The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, July 13, 1917

RED SOX SMILING AGAIN
Wins Coming More Often
Speaker Returns to Line-Up Today

BOSTON--The mood in the Red Sox clubhouse has been noticeably brighter in the past week or so. The sound of laughter has largely replaced grumbling, and one is more likely to hear singing than language that is too rough to print here.

Part of the reason, of course, lies in the fact that the team has been playing much better of late. The Sox have moved within four games of first-place Philadelphia, and have edged their record four games over the .500 mark. Harry Hooper, Chet Chadbourne, and Big Ed Konetchy have all been swinging the bat in a more customary fashion. Joe Wood, Chuck Rose, and "Hooks" Dauss have provided stellar mound work. Pat O'Farrell and Bill Carrigan have continued to play like All-Stars. And, since he was moved from behind the plate to fill in an outfield spot last week, Fred Snodgrass has done nothing but hit.

Snodgrass, who was picked up in a trade with the New York Giants to spell Carrigan behind the dish, can also play the outfield, and manager Jimmy Collins gave him a chance to see what he could do there. Collins has left him in the line-up since then, and Snodgrass has made Collins look like a genius.

The brightest smiles of all, however, greeted Tris Speaker as he walked into the clubhouse yesterday, with the news that he has been cleared by doctors to return to the lineup. Speaker's bat, glove, and leadership will be indispensable as the Bostons enter the season's final weeks...

[Big Six]

Boston Herald, August 18, 1917

SURGING SOX!
Red Sox Reel Off Six Straight Wins
Four Teams Within Two Games of AL Lead

BOSTON--Many scribes, myself among them, were ready to write the Red Sox off as a lost cause a little more than a month ago. It is with great pleasure that I now report that the reports of the demise of Collins' Speed Boys were greatly exaggerated.

Lately, the Red Sox have played a brand of ball that would fit well within any of their championship seasons. Yesterday's 6-3 victory over the Browns gave the Sox six consecutive wins, and nine in their last ten games. While these victories have been achieved at the expense of Chicago and St. Louis, the weakest teams in the American League, the ability to win regularly over weak clubs is a requisite ability for a pennant-winning team.

This surge has placed Boston in a tie for second place with Philadelphia. The Sox and Athletics are two games behind New York and Cleveland, who share the AL penthouse suite. The top four clubs have opened some distance over Detroit and Washington, who are eight and nine games off the pace, respectively.

Heroes, old and new, have sparked the Red Sox' drive. The return of Tris Speaker from injury has certainly been a catalyst. Spoke has driven in 25 runs in 31 games since his broken arm has healed, and his big bat has stabilized the Sox lineup. Bill Carrigan, too, has been on a rampage, raising his average thirty points to an even .300 since Speaker's return.

Pat O'Farrell, who hits in front of Speaker in the Sox line-up, has thrived, hitting .358 since the All-Star break. The fleet Irishman looks like he will put the American League record for stolen bases, which he currently shares with Ty Cobb at 82 bags, far out of sight. O'Farrell has 80 steals at present, and the century mark seems to be well within his reach.
Men such as Harry Hooper and Chet Chadbourne, who hit weakly during the season's first months, are once again swinging the bats as they usually have. And the pitchers, not to be outdone, are rounding into fine form. No fewer than seven men start games occasionally for the Sox, and any of them might pitch a dazzler anytime they are called upon.

Particular notice should be given to young Art Nehf, who has won six of his eight decisions, and to "Hooks" Dauss, only two years older, who has a dozen wins to his credit. Add these men to Joe Wood--who is still only 27 ears of age, despite his long career in red stockings--and Hugh Bedient, 27, who is currently resting a sore muscle, and the Bostons have transformed a pitching staff that was recently showing signs of age into one that should perform well for several years to come.

The rooters of the Olde Towne, who have been treated to more than their share of exciting pennant chases in recent years, appear ready to enjoy six weeks of exciting base ball. Crowds at Fenway Park, which seemed smaller while the Bostons were struggling, are back to their customary levels...

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, August 19, 1917

RED SOX TO FACE PENNANT CHALLENGERS THIS WEEK
Crucial Games Against Indians and Yankees

BOSTON--The schedule makers could not have foreseen the way the 1917 season would shape up when they drew up the slate of games that the Red Sox will face this week, but they must be smiling at the sense of drama they have created.

