The Pastime Baseball League

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

Is all well here?

Hopefully, EM is just taking a little sabbatical.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Hey guys,

Yes, the PBL is alive and well. I just have been swamped with work at my main job and starting a side business, as well as doing some home renovations. What free time I've had not spent with family has been used on the roster project I'm doing (which got sidetracked by Baseball Prospectus' site alterations).

The offseason has been simmed and just needs to be written up and then the PBL will get going again. But I figured better to go cold altogether for a bit than make one post a week and have the season take forever. Once I get back going with it it will be steady again.

Thanks.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Post-2020 Offseason Wrapup

Top 10 Free Agent Signings



Blown Away: Ruth leaves Windy City

Orlando Orcas: Signed free agent RF Babe Ruth, 31, (.295-45-127 with Chicago) to a 5-year contract worth a total of $82,440,000.

Chicago Hitmen: Signed free agent 1B Keith Hernandez, 27, (.318-10-78 with Boston/Arizona) to a 5-year contract worth a total of $71,165,000.

Pickin' It: Defensive Whiz Hernandez on to Boston

Boston Riders: Signed free agent SP Bill Byrd, 36, (14-14, 3.89 with Milwaukee) to a 3-year contract worth a total of $33,380,000.

Arizona Sandmen: Signed free agent SS Ross Barnes, 37, (.264-13-51 with Wichita) to a 2-year contract worth a total of $9,570,000.

Los Angeles Idols: Signed free agent SP Noodles Hahn, 31, (17-14, 3.74 with Sacramento) to a 2-year contract worth a total of $9,010,000.

Arizona Sandmen: Signed free agent RF Warren Cromartie, 27, (.307-14-56 with Philadelphia) to a 4-year contract worth a total of $8,790,000.

Philadelphia Ringers: Signed free agent CL John Hiller, 30, (4-6, 31 SV, 4.18 ERA with Indianapolis) to a 1-year contract worth a total of $7,870,000.

St. Louis Tides: Signed free agent LF Mike Hargrove, 31, (.348-6-58 with Philadelphia) to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,190,000.

Batting champ Hargrove on the move

Chicago Hitmen: Signed free agent MR Barry Zito, 33, (7-6, 4.52 with Orlando) to a 2-year contract worth a total of $6,030,000.

Orlando Orcas: Re-Signed free agent SP Mickey Harris, 32, (10-15, 3.98 with Orlando) to a 3-year contract worth a total of $5,295,000.

It's the end of an era in Chicago. After 11 seasons, two first place finishes but no championships, and the fifth most homers in PBL history to this point, Babe Ruth is leaving the Windy City.

Ruth will head to Orlando, where the Orcas hope to avoid a sixth straight losing season.

"All things come to an end," Ruth said after the signing was announced. "The fans of Chicago are great and I will miss them terribly. But at the same time I look forward to helping lead Orlando back to championship baseball."

The Orcas won the PBL championship back in 2011.

As for Chicago, their signing of 5-time Gold Glove winner Keith Hernandez may signal that the Hitmen may be looking to slide veteran first baseman Roger Connor (.268-27-104) into the DH role to let him focus on his hitting. While Connor's defense remains above average, belief is he could benefit from the shift after his worst offensive season since 2016.

Meanwhile, in Boston, the Riders hope the widely-praised leadership of veteran hurler Bill Byrd will push them over the top following four second-place finishes in the last five years.

A steal could St. Louis' acquisition of reigning Northern League batting champion Mike Hargrove. Nobody is happier than new teammate and Southern League batting champ Tris Speaker (.368-12-78), who has been asked to carry the offensive load before running into the Los Angeles roadblock in the postseason two of the past three years and three of the past five.

Shocking is Orlando's retention of Mickey Harris...yes, the same Mickey Harris who has gone 30-41 since Orlando gave him what was then the biggest contract in PBL history prior to the 2018 season, following his 21-win campaign with Louisville.

NOTABLE EXTENSIONS

Los Angeles Idols: Signed RF Dave Winfield, 28, (.296-35-110) to a 5-year contract extension worth a total of $26,500,000.

Win-Fall: Winfield strikes it rich in Los Angeles

Charlotte Cougars: Signed CF Paul Hines, 36, (.304-38-110) to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $20,520,000.

Louisville Racers: Signed 2B Jim Lefebvre, 32, (.289-26-90) to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $15,150,000.

Say what you will about the Idols' spending habits, they have generally spent it wisely. When the time came to shell out big money for Ty Cobb before last season, they passed, knowing they had a glut of outfielders and that, for all of Cobb's brilliance, his injury history made him a questionable longterm investment. Sure enough, Cobb hit .370 for Wichita last season, but played in only 111 games. The money saved on Cobb was earmarked for Winfield if he took another step forward, which he did.

Charlotte keeps lifelong Cougar Paul Hines in the fold with a deal that could well carry Hines, 8th in homers and 7th in RBIs on the PBL alltime list, to retirement.

RETIREMENTS

SP Ben Sanders (162-108, 3.43 ERA, ERA+ 125 for Arizona and Chicago. Alltime 1st in SHO, 7th in wins, 10th in ERA, 3rd in CG)

SP John Clarkson (143-145, 4.32 ERA, ERA+ 100 for Los Angeles, 16th
alltime wins, 7th alltime in SHO, 6th alltime in CG, 8th alltime in losses)

SP Joe Benz (47-56, 31 SV, 4.45 ERA, ERA+ 100 for Sacramento)

SP Joe Bush (52-41, 8 SV, 4.01 ERA, ERA+ 111 for Chicago)

SP Pink Hawley (47-76, 9 SV, 4.85 ERA, ERA+ 92 for Chicago)

SP Clark Griffith (70-50, 3 SV, 3.93 ERA, ERA+ 115 for Arizona)

SP Nig Cuppy (68-73, 4.59 ERA, ERA+ 94 for Louisville)

SP Pete Vuckovich (53-57, 9 SV, 4.23 ERA, ERA+ 93 for Charlotte and Oklahoma City).

A sad day in the PBL as hurler Ben Sanders calls it quits. Sanders had Tommy John surgery in April of 2018, ending his season. He came back to start the 2019 campaign and tore his labrum. He came back at the end of July and made three ineffective starts before being shelved with a second elbow surgery. This past April, Sanders was announced to have suffered a setback in his recovery that would cost him the full 2020 season as well.

Sanders won 20+ games three times, the most in PBL history (Dontrelle Willis and Tommy Bond have each done it twice). When the PBL Hall of Fame opens its doors, Sanders figures to be among the first inductees.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Finally seem able to come up for air...can't believe it's been months since I posted in this, but should be getting going again this week.

[Terpripken]

Originally Posted by EMSoccerCoach

Finally seem able to come up for air...can't believe it's been months since I posted in this, but should be getting going again this week.

Glad your back. I'm returning myself after a 3 month absence. Ready to get a dynasty going.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by Terpripken

Glad your back. I'm returning myself after a 3 month absence. Ready to get a dynasty going.

Sounds good. Surprised things in here seem slow.

[juanito89]

Hello there!

I started reading this today. From the start, just like kenyan cheena, I picked the Hitmen to cheer for (for me, it was the abundance of recent talent). Currently I'm at page 10, crossing fingers so that they decide to draft Ruth

I was sad when I reached the part where you deciced to go monthly, so I'm posting now to show my support. Very interesting league!

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by juanito89

Hello there!

I started reading this today. From the start, just like kenyan cheena, I picked the Hitmen to cheer for (for me, it was the abundance of recent talent). Currently I'm at page 10, crossing fingers so that they decide to draft Ruth

I was sad when I reached the part where you deciced to go monthly, so I'm posting now to show my support. Very interesting league!

Thanks a lot for hopping on board. The problem with doing weekly updates was time. The way I have set this league up, there are 20+ draft classes, meaning the full "dynasty" will go 35+ seasons. I'm starting season 13 here. Had I stayed weekly, I a) probably would be in season three and b) I probably would have burned myself out and not wanted to keep at it.

Stick around...I get a nice format going after a lot of trial and error that makes the monthly writeups work really well.

Thanks again for reading.

[juanito89]

Originally Posted by EMSoccerCoach

Thanks a lot for hopping on board. The problem with doing weekly updates was time. The way I have set this league up, there are 20+ draft classes, meaning the full "dynasty" will go 35+ seasons. I'm starting season 13 here. Had I stayed weekly, I a) probably would be in season three and b) I probably would have burned myself out and not wanted to keep at it.

Stick around...I get a nice format going after a lot of trial and error that makes the monthly writeups work really well.

Thanks again for reading.

I understand completely. I got through the second and third season, and I'm liking the "new" format so far.

Man...those Hitmen are cursed - cursed I tell ya

Reading your thread has me so excited to get going on my league, that I'm going crazy

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by juanito89

I understand completely. I got through the second and third season, and I'm liking the "new" format so far.

Man...those Hitmen are cursed - cursed I tell ya

Reading your thread has me so excited to get going on my league, that I'm going crazy

Don't get comfortable...you'll reach another format shift or two before it's all over

The Hitmen's ride for the first 13 seasons of the PBL has been...interesting.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Idols Extend Palmer
Pending FA inks 3-year extension

LOS ANGELES - Why think about leaving?

In the end, that's what it came down to for righthander Jim Palmer. The 28-year-old hurler agreed today to a 3-year extension with the defending champion Los Angeles Idols, locking him up through the 2024 season.

"Three straight championships, four in five years and they pay to keep our talent, like they just did with Winny [Dave Winfield, who inked a long-term deal of his own this offseason]," Palmer said. "There's nowhere else to be in this game right now."

Acquired before last season after a 20-win campaign for the Boston Riders in exchange for catcher Yogi Berra, Palmer went 15-11 with a 4.47 ERA last year, failing to live up to expectations but impressing enough the management wanted to keep him around.

"He probably cost himself 8 figures with last season," one general manager said. "But pitching to contact with that kind of offense behind you makes sense. He probably could have put up better numbers if he wasn't pitching with leads so much."

Palmer will make roughly $7.25 million in each year of his extension, a tick above the $7 million he's making this season.

Jim Palmer is staying put in Los Angeles

Sacramento's Maddux Top Prospect
But Alabama named top system

Sacramento Stingers righthander Greg Maddux was named the preseason top prospect by Baseball America today as we get ready to kick off the 2021 campaign.

Maddux, 21, repeats the honor despite a rough season in the minors last season, during which he posted a 5.17 ERA at Garland. During a late-season callup to Sacramento, however, he posted a 3.50 ERA in six starts, going 1-2.

"He's walking a lot more guys than anyone expected him to coming out of high school," one scout said. "But he gets it. He knows what he's doing out there and he's super bright. He'll put it all together soon."

Meanwhile, the Alabama Airmen, who posted a losing record last season (76-86) a year after winning the Southern League East division title, were named the top minor league system on the strength of Lance Berkman (#7) and four pitchers in the Top 50 (Dan Petry, Jack McDowell, Ryan Dempster and Vern Law).

The Chicago Hitmen were ranked the worst system, placing only one prospect (Vernon Wells, #74) in the Top 100.

Top 10 Prospects:
1. Greg Maddux (Sacramento)
2. Kevin Brown (Arizona)
3. Adrian Beltre (New York)
4. Roy Halladay (New Orleans)
5. Javier Vazquez (Oklahoma City)
6. Hilton Smith (New Orleans)
7. Lance Berkman (Alabama)
8. Todd Helton (Philadelphia)
9. Tim Hudson (Charlotte)
10. Kevin Millwood (Las Vegas)

Cobb Comes Out Swinging

Maybe THIS will be the year Ty Cobb stays healthy.

Cobb batted a stellar .370 last season for Wichita, raising his lifetime average to .330. However, his alltime high in games played is 144, reached in his rookie 2014 campaign. Since then: 132, 70, 94, 126, 115 and last season's 101.

That's 106 games per season. It's an impressively productive 106 games, but still leaves his team without him for 56 games in an average season.

That stopped being worth it for Los Angeles. Still only 26 years old, though, Cobb has two years left on his deal with Wichita in which to shake the injury bug and put in a full season.

"If I play a full season, I'm the best in the game," Cobb said unapologetically.

He may be right. And we may never know.

[MadBum]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Oh sorry, I've just been trained to boo anything a team in LA does, unless it has to do with the McCourts

[kev24fan]

The PBL is a very interesting. I love what you have going.

[Terpripken]

Glad you have the time to get the PBL rolling again. Looking forward to the start of the season. Hopefully this will be the year somebody displants Los Angeles as top dogs.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by MadBum

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Oh sorry, I've just been trained to boo anything a team in LA does, unless it has to do with the McCourts

Giants fan?

