The Republican League

[gordyhulten]

THE SETUP

The Republican League is a recreation of the solo fictional league that I used in my original dynasty from OOTP6, which died due to inattention caused by a severe lack of fun with OOTP2006. The universe is loosely based on the assumption that baseball in the United States never really took off West of the Rockies, and that regionalism divides America both north and south (as a legacy of the Civil War) and east and west (as a legacy of the settlement of the frontier). Another legacy of the Civil War is a heightened sense of loyalty to a person’s state, instead of to a city or region.

The universe structure reflects those factors, with two twelve-team leagues split into two divisions each.

In the west, in an area still growing, with smaller, more newly arrived populations, is the Frontier League (FL):

Prairie Division
Colorado Chiefs (Denver, CO)
Illinois Hitmen (Chicago, IL)
Iowa Legends (Des Moines, IA)
Minnesota Muskies (Minneapolis, MN)
Nebraska Kernels (Omaha, NE)
Ohio Dynamo (Cleveland, OH)

Rivers Division
Alabama Vipers (Birmingham, AL)
Louisiana Skeeters (New Orleans, LA)
Mississippi Wizards (Jackson, MS)
Missouri Explorers (St. Louis, MO)
Oklahoma Wranglers (Oklahoma City, OK)
Texas Drillers (Houston, TX)

The largest cities in this fictional American West are Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Cleveland and Houston.


On the east coast, in the area dominated by larger cities, significant commerce and greater wealth, lies the Metropolitan League:

Union Division
Connecticut Atlantics (Hartford, CT)
Maine Loggers (Portland, ME)
Massachusetts Emeralds (Boston, MA)
New Jersey Curve (Newark, NJ)
New York Knights (New York, NY)
Pennsylvania Freedom (Philadelphia, PA)

States Division
Florida Oranges (Miami, FL)
Georgia Rebels (Atlanta, GA)
Kentucky Stallions (Louisville, KY)
North Carolina Aeros (Charlotte, NC)
Tennessee Nuts (Nashville, TN)
Washington Generals (Washington, DC)

The Metropolitan League’s largest cities are New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Miami and Atlanta, with New York dwarfing all the other markets, and having enough “leftover” population to support a second team in nearby New Jersey.



In the Republican League, home runs and strikeouts are more rare, speed is more important, and pitchers have a bit more endurance than we are used to. This is achieved by modifying SkyDog’s Fictional League settings.

Financially, revenues and salaries are a little lower than modern Major League Baseball. In the Republican League, a player earning $8 million per year will likely be the highest-paid in baseball. The major league minimum salary is just a bit more than $120,000 per year. And there is a clear delineation between small markets and large markets, and between loyal fans and disloyal fans: (Team followed by Fan Loyalty / Market Size / Media Contract in millions)

Frontier League – Prairie Division
Colorado Chiefs (Fan Loyalty: 3 / Market Size: 9 / Media Contract: $10.5 million annually)
Illinois Hitmen (7 / 18 / 21.5)
Iowa Legends (3 / 2 / 3.5)
Minnesota Muskies (4 / 10 / 12.0)
Nebraska Kernels (7 / 3 / 6.5)
Ohio Dynamo (6 / 9 / 12.0)

Frontier League – Rivers Division
Alabama Vipers (3 / 4 / 5.5)
Louisiana Skeeters (8 / 5 / 9.0)
Mississippi Wizards (8 / 2 / 6.0)
Missouri Explorers (5 / 9 / 11.5)
Oklahoma Wranglers (4 / 4 / 6.0)
Texas Drillers (2 / 13 / 14.0)

Metropolitan League – Union Division
Connecticut Atlantics (5 / 5 / 7.5)
Maine Loggers (7 / 2 / 5.5)
Massachusetts Emeralds (10 / 12 / 17.0)
New Jersey Curve (4 / 12 / 14.0)
New York Knights (2 / 20 / 30.0)
Pennsylvania Freedom (2 / 14 / 15.0)

