Meet Lets_Try

Lets_try is a charter member of Hunter..........who then abandoned us for S8-14 before returning as a prodical son in S15. Since his return he picked up his first WS title in Hunter

Name: John, better known as Johnny boy
Age: 43, married with 2 kids
Job: Professional escort, yes, yes, and I have the luxury to choose only beautiful woman ! COMMISH EDIT: We have a leader in the clubhouse for the best job

Location : Montreal, Canada

Favorite HBD Moment: I guest it would be my only WS here in Hunter. After 2 years with the best record in Hunter, with at the time the Minnesota Explorers, and 2 disappointments, the WS was all the contrary. We made the playoffs on the last day (tied with Atlanta (sorry pfontaine) for the last wild card spot) and it was like destiny at work. Somehow, we just knew it was our year. COMMISH EDIT: I am not a fan of this title, as John knocked out what I considered to be the best Louisville team ever

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: Nope.

Favorite Sports teams: Montreal Canadiens, Boston Red Sox. COMMISH EDIT: Glad to see you like a Boston team just picked the wrong sport, I hear their hockey team is pretty good

Favorite HBD player (which world) : It would be Braden Cox, he was my 1st love with Minnesota. But the current big 3 : Webster, Gonzales and Tomko, with pitcher Paronto, are close behind. Also, I just let go Virgil Kraemer, but he was a big part of my sole WS. I have others in my other worlds, guest I'm addicted. COMMISH EDIT: Figures that Lets is from Montreal as he and Beerman324 are having a menage-et-trois with Mr. Cox, as Cox was listed as Beerman's favorite as well

Oh,oh, I think I had a Homer Simpson moment, I wish I was a professional escort, but I'm a professional accountant. Almost has satisfying !

Meet Shmish0

Shmish0 has been a Hunter owner since S6 and has 1 WS title in the world.

Name: Amish

Age: 28

Job: Accountant

Favorite HBD Moment: Season 15 Hunter Championship. Coming off choking a 3-0 lead in the WS in Season 14, it was pretty satisfyijng to come back and win it the following year. A close 2nd would be the day I signed David Reyes.

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: Jahu, to whom I was introduced by our mutual friend (and former Hunter owner) Wolfhound. Its taken a while but I think I've finally managed to get him to recognize reality - Wendel Kinkade doesn't hold a candle to the great David Reyes. COMMISH EDIT: I will not accept lies, currently I would rather have Reyes but that's only until Kinkade returns from the DL. I met Amish when myself, wolf and a mutual friend Wayett of wolf and Amish took in a Leafs-Bruins game. Amish is a good dude, the 4th (Wayett)............... not so much.


Favorite Sports teams: Toronto Raptors, Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and Indianapolis Colts.

Favorite HBD player (which world) 9 time all-star, Cy Young winner (and robbed of at least 2 more) and still in the prime of his career, the man, the myth the legend ... David Reyes COMMISH EDIT: At last count Kinkade 2 Cy Youngs........Reyes 1 Cy Young (nuff said)

Meet Bjb2378

Bjb is a Charter owner in Hunter & has 3 WS titles in the World. Bjb also has the 2nd most playoff appearances making the playoffs 19 of 20 seasons. (COMMISH EDIT: He may have one more title than me but I do have one more playoff appearance, hurray for hollow victories)


Name: Ben

Age: 34

Job: Attorney

Favorite HBD Moment: First WS title (happened to be in Hunter)

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: djbradford is my Dad. (COMMISH EDIT: This one blew my mind, I haven't been this surpised about about a father-son combination since Darth told Luke he was his father :). The two owners I'm consistently battling with for the top of the AL are related? I can only imagine Christmas dinners where they play rock paper scissors to see who gets to dispose of me each season. Given Djbradford recent run (back to back titles) Bjb is going to have to swith up his pattern)

Favorite Sports teams: All teams Chicago but the Cubs.

Favorite HBD player (which world): Felipe Bournigal (Hunter) - The original face of the Night Demons. (COMMISH EDIT: For those of you who weren't in the league prior to S10, I officially petitioned WIS to have the Hunter Cy Young renamed the Bourigal. Felipe was an 8-Time All-Star and won 6 Cy Youngs. He accomplished all this despite being 29 when the world was created.

Meet Bigalric

Bigalric is a Hunter Rookie (guys please keep the hazing to a minimum), I had played with him for several years in Monument Park & then Stargell & Monument Park.


Name: Richard

Age: 46

Job: lawyer (COMMISH EDIT: Good to have on our side)

Favorite HBD Moment: yet to come

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: no

Favorite Sports teams: Boston Red Sox, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bulls, Montreal Canadiens (COMMISH EDIT: Would love to hear the story behind this electic mix)

Favorite HBD player (which world): A.J. Rollins, best SS in Ryan world, All-Star and Silver Slugger winner

Meet ptwoner

Ptwoner is a first year member of Hunter & had one of the most active FA sprees in recent Hunter memory. Thus far it appears the money has been well spent considering his 34-15 record.

Name: Mike

Age: 40

Job: Manager

Favorite HBD Moment: First Title

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: years. NO

Favorite Sports teams: Bears, Cubs

Favorite HBD player (which world): Harvey Sexson in the Show II (COMMISH EDIT: Given our discussion on good names, this is a solid name for what I presume to be a very good player)

Meet Frazc1

Frazc1 is in his 5th season as a member of Hunter. I originally ran into Frazc1 in Stargell @ Monumnet, where he took over commissionership (3 seasons ago??). It is a good world and he is a strong commissioner if anyone is looking for another world to hang their hat in.

Name:Chris (41)

Job: Self-Employed

HBD Moment: Last year in Stargell: I had the No.2 seed and the best record I have ever had but choked in the playoffs (as usual) to fellow owner and current division rival timf.

Favorite Team: University of Kentucky (Greatest College Basketball Program Ever) 7 National Titles hoping for No. 8 this year. COMMISH EDIT: As I Tarheels fan I would like to refute that claim, I will agree that Ashley Judd is a solid celebrity fan though
Football Team sucks but at least we are in the SEC (Best College Football Conference)

Favorite Player: Rafael Espinosa-Stargell. I got him as an international free agent at age 18 only because ever one else had run out of money. Been part of my ML pitching staff for last 7 years with 100 career wins.

Meet Afatrain

Afatrain is a first year owner in Hunter.

Name: Allen Haley residing in Orlando Florida

Age: 26

Job: Program support Coordinator/ Special Olympics Director for Carlton Palms Educational Center. COMMISH EDIT: Going to be tough to root against Afatrain when he takes a run at divison title.

Favorite HBD Moment: My 1 Division crown, was ages ago I don't even remember which world. Recently decided to come back to HBD. COMMISH EDIT: Going to need to upgrade that favorite moment in Hunter, since the last one left a lasting impression on you :)

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: Nope

Favorite Sports teams: Miami Dolphins, University of Michigan COMMISH EDIT: Must be a sorry behind this combo

Favorite HBD player (which world): Art Ackley, 2nd baseman for the mariachis.

Meet Randyrossrac

Randyrossrac has been a member of Hunter since S8 and the Baja Racers were his first team.

Name: Randy

Age: 52

Home: Torrance California

Job: Industrial tooling sales engineer & professional race car driver. Commish Edit: This is what you call "burying the lead". If anyone asked me what I did and those were my two vocations? Race Car Driver would be the first job I mentioned

Favorite sports teams LA Dodgers LA Lakers

Know anyone in Hunter: I do not know anyone in wis personally

Favorite hbd player: Wascar Lopez in Hunter COMMISH EDIT: I unsuccessfully for years tried to pry Mr. Lopez away from LA

Favorite moment: 1st playoff appearance with L A

Meet Leppykahn

Leppykahn is another charter member of Hunter & the world creater which in some senses would make him the "God of Hunter". Leppy's love for 0 Contact 100 power players eventually drove his "good friend" Radek crazy. Needless to say having Bearclan1 is a much stronger additional.


Name: RJ

Age: 33

Job: Computer Programmer/Database Administrator

Favorite HBD Moment: Probably the time every starting position player made the all-star game.
2nd favorite was a toss up between the NLCS game 7 against Radek where the simulator didn't start the right guy and I had to do it myself (won by 1 run, if I remember correctly)... and the perennial race for 500 HR early in this world. (COMMISH EDIT: The race to 500 HR between Magglio Javier & Lonny Iglesieas was epic, Lonny ended up beating Magglio to the mark by 1 game. Rich Peters became the 3rd man to join the club later the same season)

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: No, I've recruited some people I knew, but they left. Although Diz is in my Dynasty Fantasy Football league.

Favorite Sports teams: Oakland Raiders, As. Also like the Lions, Saints, Diamondbacks, Suns.
Favorite HBD player (which world) Duh, Frank Zhang (Hunter) COMMISH EDIT: He was a pretty good player but a little too injury prone to be a Superstar...........Leppy that was a joke, I can feel your blood raising through the internet.)

