Piker’s Pros, Volume 1: Malik Bin Mazin

[neugey]

Piker's Pros
by Lem Piker Sr.

Welcome to Piker’s Pros, a new installment where we shine the spotlight on a very special BBA player. For this first edition, we begin with a man who is truly the past, present and future of the BBA: Rocky Mountain Oysters stud 1B/3B Malik bin Mazin.

It’s impossible not to be consumed by the fervor MBM is creating for BBA fans around the globe. Reaching back into the regular season and now including the playoff conquest of Montreal, he is now on a 30-game hitting streak. At just 27 years old, this is a man who is reaching almost unprecedented heights in the BBA - and he is just getting started.

There’s just one problem: we don’t know whose uniform he will be wearing in 2056. But bin Mazin himself seems not to be bothered in the slightest by that uncertainty.

“Whatever happens, happens,” said bin Mazin during the All-Star break. “I love it in Rocky Mountain and the team is my top priority right now. Would love to stay here. I’m feeling great this year and will let my agent handle the tricky stuff.”

So far, that business has remained unhandled, despite public statements during the year by GM Brett Golden that bin Mazin’s contract extensions would be handled “soon”. But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that “soon” is not good enough for Rocky Mountain fans. Home games are littered with “PAY MBM” signs, and now they are even starting to make an appearance during road playoff games. And given the ongoing hitting streak, some other less-subtle signs are also starting to come out by rabid Oysters fans. Namely “MALIK BIN F***IN MAZIN”.

These must be exciting but restless nights for Golden. By focusing on baseball and not settling for a meager value, bin Mazin and his agent now hold all the cards in any prospective negotiation. The fear of bin Mazin leaving in free agency and taking visits with the likes of Las Vegas and Mexico City has to be palpable. What if bin Mazin carries his hitting streak all the way through to the BBA championship? It’d be a dream scenario and a doomsday scenario all at once for Golden and Rocky Mountain. But before we think further of the future, let’s take a step back and examine how we got here. How did Malik achieve this level of excellence?

Born in Bayrut, Lebanon, Malik came from humble origins. Pickup baseball games with friends in his youth revealed a prodigious, deadly right-handed batting swing. Malik’s parents raved about their son’s elite abilities and word got out to a BBA Omaha scout to take a look. The 15-year old bin Mazin thus signed with Omaha and set his sights on the future. At age 17, he began rookie ball and posted fine numbers, though his strikeouts were relatively high. Coaches helped him refine those blemishes, and over the next few years he reached the high minors for Omaha and was listed as a #5 prospect and one of the best potential contact hitters the BBA had ever seen. He made his debut with the Cyclones in 2048 and had three nice seasons with the team.

But a slow start in 2051 tested Omaha’s patience, and the team felt compelled to include him in a deal with Des Moines for star catcher Sloth Fratelli. He produced nicely for the Kernels in 2051. His 2052 showed some of the greatness that was to come. He led the BBA in doubles (50) and hit .305 with a 4.5 WAR. But then the youngster learned that the BBA is a business, and no matter how well you are playing, a blockbuster trade is always possible. Indeed it was, as MBM was traded to the newly relocated Rocky Mountain Oysters (formerly El Paso Chilis) in a mega-deal so that the Kernels could fill their need at center field with superstar CF Hector Cano Jr.

The arrival of MBM in Rocky Mountain was one of new GM Brett Golden’s first big moves, along with the relocation itself. Fans in Colorado were fervent about bin Mazin because he was the face of a brand-new future. And boy, he did not disappoint.

In 2053, Rocky Mountain’s inaugural season, bin Mazin turned heads in the BBA by hitting .351 with 58 doubles, 29 homers and 124 RBI. But it was his 2054 campaign that took his career to exotic heights. He led the Johnson in runs scored (148), doubles (71), batting average (.363), OPS (1.060) and WAR (7.5) and was a no-doubt recipient of the Sawyer Silk award.

While his 2055 follow up hasn’t produced numbers that are quite as convincing as 2054, his recent hitting streak and great pedigree still has him in consideration for a second-straight Silk award. It also isn’t lost on voters that MBM is a big part of what has made the Oysters an instant success since their relocation, spotting 90+ wins each season and making the playoffs each year.

That brings us to our current crossroads. The ongoing greatness and looming free agency of bin Mazin is one of the most intriguing stories I’ve ever covered in the BBA. The young man from Lebanon has a bright future, and before long Monty Brewster himself in a Chicago Cubs jersey will be driving the Brinks truck to unload the great mound of cash that this penultimate hitter deserves. All that needs to be settled is whose cash Monty will be delivering.

[ae37jr]

Interesting free agent case. I predict an unlikely team will give him one of the richest contracts in the game.

[trmmilwwi]

Great writeup!!

[GoldenOne]

I predict he'll be in an Oysters uniform for a long, long time.

I remember going back and forth with Randy over whether I wanted bin Mazin or Hasheem Makin. I feel like I made the right choice.

[RonCo]

It'll be interesting to see how he stays with Rocky Mountain. The cap situation is dicey, so there will be risk inherent in doing it. I'm sure it can be done, though.

[GoldenOne]

It'll be interesting to see how he stays with Rocky Mountain. The cap situation is dicey, so there will be risk inherent in doing it. I'm sure it can be done, though.

What cap situation?

[RonCo]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I'd guess he'll want $20M+ per year. Maybe more? Dunno.

If that's the right ballpark, that puts RMO up to the edge with a few more guys to maybe wedge in.

[GoldenOne]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I'd guess he'll want $20M+ per year. Maybe more? Dunno.

If that's the right ballpark, that puts RMO up to the edge with a few more guys to maybe wedge in.

You might be surprised Saturday night then. Grab a beer and watch the fun!