Turn Two

[NYY #23]

I've really ignored all my dynasties for the past few months, but getting back into things I struggled with this one the most and I stopped at a place that made me question the direction I wanted to take this. I haven't gotten too far into the 'second chance' careers and started dreading updating the annual Hall of Fame vote, so I've been experimenting with how to make things easier with the Hall of Fame process, playing around with exports and databases and I feel like I've got a pretty good process down now, which I'll get into later.

In doing that testing with a live league I've moved forward almost a year so I'll be doing a little bit catch up on the action, and in doing so I accidentally skipped over the last draft class so there will be no second chance players coming into the league. But I've gotten to know some of the players in the league well, and found some cool things.

So I'm going to consider this a mini-reboot of the dynasty and try breath some new life into this dynasty. The history of the league remains the same, but I'll be changing some things going forward and hopefully things will start falling into place.

One of the things that I've done at the beginning of 1905 is turn off financials. I don't know why this league was having problems but things just kept getting out of whack, and the normal fixes don't seem to stick. Over half the teams were in the red, and there wasn't enough money for too many good free agents. So free agency is now off too going forward. I never thought I'd get upset when a fictional player in a fictional team bolts town. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I do prefer the superstars to stay with a team their entire career, or at least the prime of it. To me it's a much better fictional world when a career path follows Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, or Derek Jeter, rather than Arod. So it just doesn’t feel right when one of the greatest pitchers in the league, Jared Mixon, pitched for five different teams in his career.

I've also gone ahead and enable some of the automatic evolution of the league, so expansion or team relocation can happen automatically, as well as more/less offense and more/less pitching. I do reserve the right to override those changes those.

I've mentioned the changes to the Hall of Fame that I'll be implementing and going into the details shortly on that. I'll also be getting back to importing Second Chance players in 1905 and I'm going to look into importing some larger draft classes and make sure I balance those with the fictional draft class.

I do have a list of second chance players I'm working off, but as always if there is someone you'd like to move to the top of the list let me know.

[NYY #23]

Second Chances



Josh Gibson - Gibson had his best season since coming into the league, setting career highs with WAR (4.9), batting average (.262), hits (142), and runs scored (70). At 21 years old Gibson had developed into one of the better catchers in the league and he should continue to improve

Thurman Munson - at 22 years old, maybe all hope isn't lost on Munson. Munson posted a positive WAR for the first time in his year - 0.5, and played behind the plate for the New York Empires for the majority of the year hitting .243 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI

Mickey McDermott - still just 18 years old McDermott spent the past year in AAA where he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen. His 8-12 record with 8 saves and a 4.62 ERA weren't great, but his best season to date



Dwight Gooden - Doc won a career high 5 games this year in the majors after beginning the year in the minors. He posted a 5.49 ERA in 96 2/3 innings with 41 strikeouts.

Tony Conigliaro - two things seemed to happen to Conigliaro this year, his ratings dropped and he was called up to the majors where he hit .311 in limited duty. He hit his first career home run and has taken up the fourth outfielder role for the Detroit Wolverines

Ray Chapman - it was a rough first year for Chapman, starting with a broken hand before a late season return. His AAA season was decent, hitting .282 with 4 homers and 41 RBI, but he went just 1-8 in a late season promotion.

[NYY #23]

The Cleveland Blues captured their second straight World Series title after going 96-66 during the regular season and knocking off the Pittsburgh Rebels for the second straight year.

Mark Wright of the Pittsburgh Rebels won career game number 250 at 40 years old.

Masamune 'Hunter' Hayagawa of the New York Empires collected career hit number 2500 at 39 years old, while Guillermo 'Hammerhead' Mendoza of the Cincinnati Cavalry picked up career hit number 2000, as did Tom Lynch of the Boston Americans.

Paul Wilson of the Pittsburgh Rebels captured the batting title in the National League after hitting .358. The New York native was drafted as the third overall pick in the 1900 draft and has been steadily improving since he first played in 1901. The former Rookie of the Year has appeared in two All-Star games to date, and won 3 Gold Gloves at second base. Wilson has been steadily improving each year, increasing his WAR from 3.6 to 5.7 to 6.7 to 8.2 this year and at 27 years old will be a player to watch.

Mike Clewlow of the New York Empires went 19-7 this year with a 3.30 ERA to capture the NL Pitcher of the Year Award. It was a good bounce back year for Clewlow after going 5-1 last year in an injury riddled campaign.

In the American League it was Will Pearson who won the award for the second straight year after going 19-12 with a 2.69 ERA with 242 strikeouts in 277 2/3 innings. At 27 years old Pearson has been a key reason for the Blues recent success.

Former Rookie of the Year Manuel Rivera of the Pittsburgh Rebels added a Batter of the Year award to his mantle after hitting .323 with 36 home runs and 132 RBI. With a 9.8 WAR and OPS+ of 174 Rivera is not only one of the best players in the league, but at 24 he appears to have a very bright future.

In the AL Gil Smith of the New York Knights won his first Batter of the Year Award. The 3 time All Star hit .291 with 27 home runs and 98 RBI. His 6.2 WAR led the league.

