OOTP historic rerun.

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16th October 1881

We here at the Inspector are just glad to still be bringing all you St Louis baseball fans reports on a team in St Louis. While they may not be the Brown Stockings of old they have inherited the name and the Sportsman's Park stadium and they hope to bring winning ball to the city.

The new owner is Mr Jules Cordon from down the road in Kansas City. He made his money in agriculture, making sure the west of the country got its bread. In his time in charge of his farms and farmers he learnt to be tolerant of peoples mistakes as things don't always got to plan first time. This though doesn't stop him controlling the purse strings so as to keep an eye on what his employees are spending.

The team hasn't yet hired a GM but their new manager is the inexperienced Peter Bowman. Bowman will bring a lot of enthusiasm to the club and is looking forward to working with the players.

The players he will be working with include Right Fielder Lon Knight and Pitcher Charlie Mason from the Cincinnati Red Stockings, Centre Fielder Charlie Hautz from the Baltimore Orioles and Short Stop Mike McGeary from the Boston Red Caps. The full expansion draft log is shown below.



The team will also be selecting new players in the first year player draft. We will bring you all the news from this once it is complete.

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16th October 1881

Finally the nations capital can boast at being a member of the MLB organisation. The new team have moved into their new city and we are all excited here at the Statesman to bring you all the news from this club. The team has been named the Washington Nationals and will be playing at the Swampdoodle ground.

The new owner of the Nationals is Mr John Silver from Baltimore. Silver is an easy going chap who likes to have fun and friends around him. His employees enjoy his company as he doesn't ask for them to achieve the impossible and gives them the time they need to complete the tasks he does expect done. While they have the time they don't always have the resources to do these tasks as he likes to make the money work very hard for him.

The team is yet to hire a GM but has put the team's playing affairs into the hands of inexperienced manager Francis Cox. Cox has said he is looking forward to using this opportunity to further his career.

The players that the manager will be working with from the expansion draft include Second Baseman Joe Gerhardt and Left Fielder George Bechtel from the Brooklyn Altantics and Centre Fielder Joe Kernan from the Boston Red Caps. The full expansion draft selection can be seen below



The team will supplement these players with their selections from the first year player draft and we will bring you all the news of this once it is complete.

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1st January 1882

The second half of the off season has been quiet for Orioles fans. There were no major changes to the front office.

Also no Baltimore Orioles players made it to the AL awards dinner as they couldn't even scrape together one golden glove winner between them.

2 minor league free agents were signed during the off season.

The team participated in the First Year Player draft and they selected First Baseman Guy Hecker with their first pick. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed by the deadline.

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1st January 1882

The Owner has finally found, what he hopes, is the final piece of the front office jigsaw as he signed GM Cole Compton to a 4 year deal. Compton has little experience in baseball management but brings a wealth of experience from other businesses.

The team picked up Second Baseman Harry Smith from the Brooklyn Atlantics via the rule 5 draft.

The team was active in the First Year Player Draft selecting 5 players. The first to be chosen was pitcher Bill Sweeney. The full draft log is shown below.



The team failed to sign 5th round draft pick Bid McPhee but all others signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The fans of the Red Caps have seen a quiet off season, since the expansion draft, for their team.

There was one piece of cheering news for the team as Left Fielder Buttercup Dickerson represented the team at the NL awards dinner in late October. He was their to pick up his Golden Glove Award for making the NL defensive team of the year.

The team signed one minor league free agent.

The team took part in the First Year Player Draft as always. The teams first selection was used to pick Short Stop Bill Gleason. The full draft log is given below



All draftees signed by the deadline day

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1st January 1882

The fans of the Atlantics have seen a fairly busy second half of the off season as players were moved about after the expansion draft.

The first notable piece of news was that the Atlantics managed to get representation at the NL Awards Dinner. Third Baseman Tom Burns was happy to represent the team as he claimed his Golden Glove award for making the NL defensive team of the year.

The team lost a further 2 players to retirement once the expansion draft was concluded. The first to go was U Wood. Wood was a minor league player his whole career and never made the big time. (real life stats 1 game, not hits not runs etc.)

The second player to decide that father time couldn't be beaten was Henry Reville. Reville another minor leaguer also failed to make it to the big time. (real life stats 1 game 0 hits etc.)

