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Old 06-01-2019, 10:44 AM   #1
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Tiger Fan's online league dynasty

I have been around these boards for the better part of twenty years and enjoyed OOTP ever since OOTP2. I have done a ton of dynasty reports, almost all of them historical with some even focusing on multiple sports in addition to baseball. One thing is consistent about pretty much all of them is I don't control a team. Instead all my writings and almost every OOTP game I have played is done in commissioner mode, with newspaper style reporting of what occurs in my game universe as that is how I enjoyed the game the most and likely why I play historical so much.

That will change with this dynasty. I dabbled in one or two online leagues in the early days of the game 15-20 years ago but didn't enjoy it as I found the ratings made it less like baseball and more like being an accountant when competing with other human GM's. We all knew who the 5-star players were and, sure there was the occasional bust or breakout guy, but it was rare. Like all other aspects of the game I am sure the scouting system in OOTP has improved greatly since those early days and I am certainly not knocking others who love online leagues (in fact I am a convert as you will soon read) but for me what I loved about OOTP (and FHM. Title Bout Boxing, Bowl Bound football, Total Pro Golf and many other games) was seeing the rich history unfold as I solo simmed through seasons. There were so many great stories waiting to be discovered in the leagues that I ran and for me, online leagues could not duplicate that...until I discovered Legendsport's Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues.

What drew me in was the rich backstory Legendsport created. You can read it here and please do. If you like dynasty reports you will not be disappointed.

I followed along as he told the story of how the founder of baseball (in his universe) William Whitney created the Century League starting in the late 1800's. I read with great interest as in his alternate fictional history (but not too fictional that it became completely unfamiliar) unfolded with the Border Association being created and later a third major league plus various minor leagues before a merger to create the modern Federally Aligned Baseball League (FABL) was formed. Like real-life Major League Baseball, it had a deadball era, had 16 teams in two major leagues that had it's winners play for a World Championship each year. As legendsport's story evolved he announced after posting the 1909 season that owners were needed for an online league that would begin in 1925.

I looked at his website which was very well done and started going through the html reports. I still wasn't too interested in joining as I was more focused on reading his articles to get ideas perhaps for my next solo dynasty. Then I noticed his league was going to be stats-only. No ratings. I remember in the past some great discussion on this board about stats-only and I think I tried to play one solo league that way back then but abandoned it for whatever my latest historical dynasty was at the time. Anyway, the more I looked at his league, the more I was drawn into it and I, after asking a few questions, decided to take the plunge and finally join an online league.

That was a couple of weeks ago. Our league began after the 1925 season and we are now in the middle of our rookie draft (with high school and college feeders - a must if running stats only) and I am hooked. Seems like a great group of owners - who have been very helpful and patient with an online newbie like myself - and the immersion for me in this league just keeps getting deeper and deeper as I learn about my players, the rich history of the league and 'scout' the draft pool.

A SECONDARY PURPOSE OF THIS DYNASTY
In many of my previous dynasty reports I have tried to help other discover new ways to play the game. Things like discussing how I manually added real minor leagues to the game prior to 1917 when they debut with the OOTP engine, doing a Pacific Coast League replay by adding real PCL rookies each year were some of the recent ones I did. Going back to the early versions I remember doing dynasty's focusing on how to adjust league settings and modifiers to get the best historical results (OOTP has come a long way since version 2 in that regard). I am hoping this dynasty will be the same and help other solo players learn about online leagues and the rewards and challenges of playing stats-only. Unlike my other dynasty topics I am the newcomer in this one as I struggle to learn the General Manager role and the intricacies of online league strategy so I welcome advice being posted here from any online or stats-only veterans as I stumble through my career at the helm of the Continental Association's Brooklyn Kings. I will share what I learn and hopefully along the way tell a few interesting stories about the things I see in the FABL universe. I have no idea how long I will keep this one going as it will last as long as I feel there are new and hopefully interesting things I can share. Maybe it will even convince one or two of you that are hesitant to try online play or stats-only. Just as legendsport's great baseball world and outstanding write-ups inspired me to join his league.

Anyway, this will be the story of the Brooklyn Kings of Figment League Baseball and their rookie General Manager.
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Old 06-01-2019, 11:48 AM   #2
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Wow, I am overwhelmed. But in a good way.

Funny I have spent nearly 20 years playing OOTP and there is so much about shortlists, 40-man rosters, waivers, signing free agents etc that I knew nothing about.

For example there was a minor league free agent in my league that had an incredible season in Class A, hitting 41 homers and driving in 135 in 139 games. He was 23, a former first round pick that the computer GM (before the online portion began) released. So I offered him a minor league contract and hoped. Turned out I had no chance at him as I saw in the next sim the Montreal Saints signed him to a minor league contract with a $2,500 bonus (this is 1925 after all). SIGNING BONUS!!?? What????

I didn't know you could offer a signing bonus with a minor league contract. Oh well, the perils of being a newcomer to online play and OOTP GMing in general. I just know the name Jack Cornelison is going to come back and haunt me down the road.

So begins my learning curve of online play.



WELCOME TO BROOKLYN
I don't follow online leagues a lot but I thought it was quite a unique idea that the commissioner (who does not own a team in this league) had us select our teams right after he posted the 1909 recap and did not post anything else until all teams were filled. So it meant that every GM - the dozen or so guys that are in multiple leagues run by legendsport and the 3 or 4 newcomers including myself- all had an equal chance of taking over a league champion or a basement dweller when the online portion begins at the end of the 1925 season.

Turns out in selecting Brooklyn I got the latter. It is 1925 now and the Kings have been around since they joined the Border Association in 1884. We won a pair of titles in the 8 years we spent in that loop before the FABL was formed. Since then we have spent a lot of years in the bottom half of the 8 team Continental Association but did win pennants in 1912 and 1923. However, the last two seasons have seen the Kings sink to the bottom of the CA. The good news is I have second pick in the rookie draft right behind the Federal Associaiton's last place team - the Detroit Dynamos.

Here are the 1925 standings and then I will take a look at my organizations.
Code:

		     1925 FINAL STANDINGS
FEDERAL ASSOCIATION			CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
TEAM 			 W  L		TEAM			 W  L
Washington Eagles       93 61		New York Stars		87 67
Chicago Chiefs		86 68		Cleveland Foresters	81 73
Philadelphia Keystones  81 73		Montreal Saints		81 73
St Louis Pioneers	79 75		Philadelphia Sailors	77 77
Boston Minutemen	74 80		Baltimore Cannons	75 79
New York Gothams	69 85		Toronto Wolves		74 80
Pittsburgh Miners	69 85		Chicago Cougars		71 83
Detroit Dynamos		65 89		Brooklyn Kings		70 84 
So we have a draft coming up in a few days but I better figure just what kind of talent I have in my organization first. The league as a whole seems to be short on talented pitchers as we are clearly just stepping into a live ball era. My Brooklyn club, despite finishing last this past season, led the Continental Association in batting average and was third in runs scored, scoring 801 runs which was just 8 behind the leaders in that category, the Cleveland Foresters. They say pitching and defense wins championships, well apparently a lack of both guarantees a last place finish. We were last in the Continental League, and 15th overall ahead of only Detroit, in runs allowed. Our 870 runs against was 78 more-or nearly half a run a game - higher then the next poorest club in the CA. We were also near the bottom of the pack in any defensive category you want to choose.

