Baseball Premier League

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by dynaboyj

If nothing else, you know, traditionally soccer teams only play league games on the weekend...if you wanted to you could combine the two formats (although I don't know how scheduling really works in that regard).

That is something that I might consider. I need to spend some time brushing up on my scheduling skills and see what I can get to work out. I figure I've got a couple of years game time to try and work things out while I start doing some consolidation.

[NYY #23]

The Boston Pilgrims won 9 out of their last 10 games to clinch the Continental League East and head to the playoffs. The Pilgrims were all about pitching, with Hooks Wiltse (29-12, 1.56), George Suggs (34-9, 1.43), Ed Killian (25-16, 2.24), and Ed Stein (21-21, 3.06) leading the way. While the Pilgrims had strong pitching and defense, their offense was ranked 11th in the league.

The best offense in the Continental League belongs to the Massachusetts Generals, who will also be heading to the playoffs, as a Wild Card team. 25 year old second baseman Frank LaPorte led the team with a .310 batting average, driving in 84 runs while hitting 21 triples. The Generals will have their work cut out for them facing the top seed in the Continental League, the 126 win Salt Lake City Bees.

Heading in to the offseason the Nashua Huskies will be looking for a couple starting pitchers to pair with Bob Wicker (27-16, 2.15) and Doc Moskiman (29-16, 2.46).

George Cooper of the Portland Moose pitched a no-hitter in September, and finished with a 28-14 record and 1.57 ERA. It was the sixth no hitter of the year in the Premier League, joining Chick Frasier (Texas), Tom Hughes (Macon), Rube Waddell (Albuquerque), George Borchers (Brooklyn), and Christy Mathewson (Minot).

After losing 104 games rumors have been spreading about the Providence Whalers leaving the Premier League, or being forced to leave. Providence has an aging roster which they'll need to turn over if they are going to be in the Premier League, if they in fact return for the 1906 season.

[NYY #23]

The New Orleans Crescents built up a big lead in the Central Division, but barely managed to hold off the Texas Longhorns, who finished the season winning 24 of their last 30 games. For the Crescents it was their starting pitching they relied on, with Harry McIntire (17-17, 1.90), Ernie Simants (22-20, 2.44), and Buttons Briggs (29-12, 1.77) leading the way.

For the Longhorns they relied on Chick Fraser (26-16, 2.47) and War Sanders (31-13, 1.57) to lead their rotation and an offense that scored the fourth highest runs in the Continental League, led by catcher Mike Morton (.275, 10 HR, 65 RBI) and George Kihm (.285, 10 HR, 102 RBI) who anchored their lineup.

The Tycoons look like they are one starting pitcher away from being competitive, with fourth starter Frank West (9-19, 4.80) really struggling.

With three 100 loss teams in the division it can make for some ugly games, and bad statistics. The Wolverines featured a pair of 30 loss starters in Phil Baum (32) and Greg Yaw (30), while Jim Gardner (11-33, 3.69) and Harry Kane (4-11, 5.94) struggled in Detroit for the Tigers. The Lincolns didn't have a pitcher with a winning record on their roster, and featured a trio of 20 game losers in David Chavez (14-31), Silas Rylander (17-21), and Chuck Rose (6-25).

[NYY #23]

No team had a better record in the Premier League than the Salt Lake City Bees, who won 126 games while outscoring opponents 744-394. The Bees feature a pair of 30 game winners, Addie Joss (30-12, 1.74) and James Drohan (31-10, 1.57) along with a 29 game winner, Rip Ragan (29-8, 1.79) and a 28 game winner, Doc Scanlon (28-12, 1.43). Their team batting average of .266 was tops in the league, and they'll be a dangerous team in the playoffs.

The Mallards finished a distant second after winning 104 games and will be sitting home for the playoffs. Injuries to starting pitchers Bill Hill and Sylvester Loucks were too much too overcome. Christy Mathewson was 29-13 with a 1.16 ERA though, and is one of the favorites for the Pitcher of the Year Award.

