It’s
the Fourth of July, which seems like a great time to officially re-launch the
Perpetual League. To review, we have 30 teams, five divisions of six; those
winners and a wild-card team will go to the postseason. But we won’t get there
for quite a while.
Since
I figure this will take probably a year and a half to finish, there will be
plenty of time for in-depth looks at each team and why players ended up
where they did. We originally had a 10-year requirement, but now we’re adding
some modern players who have played long enough. We’ll talk more about that
later. For now, let’s meet the main participants in this revamped
project:
EAST
DIVISION
Baltimore Elite
Giants:
Any team with Babe Ruth is automatically a threat. But the E-lites also have
Jimmie Foxx, Al Kaline, Home Run Baker and of course Baltimore’s Cal Ripken.
Roy Campanella, who got his start with the Elite Giants, handles Lefty Grove,
Nip Winters and Vic Willis, leaders of a pitching staff that is excellent at
keeping the ball in the park. Oh yes, that Ruth guy will take his turn on the
mound, and he’s really as good as anyone there too. Earl Weaver is the manager
of the Elites, and Ruth is certainly Earl’s kind of guy – pitching and
three-run homers in one package.
Brooklyn
Atlantics:
Named after the 1850s great team, this should be a fun group to play. They can
use a power lineup (Mike Piazza, Gil Hodges) or go with the speed (Rod Carew,
Willie Keeler). Martin Dihigo, the great Cuban, will be in there every day,
somewhere, maybe even on the mound. Joe Start, who played for the real
Atlantics, is here too though he probably won’t, uh, start very often. Pitching
is led by local guy Sandy Koufax, old Dodger Dazzy Vance and Giants legend
Mickey Welch, with Dihigo also available there, and John Franco in relief.
Walter Alston, the only manager to win it all in Brooklyn, runs the show. This
is likely to be the “runningest” team in the league, even playing in tiny
Ebbets Field.
New York
Knights:
From “The Natural,” of course. The top hitters here are all locals – Lou
Gehrig, Manny Ramirez and Edgar Martinez. With Willie, Mickey and the Duke
playing elsewhere, center field might fall to Bernie Williams. Jim Palmer,
Whitey Ford, no-hit man Johan Santana and George Stovey head the hurlers with
Mariano Rivera ready to close for John McGraw, whose great on-base card will
see a fair amount of action at third base. Defense could be an issue, with only
one 1-rated defender anywhere – backup left fielder Fats Jenkins. And it might
be the only team with more lefty pitchers than right-handers, which in this
game is dangerous with all the righty hitters (see Providence).
Newark Eagles: We added this
squad to honor the great Negro league team of the 1930s and ’40s. Hall of
Famers Larry Doby, Biz Mackey and Monte Irvin all played for the real Eagles
and will be on our version. Irvin’s HoF set card doesn’t represent how good he
really was, as it’s based only on his MLB career and his first game came at the
age of 30 – so I substituted his outstanding 1951 card. I also put New Jersey
natives Joe Medwick, Don Newcombe and Derek Jeter on this team, which will be
managed by Bill McKechnie. The Hall of Fame skipper managed the Newark Pepper
of the Federal League nearly 100 years ago.
Philadelphia
Hilldales:
Sliding Billy Hamilton and Pop Lloyd set the table for Mule Suttles and Reggie
Jackson. Mickey Cochrane will handle most of the action behind the plate and
current Phillie Chase Utley will see most of the action at second. All of the
big hitters are lefties except Suttles, so he could face more than his share of
portsiders. Aces Christy Mathewson, “Slim” Jones and Big Ed Walsh keep the
Hilldale club in the mix. Bruce Sutter of Lancaster gets the ball when needed
in the ninth. Connie Mack runs this team from the dugout, program in hand.
Providence
Grays:
Sort of a mix of old-timers and modern Red Sox, these guys had the best record
in the test autoplay despite playing in the toughest overall division. Nap
Lajoie, Joe Kelley and shoulda-been-a-Red Sox Jeff Bagwell lead an offense that
is heavily right-handed, with only Carl Yastrzemski batting from the left side.
Nomar Garciaparra handles short and Pudge Fisk is behind the plate. Pedro
Martinez is the ace of a deep staff that includes ex-teammate Curt Schilling,
old timers Tim Keefe and Old Hoss Radbourn and throwback Wilbur Wood. The
closer is Jeff Reardon and the manager is Frank Selee, who won pennants with
the Beaneaters in the 1890s and who built the Cubs’ last championship team
before illness cut his life short.
