Home | Webstore
Latest News: OOTP 25 Available - FHM 10 Available - OOTP Go! Available

Out of the Park Baseball 25 Buy Now!

  

Go Back   OOTP Developments Forums > Out of the Park Baseball 25 > OOTP Dynasty Reports

OOTP Dynasty Reports Tell us about the OOTP dynasties you have built!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 10-21-2019, 09:36 PM   #1
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
Boston Minutemen of the FABL- An Online Dynasty

This dynasty thread is an extension of a much greater story told by legendsport and I would encourage people to read it by clicking here. I have had the opportunity to join this great league and here is my interpretation of how things unfolded told mostly from my clubs (Boston) perspective.

A History of Baseball in Boston

The city of Boston can trace it’s baseball roots back to the mid-1850’s as they were one of the original big cities to be caught up in the craze known then as Base Ball. The game was played in and around the city for over a decade under various different rule sets. During the Civil War years, New Yorkers are credited with spreading their version of the game and increasing Base Ball’s popularity. However, there are many a Bostonian who would challenge the fact that it was only New York soldiers responsible for the growth of the game in this manner. Philadelphians may have something to add to this point as well. Nevertheless, whoever deserves the lionshare of the credit will most likely be debated for all time, this does not change the fact that the game did grow in popularity. Rudimentary leagues were to follow but none of them could take hold until William Washington Whitney was successful in creating the “Century League”. The Century League consisted of eight clubs with the Boston Pilgrims being one of them. In fact the Pilgrims traveled to Philadelphia to play the Centennials in the first ever Century League game on April 22nd, 1876 (Boston won the game 5-2). Boston’s first season in the Century League was not without controversy as Philadelphia posted the league's best win percentage, but Boston was awarded the crown based on the fact that they won the most league games.

1877-

Early on in the Century League there was a lot of instability with clubs and rosters. Boston fresh off their controversial crown did not have the same showing in 1877. The team finished a lackluster 31-29 and placed fourth out of six teams. Bill Badway was a bright spot for the Pilgrims as he hit .376 in his rookie campaign.

1878-

Boston’s downward spiral continued in the six team Century League in 1878. The club was never able to compete at a high level as the other club owners did a much better job than Boston did at filling their rosters with quality players. The Pilgrims finished in last position with a 20-40 record and a distant 27.5 games out of first place.

1879-

The Century League was back to eight clubs for the 1879 season and the Pilgrims were able to lift themselves out of the bottom position. Boston finished right in the middle of the pack in fourth place with a 41-43 record. While the Pilgrim’s record was a 21 win improvement, there was still a lot of room between Boston and first place Brooklyn, who were 20.5 games better than the Pilgrims.

1880-

1880 featured more instability for the Century League and the Pilgrims. The league couldn’t keep teams and Boston yo-yoed themselves back toward the basement of the league standings. Boston finished a dismal 33-52 which was good for seventh place. Only the New York Knights had a worse record than the Pilgrims.

1881-

Boston finally found some talent worth mentioning for the 1881 season and it definitely showed in the standings. The Pilgrims were led on the mound by Jason Young (who posted 42 wins) and veteran Daniel Fallow. At the plate by rookie Jimmy Casimir was one of two players to hit double digit homers with ten on the season. Still, the Pilgrims finished eight games out of first with a 45-38 record. While a fourth place finish isn’t something to normally get excited for, at least the Pilgrims seemed to be trending in the right direction.

1882-

The greater story of the season was the introduction of a rival league with the intention of challenging the dominance of the Century League. The new league was called the “Border Association” and it would feature six clubs (4 American and 2 Canadian). New league or not, the Pilgrims could not get over the middle of the pack hump as they finished in fourth place with a 44-40 record.

1883-

As the Border Association and Century League continued to battle behind closed doors the Pilgrims were in a fight in the standings. For the second time in the clubs history they would be embroiled in a controversy at the top of the standings. Boston put together a wonderful season and were neck and neck with both the Brooklyn Unions and the Chicago Chiefs (owned by league President William Whitney). Brooklyn faded toward the end of the season but Chicago and Boston finished in a dead….sort of. Boston finished with 62-36 and Chicago 63-37. The last time this happened (1876) winning percentage was trumped by overall wins and Boston took the crown. This time however, winning percentage was honored and Whitney was begrudgingly forced to award the title to Boston as they finished with a slightly better winning percentage (.633 to .630). So by the slimmest of margins Boston claimed their second Century League crown.

1884-

1884 was a year of growth as many independent leagues started popping up. The talent in these leagues could not match those of the Century and Border but two in particular, the Dixie League and the Western Federation were a step above the rest. On the topic of growth, the Border Association swelled to ten clubs as they continued to put pressure on the Century League for overall dominance. The Century League saw growth themselves, not through any club additions but through schedule length. Schedules have been consistently rising but for the first time a number of clubs would play over 100 games in a season. Boston, behind the arm of Johnny Thompson’s 32 wins, led the Pilgrims to their first truly undisputed championship as they finished two games better than Chicago at 75-40. For the second straight year Whitney’s Chicago club lost out on the title to Boston. While that may have rankled him to a point, Whitney would have bigger problems on his hands soon enough. As for the Pilgrims, their days were numbered as well.

1885-

Boston’s owner Jason Kirkham was no fan of William Whitney’s. He felt Whitney was strong arming the other owners which comes as a bit of a shock when you look at how Whitney sided with the Boston club in both of it’s controversial title claims. One of those claims denied Whitney’s own team in Chicago the right to claim themselves champions. The real fight however was between Whitney and the Bigsby family and its roots can be traced back to the dawn of the Century League now celebrating its tenth season. Bigsby was upset with Whitney for a variety of reasons but upon closer examination none of them really had anything to do with Kirkham in Boston. For some reason, probably lost to history, Kirkham threw his support behind Bigsby and it would spell the end for the Pilgrims in the Century League. On the field Boston could not hold onto their best players as many jumped to the highest paying bidders in both the Century and the Border. Boston wound up 40-73, a pathetic 51.5 games out of first. Technically, Boston only fell to seventh in the standings but they really fell through the floor and out of the league when Kirkham pulled his club with Bigsby after his failed coup. Ironically though, Boston could and probably should have stayed as Whitney stepped down as League President. Kirkham really backed himself into a corner and it cost him his club.

1886-

1886 was a dark year for Bostonians as it marked the first time the city did not have a professional club to cheer for in the Century League. There had been a team in Providence since 1882 but Providence was not Boston. For a city with such a baseball tradition and following this was pretty unforgivable and Bostonians made that fact known.

1887-

Thanks to the instability of professional baseball in the 19th century it would only be a single season that Bostonians would have to suffer without a team in a top league. When the St. Paul Crusaders left the Century League to return to the Western Federation (minor league circuit) new League President Ned Wilson saw this as a prime opportunity to get a large market team back into the Century League. The new club would be called the “Minutemen” in a fabulous nod to Boston’s revolutionary past. The Minutemen really only had a minute (pun intended) to put together a roster and it showed on the field as they finished with a record of 52-74 good for seventh place in an eight team setup. Bostonians gave the club a free pass however, as they were just excited to have a team to cheer for once again.

1888-

1888 was a very stable year for both the Century League and Border Association. Without any real name power on the squad the Minutemen limped to another seventh place finish at 57-80 while Providence was putting the finishing touches on their third straight Century League crown. Providence, being the smaller city, took great pride in throwing these facts in the face of Bostonians. Unfortunately for supporters of the Providence club, they would lose their team that winter to mismanagement of money and escalating player salaries. Some of those Providence Gems would find their way to the Boston roster for 1889.

1889-

With a slightly improved roster the Minutemen began a slow climb in the standings. With the focus on pitching the Boston club was able to put together a respectable 68-65 record which was good for a fourth place finish. As the decade drew to a close it looked as both the Century League and Border Association had found level ground. Then the Bigsby Family struck again. Their shot would land and eventually blow the roof off on professional baseball like nothing before it had.

1890-

In a calculated move the Bigsby family rounded up a group of “investors” and started a third major league. Their league would be called the “Peerless League” and Boston would have a stake in it with their club called the “Brahmins”. Just four years removed from having zero major league representatives the citizens of Boston would now have two teams to support. With a second team in town, and a punchless Minutemen roster, the scene was ripe for the fan division that followed. The Minutemen finished with a 72-68 record which was good for a sixth place finish (Win totals were inflated as Pittsburgh went 28-112). In the Peerless, the Brahmins also finished sixth with a 58-71 record but they outdrew the Minutemen attendance wise. SS Paul Rogers led the Brahmins in most offensive categories and 25 year old right hander Preston Royal was easily their best pitcher notching 129 strikeouts in 303.1 innings of work for the season.

1891-

The Peerless League was built on the philosophy of spending. They were going to raid teams in the Century and Border and try to drive them out of business. Of course the Century and Border would not go quietly into the night and fought back. This resulted in operating costs that would put all three of the leagues in jeopardy. On the field though, the tactic worked real well for the Brahmins in the Peerless. They finished first by a single game over the Philadelphia Maroons in an exciting pennant race that lasted the entirety of the season. A winning team will do wonders for a club as the Brahmins became the city darlings and the slightly older Minutemen with their 64-76 seventh place finish became the city doormats. In defense of the “frontrunner” argument, the Minutemen were only three years older than the Brahmins. This may have been a different story if Kirkham wouldn’t have pulled the original Boston franchise out of the Century League. When big business tampers with fans loyalty prepare to get burned. Even still, it was becoming clear that three top league would not be sustainable. However, William Whitney, who had been playing a fifteen year game of chess with the other owners and leagues, was about to checkmate all parties and save the game.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 09:53 PM   #2
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
Fabl: 1892-1900

1892-

Whether Whitney was really playing a long game or was a visionary ahead of his time can be debated. What can’t be debated was that all three leagues were in trouble and Whitney had a consolidation plan that he felt would save the game. Through careful, sometimes shrewd negotiation, Whitney was able to create a brand new league called the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues (FABL). The FABL would consolidate the Century, Border and Peerless Leagues placing them and some of the lower leagues under the same umbrella. At the top level the FABL would feature two, eight team associations called the “Federal” and "Continental”. Some of the lower leagues like the Dixie and Western would act as club affiliates. The few sentences provided here about the FABL’s creation simply provide a quick synopsis of what was a seriously complicated situation. On thing to mention though is that in all of this chaos the one thing that was universally accepted amongst owners was to effectively subjugate the players by implementing a reserve clause.

As for Boston they would field a team in the FABL’s “Federal Association” as the “Brahmins”. The Minutemen would be folded with financial compensation paid to the owner. Other clubs in the Federal were the Chicago Chiefs, Detroit Dynamos, New York Gothams, Philadelphia Keystones, Pittsburgh Miners, St. Louis Pioneers, Washington Eagles.
In the “Continental Association” the teams were the Baltimore Clippers, Brooklyn Kings, Chicago Cougars, Cleveland Foresters, Montreal Saints, New York Stars, Philadelphia Sailors, Toronto Provincials.
Although the Brahmins finished as champions of the Peerless in 1891 the new FABL provided a different environment. Without the ability to raid other clubs of talent as effectively as in the past, Boston struggled to compete, and finished 59-74 which was good for sixth place.

1893-

1893 begins the championship era of professional baseball. In the second season of it’s existence the FABL decided to pit the winners of each “Association” against each other in a seven game series to declare an ultimate yearly champion. This is something that supporters of the game had been in favor of for years as it would put an end to many long standing debates about which team was truly the best after each season. It should be noted that there were a contingent of fans that felt the act of arguing and debating was what made the game great and that a championship series would ruin that. In the years to follow that argument would wane as the idea of a single series between the Federal and Continental Associations would become maddeningly popular.
Boston finished in third place in the Federal with a 71-69 record. This was an improvement from the season before but they were still 16 games short of pennant winner New York. In the Continental the Philadelphia Sailors were three games better than the Chicago Cougars setting up a New York Philadelphia matchup for the title.
Joe Carney led the New York Gothams to a 4-1 series win over the Sailors. Maybe symbolically, the first team to win a league championship hails from the same area that claims the games birthright.

