A New York State Of Mind: Replaying the New York Highlanders/New York Yankees History, 1903-Present

[DustinthePOWERHOUSE]

I think this is now a mute point, but please don't restart this franchise unless you really feel it's necessary. I am really enjoying this thread (and so are a numerous others) and it would be a shame if you didn't continue it for your loyal viewers...and for yourself.

[gollum65]

Thanks Dust. It's a mute point for now. If it really looks like salaries are going crazy, I may be forced to restart. But so far I'm sticking with it.

I've almost finished the 1921 season. Looks like I've got the #1 overall draft pick wrapped up. I'm sure some of you are thinking I'm trying to position myself to get Gherig when he comes out. I wouldn't say that's completely untrue, but I really do want to win. More info soon when I post the season.

[gollum65]

1921 Season Recap:

Final 1921 Standings:


1921 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1921 Year In Review:
Lesson I learned from this season? Don't collect bad players just because they played for the real Yankees. The Yankees finished with the worst record in baseball, and was pretty much bottom of the barrel in every meaningful category in the American League. It didn't help that Lefty Caldwell was lost for the season in late April, but bottom line was I didn't have enough talent to win games.

Babe Ruth:
While Ruth still hasn't progressed a single digit in any of his ratings, he did have his best year as a position player. Ruth set career highs in batting average (.307), homers (6), RBIs (81), hits (187), triples (10), and steals (6). He also had his best season in the field, breaking the .900 fielding percentage for the first time. Ruth is now a ** player, and still a ***** prospect and his potentials haven't changed. He's only 26, so there's still hope.

First Base Transition:
So I guess this is just what happens to Wally Pipp. About halfway through the season, when Pipp was barely batting over .200, I replaced him at first base with rookie Mule Suttles. This will basically be the end of Pipp's career as our starting first basemen. Suttles batted .308 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs. He also posted a .978 fielding percentage at 1B, with 55 starts and 63 games at the position.

1921 New York Yankees Transactions:
No trades this season. Just a couple of contract extensions.

May 12, 1921: Signed RF Babe Ruth to a 2 year extension @ $2,800 per year
As long as Ruth shows improvement, I'll keep playing him.

July 26, 1921: Signed 2B Dave Bancroft to a 1 year extension @ $24,367
Bancroft took no raise to stay in New York. I didn't want to pay him anymore because he was having a pretty poor season at the plate. That said, he'll probably win another Gold Glove, which is why I wanted to keep him.

World Series Recap:
Yes, that's actually the Cubbies in the Fall Classic! They're making their 2nd trip to the series. They won the 1st ever World Series in 1903. The Indians are making their 2nd straigh appearance, and their 4th in team history.

Cleveland won their 2nd straight World Championship, taking down the Cubs in 8 games.

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1922 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductees: None
The HoF is still screwed up because all the players that are in it have somehow had their career stats erased, so they don't appear anymore. For instance, Cy Young is in the game if I search for him, but he doesn't show up in the retired players list nor the HoF, and his career stats are blank. Very annoying. I have no idea how this happened or if there's any way to fix it.

Yankees 1921 Award Winners: 2B Dave Bancroft won his 5th straight AL Gold Glove. 3B Charlie Deal won his 2nd straight AL Gold Glove. Rookie SS Frank Parkinson won his 1st AL Gold Glove.

Draft Recap:
Hall of fame catcher Gabby Hartnett was in this draft, but I didn't need a catcher. I needed pitching, but there wasn't much decent pitching in this draft. So I took 3B Travis Jackson in the first round in the hopes that the 19 year old will work his way into the starting lineup in a couple of seasons.

Notable Offseason Transactions:
It was a very Yankee-esque offseason.

October 16, 1921: 3B Charlie Deal had requested a trade during the season, so it was no surprise when he opted out of his contract. This paved the way for a very big signing. I also let Lefty Caldwell go. Between his age and his major injury, he just wasn't starting rotation material anymore.

November 26, 1921: Signed free agent P Rube Bressler to a 2 year contract @ $12,000 per season (year 2 is a mutual option)
Bressler will probably pitch in the #3 slot.

December 2, 1921: Signed free agent 3B Rogers Hornsby to a 3 year contract @ $95,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option)
I knew Hornsby would be a free agent, so losing Charlie Deal was no problem. Pretty good "stop gap" until Travis Jackson is ready to become the every day 3B. It's also the biggest contract I've signed a player to. Still haven't broken the $100k barrier yet though.

December 26, 1921: Released 1B Wally Pipp
I hated to do it as he had a great run for me, but I needed the money to make my next signing. Pipp played 10 seasons for the Yankees, garnering 1,265 hits, 514 RBIs, and a .280 batting average. He's only 29, so hopefully another team will pick him up.

