After 50 years of running, the original Front Office Offseason League (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=65597)came to an end. While the league is reorganizing with new league names, teams and who knows what else, the original league file was released to the wild much like the FOOL home kit 30 years earlier, for anyone to play and live out their FOOLish dreams.

So I did just that.

Starting with the 2011 season, I restarted with the intention of coming back and taking a team someday, but not until the player file normalizes a bit.

I'm presently in the year 2027, 17 years after the last online league season of FOOL. We'll recap the previous 17 years, chronicling what teams moved and some of the milestones along the way.

The League HTML can be viewed here. (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/leagues/league_100_home.html)

I'm going to do fairly swift recaps of the seasons between 2011-present (2027) really only telling you:

- standings
- really key milestones
- franchise moves, etc.
- playoffs

That's pretty much it.

Here are the first 50 champions of the league, because that'll probably provide context, as well:


1961 (http://www.thefobl.com/forums/showpost.php?p=214448&postcount=1): Baltimore Gothams (CL) def. St. Louis Terriers 4 games to 3
1962 (http://www.thefobl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26348): Baltimore Gothams (CL) def. St. Louis Terriers 4 games to 0
1963 (http://www.thefobl.com/forums/showpost.php?p=215577&postcount=13): St. Louis Terriers (RL) def. Worcester Browns 4 games to 0
1964 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=1765888&postcount=55): St. Louis Terriers (RL) def. Charleston Chew 5 games to 2
1965 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66189&page=4): New York Highlanders (CL) def. St. Louis Terriers 5 games to 3
1966 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66308&page=4): Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. New York Highlanders 5 games to 4
1967 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66458&page=3): Ann Arbor Wolverines (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 2
1968 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66605&page=3): Rio Grande Roadrunners (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 3
1969 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66738&page=4): Brooklyn Brownstones (CL) def. Compton Brothers 5 games to 4
1970 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=66910&page=6): Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Compton Brothers 5 games to 3
1971 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67049&page=4): Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 3
1972 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67188&page=3): Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 0
1973 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67357): Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. Atlanta Firecrackers 5 games to 3
1974: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67514) Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Quad City Thunderstorms 5 games to 1
1975 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67660): Chicago Thunderstorms (RL) def. Toronto Osprey 5 games to 1
1976: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67794) Columbus Crusaders (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 4
1977: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67953) Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 4
1978: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=68089) Baltimore Gothams (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 2
1979 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=1858932): Baltimore Gothams (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 2
1980 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=68410): Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Atlanta Firecrackers 5 games to 3
1981 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=68576): Toronto Osprey (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 3
1982 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=68744): Napa Valley Winemakers (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 3
1983 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=68926): Napa Valley Winemakers (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 1
1984 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69071): Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Atlanta Firecrackers 5 games to 2
1985 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69231): Baltimore Gothams (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 1
1986 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69432&page=4): Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Baltimore Gothams 5 games to 4
1987: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69557) Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. Atlanta Firecrackers 5 games to 4
1988 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69716): Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Brooklyn Brownstones 5 games to 3
1989: Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 4
1990: Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 3
1991: Hartford Harpooners (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 3
1992: Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. Rio Grande Roadrunners 5 games to 2
1993: St. Louis Terriers (RL) def. Rio Grande Roadrunners 5 games to 1
1994: Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 2
1995: New York Panthers (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 4
1996: St. Louis Terriers (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 3
1997: New York Panthers (CL) def. Chicago Thunderstorms 5 games to 2
1998: Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. St. Louis Terriers 5 games to 1
1999: St. Louis Terriers (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 4
2000: Brooklyn Brownstones (CL) def. Ann Arbor Wolverines 5 games to 4
2001 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=69886): Napa Valley Winemakers (CL) def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 1
2002 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=70018): Compton Brothers (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 3
2003 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=1925923): Napa Valley Winemakers (CL) def. Colorado Rancheros 5 games to 1
2004 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=70253): Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. New York Heroes 5 games to 4
2005 (http://operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=1935980&posted=1#post1935980): Colorado Rancheros (RL) def. Valdosta Peanuts 5 games to 4
2006 (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=70578): Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Compton Brothers 5 games to 1
2007: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=70747) Atlanta Firecrackers (CL) def. Boston Settlers 5 games to 4
2008: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=70920) Atlanta Firecrackers (CL) def. Compton Brothers 5 games to 1
2009: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=71056) Valdosta Peanuts (CL) def. Detroit Wolverines 5 games to 0
2010: (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=71185) Boston Settlers (RL) def. Atlanta Firecrackers 5 games to 1

2011 STANDINGS


Continental LeagueW L WPct GB R RA
Atlanta Firecrackers 104 58 .642 - 825 635
Valdosta Peanuts 95 67 .586 9.0 830 659
Brooklyn Brownstones 85 77 .525 19.0 724 666
Napa Valley Winemakers 69 93 .426 35.0 712 830
Montreal Majestics 68 94 .420 36.0 704 844
Baltimore Gothams 65 97 .401 39.0 703 864


Republic League W L WPct GB R RA
Compton Brothers 99 63 .611 - 985 818
Boston Settlers 97 65 .599 2.0 850 774
Colorado Rancheros 86 76 .531 13.0 915 821
Hartford Harpooners 72 90 .444 27.0 782 846
New York Heroes 66 96 .407 33.0 768 883
Detroit Wolverines 66 96 .407 33.0 780 938

League Championship Series Atlanta over Valdosta, 4-1
League Championship Series Compton over Boston, 4-0
FOOL Classic Atlanta over Compton, 5-2

In 2012, FOOL expanded by two teams. The Philadelphia Quakers (CL) and Rio Grande Roadrunners (RL) joined the league. Rio Grande is an expansion team that bears the same name of a defunct franchise, but this iteration of the Roadrunners play in the RL, while their predecessors were a CL team.

For the uninitiated, the Republic League is a DH league and the CL is not. With the switch to the 14-team schedule, FOOL now has interleague play. Teams play 20 games within their league against each team and 6 games against each team in the other league.

2012 STANDINGS


Continental League
Valdosta Peanuts 109 53 .673 - 852 637
Montreal Majestics 99 63 .611 10.0 851 670
Brooklyn Brownstones 89 73 .549 20.0 733 647
Atlanta Firecrackers 84 78 .519 25.0 813 679
Baltimore Gothams 71 91 .438 38.0 755 829
Napa Valley Winemakers 70 92 .432 39.0 643 772
Philadelphia Quakers 42 120 .259 67.0 601 934


Republic League
Compton Brothers 100 62 .617 - 984 830
Boston Settlers 91 71 .562 9.0 858 794
Colorado Rancheros 87 75 .537 13.0 864 816
Rio Grande Roadrunners 81 81 .500 19.0 802 818
Detroit Wolverines 73 89 .451 27.0 693 819
Hartford Harpooners 72 90 .444 28.0 739 828
New York Heroes 66 96 .407 34.0 702 817


League Championship Series Valdosta over Montreal, 4-1
League Championship Series Compton over Boston, 4-2
FOOL Classic Valdosta over Compton, 5-2

2013 STANDINGS


Continental League
Brooklyn Brownstones 104 58 .642 - 851 645
Atlanta Firecrackers 99 63 .611 5.0 882 701
Valdosta Peanuts 96 66 .593 8.0 806 669
Montreal Majestics 83 79 .512 21.0 781 711
Napa Valley Winemakers 80 82 .494 24.0 754 745
Baltimore Gothams 73 89 .451 31.0 772 877
Philadelphia Quakers 60 102 .370 44.0 699 971


Republic League
Colorado Rancheros 98 64 .605 - 894 702
Compton Brothers 92 70 .568 6.0 918 783
Hartford Harpooners 83 79 .512 15.0 733 832
Rio Grande Roadrunners 73 89 .451 25.0 776 798
Boston Settlers 72 90 .444 26.0 753 869
New York Heroes 63 99 .389 35.0 686 809
Detroit Wolverines 58 104 .358 40.0 725 918


League Championship Series Brooklyn over Atlanta, 4-2
League Championship Series Compton over Colorado, 4-3
FOOL Classic Brooklyn over Compton, 5-2

Here are some recent Hall of Fame inductees:

Andres Aguilar (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_14257.html) (312-152 career record, 3.53 ERA)

Doug Frazier (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_14564.html) (251-136 career record, 3.11 ERA)


Tomas Valenzuela (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13637.html) (.326, 2516 career hits, 346 HRs)

2014 STANDINGS


Continental League
Brooklyn Brownstones 107 55 .660 - 808 611
Atlanta Firecrackers 87 75 .537 20.0 850 751
Valdosta Peanuts 84 78 .519 23.0 742 721
Napa Valley Winemakers 83 79 .512 24.0 883 857
Baltimore Gothams 81 81 .500 26.0 778 848
Montreal Majestics 79 83 .488 28.0 757 777
Philadelphia Quakers 68 94 .420 39.0 802 878


Republic League
Colorado Rancheros 97 65 .599 - 901 752
New York Heroes 85 77 .525 12.0 788 822
Compton Brothers 85 77 .525 12.0 864 779
Rio Grande Roadrunners 83 79 .512 14.0 868 798
Boston Settlers 74 88 .457 23.0 870 851
Detroit Wolverines 62 100 .383 35.0 732 962
Hartford Harpooners 59 103 .364 38.0 747 983


League Championship Series Brooklyn over Atlanta, 4-2
League Championship Series Colorado over New York, 4-0
FOOL Classic Brooklyn over Colorado, 5-3

2015 STANDINGS


Continental League
Napa Valley Winemakers 91 71 .562 - 858 783
Valdosta Peanuts 87 75 .537 4.0 716 695
Montreal Majestics 83 79 .512 8.0 775 733
Brooklyn Brownstones 82 80 .506 9.0 713 678
Philadelphia Quakers 81 81 .500 10.0 751 741
Atlanta Firecrackers 77 85 .475 14.0 775 855
Baltimore Gothams 75 87 .463 16.0 862 908

Republic League
Rio Grande Roadrunners 92 70 .568 - 891 807
Hartford Harpooners 91 71 .562 1.0 813 745
Compton Brothers 86 76 .531 6.0 842 804
Colorado Rancheros 80 82 .494 12.0 825 808
Boston Settlers 71 91 .438 21.0 738 765
Detroit Wolverines 71 91 .438 21.0 742 888
New York Heroes 67 95 .414 25.0 759 850


League Championship Series Valdosta over Napa Valley, 4-1
League Championship Series Rio Grande over Hartford, 4-0
FOOL Classic Valdosta over Rio Grande, 5-3

Felipe Aguilera (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13478.html) is FOOL's home run king and he's now a Hall of Famer. (624 HRs, .317 BA, 3915 hits)

Hugh Glassey (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13367.html) (342 HRs, 3097 hits, .312 BA)

Tomas Santos (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13915.html) Career leader in stolen bases, hits (when he retired) and BA (1591 SBs, .342 BA, 3565 hits)

Jorge Rosas (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_12254.html) (.286, 276 HRs, 2805 hits)

In 2016, the Atlanta Firecrackers moved to Toronto, the Compton Brothers moved to Chicago and the Valdosta Peanuts moved to Vallejo, California.

2016 STANDINGS


Continental League
Baltimore Gothams 99 63 .611 - 951 741
Vallejo Peanuts 98 64 .605 1.0 802 696
Brooklyn Brownstones 82 80 .506 17.0 707 710
Napa Valley Winemakers 81 81 .500 18.0 783 774
Montreal Majestics 73 89 .451 26.0 694 796
Philadelphia Quakers 71 91 .438 28.0 689 789
Toronto Firecrackers 63 99 .389 36.0 709 895

Republic League
Boston Settlers 96 66 .593 - 837 690
Rio Grande Roadrunners 92 70 .568 4.0 873 774
Colorado Rancheros 82 80 .506 14.0 988 968
Hartford Harpooners 81 81 .500 15.0 782 767
Chicago Brothers 79 83 .488 17.0 942 901
New York Heroes 71 91 .438 25.0 783 876
Detroit Wolverines 66 96 .407 30.0 788 951


League Championship Series Baltimore over Vallejo, 4-0
League Championship Series Boston over Rio Grande, 4-2
FOOL Classic Baltimore over Boston, 5-0

After the 2016 season, Napa Valley, Vallejo and Montreal all folded.

They were replaced by the Peoria (IL) Distillers, Tuskegee (AL) Airmen and the Kansas City Beagles.

The minor league systems were split, but Peoria mostly acquired Napa Valley's former players, Valdosta's former players largely went to Tuskegee and Kansas City got most of Montreal's former players.

The Toronto Firecrackers moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the 2017 season.

2017 STANDINGS


Continental League
Baltimore Gothams 107 55 .660 - 951 734
Tuskegee Airmen 89 73 .549 18.0 820 723
Kansas City Beagles 86 76 .531 21.0 763 744
Albuquerque Firecrackers74 88 .457 33.0 855 899
Peoria Distillers 71 91 .438 36.0 765 933
Brooklyn Brownstones 71 91 .438 36.0 709 766
Philadelphia Quakers 61 101 .377 46.0 702 934

Republic League
Detroit Wolverines 88 74 .543 - 887 825
Boston Settlers 86 76 .531 2.0 926 861
Hartford Harpooners 85 77 .525 3.0 848 798
Rio Grande Roadrunners 82 80 .506 6.0 852 810
Chicago Brothers 81 81 .500 7.0 934 888
Colorado Rancheros 79 83 .488 9.0 883 922
New York Heroes 74 88 .457 14.0 784 842


League Championship Series Baltimore over Tuskegee, 4-1
League Championship Series Boston over Detroit, 4-3
FOOL Classic Baltimore over Boston, 5-0

2018 STANDINGS


Continental League
Baltimore Gothams 89 73 .549 - 705 682
Kansas City Beagles 87 75 .537 2.0 641 550
Brooklyn Brownstones 82 80 .506 7.0 593 566
Peoria Distillers 76 86 .469 13.0 625 667
Tuskegee Airmen 75 87 .463 14.0 637 684
Albuquerque Firecrackers75 87 .463 14.0 650 683
Philadelphia Quakers 73 89 .451 16.0 681 749

Republic League
Rio Grande Roadrunners 95 67 .586 - 653 568
Detroit Wolverines 89 73 .549 6.0 671 541
Boston Settlers 84 78 .519 11.0 569 599
Colorado Rancheros 84 78 .519 11.0 740 694
Hartford Harpooners 80 82 .494 15.0 564 629
New York Heroes 78 84 .481 17.0 579 607
Chicago Brothers 67 95 .414 28.0 579 668


League Championship Series Kansas City over Baltimore, 4-3
League Championship Series Rio Grande over Detroit, 4-3
FOOL Classic Kansas City over Rio Grande, 5-0

2019 STANDINGS


Continental League
Baltimore Gothams 94 68 .580 - 774 654
Tuskegee Airmen 85 77 .525 9.0 656 681
Albuquerque Firecrackers84 78 .519 10.0 701 654
Philadelphia Quakers 79 83 .488 15.0 611 666
Brooklyn Brownstones 73 89 .451 21.0 590 678
Kansas City Beagles 68 94 .420 26.0 604 668
Peoria Distillers 68 94 .420 26.0 646 708

Republic League
Rio Grande Roadrunners 105 57 .648 - 720 558
Boston Settlers 89 73 .549 16.0 769 708
Colorado Rancheros 88 74 .543 17.0 711 654
New York Heroes 84 78 .519 21.0 729 700
Chicago Brothers 83 79 .512 22.0 782 772
Hartford Harpooners 78 84 .481 27.0 708 712
Detroit Wolverines 56 106 .346 49.0 707 895


