The One for All League

[luckymann]

The Tigers become the OFA's first repeat Champions.


Awards







Top 20s by WAR





Feats of Note

• 4-HR Game: Pat Burrell
• 6-Hit Game: Jorge Cantu (OFA-record 145 GSc)
• Cycle: George Myatt
• No-Hitter: Kerr Williams, Michael Merritt, Mordecai Brown
• Triple Crown: Jose Fernandez (NL Pitching)

Milestones

• 300 SV: Ed Barnes, Edgar Chatman

New Season Records

• Jose Fernandez: 293 K
• Oliver Faulkner: 50 saves

An undeniable tinge of sadness to witness what Jose "Niño" Fernandez did this season, made almost uncanny by the fact that he did it while playing for the Marlins - the same club he played for IRL until his untimely and tragic death aged just 24. I do have players retiring as per history on, which means 1910 should be his final season, but he'll always have the OFA's first ever Triple Crown to his credit.

Another affected by that rule is Jumbo Harting, who wins the NL RoY but then retires, as per his sole IRL season for the 1886 St. Louis Browns of the AA.

Joe Dillon did BNN proud, hitting 299 with 39 HR and 125 RBI, and our mate Jerry Mally had another fantastic 6 bWAR year as well. Ledger Free only hit exactly half of the 56 HR he was predicted to, while C.B. Griffin doesn't last the year at Cleveland, traded to the Red Sox mid-season, but still has a fine campaign hitting a combined 304 and taking his career HR tally into triple figures.

[luckymann]

Ralph Kiner becomes the OFA's first two-time first overall pick. He was taken by the Rays in '07 but failed to sign and went to AZ State. Now he has been selected by the Padres. Let's hope they have better luck. Plenty of other big names in this Pool, including Corey Seager (2nd), Trea Turner (3rd) and Oscar Charleston (6th).




This year, the LL is Michael Cavanaugh, who played just the one season for Charleroi in the 1936 Penn State Association. Will he make The Show? So far, Jacob Cook remains the only LL to do so.

[luckymann]

10th season in for the OFA and, as you'd expect, the fringe players are being pushed more and more toward the margins as the higher-quality guys flow in. I've actually reduced the number of Draft Rounds from 25 to 20 as there are just so many FAs not getting a look-in. Still, a few continue to sneak through and I hope that stays the case for the duration.

Lou "The Mad Russian" Novikoff is one such player. IRL he played just a handful of seasons for the Cubs during the war period, with 1942 by far his standout campaign. Still, with a career WAR total of just 1.1, his somewhat lofty #17 ranking among the position players bears further watching.

And then there's pitcher Oristel Peguero. Oristel played in the lower section of the O's system in the mid-80s, peaking at A-Ball... well, peaking might be too strong a word given his career ERA north of 6. Still, the Marlins just drafted him 22nd overall and he is ranked the OFA's 10th-best pitching prospect at OD, so we'll keep an eye on him and see what he can come up with.

And our pal Orv Mohler continues to thrive, signing a bountiful 5-year deal with the Halos that nets him close on $2m.

One other thing I'll be watching is what's happening with two-way players. In particular, I'll be keeping an eye on Bill Terry. He's just signed a 4-year deal with the Yankees but, among the numerous hinky goings on I am seeing with these guys, is how often they get released just after signing one of these types of multi-year deals. Hoping it's merely some good old confirmation bias that's fooled my aged eyes into seeing a non-existent pattern emerging.

[luckymann]

In the “Standoff of the Sox”, Chicago and Boston are forced to play a sudden-death game for the WC2 spot in the AL. Chicago wins it in a canter, 7-0. They eventually go on to win it all.

Meanwhile, with both at least guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, the Rockies and Dodgers still have to play a Game 163 to see who proceeds as Division Champion and who as the second NL Wild Card. Drama ensues as the Rockies score 5 in the 9th to pinch it 8-7. They eventually make it all the way to the Series but lose to the Pale Hose in six, making them 0-3 in the Fall Classic.


