Recte's Hustlers History Vol 1: All-Time Modern Era Team

[recte44]

Recte's Hustlers History
Vol 1: All-Time Modern Era Team

With my time running the Hustlers coming to an end, it's time for me to take a look back at the franchise under my direction from 1973-2039. This is the first of a series of features looking back at those years. In this Volume, we'll unveil the "All-Time Teams". I decided to split them into two- the Modern Era (1995-2039) and the Original Era (1973-1994). In this Volume we'll unveil the "All-Time Modern Era Team". Enjoy!

All Time Hustlers- Modern Era (1995-2039)

Catcher: Hank "Fetch" Brewer (2027-2037)
Eleven seasons with the Hustlers, Brewer is a likely future Hall of Famer. An easy choice here. 9th in BA, 9th in OBP, 9th in OPS, 4th in WAR, 5th in Games, 5th in AB, 5th in Runs, 5th in Hits, 5th in TB, 5th in Singles, 5th in Doubles, 6th in HR, 5th in RBI, 6th in Walks.

First Base: Gervasio Ridder (2024-Present)
Ridder's excellence makes him one of the most important players in franchise history. It's a formality that he'll be a Hall of Famer. True excellence and a scout find who has been with the Hustlers organization his entire career, and therefore it's no surprise he's littered on the Team Leaderboards (3rd in BA, 7th in OBP, 2nd in SLG, 2nd in OPS, 1st in WAR, 2nd in Games, 2nd in AB, 1st in Runs, 1st in Hits, 1st in Total Bases, 2nd in Singles, 2nd in Doubles, 1st in Home Runs, 1st in RBI, 3rd in Walks)

Second Base: Donald "Iron Man" Noboru (1997-2010)
A BBA Hall of Famer, Noboru is the franchise's All-Time leader in Batting Average (.327). A true two-way player and current manager in the Vegas minor league system. 4th in OBP, 2nd in WAR, 3rd in Games, 3rd in AB, 3rd in Runs, 2nd in Hits, 3rd in TB, 1st in Singles, 3rd in Doubles, 8th in Triples, 3rd in RBI, 4th in Walks.

Third Base: Jake Urban (2000-2007, 2013)
Another BBA Hall of Famer, Urban spent the prime of his career with the Hustlers playing primarily third base though he also played some second base, A great slugger with a good glove, Urban is 7th in WAR, 8th in Runs, 10th in Hits, 8th in Total Bases, 4th in Home Runs, 7th in RBI, 9th in Walks.

Shortstop: Edward Allen (2015-2023)
A premier defensive shortstop who could also hit for power, Allen was the rock of a lot of great Hustler teams and is now their current manager. 8th in Games, 10th in At-Bats, 9th in Doubles.

Left Field: Daniel "Danny Boy" Labrie, Jr. (2017-2021)
Let's forget about the end of his career in which he was caught for taking PEDs and focus on the great years he put up as a member of the Hustlers in his prime. From 2016-2021 with the Hustlers he was certainly one of the most feared batters in the league, and at that point in his career was a good left-fielder as well. 5th in BA, 3rd in SLG, 4th in OPS, 9th in WAR, 8th in Hits, 10th in TB, 8th in Singles, 2nd in Triples.

Center Field: Juan Sweetworld (2029-2037)
For most of his time with the Hustlers he was one of the top center fielders in the game. Perhaps the pressure of a big contract affected him at the end of his time in Vegas, but history still looks upon him well. 8th in WAR, 7th in Games, 6th in AB, 7th in Runs, 6th in Hits, 7th in TB, 6th in Singles, 5th in Triples, 8th in HR, 10th in RBI, 1st in SB.

Right Field: Alfredo Martinez (2024-2033)
He was a throw in to a trade for probable second place right fielder Gilberto Pacheco, but he was anything but an afterthought soon after. Martinez is one of the best power/speed combo guys in BBA history, and even with his chronic injury issues is certain to be a Hall of Famer when his career ends. 3rd in OBP, 1st in SLG, 1st in OPS, 5th in WAR, 4th in Runs, 6th in TB, 2nd in HR, 6th in RBI, 2nd in SB, 2nd in Walks.

SP1: Christopher "Trooper" Stoller (1996-2011)
A Hall of Famer and one of the best pitchers in Modern Era History league-wide, Stoller was the ace of all aces. He was a workhorse who pitched a lot of innings at a high level. 7th in ERA, 1st in Wins, 6th in Win%, 1st in WAR, 2nd in GS, 1st in CG, 1st in SHO, 1st in IP, 6th in BB/9, 1st in K, 4th in K/BB, 8th in WHIP, 5th in OOPS, 1st in RWAR.

