The Liberty League, Est. 1876

[Questdog]

Friday, October 8, 1886

Detroit Wolverines (84-40 .677 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Rochester Jingoes (52-72 .419 32 GB in 6th place)

William McLeod, Det. (27-5.6) (R 25-19 2.78 7.1-2.8-6.4 H-BB-K/9) vs. John Simon, Roch. (27-6.6) (L 7-7 2.31 9.3-2.0-3.2)

Won - 2 to 1

McLeod allowed 9 hits, no walks and struck out 5.

Simon gave us 7 hits, no walks and struck out 2.

We made 1 error and Rochester made 6.

CF Ben Spencer (26-4.2) had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. 3B Sam Boullion (26-4.8) had 2 hits and an RBI. RF Tom Duncan (21-6.6) had 2 hits with a triple and an RBI, but pulled a hamstring and will be out for a couple of weeks.

Batting Title Race:
Cowan, Det. .313
Boullion, Det. .309
Stables, Bos. .306

Liberty League:
Cleveland (4) at New York (5) in 17 innings: Miah Turner (25-5.3) (33-21) over Bill Henrichs (27-7.4) (9-9) in relief of Ed Pedersen (24-5.1). An error, a stolen base and a passed ball finally ended the game. !!In 17 innings, Turner allowed 13 hits, no walks and set the major league record for strikeouts in a game with 16!! Pedersen had to leave the game with a pulled stomach muscle after walking the first batter of the game. In 16.1 innings of relief, Henrichs allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 8. He also set the major league strikeout record, but as a batter, where he whiffed 6 times.

Philadelphia (2) at Indianapolis (0): Ed Seelow (26-4.5) (4-2) over Bill Crawford (28-7.2) (6-8). Seelow allowed 1 hit (leading off the 9th), 2 walks and struck out 2. Crawford allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 6. 3B Jim Hodzic (36-7.0) had 2 hits and scored a run.

Cincinnati (2) at Boston (5): Joe Peters (30-4.9) (27-20) over Charlie Branham (26-4.2) (20-11). Peters allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 11. Branham allowed 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 3. LF Dan Abrams (28-5.1) had a hit and 2 walks and scored 2 runs.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (0) at Pittsburgh (1): Tom Lilly (26-6.4) (30-25) over Zachary Buchanan (25-4.0) (27-34). Lilly allowed 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 9. Buchanan allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. C Wilson Wendling (25-4.1) had 3 of the Stogies' 5 hits, but no runs or RBIs.

Brooklyn (6) at Providence (7): Ed Wison (25-7.3) (34-24) over William David (23-3.6) (4-10). With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, manager/2B Pat Millis (26-7.2) singled home the winning run. Wison allowed 11 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. 1B Charlie Gregor (27-5.2) had 2 hits with a triple and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI.

Omaha (1) at Kansas City (2): Lew Burnett (26-4.5) (17-29) over Lee Sprague (26-3.5) (26-25). All the scoring was done by the 6th inning. Burnett allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. Sprague allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. 3B Jake Potter (32-6.8) had had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. Omaha has lost 3 in a row.

Baltimore (6) at Chicago (7): Pony Stanley (23-6.2) (37-28) over Tom Wilmarth (26-5.4) (25-27). All but one of the runs scored in this game were scored by the 4th inning. The final run was scored with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. CF Sam McKenna (34-6.0) singled to win the game. He had 3 hits with a triple, stole a base and scored a run. Stanley allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 6.

GNA Standings (GB) Games Left:
Omaha (-) 2
Pittsburgh (1) 2
Chicago (1) 2
Brooklyn (2) 2

[Questdog]

Saturday, October 9, 1886

Last day of the Liberty League season!

I called up CF Pat Womack (25-6.3) to take the place of the injured CF Tom Duncan (21-6.6).

Detroit Wolverines (85-40 .680 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Rochester Jingoes (52-73 .416 33 GB in 6th place)

Lou Townley, Det. (24-3.4) (R 7-4 2.14 7.3-1.5-5.7 H-BB-K/9) vs. Ed Hodges, Roch. (26-3.2) (R 23-27 3.45 9.5-2.2-3.9)

Won - 7 to 1

Townley allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 12. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI.

Hodges gave us 11 hits, no walks and struck out 7.