Metropolitan League – States Division
Florida Oranges (5 / 13 / 15.5)
Georgia Rebels (8 / 12 / 16.0)
Kentucky Stallions (2 / 5 / 6.0)
North Carolina Aeros (6 / 6 / 9.0)
Tennessee Nuts (6 / 5 / 8.0)
Washington Generals (1 / 13 / 13.5)

The market differences are accentuated by a $50 million cash cap (to allow for significant dynasties and to allow large-market franchises to rebuild quickly), no compensatory draft picks, salary cap or revenue sharing, and by media contracts which are fixed for 200 years.

Unique ballparks, with a difference in factors and capacities, also accentuate market and franchise differences:

Frontier League – Prairie Division
Colorado Chiefs - Memorial Field: (Capacity: 33700 / Park Factor AVG: 1.161 / Park Factor HR: 1.275)
Illinois Hitmen Frank Lloyd Wright Field: (48722 / 0.974 / 0.923)
Iowa Legends Des Moines Park: (25373 / 0.924 / 0.867)
Minnesota Muskies Teflon Field: (37110 / 1.025 / 1.085)
Nebraska Kernels Nebraska Stadium: (30500 / 1.034 / 0.994)
Ohio Dynamo Goodyear Stadium: (40200 / 1.007 / 0.993)

Frontier League – Rivers Division
Alabama Vipers Birmingham Park: (31000 / 1.002 / 0.991)
Louisiana Skeeters Entergy Field: (33200 / 0.950 / 0.963)
Mississippi Wizards JEB Stuart Grounds: (28400 / 1.003 / 0.993)
Missouri Explorers Lewis & Clark Yards: (31000 / 0.930 / 0.980)
Oklahoma Wranglers Oklahoma Federal Stadium: (30800 / 0.965 / 1.005)
Texas Drillers Texas State Fairgrounds: (46300 / 1.002 / 1.012)

Metropolitan League – Union Division
Connecticut Atlantics Constitution Park: (31000 / 1.065 / 1.025)
Maine Loggers Portland Century Park: (28000 / 0.919 / 0.888)
Massachusetts Emeralds UTC Ballpark: (40500 / 1.026 / 0.973)
New Jersey Curve The Fabulous Avalon: (41000 / 0.985 / 1.028)
New York Knights New York Stadium: (53600 / 1.019 / 1.062)
Pennsylvania Freedom Liberty Field: (48000 / 1.039 / 1.069)

Metropolitan League – States Division
Florida Oranges Kraft Park: (42600 / 1.032 / 1.072)
Georgia Rebels Lexus Park: (41800 / 0.968 / 1.019)
Kentucky Stallions Humana Park: (30600 / 1.019 / 0.981)
North Carolina Aeros Capitol Field: (31000 / 1.031 / 0.979)
Tennessee Nuts Volunteer State Grounds: (30890 / 0.925 / 0.976)
Washington Generals Armed Forces Stadium: (43000 / 0.993 / 0.904)

The Republican League is a universe of “haves” and “have nots.” The New York Knights are financial juggernauts, with a huge market, 50 percent more media revenue than anyone else in the ML, and the largest ballpark. The Iowa Legends, with a tiny market, almost no media revenue and a stadium which holds less than half of New York’s, is structurally disadvantaged.

The differences, and the degree to which the Republican League emphasizes them, makes National Championships by the “haves” very common, and by the “have nots” all the more remarkable.

Other league/universe setup notes:

• Each team has five levels of minors (AAA, AA, A, Short Season A, and Rookie League)
• The major-league schedule is 162 games, unbalanced (18 games versus each in-division team). Interleague play is the devil, and is not used. Wild Card playoff berths are the devil, and are not used.
• The DH is the devil, so major league teams do not use it
  Scouting and coaches are enabled. Ratings scales are 1-5 for actual ratings, and 1-10 for potential and coach/scout ratings.
• Trading settings are Low / Hard / Favor Prospects.
  Ballparks are by Teflon Skies, who is greatly missed. Team logos and jerseys are accumulated from a variety of sources, but [http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/members/silvam14.html]silvam14[/url] was a great help in creating, compiling and customizing them. The ballparks, logos and uniforms combine with FaceGen to create such a wonderful sense of immersion that, to me, the RL feels real.

