How the 2054 Champion Charm City was Built

[neugey]

In a OOTP league I used to play in, the commissioner would do a writeup on the recent champion and summarize how that team was constructed. With a little extra time on our hands, I will attempt to take on this task for our 2054 Landis-winning Charm City squad.

A lot of fans and pundits had the Jimmies doing well in 2054. Many predicted Charm City to take the Johnson Atlantic division, including the BBA Official Media Guide which predicted a 95-67 first place finish. But few people foresaw the dominant 107-win Jimmies coming. Here’s how they did it:

General Management:
Way back in 2029, Brandon Slouck started out as the inaugural Jimmies GM. He stayed at the helm for a long time, but eventually gave way to Stu Hopkins in 2050 for a year. In 2051, Dave Burcicki took charge and from 2052 the team started a rapid ascent in the Johnson League under his guidance. Burcicki should receive most of the credit for the championship … but you will also see that Slouck was also important in setting up young pieces of this Jimmies’ foundation.


Home-Grown:
SP Richard Bullock – This lefty was drafted with the 18th overall pick in 2046 and kicked it up a notch in 2054 to become Charm City’s ace. He was the Johnson ERA champion with a 3.06 ERA. His curveball/changeup combo are giving hitters real problems and probably will for a long time.

SP Waseem bin Suhayb – This righty was a bargain IFA signing back in 2045. The Charmies nabbed him back in 2045 for a mere $555k and he developed excellently. Cha-ching!

SP Ranaal Seldon – This 29-year old lefty groundball artist was a 2047 draft day steal. Charm City selected him in the 7th round! He’s a fan favorite and on this time a very nice mid-rotation piece.

RP Lindsay Barber – A scouting discovery from Australia in 2042, he eventually joined the bullpen in 2052 and even at age 29 is still getting better as a sinker/curveball hurler.

1B Colm Alker – The Jimmies used their first round pick (21st overall) to land this lefty slugger. He’s done much better hitting for average in the last few years than anyone could have anticipated.

2B Dave Ackerman – Drafted in 2048 as the 17th overall pick, Ackerman hits for power and has developed into an elite 2B with 3 straight Zimmer awards. He came through big time versus the Mad Popes with a 3-run homer in game 7 versus the Mad Popes to win the Championship Series MVP award.

3B Jules Le Gal – Le Gal is a big part of the Jimmies’ future. This rookie is the #51 rated prospect. Though he was a September call-up and only played sparingly in the post-season, look for more output from this corner infielder for years to come. He was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2051 draft.

Bartered Goods:
SP Hector Silva – This 22-year old rookie was a Boise prospect that was acquired in a December 2051 trade. He has certainly come of age, finishing 2nd in Gllstrom Newcomer of the Year voting and was the missing piece to the Charmies’ rotation.

SP/RP You-De Szema – He was acquired from Mexico City in a January 2051 trade. He was a 5th starter who did not pitch all that well in 2054 ... but a ring is a ring!

RP Siua Hooheno – He was traded by Sacramento to Charm City in April 2051 and after racking up the saves in AAA made his way to the majors in 2053 for a small cup of coffee. He was fantastic during the regular season with a 6-1 record, 7 holds and a 2.96 ERA.

RP Yoriyuki Ine – Traded by Boise to Charm City in April 2053, he has been a decent left-handed groundball arm out of the pen.

RP Clarence Pritchard – Obtained from Chicago in an August 2053 deal and then extended for 4 years, he became a major force in 2054 with 19 holds, 8 saves and a 2.69 ERA out of the Jimmies’ bullpen. We will see if he can maintain this excellence.

RP Gerardo Rea – He didn’t have a great 2054, but for his career he’s done solid work for the Charmies after being obtained off waivers (via Charlotte) back in July 2051.

C Hollis O’Hara – Hollis is a solid defensive backup who was traded by Twin Cities in April 2051 to the Jimmies. He hit fairly well in 2053 but make no mistake he’s on this team for his defense.

2B Stepan Shabrov – Stepan is a solid BBA super-utility man who was acquired from Boise in April 2052. He hit 10 homers in part-time action in 2054 but that was probably an outlier. His versatility is the main reason he’s probably on the major league roster.

LF Shirai Matsumoto – This versatile switch-hitter was traded by Vancouver to Charm City back in July 2052. He was very productive as a part-timer in 2054 and gave the lineup a nice lift when starters needed rest.

