60 Team League History and story of Tate Redinger

[majormet]

0 Team League and Tate Redinger History
This will be a thread for my 60 team league with the development of the prospect named Tate Redinger. I tried a thread like this but in the midst of it all the OOTP crashed and did not save, so lesson learned.

This will give highlights of the 60 team league while providing history of Tate Redinger many months before the end of the 2021 season which is where his draft will take place.

The league has 60 teams from MLB using a complete random entry for each player. The league is sticking to tradition with no DH in the NL, no 3 batter minimum for relievers and no baserunner on 2nd base for extra innings.

The league is in it's 3rd season which is 2021, Covid came a bit earlier so the major leagues decided to make up lost revenue they would have 30 teams enter over a 3 year period (also allows me to have the whole player universe enter faster)

There are 30 teams in the American League and 30 teams in the NL, each league got 15 new teams over the 3 year period

In 2019, the AL East expanded with the Buffalo Bisons and San Juan Storm. AL Central - Indianapolis Bulldogs... AL West - Utah Saints (team I control) and Portland Lions. The NL East received the Riverhead Racers and Atlantic City Sharks. NL Central added the New Orleans Zebras while the NL West added the Sacramento Bees and Las Vegas Snake Eyes.

The 2020 Expansion was:

AL East - Charlotte Spiders
AL Central - Des Moines Jaguars and Omaha Eagles
AL West - Anchorage Bears
NL East - Brooklyn Brawlers
NL Central - Tulsa Rattlers and Memphis Cougars
NL West - Honolulu Riptides

After the completion of many new ballparks, the 2021 expansion was robust with 12 teams

AL East - Richmond Gamecocks and Jacksonville Beach Bums
AL Central - Mexico City Salukis and Caracas Toros
AL West - San Antonio River Kings and Fresno Bashers
NL East - Newark Thieves and Hartford Rocketmen
NL Central - Mobile Swordfish and Louisville Bats
NL West - Boise Parrots and Albuquerue Blackbirds

There is not much parity in the league in 2021 but MLB execs expect that to even out over time as drafts with 60 players in it, will force better teams to weaken.

Only 10 teams make the postseason so there is a lot riding on the regular season and many teams are out of it, but what is there to do on a September night in Boise but watch a baseball game.

The league started in 2019 with expansion teams getting filled out rosters which were converted to musicians, characters, politicians etc...

The 2020 expansion so fictional players added as FA's

The 2021 expansion relied purely on the player pools and expansion draft.

[majormet]

It was a bright clear day in Montauk, Long Island and the tourist beach community was in a pre-mania mode with the regular locals parading down Main Street patronizing the local stores and restaurants. Only a year earlier, this town was a ghost town with the COVID-19 virus pandemic breaking out and most of the retail outlets shut down outside of takeout food with the sudden flood of Grubhub drivers or Doordash or whatever gimmick was big at the moment.

The town recovered and many people moved out of the New York City area to the area to live full time in the community and have adapted to the newfound city life. Tate Redinger was not one of those people. Tate had grown up in Montauk and was exposed to the ennui of the winters in a summer town. He had commuted a long distance to school every day to St John the Baptist high school just to have a solid Catholic school education. And at this given high school, Tate was a solid three sport star, lettering in baseball, basketball and football. Since Tate is just 6'3 215, by default he became a college recruit for the diamond and played his ball at Hofstra University while staying in the dorms.

Tate graduated college in 2020, and has worked odd jobs in Montauk, mostly at the aforementioned Grubhub, but also did property preservation work on vacant homes in the Hamptons.

These were unusual times, he did not enter into the end of season 2020 draft with Covid numbers up, and had great numbers. An agent named Al Stanton out of Queens saw videotape of Tate and suggest that he get in shape and enlist for the 2021 draft. So Tate tried out for the Atlantic League independent Long Island Ducks and is awaiting the call back to play in the 2021 season.

The issue with the Atlantic League in 2021 is that there are 60 major league baseball teams and the talent in the league has dropped from marginal major leagues to community college type players. Still it was baseball and he had not hit a curveball in quite some time.

The world changed quickly. Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 election and despite winning by over 10 million votes, Trump contest the election. He kept saying that people voted 3 times, dead folks voted and that antifa did not allow his base to go to the booth, still after 2 months, Trump was finally forced to leave after his son Eric Trump was facing 10 years in jail and, what was OK for Michael Cohen was not so acceptable for his son. Trump decided to launch his own TV network and he was fine for all that happened.

The world was still in recovery, the fighting on the street escalated and COVID eventually faded away without a need for an untested vaccine. As people were trying to reclaim their lives back, the MLB was also trying to get it's fanbase back. There was huge backlash to new rules such as 7 inning doubleheaders, NL having a DH, extra runner on 2nd base in extra innings and so many teams making the playoffs that the only solution was to allow 30 teams into the league and make ticket prices cheaper. More revenue sharing so teams in New York could fund teams in Des Moines or Boise.

Tate knew the landscape, he believed that he could get drafted in the top 5 rounds with the expansion. There was the dilemna of being drafted by an expansion team which meant rapid acceleration to the majors but playing losing baseball or being drafted by an established team and having to go through the minors.

Today was a day where he decided to just sit on a bench at the beach and was accompanied by his friend Brandon who was a rich kid who became a house flipper and had a very optimistic view of the world.

"What a difference a year makes, huh" said Brandon as he looked with confidence to the waves breaking.

Tate looked with guarded optimism "Yes, not sure if we are in any better sport though, out of college no jobs to be had and the economy has not recovered yet"

"But you are going to be a major league ball player. There are 60 teams you are going to have chances that so many on the Island never have had" Brandon replied knowing his uncle Bill O'Connor was drafted by the Twins in the 1980's in a 26 team league and never got past Visalia.

"True, but what if I get drafted by Caracas or Mexico City, aren't those awful places"

Brandon knew that wherever Tate landed would be a gift "You have to look at it differently, you will be a rich guy playing ball in those cities, may be worse if you ended up in Newark, that place is a human cesspool. Not sure how that city got a team, but Corey Booker kind of petitioned for it."

