The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Greetings and welcome to a new OOTP project that I will be writing about in the coming weeks entitled “The Level Playing Field.” It is going to be a historical simulation with real-life players in their proper timeframes, but a very different fictionalized and normalized version of MLB.

One of the main goals of this alternative history is to create a consistent play style and world throughout all of baseball history. I tried a similar project on OOTP 22 (that I didn’t ever write-up) with some success, but there were limits on achieving the type of parity I was looking for. After getting OOTP 26 recently because of the sale, it looks like this version is far better suited to my idea. OOTP 26 also seems to give the Negro League greats far more heft than 22, which I think came out before those stats were officially declared Major League caliber (those players unfortunately ended up rated and treated largely like career minor leaguers in my original efforts). So after playing around with some tests with different settings, I believe I have everything set up right to achieve this unique experiment.

I’ll go more specific details on settings and the like in future posts, but the basic principles are below.

-The game begins in 1884 with plans of running up to and possibly beyond the present day. 1884 was chosen as one of the earliest years in the game where enough players exist in the universe to be able to field teams in the style I’m looking at. For anyone who has looked at how I’ve recently written the Baseball: The World’s Game universe, I’ll likely keep similar narrative structures for going year-by-year.

-MLB will be a much larger league from the beginning and will end up larger than the modern world, although the team names and looks will be a blend of modern and historical. At the start, the National League and American League will each have 12 teams split into two divisions. There will be later expansions that take place earlier than real life did, but also keeping in mind historical populations and trends. The plan is to eventually grow to 20 teams per league and maybe more. There aren’t minor leagues at the very start because there aren’t enough players in the world initially, but I’ll quickly add levels as soon as they’re able to be supported.

-There will not be any relocations of any franchises. For example, the Giants begin in New York and will stay in New York for their entire life. San Francisco will enter as a later expansion (the Seals, based on the historic PCL squad). I will also keep each franchise’s logo and look the same for all of history based mostly on personal preferences. Like even though the Athletics will stay in Philadelphia and they never wore the green/gold there, I’m giving them that look because I think it is sharp (and there’s already too many blue/red teams).

-The league will be fully integrated and the reserve clause will not be used. Free agency will exist from the beginning. I’ve got a customized player salary structure scaled for the initial year with inflation built in to increase to more modern values as the sim goes on. I will also adjust the attendance baselines as time progresses to partially mirror real life attendance trends and growth. I may adjust some figures at different points if things get out of whack, but I think I figured a good balance out. I set initial market sizes and gave the bigger cities a bit more starting cash (and will do the same for expansion teams), but won’t touch specific teams after that. Any growth or contraction will happen naturally and I won’t adjust owners either.

-The base league totals used for statistics are 1983; which I settled on as a good balance between not being too high/low scoring that combines some modern/classic elements. There are a few other tweaks to get to a play style that I just generally find aesthetically pleasing. The lock league total stats and auto-calc will be used, but I will also adjust some modifiers manually to achieve the consistency I’m looking for (mainly involving stolen bases and pitcher stamina, but also fielding success since it makes 19th Century guys have a crazy amount of errors if you don’t adjust it).

-I will adjust franchises to move to real life stadiums as time moves on using the game’s auto-calculation for park factors. Once a team is in a stadium, I’ll pick one set of historic dimensions I like and keep it throughout (not adjusting the fences every single time they moved in real life slightly just for brevity’s sake). I’ll also use real life capacity generally, but will boost up in the cases of cities using smaller minor league parks in their earlier years. For the starting teams, since some didn’t exist in 1884 or had brief stints in places, I chose one applicable 19th Century park to start (even if in some cases that facility might not have been built until the 1890s). My props to the folks on the OOTP board for having dimensions available for so many classic parks, I was able to find usable ones for all but one franchise.

-I will also make it a point to keep track and turn players who had real life prominent managing careers into coaches in the game once they retire. I’ll also probably juice the ratings up a bit on HOF-level managers so that they are more likely to be notable coaches in the sim as well, as opposed to the seeming randomness the game uses to decide who becomes a coach and their ratings post-retirement. I’ll also generally make players who had HOF or Hall of Very Good careers in the sim into coaches once they retire to continue their stories.

I appreciate those who read on and hope you enjoy this alternate history of professional baseball. I am grateful of course to the folks behind OOTP and all of the various mods that make the game even better. These fictional worlds provide a much needed escape from the absolute tire fire that is the real world these days.

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Below are a run through of some of the settings being used for this adventure.

-The full coaching system is used and teams can hire coaches from other squads. Owner goals are also enabled. I will not follow along trying to match real life owners to franchises; teams are stuck with whatever the default game gives them in that regard.

-Short injuries are High (Realistic Modern Day) but long injuries are Normal (OOTP Classic). I found in my tests that under high for long injuries, there is a tremendous amount of pitchers who amount to nothing from multiple blowouts. Obviously there’s truth to that in the modern game, but I felt it would be more fun if those injuries aren’t quite as common. Position player fatigue is set as high.

-Personality ratings and chemistry are in use. As I recall, the game assigns them randomly in historical games. I generally don’t think I’ll touch these but may decide to in extreme cases with known real-life scumbags. Unfortunately though with real life history, if you removed all of the scumbags, bigots, abusers; etc, that probably sadly gets rid of a large swath of guys.