SOUTH
DIVISION
Atlanta
Crackers:
This was the minor league team name before the Braves got to town. They have good
offensive balance with Ty Cobb, Frank Thomas and Chipper Jones. Greg Maddux
ended up here, with Cannonball Dick Redding and Tim Hudson also in the
rotation. Georgia is fertile ground for great ballplayers so in future years
there will likely be even more stars. There’s no true closer here, so like some
of the Braves’ playoff games, the ninth could get interesting. It’s also the
most volatile clubhouse in the league with Cobb, Thomas, Kevin Brown, Kenny
Rogers and utilityman Tony Phillips among the strongest personalities. I put
Wilbert Robinson in charge of these guys, hoping that Uncle Robbie can keep the
peace. No. 1 catcher Joe Torre can help there too.
Birmingham
Barons:
The Willie Mays-Hank Aaron outfield is a reality in our fantasy project.
They’ll be joined by Billy Williams in left, and Willie McCovey will hold down
first base. Tubby Scales can hit like the big guys and play a decent second
base. Ozzie Smith, like all of the above born in Alabama, is at short with Pie
Traynor at third and Joe Sewell backing up both. Satchel Paige goes home too,
to lead a pitching staff that could use some more help. Like the original
Barons and the Black Barons, they play at pro ball’s oldest park, Rickwood
Field, which looks like Forbes Field and isn’t going to help the hitters. Tony
La Russa, who played at Birmingham in the A’s minor-league system, manages the
Barons with Dave Duncan alongside, of course.
Durham Bulls: The coastal
region between D.C. and Georgia has enough great players for its own team, and
it gets some help from a few guys who played for the real minor league Bulls.
Three lefty-batting Negro leaguers, Buck Leonard, Jud Wilson and Chino Smith,
head the offense. The right-handed hitters include Jim Rice, Andruw Jones and
Javy Lopez. Luke Appling takes care of shortstop and both Ferrell brothers are
on the squad. Catfish Hunter is joined in the rotation by newcomer Justin
Verlander, and Virginia native Billy Wagner is the hard-throwing closer. Bucky
Harris, who managed World Series winners 23 years apart, is the manager.
Florida
Stingrays:
Now that the Marlins are officially Miami, this team can be Florida, a truer
name as it represents statewide talent. The Stingrays name is in honor of a
team I played on in Little League. A-Rod (born in NY, lived in DR, but played
high school ball in Miami) leads the offense along with Tampa’s Gary Sheffield.
Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff and Ivan Rodriguez also will see a lot of playing
time. Andre Dawson and his buddy Tim Raines are here, along with Jose Canseco.
Luis Tiant Sr. and Jr. are on the team, with the also ageless Steve Carlton
probably being the ace. “Big Florida,” Ted Trent, belongs here too as does
Sheffield’s uncle Doc Gooden. The manager is Tampa native Al Lopez, who was a
good enough catcher to earn a spot on the roster as well.
Louisville
Colonels:
The Colonels were in the National League until it contracted at the beginning
of the 20th Century, and despite being a great baseball city, it hasn’t been
added to MLB. But our expansion will include the Colonels, led by the “Little
Colonel,” Pee Wee Reese, who played for the minor-league team of the same name.
The Louisville Slugger, Pete Browning, plays for his hometown club again and
the powerful John Beckwith will probably spend most of his time at third base.
First base could be 19th Century slugger Dan Brouthers or 21st Century slugger
Joey Votto (who played there on his way to the show). Robin Roberts, from Springfield,
Ill., and Tony Mullane, an ambidextrous member of the old Colonels, lead the
pitching staff. The manager is Joe McCarthy; before all those Yankee
championships, Marse Joe ended his playing career and began his managerial one
in Louisville.
Memphis Red Sox: The fourth of
our Negro league team names in this division is led by Louisiana native Mel Ott
and Memphis Bill Terry. Albert Belle and Wild Bill Wright are the other regular
outfielders with Bill Dickey doing most of the catching. Brooks Robinson, a Little
Rock native, holds down third base and Grant “Home Run” Johnson can play short
or second with equal ability. The closest thing to an ace pitcher here is Big
Bill Foster, with help from Dizzy Dean, Parisian Bob Caruthers and Louisiana
Lightning, Ron Guidry. Lee Smith will walk very slowly in from the bullpen to
close games for Billy Southworth, one of the newest Hall of Fame skippers.