League Championship Series Tuskegee over Baltimore, 4-3
League Championship Series Rio Grande over Boston, 4-3
FOOL Classic Rio Grande over Tuskegee, 5-3

2020 STANDINGS


Continental League
Tuskegee Airmen 90 72 .556 - 675 650
Baltimore Gothams 87 75 .537 3.0 722 683
Brooklyn Brownstones 85 77 .525 5.0 628 617
Kansas City Beagles 83 79 .512 7.0 639 654
Albuquerque Firecrackers77 85 .475 13.0 795 726
Peoria Distillers 71 91 .438 19.0 679 793
Philadelphia Quakers 63 99 .389 27.0 655 798

Republic League
Colorado Rancheros 105 57 .648 - 733 570
Chicago Brothers 98 64 .605 7.0 893 692
Rio Grande Roadrunners 86 76 .531 19.0 699 655
New York Heroes 84 78 .519 21.0 692 641
Hartford Harpooners 76 86 .469 29.0 640 689
Boston Settlers 69 93 .426 36.0 648 742
Detroit Wolverines 60 102 .370 45.0 629 817


League Championship Series Baltimore over Tuskegee, 4-1
League Championship Series Chicago over Colorado, 4-1
FOOL Classic Baltimore over Chicago, 5-4

Here are the playoff results from 2021-2027:

2021: Albuquerque Firecrackers def. Hartford Harpooners 5 games to 4

2022: Hartford Harpooners def. Kansas City Beagles 5 games to 1

2023: Brooklyn Brownstones def. New York Heroes 5 games to 4

2024: Chicago Brothers def. Baltimore Gothams 5 games to 3

2025: Boston Settlers def. Albuquerque Firecrackers 5 games to 3

2026: Tuskegee Airmen def. New York Heroes 5 games to 3

2027: Hartford Harpooners def. Peoria Distillers 5 games to 2

2035 will be the 75th season and I'll do a retrospective of the best players across the eras. Starting with the upcoming season, (2028) the league is going to expand by 2, to get back to the original league size of 16 teams and I'm going to take over a team and sim seasons.

The two expansion teams are:

California Whiskeyjacks (CL) & the Yellowstone (WY) Rangers. (RL)

Also, the Albuquerque Firecrackers moved to Portland, OR for the 2027 season.

Here's a map to see where all 16 FOOL (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/leagues/league_100_home.html) franchises are located (you can move it around)

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=107011263023411354395.0004651bdf9b61fa4e340&amp;ll=43.479618,-110.762347&amp;spn=10.58822,35.56961&amp;output=embed&amp;s=AARTsJr_RGhmi63SSgOaJAEZ2zcXHzth_A"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=107011263023411354395.0004651bdf9b61fa4e340&amp;ll=43.479618,-110.762347&amp;spn=10.58822,35.56961&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>

I'm going to take over the Whiskeyjacks. The last time I ran a team was 1988 and all 26 seasons I managed in the league have all been in the Republic League, but this will be my first foray into the Continental League.

I'll manage this team under my alter ego Sonny Dayes to see how the two stack up against each other careerwise.

So far, I'm only going to have one real house rule. If I need others, I'll add them.

1. Team Payroll cannot exceed $35 million for the first 3 seasons.

Here's Dark Cloud's managerial record (26 seasons, 2291-1877, .549)

1961: St. Louis Terriers (1)(112-42)
1st in RL, lost in Classic

1962: St. Louis Terriers(99-55)
1st in RL, lost in Classic

1963: St. Louis Terriers(106-48)
1st in RL, won Classic

1964: St. Louis Terriers(106-48)
1st in RL, won Classic

1965: St. Louis Terriers(103-51)
1st in RL, lost in Classic

1966: Compton Brothers (2) (82-72)
3rd in RL

1967: Compton Brothers (76-78)
5th in RL

1968: Compton Brothers (82-72)
4th in RL

1969: Compton Brothers (95-59)
1st in RL, lost in Classic

1970: Quad City Thunderstorms (3) (67-87)
6th in RL

1971: Quad City Thunderstorms (83-71)
4th in RL

1972: Quad City Thunderstorms (80-74)
4th in RL

1973: Quad City Thunderstorms (85-69)
3rd in RL

1974: Quad City Thunderstorms (90-64)
1st in RL, lost in Classic

1975: Chicago Thunderstorms (89-65)
1st in RL, won Classic

1976: Chicago Thunderstorms (76-78)
4th in RL

1977: Chicago Thunderstorms (74-80)
6th in RL

1978: Chicago Thunderstorms (80-74)
3rd in RL

1979: Chicago Thunderstorms (84-70)
2nd in RL

1980: Retired

1981: Boston Bombers 80-74
4th in RL

1982: Boston Bombers 65-89
7th in RL

1983: Boston Bombers 66-88
6th in RL

1984: Boston Bombers 90-64
3rd in RL

1985: Boston Bombers 87-67
3rd in RL

1986: Boston Bombers 74-80
5th in RL

1987: St. Louis Terriers 72-82
6th in RL

1988: St. Louis Terriers 88-66
3rd in RL


Notes: (1) St. Louis Terriers folded in 1965. (2) Compton Brothers were moved to Ann Arbor in 1981, moved to Detroit in 2006
(3)Chicago Comets were moved to Quad Cities in 1970, moved back to Chicago in 1975
(4)New Orleans Rens moved to Boston in 1981, moved to St. Louis in 1987.

Ok, it's expansion draft time.

I don't know if I really have a strategy for this. We really can't go taking on much salary, given the constraints. I could go out and try to get guys that we could deal elsewhere, but..it's probably more sensible just to sign a bunch of prospects and core guys and then just the rest in the pool.

It's not exactly the deepest class of players to begin with, so..I think it might be better to just target the "best available" players we can find. And by best, I mean that extremely loosely.

Here's the post-expansion draft payroll: (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/leagues/league_100_financial_report.html)


Rank Team Payroll
1 Hartford Harpooners $52,547,300
2 Tuskegee Airmen $48,366,900
3 Detroit Wolverines $47,706,100
4 Kansas City Beagles $46,247,700
5 Colorado Rancheros $45,498,300
6 Rio Grande Roadrunners $42,142,500
7 Baltimore Gothams $42,092,500
8 Portland Firecrackers $39,950,200
9 Brooklyn Brownstones $36,476,000
10 Chicago Brothers $34,530,000
11 New York Heroes $30,102,700
12 Boston Settlers $29,952,500
13 Philadelphia Quakers $29,204,700
14 Peoria Distillers $13,642,500
15 California Whiskeyjacks $6,582,500
16 Yellowstone Rangers $6,409,200

Team Roster (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/teams/team_584_roster_page.html) (If you want to see the player cards, you'll need to use this link...not the table below, as the links won't work right)

It's a team full of old timers and guys from the minors. The question is, with a free agent class for the ages out there, what sort of signings are we going to make for this club. We're on a 1-10 rating scale, too.

