Historical Cleveland OOTP6 Dynasty

[firstbigweekend]

With the increased realism of OOTP and a web site of my own finally to tinker with, I decided it was time to try a historical league. Deciding to go back to the beginning of sorts, my league will start with the 1901 season and continued into the current day and beyond.

I will begin as the general manager of the Cleveland franchise, attempting to turn the team into a powerhouse as fairly and quickly as possible (no cheating of the computer-managed teams, I promise). Under another name, I will write a monthly press release about the team that will also include notes about the rest of the league (such as awards and big trades). I will also write other releases (such as a preseason/free-agency note) as needed. The releases will be posted here, and the link to the league homepage can be found in my sig.

For this league, I'm using the Ankit database as well as the Ankit stadiums and Tiger Fan's face packs. For the stadiums, I put each 1901 team in its correct park, or at least as close to it as possible. I'm also using the official Baseball Maelstrom logos, which are set to whatever team ends up being correct (i.e. the 1901 Baltimore team has the Yankees logo).

I will be expanding and moving teams in a historically correct manner, and each new team will receive the proper logo and stadium (or, again, as close as possible). Expansion teams will be put at the top of the amateur draft, but there will be no filling of their minor league rosters (unless I find a quick and easy way of doing it). This is to make life on an expansion team more difficult, which I believe it should be (especially since they'll be getting MLB-ready players in each draft.

Other settings for the league will include:

• All financials (salaries, 40-man roster, Rule 5 Draft, etc.) will be on.
• Injuries will be off for the first few years, though I will be filling the minors with fictional players at first.
• The amateur draft will be at the beginning of the season to allow players to enter in their real rookie years.
• A players value will be 40%/30%/20%/10% (Ratings/current year/previous year/two years ago).
• Trade AI will be set to "Neutral," and both trading difficulty and frequency will be set to "Normal."
• All league records and the records of my team will begin with the 1901 season. Rookie records must be by a player with no previous MLB experience, though.
• Era settings will follow the correct years, but the DH will be used in both leagues (for the sake of being even). Rotation sizes may be tweaked a bit as well.
• Seasons will be 162 games long, just as they are currently.
• Individual awards will have a generic name for the first 30 years of the league, after which time they will be named after the best appropriate player (i.e. "Most Outstanding Rookie" will become "Joe Schmo Award" after the 1930 season, with Joe Schmo being the best rookie between 1901 and 1930).
• There will be no salary cap to begin with and the money cap will be set at $20 million, but both may be changed in an attempt to make the game more even.

As you can see, this isn't set up to be historically accurate, but more of an alternate universe where Babe Ruth may end up the career leader in homers or he may suffer a career-ending injury in the 1916 season and never make another leader board. Speaking of Ruth, I plan on letting him enter the league however the database includes him, and then importing "George Ruth" as a hitter in 1918 or 1919.

Any comments or suggestions from you all, now or in the future, are certainly appreciated.

[theasfl]

thats one of the most detailed write-ups to prelude a dynasty thread Ive seen in awhile

[firstbigweekend]

thats one of the most detailed write-ups to prelude a dynasty thread Ive seen in awhile

Probably my journalist background coming through. Just wait until you see the monthly releases

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — 1901 Preseason
By Chauncey St. John, AP writer

Newly hired Cleveland general manager Levi Chronister wasted no time putting his mark on the Blues in his first day on the job. Chronister made seven trades and four off-the-field signings in a 24-hour span, bringing youth and cash to a team which badly needed both.

Cleveland's first deal of the day was a five-player swap with Cincinnati. The Blues send CF Ollie Pickering and MR Dick Braggins to the Reds for RF Sam Crawford, SP Doc Newton, SS Tommy Corcoran and $150,000.

Chronister finished off the rehauling of the Blues' outfield with two more deals: 1B Candy LaChance and LF Jack McCarthy to the Philadelphia A's for 1B Harry Davis, LF Matty McIntyre and CL Billy Millgan; and SP Bill Hart and SS Danny Shay to the Washington Senators for CF Watty Lee, 3B prospect Donald Azar and $2.55 million.

"With these three deals our outfield went from an average age of just under 33 years to an average age of just over 20," Chronister said at the first of the team's two press conferences Wednesday. "We got younger at other positions as well, we brought in a lot of potential and we got some cash. These deals were no-brainers."

With the outfield taken care of, Chronister shifted his focus to the infield with his next three trades:

• C Bob Wood, CL Gus Weyhing and SP Ed Scott to Baltimore for SP Jerry Nops, C Roger Bresnahan, 3B George Rohe and $195,000.
• 2B Erve Beck to Milwaukee for 2B Billy Gilbert and $2.25 million.
• 2B Bill Hallman, SS Frank Scheibeck and CF Jimmy McAleer to Milwaukee in a separate deal for 2B Eric Wright and $1.45 million

"I really didn't want to get rid of Erve," Chronister said, "but we think we got a really fine young player in Billy and a nice chunk of change. The deal with Baltimore also will help our pitching staff, as Roger will be a great addition behind the plate."

