Diamond Republic - Page 3

Darknight Smith · 03-22-2004, 03:35 PM

At the end of the 1855 season, one of the Republic’s most popular players, Abner Doubleday, retired. He spent his entire career with the New York Mutuals, a rarity in this era of “revolving” and big paychecks for star players. In addition to loyalty, Doubleday could count consistency and dependability in the clutch among his virtues. He was a four-time All Star, and in 1847 finished second in MVP voting. Despite a sterling defensive reputation, he won only a single Gold Glove (1851). His Mutuals won three championships. At his retirement, Doubleday stood first in career doubles, second in runs scored and walks, and third in hits and RBI.

Code:

Year   G    AB  H    2B  3B  HR  RBI    R  BB   K     SB  CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  Teams
1839   85  156   51   4   3   4   28   29   12   21    8  4  .327  .375  .468  NYM
1840  144  498  131  32   6   9   64   60   25   35   10  4  .263  .298  .406  NYM
1841  148  572  167  40  10  14   75   75   34   22   16  6  .292  .332  .470  NYM
1842  150  580  164  38   4   9   62   83   45   18   16  6  .283  .334  .409  NYM
1843  132  484  130  30   9  10   62   72   56   15   14  3  .269  .344  .430  NYM
1844  125  443  144  36   4  10   75   74   72   16   22  8  .325  .419  .492  NYM
1845  123  436  140  32   5  11   72   78   58   15   16  2  .321  .401  .493  NYM
1846  152  525  138  32   5  11   66   76   87   24   18  9  .263  .368  .406  NYM
1847  153  564  172  44   9  23  106  104   91   15   21  8  .305  .402  .537  NYM
1848  154  553  156  35   8  23   82  102   89   28   17  6  .282  .382  .499  NYM
1849  147  523  149  40   9  18   71  101   83   19   25  7  .285  .383  .499  NYM
1850  151  519  158  45   7  18  113   93   81   18   10  6  .304  .398  .522  NYM
1851  156  568  155  34   9  16   99   99  111   30   14  7  .273  .392  .449  NYM
1852  139  473  119  28   4  20   93   75   78   19   24  5  .252  .358  .455  NYM
1853  146  445  111  41   4  13   52   69   68   33   14  6  .249  .349  .447  NYM
1854  115  318   64  24   1   9   55   44   53   21   11  4  .201  .315  .368  NYM
1855  31    32   10   2   0   3    8    4    5    1    1  1  .313  .405  .656  NYM
Tot. 2251 7689 2159 537  97 221  1183 1238 1048 350  257 92  .281  .367  .462

Darknight Smith · 03-24-2004, 03:09 PM

1856

Code:

               W   L   GB   R    OR
Philadelphia   83  73  --  758  663
Mutuals        80  76   3  800  805
Brooklyn       78  78   5  769  785
Knicks         71  85  12  702  776

Almost the same result this year, though the teams tightened up a little. The Bachelors came out red hot, and still led the league in early July, but collapsed. Second baseman George Grum of the Mutuals had a breakthrough MVP season, astonishing everybody with a .314, 23, 124 performance (with 101 walks) in his first full year as a starter—at age 27. A great prospect back in 1851, he had nevertheless slid to the second round, where the Mutuals took him with the third pick (seventh overall). He spent his first year with the major league club in a backup role, then shuttled between Class A and the bigs for the next three seasons before Doc Adams gave him a starting role midway through 1855.

Nate Berkenstock was Class A Player of the Year (.368, 15, 86; 32 steals). 21-year-old Harry Wright went 3-1, 2.95 at Class A before being called up to the Knicks, where he went 2-1, 5.06 in 18 appearances (two of them starts—the team seems to be grooming him as a starting pitcher). Dickey Pearce spent the season in Class A, and despite injuries hit .279 and was rated as top non-pitching prospect.

