Introducing the Footnote League

[luckymann]

Opening Day Roster

[luckymann]

Opening Day Roster

[luckymann]

Opening Day Roster

[luckymann]

Opening Day Roster

[luckymann]

Opening Day Roster

[luckymann]

Cribbed from THIS article on SABR Bio by Bill Kirwin.

Since 1893, only one player has combined more wins and more hits than James Bentley Seymour. That player is George Herman Ruth AKA The Babe, The Bambino, The Sultan of Swat. I doubt many of you have heard of Seymour, who went by the slightly less flashy sobriquet of “Cy”. I sure as Shinola hadn’t until he appeared in the Footnote League.

Cy Seymour began his professional career at the age of 24 as a pitcher for Springfield (Simpsons did it!) of the Eastern League in 1896 after a lucrative stint in semi-pro ball that reportedly netted him $1000 a month. An 8-1 record there earned him a call-up to the New York Giants later that year, where he appeared in 11 games for a 2-4 record and an ugly 6.40 ERA. He improved rapidly and in his sophomore season he went 18-14 / 3.36 / 149 K (second in the league) and held batters to a league-best .242 average. Cy’s 1898 campaign (25-19 / 3.18 ERA) was his most successful on the mound, with his league best 239 K a massive 61 ahead of his nearest rival. It was also in this year he began to appear as an outfielder on his off days, mainly due to injuries and poor hitting among his Giants teammates, and he finished the year hitting .276 in 297 PA.

The arrival of a new owner who was somewhat tight-fisted caused Cy’s rotation partner and future HOFer Amos Rusie to retire and Cy to hold out for a month until his contract was satisfactory. Nevertheless he finished with a 14-18 / 3.56 ERA season (even more impressive when you consider his team went 60-90) and narrowly missed winning another strikeout title. This was just after the mound had been moved to 60 feet, 6 inches, and batters reigned supreme in these years (the league BA between 1893-9 was an astonishing .307), so Cy’s limiting hitters to more than 60 points below this is some feat. Look at it this way: between 1897 and 1899, Cy Young gave up 1.093 hits per inning, whereas Cy Seymour gave up just 0.901.

But three seasons of 300+ IP (and his high walk totals) had taken their toll, and the 1900 season saw Cy appear just 13 times and pitch just 57 innings. Dead arm soon afflicted him, all but ending his time as a pitcher, with a 3 inning stint for the Reds in 1902 his final appearance on the hill in the big league. He ended up with a 61-56 record and a career ERA of 3.73.

He left the Giants and joined John McGraw’s Baltimore Orioles as a right fielder at the start of the 1901 season, in which he hit .303 with a HR and 71 RBI. When that side broke up he was part of the contingent that headed to Cincy in 1902, and his performance at the plate for the next few years were almost nonpareil, culminating in his winning the 1905 NL batting title with a .377 mark (the highest until 1919), edging out the mighty Honus Wagner by 13 points. That season also saw him top the table in a host of other batting categories with numbers that would stand for over a decade. He returned to New York for the 1906 season (in the highest monetary deal the league had seen to that point) and, while he never reached those lofty heights again, Cy remained a productive member of the Giants outfield for the remainder of his career, both in a full- and part-time capacity.

Cy played his last season in New York in 1910 and was sold to the Baltimore Orioles, back in the Class A Eastern League. He spent 1911 there before being sold to the AA Newark Indians, where he played in 1912. He eventually made it back to the bigs in 1913 as part of the Boston Braves franchise, hitting just .178 before being released. He died of TB just 6 years later at just 46.

Cy finished with a career .303 batting average, 1724 hits including 52 HR, and 799 RBI.

In the Footnote League, he has been a member of the Boston Americans squad since the beginning but only as an outfielder. He had a solid 1901 season, with a .336 / .364 / .479 slash, 1 HR, 45 RBI and a WAR of 1.1. A high ankle sprain suffered in Spring Training means he is yet to see any action in 1902. He is expected back on the field in late May.

