The Brewster

It has been roughly one thousand, four hundred days since Vicente Acevedo last toed the rubber in a BBA stadium. The last time he pitched, the Indy Grasshoppers were still a thing, a different team called Omaha home, Havana wasn't just a place players vacationed in the offseason, nobody (outside of Aaron Weiner) had ever heard of Rockville, MD, and there were no kids in Nashville. The 41 year old veteran has seen it all over his 500+ BBA games, but I think this game against Mexico City will rank right up there with his BBA debut when he finally hangs up his spikes.

"Simply astounding, I simply cannot put the feeling into words" said Acevedo with a huge grin. When asked about those trying four years, Acevedo said, "I would be lying if I said I didn't have doubts that I'd ever get another chance, but I never doubted that I had the ability. I really had to swallow my pride in '32, taking a minor league deal in AA to just keep pitching."

It definitely wasn't easy, as Acevedo has completely re-invented himself over the past few seasons. Back before 2032, he was a flame-throwing lefty that relied on his 4-seam fastball to overpower hitters. At 41, he's now a (relatively) soft-tossing lefty who relies upon command and control,

The baseball season is a grind, and the odds of a 41 year old pitcher being able to stand up to 162 games is low, but we know at least one person who won't be betting against Vicente Acevedo this year.

Love these kinds of stories.

good stuff! some kinda perseverance there

I love how you always pull these old guys out of retirement and get positive results from them. It seems like you have one every year. Very impressive.

ae37jr wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 16, 2018 4:59 pm

I love how you always pull these old guys out of retirement and get positive results from them. It seems like you have one every year. Very impressive.

Funny that you say that. I was just talking about that with Ted after the podcast. I'm definitely not afraid to give a 1-year throw-away contract to a geezer to see if he has anything in the tank. Some of my MiLC/500k signings:

2038: Juan Guerrero, Van Willard
2037: Raul Sanchez, Dave Robertson
2036: Vicente Acevedo
2034: Boone Carlyle (technically over 500k, but mid-season geezer pickup that went well)
2033: Brandon Bailey, Sebastien Durand and Jeffrey Land
2032: Doug Kendall
2029: Bob Chavarria
2028: Carlos Cadenas and Jose Hernandez
2027: Alejandro Rincon

Hikaru Sakurai, Leon Gonzalez, Lorenzo Pena, Rio Duce, and Lorenzo Gallardo all minor league signings that could do a job if injuries are bad enough.

Couple of sims ago, Acevedo picked up what I believe is his first career win as a starting pitcher.

With just one sim left and one scheduled start remaining, I think we can say 2036 was a success for Acevedo. He wasn't a surprise, but his 4.85 FIP wasn't horrendous, and his 4.37 ERA was actually decent. Vicente was a solid, dependable #5 starting pitcher. He's toed the rubber 31 times and ate up 185.1 innings, both far-and-away career highs. His 12-6 record is respectable, and the 12 wins are a career high. If he is able to pick up the victory in his final start, it will be his 50th in the BBA. It is unlikely he is anything more than a middle reliever in the playoffs, but what a great season for the 41 year old.

Cool.