ALL STARS
c Charles DeBost, NYK .284, 15, 77; Gold Glove
1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .295, 21, 108
2b George Grum, NYM .314, 23, 124; 101 walks
ss Tom Curry*, Phi. .267, 8, 92
3b Rudy Demlit, Bkn. .276, 30, 107
lf James Moncrief, NYK .266, 15 triples, 70 steals, 99 runs
cf Tice Hamilton, Phi. .292, 8, 87; 107 runs, 56 steals
rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .297, 30, 83
sp James Schofield, Phi. 21-9, 2.62, 274 k’s
sp Dick Thorn, Bkn. 25-9, 3.52; 263 k’s
sp Thomas Dick, NYK 19-13, 3.27
sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM 21-13, 3.38
rp Willie Babcock, NYK 6-2, 2.36, 31 saves

Darknight Smith · 03-25-2004, 04:18 PM

1857

Code:

               W   L   GB   R    OR
Knicks         83  74  --  789  759
Philadelphia   82  75   1  719  657
Brooklyn       78  78  4.5 693  748
Mutuals        70  86 12.5 687  724

A thrilling finish this year. The Knicks rose up from the previous year’s last-place embarrassment to challenge the Quakers, and the two teams fought it out tooth-and-nail through the last two months of the season. On the next-to-last day, the Knicks were up by one game, and the two teams faced each other at Manhattan Field. The Quakers knocked out 22-year-old Harry Wright in the 4th, and wound up winning handily, 7-to-3, thus tying up the league. The next day, Philly, behind James Schofield, beat Brooklyn 3-to-2, while the Knicks were handling the Mutuals 5-to-1.

For the first time in Republic history, the pennant race ended in a tie, so the two teams met at Franklin Field in Philadelphia for an unprecedented playoff game. Unfortunately, both clubs suffered from depleted pitching staffs, especially the Quakers—Frank Pidgeon and Curley Kelly were both out with injuries, so they had to start 27-year-old rookie lefty Patrick Sailors. The Knicks were forced to counter with 25-year-old Matt Yorston, a once-promising right-hander who had battled injuries in recent years (the Knicks had acquired him from the Mutuals during the season for Thomas Dick a solid lefty who was threatening to test the free agent market).

Yorston was wild, walking seven batters in five innings (altogether Knicks’ hurlers walked eleven). Going into the top of the ninth, the Quakers led 7-to-4. But the Knicks rallied for three runs to tie, the key blow being Patrick Gaffney’s two-run home run. Philly couldn’t do anything in their half, so the game (and the season) went into extra innings. The injury-riddled Quakers’ bullpen was running on empty by this time; before the game was through, manager Tom Fitzgerald would use the outlandish total of ten pitchers, several of them minor-league callups who really had no business playing in a game of this importance.

In the top of the tenth, a two-out single by Gaffney scored J.W. Davis, putting the Knicks up 8-to-7. In the Quakers' half, Fitzgerald was forced to leave reliever Andrew McGee in to bat leadoff, despite having several potential pinch-hitters on the bench; Fitzgerald had simply run out of pitchers. McGee tried to bunt, and got it past the pitcher—but second baseman Andrew Mills raced in to scoop it up and flip it to first just in time. Rookie of the Year Tommy Walter flied out, and Nate Berkenstock popped out to the centerfielder to end the game and the Quakers’ run at four straight pennants.

The Knicks’ surge was led by John Price, who regained his form (and the MVP trophy) with a brilliant .334, 20, 121 season; J.W. Davis, who enjoyed his best overall season (.346, 110 runs scored); and manager Abe Tucker, who picked the Mutuals’ pockets in a couple of mid-season trades, swapping prospects and pitchers who were going to bolt to free agency {Thomas Dick and Tom Faucet) for benchwarmer Andrew Mills, who hit .343 in 283 at bats when put in the Knicks’ lineup, and All-Star third baseman Gaffney. Outfielder/second baseman John Mott, yet another M’s prospect who had been rotting on the bench, signed with the Knicks as a free agent during the off-season, and eventually won the left field job with a .338 average. The Knicks also re-signed Charles DeBost from Philadelphia.

