SimNation: Fictional world, real baseball

[Hendu Style]

From July 3rd, 1901... newspaper clipping of Tiger Tanner's record 18 strikeout performance in Dullsville against the Barons.

[Hendu Style]

Another blurb from Ray Kinsella, writing about Dullsville Duck pitcher Bob Arthurs way back on August 25th, 1902...

Arthurs' Court in Recess

Bob Arthurs has just wrapped up one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history. Too bad the Dullsville righty can't enjoy it.

Arthurs, you see, blew out his elbow a few weeks ago. He hopes to pitch again. Maybe even next season. But he's not sure. Nobody's sure. Bob Arthurs is just the latest in a long line of pitchers to see his career come into jeopardy because of fatigue, overuse, and downright lunacy.

Think I'm crazy for saying that? How about having a pitcher throw 12 innings and a whopping 183 pitches? It should come as no surprise that Arthurs heard something pop while throwing a fastball in the fourth inning against Bayouville three days later.

And just like that, Arthurs was shut down for the season with a good three starts left to make on the hill. 25-7 record, 2.04 ERA, 294 strikeouts. Baseball's triple crown. Three strikeouts away from breaking Stormy Boyd's single season mark set 27 years ago. Three wins away from matching his own career-best of 28 wins, which ranks among the top 3 in baseball history. His season -- and maybe his career -- is now down.

At the age of 30, Arthurs should be at the halfway point of the greatest pitching career in the history of the game. He's been named the pitcher of the year four times already, and is a lock for a fifth this season. With 157 wins, the 300 win mark is well within reach. He should have no problem becoming baseball's first 3,000 strikeout pitcher.

But now we don't know when, or if, he'll ever come back.

Bob Arthurs highlights a growing problem in the Colonial League. The three-man rotation and a coach's refusal to use relief pitchers is killing our pitchers. And now comes rumors of baseball considering expanding its season from 120 games to 162. That's a 25% increase in workload for every pitcher in this league.

Arthurs hasn't spoken to reporters since the injury. He hasn't been heard from or seen by his own teammates. His parting words after finding out he had blown out his elbow are chilling.

"At least now I know."

But now we'll never know if Bob Arthurs will ever be the same.

[Hendu Style]

Article by Ray, dated August 23, 1903. A controversial finish has players pining for a new format.

Lackluster Finish Taints Triple Crown

The 1903 season saw baseball's first triple crown. But it will be remembered as the season fans demanded a playoff series.

While Triple Crown winner Paul Gray and the Freeport Patriots "celebrated" their sixth Colonial League championship, the Dullsville Ducks took little solace in being the runner-up despite having an identical record of 72-48. Even Gray thinks the title is tainted.

"We sure would've liked to have played them one last time, or even in a series," Gray said. "It doesn't seem fair to give one team a title just because they won some stupid tie-breaker."

Even Bayouville has a reason to raise a stink. The Barons finished at 71-49, a scant one game behind the Patriots and Ducks.

The anticlimactic finish has some pining for a playoff format similar to that of the Pioneer League, a group of ragtag teams in the West. The top two teams play in a best-of-seven series, the winner taking home the championship.

"If those fellas out west can figure it out, why can't we?" Ducks pitcher Bob Arthurs asked to no one in particular.

Arthurs, who went 16-6 with a 2.08 ERA in his first season back from an elbow injury, is one of a handful of players considering taking their talents to the Pioneer League. The league, though filled with players with inferior talent, features a 154-game schedule, four-man pitching rotations, and a designated hitter.

"I'm not saying I'm ready to pack my bags for Westwood, but I have to think we could learn a thing or two from the Pioneer League."

The Colonial League had better figure out a way to resolve this year's controversial finish. Otherwise the Colonial could be finished, and players like Bob Arthurs might just head west.

[Hendu Style]

Cliff Wilson tosses baseball's first no-hitter in 11 years on June 28th, 1904...

[Hendu Style]

1905 brought a sea of change to professional baseball. SimNation's voracious appetite for the game was whetted with the most aggressive expansion in the history of the game. Eight new teams from the West were brought on board, creating the league we know and love today: the SimNation Baseball League.