The Arizona Wrens played the entire season without starting pitcher Jack Chesbro, who they hope will be ready for the start of the 1906 season.

Both Crese Heismann (18-25, 4.00) and Jack Katoll (14-24, 3.55) struggled for the Prairie Dogs this year, though Grand Island thinks that they have replacements coming soon in 20 year old Vean Gregg and 19 year old Pat Pugh.

After losing 108 games this year the Portland Beavers are more optimistic than expected, and still believe that 23 year old Mike Christopherson (10-33, 3.87) will be a key member of their rotation going forward, and is better than he pitched this year.

Before the season even finished the Denver Buffaloes announced that they will be disbanding after the season, which probably is a good thing for a 26-146 team. There aren't too many players in demand on their roster, but 27 year old first baseman Ricky Lugo should find a job next year after hitting .259 with 4 home runs, and 36 RBI.

[NYY #23]

The Reading Railers will be heading to the playoffs after winning the Federal League East by 7 games over the Albany Woodcutters. The Railers are led by 23 year old George Boice, who went 32-11 with a 1.26 ERA.

The Woodcutters finished 7 games behind, but played most of the season without number three starter Gene McCann, who was injured with a torn tricep. When on the mound McCann went 6-8 with a 2.59 ERA.

24 year old Jim Callahan led the Florida Rockets with a .257 batting average, and was second with 68 RBI.

The Dodgers are going to need to replace 36 year old George Borchers in their rotation after Borchers went 16-24 with a 4.63 ERA. Borchers isn't even the oldest member of their rotation, with 44 year old Justin Edens going 5-5 with a 3.14 ERA, and youngester Tom Lipp (21-33, 2.41) turning 36 next season.

38 year old second baseman Jose Ramos led the Macon Peaches with a .286 batting average and drove in 71 runs.

The Champions had the fifteenth highest ERA by starting pitchers at 3.56.

[NYY #23]

The Cubs had the third highest batting average in the league at .263 and had three players who hit over .300 - TJ Veal (.312), Ernie Murphy (.301), and Nick Stahl (.304). The Cubs will be the only team from the Federal League Central heading to the playoffs.

The Lakers scored more runs than any other team in the Federal League, but their offensive success came at the expense of their defense, which was ranked 14th. The Lakers also suffered injuries to starting pitchers Ed Doheny and Bob Dresser.

28 year old Vive Lindaman had a big season for the Columbus Explorers, going 32-14 with a 2.02 ERA.

In St. Louis shortstop Charlie Babb is on the hot seat after hitting just .195 this year. Combined with sub-par defense the Cardinals will be looking to solidify their middle infield this offseason.

The San Antonio Bullets barely stayed out of last place this year with poor starting pitching, but if rumors are to be believed they are considering jumping over to the National Baseball League, where they could name Charlie Shields(22-18, 3.44) their starting pitcher and concentrate on plugging their holes at first and third base and be a more competitive team.

The Badgers had two healthy pitchers who made it through the year unscathed, 24 year old Jack Lee (18-24, 3.26) and 41 year old Adonis Terry (16-29, 4.12).

[NYY #23]

The West Coast dominance continues in the Federal League with the Sacramento Grizzlies winning the West by 11 games. The Grizzlies featured a balanced attack with the best pitching, second best offense, and second best defense in the league. Jim Buchanan (32-10, 1.38), Tully Sparks (28-15, 1.91), Joe Dorsey (24-17, 2.93), and Nate Bishop (20-7, 2.58) will make the Grizzlies a tough team to face in the playoffs.

The Albuquerque Lobos will also be heading to the playoffs after a 106 win season. The Lobos found a replacement for Louis LeRoy after he went down with injury, and 23 year old Bugs Raymond went 11-9 with a 3.03 ERA.