Meet Dizzlebob

Dizzlebob is a charter member of Hunter having been on board for all 21 seasons. I would like to take this as an opportunity to thank Dizz for all his work over the years in recuirting posts. It was between myself & Dizz for who would take over as Commish and I have no doubt that Dizz would have done as good as job (probably better).

Age: 43, Married with daughter (Lila, 7)

Job: Graphic Artist, Pittsburgh, PA

Favorite HBD Moment:
Well, I’m usually disappointed with my team so this isn’t an easy question to answer. The Studdabubbas made it to game 7 of the World Series back in S2 and Lost to the Washington Generals—but I don’t feel like I built that team and just kind of went with what I had...and got lucky. But that’s the closest I’ve come to winning anything on this stupid website so it’s tops right now.

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life:
I have been friends with ex-Hunter owner carmandjr for about 20 years but I have never met anyone else.

Favorite Sports teams:
Steelers. I don’t like hockey (COMMISH EDIT: I thought I had made it clear previously as a Canadian I will not stand for digs at hockey) and I never went to a real college so I don’t have any other allegiances. I watch the Pirates sometimes but they don’t really count as a real team. I guess I root for Pitt basketball but I rarely get to watch them. I dream to one day to adopt a local, low division college football team like Robert Morris or Duquesne and try to go to games—but I need to find time and someone to do it with, first.

Favorite HBD player (which world):
Willie Drew (Hunter). He’s a guy I drafted in season 4 and kept for 11 seasons. He easily holds the Studdabubbas homerun (413), RBIs (1,273), and OPS (.959) records. His career batting average was .312. He was named Rookie of the Year in season 6, went to 4 All-Star Games, and even won a HR Derby in Season 11.

Meet Timf

Timf has been an owner in Hunter since S13 taking over for an abandoned franchise. He has been the representative of the weaker league (Yes I am taking a unprovoked shot at the NL) in the World Series the last 3 seasons. He has yet to take home the WS title.


Name: Adam (Commish Edit: See Beerman MTO for explanation of timf username)

Age: 31 recently married but no kids.

Job: Real Estate Agent (Commish Edit: Bought me 2 houses & sold one)

Favorite HBD Moment: Definitely taking over the division title from baldric for the first time. A close second would be going to game 7 of the WS against jahu in Stargell where he ultimately crushed my hopes of a first title by scoring something like 22 runs on my rookie SP. (Commish Edit: Being on the other side of this title it was probably my 3rd or 4th favorite moment, I think the score was 22-4)

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: jahu & beerman. Jahu and I were actually in each others wedding party and we've been friends for nearly 20 years.

Favorite Sports teams: San Fransisco 49ers, Detroit Red Wings and New York Yankees. (Commish Edit: Notice a theme? Good teams in the late 90's not saying bandwagon jumper but.........)

Favorite HBD player (which world) Not sure I can narrow it down to one. Maybe Kent Sisler from Hunter who was my first MVP and should be a HoF'er when he retires.

Meet Beerman324

Beerman324 has been in Hunter since Season 8. Little known fact the 324 in his name refers to his residence room number.

Name: Allan

Age: 29

Job: Logistics Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force

Location: I am from Ottawa (capital of Canada), but I am now stationed in Cold Lake, Alberta (fighter base).

Favourite HBD moment: When I win my first championship.

Do you know any Hunter owners in real life?:

Yes. I know the Commish, Jahu43, and timf. The commish and I went to University together and have known each other since. He is the one that got me into HBD. Timf is a friend of Jahu and I met him through him. Fun fact....tim is not his name. That was the name of the origional owner of that team who the three of us also know. Commissioner Edit: The original Timf was a good friend & is a school teacher he took an abandonded team at the end of Summer vacation, he became frustrasted with reviving a dead pitching staff using "Basic Mode" for roster management and once school started he handed the team over to another friend & current owner. The current Timf stuck with the name (even though his name is Adam) so that he could gain access to the "advanced mode" for roster management a season earlier

Favorite Sports Teams:

Toronto Blue Jays, Calgary Flames, Toronto Raptors, Green Bay Packers (COMMISH EDIT: He is actually a 49ers fan but renounced them just prior to the playoffs last season and jumped on the GB bandwagon)

Favourite HBD player: in Hunter my favourite player was a former player of mine Braden Cox. He was part of my(and existing owner's) franchise until season 16. He was AL ROY in season 3. He is a 6 time All-star, 4 time silver slugger, and was AL MVP is seson 6. He is up for the HOF this year and I'm sure he will make it.
(COMMISH EDIT: This was sent prior to HOF annoucements, at which point it became clear Beerman did not read the blog or world chat)

Meet Hineii

This is Hineii's first season with his current franchise but had previously made a one season cameo in S14. His former team is now Washington DC Quakers. Lets_try "stole" Hineii's old team so Hineii responding by "stealing" his city. Prior to this season the Quakers resided in Philly.

Name: Donald

Age: 33 Married with one son (10) and guardian of nephew (15)

Job: Data Analyst at investment company

Favorite HBD Moment: Obviously its winning a championship I have won 3 (Kaline season 8 Stargell @ Monument Park Season 3 and Hall Of Fame season 13), but I have been to 12 world series. I can get there but for whatever reason I seem to come up short most of the time. Law of Avg says I should be 6/12 but I am 3/12 = .250

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: No

Favorite Sports teams: Philadelphia teams all the way. Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and even the Sixers (don’t tell anyone about the last one ok)

Favorite HBD player (which world) Alex Silva Catcher from my Kaline Team (my first team) he was drafted 18th overall in season 1 (back in 2006) of that world (now in season 22) and was an absolute beast of a player. He just retired at age 42 and had 12 AS, 10 SS, 9 MVP, 3 HR Derby a long with multiple All Time Records in that world….and he helped bring home my first Championship. I like to think that because I was so bad at Sim League Baseball that the WIS gods were smiling on me back in HBD first days and gave me Alex Silva as a gift.

Power Ranks (1-5)

5. Louisville- AL (Previous Rank: 3)

Originally I still had my team sitting in the 3rd spot however an injury to a certain 2-Time Cy Young award winner has a way of bumping a franchise down. Peaches Meredith a very capable replacement & a dude with a great name, has been called up to replace Kinkade but it still represents a considerable down grade. The Sluggers are off to a good start at 8-5


4. Los Angeles- NL (Previous Rank: 4)

The Baja Racers didn’t make any big moves in free agency but have been active in the trade market. Especially with his most recent trade, the deal was a classic help me now for help me later. The Baja Racers picked up Zip Carrol which represents a large upgrade over Corey Gibson today while giving up parts for the future. Z. Carrol joins Rabbit Denny (another great name), V. Martin, & I. Cruz to form a very formidable top 4. The Baja Racers have started strong at 8-5

3. Little Rock- NL (Previous Rank: 5)

As mentioned previously it wasn’t going to take much to move Little Rock up the rankings, while the Renegades lost a lot of quality players to FA they were active in replacing them. Signing two elite arms to the bullpen in P. Onitveros & W. Perez, these signings should ease the lost of R. Santiago. In addition to pitching help Little Rock also picked up E. Johnson to play 3b & T. Montgomery as a versatile fielder. These FA additions and a track record of success give Little Rock the top spot back in the NL. Little Rock is off to a hot start at 9-4

2. San Francisco (Previous Rank: 1)

A couple things combined to drop San Fran from the top spot, limited activity in the FA market & a trade that sent Esteban Fernandez to Pawtucket. While the Night Demons added a strong RP for Fernandez, the reliever won’t contribute in the ML for a season or two. The loss of Fernandez takes some immediate punch out of the line-up. SF did add V. Evans, I am assuming to fill the Fernandez role, it is still a downgrade. All of the above said it is splitting hairs the difference between number 1 and 2. SF is off to an 8-5 start

1. New Britain (Previous Rank: 2)

As stated in the first Power Ranks, I was very hesitant to drop the 2-time defending champs from the first spot. NB only had one major FA signing but the Yorkies did pick-up one of the better RP in Hunter history in Sammy Cruz. That coupled with the SF moves was just enough to nip them back into first place. Their strong record of 10-3 out of the gate certainly doesn’t hurt either

Meet Jbburner

Jbburner is a first year owner in Hunter

Name: JB

Age: 49

Job: Retired Forest Firefighter

Favorite HBD Moment: When I win my first World Series

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: No

Favorite Sports teams: Chicago Cubs, Blackhawks, Bears and Bulls

Favorite HBD player (which world) Andre Sele Cincinatti Firestorm in Pine Tar. Great CF!

