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[Not good with names]

Well, I decided to do a Let's Play inspired by this game in the OOTP forums: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=261369.  It is a sim only dynasty and I found it to be quite the interesting concept.  I'm not sure whether I'll be able to build up to CivicEvo's amazingly complex international tournaments, but since I'm two seasons in and I made an imgur to share this, I thought I'd give it a shot.
_{Thus ends the introduction, let's talk baseball}

This story begins in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox threw the world series in what would become known as the the infamous Black Sox scandal.  Or rather it would be, except that after the 1920 season the MLB folded due to an inability to prove that corruption was not rampant in the league.  Famous atheletes like Jim Thorpe and Babe Ruth (Who would go onto become the greatest Tight End to ever play) left the sport to join fledgling Football leagues like the American Football Association, where they captured America's heart and the sport of baseball whithered and for the most part faded from public memory.  There were pockets of baseball activity over the comings decades, but for the most part the only competitive games took place in the negro leagues, where Jim Crow and segregation made it impossible for the sport to gain any national presence and left it not much more than a regional curiosity.

It wasn't until the summer of 1980 and the boycott of the Summer Olympics held in Russia that baseball would again gain some relevancy.  As Americans did their patriotic duty and averted their gaze from the worldwide spectacle, the United States Government held a series of a promotional sports events during the Olympics.  The event that ended up drawing the most attention was a three game, two team baseball series that included a star studded class of Olympians. A team dubbed the 'Patriots', that included boxer Sugar Ray Leonard as the lead off hitter, who scored 3 runs on stolen home bases, and Bruce Jenner as fearsome pitcher who also ended up not only pitching a shutout in the first game, but also ended the series hitting a perfect 11 for 11 with 4 Home Runs.  They would go on to adorn Wheaties boxes and brought baseball back into the national conversation.

Soon recreational softball teams became a hot new trend in the summer of 1981, and not long after schools began putting baseball games into the Physical Education curriculum.  It wasn't long before after school baseball clubs began popping up along the country and intermural baseball teams became a craze on campus, replacing the Frisbee craze of the 1970s as the sport of choice.  In 1984, with many countries bowing out of the Los Angeles Olympics, they even had a much hyped Reunion of the 'Patriots' team as an Exhibition before the opening ceremonies.

^{Enter Kyle Moody}


In 1986, Canvas magnate and baseball enthusiast, Kyle Moody, met with 7 investors to discuss opening a league in the United States to capitalize on the growing baseball trend.  Among them were

Wayne Webb, famous real estate mogul


Jonathan Greene, Textile magnate


Chris Tate, who made his fortune in pork belly futures


And Donald Trump, who was looking to unload hundreds of thousands of New Jersey Generals hats after the USFL had folded
_{(Not pictured due to Trump's demands on licensing of his likeness for this official league history)}
 
While Kyle Moody could not convince all the investors (Donald Trump in particular balked at the revenue sharing model, as well as the fact they would not require all signings to be paid in New Jersey Generals merchandise), plans were laid for the American Baseball leagues, with the four owners listed above starting franchises in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and Houston.

After all the red tape was cleared, stadiums were leased and teams were put together for the summer of 1989.  The league would kick off on July 4th, and there was definitely a buzz in the air for the inaugural season.

(Alright, the stage is set, and that was exhausting, let's get to some baseball!  Also I really couldn't help it with the Trump stuff, but you know there's some dump somewhere filled with Generals merchandise a la the ET Atari game.)

[Not good with names]

(alright, I kinda screwed the pooch and didn't record nearly anything I wanted to during the season, and I let the game purge the reports, so this is definitely not the format I want on this, but we'll just say game to game records for 1989-1990 were accidently thrown away by an intern at league headquarters.  And that intern later ended up becoming an IT specialist for the State Department.)

The inaugural Season of the American Baseball League was to be 36 games with 9 games to be played between each team a piece.  A champion would be decided in a best of 5 series between the pennant winner and the winner of the wildcard between the 2nd and 3rd placed teams.   While this did not allow for a perfect allocation of home and away games, it was felt that keeping the games within the summer months of July and August would allow for professionals to play the game while not interfering with their work schedules, which was necessary as the vast majority of players started at the league minimum of $300.  Owner Jonathan Greene was able to convince the cable network ESPN to carry games on delay to fill out their 24 hour schedule, and the other owners were able to get small contracts with local television networks to help with financing.

Immediately, it was apparent that the Houston Noise was the class of the league, and they rode excellent pitching to capture the ABL pennant.



Houston's Mike Murphey provided the league with an instantly recognizable ace and Brett Bruce took on the mantle of star reliever for the Noise, and together they swept the major awards of the season.



The playoffs were another story, however, as the New York Kings broke through the Noise's aces to a championship sweep in 3 games, including a memorable performances by Cory Stillwell (who took home the MVP) and their hot hitting and speedy shortstop Adam Williquette.



So ended the 1989 season, and with all 4 teams in the league profitable it looked like another great season would be in the offing.

[Not good with names]

(Again, 1990 season has some spotty records, mostly because if I feel like it with 4 teams I can sim an entire year in about 2 minutes, however, got some better information for this one.  In retrospect will probably fiddle with how I show the championship, but since I haven't finished 1991 season these reports can only get better from here.)

In the second season of ABL, it appeared that the Houston Noise would again field a strong team, though the reigning champions in New York would be neck and neck for the championship.



And those predictions would be borne out, as New York and Houston were again the class of the league, though this year New York would be the ones to capture the regular season Pennant.



They were propelled by the sweet bat of rookie Omar Stephens

Who hit for .400 with 7 HRs and 29 RBIs.

After Houston survived the wildcard round against the Philadelphia Brothers, it was again a New York Houston Matchup for all the marbles.



As you can tell, while New York had victimized the rest of the league, Houston seemingly had their number during the season.  In the newly expanded 7-game championship series, There would be no sweep this year. 



Houston was able to overcome a 3-2 game deficit and the MVP performance of Ryan Keller (3 HRs, 10 RBIs for a .414 AVG in 29 ABs) to take the series in 7 and avenge their loss to the Kings in the previous season. 

With such an exciting championship series and the excellent financial health of all the teams, it was decided that the league would expand to the a 5th team in 1991, with the league announcing than none other than America's sweetheart, the leader of Silver Bullet Band and the last troubadour, Bob Seger would be the owner of the ABL's newest team:  The Los Angeles Hollywood Knights! (I am so sorry)



There would be no expansion draft, so the Los Angeles team will have to build their team through Free Agency and trades.  On the bright side, Mr. Seger is an understanding owner, though he definitely will be looking to win in the near future.

[Not good with names]

Figured it was worthwhile before I the beginning of the 1991 season to take a look at a few of the notable players in the league to this point.

Omar Stephens New York Kings

Mentioned before, Omar is looking to begin his second season with the Kings after winning Rookie of the year and finishing 3rd in MVP voting.  Should be a force for New York for years to come.

Jorge Orrego New York Kings

Winner of 1990 MVP award, Jorge Orrego has been consistantly excellent with the Houston, leading the league in RBIs the last two years.  He decided to take his talents to New York in the Offseason, and looks to be a integral part of a New York team hungry for revenge against Houston. Career leader in WAR in the ABL.

Adam Williquette SS, Los Angeles Hollywood Knights

The centerpiece of an otherwise journeyman laden Hollywood Knights, Williquette is currently the highest paid player in the league, with a 3-year contract worth $14,320.  He's led the league in stolen bases the past 2 years, while putting up a 3.3 WAR over the last 2 years.

Mike Murphy SP, Houston Noise

Winner of Pitcher of the Year in 1989, he is the face of the Houston franchise, and as such is signed to the largest contract so far in the league, at 5 years and a total value of $17,680.

Brett Bruce CL, Houston Noise

The only player to receive the Reliever of the Year award, he was able to take the award last year in spite of the fact he moved out of the closer spot.  In 1991 he is expected to retake the closer spot and gun for a three-peat as the league's top reliever.

Mike Homola SP, Chicago Wind

Traded to Chicago from New York before the inaugural season, Homola has stepped into become the lead pitcher in Chicago's rotation.  He won the 1990 Pitcher of the year award, taking both the ERA and strikeout crowns.  Sadly the poor performance of the Wind cost him a chance at the Triple Crown.

Kevin Gibbs 2B, Chicago Wind

Part-time in 1989, he blossomed into the starting second baseman for Chicago in 1990, hitting 5 HRs and a .376 Avg in 28 games.

Nick Hepworth CF, Philadelphia Brothers

A career platoon player, he is nonetheless the leading batter in WAR for the Brother's, with a 1.3 career rating.  He started his career with Philly in 1989, before heading to Houston to get a ring with the champs.  Back in Philadelphia he is expected to start at CF for the Brothers.

Chester Simons SP, Philadelphia Brothers

 Philadelphia's Ace pitcher, he lead the league in strikeouts in 1989, though had a bit of an off year in 1990, with his ERA blooming for 2.73 to 4.04.  He was, however, awarded the Silver Slugger award for Pitchers in 1990 while batting in 5 RBIs for .500 Avg

And finally (just to demonstrate one of those things about OOTP that's interesting, as well as a little color into what these players do the other 10 months of the year)

Nate Hood

While not a star, Hood is notable for getting crushed (Multiple broken bones, severe internal bleeding) by his own tractor while working on his farm in the 1990 offseason.  While not a fulltime player in 1989, Chicago is excited to have the 37 year old back for the 1991 season.

The BNN report of Hood's incident:


Enough with current stars, here's the some Draft hype for the 1991 season:


And the results from the first 3 rounds of the 1991 draft:


The with the first pick, and in subsequent rounds, Los Angeles went for pitchers out of college they'll hope can start right away.  Philadelphia looks to be building for the future, as they took exclusively high schoolers in the opening rounds.  While they are projected by BNN to finish second, I have a feeling it's going to be a long season for the Brothers (Seriously, I'd be surprised if they are even in the mix for the wildcard, they may have pitchers but their bats are completely unproven.)



The preseason predictions for the 1991 season.

[Not good with names]

Checking in on the ABL in 1991 season as the trade deadline passes, it looks like the preseason predictions got one thing right, as Chicago has staked a nice lead on the pennant race.  The secret sauce appears to be the fact that they are dominating at the plate and basepaths, with the top three in most offensive metrics clogged by Wind players.



While Yoshiyau Kamura had showed his skills last year at the plate and was expected to be among the top hitters according to the preseason predictions, the real story is the ascendance of Billy Phares.

Billy Phares RF, Chicago

Coming out of no where with 13 Home Runs in 21 games through the trade deadline, Pares is an obvious reason why Chicago is leading the league and primed to take the pennant.  While a quality part-time player in his first two years (3 HRs, .315 Avg in 1990), he has obliterated the HR records of the ABL in the half season so far and appears to have the inside track on grabbing the triple crown of batting this season. 

The trade deadline itself was a pretty quiet affair, but the Philadelphia Brothers appeared to throw in the towel even though they are still mathmatically alive in wildcard by trading their highly regarded closer, Mitch Kurak to the Houston Noise for a handful of prospects.



Mitch Kurak CL, Houston Noise

The former Philadelphia Closer hasn't quite performed to elite level so far in the ABL, but his 98 MPH fastball definitely turns heads, at least enough for Houston to pull the trigger on the deal. Is slated to take over closing duties over two time reliever of the year Brett Bruce as they chase the wildcard spot.

However, some experts were more than a little confused about the deal, as pitching has not been the problem for the defending champion Noise.  While they are currently alive for the wildcard, pitching has not been the problem for them this year.  Instead, their anemic offense has kept them from replicating the success of their first two seasons in the ABL



Ouch.

[Not good with names]

Alright, the 1991 season hummed along, so we'll bring along the final standings.  While the wild card race never really materialized, New York and Chicago were both alive going into the final week of the season for a shot at the pennant.  (Note: I had to manually fix the schedule after a funky generation left all the teams short of 44 games, but obviously I erred and Philly had an extra game while LA was missing one.  I Apologize for making the fine citizens of America watch one more Philly game than they needed to.)



However, Chicago's bats cooled on the back half of the season while New York finished strong, and New York was able to clinch their 2nd straight regular season championship.  Chicago was able to secure their first playoff appearance and they would meet in the championship for all the marbles.  While New York had a slight edge in the season matchup, it was anyone's game in the season finale.



But when the games we're played, the cooling Chicago Wind went frigid, and the New York Kings prevailed for their second Championship in 3 seasons.  Chicago was able to stave off the sweep in game 4 but the torrid bat of Jorge Orrego, who hit 4 HRs and .450 AVG on his way to a series MVP.  (Funnily enough even though New York lost last season they have had a player named championship MVP all three years).



1991 Awards and All-Stars
MVP - Billy Phares CHI 18 HRs 50 RBIs .398 AVG
Pitcher of the Year - Mike Murphy HOU 6 Wins 2 Losses 2.01 ERA
Manager of the Year - Ruben Lechuga NY (Third Manager of the Year in a row)
Rookie of the Year - Omar Stephens NY 6 HRs 14 RBIs .368 AVG (Not sure what I did wrong with Service days but Omar is now a 2x winner of this award)
Reliever of the Year - Joe Barber NY 12 SVs 5 Ws 12.1 K/9

All-Star Team
P Mike Murphy HOU 72 Ks 0.93 WHIP 3.2 WAR
C Sergio Franco HOU .369 AVG 9 HRs 1.9 WAR
1st Pat Grist HOU .205 AVG 2 HRs -0.4 WAR
2nd Pat Bachman NY .315 AVG .400 OBP 1.3 WAR
3rd Jorge Orrego NY .287 AVG 13 HRs 2.7 WAR
SS Adam Williquette LA .314 AVG 7 HRs 15 SB 2.3 WAR
LF Yoshiyau Kimura CHI .351 AVG 15 HR 17 SB 3.0 WAR
CF Adam Kay PHI .205 AVG 11 SB 0.0 WAR
RF Billy Phares CHI .398 AVG 18 HRs 2.9 WAR

Of note, Billy Phares was able to complete the triple crown of hitting, but not to be outdone, 2-time Pitcher of the Year Mike Murphy was able to complete the triple crown off the mound.  While not the most exciting playoff race this season, the level of individual of achievement likely won't be forgotten for some time.  Japanese fans lamented that Yoshiyau Kimura was arguably better than his teammate Billy Phares overall, but in a year when a player re-writes the record books he'll have to settle for second place.

With 1991 in the books, we'll take a look at the hot stove and the Top Free Agents on the market:

Top 5 Free Agents
Cody Dill SP (PHI) 4 Ws 46 Ks 2.56 ERA 2.0 WAR Demands $3,700
Chester Simons SP (PHI) 5 Ws 36 Ks 3.48 ERA 0.9 WAR Demands $1,667
Mike Karney SP (CHI) 4 Ws 19 Ks 1.73 ERA 8 SVs 0.3 WAR Demands $1,100
Mike Homola RP (CHI) 5 Ws 51 Ks 4.74 ERA 1.2 WAR Demands $950
Billy Phares RF (CHI) .491 OBP 50 RBIs 30 Runs Demands $900

Other profiled FAs: Mitch Kurak (HOU) (Quite the rental for Houston there)

Notable Retirements
Arthur 'Sparky' Herson NY 8 Ws 138.1 IP 4.23 ERA
Ken Taylor NY 6 Ws 1 SV 104 IP 5.02 EYA

Besides the retirements and a few lower tier starters, New York looks primed to compete again, while Chicago may be in some trouble.  Philadelphia seems committed to a rebuild, which in a 5 team league seems a little... strange. We'll do a proper season preview for all our teams next time.

Also, since the word Global is in the title, a small look at who is playing in the league (# of Players are the rightmost number):


Slowly but surely Mexico and Canada are building a presence in the league, and perhaps Yoshiyau Kimura's success will bring about more awareness in Japan.  Nonetheless, there's already whispers that a Mexican league, or at least a challenge series, could be in the works as their homegrown talent base works their way in the ABL.

Finally, hawk eyed viewers may have noticed that there has been a Logo redesign during the offseason, as teams decided that letters in circles and diamonds just weren't enough to catch the eye of radical 90's kids (who remember everything).  So we'll introduce them here:


(Displayed in the order I made them, I think I got better as I went along.  It's a tie between Philly and New York for me, as Philly is perfectly garish but New York has that classic New York sensibility that they don't even need a nickname in their logo)

[Not good with names]

(Alright this one might be a little confusing, it totally is for me.  Perhaps because I messed with a few setting in the offseason, but rosters are a little crazy and are filled with a lot more younger players.  However, I can report that one week into the season Adam Williquette has finally been promoted off the reserve roster.  Since it's a young league I'm guessing that a little insanity is fine though, and I'm sure through the season it'll start to make more sense.  Also, while everyone has 44 games, somehow New York has 45.  That appears to be mathematically impossible, but at this point I don't really want to start over.  Next year will have an expansion team and hopefully moving to a 6 team 50 game season should calm things in scheduling and I'm going to try to refrain from touching any settings until something makes sense.)

The offseason is over and we're looking forward to opening day of 1992.  The biggest news is that the 1992 may go down in memory as one of the most heralded draft classes of all time, with many picks even making opening day rosters.  It's too soon to tell whether managers have simply become too enamored with their own selections or if they are ready to take the league by storm and relegate the original batch of ABL players to the benches.  Since the future already appears to be the present, let's take a look at the draft class:



12 of these 15 players from the first 3 rounds have ended up on opening day rosters, suggesting we'll be hearing from these players often in the years to come.

(I was also going to update the offseason top FAs, but after seeing that reigning MVP Billy Phares was signed to a 1 year $5000 contract only to be released later and then signed a league minimum contract with NY... so uhh... we'll just skip that.  On the bright side, he has a starting spot, so we'll keep everyone up to date on whether he can maintain last season's torrid pace, or whether he's going to get pinched for steroids)

Let's take a look at the preseason predictions:



Surprisingly enough, Philadelphia is looking strong to end their run of futility and compete for the title this year.  So let's take a look at opening day rosters and find out why the experts are so convinced that it may just be the Brothers year.


C - Mike Crain
1st - Jake Knapp
2nd - Justin Maric
3rd - Mark Nesbit
SS - Tim Armstrong
LF - Nick Slone
CF - Greg Threlkeld
RF - Jalen Mitchell

Rotation
1- Josh Mathes
2- Dave Fregoso
3- Travis Bryson
4- Chris Cunliffe
5- Eddie Unsworth

CL - Miguel Ramirez

Filled with rookies and journeymen, the most experienced player is SS Tim Armstrong, who anchored the midfield for Houston before fracturing his elbow in the 1991 preseason.  Otherwise it appears the Wind are committing to the youth movement after their disappointing loss in last year's championship series when the team faded down the stretch of the season.


C - Chance Wallace
1st - Brett Caauwe
2nd - Pat Bachman
3rd - Alex Diaz
SS - Ian McArdle
LF - Justin Shults
CF - Shaun Shook
RF - Victor Lopez

Rotation
1 - Mario Marquez
2 - Chester Simons
3 - Kyle Eames
4 - Frank Anderson
5 - Pedro Flores

CL - Mike Murphy

Houston appears to be relying on solid pitching and not much else again this year, with their first round pick (#3 overall) taking over the top of the rotation.  He is considered the #1 prospect in the league, so the young man may be ready to step up from Dallas Baptist University to the big leagues.  One of the biggest questions is whether moving perrenial ace Mike Murphy to the bullpen will pan out, as their rotation outside of Marquez and Chester Simons is rather unheralded.  Pat Bachman, 2-time all-star who signed from New York in the offseason, will be expected to anchor the batting lineup.


C - Bobby Vera
1st - Jesse Huffman
2nd - Julio Herrera
3rd - Trent Offutt
SS - Danny Mendoza
LF - Steve Hagen
CF - Ryan McCormick
RF - William Serrano

Rotation
1 - Eric Wachter
2 - Eric Suszek
3 - Michael Raine
4 - Nate McCray
5 - Jordan Cobos

CL - Nick Bennett

Another team going with the youth movement, perhaps the biggest story out of the team is 3 time all-star and mainstay of last year's team, Adam Williquette, appears to be in the doghouse with management and is currently languishing on the reserve roster.  Even his $5,000 a year contract was not enough to guarantee him a roster spot in the early going, and his status bears watching if journeyman Danny Mendoza struggles in the starting shortstop position.


C - Danny Sain
1st - R.J. Lowry
2nd - Chris Motes
3rd - Jorge Orrego
SS - Jeff Levitan
LF - John Zehrung
CF - Omar Stephens
RF - Billy Phares

Rotation
1 - Ken Baldree
2 - Chris Howard
3 - Travis Morgan
4 - Mark Shores
5 - Jayson Filer

Cl - John Graham

With a surprising mid-offseason move, Chicago released Yoshiyau Kimura and New York was all too happy to offer him a roster spot.  With two time rookie of the year Omar Stephens and championship series MVP Jorge Orrego as well as reigning MVP Billy Phares, the Kings have by far the best batting lineup in the league.  Their young pitching staff will definitely be tested, but they certainly will be entertaining to watch this season, don't expect many one-run games out of this team.


C - Ryan Meehan
1st - Dan McGaughey
2nd - Jake Gilmartin
3rd - Armando Dominguez
SS - Jeff Bradley
LF - Eric Wilbur
CF - Brandon Honora
RF - Jonathan Harrill

Rotation
1 - Jesus Canas
2 - Adam Johnstone
3 - Reginald Kelly
4 - Payton Messier
5 - Alden Bent

CL - Mitch Kurak

It is truly the year of the young, as Philadelphia oldest batter in the lineup is greybeard Jake Gilmartin at the ripe age of 22 years old.  While there is some experience in the pitching staff, including veteran Mitch Kurak, there is some buzz that the propects collected over the past 3 years may help Philadelphia get over the hump and get to their first playoff championship series.

In other exciting news, the board of directors have approved an expansion team for 1993, and are very excited to introduce: The PHOENIX NIGHTMARE!  An investor group headed by the original prince of darkness (and aspiring radio show host), Alice Cooper, will run the team and bring the total of ABL teams to 6.  These are heady times for the young league, but with a larger player pool than ever and record setting attendance records in the previous season, the ABL is confident that they will fit right in, at least as much as a group of misfits and miscreants can.

Say hello to your worst nightmare:


(Also, going to skip the midseason report as it's probably going to take a season for the roster alignments of the offseason to shake out.)

[Not good with names]

The Philadelphia Brothers were indeed the class of the league as prognosticated at the beginning of the season, but there were others surprises as well.  While Chicago was able to win their final game, they rolled into the final day of the season on a 15 game losing streak.  At midseason they were comfortably in the wild position, but their second half futility was one for the record books.  And while youth was served this season, there were still familiar names on the statistical leaderboards, with Jorge Orrego leading in Home Runs and Adam Williquette taking the stolen base title.

A look at the best players of the season:
MVP - Jeff Bradley PHI .350 AVG 8 HRs 30 RBIs (Also the #1 draft pick in this year's draft)
Pitcher of the Year - Mitch Kurak PHI 9 SVs 3 Ws 1.42 ERA (Philly really won that trade last year)
Manager of the Year - Nate Watson PHI (Surprisingly he held onto his job the first three seasons as Philly was horrible, but he sure delivered in 1992)
Reliever of the Year - Mitch Kurak PHI 19 IP 34 Ks .186 OAVG
Rookie of the Year - Danny Sain NY .394 AVG 9 HRs 31 RBIs

All-Stars
P - Mario Marquez HOU 5 Ws 34 Ks 2.81 ERA
C - Danny Sain NY .415 OBP 15 doubles (led league) 2.7 WAR
1st - Dan McGaughey PHI .328 AVG 7 HRs 1.5 WAR
2nd - Jake Gilmartin PHI .364 AVG 6 HRs 2.8 WAR
3rd - Jorge Orrego NY .289 AVG 13 HRs 1.9 WAR
SS - Jeff Bradley PHI .350 AVG 13 HR 2.8 WAR
LF - Justin Shults HOU .360 AVG 26 RBIs 1.5 WAR
CF - Brandon Honora PHI .362 AVG 6 HRs 2.4 WAR
RF - Jonathan Harrill PHI .329 AVG 28 RBIs 0.8 WAR

The standings also meant that Philadelphia would be playing in their first championship against the Houston Noise, and all the bookmakers had them as prohibitive favorites, mostly because of the 9-2 record they recorded against the Noise during the regular season.



But as famous boxer Yogi Berra once said, it ain't over til it's over. 


Philadelphia leads series 1-0


Philadelphia leads series 2-0


Philadelphia leads series 3-0


Houston trails series 3-1


Houston trails series 3-2


Philadelphia wins series 4-2!

In what was a more exciting series than anticipated, Houston was able to stave off elimination twice but fell in Game 6 to the pitching of Reginald Kelly, who bookended the series with shutouts.  With 18 scoreless innings and 10 Ks, he was named MVP of  the series.  After Game 6, Reginald declared that this would be his last season and retired from the ABL, truly leaving the sport on top.  While he began his career with Chicago in the inaugural 1989 season, he's only pitched 38 regular season innings in the ABL over 4 years, but he definitely saved his best for last.


^{America Salutes You!}

With the season ending on a storybook note, America looks forward to the 1993 season, with a new expansion team, the Phoenix Nightmare, and free agency, where we have a new crop for teams to choose from, including a familiar face (Who really should be under a big contract by now).

Top Free Agents
RF Yoshiyau Kimura Age: 25 demands: $5,060 (Show this man the money, damnit!)
C Chris Murphy Age: 24 demands: $1,200
RP Chad Erickson Age: 23 Demands: $1,100
RP Matt Hartenberger Age: 21 Demands: $1,100
SP Greg Potter Age: 29 Demands: $1,100

Other Notables: RF Omar Stephens Age: 21, RF Billy Phares Age: 34, RP Mike Homola Age: 33, 2B Kevin Gibbs Age: 31

For those concerned, Billy Phares did indeed revert to mean (and hard) this season on the Kings roster.  After his record setting 18 homers in 1991, he ended up becoming a part time player and only hit 2 HRs at a .271 AVG in 77 plate appearances.  At age 34, he could indeed be hitting the wall, though as Reginald Kelly demonstrated, you can't count the old guys out, even in a season dominated by youth.

[Not good with names]

July 9th, 1993
Phoenix, AZ

Opening day is upon us once again, and we're about to experience the first season of the Phoenix Nightmare.  Let's meet the owner, the most evil man in all of American music, Alice Cooper!


^{Cleans up nice, don't he?  Really hiding a lot of hair under that cap}

While not expected to compete this season, they do have two quite notable players on the roster.  Over the offseason they signed Billy Phares, the aging slugger and current holder of the season record for HRs at 18, and Tim Armstrong, who is actually the career record holder for walks.  Inspired by that, I decided to put together a list of some players who hold career marks in the league who haven't been profiled so far.


Tim Armstrong 2B PHX Age: 36
With 126 career walks, he is the record holder so far in ABL, even though he missed the 1991 season to injury.  In every season he's played he has lead the league in bases on balls, but even so his patience may be tested on the expansion PHX team.  Then again, he played through the 15 game losing streak the Wind went through last year, so perhaps he's just the man to steer the team through it's maiden season.


Yoshiyau Kimura RF PHI Age: 25
Released by the New York Kings in the offseason, he moved to defending champion Philadelphia Brothers, where he will likely be instrumental in their title defense.  The career leader in runs at 120, he's known to be fiercely loyal and a great leader of the clubhouse, though only time will tell if a team will actually reward him for those traits with a long and lucrative contract.


Ryan Keller 3B HOU Age: 31
Ryan Keller is the career leader in singles (119) and triples (19) and according to BNN is known as "The Energizer Bunny".  With an amazing work ethic, he led the league in doubles with the Chicago Wind last year and has been named the best fielder at 3B twice, in 1989 and 1992.


Kyle Eames SP HOU Age: 35
The career leader in starts (31), innings pitched (207.2), wins (17) and hits allowed (218).  While his skills may be eroding, leading the league in walks per 9 innings and home runs allowed in 1992, he is sitting in the #3 spot of Houston's rotation. His ability as a workhorse should see him add to these totals through the 1993 season.


Hank Underwood RP NY Age: 27
With the ignoble mark of 24 home runs allowed in 4 seasons, he is the career leader in the category.  A second round pick from the 1989 ABL draft, he has steadily improved his pitching over the past 4 years, to a career low 2.91 ERA in 1992.  Also notable as perhaps the best hitting pitcher in the league, with a .478 AVG, 2 HRs and 8 RBIs in 53 plate appearances, adding 0.8 WAR over his career.

We'll also check in on the free agents from the end of last season:
RF Yoshiyau Kimura Age: 25 1 year $6,800 PHI
C Chris Murphy 1 year $1,540 CHI
RP Chad Erickson 1 year $990 LA
RP Matt Hartenberger  Minor League Contract PHX (Ouch)
SP Greg Potter 1 year $1040 PHI

Finally, we'll take a look at the Preseason projections for the 1993 season:



Looks like Philadelphia is in the catbird seat for another championship, though the New York Kings are expected to compete after the doldrums they suffered through in 1992.  The rest of the league isn't expected to be so competitive, but considering that no one saw the Chicago's 15 game losing streak coming last year, who knows if a hot (or cold) streak will lead to the unexpected.  (And hey, everyone has a 50 game schedule, Hoorah!)

[Not good with names]

[Alternate History Alert!]
July 31, 1993
Chicago, IL

Trade Deadline has come and gone in the ABL, so a short update on the team's fortunes so far (The schedule change didn't move the trade deadline, so it's early, but with everyone competitive for the Wild Card it's doubtful that anyone would be selling off so far).



Houston has jumped ahead of the pack, despite losing ace Chester Simons for the season, on the back of an 7 game winning streak.  Meanwhile, the Chicago Wind may want to check on the sanity of their GM, who in his lust to show the owner he was making changes, has made probably the most bonehead move in the history of the ABL.



Sergio Franco, despite putting up a very good 15 game stretch at catcher for the Wind, was released to make room for Mexican prospect Jose Rodriguez.  While maybe he was angry that Sergio Franco was not performing like the Noise's C Ryan Meehan (see Below), this move has got to put him in the hot seat should the Wind have another disappointing season.

Performers of the month
Hitting - Ryan Meehan C HOU .471 AVG 5 HR 14 RBIs
Pitching - Mario Marquez SP HOU 3 Wins 20 Ks 1.53 ERA
Rookie - Jeremy Holt LF LA .413 AVG 6 HRs 11 RBIs

[Not good with names]

[Alternate History Alert!]
September 1, 1993
Los Angeles, CA

With the season dwindling down to the final 10 games, all teams are still alive and the excitement in the air is palpable. 



New York is nearly guaranteed a playoff spot, but besides that all bets are off.  Notably, the expansion Phoenix Nightmare have confounded all expectations and are one game out of the Wild Card spot, with 3 games over the next ten against Philadelphia.  Chicago and Houston are also in the thick of it as well, and even with an amazing run of luck Los Angeles could conceivably make up the 4 games between them and Philly and make the playoffs.  In other news, this sportcaster/commissioner will have to eat a little bit of crow, as Sergio Franco has turned back into a pumpkin after being picked up off waivers by the Hollywood Knights, posting a .242 AVG in the month of August.



With that said, let's take a look at the league leaders and players of the month of august as we head into the final stretch.



Players of the Month:
Hitter - Danny Sain C NY .457 AVG 7 HRs 22 RBIs
Pitcher - Eric Wachter SP 4 Ws 45 Ks 3.25 ERA
Rookie - Chris Herd CF .409 AVG 4 HRs 17 RBIs

[Not good with names]

[Alternate History Alert!]
Sept. 17, 1993
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix fans are in Jubilation after their team took the wild card in what was certainly the most exciting end to any season so far in the ABL.  After a three way tie in the standings for the lone wild card spot between Philadelphia, Chicago and Phoenix, the Wind and Nightmare faced each other in a one game playoff (Philadelphia was eliminated on tie breakers).  While Phoenix held an early 1 run lead thought the game, a passed ball by catcher Chance Wallace allowed Chicago to get on the board in the eighth and sent the game into extra innings.  With runners on the corners in the 10th, SS Zachary Benoit was able to sink a soft flyball into the outfield for a single and put Phoenix ahead for good. Owner Alice Cooper was reported as saying this victory "...certainly fed my Frankenstein". (sorry.  so so so sorry.)



A very dramatic way for the first expansion team to make the playoffs, we'll see how they fare against the New York Kings in the championship round.  A full season recap and look to the offseason ahead next time.

Edit: And it all turned out to be a dream.  Clicked the wrong button (Manual All-star selection button when there is no All-Star game = Crash)  Will re-run the season and turned Auto-save from yearly to weekly.  So disappointing.  Results of this season very unlikely to see, as I was going to show in the next report that Philly went 3-11 in 1-run games while Phoenix went 11-5.  Also New York was too much to overcome, and won the championship 4-1.  But hey, it was exciting to sim out once, maybe we'll see something crazy like this again.

[Not good with names]

(Since the 1993 year was wiped out, best we take it fresh and try to explain it in universe.  And sadly, the universe obliged with just such an opportunity.)
April 11, 1993
Houston TX

The ABL family was stunned today as founder of the league, Kyle Moody, succumbed to illness and passed away.  BNN reports:



Kyle Moody dreamed of a world of baseball, where fans would be enraptured by fantastic athletes playing a game that was truly American.  He dreamed of the teams in the league having breathtaking pennant chases, of unlikely champions and even the occasional terrible pun in the sports writing that would document the league.  He dreamt that the Houston Noise would be a dynasty, but also that even expansion teams like Los Angeles and Phoenix would compete in the ABL, and that someday the world would join in.  It felt like sign from god that the same month the league began, the Berlin Wall was torn down and the world began to reconcile.  With that thought, and the determination of his son, Brad Moody, to fulfill that vision, the league would begin forming associations with teams from across the globe, and perhaps even have a tournament that would rival the Olympics and World Cup.  Upon taking the control of Houston, Brad Moody began making plans and talking with business people across the Mexican border. 

Before the end of the 20th century, the ABL will be partnering with a new league in Mexico to further those dreams.  In anticipation of this, Mexican players will be allowed into the ABL draft in the 1994 season, with hopes that other countries will understand the that not only is baseball a viable product outside the United States, but it is destined to become the premier sport across the world.  Brad Moody has also called upon New York King's owner Wayne Webb to speak with his Canadian clientele to see if there's interest in building a league for homegrown talent up north.


^{Young Brad Moody, man with a plan}

(The crash and this event has reminded me to refocus on the global aspect of this.  Plus, I've noticed that using only International FA discovery to expand foreign born players is becoming a little troublesome unless I want team to carry huge reserve rosters, which really doesn't help with expansion.  It'll also help the quality of domestic leagues if they have some ready made stars who will want to sign in their home countries come the time these leagues start.)

[Not good with names]

(This season's trade deadline comes just a smidge past the midway point, I'll probably move it a little further back next season to give losing teams a chance to sell off)
August 14, 1993
New York, NY

Hope springs eternal for all teams, as a the first month and a half of the season leaves everyone within sight of a playoff berth.  The New York Kings are the class of the league, led by third baseman Jorge Orrego who is in good shape to break the regular season HR record with 12 HRs in 27 games.



Surprisingly, the expansion Phoenix Nightmare are currently holding the wild card spot, with potential rookie of the year Cason Sheehan(LF) leading the league in batting average at a .434 clip.  While big name signings like batting champion Billy Phares and 1990 pitcher of the year Mike Homola have mostly spent the year languishing on the bench, a mix of journeymen and rookies have propelled them to respectability in the inaugural season.  Meanwhile defending champions the Philadelphia Brothers have not shown the spark that displayed the previous season, though with 23 games to play they are very much alive and could still make a run.



Taking a look at the financial health of the league, attendance for the half season so far looks healthy.  While the expansion Nightmare have put in the money to compete this year, we can see that the other recent expansion team in Los Angeles has chosen a spendthrift policy which may explain why they haven't been quite as competitive as their upstart rivals across the state line.  The fickle fans of Los Angeles have noticed as well, which would explain why they trail the league in attendance and interest.

Meanwhile, the trade deadline came and passed with a wimper and no trades occurred around the league.

[Not good with names]

October 22, 1993
Philadelphia, PA

It was indeed a wild season (More wild than Mr. Moody's fever dream in fact).  On the final day of the season the standings looked like this:



With a three way tie for the pennant, it was decided by the league's commissioner that a three game round robin would be played to determine the league winner, as well as the wild card.


Philadelphia secures a wild card with an 11th inning walk off home run by SS Jeff Bradley.


Los Angeles is eliminated and Phoenix will play Philadelphia to determine the 1993 Pennant winner


Phoenix comes back from a 3-run deficit in the 8th inning to take the 1993 Pennant, becoming the most successful expansion team in ABL history!

Phoenix befuddled all expectations to become the top seed in the Championship round, and would play Philadelphia in a 7-game series to determine the who was the best team in the ABL in 1993.



The preview for the championship:



And let's see the games:









And Philadelphia take the 1993 ABL championship in 5 games, making it two years in a row they've taken the crown!  Second baseman Jake Gilmartin took the series MVP with a .500 AVG, 3 HRs and 6 RBIs for the Brothers.  The clock struck midnight on the Cinderella Phoenix club and when it counted most they turned back into a pumpkin (Alright, gonna stop using that mixed metaphor from here on out).  The results of this season means the only team not to play in the playoff so far are the Los Angeles Hollywood Knights, who sadly could not close out down the stretch, losing their final 6 games.

1993 Awards
MVP - Jake Gilmartin 2B PHI .404 AVG 9 HRs 39 RBIs
Pitcher of the Year - Mario Marquez SP HOU 5-4 66 Ks 2.73 ERA
Manager of the Year - Eric Fogle HOU
Rookie of the Year - Cason Sheehan LF PHX .386 AVG 8 HRs 32 RBIs
Reliever of the Year - Chuck McMurtry 11 SVs 2 Ws 0.73 ERA

All-Stars
P - Mario Marquez SP HOU 6.7 K/9 89 IP 2.3 WAR
C - Danny Sain C NY .372 AVG 8 HRs 2.6 WAR
1st - Dan McGaughey LA .331 AVG 33 RBIs 2.1 WAR
2nd - Jake Gilmartin PHI .515 OBP 8 SBs 4.2 WAR
3rd - Justin Maric CHI .380 AVG 10 HRs 2.7 WAR
SS - Jeff Bradley PHI .349 AVG 9 SBs 3.4 WAR
LF - Justin Shults HOU .357 AVG 31 RBIs 2.0 WAR
CF - Nick Bruyn CHI .259 AVG 8 HRs 0.8 WAR
RF - Sean Moore LA .327 AVG 8 HRs 2.7 WAR

And a quick look at the coming offseason:

Notable Retirements
Billy Phares - RF Season record holder for HRs (18), Slugging (.880) and OPS (1.370)
Kyle Eames - P Career record for IP (236)

Top Free Agents
Yoshiyau Kimura RF Age: 26 2x All-Star (CF + LF)
Jorge Orrego 3B 4x Age: 31 All-Star (3B), 1990 ABL MVP, 1991 Championship MVP
Jesse Miller 1B Age: 30 2x All-Star (1B)
Tim Armstrong 2B Age: 37 Career walks leader
Brett Bruce RP 2x Age: 30 Reliever of the Year