International League/Random Debut League

[actionjackson]

IIRC, Buck Freeman either turns into a ridiculously good closer, or starts as one. Looking over his BB-Ref page, he probably starts out as one. It really doesn't make much sense that he would be much of anything as a pitcher, but I guess that's the magic of OOTP.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

IIRC, Buck Freeman either turns into a ridiculously good closer, or starts as one. Looking over his BB-Ref page, he probably starts out as one. It really doesn't make much sense that he would be much of anything as a pitcher, but I guess that's the magic of OOTP.

Now, I will have to go home and check to see if he pitched any in my game. Charles Bender and Kid Nichols are both two way players in my game. l

[David Watts]

Ah the life of a OOTP commissioner. The teams, owners and fans must despise me. Decided to go back to the 2 wild card system I've been using all along. The 4 wild card setup resulted in the 5 team pile last year for the final wild card slot. Peoria got screwed simply for being listed 5th, so the 4 wild card system had to go Started the season with a 3 wild card setup, but I just didn't like the looks of it, so halfway through the season I ditched that and went back to the system that's been in place for the majority of my leagues history. I did make one little tweak though. The division winners will be given a 1 game advantage in the first round.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

IIRC, Buck Freeman either turns into a ridiculously good closer, or starts as one. Looking over his BB-Ref page, he probably starts out as one. It really doesn't make much sense that he would be much of anything as a pitcher, but I guess that's the magic of OOTP.

Wow! In my league, Buck Freeman pitched for 2 seasons(1961 and 1962) when he was 18 and 19 years old, but he was a starter. He struggled to say the least. As an 18 year old, he would go 6-16, 5.28 over 26 starts. He would strikeout 166 and walk 98. His WHIP was a hefty 1.69. Things would get worse the following year when he went 9-18, 5.56. He whiffed an impressive 193 batters, but allowed an ugly 164 free passes. His WHIP was even higher this season, 1.77.

Similar to real life, following his two unsuccessful years as a pitcher, Freeman simply disappeared from 1963-1968. He then reappears as a first baseman/outfielder and a very successful slugger. .

Pretty damn cool. This game amazes me on a daily basis.

[David Watts]

1976 is turning out to be a fun season, as we have exciting races in both divisions. In the Northern Division, Toledo and Cedar Rapids are going back and forth for the division lead, while in the Southern Division, Biloxi and Tulsa are doing the same. We just started play in the month of September. Should be an exciting finish to the season. As things stand, the teams that hold second place in the divisions, will fall into the 2 available wild card slots. I'm not completely counting out the Corpus Christ Hooks though, as they are lurking just 4 games out in the race for the final wild card.

Johan Santana already has 19 wins for the Biloxi Shuckers.

[David Watts]

Down to the final 2 days of the season. Toledo goes into Saturday trailing Cedar Rapids by 2 games. They still have a chance to take the division, but it's a slim one. They already have the number 1 wild card slot locked up, so all is not lost. In the Southern Division, Biloxi and Tulsa are tied for the division lead. Tulsa took 3 out of 4 from Biloxi to start the final week. Tulsa won the first 3 of the series, before Biloxi won on Thursday to cut Tulsa's lead back down to one game. Biloxi would win on Friday, while Tulsa lost their game, knotting things back up.

The batting title race is as exciting as the division races have been. Two teammates, George Sisler and Nap Lajoie have been battling it out for the best average for the last few weeks of the season. Over the last week the lead has changed almost every single day.

I jinxed Johan Santana by posting that he was already at 20 wins. Santana would lose his next 3 starts in September, before winning his last start. He now has 21 wins on the season.

While Santana was struggling, Cedar Rapid's Jacob deGrom was on fire. deGrom rolled off 4 wins in a row to reach 20 wins on the season. It's going to be interesting to see the results of the Cy Young voting at the end of the season, as Urban Shocker, Johan Santana, Rube Waddell and Jacob deGrom have all had stellar seasons on the mound. I may be leaving someone out as well

Saves and Stolen bases continue to increase with each season.

[David Watts]

Jose Mendez has called it quits following the 1976 season. What a career he had. 338-205, 3.03 with 2 saves. He whiffed 4190 batters and finished his career with a 7.1 k/9 rate. Mendez only walked 1159 batters over his career, while giving up 4575 hits. His career whip is an amazing 1.08. Mendez pitched the first 7 years of his career for the Peoria Chiefs(1955-1961) going 132-75, 3.09. He would then move on to the St. Paul Saints in 1962 where he would finish his career. In St. Paul Jose would go 206-130, 2.99.

Mendez totaled an amazing 134 War during his career. The next closest pitcher is Hilton Smith with 109.74. Smith is still active at the age of 39.