Power Ranks- 6-10

Spots five through one to follow later this week

10. Philedephia-NL (Previous Rank: Not Ranked (NR))
Hineii landed the biggest fish in the off-season pool with the
signing of R. Santiago that plus bullpen depth signing M. Speaker was enough to boost the Phillies into the top ten. The previous season as Chicago this franchise almost reached the .500 mark. Adding the best pitcher in Hunter, pushes this team to the playoffs, I had them ranked 10th prior to the season the 7-2 start means I might be pushing them up even further in the future ranks

9. Baltimore-NL (Previous Rank: 10)

The 9th and 10th spots were especially hard to determine it was essentially a game of musical chairs, I had four teams for two spots. Philly grabbed the wooden chair & Baltimore grabbed the chair with the slightly better cushion, leaving Minnesota & Cleveland just out of the top 10. What pushed Baltimore up a spot was the signing of top of the order bat in Trace Manning. After a very slow start Baltimore has won 4 straight and sits at 5-4.

8. Pittsburgh- NL (Previous Rank: 4)

The biggest fall in the updated power rankings are the Stubbabubbas, they fall 4 spots in the rankings and behind 2 other NL teams. While Pittsburgh returned the majority of their hitters from last season they failed to adequately address their hole at SP missing out on the major FA pitchers. They brought C. Johnson back hoping he can re-create some magic & lost another FA SP to a major injury during spring training. This is still a strong squad but the lack of an elite SP limits their upside. Dizz needs to right the ship after a 3-5 start to avoid falling further in the All-Star break update

7. Kansas City-AL (Previous Rank:NR)

No team was busier in the off-season than the Comets, if R. Santiago was the biggest fish in the off-season pond then G. Kerr was the 2nd best catch. Kerr along with Santiago became the first two players in Hunter to receive max deals. In addition to signing an Ace, KC had 4 additional major signings. They added stout defensive C B. Rameriz from their division rival SF, strong RP T. Garland, quality SS M. LaRocca & perhaps one of the more underated signing was adding M. Cheng. While Cheng is getting closer to the end of this career, he would still be a quality SP1 for a number of teams in the league & giving the signing of Kerr he slots in fantastically as an SP2. When you upgrade the top 40% of your rotation it jumps you in to the top 10. In my first rankings I noted only 1 new owner was in the top 10 however after FA that was likely to change. Well it did, ptwoner joins Hineii to double the number of new owners in the top 10 (stazrunner & Minny just slide out). The Comets are off to a 5-3 start & lead the AL West, for long-time Hunter owners it feels odd seeing SF in 2nd, no matter how early it is.

6. Washington- AL (Previous Rank: 9)

Let_trys had a very subtle off-season working with a core of strong players instead of the big FA signing he worked on the edges of FA and improved with roster with minor changes. He picked up quality 2b Birdie Leonard for a song (see what I did there, Birdie……song……great stuff). M. Everett improves his offense from the CF position for a very reasonable price & D. Roth offers a cheap and decently skilled stop-gap at first base. Had the Quakers choose to retain the services of V. Kraemer they would very likely see themselves in the top 5. The Quakers currently find themselves in 2nd place in NL East at 5-4

Meet Tonicawf

This is year 2 of Tonicawf's 2nd go around with Hunter. He left the world for one season & previously managed Omaha for seasons 16-18

Name-Aaron

Age-35 im married and have a three yr old daughter named penelope with special needs

Job- Contractor

Favorite hbd moment- Beating bjb last season in the playoffs. I havent won a div crown yet, though I' ve come in second a bunch of times. thats my goal this season in hunter
.
Know any hunter owners- nope

Fav sports teams- phillies(though my favorite player of all time is Dale Murphy-a brave. go figure), im a huge dolphins fan. i root sixers, but not a huge basketball fan anymore. who cares about hockey. (Commish Note: As a Canadian comments like will not be tolerated :) ) i love the philadelphia union.

My favorite hunter player-Sam Wheeler.

Season 21- HOF Votes

Below is posted in the blog, so that it is not lost after roll-over


Player Frn Votes
Rich Peters BAL 26
Kevin Coleman TRE 20
Erubiel Molina PHI 14
Garrett Biggio ELP 14
Dan Miller CLB 13
Yamid Molina NO 9
Lonny Iglesias COL 8
Braden Cox PAW 7
Andrew Wright COL 6
James Hayashi LV 5
J.P. Mercedes COL 4
Matty Garces NY2 3
Shawn Owen PHI 3
Hipolito Guillen SF 3
Eduardo Gonzalez KC 2
Clark Connelly IA 2
Sammy Moraga NO 1
Pedro Torrealba ELP 1
Glenn McCarty STL 1
Rodrigo Brito RIC 1
J.R. Alston OMA 1
Sherm Norton NB 1
Ben Beamon NO 1
Joe Ogea SF 1

Meet Wizbang 1943

Wizbang is a 3 year owner in Hunter joining the world in Season 19

Name: Luther wisby

Age: 68, married 49yrs, 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 greatgrandchildren

Job: Retired
Location: Manteca, Calif

Favorite HBD Moment: Defeating three 100+ win teams to reach world series(didn't win)

Hunter Owners: Don't know any in real life, that I'm aware of

Favorite Sports Teams: SF 49ers, USC Trojans, Oakland A's, New York Yankees

Favorite HBD Player: Hugh Scott, Memphis Mad Hatters, Satchel Paige

Meet Csherwood

Csherwood is a former Commissioner of Moneyball and is a first year owner in Hunter. I know Csher from Moneyball. I can atest that Csher has alligator blood, staring down the min. win requirement. Csher needed 3 wins in his final 3 games. He ended up sweeping his antagonist Crabman in the final series, to meet the win rule by 1 game. (I was suprised this wasn't his favorite moment) Csherwood is the 2nd owner in his franchise's history. If you can say one thing about Gocubz he was.......committed. As Csher pointed out his franchise has a perfect record when it comes to making the playoffs.


Age: 38, Married, no kids

Job: Attorney in the State of South Jersey (not to be confused with those other two states known as North Jersey and Jersey Shore) -- about to start my own solo practice focusing on bankruptcy and personal injury

My favorite HBD moment: just happened -- winning the World Series in Mays on a 2 run walk-off home run by Louie Blanco. Also, winning both Season 1 and 2 championships in Cooperstown was pretty sweet, especially when I steamrolled through the Season 2 playoffs as the #5 seed with only one postseason loss. (Commish Edit: I still think it should be the epic Money ball run)

Know anyone from Hunter in real-life: No

Favorite teams: Rutgers (my alma mater), all Philadelphia teams, and whoever is playing the Dallas Cowboys. I am also a college basketball junkie.

Favorite HBD player: I have had a lot including the infamous Harry Arrojo from FYC, but right now it is Louie Blanco (for the aforementioned home run) and Jocko Gilmore (2 time defending MVP and winner of last season's Triple Crown), both on my team in May

Meet Dufferman

Duff is an original Hunter Owner, the Baydogs just completed their best season (making a run to the NLCS)

Name: Ed

Age: 54 (married, 1 son)

Job: work for Dept of Army in Chem/Bio Defense

Favorite HBD Moment: When Baltimore BayDogs qualified for the playoffs after 17 seasons of futility

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: no

Favorite Sports teams: Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens

Favorite HBD player (which world) Rich Peters (Hunter) retired with +500 Home Runs (but not in the HoF)

Meet Rockydawg07

Rockydawg has been a Hunter owner since Season 4

Name: Geoff

Age: 51 and reside in Raleigh NC with my wife ,3 dogs and 5 cats. My team here is named after one of my dogs, Marley. a big ole 97 pound hound mix that we saved. Her nickname is The Moose, thus the Cleveland Moosedawgs.

Job: Retail Manager

Favorite HBD Moment:
Season 10 in this world. My team was 84-78 and just made the wild card. We had a wicked hot streak near the end of the season.Then went 1-9 over the last 10 to barely hang onto the wild card. First round playoff we swept the powerful Blasters from Colorado. Then crushed the 114 win team from NY and owned by the worlds most lovable owner Radek. Then my team of youngsters and old castoffs made it to the world series and got our butts handed to us by some team owned by a canuck. I did not even know they had the internet up there! But this team had a miricle season

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life:
Since I have started this game I only have imaginary friends.

Favorite Sports teams:
Was born outside of Cleveland so I have been a long time suffering Tribe fan. But many great memories of the old stadium. I remember listening to the 10 cent beer night on the radio, They played the Rangers that night.

Favorite HBD player (which world
Favorite player is Tony Blair in addicted users world. A incredible pitcher who is still going strong at 39.I almost lost him to free agency, but signed him to a max contract and never let him go. I think he could pitch into his early 40's. We have also become pretty good friends outside of HBD and may go into business together when he retires from the team, My wife does not like him...I think she is jealous.

Meet jceffali

Jceffali is a first year owner in Hunter & is one of my leaguemates in Moneyball

Name: Johnny

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Married with 3 boys.

Job: Bond Analyst by day. Manager of a very good 10 & under travel baseball team on evenings and weekends.

I don't know any Hunter owners.

