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Old 07-05-2019, 01:28 PM   #1
Syd Thrift
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Thriflonth Century!

So, I have this big bad habit of starting dynasties, taking *way* too much time writing them up, getting overwhelmed, and then stopping. Let the games continue!

Anyway, I'm doing a league that started in the year 1876 using real franchise locations/leagues/team movement/etc. but fictional players. I'm now early in the year 1887 and I wanted to Thriftify this bad boy.

As a whole, runs are *way* up this year, due to a MASSIVE increase in stolen bases over the season before (note: in real life this was because for 1887 only extra bases taken on hits were counted as steals; however, OOTP says "nope, those are just plain steals" and as a result players are moving from first to second as a matter of course). It's May 3 and as such still super duper early but both leagues are seeing a jump of at least 50 points to their ERAs, and ERAs jumped last year as well because of... reasons. I'm not totally sure why runs went up - I don't see any major rule changes in 1886 - but they did).

Let's take a brief look at the teams:

Baltimore Orioles (American Association): Perennial second division finishers since the AA was founded in 1882, the Orioles... kind of look like more of the same this year. 14 games in, they're "led" by '86 24-game winner Esteban Rivera (3-2, 4.30) who has as many walks as strikeouts so far. Their offensive attack is paced by 1B Ben Carlton (.333, 0, 12), who became the game's first .400 hitter when he hit .403 last year (220 hits in 546 at-bats).

Boston Beaneaters (NL): The Bostons have to be considered the favorites in the 1887 season after having acquired superstar CF Joe "King" Fletcher (.316, 1, 4) from the Chicago White Stockings. They did win the pennant and ultimately the World's Series without Fletcher last year, so we may not even see a close pennant drive this year. Their mound ace is the Dutchman Tobias "Stroopwaffel" Wakker (3-0, 2.70), who inexplicably has never won a Pitcher of the Year Award.

Brooklyn Grays (AA): Founded in 1884 the Grays have not had a winning season in any of their 3 seasons in the Association. They're off to a beastly 10-3 start this year, propelled by the fantastic pitching of Jason "The Test" Bechtel (4-1, 1.84) and timely hitting of 3B Danny Ludolph (.412, 1, 17). On the minus side, they are sporting checked jerseys that make them look like giant pieces of graph paper.

Chicago White Stockings (NL): Following a very tight pennant race in 1886 that saw the Stockings wind up on the losing end in spite of winning more games (83) than the Beaneaters (81) (they played like 7 more games), owner Al Spalding said "screw it" and broke the team up. It would be a major coup if the 5-time champs win more games than they lose this year. Rodger Rott (1-1, 5.68), who went 28-15 last year but who always seems more comfortable as a 2nd starter, is their de facto ace this season. The Sox hope that 1B Jeff Miller (.474, 2, 7), who led the league in RBIs last year with 96, can continue his clutch hitting without Joe Fletcher setting the stage in front of him.

Cleveland Blues (AA): The Blues are one of two brand new teams in the majors this year and so far their newness is showing. To be fair, much of their team is scavenged from the St. Louis Maroons, who disbanded after last season, but to be fair to *that* the Maroons were kind of horrible. Matt Cunningham (1-5, 2.15) spent all last season as a right fielder but has been transitioned back to the box this year, and much of the Blues' 1887 hopes rest on LF Jacob Bravenec (.358, 1, 9) hitting the way scouts say he did in the mysteriously unknown independent league he alighted from last year.

Detroit Wolverines (NL): From 1879 to 1885 the Wolverines had a nice little run, winning the pennant in 1881 and finishing 2nd 3 other times. Sadly it looks like their days as a second fiddler are about over, as they finished 61-65 last year, 25 games off the pace. Their "ace" is John Andrews (2-1, 3.12), a prospect who first played in this league at just 19 but who has never been able to capitalize on glowing potential. He'll turn 30 next year and has been a career loser (67-83). The lineup is secured by CF "Dynamite" Jimmy Walker (.290, 0, 5), who was acquired - some would say "stolen" - from the financially moribund St. Louis Maroons last year.

Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL): The other new entrant to the major leagues, the Hoosiers hope to succeed where two previous teams failed in providing baseball of the highest quality to the state of Indiana. "Highest quality" might be overstating things a bit; their top pitcher Ed Ortega (1-2, 5.09) was a 23 game loser for the Maroons last season, and their 3-hole hitter RF Takeo Umetsu (.276, 0, 3), a native of the far-off land of Japan, was barely able to hold a job for the now-defunct Kansas City Cowboys last year.

Louisville Colonels: The Colonels had, suffice it to say, a *weird* year last year. The AA pennant winners in 1885, they were in dead last as of July 1 last year before going on a torrid run to end the season. Sadly, this only collected a 69-71 record for them. Ivan Gomez (2-3, 3.15) and all-time wins leader Mitch Thomas (2-2, 1.06; career record 249-171) anchor the rotation, with 1B Brad Griffin (.294, 0, 5) making the best of an anemic offensive attack.

