OOTP26 Negro Leaguers on, color barrier off

[djc]

I'm using OOTP26 out of the box to run a game testing how the Negro leaguers will do with minors turned on and with the color barrier off. Starting in 1901 and continuing until 1950 after the real integreation occurred. So mostly numbers and a little commentary. Listed below are the replay year, the total number of Negro Leaguers for that year and what league they were in.

1901 - 10 total, 1 MLB Carlos Moran.
1904 - 24 total, 10 MLB, 7 AAA, 4 AA, 11 Cubans.
1905 - 27 total, 13 MLB, 7 AAA, 5 AA, 13 Cubans. Grant Johnson ROY. Rogelio Valdes promoted from the Toronto Maple Leafs AAA to the St. Louis Browns MLB

1906 - 28 total, 15 MLB, 7 AAA, 4 AA, 1 A, 17 Cubans, 1 Spainish. Pedro Olave promoted from Manchester Textiles AAA to Boston Americans MLB. Jose Munoz contract purchased by the Phillies 3/29/1906 after 5 years in the minors. John Henry Lloyd led the MLB in stolen bases in 1906 at 51.

1907 - 59 total players, 26 MLB, 9 AAA, 14 AA, 6 retired, 29 Cubans, 1 Spanish.
Pete Hill (WS1)2nd in AL WAR and SB. Jose Mendez (BSN) 2nd in K's. Smoky Joe Williams (CIN) 3rd in saves.

One little problem Ty Cobb debuted in 1904 for the Augusta Tourists and is still on the A level club through 1907!!!

1908 - 81 total players, 42 MLB, 10 AAA, 13 AA, 41 Cuban players, Candy Jim Taylor ROY in AL and Jose Mendez ROY in NL! Bill Gatewood pitcher of the year in the NENL. Andrew Payne MVP New Bedford of NEL.

1909 - 89 players, 44 MLB, 10 AAA, 13 AA, 1 A.
I placed Ty Cobb on the Tigers manually and he lead the AL in batting, 2nd SB, 3rd WAR,. John Henry Lloyd (BRO) 2nd in batting.

1910 – 1384 total players, 103 NeL, 52 MLB, 11 AAA, 13 AA, 2 A. Harry Buckner (PIT) 28 wins (1), Jose Mendez 2nd (BSN) era. Pete Hill (WS1) 18 game hitting streak. William Tenny MVP, Oklahoma City, Texas league (AA).

1911 – 1272 of the total 1457 players are in the MLB.
NeL playeres; 109 total (7% of total); 53 MLB (4% of total) and (49% of NeL), 18 retired, 9 AAA, 16 AA, 1 A. Carlos Moran (BOS) 2nd SB, Pete Hill (WS1) 21 game hitting streak, Joe Williams (CIN) 3rd NL wins and k's. Bill Gatewood NEL pitcher of the year

1912 – 112 total NeL players, 51 MLB, 6 AAA, 2 AA, 17 A, 23 retired. John Henry Lloyd (NY1) 2nd SB, Pastor Pareda (BRO) 1st in era, Jose Mendez (BSN) 3rd in K's.

1913 – 119 total NeL players, 53 MLB, 6 AAA, 2 AA, 16 A, 30 retired. Cristobal Torriente ( SLA) 2nd SB, Jules Thomas (CWS) 19 game hitting streak, John Henry Lloyd (NY1) 3rd batting, Grant Johnson (BSN) 2nd batting WAR. 7/14/1913 Carlos Moran collects 2,000 hit. Andrew Payne (NBW, NEL)33 game hitting streak.

[djc]

John Donaldson rookie of the year in the AL.

I'd like to inject here... I notice there are a lot more Negro and Cuban players in this database then just the 200 or so found in the Intgreated Mod database. Since there are more Cuban and Negro players do we still have the need for the fictional players named “Ballplayer Smith”?

