1922 World Series

Bringing the 1922 season to a close. The National League champion Cincinnati Reds meet the American League champion New York Yankees.

The Yankees were the top seed in the AL while the Reds were 2nd in the NL. Yankees have home field advantage and are favored.

Game 1

• Cincinnati: 2 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors. LP - bullpen
• New York: 3 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bob Shawkey

The Yankees take a 2-0 lead on a Wally Pipp key hit and a Babe Ruth home run. The Reds tie it in the 8th on a clutch hit by George Harper. Babe Ruth then wins the game with a solo homer in the 9th.

Yankees lead 1-0

Game 2

• Cincinnati: 22 runs, 29 hits, 1 error. WP - Johnny Couch
• New York: 10 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors. LP - Waite Hoyt

The Yankees take a 5-0 lead after 1 inning. In the 2nd, the Reds storm back with 4 homers and 9 runs. The Yanks tie it up in the 7th with 4 runs sparked by a clutch Wally Pip hit. The Reds take the lead with a Jake Daubert hit. Then they shut the door with 11 runs in the 9th inning.

Series tied 1-1

Game 3

• New York: 2 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. LP - Sad Sam Jones
• Cincinnati: 8 runs, 13 hits, 0 errors. WP - Dolf Luque

The Reds get 6 runs in the first two innings. A George Burns hit and a Bubbles Hargrave home run power the offense. Then the Reds cruise to victory.

Reds lead 2-1

Game 4

• New York: 5 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bullet Joe Bush
• Cincinnati: 1 run, 6 hits, 2 errors. LP - Pete Donahue

The Reds take an early 1-0 lead but the Yankees get 3 runs on a Babe Ruth hit to pull ahead.

Series tied 2-2

Game 5

• New York: 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. LP - Carl Mays
• Cincinnati: 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 error. WP - bullpen

Jake Daubert puts the Reds up 2-1 in the 2nd inning. Whitey Witt and Aaron Ward each knock in a run, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th. Carl Mays tries to close it out, but he gives up a key hit to Pat Duncan. The Reds get 2 runs to rally for the win.

The hero of the game, Pat Duncan

Reds lead 3-2

Game 6

• Cincinnati: 5 runs, 11 hits, 0 errors. WP - Eppa Rixey
• New York: 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 error. LP - Bob Shawkey

With their backs to the wall,  the Yankees start poorly. The Reds get 4 runs in the 1st inning, sparked by a Sam Bohne hit. The Yankees get 2 in the 4th inning but they fail to threaten after that.

Reds win the 1922 World Series 4 games to 2!

WHAT NEXT?

Just some thoughts

• I think I satisfied my baseball craving for now. I'll be taking a break.
• This tournament format took too long. I think I played about 34 out of a possible 37 games. This equates to about 340 minutes, or nearly 6 hours. I'm considering different formats.
• Also, I don't plan on doing 1923. I don't have much interest in playing games with the lousy teams. Instead, I'll go to my original plan from 2022 and create a league from the best MLB teams of the 1920s.

1922 National League Championship Series

The Cinderella Brooklyn Robins (6th seed) face the Cincinnati Reds (2nd seed)

Game 1

• Brooklyn: 7 runs, 12 hits, 0 errors.
• Cincinnati: 4 runs, 11 hits, 3 errors.

The Robins leap out to a 4-0 lead early. The Reds get 2 in the 3rd inning. Then the pitchers settle down, blanking the opposition until the 9th. George Burns gets a key hit as the Reds tie the score in the bottom of the 9th. But Brooklyn storms back with 3 runs in the 10th to win.

Game 2

• Brooklyn: 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 error.
• Cincinnati: 6 runs, 10 hits, 1 error.

Another tie game going into the 9th inning. Then the Reds' Sam Bohne homers and 4 runs score in the inning.

Game 3

• Cincinnati: 5 runs, 5 hits, 3 errors. WP - Dolf Luque
• Brooklyn: 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors. LP - Dazzy Vance

George Burns breaks a 2-2 tie in the 4th with a key hit that scores a run. The Reds add 2 more on errors to cruise to victory.

