The Evil Empire - A Yankees History

[NYY #23]

As you can probably tell I'm a Yankee fan, and surprisingly I've never really played with the Yankees in OOTP. I've started a couple brief ones, but I've always been afraid to make moves, or players that I remembered. I've started a couple before in previous versions, once starting in 1974, and once starting in the beginning in 1903, but if I got a month into either I'd be surprised.

There were different reasons why each didn't work, but acting as a GM didn't really work too well for me at least, for fear of screwing something up, or worrying about how to get Babe Ruth on the Yankees, or something like that. But a couple weeks ago I started playing out some games on iOOTP, and after buying iOOTP I 2013 I started playing the 2009 season as the Yankees. Managing games was something I hadn't done in a long time, and I was having a blast doing it. There's something pretty cool about making moves that pay off. With those 2009 Yankees bringing in David Robertson with the bases loaded to strike out the side, then bringing in Mo for a 1-2-3 ninth.

So after playing out quite a few games I started playing them out in OOTP, but I still go back to my original problem acting as GM, but I've stumbled upon something that I've been having a lot of fun with so far, and has been working nicely for me.

Transactions will occur according to real life so there will be no GM'ing at all. Recalc will be set to one year so players play close to expected. Injuries are set to low. I don't want to play with actual lineups, but I want the actual Yankee players and things to be close to real life, but not exact.

We'll start in 1903 with the birth of the Highlanders and an introduction to the current team. For my purposes there is no history before 1903 so we'll begin fresh with a clean slate in 1903. I'll be managing the Yankees through their history with the goal of winning more than 27 World Series. Their should be sufficient opportunities at least for a shot at winning with the Yankees, and any reporting will primarily be Yankee based.

I've gone through a portion of the 1903 season already and I'm having a lot of fun with it. There's almost a zen like quality of just managing the games without having to worry about building a roster. I like to do that too, but this is a good change of pace. This will obviously take a long time to complete, so it's a new long term project, and so far it's also served a little of a history lesson for me. Now I'm not crazy enough to think I can play out every game from 1903 on, so if there is no shot that the Yankees will make the playoffs I may choose to play out just a game per week, but we'll see how that works out. No amount of managing is going to get the 103 loss 1908 Highlanders into the playoffs, or the 102 loss 1912 Highlanders into the playoffs. But could the 85 Yankees make up 2 games in the standings - possibly.

I'll provide updates on how the replay turned out vs. real life. Since I'm playing out games this will go slow at times and faster at other times. I'll provide daily updates during the postseason, and weekly updates during the season.

And with that we'll being and see if we can win our first World Series before 1923 with the hand I'm dealt on the way to 27. I've already identified a new favorite player from the '03 Highlanders who is greatly exceeding expectations. I do expect him to regress severely though pretty soon.

[NYY #23]

I played through the first two seasons as the Orioles before they became the Yankees to get a feel for things, such as how you are notified of transactions. I have to admit it was a little unnerving at times, such as the day in 1902 when six of the Orioles were let out of their contracts the same day. Nothing like losing half your lineup the same day, but that was the exception.

The point is there is no control over who is on the team and you have to make the best of what you've got. If I can milk more out of a player than what they did in real life I will, so I'm not worrying if playing time is accurate, just trying to get the best possible performance out of the players that I have. Injuries are set to low, but they could be a factor.

Looking at one example, the 1902 Pirates went 103-36 in real life, and 100-40 in the replay, so things were pretty close. The big differences seemed to be caused by injuries, which I'm ok with because I'm not looking for things to be perfectly exact, or I'd play with actual lineups if I didn't want to deal with injuries. If there's a difference between what happened and what's expected I'm ok with that, especially when there is an explanation for it.

