One Busy MLB Off-Season

The MLB Off-Season has been rolling, and for the first time in many years most of the big signings have come before Christmas.

Let's start with the Jacob deGrom signing in Texas. I understand what the Texas Rangers are hoping for in acquiring an ace like deGrom. The Rangers want to end their playoff drought, they added Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in recent years, and want to change the culture. The only problem is that deGrom has had a troublesome track record of recent years in staying healthy. When he's healthy, he is the best pitcher possibly in the game, but that's the key word -- healthy.

The New York Mets meanwhile let deGrom walk, because according to reports deGrom no longer wanted to be there anymore. They extended their closer Edwin Diaz, who had a Cy Young-caliber season, and then pulled off a pivot that most didn't see happening or at least not so soon.... They turn around and land Justin Verlander.

Verlander is coming off a truly remarkable season in which he posted a 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA & 185 strikeouts through 175 innings, after basically missing the past two seasons (only 1 start in 2020) due to Tommy John surgery. He helped lead the Houston Astros to their 2nd World Championship in 6 seasons. 

The Astros who have a strong rotation without Verlander decided to go in a different direction and add a huge bat in Jose Abreu, taking over for Houston fan favorite Yuli Gurriel. Which then left Verlander dangling in front of the two New York teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers & the San Francisco Giants. 

As a huge Justin Verlander fan, I was hoping for Houston to resign him, but felt that both Verlander and Houston were heading in different directions. Prior to him signing with the Mets, most signs were pointing to the Dodgers, and I suddenly found myself hoping for that or an outside shot with the Atlanta Braves (his favorite team from his childhood). I even believed that the San Diego Padres, who have no problem throwing around money, could possibly have been in on the hunt.

The Mets would add SP Jose Quintana and RP David Robertson, while they are rumored to be talking to Japanese superstar SP Kodai Senga. The Mets are also rumored to be looking towards the future in acquiring the Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani as well, when he hits free agency.

The Mets' recent moves and vision sounds like a old team we used to know across the city, named the New York Yankees. The Mets have simply become the Yankees, George Steinbrenner would have not hesitated in signing Verlander. 

And although the Yankees were able to sign OF Aaron Judge, which was a great thing for Yankees fans, they also extended GM Brian Cashman for a few years (if not for life at this point). Cashman and the Yankees have become stale, the Boss' is rolling in his grave, and the Mets may now be heading in a direction which the Yankees used to simply own.

The Yankees once owned New York... Heck, they once owned Major League Baseball, but let's face it the Steinbrenner boys didn't inherit their father's cutthroat mentality when it comes to the front office. The Yankees have only one title the past 22 years (almost a quarter-century), and they have simply been eliminated in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019 & 2022 by an ace in Verlander, who now has signed with the same city's other team in the Mets. Extending Cashman was a mistake, and for the Yankees it will be same old 21st Century Yankees, even with Aaron Judge.

The Mets also avoided a mistake that the Texas Rangers have committed in signing deGrom to such a huge contract which is filled mostly with question marks. Almost every notable baseball expert has also panned this deal -- $185 million for 5 years, looks murky in the crystal ball at best. 

The Mets made the right moves, now am I suddenly going to anoint them the 2023 World Champions? Absolutely no. Do I think the Mets will definitely be better? Sure...

But this is the thing, the Mets still have to deal with the Philadelphia Phillies (who only got better this offseason as well) and the Atlanta Braves (who are built to be a National League powerhouse for possibly the next decade). Plus there are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres who will only keep spending tons of money, while the St. Louis Cardinals somehow always find a way to be consistent. 

The National League alone will be a gauntlet for the Mets. The Phillies added SS Trea Turner, while the Padres added SS Xander Bogaerts. Personally, I believe the National League is the stronger league, while we have seen with the extended playoffs that the best teams don't always win it all. Powerhouse teams like the Dodgers went home early, while Cinderella teams like the Phillies went to the World Series.

And just like most recent seasons, anything can happen in 2023.

Heritage League Baseball Cards - Part 2

 

Heritage League Baseball Cards - Part 1

A Different World

 

Some computer art work that I put together, featuring the Chicago Legends: Thurman Munson, Nap Lajoie and Mike Mussina. The project is one of my Out of the Park projects.

The Heritage League is a Out of the Park Baseball simulation that I am doing with players from all different eras coming and going through a normal MLB-style timeline. I started in 1901 with 16 teams just like the real thing, but I decided to go with alternate names than actual Major League names (for the most part, I did keep the Philadelphia Athletics moniker).

Yes, I am still doing my Los Angeles Browns Butterfly Effect project as well, we are literally on D-Day on that project, a few years into World War II. 

This other project, which I labeled Heritage League was just a project that I started, while I would roll out new uniforms for the teams every few years. I had a lot of fun doing the uniforms for these teams, just like I had fun doing the artwork above, I think I will try to do more pieces like this for other teams.

Lots of parity in this league, the 14 of the 18 teams have won a World Title, with the New York Gothams (Giants) winning the most titles with 4. I expanded up to 18 teams following the demise of the Federal League, with Buffalo and Kansas City acquiring teams. 

Here is the list...

1) New York Gothams - 4

    Detroit Wolverines - 4

2) Philadelphia Quakers/Veterans - 3

    St. Louis Saints - 3

3) Brooklyn Royals - 2

    Philadelphia Athletics - 2

8 other teams with 1 title.

Only the Boston Colonials, Cleveland Spiders, Kansas City Packers & Washington Maroons have not won a title. The Packers and Buffalo Bisons have only been around since 1916, and Buffalo already has a title.

Mike Mussina retired as the all-time Wins leader (336), SHO (67) & Pitching WAR (115.6) among other records, his Wins and WAR is about to be eclipsed by Cy Young, who has 333 wins, and is about to turn 40. Mussina was a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. 

The current Hall of Fame through March 1926...

