This is an ongoing multi-part series on the new ATB Negro Leaguers that will be available in our next draft. See here for the other parts.
Already one of the deepest positions in ATB, left field just got a deeper still. Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams remain the ‘big 3’ but Turkey Stearns has emerged as a viable second tier left fielder. Stearns was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 after a long career of devastating baseballs. He led the league in home runs six times and triples four times, all while maintaining a batting average well above .300. Former teammate, Jimmie Crutchfield, described Stearnes as "quircky-jerky sort of guy who could hit the ball a mile. Turkey had a batting stance that you'd swear couldn't let anybody hit a baseball at all. He'd stand up there looking like he was off balance. But, it was natural for him to stand that way, and you couldn't criticize him for it when he was hitting everything they threw at him."
Stearns had so many great seasons it is incredibly difficult to choose from. Three in particular stood out and were entered into the ATB source database:
1923-1924: .357 / .393 / .653, 25 2B, 24 3B, 25 HR in 499 AB
1926-1927: .374 / .415 / .715, 50 2B, 18 3B, 38 HR in 586 AB
1929-1930: .376 / .452 / .681, 29 2B, 17 3B, 23 HR in 433 AB
The results were impressive and make him a cut above the likes of Tip O’Neill, George Hall, and Albert Belle. My personal favorite is the last of the three listed, where the resims produced a .288 / .368 / .528 line with 60 extra base hits. This came in a platoon situation however, and we shouldn’t expect that type of line in a full time starter role.
He was full time in the other two seasons and the results are fun to dissect. In 1926/1927 his OBP dipped to .331 but he hit 54 doubles and 36 home runs, recording a .909 OPS. He wasn’t as good in 1923/1924, but incredibly hit 29 doubles, 22 triples, and 27 home runs, the only player in all of the 500 resims to average more than 20 in each stat. No matter which year is chosen, Stearns will soon be a household name in the All Time Baseball league.
Three other Negro Leaguers will also prove to be useful. Ed Rile only played in the Negro Majors for six seasons, amassing a little over 1,200 at bats. In 1927 he batted over .400 with a .703 slugging and this was the foundation year for his entry into ATB. This season, coupled with a closer to average 1928 campaing, resulted in a platoon impacted .791 OPS (.335 OBP, .457 SLG) in the 500 resims. Rile’s closest comp in 1931 Al Simmons.
Hurley McNair batted .291 / .328 / .449 in about 450 at bats per season. He should feature prominently in lineups of owners who focus on batting average and extra base hits; his closest comp is 2003 Albert Pujols.
Finally, much further down the list of usefulness is 1925-1926 Rap Dixon. He’ll have is uses, but not as a starter. His closest comp’s are 2008 Carlos Quentin and Lonnie Smith.
No comments:
Post a Comment