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10-23-2007, 06:03 PM
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#201 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: 2B Walton Fredericks
Walton Fredericks:
One of the things I've been trying to do with these Hall of Fame bios is to find some aspect of each player that is distinctive. Obviously, as Hall of Famers, most of them have separated themselves from the total baseball population. That is, after all, why they are in the Hall of Fame. But what can be hard to do is to discover how each one separates himself from the Hall of Fame population: What makes this great player unique from that great player? Sometimes a guy holds a major record, career or single season. Sometimes a guy spent all, or virtually all, of his career with one team. Maybe he had great postseason success. Maybe there is a tragic element to his career (there is at least one player who could be described this way, but I won't be getting to him for a quite awhile). Maybe he was the foundation player for a dynasty. There are all kinds of different things that one can look at. So what do you do when you get to a player that doesn't seem to have any distinguishing characteristics? I guess you just go through his career, and hope something stands out... After winning four consecutive Southeast Division titles from 2018 to 2021, the Atlanta Braves saw their fortunes take a turn for the worse. Though they remained competitive, they slogged through two last place finishes from '22 to '24, and finished in third place in the other season. In 2024, Atlanta posted its first below .500 record since 2010. That was enough to get them a decent draft pick prior to 2025. With that pick, the 6th pick overall, they selected a second baseman by the name of Walton Fredericks. Fredericks split his first season between A and AA, and absolutely raked. He batted over .300 at both levels and combined for 29 homeruns. In 2026, Fredericks began at AA, and continued to hit well. In June of that year, he was promoted to the major league roster, skipping AAA entirely. Though he did not start right away, he saw plenty of action, and acquitted himself rather well, with a .796 OPS in 101 at bats. Fredericks moved into the starting lineup in 2027, and though Atlanta finished in last place with the worst record in baseball(61-101), he enjoyed a promising campaign. His .791 OPS and 25 homeruns were enough to win him the AL Rookie of the Year award. Fredericks saw his numbers decline very slightly to a .782 OPS in 2028, but he was nevertheless named to the All Star team. Even better was the fact that Atlanta was a surprise contender that season, winning 90 games and finishing only 4 games out of first place. But Atlanta didn't remain competitive for long. Though Fredericks improved his OPS to .900 on the nose, and went to his second All Star game, the Braves collapsed to the bottom of the American League in 2029, losing 100 games. Atlanta improved its record dramatically in 2030, winning 79 games, but still finished in last place. Fredericks, meanwhile, enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career, with a .306 batting average, a .957 OPS, and 41 homeruns. Strangely, though, he was not named to the All Star team that season. In '31, Fredericks was excellent again, but Atlanta's 83 wins were not enough to get out of last place in a tough Southeast. Likewise in 2032, when Knoxville and Nashville ran roughshod over the entire American League, and Atlanta tied with Washington for a last place finish with only 77 wins. 2033 to 2035 were the same. While Fredericks had established himself as a dangerous slugger, good for 30+ homeruns a year(and occasionally 40+), Atlanta simply could not get out of last place. In 2036, the Southeast was quite weak. Nashville managed to win the division with a mediocre record of 76-86. The Braves finally got out of last place, but finished in third with 71 wins. Finally, in 2037, Atlanta had a breakthrough. Although Fredericks' 27 homeruns represented his first season with fewer than 30 since 2029, the Braves fought off Washington to win the Southeast by 2 games, with a record of 88-74. Unfortunately, Atlanta ran into Grand Rapids in the ALCS and was defeated in 6 games. In 2038, Fredericks had a career year, with a career best .973 OPS, and banged out 75 extra base hits, including his third 40 homerun season. The Braves survived a tight race with Nashville and Washington, beating the two of them out by just 2 games. Once again, however, the Braves fell in the ALCS. This time it was to Tucson in seven games. In 2039, Fredericks posted his worst OPS since 2028, and the Braves were not able to win a third straight division title. Knoxville beat out the Braves by 2 games to capture the Southeast. Atlanta returned to the top of the Southeast in 2040, but Fredericks was not around to enjoy it. The 34 year old second baseman was traded to Kansas City just before the trade deadline. It was an odd trade. Atlanta was in a bit of a tight race, with Miami and Knoxville playing very well in the Southeast, while Kansas City was just hoping it could stay close to .500. And yet there was Atlanta, selling off an expensive veteran bat for prospects. Perhaps Atlanta knew what it was doing. The Braves won the division by 8 games over the surprising Dolphins, while Kansas City finished at exactly .500. Fredericks' decline seemed to continue in 2041. His .743 OPS that season was the worst of his career. Despite that, Kansas City managed to contend in a weak Central Division. Though its final record was a mediocre 76-86, the Royals finished just 3 1/2 games out of first, as Grand Rapids and Tucson were masters of mediocrity, tying for the division lead with records of 79-83. Grand Rapids won the one game playoff to "earn" its way into the postseason. In 2042, Fredericks enjoyed a bit of a resurgance. He posted his first .800 OPS season since '39, and hit the 500th homerun of his career, to help the Royals into the playoffs. Kansas City won the Central Division with a record of 87-75. Little did the Royals know that their ALCS opponent was on the verge of becoming an American League dynasty. The Miami Dolphins had been in the league for only five seasons at that point, and it was their first postseason appearance. Fredericks, who had put up solid numbers in his previous two postseason series, was an embarassment in the ALCS, going just 2 for 17 with 8 strikeouts. It was a microcosm of the entire series, as the upstart Dolphins swept Kansas City en route to their first World Series championship. In '43, the Royals remained competitive, but lost the Central Division to Denver in a one game playoff after the two finished the regular season with identical 87-75 records. Fredericks, however, was no longer around. In the offseason that year, he had been dealt to Memphis. His OPS slumped to a career worst, .704, and Memphis brought up the rear of the Central Division. The Grizzlies finished in last again in 2044, but Fredericks wasn't ready to give up the ghost quite yet. He bounced back with an .809 OPS, and smacked 32 homeruns. Fredericks returned to Kansas City in '45 as a free agent, but played only sparingly, and was released at the end of the year. At the time of his retirement, Fredericks ranked 23rd all time in hits, tied for 9th all time in homeruns, 13th in RBIs, 2nd all time in triples, and 10th in runs scored. Today, Fredericks still ranks tied for 22nd in homeruns, 2nd in triples, and 23rd in runs scored. So what did I learn about a Hall of Famer who seemed to be rather boring? Well, apparently, he was a really good triples hitter. Second on the all time list, just 6 behind all time leader, and fellow Hall of Famer, Josias Fernandez. Also, I don't think either he or Fernandez have to worry about anyone passing them in the near future. At the start of this season, there was only one active player even in the top 25, and he was too far back to even think about it. So that's something, I guess. Fredericks' stats: Code:
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams 2026 46 101 28 4 0 5 13 18 8 22 1 3 .277 .330 .465 .796 ATL 2027 147 584 159 23 7 25 73 92 47 139 7 9 .272 .326 .464 .791 ATL 2028 159 638 170 18 11 28 95 101 51 134 18 16 .266 .321 .461 .782 ATL,AL 2029 156 602 191 28 10 24 92 121 65 112 11 13 .317 .384 .517 .900 ATL,AL 2030 143 579 177 28 9 41 120 117 49 139 10 11 .306 .360 .598 .957 ATL 2031 151 593 186 27 9 33 129 112 68 124 15 6 .314 .384 .556 .941 ATL,AL 2032 154 569 180 20 4 38 124 111 68 119 7 9 .316 .389 .566 .955 ATL,AL 2033 154 569 157 24 8 33 119 103 77 139 11 8 .276 .362 .520 .882 ATL 2034 156 575 164 26 8 36 126 125 81 140 10 10 .285 .373 .546 .920 ATL,AL 2035 155 571 156 21 4 42 118 127 76 168 8 3 .273 .359 .545 .903 ATL,AL 2036 153 548 141 17 10 31 90 96 65 150 4 4 .257 .336 .495 .831 ATL 2037 153 535 151 21 5 27 112 96 63 150 4 7 .282 .358 .492 .849 ATL 2038 153 539 158 24 11 40 116 100 68 137 2 8 .293 .372 .601 .973 ATL,AL 2039 154 532 130 18 7 32 108 92 78 171 1 7 .244 .341 .485 .826 ATL 2040 153 540 129 17 6 30 104 94 76 135 2 5 .239 .333 .459 .792 ATL KC 2041 155 560 134 14 9 26 88 88 55 169 1 7 .239 .307 .436 .743 KC 2042 154 617 168 20 9 30 91 111 79 187 3 5 .272 .355 .480 .835 KC 2043 149 528 119 16 8 20 72 68 60 138 1 6 .225 .304 .400 .704 KC MEM 2044 149 500 121 21 4 32 90 69 55 121 2 5 .242 .317 .492 .809 MEM 2045 60 114 25 5 3 4 17 26 16 31 1 2 .219 .315 .421 .736 KC Total 2854 10394 2844 392 142 577 1897 1867 1205 2625 119 144 .274 .349 .505 .854 Career Minor League Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2025, A 93 386 135 11 5 19 71 64 39 89 16 10 .350 .404 .552 .956 2025, AA 42 168 51 7 1 10 29 27 12 37 8 2 .304 .341 .536 .876 2026, AA 74 275 82 10 0 13 43 48 30 57 13 13 .298 .356 .476 .832 Career Postseason Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2037 6 21 6 0 1 1 2 3 2 4 0 0 .286 .348 .524 .872 2038 7 21 4 2 0 1 2 4 6 9 0 1 .190 .370 .429 .799 2042 4 17 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 0 0 .118 .167 .118 .284 Total 17 59 12 2 1 2 4 8 9 21 0 1 .203 .309 .373 .682 Player History Drafted in 1st round, 6th overall pick, by Atlanta in 2025... Had first career hit on 6/30/2026, off Craig Posada (WAS)... Hit first career homerun on 7/9/2026, off Moises Castillo (GR)... Had 5 hits with 0 RBI against Memphis on 4/15/2027... Won Rookie of the Year Award in 2027, hitting .272 with 25 HR, 73 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 4/28/2028, hitting .500 with 3 HR, 10 RBI... Drove in 6 runs against Knoxville on 6/21/2028... Was selected to the 2028 Allstar game... Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Memphis on 4/23/2029... Was selected to the 2029 Allstar game... Injured on 5/21/2030 with a Pulled Hip Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks... Drove in 7 runs against Memphis on 7/14/2030... Had 20-game hitting streak snapped on 4/17/2031... Hit 3 homeruns against Kansas City, driving in 4 runs on 4/19/2031... Was selected to the 2031 Allstar game... Was selected to the 2032 Allstar game... Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Washington on 9/18/2032... Drove in 7 runs against Washington on 4/7/2034... Drove in 6 runs against Grand Rapids on 5/6/2034... Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2034, hitting .571 with 3 HR, 11 RBI... Was selected to the 2034 Allstar game... Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2035, hitting .348 with 6 HR, 11 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 6/1/2035, hitting .308 with 14 HR, 32 RBI... Was selected to the 2035 Allstar game... Hit 3 homeruns against Nashville, driving in 8 runs on 9/18/2035... Drove in 7 runs against Kansas City on 5/15/2036... Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Knoxville on 8/23/2037... Was selected to the 2038 Allstar game... Had 2000th career hit on 9/15/2038, off Steven Davis (KNO)... Hit for the cycle against Memphis on 5/4/2039... Traded from Atlanta to Kansas City on 7/25/2040 (Going to KC: 2B W. Fredericks. Going to ATL: P D. Clift, 2B L. Griffeth, 3B N. Hegwood)... Drove in 9 runs against Denver on 6/7/2041... Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2042, hitting .400 with 4 HR, 13 RBI... Had 500th career homerun on 5/22/2042, off Victor Ater (TUC)... Traded from Kansas City to Memphis on 2/22/2043 (Going to MEM: 2B W. Fredericks, 1B C. Serra. Going to KC: LF J. Moore)... Signed as a free agent by Kansas City on 2/13/2045 to a 2-year deal worth $583,000 per year... Released by Kansas City on 10/4/2045, refused assignment to minors... Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2046. Batting Leader Boards Appearances AVG 2029 - .317 - 9th OBP 2029 - .384 - 10th SLG 2030 - .598 - 8th 2031 - .556 - 9th 2032 - .566 - 9th 2038 - .601 - 6th OPS 2029 - .900 - 10th 2030 - .957 - 9th 2031 - .941 - 8th 2032 - .955 - 7th 2038 - .973 - 7th Hits 2029 - 191 - 5th Triples 2028 - 11 - 4th 2029 - 10 - 1st 2030 - 9 - 7th 2031 - 9 - 7th 2033 - 8 - 7th 2034 - 8 - 7th 2036 - 10 - 6th 2038 - 11 - 4th 2039 - 7 - 10th 2041 - 9 - 7th 2042 - 9 - 8th 2043 - 8 - 10th Homeruns 2030 - 41 - 5th 2031 - 33 - 10th 2032 - 38 - 8th 2034 - 36 - 8th 2035 - 42 - 5th 2038 - 40 - 6th RBI 2030 - 120 - 9th 2031 - 129 - 5th 2032 - 124 - 8th 2034 - 126 - 9th Runs 2029 - 121 - 3rd 2030 - 117 - 9th 2031 - 112 - 10th 2034 - 125 - 8th 2035 - 127 - 2nd
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2081: Desperation in Denver |
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10-25-2007, 09:25 PM
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#202 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: RF Billy Stoltzfus
Billy Stoltzfus:
Billy Stoltzfus represents the last of the "Group Three" Hall of Famers- those players who established their careers between the years 2023 to 2032- and by no means is he the least. In fact, a reasonable case could be made that he was the greatest. After all, his 1.014 career OPS is the highest of any of the "Group Three" players. Only Matthew Allman was also able to maintain a career OPS over 1.000, and the two of them are joined with Hector Abad as the only players to accomplish the feat in the years that have been discussed so far. (Group Four will have two such players, Group Five will have one, and Group Seven has one player thus far- a very familiar face, too, by the way). Stoltzfus was the #2 overall pick by Atlanta in 2030. Atlanta, as I believe I have discussed with other players already, struggled throughout much of the '20s, and Stoltzfus was the kind of player a team could build around. He leaped right into the big leagues for a Braves team that won 79 games and finished in last place. He wasted no time at all in establishing himself. He batted .323 with a .928 OPS and smacked 13 homeruns in 368 at bats. Those were numbers good enough to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. The Braves finished with a winning record in '31, but still finished in last place. Stoltzfus' power dropped off a bit, but he increased his batting average to .331, and showed the kind of plate discipline that most hitters would love to have, with 81 walks and a .414 OBP. And then, the inexplicable happened. While Atlanta slogged through a 77-85 season that wasn't good enough to get out of last place in 2032, the Grand Rapids Tigers competed for a division title in the Central Division, despite having a record that would end up at just 75-87. Despite their supposed building for the future around guys like Stoltzfus, the Braves shockingly traded Stoltzfus to Grand Rapids for a solid, 27 year old starting pitcher, and a 2B prospect. It was a stunning trade, but the young Stoltzfus didn't skip a beat. He raised his OPS back up over .900 that year, and enjoyed his first 20 homerun, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, 100 walk season. '33 was a breakout year for Stoltzfus. He finished second in the batting race with a .360 average, had his first 200 hit season, his first 40 homerun campaign, and put up an OPS comfortably over 1.000, which also led the league. He was also named to his first All Star game. At the end of the year, he won the AL Silver Slugger Award. Unfortunately, Grand Rapids finished just a tick under .500, at 80-82. 2034 was another fine season for Stoltzfus, but the Tigers struggled to a 75-87 finish. In '35, Stoltzfus set a career high with 46 homeruns, but Grand Rapids continued to be mediocre, winning only 80 games. 2036 was a tough year for Stoltzfus. Though Grand Rapids won 86 games, Stoltzfus wasn't able to contribute much for them. He played about one month, before being lost for the season at the end of April with a broken wrist. He would return with a vengeance, however. Entering the '37 season, Grand Rapids hadn't won a division title since 2029, and it was the only division title for the Tigers since they had won three in a row from '23 to '25. The fans were hungry for a winner. They got their wish. Stoltzfus ripped off a .371 batting average (good enough to win the batting title), and a 1.135 OPS. Those numbers were good enough to win him his second Silver Slugger Award, and they were good enough to carry Grand Rapids to 93 wins and a Central Division title. In the ALCS, Stoltzfus was able to get revenge on Atlanta for giving up on him, and the Tigers knocked off the Braves in six games. In the World Series, they were pitted against a Portland team that was on the verge of a mini-dynasty. Stoltzfus came up big in Game One, delivering a dramatic, two out, three run homerun in the top of the ninth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit and give Grand Rapids a 6-4 victory. In Game Two, he slammed a two out, two run homerun in the third inning to give Grand Rapids a 3-0 lead. The Tigers couldn't hold that lead, and the two teams battled back and forth in the game. Portland grabbed a 4-3 lead, and pushed it to 7-3. The Tigers got close again, but Portland made it 8-6 in the 7th inning. Grand Rapids tied it in the 8th, and took a 9-8 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but the Trailblazers rallied to win 10-9 in the bottom half of the inning. In Game Three, Portland wanted no part of Stoltzfus, and he wound up drawing four walks in the contest. Unfortunately, the Tigers blew a 4-2 lead, and fell 11-7. Portland took control of the series in Game Four, pounding the Tigers 10-4. Grand Rapids returned the favor, and avoided elimination, by winning Game Five by a score of 10-4. Stoltzfus had 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored in the game. In the deciding Game Six, however, Stoltzfus went hitless, and the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead en route to a 3-2 Portland victory. 2038 was a disaster for the defending AL champions. Though Stoltzfus enjoyed a typically great season, the Tigers imploded to a 64-98 record. It was the worst record posted that year by any non-expansion team. '39 wasn't much better, as the Tigers went just 74-88. In 2040, Stoltzfus posted the fifth 1.000 OPS season of his career, and the Tigers returned to being competitive, with a record of 89-73. The balance of power in the American League shifted heavily to the Southeast Division in 2041, and Grand Rapids managed to win the Central Division with an uninspiring 80-83 record. The division title required a one game playoff with Tucson, which the Tigers won. Knoxville had a novel solution to beat Grand Rapids in the ALCS: Pitch around the Tigers' best player and see if anyone else can beat you. No one else could. Stoltzfus managed just 3 hits and was walked 7 times in the series. Knoxville cruised to a series win in 5 games, and the Tigers scored only 2 runs total in the final two games of the series. In '42, Stoltzfus left Grand Rapids and signed with Tucson. Stoltzfus had a typical season, but the Diamondbacks finshed at exactly .500 on the year. In 2043, Stoltzfus set a career high with 140 walks, and posted what would be the second best OPS of his career- a 1.141 mark. The Diamondbacks, however, managed only to finish at .500 again. 2044 was Stoltzfus' career year. He set a career high with 226 hits. He posted the best OPS of his career, a 1.155 mark. Perhaps most impressively of all, he threatened to become the first player to hit .400 since Ray Monroy hit .412 for Harrisburg in 2017, and only the second player overall. On September 1st, he was hitting .408. Unfortunately, he hit "just" .333 in the month of September, and had to settle for a league leading batting average of .395. That was still good enough to break the American League single season record of .381. Despite the great season for Stoltzfus, it was not enough to lift Tucson above mediocrity, though the Diamondbacks did manage to finish above .500, at 82-80. In '45, Stoltzfus' streak of 1.000 OPS seasons came to an end at five, as he finished the season at .987. Tucson, however, won 95 games to win the Central Division. The Diamondbacks' postseason run was short-lived. Matched up against emerging power Miami, who had won the '42 World Series and lost the '43 one, Tucson was overwhelmed in four games and the Dolphins went on to win the World Series. Stoltzfus managed one homerun in the series, but otherwise contributed very little. 2046 was a momentous season for Stoltzfus. He reached both 500 homeruns and 3,000 hits that year- the ninth player in history to achieve both milestones in a career. Tucson, however, slumped to just 78 wins. 2047 was Stoltzfus' final season, and while his numbers were good, the 40 year old outfielder was gradually phased out of the lineup by the Diamondbacks. At the time of his retirement, Stoltzfus ranked 7th all time in batting average, 7th in hits, 18th in homeruns, 6th in RBI, 3rd in walks, and 5th in runs scored. Today, he ranks 16th in AVG, 21st in hits, 12th in RBI, 5th in walks, and 9th in runs scored. After Stoltzfus set the AL single season batting average record in 2044 with a .395 mark, he held the record until 2051, when Atlanta SS, and future Hall of Famer, Rafael Aguilar became the first American Leaguer to hit .400. Augilar hit .400 on the nose. Stoltzfus' stats: Code:
