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Old 06-04-2019, 10:55 PM   #21
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Range factor is the number of plays the player is involved in. "He gets to a lot of balls." But combined with a low efficiency, and that's not so good. He gets to a lot of balls, and he boots a lot of balls (54 errors!) He did seem like he'd be ok based on 1924, but 1925 was a disaster for him.
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Old 06-05-2019, 12:40 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjj55409 View Post
Range factor is the number of plays the player is involved in. "He gets to a lot of balls." But combined with a low efficiency, and that's not so good. He gets to a lot of balls, and he boots a lot of balls (54 errors!) He did seem like he'd be ok based on 1924, but 1925 was a disaster for him.
Thanks. I saw he wasn't nearly as bad with the glove in 1924 so I am hoping he can provide close to average defense here in 1926. His bat is too good (.321/.374/.437) to keep him out of the starting lineup...and his offense was even better in '24 than last season.

I can't move him to the outfield because all 3 of my OF put up good offensive numbers as well and first base is out unless 26 year old Lou Garman doesn't duplicate his .340/.398/.483 performance in 90 games.

I really need a DH position I guess...or a league member who hasn't read this and wants to part with a top flight pitcher for Rodding
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Old 06-05-2019, 12:49 AM   #23
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So now that the draft is done I thought I would take a closer look at the 7 teams I will battle for Continental Association supremacy. The CA and the Federal Association have been in existence since 1894 when the Federally Aligned Baseball League was created. The New York Stars of the Continental Association have won the most FABL World championship Series with 5 including each of the last two years. The Stars have also won 6 Continental Association pennants but trail the Chicago Cougars by one in that regard. As for my Brooklyn club, we won the pennant in 1912 and again in 1923 but came up short in the World Championship Series both times.

Here is a look at my seven Continental Association (or CA) opponents listed in order of last year's standings.

NEW YORK STARS (87-67)- The Stars won their second straight pennant and a quick glance at their team stats shows how they accomplished it. New York led the CA in allowing the fewest runs against and having both the lowest ERA among starters and their bullpen. New York has 3 pitchers and 2 position players ranked in the league's top twenty. They include:

Dick Richards, a 26 year old lefthander who went 19-7 while leading the CA in ERA with a 3.25 mark.

32 year old Sammy Butler who has a losing record for his career but is 29-21 since the Stars acquired him two years ago from the Federal Associations New York Gothams.

Pete Scanlon, also 32, who had 2 straight 20-win seasons in 1923 & 24 but dipped to 14-16 a year ago.

A good young shortstop in Pete Layton. Just 25 years old, Layton hit .344 last season and plays decent defense as well but perhaps is better suited for second base.

Centerfielder Gordie Loftus. The 26 year old missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. Loads of talent but he has suffered two serious injuries in 3 years.

The Stars give Brooklyn hope as they were a bottom rung team, finishing 7th or 8th five times in 6 years from 1916-21 before the turnaround began in 1922 with a second place finish.


CLEVELAND FORESTERS (81-73)- Cleveland actually tied Montreal for second place last season. They were a balanced club, finishing first in the CA in runs scored and homers while allowing the second fewest runs against.

Three Cleveland pitchers are ranked in the top twenty including the first and fourth overall. Mose Smith is 32 and a workhorse who eats up a ton of innings. Rated the top pitcher in the league by the game, Smith finished 19-15 a year ago and reached the 200 career win mark for his 11 year career - all in Forester green.

Just behind Smith on the league list is 4th ranked Bob Lawrence. The 6 year veteran is 29 years old and coming off a 16-15, 3.94 season. Rounding out the Foresters pitchers in the top twenty is 32 year old George Davis. Davis won 3 World Championships with Detroit early in his career before moving to Cleveland 3 years ago. He is 46-37 with the Foresters. A quick glance appears Cleveland lacks a solid 4th and 5th starter, but that's better than my Kings, who have plenty of those but no #1-3 starters.

26 year old third baseman Ben Hathaway is the lone Cleveland hitter in the top 20. The former Colorado Buffalo hit .313 with 13 homers and 70 rbi's in his first season as an everyday player in the FABL last year.

No idea how he didn't make the list but 35 year old second baseman Carl Martin certainly belongs on it. Age might be the only knock on him but Marin (.272,35,98) has led the CA in homers each of the past two seasons and is one of only 5 players to hit more than 200 dingers in his career. Cleveland ranks 12th in minor league systems.

MONTREAL SAINTS (81-73)- The Saints finished 5th in runs scored in the Association and 3rd in fewest runs allowed. At quick glance they also appear to have among the better defenses in either league.

Only one Saint is ranked in the top 20 players and pitchers list and he finished near the bottom of the pitcher group. Wayne Robinson is a 27 year old righthander who went 18-17 with a 4.39 era. The Kings have a couple of other starters who enjoyed decent seasons in Del Plummer (16-16, 3.66) and Ed O'Kelley (18-17, 4.39) while the offensive leader is 26 year old outfielder Phil Sandman (.336,8,87). While Martin of Cleveland ran away with the homerun title, two Saints in catcher Sam Sanderson (.238,17,67) and first baseman Sal Ingalls (.280,17,87) tied for second.

PHILADELPHIA SAILORS (77-77)- It is tough to be a baseball fan in Philadelphia in this universe. The Sailors have not won a pennant since 1897 and have spent a lot of years in the bottom half of the association standings. The drought is even longer for their Federal Association rival Keystones, who have to go back to 1892 for their last title.

The Sailors were 7th in the Continental Association in runs scored while allowing the 5th fewest. Philadelphia does have a pair of pitchers ranked in the league's top twenty in John White and Rube Smith. Both lefthanders, the 26 year old White went 10-3 with a 3.45 era but was limited to 16 appearances because of mid-season knee injury. Smith, now 32, was the CA player of the year in 1924 when he led the league with a 2.21 era and 22 wins. However, last season he dipped to 11-10, 3.86.

The Sailors best player and one of the best in the sport is 26 year old David Merchant. The centerfielder hit .343 and led the league in triples and slugging percentage while winning his second CA player of the year award (called the Whitney Award after the league founder) in three years.

The Sailors farm system is ranked 10th in the FABL.

BALTIMORE CANNONS (75-79)- Originally known as the Clippers, the club rebranded itself as the Cannons for the 1925 season. It's greatest player is my current manager with the Kings Powell Slocum. Baltimore's last pennant came in 1914 and the club has won 3 FABL World Championships as well as a championship in the short-lived Peerless League, where the franchise got it's start. Last season I would say the Cannons underperformed slightly as they finished second in runs scored, first in defensive efficiency and 6th in runs against. Not underperformed to the point where they should have contended for a title but perhaps second place could have been in their grasp.

None of the Baltimore pitchers made the list of the league's top 20 hurlers but two batters did sneak in near the bottom of the hitters list. 27 year old outfielder Sandy Lovelle hit .333 with 3 homers and 68 rbi's while 26 year old shortstop Jesse Moore batted .290 from the lead-off spot with 29 stolen bases. On stats alone I would say rookie first baseman Doc Woods (.333,10,103) also deserved a spot on that list. The 26 year old was picked up just prior to the start of the year from the Federal Association's Philadelphia Keystones.

There should be a lot of hope for the future in Baltimore as the Cannons are rated the third best minor league season and have the number 1 and 2 prospects in 21 year old pitcher Rabbit Day and 19 year old catcher Joe Welch.

TORONTO WOLVES (74-80)- The Wolves were mid-pack in runs scored and runs against but were near the bottom in most defensive categories. The Wolves are rated as having the best minor league system in the FABL led by centerfielder Freddie Malley, a 21 year old first round pick in 1922 who split last season between AA Chattanooga and AAA Buffalo.

Toronto placed 1 hitter and 1 pitcher in the top twenty lists. Shortstop Tom Roberts is just 23 years old and is already considered the 5th best player in the league. Roberts hit .329 with 9 homers and 88 rbi's in his rookie season after an outstanding college career at Wisconsin. I would give an honourable mention on the list to 28 year old right fielder Jack Mack, who was acquired by the Wolves from Washington in 1923. Mack hit .290 with 10 homers and a CA leading 107 rbi's this past season.

Toronto has a star in pitcher Birdie Smith. Just 25 years old, the 1921 second round pick out of Cornell had a breakout year in his second full season in the big leagues. Smith won a league high 21 games going 21-10 with a 3.51 era.


