Overview: Military precision beats... well, it beats anything else. That was what 1902 proved. Despite playing in the smallest city of all the 16 major league teams, the Colonels prevailed in the American League due to a rare combination of grit, hustle, and talent. Should one expect more of the same? We'd say yes. The top two stars on the team, Johnny Gruelle and Paul Bump, are relative rookies to this game. Fire up the bugles and raise a 76 gun salute! The Colonels are here!
Pitching
Johnny "Raggedy Andy" Gruelle AL Pitcher of the Year
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1901 Saint Louis - NL 23 36 23 11 309.2 282 110 73 8 70 155 32 2 2.12
1902 Louisville - AL 24 37 27 6 315.0 273 111 74 10 40 170 30 4 2.11
Johnny Gruelle is, how should we put this... an artist. He likes to draw these funny cartoons of rag dolls and make stories about them and such. We don't get it. Clearly this is not a man who has had his will broken down and then put back together by the military. That will come sooner or later. For now, we are content to bask in this man's glory.
Kelan Quarton
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Louisville - AA 25 43 18 18 315.2 333 172 128 3 90 84 8 1 3.65
1901 Louisville - AL 26 39 20 17 330.2 302 153 113 3 80 87 33 1 3.08
1902 Louisville - AL 27 34 23 10 309.2 289 124 80 1 79 69 30 4 2.33
Now, Kelan Quarton on the other hand... this man is all about the salutes, the drumming, the trumpeting, and the logistics of the military career. If his face looks a little puffy, it's only because he has grown fat upon the hitters. Wait, that makes no sense. Actually, he eats a pretty good amount but that's okay so long as you are an officer.
Jerry "Magoo" Watson
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Philadelphia - NL 31 46 23 12 341.2 293 108 71 4 78 184 6 1 1.87
1901 Philadelphia - NL 32 36 22 13 323.2 250 108 78 9 65 218 34 2 2.17
1902 Louisville - AL 33 34 18 16 296.2 267 117 79 0 37 157 30 3 2.40
We have to admit that we're a little concerned with Watson. We expected him to be the team leader but at season's end he was just the #3 starter and Outstanding Veteran Presence. Much of that is due to the rise of Gruelle and Quarton but it must be said that while the American League remained static with a 3.14 ERA in 1902 compared to a 3.17 in '01, Watson's average jumped 27 points. As a result, we think, he also failed to win 20 games for the first time since 1896.
Jesse "Rawhide" MacLagan
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Chicago - NL 29 50 23 21 392.1 414 176 126 7 69 165 20 3 2.89
1901 Chicago - AL 30 24 14 9 194.0 182 78 48 2 27 119 21 1 2.23
1901 Boston - AL 30 16 9 7 147.1 150 60 48 3 31 78 16 1 2.93
1901 Total - AL 30 40 23 16 341.1 332 138 96 5 58 197 37 2 2.53
1902 Boston - AL 31 24 11 12 205.1 197 100 61 2 51 90 23 1 2.67
1902 Louisville - AL 31 15 8 6 128.0 116 44 32 1 17 66 12 1 2.25
1902 Total - AL 31 39 19 18 333.1 313 144 93 3 68 156 35 2 2.51
Like Watson, Rawhide MacLagan also failed to win 20 games for the first time in a long time (1892 was the last and only other time he didn't reach that plateau), but at least he had the excuse of playing for the lowly Red Stockings for half the season. A full year in Louisville for the major league career wins leader should only be a good thing.
