200 Game PCL Schedule Available for Download

Henry · 12-21-2003, 08:44 PM

I just got finished creating a hand-made 200 game 6 team schedule for my PCL league which begins in 1903. Since I went to the trouble to balance a 200 game schedule, I thought someone else might want to use it as well, so I've made it available for download below.

It's based on an actual early century pattern for the PCL - 6 games a week with Mondays off for traveling. I've also added a few doubleheaders on Saterdays, Sundays, and on July 4th.

If you want to use it in your own league, however, take these precautions...

(1) Create a 6 team league which begins in 1903. It doesn't matter what team names you choose but the league must start in 1903.

(2) Copy the schedule.dat file into your league folder and open the game.

(3) Go to "League Setup - Edit Schedule" and set opening day to March 18th and the first of the year to Thursday. That will set you into the actual 1903 calendar.

(4) For those of you that want to insure 1903 Era stats, I would suggest using Jermanfu's figures (I've included a link to those as well)

Hope you enjoy

Henry

schedule.dat

1903 League Setup (by Jermanfu)

skkrrt · 12-21-2003, 11:10 PM

good work henry.

Le Grande Orange · 12-21-2003, 11:10 PM

Nice work, Henry.

Would you still like the Excel file of the real 1903 PCL schedule? I still just have to do those little fixes I mentioned.

In case anyone's wondering, outside of the week long series, there were a couple of other characteristics of PCL schedules whihc made their seasons quite distinctive from those of other leagues.

First, teams often did not all play the same number of home and away games, but varied quite a bit. Some would have more, others less, but rarely in the earlier years did a PCL schedule have all the teams playing the same number of home and away games. Second, teams did not play the same number of games against each opponent during the season. And third, the home and away splits against an opponent during a season rarely were equal either; one team or the other often had more games at home or away.

Together with the long lengths, these characteristics make the PCL schedules completely unique.

HolyCow98 · 12-22-2003, 02:27 AM

Thats cool...something I haven't tried yet...so this will be something new to try out...

Just curious....how long did it take to do that schedule.....The only one I ever made was for a fictional league that only contained 12 teams and 90 games (if memory serves me correct). Thanks for the hard work.

Henry · 12-22-2003, 06:45 AM

About 6 hours. I used a combination of the Stickware scheduler (to set up a 100 game schedule) then loaded it into Excel to polish it. The final schedule isn't a perfect balance - but close, and it certainly has the feel of an early PCL season with the one week series and Monday travel

LGO, Yes - I still would like what you come up with on the real schedule. I'm intrugued at the unbalanced schedule - thinking it was maybe the result of canceled games (no room to make them up) ??

Henry

Le Grande Orange · 12-22-2003, 02:31 PM

Okay then... I'll fix up that file and get it to you later on today. After that I'm going to start typing out the 1904 schedule. That one should be interesting, plus it seems to be longer than the 1903 version.

No, the PCL's unbalanced matchups were not due to postponements or anything like that - it's actually a feature of its schedules. It's a result of the week long series. If you play an opponents twice at home and twice away, that's 4 week-long series. In an 8 team league, that means a season would be 28 weeks long (4x7). But most PCL seasons were either longer or shorter than this, so that means there are going to be some left over weeks, hence the unbalanced matchups against each team. The fact that doubleheaders were always played on the Decoration, Independence, and Labor Day holidays also added a couple of extra games against one opponent or another (for California based teams, the Admission Day holiday in that state also added an extra game or two due to the doubleheader played).

In 1935 the PCL abandoned the week-long series for that season and played a more traditional style of schedule, though it still was not balanced; the next year the PCL went back to the week-long series. It again tried a traditional style schedule in 1951, and this one was actually balanced, for the first time. But the extra travel costs incurred brought back the week-long series again for 1952-53. In 1954, series were either 5 or 7 games long, but the schedule was balanced. 1955 saw a slightly unbalanced schedule; and finally in 1956 the traditional style of schedule, fully balanced, came into regular use.

Henry · 12-22-2003, 03:03 PM

Dang... interesting !! It's curious though, why the league didn't think the unbalanced schedule would at times, be unfair. I'd hate to lose out on a championship by a percentage point because another team played more or fewer games. I wonder if that ever happened in real life (something else to look up!).

I suppose if the PCL had, in fact, become the 3rd major league in the 50s, the increased attendance would have likely improved their financial health - and the MLB would have insisted on a balanced schedule.

Henry

Eugene Church · 12-22-2003, 05:07 PM

Do you have a list of the good and great PCL players and their stats and positions?

As per Le Grande Orange, I could subscribe to the Sporting News database and get some of the imformation.

I just thought you might already have some of this information.

Henry · 12-22-2003, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eugene Church
Do you have a list of the good and great PCL players and their stats and positions?

As per Le Grande Orange, I could subscribe to the Sporting News database and get some of the imformation.

