Gmoney, Thank you for agreeing to do the next part of the interview of this series. Why don't we start this off by telling us a little bit about yourself.
It's an honor to finally do one of these, although I think most people are probably sick of hearing about me from the podcast. My name is George Fitzpatrick, I'm 25 years old, and haven't be called g$ by anyone outside of mogul since middle school. In a stunning coincidence, I've been playing Baseball Mogul since Mogul 2003, which I picked up way back in 8th grade – but I hadn't played the game in almost 3 years when I returned to FCM in the 2039 season. I'm a finance major from St. John's University who debated a ton while I was there, including at the 2011 World Universities Debating Championship in Botswana. Right now, I'm about to start a new job in investment banking – but the delays in getting that new job off the ground, as well as my struggles in other finance jobs, have led me to study for my GREs in an attempt to go to grad school for rhetoric or communications.
First memories of you in FCM is you and that old partner of yours making noise in Baltimore. Do you remember what/who brought you into fcm?
Honestly – I have absolutely no idea. I believe I saw the link for this league in an old league forum or Facebook group (likely either vMLB or CML), but that's just a guess. I recognized a few names on the owners list I had been with other leagues with (probably Mike and Erick) and that was good enough for me. I saw that the league was super active and that was also a major selling point for me – leagues where people are sleepwalking through are such a slog, and it's difficult to make your team better when no one is responding to trade offers. Another selling point for me was wanting to try a league with a locked file – every other league I had been in to that point had an unlocked file where owners could both see projected stats and sim ahead, and I wanted the challenge of a league where I could no longer do those things. However, that challenge was also a major reason for bringing in PR to be a co-GM, as he had more experience with a locked file and was indispensable in helping me make that transition.
In my discussions with you in the past, I feel our plans on building teams are pretty close. Would you mind talking about what you look for when constructing a team?\
The first (and most important thing) is to get a strong defensive infield. At first base you can maximize offense and get away with a subpar defender, but elite defenders are essential at 2B, SS, and 3B. Even if you don't have a groundball pitching staff (which I prefer, but I'll get to that later) those 3 positions generate the most defensive outs on the field, and it is critical to help your pitchers out with a strong defense. CF is an important defensive position as well, but its impact is a bit overrated, and isn't as important as any of the 3 infield spots. Defensive average in mogul correlates very closely with your overall record, and it is far more important in mogul than in real baseball. You should shoot for a defensive average over .700 at the very least, and aim for between .710 and .720 as a goal.
Next, it's important to find some pitchers who keep the ball in the ballpark. A pitcher who doesn't give up many homeruns is the main thing I look for in an arm, regardless of a starter or reliever, and above and beyond having any particular vital. Any pitcher that gives up more than a homerun every 9-10 innings in Mogul tends to flame out at worst, and at best is inconsistent and disappointing. I prefer groundball pitchers, but if you find a flyball pitcher who keeps it in the yard, that's not a dealbreaker. In terms of vitals, control and movement are both important, but I tend to think people overrate control and underrate movement – pitchers with high movement give up far fewer hits than they should considering their strikeout/walk totals, and combining that with an elite defense leads to very strong results. If your pitcher walks a few too many guys, it's not crippling considering Mogul's high rate of stranded runners and double plays means walks don't lead to as many runs in Mogul as they do in real baseball (which is one of the most important differences between the game and reality). Concentrate on the rotation as opposed to the bullpen, as starters throw most of your innings, and reliever performance is far more volatile anyway.
To build a lineup, try to find at least two guys that get on base and have some speed to throw at the top and bottom of the lineup and try to find guys that get on base and have power for the other spots. (OBP is important, but not tremendously valuable without power or speed to supplement it, for the same reason why control is overrated.) I think one critical thing that I do that a lot of owners don't take advantage of enough is use platoons – with platoons, you can not only preserve some of your lower health players by keeping them from playing too frequently, but you can fill a position with star caliber production for a less than star caliber price (especially with the way some right handed hitters in mogul unrealistically pummel left handed pitching). At positions like corner OF, 1B, catcher, and DH, where you should be concentrating on offensive production over defense, platoons are a good option in the absence of a superstar player.
