Sticking Points 2047.7: Francisco Flores Too?

[aaronweiner]

At the press conference announcing the signing of Francisco Flores by the Rockville Pikemen to a one-year deal that's unlikely to become two, Flores gave one of the more memorable quotes in recent Rockville history.

"We got Chuckie and we got Danny and we got Julio and me," said Flores. "The Beatles are back."

To a certain extent, Flores isn't exaggerating. In 2038, the same year that Flores became one of the only catchers to ever win a batting title and won the Sawyer Silk Award, Chip "Chuckie" Puckett was one of the top shortstops in baseball. Flores and Puckett were so good for Rockville that there was early talk about their Hall of Fame candidacies. And Julio Barajas and Danny Leach have definitely been the Paul and John of this group, showing protracted excellence.

"We had the cap space and Franny wanted back in," said GM Aaron Weiner. "He's looking forward to working with our young pitchers and getting fastballs from Danny Leach again."

Flores had one of the earliest opt-outs in the BBA, just when they started to become a contract option. He exercised his after two years of a 6 year, $67 million dollar extension and pulled down almost $100 million from Brooklyn in free agency. Since then, Rockville had struggled to find an everyday catcher. Prospect Manuel Moreno was expected to be the starting catcher this year and there was some buzz about him offensively, but his defense is notably suspect. Moreno will continue starting against lefty pitchers.

"Listen, I don't mind giving up the job for a little while to a legend like Francisco Flores," said Moreno. "I'm still going to get 70-80 games in this year, improve myself, and I'm going to learn from a catcher who won a batting title, who hits like I do. That's pretty exciting stuff from my side."

It's increased the buzz around the Pikemen, too, who put in additional seats in the offseason and whose fan interest is at an all-time high. It might also elevate their offensive profile, as the platoon is likely to be very productive this year.

"Knowing that I'm not going to have to catch 130 games like I did in Brooklyn is very good news," said Flores. "Manuel's got a ton of talent offensively and I hope I can help him get even better."

We're pretty sure that Flores is the Ringo Starr of the Beatles: he's a little goofy, occasionally says dumb stuff and the team isn't likely to sing to his tune very often. But as long as he's drumming out base hits, we doubt that anyone will mind.

"I'll get by with a little help from my friends," said Flores, referencing Ringo's biggest Beatles hit. "Can't wait to go out there and try to win it all right where I started."