Musial6 wrote:Ross Barnes.
Carded to the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association, which under baseball reference, is listed as an AKA of the Atlanta, Milwaukee and Boston Braves.
So.........he is exclusive property of the Braves, right?
I had the Braves and the Twins/Senators last league. They are a good combination and are legitimate title contenders with or without Barnes. Two factors kept my team out of the playoffs:
1. I assumed, incorrectly without checking, that teams had to use a stadium tied to their team. I used Metropolitan Stadium '71. Had I realized that any stadium could be used, I would have used Minute Maid or Hilltop.
2. Greg Maddux inexplicably lost his last 10 decisions down the stretch.
Regarding Ross Barnes' of the 1873 Boston Red Stockings eligibility to play for the Braves, we need a decision from the commish. I did the research last league and Baseball-Reference.com lists the 1873 Boston Red Stockings as it's own franchise, with only a 5 year history, in the National Association. See the link below:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BNA/There is a link on that page that states "Also played as a Major League Franchise" that takes you to the Atlanta Braves franchise history page, which dates back to 1876, which would not include the 1873 Boston Red Stockings from which Barnes' card is derived. See the link below:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/Note that SOM DOES NOT list Barnes as part of the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves franchise.
I wanted to use Barnes with the Braves as well, but with the Braves/Twins combination, I had Knoblauch to play 2B, and I thought that the nexus between the 1873 Boston Red Stockings and the present day Atlanta Braves was too tenuous to establish, especially given that Baseball-Reference.com seems to treat it as a related, but separate, franchise and SOM excludes Barnes as part of the Braves franchise.
What the commish needs to decide here is whether SOM's franchise determination is controlling, or whether he will consider outside evidence of player eligibility. If outside evidence is considered, the question in Barnes case is whether there is enough evidence to establish the 1873 Boston Red Stockings as part of the current Braves franchise history.
Also, if Barnes is ruled as not belonging to the Braves franchise, would he, and a handful of other players not connected to any current big league franchise, be eligible to be drafted as our one free agent?
The ball is in your court, Mr. Commish. Please let us know.