Awards







Top 20s by WAR





Feats of Note

• Cycle: George Myatt [2], John Lowenstein
• No-Hitter: Walter Frantz, Charles Yohn, Julio Teheran
• 50+ HR: Harmon Killebrew (58)

Milestones

• 400 HR: Harmon Killebrew
• 300 HR: Mike Schmidt, Pat Burrell, Matt Olson, Jesse Vann
• 2000 K: John Shannahan

New Season Records

• Henry Gillespie: 36 3B

Both Lou Novikoff and Oristel Peguero do indeed have solid seasons. Lou improves upon his excellent rookie year with a 4.4 bWAR campaign that also sees him lead the NL with 209 hits, while Oristel goes 14-12 and racks up nearly 5 pWAR. Leon Ballard and Ledger Free both hit 40+ HR, with Leon's career total now sitting at 385 - third all-time behind Killebrew (449) and Lowe (396). Jerry Mally sets a new season record I'm sure he'd rather not by whiffing 208 times in 526 AB.

Finally, something I've come across a number of times - when the game erroneously wants to prematurely retire a player for no good reason. In this case, former 1st overall pick and IRL HOFer Ed Delahanty. I unretired him the first time it happened but am unwilling to continue doing so. And so, retired he shall stay. And, as to the Bill Terry situation I mentioned, he remains part of the Yankees organization for another year which hopefully means I was imagining things in this regard.

[luckymann]

For the first time in OFA history, a pitcher is at the top of the Draftee list as Tim Lincecum goes to the Blue Jays. Another pitcher, Charlie Morton, goes next to the Royals, while Denis Menke is the first position player to be taken, chosen third overall by Cleveland. Gun closer Aroldis Chapman ends up going to the A's in the 2nd Round, 44th overall.




Jacob Brown is this year's Lucky Last. He went 612nd overall to the Angels with the reduced number of rounds, which you would think improves the chances of he and others like him seeing MLB action. Jacob only recently (2019 was his final year) was a part of the Orioles system but never made it past Rookie ball.

[luckymann]

Just one quick point of note this time around - Stephen Matz - shown here as the league's 6th-ranked pitcher - sadly has had to call it quits due to injury.

I shall, because I am an incorrigible child, be watching out for what Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot gets up to. Yeah, he needed that nickname like a hole in the head...

[luckymann]

The Phils and Marlins needed an extra game to decide the NL WC2 spot, which was eventually won by the Big Fish, only for them to be knocked out by the Braves in the WC game proper. The Rockies finally look set to break their WS hoodoo when they take a 3-1 lead over the Twins, but they proceed to lose three in a row including a 5-4 heartbreaker in Game 7 and blow it, leaving them at 0 and 4 in the deciding round.


Awards

MVP

• AL: Scott Rolen (Yankees) [3]
• NL: Al Simmons (Mets) [2]

CYA

• AL: John Ewing (Red Sox) [1]
• NL: Dave Goltz (Mets) [2]

RoY

• AL: John Ewing (Red Sox)
• NL: Kevin Barker (Cardinals)

Reliever

• AL: Half Pint Allen (A’s) [1]
• NL: Dale Gear (Braves) [1]

Feats of Note

• 4-HR Game: Kevin Barker
• 6-Hit Game: Oscar Charleston
• Cycle: Nap Kloza [2], Happy Felsch
• No-Hitter: Tim Belcher, Rube Marquard

Milestones

• 400 HR: Brandon Lowe, Leon Ballard
• 300 HR: Charlie Keller, Don Lock, Frankie Kelleher, Eric Karros
• 2000 Hits: Al Simmons
• 2000 K: David Price, Shane Bieber
• 300 SV: Antonio Ruiz
• 500 SB: Willie Wilson

New Season Records

• Jose Fernandez: 303 K
• Dave Goltz 0.97 WHIP

Top 20s by WAR





Plenty of interesting stuff to dissect...

John Ewing, who IRL spent four seasons in the majors at the end of the 19th century, has a massive rookie season for the BoSox winning both the RoY and CYA before retiring.

David Price is another who leaves the game (through injury) after a successful stint in the OFA, ending his career with a 172-113 record, an ERA+ of 136 and 71.8 WAR, second only at this point to Gary Nolan.

Kevin Barker only managed a slightly negative WAR return in his IRL career around the turn of the millennium, but starts his OFA career in fine style winning the NL RoY with a 4.6 bWAR campaign.

Nap Kloza is another who has benefitted from some off-base data, with his game time at the AA Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1930s mistakenly credited as MLB-level. 1911 sees him hit for the cycle for the second time in his short OFA career.