MIDWEST
DIVISION
Chicago Blues: Steve Goodman
sang, “Do they still play the blues in Chicago when baseball season rolls
around?” The local teams’ combined history is not too good, but there have been
some great individual players. Jim Thome and Sammy Sosa are in the 600-homer
club, and Al Simmons will provide some big offense in front of them. Eddie
Collins is at second while a pair of ’30s Cubs, Hack Wilson (center field) and
Gabby Hartnett (catcher) also play nearly every day. Lou Boudreau and Luis Aparicio
share time at short, while Thome will play either first or third. Robin Ventura,
now managing on the South Side, will also get some time at third. The pitching
should be strong behind Dave Brown, Fergie Jenkins and Rube Foster, who doubles
as manager. Hoyt Wilhelm, who worked on both sides of town, brings his knuckleball
in for the late innings.
Cincinnati
Pioneers:
This nickname is a nod to Robert Coover’s “Universal Baseball Association,” and
that book’s Pioneer Club. Cincy (when did it become “The ’Nati”?) was the
professional pioneer in baseball. Ken Griffey Jr. and Dayton’s Mike Schmidt
give the Pioneers a power punch. Pete Rose has to be here, naturally, playing
somewhere, and they also get ex-Reds Barry Larkin and Tony Perez. Buck Ewing
catches and backs up elsewhere, and big Frank Howard intimidates pitchers
merely by standing in the batter’s box. Jim Bunning, who grew up just across
the river in Kentucky, and Bill Byrd lead the pitching staff, which doesn’t
have a lot of big names. Sidearming Kent Tekulve closes for Cincinnati native Miller
Huggins.
Cleveland
Spiders:
A great team name that is unfortunately associated with the worst single-season
team in baseball history (1899). This version is built on pitching with Cy
Young – a Spider in their earlier glory years – joined by fellow Hall of Famers
Addie Joss, Phil Niekro and Ray Brown. Rollie Fingers is the ace in relief.
Hitting isn’t quite up to that level, but Ed Delahanty, George Sisler and
Robbie Alomar lead the Spiders’ attack. To help in the power department, Juan
Gonzalez and Cleveland favorite Rocky Colavito must contribute. Ned Hanlon, who
began his career with the Cleveland Blues in 1880 and made it to the Hall of
Fame 116 years later, comes back to manage.
Detroit
Cadillacs:
This name pays homage to Jack Kerouac’s fantasy baseball game, which he lugged
around in his travels – he named the teams after cars and colors. These
Cadillacs enjoy luxury with Tiger greats Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg
plus Turkey Stearnes, who starred for the Detroit Stars. To go even further
back, Sam Thompson of the 1887 World Series champion Detroit Wolverines is in
right field. The pitching could be a problem; there’s no real ace here. The
only Hall of Famer is Hal Newhouser, though John Smoltz will make it in a few
years. Smoltz, a Lansing native, was dealt away by the Tigers in 1987 and
finally pitches for his “home” team here, either as a starter or closer. Jim
Leyland will puff away in the Caddies’ dugout.
Indianapolis
ABCs:
Oscar Charleston, the Hoosier Comet, leads a strong offense that features Chuck
Klein and George Foster. Don Mattingly plays first and Scott Rolen is on the
hot corner. Dead-ball era hurlers Three Finger Brown and Babe Adams figure to
be the best on the ABCs along with Negro leaguer Bill Holland. No real
strikeout guys though, unless you count the Hoosier Thunderbolt, Amos Rusie.
The team is managed by C.I. Taylor, who has two of his brothers, Ben and Jim,
on the roster, and another, Steel Arm Johnny, on the coaching staff. A lot of
American Brewing Company ads at Washington Park.
Pittsburgh
Crawfords:
The offense is built around the 1-2 punch of Josh Gibson and Stan Musial. But
there are also Honus Wagner and Cool Papa Bell to get things going and Wampum’s
Dick Allen to help finish them off. Roberto Clemente anchors right field. A
10-man pitching staff with two relievers, Roy Face and Sparky Lyle, backs up a
rotation featuring Rube Waddell, Eddie Plank, Pud Galvin and Mike Mussina. Sam
McDowell could be a lefty out of the pen, or take a turn in the rotation,
depending upon what manager Cumberland Posey wants to do.
