Quote:
Originally Posted by William Foster
Good to see my Oaks building such an illustrious dynasty out in the California Division. Whats the state of the teams age? Are they going to run out of gas soon or have they kept relatively young?
Also is free agency turned on?
This is probably my favorite Dynasty going right now. Keep up the good work!
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The Oaks have had quite an impressive run. In fact, through the end of the 1934 season (which I'll write about soon), the Oaks have moved within seven games of the Baltimore Orioles in the all-time standings.
Through 1933 (I don't want to spoil the suspense of the '34 pennant race), the Oaks had made the postseason 8 times, and had won 4 World Series ('22, '27, '31, '32). The Orioles also have four WS crowns ('23, '26, '28, '29), in seven post-season appearances.
Here's Oakland's usual starting lineup and their key pitchers, with their ages at the end of the 1934 season:
Code:
C Ricardo Reyes 32
1B Nathan Smith 25
2B Luke Appling 27
3B Art Scharein 29
SS Bill Knickerbocker 22
LF Heinie Manush 33
CF Nelson Elliott 26
RF Jimmy Welsh 32
SP Ad Liska 28
SP Ed Walsh 29
SP Zack Corrigan 36
SP Skip Campbell 22
SP Paul Hopkins 30
RP Ken Smith 32
RP Brandon Watts 35
Most of the key players are in their prime. Reyes, Manush, and Welsh seem to be beginning their decline phases, but for now, they're still very productive players.
The Oaks have been rolling their lineup over very effectively during their run of success. Appling, for example, has started at SS, 3B, and 2B, moving around to accommodate the arrival of a promising young player. This year's breakthrough was Knickerbocker, and a couple years earlier, it was Scharein.
Oakland has two very promising youngsters in its system. 1B
Phil Cavarretta is already a second-year pro at age 18; he hit .330 for Class A Tacoma, earning a mid-season promotion to Oklahoma City. There, he was a bit overmatched (.220), but he was a teenager playing AA ball.
Catcher
Ray Mueller, 22, was the Oaks' first round pick in the 1934 draft. He moved straight to Oakland and hit .358 in 53 AB as Reyes' backup.
I'm not using financials or free agency, so the core of the Oakland lineup will stay intact unless the AI sees fit to make a trade.
Thanks for your comments, William. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you'll keep following along.