Las Vegas Hustlers by the Alphabet- "A"

[recte44]

56 seasons of Hustlers baseball have now been played. That's a shitton of games. I know there's a lot of folks in the league now who weren't around in the early years (1973-1994). Here's a feature I've been thinking about doing for a while now. I'm going to go through the players all of the Hustlers history and discuss players for each letter of the alphabet.

A:
Jorge Abad (.268/.343/.406, 62 HR, 278 RBI) OF- Journeyman who played for eight different teams before seeing his last, brief major league action with the Hustlers in 2000.

Javier Acaron (.175/.257/.261, 3 HR, 19 RBI) OF- Stuck in the low minors for the first six years of his career, had cups of coffee with four major league teams including his last stop with the Hustlers.

Daniel Addington SS- Minor league slugger who had three years of September callups with the Hustlers, never translated to big league success.

Carlin Adie (.265/.373/.479, 288 HR, 940 RBI) OF- One of the first EBA stars to come over to the Brewster. His success continued here with a strong stretch from 2010-2018 with Buffalo. Then he became a bit of a journeyman, bouncing from Seattle to Rome to Greenville to Brussels to Las Vegas (briefly) before ending his career with Brussels at age 42. Excellent career.

Chuck Adolph (.283/.362/.471, 95 HR, 364 RBI) 1B/3B- A late blooming slugger. Didn't reach the bigs until he was 28 years old in September 1997, then got semi-regular playing time in 1998 but didn't produce as expected. After starting the 1999 season with the Hustlers, he went to seattle and platooned. The Hustlers got him back in 2000, and he began a three year run as a platoon starter. 2000 was his career year with 24 HR. He spent 2003 with Birmingham, then back to Vegas in 2004. At age 36 he went to Rome in the EBA for the 2005-2006 seasons, and ended his career with Amsterdam in 2007. Late bloomers can and do happen.

Gary Agler (.255/.307/.333, 12 HR, 85 RBI) IF- Spent the 1985 season with the Hustlers in a reserve role, the worst season of his career (.442 OPS, ouch!). Weird career too. 1982-1983 with Birmingham, then no big league action in 1984, 1985 with the Hustlers, then no big league appearances for the next three years before surfacing with the Bandits again in 1989, 1990 back out of the league, 1991 with the Bandits again, and then 1992 and 1993 with Carolina. A long, strange trip.

John Aguilera (.270/.299/.389, 26 HR, 151 RBI) IF- Still in the league with Huntsville. Acquired in a major deal with Vancouver at the 2023 trade deadline, was not able to carve out a niche on the Hustlers over his two years with them. Was dealt to the Phantoms at the deadline in 2025 for pitcher Michael Jeffries) , who has not panned out.

Freddy Aguilar OF- One of the original Hustlers. Brief playing time in the inaugural 1973 season where he impressed, but he spent the majority of 1974 back in AAA. He played well there, leading to regular playing time the next season (1975) in the Hustlers outfield. After a slow start to the 1976 season, he was dealt to Honolulu where he played part time and fared well. That'd be the end of his career.

Jose Aguirre OF/3B/1B- Another late bloomer, he didn't reach the bigs until his age 28 season in 1995. That season and next he was a September callup. In 1997 he became a semi-regular and posted OPS over .800 that season and next. In 1999 he spent the majority of the year in AAA, and was with Hawaii in 2000, where he had his career year. He'd be with the Tropics through 2002 in a part time role, then moved on to the EBA where he signed with Rome for 2003. Even though he dominated in pinch hitting duty, he spent most of the year in AAA for Rome, and the entire 2004 season in AAA before hanging it up at age 37.

Mike Aldrete 1B- One of the MLB defectors, Aldrete didn't see his star rise in the new MBBA where he was a part-time player just like in MLB. He only briefly played for the Hustlers (in 1989) and ended his six year MBBA career with just 668 at-bats over 429 games.

Tim Alicea) IF/OF- Long time Hustler farmhand. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and would work his way up through the system all the way through the end of the 2028 season, when he became a minor league free agent again. Appeared in 3 games with 3 at-bats in 2024 for the Hustlers, and one game with no at-bats in 2027. Would probably be a decent short half of a major league platoon if he was a rangier fielder. Classic Quadruple-A player.