Jose Fernandez has not retired - to the contrary his ratings have continued to improve and he now looks an absolute beast, as his OFA-record 303 K and subsequent 7-year / $4.4m deal with the Mets attest.

Jerry Mally "improves upon" his seasonal strikeout record by one, whiffing 209 times this year in 570 AB.

Finally, Johnny Dickshot is traded by the Mets to the Giants, but only sees limited action at each club.

[luckymann]

Miggy Cabrera leads a fine Draft Pool that includes NeL legend Pop Lloyd. Miguel goes 1st overall to the Jays; John Henry goes 7th to the Reds.

Aroldis Chapman, whom the A's failed to sign after drafting him last year, goes in the 2nd Round to the Tigers.




Donny Burks, who didn't make much of a splash IRL during his brief stay in the minors, is this year's LL and I don't see his luck changing much here in the OFA.

[luckymann]

No idea why the game has ended the careers of Stephen Matz and David Price, yet not retired them - that might be a bug. Still, I'm going to leave them in and see if anything miraculous happens to get them back on the park.

Phillies rookie George "Chippy" Britt was an underrated NeLer whose career spanned all the way from 1917 to 1942 IRL. Let's see how he goes in the OFA with a bit of extra help, as the game has extended his career stats thru 1944 (what would have been his age-49 season!!) for some reason.

His fellow NeLer Ted Strong suffers an injury in ST and will miss most of the year.

[luckymann]

The Rockies do their level best to throw away the NL West title, losing their last 5 games. But the D-Backs fail to take advantage, also losing their last two to miss out by a game. Colorado then gets bounced in three straight by the Mets, who go on to win it all for their second OFA Championship.

Baltimore’s Matt Williams finishes on the podium in all three TC categories, topping the RBI table with 135 and coming third in both BA (342), and HR (41).

Bill Terry, in what could be his final season in Yankee pinstripes, hits 369 to win the AL batting title.


Awards

MVP

• AL: Darryl Strawberry (Orioles) [2]
• NL: Ralph Kiner (Padres) [1]

CYA

• AL: Zach Eflin (Twins) [1]
• NL: Jose Fernandez (Mets) [3]

RoY

• AL: Bobby Murcer (A’s)
• NL: Hugh Duffy (Nationals) unanimous

Reliever

• AL: Antonio Ruiz (Tigers) [2]
• NL: Faustino Valdez (Cardinals) [1]

Feats of Note

• Cycle: Matt Williams
• No-Hitter: Hal Newhouser, Rip Collins, Tony Saunders
• 50+ HR: Darryl Strawberry (52), Ralph Kiner (51)

Milestones

• 500 HR: Harmon Killebrew
• 400 HR: Mike Schmidt, Pat Burrell
• 300 HR: Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, Graig Nettles, Keston Hiura, Al Simmons, Richard Zona
• 2000 Hits: Kirby Puckett
• 2500 K: John Shannahan
• 2000 K: Roger Williams

New Season Records

• Tim Crews: 50 SV

Top 20s by WAR





Somewhat strangely, Jose Siri's short stint at the 'Stros in 2021 (he's back there for '22 as well) after a long climb from the bottom of the minors (mainly with the Reds organization) hasn't been included in his in-game stats. Which makes his age-29 breakout 5 bWAR OFA 1912 season, in which he sets career highs in almost every metric, even more impressive.

Zach Eflin is a name I'm sure many of you - especially Phanatics - are familiar with. While he's had a handy 6 pWAR career IRL, his 1912 OFA season kind of comes out of the blue. Entering it with an inauspicious 57-80 career record mainly for his current team, the Twins, he kills it this year by posting a 21-6 record with a 2.77 ERA and 7.3 pWAR to take home the AL CYA. His 3.90 SIERA indicates it was no fluke, so we'll be eyeing the rest of his career eagerly.

Journeyman minor-leaguer Diego Madero is another to greatly outperform his modest IRL returns and post almost universal career highs this season, putting together a lovely 130 OPS+ / 5.4 bWAR campaign for the M's.

Finally, Arthur Haas recaptures plenty of his former glory with a sterling 20-6 / 6 pWAR age-35 season that sees him break the 100-win mark.

