October 18, 1921
Hey, it's the most exciting day of the year: free agency filing day. Christmas? You garbage. Leap Day? Rubbish. The weird holiday that Amelians celebrate where everyone gets dressed up in a purple dress and tries to fish a mythical boot out of the harbour? That's got nothing on free agency filing day.
Here are some of our top guys in this class.
What better way to enter your free agency than just winning MVP? Jackson has easily the most impressive resume in the bunch of free agents. Not only winning MVP this year but coming second in 1920 after receiving most of the first-place votes.
Jackson is taking full advantage of the publicity and is advertising his services at a massive $60k annual cost. For the sake of comparison, here is the top paid players to see how huge this is.
Jackson has got some interesting splits. He destroys right handed pitchers but looks a bit more normal against Southpaws. A .380/.466/.737 slash against righties turns into something slightly-more-normal-but-still-above-average .302/.375/.610 against his left handed brethren.
He also loves The Bear Pit, the hitter-friendly park has been very friendly to Jackson. He hits an astonishing .423/.500/.863 at home but .287/.374/.531 on the road. It certainly raises the question if he can hit like he has for the Polar Bears anywhere else. Teams should be wary before they commit to the $60k.
The next biggest demand comes from Crimson Forest CF Augie Hanson with a demand of $28,750. Hanson offers most of his value with his defense and skill on the base-paths though he still offers up a slightly above-average bat making him a valuable asset for any team.
He offers a fair amount of power, he was just one home run off from a 20/20 season in 1921, and accumulated a total of 7 lead-off home runs for the Falcons over his two years there.
The Falcons have had two #1 picks in the last two seasons and have gone with a Center Fielder both times (Christian Tiggs and Kevin Stump). We suppose they had little intention of trying to retain Hanson.
Our first pitcher and one of the best practitioners of the left-handed art is next. Phillips was dominant in the middle of 1921, picking up two pitcher of the month awards along the way in May and June. Coming of this strong 1921, he's rumoured to be asking for annual compensation of $24,286.
Peyton Kramer, a key member of the Sharks rotation in their championship run is bound to be a key signing for just about any team hoping to compete in 1922 and beyond. A limited pitch selection might hold his value down a little though but he is asking for $24,000.
The Turtles consistently surprised all with two straight playoff appearances in these two past seasons. Well, one of the biggest drivers of that success has just entered the free agency market. Brookshire is one of the best at suppressing home runs; especially if the hitter is right handed. Over 681 plate appearances against right handed batters, only 4 times was the ball taken long. Compare that to the 479 times against left handed hitters who took him deep 9 times. That translates to the best HR/9 rate in 1920 and the 3rd best in 1921.
Brookshire is asking for $23,600
The others currently rumoured for wanting at least a $20k pay day.
1B Nathan Crews (39 years old, Dustland Sharks) - $22,667
RF Lucas West (28 years old, Amelia City Metros) - $22,600
2B Marty Shell (28 years old, Unicorn Point Athletic Club) - $22,000
SP Dalton Deschenes (28 years old, Amelia City Metros) - $21,333
2B Alex McNamara (40 years old, Whiskeytown Ducks) - $21,000
3B Carl McNutt (35 years old, Dustland Sharks) - $20,333
1B Hollie Huckabee (38 years old, Saffron Turtles) - $20,000