RetroPlay Results (1.0) MEGA-page

This will be your one-stop shop for all things related to the RetroPlay Project, original version (“1.0”) and the Open Baseball League (OBL). [Updated 3/31/25; added Hall Of Fame comparison section under INNING 5 (jump to it here) and copied in our TEKTONA (virtual retro-rock band) page, which will undergo extensive revamping in the near future, if all goes according to plan].

Every Major League Baseball (MLB) season (beginning in 1871) was “replayed” using birthplace-determined teams, based on actual Wins Above Replacement (WAR) player performance (while maintaining positional integrity and appearance minimums). On this very page, you’ll soon find:

INNING 1: Brief back-story (project design, nuts and bolts on how it was done)

INNING 2: Player assignments by birthplace within defined regions; OBL structure

INNING 3: Year-by-Year OBL results: team standings and franchise records-to-date

INNING 4: Individual award winners (All-OBL) and All-Star Game results

INNING 5: RetroPlay RE-set Hall of Fame (based on actual MLB; different criteria)

INNING 6: OBL Comprehensive Player Directory (OBL affiliations, not MLB teams)

INNING 7: Eras and 30-year grids (spreadsheets); 19th C. and NLB feature zones

INNING 8: RetroPlay Rankings (per MLB stats, but ranked by RetroPlay criteria)

INNING 9: RetroPlay Time-Travel Teams: Best players by nation/region/state/city (the “Urban League”)

EXTRA INNINGS: TEKTONA, the official band of the OBL and Baseball150.com

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INNING 1: BRIEF BACK-STORY; WHY, WHAT, AND HOW

It’s always been fascinating to me, from the time I started noticing the birthplace data on the back of baseball cards, that some regions (“hotbeds”) seem to produce an outsized share of Major League baseball players. Also, trends shift as the eras roll on, often reflecting the movement of the American population in general, as it obviously fanned out westward from the Atlantic Seaboard; from Ellis Island to San Francisco Bay, and many points in between. And, of course, the game itself was not opened up at the top professional levels to all qualified players throughout the world until just recently in MLB history.

One of the main premises of this “what if…” historical replay project was that all ballplayers are of the same race: the human race, the one that started with Adam and Eve. “Race,” as so many — too many — insist on defining it today, is not a “thing” in my world. There are differences in cultures, yes, — I’m not blind to that reality — but they come as a result of people-groups living in isolation for varying periods of time, separated from the rest of the worldwide gene pool and “outsider” input; it’s that simple, and a natural development, if you give it some thought. So it shouldn’t be surprising to see that when it comes to proficiency in sports favored by “the locals,” what’s played by the most people and fits best within the culture will usually attract the most attention and the very cream of the crop among the talent.

I often sense that I must remind people: By drawing up rosters that include only those players born in the same nation, region, state, or city, this is not a matter of “race,” but of geography; place of birth = geography, and not skin color, which, like ethnicity, can be mixed. Nor is place of birth the same as the “class” into which one is born. There are many things one has some control over, but to whom, when, and where someone is born is completely out of their hands; it’s the ultimate objective factor. That’s why I chose place of birth as the basis for forming these virtual baseball teams; it’s entirely objective. Even within nuclear (immediate) families, a person can most certainly display a wide range of characteristics in the category of physical appearance, but we all know that a person can only be born in exactly one place; no dithering on this is possible. Even in the realm of fantasy replays, I vastly prefer to maximize objectivity and minimize subjectivity. So that’s the basic “why” for designing the system as I did. (That, and sheer curiosity were always the drivers).

This unique project has incorporated elements of geography, history, demographics, and baseball analysis into one big file of quiet fun, or at least, that’s how I see it. This has been my on-again, off-again, two-decades-long avocation, but I’m more than willing to let you all in on it. Get out of it what you can, from any angle, whether you’re into geography, American and world history, social movements, or just plain baseball. In my opinion, most people can find some enjoyment here; your mileage will vary, as they say.

And now, to the basic nuts and bolts. Great pains were taken to assemble birthplace-based teams that included every qualified MLB and Negro League Baseball (NLB) player in every season; very few states boasted enough native sons to be able to fill out rosters and cover all of the positions on the field, so regional teams usually made more sense (bordering states in most cases, but far-flung territories being necessary in others); actual Wins Above Replacement (WAR) numbers (based on actual MLB/NLB stats from a given year) were tallied up to yield a team total; standings reflected those team WAR totals, with the highest team total being declared that year’s champion (no post-season play, only regular season).

And that’s pretty much it. I culled templates for each season to be replayed by sorting the appropriate column for that particular year in the 30-year grid (spreadsheet, e.g., for 1901-30, 1931-60, etc.); the template was printed out to provide worksheets; on the worksheets, care was taken to fill each position with a full-season’s worth of coverage (by looking at actual game appearance data from MLB), and the WAR values plugged into the running team total; when all was finalized for Team A, the process was repeated for Team B, and so on (in each case, I put myself in the shoes of that team’s management and worked toward the maximum WAR total; reasonable position shifts were considered, and in rare cases, temporary player loans (between teams) were used to avoid non-participation). Because this was done organically (“on the fly”), I ran into situations that I’d not anticipated as I moved strictly chronologically from 1871 through 2020. However, the adjustments I made still strike me as most reasonable, with the least amount of impact on the design of the “experiment” as possible (others should be able to produce the same results).

Having said that, what prompted me to consider a RetroPlay Project Version 2.0 were two factors: 1) Most importantly, MLB (taking the cue of Baseball-Reference.com and Seamheads.com, it seems) eventually recognized — officially, though well after the fact — that at least a handful of Negro League Baseball leagues were of MLB caliber, and well before Jackie Robinson came on the scene in 1947; this changed the status of many of the players I’d already recognized — UNofficially, of course, in RetroPlay Project 1.0 — as genuine Major-Leaguers, but since my opinion doesn’t matter, I thought it would be best to align my definitions with MLB (the source, ultimately, of all the raw data that we all use); and 2) With so many NLB players NOT qualifying as official MLBers (by the updated definition), I soon realized that my OBL league structure would be noticeably affected (many players I’d used as qualified no longer had that status, since I now was aligning completely with a narrower range of qualifiers). The upshot: I’ll have to go back to replaying all seasons affected by these changes with different player combinations (some rosters shrank, so regions might have to be expanded; OBL league standings will undoubtedly be affected). This is why a second run-through seems to be necessary.

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INNING 2: BIRTHPLACE AFFILIATIONS, OBL LEAGUE STRUCTURE

Explanation: The best way to understand the following chart is to think, for example, “If a player is born in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island — in any era — he plays for the New England team (NEL or NEA) for his whole career” (he and all others born in the region). This is the only (American) region that neither contracted nor expanded, but note that this New England regional franchise also included extra-nationals (foreign-born) from the UK, Ireland, and at times, Europe. The New York franchise also provided player loans to NEL when rosters were dangerously depleted. All of this is reflected in the chart. For another example, look at how players born in states west of the Eastern Seaboard played for Midwest, Western, or Mississippi River Region aggregations as territories shifted to accommodate population movement. The general ideas are these: States had “standalone” status when they didn’t need to call in players from other states to assemble viable rosters; regional teams tended to involve more bordering states as part of their territory when qualifying player counts were low, and were able to release states to other territories when player counts were more than sufficient (creating new “expansion” teams).

But in ALL cases, all players born into State X played for whatever territorial/regional team with which State X was affiliated at the time. Whether Player A, born in State X, was active when said state stood alone as a franchise in itself or as part of a larger regional entity, all native sons of that state were “assigned at birth” to play for that state’s representative team; whether standalone or part of a region, the destination for each player is objectively fixed at birth (no free agency, no trades; only player loans allowed when a team struggles to put the players in all of the positions on the field).

This 3-page chart is intuitive for the most part, and not as confusing as it may appear at first glance. Consider the fact that if this was the league template, and everyone was familiar with the governing rule, “Where you’re born determines who you play for” because it had been that way from the beginning, there would’ve been very little confusion in real time; players, media, and fans alike would’ve known what’s what. Rather than fanning the flames of free-agent speculation, folks on all sides would likely be more focused on building and maintaining viable local or statewide player-development programs. And if a state just plain “ran short of players,” there would be the safety valve of merging into a regional franchise. So in this system, every player has a team to which he can go (all birthplaces worldwide are covered by one franchise or another; it’s just a matter of making the grade after that). “There’s your team. Now find your place on it.”

