OOTP historic rerun.

[amead17]

7th October 1880

The fans of the Blues are celebrating their second consecutive pennant as their team put together another strong season. The team jumped out to an early lead in April, May and June before then playing steady ball the rest of the year to earn their second pennant. Up next for the Blues is a return match up against the NL's Chicago White Stockings. The fans will be hoping that last season's series loss can be avenged in this years MLB Championship Series.

The team finished the regular season with a 6-3 road win against the Baltimore Orioles followed by a 1-2 home series loss to the St Louis Brown Stockings 1-8, 3-12 and 4-1

The pitching had a solid season. The best starter was Jim McCormick. McCormick has played 3 seasons with the Blues, 2 as the starter. He started 42 games and picked up 23 wins. He pitched 356 innings for 345 hits and 91 earned runs for an ERA of 2.30

The batting was good enough all season to pick up the wins needed to take the pennant. The best batter came in the form of First Baseman Michael Campbell. Campbell had his best season of his career so far as he made 82 starts. He picked up 91 hits from his 337 at bats. These at bats produced 54 runs and 24 RBI's along with an average of .270

Full pitching stats for the season


Full batting stats for the season



The team will now face the MLB Championship Series against the Chicago White Stockings. We will bring you all the news from this series once played. We will also bring you all the off season news once the First Year Draft has been completed.

[amead17]

7th October 1880

The Fans of the Athletics had to suffer through a season of poor form from their favourite team. The team were never out of the basement in the AL as they started poorly and then never found the form through the rest of the season. They finished 10 games of the winners which is closer than some thought during the middle of the season. The fans are hoping the owner knows where to start putting this right so that they can go back to enjoying successful seasons.

The team finished the year with 4 losses. They lost 1-5 on the road to the St Louis Brown Stockings followed by a 0-3 road trip loss to the Baltimore Orioles 3-4, 1-6 and 0-8

The pitching was a mixed bag during the season as they could not pick up the wins. The best starter for the year was 5 year veteran and 2 year starter Pud Galvin. Galvin won 17 games from his 42 starts as he pitched 345.1 innings. This work saw him give up 331 hits and 74 earned runs for an ERA of 1.93

The batting was poor during the year and couldn't find the form to help the solid pitching out. The best starter was Left Fielder George Wood. Rookie Wood played better than his young age should allow as he picked up 89 hits from 304 at bats in 77 starts. These hits saw him claim 42 runs and 42 RBI's for an average of .293. He picked up the AL batting crown with these figures.

Full pitching stats for the season


Full batting stats for the season



All of the off season news will be bought to you once the First Year Draft has been completed.

[amead17]

7th October 1880

The fans of the Brown Stockings have to say that they have enjoyed the season as the team improved from a slow start to end up finishing second while never really challenging for the pennant. The team's slow start was the reason the pennant was never in reach as it took the team until July to pick up a winning month. The fans will hope that the second half of the season's form can be carried forward into next season. The owner will be looking for that piece of the puzzle that can help the team make that extra step.

The team finished the regular season with a 5-1home win over the Philadelphia Athletics and a 2-1 road trip series win against the Cleveland Blues 8-1, 12-3 and 1-4

The pitching put up some good number during the year as they kept the runs scored against them down. The best of the starters was Larry Corcoran. Rookie Corcoran put up good numbers to gain an ERA of 1.99. He pitched 361.2 innings in 42 game starts for this ERA. These games saw him pick up 24 wins as well as giving up 316 hits and 80 earned runs.

The batting was fairly solid all season while struggling for consistency. The best batter was Left Fielder George Hall. Hall started 78 games and came up to bat 308 times. These at bats managed to see him claim 87 hits along with 35 runs and 37 RBI's. His average for the year was .282

Tom Barlow picked up a nice record as he broke the most steals in a single season to set the new mark at 70.

Full pitching stats for the season


Full batting stats for the season



All of the off season news will be bought to you once the First Year Draft has been completed.

