By policy, Total Baseball (1989-2001) displayed the season record of each multi-team player for each stint with each team in chronological order. For example, see the 1877 record for Charley Jones in the Batter Register.
Charley Jones
1877 Cin-N
Chi-N
Cin-N
Yr [National League total]
Jones 1877 makes a good illustration because it is a "return to team";
some references combine the two Cincinnati stints in one line. Some
give the record alphabetically by club name, Chicago first.
Total Baseball's more informative chronological convention governed stints with teams in different leagues, too. See the 1934 record for Burleigh Grimes in the Pitcher Register.
Burleigh Grimes [incorrect]
1934 StL-N
Pit-N
Yr [National League total]
NY -A
That published record was incorrect in TB because Grimes played
first for St Louis, then New York, then Pittsburgh, where he finished
his 1934 season and his career. (In some references, StL-Pit-NY or
Pit-StL-NY is correct by the local convention.) His season record
should have been laid out as follows.
Burleigh Grimes [correct]
1934 StL-N
NY -A
Pit-N
Yr [National League total]
Grimes 1934 is a "return to league". If Burleigh had finished with St
Louis, rather than or following Pittsburgh, his 1934 season would also
be a "return to team" like Jones 1877. Indeed, it would be an
interleague return to team.
Departures from chronological listing of stints occurred in Total Baseball by mistake, because some returns to team or to league were unknown; they will continue to occur because some returns will remain unknown. Unknown returns to team are more serious, because the playing record for two different stints is combined in one line.
Total Baseball co-editor Pete Palmer told me, "Since [contemporary Guides] did not list return to team players, showing just one set of stats for each team played, I determined most of them from my research." That is, he both discovered the return to team and split the player-team-season stats between the two stints!
> Here is a list of return to team players in Total Baseball.
> If you know of any others, please pass them on.
>
> Pete (Pete Palmer)
LastName FirstName Year MLB stints in chronological order
*interleague returns to team marked by hand and eye -Ed.
JONES CHARLEY 1877 CINN CHIN CINN
MOUNTAIN FRANK 1882 *WORN PHIA WORN
ORR DAVE 1883 *NY A NY N NY A (two jointly owned clubs -Ed.)
GARDNER GID 1888 WASN PHIN WASN
CRANE SAM 1890 NY N PITN NY N
EASTON JACK 1891 COLA STLA COLA
KUEHNE BILL 1892 LOUN STLN CINN STLN
ANDERSON JOHN 1898 BRON WASN BRON
JENNINGS HUGHIE 1899 BRON BALN BRON
SCHRECKENGOST OSSEE 1899 STLN CLEN STLN
DRILL LEW 1902 WASA BALA WASA
McALLISTER SPORT 1902 DETA BALA DETA
O'HAGEN HAL 1902 CHIN NY N CLEA NY N
HUELSMAN FRANK 1904 CHIA DETA CHIA STLA WASA
MARSHALL DOC 1904 PHIN NY N BOSN NY N
MULLIN JIM 1904 PHIA WASA PHIA
CLARKE NIG 1905 CLEA DETA CLEA
POWERS DOC 1905 PHIA NY A PHIA
STREET GABBY 1905 CINN BOSN CINN
DONAHUE PAT 1910 BOSA PHIA CLEA PHIA
KRUGER ART 1910 *CLEA BOSN CLEA
CRANDALL DOC 1913 NY N STLN NY N
ROBERTS SKIPPER 1914 PITF CHIF PITF
WISTERZIL TEX 1915 BROF CHIF STLF CHIF
HAMILTON EARL 1916 STLA DETA STLA
WATSON MULE 1920 BOSN PITN BOSN
MYERS HY 1925 STLN CINN STLN
SALVO MANNY 1943 BOSN PHIN BOSN
BEHRMAN HANK 1947 BRON PITN BRON
HOPP JOHNNY 1949 PITN BRON PITN
RACKLEY MARV 1949 BRON PITN BRON
OSTROWSKI JOHNNY 1950 CHIA WASA CHIA
MARSH FRED 1952 STLA WASA STLA
MIRANDA WILLY 1952 CHIA STLA CHIA
PORTERFIELD BOB 1959 PITN CHIN PITN
WALL MURRAY 1959 BOSA WASA BOSA
FERNANDEZ FRANK 1971 OAKA WASA OAKA CHIN
NORDHAGEN WAYNE 1982 *TORA PITN TORA
MANTO JEFF 1996 BOSA SEAA BOSA
PUGH TIM 1996 *CINN KC A CINN
JOHNSTONE JOHN 1997 *SF N OAKA SF N
LUKE MATT 1998 *LA N CLEA LA N
MANTO JEFF 1998 CLEA DETA CLEA
McMICHAEL GREG 1998 NY N LA N NY N
DUCEY ROB 2000 *PHIN TORA PHIN
HOLMES DARREN 2000 *ARIN STLN BALA ARIN
SPRAGUE ED 2000 *SD N BOSA SD N
CLARK JERMAINE 2003 TEXA SD N TEXA
HUCKABY KEN 2004 TEXA BALA TEXA
2005-2006: none?
* interleague return to team
Acknowledgments. Not to mention daily newspapers, the
Retrosheet Game Log for Pittsburgh 1934 VPIT01934,
based on research by Rich Pray, shows Burleigh Grimes' four starts and
one win for Pittsburgh in August and September. Pete Palmer
(PETEPALMR@aol.com) explained the
Total Baseball layout and sketched the history of season
records for multi-team players. You can help.