1894-

The 1894 Federal Association pennant race would be one for the history books. Last seasons champions the Gothams along with Philadelphia and Washington teamed up with Boston to make an epic pennant race that summer. Led by Charles “Eagle Eye” Taylor the Brahmins were one game better than both Philadelphia and Washington as they earned their first FABL pennant. The Continental Association also featured a great pennant race as Philadelphia held off the New York Stars by two games to take their second consecutive Continental pennant. For the second year running the Federal team proved to be the league best as Boston with it’s collection of five .300 + hitters defeated the Sailors in six games. The summer would be remembered as a special time for all Bostonians as they were completely swept up in the pennant race. Brahmins owner Steve Cunningham saw himself as a man of the people and would routinely by rounds at a local pub called “McGreevey’s” after a Boston victory. McGreevey’s business soared through the summer months and it became known as the home for supporters of Boston baseball.

1895-

The Brahmins themselves must have spent a few too many late nights at McGreevey’s because they were a victim of the championship hangover in 1895. Boston limped out of the starting gate and was never able to get a foothold on their season. New York on the other hand with a reconfigured lineup blew past all competition to the pennant with a 105-35 record. In the Continental, the Chicago Cougars went 95-45 and were 18 games better than their nearest competition setting up a very compelling championship series between two undisputed powerhouses. For the third year in a row it was the Federal Association team that proved to be the best as they took out Chicago in six games with the final one being a 20-8 game.

1896-

The 1896 season was another season of dominance for the New York Gothams in the Federal Association. The Brahmins finished a disappointing 54-86 which was good for seventh place a full 41 games behind New York who finished 95-45. In the Continental, Chicago’s 90-50 record was two games better than Philadelphia setting up a cross country rematch for FABL supremacy. The World Championship Series, as it was now being called, went all seven games for the first time ever. New York won game one before Chicago took the next two but dropped the fourth. With the series tied at two, Chicago won a pivotal game five but could not close of the Gothams as they game six 5-4 and game seven 9-7. New York was back to back champions(also three time winners) and the Federal Association was four out of four in the championship series.

1897-

The problem with consistently winning is that your players consistently want raises for their efforts. While the owners still held the majority of the control there were avenues a player could take to get themselves free of an organization. The Gothams ran into this problem and consequently lost some of their top talent. The effects were dramatic as they were unseated at the top of the standings in the Federal Association. Boston actually finished higher than the three time champs but were still six short in the division with an 80-60 record and a fourth place finish. The new darlings of the Association were the Washington Eagles who finished with an 86-54 record which was four better than the Keystones of Philadelphia. In the Continental the Philadelphia Sailors found a way to outlast the Cougars of Chicago setting up a Washington/Philadelphia championship. The Sailors would make FABL history by being the first team from the Continental to capture the title as they beat the Eagles in six games.

1898-

The Boston bats came alive in ‘98 as John Jones led the Federal in hitting with a .376 average. Jimmie Dunn’s 13 homers led the circuit in that category and Martin Thomas knocked in 107 runs to take that honor as well. The problem in Boston was from the mound and it would cost the Brahmins big as they finished a mediocre 70-70, good for fifth place. The pennant race was a good one with four teams battling for the pennant in the final week of the season. When the dust cleared it was Pittsburgh who sat atop the standings for the first time in Federal Association history. In the Continental, another bit of history was made when the Toronto Provincials took the flag and the right to play in the World Championship. The World Championship Series finally lived up to its moniker as Toronto beat Pittsburgh 4-1 to become the first non-American team to claim a championship.

1899-

Martin Thomas led the Brahmins offensively in 1899 but he did not have much support as the Brahmins made a home toward the bottom of the standings all year. The team finished with a 64-76 record which put them in a sixth place tie with Chicago. Pittsburgh was once again the world championship representative from the Federal Association while the Cougars represented the Continental. The Cougars took the title in five games giving the Continental Association their third straight championship. Next year will be the end of a century. However, the next century looks very promising for the sport of baseball as the FABL appears to have a stable foundation and staying power.

1900-

1900 was the 25th anniversary of professional baseball. A time of celebration for fans of the game. Unless of course you were a Boston Brahmin fan. Other than the super loyal rooters who took up permanent residence at McGreevy’s most people avoided the dismal Brahmins that season as they finished dead last at 54-86. Offensively the team could still bat as they hit above league average as a team (.277). The problem was once again on the mound as the team walked 477 batters and gave up 39 long balls. Something needed to happen soon or Cunningham would have a real problem on his hands.
As for the rest of the FABL Pittsburgh from the Federal and Chicago from the Continental were going to face off for the title for the second season running. For the Miners it was their third straight trip to the World Championship and similar to the previous two times they fell short as Chicago took the series in five games. It was Chicago’s fourth time to the series and their second title in a row. No club in FABL history has ever won three in a row. Chicago was looking to do just that going into 1901.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-21-2019 at 09:55 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 10:09 PM   #3
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
Fabl: 1901-1910

1901-
The owner of the Brahmins Steve Cunningham knew he had a problem. If his team kept lingering at the bottom of the Federal Association he was going to quickly lose his fan base. Cunningham decided to act before it was too late. Cunningham traded for a brand new middle infield in SS Fred Roby and 2B Jacob Waters, he threw his money around and signed SP Woody Trease and found gold in rookie SP Bill McDaniel. The additions paid dividends immediately. Boston shot up the standings settling into second place with a 85-48 record. The Brahmins finished seven games behind the Pittsburgh Miners who were on their way to claiming the pennant in the Federal for the fourth consecutive year. In the Continental the Chicago Cougars would not get a chance to win the World Championship Series for the third consecutive year because the Cleveland Foresters proved to be the better club by eight games. For Pittsburgh the fourth time would be the right time as Pittsburgh steamrolled Cleveland and took the series in four straight. Miners’ fans were justifiably excited in claiming their first title, had they known what was coming next, they may have celebrated just a bit harder. Boston was about to run roughshod on the Federal Association.

1902-

Cunningham had a vision and it was about to come to fruition. For starters, he felt that his club needed a new look. Aside for 1894, the Brahmins were never really a club that had much success. However, before we get into the team we need to look at the field. Cunningham knew he had a good club in the making and he went and doubled down and created a ballpark that was fit for a champion. It was cathedral for it’s time. Famous FABL historian “legendsport” is quoted as saying in his ongoing work on the FABL “Cunningham Field opened in 1902 and was - for its time - a true baseball palace. Constructed of concrete and steel, Cunningham Field was the first of its kind and imitators would soon follow as the age of the wooden ballpark was coming to an end.”

With a new home Cunningham felt the team needed a new name and look without totally turning his back upon Boston history. Boston has only had two other team names than the Brahmins. Those names were the Pilgrims who played in the old Century League and the Minutemen that replaced them after the failed Bigsby coup of 1885. For reasons Cunningham never shared he chose the name the “Minutemen” and the team in navy and gold was born. Cunningham field was packed all season long and the Minutemen produced. The team hit 23 points above league average and sported a 2.83 ERA with a whopping 602 strikeouts. Boston held off Chicago and won the Federal with a 83-55 record. Boston’s opponent in the World Championship Series would be the New York Stars who finished 82-55 in the Continental. This was the first meeting between the two clubs in the series and it would not be the last as this was the beginning of a heated rivalry. The Stars took the series in six games and evened Boston’s record in the Championship Series at 1-1.
1903-

1903 was an ugly year in the Federal Association if your team was not named Boston or Pittsburgh. The Minutemen took the pennant for a second straight season but only them and Pittsburgh had a better than .500 record. The Minutemen won 89 games and were led offensively by Nelson Morris and Jim Underwood. Although from a distance play may have looked ugly, a pennant is a pennant and Boston was excited to exact revenge on New York which cruised to the Continental pennant with 93 wins. The World Championship Series which was now being referred to as the ”World’s Series” was not much of one as the Minutemen cruised to a 4-0 series win putting them on top of the baseball world.

1904-

In a pitching dominated era it was a good thing that Boston had a couple of the best. Woody Trease and Bill McDaniel had stellar seasons and struck out 509 batters combined. The Minutemen could hit a bit as well and put together a 96 win season but they needed the help of mother nature to capture the pennant. Since the league did not make teams finish their schedules a rainout in Pittsburgh’s season cost them a chance at a playoff against Boston as they won 95 games and fell a half game short of the top spot. This would mark the third time that controversy has shined in Boston’s favor. They Minutemen took full advantage as they sept out the Continental champion Toronto in four straight games to take their second title in a row. In the last two World’s Series games Boston was 8-0.

1905-

The story of the Minutemen in 1905 was one of collaboration. The team did not feature any individual standout performances, but they worked well as a team and their experience paid off. The team just knew how to win over the course of a long season and won 96 games and took the Federal pennant for the fourth straight season by six games. In the World’s Series the Minutemen would face an old foe in the New York Stars. The Stars seemed to be the only opponent that gave Boston any real struggle during this era of Minutemen dominance. Boston was favored going into the series as they were looking to be the first club to win three consecutive titles. It was not to be, as the Stars shocked the Minutemen and took the series in six games. Boston was beginning to really hate the New York Stars.

1906-

The main reason great teams fell apart in the FABL was that successful teams were expensive to maintain. At some point clubs could not (or outright refused to) keep many high priced players on their roster resulting in a team falling towards the floor of the standings. Boston attempted to do something different. In a trailblazing move the Minutemen decided to really analyze which players they absolutely could not win without (Woody Trease) and trade the rest for cheaper alternatives that showed great promise. The gamble paid off as Trease had a brilliant season and the “bargain basement boys” did enough to hold off the Chicago club to claim the pennant in the Federal Association. It was the fifth straight pennant for the MInutemen, no club in either association had achieved such a feat. Better yet, the Minutemen would get a chance to play their rivals from the Continental Association in the World’s Series once again. For New York, they cruised through the season easily capturing the flag with 96 wins and were not at all intimidated by the Minutemen. The World’s Series went six games and for the second year in a row the New York Stars were the champions of the world. It would be the third time that the New York Stars had beaten the Boston Minutemen for the title. This loss would leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Boston fans because it would be the last time the Boston club would meet New York or anyone for that matter in the World’s Series for a bit.

1907-

Boston’s money saving strategy may have worked in 1906 but the bottom fell out in ‘07. It became so bad for the Minutemen that they even traded their most popular player SP Woody Trease to Detroit. Trease had won 179 games in a Boston uniform and was revered by the fanbase. The Minutemen finished in sixth place with a 65-84 record. In their absence it was an old champion in Pittsburgh that re-emerged and took the Federal with an 88-57 record. Since 1898 the Federal League champion has been either Boston or Pittsburgh. In the Continental it was a slow building club that exploded to the top of the association in ‘07. The Baltimore Clippers won a Continental Association record 102 wins and easily took the pennant by 17.5 games. In the World’s Series they handled the Miners in six games to bring the title to Baltimore for the first time ever.

1908-

‘08 was a bounce back year for the Minutemen. The club worked real hard at developing the talent they had on the roster as well as make some trades to shed more payroll. The plan worked to the tune of a second place finish with 89 wins, but still 8 back from a new pennant winner in Detroit. The Dynamos, who acquired SP Woody Trease the year before from Boston, followed his lead to the World’s Series. Detroit would have to battle defending champion Baltimore who put together another 100 win season to claim the Continental. In the series Baltimore needed all seven games to dispatch the Dynamos to win the title for the second consecutive year.