The Blues' final trade was a swap of starting pitchers. Cleveland sent Bill Hofefer to the Philadelphia Phillies for John Dunn and $95,000.

"I know we traded away a lot of talent today, but I'm sure our fans understand that we're looking to the future," Chronister said. "Not just the end of this year, but the end of the next few years and even the next few decades. Both the young talent and money that we acquired today will help us with those goals."

Cleveland also made some moves in its coaching staff, naming Wilbur Nether as its new manager and replacing scott Emmitt Campo with Edward Gremillion. Richard Richie (AAA) and Michael St. Pierre (AA) were hired as minor league managers.

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Updates — April 1901
By Chauncey St. John, AP Writer

CLEVELAND — The Blues made numerous moves before the season started, and so far none of them have paid off.

Cleveland sits at 9-19 after a month, dead last in the American League and nine games behind first-place Boston. The Blues are in the bottom half of the major leagues in every major statistical category other than home runs allowed (third). Don't let that stat fool you, though, as Cleveland is in the bottom three in every other pitching category, including dead last in both walks and runs allowed.

The Blues' hitting isn't much better. The team is ninth in batting average, 10th in runs scored, 14th in both walks and stolen bases, and next-to-last in home runs.

"I have to take full responsibility for the lack of success following my moves," Cleveland general manager Levi Chronister said. "I'd love to use the 'It's early' excuse, but it's far more than that. We have a lot of young guys who have a chance to be great in a few years, but we don't have many guys who are star in the bigs right now, and we're probably playing a few who could use a bit more time in the minors."

Only one of Chronister's preseason acquisitions is hitting above .300 — catcher Roger Bresnahan at .316. Four other newcomers (Harry Davis, Watty Lee, George Rohe and Matty McIntyre) are hitting better than .275, but leadoff man Sam Crawford is hitting just .257, though he has stolen 12 bases.

Cleveland's three new starting pitchers had rough first months with the team, especially Jerry Nops, who went 0-6 with a 7.55 ERA. Doc Newton won three games, but lost five and finished April with a 4.83 ERA. John Dunn finished 2-4 with a 4.13 ERA, the lowest among Blues starters.

Earl Moore was the lone bright spot among the starters, picking up four wins despite an ERA of 4.22. Jack Bracken (1.50 ERA) and Bill Cristall (0.96 ERA) pitched well out of the bullpen.

In other news around the league, Philadelphia Athletic's second baseman Nap Lajoie (.411, 2 HR, 31 RBI) and Pittsburgh first baseman Kitty Bransfield (.368, 0, 18) were named batters of the month. Boston's Cy Young (7-1, 3.68 ERA) and Philadelphia's Bill Duggleby (7-0, 2.00) were named pitchers of the month.

Click here for more league news

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — May 1901
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Things got a little better for the Blues in May as they won 10 games and improved to 19-36 overall. Of course, Cleveland's still in last place and 15 games out of first in the American League.

"We're starting to improve," general manager Levi Chronister said, "but each and every game we're still struggling far too much to win. I'm sure this team just needs some more time to get into rhythm."

Chronister may be on to something, as the Blues finished May on a three-game winning streak, defeating the Washington Senators in the final game of a three-game series and then took two straighth from the Chicago White Sox.

Cleveland's strong finish mirrored that of starting pitcher Jerry Nops, who fell to 0-10 before winning two of his final three starts of the month. Nops and Doc Newton are tied for the league lead with 11 losses each.

Harry McNeal continued his impressive relief work, picking up two wins out of the bullpen. He currently leads the team with a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings.

Rightfielder Sam Crawford rebounded well in May, hitting .333 with a .352 on-base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage (highlighted by five doubles and three homers). Third baseman Bill Bradley is still tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .351 through two months, good enough for third best in the American League.

In the minors — AAA left fielder Jeffrey Schank is moving up the organizational ladder quickly. After hitting .359 with a 1.478 OPS in 29 games in AA, Schank hit .289 with a 1.040 OPS in a month at AAA. He could soon push his way into the big-league lineup at designated hitter, moving Bradley to third base and George Roche back to the bench.

AA catcher Brian Talley also is showing rapid improvement. Talley is hitting .300 with a .870 OPS through 53 games, and could be backing up Roger Bresnahan in Cleveland by next year.

Third baseman Donald Azar, picked up from Washington before the season, is hitting just .221 in A ball, but has 29 home runs in 55 games. Cleveland's scout, Edward Gremillion, doesn't think he's ready to move up yet, but Chronister said he pull the trigger on his own if Azar keeps hitting the ball out of the park at that rate.

Around the league — Brookyln, sixth in the National League at 23-32 and 14 games behind Philadelphia, made a blockbuster trade with the Boston Americans on May 18. Brooklyn sent right fielder Tom McCreery to Boston for shortstop and No. 2-overall prospect Neil Romans. One of the few four-star prospects in the game, Romans could play second for Brooklyn and team with shortstop John Gochnauer in the middle of the diamond for many years. The move makes less sense for Boston so far, as McCreery is currently platooning with Edward St. Laurent.