PLAINS
DIVISION
Dallas Panthers:
I
think this was a minor-league team name, and I didn’t want anything to do with
the names like Cowboys, Texans or Steers. I split up the original “Houston”
team into two squads, both of which are still strong enough to win this thing
thanks to the incredible talent in the Lone Star State. Tris Speaker, Rogers
Hornsby and Ernie Banks all ended up here, along with Hall of Fame catcher
Louis Santop. Vladimir Guerrero leads the hefty Rangers contingent that
includes Rafael Palmeiro, Al Oliver, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre and Julio
Franco. The guy who owns the Rangers is the ace of the staff, and Nolan Ryan is
joined by Hippo Vaughn and Vida Blue, plus knuckleballing Charlie Hough. John
Wetteland gets the ball in the ninth unless Ryan has a no-hitter going. Cito
Gaston, winner of two World Series, manages the Panthers.
Houston Aeros: In the
auto-test league, they tied for the second-best record, but they weren’t that
much better than their new neighbors from Dallas. Joe Morgan and Eddie Mathews,
who played together briefly on the Astros, are joined by Frank Robinson, with
support by local guys Lance Berkman and the all-or-nothing Adam Dunn. The
hardest-throwing staff in the league features Smokey Joe Williams, Roger
Clemens, Josh Beckett and J.R. Richard, and Joe Nathan in the bullpen. The only
thing that might keep the offense down is the Astrodome. Leo Durocher runs the
show as only he can. The Aeros were the hockey team with Gordie Howe and his
sons.
Iowa Oaks: The name of the
White Sox farm team from the 1970s, I decided Iowa would get the team to
represent the upper Midwest. Bob Feller and the Iowa gang are here, as well as
Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield and the rest of Minnesota’s best, along with
adopted son Kirby Puckett. With Molitor here, Robin Yount was brought in as a
shortstop-outfielder. Ex-Iowa minor league manager Ryne Sandberg plays second
and Joe Mauer is a new addition behind the plate. Feller is joined in the
rotation by Elba, Neb., native Grover Cleveland Alexander, and John Donaldson
who once pitched for the All Nations, an integrated team 100 years ago that was
based in Des Moines. (The Donaldson hitting card will not be used, though.) The
manager is Marshalltown Hall of Famer Cap Anson, who will play a lot of first
and back up Mauer behind the plate.
Kansas City
Monarchs:
Albert Pujols (Fort Osage High School) is the man here, with George Brett,
Cristobal Torriente and Carlos Beltran there to help. Joe Gordon, who managed
both the Kansas City A’s and Royals, will play second base. The pitching is led
by longtime Monarchs stalwarts Hilton Smith and Andy Cooper. Two more former
Monarchs, Elston Howard and Frank Duncan,
do the bulk of the catching. Dan Quisenberry is the main reliever for
Buck O’Neil, who manages and will give Albert a rest at first base (or if
Pujols plays in the outfield). This team will be a threat.
Oklahoma Oilers: For a small and
(relatively) new state, Oklahoma has produced remarkable quality of talent in
baseball. Mickey Mantle of Commerce is the name everyone thinks of first, but
how about Willie Stargell (born in Earlsboro) and Johnny Bench from Binger and
the Waner brothers from Harrah? Carl Hubbell lived most of his life in Oklahoma
and so did Warren Spahn. And with Spahn here, I put Arkansas’ Johnny Sain on
the team as well. The big attraction might be Bullet Joe Rogan, pitching or
playing the outfield (or somewhere). The manager is OKC-born Bobby Cox, a
teammate of Mantle with the Yankees – those two participated in a triple play
in New York along with “The” Dooley Womack.
St. Louis
Gunners:
I didn’t want to use Cardinals or Browns and I couldn’t use Stars, so I dug
into the defunct NFL teams list to come up with Gunners, which is the nickname
of one of my long-ago fantasy teams. Yogi Berra goes home to St. Louis to play.
He’s joined by Negro leagues superstar shortstop Willie “Devil” Wells, who
played for the local Stars, and home run hitter Mark McGwire. Some of the
Cards’ favorites are elsewhere, but Bob Gibson is here to anchor the pitching
staff. He struck out six in a row, including Barry Bonds, in one of my
exhibition games. Another Card, Jim Edmonds, will be making those diving
catches in center. A couple of Browns, Ken Williams and Bobby Wallace, help out
too. Tom Henke gets the ball in the ninth when Gibson isn’t pitching. Whitey
Herzog runs this team but with few of his beloved base-stealing threats.
