Complete Universe Facegen Pack

[percolaten]

Lans,
Jordan Diaz could use a new facegen. PS, for the life if me, I still cannot figure out how to get player facegens below the navigation arrows, despite the links you sent me. It doesn't do that with coach facegens, as seen with Bochy to the right of Jordan Diaz.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by percolaten

Lans,
Jordan Diaz could use a new facegen. PS, for the life if me, I still cannot figure out how to get player facegens below the navigation arrows, despite the links you sent me. It doesn't do that with coach facegens, as seen with Bochy to the right of Jordan Diaz.

Diaz is on a list of about 200 faces for current players I'm working through. I'll move him to the head of the list and post him.

That is odd with the coaches being different than the players in sizing. Try going to Diaz's Player Editor and Auto Regenerating the pic and see if it resizes. I can't imagine what's different from a player pic vs coach.

[dewelar]

I just started using this a few weeks ago, and it has been a godsend, so thank you! I've been importing individual pictures from this for a fictional league with historical players, and have completed about 900 so far. The fact that it took me this long to find a missing player is incredible (not including Negro League players, of which I've seen a handful), but there appears to be no picture for Everett Booe (bbref ID booeev01, minor league booe--001eve).

[LansdowneSt]

Speedy Everett Booe was one of a multitude of major-leaguers who played only a year or two in the big leagues, and then spent the majority of their careers in the minors. Booe was a rookie flash in the pan for the Pirates in 1913, and then jumped to Indianapolis and Buffalo of the upstart Federal League in 1914. He appeared in 125 major-league games, but was in almost 2,000 games over his 17-year minor-league career (spanning 1911 to 1930). He also served several of his teams as manager.

One of the most notable things about Booe, however, proved to be his name. The “e” is silent, so it’s pronounced “boo.” Before the advent of broadcasting systems and names on the uniforms, umpires introduced the players as they were put into the game. Booe’s name caused no end of confusion for umpires and amusement for fans. William Hageman quoted Pirates icon Honus Wagner on a situation that occurred in 1913: “When I was playing with the Pirates, we had a rookie, Everett Booe. One day, we were giving home plate umpire Bill Klem a hard time, and his temper was short. Fred Clarke sent Booe up to pinch hit, and Klem asked him his name. He said, ‘Booe.’ Klem said, ‘What did you say?’ And the rookie replied, ‘Booe.’ Well, Klem got infuriated and was going to throw Booe out of the game until Clarke came out and showed him the scorecard and told him that the kid’s name really was Booe.” - SABR

I pulled his college yearbook pictures as he graduated at age 19 and was with the Pirates 18 months later. In the picture with his uniform, he looks older, and the uniform appears to be for the Pirates c. 1913 so, again, less than two years after the college pictures I consulted. I'm happy to have him look a bit younger. I like to think the facial lines in that team photo were from a non-resting face. I did widen his mouth a bit though to reflect that team photo.

[LansdowneSt]

Jordan Diaz picked the perfect place to make a name for himself: Yankee Stadium.

The little-known Oakland Athletics rookie launched three home runs Tuesday night in a 10-5 loss to the New York Yankees, joining Héctor López as the only second basemen in franchise history to accomplish the feat. “I know the big leagues is not going to be like that every night,” a smiling Diaz said through a translator in front of his locker. “But I’ve just been working on it, making some adjustments.”

His three home runs on one night gave the 22-year-old from Colombia four in 30 major league games. He doubled his season RBI total to eight and raised his batting average from .237 to .286. “For me, it’s a very special day,” Diaz said. “I’m just really excited and happy for what happened to me today — especially here.”

Diaz said he’d never hit three homers in a game before — at any level — and he plans to keep the souvenir ball from No. 3 at home. - Washington Post

Redid the facegen. Yikes, that's an improvement, I think...

[percolaten]

I'd say that's an improvement...thanks!

[dewelar]

Thanks for getting a facegen for Booe -- I'd heard that story, and it's one of my favorite old-time baseball stories. You'd never see that today for obvious reasons.

Found another player missing from the pack: Alexander Donoghue (bbref majors id donohjo01, minors id donohu001ale). Only played 6 games in 1891, but he's in my league for...reasons.

[LansdowneSt]

In 1890, the Washington Statesmen found themselves in the American Association and the ballclub's leadership of owner Walter Hewitt is a case study in failure. With three leagues in play, talent is at a premium. But Hewitt dithers and dallies, so by late spring he has only leftovers and not much money to sign them. In was thus that in late July, the team signs a 26-year-old ballplayer from Altoona to play left field. Alexander Donoghue’s arrival sparks some interest, one paper noting that he is regarded as the coming batsman of the country. Days later, the papers report the imminent disbandment of the Washington Baseball Club.

