300-500-3000

[NYY #23]

300:


500


3000


I've had some of the most fun writing about my home run dynasty, because it moved pretty fast, and I think I had a pretty narrow focus. Toward the end I was anxious to get it finished, but it seems like so long ago, and I've been wanted to do something similar. I don't want to just do a rehash, but did want to find something where I could move quickly, and have a narrow focus.

One of the things that I love about baseball is certain numbers. I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with this based on the numbers. They don't necessarily define greatness, but it does sound better when a pitcher gets to 300 wins, rather than say 287. Look no further than Bert Blyleven and is Hall of Fame journey to see that. So for my purposes, if you get those 300 wins that will matter. You'll earn a spot in the 300-500-3000 Hall of Fame.

We'll begin in earnest in 1871, and I'll be using the Spritze database this time. That means we'll see players potentially debut a little bit sooner, along with some Negro League and Japanese players. As I always like to do, recalc will be off, and we'll let players develop accordingly. Will Babe Ruth develop? Will someone like Larry Sheets catch lightning in a bottle and join the immortals? Will Cy Young fall apart? Will Pete Rose become the all-time hit king?

As I did before I'll follow the careers of those who made the real life clubs, and at a certain point I'll start following the careers of players that cross a certain amount. I expect the first few years will go pretty quickly, because it'll take a while to get 300 wins, and even longer to come close to 500 home runs. We'll take a look at the official categories next, and then get started.
--------------------------
I realize I've got two dynasties going already, but I'm looking for something that will move along quickly along with my Worst to First one. I'm not going to abandon the ABL, but the updates will come less infrequently.

[Terpripken]

Very cool. Your Home Run dynasty was awesome, I'm sure this we'll be 3x as good.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Terpripken

Very cool. Your Home Run dynasty was awesome, I'm sure this we'll be 3x as good.

Thanks! Hopefully this will be fun!

[NYY #23]

June 4th, 1888 Pud Galvin became the first member of the 300 win club. A club of 24 stretching from Galvin to Randy Johnson the last member who won his 300th June 4th, 2009. How is that for symmetry?

All eligible members have been elected to the Hall of Fame, and it’s a good bet all members will as well. I'll look at the leaders each year and follow any active player with 200 wins.

1. Cy Young - 511
2. Walter Johnson - 417
3. Grover Alexander - 373
4. Christy Mathewson - 373
5. Warren Spahn - 363
6. Pud Galvin - 361
7. Kid Nichols - 361
8. Greg Maddux - 355
9. Roger Clemens - 354
10. Tim Keefe - 342
11. Steve Carlton - 329
12. John Clarkson - 328
13. Eddie Plank - 326
14. Nolan Ryan - 324
15. Don Sutton - 324
16. Phil Niekro - 318
17. Gaylord Perry - 314
18. Tom Seaver - 311
19. Old Hoss Radbourn - 309
20. Mickey Welch - 307
21. Tom Glavine - 307
22. Randy Johnson - 303
23. Lefty Grove - 300
24. Early Wynn - 300

[NYY #23]

This one isn't as popular, but I like saves. Closers are just a different breed. From Rollie Fingers to Goose Gossage to Mariana Rivera, I always enjoy watching them. Honestly, I think I only included saves because of Mo, who is one of my all-time favorites. I also got to see one of these guys World Series rings up close and personal. So it'll be a long time before we talk about saves, but we'll follow these guys, and once someone reaches 200. I know all these guys won't turn into closers (I'm looking at you Dennis Eckersley, but that's alright with me.)

1. Trevor Hoffman - 601
2. Mariano Rivera - 559
3. Lee Smith - 478
4. John Franco - 424
5. Billy Wagner - 422
6. Dennis Eckersley - 390
7. Jeff Reardon - 367
8. Troy Percival - 358
9. Randy Myers - 347
10. Rollie Fingers - 341
11. John Wetteland - 330
12. Roberto Hernandez - 326
13. Jose Mesa - 321
14. Todd Jones - 319
15. Rick Aguilera - 318
16. Robb Nen - 314
17. Tom Henke - 311
18. Goose Gossage - 310
19. Jeff Montgomery - 304
20. Doug Jones - 303
21. Bruce Sutter - 300

[NYY #23]

The third club, which is a little bit less exclusive (25 members vs 24 in the 300 win club). From the Babe, the first member of the club on August 11, 1929 to Gary Sheffield, the last to join on April 17, 2009. Ted Williams, the oldest to join, to A-Rod, the youngest to join. After the steroid era 500 doesn't mean what it used to, and I don't think anyone believes there won't be another member anytime soon.

Besides the members of the club, we'll start following once a player reaches 400.

1. Barry Bonds - 762
2. Hank Aaron - 755
3. Babe Ruth - 715
4. Willie Mays - 660
5. Ken Griffey, Jr. - 621
6. Alex Rodriguez - 613
7. Sammy Sosa - 609
8. Jim Thome - 589
9. Frank Robinson - 586
10. Mark McGwire - 583
11. Harmon Killebrew - 573
12. Rafael Palmeiro - 569
13. Reggie Jackson - 563
14. Manny Ramirez - 555
15. Mike Schmidt - 548
16. Mickey Mantle - 536
17. Jimmie Foxx - 534
18. Willie McCovey - 521
19. Frank Thomas - 521
20. Ted Williams - 521
21. Ernie Banks - 512
22. Eddie Matthews - 512
23. Mel Ott - 511
24. Gary Sheffield - 509
25. Eddie Murray - 504

[NYY #23]

This was one of those should it be in or should it be out categories. It was out, then back in, then out again. But in the end, I decided to leave it in. 500 home runs is a way off, and in order to bring balance to the numbers we'll have 500 stolen bases be the milestone. It's the biggest group of 37 players, and it does include the likes of Juan Pierre, but it'll give us something to watch in those early years, and we'll get to follow some players like Tim Raines and the Wizard of Oz!

Besides the members of the club, we'll start following once a player reaches 400.

1. Rickey Henderson - 1406
2. Lou Brock - 938
3. Billy Hamilton - 914
4. Ty Cobb - 897
5. Tim Raines - 808
6. Vince Coleman - 752
7. Arlie Latham - 742
8. Eddie Collins - 741
9. Max Carey - 738
10. Honus Wagner - 723
11. Joe Morgan - 689
12. Willie Wilson - 668
13. Tom Brown - 657
14. Bert Campaneris - 649
15. Kenny Lofton - 622
16. Otis Nixon - 620
17. George Davis - 619
18. Dummy Hoy - 596
19. Maury Wills - 586
20. George Van Haltren - 583
21. Ozzie Smith - 580
22. Hugh Duffy - 574
23. Bid McPhee - 568
24. Brett Butler - 558
25. Davey Lopes - 557
26. Cesar Cedeno - 550
27. Bill Dahlen - 548
28. Monte Ward - 540
29. Herman Long - 537
30. Juan Pierre - 527
31. Patsy Donovan - 518
32. Jack Doyle - 518
33. Barry Bonds - 514
34. Fred Clarke - 509
35. Harry Stovey - 509
36. Luis Aparicio - 506
37. Paul Molitor - 504

[Terpripken]

Glad you left SB in. For better or worse I'm a SB junkie.

[NYY #23]

With just 16 members, this is our smallest club. I originally wasn't going to include it because most of the members have also won 300 games. I placed an asterisk next to them, but Blyleven, Pedro, and Bob Gibson will get their time in the sun. I'll track players once they reach 2000, if they aren't on this list.

1. Nolan Ryan* - 5714
2. Randy Johnson* - 4875
3. Roger Clemens* - 4672
4. Steve Carlton* - 4136
5. Bert Blyleven - 3701
6. Tom Seaver* - 3640
7. Don Sutton* - 3574
8. Gaylord Perry* - 3534
9. Walter Johnson* - 3509
10. Greg Maddux* - 3371
11. Phil Niekro* - 3342
12. Fergie Jenkins - 3192
13. Pedro Martinez - 3154
14. Bob Gibson - 3117
15. Curt Schilling - 3116
16. John Smoltz - 3084

[NYY #23]

Last, but certainly not least comes the 3000 hit club. With 27 members, this club features some of my favorite players - Tony Gwynn, George Brett, and Rickey Henderson. I'm planning to follow these guys, along with anyone who reaches 2000.

