The Around the Horn League (AtHoL)

[luckymann]

ELYSIAN MEDAL (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER)

ARCADIAN MEDAL (PITCHER OF THE YEAR)

THREE UP THREE DOWN AWARD (RELIEVER OF THE YEAR)




RISING STAR AWARD (ROOKIE OF THE YEAR)




CHADWICK PLATE (MANAGER OF THE YEAR)

LA: Mike Palmer, Cincinnati
KA: A.J. Yohe, Pittsburgh


SWING FOR THE FENCES AWARD (SILVER SLUGGER)

Lincoln Association
C: Gabby Hartnett, Dayton
1B: Ripper Collins, Pensacola
2B: Jackie Robinson, Cincinnati
3B: David Wright, Indianapolis
SS: Phil Tomney, Keokuk
LF: Darryl Strawberry, Houston
CF: Lloyd Moseby, Cincinnati
RF: Chuck Klein, Buffalo
DH: Dominic Smith, Buffalo


King Association
C: Biz Mackey, Wilmington
1B: Dolph Camilli, New York
2B: Henry Moore, Rochester
3B: Mike Schmidt, Winston-Salem
SS: Nomar Garciaparra, New York
LF: Frank Robinson, Newark
CF: Ruben Rivera, Brooklyn
RF: J.D. Drew, Rochester
DH: Joe Kelly, Montreal


LET'S PLAY TWO AWARD (GOLD GLOVE)

Lincoln Association
P: Zach Davies, Keokuk
C: Dan Wilson, Toronto
1B: Bob Robertson, Buffalo
2B: Mark Ellis, Detroit
3B: Willie Kamm, Mobile
SS: Phil Tomney, Keokuk
LF: Joe Hornung, Pensacola
CF: Ender Inciarte, St. Louis
RF: Roberto Clemente, Pensacola


King Association
P: Tommy Bond, Raleigh
C: Tom Pagnozzi, Raleigh
1B: Mark Teixeira, Pittsburgh
2B: Bill Monroe, Jersey City
3B: Mike Schmidt, Winston-Salem
SS: Andrelton Simmons, Lewiston
LF: Rocky Colavito, Rochester
CF: Matt Kemp, Baltimore
RF: Ival Goodman, Pittsburgh


Top 20s / Leaders

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[luckymann]

A fairly monumental Draft this year, with some huge names entering the league.

New boys Wichita fare very nicely in the Lottery, moving up from 16 to 3.

George Sisler goes first overall to Norfolk.

Here are the first three rounds in full:

[luckymann]

So, while I intend to kind of zip through these season during my sabbatical, I'll still be posting key updates along the way. Just no newsletters and the like for the time being.

Opening Day, 1952 is upon us and it has been a very busy off- and pre-season indeed.

The Whales waste no time in installing Jon Weigle as GM and signing Bucky Walters as their Manager. One of Bucky's first moves is to extend Johnny Mize for three years and it looks like they’ll be playing him in CF. They also do well signing SS Willard Brown, although I’m not so sure about their bringing Tom Henke back into the fold. In the early new year, they ship C Steve Nicosia to Mobile for OF Jeff Heath, undoubtedly as a result of Owner Corey Porter’s instruction to upgrade at LF. A somewhat questionable trade follows a few days later as they add Don Mattingly in a swap with Louisville for C Paul LoDuca and their highest pick from the recent Draft, P Red Witt. Not sure where that now leaves Harry Heilmann and for some reason it looks as if Red Rolfe has won the everyday 3B role, with Rafa on the bench. Oh, well, no Monday morning QBing from me - let's see if he can achieve what I was unable to during my tenure.

St. Louis are easily the busiest club over the break, with New York also their usual prominent selves, and perhaps the biggest trade of all happens right at the end, with Boston shipping Big Papi Ortiz to Columbus in what looks like a bit of a steal for the Red Birds. Not sure what's going on with the Flyers, who lose a net 30 WAR and look set for a rebuild.

Here's a summary of the major gains and losses.

Amazingly, last season's LA MVP Ripper Collins remains unsigned, although I'm sure someone will snap him up before too long.

The annual Ceremony of the Dice Roll was held last night and the God of Chance has decreed 1976 as the season for this year's LTMs, so it is unlikely we'll be seeing many offensive records broken.

The offseason realignment means plenty of new intra-band rivalries, and the Chicago-Cincy one looks like it will begin in earnest from the get-go. In fact, we look set for some great races across the board.

Unsurprisingly, #1 pick George Sisler is the top-ranked prospect, with Raleigh's farm system rated best. Here are the top-ranked players as at OD.

Let's see what season 1952 has in store for us.

[luckymann]

Bit of a sluggish start for my former charges, who currently sit at 11-11. This might get them going, although it didn't help them on the day.

[luckymann]

The #1 pick seems to be settling in OK...

[luckymann]

Bit of a baptism of fire for the new AtHoL franchises in New Orleans and Wichita, but both are doing OK all things considered. This is a nice thrill for Aviators fans courtesy of Parke Swartzel.

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A huge day for Indy rookie Sam Chapman, who belts three out against Taunton.

Is it just me, or does it seem like achieving this feat is actually bad luck and results in more losses than wins?

[luckymann]

Monthly Award Winners

April

Lincoln Association
Batter – Kris Bryant (Montreal): 330 / 6 HR / 21 RBI
Pitcher – Aaron Harang (Montreal): 6-0 / 1.61 / 36 K / 50.1 IP
Rookie – Bill Bernhard (Richmond): 4-1 / 1.52 / 32 K / 53.1 IP

King Association
Batter – Leo Norris (Buffalo): 327 / 11 HR / 26 RBI
Pitcher – Joe Lake (Philadelphia): 4-1 / 1.77 / 14 K / 45.2 IP
Rookie – Kevin Slowey (Montgomery): 3-2 / 1.86 / 33 K / 48.1 IP

May

Lincoln Association
Batter – George Sisler (Norfolk): 343 / 8 HR / 25 RBI
Pitcher – Joe Coleman (Cincinnati): 6-0 / 1.06 / 37 K / 51 IP
Rookie – George Sisler

King Association
Batter – Arky Vaughan (Boston): 391 / 1 HR / 18 RBI
Pitcher – Tom Seaver (Baltimore): 5-0 / 2.08 / 47 K / 52 IP
Rookie – Tom Seaver

June

Lincoln Association
Batter – Mel Ott (St. Louis): 352 / 7 HR / 22 RBI
Pitcher – Tommy Bond (Houston): 5-0 / 1.05 / 15 K / 51.2 IP
Rookie – Jack Knight (Dayton): 4-0 / 1.73 / 32 K / 41.2 IP

King Association
Batter – Lou Gehrig (Lewiston): 314 / 5 HR / 20 RBI
Pitcher – Trevor Williams (Mobile): 5-1 / 1.07 / 32 K / 50.1 IP
Rookie – Brandon McCarthy (Toronto): 2-1 / 2.37 / 41 K / 38 IP

[Summers76]

Very interesting project, and great imagination that keeps this moving forward, keep it up!

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Summers76

Very interesting project, and great imagination that keeps this moving forward, keep it up!

Thank you sir!

[luckymann]

The second no-no for the 1952 AtHoL season, courtesy of Buffalo's Pat Zachry against Norfolk.

[luckymann]

Mark Teixiera still holds a handy lead in the career HR category, and he becomes the first to reach the 200 plateau. He also currently heads the RBI list with 708.




The chase is on in earnest.

[luckymann]

It's that time of year where the best of the best are celebrated and clubs get a few days off to recalibrate before The Battle of the Bands begins, with the remaining 40 games all played between divisional rivals.

Firstly, here are the All-Star squads for 1952:

Cincy star Juan Soto edges out Columbia's Brian Giles to win the HR Derby, while the LA beats the KA 5-4 in the game itself, with another Cincy player - Dolph Camilli - named MVP.

Turning to the standings, the Vols are the only team who look guaranteed of a playoff spot, with the other five races and WCs all well and truly still in play.

And here are the leaders heading into the stretch run. Rochester's Jack Jones is well in contention for the AtHoL's first ever Triple Crown, narrowly leading in ERA and Strikeouts and just one behind in Wins.

[luckymann]

All sorts of final day drama in the 3BL, as Vicksburg and Topeka enter it tied for the Muchnick, and both just a game ahead of Mayfield in the race for the second Wildcard.

Vicksburg wins, as does Mayfield, but Topeka loses to force a tiebreaker for that WC spot. That game goes like this...

... as the new boys' debut season ends in heartbreak.


An amazingly even season, with no team winning 90 nor finishing below .400. Final standings and leaders look like this:

Mayfield subsequently loses 5-1 to Great Falls, while in the Lewis Association, Hagerstown upsets Shreveport at home by 8-5. That means the playoffs proper will look like this:

[luckymann]

Great Falls, Chambersburg, Hagerstown and Troy advance to the Conference Championship Round.

[luckymann]

Hard for me not to follow the Whales' progress closely and, for the most part, just as hard for me not to like what I am seeing. They currently lead Cincy by a couple games and have locked down another appearance in the playoffs with a solid stretch run. While I still can't see why he is playing Red Rolfe ahead of Rafa at 3B, Bucky has got this squad bubbling along nicely, and the Willard Brown acquisition has proved a winner - as this exemplary performance shows.

[luckymann]

As almost seems traditional in the AtHoL, we enter the final day of the regular season with much to be resolved.

Races of interest include the following:

• LA Wildcard - Houston holds a one-game advantage over both Montreal and Dayton
• KA Rickey - Raleigh, with two games to play, are a half-game in front of Montgomery, who have one left
• KA Chandler - while both have secured a playoff spot, the Band remains up for grabs with Rochester leading Lewiston by a game
• KA Wildcard - Pittsburgh are a game to the good of a fast-finishing New York

Here are the pertinent results:

• Montreal beats Cincinnati 8-2
• Houston is one-hit by Mudcat Grant and lose 5-0 to Louisville
• Dayton beats Detroit 7-3

• Pittsburgh loses to Boston 9-0
• New York loses 5-2 to Baltimore
• Raleigh loses to New Orleans 4-3
• Montgomery beats Winston Salem 4-3 in a 16-inning walkoff
• Rochester beats Buffalo 7-6 in 13 despite a 5-hit game by Sam Rice
• Lewiston beats Taunton 4-2

Yep, that leaves a three-way tie for the LA Wildcard... Meanwhile, Rochester gets home and Pittsburgh sneak into that second LA WC. Raleigh needs to win its makeup game at home to Winston-Salem to force a tiebreak with Montgomery. They do so with a 7-6 walkoff win on a 10th-inning single by Luis Rivas.


OK, here's where I just report rather than try to predict who plays whom for what or why.

The next day, Montgomery seals the Rickey Band title with a 10-inning walkoff 4-3 win over Raleigh, with an Aledmys Diaz sac fly getting it done. Meanwhile, Dayton beats Montreal 6-5 in a seesawing tussle. They then see off Houston in much more decisive fashion, earning that precious Wildcard with a 10-2 victory.

Wow. Having quite the run across my saves, aren't I?


All of which leaves the final standings looking thus:

Lewiston's Lou Gehrig comes storming home down the stretch to win the KA Triple Crown with a 322 BA, 30 HR and 105 RBI. It is the first time this feat has been achieved in the AtHoL, either for hitting or pitching.

Dayton's Ben Chapman wins the KA crown with a fine 351 average. Ripper Collins repeats as HR King with 40, while Bernie Williams (I see a pattern here...) leads the league with 115. Norfolk's Larry Lintz is the steals king with 77.

Tom Seaver is a lock as RoY and is highly likely to double up with the KA Arcadian Medal after he racks up a league-high 24 wins and leads the KA in strikeouts. It is Jumbo McInnis of Louisville, however, who is the King of K with 294. New York's Pat Murray heads the league with 40 saves.

[luckymann]

In an epic seven-game 3BL World Series, the Troy Trojans make their final season at this level a memorable one with a Championship win over a gutsy Chambersburg.

[luckymann]

Pretty cushy wins for Cincinnati and Pittsburgh take them into the main playoff draw and set up big series against key rivals.