A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)

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Hi everyone, I'd like to try my hand at a fictional baseball dynasty starting in 1871.

I will be using cephasjames' set of fictional teams and history to start this. The year is 1871, and the National Association has just been formed.

Let's begin!

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)

Single Season Records

Career Leaders

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)

Awards and League Champions

Yearly Leaders

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)

Franchise Tracker

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (1871 - 1875)

TEAM                     YEARS
Boston Beans             1871 - 
Chicago Athletes         1871 - 1871; 1874 -
  Washington Senators      1872 - 1873
New York Nationals       1871 - 
Philadelphia Keystones   1873 -
  Cleveland Spiders        1871 - 1872


Philadelphia Quakers     1871 - 1875
Brooklyn Robins          1872 - 1875
  Ft. Wayne Wizards        1871 - 1871
Baltimore Baybirds       1873 - 1874
Washington Generals      1871 - 1874
Brooklyn Blue Stockings  1873 - 1873
Troy Trojans             1871 - 1872

Stadium Tracker

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)

Hall of Fame

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


National Association Announced
January 1, 1871

A new baseball league was announced today, the National Association.

The National Association will begin play this April. Teams will play 56 games, 4 games home and away. The top 2 teams will meet for a best-of-7 series to decide the National Association Champion.

There will be a 15 round Amateur Draft after the first season and every season moving forward.

There will be 8 teams to start the 1871 season:

Boston Beans
Chicago Athletes
Cleveland Spiders
Ft. Wayne Wizards
New York Nationals
Philadelphia Quakers
Troy (MI) Trojans
Washington (DC) Generals

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 Season Preview

Predicted Standings

TEAM                   WINS    LOSSES    PERCENT   GB
Boston Beans           34      22        .607      -
Troy Trojans           32      24        .571      2
Cleveland Spiders      32      24        .571      2
Ft. Wayne Wizards      30      26        .536      4
Washington Generals    28      28        .500      6
Philadelphia Quakers   27      29        .482      7
Chicago Athletes       27      29        .482      7
New York Nationals     16      40        .286      18

Top 10 Hitters

PLAYER                       TEAM                    G    AB    HR   RBI   SB   AVG   OBP   SLG
Lip Pike, 2B                 Chicago Athletes        56   266   4    57    10   .343  .373  .619
Ezra Sutton, 3B              Chicago Athletes        56   267   2    65    3    .348  .373  .619
Cal McVey, C                 Philadelphia Quakers    56   263   0    53    7    .363  .391  .553
Brian Marshall, CF           Ft. Wayne Wizards       56   263   0    65    25   .351  .380  .457
Mike 'Kit Kat' Winkle, RF    Troy Trojans            56   271   1    51    3    .387  .404  .478
Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle, 3B Philadelphia Quakers    56   270   3    53    4    .346  .362  .515
Pete Inzerillo, 2B           Boston Beans            56   277   0    61    1    .370  .381  .457
Jake Layton, RF              Boston Beans            56   256   0    51    27   .338  .377  .475
Ross Barnes, SS              Washington Generals     56   256   0    46    14   .340  .377  .508
Fred Treacey, CF             Chicago Athletes        56   286   2    45    29   .297  .313  .479

Top 10 Pitchers

PLAYER                 TEAM                  G    WN  LS  SV  ERA   IP     HA   BB  K   K/9
Jason Hersch           Boston Beans          56   21  13  0   2.49  304.1  333  17  25  0.75
Asa 'Count' Brainard   Troy Trojans          56   17  17  0   3.24  319.0  417  54  23  0.66   
Rynie Wolters          Philadelphia Quakers  56   18  20  0   3.35  329.0  453  51  14  0.38
'Uncle' Al Pratt       Ft. Wayne Wizards     56   19  16  0   3.75  313.2  414  60  18  0.52
Collin Norris          Cleveland Spiders     56   13  14  0   3.13  247.1  302  26  12  0.44
Mark Neyman            Chicago Athletes      56   15  14  0   3.86  228.1  311  20  18  0.71
Roy Matchett           Washington Generals   56   11  17  0   3.61  232.1  312  30  18  0.72
Cherokee Fisher        Washington Generals   37    8   3  0   3.23  108.1  134  13   6  0.50
Jon Jorgensen          Cleveland Spiders     33    7   4  1   2.76  111.0  137  11   5  0.45
Bobby Mathews          Boston Beans          29    4   3  2   2.59   94.0  107   7   2  0.19

