Time Warp Baseball

[Matt from TN]

FYI: beginning in 1946 when we go live, I will implement a rule that says an ancestor must be 18 before October 1 to be added to the league. Otherwise, he must wait another season.

[BPS]

The Gazette
Of Douglass, Kansas

October 15, 1935

TALK OF THE TOWN
* Our very own Lucky Ryan is now only 309 homers behind the homerun king, Mr. Willard Schwarz. Mr Schwarz, readers might know, has hit 310 homers in his long career as a catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies. Lucky hit his first (and only!) homer of his career off pitching ace Mr. Cliff Umbaugh of the NY Giants. Lucky’s four-bagger came in an August 22 game played in Cincinnati. The hard-throwing Mr. Umbaugh led the NL in ERA in the just-completed 1935 season, but that wasn't good enough to protect him from Lucky's big bat! Again, this information is from Lucky's mother.

* A meeting of the Douglass Italy Club on the night of October 3 took a strange turn. The meeting opened up with a loud discussion about whether Mr. Clarence Bazart, the Yankee shortstop named World Series MVP on October 1, was—or was not—of Italian extraction. Mr. Matteo Russo claimed he knew of a Bazart family in Trappeto, in the old country. As the discussion on this important issue was finally settling down, word arrived that Italy had invaded Abyssinia on October 2, the day after the 1935 World Series had ended. The Italian leader, Mussolini, has apparently claimed that the Abyssinian leader Haile Selassie had launched some aggression against Italian interests in Abyssinia. The discussion in the Italy Club at this point switched from Mr. Bazart’s heritage to whether Mr. Mussolini was justified in invading Abyssinia. The discussion was hindered by the fact that no one in the meeting could say exactly where Abyssinia was located, but they were certain that Haile Selassie was not an Italian name.

* Local supporters of Mr. Huey Long have petitioned Mayor Arthur Neal to declare December 1 as “Huey Long Day.” Readers will remember that Mr. Long was assassinated on September 8 in Baton Rouge. Although opinions were mixed about Mr. Long, a number of local residents were in favor of Mr. Long’s “Share Our Wealth” movement. This movement demanded that the richest members of our country be forced to share their vast wealth with the common man. Our president, Mr. Franklin Roosevelt, thought that this movement was too radical for his taste.

* Mrs. Henry Schoolman has been force to rethink her long-planned trip to France. Mrs. Schoolman has been regaleing her friends with the details of this trip for decades (or so it seems to her friends!). A law passed by our national government last August made Mrs. Schoolman rethink her trip. Although most in our fair city will recall that the Neutrality Act allowed President Roosevelt to declare an embargo on arms shipments to countries engaged in war, Mrs. Schoolman recently discovered that the same law permitted the president to declare that U.S. citizens traveling on belligerents’ ships did so at their own risk. Now Mrs. Schoolman’s friends will doubtlessly be regaled by complaints about our national government!

* Harper's Grocery finally received a shipment of Life Savers candy. Patrons of the store have been demanding that Mr. Harper stock this new candy after they had tasted this treat in Wichita. Now if we can only get Mr. Harper to order those new beers that are packaged in tin cans! Yes, the same tin cans they use for beans! (I myself don't think that people will like drinking beer from a tin can. But I might like the novelty of drinking beer from a metal container once or twice. But no more!)

[Matt from TN]

Originally posted by BPS
The Gazette
Of Douglass, Kansas

October 15, 1935

Once again, a very fun read! Thanks for your efforts. This provides a very helpful, informative backdrop as the league eeks ever closer to the impending World War.

[Ankhiel]

its a good thing, Jeronimo started at 17, and look at what he did so far...

at 21 y/o

45-69 4.93 ERA

[scprideandms]

almost as bad as Whiskey Jr.

[TexasLonghorns]

Rhino wins the Batter of the Year.

[jdw]

Ankhiel wrote:

> 1 Rbi and 2 run... that's not much for a
> World Series MVP...

Matt pointed to it being a low scoring affair, but that might not do it justice:

C Harry Finley - .267/.250/.400 with 0/1 R/RBI
1B Ervin Skjerly - .333/.333/.417 with 1/2
2B Ervin Skjerly - .231/.412/.231 with 3/2
3B August Kahle - .250/.250/.250 with 0/0
SS Clarence Bazart - .471/.500/.529 with 2/1
LF Allen March - .231/.313/.308 with 2/2
CF Ping Hung - .200/.294/.200 with 2/1
RF Archibald Graham - .250/.471/.417 with 2/1

There really isn't a viable candidate among the everyday players other than Bazart. Maybe Graham could have been if he (i) scored a lot with that high OBP and (ii) had a couple of key extra base hits.