We'll start with a look at the 1903 Highlanders Opening Day roster:

Rotation
Jack Chesbro
Jesse Tannehill
Clark Griffith
Barney Wolfe

Bullpen
Ambrose Puttman
Barney Wolfe
Snake Wiltse
Doc Adkins
Eddie Quick

Lineup
3B - Wid Conroy
LF - Lefty Davis
RF - Willie Keeler
2B - Jimmy Williams
1B - Tim Jordan
CF - Herm McFarland
SS - Herman Long
C - Monte Beville

Bench
C - Fred Holmes
C - Pat McCauley (Reserve)
C - Jack O'Connor
C - Jack Zalusky
1B - John Ganzel
3B - Paddy Greene
SS - Ernie Courtney
CF - Dave Foutz
RF - Elmer Bliss

We'll be playing our games at Hilltop Park:



In real life the Highlanders finished with a 72-62 record in fourth place in the American League, 17 games back. Willie Keeler led the team with a .313 batting average, while Jimmy Williams drove in 82 runs.

Jack Chesbro led the pitching staff with a 21-15 record and a 2.77 ERA. The Yankees scored 579 runs while allowing 573. I'm honestly not too familiar with the early Highlander teams apart from the big name players such as Willie Keeler or Jack Chesbro.

While I don't think we'll reach the World Series with this team, it'll be an opportunity to learn a little bit more about the early days, and we'll try and ride Happy Jack's arm until it falls off.

[Painmantle]

Finally a Dynasty I can Love and HATE at the same time! GO EVERYBODY ELSE!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Painmantle

Finally a Dynasty I can Love and HATE at the same time! GO EVERYBODY ELSE!

Yankees haters are welcome too, and I expect will enjoy the Highlander years more than Yankee fans, but our time will be coming!

[NYY #23]

The Yankees played their first game in franchise history on April 22, 1903 as the Highlanders against the Washington Senators in Washington. In real life the Senators won the game 3-1 in a pitching duel with a 'timely fusillade of safe hits in the fifth inning', as the New York Times wrote.

We began on the same day against the same team, but the results were a little different. The Highlanders were the ones with the 'timely fusillade of safe hits', but in the first inning, and it was a one sided pitching duel.

It didn't take long for the first hit in franchise history, as leadoff hitter Herman Long singled. The first home run came on the next batter when Willie Keeler hit a two run home run. The first triple - the next batter, as Wid Conroy tripled down the line.

Wid Conroy had the first stolen base in franchise history, and we knocked off most of the first, including first win which went to Jack Chesbro. Chesbro pitched very well this game, so well that I thought I may just see my first ever no-hitter in OOTP when playing out a game. But he gave up a hit eventually, and a couple more, but he did get the four hit shutout.



The only thing missing was a double, but it was a successful start with a 5-0 win. While Jack Chesbro was the player of the game, Wee Willie Keeler was the offensive star, going 4-5 with that two run home run.

While I thought maybe we could enjoy an early dose of first place, the Athletics have already played and won 3 games, so we're now a game back.

[NYY #23]

This week
4 Games at Washington

Game 1:
5-0 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (1-0)
HR: Wee Willie Keeler (1)
YOG(Yankee of the Game): Jack Chesbro (9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K)

**Just a short explanation of the Yankee of the Game. If a player is named by OOTP as the player of the game they'll automatically become the Yankee of the Game. If not I'll pick the player that I feel deserves to be honored.

Game 2:
12-4 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (1-0)
HR: None
YOG: Wid Conroy (4-5, 2B, SB, 2 RBI, 2 R)

Game 3:
7-0 Win
W: Clark Griffith (1-0)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith (9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K)

Game 4:
6-4 Win
W: Barney Wolfe (1-0)
HR: None
YOG: Barney Wolfe (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K)

Record
Record 4-0, - GB

Injury Report
None

Transactions
None

Notes
After a four game sweep over the Washington Senators I can't help but wonder if the Highlanders are better than expected, or the Senators are really bad. The actual results of the Senators series was 2-2.

Game 4 was a little bit of a mix up, as Ambrose Puttman somehow got the start. After giving up 4 runs in 3 innings he was lifted for a pinch hitter, but we were able to come back with Wolfe on the mound in relief.



