OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-12-2025, 06:05 PM

Nico Tofani – Left Field – Milan Maulers – 85.9% First Ballot

Nico Tofani was a 6’3’’, 195 pound left-handed left fielder from Sinnai, Italy; a commune with 17,000 people on the island of Sardinia. Tofani was a rock solid contact hitter with a steady pop in his bat, posting 31 home runs, 24 doubles, and 13 triples per his 162 game average. He was subpar at drawing walks, but better than most at avoiding strikeouts. Tofani’s best production came against right-handed pitching with a career .959 OPS and 163 wRC+. He still brought positive value against lefties with an .819 OPS and 128 wRC+.

Tofani was often able to stretch out extra bags with his stellar baserunning instincts. He was also a pretty good thief with impressive speed on the basepaths. However, it didn’t translate to defensive range and Tofani graded as a terrible outfielder. He spent the vast majority of his time in left and was firmly mediocre with his glove.

You had to find a spot in the lineup for his bat though, plus Tofani was incredibly likeable. He was a hard worker, loyal, and selfless; emerging as a true fan favorite and an outstanding ambassador over 18 seasons with Milan. Tofani’s durability was generally good too, playing 120+ games in all but two seasons. Despite his longevity, Tofani wasn’t a ‘can’t miss’ prospect ahead of the 2006 EBF Draft. He went late in the second round, 145^th overall, to the Maulers.

Milan certainly got their money’s worth though over nearly two decades. Tofani spent two years in their academy before debuting in 2009 with 100 games and one start. He was a full-timer in 2010 but a part-time starter. Tofani earned the full-time gig in 2011 with excellent results, posting 1.025 OPS and 6.1 WAR. He had less luck in 2012 and was back to a part-time starting role in 2013, although 2013 notably had a six-hit game against Seville. Tofani reclaimed the full-time spot though in 2014 and held onto it for the next decade-plus.

The Maulers were aggressively mid throughout Tofani’s run, averaging 79 wins per season. They were never lousy enough to get relegated, but they only made the playoffs twice in his entire run. Milan had a first round exit in 2011 and a second round defeat in 2015. Tofani stayed steady and loyal through it all, signing a five-year, $42,820,000 extension after the 2014 season. He inked a new five-year, $78,600,000 extension after the 2018 campaign.

Tofani won Silver Sluggers from 2017-19 and in 2023. 2019 was his finest year and lone season as an MVP finalist, taking third. He had career-best 8.2 WAR and 188 wRC+ n both 2018 and 2019. The latter year had his career best OPS (1.053) and his home run high at 42. Tofani’s only time as a conference leader was his 131 RBI in 2017.

A fractured finger kept him out three months in 2022. He bounced back well in 2023 and signed a new three-year, $32,200,000 extension. While less dominant, he remained a quality starter until finally falling off in 2026, getting reduced to a part-time role with a .702 OPS that year. Tofani’s deal expired and he looked for a buyer in 2027 with no luck, retiring that winter just after his 41^st birthday. Milan quickly retired his #51 uniform for his 18 years of reliable service.

Tofani finished with 2589 games, 2825 hits, 1488 runs, 377 doubles, 210 triples, 492 home runs, 1534 RBI, 457 walks, 1261 strikeouts, 838 steals, .319/.352/.576 slash, 155 wRC+, and 75.7 WAR. As of 2037, Tofani is 27^th in games, 32^nd in runs, 24^th in hits, 24^th in total bases (5098), 70^th in doubles, 73^rd in triples, 58^th in home runs, and 32^nd in RBI. He just misses the top 100 for WAR among position players, hurt by his terrible defense.

He was rarely dominant and didn’t get a ton of publicity in his peak since Milan was generally forgettable. But Tofani’s consistency got him some impressive tallies, plus Hall of Fame voters appreciate the rare player who sticks with one franchise for his entire run. Tofani’s efforts landed a first ballot induction at 85.9%, the third of four additions with the European Baseball Federation’s 2032 class.

Lorenzo Rotella – Pitcher – Oslo Octopi – 66.3% Sixth Ballot

Lorenzo Rotella was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Latina, Italy; a city of around 126,000 inhabitants located just over an hour south of Rome. Rotella in his prime was a well-rounded ace with good-to-great stuff, movement, and control. He had a top shelf fastball that regularly clocked in the 98-100 mph range. Rotella’s arsenal also had a forkball, slider, and curveball.

