LansdowneSt's Facegen Checklist

[LansdowneSt]

On a sunny but windy and cool September Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, Bob Trice toed the pitching rubber at Connie Mack Stadium and peered in to the catcher for his signs. With the release of his first pitch, Trice made history. He was the first person of color to play for the Philadelphia Athletics; in fact, he was the first black man ever to play for a Philadelphia major-league baseball team.

Almost a full 6½ years after the Brooklyn Dodgers brought up Jackie Robinson, Trice had forced the Athletics’ hand after a spectacular season in the International League. During the 1953 season, Trice posted a 21-10 record with the sixth-place Ottawa A’s and was named the International League’s Most Valuable Pitcher and Rookie of the Year. Mentored by Sam Bankhead, both with the Homestead Grays and later in Organized Baseball with the Farnham Pirates of the Provincial League, Trice was a fast study. He transitioned from a semipro player who played everywhere on the field to a full-time pitcher. Not a power pitcher, the right-hander used a slider, curve, and changeup to keep batters off balance. - SABR

I thought the current fg was very good and I only added a bit of color to the face. Strictly a personal preference and almost too incremental a tweak to post but I needed his fg in my current game and it's one more fg off the big list. I also wanted an excuse to post his SABR intro...

[LansdowneSt]

April 12, 2016, Chelsea Janes, Washington Post:

The greatest controversy of this Washington Nationals season, the issue threatening to embroil a now-furious fanbase, and that could shave away the calm of their largely uneventful spring, involves a Jumbotron, a shortstop and a nearly incomprehensible beard.

First, some backstory, because an issue this tangled does not grow overnight:

Before Danny Espinosa was the Nationals’ starting shortstop, the homegrown infielder established a tradition. He would cultivate some noteworthy arrangement of facial hair — like the 2014 Yosemite Sam-esque Fu Manchu, for example — and carefully preserve it until late February, when the Nationals held their official picture day. Then he would shave it off, leaving himself more clean shaven for the season. That way, his official headshot, the picture that appeared on the giant screen in center field at Nationals Park (and sometimes, elsewhere) would show off that facial hair. Its legacy would not die.

This spring, Espinosa arrived at spring training with a beard darker and shorter than Rip Van Winkle’s, but more substantial than Lincoln’s, one that seemed to come straight out of the mountains and straight into legend. During last weekend’s exhibition games, and initially when the Nationals returned home last week, Espinosa’s picture on the jumbotron included that beard. Suddenly, Monday evening, it did not.

Danny Espinosa deferred comment on the issue before Tuesday’s game. “All I’ll say is it wasn’t my decision,” said Espinosa, smiling. A Nationals spokesperson initially declined comment. Later, realizing the hairy situation was escalating quickly with media inquiries and Twitter outrage, the Nationals issued a statement from General Manager Mike Rizzo. “This was my decision. I reserve the right to choose the player photos we use on the scoreboard during the game,” said Rizzo in that statement.

Another personal choice on the fg used. The mustached facegen was fun for awhile but now I'm like Rizzo, I'm over it. Using this post-picture day, clean-shaven one in my game now...

[LansdowneSt]

From 1884 through 1896, Chippy McGarr played for seven teams across the three leagues - the UA, the AA and the NL. He ended his career on a four year run with the Cleveland Spiders manning third base. He passed away at age 41 from what the findagrave site calls "general paralysis of the Insane and exhaustion."

The existing facegen had a good mustache so I just tried to add some color to the face. Thinned it a bit too to better align with the pics.

[LansdowneSt]

"Ex-Player and Umpire Charlie Briody died at his home in Lansingburg, N.Y., last week. At one time there was no better catcher in the country than fat, genial Charlie Briody. He was a native of Lansingburgh. He first came into prominence with the Haymakers of Troy in 1877-78." - the Sporting Life issue of May 7, 1892, falsely reporting his death

"Ex-catcher Charley Briody, who was reported as dead some months ago, and of whom lengthy obituaries were published, is a decidedly lively corpse. He is umpiring in the Eastern League, and when not not umpiring attends to a prospering business in Lansingburgh, N.Y." - the Sporting Life issue of May 13, 1893, setting the record straight

"Charley Briody, who has had on two occasions his obituary written up, and whose funeral, Henry Boyle, the ex-pitcher, claimed he attended, is running a hotel at Lansingburgh, N.Y." - from Sporting Life of March 27, 1897

Fatty Briody moved around a lot, making seven stops in an eight-season major league career. Nicknamed "Fatty", he is listed at 5' 8½" and 190 lbs, which made him the second-heaviest starter on the 1882 Cleveland Blues, behind Bill Phillips who was 12 pounds heavier but also 4 inches taller. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

James Buster Clarkson enjoyed a long career spread among the Negro Leagues and the Mexican League with a big league cameo for the Boston Braves. He is listed as "Buzz Clarkson", but all Negro League, Mexican League and most minor league sources (except one) list him as Bus Clarkson, more fitting given his middle name.

