Managing the Twins Back to the World Series

[faithful2thecall]

November 1, 2018

• In a move that left me hitting my head against the wall it was so incompetent, GM Terry Ryan replaced LF Andy Dirks on the roster with RHP SP Chris Heston, leaving my bench 1 bat short for the World Series when 4 of the 7 games would be on the road if the series goes the distance.


This is the series that everyone wants to play in—the World Series. It’s a rematch from 1965 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a showdown of the best team from each league in the regular season, the Dodgers have home field advantage.


Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (LF)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Julio Urias (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Aaron Hicks (LF)
Travis Harrison (3B)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Jon Garcia (RF)
Hank Conger (C)
Trevor May (SP)

Anticipation was high as the World Series prepared to get underway with all of the pomp and circumstance at Dodger Stadium. The skies were clear with the wind blowing out to right at 8 MPH. The leadoff hitters are 2 of the best base stealers in all of MLB.

Things didn’t get off to a very encouraging start as Urias struck out the side in the 1st. May responded by striking out Seager and Puig after Gordon failed in his attempt to bunt his way on. Hicks led off the 2nd and hit a fly ball over Pederson’s head and kept running, beating the throw for an inside-the-park home run to open the scoring. The Dodgers got their 1st runner when Grandal grounded a single out of the reach of La Stella. Then Verdugo golfed a 2-2 fastball 378 feet to right to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. May then dug himself a deeper hole by walking Cecchini before Olivera hit a 2-run homer of his own to make it 4-1.

I’d already seen enough of May, so I had Manuel Guzman hit for May to lead off the 3rd but he grounded out. Buxton then sliced a 0-2 changeup 360 feet to right to bring us within 4-2. 3-pitches later, Santana golfed a changeup 385 feet to left-center and it was suddenly a 1 run game. We threatened to do more damage as Hicks and Harrison walked, but La Stella flew out to Pederson to end the inning.

John Curtiss took the mound to start the bottom of the 3rd. He did the job, retiring the heart of the Dodgers lineup in order. Considering my small bench, I let Curtiss hit with 2-out and nobody on in the 4th and he grounded out to Gordon to end the inning. Both pitchers seemed to settle into a grove after that, neither team mounting much of a serious threat.
Urias finally came out of the game after Conger grounded out to leadoff the 7th, after I sent Amaurys Minier up to hit for Curtiss. Evan Scribner came in to relieve Urias. The bullpens continued to do an excellent job shutting down the offenses.

I got desperate enough to send Kennys Vargas to the plate to hit for Conger with 2-out in the 9th and La Stella on 1st. Vargas hit a fly ball that Pederson was able to reel in just shy of the warning track in center to end the game. Combined the 2 teams only managed 11 hits as the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the series.


Minnesota 3 at Los Angeles Dodgers 4

WP: Julio Urias (3-1), LP: Trevor May (0-2), SV: Yimi Garcia (4)
HR: MN-Aaron Hicks (2), Byron Buxton (3), Danny Santana (1), LAD-Alex Verdugo (2), Hector Olivera (1)
POTG: Julio Urias, with 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. On a day with no outstanding offensive performances it’s a decision that makes sense.



November 2, 2018

Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (LF)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Zack Greinke (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Travis Harrison (3B)
Aaron Hicks (LF)
Jon Garcia (RF)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Hank Conger (C)
Jose Berrios (SP)

The pressure is on with us trailing a series for the 1st time this postseason. The skies are clear with the wind blowing out to center at 7 MPH.

Greinke got out of the 1st only allowing a 2-out walk to Mauer, though Harrison sent Pederson nearly to the track to end the inning. Berrios answered by retiring the side in order on 2 grounders and a can of corn to Buxton in the bottom of the inning. Neither team had a hit until Santana lined a 2-out single to left in the 3rd as Berrios and Greinke dominated early. Greinke was actually the Dodgers’ 1st base runner when he grounded a 2-out single to right in the bottom of the inning.

Neither team could get anything going at the plate into the late innings. Neither team had a runner in scoring position until Puig reached 2nd on a 2-out single by Grandal in the 7th. Verdugo then walked to load the bases, but Cecchini grounded out harmlessly to La Stella to end the inning. Even putting the ball in play had been a problem, as Berrios and Greinke combined for 17 strikeouts through 7 innings.