SP2: Gary "Coop" Estes (2017-2027, 2029-2033, 2035)
A true lefty ace who continued in a long tradition of Hustler aces, Estes was not only one of the most steady pitchers in the league, but one of the most underrated (since corrected with his induction into the Hall of Fame). 2nd in Wins, 8th in Win%, 4th in WAR, 6th in Games, 1st in GS, 8th in CG, 10th in SHO, 2nd in IP, 9th in BB/9, 2nd in Strikeouts, 7th in K/BB, 7th in WHIP, 10th in OOPS, 3rd in RWAR.

SP3: Davey Acheson (2000-2012, 2017)
The Hustlers' SP Hall of Famers continue with Acheson. He always played second fiddle to Stoller during his career but didn't care. Winning was what mattered to Acheson and he did plenty of it. 10th in ERA, 3rd in Wins, 5th in Win%, 2nd in WAR, 3rd in GS, 4th in CG, 5th in SHO, 3rd in IP, 3rd in Strikeouts, 9th in OOPS, 2nd in RWAR.

SP4: Manny "Little Bull" Bautista (2017-2025, 2031)
The fourth of the Hustlers' SP Hall of Famers from the Modern Era, not the least but certainly the most overlooked. Bautista was a force of nature, a solid counterpart to Estes just as Acheson was to Stoller. 3rd in ERA, 8th in Wins, 1st in Win%, 7th in WAR, 8th in BB/9, 10th in K, 5th in K/BB, 3rd in WHIP, 1st in OOPS, 6th in RWAR.

SP5: Kim Rodas (2004-2011)
The addition of Rodas to Stoller and Acheson was a stroke of genius. He was outstanding for the first six years of his Hustlers career, winning 20 games twice and going deep into games, much like Stoller. While the end of his time in Vegas was a disappointment, the whole of his career here was a resounding success. 7th in Wins, 8th in WAR, 9th in GS, 2nd in CG, 2nd in SHO, 8th in IP, 5th in RWAR.

RP: Paul "Worm" Hogan (2002-2012)
Consistently outstanding. Exactly what you want from a closer. In Hogan's case, not many did it better. 40 homers allowed in eleven seasons with the Hustlers. 2nd in ERA, 1st in Saves, 3rd in Games, 2nd in K/9, 2nd in OOPS. Only the voting populaces anti-reliever sentiment kept Hogan from the Hall of Fame. Compare him to the closers in the Hall and tell me he doesn't belong.

RP: Shawn Huber (2031-Present)
Still only 27 years old and his legend continues to grow. Recently signed an extension and it looks like he'll be in Vegas for years to come. The only questions at the end of his career will be whether he's passed Hogan as the best reliever in Hustlers history, and whether or not he's a Hall of Famer. 3rd in Saves, 8th in Games (and counting).

RP: Ricardo "Zap" Valera (2018-2029)
Zap was dominating when on, frustrating when not. At the end of the day the fact that a single reliever who was not always the closer was on the same team for twelve seasons tells the story. He was valuable. Could have been a starter if we went that way. His 2021 season is worth taking a look at- what a season. 8th in ERA, 2nd in Saves, 1st in Games, 6th in K/9, 8th in OOPS.

RP: Ed Staples (2024-2030)
He was an unheralded middle reliever with a propensity to give up the long ball when the Hustlers picked him up from Birmingham. While the longball issue never truly went away what he became was tremendous. He didn't become a full-fledged big leaguer until age 28. He was the Hustlers primary closer from 2025-2029. Injuries derailed his career and he was out of the league at the age of 35 just as quickly as he rose up. His 2027 season provided one of my favorite pitching stats of all time: 75.2 IP, 103 K, 7 BB. That's 7 walks. 6th in SV.

RP: Pedro "Hawkeye" Espin (2013-2016, 2023-2024)
His two stints with the Hustlers were distinctly different. In his first he was the closer, and mostly dominant (though 2014 left something to be desired). In his last stint he was 36 and 37 years old and served as a setup guy, with outstanding results. One of the best relievers in league history. Also, not a Hall of Famer. 7th in Saves.

[jleddy]

Such great team history in general, but even more so when you see players return to Las Vegas a second (or third) time to play out the end of their careers and legends staying with the organization to coach.

[bigmike13]

Great article