The Quakers’ strength continued to be pitching and defense, though they brought up good young outfielders in Walter and Berkenstock, and signed catcher Marvin Gelston (.328, 64 walks), a very talented hitter who had been stuck behind Joe Leggett with the Mutuals. Tom Curry*, the league’s perennial All Star shortstop, shocked everybody with a .336 average.

ALL STARS
c Charles DeBost, NYK .262, 12, 95; Gold Glove
1b John Price, NYK .334, 20, 121; 45 doubles
2b George Grum, NYM .293, 14, 81; 90 walks, Gold Glove
ss Tom Curry*, Phi. .336, 6, 68
3b Patrick Gaffney, NYM-NYK .278, 19, 78; Gold Glove
lf Nate Berkenstock, Phi. .228, 14, 51; Gold Glove
cf J.W. Davis, NYK .346, 17 triples, 61 steals, 110 runs
rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .245, 29, 85: Gold Glove
sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM 21-12, 2.37
sp James Schofield, Phi. 18-13, 2.72; Gold Glove
sp Campbell Bishop, Phi. 17-9, 2.89
sp Simon Burns, Bkn. 19-13, 3.26
rp Billy Grenelle, Phi. 4-4, 1.61, 38 saves

Darknight Smith · 03-26-2004, 06:55 PM

Real-life major-leaguers are starting to trickle into the Republic. Here's who's been drafted so far:

1854--Harry Wright (sp/rp)
1854--Dickey Pearce (ss)
1856--Hugh Reed (rp)
1857--Dave Birdsall (c)
1858--Charlie Smith (3b)

And coming up:
1859--Al Reach
1859--Al Barker
1860--Asa Brainard
1860--Steve King
1860--Dave Abercrombie
1861--Rynie Wolters
1861--Joe Start
1861--Wes Fisler
1862--Ed Duffy
1862--Tom Pratt
1862--Fergy Malone
1862--Jack Chapman

I can't wait for expansion (two more seasons, in 1860). The four-team format's beginning to wear a little thin.

Darknight Smith · 03-26-2004, 09:15 PM

1858

Code:

               W   L   GB   R    OR
Knicks         83  73  --  759  722
Brooklyn       78  78   5  693  681
Mutuals        76  80   8  719  748
Philadelphia   75  81   9  657  677

A pretty strange year. The teams drew even closer together, and only two or three players in the whole league had really standout seasons. Pete Tostivan won the MVP by default with monster power numbers (41 home runs, 137 RBI). Mattie O’Brien was traded mid-season to the Quakers (it wasn’t a giveaway this time; the M’s got solid righty Campbell Bishop and a minor leaguer in exchange), and won his third Corwine Award. Brooklyn finished at exactly .500 for the third straight season. Philadelphia’s first-round pick, third baseman Charlie Smith, was at 17 the youngest player ever taken in the DR draft. Not only did he make the big league team, he started at third, replacing perennial All Star Archie Quarrier, hit .292 with 10 home runs, and was named Rookie of the Year!

Harry Wright, who had gone 14-7, 4.37 the year before in his first full major-league campaign, made the All Star team this year (though this was probably due to general mediocrity as much as anything).

ALL STARS
c Joe Leggett, NYM .331, 17, 81
1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .290, 41, 137; Gold Glove
2b Andrew Mills, NYK .320, 92 runs
ss Tom Curry*, Phi. .289, 4, 76
3b Patrick Gaffney, NYK .297, 8, 61
lf Benjamin Lee, Bkn. .252, 9, 56
cf Tice Hamilton, NYM .309, 111 runs, 59 steals
rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .261, 29, 102; Gold Glove
sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM-Phi. 22-13, 2.46
sp Dick Thorn, NYK 15-11, 3.15
sp Harry Wright, NYK 16-13, 4.54
sp John Benjamin, Bkn. 12-9, 3.47; Gold Glove
rp Philodor Bell, Phi. 5-2, 1.97, 34 saves

Kelric · 03-27-2004, 01:25 AM

.252/9/56 is an All Star left fielder? That's sad.

