Book 1 of The HEL Jumper
Year 2 of The HEL Jumper
Year 3 of The HEL Jumper
-----
Previous | First | Patreon
Thanks to Big_Papa_Dakky, Darth_Android, bloblob, AMERICUH, Ironwing, Krystalin, Mamish, Vikairious, Sam_Berry, KillTech, LilLaussa, Daddy_Talon, Gruecifer, Gaelan_Darkwater, Konrahd_Verdammt, red-shirt, DaPorkchop, Benjamin Durbin, Siddabear, and everyone supporting me on Patreon.
-----
“You alright? Physically, I mean,” Russell asked as he and Thantis returned to the village alone on the shuttle that had brought them to the Forge. “The old ticker’s not going to give out or anything?”
Thantis blinked a couple times as he extracted himself from the depths of whatever train of thought had occupied him for some time. Needless to say, the trip back had not featured lighthearted education regarding the nature of Mara’s core. “It was certainly a stressful situation, wasn’t it? I thank you for doing all of the heavy lifting, Winters.” He left out the fact that they both knew he’d have been left behind otherwise.
“Don’t mention it. That’s literally the sort of thing I trained to do and you’re lighter than a fellow soldier. Would have been really nice to stick around and take a dip in the hot springs, but something tells me that goes against the new ‘don’t interfere with the planet’ policy.”
‘Not that you didn’t enjoy them to your fullest before the rest of the crew got here,’ Io reminded him with a pointed gaze. Russell cleared his throat and let that particular memory lay dormant.
“A day of rest will be more than enough. But you’re sure everything’s alright on the inside, Thantis?”
“You are kind to ask, Winters. Thankfully, my difficulties at the moment remain in the realm of the mental and spiritual. Much happened that I am having difficulty making sense of.”
“You’re not the only one,” Russell assured him as the shuttle shuddered almost imperceptibly, a friendly reminder that they were traveling through air instead of gliding through space. “At least we didn’t break the place.”
‘On the outside, you mean,’ Io clarified in an agitated tone. She was equally as upset about the day’s events as Thantis. ‘We have no idea if anything is left standing on the inside, not to mention that the robot will likely never re-activate even if the facility didn’t self-destruct or otherwise dangerously terminate its own functions. This is the worst day for science since the Lancer was lost. And that was a very bad day for science!’
“You mean other than the fact that we can get home and tell the rest of humanity what happened here, along with everything else we’ve discovered?” Russell observed sharply. “Let a team of archaeologists deal with it. Later.”
Io, who was using the B-MASS in order to be present for both Winters and Thantis, looked to the side and let out a long breath, acknowledging that the current moment might not have been the best time. ‘Yes, later is a good idea, sir. I think we should all give thanks that we will not be giving Veera or Gentia any reason to weep this evening.’
Russell and Thantis shared a look, agreeing that even if Io’s words were true, that wouldn’t be the end of it. The Jumper cleared his throat. “Yeah, no tears. But that doesn’t mean she won’t be mad as hell.”
“You are forgetting a healthy helping of ‘I told you so’,” Thantis added, finally allowing a real smile to shine through the clouds of his tested faith. “A word of advice, Winters?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Cave early and cave often,” the Cauthan said with a wink, giving Russell a hearty chuckle as Io nodded approvingly. “Among other things, I find that’s been a constructive cornerstone of my long life with Gentia.”
‘While I’m very much in agreement regarding the capitulation to the needs and wants of the important women in one’s life,’ Io began, batting her eyelashes at Russell as though he needed some sort of reminder that she was such a woman. ‘Gentia and Veera may need to wait. I just received word from the Admiral, sir. He’s on his way to the village and intends to meet us there.’
“For what purpose?” Winters asked curiously. Io made a little show of opening a letter and reading the message within.
‘In his words? Examining primary sources.’
-----
True to his word, Natori was there to greet them when Russell and Thantis’ shuttle set down just outside the western gates. Thanks to his arrival there was already plenty of commotion, adding to the hectic Cauthan harvest season as males and females both hustled to and fro in the fields, plucking ripened produce just before the point of spoilage. The tall, ebony skinned human offered his hand to Thantis as the shuttle’s doors opened upward with an audible hiss. “I am glad to see you are well, my friend. Would you believe that our esteemed colleague Qul’Roth sends his regards and wishes you ‘good health in the name of the Order’?”
‘I wouldn’t,’ Io replied immediately, nevertheless allowing Thantis to answer on his own.
“That is very kind of him. If you would convey my thanks when you return?”
“Happily, Thantis. It sounds to me as though the two of you had quite the little adventure. Lieutenant,” the Admiral addressed Russell and the two men exchanged salutes.
“That’s certainly one way of putting it, sir. What can we do for you?” he asked, waving to a villager who called out in greeting as he passed, a wooden tool for unearthing dato in his paws.
“I believe we speak to Antoth first. I admit that I may have spooked him a little by returning to the village so soon after my last departure. All that I could tell him was that something unexpected happened at the Forge, but that the two of you were unharmed. While I wait on the lead researchers and Lance Corporal Mendes to pen their official reports, I figured it might be wise to hear of events the old fashioned way. Shall we?” he suggested, sweeping an arm behind him towards the village. A particular striped Cauthan was, of course, awaiting them there. She was not pleased.
“Ah, perhaps an explanation for your wife is in order too?” Natori suggested, understanding that his presence was likely a significant contributor to Veera’s serious demeanor.
“If it’s the same to you Admiral, I think it’s best I handle this alone,” Russell replied, leaving Thantis’ side and walking up to Veera. She tilted her head slightly to maintain eye contact, her expression one of expectation as she waited for him to begin. “Listen Veera, I know it looks bad but-”
“Did you know that Fenrir’s figured out where all of the meat is stored?” she demanded suddenly, causing Russell to stick his neck out and cock his head in confusion.
“I’m sorry, he what?”
“He found me on patrol this afternoon with a chesko sausage hanging from his mouth and a very pleased expression on his face,” Veera explained, a hand on her hip. “I had to go to the temple of Valta and compensate them!”
“Oh boy. I’m sure Ratha was thrilled,” Russell responded, a nervous pit in his stomach as he considered how much mayhem Fenrir could get up to.
“She’s going to kill him if this continues!” Veera insisted. “Just please tell me you didn’t teach him to do this!”
“Why would I teach Fenrir to steal meat from the one place in town that would get him riddled with arrows?!” Russell demanded, feeling he had some small, slight justification for taking offense.
“Because sometimes you do silly things!” Veera replied as though it were obvious before visibly deflating. “We have to do something, Russell.”
“We will, sweetie. We’ll give him a bit more food at meals and maybe see about keeping some sort of muzzle on him when he’s around town. I can take him hunting again soon too,” the human suggested, silently forgiving his wife her mild hysteria. Ratha’s opinions regarding Veera and hyrven were both well known. His proposal mollified her, and she embraced him to welcome him home.
“I knew everything was alright the moment you and Thantis showed up unharmed. I suppose the Admiral being here means you will have some meeting with Antoth, but I’m glad you’re alright,” she told him. He hummed in her ear and left a quick kiss on her cheek.
“Yeah, things didn’t go as planned but everyone made it out safely. If it’s all the same to you, I think when this is done I’d much rather focus on making sure our pet doesn’t become a pelt,” he replied.
“As long as you admit that I told you so,” Veera said. “That place was obviously nothing but trouble from the very beginning.”
‘Are we going to continue overlooking the part where we can safely travel back to Earth now?’ Io demanded, having observed the married ‘spat’ for long enough. Veera’s eyes widened in surprise.
“We can… you did it?” she gasped.
“I sure as hell didn’t,” Russell clarified quickly. “But something happened that deactivated whatever process was going on in there. Io’s right. The warp point is clear and at some point soon I have to imagine Natori is going to take his ship home.”
Veera found herself caught flat footed by the news, looking down at the earth beneath her feet as a sudden trepidation struck her. They had talked about Russell’s eventual departure many a time over the seasons she’d known him, but it was always a hypothetical, an occasion far down the line. That line seemed soon to end. “So I… have to leave?” she questioned.
“Veera, I need to go meet with Antoth and the Admiral. When I’m done we’ll sit down and have a long talk about this, ok? If things have changed and you really want to stay, there may be a way to do that,” he explained.
“But your family! Your parents!” Veera exclaimed before cutting herself off, noticing Thantis and Natori waiting at a polite distance for them. “You’re right. Please don’t take long.”
“We won’t. Where’s the little troublemaker now?” Russell wondered.
“I sent him off into the forest after his little snatch and grab. So he’ll probably be back for dinner.”
“Count on that hyrven to never miss a meal. Alright love, I’m glad you and he are ok. See you soon?”
Veera took his hands in hers and nodded. “Offer Antoth your guidance, Russell. You are the only human he can trust.”
Though Russell’s first inclination was to protest, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that even someone as forward and open as Natori could possess his own interests and agenda. He hummed low in his chest and agreed with a nod of his head. “I will, Veera.”
-----
“Walk me through it one more time?” Antoth requested, running a hand through the feathers atop his head as he, Thantis, Russell, and Natori were seated within the temple of Kel. Xan was there too, finding himself in the position of scribe as Thantis was an involved party in the Forge incident.
“As I said, Antoth, the Cauthan made from metal visited us while we were exploring the main chamber,” Thantis recounted. “It was clearly female, given the plumage, but how such a thing could possibly exist is beyond me. I am unsure whether it was a servant of Kel, Tyrdus, or neither. While there were many of us there, it chose to approach me specifically and attempted to communicate. I, regretfully, did not understand anything it said to me, either with its voice or its feathers.”
“Yes, I got that part,” the chieftain clarified in a patient tone. “It is what comes afterward that puzzles me.”
“You’re not the only one,” Russell agreed before allowing Thantis to continue the tale from his perspective.
“I attempted to speak to the metal being, requesting information about its nature, which of the gods it served. I believe I mentioned Kel and Meylith specifically, Antoth. When it replied to me it was no clearer than when it first spoke, but I do believe it was a reply instead of some unrelated statement.”
“Because it repeated the word Kel to you,” Antoth finished.
“Precisely. That is when a great many things began happening all at once. Spirit Io tells me that some sort of invisible disturbance began within the Forge, something powerful. The entire place began to shake violently, and the great weapon that the humans believe was causing the corruption plummeted into the abyss below. It was then that the metallic being collapsed. I attempted to revive it, or at least ascertain what had happened but the humans deemed the situation too dangerous at that point. Winters carried me from the facility as I was unable to move fast enough.”
Antoth glanced over at the Jumper. “I find myself in the position of thanking you yet again, Winters. However, given that Thantis would have never been in danger in the first place if not for your discovery, I will not go so far as to say either of us are in your debt.”
“That’s the least of my worries, Antoth, but thank you,” he replied as Natori spoke up.
“Antoth, I believe that certain subjects we have discussed in the past must now be brought to the fore again. While departure is not imminent, as soon as my crew determines we can safely leave your planet we will begin preparing a timetable to do so. Assuming your invitation to my crew regarding your harvest festival still stands, I think it would be a crime to pass up such an opportunity for cultural exchange. Once it is concluded, I cannot envision a scenario where we remain much longer.”
“I understand,” Antoth said, adjusting his posture as he stretched and stood sternly near one of Thantis’ many shelves full of dried herbs and scrolls. “My invitation to your people remains, however I reserve the right to revoke it at any time if I feel there is a need. I think we should table that discussion for another time. Right now I need to ruminate on the situation at hand. Kel refused to open his gate to your people, even Winters, but he did so for his servant among our own. This is… a curious omen.”
Russell shook his head in discomfort as Io began to practically vibrate with excitement, causing a bit of feedback in his earpiece. Having dealt with her, he addressed the two leaders. “Antoth, I’m happy to stay if you wish but I should get home if not. It sounds like Fenrir was up to no good today.”
“I don’t know about it and assuming the situation is under control I’ll be happy not to know about it,” Antoth replied, making it clear in his tone that he expected Winters to exert said control over the situation. “If Thantis and I need to speak with you we will find you.”
“Understood. Admiral Kaczynski, sir?”
The Admiral instead looked at Antoth. “Is there anything else you wished to discuss so long as I am here?”
“The food situation,” Antoth replied immediately, glancing at Xan. Natori nodded.
“I must admit that over the short period of time since we last spoke I have not received any updates myself. However I would be happy to escort Xan or someone else from your village up to the Event Horizon to inspect the current crop personally.”
“Then you should go, Xan. If we will not receive armor or weapons we should at least ensure this food is suitable when grown far from Mara’s soil. Will there be any issues?” he finished on a considerate note.
“No Antoth, I’d be happy to. I should grab a couple of things and let my family know where I’ll be though,” the young scholar explained.
“Very well, you are dismissed.”
“My shuttle will be waiting at the western gate,” Natori advised the young Cauthan. “First Lieutenant, I do not wish to keep you too long but I would appreciate it if you and Io would accompany me that far.”
“Yes sir,” Russell replied, seeing no reason to protest. “Selah, Thantis. Today was quite the adventure.”
“I shall remember it for the rest of my life,” Thantis agreed, his customary demeanor returning as a ‘smile of knowledge’ spread across his muzzle. “And while that may not be a particularly strong statement, I am sure that you will as well. Go in peace, everyone. Selah. Shall we summon the others, Antoth?”
“Not yet. Let us speak privately,” the burly Cauthan requested, indicating that he no longer needed the other three individuals in the temple. Xan packed up the scroll he’d been scribbling on and departed for his family’s home to the north while Russell and the Admiral headed west.
“Is your wife the only Cauthan with an understanding of English?” Natori began.
“So far as I know, sir,” Russell replied in a guarded tone.
“Excellent, then we can dispense with some of the secrecy. What is your opinion on taking this village back to Earth with us?” he wondered. Io was visibly restraining herself from answering for the both of them, but her opinions on the matter were obvious. Russell was more defferential.
“I think that’s a little bit beyond my pay grade, sir. On that subject, however, I need to know if there will be any problems in taking my wife aboard when we leave.”
“Yes well, if we take them all along with us I see no reason she couldn’t come too!” Natori replied in an almost obnoxiously upbeat tone. “The formalities and paperwork will be handled either way in her case, Lieutenant, I assure you. But I do not wish to discuss formalities and rules today. I can do that with men like your father once we return home, and I get the sneaking suspicion there will be quite a few of those conversations. Your gut feelings on the situation will suffice.”
“I’d be worried about them if we left them here and I’d be worried if we took them along, assuming such a thing is even possible and they agree to it” Russell replied. “For every Cauthan like Gentia or Thantis who might jump at the idea, there will be Cauthan like Ratha who will surely object.”
“Undoubtedly,” Natori agreed. “But the conditions are such that they will be forced to answer that question, assuming my staff comes back to me and deems such a mission possible. From a human perspective, it is a clever workaround of many of the objections from our Ghaelen guest, objections that will be more difficult to ignore once he is returned to his people.”
‘Since simply removing the village from existence was his enlightened idea in the first place,’ Io quipped, using vicious air quotes to append the word ‘enlightened’. Natori chuckled heartily, waving cordially to a couple of farmers who looked their way at the noise.
“In defense of Emissary Qul’Roth, I am not sure I want to know what happens to Ghaelen who defy the Order,” Natori suggested. “But per your evaluation, Io, I see no reason not to make it our enlightened decision instead.”
“A decision to do what, exactly? Take them home and just turn them loose in a random city? Keep them in an HEL compound for years?” Russell demanded. Kaczynski stroked his chin.
“I need a shave I believe. And count on the Jumper to immediately identify all the ways in which a situation could go wrong. Before you object, I approve of the approach. Though if you’ve already moved on to that point I presume you would generally be in favor of the translocation?”