[amead17]

Results from the playoffs

16th October 1880

The city of Chicago is recovering from another blinding hangover today as the town partied until the small hours of the morning to celebrate a 5th MLB Championship and their 3rd consecutive win. The difference in this series came down to who's pitching staff was strongest. Our White Stockings showed that they had the best in Jim Britt, Bill McGunnigle and Candy Cummings.

The team lost the opening game by a score of 5-10. This was probably their worst showing on the mound as Cummings struggled through 5 innings for the loss, giving up 4 earned runs before being pulled. Ned williamson put up some fight from a batting perspective as he collected 5 hits and 2 runs along with 2 RBI's. He earned the star player for this performance in a losing effort.

Game 2 saw the White Stockings bounce back behind the arm of veteran superstar Jim Britt. Britt gave up only 2 earned runs in the White Stockings 7-3 win as he pitched all 9 innings and picked up the win and player of the game. The batting did enough to score 6 early runs so that the Blues were never in the contest. The best was Harry Stovey who picked up 3 hits for 2 runs and an RBI.

Game 3 looks like it was even more one sided than the second with a score line of 8-1. This though hides the fact that the teams were tied 1-1 going into the top of the 8th inning. The White Stockings batting then woke up and blew the Blues away with 3 runs in the 8th and 4 in the 9th. The pitching of Bill McGunnigle was solid all game as he pitched all 9 innings for the win. He saw only 1 run scored while he was pitching and that was not his fault. He was awarded star man. The hot bat in the game was Catcher Ned Williamson again with 3 hits and 3 runs.

The fourth game in the series saw the White Stockings pegged back to 2-2 in the series as they were all but shut down by the Blues. The team lost the game 1-4 and the batting was never in the contest as they were held to only 3 hits all game. The pitching of Candy Cummings was solid but he never had a chance at the win with the batting being so poor. He gave up 4 runs in the 8 innings he pitched.

Game 5 saw the White Stockings re-take the lead in the series with a wonderful 14-6 win. This scoreline though still flatters the White Stockings batters as they scored 8 of those runs in the 10th inning to take the game away from the Blues. The star of the show was again Catcher Ned Williamson as he claimed 4 hits and 4 runs along with 3 RBI's. He was player of the game for this work. The pitching of Jim Britt was steady if not spectacular as he pitched the win from 10 innings.

The final game of the series was a close affair as both teams pushed for the vital win. In the end the White Stockings just had enough to take the series with a 6-5 win. They started strong with 3 early runs only to see themselves behind 4-5 going into the 9th. They then managed a 2 run blast to finish the series and retain their MLB Championship. The batting was again led by Ned Williamson who had 2 hit along with 1 run and 1 RBI. The pitching of Bill McGunnigle was solid with 12 hits and 2 earned runs against him over the 9 innings.

16th October 1880

For a second season running the Blues fans saw their team come up short in the final series. The team tried its best but were no match for the White Stockings strong pitching line up. The only thing the fans can hope for now is for it to be third time lucky with a hope that the team will return again next year to earn the win.

Game 1 saw the Blues jump to an early 1-0 lead in the series behind some strong batting that scored 7 early runs in the first 4 innings to help win the game 10-5. The star with the bat was Third Baseman Roger Connor who picked up 2 hits to score 3 runs and 3 RBI's along with a home run. Lee Richmond was solid enough from the mound to pick up the win on 9 innings pitched with 5 earned runs given up.

The second game saw the Blues pegged back to level for the series as the White Stockings stopped the flow of runs behind the arm of their pitching. The Blues pitching itself had a tough game as they gave up 6 early runs in the 3-7 loss that never saw the team in the contest. The pitching that allowed the early slump was led by Jim McCormick who saw all 7 runs taken off of his pitching . The only good news for him was that only 1 of those runs was attributed to him in the 6 innings he pitched. First Baseman Michael Campbell was the only batter to put up any decent numbers in the line up with 4 hits and 1 run.