WEST
DIVISION
Bismarck
Capitals:
Another of the new clubs. This is where my father grew up, watching Satchel
Paige pitch on an integrated semi-pro team. Satch isn’t here, but this team
draws from Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Iowa and Nebraska. There are also
several Negro leaguers here because many of them played in the Man-Dak League
in the 1950s. Willard “Sonny” Brown, Harmon Killebrew and Fargo’s Roger Maris
lead the offense and Grover Cleveland Alexander of Elba, Neb., is the ace. A
couple of Satch’s teammates in Bismarck, Quincy Trouppe and “Double Duty”
Radcliffe, come back. I put the Capitals in the West because there were enough
Midwestern and “Plains” teams and really, Bismarck isn’t too far from Denver.
Sparky Anderson, who was born in South Dakota, is the manager.
Denver Bears: A long-time
minor-league fixture in the pre-Rockies days, the Bears will see some modern Colorado
favorites in Todd Helton, Larry Walker and even Troy Tulowitzki – who will have
to fight for playing time against the likes of Vern Stephens and old-timer
Herman Long. Ralph Kiner, who was born in New Mexico like Stephens, lands here.
Walter Johnson gets the title of ace with help from Bret Saberhagen, Smoky Joe
Wood and Colorado natives Roy Halladay and relief ace Goose Gossage. Billy
Martin got his managing start in Denver and we’ll put him here and hope he can
stay out of trouble. I don’t have a humidor, but toning down the Mile High
Stadium ballpark effects isn’t too hard to do.
Hollywood Stars: The nickname of
Stars was one of the most popular nicknames in the Negro leagues, but the old
minor-league team with this name really seems to fit best. I have them playing
at Wrigley Field west, in L.A., and managed by that old show-biz lover, Tommy
Lasorda. And there are stars here. Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson, who grew up
in L.A. long before the Dodgers moved out there, are joined by Eddie Murray,
Gary Carter and Rickey Henderson. Tom Seaver is the ace, with help from Don
Drysdale, Bert Blyleven and yes, Fernando Valenzuela. Troy Percival is the
closer. So many guys grew up in SoCal, there were endless candidates for this
team; but it may not be as loaded as it looks.
San Diego Hawks: The last of the new teams, and another hockey
team name that works as well as anything else; most of the baseball teams there have
been called Padres. Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn head up the local contingent
that also includes Graig Nettles and Alan Trammell. Steve Garvey and Adrian
Gonzalez will split time at first and Bob Boone will do much of the catching –
Bob’s son Bret is available in the infield. The pitching overall is questionable, but
Gaylord Perry returns to his Nataional League Cy Young city to help locals Bob Lemon and David Wells. Trevor
Hoffman closes and Dick Williams returns to the site of his last pennant.
San Francisco
Seals:
The DiMaggio brothers and Bonds father and son head up this group. Juan
Marichal heads the pitching with help from a couple of Yankees, Lefty Gomez and
C.C. Sabathia. Dennis Eckersley and Tug McGraw can finish things off, though
Eck definitely will start some games. Harry Heilmann helps the hard-hitting
outfielders, with Will Clark and Orlando Cepeda splitting time at first. Joe
Cronin joins Jeff Kent up the middle and Ernie Lombardi is behind the plate. Casey
Stengel, who revived his managing career with the Oakland Oaks, returns to the
Bay Area to run this Yankee-heavy outfit.
Seattle Pilots: In the original
version of this league, we ended up with a lot of random guys here. This time
we have more Pacific Northwest natives, and guys who played here, either in the
minors or for the Mariners. I also have imported Sadaharu Oh from Japan,
figuring that he probably would have come over if things were then as they are
now. Ichiro, who played for Oh on Japan’s 2006 WBC gold-medal team, is in the
outfield with Earl Averill of Snohomish and possibly Babe Herman. Ron Santo, a
Seattle native, handles third. Randy Johnson returns to head the pitching
staff. The only Pilot connection is starter-reliever Sal Maglie, who was their
one and only pitching coach. Longtime Mariners manager Lou Piniella, who was
traded by the Pilots during spring training in 1969, is the boss.
The
most dramatic game of the day, though, took place in Florida. The Stingrays
trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, but pinch hitter Rev Cannady (pictured)
greeted John Smoltz with a two-out, two-run homer to give the Stingrays a 4-3
victory over the Detroit Cadillacs. Jose Canseco, another pinch hitter, doubled
off John Hiller to keep the game alive, and Cannady hit for winning pitcher Tom
Gordon. The infielder is more known for his batting average than for his power,
but he connected on a Smoltz hanger and Florida celebrated the first “walk-off”
win of the season.