A look at the top 20 pitchers and top 20 hitters results in no sightings of Brooklyn players on either list but there is a positive when I look at the minor league systems. The Kings are ranked as having the 4th best minor league system in the 16 team league and I do have some talent - mostly at catcher and outfield in the system. I will look at them in more detail shortly.

For now, I spent the rest of the day looking through the league, identifying a couple of coaches in my system I want to replace and some free agents I offer minor league contracts to. I also start working on an excel spreadsheet with my organization depth chart, color coding it so my top players and position shortcomings are easily identified.

While the rest of the league and the draft pool are still a haze, I am slowly getting comfortable with my team.
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Old 06-01-2019, 04:40 PM   #3
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I mentioned I was overwhelmed (but in a good way) so I decided to break things done to pieces. Rather than concentrate on the whole league and the draft pool I figure step one is get to know my team. I have seen others who manage teams use a lot of detailed spreadsheets so I thought any easy way to look at my team was to have a 1 page spreadsheet organized by level and position and color coded so I could see at a glance the current state and future prospects on my roster.


BROOKLYN KINGS INITIAL ROSTER
I went through the scouting reports and stat history for all of the players in my organization to create a depth chart. To start getting used to my team I color coded everyone in my organization in one of 6 categories.

Red - Superstars or for prospects ones I thought could potentially become superstars. I have only one guy I would rate that high. A 26 year old outfielder by the name of Bud Rogers. He won the league batting title (.348) and led the Association in doubles last season - his third in the FABL but first as an everyday player. None of my prospects I would rate this high.

GREEN - reserved for players who I felt were or would become above average in the league. They included my starting catcher, first baseman, shortstop and other two outfielders on the big league club as well as 6 minor leaguers - 3 of them outfielders and none pitchers.

ORANGE - Players I felt were or could become average major leaguers. My starting second baseman and third baseman fell into this category as did 9 position player prospects and 2 minor league pitchers. I also might have been generous in declaring 2 of my major league pitchers as average- although one was a 39 year old former star clearly on the downside of his career. I just hope he has one more year left in him.

YELLOW - Players I thought could be back-ups or marginal major leaguers. Here is where most of my pitching staff falls and nearly all of my better (or more accurately less worse) pitching prospects.

BLUE - Just for prospects. Career minor leaguers at best. Guys I will jettison as soon as I need roster space for a guy I consider a real prospect.

GREY - The veteran version of blue. Guys who are no longer prospects and have no real future in the organization...basically just filling up roster space primarily on my AAA farm team.


I was trying to find an easy way to take a quick glance at my organization as I learn all the names and I think this was the easiest way to accomplish that. In addition to the players name, his coloured box also includes his age, any additional positions he has played and if he is on my 40-man roster or if he is rule V draft eligible.


So that's what I did to get to know my team. I made another spreadsheet for my draft board taking the advice I see from my scout (who was rated GOOD in assessing amateur talent) and from what I saw in looking at a player's feeder league stats. It took a lot of time but was well worth it and when I talk about the draft you will hear things went well for me...at least I think they did, but it will take a couple of seasons to see how these guys pan out.

I thought about posting an image of my depth chart spreadsheet but not sure if that gives away too much of my thinking to any of my competitors in the league who read this.
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Old 06-01-2019, 04:52 PM   #4
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NITIAL ROSTER ASSESSMENT AND MY FIRST TRADE

It took no time at all to decide I had no pitching whatsoever. I also thought I would be happy with any of the top 15-20 draft picks so I decided to see what the #2 overall was worth on the market. My head scout hated all the pitchers in the draft class, so he is either a terrible judge of pitching or it is a down year for hurlers. Either way I felt I would not get pitching help from the top of the draft. My hope was to trade down in the first round and pick up either a veteran pitcher or a top prospect in the deal.

I talked with three teams but only really got serious with one. Toronto made an offer and they had a young pitcher I really wanted. While they did not want to part with him we eventually came up with a deal that I was very happy with (and I think they were too as Toronto had it's eyes on someone in the draft.)

I dealt the #2 pick and one of my good young outfield prospects - which was really the only position I had very good depth at - to go down 4 spots in the draft, as well as add 2 more picks and a pair of pitchers. The picks were #6 in the first, second and fourth rounds. The pitchers, I am sure, were both expendable from Toronto's point of view but likely will be both be in my starting rotation next season. Carl Williams, a 28 year old who went 10-13 with a 4.85 era for the Toronto Wolves last year and judging by their team would likely not make their rotation next season. For me he will be the number 3 starter unless I make some other upgrades. I also got a 26 year old - we will call him a prospect still since he has yet to pitch in the bigs - named Topsy Moran.

Moran is coming off a great year with AAA Buffalo where he went 19-6, with a 3.38 era and 196 strikeouts vs just 56 walks in 213 innings. The only thing I did not like about him is his personality says he is unmotivated. It's stats only so I have no ratings to go one which means I am putting an even higher value in personality then I might otherwise. That personality factor really was the big reason why I wanted the other prospect from Toronto but they held strong and we finally agreed to a deal including Moran.

As for the draft pick dropping from #2 to #6 could not have worked out better for me. The guy I really wanted and ranked first overall on my list - an outfielder named Al Wheeler that my scout feels has tremendous power potential - went first to Detroit so I would not have had a chance at him regardless. It turns out the guy I ranked second, a college outfielder named Doug Lightbody, was still around so I got him with the 6th pick and had two additional picks to play with as well. Maybe my scout is bad at judging pitching talent because it turns out Toronto used that #2 pick on a pitcher - a high schooler from Albuquerque named Eddie Quinn. I hope Quinn works out well for Toronto but if he does then my scout should probably be looking for a new job. I really like the guy I got at #6 and if Moran can pan out I will be real happy with the deal.

So I think my first online league trade worked out okay for me. A good trade helps both teams and I think the outfield prospect I sent to Toronto will be a really good one. As for the players Toronto took #2 in the draft and the one I took 6th....like everyone else in this stats only realm it will be a couple of years before we know how that worked out for both of us. But it was a good negotiation with a few prospects names bandied about and some give and take on both teams part. In short, a lot of fun and much more realistic then dealing with the cpu GM in solo play.

Hopefully in a few league years we are both real happy with the deal.
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Old 06-02-2019, 12:40 AM   #5
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Excellent thread, makes me want to join an online league myself.
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:31 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nymetsfan5 View Post
Excellent thread, makes me want to join an online league myself.
As I said I am hooked now. Really enjoying this one, but I think the key for those of us who had never tried online leagues is to find the right one for you, something that you can really invest your time and focus on.

