Introducing the Footnote League

[luckymann]

Team picture.

[luckymann]

... Cephasjames for kitting out the Footnote League squads. Some uniforms aren't 100% accurate I know, but I worked with what was on offer the best I could to keep it as close to authentic as possible. I'm sure you agree they look a right proper bunch of Dapper Dans.

[luckymann]

Over the course of this simulation I will be adding a few short pieces on some of the players I had never heard of before, although some of you may be familiar with them. The first of these is on Athletics' #1 Draft Pick, SP Ed Head.

There is a fantastic article about this Footnote League player HERE on SABR Bio, from which I have pilfered most of the following information.

The story of Ed Head makes Eddie Waitkus’ and Billy Jurges’ look almost dull in comparison.

In 1935, aged just 17, Ed Head was a passenger in a bus on his way to a semipro game in Mer Rouge, LA when it was rammed by another bus, killing his girlfriend – who was seated next to him – and crushing his left arm. He was, by trade, a southpaw pitcher. After an initial diagnosis that the arm would need to be amputated, Ed called his doctor uncle to save it, which he managed to do. But the arm was all but useless, and certainly unable to perform in its previous capacity. Rather than give up on his dream of making it to the Show, however, Ed Head taught himself how to pitch right-handed.

Just four years after the accident he made it to the Abbeville A’s of the Class-D Evangeline League, part of the Philadelphia Athletics’ farm system. There are two other more famous pitchers from that year’s Evangeline League group: HOFer “Prince” Hal Newhouser and Virgil Trucks, who would end up with more than 40 career WAR.

Sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers at the end of that season, Ed made a rapid rise in 1940 and got called up to the bigs in July. Pete Reiser was called up at the same time and made an instant impression, hitting .293 in 58 games that year, mostly as a 3B replacement for Cookie Lavagetto (who, somewhat coincidentally, is a member of the Chicago Orphans FL squad at the outset of this simulation). Head’s impact was less noticeable. He made his first MLB start on July 27 of that year, pitching a scoreless inning against the Cards, and went 1-2 down the stretch, before being sent down at the start of the 1941 campaign for some more seasoning.

Back with the Dodgers in 1942, Head started strongly, winning his first 5 starts of the season before eventually finishing with a 10-6 record and an ERA of 3.56. He again came out of the blocks well the following season, pitching 26+ straight scoreless innings at one point, before tailing off and coming on in relief more often than starting.

By this time the war was in full swing and Head eventually got drafted during the 1944 All-Star Break, missing the second half of ’44 and all of ’45 while serving with the Tank Destroyers Recruit Training Corps at Camp Hood North, TX.

Head made his return to the bigs in the finest style possible. On April 23, 1945 he started at Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves in front of a near-capacity crowd, and proceeded to no-hit them 5-0. But then, just a few weeks later he injured his arm and was never the same pitcher. His last appearance in the majors was an inning of mop-up work on August 25th.

As they say, up by the elevator, down by the goods lift.

Welcome to the Footnote League, Ed. Shine on you crazy diamond!

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

[luckymann]

I know it is only a very small sample, but Opening Day saw a whopping 21 HR in just 4 games. This is certainly not in keeping with the deadball era.

Before proceeding I want to make 100% sure I haven't caused this myself.

I have applied the 1901 season totals (see attached screenshot), which I then cross-referenced with Baseball Reference to make sure they were accurate. They are.

So how come so many dingers? Is this just a one-off anomaly that will sort itself out soon enough? Or do I also need to change the LTMs to the right of those stats?

Help! Please!

[luckymann]

Scores from Opening Day

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by luckymann

I know it is only a very small sample, but Opening Day saw a whopping 21 HR in just 4 games. This is certainly not in keeping with the deadball era.

Before proceeding I want to make 100% sure I haven't caused this myself.

I have applied the 1901 season totals (see attached screenshot), which I then cross-referenced with Baseball Reference to make sure they were accurate. They are.

So how come so many dingers? Is this just a one-off anomaly that will sort itself out soon enough? Or do I also need to change the LTMs to the right of those stats?

Help! Please!

