I bet y'all didn't see this coming! Taking a break from some other writing stuff (mostly bits and pieces of scripts/screenplays) and i wanted to reconnect with some more reporting-esque/non-fiction-esque styles. So this will be a mix of Reports, Newspaper style articles, Interviews, and whatever i feel like testing.
No secret to those in the NFL threads i'm a big Seahawks fan. My MG team is linked with the Kraken. I have a Sounders jersey. Seattle sports are a thing for me! Hence, if i'm around baseball it's the Mariners.
I am not a particularly big baseball fan. More knowledge than most Brits, but far from an expert. Did go see Blue Jays vs Giants when i was in Toronto a few years ago. So my intention here is to try and keep it open and accessible for other non-baseball fans. The focus on the storylines, characters and drama - instead of the details of the games.
OOTP (Out of the Park) is a phenomenal game series. It's really dynamic, hugely detailed and for me is a genuine match-up to Football Manager at the top end of sports manager games. It makes PCM look like a childs toy. What OOTP does so well is historical seasons. You can go back and play any season basically since the creation of the sport. With teams, rules, finances and everything properly set and adjusted. Either as a one-off or to run years with accurate rookies and developments. It blows my mind a game can include this amount of content. With my own interest in alternate histories/realities in stories i love this feature, and it sets a great base to have some fun and do some creative writing.
That's a looooong intro I have completed the entire first year, so there's plenty to bring you already over the next few weeks. It was super fun, i easily see this lasting 5 years, maybe upto a decade or more
Set-Up Information
Game:OOTP21 Databse: In-Built 1996 Historical DB, Affiliate System: AAA-A Minor League set-up, Starting Stats: Based on the '96 Season Player Development: Calculated on a Career Overall
Team Name:Seattle Mariners Established: 1977 Stadium: Kingdome Capacity: 59,166 Team Honors: World Champions (1998), AL Champions (1998), AL West Division Title (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) Owner: Nintendo of America / John Ellis
Key Details
General Manager: TheManxMissile Manager: Lou Pinella Bench Coach: Bill Trzcinski Pitching Coach: Jonathan Rodgers Batting Coach: Ronan Lizotte Head Trainer: Jim Wilson
Notable Pitchers: Randy Johnson, Steve Avery, Bill Pulsipher, Roberto Hernandez, Scott Elarton, Omar Daal Notable Batters: Ivan Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Eric Karros, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Brian Giles Notable Prospects: Chad Bradford, Matt Anderson, Andruw Jones, Xavier Rand
Owner Goals: Improve our Stolen Bases, Acquire a new Popular Player, Increase Attendence above 44k, Reach the World Series by '02 GM Goals: Upgrade 3B, Upgrade 2B, Win AL West, Win World Series by '00, Keep good team chemistry
For far more information, presented in a far more interesting way, with far more detail, you must check out "Secret Base - The History of the Seattle Mariners". In fact, you should just watch this series anyway - it's phenomenal!Edited by TheManxMissile on 04-11-2022 10:57
In 1995. the Seattle Mariners went through one of the wildest seasons in all of Baseball history. From a shutout opening day, which also saw talisman Ken Griffey Jr. go out injured, and some steady play by mid-August they were 13 games behind in the AL West. Off the field their stadium, the Kingdome, was literally falling apart and the team could not get the financial support for a new stadium. In 18-seasons of existence they’d only posted 2 winning seasons, never made the post-season. To all outside observers, the majority of experts, and even the most die-hard of M’s fans, it look like baseball in Seattle was about to end.
‘Refuse to Lose’ - A mantra permeated the locker room. A surging late-August win-steak gave a glimmer of hope. But to dream of the post-season would still require a historic collapse from the California Angles. Who promptly lost 9-in-a-row. Then as Seattle kept winning into September, the Angles lost another historic 9-in-a-row. With just two games to play Seattle edged into First Place!
The Texans, however, defied their own struggles to beat the M’s twice, as the Angles dug deep for their own wins. At the end of the 1995 regular season the two teams were tied, forcing a rare one-off tiebreaker. Randy Johnson pitched for his life as Seattle were victorious 9-1, reaching their first ever Post-Season. The public were casting their votes about funding a new stadium.