This one, with stats-only and, most importantly for me, a rich history and back story created by the commissioner, was a perfect fit for me. Through the years I had looked every so often at some different online leagues but just never found one that really drew me in enough that I could see myself committing the time to.
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:36 AM   #7
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I wrote this up when I first decided to take the Kings GM job and was waiting for the commissioner to finish simming from 1909 through to 1925. I wanted to learn about the history of my organization so it here is an article on the early years of the Brooklyn Kings franchise. For full context you should read the league history articles by Legendsport on his website


THE HISTORY OF THE BROOKLYN KINGS
PART ONE - THE BORDER ASSOCIATION ERA

The Brooklyn Kings were only around for the final eight of the Border Association's brief 10 year existence, but no club won more than the two league titles earned by the Kings. They are tied with St Louis and Cincinnati for the most Border Association pennants and the club that got it's start in 1884 is still going strong today in the Continental Association.

1884 - It began in 1884 when the now 3 year old Border Association adds two new clubs including the Brooklyn Kings. The new Brooklyn squad would have to compete for fans with the Brooklyn Unions of the more establish Century League but a strong debut season that saw them finish 3rd in their circuit helped the Kings outdraw their borough rivals.

Brooklyn finished the season with a 59-31 record, just 5.5 games behind league champion St Louis. The Kings were led by 22 year old righthander Jim Cox, who went 23-7 with a 2.14 era. Cox' only previous experience was coming out of the pen for New York two years prior. His career would be quite successful but very short-lived. Cox would go 23-13 for the Kings the following season and then disappear from the game - never to pitch again.

The offensive leader was Samuel Higgins, a 25 year old second baseman who started the season in Indianapolis but after one game jumped to the Kings. Higgins would hit .373 and lead the club in rbi's and runs scored. His stay in Brooklyn was also quick as Higgins jumped to St Paul of the Century League the following season.

One player who did get his start that season and remained a King for several years was pitcher Ferdinand Hawkins. Just 19 years old in 1884, Hawkins won 19 games that season while fanning 197 batters. He would spend 9 years in Brooklyn until being waived by the club following the 1892 season. His 191 career victories remain the most all-time in a Kings uniform.

Catcher Harvey Reese was a 20 year old rookie in '84. He had a strong debut season for the Kings but would leave for Providence of the Century League. He is best known as a Cleveland Forester, where he played for a decade, but Reese did finish his stellar career with 4 seasons in Brooklyn before retiring at the age of 40 after 1827 games and 1872 career big league hits.


1885 - The Border Association dropped from 10 teams to 8. The Kings survived but their expansion partners from last year, Indianapolis, did not with Washington also dropping out. For the Kings, it was another solid season as the club finished with a 63-47 record, good enough for fourth place as they sat 14 games behind the champion Cincinnati Monarchs.

Jim Cox (23-13) was solid in what would prove to be the final season of his all too brief Brooklyn career. The number two starter was Frank Maroney (22-14). Maroney had won 14 games in the expansion year but this would be his last season as a King. He jumped to New York the following season and would go on to have a pretty good career, finishing with a 173-127 record. Ferdinand Hawkins, who would elevate to a more prominent role in the seasons to come, was 16-16 as the number 3 starter at age 20.

The offense was pretty much non-existent but the Kings did welcome shortstop Albert Davis to the organization. The 22 year old hit .273 as a rookie to start a long career with the Kings that would see him leave in 1898 as the club's all-time leader in games played.


1886- The Kings finished above .500 for the third year in a row, but just barely as their 70-69 mark dropped them to 5th place in the league. At age 21, Hawkins (23-17) emerged as the ace of the staff with both Cox and Maroney gone. 26 year old Henry King was promoted from the pen to a starting role but he struggled to a 17-24 season. Newcomer Joe Caffey won 19 games as the third starter. Shortstop Davis (.272,7,99) continued to lead the offense and he got a little help from a pair of players who came over from Detroit in 1B Paul Moton (.264,4,39) and 3B Charles Scott (.241,1,39).

While the Kings enjoyed modest success on the field, the Border Association as a whole was feeling the effects of their battle with the Century League in the boardrooms. Border Association champion Pittsburgh bolted to the Century League at the end of the season. Both sides had been raiding players from each other throughout the history of the Border Association, but this was the first time a team had jumped leagues and signalled a new escalation in the war.

1887- Despite the loss of Pittsburgh, the Border Association remained at 8 teams with the addition of an expansion club in Chicago. No longer the new kids on the block, the Kings were entering their fourth season in the league and, although they have never seriously challenged for a pennant, they were once again a winning team. The club went 73-68, good for 4th place in the loop, 15.5 games back of the Border Association champion New York Stars.

Hawkins (21-17) and newcomer George Shelton (14-13), who pitched for Toronto last season, were the only hurlers to finish with a winning record. Henry King (18-19) and George Roberts (14-16) rounded out the rotation but both would not be back in Brooklyn next year.

Hawkins was not only good with his arm, he batted at a team leading .310 clip and finished fourth on the club in RBI's while playing in the outfield on days he didn't pitch. Shortstop Albert Davis (.292,9,92) had another strong season while 24 year old outfielder Mark Morris (.284, 124 runs, 88 sb) had what would prove to be the best year of his career. It would also be his final season in Brooklyn.

1888- Turmoil continued with players coming and going in both major leagues and the Border Association lost a team with the folding of the Kansas City Westerns. The loop remained at 8 clubs as an entry from Syracuse took the Westerns place. It was expected to be a good season for the Kings as team owner Sheldon Burton purchased the assets of the defunct Kansas City club to add to his own team. However, nothing went right for the Kings in this season and they endured their worst seasons to date as they sunk to the basement of the Border Association with a 49-88 record - their first sub.500 performance.

Hawkins, now 23 years old, remained the club's top pitcher going 17-19 despite giving up his outfield duties to focus solely on pitching. 31 year old Willis Bishop, who won 25 games for St Louis the previous season, endured arguably the worst season in Kings history when he lost 27 games while winning only 4 and having a 6.75 era in 32 appearances. However, Bishop would reinvent himself as a first baseman and play a big role a couple of years down the road for the Kings. After his playing days were done Bishop would stay in baseball as a minor league manager and also had a stint as a pitching coach for the New York Gothams.

1889- As much as everything went wrong last season, 1889 more than balanced the scales for the Kings as they established a franchise record for wins by going 93-46 to win their first Border Association title. Hawkins returned to double-duty, going 28-10 on the mound while batting .296 and playing in the outfield. His 26 victories were tops in the entire Border Association. 25 year old George Cole (25-15), who was a batter in the Dixie League, signed with the Kings as a pitcher and had an incredible season. Frank Ford (26-11), who was signed the previous year from St Louis but struggled, returned to the form where he won 30 games in 1887 for the Brewers, giving the Kings three outstanding pitchers.

For a club that had struggled at the plate most years it was refreshing to have four players top the .300 mark in batting. 24 year old outfielder Jacob Gray, signed away from Toronto, led the way hitting at a .352 clip and driving in what remains a club record 130 runs. Outfielder Joe Borden (.329,11,105) one of the players acquired in the Kansas City purchase a year ago began a string of three strong seasons for the Kings. Newcomers Matthew Brown (.316,1,84) and Frank Ford (.307,5,53) also played a key role.

