Welcome back to year seventeen of the Alabama Slammers Franchise Report! Here are the links to the previous versions if you want to catch up (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031,2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, 2036).
Previous Season Highlights:
Andy Schaffer wins Cy Young
20-year-old Marco Vazquez leads the league in batting average, hits, doubles, and triples
Edgar Sanchez wins seventh straight gold glove
6 players make all-star team
106-win regular season
Lost in NLCS 4-2
Start of Offseason:
As with the previous versions, I’ll list the moves I made, the rationale behind those moves, the season results, and the future outlook.
Here are the salaries heading into the offseason.
\Unless stated otherwise, all players were re-signed to their one-year arbitration estimate*
Departures (non-trades):
Ernesto Bernal
Bernal was discovered by my scout in 2022 and spent fifteen years with the organization. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in games, at-bats, WAR, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, triples, RBIs, and stolen bases. He’s the greatest player in franchise history and it really hurt to part ways with him, but all good things must come to an end.
He signed a 5/$84m deal with the Rangers, which seems reasonable, and had a solid year. I received a supplemental first-round pick upon his signing.
Drew Romo
Romo looked to be on his way out, so I let him walk as a free agent. He didn’t sign with a team and retired at the end of the season. He played his entire 12-year major league career with the Slammers and was a huge reason we had six Cy Young award winners during his tenure.
Eric Lawrence
Lawrence struggled last year in the majors, so I gave him a season in AAA to work things out. He looks ready for the big leagues again and will be an opening day starter or get traded.
Jeff Hopper
Hopper was excellent during his six years with us, highlighted by his 2035 campaign when he finished third in the MVP voting. He wanted 8/$232m to re-sign, which was too expensive for my tastes, and ended up getting 6/$156m from the Jazz, which is still too expensive for me. I don’t see this contract ending well.
Move #1:
Hired a new trainer.
I heavily prioritize prevention and this guy is good at preventing all types of injuries. Here’s my old trainer.
Move #2:
Slammers Receive: Edwin de la Torre
Diamondbacks Receive: Alex Rivera, Luis Arguello, Mike Dooner, Harold Coppola, Bryn Hill
De la Torre is my third baseman fantasy. He has elite batting potential, above average fielding ability, excellent baserunning, great character, durable injury proneness, and bats from the left side of the plate. I gave the Diamondbacks an assortment of young and talented players, but I would’ve gladly given them twice as much. Guys like de la Torre just don’t exist.
Move #3:
Slammers Receive: Jonathan Hubbard
Padres Receive: Eric Clark
Hubbard might not be anything special to the Padres, but he’s beautiful to me. He’s a right-handed hitter, has elite defensive ratings, doesn’t expect to start, is durable, and has the sparkplug personality trait. I needed a very specific player and Hubbard met all of my criteria. He’ll start against lefties and play a decent amount against righties in an attempt to keep Steve Flores healthy for the playoffs.
Move #4:
Signed Andy Schaffer to a 5/$105m extension.
Schaffer is 26 and just won a Cy Young, this seems like a pretty safe deal.
Move #5:
Signed free agent Tommy Noonan to a 3/$30m deal.
After looking through the available in-house, trade, and free agent replacement options, I decided the best course of action was to roll the dice on Noonan. I’ve seen players bounce back from the Guru before, so hopefully Noonan does just that. If he falls off a cliff, I’ll only owe him $15m after this year.
Move #6:
Added a Dominican Rookie League team.
We haven’t gotten much out of our scouting discoveries, and I think it might be partially due to them spending so much time in the international complex, so we’re adding a Dominican Rookie League team for them to develop in – The Kiev Blue Claws. Don’t ask me why the team is in Ukraine, it’s just what the owner wanted.
I promoted every player from the international complex, and I’ll continue to promote new players as they’re discovered. I’m interested to see how this works out.
Move #7:
Slammers Receive: Chris Joiner
Mets Receive: Joe Poffenberger
Poffenberger was given strong consideration for the starting catcher job this year, but I decided to go with Gutierrez instead. There was no need to keep Poffenberger around in the minors, so I swapped him for a guy that can provide some depth in a year or two.
In-House Moves (Preseason):
Sean Vahey remains on the major league roster after joining during roster expansion last season. He will be a member of the bullpen.
Jose Gutierrez promoted from AA. Will be the primary starter at catcher vs. RHPs.
Bobby McCallum promoted from AA. Will start at first base.
Seung-hwa Kim promoted from AA. Will start in left field.
Bob Banks will slide to DH with the promotion of Kim.
Final Financial Situation:
We have about $34m in available budget room to start the year, so shouldn’t need to make any trades for cash, and we might even complete the owner goal of ending the year with a balance of +$23m. He’s been hounding me about that one for a while.
Here are the salaries heading into the season.
Move #8 (Part 1, Part 2):
Slammers Receive: $14m
Slammers Lose: Chris Dearborn, Nate Holston
Turns out we needed some more cash. Holston is a career minor leaguer, but Dearborn might have a real MLB future. I’ve seen too many players with his profile flame out though, so I’m willing to take the risk he doesn’t amount to anything.
Season Outlook:
This is the most excited I’ve been about a season in a while. It’s always fun to cruise to 100-win seasons with established teams, but we’re going with the youth movement this year. Our five through eight hitters have a combined zero days of major league service, so I’m really trusting my scout that these rookies are ready to perform. The pitching should remain elite, so if the young guys come through, we should roll to another division title.
Batters:
Primary Lineup vs. RHP and vs. LHP when Healthy (\DH enabled in both leagues, lineup vs. RHP shown below)*
RF – Marco Vazquez
Vazquez cooled off a bit at the plate as compared to last season but upped his defense to boost his overall value. He made his second all-star team and won his first gold glove.
CF – Wil Mireles
Mireles had another excellent season but will be leaving as a free agent. He wants 8/$256m to re-sign, which is too much for me.
2B – Edgar Sanchez
Sanchez continued his march towards the hall of fame with another great year. He made his third all-star team and won his eighth gold glove.
DH – Bob Banks
Banks moved to DH this year, which should be the least taxing position, but missed about a month to injury. When healthy, he performed below his usual standard. Hopefully, he gets back on track next year.
LF – Seung-Hwa Kim
Kim had a solid rookie year and will be back for a sophomore campaign. He’s 26-years-old but still looks to have a lot of untapped potential.
3B – Edwin de la Torre
De la Torre had a monster rookie season, winning rookie of the month in September and taking rookie of the year honors. He’s 21-years-old, so should be around for a long time.
1B – Bobby McCallum
McCallum started off the year on a crazy hot streak. He won rookie of the month in April and June and was on pace for 65 home runs and 167 RBIs. He cooled off tremendously as the season progressed but was still good enough to finish third in the rookie of the year voting.
C – Jose Gutierrez
I feel pretty good about my decision to go with Gutierrez at catcher. He played great defense and was league average at the plate, which is all I could ever ask for. As an added bonus, his personality trait was revealed as sparkplug.
SS – Steve Flores
Flores came back from a year-long injury and played great. I would love to keep his defense around forever but it’s probably better to go ahead and move him before he gets injured again. I have a solid replacement in Eric Lawrence.
Bench
C – Danny Wells
Wells has been pretty much the same player since he debuted in 2032 but I’m ok with that. As long as he continues to play excellent defense, he’ll stick around.
IF – Justus Evans
Evans had a pretty good five-year run for a guy that used to be a pitcher. I have plenty of in-house replacements though, so he’ll leave as a free agent.
IF – Jonathan Hubbard
I brought in Hubbard to replace the fragile backup, so of course he got injured. He missed a month with a separated shoulder but did what was asked of him when healthy.
OF – Andy Vera
Vera is overqualified to be a bench player, but I have an excess of outfield talent and he’s the worst of the bunch. He might get a shot to start in center field next year with Mireles departing.
Replacements
IF – Chris McClain
It’s a good thing I kept the fragile backup middle infielder around. He filled in for Hubbard for a month and didn’t kill us.
OF – Mike Honeycutt
Honeycutt filled in for Banks and was pretty good in his limited opportunities. Depending on the rest of the roster, he might get a backup role next year.
Pitchers:
Pitching Staff when Healthy
SP – Corey MacDonald
I took the pitch count off MacDonald since his injury proneness was upgraded to iron man and he continued to stay healthy. He played well and made his seventh all-star game.
SP – Gilles Palacios
Palacios had one of his best seasons yet, winning the pitching triple crown and collecting his fourth Cy Young award. He wants 7/$245m to re-sign, but I’m going to try to find a way to bring him back. More than likely, I’ll have to sign him in free agency.
SP – Andy Schaffer
Schaffer decided to take it easy after winning a Cy Young last year and getting a contract extension. Hopefully, he goes back to his Cy Young ways next season.
SP – Eddie Copping
I had strongly considered a long-term extension for Copping in the offseason but I’m glad I held off. He struggled this year, posting his worst season yet. I think he’ll be fine going forward, but I’m much less worried about his performance without a long-term deal.
SP – Bobby Butler
Butler might not be done as a major league starting pitcher, but he’s done with the Slammers. He suffered a partially torn UCL in spring training, then suffered an eight-month setback in August. Hopefully, he still has some trade value when he returns.
RP – Alan McCarter
McCarter has been getting worse the last two seasons, but I’ve kept him around for his prankster personality trait. I’ll try to find someone in the offseason that’s also good at baseball.
RP – Tommy Noonan
Noonan isn’t the world beater he used to be but he’s still a really good reliever. I’m glad I brought him back.
RP – Jose Macias
Macias was solid for the second straight season and will be back next year.
RP – Sean Vahey
Vahey had a tough start to the season but established himself as one of the best relievers in the game by the end of the year. He’ll probably be around for his remaining five years of team control.
RP – Jose Aguilar
Aguilar once again performed like one of the best relievers in baseball, making his fifth all-star game. He has two more team friendly years on his contract, so will definitely be back.
RP – Mike Bentley
I was browsing through player profiles about halfway through the season and did a double take when I got to Bentley. All of a sudden, he had an 80-grade changeup and wanted to be a starter, which definitely wasn’t the case last year. I kept him in the bullpen until rosters expanded, then let him work as the sixth starter the rest of the season. He did well in his five starts and will be a member of the rotation next year. Hopefully, I can still sign him to a cheap extension.
Oh yeah, he also won reliever of the year.
RP – Steve Hixson
Hixson wasn’t as good as last year but he’s cheap and durable, so I’ll probably bring him back.
RP – Jonathan Kelsey
It’s always nice to have an iron man reliever that’s capable of competently starting 31 games. He moved to the rotation when Butler was injured and gave us 190.1 solid innings. Unfortunately, he’s an upcoming free agent, so probably won’t return.
Replacements
RP – Chris Larkin
Larkin was called up and given Kelsey’s bullpen role when Butler was injured. He wants to be a starter, but I don’t feel comfortable with his movement, so he’ll remain in the bullpen or get traded next season.
RP – Joe Cope
A 32nd round pick in 2032, it took Cope a while to figure things out in the minors, but once he did, he rose quickly through the system. He was called up when rosters expanded and struggled in limited appearances, but I think he’ll be one of the best relievers in the game in a year or two.
RP – Mike Blake
Blake was also called up when rosters expanded, and he pitched well in his three appearances. He looks like he could be a solid starting pitcher, but I have better options ahead of him, so he’ll have to take a bullpen role in the majors.
Season Results:
We didn’t do our usual raping and pillaging during the regular season but still won 104 games and took our eighth straight division crown. The Cardinals actually took the lead from us at game 130, but we took it back thirteen games later and pulled away late. The pitching continued to be dominant and the offense was amongst the league best. Other than Butler, we’re fully healthy going into the playoffs and will go with a playoff rotation of Palacios, MacDonald, Schaffer, and Bentley. Copping and Kelsey will move to the bullpen.
Our first-round opponent is the 94-68 Rockies. Their 3-5 hitters (Eric Zuniga, Noe Renteria, Robby Teeter) are terrifying, but they don’t have much pitching. We should be able to take this one.
Divisional Series Game 1, Rockies Win 5-3 – We played well overall but couldn’t overcome Renteria’s four RBI performance. Three players had solo home runs in the loss.
Divisional Series Game 2, Slammers Win 5-4 – MacDonald gave up four runs but the bullpen provided 3.2 scoreless innings to hold on for the win. We had fourteen hits in the contest and Sanchez led the way with two RBIs.
Divisional Series Game 3, Slammers Win 6-4 – New starter Mike Bentley had a great outing, striking out eight while giving up two runs over six innings. Banks led the way on offense with three RBIs.
Divisional Series Game 4, Slammers Win 8-1 – Schaffer pitched a gem, going seven scoreless innings and striking out nine. Everyone chipped in on offense en route to fourteen hits and eight runs.
Divisional Series Game 5, Slammers Win 12-8 – We knocked out their starter in the first and continued to pile on in the 12-8 victory. Kim led the way with two homers and three RBIs, winning series MVP.
Next up is the 101-61 Cardinals, led by young ace Eddie Salinas. They have a deep and balanced roster, so I could see this going either way. The winner should take the World Series.
NLCS Game 1, Slammers Win 6-4 – The rookie McCallum put the team on his back with a three-home run, five RBI performance. MacDonald gave up four runs in his second straight appearance, but Aguilar and Noonan closed out the game with 3.1 scoreless innings.
NLCS Game 2, Slammers Win 10-3 – It was Banks putting on his superman cape this time, with a four RBI performance. Bentley gave up two runs over 5.1 innings.
NLCS Game 3, Slammers Win 3-2 (12) – This one was close throughout, but a bases load walk by Kim in the top of the twelfth provided the game deciding run. Schaffer, Aguilar, Noonan, and Macias combined to allow two runs over twelve innings.
NLCS Game 4, Slammers Win 2-1 – Palacios came out on top in a pitcher’s duel and we swept the series. McCallum was named MVP, mostly off of his game one performance.
We’re once again facing off against the Red Sox in the World Series, and this should just be a victory lap. They have a very good rotation (Jorge Morones, Bobby Dibble, Rob McDowell, Josh Sheppard) but no one worth mentioning on offense. It’ll be a major upset if we lose this one.
World Series Game 1, Slammers Win 8-2 – We started off the series with a bang, getting home runs from McCallum, Banks, and de la Torre. MacDonald gave up two runs over 6.2 innings and Aguilar closed out the rest.
World Series Game 2, Slammers Win 7-4 – The Rookie Kim led the way with a pair of two-run homers. Then Bentley struck out eleven and gave up two runs over six innings.
World Series Game 3, Red Sox Win 3-1 – Red Sox ace Morones shut us down in the loss, but we can win the series without seeing him again if we win two of the next three.
World Series Game 4, Red Sox Win 9-7 – We were on track to win this one before a complete meltdown by Macias and Noonan in the eighth. They gave up a combined five runs in the inning and the offense couldn’t bail them out in the ninth.
World Series Game 5, Slammers Win 6-2 – We really needed this win. MacDonald and Vahey combined to hold them to two runs over nine innings and Banks led the way on offense with three RBIs. We’ll head back home and look to close out the series.
World Series Game 6, Slammers Win 14-5 – This one was close until a nine run explosion in the fourth inning put the game away. Every starter other than Kim had at least one RBI. The Red Sox first baseman won series MVP in the loss, but we’d much rather have the title than an individual award.
We’re really starting to roll now, as that’s our third title in six seasons! The young guys came through when it mattered and will hopefully lead us to many more titles in the future.
Here are the rest of the playoff results and MLB standings.
Top Prospects:
The top prospects list continues to be in flux, as we promoted three players and traded another three from last year’s edition, but we still have a lot of good players.
1.) Hector Ruiz
Ruiz was an honorable mention the last two years because I don’t trust international amateur free agent signings, but I’m ready to buy the hype now. If he can stay healthy and reach his full potential, he’s a 10 WAR player. He’ll begin next season at AA.
2.) Victor Lacayo
I’m starting to get some serious mileage from these international amateur free agent signings, as that’s how the top two players on the list were acquired. Lacayo has monster hitting potential for a middle infielder and could be elite defensively if he gets a slight bump to his range. Worst case, he’ll a great bench player. He’ll begin next year in A.
3.) Jake Maddox
Maddox continued his steady climb through the system and looks just about ready for the majors. Depending on what his ratings look like at the start of next year, he might make the opening day roster.
4.) Chris Joiner
I had a trio of guys last year that I thought were in line to take Justus Evans spot, but the acquisition of Joiner probably ended their major league chances. He plays above average defense at three positions, has the potential to be an elite hitter, and has excellent baserunning skills. He’ll begin next season on the opening day roster.
5.) Felix Lopez
Lopez could probably fill the role Joiner will take next year, but he’s still young, so I’ll give him a year in AAA to round out his skills. I like everything about him but his range, so hopefully that improves next year.
6.) Chris Overcash
Overcash looks ready for the majors but I don’t have a place for him, so he’ll start next season in AAA. I’ll get him some experience in left field, and he’ll be first in line as an injury replacement.
7.) Gabe Depass
If Depass had durable injury proneness, he’d be top two on the list. He’s a great talent but you can never put too much faith in a pitcher with normal injury proneness. He’ll start next season at A.
8.) Brad Cole
Cole is a very interesting player. Other than his outfield error, he has everything you’d want in an outfield prospect, so I’m hoping that improves next year in A. I was able to scoop him up in the sixth round since he was listed as a pitcher coming out of the draft.
9.) Nate Bianco
Bianco’s movement still hasn’t improved, so I’m starting to cool on him a bit. He performed well in A- though and will begin next season in A+.
10.) Chris Brown
Rest in peace Chris Brown. If he makes it back from his torn UCL, he’ll be restricted to bullpen duty.
Honorable mentions:
Andy West, Bob Larson
I usually don’t include players like this on the list, but these two curiosities have very interesting ratings profiles and dominated the competition in A. They’ll both begin next season in AA and I’m hoping their ratings catch up to their production.
Eric Whittington, Israel Lopez
Both of these guys were listed as starters coming out of the draft, but I’ve put them in their proper roles as relievers. Between the two of them, I’m sure one will make the majors.
Sam Leintz
Leintz can’t stay healthy, so he’ll probably get traded. Too bad, since I used a first-round pick on him last year.
Promoted to MLB:
Bobby McCallum, Seung-Hwa Kim, Jose Gutierrez
Future Outlook:
We have some tough decisions this offseason with Palacios’s upcoming free agency and logjams in the infield and outfield. Eric Lawrence deserves to start, as do a number of minor league outfielders, but we also have a lot young entrenched starters in the majors. I’m not sure yet how I’ll build the roster, but these are good problems to have. It’s not a question of how we win, but how do we win the most. Hopefully, we can push towards 120 wins next year.
Here is the budget and salaries heading into the offseason.

