Despite there being many weeks of preparation time, I got caught up launching the WISC and participating in other drafts and really didn’t start my research until the top four teams started picking their spots. Though less than an ideal start, I did manage at least to get all the pitching researched before I had to start picking. I usually like to have a sense of my pitching first anyway, though certainly I must have overlooked a few great hitting options in the first round.

I generally had my whole roster filled with my first 3 teams here and used those 3rd or 4th picks sometimes just to get 1 or 2 players. The FA pool was pretty slim after the top few choices, but I think I at least managed to upgrade each team some.

My overall sense of these teams is that we’ll mostly go as far as the limited number of good pitchers can carry us. Quality-wise (and ignoring all the wasted salary) this feels closer to a $100M roster and definitely some of the pitchers I’ll be counting on have higher WHIP and ERC# than I’d usually choose at that level even. We should see speed play on the basepaths, but not in stealing bases. I wish I had a little more of it, considering how few homers we’ll get. And I’m sure most of us will be playing with some defenses we rather shudder at. I’ve got “D” fielding across the board on one team, basically, though at least range is tolerably good for the most part.

League 1, Pick 13: Sam Wise and 1 Browning to Rule Them All

Round 1: 1888 Detroit Wolverines
I considered it essential to get significant pitching with this pick, even if it’s not the liveliest of offensive eras, just because I couldn’t count on getting much later. These Wolverines brought two strong arms in Pete Conway (484 IP, 2.15 ERC#) and Henry Gruber (297, 2.30). 1B Dan Brouthers (.919 OPS#) will be a starter, and I’ll fill half of two platoons with 2B Hardy Richardson (.829) and OF Sam Thompson (.874).

Round 2: 1887 Boston Beaneaters
This was an all-offense pick because I could see a few teams with pitching help lingered, but not much hitting would still be available later. I went for depth here, pulling starters in C King Kelly (.882), 3B Billy Nash (.812), SS Sam Wise (.914) and 2B/SS Ezra Sutton (.773) to split time with Richardson. They also have an A++ CF option with 99 speed in Dick Johnston (.675) I might wind up using.

Round 3: 1886 New York Metropolitans
I took them for 3 players basically: SP Ed Cushman (391, 2.69), RP John Shaffer (83, 1.84) and 1B Dave Orr (.934). This will push Brouthers into a corner OF spot, but that’s OK because it’s not like I’ve got many good options there anyway. Two lousy hitters and a lousy pitcher also have to make the team.

Round 4: 1886 Washington Nationals
It’s tough to find a team with even 4 or 5 useful players that includes pitching help, so I settled for this group over the 1889 Bridegrooms (taken 2 picks later). Frank Gilmore (102, 2.31) and Hank O’Day (67, 2.76) give me a 3-man group of short relievers at least. Plus we’ll bring along 521 innings of Dupee Shaw (3.26) for long relief, which we’d better not use much of. OF Paul Hines (.857) is the only really useful hitter here, and he might wind up covering CF for me with his B range.

FA: 1891 Pete Browning, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
This team really was hurting for outfielders, especially ones with good range, so I went hunting for someone who can play CF and also do some hitting. It came down to this slower but more productive Browning or a speedier Dummy Hoy with no punch. Hopefully it was the right choice.

Overview: We’re going to make an obscene number of errors, and hopefully that doesn’t tax the few useful arms too much. This lineup is top heavy, which might not be good enough to beat better balanced teams. I wish I had a few higher AVG guys in there. A few of my hitters show double-digit homers, so who knows maybe that will even play a little?


League 2, Pick 9: Turn Your Head and Kauff

Round 1: 1898 Baltimore Orioles
Securing some good pitching was mandatory for me here, but I also wanted a team that offered strength on offense at this high a pick. These O’s have some OBP machines in John McGraw (.472) and Hughie Jennings (.452), plus a .380 hitter in Willie Keeler, another good OF in Joe Kelley (.851 OPS#), and potential starters at 1B in Dan McGann (.812) and 2B Gene DeMontreville (.778). Al Maul (261 IP, 2.28 ERC#) and Doc McJames (407 IP, 2.72) can anchor the rotation.

Round 2: 1915 Brooklyn Feds
Two teams I probably would have preferred went just before my slot: 1914 Buffalo Feds and 1915 Newark Peppers. Though an additional SP would have been nice to get here, these Brooklynites offer a rarity in this league: quality relievers. Two of them even. Cy Falkenberg (52 IP, 1.52 ERC#) and Hooks Wiltse (64, 1.89) at least give me some ability to pull my SP in the late innings. Plus this team gives me a strong CF in Benny Kauff (.982) and a couple other usable spare parts.

Round 3: 1899 Cincinnati Reds
I needed another arm for the rotation and narrowed it down to teams that could offer one. Noodles Hahn (334, 2.48) fits that bill for sure. I also can add 1B Jake Beckley (.845) to the lineup and a platoon C Bob Wood (.850), along with a couple solid bench/platoon bats. Kip Selbach (.792, A+ range) could see some OF time, even if it’s just as a defensive replacement. The only remaining offensive need is 400 PA at C, plus possible upgrades at a couple spots if they develop. I also still need a couple hundred innings that hopefully won’t totally suck.

Round 4: 1892 Washington Senators
Getting a couple more usable pitchers was my main focus here, knowing I can get a FA hitter later. Not that they’re world-beaters, but I added 210 innings from Jesse Duryea (2.70) plus two others that get me up to 9 pitchers and 1,766 IP. I added a pair of catchers to cover the rest of the PA, pending a possible FA upgrade there. Oh, and Danny Richardson, an infielder with good ratings at 2B, 3B and SS to help with late-inning defense.

FA: 1896 Tom McCreery, OF, Louisville
With no possibility of adding any useful pitcher, I just looked for my best offensive upgrade. Though I have several high OBP hitters, I don’t have a ton of SLG in the lineup. So McCreery’s .544 SLG along with a .335 AVG and switch bat will be useful in the heart of the order. I also considered a better catcher, one of the Roger Connors to replace Beckley, and also the strong half season of 1893 Pete Browning.

Overview: The challenge with this team is it features a lot of singles hitters without a ton of team speed, so we have to string a few things together to score more often that not. We’ll draw a lot of walks, and errors will be prevalent, so maybe it will work. Averages and OBP are high all through the lineup at least. Maybe having a couple of good relievers will help win some close games (hahaha right, schwarze?)



League 2, Pick 17: Joyce and Re-Joyce

Round 1: 1915 Kansas City Packers
This was a pretty easy choice for me because the Packers came with 5 useful pitchers, and I couldn’t say that about any other team. None are outstanding, but it’s good depth and frees me to draft my next two teams for offense only.

Round 2: 1896 New York Giants
What was most appealing about these Giants were two monster bats in Bill Joyce (.971 OPS#) and Mike Tiernan (.951) along with some speed and versatility. George Van Haltren (.878) can play CF if needed, and George Davis (.826) can play several positions.

Round 3: 1895 Washington Senators
Another all-offense pick, basically, though they have one usable pitcher at least. The problem is their best hitter is also Bill Joyce (.942), which means I’m playing a terrible fielder at two infield positions now. I’m assuming defenses will be weak league-wide for the most part, but this is self-inflicted pain at this point. The Senators also filled holes at 1B with Ed Cartwright (.868) and C with Deacon McGuire (.840) and offer a potential CF in Kip Selbach (.859). At this point, I have every lineup spot covered and have 6-7 pitchers topping 1550 innings and can use my last picks to upgrade anywhere.

Round 4: 1897 Chicago Colts
There weren’t many significant upgrades out there, just opportunities to add some pitching depth perhaps or maybe 1 or 2 useful hitters somewhere. I had a few options to weigh but went with the Colts to get one strong IF defender in Bill Dahlen (.861) and a better CF candidate in Bill Lange (.870, 97 speed). This boots Davis and Selbach to the bench most likely, though Dahlen only has 417 PA and will wind up having to sit a lot anyway. I suspected a team or two might have been hoping to add one of the few decent SS and maybe I played a bit of spoiler here. I had actually considered this team in Round 3 and was surprised they were still there.

FA: 1894 Roger Connor, 1B, St. Louis Browns
I didn’t really see any significant upgrade potential for my offense, but Connor’s switch bat and XBH should play well anywhere. He’s slower with a lower AVG than Cartwright but has better range and SLG. I suppose Cartwright can run for him late in games. And if Connor’s bad normalization makes him unproductive, I can always just swap Cartwright back in. Heck, maybe he’ll still start against LHP.

Overview: Compared with my other L2 team, this one has way more XBH potential with a lot of guys who hit 3B. Plus they have a little more team speed, and the lineup feels pretty deep too. On the downside, Joyce is going to give away errors and minus plays like Halloween at the rich family’s house. With four basically equivalent Packers pitchers, I’m just going to start out by running two tandems for my rotation. I’ll basically be trying to cover 8+ innings with them every time out with just one or two guys in the bullpen who aren’t scary.

For me, the prep for this round was basically the same as the other rounds. I have every team parsed out in a spreadsheet and have the team’s OPS+ and ERC+ numbers by position, so I can easily compare teams across different seasons/eras.

When building a roster, the main difference in this round (vs. the other two rounds) is that there are a bunch of big inning pitchers available. When drafting 4 single-seasons teams, using a maximum of 6 players per team, you’d typically want your early picks to have 5-6 usable players. But with no DH and a bunch of decent 400+ inning pitchers available, you may only need around 12 usable players, which means most people will have their main core of players by the third round. Of course, I would still look for teams with as many pieces as possible, but my main focus was getting teams with multiple *impact* players.

League 2
Round 1, Pick #3
During my research for the WIS Championship’s $70M theme, I discovered that the 1914 Chicago Whalers would be a great fit for this puzzle theme. They have great pitching plus a couple of nice hitters. Sadly, pedrocerrano had a “Top 4” pick and grabbed this team as the first pick in League 2 with the #2 overall selection. With the second pick in league 2, footballmm11 selected the ever-popular 1894 Phillies. Now I was up.

My initial research always starts with pitching and the 1915 St. Louis Terriers jumped out with Eddie Plank (1.85 erc#, 207 erc+) and Dave Davenport (1.95 erc#, 196 erc+) being two of the league’s three best starting pitchers (behind the ’14 Wales’ Claude Hendrix). This Terriers team doesn’t have any dominant hitters like those 1894-96 teams, but their normalized OPS+ numbers are decent enough. There are four batters with OPS+ between 117 and 119.

But before I committed to the Terriers, I researched the best hitting teams. My top two choices were the 1895 and 1896 Baltimore Orioles. It was close between those teams, but I liked 1895 better. But I determined to stick with the Terriers b/c there is so much hitting in this league, and very little pitching. I’m fairly certain that I will be able to piece together a decent enough offense. Also, the 1894-96 seasons don’t normalize all that well. I added three hitters… 1B Babe Borton (.811 ops#, 119 ops+), C Grover Hartley (.747 ops#, 109 ops+, A- arm), 3B Charlie Deal (.810 ops#, 119 ops+, B/B). I also added a third pitcher, for some depth, Doc Crandell (3.13 erc#, 122 erc+).

Round 2, Pick #46
Not surprisingly, 1895 Orioles (pedrocerrano) and 1896 Orioles (barracuda3) were the next two teams selected, making me second guess myself on whether I made the right choice or not. In fact, seven of the next eight picks were mid 90’s Phillies or Orioles teams.

Anyway, there was a very long wait between pick 3 and pick 46. No need to do research yet since so many teams will get taken before my turn. With two people to go before my turn, I started doing research. I really wanted to get a bunch of quality hitters with my next two picks, with maybe one usable pitcher per team. I had finally settled on the 1892 Brooklyn Bridegrooms but barracuda3 grabbed them... ouch! I was still in the middle of figuring out who I was going to take instead, when I determined that the 1914 KC Packers may be a decent choice here – they have a quality C and 2B plus lots of usable pitching… but before I could finalize that decision, pedrocerrano grabbed the Packers. WTF? It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do now.

I really wanted 1896 Colts (for the stud SS Bill Dahlen) but that team didn’t offer enough other pieces – maybe I grab them in round 3. I strongly considered the 1892 Colts, who had another good Dahlen season (he could play 3B or SS) plus they had a solid SP Bill Hutchison (who could start 81 games). I also looked at the 1900 Cardinals and the 1899 Bridegrooms. I thought there was a chance one of the two Colts teams would make it back to me, so I went with the 1899 Bridegrooms since I got a starting 2B, Tom Daly (.838 ops#, 118 ops+), two starting OFs, Willie Keeler (.877 ops#, 123 ops+) and Joe Kelley (.860 ops#, 121 ops+), a weaker version of Bill Dahlen (.793 ops#, 112 ops+, B-/B-) to play SS and my second catcher, Duke Farrell (.818 ops#, 115 ops+). SP Jay Hughes (3.00 erc#, 130 erc+) adds pitching depth.

Round 3, Pick #51
Not surprisingly, pedrocerrano grabs the 1896 Colts at pick 49. What really sucked was that footballmm11 then grabbed the 1892 Colts at pick 50. So after picking up the pieces of the mouse that I threw across the room, I decided to take the 1900 St. Louis Cardinals. At 3B, I settle for John McGraw (.923 ops#, 131 ops+) and his .505 obp (but poor fielding). Jesse Burkett (.907 ops#, 128 ops+, D/A-) becomes my starting CF and is probably my best hitter. I also added a couple of bench pieces. Mike Donlin (.871 ops#, 123 ops+) is a pinch hitter. Emmet Heidrick (C/A+) is a defensive replacement in the OF and Bobby Wallace provides extra PAs at SS. The key to this pick is adding another useful pitcher in Cy Young (2.85 erc#, 121 erc+).

Round 4, Pick #94
I pretty much have everything I need. Although I have enough quality innings, I wanted some more bodies to be able to come in and throw, and the 1900 Boston Beaneaters had the two best pitchers available... Bill Dinneen (3.24 erc#, 119 erc+) and Kid Nichols (3.25 erc#, 119 erc+). The hitting has some useful parts, starting with my new starting CF, Billy Hamilton (.848 ops#, 120 ops+). Jimmy Collins (.750 ops#, 106 ops+, B/A) is a starter-worthy 3B but will probably just be a defensive replacement for McGraw. Boileryard Clark (.706 ops#, 100 ops+) gives me a third catcher with a decent arm. Hugh Duffy (.772 ops#, 109 ops+) is just another outfielder who probably won't get much action.

Round 5, Pick #99
When I picked the 1892 Brooklyn Bridegrooms, knowing SS Bill Dahlen was a bit light on plate appearances, plan A was to grab the 1896 Bill Dahlen or 1892 Bill Dahlen. But plan B was to grab one of the two decent George Davis with my free agent selection. I decided on 1900 George Davis (.785 ops#, 111 ops+).

Outlook: I have to believe this team's pitching will provide this team with a high floor of at least 80-85 wins. If the offense can match some of the 1894-96 offenses, then a playoff birth is certainly attainable. Note: In game #1, Davenport (started) & Plank (relieved) combined to allow 19 hits and 9 runs in 10 innings. Note a good sign for my pitching, but I won 14-11 in 11 innings, so a good sign for my offense.

League 1
Round 1, Pick #4
The 1888 St. Louis Browns were the clear #1 overall pick and toysboys quickly grabbed them. I was hoping to get the ’85 New York Giants and Roger Conner, but emanes10 took that team at pick #2. Pedrocerrano continued with the ’88 Giants at pick 3. My top two choices were the 1886 Detroit Wolverines (with Lady Baldwin and Dan Brouthers) or the 1886 Chicago White Stockings with King Kelly (1.055 ops#, 159 ops+) & Cap Anson (1.014 ops#, 152 ops+). Since in this league, pitching is more dominant than hitting, I felt that passing on LHP Lady Baldwin could be justified since I can certainly get decent SP in the next few rounds, and having a stud catcher is just too valuable. I also added two OFs with starter George Gore (.916 ops#, 137 ops+) and pinch hitter Jimmy Ryan (.798 ops#, 119+). I was able to get two decent SPs (with >900 Ips) as well, John Clarkson (2.63 erc#, 131 erc+) and Jocko Flynn (2.34 erc#, 149 erc+).

Round 2, Pick #45
This wait was even longer as the league #1 draft is moving very slowly. It was nearly 4 days between my first two picks. I didn’t really start researching this next pick until about an hour before it was my turn. I still needed 2B, 3B, SS, two OFs and more pitching. The 1890 Cincinnati Reds provided a bunch of useful pieces. Bid McPhee (.769 ops#, 112 ops+) isn’t much of a hitter, but his A+++ range at 2B will come in handy. Tony Mullane (.759 ops#, 110 ops+) also has A+ range at 3B, although he will make some errors (D-). OF Joe Knight (.813 ops#, 118 ops+) is serviceable in the OF. The gem of this team is SP Billy Rhines (2.34 erc#, 150 erc+) and gives me three very strong SPs. SP Jesse Duryea (3.01 erc#, 123 erc+) adds some pitching depth. The final piece is a defensive 1B who also hit .300, John Reilly (A++ range).

Round 3, Pick #51
Ugh… There isn’t much left in terms of impact players. I still need a SS, a part-time 3B (since Mullane only has 407 PA), an OF who can play defense and hit, and more pitching of course. Many of the teams with multiple decent offensive players include 1B (and I already have Cap Anson locked in at 1B). One team I had typed in and ready to submit was the 1887 Indianapolis Hoosiers. They have an A+ range guy at 3B and SS… both of those guys would be useful, but they really have nothing else I can use, including no pitching. Still, to get those A+ range infielders to add to McPhee was tempting. Instead, I selected the 1886 St. Louis Maroons. They have a very good hitting SS, Jack Glasscock (.843 ops#, 126 ops+) who is only a C/C fielder. Somebody please explain the sim performance history for 3B Jerry Denny (.702 ops#, 104 ops+, A++ range). In real life, he hit 9 HRs in 475 ABs. His performance history shows only two seasons, both played in Petco Park. Somehow, he averaged 20 HRs per season (631 ABs). What can he do in a neutral HR park?

The main reason I chose this team over the Hoosiers is for this guy… SP Henry Boyle (2.50 erc#, 139 erc+) was the best SP available at this point in the draft. SP John Healy (2.95 erc#, 117 erc+) is another warm body. The other two players I added are insignificant and won't be used. This roster now has four very usable pitchers (1700+ innings) plus two long guys. We just need a very good hitting OF who has A range or better.

Round 4, Pick #51
I was busy playing poker when my last pick came up. I wanted the 1890 Philadelphia A's (PL) but they went one pick before me (damn it footballmm11). I didn't need much. I figured I could get a decent enough OF in the free agent draft, so I told those behind me to skip me. The team with the most talent was the 1885 Providence Grays. They had three decent pitchers left (two of those pitchers ended up going in round 5). I almost drafted them just to deny others from getting those pitchers. I ended up drafting the 1891 Chicago Colts, which in retrospect is kind of a waste. This team has a lot of slightly above average players but no real impact players. I may start OF Jimmy Ryan (.812 OPS#, 118 OPS+) occasionally. OF Walt Wilmot (.786 ops#, 114 ops+) is a switch hitter which could have some value. Bill Dahlen (.761 ops#, 111 ops+, D+/A-) was one of the better 3B available (that my other league 1 team kind of needed in round 5). He may end up starting over Tony Mullane. .Question: Which is the better defensive player at 3B... (D-/A++) or (D+/A-)? 2B Fred Pfeffer (.725 ops#, 105 ops+, D/A++) will probably never play over Bid McPhee despite his excellent range. Catcher Pop Schriver (.902 ops#, 132 ops+) is probably the best roster addition from this team, but he only has 123 PA. Pitcher Bill Hutchison (2.98 erc#, 124 erc+) give me 7 pitchers, totaling 3199 innings.

Round 5, Pick #100
Although I just drafted Jimmy Ryan (D/A) to play CF, I still wanted a great fielding outfielder who wouldn't kill me offensively. I figured Fred Carroll would get taken before my turn and he did. So I went with 1891 Mike Griffin (.751 ops#, 109 ops+, B/A+++). His 3.23 range factor should equate to 30 or more + plays in CF. He's my team's worst hitter and will bat ninth.

Outlook
Considering I made what I thought was a solid first round choice, I'm not all that excited about this team. After King Kelly and Cap Anson, the offense drops off a cliff. I knew the offense in this league was poor, but by the time it got back to me in round 2, there wasn't a lot left. Yes - I got two stud hitters, but 1B is deep and I could've got a solid 1B much later in the draft (I even passed on teams because I didn't need another 1B). And although I got some decent pitchers in the later rounds (which is what I expected), I don't have any stud pitchers that I can count on to win a game. I haven't looked at other teams offenses, but if my offense ends up ranked average or below average, this team won't advance due to it's mediocre pitching. The defense should at least be pretty good with a bunch of A++ range guys (2B, 3B, CF but sadly, not at SS though).

League 2
Round 1, Pick #11
After I selected the 1915 Terriers with pick #3, the next seven picks were the 1895 Orioles, 1896 Orioles, 1897 Beaneaters, 1895 Phillies, 1893 Phillies, 1898 Orioles and the 1894 Orioles. My search started with finding a team with a solid hitting SS who could also field. Sure enough, the 1897 Baltimore Orioles were still available and they had a good enough Hughie Jennings (.916 ops#, 126 ops+, C/A). I get my entire OF with this selection, including Willie Keeler (.986 ops#, 135 ops+) who hit .424, Joe Kelley (.920 ops#, 126 ops+) and Jake Stenzel (.860 ops#, 119 ops+). 3B John McGraw (.833 ops#, 115 ops+) is an on base machine (.457 obp#). And believe it or not, but this team actually has a usable relief pitcher, Doc Amole (88 ip, 2.72 erc#, 150 erc+). I’m very happy with this pick.

Round 2, Pick #38
I knew I was going to be drafting pitching with this pick and so my search was focused on 1914-15 Federal League teams. The top two choices were the 1915 Newark Peppers and the 1914 Buffalo Feds. The Peppers had more pitching depth, including three usable starters and a strong reliever. But the 1914 Buffalo Feds had the best pitcher of the group, Russ Ford (1.97 erc#, 191 erc+). The difference between the Feds' second and third best pitchers weren’t all that different from the Peppers’ second and third best pitchers. So the only real loss was not getting the very good RP. Do you think his school classmates made fun of this guy’s name... Gene Krapp (2.81 erc#, 134 erc+) is decent enough to make the rotation. Fred Anderson (2.91 erc#, 129 erc+) is right behind Krapp as my SP3. Pitching is so scarce in this league, that I am happy to get 37 innings from Dan Woodman (3.12 erc#, 120 erc+). Not much offense from this team. Hal Chase (327 PA, .885 ops#, 127 ops+) may get to play a little 1B and outfielder Charlie Hanford (B/A-) is a defensive replacement.

Round 3, Pick #59
Right after I picked, mllama54 selected the 1915 Newark Peppers. I had my sights set on the 1892 Pirates due to their pitching. I had to wait 21 picks to get them. With one pick left before my turn, mllama54 grabs them in front of me. Ouch! So instead, I switched gears and go with a team with some big offensive names, including some at positions I already had covered. I needed a catcher and shortstop and some PAs at 1B. The 1893 New York Giants really solidified my offense. I get to add two of my favorite switch hitters. 1B Roger Conner (.850 ops#, 117 ops+, A+++ range) doesn’t have the offensive numbers that Hal Chase has but we all know switch hitters tend to perform better than righty batters. 3B George Davis (.950 ops#, 131 ops+) replaces John McGraw at 3B. McGraw will make a nice pinch hitter when I need a leadoff walk in the ninth inning. 2B John Ward (.781 ops#, 108 ops+) isn’t going to scare any pitchers, but he did hit .328 and is lefty bat (and can also field A- range). Catcher Jack Doyle (.785 ops#, 108 ops+) gives me part of my catching tandem. Unless I get a better clone, part-timer Willie Keeler (A+ range at 3B) is a defensive replacement.

On the pitching side, I’m hoping normalization helps Amos Rusie (3.10 erc#, 133 erc+). His 1.39 whip is a bit scary, but his normalized whip# is 1.27. Hopefully, Conner, Ward and Jennings will help defensively when Rusie pitches. Edit: Rusie will pitch mostly in the mop-up role as I ended up with better pitchers later in the draft.

Round 4, Pick #86
I wanted pitching and the 1900 Chicago Orphans had the best combination of pitchers left. Ned Garvin (2.84 erc#, 135 erc+), Clark Griffin (3.07 erc#, 126 erc+) and Jack Taylor (3.27 erc#, 118 erc+) provide over 800 usable innings. The three hitters from this roster that I added have some marginal use... Sam Mertes (.295 avg) Bill Bradley (A++ range at 3B) and Frank Chance (.812 ops#, 115 ops+, backup catcher), but aren't impact players.

Round 5, Pick #107
I really didn't need much on offense and there really wasn't anything left to add on the pitching side, so I decided to upgrade my weakest position, catcher with switch-hitter, 1898 Duke Farrell (.792 ops#, 114 ops+).

Outlook:
Oddly, I kind of like this team better than my King Kelly team. Ironically, the pitching isn't much worse, but the hitting is way better. The defense is decent and I have a bunch of switch hitters and lefty bats. I think this team could actually compete for a playoffs despite my first pick being at #11.

Reserve for my 1889 New York Giants

Going into this draft, I did a pretty lot of manual research, skimming each team's options. After compiling the list of 122 teams available, I looked over the list with my notes. I found that the truly elite pitching was in short supply, along with elite bats. However, there were solid bats through about the top 70 teams I had ranked, and with my final pick being number 78, there was a good chance that I could fill in my offense with picks 3 and 4 and focus on pitching for picks 1 and 2.

Round 1, Pick 19:

I was surprised to see my number 6 ranked team still available, the 1888 Brooklyn Bridegrooms. I used this team in the final juice tournament, and won the world series in that league. This team stood out by having 800 very good innings spread over 3 arms: Mickey Hughes (ERC#: 2.11), Adonis Terry (2.16) and Al Mays (2.56). Hughes will be a starter, while Terry will fill in when he's tired and Mays will be my top bullpen arm. The Bridegrooms also provided some decent bats. George Pinkney will start at 3rd base (OPS#: .761), Hub Collins gave me and SS/OF option (.849) and Pop Corkhill gives me a good defensive outfielder/1b (.732).

Round 2, Pick 30:

In round 2, I had my 12th ranked team still available in the 1885 Pittsburgh Alleghanies. I rounded out my pitching staff with Ed Morris, who will start (and come near to finish) 81 games for me (2.02). He's the main reason for this pick. I'm hoping the fact that he's a lefty doesn't hurt me too much in this deadball league. He's joined by 5 pretty mediocre bats. Fred Carroll (.715) will spend some time at catcher, Tom Brown (.841) will see some time in the outfield, Pop Smith (.669) is a good glove at 2B, and Charlie Eden (.671) and Fred Mann (.690) will keep the bench warm.

Round 3, Pick 67:

At this point, I had thrown my rankings out the window and was just looking at bats, since I had my 1400 innings and am hoping to barely need any other pitchers. Some solid bats were still available; a lot of teams still needed pitching and were looking for balance, but I didn't need that. The 1891 Boston Beaneaters had the best bats out of the remaining teams, with some solid upgrades. John Clarkson (3.17) will be a solid mop when needed. That leaves 5 solid bats. Shortstop Herman Long (.808) pushes Hub Collins to an outfield role, which really upgrades the team. Harry Stovey (.895) will be a solid power bat in the outfield. Steve Brodie (.691) has a pretty solid glove in the outfield. King Kelly (.802) will share time at catcher. Finally, Billy Nash (.773) will be an option at 3B if Pinkney struggles.

Round 4, Pick 78:

At this point, I'm looking for a 1st baseman and some outfield upgrades. I was considering the 1891 Baltimore Orioles with my previous pick, so they'll do nicely here. Jersey Bakely (2.86) and Sadie McMahon (3.01) will serve as the seldomly needed long relievers. Curt Welch (.782) will be a solid starter at 2B, with a good OBP that should allow him to be a solid leadoff hitter. George Van Haltren (.857) is a great lefty bat in the outfield. Perry Werden (.802) serves as the 1st baseman I was looking for. Finally, Bill Johnson (.772) will serve as an option in the outfield.

Round 5:

My options here were to either snag a slight upgrade at 1B or get a short PA catcher. I elected to go with Sam Trott (.809), due to the fact that he was a lefty catcher who can start against righty pitchers. A slight upgrade with few options left.

Overall, I'm very happy with my team, and am optimistic that this team should get me to the final round.

Now that I am back from Vegas, I should finish up the writeup for my last team.... Since we are 46 games into the season, I can add some results-based comments.

League 1
Round 1, Pick #12
I made a huge mistake with this pick. I then was debating between the 1887 New York Giants and and the 1889 New York Giants. I have no idea why I selected 1889 over 1887? The 1887 team has the significantly better 3B, SS, SP. 1889 has a marginally better C, 1B. The 1889 OFs are way better, but OF is a deep position that I could fill later. Really stupid pick on my part. Anyway, the headliner is 1B Roger Connor (.965 ops#, 138 ops+) and he never disappoints (.302, .443, .451). Catcher Buck Ewing (.870 ops#, 124 ops+) was supposed to be a key part of this offense. He's been benched due to his slash of .113/.127/.226 in 63 PA. OF Mike Tiernan (..954 ops#, 134 ops+) is close to being benched as he is hitting a robust .225. OF George Gore (.846 ops#, 124 ops+) has also been benched (.209, .292, .248). Shortstop John Ward (.697 ops#, 99 ops+) has 40 errors in 46 games. SP Tim Keefe (3.00 erc#, 132 erc+) is nothing but a 468-IP mop-up pitcher. He's thrown 24 innings with a 6.38 ERA.

Round 2, Pick #37
I really didn't do any early research before this pick, so when my turn came up, I needed pitching and searched on the best pitching left. The 1885 Philadelphia Quakers provided two of the best SPs available... Charlie Ferguson (2.42 erc#, 134 erc+) has 597 innings and can hit - in fact, his .301/.346/.397 slash line is way better than most of my 1889 batters. Ed Daily (2.47 erc#, 130 erc+) has 648 innings, but I moved him to the bullpen as a LongA. The rest of the 1885 players I rostered from this team don't even play. Charlie Bastian, Jim Fogarty, Tom Lynch, Joe Mulvey have a combined 3 PAs through 46 games.

Round 3, Pick #60
I still need usable pitchers, which is the reason I selected the 1890 Chicago Pirates. Silver King (2.68 erc#, 122 erc+) was one of the best pitchers still available. Adding outfielders Hugh Duffy (.875 ops#, 125 ops+), Jimmy Ryan (.869 ops#, 121 ops+) and Tip O'Neill (.805 ops#, 117 ops+) just reinforces the fact that I should've taken 1887 Giants over the 1889 Giants. Duffy's .228 average has put him on the bench. Catcher Duke Farrell (.777 ops#, 113 ops+) is a switch hitter who is hitting way better (.252) than Ewing (.113). And finally, I get my starting 2B, Fred Pfeffer (.700 ops#, 101 ops+), who can't hit (currently at .193) but has great range (10+ plays in 40 starts).

Round 4, Pick #84
The 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms was a very good real life team (real life record of 93-44) so they clearly have talent. Although I have enough innings, I needed more than three usable pitchers. This team has two more that I can use. Adonis Terry (2.69 erc#, 145 erc+) is my team's main RP - he has 386 innings, so he can pitch 3-4 innings in relief every other day, if needed. Bob Caruthers (2.90 erc#, 135 erc+) will pitch in long relief. Tom Lovett (3.04 erc#, 129 erc+) will join Tim Keefe in mop-up duty. The best offensive players on this team are OFs and I don't need more OFs, so I added a lefty catcher, Joe Visner (.807 ops#, 115 ops+) - he's hitting .364 as a pinch hitter. Hub Collins (.695 ops#, 100 ops+) got a few starts at 2B, but isn't a good fielder, so he doesn't really play much. Pop Corkhill (A+ range) is a defensive replacement in CF.

Round 5, Pick #108
There really wasn't much here that would help this team. I needed a starting 3B, so I grabbed 1890 Jimmy Knowles (.753 ops#, 110 ops+). He's hitting a respectable .281 so no complaints here.

Outlook:
Before the season started, I would have predicted that this would be my worse team, and it is. With a record of 21-25, it's not quite as bad as I would have thought. I keep trying different lineup combinations due to many of my hitters sucking. I don't quite understand why 1889 Tiernan, Gore and Ewing are so bad? Their normalized numbers indicate they should be better. Maybe there's still time to turn things around.

I didn't have time to write up my Round 3 drafts, so I'll try to remember why I did stuff at the draft plus do a bit of a post-mortem now that the season is over.

1894 Phillies + friends
1.02 1894 Phillies
2.23 1892 Giants
3.02 1892 Colts
4.23 1893 Colts
5.02 1897 Ted Breitenstein

Silver King of course went with the 1st overall pick. The 1885 Giants with Mickey Welch and Tim Keefe plus a stud Roger Connor went 3rd overall. pedro opted for Claude Hendrix with the 2nd pick. I, of course, just went for the offense. The 1894 Phillies have 4 studs--Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, Ed Delahanty, and Lave Cross. The first 3 are top 12 players in Lg2 while Cross comes in as the 4th-best 3B. Pitching? No there is none of that. Jack Taylor was considered but didn't make the cut. Tuck Turner (all bat, no glove) and Jack Clements (all bat, no arm) were the final two spots forming part of a platoon at their respective positions.

After a long wait, I needed some pitching. Amos Rusie of the 1892 Giants was the best available (at least, I'm presuming that). He checks in as the 4th-best pitcher in Lg2 with volume considered (571 innings) though just 26th in ERC among SP. I also got the larger half of my catching platoon with Buck Ewing. The last 4 spots got me nothing of note.

Just having to wait out pedro on the turn, luckily I'm right back up. Still needing almost 1000 innings, I went with the 1892 Colts, which brought Bill Hutchison. Like Rusie, more volume than anything, his 2.91 ERC is solid but more importantly he comes with 747 innings if I could use them all. (Note: I got 565 innings out of Hutchison, plus 578 from Rusie, for 1143 total.) Offensively, I need SS, 2B, and half of an OF. This gets me two of those 3. This version of Bill Dahlen (foreshadowing) ended up at SS for me (he has better fielding ratings at 3B B+/A+, but Cross is already there so his C-/B at SS is what I get). Jimmy Ryan isn't exciting but he platooned with Tuck Turner in RF.

Another long wait, though luckily I don't need much. Depending on how many innings I could get out of Rusie and Hutchison, I need a few more there. Plus I need a 2B (or SS). And I have my final team pick then a quick turnaround to the free agent. Interestingly, it's Bill Dahlen's clone that's the best option there so I go with the 1893 Colts. This Dahlen will play 2B. The only other semi-useful player I got here was Fritz Clausen to pitch out of the pen, though he's not great.

There wasn't much on the free agent market so I just went with the best pitcher. Ted Breitenstein is worse than Rusie and Hutchison but he's better than Jack Taylor, who was the next pitcher in line from my drafted teams, and allowed me to grab both Turner and Clements from the Phillies.

Outlook: I had high hopes for this team and expected them to lead the league in scoring with good enough run prevention. I guess that's kind of what happened--we won the division and advanced to the next round--but the offense was underwhelming, just 9th in the league. The pitching wasn't great but wasn't terrible and that was good enough. Defensively, we were near the bottom in Errors but 4th in + plays and just 18 (-) plays. Early on the win% and Exp% were hovering around .600 and in a relatively-weak division we built up enough of a lead that the decline over the course of the season wasn't felt as much, but the W% consistently trickled down ending below .550 and the run differential actually went negative at one point before rebounding in the last part of the season.

Thompson, Hamilton, and Delahanty were good individually (though Delahanty disappointed relative to expectations), but the rest of the lineup was pretty mediocre outside of Buck Ewing, who was the 2nd-best hitting catcher. Cross and the two Dahlens were just okay and the Turner/Ryan platoon in RF was not great.

The pitching was not expected to be great but Rusie was more than good enough, ranking 11th in ERA among qualified starters while leading the league in innings. Hutchison was 2nd in innings, though his 5.16 ERA was below league-average. I neededa bout 300 innings from the bullpen--Breitenstein threw 209 innings in long relief with a 5.94 ERA while Fritz Clausen was really bad (8.10 ERA).

1886 Wolverines + friends
1.05 1886 Wolverines
2.20 1890 Browns
3.05 1890 Stars
4.20 1890 Athletics (PL)
5.05 1890 Deacon McGuire

In what ended up being my ONLY 1st Round pick that got me a good pitcher, it was also my best team. The 1886 Wolverines lasted to the 5th pick of Lg1 and I was fortunate to get Lady Baldwin as a 642-inning ace with 1.91 ERC (4th-best of any Lg1 starter). As a bonus, Phenomenal Smith is one of the best relievers with 1.67 ERC, though just 33 innings. And on offense, the Wolverines have the #1 1B and #4 overall player in Lg1, Dan Brouthers. Hardy Richardson is another no-doubt starter in the OF. And I ended up using Charlie Bennett as my backup catcher, so got 5 useful players from this pick. Sam Thompson was the 6th spot and while he's solid, I ended up not needing his at-bats in the OF.

I think I mostly chose the 1890 Browns for the pitching combination of Elton Chamberlain and Toad Ramsey, though it was a solid depth pick with 6 usable pieces. They combine for over 650 innings so get me most of the way to what I need. Joe Neale is no Phenomenal Smith but his 83 innings and 2.23 ERC were a nice fit in the bullpen. The prize on the offensive side was 3B Tommy McCarthy, who I had rated as the #1 3B in Lg1. However, I also got what ended up being a platoon between Count Campau and Chief Roseman (Roseman is D-/D- in the OF but D/C+ at 1B so I actually shifted Brouthers to RF against lefties).

At this point, I'm mostly set on innings but need catcher, SS, 2B, and maybe an OF upgrade (Sam Thompson was my current 3rd OF). With the 3rd pick, I made what was mostly a one-player pick. The 1890 Syracuse Stars brought the #1 2B in Cupid Childs, giving me the #1 player at 1B, 2B, and 3B. At the time, both OF Rasty Wright and SS Bones Ely looked like they might figure into the equation, though neither really did. This was all about Cupid.

After the long wait, I remember zeroing in on the 1890 Athletics (PL version) who provided exactly what I needed but having to sweat out the selection. Luckily, they made it to me. Billy Shindle can't field but he has good range and can really hit (he ended up "leading" Lg1 with 166 errors but had 18 plus plays and was 4th among SS in OPS). His teammate Mike Griffin isn't a great hitter but can really play defense and he and his A+ range manned CF for me. I still need a catcher, but these two guys filled much needed spots for me with one of the last picks of the draft, so I felt fortunate.

With the free agent pick, Deacon McGuire was about all I could ask for. He hit 8th but is a serviceable catcher with a B arm. Sign me up.

Outlook: I felt pretty good about this team once it got pulled together. They started off slow and had a negative run differential 1/3 of the way through the season, though the W-L record was holding higher. A 10-game winning streak bumped the W% up to around .600 where it stayed for the middle part of the season. Starting with game 123, we lost 10 of 11, but at that point had a huge cushion in the division. We righted the ship and ended up with 92 wins and the 8th pick in the Round 4 draft, though for a while, we were in the mix for the top couple picks.

Baldwin was fantastic, winning 46 games with a 3.63 ERA. We were only about .500 in the half of games he didn't start, which began with Ramsey starting but I swapped to Chamberlain part-way through. Both ended up with identical 4.78 ERA. Neale and especially Phenomenal Smith (2.53 ERA) were really good out of the bullpen. Offensively, the three #1 position guys held their end of the bargain with Brouthers, Childs, and McCarthy as my 3 best full-time hitters. In a part-time role, Chief Roseman mashed and actually led the team in OPS, slashing .389/.487/.494 in 312 PA. Campau was solid as the other half of that platoon and both Shindle and Richardson were good as well. The weak spots in the order were Mike Griffin in CF and at catcher, though the catching tandem more than held their own with the other catchers. Overall, a very solid performance from this team.

1895 Phillies + friends
1.07 1895 Phillies
2.18 1895 Pirates
3.07 1893 Browns
4.18 1895 Giants
5.07 1895 Bid McPhee

I can't resist a good offense but I should've this time. I don't feel as comfortable with the older eras and I shouldn't have put so many eggs into the mid-1890s Phillies offense. Like the 94 version, the 1895 Phillies are all offense. I did end up rostering pitcher Al Orth but he was only a mopup. This was, of course, all about the offense. The lead trio was the same as 1894 with Delahanty, Hamilton, and Thompson. The biggest difference was that Lave Cross was not good in 1895 but Jack Clements was better and with double the at-bats. I did also roster Tuck Turner again but he ended up being a non-factor.

Scrambling for an entire pitching staff starting in the back-half of the 2nd-round after 40+ picks have been made is not advisable, yet I did it 3 times in this draft. For this team, it was the 1895 Pirates led by Pink Hawley. His ERC of 2.74 was decent (46th in Lg2 among SP) but his volume was elite and those 546 innings actually put him as the #1 overall pitcher in Lg2. Teammate Brownie Foreman was a solid bullpen add. Jake Stenzel was the best hitter here and a top 25 OF but unfortunately the 95 Delahanty did not play 1B so I had to pick one of the 4 OF to move to 1B, which ended up being Stenzel. His teammate Jake Beckley had A+ range at 1B but a much worse bat so he was simply a defensive replacement.

My third pick, the 1893 Browns, brought two key pieces. Ted Breitenstein was my #2 starter with 2.91 ERC and 470 innings. Not great for this league, but what do you expect trying to fill half your innings in the 3rd Round. Jack Glasscock is fine at SS wtih C/B- defense and a .370 OBP. Steve Brodie is a nice outfielder but at this point, I'm already overloaded there.

Still need 2B, 3B, a backup catcher, and some innings. Only one team and a FA left to go. The 1895 Giants bring George Davis to play 3B and I also used Duke Farrell as my backup catcher. Amos Rusie joins the staff with similar numbers to Breitenstein, though I used Rusie out of the pen.

Finally, I need a 2B. Bid McPhee isn't that great, but like Glasscock he brings decent fielding (C/B-) and a solid OBP (.392).

Outlook: I wasn't as sure what to make of this team. The infield wasn't as solid as the 1894 version, with an OF playing out of position, low-offense/avg-defense guys up the middle, and a worse 3B than Lave Cross. The OF was awesome and the catching spot should be better. The pitching was similarly patched together later in the draft, though Pink Hawley graded out similarly to Rusie.

As for how it played out, well...it was interesting. Things started out quite poorly, culminating with a 9-game losing streak to put us at 5-15. We immediately corrected course going 12-3 over the next 15, getting within 1-game of .500 and with a positive run differential. However, the rest of the first half of the season hovered just below .500. We entered the ASB at 39-42 but immediately went on a 9-game winning streak, finally breaking the .500 barrier. At game 104, we reached a high point with a 56-48 record and had gotten into position to advance. From that point on, however, it got ugly. We lost 6 in a row and 15 out of 17. Overall, we went 19-39 down the stretch to fall well out of playoff and advancement contention.

The offense was pretty good, though not top 5 as I had hoped. Hamilton and Stenzel weren't terrible but fell below expectations. Glasscock, McPhee, and Davis were all well below-average for their position. The bright spots were Delahanty, Thompson, and especially Clements who lapped the catcher field in hitting.

Defensively, the pitching and fielding were quite bad, ending with the 3rd-worst run prevention in the league. All 3 of my bulk pitchers (Hawley, Breitenstein, and Rusie) ended with ERAs in the upper-5s. Brownie Foreman led the staff with a 4.65 ERA. Unlike the 1894 crew who at least had great range, this defense had a ton of errors and below-average range, which didn't help the staff.

Overall, a bit disappointing but mostly in the range of expectation. 75-87 isn't terrible against this competition and if the offense was just good but not great, this was the likely result.

1887 Browns + friends
1.11 1887 Browns
2.14 1886 Quakers
3.11 1887 Hoosiers
4.14 1886 Orioles
5.11 1887 Jimmy Say

Okay, this was the dumbest pick of them all. I had already gone heavy on the hitting with both 94 and 95 Phillies. At least have some sense to get some pitching! But no, I just couldn't resist Tip O'Neill (#1 hitter in all of Lg1) and company from the 1887 Browns. Bob Caruthers (as an OF!) was Tip's best teammate. I ended up using the other 4 teammates as well with Arlie Latham, Charlie Comiskey, Yank Robinson, and Dave Foutz all in the fold. Latham and Robinson both had catching ratings as well as other positions (3B for Latham, 2B/3B/OF for Yank). Yank was D-/B/D- so he made sense in the field, but maybe Latham's D-/D+/B- could play there? (Spoiler alert: I did end up playing him at catcher. It wasn't great as he was 2nd in errors and 5th in passed balls, though he threw out a respectable 33% of runners.)

Shocking, I know, but I have no pitching. Enter the 1886 Quakers to get Charlie Ferguson. He rates as the 12th-most valuable SP in Lg1 and 7th in ERC. Both Ed Daily and Dan Casey join the staff as well. They ended up comprising my entire bullpen, both pitching in long relief. Unfortunately, the amazingly-named Cannonball Titcomb did not make the cut. Jim Fogarty is the only regular from this team on the hitters side. He started most games in center, though he was relieve by teammate Ed Andrews as he was a bit short on innings. Sixth man George Wood was a deep bench player.

Depending on what I do with Latham, I need a SS and either a 3B or Catcher. And I still need some innings, hopefully enough to improve on Daily and Casey as well. The 1887 Hoosiers fill two of those holes. Jerry Denny is the #6 3B in the league, with A+ range and some pop in his bat. Friend of the program, Jack Glasscock, also brings A+ range though much less with the bat, at SS. While those two were the main draws, the Hoosiers also came with Otto Schomberg. I had Comiskey plugged in as the starting 1B but Schomberg was right there with him. Interestingly, Comiskey has the higher $/PA, largely due to his 94 speed (vs 59 for Schomberg) and possibly his BAVG advantage. But Schomberg had A+ range, had better OBP and SLG, and was lefty. I ended up going with Schomberg against righties and this league ended up very RHP-dominant, so Otto got the lions share of the at-bats and ended up performing well.

The last pick shifted Latham to catcher, so my offense was set. That made this a one-player pick, with the 1886 Orioles brining me Matt Kilroy to round out the pitching staff and not much else. Kilroy has a decent 2.62 ERC and 721 innings (which I know I can't use all of). No other Orioles did anything of note.

Jimmy Say is just an 81 PA backup 3B/pinch-hitter. Not much needed and not much left of the free agent pickings.

Outlook: I definitely had the lowest of hopes for this team. While the Browns offense is good, it's not quite as good as you think after looking at it. O'Neill is amazing, of course, but Caruthers is just a ho-hum 16th-best OFer. Latham is a poor-fielding catcher and not special at 3B. Same for Yank at 2B. Comiskey and Foutz ended up getting supplanted and were relegated to platoon/bench duties. At least the Phillies offense brings 3-4 absolute studs with them.

As the season started out, those fears were realized. At the 35-game mark, the record was just 11-24. A 6-game winning streak (and 7 of 8) was quickly followed by an 8-game losing streak and for most of the 1st half of the season the record and Exp% hovered around .400. Things slowly crept upward but still at game 124 our record was 55-69 (.448) and the Exp% was only slightly better (.482). I categorized this team as one of the "Unlikely" to advance teams, despite a generous criteria to deem teams on the Bubble.

Then, BAM!, out of nowhere this team ripped off a 16-game winning streak. What?! That got us to 2 games above .500. The last 22 games were basically par, 11-11 record with a +4 run differential. Got us above .500 and had I needed the team, it would have advanced, though we fell short of the wild card by 2 games.

The offense finished 3rd overall (my Wolverines were actually 1st) and Tip O'Neill held up his end of the bargain, leading the league in Runs Created. Bob Caruthers finished in the Top 25 (exactly 25th) as well. Everyone else was average-ish, except for Fogarty who really struggled.

The pitching actually held up better than expected. Overall run prevention was 18th-best. Ferguson was above average (3.67 ERA, 17th-best among qualifiers) in his 542 innings. Kilroy was essentially average. Sparky used Dan Casey primarily over Ed Daily out of the pen and he struggled to a 6.05 ERA in 250 innings. The defense held up as well with average fielding and above-average range.

For a while, this looked like the biggest failure, but then this team's fortunes completely flipped with the 1895 Phillies and this group ended up respectably over .500 and in an advancement place. Probably should have gone for more pitching, but anything around .500 in the later rounds of these tournaments is a good result.