Reprinted With Permisson of Me

Below is a copy of an email I sent my father and brother about my championship. I really liked what I wrote, it kinda encapsulates me, so I reprint it here:

I'm the 1942 champion of my retro strat league.


Bill Butland has one real season in his career. He came up for 3 starts in 1941, and they weren't very good at all. In 1942, he pitched 111 innings, being the 1940s edition of a swing man. 23 games pitched, 10 starts, 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, 1 save. He allowed 118 baserunners in those 111 innings, had an ERA of 2.51, and went 7-1 for the Red Sox.

I assume, like most other 25 year olds, he then enlisted or was drafted, because he's gone until 1946. In 46-7, he pitches a total of six games, giving up 21 runs in 18 innings. The magic had clearly gone, as it had for so many others of those young men.

In my 1942 replay, Butland was ridiculous. I used him in much the same way Rivera gets used only a little more so. Lots of key spots, not afraid to bring him in the 8th or even the 7th if I had to. 94 IP, he did allow 99 base runners, but had an ERA of 1.62, recorded 48 saves and went 3-3.

In the post season, Butland made his regular season effort seem pedestrian. Of the eleven games my team played, he appeared in six of them, allowing 12 baserunners and only one run. He saved all five of his opportunities, and won the sixth game, the key game of the series, going the final 4 innings of the fifteen inning game 3 of the World Series.

I think the most satisfying part of these leagues is, aside from winning, learning about guys like this. Before this replay, I'd never heard of the guy. All I really know of him now is that he had a tremendous season, and according to this site, he's the only pitcher to defeat the other 7 American League teams consecutively. And yet, I'm forever attached to him.