The scoreline from the third game may make it look like the Blues were blown away 1-8 but they were in the contest right up until the 8th inning when their pitching faltered. The score after 7 innings was tied at 1-1 before the White Stockings took 7 runs from our Blues team in the last 2 innings. Will White put up a good first 7 innings before tiredness, due to his long injury lay off this year, caused the teams down fall as he gave up 7 runs in innings 8 and 9. The batting had a tough day against the White Stockings pitching only picking up 7 hits all game.

The Blues managed to pick themselves up after the hard loss in the third game to post a very respectable 4-1 win in game 4 to tie the series back at 2-2. Lee Richmond had another excellent day on the mound as he allowed 0 runs from 3 hits in the 9 innings he pitched. He picked up player of the game for this work. The only run scored by the White Stockings was on an error by the fielding unit. The batting did enough to pick up 4 single runs in 4 different innings to give the team the win.

The Blues put up an excellent fight in game 5 to hold the game close until the extra innings as they lost 6-14. After 9 innings the Blues were tied at 6-6 with the White Stockings. The pitching then fell apart as they gave up 8 runs in the final inning. The loss went to reliever Tricky Nichols who pitched the final 2 innings to give up those 8 runs. The pitching was its steady self as they picked up 6 runs from 12 hits and kept the team close until the end.

The Blues tried their hardest to take the series to a final game decider but didn't have enough to get the extra wins needed. They lost game 6 by a score of 5-6 and could have won it but for a final 2 run blast from the White Stockings in the 9th inning. Will White gave his best from the mound pitching 8.2 innings and only giving up 9 hits with 0 earned runs against him. He was player of the game with this effort. The batting was solid all round with the best being Short Stop Jim Snyder with 3 hits and 2 runs scored.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

The fans of the Orioles are having to digest a busy off season for their team. The owner has made changes to the front office again this year. Manager Mike Escarcega saw his contract run out and not be renewed. His replacement is the team's current bench coach Alvin Cook. Cook has been with the team as bench coach for only one season, having been the manager of the AAA Gwinnet Braves previously. The fans hope that he has enough experience and skill to bring the Orioles back to the top spot in the AL.

The awards dinner saw a few Orioles players honoured as they picked up Golden Glove awards for being in the AL defensive team of the year. These were Second Baseman George Wright, Short Stop Jacob Doye, Left Fielder Dan Brouthers and Right Fielder Jake Evans.

The fans have seen a major overhaul of the squad this winter as the Orioles look to make changes to the playing staff.

The first change was the trading of 30 year old Right Fielder Roger Fraley to the Cleveland Blues in exchange for 24 year old Second Baseman John Haldeman and 20 year old minor league First Baseman Bill White. Fraley was acquired in 1875 through a trade and his 5 years with the club produced solid if unspectacular numbers which the fans will hope can be more than replaced by the exciting new prospect in 24 year old Second Baseman John Haldeman

The Orioles also went to add some experience to the team as they traded 23 year old minor league First Baseman John McGuinness and 21 year old minor league Catcher John Kelly to the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for the 32 year old First Baseman Jim Foran. Foran may be starting to show his age when he plays but will bring that added experience that the team requires.

The fans were sad to see one of their favourites decide to call it quits on his career this year. The team announced that likeable Centre Fielder Lip Pike was hanging up his cleats and leaving baseball. Pike, a 6 time all star and 1 time batter of the year, spent his whole 10 year career with the Baltimore organisation. In that time he played in 488 games with all but 7 as a starter. He claimed 576 hits, 364 runs and 298 RBI's for an overall average of .287. (real life stats 425 games for 637 hits, 433 runs and 332 RBI's with an average of .321)

The team also announced that bit part player Bub McAtee was also retiring. McAtee played 102 games for the Orioles in his 10 years with the club 9 of which were starts. He had 29 hits, 15 runs and 15 RBI's for an average of .290 (real life stats 51 games 56 hits, 64 runs and 25 RBI's with an average of .246)

The team took a full part in the First Year Player draft this year even though it was a small draft class. They took Pitcher Jack Lynch with their first choice. The full draft log is below



All the Draftees signed by the deadline.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

The fans of the Red Caps were looking to their favourite team's owner to shake things up a little in the off season to bring the team back to contenders in the NL. The owner decided he was happy with the current front office set up and only made one move by signing GM Karl Bakewell to a 3 year contract extension.



