MLB Replay....A new History

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

Gamble? Certainly an appropriate term whenever talking about Hal Chase. Fortunately for Cleveland, OOTP doesn't take into consideration the fact that Chase was a no-good, conniving scoundrel.

Really, you have inspired me to read up a bit on Hal Chase, I'm curious about this reputation he has!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by OmahaReynolds

I like what you've got here so far. The layout is especially nice. Interesting to see how Ty Cobb develops.

Thank You sir. I'm rooting for him, mostly because it's always fun for big names to play like...well...big names. Cobb certainly has a chance to a generational type player.

[George_Bell]

1904 Season Preview

If 3 of the AL’s top 10 hitters come from Boston, and 4 from NY, I see both of those teams challenging the Senators who feature the AL's best starting rotation. You can’t count out the Browns either, last years pennant winner.

Pittsburgh is head and shoulders above everyone else in baseball. Pitching, defense, offense, speed, they literally have it all. 100 wins is not out of the question.


1904 Top Hitter

Ed Delahanty retains his spot as the best player in baseball. His average has improved every year, despite getting closer to 40. He looks poised for another great year.


1904 Top Pitcher

Noodles Hahn again tops the best pitcher list, but I believe OOTP has this wrong. I’d take 23 year old Christy Mathewson, and raining NL pitcher of the year Rube Waddell over Hahn.


Here's a shot of the Newspaper feature in OOTP. I'll snapshot the front page each opening day for a general idea of what's happening.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

Really, you have inspired me to read up a bit on Hal Chase, I'm curious about this reputation he has!

He was widely regarded as the best fielding first baseman of his day. He was also as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Bill James has some very interesting things to say about him in the Historical Baseball Abstract. You can read more about him here.

[NYY #23]

Nice job so far. I'll be following along. I'm curious what settings you are using for recalc?

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

He was widely regarded as the best fielding first baseman of his day. He was also as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Bill James has some very interesting things to say about him in the Historical Baseball Abstract. You can read more about him here.

That's a pretty interesting article. I knew the name Hal Chase, and was aware he had a good career, but i knew nothing about the extra stuff he was upto. Thanks for the link

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Nice job so far. I'll be following along. I'm curious what settings you are using for recalc?

Thank you. I'm not using any recalc, I'm letting the OOTP engine develop the players according to the engine, but i left all those settings to default for now. I've been meaning to look up what people think the most realistic settings are, but haven't yet. I figured there was time. Do you have any recommendations by chance?

[George_Bell]

1904 Regular Season

The Beaneaters have won 56, 44, and 42 games the last 3 years. They started out terrible, and have gotten worse. They may have changed their franchises fortunes selecting Chief Bender and Ty Cobb on the same day. Bender opens the season slotted in the number 1 slot in the rotation, while 17 year old Cobb backs up 38 year old CF Billy Hamilton.

On April 17^th, Cardinals OF Jesse Burkett recorded hit #2500. 35 year old Burkett is sixth on the all-time list, and unlikely to catch Cap Anson. Ed Delanaty is a mere 192 hits from 3000. Anson has 3418.

On July 9^th, 34 year old Senators SP Kid Nichols won his 350^th career game. He isn’t the same pitcher who won the majority of those games, but he’s still decent, and can help a club. Nichols was a long time member of the Beaneaters before a offseason trade sent him to the capital. Nichols sits just 14 wins behind all time leader Pud Galvin, and should set the record sometime next season.

Pittsburgh does become the 1^st team to win 100. Honus Wagner seems to have come back from his struggles a few years ago to become an elite player. Just another thing that widens the distance between the Pirates and the rest of the league.

The Senators and Americans were tied on Oct 1^st. Washington went 8-1 to finish the season, while Boston 5-4. Washington wins the pennant.

Ty Cobb spent the whole season as a backup. He got 295 at bats, and improved greatly ratings wise. He should start next season. Cobb hit .281/.324/.332 which is pretty decent for a 17 year old. He did suffer elbow inflammation late in September, but that shouldn’t effect his future. Chief Bender, well, I wont say anything yet. He’ll probably come up when the Rookie of the year awards are handed out!

Who is Deacon Phillippe? Well, other then the probable AL pitcher of the Year, he was traded to Chicago by Pittsburgh 3 seasons ago. Imagine the Pirates with this guy on their roster!

Ed Delahanty wins another batting title, and Rube Waddell is my pick to eventually replace Cy Young as the name of the pitcher of the year. He’s been that good.

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

Kid Nichols will miss the world series with a strained forearm, but he finished his season at 8-17. Washington didn’t score runs for him anyway. I can’t see this being close. I must sound like a broken record, but the Pirates are just to good. While anything can happen in the great game of baseball, anything will not happen. The pitching alone will be enough for Pittsburgh.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

Thank you. I'm not using any recalc, I'm letting the OOTP engine develop the players according to the engine, but i left all those settings to default for now. I've been meaning to look up what people think the most realistic settings are, but haven't yet. I figured there was time. Do you have any recommendations by chance?

I think that it mostly depends on what you are looking for. I like to play without recalc when going through history, because you can definitely see some surprises. Every once in a while you'll see someone who never amounted to much turn into a Hall of Famer, or a Hall of Famer turn into a scrub.

