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Craig Costello · 08-04-2008, 05:31 PM

1987 Preview

March 31st 1987 - The first year of free-agency was always going to be a bit of a free-for-all. Basically any player who has been in the EBL since it's inception was a free agent after the 1986 season, unless they had already signed an extension with their club.

With teams and players not really sure of market value, not a lot of extensions had been signed, meaning that a large proportion of the league's star names were available in free agency in the off-season.

The following list is OSA's top 10 rated free agents along with a few others who got big new deals -

Code:

Player (age)                -- Old Team    -- New Team  -- Contract

C Antti-Jussi Meresmaa (33) -- Amsterdam   -- Hamburg   -- 3 years, $16.7M
CF Theo Brittain (32)       -- Barcelona   -- Vienna    -- 2 years, $11.2M
1B Francis Gautier (31)     -- Sofia       -- Sofia     -- 5 years, $25.7M
1B Lukas Stoger (30)        -- Zurich      -- Paris     -- 5 years, $25.4M
1B Lorenzo Gutierrez (28)   -- Vienna      -- Brussels  -- 5 years, $26.0M
CF Jacquy Gilbert (30)      -- Hamburg     -- Sofia     -- 5 years, $18.1M
SP Alexis Martin (33)       -- Copenhagen  -- London    -- 4 years, $17.6M
SP Robert Wood (37)         -- Stockholm   -- Budapest  -- 2 years, $9.5M
CF Ian Meoni (32)           -- Oslo        -- Stockholm -- 4 years, $21.7M
SP Neil MacCombie (31)      -- Oslo        -- Madrid    -- 5 years, $15.4M
SP Rory Begley (32)         -- Warsaw      -- Hamburg   -- 4 years, $16.2M
RF Max Sabin (27)           -- Milan       -- Vienna    -- 3 years, $15.2M
SS Vladimir Erantsev (30)   -- Copenhagen  -- Oslo      -- 7 years, $28.2M
LF Bernard Wulker (29)      -- Prague      -- Prague    -- 4 years, $24.2M
3B Dolf Pellenaars (32)     -- Hamburg     -- Dublin    -- 3 years, $15.1M
SP Nenad Jevtic (28)        -- Milan       -- Moscow    -- 4 years, $18.1M

The first team to catch the eye is the Vienna Armageddon. Sure they lost Lorenzo Gutierrez, who led them to the inaugural EBL title, but they picked up the league's career leader in HRs, Theo Brittain, and career leader in RBIs, Max Sabin.

It would also seem that Hamburg took a step forward. They lost Gilbert and Pellenaars, but they picked up A.J. Meresmaa, who OSA rated as the top free agent because he was so much better than the other catchers available, and Rory Begley. They also signed Roth Fruehwirt, who won 25 games for Prague in 1986.

Traditional powers Copenhagen and Milan would appear to have gotten worse for the new season as they lost some big names and didn't appear to replace them.

One team who bucked the trend and signed their potential free agents to deals before the free-agency period was the Amsterdam Selects. They chose not to extend Meresmaa, but did sign Alois Maloney and Kristof Kis. They may have ended up overpaying for Kis though. He is undoubtedly a talented player, but $20.8M over 3 years (for a 36 year old, no less) makes him the highest paid player in the EBL.

Reiging champions Berlin didn't make too many additions, but also didn't lose too much. European League Series Vilfred Krak did join the Warsaw Wild, but this isn't seen as a major loss.

08-04-2008, 05:31 PM	#67 (permalink)
Craig Costello Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 295 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1x in 1 post	1987 Preview March 31st 1987 - The first year of free-agency was always going to be a bit of a free-for-all. Basically any player who has been in the EBL since it's inception was a free agent after the 1986 season, unless they had already signed an extension with their club. With teams and players not really sure of market value, not a lot of extensions had been signed, meaning that a large proportion of the league's star names were available in free agency in the off-season. The following list is OSA's top 10 rated free agents along with a few others who got big new deals - Code: Player (age) -- Old Team -- New Team -- Contract C Antti-Jussi Meresmaa (33) -- Amsterdam -- Hamburg -- 3 years, $16.7M CF Theo Brittain (32) -- Barcelona -- Vienna -- 2 years, $11.2M 1B Francis Gautier (31) -- Sofia -- Sofia -- 5 years, $25.7M 1B Lukas Stoger (30) -- Zurich -- Paris -- 5 years, $25.4M 1B Lorenzo Gutierrez (28) -- Vienna -- Brussels -- 5 years, $26.0M CF Jacquy Gilbert (30) -- Hamburg -- Sofia -- 5 years, $18.1M SP Alexis Martin (33) -- Copenhagen -- London -- 4 years, $17.6M SP Robert Wood (37) -- Stockholm -- Budapest -- 2 years, $9.5M CF Ian Meoni (32) -- Oslo -- Stockholm -- 4 years, $21.7M SP Neil MacCombie (31) -- Oslo -- Madrid -- 5 years, $15.4M SP Rory Begley (32) -- Warsaw -- Hamburg -- 4 years, $16.2M RF Max Sabin (27) -- Milan -- Vienna -- 3 years, $15.2M SS Vladimir Erantsev (30) -- Copenhagen -- Oslo -- 7 years, $28.2M LF Bernard Wulker (29) -- Prague -- Prague -- 4 years, $24.2M 3B Dolf Pellenaars (32) -- Hamburg -- Dublin -- 3 years, $15.1M SP Nenad Jevtic (28) -- Milan -- Moscow -- 4 years, $18.1M The first team to catch the eye is the Vienna Armageddon. Sure they lost Lorenzo Gutierrez, who led them to the inaugural EBL title, but they picked up the league's career leader in HRs, Theo Brittain, and career leader in RBIs, Max Sabin. It would also seem that Hamburg took a step forward. They lost Gilbert and Pellenaars, but they picked up A.J. Meresmaa, who OSA rated as the top free agent because he was so much better than the other catchers available, and Rory Begley. They also signed Roth Fruehwirt, who won 25 games for Prague in 1986. Traditional powers Copenhagen and Milan would appear to have gotten worse for the new season as they lost some big names and didn't appear to replace them. One team who bucked the trend and signed their potential free agents to deals before the free-agency period was the Amsterdam Selects. They chose not to extend Meresmaa, but did sign Alois Maloney and Kristof Kis. They may have ended up overpaying for Kis though. He is undoubtedly a talented player, but $20.8M over 3 years (for a 36 year old, no less) makes him the highest paid player in the EBL. Reiging champions Berlin didn't make too many additions, but also didn't lose too much. European League Series Vilfred Krak did join the Warsaw Wild, but this isn't seen as a major loss.