The awards dinner only had 1 representative from the Red Caps organisation. This though was for one of the major awards as Charley Jones managed to scoop the NL Batter of the Year Award against some tough competition.

The team made some major surgery on the teams line up this year that the fans are not sure was a good move.

They traded 2 of their very strong pitchers away for young hitting prospects.

Firstly they traded 24 year old pitcher Terry Larkin to the Cincinnati Red Stockings in exchange for 24 year old Second Baseman Bill Smiley and 23 year old First Baseman Dude Esterbrook.

They then traded 24 year old Pitcher Bobby Mitchell to the St Louis Brown Stockings in exchange for 24 year old First Baseman Chub Sullivan and 24 year old minor league Right Fielder Charlie Reilley.

The fans cannot understand why the club would have done this as Mitchell was the mainstay of the pitching unit last season with his 20 wins in 42 starts. They really hope the management know what they are doing or it could be a long season ahead for the fans and team alike.

The team then made further player movement in trading 24 year old pitcher Jim Tyng to the St Louis Brown Stockings in exchange for 24 year old minor league Catcher Jerry Dorgan and 19 year old Left Fielder Leonidas Lee.

They also moved 22 year old pitcher Jack Neagle to the Brooklyn Atlantics and received 23 year old minor league First Baseman George Adams in return.

The team acquired 2 experienced pitchers through the rule 5 draft in the shape of John Greason from the Brooklyn Atlantics and Flip Lafferty from the St Louis Brown Stockings.

The team lost 5 players to retirement this year. The most notable was Right Fielder Bob Addy. Addy, a 5 time all star, spent the last 2 and a half seasons of his 10 year career in Boston after being acquired in a trade. His career totals showed he played 349 games with 239 of those as a starter. He hit 352 times for 215 runs and 162 RBI's along with an average of .292 (real life stats 274 games for 341 hits, 227 runs and 172 RBI's and an average of .277)

The others to retire were 1 time all star Joe Simmons who played 121 games for the Red Caps with 106 hits, 86 runs and 50 RBI's for an average of .250. (real life stats 58 games for 60 hits, 45 runs, 30 RBI's and an average of .221)

Catcher Nat Hicks, a 1 time all star, who played 129 games with 66 starts for 87 hits, 72 runs and 47 RBI's along with an average of .245 (real life stats 257 games, 301 hits, 173 runs and 117 RBI's for an average of .263)

Right Fielder Henry Austin who started 5 of the 35 games he played, He hit 8 times for 4 runs and 6 RBI's along with an average of .286 (real life stats 23 games for 25 hits, 10 runs, 11 RBI's and an average of .248)

Finally Minor Leaguer Tom Miller who never made the big time and leaves without a major league appearance (real life stats 60 games for 43 hits, 19 runs and 17 RBI's with an average of .187)

The team participated fully in the First Year Player Draft and used all 3 picks available to them. The first round was used to acquire Pitcher Tony Mullane. The full draft log is shown below



The team failed to sign third round draft pick Joseph Quinn. All other draftees signed by the deadline date.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

After another terrible season the fans of the Atlantics don't know what the owner can do to change things and improve what is a team in the duldrums. The Owner decided that the fromnt office needed a kick and fired GM Luis Garcia after another terrible year. He replaced him with the new GM of Todd Bett. Bett GM for the Cincinnati Reds between 1871 and 1876 with some success including 1 pennant. The team are hoping he can bring that pennant winning form to the team.

The awards dinner saw a couple of Atlantics honoured as First Baseman Oscar Walker and Third Baseman Tom Burns made the NL defensive team of the year and picked up Golden Glove awards.

The playing staff have seen a few changes during the off season.

Firstly the team traded 31 year old Short Stop Ralph Ham to the Cleveland Blues in exchange for 19 year old minor league Second Baseman Tom Kearns.

They also sent 23 year old minor league First Baseman George Adams to the Boston Red Caps in exchange for 22 year old pitcher Jack Neagle.