If you want players to develop more like they did in real life I always like to use 3 years for the recalc. That does a good job of keeping things in line with reality and more believable.

So I think it depends on what you are looking for. If you want Babe Ruth to turn out pretty close to Babe Ruth I think 3 years works well, but if you want to take your chances go without recalc.

[George_Bell]

1904 World Series

Well, I was wrong again. The Senators gave Pittsburgh just about as much as they could handle, and then some. Infact, the series isn’t over, we’re heading to game 7!

[George_Bell]

Game 7 Preview

Rube Waddell will take on Dale Gear in the deciding game. Gear has beaten Waddell twice in this series, including a classic 1-0 win in game 5. I think Waddell is the best pitcher in baseball, and he had an amazing season, but does Washington, and Dale Gear have his number?

[George_Bell]

Game 7

Both pitchers came out with their best stuff. The game featured only 2 hits through the first 5 innings. Pittsburgh's Fielder Jones was thrown out at home in the sixth. Waddell kept dominating though, and in the seventh, 2 hits, an intentional walk and a error allowed Pittsburgh to grab a 2-0 lead. Waddell would only surrender 1 more hit, and finished with a 2 hit shutout.

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1904 Award Winners

Pretty surprised to see Washington’s Mike Grady receive the AL MVP. Nap Lajoie did everything better except home runs. Ed Delahanty wins 4^th straight MVP.

[George_Bell]

1904-05 Offseason News and Notes
1904 MLB Draft

Ed Cicotte is probably the biggest name available. He was having a good career in real life until 1919 Black Sox scandal. He ended up being picked in the 3^rd round by the Beaneaters. 27 year old SP Irv Young goes first overall in a very underwhelming draft.

The Senators new uniforms say Nationals on them. The REAL LIFE explanation appears on Wikipedia.

“The 1904 Senators lost 113 games, and the next season the team's owners, trying for a fresh start, changed the team's name to the Nationals. The Senators name remained widely used by fans and journalists—in fact, the two names were used interchangeably—although "Nats" remained the team's nickname.”




Here’s a quick look at the Pirates starting rotation. The group that gives all National League teams nightmares.

[George_Bell]

1905 Preview

Those pitching predictions for the Highlanders are probably optimistic. I don’t see Townsend and Powell being dominant starters. They sure have the offense though. Jon McGraw, who I haven’t talked about at all is a legitimate star.

Ty Cobb seems ready to establish himself as a regular, or maybe he’s ready to break out as a star. Either way, he’s the starting center fielder in Boston at age 18.


Top Player

Ed Delahanty has lost a point off his contact rating, but is again the leagues top player, and looks to win his 5^th straight NL batting crown. Ty Cobb has moved up to 4^th on the list.


Top Pitcher

25 year old Noodles Hahn seems like he’s being wasted in Cincinnati. The best pitcher in baseball again has lost 46 games during the last 3 seasons, yet he has a combined WAR of 39.1

[George_Bell]

1905 Regular Season

On May 9^th, Ed Delahanty knocked his 3000^th hit into the outfield, becoming only the 2^nd player in baseball history to record 3000 hits. He’s 37, he’s still got great ratings, and he’s hitting .337. The Cap Anson hits record watch is officially on. Delahanty needs 2 good seasons after this one, and the record will be his.

Tough year for Nap Lajoie. He tore his labrum on April 28^th, with an original diagnoses of 6 weeks. After returning and playing for a month, he suffered a reinjury, this time much worse. His season is done, which is a huge blow. Nap is turning 31 soon, and this injury may effect his ratings.

On August 1^st, the Reds lead the National league by 1 game over Pittsburgh. This date is significant. The Red's Noodles Hahn, who was 19-5 with a 2.38 ERA was lost for the season with shoulder inflammation. Also on this day, Pittsburgh’s Jack Chesbro returned from the DL following a 3 week DL stint with a sore elbow. Reds lose their best player, while the champs get stronger.

A month later, the Pirates led the Reds by 5 games, but Jack Chesbro suffered another injury. Elbow soreness again, but this time, his season was shut down, and the Reds rallied. MVP candidate Sam Crawford stepped up, leading the NL in hitting, and by the end of September, the 2 teams were tied. Another disaster then occurred, Sam Crawford fractured his wrist. Season over.

The Reds, without their best 2 players now have 1 week to outplay the best team in baseball, for a birth in the World Series….

The Reds go 4-4 in their final 8. Not exactly the kind of performance teams needs to win the Pennant. Pittsburgh goes 1-5, which is shocking considering their talent. The dream of a 3 peat is over!



Nap Lajoie’s shoulder injury worsened even more. At the end of the season, the diagnosis was as bad as it gets. His injury was so bad, Nap would never play baseball again. He’s now 31. I will edit the injury, and instead of career ending, I’ll make it 600 days. He’s gone for the next 2 seasons. Can he come back, how will his skills look. Should be a good story.



The AL champs got some big performances to runaway from the rest of the league.

Sam Crawford ends Ed Delahanty's 4 year batting title streak. Rube Waddell is again amazing

[George_Bell]