The following hitters disappointed in Atlantic City during the 2044 season:
First baseman António Martínez
Martínez, 24, had an adequate season production-wise by most standards; however, the problem is it was far from adequate compared to his previous three seasons. The 2038 second-round draft pick for the Gamblers posted an OPS of 1.060, .911, and .874 respectively from 2041-2043, but finished the 2044 hitting .266/.305/.457 with 72 runs scored, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 26 home runs, 67 RBIs, 6 stolen bases in 12 attempts (.500 success rate), and a 1.0 WAR in 609 plate appearances. Compared to his 2043 season, Martínez had a 9 point drop in batting average, a 25 point drop in on-base percentage, an 86 point drop in slugging percentage, and a 112 point drop in OPS. He posted a career-low in runs scored (first sub-100 runs scored season), doubles, home runs (first sub-30 home run season), RBIs (first sub-100 RBI season), and only drew a career-low 30 walks. The Gamblers need Martínez to rebound to his previous glory in order to make a run similar to their 2043 campaign.
Third baseman Ernesto González
González, 24, showed improvement compared to his 2043 campaign during the 2044 season; however, both his 2043 and 2044 seasons pale in comparison to his offensive output during the 2042 season. González finished the 2044 season hitting .256/.287/.412 with 78 runs scored, 53 doubles, 11 triples, 9 home runs, 62 RBIs, 18 stolen bases in 33 attempts (.545 success rate), and a -0.2 WAR in 686 plate appearances. This, compared to his 2042 season, where he finished hitting .301/.342/.508 with 134 runs scored, 60 doubles, 9 triples, 22 home runs, 113 RBIs, 39 stolen bases in 52 attempts (.750 success rate), and a 4.4 WAR in 746 plate appearances. Defensively, González struggled, recording 14 errors (.963 fielding percentage), a -4.4 zone rating, and a .992 defensive efficiency. González's decline seems to coincide with the recent declines of many of the Gamblers' bigger names, leading to questions if it has to do with instruction rather than declining ability.
Second baseman Keith Dean
Dean, 31, seems to be entering decline following a disappointing 2043 season. Dean finished the 2044 season hitting .248/.302/.383 with 54 runs scored, 22 doubles, 5 triples, 12 home runs, 46 RBIs, 4 stolen bases in 12 attempts (.333 success rate), and a 0.6 WAR in 550 plate appearances. Dean has posted three sub-1.0 WAR seasons in his past four campaigns, which very well may spell the end to his tenure with the Gamblers. Dean has two years and $16 million remaining on the six-year, $60 million contract signed during the 2040 offseason, with both seasons being team options with a $2.2 million buyout. The Gamblers have Don Pérez, a natural third baseman who has been working considerably as a second baseman over the past few seasons, likely to make the 2045 opening day roster. Pérez got a taste of BBA baseball in 2044, hitting .222/.279/.381 with 7 runs scored, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases in 2 attempts (1.000 success rate), and a 0.1 WAR in 68 plate appearances following his September call up. He finished the 2044 season for Class-AAA Brooklyn hitting .250/.304/.380 with 70 runs scored, 31 doubles, 3 triples, 12 home runs, 67 RBIs, 23 stolen bases in 36 attempts (.639 success rate), and a 2.1 WAR in 608 plate appearances.
Outfielder Stewart Illingworth
Illingworth, 25, had a season in sharp contrast to his stellar 2043 season, finishing the 2044 season hitting .228/.291/.388 with 51 runs scored, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 17 home runs, 51 RBIs, 1 stolen base in 3 attempts (.333 success rate), and a -1.0 WAR in 492 plate appearances. Illingworth earned an All-Star appearance for his 2043 season, but saw a stark decline of 57 points in batting average, 56 points in on-base percentage, 173 points in slugging percentage, and 229 in OPS in 2044. His 17 home runs in 2044 was a 24 home run decline from 2043, and his 51 runs scored and 51 RBIs were way off the 100 runs scored and 108 RBIs recorded in 2043. Illingworth saw playing time cut after his struggles, so the question will be if an offseason and fresh approach can help him recapture the magic of his 2041 and 2043 seasons.
Shortstop Ewan Allman
Allman, 25, struggled in his second season with the Gamblers, finishing the 2044 season hitting .224/.304/.316 with 26 runs scored, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 15 RBIs, 2 stolen bases in 5 attempts (.400 success rate), and a -0.7 WAR in 311 plate appearances. Allman's 2043 and 2044 campaigns were very similar statistically, but both poor enough offensively to not fully relegate poor hitting defensive guru Sven Burel (.138/.234/.182) out of the conversation at shortstop. Allman played poorly at shortstop this past season (9 errors, .977 fielding percentage, -5.7 zone rating, .934 defensive efficiency), but is a better hitter than Burel, who is the superior defensive shortstop (3 errors, .992 fielding percentage, +11.9 zone rating, 1.114 defensive efficiency).
