HOB4 Our Story Begins

[Plutoro]

ha the MVP went to the last team in the league..

[Tiger Fan]

Originally posted by Plutoro
ha the MVP went to the last team in the league..

Yep, but it was one I awarded myself. Joe Dimaggio was named MVP of the league (which included the AL and NL). I had to give the award to Mize as only he, Fugazzi and possibly Matt Tierney deserved it. Despite being on a last place club, Mize led the league in rbi's and was practically the entire St Louis offense. I felt that was just enough to give him the nod over Fugazzi of the first place Giants.

.....       G   AB   H  2B 3B HR  RBI  R   AVG  OBP SLG

Fugazzi     147 595 195 43 13 36 116 114  .328 .364 .625

Mize        148 547 175 35  8 42 128 109  .320 .388 .644

In the future I will probably open it to a vote as I am sure many would disagree with Mize's selection because he was on a last place team and Fugazzi the pennant winning club.

[Tiger Fan]

Btw, here is my plan for military service players. I am going to create a new team named Military Service. It will not play any games but will be allowed to participate in the amateur draft and free agent signing period. All players that join it will be inactive until the war ends. Following the offseason period I will change the club to human owned so no trades can be made. In addition each team will lose two starters (top 4 pitcher or everyday position player) prior to opening day 1942.

I just thought of the extra team idea rather than manually retiring and unretiring all of these players. I will test it first because I am not 100% sure it will work but I believe there will be no problems.

[slackmeisterPA]

Tiger Fan,
You might need two of those Military Service teams, so that there are an even number of teams in the league.

[Tiger Fan]

thanks for the suggestion but I dont think so. The reason is that I have already made my own schedule and the military service team will not play any games. I believe the odd number teams is only a problem when you generate a schedule within the game. I will post my results when testing is done.

[Tiger Fan]

1941 PCL - VANCOUVER WINS FIRST TITLE
Despite making just 1 roster move of note the Vancouver Mounties improved from 4th place a year ago to win their first Pacific Coast League title in franchise history. The new player was actually a former Mountie, as Elmer Scully resigned with the club he pitched for in the mid-thirties. Scully (23-8, 3.57) and Eriq Brink (22-10, 3.80) gave the Mounties two great starters. Add in Willie Smitty (17-11) and Vince Rasimonwicz (15-12 before season ending arm surgery in September) and Vancouver had the best rotation in the league. Offense was not in short supply either as outfielder Ed June (.319,40,104) made his 5th straight allstar team. He received plenty of support from catcher George Wilmoth (.302,30,91), OF Guy Oswald (.291,22,80) and 2B Leroy Funchess (.313,13,64).

Third year man Ted Williams (.375,29,102) continued his rapid development, having the best batting average of any player in all 4 leagues. However, his San Diego Padres finished 2nd or 3rd for the 4th straight season.

Next came the Oakland Oaks, led by flamethrower Brian Sloby (19-14, 327k's) and a powerladen lineup led by catcher Rob Schwanke (.265,31,100), 2B Tyler Sick (.322,30,87) and outfielders Clifton Melt (.296,40,107) and Felix Bigeard (.255,31,72), Had Joe Medwick (.339,8,25) not missed 2 months with an injury the Oaks could have given the first place Mounties a real run for their money.

San Francisco, Hollywood and Portland were bunched up in the middle of the pack. The defending champion Stars lost some players to free agency but did have the PCL Cy Young winner in Roy Sherid (26-7, 3.25) while the 6th place Ducks could boast about rookie of the year Dustin Baldree (.207,21,47). 7th place Seattle led the PCL in homers but unfortunately had no pitching. Former number 1 pick Marius Russo (12-20, 4.78) has yet to pan out. For the second straight season the Los Angeles Angels suffered some serious free agency hits and slumped all the way to the bottom of the PCL. LA did avoid losing all-world first baseman Don Barrett (.283,42,127) when Barrett agreed to a 5 year extension in September.

1941 PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE STANDINGS



Team               W   L PCT  GB

Vancouver...       94 60  .610   - 

San Diego...       86 68  .558 8.0 

Oakland.           81 73 .526 13.0 

San Francisco..... 76 78 .494 18.0 

Hollywood..        74 80 .481 20.0 

Portland           74 80 .481 20.0 

Seattle            69 85 .448 25.0 

Los Angeles....    62 92 .403 32.0 



MVP -  to be decided by OOTP vote

Cy Young - Roy Sherid Hollywood

Rookie of the Year -  Dustin Baldree Portland



TOP 3 AVG

1-  Ted Williams SD       .375

2-  Tyler Sick Oak       .322

3-  Vince Schwartz Sea .320



TOP 3 HR

1-  Don Barrett LA      42

2-  Ed June Van         40

3- Clifton Melk Oak    40



TOP 3 RBI

1- Don Barrett LA      127  

2- Joel Jew Port        109

3- Clifton Melk Oak    107



TOP 3 WINS

1- Roy Sherid Hol     26-7  

2- Samuel Shimp SF   23-13

3- Elmer Scully Van   23-8



TOP 3 K's

1- Lonnie Smell Hol   346

2- Brian Sloby Oak    327

3- Elmer Scully Van  306

Next up the 1941 Mountain League regular season recap.