For their first ever post-season game, Seattle had to face the New York Yankees. Victory would be truly historic. Victory would show this team, almost 20 years old, finally deserved it’s place in Major League Baseball. Victory might just save the Seattle Mariners entire existence.
So of course, in the firs two games at Yankee Stadium, New York went up 2-0 in the best of 5 series. As the series moved to the Kingdome Seattle rallied to tie it up at 2-2. One more game, at the crumbling Kingdome, for the Seattle Mariners to pull off the wild, unbelievable Hollywood story.
At the half way stage the teams were tied 2-2. In the 6th Inning New York squeezed out a 4-2 lead. In the 8th Inning Seattle tied it back up at 4-4. Randy Johnson pitched a phenomenal sequence to give Seattle a chance to win it in the 9th, but they couldn’t capitalise. After one of the all-time comebacks, after a tie-breaker game, in the fifth of a five game series, Seattle were going to extra innings.
The 10th went without scoring. At the top of the 11th New York ran in to take a 5-4 lead. Seattle were fighting hard. Joey Cora got on base. Griffey Jr got on base. Edgar Martinez; swung on a lined down the left field for a base hit. Here comes Joey. Here is Junior to thrid base, they’re going to wave him in. The throw to the plate will be late. Dave Neihaus radio call will live in history. “The Double” as it became known saved the Seattle Mariners.
Now following a truly wild ride, with the future of the franchise secured via funding for a new stadium, can the Seattle Mariners push on to that next step? Can this team re-write the history books?
For far more information, presented in a far more interesting way, with far more detail, you must check out "Secret Base - The History of the Seattle Mariners". In fact, you should just watch this series anyway - it's phenomenal!Edited by TheManxMissile on 30-07-2022 11:59
Interesting set up here. I wasn't around in '96, but as a Yankee fan, I've certainly seen all the stories from that series. Worked out pretty well for the Yankees coming out of that loss though. Let's see if this time around you can get some playoff success out of a really stacked Mariners roster.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
@bbl - I'd never guess you were baseball lover ... 312.... Challenge #1 is keeping the stacked roster together.
@sammy - I even bought the poster of the overall chat/graphic (and i love Secret Base, a great YT channel and SBNation is a great set of sites/blogs for American sports).
Ichiro will be a target, but that means our '00 season will have to be awful or we make a fairly big trade. I won't cheat the game or use my (rather) limited knowledge of future baseball to benefit the team.
Good luck with this! I've dabbled with OOTP in this past. Fun game. Can be hard to build teams because you can't trade draft picks (if I remember correctly) and scouting can be a bit much (but that's the fun of playing with a retro databases because you already have a good idea who will be good in the future).
Mariners offer a unique challenge of already having some of the future stars of the sport. Hopefully they live up to their potentials and aren't traded away for a minimal return
@Mre - Correct, can't trade draft picks. But i like that, because in something like Madden it's way to easy to stack them and create monster teams on low wages. Scouting doesn't apply really in the Historic DB's (which is good because the OOTP system is tricky to say the least).
The wasted trades won't happen, but then I have to manage contracts and budgets. And in baseball more than most other sports, the most talented team can just go cold right when it matters.
Introducing, the Key Personnel
Staff:-
Lou Pinella, Manager
52, from Tampa, FL. Lou picked up the 'Manager of the Year' award in 1995. He's proponent of new-school techniques and analytics, a forward looking and modern manager. He doesn't like too much GM interference on line-ups. In 1990 Lou lead the Cincinnati Reds to the World Series title, and has 6 winning seasons since he became a manager in 1986. An ideal person to push this team forwards.
Bill Trzcinski, Bench Coach
31, from Church Point, LA. Bill is taking his first MLB position. As Bench Coach his job is just to support Lou Pinella.
David Meyers, Pitching Coach
48, from Toledo, OH. David has 15 years of experience working with Pitchers. He's solid and has some work ahead of him to help the bullpen step up a level.
Ronan Lizotte, Batting Coach
30, from Detroit, MO. Ronan is taking his first MLB coaching job. Unproven but he impressed in the interview process and should mesh well with our future goals.
