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Old 02-20-2020, 11:52 AM   #161
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Spring training 1930

KINGS ENTER SPRING TRAINING WITH MODEST EXPECTATIONS

While 1931 is the season the Kings expect to return to contender status, as the club reported to Tampa for their 1930 spring training camp there are expectations of finishing better than .500 this season. Brooklyn certainly did not do the wheeling and dealing the club did the previous off-season and there are very few personnel changes heading in to 1930, so the improvement is expected to be a result of development changes in the Kings wealth of young prospects.

Other than a couple of rule five pickups in a pair of pitchers from the New York Stars organization and a minor league trade to acquire 24 year old infielder Bill Scott from the independent Hollywood Hereos it is pretty much the same group of players heading to camp that finished the season with Brooklyn. The Kings did subtract a pair of pitchers in dealing relievers Joe Blansit and Al Colby to the World Champion Detroit Dynamos for a pair of draft picks but that move, and a single minor league swap with Washington, was all the activity out of Brooklyn. That marks quite a change from the previous year when the Kings turned over half of their roster.

Aside from the make-up of the pitching staff there are very few battles for positions this year as the Kings are expecting improvement from their young players as they begin to mature, allowing the club that went just 72-82 a year ago to at least surpass the breakeven point this time around.

Here is a position by position look at the Kings projected 1930 roster.

CATCHER - 23 year old Mike Taylor (.334,16,102) has established himself as one of the best young players in the game and he will likely spend most of his time behind the plate this season but will also see time at first base. 26 year old Bill Smith (.342,5,24) acquainted himself well as a rookie backup but the challenge is getting him playing time. Mickey Dowell is the odd-man out, and despite hitting .303 a year ago there appear to be no takers for the 29 year old with a .308 career batting average so he may end up in Rochester.

FIRST BASE - A pair of 24 year old converted outfielders in Herb Smiddy (.293,66,70) and Gus Powell (.243,19,60) will likely platoon at first. Both were rookies a year ago.

SECOND BASE - Willie Jackson (.264,6,65) is a 3-year veteran but being pushed for the starting role by both Elmer Root, a 23 year old with a good bat but questions about his defense, and newly acquired Bill Scott, a 24 year old with plenty of power and solid defensive skills but concerns if he can make enough contact to stick.

SHORTSTOP - Arnold Bower (.282,2,39) just turned 26 and is a whiz with the glove but the Kings have a number of young prospects in the wings led by 21 year old Walt Layton, who hit .290 with 8 homers in 80 games at Rochester last year and is expected to begin the season in AAA but may be in Brooklyn by mid-summer.

THIRD BASE - The Mickey Dowell experiment at third is all but over so that means 25 year old Phil Long, who slashed .285/.338/.464 and provided decent defense in his first year as the everyday third baseman a year ago, will keep the job. The Kings do have a 21 year old in 1926 third round pick Buck Sargent waiting in the wings. The former Elmira High School star hit .347 with 41 homers at 3 levels last year. He is ticketed to begin the season in AA but may get an early promotion to AAA.

CENTER FIELD - Ab Thomas (.314,1,45) saw his defense in center field slip a bit last year and if that trend continues he will find himself on the bench. Blessed with great speed, Thomas is an ideal lead-off man but the Kings value defense above all-else up the middle of the field. If he struggles early then 24 year old Jim Gentry might get a shot. Gentry hit .273 with 2 homers in just over 100 at bats with the Kings as a rookie last season. Art Summers is a highly touted 23 year old but he is likely better suited for a corner outfield position.

RIGHT FIELD - If he can stay healthy Doug Lightbody (.363,3,60) is the answer here. The problem has been health as the 26 year old former first round pick has missed substantial time in 2 of his 4 seasons. If Lightbody is hurt then Herb Smiddy moves from first base or Art Summers gets some playing time.

LEFT FIELD - Charlie Powell has played in 152 games over the past two seasons and batted .288 with 24 homeruns so the 25 year old Canadian has earned the starting job this year. If he can't hold on to it there are a number of options led by the previously mentioned Smiddy and Summers or perhaps 25 year old Lynn Randall, who has spent parts of 3 seasons in Brooklyn compiling a .284 career batting average but never playing more than 53 games.

PITCHING ROTATION- The Kings have invited 15 pitchers to main camp and that is not including 25 year old Bill Dengler, who is out until mid-season recovering from a shoulder injury. When he is healthy Dengler will almost certainly return to the rotation where he will join 1929 first overall draft pick Tommy Wilcox. Wilcox, who went 3-2 with a 2.95 era as a September call-up, will head up the rotation with Dengler likely the number 2 when he returns.

There are also several very good young pitchers in the system led by 21 year old Johnny Jacob (12-12, 3.30 at 3 levels) and 22 year old George Johnson (16-10, 4.21 at 3 levels) who will both begin the season at AA Knoxville but there is a chance at least one of them will be in Brooklyn before the season is over.

Until then the rotation will be rounded out by some of Mickey Beavers, Lyman Weigel, Bill Kutz, Jim Langley or rule five pickups Jack Wardle and Gordie Woods. Veteran Leon Thompson, John White and Art Carlson may also be in the mix.

Langley (14-12, 4.69) impressed in the rotation as last year's rule five pickup, while Weigel (8-7, 4.71) and Beavers (10-10, 4.11 at AAA) have the inside track on jobs. The 25 year old Weigel dominated at AAA Rochester, going 10-0 with a 2.24 era and the Kings hope he is poised for a big year in his first full season in the majors.

SUMMARY - While not as drastic as last year was, this is another transition year for the Kings as they wait for (and hope) all of the young talent they acquired matures and most of it reaches it's potential. The Kings have plenty more talent in the minors at every position but transitioning great minor league potential in to major league results often fails to materialize. The Kings hope they have acquired more than enough minor league potential that several big league gems will emerge. The 1930 season will go along ways towards proving, or disproving, that expectation.
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Old 02-25-2020, 03:06 PM   #162
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April 13, 1930

KINGS TRIM ROSTER IN ADVANCE OF OPENING DAY
April 13, 1930

The Brooklyn Kings dropped 3 of their final 4 games to dampen spirits slightly in what had been all in all a pretty good spring training. Despite the final week, Brooklyn finished third in the Continental Association spring standings with a 13-11 record, 1 game back of both Toronto and Chicago. The tune-up games delivered a mixed bag of results, as some players exceeded expectations while others struggled and, as a result, earned a ticket to AAA Rochester.

Brooklyn entered the final few days of games with 33 players on the roster including 14 pitchers and on the eve of cut-down day got their roster done to 24, meaning one more player will be optioned out to Rochester. Yesterday the bad news came for 9 players including pitchers George Baldwin, Jack Holt, Lyman Weigel and Tod Cooley. Only the decision to demote Weigel came as some surprise as the 25 year old was 8-7, 4.71 as a rookie with the Kings last season. His 5.51 era in 16 spring innings was a contributing factor in the decision but just was much was the Kings hessitation to return either of their rule 5 pick-ups back to the New York Stars or to expose a player like Art Carlson or Clarence Flanders to waivers due to a lack of minor league options remaining.

Carlson had an impressive camp, as the 29 year old lefthander appears to have earned a spot in the rotation. Despite a terrible spring, 1929 first overall draft pick Tommy Wilcox will stay in the rotation as will last season's rule 5 pickup Jim Langley, who was 14-12 as a 24 year old rookie last season and had a strong camp. THe remaining spot in the rotation will likely go to either Mickey Beavers or Jack Wardle. Beavers seems a more likely choice to be optioned to Rochester as Wardle is a rule 5 pickup and would have to be returned to the New York Stars if he does not stick on the active roster. There is a chance the Kings may keep both in Brooklyn and begin the season with 5 starters.

Either way it appears Brooklyn will carry 9 pitchers to start the year, up from the typical 8. Veteran Leon Thompson had a good camp and might be in the rotation if the Kings go with five and Beavers gets demoted while Clarence Flanders, a 27 year old who has not lived up to expectations since being acquired from Portland of the Great Western League 4 years ago, dazzled in camp and appears to have won the closer job. However, Brooklyn is taking a cautious approach with Flanders as he had strong springs in the past only to struggle when they games meant something.

Assuming all of the above stick, that means one of three lefty's will get sent down or released. Bill Kurtz and John White are both free agent signings from a year ago who could go to Rochester. The 26 year old Kurtz looked good in the spring and had some good stretches out of the pen last year. White is a 32 year old who is sort of a reclaimation project for the Kings. He won 17 games and lead the Continental Association in ERA with the Philadelphia Stars in 1927 but blew out his arm and missed nearly all of the 1928 campaign. Brooklyn signed him last June and he struggled in the FABL but was very good in AAA Rochester. The Kings are holding out hope he can regain the form that made him one of the best pitchers in the game while with the Sailors.

The final pitcher is perhaps the biggest question mark and toughest decision for Kings management. Gordie Woods is a 24 year old rule 5 pickup when won 13 games at AA each of the past two seasons and is very well regarded by Kings head scout Rube Carter. The expectation was he, and not fellow rule 5 pickup Jack Wardle, would end up in the rotation to start the year with Bill Dengler sidelined until mid-season recovering from arm surgery. However, Woods got shelled in spring action including allowing 7 earned runs in 3 innings of a loss to Montreal this week.

The reason the Kings still have one player over the limit and 10 pitchers on the roster it is likely due to the indecision on Woods. The thinking is they will keep him and not return him to the Stars at this point, which means either Kurtz, White or Beavers goes to Rochester.

To make room for the 9th pitcher Brooklyn sent promising second baseman Elmer Root down to Rochester along with 1B Gus Powell and middle infielders Larry Lynch and Rip Agee. The knock on the 23 year old Root is his defense as he clearly has the ability at the plate to be a solid FABL player. Lynch and Agee lost the battle for backup middle infielder to newcomer Bill Scott, an off-season pickup from Hollywood of the Great Western League. Scott actually earned the starting second base job over veteran Willie Jackson after batting .265 with 4 homers and playing solid defense in camp. Gus Powell's demotion is a mild surpise, the 24 year old hit 19 homers as a backup a year ago but batted just .243. This spring Powell was awful, hitting just .067 and the hope is he can get untracked with some time in Rochester.
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Old 02-28-2020, 01:21 AM   #163
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April 21, 1930

April 21, 1930 - ANOTHER SEASON BEGINS

I just realized this is the start of the fifth season since I began chronicling the adventures of the Brooklyn Kings in the Figment League. I started this report about 9 months ago real time and am so glad I took the plunge into the online league world. Since then I joined two other OOTP leagues and enjoy them both but the Kings and the FABL remain far and away my favourite league. Nothing compares for me to the immersion level that has been created with this league. There are half a dozen other dynasty reports on this board covering the adventures of Figment League clubs and plenty of active league discussion on our slack channel from those that do not have the time or comfort level in trying to write a dynasty. So plenty is being written about the league and after 5 seasons of following the draft and players moving to and from my organization I now am quite familiar with very large percentage of players in this league. Bottom-line is I feel more connected to this league and know the players better than I do many of the real MLB players and at least as well as the real historical players I have been writing dynasty's about for nearly two decades. It felt overwhelming at first with so many fictional players and fictional teams, but I have certainly been rewarded by sticking with it.

So it is 1930, I have been at the helm of the Kings, my Kings, for five years. We had the disappointment of injuries costing us one pennant, rebounding and winning the next year only to lose the elusive World Championship Series - something Brooklyn has never won in 37 years and counting- as my electric offense suffered a blackout in the series. Knowing we lacked the pitching to challenge for another title we started an almost complete rebuild and are midway through it now.

My expectations for this season are to finish at or above .500, see more of my quality young arms progress up our system and hopefully be a pennant contender next year. I think we have company with that plan as there are some other very young teams with great potential as well so the next five years shape up to be very interesting.

As for this season, well we just finished the opening week sim and it went maybe a little worse than I expected. We started at home but faced what I think are the second and third best teams in the CA (Continental Association) in Baltimore and New York. We lost two of three to each of them and my pitching was awful - I mean this is 1930 so I wasn't expecting great performances but other than my prize prospect Tommy Wilcox, who won both of his starts and posted a very respectable 3.15 era in them, we surrendered 50 runs in 4 games.

I don't want to overreact but giving up 12 1/2 runs per game is not going to fly, even with an offense that scored nearly 7 per game in our first 6 outings. I am only making one pitching change in that Art Carlson is out of the rotation and goes to the pen with Rule V pickup Gordie Woods getting his first start.

Woods was not great out of the pen but Carlson, who is out of options, and has disappointed me often in the past really should be just one or two bad outings away from the waiver wire. The 29 year old has been in the Kings system since well before I got here - he was a 5th round pick in 1921 out of Northern Mississippi University and Buffalo High School. Carlson is, along with current Keystones farmhand Johnny Douglas, the top pitcher in Buffalo High's history but it is interesting that both Carlson and Douglas, who was a 1919 4th round pick of Toronto, have had several opportunities to be FABL regulars but both have failed to deliver.

Carlson is nearly 30 years old now and I have given him a chance in Brooklyn every season since I took over the club. The story is the same. He looks good in spring training (2.25 era in 20 innings this season) or in the minors (16-7, 4.12 in AA in 1925, 8-4 1.72 in AAA in 1926, 12-5 2.71 in AAA in 1928) but each time he was called up during the season he struggled. Yet, my scout really likes him and he is extremely popular for some reason both locally and nationally despite a 7-14, 5.38 career FABL record. His attitude is always good, he is a team leader, his morale is ecstatic even when I move him from the rotation to the pen or back to the minors. Everyone loves him and he can do everything....well, except get guys out in the major leagues and, unfortunately that is kind of an essential component of his job description. But it is things like this - the ins and outs of a team I would never notice if I was playing this as a solo league in Commissioner-only mode - that draw me into this league. If I cut Carlson I know I will take a hit at the box office, and thanks to the Great Market Crash of last October I have a new owner to impress.

We are 2-4, certainly not the end of the world for a team a year away. But year in and year out, pitching has always been or achilles heel. But this is Figment baseball and I am going to choose to look at our Kings like Art Carlson seems to look at the world. Use that big grinning smiley face like Carlson uses to assess his game (despite allowing 7 runs in 4 innings of work) and wait for our young pitchers to develop. In the meantime, maybe a guy like Art Carlson can prove to me why he is so beloved.
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Old 02-28-2020, 09:13 AM   #164
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Good one, Tiger Fan. I've been playing in online leagues for at least a decade now, and I must say that the FABL is the pinnacle--far and away the best league I've been a part of.
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Old 03-02-2020, 08:07 PM   #165
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KINGS OFF TO SOLID START
MAY 5, 1930

After going 1-4 and giving up 55 runs in their first five games you can excuse Brooklyn Kings fans for thinking this was going to be an awfully long-season for their hometown club. However, the Kings rebounded by winning 10 of their next 13 games and find themselves in third place, 3 games over .500 but 4 1/2 back of the front-running Philadelphia Stars three weeks into the season.

The pitching led by rookie phenom Tommy Wilcox (3-1, 2.59) has been more than acceptable since the opening week debacle and the bats led by lead-off man Ab Thomas (.407,0,15) the always dependable Doug Lightbody (.347,0,15) and flashy newcomer Bill Scott (.279,5,18) has been more then adequate.

The goal for this season remains to be over .500 and finish in the first division but perhaps there are signs the Kings can do a little more than that. Jim Langley (3-1, 4.80) and newcomer Jack Wardle (2-1, 4.94), a Rule V pickup from the New York Stars, have both pitched well and there is word Bill Dengler, who was 7-3, 3.59 last year before his injury, should be back by the beginning of July.

