All-around botched trade (historic)

Dukie98 · 02-26-2017, 10:47 PM

I'm playing in a historical league, starting in 1902, and I'm now in 1910. Red Ames was drafted in the inaugural draft that season, and since then, he has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball- led the league in WAR his first 4 years, has won 3 Cy Young Awards and 2 MVP's. He's been having a down year in 1910, but still has a 4-star rating, and is in his prime (27 years old), and his ratings haven't changed since last year, when he had a sub-2 ERA. His team, the New York Highlanders still had a slim, but nonzero, chance at the playoffs (7 1/2 games out in mid-July, in 5th place). Free agency is several decades away, so he's under team control effectively for life. Out of the blue, the Highlanders traded him to the Pirates, who are running away with the National League, in exchange for two-star 29-year-old outfielder Harry Lumley, who has been a backup for the last two years, plus $440. (Not thousand. Four hundred and forty dollars). The Highlanders are hardly cash-strapped -- their budget of $550,000 is the third-largest in baseball.

Although the Highlanders have a one-star player starting in RF, they immediately released Lumley the same day as the trade. Meanwhile, the Pirates, perhaps recognizing that they don't need an elite starter because their 1.5 star fourth pitcher has been reasonably effective, have shipped Ames to the bullpen -- a vital role in 1910 baseball. So far, he's pitched 9 innings in two weeks, which is actually on the high side of what would be expected.

So, from the Pirates standpoint: they were gifted an ace pitcher in his prime with maximum stamina-- so the obvious place to park him is the bullpen, given that it's 1910 and over half the games are complete games. Meanwhile, the Highlanders, with no dire financial circumstances and on the fringes of a pennant race, literally gave away an elite pitcher whom they could have kept for another decade, for $440, while getting absolutely zero use out of a decent role player who was better than their current starter.

While I very much enjoy the game, I've noticed that there have been a number of one-sided, grossly unrealistic trades among elite pitchers in their prime in the historical games. In this instance, while the trade is lopsided on paper, it's made even worse by the inexplicable player management by both of the computer-managed teams.

Dukie98 · 02-26-2017, 10:50 PM

For those who are interested, here are the career stats for Ames and Lumley.

02-26-2017, 10:47 PM	#1
Dukie98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 902	All-around botched trade (historic) I'm playing in a historical league, starting in 1902, and I'm now in 1910. Red Ames was drafted in the inaugural draft that season, and since then, he has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball- led the league in WAR his first 4 years, has won 3 Cy Young Awards and 2 MVP's. He's been having a down year in 1910, but still has a 4-star rating, and is in his prime (27 years old), and his ratings haven't changed since last year, when he had a sub-2 ERA. His team, the New York Highlanders still had a slim, but nonzero, chance at the playoffs (7 1/2 games out in mid-July, in 5th place). Free agency is several decades away, so he's under team control effectively for life. Out of the blue, the Highlanders traded him to the Pirates, who are running away with the National League, in exchange for two-star 29-year-old outfielder Harry Lumley, who has been a backup for the last two years, plus $440. (Not thousand. Four hundred and forty dollars). The Highlanders are hardly cash-strapped -- their budget of $550,000 is the third-largest in baseball. Although the Highlanders have a one-star player starting in RF, they immediately released Lumley the same day as the trade. Meanwhile, the Pirates, perhaps recognizing that they don't need an elite starter because their 1.5 star fourth pitcher has been reasonably effective, have shipped Ames to the bullpen -- a vital role in 1910 baseball. So far, he's pitched 9 innings in two weeks, which is actually on the high side of what would be expected. So, from the Pirates standpoint: they were gifted an ace pitcher in his prime with maximum stamina-- so the obvious place to park him is the bullpen, given that it's 1910 and over half the games are complete games. Meanwhile, the Highlanders, with no dire financial circumstances and on the fringes of a pennant race, literally gave away an elite pitcher whom they could have kept for another decade, for $440, while getting absolutely zero use out of a decent role player who was better than their current starter. While I very much enjoy the game, I've noticed that there have been a number of one-sided, grossly unrealistic trades among elite pitchers in their prime in the historical games. In this instance, while the trade is lopsided on paper, it's made even worse by the inexplicable player management by both of the computer-managed teams.

02-26-2017, 10:50 PM	#2
Dukie98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 902	For those who are interested, here are the career stats for Ames and Lumley. Attached Images