Catcher
Cam Adams
There was really two ways I could go with my starting catcher. I decided to go with the guy that spent the most time with me and the organization and that was Adams. I drafted him with the 1st round pick in 2005 which was the 14th overall pick. In my normal fashion, I proceeded to keep the guy for 13 seasons in a Wolves uniform where he managed to collect 359 homeruns with Madison. He was a rookie the season after my last Landis with the club. Oddly enough that started the beginning of the end for the Madison dynasty as Adams only appeared in 4 post-seasons in his career after a stretch in which the Wolves were in the post-season nearly every year.
Honorable Mention: Hurley Reyes - Reyes was a huge power hitting catcher that I occassionally throw a bone to as a veterans type inductee into the HOF. While doing this feature I was somewhat surprised that I had forgotten he was traded in 2001, 3 years before we won a Landis.
FirstBase
Jon Mick
Oddly, we haven't always had a big name 1B with the Wolves and I'd be a fool if I didn't go with the big $20 million guy we currently have. I love Mick. Not going to lie. His 2039 season has soured me some on him but I can't let this one season put down the fact that the guy has done what I love with my OOTP players and that's record big time stats and put up record breaking numbers. Mick is 3rd all-time with the team in Homeruns and RBIs (and let's be honest, that's a pretty big deal with this franchise when you consider 1-2 in most categories could never be broken.)
Honorable Mention: Jaiden France - Did you know France was the starting 1B for BOTH of our Landis winning teams? France was kind of a utility guy by trade and his ability to hit kept him in the lineup. He floated some at 2B (his natural position) but we always seemed to have another option at 2B and never a great option at 1B so France got the nod on both title teams.
SecondBase
Mons Raider
Yeah I have another guy that could go here, but statistically that guy played two positions for us throughout his career and moving him to that spot allows me to utilize a bigger name. How could I not include Mons in this post? The guy is going to end up as the all-time stolen base king in the league. And have I mentioned how I like historical achievements and records? His recent injury status is concerning and honestly, he does need to be moved to 1B. Perhaps he ends his career there when the new GM comes in. But to me, the hard headed me, he'll always be a 2B.
Honorable Mention: Dwight Ferris - Ferris is a reason I'm able to move that "other guy" to a different position. Ferris swooped in his rookie season in 2004 and posted a 5.2 WAR and his cheap contract and high production helped push this team to the promised land with that first Landis Title.
ThirdBase
Charles Puckett
Ah yes, that other guy I've been mentioning. Crickett actually played 41 more games at 2B in his career than 3B but considering both were over 1,200 total we won't shed too many tears over where he gets placed as long as he's placed in this team news. Honestly, I've gushed over Puckett for a long time and he deserves it. He's clearly on the Mount Rushmore of Madison Wolves baseball and most likely on the Mount Rushmore of the BBA. I do hesitate to make such statements because I feel Madison has 2 of the 4 Mount Rushmore guys but, I'm obviously biased. Puckett has played more games, scored more runs, drew more walks, and accumulated more WAR for a hitter than anyone else in BBA History. I'm just thankful I had the pleasure of writing team news after team news after team news about the guy.
Honorable Mention: John Catron - Gates Elliott loved Catron. Gates was the GM of Madison prior to me and was a helluva GM. He built some juggernaut ORB2 teams with the San Francisco Giants prior to the BBA replacing that league as everyone's number 1 league. I sent Catron to Vegas. He never won a Landis with Madison. He did win 3 with Vegas though.
Shortstop
Bopper Kengos
Yeah, the other Mount Rushmore guy if you're asking me. Everything I said about Puckett goes for Kengos. In fact, it was crazy that the two were on the same team, playing for Madison at the same time. Had the two been on opposite teams they'd have made for outstanding Rivals articles. Instead, they were both on the same team, battling for the same awards, the same records, and both chasing a Landis title for what seemed like forever. Then they both spent the latter years of their career chasing the same career records. Kengos called it quits and still lays claim to the All-Time Hits, Homeruns, and RBI record. He and Puckett are 1-2 in a lot of major categories. And if they aren't 1-2, they are both top 5 in nearly all offensive stats.
Honorable Mention: Russ Ray - We never moved on from Bopper. In fact, after he retired I'm not sure we ever found a replacement. Ray was supposed to be that guy and makes this list for all the wrong reasons. A rule 6 pickup from the EBA, Ray had the promise of a solid SS in the BBA. But lumps got him very early after he came over from Europe and his career in the BBA ended about as soon as it began.
LeftField
Andrew Ivey
Before there was Steve Dempsey and Dusty Rhodes, there was Andrew Ivey. Ivey was our "high average" and "little power" guy that always seemed to have a chance at a batting title. Looking back, he was always injured and never came close to playing a full season at any time. But he did hit .356 one year and I was in love ever since. He's second all-time in career average in a Wolves uniform behind Dempsey. If Dempsey falters in the latter stages of his career, his clone predecessor will be ready to lay claim to his career batting title yet again.
Honorable Mention: Alfredo Salazar - I've never been afraid to go big and bold in an attempt to win. Not sure a move was ever more big and bold than when Alfredo Salazar came to Madison via the Rule 6 draft. He won the Rookie of the Year and Silk Award in his first season. Unfortunately his contract just never let us get off the ground as a team.
CenterField
Bolt Vanderhugen
Another guy I fell in love with instantly and wrote a pretty good TN after we and he won the Landis in 2004. A season he only played 55 games in. Injuries really stole some all-time records from Bolt. Perhaps had we had the DH back then he'd have achieved some bigger numbers. But he was a fine CF that just seemed to get snake bit. When he hit 33 homeruns in 75 games in 2002 to the time he hit 52 homeruns at the age of 38, his last season in the BBA, I just loved everything about the big Vanderhugen.
Honorable Mention: Roland Carroll - I went big in 2004 after Bolt's injury and acquired another big CF in Carroll. Carroll was actually the CF on both the 2004 and 2009 team so he had to get mentioned here. He wasn't as big to me as Bolt was but clearly his addition got Madison the hardware we were so desperately after by the time 2004 rolled around.
RightField
Joe Thomas
Yeah Yeah, I love me some Dempsey but Thomas was the man in 2004. His career was cut way to short by the dreaded lump monster but he helped propel us his rookie year in 2004 to that Landis. He then made a name for himself in 2005 when he posted a 7.4 WAR. I was in love after that and spent PPs to give him a nickname "Big Show Joe". If memory serves he won the MVP of the Landis in 2004 as a rookie then had that insane 2005 season and finished 2nd in the Silk Vote. Yes 2nd on a team that had Kengos, AND Puckett, AND Vanderhugen. God those teams were loaded.
Honorable Mention: Steve Dempsey - Yeah, I like me some Dempsey too. So much so I traded away a future Silk winner just to keep the guy in hopes he'd get 3,000 hits. And yeah, calling him a RF is a stretch as well. Sue me!
S1
Jessie Wright
Not sure why? Look at 2001! Two Nebraska Awards and that 30 win season. He's a hall of famer in my book, even if my book is an extremely biased one. Got us to the Landis in 2004 and then fell off not long after that.
S2
John Rasmussen
Just like Puckett and Kengos go together, Wright and Rasmussen go together. And good god they were all on the same team together. While Wright was the dominating force that fizzled out in the end, Rasmussen was the work horse that stuck around and remained effective for a longer time. He's more of a HOF in my book than Wright. He's still the all-time wins leader in Wolves history. A record that may never be broken based on recent pitching events in this city!
S3
Jim Brockthrup
We were struggling to get through the devastating post-season losses. We had the offense. We had the pitching. We just didn't have a Landis title. Just like the acquisition of Roland Carroll was a turning point, acquring Brockthrup was another. We went all-in in 2004 when we got both Carroll and Brockthrup in trades. Without making those trades it's hard to say whether or not Madison would have ever won a title. Luckily for me, the team, they city, and those guys, we did!
S4
Jose Aicon
I could probably just build my whole rotation off those 2004 and 2009 teams but some of those guys were overshadowed by those first 3. They should be mentioned but other names and stories stand out. Like Jose Aicon. I've made a lot of trades that left people scratching their heads throughout the years. But I'm not sure many were met with as much conversation as when Madison finally had to tear down the juggernaut and rebuild. One of the pieces we got was Aicon. I liked Aicon. If memory recalls, Brett did not! Aicon was not Rasmussen! Aicon did produce 3 seasons of 4.0, 4.4, and 5.0 WAR and I'm glad he did. In the end, he didn't lead us anywhere but his acquisition left a memory on me.
S5
Sinclair Kooijman
Madison was in the middle of some mediocre, up and down seasons in the late 2010s. Nothing terrible (80-82 in 2016 was the worst), but nothing spectacular. We recovered for 95 wins the next season but then fell back to 81 after that. Kooijman along with some other young pitchers were supposed to be the next pieces that were going to lead Madison back to domination. We made big moves at the start of the decade and Kooijman was going to be the ace of the staff. We won 95 games in 2020 and appeared ready for another run but then Kooijman got injured. It wasn't a normal injury. It wound up being a Career ender. Madison won 97 games the next year but fell short of a Landis without Kooijman. The history of Madison could be different today had Sinclair not lost his career at the age of 24.
Reliever 1
Justin Marco
The Wolves all-time saves leader and one of only 4 guys in league history to record 500 saves in his career. He really wasn't very dominant when looking at his numbers but he was able to get 3 outs with a 3 run lead a lot of times. Perhaps he earned the name "Fat Cat" by padding his saves totals all those seasons with a very good Wolves team.
Reliever 2
Luis Tiant, IV
Remember that one time Tiant started his own restaurant in the off-season? Remember that one season Tiant was dominating as a starting pitcher and posted great numbers only to have the season wiped out? (Buffalo fans remember I bet. Yes, we had a team in Buffalo you noobs!) While all that is old news, Tiant was a dominating reliever. So much so that he won multiple Egan Awards with the Wolves during his tenure. His 195 saves with the team are the second most. Yeah, a distant second behind Marco.
Jorge Garcia
I think the league has about 9 million Jorge Garcia's. But this one will be our favorite. To this day he holds the Wolves record for most games pitched in with 967. He only recorded 97 career saves as he spent most of his career setting up a few other stud closers we had. He did spend one full season as the team's closer. He recorded a team record 50 saves in 2014. A pivotal piece and set up man in 2004 and 2009.