New York Giants (NL): The Giants have done a decent job of building up their team year by year. Last year they were the 3rd team in a 3-team pennant race, staying in there until late September. Roger Penaloza (1-2, 3.96) won Pitcher of the Year honors with a record-setting 37-9 season. Their secret weapon this year is 3B Steve Hall (.483, 1, 11), who was the "clean up man" for Joe Fletcher in Chicago for 5 seasons before being purchased from that club by the New York Nationals.

New York Metropolitans (AA): The Mets are clearly the second team in Gotham City, having never finished higher than 7th in the American Association. Last year they set a new AA record with 91 losses. Things don't look particularly optimistic for 1887 either. Blake Dittmer (1-4, 4.38) is the closest thing the team has to an ace, and he lost 22 games last year. The locals do enjoy 1B Keith Nitz (.298, 0, 3), who finished third in the league with RBI last year with 90 of them.

Philadelphia Athletics (AA): The A's led from pillar to post in the AA last year, only to be dispatched in 5 games by the Beaneaters in the World's Series. With one of their main challengers the Allegheneys having jumped to the National League, a second straight pennant seems all but in the bag this year. Justin Suarez (2-3, 3.16) won 68 games in '85 and '86 combined. Their stud CF Jim True (.262, 0, 5) led the league in HRs and finished 2nd in RBI in the AA and this year is being asked to move from right field to center, where he can take more advantage of his great range.

Philadelphia Quakers (NL): The other Philadelphia team had one of the all-time worst debuts (19-80) in 1883 and they've struggled to compose a good team ever since. Last season was a high-water mark; they finished out of the cellar for the first time in their history and wound up just 10 games under .500 (57-67). Justin Stefano (1-2, 5.79) is their ace, that is, unless control problems (he walked 160 batters in 318 innings last year) do him in. The Quakers hope that 1B Brandon David's (.400, 0, 7) 1886 season, when he raised his average more than 60 points to .320, was not a fluke.

Pittsburgh Allegeneys (NL): The Allegheneys, evidently frustrated by the dominance of the Browns and Athletics in the Association, jumped to the National League in the offseason, where they replaced the Kansas City Cowboys. Why they think their experience in the NL will be any better is beyond all of us. They did manage to nick ace Brian Everhart (1-1, 6.48) from the White Stockings in that team's fire sale; Everhart won Pitcher of the Year awards in 1884 with Providence and 1885 with Chicago. Their star SS Lorenzo Hernandez (.400, 0, 3) is also a bit of a cast-off, having been purchased from Brooklyn after being awarded to that franchise following the capitulation of the old Cleveland Blues.

St. Louis Browns (AA): After winning pennants in each of the first 3 seasons of the league, things have taken a slight turn for the Browns the past two years as they've "only" finished 2nd each frame. At that, last year's finish required a furious September to overtake the Allegheneys in the pennant race. Ace Joey Walls (4-2, 1.25) won 35 games last year and proved that his rough 1885 season (25-24, 2.24) was just a fluke. 3B Shawn Pierce (.379, 3, 12) looks like an early contender for MVP honors.

Washington Nationals (NL): As bad as the Nats were last year (47-78, 6th), they were still infinitely better than the previous Washington entrant inasmuch as they managed to complete the season (the 1884 Nationals wound up at the end of July of that year and forced the league to field a team in Richmond, VA for the remainder of the year). Matt Craft (0-1, 3.71) was an impressive 9-3 last year for Washington; he won't repeat that but it's a nice place to start from. LF Jesus Laureano (.368, 0, 6) is a former member of the Detroit Wolverines organization that they soured on. The Nats purchased him from Lowell last season.
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Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn
You bastard....
The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not
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Old 07-05-2019, 01:39 PM   #2
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May 7, 1882

NASHVILLE, May 6. - Quite a sensation has leaked out in baseball circles. It will be remembered by all that Chris Hamilton was on the program to pitch Saturday's game, but that at the last moment Bradley was substituted. The directors have made careful investigation of certain rumours, and Hamilton will be fined $50 and suspended indefinitely. Hamilton had fallen into the hands of Bobby Black who made him drunk in order to allow Memphis to win. It is stated that a large amount of money was bet against Nashville by parties from Memphis who had assigned to Snead and Black the job of fixing Hamilton. At the last minute Manager Bradley was notified of the scheme and went into the box himself and won the game. The matter has been investigated by the Nashville directors, who have taken prompt measures in the case.

(note: this is from TSN for the date and recounts an actual incident involving Larry Corcoran, who had been a Chicago ace just a couple years previous before arm troubles sidelined him. The guy I replaced in here is Chris Hamilton, the Rookie of the Year award winner in 1884 who had since walked himself out of baseball. Last year he finished 7-16, throwing 211 walks in 237.2 innings. His personality type says he is "blind to his own flaws". I'll say!)
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The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not
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Old 07-05-2019, 01:41 PM   #3
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You had me at Tobias "Stroopwaffel" Wakker.
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Old 07-05-2019, 02:02 PM   #4
Syd Thrift
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May 14, 1887

BOB BARBOUR ON THE SHELF
QuakersGreat Left Fielder Laid Off Without Pay.

BOSTON, May 13. Bob Barbour (.244, 0, 5) has been laid off without pay until his hip gets well, which he says he does not think will be done for a month yet. One refusal to play came near costing Barbour a heavy fine. His brilliant day on May 11, before he left with his hip woes, demonstrated that, for that day at least, he was the same old left fieldsman that used to gladden the hearts of the audience at Quakers Field last season. Since his sudden determination not to face the Boston Beaneaters that Thursday, the air has been full of very ugly rumors regarding Barbour, it is being stated that his want of condition, lame hip, and other bodily ailments were not the cause of his refusal to play, but that he was simply faint-hearted and lacked the "silica" to risk his reputation, or more properly speaking, his reputation in a game where he thought defeat stared him in the face.

(note: this was actually about a pitcher named Ned Morris, not a position player, so maybe it doesn't translate fully. Still, let's just say that the 19th century had a... different outlook on injury than we do today)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
	W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants	9	5	.643	-
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	7	4	.636	.5
Detroit Wolverines	8	6	.571	1.0
Chicago White Stockings	6	5	.545	1.5
Boston Beaneaters	7	6	.538	1.5
Philadelphia Quakers	6	8	.429	3.0
Washington Nationals	5	8	.385	3.5
Indianapolis Hoosiers	4	10	.286	5.0

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
	W	L	PCT	GB
Brooklyn Grays	11	5	.688	-
St. Louis Browns	14	7	.667	-0.5
Philadelphia Athletics	12	8	.600	1.0
Louisville Colonels	8	8	.500	3.0
Cincinnati Red Stockings	10	11	.476	3.5
Baltimore Orioles	8	9	.471	3.5
New York Metropolitans	6	11	.353	5.5
Cleveland Blues	5	15	.250	8.0

YESTERDAY'S GAMES - National League
Away Team	Home Team	Result	Time	Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Washington	Boston	3-2	1:05 PM EST	M.Craft (3-1, 1.64 ERA)	T.Wakker (4-1, 1.59 ERA)
Detroit	Chicago	3-2	1:05 PM EST	K.Folk (3-1, 2.34 ERA)	M.Villarreal (1-3, 2.87 ERA)
New York	Philadelphia	19-9	1:05 PM EST	F.Tyrrell (2-2, 4.03 ERA)	J.Miller (0-4, 4.41 ERA)
Indianapolis	Pittsburgh	4-16	1:05 PM EST	B.Weisser (3-1, 2.23 ERA)	S.Woodliff (1-3, 9.00 ERA)

YESTERDAY'S GAMES - American Association
Away Team	Home Team	Result	Time	Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
St. Louis	Cincinnati	5-6	1:05 PM EST	W.Marion (5-3, 2.67 ERA)	J.Harmeyer (1-1, 7.88 ERA)
Cleveland	Philadelphia	10-9	1:05 PM EST	S.Martin (2-4, 5.94 ERA)	R.Escareno (5-3, 3.26 ERA)

TODAY'S GAMES - National League
Away Team	Home Team	Time	Starting Pitcher Away Team	Starting Pitcher Home Team
Washington (5-8, Road: 3-2)	Boston (7-6, Home: 3-2)	1:05 PM EST	RHP E.Stenton (0-3, 6.43 ERA)	RHP J.Jones (0-1, 6.06 ERA)
Detroit (8-6, Road: 4-4)	Chicago (6-5, Home: 3-4)	1:05 PM EST	RHP D.Hicks (2-1, 5.00 ERA)	LHP M.Weeks (1-1, 3.50 ERA)
Philadelphia (6-8, Road: 3-5)	New York (9-5, Home: 4-4)	1:05 PM EST	LHP J.White (4-0, 2.06 ERA)	RHP R.Penaloza (2-2, 4.00 ERA)
Indianapolis (4-10, Road: 2-6)	Pittsburgh (7-4, Home: 4-2)	1:05 PM EST	RHP J.Haggan (1-3, 3.38 ERA)	RHP E.Homan (2-0, 3.32 ERA)

TODAY'S GAMES - American Association
Away Team	Home Team	Time	Starting Pitcher Away Team	Starting Pitcher Home Team
St. Louis (14-7, Road: 5-5)	Cincinnati (10-11, Home: 7-4)	1:05 PM EST	RHP J.Walls (6-2, 1.36 ERA)	RHP A.Roach (1-4, 5.77 ERA)
Baltimore (8-9, Road: 3-4)	Louisville (8-8, Home: 6-1)	1:05 PM EST	RHP V.Massey (2-1, 2.83 ERA)	RHP I.Gomez (2-3, 3.91 ERA)
Brooklyn (11-5, Road: 5-3)	New York (6-11, Home: 3-5)	1:05 PM EST	RHP N.Ford (0-0, 0.00 ERA)	LHP E.White (3-3, 4.46 ERA)
Cleveland (5-15, Road: 4-6)	Philadelphia (12-8, Home: 7-2)	1:05 PM EST	RHP T.Norfleet (2-2, 3.28 ERA)	LHP J.Suarez (4-3, 3.84 ERA)
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You bastard....
The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not
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Old 07-05-2019, 02:04 PM   #5
Syd Thrift
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Originally Posted by BirdWatcher View Post
You had me at Tobias "Stroopwaffel" Wakker.
I have to admit that I kind of like giving players corny nicknames. There's also a guy named Brent Weisser in the league who is called "King of Beers", and after seeing him referenced in real-life transactions I felt that I just had to auto-generate a player named Silver King.
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Old 07-05-2019, 02:44 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Syd Thrift View Post
I have to admit that I kind of like giving players corny nicknames. There's also a guy named Brent Weisser in the league who is called "King of Beers", and after seeing him referenced in real-life transactions I felt that I just had to auto-generate a player named Silver King.
One of my favorite players from early in my WPK league was a very good starting pitcher named King Bedelcom. Sadly, he was already advanced in age at the time of the inaugural draft so he has been retired for years now.
I have a weakness for interesting names.
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Old 07-05-2019, 03:36 PM   #7
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May 21, 1887

WALLY MARION'S LATEST.
-----------
He tries to Run the Cincinnati Management, But Is Knocked Out.
----------
Special to THRIFTLON NEWS.
CINCINNATI, May 19 -- the excitement in local baseball circles is caused, as usual, by our ever traitorous friend(?) and star pitcher Wally Marion (6-3, 2.93). Just before Umpire Knight called the game yesterday, Marion, who had been assigned to pitch, and whose name appeared on the official score card, arose from the players bench and told Manager Schmelz that he might as well put somebody else in to pitch, as he did not intend to pitch every day without receiving extra money for the task. Manager Schmelz told Marion that he had not pitched for two or three days and he thought it no more than right that he should take his turn. Marion appeared to acquiesce but then took the mound and delivered such an awful performance (6 IP, 8 R, 5 ER, BB, 4 K) that it was as if he had refused to pitch at all, and by the 7th frame it was required that the old and ornery Buddie Lynn (2-0, 2.16) come out to "save" him. Manager Schmelz fined Marion $100 and suspended him indefinitely and ordered him to leave the grounds. Marion grasped the situation at once; went to the dressing room changed his clothes; and after the game was finished, he left the park carrying his uniform with him.

Everyone knows Wally Marion, his character as a contract jumper and an unprincipled ball player. In every city in which he has played he has left some blur upon his reputation. His friends here, and there are few of them, will become beautifully less when they hear of this despicable action on his part. The Cincinnati players even look upon him with disgust. Although Cincinnati is in need of a pitcher, still they cannot put up with such conduct.

(note: this was originally about "The Apollo of the Box", Tony Mullane, but I'm kind of tickled pink that the Reds have maybe the best personality comp for him on their staff right now in Marion. Incidentally, though, if Mullane IRL and therefore Marion in this sim actually got suspended by the team, it was *sure* over quickly - I'm showing Mullane started 48 games for the Reds that year, pitching more than 400 innings and winning 31 games.)

Trouble at Indianapolis.
Special to THRIFTLON NEWS.
INDIANAPOLIS, May 20. -- The management of the Indianapolis club is in a very demoralized condition. President Newberger has declared his intention of severing his connection with the club and it is expected. that within a few days, he will withdraw from active connection with the team. Indications as to his successor point favorably to John H. Martin, a prominent railroad man of this city. The players are dissatisfied with Manager Burnham and it is feared that they some day will refuse to go on the field. Some days ago as it transpires, Manager Burnham forged 2B Lou Jansen's (.312, 2, 13) name to an apology for the trouble that occasioned the fining of the team and when Lou became aware of this, he said he would rather be blacklisted than play under the management of such a man, but some friends finally persuaded him to play. This letter caused Burnham's resignation at the time, but wy he was reinstated no one is able to tell. See of the directors say his present tenure of office is brief. When the differences of the management are settled, if they ever are, steps will be taking to increase the batting strength of the team. It is conceded that but a few games can be one with the team is at present constituted.

(note: other than Jansen, no real ties to the actual league; I just wanted to drop this story in because it's a neat example of the shakiness of the franchises at the time. Also, forging your star player's name on an apology is just... wow.)

Huesman to be Fired.
INDIANAPOLIS, May 20 -- The local directory had a spasm upon receipt of the ball game to-day in New York, and there was a called meeting and a two hours' session with closed doors followed. One result of the meeting is the assured dismissal of Jon Huesman (0-1, 9.19) as a pitcher, one trial as starter and seven in relief being considered sufficient in demonstrating his worthlessness. The Directory resolved upon scouting another pitcher if one can be found. Meanwhile the effort to strengthen the field continues. Mr. Newberger continued as President but it is hinted thereafter there will be fewer voices in the management of the club.

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

			W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants		15	5	.750	-
Detroit Wolverines	12	8	.600	3.0
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	10	7	.588	3.5
Chicago White Stockings	10	7	.588	3.5
Boston Beaneaters	9	10	.474	5.5
Washington Nationals	8	11	.421	6.5
Philadelphia Quakers	7	13	.350	8.0
Indianapolis Hoosiers	5	15	.250	10.0

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS

			W	L	PCT	GB
St. Louis Browns	18	9	.667	-
Philadelphia Athletics	17	9	.654	.5
Brooklyn Grays		14	8	.636	1.5
Cincinnati Red Stckings	14	13	.519	4.0
Baltimore Orioles	10	12	.455	5.5
Louisville Colonels	9	12	.429	6.0
New York Metropolitans	9	13	.409	6.5
Cleveland Blues		5	20	.200	12.0
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn
You bastard....
The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not
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Old 07-05-2019, 04:24 PM   #8
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May 28, 1887

