United League Baseball: feat. the Baltimore Barbers

[bpbrooksy]

Prologue

The year is 1901.

In an alternate universe, decently close to our own, United League Baseball is the premier organization for American sports. Similarly to the MLB, it really starts to take off at the turn of the century, and will expand with time, bringing with it rich history, exciting storylines, and an unpredictable narrative.

I've always wanted to get deep into a fictional league. I've attempted dynasty reports before -- but made the mistake of keeping the report hidden away in a Word document, waiting for the right time to publish it on the forums, and slowly forgetting about it over time. With this league, things are gonna be different. I'm holding myself accountable by updating here on the OOTP Forums as I go, so that everyone can have access to a real-time account of the league.

That said, this one is gonna be a pretty slow burner.

I admire the dynasties that get into the day-to-day, nitty-gritty operations. With the exception of my singular online league, I struggle to maintain investment in a league where I don't see every pitch, every bad outing, every late pinch-hit single by the 25th man.

So for that reason, during the regular season, this dynasty will be going day-to-day. You'll get a look at each starting lineup, a brief recap for every game, and news and notes from around not just the ULB, but the minors and college/high-school levels. My way of breathing life into this fictional universe is to dig very, very deep into it -- but rest assured that this won't be a page full of text dumps. Ideally, some interesting writing comes out of this!

One more thing...many fictional players recommend simming a decade or two into the future and picking up in the middle of a league with an established history. We're going to start right from the genesis and see this history develop before us. It may make some things like player evaluation more difficult at first, but I think the personal reward for me will be greater in the end.

Let's get started with some background.

United League Baseball

Established right here in 1901, United League Baseball is the country's only professional baseball league, comprised of two subleagues: the Western League (WL) and the Eastern League (EL.) While the nation is full of independent ballclubs, the twelve organizations selected to form the ULB were chosen based mostly on population size. The teams are as follows:

WESTERN LEAGUE
Chicago Railers
Cleveland Steam
Detroit Lightning
Louisville Racers
Milwaukee Mammoths
St. Louis Bluebirds

EASTERN LEAGUE
Baltimore Barbers (that's us!)
Boston Voyagers
Newark Purple Knights
New York Dukes
Philadelphia Generals
Washington Freedom

In addition to this twelve-team setup, each team is affiliated with three minor-league ballclubs: a Triple-, Double-A, and Single-A team with which to populate with prospects and other developing players. (We'll get more into Baltimore's organization as a whole in due time.)

Finally, there are twelve college teams and twelve high school teams from which young players are eligible to declare for the ULB draft.

The Format

Just a little rules/setup housekeeping to keep everyone in the loop with how the league will be operating.

First and foremost: stats only.

The season lasts for 162 games. Prior to the season, a four-week spring training period occurs. Then, a roster of 25 players (which expands to 30 on September 1st) will battle other teams from April until the end of September. The two pennant-winning teams (one from the WL and one from the EL) will then face off against each other in the best-of-seven United League Championship Series.

In the middle of all this, an All-Star Game will be held, during which 25 players from each league will compete against each other to decide home field advantage in the playoff at the end of the year. Not all teams are required to send a representative.

After the conclusion of the season, a selection of sportswriters, as well as players and managers from the league, will vote on that year's Award and Honor recipients. There are three major Awards:

- Diamond Player Award, awarded to the top player in each league
- Golden Arm Award, awarded specifically to the top pitcher in each league
- Silver Skipper Award, awarded to the best manager in each league

Then, there are a handful of "Honors" -- not quite on the same level as Awards, but significant enough to warrant mention and end-of-year discussion.

- Silver Arm Honor, awarded to the top reliever in each league
- Platinum Bat Honor, awarded to the best hitter at each position in each league
- Platinum Glove Honor, awarded to the best fielder at each position in each league
- Bronze Baserunner Honor, awarded to the best baserunner in each league

This league currently operates under the reserve clause. This may change in the future, but I thought it was really important for the early stages of the league for these teams to develop identities and for organizations not to get confusing with too much player movement. Trading is still certainly available for teams (with a July 31st deadline).