Mendez was awarded the pitcher of the year award 7 over his stellar career, 56,58,60,64,71,72 and 1973. He was a 15 time all-star over his 21 years in the league.

Mendez was a 2 time league champion, both times with the St. Paul Saints in 1962 and 1964. The post season as it turns out wasn't always kind to Mendez. HIs teams would make the post season 7 times during his career(all with St. Paul). He would go 8-9, 3.97 over 20 starts. He pitched 142.2 post season innings striking out 121 batters while walking 31. He has one post season shutout in 1962.

The 5 year wait to put Mendez in the Hall is just silly. He should have an entire wing named after him tomorrow....heck this evening. What a joy it was to follow his career.

[David Watts]

Another notable retiree following the 76 season is Buzz Arlett. Arlett's career didn't get under way till 1965 at the ripe ole age of 31. Arlett didn't waste any time getting into the swing of things and managed to crush 261 home runs and drive in 1001 runs over his 12 year career that ended at the age of 42. Arlett led the league in RBI in 1967 with 136 and again in 1970 with 122. He also led the league in slugging in 1967.

Arlett was a 5 time all-star. A 2 time Platinum Stick Award winner and a 2 time league champion. He notched his championships in 1966 and 1970 playing for the Peoria Chiefs.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Another notable retiree following the 76 season is Buzz Arlett. Arlett's career didn't get under way till 1965 at the ripe ole age of 31. Arlett didn't waste any time getting into the swing of things and managed to crush 261 home runs and drive in 1001 runs over his 12 year career that ended at the age of 42. Arlett led the league in RBI in 1967 with 136 and again in 1970 with 122. He also led the league in slugging in 1967.

Arlett was a 5 time all-star. A 2 time Platinum Stick Award winner and a 2 time league champion. He notched his championships in 1966 and 1970 playing for the Peoria Chiefs.

He always reminded me a bit of Roy Hobbs. Here's the opening paragraphs of Buzz's SABR bio:

The country was mired in the torment of the deepening Depression. Herbert Hoover was in the White House; unemployment soared to 15%, while a disenchanted people sought any means available to divert attention away from the hardship of everyday life.

It was the spring of 1931 and scarce pennies were invested in leisure pursuits such as movies, radio and of course baseball. America was in the mood for a special kind of hero, a real-life Buck Rogers to divert their minds from troubled times.

Understanding the need for such diversion, newspapers of the day sought to lighten spirits with uplifting stories of human interest. Such a hero was found in the story of Buzz Arlett, who for a brief moment in the spring of that year, produced heroic exploits for a populace in trouble. It was the engaging story of an aging rookie who suddenly burst upon the major leagues with a thunderous bat and an engaging personality.

We don’t know what Buzz Arlett was thinking when he made his major league debut on April 14, but we do know it was the culmination of 13 long years in the minor leagues, following a path dotted with false hopes and devastating setbacks...

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

He always reminded me a bit of Roy Hobbs. Here's the opening paragraphs of Buzz's SABR bio:

The country was mired in the torment of the deepening Depression. Herbert Hoover was in the White House; unemployment soared to 15%, while a disenchanted people sought any means available to divert attention away from the hardship of everyday life.

It was the spring of 1931 and scarce pennies were invested in leisure pursuits such as movies, radio and of course baseball. America was in the mood for a special kind of hero, a real-life Buck Rogers to divert their minds from troubled times.

Understanding the need for such diversion, newspapers of the day sought to lighten spirits with uplifting stories of human interest. Such a hero was found in the story of Buzz Arlett, who for a brief moment in the spring of that year, produced heroic exploits for a populace in trouble. It was the engaging story of an aging rookie who suddenly burst upon the major leagues with a thunderous bat and an engaging personality.

We don’t know what Buzz Arlett was thinking when he made his major league debut on April 14, but we do know it was the culmination of 13 long years in the minor leagues, following a path dotted with false hopes and devastating setbacks...

Thanks for posting this. Love it. Find it really neat that Arlett's 432 minor league home runs stood as the most ever in the minors until 2015 when Mike Hessman hit number 433.

[David Watts]

1977 and the Dayton Dragons have a double play combo of Pee Wee Reese at SS and Pokey Reese at 2B. I love this game.

[David Watts]

So far1977 hasn't turned out to be as crazy as I thought it would be, but it's early. Just started the play in the month of June. One has to wonder what the heck happened to Bob Dernier during the off season. Dude is hitting .393 on June 1st. Maybe the real Bob Dernier from years past was abducted by aliens and replaced with this new and improved version of Bob Denier . It's early though, so it will be fun to see where he ends up by the end of the season.