Teams from Westwood, Santo Cielo, Granite Falls, Seaside, Rocklyn, Appaloosa, Fort Dodge, and Northgate all joined the fold. These markets were no strangers to baseball. Many of these cities had hosted independent league teams that had been revolutionizing the game with 4-man rotations and the designated hitter. Though the 4-man rotation would stick, the DH would be a casualty of this merger, with owners in the Colonial League reluctant to pay one more player to do the job they deemed suitable by a pitcher: hit.

Each new owner paid a hefty $150,000 expansion fee to the league, to be distributed evenly among the existing eight owners from the Colonial League. In return, the new owners would get their own league, the "Pioneer League." At the conclusion of the regular season, the top team from the Pioneer League would play the first place team from the Colonial League in the best-of-seven "Sim Series." The fans finally had the championship series that had been longing for.

The eight new franchises participated in an expansion draft, which featured some up and coming players from the Colonial League, but mostly veteran players well past their prime looking for one last hoorah.

With the first pick in the 1905 Expansion Draft, the Fort Dodge Federals selected "Halibut" Markinson, a former #1 draft pick for Maxis City who had an unremarkable 7-year career with Irontown and Sim City. Make no mistake, the Pioneer League got a raw deal in this merger. It paid a king's ransome to join the league, and got a glorified minor league team in return. But the Colonial teams grossly underestimated the fan support out west, and the vast potential of these pioneering teams.

Granite Falls and Santo Cielo were emerging as major port cities on the West Coast. Rocklyn's economy was booming with a gold rush and a rapidly expanding rail network. Westwood was on the verge of becoming the entertainment epicenter of SimNation. These were pioneering cities that would hold the future of this country, and baseball would follow.

The SimNation Baseball League was born. And baseball would never be the same.

Pictured below (left to right):
TOP ROW: C Weston Clark (Appaloosa Arrows), SP "Halibut" Markinson (Ft. Dodge Federals), 1B Winston Hennessey (Granite Falls Timberjacks), C Ed Merryman (Northgate Knights)
BOTTOM ROW: C Jared McIntosh (Rocklyn Railers), SP Parker Pace (Santo Cielo Seals), 3B Paul Wise (Seaside Pirates), RF Jasper Mathies (Westwood Stars)

[Hendu Style]

Here's a write-up from Ray Kinsella previewing the first-ever Sim Series between Freeport and Westwood. The article highlights two blockbuster trades the Patriots had pulled off, one of which was dubbed the "Trade of the Century" back in 1905. As expected, the Patriots would go on to beat the Stars in the Sim Series, winning 4 games to 1. Eventual pitcher of the year Tiger Tanner would pitch the first shutout in Sim Series history in a Game 1 4-0 victory.

October 2nd, 1905

Shrewd Moves Position Pats for Title

Tuesday marks the beginning of the inaugural Sim Series. Patriots versus Stars. Or, as I like to call it, David's little brother (the one without the slingshot) versus Goliath.

This is a mismatch of biblical performances.

Freeport ran roughshod in the regular season, cruising to the Colonial League crown with a mark of 109-53, a full 22.0 games ahead of runners up Sim City and Bayouville. Westwood, meanwhile, edged out Seaside at 92-70 to claim the Pioneer League title. Now, for the first time this season (and for ever, for that matter), the Patriots and Stars will square off in a best-of-seven series.

Good luck to the Stars. They'll need it.

Freeport has been bolstered by the bold moves of its aging owner, Samuel Fox (age 76 as of this writing). First, the outlandish acquisition of Bob Arthurs from Dullsville just before the start of the 1904 season. The swap involved five players, including outbound catcher Robert Bushe, who hit a whopping 18 homeruns for the Ducks this past season. Eventhough Arthurs was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff in June of this season and will miss the postseason altogether, I'd say the Patriots got the better end of that deal. Arthurs promptly won his sixth pitcher of the year award in 1904 (26-6, 1.70 ERA, 242 strikeouts) and was in typical form this season (12-1, 1.89 ERA in 15 starts) before the cuff handcuffed his season.

