OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

ayaghmour2 · 12-10-2023, 11:41 AM

Their ejections from the team may have been unceremonious, but for Ray Ford, Clark Car, and to a lesser extent, Hal Sharp, they made a key impact on some pretty good, even if ultimately unsuccessful, Cougar teams. The issue was, this team hasn't been living up to expectations, and these three haven't helped us at all. And, well, I'm too attached to guys like Pap, the Jones Brothers, and Leo Mitchell to do a full teardown. So spare parts it is!

Few players have had as interesting of a career as Ray Ford, who went from a 14th Round pick who was starting just two or so games a month, to a #1 prospect that either played for the Cougars or served his country for 14 long years. Acquired in a trad that was so minor it only got a blurb on the weekly report, Ray Ford was and is one of the hardest workers in the game, It all came together when he switched sides of the city, and he hit a productive .320/.400/.440 (121 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 4 homers, and 36 RBIs. He then spent one full season in the minors. Check out what he did:

A: 25 G, 116 PA, .407/.517/.549 (161 OPS+), 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 20 BB, 2 K, 3 SB, 1.2 WAR
AA: 49 6, 229 PA, .382/.472/.634 (194 OPS+), 26 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 34 BB, 7 K, 2 SB, 2.3 WAR
AAA: 64 G, 299 PA, .365/.458/.582 (160 OPS+), 16 2B, 3B, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 43 BB, 5 K, 2 SB, 2.7 WAR

Yeah, that's pretty darn impressive!

The reason Ford never got to Chicago is the team was very awful, and we had an old and bad Joe Masters (.224, 10, 54) before a young Leo Mitchell (.316, 4, 18) secured the first base spot. But after the season Ford put together, he was in the Opening Day lineup at first, pushing back to the minors and limiting him to a FABL low 31 games where he hit .310 with 9 doubles, a homer, 15 RBIs, and a 105 WRC+. Mitchell eventually moved to left, allowing the then 24-year-old to get plenty used to first base. The New York native hit .319/.371/.430 (112 OPS+) in 666 plate appearances, tallying 38 doubles, 7 triples, 5 homers, 92 runs, and 87 RBIs. He was most known for his keen eye, and even as a rookie posted a 52-to-16 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Other then this year, where he's even at 13, Ford never again struck out close to as often as he walked, as his 3.9 K% is well over have as small as his 8.7 BB%. In fact, in each of his first four seasons he never struck out in more then 2.5% of his at bats.

The 1936 Cougars were just as bad as the 1935 ones, but after graduating a lot of top prospects we were ready to compete in 1937. Ford helped the 83 win team bounce back over .500, hitting a career high 18 homers in 147 games. He slashed .290/.358/.452 (125 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 3 triples, 84 runs, and 57 walks. Ford continued to produce as we looked to break our pennant drought, and we finally broke through in 1941. Ford missed some time and got into what was then a career low 441 PAs, but still hit an above average .310/.359/.438 (120 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 7 homers, 54 RBIs, and a nice 33-to-9 walk-to-strikeout ratio. That also ended up being the most he'd ever make again, as injuries, the addition of Dick Walker, and his time in the Air Force always seemed to get in the way.

Despite all that, Ford posted a WRC+ above 105 in each of his first nine expectations, with six above 125. Last year's .257/.353/.361 (98 OPS+) line was the first year it went under, and he was down to just .252/.336/.350 (83 OPS+) in 36 games this year. As bad as that was, he is now 38 and Ford was still one of the most disciplined batters of his time. Among active batters with more then 2,500 PAs, he's one of just 40 have a K% below 5%. He'll end his Cougar tenure with a .301/.362/.437 (120 OPS+) line. His consistency is shown in the fact that his 124 WRC+ was within fifteen points in eight of his ten seasons. In 1,246 games he was worth exactly 22 wins above replacement while collecting 624 runs, 243 doubles, 95 homers, 620 RBIs, and 413 walks. It's a shame we could never win him a ring, but he wanted out and I wanted to give a chance to pursue an opportunity elsewhere.

--

Clark Car's arrival came with more fanfare, as we acquired him and a pair of picks from the Stars for our first round pick, which eventually became Chick McKnight. He was brought in to platoon with Freddie Jones (.333, 5, 39) in what became his best season as a Cougar. The same could not be said for Car but he was excellent in his first year in Chicago. The 28-year-old hit .291/.328/.440 (127 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 7 triples, 3 homers, 37 RBIs, and 8 steals in 331 trips to the plate. That earned him more serious consideration in 1943, where he earned his second All-Star nod in a breakout season. Car made 585 trips to the plate, one below his career high way back in 1937, and hit an impressive .283/.326/.445 (130 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 13 homers, 16 steals, 78 runs, and 58 RBIs. He was also worth a whopping 7.4 WAR, more then twice his previous career best. Unfortunately the Navy took Car for two years and he never got his chance to make a grand encore.

