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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPremier League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n C – Marcos Espinoza<\/a>, Northern Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcos Espinoza might be a Hall of Famer? He\u2019s won three Gold Gloves, been on two league winners, and won SL Newcomer of the Year in 2048. As far as soulless stats go, in the modern era of USBA (2021+) he is 19th in catcher WAR. That\u2019s probably higher than you thought! This year he lapped the field in batting average for PL catchers with at least 200 PAs, batting .297 (second place was Nestor Soliman at .250), and he was tied for third in Framing Runs. What a well-rounded fellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1B – Esteban Ortega<\/a>, Hollywood<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ortega was the best base-runner in the PL this season, stealing 38 bases in 41 attempts. He also displayed mouth-watering versatility, playing at least 26 innings at four different positions (and 118 or more innings at three positions). And he\u2019s a switch-hitter that slashed .288\/.388\/.462. He\u2019s on the short list of the league\u2019s most fun players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2B – Xiao-gang Kong<\/a>, Seattle\/Fort Worth<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hate awarding Kong a tail for a season in which he played 73 games, but he had a historically great 37 games with Fort Worth and the rest of the PL 2Bs were uninspiring. While I think moving in the middle of the season is probably pretty difficult, it\u2019s hard to think of a move that is better than going from Dallas\u2019s shitty sidekick to the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3B – Ishaan Swan<\/a>, New Orleans<\/p>\n\n\n\n Swan was the best player in the PL at not making outs, leading the league in average (.324) and OBP (.410). Guys having career seasons in the PL at age 32 should elicit investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SS – Iverson Allen<\/a>, Buffalo<\/p>\n\n\n\n The worst all-time career SS ZR in USBA history is Ron Jackson, who played for Buckhead from 2048-2051. He racked up (down?) an incredible -92.1 ZR in only four seasons. Vancouver\u2019s Xavier Ortiz is now 9th all time on this list after a -13 ZR season put him at -41 ZR for his career. Iverson Allen is the opposite of Ortiz and led PL SS\u2019s in all the important fielding stats, all while hitting well enough. Can\u2019t really ask for more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LF – Rub\u00e9n Nua\u00f1ez<\/a>, Hollywood<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nua\u00f1ez only played 44 games in left field, but I\u2019m tired of looking at Voodoo players having insane breakout seasons so I\u2019d rather talk about him than Always Wright. Rub\u00e9n wins this season\u2019s Most Clutch Award\u2122 with 3.5 WPA. He\u2019s put up amazing numbers in his 30s and is climbing up a number of Hollywood career leaderboards, pretty great for a guy that Cheese can\u2019t wait to get off his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CF – Saikaku Kato<\/a>, New Orleans<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kato played fewer games than last year and all his fielding rates were down, some by a large amount. Offensively he wasn\u2019t as much better than last year as different, trading power for average and some walks. Next time you\u2019re throwing down a huge amount of money on an IFA just remember that tbud got this dude for $200k and he\u2019s been the best CF in the PL for the last two years by a wide margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RF – Chong-hun Chon<\/a>, Boston<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vancouver\u2019s Wei-fang Ping had 47 doubles this year, which is second all-time in the PL. Only PC\u2019s Kuniyoshi Kodo had more, with 51 in 2054. Kodo is also the career doubles leader in USBA with 486. Ping was second in the PL in extra-base hits with 58 – first-place belongs to Chon (59), who led the league in homers, WAR, slugging, OBP, and maybe a few other stats I\u2019m missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DH – Marcos Iglecias<\/a>, Buffalo<\/p>\n\n\n\n Availability is the most important skill, and no one played more games than Iglecias this year, with 109. In the regular season, at least. Dr. Leo Spaceman played the most total games across all of USBA with 128 but we\u2019re not here to talk about that. Iglecias even played a few in the field, and led the Whitewalkers in basically every meaningful offensive stat (15 Troys).<\/p>\n\n\n\n SP – Teika Fukuda<\/a>, New Orleans<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acquiring Fukuda for a 1st and 3rd was a really good deal for tbud, and Fukuda led the league in wins and IP this season. Must be nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n RP – Eugene Pearce<\/a>, New Orleans<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pearce wasn\u2019t the best reliever on his own team, let alone in the PL. And owing $11M over two years to a reliever that shouldn\u2019t pitch against right-hand batters would be a problem for 31 GMs in this league. But not the tGolden tBoy. Pearce was the most decisive pitcher in the league this year, going 7-7 (tied for the league lead in wins for a reliever) with 9 saves. He also led the league with 30 shutdowns and was tied for fourth in meltdowns. What a delightfully entertaining season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silver League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n C – Marvin Lowry<\/a>, Mississippi<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vegas\u2019s platoon of Ricardo Flores and Weiner Blau is my favorite catcher situation in the league, because nothing beats a proper catcher platoon – that\u2019s why Vegas led the SL in team ERA. But Mermaid Tails aren\u2019t cheap, so the singular Marvin Lowry gets the award for catchers. If you\u2019ve ever wondered how much your draft prep matters, an 11th round pick that spent five seasons and more than 300 games in the minors was very likely more valuable than whoever your catcher was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1B – Daniel Webster<\/a>, Toledo<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was really hard finding any interesting SL 1B\u2019s to write about. In the future I might just skip some positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2B – Jochen Nelis<\/a>, Panama City<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are not going to believe this. Nelis played in 101 games, accumulating 381 plate appearances. He hit .312 and was the best defensive 2B in the league. He walked ONE time. His OBP was .311, lower than his batting average. If Dr. Brian was still alive he would lose his mind over a statline like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3B – Gregg Curtis<\/a>, Toledo<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curtis led the league in pretty much all the categories Sasha Mamchenko didn\u2019t, slapping 87 singles while only hitting 6 homers, walking 13 times, and stealing 0 bases. He also probably deserves to win the Gold Glove. RIP Wade Boggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SS – Yoshitora Nakayama<\/a>, Mississippi<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you vote for awards, please do not just select the guy that accumulated the most ZR. Have a soul. Nakayama is the greatest defensive player in the history of our league and he\u2019s still a well above-average player. He should win the Gold Glove every season until he retires. And five years after he retires he should be a unanimous Hall of Fame selection. No one will ever match this dude\u2019s defensive numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LF – Justin Jacobson<\/a>, Mexico City<\/p>\n\n\n\n Possibly my favorite player in the last 20 seasons, and none of my words can do him justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CF – Mark MacGrewar<\/a>, Toledo<\/p>\n\n\n\n MacGrewar has 319 career PL plate appearances, and a .540 OPS. He\u2019s a star in the SL and 3L, though. In related news, D4vid and Baker are in the market for a CF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RF – Max Hoban<\/a>, Panama City<\/p>\n\n\n\n Max is a terrorist that, somehow, mindlessly supports a police state. Be nicer to your parents, Max.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DH – Sasha Mamchenko<\/a>, Mexico City<\/p>\n\n\n\n JJ received a 2nd round pick to take on Mamchenko\u2019s contract, and Sasha rewarded him by leading the league in homers, RBI, slugging, OPS, probably a few other things, and he played all 108 games (availability is the most important skill). JJ is the best GM in the league and the only hope we have at dethroning tbud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SP – Clemenz Lawrence<\/a>, Panama City<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess it\u2019s Lawrence. Though you could also go with Taaij or Johnston. Fox would be a fun pick as well. Counting cups, though, Lawrence led the SL with 15 wins and 4.1 WAR, so I think he\u2019s the right choice. Without him Panama City couldn\u2019t have finished 54-54 with a 0 run differential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RP – Min Der<\/a>, Panama City<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kjeld Burger led the league in saves by a large margin, 31 (second place had 23). He also had a league-leading 8 blown saves, a 4.89 ERA, and -1.3 WAR. I would love to give him this award based on the absurdity of all of that, but Min Der led the league in games for the fifth straight season. Over those five seasons he\u2019s averaged more than 94 innings pitched. He\u2019s probably the most valuable reliever in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Menard\u2019s League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n C – Kagetoki Ando<\/a>, Charleston<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ando was a pro IFA signing this past offseason that turned out to be the most valuable catcher in USBA. Good for Duck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1B – Gareth Kvernoey<\/a>, Charleston<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Music Man Gareth Kvernoey spent a solid 10 seasons in Nova Scotia doing his best Mark Grace impersonation, hitting for a high average with gap power and little home run power. Then he didn\u2019t play at all in 2057, a story for another place and another time. Well rested, he came back in 2058 and led the 3L in hits, doubles, and (as always, most importantly) games played. Availability is the most important skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2B – Tyler Harris<\/a>, Thunder Bay<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to the switch to OOTP 25, Harris was at best a replacement level starter. In the two years since the switch he\u2019s been one of the three best 2B bats in all of USBA. Some guys have all the luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3B – Eisse van Opdorp<\/a>, Pittsburgh<\/p>\n\n\n\n At age 42, Mushy was above average at all facets of the game and won his sixth career league title. He deserves all the awards, and we should cherish him for as long as we\u2019re lucky to have him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SS – Brett Taylor<\/a>, Oakland<\/p>\n\n\n\n Palmer Kent also had a good year. Kent was drafted in the first round of the 2056 draft, while Taylor was drafted in the second round of the 2051 draft. But Taylor is only 12 months older than Kent. That\u2019s wild!<\/p>\n\n\n\n LF – Jeremy Dean<\/a>, Echo Park<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2055 #1 overall pick Jeremy Dean only played 43 games in Left Field, but he wins this award because he also had a 3.14 ERA in 66 innings pitched. He\u2019s the most efficient base stealer we\u2019ll ever see, stealing 93 bases in his career and only being caught five times. When things are done he\u2019ll also be one of the most injured players of all time – he suffered nine injuries in 2058 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CF – Matt Jenkins<\/a>, Montana<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are too many good stories at this spot – Ai-de Lau made $34M this season, David White had a Gold Glove-worthy season while starting 21 games as a pitcher, and former #1 pick Angel Miranda hobbled his way to his best offensive season. But Rookie of the Year Matt Jenkins gets the nod for getting called up before Ant-Mart day and instantly becoming the Pandas best player. Take your asset management elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RF – Shu-yaan Hor<\/a>, Buckhead<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hor was the best player in USBA at not making outs, getting on base 41.6% of the time. He was so good at not making outs that Kerry has made it out of the 3L for the first time in 15 seasons. Anything is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DH – Jos\u00e9 Eiriz<\/a>, Pittsburgh\/Buckhead<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eiriz is probably the only player in the history of USBA to help two teams get promoted from the 3L. Cheese, can you look that up for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n SP – Richard Miller<\/a>, Pittsburgh<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twrl has three Dicks on his team, and this has been very confusing for him. For the most part his Dicks are nothing special – one of them was pretty clearly below average and the other was acceptably average. But this Dick is special, and worth keeping an extra tight hold onto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RP – Carroll Kelly<\/a>, Pittsburgh<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anytime you can trade a 2nd rounder for a guy that was just on waivers you\u2019ve gotta do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I guess I\u2019m most bothered by these awards where people can\u2019t admit they\u2019re wrong. If you organize the world by WAR (or wOBA or wRC or FIP or whatever) I\u2019m sure it\u2019s easy and everything is clear, but you\u2019re also a soulless ghoul. With that I present to you Mermaid Tails: The Most Holistic and\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":818,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usba14.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}