Durability was one of Rotella’s biggest issues in his career, especially in his later years. His stamina was also average-at-best in his prime, limiting him to only five seasons with 200+ innings. Rotella graded as a pretty solid defensive pitcher overall. Like his former Oslo teammate Harvey Coyle though, Rotella was criticized for being a bit selfish and aloof.

The Octopi brought Rotella from Italy to Norway on a developmental deal signed May 2004. He debuted in 2007 at age 2007 with 113.2 passable innings. Rotella was planned for a full-time rotation role in 2008, but missed much of the season between bone chips in his elbow and shoulder inflammation. The next three years had a few smaller injuries that cost him a month or two, but Rotella started to show signs that he could be a legit ace.

Rotella put it all together in 2013 with a Pitcher of the Year season, winning an ERA title at 1.63 and leading the Northern Conference in WHIP (0.88), quality starts (25), shutouts (6), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.4). Those would all be career highs, as was his 243.2 innings and 272 strikeouts. As of 2037, the 1.63 ERA ranks as the 17^th-best qualifying season in EBF history. Rotella even looked great in the playoffs with a 0.98 ERA over 18.1 innings, although Oslo fell in the second round.

The Octopi had seven playoff berths from 2009-16, but lost in the first round each time apart from the 2013 effort. Rotella was underwhelming in his other playoff starts, albeit with a small sample size, finishing with a 3.49 ERA, 1-3 record, 38.2 innings, 44 strikeouts, and 0.8 WAR in the postseason. His numbers were better on the World Baseball Championship stage, pitching for his native Italy from 2009-17.

In 2012, Rotella was 5-0 in six starts with a 2.93 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 43 innings, helping the Italians to a runner-up finish against Romania. Overall in the WBC, Rotella had a 9-5 record, 2.74 ERA, 147.2 innings, 184 strikeouts, 33 walks, 133 ERA+, and 4.3 WAR.

Rotella wasn’t a Pitcher of the Year finalist in 2014 despite repeating with another ERA title at 2.05. That winter, Oslo locked him up to a seven-year, $95,900,000 extension. Disaster would strike in August 2017 with a partially torn UCL with an estimated 10 month recovery time. He suffered a setback in February 2018 and ultimately missed the entire 2018 season.

He wanted to make a comeback and returned in 2019 at age 33, but his ability was greatly diminished by the injury. Rotella spent three more years as an occasional reliever for Oslo with additional injuries plaguing him. He had bone chips in 2019, an oblique strain in 2020, and hamstring strain in 2021. Rotella only had a whopping 70.1 innings combined in his final three years as Oslo tried to get something out of that albatross contract. He retired after the 2021 season at age 35, but was friendly enough with the higher-ups to eventually see his #9 uniform retired.

Rotella finished with a 154-90 record, 2.79 ERA, 2182.1 innings, 2109 strikeouts, 418 walks, 178/251 quality starts, 75 complete games, 18 shutouts, 132 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 50.2 WAR. He doesn’t make the top 100 in any counting stats, largely due to the smaller inning total. Rotella does rank 85^th in ERA among pitchers with 1000+ innings and his 1.03 WHIP ranks 79^th.

Not many guys have two ERA titles and a Pitcher of the Year award, which played a big part from Rotella supporters. The overall tallies were definitely way on the low end, but there had been pitchers with short tenures who had made it into EBF’s Hall of Fame before, either because they left for a different league or got hurt. Some tried to give Rotella some credit for what his tallies might have looked like without the injuries. His efficiency numbers certain meshed up with some previous inductees.

Still, Rotella’s case was definitely very borderline. He debuted in 2027 at 41.8% and got to 52.1% in 2028. Rotella barely missed the 66% requirement in 2030 at 64.5%, leading many to think his time was coming soon. 2031 shook that belief as he dropped to a low of 33.8%. Even with three first-ballot inductees in 2032, Rotella managed to win back a surprisingly large slate of voters. He got 66.3%, barely crossing the line but enough for a sixth-ballot selection to cap off the European Baseball Federation’s 2032 class.