So those are my 7 Continental Association opponents. I do not want to take a guess as to how the league will finish but I have to think New York remains the team to beat.
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Old 06-05-2019, 06:45 PM   #24
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NEW CLASS B AFFILIATE
With the growing pool of players the league the commissioner has decided to add a fourth minor league level so the Class B Southeastern and C-O-W (California-Oregon-Washington) Leagues join the FABL system.

The Brooklyn Kings are assigned the Tampa Smoke Kings as our affiliate. The Smoke Kings are in the Southeastern League along with Arlington Patriots, Charleston Seagulls, Charlotte Bluebirds, Chattanooga Dynamos, Miami Sailors, Mobile Monarchs and the Savannah Privateers.

Most of my draft class and a few free agent signings will make up the Tampa roster. My first order of business was to hire a manager and coaches for the Smoke Kings. I had a choice between a ton of inexperienced guys or a few that were below average so I went with inexperience and focused on signing a manager and coaches who preferred to work with young players.

In my manager everyone I looked at seemed to be either very temperamental or as dry as toast. I want a motivator for these kids so I went with Pete Geerlings. Described as a bit of a loose cannon but he has the pedigree of a FABL World Championship ring (won with Toronto in 1911 during his brief big league career) so I am hoping he will motivate my prospects.

In my hitting coach I went with a calm, steadying influence in John Boggs. The 44 year old had a 10 year minor league career as a catcher and is said to be a good influence on younger players. Same for my pitching coach, a guy who works well with youngsters by the name of George Robinson. The hope is the two of them are a nice contrast to my manager and keep the locker room happy.

Here is the full list of my minor league affiliates
Code:
AAA	Houston  Bulls       Century League
AA      Knoxville Knights    Dixie League
A       Omaha Cowboys        Heartland League
B       Tampa Smoke Kings    Southeastern League
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Old 06-05-2019, 06:51 PM   #25
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THE HISTORY OF THE BROOKLYN KINGS
PART TWO - THE FABL

While the Kings enjoyed great success during their eight year period in the Border Association, winning two league titles and finishing with a winning record in seven of their 8 seasons, the same could not be said for their days since the formation of the Federally Aligned Baseball League. Things started well enough for the Kings as they finished second in the league's debut season of 1893 and third each of the following two years. Jacob Grey, a Philadelphia native who was acquired from Toronto prior to the 1889 season, was the Kings leader during those years. The outfielder led the Continental Association in hitting in it's first season and would be instrumental in leading the Kings offense each of the 3 years.

In 1895 a now 30 year old Grey left the Kings for an independent league team and Brooklyn slumped to 5th. It was the beginning of a 17 year period in which the Kings never finished within 10 games of the Continental Association leader and had several seasons were they were 35-48 games out of first place. The worst campaign was 1908 when Brooklyn suffered through a 100 loss season.

A positive happened in the spring of 1909 when the Detroit Dynamos decided to release a 22 year old rookie pitcher by the name of Phil Miller at the end of training camp. Brooklyn signed the young lefthander from Colchester, Vermont and he began a stellar FABL career that spring. When it was over Miller's #19 would be the first, and so far, only jersey ever retired by the club. King would win 160 games in a Brooklyn uniform and help them to their first Continental Association pennant in 1912. Despite losing the World Championship Series to Boston that year is still remembered as the finest FABL season in Kings history. They won 90 games, a plateau Brooklyn only hit one other time - in the initial season of the FABL, and really came out of nowhere to win the pennant a year following a 5th place finish in 1911 and ahead of a drop back to fourth in 1913.

The 1912 club led the Continental Association in runs scored thanks to a balanced offense that lacked superstar talent but received a contribution from everyone, but it was the pitching of Miller (25-16, 2.79) and a 26 year old righthander named Danny Goff (23-12, 2.39), who burst onto the scene the year prior, that made the difference. Unfortunately the magic the Kings acquired that summer failed to endure through October and they fell in 5 games to Federal Association champion Boston in the World Championship Series.

The magic drifted away entirely in 1913 when they finished 4th in a tight race, 7 games back of a Baltimore club led by current Kings manager Powell Slocum. In the midst of three straight 7th place finishes Miller was moved to Baltimore and Goff to New York and the Kings would not seriously challenge for the pennant again until 1921.

In 1921 the baseball world was focused on St Louis Pioneers outfielder Max Morris and his amazing 53 homer season but while that was going on in the Federal Association the Continental Association delivered a pennant race for the ages. Six clubs finished within 4 games of league leading Montreal including the suddenly competitive Brooklyn Kings. The Kings at 79-73, ended up in third place thanks to the hitting of catcher Paul Tattersall (.309,37,121) and outfielder Dick Hand (.354,8,107).

All those bad seasons finally started to pay some dividends as the Kings reaped the reward of bad finishes with high picks once the amateur draft was initiated in the 1910s. Two years after the 1921 3rd place finish Hand (.296,6,74) and Tattersall (.283,29,103) would be joined by current Kings Victor Rodding (.308,6,59), Glen Mowles (.323,12,84) and Lou Cox (.295, 33 sb). Tattersall won his fourth straight Continental Association homerun crown but it was the pitching led by a career year from Bob Schmidt (20-8, 3.00) that put Brooklyn over the top in 1923. Schmidt has had a rather pedestrian career except for this one glorious season. It would be a tight race but the Kings 86-68 record was one game better then defending champion Chicago and Brooklyn advanced to the World Championship Series for the second time. Unfortunately, the Series ended just as their previous visit with Brooklyn falling in 5 games, this time to the Washington Eagles.

Entering the 1924 season things looked good for the Kings, especially when they acquired aging legend Powell Slocum from Baltimore in a multi-player deal that also brought Phil Miller back to Brooklyn. Slocum had made no secret of his desire to leave Baltimore for a winning team and he felt Brooklyn was the right opportunity. The Kings also reacquired another former pitching star early in the season by trading a now 32 year old Paul Tattersall to the New York Gothams for Danny Goff. Goff, who began his career in Brooklyn, was outstanding in his return to the Kings. He went 4-1 with a 2.08 era in his first five starts before an elbow injury ended his season. At that point the Kings were 47-40 and 6 games back of the Philadelphia Sailors. However, Goff's injury ended the Kings hopes of a repeat as they collapsed down the stretch and finished dead last in the Continental Association.

Slocum hit .331 with Brooklyn in 1924 but was bothered by injuries that limited his playing time. He took on the dual role of player-manager for the 1925 campaign but that ended quickly as he played in just 51 games before retiring to concentrate fully on managing the club. The season was another dismal affair as the Kings finished in last place for the second straight year.

We are now in the off-season heading towards the 1926 season and my job is to avoid a third straight last place finish.
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Old 06-06-2019, 10:06 AM   #26
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THE FABL's BABE RUTH

You will certainly draw an arguement when the topic of who was the greatest player in the 50 year history of professional baseball comes up. Many will point to current Brooklyn manager and the game's all-time hit king, Powell Slocum. Slocum, who debuted with Baltimore in 1905 and remained with the organization until a 1924 deal to Brooklyn, finished with 15 batting titles, a career .375 batting average and 4,144 hits - or more than 700 more than Zebulon Banks, who ranks second on the hit list.

Old timers might point to Banks as the greatest ever, who played from 1876-1893 and had 3,423 hits despite playing a good chunk of his career in an era where they played far less than today's 154 game schedule. If you fancy pitching then odds are you will say Allan Allen is the greatest of all-time. Double Al won a record 467 games for the Chicago Cougars and Toronto, or perhaps you might prefer to wax poetically about the great Bill Temple and what might have been had he not had his battles with the bottle. Temple won 284 games and fanned over 3000 batters despite retiring at the age of 34.

Odds are if we have this discussion again 10 years from now the one name that will be front and center on nearly everyone's list will be Max Morris. Despite being just 30 years old the Youngstown, Ohio native has already accumulated 7 William Whitney Awards as the top hitter in the game. The St Louis Pioneers outfielder rewrote the home run record book with an amazing 53 round-trippers in 1921 (no one had hit more than 26 in a season prior to that and the mark of 26 was co-held by Morris' from the previous year.) Morris would top that with 59 homers in 1922 and did one better hitting the magical 60 mark in 1923.

The parallels to Babe Ruth in that other baseball universe are certainly there as Morris dominated his sport just like the Babe, was an outstanding pitcher as well early in his career, and was traded just as he reached his zenith as a homerun hitter.

When Morris hit 12 homers in 40 games in his final season of high school ball in Cleveland there were already signs of his powerful swing so the Cleveland Foresters selected the 19 year old first overall prior to the 1913 season. Morris would join the Foresters midway through the '13 campaign and hit his first career FABL homerun that season but Cleveland seemed intent on using him primarily as a pitcher. It was with good reason as Morris would go on to post an 83-72 record in his 5 plus seasons on the mound which included seasons of 24 and a 21 victories.

He claimed his first Whitney Award in 1918 when he went 18-13 on the mound while batting .307 with 5 homers in 251 at bats. The following season Morris instructed the Foresters he would prefer to just play the outfield. He nearly pulled off a triple crown that year, tying for the homerun lead with 13, while leading with 89 rbi's and finishing second to Baltimore's Powell Slocum with a .342 batting average. However, the Foresters were a terrible ballclub and finished 7th in the Continental Association.

Despite being on a pennant winning Forester team just two years earlier, Morris wanted to be on a winner and felt Cleveland was not headed in the right direction so he demanded a trade, threatening to sit out and not play for the Foresters if it did not happen. The club felt it had no choice but to give in and he was traded to the St Louis Pioneers, who had finished second in the Federal Association in 1919. The trade would actually help both teams as Morris set a record with 26 homeruns and won the FA pennant while the Foresters, with new talent fresh from St Louis, shocked baseball by claiming the Continental Association title. Morris was loudly heckled in the World Championship Series games that were held in Cleveland but that didn't stop him from hitting .350 and driving in 5 runs as St Louis prevailed in 5 games.

His legend would grow in 1921 when he hit an astounding 53 homers and drove in 149 runs while batting .411 to win his first of 3 (so far) triple crowns. St Louis won the pennant again but this time lost to Montreal in a 7 game World Championship Series that Morris homered 3 times in.

Only an injury that cost him 5 weeks of the 1924 season denied Morris 8 straight top hitter awards and he continued to draw big crowds both at home and on the road with homerun totals of 59 in 1922, 60 in 1923, 29 in the shortened 1924 campaign and 57 last season. No one else has ever hit more than 43 in a single season and despite being just 30 years old Morris has already hit a record 331 homeruns in his career. 35 year old Hal Eason of the Philadelphia Keystones is second on the list - 98 homeruns behind Morris.

With probably another 8-10 years left in his career it remains to be seen how high Morris' career accomplishments will climb. One thing is for certain, there will be plenty of sold out stadiums full of fans ready to take in the view.
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Old 06-06-2019, 02:53 PM   #27
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Back to the day to day running of my Brooklyn Kings ballclub. The excitement of the amateur draft is now over and I am having pretty good success signing my draft picks with everyone by Lynn Randall, Tom Aiello and Bill Smith signed in the first sim, and those three all say they are happy with my offer. It was actually pretty easy to sign them as I have more than enough money in my draft budget and a good percentage of my draftees were labelled "Easy" to sign.

My first rounder and both second round picks have signed. I am leaning towards starting first rounder Doug Lightbody at AA Knoxville. The OF will be 22 by the time the season started and proved he could easily handle college pitching. Pitcher Bill Dengler is the same age so he might also begin the season in AA while my 18 year old high school draftees will likely earmarked for Class B Tampa. The remaining college guys I expect to split between Tampa and Class A Omaha.

After the 15 round draft ended I still had a lot of names on my draft board that were not selected so I made a good chunk of them minor league contract offers (with signing bonuses this time) as I figure I need to sign about 15-20 free agents to fill out my minor league depth chart.

I completed my 40-man roster limit, leaving 1 spot open in case I can find a pitcher in the rule V draft who can help me. The rule V draft needs to be improved in the game as there were a number of players on each team in the league that were required to be protected despite only having a year or so of minor league experience. Clearly a bug of some sort but it really balances out for everyone so we will have to deal with it as the commissioner could find no easy fix. A good suggestion from some in our league is the developers should make the rule v draft rules more flexible, allowing a user to customize eligibility requirements.

Regardless, I felt pretty good about my 40-man and doubt I will lose anyone in the draft. I had a couple of 20 year old pitchers I felt I had to put on my list as they were caught up in the eligibility bug. In hindsight, I should have left them off for this year as I doubt anyone would have wanted them on their major league roster for the year. It would have freed up a couple more spots for me to put some other AAA guys on the list as the only worry I have with my 40-man is if I run into injuries I might have a shortage of players I can call up. (To be honest I am not sure of the rules but figure I need to add a guy to my 40-man before he can play on my major league team.)

RULE V DRAFT
When I saw the file with the 40-man roster protected lists it was obvious there was not much talent available that would help me with a couple of big exceptions. I see Toronto was unable to find room to protect 24 year old Harvey Rodgers. I did not mention it earlier but Rodgers was the guy I wanted in my trade with the Wolves but they would not part with him and with good reason. Taken in the 4th round out of Washington DC high school, the righthander showed signs of development each year but especially this past year as he had a breakout season at the AAA level, going 20-7 with a 3.39 era while fanning 235 and walking just 60 in 236 innings. I know I can find a spot for him in my big league club so he will be my pick. Just one problem, I select 4th in the rule v draft. I know Pittsburgh and the New York Gothams, 2 of the teams picking ahead of me, cannot draft him as they both submitted lists with all 40 spots filled, and as result are not allowed to pick. So that leaves the Detroit Dynamos as my only obstacle to acquiring Rodgers.

I felt I could take one of two approaches. First, I could tip my hand by offering Detroit a trade to swap picks (which I am not sure is even allowed in the game). The rule v draft pool is huge and perhaps Rodgers might sneak by Detroit - although his 20 AAA wins really stand out - but I figure if I make an offer to Detroit it would get them looking even more seriously at the draft pool to see why I want to switch. My other option is to hope Detroit either overlooks him or doesn't feel they want carry him on their big league roster all season. Or maybe Detroit will see someone else they like better.

I choose the latter option, especially after I discover another 24 year old pitcher by the name of Jay Williams. The Philadelphia Keystones were unable to protect him and my scout, while not quite as high on him as he is on Rodgers, feels Williams - while he still has a lot of room to grow - could develop into a quality #2 starter. His present role is listed as a closer and he saved 15 games in 74 appearances (just 6 starts) at AA this past season. He was a starter in high school and started a number of games in A ball and even at AA the previous season. He might not be ready for the big leagues but because of his potential and my team's lack of pitching I am willing to use a roster spot all season in order to hopefully take advantage of his long-term potential. I still want Rodgers but Williams would be a very nice consolation prize. Now to wait until tomorrow to see how it plays out.

NOTE - I am obviously posting articles like this a day or two behind the actual sim so as not to give away my strategy in advance. It might hurt my team in the long run revealing too much about my plans but I am hoping the trade-off in advice and help I might get from others in this thread and the help it might provide those new to online leagues to benefit from some of the growing pains I endured will balance it out. I will say it is so much different than playing against computer GMs. Said it before, but I am hooked. It's a lot of work too - although I expect much more so with fictional leagues - so I don't know how people can juggle multiple leagues at one time.
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Old 06-07-2019, 01:33 AM   #28
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Well the Rule V draft went just as I hoped. I got the guy I wanted in 24 year old pitcher Harvey Rodgers. I knew going in I would get second choice as even though I was fourth in the draft order two of the clubs ahead of me had a full 40-man roster and would not be allowed to pick. Detroit went in a different direction from what my plans were by selecting second baseman Don Abbott from St Louis. Abbott wasn't on my radar at all, but only because I was thinking pitcher all the way, so that let me get the pitcher I coveted.

The only thing that would have made Rodgers a better fit for me was if he was lefthanded. I still only have one lefthander pencilled in for my big league roster and he may be the odd man out to make room for Rodgers. That decision will be made in spring training and is likely between the lefthander Art Carlson, off-season pick-ups Cal Williams and Topsy Moran along with aging veteran Danny Goff.

DRAFT PICK SIGNING
I also received news this sim that the last 3 of my draft picks have signed so everyone is under contract. In addition, I was able to really fill out my lower farm clubs with a number of free agent signings of undrafted guys who were on my draft list but got overlooked. They include:

Pitchers Joe Freschi, Paul Daggs,Jesse Patterson and Tommy Pacer. Freschi is a 22 year old who was 5-3 at Rutgers with 94k's in 88 innings. He is a groundball pitcher who was originally drafted in the 11th round by Boston but later released before returning to school. The other three are high school pitchers that my scout Rube Carter is not high on but they caught my attention so I will fill out my low minors by giving them a shot.