Darknight Smith · 03-27-2004, 12:10 PM

Yeah--it happens in a four-team league sometimes. Though now that I look at it, I'm not sure why I picked Lee over Nate Berkenstock:

Benjamin Lee: .252/.333/.386, with 66 walks, 9 homers, 79 runs, 56 RBI, 10 stolen bases

Nate Berkenstock: .248/.301/.417, with 32 walks, 17 homers, 81 runs, 65 RBI, 43 stolen bases

Berkenstock hit with more power, had slightly better run production, and was a better baserunner, but walked half as much. Berkenstock, the Gold Glove leftfielder for the second year in a row, is definitely the superior fielder (.990-.958 advantage in fielding pct., and had more putouts, 290-264, in somewhat less playing time). On balance, it looks like Nate had the better season. I guess we'll have to chalk this one up to Lee's clubhouse leadership or his willingness to give reporters good quotes or something.

The Mutuals' left fielder, btw, was Eddie Durell, who hit .307, 4, 50 in only 420 plate appearances. The Knicks started with John Mott, who was hitting .212 when his season ended with an injury in June. His replacement was Billy McMahon, who hit .252, 1, 33.

Darknight Smith · 03-29-2004, 02:49 PM

1859

Code:

               W   L   GB   R    OR
Knicks         88  68  --  775  688
Mutuals        79  77   9  760  727
Philadelphia   76  80  12  648  690
Brooklyn       69  87  19  667  745

Last year 17-year-old Charlie Smith was the youngest player to enter the DR draft. This year, the second-youngest, right-hander Jim Creighton (he turned 18 on April 15), was taken with the first overall pick, also by the Quakers. While Smith was somewhat unheralded (and shocked everybody with his Rookie of the Year performance), Creighton’s crackling fastball made him the most touted prospect in Republic history. Creighton put in a pretty good performance at Class A (5-4, 3.35), and Quakers’ management just couldn’t resist bringing him up to the big time. After some seasoning in the bullpen, they even put him in the rotation for the last month. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite as ready as Smith had been, going 0-6, 6.85.

The race was very tight, with the Knicks, Mutuals, and Quakers taking turns at the top until late August, when the Knicks ran away from the field. Charles DeBost had his usual steady year (.286, 14, 77 and a Gold Glove), and John Price (.293, 17, 102), and Andrew Mills (.330, 92 runs) both contributed, as did the team’s six All Stars. Manager Abe Tucker pulled off a blockbuster trade in the season’s first week, swapping star closer Billy Grenelle to the Quakers for All Star shortstop Tom Curry*. Curry, it turned out, would battle Patrick Gavagan (.357) for the job—Tucker had actually acquired Gavagan in a very similar trade the previous month, sending veteran reliever Stephen Millard to the Mutuals in exchange (Gavagan was yet another promising player stuck on the M’s bench!).

Pete Tostivan was the MVP, while James Schofield took home his fifth Corwine Award (he's closing on Corwine himself!). No rookies came even close to qualifying for Rookie of the Year. The Quakers’ Dickey Pearce played his first full season as a regular, hit .261 with 1 home run and won the Gold Glove. He almost won the All Star nod at short, but the Mutuals’ Jim Tooker was nearly as good defensively, and had a distinctly better season with the bat. Pearce’s infield mate, Charlie Smith, avoided a sophomore slump by winning the Gold Glove and hitting fairly well (.266, 13, 67).

Right-hander Charles Etheridge had two no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning, one with two out.