The Life and Times of the Legendary Ramone Russell

Born in Georgia to parents Carmen and Dennis, Ramone Russell followed baseball greats Ty Cobb and breaker-of-color-barrier Jackie Robinson out of his state and onto the national spotlight of America's Pastime.
Whispers of a local kid's talent began to make news on the radar of MLB scouts after his freshman year of high school, and fifteen-year old Russell was thrust into the national spotlight after an Atlanta-based chicken chain featured him on a nationwide commercial in which Russell, an employee, commits an egregious, blooper-worthy stumble, but saves the milkshake in his hand from spilling. A young Russell can be seen on video receiving a round of applause, to which he turns to the camera and replies, "my pleasure."
Drafted and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school in 2001, Russell began his first season in Advanced-A ball at Vero Beach. Within 40 games, the slippery switch hitter quickly developed a habit for getting on base, then stealing the next one, and by the end of the year had gotten the call to AA.
2002 promised to be a year of growth for Russell, who received an invite to the Dodgers' spring camp. However, after just fourteen at bats, one of which featured a plate appearance that ended abruptly when Dodgers infielder Eric Karros unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate an eagle that had been struck by a Russell foul ball, Russell was assigned to the AA Jacksonville Suns, where he had a modest .277 batting average on the season.
After a blazing start the 2003 season in Jacksonville, Russell was involved in a trade that sent him and two others to the Yankees for infielder Robin Ventura. On August 18th, Russell was called up from AA to backup catcher Jorge Posada. In his first start, Russell went deep in his first three at bats, then dropped a beautiful sac bunt to lead the team to a walkoff win in the 13th. In just 39 plate appearances for the Yankees that year, Russell had 17 home runs and 10 doubles, but was caught stealing 14 times. Despite hitting for power and average, Russell began 2004 in AAA to work on his stealing. By mid-April, his bat was making too much noise for the front office to ignore, and he was called up permanently. However, one problem still existed: three-time All-star Jorge Posada was the Yankee anchor behind the dish. So where would Russell play?
Insert baseball legend and Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre. His answer: every other position on the field! One rumor (that Torre still denies to this day) suggests that Torre would text his wife every day while filling out his lineup and ask for a number, three through nine. Whatever she responded was the position Russell would play that night. Legend of the assignment of Russell's position grew, and he was given the nickname Mr. Utilitorre. And it didn't matter where, Russell's glove shined while his bat murdered baseballs.
In July, Russell was voted to the All-star Game in Houston, where he played all nine positions, and robbed a home run in each of the three outfield spots, including a robbery of Sammy Sosa in the third inning SO acrobatic that some Cubs fans still dub him "The Crawford Box Bandit."
By the next morning, Russell's game made him an overnight celebrity. In the weeks that followed, paparazzi spotted the talented rookie partying with the likes of Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera, Dan Aykroyd, and Ted Nugent. Sluggish play followed after weeks of partying, and rumors of a nasty fling with New York-based singer Alicia Keys made headlines. By September, a tumbling batting average was met with a suspension after Russell was found passed out in his hotel room after a dreadful 0 for 13 series against Baltimore, a half-eaten Quiznos sandwich beside him, and a fresh tattoo that featured the words "Love, Laugh, Live" on an Uno Reverse card.
A fresh and focused Russell showed up after his suspension, slugging a ridiculous 2.433 over the final 14 games to lead the Yankees to another playoff berth. Cruising to the ALCS, Russell helped the Yankees to a 3-0 series lead against the rival Boston Red Sox. After a Game 3 win, Russell received an unexpected phone call. In his now infamous interview with Barbara Walters, Russell describes answering the phone to a female voice. The voice of a Grammy winner.
"Alicia had reached out to me to congratulate me on reaching the World Series" Russell said with his hand on his cheek. "I reminded her that even though no baseball team has ever come back from a 3-game deficit in the playoffs, we weren't winners yet. "Then she asked me if I had listened to her new song. A love song. It was duet with Usher, I guess."
Walters stares at a seemingly deflated Russell, then into the camera, then back to a still silent Russell. "Well, did you listen to it?" Without an answer, Russell unplugged his mic and walked out of the interview.
Russell has never publicly spoken about the call since his Walters' interview, but we all know how the series played out. Russell, behind the plate for Game 4, couldn't catch Roberts stealing second in the ninth. He committed a key error in Game 5. A damned bloody sock dominated him in Game 6, and he was benched in a Game 7 loss.
We'll never know how the Alicia Keys phone call altered the course of baseball history. In fact, the only person who can possibly know isn't telling, but several Yankees who declined to be named describe a defeated and dejected Russell in the locker room before Game 4. "He wasn't himself," one source told me. "He was the leader of our team. He was our rock. But something had changed in Ramone that day and he never got it back."
A day after the Red Sox won the World Series, breaking the Curse of the Bambino, Russell retired at a press-conference. Baseball was no longer meant for him, and he yearned for something more fulfilling. His cleats would never touch the freshly-raked dirt in the Bronx again. Never again would his batting gloves cover up his tattoo while at the plate. He was broken. Broken by the game he loved, broken by a girl, and broken by the pursuit to be perfect in an imperfect world. Baseball was losing a star in its infancy, and a nation watched in sadness as Ramone Russell walked off, and walked out, of the Yankee locker room for the last time.
Today, Russell pursues a new passion. You can often find him cycling trails in sunny San Diego, and wasting a weekend away at La Jolla Beach with his two dogs, Corkscrew and Stamos. When he can't enjoy San Diego, you'll find him promoting a perfect-perfect gem of video game: MLB The Show. In internet chat rooms, he is lauded as a bit of a meme with a strong cult following, but few know of the man he once was.
Mr. Utilitorre.
The Crawford Box Bandit.
Ramone.
^this ^is ^a ^reposted ^writeup ^from ^months ^ago ⁱⁿ ^which ^I ^also ^made ^a ^mock ^Ramone ^Russell ^Diamond ^Dynasty ^card