Frank Swan - a 22 year old shortstop who my scout had in his top 20 but I had doubts about. He an interesting one. My scout had him in the top twenty on his short-list and thinks he can be a solid big league starter. He was an 8th round pick a few drafts ago but his numbers are terrible. He fanned 50 times in 198 at bats last season at the University of Colorado while batting just .222 with not much power. Scout Rube Carter says he can become a second division starter and is a true shortstop defensively. With those stats there was no way I was drafting him but as a free agent pickup for Class B Tampa he can become Carter's project and we will see what happens.

Jack Procell - More of a depth signing. Had him on my list of first baseman but he was a fair bit down the chart. The former Harvard Crimson can hit for average and did belt 11 homers in 50 games last season but is a long shot to make the majors.


Outfielders Sam Tyree and Bill Osborn: Tyree, an 18 year old was a Rube Carter favourite and was the highest ranked position player left on my draft board. I have a glut of outfielders but Carter thinks he can be a very good big leaguer and maybe hit .350 so I added him to my system. Osborn is older, 22 and from Syracuse, but is liked nearly as much by Carter. I have a glut of young outfielders so I am going to see if Osborn can play first base in the minors.

The one that got away was a pitcher by the name of Blackie Vickers, who took the New York Stars offer over mine. The Carlsbad, California righthander was an 18th round pick out of high school a couple years back but was released and signed with the University of Chicago. My scout wasn't overly high on him after going 3-4 with a save in 11 college appearances this past season but he had 59 strikeouts and just 9 walks in 56 innings of work and his velocity at 96-98mph was the highest in the draft. I almost drafted him with one of my last couple of picks and really wanted to take a chance on him as a free agent but obviously so did the Stars and he took their offer. Will be interesting to see if he develops.


I then spent probably a couple of hours - the time flew by - updating my depth chart spreadsheet and making offers to a few final minor league free agents to round out my system. Also decided to move a few players positions around in the minors to see if they can adapt and fill areas of weakness in my system.

MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
Speaking of my minor league system, things are looking real good. I have signed all my draft picks and if the top minor league systems report is to be trusted we should feel pretty good about our organization. The Kings minor league group was ranked 4th when we took over the league and after my draft moves we have now moved up to second place and made huge strides with our pitching. We might drop from second place as I believe some teams have not signed their top draft picks yet but regardless there are quite a few positives in Brooklyn.

Let's start with my first round draft Doug Lightbody. The outfielder is already considered the #4 prospect in the sport. While not an actual draft pick, I did add pitcher Topsy Moran with a pre-draft trade and he is listed at #25 while one of my second round picks, pitcher Bill Dengler is the 44th best prospect. We now have 5 players including a pair of pitchers in the top 44 and 12 players in the top 100 including 3 more pitchers: draft pick Lyman Weigel at 47, rule v pickup Harvey Rodgers at 57 and Art Carlson at #89.

A glance at positional strength (picture below along with minor league system rankings) shows the Kings look to be in pretty good shape. We might not challenge for a pennant this year but we are a lot closer to doing so than we were 2 game months ago.
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Old 06-07-2019, 11:58 PM   #29
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January, 1926
The calendar has turned from 1925 to 1926 and despite the snow on the ground the Brooklyn Kings braintrust has been hard at work preparing for Spring training, which is only about 5 sim days away. It has been a productive off-season that saw the Kings restock their minor league pitching depth but surprisingly, despite a last place finish a year ago, there is very little roster movement planned at the big league level.

"I think we have the horses here to do much better than we have in the recent past," explained manager Powell Slocum earlier this week in a chat with reporters. "I know two straight last place finishes looks bad, but we are a better team then our record indicates. Heck, we had the best hitting team in the Continental Association and we were 8 runs shy of leading in that category too."

Hitting has not been the Kings issue. Keeping the opponents off the scoresheet is where the problems lies. The Kings scored 802 runs but allowed 870, far and away the highest total in the Continental Association and only the lowly Detroit Dynamos, from the more offensive-minded Federal Association, with an obscene 978 runs allowed fared worse then Brooklyn.

The Kings focused on their pitching during the off-season but it may be a year or two before that help is ready to contribute in a meaningful way. Three pitchers came over from Toronto, two via trade and the third in the rule V draft. All 3 will have a chance to win a spot in the rotation.

"Pitching is wide-open," declared Slocum. "We struggled last year and the guys that were in the rotation have been told they better come to camp ready as none of their jobs are guaranteed."

It is expected veterans Jackie Marshall and Dick Dover will claim two of the 5 spots in the rotation. The 32 year old Marshall has been a fixture in the starting 5 for seven years and is coming off a 15-16, 3.90 campaign. Dover, 28, also won 15 games last season, going 15-16 with a 4.64 era in his fifth season in the Kings rotation.

A huge question mark surrounds the legendary Danny Goff. Goff's contribution to the Kings organization is immense, including leading the club to their first Continental Association pennant, but he is now 40 years old and is coming off an 11-19 campaign. His ERA and WHIP have risen substantially over the last two seasons and there is a question of how much he has left in the tank. Spring training will be used as a gauge on Goff but regardless of how he performs it is hard to see Slocum allowing his club to waive the veteran.

"Danny is one of the greats of the game and has done so much for this organization and baseball in general," said Slocum. "I have to respect that and I know Tiger Fan does as well. Best case scenario is Danny gives us one final good year and goes out on his terms with his number joining his old teammate Phil Miller's on the outfield wall." Slocum paused before adding, "It would be a shame if it had to work out differently for him."

Bob Brown is another 28 year old but his job seems to be on the bubble. Brown went 12-14 with a 4.91 era a year after losing 21 games. He is a groundball pitcher, which new General Manager Tiger Fan covets, but he walks a lot more hitters than he strikes out - which is something the new GM does not want to see in his rotation.

When the Kings dealt Bob Schmid to the New York Gothams last July it created an opportunity for young Leon Campbell to demonstrate what he could do at the big league level. The then 23 year old went 5-2 with a 3.84 era in the Brooklyn rotation down the stretch and is certainly one of those contending to head north with the Kings this April. However, Campbell will have competition that includes the 3 pitchers who came from Toronto over the winter. 28 year old Cal Williams went 10-13 for a 4.85 era for the Wolves and, barring any spring training surprises, will likely claim a spot. Minor leaguers Topsy Moran and rule V pickup Harvey Rodgers each are coming off big seasons at AAA Buffalo and both have a good chance of making the rotation. Rodgers is guaranteed a spot because of his rule v status so the only question for him is will it be in the pen or the rotation.

With all of the candidates listed above being righthanded you have to expect Art Carlson's chances of making the Kings are very high. The 25 year old southpaw was 16-7 at AA Knoxville last year and is really the only viable lefthanded candidate although 32 year old career minor leaguer Karl Mallek (13-15 at AAA Houston) will also get a brief look in the spring.

It is doubtful any new position players will crack the roster but there will be some competition at first base between Stan Bass and Lou Garman. Both were outstanding last year with the 29 year old righthanded hitting Bass (.343,7,61) and the 26 year old lefthanded batting Garman (.340,6,54) expected to platoon unless one can stand out above the other.

The other player on notice is 29 year old second baseman Victor Rodding. His skills at the plate are not in question (.321,7,80) but he was called out by Slocum to improve his defense. Defensively, Rodding was the worst second baseman in the Continental Association a year ago and if that trend continues he might find himself on the trading block.
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Old 06-10-2019, 01:33 PM   #30
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FEBRUARY, 1926

It's finally here! Spring training begins tomorrow.

A new learning curve for me but once again the guys on the Figment League slack channel were outstanding with answering my questions in preparation for my first online spring training. I learned you can invite anyone in your organization to camp (up to 60 players total in camp) by dragging them to the spring training roster box, which automatically contains everyone on your 40-man roster. I am told this does not use an option and also does not mean veterans who otherwise could refuse a minor league demotion can still be freely moved back to the minors before camp ends as long as they are not on the 40-man roster.

So now that I sort of know what I am doing here was my strategy for spring.


To join my 40-man roster, I invited a few non-roster guys to camp including my first round pick Doug Lightbody, who is earmarked for AA Knoxville to start the season. Maybe he will get an at bat or two before I send him down in a week.

I also called up pitcher Leon Campbell. Campbell went 5-2 for the Kings in a part-season call up last year and is expected to go to AAA Houston but maybe the 24 year old gets noticed and steals a spot. He was the only pitcher not on the 40 man that I invited as the camp is very crowded on the mound. The rest were minor league veterans like 2B Oscar Brunswick (28 yrs old), 2B Garland Fuller (32), SS Rip Robertson (32) and OF Willard James (32). I don't expect any of them to serious challenge for a big league job.