Wid Conroy is hot, hitting .529 this season. He hit .272 in 1903 in real life, so he'll cool off, but he's been a lot of fun to watch so far.

[GMLoophole]

I'm a giants fan in sf now but I lived in ny for a few years in the dark days before Bernie Williams. I'm running a modern yanks team now in my game. So good luck!

[elfsutton]

Good so far, really, really hate those damn Yankees, but this sounds interesting. I love the comparison to real life, makes it more interesting. Good job, will follow along. Best of luck.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by GMLoophole

I'm a giants fan in sf now but I lived in ny for a few years in the dark days before Bernie Williams. I'm running a modern yanks team now in my game. So good luck!

Thanks! I remember those dark days all too well. I started following the Yankees during the early 80's, so it was a long time before I felt good about the team.

Originally Posted by elfsutton

Good so far, really, really hate those damn Yankees, but this sounds interesting. I love the comparison to real life, makes it more interesting. Good job, will follow along. Best of luck.

Thanks! I'll plan on doing some general league wide comparisons at the end of each season, but if there is anything specific you want to see let me know.

[elfsutton]

Like my sig says, Pirates and Indians fan, having grown up about equadistant from both towns in a very little Ohio town. One day they may meet in the Series.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by elfsutton

Like my sig says, Pirates and Indians fan, having grown up about equadistant from both towns in a very little Ohio town. One day they may meet in the Series.

I'll definitely make sure I include some Pirates and Indians updates, at least at the end of the year. 1903 should be a good year for the Pirates at least.

[NYY #23]

This week
3 @ Philadelphia, 3 vs Washington

Game 5:
4-3 Loss
W: Jack Chesbro (1-1)
HR: None
YOG: Willie Keeler, 3-5, 1 R

Game 6:
8-3 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (2-0)
HR: None
YOG: Willie Keeler, 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R,

Game 7:
4-3 Loss (17 Innings)
L: Harry Howell (0-1)
HR: None
YOG: Harry Howell, 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K in relief

Game 8:
11-1 Win
W: Barney Wolfe (2-0)
HR: None
YOG: Wid Conroy,3-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB

Game 9:
6-3 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (2-1)
HR: Wid Conroy (1)
YOG: Wid Conroy, 5-5, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, cycle

Game 10:
7-0 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (3-0)
HR: None
YOG: Jesse Tannehill, 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Record
Record 8-2, - GB
Tied for first place with Cleveland

Injury Report
SS-Herman Long, out 1-2 weeks

Transactions
None

Notes



Conroy was named the AL Batter of the Month in April after hitting .425 with 9 RBI. He's now hitting .469 for the year.

[progen]

Great pics! Will be following this piece of history!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by progen

Great pics! Will be following this piece of history!

Thanks, and thanks for following!

[NYY #23]

This week
3 vs Philadelphia, 3 @ Boston

Game 11:
4-2 Loss
L: Clark Griffith (1-1)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 9 IP, 1 ER, 2 K

Game 12:
2-1 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (3-1)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 K

Game 13:
2-1 Loss (10 Innings)
L: Jesse Tannehill (3-1)
HR: None
YOG: Jesse Tannehill, 10 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Note: Eddie Plank just dominated us for the A's and we really struggle when facing lefties. Plank struck out 10 today. Last week Rube Waddell, another lefty, struck out 13. We're 2-3 vs. lefties, and 8-3 vs. righties.

Game 14:
5-2 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (4-1)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 9 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Game 15:
2-1 Loss
L: Clark Griffith (1-2)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 8 IP,6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-4

Note: The Highlanders got to face off against Cy Young today, and didn't fare too well. He allowed seven hits, but seemed to work out of any jam he got himself into with little effort.