Both the San Diego Sailors and Seattle Aviators will be sitting at home after winning 100 games this year. George Winter (29-13, 1.74) was one of four pitchers that won 20 games for the Sailors. Jesse Tannehill led the Aviators with a 29-19 record and 1.98 ERA.

The Las Vegas Aces were perhaps the luckiest team in the league, outscoring opponents 671-670, but finishing with a 94-78 record. That's a plus 8 over their expected record.

The San Francisco Dockers struggled in their first year in the Premier League with the worst pitching staff in the league, featuring Mark Kenny (11-29, 3.76), Tim Heim (10-31, 4.06) and Jonathan Neal (10-31, 4.37).

[NYY #23]

While Joe Reese and eight teams were gearing up for the playoffs after a challenging year Reese learned some new hazards of being the league with the most games, as the National Baseball League wrapped up their championship with an exciting game between the Dallas Texans and Nashville Vols.



Cameron Cotter would win his fourth straight postseason start to go 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in the playoffs and lead the Texans to their first championship. Cotter would hold the Vols to one unearned run on 6 hits in the 4-1 win, outpitching Nick Hughes of the Vols.

But crowing a NBL Champion wasn't the big problem for Reese, it was the surprise press conference the next day when the National Baseball League announced that the Cleveland Lakers (90-82), Albuquerque Lobos (106-66), and San Antonio Bullets (69-103) would be joining the NBL for the 1906 season. The Lobos would be playing for the Premier League Championship, and the thought of losing the potential league champion to a rival league was stomach turning.

That wasn't the only bad news for Reese and the Premier League though, as the NBL also announced that the Pacific Coast League champion California Suns, who finished with a 102-28 record, who be joining the league. The Suns were in discussions to join the Continental League and replace the outgoing Denver Buffaloes, but the NBL struck first. Also heading to the NBL were the Great Plains League Champion Boise Cutthroats and runner-up Indianapolis Ravens, the New England League Champion Danbury Hatters, and the 81-51 Philadelphia Phillies of the New York Penn League.

It was a bold first move for the upstart National Baseball League, and a move that Reese and the Premier League would need to answer after the playoffs.

[NYY #23]

Albuquerque Lobos (106-66) vs. Chicago Cubs (99-73)



The Cubs didn't pose much of a threat to the Albuquerque Lobos, as the Lobos defeated the Cubs 4 games to none. Bill Duggleby was named Series MVP after pitching a complete game four hit shutout for the Lobos.

[NYY #23]

Reading Railers (99-73) vs. Sacramento Grizzlies (117-53)

The Grizzlies would outscore Reading 25 to 7 during their sweep. Jim Buchanan was named series MVP after going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA, striking out 16 batters. Mike Busby led the team with a .417 batting average.

[NYY #23]

New Orleans Crescents (100-72) vs. Boston Pilgrims (112-60)

The third Semi Finals series in the Premier League ended like the first two, with a sweep. The Crescents came into the series as an underdog, but didn't have much trouble knocking off the Pilgrims in four games.

Solly Hollman was named the series MVP after going 7-17 with 3 RBI while four different starters won a game for the Crescents.

[NYY #23]

Massachusetts Generals (106-76) vs. Salt Lake City Bees (126-46)

The final series of the Semi Finals round brought the most excitement, with the heavily favored Salt Lake City Bees getting out to an early 2-0 lead in the series behind strong pitched games from Addie Joss and Doc Scanlon.

It looked like another series sweep was inevitable, but Game 3 is when the Massachusetts Generals woke up. Jimmy Hannivan would triple twice and drive in a pair of runs while Jerry Nops would pick up the complete game win.

That was followed by a nail-biter when the Bees took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Generals' starting pitcher Ham Iburg would triple in the tieing run with two outs to send the game into extra innings.