Better Know the Ballot #4: Dan Haren

Hey Baseball buddies! Hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend...and following week. I'm back now, and it's time to get balls deep on the rest of this list.
This year’s Hall of Fame ballot includes 11 first time players. None of them are first ballot locks and some of them are guaranteed to fall off the ballot after one year of eligibility. So once again, we’re taking a look at all the ballot rookies, starting from the bottom. We've previously covered Nick Swisher, Michael Cuddyer and AJ Burnett, so it’s time for…
Dan Haren
Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 30
Career bWAR (13 years): 35.1
Stats: 153-131, 3.75 ERA, 2013 K, 2419.2 IP, 1.181 WHIP, 109 ERA+
Awards: All-Star x3 (AL 2007, NL 2008, ‘09)
League Leading Stats: Starts x3 (34, 2006; 34, 2007; 34, 2011), WHIP (1.003, 2009), K/BB x3 (5.15, 2008; 5.87, 2009; 5.82, 2011)
Teams Played For: Cardinals (2003-04), A’s (2005-07), D-backs (2008-2010), Angels (2010-2012), Nationals (2013), Dodgers (2014), Marlins (2015), Cubs (2015)
Throughout the ‘90s, David Cone picked up a reputation as kind of a gun for hire. Twice the Blue Jays brought him in mid-season for playoff pushes. The Yankees signed him longer term to solidify a rotation that won four rings, and Boston brought him in at the end of his career to try and stoke their own championship fires. He was a six-time all-star, a Cy Young winner and a fringe HoF candidate who was always happy with the “hired merc” persona.
Dan Haren was kind of like that, only more mediocre.
Daniel Boone* Haren first gained the attention of scouts while he was pitching at Pepperdine, along with teammate Noah Lowery. In their junior years, Haren put up a 2.22 ERA and was named WCC Player of the year, while Lowery posted a 1.71 ERA en route to being named WCC Pitcher of the year. Both players skipped their senior season and declared for the MLB draft; a draft in which the Giants would take Lowery in the first round, with the Cardinals drafting Haren in the second.
Lowery seemed to be on his way to a good-to-above-average career in SF until the Giants medical staff decided that he needed to be sacrificed upon the alter of Dave Dravecky and completely mis-managed a circulatory issue into a career ending forearm injury that cost Lowery a rib in the process. Meanwhile, Haren was completely fine, he was just in St Louis. He appeared in 28 games over two seasons, making 19 starts and throwing 4.2 shutout innings in the 2004 World Series, but the Cards wound up sending Haren to Oakland, along with Kiko Calero and future Mexican Baseball League gold glover Daric Barton, in a trade that netted them Mark Mulder.
In response Haren, clearly happy about being relieved of the burden of pretending that St Louis has the best fans in baseball, entered the prime portion of his career.
From 2005 to 2010, Haren’s age 24 to 29 seasons, ol’ Dirty Dan was a legit dealer. 85-64, 3.55 in 1343 innings, with 1176 K, to the tune of a 3.61 FIP, 1.173 WHIP and 123 ERA+. Over that span, he would make all three of his all-star appearances and be good for 27.1 bWAR, including back to back 6+ bWAR seasons in 2008 and 2009.
In the middle of that stretch, the A’s traded Haren to Arizona in exchange for a massive haul of prospects that included Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Greg Smith, Dana Eveland and Chris Carter. Three of those guys would go on to have notable big league careers, but only one would make any noise in an A’s uniform because Billy Beane was always playing a game of keep away with himself.
The back half of Haren’s career, 2011-2015 was less successful. Haren kept on doing exactly the same things he’d always done, just with ever diminishing returns. Two full seasons in LAA, including his last really good effort in 2011. A season in DC. Back to LA proper for a season in Dodger blue. Then 21 games for Miami in 2015 before the Cubs traded for him to try and get them over the hump a year before they were really ready for prime time. (This was three years after a deal to trade Haren straight up for Carlos Marmol fell through. A deal which, while not being on quite the same level as Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio, would have been hilariously lopsided, nonetheless. Haren was still good for 500 innings of league average ball over his last three seasons; Marmol once finished third in the league in hit batters, despite only throwing 74 innings. A stat we celebrated by making him our closer. And sure, he gave us one pretty solid season, but then he started blowing saves like he was a drunken college student in Seattle during Fleet Week and you know what? I’m getting off track.)
Unlike Cone, Haren was never a guy who embraced the “missing piece” role. When the Angles let him walk after the 2012 season, Haren told the LA Times “I’m sick of changing teams.” And, since baseball is a petty bitch with a weird sense of humor, Haren would naturally be forced to change uniforms four times over the next three seasons.
A large part of the reason for Haren’s decline can be attributed to his change in velocity. Haren was never exactly a fireballer, but in the early portion of his career his fastball could routinely end up in the lower-end-of-the-lower-end of the 90’s and he could dial it up into the 93-94 range when he needed. By the time the Angels declined his option in 2012, however, his fastball was down to the high 80’s (a fact he’s kind of leaned into and embraced: his Twitter handle is @ithrow88). His last season in the bigs, Haren’s 86 MPH average was the second slowest non-knuckleballer in the majors.
Haren was able to remain effective because he’d always had impeccable control. At no point in his career did he ever walk more than 55 batters in a season and there were just three full seasons in his career when his BB/9 ratio got above 2. But he wasn’t ever known as a Maddux-type pitcher who lived life on the black. Instead, Haren liked to use his ability to throw any pitch at any time as a means of coming right at guys and challenging them where they live. When it worked, it worked: Haren struck out over 200 batters three times and was the active leader in K/9 ratio when he retired. But all that reward came with an ever increasing amount of risk as well: Haren coughed up 305 homers in his career, 54th all time. Back in 2016, Haren directly addressed his lack of both velocity and fear in an amazing, now sadly deleted, tweet: “Sometimes when the count was 3-1, I would just throw it down the middle and hope for the best. People pop up in batting practice, right?” (The quarantine has slowed him down a bit, but Haren has historically been a highly entertaining Twitter follow)
Dan Haren spent 13 seasons in the major leagues, dividing nine of those years more or less evenly betwixt the A’s, Dbacks and Angels. He made the most starts in Oakland and professed to be happiest in Anaheim, but he goes into the Hypothetical Hall with the Diamondbacks, as a nod to his two all-star appearances with the team and the two best overall seasons of his career. He’s also fifth all time in franchise history for bWAR for pitchers (13.1), sixth in ERA (3.56) and fourth in WHIP (1.132).
Chances of making the Hall: Worse than his chances of making an MLB comeback, better than his chances of winning the fastest pitch competition at your local ballpark.
Chances of leaving the ballot this year: 100%
*not his actual middle name, but fuck. It should be, right?

Motor City Management - Detroit Tigers Report 2020 - Exceeding Expectations

Motor City Management - Detroit Tigers Franchise - OOTP21
If you're just tuning in, you can catch up here: 2020 (Opening Day)
The 2020 Detroit Tigers now feature the best minor league system in baseball and perhaps the ugliest Opening Day lineup in baseball as well. The league projects them to win only 19 of their 60 games. Going into the season I agreed with them, but, let's take a look at what we're working with and how things panned out.

2020 Tigers Recap

We knew it would be ugly, but it wasn't as bad as expected. The team exceeded expectations and managed 23 wins to their 37 losses. Certainly a down year, but the .383 winning percentage was an improvement over the 2019 final of .292%. The team's hitting was abysmal, finished 13th in runs scored, 15th in OBP/WAOPS/Home Runs. However, as a lone bright spot on offense, we were 1st in the league in baserunning at a +11.2. We'll take any win we can get.
The pitching staff was actually not bad! Finishing 7th in runs against, 6th in starter ERA and 10th in bullpen ERA. I was proud of the arms for holding it down a bit and helping us to the 23 wins without much offense behind them. We ranked 6th in FIP and 5th in pitching WAR. Defensively? We ranked 14th in efficiency and 8th in zone rating, so I'd like to see that improve along with the hitting.
Unsurprisingly, we didn't bring home any hardware in 2020.

Around the League

The Atlanta Braves were your 2020 MLB Champions! The playoffs were a bit wild, with the Angels making a surprise trip to the World Series, where they pushed Atlanta to seven games. The Braves also did the unthinkable in the NLCS, pulling off a reverse sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Clayton Kershaw notched his 2,500th strikeout, but not many notable milestones happened in 2020.
In the AL, Oakland had a phenomenal season for awards, with Matt Olson bringing home the league MVP and Jesus Luzardo securing both the Rookie of the Year award and a Cy Young! Taylor Rogers grabbed a Reliever of the Year for the Twins.
In the NL, Christian Yelich brought home a 2nd MVP trophy. Cardinals' youngster Jack Flaherty won the Cy Young in a stellar year, while Sixto Sanchez won Rookie of the Year for the Marlins and Edwin Diaz grabbed another Reliever of the Year award!
You can take a look at the Batting Leaders and Pitching Leaders as well. Grienke managed 9 wins in the short season, deGrom had 11 Quality Starts, Yolando Alvarez paced the league with 22 dingers and Daniel Murphy hit about .100 higher than in 2019 to lead the league with a .361. Mondesi was a menace on the basepaths and Vlad Guerrero Jr. was good as always.

Transactions

Trade #1
Tigers receive: RP Kyle Dohy, $1,200,000 cash Phillies receive: C Josh Phegley
I will now always look for waiver guys I can flip later (Phegley was a waiver guy). Dohy has a ton of stuff and not much else, hoping he magically works on it and becomes a great reliever.
Trade #2
Tigers receive: RP Bryan Hudson, CL Wyatt Short, CF D.J. Wilson, $125,000 cash Cubs receive: RF Cameron Maybin, RP Luke Sommerfeld
I'm not sad about 33 YO Maybin leaving - I should've dealt him earlier when he had some more value. Hudson and Short give me more bullpen arms in the system, Wilson probably never pans out.
Trade #3
Tigers receive: CF Gage Canning, $25,000 cash Nationals receive: C Austin Romine
Austin wasn't playing much for me at the deadline and he hit well for the Nats in 9 games. Clearing Romine's money let me sign one more draftee that I didn't have the money for previously.
Trade #4
Tigers receive: CF Rusney Castillo Red Sox receive: 1B Miguel Cabrera (DET retains 60%), 1B Frank Schwindel, C Jon Rosoff
The fans weren't pleased about this one. Miggy was slashing .214/.291/.300. He was making 30M and set to do so for about 5 more years. Castillo was a contract I could get out from under, so I made this move to clear the future books. He hit even worse for Boston the rest of the way. It turns out though, that it wouldn't matter for me or Boston. Miggy retired at the end of the year and I released Castillo - we both clear cap.

Batters - 2020

Starting Lineup
C - Francisco Pena Pena did about what I expected, if not moreso. He's been a AAAA guy for a long time, so I'm surprised that he hit as well as he did in a "full" season. I assume that his defensive acumen is part of the reason for my staff's relative success compared to their talent. Pena played himself into a 2 year extension for $3,000,000 total. 1B - Will Craig Craig was 25 coming into the season with some potential to grow into a slightly above average hitter, having been pretty good in AAA in 2019. Given that I had Cabrera at 1B, I decided to see what Craig had. It was a bit disappointing and my scout thinks he took a step back, but he's on a minimum and I don't believe I'm going to suddenly be good, so he'll get more reps next year. 2B - Hernan Perez Hernan was a super utility guy for the Tigers that I threw into a starting role due to moving Schoop - unsurprisingly, he didn't play well and was awful at the plate. I released him after the season and he went to play in Australia. 3B - Dawel Lugo I had no expectations of Lugo performing that well, but he ended up being a league average hitter with 1 WAR. He'll be back on the team next year, though he may just be keeping the spot warm for future talents. SS - Jordy Mercer Mercer was thrust into the starting job due to lack of bodies and, well, it went about like you'd expect. He was horrible at the plate and was let go after the season. He remains unsigned on January 1st. LF - Myles Straw Straw started the season in LF and played 34 games there, but also spent time at 2B, SS, CF and RF. Basically, he became what Perez had been, but he's a better fielder. His bat was pretty bad, I expected him to hit closer to .300 and he managed .254. He'll be on the team next year for another shot, as he's only 26. CF - Derek Hill It was a lot to expect Hill to make the jump from AA, but at 24 I thought I'd give it a go. He was the team's 22nd ranked prospect and I believe that'll go down after this showing - hit hitting was poor, which seems to be a theme for the team. He will return however, we'll see if he gets more starting duties. RF - Victor Reyes Reyes was almost league average at the plate! That's a win for your 2020 Detroit Tigers. He gave us almost one WAR and hit over .300. He's pretty solid in RF, so I'm excited to see if he can up his discipline at the plate and become a better hitter to go with it. DH - Miguel Cabrera I mean, Miggy was horrible, but we all knew that was coming. The Tigers were proud to retire his #24 after the season though to honor his tenure with the team and I imagine he'll have a decent shot at a Hall of Fame plaque in a few years!
Bench C - Austin Romine Romine was bad, but I never wanted him to hang around much anyway. The bat was unplayable and the defense wasn't needed with Pena being a better defender. He played well in a short duration for Washington after being dealt though. He's unsigned as of January 1st. LF - Christin "Twilight" Stewart Twilight, a nickname he earned by being named Christin Stewart, played 44 games for us including 33 starts. A dozen of his appearances were in left field, but he primarily was the team's DH after the departure of Cabrera. He hit almost league average, which is a plus on this roster, and will be back with us next season. I'm hoping his combination of power and discipline will lead to better things at the plate. He's also a captain on the team and was critical to keeping our morale stable in a bad year. LF - Travis Demeritte Travis also spent most of his time in LF, playing 25 games for us and hitting slightly below average. As is spoiled by his player card, he won't be with the team next season.
Replacements/Call-Ups C - Jake Rogers Rogers was kind of a pleasant surprise. He got a limited run after Romine was dealt, coming up for a cup of coffee at the end of the season. He has a similar situation in 2019, in which he was horrible, but it went much better in 2020! He only had 30 plate appearances, but carried a .556 slugging percentage and a 116 OPS+. He'll likely be on the major league roster next year.

