New York Gothams - FABL

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I've been playing OOTP since version 4. I think I started in online leagues with 6.5. I've been in some great long running leagues - Time Warp and PBRL had long histories and ran for about 100 seasons each. Since then I've been in few other leagues but have been most comfortable in the legendsport leagues. Several prior ones and currently with Dugout Wizards (Cincinnati Reds) and Modern Oldies (NY Giants).

Those leagues are historical or historically based. Which brings me to the Gothams and the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues. Or Figment as Commish Joe Cronin has labelled it.

There are other dynasty threads here also explaining the league - Tiger Fan, legendsport, gstatman - so I won't go into those details, but the long pre-history and a chance to try stats only made this league something new I needed to try.

This is also my first attempt at a dynasty thread. I've read many others over the years, hopefully I can make this interesting for you.

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Born of the Border Wars of the early 1880's, the Gothams were the brain child of Century League President William Whitney.

Created by Whitney and original owner James Darrow as direct competition for the Border Associations NY Stars, the Gothams quickly became contenders for the Century League championship.

After winning the league title in just their third season (1885) the Gothams would go on to become the flagship of the reconfigured Federal Association in the 1890s, winning three of the first four World Championships contested between the Federals and the Continentals under the newly created Federally Aligned Baseball League organization.

Alas, after their third FABL championship in 1896 the New York Federal team has not returned to the championship series, finishing as high as second place only four times in the next 30 seasons.

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The Highs

Ask the casual fan which team holds the FABL record for wins in a season and very few would name the long suffering Gothams. Yes, the 1895 Gothams won 105 games. They remain the only Federal Association team to clear the century mark.

That team featured John Jones who had 174 RBI and 173 runs scored. Both records that still stand today. Jones also batted .420 for the season.

Altogether there were five Gothams who batted in more than 100 runs, all contributing to a league record 1033 runs for the season.

Not to be outdone the pitching staff featured 35 game winners Morris Harris and Charlie Wilson, and 30 game winner Alexander Elliott.

Over their history the Gothams have had a few of the league's top players. John Jones is currently 6th on the all time list for batting average. Ossie Julious and George Blankenship join Jones at the top of most team leaderboards.

On the pitching side Ike Wetzel leads in wins and remains the only Gothams hurler with more that 200 for the team.

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The Lows

Well, pretty much everything since 1896.

After incurring the cost of refurbishing his Oval on 143rd St and Broadway in 1893 then the rising salaries of his juggernaut on the field Miles Bigsby's accountants said 'enough'. Something needed to be done to reduce costs.

The Gothams owned New York. The nearby Stars and the Kings out in Brooklyn were second division clubs playing in older ballparks. Time to reduce expenses and bring in some cheaper talent. What could go wrong?

Ossie Julious was the first to go, followed shortly by John Jones. And nothing has ever been the same. 30 years later Jones and Julious remain the top two hitters in team history. The Gothams have never been able to find the right combination to put them over the top.

The demoralized team quickly dropped to the second division, finishing with a winning record twice in the next dozen years. After a brief revivial behind the pitching of Ike Wetzel the Gothams settled in at the middle of the standings for the next decade.

In 1919 Owner Bigsby decided he needed a bigger and better ballpark to compete with the Stars who were playing across the road on Riverside Drive. When it was pointed out to Miles that his planned steel and concrete oval with seating for more than 50000 spectators would not fit on his plot of land he declared that he had a plan. And a unique plan it was. Using his connections (aka cronies) in city government, Bigsby received permission to build the park with stands overhanging Broadway. The ball park fit, and attendance increased over the next couple of seasons. But nothing brings fans like a winning team, so Miles Bigsby has finally loosened the purse strings and brought in new management in an attempt to fill his shiny new Oval.

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The Current Team

League pundits expect the Gothams to be a middle of the pack outfit only a bit improved over last season's 69 win effort. Word out of New York is that manager Ryan Brodbeck is on the hot seat and anything short of a winning record could mean a change in the dugout.

The local tabloids have begun to call for Gothams legend Ed Ziehl to be named player-manager to close out his 20 year career as team second baseman.

Those are questions for a later date. For now manager Brodbeck will be focusing on turning this squad into a competitve team in the Federal Association.

Pitching

On the mound the Gothams will depend on a mix of veterans and younger hurlers.

Second year starter Bill Parker looks to improve on his rookie season to lead the rotation. He will be joined by Delos Dunn and Steve Castellini, who joined the Gothams from Chicago in July of 1925. Rounding out the rotation will be Bob Schmid who moved over from Brooklyn last July.