ALL STARS
c Marvin Gelston, Phi. .272, 23, 60; 98 walks
1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .294, 44, 131; Gold Glove
2b George Grum, NYM .291, 19, 98; 100 walks
ss Jim Tooker, NYM .266, 4, 55
3b Patrick Gaffney, NYK .294, 18, 79
lf Billy McMahon, NYK .290, 7, 63
cf J.W. Davis, NYK .298, 7, 75; 97 runs, 59 steals, Gold Glove
rf Will Talman, NYK .228, 10, 73; Gold Glove
sp James Schofield, Phi. 20-12, 3.02
sp Harry Wright, NYK 21-10, 3.34
sp Dick Thorn, NYK 19-14, 3.13
sp Charles Etheridge, NYM 17-8, 3.14
rp Willie Babcock, NYM 5-6, 3.35, 32 saves

CONN CHRIS · 04-11-2005, 07:11 PM

Just found this, what a cool idea. Did you drop it for good or "just taking a break"?

Darknight Smith · 04-11-2005, 11:47 PM

The plan now is to relaunch this league when OOTP7 comes out. Seems like its flexibility with league structures would help out quite a bit.

Unfortunately, the original league doesn't exist anymore--all that's left are these posts (it was on a work computer and got trashed). But I've got all the nineteenth-century research, the list of names, etc. (and have added to it).

03-24-2004, 03:09 PM	#42
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	1856 Code: W L GB R OR Philadelphia 83 73 -- 758 663 Mutuals 80 76 3 800 805 Brooklyn 78 78 5 769 785 Knicks 71 85 12 702 776 Almost the same result this year, though the teams tightened up a little. The Bachelors came out red hot, and still led the league in early July, but collapsed. Second baseman George Grum of the Mutuals had a breakthrough MVP season, astonishing everybody with a .314, 23, 124 performance (with 101 walks) in his first full year as a starter—at age 27. A great prospect back in 1851, he had nevertheless slid to the second round, where the Mutuals took him with the third pick (seventh overall). He spent his first year with the major league club in a backup role, then shuttled between Class A and the bigs for the next three seasons before Doc Adams gave him a starting role midway through 1855. Nate Berkenstock was Class A Player of the Year (.368, 15, 86; 32 steals). 21-year-old Harry Wright went 3-1, 2.95 at Class A before being called up to the Knicks, where he went 2-1, 5.06 in 18 appearances (two of them starts—the team seems to be grooming him as a starting pitcher). Dickey Pearce spent the season in Class A, and despite injuries hit .279 and was rated as top non-pitching prospect. ALL STARS c Charles DeBost, NYK .284, 15, 77; Gold Glove 1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .295, 21, 108 2b George Grum, NYM .314, 23, 124; 101 walks ss Tom Curry, Phi. .267, 8, 92 3b Rudy Demlit, Bkn. .276, 30, 107 lf James Moncrief, NYK .266, 15 triples, 70 steals, 99 runs cf Tice Hamilton, Phi. .292, 8, 87; 107 runs, 56 steals rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .297, 30, 83 sp James Schofield, Phi. 21-9, 2.62, 274 k’s sp Dick Thorn, Bkn. 25-9, 3.52; 263 k’s sp Thomas Dick, NYK 19-13, 3.27 sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM 21-13, 3.38 rp Willie Babcock, NYK 6-2, 2.36, 31 saves Last edited by Darknight Smith; 03-24-2004 at 10:47 PM.*