But there are some jobs available:


I have a few guys I want to see pitch so I have taken over control from manager Powell Slocum for lineups for at least the first week of spring. A guy like Jackie Marshall will certainly be in my rotation so I am going to put him in the pen for the first spring sim as I want to see a few pitchers including:

Harvey Rodgers and Topsy Moran: The two rookies from Buffalo have good numbers. Let's see how it translates at a big league camp.

Cal Williams: Veteran should be in my rotation but he did not have the greatest season in Toronto a year ago. Let's see what he does.

Danny Goff: Does the 40 year old still have another year left in the tank?

Karl Mallek and Art Carlson: I really don't have any leftys that are serious candidates to make the team besides these two. Carlson is on the team pretty much by default but lets see if Mallek, who was 13-15, 3.68 with 215k's and 101 walks at AAA Houston a year ago, can do the job and enable me to take a second southpaw north. Mallek is 32 and has a grand total of 43 career FABL innings under his belt. I will also watch Bob Baker and Jack Gunderson, the other two lefthanders in camp, closely. The 24 year old Gunderson had a good year split between A and AA a year ago but is likely not yet ready. Baker is the same age and spent each of the past 5 years in Class A but I am desperate for lefthanders so let's see what he can do.


I also want to look at some position players closely. Second base is the big one and the question there is can Victor Rodding improve his defense. I have a very good young shortstop in Rip Agee who is stuck behind Lloyd Carter so I am going to let Agee see if he can take the second base job away from Rodding. Hate to take Rodding's bat out of the lineup but if his defense does not improve I may have no choice.

In my update tomorrow I will finally have real games to talk about as spring training gets underway.
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Old 06-10-2019, 05:06 PM   #31
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As a kid of about 10 years old in the mid-1970s I remember begging my parents to buy me a copy of The Sports Encyclopeida:Baseball. I remember spending countless hours reading the recaps of every season and tracing the careers of baseball legends I was just discovering. Of course there was no internet back then, no ESPN and maybe a dozen channels tops of television to watch so I got my baseball and hockey 'fixes' by reading (The Hockey News, Sporting News and the previously mentioned encyclopedia) plus playing baseball board games - first Extra Innings and later strat-o-matic.

One of the things I love about OOTP is the sheer amount of baseball history you can discover when looking through the history of a long term sim. It is the exact same feeling I got as a 10 year old learning about Ruth, Musial, Kaline and others from numbers in that Baseball Encylopedia. I think it is one of the reasons I prefer to play my solo OOTP leagues as a commissioner, overseeing the evolution of the game, rather then as a team owner.

And it really doesn't matter if it is a historical league or a fictional league. The names are instantly recognizable in a historical league, of course, but I find if you give it enough time and poke around in the league a lot, a fictional league can become just as real. Take the FABL, the online league that is the subject of this dynasty thread and some other great ones from the commissioner and some of my fellow owners, there is a ton of history in the 50 years of baseball before the human GM's took over that is just waiting to be discovered.

I spent some time on the weekend pouring through the league history and here are a couple of stories I decided to write about:



Anyone familiar with the FABL and the Figment Leagues knows Allan Allen Sr is the all-time wins leader in FABL history with a record of 467-306. When you add his two Border Association seasons of 1890-91 then Double Al is over the 500 win mark at 514-338. No one else is anywhere near 500 wins and most assume Charlie Sis is second all-time with a 395-248 record. If you include Sis' final year of pro ball at AAA Buffalo he actually surpasses the 400 win mark with an all-level record of 407-261.

Did you know Sis' all levels win total of 407 actually ranks fourth all-time. Between Double Al and Charlie a pair of righthanders named Stephen Fretwell and Jerry Paris.

Paris you might have heard of as he spent over a decade at the major league level with stops in Cincinnati of the Border Association as well as some time with Detroit, the Chicago Cougars, Cleveland, New York Gothams and Washington in the FABL. Combining his FABL and BA record gives him 264 wins but when you add his numbers from minor league stints in Milwaukee and Memphis, Paris ends up with two more wins that Sis, finishing third all-time with 409 victories. He also tossed a major league no-hitter in the Border Association and won an FABL championship ring with the Gothams.

You have probably not heard of the number two man on the list. Despite an FABL record of just 6-18, only Double Al has won more professional league games than Brooklyn native Stephen Fretwell. Fretwell's FABL career was brief and less than successful. After winning 36 games as a 30 year old for AA Nashville in 1985 he made his major league debut with St Louis the following season but was used sparingly, posting a 1-2 record in 21 relief appearances. He moved to his hometown Brooklyn Kings the next year, 1897, but again saw only action out of the pen, posting an 0-1 record in 27 appearances. However, Brooklyn made him a starter in 1898 and Fretwell was a dismal 5-15 before being dispatched to AA Syracuse where he would finish out his career.

It was in the minors with Fort Wayne, Richmond and Nashville before his FABL debut and with the Syracuse Exclsiors afterwards that Fretwell really shined, finishing with an all-level career record of 418-311. Fretwell is also the Dixie League leader in carer shutouts with 59, which is quite an accomplishment considering how many more games the next two players on the Dixie shutout list - George Reed and Ossie Ragsdale- played in the loop than Fretwell. Ragsdale started 1873 Dixie League games, Reed 646 and Fretwell just 407.

Code:

TOP FIVE IN CAREER WINS (ALL LEVELS)
Allen Allen        1890-1909  514-338
Stephen Fretwell   1884-1905  418-311
Jerry Paris	   1884-1901  409-282
Charlie Sis	   1903-1922  407-261
George Reed	   1882-1900  396-245

WHY DID BOBBY REUSCHER NEVER GET A SHOT?

Despite hitting .421 in 1320 games in the Dixie League, first baseman Bobby Reuscher never played in a FABL game. His career, spent entirely in the minors with Richmond and Birmingham of the Dixie League and the Eastern Association's Providence Sailors from 1895-1908 ended with 2,727 career hits in just 1,737 games and an all-league career batting average of an amazing .391.

Reuscher, who hails from Oak Ridge, Tennessee made his professional debut with the Dixie League's Richmond Rebels in 1895. He posted modest numbers, batting .263 and stole 15 bases in 77 games but they were enough to catch the attention of the Washington Eagles who signed Reuscher to a minor league contract. He failed to make the club out of spring training and spent the next year and a half bouncing between the Cleveland Foresters and Baltimore Clippers organizations. Good enough to sign but not good enough apparently to use in a game as each of the three FABL teams released Reuscher without letting him suit up for a single FABL contest.

By May of 1897 Reuscher just wanted to play baseball so he gave up on his FABL dream and went back to the Dixie League - signing with the Birmingham Ironmen. He didn't win his first Dixie batting title until 1899 but that was the start of 7 straight batting crowns and 7 straight seasons hitting over .400 including .472 in 1901. With Reuscher leading the way the Ironmen won an all league record 6 straight Dixie Association titles from 1900-1905.

In 1906, Reuscher moved on to Providence Sailors of the Eastern Association and, without him, Birmingham's win streak came to a screeching halt with a sub .500 fifth place finish. Meanwhile, Reuscher was 32 years old in 1906, a year that marked the final great season of his career as he batted .367 for Sailors. His numbers would drop each of the following two years and he would retire in 1908 at the age of 34. Reuscher remains atop the Dixie League career leaderboards in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage and from what I can tell he was a leader of the only team to win 6 straight titles at any level. I believe Dayton of the Eastern Association is next with 5 consecutive from 1916-1920.

If I was making a Mount Rushmore of the Dixie League it would consist of Bobby Reuscher, Frank Butler, Ossie Ragsdale and the previously mentioned George Reed. You now know a little about Reuscher. Feel free to explore the history of the others on your own at the FABL website and I am sure I will feature each of them in future posts.
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Old 06-10-2019, 05:36 PM   #32
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KINGS PEGGED FOR CELLAR AGAIN

If the sportswriters are to be believed fans of the Brooklyn Kings are in for another long season. Several daily newspapers including the Brooklyn Eagle and New York World-Telegram released their predictions for the coming baseball seasons. While they varied slightly in some respects, they were all in agreement the basement of the Continental Association will once again belong to the Brooklyn Kings.

After winning the pennant in 1923 Brooklyn has finished last each of the past two seasons and manager Powell Slocum has vowed it will not happen a third time. One could not blame Slocum if he got a little excited when he greeted reporters at the Kings spring training complex in Tampa on the day pitchers and catchers reported. However, the manager took the news completely in stride.

"We can't control what (the reporters) think and write," Slocum stated matter of factly. "It's up to us to go out there and prove them wrong. I know we are going to be a lot better this year. We might not contend for a pennant but we will be a .500 ballclub. Our offense is too good not to compete and I think our pitching will come around. And if things go right and we get a few breaks, well who knows, we could really surprise you guys."

"Last place." laughed Slocum. "I should thank the bunch of you for writing that. Boys are going to have even more motivation and hopefully the rest of the league takes us lightly."

Spring training begins tomorrow with a game against the Cleveland Foresters, who are likely fired up as well after learning they were predicted to finish in 7th place. Slocum has announced that Harvey Rodgers, who was picked up in the Rule V draft, will start the preseason opener against Cleveland.
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Old 06-10-2019, 08:05 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by Tiger Fan View Post
FEBRUARY, 1926
I am told this does not use an option and also does not mean veterans who otherwise could refuse a minor league demotion can still be freely moved back to the minors before camp ends as long as they are not on the 40-man roster.
Hopefully this didn't happen for you, but if they have a major league contract they have to be on the 40-Man roster. When a player with a major league contract is DFA'd, they still have that contract, and if placed back on the active roster (in this case Spring Training roster, not the 23 man roster), they will need to be placed back on the 40-Man roster. For players with options left, they can still be optioned, but if they are either (a) out of options or (b) able to decline a minor league assignment, you may have trouble getting them off the active roster.
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Old 06-10-2019, 08:28 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by ayaghmour2 View Post
Hopefully this didn't happen for you, but if they have a major league contract they have to be on the 40-Man roster. When a player with a major league contract is DFA'd, they still have that contract, and if placed back on the active roster (in this case Spring Training roster, not the 23 man roster), they will need to be placed back on the 40-Man roster. For players with options left, they can still be optioned, but if they are either (a) out of options or (b) able to decline a minor league assignment, you may have trouble getting them off the active roster.
You are correct, but it's still all about the 40 man roster. One of the requirements of a major league contract is that the player needs to be on the 40 man roster. I'm pretty sure Tiger Fan is talking about non roster invitees, which will be on minor league contracts.
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Old 06-10-2019, 09:04 PM   #35
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Some can be on major league contracts. I'm not by the file, but with the new addition of the 40 man roster in the off-season, there are definitely guys with major league contracts in the minors. And once a player gets outrighted, they don't lose their major league contract, but they lose a 40-man roster spot.
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Old 06-11-2019, 01:33 AM   #36
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Originally Posted by Tiger Fan View Post
As a kid of about 10 years old in the mid-1970s I remember begging my parents to buy me a copy of The Sports Encyclopeida:Baseball. I remember spending countless hours reading the recaps of every season and tracing the careers of baseball legends I was just discovering. Of course there was no internet back then, no ESPN and maybe a dozen channels tops of television to watch so I got my baseball and hockey 'fixes' by reading (The Hockey News, Sporting News and the previously mentioned encyclopedia) plus playing baseball board games - first Extra Innings and later strat-o-matic.

One of the things I love about OOTP is the sheer amount of baseball history you can discover when looking through the history of a long term sim. It is the exact same feeling I got as a 10 year old learning about Ruth, Musial, Kaline and others from numbers in that Baseball Encylopedia. I think it is one of the reasons I prefer to play my solo OOTP leagues as a commissioner, overseeing the evolution of the game, rather then as a team owner.

And it really doesn't matter if it is a historical league or a fictional league. The names are instantly recognizable in a historical league, of course, but I find if you give it enough time and poke around in the league a lot, a fictional league can become just as real. Take the FABL, the online league that is the subject of this dynasty thread and some other great ones from the commissioner and some of my fellow owners, there is a ton of history in the 50 years of baseball before the human GM's took over that is just waiting to be discovered.

I spent some time on the weekend pouring through the league history and here are a couple of stories I decided to write about:



Anyone familiar with the FABL and the Figment Leagues knows Allan Allen Sr is the all-time wins leader in FABL history with a record of 467-306. When you add his two Border Association seasons of 1890-91 then Double Al is over the 500 win mark at 514-338. No one else is anywhere near 500 wins and most assume Charlie Sis is second all-time with a 395-248 record. If you include Sis' final year of pro ball at AAA Buffalo he actually surpasses the 400 win mark with an all-level record of 407-261.

Did you know Sis' all levels win total of 407 actually ranks fourth all-time. Between Double Al and Charlie a pair of righthanders named Stephen Fretwell and Jerry Paris.

Paris you might have heard of as he spent over a decade at the major league level with stops in Cincinnati of the Border Association as well as some time with Detroit, the Chicago Cougars, Cleveland, New York Gothams and Washington in the FABL. Combining his FABL and BA record gives him 264 wins but when you add his numbers from minor league stints in Milwaukee and Memphis, Paris ends up with two more wins that Sis, finishing third all-time with 409 victories. He also tossed a major league no-hitter in the Border Association and won an FABL championship ring with the Gothams.

You have probably not heard of the number two man on the list. Despite an FABL record of just 6-18, only Double Al has won more professional league games than Brooklyn native Stephen Fretwell. Fretwell's FABL career was brief and less than successful. After winning 36 games as a 30 year old for AA Nashville in 1985 he made his major league debut with St Louis the following season but was used sparingly, posting a 1-2 record in 21 relief appearances. He moved to his hometown Brooklyn Kings the next year, 1897, but again saw only action out of the pen, posting an 0-1 record in 27 appearances. However, Brooklyn made him a starter in 1898 and Fretwell was a dismal 5-15 before being dispatched to AA Syracuse where he would finish out his career.

It was in the minors with Fort Wayne, Richmond and Nashville before his FABL debut and with the Syracuse Exclsiors afterwards that Fretwell really shined, finishing with an all-level career record of 418-311. Fretwell is also the Dixie League leader in carer shutouts with 59, which is quite an accomplishment considering how many more games the next two players on the Dixie shutout list - George Reed and Ossie Ragsdale- played in the loop than Fretwell. Ragsdale started 1873 Dixie League games, Reed 646 and Fretwell just 407.

Code:

TOP FIVE IN CAREER WINS (ALL LEVELS)
Allen Allen        1890-1909  514-338
Stephen Fretwell   1884-1905  418-311
Jerry Paris	   1884-1901  409-282
Charlie Sis	   1903-1922  407-261
George Reed	   1882-1900  396-245

WHY DID BOBBY REUSCHER NEVER GET A SHOT?

Despite hitting .421 in 1320 games in the Dixie League, first baseman Bobby Reuscher never played in a FABL game. His career, spent entirely in the minors with Richmond and Birmingham of the Dixie League and the Eastern Association's Providence Sailors from 1895-1908 ended with 2,727 career hits in just 1,737 games and an all-league career batting average of an amazing .391.

Reuscher, who hails from Oak Ridge, Tennessee made his professional debut with the Dixie League's Richmond Rebels in 1895. He posted modest numbers, batting .263 and stole 15 bases in 77 games but they were enough to catch the attention of the Washington Eagles who signed Reuscher to a minor league contract. He failed to make the club out of spring training and spent the next year and a half bouncing between the Cleveland Foresters and Baltimore Clippers organizations. Good enough to sign but not good enough apparently to use in a game as each of the three FABL teams released Reuscher without letting him suit up for a single FABL contest.

By May of 1897 Reuscher just wanted to play baseball so he gave up on his FABL dream and went back to the Dixie League - signing with the Birmingham Ironmen. He didn't win his first Dixie batting title until 1899 but that was the start of 7 straight batting crowns and 7 straight seasons hitting over .400 including .472 in 1901. With Reuscher leading the way the Ironmen won an all league record 6 straight Dixie Association titles from 1900-1905.

In 1906, Reuscher moved on to Providence Sailors of the Eastern Association and, without him, Birmingham's win streak came to a screeching halt with a sub .500 fifth place finish. Meanwhile, Reuscher was 32 years old in 1906, a year that marked the final great season of his career as he batted .367 for Sailors. His numbers would drop each of the following two years and he would retire in 1908 at the age of 34. Reuscher remains atop the Dixie League career leaderboards in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage and from what I can tell he was a leader of the only team to win 6 straight titles at any level. I believe Dayton of the Eastern Association is next with 5 consecutive from 1916-1920.