One thing that stands out is, all your modifiers are set to 1.000. It's strange, because you have the box checked for "adjust modifiers for accuracy," but it doesn't appear the game ran the calculations prior to the start of opening day. I'm not sure if you can use the auto calculate button if you've already played a game.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by David Watts

One thing that stands out is, all your modifiers are set to 1.000. It's strange, because you have the box checked for "adjust modifiers for accuracy," but it doesn't appear the game ran the calculations prior to the start of opening day. I'm not sure if you can use the auto calculate button if you've already played a game.

Yes I think I have got to the bottom of it David, and thanks your reply. I must have only switched the year to 1901 that day for some reason, almost certainly my own stupidity (as I swear I had set it previously), and it hadn't taken effect. I'm still on Opening Day and when I hit the Auto-calc the readings changed as per the attached screenshot. Do they look right to you?

Either way I've saved my league and will play out the next few days to see what happens.

Do you normally have the "Automatically adjust modifiers..." box checked or unchecked in your leagues?

Thanks again.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Yes I think I have got to the bottom of it David, and thanks your reply. I must have only switched the year to 1901 that day for some reason, almost certainly my own stupidity (as I swear I had set it previously), and it hadn't taken effect. I'm still on Opening Day and when I hit the Auto-calc the readings changed as per the attached screenshot. Do they look right to you?

Either way I've saved my league and will play out the next few days to see what happens.

Do you normally have the "Automatically adjust modifiers..." box checked or unchecked in your leagues?

Thanks again.

I think that will solve your home run issue big time.

If I'm wanting to progress from year to year according to history, I leave that box checked. That way the game will run the proper calculations prior to the start of each season. If I'm using one year, for example 1985, as my base year, I leave it unchecked and manually enter 1985 a day before the season starts, so the game will calculate my modifiers to 1985.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by David Watts

I think that will solve your home run issue big time.

If I'm wanting to progress from year to year according to history, I leave that box checked. That way the game will run the proper calculations prior to the start of each season. If I'm using one year, for example 1985, as my base year, I leave it unchecked and manually enter 1985 a day before the season starts, so the game will calculate my modifiers to 1985.

Yes, that seems to have worked, thanks so much. And for your various leagues as well, they were one of the inspirations to start this one!

[luckymann]

By a quirk of the 1901 MLB schedule the National League started its games a week before the American League. Superbas and Cards fans would have been wishing their teams were in the other league when that first week saw neither team notch a win, with Brooklyn somehow managing to blow one game against the Giants when they led by 3 going into the 9th. Thankfully both clubs managed to turn it around somewhat before the month was done. On the other side of the ledger both the Orphans and Phillies jumped out of the gate quickly, with Chicago in particular establishing themselves as one of the teams to watch.

There must have been something in the Philadelphia water supply as the Athletics started the season just as strongly, while in the nation’s capital the Senators dropped their first 5 before finally breaking their duck on the last day of the month, nicking one from the Orioles with 5 runs in the 8th.

Notable Performances

• 18th: Plenty of action on Opening Day as Joe Hatten pitches a 3-hit 14 K shutout for the Beaneaters against the Giants and James Baldwin who fans 15, while the Phillies’ Mark Gardner strikes out 15 in a 4-2 win over the Superbas.
• 20th: Joe Pepitone of the Reds walks it off with a solo HR against the Pirates in the 10th.
• 21st: Pirates starter Tommy Byrne walks 8 over 8 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Reds.
• 22nd: Another Pirates starter features, with Dave Danforth pitching an 8-hit shutout against the Cards, neither walking nor striking out a batter in the process.
• 23rd: Terrence Long goes 5-for-5 with a double and 2 ribbies against the Bucs, but it doesn’t stop his Cardinals from dropping their 6th straight to start the season.
• 25th: The White Stockings’ Dave Chalk has a big game with 5 hits including 2 doubles and a triple as his team loses 14-10 to the Blues, while Paul Dade of the Brewers also has 5 hits as his side routs the Tigers 17-1.
• 27th: Harry Gumbert of the Cardinals pitches a 5-hit shutout gem to give his side a much-needed 7-0 win over the Pirates on the same night that the O’s Jeremy Sowers 3-hits the Americans.
• 28th: The Brewers make 8 errors as they lose 18-12 to the Tigers in a game in which the two teams combine for 42 hits. In Chicago the same day, the White Stockings and Blues make a total of 15 gaffes in a wild 13-9 Cleveland win, with Blues LF Mark Brouhard driving in 5 runs.
• 29th: Dave Chalk has another 5-hit game, this time driving in 6 as his White Stockings thrashed the struggling Tigers 17-3, while their crosstown rivals the Orphans are 3-hit by Cinci’s Dan Reichert. Over in Brooklyn the Superbas score 8 in the 8th to pinch one from the Beaneaters for just their second win of the campaign.
• 30th: Another 8-hit / 0 K / 0 BB shutout, this time by the Americans’ Doc Scanlan.