1. Pete Rose - 4256
2. Ty Cobb - 4191
3. Hank Aaron - 3771
4. Stan Musial - 3630
5. Tris Speaker - 3514
6. Carl Yastrzemski - 3419
7. Cap Anson - 3418
8. Honus Wagner - 3415
9. Paul Molitor - 3319
10. Eddie Collins - 3315
11. Willie Mays - 3283
12. Eddie Murray - 3255
13. Nap Lajoie - 3242
14. Cal Ripken, Jr. 3184
15. George Brett - 3154
16. Paul Waner - 3152
17. Robin Yount - 3142
18. Tony Gwynn - 3141
19. Dave Winfield - 3110
20. Craig Biggio - 3060
21. Rickey Henderson - 3055
22. Rod Carew - 3053
23. Lou Brock - 3023
24. Rafael Palmeiro - 3020
25. Wade Boggs - 3010
26. Al Kaline - 3007
27. Roberto Clemente - 3000

[NYY #23]

There are 4 players with 500 home runs and 3000 hits -

Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Eddie Murray
Rafael Palmeiro

And probably a soon to be fifth, A-Rod.

Before we begin if there is any player that you'd like me to follow please let me know and I'll be happy to do that. I'm going to be following a couple of my favorites - Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, and Ron Guidry. It'll be a long ways off though.

If you are brave enough to offer any predictions, feel free to share as well. Just a reminder, recalc is off, and I'm using the Spritze database, so we'll see players like Oscar Charleston in the league, or Ichiro as an 18 year old. I've never had much luck with Babe Ruth developing into a slugger unless I start after he made his conversion. We'll see if that will change.

With my home run dynasty I was amazed when Pujols hit 800 home runs. Can he do it again? Can anyone come close to 800.

Before I play a game I'll make some predictions:


Wins - I'm going to go with Walter Johnson on this one.
Saves - who knows with this one, but I'll go with Mariano Rivera
Home Runs - Albert Pujols was huge last time, but I'm going with Ted Williams
Stolen Bases - It's hard not to go with Rickey for this category.
Strikeouts - I'll say the Big Unit for this one
Hits - I have a feeling someone who didn't hit 3000 will lead this one. Maybe Ted Williams or Joe DiMaggio, without the missing years

I've dragged on the introduction long enough. Hope you enjoy, and let's get this started….

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Terpripken

Glad you left SB in. For better or worse I'm a SB junkie.

I figure if I'm going to include saves, I should at least include stolen bases. I'm a fan as well, it's not as popular as it used to be, but a good base runner can really change the game.

[NYY #23]

I know I said I'd get this started, but did want to introduce the first player who we'll be watching, since he makes his debut in the 1871 season -



Cap Anson debuted in 1871 and retired in 1897. His career batting average was .333, and Anson collected 3,418 hits and became the first member of the 3000 hit club on July 18, 1897. Of course his career hit total has always been controversial, as MLB didn't originally recognize his hit totals from the National Association. Depending on how it was counted, his hit total ranged from 2995 to 3000 to 3081, the total recognized by the Hall of Fame. Regardless of the final hit total, and I'm going by 3418, he'll be the first player I follow on his journey to see if he can reach 3000 this time. His Hall of Fame plaque reads "Greatest Hitter and Greatest National League Player-Manager of 19th Century"

We'll see if Cap can live up to such high expectations. I've had mixed success in replays with Anson in previous sims. Most times he has been very successful, but I've seen him flame out at least once. Now it's time to see what he can do!

[NYY #23]

300


And we are off. 26 year old Dick McBride starts us off with 16 wins, and is tied for the league 18 year old Bill Stearns. McBride won 207 in real life, so he could be one to watch, but for now we are a long, long way from 300. I'll just be focusing on wins until saves become a bigger part of the game in the distant future.

Career Wins
1. Dick McBride - 16
2. Bill Stearns - 16
3. Cherokee Fisher - 13
4. Tricky Nichols - 13
5. George Zettlein - 13
6. Asa Brainard - 12
7. Frank Fleet - 10

Next Debuts:
Charley Radbourn (1873)
Pud Galvin (1875)
Tim Keefe (1876)

500


Starting early means there won't be much activity on the road to 500 for a very long time. This year's co-leader was Tommy Beals, who hit a whopping 3. He's already ahead of his career totals of 2 though.

