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Messages - Coop

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 9
1
WBA Times / My all-time Fox all-star team (a farewell article from Coop).
« on: September 22, 2022, 01:52:51 PM »
Coop’s all-time all-star Fox team.

Here are the best players who ever played for me during my 36-year career as GM of the Black Forest Foxes.  Note that all of these guys except Serhat Karpat earned at least one WBA championship ring during their time in the Black Forest.

Catcher:  Oles Dziewulski (2133-2139).  I never was able to obtain a superstar catcher.  I tried and tried; I drafted a lot of catchers over the years, including a couple of high first-rounders who were supposed to be great, Decheng Zhang and Callum Hastie, but they never became more than average big-league players.  Dziewulski, obtained in a 2133 trade with Daegu, served as my starting catcher for 7 years and helped the team to the 2135 WBA championship.

First baseman:  Manuel Coronado (2120-2128).  I was tempted to list Ilari Belmon here, because he was the best first baseman in WBA history, but he only played for me during the final two years of my career.  So I’ll go with Coronado, who was my starting first baseman for 9 years; he won the 2124 MVP award (.335 BA, 42 HRs, 155 RBIs) and he helped lead my team to the 2125 WBA championship.

Second baseman:  Avajaya Ganeshwaran (2123-2127).  This one’s a no-doubter.  Ganeshwaran was the best player on my 2125 WBA championship team (he led the league in OBP at .425 and WAR at 8.89 but somehow failed to be named league MVP).  He was both a great hitter and a great fielder.

Shortstop:  Max Lopez (2131-2139).  I gave serious consideration to Gaudencio Mosinha (2111-2116), a rare slugging shortstop who hit 137 HRs for me in a period of five and a half years.  Mosinha helped lead the Foxes to the 2112 WBA championship.  But while Lopez wasn’t as good a hitter as Mosinha, he was a very good hitter, and he was a much better fielder than Mosinha.  He also served as my starting shortstop for a longer period than Mosinha.  So he gets the nod.

Third baseman:  Salim Tuncay (2108-2120).  A no-doubter.  Tuncay’s career went into a sudden freefall when he was 30 years old, which makes no sense, but he accomplished so much in his twenties that I still consider him the best non-pitcher in Black Forest history.  He was a great hitter, a great fielder and a great baserunner.  He won two IBL MVP awards.  He didn’t hit home runs, but he did everything else at an extraordinary high level.

Leftfielder:  Vicente Moya (2131-2136).  This guy (who is still active) is the best base-stealer in Black Forest history, maybe even in WBA history.  He’s also an outstanding hitter and fielder.  Like Tuncay, he does everything except hit home runs.  Other leftfielders who could have been listed here are Niko Shipanga (2120-2127, a terrific slugger who, like Tuncay, suddenly hit the wall at age 30) and Tom McGregor (2110-2115, who hit .334 during his Fox career, led the league in hits 4 times and won two IBL batting titles).

Centerfielder:  Fernando Registo (2111-2117).  Another no-doubter.  Registo was the rare centerfielder who combined great defense with a high on-base percentage and excellent power.  He did everything well and had a long, productive career with 7 different teams.

Rightfielder:  Bao-tian Qian (2107-2114).  This feared slugger set the single-season Fox home-run record; he hit 46 homers in 2110.  He hit .340 that year with 138 RBIs.  Other rightfielders deserving of mention are Dhritiman Sangha (2104-2110, an excellent all-around hitter) and Glenn Jackson (2136-2139, a consistent .300 hitter and excellent fielder who is currently in mid-career and often plays center field).

Starting pitcher:  Serhat Karpat (2100-2107).  The best pitcher in Fox history, hands down.  Karpat won 4 Cy Young awards (two of them while pitching for the Foxes).

Relief pitcher:  Mike Kessler (2130-2139) and Jesus Alonzo (2135-2139).   It’s a tossup between Kessler, who is at the end of his career, and Alonzo, who is in mid-career.  They’ve both been great.  Consider it a tie.  Manny Juarez (2110-2121) won two Reliever of the Year awards, so he also merits a mention.