With 1 out in the 8th I sent Amaurys Minier to the plate for Berrios, and the Dodgers responded by bringing in Kenley Jansen as part of a double switch, with Verdugo coming out of the game and Johan Mieses taking left field and hitting 9th. When we went down in order, I brought in Nick Burdi. Mieses didn’t even get to hit though as the Dodgers pinch-hit Mark Trumbo for him and struck out for the 2nd out.

We finally put a rally together with 2-out in the 9th as Harrison and Hicks singled to put runners on the corners with Garcia scheduled to hit. With Garcia 1-for-16 in the postseason I made a bold move and brought in Manuel Guzman to pinch-hit. Guzman flew out to Trumbo in left to end the inning. At the end of 9 innings, the 2 teams had combined for 7 hits.
Yimi Garcia in his 2nd inning of work dug himself a hole in the 10th walking La Stella and Conger to leadoff the inning. That brought Evan Scribner into the game. With Burdi scheduled to hit, I called on Brian Navarreto. Navarreto got a successful sacrifice down to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd. The Dodgers responded by intentionally walking Buxton to set up the possibility of a double play. Santana laced a line drive between Seager and the line for a 2-run double to open the scoring. Mauer and Harrison didn’t bring any insurance runs in and I had to send Michael Tonkin to the mound with a 2 run lead.

Grandal grounded out harmlessly unassisted to Mauer to leadoff the inning. Carlos Gomez grounded a single up the middle, with Tonkin getting injured (shoulder inflammation, 3 months) on the play. Having already used Burdi, I brought in Lester Oliveros to try to close it out. I swallowed hard when Cecchini flew out to near the warning track for the 2nd out. Olivera caught a break when he grounded to Mauer but Oliveros dropped the flip and everybody was safe, bringing the potential winning run to the plate. Wth Scribner scheduled to hit, the Dodgers called on Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Oliveros clipped him with a 1-1 slider to load the bases for Gordon. Oliveros froze Gordon on a 2-2 changeup to end the game and even the series at 1-1.


Minnesota 2 at Los Angeles Dodgers 0 (10 innings)

WP: Nick Burdi (1-0), LP: Yimi Garcia (0-1), SV: Lester Oliveros (1)
HR: MN-None, LAD-None
POTG: Jose Berrios who pitched 7 shutout innings, surrendering only 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8 on 95 pitches.



November 3, 2018

Off Day

[faithful2thecall]

November 4, 2018

• With Michael Tonkin out injured, GM Terry Ryan made me want to bang my head against the wall again by replacing him on the roster with C Chris Herrmann.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (DH)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Mark Trumbo (LF)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Clayton Kershaw (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Kennys Vargas (DH)
Travis Harrison (LF)
Aaron Hicks (RF)
Hank Conger (C)
Amaurys Minier (3B)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Yorman Landa (SP)


We’ve at least temporarily stolen home field advantage as a sweep at home would mean that we’re the World Champions. It’s going to be a tall order to keep it however, as Kershaw hasn’t given up a run in 24 innings this postseason, allowing only 8 hits and 2 walks. With runs likely to be at a premium and Jon Garcia struggling mightily, I decided to shake things up a bit and start Minier at 3rd and move Harrison out to left, shifting Hicks back to his normal right field which will give me a stronger defense. The skies are partly cloudy with the wind blowing out to right at 12 MPH.

The game got off to a rather ugly looking beginning as Gordon and Seager singled and Puig walked on 4 pitches to load the bases with nobody out. After a trip to the mound, Landa got Pederson to chase a 2-2 fastball at the knees. Grandal popped up to Minier on the 11th pitch of his at bat with the infield fly rule in effect. Verdugo then chased a 2-2 sinker down by his ankles to squander a golden opportunity to score.

It looked like we were going to go quietly as Buxton grounded out and Santana flew out to the warning track in center, but Mauer chopped a single to right and Vargas reached on an infield single to start a mini-threat. On a 3-2 curveball, Harrison managed to ground a seeing-eye RBI single to left for the 1st run scored off of Kershaw in the postseason. Hicks followed by dumping the 11th pitch of his at bat into left for a RBI single to double our lead. Conger struck out to finally end the inning.

The 2nd inning started much like the 1st, with Cecchini and Trumbo lining singles to start the inning. Another mound visit was followed by Olivera striking out. Gordon then grounded into a 4-6 fielder’s choice that left runners on the corners with 2 out. Seager then chased a 1-2 sinker out of the zone low to squander another threat.

