If there’s one guy to start with, it’s first baseman and designated hitter Carlos Muñóz. What a strange journey he’s had: he broke into the BBA with the Spuds in 2036, just the team’s second year of existence, and spent five seasons in Boise. Then he bounced around the league a bit, and was assumed to be finished in the majors after an injury-stricken 2043 season. That is, until he rejoined the Spuds this year on a minor league contract, promptly got promoted to the BBA and started putting up his best offensive numbers ever, with an OPS of 1.033 in 39 games.
But here’s the remarkable thing: he has accumulated 1.6 WAR for the Spuds this season, after spending four years out of the BBA entirely. That’s a feat so rare that our stat guys couldn’t even find the last instance of a player coming back after such a long break and being that productive (for non-UMEBA reasons).
In other news, Aleksandr Ginevglekov hit his first BBA home run this week, in his 312th career plate appearance. It was the second-longest homerless streak in the BBA at the time, behind Louisville’s Rodrigo Ríos, who hasn’t homered since 2042, when Alex was still in high school. It seems likely that Ríos will hold onto his streak for a while, and possibly forever, since Louisville designated him for assignment earlier this week.
And while we’re on the subject of players who haven’t homered, here’s an interesting one: outfielder Chris Jenkins has played 14 games for the Spuds since they claimed him on waivers, and not only has he not homered, but he also hasn’t hit any singles. That’s right — he currently has the strange stat line of 34 at bats, 2 hits, 1 double, and 1 triple. And while we do appreciate the extra-base hits, Chris, maybe shorten up a little in the box, because 2-for-34 isn’t going to cut it.
It seems like every year, this column points out Ismael Alfonzo and his knack for not striking out, but this season he’s reached new lows, striking out just 18 times in 345 plate appearances. That gives him a 5.2 SO%, second-lowest in the league behind Montreal’s Coy Skinner. But wait, there’s more: Alfonzo has struck out 160 times now in his five-year BBA career, which is less than Nashville’s Odemar Lock has struck out this season.
On the pitching side of things, Robin Cooper has been pretty hit-or-miss this year in general, but no more so than when he faces the Phoenix Talons. Here’s his game log against Phoenix:
- May 5 in Boise: 0.2 IP, 7 ER
- June 29 in Boise: 7.2 IP, 0 ER
- July 22 in Phoenix: 1 IP, 6 ER
Reliever José Castro has a 1.86 ERA, and if he can make it to 50 IP, it will be his third straight season of 50 IP and a sub-3.00 ERA. The only other active relievers who have such a streak are the elite relief arms of the BBA: Tiernan O’Macken, Keijo Reini, Gilberto Sosa and Eru Likiliki. Castro has by far the cheapest contract, however, and he’s available via trade for a team needing to boost their relief corps (sorry for the shameless plug, but this is a business, after all.)
Anyway, we can’t talk about interesting stats without devoting at least a paragraph to Boise’s star outfielder, Félix Román. Not only is Félix one of the premier players in the league, he’s also one of the most dependable. He has played in 114 of Boise’s 116 games this season, which puts him well on track for his ninth straight season of 155+ games played.
The only other player in the BBA with a streak of at least 9 such seasons is Hawaii’s Mike Campbell, though Mexico City’s Aaron Haney and Fernando Moreno also have active streaks and, like Félix, are on track to achieve their ninth season this year.
So while it may not be the most thrilling stretch run as the Spuds race to another seventh-place finish in the Frontier, at least we have a few things to watch for in September. And with so much of the season left to play, who’s to say that more statistical quirks won’t emerge before it’s all done? So let’s enjoy the ride.