2
Completed Trades / Daegu / Black Forest
« on: August 15, 2022, 08:07:20 AM »
Daegu sends $1 to Black Forest.

Black Forest sends RP Jorge Rivera to Daegu.

3
Season and Off-Season Threads / Re: 2138-39 Offseason Thread
« on: August 12, 2022, 04:20:27 PM »
The Huck 3000 always loves my Foxes.  Pythagorus does not.  We were were supposed to win 98 games last year.  We didn't even make the playoffs.  Granted, part of that was that we got Pythag'd real bad (couldn't win a 1-run game to save our lives), but still, take this prediction about my club with a large grain of salt.

4
Completed Trades / Nairobi / Black Forest
« on: August 10, 2022, 07:45:09 PM »
Black Forest sends 2B Luis Mora (AAA), 3B Madhav Uppuluri (AA) and RF Adrian Bouzios (AA) to Nairobi.

Nairobi sends SP Chinh Tran-dinh (AAA) to Black Forest.

Huck, please put T-D on my AA roster (Bochum).

5
Completed Trades / Nairobi / Black Forest.
« on: August 02, 2022, 02:50:11 PM »
Black Forest sends RF Pedro Cardenas to Nairobi.

Nairobi sends SP Shing Huang (AAA) to Black Forest.

6
Completed Trades / Nairobi / Black Forest.
« on: August 01, 2022, 09:32:57 AM »
Nairobi sends $3 million to Black Forest.

Black Forest sends AA leftfielder Yurochka Tabaev to Nairobi.

7
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: July 30, 2022, 08:38:23 PM »
The November 2138 honoree is

LOAN NGO

Drafted by Black Forest in the second round of the rookie draft, this third baseman from Vietnam was valuable both as a hitter and as a fielder.  He won a Silver Slugger award (2125) and a Gold Glove (2128).  Ngo was the starting third baseman on the Foxes when they won the 2125 WBA championship, and Ngo was named MVP of the Championship Series.  He spent 14 years in the majors, the first six in the Black Forest.  The best season of his career was 2125, when he hit .341 and had an on-base percentage of .404 as he helped lead the Foxes to a title.  He finished with a career BA of .307.  Ngo wasn't a home-run hitter (a total of 83 home runs), but he hit a lot of doubles, and in fact led the league in doubles in 2126, with 46 two-baggers.  He wore jersey number 2 while playing for Black Forest.

8
Completed Trades / Tokyo / Black Forest.
« on: July 29, 2022, 02:08:08 PM »
Tokyo receives two second-round picks from Black Forest, the #1 pick in the round (#21 overall) and the #14 pick in the round (#34 overall).

Black Forest receives outfielder Go Seetharaman.

9
Completed Trades / Daegu / Black Forest.
« on: June 10, 2022, 12:03:00 PM »
Daegu sends 3B Jesus Villalobos to Black Forest, receiving nothing in return (or $1 if there's got to be something involved).

Daegu agrees to pay $2.8 million of Villalobos' salary.

Black Forest agrees to take responsibility for the remaining $5 million of Villalobos' salary.

10
Completed Trades / Re: BFF/Karachi
« on: June 02, 2022, 01:40:52 PM »
Confirmed.

11
Player Change Requests / Re: Black Forest player name changes.
« on: June 02, 2022, 01:28:55 PM »
The nickname OOTP gives to my first-round pitcher, Bao-tian Li, is "Gasoline."  Yuck.  Let's change it to "Bruce."

12
Completed Trades / Phoenix / Black Forest.
« on: June 02, 2022, 11:37:49 AM »
Black Forest sends 1B Kian Wombwell to Phoenix.

Phoenix sends AAA pitcher Uksem Kimweri to Black Forest.

Huck, put Kimweri on my AAA squad.  Thanks.

