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Old 10-02-2007, 07:04 PM   #182 (permalink)
jamus23
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: LF Emmett Serpa

Emmett Serpa:

Left Fielder Emmett Serpa was one of the great power-speed threats in the league's history. In 2022, Memphis made Serpa the number one overall player taken in the amateur draft. He would see action at every level of baseball that year, with the most action coming at AA. His major league cup of coffee wasn't anything to get excited about, however, he was a regular the following season for the Grizzlies, playing DH against right handed pitchers. Both his power and speed potential were evident in his rookie season, but it was clear that he still needed a lot of refinement in his hitting approach. Even so, Serpa was named the American League Rookie of the Year for his efforts. Serpa's numbers improved slightly in 2024, and for the first time in his career, he got to experience the thrill of a playoff race, as Memphis won 84 games and finished 2 games behind Grand Rapids in the division race.

Memphis finished in second place again in 2025, 4 games behind Grand Rapids. Meanwhile, Serpa took a huge leap forward in his hitting ability, improveing his OPS by 92 points. The Grizzlies slumped to 95 losses in 2026, but Serpa batted .300 for the first time, drove in 100 runs for the first time, stole 30+ bases for the first time, and was named to his first All Star team. In 2027, Serpa hit 20 homeruns for the first time, and saw his OPS improve once again. The Grizzlies bounced back from the bad season and won 91 games, but finished in second place to Tucson by just 2 games.

Serpa exploded in 2028, winning the batting title with a .352 average, and putting up a 30-30 season, with 36 homers and 36 stolen bases. He also had the first 1.000+ OPS season of his career. But the topsy turvy Grizzlies sunk to last place, losing 91 games. Serpa improved his OPS for the sixth consecutive year in 2029, and belted 43 homeruns, but Memphis finished last in a competitive, if mediocre, division. The Grizzlies won only 78 games, but finished just 6 games out of first place. 2030 would be another monster year for Serpa, as he posted his third straight 1.000+ OPS season, and blasted 40+ homers for the second year in a row. Memphis remained mediocre, winning only 74 games.

In 2031, Serpa headed to Nashville as a free agent. It was one of the smartes decisions of his life. Serpa crushed 45 longballs and drove in a career high 144 runs while helping Nashville to the best record in baseball with 98 wins. The Predators won a heated Southeast Division race, beating out two other 90 game winners, Knoxville(96) and Washington(93). Incredibly enough, Serpa's old team Memphis squeaked out a division championship in the Central despite mustering only 79 wins. The Predators blew past the Grizzlies in 5 games in the ALCS, outscoring Memphis 16-2 in the final two games of the series. Nashville was then pitted against a Sacramento team in the World Series that had a Hall of Fame ace, Jeremy Poss, and a Hall of Fame slugger, Greg Dos Santos. Not to worry for Nashville; they had two future Hall of Fame sluggers, Serpa and Pierre Sanchez, as well as a Hall of Fame ace of their own, George Vives.

In Game One of the World Series, Nashville got thumped, 8-4. Serpa delivered a homerun in Game Two, a 4-1 Nashville victory. Serpa tripled and scored a run in Game Three, an 8-0 Nashville rout. In Game Four, Serpa doubled twice and drove in a run in a 4 run rally in the 8th inning that erased a 5-1 Sacramento lead. The Predators would pull out the victory, 6-5 in 10 innings. The bats exploded for both teams in a series-clinching, 13-8 Nashville victory in Game Five. Serpa delivered 3 hits(single, double, homerun), 4 runs batted in, and 3 runs scored to help the Predators win their first World Series since 2025.

Nashville just missed the playoffs in 2032, finishing 2 games behind Knoxville, and Serpa's run of six straight All Star appearances came to an end. The Predators finished 6 games out of first in 2033. Serpa returned to the All Star game, and posted his 4th season with an OPS over 1.000. Nashville returned to the postseason in '34, despite a less than stellar 88 wins, and upset a 97 win Memphis team in the ALCS. This World Series pitted them against an incredibly powerful Pittsburgh team. The fearsome Pirates lineup scored 25 runs in the first two games of the series, and after three games, Nashville had been outscored 31-14. In Game Four, Nashville managed to avoid getting swept. Serpa delivered a homerun in a 9-0 stomping of Pittsburgh. Serpa ripped a first inning homerun in Game Five, and the Predators grabbed an early 3-0 lead as they attempted once more to stave off elimination. But the Pirates' lineup was too powerful, and they banged out 20 hits in a 14-5 series clinching victory.

The Predators slumped to 78 wins in 2035, and Serpa had his first season with an OPS under .900 since 2026. In 2036, the Predators became the 8th team in league history to reach the postseason with a losing record, winning the Southeast Division with a record of 76-86. They became only the second such team to reach the World Series, following in the footsteps of the '32 Grizzlies. Nashville faced off against a familiar face- Pittsburgh- and like in 2034, they fell in 5 games. Serpa had a good postseason run, though, and drove in 8 runs in the World Series alone.