UPLOADED 3/11/25: A) Franchise-Tracking Chart (Excel-compatible and PDF); B) below that: Detailed breakdown: Player Availability by states/regions/nations, league averages (MLB/NLB top-level only; also in both Excel-compatible spreadsheet form and PDF)

Next up is a detailed breakdown of players available to the various OBL franchises as they existed from Eras 1 through 5, between 1871 and 2020. These player counts do not include those who played outside of MLB or were inactive for some reason in the given year (consider them to be on the system-wide rolls, but not on the active rosters). Note that this chart shows the league’s composition of franchises at the end of RetroPlay Project 1.0 (full run-through of the original project as designed, ending with the weird 2020 season). (NOTE: “RC” indicates regional code). Here’s the 17-page chart:

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INNING 3: YEAR-BY-YEAR SUMMARIES, 1871-2020

In each of the summaries that follow, the top link is to an Excel-compatible (.xls) version, and the bottom is to the PDF version for the same block of seasons. Enjoy: both versions can be downloaded for free.

FINAL NOTE FOR THIS SECOND MAJOR SESSION, 3-11-25: That will do it for today. The remainder of the contents for this MEGA-page — complete with page-jumps to the various “Innings” — should be uploaded within a few days. Check back soon and often…

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INNING 4: INDIVIDUAL HONORS AND ALL-STAR GAME RESULTS

Leading off, the 20th and 21st Century All-OBL selections by primary position played for the player’s OBL team (may not match his primary, historic MLB position for that season, though notable actual experience at a secondary position is required; outfield positions are more flexible). In all cases, best seasonal WAR numbers win out. Downloadable Excel-compatible first, downloadable PDF below that:

When the OBL introduced divisions in 1921, All-Star games were brought in as well.

These virtual contests were “played” at mid-season (Easternmost teams vs. Westernmost, ala the great Negro League Baseball tradition) and post-season (Heritage Division teams vs. Generations Division teams). Remember, in the Open Baseball League, championships were won strictly on the basis of the regular season; there were no playoffs or a “world series.” Instead, the last big game of the year was the post-season All-Star Game. Whether mid- or post-season, the games were decided on the basis of the number of All-OBL selections (from Eastern teams vs. Western or Heritage Division (oldest franchises) vs. Generations Division (the “upstarts/offshoots” that were generated by the more-established franchises). The table below shows the results and reflects the trends:

SEASON|MID-SEASON (EAST-WEST)/POST-SEASON (HERITAGE-GENERATIONS)
1921 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1922 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1923 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1924 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1925 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1926 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1927 EAST 6, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1928 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1929 EAST 6, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 7, GENERATIONS 2
1930 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 8, GENERATIONS 1
1931 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 7, GENERATIONS 2
1932 EAST 7, WEST 2/ HERITAGE 7, GENERATIONS 2
1933 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 3
1934 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1935 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1936 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 3
1937 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1938 EAST 6, WEST 3/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
1939 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1940 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
1941 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 9, HERITAGE 0
1942 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
1943 EAST 6, WEST 3/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1944 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 7, GENERATIONS 2
1945 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
TOTALS: WEST 13, EAST 12 (.520/.480)/HERITAGE 15, GENERATIONS 10 (.600/.400)

1946 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1947 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1948 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
1949 EAST 7, WEST 2/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1950 EAST 7, WEST 2/ HERITAGE 7, GENERATIONS 2
1951 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1952 EAST 6, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1953 EAST 7, WEST 2/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1954 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
1955 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1956 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1957 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 4
1958 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
1959 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
1960 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 9, HERITAGE 0
1961 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 9, HERITAGE 0
1962 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1963 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1964 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1965 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1966 EAST 6, WEST 4 (10 INNINGS)/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 5 (10 INNINGS)
1967 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1968 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1969 EAST 5, WEST 4 (10 INNINGS)/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1970 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
TOTALS: EAST 26, WEST 24 (.520/.480)/GENERATIONS 30, HERITAGE 20 (.600/.400)

1971 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1972 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
1973 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1974 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1975 EAST 6, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 4
1976 EAST 7, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 4
1977 EAST 6, WEST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1978 EAST 7, WEST 2/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1979 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1980 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
TOTALS: EAST 32, WEST 28 (.533/.467)/GENERATIONS 37, HERITAGE 23 (.617/.383)
1981 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 3
1982 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1983 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1984 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
1985 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1986 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1987 WEST 8, EAST 1/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1988 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1989 WEST 6, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1990 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
TOTALS: WEST 38, EAST 32 (.543/.457)/GENERATIONS 44, HERITAGE 26 (.629/.371)

1991 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1992 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1993 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
1994 EAST 6, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1995 EAST 6, WEST 3/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
1996 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
1997 EAST 6, WEST 3/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 3
1998 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
1999 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2000 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
TOTALS: WEST 43, EAST 37 (.538/.462)/GENERATIONS 50, HERITAGE 30 (.625/.375)
2001 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2002 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
2003 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2004 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 9, HERITAGE 0
2005 WEST 8, EAST 1/ GENERATIONS 8, HERITAGE 1
2006 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
2007 EAST 5, WEST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
2008 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2009 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2010 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
TOTALS: WEST 52, EAST 38 (.578/.422)/GENERATIONS 59, HERITAGE 31 (.656/.344)
2011 WEST 7, EAST 2/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2012 WEST 5, EAST 4/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2
2013 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
2014 WEST 6, EAST 3/ GENERATIONS 6, HERITAGE 3
2015 EAST 7, WEST 2/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
2016 EAST 8, WEST 1/ GENERATIONS 5, HERITAGE 4
2017 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
2018 WEST 6, EAST 3/ HERITAGE 6, GENERATIONS 3
2019 WEST 5, EAST 4/ HERITAGE 5, GENERATIONS 4
2020 EAST 5, WEST 4/ GENERATIONS 7, HERITAGE 2

TOTALS: WEST 58, EAST 42 (.580/.420)/GENERATIONS 66, HERITAGE 34 (.660/.340)

Heads-up: If you haven’t browsed the old (and currently existing) pages of both baseball150.com and retroplay.net to your satisfaction as yet, just be aware that not all of that material will be preserved in links from the top, active menus. The plan is to store the older stuff in an archives repository off “main street,” though you’ll be informed when final changes are about to be made at both baseball-oriented sites. Feel free to download and save whatever materials are of interest to you, as we forge ahead with the changes.

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INNING 5: The RetroPlay RE-set Hall Of Fame:

A more objective take?

FIRST THINGS FIRST. ALTERNATIVE NAMES FOR THIS VIRTUAL, NUMBERS-ONLY H.O.F. —

“RetroPlay RE-set Hall Of Fame” or… the “20/20 Hindsight Players’ Hall Of Fame”

As stated below, the formula that determines who makes this virtual HOF (or whatever it’s called) is very straightforward: RetroPlay Rating (RPR) = Career WAR (to 1 decimal point) times WAR-per-162-games (full season) rate (to one decimal point, as well); if a player’s (Career WAR) X (per-162 rate) = 225 or more, and he meets the Plate Appearance/Innings Pitched minimums, that player is automatically  “inducted” upon retirement. And we say “players” because this is a players-only Hall; no managers, executives, or “pioneers” in this virtual gallery of the players who had the most career impact on the field.

Other things to keep in mind:

1. The RPR formula is set up to reflect BOTH a sufficiently lengthy career (counting stat of Career WAR) and a career that has been consistently productive (rate stat of average WAR-per-162-games-played, indicating that the player had All-Star-type seasons — WAR of 5+ — year in and year out); it’s also designed to bypass the voting foibles of fans or veterans committees, such as cronyism and/or bias for or against contemporaries or direct rivals;
2. If a player gets to a healthy Career WAR total of 40 or 50 or so, but his per-162 average is only about 2.5 (indicating a starter, but not an All-Star, on average), well, his RPR total will be only 100 or 125, and he’s been exposed as someone who merely accumulated those career numbers over the course of a long career, and has not been consistently dominant or a true, virtually-annual All-Star (rhetorical question: is that a Hall-of-Famer in your book?);
3. We’re looking objectively at the metrics only, and not trying to assess character/morality/off-field behavior in any of this, and b) only regular-season performance is being weighed in the scales (subject to change if post-season data can be normalized, supplied, and added in somehow).

[NOTE: The following section has been included in order to explain how the RetroPlay system treats relief pitchers with regard to H.O.F. consideration. Bottom line: they have their own qualifying formula.]

