Benjamin Middlebrook:
At last we come to the owner of the Denver Broncos, Benjamin Middlebrook. Middlebrook was a second round selection by Rochester in 2019. He spent his first several seasons working his way up Rochester's minor league system, while making cups of coffee in the big leagues in each year from 2019 to 2021. In 2022, Middlebrook forced his way into Rochester's starting lineup, finishing third in the batting race with a .341 average. Middlebrook made his first All Star team in 2023, and challenged once again for the batting title, this time finishing second with a .350 average. In '25, Middlebrook headed to Atlanta where he made three consecutive All Star teams. The Braves' performance dropped sharply in Middlebrook's three years there. His first year, they won 91 games and finished in second place. His second year, Atlanta slumped to 81 wins and finished in last place. His third year, they remained in last place, and no longer kept up a pretense at being competitive, losing a league worst 101 games.
Middlebrook left Atlanta after 2027 and signed with defending NL champion, Sacramento. He lasted less than two weeks into the season, when the Kings abruptly traded him to Hartford for three prospects. Middlebrook responded with the second best season of his career to that point, setting a career high in hits, and what were career highs at the time in both homeruns and RBIs. Interestingly, both Sacramento and Hartford finished with identical 80-82 records that year. However, the Kings finished in second place, only 6 games out of first, while the Whalers finished in last place, 23 games out.
As Hartford continued to hover around mediocrity, Middlebrook's numbers began to drop off. In 2029, he posted his first sub-.800 OPS season since 2025. At the end of May, 2031, the Whalers, who had earlier demoted their starting left fielder, Ernesto Morabito, to the minors in place of free agent Roberto Torre, acquired 25 year old centerfielder, Reginald Allbritton, in a trade, effectively pushing Middlebrook to the bench. He wound up having the worst season of his career to that point. An angry Middlebrook then signed with Hartford's Northeast Division rival, Harrisburg, in 2032. But after a disastrous month of April, Middlebrook was again forced to pack his bags. The Capitals dealt him to Memphis for a veteran closer, and two prospects, one of them a 20 year old starting pitcher by the name of Walter Macias. Macias' name will come up in the future.
This trade may have changed Middlebrook's career forever. Though his days as a journeyman were not yet over, the downward path that his career seemed to be taking was reversed. Middlebrook, then 35 years old, would be one of the main leaders on a Grizzlies team that pulled off the biggest upset in league history. I mentioned that I plan to write more on this season in a separate piece very soon, and I still do, but to give a brief explanation: Memphis was one of two teams to win their division that year with a
losing record. The Grizzlies were a less than spectacular 78-84, but that was good enough to win the Central Division by three games(meanwhile, in the NL West, Sacramento went 79-83 to win the division by 4 games). A team with a losing record winning its division was not an unheard of event; Memphis had actually won the division the year before with only 79 wins, and it occurred on a few other occasions, as well. What happened next, however, was shocking. Memphis, a team with the worst offense in the American League(third worst in all of baseball), swept 100-win Knoxville(best pitching in the American League) in the ALCS. Then, in the World Series, the Grizzlies stunned 114-win Pittsburgh in 5 games to capture the championship. Memphis had previously reached 4 World Series, all against Pittsburgh, and had lost all of them. Memphis was neither the first, nor the last, team to win its division with a losing record. They were, however, the first to even
reach the World Series, and the only to actually win the damn thing! What is this, Hollywood? Middlebrook, by the way, was instrumental to Memphis' victory, putting up a 1.044 OPS, with 9 runs batted in. After Pittsburgh won a 10-8 Game 1 slugfest, Middlebrook blasted a first inning, two run homer in Game 2, triggering a 7-1 Memphis victory. He was a key part of a 7th inning rally in Game 3, in which the Grizzlies prevailed 6-4. The final two games were surprsingly easy victories for Memphis, 8-2 and 7-2.
Although Memphis slumped to second place in 2033, Middlebrook had one of the best seasons of his career. He was named to his 4th All Star team, had the 4th 200 hit season of his career, and set a career high with 130 runs scored. The Grizzlies bounced back in 2034, and won the division with 97 wins(the best record in franchise history at the time). Alas, Middlebrook was not around to enjoy it. Early in the year, he was traded to Atlanta, who would finish in last place. Despite that, he posted the first 100 RBI season of his career. In 2035, Middlebrook was again traded, this time to Nashville(and for the second time in his career, it would be for a future Hall of Fame starting pitcher- Robert McComas), and his numbers dropped sharply. His OPS plunged to .688- the second worst of his career. And when a guy who is 38 years old has a season like that, it seems obvious that it's the end of the line for him.
Or not.
At 39 years of age, Benjamin Middlebrook exploded with a career year, setting career highs in doubles(42), homeruns(34), RBI(136), and OPS(.931). He made his 5th All Star team that year. And for the second time in his career, Middlebrook would lead a team with a losing record all the way to the World Series. Nashville won the Southeast Division with just 76 wins and knocked off 101-win Tucson in the ALCS, 4 games to 1. Middlebrook's magic would not continue, however. Back in 2032, Pittsburgh's manager, John Clark, had been in his first season as a manager. Maybe he was overconfident then. Maybe he took the Cinderella Memphis team lightly. Whatever it was in 2032, it was not so in 2036. Clark had learned his lesson, and Pittsburgh had won every World Series since then. Nashville played competitively, it is true. But in the end, experience and
measured confidence will tend to overcome pure pluckiness more often than not. Oh yeah, superior talent usually helps, too.
