OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - World Baseball League: Following the Sheffield Mountain Hares

dinosauryoshi · 06-27-2024, 06:23 AM

Logo by @20-range

A brief history of the Mountain Hares

Sheffield won its bid for a team in 2055, having shown one of the highest AAA attendances for its team (an affiliate of the London Gentlemen at the time). The team name is a nod to the Peak District National Park, which neighbours the city and features the England’s only population of mountain hares.

A purpose built stadium, Kingfisher Park, was built and completed in late 2057, positioned in the heart of the city a stone’s throw from the popular Pound’s Park and its famous Heron and Kingfisher mural by local artist Peachzz, which she finished when the park was opened in 2024. It features a bunch of small trees behind its centre-field wall, as a tribute to the city’s pride about being Europe’s tree capital, as well as the city’s proximity to the Peak District. The stadium is named after the popular local bird, which can be spotted on the River Don, which flows through the city.

A lot of the Sheffield Mountain Hares’ non-profit work is with sustainability organisations working in Peak District National Park, but they also work with with local charities to help the homeless, and giving significant funding to the local Children’s Hospital, which has since made it one oof Europe’s leading hospitals. They pride themselves on being entirely sponsored by local businesses, including many of the city’s excellent coffee shops, many of which have a stand in areas of the stadium on gamedays

Performance

[/b]Having joined the league in 2058, the Mountain Hares have a losing record of .471, finishing 12th in the division in both of their first two seasons, and 8th in the 2057, where for the first time they didn’t post a losing record, coming out 81-81. They are still one of the lower payroll teams, well below the salary cap, though it is increasing. The panel of 5 owners is known for prioritising the team’s impact using its profits in the local area, and so we’re unlikely to see a high payroll unless more money comes in through sponsorship deals, which has started to happen with a couple of high profile sponsors. The team is a below average market-size team, due to the fact there is already another more established team in England, the London Gentlemen.

Last year saw second-baseman Abdul-Karim bin Jameel, who also became the team’s first all-star, break the teams’ single-season WAR record, with an impressive 5.9. The team’s home run record stands at a pretty low 28, set by Romain Martin (now of the Panama City Poets) in the team’s inaugural season. The league record is all the way up at 75.

Pre-season predictions

OOTP’s pre-season predictions have the team ending up in 10th place at the end of the season with a 80-82 record, though I’m (perhaps falsely) optimistic that we’ll do better than that. The same pre-season predictions have Moscow Blizzard coming out on top of the Europe division.

The players

I’ll give a brief summary of the projected starting players in each position, as well as the starting rotation, before a quick summary of what we can expect from the bull-pen.

Position players

Catcher -Adam Koehler (24 - USA) - from New Orleans, Koehler is an elite defensive catcher, though his offense is just a tick above average. He finished last season with one of the team’s highest WARs (4.3), hitting 15 home runs and batting .259.*

First base -WIllie Perez (37, USA, RHB) - Willie Perez’s arrival over the offseason has created much excitement. Though two decent prospects were traded for him, and Perez is only signed on a one year deal, it’s generally agreed that the excitement of having one of the league’s best players over the last decade plus at Kingfisher Park makes it worth it. He has 9 all-star appearances in his career (and bear in mind with this many players in the league, and only one all-star team per conference it is very hard to get in) and is a great contact and power hitter. His WAR ratings at his last three seasons at the Montana Smokey Bears were 5.7, 6.7 and 4.5, suggesting he might be starting to drop off slightly given his old age, but his 53 home runs last year was the second most in his career. His defensive abilities have never been his strong point, and they’re dropping with age, but there’s a lot of buzz around the Hares that Perez can put up a great offensive season, and perhaps beat a lot of the team’s current offensive single-season records, including that home-run one mentioned earlier.

Second base -*Abdul-Karim bin Jameel (34, Afghanistan, RHB) - the team’s star last season, getting the team’s first all-star appearance since joining the league, bin Jameel put up a Hares record 5.9 WAR last season, hitting 21 home runs and batting .290. He has superb plate discipline, above average power and good contact ability. He’s also a very reliable defender, even if his arm is rather weak. A real fan-favourite.

Third base - Jose Garay (31, Brazil) -a switch-hitter, with slow speed, average power and contact, and decent plate discipline. He’s not going to set the world alight, but he is reliable both behind the plate and as a defender.

Short Stop - Dam De (28, Burma, RHB) - this position is worryingly open, though reports suggest the 28 year old Burman will get a shot at the position. He’s only ever posted negative WAR in the WBL. His strongest attributes are his eye for the strike-zone and his defence, but they’re only average. A definite weak spot in the lineup, which some fans are frustrated has not been addressed.

Left fielder -Kolya Saetgaliev (26, Belarus, RHB) - The 5’9 Belarussian Kolya moved to Sheffield from the Madrid Mallards last season and posted an impressive 1.9 WAR in only 51 games for the Hares. I hope he can continue that pace, though a batting average of .355 looks unsustainable looking at the underlying numbers. He has decent home run power and above average contact over his career.

Centre fielder -Jason Portman (28, USA, RHB) - Very good defensively, Portman is only average at the plate with very little home run power but a decent eye.

Right fielder -Sergio Rutz (32, Honduras, LHB) - a big, 6’5 200 pound Honduran from San Pedro Sula, Rutz is a good defender, excelling at chasing down balls in the outfield, and has good power with contact skills a tick above average. He was signed as a free agent in the off-season, and posted a WAR of 2.8 last season for the Kuala Lumpur Tigers, where he hit for .276 and a solid 22 home runs.

Starting rotation -a definite area of weakness

#1 - Globbe Marinello (34, Italy, RHP) - the Italian right-hander was acquired in the offseason via a trade with the Panama City Poets, he has undeniable talent, but his commitment and loyalty are often called into question, and he’s been known to be a disruptive presence in the locker-room. He’s the kind of pitcher you’d expect in the back-half of a rotation, which doesn’t bode so well, but he has six good pitches, with the slider being his best, and a fastball velocity of 95-97. He’s also good at limiting walks. He posted a WAR of 1.8 last year, and an ERA of 3.49.*

#2 Rafael Guzman (30, Croatian, RHP) - known for the movement he gets on his pitches, and his very high ground-ball rate. He put up a WAR of 2.4 for the Hares last season, with an ERA of 4.96

#3 Yushua bin Saqr (28, Algeria, LHP) - Posting a 2.6 WAR and 4.53 ERA in 33 games for the Hares last season, the Algerian is known for his filthy curveball. The rest of his stuff isn’t quite good enough to make up for his low fast-ball velocity of 92mph. He’s the only left-handed pitcher in the rotation.

#4 Mototomi Motoyanagi (33, Japan, RHP) - a first round pick by the Jakarta Dragons in 2046, he’s never quite lived up to his potential, though had a decent career there before joining the Hares in 2056. With the Hares he’s been fairly reliable, with a WAR of between 2 and 3, and ERAs around 4. Known for his great change-up, his mediocre fastball and poor control can often let him down.

#5 Jonathan Baca (37, Guatemala, RHP) - a crafty pitcher who has no pitch that is particularly reliable for outs but works his way round with decent control. He was signed as a free agent in the off-season, and his age is a definite concern, especially given his ERA of 5.37 last year at the Miami Swordfish, where he only made 11 starts. The kind of guy who should probably be an emergency pitcher, not in the starting rotation...

The bullpen

The Hares’ bullpen is projected below average, though the pen’s youth has some people optimistic about it in the future. The 26 year old Nigerian right-hander Tekle-Mariam Lekimeju, acquired in the expansion draft, is projected as the strongest performer, though all eyes are on 24 year old closer Alois Herzog from Austria who has been putting in solid performances over the last two years for the Hares, and is projected to jump up a level this year. Others likely to make plenty of appearances are Australian 26 year old Christos Budd, and Marshal Islander Mikala Enosa.