13
Completed Trades / Re: Melbourne/Black Forest
« on: June 01, 2022, 11:41:57 AM »
Black Forest confirms.

Man, I entered December just looking at free agents.  Had no intention of making any trades.  Now I've made three of them.  I'm not exactly following a plan here.  I'm just winging it.  Good thing I can't be fired.

14
Completed Trades / Phoenix / Black Forest (post-it).
« on: May 31, 2022, 06:54:18 PM »
Per Sean's post-it, I'm trading the Black Forest second-round pick in the next rookie draft for Ilari Belmon.

15
Completed Trades / Re: Havana - Black Forest
« on: May 30, 2022, 08:18:37 PM »
Confirmed.

16
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: May 30, 2022, 09:25:47 AM »
The November 2137 honoree is

AVAJAYA GANESHWARAN

Drafted as a centerfielder, Ganeshwaran was converted to second base and had a long, productive career there.  He played in the majors for 13 years, the first five of them in the Black Forest, where he was named IBL Rookie of the Year.  He also won a Gold Glove and three Silver Slugger awards during his time with the Foxes.  He was the biggest star on the 2125 club which won the WBA championship.  During that season Ganeshwaran hit .317, belted 29 home runs, led the league with a .425 on-base percentage and led the league with a WAR of 8.90.  He finished his career with 215 home runs, a batting average of .279 and an on-base percentage of .376.  As a Fox, he wore jersey number 8.

17
Completed Trades / Re: São Paulo / Black Forest Trade
« on: May 25, 2022, 10:13:03 AM »
Confirmed.

18
WBA Times / The WBA's All-Overpaid Team
« on: May 06, 2022, 02:51:10 PM »
Here's a team you don't want to manage.  It's a team with the most overpaid, least productive players at each position.  I only chose players who are making $2 million or more this season.  At some positions, especially catcher and reliever, it was hard to find guys who really deserved to be on the list.  At other positions, like the outfield, I found so many overpaid guys that I considered adding a "dishonorable mention" list.  Anyway, here's what I came up with:

Catcher.  Mario Chavez, Puerto Rico.  Salary - $7 million.  Hitting .232 with an OBP of .301.

First base.  Alopa Kotla, Black Forest.  Salary - $2.75 million.  Hitting .202 as the righthanded half of a platoon combination.

Second base.  Datu Buesa, Havana.  Salary - $2.95 million.  Hitting .195.

Shortstop.  Womiq Hussaini, Los Angeles.  Salary - $2.85 million.  Hitting .168, OBP .243.

Third base.  Jesus Villalobos, Daegu.  Salary - $8 million.  Hitting .191, OBP .242.

Outfielder.  Jose Rios, Northwest.  Salary - $9 million.  Hitting .202.

Outfielder.  Yuki Yoshioka, Puerto Rico.  Salary - $6.5 million.  Hitting .174, OBP .214.

Outfielder.  Matabei Oshima, Puerto Rico.  Salary - $7 million.  Hitting .177, OBP .266.

Starting pitcher.  Paco Lopez, Puerto Rico.  Salary - $10.6 million.  7-10 record, 5.06 ERA.

Starting pitcher.  Jose Feliz, Mexico City.  Salary - $5.5 million.  Recently demoted to AAA, where he's 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

Starting pitcher.  Ernesto Farto, Tokyo.  Salary - $6.6 million.  Recently demoted to AAA, where he's 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.

Starting pitcher.  Yat-sen Cheng, Melbourne.  Salary - $6.5 million.  4-7 record, 4.28 ERA.

Starting pitcher.  Norbert Torrigiani, Daegu.  Salary - $4.6 million.  5-5 record, 4.42 ERA.

Relief pitcher.  Alfredo Silva, Los Angeles.  Salary - $5 million.  2-3 record, 6.22 ERA.

Relief pitcher.  Juan Vera, Sao Paulo.  Salary - $2.05 million.  1-3 record, 6.65 ERA.

Relief pitcher.  Omar Francisco, Karachi.  Salary - $3.68 million.  4-6 record,  5.46 ERA.