"Hey Corey is a good guy, this country would be in the right place if he won the primaries, instead he just kissed Biden's butt. I really hope the Racers draft me" ... The Riverhead Racers are the Long Island team now in their 3 year in the league and are actually a winning team.

"Would it be that good being on the Racers, I mean they have a good squad. I think you will be blocked on that team, maybe a team like Hartford or Brooklyn would be better. But dude, you have to look at any team as a blessing at this point."

Tate raised his eyebrows and considered those options "Well not sure where I land but I will miss this place, there is no place like this on earth. We have the beach, we have quiet, we can fish, and we can be in the city in 2 hours, well when the city is back open"

Brandon nodded in agreement "Yes, there is no place like home"

The two men walked on the beach with their whole lives ahead of them and a future that could not be any worse than the pandemic.

[majormet]

The 2019 season was a success, the virus had not hit yet and the world was a safer place.

Here is a recap

Washington Nationals (as in real life) won the World Series defeating the Oakland Athletics with Emil Gross the Nationals catcher winning the MVP award of the series

Awards

American League

MVP - Hank Greenberg (Minnesota Twins) - 61 Homers and .324 average - Greenberg would sign with Utah Saints for big money for 2020 season

Cy Young - Frank Killen (Boston Red Sox) - 15-7 2.55 ERA, pretty solid considering that Killen is also a DH for Boston

Rookie of the Year - Del Ennis (Texas Rangers) - 48 HR .333 average - rookies are hard to determine as everyone was in first year

Reliever of the year - Addison Reed (Oakland Athletics) - 34 saves


NL Awards

MVP - George Davis (Cincinnati Reds) - 41 HR .361

CY Young - Pete Donohue (Cincinnati Reds) - 24-3 1.77 ERA

Rookie of the year - Curt Blefary (San Diego Padres) .273 49HR

Reliever of the year - Jet Li (Sacramento Bees) 5-0, 34 saves (yes that same actor... he would be dealt to the Yankees in the 2021 season

There were 4 no hitters in the season

Hooks Wiltse (Cincinnati Reds) over the Colorado Rockies
Tom Glavine (Chicago White Sox) over the Tampa Bay Rays
David "Pasta" Pastrnak (Buffalo Bisons) over the Utah Saints - yep that happened

Earl Whitehill (Oakland Athletics) over the Minnesota Twins


Paul Blair (Los Angeles Dodgers) had the longest hitting streak at 29 games

No one was inducted into hall of fame

Overall League leaders by category

Batting Average

George Davis - .361
Cap Anson (Toronto Blue Jays) .356
Gregg Jeffries (Baltimore Orioles) .346 (he leaves in 2020 for Arizona and free agency)

Runs Scored

George Davis - 160
Carlos Gonzalez (Tampa Bay Rays) - 158
John McGraw (San Diego Padres) - 150

Hits

George Davis - 225
Don Mattingly (Tampa Bay Rays) - 221
Cap Anson - 221

Doubles

Pete Rose (Arizona Diamondbacks) - 60
Alexander Ovechkin (Buffalo Bisons) - 58 - yes Ovie, he leaves for free agency with Baltimore in 2020 but is not signed in 2021, he is nearly 40 in this league

Cap Anson - 55

Triples

Lance Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks) - 14 - leaves in 2020 for free agency in Kansas City

Marianno Duncan (New York Yankees) - 13
Eddie Rosario (Oakland Athletics/Atlantic City Sharks) - 12 - Oakland deals him and still wins the AL

Homers

Jack Clark (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 67 - he would leave for Honolulu in 2021 season

Mike Schmidt (Kansas City Royals) - 62
Hank Greenberg - 61

RBI's

Jack Clark - 156
Hank Greenberg - 155
Tony Perez (Arizona Diamondbacks) - 153

Stolen Bases

John McGraw - 71
Smokey Robinson (San Juan Storm, Utah Saints and Colorado Rockies) - 65... the motown singer, he would finally find a home in 2020 with Milwaukee where he still plays

Monte Ward - 63 (New York Mets) - left for Tampa Bay in the 2020 season

ERA

Jack Harshman (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 1.75
Pete Donohue - 1.77
Al Orth (Chicago Cubs) - 2.13

Wins

Pete Donohue - 24
Denny Galehouse (San Francisco Giants) - 20, signs with Utah in 2020 season

Spec Shea (Washington Nationals) - 19

Saves

Bill Landrum (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 44, gets traded to Chicago Cubs in 2020 season

Eric Gagne (Atlanta Braves) - 41
Heathcliff Slocumb (New York Yankees) - 40

Strikeouts

Lady Baldwin (Milwaukee Brewers) - 326
Noodles Hahn (Colorado Rockies) - 291
Jack Harshamn - 275

2019 Draft - top 20 picks

1. Christy Mathewson - SP/Toronto Blue Jays
2. Denny Lyons - 3B/Milwaukee Brewers
3. Zach Wheat - LF/Houston Astros
4. Deacon McGuire - C/Philadelphia Phillies
5. Jessie Burkett - LF/Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Bill Joyce - 3B/New York Mets
7. Chuck Klein - RF/Anaheim Angels
8. Nolan Arenado - 3B/St Louis Cardinals
9. Gio Urshela - 3B/Pittsburgh Pirates (really???)
10. Chili Davis - LF/Seattle Mariners
11. Dusty Miller - LF/Los Angeles Dodgers
12. Cy Williams - LF/New York Yankees
13. Shane Mack - CF/San Francisco Giants (really??)
14. Frank E Smith - SP/Atlanta Braves
15. Hal Trosky - 1B/Miami Marlins
16. Sadie McMahon - SP/Baltimore Orioles
17. Eric Davis - LF/Chicago White Sox
18. Johnny Mostil - 2B/Kansas City Royals
19. Bris Lord - CF/Chicago Cubs
20. Steve O'Neill - C/Detroit Tigers.

[majormet]

Al Stanton is not exactly a household name in baseball circles. A former small business owner from Queens who ran a predictive analytics business for 20 plus years on Long Island. Now at 54, Al has cashed out of his business and has become a sports agent. How does this type of career change take place?

