A History of the New York Yankees | 1901 and Beyond

[Kevdog1020]

So I was sitting on my computer contemplating what my next OOTP league would be. I have a nice fictional league going and a nice modern league going that I was getting bored of. I decided that I would pursue a historical league. I've also been a Yankee fan my entire life and was very into the history when I was younger. I decided that it would be cool to recreate the history of the Yankees franchise. With that being said, I'm a college student now and reports will probably be very spotty, but it is something that I would like to try to do.

I will begin in the year 1901. The Yankees were quite simply, not the Yankees! In fact, they were not even a New York team yet. They played the 1901 and 1902 seasons as the Baltimore Orioles before moving to New York in 1903. I will be using the Spritze database. Just as a warning to all those following, the rosters in Spritze resemble more of the 1903 roster but after a couple seasons players will get all mixed up anyway so I'm not concerned.

I will control the Yankees general manger the entire time. When a GM gets fired and they hire a new one I will take control of that GM. I haven't decided the log for posting on this thread so bear with me while I mess around a little bit. I'm aiming for an every 10-day or 2 week or 1 month report. I look forward to sharing my alternative Yankees history with you!

[Kevdog1020]

O's Hire Ernie Williams to General Manager Position

The Baltimore Orioles have announced the hiring of 30-year old Ernie Williams to their General Manager position. Williams played amateur baseball for a short time before a knee injury ended his career. The O's heard his story and immediately gave him a call to fill their vacant general manager position. Williams will inherit a roster with the likes of Jack Chesbro, Willie Keeler, Jimmy Williams and others. With this roster he will try to achieve the ultimate goal. To win the World Series.

[JRockne]

I've started a historical league. Starting with the 1903 Highlanders. I've decided to turn everything off and have historical transactions.

I enjoy managing in-game and not doing all the gm stuff. I might try that later after I've run through my league a few times.

I really like the old timers.

Have you read Pinstripe Empire? It is a history of Yankee baseball from before Babe Ruth to the present.

Gives good context of the players and the times.

[Kevdog1020]

Originally Posted by JRockne

I've started a historical league. Starting with the 1903 Highlanders. I've decided to turn everything off and have historical transactions.

I enjoy managing in-game and not doing all the gm stuff. I might try that later after I've run through my league a few times.

I really like the old timers.

Have you read Pinstripe Empire? It is a history of Yankee baseball from before Babe Ruth to the present.

Gives good context of the players and the times.

I already have a couple files that I manage day to day operations already so I'm gonna go for a GM only type league (I'll probably play playoffs and other important games as a manager. Never read Pinstripe Empire, could you maybe link it?

[Kevdog1020]

Very excited to take over this team. Currently it's January of 1901, there is some time to add and subtract players but I'm going to post the team that I've inherited with a couple notes:

C Deacon McGuire-Currently our starting catcher, not good defensively and will probably look to upgrade somehow. A solid hitter but he would have to do better if he wanted to keep the starting job.

C Red Kleinow-Backup catcher, who's actually worse than Deacon McGuire in the field. Not a good hitter, really has no value.

1B George McConnell-Gets the starting nod for now, but the first base job is totally up for grabs. Awful defender and below-average hitter.

1B John Ganzel-Could steal the job from McConnell, better in the field and with the bat. Not as fast as McConnell though.

2B Jimmy Williams-One of the best hitters on our team, has the potential to hit double digit homers, 100 RBI and a .300 average. Slick fielder with above average speed.

2B Frank LaPorte-A young 2B with a decent glove. Pretty solid hitter but won't take the job from Williams.

3B Wid Conrad-A solid fielder who can hit for a little bit of gap power. Nothing too impressive though.

3B Lew Brockett-Below average hitter, average fielder, and slightly above average speed. Good player to round out of bench.

3B Ezra Midkiff-A speedy infielder who should never get a plate appearance but should see plenty of time pinch running.

SS Kid Elberfeld-A great fielder who should be one of the staples at the top of the lineup for years to come.

SS Roxey Roach-A speedy guy in his rookie season, average hitter and average fielder. Could earn some time as a defensive replacement.

LF Bert Daniels-18-year-old rookie left fielder who can play both corner positions pretty well. Below average contact, but above average power.

LF Birdie Cree-Another 18-year-old outfielder who could split time with Daniels. Better all around hitter and an equal fielder to Daniels. Won't light up the box score though.