The fans are not quite sure how to view these moves.

The team did not renew the contract of Second Baseman U Wood who became a free agent. While they also lost Pitcher John Greason in the Rule 5 draft as he was acquired by the Boston Red Caps.

The team lost 2 minor league players due to retirement
They were 1 time all star Third Baseman Fred Waterman who did manage 84 games for the Atlantics early in his career. He had 109 hits, 66 runs and 51 RBI's for an average of .305 (real life stats (real life stats 61 games with 101 hits, 81 runs and 38 RBI's for an average of .333)

Also retiring was Pitcher George Fletcher who made only 2 relief appearances in the majors during his career. (real life stats 2 games as a batter for 3 hits, 1 run and 0 RBI's along with a .375 average)

The team took an active part in the First Year player draft selecting 3 players. The first choice was Pitcher Jim Whitney. A full draft log can be seen below.



The team failed to sign second round draft pick Jerry Denny. All other draftees signed by deadline day.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

Once the fans of the White Stockings sobered up from their MLB Championship Series winning parties they were glad to see that their was very little change at their club over the off season. The owner decided not to rock a winning boat and the only significant thing he did was to extend Manager Bruce Harveys contract by a further 2 years.

Talking of the Manager brings us onto the awards where Bruce Harvey again picked up the NL Manager of the Year award for the 5th time in his career.

On the player award front the NL awards dinner had a good outcome for the White Stockings players.



The biggest honour a White Stocking player picked up was by Bill McGunnigle as he was awarded the NL Rookie of the Year.

Their were also Golden Glove awards for Catcher Ned Williamson, Second Baseman Jack Burdock and Short Stop Jack Glasscock as they all made the NL defensive team of the year.

The team decided to stick with the current playing staff during the off season and made no trade movements.

3 players did decide to call time on their playing careers which will lead to a slight re structure of the depth charts.

The first player to retire was Catcher Charlie Mills. Mills was a bit part player most of his career but did get 1 all star selection in his good year of 1877. He played 105 games in the majors over 10 years with 66 as a starter. He collected 97 hits, 54 runs and 40 RBI's for an average of .333 (real life stats 38 games for 40 hits, 33 runs and 24RBI's along with an average of .226)

The next to retire was Short Stop Bill Lennon. Lennon never played for the White Stockings major league team after he was acquired in a trade but did play for Philadelphia prior to this. His record was 55 games with 6 hits, 6 runs and 3 RBI's for an average of .207 (real life stats 28 games for 27 hits, 18 runs and 13 RBI's with an average of .223)

The final player to hang up his cleats is Third Baseman Frank Norton. Norton played only 14 times in his career in the majors with 2 starts. He picked up 3 hits, 5 runs and 3 RBI's for an average of .231 (real life stats 1 game, 0 hits, 0 runs and 0 RBI's)

The only new players added to the squad came from the First Year Player Draft. The team only had 2 selections due to the small size of the class and selected First Baseman Martin Poweel in the first round. The full draft log is given below.



All draftees signed by deadline day.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

The fans of our favourite team saw another season of near misses and are hoping that this season can provide that final piece to bring the pennant back to Cincinnati. If the team does win the pennant it will be under a different name to that used so far as the owner decided that the teams nickname needed a revamp to give more meaning. He has decided to go with the name the Cincinnati Red Stockings to see if the Stockings moniker can bring the same luck that the White Stockings in Chicago seem to have. Other than this the owner decided to leave the front office alone to get on with their jobs for this year.

The players were well represented at the NL awards dinner.



Monte Ward was unanimously voted in as this years NL Pitcher of the Year.

There were also Golden Glove awards for Pitcher Bill Stearns, Left Fielder Silver Flint, Centre Fielder John O'Rourke and Right Fielder Orator Shafer as they all made the NL Defensive team of the year.

The front office decided to try and find that missing piece by entering into some trades.

The first trade saw the team acquire 24 year old Pitcher Terry Larkin from the Boston Red Caps. They sent 24 year old Second Baseman Bill Smiley and 23 year old First Baseman Dude Esterbrook the other way.