The team lost second baseman Harry Smith to the Boston Americans through the rule 5 draft.

The first year player draft was fruitful for the Atlantics as they selected 6 players. The player chosen in the first round was Catcher Jackie Hayes. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The owner had to wait until the 3rd December before he could complete his front office staff. The Owner finally found his GM in the shape of the unknown Ken Newland. Newland has no Baseball management experience but is looking forward to helping the White Sox move forward in there new venture.

The team picked 5 players during the first year player draft. The top pick was Catcher Jack O'Brien. The full list of selections is shown below.



The owner made a mistake during the negotiations for these players in that he failed to sign O'Brien to a contract by the deadline and so the top pick will not be at the club this next year. All the other selections signed by the deadline.

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1st January 1882

While the front office had a quiet time during the second half of the off season, a lot of the players and coaching staff were out partying at the NL Awards Dinner

Manager Bruce Harvey picked up his 6th NL Manager of the Year award at the NL Dinner



He was joined on the stage by NL Pitcher of the Year Jim Britt who was picking up his 5th yearly award.



Harry Stovey on the other hand was picking up only his first as he won the NL Batter of the Year award.



Martin Powell made it a clean sweep for the White Stockings as he was awarded the NL Rookie of the Year award.

As well as these awards the team also saw 3 Golden Glove recipients. These went to Short Stop Jack Glasscock, Right Fielder Harry Stovey and Catcher George Miller (now of the Philadelphia Quakers) as they made the NL defensive team of the year.

On the transaction front it seems the partying may have made the front office a little sloppy. They selected 5 players in the first year player draft. The first selection was of Catcher Ed Whiting. The full list can be seen below.



The team failed to sign both 2nd round choice Bob Blakiston and 5th round choice John Dwyer. They did manage to get the other three under contract by the deadline.

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1st January 1882

The fans of the Red Stockings were pleased to see further improvements made by the front office to the team during the off season.

The team was well represented at the NL Awards Dinner in late October. Pitcher Monte Ward, First Baseman John Morrill, Second Baseman Fred Dunlap and Centre Fielder Orator Shafer all made it onto the NL defensive team of the year and picked up Golden Glove awards.

The team traded 36 year old Short Stop Bob Ferguson to the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for 28 year old Catcher Doc Kennedy and 23 year old Short Stop Art Whitney. While Ferguson may still have a couple of good years in him he was not getting any younger and the team was looking to freshen things up to push for this years pennant. The fans are excited by the players they got in return for him and will be looking forward to seeing what they can do in a Red Stockings jersey.

The team picked up 2 minor league free agents during November.

The team was active in the first year player draft and chose 5 new players for the club. The top pick was Pitcher Bert Dorr. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The fans of the Blues were happy to see no changes to the front office during the second part of the off season. They were also happy to celebrate along side the team as the management and players were honoured at the AL awards dinner in late October.

Manager Raul Otero was once again awarded the Manager of the Year award for the AL after another excellent season.



Lee Richmond was happy and surprised to be picking up the AL Pitcher of the Year award.



Roger Connor was always going to be the AL Batter of the Year after the career season he had this past year and he duly collected this at the awards dinner.

Other Blues players honoured were Catcher Charlie Bennett, Second Baseman John Dailey and Third Baseman Jack Gleason who all picked up Golden Glove awards for making the AL Defensive team of the year.

The team went all out in the First Year Player Draft as they selected 6 players in total. The top draft pick was Pitcher Hugh Daily. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The Wolverines had to wait until the 24th of November before they finally got their man in new GM Sadao Ikeda. Ikeda has little to no experience of baseball and also little use of English so it could be an interesting time in Detroit for the first year or two.

The team signed one free agent during the off season.

They also drafted 5 players in the first year player draft. The top choice was Pitcher Jumbo McGinnis. The full draft log is shown below.



All draftees signed with the team by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The Louisville Eclipse owner got down to work late October by finding their new GM to replace the departed Edgar Ortiz. The new GM has been named as Luis Garcia. Garcia spent 8 year in charge of the Philadelphia Athletics and 1 in charge of the Brooklyn Atlantics. His time with the Athletics bought him 3 play off appearances with 1 championship win. The team will hope for that period of success from him in the coming years.