-Player development settings are default values, same for the development lab. Ratings are based on neutralized stats and entire careers with a five year recalculation base. Negro Leagues equivalencies is a yes. Otherwise though, players do not retire or miss seasons according to history, so it is a crap shoot on how guys actually will perform relative to their real careers.

-The initial setup includes 24 teams split between the National League and American League. Both teams have a six-team East Division and six-team West Division. There will be expansions later in history, but this group will hold until the 1920s. There aren’t minor leagues initially due to a lack of players in the world, but minor league levels will be added once they can be supported.

-The American League will use the designated hitter, but the National League will not. No reliever minimum batters and no Manfred Man. Ties are only used in spring games. Active roster size is 25 players with a 15-man reserve roster initially. That will be adjusted once minor league levels are added. IL length of 15 days and 60 days.

-Trade deadline at the end of July, 10/5 rule, draft pick trading, and trading injured players all allowed. Amateur draft at the end of November with major league deals allowed for draft picks. No lottery system.

-I started with the 1884 financial figures as was, but then adjusted them into a fictional setup with 2% to 10% yearly inflation. Attendance baseline is only 4000 with $0.25 tickets to start, but I will increase the attendance baseline as history advances to somewhat mirror reality.

-No reserve clause or color barrier. Minimum service for free agency is six years, three for arbitration, 25% for Super 2. The A/B system is used for free agent compensation. No purchasing of contracts or posting system. No salary cap or cash maximum. Soft cap is 150% of average payroll with a 20% tax above the soft cap. Salary baselines range from $300 as the minimum, $1,000 for an average player, up to $4,000 for a good player and $10,000 for a superstar. Obviously these fictional players will be wealthier than their real life versions were. In my tests, I’ve been happy with the general competitive balance that has come with these starting numbers.

-Hall of Fame info is the default, season lasts 162 games. Using the schedule making tool, the setup has each team playing 24 games against each of their divisional foes. The remaining 42 games are against the other division; six games against some teams and nine against other. There isn’t interleague play and the all-star game is midway through the season.

-The postseason setup has the two division champs advancing to a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The winners go to the World Series. Both are HH-AAA-HH formats. No tiebreaker games used for divisions. The team with the best record gets home field advantage in the World Series. I haven’t decided yet how/if I’ll expand the postseason later on once more teams are added.

-The year used as the baseline for league totals is 1983, using lock league total stats and use of auto-calc. I will tweak a few other statistical modifiers though each season to get a consistent result, since the auto-calc does throw some things out of wack if left untouched I found. The roster settings and strategy are more in line with the 1980s style with some tweaking for personal preference. I found it to be a good middle-ground type style that isn’t too high/low scoring.

-Teams use five-man rotations and start highest-rested by default. Teams generally have a four-man bullpen and 16 position players. I appreciate the aesthetics of great aces regularly going deep into games moreso than the heavy bullpen usage of the modern game. I do still have closers set for heavy use, but I have noticed that in the earliest years regardless, teams won’t use closers/relievers too much simply because relievers didn’t exist in that style back them (and the ones that do exist aren’t good enough for the AI to give much time to). The starters are the stars though in this universe. This world will also have a higher amount of stolen base tries than the current game; again just a personal preference.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Various regions in the world had ball-and-bat sports in the decades prior to baseball as we know it. Games like cricket and rounders started in England and could be viewed as distant cousins to baseball. Evidence suggests a game named baseball existing in some form even in the early 1800s in the United States, although the rules and prevalence varied wildly from town-to-town.

After the Civil War, the game saw a growth in popularity and a more standardized form. Professional teams popped up in earnest in the 1870s, but there was still a ton of inconsistencies in rules and form. There was tremendous disagreement among players, fans, business leaders, and politicians as to how professional baseball should work. Even the idea of “professional sports” in a broad sense was still a fairly new and novel concept. Regardless, it was clear that baseball was growing rapidly and that all of the stakeholders needed to establish a framework to ensure the game would grow and thrive for generations to come.

Discussions and debates continued through the 1870s and early 1880s while a mishmash of pro, semi-pro, and amateur games were played nationwide. Eventually, the details were ironed out to create Major League Baseball beginning with 1884. There would be two separate “Major Leagues” playing concurrently; the National League and American League. Each had 12 teams split evenly into two divisions across the major American cities of the day. The two leagues agreed to shared frameworks and mostly the same rules; the most notable difference being the designated hitter rule employed only by the AL. The two league champions at the end of the year would meet in the “World Series” to determine the top squad that season.



Once the charter franchises were created and ready to go, play was set to begin in 1884. For the sake of competitive balance, all professional players would be entered into an inaugural draft to fill out the teams. Players would be contracted to that team until they had accrued enough service time for free agency, were traded, or released. The initial draft would be serpentine style and 30 total rounds. The draft order was decided by random draw. The New York Giants by luck of the draw ended up with the #1 pick. They used it on 1B Dan Brouthers, considered by many to be the best all-around batter in the game. Below are the first five rounds of selections and their ratings.

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Through the first month of the season, the Boston Red Sox had the best record in baseball at 16-6, leading the New York Yankees by three games in the American League East. Detroit led the AL West at 14-8 with a three-game edge on both Chicago and Milwaukee. Buffalo led the National League at 15-7 atop the East, while Chicago had the West lead at 14-7.