Next up - we’ll follow the Hares first series of 2058, at the Nouakchott Sand Sox

06-27-2024, 06:23 AM	#3
dinosauryoshi Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2023 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 328	Sheffield Mountain Hares history and 2058 season preview Logo by @20-range A brief history of the Mountain Hares Sheffield won its bid for a team in 2055, having shown one of the highest AAA attendances for its team (an affiliate of the London Gentlemen at the time). The team name is a nod to the Peak District National Park, which neighbours the city and features the England’s only population of mountain hares. A purpose built stadium, Kingfisher Park, was built and completed in late 2057, positioned in the heart of the city a stone’s throw from the popular Pound’s Park and its famous Heron and Kingfisher mural by local artist Peachzz, which she finished when the park was opened in 2024. It features a bunch of small trees behind its centre-field wall, as a tribute to the city’s pride about being Europe’s tree capital, as well as the city’s proximity to the Peak District. The stadium is named after the popular local bird, which can be spotted on the River Don, which flows through the city. A lot of the Sheffield Mountain Hares’ non-profit work is with sustainability organisations working in Peak District National Park, but they also work with with local charities to help the homeless, and giving significant funding to the local Children’s Hospital, which has since made it one oof Europe’s leading hospitals. They pride themselves on being entirely sponsored by local businesses, including many of the city’s excellent coffee shops, many of which have a stand in areas of the stadium on gamedays Performance [/b]Having joined the league in 2058, the Mountain Hares have a losing record of .471, finishing 12th in the division in both of their first two seasons, and 8th in the 2057, where for the first time they didn’t post a losing record, coming out 81-81. They are still one of the lower payroll teams, well below the salary cap, though it is increasing. The panel of 5 owners is known for prioritising the team’s impact using its profits in the local area, and so we’re unlikely to see a high payroll unless more money comes in through sponsorship deals, which has started to happen with a couple of high profile sponsors. The team is a below average market-size team, due to the fact there is already another more established team in England, the London Gentlemen. Last year saw second-baseman Abdul-Karim bin Jameel, who also became the team’s first all-star, break the teams’ single-season WAR record, with an impressive 5.9. The team’s home run record stands at a pretty low 28, set by Romain Martin (now of the Panama City Poets) in the team’s inaugural season. The league record is all the way up at 75. Pre-season predictions OOTP’s pre-season predictions have the team ending up in 10th place at the end of the season with a 80-82 record, though I’m (perhaps falsely) optimistic that we’ll do better than that. The same pre-season predictions have Moscow Blizzard coming out on top of the Europe division. The players I’ll give a brief summary of the projected starting players in each position, as well as the starting rotation, before a quick summary of what we can expect from the bull-pen. Position players Catcher -Adam Koehler (24 - USA) - from New Orleans, Koehler is an elite defensive catcher, though his offense is just a tick above average. He finished last season with one of the team’s highest WARs (4.3), hitting 15 home runs and batting .259.* First base -WIllie Perez (37, USA, RHB) - Willie Perez’s arrival over the offseason has created much excitement. Though two decent prospects were traded for him, and Perez is only signed on a one year deal, it’s generally agreed that the excitement of having one of the league’s best players over the last decade plus at Kingfisher Park makes it worth it. He has 9 all-star appearances in his career (and bear in mind with this many players in the league, and only one all-star team per conference it is very hard to get in) and is a great contact and power hitter. His WAR ratings at his last three seasons at the Montana Smokey Bears were 5.7, 6.7 and 4.5, suggesting he might be starting to drop off slightly given his old age, but his 53 home runs last year was the second most in his career. His defensive abilities have never been his strong point, and they’re dropping with age, but there’s a lot of buzz around the Hares that Perez can put up a great offensive season, and perhaps beat a lot of the team’s current offensive single-season records, including