Game 4

• Cincinnati: 13 runs, 15 hits, 3 errors. WP - Eppa Rixey
• Brooklyn: 11 runs, 10 hits, 2 errors. LP - Dutch Ruether

The Robins' Hi Myers puts on an offensive clinic, driving in runs in a 4-run 4th and 3-run 7th. But George Burns of the Reds trumps Myers with a key hit in a 6-run 8th, putting the Reds up 12-10. Both teams get a run off errors in the 9th. Brooklyn can't get anymore and their comeback attempt falls short.

George Burns

The Reds win 3 in a row to take the series 3-1. On to the World Series vs. the Yankees.

1922 American League Championship Series

The St. Louis Browns face the New York Yankees

Game 1

• St Louis: 1 run, 6 hits, 1 error. LP - Urban Shocker
• New York: 7 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bob Shawkey

Babe Ruth hits 2 home runs to power the Yanks past the Browns. The Yanks led from the 2nd inning on.

Created in Chat GPT

Game 2

• St Louis: 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors. WP - Elam Vangilder, S - Hub Pruett
• New York: 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 error. LP - Waite Hoyt

The Browns jump to an early lead in the 1st inning on Baby Doll Jacobson's clutch hit. St Louis leads 4-1 in the 6th but the Yanks begin to claw back, scoring a run in the 6th. Then Wally Pipp adds a solo homer in the 7th. George Sisler hits a homer in the 9th to extend the Browns' lead to 5-3. The Yanks score a run on an error in the 9th but they cannot complete the comeback.

Game 3

• New York: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. LP - Sad Sam Jones
• St Louis: 5 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors. WP - Dixie Davis

The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Babe Ruth home run. Then in the 5th inning, George Sisler sparked a 5-run inning. New York scratched out runs in the 7th and 8th innings but the St. Louis bullpen shuts down the Yanks in the 9th to preserve the win.

The Yankees are now just 1 game away from elimination (down 2-1)

Game 4

• New York: 5 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bob Shawkey
• St Louis: 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 errors. LP - Hub Pruett

Babe Ruth knocks a solo homer in the 3rd then St Louis ties it up on an error. The Yankees go back up with 2 runs on a clutch hit by Aaron Ward. Then in the 7th, the Browns get 3 runs, powered by Baby Doll Jacobson's hit. In the 9th, Hub Pruett comes to the mound for the Browns. Babe Ruth drills a double that scores 2 runs. Shawkey finishes the Browns in the bottom of the 9th to win the game.

The Yankees have now tied it up (2 games each)

Game 5

• St Louis: 6 runs, 12 hits, 2 errors. LP - Elam Vangilder
• New York: 8 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors. WP - Waite Hoyt

Babe Ruth homers again, sparking a 4 run 3rd inning. Ken Williams then hits two home runs to tie the game. In the 7th inning, Wally Schang gets a key hit to score 2 runs. The Yankees bullpen then holds onto the lead for the win.

The Yankees complete the comeback, winning the series 3-2. They head to the World Series.

1922 National League Semi-Finals

The Brooklyn Robins and Pittsburgh Pirates advance. They take on the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds in 3-game series.

Semi-Final 1 - Brooklyn vs. New York

A battle of cross-town rivals.

Game 1

• Brooklyn: 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 error
• New York: 1 run, 5 hits, 1 error

Ray Schmandt's key hit in the 3rd put the Robins ahead. The Giants have chances to tie in the 8th and 9th innings. Both times, the final out of the inning flies out at the warning track. Dazzy Vance pitches a gem to win the game

Game 2

• New York: 21 runs, 24 hits, 0 errors
• Brooklyn: 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error

The Giants put on an offensive display while pitcher Jesse Barnes throws a 3-hitter.

Game 3

• Brooklyn: 5 runs, 8 hits, 2 errors
• New York: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors

The Giants enter the game feeling good after getting their offense back on track. They take the early lead but then the Robins go up 3-1 on Andy High's 2-run homer. The Giants tie it in the 5th on Casey Stengel's key hit.