To generate some history and context, I’ve simmed 100 seasons (1901-2000), periodically resetting market sizes and cash when they’ve gotten out of hand. You can view that history here.

Of course, the Republican League record books reflect some of the league settings I’ve described above. The single-season record for Home Runs is just 57, with just 13 instances of a player hitting 50 or more HRs in a season. The career HR record is just 570. The career Stolen Base record, though, is 1690, reflecting the importance of speed.


I’ll be joining the Republican League on October 18, 2000, the day that the Nebraska Kernels won their record fifth consecutive National Championship by sweeping the ML Champion Pennsylvania Freedom. My intention (and challenge!) is to take over as General Manager of either one of the last-place franchises (Iowa Legends, Alabama Vipers, Massachusetts Emeralds or North Carolina Aeros) or any other interesting job which opens organically, and attempt to rebuild that franchise, hopefully leading it to a National Championship of my own.

If you have thoughts about which job I should take, or about the Republican League in general, please let me know.

More in a bit.

[ifspuds]

If I remember right, you ran Iowa for a bit in the original Republican League dynasty, didn't you? Between that and the financial handcuffs, taking Iowa to a championship might be a pretty interesting trick.

[gordyhulten]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

If I remember right, you ran Iowa for a bit in the original Republican League dynasty, didn't you? Between that and the financial handcuffs, taking Iowa to a championship might be a pretty interesting trick.

I did. I started with Oklahoma, and it took me about seven seasons to win a championship with them. I then jumped to Iowa, when the dynasty fizzled.

In this one, I'm reluctant to start with Iowa, given that they're probably the most challenging franchise in this setup, and this is my first real solo play since OOTP6.5. Of the four last place teams I mentioned, I'm leaning towards North Carolina due to the moderate challenge and the promising young pitchers they have. Massachusetts is also appealing, but given their large market and financial resources, that almost seems too easy.

[gordyhulten]

I'm having technical problems with the laptop on which I play OOTP, so this will be on hold until I can get everything formatted and reinstalled.

[cknox0723]

Holy heck, here's to a resurrection of one of my favorite reads.

Hope you've been well, my friend. Great to see you around here again.

[gordyhulten]

Originally Posted by cknox0723

Holy heck, here's to a resurrection of one of my favorite reads.

Hope you've been well, my friend. Great to see you around here again.

Thanks, Craig!

Just got Windows re-installed on the laptop, but I've haven't gotten OOTP restored yet. Luckily, I have a full backup of the Republican League files, so hopefully I won't have to recreate anything.

[TribeFanInNC]

Good luck resurrecting your laptop. Look forward to the reading. As a resident, I would vote for taking over the North Carolina team (although I've never ever been to Charlotte). Any chance of moving the team to Raleigh?

[gordyhulten]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

Good luck resurrecting your laptop. Look forward to the reading. As a resident, I would vote for taking over the North Carolina team (although I've never ever been to Charlotte). Any chance of moving the team to Raleigh?

Thank you!

Everything is restored, including OOTP and the Republican League files. I spent some time last night cleaning up (i.e., "reducing") the Republican League Hall of Fame. I usually set the automatic induction criteria very high, and then weed out those players I don't consider to be automatically worthy. Then, as the dynasty progresses, if we notice a player who should be in inducted but hasn't, we can discuss him and add him later. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get player pictures attached to the HTML pages for my HOFers.