Preposterous as it sounds, that deal pales in comparison to the one the Patriots and Ducks pulled off in October of last year, when 3-time Colonial League MVP second baseman Paul Gray was shipped off to Dullsville in exchange for pitcher Tiger Tanner. The deal seemed decidedly one-sided until Tanner broke out with a pitcher of the year-worth season here in 1905. He went 31-9 with a 1.60 ERA while striking out 291 batters. The ERA is the lowest in the history of baseball, and the 31 wins tied Evan Burke's single season mark set in 1890. Oh, and the strikeout total ranks as the sixth most in a season by a pitcher. Gray, meanwhile, was a dud with the Ducks. He batted a career-low .246 while injuries limited him to just 59 games.

Those two deals have positioned Freeport to be a dominant team for years to come. When Arthurs returns, the Patriots will boast a starting rotation without peer... the likes of which we may never see again. Imagine Arthurs as the #1 starter, followed by Tanner. The third starter would be Steve Pitts (28-13, 1.96 ERA this season), with Bubba Parkinson (24-15, 3.26 ERA) pulling up the rear.

Consider this column a preview of not only the 1905 Sim Series, but for Sim Series for years to come. There's a dynasty in Freeport, and Westwood is going to be the first of many to attempt the impossible: beat the Patriots.

[Hendu Style]

As it turns out, ol' Ray couldn't have been more wrong about the Patriots. Freeport went into a free-fall after that '05 championship season. After finishing second to Sim City in '06 (despite a 97-65 mark), the Pats faltered to records of 70-92, 56-106, and 70-92 over the next three seasons. Just as quickly the dynasty was built, it was torn down in Freeport.

It's no coincidence that the city's two beloved aces, Tiger Tanner and Bob Arthurs, saw their production plummet. Tanner managed back-to-back 30-win seasons in '06 & '07, but suffered through a 13-26 season in 1907, prompting his exile to Maxis City. Arthurs lasted only two seasons more than Tanner, before getting shipped off to Atlantis after battling a slew of injuries.

While those two pitchers were in decline, a star was being born in Fort Dodge. Grover Wood -- a sweet-swinging, hard-hitting first baseman -- was the Federals' fifth overall pick out of high school in 1906. He made his SBL debut two years later at the age of 20 for a cup of coffee and would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors the following year by hitting a big league-best .348 with 22 homeruns and 88 RBI. In his first two seasons in the bigs (1908 & 1909), the Feds notched 107 and 108 regular season victories, respectively.

Fans and writers quick to jump on the Wood bandwagon would have been wise, though, to remember the cautionary tale of Paul Gray. The once-great second baseman had a mind-boggling decline after being dealt from Freeport to Dullsville in 1905. A 3-time Colonial League MVP who hit anywhere from .327 to .383 through his first five seasons with the Patriots turned into a mediocre middle infielder:

1905 - .246, 7 HR, 36 RBI in 59 games
1906 - .313, 0 HR, 10 RBI in 20 games
1907 - .259, 18 HR, 76 RBI in 131 games
1908 - .303, 9 HR, 83 RBI in 150 games
1909 - .259, 10 HR, 76 RBI in 141 games

In those five seasons, Gray suffered through an assortment of injuries including a torn hamstring, sprained ancle, and a torn ACL. It no doubt cost Gray a certain trip to the Hall of Fame.

[Hendu Style]

Ray Kinsella pontificates on two of the top players in the SBL, Grover Wood and Ray Frazier...

October 3, 1911

Young Bats Give Pioneer League Hope

Two superstars in the making have provided a small glimmer of hope for the neophite Pioneer League. Though neither Grover Wood (Fort Dodge) or Ray Frazier (Rocklyn) will play in this year's Sim Series, the Colonial League's six-year run of dominance in the SBL could soon be coming to an end.

"Without question, the top two position players in SimNation play in the West," Granite Falls manager James Pate proclaimed after his Timberjacks (96-66) held off the Federals and Railers for the Pioneer League title. "They hit the ball farther and harder than anyone I've ever seen, and that's saying something."

It certainly is. Pate has one of the top hitters in the league in catcher Conan Myrick (.279, 20 HR, 99 RBI this season), but his numbers pale in comparison to Wood and Frazier.

Wood batted a league-best .328 for Fort Dodge during the regular season, while belting 12 homeruns and driving in 66 runs. In four big league seasons, Wood has a 162-game average of .340, 17 homers, and 88 RBI. And he's only 23 years old.

