A New York State Of Mind: Replaying the New York Highlanders/New York Yankees History, 1903-Present

[gollum65]

1949 Season Recap:

Final 1949 Standings:


1949 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1949 Year In Review: Obviously this Yankee team out-performed my expectations. We only won 6 more games than last season, but it was enough to win our 22nd American League pennant!

The catalyst to this season was the return to form of Joe DiMaggio. Joltin' Joe battled rival Ted Williams for the lead in all 4 major offensive categories, and while Williams finished ahead of DiMaggio in home runs, RBI, and VORP, Joe's team is the one in the World Series.

The Yankees also got great production from Don Mueller, who won the American League batting title. And to think, if I hadn't traded Andy Pafko, Mueller would have been riding the bench all year.

On the mound Bob Feller won 18 games and led the American League in strikeouts. And Hal Erickson anchored the best bullpen in the American League. Even journeyman Al Javery won 15 games, which was enough to earn him another year in pinstripes.

But it still took 1 trade on my part at the deadline to propel the Yankees to the pennant. On trade deadline day the Yankees were 4 games behind Ted Williams and the Philadelphia A's. Our league rankings all looked good, except for runs scored. The Yankees were currently 8th in the AL in scoring. So I made a trade hoping I'd get a guy who would get on base and find ways to score runs. The move paid off....

Around The League: As I mentioned earlier, Ted Williams won the AL home run & RBI crowns. 3 American League & 3 National League pitchers each won 20+ games. Brooklyn's Hal Newhouser led the NL in 9 pitching categories. Jake Caulfield of the White Sox led all American League rookies in 15 offensive categoeries, while Don Newcombe of the Pirates led NL rookies in 16 pitching categories.

1949 All Star Yankees: P Bob Feller (5th AS game), P Ken Lehman (2nd AS game), OF Joe DiMaggio (9th AS game), OF Don Mueller (1st AS game)

1949 New York Yankees Transactions:

July 28, 1949: Signed P Al Javery to a 1 year extension @ $12,000
Javery pitched well and deserved to get a new contract.

July 31, 1949: Traded 3B Bobby Rhawn, SS Vic Barnhart, & P Ray Martin to the Brooklyn Dodgers for 2B Hills Layne & SS Pee Wee Reese
I only reacquired Reese because I was trading Barnhart. Layne was the guy I wanted. He's a rental player who was among the league leaders in OBP and runs scored at the time of the trade, and I wanted a guy who would get on base and find a way to come in to score. With the Dodgers he had a .354 OBP and scored 41 runs. After the deal he put up a .333 OBP and scored 31 runs. He was 4th in the AL in September for runs scored, which was exactly what I needed. By the middle of August we had caught Philly. We then traded the lead for about 3 weeks until a couple series against the A's when we pulled away from them. Hopefully this trade was a good learning experience for Nellie Fox, as he spent the rest of the season riding pine.

World Series Matchup: It's the 22nd trip to the World Series for the Yanks, and our first since 1941. We're trying to win our 11th championship. For the Reds it's NL pennant #7, and their first since 1942. They're looking for championship #4. I don't expect to beat the Reds. They were in cruise control for most of the season. By June they had a double digit lead in the National League and nobody ever got closer.

Game 1 @ Cincinnati: The Reds led 1-0 going into the top of the 9th, but the Yankees scored 2 runs to take a 2-1 lead. But it wasn't enough. Rudy York's 2 run walk off homer won it for the Reds with no outs in the bottom of the 9th. Cincinnati leads 1 game to none.

Game 2 @ Cincinnati: The Yankees couldn't hold a 4-1 lead after 4 innings and the Reds came back to win 5-4. Cincinnati now leads the series 2 games to none.

Game 3 @ New York: Pee Wee Reese's 1 out single in the bottom of the 11th drove in Sammy Meeks and the Yanks beat the Reds 3-2. Cincinnati now leads 2 games to 1.

Game 4 @ New York: Joe Page threw 18 pitches before suffering his 4th injury of the season, 5th since becoming a Yankee, and 10th of his career. He's missed approximately 20 months of his 10 year career due to injury. So with Page out, Al Javery was called on to rescue the Yankees and he did. Javery pitched 6.2 innings giving up just 2 unearned runs on 4 hits and the Yanks won the game 3-2. Yogi Berra's 1st homer of the series in the 5th inning was the game winner. The series is now tied at 2 games each.

