The Ricky Branch Story

[cavebutter]

Inspired by the many amazing dynasties written on these boards, I'm going to give a new one a try.

Called the Ricky Branch story, this dynasty will follow the life of one Ricky Branch through his playing and, later, managerial career.

The dynasty will be written from Ricky's perspective with some occasional 3rd person news reports and perspectives.

The dynasty picks up in 1940, where Ricky enters the amateur draft as an average catcher with Jeter-like makeup and Nomar-like injury ratings. I'd like Ricky to have a relatively short professional career before he takes a manager job with whatever organization he spends the most time in. My intent is to start him managing in the minors, moving to majors, then becoming GM. I personally don't have all that much success rising through an organization like that, so I may have to help him along. Fair warning, as I don't often play as field manager, Ricky's time in the dugout may be short.

I expect Ricky to marry and have a son who follows in his footsteps, so we can expect an additional perspective and career to follow once Ricky hits age 45 or so.

Next post: About the league and the universe.

[cavebutter]

The universe is pretty small to begin with. It consists of a single Major League of 16 teams and 5 levels of minors and no feeder leagues.

All teams are within the US, based roughly on the 16 largest metropolitan areas in the US in 1930- the year the league began. All players are from the US, Canada, and Mexico.

At some point the league will expand to the West, North into Canada, and South into Mexico.

The season is 162 games. No designated hitter (ever!). Financials, strategies, PCM's, and stats will evolve per the OOTP engine.

Contrary to my usual routine, I have not simulated the league 20 years, erased history, renamed players, and started fresh. My experience with 2016 thus far (and anecdotal evidence from the forums) suggested that this is no longer necessary.

I have simmed 10 years to provide some historical background for Ricky's story, but we are still mostly with the initial crop of players generated at game creation. This has resulted in a few superheroes whose careers I am happy to let run their course and provide future generations with stories of a golden age.

Logos and Unis are mostly of my own creation, but I am forever grateful to the modders on this forum who have provided inspiration, ideas, and the odd logo and uni set to my world.

On with the show!

[cavebutter]

January 1, 1930

I was 8 years old, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was playing stickball in my front yard with my best friend Henry Simmons. Mobile, Alabama was warm that day. It was usually blazing hot and humid to boot, so warm was a perfect excuse to be out in the yard playing ball, pretending to be Ike Kingman and Leonard Frost. Kingman and Frost were the pitcher and first baseman from our local barnstorming team - the Robins - and were every Mobilian boy's idol.

I was rooting around in the bushes looking for our ball (I had just whiffed on a high fastball) when my dad came out of the house waving the newspaper excitedly.

"He did it! He did it!" he yelled. "James Hickey did it!"

Henry and I immediately knew what he was talking about. James Hickey, the Sweetling Candy Bar magnate, had been in the news for the last year, trying to create a federation of the country's richest barnstorming teams and establish the country's first professional baseball federation.

Dad had been pretty sure it was going to happen, and Henry and I believed him. The biggest question had been which teams would be in the federation. There were some obvious ones: the New York Bombers, Boston Pilgrims, and Hickey's hometown Indianapolis Mustangs had been shoe-ins. But there were huge questions remaining. Who would represent the South? Would it be my beloved Robins? Or would it be Dad's favorite New Orleans Alligators? Would Cincinnati have a team at all? We had all heard about great baseball being played in far off California. And Canada. And Mexico. Had Hickey brought them all in?

Dad smiled as he showed us the paper. Hickey had started simple, it seemed. Just 16 teams. Nothing further west than the north-south line between Houston and Minneapolis. No Canadian or Mexican teams. Worst of all, my beloved Robins hadn't made the cut. Dad ruffled my hair when I saw this.

"Guess you're a Gator's fan now, son."

[NYY #23]

Good luck to you and Ricky Branch. I always liked dynasties around a single person, so I'll be following along.

[cavebutter]

Looking at the paper, I saw that the new ABF had sixteen teams in two leagues. The first league was just a bunch of yankees: teams well north of the Mason-Dixon. Teams and players I had never heard of and would probably never see play. Oh well. They had some pretty neat logos that were printed in the paper.