Riley might have won if the Yanks went with a three man rotation as he might have won Game 4. Kendrick would have been a decent pick.

BTW - have anyone ever turned around their career late in life like Kendrick has? How's this for a comp by age:

-32: 87-117 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.63 WHIP
33+: 140-69 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.13 WHIP

Through the age of 32 his biggest claim to fame was losing 20 games four times in five years. Now he's won 20 five out of the last six. The ERAs have been very good as well, though he's in the bottom half of the Top 10 the last two years after four straight in the Top 3.

It's really strange as he pitched for some great A's teams while losing 20 games a year for them. Then again, it's a fun career rather than some that are just great like clock work year after year. A 227-186 career record isn't something we should sneeze at.


John

[jdw]

> NL POY: Frank Smith, BKN, 30-10, 2.67 ERA, 49 BB, 188 K

The Smith March Through History continues. 25 years old. 165-84 with a 2.87 ERA. Three POTY awards.

At the same age, Murp had 0 wins in 0 starts.

At the same age, Presto was 97-38 and coming off his first two (of five) POTY awards.

Murph won 339 games after 25. Presto won 262.

We were just mourning the career altering injury to and early retirement of Nagel. But at the same age the Professor was just 102-149. His string of five POTY in six years would start when he was 27 and he'd go 225-123 from the age of 26 to the end of his career.

Barring injury, Smith's going to be the Cy Young of TWB.

Matt - one thing you probably should keep an eye on is the GS. Here's the year-by-year leaders in the AL and NL:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le..._leagues.shtml

Folks just weren't starting 42 and 43 games a year in this era. I suspect the difference is that your schedule doesn't have the amount of double headers that RL had. The complete games are high as well, as are the IP.

Might need some adjusting. There are reasons why no one other than Grove won 300 games between the Johnson/Alexander era and the Spahn/Wynn era.


John

[Ankhiel]

Originally posted by jdw
BTW - have anyone ever turned around their career late in life like Kendrick has? How's this for a comp by age:

-32: 87-117 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.63 WHIP
33+: 140-69 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.13 WHIP

Through the age of 32 his biggest claim to fame was losing 20 games four times in five years. Now he's won 20 five out of the last six. The ERAs have been very good as well, though he's in the bottom half of the Top 10 the last two years after four straight in the Top 3.

It's really strange as he pitched for some great A's teams while losing 20 games a year for them. Then again, it's a fun career rather than some that are just great like clock work year after year. A 227-186 career record isn't something we should sneeze at.
John [/B]

gotta admit those are some nice numbers.... wonder what happened to him when he turned 32?

[Carlton]

Looks like Kendrick is similiar to Burleigh Grimes...wonder if he throws a spitball?

[Matt from TN]

Originally posted by jdw
Matt - one thing you probably should keep an eye on is the GS. Here's the year-by-year leaders in the AL and NL:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le..._leagues.shtml

Folks just weren't starting 42 and 43 games a year in this era. I suspect the difference is that your schedule doesn't have the amount of double headers that RL had. The complete games are high as well, as are the IP.

Might need some adjusting. There are reasons why no one other than Grove won 300 games between the Johnson/Alexander era and the Spahn/Wynn era.

I'm not sure if it is something I can really affect, unfortunately. The 4-man rotation is in effect, but the cpu is the one who decides who starts.

Originally posted by Carlton
Looks like Kendrick is similiar to Burleigh Grimes...wonder if he throws a spitball?

Hey... that pitch is illegal

Originally posted by Ankhiel
gotta admit those are some nice numbers.... wonder what happened to him when he turned 32?

Monday 10/4/1927 :

Davie Kendrick increases his talent in getting strikeouts!
Davie Kendrick increases his talent in avoiding hits!
Davie Kendrick increases his talent in avoiding homers!
Davie Kendrick increases his talent in avoiding walks!
Davie Kendrick increases his talent in getting strikeouts!

