OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

ayaghmour2 · 05-25-2023, 10:16 PM

Us FABL GMs got some wonderous news this morning; two extra weeks of Spring Training! That means the long awaited return of baseball is here earlier then expected! We don't have many battles in camp, but there are a few exciting ones to watch as we prepare for Opening Day.

Before touching on those, I forgot to announce that former Cougar John Lawson was officially inducted to the Hall of Fame, joining Pete Layton, T.R. Goins, George Melvin, and Charlie Firestone. Each GM got five votes, and I voted for all except Firestone, instead giving my last vote to arguably the best defensive second basemen of all time, John Cook. Firestone was somewhat controversial, as while he was no doubt elite (132 ERA+, 75.6 WAR, 76 FIP-, 210-103, 1,881 K), he only pitched eight seasons, and the eighth was pretty awful (11-14, 69 ERA+). We don't have a 10 year minimum, which would keep Firestone out of the MLB hall, but I get why people voted for him. During the four years from 1914 to 1917, he led the league each season in WAR and FIP- while also leading in wins ('15-'17), ERA ('15-'16), strikeouts ('16), WHIP ('15-'16), K/9 ('14-'15), and BABIP ('16). For that period, Firestone went 126-43 with a 1.87 ERA, 970 strikeouts, and a whopping 51 wins above replacement in 1,626.1 innings pitched.

But enough about Firestone, let's talk about Lawson. One of, if not the best, third basemen of the early human era, "Jack the Ripper" made 1,204 appearances as a Star and 1,051 more as a Cougar before enlisting in the Navy and retiring after the 1942 season. Initially a 4th Round selection of the Pioneers back in 1923, he spent just one season in their farm before being cut prior to the 1925 Opening Day. He spent time with the independent Portland Maroons and the Philadelphia Sailors before the Cougars signed him to be Lawson's fourth organization during the 1925 season. He didn't spend too much time in Chicago, as I made the ill-fated trade that sent him and Joe Snider to the Stars for the talented, yet oft-injured Johnny Douglas to upgrade our awful rotation. He had a solid season in the Stars farm before cracking the top 100 prospect list at 98 before the 1927 season. That was his debut year, as he got a 13 game cup of coffee that saw him go 8-for-27 in 13 games.

That was one of just two times Lawson failed to make 500 plate appearances, and he surpassed 600 in all others excluding his last season. Lawson quickly established himself as a star, and he would have been named Rookie of the Year if it existed back then. The 25-year-old third basemen was worth exactly 8 wins above replacement, and slashed .344/.404/.518 (155 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. He also posted a matching 155 WRC+, the first of 12 seasons where he produced a value of 140 or higher. Lawson appeared in 150 or more games in each of the next five seasons, winning three batting titles ('30-'32), and leading the league in hits ('30-'32), doubles ('32), RBIs ('32), and WAR ('30-'31). That 1932 season is one that haunts Cougars fans, as they had to watch their former prospect will the Stars to the postseason, preventing the Cougars from repeating as champions. Lawson failed to win his third consecutive Whitney, but slashed a deserving .377/.417/.557 (166 OPS+) with 49 doubles, 19 homers, and 150 RBIs. He was edged out by a deserving winner in Lou Kelly, who hit .355/.423/.637 (184 OPS+) with the Cannons, leading the league in homers (40), slugging, OPS (1.060), WRC+ (184), wOBA (.450), and WAR (8.6). But it was Lawson who got the title, the only one in his Hall-of-Fame career.

Despite his dominance, Lawson seemed to fall out of favor with the Stars, as he started just 136 games in 1934 before a career low 94 in 1935. It's not like he wasn't hitting, he had a WRC+ of 137 and 140, but the new Stars GM did not seem to use the superstar in the correct manner. This led Lawson to request a trade, and being the benevolent general manager I am, I knew I had to rescue the then future Hall of Famer. The Cougars weren't the high powered team they are now, coming off a 68 win season, so we looked to add a superstar as our youngsters were getting ready to make an impact. Righting the past wrong, we sent Chink Stickels, Dick Earl, Frank Gordon, and George K. Brooks (not the really good one on the Keystones) to the Big Apple for the 2-Time Whitney Winner.