It's definitely been a trend over the past seven years, but there has been a dramatic shift of offense to the NL and pitching to the AL. The ERA in the NL has been about a 1/2 run higher with the NL batting average between 10 and 20 points higher.

[NYY #23]

I've decided to abandon my simulated voting for the Hall of Fame and instead decided to use http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...rements-4.html for calculating the Hall of Fame metrics and I'll be using that to guide me in my decision making process.

While I'm not basing it exactly on numbers, I'm generally looking at players with a HOF Standard of 50 or more, Black Ink test of 40 or more, Gray Ink of 185 or more, HOF Monitor greater than 130, and a career WAR of 60 for a Hall of Famer.

But that caused me to reevaluate the notable players that have already retired in 1900 or earlier. That leaves 39 batters and 29 pitchers who I took a closer look at.

The very first group was the players who were already inducted into the Hall of Fame just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes the first time around -

Dennis 'Avenger' Long-1B
HOF Monitor - 203.5
HOF Standard - 60.7
Black Ink - 50
Gray Ink - 273
Career WAR - 93.9
Milestones - 500 HR

I just summarized his career last year and to me 'Avenger' is a Hall of Famer so he'll be staying in.

Ed Dundee-SP
HOF Monitor - 185
HOF Standard - 58.3
Black Ink - 61
Gray Ink - 288
Career WAR - 95.7
Milestones - 3000 K

Dundee was 269-202 for his career with a 3.27 ERA and 3773 strikeouts. With a career ERA+ of 130 and FIP of 3.54. I'm comfortable with Dundee staying in the Hall as well.

Ralph Dunn-SP
HOF Monitor - 141.5
HOF Standard - 55.4
Black Ink - 40
Gray Ink - 300
Career WAR - 96.2
Milestones - 3000 K

To me Dundee and Dunn are similar pitchers, although I'd give the slight edge to Dundee. Dunn went 275-229 with a 3.53 ERA and 3199 strikeouts. His FIP (3.71) and ERA+ (118) were slightly higher and Dunn never won a Pitcher of the Year Award, but he was close. Two of his top four comps are in the Hall if you include Dundee and the next guy. I'm comfortable with leaving him in as well.

Pat 'Oil Can' Jones-SP
HOF Monitor - 135.5
HOF Standard - 49.4
Black Ink - 38
Gray Ink - 250
Career WAR - 114.6
Milestones - 3000 K

I've already recapped Jones when he went into the Hall - 266 career wins, 3.50 ERA, 3256 strikeouts, and 2 Pitcher of the Year Awards. Jones started slow going 3-14, and 8-16 the first two years, and probably stuck around a few years too long, but he was very good for a long stretch. I don't think it's an open and shut case for Jones, but he'll stay in.

-----------------------------
The next group of players is an easier one to go through, as they all didn't play ten years in the league so they won't qualify. I'm convinced some of these guys would have made it if they played longer, but it's worth highlighting them.

The first five numbers the players HOF Monitor, HOF Standard, Black Ink, Gray Ink, and Career WAR.

Batters:
Steve Foster - 57, 30.3, 19, 98, 30.1 - .287 AVG, 1054 H, 179 HR, 715 RBI, 233 SB
Pat Parker - 176.5, 39.0, 56, 114, 24.3 - .326 AVG, 1219 H, 209 HR, 729 RBI, 315 SB
Matt Farley - 133, 41.8, 31, 99, 48.1 - .334 AVG, 970 H, 121 HR, 501 RBI, 579 SB
Joshua Green - 97, 38.1, 14, 118, 43.1 - .325 AVG, 1353 H, 149 HR, 695 RBI, 356 SB
Sergio Vazquez - 99, 32.7, 11, 118, 44.9 - .311 AVG, 1347 H, 171 HR, 742 RBI, 83 SB
Rocky Peterson - 117, 32.7, 31, 73, 34 - .356 AVG, 993 H, 61 HR, 432 RBI, 11 SB
Mathew Williams - 94, 34.4, 10, 89, 38.2 - .324 AVG, 1134 H, 76 HR, 581 RBI, 360 SB
Jack Green - 72.5, 31.4, 21, 91, 31 - .286 AVG, 882 H, 194 HR, 650 RBI, 195 SB
Jesse Lee - 100.5, 31.7, 15, 66, 45.6 - .341 AVG, 1171 H, 30 HR, 448 RBI, 388 SB
Wiley Walker - 83.5, 33.2, 3, 93, 35.9 - .333 AVG, 1205 H, 93 HR, 546 RBI, 249 SB
Claude Brooks - 65.5, 31.1, 14, 98, 39.2 - .290 AVG, 1037 H, 108 HR, 515 RBI, 465 SB
Roberto Morales - 65.5, 35.5, 21, 86, 33.7 - .301 AVG, 901 H, 122 HR, 542 RBI, 417 SB
Roy Gilliam - 64.5, 31.8, 5, 104, 30.9 - .309 AVG, 1178 H, 115 HR, 532 RBI, 418 SB