The players managed to get some recognition for their time in St Louis last year as 3 of them made the AL defensive team of the year. The Golden Gloves went to First Baseman Joe Start, Short Stop Tom Barlow and Left Fielder Blondie Purcell.

The team were active in the first year player draft chosing 5 players. The top pick by the team was Right Fielder Tom Brown. The full draft log is shown below.



All the draftees signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The new Gothams team completed their front office by going for experience in GM Edgar Ortiz. Ortiz has spent time with the Brooklyn Atlantics and the St Louis Brown Stockings. While he has not had much success the team hope he can bring some to New York.

The team had 5 selections in the first year player draft and they used all of them. Their top choice was Pitcher John Schappert. The full draft log is shown below.



All the draftees signed with the club by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The fans of the Athletics saw movement at their club during the second part of the off season. The team traded for experience. They sent 28 year old Catcher Doc Kennedy and 23 year old Short Stop Art Whitney to the Cincinnati Red Stockings in exchange for 36 year old Short Stop Bob Ferguson. The fans accept that Ferguson has had the best years of his career behind him but are hoping to see the last bits of skill from Ferguson before he finally retires.

The team was also well represented at the AL Awards Dinner.



George Derby was surprised to be selected as the AL Rookie of the Year but gladly accepted the honour at the dinner.

Also honoured were Pitcher Pud Galvin, Centre Fielder Paul Hines and Right Fielder Curry Foley as they picked up Golden Glove awards for making the AL defensive team of the year.

The team made 5 draft selections in the first year player draft. Their first round choice was Right Fielder Chicken Wolf. The full draft log is shown below.



All players picked signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The team finally found their GM after a lot of looking. The position was given to Bill Murphy. Murphy has had experience at both the Chicago White Stockings and the St Louis Brown Stockings. He managed 1 Championship win with the White Stockings and the Quakers will hope he can bring this form with him to the team.

The team used all 5 of their draft selections in the first year player draft. They selected First Baseman Ed Swartwood with their first round pick. The full draft log is shown below.



The team failed to sign 4th round pick Monk Cline. All other players signed by the deadline day.

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1st January 1882

The team decided to go for inexperience in the GM position as they signed Derek Clarkson to that position in early November. The team will hope he can bring good times to the club.

The team has also signed 1 free agent.

The team were in full swing in the first year player draft as they picked 5 players. The first round choice was Pitcher Charlie Buffinton. The full draft log is shown below.



All the draftees signed by the deadline.

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1st January 1882

The new St Louis Brown Stockings organisation finally picked up its GM in November. The Owner decided that they team needed experience for its GM position and signed Salvador Rosatorres. Rosatorres has spent time as GM with 3 MLB clubs but has never managed record above .500 during his career. The team will hope his luck will change in St Louis.

The team participated fully in the first year player draft and selected 5 players. The first round pick was spent on Second Baseman Pete Browning. The full draft log is shown below.



The team failed to sign 5th round pick Joe Crotty. All other players signed by the deadline.

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1st January 1882

The new nationals team finally managed to find the GM they hope will take them to the top. This person came in the guise of Dan Morgan. Morgan has no experience of baseball management but bring a lot of enthusiasm to the job and hopes he can be a success.

The team also took part in the first year player draft by selecting 5 players. The top pick was Pitcher Charlie Sweeney. The full draft log is shown below



The team failed to sign 5th round draft pick Phil Reccius. All other players signed by the deadline.

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Pre Season Predictions

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7th April 1882

The fans of the Orioles have had a tough few years following their team as they have failed to seriously trouble the pennant race. The fans are hoping that the upheaval of the expansion draft and new teams could lead to a resurgence of the team. The Independent League Assessors are of a mind to agree with the fans as they see the team finishing in first place.

The MLB has decided to keep a schedule of 84 games but has changed the league running time so that it now currently only runs from April to mid July before the play offs. This change in structure for the schedule will put a lot of pressure on the pitchers as the league still specifies only 2 starters can be selected. This also means the All Star Game is going to be played at the end of May.

The team has been on a tough spring training schedule to get ready for the new schedule layout. This has given the GM and Manager time to check over the squad and pick the 25 that will take them forward into the season. These players are listed below.

Pitchers


Batters