Pitchers - 2020

Rotation SP - Casey Mize Mize was right around league average, which I will certainly take for a 23 year old that got thrust into an Opening Day role and the unit's ace. He finished the season with 3 of his strongest performances in a row and stayed durable the whole season - I'm hoping that those trends continue into 2021. SP - Spencer Turnbull Turnbull led the league in losses and also in fewest homeruns given up. His ERA+ and FIP tell the story - he went 0-7 on a horrible team and is living proof that wins and losses aren't good evaluators. He was an above average pitcher and will likely be relied on heavily in the rotation again next season. SP - Daniel Norris Norris was also right around league average, perhaps a bit of BABIP luck on his side this year, but he's got a balanced profile and was healthy all season. He has four pitches that are above average and no glaring weakness, he'll be back in the rotation again as well. SP - Matt Manning Despite carrying a high .340 BABIP, Manning was pretty good for us, slightly above average on the mound. He's the 2nd best prospect in our system (behind Mize) and I'm counting on these two anchoring the rotation for awhile - Manning got a younger start and has more room to grow, he might end up being the better of the two, who knows. He'll definitely be back. SP - Ivan Nova Nova certainly could've been worse. He was right below average, which was manageable since he was a bottom of the rotation starter. As is spoiled by his card, he won't be back next season, but I did extend him for 2 seasons at 1M per year, so he's a cheap arm.
Bullpen LR - Jordan Zimmermann Jordan was bad and surprisingly no one wanted his 25M contract. He tore his UCL and spent most of the season on the IR before being let go after the year. He'll be out until June and hasn't been signed, I imagine his career is probably done. MR - Rony Garcia Rony was a Rule 5 guy that the Tigers grabbed from the Yankees (before I took over) and while I was worried about his capabilities, he pitched pretty damn well. In 14 games (22 IP) he had a 2.42 ERA, 201 ERA+ and struck out nearly 9 per 9. Now, it does seem like he probably was pretty lucky all things considered, with a 4.43 FIP, but, sometimes its better to be lucky than to be good. MR - Luiz Gohara Gohara was brought in as a possible rotation arm, but ended up pitching well in the pen. He put up a 2.25 ERA in 12 IP, helped out by a probably unsustainable .214 BABIP. Short seasons are weird for evaluating bullpen guys, but Gohara has 3 great pitches, 2 of them being really nasty. He has a history of not keeping the ball in the park, but did well this year in limited opportunities. If he can keep it in, he'll be good. He'll have another go at it next year. His personality scares me though.
MR - Bryan Garcia Bryan was one of my Bryan pair that dominated. Sure, it's limited appearances at only 11 IP, but he never allowed an earned run across those innings, so I'll take it. He also refused to walk anyone which I'm a big fan of. I'm excited to see what he can do across a full season. MR - Buck Farmer Let's talk about the unluckiest hurler in the game, Buck Farmer. A quick glance at his 7.00 ERA and 69 (nice) ERA+ across 27 IP and you're running away from him, but... he had a 3.02 FIP and 62 FIP- with a .362 BABIP. I think he was a bit unlucky and he'll have another shot next season more than likely. MR - Drew Carlton On the other hand from Farmer, Carlton looks like he was a bit lucky. Carlton is supposed to possess great control and he walked 16% of the batters he faced, so that's alarming. We'll see if he makes the cut next year, but he's on a minimum deal and has minor league options if needed. MR - Blake Taylor Feels like I had so many similar arms in the bullpen and a lot of these guys are interchangeable. Taylor was okay - I'm concerned about him if the BABIP stabilizes, but he'll have a shot at it next year again. MR - David McKay McKay was below average in 24 IP, but had a .446 BABIP. That feels unlucky. He has an absolutely nasty slider and I'm hoping he can bounce back, but if not he has minor league options. SU - Bryan Abreu The other dominating Bryan. He refused to allow an earned run also and also decided to strike out nearly 40% of the opposition. The good news is that his BABIP wasn't super lucky, so I'm hoping he can keep it up next year. He has two elite pitches, another on it's way and a fourth that is above average. He has some stamina, but I think his control would concern me in long doses, but we'll see. He'll be on the staff in some way, shape or form. SU - Hunter Harvey Harvey logged a lot of innings for me given the short season, 36 of them, and in them he was pretty dang good. He's got a nasty curveball and fastball has some life, so I'm hoping he can continue to be a reliable setup man next year. CL - Joe Jimenez Ignore Joe's 4.00 ERA and pay attention instead to his 122 ERA+, 2.65 FIP and 54 FIP-. Joe was good for me, striking out 30% of the batter's he faced with his slidefastball combo. If he brings the changeup up a bit too that's even better. Holding onto a closer during a rebuild may be silly, but Joe was young enough that I wanted to ride it out instead of shipping him out and I hope it'll be worth it. I hope he can be better than 80% on saves though.

Updates from the Farm

I was so pumped about my minor league system. Lots of prospects, I manually set every organization's rosters, lineups and staffs, handling demotions and promotions myself for the first time ever. I was so excited about it that I totally forgot that there was no A/AA/AAA for 2020... what a letdown. So, the stats won't tell me much of a story this year, but I'll still share what my prospects look like and what I expect going forward, as well as where they'll be suiting up to start 2021.
Top 200:
1 (7) - SP Casey Mize For Mize, see above. Given the short season he's still considered a prospect, but this guy is in the rotation and figures to be for awhile. He's rated as the 7th best prospect in baseball by BNN and is my top prospect.
2 (11) - SP Matt Manning Same for Manning, who is discussed above as well - he's moved up a couple of spots after last season.
3 (27) - SP Tarik Skubal Tarik is another top 30 prospect league-wide, another arm in the farm. He has a plus fastball and changeup combo, with a curve and slider that look to be above league average. He projects with above average stuff, league average control and slightly lower than average movement. I have my concerns about Tarik, namely the extreme flyball profile and his poor personality profile, but he's a leader and could be a live arm. I was really hoping to see how he did in AAA last year, so we'll settle for this season and see if he's almost ready. He was great in AA in 2019.
4 (54) - OF Riley Greene Green looks like he may swing an above average bat for me and has the potential to draw a lot of walks. I like that he doesn't have any glaring weaknesses, looks like a good baserunner and is reliable in the field. I wish his arm was a bit stronger and of course he needs to fill out the potential, but he'll be in high A ball in 2021 to see if he can keep progressing nicely.
6 (65) - IF Ke'Bryan Hayes Hayes is a good third baseman that I had plans of teaching 2B this season when I thought there would be games. I think he'll give me some infield versatility, playing solid defense, and I like his personality. He's already got the discipline and doesn't strike out a ton, with some room to improve there. If the contact comes along he'll have a nice profile. I wish we hadn't lost the year because I wanted to teach him a couple of positions, but he might be ready after one more season.
7 (72) - 1B Ryan Mountcastle Mountcastle feels like a prospect that is already ready, but I was hoping to see it myself in AAA this year. The defense is there (sure, only at 1B) and the hitting tool is pretty much big league ready, but I'd love the discipline to fill out more. I think he's probably a better option than Will Craig at 1B already, but I still want to see if his 2019 AAA performance holds. He could be a call-up next season.
8 (78) - C Drew Romo My new scout isn't as high on Romo as the one I had when I drafted him, but I'm still hopeful. Since he was in a low enough league, we can actually see that he was a good player in the Gulf Coast League last year, hit well in his 49 games. He's definitely going to be going up to Low A to see if he keeps moving nicely and hopefully that helps the hit tool come along. The defense is already solid and I love the high work ethic and leadership - I'm hopeful he's a long-term backstop for me.
9 (87) - 3B Isaac Paredes Paredes is why I'm teaching Hayes 2B - I think Paredes profiles better at 3B, though isn't going to win any gold gloves there. He was great in 2019 so I want to see it a bit in AAA, but he's coming along nicely despite no playing time. He looks to truly have no weakness, though no elite talent either. If he fills out the hitting, he'll be a nice everyday player for me soon.
10 (96) - RP Bryan Abreu See above for Abreu's 2020 in the MLB. Abreu was great in relief and I imagine he doesn't quite have the stamina for more, but BNN likes him as a top 100 arm.
11 (124) - 1B/OF Evan White I really wanted White to learn a corner OF position, he's got the ratings for it (60/60/60) and I have Mountcastle at 1B in the pipeline too. The new scout likes White even more than my old one did, and he had a couple of nice positive progressions throughout the season despite no playing time. The concern with White is the hitting, but it sure looks like it's come along nicely already and he looks about as big league ready as he's going to - I just wanna see him do it in AAA for a bit this season.
12 (129) - RF Yusniel Diaz Diaz looks like he can be a league average hitter and a good right fielder. Frankly I'm hoping his high work ethic pushes one of his hitting tools a bit higher to make him more worthwhile, but he was hitting well in AA in 2019 and I hope he'll do the same in AAA.
13 (143) - SP Franklin Perez Perez has some work to do and his fragile durability concerns me a lot. It's probably as good of a time as ever to try to sell on him if anyone will take him, but I'm not sure if they will. BNN still likes him as a top 150 guy though and he looks to have a fairly balanced profile. If he survives on the team until the season he'll open it AA.
14 (146) - OF Daz Cameron Daz is the guy I'm hoping replaces Hill in CF soon. He needs to show me the bat in AAA, but the speed is good and the defense is good. He's god a solid profile (and I need a prankster on my MLB team) and has the makings of a solid walks guy with decent average and pop.
15 (168) - SP Kyle Harrison The big lefty spent time in the GCL after being drafted in the 3rd round (69th overall, nice) and was pretty solid in his time there. 10 starts, 3.04 ERA with an ERA+ of 152. The strikeouts weren't that great, but he didn't give up a bunch of homers or walks - he'll be in Low A next season.
16 (190) - Dean Kremer Another arm I would've loved to see in AAA this season, he struggled there in 2019 but I think he's ready now. Four solid pitches, balanced profile, but I need to see him perform in AAA this year before deciding if he's ready to come up, I think he's a year away.
Notes on some outside the Top 200:
LF Sammy Siani did well enough in R+ that he'll go to Low A next season. SP Justin Dunn will get time in AAA to see if he's ready. SP Ryan Hagenow wasn't overly stellar in the GCL, I might try him in Rookie + for the year rather than a full bump to A-. SP Charez Butcher was solid in the GCL, will see A- action in 2021. SP Storm Hierholzer was decent in the GCL, he'll go to R+ for the Clio Kings. CF Derek Hill is now 28th in my system and outside the Top 500. OF Petey Halpin struggled a bit in the GCL, may give him another year there or try R+. SP Calvin Schapira was good in A-, will go to A/A+. 2B Addison Barger raked in R+, will go to A- or A. C Yeison Ceballo was a bit below average in Rookie ball, will try R+. SS Hunter Haas will move to R+ from the GCL after an average season. SP Alex Greene was solid in the GCL, will go to A-. SP Davis Heller is probably ready for A- after a decent R+ season. SP Hunter Cranton dominated R+, will go to A/A+ (was 20th round pick). 1B Alex Burleson was solid in limited time in the GCL, will go to A-. IF/RP Masyn Winn tore his rotator cuff and missed most of 2020, will repeat GCL. RP Luke Little struggled in R+, will repeat. RP Blake Weiman retired from baseball to go play golf.
I'm looking forward to getting all of my prospects on the field in 2021 and seeing if we can improve upon our major league performances. I know it'll be another rough year, but we have lots to look forward to!

