Hustling in the World Baseball Federation

[Powderguy]

Well, here I am again. I'm about to start another dynasty and while the Baseball History (1871 and counting) league isn't anywhere near dead. I just haven't gotten around to it recently, expect updates in the coming weeks.

So, onto the premise of this new OOTP9 dynasty. IT WILL START IN the YEAR 1945. It's a 16 team league called the World Baseball Federation (WBF) divided into a Western Hemisphere League(WHL)and an Eastern Hemisphere League (EHL) with 8 teams in each. The WHL will consist of 8 US teams and the EHL will have 8 international teams.

WHL

New York Stars
Chicago Spikes
Philadelphia Navigators
Detroit Blasters
Los Angeles Avengers
Baltimore Hustlers
St. Louis Blues
Cleveland Rockers

EHL
London Rampage
Tokyo Express
Paris Royales
Shanghai Dynamo
Moscow Red Storm
Calcutta Rebels
Cairo Heat
Madrid Stallions


I will be managing the Baltimore Hustlers and guiding the team through the upcoming years starting with the Inaugural Draft. Currently, I am 5 games into the season so I will recap the draft, preview the positions, and cover some of the rest of the league.

[Powderguy]

January 2, 1945

As I walked into our so-called "draft room" we had established, I was eager to find out where we would be picking. Would we have the top pick? How about 2nd? 3rd? 4th? So, I strolled over to our scouting director Lucio Araujo, a middle aged man from Mexico who has seen some of the greats come through amateur ball.

I asked him, "Lucio, where are we going to be picking in this draft"?

He responded with the most terrible worlds ever, "We have the 16th pick Mr. First".

"Well, there is one positive to this. We do get 2 picks in a row. Then we have the longest wait ever. Alright Lucio, tell everyone to be ready. I want everything to go smoothly today".

As I took my seat at the Hustlers draft table, I could feel the excitement in the air. WBF Commissioner Jim Jones was getting ready to announce the first pick, which belonged to the Tokyo Express.

Jones had the card in hand and walked up to the podium and spoke through the mic, "With the first pick in the 1945 World Baseball Federation Inaugural Draft, the Tokyo Express select Manuel Zaragoza, second basemen out of Tlaxcala, Mexico."

I was thinking to myself, "Are you serious? They took an 18 year old with the first pick. Although he can play every infield position and is superior at each. If you ask me, taking such a young player this early is very risky."

Eventually after sitting through 14 more picks, we arrived at our team's selection. To my amazement, the guy we had scouted heavily, Joe Mountford, was still available. I had watched this guy play a couple of games for his country and he amazed the hell outta me with his ability to hit the ball. He is a very polished 22 year old player that understands the game very well.

Our team reps turned the card over to the Commissioner and he stepped up to the podium. A smile spread across my face as he read, "With the final pick in the 1st round in the 1945 World Baseball Federation Inaugural Draft, the Baltimore Hustlers select Joe Mountford, shortstop out of Manchester, England."

I'll run down the whole draft in the next post and introduce the players of the team.

[Powderguy]

Antonio Hernandez, C (12th round, 177th overall)
The 22 year old backstop out of Sagua la Grande, Cuba has an above average eye and can make regular contact with the ball. Like mostly all catchers, Hernandez is slower than molasses dripping out of a tree on a hot summer day.



Tim Leach, C (35th round, 560th overall)
Drafted by his hometown city of Baltimore, the 26 year old Leach won't win any awards for his sub-par defense behind the plate. His bat is a little below average at best, that's even a stretch.



Emanuele Martinella, 1B (10th round, 145th overall)
The 23 year old out of Buenos Aires, Argentina has some of the greatest power in the Federation. Many people feel picking Martinella with this late of a pick was one of the biggest steals of the whole draft. Only time will tell if that remains to be true. There is no doubting this kid could be a key cog in the Hustlers offense for many years to come.



Jean-Sebastien Daoust, 1B (11th round, 176th overall)
The 35 year old veteran of Canada was drafted to mentor Martinella and also for key pinch-hitting situations as he has above average power as well, but that's about it.



Alphonse Masolino, 1B (23rd round, 368th overall)
The 20 year old from the boot shaped country of Italy will likely ride the bench all year. There is some potential for him to develop in the future.



Enrique Gallegos, 2B (6th round, 81st overall)
Wow, let's thank god for the country of Cuba because they produce some of the top baseball talent in the game. Gallegos is no exception as he has superior speed, makes great contact, and hardly strikes out.



Mohanakrishnan Laddha, Utility (31st round, 496th overall)
The 24 year old from India makes the roster because he can play first, second, third, and short, all with good skill as well.



Ricardo Aguilar, 3B/1B (3rd round, 48th overall)
Another youngster with immense talent from another island. 23 year old Ricardo Aguilar hails from Puerto Rico and he has the potential to be a star for many years to come.