Edward Allen (.249/.302/.421, 238 HR, 816 RBI) SS- Still in the league at age 39 with the Vancouver Mounties. The Hustlers picked him up at the deadline in 2015 for reliever Sean McVeagh (59 - 46, 3.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 848 K) which turned out to be an epic trade. Allen, a natural third baseman, was being converted to shortstop and he would prove to be one of the Hustlers all-time best. Spent 2015-2023 with the Hustlers, winning one Zimmer Award, one Puckett Golden Bat Award, and going to two All-Star games. Traded to Vancouver in 2023 in the same deal in which the Hustlers acquired Aguilera, then flipped a month later by the Mounties to the Tucson Cactus. He'd be with the Cactus through the 2026 season, after which he filed for free agency and was signed by Yellow Springs. He'd go back to Tucson in 2028, and the Cactus flipped him back to Vancouver at the deadline. Through 2028- 1631 hits, 238 homers, 816 RBI, +128.9 ZR at shortstop.

Earl Alleyne (.318/.422/.425, 95 HR, 635 RBI) 1B- Only spent one year early in his career with the Hustlers, then joining Greenville where he'd go on a nine year run as one of the more underrated hitters in the game. Hit over .300 for seven straight years, as high as .360 in 2001. Ended his career with a full season in Madrid (2006), and then brief playing time in 2007 with Munchen before spending the entire 2008 season in the EBA minor leagues.

Tom Allnit (.263/.314/.412, 61 HR, 271 RBI) 1B- Unfortunately was older when the league started (30) and played regularly for most of the first two years with California before being relegated to pinch hitting duty in 1975 with the Crusaders. The Hustlers picked him up for 1976 and he had the best year of his career. In 1977 his production waned and so did his playing time, and in 1978 he was back to a pinch-hitting role with Louisville. That was the end of his short career, at age 35.

Bill Almon 2B- Another MLB defector. He played well in AAA for Des Moines, but it never quite translated to the big leagues. Spend part of 1985-86 with the Hustlers, 53 total at-bats.

Yong-In Am (.243/.284/.441, 52 HR, 150 RBI) OF- Acquired in a blockbuster December 2015 deal with the Baltimore Monarchs, Am was expected to be a regular contributor with nice power at the big league level. It never materialized. Still, the Hustlers kept him around for six years, after which he went to free agency and signed with Madison for the 2022 season. Over that season and the next, the Wolves had the same hope as the Hustlers did and actually gave him more playing time- the results still weren't there. New Orleans became the next team to try in 2024, again no bueno. After spending the 2025 season in the Birmingham minor leagues, he was released in the spring of 2026 and waited all year for the call that never came. He retired in 2027.


Delmontico Anderson (.240/.284/.338, 5 HR, 55 RBI) IF/OF- Came up with the Hustlers, they were excited about him and he played 51 games in 1986 for Vegas. He wouldn't see the majors again until 1990, when he played in 8 games for Calgary. Then, it'd be another three year drought before he surfaces for Havana in 1994. Then another two year minor league stint before appearing in a handful of games over four years with Greenville, including his career year in 2000 at age 36. He'd spend the 2001 season in AAA with the Moonshiners again, before going to Rome of the EBA in 2002, and then ending his career with Rome's AAA team in 2003 at age 39.

Roger Andes SS- Brief major league debut with the Hustlers in 184, and then short stints with Birmingham and Washington in 1986. Spent the next four years in the minors before hanging it up at age 33.

Diego Ardon (.276/.288/.350, 6 HR, 86 RBI) IF- A promising middle infielder who came up with Halifax in 2019 at 21 years old, and played semi regularly in 2020 with them. Then shipped to Buffalo, and he played sparingly in 2021-22, before being a semi-regular in 2023-2024. He went from Havana in the Hunter Eisenhower (.277/.364/.471, 235 HR, 760 RBI) deal to the Hustlers for 2025 and got a handful of at-bats that year and the next before Vegas waived him. Omaha claimed him, but never activated him, and then he was claimed by Brooklyn and ended the 2026 season with them, and again served as a little used backup for Brooklyn in 2027. For 2028, he signed a minor league deal with Seattle, and spent the whole year playing for their AAA team. Still with the Storm system.

Billy Ashley (.274/.328/.461, 340 HR, 1092 RBI) OF- One of the more successful MLB defectors of the 90's and 00's, Ashley was a feared slugger for Long Beach and Birmingham for a long stretch from 1993-2005. In 2006, at age 35, he transitioned into a backup role and didn't quite adjust for Birmingham, and then came to the Hustlers, where he was excellent in a backup role that season and alright in the 2007 season. He ended his career with Phoenix and Vancouver in 2008, the Mounties in 2009, and Brussels (EBA) in 2010 and retired at age 39 with 340 career Brewster Homers.

Jose Atkins (.143/.172/.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI) OF- Appeared in only one MBBA season, 1976 with the Hustlers. At age 36, an odd rookie, he batted .143 in 28 at-bats over 37 games. Defensive outfielder.