Vargas hit a 1-out double in the 3rd, which Harrison followed by lining a single to short center. I figured I needed to get aggressive since I’m not likely to get too many chances to score against Kershaw, so I sent Vargas and he slid in under the tag to make it 3-0 with Harrison taking 2nd on the throw. A pair of groundouts from Hicks and Conger ended the inning.
Landa hurt himself in the 5th throwing the ball away on a 1-out grounded by Gordon. Seager then promptly lined a RBI double into the left-centerfield gap to put the Dodgers on the board. With all the deep counts Landa had been working that was enough for me to start having Lewis Thorpe loosen up in the bullpen. Puig and Pederson both flew out to Hicks to escape further damage.

After 95 pitches in 5 innings Landa was done, and in came Thorpe with our fans holding their collective breath since Thorpe took the mound with a 7.36 ERA in the postseason. Thorpe made me look smart to start as the Dodgers went down in order on a pair of grounders to Santana and a strikeout. Kershaw was also done after 5 innings and 109 pitches, with Tyler Skaggs coming into the game.

We tried to manufacture a rally in the 7th, as the slumping Buxton bunted for a 1-out single and stole 2nd. Mauer then picked up Santana, who had grounded out to Cecchini, by grounding a RBI single to right to make it 4-1. Thorpe continued to mow through the Dodgers lineup, surrendering only a 2-out infield single to Grandal in the 8th in 3 innings of relief.

Harrison and Hicks singled to leadoff the 8th as we sought to put the game out of reach. Then I had Conger, who hadn’t done much at the plate, drop down a sacrifice to move the runners over. Minier struck out though, leaving things up to La Stella. La Stella struck out on 3 pitches to squander a chance to put the game away.

With Michael Tonkin’s injury, that meant Nick Burdi reassumed the closer’s role. With the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup due up the fans were optimistic. Nerves started to build as Cecchini worked a leadoff walk, and after Trumbo struck out, Olivera singled to right to put runners on the corners and bring up Gordon as the potential tying run. Gordon walked on 4 pitches to bring Seager to the plate as the potential go-ahead run. Even after a mound visit, Seager ripped a 2-run double off the left-centerfield wall to bring the Dodgers within 4-3. Puig then picked up a RBI infield single to tie the game. Pederson struck out, but Grandal walked to load the bases. Verdugo then lined a 2-run single to left to give the Dodgers the lead. Cecchini then grounded a RBI single up the middle to put the game away. Trumbo then rubbed salt in the wound with a 3-run homer to straightaway center. Things then got ugly as Olivera took exception to being hit by a pitch and charged the mound, sending both him and Burdi to the showers. And with our 9th inning choke job, the Dodgers reclaimed home field advantage and took a 2-1 lead in the series.


Los Angeles Dodgers 10 at Minnesota 4

WP: Kenley Jansen (2-0), LP: Nick Burdi (1-1)
HR: LAD-Mark Trumbo (2), MN-None
POTG: Yorman Landa, who delivered 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K in a big game. Unfortunately my bullpen let me down yet again.



November 5, 2018

Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (DH)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Mark Trumbo (LF)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Jordan Zimmerman (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Kennys Vargas (DH)
Travis Harrison (3B)
Aaron Hicks (LF)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Hank Conger (C)
Jon Garcia (RF)
Chris Heston (SP)


We now face the uneviable position of needing to win 3 out of 4 games against the team that had the best regular season record in MLB. The question is how will we respond to yesterday’s collapse? On the mound are a pair of starters who have been off the roster for a round in the playoffs, but who have pitched well in their limited appearances. The skies are partly cloudy with the wind blowing out to right at 12 MPH.

A pair of close plays helped Heston pitch a quiet 1st, as Gordon ended up having words with the umpire after being called out on a grounded to La Stella, and Seager was thrown out trying to steal 2nd after singling to right. We manufactured a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the inning as Buxton lined a single to right, stole 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on a groundout by Santana. Unfortunately, Mauer swung through a 2-2 fastball and Vargas squibbed a grounder back to Zimmerman to squander the threat.

After Heston coaxed Trumbo to fly out to Hicks to escape a runners at the corners with 2-out situation in the top of the 2nd, we immediately went to work in the bottom half as Harrison doubled over Trumbo’s head to leadoff and Hicks grounded a RBI single to right to open the scoring. A run-and-hit single from La Stella put runners on the corners, allowing Conger to pick up a RBI groundout to Olivera to make it 2-0. Garcia and Buxton then struck out to end the inning.

