Florida Baseball Association

Dagrims · 02-21-2003, 08:41 PM

At the conclusion of World War II, as the veterans slowly returned back to the States as fatigued victors, thoughts in the Sunshine State turned to baseball, spurred by the dreams of millionaire businessman Frederick Van Billingsworth. Van Billingsworth had moved to a small town in central Florida called Oviedo in 1944, to grab land by the hundreds of acres and expand his citrus and celery empire.

Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, Van Billingsworth grew up watching the Phillies and Athletics (although, truth be told, he was a closet Yankees fan). He always had loved the sport of baseball, believing it to be the purest of American pastimes and something that united people from all walks of life. After he made his first million, he began to contemplate the possibility of someday owning a baseball franchise. After moving to Florida, his ideas grew larger as did the amount of land he owned. He decided to use his business contacts, both in and out of Florida, to form his own baseball league. It would be comprised solely of teams in Floridian cities, and would be named the Florida Baseball Association (FBA).

His dream quickly bore fruit, and now, on March 31, 1946, Opening Day for the inaugural season of the FBA was here. Sixteen teams, two leagues, four divisions, made up of career MLB minor leaguers as well as players from Legion ball and various other corners of the United States and the globe. Van Billingsworth stated from the beginning that this would be a league with open arms to players of all races, and from any country. He was present for the ceremonies in Tampa, Florida, as the curtain rose on the FBA.

Quick League Notes

Teams
Northern League, Palmetto Division
Daytona Beach Wave Riders
Oviedo Planters
Sanford Historians
St. Augustine Fountain of Youth

Northern League, Citrus Division
Destin Horseshoe Crabs
Gainesville Geckos
Jacksonville Traders
Tallahassee Confederates

Southern League, Seminole Division
Fort Myers Tree Frogs
Melbourne Sharks
Miami Sailors
Vero Beach Sting Rays

Southern League, Manatee Division
Lakeland Architects
Orlando Oranges
Palm Beach Barracuda
Tampa Tarpon

League Setup Information
Financials enabled
Coaches/scouts disabled
Injury setting normal
Computer trades setting normal
Ratings system talent only
Era - Golden Years, 1946-1960
Cash maximum - $20 million
Salary cap - $75 million (obviously these figures don't correspond to that time, but I plan to use my imagination - it is a fictional league, after all)
Amateur draft seven rounds
50 round initial draft

I will let the computer manage all teams for awhile - I'd like to have the league develop a bit of a personality before I choose a team to manage.

I plan to provide monthly updates in the beginning. This will be my first effort at narrating a league history, so any suggestive comments or outright flames are welcomed.

Chris

potatoman · 02-21-2003, 08:55 PM

sounds good, ill be reading along to see how ur league unfolds...read my dynasty, the mets one....its at its allstar break and having a HR derby

Dagrims · 02-21-2003, 08:59 PM

League Notes of Interest - March 31, 1946

Top Listed Batting Prospect - 25 year old 1B Robert Koski, Vero Beach. This 'prospect' is in the Sting Rays' starting lineup and is a potential free agent, making $2.24 million per year. He has brilliant talent in homeruns and drawing walks, and average talent in batting.

Top Listed Batting Prospect in FBA minor leagues - 21 year old SS Isreal Ellerman, St. Augustine

Top Listed Pitching Prospect - 21 year old SP Brandon Boughton, Fort Myers Tree Frogs. Brilliant talent in avoiding hits, three pitch expert (fastball, changeup, slider)

First Overall Draft Pick - 31yo SP Lynwood Kromer, Palm Beach, 6'7" rightie making just under $10 million.

First Batter Chosen - 2nd pick overall, 26yo 1B Oscar Cassell, Oviedo. Good talent in Avg and walks, brilliant in homerun hitting.

Last Overall Draft Pick - 19yo Palm Beach 3B Douglas Noll. Looks to be an excellent gloveman with decent talent. Don't see this guy getting released anytime soon.

Top payroll - Tampa Tarpon $88 million. Cost cutting will need to take place to get this team under the cap, but there is some initial flexibility granted due to the draft.

Lowest payroll - Orlando Oranges $62 million.

Smallest team market - Destin and Oviedo are both tiny.

Largest team market - Jacksonville and Miami are both really big.