It would remain tied until the bottom of the fourteenth when Jimmy Hannivan hit a one out triple. It looked like Ham Iburg would get a chance to play the hero again, but a remarkable play by Bees' shortstop Kevin Ratter got Hannivan out at the plate on a fielder's choice. With two outs Topsy Hartsel and Adam Fleenor picked up back to back singles to give the Generals the 4-3 lead and even up the series, with Ham Iburg picking up the win after going all 14 innings.

With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth the Bees defense fell apart and committed three errors which allowed the Generals to score an unearned run and win 4-3 to take the series lead.

Despite being down 3-2 in the series the Bees didn't panic, and James Drohan and Addie Joss pitched back to back complete games to come back and win the series 4 games to 3.

Colton Missimer was named the series MVP after going 13-31 at the plate with 3 RBI. Addie Joss should have a problem with that after going 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in 31 2/3 innings though.

[NYY #23]

The inaugural season of the Great Plains League will be remembered by the dominance of the Boise Cutthroats, who scored more runs than any other team in the league while allowing the second fewest. Lefty Andrada (11-3, 1.56), Charlie Case (16-5, 2.18), and Chief Meyers (.308, 2 HR, 48 RBI) would become fan favorites for Boise, and lead the Cutthroats to secure the regular season by eight games.

They would face off against the second place Indianapolis Ravens who finished eight games back in a best of five series. The Ravens would enter the series with the best pitching staff in the league, led by John Brackenridge (16-6, 1.49).

Boise would have little difficulty against Brackenridge in Game 1 though, beating him 9-1 before pulling off a come from behind 15 inning win in game 2. John Comer would earn the win for the Ravens in Game 3, and with Brackenridge on the mound the Ravens thought they had a good chance to tie the series, but the Cutthroats scored 4 runs early and held on for a 5-3 win to close out the series.



But after just one season in the Great Plains League both Boise and Indianapolis would jump ship to the National Baseball League, leaving the league in flux. That wouldn't last long though, as five of the six remaining teams would move over to the International League to form the new Plains Division in the Western League.

The Nebraska Huskers, Sioux City Ghosts, Fort Wayne Farmers, Billings Mustangs, and Milwaukee Brewers would be jumping over to the International League, while both the Casper Phantoms and Great Plains League would cease to exist after one year.

The Great Plains League would be the first league to fold, but not the last league to fold in the offseason following the 1905 season.

[NYY #23]

Albuquerque Lobos (105-66) vs. Sacramento Grizzlies (117-55)

Commissioner Joe Reese would breathe a sigh of relief when the Sacramento Grizzlies rolled to a 4-1 series win over the Albuquerque Lobos, who already announced their intentions of leaving the Premier League following the season.

The series began in Sacramento where Doc McJames and Tully Sparks would pick up complete game wins to give the Grizzlies a 2 games to none lead. As the series shifted to Albuquerque the Lobos would get 2 RBI from Joe Burg and Mike Pratt in their 7-3 win in Game 3.

The Lobos would run into Jim Buchanan who would pitch a four hit shutout in Game 4, with Tully Sparks earning his second win of the series as the Grizzlies would advance to the Premier League Championship with a 3-2 win.

[NYY #23]

New Orleans Crescents (100-72) vs. Salt Lake City Bees (126-46)

The Salt Lake City Bees would enter the series as the heavy favorites, but the actual series would turn out to be much closer.

Game 1 would go to the Bees, who pulled out a 3-1 win. All three of the Bees' runs would come in the fifth inning when Harry McIntire couldn't find the plate, walking 6 batters in the inning. Doc Scanlon would pick up the win for Salt Lake City.

The Crescents would fall behind 1-0 in Game 2, but they would tie the game up at 1 and send the game to extra innings when George Wheeler picked up an RBI double in the ninth inning. The game would remain tied until the 13th inning when the Crescents manufactured a run after a leadoff single by Matt Phillips, a passed ball, a steal of third, and a sacrifice fly. Rip Ragan would be the hard luck loser for Salt Lake City after going 13 innings and allowing just two runs, while Ernie Simants would earn the win for New Orleans after going 12 1/3 innings before running into some trouble in the 13th. That allowed Harry McIntire to get some redemption from his game 1 wildness, and he came in to retire the final two batters of the game to earn the save.

