Draft - Round One

I did some extra reading and found that a couple of Negro League players I included previously probably would not have been in their prime in 1924. John Donaldson developed arm trouble by the early 20's and was likely done. At the same time, Newt Joseph had not quite reached his peak. So, I redrafted and restructured the site a bit.

1. Boston Braves

Biz Mackey - An incredibly talented catcher whose defensive skills were among the best in the history of black baseball. He could snap a throw to second from a squatting position and get it there more quickly and accurately than most catchers could standing up. His Strat card was made with an OPS(on base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 0.948 so he will be a threat at the plate as well.[1]



2. Philadelphia Phillies

Charles Blackwell - An excellent contact hitter who seldom struck, and also had good power. He was able to hit well in spite of a drinking problem that continued throughout his career. His great speed benefitted him on the bases as well as in the outfield.[1]



3. Philadelphia A's

Nip Winters - Winters was a tall, left handed curveball pitcher with good speed. He was sometimes wild, especially early in his career, but was the ace on the pitching staff for three pennant winning black teams. He was a very respectable hitter as well who was often called on to pinch hit for his team on the days he was not pitching.[1]



4. Chicago White Sox

Oscar "Heavy" Johnson - This big slugger had a playing weight of 250 pounds which he used to generate a lot of power at the plate. It was definitely his bat that kept him in the lineup as he was an unpolished outfielder. It was generally believed by most people that he could hit the ball out of any ballpark.[1]



5. Boston Red Sox

Oscar Charleston - An intense, focused, and intelligent man, Charleston was among the most renowned players of his time, a tremendous power and contact hitter and one of the finest defensive center fielders of all-time. His career batting average was .348, and he regularly finished among league leaders in both home runs and stolen bases. He was also known for his combative nature, getting into many brawls, including at least one memorable fight with an array of Cuban soldiers.[2]





6. Cleveland Indians

Bullet Joe Rogan - Rogan was an outstanding pitcher with a tremendous fastball, a fine curve and good control. He was a star for the Kansas City Monarchs for more than 20 years. He also threw a forkball, palmball, and spitter using a using a now windup delivery and a sidearm motion. When not pitching, Rogan played in the outfield in order to keep his bat in the lineup hitting cleanup.[1]



7. St. Louis Browns

Dick Lundy - Lundy is generally considered one of the three greatest shortstops in black baseball history along with Pop Lloyd and Willie Wells. He was a great fielder with a wide range and very strong arm that allowed him to play deeper than most shortstops. He was also a switch hitter who batted for both average and power.[1]



8. St. Louis Cardinals

Dave Brown - Brown was a left-handed pitcher and was considered one of the better pitchers in negro league history. He had a good curveball and excellent control. He was also a good fielder and had outstanding speed, but was a weak hitter.[2]




Sources

[1] James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.

[2] www.wikipedia.com

Draft - Round Two

9. Boston Braves

Oliver Marcelle

Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle - A superior defensive third baseman who was idolized by fans and respected by the media and players. He had no equal in knocking down hard hit balls and throwing out the runner at first. He was fast, could cover lots of territory and had a snappy throwing arm.




10. Philadelphia Phillies

William Bell

Bell was a clutch pitcher with a moving fastball, a good curve and change, a slider, and excellent control. He was a good teacher, and, with his mastery of the three basic pitches, was a positive role model for young pitchers. Bell also was a decent hitter for a pitcher and fielded his position adequately, but he was slow on the bases.[1]




11. Philadelphia A's

Fats Jenkins

A left-hander all the way, Jenkins had exceptional quickness and was a very fast man in the field and on the bases, especially from the batter's box to first base. A very smart player, he studied the art of baserunning and was an exceptional base stealer. At the plate he was a slap hitter with only average power but was a good contact hitter. He was a good fielder with a wide range and an average arm. He was a hustling, gifted, and versatile athlete.[1]




12.Chicago White Sox

Phil Cockrell

A star spitballer for the Hilldale club during their pennant-winning years of 1923-1925, the right-hander had an excellent fastball and good control to complement his spitter. After his time as a player and manager were done, Cockrell began a second baseball career, as an umpire in the Negro National League.[1]




13.Boston Red Sox

Jud Wilson

A savage, pure hitter who hit with power and was at this best in the clutch, Wilson could hit anything thrown to him and would have been an ideal designated hitter. He was considered to be the most dangerous and consistent hitter in black baseball and was called one of the stars of all time. He was placed on the all-time All-American team for a national magazine in 1945. So intense was his disdain and lack of respect for pitchers that he actually dared them to throw the ball. The left-handed slugger hit all varieties of pitching styles and all pitchers, including Satchel Paige, who considered him one of the two best hitters ever in black baseball.[1]






14.Cleveland Indians

Dewey Creacy

Under construction.




