For those of you embarking this trolley along the route, the premise of the exercise can be found HERE.
OVERVIEW
No franchise changes for the 1923 season.
OFFSEASON / PRESEASON
Five modded NeLers join the ranks for 1923, giving us 75 active:
- OF Mule Suttles (22); Black Sox SABR BIO
- C Frank Duncan (22); Black Barons SABR BIO
- P William Bell (25); Grays SABR BIO
- 2B Newt Allen (21); ABCs SABR BIO
- P Willie Foster (18); Monarchs SABR BIO
Notable 1923 rookies include Red Ruffing (Red Sox); Ted Lyons (White Sox); P Guy Bush (Cubs); 1B Dale Alexander (Tigers); Mickey Cochrane (Athletics); Paul Waner (Pirates); Chick Hafey (Cardinals).
The Black Sox take unmodded NeL pitcher Willie Spearman first overall in this year’s Rookie Draft.
My Dodgers get Johnny Frederick as a rookie but again make no moves of consequence over the break.
Orchestrated moves: Frank Brower to the Buckeyes; Roger Peckinpaugh to the Senators; Aaron Ward and Joe Dugan to the Yankees; Hal Carlson to the Phillies; Cliff Heathcote and Vic Aldridge to the Cubs; Lee Meadows and Johnny Rawlings to the Pirates; Ike Caveney to the Reds; Dixie Davis to the Browns; Sammy Hale and Eddie Rommel to the Athletics.
Game-generated moves: include Les Mann and Dan Kennard to the Black Barons; Lew Fonseca and Pat Duncan to the Cubs; Red Faber and Charlie Hollocher to the Reds; Earl Hamilton to the Tigers; Jack Fournier, Larry Gardner, and Cotton Tierney to the Monarchs; Willie Gisentaner to the Bears; Frank Baker to the Jays; Dickie Kerr and Dick Redding to the Cardinals.
We get three first-ballot HoFers in the one hit, with Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank and Sam Crawford admitted.
OPENING DAY PREVIEW
The top-ranked position player is Cardinals 2B Rogers Hornsby.
The top-ranked pitcher is Willie Foster of the Monarchs.
Age-18 Willie is also the top-rated prospect, with age-20 A’s OF Al Simmons the top position player prospect.
The top-ranked farm system belongs to the Athletics.
BNN sees the races looking like this:
- AL East: 92-70 Black Sox 5 clear of the Jays, with the 65-97 Red Sox in the cellar
- AL North: 89-73 Buckeyes and Tigers 18 clear of the Athletics, with the 68-94 White Sox in the cellar
- AL South: 103-59 Monarchs 22 clear of the Senators, with the 71-91 Bears in the cellar
- NL East: 97-65 Giants 8 clear of the Dodgers, with the 51-111 Phillies in the cellar
- NL North: 105-57 Pirates 17 clear of the Reds, with the 65-97 ABCs in the cellar
- NL South: 103-59 Cardinals 17 clear of the Black Barons, with the 61-101 Braves in the cellar
While all my behind-the-scenes machinations speak for most of the more noteworthy player movements, it is still interesting to see what the clubs get up to with the leftovers. I’ve been disappointed with the Monarchs’ progress these past few seasons but like the moves they’ve made this offseason. This might be the year they break the Browns’ grip on the AL South, an opinion BNN shares.
REGULAR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
04/04: Interestingly (or maybe only to me), we have both the White Jessie “Buck” Winters – pitching for the Cubs – and modded NeLer Jesse “Nip” Winters of the ABCs now playing in the league.
05/04: The tough times continue for the Red Sox even with the Babe still at the club, as they lose 12 straight to sink into the AL East cellar once more, and are on the wrong end of a 19-1 hiding by the Tigers as Harry Heilmann has 6 hits.
05/16: Zack Wheat somehow has 6 hits but zero RBI in a 15-2 Dodgers win over the Phils, while Ben Taylor has 5 hits, and Bernie Neis 4 ribbies.
05/19: Oscar Charleston clips Boston for the cycle in a 14-5 rout, extending the Monarchs’ win streak to 13 (it is ultimately snapped at 16).
06/15: Newark travels across the Hudson to dole out a 29-7 thrashing on its big-city rivals at Yankee Stadium.
06/19: Cubs outfielder Pat Duncan goes 6-for-6 against Homestead, then 5-for-6 the next day against the same opponent.
06/29: Jim Bottomley carves up my Dodgers with a cycle (lifting his AVG to .418), along with 4 RBI, as the Cards thump us 13-5.
07/03: John Monroe’s 3-HR, 6-RBI game powers the Braves to a 16-1 thumping of the ABCs—these are the first homers of John’s MLB career in this timeline and eclipse by one the number he hit in his entire IRL career.
07/14: With 3 HR and a club record 9 RBI, Oscar Charleston pretty much carries the Monarchs to a 10-2 cakewalk at Memphis.
07/31: At the Deadline, the competing Black Sox push some chips into the pot by trading away prospect Judy Johnson to the Red Sox for “now” guy Joe Harris.
08/17: It has involved a somewhat circuitous route, but Jose Mendez finally makes it to 200 Wins in this timeline.
08/19: A knee injury ends Giants SS Beauty Bancroft’s season.
09/09: The Athletics finally snap a 14-game losing streak.
09/16: On the same day they are officially eliminated, the Yankees lose quality young pitcher Waite Hoyt for the better part of a full year to a stretched elbow ligament.
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
A couple close-run AL races this season, while the NL is entirely drama-free.
AL
The Black Sox put away their first AL East title for good with 11 straight wins in the middle of August and clinch early the month after.
Like their IRL counterparts, things never seem to come easy for Cleveland in this timeline and they once again find themselves in a fierce battle for the AL North. This time it is the Tigers they are enmeshed with, and once again they do just enough to get it done, with the Tigers advancing as well via the AL Wild Card.
The AL South is also tight, as the Monarchs falter down the stretch and the Senators and Bears pounce. Memphis come us short, but Washington holds their destiny in their hands on the final day, which they enter one game to the good. Losses to both clubs maintain the status quo, delivering the Sens just their second playoff appearance. Their only other one was in 1914, and ended up in a Championship.
NL
The Giants are the first club to clinch this year, with the Cards not far behind them.
The Pirates ultimately take the NL North fairly easily as well to book their first post-season appearance in a decade.
In a very placid denouement for the senior circuit, the Reds comfortably earn the NL Wild Card.
A fantastic go for this year’s HR crown, with Rogers Hornsby and John Beckwith flip-flopping the lead throughout before Rajah claims it 51 to 48.
The Babe, who finishes with 35 to take his career total to 269, breaks his own records with 209 bases on balls and an OBP of .5602.
NeLER NOTES
A star-making turn from Tubby Scales, who leads all NeLers with 9 WAR. Oscar Charleston and Heavy Johnson finish hot on his heels, making it even harder to understand how the Mons once again miss the playoffs.
Harry Salmon’s 7.5 rWAR leads a tight field among the modded pitchers, with five others finishing with 6.0 or more.
Bullet Rogan has another 10+ WAR campaign across his twin disciplines.
The non-modded pitchers have settled down a bit, with Square Moore the pick of them this year.
Poor old Sylvester Foreman has had a horror season for the ABCs, going 1-18 with an ugly 10.54 ERA and -5.4 rWAR return.
Four modded NeLers calling it quits in 1923.
TOM JOHNSON: Inconsistency was Tom’s biggest problem throughout his career, which included the first few years at our club, as is attested by his career ERA+ of just 95. All the same, a decent enough return that included a Championship ring with us in 1916 and the 1914 relief award.
BILL PETTUS: A sneakily handy career in this timeline for Bill, with just shy of 1000 runs both scored and driven in, OBA+ and wRC+ in the 120s, nearly 200 HR and even 250+ SB. Won a couple titles with the Cubbies, where he spent the majority of his career, and made three All-Star appearances.
SPOT POLES: Right around expectations for the great Spot, slightly above if anything thanks mainly to his plus glove, which earned him a total of 110 ZR. In excess of 2000 Hits, most for the Grays before his late-career move to Indy, and his 545 SB put him 10th all-time at the time of writing.
DOC WILEY: Another who seems to have enjoyed his time in this alternate universe. Nearly 40 WAR is not to be sneezed at, particularly for a catcher, and earned him four trips to the ASG. A stalwart with the ABCs, Doc was part of the club’s 1917 title.
FINAL MLB STANDINGS
AL STAT LEADERS
NL STAT LEADERS
PLAYOFFS
The Black Sox, Reds, Buckeyes, and Tigers are each looking for their first title.
DS
Babe Ganzel’s dramatic walkoff 3-run homer earns the Buckeyes a 9-7 Game 1 win over the Senators, and a Joe Shaute 4-hit gem doubles their advantage with a 6-0 win. The Senators open their account with a nervy 4-2 victory in DC and then force a decider with another tight win. Game 5 is just a ripper, as Dick Porter wins it for the Buckeyes with another walkoff 3-run homer and they advance to the LCS.
Wild Card Detroit exploits some early nerves from Baltimore to win their first game 9-4 but the Black Sox dig deep to take G2 3-2. Up in Detroit for the next two, the Tigers are far too good and take both to move onto the next round.
Jesse Haines and the Cards shock the defending champs 9-1 in their opener at the Polo Grounds and nearly go two up before the Giants grab a walkoff 5-4 win, with Travis Jackson and Candy Jim Taylor swapping 2-HR games. St. Louis edges ahead again with a 4-1 home win and ends the Giants’ reign with a clinical 6-3 clincher.
The Pirates grind out a 3-1 win against the Reds in Game 1 behind a nice 5-hitter from Johnny Morrison, and impress again with a 7-1 win the next day. They complete the sweep with a 2-1 win at Crosley Field behind Specs Meadows.
LCS
Plenty of unfinished business between AL North rivals Cleveland and Detroit, who get things underway with a wild 11-7 Buckeyes home win despite 2 homers from Heinie Manush. A 6-3 Game 2 win stretches their lead heading to Detroit, and another a couple days later puts them seemingly in total control. The Tigers stay alive with a nailbiting 4-3 decision in Game 4 and a late blowout win the next day, just to get those Cleveland hearts a-fluttering, but they needn’t have worried as their charges lock down a spot in the Fall Classic with a 6-1 win behind Guy Morton.
Johnny Morrison’s excellent form continues as his 2-hitter gets the Buccos a 2-0 opening game win over the Cardinals and they go 2-0 up with another win the next day. G3 stays scoreless thru 5 before the Cards get a hard-fought 3-1 victory, but they drop Game 4 to put the Pirates one win away from the WS. Johnny Morrison gets them that win to claim the club’s fifth NL Pennant and first in a decade.
WORLD SERIES
Will third time prove the charm for the Buckeyes and their fans, or the Pirates claim a third title?
All the action happens early in Game 1 as the Pirates score all of their runs in a wild and woolly 5thframe and then hang on grimly for a win in Cleveland, and they repeat the dose with a handy 6-2 win the next day – as Slim Love pitches 6 no-hit innings in relief – to put the Buckeyes under extreme pressure heading to Pittsburgh.
For the third straight game, no runs are scored after the 4th inning as the Buckeyes show great resilience to earn a 4-2 win, but the Pirates tighten the screws another few threads with a gritty 4-2 win in Game 4 and shut the door for good with a tense 3-2 win the following day.
Homer Summa is named MVP.
1923 RECAP
MVP number six for the Babe, four for Rajah, with Harry Salmon and Eppa Rixey each taking home a maiden CYA.
A pair of fictional players, Odilon Medel and Brian Buttner, win the 1923 RoYs, while the year’s best relievers are Syl Johnson and Ray Keating.
Highly doubtful any of this year’s retirees get a call from the Hall.
NeL-obsessed member from Sydney, Australia who spends an inordinate amount of my free time running simulations of various natures on Out of the Park Baseball.