It all started with AAU basketball in the late 2000s with Al's son Harris. Harris was a good point guard and played well on the city circuit but Harris got bored with the game. At the same time, Al was the general manager of the AAU team which had some great national success. He was able to take a lot of kids from broken homes and sponsor them as they became known to college scouts. The players that came out of his program mostly got division one scholarships and as they graduated from college, they turned to Al to help them.

NBA basketball is much harder to get noticed, but the real money was in European markets. He placed at least 4 of the players in various European leagues and became the agent for those players. Al enjoyed the gratification that being an agent brought to the table, and sold his business which was providing statistical and forecasting analysis for mail order companies.

One of the connection Al made over the years was with his old alma mater Hofstra. Al was a benchwarmer being a 6'2 power forward in the mid 1980's but never lost his love for sports, at the same time he used Hofstra as his "go to" to hire young statistical minds to work in his business. One of his former classmates, Kevin Gonzalez who now was the coach of the baseball team, recommended that he look into a young outfielder named Tate Redinger.

Al's first thought was, what the f**## do I know about baseball. But he met with Tate and recognized that Tate was a kid with heavy focus and as he watched more video and got to know Tate, he felt that he could help him, after all, Tate just needed to get good enough to get drafted.

The Long Island Ducks were holding a tryout and today was the day that Al was to meet with Tate, they were meeting at a trendy pizza place called Crust out in Southampton.

Tate was late and Al was sitting in his Range Rover blasting music out of his system and singing along "I don't need to save my soul... he's already in me...I wanna be Adored"

"Wow what kind of music is that" said Tate as he pulled up next to Al's car.

"Son that is the beginning of shoegazing music you have to listen to the Stone Roses, they were ensconced in time, that Manchester sound, you can't beat it.... now all you guys listen to is that ambient sound music and DJ's"

Tate laughed "Well you got me there, but good music still comes out today, you ever hear of the Winnetka Bowling League"

"OK that ain't half bad, that song CVS kind of derivative, so what are you up to this week"

"Been at the batting cage, watching film... do you really think I can make it in the big leagues after a year off" Tate inquired.

Al shrugged and put his hands up "Heck if I know I don't know baseball that much but 1200 players get selected in 20 rounds and there are 60 major league teams. I think you just have to get drafted and then it is negotiating after that"

They entered the restaurant and got a small seat in the back. This was the first week now in April 2021 that you did not need a mask to enter a restaurant

"I am telling you after over a year of these masks, I am starting to think women's lips are like private parts and that masks were the G-strings of the Covid era"

Tate laughed at the observation.

"Seriously did you ever noticed how some women look great from the nose up" Al was recently divorced after a 23 year marriage and was like a rabbit out of a cage.

"Bro, you kill me. The 2020's take buttaface to a new level. But what do you think, is it worth it for me to play on the Ducks. I mean their ace pitcher was a guy that works as a janitor at the Mercedes dealership"

Al looked hard at Tate and wondered what it would be like to be young and less hardened by the world. "Look if I were in your shoes.. I would value any chance to get be seen. Draft position is more volatile than a blackjack table at Foxwoods on a Saturday night. From what I see you have to have a place where scouts will see you. They just can't keep watching Hofstra highlights and form opinions off of that. They need to see that you stay in shape and crap like that"

"So did I make the team"

Al laughed "You are asking me if you made the team with the janitor ace, isn't that like asking Joaquin Phoenix if he was able to land the role of Willie Loman in a Paduch local theater production of Death of a salesman"

"I guess but in this world and this time period nothing ever makes sense, so what is my protocol" Tate wondered

"Kid it is simple you just have to report to Islip next week and you will be a Duck"

Tate nodded his head "Man I may disagree with you on this, something tells me my life would be better delivering Doordash"

"Doordash!!!! Sending Lobster rolls to young Brooklyn hipsters at 2AM that sounds like hell"

Tate laughed "I will be calling you on the road if they have me room with the janitor"

Al came back quickly with "at least your room will be clean, never met a messy janitor"

Both men then moved on to small talk and the next move is getting at bats in.

[majormet]

The 2020 Season was the year of COVID with no fans in the stands, but 8 more teams found their way into the league

Here is a recap

The Seattle Mariners won the World Series in 5 games defeating the Cincinnati Reds. First Mariners title with the series MVP being SS Aledmys Diaz.

Awards

American League

MVP - Chuck Klein - (Los Angeles Angels) - .343 61 HR's

Cy Young - Cy Blanton (New York Yankees) - (20-4, 1.88 ERA) - Blanton wins the pitching triple crown

Rookie of the Year - Chuck Klein (Los Angeles Angels) - he wins MVP and Rookie of the year, Fred Lynn style.

Reliever of the year - Alan Embree (Chicago White Sox) - 2-1 with 35 saves... not a guy that was a closer in his time


NL Awards

MVP - Bobby Thomson (New York Mets) - 68 HR's - gets to play in Queens in this version of MLB and first Met to win an MVP award ever.

CY Young - Kevin Millwood (Washington Nationals) - 21-7, 2.08 ERA

Rookie of the year - Richard Hidalgo (Colorado Rockies) - .310 51 HR

Reliever of the year - Hong Chih Kuo (San Diego Padres) - 5-3, 3 saves

There were 2 no hitters in the season

Michael Wacha (Miami Marlins) over Pittsburgh Pirates
Frank Gabler (Brooklyn Brawlers) over Honolulu Riptide

Bid Mcphee (Pittsburgh Pirates) had the longest hitting streak at 27 games

No one was inducted into hall of fame

Overall League leaders by category

Batting Average

Del Ennis (Texas Rangers) - .357
Cap Anson (Toronto Blue Jays) - .350
Don Mattingly (Tampa Bay Rays) - .349

Runs Scored

George Grantham (Los Angeles Angels) - 158
Larry Gardner (Seattle Mariners) - 145
Mel Ott (Utah Saints) - 141

Hits

Del Ennis - 232
Don Mattingly - 228
Larry Gardner - 226

Doubles

Vincent Vega (Indianpolis Bulldogs/Milwaukee Brewers) - 53 - Yes that would be the hitman who orders McDonald's in Paris