Admittedly, something had to be done to accommodate the relief specialists, since WAR smiles on the innings-chewers, and not even one RP met even the original (experimental) threshold of 200 points, with the final cutoff settling in around 225. Even Mariano Rivera, the Gold Standard by which all relievers can now be measured (the first and only MLB HOFer so far to receive 100% of the vote), came in short on the RetroPlay formula at 191 (career WAR of 56.2 multiplied by WAR-per-162-games of 3.4). Since we all should be able to agree that at least a small, representative contingent of relief-pitching specialists belongs in the Hall of Fame or a “Hall of Achievement,” if you prefer, some different criteria had to be developed to correct any across-the-board injustice at the hands of WAR and/or my use of it for all other players. So here’s what I hit upon, called the Relief-Specialists Index (RSI):

1. Set Rivera’s totals of Saves (652), Career WAR (56.2), and WAR Per 162 Games (3.4) at the 100th percentile in each of those 3 categories (RSI of 300);
2. Looked at each Relief Specialist inducted into Cooperstown and all relievers in MLB history with 300+ saves to compare their numbers with Rivera’s in each of the 3 categories (expressed as a ratio and resulting percentile; e.g, 326 saves would be 326/652, or 50% — for a total of 50 points in that category);
3. Worked through the numbers, added ’em up, and the top 8 were named RRHOF members in good standing (picked 8 because there were 8 official HOFers who had made the Hall primarily as relievers to that point). This way, apples are compared with apples, and ultimately with the “Golden Apple,” the only HOFer to go in with unanimous backing. RSI totals, for the record: Rivera, 300 points (the maximum, and thus, the benchmark); Eckersley, 256; Wilhelm, 200; Gossage, 200; Hoffman, 195; Lee Smith, 180; Wagner, 179; and Nathan, 171. [2025 side-note: congrats to inductee Billy Wagner!]

Now with this RE-set HOF in place, all of the ensuing controversy can begin (if that’s your thing). In any case, what you’ll find here (all of this is IMHO, you understand, right?) is a more objective, numbers-only (and players-only) gallery of the very best diamond achievers; call it a “Hall of Achievement,” if you will, rather than a Hall of Fame. Admittedly, I’m leaning very heavily on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as the best one-figure measure of seasonal or career performance (with any apology due to Bill James cheerfully offered; the fact is, WAR numbers are just so readily available and fairly-well standardized, even if the Win Shares system of Mr. James should prove to be a truer measure).

I started out way back at the tail end of the 20th Century with the Batter-Fielder- and Pitcher-Wins system (Palmer and Thorn, et al, as seen in the Total Baseball encyclopedia series), but since I had to put the whole birthplace-based historical replay project on the shelf for almost two decades — as life took me in other directions — WAR came roaring in and supplanted previous systems. So I cast my lot with WAR as the most readily-available-yet-quite-accurate stat; I’m sticking with that and building upon that statistical base.

Not to take anything away from those making the Top 300-or-so list here in this virtual HOF, OR… from those who have been inducted into the real one at Cooperstown, a few disclaimers are probably in order here before we take our tour of the gallery of plaques.

1. While many observers have been questioning for decades — with good reason, IMO — the validity of the National Baseball Hall Of Fame’s ever-changing balloting procedures and some — okay, several — selections that have resulted from those inconsistent procedures and the personalities involved, the reality is that it is what it is; it’s all actual history, the way things did happen, and nobody can change the past.
2. While I have no desire to try to “rewrite” history (truth be told, I despise that sort of thing), it seems to me that some (many?) players who are NOT honored with a plaque in Cooperstown are actually more deserving of that recognition than some who “reside” there; that, if things were less political and subjective, and more objectively considered, there would be a justifiable “swapping-out” of the luckier sorts with those who actually accomplished more on the field, only to be shortchanged well after the fact when it came to the ultimate honor for a baseball player (read: due to cronyism and voting foibles).
3. For me, a player’s career has two overarching benchmarks: TOTAL production and contributions for his teams and CONSISTENT DOMINANCE (compared with his contemporaries in his own leagues and eras). It’s my opinion that the RetroPlay Rating (RPR) does a good job of combining both aspects into a single number, so that’s our HOF measuring-stick.
4. IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: A) Probably the major difference between “Halls” is that here, ONLY regular-season performance has been measured and rated; no post-season accomplishments are factored in, and I’ll readily admit to this weakness in my system (I’m saying, “Uncle!” on that one); and, B) As I’ve mentioned in other places, while I do have my opinions on how much a “moral” component should play a part in the actual HOF (Cooperstown) voting, in this system — for better or worse — we’re looking at the numbers only.
5. MOST importantly, nobody is going to come to me and ask me to overhaul THE Hall; what is offered here is merely a virtual, alternative, what-if-things-had-been-different-all-along gallery of baseball greats, where the idea is more to give overdue recognition to some truly excellent players, than it is to diminish the reputations of others; if this is a “re-set” Hall at all, the whole effort is aimed at more objective justice in the arena of career-impact recognition.

Final review: FORMULA, R.R.H.O.F. : RetroPlay Rating (RPR) = CAREER WAR (__._) X WAR AVG. PER 162 GAMES (_._). TOTALS OF 225+ EARN AUTOMATIC INDUCTION WHEN FULL CAREER IS “IN THE BOOKS.” [RELIEF-SPECIALISTS GAUGED BY SEPARATE RELIEF-SPECIALIST INDEX (RSI); see explanation above]

[NIT-PICKY NOTES: RPR TOTALS ON “PLAQUES” WERE ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF THEIR CREATION; DISCREPANCIES THAT MAY CURRENTLY EXIST ARE DUE TO PERIODIC WAR RE-CALCULATIONS BY BASEBALL-REFERENCE.COM.

REGARDING THIS LAST (PROVISIONAL) PLAQUE: ONLY THE TOP 6 PLAYERS MADE THE FINAL RRHOF ROLL OF HONOR. THE PLAYERS LISTED WITH RPR TOTALS BELOW 225 WERE EITHER A) CLOSEST TO 225 AND PART OF A “TOP 300” OR B) THE 8 RELIEVERS WHO QUALIFIED FOR THE RRHOF UNDER THE RSI.

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COOPERSTOWN COMPARISON

3/28/25 SESSION NOTE: Finally got around to updating this 3-year-old file. Download an Excel-compatible version (first) and/or the PDF (below that). KEY: BP=Birthplace; REG=Region; CW=Career WAR; POS=Most-frequent/primary position; POS=other position(s); AVG FULL SEASON WAR=Pro-rated WAR over 162-games on average; RPR=RetroPlay Rating; RC=Regional Code; PC=Position Code (by official scorer’s numbering, generally in order of games played at the positions); Grid(s) in which the player’s included follow; and lastly, the pertinent comments (possible explanations for why this player is not in the real HOF, though he’s made it into our RetroPlay virtual Hall Of Fame, OR why the RetroPlay rating system seems to identify the player as possibly overrated (inducted into Cooperstown for reasons other than superior on-field (career, regular-season) performance (e.g., voter bias, post-season heroics, or mere anecdotal support, which tends toward subjective observations). Red-letter players have actually qualified at more than one position (500+ game appearances there, in most cases); they’re listed under the position at which they appeared most frequently during their MLB careers. The files are only 5 pages long, so be sure to check out the summary of our findings at the end of either version. Hope you enjoy this…

It probably goes without saying that a lot more could be done in this HOF-comparison area, and maybe down the road, the selection-processes of others will be imported and included here for further comparison. But for now, on Friday night, March 28, 2025, that’s your ballgame, folks.

3/31/2025 ADDENDUM: More to the Story

Here’s a brief follow-up to our Cooperstown (real HOF) vs. RRHOF (RetroPlay RE-set virtual HOF) comparison. The upshots were these: according to RPR criteria (career WAR x WAR rate-per-average-full-season), it seems we could swap out, one-for-one, 55 “residents of Cooperstown” with 55 players who seem to have been just as worthy to make it into the HOF (and would’ve been better selections if only the objective numbers were used as the determining basis, right from the start). This is in reference to “position players” (catchers, infielders, and outfielders, but not pitchers). When we applied RetroPlay Ratings to those who spent the vast majority of their careers as pitchers, we found 33 pitchers who exceeded 225 in RPR but were NOT voted into Cooperstown (at least, not yet), and 23 pitchers who fell short of that cut-off, but DID get elected to the real HOF. The reasons for being passed over vary widely, and they range from being fairly obvious in nature to completely speculative (see last column of the comparison chart above). Some of “our 88” simply have not been on the official ballot so far, or for only a year or two; they’re likely to make it eventually. But others have been unfairly overlooked — we contend — for years or even decades. Below is a table that’s been worked up to help illustrate how a case could be made for many of “our [suggested] 55” position players or “our [suggested] 33” pitchers as just-as-good or better HOF inductees. The objective numbers included in the table tell the story quite well, in my opinion (ACW=AVERAGE CAREER WAR; ARPR=AVERAGE RPR; TOTALS EXPRESS AVERAGES OF ALL POSITIONS):

As Cooperstown expands with its new inductees in the years to come, many of “our 88” will set up residence there, too, of course. But just look at the disparity between the stats and rates of many who remain “on the outside looking in” in comparison with many who have — it certainly seems — disproportionately benefitted from aggressive campaigners and anecdotal, more subjective “evidence” of on-field superiority to gain admission. Tommy McCarthy? Ray Dandridge? Lloyd Waner? Harold Baines? Really? And I’ll take Wes Ferrell over Rick (just sayin’…). But the point here is not to “kick out” any of those who got in, but to recommend — for further close consideration — the many who are most worthy, in “our” view, of election to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. [Note: yes, I know that Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, Sosa, and all of the others known as/regarded as cheaters skew the numbers of the non-Cooperstown RRHOFers, but remember: our virtual HOF is a numbers-only group, and there are still dozens of NON-cheaters that we see as real-deal worthies. They should be recognized as such; that’s the main point].