Ramon Antonio, 3B (33rd round, 528th overall)
The Hustlers don't have many players over 30, but Antonio is one of them. The 33 year old Dominican is an average player with no speed.



Joe Mountford, SS (1st round, 16th overall)
Face of the Franchise, that's what fans are already calling the 22 year old Englishman even though he hasn't played a single game for the club. As long as you don't need a super defensive play, than Mountford is on it. He can rake the ball with the best of them, bunt in clutch situations, and has the speed to steal a base with the game on the line.



Alfredo Contreras, SS (28th round, 433rd overall)
Average defense and an average bat is about all you will get from the 33 year old Mexican.

[Powderguy]

William Lynn (18th round, 273rd overall)
A polished player who is unfortunate to be behind better talent at the outfield position. The 26 year old Aruban is a good contact hitter, but has below average speed.



Alexandre Fortin (5th round, 80th overall)
The 25 year old Quebec, Canada native can play both the corner outfield positions very well. In addition, Fortin has a very good bat and can run the basepaths with ease.



Julio Medina (22nd round, 337th overall)
One of the few men on the team with gray in the beard, Medina is a 30 year old Colombia with good contact and speed.



Trey Arbuckle (8th round, 113th overall)
A decent bat, but super defense is what you will get from this 27 year old native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.



Juan Costellanos (29th round, 464th overall)
Once again, good corner outfielder and a decent bat. The 38 year old Argentinian will likely not come back after his 2 year contract is up.



Vaughn Richards (9th round, 144th overall)
The 27 year old from Hallandale Beach, Florida possesses outstanding power to the gaps and doesn't strike out much.

[Powderguy]

Enrique Acevado, SP (2nd round, 17th overall)
Acevado is drafted to be the ace of the pitching staff. The 24 year old Puerto Rican has been described by scouts as a "projected stud with unhittable stuff".



Robert Manzei, SP (4th round, 49th overall)
The 25 year old Russian isn't an overpowering pitcher. According to scouts, he knows how to pitch under pressure and gets the job done.



Li-xue Hung, SP (7th round, 112th overall)
Hung is a consistent pitcher who has some room to develop into a more rounded pitcher.



Fernando Marino, SP (16th round, 241st overall)
He's Cuban. He's 24. I liked his potential. That's why I drafted him.



Kisho Ando, MR/SP (39th round, 624th overall)
I took the 34 year old Japanese starter/reliever because I need some sort of long reliever and he was available. He is also a lefty for the bullpen.



Fook Deng, MR (15th round, 240th overall)
Deng is a below-average reliever at best.



Kien-lung Quan, MR (13th round, 208th overall)
Another Chinese man in the bullpen. The 26 year old Quan will be our man trying to finish off games late if the starters can't get the job done.

[Powderguy]

We went, hell, I don't even remember what our record was in spring training because it's not that important anyways.

In other news, Joe Mountford was signed to a 3 year, $227,190 extension. He had 1 year on his current deal.

[Powderguy]

"Opening Day, where both team's star pitchers square off. When runs are at a premium. When you get to start the season off on the right foot. It was finally here, our first game after months of going through drills building up to this one moment".

-Enrique Acevado went out and dominated the LA Avengers on Opening Day as he went 9 innings and after allowing 2 hits and a run in the first, settled down and allowed 1 hit the final 8 frames. His 2nd effort left alot to be desired as he struggled through 5 innings and the statline wasn't pretty: 9 H, 8 ER, 6 BB, 131 PI

-Joe "Face of the Franchise" Mountford had a solid debut week batting .333 (9-27) picking up 3 2B, 1 3B, HR, 7 RBI. He also displayed a great eye, drawing 5 walks.

-No one in the league though was HOTTER than CF Julio Medina. 13 hits in 30 ABs, good for a .433 average. Then came the 6th game of the year against the Chicago Spikes, Medina went a perfect 5-5, hit for the cycle, and capped off the perfect day with a grand slam in the 8th inning giving him 5 RBI. After a week, Medina has 13 RBI.

-2B Enrique Gallegos had 12 hits in 28 ABs (.427) producing 4 RBI.

-First basemen Emanuele Martinella was hit or miss as he had 2 HRs to go with a .231 average.

-Looking over the pitching staff, PITYFUL. Nobody with an ERA under 5.00 except CL Kien-Lung Quan (2.08). The starters put up a 5.29 ERA, but still managed to grab 3 wins because of the excellent hitting of the offense.

Games 1-7 (5-2 record)

BAL 3 LA 1
BAL 4 LA 6
BAL 5 LA 3
BAL 5 LA 6
BAL 15 CHI 12
BAL 10 CHI 3
BAL 11 CHI 9