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

[Brad K]

Glancing over the rosters I occasionally encounter a name and say to myself "I didn't realize he was mediocre enough to be in this league".

Actually after playing OOTP for a while I commented to my cousin that some people we remember as good players really only had a good season or two. One of those situations where we remember the good and forget the bad (one of the keys to being able to tell your adult children to have kids, that they're a joy).

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Glancing over the rosters I occasionally encounter a name and say to myself "I didn't realize he was mediocre enough to be in this league".

Actually after playing OOTP for a while I commented to my cousin that some people we remember as good players really only had a good season or two. One of those situations where we remember the good and forget the bad (one of the keys to being able to tell your adult children to have kids, that they're a joy).

That's so true.

Eligibility / suitability of the players is by far the most challenging aspect of running this league. Basically I just don't want any BIG names / HOFers in there, and am trying to keep modern players out as much as possible as well just because of their familiarity, but also because you never know how their careers are going to turn out. So far, so good - only a few have snuck through. One interesting one that did get in is Bob Lemon. He's in the PSL and had 20 losses in 1901, but his profile is 20 OVR / 70 POT so he should figure prominently in the FL at some stage.

[luckymann]

FAST STARTS BY THE SENATORS AND ORPHANS - PENNANT HOLDERS PHILADELPHIA AND ST LOUIS STRUGGLE EARLY.

Notable Performances

• 23rd: Giants 1B Dalton Jones records the first 5 hit performance of the season in a 7-4 win over the Beaneaters. Jones, who hit .356 with 82 RBI in his rookie year has begun 1902 with a bang, with his slash of .577 / .593 / .731 a good sign for the year to come.
• 25th: After two late-inning losses to start the season, the new St Louis Browns franchise finally win their first game. They do their darnedest not to, however, conceding 4 in the top 9th to fall behind 9-6. But then they rally with 4 of their own to snatch it 10-9.
• 29th: 39 year old Americans reliever Tom Glavine announces he will retire at the end of the season.
• 30th: White Sox first baseman Steve Cox becomes the first player in FL history to hit 2 home runs in one game, helping his side get past the Bronchos 8-4.

Feats and Streaks

• 24th: Tigers third baseman Lee Tannehill stretches his consecutive hit streak that carries over from last season to an impressive 30 games. He would add another two to his tally before being stopped by the Browns.

Leaders
American League

• BA: Jack Dalton SLA .621
• HR: Steve Cox CWS 2
• RBI: Milt Cuyler DET 11
• BWAR: 4 tied on 0.6
• SB: Wally Backman WAS 9

• W: Many tied on 2
• ERA: Fred Glade PHA 0.66
• K: Hooks Wiltse SLA 14
• SV: 4 tied on 1
• PWAR: 3 tied on 0.5

National League

• BA: Akinori Iwamura PHI .500
• HR: Billy Maloney PIT 2
• RBI: Billy Johnson NYG 18
• BWAR: Jim Gantner BRO 1.1
• SB: Otis Clymer NYG 9

• W: Many tied on 3
• ERA: Wilbur Wood CHC 1.00
• K: Bob Rhoads NYG 21
• SV: Hank Johnson BSN 2
• PWAR: Bob Rhoads NYG 1.0

Transactions
None of note

Injuries

• 25th: A poor start to the season for the Reds when they lose starting pitcher Luis Castillo to an oblique strain for a month.
• 28th: Shoulder inflammation means Americans SP Allen Watson will have to sit out 6 weeks.
• 30th: Yet another rotation loses a key member when A’s high-profile offseason signing Fred Glade goes down with a high ankle sprain. He is expected to be out for at least 2 months.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 10th: Talk about mixed messages! Harrisburg’s Andy Coakley fans a PSL record 18 in a 9-3 win over Reading, only to succumb to a season-ending ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in the 9th. Houston’s Bob Harmon would equal this strikeout mark just a week later.
• 18th: Hazleton CF Gary Matthews jr has a monster of a day in a 16-5 demolition of the Bees, going 6-for-6 with 5 ribbies, while Reading’s Danny Murtaugh has a 5 hit game in a 10-8 win over Wichita Falls.
• 19th: Reading’s pitching continues to dominate with King Cole blanking the Buffaloes 7-0, fanning 17 in the process.