The highest salary in the league is shared by seven players, and it's exactly $490. The St. Louis Bluebirds have the league's highest budget, at $18,000.

The Inaugural Draft

Before we took control of our team, the league held an inaugural draft to allow the teams to populate their rosters, all the way down to the lowest level. The draft lasted 108 rounds, and over 1500 players declared themselves eligible for selection (those who went undrafted are now free agents.)

We will spotlight the Barbers soon, and we will look back at the first round as we begin to square off against new teams in the league, but for now, the most pertinent information is that the Detroit Lightning had the opportunity to select first overall. They chose outfielder Seth Weick, a 26-year-old California native who unsurprisingly projects to be a franchise cornerstone with plus speed, vision, and defense. He'll be an interesting one to keep tabs on in the opposite league, as he attempts to live up to the lofty expectations of being the first player ever chosen to play in the ULB.

Looking Ahead

There's not much to cover between the draft and the beginning of the season. We don't know enough about these teams and the players to get a good sense of what's happening in this abridged "offseason". Therefore, we're going to perform what will likely be one of our only time jumps. Spring training is over, but before the regular season commences, we're going to dive into the Baltimore Barbers organization as a whole. After all, we're going to be spending quite some time with them!

[bpbrooksy]

Meet the Baltimore Barbers

As I created this league, I had the sense in my head that I would be taking over the Chicago Railers. I'm originally from Minneapolis, and partake in a die-hard Twins fandom, but it's too early to put a team there. I currently live in Chicago, so the Railers seemed like a natural fit. But as I set up the logos, the parks, and the structure of the league, I found myself increasingly drawn to the Barbers. I really dug their uniforms and logos -- which, in a league with no history, is really all you can go off of. It was an impulse decision, but I have chosen the Baltimore Barbers as the team we'll be going on this adventure with.

The Owner

The Barbers are owned by 52-year-old Allen Johnson, born in 1848 in a town called North Olmsted, Ohio. As owner of the team, he's expected to be a hands-off economizer with a focus on profit. As expected, he's pretty ecstatic about running a baseball team. He's a decently young chap, so we'll probably be operating under his direction for a while.

The Personnel

We will be putting a lot of faith in Arizona native Tyler Pease, the head of our scouting department. As this is a pure stats-only setup, we'll need to consult Pease for a second opinion when a peek into the advanced stats isn't quite illuminating enough.

The day-to-day management (read: someone to blame when I make poor in-game decisions) is 43-year-old Dominican, David Ortiz. He's a fan of smallball and staying under the radar.

The rest of the coaching staff includes bench coach Pete Ricard, pitching coach Joel Lamberth, hitting coach Will Ritter, and trainer D.J. Beltran.

Meeting the Team

All right, here it is. The moment we've all been waiting for. It's time to take a look at this roster.

PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION
1. RHP Jason Brockway
2. RHP Jason Mango
3. RHP Marcos Latorre
4. RHP Fernando Rios
5. LHP Jake Thompson

Two Jasons, and one of them is named Mango. I love it already.

Brockway was the third-round pick in the inaugural draft, due to a combination of his young age (26) and high velocity (a fastball in the high 90's.) He had an awful spring debut (five runs and only two outs recorded) but only gave up one run in his three subsequent appearances. He will be Baltimore's first-ever Opening Day starter.

Mango was selected shortly after Brockway. His pitches have a lot of movement on them, and he relies on deceiving hitters to induce weak contact to all parts of the field.

The remaining three are softer-tossing, run-of-the-mill middle starters. No gauge on them yet.

PROJECTED BULLPEN
Long Relief: RHP John Kahmann
Middle Relief: RHP Mike Lumaj
Middle Relief: RHP B.J. Perez
Middle Relief: RHP Andres Hernandez
Specialist: LHP Alex Martinez
Setup: LHP Jackson Rideout
Closer: LHP Jesse DeTar

First and foremost, back at it again with the brilliant names. Jackson Rideout is gonna be the kind of arm we can ride for outs. He's a groundball pitcher with a good couple offspeed pitches.To start the year, he'll be doing the setting up for fellow southpaw Jesse DeTar, who throws two pitches -- fastball, splitter -- straight over the top. He had six saves and an 0.93 ERA this spring, and is just 26.