Mix in an offense that has seen consistent production throughout the lineup and the Kings can perhaps dream of finishing as high as second this season. One of the biggest surprises has been the play of rookie second sacker Bill Scott. Acquired from indy club Hollywood of the Great Western League over the winter, the 24 year old is off to a great start not only at the plate where he leads the team with 5 homers but also in the field where he has done an acceptable job at second base. The Kings knew Scott could hit the longball, he smashed 39 homers for the Heroes a year ago, but hit just .207 in Hollywood so his .279 start to the season is a very pleasant surprise for all except for incumbent second baseman Willie Jackson, who has been relegated to the bench so far this season.

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES

It has been a slow start for AAA Rochester but two players who stand out are young catcher Tom Aiello, who is hitting .321 and newly acquired 23 year old infield prospect Ed Harris who is batting at a .348 clip. Lynn Weigel had a couple of good outings on the mound but the big surprise is veteran Topsy Moran, who was dropped from the 40-man roster a year ago for poor play, is looking very good in the Rochester pen.

AA Knoxville is just a half game out of first place thanks in a big way to the play of 3 of the Kings better prospects. 21 year old 1B Ron Rattigan is hitting .378 with 2 homers and 12 rbi's thru 11 games while fellow 21 year old Rabbit Mudd, a shortstop, is batting .326. Outfielder Loren Morgan (.552,1,6) and Jack Manzella (.319,0,10) are also performing well as is one of the Kings top pitching prospects in 22 year old George Johnson, who is 2-0 with a 2.50 era.

Another pair of pitching prospects - 21 year old Larry Brown (5-0, 2.51) and 22 year old Frank Parsons (2-0, 2.29) are making noise at Class A Omaha and will soon be promoted as will 3 picks from the most recent draft. First round 2B Jake Shadoan (.368,2,15), second round SS Jake Behringer (.338,3,12) and 2nd round OF Elmer Nodle (.241,6,17) are key pieces in the best offense in the Western League.

Class B Tampa sits near the bottom of the Southeastern League at 3-7 but through no fault of Paul Edwards (.342,4,11). The 1928 7th round pick, a 3B-CF, is repeating at Tampa and looking much improved in his 22 year old season.

Finally the Class C Marshalltown Maples are 15-9 and fighting for the lead in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. As expected they are a young team and being led by 1930 draft picks Steve Studer (.318,8,27) and Jimmy Schlosser (.352,1,17) while 21 year old 3B Nick Wallace, a 1929 pick, is also off to a great start with a .404,5,22 stat line. 1928 second round pick Jeff Russell, a 19 year old, is doing well on the mound at 3-0, 3.38 and may move up to Tampa soon.
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Old 03-27-2020, 03:55 PM   #166
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September 8, 1930
STATE OF THE MONARCHEY: A KINGS UPDATE

It's been a bit since I have update the status of the Brooklyn Kings but that is not because there is nothing going on. In truth a lot happened and some of it was quite good...at least for a while, but with less than a month remaining in the season it looks like we will fall short of our preseason goal of a .500 record.

The Kings are presently 65-70 and battling the Cleveland Foresters (64-71) for 6th place in the Continental Association, which is something we seem to do quite often. It is almost like the fortunes of the Kings and Foresters are linked- we battled it out (with 2 other teams) for first place in 1927, and always seem to be close to each other in the final standings. We are also linked in one particularly poor piece of trivia as the two of us are the only FABL teams never to win a World Championship Series. We have each won 3 pennants (1901,17,20 for Cleveland, 1912,23,27 for us) but each came up short in the Series.

Brooklyn had some very high hopes early in the season. We had a decent April going 8-8 but caught fire in May winning 21 of 29 games and were only 3.5 games back of the Philadelphia Sailors as we began a 3 game set with the Sailors on June 2. First place was in sight but our young team collapsed, dropping all 3 and 8 more in a row just to emphasize the slump a bit more I guess. When June was over we had a 5-22 record for the month and any dreams of a first division finish were long gone. We have played exactly .500 ball since then but that one brutal month destroyed our season.

You can look no further than the pitching mound to find the source of our woes. The defense hasn't been great either but our ERA is dead last in the league, we walk far too many batters and give up far too many homeruns.

Rookie Tommy Wilcox (17-11, 3.88) has been everything we hoped. Bill Dengler (3-1, 4.29) is looking good now that he is back from a year long injury and perhaps veteran Clarence Flanders (6-3, 3.49) could be a fifth starter for us next year but it is clear we will not accomplish anything without 2 or 3 more quality starting pitchers.

Can they come from within the organization? Perhaps. 24 year old Jim Langley (12-17, 6.00) was much better as a rookie a year ago so perhaps he is just dealing with a sophomore jinx. Our number two pitching prospect Dave Rankin was outstanding in Rochester (6-6, 2.07) but dreadful in Brooklyn (1-6, 9.82) as a rookie this season. Our number one prospect, 21 year old Johnny Jacob was all set to be called up for September until he came down with a dead arm recently and has been shut down for the season. Jacob was 11-9, 3.51 in AA and 2-2, 2.38 for AAA Rochester this season.

We have some other prospects we like as well:
-25 year old Del Lyons was a former second round pick who went 11-7, 3.71 in Rochester so far this season but struggled in a few weeks in the Brooklyn pen.
-22 year old Larry Brown is a top 100 prospect but has been overmatched in 7 starts at Rochester this season so he is likely not ready until at least 1932.
-Same for 22 year old George Johnson, was has also been in the top 100 but likely needs another year in the minors.
-We thought 26 year old Mickey Beavers might be the answer but he has had a terrible season after starting the year 3-6, 7.15 in Brooklyn.

However, all of question marks and likely won't be the answer next year.

Offensively, I don't think we could be in a better place. The bats are cooking and have been all season and they are young, plus being pushed by some great prospects on the farm.

Here is a position by position update:

CATCHER- Hovering near the bottom of the top twenty overall players is 21 year old Mike Taylor (.318,13,78) but we find ourselves having to play him at first base a lot as 26 year old backup Bill Smith (.373,0,22) has been outstanding in his second big league season, playing 43 games.

We also have 24 year old Tom Aiello (.293,9,55 at AAA) waiting patiently in the wings in Rochester and another 24 year old in Joe Cameron (.303,4,73 at AA) in Knoxville.

FIRST BASE - It has been hard to find at bats for everybody with Taylor, 25 year old 1B-OF Herb Smiddy (.280,0,21), 25 year old Charlie Powell (.256,12,55), 25 year old Lynn Randall (.264,1,7) and 2B-1B Jake Shadoan (.314,1,27 since a callup in late July). The 22 year old Shadoan was our first round pick last December.

With all of them already crowding first base we have had to send 1B-OF Gus Powell to Rochester for the season, where the 25 year old is struggling to make contact but he did hit 40 FABL homers in 190 games over the previous two seasons. Finally we have Ron Rattigan, a 21 year old who is rated the #22 prospect in the game, playing at AAA now after starting the year in AA Knoxville. Rattigan is batting .312 with 11 homers between the two levels.

SECOND BASE- The plan was to keep 24 year old Elmer Root at second base this year and give the job to Shadoan next season. Root can hit but his defense was suspect so he went down to Rochester when I called up Shadoan but well before that Root had lost his job to Bill Scott. The 24 year old Scott is a great story. On the advice of our scouting staff we traded for Scott during the independent team trading period in the winter despite the fact he hit just .207 in the Great Western League last season. Scott did smack 38 homers and played outstanding defense so we took a chance on him. It has paid off as he is battling for the league lead in homers (has 30) as a rookie. So far the batting average and defense has not come but we have hope it will as he matures.

SHORTSTOP - We are loaded here as well with Walt Layton looking like the long-term answer. The 21 year old New York City native was a 16th round draft pick out of high school but he has developed incredible defensive skills and has great speed. He hit very well the past two years in the minors but struggled early this season in Rochester. We loved his defense so we called him up and in 55 games he is batting .332 with 14 stolen bases. His arrival has sent another strong gloveman in 26 year old Arnold Bower to the bench.

We are also really high on 1927 first round pick Rabbit Mudd, although the 21 year old has struggled at AAA after suffering a hamstring injury earlier this season, and last season's second round pick Jake Behringer. The 21 year old Behringer is batting .327 with 34 stolen bases between A and AA and his defense, will down a bit in AA, was outstanding the first half of the season. Mudd and Layton are both ranked in the league top 100 prospects as is another shortstop in our system by the name of Oscar King.

THIRD BASE -In his third big league season 25 year old Phil Long has had a breakout year, batting .326 with 12 homers and 111 rbi's. 1929 third round pick Nick Wallace (.377,14,94 between Class C and B) is another top 100 prospect who will likely push Long for playing time in the next couple of years. Switch-hitting 22 year old Buck Sargent has been in our system since being taken out of high school in the third round of the 1926 draft, is also highly thought of in the organization. Sargent has split the year between AA and AAA and is batting .264 with 27 homers in 126 games.

OUTFIELD- Always a source of great depth for Brooklyn. In the big leagues we have Doug Lightbody (.397,9,100) who is chasing a .400 season yet again. Lightbody is 26 years old and will be a King for life.

Rookie Art Summers, 23, has earned a starting spot with his productivity this year (.317,12,80). Summers has primarily played left field but can also play center although we have 25 year old speedster Ab Thomas (.349,29 SB) already in his 5th FABL season and recently promoted backup Jack Manzella, a 25 year old former 18th round pick who hit .297,21,88 at AA this season.

There is also Jim Gentry, Elmer Nodle and Jimmy Schlosser in the system with the first two being considered top 100 prospects. The 24 year old Gentry has hit .300 with 24 homers in Rochester while 22 year old Nodle, a 1929 second round pick, is batting .283,26,125 between A and AA and Schlosser, a 1930 sixth rounder, has progressed from Class C to A ball this season, hitting .350 along the way.


SUMMARY

So I feel we have a lot of depth everywhere except pitching. Not sure if anything will come of it but the Kings have had discussions with a couple of teams and are open to talking with others about giving up our first round pick this year and 2-4 of those minor league prospects for the right pitcher to fit into the rotation behind Tommy Wilcox.

Our record is still bad but we feel one more quality arm, whether it comes via trade or internally from Jacob or someone else stepping up, can make us a contender in 1931. Only time will tell.
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Old 04-01-2020, 06:17 PM   #167
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KINGS FINISH 1930 SEASON 4 GAMES UNDER .500
The goal this season for the Brooklyn Kings was to see the young talent step forward and propel the club to a .500 record. After a 21-8 month of May it looked like the Kings might do much more, perhaps even contend for the pennant but the inconsistency of youth shone through as the Kings quickly fell from contention with a 5-22 performance in June. The team recovered from the tailspin and played .500 ball after July 1st but finished 4 games under the break even mark with a 75-79 record, up 3 wins from the previous year when the full rebuild began.

As discussed earlier the offense was not the issue as the Kings finished third in the Continental Association in runs scored and second in batting average. The downfall was the pitching staff, worst in the CA and their 962 runs against were only surpassed in FABL by the Federal Association doormats in St Louis.

Brooklyn did take a step to add to their pitching with a trade. While it can't officially be announced until the completion of the World Championship Series between the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Sailors, word has leaked out of Brooklyn that the Kings have acquired a young pitcher from the Chicago Cougars organization. There is also word the Kings are discussing a potential blockbuster trade with a Federal Association club that, if it happens, might be the biggest trade in FABL history.

There are no other details on the particulars of the potential blockbuster deal but the one with the Cougars is known. Brooklyn has picked up 22 year old righthander Heinie Bretz, who split last season between AA Mobile and AAA Milwaukee. A fourth round pick out of Wilkes-Barre High School in the 1926 draft, Bretz has steadily worked his weigh up through the Cougars system but had been caught in a logjam of good young arms in Chicago. Brooklyn has a shortage of major league ready young pitchers and the Kings were willing to move a second and fifth round pick to acquire the young pitcher. Bretz was 13-10 in 25 starts with a 1.26 WHIP and 124 ERA+. He is expected to compete for a job in the Kings rotation.
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Old 04-02-2020, 06:41 PM   #168
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BRETZ EXCITED ABOUT OPPORTUNITY IN BROOKLYN

While it can not be made official until after the World Championship Series, the worst kept secret in baseball is the trade that saw the Brooklyn Kings acquire minor league pitcher Heinie Bretz from the Chicago Cougars in exchange for a second and a fifth round selection in the December draft.

Bretz was spotted in the crowd in his hometown of Philadelphia taking in Game Two of the Sailors series with the New York Gothams. The 22 year old righthander chatted briefly with reporters and said he is thrilled with the opportunity in Brooklyn.

"It was a real logjam with the Cougars and I wasn't fancying another trip back to AAA so this couldn't have worked out better for me," admitted Bretz between handfuls of crackerjacks at the game. "I don't know a lot about them, but I do know the Kings offense is outstanding and I think they were looking to fill some holes in the pitching staff. I am hopeful I can be one of the guys to do that."

Bretz was a 4th round pick out of Wilkes-Barre High School by the Cougars in 1926. He has taken a slow path through the Cougars system, spending nearly two seasons in Class B before moving up to Class A Lincoln. He got a taste of AA ball in 1929 and this past season spent most of the time in AA Mobile, going 10-7 with a 3.64 era and earning a late season promotion to AAA, where he pitched very well in 3 starts.

"I know the Kings may want me to start the season in AAA but I am going to camp with the mindset that I can win a job in Brooklyn," added Bretz.

For their part the Kings see Bretz is another piece in what could be an excellent young rotation led by Tommy Wilcox, who went 17-15, 4.14 as a rookie, and 21 year old prospect Johnny Jacob, ranked #11 by OSA, who was 13-11, 3.30 splitting the season between AA and AAA before shoulder inflammation ended his season in late August.


NO COMMENT FROM KINGS ON RUMOURS


The Brooklyn Kings have little to say about the stories that have been circulating throughout the FABL community regarding a potential blockbuster trade between Brooklyn and an unnamed Federal Association team.

"We have nothing for you on that," explained assistant General Manager Jim Golden. "When, and if, there is a trade that is official you will be the first to know about it," Golden added for reporters.

When pressed, Golden would not say anymore but perhaps something can be read into his response when one veteran scribe asked if the Kings were working on a deal that would rival the Max Morris trade from Cleveland to St Louis over a decade ago. Golden just smiled and said "that would be something for you guys to write about, wouldn't it. And really steal the headlines away from those (deleted) Sailors if something happened just after the Series ended."

With that Golden turned and left for his office in Kings County Stadium.
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Old 04-06-2020, 10:18 PM   #169
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October 9, 1930

OCTOBER 9, 1930

KINGS STEAL SPOTLIGHT FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The Philadelphia Sailors were crowned World Championship Series winners today after a thrilling seven game series with the Federal Association champion New York Gothams ended with a walk-off rbi single by Herm Lowman, who not only drove in the winning run but also pitched a complete game victory.

At the same time the Brooklyn Kings were announcing a deal that they hope will end the Sailors string of Continental Association pennants at three. If it is possible to upstage a World Championship Series that goes down to the final at bat of game seven then the Kings and the Chicago Chiefs did just that announcing a mammoth 6 player, 3 draft pick deal was completed just hours before the first pitch of Game Seven.

Brooklyn certainly got the best player today in the deal, adding 21 year old righthander Milt Fritz, who despite his youthfulness is already a 2 year FABL veteran with a 34-17 record and a 3.43 era despite pitching half of his games in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in either league. Fritz immediately steps to the top of the Brooklyn rotation and, when combined with 23 year old Tommy Wilcox who was 17-15, 4.14 as a FABL rookie, gives the Kings the best pair of young pitchers in the game.