(Alphabetical Order, team cap)

SP - Noodles Hahn (Class of 1921), Boston Colonials 79.7%

SP - Walter Johnson (Class of 1920), Cincinnati Buckeyes 99.3%

SP - Jerry Koosman (Class of 1926), St. Louis Saints 92.5%

SP - Dolf Luque (Class of 1921), Detroit Wolverines 89.9%

SP - Pedro J. Martinez (Class of 1918), Pittsburgh Barons 94.2%

SP - Mike Mussina (Class of 1926), New York Gothams 99.6%

SP - Max Scherzer (Class of 1925), Washington Maroons 97.2%

SS - Corey Seager (Class of 1924), Detroit Wolverines 77.1%

SP - George Winter (Class of 1925), Boston Pilgrims/Blackhawks 76.4%

Rogers Hornsby has already wrapped up 1,326 hits, 41.2 WAR & 3 MVP Awards by age 23 for the Gothams. The all-time Hits leader is Pittsburgh's Ed Delahanty (3,793) who had a career 72.0 WAR & 5 batting titles -- batting .333 with 1,505 RBI & .839 OPS. Nap Lajoie just retired after an entire career with the Chicago Legends. Lajoie batted .349, with a .397 OBP & .844 OPS, plus 3,240 hits. Lajoie has the most MVP Awards (5) eclipsing Mickey Mantle's 4, while his 6 batting titles broke Delahanty's record of 5. 

The Chicago Legends' Austin McHenry currently has the most career home runs with 147, with Kansas City's Reggie Jackson likely to pass him soon with 145. McHenry and Reggie also are tied with the single-season HR mark of 29. 

Nolan Ryan currently holds the All-Time Strikeout record at 3,021 strikeouts. Ryan has struggled the last few years, and is starting to bounce around a bit, while having inflated ERA's and no power to his arm remaining. His K/9 the last few years have been awful (2.0/9 IP). He bounced back with the Baltimore Browns in 1926 with 20 wins, while his 3.41 ERA and 3.2 K/9 have been an improvement, but led the league in walks for the 9th time. Ryan is closing in on 300 wins (289) while he has a career 3.18 ERA, while pitching his first 14 years in Detroit.

The Chicago Legends' Hippo Vaughn is likely done, torn shoulder labrum at age 39. Vaughn has won 315 games with 2,600+ strikeouts and 110.3 WAR. Vaughn also has a 2.78 career ERA, 126 ERA+ and two Cy Young Awards, plus 1 ring.

The St. Louis Saints' Andres Galarraga has a current streak of 10 straight years with 200+ hits, while winning 2 N.L. Batting Titles, with a career .333 batting average. He won the 1918 World Series MVP, but has yet to win a regular season MVP Award. During 1922, Galarraga set the single-season hits mark at 263 hits, while batting .391 with 19 HR. He has won the RBI title the past 3 seasons (124, 150 & 141 RBI) as well. At age 34, he has 2,742 hits, and will likely be a lock for the Hall of Fame down the road. 

I just finished the 1926 season with the Detroit Wolverines finally getting back to the World Series (after a 13-year absence) since their 8-straight World Series appearances ( 3 wins) between 1906-1913, sweeping the defending World Champion Boston Blackhawks for their record-tying 4th title. There was no home-cooking for Detroit, in fact after their 8th straight A.L. Pennant, I intervened and traded the Seager brothers away. The Seager boys were the backbone of they Detroit dynasty, and until recently I thought Detroit was cursed because of trading them away. 

That is the Heritage Baseball League through 1926, more to come.

Brooklyn Bummed Out in Toledo

For those reading the title of this post, some would think that I didn't have a good time in Toledo. The truth is that I had an amazing time, in fact it may be one of the best times I ever had at any of these tournaments. I had my co-pilot in life Becky come down with me, while she also made friends with a couple of the other wives that made the trip down. 

So everything was great!

The 'Bummed Out' part, was my 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, 'The Bums', couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. While I was at the tournament, I knew I rolled ice-cold, but until I was actually recording the statistics on my computer last night, I didn't realize how frigid my play actual was.

This is the same 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers that I took to this very same tournament 3 years ago. In that tournament, I had the best record in bracket play, winning the Jamie Farr Division with a 7-2 record, which at one point I had a personal best 6-game winning streak. 

I lost the last game in bracket play, but didn't think much of it because I did the same at the Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament II in 2016, before winning the entire thing with the 1993 Atlanta Braves. I entered as the #1 seed in the playoffs in Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament V, only for Michael Coon Sr's 1994 Cleveland Indians to send me packing, thanks to a huge inning by them in which Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off me.

As part of the Glass City Email thread, I was watching APBA tourney lovers draft their teams for this year's theme -- '2nd-place Teams Not to Win a World Series'. While watching the draft take place over the week or so, I couldn't believe no one drafted the 51' Dodgers, until one of the guys at the very end took them. That guy would eventually cancel out, and leave that team open again. Little did I know, that our plans for our trip to West Virginia would change dramatically (as mentioned in previous post 'The Ever-Changing Plan' ). Long story short, I asked the wife if she would like to go to the tournament, she said yes, and I messaged my friend Ron Emch that we were coming to the tourney. With that, I took Brooklyn, making it the first time I decided to play a team at a tournament for a 2nd time.

The two 51' Dodgers tournament performances couldn't be more different from one another. The first time around, Brooklyn was 7-3 (counting playoffs), while batting .296, slugged .508, while posting a staggering .889 OPS! My pitching wasn't so good (4.82 ERA), but rolling the way that I did for that tournament, I really didn't have to worry about my pitching... well, at least until I ran into Coon's 94' Indians. This tournament, I started out 1-1 just like I did 3 years ago, but then for 3 games, I could only manage to scrape 2 runs combined -- shut-out for two consecutive games in low-scoring affairs, 2-0 (to Boston) and 1-0 (10 Inning loss to Chris Smith's 1930 New York Giants). During the 2-0 loss to Norm Zavela's 2002 Boston Red Sox, Pedro Martinez allowed only 2 hits from Brooklyn hitters.

My 2022-version Brooklyn team was 1-4 through their first 5 games. Through their first 4 games, the team batted .161, while five hitters did the unimaginable...

• Duke Snider: 0-for-15
• Cal Abrams: 0-for-14
• Carl Furillo: 1-for-14
• Pee Wee Reese: 1-13
• Jackie Robinson: 2-for-16

That's a combined 4 hits out of 72 at-bats! 