Running it back to the front end of the pen, 27-year-old John Kahmann can throw nearly 100 mph, and will probably be the first guy to get a look should one of our starters go down.

PROJECTED LINEUP
1. LHB Mike Rice, 3B
2. LHB Juan Burgos, CF
3. RHB Mike Kirkendall, 1B
4. LHB Pedro Marquez, LF
5. RHB Alex Ariano, 2B
6. RHB David Sale, RF
7. LHB Vicente Torres, SS
8. RHB Octavio Comparan, C


The big name to watch here is second-round pick Mike Kirkendall over at first. Head scout Tyler Pease's assessment of the righty is that of a top-tier slugger with 30-homer power and excellent discipline. Impressively, 98th-round pick David Sale made the team out of spring training and can play all three outfield positions.

PROJECTED BENCH
C Alberto Angulo, RHB
1B Dan Tyler, RHB
IF Trevor McCord, RHB
LF/RF Adrian Brown, RHB
LF/RF Jeff Lomax, RHB


Turns out there are no switch-hitters on this entire roster, nor any lefties immediately available off the bench. Right off the bat, I will be seeing if we have any lefty catcher options in our minor-league system. Not that Angulo has done anything wrong, but it could be beneficial to the team to have an opposite-handed catching tandem.

Trevor McCord is gonna be a big help for the team, being able to man all four positions around the horn. He's more intelligent than he is athletic; a below-average hitter with below-average speed, but excellent defensive and baserunning instincts (at least according to Tyler Pease.)

That brings us to Dave Kolb. The 26-year-old 3B/CF was the Barbers' first-round pick in the inaugural draft, but fractured his tibia during spring training and will be out of action for at least a month. It's unclear yet as to whether or not Kolb will be a better infielder or outfielder, but perhaps some rehab time in the minor leagues will help us answer that question before he makes his debut. (A fun thing about pure stats-only is needing to actually see these guys in action before making judgments on them. I won't send him to third because he has a 65 rating or whatever - I'll be going off of the data from his in-game performances.)

Meeting the Affiliates

The Barbers have three minor-league affiliates. Like every other team, their minor-league squads are located in-state. They include the Triple-A Frederick Bees, the Double-A Rockville Beacons, and the Single-A Gaithersburg Ravens. Some early names to keep in your head are Zach Gieselman (ULB-AA) and Billy Shirey (ULB-A.)

The Ballpark

The Barbers will play their home games at the beautiful Harborview Park. An eight-foot wall wraps evenly around the outfield, which is 330 to left, 405 to center, and 330 to right. It seats 5,000 fans and doesn't particularly favor a certain handedness.

Next up...

The season is about to begin. Opening Day, and the dawn of the ULB, is on deck!

[bpbrooksy]

April 1st, 1901 - April 4th, 1901: OPENING DAY

Baltimore Barbers (0-0) at Philadelphia Generals (0-0)

Baltimore Barbers
1. 3B Mike Rice
2. CF Juan Burgos
3. 1B Mike Kirkendall
4. LF Pedro Marquez
5. 2B Alex Ariano
6. RF David Sale
7. SS Vicente Torres
8. C Octavio Comparan
9. P Jason Brockway

Philadelphia Generals
1. 2B Jose Carrillo
2. 3B Dwayne Harvey
3. SS William Phillips
4. CF Benito Arroyo
5. LF Adam Sumption
6. RF Mike Behan
7. 1B Oscar Villarreal
8. C Jon Poulos
9. P Conrad Hardesty


Welcome to Turrell Field, home of the Philadelphia Generals, and our first-ever series in the ULB. I've been itching to get cracking with these games, because they will educate us far more than clicking around pages in the pre-stats era of a league would.

The 1901 campaign is beginning with a four-game road set in Philadelphia. We'll only be home for one weekend during these next two weeks, so get used to our guys coming up first in the inning. The Generals are managed by young gun Tim Owens, just 31 years of age.