They then traded 22 year old minor League Catcher Jim Keenan to the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for 31 year old pitcher Jim McDermott.

The fans are not sure that relief pitching is what the team is missing but that is what the front office have decided to go for.

The team lost 3 players to retirement this season. The most notable retiree was Third Baseman Warren White. White has spent 10 years with the club and managed to rack up 195 appearances during that time. Of these 83 were starts. He claimed 100 hits, 73 runs and 50 RBI's on his way to an average of .254 (real life stats were 168 games with 185 hits, 96 runs, 66 RBI's and an average of .255)

The next player retiring is Henry Burroughs. Burroughs was a long time back up who spent most of his career on the bench or playing minor league ball. He played 42 games for the Reds with all 30 starts being in the first season of the league in 1871. 1871 is also the year he had his only all star appearance. He managed 37 hits, 33 runs and 20 RBI's for an average of .278 (real life stats 14 games for 16 hits, 12 runs and 14 RBI's and an average of .229)

The final player to leave baseball is Second Baseman Haratio Munn. Munn never made it to the big league, spending his whole time with the club in the minors. (real life stats 1 game for 0 hits, 0 runs and 0 RBI's with a 0 average)

The team was drafting 7th in the First Year draft this year and this led them to pick Catcher Billy Taylor as their first round choice. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed by the deadline.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

After a second season of success but also disappointment the fans are looking to the owner to find the solution to winning the MLB Championship this year. The Owner decided the solution was to not touch the front office and to let them get on with bringing in the final players that would take them all the way.

Manager Raul Otero was honoured this year by being awarded the AL Manager of the Year award.

The team found that while they may have a pennant to their name they are not the most favoured individuals as not one of them got to go to the AL awards dinner as they all missed out on any prizes.

The front office decided that the following players trades were what is needed to get the team that elusive MLB title.

They traded 24 year old Second Baseman John Haldeman and 20 year old minor league First Baseman Bill White to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 30 year old Right Fielder Fraley Rogers. The fans will be looking forward to seeing what Rogers can do in a Blues Jersey.

The front office also traded 19 year old minor league Second Baseman Tom Kearns to the Brooklyn Atlantics in return for 31 year old Short Stop Ralph Ham. Ham, the former Boston and Brooklyn, player should bring solid back up play to the team.

The fans were shocked at how many of their favourites decided that the season just gone was their last.

The first player to elect to hang up his cleats is 2 time all star Left Fielder Ned Cuthbert. Cuthbert joined the Blues in 1871 and played his whole career here. He started 178 of the 275 major league games he played. This gave him 243 hits, 155 runs and 127 RBI's for an average of .265. (real life stats 452 games, 537 hits, 453 runs and 179 RBI's for an average of .254)

The next to announce their retirement was Short Stop Ed Duffy, Duffy picked up 1 all star appearance in 1875 as he spent 10 good years with the Cleveland Blues. He started 184 of the 242 games he played for the team. Along the way he collected 207 hits, 125 runs and 106 RBI's for an average of .263 (real life stats 26 games, 28 hits, 30 runs and 15 RBI's for an average of .231)

The third of the 6 players to retire was Left Fielder Steve King. The likeable King also spent his whole 10 year career in Cleveland. This 3 time all star played 289 times for the Blues but only started 76 times. He picked up 128 hits, 92 runs and 84 RBI's on his way to an average of .245. The fans and players alike will miss him from the teams bench next season. (real life stats 54 games, 96 hits, 78 runs and 55 RBI's for an average of .353)

The last major player to retire could be classed as back up player at best. He was Tom Patterson who made 45 appearances for the big club, 33 of those as a starter including 30 in the inaugural 1871 season. He had 36 hits, 23 runs and 15 RBI's for an average of .257 (real life stats 57 games for 51 hits, 41 runs and 23 RBI's and an average of .206)

The last 2 were John Stedronsky and Alamazoo Jennings. Neither made it to the major leagues and spent their whole time in the minors. (Stedronsky real life stats 4 games 1 hit, 0.83 average and Jennings real life stats 1 game no hits etc. 0 average)

The team were a full participant in this years first year player draft and selected 3 players. Thefirst round draft choice was Right Fielder Ed Swartwood. The full draft log is shown below



The team failed to sign their first round draft pick meaning Swartwood will go back into next seasons draft. All others signed by the deadline.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

The fans were hoping that last season's struggles would lead to some changes in the front office to freshen things up. What they got was the opposite as the owner decided that he was happy with things as they were and not to rock the boat.