Feats and Streaks

• Phillies’ 2B Hobe Ferris started on a tear, rapping 11 two-baggers in the first 11 games.
• Three players – Giants’ SS Derek Jeter (how'd he sneak in??!!) and 3B Bob Dillinger, along with Cardinal 1B Ryan Shealy – will all carry an unbroken 9-game hitting streak since Opening Day into the new month.

Monthly Awards

None until May.

Leaders

American League

• BA: Hank Artt (Senators) .722
• HR: 2 tied on 1
• RBI: Mike Benjamin (White Stockings) 11
• BWAR: Paul Dade (Brewers) 0.9
• SB: Rodney Scott (Americans) 7
• W: 4 tied on 2
• ERA: Jeremy Sowers (Orioles) 0.00
• K: Omar Daal (Athletics) 4
• SV: 4 tied on 1
• PWAR: Billy Hoeft (Senators) 0.4

National League

• BA: Red Dooin (Beaneaters) .422
• HR: 2 tied on 2
• RBI: Dale Sveum (Reds) 15
• BWAR: Terrence Long (Cardinals) 0.9
• SB: Nook Logan (Superbas) 7
• W: 4 tied on 3
• ERA: John Halama (Orphans) 0.69
• K: Danny Duffy (Orphans) 17
• SV: Mike Marshall (Reds) 2
• PWAR: Joe Hatten (Beaneaters) 0.8

Transactions

• 24th: The Reds finally come to terms with their holdout #1 pick 1B Sam Horn on the same day the Giants pay a league record $1500 signing bonus to lock down P Bob Lemon.
• 26th: The Giants are busy in the market again, paying a signing bonus of $1108 to 3B prospect Earl Robinson.

Injuries

• 22nd: Kyle Blanks of the Reds goes down with torn ankle ligaments, and is expected to miss 5-6 weeks.
• 27th: Both Teddy Higuera of the Beaneaters and the Superbas’ Kelvim Escobar go on the 15-day IL. Higuera’s hamstring strain looks set to only keep him out the minimum while Brooklyn will have to do without Escobar for about a month.
• 28th: The White Stockings lose closer Tony Barnette for at least 6 weeks with shoulder inflammation.

Standings

[Brad K]

Interesting Curt Roberts is on the Pirates considering his significance to the team.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Interesting Curt Roberts is on the Pirates considering his significance to the team.

Ha - you're right I hadn't even noticed that yet! Got to love how the universe works sometimes. Same with Ed Head being the A's 1st pick when he started his pro career in their farm team. I'm slowly trying to acquaint myself with the players to note any more odd coincidences and maybe write a short piece on it. Thanks for pointing this one out.

[luckymann]

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to have farm systems incorporated into the FL from the get-go to keep the overflow of players properly occupied. I toyed with the idea of having unaffiliated leagues and various other options such as suggested by Tiger Fan in his fantastic post on this topic, but I think these concepts are still a bit beyond my OOTP skillset, and so in the end I decided to handle it manually. It’s a fair bit more work and – especially in the early years – impossible to get 100% authentic, but I am OK with both of these facts.

What’s more, the FL being a Random Debut rather than purely Historical league means that I don’t want real minors to just come in with their full historical rosters attached, especially considering the premise being applied with regard to player eligibility, as it makes it so much harder to keep track of players being added. That side of it is already the biggest headache, mainly because of the OOTP ratings concept being a relative one, which means that as soon as all of the highly rated players are removed, the ratings of those remaining jumps up. I’m again OK with that, I just have to be diligent in keeping an eye out for superstars sneaking through to spoil the party.

