https://wpaulroe.wixsite.com/leg-baseball

            Ok, it’s time for the NL rankings. Remember, I ranked pitching based on a 5 man rotation using starting pitchers with at least 750 MBF’s. Relief was based on the top 4 relievers. A pitcher could not be rated at both. Pitchers were divided into BBW pitcher grades (25-30,  20-24, 15-19, 10-14, 5-9) and given a rank value for each grade,…so a grade 25 got the same rank as a grade 30.

            The hitting rankings were based on OPS. For me, you need runners to be on base (OB%) to score runs and you need hits to score them. Because different grade pitchers turn different hit numbers into outs, AND since ALL hit numbers EXCEPT the power numbers 1 and 0 get changed, that makes SLG an important category for me,…therefore I used OPS. Again, you can rate and rank the teams in any way you want. I just did it this way. It may not be right, but it may not be wrong,…it just is what it is…a simple way for my non mathematical mind to put order to something that I wanted to order.

            So, here it goes, We’ll get to the NL EAST in a bit, but first a few comparisons between the AL and the NL. When it came to pitching, last year it appeared the NL was loaded in top grade pitchers. At least to me anyway. Felt like I was always facing a grade 19 or better at least twice in every series. And when it came to facing the NL WEST. Forget it! They were LOOOOOOOO – DED!!  This year the NL may still have an edge over the AL but it doesn’t appear to be big: Continue reading “RANKING THE LEG NATIONAL LEAGUE” →

            You can rank teams in so many different ways that if 20 people did it, you would probably get 20 different rankings. It just depends of what you rank them on and the rating scale you decide to use. That said, this was just done for some fun. It does not mean that the teams are as good or bad as I have ranked them and it doesn’t mean they will preform like I may have suggested. It’s just one of probably a thousand ways to rank teams. Me? I am not good with number so I try to keep it simple for me. Therefore, I ranked pitching based on a 5 man rotation using starting pitchers with at least 750 MBF’s. Relief was based on the top 4 relievers. A pitcher could not be rated at both. Pitchers were divided into BBW pitcher grades (25-30,  20-24, 15-19, 10-14, 5-9) and given a rank value for each grade,…so a grade 25 got the same rank as a grade 30.

            The hitting rankings were based on OPS. For me, you need runners to be on base (OB%) to score runs and you need hits to score them. Because different grade pitchers turn different hit numbers into outs, AND since ALL hit numbers EXCEPT the power numbers 1 and 0 get changed, that makes SLG an important category for me,…therefore I used OPS. Again, you can rate and rank the teams in any way you want. I just did it this way. It may not be right, but it may not be wrong,…it just is what it is…a simple way for my non mathematical mind to put order to something that I wanted to order. Continue reading “RANKING THE LEG AMERICAN LEAGUE” →

June 13th, 2021 – Written by Paul Roe (Paul will be 87 Years old next Friday!)

Well, the first annual Draft in LEG was completed today. And how did it go? Pretty good me thinks. Time wise it kept moving at a good pace. Could a been better, could a been worse. I thought it did good. Some teams got skipped and some skipped themselves. Considering we have teams all over the map in different time zones, I thought everyone did a great job and the Draft moved on.
To me it was an interesting draft mainly due to the salary cap situation that limited some teams as to what they could do with their picks. I know some teams stayed below certain salaries and drafted players they could afford rather than players they wanted. But it all worked out. So how did the first round go? Let’s see. Out of the first 32 picks,… 19 starters were picked, 3 relievers, 1 firstbaseman, 3 secondbasemen, 1 thirdbaseman, and 5 outfielders. I wasn’t surprised by the number of starters chosen. There were 13 good starters graded 16 and above available in the draft and 8 of them were taken in the first 10 picks. In fact, the first 3 picks were starters. Not a big surprise there as they were all graded 20 and above.
So let’s take a look at each pick.
Continue reading “FIRST ANNUAL LEG DRAFT 2021” →

American League Pitcher of the Month – Sam Leever – New Westminster Salmonbellies

Sam Leever narrowly edged out Justin Verlander who was vying for his second consecutive PotM award. Leever won on the strength of his 6-0 record with two complete games in six starts in which he posted a 2.10 ERA and allowed just 29 hits in 47 innings.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Justin Verlander (FWC – 14 votes)
3^rd – Jake Weimer (PUR – 7 votes)

National League Pitcher of the Month –  Willie Foster – West Michigan Retrogrades

Willie Foster dominated NL hitters throughout the month of May posting a minuscule 1.31 ERA over 48 innings in which he allowed just 28 hits and 8 walks. No small wonder he cruised to a 5-1 mark which included two complete games and a shutout.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2nd – Christy Mathewson (CWH – 12 votes)
3rd – Randy Johnson (SAN – 8 votes)

American League Player of the Month –   Tris Speaker – Purry Cowpokes

Unlike the pitcher voting, there was no contest for the top prize among AL hitters. Sir Tris massacred pitching all month posting an eye-popping .450 average (27/60), .515 OBP (8 walks), and .950 SLG (13 doubles, a triple, 5 homers, and 18 RBIs). And just for the hell of it, he stole a couple of bases.