Relief pitcher.  Balayogi Parthiban, Santo Domingo.  Salary - $5.5 million.   1-3 record, 4.72 ERA.

(Would have added more relievers but couldn't find any who looked like they belonged on the list.)

19
Completed Trades / Re: Black Forest - Karachi
« on: May 03, 2022, 09:11:29 AM »
Confirmed.

20
Completed Trades / Tokyo / Black Forest.
« on: April 14, 2022, 09:34:30 AM »
Black Forest sends the following to Tokyo:
SP/RP Felix Rodriguez (ML)
RP Kee Li (AAA)
C Hyung-seung Lee (AA)
$2 million in cash

Tokyo sends the following to Black Forest:
Second-round pick in the 2138 rookie draft.

21
Completed Trades / Karachi / Black Forest
« on: April 04, 2022, 05:23:51 PM »
Black Forest sends SP Elton Purkis to Karachi.

Karachi sends its first-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

22
Completed Trades / Re: Phoenix / Black Forest
« on: April 04, 2022, 05:07:20 PM »
Confirmed.

23
Completed Trades / Phoenix / Black Forest.
« on: March 31, 2022, 08:07:38 PM »
This trade was supposed to happen before the draft but Manny Sierra dragged his heels, so ...

Black Forest sends SP Manny Sierra to Phoenix, now that he has finally signed a contract extension.

Phoenix sends its second-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

24
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: March 29, 2022, 07:37:10 AM »
The November 2136 honoree is

MANUEL CORONADO

This slugging first baseman from Puerto Rico spent 16 years in the majors, the first 9 of them with the Foxes.  He was the IBL Rookie of the Year in 2120, and was named the league's MVP in 2124 when he hit .335, blasted 42 home runs, drove in 155 runs and posted a WAR of 8.34.  He won the Silver Slugger award four times, all of them during his time in the Black Forest.  He led the league in RBIs twice, runs scored twice, on-base percentage once, total bases once and hits once.  He was a member of two WBA championship teams.  In sum, Manuel Coronado might have been the best pure hitter to ever play for the Foxes.  He wore jersey number 19.

25
Completed Trades / Phoenix / Black Forest - sign and trade.
« on: March 27, 2022, 12:48:59 PM »
Black Forest sends SP Manny Sierra to Phoenix.

Phoenix sends its second-round pick in the current rookie draft to Black Forest.

Note that this trade is contingent upon Sierra signing a contract extension.  In OOTP his demands for an extension have been met and it's expected that he will officially sign the extension during the upcoming sim, but if for some reason he fails to sign an extension, then the trade is null and void.

26
Completed Trades / Daegu / Black Forest.
« on: March 13, 2022, 06:45:44 PM »
Daegu sends LF Abdul-Majid bin Numair to Black Forest.

Black Forest sends its fourth-round pick in the next rookie draft to Daegu.

Huck, please place bin Numair on my Triple-A club.

27
Completed Trades / Rocky Mountain / Black Forest
« on: March 12, 2022, 09:06:32 AM »
Black Forest sends RP Lennart Ewerlof (AAA) to Rocky Mountain.

Rocky Mountain sends its fourth-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

28
WBA Times / Decision time in the Black Forest.
« on: March 11, 2022, 09:26:15 PM »
Black Forest leftfielder Vicente Moya is an established star.

He's the best base-stealer in the WBA.  From 2132 through 2135 he stole 345 bases, an average of more than 86 stolen bases per year, and in 2136 he's on pace to steal well over 100 bases.  His career batting average is .310.  He's an outstanding defensive outfielder. 

Moya's contract is up at the end of the season, and one would expect that the Foxes would do anything to keep him from leaving the organization for free agency.

But maybe not.

Vicente Moya has flaws.  He has no power.  He doesn't hit lefthanded pitchers very well, so he plays only against righties.  Worst of all, he's 30 years old and showing signs of decline.  This season both his Contact rating and his Eye rating went down.  It seems unlikely that those ratings will bounce back now that he's no longer in his twenties.

