SLOP 15th Anniversary Past & Future Stars

[Young Drachma]

We're in our 15th season here at SLOP. TIME FLIES!

Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to recap some of the best players of all-time so far in our league.

I'll be doing this feature over the next few days. (It's currently thunderstorming outside, so I'm going to end it before I start because I figure the power may go out..)



Winston Bancroft is the career SLOP leader in hits, runs, at-bats, games and RBI. If he were to end his career today, he'd be a hall of famer. And you'd have to think that he'd go into the Hall as a San Diego Father.

Yet, such talk is premature because he's still alive and well in the game as an active player and gunning to become the 2nd man in SLOP history to hit 500 HRs for a career.



Speaking of home runs, the first man to hit 500 HRs is Carolina's Ed Saunders. He's been with the Kings his whole career and you have to think that the GM will make sure to keep it that way. A three-time MVP and 9-time All-Star, he's left an indelible mark on SLOP throughout his career.



Will Allen is second to Dave Norman for most wins in SLOP history. The first thing I wondered is what team he'd be a Hall of Famer with if his career ended today. Despite a long-term deal with Carolina, I'd think his work in Memphis was more accomplished. Another guy who hasn't had his swan song yet, he'll be best remember as one of the most consistent and dominant pitchers in SLOP history throughout his career.


Name the best pitcher in the history of SLOP to this point. A 5-time Pitcher of the Year award winner who has to be on the short list to someday own that award with his name on it permanently. An 11-time All-Star who has helped the Kings win 4 NL pennants and a Sunset Series title...and you have Hank Griggs. A guy that most GMs salivate over and know they can't have, this guy has been the definition of clutch in SLOP throughout his career.

We're just getting started with this feature. Stay tuned for more through the week.

[Jack Raden]

This is really awesome. I loved having Will Allen on my team - I messed up the export after the season he left Memphis. I was trying to resign him and thought I had a shot - look at the team, and Memphis hasn't had a decent pitching staff since Allen left.

[Cole]

Very cool feature DC. Glad to have had or still have some of the players spotlighted. One odd thing though, in my game Ed Saunders is black, yet on that card he is caucasian ... Odd.. I don't seem to have any jersey files either since move to OOTP 13.. Is there an updated images file somewhere I can download?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Cole

Very cool feature DC. Glad to have had or still have some of the players spotlighted. One odd thing though, in my game Ed Saunders is black, yet on that card he is caucasian ... Odd.. I don't seem to have any jersey files either since move to OOTP 13.. Is there an updated images file somewhere I can download?

I'll reupload when I get home. I don't have them on my work machine either.

I looked up Saunders in-game and the reason for his racial confusion is because the game has him as Hispanic meaning if his photo regenerates, he comes out as either black or white. I suspect that's what happened here. I'll fix it when I go home.

[Young Drachma]

Bobby Foster is an 8-time all-star and has 3 Pitcher of the Year awards in his cabinet over a career where he's become known as the best strikeout pitcher in the league. He's thrown a no-hitter and led the Hornets to three Series titles.

If you need a big pitcher, he's the guy you're going to call. He's 11-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 147 Ks in his post-season career.



Mad Dog is a six-time Pitcher of the Year award winner who will easily go down in history as the best of the bygone LEGACY players that we began our history with. The 8-time All Star was instrumental in helping the Stars claim the '45 Series title and has a microscopic 1.60 postseason ERA.



I was trying to figure out who the best catcher in the game was. I realized the list needed to include Chicago's Steven Chowen who is the current career leader in SLG & WAR. The '43 NL Rookie of the Year, Chicago's franchise player has earned the title winning an MVP and appearing in ten all-star games.



Armando Cuarenta is another one of those Carolina Kings who has been wearing the crown for most of his career. He did spend one year in San Diego, but came right back home afterwards. He has the most hits of any catcher, as well as games, runs, total bases and is 3rd in home runs for a catcher.


Jim McLean was the first guy that showed up in New York/Winnemucca that made me feel like I was invested in the franchise. So many of the guys in the past had that look to me, but never made me really feel as connected to the franchise. For some reason, it took this top prospect kid to hit our radar and make think "ok, I think this will work."