Just to make something clear – I call catcher an offensive position because catcher defense isn't very important in Mogul in my opinion. A good defensive catcher doesn't create more outs for you other than with his arm, and most teams don't steal frequently or successfully enough (with the exception of a speed crazy team like the Cardinals, and even then their advantage has as much to do with base running as it does with stealing bases) for that to make enough of a difference to prioritize over offense at the position. I also don't believe that a catcher's range or handling affects the pitcher's success in terms of strikeouts or ERA to any important extent. I feel teams would be better served with a platoon that maximizes catcher offense – which will help not only your run production, but keeping both catchers healthy and avoiding the all too common catcher injury.
After that, fill out a bullpen with low cost guys and try to make sure your bench covers as many positions as possible, as your ditzy computer manager can't call up guys for an injured player mid sim – and playing a guy at a position where he has no predicted stats, even for a week, can obliterate your defense.
I tend to be aggressive in terms of trying to win simply because I'm far better at predicting the performance of established/veteran players than prospects and MLB players without a long track record. The fact is, you have far more information about a guy when he has a major league track record, and you aren't relying on amateur/minor league stats (which aren't overly reliable and can be misleading at times) or vitals (which can also be misleading without knowing the predicted stats they come from). I trust my judgment more on veteran players, and they allow for a much clearer picture of my team's strengths and weaknesses, which will tell you what moves to make next.
You have been to the playoffs here in FCM on several occasions. Do you remember a particular season which was most satisfying and can you tell us a little bit about what made that season so memorable to you?
There are two that stand out the most – 2014 and 2040.
2014 was the season where PR and I were gearing up a Baltimore team widely viewed as a disaster and that had 48 wins in 2012 and wanted to put them into the playoffs. We were criticized for this strategy by a lot of people in the league, and it was widely considered shortsighted and a pipe dream. I disagreed not only because I trusted our ability to scout veterans, but because Baltimore at the time was a small market with poor fan loyalty – winning was essential to turning around a market to the point where we could maintain a decent payroll and keep the players we wanted. Thanks in large part to PRs aggressive trading, we managed to win 97 games, gain a wild card birth, and even win the ALDS.
2040 was also an incredible season for much more than just the fact it was my first World Championship in FCM, because it silenced a lot of doubts. There were doubts about my ability to manage a team on my own from some, as my first run was with PR. Those doubts were amplified after the James Anketell trade, which many people thought was ridiculous. Anketell looked to be a franchise player at the time, and trading him for a second baseman in Chad Noah, especially to the defending champion and my division rival was panned my many people (an article was even written about it). I knew it was the right move, though, because the team had a huge surplus of talent at 1B/DH/LF, but a profound lack of defense that resulted in some horrible pitching (the team ERA was nearly 6 when I took over the team). Hell, I was honestly doubting myself, considering I had barely played mogul in 3 years. But as a result of the Noah trade, as well as deals for guys like Ricky Metheny and Joe Rousseau, our team managed to stop Toronto's streak of AL East titles (which was at an astounding 14), and managed to take the championship. It was largely a group of players I inherited, but I knew my moves were a large part of the reason we had gone from a talented, but mediocre squad to challenging the best FCM had to offer.
Everyone from back in the day remembers your Boris Turner love on draft day. Who is your favorite draft pick of all time and why?
Is none of the above an option? I hate drafting.
Seriously though, the answer to that would probably be Jason White. Andy said on the podcast when I drafted him “There's a lot to like about Jason White,” and that proved to be a blandly prophetic statement. Sure, he's been maddeningly inconsistent at the major league level, but he was a 2nd round pick I was confident would be in the rotation one day and he got there. He became a crucial piece on the second WS team, and got me through two Game 7s against brutal competition in Seattle and Florida. He'll probably stick around Baltimore until I get annoyed at him and ship him out for 30 cents on the dollar.
In my opinion you are very good in those late rounds on draft day. Can you discuss a little on what you look for in those late rounds without giving away too much of your trade secrets?
I will take the compliment, although I'm pretty sure my draft record doesn't justify that praise.
For the late rounds especially, I think the thing I do differently than a lot of people is I don't tend to go for lottery ticket type guys – those 50/75 type of players with no clear strength in vitals that people take in the hope they either jump so they can trade them or that they just grow better than expected and hit an overall in the high 80s or 90s. I personally think this is a waste – it's an extremely rare occurrence to begin with, and even if they do grow extremely well, often times the end result is a player with an inflated overall rating and no clear strength rather than a superstar – i.e: those 90s in the file that perform more like low 80s.
