MBM Moves Northwest in the Frontier – 65.02

[neugey]

When the 2064-2065 Winter Meetings began in earnest, it was expected that new Boise GM Mike Bauer would lose some of the restraint shown when he took over the Spuds midseason for longtime Brewster GM Ben Teague. Some solid talent and known names were put on the Boise trade block, but the popularity of those players was overshadowed by the player they were about to land.

“When I saw Malik bin Mazin on the trade block, I initially dismissed the notion as I was focused on players in their 20’s,” explained Bauer. “I went into trade talks thinking we needed to move one of our three 1B/DH players for an outfielder or a pitcher. But nothing seemed to work out there, so we explored finding a corner infielder that could bolster the third base position and complement Bill Kuhn, who had a significant hamstring last season that put the team in a challenging spot. This opened our eyes to what a nice fit Mailk would be. Neither Kuhn or MBM will have to exhaust themselves taking 500+ at bats. We’ll play complementary team baseball.”

Now 37, Malik bin Mazin is no longer the offensive dynamo that won the Silk award three times, but still demonstrates nice contact and respectable defense. But there’s another skill he continues to flash that continues to catch opposing pitchers off guard – his prolific gap power.
“MBM is arguably one of the best gap hitters the Brewster has even seen,” gushed Bauer. “He still can hit doubles in his sleep. That’s another element we didn’t really have on our team before this trade that we’re happy to add.”

Brewster fan circles and pundits are already starting to debate who won this trade. For the record, Boise sent DH Perry Taylor and recent Rule V addition RP Ramon Rodriguez to Rosenblatt for MBM, AAA 3B Carlos Ramos and 3 million cash. While Boise receives the starpower of bin Mazin, a solid young superutility bat in Ramos and a fistful of cash, Rosenblatt will benefit from Taylor and Rodriguez' youth and productivity in 2065.

The arrival of MBM has created a new buzz in the Boise market this winter. The Spuds haven’t had a megastar like this for quite a while, possibly since the days of Hall of Famer Dennis French. When the El Paso Chilis relocated and became the Rocky Mountain Oysters, bin Mazin arrived in a trade from Des Moines and became the superstar the Oysters were built around. But those days are long gone, with the Oysters now transitioned to the Rosenblatt Bombers. Still, MBM had been with the same organization for a long while, and many were unsure how Mailk himself would feel about the trade.

“This was a case where the player held his 10/5 rights,” explained Bauer. “We didn’t know if he’d be willing to leave the greater Omaha area. It’s a nice place to live, speaking from personal experience. We also didn’t know if he’d be open to moving within the Frontier, which will probably tick off some of the fans who appreciate his talents and fondly remember the Oysters days. Malik’s willingness to join us in Boise is not something I take for granted and we’re very grateful.”

If this all seems a little familiar, Bauer has been through a similar arc before. While in Edmonton, he signed corner infielder and Hall of Famer Steven “Scooter” Collins III to finish his career with the Jackrabbits. Bauer is hoping bin Mazin will also choose to finish his career in Boise. “That would be incredible,” remarked Bauer. “Scooter was in the Frontier for his whole career with multiple teams. The Frontier loves to retain its stars and we’re all one big happy family here. At least when we are playing the Atlantic teams!”