Russell organized his thoughts as the two men passed through the central square of the town, considering what it might look like in various settings he’d visited back home. “At least if they came with us and needed help I’d be able to do something.”
Natori looked at Winters out of the corner of his eye. In truth, the Jumper was not used to speaking with people taller than him. An uncomfortable reminder of days gone by being scolded by his father gave way to a desire to see the man again. “May I ask what you were planning to do upon returning to Earth, Lieutenant? If you remain at your current post I’m not sure you would be any more able to aid these Cauthan than if we left them here.”
That feeling of familial absence returned as Winters shook his head. “I didn’t give it much thought when I was aboard the Lancer, sir. Once I was here, worrying about it seemed pointless. I guess now’s the time to think about it again, but life’s already moved past that. Not sure I’ll leave the HEL, but when we get I’m going to turn in my wings, so to speak. The Jumper corps don’t need fathers. Doesn’t mean I’m not proud to have served as one of humanity’s most heavily armed bachelors.”
Natori laughed earnestly at the description. “Children really do change everything, don’t they?”
“You would know far better than I, sir. I’m just making assumptions. I want Veera to come with me, and that if she does I need to come home each night for several reasons. I normally wouldn’t talk to someone like you about these things, but I’m sure you’ll be in charge of accepting or denying that request when the time comes,” he added, trying to keep his tone from being standoffish. Natori seemed to find the comment entertaining, so he figured he’d succeeded.
“Yes I suppose it was a deviation into rather private affairs. You have my apologies, Lieutenant. You and your sister are so different, but I can see your father in the both of you. I cannot make any guarantees, but I will do what I can if you’ve decided that your future lies outside of the Jumper corps. If things play out the way I expect them to, you and I and Io may have a mutual interest in such an arrangement, lest you think I’m somehow trying to play father.”
“Thanks for the assurances, sir,” Russell replied shortly, only broadening Natori’s smile.
“Youth is wonderful, is it not? In any case, you have something like six months to consider these questions, plus however long it takes us to get our affairs in order and depart this planet. With the threat from the alien installation apparently gone, my curiosity as to its nature has only increased.” Natori paused for a moment before snapping his fingers as he remembered something. “I need an after action report from you within the next twenty four hours, Lieutenant. I am aware that you have duties that go a bit beyond those of the average Event Horizon crew member, but given the magnitude of the event you just bore witness to, I need to review evidence from every angle, every perspective. There is no telling what the twenty or so of you might have seen or not seen.”
‘Done,’ Io replied, making a show of procuring the necessary video and audio files along with a written report that literally materialized atop her open palm. ‘Anything else?’
“You’ll let me review it first before it’s sent to the Admiral,” Russell insisted in no uncertain terms. “And later, I want you to make sure Xan is alright when he’s aboard the Event Horizon. Veera and I need to talk things over.”
‘Yes I suppose you do,’ Io agreed, filing away the materials she’d produced for his review. She waved politely at Natori. ‘Admiral, I will speak with you again some other time.’
“A pleasure as always,” he replied before her projection winked away. “Thank you for your time, Lieutenant. I will be fine waiting for the young apprentice before heading back. In the coming days and weeks I hope you will keep in mind that I value your opinion as an expert on the Cauthan, even if I make decisions that conflict with your sensibilities.”
Russell took a moment to think through his reply, knowing well enough that the Admiral was not trying to patronize him. Natori took that time to look up at the gatehouse, nodding appreciatively at the construct of wood and packed dirt. “As long as you aren’t making decisions to appease the Ghaelen, sir, I can’t see myself raising any objections.”
Kaczynski hummed shortly in reply. “Fair enough. You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”
Winters saluted silently and turned to head off along the road to the north, wondering how many more times he would walk along the rows of crowded homes, blockhouses, and rough drainage trenches.
----
The evening’s dinner preparation was a mostly silent affair. The crackling of firewood and the sound of a knife against wood, vegetables, and meat were comforting as he reviewed the full contents of Io’s report on the Forge incident. Every so often he made annotations, correcting Io’s propensity for flourish and embellishment. It had been a long time since he’d had to deliver such a report, and Io obviously found military language to be boring and trite. Between the two of them they soon had an acceptable product to send up to Natori’s bridge, along with the footage from his helmet cams. Task completed, Winters was free to address the question that had been hanging over both him and Veera for the entire afternoon. She was clearly as eager, or perhaps as nervous, as he, and he found her scrutinizing him from over the cooking pot.
“Hey there, I’m all finished,” he began, standing and moving to her side. “Do you need any help?”
“No, all of the heavy lifting is done. Just need to let it simmer for a while,” she told him, knocking a wooden spoon on the rim of the pot before taking a seat on one of their chairs. He joined her. “Your people will leave soon, and you’ll have to go with them.”
“Yeah, they will,” Russell agreed, taking her hand in his and giving thanks that they wouldn’t be beating around the bush. “I do want to go back, Veera. I haven’t seen my parents or my two other siblings for…”
Veera watched as her mate fell silent, his face looking far older than his actual age of twenty five as he counted the months. “It’s been too long, hasn’t it?” she asked compassionately.
“The Admiral managed to get them here in about three months, but I don’t think he would push things that hard on the return trip. All told, even if we left tomorrow and didn’t make any detours, it would probably be more than two years total by the time I get home. And for at least half of that time they’ll have lived without knowing whether I’m alive or dead.”
“It was clearly very hard for Alice,” Veera agreed, recalling the tearful scene from the bridge of the Event Horizon. “And she got to see you long before they will. You know I’ll still go with you, my love.”
“I know,” he affirmed, looking at the flames as they licked at the blackened exterior of the pot that had served them well for many months. “But I know things have changed here too. I know there’s a lot you would leave behind now so… I think we should talk.”
“About what, Russell?” she inquired. “I’m happy to talk about anything with you. We even vowed to do so in sight of the Mother, but it sounds like our path is already set.”
“Maybe, but when we get to Earth things need to change,” he explained. “I can’t… I won’t get sent off on another mission like this. Even if you weren’t pregnant there would be a question, you know? But now there’s no way I want you following me around on military ships, and no way I’m going to leave you after you give birth. So… I’m going to have to figure something else out. Even cabins in the mountains don’t build themselves, and the life of a recluse isn’t the sort of thing I’d want for our kids.”
To Russell’s surprise, Veera purred and nuzzled his cheek. She teased him gently. “Look at you trying to plan out our entire lives. I would never say no to you being in less danger.”
Russell placed an arm around her shoulder and rested his head against hers. “Is there a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”
“I was trying to be accommodating,” Veera pointed out. “But I would feel awful if you gave up something important on account of my pregnancy. It’s not like we planned for this.”
“No, we didn’t,” he agreed seriously, sitting up in his seat and rubbing the back of his neck. “But that doesn’t change the fact. Besides, there aren’t many people who remain soldiers forever. Even people like my father eventually take non-combat roles and desk jobs. It might not go exactly the way we expect, but I’m sure I can work something out within the HEL if the civilian life just isn’t for me.”
“Then it sounds like we don’t have much to worry about in terms of our family,” Veera summarized in a relieved tone before casting a glance at their entryway. “I will miss them, though.”
Russell exhaled and looked over at Io, taking up her usual perch at the foot of their bed. He raised his brows at her and she shrugged in return. “I might as well ask your opinion on it then,” he said.
“On what?”
“This is something Io and I have been thinking about for a while but never with any seriousness. Apparently Alice started thinking the same way and made a proposal to both Natori and Antoth the last time the two of them met.”
“Is that where you were called to?” Veera wondered quietly, taking a spoonful of stew and blowing on it until it was cool enough to taste. Satisfied with the blend of flavors, she grabbed two wooden bowls and began serving them both. “What is it that Alice was contemplating?”
“From the sound of it, taking you and every single Cauthan in this village back home with us to Earth isn’t a flight of fancy,” Russell explained. Veera paused with a ladle full of stew halfway between the kettle and her bowl.
“I- what? Is such a thing even possible?” she demanded aghast. Russell nodded, propping up one ankle on the opposite knee.
“Way I understand it, the Event Horizon is running with a skeleton crew, at least so far as non-military personnel are concerned. When they learned they were coming after me, that my ship had been lost, a lot of people who could chose to stay behind. There’s plenty of space so long as your people can handle space travel. Obviously we’ve already experimented with that a bit.”
“But why would they take us in the first place?” Veera asked suspiciously. “Here, eat while it’s hot.”
“Smells wonderful, thank you,” Russell replied, making sure to take a large bite and savor it for her edification before going on to explain some of the reasons humanity might see a vested interest in taking her village along. “From what I can tell it would actually resolve a sticking point with the Ghaelen regarding human influence on the village. The other reason, honestly, is that we want to.”
“And when we can no longer feed or clothe ourselves because we have left Mara we will be at your mercy,” Veera pointed out suspiciously. Io felt the need to step in at that point.
‘That is true, Veera. However what humanity can offer you in exchange would far exceed what you would lose. Imagine a world where one Cauthan, in someone like Anita’s position, could grow enough food to feed the whole village!’
“That sounds like a good excuse to sit around and grow lazy and fat, just like Vash,” Veera spat. Io recoiled indignantly as Russell waved his spoon her way.
“She’s got a point there, you know. Hey boy, get over here and sit! I heard you were bad today!” Russell commanded, distracted as none other than Fenrir chose that moment to arrive home, having no doubt followed the smells of cooking fires throughout the village. He ruffled the hyrven’s fur roughly before providing him with a plate of pre-cut chesko meat. It was a bit bourgeois to cut their pet’s steak, he knew, but both he and Veera considered bite sized pieces preferable to Fenrir flinging his dinner about the house like a barbarian intent on painting the walls red.
‘Now that the beastie has his dinner and I can defend myself, I can tell you that many humans choose to work jobs like those found at the temples of Tyrdus or the Twins, making things instead of growing things. That might not be a difficult transition. Even more choose to live like Thantis or Alice, devoting their lives to knowledge and its pursuit. And yes, per your conversation with Russell all the way back when you first met, there are some who engage in creating pornographic material and every other profession in between. Based on the amount of garbage I’ve scrubbed from the Event Horizon’s intranet there will be a market for Cauthan smut when we return to Earth one way or another, but I’d rather space my main processors than ruminate on that for too long. You are right, Veera. Being lazy, indolent, and fat is a temptation when you live in a land of plenty, but I think it is better than starvation, death by raider, succumbing to treatable illnesses, or freezing to death.’
“Not to mention there are plenty of human communities who prefer to keep to what they consider to be the ‘old ways’,” Russell added. “I’m not saying anyone’s given the logistics serious thought, but the idea is out there now and it’s not just me and Io who would want to see you all paid back for letting me live here and keeping me alive.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that we would be giving up our freedom and putting our lives in your hands, Russell,” Veera pointed out. “I choose to do so on account of our bonds of marriage and because I consider you to be a male who does not think in such terms. That doesn’t mean that this village will be treated the same way.”
Russell was unable to brush her concerns away, knowing that he was far from the most senior HEL individual in the system anymore. He didn't foresee any issues with the Admiral honoring the union he shared with Veera, but he hadn't exactly married the rest of the village. "I know, but it's not like Io or I would abandon them. I'm not worth much, honestly, but you've seen what Io can do when she doesn't get what she wants."
'I resent that,' she told him. 'You act as though I saw the Event Horizon and thought give me the shiny ship.'
Russell and Veera looked at Io quietly, chewing over tenderized pieces of chesko. She eventually backtracked. ‘Well don’t blame me for having the ability to do both at once! Besides, it’s not even that shiny.’
Veera laughed pleasantly as she reached over to scratch Fenrir between the ears. Between the slowly waning cooking fire and his dinner the hyrven was already headed for dreamland. “I appreciate the sentiment, Io. I know that you and Russell would not abandon us, but that will not make it any easier, especially for people like Ratha and Antoth.”
“That’s a bit of an understatement. I wouldn’t be surprised if it proved necessary to drag Ratha kicking and screaming into a shuttle,” Winters added, finding the image amusing. “Ah well, like I said it’s really not a decision that any of us get to make. I just wanted your perspective. I guess it’s probably a scary concept more than anything.”
“Yes, it is,” Veera agreed quietly. “And unlike me, they do not have someone like you to lean on.”
“Fair enough. Hopefully we can get a few set up like Xan, familiarize themselves with the ship at least. Sounds like Natori could use help and you all have five fingers, an opposable thumb, and are of approximately human height,” Winters reasoned. “Speaking of which, why don’t you head on up, Io. He should be aboard already. I think we’re just going to clean up dinner here.”
Veera waved her feathers in understanding as Io nodded and killed her projection. ‘I suppose I could check back in on my various VI monitoring subroutines as well. As you say sir. I will return later tonight.’
-----
“By Kel this place is big,” Xan complained, walking through corridor after corridor aboard the Event Horizon. He’d returned to his normal weight so he figured he had to be somewhere close to his destination, but with every turn he only seemed to find yet another sign featuring vibrant green and yellow symbols showing him the way to the hydroponics bays. The Cauthan let out an audible groan of relief when he stepped into a larger hallway and found a sizable green arrow pointing at a set of bulkheads several times his size. He could not yet read the human runes painted within it, but he recognized the location well enough. Clearing his throat and composing himself he walked up to the doors and made to knock, but found his plans foiled as they simply opened on their own and a synthesized, female voice faintly reminiscent of Io’s own welcomed him to the hydroponics bay. “Hey, Anita?” he called out, facile enough with English to use at least one word. He smiled as she poked her head around the corner of the door to her office, her long ponytail hanging most of the way to the floor from her seated position. She was confused to see him, which confused him in turn.
“X-Xan?” she stuttered. “What are you um, doing here?”
The Cauthan leaned heavily on his cane, putting two and two together before letting out a long sigh of realization and clicking a talon on the floor. “You know, if you’d prefer to work for someone who doesn’t enjoy surprises, Antoth would be happy to have you if you can grow food for us. He’s a similar color too, so that wouldn’t be much of a change, right? He wanted me to check in and see how things are going up here. Guess Natori didn’t give you a warning?”
“No, he didn’t,” Anita confirmed quietly, unsure whether to find humor in the idea of working for Antoth or trying to explain to Xan that it was the height of rudeness to remark on someone’s skin color in such a way. In the end she sat in silent embarrassment as her stomach betrayed her and growled audibly. Even with his mangled left ear Xan was able to pick up on it just fine.
“I have a place to sleep up here so maybe let’s get food first? Not like I’m in a rush or anything. Well, I actually can’t rush much of anywhere these days,” he quipped, pointing to his gimped leg. “I don’t really know my way around so… or was I interrupting something?”
Anita couldn’t bring herself to say no, so instead she zipped up her jumpsuit, grabbed her tablet, and ensured the automated subroutines were all green before tucking her chair neatly away at her desk. “So, ah, how have you been, Xan?” she asked politely, leading the way from her usual haunt to the hallways that would take them to the civilian canteen. The Cauthan kept a sure pace, his cane accentuating his progress. He chuckled to himself as he summed up the events of the prior cycle in one word.
“Busy.”
-----
Previous | First | Patreon
-----
Own The HEL Jumper: Survive in the format of your choice: Hardcover, Softcover, and epub from Lulu | Amazon Kindle

