The Start of Baseball II

[scott1964]

With the new version of OOTP, Time to get back into the game.
The Baltimore Canaries have hire me to run their organization to new heights or into the ground.
Here is the opening day roster:

Bobby Mathews (P)
Cal McVey (C)
Charlie Gould (1B)
Bub McAtee (1B)
Tommy Beals (2B)
Bob Ferguson (3B)
Mike Brannock (3)
John Bass (SS)
Wally Goldsmith (SS)
ED Mincher (LF)
Bob Armstrong (CF)
Mart King (CF)
Tom Berry (RF)
John Glenn (RF)
George Heubel (RF)

The Top Prospects;
Ross Barnes (St Louis)
Al Spalding (Chicago)
Dick McBride (Philadelphia)
Bobby Mathews (Baltimore)
George Wright (Cincinnati)

Baltimore has a scouting budget of a mere $650 The ticket prices are set at 8 cents. The owner seams like an alright fellow, his name is Joe Fredrick and he is from Connecticut.

[scott1964]

The Owner, Mr Fredrick, feels the team should at least reach the 1871 Playoffs. Lets play ball.

April 1st 1871 At Cleveland Forest Citys
The first game of the season will see Bobby Mathews go against George Zettlein. Cleveland Forest Citys over The Canaries 9-6. Cleveland jumped out to a 5-0 lead through Four Inning but Baltimore could not quite catch up. Cal McVey had an outstanding game going 3 for 5 and driving in 4 runs. Both teams committed 17 errors. Some 5155 people came out to see the game with the weather in the mid 40's.

April 8th 1871 At Cleveland Forest Citys
The second game against Cleveland. A rematch.
Cleveland pounds The Canaries. 14 to 9. Baltimore lead 7-6 after Four innings. The Forest Citys roared back with 5 runs in the 6th to set George Zettlein up for his second win. Cal McVey added two more hits and drove in two more runs. Baltimore committed 12 errors. Visitor Lip Pike sets an American League regular season record for runs in a game with 4.

April 17th 1871 At Cleveland Forest Citys
Game three against Cleveland. Finally Baltimore wins its first game. 7-2. Cal McVey is on a tear. Cal went 3 for 4 upping his average to .571. John Glenn helped out and was 2 for 5. Errors were not a factor this game as The Canaries had one error while Cleveland committed 10.

April 22nd 1871 Home Philadelphia Athletics
Baltimore outlasts Philadelphia 17-13. Cal McVey continues to perform at an outstanding level. McVey (.632) hit 4 out of 5 at bats while driving in 3 more runs for a league leading 9 RBI. Wally Goldsmith hit The Canaries first Home run in the 3rd. Bob Ferguson ties Lip Pike with the regular season for runs with 4. Baltimore committed 11 errors.

April 26th 1871 Home Philadelphia Athletics
Baltimore over Philly 11-7. Cal McVey watch continues with a 2 for 5 performance. Bob Ferguson helped the Canaries with 3 RBIs. Charlie Gould is sneaking up with a 3 for showing, upping his average to .417.

May 1st 1871
Cal McVey is named the American League Batter of the month for April.
Cal hit .583 while driving in 11 runs.

May 6th 1871 Home Philadelphia Athletics
Athletics slip past Canaries 18-16 while committing 19 errors. Philadelphia pitching held Cal McVey hitless dropping his average to .467. Cal did drive in one run while Bob Ferguson drove in 2. Each have 12 RBIs for the season. Ezra Sutton ties the regular season runs in a game with four. He share that feat with Bob Ferguson and Lip Pike.

May 14th 1871 At St Louis Brown Stockings
Bobby Mathews goes down with a strained hamstring in the fourth inning. The Canaries lose with 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth 11-10. League leading pitcher Rynie Wolters gets win number 7. McVey and Ferguson both go hitless. Charlie Gould has 3 hits in the losing cause.

May 18th 1871 At St Louis Brown Stockings
Rynie Wolters wins number 8, 18 to 10 over Baltimore. Cal McVey Bob Ferguson and Charlie Gould each hit twice. George Hall ties the American League record for runs in a game with 4. He also leads the League in RBIs with 15.

May 23rd 1871
I was fired from the Canaries.

[scott1964]

July 1st 1871
Cleveland pounds St Louis Brown Stockings 23-12. Handing St Louis (13-1) their first lose of the season.