He didn't have much support in the lineup, as the 1936 Cougars were just 63-91, their worst record (including the present) since 1929 (62-92). This didn't effect his production too much, as Lawson posted a 5.3 WAR while hitting .330/.391/.491 (133 OPS+), appearing in all but one of the Cougars 154 games that season. He also hit 20 homers for the first time since 1930 (28) while walking (60) more then he struck out (56). This was the last time in his career Lawson would finish on a team below .500, as Lawson and a supporting cast of Ollie Page (27), Ray Ford (25), Doc Love (30), Leo Mitchell (24), Carlos Montes (21), Mike Taylor (31), and Rich Langton (25) won 83 games. Lawson took home his fourth and final batting title, slashing .327/.371/.495 (140 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 25 homers, and 108 RBIs. From that point on, Lawson was a crucial part of some really good teams, winning a Whitney in 1940 where he led the league in hits (210), doubles (48), and RBIs (111) with 17 homers, 7.1 WAR, and a 150 WRC+ as a 37-year-old. He also helped us secure the 1941 pennant, batting .315/.368/.515 (143 OPS+) with 29 homers and a league high 129 RBIs.

Unfortunately for Lawson, that was his last above average season, as he finally failed to surpass a OPS+ and WRC+ above 100 at 39 in 1942. It ended up being his last season, as he hit just .274/.314/.353 (98 OPS+) with 8 homers and 62 RBIs in 140 games. That's when he decided his calling was protecting his country, not the hot corner, ending his career with 2,255 games, 269 homers, 1,608 RBIs, and 91.1 WAR. He hit .339/.391/.500 (143 OPS+) with a 145 WRC+ throughout his 15 year career, and currently ranks as the Stars all-time leader in average (.358) while ranking top five in OBP (2nd, .408), slugging (2nd, .521), and OPS (2nd, .929), trailing Bill Barrett in each category, and he'd rank there for counting stats if he wasn't outside the top ten in games played. He also shares the Cougars All-Time lead in homers with Bill Ashbaugh, although with Leo Mitchell just 17 homers away (he's at 119 in a Cougar uniform), that doesn't look like it will last much longer.

All in all, Lawson is one of the greatest to play the game, and deserves to be recognized for it. He ranks 11th All-Time in batting average (.339), 16th in slugging (.500), 20th in runs (1,431), 12th in hits (3,060), 9th in total bases (4,511), 6th in doubles (558), tied for 10th in homers (269), and 5th in RBIs (1,608). Had he not enlisted, we would not have traded for Hank Barnett, which would have given him at least one more season to improve on the counting stats. If he spent more time with us, I'd have retired his number, but I expect him to go in as a Star, where his #7 is already hanging in the rafters.

--

Turning our attention back to the current Cougars, here is who will be in camp for the next month plus:

LHP Fritz Bach
RHP Bill Ballantine
RHP Jimmy Ballard
RHP Joe Brown*
LHP Duke Bybee*
RHP Charlie Everett
LHP Ed Fisler
LHP Floyd Frost
RHP Jack Hale
LHP Red Hampton
LHP Bob Hobbs
RHP Donnie Jones*
LHP Johnnie Jones*
RHP Art Keeter
RHP Charlie Kelsey
RHP Harry MacRae
RHP Ken Matson
RHP George Oddo
RHP Pete Papenfus*
RHP Harry Parker*
LHP Rusty Watts
C Homer Guthrie
C Eddie Howard
C Harry Mead*
C Steve Mountain
1B Ray Ford*
1B Lou Thomas
1B Dick Walker*
2B Clark Car*
2B Eddie Curtis
2B Billy Hunter*
2B Jimmie James
2B Ducky Jordan
2B Charlie Reed
2B Bob Schmelz
2B Connie Wright
3B Otto Christian
3B Jim Jenkins*
3B Danny Richardson
SS Joe Dackett
SS Skipper Schneider*
SS George Sutterfield*
LF Dave Haight
LF Rich Langton
LF Leo Mitchell*
LF Bill Payne
LF Joe Read
CF Carlos Montes*
CF Johnny Peters
CF Max Rucker
CF Ray Struble
RF Ducky Cole
RF Dan Collins
RF Sammy Dillon
RF Don Lee*
RF Hal Sharp*
RF Fred Vargas

*Guaranteed roster spot

There's always bench and pen spots up for grabs, but we have some really exciting competition for the starting third base job and the #5 starter spot. Technically with the rotation, the "loser" will still be on the team, with Duke Bybee squaring off against Harry Parker. Most of the offseason, Clyde Meyer has had Parker above Bybee, but recently he bumped Bybee into the five spot. I'm hoping it's due to Dixie Marsh's February scouting report, declaring Bybee "is projected to have the stuff and talent needed to be a #1." Even crazier, for the Spring he has Ken Matson as the #6 (I'm still putting Parker there), so it's looking more and more likely that Bybee will be the five and Parker in a swingman role. We still have plenty of double headers, and I want Pap and Donnie pitching when it matters most, so there will be plenty of starts available for the sixth starter. The rest of their innings will come in the stopper role, with our normal stopper (likely Harry MacRae) bouncing between a stopper and closer role.

The third base job is much murkier, as we have plenty of different players fighting for one spot. The spotlight is on Otto Christian, as he's the only one who may not make the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old has yet to play in AAA, but mashed 14 homers and 39 RBIs, both highs in the CWL, while producing a 163 WRC+ in 42 winter games. The door is open for him to take the job, but I don't want him on our bench. He's far from a finished product, but the annual top 100 prospect has a peak that is making Cougar fans salivate. As good as the bat is, he's looking really good defensively too, something I was somewhat worried about when I drafted him. He has impact power, but he's still learning how give a "professional at bat" against the top players.

Others involved are all going to make the big league roster, with George Sutterfield, Jim Jenkins, and Billy Hunter all guaranteed a spot. Hunter is the longshot, as he's coming off the worst year of his career (75 WRC+ and first below average season in 74 games) and after spending all season on the active roster, you just know an IL stop is right around the corner. Even if he wins the job, he's not going to play more then three games in a row, leaving plenty of time for guys like Jenkins and Sutterfield. The veteran Jenkins has the inside edge, as Clyde Meyer is a big fan of the well respected infielder, naming him the starter if he had full control. Discounting the 1945 season, he's never hit much, but he's a superb defender, strong base runner, and contact oriented hitter who's put the ball in play in 93% (2,119/2,288) of his FABL plate appearances. He doesn't have the upside of the other options, but I know exactly what I'm getting with him, and with great hitters like Dick Walker, Hal Sharp, and Leo Mitchell, as well as quality guys like Clark Car, Carlos Montes, Skipper Schneider, Don Lee, Harry Mead, and Ray Ford, we don't need an absolute masher, especially when you factor in the glove.

Lastly, there's former top 30 prospect George Sutterfield, who has the upside of Christian with the glove of Jenkins. He's very similar to Skipper (Dixie thinks even better), elite glove at short with an average bat, and the soon-to-be 25-year-old is too good to be stuck in Milwaukee. He'll hit for a high average, produce plenty of extra base hits, and will walk about as often as he strikes out. Not much power, but the glove more then makes up for it, and behind Skipper we don't really have many options at short for the final roster. Whether or not he starts the season in the Opening Day lineup, he will play a fair amount this season, as none of the final options will be playing every day like Barnett did last year. If Otto wins the job, Sutterfield will get starts when we need a stronger infield defense, and if Jenkins wins the job, when we need a better bat. And of course, if Hunter wins the job, Sutterfield will be the guy to spell him so he can stay healthy. I would have loved to add a superstar third basemen, but we have a lot of good options, and if one guy struggles, there's a few more who can pick up the slack. The extended spring will work well as Sutterfield isn't too familiar with third, but a fielder as good as he is will have no trouble.

I won't dive too deep into the pen and bench now (this is a crazy long post already!), but as the weeks go by I'll focus on that as well. I'm hoping we can stay healthy, but we can stomach almost any potential injury, and I think we have exactly the squad we need to once again compete for a pennant. This has to be our year, right!?!? RIGHT!!!

Oh well, time to play ball!

05-25-2023, 10:16 PM	#1107
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,133	Start of Spring Training Us FABL GMs got some wonderous news this morning; two extra weeks of Spring Training! That means the long awaited return of baseball is here earlier then expected! We don't have many battles in camp, but there are a few exciting ones to watch as we prepare for Opening Day. Before touching on those, I forgot to announce that former Cougar John Lawson was officially inducted to the Hall of Fame, joining Pete Layton, T.R. Goins, George Melvin, and Charlie Firestone. Each GM got five votes, and I voted for all except Firestone, instead giving my last vote to arguably the best defensive second basemen of all time, John Cook. Firestone was somewhat controversial, as while he was no doubt elite (132 ERA+, 75.6 WAR, 76 FIP-, 210-103, 1,881 K), he only pitched eight seasons, and the eighth was pretty awful (11-14, 69 ERA+). We don't have a 10 year minimum, which would keep Firestone out of the MLB hall, but I get why people voted for him. During the four years from 1914 to 1917, he led the league each season in WAR and FIP- while also leading in wins ('15-'17), ERA ('15-'16), strikeouts ('16), WHIP ('15-'16), K/9 ('14-'15), and BABIP ('16). For that period, Firestone went 126-43 with a 1.87 ERA, 970 strikeouts, and a whopping 51 wins above replacement in 1,626.1 innings pitched. But enough about Firestone, let's talk about Lawson. One of, if not the best, third basemen of the early human era, "Jack the Ripper" made 1,204 appearances as a Star and 1,051 more as a Cougar before enlisting in the Navy and retiring after the 1942 season. Initially a 4th Round selection of the Pioneers back in 1923, he spent just one season in their farm before being cut prior to the 1925 Opening Day. He spent time with the independent Portland Maroons and the Philadelphia Sailors before the Cougars signed him to be Lawson's fourth organization during the 1925 season. He didn't spend too much time in Chicago, as I made the ill-fated trade that sent him and Joe Snider to the Stars for the talented, yet oft-injured Johnny Douglas to upgrade our awful rotation. He had a solid season in the Stars farm before cracking the top 100 prospect list at 98 before the 1927 season. That was his debut year, as he got a 13 game cup of coffee that saw him go 8-for-27 in 13 games. That was one of just two times Lawson failed to make 500 plate appearances, and he surpassed 600 in all others excluding his last season. Lawson quickly established himself as a star, and he would have been named Rookie of the Year if it existed back then. The 25-year-old third basemen was worth exactly 8 wins above replacement, and slashed .344/.404/.518 (155 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. He also posted a matching 155 WRC+, the first of 12 seasons where he produced a value of 140 or higher. Lawson appeared in 150 or more games in each of the next five seasons, winning three batting titles ('30-'32), and leading the league in hits ('30-'32), doubles ('32), RBIs ('32), and WAR ('30-'31). That 1932 season is one that haunts Cougars fans, as they had to watch their former prospect will the Stars to the postseason, preventing the Cougars from repeating as champions. Lawson failed to win his third consecutive Whitney, but slashed a deserving .377/.417/.557 (166 OPS+) with 49 doubles, 19 homers, and 150 RBIs. He was edged out by a deserving winner in Lou Kelly, who hit .355/.423/.637 (184 OPS+) with the Cannons, leading the league in homers (40), slugging, OPS (1.060), WRC+ (184), wOBA (.450), and WAR (8.6). But it was Lawson who got the title, the only one in his Hall-of-Fame career. Despite his dominance, Lawson seemed to fall out of favor with the Stars, as he started just 136 games in 1934 before a career low 94 in 1935. It's not like he wasn't hitting, he had a WRC+ of 137 and 140, but the new Stars GM did not seem to use the superstar in the correct manner. This led Lawson to request a trade, and being the benevolent general manager I am, I knew I had to rescue the then future Hall of Famer. The Cougars weren't the high powered team they are now, coming off a 68 win season, so we looked to add a superstar as our youngsters were getting ready to make an impact. Righting the past wrong, we sent Chink Stickels, Dick Earl, Frank Gordon, and George K. Brooks (not the really good one on the Keystones) to the Big Apple for the 2-Time Whitney Winner. He didn't have much support in the lineup, as the 1936 Cougars were just 63-91, their worst record (including the present) since 1929 (62-92). This didn't effect his production too much, as Lawson posted a 5.3 WAR while hitting .330/.391/.491 (133 OPS+), appearing in all but one of the Cougars 154 games that season. He also hit 20 homers for the first time since 1930 (28) while walking (60) more then he struck out (56). This was the last time in his career Lawson would finish on a team below .500, as Lawson and a supporting cast of Ollie Page (27), Ray Ford (25), Doc Love (30), Leo Mitchell (24), Carlos Montes (21), Mike Taylor (31), and Rich Langton (25) won 83 games. Lawson took home his fourth and final batting title, slashing .327/.371/.495 (140 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 25 homers, and 108 RBIs. From that point on, Lawson was a crucial part of some really good teams, winning a Whitney in 1940 where he led the league in hits (210), doubles (48), and RBIs (111) with 17 homers, 7.1 WAR, and a 150 WRC+ as a 37-year-old. He also helped us secure the 1941 pennant, batting .315/.368/.515 (143 OPS+) with 29 homers and a league high 129 RBIs. Unfortunately for Lawson, that was his last above average season, as he finally failed to surpass a OPS+ and WRC+ above 100 at 39 in 1942. It ended up being his last season, as he hit just .274/.314/.353 (98 OPS+) with 8 homers and 62 RBIs in 140 games. That's when he decided his calling was protecting his country, not the hot corner, ending his career with 2,255 games, 269 homers, 1,608 RBIs, and 91.1 WAR. He hit .339/.391/.500 (143 OPS+) with a 145 WRC+ throughout his 15 year career, and currently ranks as the Stars all-time leader in average (.358) while ranking top five in OBP (2nd, .408), slugging (2nd, .521), and OPS (2nd, .929), trailing Bill Barrett in each category, and he'd rank there for counting stats if he wasn't outside the top ten in games played. He also shares the Cougars All-Time lead in homers with Bill Ashbaugh, although with Leo Mitchell just 17 homers away (he's at 119 in a Cougar uniform), that doesn't look like it will last much longer. All in all, Lawson is one of the greatest to play the game, and deserves to be recognized for it. He ranks 11th All-Time in batting average (.339), 16th in slugging (.500), 20th in runs (1,431), 12th in hits (3,060), 9th in total bases (4,511), 6th in doubles (558), tied for 10th in homers (269), and 5th in RBIs (1,608). Had he not enlisted, we would not have traded for Hank Barnett, which would have given him at least one more season to improve on the counting stats. If he spent more time with us, I'd have retired his number, but I expect him to go in as a Star, where his #7 is already hanging in the rafters. -- Turning our attention back to the current Cougars, here is who will be in camp for the next month plus: LHP Fritz Bach RHP Bill Ballantine RHP Jimmy Ballard RHP Joe Brown* LHP Duke Bybee* RHP Charlie Everett LHP Ed Fisler LHP Floyd Frost RHP Jack Hale LHP Red Hampton LHP Bob Hobbs RHP Donnie Jones* LHP Johnnie Jones* RHP Art Keeter RHP Charlie Kelsey RHP Harry MacRae RHP Ken Matson RHP George Oddo RHP Pete Papenfus* RHP Harry Parker* LHP Rusty Watts C Homer Guthrie C Eddie Howard C Harry Mead* C Steve Mountain 1B Ray Ford* 1B Lou Thomas 1B Dick Walker* 2B Clark Car* 2B Eddie Curtis 2B Billy Hunter* 2B Jimmie James 2B Ducky Jordan 2B Charlie Reed 2B Bob Schmelz 2B Connie Wright 3B Otto Christian 3B Jim Jenkins* 3B Danny Richardson SS Joe Dackett SS Skipper Schneider* SS George Sutterfield* LF Dave Haight LF Rich Langton LF Leo Mitchell* LF Bill Payne LF Joe Read CF Carlos Montes* CF Johnny Peters CF Max Rucker CF Ray Struble RF Ducky Cole RF Dan Collins RF Sammy Dillon RF Don Lee* RF Hal Sharp* RF Fred Vargas *Guaranteed roster spot There's always bench and pen spots up for grabs, but we have some really exciting competition for the starting third base job and the #5 starter spot. Technically with the rotation, the "loser" will still be on the team, with Duke Bybee squaring off against Harry Parker. Most of the offseason, Clyde Meyer has had Parker above Bybee, but recently he bumped Bybee into the five spot. I'm hoping it's due to Dixie Marsh's February scouting report, declaring Bybee "is projected to have the stuff and talent needed to be a #1." Even crazier, for the Spring he has Ken Matson as the #6 (I'm still putting Parker there), so it's looking more and more likely that Bybee will be the five and Parker in a swingman role. We still have plenty of double headers, and I want Pap and Donnie pitching when it matters most, so there will be plenty of starts available for the sixth starter. The rest of their innings will come in the stopper role, with our normal stopper (likely Harry MacRae) bouncing between a stopper and closer role. The third base job is much murkier, as we have plenty of different players fighting for one spot. The spotlight is on Otto Christian, as he's the only one who may not make the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old has yet to play in AAA, but mashed 14 homers and 39 RBIs, both highs in the CWL, while producing a 163 WRC+ in 42 winter games. The door is open for him to take the job, but I don't want him on our bench. He's far from a finished product, but the annual top 100 prospect has a peak that is making Cougar fans salivate. As good as the bat is, he's looking really good defensively too, something I was somewhat worried about when I drafted him. He has impact power, but he's still learning how give a "professional at bat" against the top players. Others involved are all going to make the big league roster, with George Sutterfield, Jim Jenkins, and Billy Hunter all guaranteed a spot. Hunter is the longshot, as he's coming off the worst year of his career (75 WRC+ and first below average season in 74 games) and after spending all season on the active roster, you just know an IL stop is right around the corner. Even if he wins the job, he's not going to play more then three games in a row, leaving plenty of time for guys like Jenkins and Sutterfield. The veteran Jenkins has the inside edge, as Clyde Meyer is a big fan of the well respected infielder, naming him the starter if he had full control. Discounting the 1945 season, he's never hit much, but he's a superb defender, strong base runner, and contact oriented hitter who's put the ball in play in 93% (2,119/2,288) of his FABL plate appearances. He doesn't have the upside of the other options, but I know exactly what I'm getting with him, and with great hitters like Dick Walker, Hal Sharp, and Leo Mitchell, as well as quality guys like Clark Car, Carlos Montes, Skipper Schneider, Don Lee, Harry Mead, and Ray Ford, we don't need an absolute masher, especially when you factor in the glove. Lastly, there's former top 30 prospect George Sutterfield, who has the upside of Christian with the glove of Jenkins. He's very similar to Skipper (Dixie thinks even better), elite glove at short with an average bat, and the soon-to-be 25-year-old is too good to be stuck in Milwaukee. He'll hit for a high average, produce plenty of extra base hits, and will walk about as often as he strikes out. Not much power, but the glove more then makes up for it, and behind Skipper we don't really have many options at short for the final roster. Whether or not he starts the season in the Opening Day lineup, he will play a fair amount this season, as none of the final options will be playing every day like Barnett did last year. If Otto wins the job, Sutterfield will get starts when we need a stronger infield defense, and if Jenkins wins the job, when we need a better bat. And of course, if Hunter wins the job, Sutterfield will be the guy to spell him so he can stay healthy. I would have loved to add a superstar third basemen, but we have a lot of good options, and if one guy struggles, there's a few more who can pick up the slack. The extended spring will work well as Sutterfield isn't too familiar with third, but a fielder as good as he is will have no trouble. I won't dive too deep into the pen and bench now (this is a crazy long post already!), but as the weeks go by I'll focus on that as well. I'm hoping we can stay healthy, but we can stomach almost any potential injury, and I think we have exactly the squad we need to once again compete for a pennant. This has to be our year, right!?!? RIGHT!!! Oh well, time to play ball!