Baltimore and Philadelphia (N) swept the player of the month awards for May. Baltimore's Ed Scott (5-1, 1.87 ERA) and Mike Donlin (.359, .389 OBP, 30 RBI) were named pitcher and batter of the month for the American League. Philadelphia's Al Orth (6-1, 0.73, 3 CG) and Ed Delahanty (.423, 2 HR, 15 RBI) earned the honors in the NL.

[firstbigweekend]

To save time for myself, I'll be posting updates every two months in game time from now on. I also will no longer upload league files every month, but probably each night as I go to bed or some similar time when I'll have about 30 minutes to let my computer do nothing but upload. Each new update after files have been uploaded will be noted as such.

[firstbigweekend]

After reading Tiger Fan's thread about his fictional league, I decided to tweak my settings for Player Evaluation to 40/20/30/10, so that anyone with a slow start won't be hurt (and vice versa). I will try to remember to change it back after the All-Star break, but no promises

[sporr]

Glad you like the Maelstrom logos.

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — June/July 1901
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Finally fed up with the losing, Cleveland general manager Levi Chronister really started looking to the future at the beginning of June.

Chronister dealt Doc Newton, who had come over from Cincinnati before the season, and shortstop Russ Hall back to the Reds for 21-year-old starter Jonathan Paynter and $75,000. At the time of the trade, Newton had an AL-worst 11 losses and had refused a contract extension with the Blues, citing his desire to play for a winning team next season.

"I really thought Doc had a bright future here and could have turned into a star at the top of our rotation in a couple years," Chronister said after the deal. "Unfortunately, he didn't want to stick around through the building years, so we dealt him as a favor and so we could get something rather than just lose him on to free agency."

Vernon Duffield was called up from AAA Buffalo to replace Newton in the rotation. The 29-year-old Duffield was 8-1 with a 3.39 ERA in 10 starts for the Bisons. Paynter was sent to A Kinston, though Chronister said he expected Paynter to be promoted to AA Akron before the end of the season.

Newton wouldn't sign an extension at the beginning of the month, but two Blues players did — right fielder Sam Crawford and starting pitcher Earl Moore. Crawford signed a three-year deal worth $8 million a year, and Moore inked a three-yeare contract worth $2 million a season.

"We may have paid more than we can afford right now for Sam," Chronister said, "but there's no question we want him to be a cornerstone of our franchise. I hope this financial committment proves that to him and that he's more open to discussing a long-term contract during the 1904 season.

"Earl's extension was easy to agree to. He's young, talented and just getting better. We got him for three more years at barely over half a million extra per year. We think we came out smelling like roses on this one."

Trying to shake up the team a bit more, Chronister promoted left fielder Jeffrey Schank on June 11. Cleveland manager Wilbur Nether juggled the lineup, putting Schank in left, moving Matty McIntyre to center, Watty Lee to right, Crawford to DH and Bill Bradley to 3B. George Rohe went to the bench, where he'll be a super-sub in the infield.

All of the team's moves finally panned out in late June when the Blues started a nine-game winning streak that carried over into the beginning of July. Part of the team's success could be attributed to Schank, who started slow upon reaching the majors but hit .377/.417/.636 with five homers and 19 RBI in July.

Duffield also played a big role during Cleveland's winning streak, striking out a total of nine batters in two complete game victories and earning player of the week honors July 5.

In the minors: Catcher Brian Tally continued his strong hitting in Akron and was called up to Buffalo on June 11. Tally has played well in his month and a half in New York and is likely to see action in Cleveland before the end of the season. Bill Morell moved into the starting catcher position in Akron.

Around the league: The American League won the inaugural All-Star game, 5-3, on June 30. Baltimore's Mike Donlin was the player of the game, going 2-of-3 with a home run. Cleveland first baseman Harry Davis made the game as a defensive replacement late, and Blues closer Steven Fava also was named to the team but did not pitch. Fava leads the AL with five saves through July.

June batters of the month: Washington's Sam Dugan (.374, 1 HR, 25 RBI) and Cincinnati's Jake Beckley (.429, 3 HR, 23 RBI).

June pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (6-1, 2.08 ERA) and Brooklyn's Doc McJames (5-1, 2.00)

July batters of the month: Philadelphia A's Nap Lajoie (.390, .648 SLG, 20 RBI) and Philadelphia Phillies' Ed Delahanty (.370, .590 SLG, 23 RBI).

July pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (6-1, 2.00 ERA) and Pittsburgh's Bill Donovan (6-1, 1.60; Brooklyn traded Donovan to Pittsburgh for SP Deacon Phillippe on July 29).

League files have been updated.

[firstbigweekend]

Glad you like the Maelstrom logos.

Yes, I do very much. Thanks for creating them; I much prefer running a league that has its graphics in order than one that doesn't (my current lack of mug shots notwithstanding).