Brad Axelson (.255/.316/.407, 91 HR, 442 RBI) C- A regular cacher for most of his career, was the original Louisville catcher from 1973-1976. Played for Vancouver from 1977-1981. Ended his career with the Hustlers in 1982 (age 36). One of those under the radar guys who never got much acclaim, but played in 1153 MBBA games over 10 seasons.

Edgardo Ayala (.270/.319/.382, 9 HR, 102 RBI) 2B- One of the early EBA defectors, he was coming off the best season of his five year career with Amsterdam when he signed with Marquette for the 2012 season. He played regularly but wasn't spectacular, and was waived in August and claimed by Des Moines. Then in December he was claimed by New Orleans. He'd spend the 2013 season in the minors, before spending 2014 as a platoon guy for the 'Dads and winning a Landis with them. He then became a free agent and the Hustlers signed him to a 1 year, $2.4 million deal.

Andreas Ayes 2B- I completely forgot about this guy, he didn't ring a bell at all. Apparently he was my starting 2B in 1989 and actually did pretty darn good. A decent 11 year career, batting .291 with 1233 hits in 1438 games.

Archie Ayrault (.273/.369/.498, 371 HR, 1183 RBI) SS- Long time Chicago shortstop (1981-1989) who was the Hustlers starting shortstop from 1990-1993. Career high 42 homers in 1991 for the Hustlers, despite just hitting .238 that year. Ended his career with one season in Washington (1994) and retired at age 35 with 371 career homers, 1965 hits.

Shawn Abrams RHP- Drafted by the Hustlers in the 6th round of the 2005 draft, traded to Greenville in June 2010 for Charlie Schaffer (112 - 108, 4.47 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 1420 K) . He had brief stints with the Moonshiners in 2011-2013, then claimed by the Hustlers in 2013 and started 10 games for the Hustlers that year. That winter, the Hustlers dealt him (along with Jake Urban (.273/.359/.489, 490 HR, 1618 RBI) ) to Marquette in exchange for reliever Sean McVeagh (59 - 46, 3.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 848 K) . He spent the next six seasons with the Suns, bouncing between starting and relieving and generally being frustrating. He split 2020 between Des Moines and Indy before going to the EBA, where he pitched from 2021-2026 with varying results.

Davey Acheson (248 - 141, 3.53 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3199 K) RHP- A Hall of Famer. Spent the first thirteen seasons of his career with the Hustlers, winning twenty or more games three times, and the 2025 Nebraska Award despite being in the shadow of Christopher Stoller (258 - 129, 3.24 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3104 K) . During that time, he and the Hustlers won five LMS titles. In June 2012, the Hustlers sadly dealt him to Hawaii for Dieter Hartinger (172 - 162, 4.24 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2282 K) and Pedro Espin . He ended up being shelved with a sore shoulder just 24 days after the trade. Hawaii traded him to Calgary in a blockbuster deal that offseason, and he had four relatively productive seasons with them. In 2017, the Hustlers brought him back at age 40, and he battled his way through 152 innings that year on pure grit. He ended his career at age 41 in 2018 with Paris in the EBA.

Oscar Acosta (48 - 50, 4.57 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 898 K) LHP- Came up with the Hustlers in 1990 at age 23, pitched regularly for them through 1993. Pitched in lots of games (1991-74, 1992-86, 1993-85) but was highly frustrating. Went to Washington in 1994 and partly through that year started closing games for them. Was their full time closer in 1995 and saved 29 games. On to Austin for 1997-98, then Long Beach 1998-1999. He'd putch effectively for Buffalo from 2000-2003 before ending his career with Amsterdam in the 2003 season. 846 career Brewster appearances.

Scott Adams (32 - 23, 3.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 368 K) LHP- A 2nd round pick by Valencia in 2012, he was dealt to Omaha the next year, and to Baltimore in 2015. In December of 2015 he was part of a blockbuster deal between the Monarchs and Hustlers. He came up to the majors in 2016. After struggling to stick over that year and the next, starting with 2018 Adams was a big part of the Vegas bullpen for the next six seasons before being dealt to Buffalo in 2024. He hooked up with indy from 2025-2027, actually setting a career high in games in 2027 with 76. He's been a free agent since then, refusing to retire but not getting any interest for some reason.

Todd Adams RHP- Adams was a solid starter for Buffalo and Washington before joining the Hustlers in 1987 at age 34. He had 30 relief appearances that year with a 6.27 ERA, and then started four games the next year going 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA. That wrapped it up for his career. 124-100 career record with a 3.95 ERA. Good career overall, just not in Vegas.

Jack Aker RHP- Another MLB defector. Two decent years with Montreal from 1975-1976, then a solid year for Vegas in 1977. 1978 with the Hustlers didn't go so well, and he was done at age 36.