April’s Batter of the Month in the American League was Baltimore LF Pete Browning, who hit .375 with four home runs, 14 RBI, and 15 runs scored. New York Giants 1B Dan Brouthers, the #1 pick from the inaugural draft, lived up to the billing as NL Batter of the Month with a .321 average, 6 homers, 23 RBI, and 20 runs scored. It was Cincinnati’s John Reilly with the most impressive power though with 10 homers and 30 RBI, leading the majors.

The AL’s Pitcher of the Month was Boston’s Charlie Ferguson, who won all five of his starts with a 2.00 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 45 innings. Buffalo’s Tommy Bond led the NL’s arms with a 1.77 ERA, 4-0 record, and two saves over 45.2 innings with 34 Ks.

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At the end of May, it was the Chicago White Sox with the best record in all of MLB. They opened the month on a ten-game winning streak and went 22-6 overall, moving into first in the American League West at 34-17. Among their wins was a four-game sweep of Detroit, who had a three-game lead entering the month. The Tigers are now six back at 28-23 with Kansas City a distant third at 25-26. The White Sox have the fewest runs allowed in MLB at 167 with starters Tony Mullane and John Clarkson both with sub-two ERA.

Boston had MLB’s best record through April, but the Red Sox struggled to 10-19 in May to drop to fourth in the AL East. No one team has a big lead, but Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak to end the month put them in first at 28-23. However, Washington and Baltimore are both one back, Boston two back, and both New York and Cleveland are three away.

White Sox RF Dennis Casey was the AL’s Batter of the Month with a .305 average, 10 home runs, 32 RBI, and 24 runs scored. Casey is the AL leader in both homers (15) and RBI (49). Baltimore’s Guy Hecker was Pitcher of the Month with a 0.98 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and 6-1 record over 64.1 innings. Hecker has a 1.94 ERA and 2.8 WAR, both second in the AL behind Kansas City’s Pud Galvin, who sits at 1.84 ERA and 4.1 WAR.

In the National League, the top two teams are battling atop the West with Chicago at 32-18 and Cincinnati 31-20. The Reds ended the month on an eight-game winning streak. Cincinnati is the top-scoring team thus far at 270 runs. St. Louis has the fewest runs allowed in the NL at 197, but sit third in the West at 27-24. Buffalo’s subpar May dropped them from eight above .500 to only three, but the Bisons still hold the lead at 27-24. Brooklyn is two behind at 25-26, while Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh are each three back at 24-27.

Cincinnati’s Bud Fowler was Batter of the Month with a .386 average, 34 hits, 9 homers, 28 RBI, and 23 runs in May. Boston’s Ed Morris was Pitcher of the Month with a 1.52 ERA, 6-0 record, 43 strikeouts, and 59.1 innings in seven starts.



May had MLB’s first-ever three home run game. Philadelphia Athletics SS Ri Jones did it on May 9 against Boston. On May 25, Detroit 2B Ross Barnes was the first to hit for the cycle, doing it against Milwaukee. Baltimore’s Bid McPhee had the first-ever hitting streak exceeding 20 games, snapped at 21 on May 25. Detroit’s Billy Taylor passed him and carries a 27-game streak into June.

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Heading into the first-ever MLB All-Star Game, the Chicago White Sox pulled away from the rest of the majors. At 55-28, Chicago was seven wins ahead of any other team. Their pitching staff had allowed only 278 runs; the only team below 300, with a 2.91 team ERA, the only team below three. They also continued to get great hitting from RF Dennis Casey, who led all of MLB with 71 RBI and was tied for the home run lead at 23. Kansas City at 44-39 was a very distant second in the American League West despite Pud Galvin’s 5.5 WAR on the mound. Detroit had fallen to 42-41.

Washington emerged as the AL East leader at the midway point at 49-34. From June 14 onward, the Nationals went 18-3. New York was second at 44-39 with Baltimore third at 42-41. The Orioles had been in the mix until going 1-9 in their last ten games before the break. Cleveland was fourth at 41-42 with an 8-2 mark in their last ten.

Minnesota C Emil Goss was the AL’s Batter of the Month with 32 hits, 10 homers, 22 RBI, 19 runs, 11 walks, and a .467 OBP. New York’s Bert Dorr was the top pitcher with a 1.20 ERA in six starts, 52.2 innings, 44 Ks, 6 walks, and 5-0 record.

Chicago and Cincinnati remained the top squads in the National League and were keeping pace with each other in the NL West. The Cubs had first place at 49-34 with the Reds two back at 47-36. Chicago 1B Dave Orr had the best OPS (1.132) and WAR (5.6) in the majors. Indianapolis had inserted themselves into the conversation at 46-37. The Clowns had been 6.5 back entering June, but were now within three games.

In the NL East, no one team was able to separate themselves from the pack. Buffalo had the lead still at 44-39, but four other teams were within five games of the Bisons. Orr was also the Batter of the Month for June in the NL with a .454 average, 9 homers, 28 RBI, and 28 runs. Pittsburgh’s John Fischer was the best pitcher with a 2.53 ERA over seven starts with 48 strikeouts over 57 innings.

Detroit’s Billy Taylor saw his hitting streak end at 29 games on June 4 against Kansas City. This is the longest streak thus far in MLB’s brief history. New Orleans’ 2B Joe Werrick was the second player to hit for the cycle, doing it versus Louisville on June 3.

