Here’s how the 1901 Southern California Hornets were put together for the inaugural season of the Historic Retro Baseball League, a 15-team APBA head-to-head (online) league involving folks around the country. We conducted a 19-round snake draft to disperse the players from 1901. Teams will keep 10 of the players ahead of the 1902 draft.
The Hornets will likely be terrible in 1901. I don’t have a great pitching rotation and I don’t have much hitting, though I think I should be above average defensively. But, my strategy was drafting for long-term success over first-year success. We’ll how it pays off in the future.
Round 1, pick 7: Eddie Plank, LHP, Philadelphia Athletics (1901 BZ, 17-13, 3.31 ERA) — There was a clear top four in the draft (Cy Young, Wagner, Lajoie, Mathewson). When I didn’t get a top-four pick and landed the #7 pick, I hoped Plank would be available. Thankfully a couple of people passed on him, probably because of his limited value as a B pitcher in 1901 and 1902. But he’ll be the cornerstone of this staff from 1903 through 1916. Hopefully the Hall of Famer gets an A rating sooner rather than later.
Round 2, pick 24: Fred Clarke, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (1901 .324 BA, .461 SLG, .395 OBP) — A .300 hitter for the first six seasons, including .351 in 1903. He’ll be able to play through 1911.
Round 3, pick 37: Roger Bresnahan, C, Baltimore Orioles (1901 .268 BA, .369 SLG, .323 OBP) — Might have been a little bit of a stretch in the third round, but he’s got a number of good hitting seasons coming up, including .350 in 1903. He might have value through 1914. Plus his name is Roger.
Round 4, pick 54: Bill Bernhard, RHP, Philadelphia Athletics (1901 CZ, 17-10, 4.52 ERA) — I would have liked to have grabbed another B pitcher, but Bernhard was the better long-term play. He’ll be an AZ in 1902 and will be strong through 1904, with possible holding value until 1906.
Round 5, pick 67: Fred Tenney, 1B, Boston Beaneaters (1901 .282 BA, .322 SLG, .340 OBP) — Nothing spectacular in Tenney’s future, but he’s got a couple of .300 seasons and some solid batting averages through 1907, so first base is set for a while.
Round 6, pick 84: Harry Steinfeldt, 3B, Cincinnati Reds (1901 .249 BA, .380 SLG, .303 OBP) — A 5 rating on defense will help this year, and he has batting averages of .312 in 1903 and .327 in 1906, so he’ll hit better down the road.
Round 7, pick 97: Harry Howell, RHP, Baltimore Orioles (1901 CZ, 14-21, 3.67 ERA) — Howell, my third pitcher, presents an interesting long-term case. He didn’t pitch well in 1902 but was a very good hitter and played a lot in the field so he’ll probably get used more that way next season. He might not contribute at all in 1903, but then from 1904 to 1908 his worst ERA is 2.19 and he’s under 2 in three of those seasons.
Round 8, pick 114: Herman Long, SS, Boston Beaneaters (1901 .216 BA, .384 SLG, .254 OBP) — I see Long as a two-season starter, no more, because he can’t hit. But he was the best defensive shortstop available, with a 9 rating this season and an 8 rating in the next, and that was at least worth something.
Round 9, pick 127: Dick Padden, 2B, St. Louis Cardinals (1901 .256 BA, .331 SLG, .315 OBP) — The same is true for Padden. I expect he’ll only be around for two seasons and will provide some above-average defense.
Round 10, pick 144: Bill Reidy, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers (1901 CZ, 16-20, 4.21 ERA) — Reidy doesn’t have much long-term value, but I needed a fourth starter to get me through this season.
Round 11, pick 157: William Nance, OF, Detroit Tigers (1901 .280 BA, .373 SLG, .355 OBP) — Did I wait too long to pick up my second outfielder? Nance has fine numbers. 1901 was his last in the big leagues.
Round 12, pick 174: Tommy Dowd, OF, Boston Americans (1901 .268 BA, .337 SLG, .315 OBP) — Dowd rounds out the starting outfield and like Nance, this was his final season.
Round 13, pick 187: Joe Sugden, C, Chicago White Sox (1901 .275 BA, .333 SLG, .339 OBP) — Bresnahan can only play in three-quarters of the games this season, and might play other positions than catcher, so Sugden is a decent enough fill-in, and could potentially stick around in 1902.
Round 14, pick 204: Algie McBride, OF, New York Giants (1901 .266 BA, .344 SLG, .306 OBP) — The fourth outfielder and will probably be the most-used pinch-hitter.
Round 15, pick 217: Tommy Corcoran, SS, Cincinnati Reds (1901 .209 BA, .287 SLG, .278 OBP) — Probably won’t ever play, will back up Long at shortstop.
Round 16, pick 234: Bill Fox, 2B, Cincinnati Reds (1901 .176 BA, .201 SLG, .201 OBP) — Probably won’t ever play, will back up Padden at second base.
Round 17, pick 247: Roger Denzer, RHP, New York Giants (1901 DZ, 2-6, 3.36 ERA) — I needed to pick up a couple more pitchers, just in case. There were only D pitchers left, so of course I chose the one named Roger.
Round 18, pick 264: Cowboy Jones, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals (1901 DZ, 2-6, 4.48 ERA) — The best of the DZ pitchers left in the 18th round.
Round 19, pick 277: Bill Richardson, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals (1901 .212 BA, .365 SLG, .293 OBP) — While Richardson won’t be able to appear in many games, at least he’s got a decent slugging percentage for a 19th round pick?
My expected starting lineup:
Tenney, 1B
Nance, LF
Clarke, CF
Bresnahan, C
Padden, 2B
Steinfeldt, 3B
Dowd, RF
Long, SS
With a rotation of Plank, Reidy, Howell, and Bernhard.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 