Once upon the 2050 season,
Eric Buckson was the best reliever in the BBA (even though somehow a guy with the following numbers finished second in the Egan Award voting: 49 saves, 1.26 ERA, 92 K's, 0.84 WHIP, 2.5 WAR....seriously, WTF.) Then he kind of fell apart for a few years. It wasn't until he left Las Vegas (sounds like a fun idea for a film) and fizzled out of Brooklyn when he finally found his way back. "Twin Cities for me is always going to be a special place," said Buckson, who signed a three year deal (including option years and bonuses) to return to the Hustlers. "I'd gotten so off track that I had to sign a minor league deal (with a major league option) and try to pitch my way onto the team. You can imagine how that kind of knocks any ego out of the equation. Nothing I did in the past mattered at that point, it was all about doing what I could do over those thirty spring games to convince Twin Cities to give me a spot.
Buckson, now 32 years old, is happy to have a chance for redemption in his Hustler homecoming
He did it. He made the Twin Cities roster in 2054, and produced quality work as a set-up man and middle reliever. His 2055 season (in the same role) was so good he finished second in the Egan Award voting (wait, what? refer back to above. This time he was 8-1, 2 saves...yes, 2, 1.40 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 2.3 WAR. Still a great season but damn). 2056 and 2057 were both solid as well, but he headed to free agency after the season.
"Certainly things didn't work out the way we envisioned towards the end of his first run here in Vegas," said GM Matt Rectenwald. "I'm really glad he's back. Great arm, just lost his way a bit. He made it back. Now with 'Buck', Todd Stone and Adam Bristcoe we have the pieces to incorporate the good old Rule of Three once again, if Henry (Rectenberg) wants to dust it off."