Game 16:
6-4 Loss
L: Barney Wolfe (2-1)
HR: Herm McFarland (1), John Ganzel (1)
YOG: John Ganzel, 1-4, 1 HR,3 RBI

Record
Record 10-6, .625, 1 GB, 3rd

Injury Report
SS-Herman Long, out 3 days

Transactions
None

Team Leaders
Batting Average:
Wid Conroy .380
Willie Keeler .324
Jimmy Williams .309

ERA:
Jack Chesbro 1.02
Jesse Tannehill 1.22
Clark Griffith 1.50

Notes



• Jimmie Williams has hit safely in 16 straight games. His .292 average last week led the team (by quite a bit)
• Willie Keeler (.190) and Wid Conroy (.182) have gone from very hot to very cold.

We've got a lot of dead weight on the team (Paddy Greene, Fred Holmes, Pat McCauley, and Jack Zaluskey have yet to get a hit this year. I'd really love another outfielder, and despite our fast start I think things are going to continue to go downhill.

[NYY #23]

This week
4 @ Detroit, 3 @ Cleveland

Game 17:
3-2 Loss
L: Jack Chesbro (4-2)
HR: None
YOG: Lefty Davis, 2-3, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB

Game 18:
7-6 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (4-1)
SV: Harry Howell (1)
HR: None
YOG: Ernie Courtney, 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R

Game 19:
8-7 Loss
L: Clark Griffith (1-3)
HR: None
YOG: Ernie Courtney, 2-4, 3B, 1 RBI, BB, 3 R

Game 20:
2-1 Loss
L: Barney Wolfe (2-2)
HR: None
YOG: Barney Wolfe, 8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0-3, BB, R

Game 21:
1-0 Loss
L: Jack Chesbro (4-3)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Game 22:
4-2 Loss
L: Jesse Tannehill (4-2)
HR: None
YOG: Herman Long, 1-3, BB, RBI, R

Game 23:
2-1 Loss (10 innings)
L: Barney Wolfe (2-3)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 9 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Record
Record 11-12, .478, 4 1/2 GB, 7th

Injury Report
None

Transactions
None

Team Leaders
Batting Average:
Willie Keeler .340
Wid Conroy .320
Jimmy Williams .276

ERA:
Jack Chesbro 1.41
Clark Griffith 1.79
Barney Wolfe 2.15

Notes
• Jimmie Williams had his hitting streak end at 16 games
• Ernie Courtney hit .417 last week
• Wid Conroy hit .136 (3-22)

The Highlanders have alternated between very hot and very cold. In reality we're really neither team, and I expect to fall back to where we expected to be soon. I'm not quite ready to write this season off, but close. I feel like I've got a pretty good feel for the team now, so I'll be setting line-ups, and moving quickly through games, maybe simming through the fifth and seeing where things stand. At this point I'll plan on playing out Jack Chesbro's starts unless things improve.

[NYY #23]

This week
1 @ Cleveland, 3 @ Chicago, 2 @ St. Louis (Game 11-16 of our 21 game road trip)

Game 24:
4-3 Loss
L: Jack Chesbro (4-4)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 8.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Game 25:
7-3 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (5-2)
HR: None
YOG: Jimmie Williams, 3-5, 2 RBI, 1 R

Game 26:
4-3 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (4-4)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 9 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1-4, 1 RBI

Game 27:
3-2 Loss
L: Barney Wolfe (2-4)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 10 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Game 28:
7-0 Loss
L: Jesse Tannehill (5-3)
HR: None
YOG: Wid Conroy, 3-4

Game 29:
9-4 Loss
L: Jack Chesbro (5-5)
HR: None
YOG: John Ganzel, 3-4, 3 RBI, 1 R

Record
Record 13-16, .448, 6 1/2 GB, 6th

Injury Report
2B - Jimmy Williams (Diagnosis Pending)

Transactions
None

Team Leaders
Batting Average:
Willie Keeler .320
Wid Conroy .311
Jimmy Williams .287

ERA:
Clark Griffith 1.49
Jack Chesbro 1.84
Barney Wolfe 2.10

Notes
• Highlanders are 7-14 during May
• Highlanders are 9-14 on the road
• Highlanders are 0-4 in extra inning games

It's been a rough couple of weeks. It seems like when we pitch we can't hit and vice versa. I'm not sure there is much I could be doing differently, because there just isn't a lot of quality on the roster that I can swap out.

