Knowing your first class mogul - AndyP

Something that I had on the back burner awhile ago for the league was an interview segment. Where I took turns in asking current and former GM's of FCM questions. I am going to start a series called 'Knowing your first class mogul'.  To start the series off, here is Andy....




Andy, Thank you for agreeing to do this interview in my first part of knowing your first class mogul series. Let me first start this off with the easy stuff, tell us a little about yourself (name, location, etc) and what you like to do outside of mogul.

My name is Andy Pioske. I'm 32 years old and a second grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary in New Ulm, MN. It's a decent sized town not far from the small family farm I grew up on. We're known for being the home of Schell's Brewery and delicious Grain Belt beer. I have a teaching certificate (obviously), a BA in computer science, and an MA in Philosophy. I've been married to my wife Tami (Chicago native) for almost three years and we have a little 1 year old ham named Calvin who eats up most of my free time with his antics. We're planning on another one for next year.

I know it has been sometime since the start of FCM but can you remember what got you into mogul baseball and FCM?

I was in leagues for about ten years from 2000-2010 off and on. I got into it through an online community of Twins fans and popped in and out of leagues as they endured. The last one was Best Mogul Baseball where I was a trade mod. That caught the attention of Scott and DJ who recruited me from there. I made it a hard sell but the group of guys seemed like a good one so I rode it out. I was hesitant but eventually signed up. It's not terribly time consuming and can be fun, so I said "what the hell" and here we are.

Andy, you are the most decorated owner in the history of FCM, Of all your championship teams, which was your favorite?

Tough question. I'd go with 2026. It might not have been my best team but it was the one that ushered in a new era for me. 23 year old Chris Munroe and Sean Vogel were up and helping to lead that team while old stalwarts like Boz, Vanner, and Siegel were there too. It also was when I finally got over the DJ hump in the World Series. I had taken a bunch of tough Game 7 beats from him leading up to that championship and it felt really good to finally get past him.


Of all your playoff runs, what was your biggest heartbreak, the run that you thought you had no chance to lose and it happened?

I never feel like I have it in the bag, I've taken far too many tough losses to get that feeling. I'd say it's a tie between 2019 and 2022. In 2018 I won my first title and then followed it up with a 120-42 record and an easy route to the World Series going 7-1. Then I get to the World Series against a tough Cubs team and watch my opportunity to be the first back-to-back champ to go with that amazing record get pushed out in 6 games. I had a similar issue in 2022 going in as the best team in the AL and then losing to an 83-79 Oakland team in the second round to once again be thwarted on going back-to-back. I still never have.

You have been here from the start, what team do you feel is the best single season FCM team of all time?

I'm going to go from my own team on this one, but I think it's deserved. In 2039 my Jays tied the league's (and my own) record for best record = 120-42.

They scored over 1000 runs and allowed only a little over 600. (Both near records for the league) They won a 7 game battle in the WS over St. Louis to win the title that year as well. They got 78 HR and 256 RBI from Vargas and Vogel. They got a .346, 17 HR, 35 SB, 104 runs, 126 RBI career year from P-Mac. Their ace went 20-3 with a 2.74 ERA (Anderson) and had a dominant year with their bullpen. To me no other team has all the different factors this one had.

If I gave you the ability to take any player from all time in our file and have him on your team, what player would that be? Also, can you give me your all-time FCM mogul starting lineup? You don't need to give me a full bullpen and bench like the file but maybe lineup, bench spot or two and 3-4 starting pitchers and a few RPs.


I'd go with Widdup. Vastly underrated because his career paralleled Pace's career, but the guy was a monster. I'd have loved to have him fronting my rotation for all those runs. He might have been the difference in some of those 6 WS losses.

Lineup:
CF Vasquez
SS Conwell
2B Vogel
1B Miller
DH Vandyke
3B Vargas
RF Aitkenhead
C Gamora
LF P-Mac
Bench: Jarmel, Gartner, Sullivan

Rotation: Pace, Widdup, Boz, Lindbolm, Seidel
Closers: Jackson and Wood

There is some bias there but I'm a guy that likes long-term production. Some guys might have had flashier short runs but I'll take that team's combo of speed, defense, and elite production against any ultimate lineup.

You are regarded for your ability to identify talent in our draft, Can you take us through some of your draft preparations and how you get yourself so well prepared?

I go through each player and have certain things I look for - primarily at their vitals but then I reference certain HS/College stats - particularly their power numbers, OPS, ERA, Ks. A lot of the other data I'm not sure is all that relevant. I know what kinds of profiles I like and which ones I don't. I know some I don't like will be good, but that doesn't mean they fit what I do. I truly like to team build, so if your build doesn't fit what I do then I could really care less what you'll peak at. I think more people would be wise to identify what they want their team to look like and draft to that.

I don't highlight by round or re-rank. I keep them in peak order and use a starring system for guys to flag. Then as my pick gets closer I narrow my choices to a couple guys I think I need to take that won't be around by my next pick and go with my gut.

A lot of guys flame out and a lot of guys are huge successes. But for me I never draft a guy because of his floor. Getting a backup anything in the third is a failed pick. I draft for ceilings - that's how you can turn a 5th rounder into a player. Or a 4th rounder into the greatest player in FCM history.

Can you remember an individual prospect that you loved in the file that you were wrong about?

Oh definitely and I just saw him sitting in the FA pool in mid-July this season. Nick Dennison was a dude I had a mancrush on in the 2030 draft. I thought he had ace written all over him and I remember actively trying to move up to get him and then trading down once he was taken. He progressed really well too but then completely tanked. (Luckily he was taken so I took Turkenitz...sometimes good fortune is in who you don't take!)

I also used to bash Eric Brew relentlessly and he's shown me up for about 20 seasons now.

Who is your most prized gem of all time from the FCM draft?

2023. 4th round. 116th Overall. Sean. Vogel. I'll never make another pick better in my life.

In Mogul baseball one of the fears that some get is being snake bitten by a bad trade. Can you remember a trade that you made that you look back and say, what was I thinking? or you look back and just shake your head over it because it turned out so poorly?

I dealt Dahlstrom to Arizona for Tomas Abilez. I thought Dahlstrom would never be an elite producer and Abilez would mash. Both of those assumptions turned out terribly. It definitely set me back in Toronto.

The best part of building from within is that when you do make dumb decisions like that you have the "next guy up" philosophy to fall back on. Bad trades on other models can be far more damaging.

In the history of FCM, who has been the easiest GM for you to do a deal with? Who has been the most difficult? Do you remember any GM that you wanted to kill during trade talk?

g$, sxr, Decker, and Stang come to mind as the easiest guys to talk with. There isn't a lot of BS or hemming and hawing. Either we know we have something to work with and we come to a deal quickly or we don't and we move on. That's what I like.

Chris is the bane of my existence on trade talks. He's the "make an offer" guy who refuses to counter offer or even give you a list of guys to make an offer from. It's like talking to a brick wall just barely intelligent enough to converse but too stupid to do so at a human level. (I know that's harsh, but I'm guessing more than a few guys know what I mean)

I have difficulty dealing with jhc, matty, and gd because we typically value things differently and rarely can come to an agreement on much.

Thanks for doing this Andy, any final words or anything additional you want to share with the league?

Thanks for doing these! This is a great league and I hope everyone stays active with it because it's a great way to pass time and BS with a bunch of good guys. So thanks for all that each of you do to make the league stronger and more entertaining!