Moya was recently approached about a contract extension.  He demanded more than $7 million a year for three years, and refused to budge on those numbers.  That's a lot of money for an aging leftfielder who doesn't hit home runs and can't hit lefthanded pitchers.

As it happens, the Foxes have two outfielders in Triple-A, Jose Reyna and Pedro Cardenas, who bat lefthanded and who can hit righthanded pitchers about as well as Moya.  Here's a comparison of their ratings:

Moya, age 30.        Contact vs RHPs is 8, Power is 2, Eye is 6, Avoid Ks is 10.
Cardenas, age 26.  Contact vs RHPs is 8, Power is 2, Eye is 5, Avoid Ks is 9.
Reyna, age 31.       Contact vs RHPs is 7, Power is 6, Eye is 5, Avoid Ks is 9.

Moya is the best hitter of the three, but only by a small margin.  He is by far a better fielder and base-stealer than Reyna and Cardenas, but on the other hand, those guys will play for a small fraction of the salary Moya is demanding.  And Moya is declining.  Is it worth paying him $7 million a year when the team can replace him with a younger guy like Cardenas who hits about as well and whose salary is $200,000?

So what should the Foxes do?  Letting go of a big star like Vicente Moya isn't easy.  The fans would be furious.  It's a tough decision.

What do the other GMs in the league think?

29
WBA Times / Just for fun stat ... starting pitchers who don't win.
« on: February 22, 2022, 03:12:03 PM »
This isn't meant to be particularly meaningful information, but just for fun I thought I'd try to find starting pitchers who over the past few seasons have had a real hard time chalking up a W.  I may have missed somebody; if so, my apologies.  Anyway, here are some guys who have started regularly in recent years but who have rarely come away with a win.

The champ when it comes to a one-year record for futility is Joris Dubuc of Los Angeles.  In 2135 he started 55 games, won 4 and completed none.  I gather that he was just used as an "opener."

The guy who seems to have had the most trouble over the past two seasons is Adrian Fonseca of Nairobi.  In 2134/2135 he started 58 games and won 12.  Of course, he was pitching for a team that wasn't a playoff contender, so his inability to post victories is somewhat understandable.  On the other hand, there are plenty of other pitchers in the league who toil for non-contenders, and they won more often than Fonseca.

For a three-year period, I found two guys who deserve a dishonorable mention.  Norbert Torrigiani of Melbourne has over the past 3 seasons started 73 games and posted only 16 wins.  During that same time period Yat-sen Cheng of Los Angeles logged 89 starts and won 18.

One wonders what a manager says to one of these guys at the start of the game.  "Go get 'em!  Get out there and post a no-decision!"

30
Completed Trades / Sao Paulo / Black Forest.
« on: February 19, 2022, 05:20:36 PM »
Black Forest sends 2B Yu-zhang Lung to Sao Paulo.

Sao Paulo sends its third-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

31
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: February 13, 2022, 07:56:39 AM »
The November 2135 honoree is:

ECKERT HERDE

Following a 15-year big-league career, this star shortstop has become first German-born player to be inducted into the Black Forest Hall of Fame.  Herde spent the first seven years of his career with the Foxes, during which time he won two Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Gloves and a WBA Championship ring.  He was an outstanding player at a key position for a long time.  He wore jersey number 25.

32
Completed Trades / Re: Beijing / Black Forest.
« on: February 10, 2022, 09:08:39 PM »
I'll be out of town Friday through part of Saturday.  Please put Cardenas on my 40-man roster and on the AAA squad.

33
Completed Trades / Melbourne / Black Forest
« on: February 10, 2022, 05:27:50 PM »
Black Forest sends its third-round pick in the next rookie draft to Melbourne.

Melbourne sends RF F. Le Coq and its fifth-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

34
Completed Trades / Beijing / Black Forest.
« on: February 10, 2022, 05:26:46 PM »
Black Forest sends $1 million to Beijing.

Beijing sends RF Pedro Cardenas to Black Forest.