That's an .056 batting average!

This bunch was hitting not much better (7-for-90, .078 through the next game)

During the tournament, I thought Carl Furillo was hitless through 5 games, it turned out he had a single during his 2nd at-bat in Game 1. He would wake up during the 6th game, and hit 2 triples against Dave Ross and his 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers, in which I mentioned Furillo's feat to a few guys at our table, and they laughed. 

The first 2 games, my Dodgers hit 6 home runs, with Andy Pafko hit 3 HR, and Roy Campanella hit 2 homers. I thought even with a 1-1 start, I was starting off similar to the 2019 tourney. My Dodgers then, hit 17 HR, and collected 116 hits & 68 runs (11.6 hits, 6.8 runs per game). I had 9 hits in each of the first 2 games, everything up to that point was almost on par... but then came Michael Hernandez' dreaded 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers. Everyone in our division knew his team was the team to beat going into the tournament, so we knew it would be no picnic for any of us.

The 2021 Dodgers' lineup only had two hitters (Chris Taylor and Matt Beaty) with a OPS under .800, while there was only two hitters in the lineup that hit into 10-or-more double plays, in which those results were moderate at best -- Will Smith with 11 & Justin Turner with 12. They had an all-A three-man rotation all with Z's. Their bullpen is a beast, if they had the need to use it. So my goal was to at least split 1-1 in my series against my good buddy, Rob Spatz and his 2005 Cleveland Indians, and hope that I could sneak out a win against Hernandez. I would lose to those Dodgers by a very close score of 3-2, he was up early 3-0 through 5 innings, but I would scratch together 2 runs during the bottom of the 8th, and have a runner on with one out during the bottom of the 9th, only to come up short.

Like I mentioned earlier, my lineup went ice-cold, and where we left off, I was 1-4.

During the 5th game, I would get the bats going by beating up the 62' Dodgers, 13-2, and would go into the lunch break on some-sort-of-positive momentum.

My wife and I sat and had lunch with Darren Schulz and his son Aaren Schulz. I have known the Schulz clan since I believe, the first Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament. Darren and his brother Ken, run the LBS Slippery Rock (Pittsburgh) APBA tournament in honor of their late mother. Both of the APBA Schulz brothers have had each of their sons at the tournaments, including their cousin Tucker as well. His brother Ken Schulz couldn't make it to the tournament due to his Pastor duties to his church, while Darren is a teacher. We talked over lunch about him being a teacher, and talked about the challenges of the new school dynamics of the pandemic-era. I just want to give a big shout-out to these brothers, who have very important jobs (teaching, church), that can be big influences on their communities, during these tough and troubling times.

My game against Schulz's 1922 St. Louis Browns was a back-and-forth affair. Hank Severeid's two-run double during the top of the 2nd inning gave Schulz a 2-1 lead. Brooklyn's Cal Abram's RBI double during the bottom of the 4th, tied the game at 2-2. Top of the 6th, the Browns' pitcher Elam Vangilder (batting 5th) smacked a go-ahead RBI double during the 6th. 

For a pitcher, Vangilder could hit, or at least during 1922 he sure could. Vangilder batted .344 with 2 HR, 11 RBI, 32 hits & 10 doubles that season, while he hit 8 home runs over his entire career, hitting .243 during that span. Vangilder would go 3-for-3 while drawing a walk in this game, hitting 2 doubles, scoring twice with an RBI in tow.

Down 3-2, during the 7th with a runner on first for Brooklyn, my #9 hitter Billy Cox would hit a two-run homer to give us Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Funny thing about Cox, he hit 2 HR during my last tournament three years ago, so he has 3 HR during a 17-game stretch, which definitely outpaces his real-life 9 HR through 142 games. The Browns would bounce right back during the 8th on a solo homer by Jack Tobin and RBI double by Marty McManus. Brooklyn's Duke Snider smacked a solo home run during the bottom of the 8th to tie the game at 5-5. 

The bottom of the 9th, Pee Wee Reese hits a lead-off single, his 3rd hit of the game. Jackie Robinson grounds out, moves the runner up to second. Schulz does the right thing and intentionally walks Roy Campanella, who has a beautiful, scary card -- so I don't blame him for not wanting anything to do with that. Gil Hodges flies to left with no runners advancing, for the 2nd out. So with the Browns only needing an out to get out of the inning and take a tied 5-5 game into extras, had to only get through Duke, but Duke had other things in mind, smacking an walk-off RBI single in front of an excited Ebbets Field crowd. Brooklyn wins 6-5, and has now improved to 3-4.

The last and final game came against David Dawn and his 1976 Oakland Athletics. I really like David, it was really fun to see him again, we met back at this same tournament three years ago. Dawn has a good nature about him, always smiling, and really loves his Athletics. We talked about my Out of the Park Baseball project in which I pretty much kicked Charlie Finley out of the Front Office of those old 70's Athletics and tried to continue their magic run coming off 1973. We also talked about the current Athletics and their old dump of a stadium, and how its a shame that Oakland just can't catch a break. That's a great thing about APBA is that we can go back to our great memories and replay them during their wonder years, instead of thinking about our down-and-out teams (his A's and my Tigers). 

My Brooklyn lineup who showed signs of life during their last two games, were quiet during the first 8 innings. My 1-thru-5 hitters were hitless through their first 13 at-bats until Duke Snider's single during the 7th inning, while my only scoring chances were 2 two-out doubles that were left stranded both times during the 3rd and 5th innings. 

Dawn's Oakland scored twice during the bottom of the 5th on a Phil Garner RBI double and Bill North sac fly. The game would remain 2-0 Oakland entering the 9th, and everything up to that point seemed to be in David's favor. Sure, just like me, he had only 3 hits through the first 8 innings, but I honestly thought I was down for the count.

During the game, Pastor Rich came over and gave David a wooden shaker with the Oakland Athletics logo on it. I believe Rich brought one of the early Philadelphia A's teams with him to the tournament. It was a touching moment, I thought it was really nice of him to do that, given how we all know how much David loves those A's. Come to find out later through the Email thread, that the wooden shaker is actually a shot glass made of wood, who knew they made such things? I thought it was a hand-crafted wooden shaker.