Later that same day Alexander Donoghue decides to head to greener pastures. He jumps and signs with the Lebanon Club. Lebanon is in the same association as Washington. In fact, they are in Washington to play two games against the Statesmen. The only problem is the Washington manager hand given Donoghue $100 in advance money -and the team veterans hadn't been paid for July yet. The local papers note, “As Donoghue only played in five games, during which he made one hit, it is a rather steep money for his service.”

The first game has Donoghue wearing the uniform of Lebanon. He is confronted by protests from the Washington players and the spectators. The paper neatly summarizes the issue: "The rest of the Washington players were enraged at his scurvy work and threatened to refuse to play, but as it was imperative for them to raise a stake they sacrificed and let the renegade play." In the latter half of the sixth inning the unpleasantness forces Lebanon Manager to take his men from the field until all issues regarding their team's take of the gate receipts and the guarantee of Donoghue were settled. Only then did the game resume to completion. - dcbaseballhistory.com

The next year, Donoghue would play six games for the Phillies for his only MLB service, batting .318 over six games.

[AESP_pres]

LansdowneSt do you feel like trying another 19th century player? My version of Asa Brainard isn't that bad but I have a feeling he could be much better with the cleaning you usually do...

[AESP_pres]

Another one if you feel like it... I don't think my FG is that bad but there is a "melted face" look that you can certainly fix.

[AESP_pres]

Sam Weaver

This is one of the guy I was never able to do considering the not so great "photo" available for him... maybe your AI can finally gave him a great looking visage to work with? As you can see what I have for him is a very old way too smoothed FG...

Edit
Just for the fun of it I run the drawing though an AI and I like what I got, but I have no idea what I can use to make him look the camera...

[LansdowneSt]

Sam Weaver was known as "Buck Weaver" during his professional career. He had a terrific rookie season for the major-league Milwaukee Grays in 1878. One might not notice it at first, because Sam led the National League in losses, but he also had the best WHIP in the league. Various sources credit Sam with one of the best pitching seasons in the decade of the 1870s. One of his games may have been a no-hitter - it has been disputed over the years whether batter John Clapp should have been credited with a hit or reached base on an error. In any case, the victory was the Grays' first win of the year.

However, Sam wasn't always that good, and as a result he moved around a lot from team to team - although in several cases he was forced to move because his team, or his league, folded after the year he was with them. Weaver, who was from Philadelphia, PA, pitched for teams based in Philly that belonged to several different leagues - the National Association, the major league American Association and the Union Association. After baseball, he worked as a policeman. - bRef Bullpen wiki

I like that you are having some AI fun! The AI is so good at straight conversion that I'm surprised the Photopack crew doesn't do what you just did to the newspaper and woodcuts ones. For us, we need to turn the images to look at the camera, eliminate the shadows - heck I tell it what kind of camera and film to use. I was satisfied with this AI one for Weaver's fg. Beats the old one.

[LansdowneSt]

The etymology of the term “ace” meaning the best pitcher on a team derives from the nickname of Asa Brainard, one of the top pitchers of baseball’s early years. Upon settling with the Excelsiors of Brooklyn in 1860, he was initially a second baseman and outfielder because the great James Creighton was positioned in the box. After Creighton’s premature death in October 1862, Brainard became the team’s main hurler. Over the years, he was a member of the first three significant barnstorming teams in the sport’s history: an eastern tour by the Excelsiors in 1860; a western trip by the Nationals of Washington, D.C., in 1867; a nationwide excursion with Cincinnati from 1869-1870.

In 1868, he was recruited by Harry Wright for the soon-to-be famed Red Stockings of Cincinnati, the team that altered the course of the sport’s history. The Reds rattled off two great seasons behind Brainard’s right arm. He was indeed the ace of the Red Stockings, a club that went 57-0 in 1869 and extended its overall consecutive winning streak to 89 games. In contemporary accounts the Brooklyn Eagle referred to him as “Acey” as early as August 15, 1864, and shortened it to “Ace” by at least September 3, 1875. The monikers were rhythmically related to his name Asa; it would be decades before the term “ace” became an adjective and noun commonly used to denote a club’s top hurler. - SABR

No AI for this one. Facial Hair off the face doesn't work in facegen - same problem as long hair. The CUF pack didn't have yours, AESP - so this will at least upgrade what is in the pack when I update it next.

[LansdowneSt]

Cherokee Fisher played eight seasons in the big leagues, appearing in 294 games of which 165 were as a pitcher. As a pitcher he had a lifetime ERA of 2.83 and was among the ERA leaders in every year of the National Association's existence. As a hitter, he was less impressive, having perhaps his best season in 1876, the first year of the National League, when he hit .248 on an awful Cincinnati Reds team that hit .234 as a whole. In spite of that, he was released in mid-season sporting a terrible 4-20 record and a 3.03 ERA, leaving the team with only one pitcher, Dory Dean, who had pitched but two games in his big league career. Dean did even worse, ending with a record of 4-26, with a worse ERA. At 31, Fisher was already among the ten oldest players in the league during that inaugural season.