He did come back for the 1946 season, but the former 2nd Rounder was now 32 and already approaching the tail end of his career. He didn't hit nearly as well as during the '43 season, but .262/.294/.408 (102 OPS+) is just above average, and he was worth 3.4 WAR with good defense to go with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 7 homers, 52 RBIs, and 16 steals. Since then he hasn't come close to 526 PAs, as a hamstring strain the next season gave Car the worst season of his career. Sure, 7-for-10 was the best he ever did stealing bases, but he hit just .238/.289/.323 (73 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 5 triples, a homer, and 12 RBIs in 84 games. He did rebound last season, with a .270/.323/.428 (106 OPS+) line to go with 27 doubles, 14 triples, 3 homers, 16 steals, and 48 RBIs.

Now 35, the second basemen was at one point hitting .452/.485/.613 in Spring Training, but he's been nothing but awful since. In 47 regular season games, he's hit just .199/.224/.245 (25 OPS+) and the generally capable defender has been so bad that he's been worth less then a win below replacement (-1.3) which has to be one of our worsts in a very long time. He didn't do anything right, just 2-for-7 on steals, way more strikeouts (12) then walks (3), and just 6 extra base hits in 158 PAs. Now that Billy Hunter (.321, 4, 6) is healthy and Charlie Woodbury (.241, 4, 10) came over the Kings, there's no room for someone who's provided as little as Car. The only thing working in his favor is that he's likely to clear waivers, so if Billy Hunter gets injured quickly, he could step right back on to the major league roster. He probably wouldn't play much, as even George Sutterfield (.256, 8, 4) and George Dawson (.265, 1, 6) have held their own at the plate. In total, he hit .266/.307/.404 (104 OPS+) in 577 games as a Cougar, as he recorded 121 doubles, 41 triples, 27 homers, 212 RBIs, 287 runs, 123 walks, and 65 steals. OOTP doesn't split stats based on teams for fielding, but as a second basemen he owns a career 72.9 zone rating and 1.046 efficiency while his best season (1943, 21.9, 1.122) came in Chicago. These are impressive all-around numbers, and he will be missed if this truly is the end of his career.

--

In a week with little fanfare, Hal Sharp got off to a decent start in his return to the Fed, going 6-for-23 with a pair of doubles and four walks, runs, and RBIs. He's now lucky enough to get to hit with Adam Mullins (.330, 2, 20) as the #8 offense has gotten a whole lot better. Unless of course, Sharp is hitting .249/.326/.283 (63 OPS+) instead of the guy who hit .314/.374/.439 (128 OPS+) in 450 games as a Chicago Cougar. Now 35, Sharp was actually drafted by the Dynamos GM way back in 1931, where the Brooklyn Kings selected him in the 5th Round. Sharp spent his first few seasons with Brooklyn, but was involved in a big move that brought Joe Shaffner to Brooklyn for Sharp, Al Sears (retired), and current teammate Dixie Lee (3-4, 4.73, 20). This was a big trade for Brooklyn, as Shaffner was one of the key cogs in their Continental threepeat ('36-'38) which yielded their first FABL championship in 1937.

Sharp on the other hand, spent a few years in the minors, before debuting for the Pioneers at 23 in 1937. He did alright, hitting an average .301/.360/.404 (103 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 8 homers, and 50 RBIs. Despite that, he didn't hit in the '38 or '40 season, and until his big 1945 season, he only surpassed the 450 PA mark once. That came in 1941, where he started 110 of his 127 games and hit .302/.379/.404 (117 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 7 homers, and 52 RBIs. Fast forward to 1945, and a 31-year-old Sharp made his first All-Star appearance, and finished the season with a robust .341/.406/.458 (155 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 12 homers, and 84 RBIs. This made him a target of the Cougars, and despite spending most of his time at first base, I acquired him with the intention to play him in right field.

He was also brought in for offense, and that's exactly what he provided in his first three of four seasons as a Cougar. Sharp was again an All-Star in 1947, and put together three seasons with a WRC+ above 130, including a 147 and 145 where his average (.328, .329) and homers (16, 16) were basically identical. Unfortunately this season he just looked lost, and he got cranky and was often seen pouting on the sidelines. You can't really blame him considering he was hitting just .249/.326/.283 (63 OPS+), and he's never quite done anything like that before. I'm hoping the change of scenery will do him well, as the Dynamos are an interesting team to watch in a razor thin pennant race. If he can hit near his .307/.375/.416 (124 OPS+) career line, Dynamos fans are in for a real treat, as he should be able to more then make up for his lackadaisical outfield play.