[luckymann]

Big Randy Johnson is this Draft's top pick, snapped up by the Rangers ahead of Roy Cullenbine and Ken Griffey of the senior variety. He's never had much luck in any of my saves - wonder if he can buck the trend here.




Miguel Cabrera failed to sign in the end last year and will be back for another go sometime over the next couple seasons.

Don Neves, whose IRL career consisted of a small number of low-minor appearances in the 1950s, is this year's Lucky Last. He'll first try his luck in the OFA at the Cubs' A affiliate, the Amory Gunslingers.

[luckymann]

Well, a dozen seasons in and the OFA has pretty much settled into being a fairly standard MLB league with the cream definitely now floating on top. Entering the 1913 campaign, no underdogs are present in any of the preseason reports. We'll just have to keep an eagle eye out for what happens on the field.

[luckymann]

The A’s lose their last three to miss out on the second AL Wild Card, with the Tigers sneaking in.

Jose Fernandez wins his – and the OFA’s – second Triple Crown, while across in the AL Hugh Bedient leads in wins (22) and ERA (2.51), but finishes well out of the running in strikeouts.


Awards

MVP

• AL: Harmon Killebrew (Mariners) [4]
• NL: Stan Musial (Padres) [1]

CYA

• AL: Hugh Bedient (A’s) [1]
• NL: Jose Fernandez (Mets) [4] unanimous

RoY

• AL: Roy Cullenbine (Blue Jays) unanimous
• NL: James Perry (Reds)

Reliever

• AL: Kanenori Tarumi (Angels) [1] unanimous
• NL: Candasie Howard (Rockies) [1]

Feats of Note

• Cycle: Mickey Cochrane, Dick Sisler
• No-Hitter: Hal Newhouser, Rip Collins, Tony Saunders
• 50+ HR: Harmon Killebrew (55), Dave Kingman (50)
• 25+ W: Jose Fernandez (26)
• Triple Crown: Jose Fernandez (NL Pitching) [2]
• 30+ game Hit Streak: Kirby Puckett (32)

Milestones

• 500 HR: Brandon Lowe
• 400 HR: Matt Olson
• 2500 H: Al Simmons
• 1500 RBI: Harmon Killebrew, Brandon Lowe
• 200 W: Ken Raffensberger, Gary Nolan
• 2500 K: Shane Bieber
• 600 SB: Willie Wilson

New Season Records

• Jose Fernandez: 26 W, 0.96 WHIP, .196 OBA

Top 20s by WAR





While IRL there's no doubt his namesake from Wahoo is the more renowned, in the OFA NeL pitcher Sam Crawford is giving him a run for his money, especially over the past two seasons in which he has put together a sparkling 43-15 record and racked up more than 14 pWAR.

Our mysterious friend Roberto Campos continues to defy history with another excellent season, bashing 45 HR and driving in 129 despite a midseason trade from the Dodgers to Oakland. This includes one performance of particular note when, while still at LA in a game against the Nats, he has an OFA record-equalling 10 RBI.

We lose another big name ahead of time as an injury forces Mordecai Brown into premature retirement with a career 88-85 record.

Oscar Charleston becomes the first player in OFA history to record at least 20 doubles (21), triples (22), homers (23) and stolen bases (27) in a single season.

Finally, James Perry is another to be enjoying a much better time of it in the OFA than he did IRL, where he played just the one season for the Salem Rebels of the 1961 APPY League. By dint of a 321/428/434 line and nearly 3 bWAR debut season for Cincy, James locks down the NL RoY.

[luckymann]

Christian Yelich goes first overall to the Brewers ahead of NeLer Pythian Russ and Art Shires.

One super interesting addition is NeL legend Ben "Old Reliable" Taylor, a member of the "First Family" of the Negro Leagues. Ben, who has imported as an age-22 SP (and at 6-feet-7 vs his documented height of 5'11"), goes in the 13th Round as the 398th overall pick to the Halos. Jeremy Giambi is another joining the OFA ranks. He is taken 12th overall by the Phillies.



This year's LL is Manuel Garcia, who played one season for the 1998 Red Sox squad in the Gulf Coast League.

Somewhat ironically, the OFA Yanks trade away IRL legend Jorge Posada to Detroit. Things are certainly getting very interesting.