December 28, 1921: Signed free agent P Dave Davenport to a 3 year contract @ $93,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option)
So $188,000 on 2 players is certainly Yankee-like. But I just couldn't pass them up, and I did have the salary space to do it.

Strengths: With Ruth (I hope) followed by Rajah, followed by Mule Suttles, I'm hoping this is somewhat of a "Murderers Row" batting order as we enter our last season playing in the Polo Grounds.

Weaknesses: Even with the additions of Davenport & Bressler, our pitching is still a little suspect, especially in the bullpen.

Projected Record: I'll go with 80 wins this year. I think we can compete for the AL pennant. If Ruth finally starts becoming the Bambino, we could run away with it.

1922 Budget: $387,920

1922 Opening Day Salaries:


1922 Opening Day Roster:

[gollum65]

Just a little update. Wally Pipp didn't even have to change home stadiums. He signed with the Giants a couple of days into the season and he's their starting 1st baseman. He's batting .296 and has been given a contract extension.

As I reach the trade deadline of 1922, Mule Suttles & Rogers Hornsby are tearing up the AL, combining for 40 homers and 166 RBIs. Rajah already has 92 RBIs before the calendar turns to August.

And yet, the Yankees find themselves 1 game over .500 and 14 games back.

[gollum65]

1922 Season Recap:

Final 1922 Standings:


1922 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1922 Year In Review:
It was really a story of a tale of 2 seasons, before the trade deadline and after. Before the trade deadline the Yankees were 52-51. After the trade deadline the Yankees were 38-13. This was due mainly to a trade deadline deal in which I acquired another starting pitcher, another reliever, and I swapped center fielders with another team. On July 31st the Yankees were in 5th, 14 games out of 1st place. We just came up a little short.

The big star of the Yankees was Rogers Hornsby, who won the 2nd ever Triple Crown, batting .367 with 35 homers and 141 RBIs. In the final week of the season Rajah batted .474 to catch and pass Bobby Veach of the Senators for the batting title. Hornsby finished 2nd in baseball in home runs. The Phillies Joe Hauser set a new MLB single season record with 36 homers. However, Rajah did set a new MLB single season record for RBIs. In total there were 6 single season hitting records set in 1922. Hornsby set 3 of them (slugging %, total bases, RBIs).

Babe Ruth:
So I'm starting to think Ruth's ratings will not improve any more. He didn't progress a digit in any category this year. He had a decent season, but maybe it's time I resign myself to the fact that he's not going to turn into the Bambino. In 1922 Ruth batted 3rd in front of Hornsby and Suttles and went for .299 with 10 homers and 73 RBIs. Ruth has 1 more season on his contract. If he doesn't have a Ruthian 1923, I'll probably let him go.

Mule Suttles:
I suspected that Mule Suttles would be a star if I played him every day and I was right. Suttles batted between Hornsby & Bob Meusel and went for .319 with 30 homers and 108 RBIs. He also put up a .989 fielding percentage at 1B. I doube he'll win the Gold Glove, but he was good enough for me.

1922 New York Yankees Transactions:

May 10, 1922: Signed 2B Dave Bancroft to a 1 year extension @ $24,367
Bancroft agreed to stay in New York without asking for a raise. He's still one of the best fielding 2nd basemen in baseball.

July 31, 1922: Traded CF Braggo Roth & P Bill Lathrop to the Chicago White Sox for CF Elmer Smith, P Hod Eller, & P Herb Kelly
Roth & Lathrop were in contract years and were both asking for over $40k. Roth was playing well, but not great. Lathrop was playing terribly for the first time in his career. I ended up taking on salary, but I replaced Roth with Smith, added another good starting pitcher in Eller, and replaced Lathrop with Kelly. Elmer Smith batted .264 with 9 homers and 38 RBIs leading off for the Yankees. Hod Eller went 6-1 with a 3.13 ERA in pinstripes. And Kelly went 4-1 with 2 saves and a 4.15 ERA down the stretch. All 3 players are signed for future seasons at reasonable prices.

World Series Recap:
So it was an all Ohio World Series with the Indians taking on the Reds. It's Cleveland's 3rd straight WS trip and their 5th in team history. It's the 1st trip to the Fall Classic for the Reds.

Cleveland won their 3rd straight World Series, beating the Reds in 7 games.

[gollum65]

BTW, I'll be moving over the next 10 days, so updates to this thread will probably slow down for a while.

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1923 Season Preview:

YANKEES MOVE INTO NEW STADIUM!
So if Babe Ruth isn't Babe Ruth in my game, then the House That Ruth Built is The House That ? Built?

Hall Of Fame Inductees: None
A couple of retiring players were close to being HoF worthy, but not quite. The most notable name who retired was Smokey Joe Wood.

