Aug I Sim Done

Game Date:  Aug 16 2032

Standings:  
Adams:  Brick is twelve games ahead of Brooklyn
Zotti: Seattle is thirty games in front of Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia's lead over Maui is eight games
Wild Card:  Maui is two games ahead of Brookyn

Awards & Accomplishments:
Philadelphia's Jorge Benevides named Rookie of the Month (2nd award)
Seattle's Ernest Metcalf named Pitcher of the Month (3rd career award)
Seattle's Hector Valera named Batter of the Month (3rd career award)
Seattle's Steve Jones named Player of the Week (8/4, 7th career award, 2nd this season)
Brick LF Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (8/11, 7th career award, 4th (!) this season)

Significant Injuries:
Mepkin Abbey CF Joe Randall, concussion, 6-7 weeks.
Philadelphia:  2B Norman Kuhn, oblique strain, 4 weeks
Mepkin Abbey: RP Jesus Garcia, unspecified injury, done for the season
Brooklyn RF Lou Sharp, hamstring sprain, 3-4 weeks
Atlanta 2B Rodrigo Negron, fractured hand, 6 weeks

Batting Line of the Sim:
Seattle's Mike Minty went 3-5, 2 HR, 4 runs scored, 2 BB and 7 RBI vs. Atlanta (8/15)

Pitching Line of the Sim (three way tie):
Seattle's Chris Williams pitched a complete game, 4 hitter vs. Atlanta, allowing one run, no walks and striking out 12 (8/15)
Brooklyn's Brendan Divine pitched eight shout-out, two hit innings with 10K vs. Highland (8/1)
Brooklyn's Kieran Rose pitched a complete game, five-hit shutout with 10K and no walks vs. Antelope Valley (8/9)

Last Week's Trivia Question:
There are two players who have played at least one major league game after 1980, despite having received Hall of Fame votes in the past.  Who are those two players?

The first player, as was guessed correctly by Michael and Mack, is Minnie Minoso, who made a few post-career token appearances, the last being in 1980.  The other player is Jose Rijo.  Rijo pitched from 1984 to 1995, when injuries derailed his career.  Due to the injuries, he did not pitch at all in the major leagues between 1996 and 2000 and therefore became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2001 and managed to snag one vote in that year's election. 

However, he managed to overcome his injuries and return to the diamond in 2001 with the Reds.  He appeared in 13 games in 2001 and 31 games in 2002 before hanging up the glove for good.  He once again became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2008, but did not receive any votes that time around and was dropped from the ballot.

This Week's Question:
There are four ways in which a batter can be awarded first base and cannot be put out.  What are they?

Next sim: Next Wednesday.

Outfielders available

Do you need an extra outfielder? Perhaps you aren't sure if one of your starters is the right guy and want to challenge him? If so, I can help.

I'm offering experienced veteran (all of 28-years-old) Jose Molina, as well as all of my outfielders in AAA Arizona Bay for trade. Most of them are ready for the majors now, and can start in a pinch.

In return, I'm not looking for much, maybe a mid-round draft pick or a fringe prospect (preferably a reliever). Package deals are available.

Update: AAA OF Randy Pope has been traded to Wilmington for a 6th round draft pick in 2032.

July II Sim Done -- Trading Deadline!

Game Date:  Jul 30 2031

Standings:
Adams:  Brick leads Brooklyn by twelve.
Zotti:  Seattle is 26 games up on Antelope Valley
Signorino:  Philadelphia is eight games up on Maui
Wild Card:  Maui is three games ahead of Brooklyn

Awards & Accomplishments:
Seattle 1B Hector Valera named Player of the Week (7/21, 4th career award)
Brick LF Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (7/28, 6th career award, 3rd award this season!)

Significant Injuries:
Houston RF Ed Weber has elbow soreness that will sideline him for 3-4 weeks.
Wilmington 3B George Horridge has a strained MCL.  He's out for six weeks.
Philadelphia closer Anthony White has a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.  He's done for this year and will miss most, if not all, of next year as well.
Maui SS Wang-fen Tsang has a torn PCL.  He's done for the year.

Batting Line of the Sim:
Seattle 1B Hector Valera went 4-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI and a walk vs. Appalachian 7/19

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Brick's Joong-geun Yi pitched eight innings of four hit shutout ball, walking none and striking out eleven vs. Antelope Valley 7/29.

Answer to Last Week's Trivia Question:
Who holds the record for hitting the most home runs in their debut season in the majors?
(Please note that I said "debut season" not "rookie season."  Aaron Judge is not the correct answer.)

Frank Fred came up with Wally Berger, who hit 38 home runs in his debut season of 1930 for the Boston Braves.  However, Frank Fred was only half right.  Frank Robinson matched Berger's feat, hitting 38 home runs for the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1956.

This Week's Trivia Question:
Today, the BBWAA announced their selections to the Hall of Fame for 2018.  A player must now be retired for five years before being eligible, but that wasn't always the case.  Once upon a time, even active players were eligible -- Lou Gehrig, for example, received 22.6% of the vote in 1936, despite the fact that he played for another three years.  Eventually the rules were changed so that you had to be retired one year and later five years.  Even so, as late as 1958, active players were still getting votes -- Warren Spahn got a vote that year --  despite the fact that he continued playing until 1965!