12-10-2023, 11:41 AM	#1284
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	A Fond Farewell to a Veteran Trio Their ejections from the team may have been unceremonious, but for Ray Ford, Clark Car, and to a lesser extent, Hal Sharp, they made a key impact on some pretty good, even if ultimately unsuccessful, Cougar teams. The issue was, this team hasn't been living up to expectations, and these three haven't helped us at all. And, well, I'm too attached to guys like Pap, the Jones Brothers, and Leo Mitchell to do a full teardown. So spare parts it is! Few players have had as interesting of a career as Ray Ford, who went from a 14th Round pick who was starting just two or so games a month, to a #1 prospect that either played for the Cougars or served his country for 14 long years. Acquired in a trad that was so minor it only got a blurb on the weekly report, Ray Ford was and is one of the hardest workers in the game, It all came together when he switched sides of the city, and he hit a productive .320/.400/.440 (121 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 4 homers, and 36 RBIs. He then spent one full season in the minors. Check out what he did: A: 25 G, 116 PA, .407/.517/.549 (161 OPS+), 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 20 BB, 2 K, 3 SB, 1.2 WAR AA: 49 6, 229 PA, .382/.472/.634 (194 OPS+), 26 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 34 BB, 7 K, 2 SB, 2.3 WAR AAA: 64 G, 299 PA, .365/.458/.582 (160 OPS+), 16 2B, 3B, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 43 BB, 5 K, 2 SB, 2.7 WAR Yeah, that's pretty darn impressive! The reason Ford never got to Chicago is the team was very awful, and we had an old and bad Joe Masters (.224, 10, 54) before a young Leo Mitchell (.316, 4, 18) secured the first base spot. But after the season Ford put together, he was in the Opening Day lineup at first, pushing back to the minors and limiting him to a FABL low 31 games where he hit .310 with 9 doubles, a homer, 15 RBIs, and a 105 WRC+. Mitchell eventually moved to left, allowing the then 24-year-old to get plenty used to first base. The New York native hit .319/.371/.430 (112 OPS+) in 666 plate appearances, tallying 38 doubles, 7 triples, 5 homers, 92 runs, and 87 RBIs. He was most known for his keen eye, and even as a rookie posted a 52-to-16 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Other then this year, where he's even at 13, Ford never again struck out close to as often as he walked, as his 3.9 K% is well over have as small as his 8.7 BB%. In fact, in each of his first four seasons he never struck out in more then 2.5% of his at bats. The 1936 Cougars were just as bad as the 1935 ones, but after graduating a lot of top prospects we were ready to compete in 1937. Ford helped the 83 win team bounce back over .500, hitting a career high 18 homers in 147 games. He slashed .290/.358/.452 (125 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 3 triples, 84 runs, and 57 walks. Ford continued to produce as we looked to break our pennant drought, and we finally broke through in 1941. Ford missed some time and got into what was then a career low 441 PAs, but still hit an above average .310/.359/.438 (120 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 7 homers, 54 RBIs, and a nice 33-to-9 walk-to-strikeout ratio. That also ended up being the most he'd ever make again, as injuries, the addition of Dick Walker, and his time in the Air Force always seemed to get in the way. Despite all that, Ford posted a WRC+ above 105 in each of his first nine expectations, with six above 125. Last year's .257/.353/.361 (98 OPS+) line was the first year it went under, and he was down to just .252/.336/.350 (83 OPS+) in 36 games this year. As bad as that was, he is now 38 and Ford was still one of the most disciplined batters of his time. Among active batters with more then 2,500 PAs, he's one of just 40 have a K% below 5%. He'll end his Cougar tenure with a .301/.362/.437 (120 OPS+) line. His consistency is shown in the fact that his 124 WRC+ was within fifteen points in eight of his ten seasons. In 1,246 games he was worth exactly 22 wins above replacement while collecting 624 runs, 243 doubles, 95 homers, 620 RBIs, and 413 walks. It's a shame we could never win him a ring, but he wanted out and I wanted to give a chance to pursue an opportunity elsewhere. -- Clark Car's arrival came with more fanfare, as we acquired him and a pair of picks from the Stars for our first round pick, which eventually became Chick McKnight. He was brought in to platoon with Freddie Jones (.333, 5, 39) in what became his best season as a Cougar. The same could not be said for Car but he was excellent in his first year in Chicago. The 28-year-old hit .291/.328/.440 (127 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 7 triples, 3 homers, 37 RBIs, and 8 steals in 331 trips to the plate. That earned him more serious consideration in 1943, where he earned his second All-Star nod in a breakout season. Car made 585 trips to the plate, one below his career high way back in 1937, and hit an impressive .283/.326/.445 (130 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 