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Most FABL fans would have believed the most surprising move of the offseason was the trade of Hank Barnett, but that may have just been the cause of something even bigger. After the first bad season of his big league career, the now 40-year-old John Lawson decided his bat is not what it once was, and instead of being a part-time player, he would serve his country and enlist in the United States Navy. There's no chance the surefire Hall of Famer will see conflict, he's likely set for a cushy instructor role, but "Jack the Ripper" may have finished off a historic career. 1942 was the only full season of Lawson's career where he finished with a below average stat line, batting just .274/.314/.353 (92 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 8 homers, and 62 RBIs. Before this season, he had 14 consecutive seasons with an OPS+ and WRC+ above 130, and Lawson completed 12 seasons with a WRC+ above 135 in 150 or more games.

Lawson wasn't always destined to be the star he developed into, as the prolific third basemen was just a 4th Round Pick of the Pioneers back in 1923. Lawson saw his drafting team make mistakes in Chick Prendergast, Bobby Johnson, and King James before him, but the bigger mistake occurred before the 1925 season, where they cut the young third basemen. He spent time with the Independent Portland Maroons and then the Philadelphia Sailors, before signing with the Chicago Cougars on the final day of August. Unfortunately, his Cougar career would not last much longer, and while they didn't release him, the fledgling Cougar GM made the mistake of sending him and Joe Snider to the New York Stars for promising young pitcher Johnny Douglas. At the time it looked like a good trade for both teams, as Lawson wasn't considered a top prospect and Douglas was a very talented, however, often injured, hurler and the Cougars were in desperate need of pitching.

Unfortunately, this turned into one of the most lopsided deals in the human era, as Lawson entered the top 100 at the start of the 1927 season before a cup of coffee in September. Lawson broke out as a 25-year-old, slashing an elite .344/.404/.518 (152 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 4 triples, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. Lawson was worth an outstanding 7.9 wins above replacement and cracked the 700 plate appearance mark for the first of five times, and he took off from there. In 1930 he won his first of three Whitney Awards, hitting a robust .392/.442/.613 (165 OPS+) with 45 doubles, 5 triples, 28 homers, and 137 RBIs on a very good Stars team. He led the league in average, hits (247), and WAR (8.7), something he did the following year (.359, 231, 6.9) as well as he won the award yet again. 1932 he made it thee batting titles in a row, leading in hits (246), doubles (49), and RBIs (150) as well, slashing .377/.417/.557 (160 OPS+) with 19 homers and an 8.2 WAR. That year still stings for Cougar fans, as they watched the prospect they let get away lead their rivals to a pennant, preventing them from repeating. In 1933 he was selected to the first annual All Star game, and his 8 All Star selections are currently tied for the most of any FABL player, and he would have been a lock for a selection in each of his first five seasons. Lawson spent the next three seasons in New York, but in 1935 their controversial general manager gave their star far less time then he deserved. He started just 94 games and made just 481 trips to the plate, while still hitting a well above average .343/.393/.510 (138 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 4 triples, 12 homers, and 77 RBIs.

Looking to right a past wrong, the now experienced Cougar general manager enquired on the superstar slugger, and managed to bring him back to the Windy City. The Cougars parted with Chick Stickels, Dick Earl, Frank Gordon, and George K. Brooks to bolster a roster in need of a star. Lawson finished his Stars career with a .358/.408/.521 (149 OPS+) with 313 doubles, 33 triples, 133 homers, and 894 RBIs while worth 55.9 wins above replacement in 1,204 games. The trade worked well for the Cougars, as while Stickels has been a regular for the Stars since 1938, Lawson helped bring the Cougars back to relevance. Lawson did not miss a beat in 1936, slashing .330/.391/.491 (136 OPS+) with 39 doubles, 20 homers, and 93 RBIs. It was the first of six seasons worth of elite production, as Lawson took home his fourth batting title (.327) in 1937 and once again led the league in hits (210). That happened again in 1940, where Lawson almost willed the Cougars to the postseason and took home his third Whitney. The then 37-year-old hit an elite .345/.399/.507 (154 OPS+) with 17 homers and a league high 48 doubles and 111 RBIs. He followed that up with another strong season, hitting .314/.368/.515 (146 OPS+) as he led the Cougars to their first World Championship Series since 1933. Lawson again led the league in RBIs (129), and was worth 6.3 WAR with 34 doubles and a career best 29 home runs. Unfortunately his Cougars fell short, as did Lawson's performance.

This most recent was the first bad season Lawson had, as he was worth -0.4 WAR, nearly 5 WAR worse then his previous low of 4.4 in his "shortened" 1935 season. His glove completely vanished, as the generally competent defender had a -20.8 zone rating and .848 efficiency while his bat disappeared as well. Lawson struck out a career worst 87 times with a career low 32 walks, and he failed to crack double digits for homers for the first time, as well as failing to reach 75 RBIs. His 15 doubles were almost half as many as his previous low (29) in '35 and his 141 hits were the first time he failed to hit safely at least 150 times. Unless he returns to the Cougars after the war, he'll finish his Cougar career with a .318/.372/.477 (136 OPS+) line in 1,051 games. He tallied 245 doubles, 136 homers, and 714 RBIs while worth 35.2 wins above replacement.

He will have a spot if he wants it when he returns from service, but unless he takes some tips from "Father Time" Dave Trowbridge, he is likely to hang up the cleats. If he does, it will be the end of a historic 2,255 game career where he tallied nearly 10,000 plate appearances with a superb .339/.391/.500 (145 OPS+) career line. Lawson ended with 558 doubles, 43 triples, 269 homers, 1,431 runs, 1,608 RBIs, 3,060 hits, and 750 walks while worth almost a centuries worth (91.1) in WAR. Lawson is one of just 11 players with over 3,000 career hits, and the only one who debuted after the 1915 season. He's also tied for 8th with Hank Eason for homers and 4th All time in RBIs. He's all over the Stars and Cougars leaderboards, and for the Stars ranks #1 in average (.358), #2 in OBP (.408), slugging (.521), and OPS (.929), 3rd in homers (133), 5th in RBIs (894), 7th in hits (1,709), doubles (313), and total bases (2,487), 9th in WAR (.55.9) and runs (775) all while ranking outside of the top 10 for games. His 1930 slugging (.613), total bases (386), and hits (247) are Stars records, as well as his 1932 singles (172) and RBIs (150). For the Cougars, he's tied with Bill Ashbaugh (136) for the most homers in franchise history, 4th in OPS (.849), 6th in doubles (245) and slugging (.477), 7th in average (.318), 8th in hits (1,351) and RBIs (714), 9th in runs (656), while again, outside the top 10 for games played.

John Lawson will surely be remembered by fans well after he's retired, not just by those who support the Stars and Cougars, but even the casual observers. One of the best sluggers of his generation, Lawson always gave a professional at bat and had a knack for putting the ball and play and hitting it hard. An outstanding career for the pride of Cresskill, New Jersey unfortunately ended on a bit of a sour note, but when he officially retires, the Cougars will be sure to honor him, and while his #16 may not end up in the rafters, Jack the Ripper will never have to pay for drinks in Chicago again. It's just too bad they couldn't give him one more title...