[Le Grande Orange]

I've been following the posts of the historical simmers here, and I must say that you guys are doing a great job! It's inspired me to attempt to do my own someday (that is, if I ever get the blasted schedules I want to use finished first).

You guys go through great lengths to get your stats correct, but there is one little nitpick I have. And that is that you are using the default 2-3-2 home field rotation for the World Series; however, this rotation pattern was not used until 1924. In the years prior, the assignment of the home field for games was a bit more chaotic.

I'm not sure just what the exact rules actually were (still have to see if I can dig up that info), but here's what I can tell you so far.

One of the options that was in place up until 1924 was this: if both teams were from the same city (sometimes even playing in the same park), the home field would simply be alternated each game. This is what happened in 1906, 1921, 1922, and 1923. Thus the pattern was simply 1-1-1-1-1-1-1. However, none of these Series went 7 games, so it is possible that the 7th game might've been played in the same park as the 6th, so the pattern might've actually been 1-1-1-1-1-2. Have to do a bit more checking up on this.

From 1907-1910 the pattern used varied but seems to tended towards 2-2-1-2 (which is an interesting pattern because it means the team which ultimately has the home field advantage for the Series actually plays the first two games on the road). However, 1908 and 1910 are exceptions to this pattern, so I can't say for sure just what was the rule.

From 1911-1913, the pattern has switched to a simple alternating one, even with the teams being from different cities. Again, it might've been either 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 or 1-1-1-1-1-2. However, the teams in the Series those years were all eastern cities (specifically, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York), so it may have been the case that had a more distant city like St. Louis been in the Series a different pattern might've been used.

From 1914-1917 it seems as if things reverted back to the 2-2-1-2 format, which was used regardless of whether the two teams were based in cities close together or not.

In 1918, things seemed to have switched to 3-4 (or perhaps 3-3-1) rotation, but this is likely due to travel restrictions caused by the influenza epidemic which was occuring at the time (and which also cut short the regular season).

From 1919-1921, the Series had reverted back to a best-of-9 format, so I'll leave these years out since that length of series can't be used in OOTP (although, as mentioned earlier, 1921 followed the simple alternating method).

In 1922 and 1923 the teams were from the same city, so the home games were simply alternated each game. I don't know what pattern would've been used had the teams been from different cities (but probably the 2-2-1-2 pattern used a few years earlier).

Finally, in 1924, the pattern was standardized at 2-3-2, regardless of the cities the teams were from, and has been used in every World Series since, with two exceptions, In 1943 and 1945, due to travel restrictions caused by the war, the home field rotation pattern was changed to 3-4. This likely would've been used in 1944 as well, except for the fact that both teams in the Series that year were from St. Louis, which enabled the normal 2-3-2 pattern to be used instead.

Okay, that takes care of the home field rotation, but how was the team getting home field advantage for the Series chosen? Well, that too seems to have been under various rules over the years.

Along with the standardized 2-3-2 rotation adopted in 1924, the home field advantage assignment for the World Series was also standardized, with it alternating between each league each year. It started with the AL team getting it in 1924, and from then on in even years the AL team received the home field advantage and in odd years the NL team had it. Things proceeded in this manner up until 1934.

In 1935, the NL team should've had the home field advantage, but for some reason the AL team got it again. However, things went right back to alternating years, except now it was even years for the NL team and odd years for the AL team. This continued to be the case in all the subsequent years, right up until 1993. The only exceptions were in 1943 and 1945. The AL team should've had the home field advantage for the Series in those two years, but as mentioned earlier, travel restrictions changed the home field rotation to 3-4. So, while the AL team technically did not have home field advantage for the Series, it did get the first 3 games at home. By doing it this way, it kept the site of the first games of the Series alternating each year between each League (as it had been doing already), although the home advantage for the Series as a whole ended up being with the NL for several years in a row.

The cancellation of the World Series in 1994 meant that the rotation for that year was skipped, so in 1995 the NL team got the home field advantage, and from there things alternated once again, with odd years going to the NL team and even years going to the AL team.

For the years prior to 1924, the way in which home field advantage was assigned seems to be quite varied, with several methods apparently used.

From 1903-1911, it is difficult to tell how home field advantage was assigned. It appears to be most likely an alternating system. It was the AL for two years, then the NL for two years, and thereafer it alternated between the AL and NL each year (the fact that no Series was played in 1904 probably contributed to it initially being two years before rotating).

In 1912-1913, a different method was used. It appears that the League getting the home field advantage was the League whose team had lost the World Series the previous year. So, for example, in 1912 the NL team gets the home field advantage for the Series because the AL team had won the Series in 1911.

From 1914-1917, it appears things were reversed, so that now the League which had won the previous Series got the home field advantage. Thus, in 1914 the AL team gets it, because the AL team had won the 1913 World Series.

For 1918-1923, things are quite confused and it looks like both of these methods were used at different times. In 1918, 1919, 1921, and 1923 it looks like the League that lost the previous Series got the home field advantage; in 1920 and 1922 it looks like the League that previously won the Series got it instead. However, it is difficult to know for sure if these were indeed the actual methods used.

So, there you have it. Things are quite consistent from 1924 onwards when it comes to both home field rotation and assignment, but the pre-1924 time period is highly varied.

You may ask how does this affect simming the Series in OOTP, since by default it uses the 2-3-2 pattern? The answer is that you can reassign the home field of the games in the World Series yourself. You can do this by simply using the schedule editor to remove the games from the schedule, and then manually adding the games back in, with them taking place at the home field you want (and on the dates you want too, for that matter). Just add back in all 7 of the Series games and you're ready to begin simming. The game still recognizes it as a best-of-7 series and will stop once a team reaches 4 wins, but now the games will take place in the city you designate. I've tried this out myself a couple of times, switching the Series to a 3-4 rotation, and it worked fine.

So, if any of you want to add one more element of accuracy to your historical leagues (admittedly a nitpick of an element), you can.

[Tiger Fan]

Very interesting read.

[Le Grande Orange]

Thanks Tiger Fan. Your posts are pretty interesting reads too.

I'm probably one of the few people here who is more interested in the league-level rules rather than league and player stats. But then, since there are so many folks here to cover the latter, I might as well try to uncover the former.

[Le Grande Orange]

Well, it was on my mind, so I went and dug through the old newspapers on microfilm, to see if some of my theories on how pre-1924 World's Series were right or not.

Turns out I was applying a little too much of a modern sensibility to analyzing the situations. The actual baseball solutions are straightforward, though certainly unexpected.

I haven't completed all my research yet, but I have gone through 1910-1923, so I have enough info to make some definitive statements. So here goes.

Question: What method was used to decide whether to start the Series in the AL or NL park?

Answer: Coin toss.

Question: How was the home field rotation handled for the first 6 games of a best-of-7 series?

Answer: Basically, by the following two methods.

If the two teams were from the same city, the home field was simply alternated each day. So the pattern was just 1-1-1-1-1-1.

If the two teams were from different cities, then either the 1 game alternating method described above was used, or, teams would alternate after two games were played (for the first 4 games), and then alternate after one game. In other words, the pattern was 2-2-1-1.

In this instance, how was the specific rotation pattern chosen? The answer seems to depend on the particular year examined.

From 1910-1913, either pattern could be used. It appears the two contesting teams would agree on the method, with the distance between the cities playing a role. Teams from cities that were closer together, like Boston and New York for example, might opt for 1-1-1-1-1-1. Cities that were further apart, like Chicago and New York, would opt for the 2-2-1-1 method, to reduce the amount of long distance travelling.

From 1914-1917, only the 2-2-1-1 rotation was allowed for teams from different cities.

I don't have any information yet on pre-1910 World's Series yet, but it would appear the same rules as used in 1910-1913 were in effect. More on this as it is uncovered.

Question: How was the 7th game of a best-of-7 series handled?

Answer: The site of the 7th game was determined by coin toss.

Question: Why does the way some of the World's Series games were actually played differ from the above patterns?

Answer: Because of the way baseball handled games that were postponned due to rain or were declared ties.

Baseball changed the rules handling these types of situations several times. In some years, regardless of whether games were rained out or declared tie games due to darkness, the teams would remain in the same city and play the amount of games they were originally scheduled to play. The remaining games of the Series would then be pushed back in the schedule to accommodate this.

In other years, games that were rained out would be made up the next day, pushing back the schedule, but games declared ties would not be made up and the teams would then proceed to the next game that was originally scheduled.

And in other years, games that ended as ties would be made up, but rained out games might not be made up, depending on whether there was a day in which to reschedule it before the next originally scheduled game was set to be played.

As a result of these rule changes, the patterns that were actually played in some years differ from what was described earlier.

Question: Why do call it the World's Series?

Answer: Because that's what it was actually called in those years. It was "World's Series" not "World Series".

Also, I have to make a correction. The reason why the 1918 baseball season was cut short was not due to the influenza outbreak. It was actually cut short by decree of Congress - with the entry of the U.S. into the First World War, baseball was told to finish up it's regular season by Sept. 1st.

However, I am pretty sure the influenza outbreak was the principle reason for the shortening of the 1919 baseball season. I had the right cause, just the wrong year.

When I finish up the research into the years prior to 1910, I will make any further updates as needed.

[Tiger Fan]

According to BaseballLibrary.com this is the reason the 1919 season was shortened:

IN THE NEWS: Anticipating a poor season at the gate, the major leagues open a reduced 140-game season. Despite the lack of close races, attendance remains high all year and every club will show a profit.

I remember reading flu epidemic cancelling the Stanley Cup final between Montreal and Seattle in 1919 but it doesnt appear it affected baseball

[Le Grande Orange]

Thanks for the info Tiger Fan.

I could've sworn I read somewhere that the influenza epidemic affected baseball too, but I stand corrected. I probably got it mixed up with the hockey situation.

BTW, I thought it was interesting to find out that baseball used a coin toss to determine the site of the 7th game of a best-of-7 series. I never would've guessed that.

Tomorrow I plan to finish up my World Series research, but I suspect 1903-1909 is probably going to follow the rules already uncovered so far. But I think I'll dig into the tiebreaking games rules again while I'm at it...

[Tiger Fan]

quote:

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Originally posted by Le Grande Orange:
I could've sworn I read somewhere that the influenza epidemic affected baseball too, but I stand corrected. I probably got it mixed up with the hockey situation.

BTW, I thought it was interesting to find out that baseball used a coin toss to determine the site of the 7th game of a best-of-7 series. I never would've guessed that.

---

I wasnt sure about the epidemic but I thought it was restricted to the west coast so I doublechecked with BaseballLibrary.com. (a great site for any one interested in baseball history btw).

The coin toss stuff is amazing. Just shows how things have changed. Imagine a coin toss to determine game 7 nowadays.

I look forward to reading the results of the rest of your research.

Here is Baseball Library address for anyone interested that doesnt already know it.

http://www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/

[ 05-02-2002, 12:53 AM: Message edited by: Tiger Fan ]

[Le Grande Orange]

Thanks for that link. Wow!!! I thought I had visited that site before, but if I had, I missed all the history info it contains. Excellent stuff!

BTW, another place for detailed info on the seasons as they were played (complete with day-by-day standings, scores, individual and team stats, and more) is at:

http://www.retrosheet.org/index.html

I've used this site to pull a particular season's schedule as it was actually played to use as a base from which to construct OOTP schedules. Takes a bit of work, as the way the info is presented there is not intended for this use, but it can be done.

[Hammer755]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tiger Fan:
The coin toss stuff is amazing. Just shows how things have changed. Imagine a coin toss to determine game 7 nowadays.

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Yes, that's much worse than deciding before the season starts who will have home field advantage.



[ 05-02-2002, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Hammer755 ]

[Granny Hamner]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Le Grande Orange:
[QB]BTW, another place for detailed info on the seasons as they were played (complete with day-by-day standings, scores, individual and team stats, and more) is at:

http://www.retrosheet.org/index.html

/QB]

---

Retrosheet is awesome. Note that on each player page on Baseball-Reference.com there is a link to Retrosheet, which takes you to that players game-by-game performance logs (if they have them, they have only a few years now, but it is great when they do).

I really wish OOTP created a game-by-game log for each team like that provided by Retrosheet. It would really make review of a season you just simmed much easier, as you could see when teams got hot and cold. I just discovered in one of my sims that a team won 22 of its last 24 to win the pennant, something that would have been obvious on a game log. Currently I export to text the standings on the first day of each month so I have some sense of the ebb and flow of the pennant races.

[JimServo]

Fascinating stuff! I going to stick with the 2-3-2 format mainly because I like it that way. I decide who goes first based on winning percentage. Then again, I played 154 games in 1903, and am going to in 1919.