35
Completed Trades / Rome / Black Forest.
« on: January 05, 2022, 10:18:48 AM »
Rome sends RF Jose Reyna (AAA) to Black Forest.

Black Forest sends RP Sugimoto Ichihara (AA) to Rome.

Huck, please put Reyna on my big-league roster and in the lineup, taking the spot of RF Olimpio Lassi, whose ratings cratered right after I acquired him.  What a great trade that was.  Demote Lassi to AAA.  Or put him behind the counter at Burger King.  I'll miss him and his awesome production, .196 BA with 0 homers.

36
WBA Times / Payroll versus budget report, April 2135.
« on: January 04, 2022, 11:56:36 AM »
Just for fun, every now and then I like to check to see how teams are doing with regard to balancing their budgets.  Here's a list showing each WBA team with its payroll (in millions), its budget (in millions) and its balance (in millions).  The teams are listed from best budget situation to worst.  Being in the black means of course that your team is spending less on payroll than its budget, so the team is turning a profit.  Being in the red means that your team is spending more on payroll than its budget, so the team is losing money.  Tokyo wins the "hey, big spender" award this year, spending more than $22 million more than it is projected to earn.

This is as of April 18, 2135.

                           payroll       budget        result
Nairobi                 6.622m     41.339m    in the black  34.717m
El Paso               18.687m     39.317m    in the black  20.630m
Havana              29.029m      45.731m    in the black  16.702m
Mexico City        41.977m      46.664m    in the black   4.687m
Daegu               36.031m      40.317m    in the black   4.286m
Black Forest       53.698m      57.478m    in the black   3.780m
Puerto Rico        38.565m      40.767m    in the black   2.202m
Beijing              59.813m       60.700m   in the black   0.887m
Sao Paulo          53.651m      54.096m    in the black   0.445m
Rome                44.726m      44.589m    IN THE RED   0.137m
Rocky Mtn         58.363m      57.456m    IN THE RED   0.907m
Phoenix             48.949m      45.641m    IN THE RED   3.308m
Rio                    65.027m      60.006m    IN THE RED   5.021m
Oslo                  59.676m      47.837m    IN THE RED  11.839m
Melbourne          57.962m     45.883m    IN THE RED  12.079m
Los Angeles        62.706m     49.917m    IN THE RED  12.789m
Santo Domingo   68.408m     55.050m    IN THE RED  13.358m
Karachi              70.672m      55.343m    IN THE RED  15.329m
Paris                  68.525m     53.041m     IN THE RED  15.484m
Tokyo                69.557m     47.208m     IN THE RED  22.349m

37
Season and Off-Season Threads / Re: 2134-35 Offseason Thread
« on: December 24, 2021, 10:52:55 AM »
The top post, with the ABL predictions, has some mistakes.  Sao Paulo is shown playing 160 games; Rio is playing only 152.  Everyone else is playing 156.

38
Completed Trades / Tokyo / Black Forest trade.
« on: December 19, 2021, 02:54:13 PM »
Black Forest sends $12 million to Tokyo.

Tokyo sends its first-round pick in the next rookie draft to Black Forest.

39
Completed Trades / Re: Black Forest - Havana
« on: December 14, 2021, 04:21:06 PM »
Confirmed. 

It's not like me to trade high draft picks but (a) Lassi is good, and (b) I'm losing two corner outfielders, Chin-seok Oh and Gabriel Cuarenta, to free agency, so I definitely had a need.

40
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: December 14, 2021, 01:48:55 PM »
The November 2134 honoree is

FERNANDO REGISTO

The Foxes acquired this fleet-footed centerfielder from the Ottawa Whiskey Jacks in June 2111, when he was still in the minors.  He ended up having an 18-year career in the majors and was inducted into the WBA Hall of Fame in January 2134.  Registo spent the first 7 years of his big-league career in the Black Forest; later he would go to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, back to Ottawa, back to Sao Paulo, then to Manila.  He finished his career in Los Angeles in 2129, when he was 40.  His 7-year stay with the Foxes was his longest stay with any team.  Registo didn't post high batting averages (his career BA was .249), but he did everything else well.  He slugged 304 home runs, stole 598 bases and had a career on-base percentage of .376.  He won three Silver Slugger awards, was a member of three league championship teams (all of which were Black Forest teams), led the league in stolen bases three times, led the league in walks drawn five times, led the league in runs scored twice, and led the league in on-base percentage once.  He wore jersey number 11.