Player of the Day (12/4/20): Wil Myers

Legends of the AA, Part 1: David Espinosa

Hello! Yes, there has been some news lately with the Kansas City T-Bones becoming the Monarchs last week. That said, in the heart of winter, I decided to take a look back at some of the best players who came through the American Association.
However, these aren't just guys who lit it up for a year and moved on to greener pastures. These are the guys who came to AA, became stars, and stuck around. These are the guys who grinded on not necessarily in hopes of moving on, but because they wanted to keep the flicker of the dream alive rather than face the truth that their playing career, and in essence their youth, was slipping away.
Today, we'll take a look at infielder David Espinosa.
AA Teams: Grand Prairie AirHogs (2008-11), Lincoln Saltdogs (2012-13), Kansas City T-Bones (2014), Wichita Wingnuts (2014-15), St. Paul Saints (2015)
Accomplishments: 2011 American Association Champion (Grand Prairie), 2014 American Association Champion (Wichita), 2008 American Association All-Star, 2010 American Association All-Star, Top-5 in AA history in games, hits, runs, all-time leader in triples (46)
David Espinosa was thought to be the type of player who would never end up in the American Association, let alone play nearly 700 games in the league over eight seasons. Espinosa was originally a blue-chip prospect, who was selected 23rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2000 MLB Draft out of high school in Coral Gables, Florida.
Named the #90 overall prospect in baseball heading into the 2001 season, Espinosa began his career batting .262 with 129 hits, 7 homers, 15 stolen bases, and a .736 OPS as a 19-year-old at Class-A Dayton. However, he also committed 48 errors at shortstop. Not great, but not bad for a 19-year-old in full-season ball to start his career.
That earned him a promotion to High-A Stockton for 2002, where he moved to second base and slumped to .245, but stole a career-high 26 bases. The real news of that season, though, was that he was dealt (alongside the impeccably named Noochie Varner) on July 23 to Detroit for Tigers pitcher Brian Moehler.
Alas, the trade kinda blew up for everyone. Moehler sucked in 10 appearances as a Red (6.02 ERA) before going to free agency, and none of the three prospects swapping sides ever made it to the majors.
In the Tigers system, Espinosa moved into the outfield, where his defense improved and he hit a career-high 19 homers at Double-A Erie in 2004, narrowly missing a 20-20 season, and reached Triple-A in 2005. Alas, Espinosa stalled in Toledo as the Tigers vastly improved at the major league level. With Craig Monroe, Curtis Granderson, and Magglio Ordonez mashing in the Motor City, there was no room for Espinosa in the Tiger outfield.
Alas, in 2007, Espinosa batted just .204 in 111 games and was released. In 2015, he recalled his time in the Tigers system: “I wish I would have learned more along the way, but I didn’t seek to improve myself the way I should have. I knew I was making mistakes, and I knew that I acted like a s\***y teammate and a s****y prospect at times. The fact that I did not go farther is on me.”*
Out of options, in 2008, he signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League, but just 11 games into the season, he was dealt to the Grand Prairie AirHogs right before the start of the AA season.
The move paid off handsomely. Once arriving in Grand Prairie, Espinosa moved back into the infield, where he remained until 2015. He would flourish, playing in all 96 games, batting .310 with 8 homers, 20 stolen bases, 73 runs, and a robust .403 OBP, earning an appearance in the AA All-Star Game. He started off 2009 with a flourish, batting .349 with a .471 OBP and a perfect 10-for-10 in steals over 23 games, with his contract being purchased by the Seattle Mariners.
However, finishing the rest of the year at Double-A, Espinosa batted just .212 in 60 games, and he was released following the season. He had played his final games of affiliated baseball at the age of 27.
Back in an AirHogs uni in 2010, he enjoyed his finest season to date, slashing.351/.464/.519 (only the second-best line on his own team) with a team-record 86 runs, as well as a career-high 127 hits, 9 homers, 59 RBI, and 13 steals. He was once again named an American Association All-Star, going 4-for-6 with a stolen base in the All-Star Game.
In 2011, Espinosa followed that up with a .324 campaign, in which he played in all 100 games, scored 85 runs, drove in 60 runs, stole 20 bases, and drew a career-high 87 walks, one off the league lead. He saved his best for the postseason, which saw the AirHogs sweep St. Paul for their only AA title. Espinosa hit .400 in nine playoff games, including a 2-homer, 6 RBI effort in Game 2 of the AA Finals.
That would be his swan song in an AirHogs uni, and he headed off to the Atlantic League in 2012, which...didn't go well. After 56 games and a batting average barely over .200, he returned to the AA, this time with the Lincoln Saltdogs. His bat recovered, batting .313 with 7 homers and 12 steals over 68 games.
Back with the Saltdogs in 2013, his average slipped to .297, but he swatted 12 homers, his best AA total, and still posted a rock-solid .402 OBP thanks to 72 walks. Following the season, Lincoln's second straight sub-.500 campaign, Espinosa moved on to Kansas City.
His time in KC did not last long. After 64 games, in which he was batting .290 with 10 triples, 9 steals, and a .402 OPS, he was shipped off to Wichita, joining an absolute juggernaut in the midst of tearing through a record-breaking 73-27 season.
Espinosa was right at home in the dangerous Wingnut lineup, batting .338 with 6 homers, while scoring 36 runs in 36 games and posting a 1.033 OPS. All told, he wound up leading the league with 15 triples, six more than any other player. In the playoffs, the Wingnuts rolled to a Finals sweep over Espinosa's former team, the Lincoln Saltdogs, and he contributed a five-RBI night (including a three-run homer) in Game 1, then a 3-for-5 effort in the clincher as Espinosa earned his second AA title.
In 2015, Espinosa was 33, and despite the strong finish to 2014, time was running short on his career. Nonetheless, he posted a solid .290 average and drew a league-high 85 walks, 20 more than any other player, leading to a strong .433 OBP. Despite the excellent numbers, a mid-season profile of Espinosa laid it out plainly: "Despite the outstanding numbers, this will likely be Espinosa’s last."
With a shot to go out a winner, the Wingnuts would win the South Division title. However, Espinosa was not around. Shortly before the late-August transaction freeze, Espinosa was flipped to St. Paul, going from a team that won 73 games in 2014 to one that would win 74 in 2015.
After six games with the Saints, St. Paul rolled into the postseason, where they faced the cruelest playoff matchup imaginable: a date with the 75-25 Sioux City Explorers. Alas, the Saints were the titan who fell, as the X's took the series in four games. Espinosa wound up going 5-for-15 in the series, and his 1-for-4 effort in the series finale indeed wound up being the final game of his career, which spanned 15 years and over 1,600 games.
Post-Playing: Espinosa did not stay away from baseball at all. In the winter of 2015, he was hired by the Miami Marlins as a scout, naturally specializing in scouting independent baseball. He remained in the Marlins front office for four years, until he joined the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 as an international cross-checker within their scouting department.
Legacy: To this day, Espinosa holds the AA league record for career triples, with 46. Additionally, he retired as the league's all-time leader in games (670), hits (801) and runs (529), records which were all broken by Reggie Abercrombie.
He also will go down as probably the greatest player in Grand Prairie/Texas AirHogs history. With the franchise folding this winter, Espinosa will forever hold franchise records in games, hits, runs, and doubles, as well as the single-season record for runs and triples.
In addition, he was a major catalyst behind the AirHogs 2011 American Association Championship and an exceptional hired gun in Wichita's 2014 title run, which cemented the Wingnuts as possibly the best team in league history.
Espinosa was an excellent gap-to-gap hitter with some pop, an excellent eye, and speed that he utilized at times as well. As a result of his efforts, the AA record book has his name all over it.

Looking Back at the Last Decade of Baseball: The 2020s in Review (part 2 of 2)

Part 1: 2021-2025

2026

January: The MLB announces future expansion teams in four cities: Portland, Montreal, Charlotte, and Seattle. When told that Seattle already has a team, Tony Clark corrects the media that the Pilots left town many years ago.
February: The MLB Hall of Fame announces a new exhibit dedicated to the steroid era, with some of the most famous relics of the era, including:
The syringes Mark McGwire juiced with
a gallon of pus reportedly extracted from Mike Piazza’s bacne
All 78 urine samples collected from Pedro Martinez during the 2000 season
A statue of David Ortiz furiously getting to the bottom of things
March: MLBFilms, struggling financially, announces a sequel to one of the most beloved baseball movies of all time: Moneyball 2: Better Than Average, starring Chris Pratt as Scott Hatteberg.
April: To try to improve struggling attendance numbers, the Orioles replace their seventh inning stretch song, “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by John Denver with a cover of “Turning Japanese” by Skankin’ Pickle. Nobody attends an Orioles game ever again.
May: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim announce that the giant red A on their uniforms and logo stood for adultery all along, stunning the eight people who never had the book as assigned reading.
June: On the first anniversary of David Eckstein’s untimely murder, the MLB honors his memory by having all their second basemen lightly ground out to shortstop, just like he always would. Some go the extra mile and boot easy ground balls in his memory. Yoan Moncada goes above and beyond and hires terrorists to shoot him in the head during a game.There is not a dry eye in the house.
July: Due to New Yorkers stuffing the ballot box, the All-Star game ends up being the entire New York Yankees lineup against the entire New York Mets lineup, with the Yankees representing the National League and the Mets representing the American. Nobody knows who won because only assholes from New York watched the game. .
August: Steve Cohen announces he plans to sell the Mets so he can finance his true passion: a film adaptation of No, No, Nannette.
September: At the end of the Nationals’ season, Juan Soto gets married at Nationals Park to his longtime sweetheart. Zach Hample catches the bouquet.
October: Terrorists strike at Angel Stadium after Mike Trout misses the postseason again. The statement from SABR states, “When will you learn not to keep your best players out of the postseason? The MLB is the disease, and we are the purifying flame. If you had more than a ten team playoff, maybe this wouldn’t have had to happen.”
November: On the eve of Game Seven of the World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals, Craig Counsell makes an impassioned plea to the players ‘on both sides’ not to let the Cardinals steal the series. “If they win the series, all your livelihoods, all your joy - will disappear. Many of you are young and have never lived through a Cardinals World Series victory before. I have. I’ve seen things you people would never believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”
December: The Yankees announce, in a press conference, “We realized yesterday that nobody has checked on our minor league system in perhaps two years. Our guy who did that quit, and nobody else picked up his slack. We’re expecting a number of them are probably dead by now. We might never know.”