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams 2030 111 368 119 21 6 13 67 71 53 87 2 2 .323 .409 .519 .928 ATL 2031 151 568 188 29 5 11 91 92 81 100 6 5 .331 .414 .458 .872 ATL 2032 154 570 178 36 0 23 105 100 104 102 5 6 .312 .418 .496 .915 ATL GR 2033 154 583 210 33 10 42 164 130 92 136 5 1 .360 .447 .667 1.115 GR,AL 2034 156 572 183 23 4 42 136 131 111 154 5 1 .320 .430 .594 1.025 GR,AL 2035 157 586 172 18 3 46 143 120 106 142 9 3 .294 .402 .570 .972 GR,AL 2036 26 99 34 5 1 9 32 21 18 19 0 2 .343 .444 .687 1.131 GR 2037 147 545 202 36 8 36 158 127 103 132 9 2 .371 .471 .664 1.135 GR,AL 2038 155 572 180 20 3 34 128 110 109 137 7 6 .315 .424 .538 .963 GR 2039 154 566 184 30 5 31 136 123 115 125 9 9 .325 .439 .560 .999 GR,AL 2040 155 553 181 31 7 34 128 129 118 134 5 8 .327 .446 .593 1.039 GR,AL 2041 158 576 205 35 6 29 137 133 116 123 5 4 .356 .464 .589 1.052 GR,AL 2042 152 580 195 29 5 39 116 126 101 151 5 9 .336 .435 .605 1.040 TUC,AL 2043 154 566 209 27 5 40 127 151 140 149 10 5 .369 .494 .647 1.141 TUC,AL 2044 156 572 226 29 5 37 125 143 117 120 9 6 .395 .498 .657 1.155 TUC,AL 2045 155 540 180 20 8 27 110 113 99 135 6 6 .333 .437 .550 .987 TUC,AL 2046 153 521 161 19 4 27 102 114 105 132 2 0 .309 .425 .516 .941 TUC 2047 106 355 106 9 3 11 46 57 58 94 1 0 .299 .397 .434 .831 TUC Total 2554 9292 3113 450 88 531 2051 1991 1746 2172 100 75 .335 .440 .574 1.014 Career Minor League Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2037, AAA 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 Career Postseason Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2037 12 45 17 2 0 2 10 12 11 16 0 0 .378 .500 .556 1.056 2041 5 14 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 7 0 1 .214 .476 .214 .690 2045 4 14 3 0 0 1 1 4 4 4 0 0 .214 .389 .429 .817 Total 21 73 23 2 0 3 11 19 22 27 0 1 .315 .474 .466 .939 Player History Drafted in 1st round, 2nd overall pick, by Atlanta in 2030... Had first career hit (homerun) on 4/3/2030, off George Brownlow (NAS)... Won Rookie of the Year Award in 2030, hitting .323 with 13 HR, 67 RBI... Had 20-game hitting streak snapped on 9/5/2031... Traded from Atlanta to Grand Rapids on 7/31/2032 (Going to ATL: P T. Doyon, 2B J. Leblanc. Going to GR: RF B. Stoltzfus)... Drove in 6 runs against Knoxville on 5/14/2033... Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2033, hitting .500 with 4 HR, 10 RBI... Was selected to the 2033 Allstar game... Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2033, hitting .452 with 3 HR, 9 RBI... Had 25-game hitting streak snapped on 7/26/2033... Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2033, hitting .378 with 8 HR, 36 RBI... Won Silver Slugger Award in 2033, hitting .360 with 42 HR, 164 RBI... Was selected to the 2034 Allstar game... Won Player of the Week award on 7/28/2034, hitting .500 with 2 HR, 9 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2034, hitting .593 with 1 HR, 8 RBI... Drove in 6 runs against Memphis on 9/12/2034... Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Tucson on 6/3/2035... Was selected to the 2035 Allstar game... Injured on 4/29/2036 with a Broken Wrist, out for full season... Drove in 7 runs against Memphis on 5/3/2037... Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2037, hitting .583 with 2 HR, 10 RBI... Was selected to the 2037 Allstar game... Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2037, hitting .360 with 9 HR, 26 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2037, hitting .429 with 3 HR, 10 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 9/22/2037, hitting .462 with 4 HR, 15 RBI... Won Silver Slugger Award in 2037, hitting .371 with 36 HR, 158 RBI... Was selected to the 2039 Allstar game... Drove in 6 runs against Denver on 8/30/2039... Was selected to the 2040 Allstar game... Drove in 6 runs against Kansas City on 9/1/2040... Won Player of the Week award on 9/8/2040, hitting .500 with 5 HR, 15 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2040, hitting .526 with 4 HR, 11 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2040, hitting .442 with 11 HR, 39 RBI... Hit 3 homeruns against Kansas City, driving in 7 runs on 5/22/2041... Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2041, hitting .522 with 5 HR, 13 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 6/1/2041, hitting .389 with 7 HR, 24 RBI... Drove in 6 runs against Knoxville on 6/6/2041... Drove in 7 runs against Denver on 6/17/2041... Was selected to the 2041 Allstar game... Had 2000th career hit on 8/30/2041, off Edson Villegas (WAS)... Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2041, hitting .379 with 7 HR, 26 RBI... Signed as a free agent by Tucson on 2/7/2042 to a 6-year deal worth $12,647,000 per year... Won Player of the Week award on 4/14/2042, hitting .545 with 3 HR, 9 RBI... Had 6 hits with 5 RBI against Knoxville on 6/19/2042... Was selected to the 2042 Allstar game... Injured on 9/28/2042 with a Stiff Knee, out for one week... Hit 3 homeruns against Nashville, driving in 5 runs on 5/7/2043... Was selected to the 2043 Allstar game... Won Player of the Week award on 7/14/2043, hitting .600 with 2 HR, 4 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2043, hitting .463 with 8 HR, 22 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2043, hitting .476 with 5 HR, 12 RBI... Hit 3 homeruns against Denver, driving in 5 runs on 9/22/2043... Hit 3 homeruns against Washington, driving in 8 runs on 9/25/2043... Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2043, hitting .609 with 7 HR, 15 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2043, hitting .422 with 8 HR, 26 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2044, hitting .609 with 3 HR, 5 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 6/1/2044, hitting .467 with 10 HR, 26 RBI... Was selected to the 2044 Allstar game... Had 20-game hitting streak snapped on 8/15/2044... Was selected to the 2045 Allstar game... Won Player of the Week award on 7/14/2045, hitting .632 with 4 HR, 8 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 7/28/2045, hitting .583 with 1 HR, 11 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2045, hitting .471 with 6 HR, 29 RBI... Had 500th career homerun on 5/5/2046, off Heijuurou Tadao (NAS)... Had 3000th career hit on 9/18/2046, off Michael Farrier (MEM)... Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2049. Batting Leader Boards Appearances AVG 2033 - .360 - 2nd 2037 - .371 - 1st 2041 - .356 - 3rd 2043 - .369 - 2nd 2044 - .395 - 1st 2045 - .333 - 7th OBP 2031 - .414 - 4th 2032 - .418 - 3rd 2033 - .447 - 1st 2034 - .430 - 5th 2035 - .402 - 7th 2037 - .471 - 2nd 2038 - .424 - 8th 2039 - .439 - 2nd 2040 - .446 - 4th 2041 - .464 - 2nd 2042 - .435 - 6th 2043 - .494 - 1st 2044 - .498 - 1st 2045 - .437 - 2nd 2046 - .425 - 6th SLG 2033 - .667 - 2nd 2034 - .594 - 5th 2035 - .570 - 8th 2037 - .664 - 2nd 2039 - .560 - 7th 2040 - .593 - 4th 2041 - .589 - 2nd 2042 - .605 - 6th 2043 - .647 - 2nd 2044 - .657 - 3rd OPS 2033 - 1.115 - 1st 2034 - 1.025 - 4th 2035 - .972 - 7th 2037 - 1.135 - 2nd 2039 - .999 - 5th 2040 - 1.039 - 4th 2041 - 1.052 - 1st 2042 - 1.040 - 4th 2043 - 1.141 - 1st 2044 - 1.155 - 2nd 2045 - .987 - 8th Hits 2033 - 210 - 2nd 2037 - 202 - 2nd 2041 - 205 - 2nd 2043 - 209 - 4th 2044 - 226 - 2nd Doubles 2037 - 36 - 10th 2041 - 35 - 10th Triples 2033 - 10 - 4th 2037 - 8 - 5th 2040 - 7 - 9th 2045 - 8 - 9th Homeruns 2033 - 42 - 4th 2034 - 42 - 5th 2035 - 46 - 4th 2037 - 36 - 6th 2038 - 34 - 10th 2040 - 34 - 7th 2042 - 39 - 9th 2043 - 40 - 6th 2044 - 37 - 9th RBI 2033 - 164 - 1st 2034 - 136 - 6th 2035 - 143 - 3rd 2037 - 158 - 1st 2038 - 128 - 7th 2039 - 136 - 3rd 2040 - 128 - 4th 2041 - 137 - 4th 2042 - 116 - 10th 2043 - 127 - 8th Runs 2033 - 130 - 3rd 2034 - 131 - 2nd 2035 - 120 - 5th 2037 - 127 - 2nd 2039 - 123 - 5th 2040 - 129 - 3rd 2041 - 133 - 1st 2042 - 126 - 3rd 2043 - 151 - 2nd 2044 - 143 - 2nd 2045 - 113 - 9th BB 2031 - 81 - 10th 2032 - 104 - 1st 2033 - 92 - 6th 2034 - 111 - 2nd 2035 - 106 - 4th 2037 - 103 - 4th 2038 - 109 - 3rd 2039 - 115 - 1st 2040 - 118 - 1st 2041 - 116 - 1st 2042 - 101 - 4th 2043 - 140 - 1st 2044 - 117 - 1st 2045 - 99 - 4th 2046 - 105 - 2nd
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2081: Desperation in Denver |
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10-26-2007, 06:49 PM
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#203 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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September 8, 2082 to September 14, 2082
Denver @ Nashville (4-5 Defeat) Denver @ Nashville (10-8 Victory) Denver @ Nashville (20-4 Victory) Denver @ Grand Rapids (6-2 Victory) Denver @ Grand Rapids (4-2 Victory) Denver @ Grand Rapids (7-5 Victory) Denver @ Grand Rapids (9-3 Victory) Though the Broncos shook off the late season lethargy that had plagued them from the end of August and into September, by winning 2 of 3 at Nashville and sweeping a 4 game series at Grand Rapids, the week came with a difficult price to pay. Denver had been lucky thus far this season to have not had to deal with any injuries of note. Aside from fifth starter George Buentello's injury earlier this season, the Broncos have been amazingly healthy. But that came to an end in the second game of the Grand Rapids series. Ellis Bolling ripped a first inning double in that game, but came up clutching his wrist in pain. His wrist is broken, and he is not expected to be back until maybe the last game or two of the regular season. This is a tough blow for a couple of reasons. From the standpoint of the playoff race, the loss of Bolling will certainly not help Denver in its quest to hold off Tucson in the Central Division. And from the standpoint of personal achievements, it is especially tough. The double that Bolling hit was his 69th of the season, leaving him just one shy of the single season record of 70. Though he could still potentially break it if he returns for the final two games, he did lose the chance to absolutely shatter the record. With about three weeks left in the season, Bolling could have reached 80, perhaps. Additionally, Bolling also had a decent chance to break the single season RBI record for the AL of 178. That chance is almost surely lost now. With the Broncos winning 6 games this week, it's no surprise that several players had strong performances. Bolling, before the injury, was 5 for 12, with 4 doubles, 1 homer, 4 RBI, and 5 runs scored. Russell Thomas went 13 for 29, with 2 doubles, 6 RBI, 6 runs scored, and 5 stolen bases. Joseph Swayze was 9 for 23, with a 1 double, 4 homeruns, and 14 RBI. Tomas Sato was 11 for 25, with 3 doubles, 7 runs scored, and 4 stolen bases. Patrick Chason was 5 for 11, with 2 doubles, 6 RBI, and a surprising 6 walks. Michael Phillips, seeing increased action with Bolling injured, went 5 for 16, with a double, a homer, and 6 RBI. I don't often mention relief pitchers, but James Virgen earned himself a mention, notching 3 saves in 3 appearances, and going unscored upon in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 5 batters. Two of the saves were with multiple innings pitched. Milestone Watch: Hits: Code:
# Career Hits H 1 S. Serrato* 3871 2 F. Mira 3826 3 S. Piche 3770 4 P. Sanchez 3447 5 R. Vega* 3426 6 C. Romeo 3383 7 D. Homan 3360 8 F. Cobos 3343 9 F. Garza* 3332 10 T. Guerrero 3301 HR: Code:
# Career HRs HR 1 D. Murillo 691 2 C. Bohanon 670 3 R. Vega* 655 4 J. Paras 645 5 H. Abad 641 6 W. Byrd 639 RBI: Code:
# Career RBIs RBI 1 R. Vega* 2297 2 D. Homan 2255 3 F. Mira 2218 4 E. Quon 2214
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2081: Desperation in Denver |
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10-27-2007, 05:34 PM
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#204 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: SP Manuel Reno
Manuel Reno:
The fourth group of Hall of Famers are those players who got their careers started roughly from 2033 to 2042. The first player of this group is a slight exception, as he actually got his career started earlier than that, in 2030. Following in the footsteps of Valentin Sojo and Jacob Jackson, Manuel Reno established himself as the ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout the 30's. Reno was originally drafted by Kansas City with the 7th pick overall in 2024. After two up and down seasons at A ball, Reno broke out in a big way in 2026, whiffing 276 batters while posting an ERA of 2.89. But in the winter of 2027, a blockbuster trade went down between Pittsburgh and Kansas City. In the aftermath of getting swept by Los Angeles in a stunning NLCS, Pittsburgh's GM demanded changes. Heading to the Royals were star shortstop, Joseph Allaire, and a pair of middling prospects. Heading to Pittsburgh were the young Reno, a shortstop prospect with a powerful bat named Juan Shiver, and a middling second base prospect. Reno spent his first season in the Pittsburgh organization repeating A ball yet again. Once again, he was dominant. In 2028, he started off at A again, but after five brilliant starts, he was moved up to AA, where he continued to dominate. In 2029, he split between AA and AAA, and was virtually unhittable, posting a combined ERA of 1.89 with a K/BB of 275/19. With ace Jacob Jackson having left as a free agent, Manuel Reno was expected to move into the Pittsburgh rotation in 2030. The 25 year old did so with an amazing ease. Reno led the team in wins, with 21; in strikeouts, with 206; in ERA, with a 2.85 mark; and in WHIP, with a 1.00 mark. He walked the fewest batters of any of the Pirates' starting pitchers. He threw one of the team's two complete game shutouts. He was named to the All Star team. He won the Rookie of the Year award. He won the Cy Young Award- the only rookie ever to do so. His 21 wins set a record for rookie pitchers. It was a truly magnificent season. But the season's end came all too swiftly for Pittsburgh. Despite winning the Northeast Division with 100 wins, the Pirates went up against the Emanuel Maxon-led San Diego Padres, and were swept in the NLCS. In Reno's only start, he was blasted for 8 runs in 4 innings. Reno's sophomore season was more difficult. Even when he was pitching effectively, run support was hard to come by, as Pittsburgh was the third worst team in baseball at scoring runs. But Pittsburgh's pitching was the best in baseball, and that kept them at the top of the division, with 96 wins. But again, the postseason stay was short-lived. Reno's first playoff start was a disaster, as he gave up 6 runs in 5 innings. His second start was much better. With the Pirates trailing in the series, 3 games to 1, Reno staved off elimination with a superb performance. He tossed 8 innings, and allowed only 2 runs, while striking out 7 batters. He also doubled and scored a run in the 4-2 victory. But Pittsburgh fell in Game 6, and its season was finished. In 2032, Pittsburgh rolled over the National League to the tune of 114 wins. The lackluster offense of the previous season received a boost from a certain 25 year old rookie by the name of Juan Shiver. The same Shiver who came to Pittsburgh as a shortstop was now trying to learn 1B. While his glove was still raw, his bat was big league ready, and he banged out 23 homeruns and won the Rookie of the Year award. The Pirates' runs scored went from 14th in baseball, to 4th. Reno, meanwhile, had a fine season, with only 3 losses and a league leading 2.31 ERA. The Pirates had little difficulty with a 79 win Sacramento team in the NLCS, knocking them off in five games. But in the World Series against a surprising 78 win Memphis team, Pittsburgh was embarassed. After surviving the first game with a 10-8 victory, the team quickly unraveled. Game 2 was a blowout loss. In Game 3, the team blew a lead, and lost 6-4. Reno finally took the mound in Game 4, and was brilliant until tiring late with a 2-0 lead. The team promptly imploded and lost 8-2. Then, in the deciding Game 5, a big inning for Memphis turned a close Pittsburgh lead into a blowout for the Grizzlies to win the World Series. In '33, both Pittsburgh's hitting and pitching remained among the league's best, and the Pirates ripped off 110 wins. Reno won 19 games and posted an ERA even better than the year before: 2.29. In the NLCS, the Pirates knocked off San Diego in 5 games. Against Tucson in the World Series, they would take nothing for granted. Superb pitching in Game 1 got Pittsburgh a 2-0 victory. Reno pitched well in Game 2, but didn't really need to, as the Pirate bats broke out for 10 runs. After the Diamondbacks took Game 3, 9-5, Pittsburgh took Games 4 and 5 by scores of 9-4 and 5-3, respectively. It was the first World Series victory for Pittsburgh since 2023. It wouldn't be the last. The 2034 season was almost unfair for Pittsburgh. Reno won the Cy Young Award, winning 20 games with a league-leading 1.78 ERA, and the Pirates won an astounding 119 games, the most in franchise history at that point. Pittsburgh made quick work of Los Angeles in the NLCS, sweeping the Dodgers. In the World Series, the Pirates were pitted against Nashville, a team whose pitching wasn't really that good even by American League standards. Shaky pitching tends to doom a team's chances against quality teams, and against Pittsburgh, Nashville's pitching fell apart. The Pirates raced to a 3-0 series lead, bludgeoning Nashville by a combined 31-14, even though Reno himself got battered for 6 runs in 2 innings in Game 1. After the Predators avoided getting swept, Pittsburgh's bats just overwhelmed Nashville in Game 5. Although Reno was hit hard again- he gave up 5 runs in 6 1/3 innings, the Pirates banged out 20 hits in a 14-5 rout. 2035 was nearly a carbon copy of '34. Reno was great, winning 21 games with a league-leading 2.06 ERA, and the Pirates cruised to 115 wins. Pittsburgh then breezed through the playoffs, sweeping both Los Angeles and Washington, capturing its third straight World Series title. Early in 2036, Manuel Reno forever immortalized his name, tossing the 20th no-hitter in league history, a dominating 13 strikeout performance against Sacramento, that came just one day after Memphis' Larry Page threw a no-hitter against Atlanta. Reno went on to have another fine season, winning 19 games with a league-leading 2.74 ERA. The Pirates were again a powerhouse, and went on to win their fourth consecutive championship. They overcame a 2 games to 1 deficit against San Diego in the NLCS and won that series in 6 games. 76 win Nashville was surprisingly competitive in the World Series, but Pittsburgh handled them in 5 games. The Pirates run of championships came to an end in 2037. Though Reno was brilliant, going 21-2 with a league-leading 2.02 ERA, and won his third Cy Young Award, the Pirates were surprised by eventual World Series winner, Portland, in the NLCS, losing to the Trailblazers in 6 games. One would have thought that a great pitcher like Reno would put up even more amazing numbers in an expansion year, with the increase in weaker hitters suddenly playing regularly. That's not what happened, however, in 2038. Reno spent much of the season sidelined with an injury to his tricep muscle, and when he was healthy, he posted the second worst ERA of his career. Still, he was ready for the postseason, and after Pittsburgh knocked off San Diego in the NLCS in 7 games, Reno earned the victory in Game 1 of the World Series against Tucson. The Pirates fell apart after that. Multiple leads were blown in a 10-9, 11-inning loss in Game 2. Game 3 was close 4-2 loss, but Game 4 was 13-5 rout. Reno took the mound again in Game 5, and while he pitched well- only 1 run allowed in 6 1/3 innings- he did not get a decision. The Pirates managed to avoid elimination by rallying from a 3-2 deficit with runs in the 8th and 9th innings in a 4-3 victory. Game 6 was disastrous 8-3 loss, however. Pittsburgh was an absolute juggernaught in 2039, winning an incredible 125 games. Reno again missed time to injury, but still managed to win 17 games. He also returned to his ERA league-leading ways, posting the NL's best mark with a 2.53 ERA. Pittsburgh defeated San Diego in 6 games in the NLCS, and then swept aside Kansas City in the World Series. In 2040, Reno won 19 games and set a career high with 212 strikeouts. Pittsburgh won the division again, but fell to Sacramento in the NLCS in 5 games. In '41, Reno set a career high with 23 wins. The NLCS against Portland was a draining battle that Pittsburgh won in 7 games. After Portland's Herman Sydow tossed a 6 hit shutout in a 1-0 victory to put the Trailblazers up 3 games to 1, the Pirates ace took the mound and did what an ace is supposed to do. Reno pitched 7 2/3 innings of 3 hit, shutout ball to help give the Pirates a 4-0 victory. Pittsburgh nearly blew a 6-0 lead in Game 6, but hung on for a 7-5 win to even the series. They didn't let Sydow beat them again. In Game 7, Pittsburgh tagged the great Portland pitcher for 6 runs, 5 in the first inning, and cruised to an 8-3 victory. In the ALCS, Knoxville had a relatively light time of it, beating an 80-win Grand Rapids team in only 5 games. Thus, they were well rested when the World Series against Pittsburgh began. Well rested? Or rusty? The supposedly exhausted Pirates blasted Knoxville 7-2 in Game 1. In Game 2, Reno pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball, and the Pirates won 5-0. Pittsburgh struck for 3 first inning runs in Game 3 en route to a 4-2 win. The Pirates completed the sweep of Knoxville with a 3-1 victory in Game 4. Following the World Series, Pittsburgh was given an unexpected surprise. The 36 year old Manuel Reno, who many felt still had another one or two good seasons left in him, announced his retirement. It was a sudden end to an impressive era. At the time of his retirement, Reno ranked first all time in ERA, by a whopping 0.44 over 2nd place John Caylor. He ranked 13th all time in wins. Reno held the top spot in ERA until the 2079 season, when Segundo Narbaiza managed to get his ERA underneath Reno's. Today, Reno ranks second in ERA to Narbaiza. Reno's 21 wins as a rookie in 2030 remains both the National League and the major league rookie record, though it is in danger of falling this season to another Pittsburgh rookie, Andreas Fajardo, who has already reached 20 wins. Reno's stats: Code:
Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO Teams 2030 32 32 21 4 0 2.85 215.0 182 70 68 32 206 1 1 PIT,NL 2031 32 32 12 9 0 3.65 202.1 205 91 82 49 148 0 0 PIT 2032 28 26 14 3 0 2.31 183.0 147 51 47 32 148 0 0 PIT 2033 28 28 19 3 0 2.29 204.2 162 60 52 29 169 5 3 PIT 2034 32 32 20 3 0 1.78 228.0 176 51 45 27 198 3 3 PIT,NL 2035 32 32 21 6 0 2.08 221.0 169 52 51 35 189 0 0 PIT,NL 2036 32 32 19 4 0 2.74 227.0 201 71 69 23 204 1 1 PIT,NL 2037 30 30 21 2 0 2.03 208.2 173 49 47 27 190 2 2 PIT,NL 2038 23 21 12 4 0 3.55 132.0 130 55 52 19 120 0 0 PIT 2039 30 30 17 3 0 2.53 213.2 168 66 60 28 200 1 0 PIT 2040 33 33 19 7 0 2.65 220.2 193 82 65 33 212 2 1 PIT 2041 33 33 23 3 0 2.52 221.0 184 67 62 35 187 3 2 PIT,NL Total 365 361 218 51 0 2.54 2477.0 2090 765 700 369 2171 18 13 Career Minor League Pitching Stats Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO 2024, A 24 24 8 10 0 3.45 169.2 187 67 65 42 123 2 0 2025, A 25 25 8 10 0 4.27 158.0 203 82 75 35 132 0 0 2026, A 25 25 13 7 0 2.89 168.1 177 55 54 23 276 0 0 2027, A 26 26 11 7 0 3.16 151.0 158 56 53 20 292 0 0 2028, A 5 5 4 0 0 2.20 32.2 27 8 8 3 54 0 0 2028, AA 20 20 7 2 0 2.67 121.1 127 38 36 12 204 0 0 2029, AA 10 10 6 0 0 1.56 63.1 54 13 11 9 107 0 0 2029, AAA 16 16 8 3 0 2.10 98.2 97 26 23 10 168 0 0 Career Postseason Pitching Stats Year G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG SHO 2030 1 1 0 1 0 6.75 4.0 9 8 3 0 3 0 0 2031 2 2 1 1 0 5.54 13.0 11 8 8 0 11 0 0 2032 3 3 2 0 0 2.29 19.2 21 5 5 4 17 0 0 2033 3 3 2 0 0 3.98 20.1 18 9 9 0 23 0 0 2034 3 3 2 0 0 6.61 16.1 18 12 12 4 6 0 0 2035 2 2 1 0 0 3.94 16.0 18 7 7 2 10 0 0 2036 3 3 1 1 0 5.21 19.0 24 11 11 5 15 0 0 2037 2 2 0 1 0 4.15 13.0 14 6 6 2 14 0 0 2038 4 4 2 1 0 2.92 24.2 28 9 8 5 24 0 0 2039 3 3 1 1 0 2.66 20.1 15 7 6 2 21 0 0 2040 2 2 0 1 0 5.73 11.0 15 7 7 8 8 0 0 2041 3 3 2 1 0 1.23 22.0 15 3 3 6 21 0 0 Total 31 31 14 8 0 3.84 199.1 206 92 85 38 173 0 0 Career Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams 2030 32 74 7 4 1 0 5 1 3 35 0 0 .095 .130 .176 .306 PIT,NL 2031 32 60 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 31 0 0 .033 .049 .050 .099 PIT 2032 28 57 7 2 0 0 1 3 3 27 0 1 .123 .167 .158 .325 PIT 2033 28 69 8 1 2 0 2 6 1 33 1 0 .116 .129 .188 .317 PIT 2034 32 76 4 2 0 0 3 2 7 40 0 0 .053 .133 .079 .211 PIT,NL 2035 32 79 5 0 2 0 0 4 3 33 1 1 .063 .098 .114 .211 PIT,NL 2036 32 78 4 3 0 0 2 3 3 36 0 0 .051 .086 .090 .176 PIT,NL 2037 30 67 5 0 1 0 2 3 4 28 0 1 .075 .127 .104 .231 PIT,NL 2038 23 36 2 1 0 0 2 3 5 16 0 0 .056 .171 .083 .254 PIT 2039 30 76 4 2 0 0 3 2 1 25 0 0 .053 .065 .079 .144 PIT 2040 33 70 3 1 0 0 4 5 7 28 2 0 .043 .130 .057 .187 PIT 2041 33 69 4 0 0 0 3 5 6 33 2 1 .058 .133 .058 .191 PIT,NL Total 365 811 55 17 6 0 28 37 44 365 6 4 .068 .116 .104 .219 Player History Drafted in 1st round, 7th overall pick, by Kansas City in 2024... Traded from Kansas City to Pittsburgh on 1/31/2027 (Going to KC: SS J. Allaire, RF P. Cavitt, P M. Salazar. Going to PIT: P M. Reno, SS J. Shiver, 2B E. Gettinger)... Earned first career win on 4/15/2030... Had first career hit (double) on 6/14/2030, off John Noren (LA)... Was selected to the 2030 Allstar game... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2030, going 3-0, 1.41... Won Rookie of the Year Award in 2030, going 21-4, 2.85 ERA... Won Cy Young Award in 2030, going 21-4, 2.85 ERA... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2032, going 3-0, 0.65... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2033, going 4-1, 1.57... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2033... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2034, going 3-1, 1.13... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2034, going 4-0, 1.25... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2034, going 3-1, 1.42... Was selected to the 2034 Allstar game... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2034, going 4-0, 1.59... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2034... Won Cy Young Award in 2034, going 20-3, 1.78 ERA... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2035, going 4-0, 2.16... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2035, going 4-1, 0.95... Was selected to the 2035 Allstar game... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2035... Pitched NO-HITTER against Sacramento on 4/17/2036, striking out 13... Was selected to the 2036 Allstar game... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2036, going 5-0, 2.11... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2036... Was selected to the 2037 Allstar game... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/2037, going 5-1, 2.06... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2037, going 2-0, 1.17... Won Cy Young Award in 2037, going 21-2, 2.03 ERA... Injured on 4/22/2038 with a Strained Tricep Muscle, out for 8 weeks... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 10/1/2038, going 4-0, 0.44... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 6/1/2039, going 5-0, 0.45... Injured on 6/13/2039 with a Ruptured Bicep Tendon, out for 3 weeks... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 7/1/2039, going 3-0, 1.14... Struck out 15 batters against Portland on 8/25/2039... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2039... Won Pitcher of the Month award on 5/1/2041, going 5-1, 1.19... Was selected to the 2041 Allstar game... Won World Series with Pittsburgh in 2041... Retired in 2042. Pitching Leader Boards Appearances ERA 2030 - 2.85 - 2nd 2031 - 3.65 - 4th 2032 - 2.31 - 1st 2033 - 2.29 - 2nd 2034 - 1.78 - 1st 2035 - 2.08 - 1st 2036 - 2.74 - 1st 2037 - 2.03 - 1st 2039 - 2.53 - 1st 2040 - 2.65 - 2nd 2041 - 2.52 - 2nd WHIP 2030 - 1.00 - 2nd 2032 - 0.98 - 1st 2033 - 0.93 - 2nd 2034 - 0.89 - 1st 2035 - 0.92 - 1st 2036 - 0.99 - 1st 2037 - 0.96 - 2nd 2039 - 0.92 - 2nd 2040 - 1.02 - 3rd 2041 - 0.99 - 2nd Wins 2030 - 21 - 2nd 2033 - 19 - 2nd 2034 - 20 - 2nd 2035 - 21 - 2nd 2036 - 19 - 2nd 2037 - 21 - 4th 2040 - 19 - 6th 2041 - 23 - 2nd IP 2034 - 228.0 - 9th 2035 - 221.0 - 9th 2036 - 227.0 - 10th K's 2030 - 206 - 5th 2034 - 198 - 6th 2035 - 189 - 7th 2036 - 204 - 6th 2037 - 190 - 10th 2039 - 200 - 9th 2040 - 212 - 9th CG 2033 - 5 - 9th SHO 2033 - 3 - 1st 2034 - 3 - 3rd 2037 - 2 - 10th 2041 - 2 - 8th
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2081: Desperation in Denver |
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10-27-2007, 06:00 PM
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#205 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: LF Peter Allman
Peter Allman:
In 2028, a young Matthew Allman completed his second full season, and an impressive one it was, as he ripped 50 doubles and 28 homers. So it was no surprise that a team might be interested in the younger brother of Matthew. Surely that kind of talent runs in the family? Tucson selected the 19 year old Peter Allman in the second round of the 2029 draft. Peter, younger than his brother by four years, began his professional career at the lowest level of the minors. That was a contrast to his brother, who didn't spend a day in the minor leagues. And while Matthew was quickly emerging as a major star, the younger Peter did not find things so easy. In '29, he struggled through a mediocre season. He seemed to have solid tools, as he swiped 17 bases, but his hitting approach was in need of a lot of work. His walk/strikeout rate was a pathetic 16/123 and he managed just a .278 OBP. Repeating the level in 2030, Allman took a slight step forward. His plate discipline was still a mess, but he did cut down just a bit on the strikeouts. His batting average improved, and he flashed a touch of power. His presence on the basepaths remained superb, as he stole 29 bases in 34 attempts. His third year at A ball in 2031 was a small setback. The raw tools were there, but it remained in question whether he would consolidate them enough to reach the majors. 2032, then, was seemingly a make or break season for Peter Allman. He began the year once more at single A- his fourth season there. Suddenly, it began to click for Peter. He tore through the league that spring and early summer. And then in mid-July, Tucson's single A manager called him into his office. After 3 1/2 months of a .370/.374/.462 batting line, Peter Allman was headed to AA. Allman's AA stint was a major struggle. His .236 average and .586 OPS in 195 at bats were the worst numbers of his minor league career. But that didn't phase the Tucson front office. The following year, Allman was moved up again, to AAA. Allman rewarded the confidence that was displayed in him, and batted .307 with a .731 OPS at AAA. In July, Allman received his first taste of the big leagues, and played sporadically in that month and in August before seeing significant action in the season's final month. He acquitted himself respectably, with a .271 average and a .730 OPS. Allman then received a rather pleasant surprise. The Diamondbacks captured the AL Central Division crown, and were headed to the playoffs. Tucson's manager informed the 23 year old Allman that he was going to be on the postseason roster. Though Allman's overall performance in the playoffs was poor, he did make one key contribution. After three games in the ALCS, Tucson led 2 games to 1 over Knoxville. In Game 3, however, the Diamondbacks trailed 5-2 heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. The young Allman stepped to the plate with two outs and a runner aboard. Though he would never become known for his homerun power, here, Allman delivered, blasting a two run homerun to cut Knoxville's lead to one run. Later, in the 8th inning, Allman's run scoring single triggered a three run rally, and Tucson prevailed 8-7 over Knoxville. The Diamondbacks went on to beat the 79ers in 6 games to reach the World Series. Allman did not see much action in the World Series, and Tucson fell to Pittsburgh in 5 games. Allman enjoyed a fine rookie season in 2034, finishing second in the batting race with a .352 average. He collected 223 hits and stole 32 bases. Both the batting average and hit total were AL single season rookie records. Tucson, however, slipped to second place in the division despite winning 89 games. In '35, Allman won the batting title, hitting .363, and posted 200 hits for the second time. He swiped 35 bases and improved his success rate. The Diamondbacks returned to the top of the Central, finishing with the second best record in baseball at 97-65. Allman was incredible in the postseason, though Tucson fell to Washington in one of the most exciting postseason series in history. The Diamondbacks led the series 2 games to 1 after three games. But Game 4 was a doozy. The game featured a whopping 6 future Hall of Famers: Allman, Danny Homan, Randy Tapp, and Jeremy Poss on the Tucson side, and Jason Dockins and Greg Dos Santos on the Washington side. Dockins was the first to make his presence known. The Washington rightfielder slammed a first inning homerun off of Jeremy Poss to give the Senators the early lead. But Tucson's Danny Homan ripped a run-scoring double in the 4th