The Alphabet Baseball Conference - A "Historical Combination" Dynasty

[Ike348]

First, let me start off by saying I am much more inspired in this one than I am in my other, failed, NSL dynasty.

Second, let me say that the idea for this dynasty does not belong to me. It originally started as a Strat-o-Matic computer dynasty over on the SOMers forum. The SOMer who started (and completed) his project was rollsox2. You can check out his thread here: The Alphabet Baseball League - SOMers

A quick rundown of the ABC:
5 divisions, with 5 teams in each. One team for each letter of the alphabet, excluding X. Teams are made up of players whose last names begin with the letter of the team. For example, the Memphis Redbirds have Mays, Mantle, Maddux, etc.

The divisions are grouped by where the teams are in the alphabet. For example, the first division has the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the Bakersfield Blaze, the Columbus Clippers, the Dayton Dragons, and the Everett Aquasox. The division winners and 3 wildcards make the playoffs.

All teams and their names were picked by rollsox2. Like I said, this is his project ported to OOTP. All teams are real-life minor league teams, except for the Zelienople Zips and the Union Point Pirates.

All players were picked by rollsox2, except for the 14 I added to fill out rosters. He says he used "Best Known Players" on the right-hand side of the Baseball-Reference directory pages to make the teams.

The DH will be used at all times. I don't think it should be in the MLB, but teams so carry more hitters than usual in this league so I figured it would be best to use it.

Also, injuries, financials, suspensions, morale, personality, reserve roster, scouting, coaching, AI roster moves (includes trading), and position player fatigue have been turned OFF, to simulate a simulation.

I loved his thread and decided it would be cool to replay in OOTP, and run a dynasty on it. This will be the first of possibly a series of "Historical Combination" dynasties (teams with different historical players). As I've mentioned before, this is essentially rollsox2's project ported to OOTP with some very important modifications:

First, this is the Alphabet Baseball Conference (ABC) as opposed to the Alphabet Baseball League (ABL). There will be 192 games as opposed to 162 games, to let every team play every other team an equal amount (8 games).

Second, there will be no "usage" limits. Players will not be limited to how many plate appearances they had during their real-life season, as OOTP already weakens players with a small amount of PAs during the player import.

Third, because having enough players to satisfy usage limits isn't necessary, teams are limited to 25-man rosters. The decision of who to keep and who to cut was made by the AI. In some cases, to fill out positional requirements, teams had players added to their roster. The total number of players added among the 25 teams was 14. The additional players were provided by The ams in this thread: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d-players.html

Fourth, the SOM stats used were neutralized stats based on career totals and yearly league totals. In this OOTP dynasty, the ratings are based off the player's season (or segment of a season, if the player was traded). with the highest WAR. If two seasons had the same WAR, the earlier season was used. There are no lefty-ighty splits. Auto-calc was used to get proper league totals. (Test runs showed slightly too much offense).

Aside from the above, everything else pretty much remains the same.

I don't know how I'll do reports. I know I don't want to do a box and recap of every game, so I might just post line scores of each game with a full box of a "Game of the Day". Standings will come every couple of weeks or upon request. The regular season starts March 18 and runs through October 5.

Last but not least, since I have a problem with OOTP 15 that prevents me from modding the game properly, this dynasty will be run with OOTP 14.

[Ike348]

The Preseason Predictions have been released:

ABCDEs
Columbus Clippers - 131-61
Bakersfield Blaze - 126-66 (WC)
Dayton Dragons - 103-89
Aberdeen Ironbirds - 102-90
Everett Aquasox - 100-92

FGHIJs
Gwinnett Braves - 121-71
Hillsboro Hops - 111-81 (WC)
Fort Myers Miracle - 108-84 (WC)
Jupiter Hammerheads - 100-92
Inland Empire 66ers - 49-143

KLMNOs
Memphis Redbirds - 125-67
Kingsport Mets - 106-86
Lakeland Flying Tigers - 96-96
Orem Owlz - 81-111
Nashville Sounds - 76-116

PQRSTs
State College Spikes - 118-74
Tacoma Rainiers - 107-85
Potomac Nationals - 102-90
Round Rock Express - 95-97
Quebec Capitales - 36-156

UVWYZs
Williamsport Crosscutters - 124-68
Vancouver Canadians - 90-102
York Revolution - 72-120
Zelienople Zips - 71-121
Union Point Pirates - 57-135

Divisions ranked by average wins:
ABCDEs - 112.4
FGHIJs - 97.8
KLMNOs - 96.8
PQRSTs - 91.6
UVWYZs - 82.8

[Ike348]

The logos and uniforms for every team:



All jerseys, caps, and logos by justafan unless mentioned below.

