OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-19-2024, 02:41 PM

Rodrigo Vilanova – Left Field – Madrid Conquistadors – 97.6% First Ballot

Rodrigo Vilanova was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Esmoriz, Portugal; a city of only 11,400 on the northwestern coast. Vilanova was an excellent contact hitter who was great at avoiding strikeouts and respectable at drawing walks. He also hit the ball quite hard with consistency. Vilanova had ten seasons with 30+ home runs and two with 40+. He also got you 25 doubles and 15 triples per his 162 game average.

Vilanova had good to great speed and outstanding baserunning instincts. He successfully stole on around 70% of his attempts. Vilanova was a career left fielder and was known for having a very strong arm. He graded out as just below average for his career defensively, but he was by no means a liability. Vilanova also had excellent durability for most of his run, starting 140+ games each year from 1988-2000.

In the 1984 EBF Draft, Vilanova was picked 32^nd overall by Madrid, where he’d spend his entire career. The Conquistadors left him on the reserve roster for all of 1985, debuting him in 1986 at age 21 with 72 games and 4 starts. Madrid was a strong roster and a tough one to make at this point. In 1987, he didn’t play for the entire regular season. Vilanova did have one postseason at-bat, which earned him a ring as the Conquistadors won the European Championship over Amsterdam.

Vilanova earned a starting spot in 1988 and held it for the next 13 seasons. He led the Southern Conference in doubles with a career best 45 in 1988. He posted six straight seasons worth 7+ WAR. Vilanova led in total bases and wRC+ in 1990. That year, he smacked 45 home runs with 128 RBI, a 1.058 OPS, and 10.5 WAR. He earned his lone MVP and his first Silver Slugger.

Madrid had missed the playoffs in 1988 and 1989, but Vilanova’s MVP helped them back to the mountaintop. The Conquistadors won the 1990 European Championship against Hamburg. In that run, Vilanova had 26 hits, 17 runs, 3 homers, 8 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Madrid’s run ended here as they missed the playoffs from 1991-98. They weren’t bad in that stretch, just mid with an average win total at 83.6.

Vilanova won his second Silver Slugger in 1991 with a 9.6 WAR effort and was signed to an eight-year, $14,460,000 extension that winter. 1992 was his finest season with conference and career bests in runs (136), hits (233), RBI (134), total bases (426), average (.388), OBP (.418), and OPS (1.127). He also matched his homers best of 45 and set new bests in wRC+ (206) and WAR (11.3). He won a Silver Slugger, but took second in MVP voting to two-way star and Pitcher of the Year Edgar Miranda.

In 1993, Vilanova led again in hits (225), and batting average (.358). That would be his last time atop a leaderboard. He would win two more Silver Sluggers (1994, 1998) to have six total. Vilanova was down from his peak, but still reliably earned around 4-6 WAR each season. Madrid was happy with the result and gave him a four-year, $12,640,000 extension after the 1998 season at age 34.

Vilanova had also been a regular for his native Portugal in the World Baseball Classic, playing 154 games with 136 starts from 1986-2003. Vilanova had 145 hits, 82 runs, 28 doubles, 32 home runs, 84 RBI, 42 stolen bases, a .267/.326/.506 slash, 137 wRC+, and 4.9 WAR.

Madrid finally reemerged as a major contender and began a dynasty run. They won the European Championship in 1999 against Hamburg. This started a seven-year playoff streak that also saw conference titles in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Each of those years, the Conquistadors were denied in the final.

Vilanova was a key starter in 1999 and 2000, but saw his role reduced after that. For his playoff career, he had 80 games and 60 starts with 73 hits, 46 runs, 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 36 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a .283/.316/.481 slash, 118 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR.

In his final three seasons, Vilanova was used primarily in a platoon role against right-handed pitching. He still provided positive value and played 323 games in this stretch, but he only started 85 games. Vilanova was purely a pinch hitter in 2003 and opted to retire after that campaign at age 38. Madrid immediately honored him by retiring his #34 uniform.

