August 17, 2045
A decade ago, in the 2035 season, should be Hall of Famer Gervasio Ridder earned 5.9 WAR, the eighth time in ten seasons he had more than 5 WAR. The 5 WAR barrier has not been crossed by a Hustlers position player since.
Sure, Jim Ashford has been over 4 WAR twice, and recently traded Italian surpassed that mark once (the year he hit .399).
But still, no one has broken 5 WAR. However, the Hustlers think they finally have a guy who will do it. That player is Damek Korbel, the Hustlers All-Star shortstop. At 3.9 WAR with 41 games left to play, he's projected to finish the year with 5.2 WAR. Korbel didn't even know the special nature of this metric. "Really, no one in a decade," said Korbel with a sense of intrigue. "That's crazy. I'm just giving it my all everyday. I'm not a vocal guy, but I love to play ball. I'm really, really happy to be here in Las Vegas."
Acquired in the spring from New Orleans in exchange for young prospect Tashfin Mhina, Korbel completely changed the complexion of the Hustlers. Bench coach Luis Icaza raves about the impact of Korbel. "He's an incredible shortstop, that's first," said Icaza with a big smile. "Our defense has completely done a 180 since he's joined the Hustlers. Offensively, he's just a professional hitter. He's been really consistent at the plate, and he really racks up the doubles, which we love."
Club brass was obviously pleased with Korbel, as after some tough negotiations they finally reached agreement on a three year contract extension worth a total of $32.64 million. The new contract will keep Korbel in Las Vegas through 2048. "And hopefully longer than that," chuckled Icaza.