Top of the 9th, the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers lead off the inning with Jackie Robinson at the plate. Robinson draws a walk off Oakland starter Mike Torrez. Jackie reaches 2nd base on a wild pitch, but Campanella couldn't take advantage of the miscue and strikes out. Next up, is newly inducted MLB Hall of Famer Gil Hodges (He finally got in!) -- and he celebrates with a game-tying two-run homer. 

We go to extras, we kept our starters Preacher Roe and Torrez in. With our team's bats awakening, we left bases loaded during the 11th, but we take advantage during the 12th. Billy Cox hit a one-out double, which was then followed by a two-run dinger by Pee Wee Reese. Jackie and Campy reach on singles, which was followed by Hodges striking out, for out number two. Duke Snider, who has really come alive during these last two games, hit a two-run triple. Snider collected 5 hits, 1 HR, 1 triple & 4 RBI during these last two games... better late than never, right?

During the bottom of the 12th, Oakland could only muster a single by Phil Garner, as Oakland went quietly into the night.

I evened my record at 4-4 with a +9 scoring differential at the end of the day, good enough to finish as high as 4th, possibly 5th in my bracket. I am happy with the turn around at the end, but I will bring a different team next time around. Never thought I would play a team twice in tournament play, got it out of my system, and hopefully I warm much warmer dice next time.

Our division really beat up one another, and it was Michael Hernandez's 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers as our division's only representative. My friend, Rob Spatz, I believe missed the last wild card spot by a single run, in which he lost to me by in Game 2... a victory for him there, would have put him in the playoffs.

My friend Ron Emch once again threw an amazing tournament, you can catch his highlights from his blog piece -- Ron, you really got a knack for that blogging thing, brother! 

See you all next year, until then please stay safe, roll sixty-sixes and God bless!

Shawn 

What Actually Happened

 I've decided to run a Out of the Park Baseball simulation based on the alternate reality in which the St. Louis Browns relocate to Los Angeles, becoming the Los Angeles Browns. To understand what could have happened, you must know what actually happened during late 1941.

I decided to copy and paste, a SABR article that was shared to me from a member on the OOTP Forums. Also mentioned is the Sporting News article in 1957, mentioning the details of the plan.

Over the years Barnes persistently wooed potential investors to the Browns. One, Harry Arthur, was the head of Fanchot and Marco Amusement Company, a Southern California entertainment company. Arthur, who divided his time between Los Angeles and St. Louis, and was fully aware of the Browns’ financial woes, approached Barnes and, as Barnes recalled, urged that “something be done to revive interest in the Browns, such as transferring the club’s franchise to Los Angeles.” Barnes initially demurred, thinking Arthur was just bragging on his California connections. Over time, however, as the Browns situation did not improve, Barnes decided to take Arthur’s idea more seriously.

This, on its face, was a daunting challenge. No franchise had moved since the Orioles went from Baltimore to New York for the 1903 season. And no team then played west of St. Louis. Creation of a cross-country schedule presented challenges. Rail and bus were the chosen mode of transportation. Cross-country air travel was in its infancy, and not until the 1950s would it become a functional form of transportation for sports teams.

As Barnes subsequently shared in one of several interviews given years later in TSN, he asked Arthur to explore investment opportunities in Southern California. Arthur almost immediately advised that A.P. Giannini, co-founder of the Bank of America, was willing to give considerable financial backing to a Los Angeles-based major-league team. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce guaranteed a minimum season attendance of 500,000 for the first five years, offering to underwrite the difference if the guarantee was not met.

Barnes was sold on exploring the opportunity. He flew to Los Angeles at Arthur’s suggestion to meet with potential investors. The endeavor proved a complicated process. Not only did Barnes have to gain approval of American League owners, but because he was moving into Pacific Coast League territory, Barnes had to deal with Los Angeles’s then resident team, the Angels, owned by Phil Wrigley, also owner of the Chicago Cubs.

Wrigley offered to sell the team and Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field to Barnes for approximately $1 million, based on a down payment of $250,000 with annual installments of $30,000 over the next 25 years. Assurances were gained that a street bordering Wrigley Field would be condemned, allowing enlargement of the ballpark, double-decking it, and enlarging the bleachers to increase attendance capacity from 21,000 to 30,000 seats.

Upon completion of the transaction, Barnes would transfer the Angels to Long Beach, Arthur having gained assurances from civic leaders in the city that this was acceptable. All was contingent on gaining major-league approval for shifting the Browns to California.

In reviewing minor-league considerations as part of the deal, Barnes noted that at that time a major-league team could move into a minor-league territory and pay the league $5,000 plus damages to the club. As the Browns would take over the Angels, these costs would be avoided. A further complexity involved the Hollywood Stars. Discussions with the Stars involved arranging the schedule to avoid playing date conflicts. Incursion into their territory was not an issue as the Stars were then operating under a 20-year arrangement with the Angels, who had full territorial rights.

Having set plans in motion to secure rights to play in Los Angeles, Barnes sought concurrence for the move from his fellow club owners. While eager to improve revenue by moving from the perpetual money hole in St. Louis, they were concerned over whether a viable schedule could be created. Particular worries were raised about the safety of air travel.

This was resolved by arranging to have two of the then existing three East-West swings made by rail and one by air. Fears concerning air travel were further minimized by having players take different flights. Plans called for Chicago to be set up as the Eastern hub because of multiple daily flights. This satisfied safety concerns, and judicious use of open dates allowed creation of a workable schedule. Resolution of this and the possibility for more lucrative opportunities gained Barnes preliminary approval to shift the Browns.

Another factor at play involved the Cardinals. Eager to have St. Louis to himself, Cardinals owner Sam Breadon committed to giving Barnes $250,000 for the Browns to depart. In all of the components of this pending transaction Commissioner Landis was kept informed. While sympathetic to the Browns’ financial situation, he did not get directly involved, telling Barnes, “That is a matter you boys (club executives) must settle among yourselves.”

Ongoing negotiations were conducted with the utmost secrecy. Barnes was referred to as MISTER X in all documented meetings. DeWitt and Browns manager Luke Sewell were two of the very limited number of Browns employees who knew of these developments.

The myriad details for the transfer were settled. Barnes had received tacit approval of his fellow club owners and the minor-league teams in the Los Angeles area, secured the monetary incentive from the Cardinals and created a workable schedule. All Barnes needed was formal approval at a meeting of American League team owners set to take place at the Palmer House in Chicago — on December 8, 1941.

Barnes, DeWitt and Sewell arrived in Chicago on December 7 and were attending a Chicago Cardinals football game when they heard over the public-address system that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. With war imminent and an invasion of the West Coast regarded as possible, Barnes realized that all plans were off. The next day, as President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, Barnes asked his fellow AL club owners to drop consideration of the proposed move. With Barnes joining in, the motion to shelve the motion received unanimous approval.

Also here is a snippet from a December 1st, 2021 article by The Guardian on the day after the attack:

One day after the attack, Major League Baseball’s owners were expected to approve the move of the American League’s St Louis Browns to Los Angeles for 1942 – 16 years before Walter O’Malley’s former Brooklyn Dodgers played their first season on the West Coast. The Browns felt so confident that they even scheduled a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the move on the afternoon of Monday 8 December 1941.

But in the aftermath of the attack in Hawaii 24 hours earlier – and with the radio broadcast of US president Franklin D Roosevelt’s declaration of war resonating vividly in the nation’s consciousness – the owners unanimously rejected the move, at the Browns’ insistence.

Had the owners approved the move, it would have changed the landscape of American professional sports, and might have generated more sweeping social, cultural and economic shifts.

The Butterfly Effect

On December 1st, 1941, during a scheduled press conference located at the Lyman's Cafe in Los Angeles, California, the St. Louis Browns' Owner Donald Barnes with a majority approval by the owners of Major League Baseball, announced to the sports world that the Browns, would be moving out further west to Los Angeles. As we all know this relocation gave the city of Los Angeles, its first professional sports team, and gave Barnes & the Browns to tap into an unexplored, eager market which the Los Angeles Browns would definitely benefit off.

The move was also thanks to Bank of America Co-founder A.P. Giannini, who agreed with Barnes' vision. Giannini would supply the much-needed additional funding that would transform this vision into a reality. As part of the deal, the Browns purchased the Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels, moved the Angels down to Long Beach momentarily, while the Browns moved into Los Angeles' Wrigley Field, enlarging the stadium with the additional seating and modifications needed to field a big league team. The Angels would also work as an minor league affiliation strictly for the Browns, serving as the Browns' top farm team. 

The St. Louis Cardinals' Owner Sam Breadon excited about the idea of not sharing a city with another pro baseball team, added $250,000 to help make this move a reality. The deal also answered travel concerns, as the Browns' ownership struck a partnership with TWA Airlines and the Chicago-to-Los Angeles Sante Fe Railroad.

The Browns' relocation to Los Angeles was the first relocation in 40 years for Major League Baseball. Little did we know at the time, that there would be plenty of relocations and expansion over the next decades to come.

The Browns would be the only Los Angeles professional sports team for the next four years, until the National Football League's Cleveland Rams relocated to L.A. and became the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams were coming off a victory in the 1945 NFL Championship Game, but saw the potential and financial possibilities in moving out west. For Cleveland fans, they would eventually welcome Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference.

The Browns struggled physically and mentally those first few years -- suffering through plenty of three-week road trips, mostly by train, occasionally by air. The team needed a same-league franchise, a league foe to help take the burden off the Browns. That's where the Philadelphia Athletics came in. The Athletics know exactly how the Browns felt in St. Louis, playing in the same city with another team was frustrating. Both Philadelphia teams were horrible during the 1940's, and it simply didn't make sense to have two teams. The Macks were already in the process of selling, and the decision by MLB to allow the Athletics the likelihood to move compared to the Phillies was easy... The Browns needed to steady their own ship, cutting back on some travel, and that could benefit the next relocating team as well, case in point, the Athletics.

The Macks would sell to San Francisco businessman Paul Fagan. Fagan already purchased the PCL San Francisco Seals in 1945, and spent millions upgrading their stadium of one day hosting a Major League Baseball team. The deal pays off, and the San Francisco Athletics were born. The Athletics, just like the Browns, benefit with their move out west. The Athletics would eventually move into Candlestick Park and then their beautiful park on the harbor in Oracle Park.

The Boston Braves, another two-teams-in-a-town team, would leave the city of Boston to the Boston Red Sox, moving out to the Midwest, to play in Milwaukee, starting in 1954. The Milwaukee Braves would be a huge hit, as Milwaukee's attendance during the 1950's would set records in sharp contrast to the downward MLB attendance trend that was happening during that time. Despite the great attendance the Braves' ownership flirted with the idea of moving the team to a bigger city, particularly Atlanta. Thanks to a brief, but ugly, public legal trial with the state of Wisconsin, and thanks to a narrow vote margin, the Braves stay in Milwaukee.

The New York Giants moved out to Minnesota in 1956, moving into the new Metropolitan Stadium. The deal to move the Giants out to Minnesota was struck in 1954, when the Giants couldn't get an exact agreement on a possible new stadium deal in New York, while playing at an eroding Polo Grounds was past its purpose. For Giants legend, Willie Mays, he was familar with Minneapolis, playing for the Minneapolis Millers (the Triple-A Affiliate to the Giants).

Prior to the 1958 MLB Season, Brooklyn Dodgers' Owner Walter O'Malley, frustrated with an outdated Ebbets Field, and not keen on settling in Queens, New York -- moves the Dodgers to Dallas, to become the Dallas Dodgers. The Dodgers enjoy immediate success, as Texas falls in love with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and the voice of Vin Scully. 

Expansion first comes to Major League Baseball in 1961, with the Baltimore Orioles joining the American League, and the Los Angeles Angels joining the National League. The following 1962 season, introduced the American League's Houston Colt 45's (who would become the Astros years later), and the New York Mets would join the National League, starting out at the Polo Grounds before moving into Shea Stadium.

The struggling Washington Senators move to Atlanta in time for the 1966 MLB Season. The Senators move into the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Long-time Atlanta Crackers Owner Earl Mann had been looking to add a team to the south for many years. Working in tandem with Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr, the Senators are lured from Washington.