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INNING 6: Open Baseball League Comprehensive Player Directory

(OBL affiliations, not MLB teams)

This directory includes every historical MLB-NLB player who qualified* for participating in the OBL from 1871 through 2020 (RetroPlay project 1.0 ). Many of these did not “make the cut” as a starter or reserve for their birthplace-determined seasonal team rosters, but all had a “place to go” because all birthplaces (worldwide) were covered by one regional team or another in every one of the project’s 150 seasons. (* = Minimum 10 Plate Appearances or 9 Innings Pitched in at least one official MLB/NLB season). Please note: not every single player who ever made an appearance in a MLB game is included here; some didn’t meet minimums or lacked birthplace data (although this was a 19th Century problem, and best guesses were still made in a few cases so impact players weren’t excluded; parentheses indicate the “best guess” entries, like Jim Britt: “(BRK)”). The comprehensive directory is presented in two side-by-side scrolling sections (A-K and L-Z), with an Excel-compatible version first, and the PDF second. Either version runs 210 pages, so give ’em time to load.

Column headings: BP=Birthplace; REG=Region; CW=Career WAR; POS=Position(s) primary, other positions next column; AVG FULL SEASON WAR=WAR pro-rated over standardized 162-game season; RPR=RetroPlay Rating; RC=Regional Code; PC=Position code, in order of prevalence (using 1 for P, 2 for C, 3 for 1B, etc.); LAST COLUMN=OBL grid designation (1 through 5 and subsets where applicable, indicated by hyphen; Era 1=1871-1900; 2=1901-30; 3=1931-60; 4=1961-90; 5=1991-2020). Here we go:

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INNING 7: Eras and 30-year grids (spreadsheets);

19th C. and NLB (Black Baseball) feature zones

The 30-year spreadsheets (“grids”) are the guts of the RetroPlay system. After some experimentation with formatting within space- and paper-saving guidelines, it seemed best to chop up the 150-season MLB panorama into 5 equal sections (“eras”). Era 1 was almost a no-brainer, since it encompassed (exactly) the last 30 years of the 19th Century, from the MLB founding year of 1871 through 1900 (remember, each century comes to a close in the 100th year, not the 99th; there was no year zero, so the first 100 years marked the full first century AD, and so on). And because the first three decades of top-level professional ball were filled with rule-changes and shifting pitching distances, the 19th Century game of “base ball” (two words) was in some respects a world apart from the “modern game” of baseball (one word) that settled into place, beginning in 1901.

So 1901 seems to be the natural place to begin Era 2, and by adding 29 seasons beyond 1901, we arrive at 1930. This period roughly corresponds with MLB’s “Dead-ball Era” through 1919, plus a decade or so of adjustment to more of a power game (think Yankees and A’s of those years between 1920 and 1930). If we begin Era 3 in 1931, 30 years out from there gets us to 1960 and the first major expansion years. WWII bisects this period into pre-war and post-war seasons, and 1945 represents Year 75 of MLB (if the founding year was indeed 1871; half-way to 150, by this reckoning).

Here again, 1961 is a natural place to inaugurate Era 4, and it runs through 1990, not far from more expansion (historically, in 1993). The final 30 years that are left for Era/grid 5, then, are 1991 through that weirdest of all years, 2020. So 5 eras of 30 seasons each make 150 seasons to “replay” with birthplace-determined teams in the original design of the RetroPlay project. Rather than gerrymandering to correspond more closely with traditional definitions of baseball’s eras, it seems to me that these grids work well enough to cover the ground and accomplish the basic goals of the project.

The downloadable Grids (spreadsheets) that were used for Eras 1-5 are up next (Excel-type first, PDF second). BP=Birthplace; REG=Region; RC=Regional Code (as used in RetroPlay 1.0); In 1900 column, minor-league players that had to be used in some spots (from, for example, Eastern and Western leagues) indicated by “0” for WAR value and game appearances follow hyphen. Here we go:

SESSION NOTES (3-21-25): Having made nearly 800 pages of downloadable materials available today, that’ll have to do it for now. Next up is the “bottom of the 7th,” when the 19th Century and NLB/Black Baseball feature zones are to be added to this mega-page in the space below. We’re making progress!

19th Century (Early Base Ball) Feature Zone

We begin this section with some old text because it really does set the stage for this zone (what used to be a separate page, although that “Early Baseball” page will probably remain intact in our archives):

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Because “base ball” — that’s how it was spelled in the early days, with the space between — was largely a different kind of game when compared to “modern baseball,” the 19th-Century era is being set apart here at RetroPlay.net with its own page [now a zone, see note]. Please find posted on this page everything that relates to what was later called, “Major League Baseball” in its formative years from 1871 through 1900; this is the RetroPlay system’s “Era I.” The first 30 of MLB’s first 150 years (1871 through 2020) will be covered specifically right here, though some content will also be included (copied) as part of the overall, five-era picture on pages dealing with all-time rankings and virtual awards.

The first item is a RetroPlay system/Open Baseball League player directory of all qualified 19th-Century “major-leaguers” (qualified by a minimum of 10 plate appearances or 9 innings pitched in any single historical season between 1871 and 1900 inclusive). Abbreviations used and form-key for these files, by column:

PLAYER=Last name and first/nickname; BP=BirthPlace; REG=Regional affiliation; CW=Career WAR; POS=(primary) Position(s); POS (2)=(other) Position(s); AVG FULL SEASON WAR=Career WAR calculated to reflect average full-season (per-162-games played) rate; RPR=RetroPlay Rating (CW x (per-162-games) = RPR); RC=Regional Code; PC=Positional Code (by official scorecard position-numbering, in order of frequency; RED print (in the grids/30-year spreadsheets) indicates an extra-national player — “foreign-born” — given a place to play with New England or New York in this system.

Download the 2-wide Excel-compatible file (top link) or the PDF (below that):

UPDATED SIDE-BY-SIDE ALPHABETICAL + REGIONAL FILE “SCROLL” FILE (1. EXCEL, 2. PDF)

UPDATED SIDE-BY-SIDE CAREER WAR + RetroPlay Rating (RPR) “SCROLL” FILE (1. EXCEL, 2. PDF)

The next macro-file is the “O-1” file referred to in each version of the directory posted above. This is the first of ten 30-year spreadsheets that lay out the statistical story, column-by-column; 30 columns of data across each landscape-oriented page. Each of those ten “grids” is packed with name/birthplace/position information and three types of WAR values: year-by-year in the cells and both career WAR and per-162-games rates on either margin (left/right, wherever it fits best on the player’s horizontal row). You might be of the opinion that this presentation is “too busy” or unduly cluttered — and I might agree, depending on the day and my mindset at the time — but the idea was to get the majority of data needed/sought by season-re-players (like myself) onto a single page. (Games played data is missing from this format, but that info can be easily found in any number of online and print resources).

All in all, it seems to me that the capability to read up-and-down in the columns to see just who would’ve been teammates in any given year (by sharing a birthplace), or to scan across in the row to get a snapshot view of a player’s career arc (trends, debut year, best year, last year, etc.) will be increasingly valued with regular, intuitive use. I think you’ll be glad all of that “stuff” has been included for the sake of easier season-simulation personnel decisions, but you can always edit out anything you see as “clutter” on your downloaded version of the Excel-compatible spreadsheet, right? Remember: RED print (in the grids/30-year spreadsheets) indicates an extra-national player — “foreign-born” — given a place to play with New England or New York (or Texas and others, later) in this system.

In any case, here are, in order, the Excel-compatible and PDF downloadable versions of the OBL-1 (O-1) grid (this supersedes even the “corrected version, 2023”). Here we go:

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FRANCHISES INVOLVED IN THE 19TH CENTURY (1871-1900)

4 Teams only, 1871 through ’82 (New England Alliance, New York, Pennsylvania, American Independents)

5th Team added in 1883 (Mid-Atlantic and South [MAS])

8 Teams in 1884 (first 5, though NEA became NEL and NY became NYE, and NYC split off NY) + both the Midwest Independents (MWI) and Western Pioneers made debuts; Canada-Europe made its first appearance (1890 would be its only other season)

6 Teams in 1885 (less NYC and CEU); 7 in 1886, with debuts from Ohio Valley (OHV) and Midwest (MW), but loss of MWI in the process; back to 6 in ’87, as WST failed to field a team, but loaned 3 notable players to MW

7 teams, with return of WST in 1888 and ’89

8 Teams in 1890 (CEU added back in)

7 Teams, 1891 through 1900 (NEL-NYE-PA-MAS-OHV-MW-WST)

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CRITERIA: ONE PLAYER (BEST W.A.R.) FOR EACH POSITION, WITH TIEBREAKERS CONSIDERED IN SOME CASES (DEFENSIVE WAR, GAMES PLAYED AT POSITION); FLEXIBILITY IN THE OUTFIELDERS: CF MOST STRICTLY DEFINED, THEN RF, LF LOOSEST/CATCH-ALL OUTFIELDER).