Quebec Capitales jersey and cap by knuckler.
Union Point Pirates jersey and cap by reds1.
York Revolution and Zelienople Zips jerseys and caps by eriqjaffe.

[Ike348]

[Ike348]

March 18

ZEL 2 at WIL 7
COL 9 at QUE 1
RRE 1 at ABE 2
YOR 8 at POT 5
NAS 8 at KIN 9 in 10
FMM 3 at GWI 2
TAC 2 at LAK 3
JUP 4 at ORE 6
SCS 3 at EVE 5
DAY 6 at BAK 7
MEM 5 at IEM 3 in 13
UPP 8 at VAN 15
Bye: HIL

Game of the Day: Memphis Redbirds (1-0) at Inland Empire 66ers (0-1)


One team expected to be at the top of it's division squared off against one team project to be at the bottom of it's own division. The Memphis Redbirds looked to get off to a good start, while the Inland Empire 66ers were looking for an upset. It was looking like it might be the latter for most of the game, as the 66ers led the Redbirds 3-1 going into the ninth inning behind starter Ham Iburg. Monte Irvin had led the way for the 66ers, hitting a 2-run HR in the first of Pedro Martinez and following with an RBI single in the 3rd after a Garth Iorg double. The Redbirds' lone run before the 9th came in on a Willie Mays double after Joe Morgan reached on a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Up until the 9th, the Redbirds had all but 2 hits. However, with Iburg still on the mound, Memphis was able to plate two runs to tie the game. John McGraw led of with a single, and two outs, an error, and a pitching change later, Mickey Mantle tied the game with a single off Jeff Innis. In the bottom of the 9th, Irvin came up with a runner on third and two outs with a chance to win the game, but came up short, grounding out to second. The 66ers blew another chance in the 10th with Joe Inglett grounding out with runners on second and third. However, in the 13th inning, with Mike Ignasiak on the mound, Edgar Martinez broke the tie with an RBI single. Joe Mauer later knocked in another run and the 66ers came up empty in the 13th.

Final Score: Memphis Redbirds 5, Inland Empire 66ers 3 (13)

Player of the Game: Monte Irvin

[Ike348]

March 19

HIL 5 at FMM 2
LAK 5 at UPP 6 in 10
ABE 6 at SCS 3
GWI 4 at ZEL 2
EVE 3 at COL 4
KIN 6 at DAY 11
POT 5 at JUP 12
QUE 7 at YOR 4
IEM 4 at RRE 6 in 10
VAN 16 at NAS 6
ORE 4 at BAK 2
WIL 5 at TAC 9
Bye: MEM

Game of the Day: Lakeland Flying Tigers (1-1) at Union Point Pirates (1-1)


There was another wild comeback today in the ABC, this time featuring two lower-level teams. The Lakeland Flying Tigers visited their neighboring state rival, the Union Point Pirates. Lakeland plated two runs in the second with Ray Lankford and Freddie Lindstrom both earning RBIs off of starter Jim Umbarger. Greg Luzinski led off with a double, Ryan Ludwick singled, and then Lankford grounded into a fielder's choice at 2nd, scoring a run. Tony Lazzeri doubled before Lindstrom hit a sacrifice fly to left field. In the fourth, Lindstrom scored Ludwick with an RBI groundout. The next batter, Derrek Lee, doubled in Lankford. The score would remain 4-0 until the 8th when Juan Uribe of the Pirates tripled and Al Unser singled him home off starter Cliff Lee. Lakeland would get that run back in the top of the 9th when Nap Lajoie singled home Lindstrom after Lindstrom had doubled. However, in the bottom of the 9th, the Pirates loaded the bases. Willie Upshaw led off with a single, Justin Upton walked, and Chase Utley hit an infield single. That brought the powerful Dan Uggla to the plate. On the first pitch he saw from Lee, he cranked a 416-foot GRAND SLAM to left field to tie the game. The Flying Tigers would fail in their half of the 10th, and Willie Upshaw capped off the improbable comeback with a solo home run to right to win the game for the Union Point Pirates.