The Giants bullpen takes over in the 8th an immediately give up a 2-run homer to Hi Myers. The Giants get back a run on an error in the bottom of the 8th.

Hi Myers

It comes down to the bottom of the 9th. Brooklyn's bullpen takes the mound and proceeds to mow down the Giants.

It's a big upset - the 6th seeded Robins take down the mighty (1-seed) Giants!

Semi-Final 2 - Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati

Game 1

• Pittsburgh: 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 error. Whitey Glazer LP
• Cincinnati: 11 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors. Eppa Riley WP

Pat Duncan and Babe Pinelli combined for a home run and 3 key hits to drive the powerful Reds offense.

Game 2

• Cincinnati: 8 runs, 13 hits, 1 error. Johnny Couch LP
• Pittsburgh: 10 runs, 15 hits, 0 errors. Wilbur Cooper WP

The Reds jump to a 3-0 lead but Pittsburgh scores 6 runs in the 4th inning, sparked by a key hit by Max Carey. After getting more runs, the Pirates lead 10-3 at the end of 7. Then the Reds start a comeback. They score 3 in the 8th and manage to score 2 more in the 9th. But the Pittsburgh bullpen closes the door and the Pirates escape with a win.

Game 3

•  Pittsburgh: 0 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. Johnny Morrison LP
• Cincinnati: 10 runs, 17 hits, 0 errors. Delf Luque WP

The Pat Duncan and Bubbles Hargrave show. They spark an offensive show for the Reds while Luque shuts down the Pirates.

Cincinnati wins the series 2 games to 1.

National League Championship Matchup

The 6th-seeded Brooklyn Robins take on the 2nd-seeded Cincinnati Reds

1922 American League Semi-Finals

In the play-off games, the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics advanced. They take on the St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees in 3-game series.

Semi-Final 1 - Detroit vs. St Louis.

Game 1

• Detroit: 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors. Hooks Daus LP
• St. Louis: 6 runs, 9 hits, 1 error. Urban Shocker WP

St Louis built up an early 5-run lead when Daus walked in runs in the 1st inning and Baby Doll Jacobson drilled the ball down the line to score 2 in the 2nd inning. In the 9th, Ty Cobb had a chance to rally the Tigers, but he lined out to end the game.

Game 2

• St. Louis: 13 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors. Bullpen WP
• Detroit: 9 runs, 15 hits, 1 error. Bullpen LP

Detroit built a 9-5 lead thanks to a key hit by Ty Cobb and a home run by Harry Heilman. But St. Louis stormed back. In the 8th, George Sisler knocked in 3 runs. The next inning, Ken Williams had a grand slam to put the Browns on top.

Ken Williams

St. Louis wins the series 2 games to 0.

Semi-Final 2 - Philadelphia at New York

Game 1

• Philadelphia: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. Bob Hasty WP
• New York: 2 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors. Bob Shawkey LP

Tillie Walker is the hero of the game, hitting 2 home runs and a clutch hit to score 4 runs. The Yankees try to rally in the 8th, scoring 2 on a hit by Bob Meusel. But it is not enough, and Bob Hasty goes the distance for the surprising win.

Game 2

• New York: 7 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors. Waite Hoyt WP
• Philadelphia: 5 runs, 8 hits, 1 error. Eddie Rommel LP

The Yankees build up a 5-2 lead after 3 innings. Babe Ruth homers in the 4th to extend the lead by a run. The A's begin chipping away at the lead. Only trailing by 2 in the 9th, the A's try to rally. But Waite Hoyt shuts them down.

Game 3

• Philadelphia: 6 runs, 10 hits, 1 error. Slim Harris LP
• New York: 15 runs, 14 hits, 0 errors. Sad Sam Jones WP

The Yankee bats break loose. Everett Scott and Wally Pip each have 2 clutch hits as the Yanks run away with the game and the series.