What Was The Best Season Ever by a Reliever? - an Analysis

Relievers. Who are they? What do they do? Until one bright spring day in 1993, nobody knew the answers to these simple questions. Then, MLB scientists made a breakthrough in their labs in the bowels of the Astrodome, and Mariano Rivera sprung forth from his mother’s womb fully formed and sawed off Jason Giambi. But the question they couldn’t answer is ‘what is the best season ever by a reliever?’. At the time, the technology was simply not expansive enough to begin delving into this question. Now, thanks to huge leaps in science, we can finally answer something that has plagued the minds of man since the dawn of humanity.
Now, clearly, the answer is Francisco Rodriguez, since he’s the single season save leader and that’s the best stat to measure relievers by. But let’s ignore that.
You can just look up which reliever has the most WAR in a single season, which is 1975 Goose Gossage by bWAR (8.2!?!?!) or 1977 Bruce Sutter by fWAR (5.2). The reason for this difference is because BaseballReference uses runs allowed to calculate bWAR, and FanGraphs uses FIP to calculate fWAR. Since relievers pitch such small sample sizes, there’s often a large gap between their FIP and their runs allowed (RA). Since we’re looking at the best season, and not the best player, I’m going to use bWAR (and thus RA) for this exercise.
(If you don’t know what FIP is, it stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, which looks at only the outcomes of at-bats which are solely between the pitcher and the batter - home runs, walks, and strikeouts. These stats are thrown together and then given a normalizing factor so that the average league FIP matches the average league ERA. FIP is a wonderful predictive tool, to the point where it is more predictive of a pitcher’s ERA next year than a pitcher’s ERA is. I’d rather not use it here because it doesn’t look at the actual results - if I was trying to find the best reliever, and not the best season, then I’d use FIP.)
Using a simple value added stat is incredibly biased towards 1970’s middle relievers who would throw 100+ innings in a year, though. WAR is a counting stat, so the more they pitch, the more they rack up. What about bWAIP? One BBRef search later, and I have this table.

Player	bWAR	bWA100IP	IP	Year	Tm
Ted Abernathy	6.2	5.84	106.1	1967	CIN
Steve Mingori	3.3	5.87	56.2	1971	CLE
Michael Jackson	3.8	5.94	64.0	1998	CLE
Bruce Sutter	6.5	6.07	107.1	1977	CHC
Jose Mesa	3.9	6.09	64.0	1995	CLE
Zack Britton	4.1	6.11	67.0	2016	BAL
Mariano Rivera	4.3	6.13	70.2	2008	NYY
John Hiller	7.9	6.31	125.1	1973	DET
Terry Fox	3.7	6.38	58.0	1962	DET
Jonathan Papelbon	5.0	7.34	68.1	2006	BOS

This is the top 10 relief seasons by bWA100IP, minimum 45 IP. This is a fairly tight pack all the way up until the final entry, where Papelbon’s 2006 leads by near 1bWA100IP. This seems like a good candidate for the best relief year ever.
(Interestingly enough, Bill James’ list of the 100 best reliever seasons ever, written in 2007, doesn’t include Jonathan Papelbon’s 2006 season. Joe Nathan’s 2006, where Nathan pitched the same number of innings and had a much worse ERA, made the list at #27. This is a reminder that Bill James is a fallible human being.)
So, if your criteria for best year by a reliever is bWA100IP, then the best option, by far, is Jonathan Papelbon. But before we look at the other options, here’s why Papelbon’s season was the best.
There have been nine reliever seasons (min. 40 IP) with a lower ERA than Papelbon’s 2006 0.92. Why aren’t they higher in bWAIP?

Player	WAR	IP	ERA	Year	Tm	R	ER
Zack Britton	4.1	67.0	0.54	2016	BAL	7	4
Joey Devine	1.9	45.2	0.59	2008	OAK	7	3
Fernando Rodney	3.7	74.2	0.60	2012	TBR	9	5
Dennis Eckersley	3.3	73.1	0.61	1990	OAK	9	5
Rob Murphy	2.5	50.1	0.72	1986	CIN	4	4
Rich Gossage	2.3	46.2	0.77	1981	NYY	6	4
Blake Treinen	4.1	80.1	0.78	2018	OAK	12	7
Bill Henry	2.5	52.0	0.87	1964	CIN	9	5
Dennys Reyes	2.2	50.2	0.89	2006	MIN	8	5
Jonathan Papelbon	5.0	68.1	0.92	2006	BOS	8	7

To begin with, bWAR uses RA for its calculations, which uses both earned and unearned runs. Dennys Reyes, Bill Henry, Blake Treinen, Rich Gossage, Fernando Rodney, Dennis Eckersley, and Joey Devine all had more RA/IP in their respective seasons. (The difference between their ERA and their bWAIP isn’t solely explained by this, but it’s good enough for now. We’ll get to that in a moment). This leaves 1986 Rob Murphy and 2016 Zach Britton. Why don’t they stack up?
The answer is a little thing I’d like to call ‘run environment’, which is encapsulated by BaseballReference’s stat RA9Avg. It takes what an average pitcher’s run allowed/9 innings (RA/9) was that year, and then adjusts it for park factors, for the defense, and for who that specific pitcher faced. If a pitcher had a relatively high run environment, it means he would be pitching in batter’s parks, faced tough opponents, had a bad defense behind him, etc. For a perfectly average pitcher, their RA/9 will match their run environment.
For Murphy, his run environment was 4.11. For Britton, it was 4.32. For Papelbon, it was a whopping 5.00. This makes a huge difference - Papelbon may have gotten slightly worse results, but he was starting from a much more difficult positions.
For another good way to illuminate the differences run environments can cause, I can bring up one of my favorite WAR comparisons! In 1965, Jim Maloney equalled Sandy Koufax in bWAR (and surpassed him if you count batting WAR) despite throwing 80 fewer innings with an ERA 0.50 higher. How did he do this? Simple. Sandy Koufax played in cavernous Dodger Stadium with a strong Dodger defense behind him, and so had a run environment of 3.49 RA/9. Jim Maloney, pitching at batter-friendly Crosley Stadium with a poor Reds defense behind him, had a run environment of 4.34, 0.85 more than Koufax. Since Maloney is expected to give up far more runs than Koufax and only gives up somewhat more runs, he has a large bWAIP lead.
Run environment is 99% of the explanation behind ‘why does WAR give this weird result?’ questions.
Most of the best reliever seasons by ERA have relatively a low run environment - after all, good defense and a friendly park factor really helps a reliever keep the runs down. Fernando Rodney had a run environment of 3.72 in his 0.60 ERA season, because he pitched at the Tropicana and had the Rays defense behind him. Mariano Rivera consistently had a high run environment (career average of 4.72) due to pitching in Yankee Stadium with horrible, horrible, horrible Yankees defenses behind him going against tough AL East opponents. He never had that ‘lucky’ season with a sub-1 ERA, which would likely have put him on this list. He has to live with the stigma of simply being the greatest reliever of all time, unfortunately. Papelbon had an incredible season in a run environment that was incredibly ill-suited for having an incredible season, so his bWAIP is leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else.
So is Jonathan Papelbon’s 2006 the greatest single season by a reliever ever? Well, maybe. Pound-for-pound, it certainly is. But some relievers can pound more often than others, even if they're not pounding quite as hard. Should 70’s and 80’s relievers be penalized for being slightly worse in twice as many innings as Papelbon? John Hiller’s 1973 is a good candidate if you prefer quantity over quality - 7.9 bWAR in 125 innings in relief. Of course, you can flip it around - why penalize Papelbon for pitching less when relievers of that era were expected to pitch less? With the bWAIP, it’s safe to say Papelbon was more dominant in his role than Hiller was in his.
Are there arguments for other pitchers and other seasons? Absolutely. Perhaps you prefer FIP for some reason - then you can probably give the nod to 2003 Eric Gagne, with 4.7 fWAR in 82 innings. I don’t think FIP works well for this type of analysis, because it doesn’t deal with actual results, but you do you. Perhaps you want to dive into BABIP and pick a season that wasn't as lucky - this seems like a fool's errand, since the best reliever seasons are all lucky ones.
Of course, if you believe the best ability is availability, the nod goes to Mike Marshall, who appeared in 106 (!?!) games for the 1974 Dodgers. His 2.42 ERA is tarnished somewhat by the 3.33 run environment at Dodger Stadium at the time, however. Marshall apparently still has very interesting ideas on training to be able to pitch that many innings, but no MLB training staff will let him near their pitchers for some reason.
Now, I know we’d all like someone else to have the best relief season ever in baseball - someone who didn’t attack teammates, someone who didn’t watch porn in the clubhouse, someone who doesn’t hit Manny Macha - ok, I’m fine with that one. But why couldn’t it have been someone like Eric Gagne, or Robb Nen, or Heathcliff Slocumb? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything negative about those guys. Maybe it’s just time to move on, and let bygones be bygones.
As I understand, Papelbon is just 24 hours from picking a new team, so it’ll be exciting to see him back in the league. Hopefully, he doesn’t choke his comeback.

Better Know the Ones Left Off the Ballot #23: Jason Marquis

The report of this series’ death was an exaggeration. When will it stop? When I say. Which is not now. Anyway, If you don't know what this is, basically a bunch of players qualify for the Hall of Fame ballot (10 years in the MLB), but only a few make it on. This is thanks to a Screening Committee who screen who gets on by committee (wow who woulda guessed). Here we take a look at the people who got cut. I've done a couple more of these that you can check out at the bottom. On with the show.

Jason Marquis

Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor: 10
Career bWAR (15 years): 6.8 (4.3 w/o batting)
Stats: 124-118, 4.61 ERA, 93 ERA+, 377 G, 318 GS, 1968.1, 1174 K, 769 BB, 1.447 WHIP
League Leading Stats: Losses (16, 2006), Earned Runs (130, 2006), Home Runs Allowed (35, 2006)
Awards: All-Star (2009), Silver Slugger (2005), World Series Ring (2006)
Teams Played For: Braves (2000-03), Cardinals (2004-06), Cubs (2007-08), Rockies (2009), Nationals (2010-11), Diamondbacks (2011), Twins (2012), Padres (2013), Reds (2015)
Jason Marquis has one of the more intriguing Major League careers I've ever come across. In most cases, having 6.8 bWAR across your entire time in the league doesn't mean you regularly started MLB games for 15 years. But it appears Marquis, in addition to garnering staying power, got Luquis. Nope, didn't work. While he would have bad years, many times he’d have a good one or two right after. Thanks to an interestingly distributed amount of high highs and low lows, his overall career trajectory doesn’t resemble the normal gradual ascent and decline of a curve, but bears more similarities with an outline of a mountain range. Since he wasn’t on the ballot, we can take a look at all the stuff that happened. Did he deserve all the chances he got?
Marquis's career technically started after he got drafted, but I would be remiss if I ignored the time he pitched a no-hitter in the Little League World Series against Team Canada to secure third place. Anyway, Jason Marquis's career started after he got drafted. His 35th overall selection was by the Atlanta Braves, and a signing bonus of $600,000 led to him reneging his letter of intent to play college ball at Miami. It's fine, they made the College World Series for three straight years anyway. Marquis was touted as the best high school prospect out of his hometown of NYC since Manny Ramirez. The year before, Ramirez had been an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger, and finished 12th in MVP voting at the age of 23. No pressure kid. Oh, it's three years later and you haven't finished a season with an ERA below 4? Sounds like a bust to me. And at only 20 years old. Wait, you just started 6 games in high-A and allowed exactly 1 earned run while striking out 41? Okay maybe we spoke too soon. You can go to double-A. Marquis would only need one more year after that to prove his first three seasons were just tune-up years, even the one when he went 2-12. After a nice showing at AA at the beginning of 2000, the 89th-ranked prospect in all of baseball got called up to Atlanta in June to help in the bullpen. The call-up was courtesy of John Rocker threatening a reporter and the Braves telling him "no, you can't do that" by demoting him, so thanks John Rocker! Probably the first time that phrase has been said in a while. Marquis had been drafted as a starting pitcher, but the Braves of the 90s and early 2000s weren't exactly lacking in that department. His first appearance was in relief of Tom Glavine after a start against the Blue Jays got away from him, and it ended after one inning with Marquis delivering his first Major League strikeout against Shannon Stewart. The rest of his year would go rather sloppily, with a 6-run outing in late July punching his ticket to triple-A, and the September call-up that followed only really happening thanks to his prospect status. Thankfully, he did well enough the next spring training that it left no question as to where he'd start the season: on the Opening Day roster.
Marquis's 2001 season started when he was named the 92nd best prospect, slightly below where he was a year ago. Still, he was ready to go out and prove he could be better than whoever was 91st. What was their name, anyway? Some scrub no one remembers named Miguel Cabrera? Oh. Moving on, Marquis spent roughly half the year in the bullpen, with his first start came in May. Even with it being a spot start, you wouldn’t have known that after he hung up six innings of shutout pitching against the LA Dodgers, allowing just two hits and striking out five. What’s that? He was facing Kevin Brown who matched him blow for blow and finished the game with eight innings of nine strikeout greatness and the Braves lost on a walkoff Gary Sheffield home run? We can just ignore that bit. Marquis would finish the year as a member of the rotation, starting 16 games, the best of which was an 8-inning showing versus the Brewers where he struck out 13. Even showed up as a relief arm in the playoffs, finishing two NLCS games and allowing no earned runs. Four unearned ones, though. Braves lost that series to a five-year-old franchise from the desert, but they had hope for the future even as their pitching core was aging. Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz were all over 35, though you wouldn't know it to look at their stats. Even so, Father Time is undefeated, so Atlanta had to find people to replace them. And in 2002, it seemed they had begun to do just that. Kevin Millwood, the 28-year-old established arm, would form a core of the future with the 25-year-old surprise named Damian Moss and the hotshot young gun, Jason Marquis. Or Glavine and Maddux could carry the rotation once again with ERAs under 3, Smoltz turned in a fantastic season in relief, Moss and Millwood could play third and fourth fiddle on the staff, and Marquis could put up an ERA of 5.04 and get demoted to AAA a couple times. Braves still made the playoffs again, but this time Marquis stayed home. Thankfully Atlanta still believed in him enough to keep him around, even after acquiring not one, not two, but three new rotation arms in Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, and Shane Reynolds. Unfortunately for Marquis, a move to the bullpen turned out to do the exact opposite of what it did for Smoltz. A 5.54 ERA, 18 walks to 19 strikeouts in 40.2 innings, and extended stays in triple-A was not what anybody wanted for him. Furthermore, after the "Chipper Jones in Left Field" experiment returned less-than-stellar results, his move back to third necessitated a new outfielder. When GM John Schuerholz learned former uber-prospect J.D. Drew was available from the Cardinals, he pounced, sending a package in return that consisted of relief pitcher Ray King, a guy no one remembers named Adam Wainwright, and the struggling, but promising, Jason Marquis. Little did Schuerholz know, Marquis had just hit the nadir of his Major League career's first valley, and a trade provided him with some climbing gear.
The 2004 Cardinals were very good. Very very good. On a scale from 1 to Good, they were, like, super good. When the heart of your lineup is Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds, all of whom had OPSes north of 1.000 and over 100 RBIs a piece, your team is really good. And thanks to an offseason move, the team had also found its new ace starting pitcher. Even if his 2002 and 2003 years left a lot to be desired, there was no question this was a guy who’d anchor the rotation for years to come. I am, of course, talking about Chris Carpenter. Jason Marquis was pretty good too. In his age-25 season, he put together a fantastic year, especially considering where his career had begun stats-wise. 15-7, 3.71 ERA, and 138 strikeouts slotted him as a serviceable enough number-2 starter. Even got a start in the NLDS, a start in the NLCS, and a start in the World Series. Sure he might have allowed 9 runs across those three starts but... let’s move on. One notable stat about Marquis takes the form of a slashline: .292/.297/.375. If you guessed that was his batting average allowed in some weird situation, you’d be wrong. Those mediocre hitting numbers were his. As a pitcher, Marquis’s rate stats were, across the board, better than Mike Matheny, his catcher. Thanks to a 21-for-72 year at the plate, Marquis added 0.7 oWAR to his year, and was actually more valuable by bWAR (3.1 with batting) than Chris Carpenter (2.8). Even as the Cardinals got swept in the World Series by the Red Hot Red Sox, St. Louis was clearly in a spot to compete for a while. A trade for Athletics starter Mark Mulder seemed to solidify that fact, and with a rotation consisting of Carpenter, Mulder, Marquis, Jeff Suppan, and Matt Morris, the Cardinals looked nice on the pitching front. Remind me how that offense was doing again? And they added Larry Walker to it at last season’s deadline did they? Heaven help the National League.
Even with a midseason injury to Scott Rolen, the Cardinals' 2005 offense still produced 805 runs on the year. Their starting pitching staff responded in kind, statrting all but two games, with the worst ERA among them being 4.13. It’s no wonder the team won 100 games. Speaking of starting pitchers, guess who had that 4.13 ERA? None other than Jason Marquis. He did lower his WHIP, but a 13-14 record and just 100 strikeouts in over 200 innings got him relegated to a bullpen role in the playoffs. But nobody cares about that. Everyone wants to know is how he did as a batter. Brace yourselves. In 2005, Jason Marquis batted .319/.326/.460 with a 103 OPS+. He accrued 1.1 oWAR off 27 hits, 10 for extra bases, including a home run off Wandy Rodriguez. Also, because Tony La Russa is an absolute madman, Marquis actually pinch-hit a couple times. He did so on not one, not two, but nine occasions, three of which ended in hits because nothing makes sense. Across 91 plate appearances, he only struck out eleven times. Guess who won the Silver Slugger that year. Close, it was Marquis. Oh his fellow Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter won the Cy Young? Absolutely nobody gives a hoot. Clearly, Marquis was destined for greatness in 2006, where he’d inevitably bat over .400 and hit 10 home runs. Or… maybe not. 14-for-78, enough for .179/.210/.256. Ouch. At least he made up for it with his pitching, right? Oh no. An ERA of 6.02, career high 75 walks given up, and the league leader in losses (16), home runs allowed (35), and earned runs allowed (130). Yeah, I don’t blame the team for leaving you off their playoff roster. At least you have those other two years to fall back on for arbit… that was your contract year? Well that sucks. And just like that, Jason Marquis was unemployed. However, once he got an offer, his career’s terrain would prove to be rising once again.
When it came to 2007 free agent signings, Marquis’s was not marquis. That’s a joke ladies and gentlemen. Due to his recent struggles, MLB Trade Rumors didn't mention his name in the top 50 free agents. Nevertheless, in mid-December, he accepted a 3-year, $21 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. Maybe they saw that outside two really bad starts that he suffered because of a tired bullpen, his ERA was actually 5.13. I still wouldn’t pay a starter with that ERA 7 mil a year, but hey what do I know. His next two seasons were remarkably pedestrian, going a whelming 23-18 with a cromulent ERA of 4.57 for an astoundingly regular ERA+ of 101. He even found time to strike out the incredibly middle-of-the-road total of 200 batters while walking a radically mediocre number of 146 batters. For you see, we’re experiencing a flat plain in his mountain range. Thanks to his gargantuan propensity for average performance on the mound, Marquis looked attractive to a team where ordinary pitching numbers were viewed as much more extraordinary: the Colorado Rockies. Appropriate. In January of 2009, the Cubs traded him there for relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino. Perhaps in Denver he’d experience a resurgence in his bat as well, since apart from three home runs, his .168/.193/.282 over the past two years was another perfectly average performance from a pitcher. Sadly, he’d only go 11-for-64, with a paltry 3 doubles accounting for all his extra base hits. Though that would remain the same, he experienced a resurgence in pracitcally everything else. In 2009, Marquis tied his best win total with a 15-13 record, assembled the second best ERA he’d had as a full-time starter at 4.04, got voted to the All-Star team for the first time in his career, and threw his hat in the ring for best pitcher on a Rockies staff that surprised many people. Add on the most recent Maddux by a Colorado Rockie (Rocky?), and you got yourself a real nice ascension to a peak. See Jason? That’s how you do a contract year. His 3.5 bWAR was the second highest total on a Colorado team that went to the playoffs, though they were quickly brushed aside in the NLDS by the defending champ Phillies. While Marquis would return to unemployment, he would do so with his head held much higher than last time. After all, he had just tied Sandy Koufax for the most consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins by a Jewish pitcher (6). By the way, Marquis is Jewish, and this is the first and last time I will mention that fact because if I talked about it anymore it would only be in the context of horrible jokes on account of me being a terrible person.
So whe he hit fre agency after 2006, Marquis didn't make MLB Trade Rumors' top 50. After this season, though? All the way up to… wait let me scroll down… number 30! Improvement baby! And yet, when the Nationals signed him to a two-year, $15 million deal, they apparently forgot what happens after a peak in a mountain range. The 2010 season saw Marquis get knocked out for close to four months with bone chips in his elbow. That or the diagnosis for “elbow shingles” got autocorrected to “elbow Pringles” and the doctors extrapolated. Even when he didn’t have Kellogg's-sponsored joint pain, Marquis was not effective on the mound. In 13 starts, he went 2-9 and allowed 43 earned runs while walking 24 in only 58.2 innings pitched. It also marked the first time he was on a team that didn’t finish the season in the playoffs. However, rather than releasing him and cutting their losses, the Nationals appeared to have some insight as to how he worked. Marquis was kept in the rotation for 2011, and rewarded Washington with 20 games started, an 8-5 record, and a 3.95 ERA. Even Madduxed Tim Lincecum and the Giants for good measure. He did so well the Nationals decided to trade him at the deadline to the surprisingly competitive Arizona Diamondbacks. 3 starts and 16 runs allowed later, a comebacker broke his leg and he was done for the season. With his range's recent dip below sea level, he was once again left off the top 50 free agents list, and a seven-start stint with the Twins that ended in late May of 2012 after an 8.47 ERA did him no favors. At this point, the only chance Marquis had would probably be a team that had nothing to lose picking him up. So, naturally, the day after he got let go in Minnesota, he accepted an offer from the San Diego Padres. A 6-7 record was fine, and a 4.04 ERA was much less impressive here than it was in Colorado, but that was enough of a climb from his previous valley for the Padres to bring him back. Not that it mattered, cuz, you know, 2012 Padres. What came back in a major way, though, was his hitting. Marquis’s 2012 season ended with him going .281/.303/.375 at the dish. All were his highest by far since he won the Silver Slugger. Pitching-wise, His next season wasn’t half bad either, finishing the year 9-5 in 20 starts. When it came to his other stats, talk about a plateau. His ERA went from 4.04 in 2012 to 4.05 in 2013. His strikeout total was 79 in 2012 and 72 in 2013. What did take a dip this time was, tragically, his bat. Just 5 hits in 43 plate appearances, a .119 batting average. He might have been able to improve it had he not elected to undergo Tommy John surgery that July. And unfortunately, that decision would more or less mark the end of Marquis’s landscape painting of a career, because it was all downhill from there. A minor league offer from the Phillies was accepted once he came back, but only 8 triple-A starts later he was gone again. The famously awful 2015 Reds gave him a shot, but after 34 earned runs in just 9 starts and 47.1 innings, even they saw the valley he was headed for, and bid him farewell. While he never officially retired, nobody’s offered him a contract for five years, so it’s relatively easy to say that his last mountaineering trip was to Old Man’s End Of A Baseball Career Gulch.
Jason Marquis is an anomaly. Practically nothing about his career was predictable. With a good long Major League experience like he’s had, it’s amazing all the stuff he’s packed in. Starting games for 9 different teams, getting a World Series ring after an awful season, finding out just how high and low his career can go, and so much more. Truly a fascinating ball player. Thing is, fascinating players don’t get on the ballot if they haven’t been consistently good. Nothing was consistent about Jason Marquis, so that’s not where he belonged. And who knows, maybe he comes back for one last hurrah, since from what I can tell, his retirement papers haven’t ever been officially submitted. Maybe he couldn’t find them after his vision was obscured by his massive schnoz. (There were gonna be a lot more big nose jokes before I found out he was Jewish, so to limit my cancelability I’m only doing one)
Jason Marquis would visit the Hall of Fame in a Cardinals hat for his 42-37 record, 334 strikeouts, and World Series Ring with the team. Preferably in a Rockies jersey and hiking boots to symbolize just how up-and-down his career was.
Hey remember all these guys? No? Well you can read about em anyway.
#1: Randy Choate
#2: Kevin Gregg
#3: Dan Uggla
#4: Josh Hamilton
#5: Delmon Young
#6: Willie Bloomquist
#7: Grady Sizemore
#8: Kevin Correia
#9: David DeJesus
#10: Rafael Betancourt
#11: Clint Barmes
#12: Adam LaRoche
#13: Grant Balfour
#14: Randy Wolf
#15: Rafael Soriano
#16: Chris Denorfia
#17: Bruce Chen
#18: Cody Ross
#19: Scott Baker
#20: Jeff Francis
#21: Aaron Harang
#22: Corey Hart