[NYJuggalo45]

excellent detailed writeups and reports. will be looking forward to what type of dynasty you build, running the same team for 100+ seasons. i'm assuming your going to draft players rather than assign them? that will definitely give you more flexibility in creating your own history with Cleveland. Good luck, will be reading

[firstbigweekend]

excellent detailed writeups and reports. will be looking forward to what type of dynasty you build, running the same team for 100+ seasons. i'm assuming your going to draft players rather than assign them? that will definitely give you more flexibility in creating your own history with Cleveland. Good luck, will be reading

Thanks. And yes, I will be drafting players rather than assigning them, exactly for the reason you stated.

Thanks for asking about that as I had forgot to put it in my dynasty write-up.

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — Aug./Sept./Oct. 1901
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Mercifully, the 1901 season finally ended for the Cleveland Blues on Oct. 1.

Cleveland finished 73-89, a great improvement after going 19-36 in the first two months of the season, but still 28 games behind first-place Baltimore. The Blues finished ahead of both the Detroit Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League.

"After May I didn't think we'd finish within 15 games of .500, so I'm pretty pleased with our play over the final four months," general manager Levi Chronister said, "especially finishing out of the basement. I hope our relatively strong finish can carry over to next season and beyond."

Blues highlights in the final two months included a two-hit shutout of Baltimore by Vernon Duffield (Aug. 5) and a four-hit blanking of Detroit by Jerry Nops (Aug. 30).

Offensively, catcher Roger Bresnahan was named player of the week Aug. 2 after hitting .563 with two home runs and eighth RBI in the previous week. Brian Tally was promoted from Buffalo on Aug. 9 to backup Bresnahan and hit .378 in 45 at-bats after his call-up. Paddy Livingston was demoted to Single-A Kinston with Tally's promotion, and middle reliever Roger Mortenson was called up fill the position opened by the trade of SS Russ Hall on June 1.

Though there wasn't much success as a team, some Cleveland players put up good individual numbers.

• Right fielder Sam Crawford tied for third in the American League with 14 home runs (tied with Nap Lajoie), set a league record with 636 at-bats, tied for fifth with 282 total bases and finished ninth in slugging (.443).
• First baseman Harry Davis set an AL-record with 39 doubles. Bresnahan tied for second in the league with 38 two-baggers, and Bill Bradley tied for fifth with 36.
• Davis also tied for eighth in extra-base hits (54).
• Bresnahan won the Platinum Glove at catcher.
• Closer Steven Fava set an American League-record with eight saves. Middle reliever Harry McNeal tied Jake Volz of Boston for second with three.
• Starting pitcher Earl Moore was second in K/9 IP (3.17), sixth in strikeouts (105), seventh in quality starts (24) and ninth in runners/9 IP (12.32).
• Starting pitcher Vernon Duffield was first in K/9 IP (3.74) and seventh in strikeouts (102).
• John Dunn was 10th in ERA (3.60)

Cleveland had its share of problems on the mound as well, though:

• Duffield gave up a league-high 30 home runs (10 more than Washington's Bill Carrick).
• Starting pitcher Jerry Nops tied for the fourth-most losses (23) and was third in most runs allowed.
• Duffield, Moore and Nops were sixth, seventh and eighth in most walks allowed.

Things were far brighter in Cleveland's minor league system, as all three affiliates won their leagues:

• The Buffalo Bisons went 83-55, topping Boston's affiliate by two games.
• The Akron Aeros had the second-best record in the entire minor-league system, going 90-48 and beating Washington's affiliate by 13 games.
• The Kinston Indians went 83-55, defeating Baltimore's affiliate by three games.
• Cleveland finished with the top minor-league system, including two Top 10 players (third baseman Donald Azar was fourth and Tally was 10th) and three other top-25 players.

In the minors: Starting pitcher Jesse Johnson was promoted from Akron to Buffalo on Aug. 23.

Around the league: Philadelphia Phillies hurler Red Donahue threw the league's first no-hitter Sept. 21, striking out four against Cincinnati.

Also, previously unmentioned was Cy Young's 300th career win. He finished the season with a league-high 33 victories and now has 319 for his career.

Also previously unmentioned was the trade of starting pitchers — wunderkind Christy Mathewson went from New York to Pittsburgh for Jesse Tannehill in late July.

August batters of the month: Boston Americans' Jimmy Collins (.408, 4 HR, 26 RBI) and Chicago Orphans' Topsy Hartsel (.489, .551 OBP, 18 RBI)

August pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (7-1, 1.75) and Pittsburgh's Rube Wadell (6-0, 1.84)

September batters of the month: Baltimore's James Pirtle (.404, 2 HR, 24 RBI) and Brooklyn's Jimmy Sheckard (.388, .753 SLG, 24 RBI)

September pitchers of the month: Milwaukee's Pete Dowling (6-0, 3.50) and Pittsburgh's Bill Donovan (3-3, 0.85, three complete-game shutouts).

Philadelphia, which won the National League with a 104-58 record, defeated Baltimore in the World Series. The Phillies won the first three games before the Orioles stormed back to tie the series at 3-all, but Philadelphia won the title with a 9-3 victory.