inning to tie up the game. Washington retook the lead in the 5th, and pushed it to 3-1 in the 7th inning. Tucson's designated hitter, John DeSilva smashed a grand slam in the 8th inning, and Tucson led 5-3. Washington, however, tied it back up in the bottom of the eighth. It was nothing but goose-eggs for both teams in the 9th, 10th, and 11th innings. In the 12th inning, Allman cranked a two run homer to put the Diamondbacks on top. The lead didn't hold. Washington tied it up in the bottom of the inning. The two teams exchanged runs in the 13th inning. The 14th was scoreless. Finally, in the bottom of the 15th inning, Washington came up with a run, winning the game 9-8. Peter Allman had 4 hits in the contest. The Senators banged out 26 hits in the game. With the series tied at 2, Game 5 proved to be nearly as thrilling. The Senators grabbed an early 3-0 lead, getting a 2 run homer from Greg Dos Santos. But after Tucson tied it up in the 4th inning, Allman delivered another homerun, a two run shot in the 5th inning to give Tucson the lead. The lead didn't last long, and by the start of the 7th inning, Washington was on top again, 7-5. The Senators hung on for a 7-6 victory. Game 6 looked like it might be anticlimactic. Washington struck for 4 first inning runs, with Dos Santos providing another 2 run homer. The Senators remained in control of the game until the bottom of the 9th. Tucson trailed 5-1 to start the inning, but despite getting one run across, the Diamondbacks were still on the brink of elimination when Peter Allman stepped to the plate with a runner aboard and two outs. Allman promptly lashed a run-scoring triple. The next batter, Danny Homan, put one into the seats to tie up the game at 5. The Senators, however, retook the lead in the 10th inning, and hung on for the 6-5 victory. Still, it was an amazing performance for Allman, who hit .519 in the series with 3 homers and 12 RBI. Early in 2036, Allman was injured, but he returned to hit a career-best .366. It would have led the league, had he enough at bats to qualify for the batting title. Tucson cruised to another division title, winning 101 games, but Allman was injured again in September and did not play in the playoffs. Tucson surely missed him, as they were stunned by the 76 win Nashville Predators in 5 games in the ALCS. Allman returned from injury to hit .359 in 2037, collecting a career high 239 hits, which also set an AL single season record. The Diamondbacks slumped to 85 wins and second place, unfortunately. They wouldn't stay down for long. The Tucson Diamondbacks had played in just three World Series, and had lost them all: 2005, 2006, and 2033. That would change in the expansion year of 2038. Allman hit .347 and set a career high with 40 doubles, while the Diamondbacks rolled through the American League, winning 106 games to beat out Memphis by one game for the Central Division crown. Atlanta, led by Peter's brother, Matthew, was a tough foe to face in the ALCS, but Allman stepped forward with another strong playoff performance. With Tucson trailing the series 3 games to 2, and having just blown a 6-3 lead in Game 6, Allman stepped to the plate with a runner aboard and one out, with the score tied 6-6 in Game 6. A laser into the corner for a triple broke the tie, and Tucson managed to hang on for an 8-6 win. In Game 7, the Diamondbacks blew a 1 run lead in the ninth inning, but rallied to win anyways, 3-2. In Game 1 of the World Series, Tucson jumped on Pittsburgh ace, Manuel Reno, for four first inning runs, but the Pirates were too strong and rallied to win 11-6. In Game 2, Tucson again grabbed a quick 4 run lead, and again could not hold the lead. This time, however, the Diamondbacks battled back for a 10-9 win in 10 innings. Allman delivered a solo homerun in the 6th inning of Game 3 to break a 2-2 tie, and Tucson hung on for a 4-2 victory. In Game 4, Allman had 3 hits and scored 3 runs as Tucson pummeled the Pirates, 13-5. The Pirates forced a sixth game, but Tucson captured its first championship with an 8-3 victory. Allman enjoyed another fine postseason run, hitting .379 overall, with 10 extra base hits, 9 RBI, and 13 runs scored. 11 of his 22 hits came in the World Series, as did 9 of the 13 runs scored. Allman struggled a bit in 2039, posting his first sub-.800 OPS in a full season, and though the Diamondbacks won 101 games, they finished in second place, 6 games behind Kansas City. In 2040, however, Allman bounced back, hitting .360 with an .860 OPS. Tucson won the Central Division by 10 games, and faced off once more with Matthew Allman's Atlanta Braves. Again, the Braves proved to be a difficult opponent, and the series went to seven games. With Tucson clinging to a 5-3 lead in Game 7, Peter Allman kept the team in control of the game, delivering a seventh inning homerun, and the Diamondbacks went on to win 9-4. In the World Series, Tucson was pitted against the 108 win Sacramento Kings. After getting knocked around, 7-4, in Game 1, the Diamondbacks appeared to get things under control, winning both Game 2 and Game 3 by getting excellent starting pitching. Game 4 was a disastrous, 10-4 defeat, however, and after a close loss in Game 5, Tucson faced elimination. After falling behind early, 2-0, Tucson fought back, and through 6 innings, led 6-2. Then disaster struck. Starting pitcher, Jack Yohe, had tossed a 4 hit shutout in Game 3, and seemed to have Game 6 in control. The Kings, however, erupted for 8 runs in the 7th inning, and hung on for the 10-6 victory to win the World Series. Allman missed a good portion of the '41 season due to injuries, including all of September in a season that saw Tucson and Grand Rapids finish tied for the division lead with 79-83 records. Grand Rapids won the one game playoff to reach the playoffs, and Tucson's season was finished. The mediocre record in 2041 wasn't an aberration. In '42, though Allman returned from the injury riddled season to post his 7th 200 hit season, the Diamondbacks finished just 81-81, and in third in place. Allman posted his 8th, and final, 200 hit season in 2043, but Tucson again finished just 81-81. It was Allman's final season in Tucson. In the winter of '44, Allman was dealt to the National League's Buffalo Bills. The still fledgling franchise had begun to shows signs of a breakthrough, having won 83 games in 2042, and a sort of respectable 75 games in '43. Allman was solid, if unspectacular, posting a .778 OPS, but the Bills were competitive, winning 86 games to finish in second place in the Northeast Division. Allman's stay in Buffalo, however, was short-lived. Before even one month of the 2045 season could be completed, Buffalo traded Allman to Washington. Allman performed solidly, and set a career high with 14 homeruns, but the Senators were a middling team, and won only 77 games. 2046 was Allman's last full season, and he again performed decently. The Senators won 86 games, but finished a distant second to the Southeast Division winning Miami Dolphins. Allman played very sparingly in 2047 and also missed time due to injuries. He retired after the season. At the time of his retirement, Allman ranked 5th all time in batting average, and 23rd in triples. Today, he ranks 13th in batting average. Allman's 223 hits as a rookie in 2034 remains the American League single season rookie record today. His .352 batting average that year remained the AL single season record until 2050, when another future Hall of Famer, Miami's Claudio Romeo, shattered it with a .372 mark. Allman's 239 hits in 2037 remained the American League single season record until 2042, when Grand Rapids' Marcelino Luevano collected 240 hits. Allman's stats: Code:
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams 2033 28 48 13 2 1 1 5 8 3 8 3 1 .271 .314 .417 .730 TUC 2034 148 633 223 29 6 8 76 115 35 83 32 15 .352 .386 .455 .841 TUC 2035 152 609 221 30 10 10 90 91 32 75 35 8 .363 .395 .494 .889 TUC,AL 2036 107 462 169 22 5 7 53 77 20 64 18 13 .366 .392 .481 .873 TUC 2037 156 666 239 32 4 8 77 94 29 95 30 18 .359 .386 .455 .841 TUC,AL 2038 152 662 230 40 8 13 81 136 36 84 22 18 .347 .381 .491 .872 TUC,AL 2039 154 658 210 34 5 6 68 105 37 88 21 23 .319 .355 .413 .769 TUC 2040 143 622 224 29 9 9 90 104 21 79 29 20 .360 .381 .479 .860 TUC 2041 113 429 146 15 10 3 66 70 25 66 12 11 .340 .377 .443 .820 TUC 2042 154 665 218 35 11 10 86 109 29 97 24 14 .328 .356 .459 .815 TUC 2043 150 611 208 30 3 9 77 111 36 67 32 15 .340 .377 .444 .821 TUC 2044 152 632 194 26 9 12 73 101 36 80 20 20 .307 .344 .434 .778 TUC BUF 2045 145 596 180 20 7 14 87 101 38 77 19 6 .302 .344 .430 .773 BUF WAS 2046 146 583 180 26 5 8 74 93 21 84 15 11 .309 .333 .412 .744 WAS 2047 25 23 5 1 0 0 1 6 1 4 1 1 .217 .250 .261 .511 WAS Total 1925 7899 2660 371 93 118 1004 1321 399 1051 313 194 .337 .369 .452 .821 Career Minor League Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2029, A 136 549 145 21 1 5 59 58 16 123 17 8 .264 .278 .333 .611 2030, A 133 565 170 29 3 8 54 87 26 108 29 5 .301 .326 .405 .731 2031, A 137 548 154 24 4 9 62 68 29 117 22 9 .281 .312 .389 .700 2032, A 89 368 136 15 2 5 50 58 10 69 19 6 .370 .374 .462 .836 2032, AA 49 195 46 6 0 3 17 22 11 37 5 0 .236 .273 .313 .586 2033, AAA 82 348 107 19 1 3 37 50 20 45 26 5 .307 .338 .394 .731 Career Postseason Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2033 4 16 3 0 0 1 4 2 1 3 0 1 .188 .235 .375 .610 2035 6 27 14 0 1 3 12 8 0 2 1 1 .519 .519 .926 1.444 2038 13 58 22 5 4 1 9 13 0 3 1 0 .379 .379 .655 1.034 2040 13 56 17 2 1 1 6 8 1 5 0 1 .304 .316 .429 .744 Total 36 157 56 7 6 6 31 31 2 13 2 3 .357 .365 .592 .957 Player History Drafted in 2nd round, 26th overall pick, by Tucson in 2029... Injured on 5/13/2030 with a Pulled Hamstring Muscle, out for one week... Had first career hit on 8/28/2033, off Mariano Fernandez (KNO)... Hit first career homerun on 9/1/2033, off Michael Golding (ATL)... Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Atlanta on 7/13/2034... Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Kansas City on 9/11/2034... Had 5 hits with 0 RBI against Memphis on 5/24/2035... Was selected to the 2035 Allstar game... Injured on 4/5/2036 with a Dislocated Shoulder, out for 6 weeks... Had 21-game hitting streak snapped on 8/12/2036... Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Memphis on 9/7/2036... Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2036, hitting .571 with 1 HR, 3 RBI... Injured on 9/19/2036 with a Pulled Rib Cage Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks... Had 5 hits with 6 RBI against Memphis on 4/3/2037... Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Grand Rapids on 4/5/2037... Had 20-game hitting streak snapped on 5/10/2037... Was selected to the 2037 Allstar game... Sets a new season AL-Record for Hits with 237 on 10/1/2037... Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Grand Rapids on 4/11/2038... Hit for the cycle against Knoxville on 4/26/2038... Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Knoxville on 4/26/2038... Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Miami on 5/21/2038... Was selected to the 2038 Allstar game... Won World Series with Tucson in 2038... Had 5 hits with 0 RBI against Grand Rapids on 4/6/2039... Injured on 4/27/2040 with a Dislocated Finger, out for one week... Won Player of the Week award on 6/23/2040, hitting .444 with 3 HR, 9 RBI... Injured on 4/5/2041 with a Pulled Hip Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks... Had 33-game hitting streak snapped on 5/27/2042... Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2042, hitting .480 with 2 HR, 5 RBI... Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2042, hitting .426 with 4 HR, 16 RBI... Had 2000th career hit on 7/6/2043, off Kelly Steinman (GR)... Traded from Tucson to Buffalo on 2/10/2044 (Going to TUC: 1B R. Mott, P A. Hosley. Going to BUF: LF P. Allman)... Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Rochester on 4/1/2044... Had 5 hits with 6 RBI against Harrisburg on 9/2/2044... Traded from Buffalo to Washington on 4/24/2045 (Going to WAS: LF P. Allman. Going to BUF: RF E. Hess, 3B C. Peoples, P J. Bush)... Won Player of the Week award on 4/28/2045, hitting .500 with 1 HR, 7 RBI... Won Player of the Week award on 5/26/2045, hitting .571 with 2 HR, 10 RBI... Had 21-game hitting streak snapped on 6/1/2045... Had 21-game hitting streak snapped on 7/19/2045... Injured on 4/5/2047 with a Blurred Vision Eye, out for 2 weeks... Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2048. Batting Leader Boards Appearances AVG 2034 - .352 - 2nd 2035 - .363 - 1st 2037 - .359 - 3rd 2038 - .347 - 5th 2040 - .360 - 4th 2043 - .340 - 10th OBP 2035 - .395 - 6th Hits 2034 - 223 - 1st 2035 - 221 - 1st 2037 - 239 - 1st 2038 - 230 - 1st 2039 - 210 - 1st 2040 - 224 - 2nd 2042 - 218 - 5th 2043 - 208 - 7th 2044 - 194 - 8th Doubles 2038 - 40 - 6th Triples 2035 - 10 - 5th 2038 - 8 - 7th 2040 - 9 - 2nd 2041 - 10 - 2nd 2042 - 11 - 4th 2044 - 9 - 7th Runs 2038 - 136 - 3rd SB 2034 - 32 - 2nd 2035 - 35 - 3rd 2036 - 18 - 8th 2037 - 30 - 4th 2038 - 22 - 8th 2040 - 29 - 8th 2042 - 24 - 10th 2043 - 32 - 8th
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2081: Desperation in Denver |
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10-30-2007, 07:47 PM
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#206 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 560
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Remembering the Hall of Famers: John Rockwood
John Rockwood: Was the greatest hitter ever for the greatest franchise ever a utility player? Perhaps "utility player" is a stretch, but this player did make 778 starts in left field, 579 starts at third base, and 396 starts at shortstop. Few would argue that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been the greatest franchise in the league's history. Twenty-six championships since the inception of the league in 2003 are a convincing piece of evidence to make that argument. But who was the greatest hitter in Pittsburgh's history? Micheal Bruce? Kangourou Yataro? Abdiel Llorent? Gerald Lipscomb? All were Hall of Famers, certainly, but most would argue that the greatest Pirate of them all was the utterly unselfish John Rockwood, who was willing to play wherever he was needed to get his bat into the lineup. And what a bat it was. Some call him the greatest Pirate hitter ever, but there are also those who place his name among the greatest of all time. They aren't scoffed at. Not only is his 1.035 career OPS the second highest of all time, he is also the author of perhaps the greatest single season ever recorded for a hitter. Rockwood's tale begins in 2028. With the final pick of the first round of the amateur draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected a young third baseman by the name of John Rockwood. They liked the 18 year old's power potential, and his glove at the hot corner was quite good. He was also considered to be adequate at shortstop. Though Pittsburgh already had Gerald Lipscomb settling in at third, and an established shortstop, Bernal Quiros, it was felt that Rockwood was far enough away that things would sort themselves out eventually. Rockwood's first season in the minors, at A ball, showed his power potential, as he hit 17 homeruns, but it also showed how raw he still was, as he managed just a .262 average and only a .299 OBP. He repeated single A in '29, and his numbers improved a bit. He made a third go around at A ball in 2030, but while his batting average and OBP improved, his power dropped off. In 2031, his fourth season at single A, he began to make impressive strides in his hitting. However, he also spent much of the season injured. In '32, he played his fifth season at single A, and had a very impressive season, hitting .324 with 20 homeruns. Despite this, he once again started off at A ball in 2033. But one month into the season, Pittsburgh finally moved him up to AA. He spent three months ripping up AA pitchers to the tune of a .311 AVG and .822 OPS, when he was promoted once again, this time to AAA. He spent the final month of the minor league season dismantling AAA pitchers, hitting .341 with an .884 OPS. Wanting Rockwood to get a full season at AAA, Pittsburgh kept him at that level for the 2034 season. And there, for the first time, Rockwood seemed to hit a bit of a speed bump. His numbers were solid, but not quite as good as the Pirates had been hoping. His OPS was only .785 and he didn't seem to have as much homerun power as was anticipated. Worse, Pittsburgh then faced a dilemma. Rockwood was a good 3B and an adequate SS, but the Pirates had established players there. Pittsburgh wanted Rockwood at the big league level, but it also wanted him to be playing every day. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself. Abdiel Llorent had given the Pirates many great seasons, but he was 39 years old and ready to retire. Could Rockwood move to left field? Certainly, he was athletic enough. On the other hand, learning in the big leagues wasn't an attractive option. So it was that at the start of the '35 season, Rockwood was at AAA trying to learn to play left field. Pittsburgh's coaches told Rockwood: "You'll come up either when we deem your glove good enough, or if you well enough that we don't care if you field like a fire hydrant." On May 17, 2035, Rockwood's manager in AAA gave him the news: "You're going up, kid." In the end, Rockwood's promotion was due both his bad and his glove. He had shown himself to be average defensively in left field, which was just fine after he hammered AAA pitching for a month and a half with a .376 batting average and a 1.005 OPS. Of course, when Rockwood came up, instead of playing strictly left field, he was used more in a utility role, with 21 starts at third, 23 starts at short, and 14 starts in left field. His numbers were solid: a .788 OPS in 238 at bats. In the playoffs, though the Pirates swept both Los Angeles and Washington to capture the World Series, Rockwood saw little action, and didn't particularly stand out when he did play. That is, until the 7th inning of the fourth and deciding World Series game. After 5 1/2 innings, the Pirates led comfortably, 8-2, and the end of the series seemed to be close. But in the bottom of the 6th, the Senators showed one last bit of fire, and scored 5 runs to make it an 8-7 game. Suddenly things were a bit more tense. But then Rockwood led off the 7th inning with a homerun, and the Pirates hung on for a 10-7 victory. In 2036, Rockwood moved into the left field spot full time, though he still made some starts at 3B and SS. He instantly became one of the more dangerous hitters in the league. He finished second in the batting race with a .345 average, hit 22 homeruns, drove in 117, drew 74 walks, and made his first All Star team. The Pirates again cruised to a World Series victory. Rockwood was much more of a factor in this postseason. He homered once and drove in 4 runs in the NLCS against San Diego. He delivered a first inning homerun in Game 1 of the World Series, and though Nashville quickly erased that early lead, the Pirates went on to win the game 8-7 in 11 innings. In Game 3, he ripped a 2 run homer in the third inning to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead, but the Pirates couldn't hold it, and eventually lost 7-6 in 10 innings. In all, Rockwood delivered 3 homeruns and 7 RBI in the playoff run. Rockwood emerged as one of the elite hitters in the game in 2037. He hit a league-leading .377, with over 200 hits, 41 homeruns, a .470 OBP, and a 1.144 OPS. The numbers were good enough to win him the NL Silver Slugger Award. Despite that, Pittsburgh's run of consecutive championships came to an end at four. Despite a dominating 118 win season, the Pirates were upended by Portland in the NLCS in 6 games. 2038 was another great season for Rockwood; he hit .328 with 37 longballs and a 1.014 OPS. Rockwood had another solid postseason, but Pittsburgh fell to Tucson in the World Series in 6 games. In '39, Rockwood won a second batting title, hitting .370, and set a career high with 101 walks, which gave him a .470 OBP. Pittsburgh returned to the top of baseball, knocking off San Diego in 6 games in the NLCS, and sweeping Kansas City in the World Series. In Game 1 of the World Series, Pittsburgh blew a 4-2 lead, and the game was tied at 4 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. With one out, Rockwood homered to break the tie, and Pittsburgh went on to win 7-4. Rockwood then drove in 2 runs in a 6-5 Game 2 triumph. The rest of the series wasn't close, as Pittsburgh pounded the Royals by a combined 16-2 in Games 3 and 4. In 2040, Rockwood won his second Silver Slugger Award. He hit .342, with 41 homeruns, and posted a 1.087 OPS. He cooled in the postseason however, and the Pirates were defeated by Sacramento in 5 games in the NLCS. In 2030, San Diego's Emanuel Maxon had set the single season homerun record by slamming 70 moonshots. Four years later, Harrisburg's Tod Tsukasa made a serious charge for Maxon's record, falling short with 69 homeruns. In 2041, Pittsburgh's John Rockwood would make his own assault on the record books. But first, he would make a position switch. Long time shortstop Bernal Quiros had decided to retire, and the Pirates didn't really have a replacement ready. Utility infielder Donald Hoover was not considered an adequate starter. His bat was respectable, but he was not a good fielder. And so, Rockwood, who had played predominantly in left field since 2036, made the switch to shortstop. Any questions about his average glove at the position were quickly forgotten. Rockwood's run at history began with a most impressive April. Rockwood hit .351 and hammered a whopping 18 homeruns in the first month of the season. He didn't really cool off in May, hitting .432 with 15 homeruns. June saw him slip, slightly, hitting .413 with "only" 9 homers. That gave him 42 homeruns halfway through the season. Could he hit 80? He stayed hot in July, bopping 10 roundtrippers while hitting .354. He picked up the pace in August, hitting .432 with 11 homeruns. With one month to play, Rockwood stood at 63 homeruns. Would he shatter the single season