1909-

Building off of last year’s second place finish the Minutemen tried to make a splash in ‘09 but came out of the gate very sluggishly. In an attempt to provide some big name splash the Minutemen dealt for one of Detroit’s best pitchers in Bill Temple. Why Detroit would deal one of their top arms as they were on their way to winning the Federal again? The reason was that Temple had a legendary drinking problem and had essentially worn out his welcome in Detroit. In Boston, Temple spent a fair amount of time at McGreevey’s and other local pubs. He was largely ineffective and although the team played better they could never truly turn the season around. The Minutemen finished 65-86 and found themselves in sixth place. As mentioned, the Dynamos held off Philadelphia by three games and looked to take on a new opponent from the Continental. That opponent was the Wolves from Toronto who were able to put a stop to the Baltimore dominance of the last few seasons. In the World’s Series Detroit just had too much as they took the title in six games. It was the first title for the city that would bring America the automobile.

1910-

It was clear by 1910 that Boston was in full rebuild mode. The team was short on talent and sat at the bottom of the Federal League standings all season long and finished in seventh position with a 64-89 record. The new threat in the Federal League were the Washington Eagles. For the longest time it was either Boston or Pittsburgh at the top of the standings, but since both clubs were rebuilding, others has stepped up. Washington finished with an 88-63 record and found themselves playing a 95-59 Chicago Cougar club out of the Continental in the World’s Series. The series would go to Chicago in six games and it would be their first title since going back to back in 1899 and 1900.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 10:22 PM   #4
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
Fabl: 1911-1920

1911-

The rebuilding project in Boston was beginning to show some momentum but the Minutemen were not quite there yet. Boston finished 76-77 on the season but were a distant 20 games back in the standings with three other clubs ahead of them. The top spot once again belonged to the Dynamos of Detroit who outlasted New York and finished 96-57 on the year. In the Continental Association it was a heated four horse race that Toronto ended up winning with a 90-59 season. Detroit looked to steamroll the Wolves in the World’s Series as they jumped out to a three game to none lead. Then history happened. In unprecedented fashion the Wolves won the next four to take the series. No team had ever accomplished that feat in the World’s Series and it was the ultimate gut punch for the Dynamos. In the 1911 offseason the FABL made a change to their operating structure. Up until now talent was procured by teams aggressively scouting lower leagues, colleges and sandlots to name a few looking for talent they could control. The onus was completely on the organization as some clubs were more aggressive than others when it came to scouting. Boston owner Steve Cunningham was part of a manager's commission that voted to institute a draft in the FABL. This would completely revolutionize the way talent would be acquired.

1912-

In an era dominated by pitching and small ball the 1912 Minutemen were somewhat of an outlier as their preferred method of victory was to grossly outscore their opponents. The team scored 821 runs on their way to a 97-55 campaign easily winning the Federal Association. CF Bill McMurtrie, LF Fred Huffman, 1B Paul Shaffer and 3B Frank Betts were four of the big bats in the Boston lineup that gave other pitching staff’s fits. In the Continental, Brooklyn, Baltimore and Chicago treated fans to an exciting pennant race that went down to the very end of the season. In the end it was Brooklyn at 90-63 that were two games better than Baltimore as they captured their first pennant since they were still in the Border Association back in 1891. A long drought to be sure. In the World’s Series it was all Boston as they bludgeoned Brooklyn in every game but the one they lost and took the championship in five games. For Boston, it was the seventh time they had represented the Federal Association in the FABL’s fall classic, and it was their fourth championship during that time.

1913-

Boston made a strong run at the pennant again in 1913. The offense was certainly there but the pitching was what let the club down. Even still, Boston had their destiny in their hands as they played the team they were in contention with in the Washington Eagles during the final week of the season. Boston dropped two of three in that series allowing the Eagles to clinch the FA pennant. In the CA it was Baltimore, who had been knocking on the door for a few seasons was finally able to get over the hump and clinch. For the Eagles this would be their third trip to the World’s Series where they had yet to win it. For Baltimore it was their third trip as well and they were yet to lose. In the end, history was made as the Eagles were able to claim their first title, winning the series in five games.

1914-

Boston’s offense once again kept them in the competitive mix and with a much improved rotation the Minutemen made a strong run at the pennant. Similar to last season though, it was the Washington Eagles who were just slightly better. The Minutemen notched 93 victories but still fell 4.5 short to the Eagles who celebrated their second consecutive FA pennant. Their opponents in the World’s Series would be none other than the same club they battled the year before in Baltimore. The Clippers won 97 games themselves and were able to hold off Montreal to punch their ticket for the second season in a row themselves. Baltimore and Washington played a seven game classic for the title that year. Baltimore would win the decisive game seven and exact revenge for their series loss to the Eagles from the year prior.

1915-

Boston has been knocking on the pennant door in the FA for the last two seasons finishing in second position both times. In 1915 it would all come together for the Minutemen. They still had a very potent offense with LF Fred Huffman, CF Bill McMurtrie, 3B John Dickinson and 2B Frank Betts. Yet it was their pitching with George Johnson, Bob Harris, Bob Allenbaugh and Jacob Mueller that were the true key to the Minutemen’s success. Boston’s 95-56 record was nine games better than second place Washington as they looked to face off against a storied club that had been a historical doormat in the Continental. As a franchise the Montreal Saints had never captured a CA pennant, however they had been building for a while. 1915 was finally their year as they posted a 96-56 record scoring a league best 680 runs in the process. The World’s Series was once again a seven game affair. Boston jumped out to a three games to one lead but could not slam the door on the Saints as they battled back to win three in a row and claim their first title in franchise history.

1916-

Boston was hit with some key injuries during the ‘16 campaign and could never recover enough to get into the pennant race. The Minutemen still finished with a respectable 84-70 record but they were nowhere equal to Detroit who cruised to the FA pennant with a 95 win season. In the Continental the race was never in question as Montreal was easily the class of the Association winning 97 games and finishing 17.5 games better than their nearest competition in Chicago. As easy as it was for Montreal to make it to the classic they ran into a buzzsaw with Detroit who took the title in six games.

1917-

Boston didn’t have the excuse of injuries to blame for their performance in ‘17. For the Minutemen it was good ole fashioned lousey pitching. Although the team went 80-72, and finished in third place, they were never in the mix for the top spot. In the FA, the top spot belonged to Chicago. The Chiefs were one of two original clubs (Philadelphia being the other) that could trace their history back to 1876. The last pennant of any kind that they could lay claim to came in 1881. The long drought would end as their 92-62 record was just enough to hold off the Pittsburgh Miners. Although the FA pennant race was an exciting one it pales in comparison to what was happening in the CA. As the regular season drew to a close both Montreal and Cleveland had identical records. For the first time a playoff game was needed to see who would represent the CA in the fall classic. Cleveland took the game in dramatic fashion winning by the score of 1-0. It was the first time since 1901 that Cleveland would be in the World’s Series. Just getting there may have sucked all the wind out of their sails as Chicago took the title in six games. As 1917 came to a close the FABL could no longer hope that the War in Europe would not affect the league. Unfortunately, American forces had entered into combat and repercussions would be felt stateside.

1918-

‘18 would be the year the Minutemen go into full rebuild mode. Their offensive stars were getting older and there was some young talent that needed some playing time. The Minutemen finished just over .500 at 64-62 and landed themselves in fifth place. Detroit who took a bit of a dip in ‘17 was back with a vengeance in ‘18. The Dynamos finished with a 79-48 record in a shortened season (because of the War effort) and took the FA by 8.5 games. In the CA the Chicago Cougars went 75-54 and were able to clinch the Association by 5 games. The Dynamos looked as if they would sweep out Chicago in the World’s Series as they jumped out to a three game lead on the Cougars. The Cougars bounced back to take the next three games to force a pivotal game seven in Detroit. Detroit finally got their act together and took the title with a 3-2 win. It would be the second time in three years the Dynamos could make the claim as world’s best.

1919-

Although the Treaty of Versailles was signed ending the War in Europe the baseball schedule was shortened once again, this time because of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Boston finished an even .500 at 64-64 which was good for fifth place. While the minutemen improved in the pitching department they were still a bit light. Detroit won the FA once again but they had heavy competition from St. Louis and only took the association by a game and a half. In the CA it was a two horse race between Montreal and Chicago. In the end it was the Saints that held off the Cougars by two games giving them a shot at Detroit for the title. Montreal put up a fight but Detroit was just too much as they took the series in six games to win title in back-to-back fashion.

1920-

While Boston continued to rebuild other teams were making noise. For Boston, it would be yet another fifth place finish at 74-79. Rebuilds can be tough, especially when other teams dramatically reshape their rosters though trades. 1920 was the year of the power shift west. Cleveland in the CA had a very talented player (Max Morris) that didn’t want to play for the Foresters. Instead of battling with the Morris he was immediately dealt to St. Louis in the FA. St. Louis flourished with Morris on their roster, ironically though, the players that came over in the trade also propelled Cleveland to the top of the CA. This would be what you would call a win-win scenario. St. Louis won the FA by 11.5 games and Cleveland held off Baltimore, Montreal and Toronto to win the CA by 2.5 games. Cleveland’s luck would run short in the series as St. Louis took the title in five games.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 10:26 PM   #5
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
Fabl: 1921-1927

1921-

For Boston, the story will continue to be about rebuilding. They were a middle of the road team going 79-75 which was good for a fourth place finish in the FA. Although their record would look semi-respectable, the truth of the matter was they were a long way off from contention. In the FA, the St. Louis Pioneers were the unquestioned kings of the pack in ‘21. They continued to bolster their roster through trades and finish 96-62, 8.5 games better than their nearest competition. The CA was a completely different story. Six of the eight teams had a legitimate shot at winning the Association. The constant swapping at the top of the standings provided some good drama for fans all season long. In the end it would be the Saints of Montreal who would find themselves one game better than Cleveland with an 81-72 record. Although Montreal went to the series with a meager win total they were battle tested to get there and proved to be the better squad as they were able to outlast the potent St. Louis lineup and win the series in seven games. It was the second title for the Saints and the fans of Montreal could not have been more proud of their conquering heroes.

1922-

Last season it was the CA that had the great pennant race with six teams in the mix. This season the FA had a strong race and Boton was actually in the mix for a bit. All summer long patrons at McGreevey’s discussed with great enthusiasm what the Minutemen’s chances were of clinching the pennant. The Minutemen would ultimately fall short and sit four games out at 79-75 which was good for fourth place in the FA. Washington was able to hold off Detroit and took the pennant by a single game. In the CA things were a bit more straightforward as Chicago was never really challenged and finished 12.5 games ahead of all other clubs with a 93-61 mark. Last season it was the battle tested team that found a way to win the series. This season however, Chicago was not having it as they easily dispatched the Eagles in five games.

1923-

The thing about rebuilds are that they are not guaranteed. That was the case for the Minutemen as the talent they were hoping to develop did the opposite. Boston went into free-fall mode and found themselves at 65-87 23.5 games out in a very distant seventh place. The Eagles would repeat as FA champs and were looking at a new foe who’s rebuild did in fact pan out. That team out of the CA was the Brooklyn Kings who had started showing signs of greatness a few seasons prior. In a thrilling down to the wire race the Kings were able to hold off both Chicago and Cleveland to take the pennant by a single game at 86-68. While this was a big step for the former Border Association club, they still had a ways to go as the Eagles won the World’s Series in five games.