Standings

[ALB123]

What the heck?! I can't believe I forgot about this league. I swore that I manually subscribed to this thread, but apparently, I was wrong. What a great first season...Congratulations!!

What a huge undertaking it must be, huh? You definitely did the right thing by staying out of the league, I think. Working as the GM of a team or Manager and most certainly doing both jobs would increase the amount of work tremendously, I would think. Being the Commissioner of a league like this must be plenty of fun.

You really came up with a cool premise for the league. It cracks me up seeing players from such different eras playing together. I remember Wally Backman from when I was a kid...it gives me a chuckle to see how he's been crushing it at the plate in the Footnote League. Go Wally!! Go!! Oh yeah... Jimmy Archer from the Philadelphia A's team. He died, in real life, one year before Wally Backman was born. And Marquis Grissom... He's my centerfielder on my 1991 Yankees team. I love it.

OOTP allows us such wonderful customizations, but I really wish they would expand upon the simple options to allow us to really fine tune various options. For instance, if you select that you'd like to use players from all eras randomly, or however it is worded, it would then be so nice if all of a sudden there were checkboxes next to decades. 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and so on, up through the 2010s and 2020s. Of course, the 2020s wouldn't offer too many new players, but in OOTP 25 it will. It would make it so much easier to setup a league, similar to the Footnote League, where perhaps you only want players from the 1900s thru the 1940s & the 1980s, for example.

Hey luckyman... I don't know if I missed it somehow, but what did you end up doing in terms of minor leagues? You wrote that you were still trying to figure that out, if I'm not mistaken. Just curious...that's all.

Oh...and did you say there was a yearly draft? If so, how the heck does that work? Like, is the Draft filled with people from all eras?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by ALB123

What the heck?! I can't believe I forgot about this league. I swore that I manually subscribed to this thread, but apparently, I was wrong. What a great first season...Congratulations!!

What a huge undertaking it must be, huh? You definitely did the right thing by staying out of the league, I think. Working as the GM of a team or Manager and most certainly doing both jobs would increase the amount of work tremendously, I would think. Being the Commissioner of a league like this must be plenty of fun.

You really came up with a cool premise for the league. It cracks me up seeing players from such different eras playing together. I remember Wally Backman from when I was a kid...it gives me a chuckle to see how he's been crushing it at the plate in the Footnote League. Go Wally!! Go!! Oh yeah... Jimmy Archer from the Philadelphia A's team. He died, in real life, one year before Wally Backman was born. And Marquis Grissom... He's my centerfielder on my 1991 Yankees team. I love it.

OOTP allows us such wonderful customizations, but I really wish they would expand upon the simple options to allow us to really fine tune various options. For instance, if you select that you'd like to use players from all eras randomly, or however it is worded, it would then be so nice if all of a sudden there were checkboxes next to decades. 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and so on, up through the 2010s and 2020s. Of course, the 2020s wouldn't offer too many new players, but in OOTP 25 it will. It would make it so much easier to setup a league, similar to the Footnote League, where perhaps you only want players from the 1900s thru the 1940s & the 1980s, for example.

Hey luckyman... I don't know if I missed it somehow, but what did you end up doing in terms of minor leagues? You wrote that you were still trying to figure that out, if I'm not mistaken. Just curious...that's all.

Oh...and did you say there was a yearly draft? If so, how the heck does that work? Like, is the Draft filled with people from all eras?

Thanks bud, glad you are enjoying it. I'm still tinkering with the reportage as I want more colour to soften up the dryness of statistics. But there is so much that goes on it is hard to take it all in at times, so it is a work in progress. Is there anything you'd like to see more of in the updates?