Milwaukee took a big blow with the loss of ace pitcher Lady Baldwin, who suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow on June 24. The 25-year old lefty had a 2.14 ERA over 126.1 innings and had posted 3.8 WAR on the season. He was the Brewers’ second round pick in the inaugural draft and is expected to be out for more than a full year.

Below are the league leaders at the midway point of the season.

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Rosters were announced for the first-ever All-Star Game with the best of both leagues squaring off. The day prior was the first-ever Home Run Challenge, won by Baltimore’s Billy Sunday. It came down to him and Louisville’s Ed Williamson with Sunday winning the final round 12-8. Baltimore hosted the first All-Star Game at Union Park and the American League picked up a 7-4 victory over the National League.



Both Chicago and Washington continued to pull away in the American League. Despite ending July on a four-game losing streak, the White Sox at 67-36 were still 13 games ahead of second place Kansas City in the AL West. Chicago still had the best record in MLB at 67-36, but the 62-41 Nationals were making a run. Washington’s AL East lead was up to nine games over both Cleveland and New York.

The National League West maintained similar margins through July with Chicago still first at 61-42. Indianapolis remained three back at 58-45, but did pass Cincinnati (57-46) for second. Buffalo (59-43) began pulling away in the East, going from a three-game lead at the break to 8.5 ahead of Brooklyn (51-52). The Bisons went 15-4 to close the month.

Washington CF John Meister won the AL’s Batter of the Month with a .394 average, 7 homers, 32 RBI, and 22 runs. For the second time this year, New York’s Dan Brouthers took the NL honor with a .393 average, 8 homers, 23 RBI, and 21 runs. Cleveland’s Frank Foreman was AL Pitcher of the Month with a 5-0 record in five starts, 34 Ks, and a 1.57 ERA. Indianapolis’s Perry Weren led the NL arms with a 6-0 record, 2.38 ERA, 53 innings, and 21 Ks in July.

In other notables, Pittsburgh’s Steve Brady was the first to record a six-hit game, going 6-6 on July 26 facing New Orleans. Cincinnati’s John Reilly hit for the cycle on July 17 against Brooklyn.

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The action heated up in August for the American League East as Washington’s nine game lead shrunk to only three. The Nationals went 12-16 for the month, including getting swept in four games at home by New York. Washington was at 74-57 with the Yankees giving chase at 71-60. Boston saw an impressive turnaround, going from one below .500 to nine above. At 70-61, the Red Sox were now right in the mix entering the final month.

Meanwhile, Chicago continued to clobber the competition in the AL West. The White Sox at 88-43 remained by far the top team in Major League Baseball and had a 21-game lead on Kansas City. Their +183 run differential led all teams and their pitching had only 412 runs allowed. Every other team had allowed 500+. LF Oscar Walker led the way in August as AL Batter of the Month for Chicago with a .426 average, 13 homers, 31 RBI, and 20 runs. That powerful August made Walker the MLB leader in home runs with 37. St. Louis’ Bill Vinton was Pitcher of the Month with a 1.77 ERA over 56 innings with a 6-0 record and 26 strikeouts.

The National League West race became a two team battle after a rough month for Indianapolis, including an eight-game losing streak, putting them ten back at 66-65. Chicago at 76-55 maintained its lead, but Cincinnati at 74-57 gained two on the Cubs during the month. The Reds hosted and took three of four against Chicago to start August. They notably have a four-game series in Chicago to start September, then end the season with four more in Cincy.

In the NL East, Buffalo’s lead grew from 8.5 games entering August to 14.5 by the end of the month. The Bisons at 79-51 have the National League’s top record as their LF Abner Dalrymple leads the NL with 35 homers. For the third time, New York 1B Dan Brouthers was named NL Batter of the Month, this time with a .407 average, 9 homers, 31 RBI, and 24 runs. Brouthers also had a 20-game hitting streak during the month. Buffalo’s Tommy Bond was Pitcher of the Month for the second time with an 0.95 ERA over 47.1 innings, winning his five starts with 40 Ks.

There was more bad news in Brooklyn regarding LF/P Bob Caruthers, their #1 overall draft pick. The 20-year old had suffered a partially torn UCL in spring training. Doctors expected he was out for the season, but an August setback extended his recovery time to another eight months. The Dodgers just hope their 80-grade talent is back for 1885 and lives up to expectations.

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The Chicago White Sox quickly clinched the American League West Division in mid-September and finished with Major League Baseball’s best record at 102-60. They did end the season going 3-7 in their last ten, but they still easily took the top seed. The White Sox +209 run differential and 538 runs allowed were both the best in all of MLB. Their pitching staff had the top two arms in ERA with Tony Mullane at 2.20 and John Clarkson at 2.40. Chicago also had LF Oscar Walker lead the AL in home runs (42) and RBI (122). They were 13 games ahead of second place Kansas City, while the rest of the West finished below .500. Milwaukee had MLB’s worst record at 60-102.

Washington entered September with a three game lead in the AL East over New York and a four game advantage over Boston. The Nationals went 8-8 to start the month, while allowed both the Red Sox and Yankees to gain ground. With 14 games to go, all three were tied at 82-66.

The big turning point was the final series of September, which saw Boston host and sweep Washington in four games; each by a one run margin. Concurrently, New York got swept in four games at Philadelphia; two of the games in extra innings. Boston’s final four games were at Cleveland and they took three of four, although two of the wins needed extra innings. That slammed the door shut, giving the Red Sox first place at 92-70. Both NY and DC were 87-75 and the Athletics were 82-80.

Boston was the AL’s top scoring team with 854 runs and went 29-18 in one-run games. It was an impressive 52-27 run after the all-star break, erasing a nine-game deficit to the Nationals. Washington ended up 38-41 after the break. The AL’s final Batter of the Month was Royals LF Henry Larkin, going .414 with seven homers, 32 RBI, and 30 runs. Baltimore’s Guy Hecker was Pitcher of the Month with a 1.80 ERA, 6-0 record, and 27 strikeouts over 50 innings. Hecker was also May’s POTM and finished as the AL’s leader in wins (26-9) and complete games (31), making him a contender for Pitcher of the Year.

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Buffalo clinched the National League East Division on September 20 and had the NL’s best record at 100-62. Their 881 runs scored led the majors and their +202 run differential was only seven behind the Chicago White Sox for the best in MLB. LF Abner Dalyrmple led the way offensively in Buffalo, leading MLB with 43 home runs and finishing second in RBI with 127. New York was a distant second in the East at 86-76 but did end on an 11-game winning streak, as the Giants hope to build momentum into 1885.

The NL West battle to watch was Chicago and Cincinnati, who entered September separated by two games. They met to start the month and split four games in Cincy. The latter two were Cubs losses, which started a seven-game losing streak. The Reds took the division lead, but Chicago rebounded with a seven-game winning streak later in the month. With eight games left, the Cubs were back in first by one game. In the penultimate series, Chicago lost three of four hosting Indianapolis and Cincinnati won three of four hosting New Orleans.

Thus, the Reds were up one game heading into their final four-game showdown at Cincinnati’s League Park. The Cubs opened with 6-1 and 4-2 wins to reclaim the lead. The critical third game went to Chicago 4-3 in ten innings to clinch, followed by a 13-2 blowout to close the year. The Cubs ended 94-68 with the Reds at 91-71 and St. Louis third at 86-76. Indianapolis, who had been in the mix, ended fourth at 85-77.

Buffalo 3B Bill Schenck was the final Batter of the Month with a .366 average, 7 homers, 28 RBI, and 20 runs in September. St. Louis’s Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn was Pitcher of the Month with a 6-1 record, 42 strikeouts, and 2.04 ERA over 57.1 innings.



The NL also saw New Orleans’ ace Charlie Geggus with a 16 strikeout game over 10 innings against Philadelphia on September 12, setting the single-game Ks record. Geggus led all pitchers in ERA (2.13), WAR (10.6), and strikeouts (311) despite the Pelicans being last in the NL West at 67-95. Observers wonder if the lack of team success and his 15-13 record may cost Geggus Pitcher of the Year despite his dominance. Most expect Cubs 1B Dave Orr to win NL MVP, as he led the majors in batting average (.389), hits (252), runs (134), doubles (61) and total bases (413).

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The American League Championship Series had the AL’s top-scoring team Boston against the best pitching staff in Chicago. The White Sox finished ten wins ahead of the Red Sox and swept their six regular season meetings, thus Chicago was the heavy favorite. Which made it all the more stunning when Boston opened the series with a lopsided 10-2 road win. Eight of the nine men in the Red Sox lineup scored while Bill Wise got the complete game win.



Chicago bounced back in game two with a 7-1 victory. The seventh inning was the breakaway point with five runs, capped off by Dennis Casey’s three-run homer to right which just cleared the fence. Tony Mullane had the complete game win with six hits allowed and one earned run.



Game three was in Boston at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, known for its cavernous outfield. The Red Sox were up 3-1 after the second inning, which held until Chicago scored twice in the seventh, forcing extras at 3-3. In the bottom of the tenth, Boston’s Ezra Sutton earned a one-out double. The next batter was intentionally walked to set up a double play, followed by an unintentional walk to load the bases. LF Chicken Wolf hit a groundball to second for the walkoff RBI single in a 4-3 Red Sox victory.



Chicago evened the series in a tight 2-1 game four result. Both White Sox runs game in the fourth inning, using two singles and a walk to score. Boston got one back in the seventh, but ultimately couldn’t solve George Knight. The 28-year old righty allowed three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in his complete game win.



For the first time in the series, the top-seeded White Sox went ahead after a 3-1 win in game five. The seventh inning started with two singles, a double, and a triple to score all three runs. Jocko Milligan had the two RBI double, then scored on an error as he tried to steal third. Both aces allowed only four hits in a complete game, but Tony Mullane surrendered just the one run in his win.



The early 3-1 lead in game six held as Chicago prevailed 5-2 to clinch the first-ever American League pennant. John Clarkson was the winning pitcher with a complete game, allowing five hits, two runs, and two walks with nine strikeouts. Tony Mullane was ALCS MVP with his two complete game wins on the mound, allowing two earned runs over 18 innings. The two-way man from Cork, Ireland also was 4-15 at the plate one run, one RBI, and four stolen bases.

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Buffalo had home field advantage for the first National League Championship Series and led Major League Baseball with 881 runs scored. Chicago meanwhile was second in the NL in both runs scored and allowed. The Bisons had won the season series 4-2, leaving fans to expect a competitive battle. The Cubs surprised Buffalo at Olympic Park with a 3-0 road win to start the series. Three pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout as starter Frank Buttery left to injury in the seventh.