13 homers, 16 steals, 78 runs, and 58 RBIs. He was also worth a whopping 7.4 WAR, more then twice his previous career best. Unfortunately the Navy took Car for two years and he never got his chance to make a grand encore. He did come back for the 1946 season, but the former 2nd Rounder was now 32 and already approaching the tail end of his career. He didn't hit nearly as well as during the '43 season, but .262/.294/.408 (102 OPS+) is just above average, and he was worth 3.4 WAR with good defense to go with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 7 homers, 52 RBIs, and 16 steals. Since then he hasn't come close to 526 PAs, as a hamstring strain the next season gave Car the worst season of his career. Sure, 7-for-10 was the best he ever did stealing bases, but he hit just .238/.289/.323 (73 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 5 triples, a homer, and 12 RBIs in 84 games. He did rebound last season, with a .270/.323/.428 (106 OPS+) line to go with 27 doubles, 14 triples, 3 homers, 16 steals, and 48 RBIs. Now 35, the second basemen was at one point hitting .452/.485/.613 in Spring Training, but he's been nothing but awful since. In 47 regular season games, he's hit just .199/.224/.245 (25 OPS+) and the generally capable defender has been so bad that he's been worth less then a win below replacement (-1.3) which has to be one of our worsts in a very long time. He didn't do anything right, just 2-for-7 on steals, way more strikeouts (12) then walks (3), and just 6 extra base hits in 158 PAs. Now that Billy Hunter (.321, 4, 6) is healthy and Charlie Woodbury (.241, 4, 10) came over the Kings, there's no room for someone who's provided as little as Car. The only thing working in his favor is that he's likely to clear waivers, so if Billy Hunter gets injured quickly, he could step right back on to the major league roster. He probably wouldn't play much, as even George Sutterfield (.256, 8, 4) and George Dawson (.265, 1, 6) have held their own at the plate. In total, he hit .266/.307/.404 (104 OPS+) in 577 games as a Cougar, as he recorded 121 doubles, 41 triples, 27 homers, 212 RBIs, 287 runs, 123 walks, and 65 steals. OOTP doesn't split stats based on teams for fielding, but as a second basemen he owns a career 72.9 zone rating and 1.046 efficiency while his best season (1943, 21.9, 1.122) came in Chicago. These are impressive all-around numbers, and he will be missed if this truly is the end of his career. -- In a week with little fanfare, Hal Sharp got off to a decent start in his return to the Fed, going 6-for-23 with a pair of doubles and four walks, runs, and RBIs. He's now lucky enough to get to hit with Adam Mullins (.330, 2, 20) as the #8 offense has gotten a whole lot better. Unless of course, Sharp is hitting .249/.326/.283 (63 OPS+) instead of the guy who hit .314/.374/.439 (128 OPS+) in 450 games as a Chicago Cougar. Now 35, Sharp was actually drafted by the Dynamos GM way back in 1931, where the Brooklyn Kings selected him in the 5th Round. Sharp spent his first few seasons with Brooklyn, but was involved in a big move that brought Joe Shaffner to Brooklyn for Sharp, Al Sears (retired), and current teammate Dixie Lee (3-4, 4.73, 20). This was a big trade for Brooklyn, as Shaffner was one of the key cogs in their Continental threepeat ('36-'38) which yielded their first FABL championship in 1937. Sharp on the other hand, spent a few years in the minors, before debuting for the Pioneers at 23 in 1937. He did alright, hitting an average .301/.360/.404 (103 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 8 homers, and 50 RBIs. Despite that, he didn't hit in the '38 or '40 season, and until his big 1945 season, he only surpassed the 450 PA mark once. That came in 1941, where he started 110 of his 127 games and hit .302/.379/.404 (117 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 7 homers, and 52 RBIs. Fast forward to 1945, and a 31-year-old Sharp made his first All-Star appearance, and finished the season with a robust .341/.406/.458 (155 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 12 homers, and 84 RBIs. This made him a target of the Cougars, and despite spending most of his time at first base, I acquired him with the intention to play him in right field. He was also brought in for offense, and that's exactly what he provided in his first three of four seasons as a Cougar. Sharp was again an All-Star in 1947, and put together three seasons with a WRC+ above 130, including a 147 and 145 where his average (.328, .329) and homers (16, 16) were basically identical. Unfortunately this season he just looked lost, and he got cranky and was often seen pouting on the sidelines. You can't really blame him considering he was hitting just .249/.326/.283 (63 OPS+), and he's never quite done anything like that before. I'm hoping the change of scenery will do him well, as the Dynamos are an interesting team to watch in a razor thin pennant race. If he can hit near his .307/.375/.416 (124 OPS+) career line, Dynamos fans are in for a real treat, as he should be able to more then make up for his lackadaisical outfield play.