The Boise Spuds believe that every player on the roster deserves his day in the spotlight. Games are not won by the individual, but rather by the product of all 27 guys on the team. For some, a brief call-up from the minors may be the pinnacle of their careers. For others, it’s a footnote. But as long as they’re in uniform, they’re all equals as far as the Spuds are concerned. And the history books should reflect the contributions of bit players just as much as superstars.Which is a long-winded way of introducing a new feature for this season: a profile for every player who makes their BBA debut for the Spuds.
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Murad Abdul-AlimHometown: Alexandria, Egypt
BBA debut: April 2, 2051
Murad Abdul-Alim wasn’t very well-known in Egypt in 2045. The nation barely knew what baseball was (though that would soon change with the formation of Cairo’s UMEBA team the following year), and even for those who did, Abdul-Alim would have scarcely stood out. He was a reserve outfielder for his touring high school team, mostly used as a defensive replacement. But he was faster than anyone on the team, and was gifted with a tremendous outfield arm.
Charlotte saw enough potential in him to offer him a minor-league contract in March 2045. But Boise must have seen something too, because they asked for him in the trade that sent Ricardo Ruíz to the Cougars in 2046.
Abdul-Alim took a while to develop. He even had to spend two years in Short Season A-ball, a level players don’t typically have to repeat. But he was still very young, just 18 at the time, so Boise felt he could benefit from the extra reps.
In A-ball, Abdul-Alim found his power stroke. Hit 19 home runs in the 2049 season for Tulsa, and 27 the following year between AA and AAA. He also began rocketing up the prospect charts, making the Top 100 Prospects list for the first time in 2050, at #96. Boise started receiving trade offers for their young outfielder, but had resolved to hold onto their guy, knowing they could use his skill set in the majors one day.
That day came on Opening Day, when Abdul-Alim debuted as the Spuds’ center fielder. It may not have been the plan to start him in the majors, but it turned out that Boise needed him, after free agent signing Sergio Salazar got injured during Spring Training and was expected to miss the first few weeks of the regular season. Abdul-Alim rewarded Boise that day, homering in his second at-bat.
Unfortunately, Opening Day may be the high point of Abdul-Alim’s rookie season. As of this writing, he is rehabbing from elbow decompression surgery, and expects to miss most of the regular season.
But if there’s any silver lining, he’ll likely keep his rookie eligibility for another year, so it’s possible that a Gillstrom Award could be in the cards for 2052.