While nosing around the HOF, I did come across a fellow named Everett Barr, who is perhaps the best pitcher I've ever seen in OOTP:


Barr pitched for just 17 seasons (1909-1926) for Pennsylvania and New York, winning an astounding 12 Most Outstanding Pitcher awards, and was an All-Star every single season he played in the majors. Despite playing for the RL's premier franchise, the New York Knights and despite having another HOFer in the rotation with him for several of those seasons - "Coyote" Flores, who won four more Most Outstanding Pitcher Awards in his own right - Barr won just one National Championship Series, in 1915, during his first season in NY.

Barr is the career leader in both wins, winning percentage, strikeouts and K/9, and leads all players, both batters and pitchers, in VORP, which I don't think I've ever seen done before by a pitcher.

[gordyhulten]

On the first day of the offseason, a handful of jobs have opened up:

Nebraska Kernels: GM Eugene Davis retires.
New Jersey Curve: GM Víctor García retires.
Pennsylvania Freedom: GM Joey Hopper retires.
Mississippi Wizards: General Manager D. Pitts leaves the team, his contract was not renewed.
Georgia Rebels: General Manager T. Hall leaves the team, his contract was not renewed.
Tennessee Nuts: General Manager J. Sardiña leaves the team, his contract was not renewed.

My plan was to take over one of the last place teams (Alabama, Iowa, Massachusetts or North Carolina), or fill any other GM position which opened "organically" - those listed above.

Of the last place teams, the most appealing to me is the North Carolina Aeros, primarily because of this guy.

Of the "organic" GM positions, there are some very interesting options:

• Nebraska just won a record fifth consecutive National Championship Series. Keeping that dynasty going would be quite a challenge, but it's still Nebraska.
• New Jersey is a healthy market with a severe lack of talent throughout the organization. Plus they toil in the shadow of the mighty New York Knights.
• Pennsylvania just won 100 games and lost to the Kernels in the National Championship Series.
• Mississippi sucks, but Alabama sucks worse, so there's no reason to take the Wizards instead of the Vipers.
• Georgia is a great market with division-winning major-league team, but the worst minor-league system in baseball.
• Tennessee has great offensive talent, a good minor-league system, and really cool uniforms.

Any thoughts or advice on which GM position I should take?

[ifspuds]

Daron Davis in the NC organization is way talented, but that torn labrum he just suffered would make me nervous.

I vote for NC or NJ. Either one sounds interesting from a storyline standpoint.

[gordyhulten]

One of the things I'm trying to grapple with, as I consider which team to helm, is how to deal with the massive negative cash balance which some of these teams have.

The purist in me says to leave it as and fight through it, as that's what I've forced the AI teams to do for the past 100 years.

The realist in me is wondering how much fun it will be to take over, for example, a North Carolina team that is about $15 million in the red, and generates about $23 million per year in revenue. Even with a major-league roster of 25 minimum-salary scrubs (totalling about $3 million), it will take me an entire season to reverse the negative cash balance. Do I have the patience for that?

On the other hand, can I in clear conscience essentially write off Iowa/North Carolina/Alabama as hopeless? Wouldn't that mean I'd be taking advantage of that hopelessness if I took over, say, a Tennessee or New Jersey?

This dynasty will be all about tough decisions. This one is the first of many.

[TribeFanInNC]

Indeed a tough choice. The Davis boys at NC are indeed tempting. I can see that. I would only take over that team, however, if you were going to play like 10 years or more. Realistically, it's gonna take you 3 years to get back in the green, then maybe another couple to get enough cash to support a good team. Basically you're just treading water that whole time.

I might take the Nuts instead. Better financial picture. Superstar to work around. Top prospect is also a pitcher (although he's hurt too). Plus, think of all the cheesy headlines:

'Jackson shells Nuts with 3 homers!'
'Nuts crack it open in the seventh with four hits...'
'Mixed Nuts - Tennessee Splits Double Header'

[gordyhulten]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

Indeed a tough choice. The Davis boys at NC are indeed tempting. I can see that. I would only take over that team, however, if you were going to play like 10 years or more. Realistically, it's gonna take you 3 years to get back in the green, then maybe another couple to get enough cash to support a good team. Basically you're just treading water that whole time.

