Santa Clarita Valley Journal | Organizational Awards: Valencia (55.25)

[mragland]

Santa Clarita Valley Journal
Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
October 19, 2055

VALENCIA – The Stars and their fans suffered through a second consecutive losing season, with the team winning 74 games two years running. This is not the sort of consistency you want. There was plenty of blame to go around (the Stars just weren't very good at much of anything), and the team lost its identity. What used to be a scrappy, very good run-prevention squad capable of churning out 90 win seasons fairly reliably, is now an uninspiring club that scuffles to sixth-place finishes.

Position Player of the Year: Outfielder, Ulvi Basgil
Acquired: Free Agency, 2055
Born: Kulu, Turkey
.278/.351/.469, .820 OPS, 121 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
Signature Moment: Went 2 for 4, with 2 home runs, a sacrifice fly, and a walk, scoring 3 runs, on August 18th against the Hawaii Tropics

Basgil had a solid 2055. He won't win any association awards with his production, but he was good, and from a dollars per WAR standpoint, all you could ask for. The stars had been missing Omer Dijkstra, who departed after the 2053 season. They thought they had gotten a good replacement in Martin Hemming, but he only gave them a below-replacement level performance in 2054. Looking for a plus defender in either corner outfield spot who could swing the bat, they landed on former Blazer, Basgil, who hadn't been an everyday player for Montreal since 2051. As Hemming continued to regress this year, Basgil forced his way onto the lineup. Hemming was eventually let go on waivers in late May, and Basgil became a fixture in the Stars lineup.

Pitcher of the Year: Esteban Cruz
Acquired: Free Agency, 2055
Born: Murphy, Texas
3.96 ERA, 80 K, 34 BB, 101 HA, 9 HRA, 97.2 IP, 86 FIP-, 2.0 WAR
Signature Moment: Struck out 6, walked 1, allowed 4 hits, and 2 earned runs in 7 innings against the Yellow Springs Nine on August 15

As the Stars rotation fell to pieces in May, the club reached out and signed Esteban Cruz to a modest two-year deal. Cruz hadn't had an encouraging spring (which was why he has available at all), and a short break-in period in the Valencia bullpen wasn't all that great either. Nevertheless, Cruz was pressed into service because the alternatives were that bad. Although he only notched 2 quality starts in 19 tries, he was a fairly steady performer, and his 2.0 WAR in a truncated season wasn't too bad. The bar was low for Valencia starters, and he cleared it.