Meanwhile, Frazier has delivered in his third season as a pro, batting .319 with a SimNation Baseball League record 30 homeruns along with 107 RBI. Frazier is just 24 years old.

"I honestly have nightmares about those two," Kieran Curtis said. "You make one bad pitch against those guys, and they'll put it out of the yard."

The Granite Falls pitcher knows full well what "those guys" are capable of. Frazier has hit 3 homeruns in 22 career at-bats against Curtis, while Wood has gone deep twice in 29 at-bats. This coming against a veteran pitcher who has won 116 games in his SBL career.

So while Granite Falls prepares to take on Maxis City (which beat Sim City in a one-game playoff to win the Colonial) in the Sim Series, you can't help but wonder when Wood and Frazier will get their shot at a title. It could come sooner than you think.

[Hendu Style]

One of pro sports' greatest accomplishments happened during the 1912 SimNation baseball season, thanks to a plucky 5'9" third baseman. Here's the story from Ray Kinsella.

May 26, 1912

Jet's Record Streak Ends at 67

Jet Orlandi went down swinging in his attempt to extend the longest hitting streak in the history of the game on Sunday. The Freeport third baseman struck out against Mike Smith in the top of the 7th inning, ending his record hit streak at an astronomical 67 games.

The streak, many say, will never be broken. The previous record of 43, set in 1884 by Irontown's Roy MacGruder, had stood for 28 years.

"I'm disappointed the streak ended, but even more disappointed we lost today," Orlando said following Freeport's 3-0 loss to the Sim City Capitols. "I know someday I'll appreciate this, but I'm not going to think about it right now. Trophy cases are for after the season."

Orlandi's trademark speed -- which helped him tie the single-season stolen bases record with 103 last season -- was a big factor during the streak. He has regularly beat out seemingly routine ground ball outs for infield singles. He has set a goal of becoming baseball's first .400 hitter since 1883, when Jim Lintz batted .404 for the Patriots. "The Candyman," now long retired at age 58, witnessed several of Orlandi's games during the streak this season.

"The kid's got some great talent," Lintz said recently during a Freeport homestand. "He reminds me a lot of me. He's fast, and he's really worked on avoiding strikeouts. I remember once I figured that out, the basehits came pretty easy."

A ringing endorsement from the greatest player of all-time. Jet Orlandi seems to be on the fast track to success in Freeport.

Orlandi would go on to finish as the runner-up for the Colonial League batting title with a .340 average, six points behind Sim City's Junior Farmington. Orlandi's 119 stolen bases during that '12 season set a new SimNation record.

[Hendu Style]

The hits kept on coming for Jet Orlandi in 1914. The 26 year old broke Junior Farmington's single season hits record of 238, set one year prior in 1913. Orlandi would finish the season with 249 basehits. In the Pioneer League, Fort Dodge first baseman Grover Wood was set to shatter the single season homerun record of 30 before he was sidelined with a sprained thumb, costing him the final six weeks of the regular season. He still managed to club 25 homeruns in 120 games while helping the Federals win their first-ever championship. It was the Pioneer League's second title in its ten-year existence.

[Hendu Style]

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Our country can never repeat the mistakes it made in its infancy, in the years following the Revolutionary War.

SimNation was entering its darkest hour. Slavery was this nation's biggest sin, and its reckoning was upon us. Baseball played a very critical role, having stood idly by while slaves were forced to construct several ballparks in the early 1900's. Non-whites were barred from the game.

Civil War erupted on November 21, 1914 with the West declaring its independence from the East. The Western states could no longer tolerate SimNation's unfathomable and deplorable unwillingness to emancipate. While Western cities like Rocklyn and Santo Cielo had proven that SimNation could flourish with free men, slavery was so rooted in the East that Dixie, Irontown, and others felt their economies would collapse.

The East-West war raged for five years. You need only read a history book to know the death and destruction that fell upon our great nation. Thankfully, baseball provided a small beacon of hope in these desperate times.

For two weeks every year during the war, the warring sides called a cease fire to play an abbreviated baseball season. Each league played a 10-game season to crown a regular season champion. The Colonial League would send its champion up against the Pioneer League, just as it had in the ten years prior, for a seven-game championship series. The Sim Series.

