Trapped in the Basement: The Philadelphia Phillies (1942 - )

[CatKnight]

ONE KILLED, TWENTY INJURED IN FREAK ACCIDENT

June 6, 1948: (New Orleans) - Tragedy struck today when a foul ball struck one of the propellors meant to keep fans cool during one of the hottest summers on record.

The propellor shredded the ball, scattering shrapnel at upwards of 150 mph through sections 310-314. One died when the cork core struck him in the back of the head, while others received minor injuries as other parts of the ball fired like bullets from the whirling propellor.

Said New Orleans officials: "At least it wasn't as bad as what happened in May when one of the propellors came loose!"

In an attempt to draw in fans growing leery of the stadium's cooling system, team officials are looking at mounting the propellors straight up. They theorize that these rotors, shaped and angled like Igor Sikorsky's rotary-winged craft, could allow the stadium to take off.

The US Government is looking at air traffic laws that would need modifying if a stadium became airborne.

[3RunHomer]

That's 3 innocent bystanders killed as a result of this meeting. Who knew expansion was so risky?

If anyone else dies, maybe you should call the whole thing off.

[petrel]

On the other hand, it would be a great name for a team. The New Orleans Pilots. (Or perhaps, the "Propellorheads".)

--Pet

[PotatoOfCouch13]

ALL: The deaths are a bit of a downer, but look on the bright side: if New Orleans doesn't get a team, then I saved a life!

The final candidate, Los Angeles, presents tonight! And stay tuned for the surprise (hint: it's a perfectly placed swerve)!

[Coach Owens]

How are you going to decide who gets in or not?

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Coach: A lot of common sense, I guess. I looked over the proposals (including the ones I did myself), and tried to see which was most suitable for an NL team. Population and growth rate played a part, as did baseball history in that city, stadium size, fan base, and ownership. You may find that the selections are a bit common, but there's always room for more...

***

“Alright, last but not least, Los Angeles.”

Phillip Wrigley stood up and strode to the front of the room.

The other 6 owners had a puzzled look on their faces. I was confused as well.

“Relax, I’m not moving the Cubs. The Wrigley Chewing Gum company owns a stadium in downtown L.A., it just made sense for me to submit a bid.”

“Well, you can’t own both the Cubs and an expansion franchise! That’s unfair!” whined Sam Breadon.

“I’ll sell the Cubs if granted this expansion team. Do you fellows mind if I get started?”

I must say, Phil had definitely prepared the best proposal of the day. He had all the bases covered, so to speak (pardon the awful baseball pun).

STADIUM: As he mentioned, the Wrigley family owned 2 Wrigley Fields: the famed one in Chicago, and another one in Los Angeles. Currently the home of the minor-league Angels, Wrigley claims to be able to add 10,000 seats to the current 22,000 capacity by the time 1947 arrives.

FINANCIAL BACKING: We all know what Phil has done with the Cubs, so there really aren’t too many issues with management here.

FANBASE: We were assured that the West Coast would welcome baseball with open arms, not only by LA, but by San Fran and Seattle as well. Being the 5th-most populated city in America, they better be ready, because all signs point to the NL going west…

***

[Coach Owens]

Just so you know, if you don't include Seattle, you won't live to see tomorrow!

[CatKnight]

You could always make it a poll, asking readers to try and get the mindset of a mid-40s NL owner before voting for two choices. That way, if Seattle isn't included Coach won't know WHO to kill

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Coach:

CatKnight: that's a really good idea. Can I do that here, or do I have to make a separate thread for the poll?

[Coach Owens]

Coach:

CatKnight: that's a really good idea. Can I do that here, or do I have to make a separate thread for the poll?

You might be able to add one by editing your first post.

[CatKnight]

I wouldn't make it a "poll" poll, because then everyone only gets one vote, and it actively discourages people from explaining themselves. Those explanations might prove useful.

When you're ready, I would probably start a separate thread, copying (or linking to) each city's presentation, then say:

"If you were an NL owner in 1944, knowing the League wouldn't expand until after the War, which entries would you take seriously enough to give the green light to? Please vote for only two."

Given the pretty strong success of petrel's "Hall of Fame" threads in the Sports Talk area, you might get some interesting feedback!

[Coach Owens]

I wouldn't make it a "poll" poll, because then everyone only gets one vote, and it actively discourages people from explaining themselves. Those explanations might prove useful.

When you're ready, I would probably start a separate thread, copying (or linking to) each city's presentation, then say:

"If you were an NL owner in 1944, knowing the League wouldn't expand until after the War, which entries would you take seriously enough to give the green light to? Please vote for only two."

Given the pretty strong success of petrel's "Hall of Fame" threads in the Sports Talk area, you might get some interesting feedback!

Can't you make it a multiple choice poll?

[CatKnight]

Just checked. Yes...you can. I'd still hesitate to do so.

1) The option's just "Multiple Choice", so that someone could vote for 7 cities instead of 2. Granted you can have it show who voted for what and get rid of invalid votes, but...

2) An opening poll really discourages interaction. It may even discourage people from reading through all the presentations. After all, if my choices are RIGHT THERE why not just pick my favorite cities and to heck with what anyone else wrote? Polls work well if you can summarize the options on your introductory post, but that'd be difficult if not impossible here.

Up to Potato, of course. I think I wouldn't use the poll option, just ask everyone to respond with two choices.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Alright, I set up a separate thread for the voting.

Here

Please only vote for 2! Thanks everyone!

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Boy, it seems like forever since baseball's been happening hasn't it? Well, voting will continue on the other thread until the end of this season (1944), and I promise I'll get some baseball action in soon! With the Phillies smack dab in the middle of a pennant race, every game matters.