If I was making a Mount Rushmore of the Dixie League it would consist of Bobby Reuscher, Frank Butler, Ossie Ragsdale and the previously mentioned George Reed. You now know a little about Reuscher. Feel free to explore the history of the others on your own at the FABL website and I am sure I will feature each of them in future posts.
Excellent post, thank you. I assume the Dixie League similar to the Pacific Coast League as an independent league?
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Old 06-11-2019, 02:20 AM   #37
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It was independent in the early days but now most teams are affiliated with one of FABL clubs.
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Old 06-11-2019, 03:51 AM   #38
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Some can be on major league contracts. I'm not by the file, but with the new addition of the 40 man roster in the off-season, there are definitely guys with major league contracts in the minors. And once a player gets outrighted, they don't lose their major league contract, but they lose a 40-man roster spot.
You were right. Some of the minor league guys that are not on my 40-man roster have major league contracts. When I tried to move them back to the minors I was told I was not allowed. I think I solved the issue because we have not advanced a sim. I redownloaded the league file which had them back in the minors and then did a new export but did not invite any of the non 40-man roster guys with major league contracts to spring training. Hopefully, that averts the crisis. I greatly appreciate the clarification.
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Old 06-11-2019, 02:14 PM   #39
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A GREAT START TO SPRING FOR KINGS

It's only the opening week of spring training but it is hard for Brooklyn fans to not get excited by the start their Kings had in Florida games this week. The Kings won 5 of their 6 contests and are tied atop the Grapefruit League standings with the Federal Association's New York Gothams.

The preseason opened Tuesday March 16 with a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Foresters. It marked the Brooklyn debuts for both Harvey Rodgers and first round draft pick Doug Lightbody. Rodgers got the start and was credited with the win after allowing 3 hits and 1 run over 4 innings of work. Lightbody pinch-hit for Rodgers in the bottom of the fourth and delivered a solid single. Catcher Mickey Dowell went 3-for-3 while second baseman Victor Rodding and rightfielder Clarence Hall each had 2 hits in the game. Defense was a problem last year so it was good to see the Kings played error free ball today. The same can't be said for the Foresters, who committed two errors in the third inning, a frame that saw the Kings plate 4 runs.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 17- Decked out in their St Patrick's green ballcaps for the day, the Kings suffered their only loss of the week as minor league pitcher Guy Richardson gave up 3 hits and the winning run in the 9th inning of a 6-5 loss to Toronto. Jackie Marshall, who is expected to be the number one starter, had a rough outing as he was tagged for 4 runs in one and two-thirds innings of relief after coming on to replace Danny Goff. The 40 year old Goff had a decent first outing, surrendering 6 hits but only 1 run in 4 innings of work. First round pick Doug Lightbody had another single in his second pinch-hit assignment. Another error free game.

THURSDAY MARCH 18- Topsy Moran makes his Kings debut by going 4 innings to start a 4-3 win over Chicago. Moran had a solid outing, 1 run on 3 hits with no walks. Buck Blood hurled a scoreless 9th inning for his second save. Veteran backup outfielder Billy Geier had a 3 hit game and is 5-for-6 with 3 rbi's for the spring. Catcher Mickey Dowell made our first error of the spring, his throw sailed high and wide of second base on steal attempt. Manager Powell Slocum seems to like Doug Lightbody as his first pinch-hit choice. Lightbody was credited with a sacrifice bunt in today's game when he reached on an error and would come around to score.

FRIDAY MARCH 19 - Plenty to like on this day as we blast the Baltimore Cannons 8-2. Minor league lefthander Karl Mallek threw 4 shutout innings and 20 year old Jack Vail ended the game with a pair of scoreless innings. In between, things did not go well for AAA pitcher Art Harvey. He went 3 innings and allowed both runs as he got himself in trouble by issuing 3 free passes.

We won't be known for our power but the Kings got their first two homeruns of the season courtesy of Victor Rodding and Clarence Hall. Bud Rodgers also added a pair of doubles but it was Rodding everyone was talking about after the game. After Rodgers hit a two out double in the first inning, Rodding touched them all following a 400 foot line drive that cleared the fences. He added two more rbi's in the third with a single. That is why we need Redding's bat in the lineup, but he is being challenged for a starting job by converted shortstop Rip Agee because of his glovework. So far Rodding's defense has been fine. We don't need him to be a superstar on defense, just average would be acceptable when you consider his offensive production, but he was far below average a year ago.

SATURDAY MARCH 20 - A 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Newcomer Carl Williams, acquired from Toronto over the winter, had a decent debut as he scattered 4 hits over 4 innings while allowing just 1 run to the Sailors. However, it was 24 year old Bob Baker who got all the attention after the game. Baker, who was 11-11 at Class A Omaha a year ago, pitched 5 shutout innings in relief as he allowed just 1 hit and walked 1. He is not in contention for a big league job this year but that performance certainly got him noticed and earned him a second week at the big league camp.

First baseman Lou Gorman had 3 of our 7 hits while Clay Vega, who is battling for the back-up catcher job, added a pair of singles. Doug Lightbody was used as a pinch-hitter again and drew a walk.

SUNDAY MARCH 21 - We quickly got in a 3-0 hole as starter Bob Brown allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and a pair of walks in the bottom of the first but we rallied to beat Montreal 5-4. It was not a memorable day for the 28 year old Brown (12-14 a year ago), who was already looking like the odd-man out in the battle for pitching jobs prior to the game. Buck Blood got his third save of the week by pitching a pair of scoreless innings, allowing no hits but giving up 1 free pass. Reigning Continental Association batting champ Bud Rodgers had a 3-for-3 day while catcher Mickey Dowell and first baseman Stan Bass each added a pair of hits.


WEEK ONE IMPRESSIONS

Overall, a very good week. Here is a look at the 3 key battles for jobs.

SECOND BASE - Both incumbent Victor Rodding and converted shortstop Rip Agee played error free baseball. With no spring fielding stats to go by (they are not included in the game for some reason) I would give Agee the advantage on the defensive side as he was involved in a number of double plays.

At the plate it is no contest right now. Rodding was 5-for-13 .385/.385/.615 with a homerun and 4 rbi's. Agee only started 2 games as was limited to 5 at bats but was hitless with a pair of walks although he did get an rbi and scored once.

FIRST BASE - Going into camp the plan was to platoon lefthanded hitting Lou Gorman and righthander Stan Bass at first base. Gorman had a big week going 5-for-10 .500/.500/.600 with a double and a run scored. Bass was about the same as he went 4-for-10 .400/.538/.500 with 3 walks, a double and a pair of runs scored so nothing has changed my platoon plan at this stage.

PITCHING - Here is the real challenge. Figuring out my rotation. Danny Goff, Harvey Rodgers, Topsy Moran and Cal Williams all had solid outings in their spring debut. 32 year old lefthander Karl Mallek was a big surprise with his outing and he now moves into the mix as I do need leftys. Jackie Marshall had a rough outing but I believe he is my top pitcher. I am going to give Marshall a start next week as I had almost decided Bob Brown was going to the pen prior to the spring and his performance in his first game just reaffirmed those plans and maybe opened the door a crack for one of the others (Mallek or perhaps Bob Baker) to replace him on the roster. Buck Blood was lights out as my closer this week but his job was always secure.

I have far too many pitchers in camp so I am sending a few down to the minor league camp. They include Art Harvey, Jim Sharrett, Jack Gunderson, Guy Richardson, Joe Blansit and Jack Vail. That leaves me with a much more manageable 12 pitchers in camp to battle for the 8 jobs available.

Code:

T  AGE   CANDIDATES		LASY YR
R  33   Jackie Marshall		15-16 for Brooklyn
R  40   Danny Goff		11-19 for Brooklyn
R  24   Harvey Rodgers		20-7 AAA Buffalo
R  26   Topsy Moran		19-6 AAA Buffalo
R  29   Cal Williams		10-13 for Toronto
L  32   Karl Mallek		13-15 AAA Houston
R  28   Bob Brown		12-14 for Brooklyn
R  28   Dick Dover		15-16 for Brooklyn
R  29   Bob Curtis		9-17 AAA Houston
L  25   Art Carlson		16-7 AA Knoxville
L  24   Bob Baker		11-11 A Omaha
R  29   Buck Blood		8-8, 6sv Brooklyn

I mentioned in an earlier post I made a color coded depth chart to easily track my roster. I was hesitant to post it and give an advantage to my fellow GM's but thinking more about it, I don't believe it matters as my opinion on some of these guys could be just as wrong as what their scout thinks. So to help you follow along and maybe give someone an idea for a tool they can use in their solo or online leagues here is the Brooklyn Kings organization depth chart.
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Old 06-12-2019, 01:12 PM   #40
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March 29, 1926 SPRING TRAINING WEEK TWO

Not that wins and losses mean a lot in March but the Kings came crashing back down to reality this week. After winning 5 of our first 6 to start the Grapefruit League, the Brooklyn Kings dropped 4 of their 6 games this week including a couple of blowout losses. Lets take a closer look at the highs and lows from the week that was.