[luckymann]

BNN is predicting a mighty head-to-head showdown for the AL West title between Seattle and the Halos, expecting both to win 100+ games.

Ben Taylor, now switched over to a position player, is rated the #8 prospect. I couldn't help myself and fixed his height.

#9 prospect Carl East is another interesting one. IRL he had a couple cups of coffee for the Browns in 1915 (he went 0-for-1) and then for the Sens in '24 (he went 2-for-6). He certainly profiles better than that in the OFA and I'll be following his career to see what gives.

A couple lower down in the pitcher rankings also caught my eye.

Percy "Dimps" Miller had a long but fairly ordinary NeL career in the 1920s and '30s but has more than held his own in his first three OFA seasons and looks to have a bit more upside in him still.

Ray Lamb is credited with roughly 4 WAR by BBRef for his 5-year career in the bigs from 1969-73, along with a 20-23 record and decent enough 3.54 ERA (104 ERA+). He's done better than that in his OFA career, with a 70-55 record, 3.61 ERA (116 ERA+) and over 20 WAR. He's not yet 30, so we should see a bit more of him over oncoming seasons. He is currently with the Redbirds after the Phils picked him in the 1st Round of the 1908 Draft.

[luckymann]

The BNN crew are spot on again as the Halos and M’s do indeed have a ding-dong battle for the AL West, with LA eventually winning 101 games to get home by 3. Seattle gets through via the WC1 slot. Unbelievably, they have to go at it again in the DCS, with Seattle getting past LA in 4 and riding their luck all the way to the WS before falling to the Friars in 6.

Over in the NL, the Mets dominate the East with 103 wins and a 25-game gap between them and runners-up Philly, only to make an inglorious exit at the hands of the Cubs in the DCS round.


Awards

MVP

• AL: Hal Newhouser (Mariners) [1]
• NL: Ralph Kiner (Padres) [2]

CYA

• AL: Hal Newhouser (Mariners) [1] unanimous
• NL: Jose Fernandez (Mets) [5] unanimous

RoY

• AL: Nicholas Malvern (Orioles)
• NL: Pythian Russ (Nationals)

Reliever

• AL: Antonio Ruiz (Angels) [3]
• NL: Wade Miller (Pirates) [1] unanimous

Feats of Note

• Cycle: Fred Luderus, Stan Musial, Blas Monaco, Donn Clendenon
• 50+ HR: Matt Olson (56), Jerry Mally (53)
• 25+ W: Hal Newhouser (25)

Milestones

• 600 HR: Harmon Killebrew
• 500 HR: Leon Ballard
• 400 HR: Max Muncy
• 200 W: Storm Davis
• 2000 K: Kerr Williams, Jose Fernandez
• 300 SV: Zach Foreman

New Season Records

• Hal Newhouser: 1.96 ERA, .188 OBA
• Jose Fernandez: 313 K, 10.99 pWAR

Top 20s by WAR





IRL, Nicholas Malvern played just a handful of seasons in the minors during the early 20th century, and in-game is only credited for the first of these, 1904 with the Rockford Red Sox of the Triple-I League. Yet somehow he manages to transform this into one shining AL RoY-winning OFA season, then retires.

Pythian Russ lives up to the lofty expectations placed upon him, winning the NL RoY.

Jerry Mally puts together his best season since 1909, belting 53 dingers and amassing 5.9 bWAR - taking his career marks in each to 321 and 39, respectively - and finishing runner-up in the NL MVP voting.

Johnny Ostrowski has been quietly putting together a handy career for the Cards since being drafted 11th overall in 1906. Sadly, it has come to light that this is largely the result of the OOTP equivalent of a BALCO goody bag - erroneous stats. While he did play a few seasons in the bigs, in some of those years his time spent at the PCL LA Angels has also been treated as MLB-equivalent.

[luckymann]

Like Ralph Kiner before him, Miguel Cabrera becomes a two-time 1st overall pick as the Nats snap him up ahead of longtime minor-leaguer Sandy Madera (we'll be watching him closely) and Augie Galan. Somewhat surprisingly, Christy Mathewson only goes 4th, with the 'Stros his new home.




One who may have snuck under the guard is NeL legend "Smokey" Joe Williams, who is taken 423rd overall by the Rockies. Then again, with the vast majority of his career having been played pre-1920, his profile doesn't look so good on import. We'll see how he goes.