Favorite Sports Teams: Chicago White Sox, Notre Dame (I live in NY but grew up in the Midwest.)

Favorite HBD Moment: Winning two straight World Series (my only two so far) with the Las Vegas Dealers in the Jersey League

Favorite Player: Max White, starting pitcher, Jersey League. My first high draft pick when I finally started to understand the game! Drafted out of high school at age 18, he's now a 32 year old veteran, still on my team, with 150 wins and a sub-3 ERA and 1 Cy Young. He never had the durability to go more than 175 IP a year otherwise he'd have 200 wins by now, but he's still my boy!

Meet Greeny9

Name: Mike

Age: 39

Job: Farm manager

Favorite HBD Moment: winning the world series last season in Yaz would have to be it

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: nobody in hunter

Favorite Sports teams: It used to be the Leafs, but now I dont care for them anymore after so many years of not making the playoffs, and not really trying to make them either...
Favorite HBD player (which world) SP Alex Ortiz over in Yastrzemski, this guy is just plain ole raking, he nearly won the world series all by him self! his record is 114-27, .211 oav, 1.10 whip and 2.57 ERA. and all this in a perfectly neutral park. No pitchers park for him... I can only imagine what his numbers would be like in Burlington or something!

Meet Pfontaine

Prefontaine is an original member of Hunter & a persistent thorn in the side of the Louisville Sluggers.

Name: Paul

Age: 40 (married-2 kids)

Job: VP of Accounting for private equity company in Atlanta.

Favorite HBD Moment: I guess it has to be my one and only title in Erffdog. Two seasons before i had fallen behind in the ALCS 0-3 and came back to win. Then in the WS, I fell behind 0-3 and came back to tie. I lost Game 7 in extra innings on a play at the plate where my guy was tagged out as the tying run. So that title 2 seasons later washed the sting away. But that was one hell of a ride.

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: Unfortunately, no. Would love to have a beer with my longtime rival Jahu sometime. He usually beats me, so I guess I'm buying . I have lots of respect for all the longtime Hunter owners. They're good people to play with.

Favorite Sports teams: Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, UConn

Favorite HBD player (which world) Mendy Clemens in Hunter. He was a beast of a player. I traded him in Season 6 to radek for Gene Fitzgerald, who was a very good SP, but sucked for me in 2 one year stints. I got Clemens back for his final 3 seasons. He's my one and only HOF'er.

Power Ranks (Pre-season)

Power Rankings

These power rankings are completed assuming ALL outstanding FA will be lost from their respective teams. I will do an update after the end of Free Agency near the beginning of the regular season.

Teams that received strong consideration but did not crack the top 10 (Pawtucket, Atlanta, Columbus & Seattle)

10. Baltimore Baydogs (Last Season Record 82-80)
The Baydogs made the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season sneaking into the last NL playoff spot. The team then proceeded to go on a fairy tale run before bowing out in the NLCS to the Juggernaut from Little Rock. Dufferman completed a late season trade with Louisville (myself), that shored up his weakness at SS and CF. In the off-season The Baydogs appear to be losing 4 players from last years roster: two relief pitchers J. Ruiz & S. Bonilla who combined for 130IP 9-11 record and 4.55 ERA, H. Aspormonte former All-Star CF who is well past his prime but did post 12HR 53 RBI .710 OPS in 393 AB. Thus far all of the lost players are easily replaceable. The big off-season loss & the reason Baltimore didn't sneak up the list is the potential loss of A. Montanez a middle of the order bat that gave the Baydogs 30 HR 84RBI & .968 OPS worth of production

9. Washington D.C Quakers (Last Season 90-72)
During the off-season the Quakers relocated from Philly to Washing DC & during the trip the AL East Champions left a significant number of players behind. Three of the positional losses were: I. Andrews who can man any position on the field & posted a line of 9HR 42RBI .732 in 413AB, 2b J-Alacorn (429 AB 13HR 35 RBI & .664 OPS) & 1b-K.Jorgesen (427AB 13 HR 52RBI .695 OPS). I grouped those three players together because none of them are key contributors, however you do have to factor in almost 1300AB now need to be replaced including their starting 2b (Alacorn) & super utility I. Andrews. Moving on to the larger losses DH H. Towers will potentially be taking his 15HR 81 RBI .852 OPS in 501 AB to another team. Towers was likely lucky to post that line last year however his production will need to be replaced. The pitching staff only had two key losses one in the bullpen & one in the rotation. S.Beckwith leaves a 43 IP hole (3-1 4.15 ERA) in the bullpen but the largest loss of the off-season was V. Kraemer who despite declining skills is a front of the rotation pitcher. Lettry decided against paying him 20M for his 10M skill set and will have to attempt to fill the hole in FA. Kraemer went 14-6 with a 2.74 ERA in 197 IP last season

8. Cleveland Moosedawg (Last Season 89-73)
The off-season was very good the NL #4 seed. Cleveland only has two potential losses to their almost 90W roster. Sub-Super C. Acevedo takes 29HR 67RBI 1.061OPS in only 323AB to the FA market. Acevedo likely played over his head last season but he's capable of playing any position except for SS & CF and has good power. Speaking of SS the Moosedawg's 2nd lose was gold glove caliber J. May. While his bat left something to be desired 541AB 8HR 43RBI .604OPS his sparkling defense will be missed (12 plus plays). The biggest lost to the pitching staff was 13IP from former perennial Fire Man of the Year candidate W. Perez, however he is now a shell of his former self. One or two big FA pick-ups could see Cleveland rocket up the list

7. Minnesota Twinkies (93-69)
The first & only appearance of the new owners in the Power Ranks, although I have a feeling that may change based on off-season moves we'll see a few jump on to the list. The Twinkies return every major contributor from last season's team. Positionally they only loses are R. Morman (OF) & A. Duran (Back-up SS) who combined for 415AB 3HR 36 RBI & .590 OPS. It's almost impossible to get less production out of those 400+ At-bats this season. The entire rotation returns and the bullpen only lost S. Mills (85IP 7-3 4.43 ERA) & M. Bennet (43 IP 4-3 4.17ERA). Now to long-term Hunter owners M. Bennet is a big name as he holds the record for career saves 512, however at age 38 he'll be lucky to grab a SetB spot for a ML team this season

6. LA Baja Racers (90-72)
NL West champs are hungry after being bounced but the upstarts from Baltimore last season. LA much like Cleveland & Minnesota returns all of their core contributors from last season. The only hitter loss is B. Soblewski who started 69 games in CF last season and put together a very nice line of 19HR 47 RBI .905OPS in 332AB, however his skill set is no where near those numbers. In a full 500 AB season he's unlikely to top those counting numbers, he's a below average defensive CF & his career OPS of .751 is more indicative of his skill set. The Baja Racers are letting 100 IP worth of RP test FA, R. James (11-6 5.55ERA) & C. Knotts (2-5 8.23 ERA). R. James is tantalizing however he never seems able to put it together he's bounced around the league and based on his splits & control will likely end up in a new rotation again this season, while Knotts is better than an 8.23ERA, he's not any better than his career ERA of 4.5. I might have hung on to R. James & try to entice another owner into taking a chance on him however, if you can't post a sub 5 ERA in LA where can you?

5. Little Rock Renegades (112-50)
Most likely suspected to see the team that has taken the NL Pennant 3 consecutive years higher on the list & it won't take much in the FA or trade market to bump them up. However among the top 5 teams Little Rock is facing the most significant losses. They lose starting Catcher L. Wise and his 20HR 94RBI .854 OPS production, at age 35 he was unlikely to repeat but it is a hole that has to be filled. The bigger losses come in the bullpen timf losses 71IP of near elite production from R. Nelson & R. Zorilla & perhaps a bigger blow Closer T.Marin who has converted 59 of 66 save chances over the last 2 seasons walks out the door. However, the biggest loss & the nail in the coffin for at least a temporary drop is the potential loss of 10-Time AllStar & 6-Time Cy Young award winner R. Santiago. Last year he posted a ridiculous line of 267 IP 21-10 with a 2.80 ERA. As mentioned above after FA it would not surprise me to see Little Rock climb as high as 1.