Jim Wilson, Head Trainer
46, from Huntington Beach, CA. Jim is a well rounded Trainer with 14 years MLB experience. He specializes in treatment, but is very capable at prevention. The weakness comes in recovery, which will have knock-on to our Pitchers arms.
Pitchers:-
Randy Johnson, Starting Pitcher (Left Handed)
32, from Walnut Creek, CA. Randy is a Mariners Legend already. A 4x All-Star, and reigning AL Cy Young (Best Pitcher) winner. He is the core of the pitching room.
Tim Davis, Closer (Left Handed)
25, from Marianna, FL. Tim is only 2-years into his MLB career. We're hoping he can take a step up and prove he's got what it takes to have a key role in the biggest games.
Bobby Ayala, Relief Pitcher (Right Handed)
26, from Ventura, CA. Bobby is starting to emerge as a talented pitcher. 2 years into his Seattle career he's made big steps in the off-season. Wouldn't expect him to anchor games just yet but perhaps by the end of the season he'll be an important player.
Sterling Hitchcock, Starting Pitcher (Left Handed)
24, from Fayetteville, NC. Sterling has only just joined us from the New York Yankees. He's got raw potential we are hoping to unlock. Paired with Bobby and Tim he's part of a talent, if slightly unproven, set of Pitchers.
Batters:-
Dan Wilson, Catcher (Right Handed)
26, from Arlington Heights, IL. Dan had a good '95 - his second year in Seattle. A good Catcher and dependable hitter, he's got a safe and strong place in this team.
Edgar Martinez, 3rd Base (Right Handed)
33, from New York, NY. Edgar became a Legend for his role in "The Double". He is one of the best hitters in MLB, and well be crucial to any success we have in the next few years. Plus he's a 2x All-Star and 2x Platinum Stick winner.
Paul Sorrento, 1st Base (Left Handed)
30, from Sommerville, MA. Paul is a new addition to the team, coming from the Cleveland Indians. A strong hitter, his fielding could use some work.
Alex "ARod" Rodriguez, Shortstop (Right Handed)
20, from New York, NY. Alex is poised for a breakout season. He's young, incredibly talented, and surely destined for huge things. We just have to give him good coaching support, and ideally a new long term contract.
Ken Griffey Jr., Center Field (Left Handed)
26, from Donora, PA. Ken is the face of Seattle baseball. He might be THE face of all baseball. '95 was impacted by injury, but he still scored the run to save the team. No-one is more important to this team now, or in the future. A 6x All-Star, 3x Platinum Stick's, 6x Great Gloves winner. We will send him to the Hall-of-Fame with a bucket more awards and records.
Jay Buhner, Right Field (Right Handed)
31, from Louisville, KY. Jay is on the underrated MLB players. In '95 he stepped up big time in the absences of Jr. If he keeps that level of production we have one of the best hitting units in the league on our hands.
Prospects:-
Salomon Torres, Relief Pitcher (Right Handed)
23, from Dominican Republic. Salomon joined the organization last year. He's got some potential as a versatile pitcher and we'll be seeing he can step-up to the main roster later in the season.
Emanuel Almeida, Starting Pitcher (Left Handed)
24, from Edison, NJ. Emanuel has yet to make an MLB appearance. We'll guage him at Spring Training to see if he can step up, otherwise he might be mroe useful as a Trade option.
Raul Ibanez, Left Field (Left Handed)
23, from New York, NY. Raul is yet to make an MLB appearance. He's very raw but with a talent level that could definitely make the pros. It may take another year or two before he makes the main roster.
Fernando Rodriguez, Starting Pitcher (Right Handed)
21, from Santo Domingo, DIS. Fernando is probably the best pitching talent currently in our system. He's got a big arm, but lacks in Stamina. We think he'll be on the roster in a year.
David Ortiz, 1st Base (Left Handed)
20, from Santo Domingo, DIS. David is the best batting prospect we have. He's poised to breakthrough either this year or next. We're just waiting to see if a relevant roster space opens up.
The season kicks off with a meeting with the Owner to establish our Goals.
1) Achieve a Winning Record
2) Upgrade at Left Field
3) Acquire a 'Great Glove' winner
4) Bring in a Manager with a Better reputation
5) Reach the Playoffs in the next 2-season (by end of '97)
1 & 5 go together of course. I don't agree about replacing Pinella at this stage. Fine with the focus on a quality Left Field player. I offer up my own Goals.