41
Completed Trades / Re: BFF/Karachi
« on: December 13, 2021, 12:39:11 PM »
Confirmed.

42
Completed Trades / Re: Rome - BFF
« on: November 23, 2021, 07:09:47 PM »
Confirmed

43
Completed Trades / Rome / Black Forest trade
« on: November 23, 2021, 07:09:07 PM »
Rome sends RP Luke Heathcote to Black Forest.

Black Forest sends its second-round pick in the next rookie draft to Rome.

Huck, please put Heathcote in my big-league bullpen, middle relief.  I've left an open slot for him.

44
SS Carlos Rodriguez, age 22.  Potential Contact 6, Avoid Ks 9, Range 9.  Terrific glove man who should also hit for a high average.

2B Yu-zhang Lung, age 28.  Contact 7, Avoid Ks 9, lifetime BA in the majors is .308.

SP Cyril Pottier, age 29.  Stuff 9, Movement 6, Control 6.

SP Odell Pittakis, age 27.  Potential Stuff 9, Movement 6, Control 6.

RP Jason Hayes, age 27.  Potential Stuff 9, Movement 6, Control 8.

CF Alberto Rivera, age 25.  Range 8.  Potential Contact 6, Avoid Ks 7.

RF Pedro Cardenas, age 24.  Contact 7, Avoid Ks 9.  Has hit well over .300 at every minor-league level.

SP Julio Esperanzoa, age 26.  Potential Stuff 8, Movement 6, Control 6.

RP Kee Li, age 23.  Stuff 10, Movement 5, Control 6.

RF Nicolas Egerman, age 23.  Power hitter.  Potential Power 8, Eye 7.

3B/SS Jose Medina, age 25.  Contact 6, Avoid Ks 9, Range 8.  Consistent .300 hitter in the minors and good glove.

45
Completed Trades / Havana / Black Forest trade.
« on: October 22, 2021, 08:22:28 PM »
Black Forest sends 2B Datu Buesa to Havana.

Havana sends RP Fytor Hollanda to Black Forest.

46
WBA Times / Out of the Blue: The Most Unlikely No-Hitters.
« on: October 20, 2021, 10:30:14 AM »
In fake baseball there was a guy named Alva "Bobo" Holloman who had a brief big-league career.  He pitched for the old St. Louis Browns; his entire big-league career lasted less than a full season.  He went 3-7 with a 5.23 ERA.  But he's still remembered to some degree today, because in his first big-league start, on 6 May 1953, he pitched a no-hitter.  Bobo Holloman is probably the worst pitcher in history to throw a no-hitter.

Does the WBA have its own version of Bobo Holloman?  As a matter of fact, it does.  His name is Gideon Zamosh.  Here's his story.

The Black Forest Foxes had three first-round picks in the rookie draft which followed the 2126 season.  The team chose pitchers with each of those picks.  How did it work out?  Not too well.  Those three pitchers provided the Foxes with a total of three career victories.  Anyway, one of the three pitchers was Gideon Zamosh, who at the time was a hard-throwing 18-year-old kid from Israel.

Zamosh was assigned to the Rookie League (of course) and things did not go well there in his first season.  He got hammered; even worse, his projected ratings went down.  But the Foxes stuck with him.  His projected ratings changed every year, from 8/6/6 to 8/5/4 to  8/6/4 to 9/6/4 to 9/6/5 to 9/5/5 to 9/5/4.  But, whether his ratings were going up or down, Zamosh somehow kept getting people out.  From 2128 through 2132, his ERA was under 3.00 every year.