4. Pittsburgh Stubbabubbas (98-64)
The NL North champions nip out the Renegades for the top NL team in the power ranks (yes that means the top 3 are in the AL, which makes sense since the AL has won the last 5 World Series). Dizzlebob's team takes the top spot based upon continuity, as outlined in his S20 wrap-up the Pittsburgh francise made some key FA acquisitions last season. Moving into this season the team does not lose a single impact hitter & suffers very limited losses in the rotation. Last season acquisition C.James from Richmond (now Monteray) leaves after giving the team 21IP, SetupB J. James takes his 3-6 5.5 ERA in 36IP to the market as well. The biggest lost was a S20 FA signing C. Johnson who turned back the clock (likely one last time) & gave Dizz 200 IP (Team High) 10-11 with 3.59 ERA. C.Johnson is very unlikely to repeat that performance however it will be the Stubbabubbas top priority to fill his rotation spot

3. Louisville Sluggers (103-59)
I know I know I can already hear the shouts of favoritism as the guy writing the rankings ranks his own team 3rd. Well when you right the Power Rankings you can do the same :). All joking aside the Sluggers face very limited losses from last season lead-off hitter and 2b M.Pulphiser walks out the door (.359 OBP &.726 OPS) however T. Hackmen who's skill set is marginally better offensively & defensively replaces him. C.Kienschink was a stabilizing force for 90IP out of the pen last year (3.73ERA) but the only major loss was half-season rental G. Kerr (3-Time All-Star) takes his Type A tag to FA. The Sluggers gave the defending champs a better run than the NL champs Little Rock could but eventually fell in 6 games. For the new owners the Sluggers are Hunter equivalent of the Atlanta Braves (if Atlanta had 2 titles), 20 straight playoff appearances, however has not progressed further than the ALCS since their S12 title

2. New Britian Yorkies (109-53)
I really wrestled with this ranking, it's very difficult to knock the 2-time defending champs out of the top spot but with several significant losses I had to bump them down a peg. There is an old staying that "Flags fly forever" and NB went all-out last season acquiring two former MVPs down the stretch in Britt Perkins & E. Johnson who combined for 36HR 114RBI in approx. a half season of work, both will receive their rings & then join the FA market. NB pitching staff could also seriously face a drop off as they lose a combined 470IP of elite production from M. Cheng (team leader in IP) 15-9 3.66ERA, P. Onteriveros (13-4) & W. Perez (11-1 2.45ERA). Given the losses, I likely should have drop the Yorkies a couple spots but back-to-back 'ships earns you the benefit of the doubt

1. San Fransico Night Demons (103-59)
It is very scary to see how little SF lost from last season. The Night Demons return their entire pitching staff from last season & from their hitters they only lose a combined 750AB from three bench players. B.Rameriz-C (6HR 36RBI, .730OPS), J.Rivera (3HR 12RBI .672 OPS & K. Humpries (15 HR 55 RBI .890 OPS) are the only notable losses. All three players are easily replaceable from within the organization or via FA (which as a fellow AL team is scary). The Night Demons have been a model of consistency winning their division 18 of 20 years & only missing the playoffs once. A majority of the team tasted championship champagne in S17 so they are battle tested. I am selfishly hoping the new crop of AL West owners can push Bjb back to pack.

Meet Redraider68

Name: Dan

Age: 42 Married, 2 kids Fred (10) and Sammi (2 months)

Job: Associate Database Administrator for an online university

My favorite HBD moment: Will be the first time I make the ML postseason. I just missed the wildcard in Lasorda last season by 2 games.

Know anyone from Hunter in real-life: Bigtex1 and I are brothers.

Favorite Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Raiders (hence the screen name), Ohio State Buckeyes.

Favorite Player: I took over a trashed team in Lasoda midway through the season so I received the #1 the following year. Dewey Crespo is a perennial MVP nominee (no wins yet) but his resume does include 5 All-Star appearances, 5 Silver Sluggers, 1 Gold Glove and Rookie of the Year.

Meet Stazrunner

As I mentioned I'll be trying to through these up one per day (missed yesterday was busy getting the house ready for a Halloween party).

Also as mentioned they are going up in the order I recieved them so the quickest trigger/mouse in Hunter is Stazrunner. I must admit he has exquiste tastes in hockey teams.

Name: Craig

Age: 28(single)

Job: Patient Admin Clerk for the military

Favorite HBD Moment: Have not had any moments worth remembering. I guess the rebuilding project that should come to success shortly in Maris world

Do you know any Hunter owners in real-life: No

Favorite Sports teams: Boston fan (Sox,Celts, B's, and Pats)

Favorite HBD player (which world)- Hoping it will be a twinkie (Hunter)

Meet the Commish

Name: Josh

Age: 29 (Married, first child due in Jan)

Job: Work in telecommunication sales (Engineer by trade)

Location: Waterloo, Canada (Yes, your commish is a canuck)

Favorite HBD Moment:

Winning my 1st Title in Hunter (S10), I had already picked up a WS in Monument Park but my Hunter team was my first team. It was especially sweet because I had blown a 3-2 series lead to Radek (a problematic owner) the previous year. Unfortunately my win came at Rockdawg's expense :)

Do you know any Hunter owners in real life?:

Yes, timf, beerman324,shmish & wolfhoundkl (original owner left after season 19. I've know timf since I was probably 8, him & I were in each other's wedding parties. I know what you are all thinking he was probably Bridesmaid (after 3 straight WS losses) all joking aside he was a groomsmen. Beerman324 I met at McMaster University, we were in the same Rez & then shared a house with 4 other guys for the next 3 years. Just like in University where I beat his a$$ consistently in Madden, I own him in HBD (85-51) as well :). I mention Wolf because he was another roomate in University & lived with Beerman & I. He also the reason I've met Shmish. Shmish & Wolf are friends in real-life and the 3 of us took in a Bruins/Leaf games last season. Shmish & I spent most of the game arguing over who was better David Reyes or Wendall Kinkade (the answer is clearly Kinkade).

Favorite Sports Teams:

Boston, Bruins (Champs), Miami Dolphins (Suck for Luck), Toronto Blue Jays & Toronto Raptors

Favorite HBD Player (which world):

Long-time Hunter owners know my answer to this question, as I've written sonnets about my love affair with Magglio Javier (Hunter LF- Seasons 1-10), 5-Time MVP (Hunter record) & 10-Allstar (Hunter record). The season 10 title was especially sweet because it was the last year Magglio wsa on the team prior to leaving for FA. So he left Louisville a champion. In true professional sports fashion when he was languishing in the minors in season 15 for Los Angelos. Randyrossac was nice enough to trade him back for a bag of balls so that he could retire in Louisville Red. He's since been inducted into the HOF.

Pittsburgh Studdabubbas S20 Wrap-Up

After 5 losing seasons, the Studdabubbas surprised even themselves by winning 98 games and the NL North for the first time since Season 14. The Bubbas won the first round bye but were quickly booted from the playoffs by Baltimore 3-1. While this success was rather shocking to everyone in the league, the reason was obvious—The Studdabubbas got lucky in free agency. Their Season 20 pickups in chronological order:

3B Charlie Carson - 29 y.o. - 5 years at $7.4M

Carson was playing second fiddle in Los Angeles ever since Eduardo Alarcon signed that monster 5-year deal and the Baja Racers declined his option for Season 20. This signing was a bit of a surprise since the Bubbas already had Buzz Abernathy at 3rd but it made sense. Carson was a huge upgrade and hit 31 homers batting 4th and gave Matt Buchanan some protection. After the Carson signing, Buzz Abernathy was shipped off to Los Angeles to get his $6M salary off of the books (this freed-up more money for the Bubbas to sign a couple pitchers).

SS Deivi Posada - 28 y.o. - 4 years at $5.2M

Getting a solid SS allowed veteran Frank Turner and youngster Pablo Andino to platoon at 2nd (hitting primarily against lefties, Turner hit .306). Posada's defense and .354 on base percentage made this another nice upgrade for the Bubbas.

CF Darron Stoddard - 31 y.o. - 3 years at $7M

Last season's CF, Charlie Bird, was not working out as an everyday player so the Studdabubbas went after 4-time all-star Darron Stoddard. Stoddard led-off most of the season. He had an OBP of .352, stole 24 bases, hit 24 home runs and batted-in 76 runs. He made his 5th All-Star Game in season 20 and is still fairly young.

SP Pedro Manto - 33 y.o. - 2 years at $4M

Everyone knows how cruddy Studdabubbas' pitching is so getting a washed-up starter like Manto was quite an achievement in Pittsburgh. Manto pitched well with a 15-9 record and a 1.33 WHIP. Well enough to be chosen for his first All-Star Game since season 11, when he was with San Francisco. This was the first time a Studdabubba pitcher was chosen for the all-star team since Kevin Pickering in Season 13.

SP Carlos Johnson - 34 y.o. - 1 year at $3.7M

Speaking of washed-up starting pitchers, Pittsburgh picked-up this bum off of the scrap heap. But dang it if this bum didn't have some game. Johnson's record was only 10-11 but he pitched 200 innings and had a WHIP of 1.31.

Another big acquisition in Season 20 was the Studdabubba's first round pick (6th overall), set-up man John Fisher who had a good season in Hi-A last year. The Studdabubbas also dished out $14.5M to sign international starting pitcher, Charles Bong. At AA, Bong went 5-1 in 10 starts with an ERA of 2.45. So it appears pitching help is on the way. Let's just hope it gets here before the hitting starts to die off.

The Studdabubbas spent pretty much every penny they had available last season in free agency. But beyond just spending it, they got some good, younger players to sign reasonable contracts. And, despite the signings, Pittsburgh only has about $40M wrapped up in salary going into Season 21. They still have some guys they need to sign but they are still in good shape.