1) Upgrade our Pitchers
2) Upgrade our depth players
3) Grow our Prospect system
4) Win the World Series in 5 years (by end of '00)
5) Work with the Owner to grow our financial power.
To push us to the World Series we'll need to give Johnson support pitching and make sure we can cover injuries. Seattle is a mid-sized market but we can press on and fund this team properly.
Feb 23rd
Mariners open negotiations with Free Agent, Bill Pulsipher. The 22 year-old Starting Pitcher is young but talented.
March 4th
Mariners make a Trade with the Pirates Paul Sorrento (30, 1B) <-> Jeff King (31, 2B)
Some would have considered Paul a big piece of the team, but he won't even make an appearance for the Mariners. This deal saves a bit of money and fills a bigger need at Second Base, as we can move Edgar Martinez across or even promote David Ortiz. Plus, he has just a fabulous moustache!
March 17th
Mariners make a Trade with the Indians Rich Amaral (33, LF) <-> Brian Giles (25, LF) & Danny Graves (22, RP)
Rich is still a good player, so we bag a rookie and talented young releiver in return. It's a gamble, if Giles is as good as our scouts think this is a big win. If he can't handle the majors we've lost a lot.
March 18th
Mariners make a Trade with the Red Sox Darren Bragg (26, LF) <-> Wil Cordero (24, 2B) & Oscar Colon (20, 2B)
Another gamble as our Left Field gets potentially weaker. The Owner wants a chat and I have to explain the plan. We'll shift Jeff King to Third Base, to make use of Cordero's speed alongside ARod in the infield. Plus I make clear there are ongoing negotiations to bring in better Left Fielders.
March 26th
Marinters make a Trade with Expos Adam Dingman (22, LF) <-> Omar Daal (24, RP)
Giving up another Left Fielder? I can hear the Owner cursing from down the hallway. However i'm not convinced Dingman has what it takes, and Daal can already step in to pitch out the end of a game. The media is also questioning the fire sale of Left Field, a rough start to a new era.
March 27th
Mariners confirm the signing of Free Agent, Bill Pulsipher.
It's the end of Spring Training. Seattle went 16-14 which is ok, however the Rangers were 20-10 and looked very strong. The Angles were also 16-14, with the Athletic's only jsut behind on 15-15. The AL West looks very competitive yet again.
Edwin Hurtado was a breakout player with a 3-0 record as Starting Pitcher and an ERA of 2.79 (for those not baseball fans, ERA is a record of how many Runs you give up. So the lower the better, below 3 is excellent, above 5 is not good).
Tim Davis was also impressive, and Bobby Ayala had an ERA of 2.35. Despite some concerns maybe our young pitchers have what it takes. In a team of young stars like ARod, or established stars like Martinez & Griffey, the Media has really focused in on our Pitchers.
46,000 dedicated Mariners fans have turned out at the Kingdome! About five months into this new secure future, they are hoping for strong start to 1996 with a victory. To that the MAriners will have to conquer the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox went 68-76 last season and missed the playoffs.
Randy Johnson opens up the pitching, giving up one hit but no scores in the 1st Inning. The Mariners batting is lead off by Edgar Martinez, but the M's are all out in three.
Into the 3rd Inning things remained scoreless. That is, until Frank Thomas comes to the plate for the White Sox, and lobs a 3-Run Homer down the center. It was a sloppy pitch from Johnson, not getting it to break at all.
ARod immediately gets a home-run to start the 4th and reduce the gap to 1-3. From there good pitching resumes for both teams, blanking both the 5th and 6th.
Top of the 7th Joey Cora hits short to right field, and ARod runs in for his second score of the game. 2-3.
Pinella makes a change and brings Omar Daal in, just 4 days after joining the team. He repays the faith and holds the White Sox scoreless again. However the Mariners are also kept scoreless.
Pinella makes a second change, bringing in Tim Davis to close out the game. He sits the White Sox in three, very impressive stuff. The Mariners can scrape out two hits, and put the game winning run into play. However the chance fades, and Chicago takes the win 2-3.