Wally Pipp

The top seeded Yankees were a little nervous after game 1, but they took control in games 2 and 3. They win the series 2 games to 1.

Next Up

The top two seeds advance to the American League championship. The St Louis Browns take on the New York Yankees in a 5-game series.

National League Play-In Games

Results from the Play-In round of the 1922 Fast Inning Baseball tournament.

Pairings

The New York Giants (1) and Cincinnati Reds (2) have byes.

The matchups of the remaining teams are:

• Boston Braves (8) at St Louis Cardinals (3)
• Philadelphia Phillies (7) at Pittsburg Pirates (4)
• Brooklyn Robins (6) at Chicago Cubs (5)

Results

First Round

• Boston Braves 7 - St Louis Cardinals 4
• The Braves get 6 runs in a big 5th inning, sparked by Al Nixon's hit.
• Pittsburg Pirates 8 - Philadelphia Phillies 4
• 2-run HR by Reb Russel breaks 4-4 tie in 3rd inning
• Brooklyn Robins 3 - Chicago Cubs 0
• Zack Wheat sparks 3-run rally in 6th

Second Round

As the highest seed, the Pittsburg Pirates advance to the semi-finals. Boston and Brooklyn fight it out for the remaining playoff spot.

• Brooklyn Robins 2 - Boston Braves 1
• Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th, Ray Schmandt knocks in 2 runs to win.

Ray Schmandt

Semi-Final Matchups

The matchups are set.

• Brooklyn Robins vs. New York Giants
• Pittsburg Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds

American League Play-In Games

Results from the Play-In round of the 1922 Fast Inning Baseball tournament.

Pairings

The New York Yankees (1) and St Louis Browns (2) have byes.

The matchups for the remaining teams are:

• Boston Red Sox (8) at Detroit Tigers (3)
• Philadelphia Athletics (7) at Cleveland Indians (4)
• Washington Senators (6) at Chicago White Sox (5)

Results

First round:

• Detroit Tigers 11 - Boston Red Sox 5
• The Tigers get two 4-run rallies, both sparked by Topper Rigney
• Philadelphia Athletics 7 - Cleveland Indians 5
• Bing Miller sparks 3-run and 2-run rallies, including go-ahead run in the 5th inning
• Washington Senators 3 - Chicago White Sox 2
• Patsy Gharrity hits two 1-run HRs, including the game winner in the 10th inning

Bing Miller, the Athletics hero of the day

Second round:

As the highest seed, the Detroit Tigers go to the semi-finals. Philadelphia and Washington play for the final spot.

• Philadelphia Athletics 7 - Washington Senators 4
• Two 2-run homers and a 2-run rally send the Senators home

Semi-Final Matchups

The semi-finals are set:

• Philadelphia Athletics (7) meet the New York Yankees (1)
• Detroit Tigers (3) meet the St. Louis Browns (2)

Fast Inning Baseball 1922 Tournament

I decided to play tournaments using Fast Inning Baseball with the 1920s era teams. I'll start with 1922. I hope to go all the way through 1925 this year.

Why 1922? Back in 2022 I went on a baseball kick. I eventually created my own rules and planned to play an abbreviated version of the 1922 season. Sort of a 100th anniversary celebration. Well, that never panned out. Now I'm going back to 1922, closure I guess.

Tournament Structure

Every team in the majors at the time gets a shot at the championship. However, I want to favor the top teams a bit. Therefore, the top two teams in each league get a bye while the remaining teams meet in a play-in round

• Play-In Round - The bottom 6 teams square off in 1-game playoffs
• Seeds 8 vs 3, 7 vs 4, and 6 vs 5
• The highest seeded winner goes to the semi-finals
• The lowest seeded winners face off. That winner goes to the semi-finals
• League Semi-Finals - The top 2 seeds face the Play-In winners in 3-game series.
• League Championship Series - The semi-final winners in each league meet in a 5-game series.
• World Series - American League vs. National League champions in a 7-game series.

