Let's take a trip back to 2055... It's Spring Training and when their team isn't playing, all the fans of the BBA are reading the 2055 Media Guide with hopes of a championship. If you turn the guide to page 72, you will find the Des Moines Preview. The experts had the season prediction at 83-79 (more on this later) but there was a particular line when referencing the Kernel infield...
"They added middle infielder Elvan Masuki who can provide excellent defense... If he starts to hit, the team might get serious about trading 2B Larry Barkin to cut a bit of salary."
And that point, Barkin and the Kernel's were at a bit of a crossroad. With a looming player option of $3.4M a big year could end the three-year spent in Des Moines. Let's go back a little further...
Barkin was originally drafted in 2041 with the 11th overall pick by San Antonio. He showed promise as a fielder at one of the most important positions and the promise of not being a liability at the plate - In 121 games he posted a .307/.901 with a 4.0 WAR. The solid hitting high school shortstop was not able to reach an agreement with the Outlaws and ended up in the Collegiate League playing for the Gillette Razors. His game improved against stiffer competition, hitting .352/1.031 with a 12.6 WAR in 146 games. He even had a season where he hit .397! He also took home a bunch of awards:
-Batter of the month x2
-Platinum Stick Award x2
-Bo Jordan Award x2
-Pascal Verhoeve Award
-Paul Bunyan Trophy
He would somehow fall further in the draft in 2045 all the way to 29th. The Chicago Black Sox gave him $6,000,000 to sign and he quickly got to work. His minor league stint was about as short as can be. He skipped the lower levels and played 49 games in Double-A, then skipped Triple-A, making his BBA debut in 2046.
While his BBA career didn't go as well as Chicago had hoped, he was a four-year starter for the team before signing with Jacksonville as a free-agent: 5-year, $17,000,000. While playing for the Hurricanes he performed better and even took home a Glove Wizard award. After two years after a trade in Des Moines, we reach 2055. While playing for the Kernels, Barkin moved over to 2B. During the 2055 season, with new infield competition, Barkin had a career year. Near mid-season, he was even flirting with a .400 average:
In just 138 games, Barkin set career highs in hits, homeruns, RBI, runs, AVG, OBP, SLG and WAR, while making the All-Star team. The team itself set a franchise record in wins at 108. As you could imagine, he declined his $3.4M player option and tested Free-Agency. The Seattle Storm made an offer he couldn't refuse: 6-years, $78M! If you add up his draft bonus and his previous 12 year BBA career he made just over $21M. He's making $13M alone this year.
The Storm paid him the big bucks with the intention of moving him back to shortstop. Unfortunately, this is where our story takes a downturn.
Through 90 games, Barkin has the worst WAR in the entire league at -1.6. He's 4th in the league in most errors at short stop, combined with his worst season at the plate in his entire career. His 38 OPS+ is the worst in the league amongst players with 300 or more plate appearances. And it appears to be getting worse. His numbers by month:
ST - .262/.603
April - .259/.637
May - .222/.571
June - .176/.400
July - .182/.432
He's angry about team record (33-57), 2nd worst in the Frick League. He's very unhappy about his own performance. But hey, he's very good with his role on the team and feels the team chemistry is still good.
His contract is only guaranteed for three more years, as the final two are vesting options. Maybe a return to 2B will help. Maybe a better team around him well allow him to see better pitches. Or maybe it was the curse of the contract year.