record? No. Rockwood's run at history(at least that part of it) fell short. He batted .360 with 6 homeruns in the final month of the season, to finish with 69. Despite falling short of Emanuel Maxon, Rockwood made history in other ways. By leading the league in batting average(.388), homeruns(69), and runs batted in(176), he became the first player in league history to win the Triple Crown. To this day, Rockwood is one only two players to ever win the Triple Crown (although, I should point out that, due to Ellis Bolling's injury, Denver's Alexis Vazquez has a chance to win it this season. He is first in batting average, second in homeruns and only 1 back of the leaders-one of whom is Bolling, and second in RBI to Bolling. RBI will be the harder to overcome, but at least the number he is chasing will be static until the very end of the season). Rockwood also posted both the highest single season slugging percentage in history, at .829, and the highest single season OPS in history, at 1.298. Not surprisingly, Rockwood won the NL Silver Slugger Award for the third time in his career. It's also not surprising that Pittsburgh, powered by Rockwood's hitting, cruised to the playoffs again, winning 116 games. But Portland proved to be a difficult test in the NLCS, and after the Trailblazers' ace Herman Sydow tossed a 6 hit shutout in a 1-0 Game 4 victory, Portland held a commanding 3 games to 1 lead. In Game 5, the leaders of Pittsburgh's team stepped up and willed the Pirates to victory. Ace Manuel Reno blanked Portland on 3 hits through 7 2/3 innings, and John Rockwood drove in a pair of runs in a 4-0 victory. In Game 6, Rockwood had a hit, 2 walks, an RBI, and a run scored in a 7-5 Pittsburgh win. Rockwood didn't do much in the deciding Game 7, but virtually every other Pirate starter contributed, and Pittsburgh pulled out an 8-3 win to reach the World Series. Knoxville looked like a tough opponent for Pittsburgh. They had won 103 games during the regular season, and had brushed aside a mediocre Grand Rapids team in the ALCS. While Pittsburgh went to the wire with Portland, the 79ers had time to rest up. But things didn't go quite the way Knoxville hoped. In Game 1, Rockwood's 6th inning, run-scoring double helped to break open a 4-2 game, and Pittsburgh went on to a 7-2 victory. Rockwood's 5th inning homerun in Game 2 broke open a 2-0 game, and the Pirates prevailed, 5-0. He had 2 hits and a run scored in the Pirates' 4-2 Game 3 win. The Pirates capped the sweep of Knoxville with a 3-1 Game 4 victory; Rockwood had another 2 hits and a run scored. Rockwood didn't reach 60 homeruns in 2042, but still had a fine season, hitting .339 with 40 homers. He also reached 100 walks for the second time in his career. Rockwood also saw himself getting moved around the field again. Because both starting third-baseman Gerald Lipscomb and backup third-baseman Porfirio Cano retired, the Pirates were left without an established player at the hot corner. Rockwood still was the primary shortstop, making 94 starts there, but he was also one of several players to see significant time at third, making 42 starts there. Pittsburgh again reached the postseason. In a rematch of the previous season's NLCS, Portland was able to get the best of Pittsburgh, holding off a furious ninth inning, 4-run rally in Game 7, to escape with a 9-8 victory. In '43, Rockwood had his fourth 200 hit season, and hit over .370 for the third time. Rockwood moved back primarily to left field, making 74 starts there, but he still made 43 starts and 15 starts at SS and 3B, respectively. Pittsburgh and Portland met up in the NLCS for the third consecutive season, and Portland prevailed in six games. In '44, Rockwood posted his 8th consecutive season with an OPS greater than 1.000, and once again spent the year moving between LF, SS, and 3B: 62 starts at short, 35 at third, and 32 in left. The season also represented a bit of a switch for Pittsburgh. In most years, the Pirates were the dominant NL power, but though the Pirates did win the Northeast Division again, their 95 wins paled in comparison to the 114 that Portland delivered. For the fourth year in a row, Pittsburgh and Portland met up in the NLCS, and for the third year in a row, the Trailblazers were victors, handling the Pirates with ease in five games. In 2045, Rockwood settled in almost exclusively at third base, and he would remain there for the rest of his career. For the first time since '36, Rockwood failed to hit 30 homeruns in a season, and for the first time since '37, he failed to reach an OPS of 1.000. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh captured the Northeast Division title and prepared to face off against Portland in the NLCS for the fifth straight year. Rockwood missed most of the NLCS with an injury, but the Pirates finally defeated Portland after three straight NLCS losses, winning in 7 games. Rockwood returned in Game 4 of the World Series, with the Pirates trailing Miami, 2 games to 1. He walked and scored a run, and Pittsburgh evened the series with an 8-6 victory. He homered in the ninth inning of the fifth game, but it was too little, too late in a 10-3 defeat. He also drove in a run in Game 6, but the Pirates fell 3-2 to lose the Series. In 2046, Rockwood hit over .370 for the fifth and final time in his career. He also posted his ninth, and final, 1.000 OPS season. Pittsburgh won the Northeast again, but their recent annual sparring partner did not win its division. Portland was ridiculously unlucky, going just 16-28 in one run games, and it finished 8 games under its Pythagorean record. Despite having the best road record in the NL(53-28), a mediocre home performance dragged the Trailblazers record down to just 86-76. Emerging from the ashes of Portland's fall was San Diego, who won the West Division by 7 games. The Padres, however, were no match for the Pirates, and Pittsburgh handled San Diego in 5 games. In the American League, a 90 win Memphis team took the defending champion Miami Dolphins, winners of 108 games, to a 7th game in the ALCS, and prevailed in a 12-5 stomping. For the sixth time in league history, Pittsburgh and Memphis would meet up in the World Series. The most recent meeting, of course, was the upset of 2032- the Grizzlies only win against the Pirates in the World Series. Despite Pittsburgh's traditional dominance, Memphis raced to a 3 games to none lead. The Grizzlies won 4-2 in Game 1, rallied in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4 in Game 2, and got a complete game shutout from the most unlikely of heroes in a 6-0 Fame 3 victory: starting pitcher Lucien Stewart, who had lost 17 games during the regular season with an ERA of 6.33. The Pirates avoided the sweep with a 4-2 win in Game 4, but were destroyed in Game 5. Memphis scored 7 runs in the first two innings en route to a 7-3 victory. In 2047, Rockwood made his 12th consecutive appearance in the All Star game. It would be his last. He failed to drive in 100 runs for the first time since his rookie season of '35. Clearly, he was aging- he even set a career high in strikeouts, with 60! Pittsburgh rolled to the division title, winning 105 games. The Pirates NLCS opponent would be San Jose, a team on the rise. The Sharks had posted winning records in six consecutive seasons, and even won 101 games in '45, but won its first division title in '47. They were not ready for the battle-tested Pirates, who handled them in five games. The Pirates would get a chance for revenge in the World Series, as Memphis defeated Miami for a second year in a row in the ALCS. But revenge seemed far away after the Grizzlies quickly won Games 1 and 2. Abruptly, however, the Pittsburgh bats erupted. In Game 3, the Pirates banged out 15 hits in a 9-7 victory. Rockwood had 3 hits and 2 RBI in a 7-1 Game 4 rout. In Game 5, Rockwood belted a two run homer in the first inning, and the Pirates annihilated Memphis, 12-0. In Game 6, Rockwood broke a 3-3 tie with a two out, run-scoring double in the 7th inning. The Pirates held that lead to win the series with a 4-3 victory. Rockwood spent much of the 2048 season injured, and even when he was healthy, he struggled badly, posting the worst OPS of his career at .618. Despite that, Pittsburgh won 111 games to reach the postseason once again. The Pirates defeated Sacramento in six games in the NLCS to reach the World Series, where they faced off against Miami. The Pirates quickly grabbed a 2 games to none lead, shutting out the Dolphins 1-0 in Game 1, and rallying from a 5-0 deficit in Game 2 to win 6-5. Though John Rockwood would play very sparingly in the postseason, he did manage to drive in a run in this game. The Pirates collapsed, however, and lost four straight to lose the Series. Rockwood retired after the season, at the age of 38. At the time of his retirement, Rockwood ranked 1st all time in batting average. Today, Rockwood's average ranks fourth. Rockwood is also second all time in OPS. Rockwood's stats: Code:
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams 2035 91 238 71 12 1 6 34 35 21 35 3 1 .298 .355 .433 .788 PIT 2036 149 521 180 29 3 22 117 96 74 58 0 1 .345 .427 .539 .966 PIT,NL 2037 155 552 208 37 2 41 139 135 97 36 4 2 .377 .470 .674 1.144 PIT,NL 2038 156 530 174 24 1 37 139 119 92 37 1 1 .328 .428 .587 1.014 PIT,NL 2039 156 540 200 42 4 32 131 132 101 23 5 4 .370 .470 .641 1.110 PIT,NL 2040 157 538 184 33 3 41 138 129 98 46 12 5 .342 .443 .643 1.087 PIT,NL 2041 152 557 216 37 1 69 176 141 85 36 8 3 .388 .469 .829 1.298 PIT,NL 2042 155 560 190 34 3 40 137 129 100 40 6 2 .339 .439 .625 1.064 PIT,NL 2043 152 563 209 28 3 33 130 129 81 38 3 7 .371 .450 .607 1.058 PIT,NL 2044 155 518 190 23 5 33 108 129 98 35 6 5 .367 .468 .622 1.089 PIT,NL 2045 155 557 185 20 2 26 125 113 94 41 6 4 .332 .429 .515 .944 PIT,NL 2046 148 502 189 20 3 23 123 108 99 27 2 0 .376 .479 .566 1.045 PIT,NL 2047 151 525 184 19 1 21 96 109 83 60 0 0 .350 .439 .510 .950 PIT,NL 2048 103 338 80 11 0 5 35 49 33 69 0 0 .237 .305 .314 .618 PIT Total 2035 7039 2460 369 32 429 1628 1553 1156 581 56 35 .349 .441 .594 1.035 Career Minor League Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2028, A 137 546 143 22 2 17 62 66 36 113 3 6 .262 .299 .403 .702 2029, A 138 564 153 16 0 24 60 67 43 110 9 4 .271 .314 .427 .741 2030, A 137 560 163 21 0 13 50 54 59 109 5 5 .291 .356 .398 .754 2031, A 90 371 121 21 0 11 47 58 37 57 6 6 .326 .380 .472 .852 2032, A 138 580 188 25 0 20 87 85 54 103 12 14 .324 .373 .471 .844 2033, A 28 115 38 7 0 2 10 15 13 16 1 0 .330 .395 .443 .839 2033, AA 79 334 104 17 0 11 32 47 29 59 7 3 .311 .360 .461 .822 2033, AAA 30 126 43 9 0 3 13 24 15 15 0 3 .341 .400 .484 .884 2034, AAA 138 605 180 41 0 16 72 102 44 110 10 4 .298 .340 .445 .785 2035, AAA 42 186 70 14 0 8 29 28 17 23 1 1 .376 .424 .581 1.005 Career Postseason Batting Stats Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2035 2 12 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 6 0 0 .167 .231 .417 .647 2036 11 41 12 0 0 3 7 7 6 4 0 0 .293 .383 .512 .895 2037 6 27 9 3 0 0 2 1 1 4 0 0 .333 .357 .444 .802 2038 13 46 10 2 0 3 6 9 11 5 0 0 .21 |