However, there are two players who have played at least one major league game after 1980, despite having received Hall of Fame votes in the past.  Who are those two players?

Commissioner's Note:  The trading deadline is upon us.  Last chance to wheel and deal!

Next sim:  Next Wednesday

Edited 1/25/2018:  My apologies, Fred.  It was you who came up with Wally Berger, not Frank.  I must have been half-asleep when I typed it.

Jul I Sim Done

Game Date:  Jul 16 2031

Standings:
Adams:  Brick leads Brooklyn by ten
Zotti:  Seattle is 21 games up on Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia has a four game lead over Maui
Wild Card: Maui is two games ahead of Wilmington

Awards & Accomplishments:
Atlanta C Miguel Ramirez named Player of the Week (7/7, 3rd career award)
Seattle C Steve Jones named Player of the Week (7/14, 6th career award)

Significant Injuries:
Atlanta, 2B Adrian Sanchez, strained hamstring, 5-6 weeks
Houston, RP Mark St. John, torn UCL, done for the season
Mepkin Abbey RP Jesus Garcia, radial nerve compression, done for the year
Brick, 3B Mark Swenson, sprained ankle, 7 weeks
Brooklyn CF Edgardo Collazo, bone bruise, 3 weeks
Houston LF Arturo Vasquez, sprained ankle, 6 weeks
Antelope Valley, 3B Andreas Velasco, ruptured Achilles tendon, doen for the season
Brooklyn RP Sancho Medina, tendinitis, 3 weeks

Batting Line of the Sim:
None

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Houston's Dave Chapa pitched a three hit shutout with 9 K vs. Atlanta (7/5)

Commissioner's Note:
Next sim will go to July 30.  It will be the final sim before the trading deadline.

Trivia Question:
Who holds the record for hitting the most home runs in their debut season in the majors?
(Please note that I said "debut season" not "rookie season."  Aaron Judge is not the correct answer.)

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

Seattle/Philadelphia trade

The Philadelphia Hornets, whose right-half of the starting infield was placed on the DL with season-ending injuries, have patched one of those holes with a stunning trade with rival Seattle Monarchs. Returning back to the organization that originally signed him is 2B Norman Kuhn, a potential free agent after the 2031 season.

"We may get Ieyasu Suzuki back for the playoffs, but first we need to qualify," Philadelphia GM Michael Weintraub explained. "Maui and Wilmington are hanging around a little too close for comfort. We hope Norman can help us score more runs and win a few extra games down the stretch."

Heading to Seattle are OF Benjamin Anderson, who recently lost his job in Philadelphia, and pitching  prospect Rodrigo Padilla.

Appalachian Fire Sale

Fire sale might be a strong term, but if you saw the last post regarding available players (and the recent trade from a few minutes ago), you'll know that the Black Bears are already looking to the future.

Team leaders Guillermo Medina and William Brooks are looking to build a strong core around them, and GM Brian Hockin is willing to make some talent sacrifices in the short term in order to build a contender. With young players like Cristobal Avila and Junior Bowden banging down the door, it's time to clear out the whiners and the slackers and make this a ball club worth playing for.

In addition to the folks listed in the previous post, nearly all of the major league roster is available for the right price. Arturo Sanchez is currently being shopped for a 6th round draft pick, so the prices are low!

Trade: Brick and Appalachian

No fancy alliterations this time - this one is all business.

In a trade involving players returning to their former teams, Miguel Archuleta is heading back to Brick, along with $4 million in cold hard cash, in exchange for former Black Bear Gustavo Melendez and 3 prospects: 1B/OF John Hamilton, 3B Jared Warren, and CF Alexander Mud.

Their were a lot of unhappy and downright angry players involved in this trade, so here's hoping they're all happier in their new situations.

Trade between Brick and Atlanta

GM  Fred Goldfarb in front of a full house announced the trade............the injury to Larry McCormick our star third basemen and his recent history of injuries made it necessary to add more depth at the infield position which we accomplish with adding Felix Salgado SS/2B from Atlanta ...Tom Corrano the GM of Atlanta was happy to pick up the two 3rd round picks he got from Brick stating it would help in the ongoing rebuilding process for Atlanta....Both GM'S shook hands and then left the stage

Need an OF?

I'm making CF Benjamin Anderson available for trade. He's only an average defender, but hits with power and has some speed. He's arbitration eligible and is very likely to break out in a new lineup.

If you're interested in him, let me know.

