International League/Random Debut League - Page 7

David Watts · 10-23-2025, 09:10 AM

The two division winners advanced to the 1973 League Championship series. Louisville swept St. Paul in a series that was over before one could blink. Cedar Rapids defeated Birmingham 4 games to 1 to advance to the championship round.

The first game of the League Championship Series was a doozy. Pitching ruled the day in a big way in a game that would take 19 innings to decide. Neither team scored a run for 18 innings, before the visiting Redbirds pushed across 2 runs in the top of the 19th inning. Cedar Rapids would go quietly in the bottom half of the 19th, giving Louisville a 1 game lead in the series.

The Cedar Rapids bats would stay silent again in game 2 of the series. 28 innings without scoring a run. The home fans in Iowa were stunned to say the least. What happened to their teams ability to hit and score runs? Louisville fans meanwhile were loving it. The brooms weren't even in the closet yet from the wild card sweep and their Redbirds were out to a 2-0 series lead and the two wins came on the road to boot.

Game 3 in Louisville the Cedar Rapids Kernels bats arrived an then some. The Kernels scored 10 runs total in the game with the scoring getting under way when leadoff batter Bobby Murcer went yard for his 4th home run of the post season.

The Kernels would tie series at 2 games a piece by winning game 4. So far all the wins in the series have been by the road teams.

David Watts · 10-23-2025, 09:37 AM

Thinking I may do final expansion following the 1974 season. If I expand, my league will feature 18 teams with two 9 team divisions. I will probably add 2 more wild card teams to the fray, which will allow the 2 division teams to have a bye in the first round. The wild card teams will play a best of 3 in the top seeds home park. No off days. I love post season baseball, so even though I'm not a massive fan of wild cards in real life, I like them in my leagues, as it gives me more games to enjoy.

The team I will add to the Northern Division is the Great Lakes Loons. Since I grew up in Michigan, I will be moving the Loons to Saginaw instead their high class real life home in Midland.

As for the Southern Division expansion team, I haven't quite made up my mind yet. If by chance the Baby Cakes hat and jersey still come with OOTP 26, New Orleans is probably the front runner. Other choices are the Chattanooga Lookouts, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Gwinnett Stripers and the Montgomery Biscuits.

David Watts · Yesterday, 08:27 AM

The Louisville Redbirds are the 1973 International League Champions. This is the Redbirds second championship.

Tris Speaker once again is the leagues batting average leader. Speaker hit .387 on the season, as the season proved to be too long for him to sustain that .400 average.

Buck Freeman took home MVP honors in 73, ending Tris Speakers run of 7 straight MVP awards. Wonder if anyone will ever even come close to 7 straight again? That is a flat out amazing run. Freeman hit 49 home runs and drove in 119 with a 320+ average.

Jose Mendez won his 3rd Cy Young Award in a row and the 7th of his career. Mendez who reached 300 wins at age 39 also led the league in strikeouts.

Moises Alou and Lou Warneke were the two most notable players on the list of retirees. Alou had a long and productive career that saw him join the 3000 hit club in his final season. Warneke won well over 200 games, pitching most of his career as a starter, before moving to the bullpen, with a few good years in a closing role. Both are Hall of Famers in my book.

Goose Goslin and John Titus were this years inductees into the International League Hall of Fame.

Speaking of Hall of Fame, I'm really starting to get ticked that Al Oliver continues to come up short in the voting. 8 years now and still no induction. This year his total was around 67%. Oliver was just a steady and consistent player over his entire career. He is a member of the 3000 hit club. On the down side, he only managed around 48 WAR over his long career, so that could be why he's not getting the needed votes. He's also not to high in all the Hall of Fame ink and such factors.

David Watts · Yesterday, 08:39 AM

Started the 74 season. Simmed to June 1st as normal.

Hilton Smith is now a member of the 200 wins club.

David Ortiz now has 400 career home runs.

Jose Mendez got hurt during Spring Training and missed the first two months of the season. His first game pitched was on June 1st.

David Ortiz is off to an incredible start to the season. As of June 10th he's hitting a league best .393. Ortiz is 40 years old. He does have one batting title to his name, but I don't think anyone seen this coming at all. Will be interesting to see if he can stay hot all season.

David Watts · Yesterday, 11:15 PM

June 25th 1964, Jose Mendez strikes out Dan Driessen for strikeout number 4000 of his great career. Dude is a machine.