While the Kings were celebrating their first title the Fall of 1889 proved to be very tumultuous for the sport. An entire new league - dubbing itself the Peerless League - emerged on the scene and caused chaos for all three leagues as bidding wars erupted for players. To compound matters for Sheldon Burton and the Kings, one of the Peerless League clubs, ran by former Century League owner Miles Bigsby, set up shop in a stadium right across Flatbush Avenue from Kings County ballpark.

1890 - The Kings fared better than most clubs, not losing any of their key stars to the new league, but they were unable to defend their title. Brooklyn had a respectable 80-60 record but were still 11 games back of the front-running Philadelphia Sailors.

1891- While the battle for players and fans raged on between the three leagues, the Brooklyn Kings won their second pennant in three years. Unfortunately, like all the teams in each of the three leagues they took a big hit in attendance while payrolls increased. The system seemed in danger of collapse as none of the owners were in the habit of running businesses that lose money.

On the field the duo of Hawkins (28-19) and Ford (28-16) carried the Kings to the title. Matthew Brown (.333,11,91), Jacob Gray (.260, 12,85) and Joe Borden (.285,8,82) had big seasons just as they did helping claim the first pennant two years ago. A big contributor was Willis Biship (.263,6,93). The former pitcher, who lost 27 games for the Kings three years ago, was converted to a first baseman and would play a large role in the title run. That title would prove to be the final one ever awarded by the Border Association as sweeping changes would revamp the sport over the winter.

1892 - The season marked the birth of what we now know as the FABL with the creation of the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues. FABL, engineered by Century League pioneer William Whitney, consolidated the 3 leagues under a single umbrella of 16 clubs and put an end to the financial suicide that had teams raiding each other for players.

Eight of the teams would be eliminated including Miles Bigsby's Brooklyn entry in the Peerless League. That team would merge with the Kings leaving Kings owner Sheldon Burton in control. The Kings would find a new home with many of their Border Association brethren in the newly created Continental Association, an 8 team loop that also included the Baltimore Clippers, Chicago Cougars, Cleveland Foresters, Montreal Saints, New York Stars, Philadelphia Sailors and Toronto Provincials. The Stars would be owned by Bigsby and his nephew.

While the owners rejoiced over a newfound peace it would prove to be bittersweet for the defending Border Association champion Kings as it would be many years before they claimed a pennant in the new Continental Association and they have yet to win an FABL championship.
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:43 AM   #8
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THE DRAFT BEGINS

Back to modern day (well the fall of 1925 and the FABL draft to be more precise)

Playing stats-only has made the draft just an incredible experience. I mentioned earlier that I rarely play the game as a GM and prefer to let the game sim out while I simply observe. One of the reasons was being GM didn't feel like baseball to me - it was more a case of being an accountant and tabulating the ratings numbers to make my draft list. Well, stats only and competing with human GM's eliminates all of that - for lack of a better word - monotony.

I spent several hours pouring over the stats and reading my scouts assessment of each player to make short lists. In fact, I used several different short lists in the game, a feature I had never really used at all before. I read more scouting reports in a few days of preparing for the FABL draft than I did in my previous 20 years of playing.

When I compiled my draft list I was comparing batting averages, zone ratings, GB/FB tendency, slugging percentages, stolen bases, catcher caught stealing numbers instead of star ratings. Now it felt like baseball.

Add in the fact that our scouts are never 100% accurate and suddenly I am seeing guys taken in the top five that I had ranked 200th on my draft board. Overall, most of the first round picks did match up fairly close to what I and my scout had decided to go with for our list, but certainly not all of them.

Now let's talk about the draft itself. It used a program called StatsLab, that I am sure online vets all know well, but it was brand new to me. Fortunately it seemed very intuitive and with help on a few questions from my fellow owners I picked it up pretty easily.

I had my list ready and as I mentioned before I had traded down from the #2 slot to sixth so I expected there was little to no chance the guy I wanted would be there. I would have likely kicked myself for making the trade had the Detroit Dynamos not selected outfielder Al Wheeler from Decatur High School. He was the guy I wanted and my scout felt he was a future homerun champion in the making. Obviously, Detroit's scout felt the same and my decision to deal the #2 pick along with a good outfield prospect for the #6,#22, #54 and 2 pitchers paid off for me.

The pay-off was even better when the guy I would have selected second overall, Mississippi outfielder Doug Lightbody, was still available when my 6th pick came up. My scout had a high school infielder by the name of Jack Cleaves number one with Lightbody second on his list and Wheeler ninth. I took most of his advice but customized it based on what I thought made sense in taking into account stats, organization needs and scouting reports. Now, I was just praying Cleaves would drop to the second round....which in stats only is suddenly a possibility because no one is able to see if a guy is a 5-star prospect.

Unfortunately for me the Philadelphia Sailors took Cleaves 10th overall. In between there were guys selected that I had on my draft list ranging from about 5th to 95th. So, assuming my scout knows his stuff and we get lucky, I am feeling good about who is still available for my pair of round two picks.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:26 PM   #9
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DRAFT ROUNDS 2-4


ROUND TWO
I have a pair of picks in round two thanks to the trade with Toronto. I am selecting 2nd (18th overall) and 6th. My pitching is awful but my head scout Rube Carter seems to think every pitcher in this draft is crap. Now Carter is rated good across the board including amateur scouting so I don't know if the draft pool pitchers are that bad or Carter is that bad. I looked to hire a scout with better talent assessment rating but when I looked there were none better that were unemployed, so far better or worse Rube Carter is my guy.

Still, I need pitching so I am going to take one with one of my second round picks. I had 3 or 4 guys in mind but the one I liked best was Bill Dengler. Carter thought he could be a spot starter for me....which is the highest opinion he had on any of the pitchers. Dengler, 21 and coming off a 5-4 season with a 3.13 era in 18 appearances for Maryland (50 game NCAA schedule in the feeder league) fanned 108 batters while walking just 17 in 97 innings. He allowed 2 homers but did give up 101 hits. He is a groundball pitcher with average velocity and his personality is focused. Good enough, I decided Dengler is my man and took him with the 18th pick.

He was the fourth pitcher taken in the draft and two of them were not even on my radar, which I think is a great testament to playing stats-only. Will be interesting to see how they pan out as the years progress. The two other guys I was considering along with Dengler were Lou Martino, a high school pitcher taken 2 picks ahead of me by the defending champion New York Stars and William Jones from Purdue. Jones went to the Philadelphia Sailors in the third round and I was very close to taking him with my third round pick but decided to go another direction. Again, to me it just seems like there is so much more to consider in the draft when you don't have ratings to look at.

My other second round pick was high school third baseman Dave Bristol. Rube Carter loved the guy. He had him ranked 15th on the scout's list but claims he is a future .330 hitter with plus power, outstanding defense and a laser-like arm. (Not sure if lasers were a thing in the 1920's but Rube Carter may be ahead of his time)


ROUND THREE
I didn't necessarily want more outfielders but when it was my turn in the third round I felt I had no choice but to take Lynn Randall from LSU. Carter thinks Randall is a steal here as he was #5 on my scouts overall list. I got him with the 34th pick which either makes my scout really good or really bad. Overall at this point about 2/3 of the players on my scouts top 30 had been taken so I am (optimistically perhaps) leaning towards Carter being pretty good at assessing talent.

As for Randall, he started two seasons in the outfield at LSU and helped lead them to a College World Series title this past summer. He hit .326 in 23 playoff games after hitting .320 in the regular season. He is easy to sign for Brooklyn just like my first rounder Lightbody, which is always a plus. Carter says Randall has the tools to become an extraordinary contact hitter with a great eye and the power to hit 20 homers.

ROUND FOUR

In round four I have two more picks, 50th and 54th overall. At number 50 I take another player who was ranked high on my scout's draft board. Catcher Tom Aiello was 8th on the board (the highest guy remaining on the list of 32 my scout gave me). As a side note for anyone who doesn't know - I discovered it by accident - you can get your scout to give you a list by selecting the draft list tab from within the draft pool screen.

Anyway, back to Aiello. He actually played 4 years at New York High School and was drafted by Cleveland in the 5th round a year ago but failed to sign with the organization (this was before human GM's.). Scout Carter says he has excellent defensive abilities, a smooth righthanded swing and 20 homer power. Carter says he would be a productive regular on a contending team. His stats bear that out with 7 homers and a .296 batting average in 38 games, a good defensive ZR and he threw out nearly half of the would be base stealers (46.2%) with just 2 passed balls in the 38 games behind the plate. He CERA was the second lowest among those who played at least 25 games out of over 60 high school teams.

After Aiello, I figured I better start looking at more pitching. Again my scout is little help on pitchers but I decided to take another LSU player in 21 year old righthander Milt Nelson. All Carter says about Nelson is he thinks he can throw strikes but is not sold on him being more than a spot starter. I see he is another groundball pitcher with decent velocity, has good leadership skills and went 2-0 with a 1.07 era in the College World Series, striking out 34 while walking 7 in 25 innings. His regular season numbers were similar. He was actually a 12th round pick by Detroit out of high school and spent one season in A ball before being released and enrolling at LSU. His A-ball stats scare me, but that was 3 years ago when he was 18: 3-12 with an 8.40 era in 110 innings. Gave up 142 hits including 20 homers while fanning 120 and walking 79. I am hoping he has developed a lot in the past 3 years.
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Old 06-02-2019, 04:26 PM   #10
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Nice story on your Brooklyn team. I might have to do something similar with the Cleveland Foresters.
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Old 06-03-2019, 08:45 PM   #11
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THE REST OF THE DRAFT



ROUND FIVE
I did not need another catcher but my Head Scout had Bill Smith from Dartmouth as number 11 on his list. I figured I better take him with the 66th pick, so I get a catcher in both rounds 4 and 5. Smith hit .272 at Dartmouth this season with 9 homers in 48 games. Scout Carter says he has a good eye, good power and solid defense. Overall grades him out as an above average everyday big leaguer when he matures.

By this point people in our slack room are talking how they are often on auto draft by this point as they are all a mix of 1.5 and 2 star players left but with stats only everyone still has some names that rank fairly high on their draft boards still available. My Kings are no exception. I know I want more pitching but that is a crapshoot (thanks again Scout Rube Carter) but there are also nearly 60 guys I had in my top 100 hitters still available. My strategy is to grab a couple of pitchers over the next two rounds and then focus on whatever hitters remain in my top 100 regardless of position.

ROUND SIX
I start looking much more closely at pitchers for this pick but it appears others have a similar strategy as 4 pitchers go before I get to choose another player including a Dartmouth righthander by the name of Leo Proctor that was the top pitcher on my list for the 6th round pick. I did have two others besides Proctor I was looking closely at with this pick so it worked out all right when both the other two were still available. I decided on 21 year old Rube McCormick, a lefthander from Holy Cross. McCormick was 4-1 with a 1.11 era in 16 games for the Crusaders. He is an extreme ground ball pitcher which is something I have tried to focus on. Being lefthanded was the deciding factor as I have very few southpaws in my organization. I had Proctor one spot ahead of McCormick on my list so it will be interesting to look back in a few years and see how they compared. Proctor went to the Pittsburgh Miners of the Federal Association.

ROUND SEVEN
I went with another college arm, selecting 21 year old Lyman Weigel out of Boston College. Weigel spent most of the season in the pen for the Eagles, making 21 appearances but only 6 starts. He was 5-2 with 5 saves and a 1.53 era to bring his final college record to 22-10. He struck out 72 while walking 16 in 64 innings this season. In the playoffs he got 4 starts and had a 2.60 era with 24 k's in 27 innings.

My scout says he has three pitches but below average stuff and needs to improve his control and Weigel's future is that of a spot starter - but then he seems to think that of every pitcher I like. I figure if I have a good number of guys with decent college stats maybe one of them will pan out.

ROUND EIGHT
I was going to take another college pitcher here but I have been short-listing a couple of position players the last few rounds and did not pull the trigger on them, until now. I really don't need outfielders but I really like Roy Meagher, an 18 year old who played for Wilkes-Barre High School, where he hit .362 with 20 homers in 80 games over two seasons. He is a baseball rat and eats and sleeps the game. My scout Rube Carter likes him ever since he witnessed Meagher hit three homers in a game against Reading earlier in the season. Carter feels Meagher has significant power potential, a steady glove, is quick on the base paths and has a high baseball IQ. I am likely going to assign him to my new Class B affiliate in the spring with the hopes he dominates at that level.

ROUND NINE
The last of my three high school picks from the draft was second baseman Ray Hays. I wanted to get some middle infielders earlier it just didn't work out that way when guys like Lynn Randall, Bill Smith and Ray Meagher dropped into my lap. Taking 14 college players and just 3 high school guys was also not by design. I do think I like college pitchers better than high school but had no preference on the position players going in...it was just something that happened to work out this way.

While he did not make Carter's top 32, the scout did really like Hays figuring he can hit .330 and provide above average defense when he matures. I liked his numbers in Memphis - three years with a batting average of .335 and a little bit of pop in his bat. He needs to cut down on strikeouts but Carter his confident he will.

ROUND TEN
I stay with the middle infielders by taking Willie Razzano out of LSU. Carter loves this kid and had him ranked at 14 on his short list. He is a baseball rat, Carter says he should be an good hitter with a bit of power and above average defense. So why did I wait so long to take him? Well, he is 23 years old, played for 3 colleges and was drafted and released twice by the New York Stars. They took him in the 24th round in 1923 but cut him and after Montreal signed and cut him he enrolled at Ohio State. The Stars drafted him again in 1924, this time in the 18th round but once again released him so midway through last year he signed at LSU and helped win a National Championship. His college numbers are decent and he hit over .300 in 17 playoff games but to be cut 3 times made me very wary. However, by round ten when I am looking for middle infielders I think it is certainly worth the risk. This is a player I will watch closely and is the kind of pick that will help determine whether or not Rube Carter gets another contract.