So 1901 sees the independent Postscript League come into being with a selection of MiLB teams from that era brought together, each affiliated with one MLB parent club. The families are as follows:

BALTIMORE ORIOLES / NEWARK BEARS
BOSTON AMERICANS / WILMINGTON PIRATES
BOSTON BEANEATERS / HARRISBURG SENATORS
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS / JERSEY CITY SKEETERS
CHICAGO ORPHANS / READING KEYSTONES
CHICAGO WHITE STOCKINGS (SOX) / WATERLOO HAWKS
CINCINNATI REDS / CEDAR RAPIDS BUNNIES
CLEVELAND BLUES / WILLIAMSPORT GRAYS
DETROIT TIGERS / FORT WORTH PANTHERS
MILWAUKEE BREWERS / JOPLIN MINERS
NEW YORK GIANTS / BRIDGEPORT BEES
PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS / SHREVEPORT GASSERS
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES / HAZLETON MOUNTAINEERS
PITTSBURGH PIRATES / WICHITA FALLS SPUDDERS
ST LOUIS CARDINALS / HOUSTON BUFFALOES
WASHINGTON SENATORS / CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS

These will evolve as I see fit and as the parent league and its teams change (I have auto-expansion ON) until I have it so that the FL version matches up with the MLB version at some point down the track. Which means I’ll look at adding a new level every few years as the player pool grows until they are all in place, again trying to synchronize it as closely to the IRL timeline a few decades along the continuum.

In order to keep the stats and history intact for each minor league, I’ll change their names and designations over time rather than delete and recreate them.

A few questions I’d love to have answered by any of you with experience in this area.

1. Am I doing something completely wrong in what I have described that may cause me some problems down the line?
2. If I have auto-expansion ON and real minors OFF, how will the minor leagues I have established / will establish be affected in expansion years? How about in these early years when teams change names so often? Would you advise instead that I switch auto-expansion off and handle my league’s evolution (mirroring the MLB one) myself?

Thanks as always in advance.

[luckymann]

For a while it seems as if the City of Brotherly Love is set to host an all-Philadelphia World Series as the A’s and Phillies make early breaks, but the second half of the month see both come back to the pack and find themselves mid-standings by the start of June.

In the AL it is Cleveland who continues their strong start, going 19-11 for the month to lead by 1½ games from the White Stockings, who look to have assembled a squad that is solid in all departments. Both the O’s and Americans look well off the pace and will need to turn things around quickly to avoid dropping off the tail end.

The NL saw a fantastic rebound by the Cards after their 0-6 start. The Redbirds went on a torrid 16-1 run at the start of the month (including 9 straight at one point) to briefly sit atop the standings, and eventually went 19-8 for the month. They are just one game behind the Orphans, who have had a great performance from their pitching staff led by Ray Phelps (8-2 / 3.70) and John Halama (6-2 / 2.03), and these two have put a little gap between themselves and the other teams, although the Pirates seem on the way up with an 8-2 finish to the month. Despite outstanding performances by outfielders Nook Logan and Boots Day and SS Ronny Cedeno, the Superbas are bringing up the rear in the NL, 10 games back.

Notable Performances

• 2nd: Chuck Harrison’s 5-hit game powers the O’s to a 10-7 win over Washington. He also has two two-baggers and an RBI.
• 4th: Dave Danforth leads his Pirates to a 7-0 win as he shuts out the Orphans on 6 hits.
• 5th: Jimmy Jones of the Cards throws a two-hitter as his team beats the Reds 7-0.
• 6th: The Brewers’ Ed Heusser shuts out the White Stockings on 7 hits in a 1-0 squeaker, while Brooklyn nips the Beaneaters 11-10 thanks mainly to Nook Logan’s 5-for-6 / 3 RBI outing.
• 7th: A couple of big offensive games with Brooklyn’s Andre Rogers’ 5-hit, 4 ribbie game (which he would follow up with a 4-hit, 4-RBI game the next night) leading them to an 11-8 victory over the Beaneaters and the Americans getting past the Senators 12-9 on the back of Bunk Congalton’s five-fer.
• 10th: The Blues and Phillies each score 15 runs on 23 hits in resounding wins over the White Stockings and Beaneaters, with Cleveland’s Leon Culberson going 6-for-6.
• 14th: Milwaukee starter Dana Fillingim goes the distance in a 15-inning 7-6 win over the Blues, allowing just 1 earned run and throwing a whopping 217 pitches!!
• 17th: Led by left-fielder Chris Coghlin’s 5-for-6 / 4 RBI / 5 run performance, the Brewers thump the White Stockings 21-4 at South Side Park.
• 21st: Joe Hatten 3-hits the Reds in an 8-0 win for the Beaneaters.
• 27th: The Brewers’ Chico Salmon has 5 hits, with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, in a wild 14-13 win over the A’s.
• 29th: Opposite ends of the scoring spectrum abound, as Allen Watson 3-hits the Blues to give his Americans a 3-0 win and Lefty Tyler leads the White Stockings to a 5-0 defeat of the Orioles with a 6-hitter, while the A’s score six in the 9th to steal one from the Brew Crew, the Pirates need 14 innings to overcome the Superbas in a 39 hit 14-10 classic, and the Reds squeak past the Phillies 14-10.
• 30th: Milwaukee throws another one away, letting the Senators score 6 in the 9th to pinch it 8-6. Lucky there’s all that beer to drink! Meanwhile in Boston, the Beaneaters’ Ron Schueler 2-hits the Orphans in a 9-0 rout and the madness continues in Brooklyn as the Pirates post a 12-spot in the 4th inning on the way to an 18-15 win.