I certainly was blessed with that 1901 season, what an absolute ripper it was. Wally sure did carve it up but I'm not 100% sure that wasn't also because I failed to ensure some of the modifiers and totals had taken effect. There were 7 .400 hitters as opposed to 1 IRL - Nap Lajoie, and the anomalies in the 2B / 3B / HR totals were huge. In the end, though, such is life. It is my first historical league and first RD league, so mistakes were bound to happen. I just have to be more diligent in making sure fewer do. The temptation - with my goal being to get it through to the modern day, a huge undertaking with such high level of detail in the updates - is to rush it along, but that is when I start missing things. So the goal is to try and do 10 seasons per IRL year, which gives me about 5 weeks per. That seems to be about the Goldilocks Zone, but at 52 the though that I'll still be slogging away at this aged 65+ is somewhat daunting (not to say presumptuous!!).

I, too, dig the premise. As much as I love the big names their absence is a great differentiator and changes the whole tone of the league by promoting everyone else up the hierarchy of excellence. And I love doing the little Spotlight pieces as well, I think that adds some real flavour to the whole enterprise. With each one of them that I do I find myself keeping an eye out for news on those I have featured and going to check their profiles on a regular basis. A few big names have snuck through (those Damn Yankees Jeter and Mattingly come to mind ) but I think I have got the admission / exclusion process down pat now so hopefully there won't bee too many rogue trespassers on these Elysian Fields of the underappreciated. There was no way I was going to control a team and leave my grubby fingerprints all over the joint. This way I merely get to spectate, report in a non-partisan fashion and gently nudge the league in directions I feel beneficial whenever needed.

Rosters / MiLB are a huge problem. For 1901 I set up the Postscript League, an Independent League affiliated with the FL, so that each team had one MiLB franchise to promote / demote / replenish / develop players. But the AI just refused to staff the teams properly, leaving some teams with just one starter and non-filled rosters despite there being a plethora (tell me, what is a plethora?) of available FA from which to choose. Then there is the issue of releasing good players and replacing them with poor ones. Maddening! But I am reluctant to interfere too much as I want it to be as organic as possible. So I only wave the commish sceptre when absolutely necessary, when to not do so would be detrimental to the league.

My original plan was to introduce a new MiLB level every so often until I have AAA / AA / AA / R. But with the issues I mention I really don't know how to proceed now. So I'm just going to leave it as is for the next few seasons and see how things evolve, then react accordingly. The other aspect of this is the more MiLB levels, the more things to keep an eye out for, increasing the workload and almost certainly taking my attention away from the major league level, which of course is the main purpose of setting up this endeavour to begin with. Already I see myself cutting the Minor League reporting out of the updates, as I'd have to do so eventually if I was going to expand, so all I really need is a functional way of maintaining the right number and right qualitative spread of players available for the bigs.

Which brings us to the Draft. The temptation is to just keep pumping new blood into the system but that would be a mistake. For starters the players' longevities would be adversely affected and with expansion only happening a few times, and being a long time off from 1902, all it would do would be to increase the number of players sitting unused as FA. So I am doing a Rookie Draft with 10 Rounds in 1902 (and, yes, with random debut players from 1901 to 2000; I just feel that really adds spice to the league rather than keeping the various eras together over time) but then will only hold one whenever I feel the pool needs refilling or some new blood needs to be added. Does that sound sensible to you?

So there will be a few changes along the way but hopefully WYSIWYG for the duration.

Thanks again for following bud, nice to know there's one of you out there! Keen for any insights you may have to make the experience of following the Footnote League as enjoyable as possible.

[luckymann]

SENATORS, ORPHANS MAKE A RUN FOR IT – BOTH PENNANT HOLDERS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE – ORIOLES FINISH THE MONTH STRONG WITH 7 STRAIGHT WINS

Notable Performances

• 1st: Cincy commits a catastrophic eight errors in an 18-5 drubbing by the Orphans.
• 4th: The A’s will be hoping Steve Cooke’s two-hit shutout of the O’s is the start of a turnaround after a slow start to the season.
• 5th: The pitchers are dropping like bombs in wartime. This time it is the Senators who lose one, with Tommy Hughes out for the season with yet another torn labrum.
• 8th: The Beaneaters post 11 in the 2nd inning en route to a 12-4 mauling of the Reds.
• 12th: Phillies CF Lenny Randle cracks 6 hits to help his side to a 10-7 win over Cincy, with Reds SS Dale Sveum bombing out 2 HR in a losing cause.
• 17th: In an amazing game at League Park between Cleveland and Detroit, the Tigers go out to a 9-0 lead after 5 and seem headed for a comfortable win at 12-6 beginning the 8th. But then the Bronchos score 7 to hit the front, only to give up 4 in the 9th and lose it 16-14. 39 hits are recorded in the match.
• 23rd: A 5-for-7 outing by RF Terrence Long can’t stop St. Louis from losing 5-3 to Boston.
• 28th: On a day of nailbiters, with all but two games decided by two runs or fewer, the O’s score 4 in the 9th for a thrilling 9-8 win over the White Sox. CF Wid Conroy is the walk-off hero with a two out two-run single to get them home.
• 30th: In a doubleheader against the Senators, White Sox outfielder Emil Frisk goes a combined 8-for-10 with a HR and 7 ribbies to give his team a win in both games.

Feats and Streaks

• 10th: Detroit left fielder Gene Richards has his hit streak snapped at 30 games by the White Sox, although his team gets the 4-3 win.
• 31st: By the end of the month, the brilliantly-named Giants LF Otis Clymer has stretched his hit streak to 31 games, just 10 shy of the all-time FL record.

Monthly Awards
American League

• Batter: Garret Anderson WAS (.439 / 2 HR / 25 RBI)
• Pitcher: Steve Cooke PHA (5-2 / 1.57 / 19 K)
• Rookie: Harry Taylor BLA (.417 / 6 RBI / 24 R)

National League

• Batter: Todd Dunwoody CHC (.427 / 29 RBI)
• Pitcher: Wilbur Wood CHC (6-0 / 2.61 / 15 K)
• Rookie: Bill Parsons CHC (5-2 / 3.70 / 19 K)

Leaders
American League

• BA: Orlando Arcia WAS .423
• HR: Steve Cox CWS 3
• RBI: Pete LaCock DET 29
• BWAR: Orlando Arcia WAS 1.9
• SB: Willie Wilson CLE 29

• W: 3 tied on 7
• ERA: Steve Cooke PHA 1.80
• K: Hooks Wiltse SLA 37
• SV: Gene Garber WAS 4
• PWAR: Steve Cooke PHA 1.6

National League

• BA: Red Barnes CIN .438
• HR: 2 tied on 3
• RBI: Todd Dunwoody CHC 39
• BWAR: Todd Dunwoody CHC 3.3
• SB: Otis Clymer NYG 22

• W: Wilbur Wood CHC 9
• ERA: Wilbur Wood CHC 2.10
• K: Bob Rhoads NYG 42
• SV: Alex Pearson NYG 5
• PWAR: Bob Rhoads NYG 1.9

Transactions
None of note.