1914 – 146 total, 58 MLB, 5 AAA, 2 AA, 9 Class A and 34 retirees. Cristobal Torriente (SLA) 2nd in batting behind Ty Cobb and in front of Shoeless Joe Jackson, 3rd in batting WAR. Louis Santop (NYY) 3rd in RBI. John Donaldson (SLA) 3rd in pitching wins. Grant Johnson (BSN) tops in batting WAR. Jose Mendez (BSN) 2nd in pitching WAR.
08/13/1914 John Donaldson tossing a NO-HITTER vs the White Sox.
Gerardo Ballesteros (BRO) rookie of the year.

[LansdowneSt]

If Minors are on you get everyone that has AND doesn’t have a mod MLE. Ballplayer Smith isn’t fictional. You’d find him in BBR as “Smith” and no first name as it is lost to time. You can look each of those up using their historical minors ID. If you see one where the name has since been discovered by research, I’ll amend the database accordingly.

[LansdowneSt]

As an aside, you’ll get less folks trapped in minors be they in the NeL or Cobb at unaffiliated Augusta, if you run a draft.

[djc]

Babe Ruth's rookie year.

1915 – 169 total, 61 MLB, 5 AAA, 2 AA, 15 Class A and 37 retirees. Oscar Charleston rookie year enters as a pitcher. Cristobal Torriente and John Henry Lloyd win the batting crown in their respective leagues. Torriente was also 2nd in RBI and 3rd in on-base + slugging. Jose Mendez 3rd in earned run average, John Henry Lloyd was named MVP he was also 2nd in on-base + slugging, first in batting WAR, and had a 24 game hitting streak. Grant Johnson was 3rd in batting WAR. Smoky Joe Williams was tops in earned run average, wins, and 2nd in pitching WAR. Carlos Moran was 2nd in stolen bases in the AL.

1916 – 182 total, 67 MLB, 8 AAA, 2 AA, 13 Class A, and 48 retirees.
Following a couple of players from minors to majors.

Oscar Charleston was drafted in 1914 by the Buffalo Bisons of the International League. At the end of 1914 his contract was purchased by the Boston Braves of the MLB.

Luis Padron, pitcher was signed by the Troy Trojans of the New York State league in 1904. He injured his elbow on 8/18/1904 and was out 4-5 weeks. After his contract was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB. He was under contract for the next 4 years then he was let go on 11/29/1908.

Harry Buckner, pitcher was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB in 1902. Prior to that he pitched for the Chicago Union Giants in Class A ball. He finally got his chance to pitch 2 innings in 1904 at the age of 27. In 1905 he moved to right field where he started and played 153 games batting .239. The Pirates won the world series that season. He contined to increase in innings pitched until he worked his way to starter in 1910 (33) where he won 28 games, the most in the national league. He pitched another 4 more seasons before retiring in 1915.

Andrew “Rube” Foster, pitcher and founder of the Negro League in 1920. Rube was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1902 and started pitching for them in 1904. He went on to play in 11 seasons finishing with 445 games pitched and a 145-176 record with a 2.72 era. ***

“Cannon Ball” Dick Redding, pitcher. He signed a minor league contract in 1911 with the Portland Pippins, Class A club. He continued with the club for 4 seasons. Winning 70 and lossing 95 contests. In 1915 he signed a 1 year contract with the Chicago White Sox, MLB club. On 4/27/1915 he piched a NO-HITTER vs the Cleveland club. He finished the season with a 12-16 record with a 2.63 era.

Jimmie Lyons, left fielder. Signed with the Keokuk Indians of the Central Association in 1909. He played 6 seasons with the club. He finished 2nd runner up for the MVP award in the CENA. The following season he signed a 1 year contract with the Brooklyn Robins MLB club.

Walter Ball, pitcher. Walter signed a 1 year contract with the Fall River Indians of the Class A New England league in 1904. He pitched 10 years in A ball winning 150 games. In 1913 he contract was purchased by the New York Giants at 34 years old. He pitched two seasons for the Giants and led the league in saves in 1913 while winning 16 games. He fell off a little the next season and was traded to the Browns. Now at 36 years old he is back with the Giants in 1915.