07-12-2025, 06:05 PM	#2321
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,813	2032 EBF Hall of Fame (Part 2) Nico Tofani – Left Field – Milan Maulers – 85.9% First Ballot Nico Tofani was a 6’3’’, 195 pound left-handed left fielder from Sinnai, Italy; a commune with 17,000 people on the island of Sardinia. Tofani was a rock solid contact hitter with a steady pop in his bat, posting 31 home runs, 24 doubles, and 13 triples per his 162 game average. He was subpar at drawing walks, but better than most at avoiding strikeouts. Tofani’s best production came against right-handed pitching with a career .959 OPS and 163 wRC+. He still brought positive value against lefties with an .819 OPS and 128 wRC+. Tofani was often able to stretch out extra bags with his stellar baserunning instincts. He was also a pretty good thief with impressive speed on the basepaths. However, it didn’t translate to defensive range and Tofani graded as a terrible outfielder. He spent the vast majority of his time in left and was firmly mediocre with his glove. You had to find a spot in the lineup for his bat though, plus Tofani was incredibly likeable. He was a hard worker, loyal, and selfless; emerging as a true fan favorite and an outstanding ambassador over 18 seasons with Milan. Tofani’s durability was generally good too, playing 120+ games in all but two seasons. Despite his longevity, Tofani wasn’t a ‘can’t miss’ prospect ahead of the 2006 EBF Draft. He went late in the second round, 145^th overall, to the Maulers. Milan certainly got their money’s worth though over nearly two decades. Tofani spent two years in their academy before debuting in 2009 with 100 games and one start. He was a full-timer in 2010 but a part-time starter. Tofani earned the full-time gig in 2011 with excellent results, posting 1.025 OPS and 6.1 WAR. He had less luck in 2012 and was back to a part-time starting role in 2013, although 2013 notably had a six-hit game against Seville. Tofani reclaimed the full-time spot though in 2014 and held onto it for the next decade-plus. The Maulers were aggressively mid throughout Tofani’s run, averaging 79 wins per season. They were never lousy enough to get relegated, but they only made the playoffs twice in his entire run. Milan had a first round exit in 2011 and a second round defeat in 2015. Tofani stayed steady and loyal through it all, signing a five-year, $42,820,000 extension after the 2014 season. He inked a new five-year, $78,600,000 extension after the 2018 campaign. Tofani won Silver Sluggers from 2017-19 and in 2023. 2019 was his finest year and lone season as an MVP finalist, taking third. He had career-best 8.2 WAR and 188 wRC+ n both 2018 and 2019. The latter year had his career best OPS (1.053) and his home run high at 42. Tofani’s only time as a conference leader was his 131 RBI in 2017. A fractured finger kept him out three months in 2022. He bounced back well in 2023 and signed a new three-year, $32,200,000 extension. While less dominant, he remained a quality starter until finally falling off in 2026, getting reduced to a part-time role with a .702 OPS that year. Tofani’s deal expired and he looked for a buyer in 2027 with no luck, retiring that winter just after his 41^st birthday. Milan quickly retired his #51 uniform for his 18 years of reliable service. Tofani finished with 2589 games, 2825 hits, 1488 runs, 377 doubles, 210 triples, 492 home runs, 1534 RBI, 457 walks, 1261 strikeouts, 838 steals, .319/.352/.576 slash, 155 wRC+, and 75.7 WAR. As of 2037, Tofani is 27^th in games, 32^nd in runs, 24^th in hits, 24^th in total bases (5098), 70^th in doubles, 73^rd in triples, 58^th in home runs, and 32^nd in RBI. He just misses the top 100 for WAR among position players, hurt by his terrible defense. He was rarely dominant and didn’t get a ton of publicity in his peak since Milan was generally forgettable. But Tofani’s consistency got him some impressive tallies, plus Hall of Fame voters appreciate the rare player who sticks with one franchise for his entire run. Tofani’s efforts landed a first ballot induction at 85.9%, the third of four additions with the European Baseball Federation’s 2032 class. Lorenzo Rotella – Pitcher – Oslo Octopi – 66.3% Sixth Ballot Lorenzo Rotella was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Latina, Italy; a city of around 126,000 inhabitants located just over an hour south of Rome. Rotella in his prime was a well-rounded ace with good-to-great stuff, movement, and control. He had a top shelf fastball that regularly