Hot Stove: 11/19

History of Baseball: 1881
League Champion: Chicago White Stockings (56-28, .667 WPCT).
After the 1880 season, the Cincinnati Reds were booted from the National League after suffering financial troubles and ignoring league rules.  In their place came the Detroit Wolverines, made mostly out of former Reds.  The mound, which had been just 45 feet from home plate through the 1880 season, was moved back to 50 feet.  Walks, which took nine balls in 1879 and eight balls in 1880, were to require just seven balls for the 1881 season.  The league set up an 84 game schedule, about half of what it is today.  On September 10th, a piece of history was created at the plate.  Troy's Roger Connor, who would go on to be famous for many reasons, hit the first grand slam in major league history.  Seventeen days later, in a game between Troy and Chicago, a record that still stands today would be set.  With torrential rains in Troy, only twelve spectators attended the game, the smallest number of fans to attend a game in history.  Chicago would finish with a 56-28 record to win the NL a full nine games ahead of Providence, who went 47-37.  Worcester, who went 32-50, finished last.  Statistically, Chicago's Cap Anson (you should be getting used to the sound of his name, and don't even think for a second that it will go away anytime soon; he will retire in 1897) led the NL with a .399 average, far, far ahead of Joe Start's second place .328 mark for Providence.  Anson also set a single season RBI mark for the second straight year, this time driving in a record 82 runs.  Dan Brouthers of Buffalo led the NL with eight home runs.  On the pitching side, Chicago's Larry Corcoran and Boston's Jim Whitney led the league with 31 victories.  Teams were beginning to rely less and less on one pitcher and many teams moved to two man rotations.  There was not a single team in which one pitcher started more than three quarters of their games.  Whitney was the only starter to break sixty games (he made 63 starts).  The newly formed Detroit Wolverines saw their main starter, George Derby, lead the NL with 212 strikeouts.  John Montgomery Ward (another name that won't be going away for a while) posted the best ERA at 2.13.  Old Hoss Radbourn, a future Hall of Famer, had gone 25-11 with a 2.43 ERA in 1881, his first year on the hill.  After the season, the National League announced that all eight teams would return for the 1882 season.  This was to be the first time that the league would keep the same teams for two consecutive seasons.  Also in 1882, an entirely new league, one that would rival the NL, would come about.

News
Pitcher Jeff Niemann (missed 2013 season, 40-26 career record, 4.08 ERA, 2014 age: 31) has elected to become a free agent after being outrighted by the Rays.

Free Agent Signings
Giants signed Tim Hudson (8-7, 3.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 2014 age: 38-39) to a two year, $23 million deal ($11.5 million per season).
Reds agreed to terms with Skip Schumaker (2 HR, 30 RBI, .263 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 34) on a two year, $5 million deal ($2.5 million per season).
Rockies agreed to terms with LaTroy Hawkins (3-2, 2.93 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 13 SV, 2014 age: 41) on a one year, $2.5 million deal.
Orioles signed minor leaguer Kelvin De La Cruz (3-1, 2.67 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 7 SV at AA and AAA, 2014 age: 25) to a minor league deal.
Royals resigned Clayton Mortensen (1-2, 5.34 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 2014 age: 29) to a minor league deal.

The Giants' signing of Tim Hudson is very interesting to me.  Hudson is set for his sixteenth major league season and will turn 39 around the All Star Break.  His signing likely points to the Giants letting either Barry Zito or Ryan Vogelsong walk.  Hudson joins a star-studded rotation that already includes Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, and Tim Lincecum, with the likely addition of either Zito or Vogelsong.  Though his 2013 season was cut short due to a freak broken ankle, he is still a very strong pitcher, having not posted an ERA above 3.97 since 2006 and only once checking in any higher than 4.14 in his entire career.  His best season came in 2003, when he was 16-7 with a 2.70 ERA for the A's during the Moneyball Era, but more recently, he had a very strong 2010.  Just coming off of Tommy John surgery, Hudson went 17-9 with a 2.83 ERA, earning the NL Comeback Player of the Year award.  Last year, just 21 starts into the season, his ankle was broken while covering first base.  At the time, he was 8-7 with a 3.97 ERA.  Hudson has made more starts (426) and tossed more innings (2813.2) than any active right handed pitcher.  Only the left-handed Mark Buehrle, with 429 starts and 2882.2 innings, has more in either category.  Hudson is tied with C.C. Sabathia as the active leader in wins, with 205. 

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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