July 4th 1871
The very first All Star Game was played. Almost 9900 people came out to watch this first event. The National League pounded the American League 17 to 9. George Wright was the games Most Valuable Player. Winning Pitcher was Cherokee Fisher while Rynie Wolters was the losing pitcher.

August 24th 1871
Ezra Sutton has his 22 game hitting streak come to an end. His team, The Athletics lost to the Canaries 11-5.

Oct 6th 1871
The first season is over. St Louis Brown Stockings hold the best record with 25-5 in the American League while the Brooklyn Atlantics are 18-12 in the National League. Highlights include: Dick Higham (PHI) currently holds a 30 game hitting streak. Ross Barnes (STL) hit .420. Rynie Wolters (STL) was 24-5

Oct 16th 1871
St Louis Brown Stocking are the Champions. St Louis held off Brooklyn in seven games. Ross Barnes was named the Series MVP with a .432 average.
Rynie Wolters helped out with a 4-2 record.

Oct 18th 1871
I was hired on with the Cincinnati Reds Organization.


The off season begins.

[scott1964]

Nov 1st 1871
The first year draft was upon the league.
Cincinnati Reds drafted 4 HS potential stars and a lone College prospect.

Jim Holdsworth (SS) from Upstate New York college
Bill Boyd (RF) from a local New York high school
Joe Doyle (SS) from Leesburg HS Virginia
George Fields (3B) from Waterbury HS Connecticut
Herm Doscher (RF) from a local New York high school.

Nov 3rd 1871
Signed Scout Director Ken Murphy to a 2 year $62/year deal.

Nov 30th 1871
Awards
Best Pitcher: Rynie Wolters (STL) and Al Spalding (CHI)
Best Batters: Ross Barnes (STL) and Levi Meyerle (BRK)
Best Rookie: Rynie Wolters (STL) and Al Spalding (CHI)

Dec 25th 1871
Home for the holidays.

[scott1964]

The start of 1872 is here

April 1st 1872
Opening Day
Top Prospects
Jim Britt Philadelphia Athletics
Cy Bentley Cleveland Forest Citys
Jim O'Rourke Boston Red Stockings
Candy Cummings Chicago White Stockings
Tom Barlow Baltimore Canaries

Cincinnati Red take on Chicago White Stockings in Chicago with Al Pratt against Al Spalding. Reds jump out to a 4-1 lead after 2 innings of play, but surrender 10 runs in the bottom of the third. White Stockings whip the Reds 11-6. Jimmy Wood is the Red star with two hits with 5 at bats, including a triple.

April 7th 1872
Reds at White Stockings
Reds come back from 5-3 to score 7 runs in the third to outlast the White Stockings 12-8. George Wright leads the Red with 3 hits.

April 9th 1872
Red versus White Stockings in Chicago.
Cincinnati crushed Chicago 13-4. Under a thousand people come to see the White Stockings get crushed. Steve King and George Wright each have 3 hits.

April 13th 1872
Philadelphia catcher Dick Higham had hit 33 game hitting streak stopped against St Louis.

April 15th 1872
Chicago slips past the Reds in Chicago 4-3. Jimmy Woods hits his first Home Run with none on in the ninth.

April 17th 1872
Reds at Boston Red Stockings
Reds slip past Red Stockings 6-3 to pin first season loss on Asa Brainard.

April 21st 1872
Boston Red Stockings play host to the Cincinnati Reds.
Al Pratt and company stop Asa again. 3-1. George Wright scores two runs on three hits in the win. George now has a .367 average.

April 24th 1872
At Boston again.
Cincinnati sweeps past Boston on a 9 run ninth 12-8 to capture first place. George Wright drove in 3 runs while going 2 for 5. Steve King hit two double to help the Reds cause.

April 30th 1872
Home opener against Brooklyn.
The Reds lose the season home opener 7-4. George Wright lone hit is not enough. Steve Kings also contributes one hit in the losing cause. Brooklyn's Andy Leonard continues to tear up pitching. He has hit .371 in April.

[scott1964]

May 2nd 1872
At Home against Brooklyn.
Cincinnati Pitcher Al Pratt hogties Brooklyn 5-1. Pratt allowed five hits and no earned runs while he was named the top National pitcher for the month of April. Jimmy Woods had two hits and George Wright contributes his 13th RBI.

May 6th 1872
The third of four games with Brooklyn at home.
Brooklyn slips past the Red 11-9. Jimmy Woods second homer of the year is not enough to help Cincinnati over come a 5-0 first inning. George Wright's double in the sixth helps the Reds to come withing two runs.

