Snyderbronies Unite!

True story: I decided to sign up for HBO Max the very day I learned that the Snyder Cut of Justice League would be screened on that platform. Now the Snyder Cut has an official release date: March 18.

Sorry, Mugsy!

I'm reading a great book on iconic ballgames from the nineteenth century and happened upon an anecdote featuring the legendary John "Mugsy" McGraw. I grimaced at the sudden realization that I had somehow forgotten to include McGraw among the Hall of Fame players for whom I've created Strat-O-Matic cards. Prior to Season 5, I'd created cards for Connie Mack, Charlie Comiskey, and all the other early HoFers who were inducted in non-player categories. How had I missed McGraw? Not only is he one of the towering figures of baseball history, he's also a fellow upstate New York native; we used to go right past his memorial monument in the town of Truxton every time we'd drive from my parents' house to Colgate. 

Today I pulled some numbers from Baseball Reference and plugged them into my custom Strat formulas to calculate game stats for hitting, stealing, baserunning, and defense, and now I have a card for McGraw. Sadly, it's too late to include him in Season 5. The expansion Resolutes really could benefit from his services; as one of the nineteenth century's better third basemen, he'd address our newest team's greatest area of need. Now he'll have to enter the player draft with all the other players I'll be adding for Season 6, so there's no guarantee the Resolutes will be able to nab him. I'm disappointed to have missed him the first time around, but excited for him to join the league next year!

Pause for Applause

I'm still only in the fourth inning of a key contest between the first-place Haymakers (4-0) and the second-place Resolutes (3-1), but I had to put the game aside for a few moments to honor John Clarkson, whose tremendous 21-inning scoreless streak has just ended. 

Here's how it all went down. The Resolutes are hosting the Haymakers tonight. With Clarkson going against Cy Young, it's a marquee pitching matchup. Both men were on their game, trading zeroes through the first three innings. In the top of the fourth, Bid McPhee, the Haymakers' second baseman, led off with a bloop single. Testing the strong arm of catcher Connie Mack, McPhee managed to swipe second to put a runner in scoring position without nobody out. Into the batter's box stepped my fellow Western New York native, Deacon White, who was hitless through the Haymakers' first four games; in fact, White had yet to reach base by any means here in Season 5. It was ironic indeed that White promptly lofted the ball into the right-field corner, motoring around the bases for a triple. McPhee, of course, had already crossed the plate, which brought Clarkson's streak to an end. 

I'm sure the hometown Resolutes fans gave Clarkson a warm round of applause before the game continued. 21 innings without a run! (And it's 24 innings if we include his preseason action.) This was no Orel Hershiser-esque feat (59 innings!), but it's still by the far the longest scoreless inning streak in the five-season history of my nineteenth-century league. Watch out, Mickey Welch: Clarkson is still looking like the frontrunner for Pitcher MVP!

Back on the Upswing

Ever since I started my pre-NHL Strat-O-Matic hockey league, I've wondered if I should just abandon the baseball version and focus entirely on hockey. That first baseball season was a magical run (the charismatic King Kelly absolutely owned the league!), but Seasons 2 and 3 were rather humdrum affairs that provided few memorable moments. In Season 4, things started to get interesting again, with George Davis's home run heroics and Mickey Welch's mind-bogglingly dominant pitching. Season 5, however, is shaping up to be an all-time great. This league is back on the upswing!

Where do we stand after three games played for each team?

• Blue Legs: They're in third place at 1-2, but with six homers in three games, they're smacking dingers at a record-setting pace. The best single-season total for a team is 12, set last year by the Canaries over 21 regular-season games. Star second baseman Nap Lajoie has two of the Legs' six homers, and he's looking like an early MVP candidate.
• Canaries: At 0-3, with a -17 run differential, the defending champs are experiencing a serious hangover. They have yet to commit an error in the field, which is just about the only positive thing I can say at this point.
• Haymakers: This perennial powerhouse has jumped out to a 3-0 mark and +17 run differential. Once again, their pitching leads the way; Cy Young and Mickey Welch have pitched every inning thus far.
• Resolutes: The expansion team is 2-1 and in second place. Slugging left fielder Fred Clarke is tied for the league lead with two homers, but the real story here is the Lazarus-like return of John Clarkson to the upper echelon of moundsmen. He's pitched complete-game shutouts in both of his starts to date, meaning that he's working on a league-record 18-inning scoreless streak that he'll put on the line against the Haymakers in his next appearance. 

Opening Day

There's nothing quite like Opening Day, and the debut of a brand-new team only sweetens the experience! Season 5 kicked off with the defending champions, the Canaries, visiting the expansion Resolutes in the latter team's first-ever regular-season game. And what a game it was!

John Clarkson delivered the first pitch in team history, and a moment later he struck out Hugh Duffy to notch the team's first out. Clarkson looked sharp from the get-go, and the mighty Canary sluggers had trouble squaring up to his curve. 

Clarkson's opponent, Tim Keefe, retired the first three Resolutes in order. In the top of the second, however, left fielder Fred Clarke stepped into the box to face his former teammate. Clarke caught Keefe's fastball and belted it over the right-field wall. Fred Clarke had just recorded the Resolutes' first base hit, and it was a home run! I can only image the scene if this game had been real -- the Resolutes' fans would have lost their minds as a jubilant Clarke rounded the bases and a stunned Keefe could only shake his head in dismay.

Keefe did a lot of head-shaking, as it turned out. The Canaries' ace never had his best stuff, surrendering walks and hits left and right in seven laborious innings. He was fortunate that he had allowed only three runs, as the Resolutes struggled all game with runners in scoring position. 

Meanwhile, Clarkson was cruising. Aided by fine defensive work from middle infielders Monte Ward and Frank Grant, not to mention the strong throwing arm of catcher Connie Mack, Clarkson silenced the league's most potent offense. A leadoff single to Ed Delahanty in the top of the ninth provided a minor scare, but Clarkson made short work of the heart of the Canaries' lineup and completed the first shutout of his career. Not only that, Clarkson won a ballgame for the first time since Season 2, when he took home the Pitcher MVP award. His career unraveled after that magical run, but maybe, just maybe, John Clarkson is back!

If the rest of the Resolutes' games are going to be this intense, I'm in for a long season!

Spring Training

The four teams have just completed spring training, assessing their talent after the biggest player shakeup in league history. I've run a few preseason games and already we have some intriguing highlights and storylines to consider prior to the start of Season 5...

• The Haymakers' slugging right fielder, Sam Thompson, was the runner-up for the Player MVP in Season 4. He suffered an injury early in spring training, and although he'll be back in time to start the regular season, his absence has underscored just how thin the Haymakers' lineup has become. 
• The lack of a solid cleanup hitter was especially painful for Cap Anson, who precedes Thompson in the Haymakers' usual lineup. Anson was absolutely locked in during our preseason action -- reaching base in all five of his at bats -- but came around to score only once.
• The Resolutes' best player thus far has been hard-luck pitcher John Clarkson. The former MVP tossed three scoreless frames and, notably, was the only Resolutes hurler who did not allow at least one run.
• Speaking of pitchers, we saw standout springtime performances from Mickey Welch (Haymakers), Cy Young (Haymakers), Kid Nichols (Canaries), Joe McGinnity (Canaries), and Pud Galvin (Blue Legs), but the Canaries' Tim Keefe utterly dominated, retiring all nine batters he faced. If their ace is in top form, the Canaries will be really tough to beat as they seek to defend their championship.
• My favorite spring training highlight was when Canaries star Honus Wagner homered off of the Blue Legs' Vic Willis in the twelfth inning of their preseason matchup. Wagner's shot was the only homer of the spring.

Opening Day is next!

Season 5 Preview

We've got a new team ready to make its debut and nine new Hall of Fame players to add to the league! It's almost time to get rolling with Season 5 of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league! Let's take a look at the teams...

Blue Legs

• Where They Stand: After a 6-14 season and a -33 run differential, this team has a long road back to respectability. They just suffered through the worst season in the brief history of this league.
• New Faces: Frank Chance, 1B; Pud Galvin, P
• Outlook: Galvin, the reigning Playoff MVP, slides in as a solid #2 behind Old Hoss Radbourn, giving the Legs a pair of battle-tested starters. Chance will provide much-needed offensive and defensive help. Even with these reinforcements, however, the Legs seem like a .500 team to me.

Canaries

• Where They Stand: The defending champions finished the regular season in second place with a 12-9 record, but their +27 run differential was the best ever, as was their scoring rate of 5.24 runs per game. 
• New Faces: Wilbert Robinson, C/1B; George Wright, 2B/SS
• Outlook: The addition of Wright makes the league's most dangerous lineup even more potent, but the Canaries lost a lot of their depth to the Resolutes in the expansion draft. Still, my money is on the Birds to win their second consecutive championship at the conclusion of Season 5.

Haymakers

• Where They Stand: They finished in first place for the third consecutive year, but fell to the Canaries in the championship series. These days, the Haymakers rely on their elite pitching, which managed to paper over the team's shoddy defense on the way to allowing only 3.57 runs per game -- the lowest rate in history.
• New Faces: Sol White, 2B/3B
• Outlook: Their stellar .619 winning percentage in Season 4 was driven largely by luck, as the team posted only a +6 run differential and had a .538 expected winning percentage. I anticipate some regression this year, but I think the Haymakers remain strong enough to finish in second place.

Resolutes

• Where They Stand: This expansion team is a unique mix of new players I've added to the league and bench players who never got a real shot with their previous teams. They haven't played a single game yet, but I'm already loving this ragtag crew!
• New Faces: See my previous post!
• Outlook: The Blue Legs set a new standard for futility last year. Can the Resolutes do better than 6-14? I...rather doubt it.

Meet the Resolutes!

After playing through four seasons of nineteenth-century baseball in a mini-league consisting of only three teams (Blue Legs, Canaries, and Haymakers), I'm super excited to be able to bring on a fourth team -- the Resolutes! Unlike my analogous hockey league, however, I haven't been adding a handful of new players each season; rather, I'll be adding a whole bunch of new guys all at once. In narrative terms, it's as if a competing league has disbanded (a not uncommon scenario in the early decades of professional baseball!) and some of its players have found a new home in the surviving league. With nine new players (eight position players and one pitcher), I'll have just lads enough to fill out the roster for an expansion team (although all three legacy teams will see their rosters contracted by one position player and one pitcher). 

I'll spare you the tedious details, but in summary, first I divvied up all the new players among the four teams via a player draft. With an expanded talent pool, each of the three original teams decided on which players they would protect (three pitchers and eight position players). The remaining players would be eligible for the Resolutes to draft. Knowing that most of their depth players would be taken from them, however, the original teams conducted some trades to shore up their rosters as much as possible. (Among those players who changed sides was Playoff MVP Pud Galvin, who was traded from the Canaries to the Blue Legs in return for infielder George Wright, one of the new players.) After the original teams finished their trades, the Resolutes selected players from the final lists provided by each franchise.

So, who will take the field when the Resolutes begin play in Season 5? Read on!

• Jake Beckley: All bat and no glove, Beckley was behind Cap Anson on the Haymakers' depth chart at first base. Now a starter, he'll get a chance to show off his lefty power swing for the Resolutes.
• Fred Clarke: He wrested the left field position from Pete Hill, but the Canaries elected to protect the more versatile Hill during the expansion draft. Clarke has great pop and will be a potent middle-of-the-order bat for his new squad.
• John Clarkson: This guy needed a fresh start. He won the Pitcher MVP award in Season 2, but has not won a single ballgame since that magical run. The Blue Legs just traded for Pud Galvin as a more reliable starter behind Old Hoss Radbourn, but Clarkson could end up being a steal for the Resolutes if his luck evens out. He's the nominal staff ace.
• Candy Cummings: Like Clarkson, Cummings is a curveball specialist. In fact, many baseball historians believe that he invented the curveball! Cummings has been maddeningly inconsistent over the years, but is likely the Resolutes' best option as a #2 starter. 
• Elmer Flick: After struggling to get playing time with the Haymakers, Flick will be the Resolutes' leadoff man and starting center fielder. I suspect he'll be among the team's best hitters. 
• Frank Grant: Grant is one of the new players added for Season 5. In real life, he's regarded by many as the best African American player of the nineteenth century. He can play all around the infield, but will start at second base for the Resolutes. 
• Clark Griffith: According to Baseball Reference, Griffith, another of our new players, has strong similarity scores to the Canaries' successful closer, Joe McGinnity. For that reason, I'll pencil in Griffith as a reliever for now. He might get some starts if Cummings flames out.
• Ned Hanlon: I don't know quite what to make of Hanlon, a new player who has blazing speed and provides elite defense in center field, but isn't much of a hitter for an outfielder. He'll see playing time as a pinch runner and late-game defensive replacement, but he may end up getting traded, as the Resolutes already have four other players who are primarily outfielders.
• Connie Mack: Mack, too, is among the nine new players added to the league for Season 5. He'll be a first-rate defensive catcher, but currently would rank as the worst everyday player in the league in terms of offensive value. 
• Tommy McCarthy: This jack-of-all-trades has been a valuable bench player and pinch hitter for the Blue Legs. He would be a great defensive outfielder, too, but the Resolutes don't have a spot for him there. Instead, he'll land at third base, where his defense will be absolutely atrocious. Grant would be a far better option at third, but his glove is more valuable at the keystone; as such, the Resolutes will have to limp along with McCarthy at third until a better option arises. 
• Jim O'Rourke: Here's another Blue Legs bench player who now gets a shot at the starting lineup. O'Rourke can play just about any position on the field, but plays none of them well. The team will hide his iron glove in right field. His bat, however, will make him a leading offensive force for the Resolutes.
• Rube Waddell: Hands down, he's the hardest-throwing pitcher in the league. The Resolutes opted to select Waddell from the Haymakers instead of Amos Rusie, the league's all-time saves leader, because Waddell may have more upside. Like Clarkson, he's been snakebitten and might put up some solid numbers with a little positive regression to the mean. 
• John Montgomery "Monte" Ward: Sometimes the baseball gods can be cruel indeed. Ward was the de facto captain of the Canaries team that won the Season 4 championship, but their trade for George Wright made Ward expendable. On the Resolutes, he'll shift from second base to his natural position of shortstop and provide excellent defense but middling offense.

Will the Resolutes be any good? Well, the worst single season in league history was authored by the Season 4 Blue Legs, who turned in a 6-14 record and a dismal -33 run differential. It wouldn't surprise me if the Resolutes more or less matched those numbers in their first campaign. They'll be featured on Opening Day of Season 5, hosting the champion Canaries. 

The King Is Crowned

Ah, the bustling city of Tokyo!

It was just an ordinary, monster-free day until Godzilla (Matthew), King Ghidorah (Nathaniel), and Megalon (yours truly) showed up for an epic smackdown! Our first foray into Godzilla: Tokyo Clash involved a lot of head-scratching over rules ambiguities (Do you have to discard a defensive card when you block an attack on another monster's turn? Can you block the damage suffered from being thrown into another monster or just the damage from regular attacks?) and fumbling around for effective tactics, but it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

The best part came when Megalon threw Godzilla into a skyscraper, and then King Ghidorah and Godzilla proceeded to throw Megalon back and forth at each other. It was like something out of a Three Stooges routine! 

Ultimately, Matthew had a lot of bad luck attempting to damage the other monsters, so it ended up a two-way race between Nathaniel and myself. His kaiju, King Ghidorah, squeaked past mine by one point to end the game as the king of monsters!

Happy New Year!

Good riddance to 2020! I'm glad to have started the year off right with a couple of new board games, courtesy of my amazingly awesome (and awesomely amazing) team at work. Thanks to their lovely holiday gift, the boys and I will be exploring Godzilla: Tokyo Clash and Santorini: New York.