The AL awards dinner saw 4 Athletics players earn recognition with Golden Glove awards for making the AL defensive team. These were Pitcher Tom Healey, Catcher Pop Snyder, Third Baseman George Bradley and Centre Fielder Paul Hines.

The front office went to work on the playing staff to put the changes the fans want into place.

The first move they made was to trade 31 year old Pitcher Joe McDermott to the Cincinnati Red Stockings receiving 22 year old minor league Catcher Jim Keenan in exchange.

They also traded 32 year old First Baseman Jim Foran to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for 23 year old minor league First Baseman John McGuinness and 21 year old minor league Catcher John Kelly.

The team then continued to clear the pitching staff as they traded 33 year old Pitcher Dick McBride to the St Louis Brown Stockings and gained 24 year old Second Baseman George Strief and 22 year old minor league First Baseman Charlie Ahearn and 24 year old Second Baseman Pop Smith in return.

The final move saw a third pitcher traded in the form of 28 year Dory Dean who went to the St Louis Brown Stockings in exchange for 23 year old minor league Centre Fielder John Magner, 24 year old Right Fielder Frank Whitney and 24 year old Centre Fielder Tom Loftus.

These moves have left the fans worried that the team may have left them selves exposed in the pitching department as they are down to only 4 experienced pitchers.

The team lost 4 players to retirement during the off season.

The most notable of these was First Baseman Everett Mills. Mills made 207 starts in 264 games played for the Philadelphia Athletics along with 2 all star selections during his 10 year career. He hit the ball 248 times to gain 150 runs and 144 RBI's to finish with an average of .256 (real life stats 337 games, 433 hits, 283 runs and 203 RBI's for an average of .284)

The other 3 players to retire were all bit part players who made very few MLB appearances. Frank Barrows played 12 games with 1 start for an average of .182 with 2 hits, 1 run and 1 RBI (real life stats 18 games for 13 hits, 13 runs and 11 RBIS with an average of .151). Charles Bierman pitched in 1 game for 3.2 innings and an ERA of 4.91 (real life stats 0 games). Phonney Martin played 8 games for 2 hits, 3 runs and 4 RBI's with an average of .333 (real life stats 74 games with 79 hits, 52 runs and 37 RBI's for an average of .236)

The team Acquired Catcher Dave Pierson from the Baltimore Orioles through the rule 5 draft.

The First Year Player draft saw the team pick up three players. The first round pick was pitcher George Denby. The full draft log is shown below



All draftees signed the by the deadline day.

[amead17]

1st January 1881

The fans of the Brown Stockings are hoping the owner and front office can find the players to keep the end of season form shown by the team and take them to a pennant. The Owner decided to leave the front office alone to get on with its job this year.

The team was well represented at the AL awards dinner as they scooped all three major awards for the year.



Larry Corcoran was the big winner on the night as he picked up both the AL Rookie and AL Pitcher of the year awards.



Tom Barlow also had a good night as he was awarded the AL Batter of the Year award

First Baseman Molly Moore was also honoured on a good night for the Brown Stockings as he made the AL defensive team of the year to earn a Golden Glove.

The front office made moves in the trade market to improve the team for the next season.

They traded 24 year old First Baseman Chub Sullivan and 24 year old minor league Right Fielder Charlie Reilley to the Boston Red Caps in exchange for 24 year old pitcher Bobby Mitchell. The fans are looking forward to seeing what Mitchell will do from the Brown Stockings mound after the good season he had last year.