The Dodgers responded with singles from Olivera and Gordon to start the 3rd, and after a pair of fly ball outs, Pederson grounded a RBI single to left to put the Dodgers on the board and make it 2-1. Grandal grounded back to Heston to end the inning. A 1-out single by Mauer and a double by Vargas gave us a chance to respond in the bottom of the inning, and we did when Hicks lined a RBI single to right after Harrison flew out to make it 3-1. La Stella struck out to end the inning and keep us from doing more damage.

Buxton added a 2-out solo homer in the 4th on a 1-1 fastball he hit 397 feet to center to make it 4-1 and send Zimmerman to an early shower, as Hyun-Jin Ryu came in from the bullpen for his 1st postseason action. We weren’t done as a Santana walk and a flared single to center by Mauer kept the inning alive for Vargas, who hammered a 0-2 hanging slider 434 feet to center to blow the game open at 7-1 and brought Max Scherzer in from the bullpen. Harrison greeted him by going with a 3-1 fastball low and away and hitting it 359 feet into the right field seats for back-to-back homers before Hicks struck out on a pitch in the dirt to end the onslaught.

Gordon tried to rejuvenate the Dodgers by creating a little chaos on the bases, stealing 2nd and 3rd and scoring on a throwing error by Conger after he singled to lead off the 5th. With the Dodgers working a lot of deep counts like we do, I had lifted Heston after 5 innings and 93 pitches, bringing in Ryan Buchter to face the primarily left-handed Dodger lineup. Buchter’s wildness bit him as a pair of walks in the 6th allowed the Dodgers to get a run. Pederson added another in the 7th, taking a 1-2 hanging slider from a tiring Buchter 423 feet to center to make it 8-4.

Jake Reed and Simon Castro restored order over the last 2 innings to even the World Series at 2-2 and make it a best-out-of-3.


Los Angeles Dodgers 4 at Minnesota 8

WP: Chris Heston (2-0), LP: Jordan Zimmerman (1-1)
HR: LAD-Joc Pederson (3), MN-Byron Buxton (4), Kennys Vargas (3), Travis Harrison (2)
POTG: Aaron Hicks, 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run. Personally, I’d have probably gone with Vargas who was 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 1 run (6 total bases to Hicks’ 3). It’s not the most outlandish decision they’ve made though.



November 6, 2018

Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (DH)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Mark Trumbo (LF)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Julio Urias (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Kennys Vargas (DH)
Travis Harrison (LF)
Aaron Hicks (RF)
Hank Conger (C)
Amaurys Minier (3B)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Trevor May (SP)


The 5th game is pivotal, as the loser of this game would have to win both games in Los Angeles to win the World Series. It’s May and Urias in a rematch of Game 1. With Jon Garcia hitting .050 in the postseason, I benched him in favor of Minier and shifted my defense accordingly again. For the last game to be played at Target Field this season the skies were clear with the wind blowing out to right at 11 MPH.

May got off to a quick start, retiring the side in order on a pair of strikeouts and a liner to Minier in the 1st. We got on the board quickly in the bottom of the inning when Buxton doubled off the wall in straightaway center, stole 3rd, and scored on a groundout to Olivera by Santana.

1-out Singles by Conger and La Stella sandwiched a walk to Minier to load the bases for Buxton in the 2nd. Buxton then walked on 5 pitches to make it 2-0. After Santana struck out, Urias had a 1st pitch fastball to Mauer stick to his fingers a little too well and bounced in the right-hand batter’s box and to the backstop allowing all the runners to move up, with Minier scoring to make it 3-0. Mauer then hit a can of corn to Pederson to end the inning. May made up for his mistake of walking Cecchini to lead off the 3rd by doing a fantastic job of getting off the mound on a sacrifice attempt by Trumbo, and turned it into a 1-6-3 double play.

Both starters seemed to settle into a grove after that. When Trumbo grounded a leadoff single up the middle in the 6th that was the 1st hit of the game for the Dodgers. The Dodgers went to the bullpen with 2 out in the 6th to bring in Pedro Baez with runners on the corners after singles by Harrison and Conger that alternated with strikeouts by Hicks and Minier. Seager then bobbled a routine fielding play to allow an unearned run to score and make it 4-0. Buxton grounded into a fielder’s choice to Olivera practically standing on 2nd.

