The 2034 Daily Keg - Week 24

[Matt]

Monday, September 25, 2034

(AP)

Washington and Seattle both stay 1-2 after they both go 6-1 on the week. Seattle clinched the Bock a long time ago and Washington has a 6.5 lead in the Stout and a three game lead over Seattle for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Batavia went 5-1 though to keep the pressure on the Bats and now has a 3.5 game lead over Baltimore for the #1 wildcard in the IL. On the other side of life Indy and Toronto both went 1-6 while Phoenix went 1-5. Some team leaders for the week: Seattle hit 20 home runs in 7 games, Washington had a 1.14 ERA and only allowed 8 earned runs in 7 games, Wilmington stole 10 bases and California K'd 57 opposing batters.

Power Rankings

1) Washington Bats (130.0, o)
2) Seattle Pilots (123.4, o)
3) Batavia Red Jackets (118.3, o)
4) Baltimore Bulldogs (110.0, o)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (105.4, o)
6) Hartford Whalers (104.6, o)
7) Wilmington Clowns (104.0, +)
8) Maine Guides (102.4, ++)
9) Miami Sharks (95.2, -)
10) Philadelphia Freedom (95.0, --)
11) Syracuse Snappers (91.4, +)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (91.4, ++)
13) Indianapolis Racers (91.0, --)
14) Pittsburgh Millers (89.4, +)
15) New York Knights (82.6, -)
16) Carolina Tobs (78.4, ++)
17) Windy City Blues (78.0, --)
18) Los Angeles Dinos (74.8, o)
19) California Kodiaks (72.8, +)
20) Phoenix Roadrunners (71.3, --)
21) New Orleans Dukes (70.6, o)
22) Montreal Exports (66.4, o)
23) Denver BC (58.2, +)
24) Toronto Canadians (56.0, -)


Performance of the Week

LF D.J. Janssen - On September 21st against Syracuse the 23 year old had four hits, six runs batted in, and a home run during a 10-9 Exports victory. The 2.1 pick of the 2028 draft by Baltimore is in his first full BLB season and is hitting .254/.342/.399 with 11 HR's and 59 RBI's.

Injury of the Week

P Joey 'Last Resort' Seymour - The 1.1 pick of the 2021 draft has posted double digit wins the last four season and was signed by Seattle to a 5 year/$96 million extension in 2032. This season he was 9-3 with a 4.06 ERA before having to leave a game on September 18th against Baltimore after the second inning. He was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and is projected to be out for over a year.

Prospect of the Week

3B Ethan Lopez - In his freshman year the 15 year old was named the 2034 Outstanding High School Hitter after hitting .394/.475/.948 with 24 HR's and 54 RBI's in 40 games. He also posted a +2.0 ZR at third base and scouts say he "can shut out the stress and put it on automatic" when needed.


Five Things We Think We Think

1. Pat Arballo went 2-0 this week and crushed the dreams of Jacob Stokes winning the pitching Triple Crown. Arballo is now 19-8 with a 2.46 ERA in 30 starts. Meanwhile Stokes is 17-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 26 starts.

2. There were several trade rumors surrounding Javy 'Blur' Gudino at the deadline but he stayed put in Montreal. In the month of September he's now batting lead-off and is hitting .433/.474/.889 with 10 HR's and 27 RBI's. Looks like a few GM's might be kicking themselves.

3. Tom Rakita of Miami is pitching like it's a contract year...and lucky for him it is. He's now 11-9 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 3.4 WAR in 30 starts. The 1st round pick of Miami (then Dallas) in 2023 has arguably even improved from his 16-5, 3.22 ERA campaign from last year and will be asking suitors in the area of $15 million a year this off-season.

4. Kanye Huff of Washington won the AAA Outstanding Hitter Award this week after hitting .339/.425/.558 with 26 HR's and 87 RBI's. The 25 year old was a 4th round pick by Washington back in 2026 and has quite the illustrious minor league career. In 2031 he was the A Outstanding Hitter and won the Bush League championship with the Eugene Sting. In 2032 he won the AA Outstanding Hitter award and unbelievably won it again in 2033. Now in 2034 he's the AAA Outstanding Hitter. It's time to see what this guy can do in the BLB!

5. We'd like to welcome DJ Engstrom, Pat Cinelli, Anselmo Mapalo, Joe Delarruz, and Katsunori Oto to the BLB Hall of Fame. Here are some excerpts from the induction ceremony.

Spoiler

Hall of Fame Inducts Engstrom: At the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies today, the longtime friend and manager of D.J. Engstrom told the audience, "The worst thing as a manager is the day you realize you want to win more than the players do. I never had that problem with "Brick". Nobody wanted to win more than this gifted pitcher."

For his strong and consistent pitching over the years, Engstrom was voted into the Brewers League Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association unanimously.

When he ended his career, Engstrom had a career won-loss record of 208 wins and 136 losses with 3597 strikeouts in 3189 innings and a 3.18 ERA. He was a five time Pale Ale winner and was selected to the All-Star game eight times.