Top 20 Position Players

PLAYER                      AGE   POS   TEAM
Jake Layton                 32    RF    Boston
Ed 'Candyman' Lester        27    2B    Ft. Wayne
Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie   30    LF    Washington
Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    21    3B    Philadelphia
Ross Barnes                 20    SS    Washington
Brian Marshall              27    CF    Ft. Wayne
Lou Page                    30    CF    Boston
Pete Inzerillo              34    2B    Boston
Sam Beyers                  26    RF    Ft. Wayne
Cal McVey                   21    C     Philadelphia
Todd Goger                  32    RF    Cleveland
Jimmy Wood                  27    2B    Cleveland
Dave Eggler                 21    CF    Washington
Steve Saladino              23    CF    Troy
Fred Treacey                23    CF    Chicago
Mike 'Kit Kat' Winkle       21    RF    Troy
Jim Benson                  33    CF    Washington
Steve Barger                33    3B    Boston
Josh Garrett                33    LF    Troy
Lip Pike                    25    2B    Chicago

Top 20 Pitchers

PLAYER                      AGE   POS   TEAM
Jason Hersch                28    SP    Boston
Mark Neyman                 30    SP    Chicago
Collin Norris               28    SP    Cleveland
John Erwin                  32    RP    Chicago
Asa 'Count' Brainard        29    SP    Troy
Steve Pearson               37    SP    Philadelphia
'Uncle' Al Pratt            23    SP    Ft. Wayne
Rynie Wolters               29    SP    Philadelphia
Roy Matchett                30    SP    Washington
Dick McBride                23    SP    New York
Mike Sheffield              32    RP    Boston
Nick 'Sky' Womack           27    RP    Boston
Cherokee Fisher             26    RP    Washington
Al Spalding                 20    RP    Chicago
Josh Hudson                 28    RP    Washington
Dallas Rubel                31    RP    Troy
Matt Carlson                28    RP    Cleveland
Marc Bice                   26    RP    Philadelphia
Rocky 'Gigolo' Hamby        33    RP    Ft. Wayne
Bobby Mathews               19    RP    Boston

Top 10 Prospects

PLAYER                      AGE   POS   TEAM
Ross Barnes                 20    SS    Washington
Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    21    3B    Philadelphia
Cap 'Pop' Anson             18    C     Ft. Wayne
Cal McVey                   21    C     Philadelphia
George Wright               24    SS    Troy
Lip Pike                    25    RF    Chicago
Fred Waterman               25    C     Boston
Dick McBride                23    SP    New York
Steve Saladino              23    CF    Troy
Al Spalding                 20    RP    Chicago

Key Injuries to Start the Season

NAME              TEAM            INJURY                           LENGTH
Dick McBride, P   New York        Torn flexor tendon (elbow)       12 months
Steve Pearson, P  Philadelphia    Partially torn labrum            3-4 months
Art Allison, CF   Cleveland       Sprained ankle                   3-4 weeks

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


April 1871 Recap

Standings as of May 1

TEAM                   W    L    PCT   GB
Troy Trojans           14   6    .700  -
Cleveland Spiders      12   7    .632  1.5
Chicago Athletes       13   8    .619  1.5
Boston Beans           12   9    .571  2.5
Ft. Wayne Wizards      10   10   .500  4
Washington Generals    9    12   .429  5.5
New York Nationals     6    14   .300  8
Philadelphia Quakers   5    15   .250  9

Stats Leaders as of May 1

STATISTIC        NAME                        AMOUNT     TEAM
Batting Average  Joe 'Old Reliable' Start    .422       Chicago
Home Runs        Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    2          Philadelphia
RBI              Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie   26         Washington
Stolen Bases     Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie   15         Washington
OPS              Tom York                    1.048      Cleveland
Batter WAR       Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    1.5        Philadelphia
Hitting Streak   Fergy Malone                21         Chicago
ERA              Jason Hersch                1.04       Boston     
Wins             Asa 'Count' Brainard        9          Troy
Strikeouts       Jason Hersch                8          Boston
Pitcher WAR      Jason Hersch                2.7        Boston
Saves            Matt Carlson                3          Cleveland