[NYJuggalo45]

tiger, excellent work as always, reading write along with every post

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally posted by Tiger Fan
Btw, here is my plan for military service players. I am going to create a new team named Military Service. It will not play any games but will be allowed to participate in the amateur draft and free agent signing period. All players that join it will be inactive until the war ends. Following the offseason period I will change the club to human owned so no trades can be made.

That's a very clever idea, Tiger Fan. Please keep us posted on how that turns out, as it is quite an interesting way of tackling the issue. You may have to play around with it some though to find the right level of finances to give this "team".

And I think you're right, as long as you don't generate a new schedule inside OOTP the extra team shouldn't matter.

Oh, and thanks for including the final standings in your reports.

[Tiger Fan]

Ho-hum Roadrunners class of Mountain League again
For the 6th straight season the Phoenix Roadrunners were crowned champion of the Mountain League. Many expected this was the season the Roadrunners would lose their grasp on top spot, with a 57 homer outfielder and a 27 game winning pitcher leaving via free agency. However, the Roadrunners had players step up to the fill the void and lost nary a step on the Mountain League competiton. 'Silent John' Whitehead, who once lost 24 games in a season for the White Sox, was the only notable free agent acquistion. Whitehead went 16-18 as the Roadrunners 4th starter. Last years number 2 and 3 starters Jamie Shellington (27-5, 2.94) and Bob Muncrief (20-14, 4.28) more than made up for the loss of Cy Young winner Josh Setwright to the Boston Braves. Shellington kept the top pitcher award in the desert by winning the first Cy Young of his career.

Offensively, Vince Sutera (.352,39,113) failed in a bid to win his second straight triple crown but was splendid nevertheless. Joe Selleck (.323,32,91) made Roadrunner fans immediately forget free agent defector Mitchell Senft and catcher John Snell (.291,26,81) continued the hot play he started by winning the World Series MVP a year ago. Can the Roadrunners continue the Mountain League dominance. It will likely be even tougher to repeat because all World player Vince Sutera has elected to test the free agent market. But if we have learned one thing over the past 6 years, it is to never count the Roadrunners out.

Salt Lake City finished second for the second straight season. A lack of pitching has always been the Bees weak spot. Third place Denver is finally showing signs of escaping a decade of mediocrity. The Bears have the big bats needed to succeed at hitter friendly Snow Peak Park but like the Bees are lacking consistant pitching. Albuquerque is another team on the rise as the 4th place Arrowheads topped the .500 mark for the first time
since 1928. The best pitching staff in the league, led by Cornelius Denul (21-14, 3.85) and ex-Cub Willis Hudlin (17-13,3.45) is the key to the Arrowheads success.

A decade ago Houston was the class of the Mountain loop, but the Buffaloes pennant hopes are close to extinct. 1940 PCL Cy Young winner Jerome Sigurdson (19-12, 3.91) was brought in from LA but he was not enough to get Houston back on track. The Buffaloes could boast about league MVP and homerun king Monk Sketo (.323,45,120). The 26 year old first baseman spent 5 seasons shuttling between Houston and AAA El Paso but he is now in the big leagues to stay. Kansas City has never won a Mountain League Pennant and, despite having 5 30-homer players in their lineup, the Blues appear a long way from ending the drought. Dallas, like Kansas City, has also never won a pennant. The Texans came close a couple of times a few years ago but are now on a downward spiral.

New Orleans is quite simply the worst franchise in professional baseball, with 9 last place finishes in the past 2 decades. The Pelicans have consistantly been a perfect example of how not to run a ball team - with bad trades. poor free agent signing and terrible draft picks. That trend may be starting to change, however, as the Pelicans now have the third best farm system in baseball. 1940 rookie of the year catcher Dennis Lei (.274,32,89) had a strong sophomore campaign and prospects Hank Sauer, Vern Stephens and Dom Dimaggio are on their way.

1941 MOUNTAIN LEAGUE STANDINGS



Team               W    L PCT  GB

Phoenix           91 63 .591   -  

Salt Lake City    87 67 .565 4.0  

Denver            83 71 .539 8.0 

Alburquerque      82 72 .532 9.0 

Houston           78 76 .506 13.0  

Kansas City       73 81 .474 18.0  

Dallas            63 91 .409 28.0 

New Orleans       59 95 .383 32.0 

 



MVP -  Monk Sketo Houston

Cy Young -  Jamie Shellington Phoenix

Rookie of the Year -  Harvey Endean Phoenix



TOP 3 AVG

1-  Vince Sutera Phoenix     .352

2-  Henry Gonatas Houston  .324

3-  Monk Sketo Houston       .323



TOP 3 HR

1-  Monk Sketo Houston            45

2-  Clifton Swietek New Orleans   45

3-  Mario Stentz Dallas               44



TOP 3 RBI

1- Monk Sketo Houston                  120  

2- Clinton McDonnell Kansas City    119

3- Sutera Pho/Wheare Pho              113



TOP 3 WINS

1- Jamie Shellington Phoenix        27-5 

2- Cornelius Denul Albuquerque    21-14

3- Bob Muncrief Phoenix                20-14



TOP 3 K's

1- Rodney Raddle Dallas           312 

2- Jamie Shellington Phoenix     269

3- Ray Erat Houston                   232

Next up the 1941 postseason recap.