Injuries

• 1st: The Americans will have to find a way to win without gun LF Bunk Congalton after he succumbs to a forearm strain that will keep him out of action for 6 weeks.
• 3rd: The Reds pitching stocks are further tested when Jack McDowell goes down with a torn labrum and will be absent for a good portion of the season, and then a week later they lose reliever Norm Branch for a month with elbow inflammation.
• 16th: Beaneaters fans will have to do without their cult figure Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez as a herniated disc in his back will keep him out of action for 6 weeks.
• 17th: Another day, another couple of pitchers lost to torn labra as both Boston’s Pat Zachry and Gary Peters of Detroit have their season brought to a premature end.
• 23rd: A’s stalwart Hooks Dauss is put on the IL with a sore shoulder and is expected to miss the better part of two months.
• 24th: Browns RF Casper Wells has his hand broken when hit by a pitch and won’t see action again this year.
• 29th: Ulnar nerve entrapment sees Pittsburgh starter Shawn Chacon taken out of action for 4 months.
• 30th: Browns starter Charley Shanz is felled by a torn elbow flexor tendon and won’t be seen again this year, while their St Louis city-mates the Cardinals lose Harry Gumbert for 3 months to bone chips in his elbow.
• 31st: May, 1902 really has wreaked carnage on FL pitchers. The latest to be felled is Herman Pillette of the Phillies, who will miss 13 months with a torn RC.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 4th: Harrisburg 3B Rudy Regalado goes yard 3 times, driving in 6 as the Senators tore the Spudders apart 13-3.
• 15th: Harrisburg SP pitches a 6-hit shutout AND knocks out a pair of homers in a 15-0 whitewash of Cedar Rapids.
• 17th: Williamsport catcher Johnny Oakes has a day to remember, going 6-for-6 with 3 doubles and a homer while driving in 5 as his Grays thrash the Joplin Miners 18-1.
• 27th: Waterloo 3B Adam Kennedy becomes the first player in PSL history to hit for the cycle, leading the Hawks to a 15-3 triumph over the Williamsport Grays.
• 31st: Waterloo catcher Art Hoelskoetter will enter June hoping to stretch his PSL record 32-game consecutive hit streak even further.

Standings

[luckymann]

Here are the Footnote League leaders in Weighted On-Base Average for the month of May, 1902.

[luckymann]

Here are Rounds 1 thru 3 of the Mock Draft for tomorrow's 1902 Footnote League Rookie Draft.

Let's see how close the experts come to the real deal.

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Thanks bud, glad you are enjoying it. I'm still tinkering with the reportage as I want more colour to soften up the dryness of statistics. But there is so much that goes on it is hard to take it all in at times, so it is a work in progress. Is there anything you'd like to see more of in the updates?

Honestly, I can't really think of anything off the top of my head. So far, I really like what you've been doing.

Originally Posted by luckymann

I certainly was blessed with that 1901 season, what an absolute ripper it was. Wally sure did carve it up but I'm not 100% sure that wasn't also because I failed to ensure some of the modifiers and totals had taken effect. There were 7 .400 hitters as opposed to 1 IRL - Nap Lajoie, and the anomalies in the 2B / 3B / HR totals were huge. In the end, though, such is life. It is my first historical league and first RD league, so mistakes were bound to happen.

Did you happen to look at the page in OOTP called Historical Simulation Accuracy? Is there much variance - a lot of red numbers?

Originally Posted by luckymann

So the goal is to try and do 10 seasons per IRL year, which gives me about 5 weeks per. That seems to be about the Goldilocks Zone, but at 52 the though that I'll still be slogging away at this aged 65+ is somewhat daunting (not to say presumptuous!!).

That is quite ambitious, however, since you won't be spending a boatload of time adjusting lineups and doing all of that GM stuff, I think you'll probably be able to pull it off. It will keep you quite busy for sure.

Originally Posted by luckymann

I, too, dig the premise. As much as I love the big names their absence is a great differentiator and changes the whole tone of the league by promoting everyone else up the hierarchy of excellence. And I love doing the little Spotlight pieces as well, I think that adds some real flavour to the whole enterprise. With each one of them that I do I find myself keeping an eye out for news on those I have featured and going to check their profiles on a regular basis. A few big names have snuck through

Yeah, I think it's a great idea. I can't tell you how many times I said, "What a minute...I know that name. Do I? It sounds familiar, I must... Or does it remind me of someone?" LOL A quick google search on the name and sure enough, it was a name I knew vaguely. I thought that was kind of neat.

Originally Posted by luckymann

Rosters / MiLB are a huge problem. For 1901 I set up the Postscript League, an Independent League affiliated with the FL, so that each team had one MiLB franchise to promote / demote / replenish / develop players. But the AI just refused to staff the teams properly, leaving some teams with just one starter and non-filled rosters despite there being a plethora (tell me, what is a plethora?) of available FA from which to choose.