The Crescents would sent Buttons Briggs to the mound in Game 3, and Briggs would hold the Bees to just five hits and three unearned runs as the Crescents, outpitching Addie Joss to pick up the 4-3 win. The Bees would tie the series at two games apiece though, when Doc Scanlon pitched a three hitter while walking none and striking out five.

Game five would be a classic that would go 17 innings. For 14 innings James Drohan and Harry McIntire would pitch a scoreless duel. The Bees would take the lead in the top of the 15th when Pete Hill delivered an RBI single, but the Crescents would come back in the bottom of the fifteenth on an RBI single by Justin Thornock. The game would remain tied at 1 until the bottom of the seventeenth when Burt Hart hit a two out triple for the Crescents, and came home to score on a walk-off single by Bryan Petty. Harry McIntire would go 15 innings for the Crescents, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 16. Buttons Briggs would pitch the final 2 innings without giving up a hit and winning his second straight game. Drohan would take the loss for the Bees after pitching 16 2/3 innings.

The Bees would come back and win Game 6 when Johnny Evers drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the fourteenth to give the Bees the walk-off win. Addie Joss would pick up the win with 14 innings of 3 run ball while striking out 12 with Buttons Briggs picking up the loss with 1 1/3 innings in relief of Ernie Simants.

With the series tied at three games apiece Game 7 would end up going 10 innings when Harry Lumley walked, Colton Missimer doubled, and Harry Davis would hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to end the series and give the Bees the win in Game 7 and concluding a hard fought series to advance to the Premier League Championship.

Doc Scanlon would win the Series MVP after going 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 15 strikeouts.

[StLee]

Nice job by the Crescents taking to the brink a team with a 26-game edge and a whopping .733 winning percentage. They had to do it in Game Six to have a chance, it seems, based on Scanlan's pitching. Dominant.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by StLee

Nice job by the Crescents taking to the brink a team with a 26-game edge and a whopping .733 winning percentage. They had to do it in Game Six to have a chance, it seems, based on Scanlan's pitching. Dominant.

I have to admit that I spent the day working today, much longer than expected, but I would watch this series during periods of waiting, and this was one of the best series that I remember watching, where I really had no stake in the outcome. I have to admit that I was really surprised and impressed by the Crescents, and they played a heck of a series.

I don't think the Championship Series can top this series, but the Crescents definitely took a step forward this year. Buttons Briggs really did have an impressive series too, although Scanlan was just awesome. A fun series to watch.

[NYY #23]

Sacramento Grizzlies (117-55) vs. Salt Lake City Bees (126-46)

The Grizzlies got off to a one game lead in the series behind Jim Buchanan, who pitched a three hitter while allowing just an unearned run. At the plate Rick Otterness hit a home run while Cy Seymour drove in a pair of runs in the 4-1 win.

The Grizzlies and Bees would play 17 innings in Game 2 before the Grizzlies would score a run in the top of the seventeenth when Chris Gatlin singled home a run to give the Grizzlies the 3-2 lead and go up two games to none in the series. The Grizzlies would get 15 strong innings out of Tully Sparks where he allowed just 2 runs on 9 hits while striking out 20. Game one winner Jim Buchanan would come on in relief and pitch the final two innings, giving up just a single hit and picking up the win for the second straight day. For the Bees it would be Addie Joss who would go the distance and take the 17 inning loss.

As the series shifted to Sacramento the road team won the third straight game of the series when Dave Weidler would hit a leadoff triple in the top of the ninth and score the go ahead run on a single by John Flynn as the Bees won the game 2-1. Doc Scanlan would pick up the win for the Bees, continuing his postseason dominance, going 9 innings and allowing just 1 run on 5 hits. Joe Dorsey would pick up the loss for Sacramento.