Everyone Else
Code:
Name Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
Jim Badgett 36 4 1 3 35.0 45 14 1 9 4 3.60
Ralph O'Mulvany 22 19 9 9 160.2 151 55 9 40 48 3.08
Kent Sanders 27 12 0 1 25.1 32 5 0 5 9 1.78
Stephen Vickers 27 4 2 1 15.2 16 10 2 6 2 5.74
Catcher and First Base
Joey Tadlock C(71)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Louisville - AA 26 129 470 138 25 10 0 48 53 37 40 4 .294
1901 Louisville - AL 27 94 338 88 26 5 1 43 40 31 45 1 .260
1902 Louisville - AL 28 73 266 80 17 3 0 45 35 8 30 0 .301
Joey Tadlock was more or less back to his normal self in '02. He's touted by the rest of the league as the fielding half of the excellent Colonels catching duo but his offense was nothing to sneeze at. He threw out 30 of 75 baserunners, a record good for 2nd in the league.
"Ball Four" Tony Stone C(58)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Chicago - NL 31 116 266 71 8 3 4 33 46 71 6 1 .267
1901 Chicago - NL 32 64 196 45 5 3 1 20 30 28 11 1 .230
1902 Baltimore - AL 33 6 21 5 0 1 0 2 2 5 2 0 .238
1902 Louisville - AL 33 67 204 57 15 5 4 34 31 39 9 1 .279
1902 Total - AL 33 73 225 62 15 6 4 36 33 44 11 1 .276
See? Tony Stone wasn't finished. He just wasn't being used right. We think it is time to forget the aborted experiment of Stone at third base and just accept that the man is a catcher and that's it. Although we're inclined to believe that drawing walks is mostly based on luck, we're also inclined to accept that Stone is one of the few exceptions.
Rick Harpham 1B(87)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1901 Cleveland - AL 23 124 470 147 16 4 4 67 61 43 37 2 .313
1902 Louisville - AL 24 88 363 113 16 2 3 41 51 33 27 2 .311
In order to get the young .300 hitting Harpham, the Colonels had to part company with Berto Sarrie, a prospect they'd been developing since the mid-90s, and the inscrutable Harry Herapeth. Harpham played well during the time he wasn't injured. Unfortunately, he did miss the last 2 months of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon despite our entreaties to just play through it.
Zander Bostic 1B(50), 2B(34)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Chicago - NL 25 32 82 15 0 1 0 2 5 5 10 3 .183
1901 Chicago - NL 26 81 359 100 17 9 1 46 39 15 48 24 .279
1902 Louisville - AL 27 90 368 100 17 5 0 44 58 7 34 30 .272
Bostic did an adequate job in the utility role and all, but what's up with that nickname "Zander"? Your full name is Alexander, one of the greatest of all war leaders in the history of world civilization. Do you think a man named Genghis would shorten it to "Genghi"? Think over these words carefully, 'Zander'.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Jay Hoskinson 33 5 16 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .125 1B(3), C(2)
Infield
Fergus McKnight 2B(108), LF(7)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Louisville - AA 25 145 589 172 20 10 2 54 65 27 27 9 .292
1901 Louisville - AL 26 125 499 129 29 8 2 64 59 36 39 0 .259
1902 Louisville - AL 27 115 486 144 30 7 0 56 63 28 29 9 .296
Don't tell McKnight that offenses are in a decline! He celebrated the finest season of his career last year, setting a career high in doubles and... well, I guess it would be best to tell him that offenses are in decline after all. Or if this is what pushes him to produce, maybe it's best after all not to tell him.
Loren Larson 3B(140)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - NL 27 117 391 122 7 5 3 36 48 34 31 2 .312
1901 Saint Louis - NL 28 140 556 162 18 12 5 60 78 35 49 0 .291
1902 Louisville - AL 29 140 577 171 20 9 2 62 86 52 56 2 .296
Larson played every inning of every game at the hot corner and... well, he hit well. We won't mention the fielding for the sake of humanity [but we will - 73 errors, just 10 double plays, an .848 FA - ed.] but he did hit well. Larson's obviously not the long-term solution at third but the Colonels have to find him a place in this lineup.