In front of a sellout crowd of nearly 5,000 fans, Jason Brockway will face off against Philly starter Conrad Hardesty, a right-hander one year younger than Brockway who labored through spring despite a strong fastball.

Play ball!

~~~

This one got off to a rough start. After singling to open the ballgame, Mike Rice went in with a slide to break up a double-play grounder, and went out of the game with what appeared to be some kind of lower-body injury, potentially in the hip. It gave utility man Trevor McCord the opportunity to slot into his first game, at the expense of our leadoff hitter's help. Here's hoping it's nothing series, as Rice would be our team's second man on the IL before the first 24 hours of play were completed.

Burgos earned an assist in the home first, nailing Dwayne Harvey at second as he attempted to turn a blooper into a two-bagger. Jason Brockway helped his cause and broke the score with a two-out RBI single in the second. David Sale had an RBI single of his own in the third, and threw a runner out at the plate in the home half. Baltimore collected eight baserunners off Hardesty before the third inning ended.

Sale scored on yet another two-out single, this time in the fifth.

Brockway was effectively wild through most of his start. He walked five hitters and only struck out three, and those came back to bite him when four men scored in the sixth to make it 4-3 Generals. That would be all for Brockway, who wasn't terribly impressive today.

Philadelphia stranded a man at second in the 7th, but the Barbers did the same in the 8th. Philly closer Josiah Peete walked two batters including the leadoff man in the 9th, but Vicente Torres grounded out to end it.

PHILADELPHIA 4, BALTIMORE 3
WP: C. Hardesty (1-0)
LP: J. Brockway (0-1)
SV: J. Peete (1)

~~~

Baltimore Barbers (0-1) at Philadelphia Generals (1-0)

Baltimore Barbers
1. CF Juan Burgos (.000)
2. RF David Sale (.250)
3. 1B Mike Kirkendall (.000)
4. LF Pedro Marquez (.400)
5. 2B Alex Ariano (.000)
6. SS Vicente Torres (.250)
7. 3B Trevor McCord (.500)
8. C Alberto Angulo
9. P Jason Mango

Philadelphia Generals
1. 2B Jose Carrillo (.000)
2. 3B Dwayne Harvey (.667)
3. SS William Phillips (.000)
4. CF Benito Arroyo (.000)
5. LF Adam Sumption (.250)
6. RF Mike Behan (.333)
7. 1B Oscar Villarreal (.000)
8. C Jon Poulos (.500)
9. P Collin Hogan


The Barbers didn't get their first hit until the sixth inning, after Philadelphia starter Collin Hogan had thrown 5.1 frames of near-perfect baseball. It was a double off the bat of leadoff man Juan Burgos, but the runner was stranded in scoring position, keeping the Generals in front with a 1-0 lead.

The lead was slim because Jason Mango was also having a good night for us. With just two hits allowed in the first five innings, Mango was keeping us in the game while the offense took its time to wake up. Unfortunately, Philly added another run in the home sixth.

The Barbers got the go-ahead run to the plate in the person of Alberto Angulo in the seventh. Lefty Adrian Brown came in off the bench to try and deliver. On a 1-0 pitch, he smoked a grounder through the hole on the right side -- but Mike Behan gunned down the runner testing his arm at home. It was the right call, in my book; we had no guarantee that we were going to get any kind of rally going off of Hogan again.

Mango ended his night after completing the seventh, allowing just two runs on four hits. He would have been left in, but was due up first in the eighth. A two-out walk in the inning brought a hitless-on-the-year Mike Kirkendall up to bat. It was a perfect time for Kirk to display the power he had been scouted for, but instead he went down hacking on a pitch inside.

With Hogan still out there in the 9th, cleanup man Pedro Marquez drew a leadoff walk, and was replaced at first on a fielder's choice by Alex Ariano, who trotted to second on a one-out single after the Generals nearly turned a double play. Trevor McCord -- who wasn't even really supposed to be starting either of these games -- walloped one into the left-center gap. There was a play at the plate, but the call was safe: two runners scored and the Barbers had tied it!

With the infield drawn in, defensive replacement Octavio Comparan knocked one back up the middle to give the Barbers a 3-2 lead. Hogan finished the inning (nobody had been warming up, largely assuming that Baltimore would go down quietly.) Closer Jesse DeTar got his first look in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed a leadoff double before getting three quick outs to seal the win.