Another guy that's explode out of the gates in 77 is Roberto Clemente. He's hitting 380+ over the first couple months of the season for the first place San Antonio Missions. Roberto has been improving with each new season since his debut a few years back. This year it looks like he's ready to become a super star. San Antonio also features a young Pete Rose. Rose is hitting around .303 so far in 77,

Nap Lajoie is currently sitting at .425 on the season. Last season's MVP looks as if he's wants to repeat as the leagues best player. Thought maybe the loss of George Sisler, Nap's slugging partner for the past several years would slow him down some, but not even close. Sisler on the otherhand, is struggling with his new team, only hitting around .274.

Mark McGwire has 17 home runs to lead all others in that category.

[David Watts]

David Ortiz is now 43 years old. He lacks right around 100 hits to reach 3000. I have a feeling this will be his final season, so it will be interesting to see how close he comes to 3000 hits. He's also in the vicinity of joining the 500 home run club with 477.

Rube Waddell has hit the wall in 1977. He is struggling big time this season after being flat out dominant for his entire career so far.

The contenders for the batting title keep dropping like flies. Bob Dernier got off to a blazing start that had him trailing only Nap Lajoie, but wham down he goes. He's now missed enough games that he's fallen out of the race because of it. Next to go down was Roberto Clemente. Clemente is now second to Lajoie, but just went down for at least 4 weeks with a injury. Tris Speaker has to be worried, as he's third in the race.

Jim Gentile currently leads the league with 20 home runs. Mark McGwire is right on his heels with 19. Nap Lajoie is third with 17. '

Late June and Nap Lajoie is still hitting above .400. Nap is also driving in runs at a healthy clip with a league leading 68.

[David Watts]

Rube Waddell is now just 2 wins away from reaching 200. It's really been a struggle for Waddell in 1977. His ERA has been above 5 for most of the season and his k's are way down.

Bob Gibson needs 9 wins to reach 200 career wins. Gibson has been really good over the last 3 seasons.

Starting to think David Ortiz might just return for another season in 1978. He's still producing at the age of 43, so one more season isn't out of the questions. Ortiz still needs roughly 80 hits to reach 3000 and 16 home runs to join the 500 home run club.

Trevor Story in his rookie season has taken over the the lead in the home run race with Mark McGwire right on his heels.

Nap Lajoie continues his quest for .400 into the month of August. Nap is back up to .425 on the season. Lajoie is just a couple shy RBI shy of averaging one per games played with 95 on the season.

Look out hitters as it appears the real Greg Maddux has entered the building. Maddux has been solid since entering the league, but since last season he's been improving on a game by game basis. In 77 he's been dominant at times. Maddux led the league in WAR last season and right in the thick of things to do so again in 77,

Hilton Smith has turned his 77 season around. Like Ortiz, I think there's a chance that Smith(40) returns in 1978 for another season. If he does, 250 wins is a real possibility. My predictions are usually wrong though.

Bob Dernier came off a lengthy stint on the IL and continues to hit. His average is now in the .380's. I keep waiting for him to nosedive, but so far he's shown no signs of doing so.

Pete Rose has his average up into the 330 range. Rose and his teammate Roberto Clemente have the San Antonio Missions in first place in the Southern Division. The race is extremely tight though as both Memphis and Corpus Christi are only 1 game back in the standings.

Harry Davis of the Corpus Christi Hooks is once again on pace to have a 30-30 season. The Hooks have another Harry in Harry Hooper leading off for them. Hooper is having the best season of his career.

Wisconsin and Peoria are neck and neck in the Northern Division with Peoria holding a slim 1/2 game lead. Cedar Rapids isn't far behind, trailing the top team by only 3 games.

[David Watts]

September 13th and Nap Lajoie is hitting .414. Could this be the year we have our very first .400 hitter? Lajoie has 234 hits, just 4 shy of Dante Bichette's record of 238. 16 games left.

[David Watts]

9/18/1977, Rube Waddell wins game number 200, beating the Great Lakes Loons 5-1.

David Ortiz is now only 6 hits from 3000 and 7 home runs shy of 500.

With 13 games left to play Nap Lajoie is hitting .412.

[David Watts]

9/20/1977, Nap Lajoie goes 5-5, raising his batting average to .417. There are now 10 games remaining.

[David Watts]

3 games left in the season and Nap Lajoie is hitting .414.

[David Watts]

And the International League has it's first .400 hitter. League began in 1946 and in 1977 Nap Lajoie finishes with an amazing .413 batting average. Lajoie also set a new International League record for hits with 261. Lajoie had 62 doubles, 8 triples and 35 home runs. He drove in 139 runs and scored 123 times. His OBP was .444 and his slugging .703. His WAR for the season was 10.1. I think we know the player that will take home MVP honors.

[David Watts]

Draft class just announced. Barry Bonds, Reggie Smith, Andre Thornton and Cecil Cooper will make their debuts. Always enjoy me some Reggie Smith.