Jun II Sim Done

Game Date:  Jul 1 2031

Standings:
Adams:  Brick up by 12 games over Brooklyn
Zotti:  Seattle is 13.5 games ahead of Antelope Valley
Signorino:  Philadelphia is 2 games in front of Maui & Wilmington
Wild Card: Maui & Wilmington are tied for the lead, six games ahead of Brooklyn and Antelope Valley

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brick LF Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (6/16, 5th career award, 2nd this season)
Houston LF Arturo Vasquez named Player of the Week (6/23)
Seattle's George Hendrick named Player of the Week (6/30, 4th career award)
Brick LF Tomas Fernandez named Rookie of the Month
Seattle's Chris Williams named Pitcher of the Month, 3rd career award)
Seattle's Steve Jones named Batter of the Month (4th career award)
Seattle's Chris Williams had 15 K vs. Mepkin Abbey (6/18)
Brick's Joong-guen Yi had 15 K vs Antelope Valley (6/23)

Significant Injuries:
Houston RP Julio Acosta, bone chips in elbow, done for the season
Seattle RP Jorge Aguilar, ulnar nerve irritation, season's over
Mepkin Abbey RP Juan Gurrera, shoulder inflammation.  3-4 months.
Appalachian SP Jose Sandoval, torn meniscus, 2 months.
Wilmington LF Lucio Muniz, pinched nerve, 3 weeks
Brick 3B Larry McCormick, fractured foot, 4 weeks
Philadelphia SP Tian-bai Chen, sprained elbow, 4 weeks
Wilmington 3B Ruben Noya, strained groin, 3-4 weeks
Wilmington RF Matt Young, sprained wrist, 3-4 weeks
Wilmington 3B Cesar Gonzalez, fractured foot, 3-4 weeks
Highland 3B Carter Bailey, strained hamstring, 5-6 weeks

Batting Line of the Sim:
Brooklyn's Edgar Collazo went 4-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 runs scored vs Houston (6/18)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
3 way tie:
Seattle's Chris Williams pitched a two hit shutout with 2 walks and 11 K vs Highland (6/28)
Brooklyn's Kieran Rose pitched a two hit shutout with 1 walk and 10 K vs Appalachian (6/28)
Brick's Ron Hill pitched a two hit shutout 1 walk and 10 K vs. Antelope Valley (6/22)

Next Sim:  Wednesday night.

Major Brick/Philadelphia trade

After completing a minor trade, the Barracudas and Hornets have joined together to announce a major trade, featuring four top prospects.

Heading to Brick are prospects AAA SP Paul Gilbert, AAA OF Alejandro Garcia, AA OF Elwood Bolden, and a 3rd round pick in 2032, in exchange for AAA OF Julian Roman.

Minor Brick/Philadelphia trade

The Philadelphia Hornets and Brick Barracudas have a trade of minor league players to announce:

Brick sends AA 1B Duncan Adams to Philadelphia in exchange for A CL Dustin Scott.

Important Commissioner's Note

After the draft, everyone's newly drafted players were placed on your A- team.  That means that your roster is likely over the 35 player limit.

Since that league is scheduled to begin play with the next sim, I will not be able to proceed if anyone's roster is over the limit.  So, please, be sure to have all your minor league rosters under the 35 player limit.

Zev

Jun ! Draft Done

Game Date:  Jun 16 2031

Who uploaded?:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Maui
Philadelphia
Seattle
Wilmington

Standings:
Adams:  Brick leads Brooklyn by eight games.
Zotti:  Seattle is 6.5 games up on Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia is four games head of Wilmington

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brick SS Dewey Wilson named Player of the Week (6/2)
Houston RF Ed Weber named Player of the Week (6/9, 2nd career award)
Brick LF Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (6/16, 5th career award, 2nd this year)
Wilmington's Jamie Alvarez (6/1) and Atlanta's George Robinson (6/16) both hit 3 HR in a game.

Significant Injuries:
Seattle 3B Sung-heun Hwa will miss four weeks with a strained hamstring
Philadelphia 2B Ieyasu Suzuki is out for four months with a concussion.

Milestones:
Seattle's Norman Kuhn reached 300 HR
Houston's David Seibel reached 500 HR

Batting Line of the Sim:
Atlanta's George Robinson went 3-4, with 3 HR, 3 runs scored and 6 RBI (6/11)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Appalachian's Will Hickford pitched a two-hit, no-walk shutout with 5K (6/1)

Previous Trivia Question:
Who is the only person to be inducted to both the Baseball and Pro Football Hall of Fame?

The answer, as correctly guessed, is Cal Hubbard.  Hubbard played in the NFL (mainly for the Green Bay Packers) between 1927 and 1936.  He is credited with being one of the inventors of the linebacker position.

While playing in the NFL, he began umpiring in minor league ball during the football offseason.  He started in 1928 and was called up to the majors in 1936.  He umpired until 1951 when a pellet from a shotgun during a hunting accident ended his umpiring career.  He was made an assistant umpire supervisor and, in 1954, was made a supervisor, a position he held for fifteen years.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the inaugural class in 1963 and the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976 by the Veterans Committee. As if that wasn't enough, he was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962.

This Week's Question:
If you lined up all the Hall of Famers in order of birth, who would be first and who would be last.
Bonus:  While I certainly don't expect anyone to know who the median inductee was, feel free to take a guess as to what the median year of birth is for Hall of Fame inductees...

Next sim: Next Wednesday.