They also moved 24 year old minor league Catcher Jerry Dorgan and 19 year old Left Fielder Leonidas Lee to the Boston Red Caps in exchange for 24 year old Pitcher Jim Tyng.

24 year old Second Baseman George Strief, 22 year old minor league First Baseman Charlie Ahearn and 24 year old Second Baseman Pop Smith were traded to the Philadelphia Athletics for 33 year old Pitcher Dick McBride

They also picked up 28 year old Pitcher Dory Dean from the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for 23 year old minor league Centre Fielder John Magner, 24 year old Right Fielder Frank Whitney and 24 year old Centre Fielder Tom Loftus.

Nat Jewett decided to call it a day. He will not be missed by the team as he never made a MLB appearances. (real life stats 2 games, 1 hit, 1 run and an average of .125)

The fans are looking forward to this revamped pitching line up but are worried that the front office has focused to much on this side of the team.

The team went full out in the First Year Player Draft picking in all 3 rounds. The first round draft pick was Pitcher John Fox. The full draft log is shown below



All draftees signed by the deadline.

[amead17]

Pre-season predictions

AL



NL

[amead17]

1st April 1881

The fans of the Orioles are looking for an improved performance from their team this year. The independent league assessors don't think that they will get what they wish for as they see the Orioles finishing in last place in the AL, some 8 games off the pace.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The players were in early for pre-season workouts this year and it gave the GM and manager a good look at the available talent. They have assessed this and come up with the below 25 men to be the opening day roster.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

The fans of the Red Caps are looking for their team to start moving back towards the top of the NL table this year. The independent league assessors are of the opinion that the team will show little if any improvement and finish in third place again this year. What has worried the fans is that they are predicting the team to finish 27 games behind the eventual winners.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The team have released rule 5 draft pick Pitcher Flip Lafferty back to the St Louis Brown Stockings.

The GM and manager put their players through a tough pre-season and have whittled the squad down to the following opening day roster of 25 players.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

The fans of the Atlantics would just like to see their team put in some good performances this year, and perhaps not finish last, so that they can hold their head high around other clubs fans. The independent league assessors had some disappointing news for the fans as they expect the Atlantics to again be the whipping boys of baseball to finish last in the NL a full 30 games behind the pennant winners.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The players have been on a tough pre-season training regime to try and bring them up to scratch ready for the season. The GM and Manager have run the rule over them during this period and have selected the following 25 players as the opening day roster.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

After another MLB championship winning year last season the fans of the White Stockings are looking for ward to another successful season this year. The independent league assessors agree with the White Stockings fans as they see the Chicago club again finishing top of the NL table and taking another pennant.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The Gm and Manager have reviewed last seasons winning players and also the up and coming minor leaguers and have decided on the following 25 players for the opening day roster.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

The Red Stockings went close again last year for the pennant. The fans hope this year the team can go one better and win the pennant for only the second time. The independent league assessors feel, that while the Red Stockings are a strong side, they do not have quite enough to take the pennant. They see them finishing in 2nd place in the NL 5 games behind the winners.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The players turned up to pre-season training eager to get down to work. The Gm and Manager put them through a tough schedule to get them fit and ready. This led them to select the following 25 players for the opening day roster.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

The fans of the Blues have enjoyed the last 2 seasons and are hoping the pennant winning team can go one better this year and take the MLB title. The independent league assessors are not as bullish about the chances of the Blues getting to the final series again as they see the team falling short in 3rd place in the AL 2 games out from the leaders.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The fans were excited when they were invited to an open training session during pre-season work outs to watch their favourites in action. These work outs gave the GM and Manager a lot to think about. They finally came to a decision and selected the following 25 players as the opening day roster.

Pitching


Batting

[amead17]

1st April 1881

After last season's struggles the fans of the Athletics are hoping the team can turn it around and produce some good form this year. The independent league assessors are even more optimistic about the Athletics chances as they see them putting an excellent season together to take the AL title by 1 game.

The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.

The front office of the Athletics worked hard all off season to make sure the players were in peak physical condition for the up coming season. They then selected the following 25 players to represent the side on the opening day.

Pitching


Batting