Not a single hitter on the Millers squad was still active by the end of World War I. The game at the turn of the century was dominated by the Irish. The game was rough back then. Fights between players, players and umpires, fans and players, fans and umpires were all too common. Spikes were sharpened. Fielders would routinely trip baserunners or hold them by their belts. “Dirty” plays like the hit and run, sacrifice bunts, and the Baltimore Chop were introduced and perfected. And, according to the Spaulding Guide of 1892, most teams failed to “accomplish successful field work owing to the presence of two or three drunkards on their team.”
What could work: The ballpark (Busch III) plays fairly neutral. Unlike most contemporary stadiums, this park is almost purely symmetrical. Baseball purity without the nooks and crannies. That should help this strong hitting squad. This team will likely be at the top of the board for batting average and on base percentage. With so many old school players, there will be plenty of stolen bases and manufactured runs. The Flying Dutchman will hit about .350, score over a hundred runs, knock in the same number and swipe about 50 bases. We could be talking MVP here. You need to run to your baseball history books to realize the talents of rest of this team, but Brouthers, Crawford, Browning, Clarke, Sam Thompson, and Roy Thomas will light up the basepaths. Unlike the hitters, the pitchers come from all generations of the game. The staff ace will be Mordicai Brown, followed by Noodles Hahn. A strong group of set-up men will lead to closers Mike Henneman and Flash Gordon.
What could fail: The pitching after Brown and Noodles. Most of the staff are one or two million dollar men. They could perform brilliantly or they might give up a lot of hits and runs. Pitching depth isn’t a problem, just the ability to be consistent all season. Bill Hands and Larry French could be big surprises. If they are, this team will be just fine.
Result: 88-74. The Millers always find the way to win.
No comments:
Post a Comment