Ugh...I know what you mean. I created 3 original leagues and added 3 real foreign leagues to my Universe 3 years ago. I messed up somehow and had the same thing happen to me. Then I figured I'd delete that league and start over. At the time, I didn't realize all the players would become Free Agents. I thought they'd be deleted with the league. All the other leagues were fine. When I re-created the Japanese League, I did something stupid again and there were a ton of 5 Star players. Mostly Closers & RP, if I remember correctly. I had to turn off MLB interaction with the JPL because ever team was snatching up Japanese pitchers. LOL

Ya know, never thought about it before...what is the number that translates quantity into a plethora? hehe

Originally Posted by luckymann

My original plan was to introduce a new MiLB level every so often until I have AAA / AA / AA / R. But with the issues I mention I really don't know how to proceed now. So I'm just going to leave it as is for the next few seasons and see how things evolve, then react accordingly. The other aspect of this is the more MiLB levels, the more things to keep an eye out for, increasing the workload and almost certainly taking my attention away from the major league level, which of course is the main purpose of setting up this endeavour to begin with. Already I see myself cutting the Minor League reporting out of the updates, as I'd have to do so eventually if I was going to expand, so all I really need is a functional way of maintaining the right number and right qualitative spread of players available for the bigs.

I think that's the wise choice. Things will develop. New ideas will pop in your head. You'll figure out what you do or don't like after a few seasons. Doing a full reporting on a complete minor league system seems very unnecessary to me. That just seems like way to much work for you and it'd probably be a turn off to readers. Of course, a few blurbs here or there about a couple of the AAA or AA top prospects would be interesting, but personally, I'd try to keep it to a minimum. Like, once a month just a few notes of players to keep an eye on, or something like that.

Originally Posted by luckymann

Which brings us to the Draft. The temptation is to just keep pumping new blood into the system but that would be a mistake. For starters the players' longevities would be adversely affected and with expansion only happening a few times, and being a long time off from 1902, all it would do would be to increase the number of players sitting unused as FA. So I am doing a Rookie Draft with 10 Rounds in 1902 (and, yes, with random debut players from 1901 to 2000; I just feel that really adds spice to the league rather than keeping the various eras together over time) but then will only hold one whenever I feel the pool needs refilling or some new blood needs to be added. Does that sound sensible to you?

Yes, it does.

EDIT: Oops. I forgot to ask. What font are you using with OOTP? I opened up that attachment with player stats and it looks nice and clean. My big gripe with that, however, is how we can't adjust the size of columns. It drives me nuts.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by ALB123

Did you happen to look at the page in OOTP called Historical Simulation Accuracy? Is there much variance - a lot of red numbers?


Ya know, never thought about it before...what is the number that translates quantity into a plethora? hehe


Doing a full reporting on a complete minor league system seems very unnecessary to me. That just seems like way to much work for you and it'd probably be a turn off to readers. Of course, a few blurbs here or there about a couple of the AAA or AA top prospects would be interesting, but personally, I'd try to keep it to a minimum. Like, once a month just a few notes of players to keep an eye on, or something like that.

EDIT: Oops. I forgot to ask. What font are you using with OOTP? I opened up that attachment with player stats and it looks nice and clean. My big gripe with that, however, is how we can't adjust the size of columns. It drives me nuts.

Historical sim report attached, way out of whack.

The plethora bit was referencing The Three Amigos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ROhP_3-Qk - I remeber seeing that movie and running off to check the dictionary as I'd never heard the word before. Such a nerd...

Yeah I think from next season I'll cull the "Life in a Minor Key" bit from the monthly report and just do an end of season wrap.

The font is called Barlow.

Cheers pal!

G

[luckymann]

And so the 1902 Rookie Draft has now come and gone, with some really interesting additions to the Footnote League coming through. Here’s a quick rundown of what took place.