Final Score: Union Point Pirates 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (10)

Player of the Game: Dan Uggla

[Ike348]

March 20

COL 6 at ABE 1
ORE 3 at KIN 1
BAK 7 at POT 2
UPP 0 at WIL 14
TAC 8 at GWI 1
NAS 4 at LAK 10
JUP 6 at QUE 1
RRE 2 at MEM 3
SCS 13 at IEM 8
YOR 2 at EVE 3
DAY 13 at VAN 1
ZEL 1 at HIL 0
Bye: FMM

Game of the Day: Zelienople Zips (1-2) at Hillsboro Hops (1-1)


It would have been your typical pitcher's duel at Ron Tonkin Field today, except it wasn't. Carl Hubbell of the Hilsboro Hops faced off against...Pat Zachry of the Zelienople Zips. The number 3 starter for the Zips, not expected to do anything worth noting in the ABC, outdueled Hall-of-Famer Carl Hubbell tonight. Both pitchers threw complete games, combining 274 pitches. Hubbell gave up 6 hits, walked 3 and struck out 3, but it was the one third inning run he gave up that did him in. After walking that inning's leadoff hitter Todd Zeile, never something a pitcher wants to do, Hubbell got Paul Zuvella to hit the ball on the ground. However, it was not hit hard enough to turn two and Hillsboro third baseman Stan Hack was only able to get the out at first. This would be key, as the next hitter would be leadoff man Chief Zimmer. Zimmer hit a hard ground ball past a diving Toby Harrah to score Zeile all the way from second. That one run would prove to be enough as Pat Zachry was able to scatter 7 hits, not allowing a run. He struck out 7 and only walked 2 hitters en route to a shutout. He stranded 6 runners, most notably in the 6th, stranding Josh Hamilton at third and Billy Hamilton at second by getting Toby Harrah to ground out. Zachry got pinch hitter Ryan Howard to fly out to left to end the game. Ryan Zimmerman had two hits for the Zips and Josh and Billy Hamiltons each had two hits for the Hops.

Final Score: Zelienople Zips 1, Hillsboro Hops 0

Player of the Game: Pat Zachry

[Ike348]

A side note that standings and league leaders will be posted every 25 days. At that point, every team will have played 24 games. The schedule will then repeat itself but with opposite home/away.

[Ike348]

Updated the first game reports to include player of the game photos.

[Ike348]

March 21

ABE 8 at YOR 5
POT 6 at KIN 5
FMM 3 at ZEL 5
MEM 5 at SCS 8
LAK 5 at DAY 4
EVE 3 at JUP 2
IEM 4 at COL 10
GWI 11 at UPP 0
WIL 12 at NAS 5
VAN 0 at ORE 6
HIL 8 at TAC 5
QUE 2 at BAK 20
Bye: RRE

Game of the Day: Quebec Capitales (1-3) at Bakersfield Blaze (3-1)


Most of the highlighted games this year will be close games or close upsets. This matchup was anything but as a team projected to be one of the 3 wild cards, the Bakersfield Blaze, took on the team projected to finish with the worst record, the Quebec Capitales. Quebec actually jumped on the Blaze first when two Quinns, Mark and Joe, singled and Carlos Quentin scored Mark with a ground ball. Quebec's only other run in this game would come in the 3rd, when Quentin again had an RBI when he knocked in Carlos Quintana with an RBI single. Blaze starter Josh Beckett went 8.2 innings, allowing only the 2 runs and striking out 9. However, the Blaze scored 10 times as many runs as the Capitales as Bakersfield scored 20 runs on 11 hits. Quebec pitchers walked 13 hitters, and four of those walks were to Barry Bonds, who went 0-2 with four walks and scored four times. The scoring started for the Blaze with in the second, when they scored 5 runs off Quebec starter Ruben Quevedo. Dusty Baker and Craig Biggio both had two-out RBI singles, before Home Run Baker lived up to his name with a 3-run shot to right-center field. In the third, it was another home run as Johnny Bench hit a grand slam to center after Quevedo walked the bases loaded. Quevedo would be lifted after Bench, giving up 9 runs. In the 5th there was another big inning and another home run. With Chad Qualls on the mound, Bench led off with a single before Dusty Baker hit a ground ball to third. Capitales third baseman Luis Quinones threw the ball in the seats for a two-base error. After Biggio grounded out, Art Quirk relieved Qualls. After walking Home Run Baker and giving up an RBI single to Lou Boudreau, Quirk got Jeff Bagwell to ground out, again not scoring a run. The next batter, Barry Bonds, walked, scoring a run. Then George Brett, on the first pitch from Quirk, hit the Blaze's second grand slam of the day, making the score 15-2! Craig Biggio would hit a solo home run in the 6th to make it 16-2, and in the 7th, the Blaze made the score 20-2, scoring 4 runs off of walks from Luis Quintana. The lone hit in the inning was a Bench RBI single. Mercifully, the Blaze did not score in the 8th or 9th innings. The lone solid performance for Quebec was their DH Mel Quinn, who went 3 for 4 with a run.

Final Score: Bakersfield Blaze 20, Quebec Capitales 2

Player of the Game: Johnny Bench

[Ike348]

March 22

TAC 4 at FMM 3
KIN 11 at QUE 4
DAY 5 at WIL 4
JUP 9 at ABE 4
NAS 2 at GWI 1
ORE 5 at LAK 3
COL 4 at MEM 5
SCS 6 at RRE 4
POT 4 at VAN 6
BAK 6 at EVE 5 in 11
YOR 2 at IEM 1
UPP 4 at HIL 15
Bye: ZEL

Game of the Day: Dayton Dragons (3-2) at Williamsport Crosscutters (3-2)


If these two teams played an even more evenly matched game, they would still be playing. The Dayton Dragons played the Williamsport Crosscutters today at Bowman Field in Williamsport. The official game temperature was 29 degrees, and the 3953 fans in attendance were thankful the game did not go to extras, though it just as well could have. In the top of the first, second-place hitter Bobby Doerr hit a solo home run off Williamsport starter Monte Ward, and that would prove to be the difference tonight. In the top of the 5th, after two quick outs, Chili Davis doubled and Bill Dahlen walked. The next batter, Doerr, hit a 2-1 pitch to right for a double, scoring both runners. Then Hugh Duffy, who was up next, tripled to the left-center field gap, scoring Doerr. However, in the bottom of the fifth, the Crosscutters would come roaring back. After Dragons starter Ryan Dempster gave up a double to Billy Williams and walked Deacon White, Lou Whitaker tripled both runners home. The next batter, David Wright, grounded out to short, but the run scored anyway. The Dragons added an insurance run in the 7th with Ward still on the mound. Chili Davis walked, and pinch hitter Carlos Delgado grounded out to first, moving Davis to second. Hugh Duffy then earned his second RBI of the game with a single through the hole on the right side. However, in the bottom of the same inning, with Yu Darvish now pitching, Paul Waner reached on an error by Al Dark, who had just entered that inning. After a 9 pitch plate appearance by Honus Wagner that led to walk, Larry Walker doubled. Waner, on second, scored easily, but Wagner, who had to score all the way from first, was gunned down on an amazing, game-saving throw by Chili Davis. It is almost not worth mentioning that if weren't for the great throw by Davis, the game would have been tied and most likely gone to extras. Neither team scored the rest of the game, but what is worth mentioning are the game totals for each team. For Dayton, 5 runs on 7 hits and 1 error. For Williamsport, 4 runs on 7 hits and one error. The line scores were nearly identical as well, with both teams scoring 3 runs in the 5th inning and 1 run in the 7th. It was only the first inning home run by Bobby Doerr that kept the linescores from being identical through 9 innings.

Final Score: Dayton Dragons 5, Williamsport Crosscutters 4

Player of the Game: Bobby Doerr

[Ike348]

March 23

RRE 0 at COL 1
EVE 1 at KIN 2
GWI 9 at DAY 4
IEM 2 at JUP 3
MEM 3 at YOR 0
FMM 5 at UPP 7
LAK 1 at POT 13
HIL 3 at NAS 7
WIL 6 at ORE 7
QUE 0 at VAN 3
ZEL 2 at TAC 1
ABE 2 at BAK 4
Bye: SCS

Game of the Day: Round Rock Express (1-4) at Columbus Clippers (5-1)


Today the Columbus Clippers lived up to the fact that many agree with: the Columbus Clippers will win the ABC championship. The team projected at the beginning of the season to finish with the best regular season record and finish tops in the best division took on the Round Rock Express today, a team many think will not do as well, despite their high-octane offense. However, the Clippers and their ace Roger Clemens, named the #8 pitcher in the league, stymied the Express offense, limiting them to just 6 hits. The Clippers would manage just 6 hits themselves, but they would only need 2 to win. In the bottom of the third inning, after two quick outs, Cesar Cedeno doubled. Roger Connor followed with a single to second base, and the speedy Cedeno was able to score from second. That one run would hold up with Clemens on the mound, who did not allow a run to a lineup that had 4 Hall of Famers and another player that is currently too young to be in the Hall of Fame. Clemens was stellar the entire game, striking out 12, three of which were to Jackie Robinson. Clemens didn't walk a batter, and his 6 hits given up placed him second in top pitching performances this year. Only Ron Guidry, who got 35 outs against Zelienople on March 19 has had a better performance this year. The next time Clemens takes the mound, March 29 at Kingsport, we will be sure to pay attention.

Final Score: Columbus Clippers 1, Round Rock Express 0

Player of the Game: Roger Clemens

[NYY #23]

This is an interesting idea. Looks like it's tough to be a Q. I guess I have to throw my support behind my last name, so I'll be rooting for the K's.

[Ike348]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

This is an interesting idea. Looks like it's tough to be a Q. I guess I have to throw my support behind my last name, so I'll be rooting for the K's.

I'm an S, but that would make me too much of a front-runner, so I'm rooting for the T's and the Z's. The Z's aren't actually all that bad, they just pale in comparison to the star-studded C's, M's, and W's. If you threw the Z's into today's MLB, they would most likely do very well (hey, that's an idea).

[Ike348]

March 24

NAS 4 at FMM 2
COL 3 at SCS 1
UPP 5 at ZEL 6 in 11
KIN 2 at ABE 6
POT 5 at WIL 6
ORE 4 at GWI 2
QUE 0 at LAK 7
JUP 0 at MEM 9
YOR 7 at RRE 2
DAY 3 at HIL 2
VAN 2 at EVE 3
BAK 6 at IEM 3

Game of the Day: Potomac Nationals (2-5) at Williamsport Crosscutters (4-3)


Most people may think dynasties such as these take place in a void–when two teams with players who would have never played each other in real life, such as the 1927 Yankees and 2013 Red Sox, most people don't think that game is played in an actual ballpark in an actual city. Most people don't think that real life scenarios such as weather actually have an effect on such games. It snowed tonight at Bowman Field. It is March after all, and even though the equinox just recently passed, the thermometer dropped below 31º and there was precipitation. It is also very likely that this snow heavily impacted the game. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning and a runner on first, with the Potomac Nationals leading the Williamsport Crosscutters 5-2, the snow got so bad to the point that crew chief Jim Joyce deemed the conditions. to be unplayable. When play was resumed 48 minutes later, Jake Peavy was unable to continue pitching, so he departed in relief of Eddie Plank. Plank got the last out in the 8th just fine, but the 9th inning was a different story. David Wright led off with a solo home run to make the score 5-3. Paul Waner and Honus Wagner hit back-to-back singles before Larry Walker struck out. Ted Williams, perhaps the best pure hitter in history, hit a 3-run home run to end the game. Would Peavy have thrown a complete game and held on for the win? Would he have been relieved by Plank anyway, and the comeback still would have happened? One can only imagine what would have happened if the too-real snow had not interfered with Jake Peavy's outing. It is finally worth mentioning that Vic Power, getting a spot start for Potomac, went 4-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI, earning Player of the Game for the losing squad.

Final Score: Williamsport Crosscutters 6, Potomac Nationals 5

Player of the Game: Vic Power




In other, weekly news, Albert Pujols of the same Potomac Nationals who lost today was named ABC Player of the Week. He went 14 for 26, a .538 average, with 4 home runs and 6 RBI.


OOTP Disclaimer: There is no way to tell from an OOTP box score or game log at what point in the said inning a precipitation delay occurred. I saw that there was an 8th-inning delay and a pitching change that same inning. I assumed that the delay occurred at the same point the pitching change happened. It could also have been that the scenario occurred in the top of the 8th and had no effect on when pitchers were taken out.

[Ike348]

March 25

WIL 8 at QUE 0
GWI 4 at POT 7
IEM 4 at KIN 16
FMM 9 at DAY 5
RRE 7 at JUP 2
SCS 7 at YOR 3
TAC 6 at UPP 7
EVE 2 at LAK 1
ZEL 1 at NAS 0 (11)
HIL 7 at ORE 9
MEM 6 at BAK 3 (10)
ABE 2 at VAN 5
Bye: COL

Game of the Day: Zelienople Zips (5-2) at Nashville Sounds (3-5)


A Zelienople Zips team not expected to do very much this year began the day at 4-2. Its opponent, the Nashville Sounds, also not expected to do anything this year, opened at 3-4. However, the two played a hell of a game today at Herschel Greer Stadium. Both starting pitchers, Carlos Zambrano of the Zips and Don Newcombe of the Sounds were "lights out" through the first 9 innings. No runner ever reached 3rd base during the first 9 innings of play, and when the game was tied, 0-0, it went into extra innings. No one reached third base in the 10th either, with both pitchers still going strong. In the bottom of the 10th, the Sounds blew a scoring chance with runners on first and second with two outs and Graig Nettles up. After taking a pitch, Nettles grounded out to first to end the threat. However, in the 11th, it was evident that both pitchers were beginning to tire. Todd Zeile led off with a single but then was erased on a double play by Paul Zuvella after two failed bunt attempts. The next batter, Chief Zimmer, fouled off three straight before taking a ball. On the next pitch, Zimmer launched a ball into the left field seats to break the scoreless tie. Did I say launched? Zimmer, with just 26 career home runs, hit a pop up that just happened to travel 366 feet and over the fence. Newcombe would then go on to finish the inning, holding the game at 1-0. In the bottom of the 11th, after a leadoff walk, Zambrano was lifted in favor of Joel Zumaya, who no, was not playing Guitar Hero before the game. The first batter he faced, Otis Nixon, hit a ground ball to Zeile at first that was booted for an error. The next hitter, Mike Napoli, singled, but the slow Nixon was held at third, setting up a bases-loaded situation with none out. Phil Nevin, the next batter, struck out on three pitches. Jim Northrup followed by striking out on three pitches. The final hitter, Xavier Nady, lasted twice as long, but ended with the same result. Zumaya did his best Satchel Paige impersonation to earn his 3rd save of the year, and a 5th win for the surprising Zips.

Final Score: Zelienople Zips 1, Nashville Sounds 0 (11)

Player of the Game: Carlos Zambrano

[Ike348]

March 26

DAY 7 at ZEL 17
ORE 8 at FMM 6
QUE 1 at GWI 7
JUP 13 at SCS 6
LAK 5 at ABE 6
EVE 5 at WIL 11
YOR 1 at COL 14
KIN 6 at MEM 4
BAK 13 at RRE 2
NAS 4 at TAC 8
VAN 13 at IEM 5
POT 6 at HIL 2
Bye: UPP

Game of the Day: Orem Owlz (9-0) at Fort Myers Miracle (2-6)


The Orem Owlz were flying high as they traveled to Fort Myers to play the Miracle today. After the game, they were flying still higher. The Owlz did not look their best today, sending Blue Moon Odom to the mound against Whitey Ford. Orem opened the scoring with a 5-run inning in the first, with Amos Otis and Jim O'Rourke leading off with singles. John Olerud, the third hitter, reached on a rare catcher's interference call. This was just the start of a bad game for Miracle catcher Carlton Fisk, who went 0-5 on the night. With the bases loaded, David Ortiz, who had struggled to get anything going this year and was the one rare blip in the Owlz lineup, doubled home two runs. Magglio Ordonez reached on an infield hit, but neither runner advanced. Mel Ott hit a sacrifice fly, before Jose Offerman, singled home Ortiz and went to second on the throw. Miguel Olivo would hit another sacrifice fly before Augie Ojeda grounded out to finally end the inning. In the third inning, with Ford still in the game, two singles and a groundout set up runners on second and third for Amos Otis. A triple into the right-center field gap sent Whitey Ford to the showers. Roy Face came in and got a groundout that would score Otis. The Miracle bullpen would do their job, however, as Roy Face and Wes Ferrell would combine for 6.2 scoreless innings. The Owlz would hold an 8-0 lead until the 6th inning, when Ron Fairly and Nellie Fox each knocked in runs. Going into the 9th, the Owlz still held an 8-2 lead, with Odom still on the mound. He walked Fairly, hit Fox with a pitch, and walked Tony Fernandez to load the bases. Darren O'Day came in relief and promptly gave up a 30run triple to Frankie Frisch that would trim the lead to 8-5. Ira Flagstead would single Frisch home, making the game 8-6. Jimmie Foxx then walked, and O'Day, after not recording an out, was lifted for Jesse Orosco. Orosco, facing George Foster with the tying run on first, got a ground out to third that would advance both runners. However, with the tying run in scoring position and one out, the Miracle failed to score as both Cecil Fielder and Fisk were retired, to move the surprising Owlz to 9-0.

Final Score: Orem Owlz 8, Fort Myers Miracle 6

Player of the Game: David Ortiz

[Ike348]

March 27

RRE 11 at KIN 5
ABE 5 at WIL 2
IEM 0 at LAK 4
HIL 8 at QUE 5
FMM 3 at POT 5
TAC 2 at DAY 1
COL 5 at JUP 2
UPP 3 at NAS 7
ZEL 8 at ORE 5
GWI 5 at EVE 4
SCS 4 at BAK 6
MEM 4 at VAN 3
Bye: YOR

Game of the Day: Tacoma Rainiers (5-4) at Dayton Dragons (4-6)


Two teams known for hitting but not for pitching took part in a classic pitcher's duel today. The Tacoma Rainiers, with Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and Mike Trout, faced the Dayton Dragons, with Bobby Doerr, Hugh Duffy, and Ed Delahanty. The pitchers, Virgil Trucks and Ryan Dempster, were not stellar pitchers by any definition, but they were tonight's stars. It looked as if the opposite would happen when the Rainiers opened up the scoring in the second inning, after the Dragons failed to score with two runners in scoring position in the first. A one out triple by the 1950s-60s Frank Thomas, and a sacrifice fly on a full count by Robby Thompson gave the Rainiers a 1-0 lead. The Dragons would score with some small-ball in the bottom of the frame, however, after George Davis reached on an infield single. A wild pickoff throw by Trucks sent Davis to second, and the batter Larry Doby pushed him to third with a sacrifice fly. After a Bill Dickey walk and a Chili Davis strikeout, Bill Dahlen was able to single Davis home. There would be no more scoring until the sixth, when Joe Torre gave the Rainiers the lead with a solo home run. Both pitchers gave up plenty of hits, but both were able to work around them to keep the scoring low. Ryan Dempster would last 7 innings, striking out 5 and giving up 7 hits and the two runs. Curt Davis pitched two scoreless innings in his relief. Virgil Trucks was able to settle down after his error and throw 8.2 innings, striking out 10, and also allowing 7 hits. He was knocked out of the game with two outs in the ninth after a Joe DiMaggio double. Matt Thornton came in relief, and was able to get Bill Dahlen to ground out to end the game.

Final Score: Tacoma Rainiers 2, Dayton Dragons 1

Player of the Game: Virgil Trucks

[Ike348]

March 28

ABE 4 at GWI 3 in 10
JUP 7 at YOR 10
DAY 4 at UPP 1
BAK 1 at COL 4
KIN 4 at SCS 1
POT 8 at ZEL 9
QUE 6 at FMM 5
VAN 1 at RRE 7
LAK 4 at MEM 3
WIL 1 at IEM 2
ORE 3 at TAC 4
EVE 12 at HIL 11 in 14
Bye: NAS

Game of the Day: Everett Aquasox (6-5) at Hillsboro Hops (4-6)


In the longest Alphabet Baseball Conference game to date, the Everett Aquasox and the Hillsboro Hops battled for a minute under 5 hours. Aquasox ace Dick Ellsworth faced the Hops' #5, Harvey Haddix. It was Hillsboro who opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd. Leadoff walks to Gabby Hartnett and Stan Hack followed by a Rickey Henderson fielders' choice set up runners on first and third and one out for Harry Heilmann. Henderson would steal second, before Heilmann popped out. With Ellsworth on the verge of working out of a jam, Rogers Hornsby let him do no such thing by singling both runners home. Then Frank Howard, on the very next pitch, hit a 2-run home run to give the Hops a 4-0 lead. The Hops would add an unearned run in the 4th, before a Woody English 5th inning home run would cut the lead to 5-2. In the bottom of the 5th, Dwight Evans led off with a home run after fouling off three straight pitches. Two outs later, Jacoby Ellsbury would single, sending Edwin Encarnacion to the plate. On the first pitch he saw from Harvey Haddix, Encarnacion hit a 419-foot shot to left field to tie the game at 5-5. There would be no more scoring until the 8th, with both starters still on the mound. Jim Edmonds walked on four pitches, and Ellsbury and Encarnacion would reach on back-to-back errors on second baseman Rogers Hornsby. Johnny Evers, not known for his offense, would single home Ellsbury and Edmonds to give Everett the lead and Haddix the hook. Waite Hoyt would come in, and after two failed bunt attempts, Woody English would single to left. However, Encarnacion, not the fleetest of foot, was thrown out at home and both runners advanced. Buck Ewing followed by singling both runners home, giving the Aquasox a 9-5 lead. However, the Hops would come roaring back in the bottom of the frame. Josh Hamilton would reach on an error and old-timer Billy singled. Toby Harrah would single before Gabby Hartnett walked, scoring a run. Stan Hack would hit a sacrifice fly, and that would be it for Ellsworth. Dennis Eckersley came on, promptly giving up a single to Henderson. Heilmann and Hornsby would each walk, knocking in two more runs to tie the game at 9-9. Nobody would score in the 9th, sending the game to extras, and the score would remain 9-9 into the 11th. Hoyt would load the bases before being lifted for Orel Hershiser. Ellsbury would hit an RBI sacrifice fly and Encarnacion singled home another run. In the bottom of the 11th, with Scott Erickson in to close it out, Billy Hamilton and Harrah would walk. Hartnett would move both runners over on a groundout, and Matt Holliday was able to tie the game again with a 2-run single. Henderson would be intentionally walked, and with the winning run on third and 1 out, both Heilmann and Hornsby would fly out to send the game to the 12th. It would not be until the 14th when the game would be decided. Buck Ewing hit a 1-out single before stealing second and being pushed to third on a wild pitch. Dwight Evans would single giving Everett a 12-11 lead. There would be no blown save in the bottom of the 14th, as Scott Erickson and Cal Edred combined to close it out.

Final Score: Everett Aquasox 12, Hillsboro Hops 11 (14)

Player of the Game: Edwin Encarnacion