    

Fellow simmers:

WHAT:

This recreation of the 1950 International League seasons is for use with 
Diamond Mind Baseball, Version 7.

It is about as complete as it can get for a minor-league baseball replay.
It includes:
Every player who made at least one appearance in a game.
A list of 206 automated transactions.
Automated real-life lineups for every game.
The as-played 612-game schedule using the actual dates.

Until someone informs me otherwise I'm claiming this to be the first 
baseball replay  major or minor  that is available with auto transactions 
and real-life lineups. The research was done using The Baseball 
Encyclopedia, The Sports Encyclopedia - Baseball, Total Baseball and, MOST 
importantly, The Sporting News Baseball Guide and the box scores published 
weekly in The Sporting News of 1950.

WHY:

In 1950, Springfield, Mass., re-entered the International League after a 
50-year absence. My hometown had spent the 1948-'49 seasons in the Class B 
New England before the Chicago Cubs decided the city could support a Triple 
A franchise.

I was 14 when the announcement was made and the thought of Springfield 
(pop. 140,000) knocking heads with teams from huge cities such as Toronto, 
Montreal, Baltimore, Jersey City, etc., was mind boggling indeed.

Thanks to my dad I got to see just about every home game, and I vividly 
recall the moment at the ballpark when I decided I would become a 
sportswriter so I could cover baseball. Unbelievably, that dream became 
true in '57  at age 19! Although I never became a baseball "beat" writer, 
I did cover and witness countless memorable events, including the final 
game played at Ebbets Field and Roger Maris' 61st home run at Yankee 
Stadium.

That should help answer the question: Why a 1950 International League
replay?  It shaped my life, that's why.

IN REAL-LIFE:

The Rochester Red Wings won the IL pennant by seven games over the Montreal 
Royals, but in post-season play lost the best-of-seven championship series 
in six games to the Baltimore Orioles, the regular-season's third-place 
finisher. The Orioles went on to lose the best-of-seven Little World Series 
in five games to the American Association champion Columbus Red Birds.

Rochester third baseman Don Richmond led the league in hitting with a .333 
batting average and runs-scored with 126. There were only three other .300+ 
hitters: Springfield third baseman Ransom Jackson (.315), Montreal center 
fielder Don Thompson (.311) and Rochester right fielder Hal Rice (.310). 
Russ Derry, Rice's teammate in LF, led the league in home runs (30) and RBI 
(102).

The Red Wings' Tom Poholsky, 20-year-old prize of the St. Louis Cardinals 
farm system, was the league best pitcher. He produced an 18-6 record with a 
2.13 ERA, best in the IL.
Manager Johnny Keane sure did treat major-league prospects differently back 
then. On August 13, Poholsky pitched a complete game 22-inning 3-2 victory 
over the Jersey City Giants. He pitched shutout ball over the last 19 


innings. Andy Tomasic, a veteran pitcher took the loss. He, too, pitched 22 
innings. 

BEWARE:

There is NO hope of reconciling the differences between the real-life 
statistics of 50IL and those generated by DMB. 

Why?

DMB, or any other baseball sim, does not allow the user to schedule 
seven-inning games. The first game of IL doubleheaders was scheduled for 
seven innings. The league suffered its worst weather conditions in history 
that season and 151 doubleheaders were played, which means that DMB grinds 
out 151 games at least two innings longer than the should be played.

FYI: Pitchers completed 499 games that season, 41% of all starts. After much
 tweaking, I have been able to produce a little over 400 on many occasions 
while running off dozens of auto replays. Those who plan to manage at least 
one team in a replay will be able to improve on that total.    
 
If anyone can advise my on how to improve this replay PLEASE let me know 
how to do it. I am barely computer literate and know nothing about the inner
workings of DMB7, but I AM bullish on this season.<g>

Please contact:

John Sears at  HYPERLINK mailto:jsears@erols.com jsears@erols.com, or,

John Sears
2708 Overland Drive
Baltimore, MD, 21214

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