Pitchers:
Leo Jenkins - 69, 35.8, 27, 147, 46.1, 118-57, 2.72 ERA, 980 K
Armando Villegas - 67.5, 33.5, 33, 107, 107-57, 2.85 ERA, 1152 K
Dave West - 69, 24,7, 39, 91, 42.5, 88-47, 3.47 ERA, 1300 K
Ricardo Diaz - 58, 35.9, 25, 101, 43.6, 95-44, 2.66 ERA, 836 K
Jose Torres - 51, 42.3, 2, 121, 22.8, 234-197, 35 SV, 3.60 ERA, 2187 K
Jason Hollingsworth - 60, 25.8, 19, 105, 43.4, 106-63, 3.21 ERA, 1143 K
Gil Murray - 52, 27.5, 36, 92, 46.5, 80-63, 2.92 ERA, 1485 K

That leaves 25 hitters and 19 pitchers to still go through. I'll be going through some more in part 2 and using next year to catch up on any that remain.

[NYY #23]

I wrote this last night and read an interesting article about the Hall of Fame and the small hall vs big hall. I've really always leaned towards a small hall and after reading a couple of articles about a tiered hall. So after thinking a little more about this I've come to two conclusions - 1) I'm thinking about this to much, and 2) This is a fictional league(mostly) and I'm surprised by how much I've spent looking at players and learning a little bit more about them.

So I've changed my thinking somewhat and I'm going the big hall approach and view this more of a museum of the best players of the era. Each year a minimum of two players and a maximum of 4 will be elected. I'm sticking to two for now though, but want to leave it open just in case things get crowded. The top x number of players will get carried over, and I'll figure out what x is once I get caught up.

That caused me to change my thoughts on the second player below, but I'm going to consider Dennis Long and Ed Dundee the 1901 inductees and Ralph Dunn and Pat Jones the 1902 inductees.

So without further ado, the 1903 inductees are:

Mike Denton - RF, Charlotte River Otters



HOF Monitor - 185
HOF Standard - 58.9
Black Ink - 54
Gray Ink - 214
Career WAR - 67.4
Milestones - 500 HR, 500 SB, 1500 RBI, 1500 R



In real life there is just one member of the 500 home run-500 stolen base club, Barry Bonds, while Denton is my first. Denton was a 3 time Hitter of the Year, 5 time Gold Glove winner, and 9 time All-Star. Denton remains the all-time leader in home runs and an OPS+ of 132 for his career.

One of the cool things about Denton is that he's never played in the majors for any other team besides the Charlotte River Otters, which also means he's never won a World Series. I say in the majors because Denton had an interesting beginning to his career after being drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Cavalry. Denton was involved in two blockbuster trades within a month in a half during October and November of 1878, first going to the Washington Capitals in a package of prospects to acquire closer Cordell Bond, then to Charlotte in a package for Lee Lange. While Lange spent just 4 years in Washington after retiring, he hit 42, 35, 32, then 22 home runs while posting WAR of 8.3, 6.2, 5.7, and 4.5. Considering Charlotte also received catcher Salvador Sanchez in the deal, who put up WAR of 6.8 and 5.9 during his two seasons in Charlotte it truly was a monster deal.

There are a few potential negatives about Denton, who is the all-time leader in strikeouts with 2220, a low batting average of .242, and a ratio of 619 stolen bases to 405 times caught stealing. They aren't enough of negatives for me though, so Denton will be going into the Hall of Fame in 1905.

Howard Smith - 2B



HOF Monitor - 127.5
HOF Standard - 56.5
Black Ink - 42
Gray Ink - 162
Career WAR - 43.9
Milestones - 500 SB, 1500 R



Out of everyone I've reviewed so far I have to admit Howard Smith was the toughest one for me. First, to be upfront, I did have one error in the league set-up that I didn't notice until the 1900's which caused higher than normal stolen bases. I wish I caught it sooner, or during testing, but I missed it until too late, so players were running wild in the 1800's. Smith was the king of running wild with 1586 stolen bases, the career leader. An impressive accomplishment, but one that was a little tainted in my mind. Just as a point of reference, four players stole more than 1000 bases in their careers, with Wilson Guzman in second with 1374 stolen bases.

In the case for Smith, he won 2 Batter of the Year Awards, and went to the All-Star game six times. Smith posted a career OBP of .376, and scored 1536 runs(5th all-time) in addition to his 1586 stolen bases. He made the cut off with his HOF Standard score, and also the Black Ink test as well. Smith also was a member of one World Championship team.

His Career War was low for the Hall at 43.9, and a HOF Monitor of 127.5 and Gray Ink of 162 is low as well. Calling him a poor fielder would be a complement. In reality he should have been designated hitter if he had more power, so fielding is a big negative.

Taking this all into consideration originally Howard Smith failed to make the cut until I changed my thought process, so congratulations to Howard Smith. (This will cause things to be a little out of order, but it'll work out as I've got 2 more catch-up inductees.)

---------------------------
In an effort to keep things moving along I'll be doing the 1904 and 1905 elections next year and after that I'll be caught up.

[NYY #23]

The Orlando Wizards have taken a commanding lead in the American League over the defending World Champion Cleveland Blues. Their seven and a half game lead is a result of good hitting and good pitching.