When the rosters expanded in September 2132 it was decided to promote Zamosh to the big-league team in order to see what he could do.  He showed something, all right.  In Oslo on 1 October 2132, in his sixth big-league appearance, Gideon Zamosh pitched a no-hitter.  He walked two men and struck out nine, including five of the last six hitters he faced.  It was a thoroughly dominant performance.

Zamosh finished his big-league cameo with decent stats, a 3-2 record and a 3.52 ERA.  He was expected to be in the big-league rotation the following spring.

It didn't happen.  His ratings cratered (again).  He spent the year in Triple-A, where he was 10-11 with a 4.43 ERA.  He's 25 years old now and his chances of returning to the majors do not look good.  Like his spiritual ancestor, Bobo Holloman, it appears that Gideon Zamosh will finish his career with a total of three big-league victories.  It's amazing, really, how much these guys are alike.  They both had big-league careers that lasted less than a full season.  They both pitched no-hitters that came completely out of the blue.  And they both racked up a career total of exactly three wins.

Anyway, because of that one shocking performance in St. Louis, Bobo Holloman managed to make a name for himself.  And Gideon Zamosh did the same thing in Oslo 179 years later.

47
Player Change Requests / Re: Black Forest player name changes.
« on: October 19, 2021, 08:11:19 PM »
My first-round pick in the recently-completed draft was Mun-wah Kun of China.  I haven't changed a player's name or origin in several years, but this guy's name just sounds kind of clunky to me.  Also we've got a lot of players from China.  So I think a change is in order.  I've noticed that, while we've got a bunch of guys from the United Kingdom, they all seem to come from England or Scotland.  I don't recall any players from Wales.  So let's change that.  I'd like my first-round draftee to be:

Glyn Reece from Cardiff, Wales.

Thanks.

48
Completed Trades / Mexico City / Black Forest trade.
« on: October 17, 2021, 05:24:25 PM »
Black Forest sends $10 million in cash to Mexico City.

Mexico City sends its second-round pick in next year's draft (the draft following the 2134 season) to Black Forest.

49
General WBA Discussion / Re: Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.
« on: October 15, 2021, 10:52:17 AM »
The November 2133 honoree is

REX QUALTROUGH

Selected in the fourth round of the rookie draft, this speedy rightfielder from Australia ended up playing 9 years in the majors (six and a half of them with the Foxes), and he proved to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.  He posted a career batting average of .313 with an on-base percentage of .362.  He stole 320 bases in 387 attempts, an incredible 83 percent success rate.  In his best year, 2125, Qualtrough hit .344, had an OBP of .390, stole 72 bases, won the Silver Slugger award and led the Foxes to a WBA championship.  He wore jersey number 21.

50
SS/3B Jose Medina, age 24.  Ready for the majors.  Career BA of .309 in the minors.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_6334.html

SP Julio Esperanzoa, age 26.  Big-league ready.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_6485.html

SP Odell Pittakis, age 26.  Former first-round pick.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_3963.html

CF Arvin Vitor, age 25.  Draws walks, hits home runs.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_3070.html

SS Carlos Rodriguez, age 21.  This guy won't be cheap, a potential Gold Glover with a good bat.  But I'll listen to offers.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_7435.html

RF Pedro Cardenas, age 24.  Career BA of .335 in the minors.  Defensive rating is 7.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_6079.html

C Juan Mojica, age 23.  Excellent defensive skills, adequate bat.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_4149.html

RP Don Watts, age 23.  Solid young reliever.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_4112.html

RP Terho Salmelainen, age 22.  Hard-throwing righty.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_5061.html

LF Humphrey Stammel, age 21.  Potential to hit for a good BA (6 Contact, 8 Avoid K's) plus good defense (7 range).
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_3094.html

RP Ho-win Ya, age 26.  Got to like a pitcher with "win" in his name.  Has good stuff and good control.
http://www.worldbaseballassociation.com/reports/news/html/players/player_4887.html

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