Yankees 1922 Award Winners: 3B Rogers Hornsby won his 4th career MVP Award, his 1st in the American League. 2B Dave Bancroft won his 6th straight AL Gold Glove. 3B Rogers Hornsby won his 2nd career Gold Glove, his 1st in the American League. SS Frank Parkinson won his 2nd straight AL Gold Glove.

Draft Recap: Hall of famers in this draft included (with team who drafted them) Hack Wilson (Philly A's), Red Ruffing (Detrtoit), Chick Hafey (Phillies), and of course Lou Gehrig (White Sox). The Yankees didn't get any of them. The one guy of note that we drafted was RF Eddie Moore, who I picked in case I give up on Babe Ruth.

Notable Offseason Transactions: I had lots of trade offers for Babe Ruth in the offseason, but none were worth making. Besides, with Yankee Stadium opening, I'm hoping Ruth finds his power with that short porch in right field. Most of the trades I made were just to acquire younger prospects.

November 23, 1922: Signed free agent P Bill Doak to a 3 year contract @ $32,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option)
With Hank Robinson & Walter Johnson leaving for free agency, I had to reload the pitching rotation. Doak will probably by my #1 starter this season.

November 24, 1922: Traded P Hugh Canavan & $3,000 cash to the Boston Braves for LF Herschel Bennett
Just looking to upgrade my bench in the outfield.

November 26, 1922: Traded P Frank Okrie, P Fred Fussel, and $500 cash to the Boston Braves for P Earl Whitehill
Whitehill is a promising young leftie. I'll start him in AAA and see how he does.

November 27, 1922: Signed free agent CF Earl Smith to a 1 year contract @ $2,500 dollars
Another depth move. Smith has great speed and is a gold glove quality outfielder. He just can't hit. Now I'll have 2 E. Smiths in center field.

Strengths: Our pitching rotation certainly appears to be improved. And with Ruth, Hornsby, Suttles, and Meusel (who starts the season on the DL) batting 3, 4, 5, & 6 respectively, I think we have a "Murderer's Row" that's comparable to the real 1923 Yankees.

Weaknesses: Still waiting for Bill Warwick to develop at catcher. The bullpen might be a little weak.

Projected Record: The Yankees surprised me with that late season run last year and won 90 games. I'll say we'll equal that this year, and with a little luck we might win 95.

1923 Budget: $403,135

1923 Opening Day Salaries:


1923 Opening Day Roster:

[Johnny Canuck]

Originally Posted by gollum65

YANKEES MOVE INTO NEW STADIUM!
So if Babe Ruth isn't Babe Ruth in my game, then the House That Ruth Built is The House That ? Built?

Based on last year, it looks like the House that Hornsby Built.

[gollum65]

That was my thinking as well. And the house he's paying for in 1923.

I don't have time to finish the 1923 season today, nor post an update. All I'll tell you guys is I've reached the trade deadline, and I've finally given up. Babe Ruth has been traded. Figured I'd better get something for him while he still had high value.

[gollum65]

1923 Season Recap:

Final 1923 Standings:


1923 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1923 Year In Review: This was the closest pennant race the Yankees had been in since losing to the Red Sox by 1 game in 1919. For seasons in which the Yankees franchise won the pennant, it was the smallest margin of victory since the Highlaners beat Cleveland by 2 games.

As you can see by the month by month record, the Yankees got off to a terrible start, and I wasn't thinking there was much we could do to stop it. But the team turned it around in June, caught the Senators and passed them by sweeping a 4 game series against Washington, then held them off for the final 3 weeks of the season. While the Phillies clinched the NL pennant in mid-September, the Yankees battled down to the final day of the year. They clinched thanks to the Red Sox beating Washington on the last day of the regular season, despite losing to the Athletics.

There were the obvious heroes of Rogers Hornsby (who won his 2nd straight triple crown and set or tied 4 single season records), Bob Meusel who probably would have won the triple crown himself had he not missed the first month of the season, and Hod Eller who had the best pitching season of his career. But then there were less obvious factors that spurred the Yankees to the pennant. There was rookie RF Eddie Moore, who was batting .241 when he was handed the starting job with Babe Ruth's trade. Moore raised his average to .305 with 7 homers and 34 RBIs after the trade, winning AL Rookie of the Month for August & September. Or there was $93,000 pitcher Dave Davenport, who was so bad the first half of the season that I moved him into the bullpen. But after I put him back in the rotation, Davenport won 8 of his final 12 starts, lowering his ERA from 4.70 to 3.87.

But I know everyone just wants to know what happened with Babe Ruth. ....

1923 New York Yankees Transactions:

May 17, 1923: Signed 2B Dave Bancroft to a 2 year extension @ $27,590 per season (year 2 is a mutual option)
Hard to consider letting a guy go who has won 6 straight Gold Gloves, and should win #7 this year. Plus he's swinging a decent bat.