That would be Serpa's last taste of the postseason. In Serpa's 8th, and final All Star campaign in 2038, the Predators finished just 2 games out first place, winning 92 games overall. In '39, however, they slumped to 100 losses, barely finishing ahead of the second year Miami Dolphins, who lost 101 games. It was the first 100 loss season in Nashville franchise history. It wouldn't be the last. The following season, the Predators sunk to 103 losses, but Serpa was gone by then. He had been released in late May, and picked up by Portland in late August. He retired following the 2040 season.

At the time of his retirement, Serpa ranked 19th all time in hits, tied for 20th in RBIs, 15th in runs scored, and 14th in stolen bases.

Serpa's stats:

Code:
Career Batting Stats 
 
 
Year     G   AB    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS  AVG  OBP   SLG   OPS Teams 
2022    14   14    1   0  0   0    0    3    2    5   1   1 .071 .188  .071  .259 MEM 
2023   127  444  115  25  2  12   76   73   23  109  16   2 .259 .296  .405  .701 MEM 
2024   152  610  163  31  4  11   83  104   46  109  25   1 .267 .319  .385  .704 MEM 
2025   139  557  161  32  5  15   66   96   53   95  29   8 .289 .351  .445  .796 MEM 
2026   155  615  195  34  2  15  101  118   67   88  37   9 .317 .384  .452  .836 MEM,AL 
2027   120  476  151  28  2  22   86   87   54  101  22   5 .317 .387  .523  .910 MEM,AL 
2028   156  599  211  33  3  36  119  118   61  130  36   6 .352 .412  .598 1.010 MEM,AL 
2029   145  532  172  23  6  43  122  117   79   76  26   6 .323 .411  .632 1.042 MEM,AL 
2030   154  600  203  33  8  42  127  118   71   81  19   5 .338 .408  .630 1.038 MEM,AL 
2031   156  588  186  29  4  45  144  120   65   86  21   6 .316 .384  .609  .993 NAS,AL 
2032   152  586  192  23  5  23  105  115   79   69  31  12 .328 .408  .502  .909 NAS 
2033   120  448  144  27  5  32  109   90   59   51  21   3 .321 .400  .618 1.019 NAS,AL 
2034   149  536  187  45  5  35  130  125   82   93  15  10 .349 .435  .647 1.083 NAS 
2035   155  563  152  26  4  33   94  104   93  116  18   5 .270 .373  .506  .880 NAS 
2036   141  500  157  27  4  24   88  102   64   81  18   9 .314 .392  .528  .920 NAS 
2037   154  574  172  40  3  27  110   99   66  112  23   5 .300 .372  .521  .893 NAS 
2038   157  580  181  33  3  34  126  109   92  116  24   4 .312 .406  .555  .961 NAS,AL 
2039   134  443  116  22  1  10   57   56   41  104   7   5 .262 .324  .384  .708 NAS 
2040     7    8    4   1  0   1    2    1    0    1   0   0 .500 .500 1.000 1.500 NAS POR 
Total 2487 9273 2863 512 66 460 1745 1755 1097 1623 389 102 .309 .382  .527  .909   
 
Career Minor League Batting Stats
 
 
Year        G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS 
2022,   A  17  66  15  1  0  4  12 12  9 15  4  1 .227 .316 .424 .740 
2022,  AA 108 428 118 20  2 12  50 68 43 82 24  2 .276 .340 .416 .756 
2022, AAA   1   4   1  0  0  0   1  0  0  1  0  0 .250 .250 .250 .500 
2040, AAA  50 190  41  7  0  6  21 24 25 41  6  2 .216 .296 .347 .643 
 
Career Postseason Batting Stats
 
 
Year   G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS 
2031  10  38 11  3  1  4  11 13  7  4  2  0 .289 .400 .737 1.137 
2034  11  45 13  1  0  4  13  7  5  7  3  0 .289 .360 .578  .938 
2036  10  39 11  0  2  4  13  8  3  8  1  0 .282 .333 .692 1.026 
Total 31 122 35  4  3 12  37 28 15 19  6  0 .287 .365 .664 1.029 
 