May 10th 1872
Final game of the series with Brooklyn
Cincinnati lets one get away 6-5. Bill Carver's four hits leads the Atlantics past the Reds.

May 14th 1872
The Chicago White Stocking come to visit for 3 games.
George Wright leads the Reds past Chicago 10-3. Rookie Bill Boyd has two hits in his third game. Jimmy Wood has three hits to help with the win.

May 17th 1872
Chicago clubs the Reds on Harry Berthrong's four hits and 3 RBIs. Frank Buttery also had 3 RBI to stop Cincinnati.

May 23rd 1872
Final game at home with Chicago.
Art Allison's 3 RBI topples Cincinnati. Cincinnati hitters can only muster five hits in the 5-1 loss.

May 27th 1872
Another home game against Boston Red Stockings
George Bechtel leads the Red over the Red Stockings 11-4. Bechtel has 3 RBIs in his 3 for 5 performance. One of his 2 doubles helped Cincinnati to score 7 runs in the 7th inning. Jimmy Wood stole his 10th base.

May 29th 1872
Boston Red Stockings are visiting.
Boston scores 5 in the ninth to beat the Reds 11-9. Frank Fleet hits his first homer on the season in the first inning. Meanwhile George Wright drives in three more runs and now has 22 RBIs for the season. Cap Anson lead the charge for the Red Stockings with a 4 for 6 performance.

June 1st 1872
Halfway through the season

    
American   Standings 
 

W
L
PCT
GB
 
St.  Louis Brown Stockings
12
4
.750
-
 
Philadelphia  Athletics
9
7
.563
3.0
 
Baltimore  Canaries
6
10
.375
6.0
 
Cleveland  Forest Citys
5
11
.313
7.0
 
      
  National  Standings 
 

W
L
PCT
GB
 
Boston  Red Stockings
8
8
.500
-
 
Brooklyn  Atlantics
8
8
.500
-
 
Chicago  White Stockings
8
8
.500
-
 
Cincinnati  Reds
8
8
.500
-
 

[gpellis]

Looks like a nice race in your division. Lol at Baltimore firing you in season 1.

[scott1964]

June 2nd 1872
Boston knocks the Reds out of First Place 11-8. Jimmy Wood lead Cincinnati with three hits. Al Pratt falls to 8-9.

June 8th 1872
Brooklyn comes back to town.
Cincinnati pounds Brooklyn 13-4 on Frank Fleet's 4 RBIs. Al Pratt allows only nine hits.

June 11th 1872
Brooklyn comes back for more fun.
Al Pratt limits the Atlantics to five hits in a 6-1 victory. Frank Fleet is on a tear, hitting so far .429 in June.

June 15th 1872
Last game of the series with Brooklyn.
Cincinnati sweeps Brooklyn with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. 5-4. Jimmy Wood's homer gives the Reds the sweep.

June 19th 1872
Cincinnati visits the Chicago White Stockings.
The Reds win their forth straight game. 7-5. Frank Fleet continues to produce. He has a .354 avg so far this season.

June 21st 1872
Chicago tries to stop Cincinnati.
The Reds rip apart the White Stockings. 13-7. Jimmy Wood goes 4 for 5, while Frank Fleet continues to be red hot. The Reds win their fifth game in a row.

June 27th 1872
Last chance for the White Stockings.
Cincinnati does it again. Three run ninth lifts the Reds 7-5.

June 29th 1872
Reds travel to Boston.
Red Hot Reds streak to 7 games 13-10. Frank Fleet and Steve King lead the Reds with three hits apiece. Meanwhile Fergy Malone has 4 hits driving in 5 runs with a home run for Boston.

June 30th 1872
Al Pratt is named the National League Pitcher of the Month with a 7-1 mark. Teammate Steve King is the Batter of the Month with a .350 batting average. Also Bill Boyd was named the Rookie of the Month with a .353 average in June

[scott1964]

July 1st 1872
Boston cools off Red Hot Reds 10-6. Jim O'Rourke and Asa Brainard each have three hits in the win for Boston. George Wright drives in his 32nd run to lead the National League.

July 4th 1872
National League defeats American League 4-1. Jim O'Rourke drives in two runs with a triple to be named MVP.

July 9th 1872
Cincinnati travel to Boston.
Reds over Red Stockings 5-4 in 10 innings. George Wright drives in winning run with a single.

July 13th 1872
Brooklyn to host Cincinnati.
Brooklyn Atlantics slap the Reds around 11-1. Jimmy Hallinan has three hits and John Clapp drive in three runs to power Brooklyn.