03-25-2004, 04:18 PM	#43
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	1857 Code: W L GB R OR Knicks 83 74 -- 789 759 Philadelphia 82 75 1 719 657 Brooklyn 78 78 4.5 693 748 Mutuals 70 86 12.5 687 724 A thrilling finish this year. The Knicks rose up from the previous year’s last-place embarrassment to challenge the Quakers, and the two teams fought it out tooth-and-nail through the last two months of the season. On the next-to-last day, the Knicks were up by one game, and the two teams faced each other at Manhattan Field. The Quakers knocked out 22-year-old Harry Wright in the 4th, and wound up winning handily, 7-to-3, thus tying up the league. The next day, Philly, behind James Schofield, beat Brooklyn 3-to-2, while the Knicks were handling the Mutuals 5-to-1. For the first time in Republic history, the pennant race ended in a tie, so the two teams met at Franklin Field in Philadelphia for an unprecedented playoff game. Unfortunately, both clubs suffered from depleted pitching staffs, especially the Quakers—Frank Pidgeon and Curley Kelly were both out with injuries, so they had to start 27-year-old rookie lefty Patrick Sailors. The Knicks were forced to counter with 25-year-old Matt Yorston, a once-promising right-hander who had battled injuries in recent years (the Knicks had acquired him from the Mutuals during the season for Thomas Dick a solid lefty who was threatening to test the free agent market). Yorston was wild, walking seven batters in five innings (altogether Knicks’ hurlers walked eleven). Going into the top of the ninth, the Quakers led 7-to-4. But the Knicks rallied for three runs to tie, the key blow being Patrick Gaffney’s two-run home run. Philly couldn’t do anything in their half, so the game (and the season) went into extra innings. The injury-riddled Quakers’ bullpen was running on empty by this time; before the game was through, manager Tom Fitzgerald would use the outlandish total of ten pitchers, several of them minor-league callups who really had no business playing in a game of this importance. In the top of the tenth, a two-out single by Gaffney scored J.W. Davis, putting the Knicks up 8-to-7. In the Quakers' half, Fitzgerald was forced to leave reliever Andrew McGee in to bat leadoff, despite having several potential pinch-hitters on the bench; Fitzgerald had simply run out of pitchers. McGee tried to bunt, and got it past the pitcher—but second baseman Andrew Mills raced in to scoop it up and flip it to first just in time. Rookie of the Year Tommy Walter flied out, and Nate Berkenstock popped out to the centerfielder to end the game and the Quakers’ run at four straight pennants. The Knicks’ surge was led by John Price, who regained his form (and the MVP trophy) with a brilliant .334, 20, 121 season; J.W. Davis, who enjoyed his best overall season (.346, 110 runs scored); and manager Abe Tucker, who picked the Mutuals’ pockets in a couple of mid-season trades, swapping prospects and pitchers who were going to bolt to free agency {Thomas Dick and Tom Faucet) for benchwarmer Andrew Mills, who hit .343 in 283 at bats when put in the Knicks’ lineup, and All-Star third baseman Gaffney. Outfielder/second baseman John Mott, yet another M’s prospect who had been rotting on the bench, signed with the Knicks as a free agent during the off-season, and eventually won the left field job with a .338 average. The Knicks also re-signed Charles DeBost from Philadelphia. The Quakers’ strength continued to be pitching and defense, though they brought up good young outfielders in Walter and Berkenstock, and signed catcher Marvin Gelston (.328, 64 walks), a very talented hitter who had been stuck behind Joe Leggett with the Mutuals. Tom Curry, the league’s perennial All Star shortstop, shocked everybody with a .336 average. ALL STARS c Charles DeBost, NYK .262, 12, 95; Gold Glove 1b John Price, NYK .334, 20, 121; 45 doubles 2b George Grum, NYM .293, 14, 81; 90 walks, Gold Glove ss Tom Curry, Phi. .336, 6, 68 3b Patrick Gaffney, NYM-NYK .278, 19, 78; Gold Glove lf Nate Berkenstock, Phi. .228, 14, 51; Gold Glove cf J.W. Davis, NYK .346, 17 triples, 61 steals, 110 runs rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .245, 29, 85: Gold Glove sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM 21-12, 2.37 sp James Schofield, Phi. 18-13, 2.72; Gold Glove sp Campbell Bishop, Phi. 17-9, 2.89 sp Simon Burns, Bkn. 19-13, 3.26 rp Billy Grenelle, Phi. 4-4, 1.61, 38 saves Last edited by Darknight Smith; 03-26-2004 at 09:16 PM.