<html><head><table class="main" width="959" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <tr><td style="background-image:url(../images/menu_wide.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat;"><table border="0" width="959" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://omnivore.us/reports/html/teams/images/pixel.gif" border="0" width="10" height="50"></td></tr><tr><td width="10"><img src="../images/pixel.gif" border="0" width="10" height="20"></td><td align="right" valign="top" class="head_2"><a href="../index.html" class="menu">BNN Home</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_home.html" class="menu">FOOL</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_scores.html" class="menu">Scores</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_standings.html" class="menu">Standings</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_stats.html" class="menu">Stats</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_teams.html" class="menu">Teams</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_players.html" class="menu">Players</a> | <a href="../leagues/league_100_transactions_0_0.html" class="menu">Transactions</a> | <a href="../history/league_100_index.html" class="menu">History</a></td><td width="10"></td></tr></table></td></tr> <tr><td style="padding-top:6px;padding-left:12px;padding-bottom:12px;padding-right:12px;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="lpo" width="935"><tr><td valign="middle" style="padding-left:12px;background-color:#808080;"><span style="color:#000000;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;">California Whiskeyjacks 11-12-2027</span><br><span style="color:#000000;font-size:22px;font-weight:bold;">Roster Page</span></td><td align="right" style="padding:6px;background-color:#808080;"><a href="../teams/team_584.html"><img src="../images/california_whiskeyjacks.png" width="50" height="50" border="0"></a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:12px;padding-right:12px;"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" class="lpo" width="100%" style="margin-bottom:12px;"><tr><td class="h1_l" colspan="12"> Active Roster </td></tr> <tr><td class="hsn2_l">Pitchers</td><td class="hsc2_l">Pos</td><td class="hsc2_l">Team</td><td class="hsn2_l">Age</td><td class="hsd2_l">DOB</td><td class="hsc2_l">POB</td><td class="hsc2_l">Nat.</td><td class="hsc2">Bats</td><td class="hsc2">Throws</td><td class="hsf2">Height</td><td class="hsn2">Weight</td><td class="hsu2">Salary</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_13499.html">Bates, Porter</a></td><td class="s1_l">SP</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">27</td><td class="s1_l">07-26-2000</td><td class="s1_l">Houston</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 7"</td><td class="s1">223 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_14748.html">Bennett, Jeff</a></td><td class="s2_l">SP</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">24</td><td class="s2_l">11-15-2002</td><td class="s2_l">Herriman</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 4"</td><td class="s2">210 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_13747.html">Hawkins, Tommy</a></td><td class="s1_l">SP</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">26</td><td class="s1_l">01-10-2001</td><td class="s1_l">The Bronx</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 0"</td><td class="s1">206 lbs</td><td class="s1">$100,000</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_11721.html">Jiménez, Nelson</a></td><td class="s2_l">SP</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">21</td><td class="s2_l">07-02-2006</td><td class="s2_l">Enriquillo</td><td class="s2_l">DOM</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">5' 9"</td><td class="s2">185 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_12157.html">Martínez, Armando</a></td><td class="s1_l">SP</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">22</td><td class="s1_l">04-16-2005</td><td class="s1_l">Santo Domingo</td><td class="s1_l">DOM</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 0"</td><td class="s1">220 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_14552.html">Rico, Ángel</a></td><td class="s2_l">SP</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">29</td><td class="s2_l">07-31-1998</td><td class="s2_l">Pinar del Rio</td><td class="s2_l">CUB</td><td class="s2">Left</td><td class="s2">Left</td><td class="s2">6' 2"</td><td class="s2">205 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_11860.html">Romano, Alejandro</a></td><td class="s1_l">SP</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">37</td><td class="s1_l">02-05-1990</td><td class="s1_l">Santo Domingo</td><td class="s1_l">DOM</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">6' 0"</td><td class="s1">177 lbs</td><td class="s1">$3,140,000</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_13377.html">Alou, José</a></td><td class="s2_l">MR</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">24</td><td class="s2_l">02-12-2003</td><td class="s2_l">Escuintla</td><td class="s2_l">GUA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 4"</td><td class="s2">190 lbs</td><td class="s2">$100,000</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_11585.html">McIntyre, Ken</a></td><td class="s1_l">MR</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">21</td><td class="s1_l">09-30-2006</td><td class="s1_l">Dearborn</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">5' 10"</td><td class="s1">190 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_14465.html">Ríos, Rodrigo</a></td><td class="s2_l">MR</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">26</td><td class="s2_l">10-21-2001</td><td class="s2_l">Kiryas Joel</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 7"</td><td class="s2">205 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_11632.html">Caldwell, Dan</a></td><td class="s1_l">CL</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">21</td><td class="s1_l">10-12-2006</td><td class="s1_l">Los Angeles</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">5' 10"</td><td class="s1">200 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_12491.html">McGillivour, Travis</a></td><td class="s2_l">CL</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">23</td><td class="s2_l">03-25-2004</td><td class="s2_l">Bayonne</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Switch</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 2"</td><td class="s2">190 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="hsn2_l">Catchers</td><td class="hsc2_l">Pos</td><td class="hsc2_l">Team</td><td class="hsn2_l">Age</td><td class="hsd2_l">DOB</td><td class="hsc2_l">POB</td><td class="hsc2_l">Nat.</td><td class="hsc2">Bats</td><td class="hsc2">Throws</td><td class="hsf2">Height</td><td class="hsn2">Weight</td><td class="hsu2">Salary</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_14110.html">McKay, Cedric</a></td><td class="s1_l">C</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">27</td><td class="s1_l">10-02-2000</td><td class="s1_l">Mesa</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 0"</td><td class="s1">190 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_12253.html">Fernández, César</a></td><td class="s2_l">C</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">40</td><td class="s2_l">11-21-1986</td><td class="s2_l">MacKeesport</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 2"</td><td class="s2">221 lbs</td><td class="s2">$1,042,500</td></tr><tr><td class="hsn2_l">Infielders</td><td class="hsc2_l">Pos</td><td class="hsc2_l">Team</td><td class="hsn2_l">Age</td><td class="hsd2_l">DOB</td><td class="hsc2_l">POB</td><td class="hsc2_l">Nat.</td><td class="hsc2">Bats</td><td class="hsc2">Throws</td><td class="hsf2">Height</td><td class="hsn2">Weight</td><td class="hsu2">Salary</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_13697.html">Reyes, Alberto</a></td><td class="s1_l">1B</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">24</td><td class="s1_l">03-14-2003</td><td class="s1_l">Bayamo</td><td class="s1_l">CUB</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 4"</td><td class="s1">200 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_13442.html">Brown, Derek</a></td><td class="s2_l">2B</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">24</td><td class="s2_l">05-20-2003</td><td class="s2_l">Waggaman</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 0"</td><td class="s2">190 lbs</td><td class="s2">$100,000</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_12143.html">León, César</a></td><td class="s1_l">3B</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">23</td><td class="s1_l">10-27-2004</td><td class="s1_l">Tamboril</td><td class="s1_l">DOM</td><td class="s1">Switch</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">6' 1"</td><td class="s1">185 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_14658.html">van Putten, Onne</a></td><td class="s2_l">SS</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">33</td><td class="s2_l">02-07-1994</td><td class="s2_l">Sint Michiel</td><td class="s2_l">ANT</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 3"</td><td class="s2">201 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_11755.html">Fletcher, Jeff</a></td><td class="s1_l">SS</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">22</td><td class="s1_l">10-03-2005</td><td class="s1_l">Park Ridge</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">Right</td><td class="s1">5' 11"</td><td class="s1">180 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_12783.html">López, Alberto</a></td><td class="s2_l">SS</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">23</td><td class="s2_l">06-15-2004</td><td class="s2_l">Racine</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Left</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 0"</td><td class="s2">195 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="hsn2_l">Outfielders</td><td class="hsc2_l">Pos</td><td class="hsc2_l">Team</td><td class="hsn2_l">Age</td><td class="hsd2_l">DOB</td><td class="hsc2_l">POB</td><td class="hsc2_l">Nat.</td><td class="hsc2">Bats</td><td class="hsc2">Throws</td><td class="hsf2">Height</td><td class="hsn2">Weight</td><td class="hsu2">Salary</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_14744.html">Beaird, Jim</a></td><td class="s1_l">LF</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">38</td><td class="s1_l">09-11-1989</td><td class="s1_l">Pawnee</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">5' 11"</td><td class="s1">218 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_12477.html">Larsen, Cal</a></td><td class="s2_l">CF</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">23</td><td class="s2_l">02-12-2004</td><td class="s2_l">New York</td><td class="s2_l">USA</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 1"</td><td class="s2">190 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_11743.html">Palliagua, José</a></td><td class="s1_l">CF</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">21</td><td class="s1_l">11-21-2005</td><td class="s1_l">Glendale</td><td class="s1_l">USA</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">6' 0"</td><td class="s1">170 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s2_l"> <a href="../players/player_14739.html">Johnston, Dale</a></td><td class="s2_l">RF</td><td class="s2_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s2_l">30</td><td class="s2_l">04-01-1997</td><td class="s2_l">Ponce</td><td class="s2_l">PUR</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">Right</td><td class="s2">6' 0"</td><td class="s2">202 lbs</td><td class="s2">-</td></tr><tr><td class="s1_l"> <a href="../players/player_14607.html">Delgado, Juan</a></td><td class="s1_l">RF</td><td class="s1_l"><a href="../teams/team_584.html">California Whiskeyjacks</a></td><td class="s1_l">25</td><td class="s1_l">09-27-2002</td><td class="s1_l">Arecibo</td><td class="s1_l">PUR</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">Left</td><td class="s1">6' 1"</td><td class="s1">177 lbs</td><td class="s1">-</td></tr></table> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" class="lpo" width="100%" style="margin-bottom:12px;"><tr><td class="h1_l" colspan="12"> Disabled List </td></tr> </table> </td></tr></table></td></tr><tr> <td background="../images/bg_bottom.jpg"><a href="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/"><img src="../images/bnn_logo_bottom.jpg" border="0" width="220" height="28"></a></td> </tr></table> <table width="800" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td align="center"><br><a href="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/ootp/" class="btmlink">Powered by OOTP Baseball 9 - It's your game; play it your way!</a></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="color:#FFFFFF; padding-top:4px;"> Saturday, March 14th, 2009 - OOTP 9.2.13 </td></tr></table> </body></html>