July 17th 1872
Cincinnati at Brooklyn
The Reds are back to winning again 11-7. George Wright hits his first home run. Elmer White contributes with 3 hits.

July 21st 1872
Brooklyn to take on the Reds.
Cincinnati Reds continue to roll, route Atlantics 16-5. George Bechtel and Bill Boyd each go 4 for 6 and George Wright goes 3 for 4. Wright drives in his league leading 38th RBI.

July 23rd 1872
Cincinnati to host Chicago White Stockings.
White Stockings slip past Reds 6-4. 8800 people see Reds drop their 8th home game.

July 29th 1872
Chicago vs Cincinnati
Bill Boyd hits two home runs in a 11-4 rout. Boyd went 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs before a crowd of over 9900.

[scott1964]

Aug 1st 1872
Reds take on the White Stockings
Chicago skips past Red in ninth 3-2. Al Spalding's single lifts White Stockings.

Aug 5th 1872
Reds play host to Boston.
Red Stockings crush Red 18-5 as Cincinnati commits 12 errors. Cap Anson and Freddy Malone lead Boston with 3 hits each. Steve King lead Red with two hits and one RBI.

Aug 9th 1872
Against host to Red Stockings.
Boston again scores 18 runs in the win. 18-11. The Red committed 16 errors in their third straight loss. Jimmy Wood lead the Red with three hits and 3 RBI while team mate George Wright drove in three runs with two hits. Jim O'Rourke drives in 5 for Boston.

Aug 13th 1872
Boston in town again.
Reed slip past Red Stockings with Betchtel's double in the ninth 2-1. George doubles home George Wright to snap a three game skid.

Aug 15th 1872
Brooklyn come to town.
Another close one as Cincinnati pulls through 6-5. George Bechtel had three RBIs while George Wright and Frank Fleet each with three hits.

Aug 21st 1872
Cincinnati against Brooklyn at home.
Red score 3 in seventh to nudge past Brooklyn 6-3. Ed Beavens goes 3 for 5 with a triple in the seventh to spark the Reds.

Aug 24th 1872
Brooklyn in for one more.
Brooklyn slips past Cincinnati in 12, 6-5. Jimmy Hallinan drive home the winning run. Jimmy Woos and George Wright each go 4 for 6 in the losing cause.

Aug 26th 1872
Reds travel to Chicago.
Chicago over Reds 8-6. Tom Foley's triple is not enough. White Stockings score four in eighth to win.

Aug 30th 1872
Another day in Chicago.
George Bechtel leads Red past Chicago 8-3. Double in seventh helps Al Pratt win his 34th career game.

August 31st 1872
George Wright is named Batter of the Month: .400 and 6 RBIs.
Al Pratt is named Pitcher of the Month: 4-5 1.83 era and 8 strike outs.

[scott1964]

Sept 3rd 1872
Cincinnati at Chicago
Jimmy Wood leads Reds past White Stockings with 4 hits, 10-5. Al Pratt wins 24th game of season.

Sept 9th 1872
Reds against Red Stockings
Boston rips Reds 13-5. Ed Beavens' three hits are not enough. Cap Anson and Bill Streans lead Red Stockings with 7 RBIs.

Sept 13th 1872
Cincinnati takes on Boston.
Six run 7th leads Boston by Reds, 9-8. Started Al Pratt goes down with injury. Ed Beavens leads Cincinnati with 4 hits.

Sept 14th 1872
Last game of series with Boston Red Stockings.
Pratt back to help Reds stop slide, 11-8. Al socked a third inning triple to propel Reds. Jimmy Wood drives in three to support Pratt.

Sept 18th 1872
Reds travel to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn manhandles Reds 11-7. Steven King leads Reds with four hits.

Sept 22 1872
Cincinnati at Brooklyn Atlantics.
Reds score four in 11th to slip past Brooklyn, 9-5. Jimmy Wood's triple in 11th helps Reds.

Sept 28th 1872
Last game between Cincinnati and Brooklyn for the season.
Jimmy Wood continues to produce as Reds roll on, 12-5. Andy Allison drives in two with his three hits.

Oct 1st 1872
Jimmy Wood is named National League Batter of the Month. He hit .405 with 7 RBIs.

Oct 2nd 1872
Cincinnati hosts Chicago White Stockings.
Reds clinch first National League title, 9-1. Al Pratt scatters 8 hits in his 28th win of season.