Part of the reason Pittsburgh had such a good season was that some of the NL powerhouses started to fade but Season 20 was easily the best free agency period in Studdabubba history.

All-Hunter Catchers

Through the almost 20 seasons of Hunter there have been six catchers who have rose above the field for contention as the best C in the history of Hunter. I am going to break them down into Tiers, the Catcher for the All-Hunter team will be decided by votes. I am going to ask each owner send me the top 3 on their ballot, consider the below as merely a guide.

Tier 3:
T. Molina:
6675AB 408 HR 1284 RBI .307 AVG .917 OPS
1080 GP @ C
C ERA: 4.75 Past Balls: 122
Pitching Calling Max: 46
661SB Against CS %: 24.7%
Awards: 5-Time Allstars, 3 C Silver Sluggers & 3 World Series Rings

Looking at his hitting numbers alone can be a bit misleading; if you didn’t drill deeper you’d be crazy not to put him in Tier 1. The reason Molina ends up in Tier 3 is the fact he only played 1080 of his 1779 games at the position of C . The remainder due to his sub-par catching abilities were played at 1b, LF & DH (close to half his stats were racked up at a position other than C). His max pitch calling of 46 is also the lowest of anyone to make the list. While those are negatives, he is the only player on the list with 3 World Series Rings. He spent the majority of his career in New York with stints in Arizona (now Helena) prior & Philly post. It was Philly where he picked up his 3rd ring. He’s now playing out the string at AAA for Little Rock hoping for one last shot at the show and potentially a 4th ring.

B. Nixon:
5317AB 177 HR 786 RBI .294 AVG .819 OPS
1401 GP @ C
C ERA: 5.46 Past Balls: 106
960SB Against CS %: 26.9%
Pitching Calling Max: 63
Awards: 5-Time Allstars & 3 C Silver Sluggers

Compared to the others ahead of him on the list his defense is lacking with the worst C Era & his hitting numbers pale in comparison to the remaining options. The inclusion on the list is a tip of a cap to one of the top catchers in the first decade of Hunter. Had Nixon been younger when the world was born he might have been able to stack up better historically, he played almost his entire career with Rochester (now Scranton). An old Mase favorite he’d be happy to see him included on the list. Nixon played his last ML game in S11 & was retired by S13.

Tier 2:
Tanner Sager:
6004AB 217 HR 846 RBI .306 AVG .844 OPS
1449GP @ C
C ERA: 4.48 Past Balls: 127
907SB Against CS %: 19.2%
Pitching Calling Max: 64
Awards: 10-Time Allstars, 6 C Silver Sluggers & 1 World Series Ring

It may seem odd to find a player with Tanner Sager’s hardware in tier two, however compared to the three remaining choices I believe he’s in the right spot. I think everyone can agree that the All-Star selection process does need some work. Sager spent 11 seasons in Washington where he won his only ring before moving to Florida for S19 & is still in the majors with SLC in S20. His pitch calling is decent but his CS% is the lowest of anyone on this list. He had a plus bat for a catcher but the remaining guys had ++ bats and in two cases + defense as well.

Tier 1:
Alex Campos:
5836AB 304 HR 1000 RBI .312 AVG .897 OPS
1799GP @ C
C ERA: 4.53 Past Balls: 69
858SB Against CS %: 26.8%
Pitching Calling Max: 84
Awards: 1 Gold-Glove & 1 Silver Slugger

The first think you’ll notice about Campos is a startling lack of hardware. However he is the only C on the list to have won a gold glove. The biggest knock on Campos is his durability which limits him to about 400AB a year and keeps him out of the running on year to year awards. Having said that of the six finalists he owns the best pitch calling, tied for the best CS% & given up the fewest past balls by a considerable margin. He’s clearly the best defender on the list and on top of the defensive accolades he’s also hit 300+ HR and has 1000RBI, so he’s not just on the list for his glove. Full disclosure he’s the only player on the list that’s played for the Sluggers. His career in the ML started with Louisville before heading to Texas (now Monterray) and then returning to Louisville.

A. Butler:
5055AB 289 HR 994 RBI .330 AVG .971 OPS
1287GP @ C
C ERA: 4.24 Past Balls: 125
807SB Against CS %: 23.4%
Pitching Calling Max: 63
Awards: 7-Time AllStar, 7-Time Silver Slugger & 1 World Series

Bulter was a glaring omission caught by his former owner Smhish when I posted the initial list. He is the youngest member of the list at 35 with several years left in his career to pad his stats. Of the players on the list he has the most Silver Sluggers, best avg., best C Era & .971 OPS. He spent his entire career with SLC winning a World Series before moving to Columbus for this season. I have him 2nd on my ballot based on his slightly lower PC and the fact, I think his %’s are inflated since he hasn’t had to play through the tail end of his career like the other two tier 1 guys, Campos is 39 & the next player is retired.

S.Moraga:
5729AB 403 HR 1090 RBI .300 AVG .913 OPS
1719GP @ C
C ERA: 4.58 Past Balls: 127
769SB Against CS %: 25.1%
Pitching Calling Max: 79
Awards: 6-Time AllStar & 3-Time Silver Slugger

It was a tough call between the three tier-1 guys but I personally am giving Moraga my first place ballot based on the following rationale. He is arguably the best hitter on the list (T. Molina’s non-C stats excluded). Bulter will catch him in RBI, but not in HR and I think their %s will be a lot closer once Bulter plays through the tail end of his career. Even if you give Bulter the slight edge in hitting Moraga was a much better defender, behind Campos he was probably the best on the list. Morgana was the best of both worlds behind the plate that’s why I have him nipped Bulter & Campos at the finish line.

ALL-DECADE TEAMS

A reposting of the All-Decade Teams in Hunter (Updated to include current team names). Names listed will be current then the old name in brackets.


AL All-Decade Team
Starting Pitching: (Naming three starting pitchers)

Felipe Bournigal- Night Demons (8-time All-Star & 6 Cy Youngs)

This was a pretty obvious decision to name the starter as Bournigal has clearly been the most dominant pitcher over the first 10 seasons of Hunter and will be a sure fire Hall of Famer. If this list gets re-done after 20 seasons I would find it hard to believe that another pitcher would take the starting spot. At age 37 his career is drawing to a close however, I still expect another 3 solids seasons from this Superstar.

Elvis Ogea- Blue Claws/Generals (6-time All-Star & 2 Cy Youngs)

Had Bournigal never existed Ogea’s Cy young title would most likely be 5 or higher. However, Bournigal did exist which relegates Ogea to 2nd banana status. However, being the 2nd best pitcher over a decade is nothing to sneeze at. The one place that Ogea leads Bournigal is the fact he was the “ace” of three championship teams and Bournigal only took home two titles

Pete Daly- Night Demons (5-time All-Star & 1 Gold Glove)

If you think Ogea had it bad being ranked 2nd behind Bournigal, just think about Daly having never been the top starting pitcher on his own team. When you look at their stats and longevity Ogea, Daly and Bournigal are in a class of their own. Filling out the remainder of the SP spots proved to be the most difficult part in this exercise.

RP (Naming two: Closer and Set-up)

Closer- Terrence Floyd- Neophytes/Black Sox (8-time All-Star & 3 Fireman of the Year)

Hunter’s career leader in saves was an obvious choice for the closer role. His 8 all-star appearances ties Bournigal as the most for an AL pitcher. His three fireman awards are also an AL-Record. For the decade Floyd was the best of the four AL dominant closers.

Setup- Jared Page - Night Demons (6-time All-star & 3 Fireman of the year)

Surprise, surprise another SF pitcher. For Hunter’s first decade it’s clear to see how SF lead the AL in wins. Pitching, pitching and more pitching. Page falls just behind Floyd and is a worth set-up man. His three fireman awards tie Floyd’s record. The one place Page does best Floyd is he’s the Hunter world leader in SV%.

Catcher - Bruce Nixon- Stranglers/scorpions/The Whale (6-time All-star & 3 Silver Slugger)

As a catcher the 6 time all-star and three Silver sluggers are AL bests at age 37 Nixon is still in the league but the end of his career isn’t far off. The last couple years have caused his career batting average to drop just below .300 however his OPS still sits above .800 which is an impressive feat. The one sad note for Nixon is he has never made the playoffs.

1b- Lou Stevenson-Fire/Bald Beaver (2-time All-Star, 3 Silver Slugger & 4 MVP)

Despite only 6 seasons in the AL Stevenson was an obvious choice for the 1b spot. In his first 5 seasons he racked up 4 AL MVP’s before adding a 5th MVP via the NL to his resume. His 5 total MVP’s is a Hunter record shared with Magglio Javier. Javier and Stevenson have combined for 9 of the 10 AL MVP’s. Despite three seasons of under-use in the NL before returning to the AL this season Stevenson still boosts career numbers of 1007 R, 450 HR & 1234 RBI

2b- Mendy Clemens- Cheese Grits (3-time All-Star & 5 Silver Sluggers)

Mendy moved to the NL during Atlanta’s season six fire sale. However despite this fact Clemens was a slam-dunk for the AL’s staring lineup. He won the 2b silver slugger for every full season he played in the AL. His five silver sluggers are a record shared with Magglio Javier and Dan Miller. Clemens continued his fine play in the NL and was a member of last year’s world series winners (New York).