Add in highly touted prospect Johnny Jacob, a 21 year old who went 13-11, 3.30 between AA and AAA this season and the Kings may have three aces in their rotation for the next decade. Jacob is presently ranked the second best pitching prospect by OSA.

The deal was a huge coup for Brooklyn but it came at an equally gigantic price tag. The Kings dealt away 5 players, including two top 100 prospects in 1B Ron Rattigan and P Dave Rankin and their first round pick - 5th overall in the December draft. Also going to Chicago were catching prospect Tom Aiello, a 24 year old who hit .294 at AAA Rochester this season and Class B pitchers Rod Barney (20-7, 3.39) a 22 year old righthander and Taylor Hamilton (10-5, 3.23) a 20 year old lefty. In addition to Fritz, the Kings receive a 9th and a 10th round pick from Chicago.

"It is a big day for the organization," said Kings Assistant General Manager Jim Golden. "I am speaking for everyone here in saying that we can't wait for spring training and seeing what Milt Fritz brings to our club. Pitching has been our weak spot for years but I think with Fritz joining a group that includes Wilcox, Dengler and Flanders plus some great young talent like Jacob, Larry Brown and George Johnson we finally feel we have the arms to compete. Also don't forget about the kid we got from the other Chicago team."

Golden was referring to Heinie Bretz, a 22 year old former fourth round pick Brooklyn acquired from the Chicago Cougars for a pair of draft picks last week. Bretz was ranked the 46th best prospect in the game prior to the 1929 season. His stock slipped a bit last year but he progressed through 3 levels of minors, ending up at AAA Milwaukee and was 13-10, 3.38 combined.

To add the two pitchers Brooklyn gutted what was a very deep minor league system. There are still prospects left in Brooklyn, headed by Jacob(#11 overall), OF Elmer Nodle (#70), SS Rabbit Mudd (#72) and 3B Nick Wallace (#88) but the Kings system is now ranked 15th in the 16 team league after being top three prior to the deal.

"It is a credit to the job (scouting director) Rube Carter and his scouting staff has done," stated Golden. "Their work allowed us to stockpile the assets to make a deal like this. And while we have certainly cut into our minor league depth it is important to remember that our offense, while among the best in the Continental Association last season, was also among the youngest."

As tough as it seemed to be for the organization to find and develop pitchers they really have had a knack uncovering hitting talent. The latest example is 24 year old second baseman Bill Scott, who tied for the CA homerun lead with 33 as a rookie after being acquired from the Great Western League over the winter. The Kings have also had luck later in the draft with their 16 man active roster currently containing the following:

Catcher Bill Smith 5th round pick in 1925
C/1B Mike Taylor 8th round in 1927
2B Willie Jackson originally a 12th round of NYG signed as a minor league free agent in 1925
OF Herb Smiddy originally a 13th round pick of Chicago Chiefs signed as a minor league FA in 1925
SS Walt Layton 16th round 1926
OF Jack Manzella 18th round pick 1926
3B Phil Long 24th round 1923

The Kings are also young as Jackson, at 28, is the only position player on the active roster older than 26. They may come to regret that they let Rattigan and the others go but not if Milt Fritz can pitch as well as he did in Chicago the past two years. Time will tell who got the best of this deal but one thing is for sure the Kings and Chiefs certainly got the baseball world talking.

Is it time for spring training yet?

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 04-06-2020 at 10:21 PM.
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Old 04-26-2020, 11:13 PM   #170
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OCTOBER 11, 1930

Well after a fair bit of a hiatus as we waited for a patch to fix some issues in playing stats-only, the Figment Leagues have finally been switched over to OOTP21 and we are ready to resume with the draft fast approaching. Normally, the draft is my favourite time of the FABL but this season will be different for three reasons.

Primarily through a couple of recent trades my first pick will not be until the third round. Brooklyn dealt our first rounder to the Chicago Chiefs in the deal to acquire top young pitcher Milt Fritz and we sent our second and fifth round picks to the Chicago Cougars for another young pitcher in prospect Heinie Bretz. Brooklyn did add an extra 9th and 10th round picks in the Fritz deal so we have the following picks in the first 10 rounds:

Brooklyn's 3rd,4th,6th,7th,8th,9th and 10th plus Chicago Chiefs 9th and 10th.


The second reason I am less excited about the draft is it appears, at least by looking at the stats of eligible players, to be a very weak class especially for college players. I had as an organization philosophy put a great priority on focusing on drafting college players rather than high schoolers.

The final reason is due to a terrible mistake on my part. Somehow, I extended the contracts of all of my staff except I forgot to do so for long-time scouting director Rube Carter. Those of you who have followed this thread will recognize Rube's name as a key piece of the organization and his tenure pre-dated mine, going back to the 1923 season. Rube was not rated great in any scouting category but was good in all of them and had really become a piece of the Kings fabric. However, because I failed to extend him he refused to even consider a contract with the Kings so I will need to move on with a new scouting director.

Fortunately I do have Jim Golden, a natural scouting director who had been my assistant GM so I can transition Golden into the role very easily but I will certainly miss Carter's presence. I had come to trust him implicitly on assessing hitters, although I had zero confidence in any of his calls regarding pitching talent. So in that regard at least I knew what I was getting from Rube. I will now need time to gain a similar appreciation of Golden's talents.

But the good news is FABL is up and running on OOTP21 and the Kings can look forward to seeing hopefully a pennant contender next season with a 1-2 punch of Milt Fritz and Tommy Wilcox, two of the best young arms in the game, at the top of the rotation.
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Old 04-27-2020, 10:36 AM   #171
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The rift between Carter's view on pitching and the rest of the organization proved too great.
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Old 04-27-2020, 10:53 AM   #172
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The rift between Carter's view on pitching and the rest of the organization proved too great.
That does sound better then I screwed up. Thanks
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Old 05-01-2020, 09:39 AM   #173
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DRAFT IS UNDERWAY

The 1930 draft is underway and as mentioned above the Kings did not have a first round pick following our trade with the Chicago Chiefs to acquire young pitcher Milt Fritz. Good news is I originally thought I did not have a second rounder either as I dealt my second and fifth away for a minor league pitching prospect named Heinie Bretz but I forgot I made a deal last spring with Detroit to add a second and a fourth round pick.

So I watched some names that I really liked come off the board in the first round including catcher Jack Flint, a three-time All-American out of Lubbock State, who went first overall and high school shortstop Bolivar Jim Smith, who the Chiefs took with what would have been my pick at 6. I also watched as the Cougars grabbed a high school arm in Mal Leonard with what would have been my second round pick but the wait from there was much shorter as I had the 11th pick of round two courtesy of Detroit.

I feel this draft is very weak, especially among college players, so I decided to gamble on an inexperienced high school righthander named Ray Lee with my first pick of the 1930 draft. I had been hoping to get another high school arm in Alan Oliver, but he went 3 picks ahead of me to the New York Stars.

As for Lee, I don't have huge hopes for him but my new scouting director thinks he has a chance to be a bottom of the rotation pitcher. I don't know if it is the draft class is really this bad or I am just not in sync with my new scouting director, 40 year old John Spears, but he does not have any guys left in this draft that he really likes - at any position. In the past with Rube Carter, I could always count on him liking position players as late as the 5th,6th even 7th rounds but not this year. Carter by the way is in Chicago as he signed with the Chiefs after my mistake to not extend his contract.

I do love some new draft features in the new version of the game (our league just switched over to OOTP21). Little things like seeing on his player page that Lee has committed to Mississippi A&M in the game, and he has a prospect ranking of 25. (No idea where the ranking comes from or any way to view the full list. The 25 does not correspond to how my scout places him on his draft or the mock draft but I hope it means he is a decent prospect). The mock draft is also a great addition as well as being able to see all the future draft classes from our league as well.

Here is our newest King.
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Old 05-04-2020, 01:29 AM   #174
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KINGS WELCOME NEW DRAFT CLASS AND SCOUTING DIRECTOR

John Spears has big shoes to fill and while it will be several years before we know for sure, his first draft as head of the Brooklyn Kings scouting department looks to be unspectacular to say the least. That is through no fault of Spears, who replaced long-time scout Rube Carter when Carter moved on to the Chicago Chiefs organization just prior to the draft. Instead, this draft pool has been widely panned as one of the shallowest ever. Time will tell if the Kings did manage to land a hidden gem in their haul of talent.

Spears is 40 years old and has quickly ascended to his first scouting director job but he has an outstanding pedigree with a 9 year playing career followed by the last 8 seasons paying his dues bird-dogging prospects for several organizations. A first baseman blessed more with a work ethic than natural talent, Spears was signed by the Chicago Cougars out of an independent league at the age of 24 in 1914. He would go on to play 668 games, all in a Cougars uniform, and bat .266 for his big league career, which including a World Championship with the Cougars in 1922.

Following his playing days he worked as a regional scout near his hometown of Baltimore for the Cougars and later the Kings, before he eventually attracted the attention of Rufus Barrell, who hired Spears to work for his league scouting service over the last couple of years. It was this experience working for Barrell that Spears credits for his success as a scout.

As for his first draft. Here is a look at the Kings picks from the first ten rounds:

2nd Round: Pitcher Ray Lee - Boston High School: The Kings were thinking either shortstop or pitcher with this pick and with so many high school shortstops still on the board at this point they decided to gamble on one of several young high school arms they were considering. Taken 27th overall, the hope is Lee can develop into a bottom of the rotation starter but he is a very raw prospect, having pitched just 1 seasons of high school ball. His numbers were good, good enough to impress Mississippi A&M enough that the Generals offered the 18 year old a full scholarship. It will be up to the Kings now to convince Lee he should turn pro.

3rd Round: Shortstop Otto Deal - Meridian High School: The Kings got their shortstop as Deal was ranked the number two shortstop and 9th overall by esteemed baseball guru Jiggs McGee. "We love this kid's defensive skills," said Spears "but he will have to put in the work if he is going to be able to hit at the big league level." Deal hit .299 for his high school career but slumped to .255 as a senior. He is praised for an outstanding work ethic and has committed to Rainier College.

4th Round: Outfielder Stan Ware - Wilkes-Barre High School: His father Ed played briefly in the early 1900's for Boston. Ware was ranked the 5th best outfielder available by Jiggs McGee after hitting .303 with 14 homers in 40 games for the Warriors last season. Has been offered a scholarship to Cumberland.

4th Round: Pitcher Ernie Scott - Chicago Poly: The second of two picks acquired from Detroit (2nd rounder was used on Lee) lands the Kings another pitcher. Scott was 13-8 with a 3.31 era in his college career with the Panthers.

6th Round: Pitcher Owen Jackson - Holyoke High School: With no fifth round pick the Kings had a bit of a wait before landing another high school arm in Whitney College commit Owen Jackson. The 18 year old lefthander was 14-3, 2.44 over 3 years of high school ball. The Kings like his numbers, solid WHOP, very good ERA+ but like Lee he is a higher risk than going with a college arm.

7th Round: INF/OF Jim Dorsey - Boulder State : A very versatile player, can play SS,2B,1B or any outfield position. The Kings drafted him for his power potential, 23 homers over his last 100 college games, but he is just a .241 career hitter.

8th Round: Third base Dan Lamb - College of San Diego: His grandfather is early legend Hugo Lamb, who was a catcher in the 1870s and 80s before spending nearly 30 years as a coach and manager for a number of organizations. Scouts like his speed and his defense at the hot corner but he hit just .242 in 3 seasons of college ball.

9th Round: Catcher Harry Dudley - Norfolk High School: A three year starter in high school who, like second round pick Ray Lee, has been offered a scholarship to Mississippi A&M. Dudley hit .258 and was rated he 9th best catcher available by Jiggs McGee.

9th Round: Catcher Lynn Early - Tulsa High School: With a pick acquired from the Chicago Chiefs the Kings went back to back with high school catchers. Has solid defensive skills and a keen batting eye but making contact at the plate is an issue. Hit just .211 in his high school career. Committed to College of San Diego.

10th Round: Second Base Hiram Martin- Wichita High School: St. Pancras Lions recruit was ranked the third best second baseman available according to Jiggs McGee. Plus defense at second base but hit just .251 in 3 years at Wichita High.

10th Round: Outfield George 'Troll' Sanders- Maryland State: Great speed and very strong in the field but lacks discipline at the plate. Showed some power in his draft year with 10 homers but hit just .260.


OVERALL - I would be surprised if we get a major league regular out of this group. I really try and avoid high school players but had no choice in this draft as there just weren't much in the way of college guys that we liked. Hopefully one of the pitchers breaks out and becomes a bottom half of the rotation guy or Stan Ware develops into a solid power hitter. Other than that the only one I have even a little faith in at this point is Otto Deal, who maybe can become a serviceable shortstop some day.
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:21 PM   #175
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Editor's note -- Figment has an open GM position. The Washington club is available. A 90-loss team in 1930, but they still have one of the top catchers in the game in T.R. Goins and 24-year-old shortstop Andy Carter looks to be a good one (he would have been a prime candidate for a Rookie of the Year award, but no such award in 1930).

This is easily one of the best on-line leagues I've been involved in. We have an active Slack channel, the commissioner is top notch, and we have a great group of GMs. If you want to throw your hat into the ring, send me or the commish (legendsport here on the forums) a PM.
Just figured I would add this here after seeing it one of our other GM's dynasty threads. I echo his comments. This is a fantastic league, with a great group of owners and if you frequent the dynasty boards I am sure you have seen many of the over half dozen team threads, including this one, that are updated regularly. And those that don't have the time to do a dynasty report themselves are , like everyone else in the league, active on our slack channel.

Stats only is how we play and it is such a different, and fun, experience compared to having all the ratings visible. Where else but in a stats only league will you have GMs agonizing over who they should pick in the 8th round of a rookie draft?

As for the Eagles, they are not too far removed from a stretch where they won 3 pennants in 4 years and while they finished 7th in the Federal Association last season, they did finish 4th the previous year and have 10 of the top 100 prospects according to the league scouting service.
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Old 05-06-2020, 10:55 PM   #176
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Dec 19, 1930

KINGS ADD ONE AND LOSE ONE IN RULE 5 DRAFT

The Brooklyn Kings added an outfielder and lost a pitcher in today's Rule 5 draft. The newcomer is 25 year old Henry McFall, who posted some jaw-dropping numbers in the minors last season. Gone is 23 year old starting pitcher Fred Nelson, who was lost to Boston.

Nelson was 17-7 with a 2.95 era for Class A Omaha a year ago. The Kings had hoped he might sneak through the draft but Boston took him with the 8th pick of the first round. Nelson has had an intriguing career, starting with being undrafted out of high school and then released by two different organizations before the Kings signed him as a minor league free agent in 1928. He struggled at Class B Tampa his first season with Brooklyn and split the 1929 campaign between Class B and C, posting a 6-8 record. Last season he had a breakout year in his first taste of A ball, helping the Omaha Cowboys win their second straight league title.

Coming to Brooklyn is McFall, a 25 year old outfielder who split last season between Class A and AA, where he belted 70 homeruns, more than any other player at any level. He slashed .370/.436/.754 and stole 22 bases. A natural left fielder, he can also play center field and the Kings hope he can handle a couple hundred at bats this season in a backup role. The starting spots are full with Doug Lightbody (.387,12,112) and Art Summers (.304,14,92) at the corners and Ab Thomas (.352,3,65, 29 SB) in center. It will be crowded in the outfield, however,, with Charlie Powell (.261,13,56) also in the mix for playing time.