A big five-run fourth inning led the way in a 7-5 Cubs win, giving them the 2-0 lead before playing a game in Chicago. Buffalo tried to rally and got a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. They got the tying run to the plate after that, but the hole was too deep to climb out of. Not only was Dupee Shaw the winning pitcher for the Cubs, but he had the critical bases-clearing double in the fourth.



Chicago continued to roll in a 9-1 home rout over Buffalo in game three. The contest was tight until a six-run seventh inning, including a three-run homer by Hardy Richardson. Tim Keefe allowed four hits and five walks with eight strikeouts in a complete game win.



Buffalo avoided the embarrassment of getting swept by winning game four 6-0. Blondie Purcell was the star with an efficient five-hitter, tossing only 81 pitches with two strikeouts and no walks.



Chicago clinched in front of the hometown fans in five games, taking the finale 3-0 over Buffalo. 2B Jack Burdock’s two-run homer in the second inning gave them a lead they never surrendered. Frank Buttery tossed eight shutout innings with four hits allowed, two walks, and five strikeouts. Billy O’Brien closed it out 1-2-3. CF Hardy Richardson was NLCS MVP, going 7-17 with 6 runs, 1 double, 2 homers, and 4 RBI.

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The Windy City was buzzing as Chicago’s two baseball clubs were to compete in the first-ever World Series. The White Sox had the best record in Major League Baseball and the best run differential at +209. Their 538 runs allowed were also the fewest in MLB. The Cubs were second in the National League for both runs scored and allowed.

The White Sox had home field advantage with a 55-26 home record, second in MLB to Buffalo’s 56-25. The Cubs had no problem taking two at Buffalo in the NLCS and had the best road record in MLB at 48-33. Of course, “road game” would be a relative term as the South Side Park and West Side Grounds were separated by only about five miles.

Game one had an offensive explosion with 30 combined hits. The White Sox took advantage though far more effectively in a 14-4 win, getting four home runs. SS Germany Smith was 3-5 with 5 RBI and 2 runs, while LF Tony Mullane was 2-4 with 4 RBI and DH Oscar Walker scored 4 runs.



Game two was a more expected pitcher’s duel, which was even 1-1 through three innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Germany Smith had a leadoff single and eventually scored what would be the White Sox winning run on a wild pitch. The Cubs got two singles in the top of the ninth, but the White Sox stranded them to escape the 2-1 victor. Mullane had the complete game win, allowing five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.



The White Sox bats unloaded again to roll 10-2 in game three, putting them on the cusp of a sweep. Germany Smith scored thrice on two hits and 2B Candy Nelson had a three-run homer in the fifth.



The Cubs avoided getting swept in the first World Series, surviving for a 2-1 win in game four. Both Cub runs came in the bottom of the first inning, while Tim Keefe and Billy O’Brien combined on the mound to allow only three hits with 14 strikeouts and two walks.



Game five had an all-time pitching performance by Cubs righty Will White, who tossed a one-hit shutout with three walks and two strikeouts. White also had a two RBI single in the seventh en route to the 4-0 Cubs win, forcing game six back on the South Side.



The White Sox felt confident early in game six after a two run first inning and an injury to Cubs pitcher Frank Buttery in the third inning. The Cubs had an impressive fourth inning rally with four hits and four runs. The bullpen held the line and the Cubs prevailed 4-3. After being on the brink of getting swept, the Cubs won three straight to force the decisive seventh game. MLB officials were delighted to see the high drama from the comeback bid, which was getting plenty of attention in newspapers across the nation.



The decisive inning in game seven of the first World Series was the second. White Sox SS Germany Smith drew a one-out walk, then was knocked in by Candy Nelson’s RBI triple. Tony Mullane doubled in Nelson, then came around to score on an error. Those were the White Sox’s only runs, but it was enough with John Clarkson’s complete game effort.

Clarkson allowed four hits and two runs with 10 strikeouts. The Cubs got solo runs in the third and seventh innings, including a Dave Orr solo homer to lead off the seventh. However, Clarkson retired the next nine batters consecutively after Orr’s bomb and the White Sox survived 3-2. It was more dramatic than they wanted, considering they won the first three games of the series, but regardless the Chicago White Sox were the first-ever World Series champion in 1884.



Tony Mullane was the World Series MVP, posting a 2.50 ERA over his two complete games on the mound with 14 strikeouts, 11 hits allowed, and four walks. At the plate, Mullane was 5-15 with one homer and six RBI. He had also won ALCS MVP, as the White Sox’s sixth round draft pick proved critical. All four of his pitching outings in the playoffs were complete games, going 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA and 20 Ks.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

American League Most Valuable Player for 1884 went to Boston two-way man Charlie Ferguson. He had 16 first place votes, while Minnesota C Emil Gross was next with four. White Sox SP Tony Mullane, Tigers C Billy Taylor, and Baltimore SP Guy Hecker each had first place votes.

On the mound for the Red Sox, Ferguson had a 2.99 ERA over 283.1 innings, 20-12 record, 179 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 6.6 WAR. He led with seven shutouts, his only league-leading stat. At the plate playing the outfield, Ferguson had 161 hits, 108 runs, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 12 home runs, 58 RBI, 54 stolen bases, a .303/.406/.422 slash, 140 wRC+, and 6.0 WAR in 139 games. The combined 12.6 WAR shows his remarkable value and he also won a Gold Glove in right field. The Red Sox picked him in the third round of the inaugural draft and at age 21, Ferguson already showed the potential to be an all-timer.