[Tiger Fan]

1941 POSTSEASON

WESTERN SERIES - VANCOUVER MOUNTIES vs PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS
The Phoenix Roadrunners have played in 6 straight Western Series but have lost 5 of them. The only exception was a year ago when the Roadrunners beat the Hollywood Stars to end a 5 year Series losing streak. Phoenix looks to make it two in a row against the surprising Vancouver Mounties, a club making its first appearance in the Western Series.

Both clubs enter the series healthy as veteran Elmer Scully and the hometown Mounties prepare to host ex-Brooklyn Dodger Bob Muncrief and the experienced Roadrunners in game 1 at Mountie Stadium in Vancouver.

GAME 1 - Neither Scully nor Muncrief are particularily effective in the opener and the Mounties head to their final at bat trailing 5-4. Three Phoenix homeruns are the difference in the game thus far. Phoenix has reliever Gregory Pengelley on the hill. He relieved Muncrief in the 7th after Ed June had hit a solo homer to cut the Phoenix lead to a single run. Pengelley has no problem getting the first out - a William Gibney grounder that left the Mounties number 2 hitter 0-for-5 on the day. However, June, the Mounties best hitter, tries to start a rally with a 1-out double. The next batter - pinch hitter Theodore Larguier grounds out with June taking third on the play.

Two away and it is all up to Vancouver catcher George Wilmoth, who hit 30 homers during the season. The 28 year old Belton, South Carolina native sends the hometown Vancouver fans into a frenzy when he belts one over the wall in leftfield giving the Mounties a 6-5 win in the opener. Elmer Scully, who lost twice to Phoenix in the Western Series a year ago while pitching for Hollywood, gets his revenge in Game 1.


GAME 2 - A day later but a very similiar result. The Mounties rally for 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the second game by a 5-3 score. All 3 of Phoenix runs came on solo homers off of Vancouver starter and winning pitcher Eriq Brink. Rusty Ohman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the series. Phoenix starter Jamie Shellington was solid until falling apart in that 8th inning rally. Game 1 hero George Wilmoth had a key hit to start the rally and scored two runs on the day.

GAME 3 - Ed June homered and Larry Funchess had 3 rbi's as the Mounties took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 10-6 win in Game 3. Phoenix had 2 more homers in the game, giving them 8 on the series, but the Roadrunners inability to get baserunners for the big boppers hurt them once again.

GAME 4 - The Mounties complete the sweep thanks to another big game from catcher George Wilmoth. He went 4-for-4 with a homer to lead Vancouver to a 5-4 victory. Phoenix had just 4 hits off of Mountie starter Elmer Scully, but a 2 of them were homeruns including a 2-run shot in the ninth that made it close. The Mounties will now face the winner of the Giants-Indians series for the World Championship.

MAJOR LEAGUE SERIES - NEW YORK GIANTS vs CLEVELAND INDIANS
The Giants will be making their fourth postseason appearance, going 2-1 in World Series play. For the Cleveland Indians it will be their first meaningful games in October. The Giants enter the series healthy but the Indians will be missing both their number 3 and number 4 starters with injuries.

GAME 1 - The series opens in Cleveland with what should be a tremendous pitching duel. NL Cy Young winner Bob Simpkinson (29-8) toes the rubber for the Giants against Tribe ace Vito Tamulis (21-16). The Indians strike quick as Tony Cuccinello walks and Frank Westwell follows with a single to lead off the home half of the first. Both score on a 3-run homer from slugger Mitchell Senft. Senft hit 5 homers in 14 playoff games a year ago
while with Phoenix.

From then on Bob Simkinskon is nearly perfect, allowing no hits and just 2 walks the rest of the way. The problem for the Giants is that Tamulis is equally impressive, scattering 6 hits. New York never gets a runner past 2nd base and the Tribe win the opener 3-0.

GAME 2 - Again the Indians capitalize on a quick start. Jeff Heath and Skip Sheward homer in a 5-run first inning and the Tribe cruise to a 7-4 victory. Bob Feller pitches 6 innings for the win with Paul Derringer finishing the job off. Monte Pearson allowed just 5 Cleveland hits in 9 innings but takes the loss just the same.

GAME 3 - With a couple of injuries the Tribe are forced to start veteran Thornton Lee (7-9) on the mound in Game 3. This time it is the Giants who get the quick start, scoring 3 times in the first and winning 9-4. Jim Mooney went the distance for the win.

GAME 4 - George Dupee has 3 hits and 3 rbi's to pace New York to a 7-4 win evening the series at 2. Bob Simpkinson allowed just 5 Cleveland hits for the win while Vito Tamulis took the loss.

GAME 5 - Another 3 hit game for Dupee, who homered for the second straight day, as New York won it's third straight at the Polo Grounds - 5-2 was the final. Monte Pearson allowed just 5 Cleveland hits in earning the victory while 22-year old Bob Feller took the loss.

GAME 6 - For the third straight game George Dupee homers and the Giants win their fourth straight, this time by a 4-2 count. Dupee's solo blast in the top of the ninth provided some insurance for New York pitcher Jim Mooney, who allowed 6 hits in going the distance. Jeff Heath homered for Cleveland, his 4th roundtripper of the series. Thornton Lee dropped his second decision of the postseason.