Vilanova finished with 2791 hits, 1583 runs, 384 doubles, 225 triples, 455 home runs, 1533 RBI, 980 stolen bases, a .329/.371/.589 slash, 159 wRC+, and 100.6 WAR. He ranks 29^th among position players in WAR and almost quietly put together a very impressive career. Vilanova isn’t at the top of any leaderboards, but he certainly doesn’t look out of place.

He helped usher in two distinct title runs for Madrid and was a huge piece especially in the 1990 championship. In any other year, Vilanova might be a strong headliner. He had the third highest percentage in the loaded 2009 EBF Hall of Fame class, but was still a no-doubter at 97.6%.

Luca Wouterson – Center Field – Rotterdam Ravens – 70.1% Tenth Ballot

Luca Wouterson was a 6’2’’, 205 pound right-handed center fielder from Duiven, a town of 25,000 people in the eastern Netherlands. Wouterson was a very solid contact hitter in his prime who was good at putting the ball in play. He had a low strikeout rate and decent knack for drawing walks. Wouterson wasn’t a prolific slugger by any means, but still got you around 20 home runs per season. Gap power was Wouterson’s best attribute as a hitter, averaging 37 doubles and 14 triples per his 162 game average.

He had pretty good speed and was an excellent base runner. Wouterson was a career center fielder and was considered reliably above average to good defensively. Wouterson’s durability was okay, although sporadic injuries did cost him a month or two some years. He was a nice guy that was easy to get along with.

Wouterson was one of the highly touted Dutch prospects ahead of the 1982 EBF Draft, which drew special attention from Rotterdam. The Ravens grabbed him with the seventh overall pick and he’d spend his entire EBF career there. Wouterson was popular with both Rotterdam fans and Dutch baseball fans generally.

From 1984-96, Wouterson was a regular starter for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Championship. He had 125 games and 124 starts with 112 hits, 56 runs, 19 doubles, 18 home runs, 41 RBI, 38 stolen bases, a .235/.291/.401 slash, 100 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR.

Wouterson was a full-time starter right away for Rotterdam, although a rotator cuff strain cost him a month of his rookie season. Still, his debut effort saw 4.3 WAR, which was good for the 1983 Rookie of the Year. The next two seasons, Wouterson led the Northern Conference in doubles, peaking with a career best 49 in 1984. From 1984-90, he had six seasons worth 7+ WAR.

1985 was his top season by WAR with 9.7, earning a Silver Slugger. In April 1987, Rotterdam gave him an eight-year, $10,180,000 extension. Wouterson won batting titles in both 1987 and 1988 with a career-best .359 average in 1987. He took Silver Sluggers both seasons and was second in MVP voting in 1987. That was the only time he was an MVP finalist. Wouterson won a fourth EBF Silver Slugger in 1991.

Rotterdam was a playoff regular during his tenure, earning eight berths from 1985-93. The Ravens got the reputation as playoff chokers, as they suffered first round exits in seven of those eight. Wouterson was generally good over his 43 playoff games with 60 hits, 27 runs, 13 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 18 RBI, a .349/.370/.535 slash, 154 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR.

In 1992, Rotterdam finally got over the hump. They won the European Championship that season over Lisbon. In that playoff run, Wouterson had 19 this, 9 runs, 5 doubles, 8 stolen bases, and a .328 average. His role in getting them back to the top played a big part in Wouterson’s #46 uniform later being retired by the Ravens.

Wouterson was still playing at a strong level into his early 30s, but suffered a major setback in early 1994. In early spring training, he suffered a torn calf muscle that had setback and required surgery. This put him out 7-8 months and he only made it back for the final week of the season. He struggled in his limited appearances and became a free agent heading into his age 34 season.

No EBF teams wanted to give him big free agent money off that injury with fears that he was cooked. Wouterson had to go to Africa to find a gig, signing a five-year, $8,100,000 deal with Dar es Salaam of the African Association of Baseball. He played four seasons with the Sabercats and was a respectable starter when healthy.