A Toast to the 2020 New York Mets

Player of the Day (2/12/21): Justin Turner

I love Trea Turner and you should too: a brief history and analysis on baseball's most underrated shortstop

Biggest reason why a team suddenly sees a dramatic decrease in hitting efficiency?

Motor City Management - Detroit Tigers Report 2024 - Cleveland Rocks

If you'd like to catch up on previous installments, you can do so here: Initial Setup, 2020 Season Report, 2021 Season Report, 2022 Season Report, 2023 Season Report
Let's take a look at the award winners from 2023 to wrap that year up and then get into the moves made and the season recap for 2024!

2023 Offseason News

League News:

Scott Oberg wins the AL Reliever of the Year award, Detroit's Drew Carlton received votes. In the NL, Miami's Thomas Burrows wins the award.
1B Diego Maicon powers his way to the AL Rookie of the Year with 43 homeruns while SS Nasim Nunez's 30 stolen bases helps him take the NL trophy.
Detroit's Casey Mize takes home the AL Cy Young Award, receiving all 32 first place votes. San Diego's Luis Patino was the NL's best offering and wins the award.
Houston's Kyle Tucker unseats Mike Trout as the AL MVP with a stellar season for the Astros. In the NL, Cody Bellinger wins his third straight MVP and 4th in the last 5 years.

Detroit Achievements:

Ke'Bryan Hayes wins his first Gold Glove at 2B.
SP Casey Mize wins the AL Cy Young Award!

Offseason Transactions

Owner gave us a $4,000,000 budget increase, but we have some solid players coming off of minimums, so our scouting and development budgets will be going down from their max.
League News:

1B Matt Olson signs with the San Francisco Giants for $212,600,000 over 7 years.
Reliever of the Year Scott Oberg, along with SP Carmen Mlodzinksi and $2,000,000 in cash are dealt to the Rockies for CF Garret Mitchell.
The Chicago Cubs and White Sox complete a cross-town deal with RF Nomar Mazara going to the Cubs and SP Will Mercer and 2B Ryan Bliss going to the White Sox.
Chicago Cubs sign SP Jose Quintana for $72,000,000 over 4 years.
SP Luke Weaver is sent to the Rockies for a package of 3 prospects.
Chicago Cubs sign SP Kyle Hendricks for $82,000,000 over 5 years.
NPB star SS Hayato Sakamoto signs with the Texas Rangers for 4 years, $52,400,000.
SP Noah Syndergaard is sent to the Cincinnati Reds for a package of 3 prospects.
SP Blake Snell nets $18,800,000 a year for the next 5 seasons with the Boston Red Sox.
1B Max Muncy gets $82,000,000 over 4 years to head cross-town to the Angels.
3B Miguel Andujar signs with the Marlins for $10,000,000 a year for 4 years.
The Giants pay SP Carlos Martinez $16,500,000 a year for the next 4 seasons.
Kyle Schwarber nets $19,142,857 a year for the next 7 years with the Houston Astros.
Cleveland Indians sign SP Dinelson Lamet to a 2 year deal worth $53,400,000.
Max Kepler is signed by the Washington Nationals for 5 years at $92,900,000.
No one is elected to the Hall of Fame. Gary Sheffield (40.1%/10th year) is removed from the ballot.

Detroit Departures:

RP Bryan Garcia
CF Albert Almora Jr.

Detroit Trades:
Trade #1 Detroit receives: 2B Marcus Chiu, RP Jack Little Los Angeles receives: RP Junior Fernandez, RP Brendan White
Fernandez didn't seem like he was going to make it back to the majors and was available as an auto-renew for 1M+, so I moved him for another reliever that I can take a chance on and a 2B prospect that looks ready for AAA and gives me some infield depth.
Trade #2 Detroit receives: RF Ismael Mena, 2B Jordy Barley, $750,000 San Diego receives: SS Vidal Brujan
Brujan wasn't very good for us last year and was super pissed about not being an everyday starter. I can't offer him that, but the Padres were willing to part with a decent middle infielder who will play in AAA and a RF prospect that I'm really excited to be adding to the team in Mena, with great personality traits.
Trade #3 Detroit receives: 3B Jordan Diaz Oakland receives: RP Blake Taylor
Taylor wasn't going to stick with the team after a down season and some regression, but Diaz looks like a solid piece for the future. He's 23, cost-controlled and already has a nice hitting profile. He'll start in AAA likely.
Detroit Additions:
OF Jairo Pomares - He was on the waiver wire to end the season and looks like a more than capable hitter. He's young and on a minimum, so I figured I'd take a flier on him.

Spring Training

We have $17,600,000 available for free agents/trades for the season, $12,000,000 set aside for the draft and $5,400,000 set aside for international amateurs. We're spending the maximum allowed on development again this year.
We used the spring to have Castro play 2B and Gold Glover Ke'Bryan Hayes play SS.
Detroits News:

SP Matt Manning tore a back muscle and will miss four months.
RP David McKay tears his rotator cuff and will miss 6 months.

Regular Season

First Half
We take an Opening Day win behind a nice outing from Casey Mize and hope to continue that momentum. We're projected to win 99 games and have three top pitchers, but I have my doubts - especially with Manning missing significant time. I normally don't note much about the second game, but it was Kumar Rocker's first start and he was stellar - 8 and a third innings, 1 run and 7 strikeouts - a good look for the rookie.
As we roll into May we sit at 18-14, five games back of the unstoppable Cleveland Indians. We started 5-0, but we've had some down stops as well. At 32-28 on June 1st, the team is now seven games back of the Indians and three games back of the wild card. We need some help. Sandy Alcantara goes back into the rotation, replacing a struggling Justin Dunn, while bullpen roles get shifted as well. Ke'Bryan Hayes has been incredibly unlucky at the plate with a .222 BABIP, resulting in a .187 batting average. We'll give him another month to sort it out, but we move Evan White to CF and bring Riley Greene into the starting lineup to spell a struggling Parker Meadows. We bring up Jonathan Bowlan and David Parkinson, sending down Alex Lange and Drew Carlton to AAA.
2024 Draft
Another low pick for us, this year we spend the 27th on SP Doug Wade in the 1st round. We double-down on pitching in the 2nd with Kevin Abbs. We grab a SS that looks like a future gold glover in the third in Jeff Allemand. Left fielder Mike Gode is next on the merit of his bat. In the fifth it's center fielder Jim Longchamps with a stellar combo of speed and defense. We like the next picks of SS Ben Barilla, CF Mike Voytko and CF Kevin Devaney as well.
We limped into the All-Star break with a record of 38-37. Matt Manning returns from injury though, and hopefully it's a much-needed shot in the arm. It seems to work as the team goes on a winning streak to finish June, landing 1st in the Wild Card at 46-40 (yet still 9 back of the surging Indians).
July would prove to be a turning point for us as we secured series wins against the Mariners, Rays (swept), White Sox (swept), Rangers, Blue Jays (swept) and Angels en route to a showdown with the Indians to close the month. That showing put us 3 games up on the wild card, but still 7 back of Cleveland. We take one from them, but they prove to be too much, winning two to end the month.
Second Half
August is a new month though, and we kick it off with series wins against the Athletics and Twins, but then get swept by the Yankees. We sweep the Royals and win a series against the Steelhounds to sandwich a series loss to the Orioles and head into roster expansion. We send down David Parkinson and bring up RP Ethan DeCaster, CF Jairo Pomares and 1B Bryant Packard.
We roll into September, securing wins against a number of top teams. On September 14th we lose RP Jack Little for four months, but also clinch a playoff spot. We sit three games back of Cleveland with a chance at a division title and a series against them. We take game one handily, but draw their ace in game two against our back-half and fall by one. Mize carries us to a 2-1 win in game three though to win the series and put us just two games back three games left, giving us an outside shot. We take a game against the Athletics and the Indians drop one to the Angels to move us one game back. Another huge win against the Athletics, coupled with a Cleveland loss and we sit tied heading into game 162. We control our destiny and can force a tiebreaker!
Unfortunately, there are no last game heroics - the Athletics steal one from us and the Indians prevail, we'll take the top wild card spot.