Paul Molitor (Atlanta Braves) - 52
Ken Griffey Sr (New York Mets) - 50


Triples

Johnny Gaudreau (Indianapolis Bulldogs) - 18 - Yep that is Johnny Hockey to the NHL world, he gets dealt to Cincinnati for the 2021 season

Lance Johnson (Kansas City Royals) - 15
Ja Morant (Indianapolis Bulldogs) - 15, yes that Murray State baller on the Grizzlies

Homers

Bobby Thomson - 68
Casey Stengel - (Buffalo Bisons) - 65, did not know this guy had any power, thought he was just a witty manager

Hank Greenberg (Utah Saints) - 62

RBI's

Bobby Thomson - 176
Chuck Klein - 169
Eddie Murray (San Francisco Giants) - 167


Stolen Bases

Smokey Robinson (Milwaukee Brewers) - 76
Mike Tiernan (Texas Rangers) - 68
Cesar Cedeno (Detroit Tigers) - 66


ERA

Noodles Hahn (Colorado Rockies) 1.75
Pete Donohue (Cincinnati Reds) - 1.78
Cy Blanton - 1.87

Wins

Kevin Millwood - 21
Tom Glavine (Chicago White Sox) - 19
Pete Dowling (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 19

Saves

Isaiah Thomas (New York Yankees) - 45 - he would sign with Utah in 2021

Travis Bickle (Las Vegas Snake Eyes) - 44 - this would the crazed vet turned cab driver/vigilante

Frank Dipino (Washington Nationals) - 44


Strikeouts

Noodles Hahn - 332
Mario Soto (San Diego Padres) - 330 - this guy is staying healthy, one could only wonder what he would have been able to do in real life

Cy Blanton - 291


2020 Draft - top 20 picks

1. Deacon Phillippe - SP/Indianapolis Bulldogs
2. Larry Walker - RF/New Orleans Zebras
3. Pete Hotaling - CF/Buffalo Bisons
4. Lou Gehrig - 1B/Tampa Bay Rays - playing in the farms as Don Mattingly is the current 1B for the Rays

5. Jim Fogarty - CF/Atlantic City Sharks
6. Buck Ewing - C/Sacramento Bees
7. Barry Larkin - SS/Portland Lions
8. Frank Thomas - 1B/Milwaukee Brewers - The Big Hurt not the older one with same name

9. Bernie Williams - CF/Riverhead Racers - gets to still play in New York

10. Mike Slattery - CF/San Juan Storm
11. Ira Flagstead - RF/Toronto Blue Jays
12. Elmer Flick - RF/Chicago Cubs
13. Harry Wolter - CF/St Louis Cardinals
14. Charlie Gehringer - 2B/Philadelphia Phillies
15. Lyman Bostock - CF/Boston Red Sox - really pulling for him, he was a certain hall of famer before getting shot

16. Sam Barkley - 2B/Oakland Athletics
17. Gene Schott - SP/Las Vegas Snake Eyes
18. Don Drysdale - SP/Arizona Diamondbacks - not sure why this guy fell this far, but the desert will lover him

19. Ralph Kiner - LF/Pittsburgh Pirates - another guy who could hit 700 homers he retired young... had a 1 in 60 chance of landing here, but this was his signature team

20. Bibb Falk - LF/Minnesota Twins

[majormet]

This is what Rogers Hornsby has been doing in the 2021 season, have not ever seen a season like this. Hornsby was hurt for parts of the 2019 and 2020 season but in 2021 he is tearing up the league.

In just 38 games and 152 at bats, he has hit 28 homers and driven in 73 runs... You would think this was a product of rapid expansion however no one in the league but nearest in homers is 17 homers and nearest in RBI's is 42.

Hornsby came back from injury and helped the A's win the AL but lose the world series, but one wonders if he could keep up this pace which as shown shows 116 HR and 303 RBI's, not very sustainable.

[majormet]

Tate arrived at the ballpark in East Islip where the Long Island Ducks play their home games and he thought back to how large the place seemed when he would go to games with his father only 10 plus years ago. The semi-professional stadium seemed like it's own universe and how things diminish in size as we get older.

The cletes felt alien to him after not playing ball for over 18 months and he was watching the players and started to get intimidated. The cockiness he experienced a few days ago with Al had waned and he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to reach the cutoff man on a fly. Muscle memory he kept uttering to himself as he prepared himself for this day.

Watching in the dugout he stated to question his decision. It seemed to him that the team was already set and he would be coming off the bench. This is not what he had in mind. Over to the corner of his right eye he noticed a familiar face... Matt Gimpel. Gimpel was putting on his shinguards and getting ready to take the field as a catcher.

Tate made eye contact "You are" pointing and squinting... "You are Matt Gimpel right?

"That's right, how do you know an old has been like me"

Going from memory and trying not to make Gimpel seem old, Tate mustered up "Well if memory serves me correctly you used to run winter clinics at Field of Dreams"

"S**t, that was a long time ago for Paul Gibson, how did you remember me, did I train you"

Tate giggled "well you didn't exactly train me, but I remember you helped out and worked with the catchers for sure"

"So what brings you to Ducks country" Gimpel had inquired

"Just trying to get myself ready for the upcoming draft, my agent thought this would be a great way to stay in the game"

"Draft? Who are you"

"I am Tate Redinger"

Gimpel chuckled and said "And the who F*** is Tate Redinger"

"Well I was in your camp. I played for Hofstra for four seasons and hit over .400 in college"

"College ball, hah... don't guys walk on and play for those college teams"

It was a good question and a hard pill of reality "Yes but some great players come out of college"

"Not knocking it, but you will find the roads are not paved with gold. I did 9 years in the minors and never made it out AA ball, and I only played 35 games in AA ball in 2010. I am 37 now and I made a living out of being a minor league player, but kid you ain't going to get to the majors with a resume from Hofstra. Ya gotta contend with all the guys from the DR, Venezuela, Asia and all those year round Cali and Texas kids. Minor league baseball, get used to it. This stadium is bigger than any A ball stadium you will play in"

This was not the dialogue Tate anticipated. This was supposed to be easier.

