One More 1901-2007 Sim (Inspired by Brewers194 and Kelric)

[lewis31lewis52]

How did the Tigers do for most of the first half of the century? I know they didn't win until '86, but were they a good team that just never won?

And how did these players do:
- Charlie Gehringer
- Harry Heilmann
- Sam Crawford
- Hal Newhouser
- Al Kaline

[Hurkman]

Originally Posted by lewis31lewis52

How did the Tigers do for most of the first half of the century? I know they didn't win until '86, but were they a good team that just never won?

And how did these players do:
- Charlie Gehringer
- Harry Heilmann
- Sam Crawford
- Hal Newhouser
- Al Kaline

The Tigers were never one of the worst teams in baseball during the first half of the century, but they weren't really one of the best, either. They finished usually between third and fifth place. Up until 1986, when they won the World Series, they had made the playoffs just 11 times in their history. The most success they had was in the 1930s, and that was when the National League was at its most dominant. They lost two one game playoffs that would have gotten them to the World Series in 1905 and 1963. Only once did they force a World Series to go seven games before 1986, and that year, it went to seven games again. Four times they lost in the ALCS, with three of those losses coming at the hands of the California Angels.

It's also a good thing that they won in 1986, since they haven't been back to the playoffs since. In fact, they haven't even finished better than third in the last 20 years.

As for your players...

Charlie Gehringer: Like I said in the history of the Phillies, Charlie was a lifetime Phil, starting with his selection in the 1923 draft with the fourth pick. He spent most of his time in the minors in 1924, but was called up to stay with the Phillies at the start of the 1925 season. For the next decade and a half, he was a rock at second base, starting almost every game. He was also a big reason why the Phillies were able to go from losers in the 1920s to one of the most dominant teams in baseball in the 1930s. He won five World Series with Philadelphia, and hit .290 in seven trips to the postseason. After 1942, he retired, having played every game of his career with the Phillies. He compiled 2,651 hits, 1,381 RBI and 1,498 runs scored in his career, as well as a .311 batting average.

Harry Heilmann: Heilmann was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1912 draft, and never spent a day in the minors in his entire career. His rookie season was quite impressive, as he hit .310 with seven home runs and 76 RBI. He backed that up with solid seasons for the next seven years, then had a season for the ages in 1921. That year, coming off of a decent, but not spectacular, 1920 season, Heilmann was the best player in baseball. Along with 23 homers and 127 RBI, he also hit .409, which is still the second to last time anyone in the National League has hit over .400 for a season. He followed that up with a .355 average and 25 home runs in 1922, and was having a good 1923 season, but he ruptured a disk in his back and was forced to retire. He retired a career .300 hitter on the nose, along with 1,753 hits, 102 home runs and 814 RBI.

Sam Crawford: Sam started the game with the Cincinnati Reds and never left them in his 19 year career. In 1901, he became the first MVP winner with a .362 batting average and 93 RBI. He was a .300 hitter for years after that, but could never quite recapture the magic of that 1901 season. Meanwhile, the Reds struggled to build a winner around him and eventually, his performance began to suffer. The closest he ever came to getting back to his early playing form was in 1912, when he hit .331 with 106 RBI and 102 runs scored, proving he could still play with the next generation of ballplayers. After that, age and injuries began to creep up on him, and though he was able to play another five years, he was never really the same player again. After the 1917 season, he retired. The highlight of that last year was a three hit performance in his final game that pushed him over the 3,000 hit mark. He finished his career with 3,002 hits, 1,393 RBI, 1,382 runs scored and a .293 career batting average.

Hal Newhouser: Just like Sam Crawford before him, Hal came up through the Cincinnati Reds' system after being selected first overall in the 1938 draft. He started one game with the Reds in 1939, lost, and would not see the majors again until 1941. That year didn't go much better, as he went 4-11 with a 4.48 ERA in his rookie season. He balanced things out the next year, going 7-7, then turned it on in 1943, winning 17 games and establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in the National League. However, injuries took their toll on him, and he missed time in 1944 with an elbow problem, then was knocked out for most of 1945 with a back injury.

He came back amazingly well in 1946, winning 21 games with a microscopic 1.94 ERA. That was good enough to win him the Satchel Paige Award that year, and he backed it up with a 24 win showing and another Satchel Paige Award in 1947. After that, though, his career slowly declined. He lost most of the 1948 season to the same injury that cost him the 1945 season. He would win 29 games over the next two seasons, and the highlight of them would have to be in 1950, when he went 2-0 in the World Series as the Reds finally won their first title. Cincinnati moved him to the bullpen in 1951, and after two average seasons there, he retired after the 1952 season at age 31. He finished his career with a record of 136-105 with a 3.30 ERA and 1,346 strikeouts.

Al Kaline: Al was a solid player for many years in the majors, and helped restore his first team back to the glory years they had in the 1930s. In 1952, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies third overall. Since their run in the 1930s, the Phillies had only been to one World Series, and Al was drafted to help fix that. After a one year stint in the minors, he came up to the Phils in 1954 and filled the fans with hope, hitting 26 home runs, driving in 95 runs and hitting .305. He won the Rookie of the Year Award that season, then promptly hit a sophomore slump that saw his power disappear and his batting average drop to .260. However, he bounced back in 1956, finding his power stroke again and moving the Phillies towards the top of the National League once again.

It would take a few more seasons, but in 1960, the Phillies and Al found themselves in the World Series. Though they would not win, the seeds were planted and in 1961, Kaline's 104 RBI helped lead the Phillies to their first championship since 1940. Over the next eight years, Al helped Philadelphia reach the playoffs four times, and won three more championships. He was never the best postseason performer, but without his regular season play, the Phillies were sunk. After a disappointing and injury plagued 1969 season, Philadelphia traded Al to Washington. He lasted as a Senator for two years before being released and picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers. Following a 1973 season that was the worst of his career, he retired. He finished his career with 2,792 hits, 329 home runs, 1,392 RBI, 1,422 runs scored and a .277 batting average.