The Liberty League, Est. 1876

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Next up, we will introduce the Omaha Mutuals to you, but first I want to explain an exciting new innovation we have adopted for your viewing pleasure:

We have devised what we have come to call the Nice Guy Index or NGI, for short (we are open to suggestions for a better name). Basically, a person's NGI score is an indicator of how nice a guy he is on a 1 to 10 scale. The score is derived from the player's personality ratings.

We think it will help our readers to have a better understanding of their favorite ballplayers, so from here on out, the first time a player is mentioned in a dispatch or report his name will be followed by his age and NGI score like this:

Bartholomew Levy (43-6.0) has been hired by Omaha Mutuals owner Eddie Therrien (52-6.5) to assemble a team and run the day to day operations of the club. Levy managed the Pittsburgh ball club last season to a .500 record and a 3rd place finish, but that was not good enough for Stogie owner Topsy Brasile (55-5.6), who thought he had the best players in the Grand National Association.

Distribution of NGI scores in the current player and coaches pool (1 means 1.0 to 1.9, etc.):

1 - 0.01%
2 - 2.3%
3 - 10.0%
4 - 20.7%
5 - 28.7%
6 - 23.9%
7 - 10.8%
8 - 3.1%
9 - 0.5%

The formula is this: ( Loyalty*6 + Work Ethic*3 + (200-Desire for a Winner)*2 + (200-Greed)*5 + Leader Ability - | Intelligence - 100 | ) / 300

I am always open to suggestions and if someone thinks of a better formula, let me know.

[Westheim]

And a guy who whips his players after every loss would be a 1 or a 9?

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Westheim

And a guy who whips his players after every loss would be a 1 or a 9?

I think he would get the "mean" score, which is 5.5....

[Questdog]

Let's Start a Mutuals Appreciation Society!

Pitchers
Lee Sprague (23-3.5)
What a plum we got when we signed this young hard thrower from the defunct Louisville club! He was excellent for the woeful Eclipse last season, leading the Liberty League in ERA as a rookie. He also led in fewest baserunners allowed per 9 innings. In the Grand National Association, only Jim Postema of Philadelphia and Pop Yurkovich of Baltimore throw the ball harder, but Sprague has better control than either of those old fellas. He has the stamina of a mule, too, but unfortunately the brains of one, as well. And he's not a lot of fun to be around. But if he gets hitters out, I'll find a way to get along with him.

Tom Lee (25-6.0)
Another plum! This one by way of Worcester. He only pitched 1 game for them last season, but what a game! He beat Utica on July 24, allowing them only 4 hits and a walk and struck out 5. He also went 2 for 3 with his bat. Don't know why they didn't give him another chance after that, but we'll give him his chance here in Omaha. At 5' 4", he'll be the shortest pitcher in the Grand National Association. He's not too bright either, but he's a good kid.

Tommy Webb (31-4.0)
A wily veteran, though he'll be a rookie in the Association. Does not throw very hard; relies on location and changing speeds to fool the batters. Which he did pretty well in our practice games, winning the third pitcher spot on the team. Bit of an ornery cuss, but a lot smarter than the two kids, though his brain is nothing special.

Catcher
Harry Farrell (31-5.6)
5' 7" and 195 lbs. Built like a fireplug. Can't run a lick. Went 0 for 4 on the season last year. Wasn't hurt, just sat on the bench in Peoria all year. But before that he was a pretty good hitter in both A Ball and B Ball. Has never played in a major league game. In our Spring practice games he knocked the cover off the ball and showed that he was a very smart hard worker behind the plate with a decent, if unspectacular, arm. He's also a superb bunter. William Galloway (28-5.3) earned the back-up spot. He also hit very well in the Spring games. As a catcher he is not as smart as Farrell, but more of a take-charge kind of guy and has a much stronger arm. Was named the best fielding catcher in the Eastern Association (A) last year. Both of them bat from the left side of the plate.

First Base
Lew Bartholomew (28-4.0)
Another guy that is none too bright, but he plays hard and pounds the ball. Nothing special in the field but should not embarrass himself. Is a decent runner for a big man (5' 9" 215 lbs). Has shown a knack for driving in runs during his minor league career. Last season, in only 28 starts he knocked in 28 runners.

Second Base
Horace Hays (32-6.1)
Was the starting second baseman for the Philadelphia Centennials in the Liberty League in 1876. Has 5 years of major league experience. Was the starting shortstop for Detroit in 1881. Last year he was in the Northwestern League playing mostly right field for Grand Rapids. His range in the infield is now only average and his arm is slightly above average, but no infielder has hands any more sure than his and no one can turn the double play quicker. He hit pretty well in Grand Rapids last year, but did not do much for Detroit in '81. He was hurting for most of our Spring games and did not get a lot of hitting opportunities, but did a reasonable job with the bat when he was in there. He's a hard worker and might be the smartest fella on the team and he's a pretty good guy to have around.