Game 5 @ New York: Jesse Flores won his 2nd game of the series as the Reds beat the Yankees 3-2. Cincinnati leads the series 3 games to 2 as it shifts back to Crosley Field.

Game 6 @ Cincinnati: The game was tied at 3 going into the bottom of the 7th, but the Reds piled 7 runs on Bob Feller & Cliff Chambers and the Reds won the game 10-5. The Cincinnati Reds win their 4th World Series!

World Series Tally:
Real Yankees: 26
My Yankees: 10

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1950 Season Preview: So I've reached the '50s. Almost seems strange. A few more seasons and I'll have completed 50 years of running this franchise. 10 World Series in 47 seasons is good. To be honest, I think I should have at least 15 by now if I'm going to reach 26 overall. I'd say my chances of getting 20 world titles now is pretty slim. But you never know. I think I'm poised for a pretty long run in the '50s, so anything's possible.

Hall Of Fame Inductees: IF/C Jimmie Foxx
Double X played an astounding 26 seasons for 6 different teams, including 3 seasons in Yankee pinstripes. He's easily one of the all time greats. At the start of the 1950 season, he's one of only 4 players with 3000+ hits and 400+ homers (Gehrig, Gibson, & Mel Ott are the other 3, although Hal Trosky will join them this season).

Foxx retires with 3,012 hits in 10,876 at bats for a lifetime .277 average. He had 446 doubles, 119 triples, 468 homers, 1,830 RBI, and he scored 1,786 runs. He drew 1,824 walks to help him get a career .370 OBP. His lifetime SLG was .469, his OPS was .839, and his VORP was 785.6.

Foxx was a 9 time All Star and he won 1 World Series ring, with the Yankees in 1940. He retires ranked 14th in VORP, 4th in games played, 6th in at bats, 8th in runs scored, 18th in hits, 7th in total bases, 4th in home runs, 3rd in RBI, and 3rd in walks. Because of his longevity he also struck out more then any other player.

Yankees 1949 Award Winners: C Yogi Berra won his 2nd career Gold Glove. 3B Johnny Lipon won his 2nd straight & 4th career Gold Glove. OF Joe DiMaggio won his 3rd straight Gold Glove. OF Minnie Minoso won his 1st career Gold Glove.
I was a bit surprised DiMaggio didn't win the MVP. Ted Williams won it, and while it's true that Ted had more homers and RBI, it was DiMaggio's Yankees who went to the playoffs.

Draft Recap: Jim Bunning & Moose Skowron were probably the 2 most famous players available this year. Bunning went 1st overall to Pittsburgh, and I was disappointed when Skowron was taken 13th by the Reds, just 2 picks in front of me. My first pick was a famous name, Roger Craig, but he was more famous as a manger then a player.

Notable Offseason Transactions:

October 13, 1949: Johnny Lipon opted out of his contract, and while his glove is certainly top notch, I didn't feel his bat was good enough to deserve a big raise.

November 25, 1949: Signed free agent IF Hills Layne to a 1 year contract @ $15,000
Losing Lipon prompted me to bring back Layne and move him from 2nd base to 3rd base.

December 23, 1949: Signed free agent 2B Bobby Mattick to a 1 year contract @ $20,000
Mattick is a top notch infielder and he's happy riding the pine. Just what I needed.

February 19, 1950: Signed P Bob Feller to a 3 year extension @ $440,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option)
He's still one of the best pitchers in the game, and since Whitey Ford isn't ready yet, I had to keep Feller around a few more years.

February 24, 1950: Traded P Joe Page & P Lou Brissie to the Washington Senators for P Dave Koslo, P Harry Gumbert, and $80,000 in cash
I had to get rid of Page because of all the injuries. Koslo has spent his career as a minor league reliever so far, but he has the talent to start in the bigs. Gumbert is a 40 year old veteran in a contract year and should slot in well as the #3 pitcher.

Spring Training Injuries: RF Don Mueller missed most of spring training with a pinched nerve.

Strengths: Our bullpen is great. We have a great young lineup. We have some top notch fielders.