03-26-2004, 09:15 PM	#45
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	1858 Code: W L GB R OR Knicks 83 73 -- 759 722 Brooklyn 78 78 5 693 681 Mutuals 76 80 8 719 748 Philadelphia 75 81 9 657 677 A pretty strange year. The teams drew even closer together, and only two or three players in the whole league had really standout seasons. Pete Tostivan won the MVP by default with monster power numbers (41 home runs, 137 RBI). Mattie O’Brien was traded mid-season to the Quakers (it wasn’t a giveaway this time; the M’s got solid righty Campbell Bishop and a minor leaguer in exchange), and won his third Corwine Award. Brooklyn finished at exactly .500 for the third straight season. Philadelphia’s first-round pick, third baseman Charlie Smith, was at 17 the youngest player ever taken in the DR draft. Not only did he make the big league team, he started at third, replacing perennial All Star Archie Quarrier, hit .292 with 10 home runs, and was named Rookie of the Year! Harry Wright, who had gone 14-7, 4.37 the year before in his first full major-league campaign, made the All Star team this year (though this was probably due to general mediocrity as much as anything). ALL STARS c Joe Leggett, NYM .331, 17, 81 1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .290, 41, 137; Gold Glove 2b Andrew Mills, NYK .320, 92 runs ss Tom Curry*, Phi. .289, 4, 76 3b Patrick Gaffney, NYK .297, 8, 61 lf Benjamin Lee, Bkn. .252, 9, 56 cf Tice Hamilton, NYM .309, 111 runs, 59 steals rf Jake Ruppenthal, Bkn. .261, 29, 102; Gold Glove sp Mattie O’Brien, NYM-Phi. 22-13, 2.46 sp Dick Thorn, NYK 15-11, 3.15 sp Harry Wright, NYK 16-13, 4.54 sp John Benjamin, Bkn. 12-9, 3.47; Gold Glove rp Philodor Bell, Phi. 5-2, 1.97, 34 saves

03-29-2004, 02:49 PM	#48
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	1859 Code: W L GB R OR Knicks 88 68 -- 775 688 Mutuals 79 77 9 760 727 Philadelphia 76 80 12 648 690 Brooklyn 69 87 19 667 745 Last year 17-year-old Charlie Smith was the youngest player to enter the DR draft. This year, the second-youngest, right-hander Jim Creighton (he turned 18 on April 15), was taken with the first overall pick, also by the Quakers. While Smith was somewhat unheralded (and shocked everybody with his Rookie of the Year performance), Creighton’s crackling fastball made him the most touted prospect in Republic history. Creighton put in a pretty good performance at Class A (5-4, 3.35), and Quakers’ management just couldn’t resist bringing him up to the big time. After some seasoning in the bullpen, they even put him in the rotation for the last month. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite as ready as Smith had been, going 0-6, 6.85. The race was very tight, with the Knicks, Mutuals, and Quakers taking turns at the top until late August, when the Knicks ran away from the field. Charles DeBost had his usual steady year (.286, 14, 77 and a Gold Glove), and John Price (.293, 17, 102), and Andrew Mills (.330, 92 runs) both contributed, as did the team’s six All Stars. Manager Abe Tucker pulled off a blockbuster trade in the season’s first week, swapping star closer Billy Grenelle to the Quakers for All Star shortstop Tom Curry. Curry, it turned out, would battle Patrick Gavagan* (.357) for the job—Tucker had actually acquired Gavagan in a very similar trade the previous month, sending veteran reliever Stephen Millard to the Mutuals in exchange (Gavagan was yet another promising player stuck on the M’s bench!). Pete Tostivan was the MVP, while James Schofield took home his fifth Corwine Award (he's closing on Corwine himself!). No rookies came even close to qualifying for Rookie of the Year. The Quakers’ Dickey Pearce played his first full season as a regular, hit .261 with 1 home run and won the Gold Glove. He almost won the All Star nod at short, but the Mutuals’ Jim Tooker was nearly as good defensively, and had a distinctly better season with the bat. Pearce’s infield mate, Charlie Smith, avoided a sophomore slump by winning the Gold Glove and hitting fairly well (.266, 13, 67). Right-hander Charles Etheridge had two no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning, one with two out. ALL STARS c Marvin Gelston, Phi. .272, 23, 60; 98 walks 1b Pete Tostivan, NYM .294, 44, 131; Gold Glove 2b George Grum, NYM .291, 19, 98; 100 walks ss Jim Tooker, NYM .266, 4, 55 3b Patrick Gaffney, NYK .294, 18, 79 lf Billy McMahon, NYK .290, 7, 63 cf J.W. Davis, NYK .298, 7, 75; 97 runs, 59 steals, Gold Glove rf Will Talman, NYK .228, 10, 73; Gold Glove sp James Schofield, Phi. 20-12, 3.02 sp Harry Wright, NYK 21-10, 3.34 sp Dick Thorn, NYK 19-14, 3.13 sp Charles Etheridge, NYM 17-8, 3.14 rp Willie Babcock, NYM 5-6, 3.35, 32 saves