Other worthy, but far distant candidates for this award were:
2nd – Joe Medwick (JSH– 10 votes)
3rd – John Mayberry (CHI – 6 votes)

National League Player of the Month – Ripper Collins – Detroit Deloreans

Ripping pitchers a new one was regularly on the menu for this Motor City masher. Collins hammered his way to 14 homers in the month and then tacked on 10 doubles and a triple while driving in 26 and scoring 26. That .388/.434/.939 slash line is just plain nasty. Nice going, sir.  Like in the AL, a pretty easy choice to top honors.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2nd – Mel Ott (CMC – 12 votes)
3rd – Tommy Davis (WMR – 3 votes)

American League Pitcher of the Month – Justin Verlander – Fort Worth Cats

Mr. Upton was a cool 4-1 in his six starts in May and allowed a stingy 27 hits in over 50 innings and a stellar 1.79 ERA that helped him edge out Greg Maddux for his 2nd straight PotM with 13 of a possible 20 votes.
Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2nd – Greg Maddux (FWC – 8 votes)
3rd – Clayton Kershaw (CIN – 8 votes)

National League Pitcher of the Month – Randy Johnson – San Tan Valley Moonrakers

San Tan’s month of standout performances starts with Mr. Johnson who’s Ichabod Crane physique distracted hitters to the tune of an insane 0.35 ERA in May with only two runs allowed in 52 innings. Johnson wracked up 40 Ks in the process of going 5-0 and garnered him the unanimous choice for the Pitcher of the Month honors.
Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Noodles Hahn (HBZ – 8 votes)
3^rd – Dick Donovan (CWH – 6 votes)

American League Player of the Month – Socks Seybold – Menomonee Minutemen

This photogenic happy guy let his bat do the talking all of May. Ralph raked with 14 doubles, a triple, 8 triple, and eight homers in the month as part of a nifty cool .341 batting average and .812 slugging percentages while being tops in the AL with 28 RBIs in the month. Nice and the committee agreed to give him 17 of 20 possible votes!
Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Ed Bailey (PUR – 8 votes)
3^rd – Rogers Hornsby (JSH – 7 votes)

National League Player of the Month – Vern Stephens– San Tan Valley Moonrakers

Vern Stephens’ life was tragically short as he passed away at the age of 48, but throughout his career with the St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox ‘Little Slug’ was among the best hitting infielders in the game. Stephens carried this success to the LEG in May, is the unanimous choice for PotM after smashing 10 doubles, 10 homers, and driving in 22 runs while scoring 24.
Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2nd – Cal Ripken Jr. (CLB – 11 votes)
3rd – Duke Snider (WMR – 5 votes)

American League Pitcher of the Month – Greg Maddux – Fort Worth Cats

Mr. Maddux was nothing short of stellar in the first month of the season compiling a 5-0 record (1^st), 1.48 ERA (2^nd)  with a minuscule 4.3 hits, and 5.5 baserunners allowed per 9 innings (both 1^st). The perennial Cy Young candidate was the top vote-getter for Pitcher of the Month and a unanimous selection. Glad he is in the AL.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Tom Glavine (Jack Street Hustlers)
3^rd – Johan Santana (Cincinnati Knight)

National League Pitcher of the Month – Christy Mathewson – Clockwork Heros

Savvy Ken Kuryliw snagged this Deadball Era legend 14^th overall and Christy’s done nothing but make hitters suffer since. Somehow Mathewson has been beaten twice despite sporting a sublime 1.25 ERA (2^nd). He is tops in the NL with 64.2 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts and second with a 5-2 record. Not too shabby.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Satchel Paige (Fantomz Force)
3^rd – Juan Guzman (Virginia Cavaliers)

American League Player of the Month – Martin Dihigo – New Westminster Salmonbellies

