Ara Pumpernilly, Chief Baseball Correspondant (The Times), December 6, 2022

The much anticipated announcement has finally arrived. The London Underground will begin the 2023 season with a new GM, their third in as many years. Somewhat surprisingly, owner Sir John Fowler Jr. has opted to go with another unknown entity – a yank by the name of Robert Ogden. Commentators and fans alike, including your correspondant, have been assuming for weeks that Sir John would choose a well-known and experienced hand to work the levers after the inexplicable departure of the “unproven” Noah Tong in the closing months of last season. Tong, who was well on his way to guiding the Underground to a sixth straight playoff appearance, departed the club under a shroud of mystery allowing wild rumors to reverberate from one end of London to another. However, Sir John has remained mum on the matter – saying only that he expected the club would move in a different direction in 2023.

But is it? There is very little known about the team’s new leader, and the announcement left the press room scrambling to google information on the chosen man. One early rumor suggested that Ogden interrupted Sir John’s tea last week, took a seat across from the aging owner, and began expounding on an elaborate plan for the team. However, this seems unlikely to have won over the trust of a man like Sir John who is known to have little patience for dramatics. It would seem that both Sir John and his club intend to leave us in the dark as to the specifics of how the appointment came to be aside from the terse note read to the press by the owner’s personal secretary: “Sir John is confident that Mr. Ogden understands the expectations of both the ownership and the people of London.”

Ogden appeared rather unimposing as he stood before the assembled press. At age 41, he is relatively young for such a role, and perhaps that inexperience was reflected in the quiet, almost hesitant reading of a brief statement. “My family and I are delighted to be moving to this great city,” said the American, “and I am honored that Sir John has entrusted his team and your team to my hands. I expect that over the coming weeks and months we will be working hard to prepare for the coming season. The London Underground have been and will continue to be among the best clubs in baseball, though I believe some changes will have to be made going forward if we wish it to be so.” Instead of expounding on those necessary changes, Ogden thanked the assembled media and exited the room without taking questions.

Fans may well wonder exactly what changes Ogden believes are required to keep the organization competitive. Whatever those changes are to be, Ogden will be treading on thin ice as he will surely be held to account should he be unable to meet expectations, or worse, should he worsen the increasingly apparent cracks in the club’s performance. The Underground have appeared in six straight playoffs, but the team was eliminated in the first round this year, and more ominously, for the first time since 2017 failed to emerge victorious over the Trans Atlantic division – ending the season 3 games behind the Amsterdam Lions.

Will this new GM succeed in keeping the Underground in top form? Will he lead the club to another championship, as GM Nigel Laverick did in 2018? Or will this unknown American preside over the decline of the city’s beloved team?

Only time will tell.