The unfortunate reality is that he was rarely healthy, peaking with 103 games in 1995. A whole host of maladies limited him, although he still earned a Silver Slugger in 1996 with 4.2 WAR over 95 games. The run ended with a broken bone in his elbow in August 1998, costing him six months.

With Dar es Salaam, Wouterson had 8.6 WAR in 321 games, 300 hits, 183 runs, 64 doubles, 50 home runs, 144 RBI, a .262/.350/.457 slash, and 126 wRC+. He hoped to still play in 1999, but went unsigned, retiring that winter at age 38. For his entire pro career, Wouterson had 2243 hits, 1171 runs, 435 doubles, 169 triples, 254 home runs, 998 RBI, 683 stolen bases, a .312/.358/.526 slash, 146 wRC+, and 82.7 WAR.

Just in EBF with Rotterdam, Wouterson had 1943 hits, 988 runs, 371 doubles, 164 triples, 204 home runs, 854 RBI, 614 stolen bases, a .322/.359/.539 slash, 151 wRC+, and 74.1 WAR. The rate stats were nice, but his accumulations were very borderline. Most of the other guys with similar low totals had more impressive peaks often before leaving for MLB. Wouterson had an uphill climb to earn induction.

He debuted at only 32.5% and hovered around there for his first few years on the ballot. Wouterson jumped to 52.4% in 2005, but fell right back down to 23.5%. The roller coaster continued with a new best in 2007 at 56.6%, followed by a new low at 21.7% in 2008. With that, most people, Wouterson included, assumed he was destined for the Hall of Pretty Good.

It was especially surprising that Wouterson gained ground in 2009 with two better outfielders (Fierro and Vilanova) in the group in front of him. Supporters pushed hard to get Wouterson recognized, arguing the low totals were due to injury and not talent.

With that, Wouterson crossed the 66% requirement with 70.1% to round off the impressive four-player 2009 EBF Hall of Fame class. He was the second EBF inductee making it on his tenth and final chance, joining SP Cornelius Danner from 2003.