July 10, 1923: Signed free agent P Jim Bagby to a 1 year contract @ $2,090
I needed someone who could win games till Davenport remembered how to pitch. Bagby did. He went 8-1 with a 3.53 ERA in 11 starts.

July 30, 1923: Traded RF Babe Ruth, P Red Shea, P Rip Collins, & CF Billy Cunningham to the Detroit Tigers for P Red Ruffing & RF George Anderson
I had to do it. I had to get value for Ruth. Through 86 games he had batted .252 with 6 homers and 28 RBIs. He played better for Detroit, but the bottom line was he wasn't progressing and I couldn't justify renewing his contract. The rest of the players I included were decent guys, especially Shea, but I had to sweeten the deal to get Detroit to part with Ruffing. I needed to get Anderson back so I'd have a bench player in RF.

August 30, 1923: Signed P Hod Eller to a 4 year extension @ $50,000 per season (year 4 is a mutual option)
I had to sign either Eller or Bressler. Eller wanted more money then Bressler, but was also pitching better. Bressler will walk as a free agent and will probably be replaced in the rotation by Red Ruffing.

September 27, 1923: Signed RF George Anderson & CF Earl Smith to 1 year contact extensions @ $2,750
Bolstering my bench for next year.

World Series Matchup: This will be a rematch of the 1911 World Series, which was won by the Phillies. It's the 9th trip to the World Series for the Yankees franchise, and the first appearance of the decade. For Philly it's their 2nd WS appearance.

Game 1 @ New York: Hod Eller threw 123 pitches, striking out 4 and walking none as he pitched a 6 hit shutout winning 2-0. The Yankees lead 1 game to none.

Game 2 @ New York: The Yankees scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 5-2 lead, going on to win 5-3. Bill Doak pitched a complete game. The Yankees lead 2 games to none.

Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Mule Suttles had 2 doubles and a homer (his 3rd of the series) to power the Yankees past the Phillies 6-3. New York leads the series 3 games to none.

Game 4 @ Philadelphia: Hod Eller's 2nd complete game of the series was good enough to get the Yankees the win 8-4. The Yanks sweep the series 4 games to none! It's our first World Championship since 1916.

World Series Count:
Real Yankees: 26
My Yankees: 5

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1924 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductees: CF Sam Crawford, P Ralph Caldwell
Sam Crawford, who is also a real world hall of famer, played 24 seasons in my league. He racked up 3653 hits and a career .305 batting average. In my league he beat his real life stats in almost every category. Ralph Caldwell, who pitched 5+ seasons for the Yankees, won 297 games in my league with a career 2.56 ERA. Those numbers were certainly miles better then his real life numbers. The real Lefty Caldwell only played 13 major league games.

Yankees 1923 Award Winners: 3B Rogers Hornsby won his 2nd straight AL MVP. C Bill Warwick won his 1st AL Gold Glove.
Hornsby's MVP was no great surprise. The shock was that none of our infielders won Gold Gloves. The most obvious snub was 2B Dave Bancroft, who put up a career high .988 fielding percentage commiting only 10 errors. The guy who won, former Yankee Stuffy McInnis, had a .977 fielding percentage & 17 errors. Guess the voters got tired of giving the award to Bancroft.

Draft Recap: This was another draft chock full of HoF worthy players. The 1st pick was 16 year old Jimmy Foxx by the White Sox. They're going to be a power in a couple of years as they now have Foxx and Gehrig. Other big names included Al Simmons, Charlie Gehringer, Earle Combs, who were all hall of famers.

The guy that fell to me is also a hall of famer, Cool Papa Bell. The reason he wasn't picked earlier was because the game didn't know how to rate him since there are no stats in the database for Negro League players, just like it didn't know how to rate Mule Suttles.

So like Suttles, who I edited to turn into a power hitter since he reportedly was, I also edited Bell. Cool Papa Bell was reported to be one of the fastest baserunners and base stealers in baseball history, and one of the best contact hitters. So I gave him almost max ratings in those categories. He won't hit for power, and while his range in the outfield will be great because of his speed, he won't be the best outfielder. But if he gets on base, watch out!

Notable Offseason Transactions: In an odd twist of fate, I noticed Babe Ruth signed on with the Red Sox. He still hasn't progressed a digit in quite a few seasons, but I guess history does repeat itself even in OOTP. As for my transactions, I signed a bunch of minor league contracts, and one player ended up making the team. SP Claude Thomas out pitched Red Ruffing to make the major league roster coming out of spring training.

November 8, 1923: Signed 3B Rogers Hornsby to a 5 year extension for a total of $493,000
After I picked up Hornsby's 1923 option, I decided that there was no way I could let him walk after the 1924 season. He'll be my first $100,000 player in 1928.