(TSN appears to have taken Memorial Day Weekend off, so no stories!)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
				W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants		18	7	.720	-
Chicago White Stockings	15	8	.652	2.0
Detroit Wolverines		15	9	.625	2.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	11	10	.524	5.0
Boston Beaneaters		13	12	.520	5.0
Washington Nationals	9	13	.409	7.5
Philadelphia Quakers	9	16	.360	9.0
Indianapolis Hoosiers	5	20	.200	13.0

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
				W	L	PCT	GB
Philadelphia Athletics	21	10	.677	-
St. Louis Browns		21	12	.636	1.0
Cincinnati Red Stockings	19	14	.576	3.0
Brooklyn Grays		16	12	.571	3.5
Louisville Colonels		12	14	.462	6.5
Baltimore Orioles		12	16	.429	7.5
New York Metropolitans	10	18	.357	9.5
Cleveland Blues		8	23	.258	13.0

LEAGUE LEADERS AVG

Sean Farris - BAL 	.420
Harry Walker - PHA	.385
Carter Hendricks - BAL	.379
Keith Martinez - DET	.370
Mourad Ollivier - WAS	.368

LEAGUE LEADERS RBI
Rory Tonn - PHA		32
Oktav Dorner - STL	28
Danny Ludolph - BRO	28
Steve Hall - NYG	26
3 tied with		25

LEAGUE LEADERS W
4 tied with		8
Jason Bechtel - BRO	8
Wally Marion - CIN	8
Justin Suarez - PHA	8
Joey Walls - STL	8

LEAGUE LEADERS ERA
Tobias Wakker - BSN	1.54
Mitch Thomas - LOU	1.87
Joey Walls - STL	2.15
Jason Bechtel - BRO	2.23
Brent Weisser - PIT	2.33

LEAGUE LEADERS K
Tobias Wakker - BSN	47
Wally Marion - CIN	41
Jason Bechtel - BRO	40
Ruben Escareno - PHA	40
Roger Penaloza - NYG	39
I don't know how the Chicago White Stockings are doing it, but it's taken a 12 game Giants winning streak to keep them out of first place so far. By the numbers, it's a *little* smoke and mirrors, as the Chisox are just 5th in the league in runs scored, although 2nd in ERA somehow, and perhaps most importantly given the era we're in, 1st in ZR and 3rd in errors. Nobody's replaced Joe Fletcher (now .351, 3. 19 with 22 steals for the Beaneaters) but rookie 3B Adam Spratt (.256, 1, 9), career defensive replacement CF Ray Stepp (.278, 0, 15) have been very solid starters. Rodger Rott (7-1, 3.18) continues to do well on control and finesse, although his K rate is *way* down this year. The other 2 members of their rotation are Marco Villareal (4-4, 2.64), who has a career 44-40 mark for the Sox, and Mike Weeks (4-2, 2.55), who at 34 is having just the second opportunity to get an extended look in the rotation (the other shot he had came in 1883, when he went 11-11 with a 2.92 ERA that looks nice to the modern eye but which was worth just a 99 ERA+ that season).

In the AA, it's the same A's vs. Browns race we've come to expect. The A's are paced by Jim True (.333, 2, 20) and an amazing first month from C Harry Walker (.385, 2, 22). As seen above, Justin Suarez's name is all around the leaderboards for pitching. The Browns counter with an attack led by 3B Shawn Pierce (.324, 4, 25), who has *21* extra base hits so far on the year, and CF Oktav Dorner (.228, 0, 28), their former leadoff hitter who has seemingly become a guy who only knows how to hit in the clutch. Joey "Wonder" Walls (8-3, 2.14) can't believe that anybody feels the way he feels about you now, if the you in question is the game of baseball, and all the roads to Silver King's house (6-2, 2.36) are winding.
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Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn
You bastard....
The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not
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Old 07-07-2019, 03:58 PM   #9
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June 4, 1887

WE MAY LOSE OUR BROWNS


Joe Pulitzer Offers to Buy the Champions from Von der Ahe.
---
One Hundred Thousand Dollars the Actual Price Offered.
--
If They Are Sold They Will Be Transferred to New York.
--

There is something more than smoke to the rumor that New York parties offered to purchase the St. Louis Browns from President Von der Ahe. It is stated on the best authority that Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, several weeks ago advised a prominent St. Louisian to call on Von der Ahe and offer him $100,000 to transfer the Brown Stocking team to New York and it was the very fact of this offer that brought Von der Ahe east with his team. Yesterday Von der Ahe is said to have met Pulitzer with a vow to closing the deal.

While the sale can be made now the actual transfer cannot be brought about until next fall. The National Agreement prohibits the transfer of a club from one association to another except during the month of November so that no actual transfer can be made until then. But it may be that the Browns even if brought here will not leave the American Association. It is believed that they could take the Mets place in that body and draw crowds to Wiman's beautiful grounds such as that place has never seen before. Were they on the other hand to take the Giants place in the League, why they could coin money for their owners.

