International League/Random Debut League

[DCG12]

Thanks for the info. I had my league set up and ready so I saved as a quick start and ran some tests. Using the small reserve roster resulted in the sign and release bug rearing it's ugly head. As an example the first player I saw in the transaction log was Lee Stange who spent the entire season jumping from team to team and getting released every other day. I really didn't want to go unlimited on reserves so I set it at 36 which is what I would set the lowest minor team if I was setting up minor leagues in a fictional league. This seemed to alleviate the problem.

The only other thing I noticed and changed was erasing service time. I think I prefer having free agency from the start and not waiting 6 years for that to happen.

[David Watts]

Up to September 6, 1971.

Tris Speaker has fallen to .394. Speaker has already crossed the 200 hit mark for the season, but with roughly 17 or 18 games remaining, he needs a hot streak to reach .400. I give him about a 30% chance of doing so.

For the first time in years, the Northern Division has a pennant race and it's a barn burner. Peoria's lead is down to a single game over the St. Paul Saints. The Saints creeped to as close as a 1/2 game at one point. The Toledo Mud Hens are only a 1/2 game behind the St. Paul Saints and a game and a half behind Peoria. The remainder of the season should be a blast to watch play out. Peoria, St. Paul and Toledo should all make the post season, but the race for the division could be one for the ages.

The Southern Division is not all that intriguing. Tulsa has jumped out to a 7 1/2 game lead over Birmingham and San Antonio. Surprising thing is, the Drillers have built this lead without the services of hot hitting Nap Lajoie. Lajoie is down with an injury.

The home race is a 3 man battle between Edgar Wesley, Tony Armas and Wilson Redus. Ken Phelps is slowly creeping into the race, but I think he will run out of time to actually catch the leaders.

Jose Munoz picked up 2 more wins on the season to raise his league leading total to 19 and career totat to 274. Looks like Munoz will battle Sean Geunther for top ERA in the league as the 2 continue to trade stays in the top spot on the leaderboard.

Luis Arreaz has fallen all the way to .315 on the season. Arreaz hit close to .350 through July, but has tailed off big time during the dog days of summer.

Carl Yastrzemski is now the league all time hits leader with 3200+. Yaz passed Mel Ott to take the lead. Sam Rice is on Ott's heels as well.

I'm wondering if this will be the final season for Ad Lankford? I'd still put the guy in my rotation, but he has taken a step back this season. I think he's currently 42 years old.

I'm really surprised with how the 71 season has played out. I expected much higher totals for the leagues home run leaders, but it's looking like the league leaders will finish the season in the high 30's. I had it in my head that this might be the year for someone to hit 50 again. Of course, watch that be next year, as I always expect 72-76 to be rather blah in terms of offense, before things get crazy for that 77 season.

Roberto Clemente has remained in the San Antonio Missions starting lineup for the entire 1971 season. Haven't seen him pick up a rookie of the month award yet, but he hasn't sucked by any means. He continues to play centerfield and hit in the bottom half of the lineup.

I think the end is near for Kirby Puckett and Sammy Sosa. Not sure either have done enough to make the Hall of Fame, but I give Puckett a better chance than Sosa. Sosa had some nice power years, but definitely fell below expectations.

The end for Felix Hernandez may also be approaching. Hernandez has pitched out the bullpen for all of 1971. I always forget that Felix's real life career ended at a rather young age. I say the end is near, but who knows, maybe the OOTP gods will grant King Felix a second life and let him continue on. Maybe he will become a force in the bullpen into his 40's. I doubt it, but one never knows.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by DCG12

Thanks for the info. I had my league set up and ready so I saved as a quick start and ran some tests. Using the small reserve roster resulted in the sign and release bug rearing it's ugly head. As an example the first player I saw in the transaction log was Lee Stange who spent the entire season jumping from team to team and getting released every other day. I really didn't want to go unlimited on reserves so I set it at 36 which is what I would set the lowest minor team if I was setting up minor leagues in a fictional league. This seemed to alleviate the problem.