As for McFall, there was plenty for Brooklyn to like about him. New scouting director John Spears has been high on him since McFall won a College World Series at Brunswick before being selected by Detroit in the 8th round of the 1926 draft. He showed some power right away, socking 15 homers in Class B in 1927 and then hit .396 with 8 homers in limited action in Class A in 1938. The Dynamos elected to have him repeat the next two seasons in A ball where he completely dominated the competition before finally getting a brief taste of AA last season. There is question if he can translate his power numbers to the big leagues but Brooklyn's brass felt he was an inexpensive gamble and would hopefully pay off like infielder Bill Scott did for the Kings last season. Scott was acquired from an independent minor league team after hitting 39 homers for Hollywood of the Great Western League. In his first season in Brooklyn, Scott led the Continental Association with 33 round-trippers.
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Old 05-15-2020, 06:35 PM   #177
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February, 1931

1931 SPRING TRAINING PREVIEW : PART ONE

A year ago at this time I wrote that my Brooklyn Kings were looking to contend in 1931 with the goal for the 1930 season being to surpass the .500 mark. We missed last year's objective, finishing the season with a 75-79 record, good for 6th place in the Continental Association. Our offense, as always seems to be the case, was very strong as our 880 runs scored were surpassed in the CA only by Chicago and Baltimore. However, as expected our pitching, a collection of young talent on the cusp of breaking through coupled with a bunch of journeymen, was our downfall in 1930. We had the worst ERA in the Association.

We took a major step to address that during the off-season adding 21 year old Milt Fritz, arguably the best young pitcher in the game who already has 34 FABL victories under his belt, in a blockbuster deal with the Federal Association's Chicago Chiefs. With Fritz (16-9,3.63) and our 23 year old former first overall pick Tommy Wilcox (17-15, 4.14) we feel the Kings have a top half of the rotation that can compete with anyone. However, the rest of our staff is full of question marks. More on that in the next write-up but first let's talk about the other cause for concern that the Kings can contend this year.

When we made the huge deal to add Fritz we had no idea it would be just the first of a number of major trades over the winter, with most of them involving our rivals in the Continental Association. The Chicago Cougars, who finished 4 games back a year ago, made huge strides to improve over the winter adding 36 year old pitcher Steve Castellini, who won 19 games for the Federal Association champion New York Gothams last season. Castellini alone, if he can repeat his recent performance, is a huge step forward but the Cougars did not stop there as they also brought in Cy Bryant, a young outfielder who hit .354 in a short stint with Toronto a year ago and in the most shocking move of an off-season full of them, the Cougars pried 26 year old outfielder Tom Taylor away from the 3-time CA pennant winning Philadelphia Sailors. Taylor (.261,15,81) is a two-time Whitney Award winner but is coming off a terrible season- at least by his standards- in which he was bothered by elbow troubles. If he regains his form and Castellini is the same pitcher he was a year ago I can't see the Cougars being stopped.

Montreal is a rising team like us and they finished 3 games off the pace. The Saints problems a year ago was a lack of offense and they made a big move to address that by adding 31 year old Carlos Cano (.315,23,113) from the Gothams after New York deemed him expendable with the addition of Max Morris in yet another winter blockbuster.

Baltimore was two back last season and the Cannons also made a move, although on a much smaller scale, to be part of the arms race in the CA by adding 25 year old outfielder Joe Snider (.300,2,61) from the New York Stars. Only the defending champion Philadelphia Sailors did not seem to do a lot in the off-season, although Mack Deal (.320,3,52), acquired in the Taylor trade, should be a solid addition at third base.

Each of those teams are improved and that is not even mentioning the New York Stars or Cleveland Foresters. All told, that might delay the Kings hopes of challenging for a pennant another year as we wait for our other young arms to develop.

All of that brings us back to the Kings biggest challenge - filling the rest of their pitching staff. There is plenty of talent in the mix led by 22 year old Johnny Jacob, who was 13-11 splitting last season between AA Knoxville and AAA Rochester. Jacob is rated the #2 pitching prospect in the league and the Kings scouting department considers him a future ace which, if it pans out, will make a big three in the rotation unsurpassed in baseball. Of course for that to happen, Jacob has to reach his potential and the Kings feel he is better spending at least another half season in Rochester before moving up to the major leagues.
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Old 05-15-2020, 06:53 PM   #178
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1931 BROOKLYN KINGS SPRING TRAING PREVIEW:
PART TWO PITCHERS

The biggest challenge facing the Kings this season is deciding on the 6 pitchers who will join Milt Fritz and Tommy Wilcox on the final roster. There is some very good young talent led by a trio of 22 year olds in Johnny Jacob (#8 overall prospect), Larry Brown (#48th overall prospect) and Heinie Bretz (#71 overall). The Kings plan is to take it slow with all 3, each of whom saw some limited time in AAA last year. It is hoped Jacob will be ready by mid-season with the other two more targeted for a 1932 debut.

To avoid tempation the Kings have decided not to bring any of the three to big league camp, prefering to have them focus on getting off to strong starts in Rochester. That leaves 11 pitchers fighting it out for the final 6 slots on the opening day roster. The candidates:

MICKEY BEAVERS (3-6, 7.15). The 26 year old looked great in stretches in AAA last year but struggled terribly each time he was promoted to Brooklyn. This is likely his last chance to make an impression on the Kings but the bet is he will lose his spot on the 40-man when the trio of 22 year old's are deemed ready.

TOD COOLEY (10-3, 4.69 AA/AAA): A 25 year old right hander who has been in the Kings system since 1925, the New York native has yet to pitch in the big leagues. Like Beavers, his time on the 40-man roster may be limited with young arms on the way.

BILL DENGLER (3-2, 5.20) is 26 and seemingly back to full strength after missing over a year with a torn UCL. He showed a lot of promise prior to his injury but struggled upon his return and there are concerns he will never regain the form that prompted the Kings to select him in the second round of the 1925 draft. If he does not return to form it will be a great disappointment to the Kings, who felt he was doing well in the rotation at the time of his injury.

CLARENCE FLANDERS (8-3, 3.51). The 28 year old has had quite a career. Originally a 9th round pick out of Detroit City College he was cut by numerous organizations before finding a home with independent Portland of the Great West League. After going 17-9 in 1936, the KIngs acquired him with hopes he could fit in the Brooklyn pen. He has been up and down between the minors and Brooklyn but did a decent job last season as a swingman and seems to have the inside track on a roster spot this year.

BILL KUTZ (7-3, 4.58). The 27 year old lefthander had 7 saves and did a decent job in the Brooklyn pen last season after starting the year by going 6-0, 2.76 in Rochester.

JIM LANGLEY (12-18, 6.21). A 1928 rule 5 pickup, the 25 year old lefthander had some rough outings last season. If he is in the rotation again this year it is likely a bad sign for the Kings - meaning no other pitcher impressed in camp.

LOU LOISELLE (8-7, 3.17 AAA). Like Flanders a few seasons ago, Loiselle was picked up from an independent league team and looked very good in a AAA bullpen last year. The question is can the 24 year old do the job in a big league pen.

DEL LYONS (3-1, 8.46). The Kings are very high on the 25 year old lefthander who struggled in a brief call-up with the big club but was 12-7, 3.58 in Rochester last season. BNN calls him a future top of the rotation talent and the Kings success this year depends heavily on Lyons living up to that billing.

JACK WARDLE (3-4, 5.75) A rule 5 pickup last season from the New York Stars, Wardle struggled in limited opportunities and his stock has dropped within the organization. Like Beavers and Cooley this is likely his one opportunity to prove he belongs on a big league roster.

LYMAN WEIGEL (7-10, 5.15) The 26 year old former 7th round pick out of Commonwealth Catholic has been a serviceable bottom of the rotation guy for a pitching-thin squad. He will need to greatly improve this season if the Kings have any hopes of contending with Weigel in the rotation.