"Well good luck Travis"

"Um Tate"

"Whatever" said Gimpel as he got behind the plate

The Ducks were managed by a 70 year old crochety type named Dan Rossi. Rossi had a big potbelly and clearly was one of those wannabe baseball types that never manifested.

"Redinger" Rossi said

"yes Coach.... what do you want me to do"

"Let's see what you have at the plate, you will face Dean Mercante first"

Tate looked across the field and there was the janitor that he was mocking only a few days ago. Karma is a b... or something like that

Mercante was shaking the resin bag as Tate got into the plate. First pitch was a heater and Tate watched it go by, no balls and strikes just being evaluated without that pressure.

Tate being a left handed batter should have the edge on the righty Mercante. Next pitch was a curveball and it was about 5 feet off the plate. Tate then looked again and waiting on the next pitch

Mercante hung a curveball and Tate made contact he thought he hit the ball out of the yard but it just landed in front of the warning track. Next Pitch he hit deep again and it was also near the right field warning track.

After about 40 pitches, Tate made contact on about 25 of the pitches, about 12 were out of the strike zone and there were 3 swings and missed. It bothered Tate that he could not launch anything into the cheap seats.

About 30 minutes had passed and Tate was shagging flies and having a catch with some player he never had recognized and then Gimpel approached him.

"Hey Tate, that's the name right, good hitting there, you were on every pitch. Look I don't want to burst your bubble, but enthusiasm is good. Just have to face the hard facts, I know there are 200 teams now so you can get to the show these days, but still you have to be even tempered, good work today"

"Thanks Man" said Tate as he headed for the runway

On the way home in the car. Tate felt like a huge monkey was off his back. He dusted the rust off and he was not embarrassing himself out there today. It wasn't like he was facing Clayton Kershaw out there but still the mechanics were there as if they never left.

As he took the lonely road back to Montauk, he thought about his parents who had retired to West Palm Beach and would not see him play, his ex-girlfriend Tatianna who was working in Los Angeles trying to land acting gigs... and he just realized that Al and Brandon are all he had to support him on this surge to the majors.... He realized that the time was now to live.

[majormet]

The first full month of the 2021 MLB season is now complete and this is where the league stands

AL Player of the Month - Rogers Hornsby (Oakland Athletics) 19 HR 54 RBI's with a .433 average

NL Player of the Month - Curt Blefary (San Diego Padres) 14 HR 36 RBIs .321 Average

AL Pitcher of the Month - Tom Glavine (Chicago White Sox) - 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA

NL Pitcher of the Month - Pete Dowling (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 5-1 1.28 ERA

AL Rookie of the Month - Sam Crawford (Detroit Tigers) - 7 HR 32 RBIs .352

NL Rookie of the Month - Ralph Kiner - (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 11 HR 29 RBI's .343 avg


Standings

AL East
Buffalo Bisons (27-15)
New York Yankees (26-15)
Toronto Blue Jays (25-17)

AL Central

Cleveland Indians (31-11)
Chicago White Sox (30-12)
Detroit Tigers (27-15)


AL West

Oakland Athletics (30-12)
Houston Astros (29-13)
Texas Rangers (28-14)
Seattle Mariners (28-14)
Utah Saints (27-14)

NL East

New York Mets (32-10)
Miami Marlins (26-16)
Atlanta Braves (25-16)

NL Central

St Louis Cardinals (30-11)
Pittsburgh Pirates (30-11)
Cincinnati Reds (28-14)

NL West

San Diego Padres (30-12)
Colorado Rockies (26-16)
Sacramento Beers (26-16)

League Leaders

AL -Batting Average

Rogers Hornsby (Oakland Athletics) .421
Rennie Stennett (Oakland Athletics) - .412
Dexter Fowler - (Oakland Athletics) - .385

Pretty scary since there are 30 teams now in the AL and the top 3 are in Oakland

AL - Home Runs

Rogers Hornsby (Oakland Athletics) - 30
Pedro Alvarez (Portland Lions) - 19
Chick Hafey (New York Yankees) - 18

AL - RBI's

Rogers Hornsby (Oakland Athletics) - 83
Pedro Alvarez (Portland Lions) - 46
Mike Tiernan (Texas Rangers) - 43

AL - Stolen Bases

Mike Tiernan (Texas Rangers) - 19
Count Campau (Anchorage Bears) - 16
Cesar Cedeno (Detroit Tigers) - 12

NL - Batting Average

Gene Clines (New York Mets) - .414
Richard Hidalgo (Colorado Rockies) - .412
Jack Doyle (Cincinnati Reds) - .398

NL - Home Runs

Curt Blefary (San Diego Padres) - 18
Chris Duncan (Hartford Rocketmen) - 17
Steve Buscemi (Sacramento Bees) - 16

*** Buscemi has hit 106 career homers so far for Sacramento, no one knows where he gets his power from

NL - RBI's

Benito Santiago (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 48
Curt Blefary (San Diego Padres) - 45
Nolan Arenado (St Louis Cardinals) - 44

NL - Stolen Bases

Ivan Howard (Colorado Rockies) - 19
Gregg Jefferies (Arizona Diamonbacks) - 17
George Tebeau (Atlantic City Sharks) - 13

AL - ERA

Tom Glavine (Chicago White Sox) - 0.88
Russ Bauers (Texas Rangers) - .0.99
Frank Killen (Boston Red Sox) - 1.53

AL Wins

Mike Smith (Minnesota Twins) - 8
Russ Bauers (Texas Rangers) - 7
Joe Benz (Cleveland Indians) - 6

AL - Strikeouts

Christy Mathewson (Toronto Blue Jays) - 92
Sadie McMahon (Baltimore Orioles) - 78
Roy Parmelee (Kansas City Royals) - 69

AL - Saves

Jeremy Affeldt (Houston Astros) - 11
Carlos Diaz (Omaha Eagles) - 10
Jean Machi (Anchorage Bears) - 9

NL - ERA

Ismael Valdez (New York Mets) - 1.11
Carlos Zambrano (Miami Marlins) - 1.16
Billy Hoeft (San Diego Padres) - 1.29

NL - Wins

Pete Dowling (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 7
Nathan Eovaldi (Cincinnati Reds) - 7
Pete Donohue (Cincinnati Reds) - 6

NL - Strikeouts

Noodles Hahn (Colorado Rockies) - 103
Mario Soto (San Diego Padres) - 101
Will Sawyer (Atlantic City Sharks) - 97

NL - Saves

Tony Balsamo (St Louis Cardinals) - 14
Mike Naymick (Sacramento Bees) - 13
Rob Dibble (Milwaukee Brewers) - 12

[majormet]

Al Stanton was in his small backyard in Middle Village, and was watering his modest garden. This was a house he shared with his wife Melody and their now grown up son Chad. Today he is by himself, as Melody packed her bags and left as Al's idleness after selling his business changed the dynamic of their relationship... they were home together all the time. Melody did not leave for another man she just left to join an artist's community in Santa Fe.... however divorce being final, Al was a single man....