Looking to make the jump from AA is 22 year old Bill Ketterman. Also in the mix are former first round pick Al Bishop and sophomore Charlie Johnson..

Catchers
Johnny Simpson (.321-4-67) appears a lock to start most games for the New Yorkers. With the trade of veteran Paul Tattersall this week the backup spot becomes a competition between vet Jack Rosenthal and rookie Alex Vizcaino (.249-10-57 at AA). Vizcaino's sure glove and strong arm make him the favorite going into the spring.

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The Infield
First Base - One position that seems settled going into the spring is 1B. Incumbent Sam Harris (.330-4-43) is a solid contact hitter who lacks the power normally associated with the corner position. Rookie Ed Williams has a little more power and a reputation as an exceptional glove man.

Second Base - One legend and some interesting options. There's not much more that can be said about Ed Ziehl that hasn't already been written. In 20 seasons with the Gothams the 39 year old Ziehl has accumulated many accolades. He's the franchise leader in Games, Hits, S, D, T, Runs, RBIs, basically anything that can be counted. And he doesn't appear to be slowing down. Ziehl hit .325 last season and is moving up the top ten list in many league offensive categories. Waiting for a chance to show their abilities are speedster Les Henning and versatile middle infielder Chris Odle.

Third Base - Competing for the 3b job are sure-gloved vet Jim Flemming (.296-4-95) and prospect Lee O'Connor who will be moving up from AA.

Shortstop - One position where the Gothams have abundant deph is SS. Three former first round picks will vie for playing time. George Saunders (.308-0-40) has the inside track after turning in a solid '25 season. He'll be looking to hold off 24 year old Jim Lutz who offers some power in his swing and 23 year old Chris Odle who provides depth at short and second.

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The Outfield
The Gothams outfield situation is a bit uncertain. None of last season's regulars approached top of the league production and the three returning starters provided very little power in a league that is becoming more dependent on the home run.

Leftfield - 27 year old Wes Miller (.275-2-50) has been the starter for two seasons but seems to be holding the position until the Gothams can find someone better. Contending to be that someone are, Jake Wulf, known more for his glove and contact abilities, or former first round pick Carlos Cano, who promises to provide some much needed power. Wulf is being given the first look in spring training although he may return to AAA Columbus rather than jump from AA.

Centerfield - Ken Bittner (.305-2-64) is the holdover in CF and is likely to remain in the lineup. Prospect Del Dunn was undrafted, but the NY scouting department sees him as a hidden gem who needs some grooming in the minors.

Rightfield - Huck Monahan (.309-4-69) is returning, however George Moore and Rusty Shearer will be given every opportunity to compete for a starting role. Shearer in particular is a plus defender with excellent speed and a good eye at the plate.

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For a long time the New York Federal Association franchise has played second fiddle to their cross street rivals from the Continental Association.

The Stars are two time defending FABL champions. Their fans flock to Riverside Stadium to cheer for their champs. In total they have had six Continental championships and five world titles this century. Times have not been so generous to the Gothams. Since their heyday back in the 90s they have never managed to capture a Fed Assoc title. Not once in 30 years have the Gotham faithful celebrated with a parade down Broadway.

Now in 1926 there is real hope. With a veteran rotation and a lineup of young talent the Gothams find themselves near midseason in a most unusual spot. First place. As of June 28 they lead their association by 5 and a half games.

The line-up is littered with first year players, led by the team's offensive leader Rusty Shearer. The former Purdue Boilermaker leads the team with a .357 avg, 4 homers and 48 RBI. Supporting Shearer are rookies Jim Wulf (.312-1-42), George Moore (.338), and Lee O'Connor (.285). Perhaps the player with the brightest future is recent first round selection Bud Jameson who has quickly slugged his way through AA and AAA to reach the major league roster. Jameson looks to be the power hitter the Gothams have long desired. We'll soon see if he can send the ball into the farthest reaches of the Oval.

With the season ending injury to staff ace Steve Castellini, the team wasted no time in acquiring veteran George Davis from Cleveland. Davis will join John Reay, Delos Dunn and Charlie Johnson on a staff that has allowed the fewest runs in the Fed.

All of this early season success has been noticed. The long suffering Gothams faithful have been coming out in droves to the Bigsby Oval.
The team leads the league in attendence as we head into the summer.

Can the Gothams hang on and reward their fans? Can the youngsters hold up under the heat of summer and a pennent race? Or will this be another refrain of "wait 'til next year"?

Time will tell. For now fans are enjoying their teams days at the top.