Sticking Points 2046.5: Danny Leach Has Waited Long Enough

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Sticking Points 2046.5: Danny Leach Has Waited Long Enough

Post by aaronweiner » Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:57 pm

Danny Leach was a starting pitcher in high school, back in Louisiana where he grew up, then for the traveling McDonald's Big Macs. He wasn't half bad and played well enough down there to become a tenth round draft pick. The rest is history, of course: Leach turned himself from a total no-name minor league reliever into one of the most fearsome players in the BBA, a four-time All-Star, three-time ERA and Jason Eagan Award winner who was the first player ever to win a Steve Nebraska Award pitching solely from the bullpen. But he couldn't shake the desire to start.

"Even now I've always wanted to be a starting pitcher," said Leach, whose run in the bullpen has been one of the greatest stories in the history of the BBA. "They called me up to be the fourth starter in a four-man rotation, and after a little bit they made Rogerio Vazquez the fourth starter and that was it."

It's possible that if Leach, who has an unbelievable 21 WAR from 2043-2045 as the stopper, wasn't quite so good in his new role he'd have been given that starting job two years ago. He's thrown starter innings in each of the past three seasons. And it frustrated him to no end that the Pikemen this season, even after Arthur Dempster was traded for a bag of baseballs to Valencia, wouldn't give him the starting job vacated by the Rockville legend; they first called up Juan Jose Diaz from AAA and then traded for Ray Verhoeve.

Well, Leach is going to have his chance. Yun Zhang, a huge disappointment for the Pikemen this year, has been sent to AAA Dodge City to work out the kinks. And Danny Leach, after four amazing seasons in the bullpen, will take his place in the rotation.

"I didn't want to take anyone's job and I didn't want to make waves; I'm one of the leaders in the clubhouse," said Leach. "It was really important to me that I stayed cool, but I have to admit that this is like a dream come true. Yun obviously needs to figure some stuff out and I just hope I'm so good that when he comes back, I get to keep my rotation spot."

Leach is still amazing this year, even though his innings are way down. He's going to make his fourth straight All-Star team, likely unanimously. His 2.2 WAR from the bullpen is second in the BBA only to Charlotte star Keijo Reini. And his importance to the Rockville franchise has never been higher, since the team has had massive turnover on the pitching staff; deprived of high draft picks, the Pikemen have stumbled to the bottom of the pitching rankings in the Johnson League.

"You know how many players are left on the pitching staff from my first year in 2041? Just Raul (Correa, Leach's bullpen mate)," said Leach. "And he's maybe a free agent this year. If there was ever a time for me to move into the rotation, this is the time. Dan's gone, Dave's gone, Arthur's gone. It's just me now, and all the new guys, and I'm the leader. Let's do this thing."

Rockville is 50-39, in third place in the JL Atlantic and in the second wild card position.

"Right now we're still on pace for a home playoff series, and I can't even imagine what it would be like being the starting pitcher on the mound in Game 1 of a playoff series in Rockville," said Leach. "It's like everything I dreamed about as a kid."

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Re: Sticking Points 2046.5: Danny Leach Has Waited Long Enough

Post by Dington » Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:14 pm

Should work out very well. Wonder if you'll be able to sign him to a cheaper extension next season since he's been a RP primarily.
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Re: Sticking Points 2046.5: Danny Leach Has Waited Long Enough

Post by aaronweiner » Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:10 pm

Got me. 21 WAR in 3 seasons.

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