to make sure I don't fall off the bottom of the list. Life threw in a couple speed bumps. __________________ Harry Doyle: That's all we got, one goddamn hit? Monte: You can't say goddamn on the air. Harry Doyle: Don't worry, nobody is listening anyway.