Weaknesses: Beyond Feller the starting rotation could be a weakness. Koslo is unproven. Larsen took some talent hits when he was injured. And Gumbert is aging fast. I have some possible MLB ready guys in the minors, but I think the good ones like Ford are at least a year away.

Projected Record: The Yanks surprised me last year and won 93 when I had predicted 80. I don't think our pitching is as good as last year so I'll meet in the middle and say 86 wins. Probably not good enough to win another pennant, but should be in the race.

1950 Budget: $3,107,497 (#1 in the league)

1950 Payroll: $1,640,516 (#14 in the league)
Still a lot of future all stars making the league minimum on this team.


1950 Opening Day Roster:

[gollum65]

1950 Season Recap:

Final 1950 Standings:


1950 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1950 Year In Review: Well, pretty stunning to go from the World Series to the worst record in franchise history in 1 season. If we're going to play the blame game, the finger has to be pointed in two directions.

First, the pitching was terrible all year. The ERA of our best starting pitcher was 3.91. We had a guy go 12-3 in AAA, but couldn't get an out in the majors. Our most talented pitcher, Bob Feller, went 13-17 with an ERA of 4.32. And the bullpen wasn't much better. No matter how the offense does, if the pitchers can't get anyone out you're not going to win many games.

And sad to say, but the 2nd problem for the Yankees was Joe DiMaggio. On May 28th he suffered his 4th major injury since joining the Yankees with a hip problem, causing him to miss 61 games. Since the season the Yankees acquired him, DiMaggio has missed 234 games in 10 seasons. He's 35 years old and as much as it would kill me to trade him, I have to see what kind of value I can get for him before his skills start to really diminish.

Really the only bright spot for New York was the emergence of Yogi Berra into the kind of star we expect him to be. Yogi was 2nd on the team in batting average, and he led the team in homers, RBI, runs, total bases. Plus he only committed 6 errors and threw out 54% of potential base stealers.

At least the Yanks have the #1 pick in the draft...

Around The League: Rudy York became the 2nd player in history to hit 50 homers, finishing just 3 shy of Willard Brown's single season record of 53. York also won the NL RBI crown and was just .006 batting points shy of winning the NL batting title and the triple crown.

1950 All Star Yankees: C Yogi Berra (1st AS Game)

1950 New York Yankees Transactions:

July 13, 1950: Signed P Dave Koslo to a 2 year extension @ $13,000 per year (season 2 is a mutual option)
A 12-15 record with an ERA under 4.00 on a team that was this bad is good enough to earn an extension.

July 24, 1950: Traded 2B Bobby Mattick, P Ken Lehman, & P Al Javery to the St. Louis Browns for IF Bobby Young, IF Wally Flager, P Oad Swigart, P Lee Wheat, & P Billy Hoeft
Mattick & Javery both wanted new contracts, but neither was worth resigning. I hated to give up Lehman, but I felt Wheat was a better pitcher and I really wanted to get my hands on Hoeft, who could be a #2 guy in a couple of years. The Browns were trying to catch Cleveland and needed the bullpen and infield help.

July 25, 1950: Traded SS Pee Wee Reese & IF Hills Layne to the Chicago Cubs for P Bill Voiselle
The Cubbies were right in the thich of it and wanted a veteran shortstop. Voiselle is nothing special and probably won't be back next year, but at least I got rid of Reese's contract. I would have been stuck with him next year if I hadn't found a trading partner.

World Series Matchup: This is the 2nd Battle of Ohio between Cleveland and Cincinnati. The Indians beat the Reds in 7 games in 1922. It's the 9th World Series for the Tribe, and they're trying to win championship #6. For Cincy it's their 8th trip to the Fall Classic, and they're after title #5.

The teams split the first 2 games of the series in Cleveland. The next 2 games at Crosley Field were more of the same as the Reds won game 3 and the Indians won game 4. The final game of the season in Cincinnati was won by the Reds, and they took a 3 games to 2 lead back to Cleveland. They finished off the series with a convincing 9-3 win in game 6. The Cincinnati Reds win their 5th World Series!