Fans and players put down their arms and lost themselves in the game again. In a world that saw so much bloodshed, green grasses awaited these soldiers. Peace, and baseball, were the light at the end of the tunnel each April from 1915 to 1919.

The SimNation Baseball League was our common bond.

The rest, as they say, is history. Civil War had claimed the lives of 214,938 Sims. Among them, several ballplayers and even an owner:

Jeff Bell (Catcher, Sim City) - Killed in Action: 1/4/16
George McCray (Owner, Atlantis) - Civilian Casualty: 11/1/16
Logan Irvin (Third baseman, Granite Falls) - Killed in Action: 6/7/18

While those brave men lost their lives, we must not forget the baseball careers that were put on hold or cut short during the Civil War. Grover Wood, heralded as the best player in the game, lost his prime playing days to the War. Coming off a 25-homerun campaign in 1914, Wood homered just three times over the course of the next five years.

The Civil War era also marked the unceremonious end of two of the game's all-time great pitchers. Bob Arthurs, in the twilight of his career, never pitched again once the War started, retiring with 283 wins (tied for 3rd all-time) and 2,916 strikeouts (2nd all-time). Those numbers, strong as they are, paled in comparison to Tiger Tanner's. Though he managed just one victory during the war, Tanner retired in 1920 at the age of 45 with 339 wins and 3,797 strikeouts, by far more than any other pitcher at the time.

The Civil War ended on October, 1919, almost five years after it had begun in Fort Dodge. Fittingly, the Fort Dodge Federals were the last team to win the Sim Series during the War, ending a 3-year run by the Dullsville Ducks.

The cost was great, but much good came from the Civil War. Most notably, the end to slavery. It also introduced a new era in the SBL. For the first time, non-whites would be allowed to play the game. Baseball would never be the same.

[Hendu Style]

Much of its momentum lost during the war, Baseball had some wounds to heal before it could resume a full 162-game season. Most big league ballparks were still intact, but others were rendered unplayable. The home park of the Patriots, Freeport Field, was turned into a makeshift military outpost during the Civil War. Construction of a new ballpark, Greenway Park, would soon give the war-ravaged city of Freeport a ray of hope and give all Sims a common bond. Other cities would follow in their rebuilding efforts.

In its first post-war season in 1920, the SBL played a 60-game schedule. Attendance averaged just over 8,000 per game with a ticket price of one simoleon. Sims made an effort to make it out to the ballpark, but clearly the nation was slow getting back on its feet. For what it's worth, Sim City first baseman Tom Green became baseball's first triple crown winner (.406 average, 9 HR, 49 RBI in 58 games) since Paul Gray in 1904. Green led the Caps to the Sim Series, where they lost to back-to-back champion Fort Dodge, 4 games to 2.

For all that the Civil War had done -- both good and bad -- black Sims struggled to find work in SimNation. Many Sims in the East were reluctant to accept them as equals. Baseball was no different. But the game's first-ever commissioner was about to change all of that, and change the game of baseball with it.

[Hendu Style]

There's a reason baseball purists view 1921 as the best season in the history of the game.

• Desegregation of baseball
• Baseball Hall of Fame created
• Inaugural All-Star Game held
• First complete 162-game season since 1914

All of these milestones came under the watch of baseball's first-ever Commissioner, Judge Teddy Kinsella. In the interest of full disclosure, Ted happens to be my great, great grandfather. That being said, it's impossible to overstate his contributions to the game and to society. Integrating black Sims and minorities into the game is an enormous undertaking and accomplishment. But Teddy didn't stop there.

H created a Hall of Fame to recognize the game's all-time greats. Those players were honored at a midseason ceremony during the SBL's inaugural All-Star Game, held in the birthplace of baseball: Dullsville.

It truly was a season for the ages.

[Tyke]

This just keeps getting better!

[Hendu Style]

Before the inaugural All-Star Game in 1921, the SimNation Baseball League introduced its first-ever Hall of Fame class. And, boy, was it a doozy.

Four living legends -- two pitchers and two position players -- shaking hands with the current generation of superstars. Imagine Jim "Candyman" Lintz, he of the record 9 MVP awards, giving Grover Wood a pat on the back. To cap it off, Stormy Boyd made an appearance and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. It was announced moments beforehand that the league pitcher of the year award would be renamed the "Stormy Boyd Award."