Career Home Runs
1. Tommy Beals - 3
2. Levi Meyerle - 3
3. Gat Stires - 3
4. Ezra Sutton - 3

Next Debuts:
Babe Ruth (1914)

In the stolen base department, we await our initial debut, Harry Stovey. For now Ezra Sutton gets an early jump on the competition with 26. Ezra stole 273 in his career.

Career Stolen Bases
1. Ezra Sutton - 26
2. Jimmy Wood - 24
3. Fred Treacey - 22
4. Francis Abercrombie - 19
5. George Wright - 18
6. Ed Pinkham - 16
7. Fred Waterman - 16
8. Candy Nelson - 15

Next Debuts:
Harry Stovey (1875)
Monte Ward (1877)
Bid McPhee (1878)

3000


Levi Meyerle led the league with 52 hits, one better than Deacon White. Cap Anson became the first player to debut, and as a 19 year old collected his first 33 hits. Not enough to be featured on the league leaders, and a long way off from 3000, but not a bad start either.

Career Hits
1. Levi Meyerle - 52
2. Deacon White - 51
3. Andy Leonard - 49
4. Jim Foran - 48
5. George Wright - 48
6. George Hall - 45
7. Steve King - 45
8. Candy Nelson - 45
9. Gat Stires - 45
10. Dave Eggler - 44
11. Trick McSorley - 44
Cap Anson - 33

Next Debuts:
Nap Lajoie (1893)
Honus Wagner (1893)

Career Strikeouts
1. Tricky Nichols - 38
2. Cherokee Fisher - 21
3. Dick McBride - 18
4. George Zettlein - 17

Next Debuts:
Walter Johnson (1906)

[No Pepper]

I enjoyed your Home Run Chase, so I'll be following this again. The one prediction I'll make will be to shoot down two of your Yankees. Mo and Rickey will not top their respective categories. With recalc off I figure there will be some shakeup.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by No Pepper

I enjoyed your Home Run Chase, so I'll be following this again. The one prediction I'll make will be to shoot down two of your Yankees. Mo and Rickey will not top their respective categories. With recalc off I figure there will be some shakeup.

Thanks for following! I do agree that saves are pretty volatile. Just getting someone into a closer role can be tricky enough from my experiences. Although I do think Rickey will have a good shot at being Rickey. We'll see though.

[NYY #23]

300


16 year old Jim Britt made his debut this season, and won 28 games to lead the league. This season featured our first group of 20 game winners, with five pitchers making the cut - Dick McBride (24), Cherokee Fisher (22), George Zettlein (22), and Bobby Mathews (21).

Career Wins
1. Dick McBride - 40
2. Cherokee Fisher - 35
3. George Zettlein - 35
4. Tricky Nichols - 31
5. Bobby Mathews - 30
6. Jim Britt - 28
7. John McMullin - 23
8. Bill Stearns - 21
9. John Greening - 19
10. Frank Fleet - 16

Next Debuts:
Charley Radbourn (1873)
Pud Galvin (1875)
Tim Keefe (1876)

500


Tom Barlow led the league with 23 stolen bases, the only player with more than 20.

Career Home Runs
1. Levi Meyerle - 6
2. Ezra Sutton - 6
3. Gat Stires - 5
4. Mike Hooper - 4
5. Jimmy Wood - 4

Next Debuts:
Babe Ruth (1914)

Career Stolen Bases
1. Jimmy Wood - 39
2. Fred Treacey - 33
3. Tom Barlow - 32
4. Ezra Sutton - 32
5. Clipper Flynn - 29
6. Francis Abercrombie - 28
7. George Wright - 28
8. Fred Cone - 25
9. Ed Pinkham - 24
10. Fred Waterman - 24

Next Debuts:
Harry Stovey (1875)
Monte Ward (1877)
Bid McPhee (1878)

3000


George Hall led the way this year with 87 hits. Clipper Flynn was one behind with 86. The one player we were following, Cap Anson collected 68 hits this season, and now has 101 for his career.

Tricky Nichols led the league with 37 strikeouts with Jim Britt coming in second at 36.