Today, tomorrow, and Thursday, the New York Yankees, who are tied for first place in the American League, will play the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Sox are in a second-place deadlock with Philadelphia, two games behind the leaders, and if the Sox continue their winning ways, they could slip past the Yankees.

Thursday evening, Jimmy Collins' men will board a train to Cleveland, where they will face the club that currently shares first place with the New Yorkers. "We are excited about the possibility of gaining some more ground this week," Pat O'Farrell said last night. "We have been playing well, and the surest way to catch a team ahead of us in the standings is to beat them ourselves."

Very few tickets are available for Thursday's game at Fenway Park; today's and tomorrow's contests are sold out. Rooters may follow all the action on the mechanical diamond in front of the Globe offices.

[Big Six]

What a week! This is why I never get bored with this...

August 19, 1917

New York  5 14 1
Boston    9 12 0

WP:  H. Dauss (13-6)
LP:  S. Love (9-4)

Dauss helps himself with two hits and two RBI.

*************
August 20, 1917

New York  1  6 0
Boston    9 14 1

WP:  J. Wood (16-16)
LP:  R. Castleton (19-11)

Wood pitches gem for Boston's eighth straight victory.
Heart of order (O'Farrell-Speaker-Carrigan) drives in 7 runs.

*************
August 21, 1917

New York  1  5 1
Boston    4  9 3

WP:  A. Nehf (7-2)
LP:  T. Hughes (20-12)

Youngster Nehf outduels AL's winningest twirler.
Red-hot Speaker and Carrigan drive in Boston's runs.

*************
August 22, 1917

Boston    11 15 1
Cleveland  1  7 2

WP:  C. Rose (13-10)
LP:  J. Engel (8-13)

Boston wins 10th straight; ties Cleveland for first place.
Carrigan:  3-4, 4 RBI; now hitting .312.
O'Farrell:  3-4, 2 BB, 4 runs.
O'Farrell steals his 82nd and 83rd bases of season, setting new AL record.

*************
Standings of the clubs, August 22, 1917

Boston         68  55  .553  -
Cleveland      68  55  .553  -
Philadelphia   67  56  .545  1
New York       66  57  .537  2

Yankees have lost 6 straight games.
Red Sox are 30-16 (.625) since All-Star break.

[jdw]

Dang... I really wish the Babe would develope as the team would be just lethal. He was a devastating pitcher in 1916 (league leader in ERA, ERA+, SHO, and GS, 3rd in W, IP and K), and remained a very good pitcher in 1917. In 1917 he started to flash that he could really, really, really hit - .325/.385/.472 largely as a pitcher.

It's a bit sad not to see Babe out there in 1915-17 in seasons where he went a combined 65-33 before turning it on as a hitter in 1918 and forcing them to find a way to get his bat in the lineup more often.


John

[Big Six]

Yeah, the Babe hasn't developed nearly as well, or as quickly, as might have been expected.

In 1914 and 1915, he really didn't show much as a pitcher at all, and was rated as a much better prospect as an outfielder, so that's what the Sox decided to pursue. In his second season as an outfielder in A ball this year, Babe has hit .253-5-49. He has demonstrated some gap power, however, with 22 doubles, and he's walked 98 times in 107 games.

Perhaps he'll turn into the Sultan of Swat yet...

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, August 24, 1917

RED SOX MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE!!!
Ninth Inning Rally Secures Eleventh Straight Victory

CLEVELAND--The red-hot Red Sox have been the talk of the base ball world for the last two weeks, as they have stormed back into the pennant race after having been left for dead.

Yesterday, the streaking Sox moved into sole possession of the top spot in the standings by beating the team with whom they had been tied, the Cleveland Indians, 5-3. This victory was the eleventh straight for the Boston club, and broke the hearts of the huge crowd that had gathered at League Park.

Boston starter "Hooks" Dauss pitched a beautiful game, holding the powerful Tribe batsmen to a single run on four hits over eight innings of work. "I kept us in the game today," Dauss commented. "The hitters did the rest, like I knew they would."

Cleveland twirler "Spec" Harkness was just as sharp, however, and the Red Sox had scored only once themselves, as Harry Hooper crossed the plate on a third-inning Del Paddock single.

The top of the ninth, however, would provide the kind of timely hitting that the Red Sox have seemed to produce whenever needed during this recent streak. Manager Jimmy Collins, too, deserves credit for making the right moves, selecting pinch hitters who delivered key hits.

The first of these was Joe Judge, whom Collins summoned to hit for Fred Snodgrass. Judge drilled a base hit, and Harkness then walked Hooper.
Ray Chapman came up next, and lofted a shallow fly ball to right field. Beals Becker seemed to have the ball securely in his glove, but inexplicably dropped it. Judge tore around third and never stopped running until he scored, while Hooper, too, ran aggressively and slid into third in a cloud of dust. The speedy Chapman then stole second when the shaken Harkness seemed to neglect him.

Now Collins faced the sort of situation that had proven so unlucky in the game against Detroit that decided the 1916 pennant race. Should he remove Dauss, who was pitching a gem of a game, for a better hitter, and run the risk that any further gain the Sox might achieve would be undone by a shaky reliever?

Collins once again went to the bench, and called on Bill Mundy. The young infielder hit a slow ground ball to third baseman Morrie Rath, whose only possible play was to retire Mundy at first while Hooper scored the Sox' second run of the game.

Fritz Coumbe came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth for Boston, and gave the Cleveland rooters hope when he walked the first man he faced, none other than the scowling Becker. "Tex" McDonald then hit a ball just over the leaping Chapman's glove, and the Indians had men on first and second with none out.

Coumbe, however, refused to yield further. He induced a popup from Morrie Rath that third baseman Paddock handled with ease, and Dave Callahan hit a shallow fly that was handled easily by Judge in right field. When Coumbe struck out the dangerous Dots Miller, the Red Sox raced from their positions in the field and in the dugout to greet the young pitcher on the mound, and hoisted him to their shoulders for a ride to the clubhouse.

"I am glad Collins had faith in me," a grinning Coumbe said later. "I was nervous, I admit, and I was trying to do too much. Carrigan came out and calmed me down, and then everything was fine."

Today, the Indians and Red Sox play the final game of their series. Both teams will send their most renowned hurler to the hill; Addie Joss for the Indians, and Joe Wood for the Sox. An even larger crowd than yesterday's is expected to witness this game, and it may be the largest ever to witness a game of ball in Cleveland.

[Big Six]

August 24, 1917

Boston      4  8  2
Cleveland   3  7  6

WP:  J. Wood (17-16)
LP:   A. Joss (19-14)

Cleveland fielders let Joss down, as only one of Boston's runs is earned.
Wood snuffs eighth-inning rally by Indians to seal victory.

[Simon_Nesbit]

Firstly, incredible thread....i've read through it twice, and become completely immersed in it....it's so hard to stay away for a week so there's more than one story up though.

I was channel-surfing yesterday and came upon a cheer-leading competition, where they were interviewing a boy from one of the competing teams, named...

Patrick O'Farrill

I wounder what Patrick snr (snr snr) would think of his Great Great Grandson becoming a cheer-leader?

[Big Six]

84 Westland Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

September 25, 1917

Mr. and Mrs. Francis O'Farrell
227 Elm Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Dear Mom and Dad,

I write this as I sit beside the window of the front room of our apartment, overlooking a street that seems far too quiet for an early evening. By the time you receive this, you will no doubt have figured out that Sarah, the children, and I will be back in Stockbridge earlier than we had hoped. The Athletics beat the White Sox today, so it mattered not that we beat the Indians. Philadelphia will win the pennant, regardless of what happens tomorrow.

The clubhouse was very subdued after the game. A few of the fellows wiped a tear or two from their eyes, overcome by the fact that we had fought so well to make a race of it again, all the way to the last days of the season like last year, only to fall just short again.

I suppose I should not let myself feel too bad about what happened. The Athletics have, after all, won eight straight games now, at a time in the season when the pressure is greatest. So it is not the case that we lost the pennant by playing badly. The Athletics won it by playing well.

I figured out that since the All-Star game, we have won 44 games, and have lost only 31. Had we played that well all season long, we would have won the pennant in a runaway. On the other hand, that also means that with the exception of those wonderful two weeks in August when we won thirteen games in a row, we were just about as mediocre as a ball club can be. I wonder if there will be more substantial changes in the roster before we take the field again.

On a more positive note, I had two hits today, one of them my ninth home run of the season. I have never hit that many in one season, at least not in the American League, and I believe I have as many as Schulte of Chicago, who leads the National League. I also stole two more bases, which gives me exactly 99 for the season. Now that we cannot win the pennant, Jimmy Collins told me that if I have the opportunity at any time tomorrow to try to steal a base, I should do it, so I might have a chance to steal a hundred bases. It would be only one more steal, but there is something about that nice, round figure, is there not?

A couple of the fellows have told me that I should be a contender for the Outstanding Batter award this season. I must admit it would be a wonderful honor, which would make up some for the fact that we must follow the World Series in the newspapers once again this year.

It will be wonderful, though, to have the house in Stockbridge to come home to, with the opportunity to spend the entire off-season there. So I suppose things could be much, much worse.

Thank you for allowing me to get a few of these thoughts off my mind, so I do not stew in them any longer. I hope I have not seemed too downcast. I am sure I will manage a smile when we arrive on the afternoon train on the 3rd.

Your loving son,
Pat

[Big Six]

Thanks, Simon! I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Hearing comments like that give me even more incentive to keep it going regularly.

I'm hoping to be able to update Pat's story more frequently now that I've finished a few of the things I needed to do around the house this summer. Setting slate tile on a porch floor and refinishing a deck took too much time away from OOTP.

Patrick the cheerleader is too funny! I actually borrowed Pat's name from an ancestor of mine, who left Ireland for Canada in the 1840s. I have no idea what he thought about cheerleading, though.

[Big Six]

It's hard to believe that Pat has spent ten full seasons in the show, but he has, and here's what he has to show for them, statistically. I'll use black ink like the Macmillan encyclopedia this time, too:

Year    G    AB   H   2B  3B HR RBI   R   BB  K   SB CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS  Teams 
1907    14   53   10   3   0  0   2    3   3  12   0   0 .189 .232 .245  .477 BOS 
1908   136  538  151  31  14  2  66   63  44 111  27   7 .281 .335 .401  .737 BOS,AL 
1909   146  550  167  30  32  2  54   84  69  63  36   6 .304 .381 .485  .867 BOS,AL 
1910   147  536  171  30  16  7  84  105  94  93  57  14 .319 .421 .474  .895 BOS,AL 
1911   129  465  171  34  11  7  93  104  97  74  58  14 .368 .477 .533 1.010 BOS 
1912   130  480  173  33  18  6  85  104  99  79  70  12 .360 .470 .542 1.011 BOS,AL 
1913   147  529  178  34  15  7 103  122 106  95  55   9 .336 .447 .497  .944 BOS,AL 
1914   150  549  206  29  10  9 118  121 106  77  71  17 .375 .476 .514  .990 BOS,AL 
1915   148  532  179  30  20  4  87  123 121  47  82  25 .336 .459 .491  .950 BOS,AL 
1916   148  564  173  18   5  6  72  110  91  42  71  13 .307 .403 .388  .791 BOS,AL 
1917   150  539  176  32  11  9  84  123 114  31  99  20 .327 .442 .477  .919 BOS,AL 
Total 1445 5335 1755 304 152 59 848 1062 944 724 626 137 .329 .430 .476  .906

Pat passed one milestone this year, as he scored the 1000th run of his career. He should pick up his 2000th hit sometime in 1919, and has a chance to drive in his 1000th run that season as well.

[StorminZ]

Just me, again, saying thanks, Big Six, for the great thread ... the dynasty forums is one of the first I check whenever I happen by the site ... I still say there is a "Sunday evening" movie here ... good family viewing ... again, thanks for the respite from the wacky world in which we live!

[jdw]

Big Six wrote:

> Yeah, the Babe hasn't developed nearly
> as well, or as quickly, as might have been
> expected.

Don't know if you're "managing" the Sox or not, but one thing to keep in mind - players don't really "develop" in OOTP in the minors. The pretty much need to be on the MLB roster _and_ getting playing time. There are times when they can be really medicore in MLB for half a season, but at some point they turn into "themselves".

I think I've read some people still seeing this in version 6. I know I see it all the time in version 5. It's really annoying to see a Rusty Greer come right up and smoke the league while the A-Rod the I'm trying to nurse in the minors past his first mediocre season (1995) then come up and blow in 1996 when he really destroyed the league. My experience has been to get them up on the roster and get them 200-250 PA or so the season *before* I expect them to break through, then open up the full time spot for them the next season. The 200-250 PA season usually is mediocre... though sometimes they come on late in that season. The following year they may still take lumps early, but by the end of the year they tend to look like the real player.

My point is that don't waste time "developing" Babe down in the minors. Get him up in 1918 and force him into the line-up in either LF or RF (he played a almost as much in LF in his career as in RF, but no one ever seems to mention it). He got 380 PA in 1918, which given the shortened season (126 games played by the Sox) was just shy of the 391 needed to qualify for the percentage titles (compared to 502 for a 162 game season). He may take his lumps early, but we're talking about a .300/.411/.555 hitter in a .254/.319/.322 being wasted if you don't get him past his baby steps.

Read that again:

A .300/.411/.555 hitter in a .254/.319/.322.



The SLG would be #1 in the AL, the OBP would be #2, the BA would be #8, his OPS would be #1 over Cobb.

I guess one chalks up that his early career as a pitch is gone, which is a bit sad - it's one of those little "extra" things that pushes Babe away from others in the Greatest of All-Time race. But he's 23 in 1918. Time to get him on the road to being The Babe, which would be a really nifty compliment to the Life of Patrick O'Farrell and the Speaker & O'Farrell combo in the heart of the Sox order.


John

[Big Six]

Hey, Stormin! Good to see you back again. My people are working on the negotiations for the movie deal, too.

I was wondering the same thing about how players "develop" in the minors, John. When the Sox were floundering around at the .500 mark at the break in 1917, I was tempted to see what would happen if the team brought up the Babe, and Collins stuck him in the lineup every day.

Then Speaker got healthy, Chadbourne and Hooper caught fire, and the team reeled off that winning streak. At that point, it didn't seem realistic for the team to bench Chadbourne, say, for a dude who was hitting .250 in Class A, even if we all KNOW the dude's Babe Ruth.

I think I will, however, go ahead and bring the Babe up for 1918, and see what happens. Unless he sucks too badly and drags the team down with him, I'll probably stick with him, just for the fun storyline. I might see what kind of player the other clubs are willing to offer for one of the other outfielders, and maybe help the team in other areas, too.

[Big Six]

Offices of the American League of Baseball Clubs
55 Park Avenue
New York, New York

October 7, 1917

Mr. Patrick O'Farrell
c/o Boston Red Sox Baseball Club
Fenway Park
Boston, Massachusetts

Dear Mr. O'Farrell,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as the Most Outstanding Batter in the American League for the 1917 season.

You and your family are invited to the American League awards dinner, which will be held at the Park Plaza Hotel in New York on November 14. All expenses for your trip will be paid for by the American League. You will be presented with your award at this time.

Congratulations on your outstanding season; your performance makes you a worthy recipient of this award. And, furthermore, on behalf of the entire League, I would like to thank you for the manner in which you have represented your club, and the entire American League, over the course of your career. The manner in which you have conducted yourself, both on and off the playing field, has set a standard to which any gentleman should aspire.

We shall look forward to seeing you and your family in New York on November 14.

Sincerely yours,
Bancroft B. Johnson
President, American League of Baseball Clubs

[Big Six]

I thought I'd mention some events, milestones, etc. that have taken place in my baseball universe that might have been overlooked because they have usually had less direct relevance to our main characters.

* Honus Wagner (1907-1909) and Ty Cobb (1907, 1910, 1916) are the only players to win three MOB awards. Doc Miller (NL 1911, 1912), Tris Speaker (1914, 1915) and Joe Jackson (1912, 1913) have all won two times.

*The only player who was a star in "real" baseball who has also won an NL MOB was Wagner. Other NL MOB's have included the likes of Sammy Strang, Fred Beck, and Rube Ellis. By far the biggest "surprise" winner of the MOB was a player I'd never heard of at all...Bert "Jesse" James. Even in my world, James didn't become a regular player until his breakout 1916 season.

* The AL winner with the least significant "real" career was . Well, I suppose it would REALLY be Pat O'Farrell...

* Del Mason has FOUR MOP awards to his credit (1910, 1911, 1915, 1916). His teammate Roy Hitt has won twice (1912, 1914), as have Three Finger Brown (1907, 1908) and the AL's Bill Burns (1909, 1912) and Ed Summers (1913, 1914).

* "Real" stars otherwise haven't had much luck with the MOP. Walter Johnson has only won once; Christy Mathewson never has. Brown, Addie Joss and Rube Marquard are the only other real-life Hall of Famers to win the MOP. Joe Wood has one MOP to his credit.

* Three "real" HOF'ers have won Newcomer of the Year awards: Walter Johnson, George Sisler, and Sam Rice.

* Tris Speaker has won eight Slick Fielder awards in his career. No other player in the history of either league has won more than four.

* Bill Carrigan has won the last two AL Slick Fielder awards at catcher. Pat has never won one, although I think the voters made a mistake at least once by passing him by.

* Ten players have had six hits in a single game. Joe Jackson and Al Burch (!) are the only players to do it twice, and the feat hasn't been pulled off since 1913. Burch, even more impressively, went six for six both times. Most of the men with six hits took seven AB's to do it. Jackson went 6-6 once.

* No player has hit three home runs in one game.

* Joe Wood has struck out at least 15 batters in a single game ten times. He holds the one-game record with 18 Ks, which he's achieved twice. Walter Johnson has to his credit the only 17-strikeout performance, and the Big Train has whiffed at least 15 men in a game three times. That's one fewer than Long Tom Hughes, however.

* Seven pitchers have thrown no-hitters. They include Ralph Glaze, Harry McIntire, Jack Pfiester, Ed Summers, Hooks Wiltse, Bill Crouch , and Grover Cleveland Alexander.

* Summers has the league's only perfect game.

Coming up next: some all-time single season leaders.

[Big Six]

Here are some all-time single season records for the American and National Leagues:

American League Batting
Batting Average : .392, Ty Cobb (1910, Detroit)
Homeruns : 19, Tex Erwin (1914, Detroit)
Runs Batted In : 131, Tex Erwin (1914, Detroit)
At Bats : 655, Jiggs Donahue (1908, Chicago (A))
Hits : 244, Joe Jackson (1913, Philadelphia (A))
Doubles : 52, Tris Speaker (1913, Boston (A))
Triples : 34, Donie Bush (1909, Detroit)
Runs : 140, Tris Speaker (1914, Boston (A))
Bases On Balls : 137, Topsy Hartsel (1911, Philadelphia (A))
Strikeouts : 142, Doug Neff (1914, Washington)
Stolen Bases : 99, Pat O'Farrell (1917, Boston (A))
Hitting Streak : 38, Tris Speaker (1912, Boston (A))

American League Pitching
ERA : 1.63, Grover Alexander (1915, Detroit)
Games : 43, Addie Joss (1917, Cleveland)
Games Started : 43, Addie Joss (1917, Cleveland)
Wins : 30, Joe Wood (1915, Boston (A))
Losses : 30, Harry McIntire (1914, St. Louis (A))
Saves : 11, Jack Harper (1917, Philadelphia (A))
Bases On Balls : 218, Bill Crouch (1911, St. Louis (A))
Strikeouts : 390, Joe Wood (1914, Boston (A))
BB's in one Game: 15, Bill Crouch (5/24/1914, St. Louis (A))
K's in one Game : 18, Joe Wood (9/21/1916, Boston (A))

National League Batting
Batting Average : .380, Tillie Shafer (1914, New York (N))
Homeruns : 23, Frank Schulte (1908, Chicago (N))
Runs Batted In : 118, Sammy Strang (1910, New York (N))
At Bats : 635, Sandy Piez (1917, New York (N))
Hits : 222, Ginger Beaumont (1914, Boston (N))
Doubles : 49, Honus Wagner (1907, Pittsburgh)
Triples : 30, John Kane (1909, Cincinnati)
Runs : 132, Tillie Shafer (1915, New York (N))
Bases On Balls : 134, Tillie Shafer (1914, New York (N))
Strikeouts : 201, Joe Burg (1911, St. Louis (N)) (OUCH!! )
Stolen Bases : 102, Tillie Shafer (1914, New York (N))
Hitting Streak : 37, Harry Lumley (1914, Brooklyn)

National League Pitching
ERA : 1.79, Del Mason (1916, Brooklyn)
Games : 49, Tom McCarthy (1910, Cincinnati)
Games Started : 42, Del Mason (1917, Cincinnati)
Wins : 29, Roy Hitt (1912, Cincinnati)
Losses : 29, Ed Karger (1913, St. Louis (N))
Saves : 15, Bert Sincock (1917, Cincinnati)
Bases On Balls : 212, Zerah Zequiel "Rip" Hagerman (1914, Chicago (N))
Strikeouts : 353, "Steamboat Bill" Otey (1914, Pittsburgh)
BB's in one Game: 14, Frank Harter (9/18/1914, Cincinnati)
K's in one Game : 16, Roy Beecher (8/29/1914, Chicago (N))

And some interesting tidbits from the single-game record boards, too:

* Bobby Vaughn holds the AL records for RBI (9) and runs scored (5) in a single game. The RBI mark was set on July 11, 1912, and the runs record on July 5, 1915.

* Pat O'Farrell established an American League record for stolen bases in a game when he pilfered four sacks on July 3, 1917.

* The Giants' Sammy Strang walked six times on June 6, 1907.

[Big Six]

Here's what a look at the career leaders after the 1917 season turned up:

Pat O'Farrell is seventh all-time in career batting average, with a .329 lifetime mark. Tris Speaker is ranked 12th, at .323.

O'Farrell is also on the all-time home run list, in 22nd, with 59. There's a slight chance, if Pat catches the lively ball wave just right, that he might briefly get to be the all-time home run leader.

Sam Crawford, who's 37 now, leads with 108. Sam hit 5 homers in 1916 and 1917 combined. Harry Lumley is next with 103, but Harry's the same age as Crawford, and isn't playing regularly anymore. Wildfire Schulte has 94 at age 35, and he's still hitting the long ball. He had nine homers in '17, just like Pat.

Jim Nealon is the next active player on the list, with 84 at age 32. Nealon's a big-time slugger, with a 7 rating in Power (Pat has a 5). Nealon is young enough to take advantage of the lively ball, if it appears, and hit quite a few more homers.

Ed Konetchy has 70, and he's the same age as Nealon, but isn't nearly as powerful a hitter. Roger Bresnahan has 63, but that's mostly because he's been playing big league ball since 1897. And Tex Erwin got almost one third of his 60 lifetime taters on one big plate, when he hit 19 in the Year of the Homer, 1914. Tex is only 31, and has a 7 in Power, but he's not the regular catcher in Detroit any more. All-Star Red McKee is.

So, if Pat, with 59, lasts long enough and starts going deep often enough, he might catch Nealon...if Pat plays longer than Nealon does. Then Pat might hold the top spot until Ruth, or some other slugger, passes him. I never thought Pat would develop into a power hitter, but it's happened.

Sam Crawford needs 35 more RBI to pass Jake Beckley and become the all-time RBI king.

Speaker and O'Farrell are both among the career leaders in doubles. Tris is 13th, and second among actives to Crawford, with 343. Pat has 304, good for 19th all-time, and he's fourth among active players (Lumley has 336).

Pat has 152 triples, 18th on the list, and if he hits 12 ore in 1918, he'll pass four more retired players.

Sammy Strang retired with one fewer base on balls than Roy Thomas, and the Dixie Thrush didn't try to hang on and walk twice more to take the all-time lead. O'Farrell is 7th all-time with 944, 186 free passes shy of the record. He should pass Al Bridwell, who walks only about half as often as Pat does now, and the ageless Bresnahan, and within two years might be the all-time Walking Man.

Stealing 99 bases will cause a player to move up on the all-time list. Pat is now fourth in career steals with 626. Cobb passed Honus Wagner and became the all-time leader in 1917; Ty now has 704. George Moriarty stole 71 bases in 1917, and he's currently seven steals ahead of Pat in third place. Tillie Shafer stole 85, and he's now at 545 for his career. Shafer gets caught a lot, though...I'm fairly sure that his 43 times caught stealing this past year is an all-time single season record.

Addie Joss needs one more win to join Cy Young and Christy Mathewson in the 300-win fraternity. Del Mason has 244 victories, and Roy Hitt stands at 208. Pat's old teammate Tex Pruiett, now with the Braves, won his 200th game in 1917 as well.

Mathewson, who has struck out 2,769 batters in his career, will be the all-time strikeout leader for one more season, most likely, before Walter Johnson (2,596) passes him. Matty spent much of '17 in the minors, and might be all through. Cy Young, Hitt, and Mason are the only other pitchers with 2,000 Ks to their credit, but Joe Wood, with 1,810, should join them in 1918, and depending on how long the Big Train keeps rolling along, might end up as the all-time leader. Smoky Joe will be only 28 in 1918.

It looks like Mathewson, with 58 shutouts, might fall just shy of Cy Young's record of 62. Addie Joss is third with 53. The best bet to pass Young might be Del Mason, who has 45 and is still going strong at age 33.

[jdw]

Big Six wrote:

> I was wondering the same thing about how players
> "develop" in the minors, John.

It is one of the more annoying things in the game, though the "work around" (simply making sure they get playing time even if the stink) is so easy if frustrating that it takes a lot of the interest in developing players right out of the mix.


> When the Sox were floundering around at the
> .500 mark at the break in 1917, I was tempted
> to see what would happen if the team brought
> up the Babe, and Collins stuck him in the lineup
> every day.
>
> Then Speaker got healthy, Chadbourne and
> Hooper caught fire, and the team reeled off
> that winning streak. At that point, it didn't
> seem realistic for the team to bench Chadbourne,
> say, for a dude who was hitting .250 in Class A,
> even if we all KNOW the dude's Babe Ruth.

That's the big problem with the minors - after a while players down there start to regress and lose their skills. Sort of the *opposite* of what happens to young players.


> I think I will, however, go ahead and bring the
> Babe up for 1918, and see what happens.
> Unless he sucks too badly and drags the
> team down with him, I'll probably stick with
> him, just for the fun storyline.

Can't put this strong enough - even if he sucks and drags the team down in 1918, you've got to just get him his playing time and bear with it. Babe Ruth in the era you're coming into is worth far more than everyone else that you've got to just take your lumps and get past it.

One thing you will also often see - those initial lumps for half a season or so can be extremely brutal. It will look like he's dragging the teams down. Come August and/or September, he's as likely to go on a massive tear as the OOTP engine seemingly tries to pull his *seasonal* numbers up towards what his talent potential is. Those August and Septembers can be monsterous. However, if you try to baby him through the early part of the season, often it doesn't kick in as he hasn't been bleed enough.

I keep running into it with Chipper Jones when I do replays of the 90s. He pops up in the Braves system in 1993, and of course has loads of potential. Initially I was happy to let him "develop" in the minors until 1995 and then expect him to be the .265/.353/.450 fulltimer he was in 1995, and then blossom into Chipper! in 1996 as the .309/.393/.530 that is pretty much in line with his career numbers (before this horrid season).

What would happen if I tossed him to the wolves in 1995 is that he tended to suck big, to the point that rarely by the end of the season would he be close to his real 1995 numbers. The biggest thing seemed to be his power being very low, and not kicking in until really late.

What I've found through experimentation is that what works best is making sure he's on the MLB roster in 1994. I'll use 1993 in the minor to "teach" him 3B since he comes into the game as a SS (this when I'm too lazy to edit the players). That's about the only critical thing I care about for Chipper in 1993 - that he can play 3B by the end of it. In 1994 I have a kid who I can use to spot Blauser time at SS and whomever I have at 3B (one of my first things whenever running the Braves is to run Terry right out of town by 1993 if not earlier). I'd have to look at the %'s I give, but between spotting SS, 3B, doing some PH and the usual likelihood of either Blauser or the 3B going down for a month, I end up getting Chipper 200-250 PA. Usually they aren't good at all, but his ratings do tend to move up as the season goes along, and he does tend to develop quite a bit faster come 1995.

In fact, I've had Chipper turn in MVP type seasons as early as 1995 rather than starting in 1996.

I mentioned A-Rod in the earlier post. There's nothing more frustrating than being so careful with A-Rod that 1996 comes and he's a bad player. No, I don't mean a "good" player who's not at the MVP Level that A-Rod was at in 1996... or even an average player... or even a mediocre player. A flat out bad player.

It's possible that it's something designed into OOTP to keep someone from overstocking their minors by constantly fleecing the weak AI of opposing team GMs. Lord knows I've done that, had a minors so full of talent that I was having trouble finding playing time in the minors for guys... and then watch most of them stop developing, start stagnating, and just go to mush.

So I think it's one thing to keep an eye on - if you have a young stud coming onto the team, get then into the line-up even if it means you need to move a favorite older player.


> I might see what kind of player the other clubs
> are willing to offer for one of the other outfielders,
> and maybe help the team in other areas, too.

Always a good thing. There's nothing I enjoy more than to unload "good" players like John Smoltz for young prospects.


John