Single man? This is not something that has fully registered with Al as he was always faithful and assumed he would never be single again. What the heck there are better things to do in life.

He uplifted his spirits by blasting Beatles Dig a Pony in his back yard, who cares what the neighbors thought. Hard to fathom that the Beatles went from She Loves You to this in 6 years meanwhile it takes 7 years for another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm to come out. Unbelievable, as he bobbed his head to the intense guitar solo mid-song.

Javier his neighbor saw him and climbed the short fence that separated their homes. Javier was a newish neighbor having been next door for 3 years. He was a pleasant guy and they would play pickleball on occasion together at the park.

"Did you see the crap they are saying about Hornsby" Javier shouted

"Not true, I could have told you this was going to happen. You add 30 teams to the league in 3 years and you get very weak arms making it to the big leagues"

Javier replied "If that was the case, everyone would have those numbers, this dude is on pace for over 100 homers and over 300 RBI's, There is no way this guy is clean"

"Hornsby is clean, just a consummate hitter and he is just 23, he is learning. He was hurt the past two years"

"Hurt... because of the juice, he is juicing I tell ya... " Javier said in a chuckling manner

Al rolled up his hose and shook Javier's hands "Been waiting to shake your hand for a year with all this Covid stuff, who knows. How are things with your family"

Javier had 2 small kids that were under 5 years old "Busy not sleeping much, how is the bachelor life"

"Bachelor life??!? I am 54 years old wouldn't know where to start, not going to date using an app, I was with Melody for 33 total years, not sure where to go. I am busy with this kid Redinger, trying to steer him"

"What is going on with that" Javier was aware of the scouting assignment

"I have a good feeling about Tate, I think he is a guy that always sells himself short. Parents were very hedonistic and never focused on him. Today's kids get a ton of lessons for any sports they play, he did not have that at all. He has a lot of potential, he could have gotten scholarships to play out west like at USC, but chose Hofstra to stay home. Always trying to get his parent's attention"

Javier shrugged and responded "Yes that is a common theme in life, with the 60 teams he could end up in the league. He might need me to translate for some of those teams" Javier had been out of work since Covid, he was the head waiter at a top Manhattan restaurant but most of the city's night life vanished and never has recovered from Covid.

"In this case, it is on steriods, not Hornsby... parent issues here.. I put him on the Ducks and I just need to videotape him and get the word out to scouts. This isn't like hoops where i can send a kid to Athens or Barcelona and he can get millions playing minor league level"

"I hope it works out, I wish I had something to look forward to sounds exciting, sounds like a good journey" Javier was hopeful for his neighbor

"Thanks, hope is all we have" - Al said as he went back into the house and sent Javier off. Now a whole afternoon ahead and nothing to do but watch TV.

[majormet]

The team focuses will being for all 60 teams. This is the first one alphabetically.

Team Background - Albuquerque Blackbirds were formed when a widow named Skyler White used a lottery ticket to find 130 million dollars buried in the desert by her late husband. Not being able to launder all that money through a car wash, Skyler partnered with a few local businesses and they applied to get their team here in a city that probably can't draw enough attendance to make money

History - Team was added in the 2021 expansion and plays in the NL West

Records

2021 - 14-29

#1 Draft PIcks

2020 - #47 - Harry Lord - 3B

Manager

Alan Mundinger - (60 years old from Mableton, GA) - a long time man around the game but never close to the major leagues, was mostly a roving instructor and scout. Applied for the job and beat out Ted Benecke to manage the team.


Team Leaders - 2021

Average - Harry Lord .318

Homers - Harry Lord -14

RBI's - Milt Scott - 29 (Scott was expansion pick from the Utah Saints, he was buried behind Don Draper in that organization

Stolen Bases - Melvin Upton - 5 (3rd round pick 2020 draft)

ERA - Alex Aguirre - 3.30 (fictional player that was acquired from Miami Marlins was in minors in 2020)

Wins - Alex Aguirre - 3

Strikeouts - Al Atkinson - 44 (expansion pick from the New York Mets)

Saves - Mark Malaska - 5 (8th round pick 2020 draft)

[majormet]

Team Background - The Anchorage Bears joined the league for the 2020 season. The financing for the team was put together by Sarah Palin and a few other reality TV stars. Anchorage is another city with a suspect population to support a baseball team, but then again you can have day games at midnight during the summer. They play in the AL West

Records

2020 - (42-120) 8th place
2021 - (21-23) 7th place

#1 Draft Picks

2020 - Carson Bigbee - (43rd) OF
2021 - Jason Kendall - (51st) C (pictured) considered their best player but not leading in any categories

Manager - Daniel Jarvis. His first year with the team and they are turning around. Jarvis is a 40 year old from Westmont, PA who was a baseball coach at Penn State.

Team Leaders - 2021

Average - Carson Bigbee - .332

Homers - Sergio Guzman (12) - This is a fictional player from Wakefield, MA who was a minor league free agent signing. Fictional players were only added in the 2019 offseason into 2020

RBI's - Will Venable (38) - He was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in a package where Detroit got Kevin Millar.

