Pilgrim Baseball

By Barry Lann, San Francisco, CA- It may be a beautiful day for a ball game, but the Pilgrim Baseball league has yet to secure any venues to hold their nine inning extravaganzas. Ownership groups say they are anxious, and frankly a little perplexed by the delays and lack of transparency coming from the league office. “I don’t understand it.” Dante Shumacker, who represents one of the Philadelphia ownership groups. “We know they have to have a team in Philly and I just wish they’d tell us which stadium we’re using. It makes no sense. We’ve got our act together. We have a third of our roster ready to sign, announcers, bat boys, vendors, you name it. They have nothing. All I freakin’ want to know is are we setting up at Baker Bowl, Shibe, Veterans, or some dump in Trenton or Pennsauken? If it’s Trenton, I’m gonna cut someone.” “Of approximately 190 stadiums used for major league baseball in the history of the game, we have narrowed down the list to about 55 semifinalists. A f...

By Spalding Cooper Secaucus, NJ- Sources close to ownership groups in several cities say they have been asked to provide their final choices for home stadiums. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to a one of the Chicago consortiums bidding for a team said, “The league is pretty much settled on eight cities and are clearly enamored with some of the venues. Those (expletive deleted) North Siders are a shoe in, as are teams in New York and St. Louis.” League officials have stated that they are “looking for cities and stadiums that exemplify baseball’s rich history.” Some potential owner’s groups appear to be a little more cynical. “History? You look at a city like Milwaukee or Cleveland or Kansas City.” A source familiar with the negotiations between the league and the Detroit consortium said. “Milwaukee had three major league franchises since 1900, and Cleveland has been a hotbed of baseball since the late 1800s. KC had the Monarchs of the Negro leagues, th...

By Lazlo Yankovic Vero Beach, FL -Fans cheer and the stadium rumbles when hometown heroes drive in the winning runs, but the hardworking individuals that discovered them live in relative obscurity. Baseball scouts Talbert “Saggy” McGee, “Groundout” Billy Johnson, Lou “Cranky” Cartwright, Paul “Kid Gloves” Santorelli, George Genovese, and dozens like them don’t seem to mind. At this year’s annual Association of Baseball Scouts meeting, held in Vero Beach, Florida, scouts exchanged stories about legendary discoveries, rivalries, and the hunt for the elusive player with everything. “A walk may be as good as a hit, but ain’t nuthin’ better than finding the five-tool player that Tony Lucadello and all the other guys missed and then watching him win the triple crown.” Johnson said. “Did that happen, Ground Out?” Santorelli asked. “Heck no. Lucadello finds everyone. Schmidt, Fergie Jenkins, everyone.” Johnson said, stabbing out his cigar. “And until you discover the next Bob Gibso...

By Spalding Cooper Hoboken, NJ - On the heels of the announcement of a great leap forward in time travel technology, a group of executives and investors plans to leverage the scientific breakthrough to launch and parlay it into a new baseball league. Called the Billy Pilgrim League (BPL), league officials expect to field 18-60 teams consisting of some of the most famous ballplayers in history. The announcement took place a few thousand feet away from Elysian Fields, which many historians believe was the site of the first officially recorded baseball game. “It’s an exciting time for all of us involved. Our lead scouts are already evaluating talent and our front office is energized.” Lou Michaels, League spokesman stated. “We fully expect to get the top players in the game. Not just the players of today. The all-time greats. Players from 1901 to present, chosen from all the major and Negro leagues.” Michaels acknowledges that obstacles exist, but says the league will find a way ...

Pilgrim Baseball League (PBL) is a project to assemble great, near great, and not so great baseball players from 1901- present and play out at least one spectacular season. It is what might be called replay historical fiction with the intent to capture the flavor of games in different eras as well as celebrate the players and ballparks that made and continue to make the game great. As in many pieces of historical fiction, real life figures interact with fictional characters. Real events are mixed with imagined situations. The League’s story and season results will be told through many perspectives. You will see articles by jaded columnists, quotes from players, scouts, and owners. Salty sports-talk radio hosts and the voice of the man on the street will be mixed in.