Friday, February 6, 2043
The 2042-2043 offseason has been a quiet one in Nashville...until now. The Bluebirds and veteran "first baseman" Mario "Buzzy" Guerrer announced they had agreed to a two year contract to bring the slugger to Nashville today.
Guerrer, 31 years old, is an eleven year veteran of the BBA. He spent the 2042 season with the Portland Lumberjacks and enjoyed a bounceback season there after three declining seasons with the Charm City Jimmies. Guerrer hit .297/.361/.579/.941 with Portland last year, highlighted by 39 home runs and 102 runs batted in. The Chilean native made his name in the BBA starring for the Carolina Kraken/Rockville Pikemen in his early 20's after being the Kraken's #1 draft pick (17th overall) in the 2028 first-year player draft. After winning the Steve Garvey, Jr. Award as the top hitter in the Rupert Horn Memorial League (AAA) in 2032, he joined the Kraken for September and immediately established himself as a player to watch.
The Kraken moved to Rockville for the 2033 season but Guerrer didn't move from a lineup spot, ultimately winning the 2033 Johnson League Joe Gillstrom Newcomer of the Year honors.
2036 marked a rewarding year both personally for Guerrer and for his team. He was named to his first BBA All-Star Game, playing for a dominant Rockville squad. Guerrer won the JL Doubleday Series MVP Award en route to the Pikemen taking the 2036 Landis Memorial Series. For his efforts, Guerrer was named the 2036 JL Charles Puckett Golden Bat winner for first basemen.
2037 was almost a mirror image. Although he wasn't named to the All-Star Game, the Pikemen again rolled to another Landis Memorial Series title and Guerrer again was the MVP of the Doubleday Series. He won another Puckett award, this time as DH.
In 2038 he went back to the All-Star Game, but his team would have no postseason heroics this year. Guerrer became a free agent and signed a six year deal with the Charm City Jimmies worth a total of $108M.
On April 6, 2041 Guerrer hit a major career milestone with his 1000th career BBA run batted in. Later that season on May 17th, he would hit his 300th career home run.
After the 2041 season Guerrer was traded to the Portland Lumberjacks as part of a package deal for Feliciano Rafael. He'd enjoy a nice season with Portland, and then headed to free agency looking to once again join a contender.
In his amateur career, there was hope by scouts that Guerrer may be passable at first base. However, in the four seasons he has played regularly there in his career he has proven otherwise: -16.2 ZR (2033), -12.7 ZR (2035), -11.6 ZR (2037), -17.2 ZR (2042). "Mario will not play the field for us," Nashville General Manager Matt Rectenwald said bluntly. "He's here for his bat, not his glove." The move means that Ernesto Souza will move back to first base from the designated hitter spot. "Ernesto isn't much better there but we will make it work," said Rectenwald.