I think a better question to ask yourself when scouting the late rounds is “What would this player be like if he became an 80 overall?” Not only is that a much more realistic expectation for their growth, but it leads you to the type of guys you should be looking for – guys with a clear strength. It could be speed, it could be that they have huge splits and could fill one side of a platoon, it could be that they play defense well, it could be that they play multiple positions, or it could just be they have one really strong vital. Although those type of players usually don't end up as superstars, if they can get to around 80 overall, they can easily fill a role for you on your team. Those type of players end up as half of a platoon, or a back of the bullpen guy, or fill in starter, or a utility bench player – and if those don't sound valuable enough to you, remember that those are the type of players that go for way more than you expect in free agency and leave you screaming at the computer when you get outbid for them. And if they end up hitting 90+, you end up with a player just as good, if not better, than the kind you get from a 50/75 lottery ticket.
My only other advice for this – if you do find yourself having to take a flyer, prioritize pitching over hitting. Pitchers tend to grow much more randomly and erratically, and I find they are more likely to beat their draft day peak than hitters are.
You have been in this league on and off for a long time now. Is there a particular team in an individual season that you can look back on and say, that is the best FCM team of all time?
Sean, I was out of the league for 25 seasons. That's one hell of an off. I will do my best to answer this, though.
In all seriousness, that 2039 Blue Jays team was absolutely phenomenal and pretty damn intimidating. Sean Vogel was the sort of infielder I had always dreamed of, but I never was able to get. Combine that with Vargas and Andy had a massive advantage by having two Gold Glove caliber infielders who could hit 3rd and 4th even in an elite lineup – that in and of itself would be enough to be one of the best teams in the league, but combine that with stars like AA, Ontario, Vender, Marquez and Musquez and it was hard to think I would be playing for anything other than second even in a best case scenario. (Fortunately, I am delusional, and sometimes that is the biggest competitive advantage of all.)
I also want to praise Hokey for the team he built in Texas at that time, which was just loaded with talent, especially on the hitting side. He has a tremendous gift for scouting offensive players as well as building and maximizing 25 man rosters, and it's no surprise we've seen him get Florida off the ground twice as well as turning Texas from an also-ran to a powerhouse. We don't have the same philosophies on pitching (he is the man who foisted Jim Reilly on the world, after all), but I really envy some of the hitters he has grabbed over the years. With a little more depth, that Texas team might have won Hokey even more championships.
I wish I had seen some of the teams you had built in LA, Sean, because knowing your philosophies, as well as some of the current/future Hall of Famers those teams produced (including Ray Costello, who enjoyed a pretty solid run in Baltimore), they would probably be towards the top of my list as well.
Now, I am giving you the keys to the file. You can take any player from that file and make your team. Who are you taking and why?
Man, there is one player who I really want to say for this answer – but I won't. I know this means that EA's agent will probably demand a trade to Washington or something once he reads this, but despite how wonderful and awesome he is, I wouldn't pick him. Although he is probably the best hitter in the file on a per at-bat basis (and for those of you who think that sounds ridiculous, go look at his Runs Created/27 compared to the rest of the league last year and you'll see what I'm talking about), his 68 health that limits him to around 120 games a year is what ultimately holds the Toxic Avenger back.
I'm sure a lot of people would answer Dylan Moffat for this, and I don't think they are necessarily wrong, but this file does not have a shortage of leadoff hitting outfielders that give you 85-90% of the production he does; the kind you could get for half the price of Moffat in a trade, or draft in the late first/early second round. Those players are valuable, but you don't need to necessarily build around them.
When seeking out a player to build around, think about the type of player you could surround with only a bunch of mid to high 80s caliber players and still have a championship contender. Ideally, you'd want a 2B/SS/3B who has just peaked, plays awesome defense, and has a middle of the order bat. In this file, that player does not really exist. The next most important position is probably CF, which leads me to Bradley Lamp. After finally peaking out last season, the dude finally showed his blend of contact and power and won an MVP. A 40 HR/20 SB centerfielder with plus defense? Ken Griffey Jr. 2.0? Sounds like the guy, right? Well, close. He's second to his teammate.