Feats and Streaks

• Nook Logan of the Superbas is currently working a 32-game hitting streak.
• George Moriarty of the A’s hits in 26 straight games before going 0-for-4 against the Blues on the penultimate day of the month.
• Brooklyn’s Ronny Cedeno scores in 15 on the trot.
• Jimmy Jones of the Cards has won his last 6 starts while the Reds’ Dan Schatzeder is undefeated in his past 8 outings.

Transactions

• 5th: The Senators bolster their roster with the addition of free agents SP Tommy Byrne and OF Carlos Gomez.
• 6th: Cleveland signs 43-year-old catcher Jim O’Rourke to a 1-year contract.

Injuries

• 2nd: The Athletics lose starter Omar Dall to a shoulder injury for the better part of two months.
• 5th: Giants ace Ed Halicki goes down for the season with a torn flexor tendon.
• 8th: The Americans’ hot-hitting Bunk Congalton (.581 / .571 / .774) out for 3 weeks with hamstring problems.
• 9th: A strained abdominal sidelines Reds SP Dan Reichert for 5 weeks.
• 11th: A collision at a base sees Senators’ SS Everth Cabrera placed on the IL with a torn thumb ligament that is expected to see him out of action for about a month.
• 13th: The struggling Reds’ injury woes worsen. C Sam Agnew has his thumb fractured when HBP and will miss 5 weeks, while RP Eddie Bane is forced out for a similar amount of time with a shoulder injury.
• 17th: Both the Orioles (Antonio Senzatela: forearm, 3 months) and Tigers (Wilbur Wood: biceps, 7 weeks) lose key members of their bullpen to arm injuries.
• 18th: The Cards lose starter Harry Gumbert for 6 weeks to an abdominal muscle tear.
• 25th: Senators SP Orlando Pena goes down with a sore shoulder and will miss at least 2 months.
• 31st: Another SP goes down with Detroit’s Scott Bankhead out for 2 months with a torn hamstring.

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

• 9th: Chattanooga Lookouts hurler Cliff Curtis no-hits the Newark Bears, fanning 5 in a 6-0 triumph.
• 18th: Newark Bears starter Bill Hubbell throws a one-hitter against the Williamsport Grays.
• The Lookouts are dominating the PSLA, with their 23-5 record putting them 7 ½ games in front of their nearest challenger, while the PSLN is a much more even affair with just 7 games separating first and last.

Monthly Awards
American League

• Batter: Manny Mota CLE (.490 / 0 HR / 25 RBI / 21 R)
• Pitcher: Hank Borowy CWS (6-1 / 2.66 / 1 K)
• Rookie: Leon Culberson CLE (.368 / 0 HR / 19 RBI)

National League

• Batter: Nook Logan BRO (.488 / 0 HR / 19 RBI / 32 R)
• Pitcher: Jimmy Jones STL (6-0 / 1.00 / 1 K)
• Rookie: Nook Logan

Leaders
American League

• BA: Manny Mota CLE .491
• HR: Many tied on 1
• RBI: Chris Coghlan MLA 32
• BWAR: Mike Benjamin CWS 2.4
• SB: Damian Jackson PHA 22