Shortstop
Sam Hinkle (26-6.3)
Blossomed as a hitter in B Ball last year even though he missed a month with a cracked rib. He is not very fast, but is a good baserunner and will pick his spots to steal one every now and then. As a fielder, he has good range and a steady glove and an unbelievably strong arm. He can play batters deeper than any shortstop in the league and still gun them down with ease.

Third Base
George Dominick (29-4.8)
If Horace Hays is not the smartest player on the team, then Dominick is. It's really a toss-up; they are both brainiacs. He's a good fielder at the hot corner, making up with brains what he lacks in physical tools, though those tools are solid enough. He was a good enough fielder to be voted the best in his B League in 1880. In 1881, he had a pretty good year with the bat playing for Quincy in the Northwest League (A). Last year, he was in the mighty Boston Red Caps organization and did not get a lot of playing time at Grand Rapids, but he did well when given the opportunity. He missed a couple of weeks of our practice with a sprained ankle, but hit well when he played. Warren Hogan (28-7.2) will be our reserve infielder. He spent the last 3 years in Louisville as their third baseman, but he can play anywhere in the infield decently. He won't wow many, but he will make all the plays. Not much of a hitter or runner. Dumb as a rock, too, but you can't help but love the guy.

Left Field
Dave Cunningham (27-5.4)
Our second biggest signing after P Lee Sprague. We expect him to be our best hitter and bat third in the lineup. Spent the last 3 years in Worcester where he put up some impressive numbers. Finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1880. Led the Liberty League in walks in 1880 and 1881. Last year he played with nagging injuries all season and his numbers were down a bit. He's a solid fielder in left with decent tools. He can run a bit, but sometimes gets a little too aggressive on the basepaths. Spider Coleman (29-6.2) and Frank Burnett (30-4.4) will be backups. Burnett will also be the reserve first baseman. Both are smart players who can run a little.

Center Field
Stub Orlando (28-6.1)
Outstanding defender with a little speed, but a wild hacker at the plate. John Turner (26-5.7) will be his back-up and may supplant him in the lineup if he doesn't hit at all. Turner is only a mediocre center fielder with a slight throwing arm being his most obvious deficiency and is also a wild hacker at the plate, but he has some pop in his bat when he connects. He had 20 triples in the B Leagues last year.

Right Field
Hank Roberts (24-3.0)
Roberts is an A-1 A-Hole and is not a very good right fielder. Though he is pretty sure-handed, he only has average range and an arm that is good enough to play right, but no better. But he is smart and can flat-out hit. And though he is not exceptionally fast, he is a superb baserunner. I'm not 100% sure he is ready to make the jump from the B Leagues to the majors, though, and should he struggle early, I will not hesitate to send him to Pottsville for seasoning. Would do him some good, anyway, to have to eat some humble pie.

Manager
Bartholomew Levy (43-6.0)
You can call me Bart; most people do (except my mother). I am from East Brainerd, Tennessee (near Chattanooga) and I was a pitcher in my day, but not a very good one. But I am smarter than most ballplayers (smarter than Dominick, but Hays might take me in a math contest - but then again, he might not) and I believe that working hard is the way to get ahead in this world. Last year I managed the Pittsburgh Stogies and we ended up at .500, even though we had the best pitcher in the Association (after Abe Everett got injured, anyway). Problem was that he was the only pitcher we had and when he couldn't go, we were only 8-19. I think Sprague is better than Tom Adams, though, and I KNOW Tom Lee and Tommy Webb are better than the other bums we had. With Cunningham and hopefully Roberts leading the way with their bats, I think we have a pretty good chance of staying in the fight all season, even though we are an expansion team. I hope the fine people of Omaha will come out to the games to support the Mutuals this season and I hope we do them proud representing them in the Grand National Association.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, May 1, 1883 vs. Chicago Colts (39-41 .488 4 GB 5th place in the GNA)

Opening Day!

The Colts have made some changes for 1883, starting off with a new manager, Jim Parker (47-7.9). He led the 1881 Peoria Reds to a .500 record in the Northwestern League in 1881. All his players are gushing about how nice a guy he is. Well all of 'em but maybe John Ritch (28-7.8) who was their number 1 pitcher last year, starting 71 of their 84 games. Parker has turned to the youngster Pete Rinehart (24-6.2) to carry the majority of the load this season. Ritch is such a nice guy that maybe he didn't really mind, though. Rinehart wasn't very impressive last year, but this Spring he has looked like the real deal, going 9-1 with an ERA under 2.00. Parker has also changed half their lineup and they have 2 players making their major league debut today: 3B Freddy Parsley (23-7.5) and RF Fred Dunn (33-5.6). What I saw of Parsley this Spring makes me think he is a shoo-in for the Gold Glove at third this year and he can hit some too, going for a .319 average in the B Leagues last year. Dunn has been toiling away in A ball for the past 6 years, never hitting much until having a decent season at Bay City last year.