1901 Most Outstanding Batter
AL — Philadelphia's Nap Lajoie (.378, 14 HR, 113 RBI, .954 OPS)
NL — Philadelphia's Ed Delahanty (.377, 13 HR, 98 RBI, .994 OPS)

1901 Most Outstanding Pitcher
AL — Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (32-12, 2.38 ERA, 94 K, 77 BB)
NL — Pittsburgh's Rube Waddell (28-12, 2.72 ERA, 248 K, 108 BB)

1901 Most Outstanding Rookie
AL — Philadelphia's Eddie Plank (23-21, 3.49, 113 K, 114 BB)
NL — Chicago's Topsy Hartsel* (.362, 10 HR, 104 RBI, .924 OPS)

* OOTP6 considers Hartsel a rookie, though he had more than 200 previous major-league at-bats. I would consider Cincinatti's Gary Eckenrode (as far as I can tell a player created when I filled the minor leagues) as the real MOR. Eckenrode hit .277 and led the NL in both home runs (15) and RBI (114).

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — 1902 Preseason
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — After a sixth-place finish in the American League last season, the Cleveland Blues were in desperate need of help at many positions.

Despite this, Cleveland general manager Levi Chronister signed no free agents, deciding to go into the 1902 season with his returning players and draft picks.

"There was almost no one on the free-agent market who truly interested us," Chronister said. "We had hoped to get Ed Doheny, but he quickly signed an offer slightly better than ours without giving us a chance to counter. Everyone else was too old or too expensive to fit in our future plans, or both."

Doheny was leaning toward the Blues and their offer ($2.15 million per year for four years) on the third day of the free-agent signing period, but instead signed with the St. Louis Browns (formerly the Milwaukee Brewers) for $2.26 million per year for four years.

The Blues did pick up some soon-to-be-helpful players in the March 2 amateur draft, namely starting pitcher Bob Wicker in the first round. Wicker went 12-4 with a 2.22 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 133.2 innings at Colorado State last season and rated at a 64 on the potential scale.

"I had a really hard time deciding between Bob and center fielder Homer Smoot," Chronister said, "but we really needed another starting pitcher more than another outfielder. We're going to try to get Wicker a couple starts in Buffalo before bringing him up to the majors, but he's definitely on the fast track right now."

In the next four rounds Cleveland took shortstop Russ Hulswitt, starter Charlie Shields, third baseman Jimmy Burke and starter Harry Kane. Hulswitt, Shields and Burke will begin their careers at Buffalo, but all three are expected to make the Blues by the end of the season. Kane, taken because he was just 18 years old, will start at Single-A Kinston.

Off the field, Cleveland signed two coaches and a scout. Matthew Diener was hired as a scout, replacing Edward Gremillion, and James Vogl (Double-A Akron) and Douglas Parnell (Kinston) were hired as minor league managers, replacing Michael St. Pierre and Patrick Stroup.

In the minors: Cleveland lost closer Billy Milligan to Washington in the Rule 5 Draft. Milligan had come to Cleveland with first baseman and Harry Davis and left fielder Matt McIntyre from Philadelphia before the 1901 season.

"That's completely my fault," Chronister said. "I meant to put Milligan on the 40-man roster before the draft, but I flat out forgot. That won't be a problem in the future, I swear."

Around the league: The Chicago Orphans changed their name to the Cubs, and the Cincinnati Reds began playing in the Palace of the Fans.

Other famous players taken in the amateur draft were Addie Joss (No. 1 overall by the New York Giants and already the team's ace) and Joe Tinker (fifth pick of the second round to St. Louis Cardinals, now in AAA and learning second base because 28-year-old Bobby Wallace is already at shortstop).

League files have been updated (minus team name/city changes).

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — April/May 1902
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Just a few days after saying most of his draft picks would spend their first few months as professionals in Triple-A Buffalo, Cleveland Blues general manager Levi Chronister made two trades that opened up roster spots for three of those rookies.

Chronister sent shorstop Tommy Corcoran and starter Jerry Nops to New York for starting pitcher Win Mercer and $450,000 on April 1, and later that day traded SP Vernon Duffield, and shortstops Jim McGuire and Frank Genins to St. Louis (A) for RF William Hallman and $50,000.

"I really thought we'd start the season with those guys at Buffalo," Chronister said, "but after taking another look at our roster I realized they were better than the guys we had, and being cheaper didn't hurt either."

The two trades made the Blues about $2 million between the included cash and the savings on salaries. The deal with the Giants also opened up the starting shortstop spot for second-round pick Rudy Hulswitt, and the swap with the Browns allowed first-rounder Bob Wicker to move into the rotation and fourth-rounder Jimmy Burke to become a back-up infiedler.

Cleveland's shake-up worked early, as the Blues went 15-13 for their first-ever winning April. Cleveland was just three games behind Boston in the American League after a month.