Across his NeL, Mexican and MLB service, he amassed 3,668 plate appearances, 1018 hits, and 149 home runs based on available records in bRef. 1952 witnessed Clarkson finally make it to the majors, at the ripe old age of 37 (according to baseball-reference, 34 according to the site of the Negro League Baseball Players Association and the Mexican League Encyclopedia, which list his birthday). The Braves gave him all of 25 at-bats to show his stuff and, when he only cracked 5 singles, they decided that he had had his shot. Clarkson may have been able to contributed to the Braves, even at his advanced age, with the club falling short to New York's Dodgers and Giants. He was returned to Milwaukee and continued to dominate at AAA.

There was no facegen for him in the pack so made this one. The in-game weight adds some heaviness regardless of how much I tend to the fg.

[LansdowneSt]

Nick Esasky was the 1st-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds (17th overall) in the 1978 amateur draft. He had several productive years as the Reds first baseman in the mid eighties before being traded to the Red Sox. He had a career-high 30 home runs & 108 RBI for the Boston Red Sox in 1989. He then cashed in by signing a multi-million dollar free-agent contract with the Atlanta Braves in 1990. However, he suffered from vertigo shortly after and played in only 9 games for the Braves with no RBI and was forced to retire. - bRef Bullpen wiki

After baseball he was engaged in several business ventures but none more important than his establishment of the program "Kids in Meth" or "K.I.M." which was dedicated to helping kids and parents whose families were impacted by the scourge of drug addiction as had happened to his own child.

Redid the facegen as his current one was very orange. Nick, like several of the next ones, are in my Random Debut sim at the moment and it's that that I am using to randomly select some players to look at...

[LansdowneSt]

In late July, as the 2020 Major League Baseball season started amid the pandemic, Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond found himself standing on his eight-acre property in Sarasota, Fla. Palmetto bushes had overtaken much of the land. Desmond, who had opted out of the season, was home in the summer for the first time in 12 years. He decided to take on the stubborn fronds. When he wasn’t working in the yard, he was spending time with his wife and five young children.

Desmond, who hit 20 home runs in 2019 and was an All-Star in 2012 and 2016, took control of his story. In detailing last June why he would not be playing the 2020 season, giving up a prorated salary of $5.5 million, he posted a lengthy reflection on Instagram. It focused on his experience of growing up biracial and spoke of how the police killing of George Floyd had stirred memories of his own brushes with systemic racism; it also explained his desire to be with his children as they navigated national conversations about racial justice. His post also included a call to action for himself, which he answered in December, when he announced the start of Newtown Connection, a charity he helped found that uses baseball as a tool for holistic development for underserved youth in Sarasota. Desmond also gave up $8M to opt out of the recently concluded 2021 season. - mostly from NYTimes, Anna Katherine Clemmons, April 2021

Redid the facegen as I preferred the clean-shaven 2012 All-Star Nationals shortstop look compared to the bearded Rockies outfielder look. Just my preference.

[LansdowneSt]

A lifetime .296 hitter, Fred Lewis had five seasons in the majors. He was one of the top hitters for the Browns in 1883 and 1884, and for the St. Louis Maroons in 1885 as well as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1886. Although Lewis was very talented, he had drinking problems and his career ended when he punched John Reilly in August 1886, in connection with Lewis either being unable or unwilling to play a game. Lewis was hitting quite well for Cincinnati, but Reilly was also a very talented player who played a key defensive position (first base), and who had more seniority on the Red Stockings than Lewis. Another player on the team called Lewis "a disturber" who criticized other players for their errors. David Nemec writes that Lewis "threatened or exasperated every manager for whom he played." - bRef Bullpen wiki

"We all recollect how Von der Ahe in 1884 suspended Fred Lewis. When Fred heard the news he grabbed a bat and started to hunt up Chris. . . Chris said (to Charlie Comiskey): 'Gomitzgy, go gwick back and dell Lewis dot I reinstate him alreatty.' So Fred was reinstated half an hour after he was suspended . . ." - Sporting Life, Nov. 30, 1887, from its New York correspondent O.P. Caylor

"Lewis is still a terror when in the cups. They usually send six blue-coats to arrest him when he is on his high horse." - Sporting Life, June 24, 1905, quoting Bill Clancy about the retired Fred Lewis in Utica, NY

There was no facegen in the CU Facepack for him so I made this one.