Dagrims · 02-21-2003, 11:10 PM

League Notes of Interest - May 1, 1946

Divisional Races
Northern League
Palmetto - St. Augustine 18-10, Daytona Beach 16-12
Seminole - Melbourne 20-8, Miami 15-13

Southern League
Citrus - Jacksonville and Tallahassee 15-13
Manatee - Palm Beach and Tampa 15-13

Worst record - Orlando 8-20

Monthly Awards
Batter of Month
Northern - Oscar Cassell, Oviedo - the first batter chosen overall, Cassell is hitting .418 and leads the FBA in homers (11), RBI (26), OBP (.496), OPS (1.383), and Runs (28)

Southern - Cordell Dumas, Miami - the first baseman is leading the FBA in hitting at .446, and has 5 HR and 15 RBI along with 21 Runs. He was the 10th pick overall in the draft.

Pitcher of Month
Northern - Bill Carraway, Jacksonville - went 5-1 with a 2.93 ERA. The 30yo righty was the team's 4th round selection (and 3rd SP).

Southern - Eric Glasser, Tampa - leads the FBA with a 1.41 ERA, and is 5-1 with two shutouts. The RHP is 33 and was the team's 4th round pick.

Miscellany
- Why does Orlando have the worst record? A league worst .227 AVG has a lot to do with it, along with the pitching of 5th round pick Otis Mallette. Mallette is 0-7 with a 5.73 ERA, and the 31yo has surrendered 14 homeruns already.

- Melbourne is doing it with pitching. Their top three hurlers are 15-4 combined. They'd better be good - Frank Sievers (1st round pick, 4th overall), Dustin Agostini (4th rd) and Howard Taylor (5th rd) are making more than $22 million between them. Closer Benjamin Felipe has yet to surrender a run in 11 appearances, and he's saved 10 of them.

- Robert Koski, the 'prospect' for Vero Beach, is tied for the FBA lead in homers with 11.

- Best minor league batter in April? That would be 37yo 3B David Wilson, who is hitting .429 for Daytona Beach's AA affiliate. The 41st round pick had given up on baseball after a multi-year stint in the MLB Cardinals' minor league system, but is playing now 'for the love of the game'. He delivers newspapers with his wife on his off days.

- Don't bother bringing a bat against Vero Beach hurler Maurice Jaeger. The 33yo southpaw has struck out 76 batters already, in only 48 IP. Isn't the spitter illegal in the FBA?

- Top minor league prospect Isreal Ellerman has started quite slowly at the A ball level for St. Augustine, hitting just .215 with 4 HR in 107 AB.

- Top pitching prospect Brandon Boughton started well for the Fort Myers' AA affiliate, but a torn tricep muscle has him sidelined for two months at least.

Dagrims · 02-22-2003, 12:28 PM

League Notes of Interest - June 1, 1946

Divisional Races
Northern League
Palmetto - St. Augustine is 34-20 and has opened up a six game lead over Daytona and Oviedo
Citrus (screwed up last post and put the Seminole division in the Northern League by accident) - Gainesville is 28-26, with a one game lead over Jacksonville

Southern League
Seminole - Melbourne has come back to earth, but at 32-22 still leads the division, by three games over Fort Myers
Manatee - Tampa and Palm Beach still neck and neck, with Tampa at 29-25 leading by a single game

Worst record - Orlando 21-33 (.500 ball in May)

Monthly Awards

Batter of Month
Northern - Ronald Blackman, Gainesville - the first baseman and 4th round pick for the Geckos hit .412 with 21 RBI in May, and is currently second in AVG in the NL at .352

Southern - Marcus Frazier, Fort Myers - the Tree Frogs' 2nd round selection, this 3B absolutely punished pitchers in May, smashing 16 homers, driving in 38 and hitting .352 while scoring 28 runs. He currently leads the FBA in homers (20) and RBI (50) and is second in runs scored.

Pitcher of Month
Northern - Mike Barnes, Jacksonville - 5-0 with a 0.95 ERA in May, along with 40 K and only 5 BB. YTD he's 9-2, second in the NL in wins, with the best ERA in the NL at 2.61. He was a 3rd round selection.

Southern - Juan Silva, Vero Beach - 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA for the month. The 28yo was chosen in the 5th round and is 8-4 on the year with a 2.95 ERA.

