"We were unsure what others were offering, but we didn't want to bid too low on Manny," explained Bauer. "We figured this was a great year to sneak in and add him to our club. He had an off year with only .720 OPS over 559 plate appearances last year. But looking at his career totals, we felt 2051 was a big outlier and he will back to his old self pronto. He played a lot of 1B with the Aztecs last year, but with us he'll return to the hot corner for most of his starts."
The 5-team All-star and 3-time Puckett Golden Bat winner is looking forward to a new start in 2052. "I'm excited to be in Edmonton. Ran into tough luck last year, hitting into a lot of outs. But I have confidence I'll rebound and hope to help turn Edmonton back into a winner."
BBA expert Lem Piker Sr. praised Edmonton for signing Collazo in free agency. "Manny had one hell of a run with Mexico City. His best year was in 2047, where had 43 homers, 126 RBI's and a 7.1 WAR. He probably won't post those kind of totals again, but he's much better than the player we saw in 2051. He also has rock solid health and has never missed a game in his career due to injury. He was a second round draft pick by the Aztecs back in 2039, and one of the best products the Aztecs farm has ever produced. It's surprising the Aztecs decided to cut ties, and quite an accomplishment for Edmonton to lure him away from a division superpower."
Jim Leonard also contributed praise regarding Collazo. "When free agency started, we originally considered bringing back our former champion Scooter (Steven Collins III). But when we saw Collazo was hitting the market, we decided instead to make him one of our primary targets. That tells you how much we think of Collazo, prioritizing him ahead of Scooter."
Collazo has also earned a brand new nickname with the Jackrabbits organization and players, who have stared to call him "Baby Driver".
"It started with the road games we played in Mexico City," explained Jackrabbits starter Gabriel Soto. "We often saw this guy hot-rodding around the parking lot before the games in a black Jaguar with earbuds and dark shades. Figured it was a crazy fan, but when we saw the driver get out we recognized Manny in an instant. He's really talented behind the wheel, so given his look and driving habits we decided to name him after the classic movie."
"I love the nickname," Collazo added. "It's all true. I've turned down offers to become a professional stunt driver. I'm getting a new Lambo soon to celebrate this new contract. Can't wait."