May continued to cruise along, though I did have help warming up behind him to start the inning in case he needed it in both the 8th and the 9th. Puig did line a 2-out double into the left field corner in the 9th, but Pederson followed by grounding out unassisted to Mauer to complete the 3-hitter and send us back to Los Angeles 1 win away from becoming World Champions.


Los Angeles Dodgers 0 at Minnesota 4

WP: Trevor May (1-2), LP: Julio Urias (3-2)
HR: LAD-None, MN-None
POTG: Trevor May. Could it be anybody else? 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 116 pitches



November 7, 2018

Off Day

[faithful2thecall]

So sorry, I forgot I hadn't posted this yet.


November 8, 2018

Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Gordon (SS)
Corey Seager (1B)
Yasiel Puig (RF)
Joc Pederson (CF)
Yasmani Grandal (C)
Alex Verdugo (LF)
Garin Cecchini (3B)
Hector Olivera (2B)
Zack Greinke (SP)

Minnesota
Byron Buxton (CF)
Danny Santana (SS)
Joe Mauer (1B)
Travis Harrison (LF)
Aaron Hicks (RF)
Amaurys Minier (3B)
Tommy La Stella (2B)
Hank Conger (C)
Jose Berrios (SP)


It’s a rematch of Game 2 between Berrios and Greinke. The skies are partly cloudy with the wind blowing out to center at 8 MPH.

Greinke made us look bad in the 1st as Buxton popped up and Santana and Mauer both struck out. Berrios was a bit wild, but only gave up a 2-out single to Puig in the bottom of the inning. Harrison made sure this game wasn’t going scoreless into extra innings, as he got the bat around on a 3-2 fastball and hammered it 403 feet to right-center for a leadoff homer in the 2nd to open the scoring.

After the Harrison homer both starters settled into a groove and the anticipated pitcher’s duel kicked into high gear. Minier’s 1st hit of the postseason was a leadoff double in the 5th and, after La Stella flew out, Conger grounded a RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0. Berrios seemed to be cruising through the bottom of the inning, but then Olivera lined a 2-out double into the right field corner and Greinke caught a break when the outfielders miscommunicated and nobody caught his routine fly ball, turning it into a RBI single to put the Dodgers on the board and make it 2-1.

Harrison was eating Greinke’s pitches for breakfast, ripping a 3-2 fastball down and in 377 feet to left for his 2nd homer of the day with 2 out in the 6th, and his other at bat had been a warning track flyout.

With 2-out and La Stella on 2nd after a double in the 7th, I called on Chris Herrmann to hit for Berrios, who had thrown 98 pitches in 6 innings. Herrmann was rung up on a check swing for Greinke’s 10th strikeout of the day to end the inning. I then gave the ball to Simon Castro to start the bottom of the inning. Verdugo, Cecchini, and Olivera greeted Castro by lining singles to right to start the inning by loading the bases with nobody out. Mark Trumbo was then called upon to hit for Greinke. Trumbo squibbed a grounder back to Castro, who flipped the ball to Conger to force the lead run at the plate. Gordon then popped out on a 3-2 pitch to Santana with the infield fly rule in effect. That left it up to Seager. Castro walked Seager on 5 pitches to force in a run to make it 3-2 and bring Puig to the plate. Puig lined a 0-2 fastball right to Mauer to end the inning.

Kenley Jansen greeted us in the 8th, not having been scored on in 9 postseason innings. Jansen easily retired the side in order. I’d seen enough of Castro and brought in Lester Oliveros to pitch the bottom of the inning. The side went down in order easily in the bottom of the inning, sending the game to the 9th with us clinging to a 3-2 lead, only 3 outs from becoming World Champions.

Yimi Garcia was brought in to try to keep it a 1-run game, and faced a tall opening assignment in Harrison. Harrison lined a 2-2 sinker at the knees into the left field corner for a leadoff double. We didn’t do anything after that, as Hicks and Minier struck out and La Stella grounded harmlessly to Olivera to end the inning.

Despite what happened in Game 3, Burdi was the man in the 9th for most of the season while Michael Tonkin was injured, so I went with him again in the 9th in the most important game of the season. Due up was the bottom 3rd of the Dodgers lineup: Cecchini, Olivera, and Justin Turner (with Garcia taking Seager’s spot in the lineup on a double switch). Cecchini walked on a 3-2 fastball that Conger had to leap to catch to lead off the inning. Olivera grounded a 2-1 slider to Minier, who fired to 2nd for the force, and Olivera’s hustle kept him from being doubled up.

