SO49 Team Available...

The Professor · 05-26-2005, 01:20 PM

It is September 1964 and the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be a team without a head. If you are interested in taking on the responsibility of ownership here are the particulars...

What you need:

- A vivid imagination. Baseball in the Summer of '49 baseball alterniverse doesn't follow the exact path of real MLB history, though it does try to stay within reasonable boundaries. What might have been? What never was? Paths not taken and some taken you'd never expect. New legends, old legends, legends who never were and some who'll never be. If you like to write about your team or league events...even better!

- I'd prefer that you have OOTP v6.12. I am willing, if the candidate is right, to overlook the absence of the game (with the caveat that you plan to buy it or a future version at some point...)

- An easygoing attitude. We're just having some fun and hopefully some new blood will bring a fresh attitude to the league. We don't take things too seriously and in our history the league has been remarkably cordial. We'd like it to stay that way.

What you'll get:

The Pittsburgh Pirates. Buccos. Black & Gold. The pride of Pittsburgh, a team that plays in a smaller market but that, at this point, owns it lock, stock and barrel.

The Pirates are a team in flux in 1964. The team endured a rocky decade through the 1950s but rose to the top of the baseball world in the next. Under youthful, rookie, skipper Jack McKeon the Bucs captured the NL Pennant in 1961 and then shocked the baseball world by sweeping the favored Red Sox in the World Series. A pair of NL Eastern Division titles followed in 1962-63. However, the loss of batting ace Lee Walls during the reentry draft (Free Agency period) was a blow that sent the Pirates spiraling into the Eastern cellar. They are playing lackluster ball this year.

There are some fine stars that call Pittsburgh home. The franchise players are pitcher Karl Spooner and 3B Hal Bevan. Spooner is a dominant strikeout artist who, when on, is perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Scouts have always worried about Spooner's fragility and he's struggled in 1964 (for the first time in a long time) but if he is healthy, he's a franchise foundation.

Bevan is the poster-boy for hard work. A late round draft selection, scouts figured Bevan, a decent slap hitter with no other obvious skills, might fill out into a servicable back up. Over a season in the Pirates minors Bevan developed into an oustanding hitter and, what is more, built himself into a Gold Glove fielder. Brought to the MLB roster in the mid-1950s as a slick fielding singles hitter, Bevan further shocked the world by developing a productive power stroke (in his breakout MVP season, Bevan hit 30 HR). He is on the downside of his career and, like Spooner, has struggled in '64 but remains the most beloved player in the Steel City and its most visible star since the Ralph Kiner era of the late 1940s. His rags-to-riches story is baseball legend.

In addition to Bevan and Spooner the Pirates also have a strong catcher in Earl Battey and slugger Frank Howard who some hope will become a latter-day Kiner (he has not at this point).

The team has plenty of room to add salaries and figures to be a strong force in the coming off-season and beyond. They are also fortunate in that they play in the NL East, a division where parity reigns. There are no juggernauts to overcome.

In addition to a competative squad, you'll also get Forbes Field, the 'House of Thrills', one of baseball's most revered yards and announcer Bob Prince: "kiss it goodbye!" for Howard HRs and "we had 'em alllllll the way" for Bucco wins.

Interested parties can apply at nmc79[at]nmc79.com

League Site:
Summer of '49

Pittsburgh Pirates:
Buccos

05-26-2005, 01:20 PM	#1
The Professor Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: East of East Posts: 3,020	SO49 Team Available... It is September 1964 and the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be a team without a head. If you are interested in taking on the responsibility of ownership here are the particulars... What you need: - A vivid imagination. Baseball in the Summer of '49 baseball alterniverse doesn't follow the exact path of real MLB history, though it does try to stay within reasonable boundaries. What might have been? What never was? Paths not taken and some taken you'd never expect. New legends, old legends, legends who never were and some who'll never be. If you like to write about your team or league events...even better! - I'd prefer that you have OOTP v6.12. I am willing, if the candidate is right, to overlook the absence of the game (with the caveat that you plan to buy it or a future version at some point...) - An easygoing attitude. We're just having some fun and hopefully some new blood will bring a fresh attitude to the league. We don't take things too seriously and in our history the league has been remarkably cordial. We'd like it to stay that way. What you'll get: The Pittsburgh Pirates. Buccos. Black & Gold. The pride of Pittsburgh, a team that plays in a smaller market but that, at this point, owns it lock, stock and barrel. The Pirates are a team in flux in 1964. The team endured a rocky decade through the 1950s but rose to the top of the baseball world in the next. Under youthful, rookie, skipper Jack McKeon the Bucs captured the NL Pennant in 1961 and then shocked the baseball world by sweeping the favored Red Sox in the World Series. A pair of NL Eastern Division titles followed in 1962-63. However, the loss of batting ace Lee Walls during the reentry draft (Free Agency period) was a blow that sent the Pirates spiraling into the Eastern cellar. They are playing lackluster ball this year. There are some fine stars that call Pittsburgh home. The franchise players are pitcher Karl Spooner and 3B Hal Bevan. Spooner is a dominant strikeout artist who, when on, is perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Scouts have always worried about Spooner's fragility and he's struggled in 1964 (for the first time in a long time) but if he is healthy, he's a franchise foundation. Bevan is the poster-boy for hard work. A late round draft selection, scouts figured Bevan, a decent slap hitter with no other obvious skills, might fill out into a servicable back up. Over a season in the Pirates minors Bevan developed into an oustanding hitter and, what is more, built himself into a Gold Glove fielder. Brought to the MLB roster in the mid-1950s as a slick fielding singles hitter, Bevan further shocked the world by developing a productive power stroke (in his breakout MVP season, Bevan hit 30 HR). He is on the downside of his career and, like Spooner, has struggled in '64 but remains the most beloved player in the Steel City and its most visible star since the Ralph Kiner era of the late 1940s. His rags-to-riches story is baseball legend. In addition to Bevan and Spooner the Pirates also have a strong catcher in Earl Battey and slugger Frank Howard who some hope will become a latter-day Kiner (he has not at this point). The team has plenty of room to add salaries and figures to be a strong force in the coming off-season and beyond. They are also fortunate in that they play in the NL East, a division where parity reigns. There are no juggernauts to overcome. In addition to a competative squad, you'll also get Forbes Field, the 'House of Thrills', one of baseball's most revered yards and announcer Bob Prince: "kiss it goodbye!" for Howard HRs and "we had 'em alllllll the way" for Bucco wins. Interested parties can apply at nmc79[at]nmc79.com League Site: Summer of '49 Pittsburgh Pirates: Buccos __________________ History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are." Last edited by The Professor; 05-26-2005 at 01:23 PM.