On a related note, after signing Hornsby to the extension, I had to decide what to do with Travis Jackson. So even though Bill Warwich won the Gold Glove at catcher last year, I wasn't satisfied with his production at the plate. I'm going to try to convert Jackson to catcher. If he fails miserably, I'll probably be forced to trade him, either at the deadline or next offseason.

Strengths: Our infield is the best in baseball. Our pitching is very good. And our lineup is scary good.

Weaknesses: The obvious one will be Travis Jackson trying to learn catcher.

Projected Record: I think our lineup is almost unbeatable. I think we'll break 100 wins for the first time since 1912.

1924 Budget (league rank in parenthesis): $529,462 (#2)

1924 Opening Day Salaries (#5 ranked payroll):


1924 Opening Day Roster:

[gollum65]

Just looking over that roster screenshot. Babe Ruth, Les Burke, Red Shea, Kettle Wirts, and Rip Collins are not on the Yankees. Must be a glitch in OOTP.

Scratch that...it's just the wrong roster screenshot. Corrected now.

[gollum65]

1924 Season Recap:

Final 1924 Standings:


1924 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1924 Year In Review: The Yankees got off to another slow start, and by June 30th they were 8 games behind Cleveland. But the Indians collapsed and the Yankees played very well after July 1st and ended up running away with the American League pennant.

Rogers Hornsby won his 3rd straight AL Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average, homers, and RBIs. Travis Jackson took very well to catching, putting up a .944 fielding percentage. He'll only improve, and I needed to play him for his bat. Jackson hit .313 with 16 homers & 64 RBIs.

But the exciting race was clearly in the National League, where all 8 teams were still alive on September 1st. It came down to a 1 game playoff between the Cubs & Reds in Chicago, with the Reds winning it 7-6 on an RBI single in the top of the 9th which scored stolen base king Max Carey, who had led off the inning with a double.

1924 New York Yankees Transactions: Only 1 transaction to report, which was necessitated by a major injury.

July 8, 1924: Traded C Bill Warwick, RF George Anderson, & 5 minor league prospects to the Brooklyn Robins for RF Bill Lamar
The day before this trade RF Eddie Moore went down for 7 months with an injury. I didn't feel like I could trust any outfielders on my roster to fill in for him. Lamar was in a contract year, so he was just a rental. He played great for me, batting .381 with 2 homers & 39 RBIs after the trade.

September, 1924: Lost SP Bill Doak & CF Elmer Smith to long term injuries
Doak will not be back until September of 1925. In his place Red Ruffing pitched very well, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.40 ERA. Smith's injury allowed me to give Cool Papa Bell a look. Bell hit .273 with 6 stolen bases in September. He's not ML ready yet, but clearly he's progressing.

World Series Matchup: The Yankees will make their 2nd straight World Series appearance, while the Reds will play in their 2nd Fall Classic in 3 seasons.

Game 1 @ New York: 1B Marty Kavanagh had a double & a home run leading the Reds past New York 7-5. Cincinnati leads the series 1 game to none.

Game 2 @ New York: 1B Mule Suttles 10th inning error allowed the Reds to push 2 runs across and Cincinnati won the game 4-2. The Reds lead the series 2 games to none.

Game 3 @ Cincinnati: Reds SP Chief Johnson held the Yankees to 4 hits as he pitched a complete game shutout, 2-0. Cincinnati leads the series 3 games to none.

Game 4 @ Cincinnati: Hod Eller and the Yankees took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th, but they couldn't hold it. The Reds scored 5 runs, capped by a 2 run walkoff triple by former Yankee Braggo Roth to beat New York 6-5. The Reds sweep the series 4 games to none!

World Series Tally:
Real Yankees: 26
My Yankees: 5

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1925 Season Preview: I'm starting my move today, so this may be the last update for a week or so. At most I'll maybe get one more update finished before my DSL goes down for the move.

Hall Of Fame Inductees: P Chief Bender
The former Yankee finished with a distinguished career. Over his 22 years in the league, Bender won 313 games and had a career 2.81 ERA. He also pitched 2 no hitters, the first in 1906 and the second in 1920.

Yankees 1924 Award Winners: Rogers Hornsby won his 3rd straight AL MVP. Hod Eller won his first AL Most Valuable Pitcher award. Frank Parkinson won his 3rd AL Gold Glove.
I still don't understand how guys like Bancroft & Hornsby are not winning Gold Gloves. They both led the league in fielding at their respective positions with the best fielding percentages and fewest errors.

Draft Recap: Stars entering the league this year include Lefty Grove (White Sox), Tony Lazzeri (Pirates), Bill Foster (Giants)(Rube Foster's brother from the Negro Leagues, and one of the best pitchers from that era), Mickey Cochrane (Cubs), & Joe Cronin (Brooklyn Robins).