“Justin Turner stepping in now to face Burdi. Turner hasn’t seen much time here in the postseason, entering the game today 0-for-9 in the postseason. Burdi goes into the stretch, checks on Olivera and the pitch…Turner swings at the fastball and hits a double play grounder to La Stella…he flips to Santana for 1…on to Mauer…AND THE TWINS HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES!!! THE MINNESOTA TWINS ARE BASEBALL’S WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!”


Minnesota 3 at Los Angeles Dodgers 2

WP: Jose Berrios (3-0), LP: Zack Greinke (0-1), SV: Nick Burdi (1)
HR: MN-Travis Harrison 2 (4), LAD-None
POTG: Travis Harrison, 3-for-4, 2 solo homers, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 10 total bases. Both Harrison and Berrios (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) were worthy today.


World Series MVP: Travis Harrison, .542 BA, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R


With the dynasty objective fulfilled, I decided to play ahead to see who won the various awards. The day after the World Series ended, Jim Pohlad sold the team to business entrepreneur Josh Wampler. The new owner promptly awarded me with a 4-year contract at $950,000 per season. GM Terry Ryan decided to retire on top.

Even before hiring a new GM, the new owner made moves to secure a number of our important players, re-signing 2B Tommy La Stella (4 years, $20.68 million), and CF Byron Buxton (1-year, $7.3 million), RHP SP Jose Berrios (1-year, $4.4 million), SS Danny Santana (1-year, $4.72 million), RHP RP Lester Oliveros (1-year, $890,000), RHP CL Michael Tonkin (1-year, $870,000), 1B/DH Kennys Vargas (4-year, $35 million), and RHP RP Nick Burdi (1-year, $900,000) to new contracts.

Gold Glove: Johnny Cueto (Oakland), Yan Gomes (Cleveland), Jake Bauers (Tampa Bay), Kolten Wong (New York Yankees), Manny Machado (Baltimore), Carlos Correa (Houston), J. D. Martinez (Detroit), Byron Buxton (Minnesota), Kyle Parker (New York Yankees), Patrick Corban (Arizona), Reese McGuire (Pittsburgh), Rangel Ravelo (New York Mets), Javier Baez (Chicago Cubs), Maikel Franco (Philadelphia), Nick Gordon (Los Angeles Dodgers), Christian Yelich (Miami), Michael A. Taylor (Washington), and Jason Heyward (St. Louis)

Reliever of the Year: Ben Rowen (Cleveland) beat out Tommy Kahnle (Seattle) and Shae Simmons (Houston) in the AL. Neil Ramirez (Chicago Cubs) beat out Yimi Garcia (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Kelvin Herrera (Atlanta) in the NL.

Silver Sluggers: Oscar Hernandez (Tampa Bay), Tyler Austin (New York Yankees), Rougned Odor (Texas), Joey Gallo (Texas), Carlos Correa (Houston), Ryan Rua (Texas), Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels), Nomar Mazara (Texas), Prince Fielder (Texas), Zack Greinke (Los Angeles Dodgers), Kyle Schwarber (Chicago Cubs), Greg Bird (Colorado), Forrest Wall (Colorado), Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs), Addison Russell (Chicago Cubs), Andrew Lambo (Philadelphia), David Dahl (Colorado), and Bryce Harper (Washington)

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Guzman (Texas) beat out Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) and Jake Bauers (Tampa Bay) in the AL. Josh E. Bell (Pittsburgh) beat out Travis Maezes (Pittsburgh) and Jakson Reetz (Colorado) in the NL.

Manager of the Year: In no real surprise, I was named AL Manager of the Year. Tony Pena Sr. (St. Louis) won the NL Manager of the Year.

Cy Young: As expected Kyle Crockett (Cleveland) won, beating out Ben Rowen (Cleveland) and Phil Hughes (Minnesota) in the AL. Julio Urias (Los Angeles Dodgers) beat out Michael Wacha (St. Louis) and Zack Greinke (Los Angeles Dodgers) in the NL.

MVP: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) beat out Kyle Crockett (Cleveland) and Rougned Odor (Texas) in the AL. Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) beat out Bryce Harper (Washington) and Julio Urias (Los Angeles Dodgers) in the NL.


4 seasons, 322-326, .497, 1 playoff appearance, 1 World Series championship