It was James Drohan's turn to dominate with a complete game two hit shutout to even up the series as the Bees defeated the Grizzlies 3-0 in Game 4. Pete Hill doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Salt Lake City.

After pitching 17 innings and getting the loss Addie Joss would get redemption tonight and pitch a three hit shutout for the Bees, outpitching Jim Buchanan in the 3-0 win, continuing the trend of the road team winning every game of the series to date. Johnny Evers, Harry Davis, and David Weidler each drove in runs for Salt Lake City.

Game 6 would be a pitching duel between Tully Sparks for the Grizzlies and Doc Scanlan for the Bees. Scanlan has been a dominant force this postseason, and would be tasked with ending the streak of road team wins in the Premier League Championship. The Bees would take the early lead in the first when Coltyn Missimer picked up an RBI single and with Scanlan on the mound never looked back as they won 3-0. Scanlan would pick up the complete game shutout, and end the postseason with a 6-1 record and 0.71 ERA. Scanlan would add a Premier League Championship MVP to go along with his League Championship MVP after going 2-0 in the series and allowing one run in 18 innings.

Congratulations to the Salt Lake City Bees!

[NYY #23]

Following the Premier League Championship the league announced their award winners, with Jim Buchanan of the Sacramento Grizzlies taking home both the Outstanding Pitcher of the Year in the Federal League after going 32-10 with a 1.38 ERA and striking out 342 batters in 390 2/3 innings. George Winter of the San Diego Sailors went 29-13 with a 1.74 ERA to finish second in both the Pitcher of the Year and MVP voting, while Rube Waddell of the Albuquerque Lobos (27-16, 1.76 ERA) finished third in MVP voting, while Gus Thompson of the Las Vegas Aces (31-13, 1.63 ERA) finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting.



Christy Mathewson of the Minot Mallards went 29-13 with a 1.16 ERA with 422 strikeouts in 380 1/3 innings to claim both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year in the Continental League in this year of the pitcher. The Continental League showed more consistency in their voting with Addie Joss of the Salt Lake City Bees (30-12, 1.74) and George Cooper of the Portland Moose (28-14, 1.57) finishing second and third respectively in MVP and Pitcher of the Year voting.

While the Premier League was handing out awards the league knew they already had to replace the Cleveland Lakers, San Antonio Bullets, and Albuquerque Lobos, but the action and chaos continued when the Columbus Explorers, Detroit Tigers, and St. Louis Explorers announced they would be joining the International League. That left the Federal League Central with just two teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Texas League announced that they would be combining operations with the Pacific Coast League, as the consolidation continued.

[NYY #23]

Commissioner Joe Reese and the Premier League would work quickly to fill any open spots and make the league whole again after losing six teams to rival leagues. The Premier League would announce the addition of eight teams, with the Denver Buffaloes folding up operations and the league opting to part ways with the San Francisco Dockers, who would later end up joining the International League.

In the Federal League Central Division four teams were added, including the Great Lakes League champion Detroit Giants and runner-up Minnesota Vikings, the 89-41 Louisville Sluggers from the Pacific Coast League, and the Pittsburgh Rebels from the New York Penn League.

The Federal League also added the Hollywood Stars and Washington Huskies from the Pacific Coast League to round out the West Division, with the Continental League adding the Los Angeles Clippers from the PCL to fill their West Division. Then finally the Sunset League Champion Baltimore Clippers will be joining the Continental League Central Division.

Those additions brought the Premier League back up to 36 teams.

That left the National Baseball League as the largest league in the country with 40 teams. The NBL announced one final change for the 1906 season, with the Cleveland Spiders ending operations after the addition of the Cleveland Lakers in the league, and the Virginia Mariners joining the league from the Dixie League.

In the Northeast the New York Penn League announced that they would be joining forces with the New England League in an attempt to corner the market in the Northeast, calling the new league the Northeast League.