Wicker, working from the fourth spot in the rotation, won his first two starts, including a six-hit shutout of Philadelphia (A) in his major-league debut. He led the lead with a 1.00 ERA two weeks into the season, and finished April as the team's best pitcher, going 4-2 with a 3.40 ERA and an AL-best 25 strikeouts in 53 innings.

John Dunn also threw a shutout for the Blues in April, blanking the Detroit Tigers on six hits April 28.

Cleveland had success at the plate as well, especially Jeffrey Schank. The 27-year-old leftfielder was honored as the AL's best player in the season's opening week, hitting .444 with three homers and eight RBI. Schank also won the AL player of the month award for April, hitting .364 with four homers and 19 RBI.

Schank finished the first two months of the season at .338/.420/.542 with a league-leading 19 homers and .962 OPS. He was second in the American League with 38 RBI, three behind Boston's Buck Freeman.

"Jeffrey's leaps and bounds ahead of where we thought he could be," Chronister said. "We thought he'd be an everyday leftfielder for us, but he's turned out to be a star. We couldn't be happier with him."

Cleveland's strong pitching carried over into the first two weeks of May, as Mercer, Dunn and Earl Moore each threw a shutout. Mercer gave up just six hits against Washington on May 3, Dunn allowed five hits to Baltimore on May 10 and Moore held Philadelphia to two hits May 13.

The Blues struggled at the plate though, resulting in a 12-15 mark in May, giving them a 27-28 record through the first two months and dropping them seven games behind Boston (34-21).

Cleveland's major hitting highlight in May was Rudy Hulswitt's 5-for-6 peformance against St. Louis (A) on May 22. The rookie had five singles and 6 RBI in an 11-2 win over the Browns.

Hulswitt finished May hitting just .242 with a homer and 30 RBI, though he was tied for third on the team with 15 stolen bases.

"We may have rushed Rudy a little bit," Chronister said, "but I hope that his performance against the Browns is a sign of things to come."

Wicker was 7-4 with a 3.40 ERA through May, and is second in the AL with 38 strikeouts. Burke, used sparingly in a backup role, was hitless in seven at-bats.

In the minors: Through the first month of the season, third baseman Donald Azar was hitting just .172 with two homers in Single-A Kinston. Azar, who hit. 251/.292/.631 with 61 homers last season for the Indians, improved his numbers to .229, 12 HR and 24 RBI by the end of May.

Charlie Shields, Cleveland's third-round pick this season, was 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 44 innings at Triple-A Buffalo in April. He ran his record to 8-0 in May before finally suffering his first loss. His numbers after the first two months: 8-1, 1.86 ERA, 75 strikeouts in 87 innings.

The Blues' fifth-round pick, Harry Kane, is 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 10 starts at Single-A Kinston, striking out just under a batter an inning.

Cleveland signed catcher Tom Leahy to a minor-league deal as veteran insurance April 12 and sent him to Buffalo.

Through May the Buffalo Bisons (38-17) lead Triple-A by four games, the Akron Aeros (38-17) lead Double-A by five games, and the Kinston Indians (33-22) trail Baltimore's affiliate by just a game.

Around the league: Boston (A) led the American League with an 18-10 mark though April, and Brooklyn and New York were tied atop the NL with identical 16-12 records.

Cincinnati's Jack Sutthoff threw a no-hitter against New York on May 5. Sutthoff struck out six Giants and walked just one.

Philadelphia Phillies hurler Happy Townsend one-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 15, striking out four. Kitty Bransfield broke up the no-hit bid with a two-out single in the sixth inning.

Washington closer Billy Milligan, picked up from Cleveland in the Rule 5 Draft, leads the majors with four saves.

April batters of the month: Schank and Philadelphia (N)'s Ed Delahanty (.370, .580 SLG, 16 RBI)

April pitchers of the month: Boston's Cy Young (7-0, 1.00 ERA) and Brooklyn's Deacon Phillippe (5-2, 1.67)

May batters of the month: Washington's Sam Dungan (.358, 1 HR, 16 RBI) and Philadelphia (N)'s Ed Delahanty (.413, 1 HR, 18 RBI).

May pitchers of the month: St. Louis (A)'s Pete Dowling (5-3, 1.52 ERA, three complete game shutouts) and Pittsburgh's Jack Chesbro (4-1, 1.12 ERA in 56.1 innings).

League files have been updated.

[NYJuggalo45]

good job grabbing a P in the draft, your hitting did enough to win games last year but your pitching just didnt cut it. I'm expecting him to be up soon and helping the staff out.

Probably a good idea to save some money in FA. If there's no player you like, makes no sense to spend $ to fill spots. I do that on occasion and kick myself for it later.

Looking forward to 1902

[firstbigweekend]

good job grabbing a P in the draft, your hitting did enough to win games last year but your pitching just didnt cut it. I'm expecting him to be up soon and helping the staff out.

Thanks. And good call on him being called up soon

Also, a quick note: after not spending money on free agents because no one was suited for the team (not because I was being a miser), I got rid of the team cash cap. Once the talent level around the league increases to a point where it's impossible to keep cheap young guys forever and refuse to sign free agents, I'll re-implement it.