Pacio Merelo is off to a good start, going 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA to lead the Wizards. John Bailey and Zoilo Tsardikos also added 7 wins.



Josh Gibson is hitting .268 with 10 home runs and 30 Rbi in the middle of the Wizards line-up.

The Pittsburgh Rebels are leading the National League with a 35-19 record. Closer Alejandro Napolitano is just days away from turning 35 years old, but he's on pace for his best season yet with 12 saves and a 0.43 ERA giving up just 12 hits in 21 innings.



Tracy Marshall of the Providence Whalers became just the fifth pitcher to reach 300 wins for his career in an 11-8 win over the Baltimore Black Sox on April 30th. The 38 year old appears is 4-8 so far this season, obviously not the pitcher he once was, but needs just 8 more wins to tie Enrique Carrillo for fourth place on the career win list.

Career Win Leaders
1. Jared Mixon -378
2. Fernando Perez -370
3. Dillon Beeler -355
4. Enrique Carrillo -310
5. Tracy Marshall #-302
6. David Ward -298
7. Jesus Rodriguez -294
8. Scott Hooper -281
9. Robert Deason -281
10. Jim Jones -281
11. Alberto Sandoval -276
12. Ralph Dunn -275
13. Ed Dundee -269
14. Jeremiah Cox -267
15. Pat Jones -266
16. Mark Wright #-256
17. Mario Carbajal -250
18. Jose Cabrera -245
19. Jose Torres -234
20. Doug Mobley #-232

Jose Valle of the Brooklyn Brawlers picked up career hit number 2000 earlier this year. The 35 year old is hitting .336 this season.



Phil 'Gator' White was one of the players I've talked about before, and he won the Batter of the Month in April after hitting .352 with 8 home runs and 20 RBI and also had a 22 game hitting streak stop in early May.

39 year old Joe Beatty of the Chicago Pirates picked up career hit number 2500 during May, while 34 year old Dave Bryant of the Cincinnati Cavalry won career game number 200.



Second chancer Mickey McDermott pitched a five hit shutout in the minor leagues for his fifth win of the year. Still just 19 years old he is showing signs of progress.

[NYY #23]

Standings

The Orlando Wizards finished the unofficial end to the first half in first place with a 60-29 record and 8 1/2 game lead. The Wizards are looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 1899 when they won their fourth World Series. If the Wizards can maintain their lead they'll be heading to the postseason for the 9th time in their history, which would be the most in league history.

In the National League the Chicago Pirates moved past the Pittsburgh Rebels and now hold a 4 game lead after going 25-11 over their past 36 games.



Second Chance Notes



• Josh Gibson captured the AL Batter of the Month Award in June after hitting .333 with 9 home runs, 33 Rbi, and 20 runs scored. With 23 home runs Gibson is just one shy of his career high. Gibson had a 23 game hitting streak snapped.
• Thurman Munson is back in the minors this year, losing his back-up catching job when the Empires signed Albert Mena to a 2 year contract.

Notes from Shortlisted Players
• Carl 'Shameless' Ball of the Washington Capitals won the NL Batter of the Month award in June after hitting .323 with 8 home runs, 22 RBI, and 18 runs scored. The 30 year old is now 7 shy of 200 career home runs.
• Jeff Cole was traded from the Philadelphia Freedom to the Baltimore Black Sox in exchange for prospect Gerald Wright. Cole has struggled this season with a 5-4 record and 4.92 ERA before the trade.
• Another one of my favorites, Tracy Marshall was traded from the Providence Whalers to the Cleveland Blues. Marshall won his 300th game earlier this year, but the last place Whalers decided it was better to rebuild sending him to the Blues for 27 year old catcher Willie Miller, who was hitting .336 in AAA and second base prospect Will Hilliard
• Former Hitter of the Year Aaron Davis has had a rough couple of years being released by two organizations in 1904. Davis is a career .263 hitter with 369 home runs, but the 34 year old signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Pirates in an effort to extend his career. With starting left fielder Mark Erickson hitting .209 fans in Chicago are hoping he'll get another chance since he is hitting .304 with 26 home runs in the minors.

Milestones
• Nick Joseph of the Chicago Pirates needs 2 home runs to reach 500. Joseph is currently playing in the minors with Aaron Davis in a roster filled with former stars. Joseph also needs 58 runs to reach 1500 for his career.
• Masamune Hayagawa of the New York Empires needs 3 home runs to reach 500. Hayagawa has hit 15 home runs this year. Hayagawa needs 48 home runs to tie Mike Denton for the all-time lead.
• Jorge Cruz of the Indians is already the career leader in runs scored, but needs 70 to reach 2000. Cruz is also the career leader in hits with 3318 and walks with 1983. This season Cruz has hit .236 with a .368 OBP for the Indians, with 75 hits and 51 runs scored.
• Joe Beatty of the Pirates needs 77 runs to reach 1500 for his career.
• Don Calhoun of the Black Sox needs 18 wins to reach 250 for his career. The 33 year old needs 72 strikeouts to reach 3500
• Colin Cobb of the Whalers needs 110 strikeouts to reach 2500
• Scott Hughes of the Empires needs 19 saves to reach 400 for his career. This year Hughes is 0-4 with 27 saves and a 1.73 ERA

[NYY #23]

Masamune 'Hunter' Hayagawa became just third player to reach 500 career home runs with the New York Empires and moved into second place on the all-time home run list with 513 home runs. The 40 year old trails home run king Mike Denton by 32 home runs after hitting 31 home runs this year and hitting .277. Hunter has already announced that he'll be returning next season for his third season with the Knights.

