Quote:
Originally Posted by swampdragon
Speaking of banned players, did Devlin just never amount to anything in your league?
|
Well, my league has a greater surplus of pitchers than of hitters, and since he was a starter I just never changed him over to being a pitcher. (Conversely, if John Montgomery Ward loses his starting pitching job soon I may convert him to a position player early. It's really hard to keep track of all these pitcher/position player shifts in the 19th century. One of these days maybe I'll make a master list of who's supposed to be converted and in what year.)
Anyway, Devlin became the starting 3B/RF for the Philadelphia Whites in 1873. It was a hitter's year and he batted only .222, so he seemed headed for the scrap heap (and conversion to a pitcher), but he got the starting third base job again in 1874 and this time hit a respectable .280 (although he was always an abominable fielder at third). The Philly Whites brought in Levi Meyerle to play third in the 1874-75 offseason, so he was squeezed out of his position, but the team moved him to first base - where he was an immediate and total disaster, batting a mere .242.
When the Whites disbanded, he managed to catch on with Hulbert's Chicago White Stockings just as they were ascending to prominence. At first, he was a bench player, but injuries quickly moved him up to a starter at 1B-RF. He batted .327 and was a major contributor in their 1876 pennant win.
However, when Chicago upgraded yet again for the 1877 season, he was the odd man out and again became their first man in off the bench. Although he batted only .233 in their 1877 pennant win, he filled in capably, logging ten or more games at first, third and in right field.
As 1878 opens, he is again the first man off the bench at all three positions for Chicago. While he seems unlikely to get a ton of playing time barring injury to one of the top players, he got 116 at-bats in 1877 as a backup, and it would not be too surprising if he did the same this season.