Playoffs

We've secured a wild card berth one again, this time against the Athletics - who put us there with a win in Game 162. We have Casey Mize on the mound and it's a game we should win - we were probably the third best team in the AL, but the Indians control our division.
Wild Card - Game 1 - Tigers defeat Athletics, 9-5 We've finally advanced past the wild card round in my tenure! Mize gets hit later in the game, but we pretty much control this one wire to wire and now must face the Rays, a team we were 8-4 against during the regular season.
Division Series - Game 1 - Rays defeat Tigers, 7-6 We jump to a 6-0 lead and then crumble the rest of the way. The bullpen really didn't do too bad, just couldn't get another run on offense. If we score six, we should be winning.
Division Series - Game 2 - Tigers defeat Rays, 6-5 So I guess we're having only close games. This time it's us that had to battle back throughout the game to score, but we did it. We need better outings from the rotation.
Division Series - Game 3 - Rays defeat Tigers, 7-4 Well, we aren't getting good outings from our good pitching staff, which is irritating. The Rays blast us for 7 runs in the first three innings and we can't recover. We're on the ropes now, let's see what we're made of.
Division Series - Game 4 - Tigers defeat Rays, 4-1 Finally we get an elite performance. Mize showed up, holding them to one run over nearly 8 innings and the bullpen shut the door for us. We've got Rocker on the mound in Game 5 against Glasnow, their ace, so it'll be a high pressure situation for the rookie.
Division Series - Game 5 - Tigers defeat Rays, 6-4 We pulled it off! Rocker gave us 6 innings of quality work, only allowing 2 runs. Zach Hess got rocked in relief, but De Geus and Short shut it down after that. We got on Glasnow early and chased him before he could complete 5 innings and maintained he lead all the way! Willy Adames of the Rays was named series MVP.
The bad news for us is that the Indians swept the Angels in their series and they'll be our opponent in the League Championship Series. We were 5-7 against them during the season. Their lineup is strong, particularly the Lindor-Ramirez-Aquino-Casas gauntlet that sits from #2-#5 in the order. Their pitching is even better though, with the league's lowest FIP and best bullpen ERA, which helped them to the second fewest runs against. Shane Bieber had a down year, but he's still Shane Bieber - but Daniel Espino and Dinelson Lamet give them a fearsome three-headed monster. This will be tough to unseat the defending champs.
League Championship Series - Game 1 - Tigers defeat Indians, 3-2 A HUGE road win against Bieber off of Castro's two-run dinger in the 8th inning. Bieber was stellar, but we happened to get ahold of Edwin Diaz, which is also surprising. Manning was decent and our bullpen was stellar. I'm pumped to steal one in Cleveland.
League Championship Series - Game 2 - Indians defeat Tigers, 6-5 This was about as close as it can get throughout - we kept answering each other at the plate until we finally failed to do so. It's a shame to chase Espino so early and still lose with Mize on the mound, but I'm still glad to have one win already.
League Championship Series - Game 3 - Indians defeat Tigers, 4-1 Yeah, Lamet held us in check and their bullpen was stellar. Skubal was unfortunate, giving up three runs with only one of them being earned. It particularly hurts because the error was by Ke'Bryan Hayes, last season's gold glove winner. We need to bounce back in Game 4.
League Championship Series - Game 4 - Indians defeat Tigers, 7-6 (13) Well, that hurts. We got a serviceable outing from Rocker and got on Plesac early - we got some runs on Edwin Diaz again too, but the rest of their bullpen was untouchable. Ours, on the other hand, all gave up runs except for Zach Hess. Tough. We battled, but this road is now an incredibly uphill one.
League Championship Series - Game 5 - Indians defeat Tigers, 4-2 Manning got blown up and Bieber continues having a strong postseason - he seems to have caught fire at the right time for them. We have a lot to take from this series and feel good about going forward, but I'm starting to really dislike Cleveland. Their reign needs to end.
World Series Well, the Giants draw the appearance for the National League and get off to a 3-0 start. But Cleveland, they aren't killable are they? No, no they are not. They came back. They won the dang thing. The Cleveland Indians repeat as MLB Champions.
Detroit Achievements

SP Casey Mize is named an All-Star
2B Willi Castro is named an All-Star starter
3B Isaac Paredes is named an All-Star
RF Yaya Chentouf is named an All-Star
SP Justin Powell, C Dale Burton and SS Trevor Haskins are named to the All-Prospects Game - Haskins wins MVP.

Season Recap

My division nemesis wins the World Series after sending us home. I dislike this. We had a great season though with our best win total of my tenure and had he most cost efficient team per wins, runs scored and WAR in the league. We became a top 10 team in attendance and our player's popularity is growing. Our owner wants us to upgrade at short stop - so I guess he doesn't like the Castro/Hayes swap - so we make take a look at that once again. Spoiler alert - we got a budget increase, so maybe we'll spend it. Who knows.

Hitters

Starting Lineup
CF Parker Meadows
Meadows ended up going to the bench instead of an everyday starter as his bat just wasn't there like it was last year. He's a quality fielder and baserunner and makes the minimum, so he'll be back - but he may not have a clear role on the team in the future.
DH Kyle Isbel
Isbel ended up much lower in the order during the season and his bat just wasn't good enough for a DH role. My scout thinks he should be better than he is, but I have two seasons of data that say he isn't. He's also listed as fragile, which I'm not sure if I just missed that before or if it's new, but I may try to move him this offseason.
2B Willi Castro
Willi just keeps getting better. He was a 2.5 WAR player as a rookie, gave me two seasons of 5 WAR and now nearly 8 this season - the move to 2B seems to have worked well for him and he was a plus defender. He led the league in runs, had his best season yet at the plate and was a 20/20 player. His arbitration estimate is $15,000,000 - which is a lot, but I don't see how I can let him walk while I have contract control. He's given me four full seasons without any injury issues, is a fan favorite and one of my best players. I'd love to sign him longer term if it's reasonable.
RF Yaya Chentouf
Yaya made his first all-star team, led the league in walks and was a dominant hitter for us this season. He's come a long way since he was a struggling reliever in my minors, now giving us nearly 6 WAR in RF. He's on a minimum deal and was incredible, he's obviously returning. His jump from 25 to 51 homeruns helped us accomplish our goal of improving on our homerun total that our owner set as well. Yaya has also become extremely popular at a national level - he's quickly become one of my favorites.
1B Ryan Mountcastle
Mountcastle continues to be a steady performer for me - he's not an all-star and he's not going to win any awards, but he's reliable and dependable. He bounced back from his 1.4 WAR season to give us nearly 3 this year, hit well and played good defense. His arbitration estimate is cheap, so he'll return.
LF Evan White
White was a bit disappointing again. He was the hottest player on the team two years ago and gave us 5 WAR, now he's struggling to hit 2. The bat has cooled off considerably, though, much like Isbel, my scout thinks he should be better than he has been. He doesn't appear to be having any bad BABIP luck either, so maybe he's just not as good as I had hoped, but still serviceable. He's still locked up long-term with Seattle footing 40% of the bill, so that's good. Defensively, I prefer him in left than center, but center field continues to elude me. It might be worth considering if I need both him and Mountcastle, or if I should move White to 1B or move him out.
3B Isaac Paredes
Well now, here is a pleasant surprise. Paredes wasn't someone who had a big BABIP jump, but his bat was much improved this year - going from below league average to one of the best in the league. He gave us 4.3 WAR despite missing a few weeks with injury as well, so a solid season all-around. His arbitration estimate isn't too bad, so I'll definitely be keeping him around. His personality concerns me, but if he keeps up the performance from this season he'll be hard to move on from.
SS Ke'Bryan Hayes
I had hopes that swapping Hayes and Castro would empower them both to have better seasons defensively and thus provide more value. While Hayes was a plus defender at short, it wasn't by much and I've seen four seasons of his bat not being that good. Yes, he was unlucky this season, but I'm not sure he's going to give me much even if he wasn't. If I can find a better defensive option, I may just do that.
C Christian Vazquez
My catcher position has never been one worth going crazy about. Vazquez continues to be a bad hitter for me, despite that one great season, but his defensive value is so hard to gauge. Our pitching staff was the league's best and it's tough to not credit Christian with a lot of that. I'm going to let him hit free agency and try to get him cheaper there.
Bench/Replacements
C Jake Rogers
Rogers was a better backup this year than last year, despite less appearances. I'll probably bring him back, but I might give more time to Drew Romo next year and see what he brings. Rogers looks like a solid backup with no real intentions of being a starter.
3B Jordan Diaz
Diaz was brought in to maybe replace Paredes if he struggled and I think he pushed Isaac to a career year. Diaz was decent enough as a bench player and he'll either be back with us or in AAA next year to see if he fills out some more.
RF Riley Greene
Greene pretty quickly became the everyday starter in left field, forcing my hand with his play as a fourth outfielder. Well, he was pretty dang good as a rookie, giving us 3.4 WAR in 118 starts. He was a great hitter and brought some extra pop to the lineup as well. My scout thinks his discipline will come along as well, and I hope it does because he'll be deadly if so.
OF Jairo Pomares
Pomares was tearing it up in AAA, came up at the end of the year and had a decent, albeit brief, appearance. He may be a full-time fourth outfielder next year.

Pitchers

Rotation
SP Casey Mize
Mize casually came out and improved upon his Cy Young campaign from last season, giving us a league leading 6.2 WAR and a 61 FIP-. He was pretty solid I'd say, obviously. All of that was despite a higher BABIP against him, so I like what Mize gave us. Will he repeat as Cy Young? I'm not sure, but he should be in contention.
SP Kumar Rocker
What can you expect from a rookie starting pitcher? Well, how about 4.2 WAR, a 130 ERA+ and a 73 FIP-? I will take that every single day of the week. Wow. Rocker was outstanding and my scout says this guy might get better - that is exciting. He struck out a lot of players, kept walks reasonable and overall was deserving of the #2 role in my rotation with Manning out.
SP Franklin Perez
"Fragile" Franklin finally gets his shot - and, well, he was... okay? He had four different injuries, big surprise, and was kind of rough as a starter. However, when I moved him to the bullpen, he was pretty good when healthy. I may try to capitalize on some team thinking he can be a full-time starter and move him out, but I've been saying that for awhile.
SP Justin Dunn
Dunn was worse in the rotation this year then he was last year, so he ended up being sent back to AAA to clear room for other arms. Similar to Perez, maybe I should try to move him - he has yet to perform in the majors.
SP Tarik Skubal
Tarik surprised me. He was decent enough the last two seasons, but was demoted to the pen last year. I didn't think he'd be in the rotation, but injuries said otherwise and his performance said it was a good call. He gave us 2.5 WAR as our fifth starter, which I'll definitely take. His arbitration estimate is 3M, which is probably doable.
Bullpen
SP Matt Manning
Matt missed four months with injury, which is alarming - but he came back strong and gave us 1.4 WAR in 19 starts. I suppose it was his worst stretch since his rookie year, but he was still an above average arm. The arbitration estimate is just over five million, so he'll likely be back.
RP Brett De Geus
My bullpen has yet to have a consistent leader. This year it was Brett de Geus, who gave us 2.1 WAR in 81 IP in his 63 appearances. He was downright dominant with a 58 FIP-, striking out 32% of the opposition. He'll be back on a minimum.
RP Gerson Moreno
Moreno was another new face who was surprisingly solid for us. He gave us almost 1 WAR over his league-leading 71 games and 24 holds. He was pretty solid and will be back on a minimum.
RP Zack Hess
Hess was as productive as Moreno in half as many appearances, so he was pretty great for us. He'll get more opportunities next year in the pen.
RP Kyle Dohy
Dohy was another 1 WAR reliever who was better than league average. He's also on a minimum and will be back - the high stuff, no control guys do well with Vazquez. He struck out nearly 40% of the opposition.
RP Jack Little
Little was decent enough before he got injured and missed the playoffs. He logged a lot of innings for us and gave us a solid 1 WAR. However, I think we have better arms and he won't be as relied upon next year.
RP Genesis Cabrera
Genesis was far better in the bullpen role this year than he was last year - giving us 1 WAR and a solid 149 ERA+ and 79 FIP-. He filled in for a recovering Alcantara at the end of the year too in the rotation. His estimate is less than a million, so he should return.
RP Drew Carlton
Here is the reason I was complaining about bullpen volatility - Carlton gave us 2 WAR last year and was so bad this year that I sent him down after 19 games and never looked back. I will not be picking up his arbitration.
RP Sandy Alcantara
Sandy was better than I expected despite his ratings falling a bit. He was mostly used in the pen, filled in as a starter later on, and was good at both. However, he wants eight million dollars to extend soooo good luck elsewhere!
RP Jonathan Bowlan
Jonathan got called up a couple of times, was serviceable when he was up, but will be back in AAA or gone next season.
RP Alex Lange
Keeping it short - Lange wasn't good when he was up and got sent down, where he'll stay.
RP David Parkinson
Even shorter - he was awful.

