Wow, I am overwhelmed. But in a good way.
Funny I have spent nearly 20 years playing OOTP and there is so much about shortlists, 40-man rosters, waivers, signing free agents etc that I knew nothing about.
For example there was a minor league free agent in my league that had an incredible season in Class A, hitting 41 homers and driving in 135 in 139 games. He was 23, a former first round pick that the computer GM (before the online portion began) released. So I offered him a minor league contract and hoped. Turned out I had no chance at him as I saw in the next sim the Montreal Saints signed him to a minor league contract with a $2,500 bonus (this is 1925 after all). SIGNING BONUS!!?? What????
I didn't know you could offer a signing bonus with a minor league contract. Oh well, the perils of being a newcomer to online play and OOTP GMing in general. I just know the name Jack Cornelison is going to come back and haunt me down the road.
So begins my learning curve of online play.
WELCOME TO BROOKLYN
I don't follow online leagues a lot but I thought it was quite a unique idea that the commissioner (who does not own a team in this league) had us select our teams right after he posted the 1909 recap and did not post anything else until all teams were filled. So it meant that every GM - the dozen or so guys that are in multiple leagues run by legendsport and the 3 or 4 newcomers including myself- all had an equal chance of taking over a league champion or a basement dweller when the online portion begins at the end of the 1925 season.
Turns out in selecting Brooklyn I got the latter. It is 1925 now and the Kings have been around since they joined the Border Association in 1884. We won a pair of titles in the 8 years we spent in that loop before the FABL was formed. Since then we have spent a lot of years in the bottom half of the 8 team Continental Association but did win pennants in 1912 and 1923. However, the last two seasons have seen the Kings sink to the bottom of the CA. The good news is I have second pick in the rookie draft right behind the Federal Associaiton's last place team - the Detroit Dynamos.
Here are the 1925 standings and then I will take a look at my organizations.
Code:
1925 FINAL STANDINGS
FEDERAL ASSOCIATION CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
TEAM W L TEAM W L
Washington Eagles 93 61 New York Stars 87 67
Chicago Chiefs 86 68 Cleveland Foresters 81 73
Philadelphia Keystones 81 73 Montreal Saints 81 73
St Louis Pioneers 79 75 Philadelphia Sailors 77 77
Boston Minutemen 74 80 Baltimore Cannons 75 79
New York Gothams 69 85 Toronto Wolves 74 80
Pittsburgh Miners 69 85 Chicago Cougars 71 83
Detroit Dynamos 65 89 Brooklyn Kings 70 84
So we have a draft coming up in a few days but I better figure just what kind of talent I have in my organization first. The league as a whole seems to be short on talented pitchers as we are clearly just stepping into a live ball era. My Brooklyn club, despite finishing last this past season, led the Continental Association in batting average and was third in runs scored, scoring 801 runs which was just 8 behind the leaders in that category, the Cleveland Foresters. They say pitching and defense wins championships, well apparently a lack of both guarantees a last place finish. We were last in the Continental League, and 15th overall ahead of only Detroit, in runs allowed. Our 870 runs against was 78 more-or nearly half a run a game - higher then the next poorest club in the CA. We were also near the bottom of the pack in any defensive category you want to choose.
A look at the top 20 pitchers and top 20 hitters results in no sightings of Brooklyn players on either list but there is a positive when I look at the minor league systems. The Kings are ranked as having the 4th best minor league system in the 16 team league and I do have some talent - mostly at catcher and outfield in the system. I will look at them in more detail shortly.
For now, I spent the rest of the day looking through the league, identifying a couple of coaches in my system I want to replace and some free agents I offer minor league contracts to. I also start working on an excel spreadsheet with my organization depth chart, color coding it so my top players and position shortcomings are easily identified.
While the rest of the league and the draft pool are still a haze, I am slowly getting comfortable with my team.