HINT: For widescreen view online of the following table, please use the slider below it as needed

O.B.L. ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS FOR ERA I (1871-1900)

POSSIBLY HANDIER PDF VERSION:

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Anyone who is familiar with the history of professional “base ball” in America will probably agree with the general observation that the 19th-Century game was a whole different animal from today’s game. If we want to be as broad-minded as possible and concentrate on the elements that have survived for 150 years — a ball and a deliverer of pitches; a bat and a swatter of pitches; four bases to circle, and fielders to cope with batted balls and moving base-runners, for example — then, yes, it’s the same ball game. But when you consider that other, very basic elements have been affected by dozens of major changes, and that most of the changing — of rules, pitching distances, game-scheduling practices, team sizes, and even on-field positioning — occurred within the 19th Century, it becomes apparent in a hurry that we’re talking about a different context and different circumstances. Yet, … there will always be those who can be identified as the stand-out best in a given context, and the aim here is to name the players to whom the numbers point (i.e., WAR values and RetroPlay Ratings) as a cut above the rest. It’s quite possible that I’m breaking the “laws” of methodology and “sabermetric science” by applying modern performance measurements where they don’t belong/fit, but I lack both the mathematical ability and the drive to get all of that precisely right, so… let the chips fall where they may, I say. Here’s my Early Baseball/19th Century “wing” of my virtual Hall Of Fame. Keep in mind: Only those with 5 or more seasons played between 1871 and 1900 inclusive were considered, and only those stats that were accumulated between those two endpoints were used. The idea is basically this: if voting was done in early 1901, and it was based solely on career, on-field accomplishments through 1900 — regardless of what followed — which players would make the honor roll? Here is my answer to the question, a 45-member Gallery of Greats:

In order to make further amends to the great Bid McPhee (who’d I’d previously overlooked/failed to include here), it should be noted that the other “inductees” were included in order of their RPR (RetroPlay Rating), so to be fair, McPhee should follow Keeler and be ahead of Richardson on the roll. Just FYI, tying up loose ends in my persnickety way.

3/25/2022 UPDATE: Added my new-best-friend logo above; yes, I’m kinda pleased with it.

3/25/2025 NOTE: Happy Birthday #3 to the logo…

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Negro League Baseball (NLB/Black Baseball)

Feature Zone

GENERAL NOTES/DISCLAIMERS: The charts and grids below reflect the players and their stats as I gathered them (mostly from seamheads.com) BEFORE MLB and Baseball Reference changed their definitions regarding newly-granted Major-League status for select, historic Negro Leagues. An updated directory for RetroPlay 2.0 would not/does not include many of the players included in the data below.

On this page now resides a fairly-comprehensive Negro Leagues/Black Baseball Register. RetroPlay.net OBL (Open Baseball League) rules set minimums of 10(+) Plate Appearances (PA) or 9(+) Innings Pitched — in any one season — for any player to be included within the OBL. Consequently, many historical Major-League Baseball (MLB) and Negro League Baseball (NLB) players didn’t make the “cut”; thousands of players — between MLB and NLB — didn’t make enough official game appearances to qualify for this replay/simulation project. Another OBL requirement is simply having a “full name” (two names, or at least initials [plural] and a surname) to identify a player as an authentic individual in time, and on a professional MLB/NLB diamond. Here again, all of those designated as simply, “Jones” or “Smith” or “L.J.” or “J. Williams” will not be found in RetroPlay player directories, registers, or rankings. All of this is to explain that while every player that could be found is listed at the Seamheads.com Negro Leagues Database, only qualified players will be listed here; so this directory will necessarily be narrower than the Seamheads, state-of-the-art version, but broader than the NLB portion posted at Baseball-Reference.com. HUGE CAP TIP: Long before Baseball-Reference.com recognized and included 7 leagues’ worth of Negro League players as MLB players, the folks at Seamheads were painstakingly gathering NLB data into an unsurpassed NLB database, upon which I relied nearly 100%. [It’s my understanding that one of the principals/founders — Dan Hirsch — moved to Baseball-Reference from Seamheads/The Baseball Gauge a few years ago and has taken his data with him; it seems that it’s his data, primarily, that is now largely featured at Baseball-Reference. This link should help explain what I’m talking about, but I do miss “The Gauge”]

Important note of grateful recognition: I urge you to remember that without the Negro Leagues Database, I’d have never been able to flesh-out a major portion of this long-time dream project, and its creators and website “curators” deserve a big thank-you! in my opinion. My humble compilations and extrapolations lean heavily on what they’ve done at Seamheads AND Baseball-Reference.

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MAY, 2023 UPDATED NLB-OBL DIRECTORY/CATEGORY SORTS

NOTES: In these 30-year “grids,” the user can read across from a player’s name to see his WAR values in the individual seasons (columns); his career WAR and position(s) played (either left or right margin, where space permits); and gauge his career arc, from start to finish (many players can be found in two successive eras; they “cross over,” for example, from 1930 (end of era/grid 2) to 1931+ (beginning of era/grid 3). Other features: average WAR-per-162-games-played ( “_._ PER 162”) indicates average WAR numbers for a standardized “full season” of 162 games, or 68 (Games + Games Started) for pitchers. Of course, NLB players didn’t ever schedule or play 162 official LEAGUE games in any season, but the total number of games they played in a calendar year — against all levels of competition — could easily approach (or exceed?) 162 games (when winter league activity is included). In any case, that’s the standardization devised and employed by my go-to data suppliers, baseball-reference.com and seamheads.com; it works for me ! “RC” stands for Regional Code, and it starts with the NE tip of the U.S. (Maine is RC 10), increases with movement down the Atlantic seaboard, and around to the Gulf of Mexico; into the Eastern interior, through the Midwest; onward through the West and Northwest to the Pacific; back to the Caribbean (Cuba, et al) and Central and South America; to the other nations of the Pacific, Asia, Europe, and finally, the full circle is completed with Canada (RC 700). This geographical pattern is followed in the grids, and is the first criterion for sorting the player groups (chronological appearance is next, and when 2 or more players logged WAR values in the same region and debut year, the higher WAR value takes the “top bunk.”

NLB-OBL PLAYERS AS THEY ARE REPRESENTED IN THE GRIDS, AND IN REGIONAL ORDER

1,687 NLB-OBL PLAYERS IN ALPHABETICAL AND REGIONAL ORDER (SIDE-BY-SIDE SCROLL FORMAT):

1,687 NLB-OBL PLAYERS IN CAREER WAR AND RetroPlay Rating (RPR) ORDER (SIDE-BY-SIDE SCROLL FORMAT):

NOTES ON THE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: The first 37+ pages of either version are NLB players (both NLB-only and NLB-MLB players) ranked in primary position groups by RetroPlay Rating and Career WAR. At the bottom of the 38th page is the icing on the cake: Offered there is our Top 25/All-NLB (only) team. Criteria: the 8 best pitchers; 2 best catchers; 3 best first-basemen (+); 4 best middle-infielders (2b/SS); 2 best third-basemen; 5 best outfielders; and the incomparable multi-position superstar, Martin Dihigo, all 25 of whom never had the opportunity to play in the American Major leagues (as defined in their playing days, and all the way up until 2020). So this is, in effect, the NLB-ONLY All-star/All-time team according to RPR.

[Notes on middle-infielders: going by RPR and any other performance metrics that might be used, there’s apparently quite a drop-off from any of our four shortstops (primarily) and the top “pure” second-baseman, Bingo DeMoss (88 RPR; Wells comes in at 451, Lloyd at 336, Moore at 320 and Lundy at 220). Because 1) most MLB-caliber shortstops can handle second base successfully (one step down the “defensive spectrum,” so generally regarded as a slightly less-demanding position to play) — a premise that is consistently a part of the thinking throughout this RetroPlay system, and 2) “Pop” Lloyd DID play over 250 NLB/NLB vs. MLB games at 2b and “King Richard” Lundy DID record 38 games played in the Negro Leagues at 2b, the thought here is that many/most managers of this All-Star squad would prefer to have Lloyd and Lundy at 2b, rather than DeMoss and Bonnie Serrell (70 RPR); wouldn’t you?]

With all that having been said, here are the Excel (top) and PDF versions of the NLB by-position rankings:

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To my knowledge, what you’ll find here on this site and on this page is a unique compilation; nobody else has assembled it all, and in the same way. So explore the content, catch up with some history, and feed your imagination about what might have been.

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INNING 8: RetroPlay Rankings

(per MLB stats, but ranked by RetroPlay criteria)

“OPENING DAY” FOR THIS SECTION IN ITS NEW HOME

3/25/2025 Update: You can view and download the Career WAR and RetroPlay Rating (RPR) data connected to a final total of 18,855 MLB/NLB qualified players (1871-2020) right here on this page. 