Prospect Watch

SP Justin Powell - Powell wasn't even listed last year because he struggled in rookie ball. I let him repeat, which I normally don't do, because he had just been drafted. Well, he had quite the development tour this year and is now ranked as not only my top prospect, but as the 2nd best prospect in baseball. The bad news is that he wasn't good in rookie ball again, but he'll go to A-.
SP Doug Wade - Wade was our top pick this year and was good enough in A- to go to A, where I hope he'll improve.
SS Trevor Haskins - Haskins was solid in A and will go to AA. I like his defensive profile and he's a solid baserunner. The bat tool needs some work still but I have high hopes.
C Dale Burton - Burton is, of course, still fragile, which isn't great. He was fine enough in A- to go to A though, but I don't know if he's a long-term option.
CF Petey Halpin - Petey will go to AAA next year. Maybe he's the future CF option, I don't know. Maybe he's just a fourth outfielder.
RF Ismael Mena - Mena was great in AA and will go to AAA. If he fills out the hitting tool, he doesn't have a weakness. He's a phenomenal runner and solid in the outfield. Hopefully he keeps progressing.
C Drew Romo - Romo's hitting never developed, not like it looked like it would way back in 2020. But, the defense is there and he might be the Vazquez replacement due to that alone. It's not like Vazquez has hit either.

Future Outlook

Arbitration is going to hit hard for some folks this year. Willi Castro and Casey Mize in particular. We're going to have to be more financially selective moving forward as we start to lose the cheap and controlled deals we've been accustomed to.

Derek Jeter Appreciation Post

Alabama Slammers Franchise Report - Year 17: Young, Wild & Free

Welcome back to year seventeen of the Alabama Slammers Franchise Report! Here are the links to the previous versions if you want to catch up (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031,2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, 2036).
Previous Season Highlights:
Andy Schaffer wins Cy Young
20-year-old Marco Vazquez leads the league in batting average, hits, doubles, and triples
Edgar Sanchez wins seventh straight gold glove
6 players make all-star team
106-win regular season
Lost in NLCS 4-2
Start of Offseason:
As with the previous versions, I’ll list the moves I made, the rationale behind those moves, the season results, and the future outlook.
Here are the salaries heading into the offseason.
\Unless stated otherwise, all players were re-signed to their one-year arbitration estimate*
Departures (non-trades):
Ernesto Bernal
Bernal was discovered by my scout in 2022 and spent fifteen years with the organization. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in games, at-bats, WAR, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, triples, RBIs, and stolen bases. He’s the greatest player in franchise history and it really hurt to part ways with him, but all good things must come to an end.
He signed a 5/$84m deal with the Rangers, which seems reasonable, and had a solid year. I received a supplemental first-round pick upon his signing.
Drew Romo
Romo looked to be on his way out, so I let him walk as a free agent. He didn’t sign with a team and retired at the end of the season. He played his entire 12-year major league career with the Slammers and was a huge reason we had six Cy Young award winners during his tenure.
Eric Lawrence
Lawrence struggled last year in the majors, so I gave him a season in AAA to work things out. He looks ready for the big leagues again and will be an opening day starter or get traded.
Jeff Hopper
Hopper was excellent during his six years with us, highlighted by his 2035 campaign when he finished third in the MVP voting. He wanted 8/$232m to re-sign, which was too expensive for my tastes, and ended up getting 6/$156m from the Jazz, which is still too expensive for me. I don’t see this contract ending well.
Move #1:
Hired a new trainer.
I heavily prioritize prevention and this guy is good at preventing all types of injuries. Here’s my old trainer.
Move #2:
Slammers Receive: Edwin de la Torre
Diamondbacks Receive: Alex Rivera, Luis Arguello, Mike Dooner, Harold Coppola, Bryn Hill
De la Torre is my third baseman fantasy. He has elite batting potential, above average fielding ability, excellent baserunning, great character, durable injury proneness, and bats from the left side of the plate. I gave the Diamondbacks an assortment of young and talented players, but I would’ve gladly given them twice as much. Guys like de la Torre just don’t exist.
Move #3:
Slammers Receive: Jonathan Hubbard
Padres Receive: Eric Clark
Hubbard might not be anything special to the Padres, but he’s beautiful to me. He’s a right-handed hitter, has elite defensive ratings, doesn’t expect to start, is durable, and has the sparkplug personality trait. I needed a very specific player and Hubbard met all of my criteria. He’ll start against lefties and play a decent amount against righties in an attempt to keep Steve Flores healthy for the playoffs.
Move #4:
Signed Andy Schaffer to a 5/$105m extension.
Schaffer is 26 and just won a Cy Young, this seems like a pretty safe deal.
Move #5:
Signed free agent Tommy Noonan to a 3/$30m deal.
After looking through the available in-house, trade, and free agent replacement options, I decided the best course of action was to roll the dice on Noonan. I’ve seen players bounce back from the Guru before, so hopefully Noonan does just that. If he falls off a cliff, I’ll only owe him $15m after this year.
Move #6:
Added a Dominican Rookie League team.
We haven’t gotten much out of our scouting discoveries, and I think it might be partially due to them spending so much time in the international complex, so we’re adding a Dominican Rookie League team for them to develop in – The Kiev Blue Claws. Don’t ask me why the team is in Ukraine, it’s just what the owner wanted.
I promoted every player from the international complex, and I’ll continue to promote new players as they’re discovered. I’m interested to see how this works out.
Move #7:
Slammers Receive: Chris Joiner
Mets Receive: Joe Poffenberger
Poffenberger was given strong consideration for the starting catcher job this year, but I decided to go with Gutierrez instead. There was no need to keep Poffenberger around in the minors, so I swapped him for a guy that can provide some depth in a year or two.
In-House Moves (Preseason):
Sean Vahey remains on the major league roster after joining during roster expansion last season. He will be a member of the bullpen.
Jose Gutierrez promoted from AA. Will be the primary starter at catcher vs. RHPs.
Bobby McCallum promoted from AA. Will start at first base.
Seung-hwa Kim promoted from AA. Will start in left field.
Bob Banks will slide to DH with the promotion of Kim.
Final Financial Situation:
We have about $34m in available budget room to start the year, so shouldn’t need to make any trades for cash, and we might even complete the owner goal of ending the year with a balance of +$23m. He’s been hounding me about that one for a while.
Here are the salaries heading into the season.
Move #8 (Part 1, Part 2):
Slammers Receive: $14m
Slammers Lose: Chris Dearborn, Nate Holston
Turns out we needed some more cash. Holston is a career minor leaguer, but Dearborn might have a real MLB future. I’ve seen too many players with his profile flame out though, so I’m willing to take the risk he doesn’t amount to anything.
Season Outlook:
This is the most excited I’ve been about a season in a while. It’s always fun to cruise to 100-win seasons with established teams, but we’re going with the youth movement this year. Our five through eight hitters have a combined zero days of major league service, so I’m really trusting my scout that these rookies are ready to perform. The pitching should remain elite, so if the young guys come through, we should roll to another division title.
Batters:
Primary Lineup vs. RHP and vs. LHP when Healthy (\DH enabled in both leagues, lineup vs. RHP shown below)*
RF – Marco Vazquez
Vazquez cooled off a bit at the plate as compared to last season but upped his defense to boost his overall value. He made his second all-star team and won his first gold glove.
CF – Wil Mireles
Mireles had another excellent season but will be leaving as a free agent. He wants 8/$256m to re-sign, which is too much for me.
2B – Edgar Sanchez
Sanchez continued his march towards the hall of fame with another great year. He made his third all-star team and won his eighth gold glove.
DH – Bob Banks
Banks moved to DH this year, which should be the least taxing position, but missed about a month to injury. When healthy, he performed below his usual standard. Hopefully, he gets back on track next year.
LF – Seung-Hwa Kim
Kim had a solid rookie year and will be back for a sophomore campaign. He’s 26-years-old but still looks to have a lot of untapped potential.
3B – Edwin de la Torre
De la Torre had a monster rookie season, winning rookie of the month in September and taking rookie of the year honors. He’s 21-years-old, so should be around for a long time.
1B – Bobby McCallum
McCallum started off the year on a crazy hot streak. He won rookie of the month in April and June and was on pace for 65 home runs and 167 RBIs. He cooled off tremendously as the season progressed but was still good enough to finish third in the rookie of the year voting.
C – Jose Gutierrez
I feel pretty good about my decision to go with Gutierrez at catcher. He played great defense and was league average at the plate, which is all I could ever ask for. As an added bonus, his personality trait was revealed as sparkplug.
SS – Steve Flores
Flores came back from a year-long injury and played great. I would love to keep his defense around forever but it’s probably better to go ahead and move him before he gets injured again. I have a solid replacement in Eric Lawrence.
Bench
C – Danny Wells
Wells has been pretty much the same player since he debuted in 2032 but I’m ok with that. As long as he continues to play excellent defense, he’ll stick around.
IF – Justus Evans
Evans had a pretty good five-year run for a guy that used to be a pitcher. I have plenty of in-house replacements though, so he’ll leave as a free agent.
IF – Jonathan Hubbard
I brought in Hubbard to replace the fragile backup, so of course he got injured. He missed a month with a separated shoulder but did what was asked of him when healthy.
OF – Andy Vera
Vera is overqualified to be a bench player, but I have an excess of outfield talent and he’s the worst of the bunch. He might get a shot to start in center field next year with Mireles departing.
Replacements
IF – Chris McClain
It’s a good thing I kept the fragile backup middle infielder around. He filled in for Hubbard for a month and didn’t kill us.
OF – Mike Honeycutt
Honeycutt filled in for Banks and was pretty good in his limited opportunities. Depending on the rest of the roster, he might get a backup role next year.
Pitchers:
Pitching Staff when Healthy
SP – Corey MacDonald
I took the pitch count off MacDonald since his injury proneness was upgraded to iron man and he continued to stay healthy. He played well and made his seventh all-star game.
SP – Gilles Palacios
Palacios had one of his best seasons yet, winning the pitching triple crown and collecting his fourth Cy Young award. He wants 7/$245m to re-sign, but I’m going to try to find a way to bring him back. More than likely, I’ll have to sign him in free agency.
SP – Andy Schaffer
Schaffer decided to take it easy after winning a Cy Young last year and getting a contract extension. Hopefully, he goes back to his Cy Young ways next season.
SP – Eddie Copping
I had strongly considered a long-term extension for Copping in the offseason but I’m glad I held off. He struggled this year, posting his worst season yet. I think he’ll be fine going forward, but I’m much less worried about his performance without a long-term deal.
SP – Bobby Butler
Butler might not be done as a major league starting pitcher, but he’s done with the Slammers. He suffered a partially torn UCL in spring training, then suffered an eight-month setback in August. Hopefully, he still has some trade value when he returns.
RP – Alan McCarter
McCarter has been getting worse the last two seasons, but I’ve kept him around for his prankster personality trait. I’ll try to find someone in the offseason that’s also good at baseball.
RP – Tommy Noonan
Noonan isn’t the world beater he used to be but he’s still a really good reliever. I’m glad I brought him back.
RP – Jose Macias
Macias was solid for the second straight season and will be back next year.
RP – Sean Vahey
Vahey had a tough start to the season but established himself as one of the best relievers in the game by the end of the year. He’ll probably be around for his remaining five years of team control.
RP – Jose Aguilar
Aguilar once again performed like one of the best relievers in baseball, making his fifth all-star game. He has two more team friendly years on his contract, so will definitely be back.
RP – Mike Bentley
I was browsing through player profiles about halfway through the season and did a double take when I got to Bentley. All of a sudden, he had an 80-grade changeup and wanted to be a starter, which definitely wasn’t the case last year. I kept him in the bullpen until rosters expanded, then let him work as the sixth starter the rest of the season. He did well in his five starts and will be a member of the rotation next year. Hopefully, I can still sign him to a cheap extension.
Oh yeah, he also won reliever of the year.
RP – Steve Hixson
Hixson wasn’t as good as last year but he’s cheap and durable, so I’ll probably bring him back.
RP – Jonathan Kelsey
It’s always nice to have an iron man reliever that’s capable of competently starting 31 games. He moved to the rotation when Butler was injured and gave us 190.1 solid innings. Unfortunately, he’s an upcoming free agent, so probably won’t return.
Replacements
RP – Chris Larkin
Larkin was called up and given Kelsey’s bullpen role when Butler was injured. He wants to be a starter, but I don’t feel comfortable with his movement, so he’ll remain in the bullpen or get traded next season.
RP – Joe Cope
A 32nd round pick in 2032, it took Cope a while to figure things out in the minors, but once he did, he rose quickly through the system. He was called up when rosters expanded and struggled in limited appearances, but I think he’ll be one of the best relievers in the game in a year or two.
RP – Mike Blake
Blake was also called up when rosters expanded, and he pitched well in his three appearances. He looks like he could be a solid starting pitcher, but I have better options ahead of him, so he’ll have to take a bullpen role in the majors.
Season Results:
We didn’t do our usual raping and pillaging during the regular season but still won 104 games and took our eighth straight division crown. The Cardinals actually took the lead from us at game 130, but we took it back thirteen games later and pulled away late. The pitching continued to be dominant and the offense was amongst the league best. Other than Butler, we’re fully healthy going into the playoffs and will go with a playoff rotation of Palacios, MacDonald, Schaffer, and Bentley. Copping and Kelsey will move to the bullpen.
Our first-round opponent is the 94-68 Rockies. Their 3-5 hitters (Eric Zuniga, Noe Renteria, Robby Teeter) are terrifying, but they don’t have much pitching. We should be able to take this one.
Divisional Series Game 1, Rockies Win 5-3 – We played well overall but couldn’t overcome Renteria’s four RBI performance. Three players had solo home runs in the loss.
Divisional Series Game 2, Slammers Win 5-4 – MacDonald gave up four runs but the bullpen provided 3.2 scoreless innings to hold on for the win. We had fourteen hits in the contest and Sanchez led the way with two RBIs.
Divisional Series Game 3, Slammers Win 6-4 – New starter Mike Bentley had a great outing, striking out eight while giving up two runs over six innings. Banks led the way on offense with three RBIs.
Divisional Series Game 4, Slammers Win 8-1 – Schaffer pitched a gem, going seven scoreless innings and striking out nine. Everyone chipped in on offense en route to fourteen hits and eight runs.
Divisional Series Game 5, Slammers Win 12-8 – We knocked out their starter in the first and continued to pile on in the 12-8 victory. Kim led the way with two homers and three RBIs, winning series MVP.
Next up is the 101-61 Cardinals, led by young ace Eddie Salinas. They have a deep and balanced roster, so I could see this going either way. The winner should take the World Series.
NLCS Game 1, Slammers Win 6-4 – The rookie McCallum put the team on his back with a three-home run, five RBI performance. MacDonald gave up four runs in his second straight appearance, but Aguilar and Noonan closed out the game with 3.1 scoreless innings.
NLCS Game 2, Slammers Win 10-3 – It was Banks putting on his superman cape this time, with a four RBI performance. Bentley gave up two runs over 5.1 innings.
NLCS Game 3, Slammers Win 3-2 (12) – This one was close throughout, but a bases load walk by Kim in the top of the twelfth provided the game deciding run. Schaffer, Aguilar, Noonan, and Macias combined to allow two runs over twelve innings.
NLCS Game 4, Slammers Win 2-1 – Palacios came out on top in a pitcher’s duel and we swept the series. McCallum was named MVP, mostly off of his game one performance.
We’re once again facing off against the Red Sox in the World Series, and this should just be a victory lap. They have a very good rotation (Jorge Morones, Bobby Dibble, Rob McDowell, Josh Sheppard) but no one worth mentioning on offense. It’ll be a major upset if we lose this one.
World Series Game 1, Slammers Win 8-2 – We started off the series with a bang, getting home runs from McCallum, Banks, and de la Torre. MacDonald gave up two runs over 6.2 innings and Aguilar closed out the rest.
World Series Game 2, Slammers Win 7-4 – The Rookie Kim led the way with a pair of two-run homers. Then Bentley struck out eleven and gave up two runs over six innings.
World Series Game 3, Red Sox Win 3-1 – Red Sox ace Morones shut us down in the loss, but we can win the series without seeing him again if we win two of the next three.
World Series Game 4, Red Sox Win 9-7 – We were on track to win this one before a complete meltdown by Macias and Noonan in the eighth. They gave up a combined five runs in the inning and the offense couldn’t bail them out in the ninth.
World Series Game 5, Slammers Win 6-2 – We really needed this win. MacDonald and Vahey combined to hold them to two runs over nine innings and Banks led the way on offense with three RBIs. We’ll head back home and look to close out the series.
World Series Game 6, Slammers Win 14-5 – This one was close until a nine run explosion in the fourth inning put the game away. Every starter other than Kim had at least one RBI. The Red Sox first baseman won series MVP in the loss, but we’d much rather have the title than an individual award.
We’re really starting to roll now, as that’s our third title in six seasons! The young guys came through when it mattered and will hopefully lead us to many more titles in the future.
Here are the rest of the playoff results and MLB standings.
Top Prospects:
The top prospects list continues to be in flux, as we promoted three players and traded another three from last year’s edition, but we still have a lot of good players.
1.) Hector Ruiz
Ruiz was an honorable mention the last two years because I don’t trust international amateur free agent signings, but I’m ready to buy the hype now. If he can stay healthy and reach his full potential, he’s a 10 WAR player. He’ll begin next season at AA.
2.) Victor Lacayo
I’m starting to get some serious mileage from these international amateur free agent signings, as that’s how the top two players on the list were acquired. Lacayo has monster hitting potential for a middle infielder and could be elite defensively if he gets a slight bump to his range. Worst case, he’ll a great bench player. He’ll begin next year in A.
3.) Jake Maddox
Maddox continued his steady climb through the system and looks just about ready for the majors. Depending on what his ratings look like at the start of next year, he might make the opening day roster.
4.) Chris Joiner
I had a trio of guys last year that I thought were in line to take Justus Evans spot, but the acquisition of Joiner probably ended their major league chances. He plays above average defense at three positions, has the potential to be an elite hitter, and has excellent baserunning skills. He’ll begin next season on the opening day roster.
5.) Felix Lopez
Lopez could probably fill the role Joiner will take next year, but he’s still young, so I’ll give him a year in AAA to round out his skills. I like everything about him but his range, so hopefully that improves next year.
6.) Chris Overcash
Overcash looks ready for the majors but I don’t have a place for him, so he’ll start next season in AAA. I’ll get him some experience in left field, and he’ll be first in line as an injury replacement.
7.) Gabe Depass
If Depass had durable injury proneness, he’d be top two on the list. He’s a great talent but you can never put too much faith in a pitcher with normal injury proneness. He’ll start next season at A.
8.) Brad Cole
Cole is a very interesting player. Other than his outfield error, he has everything you’d want in an outfield prospect, so I’m hoping that improves next year in A. I was able to scoop him up in the sixth round since he was listed as a pitcher coming out of the draft.
9.) Nate Bianco
Bianco’s movement still hasn’t improved, so I’m starting to cool on him a bit. He performed well in A- though and will begin next season in A+.
10.) Chris Brown
Rest in peace Chris Brown. If he makes it back from his torn UCL, he’ll be restricted to bullpen duty.
Honorable mentions:
Andy West, Bob Larson
I usually don’t include players like this on the list, but these two curiosities have very interesting ratings profiles and dominated the competition in A. They’ll both begin next season in AA and I’m hoping their ratings catch up to their production.
Eric Whittington, Israel Lopez
Both of these guys were listed as starters coming out of the draft, but I’ve put them in their proper roles as relievers. Between the two of them, I’m sure one will make the majors.
Sam Leintz
Leintz can’t stay healthy, so he’ll probably get traded. Too bad, since I used a first-round pick on him last year.
Promoted to MLB:
Bobby McCallum, Seung-Hwa Kim, Jose Gutierrez
Future Outlook:
We have some tough decisions this offseason with Palacios’s upcoming free agency and logjams in the infield and outfield. Eric Lawrence deserves to start, as do a number of minor league outfielders, but we also have a lot young entrenched starters in the majors. I’m not sure yet how I’ll build the roster, but these are good problems to have. It’s not a question of how we win, but how do we win the most. Hopefully, we can push towards 120 wins next year.
Here is the budget and salaries heading into the offseason.