A dissapointing start to a new era of Seattle Mariners baseball. The 46,000 in attendence were hoping last year marked a turning point from losing and irrelevance. Based on tonights performance, well, there's still a long way to go.
April 1st
It must be April Fools Day! The first of the seasons power rankings were released following opening day - and the Mariners were ranked stone-cold bottom. The media seems to think that of the 28 MLB teams, we are the worst.
But it's April Fools Day, so clearly they actually believe we are the best team! Right?
April 3rd
Mariners make a trade with the Red Sox Jake Bruno (18, RF) <-> Darren Lewis (28, CF)
Jake is a solid prospect, but we feel is worth trading for Darren. This trade fulfills our goal to sign a Golden Glove winner, and definitely gives us better coverage in case of another injury to Griffey.
April 10th
Game #6 of the season, the Mariners finally get a W! A 7-4 victory @ the Tigers snaps a rough losing streak. Time to press on and get this season into gear.
April 15th
Mariners sign Free Agent, Butch Henry (27, SP). We hope he can support our pitching line-up.
Also today, the Mariners win 12-6 vs the Angles in the Kingdome. Randy Johnson threw 15 strikeouts. The team has looked far more comfortable since that first win.
End of Month Summary
Bill Pulsipher is developing well, and has a 2-1 personal record.
Brian Giles wins AL Rookie of the Month with 31hits, 5homers, 22RBI and 0.958OPS
[RBI = Runs Batted In, so Brian had 22 hits that scored 1 Run or more]
[OPS = A way to measure batting, an OPS of 1.000 is awesome, 0.800 is good, so 0.958 is very very nice]
The Mariners end the month 13-14. It's a good recovery after an 0-5 start. The team put together three 3-game win streaks, and never lost more than twice in a row since that beginning.
In more positive news we have thrown three shutouts, and have always scored at least one run. The team is showing potential and just needs to keep playing strong relaxed baseball.
Wil Cordero is our best batter, with a .385 avg, whilst Jay Buhner has hit 8 home runs.
Eyes firmly fixed forwards on May and carrying the positive momentum into form!
Crazy that you guys were at the bottom of the power rankings coming off a good 1995 campaign. Obviously not a great start, but .500 baseball in April isn't gonna kill the season.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
May 2nd
Salomon Torres (24, SP) ruptures his Ulnar Collarteral Ligament [The UCL is a key part of your elbow]. This will require surgery, and Torres will be out for the entire season. As a player on the bubble of breaking through to the main roster it's devastating news.
Omar Daal (24, RP) has an inflamed forearm and will miss 6 weeks. This certainly leaves us lacking a quality relief pitcher. We were concerd if our Trainers would be able to prevent too many pitcher arm injuries.
May 3rd
Norm Charlton (33, RP) joins the injury list. I have to have a meeting with our Hear Trainer Jim Wilson. It's made clear this level of injury is not sustainable, and he needs to make some departmental changes.
May 5th
The newly acquired Jeff King (31, 3B) signs a 2-year contract extension. He'll make $2.8mil per year through the '98 season. We negotiated down from a 4-year deal with more money, just in case he doesn't live up to expectation.
Darren Lewis (28, CF) also signs a 2-year contract extension. A comparitively budget $400k per year deal. Ideal for a depth player and defensive specialist with several years left of their prime.
May 6th
Mariners are moving on up. Now onto a 17-15 record, and launched into 8th on the Power Rankings.
May 14th
Mariners move into 1st in the AL West division, with a 22-16 record.
May 16th
The recently well paid and extended Jeff King picks up an arm injury, he'll miss 5 weeks of action.
May 22nd
Ken Griffey Jr (26, CF) makes a statment in a 13-2 win at the Red Sox. He gets 5 Hits in 5 At Bats, for 3 runs and 4 RBI. Mariners move to 25-19, but sit 2nd in the AL West.
May 27th
Greffiey, unsurprisingly, wins Player of the Week.
End of Month Summary
Danny Grave (22, RP) has shown good growth and development.
Griffey wins AL Batter of the Month, and Giles goes back-to-back for Rookier of the Month.
Mariners now have a 31-22 Record, good enough for 1st in the AL West. We sit +1 game ahead of the Athletics.
Specifically in May we went 18-8. This included a good 4-game win streak, and only one 2-game loss streak. We swept against the Indians, Royals and Red Sox. For the second month we avoid being shutout by anoyone, always recording at least one run.
Cordero is still our best batter, at .354avg. Griffey has pounded his was to 20 Home Runs. Randy Johnson is already upto 93 Strikeouts!
As a team we lead in Runs Scored and Home Runs, 367 & 85 respectively. Offensively we are at least Top3 in almost every catagory. Our Pitchers hold the best overall ERA with 4.41, however we can stil tighten up on Errors and overal Defence.
Luis Sojo (31, 2B) is getting unhappy about not being in the starting order. We do point out Wil Cordero is currently on form as one of the best Second Baseman in the League. Perhaps it's time to put Luis on the Trade Block.
A really great month for the team, but you really don't like to see all those injuries, especially pitchers with arm issues needing Tommy John. At the end of the year pitching will be really important, and losing key depth arms early can really put a strain on those remaining.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
@BBL - Not perfect, and indeed the long term impact could be concerning. (Obviously i know what actually happens, and ... well... haha...)
June 1996 - Mid-Season, But Top Dogs!
June 3rd
Edgar Martinez wins AL Player of the Week! He totalled 12 Hits, 9 RBI and 3 Homers.
June 27th
Mariners make a trade with the Rangers Norm Charlton (33, RP) <-> Miguel Gutierrez (20, 2B) & Kevin Brown (23, C)
Norm is past his best, but the Rangers are desparate for pitching help. So picking up two young players works well for us.
June 28th
Joey Cora (31, 2B) signs a 2-year contract extension. He'll make 500k per year. Part of legend of "The Double" this is thank you contract, and even if it doesn't represent great value the fans are appreciative of the loyalty.
June 30th
Ronen Lizotte signs a 5-year extension. It's clear he's effective as a Batting Coach, given how much this team loves to score.
Bill Trzcinski signs a 3-year extension. He's getting on well with the team, so makes sense to keep him as Bench Coach.
End of Month Summary
Brian Giles is showing impressive improvment.
The Mariners top the latest Power Rankings, and with a 48-31 record it's easy to see why. We maintain a One-game lead over the Athletics, the fight for the AL West looks like going right to the death.
In June we were just efficient. 17-9 record, that included two 4-game streaks and only one two-game loss streak. We pitched 3 shutouts! But also faced our first of the season, losing 0-5 to the Royals in Kansas.
ARod leads the batting with a .346avg. Sterling Hitchcock is our best Pitcher, throwing a 3.65ERA and 9 Wins. We maintain Top3 in Offence, and Top10 in Defence. Those early issues have ironed themselves out thanks to some good coaching.
But with the A's on our heels we cannot afford to rest or relax!
The Owner calls a meeting to go-over the Goals.
1) Achieve a Winning Record - On target with 48-31
2) Upgrade at Left Field - Brian Giles is balling, and in contentino for Rookie of the Year
3) Acquire a 'Great Glove' Winner - We traded for Darren Lewis, so done.
4) Bring in a Manager with a better repution - We'll get to this, because Lou Pinella is obviously doing a pretty perfect job.
5) Reach the Playoffs in the next 2 seasons - We're on track to do it in 1.
Yep, Owner is happy! Still can't figure out why he doesn't like Lou... time to do some digging...
1) Upgrade our Pitchers - Bill Pulsipher and Omar Daal are showing positive signs
2) Upgrade our depth players - Working so far, could perhaps be better again
3) Grow our Prospect system - Coming along nicely thanks to smart trades
4) Win the World Series in 5 years (by end of '00) - Hard to call, but certainly we're getting closer
5) Work with the Owner to grow our financial power. - Attendences are good, Sponsors are stable, winning always helps
Great first half for sure. Interested to see what you do at the trade deadline. Should surely be buyers although obviously don't want to mortgage the future either.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
I have completed the entire first year, so there's plenty to bring you already over the next few weeks. It was super fun, i easily see this lasting 5 years, maybe upto a decade or more
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
Challenge #1 is keeping the stacked roster together.