The LL this time around is Werner Rohm, who played one season in 1949 for the Cambridge Dodgers of the Eastern Shore League. He is now a part of the Mets organization.

And in news from the offseason FA market, Stan Musial signs a $6m deal that will see him in Yankee pinstripes for the next eight years, while in a case of sim opposing reality, Mookie Betts is headed to the BoSox on a 7-year / $4.5m deal.

[luckymann]

Just for any of you following along who might be interested in where the game has taken salaries after 14 seasons.

[luckymann]

After the above screenshot was taken I finally relented and manually retired both Mordecai Brown and Stephen Matz - no idea why the game isn't doing it, but most likely has to do with an incompatibility between the "retire according to history" setting being used with manually-imported players. Same deal with Happy Felsch, who is still playing at age-34. I'm sure there are others but am not all that bothered.

Just a couple of notes this time around, starting with another player benefiting from incorrect statistical data. This time it is Cliff Melton, who played for the Jints from 1937 thru '44 and was a fairly handy player wit hBBRef crediting him with 15 career WAR. However, before he made it to The Show, he spent 6 years in the minors, mainly the Indy League, and these have been credited as MLB-equivalent. Cliff, who goes by the fantastic nickname of "Mountain Music" for his love of the genre and propensity to play it at any given moment, has done pretty well for the Halos since they used a 1st-Rounder to pick him in 1909, and currently has a 66-53 record with roughly league-average ERA (106 ERA+) and 18 pWAR.

The other player to catch my eye is an NeLer I'd not previously heard of named Bill Ricks. Bill, known as "Schoolboy", played for 5 seasons just as the MLB was being integrated, almost exclusively for the Philly Stars, going 22-15 / 3.21 for his career. He has just entered the OFA via the most recent Draft, in which the Twins picked him up 10th overall. BNN are expecting him to hit the ground running, and I'll be eyeing the outcome keenly.

[luckymann]

The Guardians win their first OFA Championship, putting the AL at 10-5 over the NL to this point.


Awards

MVP

• AL: Stan Musial (Yankees) [2]
• NL: Miguel Cabrera (Nationals) [1]

CYA

• AL: Roy Halladay (Angels) [1]
• NL: Jose Fernandez (Mets) [6]

RoY

• AL: Douglas Stanley (Angels)
• NL: Miguel Cabrera (Nationals) unanimous

Reliever

• AL: Miles Nikolas (Blue Jays) [1] unanimous
• NL: James Field (Reds) [1] unanimous

Feats of Note

• 6-hit Game: Ken Griffey
• Cycle: Hank Bauer, Dusty Baker, Douglas Stanley
• 25+ W: Hal Newhouser (25)
• Jack Erwin sets a new OFA record with a 17-strikeout game

Milestones

• 500 HR: Matt Olson
• 400 HR: Joc Pederson
• 1500 RBI: Al Simmons, Pat Burrell
• 1500 R: Mike Schmidt, Harmon Killebrew
• 200 W: Shane Bieber, Nelson Briles, Larry Jackson
• 3000 K: John Shannahan, Shane Bieber
• 400 SV: Ed Barnes

Top 20s by WAR





Joe Williams made every stop along the way but got to the bigs, going 6-2 for the Rockies with an ERA+ of 130. However, things look grim for him in 1916 as his ratings have been smashed and he will start the year in AAA.

John Shannahan, whose career we've been following since he entered the OFA in its inaugural Draft, suffers a career-ending injury. He retires as all-time King of K with 3158, although one would expect Shane Bieber to pass this fairly soon. Still, for a guy who played one season in Low-A IRL and was selected 1661st overall, he's done pretty well for himself.

While Miggy Cabrera's dominant rookie season comes as little surprise, the same cannot be said for Douglas Stanley. IRL Douglas played just a single season of Rookie ball for the 1966 Salem Rebels of the Appy League. That 6-for-17 cameo has been transformed into a 5.2 bWAR, AL RoY-winning season in the OFA.

The two players I mentioned on OD - Cliff Melton and Bill Ricks - both have fine seasons indeed. Cliff goes 19-8 with an ERA+ of 118 and 5 pWAR, while Bill also has 19 wins and his 7 pWAR performance sees him finish down-ballot in the AL CYA voting.