OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Fernandomania,Harvey's Wallbanger's and Whiteyball:MLB In 82

PhillieFever · 12-27-2009, 12:23 PM

1981 was a disastrous year for Major League Baseball,first off,citing unfair labor practices,the MLBPA went on strike on June 12th,and did return until August 9th,at The All-Star game in Cleveland,Oh.Secondly,because of the strike,a convoluted playoff system was instituted with the season's first half division winners facing off with the second half's division winners in a 5 game division series for the rights to play in the Championship series.It was an awful system which saw the NL's top two teams(Cincinnati,St Louis) out of the playoffs and the AL West's 4th best team(Kansas City) in.In the end,Dodger rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela led his team to their first World Championship in 16 years,defeating the hated Yankees 4 games to 2.The damage though had been done.Fans stayed away in droves,as nearly every team in the league saw attendance plummet,except of course in Oakland,who's attendance was so bad before the strike,that they actually saw a 55% increase in ticket sales! In 1982 however,baseball made a comeback.The Milwaukee Brewers,a playoff team the year before, struggled mightily until June,when Harvey Kuenn was named manager,replacing Buck Rodgers.The team caught fire,and the rest was history."Harvey's Wallbanger's surged into the ALCS where they defeated Gene Mauch's California Angels in a thrilling 5 game series,moving on to their first and to date,only World Series appearance.Over in the NL,the St Louis Cardinals playing a brand of baseball dubbed "Whityeball",due to their manager Whitey Herzog,bunted,stole,and pitched their way past the Phillies in the East,despite Steve Carlton collecting his 4th Cy Young award.In the West,the Atlanta Braves,riding the back of NL MVP Dale Murphy took advantage of a late season losing streak by the Dodgers to win a hotly contested division race by a single game over LA,and 2 over the Giants.In the NLCS,the Cardinals easily swept the Braves in 3 games,advancing to the World Series,where they would defeat Milwaukee in 7 very entertaining games to win their NL best 9th World Series title.Yes baseball was back,and back in a big way,making it a great starting point for a new historical dynasty! Starting on opening day of 1982,I will take control of the Philadelphia Phillies,and play my way through this historic season,and beyond with just one house rule.I can only trade for or sign as a free agent,a player that at some point in his career played for the Phillies.Other than that,it's business as usual,I've set the game up to be as historically accurate as possible,but of course there will be plenty of surprises along the way.Hopefully you enjoy following along as much as I do playing!

12-27-2009, 12:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
PhillieFever Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Philly Posts: 5,847 Thanks: 356 Thanked 289x in 252 posts	Fernandomania,Harvey's Wallbanger's and Whiteyball:MLB In 82 1981 was a disastrous year for Major League Baseball,first off,citing unfair labor practices,the MLBPA went on strike on June 12th,and did return until August 9th,at The All-Star game in Cleveland,Oh.Secondly,because of the strike,a convoluted playoff system was instituted with the season's first half division winners facing off with the second half's division winners in a 5 game division series for the rights to play in the Championship series.It was an awful system which saw the NL's top two teams(Cincinnati,St Louis) out of the playoffs and the AL West's 4th best team(Kansas City) in.In the end,Dodger rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela led his team to their first World Championship in 16 years,defeating the hated Yankees 4 games to 2.The damage though had been done.Fans stayed away in droves,as nearly every team in the league saw attendance plummet,except of course in Oakland,who's attendance was so bad before the strike,that they actually saw a 55% increase in ticket sales! In 1982 however,baseball made a comeback.The Milwaukee Brewers,a playoff team the year before, struggled mightily until June,when Harvey Kuenn was named manager,replacing Buck Rodgers.The team caught fire,and the rest was history."Harvey's Wallbanger's surged into the ALCS where they defeated Gene Mauch's California Angels in a thrilling 5 game series,moving on to their first and to date,only World Series appearance.Over in the NL,the St Louis Cardinals playing a brand of baseball dubbed "Whityeball",due to their manager Whitey Herzog,bunted,stole,and pitched their way past the Phillies in the East,despite Steve Carlton collecting his 4th Cy Young award.In the West,the Atlanta Braves,riding the back of NL MVP Dale Murphy took advantage of a late season losing streak by the Dodgers to win a hotly contested division race by a single game over LA,and 2 over the Giants.In the NLCS,the Cardinals easily swept the Braves in 3 games,advancing to the World Series,where they would defeat Milwaukee in 7 very entertaining games to win their NL best 9th World Series title.Yes baseball was back,and back in a big way,making it a great starting point for a new historical dynasty! Starting on opening day of 1982,I will take control of the Philadelphia Phillies,and play my way through this historic season,and beyond with just one house rule.I can only trade for or sign as a free agent,a player that at some point in his career played for the Phillies.Other than that,it's business as usual,I've set the game up to be as historically accurate as possible,but of course there will be plenty of surprises along the way.Hopefully you enjoy following along as much as I do playing!