Some players are thriving in the majors;

Grant “Home Run” Johnson, short stop. He was drafted in 1904 by the Phillies MLB club. To this date he has played in 12 seasons, hits stats line .275/.339/.350/.689 85.2 WAR.

John Henry Lloyd, short stop. Drafted by the Brooklyn Superbas MLB club in 1906. He has logged 11 seasons in the majors. He has been the batting MVP twice, the most hits twice, top average once, top WAR three times, including his two most recent years.

Smokey Joe Williams, pitcher was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds MLB club in 1907. He has pitched in the last 10 seasons winning 180 games. He won the Cy Young award in 1916 witn 26 wins and a 2.05 ERA.

These are just a few examples of former NeL players.

To start the 1916 season there are 52 former NeL players on the 16 MLB clubs rosters. On the clubs starting lineups are 15 batters and 14 pitchers on the starting lineups.

1916 – outcomes. Doc Wiley (DET) 3rd in RBI. Pelayo Chacon (BOS) 2nd SB and 3rd in batting WAR, Louis Santop (NYY) 3rd on-base + slugging, John Donaldson (SLA) 3rd in ERA, Pete Hill (CHC) 2nd in batting ave, tops in on-base + slugging and 2nd batting WAR, George Carr (BSN) 2nd in HR, John Henry Lloyd (NY1) top s in batting WAR and MVP award. Bullet Rogan (DET) 22 wins. Sam Crawford of the Albany Babies was name the South Atlantic Leagues top pitcher of the year.

[djc]

Thanks Landsdowne. Best time to run the draft?

[djc]

Also thanks for the explaination of the "Ballplayer" first name. I especially like when players start in the minors and move onto the majors. If I remember correctly the Negro League begins in 1920 as a high minor league. It will be interesting to see that develope.

[LansdowneSt]

If you are enjoying the approach by all means let it run. The risk of getting a few players “stuck” and unpurchased by an MLB team for a time is just something that comes with it. If you run a draft I’d do it after the WS so early November.

[djc]

1917 – 205 total, 71 MLB, 10 AAA, 4 AA, 13 Class A, 60 retirees.
Outcomes; Heavy Johnson top in AL homers, Hurley McNair 18 game hitting streak, John Donaldson 3rd lowest ERA and K's, George Carr 2nd NL homers, Bingo DeMoss 3rd losest SB, Grant Johnson 2nd batting WAR, Pelayo Chacon 16 game hitting streak, Eustaquio Pedroso 3rd most winds, Dick Redding 3rd most K's.

Grant Johnson collects his 2,000 hit. Edgar Wesley (CLE) rookie of the year. Carlos Moran collected his 2.500 hit. Smoky Joe Williams reaches 200 wins.

1918 – 218 total players, 70 MLB, 9 AAA, 6 AA, 4 Single A, 82 retirees.
Outcomes; Smokey Joe Williams (SLA) wins Cy Young in AL, 2nd in ERA, 3rd in K's and 2nd in pitching WAR. John Henry Lloyd (NY1) batting MVP, 2n in on-base + slugging and batting WAR. Louis Santop (NYY) 3rd in homers, Heavy Johnson (SLA) 3rd in RBI, Ad Lankford (NY1) tops in K's, Dick Redding (BRO) tops in pitching WAR.

1919 – 230 total players, 75 MLB, 14 AAA, 14 AA, 7 Class A, and 95 retirees.
Outcomes; Spottswood Poles (WS1) 3rd in SB, Dick Lundy (CLE) 22 game hitting streak, Smokey Joe Williams (SLA) lowest ERA and 3rd in K's, Frank Wickware 2nd ERA, Oscar Charleston (BSN) batting MVP, tops in WAR, 2nd in batting, RBI and SB, 3rd in on-base + slugging. Pete Hill (CHC) reaches 2,500 hits, 3rd in batting and batting WAR, 2nd in on-base + slugging, Pearl Webster (CIN) 3rd in homers. Red Ryan (NY1) rookie of the year.

