Highlights
- DH Matthew Reilly won a Silver Slugger award, leading the league in both batting average (.364) and doubles (52). That .999 OPS wasn't too shabby, either.
- Julio Barajas and Angel Gonzalez bookended the corner OF spots, with nearly the same slash lines. The Pikemen plan of generating offense from the corner OFs and Reilly went just as planned.
- Young closer Edward Johnson put up another strong year, with 36 saves. The bullpen was expected to be a strength of the 2051 Pikemen, and it was. However...
- The bullpen was overtaxed by covering for too many less-than-quality starts (aka crappy starts). Jafar Haamid, expected to be the staff leader, instead only led the early parade to the showers. Nathaniel Davis, acquired midseason from Las Vegas, showed the most promise and earned an extension. Moderate things will be expected of the 27-year-old lefty in 2052.
- Steady Eddie Charles Puckett, Kenny Blackwell, and Richard Wright doggy-paddled their way through mediocre seasons. Young catcher John McMuttray left no doubt about his hitting ability, but raised questions about why his position would be called "catcher." GM Jim Slade's hope that the team could outhit its shortcomings fell...short. Week to week, the team managed to stay just out of reach of .500. "It's one thing to be bad," said Slade, as the 2051 season came to a close, "but I'd take that over being not-quite-mediocre. At least when your team is bad, you're pretty sure there's only one direction left to go."
To his credit, Slade is taking accountability for this underwhelming offseason and the long road ahead: "By all means I should be sent packing for not knowing that Reilly's opt-out takes effect after the 2052 season. But hey, who's going to replace me, some kind of artificial intelligence GM?"