Regarding Negro League players, I realized that I've been missing a lot of them because the game didn't rate them properly due to the lack of recorded stats. So starting with this draft I'll be going through the whole draft pool (about 100 players a year right now) to try and find these players and re-rate them. I'll be baseing ratings on what I read about the players from sites like this: Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum: Personal Profiles

Notable Offseason Transactions: Bill Doak was due for a contract option, and since his injury would keep him out almost all of the 1925 season, and because he would be 35 when he came back, I decided to opt out and released him to free agency.

November 18, 1924: Signed 2B Dave Bancroft to a 3 year extension @ $32,000 per season (year 3 is a mutual option)
Gold Gloves or not, Bancroft is now a fixture in Yankee pinstripes and I will try to make sure he finishes his career here. He'll probably never reach 3000 hits, but with 7 Gold Gloves and counting he's most certainly a Hall of Famer.

November 29, 1924: Signed free agent P Henry Keupper to a 2 year contract worth $67,000 (season 2 is a mutual option)
Keupper is already 37, which is why I didn't want to sign him long term. Hopefully he can hold down the #3 spot in the rotation.

January 19, 1925: Signed free agent CF James Hickman & CF Pat Duncan to 1 year contracts @ $3,000
After fighting to sign career stolen base king Max Carey - and losing him to the Indians, I had to find an adequate center fielder who could hold down the spot for a year or 2 while Cool Papa Bell continues to progress in the minors.

Strengths: The Yankees infield is still the best in the game. And we still have Suttles-Hornsby-Meusel-Jackson in the lineup.

Weaknesses: Travis Jackson is still learning to catch. CF will probably be a black hole. And I'm not sure what I'll get out of the bottom half of the pitching rotation.

Projected Record: With Rogers Hornsby I'm always a contender. But the Indians are still good. The White Sox have a ton of young talent. And the Red Sox will contend. I'll say 90 wins. Whether that's enough to win the American League or not I'm not sure.

1925 Budget (League Rank In Parentheses): $616,023 (#1)

1925 Opening Day Payroll (#8 in the league):


1925 Opening Day Roster:

[gollum65]

1925 Season Recap: This will be the last update until my DSL comes back online next week. I'll continue the sim offline and write my updates as I get to them, then just post them when I come back.

Final 1925 Standings:


1925 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1925 Year In Review: Yankee slugger Mule Suttles became the 1st player in Major League history to hit 40 homers in a season. When he got to 37 at the end of August, I thought he had a shot at 50. But he went without a home run for the first 2 weeks of September, which killed any chance he had.

The American League pennant was a 3 team race between the Yankees, Athletics, & Tigers until the Yankees won 10 in a row and 12 of 13 in late August to pull away from the pack. The exciting race was again in the National League. Brooklyn trailed the Braves by 2 games going into the final series of the year, 2 games at home against Boston. The Robbins won both games to force a 1 game playoff in Boston. The Braves won the playoff game 6-2 to win their first National League pennant.

1925 New York Yankees Transactions: A few trades this year as I looked to retool on the fly and get a little younger.

July 18, 1925: Traded P Jumbo Brown, P Larry Benton, P Boom Boom Beck, P Claude Thomas, & LF Dave Harris to the New York Giants for P Bill Foster
As I mentioned in the draft recap, Foster is supposed to be a great pitcher. I didn't think the Giants were using him properly, dumping him in AA ball. So I shipped a bunch of prospects and a veteran (Thomas) across town to get Foster, then put him in the Yankee rotation. Foster went 10-6 with a 3.54 ERA after I acquired him.

July 26, 1925: Signed CFs Pat Duncan & James Hickman to 2 year contract extensions worth $7,000 each.
Just housekeeping as I wait for Cool Papa Bell. As it turns out, Bell may be closer then I thought. Due to an injury late in the year, I brought Bell up in September and he batted .290 and stole 11 bases leading off for the Yankees down the stretch. Since Duncan won't return from his injury till November, Bell will get some World Series at bats.

July 28, 1925: Traded P Dan Woodman & RF Howie Fitzgerald to the Boston Red Sox (GASP!!!) for RF Frank Welch
Not really sure why I did this, other then the fact that Woodman had been AWFUL for me the last 2+ seasons. I had no use for Welch really and probably won't resign him.

July 30, 1925: Traded P Dan Boone & P Dewey Metivier + $1,000 cash to the Washington Senators for P Homer Blankenship
Boone is a very good pitcher who hadn't performed too well for me. Blankenship is about the same quality as Boone, but he's younger. Metivier was really the player Washington wanted. The cash was included to even up the salaries.

World Series Matchup: The Yankees make their 3rd straight WS appearance and 11th in franchise history. Boston will be in their first Fall Classic.

Game 1 @ New York: 3 Boston pitchers held the Yankees to 2 runs on 5 hits as Boston won the game 7-2. Boston leads the series 1 game to none.

