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If you can't have Willie...
Sometimes you're working the AH, and you get surprised. Like tonight. I know I have to move on from Mule Haas because the Mundys will be getting promoted, and his numbers are starting to not hang in there as we've moved up. And with a little more than 18,000 to spend, thanks to a sound fiscal approach bolstered by a weird haul yesterday, I figured the next increment would be a piece of cake, get a lefty swinging counterpart to Torrii Hunter for at most a couple of grand, and then judiciously keep improving incrementally.
Then it popped out as I scrolled through with a bigger bankroll than I was used to. It wasn't too hard to kick the tires on most of the 8 to 15K players that popped up. I was only looking for a platoon centerfielder with just okay fielding because of Hunter.
If you grew up when I did, and where I did, there was an obvious second choice to Willie Mays. For some people he was the first choice. I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that it's gonna be awhile before an incredible stroke of luck, or an affordable new card issue, gets me a Willie. And I'll be happy with one. In fact I've retired the Willie Mays exception, so that even he will appear on only one of my rosters, should I get so lucky.
Back to the story. I was shocked to see that second choice, a 1955 Mickey Mantle for 17,000 with a buy now of 17,500. Now I had never been shopping for a centerfielder with this much money, so I expanded to see if there were others and the only other one available was 29,000/35000, or so. In my excitement I forgot. You bet your ass that my heart won over my head and incrementalism was sidelined for the moment. Meet the new centerfielder for the Port Ruppert Mundys. Torii Hunter will be a helluva backup for all three spots.
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