[LansdowneSt]

Ken McMullen had a sixteen-year career in the majors. Despite being overshadowed by contemporary Brooks Robinson, he was regarded one of the better-fielding third basemen of his era, and he showed moderate power at the plate. Mickey Mantle once called him the most underrated player in the American League.

McMullen was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for a reported $60,000 bonus in 1960. He split the next three summers between the minors and the Dodgers but put up disappointing numbers at the big league level. Following the 1964 campaign, he was dealt to the Washington Senators in a seven-player trade that sent Frank Howard to the nation's capital. Upon his arrival in Washington, McMullen became the Senators' regular third baseman and hit 18 home runs in his first season with the club in 1965. He returned to the west coast in 1970 playing two and half years with the Angels before returning to the Dodgers and finishing his career as a DH in the AL. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen. After the first month in my sim he's on the leaderboard so had to get him a new facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Clarence “Cito” Gaston was a National League outfielder from 1967 to 1978, mostly with the Padres. At his best, he was an All-Star in 1970. He also made a vivid impression on the fans in Venezuela, where he won two batting titles in winter ball. However, Gaston attained much greater fame and respect as a manager. He became the first African-American skipper to lead his team to the playoffs and then to win a World Series. His Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993. “Cerebral, dignified, and tolerant” describe this imposing man’s best qualities as a leader. - SABR

Redid the facegen to get some of the red out. Not the biggest change but, as I said, I'm trying to look at all of them, esp. the ones in my current sim.

[LansdowneSt]

An infielder at the University of Mississippi and for most of his Minor League career, Chris Coghlan switched to left field out of necessity in 2009. And with the way he was hitting at Triple-A New Orleans, posting a .344 batting average, he was the logical choice to be promoted. Then-Marlins special assistant Andre Dawson went to New Orleans and worked with Coghlan on transitioning to left field. The results paid off. After being promoted to the big leagues, he batted .321 with a .390 on-base percentage, scoring 84 runs in 128 games en route to 2009 NL ROY honors. He fell off precipitously in ensuing seasons, however, eventually crafting a new niche as a valued role player. In 2016, he was part of the first Chicago Cubs World Series winner in 108 years. mlb.com & bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen. The facegens that come with the game seem to always have high cheekbones and perma-smiles. I preferred a cleaner, simpler one. Maybe it will help him in my current sim...

[LansdowneSt]

Bob James was the Expos' top draft choice in the 1st round of the 1976 amateur draft, 9th overall, and made quick progress through the organization even though he had so-so results. He threw harder than anyone in the system, so the Expos were ready to look beyond his control problems. He had September cups of coffee with the Expos in both 1978 and 1979 but did not impress. He had just turned 20 when he made his major league debut. His career got derailed by substance abuse problems the next couple of seasons and he was passed in the organization's depth chart by a number of other pitching prospects, such as Bill Gullickson, Scott Sanderson and David Palmer. He pitched well for the Expos in low pressure situations during the 1983 season and became one of their key bullpen pieces in 1984, when he was 6-6, 3.66 with 10 saves and 91 strikeouts in 92 innings. However, the Expos already had Jeff Reardon to be their closer and deemed James to be expendable.

He was traded to the White Sox before the 1985 season, in return for infielder Vance Law. He had a career year for the Chicago White Sox during his first season with a record of 8-7, 32 saves and a 2.13 ERA but arm injuries would soon get the better of him. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen as he's in my bullpen in my historic sim. I used the White Sox photo on the left but closed his mouth with the photo software before loading it into facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

The first four men inducted into the Boston Braves Hall of Fame after its formation by fans of the long-defunct National League club were Warren Spahn, John Sain, Tommy Holmes, and Sebastian “Sibby” Sisti. In order, that’s one Hall of Famer, two All-Stars, and one .244 hitter who lasted for 14-plus years in the majors by playing wherever and whenever he was asked. Nobody questioned the selection.