Yeah. I'm thinking about that, too. In my original dynasty I played for almost ten years, and the primary reason I stopped was because I won a championship and left my original franchise behind to start a new rebuilding project.

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

I might take the Nuts instead. Better financial picture. Superstar to work around. Top prospect is also a pitcher (although he's hurt too). Plus, think of all the cheesy headlines:

'Jackson shells Nuts with 3 homers!'
'Nuts crack it open in the seventh with four hits...'
'Mixed Nuts - Tennessee Splits Double Header'

The Nuts are certainly an interesting option. Without sounding too cokcy, and without any experience with the "new and improved" AI of OOTP9, I'm a little worried they might not be challenging enough, though.

One way or another, I need to make a decision tonight. I'm anxious to get started!

[TribeFanInNC]

Maybe so. I like having a superstar to write about at least. Makes those 81-81 years seem a little more interesting.

Either way, I agree, pick and get started. You can always move again.

[gordyhulten]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

Maybe so. I like having a superstar to write about at least. Makes those 81-81 years seem a little more interesting.

Either way, I agree, pick and get started. You can always move again.

Done!

But first I have to explain why I'm an idiot, and the impact of that idiocy.

In the RL, as I intended to set it up, each team was to have five minor league affiliates in nearby cities, sharing the nickname of the big-league team. For example, the Illinois Hitmen have five minor league teams:

• AAA Rockford Hitmen
• AA Peoria Hitmen
• A Champaign Hitmen
• Short Season A Waterville Loggers
• Rookie League Aurora Hitmen

Unfortunately, as I just discovered, one of these things is not like the others.

Somehow, when I set up my league affiliations, I neglected to set them for my Short Season A teams. So the SSA Moline Hitmen are mistakenly affiliated with the Kentucky Stallions rather than the Illinois Hitmen.

The problem is mostly cosmetic, but I wanted to fix it before I took over a franchise. Unfortunately, switching the affiliations of the Short Season A teams to their "correct" organizations moved the players on those rosters too. So, using the Illinois example above, the players currently on the Waterville Loggers were drafted or signed by Illinois and really belonged in the Illinois organization. I worked around this by demoting everyone from Short Season A to Rookie League, switching the affiliations, and then running the AI manager on all the organizations to redistribute the players.

Problem solved. Affiliations are fixed, and players stayed with their correct organizations. I'll upload a new HTML tonight to reflect this change.

[gordyhulten]

Aeros Clean Out Front Office; Name New GM

October 19, 2000

CHARLOTTE, NC – The North Carolina Aeros today fired their remaining front office staff, and named 25-year-old Illinois native Gordy Hulten to the dual positions of President and General Manager.

The Aeros, after their third straight last-place finish, are embarking on what their press release called “a complete organizational evaluation and overhaul.” The franchise has made the postseason just once since 1978, and was recently named by ESPN.com as the worst-run organization in major professional sports.

Aeros owner Bob Tillman, who is also Chairman and CEO of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowe%27s]Lowe’s[/ulr], one of North Carolina’s highest profile companies, was blunt about the hiring. “We think Gordy brings a fresh perspective. We needed to try something different, and Gordy’s analytical background and leadership philosophy are going to lead to creative changes around here. The traditional way of running a baseball organization hasn’t worked very well for us. We wanted someone new, and some new methods and ideas, both on the business side and on the field. Experience didn’t matter nearly as much as creativity. Experience hasn’t gotten us anywhere.”

Tillman refused to answer questions about the Aeros’ finances, but public document requests by this newsroom have revealed that the Aeros haven’t been profitable in almost a decade, and that the franchise is carrying about $15 million in debt. The franchise has pushed for a new stadium, claiming that public financing is necessary for the team to remain financially competitive. “We love Capitol Field. It’s our home and has so much tradition. We’ll need be creative to match the spending of Georgia or New York. And we can make up for the revenue disparities in other ways while we look for long-terms solutions to it.”