With an elite defense, you can fake good pitching, but it's hard to fake great pitching. A truly elite arm at the top of a rotation solves a lot of problems and is essential to having a great team. That's why I would take Kyle Arrington. You might be able to make a case that he isn't the best pitcher in the file quite yet (Graham Carew probably has the best case), but he's damn close and only 24 years old. His resume blows away every other pitcher in his age range. If I could take any player to start a team, I'm taking Arrington.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster.... Sorry, I channeled my inner Cotton McKnight for a second but I am going off the board on this one. If we were in thunderdome and playing dodgeball and only 1 person can leave thunderdome. Who are you putting your money on and why?
This is a phenomenal question. Not only did you reference Dodgeball, a movie that was hilarious and doesn't get referenced as often as Anchorman despite being just as funny, but you threw in the Mad Max series which also doesn't get enough love – incredible synergy right there. Because this is thunderdome, this is dodgeball to the death, which means it's gotta be someone in great shape who can survive a long battle. That definitely rules me out, despite an underrated throwing arm and veteran savvy. Honestly, the answer is GB, and I'm not sure it's close. He played college football and is Jersey Shore level jacked. Don't let the goofiness in the chat fool you – he's got a killer instinct and has probably already spent two hours at the gym before any of us have had our morning coffee. That's the dude you put your money on in a fight to the death, although since I am in the fight, I won't get to enjoy my winnings after I get beheaded by a dodgeball 10 minutes in.
So, we got some bad news this week with Matty and his decision to step away from FCM. I know he was someone you did the radio show with on a frequent basis. Would you care to share some of your thoughts on this?
I talked about this to some extent on the podcast – which seems fitting, considering I don't think there is any way in hell the podcast makes it to 30 episodes without him. He was always someone who I could bounce ideas off of for the show and rely on as a co-host (I am thankful for you for largely picking up that role in his absence, Sean). I also relied on him for advice for my team, and it's rare that you find the type of person who you can both compete against and come to for advice and get their best effort in either case. Matty was absolutely that type of person.
He was a real asset as a mod for FCM – he worked a lot on compiling and clarifying the rules (which are a lot easier to find and follow now than they were when I rejoined the league in 2039). He spent a lot of time working on the compensation system, and the multitude of changes made to it have improved free agency quite a lot. It's far from his only legacy here, but the compensation system changes alone would be enough of one by themselves.
Matty was one of the best GMs in FCM history as well – not only for building that incredibly deep Seattle team that won the title in 2046 and might have more young assets now than any team in the league, but for consistently winning in Colorado. I think people take for granted how difficult it is to deal with the cartoonish offensive environment in Colorado, especially in mogul, and the havoc that wreaks on your talent evaluation and management. I'm certain that I could not do well there – the fact that he did speaks volumes.
I hope he comes back soon. I understand that personal issues take priority over a silly video game – they were the reason I disappeared after the 2014 season. Making sure that your life is where you want it to be is incredibly difficult even if you have all the time in the world, and transitioning to a new career is not something you can do halfway. If that's what he's going through, stepping away was absolutely the right decision. But selfishly, and this is with all due respect to his replacement, HB, who is very talented in his own right – FCM is better when Matty is in it.
Ok, time for some condescending scouting reports, this time not on prospects but pick out some on gm's that are in the league.
AndyP – When you win 7 championships and turn around a franchise that had not had success since the 1990s, it's very likely you will have many imitators. This is definitely true of former Blue Jays and current A's GM Andy Pioske, who has been recognized as perhaps the best amateur drafter in FCM history. It is rumored that many teams have sent their employees to apply for jobs in his front offices in order to gain his draft secrets – an Outside the Lines expose claims that g$ has sent a reported 100 interns to apply for jobs with the A's, all of whom had to be declared missing soon after. Further rumors that AndyP used these interns as a cheap, efficient source of stem cells and human growth hormone to give to his “top prospects,” but those rumors were dismissed as “likely untrue, but oddly compelling.” However, during a recent training video for scouts, Andy recently revealed the secret to his success – a thousand monkeys typing on one thousand computers. “We have you 'scouts' dope the chimps up with a bunch of caffeine, and keep them typing 24 hours a day. Sure, it's mostly just gibberish, and one of them ended up typing the complete works of Shakespeare, but every once in a while you get a name. How do you think we came up with the idea to draft gibberish names like Turkenitz and Orozio? With an impressive ability to evaluate current skillsets and forecast overall growth and potential on a consistent basis? Nope. I just disagree with whatever that idiot from Baltimore says on the podcast and throw in a bunch of baseball sounding words to throw him off and keep him overthinking! Only people who would believe that stuff are the same idiots who actually thought I was living in Canada for over 30 years running the Jays – like I would move anywhere colder and more polite than Minnesota...”