[NYY #23]

This week
1 @ St Louis, 4 @ Philadelphia including our first doubleheader (Then we'll see if we can find our way back to Hilltop Park after a 21 game road trip.)

Game 30:
6-2 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (6-3)
HR: None
YOG: Jesse Tannehill, 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 0 BB, 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 R

Note: Just one disclaimer that I ended up replaying game 30 because my browser crashed and took my mouse with it. Alt-F4 wasn't working to close, so I had to reboot. I lost round one of the game in the bottom of the 10th on a passed ball with two outs and two strikes. The A's have filed a formal protest.

Game 31:
5-3 Loss
L: Clark Griffith (1-4)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 8 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2-4, 1 RBI

Note: We just can't solve left handers this year, or maybe it's Rube Waddell specifically. This is his third straight win against the Highlanders, and in those 3 complete game wins he's struck out 26 batters. He's 5-4 for the year, and his projected record is 20-16 with a 2.19 ERA. In real life he was 21-16 with a 2.44 ERA.

Game 32:
5-4 Win
W: Jack Chesbro (6-5)
SV: Barney Wolfe (1)
HR: None
YOG: Jack Chesbro, 8 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0-2, BB, R

Note: Sometimes you win and everybody plays ok, but nobody really stands out. That was today. Monte Beville got the day off behind the plate, but with Jack Chesbro due up first he came through with a big pinch hit single and came around to score the insurance run, which we ended up needing. Jack Zalusky got the start behind the plate and picked up his first hit in 17 at-bats.

Game 33:
2-1 Win
W: Clark Griffith (2-4)
HR: None
YOG: Clark Griffith, 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Game 34:
8-3 Win
W: Jesse Tannehill (7-3)
HR: None
YOG: Ernie Courtney, 3-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R,

Note: Today was our first doubleheader of the year, and I was very pleased with the sweep. Game 1 was a nail biter, but Griffith pitched a great game and we pulled it out. We put up some runs in the second half of the doubleheader, and executed our first squeeze bunt, which I thought was pretty cool.

Record
Record 17-17, .500, 6 1/2 GB, 6th

Injury Report
2B - Jimmy Williams (Out 8 weeks)

Transactions
None

Team Leaders
Batting Average:
Willie Keeler .333
Wid Conroy .307
Jimmy Williams .287

ERA:
Clark Griffith 1.63
Jack Chesbro 1.97
Jesse Tannehill 2.56

Notes



We finally had a nice week going 4-1. We got the bad news on Jimmy Williams, and he'll be out the next two weeks. That puts the Highlanders in a very bad spot because we don't have a backup second baseman. For now we've got two shortstops, Ernie Courtney and Herman Long who can fill in. The hazards of knowing the future, or at least future transactions. At some point soon they'll both be traded in the same deal for the Tabasco Kid.

I'd still like to find some way to incorporate injuries, but not have them be so long. I've now taken to monitoring injuries around the league for long injuries so I can edit them down if necessary. I guess it's that or customize the injury file to get rid of long injuries. Only one besides Williams bothered me, Tommy Leach of the Pirates. I'm going to leave Williams alone and try and come up with some injury rules, but in the meantime Leach's 3 month injury was cut in half.

Around the League

• Nap Lajoie of the Cleveland Naps (Blues?) is leading the AL with a .396 average. He hit .344 in real life, but we've got a ways to go before I should do comparisons
• Ginger Beaumont of the Pirates is leading the NL with a .413 batting average.

[dynaboyj]

Are you having players retire according to history?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by dynaboyj

Are you having players retire according to history?

Yes, I'm going to have players retire according to history, and also miss seasons according to history.