The only other thing I noticed and changed was erasing service time. I think I prefer having free agency from the start and not waiting 6 years for that to happen.

Funny you mention service time. I've always started with service time, but have it my mind to try the opposite whenever I get around to creating another random debut league(hopefully that isn't anytime soon, though). Along with free agency, another thing starting with service time provides is, allowing for some of the mid career inaugural draft guys to actually qualify for Hall of Fame induction. Hank Aaron and Pedro Martinez both made the Hall of Fame in my league, but without the pre-added service time, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have met the requirements.

[David Watts]

Loving the fact that hitting .400 is turning out to be a huge challenge in this random debut. Of course, when I reach the 80's it may become more doable, but who knows? OOTP25 had me using the inflated adjust/weaken settings. For 3 year recalc setups, I was upping the hitting adjust/weaken settings to roughly 600/150. At first, I loved this, but over time, I began to see way too many players hitting .350+ and .400 was not as big a deal as I wanted it to be. For this league, I simply went with the default settings the historical wizard is set to, so I think it's 200/50. I'm sure this is probably pulling things more towards the middle as a whole, but I love what I'm seeing. Maybe, I go 300/100 in my next go round, but I doubt I will ever venture into the 600/150 range ever again.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by DCG12

Thanks for the info. I had my league set up and ready so I saved as a quick start and ran some tests. Using the small reserve roster resulted in the sign and release bug rearing it's ugly head. As an example the first player I saw in the transaction log was Lee Stange who spent the entire season jumping from team to team and getting released every other day. I really didn't want to go unlimited on reserves so I set it at 36 which is what I would set the lowest minor team if I was setting up minor leagues in a fictional league. This seemed to alleviate the problem.

The only other thing I noticed and changed was erasing service time. I think I prefer having free agency from the start and not waiting 6 years for that to happen.

Are you using the Negro League players in your league? I highly recommend doing so. They add so much to the game.

[DCG12]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Are you using the Negro League players in your league? I highly recommend doing so. They add so much to the game.

Yes I am. Two 8 team leagues no DH. 1961 is my start year because it was the last 16 team setup. 1986 league totals with auto calc each year. And I'm off and running.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by DCG12

Yes I am. Two 8 team leagues no DH. 1961 is my start year because it was the last 16 team setup. 1986 league totals with auto calc each year. And I'm off and running.

Good luck. Have fun.

[David Watts]

Peoria has now finished 6 straight seasons on top of the Northern Division. This season, 1971 is the first time they were forced into the final weekend before clinching the division. The Toledo Mud Hens were in it till the final Saturday before bowing out. The Mud Hens instead grabbed the first wild Card. The St Paul Saints notched the second wild card.

Tulsa wrapped up the Southern division on the final Thursday of the season.

The post season matchup
St. Paul Saints vs Peoria Chiefs
Toledo Mud Hens vs Tulsa Drillers

St. Paul and Peoria would play 6 games before the Saints pulled off the upset. Peoria has only 2 League Championship titles to show for their 6 straight trips to the post season.

The Tulsa Drillers made their first trip to the post season after a great season that saw them weather the loss of Nap Lajoie half way through the campaign. Sadly the Drillers stay in the post season was a short one. The Toledo Mud Hens won the series with 4 straight wins. Toledo was in control from the very start and cruised through the series.

The League Championship is now underway. Toledo won the first 2 games at home running their win streak to 6 straight in the post season. St. Paul took game three in their home stadium, so the series sits with Toledo up 2-1.

Tris Speaker's quest for .400 fell just 3 shy. Speaker finished the season with a .397 batting average. This is Speakers 3rd or 4th batting title in a row. The guy is basically in a league of his own. MVP honors are once again heading Speakers way, barring a huge surprize from the voters.