1941 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK GIANTS vs VANCOUVER MOUNTIES

The Giants are heavy favourites as they take on the Cinderella Mounties.

GAME 1 - The series opens before a sold out crowd at the Polo Grounds. Bob Simpkinson, who pitched 11 seasons in the PCL with San Diego, has a no-hitter through 5. His opponent, Elmer Scully is working on a 2 hitter at the same time. In the top of the 6th, Simpkinson's no-no is broken up when William Gibney launches a solo homer for the game's first run. The Giants tie it in the bottom of the 6th when Simpkinson singles and scores on a Todd Droppa double. The game remains tied at 1 through 9 innings. Simpkinson retires the Mounties in order in the 10th and Vancouver looks to reliever Rusty Ohman to do the same to the homeside. It does not happen as Ed Roetz hits a 2-out double and Mike Wace, pinch-hitting for Simpkinson, drives him in with a game-ending rbi single.

Simpkinson would pitch a 4-hitter for the 2-1 win while reliever Ohman takes the loss for Vancouver. The Mounties allowed only 7 Giant hits.

GAME 2 - Another extra-innings thriller with the same result. This time George Dupee is the hero, launching a walk-off solo homer with 2 out in the bottom of the 11th to give New York a 4-3 win.

GAME 3 - The series moves west but the Giants continue to win. Both teams are out of synch following the long train ride from New York which allows the 2 pitchers, who travelled a day earlier, to look sharp. New York managed just 5 hits on the day but made the most of them scoring 5 runs in a 5-2 victory. George Dupee was the only Giant with more than 1 hit. Todd Droppa and Vince Barton homered for the winners. Jim Mooney earned his third win of the postseason, limiting Vancouver to 6 hits while losing pitcher Willie Smitty surrendered just 5 hits.

GAME 4 - A fantastic duel as Simpkinson and Scully keep the game scoreless through 9 innings. In the top of the 10th the Giants score a run thanks to 3 hits, including a Mike Wace double. Vancouver starter Elmer Scully had a 1-hitter going to that point.

However, Vancouver refuses to allow the Giants to sweep. The Mounties tie the game with a solo homer from George Wilmoth to lead off the 10th and win it in 11 on a Larry Funchess roundtripper. Giant reliever Jim Tennant allowed both runs in taking the loss. Marc Mariner got the win for Vancouver after relieving Scully to start the 11th.


GAME 5 - New York made sure the series would go no further, winning 7-1 behind another 3 hit performance from outfielder George Dupee, who hit his 5th homer of the postseason in the game. Monte Pearson allowed 6 Vancouver hits in going the distance in the series clincher. Eriq Brink took the loss.

Giant outfielder George Dupee was an easy choice as postseason MVP. Dupee batted .396 with 5 homers and 7 rbi's. The 34 year old from West Troy, New York, actually began his pro career with Vancouver before making stops in Denver, Albuquerque and Hollywood. He was signed as a free agent by the Giants prior to the start of the current season. A fourth round pick in 1927, few expected Dupee to evolve into the power hitter he has become. Dupee presently ranks 25th alltime on the major league career homerun chart with 313. However, it is to be noted that the list does not recognize any Western Alliance players who retired prior to the merger. Dupee does appear to have a solid chance at the Hall of Fame. Not bad for a player who was overlooked by all 16 major league clubs and did not get selected until the 4th round of the Western draft.

Next up the 1941-42 offseason as many players rush to defend their country.

[Tiger Fan]

1942 FREE AGENT SIGNING PERIOD
As much as last year was the time to grab a great starting pitcher, this free agent period is the year of the outfielder with a number of great ones available.

Most notably former Phoenix homerun king Vince Sutera and ex-Yankee slugger and reiging AL MVP Joe Dimaggio.


However, with the attack at Pearl Harbor it remains to be seen how many major leaguers will turn in their spikes for combat boots.

Details on that to come.

[Plutoro]

phoneix is just like seattle...they lose players but just keep winning.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally posted by Plutoro
phoneix is just like seattle...they lose players but just keep winning.

Wait till you see what happened to Phoenix with military service, and who they signed to replace the losses.

[Tiger Fan]

1942 DRAFT LIST
I have a bunch of things to cover before I go into detail on the draft - free agent signings, players lost to the war effort and some trades but for those of you who had players named in the draft here is the results.

All players with a * before their last name are created by OOTP community request.

Round 1:

New Orleans pick: P Warren Spahn
San Francisco pick: P Russ Christopher
zzMilitary Service pick: P Hi Bithorn
Brooklyn pick: P Johnny Sain
Philadelphia (A) pick: P Hank Borowy
Houston pick: P Bill Voiselle
Alburquerque pick: P Andy Lapihuska
Vancouver pick: LF Clyde Vollmer
Phoenix pick: P Paul *Dale
New York (A) pick: RF Ron Northey
Chicago (N) pick: SS Johnny Pesky
St. Louis (A) pick: LF Willard Marshall
Los Angeles pick: 1B Eddie Robinson
Chicago (A) pick: CF Leo *Emig Jr.
Boston (N) pick: RF Paul *Yuan
Philadelphia (N) pick: 2B Connie Ryan
Cleveland pick: CF Tommy Holmes
St. Louis (N) pick: P Hank Wyse
Seattle pick: RF Johnny Barrett
Boston (A) pick: CF Marv Rickert
Denver pick: P David *Gonzalez
Oakland pick: P Ray Poat
Pittsburgh pick: CF Jim Russell
Hollywood pick: C Cliff Dapper
Portland pick: 2B Buddy Blattner
Washington pick: LF Whitey Platt
San Diego pick: C Paul Gillespie
Detroit pick: 3B Jimmy Grant
Salt Lake City pick: C Charlie Fox
Kansas City pick: CF Thurman Tucker
New York (N) pick: P Dewey Adkins
Cincinnati pick: 3B Ellis Clary
Dallas pick: 3B Cy Block