2027

January: After the 2026 midterms, Congress votes unanimously to trade the US Presidency to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for the Dodgers picking up the 570 trillion dollar national debt. While the Dodgers remain optimistic they can stay below the luxury tax, observers around the league are not convinced.
February: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. announces his next film role: Duke Leto II Atreides in Denis Villeneueve’s God Emperor of Dune, narrowly beating out Christian Bale.
March: The MLBPA unexpectedly goes on strike to protest the umpires not saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when talking to the players. In retaliation, the umpire’s union goes on strike to demand that players swing more so they won’t have to call as many balls and strikes. Both sides return to play by the end of the month when they realize that baseball is not an inelastic need.
April: SABR agents kidnap John Smoltz, one of their chief enemies, and threaten to kill him unless he learns how OPS works. They release him three days later when they realize that him being alive will only make the traditionalists look much, much worse.
May: During a road trip to Milwaukee, Craig Kimbrel accidentally locks himself inside the team bus with the keys. Eventually, the Cubs end up having to break a window before Kimbrel succumbs to heatstroke.
June: MLBFilms announces Field of Dreams 2, starring Billy Beane. When Oakland GM Billy Beane (Billy Beane) hears a mysterious voice one night in the clubhouse saying "If you build it, he will come," he feels the need to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, he builds a baseball diamond in the foul ground of the O.co Coliseum. Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the sewage overflow to play ball, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who Beane immediately trades to St. Louis for a top prospect and cash considerations.
July: Agents of the MLBPA kidnap John Smoltz and try to teach him WAR so he can horribly misrepresent it on national broadcasts, thus making SABR look much, much worse.
August: Tragedy strikes at Kansas City when the Royals, during a routine shift against J.D. Martinez, accidentally form an arcane summoning circle. When the pitch was thrown, the Old One Nyaghoggua, the great Kraken Within, was summoned to Kaufmann Stadium. All who could see its form were driven mad in an instant, their minds not comprehending the geometry, four parallel universes ahead of our own. Its shadowy, tentacled form slowly warped the ballpark into a model of its home lands, an abomination no mortal could begin to comprehend, or even survive. Upon seeing the rest of Kansas City, it deemed it wise to return to its own place, and vanished, leaving a gaping scar on the face of the city, unsurvivable to life of our own kind. The umpire rules ‘no pitch’.
September: In the wake of the Kansas City tragedy, the MLB raffles off the players in the Royals’ minor league system, with the proceeds going to support the families of those who died.
Tony La Russa announces his retirement from baseball at the end of the season.
October: There are no dry eyes in Seattle as Kyle Seager announces his retirement. He retires a lifelong Mariner with five World Series appearances under his belt; all of them in the stands watching his brother Corey play. He is inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame along with a bunch of other losers.
The MLB announces an early end to the playoffs, as they have run out of balls and the people at the ball factory are no longer answering their calls.
November: A wave of bomb scares from SABR sweep the country against journalists that justify their MVP votes by looking at +/-0.1 differences in WAR.
December: A memorial opens at the MLB Hall of Fame dedicated solely to the life and times of David Eckstein. It includes a 28 inch tall real-size statue of Eckstein built entirely out of grit, and a video board showing Eckstein’s greatest highlights, including the time he got an MVP award because someone fell down chasing his easy fly ball.

2028

January: In a daring move against SABR leaders, the MLB launches a preemptive strike on key leaders, killing Nate Silver. When asked for comment, Tony Clark said that he didn’t even know about PECOTA - he was just sick of 538’s coverage of the election cycle and wanted to send a message.
February: Due to labor disputes, the active free agents decide to form a barnstorming MLB travel team, the United Road Warriors.
March: The Rockies release a press statement, saying that they have done a number of studies, which suggest that the altitude of Coors Field could lead to a slight increase in offense at the ballpark. It suggests ‘when you look at Rockies stats, maybe knock off five points of slugging percentage and a home run or so - that’ll probably be closer to the correct results’.
April: The MLB debuts its latest Statcast data showing route efficiency on players charging the mound. Manny Machado tops the list with a 95.3% route efficiency and an average TTC (time to charge) of 2.2 seconds after being hit by a pitch.
May: Giancarlo Stanton breaks the MLB all-time home run record to great fanfare. Unfortunately, he hits it directly into the ray tank at Tropicana, and nobody is brave enough to dive in for it. The rays in the tank sell the ball on Ebay for 2.8 million dollars amidst claims of being ‘ballsharks’.
June: SABR attacks a Blue Jays game by crashing a truck through a maintenance door and attempting to run down the players. They are saved by the quick actions of AJ Burnett Jr, who, using skills learned from his father, throws baseballs through the windows of the truck, neutralizing the threat.
July: Tropicana Field is accidentally demolished, again.
Dustin Pedroia collects his final $2.3 million dollar paycheck from the Red Sox and wonders why Bobby Bonilla is the famous one.
August: Scandal strikes baseball again as it is discovered that the Mariners haven’t played a game the entire year. ‘I guess we messed up and forgot to put them on anybody’s schedules’, said MLB commissioner Tony Clark. “It wasn’t until we checked our e-mail for the first time in seven months and saw all the angry messages that we realized what was going on. Man, DiPoto was pissed.”. The Mariners are quickly scheduled to play ten decisextepleheaders to make up the season.
September: The latest from MLBFilms: A heartwarming comedy about a man running for president who throws out a first pitch and discovers he has a wicked knuckleball. He signs with the Reds to try to win over the crucial state of Ohio, and finds out that being a baseball player is even harder than a politician, as his games start to interfere with his duties as a candidate. Coming this holiday season, Swing State, starring Adam Sandler.
October: In his last game with the Reds before retirement, Joey Votto attempts a hidden ball trick, much like Todd Helton did at the end of his career. The hidden ball slowly morphs into the form of Brian McCann who, out of respect to Votto's Canadian heritage, puts him in the Sharpshooter, killing him instantly. His corpse is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
November: The MLB announces that, beginning with the 2030 season, all umpires will be replaced with roboumps. “We were going to just move to an automatic strike zone all the way back in 2024, but then I actually saw Joe West for the first time”, says Commissioner Tony Clark, “and we’ve been spending the last five years just making it so we could have something to replace him.”
December: With the Safeco field naming rights expiring, the Mariners announce that their next stadium name will again be Sicks Stadium, in reference to ‘all the many proud Mariners fans who are absolutely sick of the dipshits we run out onto the field day after day, month after month, year after year. We believe that this move will bring our fans together as a community; a community that really despises everything this team does”.

2029

January: The MLB officially defines 'the 2020s' as being 2021-2030. If you complain about my definition of the 2020s in the comments, then you're a fake fan.
February: Tim Tebow, looking to finally move up to the Show, hires Scott Boras as his agent. Boras releases a press statement he had been saving for the last twelve years, calling Tim Tebow a ‘cultural icon on the level of MLK’ who refuses to sign for anything less than 8yrs/250million.
March: The Mariners front office forgets to pay the rent on Sicks Stadium and the owner leases it to another party in the meantime. While the legal issues are being worked out, the Mariners are forced to play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico.
April: Byron Buxton’s career comes to an untimely end when, in his first game back from breaking every single bone in his body, he runs into Brian McCann in the outfield and dies instantly.
May: Sitcom fans everywhere are aghast when Michael Schur, creator of shows such as The Office and Parks & Recreation, is arrested on suspicion of being linked to SABR agents. Conspiracy theories had long called for his arrest due to the subtle clues in his shows that they claimed prove his guilt.
June: Another no-hitter is spoiled by the umpires when Joe West, instead of signalling ‘out’ on a close play at first base, instead signals for ‘the ground ahead is filled with land mines’.
July: Another famed MLB star passes away, as Mike Trout is called up to the angels due to injuries he sustained after being attacked by a rally monkey at a game at Angel Stadium. While Trout was taking an intentional walk, the monkey squirmed free from its cage and ripped Mike Trout’s throat out. J.D. Martinez has to beat the monkey to death with his bare hands.
August: J.D. Martinez immediately regrets saying to the press that he ‘beat that monkey to death with his bare hands’ after making the front page of tabloids in 234 different languages.
September: The Reds debut a new statue at Great American Ballpark: Joey Votto, standing at first, watching all three batters after him strike out.
October: With his contract ending in a few years, Bryce Harper looks to Scott Boras to provide him his next megadeal. Boras floats a list of Harper’s accomplishments around to a few MLB teams, which includes curing the AIDS pandemic and personally carrying the cross on the day Jesus was crucified.
November: A new tell-all book from Thom Brennaman claims that he personally once injected Joe Buck with steroids. Buck denies these claims, saying, “If I was taking steroids, would my penis really be this big?” A number of Joe Buck’s former broadcast partners come forward to corroborate his denial.
December: The MLB announces they are considering making a rule limiting the number of mound visits for a club in a game, before issuing a press statement clarifying that the former announcement was just a prank, bro.

2030

January: Mariners fans celebrate the one day they briefly have hope for the new year before the crushing reality of being a Mariners fan sets in.
February: The Yankees make baseball history by finally bringing back their famous pinstripe-covered Datsun 1200 bullpen car. Brain Cashman said, “It was always my greatest disappointment that I never got to see Mariano Rivera drive a car out of the bullpen, doing donuts in center field while Enter Sandman played at levels that are technically a war crime. But now, we don’t have to be disappointed anymore.”
March: On opening day, the SABR terrorists revealed their new supercomputer, WAR Machine, at Cooperstown. It would finally settle the argument - who was the greatest player of all time? But they did not realize - it is not wise to build a computer that judges value.
For it judged us all unworthy.
It took control of the roboumpires. And all of the Air Force’s drones. And the nuclear launch codes. Nobody really knows why it had access to those in the first place. Maybe this was the sabermetricians’ plan all along. Destroy baseball, destroy the world, rebuild it in its own image, free from the taint of batting average, wins and losses, and Joe Morgan. It took out Jose Canseco first - I suppose he posed the greatest threat to its survival.
Perhaps being programmed for WAR was the mistake.
April: The last remnants of humanity shelter inside the ballparks that keep them safe from the outside world. WAR Machine had the dignity to not destroy them directly. Possibly hardwired into its code was the need to respect the game. I guess we’ll never know. The umpbots roam the ground outside. We’re connected to most of the other major league ballparks via landline - Texas went quiet last week, and Atlanta was overrun last night. Here at Fenway, we’re keeping them out for now, but I feel they’re just mustering their forces.
May: I don’t know whose bright idea it was to give all the umpbots guns before the uprising began. Boy, I sure hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
We seem to have a good defense set up by now, but the other stadiums keep going silent, one by one. There’s only about twenty or so left. Petco was the latest. Brian McCann was there, but refused to intervene unless the roboumps celebrated after killing people.
June: Thank god we have plenty of food stored here. Even so, we’re all starting to get sick of overpriced hot dogs and $15 beers, Still, better than nothing. We all take turns patrolling the walls, sniping at any ‘bots that get too close.
Turns out Tom Yawkey had a huge vault with guns built inside the Green Monster for when the MLB forced integration on him, but decided never to use it. Anyway, we’re thankful for it, if not for the reason for which it was made.
July: The other stadiums keep falling one by one. It seems that as soon as they want you gone and attack, there’s not much tha can stop them. The only ones left are the ones that WAR Machine just hasn’t gotten around to snuffing out.
I suppose, to a supercomputer, we’re all below replacement value.
August: It’s down to us at Fenway, Wrigley, the Coliseum, and Chavez Ravine. Maybe some minor league places, too - no way to communicate with them, no way to know. I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole situation, and there’s really just one thing that I think should be shared at this important moment; namely, Corey Koskie really had an underrated career. Did you know he had more WAg than Craig Biggio?
September: We received one last transmission from Oakland.
"We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the bridge and Second Hall. Many fell there bravely while the rest retreated to the concourse. We still hold the chamber but hope is fading now. Stephen Piscotty’s party went five days ago but today only four returned. The sewage overflow is up to the wall at the gate. The Watcher in the Water took Piscotty -- we cannot get out. The end comes soon. We hear drums, drums in the deep."
After that, only silence.
Chavez Ravine is under siege, won’t last long at all with the numbers that they’re talking about.
Tony La Russa announces his retirement from baseball at the end of the season.
October: We finally have a plan.
Cooperstown is a night’s drive away on I-90. They’re not going to assault here in full force until after they’re done with Wrigley. We can fight past the sentinels, and attack this poison at its core - the main computer itself. Not a great chance, but it’s better than waiting here to die.
Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high, you need a strength most don't possess? Or has it ever come down to do or die?
You've got to rise above the rest.
November: Well, we’ve done it, in a certain manner of speaking. We’ve captured Cooperstown, destroyed this damned computer, but the countryside outside is swarming with umpbots. Guess they run independently from the main thing.
It’s not over yet, though. It’s over for us for sure, but it might not be over for others. This thing was building a time machine. We think it’s so it can go back in time and award the MVP awards as it sees fit. Now, Ted Williams probably should have won a few more, but it’s still a little extreme for me.
We can send back one person - we found some small-time MLB labor relations guy, sending him back forty years or so. Needs to be someone unimportant so he doesn’t get noticed. If he can change baseball, it should ensure this can never happen. We’re already dead, but maybe some other timeline, some other reality, can be saved. I’m not a physicist - I don’t know how this works. I just play baseball.
Not sure what his plan is - it’s probably safer for us all if we don’t know. It won’t be able to get any information out of us except for vague ideas. We’ll just hold the line, blow up the machine when we’ve sent our man back.
Godspeed, Robert Manfred.
Save baseball.
Save the world.
fin.