He went 12-20 with a 4.90 ERA in 1927 and then got some incredible talent bumps at the very end of the season. The A's traded him to New York in July of the next year & he slowly began to develop there. He was once a highly touted prospect (7th overall pick in 1920), but the A's had grown increasingly frustrated with him. In New York, the tables turned. Perhaps it was his new pitching coach who fine-tuned his mechanics. Whatever it was, he lost 22 games in his first full season with the Yankees (1929) and then won 26 games in 1930 on his way to 5 20-win seasons in 6 years.

[tward13]

Matt, do you have the strategy set to strict 4 man or start most rested?

[Matt from TN]

Originally posted by tward13
Matt, do you have the strategy set to strict 4 man or start most rested?

They all seem to be different. Doesn't the cpu control that? If I changed them all to strict order, wouldn't the cpu later change some at will?

[rogmax11]

jdw has a point: the 85 GS over the past two seasons, and the high number of CG/IP, are right at the edge of credulity. I do think that schedules, fatigue, and weather effects--if properly applied--would mitigate some of the superhuman results.

But...this is my DAD we're talking about; a wonderful man who loved baseball and the Dodgers, and who even pitched a little in his youth before blowing out his arm and joining the Navy. Watching "his" exploits--even vicariously--gives me enormous pleasure, as I am sure it would the man himself.

And I kinda like the sound of "Frank Smith Award" as best pitcher.

Now if only we can figure out a way to beat those damn Yankees.

[tward13]

Originally posted by Matt from TN
They all seem to be different. Doesn't the cpu control that? If I changed them all to strict order, wouldn't the cpu later change some at will?

Don't know, but it might be worth a try. Not sure if computer controlled teams also change those things.

[jdw]

rogmax11 wrote:

> But...this is my DAD we're talking about; a wonderful man
> who loved baseball and the Dodgers, and who even pitched
> a little in his youth before blowing out his arm and joining
> the Navy. Watching "his" exploits--even vicariously--gives
> me enormous pleasure, as I am sure it would the man himself.

I agree - that's part of the fun. Now if my Grandpa could just get a starting gig with the White Sox!


> And I kinda like the sound of "Frank Smith Award" as best
> pitcher.

I get the feeling that Matt is going name that award for Murphy before Frank retires. There's just something about those the run of the ROTY then 9 POTY in the next 10 years that's magical level of dominance. He did it in the "early years" of TWB, so it will likely grow in legend.

Matt - is there any process in naming awards after folks?

Woody had the most BOTY awards, but at 5 of them he doesn't exactly stand over the field like Murph does (for the time being). Maybe the BOTY could be held off, but the POTY could be switched over to the Andrew Murphy Award with Murph induction into the HOF. Would Kenesaw Mountain Landis want to recognize Murph as one of the Good Sox who upheld the honor of baseball against the scandal?


> Now if only we can figure out a way to beat those damn
> Yankees.

The Phils dynasty was fun, but this Yankee one is bringing back that uneasy feeling of reality.


John

[Matt from TN]

Key Retirees:


Edward "Juicy" Shiflet, LF
New York Yankees 1918-20
Boston Red Sox 1921-35
Boston Braves 1935



Shiflet was one of the few good players that the Red Sox got in return for their "Dead Sox" deals of the early 20's. Those deals eventually helped the Yankees capture the pennant in 1923 and again in 1927, but only two players traded from the Red Sox were still with the team when they finally won their next World Series in 1933 - pitcher Patrick Paulsen (who retired a year ago) and first baseman Ralph "Thunder" Tumbridge.

Shiflet went on to payback New York by becoming one of the most feared hitters in the AL from 1922-1932. A torn rib cage muscle ended his '29 season early - just a year after being named the AL BOY, and it was a key reason why he declined so quickly after 1932. Despite his injury, "Juicy" retired with a .320 average, 2108 hits, 351 doubles, 178 homeruns (14th All-Time), 1289 RBI (15th All-Time), 1136 runs, 885 walks and 212 steals. He won the 1928 batting title and had a 22-game hitting streak in 1931.


Other Notable Retirees:

Gary Emmerich, RF
Reds 1918-35

.306, 2031 H, 1089 R, 515 SB. He was a 3-time Gold Glover and led the NL in stolen bases 6 times. He finished 10th on that all-time list.


Rob Weems, 2B
Robins/Dodgers 1920-31
White Sox 1931-34
Cubs 1934-35

.323, 2090 H. He won the World Series with Brooklyn in 1926, hitting .500 with 6 RBI. Had a 22-game hitting streak in 1927.