CF Elmer Bliss-Decent contact but again, a player who will not set the world on fire with his hitting. Solid fielder with great speed.

CF Orth Collins-Below average contact but fantastic speed and range in the outfield. Expects to be a bench player and will be a bench player.

CF Frank Delahanty-The best speed on the team, can play a multitude of positions well. Bad plate discipline but slightly below average gap power.

RF Willie Keeler-The best player on our team, could compete for the batting title. Power is nonexistent but average will be up in the top of the rankings year in and year out.

RF Roy Hartzell-Good speed, good hitting, good fielding. Just your typical prototype for a bench player.

RF Irish McIlveen-Similar stats to Hartzell, a solid left-handed bat off the bench.

SP Jack Chesbro-Hands down the best pitcher on our team. Should win 20 games every year as long as the offensive support is there.

SP Eddie Quick-One of the best young pitchers in the game at a ripe 19-years-old. A guy that no team should ever get rid of.

SP Doc Newton-A great left-handed starter to have on the squad. Great movement, average control and below average stuff. Projects to be a #3 starter.

SP Tacks Neuer-Another lefty who has never pitched a full season, good for spot starts and mop-up duty.

RP Walter Clarkson-Another mop-up guy. Shouldn't be used too often except in blowouts.

RP Ambrose Puttmann-A below average reliever. Could potentially never be used.

[JRockne]

http://www.amazon.com/Pinstripe-Empi...nstripe+Nation

[Kevdog1020]

So we've had no roster changeover since my last entry, the entire roster stays the same. Every team was trying to acquire Keeler, and I rejected every single one. BNN projects us to go 51-89 and ownership expects us to finish .500. Sounds like trouble to me.

Anyway, here's some news from our Spring Training:

-We finished spring 12-12, good enough for 4th in the AL.
-Willie Keeler strained his hamstring. He will miss the first week of the regular season.
-Birdie Cree tore his meniscus and will miss the first five weeks of the regular season.
-OF Elmer Bliss was our only hitter with a homerun. He hit .238 with 1 HR and 8 RBI.
-3B Wid Conroy hit .316 with 20 RBI. He also stole 6 bases and was caught stealing 4 times.
-C Deacon McGuire hit .410 with 5 2B, 4 3B and 15 RBI.
-Our pitching struggled, Eddie Quick was 4-1 with a 3.81 ERA, Tacks Neuer was 2-0 with a 3.49 ERA, Jack Chesbro was 3-5 with a 4.25 ERA and Doc Newton was 2-4 with a 5.32 ERA.

BNN also released their top 10 prospects. LF Birdie Cree is lone representative.

1) MR Babe Adams, 18, Pittsburgh Pirates
2) SS Cy Swain, 18, Washington Senators
3) RF Johnny Bates, 18, Boston Beaneaters
4) LF Birdie Cree, 18, Baltimore Orioles
5) MR Bill Essick, 19, Cincinnati Reds
6) MR Red Ames, 18, New York Giants
7) MR Howie Camnitz, 19, Pittsburgh Pirates
8) CF John Kane, 18, Cincinnati Reds
9) 3B Solly Hofman, 18, Chicago Orphans
10) MR Irv Higginbotham, 18, St. Louis Cardinals

[captaincarl]

I have also put in a write-up on what happened to the Orioles in '02 & how the new franchise in New York came about in one of my history journals on here if you are interested and didn't know about your team's origin already.

[Kevdog1020]

We finished the short month of April with a 2-4 record. Good (or bad) for 7th in the American League. The record places us 14th in the Power Rankings provided by the baseball news network.

-We won on Opening Day, 5-4 in 15 innings. Jack Chesbro went all 15 and allowed 12 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). Jimmy Williams was 4-7, Elmer Bliss was 2-6 with 2 RBI.
-In the 6 games, Kid Elberfield is our top hitter (7-25, 4 RBI).
-Bert Daniels is our worst hitter (3-23, 2 RBI) but has 2 3B.
-Jack Chesbro was our top pitcher, going 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA. He struck out 8 in 17.0 innings.
-Tacks Neuer made a spot start and pitched us to a victory. He went 16.0 IP, while allowing 8 hits while striking out 12. He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
-We have the worst batting average (.210) in the American League.

Team Notes:
-We activated Willie Keeler for the 2nd game of the season.