Why 1949?
Into the Mind of a Replayer
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Why 1949?
So why start out with 1949, of all seasons? Why not choose an earlier season – maybe something like 1946, the year that the players returned from the war, or something before World War II?
There are a few basic reasons for me to start here. Let’s go over some of them briefly.
Continuity
The biggest reason for me to start this project in 1949 is continuity.
We all have our own approaches to major replay projects. Personally, I prefer projects that advance naturally from one year to the next. Rather than jumping around aimlessly, I prefer to see the progress (or lack of progress) that players and teams make from one year to the next year, experiencing baseball history in a very linear fashion.
Now, if you want this level of continuity with Diamond Mind Baseball replays, your best bet is to start with a season in the 1950s. Diamond Mind’s Deluxe Past Seasons page indicates that it has every season available from 1959 to the present in “deluxe” format, as well as most of the 1950s. In fact, the only 1950s seasons missing are 1954, 1955, and 1958 – and we know from forum posts that 1954 will be next.
I figure that Diamond Mind will have 1955 and 1958 ready once we get to that point, given the pace at which I’ve been playing lately. Hence, starting at 1949 seems a natural decision.
Parity
Great pennant races can be deceiving. In my experience, they rarely play out in the replay environment the way they played out in real life. You’re more than welcome to choose a season based on an excellent pennant race; however, you really should proceed with caution.
There’s no guarantee that we’ll see pennant races in both leagues go down to the final day the way they did in 1949. However, there is enough parity in both leagues to make things quite interesting.
Take the 1949 National League for example. The Dodgers certainly had the best offense in the entire league, scoring 5.6 runs per game. The Cardinals pitching, however, was more than up to the task, allowing fewer than 4 runs per game while allowing the lowest number of home runs per game in the league.
The American League is also quite interesting. Sure, the Red Sox didn’t score 1,000 runs the way they would in 1950 – but 896 is nothing to shake your head at. And we tend to overlook the Cleveland Indians, who gave up 3.73 runs per game with a roster quite similar to their 1948 championship team.
No project is better than the worst teams, of course. As bad as the Washington Senators offense was (only 3.8 runs scored per game), the prospect of playing with a young Eddie Yost is quite intriguing. The Cubs and Reds were both bad in the National League, yes, but neither were simply awful. There’s a lot to look forward to here.
Performances
You’ve also got to look for great performances, of course. How do these sound?
Great years by Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams
An incredible year by Joe DiMaggio during the rare occasions in which he was healthy enough to play
Don Newcombe’s first full-time season with Brooklyn – and it’s one to remember
Ralph Kiner hitting 54 home runs for the otherwise hapless Pittsburgh Pirates
And there’s more to come.