Miscellany
- Vero Beach's pitching staff has struck out 445 batters through one third of the season, led by Maurice Jaeger's 143 in just 99 IP. With that performance along with Robert Koski's 19 HR, you'd expect the Sting Rays to be better than 26-28. The team's hitting just .237, however, with just one regular better than .260 (39yo 2B Robert Cales at .332).

- Eight of the top nine listed prospects are now SP, including #1 through #5. 21yo SP Hosea Waterfield is the current top prospect, and he's got a 2.39 ERA in A ball for Fort Myers with 60 K against only 21 walks in 83 IP. With he and Brandon Boughton in the farm system, the Tree Frogs look like they have a bright future in pitching.

- No .400 hitters in the league at the end of May. Miami star Cordell Dumas tops the FBA at .397.

- Oscar Cassell is still smashing the ball for Oviedo. He's 2nd in the FBA in BA (.380), 4th in HR (15), 2nd in RBI (46) and 2B (17), and leads the FBA in Runs (46) and OPS (1.154).

- Gainesville's ace Anibal Rucker has definitely earned his salary so far ($9.5 million). He leads the league with 10 wins, and combined with a 3.09 ERA this 28yo has justified the Geckos' selection of him with the 7th overall pick. Lefties are hitting a wimpy .136 off him.

- Orlando's Otis Mallette has improved, slightly. He got his first victory in May, and his record stands at 2-11 with a 5.06 ERA and 21 HRA. He doesn't lead the FBA in that category, however; that honor belongs to Sanford 24yo Sam Myhre who's served up 22 dingers.

- Daytona Beach A ball SP Joel Folger is putting in a claim for best minor league pitcher - he's 7-2 with a superlative 1.14 ERA, although at 24 years of age you have to wonder why he's not at a higher level. Current spot starter on the big squad Jeremy Smith has had barely any action but has not made the most of his limited opportunities, with a 8.44 ERA.

- St. Augustine now has the best record in the FBA, and it's due to solid performances throughout the roster. Seven players have at least five homers, led by 2nd round selection RF Lee Gillespie who has slugged 12 with a .301 AVG. #3-4 pitchers Juan Grout (8th rd selection) and Ronald Lafontaine (28th rd) are a combined 12-6; not too shabby for a combined $4.3 million.

- Last pick in the draft Douglas Noll from Palm Beach is hanging on to a minor league roster spot with a .194 AVG and .269 SLG. His contract may soon be Noll and void.

02-21-2003, 08:41 PM	#1
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	Florida Baseball Association At the conclusion of World War II, as the veterans slowly returned back to the States as fatigued victors, thoughts in the Sunshine State turned to baseball, spurred by the dreams of millionaire businessman Frederick Van Billingsworth. Van Billingsworth had moved to a small town in central Florida called Oviedo in 1944, to grab land by the hundreds of acres and expand his citrus and celery empire. Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, Van Billingsworth grew up watching the Phillies and Athletics (although, truth be told, he was a closet Yankees fan). He always had loved the sport of baseball, believing it to be the purest of American pastimes and something that united people from all walks of life. After he made his first million, he began to contemplate the possibility of someday owning a baseball franchise. After moving to Florida, his ideas grew larger as did the amount of land he owned. He decided to use his business contacts, both in and out of Florida, to form his own baseball league. It would be comprised solely of teams in Floridian cities, and would be named the Florida Baseball Association (FBA). His dream quickly bore fruit, and now, on March 31, 1946, Opening Day for the inaugural season of the FBA was here. Sixteen teams, two leagues, four divisions, made up of career MLB minor leaguers as well as players from Legion ball and various other corners of the United States and the globe. Van Billingsworth stated from the beginning that this would be a league with open arms to players of all races, and from any country. He was present for the ceremonies in Tampa, Florida, as the curtain rose on the FBA. Quick League Notes Teams Northern League, Palmetto Division Daytona Beach Wave Riders Oviedo Planters Sanford Historians St. Augustine Fountain of Youth Northern League, Citrus Division Destin Horseshoe Crabs Gainesville Geckos Jacksonville Traders Tallahassee Confederates Southern League, Seminole Division Fort Myers Tree Frogs Melbourne Sharks Miami Sailors Vero Beach Sting Rays Southern League, Manatee Division Lakeland Architects Orlando Oranges Palm Beach Barracuda Tampa Tarpon League Setup Information Financials enabled Coaches/scouts disabled Injury setting normal Computer trades setting normal Ratings system talent only Era - Golden Years, 1946-1960 Cash maximum - $20 million Salary cap - $75 million (obviously these figures don't correspond to that time, but I plan to use my imagination - it is a fictional league, after all) Amateur draft seven rounds 50 round initial draft I will let the computer manage all teams for awhile - I'd like to have the league develop a bit of a personality before I choose a team to manage. I plan to provide monthly updates in the beginning. This will be my first effort at narrating a league history, so any suggestive comments or outright flames are welcomed. Chris

