Brian Clough becomes 16th BBA 3,000 hitter

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Brian Clough becomes 16th BBA 3,000 hitter

Post by Fat Nige » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:36 pm

August 2035

Brian 'Ol Big Head' Clough
16th Member of the BBA 3,000 hits club


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Even in his high school days Brian Clough was a star, he picked up a few player of the week awards, a batter of the month, a couple of All-Star gigs and a championship ring, this was all recognised when he entered the 2013 Amateur Draft. There was only one player selected ahead of Brian and he was (is) quite good – Frank Thomas III. ‘Ol Big Head’ was selected second overall in the 2013 draft behind the ‘Little Hurt’ and hits have been raining down ever since. Brian Clough spent his first two pro years in A Ball at Ocala as an all-star defensive second baseman but only hit around .240. He was the BBA’s #14 prospect by 2014 and despite losing the last four months to Post-Concussion syndrome he was ninth overall prospect in 215. He spent 2015 in Double-A Alabama hitting .318/.408/.455, he still hadn’t any pop in his bat only hitting three homers but developed a base stealing instinct, stealing 43 of 54 attempts. He went to the Warren Cox all-star game and picked up the 2015 WCL (AA) DRK Glove Wizard Award at 2B before starting 2016 at the BBA’s #3 prospect.

2016 was a year of moving forward for Clough, he spent the regular season at Triple-A Missouri hitting his highest total of homers, nine, in the minors, legged out ten triples, made the All-Star game and picked up the 2016 RHML (AAA) GL Glove Wizard Award at 2B. His first BBA cup of coffee arrived with 26 games in a September callup where he hit his first 21 BBA hits, his first homer and stole six bases in 12 attempts. He spent the end of the year in the Fall League where he won 2016 MBBA Fall League Round the 2016 MBBA Fall League Round 3 with the Caracas Sting, that was his last action in the minors.

2017 saw him up in Louisville for good but surprisingly he spent more time in left field than at second. Still he had 180 hits, 15 triples, 44 steals and a career to date high in RBI (73) and runs (104). In 2018, now the Sluggers starting Left Fielder he repeated the 15 triples, hit 10 homers and hit .330 while only striking out 22 times. He’d made the 2017 & 18 All-Star games but had started to collect a series of niggling injuries. In May 2019 he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and missed the rest of the season. The next three years he continued as the regular Sluggers Left Fielder, hitting career high 11 homers in 2020 & 2021, 45 career high steals (45) in 2021 as well as 8.0 WAR that year.

In 2023 Fernando Gonzales had succeeded him at Left but he slotted back at second as if he’d never been away, posting a 9.5 ZR. He continued ruling the roost at second until 2028, in 2024 he won the MBBA JL Charles Puckett Golden Bat Award at 2B, reached the All-Star game three straight years from 2025, he was hitting 180+ hits until 2026 but then at 32 the drop off started. He was only reaching the 140-hit mark and his defence at Second was heading to ‘Solid’ rather than ‘Stellar’. He did record his 1,000th BBA run though in 2028 and made the playoffs for the first time though, hitting .346 in seven games. 2029 saw him play his first 10 games at first base although he still won the FL Charles Puckett Golden Bat Award at 2B and recorded his 2,000 hit on May 17th but the next year he was virtually full-time there playing 110 games at 1B. The Sluggers were a force now and his third straight post season outing saw him pickup his first Landis Memorial Series ring at the age of 36 as the Sluggers squeaked past Las Vegas in the Final.

He was a first baseman now, with a few appearances still at 2B & LF, in 2031 he split it between first and second, notching 166 hits, still posting 35 steals and hitting over .300 with his 2,500th hit on September 10th. 2032 at the age of 38 he got just 55 outings thanks to a torn hamstring which eventually required surgery and costing him four months on the DL. but he was back for the play offs, with 20 outings he picked up his second Landis ring as Louisville overcame Charm City 4-2 in the final series in which he also was awarded the Series MVP trophy. 2033 he still bounced around the defensive positions, getting 36 games at left field despite posting a -7.0 ZR, he was back to 95 games despite eventually losing best part of 17 weeks to back, knee and ankle injuries. Sluggers still persisted with him and he played 152 games in 2034 now closing in on the magic 3,000 hits mark. 182 hits for the year left him heading for 2035 needing 113 hits for the milestone.

The off season left him rocked though, first the BBA announced a two-team expansion and then long-time GM Stu Hopkins revealed he was leaving Louisville to GM on of them. There was real fear that the Sluggers wouldn’t protect him and he would be picked in the expansion draft or if he survived that maybe the new GM wouldn’t have a spot for him? In the end it was settled easily, the Sluggers protected him and new GM Laverick announced that Brian would be given the chance to reach 3,000 as a Slugger. He entered the year now relegated to DH to prevent his creaking bones at 41 years old and on the first of May he stroked his 1,000 career RBI. The hits kept coming with all the pundits projecting he would reach gold around the roster expansion. On Sunday August 19th, he hit three doubles at Brooklyn, tying the Louisville regular season game record and taking him to 2,998 hits. The next day he had a hit and two walks as the Sluggers scored 10 at Brooklyn. Finally, on Tuesday, August 21st, 2035 the landmark was his; in the bottom of the second innings Clough came to bat against Robins’ Ken Bates with Shag Hopkins on first base. Bates got his to swing wildly before he laid off a ball. Another swing and miss left the count a 1-2. Bates’ fourth pitch though connected with the sweet spot of ‘Ol Big Head’s’ bat and landed 417’ feet away in the upper deck, always the showman Clough had reached 3,000 with a two-run homer. Three days afterwards, despite losing 0-10 to San Fernando, Clough started on the next 1,000 as he went 4 for 4.

(Although recognized as a one-club man he did test free agency in 2029 and 2031 but each time re-signed with Louisville.)
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Re: Brian Clough becomes 16th BBA 3,000 hitter

Post by ae37jr » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:54 pm

I told my boys to groove Ol Big Head nothing but BP fastballs so he'd get to 3,000 in Brooklyn. We need all the ticket sales we can get. And the "fan" that caught the ball was actually a Red Robin Park Cracker Jack Vendor. His supervisor confiscated the ball and the Robins are holding an auction on e-bay to help fund a Fernando Cruz extension.
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Re: Brian Clough becomes 16th BBA 3,000 hitter

Post by RonCo » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:21 pm

Congrats to Big Head.
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Re: Brian Clough becomes 16th BBA 3,000 hitter

Post by scottsdale_joe » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:34 am

Vive la grosse tête!
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