The Second Floor | Un poco más de Tiempo (63.08)

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2.17.2063 Monarchs Spring Training Facility

Pitching coach León Moran and bench coach Max Hatcher (himself a top flight catching instructor) stood at the top of the dugout of Field 1. Pitchers and catchers had reported to spring training a week earlier for their workouts, and the coaches were watching as forty-one year old Cristo Muñóz threw to veteran catcher Xing-li Kun.

"Bien, Cristo. ¿Cómo se siente tu pierna?" Leon called out from the dugout. Muñóz had mentioned some hamstring tightness in his left leg the day before.

Cristo gave León a thumbs up and continued with his work. They were doing three innings of simulated batters, with first base coach Lawrence Ingram alternating between standing in the right and left hand batters boxes.

The Monarchs promoted León from the AAA club that winter, and he inherited one of the less heralded staffs in the GBC (eighth in pitching WAR and FIP). Offseason acquisitions had been ... something. The headliner, so far as the club was concerned, was Rick Clarijs, a thirty-eight year old Dutchman who had one good season as a starter under his belt, fourteen years ago in Manama. He knocked around the Brewster for ten years, spending most of his time in AAA. But last season in Vancouver he came out of nowhere to become the club's leading light in the bullpen, outside of Jesus Garcia. Clarijs stood 6' 6" tall and had a presence about him that belied what had been a ho-hum career to this point. But a guy who could fill up the zone and keep the ball in the yard had a puncher's chance in the consortium. Looking at Rick throw, León could imagine a staff ace, and wanted to believe that the assistant general manager made a savvy move pushing all his chips in on this guy, but it was a gamble.

Muñóz had more tangible professional bona fides, having spent nearly all of his career in the BBA, and had been a good starter somewhat more recently than Clarijs, a mere eleven years ago. He was a head shorter than Clarijs, but had a competitive intensity that Leon could not help but like. He would need every bit of grit he possessed to make a living with an 89 mph fastball. It looked like Muñóz's career was over a couple of years ago, but then last season Sydney picked him up off the dust heap and Cristo was pure magic in eleven starts. The numbers were so, so good. His six-figure contract for 2063 was a lot easier to justify. How many ballplayers even get to have an age forty-one season? Just a lucky few, Leon thought. Could the Monarchs wring a little more baseball out of Muñóz? Might he continue to frustrate GBC batters as he did last year? Could he last a full season in the rotation? They were going to find out. They were stretching Muñóz out in the spring as slowly as he would let them. The guy was a gamer, had the bit in his teeth and wanted to run, there was not doubt about that. They were gently forcing him to jog first.

'Una campaña muy larga,' thought Leon. Managing the Monarchs staff this season was going to be a challenge, no doubt.