Hayagawa appears to be a lock for the Hall of Fame with 513 career home runs, 1622 RBI, 1417 runs, and 2701 hits. Hayagawa needs 83 runs to reach 1500 for his career.

The 10 time All-Star has won 3 Batter of the Year awards. Perhaps the only knock on Hayagawa is his fielding, which only could be described as poor even at first base.

Standings

The World Series featured a matchup between the 103 win Orlando Wizards, who led the American League all season, and the Chicago Pirates who finished with a 89-74 record and finished with a one game lead over the New York Empire.

The Pirates won their fourth World Series title, and first since 1898 when they beat the Pirates 4 games to 2. The game 6 here was none other than Aaron Davis, who finally earned his promotion to Chicago although he hit just .195 during the regular season with 4 home runs. In the postseason Davis went 8-24 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 5 runs scored, and 3 stolen bases. In the final game of the series Davis went 3-4 and drove in the tie-ing and go ahead runs in the Pirates victory.



Second Chance Notes
• Tony Conigliaro was named the AL Rookie of the Month for August after hitting .305 with 5 home runs, 28 RBI, and 20 runs scored.
• Mickey McDermott earned a late season call-up from the Empires pitching 3 1/3 innings while giving up 6 runs to lower his career ERA to 16.20
• Josh Gibson finished the year with a career high batting average of .265 and career best of 32 home runs.

Notes from Shortlisted Players
• Anthony 'Fast Lane' Foster suffered an elbow injury in August that will cause him to miss the next 9 months. The 31 year old finished the year with a 9-7 record and 3.95 ERA and has a career mark of 133 and 94 for the New York Knights.
• Another of the games best pitchers, Steve 'Trixie' Nelson had a partially torn labrum that cut his season short. Nelson was 14-8 with a 3.28 ERA in his first year with the Chicago Pirates and just turned 29 years old.
• Ronnie Gillespie of the Philadelphia Freedom captured the NL Batting title after hitting .338.

Milestones
• Jeremy Bender of the Orlando Wizards picked up career hit number 2000 after a 2-4 night against the New York Empires. Bender turned 37 and has a .278 career batting average and hit .285 this season.
• Terry 'Destiny' Robbins of the Cleveland Blues picked up career win number 200 in August and finished the year with a 16-11 record. At 33 years old with a long injury history it will be difficult for Robbins to reach 300 wins, but definitely not impossible.
• Scott Hughes of the Empires saved the 400th game of his career on September 23rd, becoming just the 6th player to do so. The 35 year old is the active leader in career saves and finished the year with 401. He trails number five on the all-time list, Scott Wells, by 16 saves, and fourth place Walt Elliot by 52. Julio Ramos is the current career leader with 550 saves.
• 42 year old Jose Valdes of the Cincinnati Cavalry picked up career hit number 2500
• Nick Joseph never earned his promotion to the Pirates and the 42 year old still needs 2 home runs to reach 500, but vowed to return for the 1906 season. Joseph also needs to score 58 runs to reach 1500.
• 34 year old Brooks Evans of the Brooklyn Brawlers picked up career hit number 2000.
• Edwin 'Brick' Pittman of the Wolverines won career game number 200.
• Jorge Cruz hit .265 this year with 149 hits and 98 runs scored this year as a 42 year old. Cruz will need 108 hits to reach 3500 and 23 runs scored to reach 2000.
• Joe Beatty of the Pirates needs 77 runs to reach 1500 for his career.
• Jose Gonzalez of the Chicago Pirates needs 13 RBI to reach 1500 for his career.
• Dewey Allgood of the Boston Americans needs 72 RBI to reach 1500 for his career.
• Don Calhoun of the Black Sox needs 10 wins to reach 250 for his career. The 33 year old struck out the 3500th batter of his career
• Colin Cobb of the Whalers struck out the 2500th batter of his career.

[NYY #23]

Michael Ewing only played one season for the Washington Capitals, but the veteran made a big impact with the Capitals and served as a mentor for the young Washington staff that includes 23 year old Greg Collins who put things together this season to win 18 games in 271 2/3 innings. The Capitals also credit Ewing with working with 24 year old Julio Vera and 22 year old Bryan Decker.

The Capitals liked the way he worked with young pitchers that Ewing will be working in the minors next season as the Pitching Coach.

On the field this year Ewing rebounded from a couple poor seasons to end on a strong note going 6-5 with 21 saves in 97 innings. Ewing earned his 200th career victory this year and became the first pitcher to win 200 games in his career and save 100.