Round 2 :

New Orleans pick: P Lou Tost
San Francisco pick: P Bob Savage
zzMilitary Service pick: 1B Ray Sanders
Brooklyn pick: P Len Perme
Philadelphia (A) pick: CF Ed Freed
Houston pick: SS Johnny Lipon
Alburquerque pick: P Sam Lowry
Vancouver pick: 1B Stan Rojek
Phoenix pick: 3B Leo Wells
New York (A) pick: LF Johnny Wyrostek
Chicago (N) pick: RF Frank Colman
St. Louis (A) pick: 3B Douglas *Vogt
Los Angeles pick: C Clyde Kluttz
Chicago (A) pick: P Ed Hanyzewski
Boston (N) pick: C Jim Castiglia
Philadelphia (N) pick: P Charlie Fuchs
Cleveland pick: P Lefty Wallace
St. Louis (N) pick: P Jesse Flores
Seattle pick: P Ray Scarborough
Boston (A) pick: C Chico Hernandez
Denver pick: CF Peanuts Lowrey
Oakland pick: P Ewell Blackwell
Pittsburgh pick: SS John Sullivan
Hollywood pick: 3B Damon Phillips
Portland pick: SS Bill Burich
Washington pick: P Joe Coleman
San Diego pick: 1B Ed Murphy
Detroit pick: C Al Unser
Salt Lake City pick: P Mel Queen
Kansas City pick: P Les Webber
New York (N) pick: 3B Ducky Detweiler
Cincinnati pick: 3B Joe Abreu
Dallas pick: P Stan Ferens


Round 3 :

New Orleans pick: P Frank Biscan
San Francisco pick: P Allie Reynolds
zzMilitary Service pick: P Paul Calvert
Brooklyn pick: P Earl Naylor
Philadelphia (A) pick: 3B Nanny Fernandez
Houston pick: LF Val Heim
Alburquerque pick: P Hardin Cathey
Vancouver pick: C Gardis *Pitts
Phoenix pick: 3B Billy Hitchcock
New York (A) pick: P George Diehl
Chicago (N) pick: 1B Ted Sepkowski
St. Louis (A) pick: C Al Lakeman
Los Angeles pick: P Bill Kennedy
Chicago (A) pick: C Mike Sandlock
Boston (N) pick: P Bill Donovan
Philadelphia (N) pick: P Pete Center
Cleveland pick: P Harry Shuman
St. Louis (N) pick: C Bill Peterman
Seattle pick: P Chet Kehn
Boston (A) pick: SS Dick Adkins
Denver pick: RF Max Marshall
Oakland pick: P Lou Bevil
Pittsburgh pick: P Maxton *May
Hollywood pick: SS Larry Eschen
Portland pick: 3B Aaron *Nation
Washington pick: P Jim Hickey
San Diego pick: 3B Buddy Blair
Detroit pick: LF Frankie Kelleher
Salt Lake City pick: 3B Howie Moss
Kansas City pick: 1B Bruce Konopka
New York (N) pick: C Otto Denning
Cincinnati pick: RF Bud Sketchley
Dallas pick: CF Bill Mueller


Round 4 :

New Orleans pick: RF Al Kvasnak
San Francisco pick: P Hilly Flitcraft
zzMilitary Service pick: SS Jeff Cross
Brooklyn pick: C Marv Felderman
Philadelphia (A) pick: LF Tony Criscola
Houston pick: C Hank Riebe
Alburquerque pick: P Ted Abernathy
Vancouver pick: SS Huck Geary
Phoenix pick: C George Yankowski
New York (A) pick: P Phil Mccullough
Chicago (N) pick: C Eddie Kearse
St. Louis (A) pick: 3B Bert Hodge
Los Angeles pick: C Benny Culp
Chicago (A) pick: 2B Ken Richardson
Boston (N) pick: 3B Ray Hoffman
Philadelphia (N) pick: CF Andy Gilbert
Cleveland pick: 3B Stan Galle
St. Louis (N) pick: LF Frank Mcelyea
Seattle pick: P Joe Berry

[NYJuggalo45]

i really like that idea for the military service....very original dude

looking forward to the FA signings

New Orleans clearly won the draft

[marc]

Well with my grandfather being the White Sox first round pick it looks like I'm now a huge white sox fan! Hopefully they have better luck in this sim then they do in real life

[Tiger Fan]

NEARLY 100 MAJOR LEAGUERS JOIN WAR EFFORT
Jan 2, 1942- Close to 100 major league players, including a number of superstars, have decided to give up there major league careers at least for the time being and enlist in the armed services. Major League baseball has decided that all players who leave their contracts to enlist in the war effort will have their contract honored for at least two years after they return. In addition, any minor league prospects will remain the property of their parent club for at least 3 years after the war is over.