Monthly Awards

AWARD                     NAME                       POS   TEAM          STATS
Hitter of the Month       Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie  LF    Washington    .373 BA, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 29 R 
Pitcher of the Month      Jason Hersch               P     Boston        8-7, 112 IP, 1.04 ERA, 8 K
Rookie of the Month       Joe 'Old Reliable' Start   1B    Chicago       .422 BA, 43 H, 16 RBI, 26 R

Key Injuries

NAME              TEAM            INJURY                           LENGTH
Dick McBride, P   New York        Torn flexor tendon (elbow)       11 months
Jake Johnson, P   Cleveland       Partially torn labrum            3 months
Steve Pearson, P  Philadelphia    Partially torn labrum            2-3 months

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


May 1871 Recap

Notable News
- 38 year old RP Matt Miltner of Troy announces this season will be his last. The East Norwich, NY native is 5-1 with 1 save so far this season, with a 4.47 ERA, 5 K, and 6 BB in 42.0 IP.
- Ft. Wayne traded 20 year old SS Frank Abercrombie to Philadelphia in exchange for 27 year old RP Marc Bice. Bice has 2 saves in 13 relief appearances and a 2.79 ERA, while Abercrombie is hitting .200 with just 1 RBI in 12 games.

Standings as of June 1

TEAM                   W    L    PCT   GB    MAGIC
Troy Trojans           29   15   .659  -     11
Boston Beans           26   17   .605  2.5
Chicago Athletes       25   19   .568  4
Cleveland Spiders      24   19   .558  4.5
Ft. Wayne Wizards      21   21   .500  7
Washington Generals    19   24   .442  9.5
New York Nationals     15   29   .341  14
Philadelphia Quakers   14   29   .326  14.5

Stats Leaders as of June 1

STATISTIC        NAME                        AMOUNT     TEAM
Batting Average  Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    447        Philadelphia
Home Runs        4 tied with                 3          --
RBI              Sam Beyers                  48         Ft. Wayne
Stolen Bases     Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie   28         Washington
OPS              Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    1.108      Philadelphia
Batter WAR       Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle    3.6        Philadelphia
Hitting Streak   Fergy Malone                23         Chicago
ERA              Matt Carlson                1.66       Cleveland     
Wins             Asa 'Count' Brainard        19         Troy
Strikeouts       Jason Hersch                24         Boston
Pitcher WAR      Jason Hersch                5.4        Boston
Saves            Matt Carlson                6          Cleveland

Monthly Awards

AWARD                     NAME                       POS   TEAM          STATS THIS MONTH
Hitter of the Month       Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle   3B    Philadelphia  .500, 23 RBI, 39 R
Pitcher of the Month      Jason Hersch (2)           P     Boston        22 starts, 10-3, 114.1 IP, 2.83 ERA, 16 K
Rookie of the Month       Levi 'Long Levi' Meyerle   3B    Philadelphia  .500, 23 RBI, 39 R

Key Injuries

NAME                    TEAM            INJURY                           LENGTH
Dick McBride, P         New York        Torn flexor tendon (elbow)       10 months
Jake Johnson, P         Cleveland       Partially torn labrum            7-8 months
Marshall King, SS       Chicago         Ruptured Achilles tendon         7 months
Count Sensenderfer, CF  Philadelphia    Fractured hand                   2 months
Steve Pearson, P        Philadelphia    Partially torn labrum            6-7 weeks
Nick Conner, LF         Troy            Intercostal strain               2-3 weeks

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 - End of the Regular Season

Notable News
- Boston closed a 2.5 game gap at the end of May to beat out Troy for the first National Association regular season title. The Beans won 13 of their final 14 games to clinch the title.
- However, in the Beans final regular season game, CF Lou Page broke his hand and will miss the best of 7 series against Troy. The 31 year old was hitting .345 with 4 HRs and 52 RBI.
- 'Long' Levi Meyerle became the first batter to hit .400, hitting .415 this season. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Quakers finished in the cellar, 20 games back.
- Jason Hersch won the NA Triple Crown, leading the league with 25 wins, 33 strikeouts, and a 1.99 ERA