Floyd Bettles, SP
Tigers 1921-34

239-197, 4.14, 1579 BB, 1479 K, 1.47 WHIP. Anchored the Detroit rotation for many years, and was part of the team's only World Series team in 1928, when they defeated the Braves. Goes largely unnoticed because he pitched in such a hitter-friendly park and era, but he finished in the top 10 in wins 8 times in 11 years and in the top 10 in ERA 6 times in 9 years.


Steve Varghese, 3B
Giants 1919-33
Braves 1933-34
Pirates 1934-35

.320, 1978 H. Won the World Series with the Giants in 1921 as a youngster on the bench. Returned to the WS as a starter in 1922, but lost to the Browns. Won Gold Glove in 1924. Had 2 hitting streaks over 20 games long in consecutive seasons. Led NL in hits twice.

[Matt from TN]

Originally posted by jdw
Matt - is there any process in naming awards after folks?

Funny you should mention this, because I was just thinking about this, yesterday I believe. Yes, I had considered naming the POY after Murphy, although using the HOF platform to make the announcement had not occured to me. As for the BOY, it may remain unnamed since in RL baseball, it's simply the MVP (granted, pitchers can qualify there),

The Phils dynasty was fun, but this Yankee one is bringing back that uneasy feeling of reality.

I was thinking the same thing... That's why I mentioned the fact that they've won more pennants than anyone (11) & are on pace to have about 33 pennants in 1999, which is quite similar to RL. Only 2 other teams have even been to more than 5 WS in our 35 years - The Phillies (7, but 9 pennants) and Cardinals (6). Most teams have won 1 or 2 WS (except the Reds who are merely 0-for-1), but the Phillies and Yanks have won 6 each - the only two teams to win more than 2.

Currently economics play no part in building dynasties, so it will be interesting to see what happens when money really becomes a factor.

[jdw]

Matt wrote:

> Funny you should mention this, because I was
> just thinking about this, yesterday I believe. Yes,
> I had considered naming the POY after Murphy,
> although using the HOF platform to make the
> announcement had not occured to me.

That he was the only member of the Initial HOF Class to get 100% might be just enough to push Landis name the award after him?

The question I have is whether Murph will come to the ceremony? He's been rather guarded about his privacy since he retired after living so many year in the spotlight.

The trickier one will be win (and if) Jed Burke ever gets elected to the HOF as he deserves. Jed's been rather outspoken over the years about wanting nothing to do with baseball after walking away from it shortly after the Black Sox scandal. The only person he seemed more angry at than his eight teammates was owner Charles Comiskey. I seem to recall the comment in the Tribune a few years back when a reporter finally tracked him down in California for a Whatever Happened To Piece... something along the lines of quitting the game because every day he'd come to the ballpark every day and have to resist the temptation to head up to Comiskey's office and strangling him for his part in it.


> As for the BOY, it may remain unnamed since in RL baseball,
> it's simply the MVP (granted, pitchers can qualify there),

I think if someone comes along and is as dominant as Murph was, then maybe it would be right to name it after him when he goes into the HOF. Woody is *almost* that close. I even jokingly referred in the other thread about him getting robbed of a 6th BOTY award. I better there are another one or two in there he probably could have won as well.


> I was thinking the same thing... That's why I mentioned
> the fact that they've won more pennants than anyone
> (11) & are on pace to have about 33 pennants in 1999,
> which is quite similar to RL. Only 2 other teams have even
> been to more than 5 WS in our 35 years - The Phillies
> (7, but 9 pennants) and Cardinals (6). Most teams have
> won 1 or 2 WS (except the Reds who are merely 0-for-1),
> but the Phillies and Yanks have won 6 each - the only two
> teams to win more than 2.

If you chart out the first and second place finishers in each league each year, one does get a good feeling for teams rising and falling off over time. Most teams have had their little runs of success. What the Phills did was amazing to watch, as is what the Yanks are doing over the past few years. If it were any team other than the Yanks, I suspect most of us would find it more "fun" to have some team finally three-peat.


> Currently economics play no part in building dynasties, so
> it will be interesting to see what happens when money
> really becomes a factor.

No doubt.


John

[Ankhiel]

i think having the Award named after player isnt a good idea... simply because "batter of the year" award is easier to understand than the "Murphy Award" or whatever other name you could come up with...