Stolen from yours truly by traitorous fellow Canadian Brian Simpson early in the draft, El Maestro spent the first month of the season smacking the crap out of the ball. All Dihigo did in April was hit .397 (1^st), hit 8 homers (4^th), drive-in 24 RBIs (4^th), post a .443 OBP (3^rd), and led the league in slugging at a meager .782. Kudos to you, BS.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – John Mayberry (Chicago Nine)
3^rd – Mark McGwire (Jack Street Hustlers)

National League Player of the Month – Jim Bottomley – Hoboken Zephyrs

This native of Oglesby, Illinois is likely one of the best things to ever happen to the town of Hoboken. Sunny Jim was the top vote-getter for the month thanks to his .346 avg (4^th), .414 OBP (5^th), and .679 SLG (1^st). Just for shits and giggles, Bottomley hit 7 doubles, 2 triples and 5 homers in 23 games which translated into 21 RBIs (4^th). Maybe not the best at many things, but one of the greatest at everything. Together with PoM candidate and teammate Stan Spence, the Zephyrs were able to pack a deadly 1-2 punch throughout April.

Other worthy candidates for this award were:
2^nd – Jose Bautista (Climax Cougars)
3^rd – Stan Spence (Hoboken Zephyrs)

What if … Babe Ruth had a chance to hit in Coors Field?
What if … Ty Cobb tried to steal on Johnny Bench?
What if … Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson pitched against each other?
What if … Josh Gibson and his killer bat faced Sandy Koufax and his killer arm?
What if … Shoeless Joe Jackson and Eddie Ciccotte were never banned from baseball?
What if … there was a league out there that could answer all of those questions?

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Who Played Baseball) is just such a league.
Featuring more than 2,000 of the greatest baseball players to ever grace the major league baseball diamond since 1900 and more than 100 of the greatest Negro Leaguer’s that should have had the chance, LEG attempts to be an all-out immersion into the greatest sport. 

The League
The league will consist of 24 to 32 teams in 4 divisions.

The Teams
Teams will consist of 36 to 40 players using an active roster of 26 players with
the remainder in reserve in the minors.
Each team owner will have full control of his team including the ability to determine what city or region his team is located and which ballpark his team uses.
Each team will also build its roster using salary cap guidelines with various factors each year determining if and how player salaries are affected.

The Ballparks
Based on the region the team is located, owners will be able to choose whether they want to use any existing or historical ballpark or build their own.
Each ballpark will have its own characteristics that confer benefits and penalties to players.

The Players
All players have been normalized to all-time averages adjusted for ballpark factors and a whole bunch of other magical stuff. Put simply, 10 home runs hit in 1919 are not the same as 10 home runs (which I could probably hit) in MLB in 2019.
Our team (me) has compiled normalized annual stats for approximately 2,200 players with the ability to add players on an annual basis.
Players can be signed by teams to single or multiple-year contracts, but are subject to free agency rules based on how and how often they are used as well as when their contracts expire.
Players eligible for the league must have played in at least five seasons unless their careers were tragically cut short, e.g. Lyman Bostock.
Team owners can nominate players to be added to the list of available if they are not already carded.

Injuries and Usage
Usage for all players will be adjusted for a 162-game schedule using AIM.
Teams must have a minimum of four starting pitchers in their rotations.
Injury ratings will be adjusted for pretty much everyone except Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig so just because a player played 154 games in a season will not mean he cannot get a 10-day injury.

Transactions
Trading will be allowed and is encouraged albeit within salary cap limits.

Franchise Points
A unique system will be in place to allow teams to earn and spend Franchise Points.
These Franchise Points can be earned by such things as having players named to All-Star Teams, having win streaks, and so on.
Points can be used to modify/build ballparks that affect player performance or they may just generate additional Franchise Points. They can also be used for organizational improvements such as having a team of Wall Street Legal Beagles to negotiate contracts and possibly reduce costs, purchasing of advanced medical equipment to reduce or in some cases even prevent injuries, hire conditioning coaches, and much more.

Season Progression
Players will not be carded based on their very first year playing in MLB or the Negro Leagues. Starting years will be determined randomly as will each subsequent year and may even include the player’s card is based on their performance in LEG rather than in the majors.
For example, you may have Babe Ruth start his inaugural season in the league using his 1920 54-homer season but then the next year have him use his 1935 6-homer, .181 season.

Schedule
Teams will play 162-game seasons with up to three rounds of post-season play. There
will NEVER be a one-game wildcard playoff.

Opening Day
We are hoping to have the league constitution/guide out within the next couple of weeks with an inaugural draft date to be determined based on when the league owner complement is full.