Game 2 @ New York: Boston's Ted Blankenship allowed 1 run, scattering 8 hits and 2 walks, picking up a complete game win 7-1. Boston leads the series 2 games to none.

Game 3 @ Boston: Hod Eller's 2nd start of the series was much better. He limited Boston to 1 run on 5 hits to beat the Braves 3-1. Eller outdueled Walter Johnson, who has managed to hang around the majors into his late 30s. The Big Train won 19 games this year for the Braves, and has now won over 200 games in his career, although he does have a losing record. The Braves now lead the series 2 games to 1.

Game 4 @ Boston: The Braves plated 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st to beat the Yankees 6-2. Boston now leads the series 3 games to 1.

Game 5 @ Boston: The Yankees scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to avoid elimination, winning the game 7-6. Boston is now up 3 games to 2 heading back to New York.

Game 6 @ New York: Al Simmons 3rd homer of the series, a solo shot in the top of the 5th, proved to be the game winner and series clincher for the Braves as they beat the Yankees 4-2. Boston wins the series 4 games to 2!

World Series Tally:
Real Yankees: 26
My Yankees: 5

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Finally back online, so I have a few updates in a row to post...

[gollum65]

Offseason Recap & 1926 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductees: RF Ty Cobb, RF Beals Becker, P Ray Collins
While Cobb's career wasn't as amazing as the real Cobb, it was still pretty impressive. He retires with 3,412 hits, 603 steals, and a lifetime .334 batting average. Beals Becker & Ray Collins were not real world Hall of Famers, but they both had great careers in my league. Becker retires with 2,563 hits, 153 homers, and a .303 lifetime average. Becker also won 7 Gold Gloves. Collins won 236 games with a 3.33 ERA, which isn't too impressive for this time in baseball. But he won pitcher of the year twice and had a 6 year stretch where he won 110 games and was pretty much the best pitcher in the game.

Yankees 1925 Award Winners: 3B Rogers Hornsby won his 4th straight AL MVP. P Hod Eller won his 2nd straight AL Most Valuable Pitcher. P Henry Keupper won his 2nd straight AL Gold Glove. C Travis Jackson won his 1st AL Gold Glove. 3B Rogers Hornsby won his 2nd AL Gold Glove.
The obvious shock here was Jackson winning the Gold Glove at catcher. His C ability is still 1. His arm is a 5. And he still isn't showing a rating at catcher.

Draft Recap: Stars entering the league this year include P Carl Hubbell (Red Sox), LF Mel Ott (Reds), RF Paul Waner (Senators), 2B Martin Dihigo (Pirates), SS Willie Wells (Yankees)
Dihigo & Wells were Negro League stars who I re-rated before the draft started. Dihigo was touted as "the most versatile man to ever play baseball", and was reported to play every position and play them well. But he was best known as a pitcher and a 2nd baseman, and would play in the field the days he didn't pitch. Wells was called the best shortstop in the Negro Leagues, and he made up part of the "Million Dollar Infield" of the Newark Eagles in the late '30s. He was an accomplished hitter, but his glove work was his bread and butter.

Notable Offseason Transactions: After winning his Gold Glove, Harry Keupper opted out of his contract and wanted more then I was willing to pay. I also released Frank Parkinson due to a large arbitration raise he was due, and because I had drafted Wells.

November 24, 1925: Signed free agents Ben Hunt (pitcher) & Tillie Shafer to entry level contracts
Both were signed as bench players, but Hunt may well get into the rotation considering how great he played in spring training.

Strengths: The Yankees lineup is still the best in baseball. Pitching is pretty good too.

Weaknesses: The rotation might be a bit weaker then last year. Despite the Gold Glove, I still feel Jackson is a liability behind the plate. Cool Papa Bell & Willie Wells earned starting jobs in spring training, but they're both raw rookies for the most part.

Projected Record: Because of our weaknesses I think we're going to commit a lot more errors. That's going to cost us some games. I'll be optomistic and say 90 wins, but I think it'll be tough to win the American League with just 90 wins.

1926 Budget (League Rank In Parentheses): $720,940 (#1)

1926 Opening Day Payroll (#11 in the league):


1926 Opening Day Roster:

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1926 Season Recap:

Final 1926 Standings:


1926 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:


1926 Year In Review: This was really a pretty boring season. Both Brooklyn & the Yankees ran away with their respective leagues and neither were challenged after June. For the Yankees it was the coming out party for Cool Papa Bell. He spent the entire season batting leadoff and the 23 year old batted .324 and stole 50 bases, the most in baseball. This was the first season in quite a few years that Rogers Hornsby did not win any of the major batting categories, but he still had a terrific year. Rajah batted .360 with 24 homers and 101 RBIs.