Justin Alexander (204 - 132, 3.31 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2870 K) RHP- A Hall of Famer. Came up with Vegas in September 1976 and started four games. The next year he broke through with a great season, but over the course of his career with the Hustlers he had mixed results (1976-1984). In mid 1984, just when it appeared he was coming around, he was dealt to Valencia and pitched incredibly well for them from 1984-1986. Then he joined Long Beach and continued pitching really well, including his amazing 25-3 season of 1989. He started with Phoenix in 1991, then came back to the Hustlers for the rest of that season and five starts in 1992, ending his career where he started it. Career 204-132 record with 3.31 ERA.

Aaron Alfonso (.070/.134/.086, 0 HR, 7 RBI) LHP- Was 32 years old when the league started, and from 1973-1975 he was probably the Hustlers best pitcher. Brooklyn signed him as a free agent in 1976 and he pitched well, then went on to Charlotte from 1977-1978 before ending his career in 1979 back with the Hustlers.

Chris Allen RHP- It was guys like this that the EBA was originally designed to help out. He came up with Seattle for cups of coffee in 2003 and 2004, before becoming a semi-regular starting pitcher for the Storm in 2006 and flaming out. He went to Brussels in the EBA where he pitched pretty well, and was able to parlay that into a deal with Vancouver in 2010 as a starter. He split 2011 with Hawaii and Las Vegas, and pitched as a swingman for Greenville in 2012. After sitting out the 2013 season, he pitched for the AA affiliate of the Storm in 2014, and then called it a career, just 34 years old.

Adam Ambrose RHP- A decent middle reliver who pitched for four teams over five years. One of the players who came into the fledgling league in 1973 as an over-30 guy which shortened his career.

Jesus Angel (2 - 0, 6.44 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 37 K) RHP- A second round pick by Montreal in 2015. He'd remain with them through 2024, getting short looks in the bigs in 2019, 2020, and 2022. The Hustlers claimed him in 2025, and he pitched four straight years for their AAA team, with eight MLB games in 2025 for the Hustlers. Jacksonville drafted him in the Rule 5 Draft in 2027, and after four games in which he allowed 3 homers, he was returned to the Hustlers where he pitched in their AAA affiliate again through 2028. Now a free agent, only 31 years old and still has talent. 370 career AAA games, only 31 major league games.

Rene Arocha (109 - 105, 4.34 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1202 K) RHP- Another MLB defector, but a true defector from Cuba. Signed with Des Moines and started for them from 1993-1998. Traded to Las Vegas in 1998 and he became a reliever for them that year, pitching well, and then in 1999 was a swingman, again pitching well. He went to Marquette for 2000-2001, back as an effective starter, and then to Carolina from 2002-2004, as a swingman type but not as effective anymore. After starting 2005 with the Kraken, he pitched briefly as a starter for California, and then went to the EBA where he appeared in just one game for Munchen. He signed with Paris for the 2006 season and appeared in a career high 65 games as a reliever, and retired after the year at age 40. 109-105 career Brewster record. Not too bad.

Gerardo Arroyo (13 - 33, 5.35 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 244 K) RHP- Fourth round pick by Atlantic City in 2006. In 2009 he pitched a perfect game in AA for the Gamblers. Less than two months later, he was traded to Omaha. Six months later, he was dealt to Seattle. After the 2011 season, he still hadn't been in the majors, but he got a chance when the Hustlers picked him in the Rule 5 draft. He opened the 2012 season with the Hustlers, but was a disaster (0-2, 9.27 in 11 G, 13 BB, 9 K) and was returned to Seattle. He'd pitch in one late season game for Seattle in 2014, then got a chance with Baltimore in 2016 as a reliever, and did alright but gave up too many homers. The franchise moved to Brooklyn the next year and he was a full time starter for the Robins, an atrocious 9-19, 5.54 ERA and 39 HR allowed. He was slightly better the next year (3-10, 4.42 ERA, 23 HR in 19 GS) but was shut down with a rotator cuff injury in July, and then was released in October. Seattle signed him to a minor league deal in the late spring of 2019, and for some reason he pitched as a reliever in A ball that year. After sitting out the 2020 season, he retired in 2021.

[RonCo]

Love this.

[RonCo]

BTW, for whatever reason, Bill Almon was a favorite of mine IRL. Seriously, I have no idea why. I was always rooting for him, though.

[udlb58]

Wow, this is amazing! :D

[recte44]

It'll take a while, but ive been wanting to do this for a while.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk

[Ted]

You sir, are a crazy man for undertaking this. Cool nonetheless.

[recte44]

Crazy indeed.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk

[leejay56]

very cool,,,,,,,,