Epic.

The four Hall of Fame inductees all carried impressive credentials. Ranging in age from 48 to 69, they boasted a total of 12 MVPs and 11 Stormy Boyds. If there was a Mt. Gilmore for the SBL, the faces of Lintz, Evan Burke, Tommy "Snake Eyes" Myers, and Bob Arthurs would be chiseled into that rock. Baseball was everything it was in 1921 because of those four men.

But it was also time to turn the page and begin a new chapter in baseball history. Sure, the game's living legends were there, but let's not forget about the next generation of baseball icons. Never before had the game's best players been assembled for a single event, to say nothing of the fact that this all-star game was played in the birthplace of this great game... Dullsville. Sim City first baseman Tom Green clubbed the first homerun in All-Star history, and Granite Falls shortstop Josh Ward earned MVP honors in the Pioneer League's 11-4 victory over the Colonial League.

This was the start of something great. No All-Star game could possibly come close to this one. The bar was raised impossibly high, as baseball had recaptured the heart of the nation when it needed it most.

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by Tyke

This just keeps getting better!

Thanks Tyke! I'm really looking forward to getting to the 1980's so I can finally take over a franchise. I originally intended to simply simulate the years between 1871 and 1979 to give the league a living, breathing history. But then I started getting attached to the teams, the players, and the storylines, so I just felt like sharing it. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Hendu Style]

Words cannot explain the importance of integration of black players into the SimNation Baseball League. The world was watching as our nation recovered from a 5-year Civil War and ventured into uncharted territory. What was to become of the hundreds of thousands of slaves who were suddenly free in SimNation?

For Commissioner Kinsella, this was never a dilemma. Despite objections from owners, he opened the doors of the SBL to everyone. This wasn't just a noble gesture. Kinsella, a former judge, thought it was simply the right thing -- the legal thing -- to do. But getting teams in the SBL to sign a black player, that was another thing entirely.

The Colonial League teams were out of the question. The wounds were still too deep and too fresh to entertain that thought. Integration would have to start in the Pioneer League, and Kinsella found just the man he was looking for in Bill Jackson. The Appaloosa Arrows owner was always an ardent supporter of civil rights, and he was only too happy to sign baseball's first black player, Joey Flowers.

Having Flowers play in the Pioneer League was a stroke of genius, since he wouldn't have to venure east to play in racially divided cities like Dixie and Dullsville. Make no mistake, Flowers was regularly heckled at games early in his career, but it didn't compare to the vitriol he would face in the Colonial League.

Flowers more than held his own on the field. He led the Pioneer League in wins with 14 at the All-Star break, though he was not selected to the All-Star game. Coaches claimed it was because his ERA was too high (3.45 at the time). But clearly, baseball was still struggling to come to terms with the end of slavery, just like the rest of SimNation.

But if baseball wasn't ready for Joey Flowers, the rookie who secretly learned the game from a fellow slave in Plymouth certainly had no problem showing he was ready for the big leagues. On September 18, 1921, the 27 year old mystified the Rocklyn Railers - and the nation - by tossing the SBL's first no-hitter since 1912. Fans who started the game by hurling racial taunts at Flowers had no choice but to cheer for the man by the time he retired the side in the ninth inning.

Baseball's first no-hitter in nine years had been thrown by a black man.

Some say this was the game that changed SimNation's view on racism and equality. Others say it was the greatest game ever played. I'd like to think it was both.

[Hendu Style]

These were called the Roaring '20s for good reason. Looking for a cure for its Civil War hangover, Sims packed stadiums across SimNation to watch baseball. Fans turned out in record numbers in 1926, when Dullsville's Sandy Walker Park became the first SBL stadium to reach the one-million fan mark with 1,169,424 going through the turnstiles to watch the Ducks win 103 games, along with its first championship since its three-peat in 1918.

Ticket sales were booming, and so were salaries. Atlantis Neptunes first baseman Bobby Lambert became the sport's first $10,000 man, when he earned $10,640 playing for the Neptunes in 1923. His paycheck was well worth it. "The Nomad" (ironic nickname since he played his entire career in Atlantis) was the top player of the 1920's, winning 3 MVP awards and appearing in 7 All-Star Games. Lambert's 181 homeruns were the most of any player in the decade, and his .344 batting average the highest.

