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 -AThat 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 teamAcknowledgments. 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.