Hot Stove: 12/8

A quick note.I have been selected to represent the United States in a baseball tournament in Spain and am fundraising to help finance my trip.  Please consider purchasing from the websites below, where a portion of all revenue will support my trip.
Here are the fundraising links.
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History of Baseball: 1892
NL Champion: Boston Beaneaters (102-48, .680 WPCT).
After the 1891 season, the American Association folded and took the Columbus Solons, Philadelphia Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Boston Reds with them.  The Louisville Colonels, Washington Statesmen (who changed their name to the Senators), Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Browns made the jump from the AA to the NL.  The 1892 season was to be played in two halves with separate standings: a first half and a second half.  The winner of the first half would square off with the winner of the second half to meet in a National League World Series of sorts.  In the first half, the Boston Beaneaters easily took the championship.  In the second half, the Cleveland Spiders came back to win.  Boston and Cleveland met in the World Series, but Boston swept the series 5-0.  On September 21st of the regular season, Cleveland's John Clarkson won his 300th game.  Total standings indicated that Boston had the best overall record at 102-48, 8.5 games ahead of the Spiders (93-56).  The Baltimore Orioles finished dead last by going 46-101, 54.5 games out of first place.  Statistically, it was not a good year for hitters, as Brooklyn's Dan Brouthers won his fourth and final batting title with a .335 average, followed closely by Billy Hamilton's .330 mark for Philadelphia.  Cincinnati's Bug Holliday led baseball with 13 home runs, and not a single player managed to reach 100 stolen bases.  Brooklyn's John Montgomery Ward led the league with 88.  The pitchers, on the other hand, had a great collective season.  Cleveland's Cy Young was easily baseball's best pitcher, going 36-12 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 53 games (49 starts).  If awards were given out back then, he likely would have won the award named for him.  John Clarkson, who split the season between the two champions, Boston and Cleveland, went 25-16 with a 2.48 ERA in 45 games (44 starts).  35 year old Tim Keefe of Philadelphia, playing in his second to last season, went 19-16 with a 2.36 ERA in 39 games (38) starts in what would be his final good year.  It would also be Silver King's final productive season, as he went 22-24 with a 3.29 ERA in 51 games (47 starts) for the Giants.  35 year old Pud Galvin, who had been in the majors since 1879, pitched his 14th and final season, going 10-12 with a 2.92 ERA in 24 starts.  He would go into the Hall of Fame in 1965 and finished his career with 361 victories, the most in baseball at the time.  After the season, the NL would decide to get rid of the two half system and go back to the regular cumulative standings.

News
None.

Free Agent Signings
Yankees agreed to terms with Carlos Beltran (24 HR, 84 RBI, .296 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 37) on a three year, $45 million deal ($15 million per season).
Red Sox agreed to terms to resign Mike Napoli (23 HR, 92 RBI, .259 AVG, 1 SB, 2014 age: 32) to a two year, $32 million deal ($16 million per season).
Dodgers resigned Brian Wilson (2-1, 0.66 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 2014 age: 32) to a one year, $10 million deal.
Astros signed Chad Qualls (5-2, 2.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 2014 age: 35) to a two year, $6 million deal ($3 million per season).
White Sox agreed to terms with Ronald Belisario (5-7, 3.97 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 1 SV, 2014 age: 31) on a one year, $3 million deal.
Dodgers signed Mike Baxter (0 HR, 4 RBI, .189 AVG, 5 SB, 2014 age: 29) to a minor league deal.
Orioles signed Francisco Peguero (1 HR, 1 RBI, .207 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 26) to a one year, $550k deal.
Reds resigned Corky Miller (0 HR, 8 RBI, .257 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 38) to a minor league deal.
Dodgers signed Drew Butera (0 HR, 0 RBI, .100 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 30) to a minor league deal.

The Yankees saw Curtis Granderson go to the Mets, so they didn't just sign one outfielder to take his place; they signed two.  After giving Jacoby Ellsbury a massive seven year deal, they extended a three year one to Carlos Beltran.  The Yankees now have one of the best outfields in baseball with Ellsbury, Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells, and Brett Gardner all battling for starting time.  It's likely that either Beltran, Soriano, or Wells could serve as a designated hitter.  Though Beltran will turn 37 in April, he's shown no signs of slowing down.  Last year, despite playing in his age 36 season, he batted .296 with 24 home runs and 30 doubles in 145 games.  His best season was arguably 2003, when he hit 26 home runs, drove in 100, and batted .307 with 41 stolen bases and only four caught stealings.  He's also shown big time power in his career, hitting 38 home runs in 2004 and 41 in 2006.  For his career, Beltran has hit 358 home runs, driven in 1327, and batted .283 with 308 stolen bases in 2064 games, while only being caught stealing 48 times for a success rate of 86.5%.  He's extremely valuable in the postseason, which the Yankees love, as he's hit 16 home runs, driven in 40, and batted .333 with 11 stolen bases in 51 games.

The Red Sox accomplished a major goal of the offseason by bringing back power hitter and offensive anchor Mike Napoli for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.  One of the most popular players on the Red Sox, Napoli was a leader for the Boston Beards, growing out his mane possibly longer than anyone else.  He put up a bounce back season in 2013 after a rough 2012 where he batted .227.  In 2013, his first year with the Sox, he set career highs in at bats (498), runs (79), hits (129), doubles (38), RBI (92), walks (73), total bases (240). and extra base hits (63).  He really made a name for himself in the ALCS against Detroit, where he smacked two home runs and batted .300 in six games.  His best season came back in 2011, when he hit 30 home runs, drove in 75, and batted .320 in 113 games for the Rangers.  He has a lot of postseason experience, having played 47 games and batted .254 with seven home runs.  For his major league career, he has 169 home runs, 472 RBI, and a .259 average in 866 games for the Angels (2006-2010), Rangers (2011-2012), and Red Sox (2013).

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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 email me and I will add them.
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