From: dxf12@po.CWRU.Edu (Douglas Fowler)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Beginning - All Time All Star Season (ATAS)
Date: 10 Jan 1993 22:02:42 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: dxf12@po.CWRU.Edu (Douglas Fowler)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu


     I had to have an alphabet name for this, like the BB/DDD, so if you
see ATAS after a title, it's the all-time season I've created.  I started
this by creating teams in early 1989, and used the end of the '90 season as
the cutoff point where teams could have players from.  I thought now would
be a good time to begin becasue then the season would be well underway
if/when there is a lockout.  I still have to do the last few regular season
games, but it's pretty much completed.  Some games I simulated on a computer,
but I chose to "highlight" them with things that may well have happened -
Ty Cobb brawling and being suspended, for example.
     1st, I'll do the "history" as it may have been played out if this all-
time season had happened before, every 15 years.  Then, I'll give the rosters
and maybe we can debate a while on who's going to win - reports will come
in from spring training on where Satchel Paige winds up and what trades
are made, etc.

                 A Spectacular Season

Introduction

     Most people just think of baseball on a championship basis; they glance
biweekly at the standings to see if their home town's team is near the top;
some will adopt a team each year and root for it, especially if their old
home team is a perennial cellar dweller - and only really get excited once
playoff time surfaces.  These are the casual fans, and they would be advised
to read this stuff with their minds on their favorite team's "players", and
pay attention to some great races.  Also bear in mind the great players who
surface - some will surprise you, some will entertain you, and some will
amaze you; but all will play their best!
     Others pay attention to the playoffs, but really grow fascinated 
when their home team is playing.  They score games, compute batting
averages, and can generally be sufficiently well-informed so that - when
asked - they can tell someone exactly what players should be traded and
why.  They generally know a good deal about their own team or teams, but
know very little about others - they may know the stars, but they don't know
the average players.  Fans of this nature should read this the same way that
they watch the game - with all eyes on the home team.  I even give you
permission to slam your terminal down in disgust if your team does poorly,
as long as you keep the caliber of play in mind. :-)
     There is a third type of fan:  the fanatic who can tell you almost
everything about baseball; the person who knows the name of every third
string catcher and backup infielder in the league; the spectator who
endlessly calculates things, keeping in mind the human element that goes
into our national pastime.  I am one of those, which may explain why I wrote
this.  It is a fantasy, about what would happen if all-time teams from each
franchise were created, and they played together as if it were a regular
season.  
     I try to take everything into account.  I allow trades to occur, so a Jim
Rice or a Thurm Munson is not stranded behind some other superstar.  I allow
for the signing of free agents from the too-ignored Negro Leagues.  I play
some of these games out in my head, but some I put on a computer.  I hope
you enjoy this trek through the 1990 All-time All-Star season, complete
with some game highlights, standings, etc.  I've tried to reach the average
fan, but I also want to keep the fanatic's attention, so bear with me on this
trip through the imagination.  May you enjoy the season with the excitement
of a child attending his or her first ball game.
     And, may the best team win!!!
-- 
Doug Fowler: dxf12@po.CWRU.edu  : Me, age 4 & now: "Mommys and Daddys & other
    Ever wonder if, after Casey : relatives have to give lots of hugs & love
missed the 3rd strike in the poem: & support, 'cause Heaven is just a great
he ran to first and made it?     : big hug that lasts forever and ever!!!"