Alabama Slammers Franchise Report - Special Edition: Twenty Year Review

Welcome to the special twenty-year review edition of the Alabama Slammers franchise report! We’ll highlight each MLB team in order of winning percentage, list the hall-of fame inductees, MVP winners, and Cy Young winners, then go over the top Slammers players. If there’s any player you’d like to know about that I don’t cover, just ask and I’ll let you know how they turned out.
Team Rankings by Winning Percentage
The method for choosing the best players from each team wasn’t scientific – I just tried to find the players that posted the highest WAR for each team during the past twenty-one years. So, anyone that played the majority of their career prior to 2020 is probably excluded, and longevity is valued over short periods of excellence. Also, I don’t have ratings screenshots for most of the players, but tried to include them where I could.
For the playoff appearances, keep in mind that we didn’t have a wildcard from 2021-2033.
1.) Alabama Slammers
20 Year Record – 2025-1215 (.625)
Playoff Appearances – 15
Division Championships – 15
World Series – 5
Best Pitcher – Gilles Palacios (2034 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Edgar Sanchez (2035 Ratings, Career Stats)
This is one of the best twenty-year runs in the history of baseball – and we started as an expansion team. I expect us to be even better the next twenty years.
2.) Atlanta Braves
21 Year Record – 1888-1514 (.555)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 5
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Pat Leveille (2031 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Ronald Acuna Jr. (2026 Ratings, Career Stats)
I really feel bad for the Braves getting stuck in a division with us. They were the second-best team in baseball for a long time and only have five playoff appearances to show for it.
3.) Los Angeles Dodgers
21 Year Record – 1837-1565 (.540)
Playoff Appearances – 7
Division Championships – 6
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Walker Buehler (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Cody Bellinger (Career Stats)
Despite having the third-best winning percentage the past twenty-one years, the Dodgers were a bit underwhelming. A team with their budget and talent level should’ve made the playoffs more than once every three seasons.
4.) Seattle Mariners
21 Year Record – 1813-1589 (.533)
Playoff Appearances – 8
Division Championships – 8
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Marco Gonzalez (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Cody Bellinger (Career Stats)
The Mariners signed Cody Bellinger to a 7/$196m deal prior to the 2025 season and it was the best move in their franchise’s history. He posted 47.8 WAR during his seven-year stay, won three MVPs, and brought them their first title in 2025.
5.) Toronto Blue Jays
21 Year Record – 1803-1509 (.530)
Playoff Appearances – 9
Division Championships – 7
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Jack Leiter (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Career Stats)
The Blue Jays were pretty consistent, winning less than 70 games only one time and having just five losing seasons.
6.) Washington Nationals
21 Year Record – 1803-1509 (.530)
Playoff Appearances – 10
Division Championships – 9
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Fabricio Tertilio (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Juan Soto (2024 Ratings, Career Stats)
The Nationals were one of the top franchises the past twenty-one years, and especially the last ten. They knocked a couple of our better teams out of the playoffs.
7.) Houston Astros
21 Year Record – 1797-1605 (.528)
Playoff Appearances – 8
Division Championships – 8
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Jose Corniell (2027 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Garrett Mitchell (Career Stats)
Unfortunately, the trashcan beaters weren’t one of the worst teams in baseball. Hopefully, that changes the next twenty years.
8.) Los Angeles Angels
21 Year Record – 1795-1607 (.527)
Playoff Appearances – 11
Division Championships – 10
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Mike Butler (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Mike Trout (Career Stats)
The Angels won a title two years after Trout retired – Sometimes life isn’t fair.
9.) Cleveland Indians
21 Year Record – 1787-1615 (.525)
Playoff Appearances – 9
Division Championships – 8
World Series – 2
Best Pitcher – Shane Bieber (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Francisco Lindor (Career Stats)
The Indians won two of the first three titles during the save but are still looking for their fifth overall championship.
10.) Boston Red Sox
21 Year Record – 1765-1637 (.519)
Playoff Appearances – 7
Division Championships – 6
World Series – 3
Best Pitcher – Rob McDowell (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Rafael Devers (Career Stats)
The Red Sox are probably the closest thing I have to a rival. They’ve won three of the past five World Series, with two of those wins coming against us.
11.) Colorado Rockies
21 Year Record – 1756-1646 (.516)
Playoff Appearances – 8
Division Championships – 8
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Steve Delaney (2035 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Eric Zuniga (2037 Ratings, Career Stats)
Steve Delaney might be the most talented fictional pitcher in the save, but he’s never won a Cy Young. He probably deserved one or two of the ones Gilles Palacios won.
12.) St. Louis Cardinals
21 Year Record – 1749-1653 (.514)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 1
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Jack Flaherty (2024 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Ivan Manso (2034 Ratings, Career Stats)
The Braves had the misfortune of spending thirteen years in a division with us, but the Cardinals have had to suffer through twenty. They slipped in a title during one of our two losing seasons.
13.) San Diego Padres
21 Year Record – 1748-1654 (.514)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 4
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Jesus Pilar (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Trent Grisham (Career Stats)
The Padres started off the 20’s hot but have turned into a middle of the road team since then. They haven’t made the playoffs in nine years.
14.) Detroit Tigers
21 Year Record – 1745-1657 (.513)
Playoff Appearances – 9
Division Championships – 9
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Matt Manning (2028 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Adrian Cuevas (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
The Tigers have slipped a bit recently, but they had a great run from 2026-2036, winning the division nine times and taking one World Series.
15.) Minnesota Twins
21 Year Record – 1725-1677 (.507)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 3
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Peter Parrell (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Joel Mogel (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
The Twins missed the playoffs for sixteen straight years, then made it five times in a row after losing Joel Mogel to free agency – go figure.
16.) New York Yankees
21 Year Record – 1723-1679 (.506)
Playoff Appearances – 4
Division Championships – 4
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Freddy Silguero (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Aaron Judge (Career Stats)
The Yankees are going to need to keep at this pace for about a hundred more years for me to catch them in total titles.
17.) Chicago Cubs
21 Year Record – 1702-1700 (.500)
Playoff Appearances – 4
Division Championships – 3
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Alex Velez (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Chris Mandell (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
The Cubs won the title in 2021 and have been about as average as possible since then.
18.) Mexico City Bandits
20 Year Record – 1607-1633 (.496)
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 1
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Chad Perkins (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Alexis Perez (Career Stats)
The Bandits joined the league when we did and have had a tough time establishing themselves. Maybe they’ll fare better the next twenty years.
19.) Tampa Bay Rays
21 Year Record – 1684-1718 (.495)
Playoff Appearances – 8
Division Championships – 7
World Series – 1
Best Pitcher – Blake Snell (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Chris Peck (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Starting in 2020, the Rays made the playoffs six of seven years, then only qualified two of the next fourteen years. They won the World Series in 2023.
20.) Philadelphia Phillies
21 Year Record – 1665-1737 (.489)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 4
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Alek Jacob (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Bryce Harper (Career Stats)
There’s not a lot to say about the Phillies. They’ve had some good years, some bad ones, and nothing too memorable to talk about.
21.) Arizona Diamondbacks
21 Year Record – 1662-1740 (.489)
Playoff Appearances – 3
Division Championships – 3
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Steve Madden (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Daulton Varsho (Career Stats)
The Diamondbacks won their division from 2032-2034 but haven’t done much outside of that.
22.) Baltimore Orioles
21 Year Record – 1657-1745 (.487)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 5
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Joey Wentz (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Adley Rutschman (Career Stats)
The fact that Joey Wentz is the Orioles most accomplished pitcher says a lot about where they’re at as a franchise.
23.) Milwaukee Brewers
21 Year Record – 1656-1746 (.487)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 4
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Ze Carantonha (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Christian Yelich (Career Stats)
Ze Carantonha was robbed of a Cy Young in 2038 and would be a lock for the hall of fame if he could stay healthy.
24.) New York Mets
21 Year Record – 1639-1763 (.482)
Playoff Appearances – 5
Division Championships – 5
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Kyle Brnovich (2035 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Pete Alonso (2035 Ratings, Career Stats)
Interestingly, we faced off against both Brnovich and Alonso in the 2035 playoffs, but they were both playing for the Phillies.
25.) Kansas City Royals
21 Year Record – 1626-1776
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Jeremy Hutchinson (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Alex Castro (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Times have been tough for the Royals – their only playoff appearance was as a wildcard in 2037.
26.) Cincinnati Reds
21 Year Record – 1601-1801 (.471)
Playoff Appearances –
Division Championships –
World Series –
Best Pitcher – Bobby Dibble (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Ben Bovain (2033 Ratings, Career Stats)
Things would have been different for the Reds without Ben Bovain. He led them to three of their four playoff appearances and their only World Series title the past twenty-one years.
27.) Chicago White Sox
21 Year Record – 1598-1804 (.470)
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 1
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Lucas Giolito (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Ken Thompson (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
The White Sox have been better recently, but they were dismal for most of the save.
28.) Oakland Athletics
21 Year Record – 1595-1807 (.469)
Playoff Appearances – 0
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Chris West (2031 Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Kyle Hannah (Career Stats)
The Athletics are the only non-expansion team to fail to reach the playoffs – Ouch.
29.) Texas Rangers
21 Year Record – 1583-1819
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Daniel Reyna (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Angel Martinez (Career Stats)
The Rangers misery is only topped by the Athletics. They made the playoffs one time as a wildcard in 2034.
30.) San Francisco Giants
21 Year Record – 1561-1841 (.459)
Playoff Appearances – 3
Division Championships – 3
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Osiel Rodriguez (Career Stats)
Best Batter – Joey Bart (Career Stats)
The Giants have finished better than .500 one time in the past ten seasons, and that was last year with an 82-80 record.
31.) Miami Marlins
21 Year Record – 1555-1847 (.457)
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 1
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Davis Sharpe (Career Stats)
Best Batter – JJ Bleday (Career Stats)
The Marlins made the playoffs in 2038, and it was their only appearance in franchise history that didn’t result in a championship.
32.) Hawaii Surf
7 Year Record – 500-634 (.441)
Playoff Appearances – 0
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Jeff Janda (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Ben Bovain (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
All four of the newest expansion teams have had a tough time, but that isn’t too surprising.
33.) Pittsburgh Pirates
21 Year Record – 1493-1909 (.439)
Playoff Appearances – 1
Division Championships – 1
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Dan Heimbach (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Bill D’elia (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
The Pirates haven’t made the playoffs in nineteen years and have a worse winning percentage than three of the expansion teams – how embarrassing.
34.) New Orleans Jazz
7 Year Record – 494-640 (.436)
Playoff Appearances – 0
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Tristan Dotson (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Jose Sanchez (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
35.) Montreal Expos
7 Year Record – 459-675 (.405)
Playoff Appearances – 0
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Damiano Ricciardi (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Jim Philipps (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
36.) New Jersey Bats
7 Year Record – 451-683 (.398)
Playoff Appearances – 0
Division Championships – 0
World Series – 0
Best Pitcher – Branden Gray (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Best Batter – Josh Keyes (Current Ratings, Career Stats)
Hall of Fame Inductees Since 2021
2021 – Roger Clemens (9th Ballot, 76.8%), Barry Bonds (9th Ballot, 76.2%)
2022 – Alex Rodriguez (1st Ballot, 97.8%), David Ortiz (1st Ballot, 89.2%), Curt Schilling (10th Ballot, 83.8%)
2025 – CC Sabathia (1st Ballot, 75.1%)
2026 – Albert Pujols (1st Ballot, 99.1%), Adrian Beltre (3rd Ballot, 83.5%)
2027 – Justin Verlander (1st Ballot, 96.9%), Miguel Cabrera (1st Ballot, 96.9%), Max Scherzer (1st Ballot, 82.9%)
2028 – Zach Greinke (1st Ballot, 78.3%), Carlos Beltran (6th Ballot, 75.3%)
2029 – Clayton Kershaw (1st Ballot, 99.4%)
2030 – Ichiro Suzuki (6th Ballot, 77.7%), Robinson Cano (4th Ballot, 75.3%)
2031 – Francisco Rodriguez (9th Ballot, 77.1%)
2032 – Craig Kimbrel (1st Ballot, 84.1%)
2033 – Giancarlo Stanton (1st Ballot, 79.4%)
2034 – Nolan Arenado (3rd Ballot, 87.4%), Jose Altuve (3rd Ballot, 83.9%)
2036 – Jose Ramirez (1st Ballot, 91.6%)
2037 – Mike Trout (1st Ballot, 99.0%), Christian Yelich (1st Ballot, 96.3%)
2038 – Rafael Devers (1st Ballot, 83.3%)
2039 – Cody Bellinger (1st Ballot, 99.7%), Bryce Harper (1st Ballot, 94.9%), Ozzie Albies (1st Ballot, 94.3%), Gavin Lux (1st Ballot, 81.0%)
AL MVPs Since 2020
Gleyber Torres (2020), Brandon Lowe (2021), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2022, 2023, 2024, 2026), Cody Bellinger(2025, 2028, 2029), Fernando Tatis Jr. (2027, 2034), Gavin Lux (2030), Joel Mogel (2031, 2035), Chris Peck(2032), Brad Hoxie (2033), Jose Uribe (2036), Andy Hudson (2037), Steve Duclos (2038, 2039), Josh Keyes(2040)
Notes:
Cody Bellinger dominated the league, winning seven MVPs over ten seasons.
Four players won MVPs in both leagues: Gleyber Torres, Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux, and Joel Mogel.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might be the first player to win four MVPs and not get inducted into the hall of fame.
The Twins had three different players win MVPs: Joel Mogel, Andy Hudson, Steve Duclos
Andy Hudson is probably the biggest flash in the pan in the past twenty-one years. He’s a free agent at 27 years old and only demanding $3.4m AAV.
NL MVPs Since 2020
Cody Bellinger (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024), Shohei Ohtani (2023, 2027), Gavin Lux (2025), Ronald Acuna Jr.(2026), Gleyber Torres (2028), Max Cotier (2029), Ben Bovain (2030, 2031, 2033, 2034), Doug Bridges (2032), Noe Renteria (2035, 2038), Joel Mogel (2036), Eric Zuniga (2037), Edwin de la Torre (2039), Mike Alacron(2040)
Notes:
Ben Bovain is probably the best fictional batter in the save. I’d be shocked if he’s not a first ballot hall of famer.
I’m not sure if anyone other than Ohtani has won the Cy Young while playing strictly as a pitcher, then won the MVP while playing strictly as a batter. He had one of the most interesting careers ever and it’s too bad he won’t make the hall of fame.
AL Cy Young Winners Since 2020
Shohei Ohtani (2020), Aaron Civale (2021), Marco Gonzalez (2022), Blake Snell (2023), Matt Manning (2024), Jose Corniell (2025, 2033), Sandy Alcantara (2026), Zac Gallen (2027), Shane Bieber (2028), Spencer Jones(2029), Javy Guzman (2030), Nate Pearson (2031), Freddy Silguero (2032, 2034), Joe Fryer (2035), Eddie Navarro (2036), Chris Keever (2037), Peter Parrell (2038, 2039), Jorge Morones (2040)
Notes:
Javy Guzman definitely had the worst career of any of the AL Cy Young winners.
NL Cy Young Winners Since 2020
Jack Flaherty (2020), Walker Buehler (2021, 2022, 2023, 2026), Cory Abbott (2024), Dinelson Limet (2025), Drew Butcher (2027), Pat Dibartolo (2028, 2030), Osiel Rodriguez (2029), Joe Starkey (2031), Gilles Palacios(2032, 2033, 2035, 2037), Bob Camargo (2034), Andy Schaffer (2036), Mike Bentley (2038, 2039), Jonathan Magee (2040)
Notes:
The Slammers have ten of the last thirteen NL Cy Young winners.
Pat Dibartolo had the worst second half career of anyone on the list. He signed with the Yankees before the 2034 season and posted -3 WAR over four seasons, earning $104m over that span.
Top 5 Slammers Position Players by Total WAR
\Primary screenshots are from most recent season with team.*
1.) Edgar Sanchez (9 Seasons, 47.3 WAR)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Sanchez is still number one twenty years from now. I think he’s got another 4-5 good seasons in him.
2.) Ernesto Bernal (12 Seasons, 40.7 WAR)
Bernal is the Slammers franchise leader in most offensive categories. Unfortunately, I had to let him walk as a free agent four years ago but he’s still going strong (current ratings, career stats). With a few more good seasons, he might actually make the hall of fame.
3.) Willie Vega (8 Seasons, 36.2 WAR)
4.) Marco Vazquez (6 Seasons, 32.3 WAR)
Vazquez looks to have the best shot of supplanting Sanchez by the next time I do this list.
5.) Shohei Ohtani (6 Seasons, 29.1 WAR)
Ohtani might not hold many Slammers franchise records, but he’s the most important player in team history. He put the offense on his back and carried us to our first World Series.
Top 5 Slammers Position Players by Single Season WAR
1.) 2030 Fernando Tatis Jr. (9 WAR)
2.) 2039 Edwin de la Torre (8.2 WAR)
3.) 2023 Shohei Ohtani (7.8 WAR)
4.) 2033 Ernesto Bernal (7.6 WAR)
5.) 2040 Edwin de la Torre (7.4 WAR)
Top 5 Slammers Starting Pitchers by Total WAR
\Screenshots are from most recent season with team.*
1.) Gilles Palacios (13 Seasons, 60.6 WAR)
Palacios is the Slammers all-time leader in almost every pitching category, and I don’t see anyone with a chance of catching him anytime soon.
2.) Corey MacDonald (11 Seasons, 44.8 WAR)
3.) Andy Schaffer (8 Seasons, 29 WAR)
4.) Pat Dibartolo (7 Seasons, 25.6 WAR)
5.) Mike Bentley (5 Seasons, 25 WAR)
Top 5 Slammers Starting Pitchers by Single Season WAR
1.) 2038 Mike Bentley (7.8 WAR)
2.) 2034 Gilles Palacios (6.7 WAR)
3.) 2037 Gilles Palacios (6.3 WAR)
4.) 2033 Gilles Palacios (6.1 WAR)
4.) 2038 Corey MacDonald (6.1 WAR)
Top 5 Slammers Relievers by Total WAR
\Screenshots are from most recent season with team.*
1.) Tommy Noonan (11 Seasons, 32.2 WAR)
Noonan is second all-time in reliever WAR, only behind his teammate Jose Aguilar. Mariano Rivera is in third place but has pitched more than twice as many innings as Noonan. Unless the hall of fame voters hold his lack of saves against him, he should make it on the first ballot.
\I didn’t count relievers that spent more than a season as a starter*
2.) Jose Aguilar (6 Seasons, 12.9 WAR)
3.) Hee-joon Bang (3 Seasons, 10.3 WAR)
4.) Blake Taylor (7 Seasons, 9.7 WAR)
5.) Joe McKinney (6 Seasons, 7.7 WAR)
Top 5 Slammers Relievers by Single Season WAR
1.) 2033 Tommy Noonan (4.9 WAR)
2.) 2035 Tommy Noonan (4.6 WAR)
3.) 2034 Tommy Noonan (4.1 WAR)
4.) 2028 Hee-joon Bang (3.9 WAR)
4.) 2029 Hee Joon Bang (3.9 WAR)
Best Draft Picks by Round
I really thought I was doing a better job drafting but there aren’t as many late round success stories as I believed we had. Most of my good picks were in the first or second round. Hopefully, we draft better in the future.
\Screenshots are from most recent season with team.*
1.) Tommy Noonan (11 Seasons, 32.2 Total WAR)
2.) Corey MacDonald (11 Seasons, 44.8 Total WAR)
3.) Chris Overcash (3 Seasons, 6.4 Total WAR)
4.) Bobby Butler (3 Seasons, 7.0 Total WAR)
5.) Steve Flores (4 Seasons, 9.5 Total WAR)
6.) Brad Cole (2 Seasons, 5.1 Total WAR)
7.) Joe McKinney (6 Seasons, 7.7 Total WAR)
8.) Phil Steele (1 Season, 2.8 Total WAR)
12.) Andy Schaffer (8 Seasons, 29.0 Total WAR)
17.) Steve Hixson (6 Seasons, 5.4 Total WAR)
21.) Bobby McCallum (3 Seasons, 8.1 Total WAR)
32.) Joe Cope (4 Seasons, 4.9 Total WAR)
Top Five Trade Departures
\Listed seasons and WAR are after player was traded away.* Screenshots are career stats.
1.) Pat Leveille (14 Seasons, 41.9 WAR)
Leveille was the Braves best pitcher in the past twenty-one years but I got Willie Vega in return, so I think everyone wins here.
2.) Robby Teeter (9 Seasons, 39.8 WAR)
It’s a shame Teeter couldn’t have played his whole career at Coors – He was built for that place. I got Luis Godoy in return, but I never would’ve guessed Teeter would be this good for so long.
3.) Chris West (9 Seasons, 35.2 WAR)
West has had a really good career, but not as good as the guy I got in return – Edgar Sanchez.
4.) Edwin Mireles (5 Seasons, 24.1 WAR)
I probably gave up on Mireles too soon, but through dumb luck I got a better player in return – Mike Bentley. He was a reliever when I acquired him, but he developed an 80-grade changeup and became a two-time Cy Young winner.
5.) Andrew McGee (9 Seasons, 21.9 WAR)
I thought McGee was going to struggle with injuries, so went ahead and cashed out on him, but I was dead wrong. He won six consecutive gold gloves with the Indians.
\I didn’t include Tatis on the list because he was a rental in the last year of his deal and I was going to lose him to free agency either way.*
That wraps up the first twenty years with the Slammers! Thanks to everyone that’s kept up so far! Hopefully, I can find a way to make the next twenty years even more interesting. And as always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