Here is a complete team-by-team breakdown of the players who will not return to the major leagues until late 1945.

AMERICAN LEAGUE1941 stats beside name

BOSTON
C Harry Danning .318,8,78
OF Dusty Cooke .318,23,84
P Ed Carroll 13-15, 3.41

CHICAGO White Sox lose best power hitter and a solid SS
1B Kyle Werdman .262,44,103
SS Cecil Travis .332,5,76

CLEVELAND major blow for defending champs with Tamulis and Senft gone
P Harry Brecheen 3-2, 1.61 in AAA
P Vito Tamulis 21-16, 3.11
OF Mitchell Senft .268,41,122

DETROIT Sully will be missed
OF Stephen Greene .315,2,27 in AA/AAA
OF Aaron Wolfson .265,28,64 in Class A
OF Rob Sully .313,40,114

NEW YORK be tough to replace Gordon's offense at 2B
P Emil Bildilli 1-0, 3.06 in AAA
2B Joe Gordon .274,23,87
P Fred Hutchinson 7-5, 4.98 top prospect in AAA

PHILADELPHIA Nicholson is only key loss.
OF Bill Nicholson .253,21,86
2B Joe Gantenbein .246,5,44
P Red Anderson 12-17, 5.50

ST LOUIS 3 good young players leaving the Brownies
P Bob Carpenter 20-16, 4.57
OF Gregory McRory .253,17,72
OF Russell Veronese .250,29,88

WASHINGTON Not a big loss except for the catcher
P Jack Wilson 12-14, 4.55
P Wimy Quinn 7-2, 4.39 in AAA
C Jeffrey Ayre .328,9,65


NATIONAL LEAGUE
NEW YORK
Giants had luxury of being an old club with no regular under 30 so all they lost was prospects.
P Rube Fischer #1 prospect went 7-11 at AAA
P Woody Rich 4-6 at AAA
P Tom Gorman 5-5 at AAA
1B Todd Droppa .253,20,56

PITTSBURGH - loss of Heintzelman and Sifers will hurt.
P Ken Heintzelman 22-10, 3.67
2B Bid Sifers .292,25,106
P Robert Berry 5-6,3.73 at AA. top pitching prospect in organization.

CINCINNATI - Reds lose 3 key players
P Roman Goodwyn 23-9, 3.73
OF Adam Zetland .264,28,88
P Gene Schott 16-16, 4.33

BOSTON - losing Setwright, who won a Cy Young 2 years ago in Phoenix, is a major blow.
P Josh Setwright 22-11, 3.01
OF Milt Bocek .269,22,74
OF Gerard Mercatel .281,8,47 at AAA...can't miss prospect

BROOKLYN weak pitching staff made much weaker
P R.W. Pischetrieder 23-13, 3.01
P Steve Rachunok 1-10, 6.94, young pitcher with good potential
C Dale Feldt .220,12,53

PHILADELPHIA loss of Whitelegg will hurt.
3B Leon Whitelegg .347,13,66 1941 NL rookie of the year
P Jordan Sinnickson 8-7 in AAA
OF Pete Yunker .316,10,62

CHICAGO
2B Peter Thome .300,16,80
P Johnny Beazley 0-2 after Sept callup from AAA, Cubs top prospect.
OF Eric Steck .258,25,75

ST LOUIS
P Murry Dickson 1-1, 4.22
OF Kelly Unzueta .313,16,73


PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
HOLLYWOOD
1B Curt McLachlan .299,14,61
P Lonnie Smell 11-23, 4.88
OF Felix Walbeoff .265,23,74

LOS ANGELES major losses for the Angels.
1B Don Barrett .283,42,127 best powerhitter in PCL
P Mark Silverstein 17-17, 4.21
OF Lewis Bolcar .306,22,88

OAKLAND 3 regulars gone but none are irreplacable.
3B Eddie Kai .238,21,68
OF Felix Bigeard .255,31,72
P Ronald Urquhart 14-13, 4.36

PORTLAND no major losses
OF Dustin Baldree .207,21,47 PCL rookie of the year
P Brett Snow 19-18, 4.55
C Artie Sivils .286,13,67 in AAA

SEATTLE SS and 1B are now major weak spots.
1B Russell Govanlock .234,35,77
P Jose Shadegg 11-10, 4.72
SS Vince Schwartz .320,19,63

VANCOUVER loss of Brink will have serious impact on defending champs
P Eriq Brink 22-10, 3.80
3B Edgar Beudouin .264,17,46
OF Willie Pope .204,8,15

MOUNTAIN LEAGUE

ALBUQUERQUE some major holes in Arrowheads lineup now
1B George Chambers .280,24,73
OF Kelly McAndrew .297,24,76
C Adrain Tourney .297,16,52

DALLAS Texans lose 3 good young players
SS Mackenzie Dolnick .266,8,45 at AAA. 16th best prospect in the game
P Rodney Raddle 16-14, 4.62
OF Micheal Akhavein .268,18,67 at AAA

DENVER rotation suffers major blow and Venner will also be missed.
P Andy Bonner 19-14, 4.50
P Remmy Johnston 16-10, 4.48
OF Terry Venner .301,19,54