Time to Complete

To complete the tournament requires a maximum of 37 games. If the series don't go the distance, it could finish in 26 games. That equates to approximately 260 to 370 minutes, or 4.33 to 6.16 hours.

A New Logo

I used Chat GPT to create a new logo for my "league."

Fast Inning Baseball

I decided to try Fast Inning Baseball

Overview

Fast Inning Baseball (FIB) is a quick play baseball dice game. Instead of rolling for each at bat, you make one roll per half inning, then cross reference a chart to find if and how many runs score in the inning. Some results are conditional. For example, the half inning may end in a strikeout if the pitcher is highly rated, otherwise runs score. This makes team and individual statistics meaningful.

The game succeeds in creating a realistic and interesting narrative. There is a mechanic to determine who the hero of the game is. For example, in the test below, Mike Lowell had a key hit that sparked a big rally.

FIB has a stated game length of about 10 minutes.

Short play? Interesting narrative? Sounds perfect for me.

Test Game

I decided to try it out.

Welcome to game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs hold a 3-1 lead in games. One more win will send them to the World Series for the first time since 1945. The Florida Marlins, in their 11th season of existence, seek their second World Series appearance.

Carl Pavano gets the start for the Marlins while Mark Prior pitches for the Cubs.

Here is the game box score (minus the pitcher stats).

What a barn burner of a game!

• The Cubs strike first in the 4th with a home run by Aramis Ramirez
• The Marlins tie it on a Cubs error
• The Cubs build a lead in the 6th and 7th inning. The Cubs faithful are jubilant! Will this be the year?
• Disaster for the Cubs! The Marlins' Mike Lowell sparks a 5-run rally in the 8th inning
• The Cubs almost get runs in the 8th, but a sharp hit ball is caught at the warning track
• Derek Lee drives in another run in the top of the 9th
• Cubs rally! They score 2 runs but then Braden Looper shuts the gate. Cubs lose.

Ironically, this played out much like the real game 6. The Cubs had a 3-0 lead but the Marlins scored 8 runs in the 8th inning to put the game away. The Marlins ended up winning game 7, then beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Thoughts

• The game is easy to play. I picked it up in minutes.
• It is very chart heavy. I used charts on the computer for this test but I would print them out if I continue to play the game.
• As you can see from the test, the game gives a very good narrative, which I like.
• It took me about 15 minutes, a bit long. I may get quicker with time. I also may use this to play 3-4 innings, giving a couple of rerolls per game.
• The game relies on team cards. Unfortunately, they don't have them for the 1920s teams I'd like. There are instructions on prepping your own teams.
• CORRECTION: There is a Facebook page for the game with player-made content, including team cards for every season of the 1920s.

The Quest for Speed

A speedy baseball game in particular.

AI generated image of Rickey Henderson stealing a base

What Do I Mean by "Speed?"

Something in the 5 to 10 minute range. For wargames, the Dominion series really scratches that itch. I'd like to find something similar for baseball.

Why Speed?

Because:

• My time is limited
• I have the attention span of a gnat
• I like to have time to write the narrative of the game
• I'd rather finish more games and complete a campaign, or for baseball a season

My Quest

Back in 2022 I went on a baseball kick and previewed a few games. I ended up making my own. It works well enough, but I find it takes about 15 minutes to play. I'd like to knock that down by half.

Some Interesting Titles

I have begun a new quest for games. I'm looking for that hidden diamond (like Dominion) that perfectly fits my style.

Here are a couple of games I'm looking at:

• Quick Play Baseball - I gave this a look in 2022 but passed. Now I'm giving it a second look. in 2022, I felt it did not give enough narrative but I may have been too demanding then.
• Fast Inning Baseball - This is a new one.

I'll give updates as I try them.

Recommendations?

Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations for baseball games.

Baseball is Back!

After some consideration, I finalized my plans for a dice baseball league.

The League

I'm calling my league the Roaring 20s Baseball League.

I had Microsoft Copilot create a logo. Not bad, but some obvious flaws.

The Teams

I devised an 8-team league drawn from some of the top major league baseball teams of the 1920s. These are the teams I chose.