Rule V Swipe!
RF Kazunari Chikafuji – Kazunari was tabbed in the 2050 Rule V Draft and has been a big part of the Jimmies ever since. He’s solid enough as a corner outfield and can hit excellently for power, as proven by his .319 average and 5 homers in the playoff run. He perhaps might be considered one of the best Rule V pickups in BBA history. You want to know the best part? His former team was Sacramento! The Mad Popes hated homers, but letting him leave for nothing in 2050 may have cost them the 2054 title.

Free Agent Foundation:
RP Owen McKelvey – He signed in April 2053 and put together a great campaign in 2054 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over 88 innings. He has a team option for 2055 and the Charmies will use it unless the cap space is an issue.

CL Manuel Barrera – Manuel is firmly installed as the Charmies closer, and has been ever since his December 2051 free agent signing. He led the Johnson with 46 saves and has two years left on his deal.

1B Joe “Sloth” Melucci – This lefty power specialist was signed as a free agent in December 2052. He’s certainly hit the homers needed and plenty of walks. The Jimmies can keep him around via arbitration for one more year if they desire.

3B/SS Pepe Espinosa – His hitting was down in 2054, but Pepe provided solid defense getting most of the starts at 3B. This 34-year old was signed as a free agent way back in January 2049. He is an unrestricted free agent and the Jimmies will probably let him walk due to his age and limited offensive output.

LF Tadataka Yoshikawa – He signed in December 2051 and has seen mostly full-time action at LF ever since. His specialty is gap-hitting and he contributed 42 doubles and 11 triples in 2054.

CF Bill Morley – Bill is defense-first 4th outfielder who hit way better than expected in 2054 with a .283 average in limited action. The Jimmies like what he provided and recently brought him back on a 1-year deal for 2055. He was originally signed in December 2052.

The Final Pieces:
C Tomisaka Yano – The former GBC Athens star signed on with Charm City in late November 2053. His hitting and catching ability translated directly to the BBA as evidenced by his 5.2 WAR in 2054.

3B Juan Hernandez – This veteran signed a majors/minors contract in early April 2054 and at the end of the month the Jimmies decided to call him up for $3.6 million. He was a smash-hit this year, chipping in a .313/.350/.604 line in only 227 at-bats. As of this writing he is an unrestricted free agent for 2055.

CF Arvin Duggan – The Jimmies wanted to upgrade their defensive play at CF and did so with a December 2053 trade with San Fernando. He does have nice pop, but his role with the Jimmies is as a defensive fixture at CF who bats toward the end of the lineup.

SS Sammy McNeill – He was acquired in April 2054 via trade from Nashville. With the Jimmies, he had a career year at the plate and provided excellence defensively.

Summary:
Congratulations are in order to Dave Burcicki and his GM predecessors for drafting well and putting together a fine roster. If Charm City is looking to run it back, they certainly can. 25 of the 27-man playoff roster are under contract or under team control for 2055, and the team does not seem to be all that close to the cap. The Johnson Atlantic title will go through Charm City again in 2055.

[RT60]

This is awesome!

[DaveB]

Awesome write up.

We were lucky having Ackerman, Silva, and Chickafuji explode in development since we acquired them. The previous GMs left me with some quality young pitching. Takes a lot of good luck, health, and executing a plan of attack to win. I’m thrilled we were able put it all together.

[trmmilwwi]

Great writeup! Love how the rule V came back to bite the former team!!

[Dington]

The Chikafuji part is awesome. The Sammy McNeill part is not.

[CTBrewCrew]

Nice write up - looking forward to when you do Madison’s next season.

[lordtoffee]

Great writeup Mike. One thing I like about Charm City is that they have a great mix of traded players, minor league system graduates, free agents, and even a GBC find. Just goes to show that Dave brought in the right mix of players, and got a deserved title.

[Trebro]

really amazing work on this piece! and that team is so well constructed and should be a force for awhile.

unfortunately!

[bcslouck]

It's bittersweet seeing Dave bring Charm City a championship I could not. He absolutely deserves most of the credit.

[DaveB]

It's bittersweet seeing Dave bring Charm City a championship I could not. He absolutely deserves most of the credit.

Thanks. You left me with a very good backbone to start with.

[BaseClogger]

I just noticed Brandon has "worst GM of the year" listed as one of his accolades in his signature. Was that really an award given out previously?

[bcslouck]

I just noticed Brandon has "worst GM of the year" listed as one of his accolades in his signature. Was that really an award given out previously?

No, but I believe every GM in the JL received at least a vote toward GM of the year except for me. So I claimed it.

[BaseClogger]

I just noticed Brandon has "worst GM of the year" listed as one of his accolades in his signature. Was that really an award given out previously?

No, but I believe every GM in the JL received at least a vote toward GM of the year except for me. So I claimed it.

Hahaha I love it. It would be an honor to receive such an award.