WarDay and New Major League Baseball

[RMc]

(This story is based on the novel "WarDay", about a theoretical "limited" nuclear war set in the future year of 1988 [the book was written in 1983]. The basic setup is from the book, with a few modifications of my own...)

On October 20, 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 in Oakland to clinch the 1988 World Series. No one realized it would be the last World Series for awhile: WarDay happened just eight days later, and suddenly New York, Washington, DC, San Antonio and the areas surrounding the nuclear missile bases out west were smoldering ruins.

The 1989 season was cancelled, naturally, but some of the teams managed to play exhibitions. The Yankees, Mets and Orioles were gone, of course, with many of their players among the dead. The Phillies were too close to the wreckage, and disbanded. Fallout patterns in the west precluded the participation of the Texas teams, Kansas City and St. Louis, and the horrific Cincinnati Flu meant the end of the Reds, baseball's first professional team. It seemed that Major League Baseball was gone forever.

In 1990, the five teams based in California -- untouched by the War -- formed their own league. The California Major Baseball Association then expanded to six the following year when the former Seattle Mariners relocated to Sacramento. In 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves in the "American Baseball Championship" -- nobody dared use name "World Series", especially since the California teams were obviously stronger.

Finally, in 1993, all of the remaining "major" pro baseball teams in the US came together under one banner again, as "New Major League Baseball", with two leagues and sixteen franchises:

American League: Buffalo (moved from Toronto), Boston, California, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Oakland and Sacramento.

National League: Atlanta, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles, Miami (moved from Montreal), Milwaukee (shifted from the AL), Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco.

"At last," said NMLB Commisioner Cal Ripken, Sr., who had lost both of his sons on WarDay, "we can restart the greatest tradition in American sport: the World Series."

[theasfl]

well written, although the though of the Miami Expos scares me

[Gastric ReFlux]

Cool, are mutants allowed to play?

[RMc]

The players who had contracts with the former major league teams (including the Minnesota Twins, who disbanded during spring training and released all their players) were placed in a dispersal draft, with only players the age of 30 and under eligible. (Federal regulations forbade people over 30 receiving medical treatment for radiation sickness and other post-WarDay illnesses, so no teams wanted to take a chance on anyone not already on their rosters.)

Opening Day 1993 in Boston's Fenway Park was bright and clear, and nearly 12,000 people showed up -- easily Boston's biggest baseball crowd since WarDay. They went home disappointed, though, as Mark Langston and two releivers combined on a seven-hit shutout; the California Angels won, 5-0, supported by homers by Tim Salmon and Chili Davis.

Elsewhere, Ken Griffey, Jr. blasted two homers and Randy Johnson tossed a two-hitter as Sacramento thrashed Buffalo, 12-1. Griffey dedicated the game to his father, who died the year before of cancer.

[RMc]

Standings on May 1, 1993:

American Standings
Team W L PCT GB
Detroit 19 10 .655 -
Buffalo 18 11 .621 1.0
California 17 12 .586 2.0
Chicago (A) 15 14 .517 4.0
Cleveland 13 16 .448 6.0
Sacramento 13 16 .448 6.0
Oakland 11 18 .379 8.0
Boston 10 19 .345 9.0

National Standings
Team W L PCT GB
Pittsburgh 18 11 .621 -
San Diego 17 12 .586 1.0 4
Atlanta 16 13 .552 2.0
San Francisco 16 13 .552 2.0
Los Angeles 14 15 .483 4.0
Miami 14 15 .483 4.0
Chicago (N) 11 18 .379 7.0
Milwaukee 10 19 .345 8.0

Griffey leads the majors with a .379 AVG, and the White Sox' Frank Thomas has already pounded 15 home runs, fueling speculation that the new ball being used by the NMLB is "juiced", to heighten fan interest...

[theasfl]

boo...... the Miami Expos suck... like the current Expos

[RMc]

LOS ANGELES -- Albert Belle and Chris Hoiles homered as the American League took the first baseball All-Star Game since WarDay, 4-3. The Cubs' Rick Wilkins hit a two-run smash in the sixth to tie the game 3-3 until pinch-hitter Jeffery Hammonds won it with an RBI single in the eighth.

In other baseball news, the trial of former Pittsburgh Pirate Al Martin concluded today. Martin, who attempted to defect to California after a Pirates-Dodgers game in San Francisco last month, has been found guilty and was sentenced to ten years hard labor. "We have to send a message that illegals will not be tolerated in California, even if they are ballplayers," said Governor Campbell in a news conference.
Some West Coast owners are already grumbling about reforming the CMBA, the all-California league that existed from 1990-92. "We're getting calls constantly from agents of players who want to traded here," said an unidentified San Diego Padres official. "The rest of this so-called country is a wreck. Cali's the only place to be."

The standings:

AMERICAN W L PCT GB
Chicago (A) 48 32 .600 -
Buffalo 47 33 .588 1.0
Detroit 44 36 .550 4.0
California 39 41 .487 9.0
Cleveland 39 41 .487 9.0
Sacramento 39 41 .487 9.0
Boston 35 45 .438 13.0
Oakland 29 51 .362 19.0

NATIONAL W L PCT GB
Atlanta 48 32 .600 -
Los Angeles 44 36 .550 4.0
San Francisco 43 37 .537 5.0
Miami 40 40 .500 8.0
Chicago (N) 39 41 .487 9.0
Pittsburgh 39 41 .487 9.0
San Diego 39 41 .487 9.0
Milwaukee 28 52 .350 20.0

The league's leading hitter is Alan Trammell, reborn on his native west coast, hitting .357 with the Dodgers. Trammell was traded for a group of prospects in May; it remains the only deal LA has done with a team outside California this year.

Frank Thomas of the White Sox leads the majors in home runs with 25, while the Tigers' David Cone is on top with 2.44 ERA and twelve victories.