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — June/July 1902
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Though Cleveland Blues general manager Levi Chronister usually tries to stockpile young talent, he traded away his best prospect in early June.

Chronister sent No. 6-overall prospect 3B Donald Azar to Baltimore for 25-year-old 2B Danny Murphy, the 15th pick in the 1902 draft.

"Honestly, I had been looking to trade Donald for a few weeks," Chronister said. "He didn't seem to be progressing in Kinston (Cleveland's Single-A affiliate) and I was contemplating a deal. Baltimore stepped in and made an offer I couldn't refuse."

After accepting Baltimore's offer, Cleveland dealt 3B George Rohe and MR Bill Cristall to Washington for CL Billy Milligan and $50,000, making room for Murphy on the Blues' roster.

Murphy took over at second base for the Blues, bumping Billy Gilbert to a reserve role. Flourishing with his new team, Murphy hit .289/.320/.411 in June, with six walks and no strikeouts and was one of five Blues named to the American League All-Star team.

Joining Murphy on the AL roster were catcher Roger Bresnahan, first baseman Harry Davis, leftfielder Jeffrey Schank and rightfielder Sam Crawford. All but Crawford started for the American League.

In the June 30 All-Star game, the National League defeated the American League, 9-3. Cincinnati's Jake Beckley was named player of the game after going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Murphy went 2-for-3 with two runs, and Crawford, who pinch hit for Murphy in the ninth inning, was 1-for-1 with a run scored.

Being named to the All-Star team wasn't Crawford's only honor of the month. He was also named the AL player of June after hitting .333 with a homer and 19 RBI in 102 at-bats.

Other June highlights for the Blues included Schank's second player of the week award after he hit .522 with five homers and 10 RBI in the second week of the month, and Win Mercer's five-hit shutout of Detroit on June 19.

Starting pitcher Earl Moore continued Cleveland's semi-regular player of the week honors by receiving the award for the third week of July. Moore was 2-0, including a five-hit shutout of Detroit, with a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings.

Despite Moore's good work off the mound and first-round pick Bob Wicker's continued success, Cleveland was still looking for another potential front-line starter. The Blues lucked into just what they were looking for when Washingto put George Mullin on the trading block in late July.

Chronister packaged SP Win Mercer, SP John Dunn and RF William Hallman together for Mullin, CF Homer Smoot and $3.5 million. The July 26 trade seemed even more of a coup for Cleveland when Chronister revealed that not only had he considered taking Smoot over Wicker in the draft, but that he had thought about taking Mullin over shortstop Rudy Hulswitt in the second round.

"I'm not sure how we pulled that one off, but honestly, I'm pretty sure we fleeced them," Chronister said. "It's basically like we went back in time and picked up an extra first- and second-round pick in the draft.

"We lowered our payroll by a bit more than $3 million, picked up that much in cash, got two good prospects who can help us now and opened up a spot in our rotation for Charlie Shields. This may go down as the best trade in Blues history."

Shields, Cleveland's third-round pick last year, was 14-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Buffalo. In 162 innings he struck out 144 batters and walked just 41, pitching 12 complete games and one shutout.

Smoot took over for Matt McIntyre in center field, hitting leadoff against righties. McIntyre replaced Hallman as the first outfielder off the bench.

The Blues ended July 53-55, the closest they've been to .500 at the end of a month in their short history. Even with that record mark, they were still 12 games behind Boston in the American League.

In the minors: Middle reliever Jim Miller was promoted from Single-A Kinston to Double-A Akron on July 19. Four days later MR Ron Yee was demoted from Akron to Kinston.

Around the league: Philadelphia signed outfielder Ed Delahanty a four-year extension for his current salary of $10.62 million a year, keeping the 34-year-old leftfielder the fifth-highest paid player in the majors.

June batters of the month: Crawford and Brooklyn's Jimmy Sheckard (.318, .625 SLG, 23 RBI).

June pitchers of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Eddie Plank (5-2, 1.60 ERA) and Brooklyn's Ham Iburg (6-1, 1.15 ERA).

July batters of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Nap Lajoie (.358, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and St. Louis (N)'s Jesse Burkett (.442, 2 HR, 13 RBI).

July pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (6-1, 2.03 ERA) and Cincinnati's Charlie Case (3-0, 1.00 ERA)

[firstbigweekend]

Cleveland Blues Update — Aug./Sept./Oct. 1902
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — After finishing July just short of the break-even mark, Cleveland went into a tailspin in August. The Blues had a 12-game losing streak in the first half of the month, and went 9-19 overall, falling to 62-74 and 18 games behind Boston.

Things weren't much better for Cleveland in September, as the Blues went 9-16 and fell another nine games behind the Americans. Cleveland won its lone game in October and finished 72-90, one game worse than the 1901 season.

"I don't know what happened those final two months," Cleveland general manager Levi Chronister said. "We were doing so well in June and July, and then the bottom just dropped out. I don't know if it was that our young guys weren't strong and conditioned enough or something else entirely. I just can't believe it."