BALTIMORE 3, PHILADELPHIA 2
WP: M. Lumaj (1-0)
LP: C. Hogan (0-1)
SV: J. DeTar (1)

~~~

Baltimore Barbers (1-1) at Philadelphia Generals (1-1)

Baltimore Barbers
1. CF Juan Burgos (.111)
2. 3B Trevor McCord (.429)
3. 1B Mike Kirkendall (.000)
4. LF Pedro Marquez (.250)
5. 2B Alex Ariano (.000)
6. RF Adrian Brown (1.000)
7. C Octavio Comparan (.600)
8. SS Vicente Torres (.250)
9. P Marcos Latorre

Philadelphia Generals
1. 2B Jose Carrillo (.125)
2. LF Adam Sumption (.125)
3. CF Benito Arroyo (.286)
4. SS William Phillips (.167)
5. 1B Eric Dotson
6. RF Jose Delgado
7. 3B Oscar Villarreal (.000)
8. C Jon Poulos (.250)
9. P Kevin Kincaid


Neither team had a hit until the third inning, both halves of which unfolded in remarkably similar fashion. A leadoff single, the pitcher failing to advance the runner (one strikeout, one 2-6 putout of the lead man), and a quiet couple of outs.

It was another pitcher's duel at first. The scoreless tie was broken in the fourth when Benito Arroyo demonstrated why Philadelphia chose him as one of their first three picks. Arroyo cranked one hard into right, where the ball took a bad bounce off the fence and eluded Barbers outfielder Adrian Brown. Then, Arroyo turned on the jets and hustled home with the series' first homer -- albeit one that never left the park.

A rattled Latorre then committed a two-base throwing error on a comebacker, and serves up a long double to Eric Dotson to make it 2-0 Generals. The inning would see Philadelphia load the bases, but Latorre struck out his opposite number and got a weak flyout to limit the damage.

The fifth inning didn't start any better. Back-to-back hits put men on the corners before Octavio Comparan threw out a runner trying to swipe second. Still, a single for William Phillips knocked home the run and pushed the lead to three. Then, a sac fly and another run. At this point, Philadelphia was outhitting the Barbers by an 8-1 mark. That would be all for Latorre.

In the seventh, Pedro Marquez connected on Baltimore's first homer of the year, a two-run big fly into right field that cut the Generals' lead in half. Comparan threw out Arroyo in the home half to keep Philadelphia from rallying.

The Barbers had the tying run at the plate for two straight at-bats in the eighth, but didn't do anything with it. Jackson Rideout made his season debut and pitched a scoreless eighth, after John Kahmann had thrown two of his own in long relief.

Philly closer Josiah Peete faced the heart of the order and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. We were only able to muster two hits the whole game, while committing three errors on defense. Ariano has two already. Not our best showing so far in the early season.

PHILADELPHIA 4, BALTIMORE 2
WP: K. Kincaid (1-0)
LP: M. Latorre (0-1)
SV: J. Peete (1)

~~~

Baltimore Barbers (1-2) at Philadelphia Generals (2-1)

Baltimore Barbers
1. CF Juan Burgos (.077)
2. RF David Sale (.167)
3. 3B Trevor McCord (.273)
4. LF Pedro Marquez (.250, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
5. C Octavio Comparan (.375)
6. SS Vicente Torres (.300)
7. 1B Dan Tyler (.000)
8. 2B Alex Ariano (.000)
9. P Fernando Rios

Philadelphia Generals
1. 2B Jose Carrillo (.083)
2. LF Adam Sumption (.154)
3. CF Benito Arroyo (.455, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
4. SS William Phillips (.222)
5. 1B Eric Dotson (.667)
6. RF Agustin Linares (.000)
7. 3B Oscar Villarreal (.000)
8. C Jon Poulos (.375)
9. P Ricardo Montano


Still no word on Mike Rice tonight. If the severity of his injury is undiagnosed by the time we get back home, we may throw him on the IL and have him miss the opening series in favor of getting another infielder onto the bench.