 
Player History
 
 
Drafted in 1st round, 1st overall pick, by Memphis in 2022...
Had first career hit on 8/28/2022, off Victor Ghent (WAS)...
Hit first career homerun on 4/4/2023, off David Presswood (KC)...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Tucson on 8/6/2023...
Won Rookie of the Year Award in 2023, hitting .259 with 12 HR, 76 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/9/2024, hitting .565 with 0 HR, 5 RBI...
Injured on 4/17/2025 with a Jammed Finger, out for one week...
Had 23-game hitting streak snapped on 7/18/2025...
Had 7 hits with 2 RBI against Tucson on 4/5/2026...
Was selected to the 2026 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Washington on 7/13/2026...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Washington on 9/16/2026...
Was selected to the 2027 Allstar game...
Injured on 7/5/2027 with a Broken Hand, out for 5-6 weeks...
Drove in 9 runs against Washington on 4/17/2028...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2028, hitting .550 with 3 HR, 11 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/2/2028, hitting .545 with 5 HR, 10 RBI...
Was selected to the 2028 Allstar game...
Drove in 6 runs against Knoxville on 8/27/2028...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/1/2028, hitting .565 with 1 HR, 9 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2028, hitting .409 with 4 HR, 11 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Nashville on 4/16/2029...
Injured on 6/11/2029 with a Bruised Heel, out for 1-2 weeks...
Was selected to the 2029 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/4/2029, hitting .391 with 4 HR, 13 RBI...
Hit for the cycle against Knoxville on 8/12/2029...
Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2029, hitting .330 with 11 HR, 30 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 7/1/2030, hitting .389 with 8 HR, 23 RBI...
Was selected to the 2030 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2030, hitting .552 with 4 HR, 9 RBI...
Signed as a free agent by Nashville on 2/20/2031 to a 4-year deal worth $10,046,400 per year...
Won Batter of the Month award on 7/1/2031, hitting .297 with 9 HR, 24 RBI...
Was selected to the 2031 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2031, hitting .467 with 5 HR, 14 RBI...
Won World Series with Nashville in 2031...
Was selected to the 2033 Allstar game...
Injured on 8/5/2033 with a Broken Foot, out for 6 weeks...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/7/2034, hitting .500 with 3 HR, 11 RBI...
Injured on 6/22/2034 with a Inflamed Groin Muscle, out for one week...
Had 2000th career hit on 7/11/2034, off Mark Crowell (KC)...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2034, hitting .550 with 2 HR, 4 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/9/2035, hitting .522 with 6 HR, 13 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Tucson on 4/15/2036...
Injured on 6/28/2036 with a Pulled Back Muscle, out for 3 weeks...
Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2037, hitting .417 with 6 HR, 27 RBI...
Was selected to the 2038 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/4/2038, hitting .750 with 2 HR, 5 RBI...
Injured on 6/18/2039 with a Pulled Groin Muscle, out for one week...
Released by Nashville on 5/26/2040...
Signed as a free agent by Portland on 8/25/2040 to a minor league contract...
Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2041.
 
 
Batting Leader Boards Appearances 
 
AVG
2028 - .352 - 1st
2029 - .323 - 4th
2030 - .338 - 7th
2034 - .349 - 3rd
 
OBP
2028 - .412 - 2nd
2029 - .411 - 3rd
2030 - .408 - 5th
2032 - .408 - 5th
2034 - .435 - 2nd
 
SLG
2028 - .598 - 3rd
2029 - .632 - 2nd
2030 - .630 - 5th
2031 - .609 - 5th
2033 - .618 - 5th
2034 - .647 - 3rd
 
OPS
2028 - 1.010 - 2nd
2029 - 1.042 - 2nd
2030 - 1.038 - 4th
2031 -  .993 - 6th
2033 - 1.019 - 5th
2034 - 1.083 - 1st
2038 -  .961 - 10th
 
Hits
2026 - 195 - 7th
2028 - 211 - 1st
2030 - 203 - 4th
2032 - 192 - 10th
2034 - 187 - 10th
 
Doubles
2034 - 45 - 4th
2037 - 40 - 3rd
 
Triples
2025 - 5 - 10th
2030 - 8 - 10th
 
Homeruns
2028 - 36 - 6th
2029 - 43 - 3rd
2030 - 42 - 3rd
2031 - 45 - 2nd
2034 - 35 - 10th
 
RBI
2028 - 119 - 6th
2029 - 122 - 5th
2030 - 127 - 7th
2031 - 144 - 1st
2034 - 130 - 7th
2038 - 126 - 9th
 
Runs
2026 - 118 - 7th
2028 - 118 - 6th
2029 - 117 - 4th
2030 - 118 - 7th
2031 - 120 - 8th
2034 - 125 - 7th
 
BB
2032 - 79 - 8th
 
SB
2024 - 25 - 10th
2025 - 29 - 6th
2026 - 37 - 5th
2028 - 36 - 3rd
2029 - 26 - 6th
2030 - 19 - 8th
2031 - 21 - 10th
2032 - 31 - 5th
2033 - 21 - 5th
2036 - 18 - 9th
2037 - 23 - 9th
2038 - 24 - 5th
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