SB - Count Campau (16) - He was a 2nd round pick in 2019

Wins - Bill Zepp (4) - (5th round pick 2020)

Strikeouts - Victor Ortiz (44) - A fictional player that was waived by by Miami Marlins. Ortiz is from Cuba

ERA - Ross Baumgarten (3.81) - (5th round pick 2019) - the original rich kid turned baseballer

Saves - Jean Machi (9) - (4th round pick 2019)

[majormet]

This is the first of the 30 established teams. Dbacks were one of the last 2 added teams over 20 years ago and won the World Series in 2001. They have not seed much success in the following years despite having teases of success. They still playing in the NL West that has been dominated by San Diego.

History

2019 - 81-81 - 5th place
2020 - 91-71 - 6th place
2021 - 25-18 - 5th place

#1 Draft picks

2019 - Jesse Burkett - (5th) - LF (pictured, not leading in any categories but he is a two way player

2020 - Don Drysdale (18th) - a steal at 18

Manager - Still is Torey Lovullo now 55 years old in his 5th season. He does just good enough to not get fired.

Team Leaders

Average - Joe Sewll - .331 (Inaugural Draft-5th round)

Homers - Beals Becker (9) (Inaugural Draft-6th round)

RBI's - Jerry Moses (34) (Acquired in trade from Indianapolis Bulldogs for 2 minor prospects)... Was original with Boston Red Sox

Stolen Bases - Gregg Jefferies (17) (Signed as free agent after 2019 season from Baltimore Orioles)

Wins - Ed Halicki (4) - (Inaugural draft-13th round) - has not no hit the Mets yet.

Strikeouts - Don Drysdale (56)

ERA - Pete Richert (4.44) - (2019-3rd round) - Long Island pitcher bad to lead a team with that high an ERA

Saves - Ralph Comstock (5) (2020-2nd round)

[majormet]

These are the Atlanta Braves who last won the World Series in 1995 and have been trying to get back ever since. The team has been a strong team the past few seasons but has been overshadowed in the NL East by Washington, Miami and the Mets.

History

2019 - 90-72 - 3rd
2020 - 96-66 - 4th
2021 - 27-16 - 2nd

1st Round Picks

2019 - Frank E Smith (14th) - SP - Pictured - considered their best player in real life was a solid early 20th century arm for the White Sox

2020 - Jake Wade (85th) - SP (no first round pick lost due to free agency pickup)

Manager

Brian Snitker is now 65 and is in his 6th season managing this team, an unknown guy that has had the most success with this team since Bobby Cox was the skipper

Leaders

Average - Frank Chance - .302 (Inaugural-4th)
Homers - Frank Chance (16)
RBI's - Frank Chance (38)
Stolen Bases - Dave Foutz (12) (Inaugural-2nd) (2 way player)
Wins - Frank Smith (6)
Strikeouts - Frank Smith (74)
ERA - George Kahler (2.44) (Inaugural-5th)
Saves - Francisco Cordova (9) (2020-4th)

[majormet]

The Atlantic City Sharks were part of the 2019 expansion. The team was formed with funds from the Borgata Casino, and a lot of protest by the Philadelphia Phillies for infringing on their turf. The team plays in the NL East and has shown promise in it's 3rd season. Most of the attendance is coming from tourists and half the tickets sold are comps from the casino.

History

2019 - 58-104 - 6th
2020 - 61-101 - 7th
2021 - 24-21 - 5th

#1 Draft Picks

2019 Will Sawyer (48th) - SP (pictured) - he is a stud for this team at 18 years old but in real life he pitched one season in 1883

2020 - Jim Fogarty (5th) - CF

Manager

Steve Kinney has managed this team for 3 years. He is a 62 year old man from rural Maryland who has not been known very long in the baseball world. He ran a batting cage in Ocean City, but was cheap and maintained his job after two 100 loss seasons


Leaders

Average - Red Barnes - (.339) - (2020 4th)

Homers - Frank Black - (.10) - Yes that is the lead singer of the Pixies and short and stout but had a big year here in 2020 and signed as a free agent from San Juan Storm. He liked the idea of being able to play at the casinos on homestands, and play we mean music not craps

RBI's - Red Barnes (31)

Stolen Bases - George Tebeau (14) (2020-2nd)

Wins - Will Sawyer (5)

Strikeouts - Will Sawyer (97)

ERA - Will Sawyer (1.45)

Saves - Tom Norton (6) (2019-6th)

[majormet]

A familiar team to you all, and one that was not won anything since 1983 when I was in high school. The O's are not the bad Orioles of the past but they still are in the shadows of the better teams in the NL East and it did not hurt losing Gregg Jefferies to free agency

History

2019 - 92-70 3rd
2020 - 99-63 2nd
2021 - 25-20 4th

1st Round Picks

2019 - Sadie McMahon (16th) (pictured) - listed as their best player, the O's have a solid rotation

2020 - Milo Candini (27th)


Manager

Brandon Hyde is in his 3rd year and the teams has improved under his watch he is now 47 years old.


Leaders

Average - Eddie Castillo (.298) (fictional guy off of the FA pool at start of 2020 season, been a great find)

Homers - Eddie Castillo (14)

RBI's - Eddie Castillo (32)

SB's - Freddie Patek (8) (Inaugural-8th) - weird not to see him in a Royals outfit

Wins - Eppa Rixey (6) - (Inaugural 1st-8th overall)

Strikeouts - Sadie McMahon (78)

ERA - Doc White (1.85) (Inaugural-4th)

Saves - Saul Rivera (8) (Inaugural-15th)

[majormet]

You are probably wondering how did Boise get a team in this league and how are they going to put butts in the seats. Jimmy Buffet wanted to own a team and asked the league if he can try Key West or Nassau and the league turned him down and said Boise or no go. So that is how the Parrots ended up here. They have a great logo and uniform and they are making their income on merchandise in a large way. They are in their first season in 2021 and play in the NL West

History

2021 - 10-34 10th

#1 Draft Picks

2020 - Ed Mars (49th) - Starting Pitcher - (pictured) - closest thing to a star on this roster

Manager

Garrett Klink - He is a 47 year old guy from Memphis who worked at the Margaritaville's in town and was hand picked by Jimmy to run this team.