The Predators threw a scare in Game 1, grabbing an early 4-1 lead after one inning, and then rallying to take a 7-6 lead(on a Middlebrook homerun) into the 8th inning. But Pittsburgh got excellent relief pitching- 6 innings of 2-hit, 0-run ball- and came up with timely hits to tie the game in 8th and win the game in the 11th. Pittsburgh's Joel Antunez threw a 6 hit shutout in Game 2, and Pittsburgh won 5-0. Middlebrook had 3 hits and an RBI in the Predators only win in the series: a 7-6, 10 inning affair in Game 3, in which Nashville battered Pittsburgh's ace, Manuel Reno, for four runs in 7 innings. In Game 4, Nashville was held to 3 hits in a 4-1 defeat. That set the stage for a wild, series clinching Game 5. After 3 innings, Nashville led 3-1. The game was tied by Pittsburgh in the 4th inning, but then the Predators busted out with 5 runs in the top of the 5th inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Pirates cut Nashville's lead to 8-6. In the 6th inning, Pittsburgh rallied to take an 11-8 lead. The Predators managed 1 run in the ninth inning, but fell, 11-9. Middlebrook had 2 hits, 1 RBI, and 1 R in the contest.
Middlebrook stuck around for another season in Nashville, but the Predaors fell to a distant third place. And then came 2038. For the first time in league history, expansion would take place. Being added to the league were San Jose, Buffalo, Miami, and yes, the Denver Broncos. And it was with Denver that the 41 year old Middlebrook would sign with. With Middlebrook nearing 3,000 hits, it was a move that Denver figured would create a splash near the end of what was sure to be a dismal first season. And for Denver, it certainly was dismal, though not quite as dismal as their expansion brethren. The Broncos managed to finish with the best record of the four expansion teams, with a whopping 51 wins. But sure enough, in a game in early September, Benjamin Middlebrook became the 8th player in league history to reach 3,000 hits. Middlebrook hung on for one more year, spending the 2039 season with Los Angeles.
At the time of his retirement, Middlebrook ranked 8th in hits, and 24th in runs scored. Middlebrook remained in the top 25 of hits until last season(2081).
Middlebrook's stats:
Code:
Career Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams
2019 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 ROC
2020 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 ROC
2021 74 96 25 4 0 0 11 18 8 25 4 4 .260 .317 .302 .619 ROC
2022 139 549 187 32 7 11 53 85 25 90 18 16 .341 .369 .485 .854 ROC
2023 143 589 206 43 5 16 68 102 27 72 14 7 .350 .378 .521 .899 ROC,NL
2024 154 625 195 38 3 17 55 108 26 92 15 11 .312 .339 .464 .803 ROC
2025 149 604 184 33 7 15 85 90 28 96 12 8 .305 .335 .457 .792 ATL,AL
2026 150 609 198 30 7 18 76 107 33 70 12 2 .325 .360 .486 .846 ATL,AL
2027 153 608 200 28 5 22 83 88 21 81 7 7 .329 .351 .500 .851 ATL,AL
2028 151 618 207 29 4 28 92 104 25 83 16 5 .335 .361 .531 .892 SAC HAR
2029 150 603 188 40 3 13 76 101 31 86 10 4 .312 .345 .453 .798 HAR
2030 152 550 169 45 2 17 80 78 26 72 9 6 .307 .339 .489 .828 HFD
2031 101 291 86 14 1 9 37 43 9 58 6 3 .296 .317 .443 .760 HFD
2032 136 483 150 31 5 18 78 83 17 65 7 3 .311 .334 .507 .841 HBG MEM
2033 150 606 206 35 2 24 94 130 25 81 9 3 .340 .366 .523 .889 MEM,AL
2034 154 601 187 37 3 25 127 106 37 88 13 3 .311 .351 .507 .859 MEM ATL
2035 150 567 145 25 4 14 89 69 36 91 10 8 .256 .300 .388 .688 ATL NAS
2036 154 567 174 42 6 34 136 98 37 92 7 7 .307 .349 .582 .931 NAS,AL
2037 156 571 172 34 6 22 115 77 31 91 5 3 .301 .337 .497 .835 NAS
2038 123 465 142 20 5 22 86 67 30 65 3 0 .305 .347 .512 .859 Den
2039 88 237 57 7 0 8 21 27 6 63 0 0 .241 .259 .371 .631 LA
Total 2639 9841 3078 567 75 333 1462 1583 478 1462 179 100 .313 .345 .487 .832
Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2019, A 43 173 63 6 2 4 22 34 8 39 15 4 .364 .386 .491 .877
2019, AA 90 370 109 10 2 5 42 40 21 81 17 13 .295 .325 .373 .698
2020, AA 107 436 122 17 1 15 47 57 23 100 10 6 .280 .309 .427 .736
2020, AAA 26 110 30 5 0 1 12 11 7 15 8 5 .273 .316 .345 .662
2021, AAA 21 84 37 7 3 4 16 17 7 11 1 3 .440 .478 .738 1.216
Career Postseason Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2032 9 36 14 2 2 1 9 4 1 7 1 1 .389 .405 .639 1.044
2036 10 37 11 1 0 2 5 4 3 3 0 2 .297 .350 .486 .836
Total 19 73 25 3 2 3 14 8 4 10 1 3 .342 .377 .562 .938
Player History
Drafted in 2nd round, 23rd overall pick, by Rochester in 2019...
