I'd probably be remiss if I didn't mention that two of the all time greats of the SDMB OOTP league retired this offseason.
You could easily make the case that first baseman Luis Jeon was the best hitter the league ever produced. Jeon retires in first place in many of the league's offensive categories. Jeon is either the leader or in the top 10 in the following categories:
Games, 2888 (1st)
At-Bats, 10119 (1st)
Runs, 1857 (1st)
Hits, 2559 (3rd)
Total Bases 5101 (1st)
Doubles 475 (2nd)
Home Runs 665 (1st)
RBI 1900 (1st)
Walks 1878 (1st)
His mark of 56 home runs during the 2020 season still stands as an all-time record. I still recall the decision I had to make after the 2019 season. Jeon was coming off a contract and had a sub-par year. I figured that, at age 34, Jeon was probably done, and so I let him walk. He went to New York and put up incredible numbers that year -- .285/.419/.628/1.047. Needless to say, after that season, I seriously questioned my decision the previous off-season.
This off-season also saw the retirement of RF Paul Shunk. Shunk spent the majority of his career with the Hickory Huskers. He leaves the league with a .284 average, .865 OPS, (127 OPS+), 2525 hits, 500 home runs, 1569 RBI and 124 stolen bases.
Both players will, no doubt, end up enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
I meant to post about their retirements when they happened, but got busy. Both players crossed paths on my 2011 team, which won 99 games (and didn't make the postseason because we didn't have a Wild Card then).
ReplyDeleteWe should bring back the Hall of Fame discussion at some point. I was able to honor Ricky Peppers by retiring his number with Shackamaxon, but that's all I could do. (I'm going to retire more numbers next season as part of the 25th season celebration.)
My goodness... 25 seasons. Who would have thought?
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