One would think that following a Brewster Title and being in the hunt for the post-season yet again, that 2060 would have brought a flurry of team news out of Portland. Unfortunately real life gets in the way sometimes and you have to focus on that shit sometimes. But while eating a couple of donuts at home and drinking a cup of coffee, I decided now was as good a time as ever to break the seal and pen that first team news of the 2060 season. Sucks it comes in August of the season but, again, life. But, I digress.
The Portland Lumberjacks ownership and front office did announce today that at this Saturday's game against the Bikini Krill, the team would honor and celebrate its first ever team hall of fame inductee. After 20 seasons of being in the league, the Lumberjacks ownership felt they had enough of a history now to begin celebrating some of its individual players and performances over that span. With 3 trips to the Landis series and last year's first ever championship, the timing felt perfect to induct someone.
"We are pleased to announce and take this next step as a part of the history of the Brewster Baseball Association" stated team assistant GM Sandy Mounds. "This Saturday, we will induct our first member to our team hall of fame and museum, the greatest team museum in the entire league. And we are excited to announce that our first inductee will be Lorenzo de' Medici.
de' Medici spent 5.5 years pitching in relief with the Portland Lumberjacks and was a member of both the 2049 and 2051 teams that claimed the Frick League pennant. While with the Lumberjacks, he won the Egan Award as the league's best reliever in 2046 and 2050, becoming the first Portland player to win a major league award in the team's history. He appeared in 4 all-star games while with the Lumberjacks, which at this time, is a franchise high for all-star appearances by a Lumberjacks player.
Lorenzo currently holds several pitching records as well. His 2.82 ERA is currently the best in the franchise's history. He also leads the team history books in games pitched (522), WHIP (0.98), and strikeouts per 9 innings (15.3). Despite being a reliever, he also ranks top 10 currently in strikeouts and innings pitched.
His best season in Portland was likely his 2050 campaign in which he claimed the Egan Award. In that season, de' Medici appeared in 96 games while logging 107.1 innings. He posted a 1.17 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. He also struck out 203 batters that season, which ranks as the most in a single season in Portland Lumberjacks history.
The Lumberjacks organization will continue to support de' Medici's candidacy for the Brewster Hall of Fame, something Lorenzo has fallen short of in his previous attempts on the ballot.
