Baseball: The World's Game (OOTP 22 Fictional World)

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Greetings all and welcome to “Baseball: The World’s Game.” I decided to share my fictional alternate earth where baseball rises throughout the 20th century to become the prominent sport worldwide much in the way soccer is in reality.


This sim eventually expands to 14 “Major Leagues” spanning all regions of the world along with an annual tournament of nations. I do not control any teams and rarely make adjustments beyond the original creation stage, allowing each league to grow and develop its own flavor and style.


OOTP forums shout out to Dogzilla’s World Names Database which I used for the most accurate world possible and to Cephasjames’s logo pack for use for these fictional teams. I am also posting these to the OOTP forums along with here on Operation Sports.


Instead of having 30 or so smaller leagues based in a similar nation, my leagues are larger and multi-national. In many cases, the subleagues are canonically their own separate league within the greater “association,” but I didn’t actually use the game’s association feature.


Apart from one North American AAA league and college feeder, there aren’t any minor leagues as well. This is mostly to save space and processing power since I don’t have the most advanced machine (nor the creativity to also make another couple hundred minor league teams.) Drafted players are set to be more-often college aged and developed with the international complex also serving as a sort of “minor league.” Development speed is 1.200 the normal game to help make up for lack of minors and aging is .800 because it’s more fun to see some guys make it into their late 30s/early 40s in my opinion.


The initial leagues I used base statistics in line with mid 1960s baseball and then I switched toward 1990s stats in some of the later leagues. Based on personal preference, there are more starting pitchers going deep into games, smaller bullpens, and more base stealing generally across all of the leagues.


Each league does have some different settings regarding things like finances, arbitration, free agency length, roster size etc. Dynamically evolving league is on with the exception of expansion/relocation so each league does take different paths from what I set as well. I’ll try to remember to point out some of these while writing these but feel free to ask any questions as I log this all. I’m already 100+ years into it so I’ll probably forget some stuff especially from the earlier years.


Real world history and geopolitics does factor in when I introduce some leagues/teams and who gets paired where, but there are creative liberties. For example, the game starts in 1901 with teams in many modern US/Canadian metros that barely existed back then. Plus we’ll also pretend that this fictional baseball world is generally nicer and less bigoted than real humanity in terms of leagues being diverse and player movement between regions.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

With all of that stage setting, the leagues are below. As I progress through the history, I’ll touch on each league in more specific detail.

Major League Baseball – Starting in 1901, a highly fictionalized MLB that begins with two “associations” and four 12-team “leagues.” The National Association has the Eastern and Midwest Leagues, the American Association has the Western and Southern Leagues.


Minor League Baseball – Also starting in 1901, the “Triple A” level for each of the teams in MLB.


College Baseball – Also starting in 1901, the college feeder league. For simplicity sake I just took seven modern NCAA conferences (Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, PAC-12, AAC, and MAC).


Central American Baseball Association – CABA kicks off in 1911 split between Liga Mexico and Liga Caribe. Both start with 12 teams, the Caribbean league is half island teams and half Central American teams.


East Asia Baseball – Opening in 1921, EAB is split between the Japanese League and Korean League.


Beisbol Sudamerica- Formed in 1931, BSA has the Bolivar League (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) as well as the Southern Cone League (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay)


European Baseball Federation – Formed in 1950, EBF arises from World War II made up of western and central European nations.


Eurasian Professional Baseball – Started in 1955, essentially the “Soviet bloc” league with teams throughout the old USSR and eastern Europe.


Oceania Baseball Association – Beginning in 1960, OBA is split between an Australia/New Zealand league and a group of Pacific island teams.


Austronesia Professional Baseball – Debuting in 1965, APB boasts teams from Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore.


Chinese League Baseball – China’s league starts up in 1970 from throughout the mainland along with Hong Kong and Macao.


West Africa Baseball- From 1975 onward, WAB represents Nigeria, Ghana, and other neighboring nations.


South Asia Baseball- Formed in 1980 and split between the Indian league and the Southeast Asian League (Vietnam, Thailand, etc)


Asian Baseball Federation – Debuting 1985, initially made up of teams from Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran.


Arab League Baseball – Beginning 1990, teams throughout the “Arab world” of the Middle East and North Africa.


African Association of Baseball –The last of the major leagues coming in 1995, AAB picks up southern, central, and eastern Africa.


