Time Travel Baseball - Part 4

Line-up: I finally found the Donovans' intended batting order.  It's no Murderer's Row, but they seem to have planned the best they could with what they have.  Unfortunately, what they have is a bunch of Donovans.

No sign of them actually playing any games, however.  It appears the Donovans scheduled games with some of the all-time worst teams in Major League history.  They seem to insist on having a fighting chance since they were/are to such trouble and expense to revive and time-transport a team boasting just a .221 batting average as a group.  I don't know the ins and outs of time travel, so it's anyone's guess why there are no results.  Maybe they are forthcoming.  If they ever show, I'll pass them on. What a shame if they come so close but never play.  For now though, I'll leave you their schedule to look over.  Might get an idea of what bets you want to place, just in case.

Schedule: All series are scheduled for the second weekend of October in the years indicated, three or four games each over Friday, Saturday (occasional double-headers), and Sunday.  None of these are playoff teams, so their seasons will be/were finished by mid-October.

• 2003 Detroit Tigers
• 1962 New York Mets
• 1935 Boston Braves
• 1899 Cleveland Spiders
• 1890 Pittsburgh Pirates
• 1916 Philadelphia Athletics
• 1904 Washington Senators
• 1898 St. Louis Browns
• 1942 Philadelphia Phillies
• 1932 Boston Red Sox
• 1911 Boston Rustlers
• 1909 Boston Doves
• 2010 Seattle Mariners
• 1965 New York Mets
• 1979 Oakland Athletics
• 1969 San Diego Padres
• 1981 Toronto Blue Jays
• 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks
• 1955 Baltimore Orioles

Player-Manager "Wild Bill" Donovan sports the team's alternate away uniform.

Hopefully the team did/will get the chance to wear this get-up in action.

Time Travel Baseball - Part 3

So for nearly two months I've searched and searched with limited success. The newspapers went mute on the subject of the time-traveling Donovans, but in recent days I did manage a few breakthroughs.

No word on how they came to complete the roster, but I did find the rest of the position players and pitching staff in an update to the team website.  First, though, I'd like to share the craziest discovery of all: a file photo (below) which looks like it belongs with a yet-unfound news article.  I'd argue this is a greater find, though, as the picture and its caption unveil a lot.  We get a glimpse at the team uniforms and some indication that the genes carrying my likeness will be well-preserved in the coming generations...

AP PHOTO - Members of the Time-Traveling Donovans baseball team (L to R): player-manager "Wild Bill" Donovan, owner Donovan Moxley VI, and major free-agent addition Patsy Donovan.  The Donovans unveiled their home and road uniforms, while a scruffy "Wild Bill" suggested his new beard would set a "team standard" and he would be a featured player for the team in addition to his managerial role.

From Official Website of the All-Time All-Donovans (www5.donovans.com):

LF: Rich Donovan Berry

Scouting: .188/.316/.219 in the Major Leagues.  Berry was a sparingly-used member of the 1969 Philadelphia Phillies.  His inconsistency at the plate - extremely patient one inning and swinging wildly later in the game - prevented his becoming established.  There was just barely enough Donovan in his name to allow for this opportunity at redemption in time-travel baseball.  

CF (Platoon): "Wild Bill" Donovan, Tom Donovan
Scouting:  Despite only playing 37 career games in the outfield and fumbling one fielding attempt in every ten, "Wild Bill" Donovan will roam center most days for the Donovans.  When "Wild Bill" gives himself the nod on the mound, he will be replaced by the yet less experienced, yet less dependable glove of Tom Donovan.  Tom's 18-game career with the 1901 Cleveland Blues resulted in a .254 average, making him a viable DH candidate or good-hitting pitcher (yes, he'll pitch too) as the situations arise.


RF: Patsy Donovan
Scouting: .301/.348/.355 in the Major Leagues.  Easily the Donos' star player, Irishman Patsy Donovan batted .301 over a 17-year career.  Averaging less than a homer a year, he will likely hit for average and be a base-stealing threat at the top of the lineup.


Pitching Staff: "Wild Bill" Donovan, Dick Donovan, Tom Donovan, Donovan Osborne, "Tame Bill" Donovan
Scouting: "Wild Bill" - otherwise known as team manager and part-time center fielder for the Donovans, makes himself the team's first option on the mound.  Next in line, and arguably more reliable, will be 3-time journeyman All-Star Dick Donovan.  Tom Donovan, Donovan Osborne, and Bill Donovan will round out the rotation.  In order to distinguish himself from his namesake, Bill initialed a nickname clause in his contract agreeing to go exclusively by "Tame Bill" for as long as he should don the gray, blue, and beard.