clocked in the 98-100 mph range. Rotella’s arsenal also had a forkball, slider, and curveball. Durability was one of Rotella’s biggest issues in his career, especially in his later years. His stamina was also average-at-best in his prime, limiting him to only five seasons with 200+ innings. Rotella graded as a pretty solid defensive pitcher overall. Like his former Oslo teammate Harvey Coyle though, Rotella was criticized for being a bit selfish and aloof. The Octopi brought Rotella from Italy to Norway on a developmental deal signed May 2004. He debuted in 2007 at age 2007 with 113.2 passable innings. Rotella was planned for a full-time rotation role in 2008, but missed much of the season between bone chips in his elbow and shoulder inflammation. The next three years had a few smaller injuries that cost him a month or two, but Rotella started to show signs that he could be a legit ace. Rotella put it all together in 2013 with a Pitcher of the Year season, winning an ERA title at 1.63 and leading the Northern Conference in WHIP (0.88), quality starts (25), shutouts (6), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.4). Those would all be career highs, as was his 243.2 innings and 272 strikeouts. As of 2037, the 1.63 ERA ranks as the 17^th-best qualifying season in EBF history. Rotella even looked great in the playoffs with a 0.98 ERA over 18.1 innings, although Oslo fell in the second round. The Octopi had seven playoff berths from 2009-16, but lost in the first round each time apart from the 2013 effort. Rotella was underwhelming in his other playoff starts, albeit with a small sample size, finishing with a 3.49 ERA, 1-3 record, 38.2 innings, 44 strikeouts, and 0.8 WAR in the postseason. His numbers were better on the World Baseball Championship stage, pitching for his native Italy from 2009-17. In 2012, Rotella was 5-0 in six starts with a 2.93 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 43 innings, helping the Italians to a runner-up finish against Romania. Overall in the WBC, Rotella had a 9-5 record, 2.74 ERA, 147.2 innings, 184 strikeouts, 33 walks, 133 ERA+, and 4.3 WAR. Rotella wasn’t a Pitcher of the Year finalist in 2014 despite repeating with another ERA title at 2.05. That winter, Oslo locked him up to a seven-year, $95,900,000 extension. Disaster would strike in August 2017 with a partially torn UCL with an estimated 10 month recovery time. He suffered a setback in February 2018 and ultimately missed the entire 2018 season. He wanted to make a comeback and returned in 2019 at age 33, but his ability was greatly diminished by the injury. Rotella spent three more years as an occasional reliever for Oslo with additional injuries plaguing him. He had bone chips in 2019, an oblique strain in 2020, and hamstring strain in 2021. Rotella only had a whopping 70.1 innings combined in his final three years as Oslo tried to get something out of that albatross contract. He retired after the 2021 season at age 35, but was friendly enough with the higher-ups to eventually see his #9 uniform retired. Rotella finished with a 154-90 record, 2.79 ERA, 2182.1 innings, 2109 strikeouts, 418 walks, 178/251 quality starts, 75 complete games, 18 shutouts, 132 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 50.2 WAR. He doesn’t make the top 100 in any counting stats, largely due to the smaller inning total. Rotella does rank 85^th in ERA among pitchers with 1000+ innings and his 1.03 WHIP ranks 79^th. Not many guys have two ERA titles and a Pitcher of the Year award, which played a big part from Rotella supporters. The overall tallies were definitely way on the low end, but there had been pitchers with short tenures who had made it into EBF’s Hall of Fame before, either because they left for a different league or got hurt. Some tried to give Rotella some credit for what his tallies might have looked like without the injuries. His efficiency numbers certain meshed up with some previous inductees. Still, Rotella’s case was definitely very borderline. He debuted in 2027 at 41.8% and got to 52.1% in 2028. Rotella barely missed the 66% requirement in 2030 at 64.5%, leading many to think his time was coming soon. 2031 shook that belief as he dropped to a low of 33.8%. Even with three first-ballot inductees in 2032, Rotella managed to win back a surprisingly large slate of voters. He got 66.3%, barely crossing the line but enough for a sixth-ballot selection to cap off the European Baseball Federation’s 2032 class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)