Additionally starting in 1947 is the World Baseball Championship, an annual tournament of nations held each January. Further down the line is the Baseball Grand Championship, a Champions League of sorts as well as European second and third tiers for promotion/relegation and an African second tier.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

While scholars still debate many of the finer details, the mid 19th century is generally thought to have been when what would become baseball started to develop. Following the American Civil War, professional clubs and leagues started appearing sporadically regionally across North America. However, most of these leagues lacked cohesion and organization. But it was starting to become clear to government and business leaders across the United States and Canada that professional baseball had the potential to be a massive financial and cultural success.


Towards the end of the 1800s, four true regional “Major Leagues” began to take hold and stabilize as entities: the Eastern League, the Midwest League, the Southern League, and the Western League. But still, the formats and structures for each would fluctuate each season. Despite this, the general population began flocking to ballparks and it became clear that the people wanted baseball.


Leaders representing each league began meeting regularly to try to unify the leagues and create a structure and framework they could all work and thrive under. Naturally, the deliberations were fraught with disagreements and bickering, But progress was gradually made on how to work together and how to grow the great game of baseball.


By the end of the century, two separate Associations were formed. The National Association; made up of the Eastern and Midwest Leagues; and the American Association; with the Southern and Western Leagues. The Associations eventually created Major League Baseball as the unifying sanctioning body. Each league would have 12 teams and 12 “affiliates” in a separate minor league. There would be an amateur draft annually, drawing from the growing collegiate baseball world which had announced the first “College World Series” for 1901. And there would be free agency and player trading as well. One key difference between the Associations would be the AA’s use of the designated hitter rule.


The regular season schedule would be 162 games with each Association being self-contained. The initial postseason format would be the first and second place finishers from each league advancing. The league champion would host the second place finisher from the other league in their Association in a best-of-five with the champ having home-field for the entire series. The winners advance to a best-of-seven Association Championship and those champions move to a best-of-seven MLB championship; later dubbed the “World Series.” The inaugural season under this framework would be in 1901.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

1901 marked the first official season of unified Major League Baseball. In the National Association, the Detroit Tigers would lead the NA in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed (718-524). The Tigers finished 101-61 atop the Midwest League, but had to fend off a challenge from the Louisville Lynx all season. The Lynx ended two back at 99-63, securing second place and a playoff spot. There was a 12 game gap to third place Kansas City.


The Eastern League saw the Toronto Timberwolves pull away at the end for first place at 96-66. The second place race was a dogfight with five teams finishing within three games. Montreal (88-74) beat out Boston (87-75), Buffalo (86-76), Hartford (86-76), and Pittsburgh (85-77) for the second spot.


Detroit landed both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year. 32-year old right fielder Davis Zaitsoff led the NA in home runs (46) and RBI (139) while taking second in OBS at.977. On the mound, 31-year old Sonny Carnell had a second-best 1.77 ERA along with 7.4 WAR and a 1.00 WHIP over 269.1 innings.


Despite the accolades and home field advantage, the Tigers would be upset 3-2 by Montreal in the first round of the playoffs. Toronto bested Louisville 3-1, setting up the top-two in the Eastern League in the National Association championship. Although the Timberwolves were league champ, the Maples dominated and swept Toronto, sending Montreal to the first World Series.



The American Association meanwhile was incredibly top-heavy with five teams at 99+ wins by season’s end. The Western League was a three-horse race fighting for two spots. Led by Pitcher of the Year winner Jeremy Diedrich and center field stud Andrew McCluskie, the Calgary Cheetahs narrowly took the top spot at 103-59. Albuquerque would win a one-game playoff against top-scoring Vancouver to give the Isotopes the second playoff spot at 102-61, leaving the Volcanoes out at 101-62.


In the Southern League, Tampa had the best record in baseball at 106-56 with MVP second baseman Alex Rodriguez. He posted the first-ever 10+ WAR season at 10.8 WAR with a .379/.450/.550 line and an MLB best 140 runs scored. Charlotte had a solid second place season at 99-63 to advance with a big drop to third place Nashville.


The Thunderbirds swept the Isotopes in the first round, while the Cheetahs were taken to the brink but defeated Charlotte 3-2. Tampa would win the American Association Championship 4-1 over Calgary to set up the first-ever World Series.


Montreal’s underdog run would come to an end though against the Thunderbirds. Tampa claimed the series 4-1 to become the first MLB champions. Third baseman George Cull earned MVP honors in both the World Series and Association Championship, hitting .429/.517/.612 with 21 hits over 13 postseason games.