Chicago 1B Dave Orr won National League MVP with 18 first place votes, while his Cubs teammate CF Hardy Richardson had the remaining six. The 25-year old Orr led in runs (134), hits (252), doubles (61), total bases (413), average (.389), and wRC+ (189). Orr added 28 homers, 8 triples, 112 RBI, 46 steals, a 1.065 OPS, and 9.6 WAR. Chicago had taken him in the second round of the inaugural draft.

Playoff hero Tony Mullane for the White Sox was AL Pitcher of the Year with 16 first place votes, while Kansas City’s Pud Galvin had the remaining eight. The 25-year old Irishman won the ERA title at 2.20 and had the most quality starts at 27. Mullane posted a 22-9 record over 290.2 innings with 169 strikeouts, 197 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 6.1 WAR. He also played 106 games at the plate with 2.3 WAR, .726 OPS, and 106 wRC+ and won a Gold Glove in left field.

Even though his New Orleans squad was last in the NL West, Charlie Geggus still got Pitcher of the Year with all but two first place votes, which went to Buffalo’s Tommy Bond. The 22-year old righty from San Francisco led in ERA (2.13), strikeouts (311), shutouts (7), K/9 (10.4), FIP- (54), and WAR (10.6). Geggus had a 15-13 record and 7 saves in 270 innings with a 188 ERA+. He was the Pelicans #1 overall pick and certainly is someone they can build around.

Below are the other major award winners. Note that Rookie of the Year isn’t included for 1884 since technically everyone was a rookie with the new league. Both MVPs also won ROTY. Also, only the NL had a reliever of the Year (the Cubs Billy O’Brien) since no one else was used enough to qualify in the game’s mind.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Because of the inaugural draft and players needing to build up service time, there really weren’t any free agents of note for the 1884-85 offseason. The way to build up talent was going to be the first amateur draft or by trades. There was only eight rounds worth of players in this group with Milwaukee holding the #1 pick.

The Brewers took 3B Denny Lyons, who is expected to contribute immediately as an all-around batter. The Boston Braves took RF Mike Tierman second, followed by SS Oyster Burns to New Orleans, SP Toad Ramsey to Minnesota, and CF Jimmy Ryan to Louisville. Below are the top 50 picks from the draft and their ratings: The only top pick to not sign was #9 choice Matt Kilroy by the Phillies, who opted to instead attend college. He will be eligible again in 1887.



Below are the top-rated batters in baseball entering 1885. A few veterans signed longer-term deals in the offseason, the biggest being New Orleans’ RF Orator Shafer at $32,120 over five years. By arbitration, Athletics RF Paul Hines has the largest salary for 1885 at $14,255.



Below are the top-rated pitchers in baseball. The Athletics also have the highest-paid arm for 1885 with Jim Whitney at $10,166. Buffalo gave Tommy Bond a five-year, $35,460 deal which is the largest overall contact.



*Also a programming note, the schedule for 1885 ended up not being the correct one that I had inputted in. For whatever reason, the game ignored my custom one and instead generated a random one that doesn’t seem to make any distinction between divisions. I didn’t realize it until after I had already moved forward and saved into the season. I’ll make sure to double-check that moving forward.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

One month into the 1885 season, the New York Yankees have Major League Baseball’s best record at 15-9 atop the American League East Division. Boston is behind them at 13-11 with Philadelphia at 12-12. Chicago and Kansas City are tied in the AL West at 13-11 with both Detroit and Minnesota at 12-12.

The #1 overall pick from the rookie draft, Denny Lyons, is already making a huge impact for Milwaukee. The 19-year old third baseman was AL Batter of the Month with a .453 average, 7 home runs, 26 RBI, 15 runs, and 20 stolen bases. Unsurprisingly, he was also Rookie of the Month. New York’s Dale Williams was named Pitcher of the Month, going 5-0 over 45 innings with a 2.20 ERA and 31 strikeouts.

The Boston Braves lead the National Least East at 14-10 while Pittsburgh, New York, and Philadelphia are 12-12. Indianapolis and Louisville are tied at 14-10 in the NL West with both New Orleans and St. Louis at 12-12. The biggest surprise is Buffalo, last year’s NL East champ. At 9-15, the Bisons are the only team below ten wins through April.

New York’s Dan Brouthers added another NL Batter of the Month award to his trophy case. The 26-year old 1B had a .506 average, 42 hits, 6 homers, 27 RBI, and 22 runs in April. Brooklyn’s Mickey Welch earned Pitcher of the Month with a 1.65 ERA over 49 innings, 6-0 record, and 30 strikeouts. #2 pick CF Mike Tiernan of Boston was Rookie of the Month with a .356 average, 8 homers, 23 RBI, and 24 runs.



MLB’s first-ever no-hitter was thrown on April 15 by Minnesota’s Toad Ramsey. Facing Cleveland, the 20-year old rookie gave up only four walks and struck out 10 over 98 pitches. Ramsey also on April 25 struck out 16 over 13 innings against Philadelphia, tying the single-game strikeout record. Also notable on April 7 was the second-ever six-hit game, courtesy of St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Roger Connor against Louisville. St. Louis Browns 2B Fred Dunlap also notably hit for the cycle against Philadelphia on April 23.