Hulten took only a handful of questions during his introductory press conference. “The Aeros are a fixture, and not just for Charlotte. I’m looking forward to working with Mr. Tillman to assemble a great organization, and to fielding a team of great people and great players. I know you have high expectations. So does Mr. Tillman. But so do I, and my goal is to bring a National Championship to North Carolina.”

###

[gordyhulten]

COACHES & SCOUTS
Game Date: October 19, 2000

The first order of business is trying to assemble a decent staff to guide the rebuilding process of the North Carolina Aeros.

The long, daunting, well-nigh-impossible rebuilding process.

Our cash balance is about negative $15 million, so I don’t know what the ownership will allow us to do. We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts.

A big concern with any GM position is how much autonomy the owner will give (or, to put it another way, how much will the know-nothing-about-baseball busybodies interfere…). With the financial pressures in North Carolina, and as a 25-year-old first-time GM, I doubt I’ll have much autonomy at all.

As a “congratulations” present, upon my hiring, I learned that the team’s owner had completed a trade, without my input or consultation – indeed, without even informing me prior to the press conference. We acquired 22yo RH MR Joe “Electric” White (OSA Potential Stuff 10 / Movement 7 / Control 10). White is actually a pretty solid MR already, and getting him in exchange for 24yo AA 3B Alson Perez and 20yo roster chum OF Clark Henry doesn’t seem too terrible at all. Of course, such things don’t bode well for the level of autonomy I should expect.

A review of the staff is a mixed bag as well. The Aeros’ manager in 2000, Dennis Wilcox, “retired” the day before I was hired. He took his bench coach, Alfredo Velez with him, and I hope those two enjoy fishing and knitting and whatever else they plan on doing together during their retirement.

Our hitting coach, George Bowling isn’t awful. The pitching coach, Bill Curtis is very good – good enough to promote to manager, I think.
Our trainer – Roger Thomas - is OK. My primary initial focus needs to be improving our scouting, so that we can evaluate our meager talent as completely, accurately and efficiently as possible. Our current Scouting Director, Stephen Lee, is just a little better than average, although he’s particularly good at scouting minors and amateurs. My main concern with him is that he seems to be a bit too cozy with the owner, and that he got a two-year contract extension on the day I was hired, again without my consultation. I fire Lee as a way of establishing my control over the organization. My target as his replacement is younger and more capable: Stan Johnson (Majors 7 / Minors 10 / International 7 / Amateurs 9 / Favor Ability).

After promoting Curtis to manager, I need fill our vacancies at Bench Coach and Pitching Coach. My BC comes from AA Greensboro, in the person of 48yo Matt Flynn, who seems exceedingly capable. Our next PC is also an internal hire, in 62yo Lee Knight from our Short Season A affiliate.

I’m trying to fill out the rest of my minor league staffs with affordable hires without skimping too badly on quality. Luckily, the owner isn’t interfering with any of my offers.

Without a Scouting Director, I can't even effectively evaluate the talent we already have, so plotting further offseason moves is at a standstill.

[gordyhulten]

COACHES & SCOUTS
Game Date: Monday, October 30, 2000

I successfully signed Stan Johnson (Majors 7 / Minors 10 / International 7 / Amateurs 9 / Favor Ability) to be my new scouting director. The other vacant minor league staff positions were each filled as well, so we now have a full complement of managers, coaches and other staff.

My plan is to spend the first weeks of November evaluating our internal talent and exploring ways to dump salary. With $15 million in debt, our offseason focus will be to get younger and cheaper and hopefully more talented at the same time.

The update formats I used in previous dynasties won't work for OOTP9's dynamic offseason, so as I do my organization's position-by-position reports, I'll also be writing about significant league news, primarily free agent signings and trades.