Edgar Wesley took home the home run crown. Wesley finished the season with 40 home runs. This is Edgar's first time leading the league. Ike Boone and Tony Armas finished in 2nd and 3rd place.

Jose Munuz led the league with 20 or 21 wins(at work). He also took home the leagues best ERA on the season.


The draft class was announced and it was not all that memeorable. In fact, at this time, the only person I really remember listed is Jacob DeGrom. I know there were a couple other interesting names, but no monster superstars this year.

[David Watts]

The Toledo Mud Hens are the 1971 International League Champions. The Mud Hens defeated the St. Paul Saints in 6 games to win their 3rd title in the teams 26 year history.

Tris Speaker was named the leagues MVP once again in a race that wasn't even close. Speaker hit .397 on the season and post a 14+ WAR, which was pretty much double that of any other offensive player in the league. Speaker is going to need a bigger house soon to store all his MVP trophies.

Juan Munoz took home Cy Young Honors. Now the question in regards to Munoz is, how close can he get to 300 wins during the 1972 season. He's currently sitting at 275.

Following a season in which he missed time due to injury, Hilton Smith starts the 72 season with roughly 170 wins.

Mark McGwire is finally starting for Corpus Christi in 1972. Guessing he will be a contender for Rookie of the Year honors before it's all said and done. It's kind of interesting that as McGwire begins his career with the Corpus Christi Hooks, his real life home run rival, Sammy Sosa is closing his out on the very same roster. Sosa is no longer a starter though, so the end is surely near.

Greg Maddux's first full season in the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rotation was somewhat of a roller coaster ride. He did show lots of promise though, so it will be interesting to see how much he improves in 1972.

Rick Reuschel is back at 40 years old after missing the majority of 1971 due to injury. Reuschel did come back late in September last year and ended up getting a post season start for Peoria. Hoping he can get the wins he needs to reach 250 career wins.

Really starting to get ticked at the Hall of Fame voters. Another year passes and Al Oliver fails to get the need votes for induction. Not sure what Oliver did or which voters he ticked off, but I will be one ticked off commissioner if he doesn't make it. The leagues first player to reach 3000 hits should be sure thing for the Hall.

Rumblings in Iowa. Cedar Rapids continues their quest to never pick lower than third in the amateur draft. The Kernels have been dreadful since entering the league in 1964(I'm pretty sure it was 64) Now, the owners of the team are talking like they may want to move the team to Davenport Iowa. Springfield Missouri has also been mentioned as a landing spot. I of course, as commissioner get final say, so at this time, they better just field a team and win some games. Who knows, maybe I push them to sell the team to the ownership group in Omaha that continue to beg for a franchise.

[David Watts]

Ugh! Just realized, I've been calling Jose Mendez, Jose Munoz. Sorry about that. That's what I get for posting from memory while at work

That being said, the correct Jose is now up to 284 wins. He's 38 years old and if it seems that his strikeout number are on the rise again.

[David Watts]

Man, playing with a one subleague setup can drive a person nuts. For some asshat reason it was decided several versions ago that one side of the screen will show the league standings and the other side shows the wild card standings. In the past the entire standings would display on the left side of the screen, leaving the entire right side blank.

For the most part I like change, but there's one huge problem. Unless you have a super resolution computer monitor, the league leaders are total mess. For one thing, only a very limited number of categories will display. Another thing is, you have to pretty much settle for a limited number of batting categories on the left side and a limited number of pitching categories on the right side. I can live with this. The problem is, the game just randomly decides to delete a category or two. Then you end up with 1-2 pitching categories on the left side. It's a never ending battle.

[David Watts]

Believe it or not, we're approaching the 1972 trade deadline and the Peoria Chiefs are 9 games out of 1st place in the Northern Division. Looks like Peoria's 6 year run at the top of the division is in serious jeopardy. It also appears like they may have to get hot to simply make the post season. Last years champs, the Toledo Mud Hens are currently sitting in 1st place in the North. The Lansing Lugnuts and the St. Paul Saints trail the Mud Hens by 4 and 4 1/2 games.