1920 – First year of the Negro National League. OOTP has the 8 teams from the National League plus the New York Bacharach Giants from the Independent League?

There are now 400 total players, 94 MLB, 157 AAA (including the Negro League), 15 AA, 17 Class A, and 103 reitrees.

1920 outcomes; Dick Lundy (CLE) hitting streak 24 games, Bill Holland (CWS) tops pitching WAR, Alejandro Oms (BRO) 3rd HR, Pearl Webster (CIN) 2nd in SB, Oscar Charleston (BSN) 3rd in SB and batting WAR along with 26 game hitting streak, Eustaquio Pedroso (PHI) 3rd in ERA, Ad Lankford (NY1) top in K's, John Henry Lloyd (BSN) collects 2,500 hit. Smoky Joe Williams (SLA) earns 250th win.
Manuel Cueto (SEA) named MVP of Pacific Coast League AAA.

1921 – 443 total players, 111 MLB, 148 AAA (NNL), 22 AA, 24 Class A and 125 retirees.

[djc]

Outcomes; Heavy Johnson (SLA) 2nd in bating, 3rd RBI, 3rd on-base + slugging, Charlie Blackwell (BOS) 3rd in HR. Smoky Joe Williams (SLA) tops in wins and pitching WAR. Dave Brown (CLE) 2nd in K's and pitching WAR. Cristobal Torriente* (SLA) 3rd in pitching WAR. Torriente pitched a total of 68 games in his entire career. In this replay he logged 37 games in 1921? Maybe in the right circumstances Torriente might have filled in on the hill for an ailing club like the Browns?

Oscar Charleston (BSN) 3rd RBI, 2nd batting WAR. Pearl Webster (CIN) 2nd SB, Ad Lankford (NY1) tops in K's. I don't see how this has happened twice he wasn't a power pitcher per Seamheads data.

Negro League News: Ben Taylor had his hitting streak snapped at 70 games during his team's 8-3 win over the New York Bacharach Giants at New York Oval. The 32-year-old first baseman was hitless in 4 at-bats.
"Had to end sometime," Taylor said, shrugging.
For the season, Taylor has hit .557 with 15 home runs and 84 RBIs. He has played in 59 games and scored 71 times.

It seems all the Negro League clubs are being populated with Negro leaguers only! That's a good thing until the league is depleated of good arms hence Ben Taylor's 70 game hitting streak!

[djc]

Started a new game using a different approach. This time I'm drafting players to their respective teams be MLB or Minors. Then assigned affliates from minors to majors. Started in 1920 with Negro leagues turned on. Now in 1924 and things are running pretty smooth but slow going due to the draft assignments. But things seem good. There are over 400 Black and Cuban players in total 68 in MLB, 155 in AAA (including NNL), 24 in AA, and 23 in Class A.

[djc]

NNL players on MLB clubs;
BOS Spotswood Poles, Mack Eggleston and pitcher Joe Strong.
BSN Ben Taylor backup 1B
CWS Hurley McNair backup RF
CHC Biz Mackey, Cool Papa Bell CF and Spot SP
CIN Cristobal Torriente .300+ CF, Harry Salmon and Andy Cooper SP
CLE Walter Cannady, Oscar Charleston, Dave Brown and Martin Dihigo SPs
DET Nip Winters and Carl Glass SP
NYY Wilson Redus, Heavy Johnson both .330+
NYG Clint Thomas
PHA Jose Leblanc SP
PHI Bernardo Baro LF, Willie Wells SS (rookie), Larry Brown C, Willie Spearman
PIR Dobie Moore
SLB Geroge Britt SP, John Donaldson SP
STL Dick Lundy .290 SS, Jud Wilson .320 3B, Square Moore SP
WS1 New Joseph, Bill McCall SP