But the story of the 2nd half of the season for the Yankees was injuries. First Bill Foster went down on July 25th with an injured arm, then Red Ruffing injured his back on August 17th. Neither will be able to play again until spring training, 1927. Foster was 14-6 with a 2.75 ERA when he went down, and Ruffing was 18-8 with a 2.81 ERA at the time of his injury. Their loss will make it very difficult for the Yankees to win the World Series.

1926 New York Yankees Transactions:

June 10, 1926: Signed Bob Meusel to a 4 year extension @ $62,000 per season (year 4 is a mutual option)
Hard to find another left fielder who can put up the numbers that Meusel does, so it was well worth it to extend his contract.

July 27, 1926: Signed free agent P Eddie Rommel to a 1 year deal @ 2,500
Insurance after Foster was injured. I ended up needing him when Ruffing went down.

World Series Matchup: The Yankees are making their 4th straight World Series appearance. It's the first trip to the Fall Classic for Brooklyn. They won 103 games, and with half my normal starting rotation on the shelf, I'm not feeling too confident in the Yankees chances. Maybe they can slug their way to victory.

Game 1 @ Brooklyn: Brooklyn scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to beat the Yankees 3-2. They lead the series 1 game to none.

Game 2 @ Brooklyn: The Yankees pounded out 11 runs on 19 hits to win game 2 at Ebbets field. It was 2-0 Yankees going to the top of the 7th when they broke it open, scoring 5 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th. The series is tied 1 game apiece.

Game 3 @ New York: Brooklyn outscored the Yankees 8-6 in front of a packed house at Yankee Stadium. Brooklyn leads the series 2 games to 1.

Game 4 @ New York: Gus Grantham's 2 run triple in the top of the 8th proved to be the game winner as the Robins beat the Yankees 4-2. Brooklyn takes a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the series.

Game 5 @ New York: Brooklyn took a 5-2 lead in the top of the 4th and cruised to an easy 6-2 win. The Yankees only mustered 5 hits against Robins starter Bert Gallia. Brooklyn wins the series 4 games to 1!

World Series Tally:
Real Yankees: 26
My Yankees: 5

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Offseason Recap & 1927 Season Preview:

Hall Of Fame Inductees: RF Tris Speaker
While The Grey Eagle didn't have the illustrious career that he had in real life, his career in my league was certainly HoF worthy. Over a 20 year career, the first 7 in a New York Highlanders uniform, Speaker put up 2,517 hits, 1,065 RBI, and a .294 lifetime average.

Yankees 1926 Award Winners: Rogers Hornsby won his 5th straight AL MVP. Hod Eller won his 3rd straight AL Most Valuable Pitcher award. Travis Jackson won his 2nd straight AL Gold Glove. Cool Papa Bell won his first AL Gold Glove.
Despite having a "down year" by Hornsby's standards, he was still good enough to win the MVP. And Eller led the league in wins for the 3rd straight season. I still don't get how a converted catcher with a 1 rating can win Gold Gloves. I guess there isn't a ton of catching talent in the American League right now.

Draft Recap: Only 1 big name player in this draft, and it's a doozie. Leroy "Satchel" Paige went first overall to you guessed it, the Chicago White Sox. The palehose are going to be a power one of these days. They now have Paige, Lefty Grove, Frankie Frisch, Lou Gehrig, & Jimmy Foxx.

Notable Offseason Transactions: After winning his 3rd straight AL Most Valuable Pitcher award, Hod Eller opted out of his contract. I decided that it was good to shake things up a bit and decided not to try to keep him, so I made a few changes to the team.

November 21, 1926: Signed free agent P Waite Hoyt to a 3 year contract @ $100,000 per year
My first all $100k player, I signed Hoyt to replace Eller. He's 5 years younger then Eller and is just coming into his prime.

December 2, 1926: Signed free agent LF Charlie See & SS Ted Reed to 1 year contracts @ $4,000 each
Bench warmers.

December 25, 1926: Traded P Ben Hunt, P Homer Blankenship, & $8,000 cash to Cincinnati for P Pete Appleton
Christmas day trades. I know. I suck. Appleton is a stud relief prospect from the just completed draft. Blankenship had been a dissappointment. The cash was just to pay Hunt's & Blankenship's contracts.

Strengths: The Yankees still have the best lineup in baseball, and we have 3 of the best starting pitchers.

Weaknesses: I'm starting to see that Eddie Moore is not of the same caliber in RF as the rest of my team. I'm going to start looking to replace him. Willie Wells is still learning on the job.

Projected Record: I'm not seeing a ton of competition in the American League yet, although Chicago will wake up one of these seasons. I'm going to say 95 wins and another AL pennant, although I think this run may be coming to an end.

1927 Budget (League Rank In Parentheses): $793,936 (#1)

1927 Opening Day Payroll (#6 in the league):


1927 Opening Day Roster: