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7/19/2021 1:11 pm  #21


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Its really nice to see an active baseball league back on the forums here, especially with the dedication you have!! I was kind of bummed out when The Association went silent for a while but to incorporate it into this one with this much detail is really fun. I really like the Centennials look along with the Moles. Can’t wait to see more and how it evolves!!!

 

7/19/2021 2:28 pm  #22


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Lakers Baseball Club:

LBC, as it has come to be known, has been one of the most successful Midwestern teams to date. Originally playing in a league consolidated around Lake Erie and Detroit, Cleveland’s best baseball club truly burst onto the scene with a Midwestern Championship in the league’s inaugural year, and remained perennial contenders throughout their time in the MWCL. Their name is derived from Lake Erie, which its stadium is nearly a stone’s throw away from.

Cleveland’s top team was initially formed out of spite. Fans of Cole’s Cleveland Baseball Club didn’t like how he managed the squad, and so even before the dissolving of the team it was rumored that a members association was planning to buy Cole’s newly built stadium off of him. When the team went into bankruptcy, the members association was able to buy the park for cheap, and have since rebuilt it to accommodate over 35000 fans.

This year’s squad is a strong mix of youth and experience, with young veteran second baseman Ron Levinson personifying the squad. This team really has no obvious flaws, with Chris Deardorff with a potential All-Star candidacy, along with center fielder Mike Cano and third baseman Kevin Drummond. Shortstop Mark Gillespie is also quite solid, with solid albeit uninspiring corner outfielders Jon Adjaloff and Steve Blaisdell rounding out the lineup. Brad Reeves leads a pitching corps that might end up being the only thing between this team and contention, as Reeves, Justin Stickland, Matt Owens, Mike Basel, and Jason Pinder leave a lot to be desired. Mike Osbahr, D.J. Laredo, Rocky Davison, and Juan Murillo outfit a shaky bullpen, and it’s to be seen if this team will live up to the old adage about Cleveland baseball: You’ve gotta stop more runs than you score.

https://i.imgur.com/QWjIvFg.png


https://i.imgur.com/WKkc3jY.png


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7/19/2021 2:31 pm  #23


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Jayhawk wrote:

I don't know why but I really gravitated towards Brooklyn and Union Stock Yards so far haha. By far my two favorites. 

Honestly USY's hat design is my favorite, I'm glad you enjoy the team's look!

i_cooped_my_pants333 wrote:

Its really nice to see an active baseball league back on the forums here, especially with the dedication you have!! I was kind of bummed out when The Association went silent for a while but to incorporate it into this one with this much detail is really fun. I really like the Centennials look along with the Moles. Can’t wait to see more and how it evolves!!! 

Thank you for the kind words! I hope I can really keep the ball rolling this time, and I'm glad someone has an appreciation for Centennial lmao


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7/19/2021 3:00 pm  #24


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Detroit United Baseball Club:

Founded in 1915 as a team sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, the squad quickly began to outplay other teams in the area, developing into the team Detroiters had been clamoring for since the Rowdies fell from grace in the Association. Eventually, to greater expand its fanbase, it began accepting players who had relationships with other car manufacturers in the city, and quickly expelled themselves from Ford’s grip and became a members association. While in the MWCL, the Dubs began a reign of dominance culminating in a 6 year span, featuring 2 titles and 4 other top five finishes.

In 1935, the team partnered with United Auto Workers, in which requirements changed to require a relationship with the Union in order to be a shareholder in the club. They’ve since expanded into becoming a baseball club accepting all types of players, and have seen rapid growth and success due to their hiring practices and player support.

A testament to treating your players as people, third baseman Shane Mayne, a 26-year-old from Detroit, has developed into the most explosive offensive player in the Midwest, while still being allowed to take time off for the birth of his first and second child, missing games while taking care of his new family. A veteran who lost his prime to war, first baseman Jon Perl is still an exciting slugger, while shortstop Beau Shaffer and left fielder Matt Meyer are also all-star hopefuls. Penn Kolbow and Jason Christenson fill out the outfield, while Vince Waters plays second and Alan Browning is behind the plate. Josh Greenstein leads a solid starting rotation that should have a lot of run support, so long as everyone is healthy. Expect this team to compete for the title in ‘47 and years to come.

https://i.imgur.com/Q66XioW.png


https://i.imgur.com/pVrTtDV.png


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7/19/2021 4:25 pm  #25


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Louisville Baseball Club:

Louisville was too young to have shown any serious business being in the Association, but they’ve since proven themselves a strong team in the lower midwest. Often floating around different leagues due to their location, they’ve only consistently played St. Louis and Cincinnati, developing two of the most long standing and bitter rivalries in all of sport. Their nickname comes from the city’s three main parks, Cherokee, Shawnee, and Iroqouis, which they played games in before the construction of a permanent grounds in the heart of the city.

They only desegregated around 30 years ago, but have since become one of the only teams in the midwest to hire a black manager, Justin Penney. He’s known for his unconventional approach to the game, and can bring a team that was thought not to have much hope into contention.

Catcher Ryan Robbins and Right Fielder Mike Gardner are the only players who might make the all-star team, while most of the offense lags far behind these two. The infield of (first to third) Owen Sherwood, Kevin Carrasco, Roberto “Bobby” Gomez, and Eric Houle are all good defensively, but certainly don’t show much value at the plate. Melvin Holt and Jon Janet are the other outfielders, while Nick Dunlop, Andy Johnson, Andy Doss, Javier Ortiz, and Trent Cannon fill a poor starting rotation. Hopefully this team has the opportunity to keep scores low, but it’s likely that it’ll take all the genius of Penney to get this team into the top half of the Midwest.
https://i.imgur.com/s9yb4d4.png


https://i.imgur.com/IbW5wvW.png


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7/19/2021 5:29 pm  #26


Re: The Major American Baseball League

Milwaukee Baseball Club:

Previously the Association’s Brewers in name only, Milwaukee’s squad has a strange history. After the Association, Milwaukee’s owner Nick McCormick continued on building a team around his star ace, George Rogers. They developed a strong team, but was never strong enough to get over the hump and bring home a championship against greater teams like the Republics.

After the 18th amendment was passed in 1919, McCormick didn’t have the excess cash to bankroll his Brewers, and under the behest of both Chicago clubs and their compatriots, ended up selling the team to noted prohibitionist William E. “Pussyfoot” Johnson, who viewed the team as an investment in raising the popularity of prohibition. The team was then formally known as the Milwaukee Pros, and from 1920 until his death in 1945, the team and its assets remained under Johnson’s control. Despite the unpopularity of the name, and the lack of alcohol sold during games, the team was somehow successful enough to garner a large following in the city by having eccentric and outspoken players who would get into public quarrels with their owner’s practices. Following Johnson’s death, his estate sold the team in shares, and Milwaukee’s best pro team became a members association. Their first orders of business were to hire a board of directors who supported alcohol sales at the newly renamed McCormick Park, and remove prohibitionist iconography from both uniforms and stadium signage. In 1946, the team’s surprising MWCL season was capped off in exhilarating fashion, as the squad won the championship on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th during the final game of the year.

This team is solid, although unlikely to repeat a Midwestern crown. 24-year-old shortstop Dave Emch is the pride of Milwaukee, as he was born and raised a fan of the MKEBC. Second baseman Rick Livesay and right fielder Darius Lefevre are also solid, but the rest of the offense could use some work. Catcher Eric Eyster, first baseman Tom Grantham, and third baseman Daniel Rodriguez finish off the infield, while Mike Flournoy and Evan Nolen patrol the outfield/ Zachary Clary and the starting rotation isn’t much to write home about, and is most likely the biggest issue for them heading into this year. Don’t expect much from this squad in their first year in the MABL.

https://i.imgur.com/LikfCJE.png


https://i.imgur.com/aofHCfK.png


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7/19/2021 6:22 pm  #27


Re: The Major American Baseball League

And to finish off the Midwest, We have the St. Louis Baseball Club:

 First off, a little bit of ret-conning. The Travellers nickname comes from when this team was originally a “homeless” team, barnstorming their way through the lower midwest before finally settling in St. Louis in 1891. St. Louis was one of the Association members that was in an extremely solid financial position when the league dismantled. Their existing travel budget, designed to go all across the midwest since their inception, allowed them to develop a league up through the Ohio River and form a lower-bound on the midwest. Playing against the likes of Louisville, Cincinnati, and Columbus, St. Louis showed that they were going to remain one of the premier teams if a Midwestern super league ever came to be, and absolutely destroyed opponents when it did. St. Louis was one of 4 teams in the league to win multiple MWCL championships, although the restart in ‘46 proved to be their worst year on record, finishing 8th out of 15 teams.

The previous owner of the team, Gregory Bates, sold the team to supporters in 1915, right after he built a 27,000 park overlooking the Mississippi River. The agreement that the board of directors and Bates came to was that the team was to lease the stadium from him (and eventually his estate) until the team could prove it had its own funds to build a larger park than what Bates could offer. Right now, the refurbished stadium named after the former landlord can hold a capacity of over 42,000, and can sell out on the rare occasion a rival comes to town.

This year’s iteration of the Travellers are filled with quality talent. Their infield of (first to third) Josh Lawhon, Chriss Easson, Jaime Vital, and Andy White are mostly known for their defense, but mainly due to their lack of skill at the plate. Travis Rowe and Howard Stanic are split in the outfield by star center fielder Jonathan “Demon” Falon, who is far and awya the best player on this team. At 24, he’s one of the best young bats in the game. The Brown and Orange also have a solid pitcher in Tyler “Chunky”Stanton, a grizzled vet with leadership in and outside the clubhouse. He leads a solid rotation of Chris Johnson, George Watters, Ryan Geddie, and Tom Swisher. The bullpen isn’t terrible with Joe Eaton and Chris Loan leading the charge. If things break right, they might have a shot at the Midwestern division championship, and possible a Roosevelt Cup Series victory.

https://i.imgur.com/AAZBksx.png


https://i.imgur.com/gr8dzXv.png


Onto a little explainer, and then into the season we go!


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7/19/2021 7:19 pm  #28


Re: The Major American Baseball League

So a quick rundown before we get stared! I hope to be posting weekly, but knowing me it might be a while before I could get around to a consistent posting schedule.

(All references to time are in-universe) The season will start on April 1st of each year, and each following post will recap the month's events, with a break in between May and June to release the draft board, and on July 4th for the draft itself and the all-star game.

Both the MABL and regional cup standings will be updated, and the 96-game MABL regular season will end in the first week of October. Alongside MABL updates, each month's posts will include updates on (depending on the region) a 30-game De Jong Cup season, in which each team from a specific region will play at least twice to qualify for the knockout tournament, and a 38-game Hirsch Cup season, which will also see each team play each other regionally defined team at least twice to qualify for the knockout tournament. The MABL's postseason series, the Roosevelt Cup, will be played in-between the end of the regular season and the start of each respective knockout tournament. Then all the off-season stuff, of course. 

Make sure to submit players for the July 4th draft, as it's soon approaching. I hope to make this series something enjoyable for everyone and have something for all the graphics, narrative, and world-building guys and gals this board has to offer. And with that, it's baseball time!


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7/20/2021 6:09 am  #29


Re: The Major American Baseball League

This looks really promising!  Some very nice designs that feel pretty right for the era.  Some really tough competition for my favorite team, (Boston, Detroit, and New York City Athletic Club), but I'm rooting for Louisville!   Can't wait to see how this plays out!


https://i.imgur.com/usrguQ6.png
https://i.imgur.com/VDszLQZ.png
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBExNBm_OETTLreWM3fiM0m6Gh4F_tTd1IBsygqRZwEwEsW38YJbNa_-eUqfvV3N874FxvU6n6OHzjtOo4NaLoLuhS8pz4eZHoNsFv6GW71gQyBCFIno-1A3ZcaoHQ33tqaML4Rz0mYqqVDUKkj_rRGbok9rcHy4o6XyD21UT4xnInJ8TwHLOY489e/s400/Long%20Island%20Raiders-01.png
 

7/20/2021 10:51 am  #30


Re: The Major American Baseball League

1947 Preseason:

Before the season truly started, many teams made roster changes before opening day. Here are some of the notable transactions:

A lot of pitchers have left their respective teams and have found themselves either wandering under the vast, open sky or finding themselves smaller regional league contracts. Fun names such as Bobby Rogers (CRBC), Bobby Champagne (CBC), Tom Swisher (STL), Casey Belknap (CRBC), first basemen Kevin Cattarinussi (CBC), Chris Merwin (PEBC) and George Mersinger (CIN) have all been sent to pasture.

A few players have been promoted from their organization’s respective U22 and U24 squads.
https://i.imgur.com/tbtbFGC.png

As you can see, quite a few young pitchers have been called up from their respective junior clubs and into starting roles. Many of these fresh faces have shown themselves to be capable of throwing against great hitting through limited experience in the 1946 campaign, with even the youngest pitcher on this list, 16 year-old(!) Jack Jorns, showing promise at the major league level. The youngest crop of pitchers also physically developed quite a bit faster than they otherwise would have without the war, as many of these young men stayed in fighting shape to help out overseas.

The predictions for this league have shaken out far more differently than the first expectations in the midwest. Cincinnati, once thought to be in the driver’s seat behind the young rocket arm of George Rogers II, has seen their preseason standing drop to last in the division. St. Louis looks to be the top team in the Midwest Division, with many viewing the call-up of Sean Lake and Dario Ferrer as signs of an emerging young core being established with veterans in mind. The Yards’ home games look to be packed, as the ever-devoted fan base might have something to cheer for this year. The east looks to be just as how many predicted it, and while surprises are always still possible, many analysts see this as the year of the Jays.

Opening day is soon upon us.
https://i.imgur.com/AGeZVau.png

Last edited by H-Town1141 (7/22/2021 10:08 am)


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