Oct 4th 1872
Chicago stuns Reds, 6-1. White Stockings' Al Spalding outlasts Pratt.

Oct 6th 1872
White Stockings slip past Reds, 11-10 with Art Allison's single.

Oct 7th 1872
Post Season starts with Cincinnati Reds (28-22) against St Louis Brown Stockings (35-15)

[scott1964]

1872 Standings

American   Standings 
 	

W
L
PCT
GB
 
St.  Louis Brown Stockings
35
15
.700
-
 
Philadelphia  Athletics
31
19
.620
4.0
 
Cleveland  Forest Citys
19
31
.380
16.0
 
Baltimore  Canaries
15
35
.300
20.0
 
  
  National  Standings 
 	

W
L
PCT
GB
 
Cincinnati  Reds
28
22
.560
-
 
Boston  Red Stockings
25
25
.500
3.0
 
Chicago  White Stockings
24
26
.480
4.0
 
Brooklyn  Atlantics
23
27
.460
5.0
 

[scott1964]

Oct 8th 1872
Game 1
Cincinnati Reds 23-4 over St Louis Brown Stockings.
Caleb Johnson and George Wright lead Reds over St Louis with 12 RBIs. Johnson goes 2 for 7 with two doubles while driving in 7 runs. George Wright drove in 5 runs while going 2 for 6. Cincinnati erupts for 11 runs in the second inning. Caleb lead the attack with his two doubles and driving in 5 runs.

[scott1964]

Oct 9th 1872
Games 2
St Louis over Cincinnati 12-5
Ross Barnes leads Brown Stockings over Reds with his fifth inning three run home run. Deacon White added a two run homer in the 8th.


Oct 11th 1872
Game 3
St Louis Wins takes the series lead with 4 run ninth 16-15. Paul Hines' triple leads the way for St Louis. George Wright leads Reds 4 hits in 6 trips.

Oct 12th 1872
Game 4
Brown Stockings blow by Reds, 16-9. Eight run fifth lifts St Louis. Cincinnati commits 6 errors to fall.

Oct 13th 1872
Game 5
St Louis continues assault on Reds, 17-11, wins their second series. Charlie Smith leads St Louis with three hits and three RBIs. Ross Barnes drives in 4. George Wright leads both teams with 12 RBIs for the series.

Off to the post season.

[scott1964]

I scored 88 out of 100. Also named National League Manager of the Year.

[scott1964]

Awards:
Al Pratt is named Nation League Pitcher of the Year.
Regular Season: 28-21 with 1.42 era and struck out 31.
Post Season:1-2 with 3.81 era.

George Wright is named National League Batter of the Year.
Regular Season: .331 avg with 14 doubles and 5 triples. George drove in 52 runs. Wright was named the Batter of the Month during the regular season.
Post Season: .370 avg with 12 RBIs.

[scott1964]

1872 Draft
I have decided to draft the following guys. Whether the sign or not hard to say for at least one. Signing bonuses are below.
Jim Devlin: Offered $180 Signed
Joe Kernan: Offered $39 Signed
Holly Hollingshead: Offered $65 Signed
Denny Clare: Offered $23 Signed
Lou Say: This guy will be hard, He wants $390. I might pass on him as George Wright is still in Cincinnati and I have a prospect, Jim Holdsworth. Jim won the Batter of the Year for Reds farm team. Refused to sign

[scott1964]

The owner of the Cleveland Forest City franchise has announced he has renamed the team to Cleveland Blues. Cecil Baxter was quoted as saying. "Our dismal performance this season weighed on my mind during the winter meetings. What better way to spice up the team. From my blue mind came Cleveland Blues."

[scott1964]

Feb 1st 1873
Cincinnati Ohio
I sat down with the owner, Gabriel Johnson, and we had a discussion on our future with the current personnel. Manager Kendrick Dillon was offered a 4 year 237$ deal to keep him in Cincy. Hitting Coach Lee Abbot will be on the table after the season moves farther along. Abbot and Dillon are the only team personnel that are due for extension this year.

[scott1964]

Spring Training 1873
Al Pratt goes down with an injury. Al tore his ankle ligament and will be out for 5 to 6 weeks.

Top 10 Prospects
Jim Holdsworth was named the number one prospect for the current season. Others from my team include Bill Boyd #3, Jim Devlin #6, and George Fields #10.

Owner Expectations
Mr Johnson expects my team to play .500 ball this season. That will be a challenge for the first part of the season as Al Pratt will be out until mid May.