Ewing was a dominant starter in his earlier career and posted an ERA+ of 115 and FIP of 3.59. While he'll fall short of election to the Hall of Fame the four time All-Star had a respectable career.

HOF Monitor - 50
HOF Standard - 38.6
Black Ink - 1
Gray Ink - 147
Career WAR - 62.0

Other notable players who have retired following the year include Wes Williams of the New York Knights who hit .274 for his career with 2391 hits and 875 stolen bases. Teammate Francisco Marquez also retired with a .274 career average with 2210 hits, 1034 RBI, and 771 stolen bases.

[PotatoPeeler]

I'm interested in seeing what Lyman Bostock can do if you care to move him up on the list.

Also, I sure hope Nick Joseph can get those last two round trippers.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by PotatoPeeler

I'm interested in seeing what Lyman Bostock can do if you care to move him up on the list.

Also, I sure hope Nick Joseph can get those last two round trippers.

Will do. I've got the 1905 draft class coming up next post, and the 1906 draft all prepped, but I'll work him into the 1907 draft - plus hopefully start moving a little bit quicker.

[NYY #23]

Draft time is always my favorite time of year with a new group of second chance players coming into the league, along with some other fresh blood. After missing last year's second chance players, we'll do a catch up draft and have four second chance players coming into the draft pool, including one who should be very interesting to watch.

This year I'm also going to change things up slightly which I alluded to before, as I've adjusted the number of fictional players created to five round, and I'll create a group that will total 16 players.

Draft Results



Shoeless Joe Jackson was selected as the top pick in the amateur draft by the Brooklyn Brawlers. Obviously Shoeless Joe was banned from baseball as part of the Black Sox scandal, but Shoeless Joe was one of the greatest players to play the game and will get a chance to play out a full career (barring injury) and gain entry into the Hall of Fame.



Chick Gandil was another player banned from baseball as part of the Black Sox scandal, and was selected with the ninth pick in the 2nd round by the Indianapolis Indians



Mark Fidrych was the third player picked in the amateur draft by the Charlotte River Otters. Fidrych won the Rookie of the Year award in 1976 with the Detroit Tigers after going 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA, but his bright and colorful future was derailed by a torn rotator cuff. We'll see how 'The Bird' does with a second chance at greatness.



Duncan Johnson had the honor of being selected is the second overall pick being selected by the Providence Whalers. The starting pitcher was selected one spot ahead of Fidrych and has good command of four pitches. While Johnson is a fictional player, I had to verify that his college was real too, as he was picked out of Spoon River College (It is, I googled it). We'll see if it's justified picking Johnson ahead of Fidrych.



Herb Score was selected 14th overall by the New York Empires. Another pitcher who was off to a fast start going 16-10 with a 2.85 and 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA in his first two seasons. Score was struck in the face by a line drive , breaking multiple bones in his face. Score was never able to pitch at that level again.

In order to round out the draft class I selected a random group of real life players from the Negro League, PCL, Japanese professionals, Korean professionals, and one random player - Dusty Miller.

The highest pick among them was Negro Leaguer Jim Gilliam who was selected by the New York Knights with the fourth pick in the second round while Gyu-Sik Han was selected with the 15th pick in the final round by the Chicago Pirates. I'm not going to highlight each one of those every year, but if there is a theme to the imported players I'll point that out.

[NYY #23]

Jorge Cuesta of the Boston Americans won the AL Outstanding Pitcher of the Year Award after going 20-11 with a 2.89 ERA. Cuesta struck out 231 batters in 277 1/3 innings, and won his first Pitcher of the Year Award at the age of 27.



24 year old Greg Collins picked up his first NL Pitcher of the Year Award after going 18-10 with a 2.85 ERA while striking out 164 in 271 2/3 innings pitched.



Phil 'Gator' White won his third Batter of the Year Award this season after hitting .278 with 38 home runs while driving in 102 runs, and scoring another 96. The 29 year old also passed 1000 hits for his career.



Jose 'Crab' Martinez won his second Batter of the Year award after hitting .283 with 35 home runs and 109 RBI.

Gold Gloves
Felix Perez of the Orlando Wizards won his sixth Gold Glove in right field this year, while teammate Stephen Body won his fifth Gold Glove at first base.



Paul Wilson of the Pittsburgh Rebels won his third Gold Glove at second base, while Roberto Perez, Jr. won his third Gold Glove behind the plate for the Detroit Wolverines.

A quick look at who has won the most Gold Gloves by position in history:

Pitcher: Jared Mixon/Mario Carbajal (3)
Catcher: Reid Johnson (4)
First Base: Stephen Boyd (5)
Second Base: Timoteo Fuentes (11)
Third Base: Jeff Veeck (11)
Shortstop: Richard Ball (5)
Left Field: Vicente Sanchez (5)
Centerfield: Paul Charles (8)
Right Field: Felix Perez (6)

[NYY #23]

It's that time of year where we induct the latest class into the Hall of Fame, and this year we'll be catching up to induct both the 1904 Hall of Fame class and the 1905 Hall of Fame class. First up, the pair of pitchers that were inducted as part of the 1904 class (one year late).