I isolated our free agent search to players who have ratings over 2 stars and who are under the age of 33. That took the available player pool from 93 to 11 players.

Here are our targets:

3B Shun Hirata (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13885.html)

3B Benn Ferrell (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13601.html)

CF Hiro Inoue (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13876.html)

SP Joey Johnson (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13740.html)

SP Roberto Artega (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13764.html)

2B Ramon Arce (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_13512.html)

3B Corey Carter (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/players/player_14547.html)

So there you go. Now, with payroll capped at $35 million for the next 3 years, I'd be silly to spend it all in this first season, so I'll have to see what these guys are asking for, prioritize and see what we can bring in for this first year. It's gonna be rough regardless.

Two new house rules I just came up with:


No negotiation. I'm already running this like FOOL in terms of the way the season goes (off-season is done in one-sim) but for me, the additional rule is I don't get to offer a contract to the same guy twice in one off-season.

Also, no incentives can be offered.

Ok, here are the guys we signed:

B. Ferrell (3 yrs/$7.6 million)
R. Arteaga (3 yrs/$13.4 million)
H. Inoue (3 yrs/$17.5 million)
S. Hirata (6 yrs/$93.2 million)
J. Johnson (4 yrs/$34.2 million)


Those signings, coupled with what already had puts us at $37.2 million in payroll. You might look at Hirata's contract and wonder what I was thinking. But we had to have someone to put butts in the seats and he should do that.

I'm going to find a way to trade Alejandro Romano who makes $3.1 million and that'll get us under our $35 million cap for this year.

We dealt him, along with two prospects (CF Jose Palliagua and SS Alberto Lopez) to the Colorado Rancheros for SS Julio Gonzales and 2B Jorge Garcia.

Well, that's one season in the books. I'll produce some statistics for you soon and we can get into the details, but the long and short of it, is that we were just really, really bad. You can check out the site (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/leagues/league_100_home.html)or click on us in the standings to see the team page.


Continental League Standings
W L PCT GB
Tuskegee Airmen 102 60 .630 -
Baltimore Gothams 96 66 .593 6.0
Kansas City Beagles 88 74 .543 14.0
Brooklyn Brownstones 78 84 .481 24.0
Philadelphia Quakers 78 84 .481 24.0
Portland Firecrackers 77 85 .475 25.0
Peoria Distillers 68 94 .420 34.0
California Whiskeyjacks (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/teams/team_584.html) 54 108 .333 48.0

Republic League Standings
W L PCT GB
Yellowstone Rangers 96 67 .589 -
Hartford Harpooners 95 68 .583 1.0
Colorado Rancheros 94 68 .580 1.5
Rio Grande Roadrunners 82 80 .506 13.5
Chicago Brothers 81 81 .500 14.5
New York Heroes 81 81 .500 14.5
Boston Settlers 66 96 .407 29.5
Detroit Wolverines 61 101 .377 34.5


Things in the league are weird right now. FOOL's talent numbers were always off, so the talent was off the charts. I went to fix that with the most recent iteration of players and it's the reason I simmed into the future, because I wanted a normal base of talented players.

Well so now you have this aging set of veterans who are WAY better than the talent beneath them. I lowered the aging modifier too, so they're lasting longer than they would otherwise, but only into their early 40s or so. In any case, the talent dropoffs are huge and so, the otherwise good players get rated as 1-2.5 star players often when they're a lot better than that, were it a normal league.

