Player Profile: Mike Bergman (The Demon)
In the years prior to the formation of the Super League, there were many amateur baseball leagues being played around the world. As the year 3000 approached and it seemed more likely that a professional league would be created, these amateur leagues became a source of interest to the scouts and future managers. One such league that gained a lot of attention was the Inter Dale Cup, played between Sunnyale, Greendale and Riverdale. The whispers began to grow about a pitcher who was striking out every batter sent his way. As the whispers grew, the crowds began to grow as well, as everyone turned out to see The Demon pitch. Mike Bergman was born in 2972 and was putting up serious numbers in the amateur league. In one impressive game he struck out 20 pitchers. And as the inaugural draft approach his name was being thrown out as the first overall pick. Once Mordor were announced as the first pick everyone wanted to know who they were looking at. But they kept it vague in their respones. Finall draft day came along and they made that announcment. "With the first overall, the Mordor Orcs select.... Mike Bergman".
At this point Mike was 27 and entering the prime of his career. And it didnt take long to lay down a marker on opposing batters. Mordor lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Avengers but Mike had a very strong season. He led the league in strikeouts (220), ERA (1.46) and WHIP (1). On the back of 7.0 WAR he won the first ever Super League Pitcher award. The one limitation in his game was his stamina. Over his career he only ever player 3 complete games. Generally teams got 6 innings out of him but these were usually 6 extremely low scoring innings.
Over the next 6 seasons with Mordor, Mike collected another 5 Super League Pitcher awards and helped to lead them to two Super League titles in 3003 and 3005. He was making this league his own. At the end of 3005 Mordor were not able to match the money some of the other teams could offer him. In the end he signed a 1.29 million dollar contract with The Empire Stormtroopers. The Empire had struggled to that point, missing out on every playoff and only one season with a greater than .500 win percentage. Clever investment in 3006 changed things and pushed them to the playoff positions as the season continued. However another team was not going to make things easy for them. As September arrived, Mordor, Mikes former team, and The Empire were in a shootout for the number one spot in the playoffs. Fans happily cheered about how the league was scripted as the final 3 game series approached and Mordor and The Empire squared off with Mordor three games ahead.
The Empire would need to sweep the series to take the top spot. They won the first game on the back of Mikes pitching but that just made Mordor more determined. They took the next two games finishing on 62 wins and the number one spot. Alethkar and Gondor came through the first round of the playoffs. Alethkar, who were swept by Mordor in the 3005 playoffs, now sought revenge and won the semi final 3-1. People were not going to get the fairytale final of Mordor vs The Empire but The Empire still overcame Gondor to play Alethkar. The series finished 3-1 and Mike won his third Super League title, his sixth pitching title and had his best season of his career. He won the triple crown the year which is still the only Super League triple crown, batting or pitching. This is also the only Super League title the Empire ever won.
His career continued with The Empire for another 3 seasons until the injuries started to arrive. He started to play less games each season but the fans still showed up to watch him play. He finally had to leave The Empire and briefly joined the Capitol Gamemakers until the inevitable arrived. After signing a contract with the Wasteland War Boys in the Pro League, as an effort to see out his career in easier situation, he was forced to retire due to injury. Fans across the league came out to an event in Mordor to honour his retirement. People always wonder how good his career would be if he had entered the league at 19/20 rather than 27 but he still made the most of his time in the league for 11 seasons.
It was inevitable but Mike was the first player inducted to the Hall of Fame in 3015, alongside his rival now friend Aniani Korra. In most conversation the Super League Pitcher award was called the Bergman award after he won it 9 of the first 10 seasons. And this eventually became official with the top pitcher each season winning the Bergman Award. He still holds league leading records for a season and 7 records for a career. The most impressive is his 1.83 ERA for his career. This puts him ahead of every pitcher, starter and relief. The next highest starter, Eligus Ranicki, has a 2.99 career ERA. He also own 9 of the top 10 season ERA records.