[gollum65]

1950 Offseason "Veteran's Committee" Hall Of Fame Ballot:

P Dutch Leonard: Probably won't get a lot of support for Dutch, but he was a pretty good pitcher. He spent 18 seasons with Cleveland, the Cubs, and both Philadelphia teams. Dutch had a career record of 201-170 with a 3.36 ERA. His WHIP was 1.28 and opponents batted .266 against him. He had 988 strikeouts, but he only broke 100 Ks once in his career. Leonard won 20 games once, and 15 or more games 6 times. His VORP was 617.3 (12th all time for pitchers). Dutch won 3 Gold Gloves and was selected to 3 All Star games. He also won a World Series ring in 1945 with the Phillies.

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1951 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductees: IF Cecil Travis
Cecil Travis played 17 seasons for the Browns and the Tigers. He had 2,689 hits in 8,388 at bats for a career .321 batting average. Even in a hitting dominated era, that's pretty impressive. Travis had 526 doubles, 77 triples, 56 homers, 1,051 RBI, and he scored 1,147 runs. He drew 822 walks which helped him post a lifetime .383 OBP. His SLG was .422, his OPS was .805, and his VORP was 509.9. Travis had 150 or more hits 12 times. He won 3 Gold Gloves, was a 5 time All Star, but he never won a World Series. Travis ranks 24th all time in batting average, but of all players drafted after 1930 he ranks 3rd. He also ranks 15th in doubles.

Yankees 1950 Award Winners: None
Not surprising considering how bad the Yankees were in 1950. I thought Yogi would win another Gold Glove, but Roy Campanella won it. It's also noteworthy to mention that a player who hit .333 with 23 homers and 92 RBI won the AL MVP award. It's the fewest homers and RBI for an MVP since Shoeless Joe in 1921. That MVP award winner was Jackie Robinson. It was his first MVP.

Draft Recap: The HUGE star was the 1st overall pick by the Yankees, Hank Aaron! So Hammerin' Hank will be a Yankee! Other famous players were Johnny Podres who was drafted by the Giants, and Maury Wills who was taken by the Indians.

Notable Offseason Transactions: It killed me to do it, but it had to be done....

November 13, 1950: Traded OF Joe DiMaggio, 1B Eddie Robinson, SS Nellie Fox, P Don Larsen, P Dick Donovan, P Andy Hansen, & $75,000 cash to the Detroit Tigers for OF Bobby Thomson, 1B Phil Cavarretta, & 2B Bobby Avila
The one thing that will get me to trade a player is injuries. Had DiMaggio been 30 years old, I would have kept him. But at 35 years old I couldn't justify paying the big money for a guy who was hurt every year. I wasn't fond of trading Fox, Larsen, or Robinson either, but I think I got a good collection of talent back. And yes, that is THE Bobby Thomson I acquired. With Mantle still a couple of years away (another injury prone player that scares me), I needed a good outfielder in his prime who could anchor the lineup for a couple of years. Avila is a very good young 2nd baseman who hasn't hit his prime yet. And Cavarretta was more of an addition for salary reasons then anything else. Elston Howard will take over at 3rd base full time.

November 20, 1950: Signed LF George Case to a 1 year contract @ $12,000
Case is a good all around outfielder who is happy riding the bench. He'll see plenty of action though.

November 23, 1950: Signed 3B Buddy Lewis to a 1 year contract @ $15,000
Lewis is an excellent fielder who will serve as an infield backup and defensive replacement in the late innings.

December 24, 1950: Signed free agent P Hal White to a 2 year contract @ $175,000 per season (year 2 is a mutual option)
With Larsen gone White will hold down a rotation spot for at least a year.

February 19, 1951: Signed C Yogi Berra to a 2 year extension @ $190,000 per year
As Yogi comes into his prime I have to make sure he's locked up.

Spring Training Injuries: Whitey Ford suffered a minor injury in early April. He'll recover by May 1st.

Strengths: With Minoso, Howard, Berra, Thomson, and Mueller I think I've got a very strong top 5 in the batting order.

Weaknesses: Starting Pitching is still a problem. I need Whitey Ford to take a big step forward if we're going to play even .500 ball this year.

Projected Record: After last season's disaster it's hard to project. Is this the World Series team from 2 years ago, or the team that posted it's worst record in franchise history last year? I'll meet in the middle. I do think Ford will emerge as a good pitcher and I think the team will play .500 ball. 77 wins.