1904 Hall of Fame



Scott 'Spoon' Hooper, SP - Detroit Wolverines/Indianapolis Indians
HOF Monitor - 211.5
HOF Standard - 63.9
Black Ink - 59
Gray Ink - 328
Career WAR - 133.2
Milestones - 3000 K's

Scott Hooper was one of the all 'green' players that are typically easy decisions to induct. They've met or exceeded the standards in all five categories that I'm measuring so their cells are turned green in excel. Hooper began his career with the Detroit Wolverines where he pitched seven seasons, before leaving for Indianapolis where he played eight years before he came back to Detroit to finish out his career.

While Hooper fell 19 wins short of the magical 300 win milestone his 281-182 record was good for a .607 winning percentage. Hooper struck out 3497 batters in 4326 2/3 innings in his career while posting a 1.06 WHIP. Hooper had an ERA+ of 137 for his career, with a 3.27 FIP.

Hooper won the Rookie of the Year in 1881 and Pitcher of the Year in 1886 when he went 23-7 with a 2.62 ERA. He came close to winning other Pitcher of the Year Awards as well. His 1885 season Hooper went 22-9 with a 2.06 ERA and 178 ERA+. In 1883 he was 20-10 with a 2.25 ERA and 168 ERA+. Hooper won 20 or more games eight different seasons, was selected to 10 All-Star teams, and won one Gold Glove Award.

Hooper won a World Series title with the Indianapolis Indians and struck out 15 batters in a game against the Chicago Pirates.





Alberto 'Crash' Sandoval, SP - New York Empires
HOF Monitor - 136
HOF Standard - 57.6
Black Ink - 14
Gray Ink - 213
Career WAR - 125.7
Milestones - 3000 K

Alberto 'Crash' Sandoval was above the minimum numbers I'd like to see in everything but Black Ink, but after reviewing his career I'm comfortable that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. While Sandoval pitched for eight different teams in his career, he spent the most time with the New York Mutuals in two separate stints. Sandoval captured the Pitcher of the Year Award in 1882 when he went 20-9 with a 2.07 ERA and a 175 ERA+ while striking out 278 batters in 277 2/3 innings pitched.

Sandoval was selected to 8 All-Star teams and won one Gold Glove. Sandoval won his only World Series with the New York Empires, and he'll go into the Hall of Fame with an Empires cap on his head.

[NYY #23]

1905 Hall of Fame

Before I get to who was elected I spent some time looking at a quarter of closers that I'll talk about first.

Kevin Connolly, CL - Cleveland Blues
HOF Monitor - 197
HOF Standard - 23.4
Black Ink - 4
Gray Ink - 45
Career WAR - 15.5
Milestones - 300 SV

Connolly was one of the best closers of the era compiling 388 career saves and a 3.05 ERA in a career that spanned 17 years. Connolly was selected to appear on 10 All-Star teams, and ranks 8th on the all-time saves list. Connolly never won a World Series, and only led the league in saves one time, in 1882 when he saved 42 games.

Scott Wells, CL - Cleveland Blues
HOF Monitor - 108
HOF Standard - 30.6
Black Ink - 10
Gray Ink - 52
Career WAR - 21.7
Milestones - 400 SV

Another Blue's closer, although their times didn't overlap, and they both played for other teams as well, just played with Cleveland the most. Wells saved 417 games in his career and posted a 2.49 ERA. Like Connolly he never won a World Series and was selected to 10 All-Star teams. Wells led the league in saves three years and had a slightly better career than Connolly.

Lawrence Reynolds, CL - New York Empires/New York Knights
HOF Monitor - 146
HOF Standard - 32.7
Black Ink - 8
Gray Ink - 60
Career WAR - 24.9
Milestones - 500 SV

Reynolds is the third closer in a row we'll look at, and he saved 556 games in his career with a 2.61 ERA striking out 1327 batters in 1087 2/3 innings. Reynolds was selected for 14 All-Star teams, and won the Pitcher of the Month award once while leading the league in saves two times. Reynolds is currently second on the all-time saves list.

Tony Garcia, CL - New York Empires
HOF Monitor - 158
HOF Standard - 31.1
Black Ink - 11
Gray Ink - 52
Career WAR - 29.7
Milestones - 500 SV

Garcia saved 515 games for his career which included 15 All-Star selections. Unlike the other closers Garcia captured a World Series title, and despite having a lower saves total he may be the best of the bunch.

A look at some select numbers for each:

Connolly: FIP - 3.32, ERA+ 158, 5.61 K/9, 1061.0 IP, 78-87, 388 SV, 17 Years, 1.27 WHIP, 1.5
Wells: FIP - 2.78, ERA+ 169, 10.09 K/9, 937.1 IP, 65-49, 417 SV, 16 Years, 1.19 WHIP, 2.2
Reynolds: FIP - 2.78, ERA+ 172, 10.98 K/9, 1087.2 IP, 84-79, 556 SV, 18 Years, 1.07 WHIP, 2.0
Garcia: FIP - 2.51, ERA+ 175, 9.77 K/9, 1226.0 IP, 81-83, 515 SV, 19 Years, 1.12 WHIP, 2.3

After going through all four of them I just can't pull the trigger on any of them. Connolly and Wells are off the list and won't be elected to the Hall, but I'm going to leave Reynolds and Garcia on the list which is pared down to 24 players. They all aren't Hall of Famers, but there is something interesting about each one of those that I've liked enough to keep on the list of possibilities.