Originally Posted by kev24fan

The PBL is a very interesting. I love what you have going.

Thanks, glad to be back doing it after far too long a layoff.

Originally Posted by Terpripken

Glad you have the time to get the PBL rolling again. Looking forward to the start of the season. Hopefully this will be the year somebody displants Los Angeles as top dogs.

Not sure who's going to be up to the task. It could very well be them and St. Louis for the pennant again.

[PhillieFever]

Hey Hey whadda you say! Glad you're back, looking forward to seeing if anyone......anyone can stop the Idols

[kenyan_cheena]

Glad to see you are back at it, EM.

[EMSoccerCoach]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

Hey Hey whadda you say! Glad you're back, looking forward to seeing if anyone......anyone can stop the Idols

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Glad to see you are back at it, EM.

Thanks, guys! Glad to hear from you. Been a while but revitalized to get on with the next chapter of the PBL. Hope all is well!

[EMSoccerCoach]

[CENTER]

2021 Recap - April

New Sheriff In Town

Spurred by a 12-1 mark at home to kick off the season, the big story in the early going has been the flying start of the San Antonio Sheriffs, who have at least drawn the attention, if not the concern, of the defending champion Los Angeles Idols.

The lead dog has been Albert Pujols, who smashed 8 homers and drove in 25 runs in the season's opening month, including picking up career hit number 2,000, becoming the 6th member of that club in PBL history.

On the hill, it's been 34-year-old veteran hurler Ted Breitenstein (5-0, 2.86), who seems to have found a home with the Sheriffs, the fifth team of his career.

Breitenstein earned a decision in all 33 starts last season, going 17-16, hurling 15 complete games. He's gone the distance in four of his first five this season.

Interestingly, Pujols lost his lineup support the other day, and for reasons nobody is clear on. John Anderson, the speedy five-time All-Star outfielder, was off to a great start this season (.328-5-14, 1.039 OPS). Which made yesterday's occurrence all the more shocking.

The Sheriffs released Anderson, with neither side commenting on the move. The Norwegian, who ranks as the PBL's alltime stolen base leader with 439, was immediately signed by the division rival Las Vegas Bosses. Yet nobody knows what prompted the decision. Anderson is widely regarded as a class act, known as "Honest John" throughout the league, making behavioral concerns an unlikely explanation. A trade could have been understood. But a release?

Nobody could have seen this, or the Sheriffs' stellar start, coming.

Tiernan's double milestones

Alabama Airmen rightfielder Mike Tiernan on April 13 joined a pair of select PBL clubs.

Tiernan stole second base for his 300th career stolen base, and went on to score his 1000th run two batters later when a Rafael Palmeiro SAC Fly brought him home.

The stolen base mark makes Tiernan the 7th player in PBL history to reach the mark (Anderson, Billy Hamilton, Ed Delahanty, John McGraw, Pete Hill and Rafael Furcal are the others), and the run put him into company with eight others (Oscar Charleston, Dan Brouthers, Sam Thompson, Roger Connor, Frank Chance, John McGraw, Albert Pujols and Cap Anson).

Unfortunately for Tiernan, the Airmen fell to Arizona 5-4 on a Tony Perez walkoff homer off Eddie Plank.

Brouthers One Away From 400

[LEFT]Reaching milestones is nothing new for L.A. Idols slugger Dan Brouthers. He's in the top 10 in virtually every category since the PBL's inception, leading many of them. But this one may top the fanfar.

Brouthers, who will turn 35 on May 8, starts May with 399 home runs, readying him to become the first player in PBL history to reach the 400 plateau. Next in line is Arizona's Sam Thompson, back considerably at 368.

Brouthers has topped 20 homers every season since the inaugural 2009 campaign, and topped 25 in all but one.

[CENTER]Galvin-ized

[LEFT]St. Louis Tides veteran righthanded Pud Galvin became the 14th pitcher ib PBL history to reach 150 wins, topping New Orleans 5-4 on April 25th on the strength of a 4-run 8th inning.

Galvin, the PBL alltime leader in complete games with 157, reached the mark somewhat bittersweetly, having already passed the mark in losses, where he now stands at 154.

[kenyan_cheena]