We made no errors and Rochester made 4.

1B Sam Cowan (30-5.1) hit a double and an inside-the-park home run, his 5th round-tripper of the season, and had 2 RBIs. LF Ben Smith (27-6.7) had 2 hits and stole a base. 2B Jocko Cole (24-6.1) had a hit and scored 2 runs. SS Al Shaffer (26-5.6) had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had an RBI.

Liberty League:
Cleveland (5) at New York (3): Henry Rawls (32-4.3) (6-10) over Jack Roberts (34-6.1) (27-29). Rawls allowed 9 hits, no walks and struck out 3. He has won 3 in a row. Roberts allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and struck out 6. New York made 8 errors. RF Joe Coffey (30-5.2) hit a double and walked twice, stole a base and scored 2 runs.

Philadelphia (5) at Indianapolis (6): Joe Osborne (28-3.0) (5-15) over Ed Seelow (26-4.5) (4-3). Osborne allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. Seelow allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out no one. At bat, he had a hit. C Fred Smith (31-6.8) had 2 hits, scored a run and had an RBI.

Cincinnati (4) at Boston (2): John Stevens (29-8.2) (35-19) over Charlie Morlock (37-6.7) (26-27). Cincinnati scored twice in the top of the 9th to take the lead. Stevens allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit. Morlock allowed 9 hits, no walks and struck out 7. He has lost 4 of his last 5, but only 1 of them was a poor outing.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (3) at Pittsburgh (4) in 10 innings: Whitey Mathews (23-4.1) (36-27) over Dan Burton (31-4.9) (24-36). With 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, C Wilson Wendling (25-4.1) doubled and scored on an error to win the game. In 10 innings, Mathews allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. Burton allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. RF Ace Trimmell (28-5.0) hit 2 doubles and scored a run.

Brooklyn (8) at Providence (4): John Ritch (32-7.8) (15-13) over Tom Blomberg (28-4.7) (28-27). Ritch allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. At bat, he had 2 hits and an RBI. CF Piggy Galon (26-4.8) had 2 hits with his 4th home run of the year, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Omaha (13) at Kansas City (3): Tom Lee (28-6.0) (34-17) over Lew Burnett (26-4.5) (17-30). Lee allowed 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored a run. LF Dave Cunningham (31-5.4) had 2 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs.

Baltimore (8) at Chicago (5) in 10 innings: Sammy O'Quinn (24-5.9) (10-15) in relief of Pop Yurkovich (34-5.6) over Pete Rinehart (27-6.2) (29-26). Rinehart has lost his last 7 starts. Yurkovich only went 4 innings because he tweaked his knee running the bases. He allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. He hit a double and a triple at the plate. He is guaranteed to not have a winning record on the season now for the 10th time in 10 major league seasons. 4 times he has finished at .500 and he can do that this season with a win in the final game of the year.

GNA Standings (GB) Games Left:
Omaha (-) 1
Pittsburgh (1) 1
Chicago (2) 1
Brooklyn (2) 1

[Questdog]

Sunday, October 10, 1886

Grand National Association:
Brooklyn (8) at Providence (7) in 10 innings: Ren French (25-4.9) (28-25) over Ed Wison (25-7.3) (34-25). The go-ahead run scored on a passed ball. 1B Kid Angell (37-6.0) had 2 hits and 2 walks, scored a run and had an RBI.

Omaha (8) at Kansas City (6) in 10 innings: Lee Sprague (26-3.5) (27-25) over Al McClaughry (22-5.6) (28-34). In 10 innings, Sprague allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 8. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and an RBI. C Charlie LeFevre (32-5.0) had 3 hits and 4 RBIs, including 2 in the top of the 10th. !! Omaha clinched the GNA Championship for 1886 !!

[Questdog]

Monday, October 11, 1886

Final Day of the GNA Season.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (2) at Pittsburgh (9): Tom Lilly (26-6.4) (31-25) over Zachary Buchanan (25-4.0) (27-35). Lilly allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7. 2B Dan White (26-5.1) had 2 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had 3 RBIs.

Baltimore (2) at Chicago (3): Pony Stanley (23-6.2) (38-28) over Pop Yurkovich (34-5.6) (25-27). Stanley allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2. Yurkovich allowed 5 hits, 6 walks and struck out 3. LF Tommy Casale (26-3.7) hit 2 doubles, drew a walk and scored 2 runs.