[gordyhulten]

OFFSEASON ROSTER EVALUATION: Starting Pitchers
Game Date: November 1, 2000

First, the offseason awards have started. I let the AI select award winners for the first 99 years of Republican League history, and I see no reason to change that now.

The Frontier League Most Outstanding Rookie Award goes to Tony Aliaga, the 24yo defensively challenged OF for the Texas Drillers. Aliaga hit 336/393/488 in 110 games after being signed out of the Dominican Republican in May.

For the Metropolitan League, the 2000 Most Outstanding Rookie the Georgia Rebels’ 25yo 3B George Decker, who hit 301/384/546 with 31 HR in 137 games. Decker, chosen in the 16th round in 1996, is already a Rebels’ fan favorite, but slumped badly in the League Championship Series against Pennsylvania.

POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers
(All ratings by Stan Johnson, Scouting Director for the North Carolina Aeros. I’ll give actual ratings for big-league veterans, potential ratings for prospects, and both for the handful of prospects finishing their development in the big leagues.)

As an organization, we have just a tiny bit of young starting pitching talent, some of whom are already proving themselves on the big-league stage, but beyond that there is absolutely no organizational depth.

The best arm on the staff is actually on the 60-day-DL, and nobody knows just how good the arm actually is. Last year’s second overall pick, 18yo RH Daron “Buddy” Davis ( Stuff 4 / Movement 3 / Control 3 / Stuff Potential 8 / Movement Potential 6 / Control Potential 7) pitched well in 14 big-league starts this year, but suffered a torn labrum in August and won’t return until Spring Training at the earliest. Buddy throws very hard with an excellent slider and gets a lot of ground balls. The OSA scouting service actually has his ceiling much higher than our own scouts. His recovery from the torn labrum is important enough to the franchise that I’m doing daily conference calls with his masseuse.

Our #2 starter at the moment is LH Esteban Feliz (Actual:3/4/2 Potential 7/7/5), a 22yo junkballer who dominated AAA last year but gave up nine homers in 13 starts after being called up.

The rest of the rotation isn’t very good. The “other” Davis is 22yo LH Duane Davis (Actual:3/3/2 Potential:6/6/5). We’ve even got our own old, wily (six pitches!) innings eater in RH Cory Lewis (5/5/6). Our other two SPs specialize in being awful: 23yo RH Jim Travis (3/3/2) and 25yo RH Chris “Volcano” Thompson (2/3/2). The nickname precedes me, but I assure you it is well-earned.

In the farm system, the only “prospect” who excites my scouts is Kinnojo Masuda (4/7/7), a 21yo southpaw who got tattooed in the Rookie League last year. The Baseball America staff sees some potential in 24yo journeyman LH Michael Miller (6/7/4), but he got smacked around pretty badly in AAA last year.

If Buddy Davis can be OK coming off of his shoulder injury, we at least have something to work with. If not, we’ll be giving up runs in bunches.

[gordyhulten]

TIDBITS & FACTOIDS
Game Date: November 1, 2000

One of the things I like best and hate most about OOTP is just how darn immersive a long-term league’s history can be, even in a fictional universe like mine. I hate it because I get sucked into in when I’m working on another position report for my hapless North Carolina Aeros.

But I love it precisely for the same reason – because it sucks me in. Today, while perusing the RL recordbooks, I noticed that the single season record for games played is 165, by 1B Cody King of our very own North Carolina Aeros.

King set the record with Louisiana in 1996, although I was certain that the only way a player could get into 165 games in a 162-game season was by being traded. But King wasn’t traded in 1996, and managed to get into the three “extra” games by virtue of a three-way tie for first place in the Frontier League’s Rivers Division. Lousiana, Texas and Alabama all finished with identical 81-81 records, and each team played a total of four playoff games against each other to settle the division title. Louisiana won all four, finishing with an 85-81 record in 166 regular season games.

I love this kind of stuff.

I’ll have another position report in a bit. And I’ve got updated HTML reports (as of 10/31/2000) here.