Leaders

Average - Andre Lyon (.268) - expansion pick from Utah Saints. He is the heir of the Empire business business and is a versatile 2nd and 3rd baseman with no pop

Homers - Mike Aldrete (6) - expansion pick from Milwaukee Brewers - hard to get a crowd when this real life pinch hitter is your homer threat

RBI's - Mike Aldrete (20)

Stolen Bases - Ken Starr (8) - Toronto Blue Jays waived this Bill Clinton prosecutor who has been on 5 teams in the league

Wins - Daizuke Matsuzaka (3) - Expansion pick from Cleveland Indians. Dice K is a forgotten name but not lost in Boise

Strikeouts - Ed Mars (65)

ERA - Johnny Niggeling (3.56) - waiver claim from Atlantic City Sharks, who was solid in 2019 for Detroit Tigers. He is 43 years old and already has announced his retirement at end of season

Saves - AJ Minter (3) - (2020-3rd)

[majormet]

We all know the story of this team, had the curse for many years won 4 titles in the new millennium and have been pretty good here as well. They still play in the AL East and had a strong 2019 season but got knocked out early.

History

2019 - 107-55 1st
2020 - 89-73 3rd
2021 - 24-21 5th

First Round Picks

2019 - Darren Daulton (28th)

2020 - Lyman Bostock - (15th) - really pulling for him, his career was shortened and life..

Manager

Alex Cora - in his 4th season won the World Series in 2018 (pre this league) but cheating less and his team is winning less now


Leaders

Avg - Dan Driessen (.317) - (Inaugural-5th) - playing much better here than he did in real life

Homers - D'Andre Brown (10) (Fictional free agent) - signed before 2020 season from Scotts Valley, CA been a revelation

RBI's - Scott Schebler (38) (2019-4th)

Stolen Bases - Erick Knipfer (7) (Fictional Free Agent) - also signed before 2020 season out of Londonderry, NH

Wins - Frank Killen (4) (inugural 1st-23rd overall) (pictured) - Cy Young winner in 2019 and also a 2 way player

Strikeouts - Frank Killen - 70

ERA - Frank Killen - 1.76

Saves - Damaso Marte - (8) (Inaugural-12th)

[majormet]

This team was established in 2020 expansion and plays in the NL East. They are owned by Jay-Z and have picked up the following inherited by the Nets. They are in their second season are somewhat competitive already. Yankees and Mets felt it was OK to have teams expand all over the year.

History

2020 - 55-107 - 8th
2021 - 22-23 - 7th

#1 Draft PIcks

2019 - Tommy Clarke/C (31st) - pictured, only hit 6 homer in 8 seasons in real life dead ball era

2020 - Frank Welch/CF (52nd)

Manager - Emmanuel Galicia - 53 year old from Puerto Rico who was a scout over in Puerto Rico most of his life, applied for the job after a wide search and got it


Leaders

Average - Tommy Clarke (.358)
Homers - Tommy Clarke (9)
RBI"s - Frank Welch (36)
Stolen Bases - Rasty Wright (9) (2019-3rd)

Wins - Frank Gabler (4) (2019-10th), surprise later round steal who tossed a no hitter in his rookie season

Strikeouts - Don Henley (49) (Waived by Des Moines Jaguars) - Yes, the Eagles singer. He was very shaky in his rookie season in San Juan and has bounced around the league, not really a Brooklyn type of guy

ERA - Freddie Fitzsimmons (2.54) - (signed as free agent this year, previously with Arizona)

Saves - Charlie Kerfeld (9) (2019-6th) - colorful personality, does not seem like a Brooklyn type either

[majormet]

The story here is that Harvey Weinstein found Jesus in prison and got out and raised money with a bunch of Hollywood execs and founded the team here. Why? Because he was a University of Buffalo graduate. Blue Jays were OK with the move and encouraged the Bisons to be in the AL East.

#1 Draft Picks

2019 - Casey Stengel/CF (40th) - huge rookie season hitting over 60 homers but lost rookie of the year to Chuck Klein. More than just a witty manager I guess (picture)

2020 - Pete Hotaling/CF (3rd) - controversial move, they took the upstate New York kid over Lou Gehrig


Manager - Rich Salvador - 50 year old man from Salt Lake City who sold baseball equipment but has held his job after bad 2nd season, yet in division race in 2021.


Leaders

Average - Jay Clarke (.365) (2019-2nd)

Homers - Casey Stengel - 16

RBI's - Casey Stengel - 42

Stolen Bases - John Radcliff - 7 (2019-6th)

Wins - Bob Buhl (4) - Acquired in trade with Tampa Bay for Mike Davey

Strikeouts - George Knight (47) (2020-2nd) - he is their closer has 47 K's in 16 innings which means 98% of his outs are K's

ERA - David "Pasta" Pastrnak (2.85) (hockey player) - that's right the Bruins goal scorer, he has been consistent in his 3rd year, did fire a no hitter in 2019 vs Utah

Saves - George Knight (9)

[majormet]

Yes baseball is alive in Venezuela. After the Covid virus MLB was looking to make some coin and the city of Caracas has a huge soccer stadium and they pack it for this subpar team. They play in the AL Central and deal with tough crime in ballpark neighborhood. They entered the league in 2021

History

2021 - 9-36 9th

#1 Draft Picks

2020 - Willie Stargell (55th) - so hard to believe Pops will not be wearing black and yellow and he fell this far in the draft


Manager - Steve Burke - 47 year old from Chicago, who was a scout for the Cubs, not much baseball acumen


Leaders

Average - Rich Rollins (.295) - Expansion pick from Utah Saints

Homers - Rich Rollins (13)

RBI's - Rich Rollins (29)

Stolen Bases - Enzo Hernandez (5) - Waiver pickup from Tulsa Rattlers

Wins - Rick Camp (3) - expansion pick from Chicago Cubs, won't hit a 4th of July grand slam I think

Strikeouts - Pete Harnisch (48) - Waiver pickup from Des Moines Jaguars. Been around the league a lot another Long Islander

ERA - Bill Wegman (5.29) - Waiver pickup from Los Angeles Dodgers, also a journeyman

Saves - John Gillespie (2) - Waiver pickup from Los Angeles Angels

Top Star - Benny Agbayani - 6 HR 18 RBI .233 (pictured), it is a bad team when he is your top guy.