ROUND ELEVEN
I was all set to take first baseman Jim Alexander here but Baltimore grabbed him about eight picks earlier so I went with another need - speed at center field. California Golden Bears speedster Bill Chadwell fits that bill perfectly. He stole 16 bases in 50 games while hitting .353 at Cal this season. Carter thinks he can be a great hitter but needs a fair bit of seasoning.

ROUND TWELVE AND THIRTEEN
I decided to focus on some more pitching for these two rounds and I was all set to take a kid I had on my shortlist for several rounds. 18 year old lefthander Bob Bergeson went 10-3 for Toledo High School this season and 22-9 overall, and I was poised to grab him but the Chicago Chiefs took him late in round 11, so I waited just a little too long on him just as I did on Alexander the previous round.

I had Ben Andersen, a 21 year old from USC on my short-list so I selected him. Another groundball pitcher with a good attitude, few homers against (just 1 in 3 years with the Trojans) and a good strikeout to walk ratio so he was my pick. He has 4 pitches but Scout Rube Carter says only the sinker is average or better. Carter thinks best projection on Andersen is an emergency starter role. I have learned Carter does not like any pitchers.

I have very few lefty's in my system (although 6th rounder Rube McCormick is lefthanded) so I decided to select Penn State's Tom Goldsborough with my 13th round pick. A quiet kid, Goldsborough has 4 decent pitches but needs to work on his control according to Carter. Carter must love him as he thinks the 21 year could one day be a spot starter or bullpen piece - which is high praise on pitchers coming from Rube. Numbers aren't great at Penn State, went 3-4 with a 3.08 era in 13 starts but I like the fact he fanned 101 in 84 innings of work while walking 29.

ROUND 14
I had planned on drafting a first baseman but both Gus Place and Terry Miller went in the previous round and Miller would have been my pick. Instead I went with best available which was a toss-up between outfielders Bernie Carter and Sam Tyree. Tyree was higher on my list but the high schooler was liked less by Rube Carter so I took Bernie Carter (don't think he is related to old Rube.)

Bernie Carter is a 21 year old left fielder from USC that Rube Carter thinks can become an above average hitter in the big leagues. Maybe they are related as young Bernie did not show me a lot at USC, hitting .287 with 9 homers in 105 career games but it's the 14th round and I am throwing old Rube a bone. Let's see if he finds me gem.

ROUND 15
Still haven't found my first baseman in the draft but maybe I can convert catcher Dick Fleetwood. The Ohio State Buckeye is my final selection as he had been sitting near the bottom of my short list ever since I drafted fellow catcher Bill Smith in the fifth round. He has a very smooth glove according to Rube Carter and good bat speed. Despite being just 21 he has already been drafted and released - by the Philadelphia Sailors who took him out of Richmond High School in the 11th round of the 1922 draft. Fleetwood played a few games in the minors but didn't hit and got cut. He went to Ohio State this year and hit .279 in 46 games.



Here is my complete draft list with where I had them ranked and where scout Rube Carter ranked them. Not my rankings were split between hitters (1-200) and pitchers (1-150) and Carter only provides a list of 32 players so many are not on his list.
Code:

	                       BROOKLYN KINGS DRAFT PICKS 
RD PICK   POS    NAME           AGE   SCHOOL	  RANK	CARTER  MYSELF   
 1   6    OF  Doug Lightbody    21    Ole Miss		 4	 2	
 2  18    P   Bill Dengler	21    Maryland		16	 1P
 2  22    3B  Dave Bristol	18    San Antonio HS    15	15
 3  34    OF  Lynn Randall	21    LSU		 5	 6
 4  50    C   Tom Aiello	18    Queens HS		 8       9
 4  54    P   Milt Nelson	21    LSU      		NR	 6P
 5  66    C   Bill Smith	21    Dartmouth		11      11
 6  82    P   Rube McCormick    21    Holy Cross	NR	23P
 7  98    P   Lyman Weigel	21    Boston College	NR	46P
 8 114    OF  Roy Meagher       18    Wilkes-Barre HS	NR      21
 9 130    2B  Ray Hays		18    Memphis HS	NR	34
10 146    SS  Willie Razzano	23    LSU		14     112
11 162    CF  Bill Chadwell	21    Cal		NR	25
12 178	  P   Ben Andersen	21    USC		NR     101P
13 194    P   Tom Goldsborough  21    Penn State	NR     133P
14 200    OF  Bernie Carter	21    USC		NR	38
15 216    C   Dick Fleetwood	21    Ohio State	NR	57
Overall, 10 of my 11 hitters were ranked 57th or better in my final list and 7 of my picks were considered to be in the top 32 overall by Rube Carter. The one exception to my hitters was Willie Razzano, that Carter ranked 14th but I dropped him to 112 for reasons mentioned above. Pitching was much different as Carter gave me little to go on aside from Dengler and I found myself re-ording my pitcher rankings as the draft progressed.

(Just a note. Yes, I did rank 200 hitters but only the first 100 were really serious rankings. 100-200 were just guys I liked but not quite enough to put them on my first page of 100. For pitchers, Carter was useless so I just very roughly ranked them looking primarily for groundball guys with a good attitude and decent strikeout to walk ratios.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON DRAFT DAY
Of course everyone loves their picks on draft day but if my scout is worth his salt I think we had a fantastic draft. My hope is Lightbody becomes an above average player; three of Dengler, Bristol, Randall, Aiello and Nelson pan out and perhaps I get a surprise from the bottom 10 rounds. The fun part will be looking back in 5 years to see how well (or poorly) I drafted.

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 06-03-2019 at 08:48 PM.
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:02 PM   #12
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SOME THOUGHTS ON MY DRAFT PHILOSPHY
Stats only made the draft extremely challenging but I hope my game plan will prove to be sound but, like in real baseball, it will be a few game years before I know for sure. I knew I was desperate for pitching but I also knew Rube Carter (my scouting director) felt there was little pitching talent. Carter is rated good in scouting amateurs so I felt it best to trust him - at least for now. I decided I would take the best player available with my first round pick and one of my second rounders. The other second rounder was used on the best pitcher I could find. I figured doing it that way if the pitcher flamed out at least the draft would not be a total bust.

I also went in with the goal of getting 5 or 6 starting pitchers with the idea that perhaps one or two will pan out but I really felt blind on ranking them thanks to Carter. On the flip side, I really like and felt the stats backed up most of his guidance towards position players. I have some good talent in the outfield and behind the plate at the major league level but I still drafted 5 outfielders and 3 catchers. I felt they were too good to bypass for a position of need at the spots they were taken and I believe the idea of collecting pieces that perhaps I can trade and solve a need down the road. As the draft wore on I then started to focus a little more on need to be able to fill out my new Class B affiliate that I am getting.