1924-

There was a very good pennant race in the Federal in 1924, unfortunately the Minutemen played zero part in it. Boston showed some sign of a heartbeat in ‘24 but it was not enough to push the club over the break even mark. Their 74-80 mark was good for sixth place as the team struggled to score runs all season long. At the top of the FA Washington, Pittsburgh and New York battled all season long for a chance to represent the FA in the World’s Series. Pittsburgh proved to be the best club of the mix by one game with their 85-67 record. In the CA it was all New York as the Stars cruised to an 88-63 Association championship. They then took that momentum into the World Series and beat the Miners in five games.

1925-

It was clear by 1925 that Boston had an identity crisis on their hands. They had some young talent but also suffered from not adapting to a new style of baseball where players were developing their power early enough. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if what you are looking at is a fad or systematic evolution. Boston may have been on the wrong side of that interpretation. The Minutemen of ‘25 would finish in fifth place at 74-80 without answering any real questions about which way the team was trending. With 93 wins the Eagles were once again sitting on top of the FA by a comfortable seven games. In the Continental it was once again the New York Stars that were the class of the Association. At 87-67 they were six games better than Cleveland and Montreal who were tied for second position. In the World Series it was a the home club winning every time and since New York was the home club, they took their second straight title in six games. It was the sixth title in team history and they looked good for a seventh in ‘26.

1926-

In a common theme the Minutemen finished in fifth place in ‘26 with a 62-69 record. It was becoming apparent that owner Harry Cunningham (son of Steve) was not business savvy as his old man was at running a team. Speculation was that a thorough house cleaning was in order but would Cunningham have the same perspective? The pennant race in the FA was tight until September when New York pulled away to claim the FA by six games. The Gothams would not have to travel far in the World Series because the New York Stars held off the Brooklyn Kings to take the CA by 2 games. Either way it set up the first all New York World Series. The series did not provide much drama as the Stars were the better club and beat the Gothams in five games to be the first team in FABL history to win three World Series titles.

1927-

Boston hit rock bottom in 1927. The team lacked both talent and direction and finished 20 games under .500 with a 67-87 record. The FA pennant went to Philadelphia as they battled Detroit, Chicago and to a lesser extent Washington to claim their first pennant since 1892. The Keystones needed a one game playoff to qualify so it was extra exciting for the Philadelphia faithful. In the CA it was time for a new champion as six of the eight teams were in the running. In dramatic fashion it would be the Brooklyn Kings who would claim the top spot by outlasting the pack and winning the pennant by a single game. The World Series was nowhere near as dramatic as the pennant races were in 1927 as the Keystones essentially cruised to the title in five games.

In Boston, it was time for a shakeup. Boston owner Harry Cunningham was feeling the fan pressure and finally lifted a finger to do something in the winter of ‘27. He hired me to take control of the Minutemen and try to guide them out of the doldrums and back to former glory. I inherited a team with a lot of issues and it will most likely be a slow build as the other GM’s in the FABL are very skilled and ruthless bunch. I look forward to the challenge.

At this point the format of this dynasty report will change as I will be going into more depth with the team on a sim by sim basis. Hope you enjoyed the brief synopsis.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 10:35 PM   #6
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
4/2/1928

1928-

One thing I made clear to Mr. Cunningham before I accepted the job was that he would have to allow me to have control of the roster from top to bottom. Once that was agreed to I dove in. Turns out I was taking over a club that was right in the middle of the 1927 draft. This may be the worst time to take over a franchise so I pretty much let our scout handle the draft. Going forward I will be much more diligent in this area.

1928 Spring training Week #1

After a nice 4-1 win over Philadelphia to begin spring training we dropped the next four games before recovering for a 4-3 win against the Gothams of New York. I do not put a lot of stock in spring training win/loss records but I feel the stats can tell a bunch.

3B Charlie Berry is off to a very hot start going 8-16 with a double and a bomb in the first week of spring training. He has also walked twice putting hs OBP. at .556. Real nice start.

Our other hot hitter of note is 28 year old RF Glenn Tweed. So far Tweed is hitting .375 with a .444 OBP in 18 PA’s.

As a whole we have already pounded out 18 extra base hits as an offense in 6 games. 3 extra base hits a game seems like a good number to watch.

Pitching wise Jenkins and Bowman have been somewhat effective in their appearances. Their ERA’s are 1.13 and 2.16 respectively but the FIP’s tell a different story. Other than that we have pretty much been a dumpster fire. (Was that a term in 1928??) Verdo Burt leads the pack in that category. He has been so bad that I am going to have to seriously consider pulling him from the rotation. I won’t make any knee jerk reactions after a single week, but his 7/0 BB/K ratio is not helping his cause.

1928 Spring Training Week #2

This week went 3-3 in games but we really lost out when starting CF Dick Copeland went down with a bad back against Washington on the 19th of March. It looks like he will be out for a few weeks prompting me to put him on the IL. Roy Myers who spent all last season in AAA will get the opportunity to show us what he has. Great thing about spring training is we get to see guys like this get opportunities. So far he is hitting .357 with 2 home runs and 8 batted in. Keep that up and you win a spot. In all, I really can’t complain about our hitting this spring. We have six guys with significant at bats hitting .350 or better.

Pitching is a completely different story. I do not know how we are going to get batters out. Jenkins and Henderson are serviceable but hey are not top of the rotation guys. The focus is really going to be developing the pitching at the lower levels.

Spring Training Week #3

Roy Myers continues to perform for us. He will be playing CF for us as Copeland is still a few weeks away. Speaking of injuries we were hit hard again. SP Ken Murphy who provided 217.1 innings worth of work last season will be down until mid season as he has forearm inflammation. Starting RF Glenn Tweed will also be unavailable for a couple of weeks with a dead arm. On the field it was a 4-3 week for the Minutemen pushing their spring record to 9-10. Along with Meyers, 3B Charlie Berry, C Joe Richards and SS Carl Milam are all having excellent springs at the plate. From a pitching perspective we are still bad but I have 9 players on my 40 man so I will start the season with all of those guys on the big league roster and make adjustments from there. Finding pitching will be a common theme this season. With the minor league season set to kick off in a few days I need to get my roster set.

Catcher: I have a ton of them in my low minors. I’m only keeping two at the top level and will have two in double and triple A. That means it is the end of the road for Dave Franklin. The 34 year old vet can’t even crack the spring lineup and he is just taking up space on the 40 man. He will be released. Franklin has been with the Minutemen his entire career and is a .295 hitter in 565 career games although he has only played in 20 games in the last two seasons combined. One of the catchers that will be on the roster is 31 year old Joe Richards. This will be the 9th season for Richards in a Boston uniform and he is coming off a year where he hit .273 in 84 games. The other backstop is 28 year old Alfred Cass. Cass has some punch in his bat giving the team some depth at the position. Having a pair of catchers that can provide both offensively and defensively give us some options each day.

First Base: Bob Scholer is the incumbent. He has great range and nice glove but he has struggled this spring hitting a meager .182. It is a small sample size to be sure, his eye still looks to be good as he has drawn eight free passes and only fanned 3 times this spring.

Second Base: Paul McLain is not having a great spring but he is proven player offensively. The 26 year old is coming off a .322 season where he walked more times than he struck out. He will be manning second base for sure.

Third Base: Charlie Berry will be taking up residence at the hot corner. Berry has been the teams hottest hitter this spring and was solid offensive player for the Minutemen last season hitting .304 with a .348 OBP.

Shortstop: Carl Milan the 27 year old flashy gloveman from Highland Township Michigan will once again be roaming between second and third for the Minutemen. My brand new scout is not totally in love with Milan but his stats prove otherwise. It will be interesting to see if his assessment hold up this season. However, it really is a moot point since I don't really have any other option there right now anyway.

Center Field: This will be the Roy Myers show until Copeland can return to the lineup. Hopefully once that happens we have a difficult decision to make.

Right Field: With Tweed out we are going with left handed stick Jake Duke in right. Duke has shown some promise at the plate and in the field. We are going to have to take the next man up approach here and hope for the best. It will be nice to have a third left handed bat in the lineup.

Left Field: Homer Krajewski was one of the better hitters in the Boston Lineup last season. He is the one guy on the squad that is a defensive liability. I worry a bit about this one here. Homer has had tough spring and I do not like playing guys that can’t field unless they hit way above average to offset the defense. At 28, he still has a lot of upside.

Bench: The 4th outfield spot will be Junior Marrero’s for the time being. He can really run the ball down from all three outfield spots. He would make a good defensive replacement for Krajewski with a lead late in the game. 1B/3B Tom Tucker will make the squad as he gives me some solid defense at both corner spots in a pinch. IF Frank Todd can provide speed off the bench as well as offer good defensive value at 2B and 3B. 5th outfielder for the time being will be Les Galloway. He will fill the role of backup right fielder. 3B Ed Wise and SS Buddy Lane will provide depth at their natural positions.

As for the pitching we have another week to hammer out those roles so we will play the wait and see game and hope for the best.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2019, 10:55 PM   #7
mjj55409
All Star Starter
 
mjj55409's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,166
Great start. Exciting to a story from the "other" league.
__________________
FABL -- Chicago Chiefs
mjj55409 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-22-2019, 01:39 PM   #8
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
A bit about a dynasty

The following list was compiled using a method Bill James came up with. I wanted to see how the information would translate to the FABL.



I had a lot of fun putting this together. Our quickest dynasty belonged to the Baltimore Clippers. Winning over 100 games and the World Series in consecutive years will do that to a franchise. The Baltimore team burned hot though and was dust after two seasons.

Other dynasties had a slow burn. Montreal for instance falls into that category. Montreal's dynasty started in 1914 where they earned a point for a 90 win season. In 1915 they won the title getting them to 6. 1916 they got to 9 with a World Series appearance. Then 1917 and 1918 were non-qualifying seasons (18 being the worst as they finished below .500) and they lost 5 points combined dropping their total to 4. One more non-qualifying season and they would be out. Of course they bounced back in 1919 with a World Series appearance. 1920 was a non-qualifier, so they were down to 5 points total but finally got to 10 points (Dynasty qualifier) by winning the 1921 World Series. After that they had three straight non-qualifying seasons and the run was over. Runs end at the last positive year of earned points.

The Pittsburgh Miners (1898-1907) were another team that had a long run of dominance and put up 14 dynasty points. The top spot though belongs to Boston. The Minutemen's dominance from 1902-1906 has yet to be matched in the FABL. Although, the current incarnation of the New York Stars are close and their dynasty is still going. So far their high water mark is 15 points but they have a chance to hit 19 points with a 100 win season and a World Series win. A six point season is exceedingly rare as Baltimore is the only team to accomplish the feat, and they did it twice. This feat may be more attainable going into the future if the FABL decides to increase the number of games played in a season.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-22-2019 at 02:07 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-22-2019, 10:47 PM   #9
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
4/9/1928

1928 Spring Training Week #4

We finished 12-12 during spring training this year. Our best hitter was easily Roy Myers who led the team in doubles, homers and RBI's. There were in fact a lot of solid hitters this spring which gives up some hope going forward. Tomorrow we are set to start the season in Washington and will actually play the Eagles six straight to start the season. After careful deliberation I think we will start the season with a five man rotation and four guys in the bullpen. They are:

Starters:

25 year old RH Bill Jenkins. Bill was 9-9 last season and we are looking for him to take that developmental step forward.
32 year old RH Ernie Henderson. Ernie gave the Minutemen 274.2 innings of work last season. He was 16-18 with a 3.96 ERA .
33 year old LH Jack Holland. Holland has had a decent spring and we are hoping he carries that into the regular season.
24 year old RH Wilbur Laramee. Wilbur tore it up in single A last season going 19-7 with a 2.53 ERA. This will be a big jump all the way up to the big league club, we are hoping for the best.
26 year old RH Phil Sunshine. He will round out the rotation. He has had a rough spring but we didn't have a lot of options here. Sunshine is young. I would rather see what I have with a 26 year old than a guy in his mid thirties.

Bullpen:

Stopper = 30 year old LH Dode Jefferis. Dode had a solid spring and this looks like the best role for him to be in.
MR 28 year old RH Howdy Bowman
MR 27 year old RH Dick Alexander
LR 29 year old RH Verdo Burt
I'll just say collectively with these guys that I hope their use is limited....
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-23-2019 at 06:40 AM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-23-2019, 12:46 PM   #10
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Preseason Predictions Report

BNN posted their preseason predictions on the eve before the season begins. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.





According to the experts it is going to be a long year for Minutemen fans. While I agree with the pundits assessments it is still hard to see in print. It would appear that the Keystones are going to be pretty solid favorites in the FA while the Stars, Sailors and Cannons will battle it out in the CA. It will be interesting to see if these predictions prove accurate as we will take a look at them again at the conclusion of the season. Of note for Minutemen fans 3B Charlie Berry and RH starter Ernie Henderson made the list as players that are predicted to have strong seasons. Although, in Henderson's case I don't know how 18-23 with a 4.09 ERA with 30 some more walks than k's is a good year, but hey, BNN writers have to print something I guess. One thing is for sure in that there are some big home run projections for players. Looking back, a lot has changed during this decade. Even though we are picked to finish near the bottom, hope springs eternal and as of right now we are tied for first. Let's Play Ball!!!
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2019, 12:31 PM   #11
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #1

Game 1: Boston @ Washington

Boston started the season on the road in the nation's capital and pulled out a nice 5-2 win over the Eagles. Starter Bill Jenkins was very effective scattering six hits in his complete game victory. After falling behind early, Boston bats answered in the 3rd with 2 runs on singles by McClain, Duke and Berry. In the fourth it was a one out double by Carl Milan followed by another double by pitcher Bill Jenkins two batters later. The Minutemen were not done as McClain added another single moving Jenkins to 3rd and allowing him to score on a Jake Duke single the very next at-bat. The Eagles cut the lead in the 6th but Washington was able to add an insurance run in the 9th thanks to another Paul McClain single. The series will now travel back to Boston where the two teams will link up for four more games. 5-2 Win (1-0)

Game 2: Washington @ Boston

As the series shifted to Boston the Minutemen wasted little time in getting to work. In the top of the 1st Boston starter Ernie Henderson got the first two outs before a double and a single plated a run for the Eagles. In the bottom half of the inning the Minutemen's Paul McClain led off with a single and then scored on Jake Duke's double. After Myers flew out Duke was able to advance to 3rd on a Charlie Berry single. With runners on the corners, Krajewski hit a double to left clearing the bases. Krajewski would advance to 3rd on the unsuccessful throw to the plate off his double. He would later score on a groundout giving the Minutemen a 4-1 lead. Turns out that would be all Boston would need as Henderson was able to bend and not break to earn his first win on the season with a complete game. 4-3 win (2-0)

Game 3: Washington @ Boston

Washington was able to notch their first victory of the season thanks to a solid pitching performance by Eagles lefty Tommy Russell. Russell went all 9 innings giving up 6 hits and striking out 3. For Boston, Jack Holland delivered about the same type of performance that Henderson did the day before, but did not benefit from the offense like Henderson did. Paul McClain delivered 2 hits and Homer Krajewski hit his 3rd double of the year but the Minutemen could only muster a single run. 4-1 Loss (2-1)

Game 4: Washington @ Boston

For one game at least Boston starter Wilbur Laramee is making the Boston GM look like a genius. Laramee spent all last season at single A Springfield where he was a dominate 19 game winner compiling 151 strikeouts to 53 walks in the process. It should be noted that the former Boston GM really forced the current's hand by putting Laramee on the active roster last season. Probably to rule 5 protect him. After a solid spring the decision was made to put the young 24 year old right into the rotation. Laramee was very effective in his FABL debut earning a complete game shutout. This was a tight game until the 5th where the Boston bats exploded for a nice crooked number. In the 5th, Boston was able to capitalize on two Washington errors, walks and a 3 run bomb by C Alfred Cass. The seven run frame was more than enough for Laramee and the Minutemen. 8-0 win (3-1)

Game 5: Washington @ Boston

Boston skipper Ted Specter's decision to send out starter Phil Sunshine to pitch the 8th in a 2-2 tie was his undoing. Sunshine had been holding ground pretty well to that point but just could not get an out when he really needed it in the 8th. Sunshine gave up 4 earned on five hits in that inning alone. Much like the day before a real close game turned into a blowout after one half inning. McClain, Tucker and Krajewski all doubled for the Minutemen in the loss. The final game of the series will now shift back to Washington before the come home for a four day, five game homestand. 7-2 Loss (3-2)

Game 6: Boston @ Washington

SP Bill Jenkins picked up his 2nd win on the season as the Minutemen clobbered Washington in the finale of the six game opening season set. The Minutemen had six extra base hits in this one. Doubles by Milan, Berry and Scholer, triples by McClain and Berry, and a home run by back up outfielder Junior Marrero. In all, the Minutemen hammered out 14 hits and beat Eagles starter Pat McDonald for the second time this season. 11-2 win (4-2)

GM's Desk:
I will take a 4-2 start. Some points of interest from me was how well Laramee pitched in his pro debut and how I wish Specter would have pulled Sunshine in his loss. I get that I am second guessing the manager here, but Sunshine is still young and we could have pulled him after seven and counted that as a developmental victory. Something to build on. Now it just looks like he got torched. I hope he can bounce back. I really like how we are swinging the bats in the first week. We are 2nd in the FA in runs and 5th in batting average and OBP. The biggest surprise though is that our starters have a combined ERA of 2.96 which puts us at the top of the league. Six games does not make a season, but it is a fine start. We now come home to take on Philly for five and then back to Washington for three. The Keystones are a little banged up right now and have pulled out of the gate a bit slow. It would be great if we could take advantage of this and win this home series.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-25-2019 at 03:51 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2019, 03:43 PM   #12
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #2

Game 7: Philadelphia @ Boston

Boston came home to start a five game series with the Keystones. Unfortunately, for the Minutemen it was the Keystones behind their SP Dick Miner who took the early advantage in the series. The Keystones were able to jump on Boston SP Ernie Henderson early and often as they raced out to a 5-0 advantage through seven innings of play. Boston tried to mount a comeback scoring one in the 8th and two in the 9th but Keystone reliever Carl Briggs was able to shut it down for the save. The Minutemen only managed seven hits in this one and three of them came from backup SS Buddy Lane. It was not the start the Minutemen were looking for. 5-3 Loss (4-3)

Game 8: Philadelphia @ Boston

It was a back and forth affair at Cunningham Field on a chilli late afternoon in Boston. Coming off a loss the day before the Boston bats were looking for some redemption. They did just that as they spotted lefty starter Jack Holland a three spot in the bottom of the second. Homer Krajewski hit a one out double down the first baseline to start the attack. Tom Tucker followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Krajewski would score on a 3-6 fielders choice by Milan. Alfred Cass followed with a single but the Keystones were still looking to get out of the inning with a Jack Holland grounder to short. Keystone SS Cliff Herman booted the opportunity keeping the inning alive. Paul McClain would follow with a two RBI single to left. Needing a shutdown inning in the 3rd Holland could not deliver and let the Keystones back in the game by giving up two earned on four hits. After a clean top half of the 4th for Holland the Minutemen were able to build on their slim lead by plating three more in the bottom half of the inning. It would be the ame cast of characters in Tucker, McClain and Cass providing most of the damage. Once again however, Holland struggled to give the team a shutdown inning allowing two more runs on three hits in the 5th. After a clean inning in the 6th Boston manager Specter went to his pen for the 7th. Dick Alexander promptly went walk, double, triple and before you could blink the game was tied at 6. In the bottom of the 10th the Minutemen were able to load the bases with a walk to Krajewski, a single by Tucker and a walk to Milam. With two out and the pitcher's spot up Boston called on their last remaining bench player available in Buddy Lane. Lane hit a slow dribbler to the SS who could not find an out giving the Minutemen a walk-off win! 7-6 Win. (5-3)

Game 9: Philadelphia @ Boston

In his second start of the season Boston's Wilbur Laramee gave the club another solid performance. This time his line was 8 innings pitched, six hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts. Boston stopper Dode Jefferis pitched a scoreless 9th earning the save. Offensively, the Minutemen were paced by RF Jake Duke who had three hits (one was a homer) and two RBI's and SS Carl Milam who also provided three hits of his own. 3B Charlie Berry also hit his first home run of the year in the 8th inning. The win gave the Minutemen a 2-1 lead in the series. 5-3 Win. (6-3)

Game 10: Philadelphia @ Boston

The Minutemen would close out the series with the Keystones with a doubleheader before heading off to Washington. The minutemen would come out swinging early in this one. They would have a 5-0 lead going into the 4th when it all fell to pieces. Something wasn't right with Boston starter Bill Jenkins. All of a sudden he lost a lot of effectiveness with his pitches. After Philadelphia scored three in the top half of the 4th he wanted to work through it in the 5th. He didn't get far as it was clear that something was wrong with his should and he was pulled after five innings. Verdo Burt was called upon to carry the load but he was not enough as the Keystone tied the game in the 7th. The score remained deadlocked at five until the bottom of the 12th where Carl Milam singled in Homer Krajewski who had reached on a n error earlier in the inning to win it for Boston. It was the second walk-off winner for the Minutemen in the last couple of days but it still left a sour taste in the mouths of many because they knew something was wrong with their top arm. 6-5 Win. (7-3)

Game 11: Philadelphia @ Boston

The Keystones closed out the series against Boston with an easy win in the second game of the doubleheader. The minutemen had nine hits in this one but eight of them were singles. Even still, the hitting was not the issue here as Phil Sunshine was pretty cloudy in this one. Sunshine gave up seven earned in ten hits in 7.2 innings worth of work. It is really hard to win with that type of pitching. Boston could really use a guy like Sunshine to step up since it looks as if Jenkins will be on the self for a bit. 7-5 Loss. (7-4)

Game 12: Boston @ Washington

The Minutemen were looking to beat Eagles starter Cap McDonald for the third time this young season. McDonald had other things in mind though as he was pretty effective in his complete game victory. Boston fell behind early in this one and just didn't have enough firepower to crawl all the way back. Henderson was his typical give up four to five earned runs self and that will put a heavy strain on an offense. With it now being official that Bill Jenkins will miss some time a guy like Henderson is going to be leaned on mightily to carry the extra weight. This could be a recipe for disaster. 5-2 Loss (7-5)

Game 13: Boston @ Washington

Boston starter Jack Holland pitched his best game of the year so far but he was still outdueled by Eagles starter Skinny Foster as the losing streak has now reached three games. Holland went seven innings scattering five hits and giving up a single earned run. It was a nice start but one glaring number that stood out was that he walked five batters and only struck out one. That many walks usually spells trouble. Although Holland was able to work himself out of it this time, the odds of that happening time and again are not in his favor. 2-1 Loss. (7-6)

Game 14: Boston @ Washington

The Washington win streak jumped to five games after this one while our own losing streak reached four. For the first time this season Wilbur Laramee struggled. The 24 year old in his rookie campaign ran into a hot Washington lineup that pummelled him for six earned in six innings. Reliever Verdo Burt fared little better as this one was a complete blowout. Charlie Berry and Joe Richards each had two hits for the Minutemen and Homer Krajewski hit his seventh double of the year. For Krajewski seven doubles is good for second in that category across the FA. After getting swept out in Washington the Minutemen will next travel to Pittsburgh for three games at Fitzpatrick park and then it will be back to Philadelphia for three and the end of this nine game road swing. 11-2 Loss (7-7)