Four Major League teams join in 1969 -- The Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots of the American League, and the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres of the National League. The Padres wouldn't stay in San Diego for long, as they would relocate to Washington D.C. and become the Washington Stars in 1974. The good news for Padres fan, they would return once again as an expansion team in 1977 along with the Toronto Blue Jays, both members of the American League.

Expansion would not come around for another 16 years, as the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins would join the National League in 1993. The last season of expansion took place in 1998 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays joining the American League, and the Arizona Diamondbacks joining the National League. The Montreal Expos were able to strike a miraculous stadium deal to keep them in Montreal, while the Rays (minus Devil) are a team continuously circulating in relocation to this day. 

Among these rumors are also the potential for future expansion cities such as Portland, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Nashville. These cities are also speculated relocation sites for the Rays as well. There is even talk of baseball returning to Brooklyn, thanks to the National Basketball Association's Brooklyn Nets.

But of course, you know...

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That most of the above has never happened. For fictional purposes, I chose the date December 1st, 1941 instead of the actual date of the vote on December 8th -- because if the date was any earlier, the original plan would have succeeded, and all the fiction above could have happened. 

Most of the fiction was truly the vision from a writer for MLB.com named Mike Petriello, who wrote this great piece. The article details what actually happened and what could have happened. Simply put, any chance of the Los Angeles Browns happening ended when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor & the United States on December 7th.

There is plenty of back-and-forth debate from baseball experts, bloggers or casual fans on the chances of the Los Angeles Browns chances at becoming a reality. Some say it wasn't close, and there are some that say it came closer than anyone could have imagined. To understand the situation, you will have to understand how what actually happened -- which I will post in tomorrow night's post "What Actually Happened."

I was inspired by this article to create an alternate timeline playing Out of the Park Baseball 22, creating uniforms even for the Los Angeles Browns (pictured below). I am already through the 1942 and 1943 seasons, which have been reported in full detail on the OOTP Forums. 

I will bring this story to life on here as well, as you will witness an alternate baseball history, which I decided to call 'The L.A. Browns Butterfly Effect'. In my alternate reality, the Los Angeles Browns did become a reality, and I will show how it would have changed the baseball landscape.

The Ever-Changing Plan

 When my Grandma passed, she left each of us grandkids some inheritance money. With some of that money, Becky and I decided to purchase concert tickets to go see her absolute favorite (and a favorite of mine) Red Hot Chili Peppers since they were reunited with lead guitarist John Frusciante. We were extra excited when we found out that one of their opening bands are one of my favorite bands was The Strokes. I have always wanted to see them.

When we went on the site, we noticed that tickets in our regions were already sold out, and the tickets that were available had possible obstructions or were simply lousy seats. We would purchase the tickets in November, but there was one catch, we were seeing the bands in the city of Philadelphia. 

Why Philadelphia? My sister and her husband live there, and it would be a good chance to visit possibly while we were in town. The concert wasn't until September 2022, and we felt we had a good 10 months to prepare for such a date. 

Numerous things happened in between that time, and this upcoming September...

• My sister and husband announced the wonderful news at Christmas that they were expecting in August 2022, which was great news. 
• Russia invaded the Ukraine.
• Inflation & Gas prices started making life a bitch. 
• Our kitten Neptune that we got from my folks' property in November, started having having health problems in March 2022. 
• Plenty of vet appointments, new diet for the kitten.
• Airports have been horrendous, and looking for hotel, airline combinations were not looking good once we got to June.

So we made some changes to the plan, we didn't like the idea of driving into such a major city like Philadelphia, plus gun-shootings and violence going up also made that less desirable. We decided to kick the concert to the curb (sell the tickets), make plans to visit one of her best friends in West Virginia, and on the way down go to the Toledo Zoo, maybe make it down to Harper's Ferry (W.Va) or even Cumberland Gap much further down in east Tennessee. We started getting weary of Neptune's health, and decided to scratch, Harpers and the Gap, scratching a couple days, making trip shorter in which now I would be passing back through the Toledo area which now had me possibly going to the Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament. Asked the wife, and we decided to do that, while also visiting her friend Melissa, as planned.

Neptune's health gets dramatically worse. He was born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, and over the past couple months started having seizures, and the vet also believed he probably had a brain tumor on top of that. So they gave us medication that he had to give him two times a day. With that, Becky decided to cancel visiting Melissa, because one of us had to stay to give him the medicine.

A couple weeks ago, we started the meds, at first it seemed to help, and noticed a sliver of improvement, but in a few days it goes to absolute bad. A week ago from today we decided that the next day we would say goodbye to 'Neppy', he was only 10 months old.

My wife decides that she won't let me go down to Glass City alone, and the two older cats, can do well with two nights alone. 

With all that, my sister was due any day now, and her due date was August 13th I believe. We found out on August 19th, that my soon-to-be niece kept breaching and twisting in my sister's stomach, so they decided to plan a C-Section on August 22nd.

So yesterday, my sister and her husband welcomed their beautiful daughter Vivian into the world, all 8 lbs and 12 ounces of her -- and that she would have my grandma's middle name for her middle name. My folks waited a long time to become grandparents, you would figure with four kids that their chances would be great. I was the oldest, but Becky and I weren't blessed to bring a child into the world, but my sister 9 years younger finally made the reality of my folks becoming grandparents a reality at the ages of 65 years young. 

So that's how this ever-changing plan resulted in my first APBA tournament appearance (coming this upcoming Saturday) in three years came to be. Lots has happened since my last tournament (which was also Glass City) with millions of motions in between, and it now all comes full circle. 

Oh, and believe me, this was all the short version.

AGBA Eastern League (Galaxy Season I Update)

The APBA Galaxy Baseball Association's (AGBA) Eastern League are 22 games through their 72-game season, and just finished the first four-game series of division match-ups. The E.L. is separated into two divisions, the Ruth Division and Robinson Division. 