04-11-2005, 07:11 PM	#49
CONN CHRIS Global Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 29,149	Just found this, what a cool idea. Did you drop it for good or "just taking a break"? __________________ Check Out My Cards!

03-26-2004, 06:55 PM	#44
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	Real-life major-leaguers are starting to trickle into the Republic. Here's who's been drafted so far: 1854--Harry Wright (sp/rp) 1854--Dickey Pearce (ss) 1856--Hugh Reed (rp) 1857--Dave Birdsall (c) 1858--Charlie Smith (3b) And coming up: 1859--Al Reach 1859--Al Barker 1860--Asa Brainard 1860--Steve King 1860--Dave Abercrombie 1861--Rynie Wolters 1861--Joe Start 1861--Wes Fisler 1862--Ed Duffy 1862--Tom Pratt 1862--Fergy Malone 1862--Jack Chapman I can't wait for expansion (two more seasons, in 1860). The four-team format's beginning to wear a little thin.

03-27-2004, 01:25 AM	#46
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,992	.252/9/56 is an All Star left fielder? That's sad.

03-27-2004, 12:10 PM	#47
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	Yeah--it happens in a four-team league sometimes. Though now that I look at it, I'm not sure why I picked Lee over Nate Berkenstock: Benjamin Lee: .252/.333/.386, with 66 walks, 9 homers, 79 runs, 56 RBI, 10 stolen bases Nate Berkenstock: .248/.301/.417, with 32 walks, 17 homers, 81 runs, 65 RBI, 43 stolen bases Berkenstock hit with more power, had slightly better run production, and was a better baserunner, but walked half as much. Berkenstock, the Gold Glove leftfielder for the second year in a row, is definitely the superior fielder (.990-.958 advantage in fielding pct., and had more putouts, 290-264, in somewhat less playing time). On balance, it looks like Nate had the better season. I guess we'll have to chalk this one up to Lee's clubhouse leadership or his willingness to give reporters good quotes or something. The Mutuals' left fielder, btw, was Eddie Durell, who hit .307, 4, 50 in only 420 plate appearances. The Knicks started with John Mott, who was hitting .212 when his season ended with an injury in June. His replacement was Billy McMahon, who hit .252, 1, 33.

04-11-2005, 11:47 PM	#50
Darknight Smith Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 66	The plan now is to relaunch this league when OOTP7 comes out. Seems like its flexibility with league structures would help out quite a bit. Unfortunately, the original league doesn't exist anymore--all that's left are these posts (it was on a work computer and got trashed). But I've got all the nineteenth-century research, the list of names, etc. (and have added to it).