GM's Desk
Where do I begin? We were sitting pretty at 6-3 and then Jenkins goes down in our seventh win. Four games later we are 7-7 and the pitching staff is in shambles. Everyone had to throw on short rest and it looks like it played a role. We knew going into the season that pitching was a weakness. That doesn't by any means mean we are just going to sit and watch it burn. For now Howdy Bowman will move from the pen and into the rotation. He is the only guy that hasn't been a total gascan out of the pen early. We will make some minor league moves as well. Al Carroll (4th round, 1923) has had a hot start in Double AA Worcester so we promoted him to Denver. If he can turn heads in Denver, I will not hesitate to see what he has in Boston. Joe Hogue (3rd round, 1926) has been fantastic at Springfield (A) and he has been promoted to AA. Frank Taylor (12th round, 1927 draft) was recommended to start in AAA, it has been rocky. To help him out we dropped him down to AA to see if that level of competition will help him find success. The bottom line in all of this is we are not going to cry about how injuries are unfair. We are also not going to baby guys in the minors. If a player can pitch at a level we are going to move him up and see if he can do it at the next one. If a guy cannot, we will move him down. If he is getting on in years and languishing in the minors as AAAA depth he will be released. We HAVE to find arms. Offensively, we are still swinging the bat pretty well. Glenn tweed returns to the lineup this week and we are going to play him out of position a bit in CF for now because Myers has been brutal after that great spring training and we still have no idea when Copeland will return to the lineup. Our trainer has not released a timetable for us. In closing, we are going to need an amazing week if we want to avoid having a losing record on this nine gamer away from home.
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-25-2019 at 03:55 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2019, 01:18 PM   #13
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #3

Boston @ Pittsburgh: April 23-25, 1928
After getting swept out of Washington the Minutemen continued the road trip in Pittsburgh to face the Miners for three games. With the injury to Bill Jenkins the club called upon 28 year old Right Howdy Bowman to take his spot in the rotation. Bowman received his first opportunity to impress in game one of the series. Bowman was able to deliver as the Minutemen took the first game 5-3. In the first game Bowman pitched shutout ball through six innings while only giving up three hits. With a 1-0 lead in the top of the 7th the Minutemen were able to load the bases thanks to three walks (one intentional) allowing SS Carl Milam and LF Homer Krajewski to knock in some much needed insurance. With a four run lead going into the bottom half of the inning the Miners finally cracked the code on Bowman scoring three times on four hits. It would not be enough though as Boston lated their 5th run in the 8th and Bowman cruised the rest of the way pitching a complete game. 5-3 Win. (8-7)

In game two the series Boston starter Ernie Henderson could not hold a two run lead as he gave up three in the 4th, one in the 6th and three more in the 7th. It was another example of a sub-par performance out of Henderson this year as so far he has been nothing more than an innings eater. Offensively, Homer Krajewski was a bright spot for the Minutemen as he provided the only extra base hit in the game for a Boston hitter with a 1st inning home run (1). 7-2 Loss (8-8)

Boston was able to win the series with a nice performances by SP Phil Sunshine and LF Homer Krajewski. For Sunshine it was his first victory on the season as he was able to go the distance giving up a single earned run and striking out three hitters in the process. For Krajewski it was a 3rd inning triple and a two run homer in the 5th that helped pace the Boston attack. Boston backstop Joe Richards had a much needed hit and two RBI night as he is hitting under .200 for the season. The win put the Minutemen at a game over .500 for the season as they next travel to Philadelphia to take on the Keystones for three to close out the road trip. 8-1 Win. (9-8)

Boston @ Philadelphia: April 26-28, 1928
The Boston bats pounded out 19 hits in the first game of the series against the Keystones. Every player in the Boston lineup had at least one hit and McClain, Berry, Tweed and Richards each provided three a piece. As a team the Minutemen hit four doubles in this game but surprisingly enough the game was 2- 1 Boston after 7 innings. The Minutemen erupted for five runs on seven hits in the 8th and were very efficient as they only left one baserunner on base when the Keystones finally recorded the third out of the inning. Not to be outdone by the hitters, Boston SP Jack Holland provided his best outing of the season as he only allowed three total hits in his complete game victory. It was a great way to start the series. 8-1 Win. (10-8)

The Boston bats stayed hot in game two of this series and were able to overcome a sub-par pitching performance by their starter Wilbur Laramee. For Laramee it was his second consecutive poor outing for the Minutemen. Seven earned on ten hits in seven innings of work puts a lot of pressure on your offense. Thankfully, Frazier and Briggs for Philadelphia did not fare much better. C Alfred Cass and CF Glenn Tweed provided long balls for the Minutemen and SS Carl Milam had a clutch two hit three RBI performance. The Minutemen did need an extra inning to win this one thanks to LF Junior Marrero's RBI single. The win put the Minutemen at a perfect 3-0 in extra innings games this season. Boston will shoot for the road sweep to end the series tomorrow. 9-8 Win (11-8)

It was all Minutemen in the series finally as Boston SP Ernie Henderson was able to hold off the Keystone attack in his complete game shutout. The Minutemen were able to hold to the series trend and just absolutely abuse Keystone pitching as they hammered out 16 hits and scored 9 times in the win. For the series the Minutemen scored 26 runs on 48 hits which will make the batting averages look real nice at this point of the season. It wasn't all roses for the Minutemen however as star LF Homer Krajewski strained an oblique and looks to be out for a week at the most. There is never a good time for one of your better hitters to sustain an injury but at least in this case it looks as if it will not be a long stint on the IL. Win 9-0 (12-8)

GM's Desk: 4-30-28
A 6-1 week is definitely what the doctor ordered. We now come home for a 19 game homestand!! If we can be a tough out at home we will be in a good spot come mid-May when it will finally be time to hit the road again. As April is about done I can take a little stock. First, our bats have helped carry the load. One of the biggest takeaways from the season's first month is how bad the pitching has been association wide. I keep complaining about my own staff but in reality we are in first or second in all major pitching categories. To be honest, our bats who seem to come alive every day are really middle of the pack in a lot of categories. It has definitely been a hitters league in April. So what do we have then? Well right now we are fielding the ball at a pretty high level, we are first in the association in run prevention, we are top spot in baserunning efficiency and we are hitting just enough to put us ahead most days so far. It is a good combination. Losing Homer for a week or so will really test us however. We are allergic to homers as it is Homer leads the team in that category. So that will definitely hurt. He is also second on the team in RBI's and batting average. In short he will be missed. With that said we do get Dick Copeland back as his back has finally healed enough for him to become active again. Roy Myers will be optioned to AAA Denver. As stated in last week's noted, we are on the hunt for pitching at the lower levels. Consequently, we signed two minor league free agents starting pitchers. 27 year old lefty Ray Allen and 29 year old SP Mike Clark. To make room for these guys (both going to AAA) we released OF Harry Donnell, SP Howie Stoble and OF Doc Page from the Denver organization. None of the guys I released had any shot at making the Boston roster and they were all over 30 years of age just taking up space. My Denver roster is full of these types of players, this is just the opening salvo at getting the average roster age in Denver down. Next week's opponents will be Pittsburgh, Detroit and New York. We have yet to Detroit or New York yet. The Gothams are right on our heels at the top of the standings and while Detroit is off to a 8-11 start.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-28-2019 at 01:22 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2019, 01:19 PM   #14
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #4

Boston vs. Pittsburgh: April 30-May 2, 1928
Boston will start a long homestand beginning with a four game set against the Miners of Pittsburgh. So far this season Boston is 2-1 against Pittsburgh as they won the road series last week behind a couple of solid pitching performances. In the first game of the series Boston struggled at the plate tallying a meager six hits. The lone run the Minutemen was not nearly enough support for Howdy Bowman making his second start of the season. Bowman held the line by going the distance but he gave up three runs on ten hits while walking four. It just wasn't enough as the Miners would win this one behind a strong pitching performance from Bill Morrill. 3-1 Loss. (12-9)

Boston bounced back nicely in game two of this set with a strong performance at the plate. Paul McClain had three hits, Dick Copeland hit a two run homer and Charlie Berry hit a grand slam in the 7th for the Minutemen. Phil Sunshine's line was about the same as Bowman's from the day before but it was overshadowed by the run support. The bend but don't break theme is a good description for the Boston starters this season. They give up a fair share of hits, walk as many as they strike out and wait for the offense to trigger. The formula worked today as the Minutemen were able to even the series at one win each. 7-2 Win (13-9)

Boston starter Jack Holland provided another less than impressive performance in game three of the series against the Miners. In Holland's defense, he did have some shoddy defense behind him as well. Which is a shame as the offense provided seven runs on eleven hits, three of which were doubles. Even still, Holland walked six batters in four innings which is not going to win you anything in this league. Pittsburgh definitely took advantage of their opportunities and took the upper hand in the series. Loss 10-7 (13-10)

Boston would show the Miners the door in this series with a nice parting gift of a series win. Wilbur Laramee was not very effective and the bats could not help him at all as the Miners' starter Marco Ramirez pitched his team to the win. Verdo Burt saw some relief work in this one and it seems every time he gets into the game it is over for the Minutemen. Burt, who was relieved of his staff "ace" duties for the bullpen this year, has done nothing to counter the intelligence of the move. Paul McClain led the way with three hits for Boston as they have struggled out of the gate to begin this homestand. The Minutemen will next welcome Detroit for two games before playing New York for one and then Detroit again to finish off the series. 10-2 Loss (13-11)

Boston vs. Detroit: May 4-5, 1928
New team same result. Even though we could not score any runs in this one it was the pitching for the third straight day that couldn't come through. SP Ernie Henderson allowed six earned as the Dynamos bounced baseballs all over Cunningham Field in this one. It is a long season but three straight losses at home during a homestand is definitely something to note. It would appear the Minutemen are going to live and die by the offense which is a strategy teams would rather avoid. 6-1 Loss (13-12)

In the second game of the series the Boston bats found their life giving SP Howdy Bowman the run support he needed. Bowman gave up a double and two triples in this one but was able to limit the damage to three earned runs. Offensively, the Minutemen found contributions from the whole lineup as C Joe Richards was the only Boston player that failed to record a hit. Boston's 14 hit attack was good for eight runs and it snapped the three game losing streak the team had been on. It was a welcome win because another loss would have put the team at .500 on the year. 8-3 Win. (14-12)

Boston @ New York: May 6, 1928
After the game against the Dynamos the Minutemen had to hustle on over to New York for a single game before continuing their series against Detroit back in Boston. Under these circumstances it would be easy for Minutemen to chalk this game up as an easy loss. That would not be the case though as Boston starter Jack Holland was able to limit the walks just a bit in his start allowing the Minutemen bats to wake up late. Going into the 8th with the game square at 2, Dick Copeland led the inning off with a walk. The next batter was Charlie Barry who was able to deposit a single into left field moving Copeland to second. Bob Scholer was able to lay down a nice bunt that the 2B had to go to first with putting runners at second and third with one out. Jake Duke was intentionally walked to load the bases and Junior Marrero and Alfred Cass took that disrespect personally and made the Gothams pay with back to back singles. When the inning finally came to a close the Minutemen had added three runs which was more than enough today for Holland as the Minutemen would win their second straight game. 5-3 Win. (15-12)

GM's Desk: May 7th 1928
Well, it was a 3-4 week which really could have been much worse if not for the bats. We miss Homer in the lineup as Copeland has been cold to start the season. We had Copeland in the three hole which did not help the offense this week. Even still, we were able to provide some big hits, it just could have been better. Homer will miss the series finale against Detroit, but he will be ready to go against Chicago on the 8th. Looking at the standings we are in the top spot at 15-12 but last place St. Louis is only 11-14. We are all jumbled together. It will be interesting to see how the separation develops as the month continues. The one nice thing about this week is that we avoided any new injuries at the top level. In fact, it was a clean week throughout the organization. It looks like Bill Jenkins will be ready to return in four weeks barring any setback. I'm hoping we can hold this thing together till then. If he comes back effective it will be a huge shot in the arm for our club.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-29-2019 at 01:21 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2019, 11:34 AM   #15
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #5