Peter – Peter is perhaps the best general manager in the history of FCM who has not won a title, taking two small market franchises in Pittsburgh and Washington and turning them around; Washington, despite a poor overall market and clearly being overshadowed by that other team across the beltway, has maintained a consistent level of success in the difficult NL East. Some would consider the fact his teams had yet to win a title as a horrific disappointment that would undoubtedly embarrass and utterly obliterate the confidence of an insecure person, but that has not been the case with Peter. One employee described him as “completely egotistical and convinced of his own superiority,” with a recent poll of current general managers of the Florida Marlins agreeing 100% with that assessment. However, his string of success is undoubtedly connected to his ultimate talent, which is trade negotiations. Many are amazed at his ability to extract full value from his trades in the same way a pack of vultures is able to extract full value of a rotting, decaying carcass. Peter makes it a point to build new relationships to continue his success, often making a point of making sure new GMs felt “welcomed” to the league. One anonymous GM described that welcoming process to us: “It was actually really nice at first. He took me out for some Chinese food and brought some boxed wine with him. He made sure to constantly ask about me – my hopes, my dreams, my aspirations as a new General Manager – and always made sure my wine glass was extra full. By the time he brought me back to his office, I felt like I was about to pass out. The conversation turned to my players and...honestly, I don't remember anything after that until I woke up naked in the Nationals parking lot, and found out on the ESPN app I had traded him my best pitcher.”
g$ - In order to get a true portrait of a Renaissance man like g$, it is important to ask the people around him. Those people paint the picture of an insane, corrupt, lazy despot who is completely bereft of talent or self awareness, with complaints about nearly every aspect of his leadership. “Don't even get me started on that stupid nickname,” said one scout, who wished to remain anonymous so as not to reveal he actually was dumb enough to work for him. “His real name is George Fitzpatrick, but he insists on making everyone call him g$ - he actually threw his dad out of the ballpark on Father's Day for calling him George one time. He says he came up with it in middle school, and he wished to 'unshackle himself from his slave name' – it's completely ridiculous. He thinks he's a rapper too, and insists on a never ending loop of Eminem karaoke at the Christmas party.” The Orioles head of ticket sales and marketing, former Oriole Ricky Metheny, who insisted on using his real name to make sure this statement was on record, had a very low opinion of g's ability to scout talent. “Kate Upton is the brains of that organization – at least she saw plenty of baseball when she was dating Verlander. It's a joke she's only the Assistant GM, but the owner wants a man in charge. At least he could have picked one who does something other than watch the WWE Network, Netflix, and pornography all day. I wish PR was still here.” One of the team's scouts claims that in order to deal with g's erratic behavior, he is actually muted for most conference calls, being unmuted only for brief murmurs of approval to keep him distracted. “He hasn't made a real decision since the Noah trade, and that only worked out because Noah hired Barry Bonds as his personal trainer. He insists on being at the draft in person, though, and that fucks that up.” Further rumors in the organization are that he claims he is the Godfather of a “podcast mafia,” claiming he is the host of a podcast that the other GMs in FCM listen to and participate in, although one intern commented “there's no way anyone would listen to that condescending prick for two hours a week.” Some in the organization, including a high-ranking scout, claim there is a movement to try to get him fired. “We've been trying to Donald Sterling him, but we can't get a gold digger with a tape recorder near him for long enough. They all scream 'It's not worth it!' and flee in horror before we can get anything good. I guess we'll have to wait until obesity catches up with him.”
Any final words?
I love this league and hope it goes for another 50 seasons. Thanks for the great response to the podcast, as it is you guys who keep me going and wanting to make more. It probably wouldn't have lasted more than 5 episodes if it weren't for the response, both positive and negative, that it gets.
Sorry to keep you waiting on my responses, Sean, and holding up the article. Some of it was being busy, but a lot of it was dragging my feet and being lazy – I should have been far more diligent.
However, for everyone else who complained I wasn't finishing fast enough:
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