And work he has. The six-time all-star has more home runs (406) than first basemen in SLOP history. The next most is retired Eugene Nelson (271).



Though his best days are clearly behind him now, the best 2nd baseman in the first 15 years of SLOP is Bruce Skinner. The Syracuse standout began his career in Chicago, was the '38 AL Rookie of the Year and won the '39 AL MVP award. He's won 3 gold gloves, an 8-time all-star and is the career leader in most offensive categories for second baseman (R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI)

[Young Drachma]

Derek Campbell is a 2-time MVP and won the '43 AL MVP the same year he won Rookie of the Year. The Smokers franchise player, he's led the Smokers to two Series titles and four AL pennants. He's the career fielding leader at 3rd base and has the highest WAR (71.9) of any career player at the hot corner.



Long known for the breakout start to his career with the LA Vulcans, Jay-Man Yun is a 9-time All-Star who has four gold gloves to his credit. The Winnemucca faithful love him so much that the franchise dropped the largest contract in SLOP history (9 years/$244.4 million) to keep him a Choo-Choo for presumably the rest of his career.

While he's having a slow start to his year, he's the career leader in home runs (314) and RBI (979) for a shortstop, as well as nearly a dozen other categories.



Freddie Hurley is riding a streak of eight consecutive years with 40+ HRs. He's 4th all-time on the home run list (439) and is probably more responsible than anyone for the Father's three-straight AL pennants with their eye on a SLOP record 4th straight league title. What's impressive is he makes less money than Yun does in Winnemucca, while being significantly more productive. (9 yrs/ $180m)

A two-time MVP and 10-time all-star, he'll keep trotting to the outfield in San Diego until he can't walk anymore. A fan favorite.



There's no telling whether or not Justin Gorman will eventually make the Hall. But his start to his career is as impressive as any we'll ever see. His six straight years of 100+ RBI, career .317 average, 9 all-star appearances and six Gold Gloves is nothing to sneeze at. His career languished thanks to being stuck with the Columbus/Phoenix/Kyoto franchise and he never won a championship, but was still a bonafide star in the SLOP galaxy.


Gerald Massey cut his teeth with Brooklyn, putting up back to back years that will go down in the lore of SLOP for ages. He went 26-9 in '46 and managed NOT to win the NL Pitcher of the Year award, as Bobby Foster actually had a better year. But that alone tells you how difficult it is to pitch in an era with some of the best arms in the game are hitting the field.


While he's not the dominant force he once was in Milwaukee, Bones Armstrong is one of SLOP's heralded hurlers. A two-time Pitcher of the Year award, he was a key component of the early years of the Blue Ribbons dynasty, staying until the franchise folded. He's now in Chicago, the franchise that originally drafted him.



38-year old Bobby Carter is awesome. Not only does he have nearly 150 career wins, 1700 career strikeouts and boasts five-all-star appearances. But he's got nearly 300 saves, dating back to his time as a lights-out closer. He helped the Winnemucca Choo-Choos to their first Series title in '48 and now toils for Syracuse as he winds down a solid career.



Juan Martinez has 200 career wins (only one of three pitchers in history to do so, to date) nearly 2500 career strikeouts and well-earned reputation burnished earlier in his career as a big-game pitcher.

[Young Drachma]

Pedro Garcia, RF, Rio Grande


Beau Fisher, LF, Brooklyn


Chris Ross, SP, San Diego
If you aren't acquainted with this two-time AL Pitcher of the Year award winner and 4-time all-star, it might be time to. He's the best young pitcher in the game and we'll be stuck dealing with him for many years to come.


Denis Sheehan, SP, Syracuse


Pablo Nieto, SP, San Diego


Rick Knight, SP Carolina


Tommy Bonner, 2B, Winnemucca
Speaking of Winnemucca, Tommy Bonner is a 4-time all-star already at age 24. He's won two gold gloves and with the news from Winnemucca of him being named their new franchise player, he'll be spending a good while as a Choo-Choo.

My next post will be the top prospects to look for coming in the future.