It'll all be fixed in the 5-7 years, but we're not there yet. In any case, the other teams are hording oldsters in an attempt to win and it's sorta funny (and strange) to watch.

As a result, the end of the season came and I had a pretty hard (easy?) decision to make. Go for it and try to contend early or sell off all of our useful pieces and try to contend for a title in a few years, playing with prospects in the meantime.

I chose the later solution, something I've never done in fast-sim.

Here are the stats of our money players:

Benn Ferrell (.257/16 HR/63 RBI)
Shun Hirata (.258/38 HR/ 109 RBI)
Joey Johnson (5-21, 187 strikeouts in 229 2/3 innings, 3.96 ERA)
Roberto Artega (5-22, 6.22 ERA, 122 strikeouts in 195 innings and 155 walks.)
Hiro Inoue (.262/34 HR/95 RBI)

Despite the decent numbers from our big hitters, we were pretty much awful at everything. 8th in most major offensive categories in offense and pitching, except we were 2nd in the CL in stolen bases and 5th in bullpen ERA, 3rd in hits allowed, 4th in Opp. avg and 1st in BABIP.

But oh well.

So I traded anyone of value after the off-season came.

Payroll is now at $5.1 million (http://omnivore.us/reports/html/teams/team_584_player_salary_report.html), I cut a level of minors and now there are just Double-A and Single-A and I don't anticipate trying to sign anyone else this off-season, instead just rolling with the guys we have.

CLCS: Baltimore def. Tuskegee 4 games to 0
RLCS: Yellowstone def. Hartford 4 games to 1

FOOL Classic: Yellowstone def. Baltimore 5 games to 2

YELLOWSTONE becomes the first expansion to win a title in their first year. Whoa. I do love that the advent of another western-based team gives Colorado a rival and that rival kept Colorado out of the playoffs, by forcing them into a regular season tie with HARTFORD for the wild card in the RL, which Hartford won.

In the old days, that would've stoked the fires of the Hartford-Colorado rivalry to epic proportions.

In any case, we're not going to be good for the next few years. Make no mistake. But if my prospect development skills are worth anything, we'll be a contending team by Year 5 of the experiment in California.

I've never run a club with a salary under $20 million or so and this will be an experience for me, because the losing is hard for me to watch. But the talent on this squad is unquestionable and so, it's going to come down to how success we can be at development and how much the rest of the league catches up.

I force retired a great number of the older players in this universe, as they were really clogging things up and making the free agent market and other things unrealistic and as a result, hard to play. There are still oldsters left, but I've tried to rid myself of enough of them, that under 30 players feature fairly prominently among the Top 20 hitters and pitchers in the league.

The single-season home run record in FOOL was 48 set in 1997. It took about 28 years, but in 2027, Felix Aragon hit 54 HRs and broke the record. Roger Sims tied that record last year (2028) and this season (2029), Will Jackson -- who hit 51 HRs in '27, smashed the record to pieces hitting 67 home runs at the age of 36, to become FOOL's all-time single season home run king.

I'll get to the season results, but that was a story that was too exciting not to share. As usual, I run this league just like the FOOL season. Off-season done in one day, season done in one sim as well.

2029 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Continental League Standings
W L PCT GB
Tuskegee Airmen 100 54 .649 -
Peoria Distillers 88 66 .571 12.0
Kansas City Beagles 86 68 .558 14.0
California Whiskeyjacks 76 78 .494 24.0
Philadelphia Quakers 74 80 .481 26.0
Brooklyn Brownstones 70 84 .455 30.0
Baltimore Gothams 61 93 .396 39.0
Portland Firecrackers 61 93 .396 39.0

Republic League Standings
W L PCT GB
Detroit Wolverines 104 50 .675 -
Yellowstone Rangers 86 68 .558 18.0
Chicago Brothers 84 70 .545 20.0
Rio Grande Roadrunners 79 75 .513 25.0
Hartford Harpooners 74 80 .481 30.0
New York Heroes 70 84 .455 34.0
Colorado Rancheros 69 85 .448 35.0
Boston Settlers 50 104 .325 54.0


We had a 22 win improvement over last year. So that makes me pretty happy, to put it mildly. Especially when you see our payroll.


Rank Team Payroll
1 Detroit Wolverines $42,339,600
2 Boston Settlers $42,317,300
3 Peoria Distillers $38,354,300
4 Kansas City Beagles $37,784,800
5 Chicago Brothers $37,052,500
6 Portland Firecrackers $36,775,000
7 Yellowstone Rangers $36,562,300
8 Rio Grande Roadrunners $34,515,500
9 Brooklyn Brownstones $34,288,000
10 Colorado Rancheros $32,317,000
11 Baltimore Gothams $30,263,500
12 New York Heroes $25,498,000
13 Hartford Harpooners $25,393,000
14 Tuskegee Airmen $21,539,100
15 Philadelphia Quakers $16,195,800
16 California Whiskeyjacks $10,087,000


Florida Marlins eat your heart out. Our squad was effective, hard working and really squeezed every dollar out the roster this year. Our purging those expensive veterans and getting prospects was probably a bit lucky, but...I think it was a smart move and our rebuilding project continues. It'll be harder to improve from Year 2 to Year 3, because we have a lot of kids improving and ready to come up, but I'm not sure how ready for prime time the team is yet.

I need to really take a look @ the roster and assess that better.