that home-run one mentioned earlier. Second base -Abdul-Karim bin Jameel (34, Afghanistan, RHB) - the team’s star last season, getting the team’s first all-star appearance since joining the league, bin Jameel put up a Hares record 5.9 WAR last season, hitting 21 home runs and batting .290. He has superb plate discipline, above average power and good contact ability. He’s also a very reliable defender, even if his arm is rather weak. A real fan-favourite. Third base* - Jose Garay (31, Brazil) -a switch-hitter, with slow speed, average power and contact, and decent plate discipline. He’s not going to set the world alight, but he is reliable both behind the plate and as a defender. Short Stop - Dam De (28, Burma, RHB) - this position is worryingly open, though reports suggest the 28 year old Burman will get a shot at the position. He’s only ever posted negative WAR in the WBL. His strongest attributes are his eye for the strike-zone and his defence, but they’re only average. A definite weak spot in the lineup, which some fans are frustrated has not been addressed. Left fielder -Kolya Saetgaliev (26, Belarus, RHB) - The 5’9 Belarussian Kolya moved to Sheffield from the Madrid Mallards last season and posted an impressive 1.9 WAR in only 51 games for the Hares. I hope he can continue that pace, though a batting average of .355 looks unsustainable looking at the underlying numbers. He has decent home run power and above average contact over his career. Centre fielder -Jason Portman (28, USA, RHB) - Very good defensively, Portman is only average at the plate with very little home run power but a decent eye. Right fielder -Sergio Rutz (32, Honduras, LHB) - a big, 6’5 200 pound Honduran from San Pedro Sula, Rutz is a good defender, excelling at chasing down balls in the outfield, and has good power with contact skills a tick above average. He was signed as a free agent in the off-season, and posted a WAR of 2.8 last season for the Kuala Lumpur Tigers, where he hit for .276 and a solid 22 home runs. Starting rotation -a definite area of weakness #1 - Globbe Marinello (34, Italy, RHP) - the Italian right-hander was acquired in the offseason via a trade with the Panama City Poets, he has undeniable talent, but his commitment and loyalty are often called into question, and he’s been known to be a disruptive presence in the locker-room. He’s the kind of pitcher you’d expect in the back-half of a rotation, which doesn’t bode so well, but he has six good pitches, with the slider being his best, and a fastball velocity of 95-97. He’s also good at limiting walks. He posted a WAR of 1.8 last year, and an ERA of 3.49.* #2 Rafael Guzman (30, Croatian, RHP) - known for the movement he gets on his pitches, and his very high ground-ball rate. He put up a WAR of 2.4 for the Hares last season, with an ERA of 4.96 #3 Yushua bin Saqr (28, Algeria, LHP) - Posting a 2.6 WAR and 4.53 ERA in 33 games for the Hares last season, the Algerian is known for his filthy curveball. The rest of his stuff isn’t quite good enough to make up for his low fast-ball velocity of 92mph. He’s the only left-handed pitcher in the rotation. #4 Mototomi Motoyanagi (33, Japan, RHP) - a first round pick by the Jakarta Dragons in 2046, he’s never quite lived up to his potential, though had a decent career there before joining the Hares in 2056. With the Hares he’s been fairly reliable, with a WAR of between 2 and 3, and ERAs around 4. Known for his great change-up, his mediocre fastball and poor control can often let him down. #5 Jonathan Baca (37, Guatemala, RHP) - a crafty pitcher who has no pitch that is particularly reliable for outs but works his way round with decent control. He was signed as a free agent in the off-season, and his age is a definite concern, especially given his ERA of 5.37 last year at the Miami Swordfish, where he only made 11 starts. The kind of guy who should probably be an emergency pitcher, not in the starting rotation... The bullpen The Hares’ bullpen is projected below average, though the pen’s youth has some people optimistic about it in the future. The 26 year old Nigerian right-hander Tekle-Mariam Lekimeju, acquired in the expansion draft, is projected as the strongest performer, though all eyes are on 24 year old closer Alois Herzog from Austria who has been putting in solid performances over the last two years for the Hares, and is projected to jump up a level this year. Others likely to make plenty of appearances are Australian 26 year old Christos Budd, and Marshal Islander Mikala Enosa. Next up - we’ll follow the Hares first series of 2058, at the Nouakchott Sand Sox Last edited by dinosauryoshi; 07-01-2024 at 11:16 AM.