The Donos' most recent additions - outfield and pitchers - appear in red.

...Stay tuned for the finale, where I share the details of the All-Time Donovans line-up and their team schedule with probable starters.

Factual/statistical information and photographs provided by baseball-reference.com

Time Travel Baseball - Part 2

Finally, I've had a chance to dig a little further into the future of baseball.  I'm referring, more specifically, to the time-traveling baseball team that my descendant is going to found in the 22nd century.  It does a great-great-great grandpa proud...

From Official Website of the All-Time All-Donovans (www5.donovans.com):

C: Jerry Donovan

Scouting: .199/.236/.223 in the Major Leagues.  Jerry Donovan only managed to scrape together 33 hits in his brief 61 game career for the 1906 Phillies, and was therefore no longer among the Major League ranks in 1907 and beyond.  In signing with the All-Time Donovans, Jerry has finally scraped together his second chance after more than a quarter-millennium of inaction.

1B: Fred Donovan
Scouting:  .083/.154/.083 in the Major Leagues.  Though originally a catcher, Fred Donovan is older than Jerry Donovan anyway you slice it (i.e. by date of birth, playing age, condition upon reanimation).  As a result, Fred will be asked to make the transition to first base, both deferring to the younger knees of Jerry and filling a defensive need for the team.  Perhaps it's for the best, as he's likely to take comfort in the fact that his arm should not be a liability.  Fred allowed 5 stolen bases in 7 attempts over his three-game tenure as catcher for the 1895 Cleveland Spiders.  He'll look to get off to a hot start, hoping to break out of his 1-for-13 career slump at the plate.


2B: Donovan Solano
Scouting:  No Major League Experience.  Solano will be facing Major League pitching for the first time, but he carried a  .274/.319/.352 line over his first 4 seasons at Triple-A.  As his slugging percentage indicates, he's unlikely to hit for power (5 HR in 860 AB) unless the Donovans bring along steroid technologies from today back to the 20th century (when testing was far behind our modern HGH concoctions).  Though he spent more time at shortstop, he manned the second base position with a higher fielding percentage in the minor leagues and will therefore be on the right side of the Donovans infield.


3B: Mike Donovan
Scouting: .238/.238/.286 in the Major Leagues.  This will be the third call-up to the Major League level for Mike Donovan, who previously had short stints with the 1904 Cleveland Naps and 1908 New York Highlanders.  Though still unproven, Mike figures to be the All-Time Donovans' best hope for a Gold Glove award, as he never committed an error in his brief career at the hot corner.


SS: Donovan Mitchell
Scouting: No Major League Experience.  Mitchell will fill out the all-rookie middle infield for the Donovans, having been a lifer in the Houston Astros farm system back in the 1990s.  He hung up the cleats after just his first half season at Triple-A, where he batted .282/.342/.437 from the left side of the plate in the Pacific Coast League.  Shortstop was perhaps not Mitchell's best position, but his history as a utility player means he should be ready for the challenge.

The Donovans focused on the front line of defense, building an infield with their first personnel moves.

...For next time, I'll keep my eyes open for any updates on the rest of the roster as it will be built.  Maybe there will be some mention of the press conference foreshadowed at the end of the newspaper article.  I hope they will be able to put this all together, it's far more ambitious than any project I'd try to coordinate.

Factual/statistical information provided by baseball-reference.com

Time Travel Baseball - Part 1

Wow, where do I begin?  You're all going to call me crazy, but I just dug up a great news article from the future that I had to share.  Yes, that future, the one which (to our knowledge) has yet to happen has searchable archival newspaper clippings.  Nothing of great consequence - no war coverage or sports results that would be of economic value, so don't ask - but I found a cool article that essentially proves my great-great-great grandson was (will be?) a big baseball fan just like me.

Have a look at the article:

I KNOW!  I'm going to keep digging, see if I can find out more about how things play out for the Donovans.  My successes are few and far between so far - sometimes searching the right keywords in the right databases is more of an art than a science - but here's another treat to hold you over until I have another big break.

The Donovans logo:

The face on that baseball remind you of anyone?  I must have some scruffy genes to pass on to the coming generations.