I just thought you might already have some of this information.

I purchased the "Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957" by Dennis Snelling which is VERY good. It has about 300 of the best PCL players detailed well enough to create them in OOTP (batters are easier than pitchers, though).

It also has rosters for all years, and leader boards as well as standings for the entire 54 year period.

Well worth the price - and much easier to own the book than look up the info on the internet.

Henry

Le Grande Orange · 12-22-2003, 07:47 PM

Somebody on the forums had Excel files of the end-of-season stats covering 1948-57, and these included most of the players in the PCL in each season.

The files were created by someone who had done up a PCL roster set for Diamond Mind, if I recall correctly. I can't remember who it was here who had the files, but they did e-mail me the files.

Henry · 12-22-2003, 08:17 PM

Hummmm.... the last 9 years of the period in detail !! (slobbering all over myself) LOL

Henry

eriqjaffe · 12-22-2003, 10:23 PM

LGO, that was me.

Henry, I can send you a copy of the files, too, but I'm on vacation this week, and the spreadsheets are on my PC at work. I'm off all this week, but I can send 'em to you Monday. Drop me a PM if you're interested and/or to remind me.

I am working on assembling a PCL photo set circa 1951. I've actually had quite a bit of success, so far. If you'd like that, too, I'll be happy to send it to one/both of you.

--Eriq.

Le Grande Orange · 12-22-2003, 10:58 PM

D'oh! Sorry about forgetting, Eriq.

I tried to check my e-mails to see who had sent me the files, but my mailbox is so cluttered with old e-mails I couldn't find it. I really need to clean out that e-mailbox...

By the way, I saved all the TSN pages with the end-of-season stats for the PCL (and IL and AA as well). I've got from 1928-42 and 1945-47. The data fields recorded are just about equal to what's included in Eriq's files. So, it could be possible to make the database of available seasons and stats even larger.

A Lahman style database of AAA minor league players... how's that sound for a project?

Eugene Church · 12-22-2003, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Le Grande Orange

A Lahman style database of AAA minor league players... how's that sound for a project?

Sounds great. Really looking forward to it.

Henry:

Thanks for letting me know the PCL book by Dennis Sterling is worth the money. I recently got some books by Bill O'Neal that were lacking the stats details I wanted. His books are just a general synopsis of leagues history. He doesn't cover a lot of players...not in the depth needed to include the players in OOTPB.

eriqjaffe · 12-29-2003, 04:59 PM

Henry,

I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full...check your email for PCL goodness!

--Eriq.

Applecorey · 12-29-2003, 05:28 PM

So, what is the PCL league?

Applecorey · 12-29-2003, 05:38 PM

never mind. just read about it. cool.

12-21-2003, 08:44 PM	#1
Henry Hall of Fame Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 6,498	200 Game PCL Schedule Available for Download I just got finished creating a hand-made 200 game 6 team schedule for my PCL league which begins in 1903. Since I went to the trouble to balance a 200 game schedule, I thought someone else might want to use it as well, so I've made it available for download below. It's based on an actual early century pattern for the PCL - 6 games a week with Mondays off for traveling. I've also added a few doubleheaders on Saterdays, Sundays, and on July 4th. If you want to use it in your own league, however, take these precautions... (1) Create a 6 team league which begins in 1903. It doesn't matter what team names you choose but the league must start in 1903. (2) Copy the schedule.dat file into your league folder and open the game. (3) Go to "League Setup - Edit Schedule" and set opening day to March 18th and the first of the year to Thursday. That will set you into the actual 1903 calendar. (4) For those of you that want to insure 1903 Era stats, I would suggest using Jermanfu's figures (I've included a link to those as well) Hope you enjoy Henry schedule.dat 1903 League Setup (by Jermanfu) Last edited by Henry; 12-21-2003 at 08:51 PM.

12-21-2003, 11:10 PM	#2
skkrrt Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 410	good work henry. __________________ Tiger of the Week: Nate Robertson-3rd in the AL in strikeouts (24).

12-22-2003, 02:27 AM	#4
HolyCow98 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Douglasville, GA Posts: 2,735	Thats cool...something I haven't tried yet...so this will be something new to try out... Just curious....how long did it take to do that schedule.....The only one I ever made was for a fictional league that only contained 12 teams and 90 games (if memory serves me correct). Thanks for the hard work. __________________ NPBL Enjoying its 60th season Georgia GM

12-22-2003, 10:23 PM	#12
eriqjaffe Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Under The Christmas Fish Posts: 7,727	LGO, that was me. Henry, I can send you a copy of the files, too, but I'm on vacation this week, and the spreadsheets are on my PC at work. I'm off all this week, but I can send 'em to you Monday. Drop me a PM if you're interested and/or to remind me. I am working on assembling a PCL photo set circa 1951. I've actually had quite a bit of success, so far. If you'd like that, too, I'll be happy to send it to one/both of you. --Eriq. __________________