[Questdog]

Editor's Note: Do you remember me talking about a solution to the more triples and than doubles problem and that I had figured out how to mitigate it? Well, I thought it would be okay to do the fix once a year during the preseason and that the new draftees in June for the B Leagues would be fine for one season without it. But Ed Robling has taught me that I will need to do the fix after the draft as well......37 triples and 7 doubles is nothing that could ever happen in real life!

[Questdog]

Championship Series Rosters

[Questdog]

Tuesday, October 12, 1886
Omaha Mutuals (78-62 .557 Champions of the Grand National Association) at
Detroit Wolverines (86-40 .683 Champions of the Liberty League)

We will be playing a Best-of-Seven game series. The first 2 games will be in Detroit, then 3 in Omaha and, if necessary, 2 more back in Detroit.

I have no enthusiasm for this series, though I guess it will at least make us some money. There is nothing we can accomplish here, except to be the 1st Liberty League team to lose to the Grand National Association. It is nice to see some of my old players, but I have no friends among them. My only friend among the Mutuals was Eddie Therrien (55-6.5), but he no longer owns the team.

CF Fred Bianco (27-6.9) is ready to play, so he will.

Tom Lee, Omaha (28-6.0) (R 34-17 2.38 7.5-3.0-5.3 H-BB-K/9) at Lou Townley, Det. (24-3.4) (R 8-4 2.05 7.2-1.7-6.2)

Won - 5 to 1

Townley allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 10. At bat, he walked and scored a run.

Lee gave us 12 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5.

We made 5 errors and Omaha made none.

CF Fred Bianco had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B Sam Cowan (30-5.1) had 3 hits with a double and a walk, stole a base, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. 2B Jocko Cole (25-6.1) had 2 hits with a double and an RBI, but made 2 errors. C Jimmy Babcock (30-6.9) hit a triple and scored a run.

For Omaha, CF Fred Negus (22-6.7) had 2 hits and stole 2 bases. 1B Tom Anglin (33-5.6) had 2 hits and scored a run. RF Bill Hammack (33-5.0) had 2 hits with a double and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, October 13, 1886
Omaha Mutuals (0-1) at
Detroit Wolverines (1-0)

Lee Sprague, Omaha (26-3.5) (R 27-25 3.13 9.0-1.4-5.1 H-BB-K/9) at William McLeod, Det. (27-5.6) (R 26-19 2.74 7.1-2.8-6.4)

Won - 6 to 4

McLeod allowed 6 hits, no walks and struck out 6. At bat, he walked and scored a run.

Sprague gave us 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.

Each team made 1 error.

1B Sam Cowan (30-5.1) had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. LF Ben Smith (27-6.7) hit a triple and a home run and had 4 RBIs. SS Al Shaffer (26-5.6) had 2 hits and stole a base.

For Omaha, 1B Tom Anglin (33-5.6) had 2 hits and scored a run. RF Bill Hammack (33-5.0) had 2 hits with a triple, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Thursday, October 14, 1886
Detroit Wolverines (2-0) at
Omaha Mutuals (0-2)

The Palace Park of Nebraska was refurbished this season and is now a pretty good place to hit. It probably ranks as the 3rd best hitter's park in the GNA, behind Milwaukee and Chicago.

William McLeod, Det. (26-3.5) (R 1-0) at Bill Hamilton (28-5.4) (R 11-9 3.29 10.5-1.4-3.3)

Won - 8 to 1

McLeod allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. At bat, he walked and scored a run.

Hamilton gave us 12 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2.

We made 2 errors and Omaha made 4.

CF Fred Bianco (27-6.9) had 3 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI and threw out 2 runners on the bases. 1B Sam Cowan (30-5.1) had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBIs. LF Ben Smith (27-6.7) had 2 hits and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. C Joe Kotlyar (30-6.2) had 2 hits with a triple and scored a run.

For Omaha, Ezra Wall (25-5.2) hit a triple and drew a walk and had an RBI. 3B Bones Collins (31-4.4) had 2 hits.