• W: 2 tied on 6
• ERA: Chris Codiroli CHA 1.99
• K: Charley Schanz CLA 11
• SV: 2 tied on 5
• PWAR: Hooks Dauss PHA 1.4

National League

• BA: Ryan Shealy STL .447
• HR: Charlie James STL 3
• RBI: Jim Hickman BSN 36
• BWAR: Nook Logan BRO 2.5
• SB: Joe Connolly CHC 27

• W: Ray Phelps CHC 8
• ERA: Jimmy Jones STL 1.00
• K: James Baldwin NY1 22
• SV: 2 tied on 4
• PWAR: Ron Schueler BSN 1.8

Standings

[luckymann]

As much as I am striving for this endeavour to be autonomous and sort itself out is an organic way when various issues arise, I will from time to time need to interfere. One such instance has come up due to a dearth of starting pitchers resulting in some of the minor league teams having reduced and, in one case, no rotations. To rectify this I scheduled a supplementary rookie draft for early June consisting of 5 rounds and only eligible starting pitcher in the pool. Hopefully that will have the desired roll-down effect where excess hurlers are sent to the respective PSL teams and populate their SP ranks.

[luckymann]

It is almost unfathomable to think of the game of baseball today without integration. No Mookie Betts, no Barry Bonds, no Dwight Gooden. And it is one of the real tragedies of the history of this great game that we got to see so little of players such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, and nothing at all of the multitude of other great black players who never graced the diamond at the big league level.

It took the Pirates more than a decade after Jackie Robinson broke the colour line to have their first black player, and that player was 2B Curt Roberts. Branch Rickey, who signed Jackie to the Dodgers, was GM at Pittsburgh by then, and bowed to pressure from the local black community to finally integrate the Pirates.

The old adage “good glove, no bat” described Curt to a tee, and his lack of hitting proficiency meant that his stay in the bigs was a short one. After a couple of seasons in the Pirates farm system, Curt got his call-up. His rookie year of 1954 was his best and only full season, with him playing in 134 games for a .232 / .309 / .302 slash, with one HR and 36 RBI. He certainly started off with a bang, tripling in his first MLB at-bat off Robin Roberts. After a couple of poor years where he had less than 100 plate appearances combined, he lost his spot at second to future HOFer Bill Mazeroski and was traded to the Kansas City Royals before the 1956 season, but never appeared in the bigs again. He spent time in the International League with the Columbus Jets, and became one of just a handful of players in the IL to hit 4 dingers in a game. He was later traded to the Yankees and spent the remainder of his career with various minor league teams, as well as a stint in Nicaragua.

Roberts, who attended the same high school in West Oakland as Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Curt Flood (as well as NBA superstar Bill Russell), died aged just 40 when a drunk driver hit him while he was changing a flat tyre.

In a nice bit of serendipity, Curt is a member of the 1901 Pirates in the Footnote League. As at June 6, 1901, his batting slash is eerily mirroring his IRL one at .231 / .312 / .308, although he has only had 13 AB so far. I’ll track his progress and report back every now and then.

Thanks to Brad K for pointing out Curt’s inclusion in the FL.

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

[Brad K]

"Batter: Manny Mota CLE (.490 / 0 HR / 25 RBI / 21 R)"

Cool. I didn't see him earlier. The advantage is only slight probably impossible to recognize at the time but he should have been a CF platoon with Matty Alou instead of only the first OF off the bench.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

"Batter: Manny Mota CLE (.490 / 0 HR / 25 RBI / 21 R)"

Cool. I didn't see him earlier. The advantage is only slight probably impossible to recognize at the time but he should have been a CF platoon with Matty Alou instead of only the first OF off the bench.

He's another player who maybe snuck into the Footnote League when I wasn't looking. 17.9 career WAR and a lifetime .304 / .355 / .389 slash makes him a superstar in this league. It is, however, the age-33 season of him, so not sure how quickly he'll drop off the cliff.

See the second screenshot, though. For some reason OOTP gives his IRL WAR completely differently to BBRef. Weird.

[luckymann]

I just noticed he isn't in the current Blues starting lineup, despite what he has done so far in the season AND being ranked 3rd in the league at LF. Jeez, tough crowd. What's a guy gotta do?

[luckymann]

Well he should get plenty of game time now...