Legends Welcome Oto to HOF: Katsunori Oto, a standout center fielder throughout his Brewers League Baseball career, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

During the induction ceremony, he credited the coaches who taught him to play the game and the teammates who taught him to be a professional.

However, the most important influence, Oto said, was his father. "He never gave up on me," he said, "no matter how often I felt like giving up on myself.

In his 2128-game career, Oto hit .270 with 2169 hits, 300 home runs, 1144 runs scored and 1145 RBIs. He was named to the All-Star team six times.

He wrapped up his career at the age of 38 and retired, hanging up his cleats in 2019.

K9 Installed in Hall of Fame: During his fantastic pitching career Pat Cinelli was hard-nosed competitor. Prior to an important game, he once told reporters, "If we lose today, it will be over my dead body. They'll have to leave me face down on the mound."

It was this attitude that helped to inspire Cinelli to such an outstanding career. Today he was rewarded with his admission into the Brewers League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cinelli retired from baseball at age 39 and fashioned a 160-116 won-lost record in his career with a 3.03 ERA. The gifted hurler appeared in 425 games, fanned 2485 hitters and piled up 2717.1 innings pitched. He also won two Brewmasters Cup championships with the Dallas Sharks in 2017 and 2020.

Delarruz in Brewers League Baseball HOF: Thousands of fans braved the wind to watch and cheer as baseball's latest legend, Joe Delarruz, was inducted into the Brewers League Baseball Hall of Fame today. With his 161 home runs, 2248 hits and lifetime .264 batting average, everyone knew the gifted shortstop belonged with the immortals of the game. Still, Delarruz remained humble.

"I'm a very lucky person to be born with the skill to play baseball and through baseball I built a name for myself," said Delarruz. Now his career as a baseball player is complete. "This seals it," he said. "To get the recognition that every ballplayer seeks -- this is completion for me."

Delarruz retired at 39 in 1994. He was inducted as a member of the Wilmington Wildcats. In his epic career he played in 2285 games and finished with 883 RBIs and 1335 runs scored.

Hartford Whalers Legend joins Hall of Fame: What does it take to make the baseball Hall of Fame?

Well, whatever it is, Anselmo Mapalo has it. He was inducted into the Brewers League Baseball Hall of Fame today.

Retiring at age 38, Mapalo had an illustrious career with a 192-147 won-loss mark and a 3.37 ERA. He racked up 440 mound appearances and struck out 2208 in 2947 innings.

Asked by reporters to describe what it takes to become a Hall of Famer, he replied, "I guess it all started at my high school graduation. The speaker said to be successful in life, you needed to find 'something you love.' I am here today because I found something I love. Baseball has been my life. It has never been a job. I have been able to have fun playing a game and making a wonderful life for myself and my family. I am a kid that never really had to grow up. Just go to the ballpark each day and throw strikes. That's it."

Anselmo Mapalo closed by saying, "God gave me the talent and blessed me with great coaches, managers, and teammates, who helped me develop it."

Stat of the Week
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Most Home Runs in Debut Season (Top 25 Players, Inaugural Season Ignored)

Player Team Year HR Andy Ulloa SEA 2022 58 Rory Elia CAR 2034 47 David Perry PIT 2032 39 Jon Montalbo PAW 2003 38 Manny Nieto SEA 2022 38 Hector Duarte LAM 1997 37 Ron Snider PIT 2025 37 Dave Hodge KC 2025 36 Joe Rojas+ MIS 1989 34 Wally Copeland PIT 1998 33 Phillip Klopf CAR 2034 33 Don McGuire MAI 1987 32 Danny Nelson VIR 1979 31 Dave Bowne WIL 2025 31 C.J. Viger KC 2020 30 William George CAR 2007 30 Benny Tatsuno PIT 2033 30 Ivan Arellano DAV 1987 30 J.D. Fazlic MON 2024 29 Dave Schaefer NYK 2033 29 Israel Morales PAW 2009 29 Dave Buerger MAI 2024 28 Travis Wallis PIT 2003 28 Rex Morgan+ PIT 1991 28 Don Robison MAI 1991 28

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[Sharkn20]

Damn Matt, u were almost absolitely right (He's asking for $13.5M!!! Matt and his cristal ball!!

[Matt]

Anybody can see what other FA's are asking for. Just click on the Upcoming FA box for other teams.

[Pat]

Good DK as usual.

The Seymour injury is a bummer. It really signifies the end of an era with so many FAs set to depart. Him and Swope were my only 1.1 selections and Swope is going to test FA waters.

[liquidcrash]

Huff has been a beast for me in the minors, but unfortunately he's stuck behind players that my scout likes more and more 1B prospects behind him that will likely pass him. So, I'm not really sure he's going to get much of a chance here. I'd happily move him for little in return, if only to see him get a chance somewhere.

Arballo's been great these past few months. Hopefully he'll win another Pale Ale, but it'll be interesting to see how that voting goes in-game.