Fans were captivated by the yearly homerun chases in the SBL. In 1924, Westwood's Lou Rosewill hit 40 homers in just his second big league season, shattering Milton Bond's record set just two years prior. Rosewill's record stood just three seasons, when Granite Falls third baseman Rusty Moriarty hit 41 homeruns in '27. But Rosewill got the last laugh, resetting the record with 44 homeruns for the Appaloosa Arrows the following season. Coincidentally, Rosewill's record 42nd homerun came in Granite Falls, and he would get traded to the Timberjacks following the 1929 season, his third different team that decade.

On the mound, Doc Terry won the pitching triple crown in 1922 (28 wins, 2.44 ERA, 272 strikeouts) for Granite Falls, but nobody could touch Appaloosa ace pitcher Warren King. In eight seasons in the 1920's, the Arrows right-hander stockpiled 3 Stormy Boyd Awards while compiling a record of 141-87 with a 2.94 ERA.

Homeruns put butts in the seats, but defense wins championships. Shortstop Donald Cherry won one of his 7 Tiberium Glove awards during the 1926 season, helping the Dullsville Ducks claim their fourth championship. But while the Ducks briefly reclaimed their magic of the 1910's, there's little doubt the Dixie Dukes were the team of the decade, winning 3 Sim Series titles, posting 100-win seasons twice, and going 818-700 from 1920 to 1929.

This decade began with the inaugural Hall of Fame Class of Jim "Candyman" Lintz, Bob Arthurs, Tommy "Snake Eyes" Myers, and Evan Burke, and three more legends were enshrined during the 20's.

4-time pitcher of the year Fred "King" Parsons was a first ballot selection in 1924. The following year, two more pitchers -- Tiger Tanner and Lobo Frazier -- were inducted into Dullsville. At the time, Tanner was baseball's all-time leader in wins (339) and strikeouts (3,797) while Frazier won his 5th and final pitcher of the year award in 1914 (23-11, 2.19 ERA, 194 strikeouts) before the Civil War cut short his career.

The 1920's were about healing and about redemption. SimNation had changed, and so had baseball, because of the War. But it was a change for the better.

The All-1920's Team:

RHP - Warren King (APP): 141-87, 2.94 ERA, 939 strikeouts, 3 Stormy Boyd awards, 4 All-Star Games

LHP: Edward Schmidt (IRON/ATL/DULL): 160-132, 3.17 ERA, 1546 strikeouts, 1 Stormy Boyd, 9 All-Star Games

C: Steve Maloney (APP/SCLO): .283 average, 869 hits, 127 HR, 449 RBI, 1 MVP award (.311, 29 HR, 86 RBI in 1926), 4 All-Star Games

1B: Bobby "Nomad" Lambert (ATL): .344 average, 1572 hits, 181 HR, 727 RBI, 3 MVP awards, 7 All-Star Games

2B: Greg Hudson (SCLO): .317 average, 1164 hits, 606 runs, 302 steals, 2 Tiberium Glove awards, 4 All-Star Games

SS: Ricky Joe Bush (APP, WEST): .304 average, 1321 hits, 194 HR, 672 RBI, 3 MVP awards, 6 All-Star Games

3B: Rusty Moriarty (GRAN): .264 average, 153 HR, 520 RBI, 3 All-Star Games

LF - Hank Crosby (IRON, FORT, BAYU): .260 average, 1389 hits, 184 HR, 732 RBI, 744 runs, 1 MVP (.290, 30 HR, 107 RBI in 1923), 3 All-Star Games

CF - Richie McLaughlin (FORT): .279 average, 1404 hits, 167 HR, 703 RBI, 746 runs, 1 Tiberium Glove, 5 All-Star Games

RF - Curt Lowery (IRON, SCLO): .285 average, 1353 hits, 183 HR, 784 RBI, 757 runs, 222 steals, 3 Tiberium Glove awards, 5 All-Star Games

[Hendu Style]

Parsons, Tanner, and Frazier...

[Hendu Style]

Bobby "Nomad" Lambert and Warren King...