Here's a few guys who decided to trade in the uncertainty of being a borderline BBA player to be one of the Big Fish in the Little Pond of the UMEBA. These are guys who fairly young (under 30) and may see another chance at the BBA depending how they perform. There's also a few guys who had their chance to shine in the BBA and are looking to just play the game for a few extra seasons.
Bagdad Kings
1B - Jack Hankey (8/5/6/3/9)
Career BBA Stats - .245 BA / .628 OPS / 4 HR's / -1.4 WAR
Hankey never could quite to make it full time in Phoenix. Lacking power, he was unable to keep his average up enough to offset his terrible slugging numbers. Jack thrived in Baghad last season, leading the league in batting average and OBP.
CF - Jin-Guo Long (5/6/3/10/5)
Career BBA Stats - None
The Chinese Outfielder never felt at home in the US. The Scouts were down on him. Despite his above average defense, he just didn't have the ability at the plate to make it to the majors. After being released in 2034, he decided to retire from Pro Ball and head home to Bejing at 21 years old. In the meantime, Long worked on his game, especially improving his eye and adding some power. With the announcement of the UMEBA, Long was contacted by Bagdad to come try out and impressed the coaches. He lead the league with 50 walks in 64 games.
Beirut Cedars
LF Travis Lara (4/4/6/6/5) - Age 28
Career BBA Stats - .223 BA / .670 OPS / -1.2 WAR
Travis's well rounded defensive ability and elite base stealing speed allowed him to hang around the BBA for 4 season, but could never put it together at the plate. He should find a nice home with the Cedars and be one of the top players in the league.
SP RJ Hughes (7/5/7) - Age 27
Career BBA Stats - None - Retire 2031 (age 20)
Rj's family always told him he could have made to the big leagues. 6 years after inexplicity walking away from the BBA minor leagues at 20 years old, Hughes got a hair up ass at age 26 and tried out for the Cedars. The coaches couldn't believe their luck. He still had his velocity and though a bit rusty, was able to throw three solid pitches with a BBA elite level change up. At only 27 years old, is there a BBA future for RJ? He won the best pitcher in the UMEBA award in 2037.
Bucharest Balauri
3B Larent Fernandez (4/7/7/5/5)- Age 29
Career BBA Stats - .242 BA / .681 OPS / 19 HR's / -0.4 WAR
Larent played for the Omaha Hawks in the 2030's, but could never really break out. After an short vacation from baseball, Fernandez returned and lead the UMEBA in RBI's. He's another Euro player happy to be closer to his home in Belgium.
The Cairo Chariot Archers BC
CA - Xie-Li Luo (5/8/5/2/4) - Age 27
Career BBA Stats - .261 BA / .721 OPS / 48 HR's / 4.0 WAR
Luo has 4 BBA seasons as a Back Up Catcher under his belt. Two with Huntsville and 2+ with Nashville. He was fairly productive early on, but struggled in 2037 and was released by Nashille. With above average defensive ability, Xie-Li should be the full time Cairo Catcher in 2038. When asked, he was pretty happy getting another shot in the UMEBA, mostly because he's going to be about 14 hours flying time closer to his home in Taiwan.
1B - Byron Hearle (4/5/7/8/6)
Career BBA Stats - .252 BA / .818 OPS / 104 HR's / 4.0 WAR
Hearle was once a highly rated player coming up in the minors for Charm City. He then put up three solid seasons in five from 2031-2035, even hitting 30 homers in 2035. But he was also inconsistent at times and started fading fast before being allowed to enter free agency by Charm City in 2037.
Istanbul Bosphorus
SP Atsumori Maeda (3/7/7) - Age 39
Career BBA Stats - 213 Wins - 170 Losses - 3.88 ERA - 44.2 WAR
For having only ONE All Star Appearance and NO post season awards, Maeda has put up quite an impressive BBA career. 200+ wins is no joke regardless if you consider him Hall of Fame worthy or not. It's easy to overlook Maeda when you take a quick look at his career stats. Then you realize he had 20 wins in 2026 and 18 in 2030, even 16 wins in 2033... then you further back and Maeda won 15 games in 2022. His 3,449 Innings Pitched puts him in the Top 25 All Time in the BBA. Maeda lost his 2037 season to injury before being released by Nashville and will likely put up nice numbers quietly for Istanbul and still fly under the radar.
CA Brandon Bailey (4/5/7/7/4) - Age 39
Career BBA Stats - .229 BA/ .747 OPS / 28 HR's / 2.5 WAR
Istanbul's BBA retirement programs continues with Bailey. Brandon managed an extended career as a defensive back up catcher who could hit for power, but struck out a ton. Bailey was constantly on the move, sometimes switching teams a few times per season. He should find a nice home in Istanbul to close out his career.
Jerusalem Hebrew Hammers
SP Ramon Suarez (5/7/4) - Age 25
Career BBA Stats - None
For years, Suarez shown the potential to be a dominant BBA reliever, but the Ramon never could quite put it together and languished in the minors. He jumped at the chance to hook up with the Hammers. They gave him a chance to start and he fit in well, winning 10 games in 14 starts. At only 25 years old, the UEMBA should give Suarez the chance to develop his elite curveball for a future chance to return to the BBA.
3B Rick Terry (5/6/4/6/6) - Age 29
Career BBA Stats - .256 BA / .703 OPS / 56 HR's / 2.6 WAR
Terry made a 7 year BBA career of being able to do anything except hit for power and play centerfield (and pitch or play catcher I suppose). Anyway, the guy is well rounded defensively and should be a great asset for the Hammers in UMEBA.
CA Honorio Queixada (4/4/8/7/4) - Age 26
Career BBA Stats - .183 BA / .611 OPS / 25 HR's / -0.1 WAR
A fine defensive catcher who had enough power to make a long BBA career if could put the ball in play more. Averaging almost 200 K's per 600 AB's just wont cut it... However, Honorio should make a nice home in UEMBA and dominate the pitching there. 40+ Homers and a .900+ OPS is within his reach.
Manama Pearls
CA Jeff Melton
Career BBA Stats - .282 BA / .759 OPS / 11 HR's / 1.8 WAR
Jeff Melton had some offensive talent, but was sub-par defensively as a catcher. Nothing more that limited back up catcher role in Las Vegas, Melton made his way to the UMEBA last season and played well for Manama.
Mumbai Metro Stars
CA Jose Romero (5/5/5/8/6) Age 30
Career BBA Stats - None
It seems that the UMEBA is collecting former BBA catchers. At one time, Romero was a highly touted Catcher in the old EBA. He was picked up by Twin Cities in the Expansion draft and stalled out at AAA before calling it quits at age 22. He played well for Mumbai last season and is currently the #1 ranked catcher in the UMEBA. If the cards fall right for Jose, it's possible he could see some BBA action in the years ahead.