I tried to rely on a balance between what Carter's scouting reports said and what the stats told me and for the most part I think the two alligned pretty well.

Was my strategy the right one? I guess time will tell. It will be interesting to see the next prospect ranking on opening day as that will be our first indication of how our draft picks panned out.

The draft itself was a lot of fun and a great way to both start my online experience and to help me get to 'know' my organization and the league in this fictional world.
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Old 06-04-2019, 11:17 AM   #13
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I still haven't got around to introducing you to my team so I should do that now. As I mentioned earlier I have a good minor league system but not a single player in the top 20 report of hitters or pitchers. Although, I disagree with that report as I feel that my 26 year old left fielder Bud Rogers should be on the list. So let's start with Rogers and my outfield. If you want to look at my organization more closely you can always view the league html pages here.


OUTFIELD
Bud Rogers hails from Provo, Utah and played his college ball at Mississippi. The Kings took him in the 9th round of the 1920 draft and after a couple of minor league seasons he made his big league debut during the 1923 season, appearing in 22 games. In 1924 he was a backup and hit .292 in 81 games (just 21 starts) but he took over the starting job on opening day this past season when the Kings traded leftfielder Huck Monahan to the New York Gothams for 3B Hal Lucas. All Rogers did in his first season as an everyday player was lead the Continental Association in batting average (.348) and doubles (47). He is the only player I would consider a superstar on our roster.

In centerfield we have 28 year old Larry Cox, a Colorado native who was Brooklyn's first round pick back in 1916 out of the high school ranks. He just finished his fifth full season as the Kings centerfielder and led the CA in stolen bases (48) for the second time in his career. Cox hit .330 and topped the league in hits with 213 and runs scored. I have no idea why but I see that his morale is very unhappy - hope I can solve that as I see him being productive for a number of years.

My rightfielder Clarence Hall is also a University of Mississippi product and played 3 years alongside Rogers before being drafted in the 9th round by Montreal in 1920. The Saints released him and we picked him up as a minor league free agent. Like Rogers, he is 26 and made his Continental Association debut this past season, hitting .352 with 7 homers in 102 games.

Outfield is certainly an organization strength as my 3 starters are all in their prime with one rated superstar and the other two above-average (on my personal organization depth chart).

As big league backups I have a pair of veterans in 34 year old George T Johnson and 32 year old Billy Geier who I consider to be solid backups. In the system I have 3 players in their early twenties I rate as above average prospects plus one I see as a future major league average player and two others I see as future major league back-ups. I also just drafted Doug Lightbody - another Mississippi product - who I and my scout feel has potential to be a superstar and Lynn Randall out of the LSU who could be at least a major league average player down the road.

I also recently dealt one of my good outfield prospects to Toronto recently so it really is a position of strength for the organization.

CATCHER
I go to catcher next because I believe it is my next strongest position. I added two good prospects in the draft with the 4th round pickup of high schooler Tom Aiello and the 5th round addition of Bill Smith from Dartmouth. (Keep in mind I still need to sign all my picks.) I also have a 19 year old by the name of Joe Cameron who was a third round pick last year out of high school in Chicago. Cameron hit .248 at Class A Omaha as a rookie and I see him as having above average major league potential.

In AA and AAA (at least that's where I plan to start them) I have a couple of players in Dave Armstrong (23) and Clay Vega (25). I think both have potential to be major league average players but they are stuck behind 24 year old Mickey Dowell - a 1919 first round pick from Houston. Dowell is an above average catcher who hit .287 with 5 homers and 75 rbi's in his first full major league season this past year. My scout thinks his defense - which was average I would say - and power will improve with maturity.


Something I have noticed is a lot of players in my organization are unhappy or angry. I can see backups or older minor leaguers being so but even guys like Dowell who is a starter and playing well is unhappy.

Leads to two questions:

1- Should I be concerned?
and
2- How do I fix it?
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Old 06-04-2019, 12:20 PM   #14
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You can see the details on why they are unhappy (individual performance, team performance, role, clubhouse, etc), and see if there is something directly you can do about it. Generally a losing team will have crabby players, and the only real way to fix that is to win.
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Old 06-04-2019, 04:44 PM   #15
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Lets finish up a look at my organization

INFIELDERS
I have two players I am very happy with and consider above average major leaguers in first baseman Lou Garman and shortstop Lloyd Carter. Carter is 29 and played college ball at Colorado before the Kings took him in the second round in 1918. He is above average defensivly according to my scout and hit .343 last season but missed 6 weeks with an injury. Garman is 26 and a first round pick in 1920 from the North Carolina Tar Heels. He split the first base job last year hitting .340 with 6 homers and 54 rbi's in 96 games. His competition for the first base job comes from 29 year old Stan Bass, another former first round pick but by the Chicago Chiefs. The former Indiana Hoosier was signed by the Kings as a minor league free agent in 1923 and played a few games in Brooklyn that season. Last year he hit .343 with 7 homers and 61 rbi's in 102 appearances. Bass bats right and Garman left so my thinking is my manager Powell Slocum may decide to platoon them. All 3 players I am my head scout Rube Carter grade out as above average major leaguers.

My second baseman and third baseman both grade out as average major leaguers. 2B Victor Rodding is 29 and a 1917 third round pick from Rutgers. He has been the starter the past 3 seasons and batted .321 this past year but his zone rating is -11.3 Not big on sabrmetrics so any help on how much he is hurting me would be appreciated. My third baseman is 32 year old Glenn Mowles, who I also grade as average at his position but missed half the year with an injury and I just have the feeling he is on the downside of his career although he did raise his average from .256 the previous year to .283. His defense is solid.


My reserves are decent backups in 32 year old Hugh Luckey and 29 year old Jack Van Landingham.

I don't have a lot of great infield prospects although I do obviously like my second round pick Dave Bristol but the third baseman is just 18 years old so it will be a while before we see him in Brooklyn. I also have a 19 year old second baseman named Elmer Root who just finished his first pro year in A ball.



PITCHERS
Here is where things look bleak. In my entire organization I have 0 pitchers I would consider superstars or in the case of prospects have superstar potential. Also 0 players I would consider above average. And I might be overly generous stating that I have 6 pitchers I would consider to be or have the potential to be major league average. The remainder of my organization is composed of below average major league potential pitchers or scrubs I can't see every playing in the big leagues.

Now I do have a 21 year old second round draft pick out of Maryland by the name Bill Dengler but my scout was not very high on him, or any of the other pitchers in the draft class. Let's hope the scout was wrong and Dengler or some of the other pitchers I drafted somehow pan out.

So here is what do I have on the big league club as far as a rotation:

My number one starter (by default) is 32 year old Jackie Marshall. He has had a pretty good career, going 107-104 in 9 seasons and was 15-16 in 1925. However, he gave up 324 hits in 291 innings pitched and walked more batters than he struck out so I have to think he is on the downside of his career. Rube Carter suggests he would be good at the back end of the rotation, unfortunately I have 5 starters on my roster that fit that description.