10-23-2025, 09:10 AM	#121
David Watts Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Looking for a place called Leehofooks Posts: 9,822 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	The two division winners advanced to the 1973 League Championship series. Louisville swept St. Paul in a series that was over before one could blink. Cedar Rapids defeated Birmingham 4 games to 1 to advance to the championship round. The first game of the League Championship Series was a doozy. Pitching ruled the day in a big way in a game that would take 19 innings to decide. Neither team scored a run for 18 innings, before the visiting Redbirds pushed across 2 runs in the top of the 19th inning. Cedar Rapids would go quietly in the bottom half of the 19th, giving Louisville a 1 game lead in the series. The Cedar Rapids bats would stay silent again in game 2 of the series. 28 innings without scoring a run. The home fans in Iowa were stunned to say the least. What happened to their teams ability to hit and score runs? Louisville fans meanwhile were loving it. The brooms weren't even in the closet yet from the wild card sweep and their Redbirds were out to a 2-0 series lead and the two wins came on the road to boot. Game 3 in Louisville the Cedar Rapids Kernels bats arrived an then some. The Kernels scored 10 runs total in the game with the scoring getting under way when leadoff batter Bobby Murcer went yard for his 4th home run of the post season. The Kernels would tie series at 2 games a piece by winning game 4. So far all the wins in the series have been by the road teams.

10-23-2025, 09:37 AM	#122
David Watts Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Looking for a place called Leehofooks Posts: 9,822 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Thinking I may do final expansion following the 1974 season. If I expand, my league will feature 18 teams with two 9 team divisions. I will probably add 2 more wild card teams to the fray, which will allow the 2 division teams to have a bye in the first round. The wild card teams will play a best of 3 in the top seeds home park. No off days. I love post season baseball, so even though I'm not a massive fan of wild cards in real life, I like them in my leagues, as it gives me more games to enjoy. The team I will add to the Northern Division is the Great Lakes Loons. Since I grew up in Michigan, I will be moving the Loons to Saginaw instead their high class real life home in Midland. As for the Southern Division expansion team, I haven't quite made up my mind yet. If by chance the Baby Cakes hat and jersey still come with OOTP 26, New Orleans is probably the front runner. Other choices are the Chattanooga Lookouts, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Gwinnett Stripers and the Montgomery Biscuits.

Yesterday, 08:27 AM	#123
David Watts Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Looking for a place called Leehofooks Posts: 9,822 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	The Louisville Redbirds are the 1973 International League Champions. This is the Redbirds second championship. Tris Speaker once again is the leagues batting average leader. Speaker hit .387 on the season, as the season proved to be too long for him to sustain that .400 average. Buck Freeman took home MVP honors in 73, ending Tris Speakers run of 7 straight MVP awards. Wonder if anyone will ever even come close to 7 straight again? That is a flat out amazing run. Freeman hit 49 home runs and drove in 119 with a 320+ average. Jose Mendez won his 3rd Cy Young Award in a row and the 7th of his career. Mendez who reached 300 wins at age 39 also led the league in strikeouts. Moises Alou and Lou Warneke were the two most notable players on the list of retirees. Alou had a long and productive career that saw him join the 3000 hit club in his final season. Warneke won well over 200 games, pitching most of his career as a starter, before moving to the bullpen, with a few good years in a closing role. Both are Hall of Famers in my book. Goose Goslin and John Titus were this years inductees into the International League Hall of Fame. Speaking of Hall of Fame, I'm really starting to get ticked that Al Oliver continues to come up short in the voting. 8 years now and still no induction. This year his total was around 67%. Oliver was just a steady and consistent player over his entire career. He is a member of the 3000 hit club. On the down side, he only managed around 48 WAR over his long career, so that could be why he's not getting the needed votes. He's also not to high in all the Hall of Fame ink and such factors.

Yesterday, 08:39 AM	#124
David Watts Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Looking for a place called Leehofooks Posts: 9,822 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Started the 74 season. Simmed to June 1st as normal. Hilton Smith is now a member of the 200 wins club. David Ortiz now has 400 career home runs. Jose Mendez got hurt during Spring Training and missed the first two months of the season. His first game pitched was on June 1st. David Ortiz is off to an incredible start to the season. As of June 10th he's hitting a league best .393. Ortiz is 40 years old. He does have one batting title to his name, but I don't think anyone seen this coming at all. Will be interesting to see if he can stay hot all season.

Yesterday, 11:15 PM	#125
David Watts Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Looking for a place called Leehofooks Posts: 9,822 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	June 25th 1964, Jose Mendez strikes out Dan Driessen for strikeout number 4000 of his great career. Dude is a machine.