The Tulsa Drillers are back in the lead in the Southern Division. Their closest competitors are the Corpus Christi Hooks and the Memphis Redbirds

George Sisler currently sits atop the International League batting race with a .367 average. Tris Speaker who has won the batting title for 4 straight seasons is in second place with a .350+ average. Sisler's teammate Nap Lajoie is 3rd place in the race with a .320+ average.

Lansing's David Ortiz is currently the leagues top home run hitter with 28. Rookie phenom Mark McGwire of the Corpus Christi Hooks is on Ortiz's heels with 26 home runs.

Jose Mendez is tied with Rube Waddell for most wins, with 14. Mendez now has 290 career victories. He had an incredible Cy Young season last year and may be having an even better season in 72. Mendez is 14-2 on the season with an ERA just above 2. It's almost like he's getting better with age.

Wilson Alverez has come out of the blue to sport the leagues lowest ERA. Alverez hasn't been starting for long, as most of his earlier career was spent pitching out of the bullpen. Rube Waddell and Hilton Smith are his closest competition for the ERA title. All 3 pitchers have ERA's under 2.

Rube Waddell once again leads the world in strikeouts.

[David Watts]

Riley Greene appeared in my league a few years back. By the look of things, I will might be reporting Riley Green has left my league in the near future. Just not sure if Greene is going to amount to much. So far, he's been pretty blah. I was excited when he arrived, but now I'm just hoping for a development kick that gets him producing.

One ex Tiger that's stringing together some nice seasons is Jeremy Bonderman.

[David Watts]

Adley Rutschman is another modern day player that appears to be heading down the drain in spectacular fashion in this random debut. Rutschman has had periods of starting, but for the most part he's been a backup his entire career. His defensive ratings are pretty bad. Another guy I won't be surprised to see retire early.

Luis Arraez and Francisco Lindor are having decent careers. So is Nolan Arenado, but I've yet to have a current day player burst on the scene and become a superstar.

Rick Reuschel now has 251 career wins. Dude has an amazing 300 decisions over his long career.

[David Watts]

The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the St. Paul Saints to bring home their second International league title in a row. The 1972 title is the Mud Hens 4th, putting them one behind the Birmingham Barons who lead all with 5.

Ad Lankford retired following the 72 season. Lankford entered the league at age 31 and retires at 42. He finished his career 154-110, 3.09 with a 1.17 WHIP. Lankford totaled an amazing 2765 strikeouts over 12 seasons and posted a 64.8 WAR. Lankford led the league in strikeouts two times, with an unheard of 431 whiffed batters in 1968. Lankford whiffed 300+ batters 5 seasons in a row. Lankford won Cy Young honors 2 times during his career, 1966 and 1968. Ad won only one league championship, doing so in his only season pitching for the Peoria Chiefs during the 1970 season.
Lankford pitched in 8 out of his 12 season, making 19 starts tallying a 6-5 3.80 record. He whiffed 125 batters over 123 innings.

George Sisler became George Fizzler down the stretch in 72. His batting average fell from .367 to .345 over the last couple months of the season. Meanwhile, Tris Speaker got hot lifting his average to .368, to win another batting title. This was Speakers 3rd title in a row and his 5th over a 9 year career. Speaker has 1655 hits over his career and he's only 28. He's hitting and amazing .350 with a .424 OBP for his career. He already has 88.3 career WAR.

Speaker also took home league MVP honors. This was the 7th time Speaker has been named the leagues MVP. Even more amazing is he's won the award for 7 straight seasons. Not sure I've ever seen this type of dominance in one of my leagues before.

Mark McGwire hit an amazing 42 home runs during his rookie season in 72 to lead the league. This would earn McGwire to Rookie of the Year honors over Jacob deGrom in a very close race that went down to the wire.

Jose Mendez took home Cy Young honors. Mendez went 19-5, 1.95 to take home his 6th Cy Young award. Crazy thing is Mendez went winless over the course of the month of the season, as win number 20 became impossible to achieve. Mendez would turn things around in the post season, leading his wild card St. Paul Saints into the league championship series.

Rube Waddell nailed down the league strikeout title, whiffing 306 batters. This was Waddell's 3rd straight season leading the league in k's and 3rd straight 300+ strikeout season.

Carl Yastrzemski is now up to 3459 hits. He will start the 73 season at the age of 42.

Rick Reuschel finished the 1972 season on the IL with a torn flexor tendon. Reuschel remains there to start the 73 season. His team the Mud Hens won the title in 72, so Reuschel now has 3 rings to his name. He was 11-7 for the Mud Hens with a 2.87 ERA before going down with his injury on 9/17/72. Reuschel is now 153-151 over the course of his career. Sadly he became a free agent following the 72 season, so I have my doubts he will ever pitch again. At 41, I just don't know if anyone will take a flyer on him when he recovers.

[David Watts]

05/23/1973, Jose Mendez picks up win number 300 defeating the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7-2. Mendez is out to a 7-2 start in 73, at 39 years old, he's show no sign of slowing down. In fact, he may be on pace for his 3rd Cy Young Award in a row.

[David Watts]

36 year old Hilton Smith now has 192 wins. 8 more wins to becoming the 10th pitcher in league history to reach 200 wins.

Jose Mendez is 143 strikeouts from becoming the leagues first pitcher to reach 4000 strikeouts.

[David Watts]

July 18th, 1973--Tris Speaker is at it again hitting .405 and is on pace for 242 hits on the season. Will this finally be the year we see our first .400 hitter? Hope so. Speaker is getting on base at an amazing .489 clip.

[David Watts]

Just rolled into September 1973 this morning. Tris Speaker is now hitting .391, so he has some work to do to get back to .400. Crazy thing is, as his average has dropped his team, the Peoria Chiefs are once again playing good baseball and find themselves only a game or 2 out of the last wild card spot. The Chiefs were a game under .500 at the all-star break. This is the second year in a row that they've got hot in August and clawed their way back into the race.

Buck Freeman leads all in with 35 home runs. Bobby Murcer has 31 and Jesse Barfield had 28. Crazy thing is, Mark McGwire now has 24 home runs and is steadily working his way into the home run leaders. This is after his manager and GM left him on the reserve roster to start the season for a little over a month. Wonder how this will sit with him when he reaches his 7th season and is eligible for free agency?

73 has been a surprise to say the least, as the league ERA has ballooned to 4.00 leaguewide.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels sit atop the Northern Division. The St Paul Saints trail the Kernels by 2 1/2 games. The Saints have been surging as of late, so this race should be a good one till the very end. The Louisville Bats have a comfortable lead in the Southern Division. Their lead hasn't dropped below 6 games for months now, so not much excitement ahead for this race. That being said, the Memphis Redbirds are still in the wild card race.

[David Watts]

With just 5 games remaining in the 1973 season, only one playoff spot remains open. Cedar Rapids and Louisville have clinched the division titles. St. Paul has locked down wild card number 1. The Birmingham Baron's magic number for the 2nd wild card is down to 2.

Buck Freeman has 47 home runs to lead the league. Mark McGwire now has 30 home runs.

Fred Toney and Julio Urias have 20 wins tops in that category

Hilton Smith went down with an injury in September. He's had a rather blah 1973 season and still lacks 3 wins to reach 200 career wins.

Cecil Fielder has 21 home runs in his rookie season.

Tris Speaker's average has fallen to .388 on the season. Looks like another year will pass without a .400 hitter. George Sisler has been on fire, raising his average to .367. Bill Madlock is third in the batting race with a .340+ average.

David Ortiz now has 397 career home runs. .