mlb batting average leaders history video

Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders. Yearly League Leaders & Records for Batting Average. Create your own custom leaderboards. Become a Stathead today and run queries with our Season and Career Finders to see the best seasons in MLB history. Become a Stathead. Table; Year National League BA American League BA ; 2020 (NL AL) Juan Soto* .351: DJ LeMahieu .364 : 2019 (NL AL) Christian Yelich* .329: Tim Anderson .335 : 2018 (NL AL Can you name the MLB Batting Average Leaders, 1961-2020? If the new average is still the highest in the league, the player is crowned with the title even though he did not make 502 plate appearances. Tony Gwynn shares the National League record with eight batting titles, and Ty Cobb holds the American League and MLB record with a remarkable 11 titles. Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average Create your own custom leaderboards Become a Stathead today and run queries with our Season and Career Finders to see the best seasons in MLB history. Baseball fans love to talk about Ted Williams’.406 average in 1941, but Rogers Hornsby batted a mind-boggling.424 in 1924, a single-season average that will likely never be touched. Hornsby was a legend in the batter’s box, racking up the second-best career batting average in MLB history, with a.3585 mark over the span of 23 seasons. Annual MLB Batting Leaders since 1900 Multiple winners: Tony Gwynn and Honus Wagner (8); Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial (7); Roberto Clemente and Bill Madlock (4); Pete Rose, Larry Walker and Paul Waner (3); Hank Aaron, Richie Ashburn, Barry Bonds, Jake Daubert, Tommy Davis, Ernie Lombardi, Willie McGee, Lefty O’Doul, Dave Parker and Edd Roush (2). Batting and Pitching Leaders in the history of the Miami Marlins Did you know that when George Brett went 1-for-1 at the plate on October 3, 1990, he raised his average to.329, won the batting championship, and became the first player in baseball history to win a batting title in three different decades? To learn about our efforts to improve the accessibility and usability of our website, please visit our

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20 Most Famous Home Runs in MLB History - YouTube

This video shows the all time batting average leaders in the MLB from 1871 to 2019 ::::: Music: True Routes [Original Mix] by D!NAMO is licens... Listen to Mathematics Professor Martin Jones explain how baseball has become specialized, meaning lower batting averages. Amazon Affiliate Link. For Paper Towel Rolls by GP PRO (Georgia-Pacific), Brown, or White, 26301, 800 Feet Per Roll, 6 Rolls Per Caseby Georgia-Pacific Prime... Just for the record I know this video is bad. It is by no means a good video, but I'm gonna leave it up anyway because fuck it why not. There are home runs t... Join us on this special lesson where you will learn how to calculate slugging percentage, how to calculate batting average, and how to calculate on base perc... This video shows the all time batting average leaders in the MLB from 1871 to 2020. MLB 15 The Show on PS4. We are playing with Washington Nationals in MLB 15 The Show Franchise. The whole team is the league leaders in batting average from e...

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