Despite Cleveland's poor record over the final two months, the team did a few nice pitching performances during that time.

Bob Wicker pitched a four-hit shutout against Chicago (A) on August 2, and blanked Detroit on six hits Sept. 5. Cleveland's first-round pick before the season, Wicker finished the season 18-14 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 starts.

"I'm very pleased with Bob's showing," Chronister said. "There were few things from this season that I'll look back on fondly, but his gutty performance of jumping straight to the majors from college is definitely at the top of that list."

From August 19 to Sept. 9, George Mullin had a five-game winning streak with a 1.00 ERA, with all five wins being complete games. Mullin was named player of the week August 30 after going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and seven strikeouts in two complete-game victories.

His winning streak came to an end Sept. 13 against Philadelphia (A), when he gave up six runs in eight innings.

Win Mercer, traded to Washington in late July as part of a deal for Mullin and center fielder Homer Smoot, pitched his third shutout of the season Sept. 2, blanking Cleveland on two hits.

"Well, the ball when where I wanted it. I was able to hit the corners with all my pitches," Mercer said, not mentioning whether he had any resentment against the Blues because of the trade.

Charlie Shileds, called up in late July after the trade with the Senators, struggled in his time with the Blues, going 3-13 with a 4.80 ERA in 16 starts. Shield did end his season on a high note, though, shutting out Chicago (A) on three hits Sept. 29.

Left fielder Jeffrey Schank played himself out of Most Outstanding Batter competition with a .237/.273/.355 line in September, but did set team record with 50 steals. He finished the season at .294/.360/.463.

Sam Crawford set the Cleveland single-season record for triples with his 13th of the year Sept. 1 against Washington. He finished the season with 17 triples, an American Leauge record.

Other team records set included Danny Murphy's 39 doubles and Earl Moore's 23 losses.

"This wasn't where we thought we would end up this season," Chronister said. "Not even close. I can't even take solace in the fact we'll have the third pick in next year's draft. This was a team that should have finished in the first half of the league, and we didn't come close."

In the minors: Triple-A Buffalo finished the season 78-60, four games behind Boston. Double-A Akron Aeros finished 88-50, six games ahead of Chicago, and Single-A Kinston went 83-55, four games worse than first-place Baltimore.

Third baseman Walter Sarratt tore up Triple-A, hitting .367/.418/1.013 with 96 HR and 181 RBI in 134 games. Blocked by Bill Bradley in Cleveland, Sarratt may be out of luck trying to find a role with the Blues.

Buffalo also had an outstanding performance by left fielder Julius Jefferson, who hit .325/.397/.837 with 81 HR and 154 RBI in 137 games. Like Sarratt, though, Jefferson's route to Cleveland is blocked by younger players with better all-around games.

Around the league: New York's George Davis picked up his 2,000th career hit August 29 with a first-inning single against Cowboy Jones of the the St. Louis Cardinals.

Boston (A) won the American League with a 98-64 record, finishing four games ahead of Chicago (A). Pittsburgh won the National League with a 91-71 record, three games better than Philadelphia (N). The Pirates and Americans split the first four games of the World Series, but Pittsburgh won the final two and the championship.

Christy Mathewson pitched the Pirates to victory in Game 6, giving up just one run and five hits in eight innings, and Pittsburgh won Game 7 with a run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Jack Chesbro went all the way for the Pirates, giving up just three runs and seven hits in 13 innings. Bob Kent drove home the winning run with a double.

August batters of the month: Detroit's Ducky Holmes (.386, 2 HR, 24 RBI) and Cincinnati's Gary Eckenrode (.385, 4 HR, 19 RBI).

August pitchers of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Red Donahue (6-1, 2.03 ERA) and Pittsburgh's Christy Mathewson (7-0, 1.98 ERA).

September batters of the month: Chicago (A)'s Sam Mertes (.364, 1 HR, 24 RBI) and Cincinnati's Jake Beckley (.418, 1 HR, 20 RBI).

September pitchers of the month: Boston (A)'s Nig Cuppy (5-0, 0.80 ERA) and Brooklyn's Ham Iburg (5-2, 1.48 ERA).

1902 Most Outstanding Batter
Philadelphia (A)'s Nap Lajoie (.338, 7 HR, 53 2BH, 90 runs, 109 RBI) and Philadelphia (N)'s Elmer Flick (.306/.365/.442, 8 HR, 117 RBI).

1902 Most Outstanding Pitcher
Boston (A)'s Cy Young (29-13, 2.30 ERA, 107 K in 391 IP, 42 CG, 6 SHO) and Brooklyn's Ham Iburg (25-18, 2.56 ERA, 41 CG, 7 SHO, 115 K in 387 IP).

1902 Most Outstsanding Rookie
Chicago (A)'s Rube Kisinger (23-19, 3.60 ERA, 78 strikeouts in 388 IP) and Iburg.

League files have been updated through 1903 preseason, a team report of which will be posted shortly.