My number two starter was a near legend in the league but will be 40 years old by opening day. The great Danny Goff burst on to the scene in 1911 at the age of 25 when he was signed out of an independent league by Brooklyn. The following season he won 23 games and led the Kings to their first ever Continental Association pennant. For some crazy reason he was dealt to the New York Gothams in 1916 and enjoyed some great success with them before being reacquired by the Kings in 1924. His lifetime mark is 235-227 and he is quite popular but clearly at the tail end of his great career that, had he been injured a little less and started his career a year or two earlier, could have seen him approaching the 300 win mark this season.

Right now our manager has 28 year old Dick Dover pencilled in as the number 3 starter. The former first overall draft pick (1918) has spent five seasons in Brooklyn and won 18 games, equaling his career high, in 1923 when we won our second Continental Association pennant. Last year he was 15-16 but his WHIP, ERA+ and BABIP were the worst of his career.

The #4 starter will be newly acquired Cal Williams. I should say reacquired as the 28 year old was originally a 5th round pick of the Kings in 1918 but was dealt to Toronto before making his FABL debut. We reacquired him in my first move as GM. He was part of the deal that netted me some extra draft picks in exchange for dropping from #2 to #6 in the first round. Williams went 10-13 for Toronto last season and will be in the rotation despite scout Rube Carter saying his pedestrian stuff is not good enough to be a big league starter.

Right now my number five starter is 26 year old Bob Brown, another player Carter thinks belongs in the bullpen at best. The much travelled righthander is with his fourth organization but he has only pitched in the big leagues with Brooklyn, going 33-42 over 4 seasons including 12-14 a year ago. Like all of my other starters he gave up more hits than innings pitched and walked more than he struck out....so I guess we are at least consistent.

Another piece of my deal with Toronto was Topsy Moran. Another 26 year old hurler, I am hoping Moran can duplicate his minor league numbers that saw him with 19 games in Chattanooga two years ago and go 19-6 for AAA Buffalo last season. Moran also fanned 196 batters while allowing 56 walks in 213 innings. By numbers alone he is a great prospect and my scout almost likes him - saying he could be good enough for the back half of the rotation. The one knock on Moran is his personality says he is unmotivated. Let's hope a big league paycheque motivates him this year. My manager has him set to start the year in the pen.

29 year old Buck Blood is my so-called closer who had 6 saves and half as many blown saves. My last pitcher on the big league roster right now (23 man limit) is 25 year old rookie Art Carlson. Carlson is the only lefthander on my staff and went 16-7 last season at AA Knoxville but, like all my starters, gave up more hits than innings pitched.

There is not a lot worth mentioning in the system. I have some older scrubs at AAA and a prospect in 23 year old Leon Campbell. I also like a pair of younger guys in my low minors but they are a couple of years away and, at least at this stage, nothing more than borderline prospects in the grand scheme. I do have some draft picks as previously mentioned but they are all a long ways away.


MANAGER
The best know King is our manager Powell Slocum. The 39 year old was acquired from Baltimore late in his playing career before assuming the manager role last season. He may be inexperienced still as a manager but certainly not as a player. He won 15 FABL batting titles and 3 World Championships. He is the all-time leader in hits (4144) as well as games played and career batting average. There have been 22 seasons in which a FABL player hit at least .400 and 7 of them belond to Slocum. Just wish he could still play, although it's not hitting that is our problem.

I was a little worried reading the recaps before we went interactive as they way I read it Slocum was portrayed as engineering his deal out of Baltimore and very controlling of the entire situation with the Clippers (now called the Baltimore Cannons) and also to get the manager job in Brooklyn. I might consider a change but I think I have to give him a much longer leash than someone else would get simply because of his legendary player status.

A storyline with him I am developing is Slocum's ties to the Univeristy of Maryland and how he was instrumental in convincing me to draft Bill Dengler over the objections of scouting director Rube Carter. Of course this all created in my mind based on the history of Slocum playing in Baltimore so long but these are the things you can image in a fictional world.

Legendsport has done a nice job of adding nuggets in to the game. For example I discovered that my first round pick, Doug Lightbody, has a younger brother who also plays at Mississippi. I will keep him on my radar and their program in general since they have been a real outfield pipeline for me with Bud Rogers and Clarence Hall both playing there as well as well as one of my minor league outfielders by the name of Jim Renfroe. All things being equal when I have two outfielders to decide on in the draft I think I will naturally lean towards the Ole Miss guy just to further this storyline.

It's things like that you can find in fictional leagues that really turn it into a 'real' world. If you dig deep enough they are just waiting to be discovered, and once found they add so much to the immersion factor, at least for me they do.

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 06-04-2019 at 04:45 PM.
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Old 06-04-2019, 04:47 PM   #16
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Defensive ratings?

Here is where I would love some feedback and advice. Being stats only is quite a different challenge, especially for someone who really never ran a team much in OOTP. I tend to play in God-mode for my historical replays, just watching things unfold. Each version of OOTP I also do one solo modern day replay but for that one I almost always just act as the manager and let the AI GM control my organization.

Now I am suddenly a GM and dealing with no ratings so I have started to look a lot closer at stats I never bothered with before. Especially the defensive stats like efficiency and zone rating.

I would love some advice on what to look for and how much weight I should give any of these new stats when assessing a player's defensive abilities.
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Old 06-04-2019, 05:53 PM   #17
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The Montreal GM is a whiz at reading the defensive tea leaves. Of course, since you're both in the Continental, he may not want to help you too much

Personally, I think ZR and EFF are useful, but EFF more so because it seems (from what I've read) to measure the same thing as ZR, but instead of as a counting stat, it provides an average (with 1.000 being league average). So anything over 1 is good, anything under 1 is bad. ZR measures the same stuff, but if a guy only plays a little, it doesn't tell as good a picture as EFF. Of course, small sample size applies to EFF in that case too. But it's easier to say - 1.100 means he's good, .900 means he's below average.
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Old 06-04-2019, 06:03 PM   #18
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Funny that legendsport posted that just as I was thinking about replying.

Myself, I focus mainly on ZR (which is a misnomer, really should be UZR). It's an approximation of the number of runs prevented (postive) or lost (negative) when compared with a league average fielder at that position. For the most part, I focus on keeping that number positive.

If you want to quickly improve your pitching, one of the best things is to improve your defense.

I think Victor Rodding's mom might consider him a second baseman, but I'm not sure if anyone else should. Luckily he hits well enough to (mostly) cover up those faults.
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Old 06-04-2019, 06:35 PM   #19
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Thanks to both of you. Very helpful
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Old 06-04-2019, 07:49 PM   #20
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Adding one more piece into this. What about range factor? I know very little about all of the so-called Sabrmetric stats but always thought range factor was important for defense. In looking at the starting second baseman in the Continental Association last year (some teams used more than 1) I can see that Rodding is just awful by both ZR and EFF but his range factor is actually pretty good.

An old stats guy like me can tell he is crap just by looking at his fielding percentage. He has been below average but followed up a semi-acceptable in 1924 with just an awful season last year.

Something else that until I played stats only I never even really thought about.
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