9-News: 36.055 – McNeill Makes 7th All-Star Appearance

[RonCo]

Nine Superstar Replaces Godzilla

With Boise’s Yunosuke Terada blasting home runs like they were daily vitamins, it was no surprise that the kid ousted Lucas McNeill for the Frick League All-Star vote at first base, but an untimely calf muscle tear put him on the sideline, and brought McNeill to the fore once again. The 29-year-old made his 7th All-Star appearance this week. Since arriving at the big leagues, he’s missed only 2029 and 2032.

"He deserved to be there," said Yellow Springs manager Bret Richards--words that are true enough. While Terada is blasting homers in a little league park, McNeill is having a plus-season for him: 18 hmoers, 67 RBI, .304/.403/.535. He's on pace to score over 110 runs, a category for which McNeill literally owns as far as the franchise is concerned. He holds six of the top 10 highest scoring seasons in the team's history, and if he winds up with 114 or more, he'll knock either himself or owner Bo Jordan off the list entirely. It's reasonable to think that he'll replace John F. Kennedy, Jr. from the top spot this year--though it will be close.

“It’s always an honor to play in this game,” McNeill said. “I always try to be my best. And this one is great because Miki gets to be here.”

This season he was accompanied to the game by his wife, pop-star Miki Manning, who is between recording sessions and touring. Some are suggesting that she’s arrived just in time to soak up a bit of free publicity, as the numbers for her last tour were apparently down a notch.

The writer of this article is too stupid to figure out how to see the actual results of the All-Star game, but suffice to say that the JL managed to eek out a 4-3 win, probably because the FL manager didn’t play McNeill enough or in the right places. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.

We're not sure what the franchise record is, but we're reasonably sure seven All-Star appearances is way up there. That the league is larger in modern days than it was in the past is also a point of emphasis here. A player once had to beat out 11 other guys at a position. Now it's 14.

FUTURE UNCLEAR

Regardless, McNeill has an opt-out on his contract after this season and will be deciding whether to stay with the club. It’s an interesting choice, as it’s certain he could get more money. On the other hand, the Yellow Springs community has been deeply supportive of him, and he’s put up some remarkable numbers in the YS9 red and black. The newfangled Statsplus service the league has contracted say that his most comparable 29-year-olds are:

Charles Puckett 859
Valeri Kharlamov 853
Jared Gillstrom 832
Dwayne Johnson 829
Resurrection Santos 826
Chris Workman 819
Kal El 815
Bolt Vanderhugen 811
Ted Sale 802
Leon Sandcastle 797
Which, if you’re paying attention, are some nice names to be compared to.

Rumors are that McNeill and the club have entered into sporadic conversations about an extension that would remove the uncertainty of the buy-out, but no word yet as to the progress those talks are having.

“I’d love to stay in Yellow Springs,” McNeill said. “Miki loves coming here, too. So, we’ll see.”