The Federal League

Baltimore Admirals


Boston Pilgrims


Buffalo Bison


Chicago Packers


Cleveland Roosters


Detroit Union


New York Bombers


Philadelphia Liberty

[cavebutter]

The Continental League held more immediate interest to me, as there were two teams that were close enough that I might be able to see.

The Continental League


Houston Hippos


Indianapolis Mustangs


Kansas City Bees


Milwaukee Surrealists


Minnesota Electric


New Orleans Alligators


Pittsburgh Hammers


St. Louis Diamonds

[cavebutter]

The inaugural draft was held on January 2nd and was broadcast on the radio nationwide. The Pittsburgh Hammers had the first pick overall and chose Mobile native Dave Baldwin. Well, the town went crazy, and we all stormed over to the Baldwin house to celebrate with them.


The season started and I was an Alligators fan. It was a disappointing season for me and all of the South, as the Gators finished 6th with a record of 72-90. The only real bright spot for the Gators was CF Marv Blain hitting .366 (6th best in the league), and leading the league in triples with an astonishing 42. That man could sure fly!

I listened to every Gators game on the radio for the next 8 seasons. Every year I was more and more disappointed with my team, but it only increased my own ambition- I was going to be a professional ball-player and bring my beloved Gators out of the cellar.

By the time I had played through my last season in High School, my Gators had only had 2 winning seasons and never finished above 4th place. At 730-890 in 9 years, we weren't quite the worst team in the Federation (Buffalo had that dubious honor), but we'd never made the playoffs and I felt that we were just cannon fodder for the powerful Milwaukee Surrealists.

Me, I was honing my skills, playing catcher for the Mobile HS Jayhawks, and ready to enter the draft. Being honest with myself, I knew I wasn't superstar material. But I could call a good game, could crush a ball if I ever connected with it, and understood the ins and outs of the game better than anyone I knew. I was sure that I could help my guys out of their decade-long slump.

[cavebutter]

The BNN surprised everyone with their Amateur Draft rundown. Well, at least they surprised me and my family! I'm considered the #2 draft pick in the country. I'm shocked and I'm so excited! I'm also a little concerned because New York and Buffalo have the first 3 picks in the draft. I may end up far from home. Worse yet, I may end up playing against my beloved Gators!

The draft class seems pretty light on pitching, and I suppose it's possible that some team may use their first round pick to snap up the best available pitcher. Not sure I would do that, but you never know. The Gators have the 4th pick overall, and Buffalo has the second best catching prospect in the league already in Chuck Worthy. New York is hurting for catchers, though, and New Orleans is relatively solid. If I had to bet, I'd say I'm headed to New York.

[cavebutter]

Shows you how much I know! I went in the first round, but had to wait until the supplemental round - 15th overall. And those fears of having to move to New York were totally unfounded. I was drafted by the Detroit Union and given a signing bonus of $8,430! That ain't nothing, seeing as my annual salary on my minor league contract is just above $3,000.

Apparently the Union brass thought enough of me to to skip Rookie League altogether. They tell me that I'm going to be playing a lot of 1st base, probably to save some wear and tear on my knees. I'm starting the year with the Peoria Plowboys in Short-A. As a matter of fact, I'm getting on the bus tomorrow. I'm excited to get to know the team and the rest of the organization.

[cavebutter]

June 24, 1940

Talk about a long bus ride! I made arrived in Denver to my team, the Peoria Plowboys. The first person I met at the hotel was my roommate, Vic Zaffruto. He's a catcher, too. I suppose that means he's my competition for promotion, but he's a good fellow. Vic was also drafted this year and also skipped Rookie ball. We have a lot in common.

The pitching coach, Rob Cantu, took us out for dinner and gave us the lowdown on the team and the organization- at least he gave us the dirt on our competition at 1B and C throughout the organization.

First, on our own team there's the everyday catcher: Ed Coggins. Ed's in his 4th pro year, and signed with The Union as a minor league free agent last year. This year alone, he's bounced from Short A up to AA with A in between. He's back in SA and starts every day against righties, but Coach Cantu said that I'd be starting every other day.

Cedric Bennet plays catcher against lefty pitching. He was drafted in 1931, he's 29 years old, and he's made it as high as AAA twice. For a grand total of 31 AB's. Finding himself back in Short A at his age, wow, I'd think about hanging up my cleats.

Poor Vic's not even on the catching depth chart yet, but he's keeping a stiff upper lip about it because he's the starting first baseman against lefties. There's a how-do-you-do! Starting right off the bus!

Me, I'm the back up 1B in case Vic or the other guy gets tired. The other guy is Dave Allen. He's also fresh off the bus, skipping Rookie Ball. Dave starts against righties and is a better ballplayer than I am...for now.

Being the ambitious sort, I asked Coach Cantu about who's blocking my path to the big club.

The first name he mentioned made me smile: Tom Downie

Boy, do I remember Tom!

Tom's currently the starting catcher on our AAA team, but honestly, I have no idea what he's doing there. He signed on as a free agent before this season began, but the man has history. Only 29 years old, he was drafted in the inaugural draft out of high school and played for my home team, the New Orleans Alligators. In 1936, he was my hero. He won the batting title and finished in the top 5 in most offensive categories. I guess he peaked a bit early. 1936 was his best year, and he's been declining since. His last year with New Orleans, he still hit .287, but his WAR dropped to 1.8 compared to 6.1 in his glory year. He became a free agent after the 1939 season and signed with Detroit. He played 1 game with the big club before heading down to AAA. I can't wait to meet him!

Well, I suppose I do know what Tom is doing in AAA. On the big club are 2 All Star catchers. Gordie Boateng is a 2 time All Star, Silver Slugger winner. He signed with the club for 2 years in 1939 through 1941. He's a leader on the field and he will be hard to move. He's 33, so hopefully he will age out before I'm ready for the show.

The other so called big name catcher with The Union is Jonathon Moody. Moody is also signed through the 1941 season, and he's got lots of hardware: 4 All Star appearances, Rookie of the Year, 2 Golden Gloves. Thing is, he doesn't seem to produce very much at the plate at all. He's got a big salary to boot. I don't think I have to worry too much about him blocking my path.

My path to a starting first base role in the bigs is most definitely blocked by two people. The first is Dave Elkins. He's currently in AAA, but is being groomed for the Big Club. He's only 22 but hasn't spent more than a half season at any level before being promoted. He's waiting for his first call up, but I expect to read about him in the papers soon.

Finally, there's Ivan Navarrette. I don't expect you've heard of him unless you're a big Union fan, but he's our top guy. Two time all star, three time Silver Slugger. He's led the league in doubles three times, walks and OBP twice. He works hard, everyone likes him, and he's got a reasonable contract through 1944. I'm better off sticking to catcher, I think!

[cavebutter]

This week has been a whirlwind! I made an appearance in every game this week. In fact, I started 4 of the 5. I was extremely nervous about getting my first professional hit. I just wanted to get it out of the way so I wouldn't have to keep thinking about it.

I didn't have to wait long. My first at bat came in the 2nd inning. With Dave Allen on second, I knocked 2-1 fastball into the right field corner for a double. Allen scored and I took care of my first hit, my first extra base hit, and my first RBI in 1 swing! I finished the game going 2-4 with an RBI, and I was robbed of my third hit of the game by an amazing catch by the Denver CF.

I managed one hit per game for the rest of the week, putting up another another RBI against the Creskill Billies on the final game of the week.

[Ed: Somehow the boxscores and game logs of Ricky's first two weeks have been lost to time. We're doing our best to recreate them from other records. Things may just pick up with more detail after July 5,

[cavebutter]

I went 4-13 this week with a double, 2 runs scored and a walk. I started 4 of the 6 games at catcher. In Saturday's game against Modesto, I went 2-3 with a double and a walk, by far my best game of the week! Al Englehart, Modesto's starter, looked like he was throwing beach balls to me! Unfortunately, I was the only one who seemed to notice- we lost the game 6-7.

Vic's not doing so great. He's only picked up 10 at bats this year, with only 2 hits. His morale still seems pretty good, but I hope he gets some playing time soon and snaps out of his funk.

Interesting thing about Dave Cady. He's a pitcher in our organization. He's already been back and forth between Peoria and Durham, our Rookie Team, 4 times. Seems like he just steps off the bus, puts on a new uniform, takes off the uniform, gets back on the bus back to Durham. Hasn't pitched an inning yet, poor guy.

In other news, the ABF All-Star teams were announced today. The Union had 5 players named to the team. Gordie Boateng and Ivan Navarrette, of course. Two of our pitchers were also honored: Arnie Chafin and Gil Fuller. Rounding out our All-Stars was third baseman Johnny James. Not too bad for a team 14 games out of 1st place.


The Philadelphia Liberty are running away with the Federal League- 57-32 at the break. Chicago and Baltimore are trying to keep them in their sights at around 7 games back. Then there's the log-jam with 4 teams between 14 and 17 games back. Buffalo is the whipping boy this year, sitting 26 games back at the halfway point.

[cavebutter]

I hit my first professional tater! Mark the day, ladies and gentlemen! July 10, 1940.

We were playing the Little Rock Lumber Kings at home in Peoria. I started the game on the bench. We were doing a pretty good job against Little Rock’s pitcher, up 4-1 after 6 innings. My buddy Vic, starting the game at first base, had reached base on an error at short. He ran that grounder out hard and looked a little winded. He was still breathing hard when Cedric Bennet flied out to left to end the inning. Coach sent me in to take over at first base to start the 7th as part of a double switch that sent Dave Westfall in to take over in left.

In the bottom of the 8th, Tom Ferguson led off with a single up the middle. Westfall put up a good at bat after him, but ended up flying out to center. So there I am. One out, a man on first. First pitch I saw was a curveball that just caught the inner half of the plate. And I thinks to myself, “This guy’s trying to bust me inside! We’ll just see about that!” I’m thinking fastball in. I bring my hands down just a bit and start chanting to myself “Short hard swing. Short hard swing.” The wind up…the pitch…

It’s a fastball inside, all right. Belt high. I’m a little too excited and start my swing early- hoping to pull it into the left field corner. I made contact and - THWACK! The ball flew off my bat down the left field line…it had lift, could it? Would it? It did! Cleared the 11 ft wall in left for a 2 run home run!

I don’t even remember what happened after that, but we ended up winning the game 6-1.

Of course, the next game I grounded out weakly to short pinch hitting for Dave Allen. And again the day after that, pinch hitting for Vic in the 8th.

Overall, we finished the week 4-2 against Little Rock and Tampa. For the year, my boys are 9-9, 3 games back of Tampa.

[cavebutter]

This week I went 8-26 with no walks, 3 K’s, 2 dingers, and 3 RBI’s. The home runs and the RBI’s all came in the same game against Cresskill. They named me player of the game!

My average is up at .323. Somewhat troublingly, my OBP is only 50 points higher at .373. Gotta keep working on my eye and start drawing some walks.

Bad news for my friend Vic Zaffuto. He broke his wrist (somewhat mysteriously!), got placed on the DL, and was demoted to Rookie League Durham to boot. I’m going to miss him, and I hope he makes it back up here soon!

We’ve been making some small roster moves in addition to sending Vic down. Dewitt Brown, another pitcher, has been making the same trip back and forth to Durham that Cady made last week. Up and down every day for 4 days running! For Dave’s and Dewitt’s sake, I hope our GM can make up his mind soon. Those busses aren’t comfortable.

In a totally unsurprising move, Tom Downie was brought up to the big club. Big bad Jonathon Moody was DFA’d down to AAA to make room for Tom. Can’t imagine he’s happy about that, but what can you do. I just hope he’s as obliging when it’s my turn to shift him.

Johnny Zempel is hurt again. The highest paid player on The Union ($38,000 a year), Zempel’s on the DL again for the 5th time in his 10 year career- this time with a sprained ankle. Doubly worrying is that he’s suffered a setback and won’t be pitching for at least another week, after being out since June 1.

The big club is a game under .500 at 48-49, in 4th place. 13.5 behind the Liberty and still 6 behind the Admirals for 3rd place.

[cavebutter]

My fortunes this week were pretty much tied to my team’s. We went 0-6. Swept by Albuquerque on the road, then swept by Minneapolis at home. Not much to like here, as we were outscored 18-52 during that stretch. I managed 5 hits over 22 AB’s, with just a double and 1 RBI to show for it.

Dave Quantrell, our third baseman, made the papers, though, whacking 5 hits (and NO RBI’s!) in our 3-13 loss to Minneapolis on July 26th. Small consolation, I think.

Dewitt Brown’s got a Good News-Bad News situation going on. Last week I told you that he was riding the bus non-stop back and forth between Rookie Ball and Short A. Well, he got himself promoted! The bad news is he’s now riding the bus back and forth, every single day, between Short A with us and Single A in Plano. Man, that’s a tough stretch for him. He might have found his next career, though, as a traveling salesman. Or even a bus driver!

My Plowboys are in the cellar. 11-20, 10 games back of Minneapolis.

[cavebutter]

Not all that much to report this week. We snapped our losing skid at 7, which is nice I guess. The Short A All-Star team was announced the other day. Our guys had one player selected: Ed Coggins, the guy I back up at catcher.


He’s a decent enough ballplayer, but is so focused on himself, you’d think the rest of us are just around to carry his water. Anyway, he’s the starting catcher for the our league in tomorrow’s game. He’s also the one keeping me from innings behind the plate. I’ve only called 37 innings behind the plate as opposed to 226 innings at first. I suppose I should be grateful that I’m getting playing time, but I’m itching to strap on the tools of ignorance again.

Jonathon Moody made the news again. He’s gone on the record saying that he’d welcome a trade at this point. This is after he was recalled from AAA. He only spent like 4 days down there. I’m sure he pouted and hollered until they brought him back, and now he wants a trade. Of course, bringing him back up they had to DFA Tom Downie and send him back down. The nerve of that Moody!

[cavebutter]

A few nice things to report this week. We snapped our losing skid at 7, which is nice I guess. The Short A All-Star team was announced the other day. Our guys had one player selected: Ed Coggins, the guy I back up at catcher.


He’s a decent enough ballplayer, but is so focused on himself, you’d think the rest of us are just around to carry his water. Anyway, he’s the starting catcher for the our league in tomorrow’s game. He’s also the one keeping me from innings behind the plate. I’ve only called 37 innings behind the plate as opposed to 226 innings at first. I suppose I should be grateful that I’m getting playing time, but I’m itching to strap on the tools of ignorance again.

Jonathon Moody made the news again. He’s gone on the record saying that he’d welcome a trade at this point. This is after he was recalled from AAA. He only spent like 4 days down there. I’m sure he pouted and hollered until they brought him back, and now he wants a trade. Of course, bringing him back up they had to DFA Tom Downie and send him back down. The nerve of that Moody!

The other nice things are all about me! Not to start sounding like Jonathon Moody, but I’m doing pretty well, at least compared to the rest of my struggling team. I’m second on the team in average, and leading in HR (with 3) and RBI’s (with 18).


The last nice thing is that I’ve earned my starting spot! It’s at first base, which anyone can play, but still! Playing every game!

Dave Allen got sent down to Rookie League Durham, and it’s just me at first. There’s not even a depth starter for me! Not that I’m complaining, mind you! Not having to squat all day is keeping my knees fresh, so I don’t think I’m going to tire out before the end of the season.

[cavebutter]

No need to panic. OK, no panicking. Yesterday, I was sent down to Rookie League Durham for 1 game. I am not sure what was going on that they needed me there, but I hopped on the bus after the game on the 16th. I rode to Durham, slept for a couple hours. Played first base for the Durham Reign (going 1-3 with a walk, a double, an RBI, and a run scored and an unblotched copybook in the field). After the game, I got back on the bus back to Peoria. I woke up on the 18th back in a Plowboys uniform.

Here’s the weird thing: I wasn’t the only guy who made that same trip! Joining me back and forth from Durham were Gil Rowe and Rafael Campos. They told me that there’s a good dozen guys throughout the organization who spend more time on busses than they do anywhere else. But the even weirder thing is that they still manage to play in most games! How can they do that?! I wonder if this kind of thing happens throughout the entirety of professional baseball and if maybe Mr. Hickey (the Commissioner) is in league with the bus company or something!

Cedric Bennett got bumped up to AAA to make room for me at first base. It’s about time he got a bump somewhere- he’s 29 years old and hasn’t even seen the inside of a big league stadium. He was in the Gators organization out of the draft and stayed there until he became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with The Union, then with Buffalo, then with The Union again. He’s been as far as AAA a few times, but never with us. Maybe this is his year? I wish him luck.

I’ve had a pretty middling month, to be generous about it. As of the 18th, I’m 11-54 (.204) with just two doubles, a triple, and 5 RBI’s. I’m still striking out about twice as often as I walk. Our team is dead last still, but I am at least standing out a bit- leading our team in average and RBI’s. That’s leading the team batting .263 for the season. Not something to be super proud of, but it is what it is, I guess.

Two of our big league guys made the papers this week, as The Union went on a short tear. Ted Pier hit for the cycle at Boston and Loudmouth Marv Blain went 5-6 against the Bison. Still now way the big guys are going to catch Philadelphia, but at least there are a few happy moments as the season moves on.

[cavebutter]

I have been up and down to Durham a few times in the last 2 weeks. I don’t especially like riding the bus so much, and really don’t like being demoted down to Rookie, but there’s not much I can do about it. I know that I’m not alone. That said, I haven’t exactly been tearing it up this month with the Plowboys- going 12-64 over 16 games. Not that I have been tearing it up in Rookie League either this month: going 7-27 and slugging .556. No great shakes, really.

Waking up on September 1, I am still in a Plowboys uniform. As to how they’re doing- don’t ask. The Plowboys are 24-37, 15 games behind Tampa. It’s interesting that whenever I’m in Peoria, I’m the starting 1B, still leading our sorry band of brothers in RBI’s, but they are sending me to Rookie League at least twice a week.

Ted Pier’s luck caught up with him. Less than two weeks after he hit for the cycle, he broke his hand. That’s tough luck. He’s out for 4-5 weeks.

It’s September 1, and Minnesota has already been eliminated from the post season in the Continental League, sitting 37 games behind the Indianapolis Mustangs. Over in the Federal League, the Buffalo Bison have also been knocked out- 37.5 games behind the Liberty and just no chance to catch up. The Union are still 17 back, sitting in 5th. Doesn’t look like there’s much hope of the Union either winning the division or the wildcard- 12 games behind the Chicago Packers.

Ivan Navarrete, our All Star 1b, is having a great year. Leading the league in average (.309), OBP (.420) and walks (91). He and Dave Hatfield are first and second in most offensive categories. Allen is leading in hits (161), doubles (31), and HR (14). Biggest difference, of course, is that Hatfield is almost certainly heading into the post season, and Navarrete will be cooling his heels in another month.

[cavebutter]

Well, my first professional season is in the books. I didn’t get sent down again until after the Plowboys last game of the season. As soon as our last game against Albuquerque - a great game for me with a HR and 3 RBI - I was sent down to Durham for the off-season. That’s a pretty precarious position for me. Why? Well, one day when I become a GM, I would make sure that no one spends more than one season in Rookie ball. Rookie ball should only be for the draft class. After that first year, a player should be able to play at least at a Low A level. If they can’t, they should be cut.

So, here I am, finishing my first year still in Rookie Ball. Sure, I spent most of the year in A, but at the end of the year, I’m sitting in Rookie all the same.

I was 8-30 with 2 doubles, a HR, 1 walk and 6 RBI’s in September. For the year, my slash line was .256/.307/.404. Nothing amazing, but I didn’t embarrass myself either. Just another replacement level player. Funny, I don’t feel like one!

With the end of the minor league seasons, we got some retirements. Remember when I said back in June that I was Cedric Bennet, I’d think about retiring? Well, I guess he read my mind (or my blog). He announced his retirement on September 10.

I’m headed home to Mobile for the offseason, going to spend some time with friends and family and watch how the rest of the major league season turns out, though the playoffs look pretty much decided: Indy and Kansas City in the Continental League and Philly and Chicago. I suppose there’s a little room for an underdog like Baltimore in the Fed or Pittsburgh in the Continental to sneak in. We’ll see, I guess.