Click here for full National Association stats and here for the American Association.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

There would not be a repeat World Series champion in 1902 as Tampa fell to an 84-78 record, despite George Cull grabbing MVP honors. They and Charlotte both hovered around .500 as the Southern League reshuffled. Jacksonville, who won 82 in 1901, took the league title at 97-65. Miami came away with the #2 spot in a congested field with an 88-74 mark.


The Western League didn’t see much change at the top despite Calgary losing Pitcher of the Year Jeremy Diedrich in the offseason to Toronto. The Cheetahs saw 23-year old Ruben Toscano of Nicaragua fill that void as top pitcher, pushing Calgary to a league title at 101-61 with an MLB-best 10.1 WAR. Vancouver, who lost the tiebreaker for second in 1901, grabbed it outright in 1902 at 96-66, edging out Denver (94-68). Albuquerque limped to a 78-84 mark, dropping from second to seventh. Statistically, John Alcala of Phoenix became the first player to hit 50 home runs in a season.


In the AA postseason, Calgary bested Miami 3-1 and Jacksonville survived for a 3-2 series win versus Vancouver. The two league champs met for the American Association Championship, won 4-1 ultimately by the Cheetahs.


In the Eastern League, Toronto boasted the MVP in left fielder Chris Mason and the Pitcher of the Year in the newly acquired Diedrich. Despite that, the Timberwolves still took only second in the EL at 96-66. Philadelphia claimed the top spot at 98-64, jumping big from a .500 mark in 1901. Depending NA champ Montreal came up third at 90-72.


Detroit again snagged the Midwest League’s title, going 100-62. After getting 76 wins the year prior, Milwaukee grabbed second at 97-65 with the fewest runs allowed in baseball. Cincinnati had a solid year but fell short with a third-place mark of 94-68. Last year’s second-place Louisville dropped to fifth at 85-77.


The League Champs both advanced at Detroit won 3-1 against Toronto and Philadelphia bested Milwaukee 3-2. The Tigers controlled the National Association championship though, winning the series over the Phillies in five.


It was the best record from each Association in the second World Series. 1901 NA MVP Davis Zaitsoff would be the World Series MVP as Detroit defeated Calgary 4-2.


Full statistics and leaders from 1902 here.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

The defending MLB champion Detroit Tigers narrowly made it back to the postseason in 1903. The Milwaukee Mustangs took the Midwest League title at 94-68, meanwhile the Tigers were locked in a battle with Chicago and Kansas City for second. Detroit would finish 89-73, just beating out the Cubs (88-74) and Cougars (87-75). Cincinnati saw the steepest drop, going from third at 94 wins to seventh at 76.


Toronto also made it to their third straight postseason, posting the best-ever record in MLB’s young history at 107-55. For the second straight year, the Timberwolves had both the MVP and PotY. The 32-year old left fielder Chris Mason led the NA in WAR at 8.2, hitting 40 homers and 107 RBI. After missing all of 1902 with an elbow injury, Edgar Garcia was pitcher of the year at 22-5 with a 2.52 ERA and 228 strikeouts over 249.2 innings.


The New York Yankees set an MLB record with only 466 runs allowed with three pitchers in the top five in best ERA. Despite that, the Yankees still only could take fourth in the Eastern League at 92-70. The Montreal Maples placed second in the EL at 96-66 for a playoff berth while the Buffalo Blue Sox were third at 95-67, a big turnaround from their 71-win 1902. The National Association also had its first 50 home run season from Washington’s Jeremy Canup.


In the American Association, Tampa bounced back from their disappointing 1902 with a Southern League title. The Thunderbirds finished 99-63 and set the MLB record for runs scored at 922 off George Cull’s second MVP season. The defending SL champ Jacksonville took second at 93-69, besting out Charlotte at 88-74. The biggest shift in the Southern League was New Orleans, going from 86 wins in 1902 to a dismal 58 wins in 1903. Despite going 80-82, Houston had the pitcher of the year in Franklin Carro, who came close to being the first 300 strikeout pitcher at 291.


Calgary’s Casey Esnault was even closer at 299. That, plus a league-leading 10.6 WAR season on the mound by Ruben Toscano pushed the Cheetahs to back-to-back Western League titles. Despite the 105-57 mark, they had to battle to the end for the crown with the Denver Dragons, who ended one back at 104-58.


Despite the best records in the AA, both Calgary and Denver were ousted in the first round of the postseason in sweeps with the Gators getting road upsets over the Cheetahs and the Thunderbirds taking care of the Dragons. Jacksonville stunned Tampa with a sweep in the American Association Championship.


In the NA, both first round series went 3-2 as both Eastern League teams prevailed. Toronto held off the challenge from visiting Detroit and Montreal earned their wins in Milwaukee. The Timberwolves would handle the Maples 4-1 in the NACS and easily overpowered the Gators for a World Series sweep. Veteran outfielder Chris Jochum earned MVP honors and had a 187 OPS+ over the postseason.


Full 1903 MLB stats here.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

For the third time in four seasons, Toronto took the Eastern League title, this time finishing 99-63. After taking third last year, the New York Yankees earned their first playoff berth with a 94-68 second place, five games ahead of 89-win Baltimore and Ottawa. Last year’s NA runner-up Montreal limped to 80-82.


Milwaukee earned back-to-back Midwest League titles with an association-best 103-59 mark. The Mustangs had both the MVP in Will Miller and pitcher of the year Franklin Carro, who boasted the first 300+ strikeout season in NA history at 308. St. Louis jumped from 76 wins in 1903 to 94 in 1904 to take the second playoff spot, besting Detroit’s 90-72.


Both first round playoff series went five games and went to the Midwest League, setting up a Mustangs/Cardinals Association Championship. Milwaukee handled St. Louis 4-1 to advance to the World Series.



In the American Association, Denver and Calgary battled for the best record in baseball. The Cheetahs were the first team to score 1000+ runs in a season en route to 107-55 and an MVP for first basemen Mario Salazar. However, the Dragons’ superior pitching depth lifted them to first place in the West at 109-53. Tampa secured back-to-back Southern League titles at 99-63 with another solid season from George Cull. Houston finished second at 93-70, edging defending Association Champion Jacksonville by one game.


The Hornets stunned Denver in the first round in five games and Calgary topped Tampa in four. The Cheetahs won the American Association title in five games, although Houston’s run would be a precursor to future success in the next decade.


The 1904 World Series was the first to go seven games with Milwaukee narrowly defeating Calgary. In his one season with the Mustangs, outfielder Mitch Karnes picked up the World Series MVP.


Full 1904 season stats here.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

The biggest move ahead of the 1905 season was pitcher Franklin Carro. Nicknamed “Stumpy,” the 5’6’’, 160 pounder from McPherson, Kansas left Milwaukee after his award winning 1904 and signed with the New York Yankees for a rich (for the time) seven year, $25,160 contract. The Yanks were rewarded with a second Pitcher of the Year and an Eastern League title at 100-62.


The second playoff spot battle was intense in the East with seven teams finishing within four games of each other. Philadelphia’s 90-72 mark took the spot, narrowly beating Baltimore, Montreal, Washington (89 wins each), Toronto (88), Hartford (87), and Ottawa (86).


Detroit would claim the Midwest League title at 92-70 for their fourth playoff appearance in five years and third league title. Will Miller won his second consecutive MVP for Milwaukee, but the Mustangs’ 88-74 was a game short of the second playoff spot behind St. Louis at 89-73.


The league winners took care of business in the first round with New York sweeping St. Louis and Detroit topping Philly in five. For the first time, the NACS went seven games as the Yankees edged the Tigers for a trip to the World Series.


24-year old Jeremy Frechette of Fayetteville, Arkansas would captain Houston to a 106-56 for the Southern League crown and best record in the American Association. He won pitcher of the year with a 2.45 ERA and 29-5 record; the 29 wins being a record still intact into the new millennium. Defending SL champ Tampa took second at 97-66, just holding off Nashville (96-67) and Miami (93-69) for a playoff spot.


Out West was the breakout season of centerfielder Jason Salvage. Picked second overall in the 1902 draft by Phoenix, Salvage set a MLB record with 52 home runs in 1905 to earn MVP and power the Firebirds to their first Western League title at 102-60. Calgary held off Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego to place second at 97-65. The Cheetahs were the only franchise to make the playoffs in each of the first five years of the MLB, but little did they know that they’d be waiting until 1923 for their next berth.


Houston held off a feisty Calgary squad to win their first round playoff series 3-2 and Phoenix swept Tampa. In the AACS, the Hornets bested the Firebirds in five.


For the second straight season, the World Series went seven games. For the fourth straight, the National Association finished ahead as the Yankees topped the Hornets for the crown. Second baseman Don Holland, the team leader in offensive WAR, took home World Series MVP.


1905 full stats here.