Boston vs. Detroit: May 7th, 1928
Boston starter Phil Sunshine was able to provide a strong outing and limit Detroit to a pair of runs in his complete game victory. The Minutemen needed some late inning dramatics to capture the win. With a 2-2 tie going into the bottom of the 9th, RF Glenn Tweed led the inning off with a routine ground ball to Detroit SS Jack Collins. Collins booted the ball allowing Tweed to make it to first safely. After Duke struck out swinging Dick Copeland was able to move Tweed to second with a single past the second sacker. Ed Wise followed with a bunt moving both Tweed and Copeland into scoring position. Junior Marrero played the part of hero as he finished off the Dynamos with a single into left center field. 3-1 Win. (16-12)

Boston vs. Chicago: May 8-11, 1928
Fresh off a walkoff win the night before the Minutemen welcomed in the Chiefs for a four game set at Cunningham Field. The two teams had yet to meet this season and they were both sitting one and two in the standings. The Chiefs proved to be way too much for Ernie Henderson (this is a theme) as they tagged him for seven runs on ten hits in six innings of work. The five run was just too large an obstacle for the Minutemen to overcome. Boston was able to welcome Homer Krajewski back to the lineup and he provided a double and RF Glenn Tweed added a home run for the squad. That was really all the Minutemen could muster in this one though. 9-4 Loss. (16-13)

Game two of the four game set was a slugfest as neither starting pitcher was effective. For Boston it was Wilbur Laramee that struggled through six innings giving up seven runs. (five earned) Even still, Laramee was in line for the win as the Minutemen hung a nice five spot on the Chiefs in the 5th thanks to a three run homer by Glenn Tweed and a two run triple by Charlie Barry all in the same frame. Minutemen stopper Dode jefferis was tasked with providing some relief and he could not get the job done. Thanks to some ineffective pitching and some costly errors the Chiefs were able to a seven run 7th and ultimately take the game. 12-7 Loss. (16-14)

The Chicago bats continued their dominance of Boston pitching as they hammered the Minutemen for their third straight win in the four game set. Today's victim was Jack Holland who gave up four earned in 8.1 innings of work. The Boston bats were glaringly silent as they could only muster seven singles for the game. The loss for Boston further demonstrates how several factors all have to line up if Boston is going to have a chance at victory. They simply cannot rely on any one area of their game right now. 8-1 Loss. (16-15)

When it rains it pours and today there was a thunderstorm in Boston. Not only did Chicago sweep out Boston at home the Minutemen also lost two key contributors for the long haul. SP Howdy Bowman who replaced the injured Bill Jenkins in rotation suffered something in his elbow. It would e revealed that he will be out for several months after the game. Not to be outdone. RF Glenn Tweed injured himself making a throw and will visit the IL for the second time this season. This one also looks like he will miss several weeks. It looks like the Boston GM is going to have to get creative to fill these new holes in the lineup. 7-3 Loss. (16-16)

Boston vs. St. Louis: May 12th, 1928
Boston was more than happy to see the Chiefs leave town and welcome in the Pioneers of St. Louis for the first time this season. After a pair of injuries the day before the Minutemen really needed a shot in the arm in a positive way. In his best performance of the year SP Ernie Henderson provided that positive in a big way. Henderson threw a complete game shutout scattering five measly hits in the process. The win snapped the Minutemen's four game losing streak and provided some much needed bullpen relief as they had been pretty active n the Chicago series. The win would put the Minutemen over the .500 mark and still in the thick of things in the FA. 3-0 Win. (17-16)

GM's Desk: May 14, 1928
One thing you can say about big injuries. It allows you to play with your roster some. Bowman had been pretty effective in the rotation. We are going to miss him for sure. In his place will be 27 year old lefty Ray Allen who has had quite a beginning to his year. Allen started the season in San Diego in the Great Western League. After a rough start he was released on April 19th. He was not out of work for long as we scooped him up on the 25th and placed him in AAA. After 23.0 innings of work and a 127 ERA+ I decided to go with him other than a few other guys I have my eye on at AA and AAA. At 27, this is his opportunity to sink or shine at the the top level where he has never logged an inning. The other guys I have my eye on are a few years younger and with the way things are going with injuries, will probably get an opportunity later on down the line. Not that I want to be hit with injuries I do get enjoyment out of players getting their opportunity. Allen has logged over 1300 minor league innings good for an 89-54 record with 15 saves and a 3.46 ERA. He has struck out 1103 hitters while walking 492 and he never got a shot until now. I wish him all the luck in the world. As for our other injury to Glenn Tweed this one is a bit easier to fill since we will just re-insert Jake Duke into the everyday lineup. Duke is not the long term answer as there are questions about his glove in RF. Junior Marrero may be the better option but he would be another right handed bat in a righty dominated lineup. Duke gives us that breakup but if his hitting slumps it will not matter. I will insert Marrero. I mean it is really all cosmetic since my manager has final say once the games start anyway. My input is merely a suggestion. We also made a few other moves to our pitching staff at the lower levels. We promoted Bugs Donna to AA after a good start in single A and we moved Jay WIlliams from AA to AAA to cover the move of Allen to Boston. I did make a run at a few other minor league pitchers but both my targets preferred other destinations. I wish them nothing but ill fortune.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 10-30-2019 at 12:50 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2019, 12:30 PM   #16
mjj55409
All Star Starter
 
mjj55409's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,166
I'm pulling for Ray Allen to make the most of his cup of coffee.
__________________
FABL -- Chicago Chiefs
mjj55409 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2019, 02:20 PM   #17
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #6

Boston vs. St. Louis: May 14-15, 1928
Boston starter and lifelong minor leaguer Ray Allen made his first professional start against the Pioneers on May 14th. It was a rough first outing as the Pioneers got to Allen for five earned on ten hits. The offense was there for Allen as the Minutemen produced five extra base hits and fourteen total in the game. It just wasn't enough as the Pioneers took advantage of some shoddy glove play by the home team and won this by a couple of runs. 6-4 Loss. (17-17)

St. Louis starter and twenty game winner from a year ago Jimmy Clinch dominated the Boston lineup in his complete game win. The Boston bats were held to a lousy five hits and Boston SP Wilbur Laramee was bad once again. This has been an awful homestand for the Minutemen as they New York for a four gamer to put a fork in it. 10-1 Loss. (17-18)

Boston vs. New York: May 16-19, 1928
Boston needed a win in a bad way. At 17-18 the club had not been under the .500 mark all season long. A solid pitching performance by Jack Holland would have gone a long way except for it never happened. Holland was roughed up for eight earned in six innings of work. If the Minutemen were going to get back to even it would have to be on the bats. Which is exactly what the Minutemen did. McClain, Barry and Duke each provided three hits each in a slugfest victory. After being down five runs before they even came to the plate. The Minutemen battled back and gave themselves a sizeable cushion with a nine run 5th. 12-8 Win. (18-18)

In game two of the series the Boston bats were out in force once again as they spotted Boston SP Phil Sunshine a ten run lead through six innings. Home runs were hit by Charlie Barry (4) and Bob Scholer (1) with doubles by Richards (6) and Copeland (4). Sunshine gave up thirteen hits in this game but he walked zero and struck out five. The win put Sunshine's record at 4-2 for the year. 11-3 Win. (19-18)

Boston had a chance to make it three in a row for the first time this month as the sent Ernie Henderson to the mound. Hopes were high as Henderson was coming off his best performance of the year in his last outing. Unfortunately it wasn't to be as the Boston defense were just as bad as Henderson's pitching line. On a positive note Charlie Barry hit his fifth home run of the season in the game. Barry only hit eight all of last season, so he may be developing some late career power. The Minutemen will close out the series and the homestand with a final game against the Gothams tomorrow. 7-4 Loss. (19-19)

In the series finale at Cunningham Field, Boston SP Wilbur Laramee was roughed up again. This has become a trend for the pitching thin Minutemen. Laramee is now 2-4 with an E.R.A. over 5. The offense simply cannot overcome this type of pitching performance day after day. Offensively, Homer Krajewski had three hits on the day and Charlie Barry pitched in with two of his own. The Minutemen will have an off day before heading out on the road to play first place Philadelphia for three and then they come back home to face Washington and Pittsburgh. 7-1 Loss. (19-20)

GM's Desk: May 21, 1928:
What a depressing homestand. We went 6-12 and although we only sit 2.5 games out of first we are starting to trend toward the bottom of the pack. Our pitching woes continue. We are just too inconsistent in this area of our game. Sunshine has been our best arm to date and Laramee has been the worst. It is tough making the jump from AA to the big club. For know I will move him out of the rotation and replace him with Dick Alexander. Bill Jenkins returns in a couple of weeks and then it may be AAA time for Laramee. I simply can't keep sending him out there to get torched. The way our offense has been producing if I can just find some marginal pitching we would be in such better shape. I have some pitching moves I am considering at the AA level. I'm going to give it two more weeks to see if we can accumulate a larger sample size. That is probably as patient as I can allow myself to be. As for my hitters I have some guys doing rather well at short A Arlington but they can't field a lick. I'm weighing in my mind if I should advance them anyway hoping that the fielding will come along. Once again, I will wait till the end of May to make those moves. This next series in Philadelphia could get ugly. The Keystones have a bevy of hitters that can do some real damage tomy pitching staff. I hope it doesn't get so bad that they begin to fight each other in the on-deck circle trying to get to the plate to lay waste to my guys. After that series we will come home again to take on the Eagles. The Eagles sit below us in the standings for the time being. They have had trouble offensively this season, hopefully that trend continues.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2019, 08:35 PM   #18
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #7

Boston @ Philadelphia: May 21-23, 1928
After a long homestand, the Minutemen went on the road to Philadelphia to play the Keystones. On the mound for Boston would be Phil Sunshine and for Boston it would be Dick Miner. Miner would be the better pitcher in this one giving up one earned on six hits in a complete game win. For Miner, it would be his fifth win on the season. Offensively for the Minutemen, Jake Duke had two hits, one of which being a double. It was not how the Minutemen wanted to start the series.7-1 Loss. (19-21)

Boston was looking to even the series in the second game with Dick Alexander on the mound. Unfortunately it wasn't to be, as Alexander gave up five earned on nine hits in seven innings worth of work. The Minuteman had nine hits in this one but the only one of note was Homer Krajewski’s triple in the seventh. The loss would drop the Minutemen’s record to three games under the .500 mark. They will look to salvage at least one game in the series before going back home to face the Eagles. 5-2 Loss. (19-22)

Boston finally got back into the win column in the last game of the series against the Keystones. Boston starting pitcher Ray Allen went five innings giving up one earned on seven hits.He didn't earn the win, but he pitched well enough to keep the team in the game. Wilbur Laramee, who has just moved to the bullpen, actually pitched two scoreless innings striking out one batter. Boston catcher Joe Richards had a big game with a double in the 4th and a homerun in the 8th. Boston second baseman Paul McClain also had two hits in the game raising his average to .326 on the year. The win was the Minutemen's 20th on the season. 6-3 Win. (20 - 22)