Sisti didn’t belong in the class of Spahn, Sain, and Holmes as a ballplayer, yet for the many Braves fans who both watched him perform and attended reunions of the team during the last two decades he was the Boston Braves. The sad-eyed, gravel-voiced athlete-turned-truck driver symbolized the team’s working-class demeanor better than perhaps any other individual, and delighted in returning to town and greeting old diehards who remembered the days of Earl Torgeson, Sam Jethroe, and fried clams at Braves Field. And, lest it be forgotten, he was also one of baseball’s top utilitymen during his career and a key contributor to the 1948 National League champions when he took the place of injured second baseman Eddie Stanky during August and September. - SABR

Little known fact is that Sibby was the manager of the Pirates in the movie "The Natural" and, in the pennant-deciding game, was responsible in the 9th inning for bringing in young John Rhoades, a Nebraska farm boy, blazing left-handed speed. The Pirate organization expected great things for him. They said he's got the best fastball in the major leagues right now... Sibby played the percentages but we know how that ended...

The facegen the game had was labeled incorrectly (-sib when it should have been - seb as the suffix) and wasn't showing up for me. Once I found it, I thought it was a bit orange and wide. Besides, redoing it allowed me to post about Sibby

[LansdowneSt]

Clarence Cross was 28 years old when he played for three teams in the short-lived Union Association in 1884. Three years later, he played in the American Association. Cross' debut was pretty spectacular, as he hit .571 in two games for Altoona, a team which lasted 25 games. After moving to the Philadelphia Keystones for two more games (where he hit .222), he came to the Kansas City Cowboys, where he became the regular shortstop. The Cowboys played 79 games, but could not settle on a shortstop for much of the season. They used 13 different players, and Cross was the only one who appeared there more than 20 times. All three of Cross's Union Association teams played well under .500 ball. In 1887, he came to the New York Metropolitans, another team that played well under .500. - bRef Bullpen wiki

This was one of those "Bickford" fake faces that keep showing up. Found a pic of him on the Photopack thread to try and make something out of...

[LansdowneSt]

Jack Boyle played for Charlie Comiskey with the St. Louis Browns of the American Association and the Chicago Pirates of the Players League. On July 6, 1893, with the Philadelphia Phillies, he became the second man to record six hits in an extra inning game, going 6-for-11 with a double against the Chicago Cubs. Following his baseball career, he was in the saloon business in his hometown of Cincinnati. He briefly managed in the minor leagues, taking the helm of the Terre Haute Hottentots for the first part of the 1906 season in the Central League. "Honest" Jack Boyle is not to be confused with his contemporary, "Dirty" Jack Doyle.

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Although the 1970s Reds were famous for their great offense, a pitcher holds one of the team’s – and baseball’s – most impressive records. Jack Billingham has the lowest earned-run average in World Series play, 0.36. He allowed just one earned run in 25⅓ innings spread over three different World Series for the Reds. In addition to his two Series wins, his 145 regular-season wins make a strong case that some of those Reds could pitch a little, too. - SABR

Redid the facegen. Tough time with the coloring as some parts of the face were pink and some yellow and you can't correct one without augmenting the other. I smoothed him more than I usually do to try and even the colors out. Better than the old one anyway... This is another one I needed for the Random Debut league. Looking at it, I suppose I could have reloaded the new fg until some '70's sideburns appeared before screenshotting it.

[LansdowneSt]

Scott Bankhead helped guide the University of North Carolina collegiate team with an 11-0 record in 1984. That year, he compiled a 1-0 record with a 0.93 ERA for the Olympic Team. That resume got him drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (16th) of the 1984 MLB June Amateur Draft. After being traded from the Royals for Danny Tartabull, Scott finally got his first real chance as a starting pitcher with the Seattle Mariners. In 1989, following the trade of Mark Langston, Scott became the team's ace and enjoyed his only double-digit victory season with 14. He suffered shoulder problems between 1990 and 1991 and hung around with several teams until 1995. Not overpowering, he threw a sinking fastball, a slider and a change-up. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

[silvam14]

Great stuff. I thought you did Dave Stapleton before, but when he came up in my 1986 game, he has a large sun shadow on his face. Any chance you can fix that?

[LansdowneSt]

Post a cropped Dave Stapleton screenshot so I can see the shadow as it shows in your monitor. He's back in post 102. Happy to tweak it as needed but would like to see the issue being grappled with so I can target the fix (i.e. do I have to redo it? or tweak it?, where's the sunspot - is it the right side of his face giving you trouble?)

[zappa1]

the one I have.