Legends of Cooperstown News-April, 2002

Legends of Cooperstown News

April, 2002

Winter Legends of Cooperstown League reaches first ever post-season

Congratulations to everyone on a great first season of the Legends of Cooperstown. It has been fun for me especially, creating the web pages and newsletters, as well as participating in the league itself. I hope everyone had a great time doing it with me, since all of you contributed to the success of the league. Be sure and give yourselves a pat on the back!

   Good luck to all of the playoff teams. Most of you have already said you will try and play your games via the net play option or telephone, which will definitely make it more fun and exciting. I know already that next year will be just as competitive, if not more, as you all improve your teams, learn the players, the past seasons and the league. Don't forget...next year it's 1954.

   Anyone wishing to get on the waiting list for either the WLCO or the SLOC, e-mail me at [email protected] or Josh Raup at [email protected]. If you'd like a copy of the Japanese League All-Stars or the Negro League All-Stars so you can evaluate them yourself, e-mail me and I'll send you a copy.

   Keep up the great work and keep having fun!

Phil

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The Missouri Riverbats are the first ever Winter Legends of Cooperstown American League Champions, while the Kansas City Monarchs are the first ever National League Champions, as the WLOC reaches it's first post-season.
   Congratulations to John Wolfmeyer for a fine season, which in his own words, came as more than a bit of a surprise. Led by a consistent offense, solid team defense and outstanding pitching, the Riverbats overcame the fact that they hit the least amount of home runs of any team in the WLOC in 2001-02. Missouri's 91-69 record with just 84 home runs proves that the long ball is not the only method for a team to be successful.
   Kansas City followed much the same formula in capturing the National League pennant, hitting just 129 home runs, but their league leading .290 team batting average, and a whopping 105 triples and 197 stolen bases led them to 93-67 on the season. Their 3.88 team era was also second in the National League.
   Round one of the playoffs will pit Chicago at Boston in the AL and Scranton at Kentucky in the NL, in a 1 game play-in playoff game. The winners will face Rochester in the AL and St. Louis in the NL in a round 2 best of 7 game series.
   By virtue of winning the regular season titles, both Missouri and Kansas City will benefit by playing directly in the best of 7 American League and National League Championship Series, vs the winners of the Rochester vs Chicago/Boston and St.Louis vs Scranton/Kentucky series'.
   The 2 league champions will play in an old fashioned best of 9 World Series. Click here for all of the final AL and NL standings and statistics.

Summer LOC begins first season by making history

The Summer version of the Legends of Cooperstown began it's inaugural season with a flourish, with an event that may never have happened in the history of baseball...duel no-hitters! Read how Boston's Eddie Plank and Homestead's Smokey Joe Williams made SLOC history.
The SLOC features the same HOF 2000 set players, the hand created Negro League players and a past season...this year it is 1941...as it's counterpart league the WLOC, but there is an added new international twist. The league is welcoming in a team of 24 past Japanese League greats, led by all-time home run king Saduharu Oh. The SLOC also plans on inducting it's own Hall of Famers permanently into the set on a yearly basis and held it's first HOF induction voting, but no single player garnered the 75% vote block that is required to be admitted. The league also is welcoming new MLB HOF inductees Ozzie Smith, Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield and Bill Mazeroski into the HOF set as well this year. Plans are to create cards for any new HOFers that are inducted into Cooperstown each year.
Visit the official league website, join the mailing list or the league waiting list
by e-mailing the SLOC Commissioner Josh Raup.

Did you Know?

The National League Pennant was not decided until the season's final week, with Kansas City winning 3 of 4 at Brooklyn to clinch. The rest of the playoff seedings were just as jumbled and undecided all year, as teams rose and fell in the standings on an almost weekly basis. Parity was one of the biggest reasons for the season long battle for the playoffs, with every team being represented in the top 5 in offensive and pitching leaders.
   Rogers Hornsby kept Brooklyn in it for most of the season, and came close to winning a Triple Crown. 'The Rajah' led the league in hitting at .371, runs scored (118), was 4th in home runs with 40, just 2 behind NL leader Hank Greenberg of Virginia, and 3rd in RBI (127). KC's Paul Waner had a fine year himself, leading the league in hits (205) and doubles (48), while finishing 2nd in average (.337) and 9th in RBI (100).
   It was St. Louis' Ernie Banks who put up the most impressive statistic of the season however, as he led the entire league in RBI with 150, while hitting 41 home runs himself. Cool Papa Bell lapped the league in stolen bases with 68 and led the league in triples with 23.
   Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith of Kansas City led the league in wins with 19, 2 ahead of New York's Pete Alexander and 3 ahead of his Giant teammate Mike Cuellar's 16. Scranton's Addie Joss held the NL's lowest ERA at 3.07, just ahead of teammate Mickey Welch (3.16) and Brookyn's Eddie Plank (3.19). New York's Frank Linzy topped the NL in saves with 32, while Kentucky's Webster McDonald tallied 29. New York's Nolan Ryan was the only pitcher in the entire LOC to top 200 K's with 233.

AL ERA leader and 14 game winner
Missouri's Jim Merritt

The newest creation for use with the HOF 2000 set is a Latino all-time great team, including Pitcher-Jose Mendez, Luis Tiant Sr., Luis Tiant Jr., Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Garcia, Mike Cuellar, Dolf Luque, Dennis Martinez, Julio Molina, Lazaro Salazar; Catcher-Miguel Gonzalez, Al Lopez; First Base-Perucho Cepeda, Keith Hernandez, Hector Espino; Second Base-Roberto Avila, Antonio Pacheco; Third Base- Omar Linares; Shortstop-Rodolfo Puente, Dave Concepcion; Outfield-Pablo Mesa, Alejandro Ohms, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso.
   If you would like a copy of the roster files containing the Latino players or the Japanese Players and Negro League players already created for use with the Legends of Cooperstown leagues, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
   You can read a short bio on the Latino players and also read a short history of the Japanese League, along with photos and bios on the Japanese created players as well.
   Your comments and suggestions are welcome and any names, facts, etc. that you'd like to contribute are most welcome with these projects. They're meant to extend the value of the game of Baseball and Strat-O-Matic, through not just Major League History, but also the histories and backgrounds of the all-time players from other countries, who in a lot of cases did not have the opportunity to show their talents in the Major Leagues.

Latino All-Time Greats team is now ready

Harmon Killebrew was the first player to be named an All-Star at three different positions. In 1961, he played third base (he did so again in 1970). In 1964, he was a left fielder, and in 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1971 he played first base. Harmon also pinch hit in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1969.

   The first player with 6,000 total bases was St. Louis Cardinal great Stan "the Man" Musial. His record setting hit, a single, came on April 13, 1963 off of Elroy Face of the Pirates. Musial's career total of 6, 134 total bases was eclipsed later by Henry Aaron (6, 856). Aaron, Musial and Willie Mays (6,066) are the only 3 players over 6,000 total bases.

   Rusty Staub was the first player to notch at least 500 hits for four different teams, the Astros, Expos, Mets, and Tigers.

   The Pittsburgh Pirates, with a lineup that featured 2 future Hall of Famers, fielded in 1971 the first team comprised of all minorities. On September 1, 1971 the Pirates defeated the Phillies at Three Rivers with a lineup of P-Dock Ellis, C-Manny Sanguillen, 1B-Al Oliver, 2B-Rennie Stennett, 3B-Dave Cash, SS-Jackie Hernandez, LF-Willie Stargell, CF-Gene Clines, RF-Roberto Clemente.

   The first designated hitter to homer in a game was Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins, versus Oakland on April 6, 1973.

The American League featured the top 2 home run hitters in the LOC and the top 3 ERA leaders as well in the league's inaugural season.
   Chicago's Eddie Mathews slammed 47 home runs and Boston's Babe Ruth rode a strong second half of the season to hit 45 long balls. Mathew's monster year saw him finish 1st in home runs, RBI (132), slugging percentage (.652), and total bases (359), as well as 11th in batting average (.305), 2nd in runs scored (117 to teammate Lou Gehrig's 118), 8th in hits (168) and an impressive tied for 3rd in triples (15).
   The New York's Edd Roush is the surprise AL batting champion, hitting .355 to edge out Rochester's Ross Youngs (.346), Missouri's Ty Cobb (.345) and Yankee teammate Rod Carew (.340). Washington's Lou Brock swiped 60 bases and led 5 Senators in the top 8 in AL stolen bases. The Senators swiped a whopping 205 on the year as a team.
   Jim Merritt of Missouri was a 14 game winner on the season and led the American League in ERA at 2.48, just ahead of Rochester's Tim Keefe (2.57). 5 pitchers tied for the most wins in the AL with 17-Keefe along with Live Oaks teammates Juan Marichal and Carl Hubbell, Missouri's John Clarkson and the Yankees Lefty Grove. New York's John Wyatt topped the league in saves with 32, ahead of Newark's Dizzy Dean (30).
Read Tim Daniel's Set 8 recap for the Boston Americans, Mike Rivet's Set 8 recap and the Newark season recap and the end of season press conference tirade by Cleveland skipper John McGraw, written by Josh Raup.

American League featured power, speed and pitching in 2001-02

Rejuvenated Mantle, Foxx trade,
give Virginia hope for the future

Washington Senator's speed merchant Lou Brock

LOC National League was a dogfight all season long

Someone once said of Stan Musial's batting style
"He can't hit." I guess they were wrong.

Pablo Mesa, Oscar Charleston
and Alejandro Ohms