The Third Floor | Don't Fence Me In, pt. 2 (50.01)

[mragland]

9.30.2049 – Unincorporated Los Angeles County

Alfredo didn't meet face-to-face with players, as a rule. When it came time to negotiate contracts, he dealt directly with agents. When there was some message or direction for players, that message was relayed through on-field personnel. Outside of a few social functions, he never saw or spoke to the club's players in person. This situation was a little different.

He had three Stars position players sitting in armchairs around a coffee table in his office. They were three players who had different feelings about their individual performances in 2049, but they did have one thing in common. Juan Mateo, Valencia first baseman, had just had the best regular season of his big league career. Frédérick Brisset, the center fielder, did not have a great season by the standards of his prior two seasons. Donald Miller the right fielder had only been with the team since August, and his production had dipped since leaving Phoenix.

“Thanks for coming in, fellas,” said Alfredo as he entered the room. He handed out a single page handout to each of them in turn. “I know you're in between sessions, so I'll try to be brief.”

The three of them looked at the pages in their hands, a bit bemused.

Alfredo leaned against the front edge of his desk. “You've heard rumors about some work we intend to do in the outfield. I thought I'd show you what we've got cooking. You can see the current and future outfield wall dimensions on your handouts, along with the current and future park factors. A little further down, the sheets in your hands have two pairs of stat lines. The top line has your stats from the games you played in Dunn Field this past season. The second line contains stats you would have generated under the upcoming park factors.”

Alfredo watched their eyes scan the pages they held. “The next set of lines below that show your 2049 overall stats, and what they would have been with the new stadium configuration.”

The numbers were higher, certainly; a couple hits here, a home run there. It adds up over the course of a season. Dunn Field's pitcher-friendly park factors suppressed the numbers of the three left-handed hitters in Alfredo's office in 2049, the new park factors would suppress them somewhat less so. Mateo's home slash line, for instance, would improve from .286/.382/.617 to .295/.389/.643, boosting his OPS from .998 to 1.032. Dunn Field would remain a pitcher-friendly park on the balance, but one that would no longer punish left-handed hitters disproportionately. This is why Alfredo wanted to talk with these three.

The ballplayers were catching on. They expressed some regret for their 2049 season that might have been and expressed enthusiasm for the changes. Alfredo thanked them for coming in, wished the players luck in the playoffs, returned to his desk, and contemplated his next meeting with three of the Stars' right-handed pitchers. It's tone would be a bit more somber.