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THE GIST FOR THIS SECTION

This is another RetroPlay.net “meat-and-potatoes” feature. The tedious work of data entry, data re-entry, and data RE-re-entry, et cetera,  is now in the past and “in the books.” Players across all eras of MLB/NLB (1871 through 2020) can now be ranked by performance metrics (both “counting stats” and “rate stats”). Because all of the metrics used here will be “looking back” in time to speculate about “what if?” scenarios — and because I’m just a bit pretentious, maybe? — I style this whole business as, “Retro-specu-metrics” (or, mashed together and hyphen-less, retrospecumetrics).

To be clear, though, the metrics themselves that are used here (Wins Above Replacement [WAR] and WAR-per-162 games formulas) are NOT my inventions; sabermetric giants like Bill James, John Thorn, and Pete Palmer, to name just a chosen few, have come up with all of the good stuff, and I’m just applying their metrics in my own ways that certainly appear to be unique. [By which I mean that nobody else — that I know of — has spent the vast amount of time necessary to “re-assign” nearly 19,000 historical MLB/NLB “qualified” players to teams based solely on BIRTHPLACE; to gather all of the pertinent WAR data [several times, so many “re-gatherings” became necessary when Baseball-Reference or Seamheads updated their figures!]; to come up with a simple, shortcut, single-number “career impact” rating system that appears to be about as valid as most other systems in its ability to identify who really belongs in the Hall of Fame, if only numbers are/were considered (voting politics and character/social issues set entirely aside, FWIW)].

In summary, here’s what’s unique about this whole RetroPlay project and the RetroPlay.net website:

1. I decided more than 20 years ago that I wanted to take a detailed look at the ultimate “What if?” baseball history scenario, or as I’ve sometimes called it, “Baseball History Viewed Through An Entirely New Lens”; I’d “replay/simulate” every year (1871 through 2020) of Major-League Baseball with (virtual) squads based solely on birthplaces;

2. As soon as Negro League [Black] Baseball stats began to appear in credible compilations (like The Baseball Encyclopedia, Eighth-Tenth Editions, for example), I caught the vision of including at least the best, most-prominent players  in all aspects of the growing project. Prior to that, the necessary numbers were simply not available, but especially when the folks at Seamheads started methodically pumping them out for public consumption, I was thrilled: “Hey, this is possible now!” As a result, “our” combined MLB/NLB, all-eras player directory could finally be constructed, and until Major League Baseball (Inc., the corporate entity running the show) officially recognized 7 NLB leagues as full-fledged “major leagues” in 2020/21 — consequently declaring all of the players involved in those leagues as genuine major-leaguers — the RetroPlay project and webpages were unique in this respect, too. Again, to the best of my knowledge, I was the only one doing these things (truth be told, I’d beaten MLB to the punch years before they rightfully, even if belatedly, decided to give NLB players their just due). Not many people would know me from Adam, including any of the baseball-powers elite, of course. Still, … I’m just sayin’…, though I’m painfully aware that this was an easier-said-than-done proposition, not real history, and only “on paper.”

But enough about all of that, because we’ve got solid, definitive output to display here and now. Below are two mega-files, side-by-side in scroll form, that combine to present, IMO, a fairly-accurate picture of how 18,855 historical MLB/NLB players could be ranked; these rankings are based on the real numbers, and they have nothing to do with any “fantasy league” replay/simulation aspect of the overall RetroPlay project. On the left side of the page, players are ranked by Career WAR (CW), and — in case you’re wondering — 10,711 of the RetroPlay system’s total of 18,855 players were found to be above zero (0.0) in that category. Next door, on the right side of the page, the same players are ranked by RetroPlay Rating (RPR); this is “our” definitive ranking at this website. It’s seen here as the best shortcut stat to measure both total career production AND production rate per an average full-season’s worth of games played (162 is the standard for position players, and 68 Games + Games Started is the standard for pitchers). So without further ado, here’s how RetroPlay.net ranks all of the historical MLB/NLB players who had at least one season of 10/more Plate Appearances or 9/more Innings Pitched. The Excel-type version link is first, with the PDF version link directly below that (419 pages, either way):

Okay now, I ask you: where else can you find such voluminous data in one stop — a single page of a single website — on your baseball summary-stats rounds? Something to keep in mind: the numbers presented here have been compiled from 1871 through 2020 (only). For updated numbers on those few active players (as of the end of the 2024 season) who are “on track” for either “our” Hall Of Fame or THE Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, go to our AWARDSTOWN page (when the remodeling dust settles, hopefully soon).

Next, on this page: Players ranked by position. The same criteria will be used (CW and RPR), and players who logged at least 500 MLB/NLB games at a given position will be eligible to be ranked at that position (allowances made for 19th Century and Negro League players, due to fewer official games scheduled). Several players logged sufficient game-appearances at multiple positions. Best examples: Pete Rose (1B-2B-3B-LF-RF), Joe Torre (C-1B-3B), Martin Dihigo (SS and P), and the Babe himself (RF-LF-P). Players fitting this category are denoted by names in red print in the files linked to below. Wherever the “Top 50” or “Top 1000” are listed, these red-letter, multi-position players do NOT take up a space on that particular position’s list, since they appear on more than one position’s list, and the idea is to recognize the top 50 position-specific players at each post on the diamond (or top 1000, in the case of pitchers). [Why 1,000 pitchers, and only 400 non-pitchers? Think of the typical 25-man roster: usually, 10 of those 25 are pitchers, and you can still almost go two-deep at each of the other positions (15 of 16, considered in this light); most teams — for about half of MLB history now — have structured their rosters to include those 10 pitchers — starters/long-relief or swing-men/relief specialists — and 2 or 3 catchers, 6-7 infielders, and 4-5 outfielders; this equates to a typical roster-composition ratio of 2.5 to 1 for pitchers to non-pitchers, so therefore, we’re just maintaining that ratio by picking 1000 and 400, respectively].

Additional notes on the “methodology” employed here: A) Rankings based on RPR first, CW second, and B) (In most cases) at least 500 career MLB/NLB appearances at the particular position. After determining the Top 50 by these criteria at each position (C-1B-2B-3B-SS-LF-CF-RF, for a preliminary total of 400 from these) and the Top 1000 Pitchers, there was room for the aforementioned multi-position-qualified players and 17 more “next in line” players (“at-large” among all positions) to make the total of the 1500 best. Armed with all of that background info, RetroPlay.net presents…

Best 1500 Players in the First 150 Years of Major League Baseball

Want to see if a particular player is on the list? Here are alphabetical listings (Excel-type scroll top, PDF scroll below that):

And, now, the breakdown by each specific position, in official scorebook position-numbering order (P=1; C=2; 1B=3; 2B=4; 3B=5; SS=6; LF=7; CF=8; RF=9). Remember what was said above about the red-letter, multi-position players and why the lists go beyond 50 (or 1,000) players at each position. Here we go…

Finally, for this 3/19/22 session [date of original posting, and not altered on 3/25/25], here is the full list of the 10,700+ players who had a Career WAR (CW) above zero (0.0), ranked by RPR, in scrolling form; grouped by positions (REMEMBER: red-letter players appear in more than one position grouping). There are 238 pages in either Excel-type format or PDF:

With that, we’re calling this section “officially relocated” on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. For the Top 300 — those players who have merited inclusion in the RetroPlay RE-set Hall Of Fame (or nearly so, see notes there), or “20/20 Hindsight H.O.F,” jump to INNING 5 above (on this same MEGA-page). In any case, enjoy your roaming around RetroPlay Park.

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INNING 9: RetroPlay Time-Travel Teams:

Best players by nation/region/state/city (the “Urban League”)

3/25/2025 UPDATE: AFTER CURSORY INVESTIGATION, DECIDED TO KEEP THESE TIME-TRAVEL TEAMS AS THEY HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY POSTED (3 years ago), FOR TWO BASIC REASONS: 1) MY O.B.L.-BASED TEAMS ARE CULLED FROM THE TOTAL AGGREGATION OF PLAYERS RECORDED AS HAVING BIRTHPLACES WITHIN A STATE/REGION/URBAN CENTER (MINIMUMS APPLY TO PLATE APPEARANCES AND INNINGS PITCHED, FOR EXAMPLE) AND, 2) ALL OF THE VIRTUAL ROSTERS WERE UP TO DATE THROUGH 2020, AND ANY PLAYERS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE ADDED (FROM 2021+) WOULD BE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THE OVERALL RETROPLAY PROJECT (COVERING THE 150 SEASONS FROM 1871 THROUGH 2020 ONLY). NEVERTHELESS, PLEASE DO BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS OF FANTASY WITH “AIR-RETROPLAY,” WHERE WE NEVER REQUIRE MASKS, TAKING YOUR SHOES OFF, SUBMITTING TO SEE-ALL X-RAYS, OR EVEN STANDING IN LINE…

[NOTE: POSTED 3 YEARS AGO]: 3/24/2022 UPDATE. WHAT WE HAVE SO FAR: While the best-WAR-season lists for each of the final Time-Travel teams are yet to come, we do have the full list of eligible players for each of those teams. The files that are already available, here and now, then, show the players from which the starting lineups and pitcher selections can be made.