Final 1871 Regular Season Standings

TEAM                   W    L    PCT   GB
x - Boston Beans       38   18   .679  -
z - Troy Trojans       33   23   .589  5
Chicago Athletes       31   25   .554  7
Cleveland Spiders      31   25   .554  7
Ft. Wayne Wizards      30   26   .536  8
Washington Generals    25   31   .446  13
New York Nationals     18   39   .321  20
Philadelphia Quakers   18   29   .321  20

x - Clinched league
z - Clinched spot in championship series

1871 Regular Season Stats Leaders

STATISTIC        NAME                        AMOUNT     TEAM
Batting Average  'Long' Levi Meyerle         .415       Philadelphia
Home Runs        Fred Treacey                7          Chicago
RBI              Sam Beyers / Nolan Chappell 60         Ft. Wayne / Washington
Stolen Bases     Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie   32         Washington
OPS              'Long' Levi Meyerle         1.020      Philadelphia
Batter WAR       'Long' Levi Meyerle         3.6        Philadelphia
Hitting Streak   Joe 'Old Reliable' Start    25         Chicago
ERA              Jason Hersch                1.99       Boston     
Wins             Jason Hersch                25         Boston
Strikeouts       Jason Hersch                33         Boston
Pitcher WAR      Jason Hersch                7.0        Boston
Saves            Matt Carlson                7          Cleveland

Key Injuries

NAME                    TEAM            INJURY                           LENGTH
Dick McBride, P         New York        Torn flexor tendon (elbow)       9-10 months
Marshall King, SS       Chicago         Ruptured Achilles tendon         7 months
Andy Leonard, 2B        Troy            Broken kneecap                   4 months
Billy Sutton, P         Washington      Shoulder inflammation            4 months
Tim Engel, P            Ft. Wayne       Elbow inflammation               3 months
Count Sensenderfer, CF  Philadelphia    Fractured hand                   7-8 weeks
Jake Johnson, P         Cleveland       Partially torn labrum            5 weeks
Lou Page, CF            Boston          Fractured hand                   5 weeks
Steve Pearson, P        Philadelphia    Partially torn labrum            4 weeks

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 National Association Championship Preview

Pitching Preview


Team Previews

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 National Association Championship Recap

Game 1 - Boston 3B Steve Barger Hits Walkoff Double

Player of the Game: Boston P Jason Hersch - 9.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 109 pitches

Game 2 - Troy Gets Revenge 11-4 to Even Series

Player of the Game: Troy 1B Mike Robinson - 4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R

Game 3 - Hersch and Inzerillo Pace Boston to 12-1 Win

Player of the Game: Boston 2B Pete Inzerillo - 4-for-5, HR, 3 RBI

Game 4 - Troy Takes Advantage of 10 Boston Errors To Win 14-8

Player of the Game: Boston LF Daniel Morales - 5-for-5, RBI, 3 R

Game 5 - Hersch Pitches Gem to Give Boston 3-2 Series Lead

Player of the Game: Boston P Jason Hersch - 9.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 127 pitches

Game 6 - Beans Blow 4 Run Lead, LF George Hall Hits Walkoff Double in 10th to Give Boston Championship

Player of the Game: Troy LF Josh Garrett - 5-for-6, 2 RBI, 3 R

Series MVP: Boston 2B Pete Inzerillo, 16-for-32 (.500), HR, 5 RBI

1871 National Association Champions - Boston Beans

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 Awards

Manager of the Year

Harry Wright, Boston Beans
Stats: 38-18, 1st Place, Won National Association Championship

MVP

'Long' Levi Meyerle, 3B, Philadelphia Quakers
Stats: 108-for-260 (.415), 10 2B, 13 3B, 3 HR, 50 RBI, 10 BB, 2 SO, 1.020 OPS, 3.6 WAR

Pitcher of the Year

Jason Hersch, P, Boston Beans
Stats: 54 starts, 25-10, 294.2 IP, 65 ER, 1.99 ERA, 1 HR, 15 BB, 33 K, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 WAR