The Orioles, thanks to their FL-worst 46-94 record in 1901, got first bite of the apple and picked 24-yo RF John “Chief” Wilson. Having scored 64 runs less than the second-worst team in that category last season, it’s no surprise they went with a positional player with their top pick. In fact, 13 of the 17 first-rounders were position players, which came as a bit of a surprise.

The Americans had picks 2 and 4, and also opted for offence over defence with both. Again, no surprise given their struggles with run production in 1901—it was they who finished second-to-last in runs scored with 676, and that was more than 100 shy of the next team. They’ll be hoping that 24-yo 2B Eric Young slots straight into the big league team, whereas teen phenom OF Oscar Charleston is more of a longer-term prospect. But boy, oh boy, the wait for his arrival should be worth it. He looks an absolute gun.

Across town the Beaneaters used their 1st pick (5th overall) on LF Gates Brown, seen not only as a huge presence at the plate but in the clubhouse as well, undoubtedly a good thing as they often seemed rudderless last year.

The Reds choice of catcher Joe Ferguson with the 3rd overall was perhaps a bit of a surprise given their platoon combination of Bill Rariden (.312 / .378 / .456) and Gino Petralli (.342 / .385 / .391) was more than serviceable last season and the fact that neither are out of their twenties. That being said, the wraps on Ferguson are huge and he should prove a fantastic addition to their ranks.

Bernie Boland was the first pitcher taken, by the Pirates with the 7th overall pick, and another pair of boom SP went with the next two picks when the Phillies grabbed Tommy Hanson and the Tigers chose Melido Perez.

Some others I’ll be keeping a close eye on are 2B George Cutshaw (Orphans, Round 1 / 14th overall), CF Delino DeShields (Superbas, Round 2 / 26th overall), and LF Greg Gross (Orphans, Round 2 / 30th overall).

Rounds 1 thru 5 in full:

[luckymann]

In my web-wanderings it has come to my attention that Cy Seymour led off the inning (he grounded out) in which Fred Merkle's famous "boner" took place.

If anything this only enhances Cy's status as one of the epitomes of "Footnote" in an MLB context, and therefore his status as one of the poster boys for the Footnote League.

Thanks, Universe!

[luckymann]

IRL, despite being named in BA’s 1997 Top Prospects list, Todd Dunwoody never amounted to much of a big-league player. In 6 seasons at the turn of the millennium, Todd’s career slash was .233 / .277 / .348 with 11 dingers and 81 ribsters. His age-23 season with Florida (who picked him in the 7th round of the 1993 Amateur Draft) in which he hit .251 / 5 HR / 28 RBI was his best, and pretty much the only year he got full game time. He hit just .220 the next season and after a further fall in production he was traded to the Royals at the end of the 1999 season. He hit just .208 in his only year at KC before moving to the Cubs, but saw little action and had little success their either. After going 0-for-6 at Cleveland in 2002, his MLB career was done.

The Footnote League has given him a second shot at glory, however, and he has grabbed it with both hands. After being taken by the Chicago Orphans in the 10th Round (153rd overall) of the Inaugural Draft, Todd started his FL career at Reading in the PSL. He hit .397 in 17 games there before being called up to the bigs, and finished the 1901 season with a .287 / .311 / .512 line, 43 RBI and a WAR of 1.1. A solid rookie season, but not exactly tearing it up (94 wRC+).

This year, however, Todd has been a revelation. In the first 50 games of the 1902 season, he is hitting .399 with a wOBA of .470, has 51 RBI in just 217 PA, and his 4.2 WAR is nearly double that of his nearest rival. It comes as no surprise that his Orphans are sitting 5 games clear atop the NL standings. He has already won two weekly player awards and was the NL Hitter of the Month for May, and at this rate should be almost a lock for MVP honours come season end.

Here’s hoping he makes a fist of it this time around. Let’s be honest, if that Facegen is anything to go by, there’s no high-paid modelling career in Todd’s future…

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Here’s hoping he makes a fist of it this time around. Let’s be honest, if that Facegen is anything to go by, there’s no high-paid modelling career in Todd’s future…

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

You ain't kidding... Wow!