Career Hits
1. George Wright - 133
2. George Hall - 132
3. Clipper Flynn - 125
4. Andy Leonard - 125
5. Cal McVey - 123
6. Jimmy Wood - 123
7. Steve King - 121
8. Deacon White - 121
9. Fred Waterman - 120
10. Levi Meyerle - 119
Cap Anson - 101

Next Debuts:
Nap Lajoie (1893)
Honus Wagner (1893)

Career Strikeouts
1. Tricky Nichols - 75
2. Bobby Mathews - 45
3. Cherokee Fisher - 40
4. George Zettlein - 38
5. Jim Britt - 36

Next Debuts:
Walter Johnson (1906)

[bwburke94]

You better add this to your sig...

[NYY #23]

Our second player, Charley Radbourn, will join the league in 1873. 'Old Hoss' won 309 career games from 1881-1891 (or 310 according to the Hall of Fame), so he'll get a chance to get an early jump on his career by coming into the league in 1873. He shouldn't be a starter right away, but given the small number of players I make no guarantees.

Radbourn's big season came in 1884, where he won 59 games (or 60 resulting in the discrepancy) against 12 losses with a 1.38 ERA and 441 strikeouts to net the Pitching Triple Crown. All this in 678 2/3 innings. 'Old Hoss' was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939, in the same class as Cap Anson.

[NYY #23]

300


George Zettlein became the first player with 30 wins in a season, and the third different pitcher to lead the league. His 65 career wins is now the most in history. Tricky Nichols, with 27, and John McMullin, with 25 followed. Charley Radbourn made his debut, getting in six games and making one start while picking up 1 win. 1 down, 299 to go.

Career Wins
1. George Zettlein - 65
2. Dick McBride - 61
3. Tricky Nichols - 58
4. Cherokee Fisher - 53
5. John McMullin - 48
6. Bobby Mathews - 47
7. Jim Britt - 37
8. John Greening - 32
9. Bill Stearns - 24
10. Asa Brainard - 20
Charley Radbourn - 1

Next Debuts:
Pud Galvin (1875)
Tim Keefe (1876)
Mickey Welch (1878)

500


The early years weren't kind to either stolen bases or home runs. Fred Cone led the league with just 19 stolen bases, and four players tied for the league lead in home runs with 2.

Career Home Runs
1. Ezra Sutton - 8
2. Levi Meyerle - 7
3. Gat Stires - 6
4. Jimmy Wood - 5
5. Mike Hooper - 4
6. Charley Jones - 4
7. Mart King - 4
8. Alexander Nevin - 4

Next Debuts:
Babe Ruth (1914)

Career Stolen Bases
1. Jimmy Wood - 57
2. Ezra Sutton - 49
3. Fred Treacey - 47
4. Tom Barlow - 46
5. Fred Cone - 44
6. George Wright - 44
7. Francis Abercrombie - 42
8. Cal McVey - 40
9. Gat Stires - 39
10. Fred Waterman - 39

Next Debuts:
Harry Stovey (1875)
Monte Ward (1877)
Bid McPhee (1878)

3000


Deacon White collected 2067 hits in his career in real life, and is the leader for 1873 with 92. Tom Barlow was second with 87, and Dick Higham and Cal McVey were tied in third with 86. Cap Anson was down a notch with 62 hits, but still just 21 years old.

Bobby Mathews led the league with 39 strikeouts with Tricky Nichols two behind at 37.

Career Hits
1. Deacon White - 213
2. George Wright - 212
3. Cal McVey - 209
4. George Hall - 204
5. Dick Higham - 204
6. Clipper Flynn - 202
7. Fred Waterman - 200
8. Andy Leonard - 199
9. Jimmy Wood - 198
10. Jim Foran - 197
Cap Anson - 163

Next Debuts:
Nap Lajoie (1893)
Honus Wagner (1893)

Career Strikeouts
1. Tricky Nichols - 112
2. Bobby Mathews - 84
3. George Zettlein - 65
4. Cherokee Fisher - 57
5. Dick McBride - 49
6. Jim Britt - 46
7. John Greening - 44
8. John McMullin - 36
9. Asa Brainard - 28
10. Frank Fleet - 27

Next Debuts:
Walter Johnson (1906)