Boston vs. Washington: May 24-26, 1928
Boston came home for another homestand that would feature four games against Washington and four against Pittsburgh. Boston has not made it a habit of winning low-scoring tight games this season. Especially when the starting pitcher is Ernie Henderson. Henderson though, was great in this one. Ernie pitched a complete-game only giving up one earned run and striking out one batter in the process. While the Minutemen only had three hits they sure made them count. In the bottom of the 4th Carl Milam drew a one-out walk. Homer Krajewski singled to right field moving MIlam to second. Following a groundout by Charlie Barry Scholer singles to left field scoring the Milam and moving Krajewski to third and Scholer to second. RF Jake Duke would follow up with a single to left scoring both Krajewski and Scholer. That would be all the runs that the Minutemen would score in this game but it would be enough. 3-1 Win. (21-22)

Boston was looking to get back to .500 in the second game of the series against the Eagles at Cunningham field. Boston starting pitcher Jack Holland received the ball in this one and he did not disappoint. Holland went all nine innings giving up one earned on six hits while earning his fourth win of the season. However, as good as Holland was it was the offense that really carried the day for the Minutemen. Paul Mcclain hit his 12th double, Homer Krajewski hit his third triple and Charlie Barry hit two home runs. For Barry, it would be his sixth and seventh homer of the year. Last season, Barry only had eight home runs total. 7 - 1 Win. (22 - 22)

Boston was looking for the home sweep and an opportunity to get above .500 in the final game of the series against the Eagles. Boston would send Phil Sunshine to the mound to face Cap Mcdonald's in what proved to be a pretty dramatic game. The Eagles drew first blood with three first-inning singles that put them ahead 1-0. Boston would even it up in the bottom of 3rd, and then take the lead in the bottom of the 4th and add another run in the bottom of the 5th. Phil Sunshine couldn't hold the lead though, as he allowed the Eagles to tie the game in the 6th and go ahead in the 7th. As good as the Minutemen offense was they could not mount a comeback and lost by one. 5-4 Loss. (22-23)

GM's Desk: May 28, 1928
It was a 3-3 week for us which could have been much worse based on how it started by dropping those first two in Philadelphia. We have five more games left in this homestand and it would be nice to get over .500 because we're essentially spending the whole month of June on the road. Our starting pitching actually kind of righted itself this week and it will be interesting to see who has to go to the bullpen or AAA as Bill Jenkins is scheduled to come back in a week. Charlie Barry has been quite a revelation this season with his unexpected powerstroke. Of course, Barry has seven home runs and the rest of the team has six. We have a couple of guys in the minor leagues have hit five this season but that isn't anything to brag about. As the game has changed, we need to find hitters that fit into this new environment.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812

Last edited by Hrycaj; 11-03-2019 at 08:37 PM.
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-04-2019, 08:05 PM   #19
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #8

Boston vs. Washington: May 28, 1928
Boston sent starter Dick Alexander to the mound in an attempt to take three of four from the Eagles at Cunningham Field. Alexander was fantastic in this game only giving up one earned run on four hits over eight innings. First baseman Bob Scholer provided three hits for the Minutemen and Paul McClain had two himself. It was a hard-fought game and a good win for the Minutemen who would even their record on the season. 3 - 1 Win. (23 - 23)

Boston vs. Pittsburgh: May 29-31, 1928
After taking three of four from the Eagles, the Minutemen welcomed Pittsburgh into town. Starting for Boston on the mound was 27 year old lefty Ray Allen. Allen has yet to get his first professional win but he has had three pretty strong outings. In this game Allen would go seven innings giving up three earned on five hits. It was a well-played game by both teams and it came down to the bottom of the ninth when Tom Tucker delivered a run-scoring single to send the Minutemen home victorious. 5 - 4 Win. (24 - 23)

Wednesday's matchup against the Miners would be a double header. In game one Boston would send Ernie Henderson to the mound to take on Jim Smith from Pittsburgh. Once again, Henderson went all nine innings and only allowed six hits. Unfortunately he walked five batters and gave up four earned runs allowing the Miners to snap Boston's winning streak . Offensively for Boston doubles were hit by catcher Joe Richards, second baseman Paul McClain, first baseman Bob Scholer, third baseman Charlie Barry and LF Homer Krajewski. On most days five doubles would usually yield a team more than two runs in a game. However, that is exactly what happened. Boston would look to even things up in the second game of the double dip later that afternoon. 4-2 Loss. (24 - 24)

In game two of the day against the Miners, the Minutemen would call on the services of Jack Holland. Holland would benefit from an offensive explosion by his hitters in the second inning. It would be the only inning that Boston would score in the game and they had seven of their eight hits in that inning, but it would prove to be enough. Boston would look to take their second straight series as they finish off the homestand against the Miners tomorrow. 8-3 Win. (25-24)

The combination of Phil Sunshine and Wilbur Laramee was not successful as the Minutemen dropped the final game of the series to Pittsburgh. While the offense could only muster seven hits it didn’t really matter as Sunshine and Wilbur gave up eight earned combined. CF Dick Copeland provided a triple and moved his average up to .278 as he had a late, slow start to the season because of his back. With the conclusion of this game it was time for the Minutemen to pack their bags for a long road trip that would take them to Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia over the next 24 days. 11-3 Loss. (25-25)

Boston @ Detroit: May 2-3, 1928
The first stop for the Minutemen on their long road trip would be to Detroit. Boston would take on SP Ernie Miller who was sporting a 2-5 record on the season. Boston would counter with Dick Alexander, who was seeking his fourth win of the season. Detroit brought their bats and hammered out seven runs on fourteen hits to win by a pair. Charlie Barry, Bob Scholer and Dick Copeland each had three hits and the trio accounted for six of the seven RBI’s in the game. It was a great way to start the road trip. 7-5 Win. (26-25)
The Minutemen found themselves in a pitcher’s duel for the second game of their series against the Dynamos. Ernie Henderson for Boston and Mel Strom for Detroit matched each other pitch for pitch through eight innings. In the 9th with a 1-0 lead Detroit had Boston down to their last two outs when Boston found a rally. Jake Duke drew an important walk followed by a single from Ed Wise who was a defensive replacement not known for his swing. Alfred Cass who was behind the plate in this one loaded the bases with a five pitch walk. Tom Tucker proved hero as he laced a double down the first base line and into the corner of Thompson Field. The double put the Minutemen ahead and they would later score a third run on a sacrifice fly by Carl Milam. In the bottom half of the inning Dode Jefferis would slam the door on the Dynamos earning his third save on the season. It was a big win for the club and puts them two games over the .500 mark. 3-1 Win. (27-25)

GM's Desk: June 4th, 1928
We really needed a 5-2 week. It put us two over the .500 mark and keeps us within shouting distance of Chicago. Even still we really needed to take advantage of the large homestand better than what we did. Right now we have a losing record at Cunningham on the season. We are also giving up too many runs overall. We are sitting at -7 in run differential while everybody above us is at least +12 in that category. It tells me that the bottom will be falling out on us real soon if we don’t fix things quick. Hopefully Bill Jenkins coming off the I.L will help matters. Phil Sunshine has been bad for three consecutive starts so we are going to try putting him back in the pen and let Jenkins take his spot in the rotation. He should get his first start against the Gothams later this week. As the calendar turns to June I have now officially been on the job for a couple of months and I can say that I’m getting a much better feel for what we have in the organization. I am almost to the point where I may be comfortable entertaining trade offers from other clubs.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 12:56 PM   #20
Hrycaj
All Star Starter
 
Hrycaj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,358
1928 Week #9

Boston @ Detroit: June 4-5, 1928
In the third game of the series against Detroit the Minutemen came out flat. They went with 27 year old rookie starting pitcher Ray Allen and he did not have a good game. In 5.2 innings, Allen gave up six earned on 11 hits. He also walked three and struck out three in a game that Boston had no chance to win. Along with the pitching issues, Boston’s batters were struggling as well, as they could only muster five hits in the whole game. 7 - 5 Loss. (27 - 26)

In the final game of the series Boston manager Ted Spector decided to go with Bill Jenkins who had just returned from the injured list. In his first start back Jenkins was roughed up pretty good as he could only go 7 innings giving up 10 hits and three earned runs . Boston’s defense also did not help the cause as they committed two costly errors accounting for four unearned runs. The loss would drop the Minutemen back down to .500 on the season as they split the series with Detroit. They Minutemen now head off to New York to face the Gothams. 11-4 Loss. (27-27)

Boston @ New York: June 6-9, 1928
In the first game of the series against the Gothams, Boston starter Jack Holland danced around a lot of traffic on the bases to earn a victory. In eight innings of work Holland only allowed three hits and one earned run, however he did walk five batters. Carl Milam and Tom Tucker provided an R.B.I. each on clutch hits late. Those were the only two runs that the Minutemen could score, but it would prove to be enough. 2 - 1 Win. (28-27)

In game two of the series Boston would send Ernie Henderson to the mound and once again he would go all nine giving up four earned. Henderson is definitely an innings-eater for Minutemen , and as long as the Minutemen hit on days he is pitching, they have a good chance of winning. Today was such a day as Bob Scholer provided three hits and an rbi. Paul McLain had two hits and even the pitcher Ernie Henderson had three hits and five rbis to help his own cause. It was a good win for Boston. 8 - 4 Win. (29-27)

It was another hitting display for the Minutemen in the third game of the series against New York. Boston hammered out 16 hits and 11 R.B.I.’s as they cruised to an easy victory. Boston starting pitcher Jake Alexander wasn't especially sharp today but he really benefited from the Minutemen hitters as he earned his fifth victory on the season. With the win Boston would have a chance to sweep the four-game series tomorrow. 12 - 5 Win. (30-27)

Bill Jenkins pitched in the finale of the series against the Gothams. He was back to his original form before he was injured by going all nine and spreading out five hits in the victory. Boston was able to take advantage of New York starter Bill Parker as they tagged him for 10-team hits and five walks while only striking out once. For Boston, it was their first series sweep since late April against Philadelphia which was also a road sweep. Next up for the Minutemen will be a trip to St. Louis to play the Pioneers. 6-3 Win. (31 - 27)

Boston @ St. Louis: June 10, 1928
In the first game of the series against the Pioneers Boston would send Ray Allen to the mound in an attempt to get his first F.A.B.L win. Allen if you remember, was a free agent acquisition by the Minutemen earlier this season. In several professional seasons allen had never pitched in the F.A.B.L. With all the injuries to the pitching staff, Allen got his shot in Boston. He even pitched well enough to stay in the rotation when some of those pitchers returned to action. Today was Allen's moment in the sun, he pitched a complete-game, two hit shutout to earn the victory. Allen benefitted from some nice swings by the Boston bats. Bob Scholer had four hits in the game including a three-run homer. Charlie Barry had three hits himself with an RBI, and Carl Milam and Junior Marrero each recorded two hits apiece. The win has given the Minutemen a season-high five-game winning streak. 9-0 Win. (32-27)

GM's Desk: June 11, 1928
We are quietly putting together a nice little run here by going 7-3 in our last ten ball games. The pitching is kind of righted the ship a little bit and we are now officially scoring more runs and we are giving up. We have three more games in St. Louis before we travel to 1st place Chicago for four games. I like how we're playing right now, so the Chicago series should be a nice test to see how far we really are. We avoided injuries once again at the top level but the same can't be said for our minor leagues. We lost AAA second baseman Del Roberson for 2 to 3 months and third baseman Jim Chandler for five to 6 weeks. At single-A Springfield starting pitcher Ray Smith blew out his arm and will be gone for 16 months. It's a tough blow for the young twenty-three-year-old. We hope he will be able to bounce back because he was having a pretty good year.
Attached Images
Image 
__________________
Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/showthread.php?t=326812
Hrycaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:56 AM.

 

Major League and Minor League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com and MiLB.com.

Officially Licensed Product – MLB Players, Inc.

Out of the Park Baseball is a registered trademark of Out of the Park Developments GmbH & Co. KG

Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.

Apple, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

COPYRIGHT © 2023 OUT OF THE PARK DEVELOPMENTS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright © 2020 Out of the Park Developments