02-21-2003, 08:55 PM	#2
potatoman Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,410 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	sounds good, ill be reading along to see how ur league unfolds...read my dynasty, the mets one....its at its allstar break and having a HR derby

02-21-2003, 08:59 PM	#3
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	League Notes of Interest - March 31, 1946 Top Listed Batting Prospect - 25 year old 1B Robert Koski, Vero Beach. This 'prospect' is in the Sting Rays' starting lineup and is a potential free agent, making $2.24 million per year. He has brilliant talent in homeruns and drawing walks, and average talent in batting. Top Listed Batting Prospect in FBA minor leagues - 21 year old SS Isreal Ellerman, St. Augustine Top Listed Pitching Prospect - 21 year old SP Brandon Boughton, Fort Myers Tree Frogs. Brilliant talent in avoiding hits, three pitch expert (fastball, changeup, slider) First Overall Draft Pick - 31yo SP Lynwood Kromer, Palm Beach, 6'7" rightie making just under $10 million. First Batter Chosen - 2nd pick overall, 26yo 1B Oscar Cassell, Oviedo. Good talent in Avg and walks, brilliant in homerun hitting. Last Overall Draft Pick - 19yo Palm Beach 3B Douglas Noll. Looks to be an excellent gloveman with decent talent. Don't see this guy getting released anytime soon. Top payroll - Tampa Tarpon $88 million. Cost cutting will need to take place to get this team under the cap, but there is some initial flexibility granted due to the draft. Lowest payroll - Orlando Oranges $62 million. Smallest team market - Destin and Oviedo are both tiny. Largest team market - Jacksonville and Miami are both really big.

02-21-2003, 11:10 PM	#4
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	League Notes of Interest - May 1, 1946 Divisional Races Northern League Palmetto - St. Augustine 18-10, Daytona Beach 16-12 Seminole - Melbourne 20-8, Miami 15-13 Southern League Citrus - Jacksonville and Tallahassee 15-13 Manatee - Palm Beach and Tampa 15-13 Worst record - Orlando 8-20 Monthly Awards Batter of Month Northern - Oscar Cassell, Oviedo - the first batter chosen overall, Cassell is hitting .418 and leads the FBA in homers (11), RBI (26), OBP (.496), OPS (1.383), and Runs (28) Southern - Cordell Dumas, Miami - the first baseman is leading the FBA in hitting at .446, and has 5 HR and 15 RBI along with 21 Runs. He was the 10th pick overall in the draft. Pitcher of Month Northern - Bill Carraway, Jacksonville - went 5-1 with a 2.93 ERA. The 30yo righty was the team's 4th round selection (and 3rd SP). Southern - Eric Glasser, Tampa - leads the FBA with a 1.41 ERA, and is 5-1 with two shutouts. The RHP is 33 and was the team's 4th round pick. Miscellany - Why does Orlando have the worst record? A league worst .227 AVG has a lot to do with it, along with the pitching of 5th round pick Otis Mallette. Mallette is 0-7 with a 5.73 ERA, and the 31yo has surrendered 14 homeruns already. - Melbourne is doing it with pitching. Their top three hurlers are 15-4 combined. They'd better be good - Frank Sievers (1st round pick, 4th overall), Dustin Agostini (4th rd) and Howard Taylor (5th rd) are making more than $22 million between them. Closer Benjamin Felipe has yet to surrender a run in 11 appearances, and he's saved 10 of them. - Robert Koski, the 'prospect' for Vero Beach, is tied for the FBA lead in homers with 11. - Best minor league batter in April? That would be 37yo 3B David Wilson, who is hitting .429 for Daytona Beach's AA affiliate. The 41st round pick had given up on baseball after a multi-year stint in the MLB Cardinals' minor league system, but is playing now 'for the love of the game'. He delivers newspapers with his wife on his off days. - Don't bother bringing a bat against Vero Beach hurler Maurice Jaeger. The 33yo southpaw has struck out 76 batters already, in only 48 IP. Isn't the spitter illegal in the FBA? - Top minor league prospect Isreal Ellerman has started quite slowly at the A ball level for St. Augustine, hitting just .215 with 4 HR in 107 AB. - Top pitching prospect Brandon Boughton started well for the Fort Myers' AA affiliate, but a torn tricep muscle has him sidelined for two months at least.