Injured on 4/30/2019 with a Bruised Hand, out for 2 days...
Had first career hit on 4/10/2021, off Adrian Becerra (POR)...
Hit first career homerun on 5/13/2022, off Joseph Duell (SD)...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Harrisburg on 8/6/2022...
Was selected to the 2023 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/14/2024, hitting .542 with 1 HR, 6 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/30/2024, hitting .636 with 1 HR, 2 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 0 RBI against Harrisburg on 9/11/2024...
Signed as a free agent by Atlanta on 2/2/2025 to a 3-year deal worth $4,370,000 per year...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2025, hitting .538 with 3 HR, 9 RBI...
Was selected to the 2025 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Washington on 9/5/2025...
Was selected to the 2026 Allstar game...
Was selected to the 2027 Allstar game...
Signed as a free agent by Sacramento on 2/8/2028 to a 4-year deal worth $1,600,400 per year...
Traded from Sacramento to Hartford on 4/9/2028 (Going to HAR: CF B. Middlebrook. Going to SAC: 2B A. Gutierrez, CF B. Degroot, RF J. Mitchell)...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2028, hitting .520 with 3 HR, 9 RBI...
Had 31-game hitting streak snapped on 8/30/2028...
Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Los Angeles on 4/15/2030...
Had 5 hits with 5 RBI against Portland on 6/7/2030...
Signed as a free agent by Harrisburg on 2/2/2032 to a 4-year deal worth $1,242,000 per year...
Traded from Harrisburg to Memphis on 5/15/2032 (Going to MEM: CF B. Middlebrook. Going to HBG: P L. Cresswell, P W. Macias, RF S. Rickman)...
Hit for the cycle against Grand Rapids on 6/5/2032...
Drove in 6 runs against Grand Rapids on 6/5/2032...
Won World Series with Memphis in 2032...
Had 2000th career hit on 4/6/2033, off Lloyd Booker (TUC)...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/5/2033, hitting .500 with 3 HR, 8 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 5 RBI against Kansas City on 5/25/2033...
Was selected to the 2033 Allstar game...
Traded from Memphis to Atlanta on 4/16/2034 (Going to ATL: CF B. Middlebrook. Going to MEM: 3B A. Provenzano, SS J. Caballero)...
Drove in 6 runs against Memphis on 5/19/2035...
Traded from Atlanta to Nashville on 6/6/2035 (Going to NAS: CF B. Middlebrook. Going to ATL: P R. Mccomas, RF D. Estevez)...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/8/2035, hitting .550 with 1 HR, 8 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Washington on 9/9/2035...
Drove in 7 runs against Memphis on 4/10/2036...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/14/2036, hitting .455 with 2 HR, 14 RBI...
Was selected to the 2036 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2036, hitting .370 with 4 HR, 13 RBI...
Drove in 6 runs against Atlanta on 4/26/2037...
Had 20-game hitting streak snapped on 9/16/2037...
Signed as a free agent by Denver on 2/1/2038 to a 1-year deal worth $1,733,100 per year...
Had 3000th career hit on 9/7/2038, off Fred Shepley (GR)...
Signed as a free agent by Los Angeles on 2/15/2039 to a 1-year deal worth $828,000 per year...
Released by Los Angeles on 10/3/2039, refused assignment to minors...
Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2040.
Batting Leader Boards Appearances
AVG
2022 - .341 - 3rd
2023 - .350 - 2nd
2024 - .312 - 6th
2026 - .325 - 6th
2027 - .329 - 6th
2028 - .335 - 10th
2033 - .340 - 9th
SLG
2023 - .521 - 8th
2036 - .582 - 8th
OPS
2023 - .899 - 9th
Hits
2022 - 187 - 3rd
2023 - 206 - 2nd
2024 - 195 - 1st
2025 - 184 - 4th
2026 - 198 - 5th
2027 - 200 - 5th
2028 - 207 - 3rd
2033 - 206 - 5th
2034 - 187 - 9th
Doubles
2023 - 43 - 8th
2030 - 45 - 6th
2036 - 42 - 7th
Triples
2022 - 7 - 8th
2025 - 7 - 5th
2037 - 6 - 8th
RBI
2034 - 127 - 8th
2036 - 136 - 8th
2037 - 115 - 9th
Runs
2023 - 102 - 3rd
2024 - 108 - 6th
2033 - 130 - 4th