Shackamaxon's 25th Anniversary Team (Part 1 of 3)

After twenty-five seasons in the SDMB OOTP League, the now-Shackamaxon Lenape look back on their history and recognize the great players in the franchise’s history. Over twenty-five seasons, the team has a record of 2205-1845, a .544 winning percentage. The team won a record four straight Cecil Cup championships (from 2004-2007), but early glory has been hard to reclaim, as the below chart shows.

The team has had recent success, with playoff appearances in three of the last five seasons, including two trips to the Cecil Cup finals, with a gut-wrenching loss to arch-rival Seattle in the final game of the 2025 series. The letdown from being one strike away from the team’s 5^th title extended into 2026, the 25^th season, as the Lenape slipped back into third place in the Zotti Division, but hope in the young stars on the team provide promise for the next 25 seasons.

Historically, the team has moved a lot, starting in Stockholm (as the Sluggers), and then a few seasons in Florida (as the Mighty Manatees of Florida Baseball Club), then in southern California (as the South Bay/Los Angeles Scorpions), until the team reached its new home in the Philadelphia area after the 2018 season.

Let’s start with the 25^th Anniversary Team by going around the infield:

Catcher: Gerardo Herrera (2012-2021)

While never a superstar, Herrera was a solid contributor for nine seasons. He had a .263 batting average, and a .740 OPS in his time with the team, worth 10.2 WAR. He was a solid backstop, with a career 35.3% runners-thrown-out rate, and he won the 2020 Slick Fielder award.

First Base: David Seibel (2017-2026)

Over ten seasons with the club, Seibel was an offensive force for the team. He hit 381 homeruns, had a .917 OPS, and 34.2 WAR. He tied a SDMB League mark, and set the franchise record, for most home runs in a season (56) in 2026. He’s a solid defensive first baseman (+7.4 zone rating), and will be missed by the franchise as he moves on this offseason.

Seibel ranks second in most offensive categories in franchise history.

Second Base: John Grondin (2019-2026)

One of the greatest players in franchise history, and the first $200 million man, Grondin arrived as a free agent after an intense bidding war before the 2019 season. In his eight seasons, and counting, with the club, Grondin has been an offensive force, tallying 290 homeruns, a .299 batting average, .943 OPS, and 25.8 WAR.

Third Base: Jose Rodriguez (2002-2006)

Arriving as an original Slugger in the 2002 league-starting draft, Rodriguez was a 33-year-old veteran when he manned the hot corner for the expansion Stockholm franchise. In his five seasons with the club, he helped win three Cecil Cup titles (2004-2006), and was the league’s Outstanding Batter in 2006.

Shortstop: Ricky Peppers (2007-2021)

Simply put, Ricky Peppers was the franchise’s greatest player over the first 25 seasons. Acquired in 2004 as a throw-in during a trade, Peppers came on as the starting shortstop in the middle of the 2007 season, winning the Cecil Cup as a rookie at the tail end of the franchise’s dynasty. He won his first two Outstanding Batter awards the following season, 2008, and again in 2010, as he became one of the premier players in the league. In 2019, as his career was starting to wane, he lit up the league’s pitching again to win his third Outstanding Batter awards.

Peppers leads the franchise in nearly all offensive categories, including hits (2264), doubles (382), triples (71), homeruns (455), total bases (4239), and stolen bases (338).

Utility Infielder: Bill Turek (2006-2010, 2015-2016)

A first-round pick in 2005, Turek was a solid star for the late-dynasty franchise. He won two Cecil Cup titles in 2006, as a rookie, and in 2007, and became the young star Ricky Peppers’ double play partner at 2B. He won the 2009 slick fielder award, and returned for two solid seasons at second base in 2015 and 2016.

I’ll be back on Tuesday to review the team’s draft history and announce the outfielders on the 25^th Anniversary Team.