Daily Baseball Update: Hot Stove: 11/4

From now until Spring Training, the blog will be titled "Hot Stove" rather than "Daily Baseball Update".

Also, for the offseason and likely well into the regular season, I will be starting a new segment called "The History of Baseball".  It will be a year by year breakdown on what happened historically, who the best players were, who won the World Series, and how did the year contribute to the development of the game.  We will start with the period from 1871-1875, then we will move on with 1876, 1877, ect.

The History of Baseball: 1871-1875
It is debated whether Major League Baseball began in 1871, the year of the founding of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), or 1876, the year of the founding of the National League, but it is generally accepted that 1876 was the beginning of the major leagues.  The 1871 season was hardly grounds for fanfare.  Teams played anywhere from 19 to 33 games, and the league was highly polarized.  The Philadelphia Athletics finished 21-7 to win the league, and the Rockford Forest Citys (out of Rockford, IL of all places) went just 4-21 and folded after the season.  1872 proved to be the beginning of the downfall of the league.  The Boston Red Stockings went 39-8, running away with what would be their first of four straight titles.  Of the eleven teams, six failed to win double digit games.  The dismal Washington Nationals lost all eleven games before folding.  The Brooklyn Eckfords may have been even worse, going just 3-26 and finishing 27 games out of first.  Boston again ran away with the title in 1873, going 43-16, four games ahead of Philadelphia.  That year, the shortest lived major league team in history, the Baltimore Marylands, emerged, playing just six games before folding.  They lost all six, being outscored 152-26.  The Red Stockings continued their dominance in 1874, going 52-18, finishing seven and a half games ahead of the New York Mutuals.  The 1875 ended up being the final season of the National Association, finishing with extremely polarizing results.  Not a single team finished within six games of .500.  The Red Stockings had the best winning percentage in major league history, going 71-8 for a .899 WPCT and winning all 37 home games.  The Philadelphia Athletics finished second, 15 games behind Boston with a 53-20 record.  The Brooklyn Atlantics finished dead, dead last, going just 2-42, posting the lowest winning percentage in baseball history at .045.  They were 51.5 games behind Boston.  Several great baseball players emerged from this era.  Cap Anson, a future Hall of Famer (and instigator of segregation in baseball), batted .359 during the NA era, including a .415 mark in 1872 for the Athletics.  He would play until 1897.  Al Spalding established a pitching record of 204-53 as the main pitcher for Boston.  In 1875, he compiled a record of 54-5.  Jim O'Rourke hit twelve home runs for Boston, which was a high total at that time.  Ross Barnes, another Boston player, hit .391 in his NA career before carrying a .319 career National League average from 1876-1881.  Lip Pike, who played for the Troy Trojans, the Baltimore Canaries, the Hartford Dark Blues, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings, is the all time NA leader in home runs with 16.  During the NA era, teams played in some interesting places.  Cities such as Keokuk, IA; Middletown, CT; Elizabeth, NJ; Troy, NY; Fort Wayne, IN; Hartford, CT; and Rockford, IL hosted major league teams.  Cities such as Cincinnati, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Detroit went without teams.

News
The Nationals hired former Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams as their new manager to replace Davey Johnson.
The Tigers hired former catcher Brad Ausmus as their new manager to replace Jim Leyland.

Awards
The Hank Aaron Award winners were announced; Miguel Cabrera (44 HR, 137 RBI, .348 AVG, 3 SB) won the award in the AL, while Paul Goldschmidt (36 HR, 125 RBI, .302 AVG, 15 SB) took home the NL award.
The Gold Glove winners were announced, with the awards going to the following players:
American League: R.A. Dickey (P, TOR), Salvador Perez (C, KC), Eric Hosmer (1B, KC), Dustin Pedroia (2B, BOS), J.J. Hardy (SS, BAL), Manny Machado (3B, BAL), Alex Gordon (LF, KC), Adam Jones (CF, BAL), and Shane Victorino (RF, BOS).
National League: Adam Wainwright (P, STL), Yadier Molina (C, STL), Paul Goldschmidt (1B, ARI), Brandon Phillips (2B, CIN), Andrelton Simmons (SS, ATL), Nolan Arenado (3B, COL), Carlos Gonzalez (LF, COL), Carlos Gomez (CF, MIL), and Gerardo Parra (RF, ARI).

Free Agent Signings
White Sox signed Cuban star Jose Abreu to a six year, $68 million deal ($11.33 million per season).
Yankees resigned Derek Jeter (1 HR, 7 RBI, .190 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 39-40) to a one year, $12 million deal.
Indians resigned Jason Giambi (9 HR, 31 RBI, .183 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 43) to a minor league deal.
A's signed Philip Humber (0-8, 7.90 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 2014 age: 31) to a minor league deal.
Reds signed Jason Bourgeois (1 HR, 2 RBI, .188 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 32) to a minor league deal.
Diamondbacks signed Blake Lalli (0 HR, 2 RBI, .125 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 31) to a minor league deal.

Trades
Padres traded Colt Hynes (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2014 age: 28-29) to the Indians for cash.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman