The Kings of New York! (FABL)

[DD Martin]

The Brooklyn Eagle
Friday December 7th, 1945
By Percy Pringle Sr.

New Man in Charge of Kings is a Familiar Name

My first week here covering the Kings and a lot of change is going on. The Kings have hired former Detroit and Cleveland GM DD Martin to take the reigns of the Kings franchise. Team Owner Daniel Prescott (64) sounded enthused for the first time in several years as he announced the hiring of his new GM. Prescott "It's with great pleasure that I announce the hiring of DD Martin as GM of the Brooklyn Kings. DD will have my full support in helping him guide us back to where we belong, at the top of the CA!."

Martin who earlier in the week was fired or simply just walked away from the Detroit Dynamo's GM post appeared to be in good spirits as he addressed the media. Martin stated "First I want to thank Mr. Prescott on this great opportunity here in Brooklyn. This is a great organization and our intention will be to bring the winning tradition back to King's baseball. Unlike when I went to Detroit in 1935, there is a tremendous amount of young talent here in this organization. Our first responsibility here is to get our new Manager Tom Barrell the best coaching and support staff we can. Tom was a Hall of Fame Pitcher and I might even try to coax him out of retirement as we might need a veteran arm and he sure does seem like he can still fire pitches past FABL pitchers. But we will get Tom the best staff we can and then turn our attention to hiring managers and coaches to our affiliated clubs. We have a lot of players that are returning from the war and have almost 250 players in our organization. We are going to have to sit down, and have a serious talk about the players in our system and unfortunately make some decisions. Most organizations run with around 170 players and we haven't even gotten to the draft yet. We will make those decisions and prepare to be very active in the Rule 5 draft and be very prepared for the Amateur Draft next month. Thankfully we have a very good talent Director of Scouting here in Brooklyn and John Spears and I are going to get to know each other very well over the next month plus.""

So the Kings are going to be led by the fiery Martin who loves to make trades. Can he trade Brooklyn into contention this year? That remains to be seen, but when I asked the GM about that possibility he stated, " We will make deals that we feel are in the best long term interests of the Kings. We are not looking for rental players that will just get us competitive for a few seasons, we are looking to build something here that will bring Brooklyn a championship and also perhaps a new stadium along with it someday."

So what I am sure will be a very busy month for the new GM starts right away. It will be fun to see where the Kings go.

[DD Martin]

The Off-Season Continues

So there was a tremendous amount of work to do once we got into town. We had over 250 players in the organization and had room for around 155. Almost 100 players to release. Unfortunately my scout the venerable John Spears who has been in Brooklyn for years didn't seem to have much in the way of notes (a bug in ootp that when an online league changes GM's the scout suddenly becomes dumb on all talent he has been scouting. In organization and out).

It even got so bad that in the 6th round of the Rule 5 draft we drafted our own player (So my bad on that as I clearly wasn't paying attention but the blame goes to SD Spears who clearly didn't review the list he gave me). More on the Rule 5 draft later.

So the first order of business was to review my 40-man roster. In all we released almost half (19) including releasing last year's starting SS Otto Deal (33) who hit 206 last season. We quickly filled up that roster with returning players from the war and other had 6 spots open for the Rule 5 draft.

While I can list the players we DFA, the names won't mean much so I'm not going to take the time. It was a hodge podge of aging veterans and lackluster talent brought in to tide things over until the real boys came back from the war.

Rule 5 Draft

We lost one player in the Rule 5 that we seriously considered keeping. Looking back on it I wish we had protected him but we have a glut of OF prospects. While LF Elmer Wands (24) is only ranked by the OSA at (#566), our scout and even the OSA like his ability. Although our scout wasn't completely confident in his assessment. We also "lost" P Willie Gonzalez Jr. but since we were the ones that drafted him in the 6th round I guess it was a wash. We wanted him enough to draft him so adding him to the 40-man roster wasn't that big of a deal. Maybe if I "release" him he will go back to us and we can put him in AAA. Although Manager Tom Barrell really likes him and might even start him....hmmmm

So players from outside our organization that we drafted....

1.) In the first round we took OF/1B John Beaver (22) from the NY Gothams. Beaver was completely blocked with the hitter rich Gothams and for me was a no brainer of a pick. Our SD John Spears didn't have much in the way of notes but did say "he's would be a reliable hitter in the grand scheme". OSA was a little more detailed stating that he should be able to draw a lot of walks and be one of the best at working the count. Only occasionally can he get completely fooled by offspeed stuff. Beaver projects to be an above average big league OF". Beaver is the #102 ranked prospect in the FABL.

2.) In the 2nd round we went for a position of need in my opinion. So we selected C Frank Reichardt (22) from the Montreal Saints organization. Scouting feels that "he has an elite eye and should someday lead the league in walks (we will be a walk happy group I guess). He has a high ceiling and projects well on the field and at the plate." With praise like that he will be our backup C and if we keep 3 he will learn to play 1B some this spring and maybe even see if he can play LF.

3.) In the 3rd round we took a chance on a P. Not the pitcher that we first wanted as they were taken by another club, but someone who could someday be a back of the rotation SP. The newest member of the King's is SP Jack Brown (22) from the Philadelphia Keystones. The key note for us was that scouts think his stuff can become "elite" a word we like to hear about pitchers and after he fully matures he can be a potential #4 SP.

4.) In the 4th round we took a player who was in my old team's system as we selected from Detroit, RF Willard Blair (23). He was recently signed to a minor league deal but I felt as a former 5th round pick who was drafted by the military right after he was drafted by Cleveland, that he had some upside. He is only rated as #465 by OSA on its prospect list but he has a shot. He has tremendous raw potential but he needs to work hard to translate that talent into a reality to become a big leaguer. We will give him a chance this spring but I'd say his odds are 50/50 on sticking with us.

5.) Finally in the 5th round we selected SS Phil Gratz (26). Gratz fills a position that I feel we needed help in and as is something I often do he has great character and is a natural leader. Scouting says that he "provides well above average defense, runs well and aggressively. Projects to be a patient hitter with good discipline and should be an average big leaguer.

Most years you don't find starters in the Rule 5 draft but this year there was a lot of potential talent available and I feel we got at least 2 starters, 2 others that have potential to be solid players and a 5th guy who has a chance and that we might elect to keep. Of course that is all speculation and we will see what happens on the field this spring.

Trade news

With our needs at 3B and 2B we quickly were in search of talent. We were tempted to sign 37 year old 3B Larry Colaianni, formerly of Washington to a deal. The sticking point were several. 1.) as mentioned he's 37 and wouldn't be a long term solution. 2.) He wanted $65,000 as a free agent to sign. This would have made him the highest paid player in the FABL ahead of multiple time Whitney Award Winner Bobby Barrell who makes $61,250. With our youth movement in full swing, I decided that Colaianni was not a fit, although we could afford to sign him.

The player I really would have wanted was former Detroit Dynamo SS/2B Hank Grant. When I left Detroit there was no way I was releasing him. I had youngsters ready to take over but Grant would have found a spot somewhere. But with penny pinching tightwad owner Powell Thompson not having a very good budget despite all the progress we had made on season ticket sales before I left I am sure the new GM felt he needed to create budget space. If we had known that Grant was available we would have traded for him quickly, but instead he was gobbled up the Outlaw Western League. Back to the drawing board.

So we traded with Toronto a CF prospect Wally Boyer (20 #202) for veteran 3B/2B Joe Bell (30). It is a position we feel we need some competition for and while I am not convinced that Bell is the long term answer, or even the short term one, we had enough OF prospect depth to take a shot. Bell hit a respectable 284/365/824 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI's in limited action last season (109 AB's). We hope he gets more playing time and our assessment is he should be a league average sort of player.

While I do not feel that we will contend this year for the CA pennant, I want us to be as competitive as possible and get as many lottery balls as we can for the 1947 draft.

Speaking of drafts, we are very close to having the 1946 draft. While my current (for now) SD John Spears doesn't look prepared I will say that I am prepared for the draft. I have laid out what I expect from Spears going forward and he is a very capable SD so I don't feel we will have these problems again. But this year this draft is fully on me.

[DD Martin]

[B]The Brooklyn Eagle
Sunday January 27th, 1946
By Percy Pringle Sr.

The Draft is Upon Us. What will the new GM do with the #10 Overall Pick?

Tomorrow starts the annual selection process of high school and college baseball players for FABL teams. The Brooklyn Kings had less than stellar luck in the draft lottery process this year. The #1 overall pick went to the new Kings GM former team the Detroit Dynamo's (ouch). The Kings landed at #10 in the first round and #12 in the second round despite only winning 61 games last season. Some say the new process to determining the draft order in the first 2 rounds is good, to avoid teams from "tanking". Others say it penalizes teams like Brooklyn who had a terrible season and don't get a shot at the "top" talent in the draft. So what will the Kings do with the 10th overall Pick?

Stay tuned as we hear the King's are in a number of trade conversations regarding that pick and potentially others. Going into the draft the King's have outlined positions of need being at catcher, 3rd base, 2nd base and of course who couldn't use another useful pitcher.

[DD Martin]

[B]The Brooklyn Eagle
Monday January 28th, 1946
By Percy Pringle Sr.

King's make two trades in dropping out of 1st Round

Records are sketchy but today Brooklyn might have made the first what seems to be 3-team trade in the FABL. Some speculate that there was another trade, but the writers can't seem to remember if it happened or not. Regardless if it happen before, the Kings made two big moves yesterday.

The King's traded their #10 overall pick in the 1st round to the Chicago Cougars. In return the King's received the Cougars #14 overall pick in the 1st round, plus the Cougars 3rd round pick (#44 overall) and minor league SP Gene Madison.

Then in a corresponding move, the Kings traded the #14 overall pick in the first round to the Chicago Chiefs. In return the Kings landed a player that is in one of their outlined positions of need and a top 50 prospect. In this deal the King's landed C Solly Skidmore (Prospect #50, age - 25) who is FABL ready and had a September callup after returning from the war. With the Chiefs he hit 301/343/720 in just 93 AB's. Skidmore is also a fine defensive catcher and is an immediate upgrade to the King's for the upcoming season. The King's also receive the Chiefs 2nd round pick (#27 overall) in the deal.

There were rumors of the King's going after power hitting 3B Mack Sutton who GM Martin acquired in Detroit while there last season, but the opportunity to add picks and acquire Skidmore was too much to pass up. The Kings had also been trying to acquire C Woody Stone from the Philadelphia Sailors.

With the deals the Kings will not pick until they have back to back picks in the 2nd round with the #11 and #12 picks in that round (#27 and #28 overall). Where they go with those picks remains to be seen, but according to GM Martin the wheeling and dealing might not be done. Martin stated "If we can find a deal for a player that can help us next year, we will be all ears. We are not looking for stopgap solutions though with the trading of our draft picks. But if we can find younger players who can make us a better team, we will certainly listen."

Will the King's make more deals during the draft? Stay tuned in our next update let's see what happens.

[DD Martin]

The Brooklyn Eagle
Sunday March 17th, 1946
By Percy Pringle Sr.

Spring Training is Upon Us
What do the Kings have in Store for the 46 Season

The Brooklyn King's returned to their spring training home in Florida this week to begin preparations for the 1946 season. There is a whole new cast from the GM office to the Manager to some on field personnel as the Kings look to improve upon last season's disappointing 61-93 record. In fact since winning 3 straight CA pennants (and 1 World Series breaking the dreaded Hawkins Curse), the Kings have had only 1 winning season finishing 86-68 in 1941 good for 3rd place. In the seven seasons since the 38 title win the Kings have gone just 502-576 for a 465 winning percentage. The 61-93 record last season was the worst showing by a King's team since 1918's dreadful 44-82 showing.

Can things get better quickly? That is the question that we posed to new GM DD Martin. "I'd like to think that with the young talent that we have that we will make improvements this season. You never know in baseball with injuries, talent and a little luck you can be in a September pennant race." When asked about the make over of the club Martin stated that "We had a lot of talent that would do well in that outlaw league out west, but seriously they were not FABL caliber players. If that group could only win 61 games last year, think of where they would be with all the boys returning from the war. Half of them would have ran away from the likes of Peter the Heater's 100+ mph fastball." While Martin didn't speak highly of some of the guys talent that are no longer here, he is praising his new manager Tom Barrell. "I think we have a great hirer in Tom Barrell as our manager. I think he is going to be one of the all-time greats someday as a manager. But remember just like a lot of this teams talent are rookies, so is Tom as a manager. He will have growing pains as well. In the end though I think we will look at this season as a major building block for the King's future. And that future continues to be a look at how we can update or possibly built a new stadium for this franchise." While talk of a new stadium is exciting to many fans, it is likely years away as the country recovers from the anguish of WW2.

Manager Tom Barrell also talked briefly about the upcoming season. "I am really glad to be back in Brooklyn and to help rebuild a team that I have such fond memories of. We had some great teams here in Brooklyn and it started with young talent. We have a lot of young talent and we are going to be working very hard to develop that talent this spring and during the season. We have 45 guys here in camp, a lot of them top 100 prospects. Some will be ready this year to open the season, some will be called up in the future. But that is what we are doing here this spring, laying the foundation of a great future for Brooklyn Kings baseball. People may not be taking us seriously right now, but I'm telling you to watch out. The Brooklyn Kings will be back where they belong, leading the way in the CA! I guarantee it!"

Both Barrell and Martin are very bullish on the King's future. But what have some other observers said. One noted scout said "the club lacks any real threat of a power hitter outside of 1B "Tiny" Tim Hopkins. It will help that CF Rats McGonigle is back and LF Vernon Ruch is a solid veteran hitter. But outside of that on offense, we will need to see how this club gels. The new hitting coach who doesn't have a lot of experience with FABL clubs and he is going to be tested with this bunch." Another scout chimed in about the lacking of pitching. "The Kings have some good youngsters and not a lot else. The guys tossing the ball last year are mostly GWL type of guys. So if they are going to improve much this year, they need to either acquire some pitching to improve things or hope that the kids mature quickly and don't wear down over the course of a major league season. If you thinking CA contention, think 1948 and beyond."

So while the Kings brass feel good about their club, a lot of the serious baseball types right now feel that another likely sub-par year is in order. The guess on wins ranged from 63-69 so that would be some improvement. Let's hope the Kings can find some nuggets of talent and hope that they can truly built this club back into a dynasty once again.

[DD Martin]

The Brooklyn Eagle
Monday April 15th, 1946
By Percy Pringle Sr.

This is it, a New Era in Kings Baseball!

Oh yes, the Kings have completed their spring training tour of Florida and I will admit it was nice to be in the sun. Over 45 players came to Sunny Florida with hopes of making the King's Opening Day Roster, but there are only 24 spots. In the mix are 7 rookies (my count is 6 but the game is counting C Skidmore) that includes the top 3 SP's on the team. Only 4 players are above the age of 30, with veteran LF Vernon Ruch checking in at 35. The average age of the players on the team is just 26.83. So what does that mean for the 1946 Kings? Likely a tough year, but with plenty of room to grow. As far as predictions go, I think the King will finish around 6th and maybe challenge for 5th and garner about 70 wins (70-84). With such a young mix that would be a positive start to this rebuilding club.

Here is the Opening Day Roster

SP Leo Hayden (LHSP - Age 23) Prospect #19 overall
Last season AA Knoxville 4-1 3.59 ERA 5GS 42.2IP
Spring Training 1-1 4GS 16.1 3.31 ERA
After returning from military service, Hayden who had only previously pitched at Class C ball in 1941 appeared in 5 starts. Hayden has the makings of a #1 SP with good control that is expected to only get better.
During the spring Hayden looked sharp and impressed Manager Tom Barrell enough for him to be named the Opening Day Starter.

SP Wally Graves (LHSP - Age 23) Prospect #41 overall
Last Season played 1941 class C 12-10 4.66
Spring Training 0-2 2.00 ERA 4GS 18 IP
Another of the rookies making the rotation, Graves last pitched in organization pro ball in 1941 for class C Marshalltown. While it is a big jump the club feels that Graves is ready to show what he can do as the teams #2 SP. Scouting tends to agree as they have him down with excellent command and a #2 type SP.

SP Harry Stewart (RHSP - Age 23) Prospect #75 overall
Last Season Played 1941 Class C-B 121-6 3.25 ERA
Spring Training 0-1 1.00 ERA 9IP
Former 5th round pick has an excellent splitter among his 4 pitches that should have plenty of movement. He is projected to be a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues. Manager Barrell hopes that last part is true as he is penciled in at #3.

SP Clarence Barton (RHSP - Age 24)
Last Season Brooklyn 8-10 3.67 ERA
Spring Training 3-0 1.06 ERA 1 save 17 IP
Barton was pressed into duty last season for the Kings and performed admirably. He has an excellent knuckle curve and cutter but needs to work on his 3rd pitch (a change) to be a good SP in this league. His pitches have plenty of movement but control will be a key to success.

SP Jimmy Kenny (LHSP - Age 25)
Last Season Played 1944 Brooklyn 18-14 2.99
Spring Training 2-1 2.77 ERA
The old man of the SP's at age 25, Kenny also has the most experience. There was talk of him being the team's top RP this season, but the team decided to put him in the rotation. He had a good 44 season with the King's and if he can replicate that work, he should be one of the stronger #5 SP's in the league.

Summary - Starting Pitching
Youth, youth, youth and more youth spells the name in this rotation for the King's. If they are going to improve on their record of the prior seasons, this group is going to have to be solid and maybe pitch well a year ahead of schedule. If any falter there are some options as veteran Ike O'Donnell was kept around in case of emergency and there are some options on the farm. Don't be surprised if the King's look to the waiver wire to see if there are any serviceable pitchers available.

Bullpen

P Mel Haynes (RHP - Age 24)
Last Season Pitched 1944 Class A 20-5 2.85
Spring Training 1-1 1 save 1.80 ERA
Well Haynes was in the mix for the #5 spot in the rotation that eventually went to Jimmy Kenny. He has been tabbed to start the season as the bullpen stopper in a bit of a surprise move by Manager Barrell. He has the tools to be a good pitcher, it will just be if he can put it all together as a reliever.

Willie Gonzalez Jr. (RHP - Age 27)
Last Season Pitched 1942 Jersey City (AAA)
Spring Training 0-1 6.30 ERA
Gonzalez was slotted to be given a shot as a back end SP but a horrible first outing during the spring cut that experiment short. He pitched much better out of the bullpen in 4 of the 5 outings but did have a bad one which likely cost him the stopper job, for now.

RP Jack Brown (RHP - Age 23)
Last Season Pitched 1944 (class A Allentown) 16-14 2.78 268.2 IP
Spring Training 1-0 2.63 ERA 13.2 in 9G
A Rule 5 pick from the Philadelphia Keystones, Brown secured his job with a fine spring performance. Brown has "frontline potential" and when he is "on" he is unhittable, but he is susceptible to the long ball and wandering command at times. His top pitch is a plus-plus change.

P Ike O'Donnell (RHP - Age 29)
Last Season Pitched Brooklyn 1945 7-12 4.85 ERA
Spring Training 0-2 7.59 ERA
O'Donnell's season was underwhelming last year and his spring was even worse. If he had shown anything this spring he would be higher up in the pecking order and even potentially starting this season. As the elder statesman of the pitching staff there are a lot of players looking up to O'Donnell, but he prefers to not be in the spotlight.

Bullpen Summary -
With such a young starting staff one would have thought that carrying 10 pitchers might be the thing to do. Manager Tom Barrell says that with all the double headers to start the early year that might still happen but that he feels confident in the 9 pitchers coming north to do the job. Still it would be nice to have that veteran arm out in the pen that can not only put out a fire but stabilize a game. Not sure the King's have that so they will rely on the young starters holding their own.

Is if a formula for success? Time will tell but it is not a formula to likely contend this year.

Tomorrow Part 2 on Opening Day

[DD Martin]

OOC - Life sometimes gets in the way of a good story. That is what has happened here. Yes the Kings live on as we approach the start of year 3 in Brooklyn. We will do a quick recap of the 1946 (terrible) and (surprising) 1947 seasons as we march onward in trying to be relevant as the 3rd team in the greater NYC area in 1948.

==========================

GM DD Martin arrived in Brooklyn just prior to spring training in the 1946 season. The veteran GM had previous stops in Cleveland where they won the 1934 World Series and Detroit where they took a club that was in total disarray and rebuilt them into a contender. A contender that never won the FA in 10 seasons and the continued battles with the owner drove him out of the Motor City. Now it was onto Brooklyn….

The Kings history is one of overall mediocrity. But in the mid-30Â’s the Kings had a run of 5 straight seasons with at least 90+ victories. In 1934-35 they finished in 2nd place twice to the Cleveland Foresters, but in 1936 things changed. The Kings won the Continental Association crown 3 straight seasons and even managed to win their First World Series. But after that run ended with the 1938 season, the Kings fell on hard times. Between 1939 and 1945 they only had 1 winning season (1941 86-68 3rd place) and the 2nd division in the CA became their home.

The Kings record in 1945 was a dreadful 61-93 and only the Cleveland Foresters saved them from finishing in last place in the CA. There was a lot of work to do. While Martin knew the 46 club was going to struggle, he had pegged a 7-9 game improvement as the goal. Getting to 68 to 70 wins in that first season was something he felt the club could do. He had a rookie manager who was part of the famous Barrell family. Long time Kings P Tom Barrell had retired after the 1945 season and Kings owner Daniel Prescott knew he needed to make changes. Before hiring his GM, Prescott went about and talked the now retired Tom Barrell to come to Brooklyn. Not to be the clubs pitching coach, but to be the new Manager of the Brooklyn Kings. Maybe it was a marketing ploy as the Kings attendance had plummeted to less than 1 million fans combined in the 44 and 45 seasons. Maybe he saw the tough bulldog of a competitor in Barrell and with his family lineage a man who could lead the club to greatness once again. With the manager in place, he then began to talk with various parties for the GM role. Most would say this is backwards thinking. You hire the GM and then that person hires his manager. Prescott often scoffs at traditional thinking and has always done things his own way. He had his manager, now he needed a GM who could work with that manager and who would not be afraid to be bold. He knew who he wanted and he went to work to pry DD Martin from the Dynamos.

[DD Martin]

1946 Season Recap

To be blunt, the 1946 season did not go quite as smoothly as the GM had envisioned. Maybe he didn’t realize just how messy the situation was. Maybe it was a rookie manager dealing with growing pains and learning on the job. While the Kings record improved over the 1945 clubs 61 wins, it was meager improvement. The 1946 club won just 63 games and a major series of transactions started to unfold. People questioned the owner, the GM, the Manager and would this pairing actually work.

The Kings traded several players who many felt would be key components in the future of the team. CF Rats McGonigle who never had quite lived up to his 1st round billing in Brooklyn prior to the war, had returned and he didn’t like what he saw. So frustrated with the lack of winning throughout his Kings career, the CF became incredibly unhappy. While he didn’t demand a trade publicly, there were whispers of his desire to be dealt. On July 22nd, with the Kings struggling mightily with a 36-59 record the GM pulled the trigger. “Star” CF Rats McGonigle was dealt to the Washington Eagles. While the Eagles historically were not traditional contenders in the Federal Association, they had fashioned a 53-41 record and were just 3 ½ games out of first when the deal was made. In the deal coming back to Brooklyn was not help for the 1946, unless you believe that subtraction of a clubhouse malcontent is an addition. This is not to say Rats was a clubhouse cancer, but his unhappiness had grown and was it was apparent he was not a happy camper. The Kings acquired the Eagles 1st and 3rd round picks in the upcoming draft and AA SP Chet Reed who was 4-9 with a 4.50 ERA on the season. The trade ended up being a huge success for the Eagles, who went on win the FA crown with a 90-64 record. Rats who struggled to a 242/351/724 slash line with 6 home runs and 23 RBI’s in 88 games with the Kings had a resurgence in Washington. Some would say it was the first time Rats looked like the player so many had thought he would be when he was drafted 4th overall in 1939. In just 59 games with his new team, Rats hit 280/388/972 with 16 home runs and 44 RBI’s. The Eagles went 37-23 and went on to the World Series.

The next move by Martin shocked many onlookers and not just the fans of the club. Martin wasn’t finished tearing down the Kings. On the 1946 trade deadline day, in the final hours Martin made another move. This time he traded slugging 1B “Tiny” Tim Hopkins for another 1st round pick and several prospects in SS Herb Keller (#118) and SP Paul Byler (#46). Like McGonigle, Hopkins had struggled with the Kings in living up to his high school hype. Yes, he was a power hitter, but the Kings ballpark was a tough place for flyball sluggers to sometimes play in. At the time of the deal Hopkins was hitting a career high 278/352/785 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI’s in 88 games. Like McGonigle, Hopkins was displeased with the losing nature of the Kings and quietly voiced a desire to leave town. He was sent to the Chicago Chiefs who play in a very slugger friendly ballpark. Hopkins immediately found success in Chicago as in just 48 games he hit 343/406/1069 with 15 home runs and 35 RBI’s. Chiefs found their slugging 1B they desired and Martin had more chips to try and rebuild the Kings.

From that 36-59 record when they traded McGonigle, the Kings finished the season 27-32. Some would say the Kings played slightly better after the deals, but it was not enough. There was a tremendous amount of work to be done before spring training for the 1947 season.

[DD Martin]

1947 Season Recap

The work began preparing for the draft. The Kings had 3 picks in the first round with the #3, #10 and #16 picks. The GM had to strike gold with these picks in order to justify (to some) the trades of Hopkins and McGonigle. The draft didn’t really offer much in surprises prior to the King’s pick. Martin had the young man that he wanted.

With the 4th pick in the 1947 (January) draft, the Brooklyn Kings select 3B Ken Newman. The 18-year-old high schooler was just what the Kings were looking for, a hitting machine. The key line in the scouting report for Martin was that Newman could develop the talent to be a premier franchise cornerstone player. In his senior year in high school, the kid looked just as advertised hitting 556/663/1649 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI’s.

As the draft continued, GM Martin couldn’t believe what was happening. He had 2 players targeted and with just 1 more pick ahead of his #10 pick, the player he wanted was still on the board. But unfortunately for the Kings GM, the Philadelphia Sailors scuttled those plans and selected 2B Al Farmer. Farmer was a college kid who Martin highly coveted and felt he would be taken right after Newman. The Kings had come so close to grabbing a much-needed 2nd piece to their puzzle as 2B was another target position the GM desperately wanted to address for the future. With Farmer off the board, the Kings looked to see if there was another middle infielder they wanted. In talking with Scout John Spears there was a kid that could be that guy but the Kings elected to draft CF Charlie Rogers. While not a position of need, with the bevy of OF talent the club had in the minors, Rogers was a quality player and a potential lead-off hitter as evidenced by his scouting report. Charlie Rogers, 18 has an above average hitting profile with a stroke that works inside the ball. He has PLUS-PLUS speed with advanced instincts on the basepaths. Rogers is projected to be an elite starting CF.

With the first two picks done, the Kings were looking forward to their pick from the Washington Eagles in the McGonigle trade. When the cross-town rival NY Stars selected SS Paul Watson, the Kings decided to address another big need on their list. The Kings selected C Dan “Yankee Dan” Smith. A 21-year-old college C who was a hard worker and a top flight defensive catcher. Scouting report states that “Smith has a strong arm and that pitchers love throwing with him behind the plate. He has good discipline and has the talent to flourish as a catcher.

While some were surprised that the GM didn’t grab a pitcher in the first round with 3 picks, the King’s front office was extremely excited about the position players they had nabbed. Martin stated to the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper “They had a great 1st round today drafting 3 players who will be key components of our clubs in the very near future!”

With the draft behind them the Kings took 1B/corner OF Ralph Bailey in the Rule 5 draft. Bailey was a leader and a quality prospect who they felt could be a key piece for them down the line. With spring training looming, Martin began to work on what was a glaring need for the Kings, pitching. While it has been stated many times around FABL circles that the league and Martin in general often over values pitching, the GM knew he was right that he could not send the same staff out and hope to make significant improvements for the 1947 season.

With the surplus in OF talent, the GM traded RF Orlie Martinez to Cleveland for veteran SP Johnny Slaney. Martin had been familiar with Slaney as when he was in Cleveland he traded for Slaney in a deal when the now 31-year-old was a prospect. Slaney didn’t pitch for the Foresters big league club in 1946, he was buried at AAA where he went 10-11 with a 2.75 ERA. Martin had a piece that he felt would fit in with his 1946 rookie of the year SP Leo Hayden, but he wanted more.

The Kings GM struck again plucky another veteran SP and another one that he had long been after while he was in Detroit. Martin traded 2 prospects not in the top 100 to the St. Louis Pioneers for SP Buddy Long (32). Now this was a move that Martin was extremely happy about. Long was a workhorse who had plowed through some really bad Pioneer clubs. Last season Long was 16-16 with a 2.89 ERA and was quickly viewed as the #2 starter behind Hayden.

The GM continued to make moves through the spring and brought in veteran 3B Hank Barnett. The 37 year old hitter was not the power bat that he used to be, but Martin hoped to get several serviceable seasons out of Barnett while he waited for his prize 3B prospect Ken Newman to arrive an develop.

This new lineup of Kings was felt to be a solid upgrade over the 1946 club that didn’t hit the GM’s goals. No matter Martin felt that this club could be one that would perhaps improve 10-12 games and get into the mid-70’s for wins and put his rebuilt program back on track. Little did he know that the club would exceed all his expectations.

The Kings won a shocking 82 games going 82-72 and improving 19 games over last years 63-91 club. They finished in 3rd place in the CA when most everyone picked them to finish 6th or 7th in the spring. Several star players emerged and one could argue the King’s had the best OF in baseball with LF Juan Pomales (spring training acquisition as a 2-way player but was quickly dropped from the rotation), CF John Moss and RF Ralph Johnson. Most felt Johnson would win the rookie of the year award and become the 2nd straight Kings player to do so, and he did. What wasn’t expected is that Johnson would also win the Whitney Award for the best hitter in the CA. Many felt that honor would go to Toronto veteran 1B Frank McCormack or NY Stars 3B Mack Sutton.

The Kings had won 82 games, but Martin felt that while they just missed winning the CA by 4 games, that the club had overachieved to some degree. He went into the 1947 off-season not believing his Kings were ready to win the CA. Not yet anyway.

[DD Martin]

1947 Off-Season

The 47 season was a huge success for the Kings. They had finished a shocking 3rd with 82 wins, but things hadn’t gotten off to a great start early in the season. Their were rumors that GM DD Martin wasn’t sold on Manager Tom Barrell. Some even speculated that when the saw Martin with his former manager in Cleveland Jim Wilson, that there was something a foot. Wilson’s son was in the Kings minor league system and the GM and retired manager were just having lunch, or so the story goes. We might not ever find out of Martin was actually trying to coax the senior Wilson out of retirement. But starting in June the King’s began to play much better baseball and they carried that on throughout the rest of the surprising season. If Martin had questions about his manager, they were quickly extinguished with the 82 win season.

So with the off-season gearing up, the King’s began to do their draft home work. But before the draft Martin was still looking to acquire pitching. While Slaney and Long had performed great (many felt Long should have won the Allen and given the Kings a sweep of the post season awards), Martin knew that with them both turning 33 and 34 next season that they might not be with the club when he felt they were going to be true contenders.

In a move that shocked many, Martin made a trade with the Cincinnati Cannons. Martin traded the following prospects #67 OF Ted Haggarty (18), #136 prospect SS/2B Herb Keller (20), #52 prospect SP Barney Robinson 18 (who they just drafted in the 11th round in the 47 draft), and #92 prospect SS Nick Remillard (21). In return the Kings receive SP Bob Arman (26) who had gone 17-11 3.49 ERA with the 2nd place Cincinnati Cannons. Not only had the Kings traded from their surplus minor league prospect pool, but they “weakened” (in many FABL GM eyes) a direction competitor. Some said this move made the 48 Kings the “front runner” for the CA crown. Martin felt that type of talk was overblown, but he was pleased to gain what he felt was a much younger version of Buddy Long.

What happened next though sent shock waves once again throughout the FABL, but this time in the opposite direction. The Kings traded SP Buddy Long who won 20 games last season to the New York Gothams. A Gothams club that was making a veteran push to claim the FA title. In return the Kings picked up a 2nd round pick in the 48 draft and 3 minor league SP’s in John Roberts, Hal Friedlander and Jerry Keys. Cries of what on earth are the King’s doing, they just went from the frontrunners to middle of the pack again. The reasoning was simple in the mind of the King’s GM. He wanted to get younger in the pitching department. While the Kings won 82 games in 1947, the GM felt the team was a year and maybe even 2 ahead of true contendership in the CA. Roberts was a top 100 prospect who many feel is not as good as Long, but Martin was looking at building a club that could be a contender for a decade with his young core. So, while controversial it was a move that Martin has stood by in face of a lot of scrutiny.

The Kings draft lottery odds were strong in their favor and they were hoping to secure a top 6 pick. Unfortunately for Kings fans that was not in the cards. The Kings were saddled with horrendous luck and only slotted #12 overall in the first round. They had 2 round picks as well but many felt this draft class was nowhere near as deep and talented as the prior year’s draft class.

The King’s went after a SP in the first round, a player that was #7 on their draft board overall. The Kings selected SP Jimmy Isgro. Here is a brief scouting report on the 18-year-old high schooler.

“The 6’3 185 pound Isgro is a long, lean athletic SP who was born in Austin, MN. He projects to have a 4-pitch repertoire which includes a cutter, sinker, fastball, and splitter. When he’s on, he’s unhittable, but he’s susceptible to the long ball and wandering command. Isgro should end up near the top of any major league rotation.”

With the first 10 rounds of a less than spectacular draft done in January, it was time to head to spring training.

Next - Spring Training

[DD Martin]

Spring Training 1948

The Kings brought 46 players to camp including highly priced rookies 3B Ken Newman, C Dan Smith, SP Paul Byler, P Joe Potts, and SS Chuck Lewis. While the front office did not feel any of these future Kings were ready to make the 1948 club, they wanted to give these kids a taste of the big league camp. The early part of the spring was giving equal amounts of time to the starters and then also the youngsters in camp. Accordingly, the Kings early spring record was just 7-13. But Manager Tom Barrell and GM DD Martin were not concerned. They had a mission and it was getting these kids experience and while the record was not what any fan would want, the duo was not concerned.

For the 2nd half of the camp many of the younger players were sent to the Kings minor league camp for re-assignment. The Kings finished with a flurry to end the spring with a 19-17 record and were preparing for what they hoped for was another step in their building block to “true” contention for the CA crown in the near future.

Next - Pre-season preview

[DD Martin]

Opening Day 1948 Roster Preview

With spring training behind them, its time to get the boys ready for the trip to the north. Leaving the beautiful warm weather of Florida is never easy. The Kings are headed to the state of New York for Opening Day but it will not be in Brooklyn. No the Kings will battle crosstown rival New York Stars at Dyckman Stadium for the opening 3 game series. Then they will come home for series against the Montreal Saints.

There will be a lot of return faces on the squad this year for the Kings. Of the 24 men on the team, 15 were on the roster at the end of last season. 4 More players were in the organization but not on the big league squad. Let's meet the team quickly

Pitching Staff

Bob Arman 6'1 195 lbs age 27 RHSP
17-11 3.49 ERA with Cannons Career 30-22 3.44
Acquired in trade with Cincinnati October 1947

Leo Hayden 6'6 205 lbs Age 25 LHSP
Last season with Kings 12-13 4.47 Career 31-25 3.67
Acquired in trade with Chicago Cougars July 1943

Johnny Slaney 6'0 175 lbs Age 32 RHSP
Last Season with Kings 16-12 3.13 Career 35-54 2 saves 4.30 ERA
Acquired in trade with Cleveland February 1947

Harry Carter 5'10 170 lbs Age 37 RHSP
Last Season split Kings/Gothams 14-13 3.98 ERA Career 114-120 4 saves 3.94 ERA
Acquired in trade at last seasons deadline with the NY Gothams

Rusty Petrick 6'0 190 lbs Age 32 RHSP
Last Season with Kings 13-10 1 save 3.90 ERA Career 114-142 8 saves 4.08 ERA
Acquired in a trade with Chicago Cougars July 1946

Summary of Starting Rotation - Many people were thrilled with the acquisition of Bob Arman to be teamed with Hayden and Buddy Long at the top of the Kings rotation. But the Kings shipping Long out to the Gothams in the off-season atfer acquiring Arman scuttled those plans. The belief is the young Kings are not quite ready for prime time despite last seasons 3rd place finish just 4 games out. The Kings management feels that the pitching staff needs to get younger to match up with the rest of the future core of the team.

One of the players expected to be on the Opening Day roster was SP Jake Roberts who was acquired in the deal for Long. But with the way the staff came together this spring it was decided that Roberts would be better served to be pitching every 5th day instead of coming out of the pen in Brooklyn, so for now he will be working to earn his spot.

The Kings rotation does have some age especially with Harry Carter who was brought in last season at the deadline to shore up the staff. Whether the veteran can continue to contribute this season will be watched closely. The Kings do have some youngsters that they are very high on in SP Paul Blyer and Joe Potts who will likely forge the future with Arman and Hayden and possibly Roberts. Blyer and Potts likely will not be answers this season as most feel they need to continue to refine their game at the AAA level this year.

If the Kings contend this year it means this group has likely performed really well and many will wonder if the Kings had hung onto Buddy Long if he could have pushed them over the top.

Bullpen

Clarence Barton 6'4 190lbs Age 26 RHRP
Last Season with Kings 3-5 6 saves 3.96 ERA Career 29-28 13 saves 3.84 ERA
Acquired - Draft 4th round 1940 #52 overall

Bob Crowley 6'0 185 lbs Age 26 LHRP
Last season AAA Jersey City 10-5 3.54 ERA FABL Career 2-6 6.72 ERA
Acquired in a trade June 38/1943 with the Chicago Chiefs

Jackie James 6'0 170 lbs Age 27 RHRP
Last Season with Montreal 0-2 1 save 7.52 ERA AAA 4-0 10 saves 0.64 ERA
Career 18-28 4.47 ERA
Acquired in a trade with Montreal April 18, 1948

George Fitzsimmons 6'2 185lbs age 24 LHRP
1947 AA Knoxville 8-4 7 saves 5.09 ERA Career - Rookie debut
Acquired - 1945 5th round draft pick #69 overall

Bullpen Summary
Young and inexperience is this bullpen. Barton and Crowley are both prospect who the Kings had hoped would be in the rotation but feel they are better in the bullpen. Barton has had more success the last 2 years in the pen with the Kings and has struggled in his few starts.

This is an area where a lot of moves could be made. There was always a lot of potential in James but he never lived up to the hype in Montreal. Fitzsimmons pitched well in the Cuba Winter League and then spring training to grab the last spot in the pen.

Some move will need to be made if the Kings waiver claim of veteran P Bob Wall (36) goes through. Wall has been a starter most of his career but would likely be brought up to be a swingman so that the Kings can leave Barton and Crowley in their assigned bullpen spots to see if they can handle the duties.

Position Players - The Starting 8

C Frank Reichardt B-L Age 24 5'10 185 lbs
Last Season 295/423/825 5-37 Career 284/409/806 7-42
Acquired in the rule draft in 1946 and then later in a trade with Montreal

1B Chuck Collins B-L Age 22 5'9 190 lbs
Last Season 283/350/798 12-50 Career 283/350782 14-58
Acquired - 1946 Draft 7th rd #100 overall

2B Charlie Woodbury B-R Age -29 5'8 180 lbs
Acquired in a trade with Montreal November 1947
Last Season with Montreal 281/343/736 10-86 Career 282/33/733 35-300

3B Hank Barnett B-R Age 38 5'10 200lbs
Last Season with Kings 246/317/691 11-58 Career 286/365/808 294-1403
Acquired Via trade with Chicago Cougars February 1947

SS Billy Bryant B-R Age-24 6'1 185lbs
Last Season and Career stats with Kings 267/302/647 5-62
Acquired via trade with Boston July 5, 1943

LF Pat Perry B-R Age-23 5'10 165lbs
Last Season AAA 290/375/858 17-74
Last Season Brooklyn and career 273/347/725 1-8
Acquired 1943 1st round pick #3 overall

CF John Moss B-R Age-26 5'10 185 lbs
Last Season Brooklyn 270/364/752 8-79 Career 263/355/735 13-110
Acquired - 1940 1st round draft pick #4 Overall

Ralph Johnson B-L Age-23 5'11 180lbs
Last Season 318/414/957 25-108 Career 314/411/950 28-124
Acquired - 1945 1st round draft pick #5 overall

Starting Lineup - The Kings outfield last season was arguably the best in baseball. 1/3 of that starting lineup (Juan Pomales) is on the shelf injury, but the Kings have rookie LF Pat Petty ready to take over. Pomales will be on the shelf into late-May and one would expect he will need a little bit of time at AAA for a mini spring training. You can expect to see Pomales back with the Kings by Mid-June, but will he have a spot in the starting 8?
The outfield is loaded with young talent and all of them are former #1 draft picks (Johnson, Moss and Petty) who make up the core of the young King's.

The infield is less settled but is led by another young hitter in 1B Chuck Collins (22). Collins split time last year and the Kings feel he is ready to be the full time everyday 1B. Opposite Collins is veteran 3B Hank Barnett that is not the hitter he once was. Still though he is a solid defender and a capable player that is likely holding the 3B spot for this year when the Kings hope to turn it over to their top prospect Ken Newman (#2 overall). SS Billy Bryant (24) returns for his 2nd full season. Many feel he is a very good SS but last season he did have some struggles with the glove. The thought going into the season is that he and SS/2B Chuck Lewis would split time with both playing SS/2B equally. But when the Kings acquired 2B Charlie Woodbury (29) those plans changed. Woodbury is not the defender that Gil London is at 2B, but he is a much more capable hitter.

C Frank Reichardt surprised many with last seasons heroics, enough so that the Kings traded C Solly Skidmore to association rival Philadelphia Sailors last deadline. The Kings are very high on young C Dan Smith who will start the season at AAA Jersey City and could be ready for the big league roster in the 2nd half of the year.

The Bench

C Sam Clarke B-R Age -23 5'10 185lbs
Last Season & Career 269/367/655 0-2
Last Season at AAA Jersey City 278/344/822 10-40
Acquired - Trade with Chicago Chiefs June 1943

1B/OF Ron Rattigan B-R Age -39 6'2 195lbs
Last Season with Chiefs 266/311/609 0-12 Career 296/378/827 168-916
Acquired - Trade with Chiefs October 1947

2B/SS Gil London B-R Age-33 5'8 185lbs
Last Season 255/313/637 1-43 Career 257/318/642 12-295
Acquired off waivers from NY Gothams August 18, 1946

2B/IF Jim Jenkins B-R Age-33 6'1 200lbs
Last Season (Chicago/Brooklyn) 243/243/514 0-16 Career 266/289/653 9-219
Acquired - Off waivers from Cougars August 10, 1947

3B/SS Jim Beard B-R Age-35 5'11 195lbs
Last Season with Pittsburgh 282/340/685 2-38 Career 287/352/728 45-592
Acquired - Trade with Pittsburgh 11/24/1947

OF/1B John Beaver B-L Age-24 6'2 200lbs
Last Season AAA Jersey City 268/415/751 4-51 Career 255/415/718 2-31
Acquired via Rule 5 Draft December 12, 1945 from NY Gothams

OF Peanuts Louden B-L Age-26 5'9 175lbs
Last Season AAA 248/350/694 2-17 Career - Rookie Debut
Acquired Draft 1940 4th round #61 overall

Bench Summary - While the starters are all younger than 30 with Charlie Woodbury being the oldest at 29 and the average age closer to 25. The bench is laden with veterans players on the infield with the average age 35.

Somehow Gil London each spring manages to keep his job with a DD Martin GM club. London who is a great fielder at 2B was figured to be the odd man out this year, but he has hung on once again. If there is any roster additions on the infield expect either London or Jenkins to be the player released.

While we don't know how much fuel is left in the tank of 1B Ron Rattigan, the Kings brought him in to be a veteran presence on a team that is so young. Same could be said for 3B James Beard, but Beard is also more insurance incase veteran starting 3B Hank Barnett falters.

OF Peanuts Louden is a nice story of a career minor league guy who finally made it to the show. How long he stays probably depends on health of other players. How well Pat Perry does while Juan Pomales is out, and if the Kings bring in any other players.

[DD Martin]

Opening Day 1948 Season and week 1

Opening Day is finally here and the Kings are crosstown in New York City to face the New York Stars. Last year these two clubs finished 3rd and 4th in the hotly contested CA that was won by the Philadelphia Sailors. This season the Stars look to climb back to the top of the mountain and the Kings are hoping to continue to build on last seasons surprising finish and be patient while some of their younger players develop.

Game 1 Brooklyn Kings @ New York Stars Loss 5-1
Unfortunately for the Kings, they ran into Stars ace pitcher Eli Panneton on a day when he was on. He only gave up 5 hits but did walk 7. But Panneton was up to the task of keeping the top runs scoring offense of a season ago to just 1 run. Bob Arman took the loss in his Kings debut giving up just 3 earned runs but also walked 7 and gave up 6 hits.

Game 2 Brooklyn Kings @ New York Stars Win 9-1
It took a game for the offense to get going, but it did in a big way yesterday. 3B Hank Barnett hit the Kings first home run of the season in support of 1946 ROTY SP Leo Hayden who pitched a complete game 4 hitter.

Game 3 - Brooklyn Kings @ New York Stars Win 8-4 (12 innings)
Both teams wanted to win the opening series of the season and this one went 12 innings. The Kings scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th inning on a 2-run single by CF John Moss (his only hit in 7 at bats). Reigning ROTY and Whitney award winner Ralph Johnson hit his first home run of the season as did rookie LF Pat Perry. The run explosion in the 12th made a winner out of RP Bob Crowley who pitched 3 innings without giving up a hit (he did walk 4). Clarence Barton pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 12th to secure the win.

Game 4 - Montreal Saints vs Brooklyn Kings Win 3-1
An Opening Day crowd of 31,835 fans saw veteran SP Harry Carter pitch a 7 hit gem as the Kings won their 3rd straight game. 2B Charlie Woodbury overcame his 3rd error of the season when he hit a 2-run single in the bottom of the 3rd inning to give the Kings all the offense they would need on this day.

Game 5 - Montreal Saints vs Brooklyn Kings Win 4-3
SP Rusty Petrick overcame a shaky early start as the Kings found themselves down 3-0. Rookie LF Pat Perry hit a game winning 2-run home run in the bottom of the 5th to give the win to the Kings. Manager Tom Barrell described Petrick as a "Gutsy competitor who didn't have his best stuff today. But he grinded out there and helped this club win today."
The Kings have won 4 straight after dropping the season opener as they head into a Sunday double header with the Saints.

Game 6 - Montreal Saints vs Brooklyn Kings Loss 4-1
Game 7 - Montreal Saints vs Brooklyn Kings Loss 9-2

All the good that was built up in the last 4 games quickly went out the window and the Saints swept a double header from the Kings. SP Bob Arman took his 2nd loss of the season but is not getting much run or fielding support so far. In the nightcap, SP Leo Hayden returned to his Jeykl and Hyde performance of last season and was hammered in 4.1 IP giving up 9 earned runs.

Weekly Record 4-3 Runs for 28 Runs against 27
Season Record 4-3 3rd place 2.5 games behind the Sailors (7-1)

Impressions of the 1st week
Rookie LF Pat Perry got off to a nice start hitting 320 with 1 home run and 5 RBI's.

2B Charlie Woodbury is hitting 370 in the early going but has committed 5 errors to start the season. Woodbury has been a fairly solid if not spectacular fielder in his career so the early miscues are a bit alarming. With the issues in the field the Kings have decided to hang onto 2B Gil London....for now.

Tough luck SP Bob Arman is 0-2 with a 2.81 ERA so far. The Kings have only given him 2 runs of support in his 2 outings.

Following up his 1946 season ROTY award (19-12) 2.95 ERA, SP Leo Hayden got out of the blocks slow with an injury last spring and just never truly got going. He had an up and down campaign going 12-13 with a 4.47 ERA. This season looks to be no different in 2 starts. Hayden was brilliant in a win over the Stars and then was downright dreadful Sunday getting pounded by the Saints. Which version of Hayden will we see this year, the Kings are hoping for the 1946 version!

Kings Player of the Week LF Pat Perry hitting 320/433/1033 2 home runs, 5 RBI's 6 runs scored.

Kings Pitcher of the Week SP Harry Carter 9IP 7H 1R 1ER 3BB 1K 1.00 ERA

Next Week the Kings will host the perennial pre-season favorite Chicago Cougars for 2 games and then see the Stars come in for 2 games. Then they will head north of the border for a series starting Friday in Montreal.

[DD Martin]

Brooklyn Kings Prospect List

The Kings have 8 players in the top 100 and all of them figure to have some part of the Kings future. You can also throw in there the Kings #9 prospect who is at #105 overall in 2B Billy Cady.

#1 Prospect 3B Ken Newman (19) AA-Knoxville ETA 1949 #2 overall OSA Drafted #3 overall 1st round 1947 draft
Newman is eagerly anticipated to arrive in Brooklyn and join their young ranks of under age 26 players. After being draft Newman hit 315/364.802 with Class A Springfield. He hit a solid 250 in spring training before being assigned to Knoxville to start the season. So far he is hitting 391/400/922 in 11 games. Look for him to be the Kings Opening Day 3B next season.

#2 Prospect CF Charlie Rogers (18) A-Springfield ETA 1950 #17 Overall Drafted #10 overall 1st round 1947 Draft
This speedster has loads of talent and has leadoff skills and game changing speed. The problem is where will he play? The Kings already have dealt several OF prospects because they have a ton of talent, but with Johnson, Moss and Petty patrolling the OF, where will Rogers play? There has been some talk of looking at him later this year at 2B. Some how, some way look for the Kings to figure out a way to get him in the lineup and give the club that leadoff hitter that they truly do not have right now.

#3 Prospect LF Pat Petty (23) FABL Brooklyn ETA - Now #23 Overall in FABL 1st round draft pick #3 overall 1943 1st round
Petty had a cup of coffee last September and with the injury to Juan Pomales he is the starting Kings LF to open the 1948 Season. He won't remain on the King's prospect list much past Memorial Day. The question is with Pomales coming back in June, what will that mean for Petty's playing time? The Kings management has some thoughts

#4 Prospect OF Fred Miller (20) B- Tampa Bay ETA - 1951 #25 overall FABL. 1945 3rd round draft pick #37 overall
Miller struggled coming out of high school in the 1946 season hitting just 186 at class B and just 217 at Class C. Last year he spent the full season at class C and hit 314. This season he will move up to Class B where the Kings hope to see him utilize his speed more much like Charlie Rogers. With the logjam of young OF's in the Kings big league club, Miller could be either a very good 4th OF or trade bait. They have a few years to wait and work that out though.

#5 C Dan Smith (22) AAA-Jersey City ETA - 1948 #38 FABL Prospect overall Draft 1947 1st round #16 overall
Smith was drafted as a junior out of college and immediately went to class AA last seasmon hitting 270.305/665. A very good defender and pitcher manager, the Kings hope to see him improve his hitting as he steps up to class AAA competition. Smith is the Kings catcher of the future and the future is very close at hand.

#6 RHP Joe Potts (23) AAA Jersey City ETA - 1949 #42 FABL prospect overall 12th round 1943 draft pick
Potts has progressed steadily over the years out of high school. While he wasn't a serious thought about being a big league pitcher by the Kings when he was drafted, Potts has surprised and achieved at every level. Now he is at AAA and the expectation is that he will likely be 1 of 2 SP's that will replace perhaps veteran Harry Carter next year in the big league rotation.

#7 RHP Paul Blyer (22) AAA Jersey City ETA - 1949 #48 Prospect overall. 1943 2nd round pick of the Chicago Chiefs.
Byler was one of the key pieces that came over in the 1B Tim Hopkins trade at the 1946 trade deadline. A pitcher who has tremendous upside but has also struggled with control and winning games. He seems to have figured out some of that with a solid season at class A Springfield last season 6-6 3.14. Despite a 3-8 record he pitched well at AA Knoxville but again his career minor league W/L record is very deceptive. The Kings hope he too is ready to emerge next season as a potential rotation regular.

#8 Prospect SS/2B Chuck Lewis AAA Jersey City ETA 1948 #65 overall FABL 1947 2nd round pick of the Chicago Chiefs who was traded for in the offseason for OF Joe Rutherford.

Lewis was actually up with the Chiefs at the end of last season getting a taste of the big leagues after having been drafted in June. The Kings are very high on him but are looking to increase his versatility and have him playing 2B and 3B along with his natural SS position. He could be on the big league roster now but the Kings want him to get more playing time and at bats here at AAA and work on other positions. Don't be surprised to see Lewis either at SS or 2B next season on opening day.

#9 2B Billy Cady (18) - B Tampa Bay ETA 1951 3105 prospect overall. 1947 2nd round pick of the Philadelphia Sailors. Was acquired in the detail that sent C Solly Skidmore to the Sailors when C Frank Reichardt broke out last season and the Kings drafted C Dan Smith.

Cady projects to be a hitting machine and that is exactly what the Kings were looking for. While he is young and will need time to work on his craft, he looks to be a potential everyday fixture for the Kings well into the 50's and beyond.


#10 LHP Sam Franklin (20) - B Tampa Bay ETA 1951 #129 prospect overall Drafted in the 2nd round of the 1946 draft.
Young lefty looked sharp with the Kings class C team last season pitching as both a starter and reliever. He went 3-5 with 3 saves and a 3.10 ERA. He begins this season at class B and has moved up the ranks after a disappointing prospect assessment by the OSA brass.

#11 LHP Chick Trillman (19) - Marshalltown ETA 1951 #138 overall
Drafted 2nd round 1947 by the Kings.
Trillman came out with a lot of fanfare and then struggled terribly at Class C last year going 1-8 with a 6.22 ERA. He will go back to class C after carefully being evaluated by the Kings minor league staff to start the year. But we look to see him at Class B before the end of the season.

The Kings have others that they will be watching this minor league season and we will be reporting on them as the season progresses. Currently the Kings are in the top 3 system in baseball with their top prospects.

[DD Martin]

1948 Season Week 2

So after starting off the season 4-1 we dropped 2 games to the Montreal Saints at home. We need to right the ship but we have a tough schedule with 4 games with quality teams like the Chicago Cougars and New York Stars coming to town.

The other question is, will our offense show newcomer SP Bob Arman some love and give him a few runs this week? Arman will get the start in the 4th game of the week going against the Stars in the 2nd of 2 games against the crosstown rivals.

We made a roster move prior to the start of this weeks games. We claimed veteran P Bob Walls (36) off waivers from Toronto. Walls was a pitch that GM Martin had in Detroit but his inconsistency (in a short sample) drove the GM crazy. Walls ended up having a decent run with the Wolves going 109-89 with a 3.80 ERA. Not an Allen award type career but definitely a serviceable pitcher. We are bringing in Walls for a bullpen role and that break in case of emergency starting pitcher. We optioned young RP George Fitzmorris to AAA Jersey City. Fitz only got in 1 game and he pitched well in relief of Leo Hayden on Sunday going 4.2 IP with giving up only 1 hit and no runs. Probably not a fair outcome for the kid, but that's baseball.

We also signed C Clyde Farr who had been released by Detroit to a minor league deal as depth C backup. We are only carrying 2 catchers on the 40-man roster, but that will change when C Dan Smith is ready to come up. We had been looking at picking up off waivers C Chet McCormick who was waived by the Philadelphia Keystones, but Pittsburgh grabbed him ahead of us and several other clubs.

Game #8 Chicago Cougars vs Brooklyn Kings Win 9-5
Traililng 5-3 in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Kings bats came to life scoring 6 runs. LF Pat Petty again had a solid day as the rookie went 3-4 with 2 doubles, a walk, 3 RBI's and a run scored. 2B Charlie Woodbury continues to hit well as he hit the go-head 2 run single to put the Kings up 6-5. RF Ralph Johnson hit his 2nd home run of the season, a solo shot off Cougar SP Peter "the heater" Papenfus. Kings SP Johnny Slaney picked up his first win of the season although he wasn't very effective giving up 5 runs in 8 innings.

Little did we know this 7th inning would be the highlight of our week.

Game #9 Chicago Cougars vs Brooklyn Kings Loss 10-8
A pitchers duel this was not. As both veteran Harry Carter (37) and youngster Duke Bybee (25) were both rocked early and often in this slugfest. Carter took the loss pitching into the 6th inning giving up 9 runs, 8 earned on 10 hits in 5.1 IP. Not sure why manager Tom Barrell did not go to the bullpen earlier than he did, as Carter was just terrible on this day. The Kings offense slugged 3 home runs on the day as RF Ralph Johnson hit his 3rd of the young season, and 2B Charlie Woodbury and backup C Sam Clarke hit their first on the year.

Game #10 New York Stars (2-6) vs Brooklyn Kings (5-4) Loss 9-5
Another rough game for the Kings pitchers and fielders. 1B Chuck Collins and SS Billy Bryant both made crucial errors in the game which opened the flood gates in the Stars 6 run 4th inning. SP Rusty Petrick (1-1) seemed frustrated and lost as he went just 3.2 IP giving up 8 runs but only 3 earned. P Bob Walls made his debut with the Kings and went a solid 5.1 giving up just 1 run on 3 hits the rest of the way but the Kings could not battle back. RF Ralph Johnson homered for the 3rd straight game (4th on the season).

Game #11 New York Stars (3-6) vs Brooklyn Kings (5-5) Loss 1-0 10 innings
Poor SP Bob Arman! He might be checking to see if he can get a lift back to Cincinnati to play for the Cannons again. Not sure what he did but last seasons #1 offense in the CA has tallied just 2 runs in 3 Arman starts. Arman went the full 10 innings giving up just 3 hits and 1 run. In the 10th Arman caused his own trouble issuing a 1 out walk to 2B Andy Gross on a close 3-2 pitch. Gross was sacrified to 2nd. An intentional walk to Chubby Hall brought up SS Joe Angevine to face Arman. Angevine hit a sharp liner to RF that Ralph Johnson misplayed allowing the runner to score from 2nd base clean for a 1-0 Stars lead. In the bottom of the 10th the Kings got a 1-out walk of their own. Then Charlie Woodbury singled to put runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 out. Up stepped young LF Pat Perry who didn't get a pitch to really hit and walked to load up the bases for slugger RF Ralph Johnson. Johnson had homered in the last 3 games and the crowd was chanting for him to make it 4 straight. It was quite a battle between Johnson and Stars RP Ed Cornett. Johnson fouled off 7 pitches and with a 3-2 count sent a deep fly ball to straight away centerfield. The crowd erupted thinking it was going out for a grand slam, but CF Tommy Bloom (who) made a spectacular catch up against the CF wall to deny Johnson, Arman and the Kings once again. The Kings dropped their 3rd straight game to fall to 5-6 on the season.

Game #12 Brooklyn Kings (5-6) @ Montreal Saints (6-5) Loss 5-1
Another tough loss for the Kings as the offense has disappeared the last few nights. This time it was young Saints SP Burt Cupid held the Kings to 5 hits and just 1 run. Kings SP Leo Hayden pitched better this time out but still his control is an issue. Hayden issued 6 walks and 5 hits in giving up 3 runs in 7 innings.

Game #13 Brooklyn Kings (5-7) @ Montreal Saints (7-5) Loss 2-1 11 Innings
For the 3rd straight game the Kings bats were held in check. Prior to the 11th inning neither team had scored a run. The Kings were that C Sam Clarke's RBI triple in the top half of the 11th inning would bring them a victory. But the Saints rallied with 2 runs off Kings stopper Clarence Barton to walk off with a 2-1 victory as the Kings dropped their 5th straight game. SP Johnny Slaney deserved a better fate as he pitched 10 innings and gave up just 6 hits and no runs, but couldn't get the victory.

Game #14 Brooklyn Kings (5-8) @ Montreal Saints (8-5) Loss 9-8
So after scoring just 2 runs in their last 30 innings, the Kings offense came alive. Unfortunately which seems to be the case this season so far the offense and the pitching/defense are not lining up to play well on the same day very often. The Kings came out firing as they scored 6 runs in the first inning off Saints SP Gordie Irwin and tacked on another chasing Irwin in the 2nd. But Kings SP Harry Barton gave up 3 in the 1st, 3 in the 6th (should have been the end of his day) and then combined to give up 3 more in the 9th between him and RP Clarence Barton. Wasted was a great offensive day and Kings fans might want to pin this one on manager Tom Barrell who has left Carter in late in several games and it has not been a good result. LF Pat Petty hit his 6th double of the season already and Ralph Johnson launched his 4th home run of the week (5th on the season). The Kings have dropped 6 straight games and are now in 7th place in the CA.

Weekly Record 1-6 31 runs scored 41 runs allowed
Season Record 5-9 59 runs scored 68 runs allowed

Impressions of the week -
Not much to say when your club is in the throws of an early season losing streak. The club has a day off Monday before heading to Philadelphia to face the Sailors who are 9-5 and tied with the Saints for first place in the CA.

Players of the Week
Hard to give nods during such a terrible week but Johnson and Arman played well.

RF Ralph Johnson it 333/424/1239 with 4 home runs and 7 RBI's
Pitcher of the Week
SP Bob Arman 0-1 10 IP 1R 0 ER 3H 0.00

Whats next
the road trip continues as the Kings will head to Philadelphia, then to Cleveland, back to Canada for games with the Toronto Wolves. Then next week they head to Cincinnati and then Chicago to end this 16 game road trip.

Player moves at the end of the week.

The Kings DFA RP Vic Carroll who just never recovered from a war injury he received. While no one wanted to trade for him in the spring multiple teams have made a claim for him on waivers. If he hadn't been picked up we likely would have given him the chance to stay with the organization and head to Jersey City.

Also being waived was RF Alex Juris. The Kings made claims for a former King, Dynamo, Forester, and many other stops utility man Constatine Peters. The Kings DFA last season with the hopes of sneaking him to AAA but the Foresters grabbed him and he had a decent season for them. New management in Cleveland felt he was expendable and the Kings put in a claim for him. Where he fits is anyone's guess and another player move will have to be made next week to put him on the 40-man and the 24 man roster.

The Kings also made a trade for P Pete "Sweet Pea" Brown. Going to Detroit in return was minor league veteran OF Si Crocker. The Kings pitching staff is full of players who are out of options so where Brown fits in remains to be seen.

Next - Week 3 of the 1948 season and we hope its a better one than week 2.

[DD Martin]

Week 3 1948 Season

Weekly Record 5-1 Runs scored 34 Runs Against 19
Season Record 10-10 Runs scored 93 Runs Against 87

What a difference a week makes. Last weeks disastrous 1-6 turns into 5-1 this week. No one is running away in the CA as the top 7 teams are all within 2 games of each other.

Game #15 Brooklyn Kings (5-9) @ Philadelphia Sailors (9-5) 5-2 Win
With the day off on Monday the Kings shuffled the rotation and jumped back to #1 SP Bob Arman The Kings offense finally got Arman some run support and the ace of the staff delivered his first victory (1-3) in a Kings uniform. Veteran 3B Hank Barnett hit a solo home run in the 5th (his 3rd) to put the Kings up 2-1. The Kings tacked on 3 insurance runs in the 9th to seal the deal.

Game #16 Brooklyn Kings (6-9) @ Philadelphia Sailors (9-6) Win 9-4
The Kings jumped on Sailors SP Win Lewis for 4 unearned runs in the 1st inning as 3B Hank Barnett hit his first of 2 doubles on the day driving in 2 runs. Unfortunately SP Leo Hayden gave the 4 runs back to the Sailors in the bottom of the 3rd inning. After that 3rd inning Hayden settled down without giving up anymore runs and outpitched Lewis. While not hitting any home runs in the game the Kings did manage 5 doubles. LF Pat Perry went 3-5 in the winning effort.

Game #17 Brooklyn Kings (7-9) @ Cleveland Foresters (5-12) Loss 5-2
After starting the season 0-8 the Foresters have been playing some solid baseball and today was no different. Forester SP Ducky Davis (1-3) picked up his first win of the year outdueling former Forester Johnny Slaney. LF John Beaver was 1-2 with 2 walks as he continues his trend of being a very solid OBP guy in spelling Pat Perry for a day.

Game #18 Brooklyn Kings (7-10) @ Cleveland Foresters (6-12) Win 6-2
The Kings shook off the loss yesterday and got back to their winning ways. 1B Chuck Collins provided the boost in the 6th inning hitting a bases loaded 2-run double to give the Kings a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. SP Rusty Petrick (2-1) scatter 5 hits but continued an alarming Kings trend of walking too many batters with 7 in the game. RP Clarence Barton finally picked up his 1st save pitching the last 1.2 innings giving up just 1 hit.

Game #19 Brooklyn Kings (8-10) @ Cleveland Foresters (6-13) Win 5-3

Veteran SP Harry Carter picked up his 2nd win (2-1) going the distance and giving up 9 hits and 3 runs. 1B Chuck Collins went 2-4 and blew the game open with a grand slam home run (1st) in the 6th off Forester SP Davey Morris (2-2).

Game #20 Brooklyn Kings (9-10) @ Toronto Wolves (10-7) Win 7-3
2nd straight win for Bob Arman (2-3 1.71 ERA) as he held the Wolves to 6 hits over 7IP. 2B Charlie Woodbury hit a 2-run 8th inning home run to give the Kings a little extra cushion. 3B Hank Barnett picked up 2 more hits and drove in a couple of RBI's to give him a surprising team leading 16 RBI's in the Kings balance offensive attack.

Thoughts on the week -
The Kings offense has once again pulled itself up to the top of the CA in the runs scored. It really has been a balanced attack led by 3B Hank Barnett who has come out of the blocks swinging this season in an effort to perhaps show everyone he is not quite done yet. Barnett is hitting 273/377/907 with 3 home runs and a team leading 16 RBI's. LF Pat Perry is hitting 333/402/954 with 2 home runs, 13 RBI's and a team leading 17 runs scored.

The one thing with the Kings pitchers that is a bit alarming right now is they have walked 90 batters in the first 20 games (7th in the CA). The only team with a worse walk rate is the Cleveland Foresters who have issued a whopping 122 so far this season. While the league average walks is up 10% early so far this year, the Kings walk rate averaged 3.74 per 9 innings last season. So far this year they are averaging 4.44 per 9 innings. Surely Manager Tom Barrell and Pitching Coach Earl Scott will be working with the pitchers to figure out why they are throwing more than 25% more walks this season than last.

The Kings continue their road saga with several more games in Toronto before heading on to Cincinnati and Chicago.

Hitter of the Week
1B Chuck Collins 10-25 1HR 1DB 7 RBi's 4 runs scored 400/444/1004

We needed Chuck to get going and this past week his bat woke up and he was a huge contributor in several of our wins.

Pitcher of the Week
Has to be SP Bob Arman. He went 2-0 getting his first wins in a Kings uniform in 16 IP he gave up 13 hits, 3 runs with a 1.69 ERA 3BB and 10 K's. The Kings actually scored some runs for him to in those 2 games as they plated 7 against Toronto and 5 against the Sailors after scoring just 2 in his first 3 starts.

Minor League Report

We will spend more time focusing on the minor leagues with the Kings organization since there is so much talent that will be arriving within the next couple of years.

AAA Jersey City 11-6 2nd place 1 GS
Jersey City is being led by its pitching staff so far as they lead the Union League with a team ERA of 2.92. SP Jake Roberts has responded to not making the Kings Opening Day roster with a 4-0 start with a 1.44 ERA. He is certainly showing the Kings brass that he should be up with the big league team. Also pitching pretty well are the 2 top pitching prospects with Joe Potts 2-2 3.09 ERA and Paul Byler 2-1 3.52 ERA. Clearly Roberts is ready and he could be getting the call up soon.

3 position players for the Jersey City squad are off to pretty good starts as well. C Dan Smith is hitting 329/382/867 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI's. 1B/OF Ralph Bailey who was a rule 5 pick last season and likely lost his spot this year with the addition of Ron Rattigan in Brooklyn is showing that he too is looking to get back to the big leagues soon hitting 417/548/1340 with a homer and 8 RBI's in just 24 at-bats. Finally SS/2B/3B Chuck Lewis is getting a lot of playing time all around the infield. While he is learning these positions defensively he is hitting 281 so far and has looked good.

The thinking amongst the Kings management is that all 6 of these players will likely be in Brooklyn sometime next season, and maybe a few find their way up this year.

AA Knoxville 5-12 8th place 7GB
The Knights as a team might be struggling for wins, but 3B Ken Newman is not struggling. To start the season Newman is torching AA pitchers to the tune of a 431/456/997 slash line. He hasn't hit a home run but has 6 doubles and a triple to his credit, driving in 9 RBI's while scoring 12 runs.

Another player that isn't one of the top prospects but is working on his utility glove is another 1947 draft pick in Kid Ward. Ward is a natural 2B but is playing all over the diamond this season having spent time at 2B, SS, LF and RF. If Newman wasn't at 3B he would be getting some reps there too and while once Newman moves up to AAA. Ward is hitting 378 while playing all these positions and is a real student of the game. He might not be a star but he will be a valuable role player in the future for the Kings.

OF Owen Burns is continuing his impressive play from the winter league. So far Burns is ripping a 365/474/871 line scoring 10 runs and driving in 8.

Next week we will look at the lower levels of the organization