By Javaris Jamar Javarison-Lamar | JavarisJamarJavarison-Lamar@3Wolves.net
Well the 2041 season has come and gone, and the Wolves failed to make the playoffs, stretching that streak to 4 years. The Wolves last made the playoffs in 2037. Still there was some positives to take away from the season and into the offseason. The team finished with a 79-83 mark on the year, a 4 game improvement over last season. They continued to play competitive ball right up until the final week of the season when they were eliminated from the wild card hunt. This is what we are looking for out of this club. "We keep playing competitive ball, and we will find ourselves back in postseason play." GM Simon said at the event.
The team itself is in good financial position, (even with the 15m still owed to Mons Raider) next season. Its locked up some of its younger star players with some team / player friendly contracts with the likes of 1B - Barral, 3B - Quicker, and C - Hale. They've got plenty of salary cap room to go out and sign some FA if ownership choose to do so, or potentially locking up some of this younger talent before they hit FA market.
Last night the Wolves held their annual Charles-Puckett Dinner hosted at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center to hand out some of year end awards. Here are some highlights from that event.
Rookie of the Year:
CF - Declan Hounsel. The easy choice would have been to select Manobu. What tipped the scales of local Madison Sports writers association vote was that this kid had never played above AA ball in his career. "To make the jump AA to the BBA in one season, (and to do it well) is impressive...", one writer said. In his last full season playing in AA for Reno & Burlington his slash was .224/.303/.435 in 140 games and 439 plate appearances. Move forward one season and this 20yo kid finds himself the starting CF for the BBA Wolves. "I don't think any of us saw this coming" said head coach Yves. In 142 games and 591 plate appearances he puts up a .301/.351/.540 slash. He's second on the team with 37 stolen bases (only caught 9 times), and is the team co-leader in WAR (3.7). Not a bad pick-up in for GM Simon's first move as Madison's GM.
Offensive Player of the Year:
RF - Manobu Shimizu. Not a bad consolidation for not winning the rookie of year. If Manobu didn't lead in an offensive category he was top 3 in almost all of them. This was his first full season as the Wolves starting RF taking over for the traded Mitch Dalrymple (a fan favorite), and currently a Vegas waiver wire regular. Winning the Frick League Rookie of the Month in his first month in the BBA (and coinciding Bobble Head night) soon soothed over even the most hardened Wolves fan. This is just one of the players of the famous 2038 BBA draft starting to make their impact on the league.
Defensive Player of the Year:
2B - Antonio Cruz. Although he only played in 62 games (starting 61), his defensive skills did not go unnoticed by the writers. Posting a team high Range Factor (5.30) and Zone Rating (4.4) he was also tied for a team low in errors with 2 (min 300) total chances. This FA pickup in 2040 signed a 1 year deal with team after being picked by Portland in the expansion draft (via Seattle), and subsequently traded and cut by Nashville later on that season. This 29 year was another solid pickup that filled a need and only costing (2M) for the Wolves by GM Simon. Lets hope this kid stays around for another season.
Pitcher of the Year:
SP - Yorikane Miyamoto. After loosing their #1 starter Juan Trujillo in the first week of the season the team scrambled to find a replacement. "Insert Yori" said coach Yves. Appearing as a late season call-up for the Wolves in 2040, this 1st round 2037 pick of team stepped up and shouldered the load in 2041. He posted career high in IP (221), and WAR (4.4). He lead the team in Wins (14). To show you the consistency he provided, the next closest SP on the team in innings pitched was Maxim Makin with 99!
Reliever of the Year:
CL - Belchior Barracas. Another Wolves "Rookie" this year. Even though he pitch 17 innings in 2040 as a late season call-up. In his first full season in the BBA, coach Yves handed another primary role to another one of Madison's rookies. He did not disappoint, making the BBA ASG in Vancouver, Appearing in 60 games and leading the team in 41 saves and blowing only 3. Good enough for 4th overall in the BBA.
Team MVP:
C - John Hale. It doesn't show up in the box score every day, but since coming to Madison in a trade with Omaha in 2039, Hale has solidified and brought some stability to the teams C position. The 7 year BBA veteran is showing some of these younger Wolves players how to prepare each day. A 2x All Star and Puckett Golden bat award winner in his 3 seasons with the Wolves, he has played 345 games starting 326 of them. Missing 0 games due to injury. He has racked up a 6.0 WAR for his time with the club as well. "He's a real lunch-box kind of guy, a throwback player. He's a good influence on some of these younger players. said Yves.