SS- Dan Miller - Blue Claws/Generals (3-time All-Star & 5 Silver Sluggers)

As mentioned above Miller is one of three, 5-time AL Silver slugger winners and did so in only 6 full AL seasons. During that time he also managed to pick up three championship rings. Miller’s range in his prime was slightly below average however, his bat more than made up for it and it certainly didn’t hurt the Generals in the playoffs.

3b - Rodrigo Brito- Neophytes/Black Sox (4-time All-Star, 4 Silver Sluggers & 2 Gold Gloves)

Brito is the first player on the list to not only have silver slugger but gold gloves. This in itself is an impressive achievement. In addition to this Brito had authored 10 consecutive 30 HR seasons and has failed to reach 100 RBI only one-time. Thus making him a model of consistency. His four AL silver sluggers fall one short of the record and having moved to the NL (Pittsburgh) it looks like his final total will be one short.

Lf- Magglio Javier – Sluggers (9-time All-Star, 5 Silver Sluggers, 5 MVPs & Rookie of the Year)

If there were an MVP for the first decade of Hunter Magglio Javier would probably be the winner. His 9 all-star appearances, 5 silver sluggers and 5 MVPs are all AL records. In addition to that his career numbers and consistency is staggering. Magglio has never scored less than 114 runs, hit less than 44 HR or drove in less than 135 RBI. All of these numbers were posted this season (10) and he still walked away with the MVP. He missed being the first member of the 500 HR club by one game and sits 5 RBI’s short of being the first 1500 RBI player. Additionally, he’s lead Louisville to 10 playoff appearances, 9 division titles, 5 ALCS appearance and 2 World Series appearances. The only flaw in his resume is a lack of a ring; however as I write this Sluggers lead the World Series 1-0.

Cf- Pablo Chavez - Blue Claws/Generals (3-time All-Star)

The toughest position to pick a start as no player really separated themselves from the rest. This pick makes Chavez the youngest member of the team at 27 and still has a few more CF seasons left in him before moving to a corner OF spot to improve his resume. This pick ultimately came down to three options. However, Chavez’s combination of power and defense is what landed him on this list.

Rf- Mark Gabriel - Patriots/Explorers 4-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger and 1 Gold Glove)

Gaberial won the three horse race for this spot and joins Brito as the only other Gold Glove winner on the list. Gabrial strong career numbers are a result of a long and extremely consistent career.

DH- Glenn McCarty - Chupacabras/Beefeaters (7-time All-Star, 4 Silver Sluggers)

McCarty was an easy pick for this spot as his seven AL all-star appearances only trails Javier and his 4 silver sluggers sit one back of the AL record. In addition to this McCarty is the career leader in OBP with a ridiculous .420 plus he is top five in terms of career batting average.


Reserves:

SP: Derek O'Keefe- Night Demons/Bad Boys/Yorkies (2-time All-Star & 1 Cy Young)
SP: Steve Sheldon- Patriots/Explorers (3-time All-Star)
SP: J.T. Cook- Blue Claws/Generals (2-time All-Star)
SP: Bob Creek - Sluggers (2-time All-Star & 1 Gold Glove)
SP: Dave Caufield- Sluggers (3-time All-Star)
RP: Clark Connelly- Stranglers/scorpions (4-time All-Star, 2 Fireman of the year)
RP: B.C. Tracy- Hashies/thunderstrikers (3-time All-Star, 1 Fireman of the year)

C: Tanner Sager- Blue Claws/Generals (2-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
1b: Sherm Norton- Yorkies/Choking Dogs (4-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
2b: Desi Nixon-Quakers/Mud Hens (2-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
3b: Walter Hansen-Cheese Grits (1-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
SS: Eduardo Gonzalez- Offspring/Velvet Vultures (4-time All-Star & 4 Silver Slugger)
LF: Braden Cox- Patriots/Explorer (5-time All-Star, 3 Silver Slugger & 1 MVP)
CF: Mendy Montana- Night Demons (3 Silver Slugger)
RF: Bruce Kaufman-Chupacabras/Beefeaters (2-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger) DH: Julian Pisciotta- Rattlers/Yorkies (1 Silver Slugger)


Snubs:
SP- Mark Meng- Islanders/Aces (2-time All-Star) hurt by limited time in AL
SP- Mike Eckstein- Sluggers (2-time All-Star)
RP: Willie Gutierrez-Blue Claws/Generals (4-time All-Star)
RP: Louis Fisher- ChupacabrasBeefeaters (3-time All-Star)
C: Trenidad Molina- Hashies/thunderstrikers (3-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger)
1b: Darryl Biddle- Blue Claws/Generals (3-time All-Star & 1 Gold Glove)
1b: Mark Kim- Night Demons (2-time All-Star & 1 MVP)
1b: Juan Zorrilla- Night Demons (2-time All-Star)
2b: Bruce Grey- Sluggers (3-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger)
2b: J.R. Alston- Islanders/Aces (4-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger)
SS: Emmanuel Javier- Sluggers (3-time All-Star)
SS: Bud Thomas- Fire(2-time All-Star & 2 Gold Glove)
3b: Russell Henson- Sluggers (2-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
LF: James Hayashi- Carpetbaggers/Bad Boys (1-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
CF: Evan Levrault- Patriots/Explorers (1-time All-Star & 3 Gold Gloves)
CF: Pinky Duffy-Fire (2-time All-Star & 1 Glove)
RF: Marquis Fischbach-Islanders/Aces (4-time All-Star & 1 Glove)
RF: Tom Leonard-Stranglers/scorpions- (1-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger)
RF: Trevor Rooney- Sluggers (1 All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger & 1 Gold Glove)

NL All-Decade Team

Starting Lineup

SP- Kevin Coleman-Blasters/Mets (3-time All-Star, 3 Cy Young & 1 Silver Slugger)
SP- Shawn Owen- Fugitives/Studdabubbas (5-time All-Star, 2 Cy Young & 2 Silver Slugger)
SP- Mark Meng- Fugitives/Clydesdales (3-time All-Star)
CL- Miguel Bennett-FatNasty (4-time All-Star & 3 Fireman of the Year)
SetA- Eddie Perez- Hartworms (4-time All-Star & 1 Fireman of the Year)

C- Sammy Moraga-FatNasty (5-time All-Star & 3 Silver Slugger)
1b – Rich Peters- Baydogs (All-Star, Silver Slugger & Gold Glove + All-Star and
Silver Slugger @ RF+ Will be 3rd player to 500 HR)
2b- Lonny Iglesias- Blasters/Mule Deer (3 All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger + Silver Slugger & Gold Glove @ LF + First player to 500 HR)
SS- Erubiel Johnson- Blasters (4-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
3b- Angel Bolivar- TCB (4-time All-Star, 3 Silver Slugger, 2 Gold Glove & 1 MVP + 2-time All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger @ SS)
LF- Albert Henley- Loose Sluts/Blasters/Mormons/FatNasty (5-time Allstar, 4 Silver Slugger & 2 MVP + Silver Slugger & 1 Gold Glove @ 2b)
CF- Garrett Biggio-TCB (6-time All-Star, 8 Silver Slugger, 1 Gold Glove & 1 MVP)
RF- Frank Zhang-Blasters (4-time All-Star, 3 Silver Slugger, 2 MVP & ROY)

Bench

SP- Ivan Miller- Clydesdales (3-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger & Cy Young)
SP- Charles Lawton -Clydesdales/Shockers ( 3-time All-Star)
SP-Andruw Allen-FatNasty/Blasters/ Studdabubbas (4-time All-Star)
SP- Lew Drabek- Shockers/Mormons (3-time All-Star)
Long - Jumbo Urbina- Blasters (4-time All-Star & Cy Young)
RP- Hipolito Guillen- MooseDawg (3-time All-Star & Fire Man of the Year)
RP- Ross Kingston- Nickels (4-time All-Star)



C- Roy Christenson-Loose Sluts/Tomato Can/Gamblers (3-time All-Star & 3 Silver Slugger)
1b- Brace Starr-Blasters (3-time All-Star & 1 Silver Slugger)
2b- Frank Perez-Torpedoes/Scrotums/Mets (1-time All-Star & 2 Silver Sluggers)
SS- Steve Parker- Brain Sandwiches/Clydesdales (2-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)
3b- J.P. Mercedes-Blasters (3-time All-Star, Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)
LF- James Hayashi- Shockers/Blasters (2-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger & MVP + Silver Slugger & All-Star @ 1b)
CF- Andrew Wright- Blasters/Clydesdales (3-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger, Gold Glove & MVP)
RF- Erubiel Molina- Clydesdales/Caesars (6-time All-Star, 3 Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)


Snubs

SP- Benito Bonilla-Metropolitans (3-time All-Star & 1 Cy Young)
RP- Ahmad Beltre- Waves/Shockers (3-time All-Star)
SP- Vic Guardado- FatNasty/Shockers/Blasters (2-time All-Star & 1 Cy Young)
RP- Vance Davidson –Blasters (2-time All-Star)

C- Taylor Griffiths- Clydesdales (2-time All-Star & Silver Slugger)
C- Buddy Valentine- Blasters (All-Star & 2 Gold Gloves)
1b- Ned Aldridge- Mormons (2-time All-Star, Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)
2b- Kelvin Croushore- Blasters (All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger)
SS- Eduardo Gonzalez- Blasters (2 All-Star & 2 Silver Slugger + All-Star @ 2nd)
3b- Josh Kroon- Hashies (2 All-Star & 3 Silver Slugger)
Lf- Buddy Krivda- Wranglers/Flyers 2 All-Star, Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)
Cf- Jason Hutton- Blasters/Mets (3-time All-Star)RF- Trevor Thomas- Flyers (2-time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger & Gold Glove)

Atlanta Cheese Grits 20th Anniversary Team

Hunter world was my first world and the Cheese Grits were my first team. It's my favorite franchise, even though my only pennants and WS title reside in another world. In celebration of the 20th season of Hunter, I thought I would name my all time 20th anniversary Grits team. It would be cool if other original owners did the same.

Catcher:

Hardball Dynasty's

Mario Giles

I think if I do a 25th anniversary team, this answer will change to Rick Briggs, but it's Giles for now. Giles was my very first FA signing, and he did not disappoint, going .299/.363/.555 with 37 HR and 126 RBI and 110 runs scored. He was a terrific defensive C and game caller. For 5 seasons, he called the shots and carried a good to great stick. His PC ability kept him in the majors until his 40's.

First Base:

Hardball Dynasty's

Ned Aldridge

Willie Reagan still holds some franchise records, but Aldridge was the superior player. In 6+ seasons in Atlanta, he led the franchise to their best seasons. He put up a .292/.399/.514 line with 196 HR and 632 RBI while playing in Atlanta. He grabbed 3 top 5 MVP finishes in his Atlanta years. His career .404 OBP and 410 career HR should merit some HOF consideration.

Second Base:

Hardball Dynasty's

Mendy Clemens

The ultimate no-brainer, Mendy Clemens is one of the few players to be enshrined in Hunter's Hall of Fame. He played the first 5+ seasons in Atlanta before being traded to New York for Gene Fitzgerald (not one of my better decisions). He was brought back as a LF for his last 3 seasons. In his years in Atlanta, he put up a .310/.392/.539 line with 200 HR, 850 RBI, 1044 runs, 196 SB and 1560 hits. He racked up 7 Silver Sluggers and 5 All Star Games in his entire career.

Shortstop:

Hardball Dynasty's

Jamie Yoshii

While Yoshii was capable, at best, at the plate, he was a wizard with the glove. Signed as an IFA out of Japan, Yoshii won 4 Gold Gloves and made 2 All Star teams in his 9 seasons in Atlanta. In his career, he has 147 + plays and only 5 minus plays. He'd have more + plays, but the mods didn't fix fielding stats until after he had played 3 seasons. His batting stats in Atlanta were a respectable .261/.321/.361. I'll take that all day long from a Gold Glove SS.

Third Base:

Hardball Dynasty's

Walter Hansen

While the Clemens trade wasn't one of my best, I did manage to spin Fitzgerald after one lousy season into a number of good players in a trade with Colorado. I received George Baker, Al Canizaro, Jerome Moore and Hansen. These players helped build the foundation for my 2 100+ win seasons. Hansen was a good defensive 3b with speed and some power. In 9 seasons in Atlanta, he batted .284/.339/.481 with 187 HR, 332 2b, 848 runs, and 226 SB. He won 4 Silver Sluggers and made 3 All Star teams.

Left Field:

Hardball Dynasty's

Bernie Valdes

Left field has been a problem spot for Atlanta, which is odd, because it should be one of the easier positions to fill. This is very true in other worlds, but it has not been the case, for me, in Hunter. I've managed to find a lot of veteran stop gaps to give me nice seasons, but no good permanent solutions. Valdes was my first LF and my best. His first 2 seasons were monster seasons, and his glove work was always great. He won 3 Gold Gloves and made 2 All Star teams. In 5 seasons in Atlanta, he hit .295/.356/.459 with 88 HR, 185 2B, and 531 RBI. His skills faded fast as I had no idea what training was good for in those early days and he retired at a very young age after I let him walk.

Center field:

Hardball Dynasty's

Hub Aspromonte

You know what's freaking hard? Finding a CF who can play CF well and hit worth a damn. Not easy. My last 2 seasons, I've had J.R. Cox, who is Willie Mays with the glove, but not so much with the bat (You may run like Hayes, but you hit like sh*t.") Still, you could make a case for Cox, given the assorted junk I had in CF for my first "decade". However, I think Aspromonte has to get the nod here. Hub was a good defender in CF, with his 89 range and 81-83 level glove. He had some pop and was a switch hitter to boot. In 6+ seasons in Atlanta, he posted .252/.317/.435 with 120 HR and 463 RBI. His best season (S12), he put up a .286/.348/.497 line with 21 HR and 92 RBI. Not bad.

Right Field:

Hardball Dynasty's

Michael Hernandez

Here is another answer that will change with the 25th anniversary team. Joshua Mays will certainly take over this spot at some point, but for 2+ seasons, Hernandez was pure brilliance. He is my sole AL MVP award winner, and boy did he earn it. He hit .309/.386/.619 in S12 with 43 HR, 145 RBI, 121 runs, 26 2b, 11 3b and 30 SB. Oh yeah, he was an above average RF as well. I let him walk after S12 to LA, where his skills declined rapidly (hello training budget!) The compensatory 1st rounder I got turned into Silver Slugging Catcher Rick Briggs. The gift that kept on giving.

Designated Hitter:

Hardball Dynasty's

Garrett Borchard

DH has been a bit of a revolving door. I've had a lot of players put up 2 good to great seasons in this spot. Aldridge spent some time here, as well. Marc Diaz, Dweezil Van Pelt, and Ralph Hunt were all good hitters. I chose Borchard as he had the best 2 season impact and played on my best teams. He hit .333/.399/.585 and .308/.382/.552 in his 2 full seasons in Atlanta. He hit 36 HR with 115 RBI in the first season and 35 Hr with 115 RBI in his second. That's consistency.

Right Handed Starting Pitcher:

Hardball Dynasty's

Brian Burnett

This is a tougher call. Ignacio Cruz won one of my franchises 2 Cy Young awards, George Baker the other. Bob Creek has had 2 very good seasons, but that's not enough. I have to go with Burnett due to his talent and results. He's a short inning starter, which limits his value somewhat, but when he's on the mound, he's great. In 7 seasons in Atlanta, he's posted a 3.07 ERA in 1112 IP with a 1.13 WHIP. He's held opponents to a .279 OBP. He gets a lot of no decisions, but is still 81-45. Does Cruz' value and innings over 4 seasons best Burnett's superior pitching over 7 seasons? I don't think so, but I could be persuaded, I suppose.

Left handed Starting pitcher:

Hardball Dynasty's

Willie Wakeland

Wakeland is Mr. Cheese Grit. He was 17 years old in S1 when I started my team. He broke into the majors for good in s5 after a massive elbow injury delayed his arrival. He made an immediate impact, winning the Rookie of the Year award by posting a 15-1 season with a 2.90 ERA in 24 starts. There was a fair bit of mediocrity mixed in, as he was backed by some very bad defenses for a while. He turned it around in S10 as the Grits got good again. He peaked in S11, posting a 21-8 record with a 2.84 ERA in 225.1 innings. Another elbow injury in S13 ended his ability to be a good starter, and he's muddled through since. He is still active and pitching, even now, and won his first WS ring with Philly in S18. He pitched 15 seasons in Atlanta and posted a 148-119 record with a 4.26 ERA.

Relief Pitcher:

Hardball Dynasty's

Al Canizaro

I drafted Canizaro in the 2nd (!) round in S3. I dealt him to Colorado for Carlos James, but then I reacquired him in the massive Fitzgerald deal mentioned above. During his 7 season tenure in Atlanta, he made 4 All Star Teams and won a Fireman of the Year award. He saved 208 of 231 chances in 351 games, posting a 3.18 ERA.

It's been a fun ride so far and I'm looking forward to writing another one for my 30th anniversary.