In bad news for Detroit, pitcher Charlie Hodnet is out for the season with a torn flexor tendon. The 24-year old righty had a 3.34 ERA over 196.2 innings last year for the Tigers and is rated as a 50 overall.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

New York still have the American League’s best record at 32-20 through May. Boston (30-22) and Baltimore (29-23) are giving chase thus far in the AL East. In the AL West, defending World Series champ Chicago is first at 29-23, followed by 28-24 Minnesota.

Boston RF Sam Thompson was AL Batter of the Month in May with a .391 average, 7 home runs, 21 RBI, and 22 runs. Washington’s Peek-A-Boo Veach was Pitcher of the Month with a 6-1 record, 53 innings, 37 strikeouts, and 2.21 ERA. Rookie of the Month was Minnesota SP Toad Ramsey with a 4-1 record, 3.00 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 45 innings.

Indianapolis holds the National League’s top mark at 32-20 atop the West. Defending NL champ Chicago sits second at 28-23 with both Louisville (28-24) and St. Louis (27-25) giving chase. Brooklyn leads the East at 30-22 with only Philadelphia (28-24) also above .500. Last year’s NL East winner Buffalo continues to struggle with MLB’s worst record at 18-34. Injuries haven’t been a big issue and they have largely the same roster, making their collapse puzzling to many observers.

New York’s Dan Brouthers repeated as NL Batter of the Month, posting a .437 average, 5 homers, 29 RBI, and 29 runs. Big Dan through 50 games has an incredible 1.318 OPS, 252 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR. Louisville’s Harry Salisbury was Pitcher of the Month with a 0.84 ERA over 32.1 innings, 5-0 record, and 13 Ks. Boston’s Mike Tiernan was again Rookie of the Month, this time with a .323 average, 6 homers, 21 runs, and 18 RBI.

Boston’s Rooney Sweeney hit for the cycle on May 11 facing Baltimore. Indianapolis’ Pop Corkhill saw his hitting streak ended at 22 games on May 26.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Boston was the dominant force in June with a 23-5 record, giving the Red Sox the best record in the majors at 53-27. That gives them an eight-game lead in the American League East despite a solid 45-35 Baltimore club in second. Philadelphia (42-38) and New York (41-38) are next. It was a bad month for the Yankees, going from 12 above .500 to only three.

Defending World Series champ Chicago began to pull away in the AL West at 43-35. Everyone else in the division has a losing record with Milwaukee second at 37-42. Red Sox RF Sam Thompson was June’s AL Batter of the Month with a .418 average, 13 homers, 29 RBI, and 26 runs. If the season ended today, Thompson would have a Triple Crown as the leader in average (.403), homers (28), and RBI (77). His Boston teammate Bill Wise was Pitcher of the Month, going 6-1 in 43.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Milwaukee 3B Denny Lyons was Rookie of the Month for the second time, posting a .359 average, 4 homers, and 20 RBI.

Indianapolis went 20-9 in May, giving them the National League’s best record at 50-30. The Clowns hold a 7.5 game lead in the NL West over Louisville, eight over St. Louis, and 8.5 over defending NL champ Chicago. Philadelphia is the only team in the NL East with a winning record at 43-37. Brooklyn ended the month on an eight-game losing streak, dropping them to second at 40-40. Everyone but Buffalo in the division is still within six games of first, so plenty of time for positions to shift.

For three months in a row, New York 1B Dan Brouthers has been the NL’s Batter of the Month. In June, he had a .459 average, 45 hits, 11 homers, 28 RBI, and 31 runs. He leads the entire majors with a .465/.535/.813 slash, 1.348 OPS, 84 RBI, 132 hits, 82 runs, and 6.7 WAR.

NL Pitcher of the Month was New Orleans’ Charlie Geggus with a 1.32 ERA in 41 innings with 46 strikeouts and a 4-0 record. Geggus also had a 15-strikeout game on June 12 facing St. Louis. Boston’s Mike Tiernan yet again was Rookie of the Month, this time with a .352 average, 13 homers, 21 runs, and 36 RBI.

Elsewhere in the world: The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor from France on June 17.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Boston and Chicago both extended their sizeable division leads in the American League into the all-star break. The Red Sox have MLB’s best record at 65-34, putting them 10 games ahead of Baltimore in the AL East. The White Sox at 57-42 are 9.5 games ahead of Milwaukee.



The Red Sox have probably the top two MVP candidates right now in the AL. RF Sam Thompson is the leader in home runs (33) and RBI (95) and his .384 batting average is second to Milwaukee’s Denny Lyons at .397. Lyons notably is the WARlord among AL hitters at 6.9. Defending MVP Charlie Ferguson leads all pitchers in WAR at 5.4 and has 1.7 WAR over 80 games at the plate.



The one exciting division race right now is the National League East. Philadelphia entered July up three, but New York ended the first half on a five-game winning streak to take the lead. The Giants are 52-47, followed by the Phillies and Brooklyn both at 51-48. Boston at 48-51 is only four games back and got their own five-game streak to keep them in the fight. Pittsburgh went 1-9 in their last ten with a seven-game losing streak, dropping them to 8.5 back. Meanwhile, Indianapolis at 62-37 has the NL West’s best record and holds a healthy 10 game advantage over St. Louis.



In other notables, Washington’s Cap Anson had a 20-game hitting streak that ended in early July.

[ayaghmour2]

Reminds me a lot of your other dynasties! Will be following. Curious to see how your league evolves