Now, on to the general explanation… On this page, you’ll be able to find “Time-Travel Teams” composed of the all-time best MLB/NLB players born in the respective American states/regions and “extra-national” countries of the world (outside of the U.S.). Currently, the teams are being compiled on the basis of best single-season WAR-value years posted by all roster-eligible players (born in that state/expanded region/nation, with 10 or more Plate Appearances [PA] in a given season or 9 or more Innings Pitched [IP], depending upon position).

A glimpse at the process (how this works):

Step 1: Eligible historic MLB/NLB players born in the same place are assessed for the highest single-season WAR values available to contribute to the team WAR total;

Step 2: Positions are filled from this initial pool of the highest-performing eligible players (this is where positional integrity comes in, and all positions must be filled for each scheduled game of the simulated season; flexibility is certainly built in — thousands of players are/were multi-positional, after all, and reasonable shifts can be made, downgrading along the “Defensive Spectrum” [manning an “easier” position, we might say], but someone who’s had zero [historical] MLB/NLB experience at shortstop could not be reasonably expected to move UP the D.S. from left field and excel at his new, more-crucial/pivotal position, and for a full season at that!);

Step 3: With the roster and “starting lineup” appropriately filled, it’s just a matter of adding up all of the qualifying player WAR values to arrive at a (strictly virtual-reality) team total (if you want to take the easy way out). But the better approach, IMO, is to employ season-replay/simulation software like Strategic Baseball Simulator, Old Time Baseball, Out Of The Park, or any other program/app that can be adapted to the purpose of plugging in these Time-Travel rosters and running them through “league play” for each year from 1871 through 2020. This is exactly what I’d like to do — eventually — if time permits. Sounds like fun, no?

Winding up this page’s 3/24/22 session: I’ve uploaded the all-time rosters from which the Time-Travel (“Best Born In…”) Teams can be culled. To facilitate the team-assembly process, all players born in the same area — whether at the state, regional, national, or big city/urban-center level — are listed in order of RPR (RetroPlay Rating), from best to uh… not-so best. (Another hint: look at the “per 162” (games-played) rates to gauge typical full-season production at a glance). Each of these rosters has been left in Excel (.xls) format in order to make it easy for the user to sort and re-sort the rows under the columns, per individual preference. We’ll start with the American states (and regional) group; move to the Extra-National group (nations outside the U.S.); and wind up at the city/urban-center level.

The main idea, once again: If moving back-and-forth through actual history was somehow made possible, we’re looking to see which players could be selected to be the best representatives, based on best WAR values — throughout all MLB eras — of a given birthplace as its “All-Star” team. Sample questions: could the all-time Texans beat the all-time Ohioans? Could anybody beat the all-time Californians? And might that team be the all-time Dominicans? Full disclosure: I’m asking the questions myself; I have yet to do the computer-run, “on-paper” game-playing, but am looking forward to that, in a phase somewhere down the road!

So here we go with the raw-data listings, state by state (in regional code — RC — order), which might be all that some of you will want to focus upon (interesting in itself, no need to do a deeper dive). Notice, though, that several states could not support a viable 25-man roster of their own, so look for their native sons among larger regional aggregations and folder-combinations. That said, here we go:

10. MAINE (70)

11. NEW HAMPSHIRE (45)

12. VERMONT (32)

13. MASSACHUSETTS (543)

15. RHODE ISLAND (68)

17. CONNECTICUT (181)

NEW ENGLAND REGION (939)

20. NEW YORK (1052)

30. PENNSYLVANIA (1255)

41. NEW JERSEY (423)

43. DELAWARE (54)

44. WASHINGTON D.C. (96)

45. MARYLAND (279)

MID-ATLANTIC REGION (852)

50. NORTH CAROLINA (415)

52. SOUTH CAROLINA (216)

53. GEORGIA (454)

SOUTHEAST REGION (1085)

55. FLORIDA (598)

60. ALABAMA (426)

65. MISSISSIPPI (234)

66. LOUISIANA (305)

DEEP SOUTH REGION (965)

70. OHIO (912)

76. WEST VIRGINIA (108)

77. VIRGINIA (339)

80. KENTUCKY (308)

82. TENNESSEE (359)

APPALACHIA REGION (1114)

85. INDIANA (360)

90. MICHIGAN (389)

95. WISCONSIN (208)

MIDWEST REGION (957)

98. ILLINOIS (959)

101. MINNESOTA (144)

103. IOWA (188)

105. MISSOURI (579)

110. ARKANSAS (184)

MISS. RIVER REGION (1095)

120. TEXAS (956)

130. OKLAHOMA (262)

133. NEW MEXICO (29)

134. KANSAS (215)

135. NEBRASKA (106)

137-8. DAKOTAS (51)

139-140. MONTANA-WYOMING (39)

141. COLORADO (89)

CLASSIC WEST REGION (791)

143. ARIZONA (109)

145. UTAH (36)

146. NEVADA (44)

148. IDAHO (29)

150. OREGON (127)

155. WASHINGTON (190)

157-159. ALASKA-HAWAII-GUAM-SAMOA (55)

FAR WEST REGION (590)

FAR WEST (+) REGION (730)

160. CALIFORNIA (2112)

Now, on to the extra-national squads, moving from the Caribbean to Mexico and Central America, and South America; to the Pacific nations, inner Asia and Africa; Europe; and closing the loop, Canada:

CUBA (432)

PUERTO RICO (274)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (714)

CARIBBEAN REGION (1468)

MEXICO (123)

PANAMA (70)

MEXICO-CEN.AM. REGION (210)

VENEZUELA (378)

SOUTH AMERICA REGION (407)

PACIFIC REGION (140)

EURASIA-AFRICA REGION (180)

CANADA (218)

As promised above, we’ll wind up with the City-Level (or pun-ingly, the “Urban League”) Time-Travel teams:

ATLANTA (54)

AUSTIN (40)

BALTIMORE (133)

BIRMINGHAM (75)

BOSTON (76)

BROOKLYN (204)

BUFFALO (54)

CARACAS, VE (57)

CHARLOTTE (26)

CHICAGO (321)

CINCINNATI (168)

CLEVELAND (110)

COLUMBUS (40)

DALLAS (77)

DAYTON (31)

DENVER (39)

DETROIT (107)

EVANSVILLE (26)

FORT WORTH (30)

FRESNO (31)

LA HABANA (144)

HOUSTON (125)

INDIANAPOLIS (53)

JACKSONVILLE (48)

KANSAS CITY, MO (53)

LAS VEGAS (30)

LITTLE ROCK (26)

LONG BEACH (65)

LOS ANGELES (211)

LOUISVILLE (73)

MARACAIBO, VE (30)

MARACAY, VE (29)

MEMPHIS (49)

MIAMI (46)

MILWAUKEE (50)

MOBILE (45)

MONTGOMERY (31)

NEW YORK CITY (ONLY) (225)

5 BOROUGHS-NYC (481)

NASHVILLE (51)

NEW ORLEANS (85)

NEWARK (35)

OAKLAND (83)

OKLAHOMA CITY (43)

OMAHA (33)

ORLANDO (27)

PHILADELPHIA (308)

PHOENIX (29)

PITTSBURGH (121)

PORTLAND (55)

PROVIDENCE (28)

RICHMOND (32)

RIO PIEDRAS (32)

RIVERSIDE (25)

ROCHESTER (29)

SACRAMENTO (74)

SAN ANTONIO (43)

SAN CRISTOBAL (37)

SAN DIEGO (113)

SAN FRANCISCO (157)

SAN JOSE (29)

SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS (75)

SANTA MONICA (40)

SANTIAGO (35)

SANTO DOMINGO (153)

SANTURCE (30)

SEATTLE (51)

SHREVEPORT (36)

ST. LOUIS (259)

TAMPA (54)

TOLEDO (33)

TORRANCE (27)

TULSA (43)

TWIN CITIES (63)

VALENCIA, VE (29)

WASHINGTON D.C. (96)

Okay, that’ll do it. An acknowledgment should be made: remember, there will be many known discrepancies between the RetroPlay system numbers and those posted by MLB/Baseball-Reference, because…

1. This system screens out all of those who didn’t make the minimum 10 PA or 9 IP in a year, or simply lacked full-name identification (the official sources will include many more players due to these factors);
2. This system adds more Negro League (NLB) players to the number of Open Baseball League (OBL) players (they participated in NLB leagues/on independent teams not recognized — at this point, anyway — by MLB/Baseball-Reference as genuine major-leaguers, while we did so here for RetroPlay run-through 1.0)

We’re in a “parallel universe” here, so remember that…All right, then, we’re done with this particular page for now. This will do it for March 31, 2025. Overall, (speaking site-wise) things are steadily rounding into form. Feel free to roam around RetroPlay Park, where the gates are always open.