MONDAY MARCH 22 - Our first meeting with the New York Stars saw the bullpen let us down in a 5-2 loss. 33 year old Jackie Marshall (15-16 last year), who is expected to be our number one starter, recovered with a decent outing after getting shelled in his first spring appearance. Marshall went 4 innings, allowing 5 hits and a walk, leaving with a 1-0 lead. He really struggled the first two innings with baserunners but was bailed out by a couple of doubleplay balls and a terrific peg from centerfielder Lou Cox to nail a Stars runner at the plate. Art Carlson, who I had hoped would make our club as we have very few lefthanders, got beat up pretty good and turned a 2-2 tie when he took over in the 7th into a 5-2 loss. He walked two, gave up 5 hits and 3 runs. The damage could have been worse but he was aided by our third doubleplay of the game.

Our star outfielder Bud Rodgers hit his first homerun of spring and is batting .353 so far while rookie Doug Lightbody got his first start and went 1-for-3, but that lowered his spring average to .500. Lightbody has impressed and if he keeps it up has a shot at going straight from college to the FABL.


TUESDAY MARCH 23 - We beat Cleveland for the second time in a week, this one was a 6-5 ballgame. Not as good a performance from Harvey Rodgers, my rule V pickup, in his second outing: 4 innings, walked 3 and allowed 3 hits with 2 earned runs. None of my pitchers had particularly good outings on this day. Dick Dover got the win going 3 innings but allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, and walked 4 while closer Buck Blood did get his fourth save of the spring, he allowed two hits, a walk and 1 run in 2 innings of work.


WEDNESDAY MARCH 24 - Not often you score 8 runs in an inning but even less often do you do that and lose. Well, we did as the Kings fell 9-8 in a brutal game to Toronto. The Wolves got 4 runs off aging star Danny Goff in the fourth and 4 more of of Bob Baker in the sixth. Bob Brown got the loss giving up the final Toronto run in the ninth inning. Our defense was also bad as we committed 3 errors. An excuse can be made for Stan Bass' miscue as the first baseman was learning third base in the game.

The positives: Not many other than Victor Rodding had 2 more hits and is batting .438 while playing pretty good defense at second base. Both Rodding and Rip Agee, the man he is competing with for the job at second, had an extra base hit in the game while the big blow was young outfielder Al Stanton's bases loaded triple in our big inning.


THURSDAY MARCH 25 - As bad as yesterday was to watch this one was even worse as the Chicago Cougars embarrassed us 11-0. 3 more errors in the game, this time from Clay Vega, who is battling for the backup catcher job, and a pair of starters in shortstop Lloyd Carter and 3B Glenn Mowles. That's 6 errors in 2 games. We won't even talk about the pitching other than to say Topsy Moran and Bob Curtis had terrible outings.


FRIDAY MARCH 26- Manager Powell Slocum's post-game tirade about you better work if you want a job on this club obviously got the attention of the club as we rebounded with a 5-2 win over Baltimore. A 3-run first inning keyed by a bases-loaded double from Victor Rodding - his first of two doubles and 4 rbi's on the day- got us off on the right foot. 32 year old minor league journeyman Karl Mallek continues to impress on the hill. Malleck allowed his first run of the spring but got his second win after 4 and a third innings of 3 hit ball. Bob Brown gave up only an unearned run on 5 hits over the final 4 and two thirds.

Bad news is two more errors - my third baseman Mowles again as well as Rip Agee, buy Agee's was committed as shortstop not second base as we gave Lloyd Carter the day off. Agee continues to struggle at the plate, hitting just .125 while Rodding continues to tear the cover off the ball and is batting .474.

SATURDAY MARCH 27 - Wow, the wheels fell off in this one. We were battling okay, tied 2-2 with Philadelphia after 4 innings thanks to a not bad outing from ex-Toronto Wolves pitcher Cal Williams but then chaos ensued as we got thumped 15-5 by the Sailors. Dick Dover was bad while Bob Curtis and Art Carlson were downright awful. Curtis' performance earns him a one-way trip to the minor league came and Carlson, were he not lefthanded and gets one more shot, would be joining him.

For anyone counting we are at 10 errors in 4 games thanks to 3B Mowles (his third in that span) and outfielder Bud Rodgers each committing one today. The good news is Doug Lightbody had an outfield assist, gunning down a runner at third from centerfield.

SUNDAY MARCH 28 was an off-day.


With two more weeks of spring remaining some of the players are making my decisions a lot easier but a few are not.

PITCHING
We are down to ten pitchers as I have demoted Bob Curtis and lefthander Bob Baker. Curtis will need an extra suitcase to carry his 27.00 spring era to the minor league camp. Baker had one strong outing, one bad outing and a brief so-so appearance but he is 24 and hasn't pitched above A ball so even though he is lefthanded I can't see keeping him so he goes down as well.

I am going to bring 8 pitchers north so there are a few question left. Right now it looks like 25 year old Art Carlson, who was 16-7 at AA Knoxville a year ago, but has been shelled in the spring, is one of those on the way out. I have given the lefthander every chance to make the club but he doesn't look ready.

The good news is 32 year old Karl Mallek has stepped up so I will be able to keep 1 lefthander. The question for Mallek is will he start or be in the pen? He had a pair of very good starts so I am going to put him in the pen and see what he can do from there next week.

The rotation is crowded. Jackie Marshall, Danny Goff have a lock on two spots. Goff has been good enough in spring so far at age 40. I like our Toronto pick-ups Topsy Moran and Harvey Rodgers for the rotation but one may have to go to the pen as we also have veterans Cal Williams (also from Toronto), Dick Dover and Bob Brown. One of those mentioned above will have to join Carlson in the minors to get me down to 8 pitchers. My closer is all set with incumbent Buck Blood having 4 saves and a 0.64 era in spring so far.

Not final but here is my thinking at the moment with spring stats. Keep in mind I am still unsure between Moran, Brown, Williams and Dover to decide which 3 stay and what the roles of those 3 will be.
Code:

PROJECTED PITCHING STAFF	REC  IP	  ERA
1- Jackie Marshall	R	0-0  5.2  6.35
2- Danny Goff		R       0-0  8.0  1.13
3- Harvey Rodgers	R       1-0  8.0  3.38
4- Karl Mallek	   	L       2-0  8.1  1.08
5- Cal Williams		R       1-0  8.0  3.38

CL Buck Blood		R       0-0 13.2  0.66  4 sv
MR Bob Brown		R	0-1 10.2  3.38
MR Topsy Moran		R	1-1  8.0  4.50

DEMOTED
   Art Carlson		L	0-1  2.2 27.00
   DIck Dover		R    	1-1  5.0  7.20
CORNER INFIELD - Both Lou Gorman (.421/.478/.474) and Stan Bass (.333/.524/.500) are hitting well so the platoon idea may stay but I am experimenting with moving Bass to third base as Glenn Mowles is hitting just .182. Normally surehanded, Mowles has been downright awful at third base the past few days so if I could get both Bass and Gorman's bats in the lineup without sacrificing defense it would be a nice bonus. Mowles is not a bad hitter (.283/.346/.406 last year) but it's a spot I would love to upgrade if can. What I really need is a power hitting third baseman but I have nothing in my system that might fit that bill except 18 year old draft pick Dave Bristol, who is arrival in the big leagues is a long ways away. Bristol will start the year in Class B Tampa.

I am also trying outfielder Clarence Hall at third in the spring as I am getting closer to starting Doug Lightbody in the big leagues. I thought AA initially for Lightbody but he is hitting well and if he keeps it up it will leave me with 4 very good outfielders so I will need to find a position that Hall could play.


SECOND BASE - I talked about the battle between Agee and Rodding for second. Best case scenario is Rodding gives me average defense to go with his plus bat and Agee becomes a great utility infielder for me. Worse case scenario is Rodding has another terrible start with his defense and I have to take his bat out of the lineup. I thought about trying Rodding at third but he already struggles at second and I did not want him focused on another position he can't play. There is too much talent at first and in the outfield that I don't want to be forced to move Rodding there in order to keep his bat in the lineup but if his defense continues to be as bad as it was last year I may have to consider it.
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