Reliever of the Year

Mike Sheffield, P, Boston Beans
Stats: 2 starts, 6-0, 1 SV, 73.0 IP, 22 ER, 2.71 ERA, 8 BB, 6 K, 1.19 WHIP, 1.4 WAR

Rookie of the Year

'Long' Levi Meyerle, 3B, Philadelphia Quakers
Stats: 108-for-260 (.415), 10 2B, 13 3B, 3 HR, 50 RBI, 10 BB, 2 SO, 1.020 OPS, 3.6 WAR

Gold Glove and Silver Sluggers

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS

POS       NAME                      TEAM
P         Asa 'Count' Brainard      Troy
C         Fergy Malone              Chicago
1B        Denny Mack                Philadelphia
2B        Ed 'Candyman' Lester      Ft. Wayne
3B        Jimmy Kennedy             Troy
SS        Joel Hutchinson           Cleveland
LF        Michael King              Ft. Wayne
CF        Jim Benson                Washington
RF        Jake Layton               Boston

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS

POS       NAME                      TEAM
P         Mark Neyman               Chicago
C         Fergy Malone              Chicago
1B        Joe 'Old Reliable' Start  Chicago
2B        Pete Inzerillo            Boston
3B        'Long' Levi Meyerle       Philadelphia
SS        Angel Samaripa            Troy
LF        Scott 'Haystack' McKenzie Washington
CF        Lou Page                  Boston
RF        Jake Layton               Boston

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


1871 Offseason Recap

Trades
- Washington trades 27 year old RP George 'Charmer' Zettlein to New York for 20 year old RF George Ewell, 24 year old Charlie Pabor, and $90 in cash. Zettlein made 37 appearances last year for Washington, going 4-5 with 1 save, 2 SO, and a 3.23 ERA. Ewell started 13 games last year, hitting .196 and driving in 6 runs. Pabor started 1 game, made 39 plate appeances, and hit .176 with 6 RBI.

- Philadelphia traded 29 year old RP Rynie Wolters to New York for 23 year old C Wally Goldsmith, 20 year old 3B Mike Brannock, and 24 year old 2B Charlie Sweasy. Wolters led the league in losses in 1871 with 25. Goldsmith hit .375 in 16 AB last season, while Brannock hit .150 in 20 AB and Sweasy barely saw the field.

- Washington traded 33 year old CF Jim Benson to New York for 23 year old RF George Betchel, 21 year old 2B Gene Kimball, 22 year old C Elmer White, and $120 in cash. Benson won the Gold Glove in CF last year and hit .296 with 31 RBI. Betchel hit .218 in 47 games last year, while Kimball hit .196 in 46 games and White saw just 8 PA.

Firings/Hirings
- Philadelphia fired GM Ted Clark and hired Nate Armstrong, a 44 year old with 10 years of experience.
- Philadelphia also fired manager Dick McBride, bringing in 54 year old Dylan Beltzer, who was fired from the New York Nationals.
- New York fired manager Dylan Beltzer, promoting 57 year old bench coach John Stevenson.

Retirements
- 39 year old RP Matt Miltner, Troy - 6-3, SV, 4.56 ERA, 10 BB, 8 K
- 41 year old RP Jake Johnson, Cleveland - 2 IP, K
- 38 year old RP Steve Pearson, Philadelphia
- 41 year old 1B Daniel Morales, Boston - .243 AVG, 33 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 20 RBI, 9 BB, 1871 National Association Champion
- 37 year old LF Karl Wilfong, Philadelphia - .189 AVG, 14 H, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 3 BB

Injuries
- Troy LF Mike Barnett shot himself in the foot while cleaning his gun in September and was on the DL for a month.

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Re: A Fictional History of Baseball - 1871 - Present (OOTP 17)


Athletes Move to Washington, Wizards to Brooklyn

It was announced that the Chicago Athletes couldn't find a suitable place to play for the 1872 season and thus were forced to find a new home, joining the Generals in Washington. The team will rebrand as the Washington Senators.

Additionally, the Ft. Wayne Wizards will be moving to Brooklyn for the 1872 season, starting a new life as the Brooklyn Robins.