One source says Fisher gave up the first inside-the-park home run in the National League, to Ross Barnes. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Used AI to get a likeness turned toward the camera, then tweaked it against the original. Looked like a blond or light brown mustache so I didn't darken it too much. The facegen in the CUF pack was one of the oversmoothed ones that, when faced with an unbalanced mustache caused by turned face, eliminates the mustache.

[AESP_pres]

Great works thanks!

[cinemaodyssey]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

I like that you are having some AI fun! The AI is so good at straight conversion that I'm surprised the Photopack crew doesn't do what you just did to the newspaper and woodcuts ones. For us, we need to turn the images to look at the camera, eliminate the shadows - heck I tell it what kind of camera and film to use. I was satisfied with this AI one for Weaver's fg. Beats the old one.

To respond to your question regarding why the photopack crowd isn't using these AI generated images: it's all in the first word...artificial. The historical photopacks are intended for as close to historical accuracy as possible and injecting artificial images, no matter how amazing they may look, strays away from the mission statement. I was initially using Remini to smooth out some photographic imperfections but only very sparingly.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by cinemaodyssey

To respond to your question regarding why the photopack crowd isn't using these AI generated images: it's all in the first word...artificial. The historical photopacks are intended for as close to historical accuracy as possible and injecting artificial images, no matter how amazing they may look, strays away from the mission statement. I was initially using Remini to smooth out some photographic imperfections but only very sparingly.

Oh, I figured that was the reason. My question was 99.9% rhetorical and just to reinforce how great I think the tech is getting and the possibilities it will open up for actually getting - for those that seek it - representations of past players in the format needed. For fg purposes, it’s been fantastic to be at a point where the gray zombies with half a mustache can get upgraded.

I guess there is also a part of me that feels the sketch of a person like Sam Weaver was an imperfect 2nd Gen work of a guy with an ink pen 140 years ago looking at a photo. So why embrace that 2nd hand work, but not do so with a 2nd or 3rd generation work done with modern tech? I have luxury of not worrying about it as a facegen is just one more generation removed and to make the facegen as accurate as possible is the goal.

On restoration, try the myHeritage.com site, when you do use one. I think it’s better than moving things to and from the Remini app. And even if the photo pack has a bright line of what it uses and doesn’t, don’t let it stop you putting a few in the Midjourney and other AIs out there just to see the results. For fun. Part of my love of the game’s history (and why I take the time for the little write-ups) is to appreciate that these were real people with real lives and all that comes with that. So, I get a joy in seeing not just a better facegen at the end but getting a look at their visage as it might have appeared in real life.

I admire all the work on the Photo thread. Just tremendous.

[AESP_pres]

LansdowneSt I don't think my result is too bad but I would appreciate if you could clean him a bit... I attach my FG but I have a feeling knowing you that you will start from scratch.

[LansdowneSt]

Ezra Sutton matured at the perfect time to join baseball as it morphed from a merely amateur endeavor played by people during the recreational hours to a sport that paid its players, allowing them to pursue their passion as a vocation. Sutton played for teams in the old National Association of Base Ball Players, the National Association and the National League. In fact, he suited up in the first games in both National Association and National League history. The National League itself was formed partly as a result of William Hulbert’s tampering with Sutton and others during the 1875 season.

By the time he was 20 years old, Sutton was being acknowledged as the finest third baseman in the country. He was known for his fearlessness at the position and for having perhaps the strongest arm in the game before an injury reduced its strength to merely average. Many today list him among the elite third sackers of the 19th century.

Sutton enjoyed a robust career for more than 20 years. His retirement did not go as well. After a failed business, he was hit with a debilitating spinal disease characterized by a degeneration of the nervous system. Eventually, he was unable to walk or care for himself. After a horrible accident in which his wife burned to death at the dinner table before his helpless eyes, Sutton was a patient at one care facility after another, which depleted his resources to zero. His plight was only moderately lessened after his old baseball buddies took up responsibility for his care.

I liked the Ezra you had. I assume the white splotches were the issue. For that I had to amend the source photo so, yes, I redid it. Now that I'm administering the CUF pack, I also checked what it had. Sadly, the one in there now doesn't look anything like Ezra. Here's my attempt at him. It will go into the CUF pack on the next update.

[AESP_pres]

Thanks again! I cross my fingers that you will work on some 19th century players... I know it isn't the most popular era in the game (probably because it needs so much manual work to get it real) but some of them are really hard to make good looking (of course now I can use AI but it doesn't always work for me).

On the other hand I really like what I did with Al Pratt using an old drawing... I just think that his picture on BBRef lack personality.

Edit: You will continue to have a link with just your FGs right? I don't want to download the complete pack because so many are just awful and there is many junk FGs (bad names who weren't removed).