Thanks for the comments, everybody.
NYY #23: I've done the same thing--become much more interested in a player because he plays a crucial role in one of my dynasties.
Addie Joss is one example. I always enjoyed seeing how his career turned out, and he usually won at least 300 games. I found a biography of Joss, read it, and enjoyed it very much.
I'd be shocked if the first team that has a shot at Joltin' Joe doesn't take him. I'm not sure how the tiebreaker between Sacramento and Kansas City will be settled. I'm sure Joe would rather play in Sacramento, since he's a California guy. That would mean Feller would almost certainly go to the A's, and play close to his Iowa home, too.
I realized there's going to be another stud in the 1935 draft class too: a big, power-hitting first baseman from Georgia named
Mize. And, there's also
Willard Brown, a slugging outfielder from the Negro Leagues.
blueturf: The Beavers seem to have been hitting the jackpot with their more recent draft picks.
Gibson looks like he's on his way to stardom; with his ratings, he should be, and from everything I've ever read about him, he was one of the very greatest players of all time. And
Ray Dandridge has given the Beavers a huge boost, too.
Portland's pitching staff is, at least, very solid.
Pat Caraway has been a pleasant surprise, and
Paul Baker,
Ronald MacLagan, and
Homer Blankenship are a decent supporting cast. The Beavers look like they could be contenders for a while, after a long period of mediocrity.
Jeff: You're right; the Beavers had never made the postseason before this year. In fact, until 1932, they had never finished higher than fourth in a six-team division, or fifth in the old eight-team Pacific Division. The closest the Beavers had ever come to first place was nine games back.
I've played the 1935 season up to mid-June, so here are Klein's career numbers to that point. Since he broke in at mid-season in 1927, these stats represent eight full big league seasons.
The numbers beneath some of the stats indicate Klein's current ranking on the career leaderboards.
Code:
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS VORP
1105 4579 1666 297 46 315 988 869 353 230 21 18 .364 .407 .655 1.062 702.9
94 87 4 44 91 1 22 1 1 6
Chuck was born on October 7, 1904, so he'll turn 31 at the end of the 1935 season.
He might have problems remaining first on the career batting leaderboard. He'd need to stay ahead of
Ken Rich, who has hit .356 over the course of his distinguished career. Ironically, Rich is now Klein's teammate in Portland, where at age 43, he is a part-time outfielder and a pinch-hitting specialist extraordinaire.
Klein is currently the only player in major league history with a career slugging average over .600.
Buck Leonard (.591) is second, and at the rate he's going, Buck will push his career SLG over .600 soon. He's in his prime at age 27, and is coming off a year in whcih he slugged .715. Chuck's career single-season high is .777 (1930), and he slugged .716 in 1932.
Leonard is also second in OPS, at 1.006; again, he could gain a bit of ground. He gets on base more often than Klein does, because Klein doesn't walk often.
Chuck has a very good chance to hit 500 home runs in his career, and he's on pace for 3000 hits as well. He could approach 2000 RBI and runs scored. I'll be creating a Hall of Fame for my dynasty before long, and I don't think it's premature to say that once he gets his ten years in, Klein will find himself on a plaque one day.