[Questdog]

Friday, October 15, 1886
Detroit Wolverines (3-0) at
Omaha Mutuals (0-3)

Lou Townley, Det. (24-3.4) (R 1-0) at Tom Lee (28-6.0) (R 0-1)

Won - 3 to 1

Townley allowed 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 7.

Lee gave us 7 hits, 5 walks and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit.

We did not make an error and Omaha made 1.

CF Fred Bianco (27-6.9) hit a double, drew a walk, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. 3B Sam Boullion (26-4.8) had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and had an RBI. 1B Sam Cowan (30-5.1) had a hit and 2 walks. He had 8 hits and 4 walks in the 4 games, scored 5 runs and had 9 RBIs. RF Willie Kirby (24-2.1) hit a double and had an RBI.

For Omaha, 1B Tom Anglin (33-5.6) had 2 hits.

So, we did not embarrass ourselves; that is good.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

Winter 1886

Philadelphia, the second largest city in America, seems to be anti-baseball. There have been 3 major league teams in the city. The first, the Centennials, were a charter member of the Liberty League, but only lasted 2 seasons. The next, the Quakers, were a charter member of the Grand National Association. They finished last in their first season, but then put together back-to-back second place finishes in 1883 and 1884. That was not enough, though, to keep them from going belly up. The latest, the Keystones, only made it through one season before they gave up the ghost after a 7th place showing.

The Rochester Jingoes have also folded after 2 seasons. In 1885, they only won 28 games and tied for the worst winning percentage ever (.250). But they showed dramatic improvement on the field in 1886, nearly doubling their win total (52) and climbing to 6th place in the standings. However, it did not translate into much improvement in their finances and they have folded.

The Pittsburgh Stogies have a new owner, a new nickname and a new league. Topsy Brasile (59-5.6) sold the Stogies to John Newby (49-5.7). Newby has been managing clubs in the minor leagues since 1876. Last season he led Bridgeport of the Eastern League to a 7th place finish. After purchasing the Stogies, Newby sought out Liberty League officials about joining their circuit and they liked the idea of nabbing a GNA club, so Pittsburgh will compete this season in the Liberty League. To mark the occasion, Newby has rechristened the Stogies as the Pittsburgh Puddlers. For the curious, a puddler is a worker in the iron industry who converts pig iron to wrought iron.

The final spot in the Liberty League will be taken by a new team, the Louisville Bourbons. They are owned by Red Schulman (54-6.5) and will be led by first-time manager Elmer Higgins (41-6.4). Higgins was a third baseman who batted .275 in 80 career at bats in 3 Liberty League seasons. He last played in the majors for the Troy Haymakers, appearing in 9 games for them in 1883. He batted .295 in 6 A Ball seasons.

To replace the Stogies, the GNA brain trust has placed a team in St. Louis. The Terriers are owned by Bob Baugh (55-7.5) and will be led by veteran manger William Morey (45-7.5). He has a career record of 159-167 (.488) as a skipper in the Liberty League. In 1881, he led the expansion New York Gothams to a 2nd place finish and was named Manger of the Year. Last season, he led Nashville to the championship of the Southern League.

Dan Shoemaker (47-5.7) sold the Providence Grays after only one year of ownership to Mike Haak (59-6.7).

On December 1, the annual B Leagues Draft was held. In 1887 both the Major League rosters and A Ball rosters will be expanding, so the B Leagues Draft was expanded this season to 11 rounds. Here are the first round results and all of the picks by the Detroit Wolverines:

Editor's Note: I had a little adventure in the draft. When my pick came up for the 2nd round, the top hitter on my list of desirables was OF Tom Panozzo. He did not hit for squat in the B Leagues, but he was fresh out of college where he put up very impressive numbers. So I picked him, even though his personality makes him a serial killer candidate. Then Cincinnati picked next and took Tom Panozzo.....what?!

I checked to make sure that I did not take someone else by mistake and I hadn't; Tom Panozzo was the 1st 2 picks of the 2nd round. So then I thought I had found a bug in OOTP and was preparing to make a bug report when I discovered that there were TWO Tom Panozzo's in the draft! What are the odds of that?

Anyways, it turns out I picked the wrong Tom Panozzo and Cincinnati took the one that I meant to select. So I had to start the draft over from scratch.....