07-19-2024, 02:41 PM	#1441
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,617	2009 EBF Hall of Fame (Part 2) Rodrigo Vilanova – Left Field – Madrid Conquistadors – 97.6% First Ballot Rodrigo Vilanova was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Esmoriz, Portugal; a city of only 11,400 on the northwestern coast. Vilanova was an excellent contact hitter who was great at avoiding strikeouts and respectable at drawing walks. He also hit the ball quite hard with consistency. Vilanova had ten seasons with 30+ home runs and two with 40+. He also got you 25 doubles and 15 triples per his 162 game average. Vilanova had good to great speed and outstanding baserunning instincts. He successfully stole on around 70% of his attempts. Vilanova was a career left fielder and was known for having a very strong arm. He graded out as just below average for his career defensively, but he was by no means a liability. Vilanova also had excellent durability for most of his run, starting 140+ games each year from 1988-2000. In the 1984 EBF Draft, Vilanova was picked 32^nd overall by Madrid, where he’d spend his entire career. The Conquistadors left him on the reserve roster for all of 1985, debuting him in 1986 at age 21 with 72 games and 4 starts. Madrid was a strong roster and a tough one to make at this point. In 1987, he didn’t play for the entire regular season. Vilanova did have one postseason at-bat, which earned him a ring as the Conquistadors won the European Championship over Amsterdam. Vilanova earned a starting spot in 1988 and held it for the next 13 seasons. He led the Southern Conference in doubles with a career best 45 in 1988. He posted six straight seasons worth 7+ WAR. Vilanova led in total bases and wRC+ in 1990. That year, he smacked 45 home runs with 128 RBI, a 1.058 OPS, and 10.5 WAR. He earned his lone MVP and his first Silver Slugger. Madrid had missed the playoffs in 1988 and 1989, but Vilanova’s MVP helped them back to the mountaintop. The Conquistadors won the 1990 European Championship against Hamburg. In that run, Vilanova had 26 hits, 17 runs, 3 homers, 8 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Madrid’s run ended here as they missed the playoffs from 1991-98. They weren’t bad in that stretch, just mid with an average win total at 83.6. Vilanova won his second Silver Slugger in 1991 with a 9.6 WAR effort and was signed to an eight-year, $14,460,000 extension that winter. 1992 was his finest season with conference and career bests in runs (136), hits (233), RBI (134), total bases (426), average (.388), OBP (.418), and OPS (1.127). He also matched his homers best of 45 and set new bests in wRC+ (206) and WAR (11.3). He won a Silver Slugger, but took second in MVP voting to two-way star and Pitcher of the Year Edgar Miranda. In 1993, Vilanova led again in hits (225), and batting average (.358). That would be his last time atop a leaderboard. He would win two more Silver Sluggers (1994, 1998) to have six total. Vilanova was down from his peak, but still reliably earned around 4-6 WAR each season. Madrid was happy with the result and gave him a four-year, $12,640,000 extension after the 1998 season at age 34. Vilanova had also been a regular for his native Portugal in the World Baseball Classic, playing 154 games with 136 starts from 1986-2003. Vilanova had 145 hits, 82 runs, 28 doubles, 32 home runs, 84 RBI, 42 stolen bases, a .267/.326/.506 slash, 137 wRC+, and 4.9 WAR. Madrid finally reemerged as a major contender and began a dynasty run. They won the European Championship in 1999 against Hamburg. This started a seven-year playoff streak that also saw conference titles in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Each of those years, the Conquistadors were denied in the final. Vilanova was a key starter in 1999 and 2000, but saw his role reduced after that. For his playoff career, he had 80 games and 60 starts with 73 hits, 46 runs, 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 36 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a .283/.316/.481 slash, 118 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR. In his final three seasons, Vilanova was used primarily in a platoon role against right-handed pitching. He still provided positive value and played 323 games in this stretch, but he only started 85 games. Vilanova was purely a pinch hitter in 2003 and opted to retire after that campaign at age 38. Madrid immediately honored him by retiring his #34 uniform. Vilanova finished with 2791 hits, 1583 runs, 384 doubles, 225 triples, 455 home runs, 1533 RBI, 980 stolen bases, a .329/.371/.589 slash, 159 wRC+, and 100.6 WAR. He ranks 29^th among position players in WAR and almost quietly put together a very impressive career. Vilanova isn’t at the top of any leaderboards, but he certainly doesn’t look out of place. He helped usher in two distinct title runs for Madrid and was a huge piece especially in the 1990 championship. In any other year, Vilanova might be a strong headliner. He had the third highest percentage in the loaded 2009 EBF Hall of Fame class, but was still a no-doubter at 97.6%. Luca Wouterson – Center Field – Rotterdam Ravens – 70.1% Tenth Ballot Luca Wouterson was a 6’2’’, 205 pound right-handed center fielder from Duiven, a town of 25,000 people in the eastern Netherlands. Wouterson was a very solid contact hitter in his prime who was good at putting the ball in play. He had