The Colts seem to have a lot of really nice guys on their team, don't they? Maybe that means they will finish last this year...

Pete Rinehart, Chicago (24-6.2) (R 5-7 3.94 2 SV 2.0/3.2 BB/K in 1882) vs. Lee Sprague, Omaha (23-3.5) (R 19-28 2.33 1.2/4.1 for Louisville in 1882)

Won - 11 to 0

Lee Sprague retired the first 11 batters he faced. The 12th batter, Candy Simpson (24-6.8), hit a little nubber between first and the mound that Sprague couldn't pick up and made an error on. He then retired 8 more in a row until Lew Bartholomew (28-4.0) botched a ground ball off that same bat of Simpson's in the 7th inning. Three more down in a row until he walked Fred Dunn in the 8th with 1 out, but the next batter grounded sharply to Sam Hinkle (26-6.3) who turned it into an inning-ending double play. On to the 9th with the Colts still looking for their first knock of the game. The leadoff hitter grounded out to Hinkle at short. Kid Wright (28-7.3) came up and he flared an 0-2 pitch just over Horace Hays' (32-6.1) head and into right center for a hit. The next batter grounded into another double play started by Hinkle at short to end the game.

Sprague ended up with a 1-hitter with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. He only faced 2 over the minimum allotment of batters (29).

Meanwhile, our offense was pounding out the hits left and right for a total of 15 of them. Sprague even had 1 and scored twice. 1B Lew Bartholomew had a triple, scored a run and knocked 1 in. CF Stub Orlando (28-6.1) had 2 hits with an RBI. 3B George Dominick (29-4.8) had 3 and scored a run. SS Sam Hinkle had 3 and scored 3 runs. RF Hank Roberts (24-3.0) had 4 hits, including a triple, scored twice and knocked in a pair of runs.

Not a bad start to the season! (knock on wood)

Other GNA Games:
Baltimore (4) at Philadelphia (2): Pop Yurkovich (1-0) over Jim Postema (0-1). Yurkovich (31-5.6) tossed a 4-hitter, walked 1 and struck out 6. Postema (33-5.5) walked 4 in the game. Oriole SS Jake Steitz (24-4.7) had 4 hits, including a double and a triple, and scored 3 times.

Providence (2) at Pittsburgh (3) in 11 innings: Tom Adams (1-0) over Ted Ryther (0-1). Adams (28-6.0) only allowed 6 hits over 11 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 3. He also hit a pair of doubles and scored a run. Ryther (29-4.3) went the distance, allowing 10 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3. 3B Gideon Moore (28-5.9) hit a 2-out double for the Stogies to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th. Providence RF Alex Carroll (26-4.4) dropped a flyball to end the game.

Brooklyn (1) at Kansas City (4): Fred Barrow (1-0) over Dick Cole (0-1). Barrow (31-4.7) allowed 7 hits, walked 1 and struck out 5. He also knocked out a pair of hits, including a double. Cole (29-5.9) allowed 8 hits, walked 1 and did not strike out a batter.

Liberty League Games:
Washington (4) at Utica (3): John Callaham (1-0) over Tom Marshman (0-1). Callaham (34-5.5) allowed 8 hits, walked 1 and struck out 5. Marshman (32-4.7) only allowed 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6. Utica did not score until the bottom of the 9th, but with 1 out and the tying run at second, they could not get another hit.

Boston (1) at Troy (14): Harry Lamb (1-0) over Charlie Morlock (0-1). Lamb (28-6.4) allowed only 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6. Morlock (33-6.7), the winner of the last 2 Hurler Trophies in the Liberty League, did not make it through the 5th inning, allowing 15 hits, walking 1 and striking out 1. CF Jake Howard (24-4.6) had 3 hits for the Haymakers and scored 4 times, tying the Liberty League record. He had a pair of doubles. RF Bill Hammack (30-5.0) had 4 hits and also had 2 doubles. He scored 3 runs and knocked in 3.

Cincinnati (3) at New York (2): John Stevens (1-0) over Jack Roberts (0-1). Stevens (26-8.2) scattered 10 hits, walked 1 and struck out 5. Roberts (31-6.1) only allowed 4 hits, but walked 4 and struck out 4. Each team only made a single error. 1B John Hilliard (23-7.2) had 3 hits with a double and an RBI for the Gothams in a losing cause.

Detroit (0) at St. Louis (4): Tom Zurla (1-0) over William Rose (0-1). Zurla (31-7.3) allowed 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 3. Rose (32-4.9) allowed 9 hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts. 1B Harold Bradley (24-5.1) had 3 hits and 2 RBIs for the Maroons in his major league debut.

So all four of the new major league teams won their inaugural games!

Down in the Interstate League, the Pottsville Anthracites opened their season yesterday with a 5 to 3 win over the Reading Actives. LF Jim Everett (28-5.4) had 4 hits, including a pair of triples and knocked in all 5 runs.