batting average leaders by season video

Yearly League Leaders & Records for Batting Average Create your own custom leaderboards Become a Stathead today and run queries with our Season and Career Finders to see the best seasons in MLB history. Single-Season Leaders & Records for Batting Average Create your own custom leaderboards Become a Stathead today and run queries with our Season and Career Finders to see the best seasons in MLB history. 2020 Regular Season Stats 2020 Spring Training Stats 2019 Regular Season Stats 2019 Sortable Team Stats Statcast Leaders Baseball Savant Top Prospect Stats Offseason Leagues Glossary. Standings. Single Season Leaders for Batting Average. Ted Williams once commented about those that fail 'only' seven times out of ten attempts will be the greatest in the game. He was right about that and the list below reflects those great hitters who truly dominated during a single season of play. Visit ESPN to view 2020 MLB stat leaders. Visit ESPN to view 2020 MLB stat leaders. Skip to navigation. Menu ESPN. NFL; BATTING AVERAGE AVG; 1. DJ LeMahieu NYY.364: 2. Juan Soto WSH.351: 3 Tim Anderson Named Cover Athlete for R.B.I. Baseball 21 Major League Baseball · 4 days ago. After helping to lead the Chicago White Sox into the Postseason in 2020, shortstop Tim Anderson has been selected as the cover athlete for R.B.I. Baseball 21, as announced by Major League Baseball Get the latest MLB player rankings on CBS Sports. See who leads the league in Batting Average, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Hits, On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, On Base Slugging Percentage PINCH HIT BAT AVG. 1. Josh Harrison, 2017.520 . PINCH HITS. 1. Shohei Ohtani, 2019. 28 . RUNS PER GAME. 1. Mike Trout, 2019. 0.91 Single Season Leaders for Batting Average in the American League. Ted Williams once commented about those that fail 'only' seven times out of ten attempts will be the greatest in the game. He was right about that and the list below reflects those great hitters who truly dominated during a single American League season. Braves hoping Ozuna poised for repeat of career-best season The Associated Press via Yahoo Sports · 1 year ago. Ozuna only needs an average season as Atlanta's new cleanup hitter to help the Braves' offense enjoy...

batting average leaders by season top

13 Greatest Hitters in Baseball History - YouTube

In every professional sports league, there are the top leaders in the game. There are the athletes with the best batting average, the most points per game average, the most goals in a season, and ... From a man who used hot dogs and beer to enhance his performance to a few guys who juiced up to help them achieve their lofty stats here’s the 13 Greatest Hi... He was the NL Most Valuable Player in 1966, the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove Award winner for twelve consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. His batting ... My favorite activity: Batting practice using The Iron Mike machine set to the fastest speed (80-85-mph) at a pitching distance of 40-feet is the equivalent of 108+MPH velocity at regulation MLB ... Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumb... About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators ... Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Central Pennsylvania League All-State Pennsylvania baseball honors while batting over .356 average, OBP .580, 16 hits, 7 doubles, 19 BB, 2 homers with 14 RBIs this high school season (19 games) as ... 2. Batting Average -- Just like the seasons, there are the summer and fall months when your success flourishes and you have a great harvest. In contrast, there are the winter and spring months ... In this video, you can watch the interviews of Meikyukai members in Honolulu Country Club on 14 December, 2012. It contains a message to the children playing baseball and a lesson teaching you one ...

mlb batting average leaders by season - Yahoo Search Results

batting average leaders by season

batting average leaders by season - win

The HEL Jumper [Chapter 4.2]