HOUSTON tough to find a team harder hit than Buffaloes.
1B Monk Sketo .323,45,123 reigning Mountain League MVP
OF Phillip Lund .269,11,62
P Jerome Sigurdson 19-12, 3.91

KANSAS CITY Shunk is only major loss.
C Bill Sellwood .268,8,18 backup C is a nice prospect
3B Mike Shunk .307,34,84
P Roy Shurmer 13-18, 5.01

NEW ORLEANS Pelicans loss 3 good young players
1B Aaron Rigney .293,14,41
2B Lou Stringer .211,0,1 in Sept callup. 5th best prospect in league
P Stephen Touchie 5-3, 5.57 decent prospect just 23

PHOENIX -huge losses for Roadrunners who also loss Vince Sutera to free agency
3B Harvey Endean .262,20,54 Mountain League Rookie of the year
OF Danny Metrik .322,20,48 was earmarked to replace Sutera in leftfield
P Jamie Shellington 27-5, 2.94 Cy Young winner

SALT LAKE CITY Bees lose three quality players.
OF Rich Giss .308,20,67
P Jason Severin 19-13, 5.03
SS Thomas Usilton .293,27,88

FREE AGENTS AND AMATEUR DRAFT ELIGIBLE PLAYERS WHO JOINED THE WAR EFFORT
P Cedric Sepulveda 27 spent most of career in Salt Lake farm system
P Ron Shiley 27 appeared in 5 major league games for Oakland and Brooklyn last year
P Jim Peterson 33 spent last year in AAA
P Nelson Raab 33 just 51 big league innings in 12 year career.

P Hi Bithorn 25 year old draft eligible player from Santurce Puerto Rico
1B Ray Sanders 25 year old draft eligible from Bonne Terre Mo.
P Paul Calvert 24 year old draft eligible from Montreal Quebec
SS Jeff Cross 23 year old from Tulsa Okla.

[Tiger Fan]

1942 FREE AGENT PERIOD
With so many major leaguers joining the armed forces every team in the league had several holes and some money available to fill them, making this one of the most hectic bidding wars in league history. The big prizes in the free agent sweepstakes were outfielders Vince Sutera and Joe Dimaggio.

The Detroit Tigers were the winners of the fight to ink Sutera, the most dominant player in the Mountain League the past 5 years. The 31 year old Riverside, California native has hit 188 homers over the past 4 seasons including 60 in his triple crown year of 1940.

With Sutera gone the Phoenix Roadrunners needed a big bat to fill the void in outfield and they got one in Joe Dimaggio. The 27 year old two-time AL MVP had planned on either resigning with the Yankees or playing for his hometown San Francisco Seals but the Roadrunners offer was too good to pass up. "This is a class organization with a winning tradition," said Dimaggio. "Much like where I left. My first choice was to remain a Yankee but it just wasn't to be. Although I feel I will be very happy here."


Other big signings include

P Steve Skerl to the Braves - The 30 year old Skerl becomes the league's highest paid pitcher despite going just 10-14 a year ago for Houston. The Braves overpaid on Skerl but they needed a starting pitcher badly.

OF Jeff Heath to the Browns. Heath, the AL MVP in 1940 will be a big addition after bolting from Cleveland.

OF Walter Tedrow and OF Chuck Klein to Los Angeles. The 36 year old Tedrow has been a solid CF in Albuquerque for over a decade. 38 year old Klein is nearing the end of his career but he did hit 21 homers for the Braves a year ago.

1B Joel Jew to San Francisco - ex Portland Duck will improve the Seals offense. He hit .280 with 38 homers a year ago.

P Samuel Shimp and OF Harvey Barnes to the Cubs - Shimp won 23 games a year ago for San Francisco and should be Cubs ace. Barnes finished his season with World Champion Giants after beginning it in Hollywood. Hit .285 with 21 homers a year ago.

P Leroy Sleasman to Pittsburgh. In an attempt to replace Ken Heintzelman, who enlisted, the Bucs look to Salt Lake hurler Sleasman. He was 12-11 a year ago. They were heaving in the bidding for Samuel Shimp and Steve Skerl until the price got too high.

P Thornton Lee to the White Sox. Because pitching was at a premium, the White Sox overpaid (4.7 million) to get the 36 year old Lee who went 7-9 for the Indians.

P Van Mungo, P Dee Moore, P Larry French, P Willie Smitty and 3B James Cain to the Yankees. Yankees can't make up for the free agent loss of Dimaggio and Joe Gordon joining the military but they tried, shelling out $24 million per season for these 5. Mungo was 19-7 with the Red Sox a year ago, Moore 12-22 for New Orleans, French 4-5 with San Diego, Smitty 17-11 for Western Champion Vancouver and Cain hit .257 in spot duty for Phoenix.

P Damon Sinden to the Giants 34 year old former Salt Lake City pitcher adds even more depth to the Giants, who return basically the same team that won it all a year ago.

P Jimmy Pattison to Brooklyn - reliever had 7 saves for Detroit a year ago but the Dodgers real need is starting pitching.

1B Gus Suhr to Houston - Can the 36 year old who hit 14 homers for the Pirates a year ago replace reigning Mountain League MVP Monk Sketo? Most experts say its doubtful but he was the best 1B the Buffaloes could land.