GORDIE WOODS (3-4, 5.00) Like Wardle, Woods was a rule 5 acquisition from the New York Stars last winter and he struggled in the Brooklyn pen. Former Head Scout Rube Carter was very high on Woods but the new administration is not so certain. He seems a longshot to make the Kings this season.



The best case scenario is both Lyons and Loiselle show enough in spring to make the rotation and Jacob has a great start in AAA and is called up in June. However, if either Lyons or Loiselle are not ready and Jacob struggles in AAA the Kings will have a tough time getting wins out of the back half of their rotation

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 05-15-2020 at 06:55 PM.
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Old 05-15-2020, 07:12 PM   #179
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1931 BROOKLYN KINGS SPRING TRAING PREVIEW:
PART THREE POSITION PLAYERS

Unlike the pitching situation the Kings everyday lineup is pretty much set. The only real question is who will win the second base job with second year King Bill Scott duking it out with veteran Willie Jackson.

Mike Taylor (.318,16,92) is still just 24 but already entering his fourth season as the Kings everyday catcher although with the play of 27 year old backup Bill Smith (.371,2,27) Taylor will see more time spelling Jake Shadoan at first base.

The 22 year old Shadoan (.307,2,39) looked very good in a 65 game audition last season and while he is a natural second baseman it is expected he will play first once again with Taylor and 25 year old Herb Smiddy (.278,0,22) as the backups.

25 year old Bill Scott (.231,33,91) was acquired from independent Hollywood prior to last season and tied for the CA lead in homers as a rookie. His defense and on base percentage need work or he may be restricted to backup duties behind Willie Jackson (.321,0,15), a 28 year old 3 year starter who lost the job to Scott a year ago. 24 year old Elmer Root, who hit .304 in Rochester last season, may also be in the mix.

22 year old Walt Layton (.304,4,28) was promoted at mid-season and provides outstanding defense at shortstop. 27 year old Arnold Bower (.290,0,25) is also strong with the glove but will be pushed for a backup role by versatile 24 year old Ed Harris, who hit .270 splitting the season between AA and AAA.

Phil Long just turned 26 and has put a hammerlock on third base with two strong seasons including last year when he slashed .322/.368/.475 while playing some pretty good defense at the hot corner. Glen Townsend hit .316 between AA and AAA and might get consideration for a back up spot.

Doug Lightbody (.387,12,112) enters his 7th season as a fixture in right field while 24 year old sophomore Art Summers (.304,14,92) hopes to follow up an outstanding rookie campaign with another big season. With those two on the corner outfield positions and speedy Ab Thomas (.352,3,65) at center it leaves little playing time for new Rule 5 pickup Harry McFall, a 26 year old who hit 70 homers between two levels of minors last season. Charlie Powell (.261,13,56) will likely return as the fourth outfielder.
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Old 05-20-2020, 10:29 PM   #180
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April 1931

OPENING DAY 1931 AWAITS

If spring training is any indication this should be an outstanding season for the Brooklyn Kings, who led all FABL teams with a 17-7 Grapefruit League record. However Kings manager Wally Grant cautions fans not to read too much into it.

"The results of spring games really are meaningless," explained Grant as the team prepared for it's final workout in Tampa before heading north. "While the young guys are going all out trying to earn jobs, it really is just an opportunity for the vets to get back into game shape. Take Fritzy (new pitcher Milt Fritz). I am not worried at all about his 8.56 spring era as he was getting used to new surroundings. It will be a whole new ball game next week. Of course I much prefer heading north with a 17-7 record to being 7-17. It is something we can build on."

Grant was smiling not just due to the team's spring record but also because the ink had just dried on a 1 year contract extension the manager had agreed to. A baseball lifer who spent 16 seasons in FABL as a player and an additional 23 as a coach/manager, Grant is entering his 5th season at the helm of the Kings. He took over the job from Powell Slocum during the 1927 season and rallied the Kings to a pennant but they have not finished over .500 in the three year since. Prior to Brooklyn, he was the Boston Minutemen manager for 4 seasons. Bench Coach Hugh Luckey, a former Kings player, as well as hitting coach Monroe Johnson and trainer Tom Sale all had their contracts extended as did several minor league staffers including former Kings Danny Goff and Paul Tattersall, now working as manager and hitting coach respectively at Class B Tampa.

ROSTER MOVES

The Kings decided to break camp with 9 pitchers, instead of the usual 8 as Mickey Beavers, who is out of options, showed just enough to warrant sticking around at least a little longer. The 26 year old Beavers was highly touted when the Kings acquired him from the Cleveland organization 3 years ago along with Charlie Powell but while he has looked good at times in the minors, the righthander has struggled in 3 seperate stints with the big club posting a 6-12, 5.94 career FABL record. Except for a very rough first appearance, Beavers looked quite good in the spring and managed to impress the Kings brass enough to avoid being placed on waivers which would have been required before sending him to AAA Rochester.

Beavers will join a five man bullpen with Clarence Flanders (8-3, 3.51 last year), Bill Kutz (7-3, 4.58), Bill Dengler (3-2, 5.20 after missing most of the year with an injury) and newcomer Lew Loiselle, who 8-7, 3.17 for San Diego of the Great Western League.

The rotation will be headlined by Milt Fritz, a 21 year old who won 16 games for the Chicago Chiefs last year, and former first overall pick Tommy Wilcox (17-15, 4.14) with 25 year old Del Lyons (3-1, 7.21) and 26 year old Lyman Weigel (7-10, 5.15) rounding it out, at least to start the season. It is hoped Lyons can become a fixture in the bottom half of the rotation but he was very inconsistent in limited action last year after spending most of the season at AAA Rochester, where the lefthander was 12-7 with a 3.58 era. Weigel is likely just filler until highly touted 22 year old Johnny Jacob is ready to be promoted from Rochester.

Position player wise, there are no major changes with just two newcomers making the squad. Both are outfielders and neither is expected to see a lot of action. 26 year old Henry McFall was a rule V pickup over the winter. McFall, 26, socked 70 homers a season ago but has not played above the AA level. The other newcomer is also an outfielder and actually not that new as 25 year old Jim Gentry has had brief call-ups due to injuries each of the past two seasons. Gentry hit .368 in 42 plate appearances with the Kings last year while also batting .300 with 17 homers in 119 games at Rochester.

MORAN WAIVED

Long-time King Topsy Moran has been let go by the organization. Moran had been with the club since being acquired by the Kings in the first week of the league being run by human GMs. He is the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the FABL, doing so in 1926 and it is the only one in nearly 8 full years. Moran was just 29-34 over his Brooklyn career, one that started so brightly with a 12-10 rookie season in 1926 that could have been much better had he not suffered a strained hamstring and missed 5 weeks of the season.

It was another injury, early in the 1927 season that knocked him out of action for 5 months that might have zapped him of the potential that he showed as a rookie but never regained. He did return late in the '27 season and helped the Kings win the pennant that year but was not the same pitcher he appeared to be before the injury. Moran was 9-11 with a 4.91 era in 1928 and, although he did spend a little time in Brooklyn each of the past two seasons, he was primarily a minor league option since then.

With him turning 31 and likely ticketed for Class A this season, the Kings and Moran agreed it best to give him his release in hopes he can catch on with an independent team or perhaps be given an opportunity with another FABL organization.

General Manager Tiger Fan, a long-time Moran supporter, has promised Topsy a position in the organization should he decide to retire.


Note- Moran was acquired by me in the first trade I ever made in FABL, in fact I think it was the first trade in the entire league since human GM's took over. He has long been one of my favourite players and I compare him to a poor man's Mark Fidrych. He showed some real promise for me - better than his 1926 record indicated and tossed a no-hitter in either his first or second start back from the initial injury. My scouting reports on him (stats-only remember) were great before the second injury but dropped drastically after it happened and he was never the same pitcher again.

I really hate to cut him loose but the hope is he can pitch for an independent AAA team and get a few more good seasons. When he retires I will be hiring him as a coach somewhere.
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