• 1929 Chicago Cubs (98 wins, National League champions)
• 1920 Cleveland Indians (98 wins, World Series champions)
• 1923 New York Giants (95 wins, National League champions)
• 1927 New York Yankees (110 wins, World Series champions)
• 1929 Philadelphia Athletics (104 wins, World Series champions)
• 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates (95 wins, World Series champions)
• 1928 St. Louis Cardinals (95 wins, National League champions)
• 1925 Washington Senators (96 wins, American League champions)

Note: I originally chose these for the initial iteration of the R20BL, which never completed play.

The Schedule

I went around and around about how many games to play and how to format it. I finally decided

• Each team will play 14 games (2 vs each other team).
• Teams play home and away against each other
• The top American League team will then play the top National League team for the R20 championship.
• I don't have a set schedule when I will play the games. I'll just do it when I feel like it. I hope to finish by the real World Series in October, but we'll see.

Initial Games

The league is under way.

Series 1 - Chicago Cubs vs Washington Senators

• Game 1 - Chicago 6 - Washington 4
• What a game! The Cubs raced out to an early 3-0 lead. Cleveland scored 2 in the middle innings. Late in the game, the Cubs scored 1 on a home run. Then Cleveland's #7 hitter, Doc Johnston, belted a 2-run homer to tie the score.
• In extra innings, the Cubs had bases loaded and their slugger Hack Wilson up. Cleveland's relief walked him, bringing in the winning run,
• Game 2 - Chicago 4 - Washington 0
• Pitchers Guy Bush and Art Nehf combined for a shutout and the Cubs scored 4 in the middle innings to win easily.

Series 2 - Cleveland Indians vs. St. Louis Cardinals

• Game 1 - St Louis 2 - Cleveland 1
• The Cardinals scored 2 runs early on a homer by cleanup hitter Chick Hafey. Cleveland got 1 on a triple by Ray Chapman. The next batter grounded out to end the game.
• Game 2 - St Louis 4 - Cleveland 1
• Midgame, the Cardinals score 4 runs on 4 doubles. They breeze to an easy victory

Spring Is Here and Other Musings

In my usual GADD (Gamer's Attention Deficit Disorder) fashion, I find myself searching out a change of pace. I put the Dominion of series to the side for now.

But there is a DoTS game report coming up this weekend. Stay tuned!

Fantasy Awakens

It's been a couple of months since I did anything fantasy related. Over the weekend, I completed another quest in Demonslayer. This has awakened my interest in fantasy, and now I'm looking at a solo RPG.

When last we left my solo RPG campaign, my hero Ser Killian finished the Dragon of Icespire Keep adventure. I did it using Micro Dungeon, my quick play dungeon crawl rules. 

What next for Ser Killian? I debated retiring him and experimenting with Micro Dungeon using low level characters. Recently, I came to a decision. I will continue his adventures with the Storm Lord's Wrath. These D&D adventures require a bit of modification for Micro Dungeon, but I prepped the first encounter. I should play it soon.

The Pitfalls of Blogging

I really enjoy blogging, writing the narratives of the games I play. But sometimes it can hold me back. When I do play something, I want to photograph it for posterity.

Sometimes I just want to roll dice, but I don't want to spend time recording the results. When this happens, I usually do nothing. It would be nice to have a game that does not require a lot of record-keeping.

In the Spring an Old Man's Fancy Lightly Turns to

Baseball! At least here in the States.

Back in 2022 I devised a fairly simple baseball dice game. I planned to play out a full league schedule. Naturally, GADD struck and I abandoned the campaign after a few games.

This struck me as an answer to my blogging dilemma. With quick play baseball, I don't have to write full reports for every game and I don't have to photograph. Instead, I could just keep the box scores and then post periodic league updates.

There are some drawbacks to this approach, however.

• I lack the discipline to maintain a long campaign.
• I need to investigate ways to streamline the game. If I recall, my biggest issue was prepping the scoresheets. Can I make this process easier?

So now I am pondering a return to baseball. Stay tuned!