[Tiger Fan]

1942 - THE MORE THINGS CHANGE...
With so many big name players joining the war effort, many felt the 1942 season would be a crapshoot with every team having a chance at a pennant. Well, in the end it was the same teams that dominated the previous couple of years that were making the most noise atop the standings. In fact, three of the four pennant winners from last season either won their league again or finished second. The lone exception was Vancouver, where the cinderella Mounties crashed from first to worst. The Hollywood Stars, champs in 1940, won one of the tighest races in PCL history as just 5 games seperated the top 5 clubs.

In the National League the New York Giants had little trouble repeating as they were clearly the class of the Senior Circuit. Cleveland repeated as American League champ but the Indians were given a real scare from Detroit. In the Mountain League, the Phoenix Roadrunners took another huge hit on talent but the addition of Joe Dimaggio nearly earned the 'runners their 6th straight pennant. Instead it went to Albuquerque as the Arrowheads finished 6 games ahead of second place Phoenix.

Here is a brief league by league recap.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers battled down to the wire with both clubs winning 12 of their last 15 games. In the end, the Tribe won their second straight pennant finishing 2 up on the Tigers. Chicago should have been in the hunt for it's first title since 1935 but the pale hose dropped 11 of their last 15 and finished 6 off the pace.

Despite the loss of their best pitcher and top hitter to military service, the Cleveland Indians were the class of the league. 36 year old Paul Derringer, who was 0-2 a year ago, took full advantage of his oppprtunity to join the rotation. Derringer, who 3 times in his career won 18 games, shocked the baseball world by going 27-9 to win the first Cy Young Award of his career. A couple of other 30-something pitchers gave the Tribe a terrific rotation - E.P. Fulmer was 19-14 while fomer Seattle ace Franklin Fermin went 20-12. The offense was generated by committee as no one really stood out.

Detroit, which has been mirred in the second division the last 3 years, put everything together with the addition of one player. Vince Sutera, who won the triple crown 2 years ago with Phoenix, had a big year for the Tigers (.293,34,129). Another ex-Phoenix player, first baseman Nick Tenan (.284,35,112) gave Sutera the protection he needed in the batting order. Eldon Auker, followed up the breakout year he had last season as a 31 year old, by going 27-11 and challenging for the Cy Young. Tommy Bridges (19-12) and Dizzy Trout (17-17) also played key roles.

The White Sox probably had the most talent this season but a late slump killed their pennant chances. Tiny Bonham (23-12) appears fully recovered from the elbow injury that cost him most of his sophomore season. Thornton Lee (19-17) was an expensive free agent pickup but he served his purpose. 32 year old outfielder Francisco Westley (.366,20,86) had a breakout year and won his first batting crown. 35 year old Sean Jolivet (.298,31,104) helped Comiskey Park fans forget power hitter Kyle Werdman, who enlisted in the army.

Van Mungo won 22 games but the Yankees, without Dimaggio (free agency) and Joe Gordon (military service) all season and Charlie Keller (injury) for the last half, could not compete with the big three. Jeff Heath (.335,49,146) won the second MVP of his career, but the free agent pickup found out quick he did not have the same supporting cast with the Browns that he previously enjoyed in Cleveland.

Boston lost 3 key players to the war effort and the Red Sox were never in contention. Catcher Nick Gray had 30 homers and became a fan favourite in Philadelphia. Gray won the 1941 AL rookie of the year. The other bright news for the A's was Stan Musial hit .398 in AAA to earn a July promotion to the big club. He batted an amazing .392 in 56 major league games and received some consideration for the rookie of the year award this year.

The Washington Senators had some power in outfielders Chet Grable (.278,32,106) and Ronnie Decarneillon (.244,36,82) but only one decent starting pitcher in Orville Armbrust (19-8, 3.23) and, as a result, finished last for the second straight year.

1942 AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS



Team.              W   L PCT  GB 

Cleveland..       88 66 .571     -  

Detroit           86 68 .558  2.0 

Chicago (A).. .   82 72 .532  6.0 

New York (A)....  81 73 .526  7.0 

St. Louis (A)..   79 75 .513  9.0 

Boston (A)..      72 82 .468 16.0 

Philadelphia..    67 87 .435 21.0 

Washington....    61 93 .396 27.0 





MVP - Jeff Heath St Louis

Cy Young - Paul Derringer Cleveland

Rookie of the Year - open for vote



TOP 3 AVG

1- Francisco Westley Chi   .366

2- Frank Skaff Wash        .348

3- Jeff Heath StL          .335



TOP 3 HR

1- Jeff Heath StL            49

2- Ronnie Decarneillon Wsh   36

3- Nick Tenan Det            35



TOP 3 RBI

1- Jeff Heath StL            146

2- Vince Sutera Det          129

3- Terry Moore StL           122



TOP 3 WINS

1- Paul Derringer Cle         27-9

2- Eldon Auker Det            27-11

3- Tiny Bonham Chi            23-12



TOP 3 K's

1-  Van Mungo Bos         289

2- E.P. Fulner Cle        250

3- Franklin Fermin Cle    209

Next up the NL recap

[Tavarin]

Wait, so Mackenzie Dolnick went to war, so now what?