Brendon Harrison SS(140)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Louisville - AA 28 108 275 84 10 3 0 34 39 15 18 4 .305
1901 Louisville - AL 29 139 534 170 35 17 0 65 82 35 51 6 .318
1902 Louisville - ABA 30 140 541 156 19 10 1 63 71 35 36 6 .288
The Colonels were, among other things, extremely provident in terms of avoiding major injury last year. Of course, the philosophers all say that providence is the residue of design and therefore we planned all of this. We wonder what would happen if Brendon Harrison and Loren Larson switched places. Surely things could not be as bad at third as they were last year.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Lawrence Willis 26 13 15 3 0 1 0 2 5 0 0 2 .200 2B(3), SS(2), 1B(1)
Outfield
Dan DeBose LF(73)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Boston - NL 27 109 368 109 8 7 4 34 57 29 27 19 .296
1901 Boston - AL 28 137 557 172 23 5 0 89 78 47 39 24 .309
1902 Boston - AL 29 49 198 56 11 1 3 18 28 14 10 6 .283
1902 Louisville - AL 29 73 274 75 11 4 2 44 34 16 16 11 .274
1902 Total - AL 29 122 472 131 22 5 5 62 62 30 26 17 .278
Dan DeBose actually came from the Red Stockings in a separate trade from the Jesse MacLagan one. The Colonels traded away Jay Hoskinson and some future considerations for this guy, and although Hoskinson didn't have a place on this year's club, one still wonders if we could have gotten more.
Garrick MacPhedron RF(30), LF(19)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Louisville - AA 33 100 382 108 17 7 9 46 66 56 24 3 .283
1901 Louisville - AL 34 85 329 85 17 5 2 34 43 41 32 6 .258
1902 Louisville - AL 35 49 169 47 9 1 0 22 12 17 14 4 .278
MacPhedron has quietly moved from starter to 4th outfielder as the young'uns around him have matured. A true organization soldier - boy, do we love that term - he enjoys whatever role we give him.
Ray Cable CF(63), RF(45), LF(1)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - NL 30 129 550 163 34 14 1 85 79 37 43 12 .296
1901 Saint Louis - NL 31 95 398 119 33 10 2 41 63 13 47 14 .299
1902 Louisville - AL 32 108 449 136 23 8 0 65 62 20 38 7 .303
Cable was a key pickup in the offseason but went down for the season in August with a hernia. Again, we regret to say that he would not play through the injury. Before his loss, we were moving him around between center and right. He's a world-class fielder in right so you'd figure he'd be the man up the middle as well, but not so much.
Paul Bump RF(63), CF(47), LF(5) AL Most Valuable Player
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1901 Louisville - AL 22 57 234 69 4 4 3 29 27 7 18 6 .295
1902 Louisville - AL 23 114 473 173 24 6 7 44 87 42 32 26 .366
Bump absolutely exploded on the league in his first full year as a starter. He led the league in hitting and finished in the top 10 in 5 other categories, more than enough for Most Valuable Player consideration. The next hurdle: getting him a Gold Glove in right field, where he has incomparable range and a gun for an arm.
Carl Hendron CF(33)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Louisville - AA 30 146 655 222 27 18 0 65 102 20 28 83 .339
1901 Louisville - AL 31 123 543 173 32 11 0 45 93 18 36 49 .319
1902 Louisville - AL 32 33 150 52 18 4 0 23 27 2 10 15 .347
Hendron's injury is the reason why the Colonels played with Cable and Bump in center for so much of the season. He broke his ankle in early June and won't be back until some time around Opening Day this year. Up to that point, he was off to one of the best starts of his career. How good will he be when he comes back? We're expecting a full recovery because that is the kind of thing that the Colonels expect out of their soldiers.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Cipriano Izquerdo 23 7 12 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 .083 RF(5)
Billy Mitchell 25 31 144 42 2 2 1 13 10 1 4 5 .292 LF(31)
Ron Mure 31 19 35 4 3 0 1 2 3 3 1 6 .114 LF(9), RF(2), CF(1)