The Ruth Division is very close with no team in clear control. The New York Pigeons (11-11-0) and Baltimore Bombers (10-10-2) are tied at the top with 22 points in the division standings. Just behind these two are the Florida Rockets (10-12-0, 20 pts), Boston Colonials (9-12-1, 19 pts), and the Pittsburgh Arsenal (9-13-0, 18 pts) and Montreal Voyageurs (9-13-0, 18 pts) tied at the bottom, but only sitting at 4 points & 2 games behind.

The Robinson Division (named after Jackie) is a bit of a different story. The division is currently a three-team race, with the Atlanta Firebirds sitting at 17-5-0 with 34 points. The Carolina Twins who are currently on a 6-game winning streak, sit in 2nd place at 15-6-1 (31 pts) and the Philadelphia Veterans (14-8-0, 28 pts, 6 PB) sit in 3rd place. The bottom three teams, Washington Maroons (11-11-0, 22 pts -- same record as Ruth Division's 1st place Pigeons), Brooklyn Mets (9-13-0, 18 pts) & New York Knights (6-16-0, 12 points) are much further back in the rearview mirror.

The best team in the entire Eastern League appears to be the Atlanta Firebirds, who also came into the season with high expectations. Despite two of the league's home runs leaders in Fred McGriff (12) and Hank Aaron (9), the Firebirds' hitters have cooled down of late, as the team's batting average has fell to .248 for the season. It should be noted that 1968 was actually a low HR year for Aaron (29 HR), as he is smacking them out at a much higher rate in the AGBA.

Atlanta gets it done with great fielding (.992 fielding, 7 errors) and their pitching, which the bullpen coming up big in clutch moments. Atlanta's bullpen are 5-0 with five relievers posting a 2.45 ERA or lower. Close Greg McMichael has been a perfect 9-for-9 in saves opportunities, as he leads all AGBA relievers (36 teams) with 9 saves. McMichael has a 0.96 ERA while opposing hitters have batted only .222 against, but has a 1.286 WHIP (8 hits, 4 walks) through those 9 innings, 9 appearances.

The Firebirds, thanks to their bullpen are 7-0 in 1-run games.

Atlanta's rotation has appeared human with Greg Maddux (4-0, 1.10 ERA) being the lone dominant starting pitcher. Maddux has pitched 2 complete games, 1 shutout, allowing 17 hits, 12 walks through 41 innings, while hitters have only batted .122 against him. John Smoltz had a good outing last time out and lowered his ERA to 3.55, while both Phil Niekro and Anibal Sanchez sit with 4.15 ERA's. Tom Glavine has been a complete mess to this point, posting a 1-3 record & 6.66 ERA through 4 starts. 

The Philadelphia Veterans have a solid lineup & rotation. The Vets are batting .265 as a team this season, led by John Kruk (.392 BA, 3 HR & 23 RBI) & Dick Allen (.318 BA, 10 HR & 30 RBI). Allen's 30 RBI is tops, while Kruk is 2nd in batting average to Carolina's Gates Brown batting .443.

Here is a look at some of the Vets' hitters:

• John Kruk: .392 BA, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 11 XBH, 17 BB, 20 R (.485 OBP/.633 SLG/1.118 OPS).
• Dick Allen: .318 BA, 10 HR, 30 RBI*, 17 XBH, 13 BB, 26 R (.404 OBP/.776 SLG/1.180 OPS).
• Lenny Dykstra: .330, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 8 doubles, 11 SB*, 20 R (.390 OBP/.582 SLG/.972 OPS).
• Kevin Stocker: .309 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 triples, 4 HBP, 16 R (.382 OBP/.426 SLG/.808 OPS).
• Wes Chamberlain: Started off slow, now batting .320, 3 HR & 10 RBI (.560 SLG/.918 OPS).

Aaron Nola paces a rotation with a 5-0 record, 2.45 ERA (1 CG SHO) & 33 K, 7 BB in 33 innings. All five rotation pitchers have a 4.04 ERA or lower (with Chris Short's 4.04 ERA being inflated by a rough outing last time out). Woodie Fryman leads the team with a 2.05 ERA, allowing more walks (14) than hits (13) through 30.2 innings. Terry Mulholland (2.67 ERA, 21 K) and Curt Schilling (3.49 ERA, 1 CG) round out the rest of the rotation.

The bullpen is a little iffy, with Jose Alvarado (3 SV, 3.00 ERA) and David West (1.42 ERA, 7 K in 6.1 innings) putting up the best numbers.

The Carolina Twins have a feisty lineup with surprising power by Tommy Pham, who has 10 HR through 22 games. Pham currently leads the E.L. with a 1.269 OPS (.485 OBP/.784 SLG), while knocking in 22 runs. Gates Brown has been a beast, batting 31-for-70 (.443 BA) with 4 HR (12 XBH/53 total bases) & 22 RBI. Curt Flood (.284 BA, 9 BB & 18 runs) and Don Buford (.293, 3 HR, 18 RBI & 11 BB) have both been major factors in the team's lineup success.

The Twins' bullpen has been a big reason for the team's 3.23 ERA -- here is the majority of their pen...

• Mike Perez (closer): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 SV, 8 K & 0 BB, 0.875 WHIP (8 IP).
• Xavier Hernandez: 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 17 K & 3 BB, 0.750 WHIP (12 IP).
• Derek Lilliquist: 0.00 ERA, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0.375 WHIP (8 IP).
• Diego Castillo: 2.25 ERA, 3 K, 1 BB, 0.625 WHIP (8 IP).

These four relievers have combined for 4 ER allowed through 36 innings (1.00 ERA) with 32 K.

As I mentioned earlier, the Ruth Division is up for grabs, and it's hard to peg a favorite. The New York Pigeons have good pitching all around, plus depth, while some standout offensive weapons such as Aaron Judge, Don Mattingly, Paul O'Neill & Giancarlo Stanton, among others. The Boston Colonials started off 7-2, but then suffered a league worst 9-game losing streak immediately after. The Pittsburgh Arsenal have had the best pitching in the division all year, while their hitters are finally coming on as of late. The Baltimore Bombers have been steady as they come, but it seems as if they are just missing something. So if I was to wager on it, I would say the safe bet may be the Pigeons, but I really like the Arsenal of late.

It's a long season, we are just under a third-of-the-season done, so anything is possible from here on out, but the best teams appear to be coming out of the Robinson Division in the Eastern League.

Cubbies, Williams Take Advantage of Reds' Control Problems

 

At the end of the day, the Cincinnati Reds had almost three times the hits the Chicago Cubs did (13 to Chicago's 5), but the Cubs would go on to win the ballgame, 7-2. During the 3rd & 5th innings particularly, the Cubs had the right hit at the right time, as the Reds' Jim O'Toole allowed 5 of his 6 walks allowed during those innings (his other walk was an intentional walk to Ron Santo in the 1st). It was during the 8th inning where the Cubs put the game away.

Up 4-1, with runners on 1st & 2nd with 2 outs, Billy Williams smacked a 3-run homer off Reds' relief pitcher Jim Brosnan.

The Reds' Frank Robinson collected 4 hits in a losing effort. 

Walk-off Win for Expansion Senators in 1961 BallStat Project

  

With my new introduction to BallScore/BallStat, my first game was a memorable one, a walk-off win for the expansion Washington Senators, with a game-winning hit by pinch-hitter Harry Bright. The Senators' Dick Donovan allowed only 3 hits through 11 solid innings.

No Longer a BallStat Virgin

Hello everybody, 

I just lost my BallStat virginity, and wished that I had gone all the way much sooner!  😂

It took me a little bit, but the more I did it, the better I got, and the more I knew what I was doing....

So I decided I will share my experience by playing with the 1961 MLB Replay.

I am in the middle of other projects, and I am pondering on some of them if I want to go back and record by using the BallStat, or do half-and-half on my AGBA Galaxy League, etc etc

But for this 1961 MLB Replay, and future projects that I start after this point, I will definitely do BallScore/BallStat.

You should all give it a try, this will save me so much trouble, and make me able to do the games without all the frustration of stat-keeping, you can print the stats, store the stats... all you do for the most part, is record the game like you would on your scorecard.

Peace and love, and plenty of sixty-sixes

Coexist,

Shawn B

My NBA2K Preview into Upcoming 2022-23 NBA Season

The NBA Free Agency period was on full display this past week, but no name was bigger than Kevin Durant (who was not a free agent) demanding a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. I will not dive fully into the Durant story (that's for another future NBA post), but I will talk about my NBA2K22 Nintendo Switch and the updated rosters on it.

I decided to download a fan's July 3rd roster update, which was great because he had all the rookies from this past June draft as well. From there I checked into some of the trade and signing rumors that are being talked about online. I also decided to kickstart some moves, making some blockbuster trades and signings, it's my alternate reality from July 3rd onward.

Here are some of the moves I made...

Starting with the biggest deal and name. Kevin Durant gets his way, and lands at one of his preferred destinations -- The Phoenix Suns. The Suns needed a quick answer to their shocking exit in the 2nd Round (to the Dallas Mavericks). It was a 4-team deal (but you can only do up to 3-team deals in NBA2K)...

• Suns acquired: PF-Kevin Durant (Nets), C-Jakob Poeltl (Spurs), SG-Josh Richardson (Spurs).

• Nets acquired: PG-Russell Westbrook (Lakers), SF-Mikal Bridges (Suns), SG-Landry Shamet (Suns), SF/PF-Cameron Johnson (Suns), SF-Doug McDermott (Spurs), plus three unprotected 1st Round draft picks (2024 & 2025 from Suns, 2026 from Lakers).

• Spurs: C-Deandre Ayton (Suns) in sign-and-trade.

In real life, the Washington Wizards made the horrible extension offer to SF-Bradley Beal, which will net him $251 million over 5 years. Beal declined his player option of $36.4 million from his prior deal. The deal reminds many Washington fans of disastrous deals like Gilbert Arenas and John Wall. With the Cavaliers possibly looking to do a sign-and-trade with SG-Collin Sexton, I made this offer for Washington...

• Wizards acquired: SG-Collin Sexton.

• Cavaliers acquired: PG-Monte Morris & SG-Corey Kispert.

I also decided to do another deal with Washington involved...

• Wizards acquired: PF-John Collins & two 2nd Rd draft picks (2025).

• Hawks acquired: SF/PF-Kyle Kuzma, SF-Deni Avdija, PF-Anthony Gill & two unprotected 1st Round draft picks.

These two deals help makeup the mess that is the Beal deal, plus adding them to a roster that includes PF/C-Kristaps Porzingis, rookie PG-Johnny Davis & C-Daniel Gafford. The Collins-Sexton-Beal trio are like a mini-big three for the Wizards.

One of the other big trade rumors are the Utah Jazz' SG-Donovan Mitchell, especially after the Jazz traded C-Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and let numerous players simply go... It appears the Utah may be in the middle of a full rebuild. The Jazz recently said that they shut down all offers to Mitchell, but there are some insiders such as The Ringer's Bill Simmons that don't believe that kind of talk. To be honest, I am not sure I believe he'll be on the Jazz by the time the 2022-23 NBA season starts. 

Mitchell is rumored in deals involving the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, New York Knicks among others, I decided to make this 3-team deal...

• Heat acquired: SG-Donovan Mitchell.

• Jazz acquired: SG-Tyler Herro (Heat), SG/SF-Duncan Robinson (Heat), PG-Gabe Vincent (Heat), SF-Cam Reddish (Knicks), SG/SF-Evan Fournier (Knicks), plus a 2025 1st Round draft pick (Heat) & 2024 2nd Round draft pick (Knicks).

• Knicks acquired: PF-Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz), plus 2023 1st Round (Lottery Protected) draft pick (Knicks).

Evan Fournier wasn't able to pack his bags, as he was then dealt to the Dallas Mavericks...

• Mavericks acquired: SG/SF-Evan Fournier along with a 2025 2nd Round draft pick swap (worst).

• Jazz acquired: SF-Josh Green, a 2025 2nd Round draft pick swap (best), plus an additional 2nd Round draft pick from 2026.

The rest of the day were signings for the most part...

• Lakers sign SF-T.J. Warren.
• Celtics sign C-Thomas Bryant.
• Bulls sign PG-Goran Dragic.
• Clippers sign PG-John Wall.
• Suns sign G-Damion Lee.
• Nuggets sign G-Bruce Brown.