02-22-2003, 12:28 PM	#5
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	League Notes of Interest - June 1, 1946 Divisional Races Northern League Palmetto - St. Augustine is 34-20 and has opened up a six game lead over Daytona and Oviedo Citrus (screwed up last post and put the Seminole division in the Northern League by accident) - Gainesville is 28-26, with a one game lead over Jacksonville Southern League Seminole - Melbourne has come back to earth, but at 32-22 still leads the division, by three games over Fort Myers Manatee - Tampa and Palm Beach still neck and neck, with Tampa at 29-25 leading by a single game Worst record - Orlando 21-33 (.500 ball in May) Monthly Awards Batter of Month Northern - Ronald Blackman, Gainesville - the first baseman and 4th round pick for the Geckos hit .412 with 21 RBI in May, and is currently second in AVG in the NL at .352 Southern - Marcus Frazier, Fort Myers - the Tree Frogs' 2nd round selection, this 3B absolutely punished pitchers in May, smashing 16 homers, driving in 38 and hitting .352 while scoring 28 runs. He currently leads the FBA in homers (20) and RBI (50) and is second in runs scored. Pitcher of Month Northern - Mike Barnes, Jacksonville - 5-0 with a 0.95 ERA in May, along with 40 K and only 5 BB. YTD he's 9-2, second in the NL in wins, with the best ERA in the NL at 2.61. He was a 3rd round selection. Southern - Juan Silva, Vero Beach - 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA for the month. The 28yo was chosen in the 5th round and is 8-4 on the year with a 2.95 ERA. Miscellany - Vero Beach's pitching staff has struck out 445 batters through one third of the season, led by Maurice Jaeger's 143 in just 99 IP. With that performance along with Robert Koski's 19 HR, you'd expect the Sting Rays to be better than 26-28. The team's hitting just .237, however, with just one regular better than .260 (39yo 2B Robert Cales at .332). - Eight of the top nine listed prospects are now SP, including #1 through #5. 21yo SP Hosea Waterfield is the current top prospect, and he's got a 2.39 ERA in A ball for Fort Myers with 60 K against only 21 walks in 83 IP. With he and Brandon Boughton in the farm system, the Tree Frogs look like they have a bright future in pitching. - No .400 hitters in the league at the end of May. Miami star Cordell Dumas tops the FBA at .397. - Oscar Cassell is still smashing the ball for Oviedo. He's 2nd in the FBA in BA (.380), 4th in HR (15), 2nd in RBI (46) and 2B (17), and leads the FBA in Runs (46) and OPS (1.154). - Gainesville's ace Anibal Rucker has definitely earned his salary so far ($9.5 million). He leads the league with 10 wins, and combined with a 3.09 ERA this 28yo has justified the Geckos' selection of him with the 7th overall pick. Lefties are hitting a wimpy .136 off him. - Orlando's Otis Mallette has improved, slightly. He got his first victory in May, and his record stands at 2-11 with a 5.06 ERA and 21 HRA. He doesn't lead the FBA in that category, however; that honor belongs to Sanford 24yo Sam Myhre who's served up 22 dingers. - Daytona Beach A ball SP Joel Folger is putting in a claim for best minor league pitcher - he's 7-2 with a superlative 1.14 ERA, although at 24 years of age you have to wonder why he's not at a higher level. Current spot starter on the big squad Jeremy Smith has had barely any action but has not made the most of his limited opportunities, with a 8.44 ERA. - St. Augustine now has the best record in the FBA, and it's due to solid performances throughout the roster. Seven players have at least five homers, led by 2nd round selection RF Lee Gillespie who has slugged 12 with a .301 AVG. #3-4 pitchers Juan Grout (8th rd selection) and Ronald Lafontaine (28th rd) are a combined 12-6; not too shabby for a combined $4.3 million. - Last pick in the draft Douglas Noll from Palm Beach is hanging on to a minor league roster spot with a .194 AVG and .269 SLG. His contract may soon be Noll and void.