1951 Budget: $2,909,957 (#4 in the league)

1951 Payroll: $1,779,026 (#12 in the league)


1951 Opening Day Roster:

[AZTarHeel]

This continues to be one of my must-reads on these boards ... good luck remaking your team back into a contender ... can't wait to see what Aaron and Mantle can do when they come of age ...

[gollum65]

Considering how bad the 1951 season was (update coming in a bit) compared to the 1950 season, I can't wait either.

[gollum65]

1951 Season Recap:

Final 1951 Standings:


1951 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1951 Year In Review: So how do you follow up the worst season in franchise history? With an even worse season of course! To be honest, this is the first season since I've started this dynasty that I am really at a loss as to how to turn things around, and thoughts of quitting the dynasty did enter into my mind.

This time I can't even single out any one specific aspect or player to "blame". The whole team stinks. From top to bottom. Yes, some players had decent seasons, and Yogi continues to show that he's the best player on the team, but for the most part the team is just awful and I don't see much light at the end of the tunnel.

And to add injury to insult, our "knight in shining armour" ended up being a frog! Whitey Ford, after losing his 4th straight game by giving up double digit runs in all 4 games, suffered a career ending elbow injury and retired! His record in 1951, between MLB and AAA: 4-18 with a 5.71 ERA. His career MLB record will go down in infamy as 10-33 with a 5.20 ERA. He walked almost 3x as many batters as he struck out in his brief career, and he wasn't any better in the minors. He's the biggest bust I've seen since Ruth, and to be honest I have no idea why. Did I rush the guy? His ratings are 4/6/5 and his potential is 5/6/7, which should at least be good enough to win in AAA. But alas, his career ends at 22 years old and now I have pretty much no young pitching prospects that project to the top of the rotation. Hope this is a pitching rich draft...

Around The League: At least in 1 year of retrospection, the DiMaggio trade may be the worst I ever made. Joltin' Joe put up and MVP type season, batting .352 with 36 homers and 116 RBI. The guys I got for him weren't as good. Bobby Thomson batted .269 with 22 homers and 78 RBI. Phil Cavarretta played 43 games before being lost for the year due to injury. And Bobby Avila batted .224 in 120 games played.

Ted Williams was his usual Teddiness, .307/43/131. Al Rosen made a good run at the single season RBI record by piling up 155 steaks, which is currently 5th best all time. Willard Brown and Rudy York picked up their 500th home runs. And Augie Galan of the Indians set a single season record for walks with 156.

1951 All Star Yankees: C Yogi Berra (2nd AS Game)

1951 New York Yankees Transactions: A couple of guys started demanding trades almost from the outset of the season. I obliged them....

July 3, 1951: Traded 3B Buddy Lewis & P Hal Erickson to the Philadelphia Phillies for 3B Josh Gibson, P Alex Kellner & P Red Webb
Kellner and Webb were the guys I was after. Gibson is a shell of his former self at 39 years old. He's headed for free agency, probably retirement, and of course the HoF when he does hang it up.

World Series Matchup: It's the 3rd straight World Series for the Reds and their 9th in franchise history. They're trying to win their 6th championship. Washington is in their first WS since 1932, and their 7th in team history. They're seeking title #4.

The teams split the first 2 games in Washington and headed for Crosley field tied at 1 game each. They split games 3 and 4 and were tied at 2 games apeice going into the final game in Cincy. The Reds won game 5 and headed back to Washington with a 3 games to 2 lead. The Reds clinched their 3rd straight World Championship with a 7-5 win in game 6. Cincinnati wins their 6th World Series!

[hihot]

Maybe you should trade a lot of players for a lot of players that are on good teams and hope they do good

[Ankit]

Just caught up with the dynasty after a month as I was moving from a country to another. Anyways, disappointed to see how the 40s have gone for you. Looking at last season's roster, I see the following:

Lack of depth in your starting pitching. You have players with potential but that doesn't always translate in to actual results.

You have some stars on offense but the role players are backups at best who are playing full time. The 40s and 50s are a very tough time in this game and for a GM, they test you like no other decade. Why? Pitching is hard to judge as there are no good pitchers with a high strikeout rating or an excellent control rating. This makes judging their skills much harder.

Hope you will continue the dynasty and turn things around soon. Also, don't be afraid to overpay for a few role players. You have been underbudget for a long time, splurging for a year or two will be OK...

[lawrence97]

Gollum how are Aaron and Mantle looking?, you've also get the first pick of the draft, and i haven't seen Wilie Mays name yet in any of the draft recaps, i wonder if you could be set for the greatest outfield ever assembeld if Mays is avaible this year?

Also aren't Eddie Matthews, Al Kaline and Harmon Killebrew in upcoming drafts? One more bad season, and you could have one hell of a line up.

On the pitching side, i can't wait for my all time fav pithcer, Sandy Koufax to turn up, but he's at least a couple of years away i would think. Could you keep us updated on how he gets on when he gets drafted?

But leep it up Gollum, this is easily the best dynasty thread going.

[hihot]

Mays Professional debuted in 1950 then in 1951 major league debuted so yeah he should be here
Sandy koufax will be in 1955 i may be wrong with these as mickey mantel also
debuted in 1951 !?

Anyways I was Wondering can you post the All Time Leader Board and Records so far ?

[gollum65]

Hihot is right. Mays and Matthews are in the league already. Mantle is close to MLB ready, but as I suspected he's pretty injury prone. Aaron is still a few years away. I believe Kaline is also in the league already, though I'd have to check. I haven't seen Killebrew or Koufax yet. I'd really love to get Koufax into a Yankee uniform.

I'll try to get screenshots of the overall leaderboard and single season records and post them tomorow. In recent seasons I did start writing about any records that were broken in the "around the league" segment.

I pretty much agree with Ankit's assesment. I have really struggled with pitching, pretty much since I traded away Satchel Paige. And you're right, it is hard to figure out who is good and who isn't right now.

One thing I've stopped doing over the past 5 or 6 seasons was signing top free agents because I didn't want to lose draft picks. I'm going to change my approach now and go after the best guys out there if they fill needs. Lord knows I have the money.

Thanks for the compliments guys and for continuing to read. I appreciate it.

[hihot]

koufax Started high school baseball in 1851 you wont see him till 1855

[gollum65]

Here are the pitching & batting leaderboards following the 1951 season. I'll try to post them each decade from now on.

[CecilCooper]

As others have said this is an excellent dynasty. You've put it together well and it's been fun to follow.


How do you get caught stealing 63 times in a season? How many steals did Hooper have in 1913?

[hihot]

um.............. i think your records glitched Cy Young had 351 Wins coming into 1903 but your highest amount of wins is 327 and by someone else

[Jeff49]

Still following along, gollum. Really tough times for the Yankees, but we all enjoy reading of their exploits whether they win or lose because of your consistently well-written and organized presentation.

Incredible about what happened to Whitey Ford, I just don't know why he had a career-ending injury, given his longtivity in baseball. I've read that Yankee ownership held their starters back a little to avoid them getting the magic 20 wins and having to pay large contracts. A look at Ford's stats shows that in his first seven seasons he missed about ten starts a year and had five seasons of between 16 and 19 wins. I guess OOTP figures one of those years backfired and in the game Ford blows his arm out. But then in the 60s he really poured it on in starts and wins in real life, making his career-ending injury baffling.

I think I'd be leery of Koufax for the same reason as Ford. Koufax was very shaky until he moved to Dodger Stadium and OOTP might dock him for his years in Ebbets Field, which were only average or even below average, and give him an injury-prone career, which was cut short at about 30. Even in the 1960s he missed a lot of starts. Sandy was my favorite pitcher while I was growing up in southern California in the 1960s, and Mays was my favorite everyday player.

I'm looking forward to Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron playing together in the Yankee outfield, although like you say, Mickey will be hard-pressed to avoid injuries.

[gollum65]

Originally Posted by hihot

um.............. i think your records glitched Cy Young had 351 Wins coming into 1903 but your highest amount of wins is 327 and by someone else

As I've detailed earlier in the the thread, I somehow lost all the stats before ~1920, so that's why Cy Young isn't listed.

[hihot]

ah but cheif benders stats is at 1909 but ok