(Actual story for this date. I'll be interested to see how it turns out! Well, we know how it turned out - the Browns stayed in St. Louis and became the Cardinals, the original Metropolitans eventually ceased to be, and the Giants, too, live to this day albeit on another coast. For those not aware of Chris von der Ahe, let me say two things: 1. he was if memory serves the brother of the guy who created the Midwestern grocery chain known as Von's, and b. he was a very colorful man in his own right. There was an entry in one of the Baseball Hall of Shame books on him that I highly recommend (or would if I had any idea which one it was). In a nutshell, he tried to turn the Brown's stadium into a full entertainment complex a la what the Diamondbacks did, complete with an adjacent amusement park. He also went bankrupt and was forced to sell the team in the 1890s.)

Molina Badly Hurt.

--
BROOKLYN, June 3. In yesterday afternoon's game 2B Mike Molina (.277, 1, 20) was badly injured. A ball SS Cudmore (.286, 1, 22) threw to him in the second inning passed through his hands and struck him in the mouth. Both his lips were split so badly that after the game it was found necessary for the attending physician to put several stitches in each lip.

(Okay, so Molina's actual injury was a ruptured Achilles tendon, but how would that have been identified if it happened in actual 1887? "Molina pulled up lame and decided not to run. He is a coward and a mountebank and has been released without pay" is my guess. Anyway, Molina was the first overall pick in the 1884 draft and this year was looking like it was maybe going to be his breakout season. He's not a good fielder but weirdly, his poor fielding looks mostly range-based (his fielding average is .891 but that's only a little bit below average for a 2B in this era).)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
W	L		PCT	GB
New York Giants		23	9	.719	-
Chicago White Stockings	17	10	.630	3.5
Detroit Wolverines	17	12	.586	4.5
Boston Beaneaters	17	14	.548	5.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	14	12	.538	6.0
Washington Nationals	10	16	.385	10.0
Philadelphia Quakers	11	20	.355	11.5
Indianapolis Hoosiers	7	23	.233	15.0

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
Philadelphia Athletics	24	13	.649	-
Cincinnati Red S'ings	25	14	.641	-
St. Louis Browns	24	14	.632	.5
Brooklyn Grays		20	14	.588	2.5
Baltimore Orioles	14	20	.412	8.5
New York Metropolitans	14	20	.412	8.5
Louisville Colonels	13	19	.406	8.5
Cleveland Blues		9	29	.237	15.5
RACE FOR .400

Right now the only player near .400 is Baltimore Orioles RF Sean Farris (.394, 3, 16), the highlight of an otherwise horrible team. Farris, who has only recently been starting full-time (previously he was time-sharing with Pablo Chavez (.288, 1, 10) in an arrangement which was DEFINITELY NOT a platoon because teams didn't platoon back then (and may not even have been completely clued into the fact that opposite-handed hitters hit better). I should note here that teams didn't really appear to time-share or even change out players except in the offseason in real life but... that's no fun. Anyway, he hit .400 in April, .410 in May, and so far has only 2 hits in 8 at-bats in June but, well, the month is still young, right? This average is still more than 100 points higher than his previous career high (.289 last year) but he's also walking *way* more than he did last year (his OBP is .484 right now!) so maybe it was a legit talent bump, who knows?

CHASE FOR 300 WINS

Mitch Thomas (4-7, 1.89) has been an ace since the inception of the league but he keeps getting stuck on mediocre teams. This year is no different, it seems. That being said, he does have 251 wins (against 176 losses) and he's in a bit of a race against Father Time to see if he can become the first pitcher to reach 300. He was 25 when the league got going in '76, so almost the perfect age to be that guy. Still, while right now he looks like a virtual lock to win 20ish games a year over the next 3 years and hit the 300 mark by age 38, he could also fall off a cliff or suffer an injury for all anyone knows... the other top 5 in career wins are Mike Bynes of the Beaneaters (7-3, 2.92) with 243, Brian Everhart in Pittsburgh (6-5, 2.92) with 235, Barry Woodruff, (N/R), most recently of Detroit with 226, and Thomas' former teammate Rodger Rott (7-3, 2.91) with 212.
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Old 07-13-2019, 12:56 PM   #10
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June 11, 1887

CHRIS AND THE ATHLETICS.


Von der Ahe Offers Simmons and Mason $36,000 for Their Interest.
---
But Those Two Worthies Want a Cool Hundred Thousand.
---
The Indianapolis Club on the Verge of Bankruptcy.
---


Philadelphia, June 10. -- Notwithstanding all statements to the contrary President Von der Ahe was dickering for a controlling interest in the Athletic Club of this city. He offered $35,500 for the two thirds interest in the club owned by Mason and Simmons. He did this of course with the full knowledge of Sharsig, who owns the remaining third interest in the club. Mason and Simmons in reply to this offer said they would sell but they wanted $100,000 for their interest or $50,000 each. Mr. Von der Ahe of course refused to give any such amount and negotiations ended right there.

INDIANAPOLIS WEAKENING.

Horace Fogel, a prominent baseball writer of Philadelphia whose name has been mentioned in connection with the management of the Indianapolis Club will not go to that organization for this reason: just before departing for Philadelphia he received a letter from President Spalding of the Chicago Club which informed him that he (Spalding) did not think the Hoosiers would last the season. The Indianapolis Club are nor only losing money daily bit the stock holders and directors of the club have grown sick of their bargain and want to pull out.