As for who gets in, I've made my decisions on the class of 1905. First up -



Juan Huerta, C - Orlando Wizards
HOF Monitor - 131.5
HOF Standard - 44.9
Black Ink - 12
Gray Ink - 121
Career WAR - 63.5
Milestones - None

Huerta just barely squeaks by if we are looking at the HOF Monitor or Career WAR, but I don't think that tells the entire story. Huerta began his career with the Orlando Wizards, and played for seven different teams during his career. Through trades and short contracts in free agency he really moved around quite a bit. A career .270 hitter with 328 home runs, 1333 RBI, and 939 runs scored with an OPS+ of 115 for his career.

Huerta was a former Rookie of the Year in 1880, although that shouldn't be too much of a credit as he played just 26 games that year, although he did hit .350 it didn't seem enough to win the award. Huerto also won a Batter of the Year Award in 1892 when he hit .315 with 34 home runs and 139 RBI. His WAR that year was a career high 7.5, as was his 158 OPS+. Huerta was an above average defender, and threw out 37.3 % of base stealers for his career. While he never won a Gold Glove, he was selected to 7 All-Star teams.

One of the most interesting stats that I noticed is that he won four separate World Series with four separate teams. That seems particularly impressive for a catcher.





Jose Hernandez, C - Philadelphia Freedom
HOF Monitor - 103.5
HOF Standard - 58.0
Black Ink - 4
Gray Ink - 85
Career WAR - 79.5
Milestones - None

Hernandez was the second catcher selected to the HOF this year in what'll be known as the year of the catcher. Hernandez was a .263 career hitter with a .370 on-base percentage and 318 home runs, 1196 RBI, and 1174 runs scored. He won the Hitter of the Year award in 1894 when he hit .274 with a .390 OBP, 20 home runs, and 83 RBI. Hernandez won 2 Gold Gloves and was selected to seven All-Star teams.

Hernandez won one World Series in his career and stole 331 bases during his career. Hernandez has a career wOBA of .353.

[NYY #23]

The Chicago Pirates are off to a fast start in the National League with an 18-8 start in their quest to repeat as World Series champions.



Steve 'Trixie' Nelson is in his second year with the Pirates and is off to a 5-0 start with a 2.25 ERA and won the Pitcher of the Month Award.

Slugger Jonasz Wynorski arrived the first week of the season in a trade with the Pittsburgh Rebels and has hit 8 home runs in 22 games for Chicago. The 35 year old now has 373 career home runs and is tied for 16th on the all-time home run list.

Second Chance Notes



Shoeless Joe Jackson captured the AL Rookie of the Month award in April, but it wasn't the most impressive performance as he hit .219 with 4 home runs.



Mark Fidrych was just drafted last year, but has already been trade once. Fidrych was shipped from the Charlotte River Otters to the Pittsburgh Rebels in a blockbuster deal for 2B Paul Wilson.

[NYY #23]

Shoeless Joe Jackson won his second straight AL Rookie of the Month Award after hitting .327 with 2 home runs, 21 RBI, and 18 runs scored.



Don Calhoun of the Baltimore Black Sox was named the Pitcher of the Month in the AL after going 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA to improve to 8-2 for the year. Calhoun now has 248 career wins and is in 18th place on the all-time wins list.



Josh Gibson hit .327 for the month with 11 home runs, 36 RBI, and 22 runs scored to win the AL Batter of the Month for May and is now hitting .311 with 17 home runs for the month.

Jorge Cervantes of the Indianapolis Indians won his 200th career game in a 3-0 victory over the Charlotte River Otters. Cervantes turns 37 years old in July.

40 year old Tim Bell of the Baltimore Black Sox hit career home run number 300 this month.

[PotatoPeeler]

I take it Nick Joseph is not going to get his shot at 500. Bummer.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by PotatoPeeler

I take it Nick Joseph is not going to get his shot at 500. Bummer.

Not yet. I haven't given up all hope as he seems to be hanging around, but he's just not getting many at bats. Even at his age he's still got respectable power ratings. Last year he hit four home runs in 72 at bats, but he's currently on the disabled list with a thumb injury and won't be due back until mid-September.

It's a long shot definitely, but he also could come back next year too.

[NYY #23]

The Pittsburgh Rebels captured their second World Series title after knocking the Cincinnati Rebels off in a thrilling seven game World Series. Game 7 went down to the wire and ended up going into extra innings before Judd Kessler connected on a two run home run to give the Rebels the victory and the World Series title.

While the Rebels were busy celebrating their World Series victory after game 7 which occurred on 10/11, they began looking forward to 1907 when they traded World Series hero Judd Kessler to the Providence Whalers just two days later. While Kessler was far from a star hitting .282 with 7 home runs in 142 at-bats it still was an interesting move.