Big Ed's OOSL Athletics Page

". . .we were overwhelming underdogs. . ."
-Yogi Berra-

A quick synopsis: The Ohio Old-Time Strat-O-Matic League (OOSL) brings baseball players from 1876 to the present together to compete against each other in two Leagues. The most sophisticated baseball computer simulation is used to magickly bring all of it to glorious life. Owners can trade players, devise lineups, create rotations, and generally do everything that Owners, General Managers and Field Managers do in real life -- but without spending millions of dollars. Click on the above text-link to the OOSL Web Site to find out more about the League.

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Here is my 1997 team, the Philadelphia Athletics. We compete in the OOSL American League. I am a Remote Manager - which means that I do not live near the physical computer on which the simulation takes place. In fact, I live in Connecticut -- and although Ohio was once part of Connecticut, I'm still a bit too far away to comfortably manage a team in person on the League Computer. I perform the duties of an Owner & General Manager - but the computer simulation (as set up by me) handles the actual in-game decisions. The computer manager (aka HAL) is the Field Manager. I do, however, have ample input on how the computer Field Manager performs its duties. I have set the Field Manager's options, and have given it a persona -- that of ex-Major League Manager & Coach, Jewel Winklemeyer Ens. If at some time I radically change the Field Manager's settings, I will "fire" Ens and "hire" another Manager from the annals of baseball history.

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The Athletics began the season with a dismal 8-23 run. The outlook seemed mighty grim for Ens! Our fans were flocking to the park - at the other side of town to watch those South-Side Phillies play. However, from that point on the team came together and played better than any other team in our division! The team was kept together through numerous injuries to vital players (such as Joe D) by the indomitable Willie Hernandez. Willie's fantastic performance as the team's Closer not only earned him the Team MVP Award, but also the 1997 OOSL American League MVP Award! Unfortunately, that horrendous beginning kept us from ever really entering the race for the pennant. We were, however, on the outside nipping at the heels of the Division Leaders for most of the second half of the season. In fact, we had an outside shot at overtaking the Leaders all the way to the final week. All we needed was one decent winning streak . . . Now, where have I heard that before?

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So, with almost two centuries of major-league baseball lore to call upon we have fashioned this battlecry for the OOSL Philadelphia Athletics - "Wait 'til next year!"

The 1997 OOSL Philadelphia Athletics Base Ball Club
[ A's Elephant Logo ]

Here are the people that make up the support staff for this club.

Field Manager:......Jewel Winklemeyer Ens

1st Base Coach:............Clarence James "Bubber" Jonnard

3rd Base Coach:............Osvaldo Jose "Ozzie" Virgil Sr.

Pitching Coach:............Raymond Roy "Ray" Ripplemeyer

Bullpen Coach:.............Gerald R. "Jerry" Zimmerman

Hitting Instructor:........Allen Lindsey "Dusty" Cooke

Bench Coach:...............Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike

Head Groundskeeper:........Louis Van Zelst

Color Man:.................Robert George "Bob" Uecker

PBP Man:...................Joseph Henry "Joe" Garagiola

Official Scorer:...........John Phillips Jenkins "Count" Sensenderfer

Doctor:....................Robert William "Doc" "Bobby" Brown

Trainer:...................Hiroshi Arakawa

General Manager:...........Edward Robert "Big Ed" Mortimer

Owner:.....................Edward Robert "Big Ed" Mortimer

Field Manager Jewel Winklemeyer Ens and his Coaching Crew have had their contracts extended into 1998 for a job well done!

To follow the 1998 season of the OOSL Philadelphia Athletics, just follow the links below:

1998 Roster & Stats

More Coming Soon!

To find out more about the 1997 season of the OOSL Philadelphia Athletics, just follow the links below:

League Batting Leaders

League Pitching Leaders

To catch up on the pre-history of the OOSL Philadelphia Athletics (pre-Big Ed), just follow the links below:

1994 Player Statistics

1995 Player Statistics

1996 Player Statistics

"I just won the Nobel Prize of baseball. "
--Elston Howard on winning the 1963 AL MVP

- OOSL Athletics Section Index -
Athletics / Final Standings / Player Statistics / Team Statistics / Athletics Narrative / Shibe Park / Logo / / Batting Leaders / Pitching Leaders / Minor League Affiliate

- Athletics History Section Index -
1994 Season Stats / 1995 Season Stats / 1996 Season Stats

- OOSL Section Index -
OOSL Net / OOSL Central

- Dugout Section Index -
Big Ed's Dugout / Casey At The Bat / Who's On First / Links / Baseball / 3001