a low strikeout rate and decent knack for drawing walks. Wouterson wasn’t a prolific slugger by any means, but still got you around 20 home runs per season. Gap power was Wouterson’s best attribute as a hitter, averaging 37 doubles and 14 triples per his 162 game average. He had pretty good speed and was an excellent base runner. Wouterson was a career center fielder and was considered reliably above average to good defensively. Wouterson’s durability was okay, although sporadic injuries did cost him a month or two some years. He was a nice guy that was easy to get along with. Wouterson was one of the highly touted Dutch prospects ahead of the 1982 EBF Draft, which drew special attention from Rotterdam. The Ravens grabbed him with the seventh overall pick and he’d spend his entire EBF career there. Wouterson was popular with both Rotterdam fans and Dutch baseball fans generally. From 1984-96, Wouterson was a regular starter for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Championship. He had 125 games and 124 starts with 112 hits, 56 runs, 19 doubles, 18 home runs, 41 RBI, 38 stolen bases, a .235/.291/.401 slash, 100 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR. Wouterson was a full-time starter right away for Rotterdam, although a rotator cuff strain cost him a month of his rookie season. Still, his debut effort saw 4.3 WAR, which was good for the 1983 Rookie of the Year. The next two seasons, Wouterson led the Northern Conference in doubles, peaking with a career best 49 in 1984. From 1984-90, he had six seasons worth 7+ WAR. 1985 was his top season by WAR with 9.7, earning a Silver Slugger. In April 1987, Rotterdam gave him an eight-year, $10,180,000 extension. Wouterson won batting titles in both 1987 and 1988 with a career-best .359 average in 1987. He took Silver Sluggers both seasons and was second in MVP voting in 1987. That was the only time he was an MVP finalist. Wouterson won a fourth EBF Silver Slugger in 1991. Rotterdam was a playoff regular during his tenure, earning eight berths from 1985-93. The Ravens got the reputation as playoff chokers, as they suffered first round exits in seven of those eight. Wouterson was generally good over his 43 playoff games with 60 hits, 27 runs, 13 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 18 RBI, a .349/.370/.535 slash, 154 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR. In 1992, Rotterdam finally got over the hump. They won the European Championship that season over Lisbon. In that playoff run, Wouterson had 19 this, 9 runs, 5 doubles, 8 stolen bases, and a .328 average. His role in getting them back to the top played a big part in Wouterson’s #46 uniform later being retired by the Ravens. Wouterson was still playing at a strong level into his early 30s, but suffered a major setback in early 1994. In early spring training, he suffered a torn calf muscle that had setback and required surgery. This put him out 7-8 months and he only made it back for the final week of the season. He struggled in his limited appearances and became a free agent heading into his age 34 season. No EBF teams wanted to give him big free agent money off that injury with fears that he was cooked. Wouterson had to go to Africa to find a gig, signing a five-year, $8,100,000 deal with Dar es Salaam of the African Association of Baseball. He played four seasons with the Sabercats and was a respectable starter when healthy. The unfortunate reality is that he was rarely healthy, peaking with 103 games in 1995. A whole host of maladies limited him, although he still earned a Silver Slugger in 1996 with 4.2 WAR over 95 games. The run ended with a broken bone in his elbow in August 1998, costing him six months. With Dar es Salaam, Wouterson had 8.6 WAR in 321 games, 300 hits, 183 runs, 64 doubles, 50 home runs, 144 RBI, a .262/.350/.457 slash, and 126 wRC+. He hoped to still play in 1999, but went unsigned, retiring that winter at age 38. For his entire pro career, Wouterson had 2243 hits, 1171 runs, 435 doubles, 169 triples, 254 home runs, 998 RBI, 683 stolen bases, a .312/.358/.526 slash, 146 wRC+, and 82.7 WAR. Just in EBF with Rotterdam, Wouterson had 1943 hits, 988 runs, 371 doubles, 164 triples, 204 home runs, 854 RBI, 614 stolen bases, a .322/.359/.539 slash, 151 wRC+, and 74.1 WAR. The rate stats were nice, but his accumulations were very borderline. Most of the other guys with similar low totals had more impressive peaks often before leaving for MLB. Wouterson had an uphill climb to earn induction. He debuted at only 32.5% and hovered around there for his first few years on the ballot. Wouterson jumped to 52.4% in 2005, but fell right back down to 23.5%. The roller coaster continued with a new best in 2007 at 56.6%, followed by a new low at 21.7% in 2008. With that, most people, Wouterson included, assumed he was destined for the Hall of Pretty Good. It was especially surprising that Wouterson gained ground in 2009 with two better outfielders (Fierro and Vilanova) in the group in front of him. Supporters pushed hard to get Wouterson recognized, arguing the low totals were due to injury and not talent. With that, Wouterson crossed the 66% requirement with 70.1% to round off the impressive four-player 2009 EBF Hall of Fame class. He was the second EBF inductee making it on his tenth and final chance, joining SP Cornelius Danner from 2003. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)