(Hey, so that explains why Von der Ahe was so intent on selling his stake in the Browns last week - he wanted to own the Athletics instead! Incidentally, and I know this goes without saying to people who know the history, but I wanted to point it out anyway, that Athletics team is *not* the one that eventually moved to Kansas City and then Oakland in the 50s and 60s. This A's team folded in the early 1890s amidst, well, a lot of weirdness that began with an 8 team Player's League, saw the National League take in 4 teams formerly of the American Association when that league folded, and finally saw those same four teams (I *think*? Maybe the Browns were one of the final four... well, we'll see in a few seasons) get contracted before the 1900 season.

Also, can't help but keep Indy in the news. One of the things that I like about 19th century baseball is the way major league teams endured in cities we don't see as major league nowadays. That being said, stories like this are a good clue as to why that city still only fields a AAA team. TSN only started publication in 1886 but there are similar stories of the Buffalo NL team having a very messy wind-up in late 1885, plus of course there's that older Washington team that folded in July and played out the season as the league-owned Richmond Virginians.)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants		27	11	.711	-
Chicago White Stockings	19	13	.594	5.0
Detroit Wolverines	19	14	.576	5.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	17	13	.567	6.0
Boston Beaneaters	18	18	.500	8.0
Washington Nationals	13	18	.419	10.5
Philadelphia Quakers	14	23	.378	12.5
Indianapolis Hoosiers	9	26	.257	16.5

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
St. Louis Browns	29	15	.659	-
Cincy Red Stockings	28	16	.636	1.0
Brooklyn Grays		24	16	.600	3.0
Philadelphia Athletics	25	17	.595	3.0
Baltimore Orioles	18	21	.462	8.5
New York Metropolitans	16	23	.410	10.5
Louisville Colonels	15	23	.395	11.0
Cleveland Blues		10	34	.227	19.0

LEAGUE LEADERS AVG
Sean Farris 	BAL	.374
Jon Payne	PIT	.365
Joe Fletcher	BSN	.362
Josh Sikorski	BAL	.362
C. Hendricks	BAL	.354

LEAGUE LEADERS HR	
2 tied with		5
Julio Martinez	BSN	5
T. McCarthy Jr.	BRO	5
Jim Cudmore	BRO	4
4 more tied with	4

LEAGUE LEADERS RBI	
Rory Tonn	PHA	46
Danny Ludolph	BRO	45
Steve Hall	NYG	41
Oktav Dorner	STL	36
Dylan DeSimon	CIN	34

LEAGUE LEADERS W	
2 tied with		12
Wally Marion	CIN	12
Joey Walls	STL	12
Justin Suarez	PHA	11
Jason Bechtel	BRO	10

LEAGUE LEADERS ERA	
2 tied with		1.93
Tobias Wakker	BSN	1.93
Joey Walls	STL	1.93
Pedro Castillo	NYP	2.09
Jamal White	PHI	2.20

LEAGUE LEADERS K
Tobias Wakker	BSN	69
Roger Penaloza	NYG	64
Ruben Escareno	PHA	58
Justin Suarez	PHA	58
Wally Marion	CIN	57
The Stroopwaffel Tobias Wakker is 8-4, which means the entire rest of the Beaneaters pitching staff is just 10-14.
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Old 07-13-2019, 01:43 PM   #11
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June 18, 1887

THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS.


The Cincinnatis to Take Wally Marion Back into Their Fold.
--

CINCINNATI, June 17. -- The Marion (14-3, 3.04) trouble has finally been arbitrated and Wally is once more back into the fold and will pitch his next game against the Metropolitans at Staten Island today. I understand unusual concessions were made. The fatted calf has been killed and everything is once more OK.

Marion's reinstatement was precipitated by Manager Schmeltz' report that his trip through New England in search of pitching material had been a failure, and by President Stern himself giving up the hunt for a worthy successor. President Stern regarding the reinstatement says: "I did not want to reinstate the man. I do not like him personally, and I know that the players do not regard him favorably, yet, what was I to do? Here [Alex] Galdames (9-7, 2.67) pitched Wednesday. He pitches Friday and again on Sunday. [Adam] Roach (7-8, 4.98) is not a brilliant success, and I don't want to kill the boy Galdames. If I would have received a pitcher that amounted to anything I would have traded Marion for sure, but I could find none, and, shameful to relate, almost every club in the Association was trying to secure his release. My patrons want good ball, and I am bound to furnish it to them or lose money."

The news locally has been in the nature of a surprise, as Mr. Stern has said all along that he would not reinstate the suspended player. Marion is at Ruthland, VT. It is expected that he will join the club with a few days. The arrangements were negotiated by Mr. Louchran, attorney of the club, and from him it is gathered that mutual concessions were made.