15.St. Louis Browns

Andy Cooper

A smart pitcher who was a master at mixing pitches and changing speeds, Cooper had superb control and an exceptional and effective array of breaking pitches, including a great curveball, change, slider, and screwball, that he used to finesse the batters. His move to first base was superb, and he was at his best in the clutch.[1]




16.St. Louis Cardinals

Harry Salmon

Salmon was a hard-throwing right hander with a fine curve and spitball. He was heavily-muscled from years of shoveling coal, first working in the mines when he was only 8. Salmon was known for his unusual pitching delivery in which he would step toward third and throw side-armed across his body. This delivery was especially tough on right-handed batters as pitches seemed to break over the plate at the last instant, barely missing batter's heads.[2]



Sources:

[1] James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.

[2] www.pitchblackbaseball.com

Draft - Round Three

17. Boston Braves

Tom Williams



18. Philadelphia Phillies

Frank Warfield

An outstanding fielder in every aspect, he had wide range, good hands, and a good arm, with a unique underhand snap throw that helped him in turning double plays. At the plate he was a good contact hitter, skilled at the hit-and-run play, a master of the sacrifice bunt, and above the norm as a hitter, augmenting his average power by salvaging numerous leg hits to the infield. With a studied eye at the plate, he was skilled at waiting and worrying pitchers into free passes and, utilizing his exceptional speed and baserunning ability, move himself into scoring position with a stolen base.[1]




19. Philadelphia A's

Tank Carr

20. Chicago White Sox

Dave Malarcher

A smooth-fielding third baseman who did his best hitting in the clutch, Malarcher was a speedy switch-hitter who could bunt and run the bases in the Rube Foster style of baseball. He was also adept at fouling off pitches and working the pitcher for a free pass to first base.

Malarcher overcame many obstacles in life to experience his diamond accomplishments. He was born the youngest of ten children to parents struggling to escape the underside of society. His father was a farm laborer on a sugar plantation and his mother was a former slave, but they instilled positive values in their son that he retained throughout his life.

At a very young age he began playing baseball as a catcher with the Baby T's, a team for little boys. He was a clean living, intelligent, and able youngster, and as he grew older he attended Dillard University in New Orleans and Xavier University.[1]




21.Boston Red Sox

Rube Currie

22. Cleveland Indians

Bill Drake

23. St. Louis Browns

Cristobal Torriente

This slugging superstar was also an outstanding fielder with great range and a strong, accurate arm. Torriente was a muscular left-handed power hitter and although primarily a pull hitter, he hit with power to all fields. A notorious bad-ball hitter, any pitch that left the pitcher's hand was likely to end up against the outfield wall. The stocky center fielder combined exceptional power with deceptive speed, and was an accomplished base stealer.[1]




24. St. Louis Cardinals

Floyd "Jelly" Gardner

An outstanding defensive outfielder, Jelly Gardner had a good arm and great range. With his blazing speed, the punch hitter was an ideal leadoff man. He loved to run, was a good drag bunter, and could outwait a pitcher to draw a base on bails or get a good pitch to hit. With his ability to collect "leg'' hits, steal bases, take extra bases on a hit-and-run play, and sometimes to score from first base on a bunt, he could create a run with his speed. A left-handed batter, he had some difficulty hitting a left-handed pitcher's curveball.[1]

Draft - Round Four

25. Boston Braves

Alejandro Oms

26. Philadelphia Phillies

Bernardo Baro

1924 Integrated

In 2009 Strat put out a Negro League All Star set. For the first time stats of players that had long been hidden in the shadows of the past were brought to light.

These Negro League player "cards" are based on the players 5-7 best seasons of data that has been uncovered through thousands of hours of research by Scott Simkus.

In this frist project of Second Chance Baseball I will place 28 players from the Negro League set onto the rosters of the bottom eight teams from 1924 ranked by Pythagorean W-L record. (if you want to know more about that you can click here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1924.shtml

These 28 players were at, or near, their prime in 1924 and will be added to the bottom eight teams via a draft function available in the game.