12-29-2003, 04:59 PM	#15
eriqjaffe Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Under The Christmas Fish Posts: 7,727	Henry, I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full...check your email for PCL goodness! --Eriq. __________________

12-21-2003, 11:10 PM	#3
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,644	Nice work, Henry. Would you still like the Excel file of the real 1903 PCL schedule? I still just have to do those little fixes I mentioned. In case anyone's wondering, outside of the week long series, there were a couple of other characteristics of PCL schedules whihc made their seasons quite distinctive from those of other leagues. First, teams often did not all play the same number of home and away games, but varied quite a bit. Some would have more, others less, but rarely in the earlier years did a PCL schedule have all the teams playing the same number of home and away games. Second, teams did not play the same number of games against each opponent during the season. And third, the home and away splits against an opponent during a season rarely were equal either; one team or the other often had more games at home or away. Together with the long lengths, these characteristics make the PCL schedules completely unique.

12-22-2003, 06:45 AM	#5
Henry Hall of Fame Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 6,498	About 6 hours. I used a combination of the Stickware scheduler (to set up a 100 game schedule) then loaded it into Excel to polish it. The final schedule isn't a perfect balance - but close, and it certainly has the feel of an early PCL season with the one week series and Monday travel LGO, Yes - I still would like what you come up with on the real schedule. I'm intrugued at the unbalanced schedule - thinking it was maybe the result of canceled games (no room to make them up) ?? Henry

12-22-2003, 02:31 PM	#6
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,644	Okay then... I'll fix up that file and get it to you later on today. After that I'm going to start typing out the 1904 schedule. That one should be interesting, plus it seems to be longer than the 1903 version. No, the PCL's unbalanced matchups were not due to postponements or anything like that - it's actually a feature of its schedules. It's a result of the week long series. If you play an opponents twice at home and twice away, that's 4 week-long series. In an 8 team league, that means a season would be 28 weeks long (4x7). But most PCL seasons were either longer or shorter than this, so that means there are going to be some left over weeks, hence the unbalanced matchups against each team. The fact that doubleheaders were always played on the Decoration, Independence, and Labor Day holidays also added a couple of extra games against one opponent or another (for California based teams, the Admission Day holiday in that state also added an extra game or two due to the doubleheader played). In 1935 the PCL abandoned the week-long series for that season and played a more traditional style of schedule, though it still was not balanced; the next year the PCL went back to the week-long series. It again tried a traditional style schedule in 1951, and this one was actually balanced, for the first time. But the extra travel costs incurred brought back the week-long series again for 1952-53. In 1954, series were either 5 or 7 games long, but the schedule was balanced. 1955 saw a slightly unbalanced schedule; and finally in 1956 the traditional style of schedule, fully balanced, came into regular use.

12-22-2003, 03:03 PM	#7
Henry Hall of Fame Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 6,498	Dang... interesting !! It's curious though, why the league didn't think the unbalanced schedule would at times, be unfair. I'd hate to lose out on a championship by a percentage point because another team played more or fewer games. I wonder if that ever happened in real life (something else to look up!). I suppose if the PCL had, in fact, become the 3rd major league in the 50s, the increased attendance would have likely improved their financial health - and the MLB would have insisted on a balanced schedule. Henry

12-22-2003, 05:07 PM	#8
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,187	Do you have a list of the good and great PCL players and their stats and positions? As per Le Grande Orange, I could subscribe to the Sporting News database and get some of the imformation. I just thought you might already have some of this information.

12-22-2003, 07:47 PM	#10
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,644	Somebody on the forums had Excel files of the end-of-season stats covering 1948-57, and these included most of the players in the PCL in each season. The files were created by someone who had done up a PCL roster set for Diamond Mind, if I recall correctly. I can't remember who it was here who had the files, but they did e-mail me the files.

12-22-2003, 08:17 PM	#11
Henry Hall of Fame Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 6,498	Hummmm.... the last 9 years of the period in detail !! (slobbering all over myself) LOL Henry

12-22-2003, 10:58 PM	#13
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,644	D'oh! Sorry about forgetting, Eriq. I tried to check my e-mails to see who had sent me the files, but my mailbox is so cluttered with old e-mails I couldn't find it. I really need to clean out that e-mailbox... By the way, I saved all the TSN pages with the end-of-season stats for the PCL (and IL and AA as well). I've got from 1928-42 and 1945-47. The data fields recorded are just about equal to what's included in Eriq's files. So, it could be possible to make the database of available seasons and stats even larger. A Lahman style database of AAA minor league players... how's that sound for a project?

12-29-2003, 05:28 PM	#16
Applecorey Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 307	So, what is the PCL league? __________________ www.boardgamegeek.com

12-29-2003, 05:38 PM	#17
Applecorey Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 307	never mind. just read about it. cool. __________________ www.boardgamegeek.com