(okay, so I didn't ever actually suspend Marion for the reasons noted before (his seasonal stats sure didn't look like he missed any time). Still, as you can see, the Reds, 2nd place or no, are in no position to refuse any demand he makes, and man, if you think player/owner relations are strained today, that quote...)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants		32	13	.711	-
Chicago White Stockings	23	15	.605	5.5
Detroit Wolverines	22	17	.564	7.0
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	20	16	.556	7.5
Boston Beaneaters	22	21	.512	9.0
Washington Nationals	15	22	.405	13.0
Philadelphia Quakers	16	27	.372	15.0
Indianapolis Hoosiers	11	30	.268	19.0

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
St. Louis Browns	32	15	.681	-
Cinc'i Red Stockings	32	18	.640	1.5
Brooklyn Grays		27	18	.600	4.0
Philadelphia Athletics	27	19	.587	4.5
Baltimore Orioles	19	24	.442	11.0
New York Metropolitans	19	24	.442	11.0
Louisville Colonels	17	26	.395	13.0
Cleveland Blues		10	39	.204	23.0

NY Giants Lineup
Name		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG
Chris Bell 1B	45	191	49	63	8	6	3	26	17	20	28	11	.330
Cibor Zoltek 2B	45	194	40	55	14	3	0	20	10	5	38	11	.284
Steve Hall 3B	45	179	46	65	12	14	1	47	23	6	39	11	.363
Jon Knoll SS	45	153	31	36	4	2	1	13	20	14	16	5	.235
Shaun Watts LF	38	152	23	41	2	6	3	29	11	13	13	21	.270
Brian Rogers CF	45	172	25	47	4	10	2	20	13	12	16	19	.273
Mike Koelbl RF	45	174	26	58	12	4	1	20	16	4	24	25	.333
Jon Thames C	40	132	26	41	4	2	1	26	33	8	1	0	.311

Name			W	L	SV	ERA	G	GS	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K
Roger Penaloza SP	10	5	0	3.95	18	16	134.1	136	89	59	1	48	72
Jim Fetter SP		10	3	0	2.52	15	15	132.1	117	62	37	0	46	23
Frank Tyrrell SP	9	4	0	3.03	14	14	119.0	124	74	40	1	33	25
Carlos Mendez RP	2	1	3	1.27	15	0	28.1	16	10	4	1	8	14
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Old 07-13-2019, 08:08 PM   #12
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June 25, 1887

THE CINCINNATI TEAM
---
They Are Now In Possession of the Queen City.


CINCINNATI, June 11 - The entire city is thrown into a state of great mental excitement by the phenomenally brilliant work of the Reds then ending a trip from which they returned Sunday last with the great record of twelve wins won out of fourteen, distributed as follows:

NY Metropolitans: 4-0
Brooklyn: 2-1
Louisville: 5-0
Philadelphia A's: 1-1

They left bare a very poor fourth and returned a good second pressing St. Louis very closely for the pennant lead, and the inaugurated their return home by splitting their first two games against the AA champion Athletics. The A's Manager and A's Club left here with no enviable frame of mind.

In fifteen years steady attendance on the national game I have never witnessed such magnificent fielding, dare-devil base running, and bunching of hits as the Cincinnatis have done in the last few games. Some of the baseball enthusiasts were so delighted with the playing of the Reds that when they arrived in the city they were met at the depot by the First Regiment band of 40 pieces and carriages who escorted them through the principal streets to their respective homes.

(the 19th century was a different time, I guess... a parade thrown for you after a good road trip (note: I did have to backdate this story a couple weeks for it to make sense for the Reds) sounds kind of great, but I don't know about getting dropped off at my house at the end of it.

Also: anyone know why it's called the Queen City? I know it's named after an ancient Roman general who chose to go back to his farm instead of becoming a dictator - the tie to the US and the reason why they named the city after him, of course, is George Washington - but I have no idea why they refer to it as the Queen City. I know Cleveland is similarly and confusingly called the Forest City during this time...)

Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
New York Giants		35	14	.714	-
Chicago White Stockings	25	18	.581	7.0
Detroit Wolverines	23	20	.535	9.0
Boston Beaneaters	25	23	.521	9.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	20	20	.500	10.5
Washington Nationals	18	23	.439	13.0
Philadelphia Quakers	20	28	.417	14.5
Indianapolis Hoosiers	13	33	.283	20.5

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
			W	L	PCT	GB
St. Louis Browns	35	18	.660	-
Cinc'i Red Stockings	35	21	.625	1.5
Philadelphia Athletics	31	20	.608	3.0
Brooklyn Grays		31	20	.608	3.0
Baltimore Orioles	24	24	.500	8.5
New York Metropolitans	19	29	.396	13.5
Louisville Colonels	18	29	.383	14.0
Cleveland Blues		11	43	.204	24.5
__________________
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Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn
You bastard....
The Great American Baseball Thrift Book - Like reading the Sporting News from back in the day, only with fake players. REAL LIFE DRAMA THOUGH maybe not

Last edited by Syd Thrift; 07-13-2019 at 08:11 PM.
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Old 07-16-2019, 03:13 PM   #13
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Something I found on Wikipedia:

The classic nickname "Queen City" is taken from an 1819 newspaper article discovered by the Church of Ouzo and confirmed by the Cincinnati Public Library and further immortalized by the 1854 poem "Catawba Wine". In it, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote of the city:

And this Song of the Vine,
This greeting of mine,
The winds and the birds shall deliver,
To the Queen of the West,
In her garlands dressed,
On the banks of the Beautiful River

Also, from what I've read, there were a bunch of cities nicknamed "Forest City" simply because they were surrounded by forest.
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