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Interlude – Player Profiles
Gabriel Mendez - RF (Retired)
College – N/A
Drafted – 2014 Inaugural Draft – 1st Round - #3 Overall by Atlanta Flames
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – ATL (2014-2017), IND (2018-2021), LA (2022-2024), TB (2025-26), IND (2027-2028), KC (2029)
The 26-year-old from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic was taken 3rd overall in the 2014 Inaugural Draft and quickly established himself as a firm favourite with the Atlanta fans. His obvious talents were recognised in 2015 with the first of his Outstanding Hitter awards. Two batting titles and a World Series appearance followed before he moved onto pastures new, signing for the Indianapolis Racers prior to the 2018 season. His time in Indianapolis proved to be very fruitful as he claimed three Outstanding hitter awards along with another batting title and two homerun titles. A first World series ring arrived in 2019 in which he was named series MVP and in 2021, his last in Indianapolis, he became the first player to claim the batting triple crown. Mendez settled on Los Angeles as his new home prior to 2022 helping the team win the World Series in his first season and claiming his third homerun title in the process, the next two years were frustrating for Mendez as the team twice fell to Denver in the WLCS denying him a chance at a third World series ring. After the 2024 season Mendez once again became a free agent where the chance of playing with long-time friend and rival Juan Santos was too enticing to turn down. Mendez duly signed a lucrative two-year contract with Tampa Bay, the presence of the bash brothers didn’t help the Hurricanes as the team only made the playoffs once (2026) falling to New York in the divisional round. The final year in Tampa was marred by a serious shoulder injury which robbed Mendez of five weeks and seemed to affect his confidence when he returned, as he hit only .143 in the playoffs. The Racers came calling prior to the 2027 season, making the now 37-year-old Mendez a lucrative offer to return to Indianapolis, signing him for two years and $50M, but age and injury had caught up with Mendez and his two-season stay was a struggle, he missed time with injury (including another shoulder problem) in both seasons and hit only 29 homeruns during that time. After the 2028 season Mendez chose to play one last season rather than retire, a decision which turned out not to be his best, he appeared in just 67 games, mainly off the bench hitting a lowly .167 with two homers on the season. The final hit of his illustrious career was a pinch hit double as Kansas City fell to Las Vegas in the playoffs, he received a standing ovation as he left the field, a fitting end to an outstanding career for one of the NABL’s best.
Career Stats
Regular Season
G - 2111 AB - 7782 RS - 1349 H - 2457 2B - 510 3B - 17 HR - 472 RBI - 1518 BB - 1020 K - 1168 SB - 20 CS - 18 AVG - .316 OBP – .401 SLG – .567 OPS – .967 OPS+ 171 WAR – 103.2
Post Season
G - 83 AB - 308 RS - 43 H - 89 2B - 19 3B - 1 HR - 11 RBI - 48 BB - 33 K - 47 SB - 0 CS – 2 AVG - .289 OBP – .363 SLG – .464 OPS – .827 OPS+ 135
Min-Jae Choi - RP (Retired)
College – N/A
Drafted – 2014 Inaugural Draft – 16th Round - #363 Overall by Detroit Giants
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – DET (2014-2020), NY (2021-2022), LA (2023), WAS (2024-2025) PHO (2025-2026) DEN (2027-2029)
The 22-year-old South Korean phenom was taken by Detroit in the 16th round of the inaugural draft joining a talented roster that caught fire at just the right time in 2015, going on to win the world series with Choi collecting the all-important save in game seven. Choi also went the entire 2015 season without blowing a save opportunity before his streak was ended at 63 in June the following year, although he was still playing at a high level the team around him couldn’t consistently win and eventually fell to back-to-back sub-70-win seasons. That was enough for Choi and he opted out of his contract and chose free agency after the 2020 season, New York won the sweepstakes for Choi signing him to a two-year contract. His time in New York, although more successful than in Detroit (back-to-back division crowns) was ultimately just as frustrating as the Senators failed in the playoffs both years. A playoff appearance with LA followed before a return back east with Washington, the team missed the playoffs in 2024 and a poor start to 2025 saw the Generals blow things up and trade away several stars including Choi who was sent packing to Phoenix. In 2026 the Eagles made the playoffs for the first time in twelve years with Choi playing a big part in their success collecting 44 saves along the way, the team progressed all the way to the WL pennant series but succumbed to eventual World champions Las Vegas. After this very successful season the soon to be 35-year-old found himself in demand, eventually settling for a lucrative 3-year deal with Denver. The following seasons were frustrating for both Choi and the team as they struggled, winning just 70 games in 2027 and 66 in 2028, after a poor start to the 2029 season Choi was removed from the closer role for the first time in his career and there was some speculation that Denver were looking to move him in a trade, but his season (and ultimately his career) came to an end on May 16th when he tore his UCL in a game against Seattle. At the end of the season with his contract over and still facing months of rehab, Min-Jae Choi decided to call time on his career stepping away from the game as the NABL’s all-time saves leader.
Career Stats
Regular Season
G - 1014 GS - 0 W/L - 67-73 SV - 537 ERA – 2.31 IP – 1069.2 BB - 187 K - 1303 WHIP – 0.94 ERA+ 190 WAR – 29.2
Post Season
G - 28 GS - 0 W/L - 2-2 SV - 13 ERA – 1.80 IP – 30.0 BB - 8 K - 42 WHIP – 0.90 ERA+ 431
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