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EXTRAS

1/6 & 10/23 UPDATES: LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE, LOOK FOR TWEAKS, NEW CONTENT, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 2023. ADDITIONALLY, IF THE TIME CAN BE FOUND, THERE MAY BE ALL-NEW TUNES COMING OUT FROM TEKTONA VIA CAKEWALK SOFTWARE (HAS YET TO BE USED, SO WE’LL SEE…) [1/10: SLIPPED IN A FEW TUNES AT THE BOTTOM]

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UPDATE of March 25, 2022 for this TEKTONA page only

*****NEW TEXT, AS OF 3/25/22: If much/most/all of the stuff at the top is old-hat for you, you might want to skip on down this page to the TEKTONA JUKEBOX graphic, several paragraphs below. In that brand-new section will be posted our old-school hard rock/metal rock (TEKTONA Retro-Rock) MP3s (in the guise of 45RPM platter selections played by a jukebox). A few dozen selections will eventually appear there for playback (and p-s-s-st, don’t tell anybody, but for free-downloading, too). Just give the “staff” some time to get it done.

Alright, this part of RetroPlay.net has been neglected long enough; it’s high time we got around to it. I see by some of the content that the previous updates go back as far as 2018, so-o-o-o……, yeah, it’s time to freshen this up a bit. However, I’ll leave the first sections intact in order to provide some background for this “Play-button” (MP3 audio playback) part of RetroPlay. (Did you happen to pick out those “reverse” and “play” button representations in the main website logo design? Take another look, and this time, don’t think of a baseball diamond with the “O” as the pitcher’s mound, but pick out the “reverse” and “play” buttons like those you might see on an old-school cassette or MP3 player :

See ’em now? Then, too, the circle with a hole in the center might possibly remind a viewer of a compact disc or an old vinyl LP? Yes? No? Suit yourself. Just the logo designer himself “just sayin’…” what was in his head.

But now it’s off to the instrumental RetroRock. As indicated above, I’ve left the explanatory exposition below, along with the first batch of content, which has been posted in this buried backwater site for years now, but that will soon give way to waves of “fresh” stuff (guaranteed to be new to all but a few of you, though anything that’ll be posted here has been “in the can” for what … 9..10..11…12 years now? So I guess we could say, “New to you, old to me, but new-all-over-again to me in some cases where I haven’t heard ’em for a long time.” (I’m glad “we” put some of these together; they’re not so terrible, after all).

[Begin old preserved text here…]

Here’s the first mini-batch of mp3 audio files produced by my virtual band, TEKTONA. The tunes that will eventually be uploaded to this site have all been composed/arranged/slapped together by “us.” Personnel:  Stevo Robertson, guitars; Felix Metalsome, backing guitars and all keyboards; Hugo Walker, bass; Geri “Hat Trick” Atric, drums, percussion. All tunes (all are instrumentals, with only a few vocal effects included here and there, but no lyrics to speak of) have been worked up on computers using (exclusively, other than a didgeridoo sound effect) Magix music-making programs and Soundpools. Some of these “we” are proud of, some we can still put up with on occasion, and some are best buried, as if they never existed (probably won’t post those, in case you’re wondering). But you be the judge…

To kick things off in this music playback section of Retroplay , let’s make our tune #75, the Michael Schenker/UFO-like (in my humble, skewed opinion), “Retro-Rock It,” our appropriate headliner of the week. While certainly not our best tune, it can give you some idea of the kind of 70’s/80’s/90’s stuff TEKTONA produced. Here ’tis> 

Hope you’ll always be able to find something here to your liking — between the crunch/party-rockers, the “4-Minute Epics,” and, yes, even some slower/quieter numbers — so check back often as we keep rolling through the “catalog.” In the process, you can build your own (unique) version of a TEKTONA “Anthology/Best Of” compilation.

(Below are the first tunes uploaded, as part of the TEKTONA Preview at seaporter1.com, and then here)

“Freedom” by TEKTONA (Let it ease in, then the fun begins; cowbells and all! And you’ll know when to shout, “Freedom!!”):

“Liberty and Justice” by TEKTONA (We appreciate our armed forces at this site!):

“Lockstep Left” by TEKTONA (It’s supposed to sound dismal, ‘cuz it’s the Left on parade, and — here’s a current tie-in — they’re coming to jab us!):

“Forward the Charge” by TEKTONA (It’ll grow on you; let it do its thing):

“Ever Onward” by TEKTONA (Probably the most generally inspirational “builder” tune we’ve got):

“Storied Rider” by TEKTONA (Neo-Western; the hero rides into view and into legend; a scene-setting theme song?):

“Resolute” by TEKTONA (Seriously resolved to do right and move forward; “Hat Trick” Atric earns the spotlight in this one for his drumming and what it added):

“Rock Iraq” by TEKTONA (Kind of quirky and fun, yet intended as a salute to the troops stationed there to cash the checks the “leaders” wrote):

“Get on Board” by TEKTONA (Yep, how about it? Are you with us or not?):

“Kitsch In Sync” by TEKTONA (Flat-out fun; everything thrown in but the kitchen sink):

(This preview site debuted 9/14/18) [<<< There, see what I mean? This all goes back a ways!]

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When I can figure out how to do it, I’d like to make this whole page a giant virtual jukebox, where site visitors can “punch” in their selections and hear the corresponding “45RPM” tunes. Before that day can happen, however, we’ll just provide some more TEKTONA MP3s in dribs and drabs. Starting here…

“Crunch Time” by TEKTONA

“Chunky Fish” by TEKTONA (Just a simple, persistent, dense groove)

“4-Minute Electric Epic” by TEKTONA (Primitive, catchy, only “epic” in a hyperbolic sense)

Here’s the planned uploading schedule:

• TEKTONA “laid down” a total of 110 complete/nearly complete tracks that were kept around for any length of time, but not all of those are still deemed acceptable/representative by “us” today. You can expect to see several dozen landing here, nonetheless, and most of those will be from the last virtual albums (later stuff most-featured in the initial waves of uploads).
• The most primitive stuff will be mixed in with the more advanced stuff, however, ‘cuz I’ve learned that there’s “no accounting for taste” (everybody’s different and everybody’s got shifting moods).
• The main organizing principle will be to group these MP3s according to virtual-album groups/themes like, “WESTERN THEATER” ; “SERIOUS FUN” ; “CONFLICT” and maybe “LIGHTER STUFF” or, “ATONALLY YOURS” (?) (Yep, TEKTONA did some of that, too).

Enough talk. Let’s rock it. First batch of Nu2U stuff; call it the “Western Theater” album (“Storied Rider” — see above among the first 14 uploads — would fit here also, as well as a couple more that need to be polished up a bit). “Cover art” will have to be supplied later; too many irons in the fire right now.

^When the Smoke Cleared (Tune 82)

^Courage Rides Alone (Tune 84)

^Soar With the Eagle (Tune 88)

^Torrent (Tune 90)

^Wind Riders (Tune 34)

^Boiling Point (Tune 42)

^Trail of Betrayals (Tune 48; longest one we did at 7 minutes +)

^Buffalo Hunt Stomp (Tune 49)

^Intense (Tune 50)

^Sockeye (Tune 51)

^Raven’s Hop (Tune 54)

^Last Hours Dance (Tune 55)

^Pummelled Horse (Tune 100)

^Raised Fist (Tune 101)

^Black Feather (Tune 103)

^Spirit of the Plains (Tune 104; needs some studio clean-up, but wanted to get it out there)

With these March 25 uploads, there are now 30 TEKTONA tunes available here. We’ll give you some time to play these back and do what you will with ’em before more are added. A “party-rock” batch might be up next, just to clear the palate between the heavier-themed groups. We’ll see; stay tuned…

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1/10/23 LATE P.M. — ADDED THESE FEW BELOW, JUST TO SEE IF ANYBODY WAS PAYING ATTENTION…

RIGHT NOW WE ROCK (TEKTONA TUNE 28) Laid down early in the game, but fun anyway:

SET FREE (TEKTONA TUNE 72) Not as primitive, picks up the pace:

DANCE ON MY GRAVE (TEKTONA TUNE 81) Go ahead and knock yourself out; I won’t be there! :

CAN’T BE STILL (TEKTONA TUNE 91) Flat-out, fun, feel-good rocker:

ROCKHEAD (TEKTONA TUNE 92) Real Rockheads get it, so ’nuff said:

AMPSTACK (TEKTONA TUNE 105) “We’re only in it for the volume” — Geezer Butler (And the movement ):

That’ll do it for this batch (about half of the “SERIOUS FUN“ VIRTUAL ALBUM BY TEKTONA). More later — Stevo Robertson