THE CHICAGO MOB
Updated at the end again
FRED TURTLE DRIVING THAT TRAIN.
In 1980, former league member Larry Steinberg was given control of an abandoned franchise. Dubbed The Skokie Sluggos, the team had sluggers George Foster, Reggie Jackson, Jeff Burroughs, Carl Yastrzemski and Ted Simmons to name a few that were past their prime. The team made it to the playoffs but were quickly eliminated. In 1986 the team moved to Chicago and became The Mob. Playing in antiquated Bill Veeck Memorial Park, the team suffered through many lean years due to a combination of suspect drafting, questionable trades, a little bad luck and according to many fans poor field management. The one blip at that time was an appearance in the play-offs in 1987, despite a record of 80-84. The team made it to the GUSSOMO World Series with such players as Larry Parrish, a rookie Will Clark, John Cangialosi, Jose DeLeon, Jim Clancy and Richard Dotson. The Mob was defeated by the Stateline Superbas in 5 games but it was exciting. The Mob had perhaps it's best season in 1996 when with a 92-57 record they made it to the World Series for the 2nd time in team history. Up 3 games to 1, they were 6 outs away from winning it all when in the 8th inning The Santa Rosa Condors scored twice to take a 3-2 lead and held on to win the game and eventually the series. The team struggled for several years after that but a major change in 2001 changed everything. Realizing that his much improved skills in drafting and trading needed his full attention, Larry decided to turn over the field managing duties to Fred Turtle, a red eared slider with an uncanny knack for strategy and an unforgiving but respectful attitude for his players. The team moved to it's new stadium, dubbed Terrapin Station (to help appease Fred). While still awaiting it's first GUSSOMO championship, the team has been well over .500 during Fred Turtle's tenure as manager. Fred did a marvelous job managing in 2014, especially with the health issues he had early in the season, making it to the World Series. Unfortunately Busters Battalions and J.A. Happ proved to be too much and The Mob lost in six games. In 2015, Chicago won the Great Lakes Division but was ousted in the first round by Starling City in 6 games. Chicago had a good 2016 draft and expects to be a play-off contender again. Fred is ready.