After the draft was completed, the new trade rules went into effect. The first trade consummated between two major league clubs occurred on December 3. The Cincinnati Reds sent All-Star RF Joe Turner (27-6.6) and his $15,830 contract to Providence in exchange for 3B Bill Parsons (29-8.3) and SS Horatio Macauley (21-6.6). The deal is a clear cost-cutting move by Reds owner Ad Mendenhall (67-5.6) as he saves over $15,000 in salary. Parsons won a Gold Glove at shortstop in the initial GNA season of 1882, but has never hit much. Macauley was a 7th round choice in the recent B Leagues Draft and has a major league glove, but a little league bat.


The same four minor leagues will return for next season, though the lineup of teams has changed somewhat. Here is the list of teams and their managers. A * means the manager is managing for the first time in the high minors.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

Editor's Note: I had a little adventure in the draft. When my pick came up for the 2nd round, the top hitter on my list of desirables was OF Tom Panozzo. He did not hit for squat in the B Leagues, but he was fresh out of college where he put up very impressive numbers. So I picked him, even though his personality makes him a serial killer candidate. Then Cincinnati picked next and took Tom Panozzo.....what?!

I checked to make sure that I did not take someone else by mistake and I hadn't; Tom Panozzo was the 1st 2 picks of the 2nd round. So then I thought I had found a bug in OOTP and was preparing to make a bug report when I discovered that there were TWO Tom Panozzo's in the draft! What are the odds of that?

Bet they're twins!

Once the parents realized that both their boys had the same name, they started one Tom, that's the nice one, and the other one, with the wretched mind, Other One.

[Questdog]

Spring 1887

The Liberty League and the Grand National Association met this Spring and have agreed to play baseball by the same set of rules. The major changes are as follows:

1) The pitcher's box will be made smaller and pitchers must keep a foot on the back line of the box and can only take one step in their delivery to home plate. The box was shrunk from 4' x 7' to 4' x 5.5'. Previously, pitchers could get a running start, so by allowing only one step now, the pitching distance will be effectively lengthened to 55.5 feet.

2) It will now only take 5 balls to walk a batter. Last season, it was 7 in the Liberty League and 6 in the Grand National Association. However, the number of strikes required to retire a batter has been raised from 3 to 4.

3) The batter is no longer allowed to request a high or low pitch. The strike zone will be from the knees to the shoulders. Editor's Note: It will take fewer balls to walk batters, but the strike zone will be effectively doubled in size. However, the pitchers must pitch from further away and they need an extra strike to punch someone out. The result of all this will be that walks will probably only be up slightly in both leagues, but strikeouts will plummet and batting averages should explode.

4) Home plate must be made of rubber (no more marble ones) and will be 12 inches square.

5) The maximum fine for arguing with the umpire will be $10.

6) A ball hit foul intentionally, by the judgment of the umpire, will be a strike.

7) A batter will be awarded first base if he is hit by a pitched ball, provided he makes an attempt to get out of the way. This has already been in effect in the Grand National Association, but will be new to the Liberty League.

8) Base coaches must stay in the box outlined on the field and may only address their own players. Previously, the main duty of base coaches had been to heckle the opposing pitcher.

Editor's Note: One other rule that was made in real life at the time was that walks would be counted as hits for purposes of figuring batting averages. It was not popular at the time and only lasted one season. We will not be enforcing it in our leagues.

Player Trades during the Off-Season:
12/03/1886 - Cincinnati (LBL) sent RF Joe Turner (27-6.6 $15,830) to Providence (GNA) for 3B Bill Parsons (29-8.3 $560) and SS Horatio Macauley (21-6.6 MiL)

12/24/1886 - New York (LBL) sent 3B Tacks Strange (32-5.4 $7,280) to Cincinnati (LBL) for RF Billy Ross (30-5.6 $2,180) and SS Horatio Macauley (21-6.6 Mil)

01/03/1887 - Baltimore (GNA) sent P Sammy O'Quinn (25-5.9 $1,060) to Pittsburgh (LBL) for 2B Kitty Covington (22-5.4 $590)

01/27/1887 - Cleveland (LBL) sent C Kid Wright (32-7.3 $4,450) to New York (LBL) for IF Charlie Hale (28-4.8 $600) and 2B Tom Myers (24-2.4 MiL)

02/16/1887 - Detroit (LBL) sent P William McLeod (27-5.6 $15,000) and CF Pat Womack (25-6.3 $600) to Louisville (LBL) for LF Al Lewis (21-9.1 $3,740) and P Abe Kerr (22-6.5 MiL)

02/16/1887 - Detroit (LBL) sent RF Jim Oman (26-5.8 $570) and 1B Adonis Phillips (26-8.4 MiL) to Kansas City (GNA) for SS Tom Nelson (20-6.6 MiL), SS Ed Record (25-7.5 $530) and P Owen Lee (26-4.5 $550)

02/18/1887 - Cincinnati (LBL) sent 3B Adam Trombley (32-6.8 $2,320) to Pittsburgh (LBL) for 2B Jack Green (33-5.5 $6,010)

03/01/1887 - Indianapolis (LBL) sent RF Martin Arnold (32-6.2 $910) to New York (LBL) for C Ollie Kust (27-5.5 $1,020) and IF Ducky Foster (22-9.0 MiL)

03/10/1887 - Indianapolis (LBL) sent C Tim Fish (32-5.4 $3,290) to Milwaukee (GNA) for LF Pete Green (38-9.3 $4,990), CF Dave McQueary (24-5.0 MiL) and $1,700

We were over the budget Mr. Perkins set for me for this coming season, so I had to trade a big name player with a big salary and since we drafted P Al Rice (22-7.6) with the 1st pick of the Draft, I'm hoping we won't miss McLeod all that much. Al Lewis was Louisville's 1st round pick (the last of the round). He looks to me like a superstar in the making and can really do it all. In college, he hit for power, stole bases and showed a great eye at the plate. Plus, he is one of the most likable fellas you could ever meet. The only downside is that he can only play left field, though he is pretty good there. Kerr is a German, born in Dresden and looks to have some upside. He was their 4th round pick in the Draft. He's not a hard thrower, but he's a solid ground ball finesse pitcher. His control will be what decides whether he will make it or not. Currently, it is a bit of a liability.

SS Tom Nelson was one of the 1st players I identified as a potential pick in the draft and after I scouted the whole field, he was the player I most wanted to have after P Al Rice. However, he was not listed highly on the annual prospects list, so I thought I could wait and drat him in the 3rd round, but I was wrong and Kansas City took him in the 2nd. So I met up with manager Connie Frenette and worked out a deal. I was bowled over at how little they asked for. Oman had made lots of people's lists of good prospects in the past, but he never panned out and this past season he did not hit at all in Syracuse (.217). Phillips, at 26, and with his B Ball stats, is no prospect at all and was my 8th round pick. I was more than tickled to get rid of those two and certainly would have given up a lot more for Nelson. SS Ed Record looks like nothing special, but he can run and field (won a Bronze Glove in the Eastern League (A) this past season) and if you can run and field, I can usually put you to work somewhere. He and P Owen Lee were only included in the deal so Frenette could fit Oman's salary into his budget. I immediately released Lee.

Editor's Note: For the upcoming season I have made a change of the schedule. Last year, I played with the actual schedules that were drawn up before the season and used OOTP's weather system to generate rainouts and shortened games. I liked the occasional shortened game, but have abandoned the system due solely to the fact that every single game is played eventually and all teams finish their full schedule. This is not close to being what happened in the 1880's, so this year I am playing the schedules as they were actually played (minus the tie games) and OOTP's weather system will be turned off. The winner of the leagues will be the team with the best winning percentage at the end of the season and if unplayed games help them achieve this, then so be it. That's the way it was back then.

Also for the following rosters, I will point out a few conventions I have used in case they are not obvious. Teams in all capital letters are major league teams. The A Ball teams are written normally. The B Ball teams are written normally and have (B) appended to them. The first team listed for a player is the team the player had the most plate appearances or innings for. If a player played for more than one team at the same level, only the final team he played for at that level is listed.

An (R) after a player's name means he still retains his rookie status in the major leagues. This is true for the players listed on the A Ball teams as well; they have status as major league rookies, not rookies in A Ball. Rookies in the Liberty League are any batter who has fewer than 100 plate appearances and any pitcher who has fewer than 50 innings pitched in the major leagues.

[Questdog]

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