The Generals struck first again, with Eric Dotson drilling an opposite-field homer in the second. Dotson increased his average to .800 in the fourth when he doubled and scored on a Dan Tyler error. Clearly, this Barbers team did not drill their fundamentals with David Ortiz enough in spring training. Something to keep an eye on, as that was an inning we should have escaped without throwing a run onto the board, and that's not the first time that's happened in this four-game set with Philadelphia.

Tyler had a chance for redemption in our half of the fifth. Two runners reached to start the frame, and Vicente Torres bunted them over to get the tying runs both into scoring position. Tyler at least brought home one with a deep sac fly. Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs (Ariano was walked to get to the pitcher, who singled into left) but couldn't convert the scoring chance.

In the top of the seventh, Philadelphia began to look a bit like Baltimore, as far as clean fielding is concerned. A dropped pop-up on a tough play, and a booted grounder on what would have been a 4-6-3 put two men on to lead off the inning for the Barbers. Dan Tyler singled to load 'em up for an 0-for-12 Alex Ariano.

With the pitcher on deck and no good defensive replacement available, Ariano swung the bat and weakly forced one through a drawn-in infield to tie the game at two. Fernando Rios had a great start, collecting seven K's in six innings, but Mike Kirkendall needed a chance to make up for his 0-for-10 start, so he pinch-hit. Kirkendall grounded out to the second baseman, who went home for the first out and allowed Mike to reach safely, albeit trading an out for it.

Jeff Lomax came in to swing in Burgos' stead. Mostly for the matchup -- Ricardo Montano was still in for the Generals -- but also because Burgos hasn't heated up yet out of the leadoff spot. Lomax struck out, and Sale grounded out to end the inning with the tally tied at two.

The excitement quickly morphed into stress. Jose Carillo started the home seventh with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on an errant throw from Comparan. But Pedro Marquez would be the hero of the inning, catching a deep fly and sending a perfect throw home to tag out Carillo trying to score. After Arroyo walked, Comp made up for the error by catching him on a steal attempt.

The ballgame cruised through the remainder of nine innings without either team breaking the tie. The Barbers had two on in the tenth, but GIDP'd their way out of the chance. In the home eleventh, the Generals put men on the corners with one out, Eric Dotson leading the charge at third base. Backup catcher Calisto Evaristo came up for his first ULB plate appearance. Had he not been fresh into the box, we probably would have walked him to load the bases and force Philadelphia's hand with the pitcher due up next and no bench players left (the closer Peete, at that point in the game.)

Inexplicably, Evaristo struck out, and Peete singled into right. The closer gets the walkoff win. There's one to tell your kids you were at.

PHILADELPHIA 3, BALTIMORE 2 - F/11
WP: J. Peete (1-0)
LP: M. Lumaj (1-1)

Scattered Thoughts

- Defense was a bit of a glaring issue in this first series, but it looks like teams all around the league are adjusting to the pressures of professional baseball with paying crowds and consequences in the pennant race. The New York Dukes lead the majors with 13 errors, and we play them next; the Freedom have only made three.

- Looks like Rice is going to be going to the IL tomorrow morning. We'll announce an official move once we get back home to Baltimore. The Barbers have four infielders on the 40-man who are not currently with the big club, so his replacement will likely come from there. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, as we haven't really seen what he's capable of for this team. He has a hit in his only at-bat.

- The team as a whole is hitting .190, worst in the Eastern League. We have no stolen bases and just one homer. Good thing our pitching has been solid so far, or we may have been swept out of Philadelphia.

Around the League

- Washington beats Boston 16-1 on Opening Day. They win their first three against Boston, with starter Josh Carrol throwing the ULB's first shutout on April 3rd. By this date, they're the only undefeated team in the majors, and the Voyagers are the only winless squad.

EASTERN LEAGUE - Hits Leaders
T-1. R. Acosta, NEW (8)
T-1. J. Cantu, NYD (8)
T-3. B. Arroyo, PHI (7)
T-3. S. Guzman, NYD (7)
T-3. J. Miller, NEW (7)
T-3. W Perez, NYD (7)