January 1, 2061
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
I’ve had the honor of being the beat writer for the Bluebirds since the summer of 2043 and we’ve seen several great players don’t he Nashville Blue during that span. Obviously, a vast majority of that talent has been in recent years during the Bluebirds’ dynasty stretch, but the foundation was laid by earlier players. Let’s take a look at my favorite players of the past 16 years:
C Alberto Rodriguez
- An easy selection. Jesus Rodriguez (no relation) was fundamental in the Bluebirds success after A-Rod departed, but Alberto was a captain and foundational piece of the early years of Nason’s tenure and kept the team competitive during the glory days of the uber-competitive Heartland. He remained after the sell off of other crucial players that would help form the current dynasty. His best season was in 2045 when he had an OPS of .955 and 5.8 WAR, yet he only managed to garner two votes for the Silk Award that year – 4th and 5th place votes. After 12 years in Nashville, A-Rod accumulated 32.3 WAR and an .808 OPS. He is now coaching their Rookie Ball team in Lynchburg.
1B Wafid Bishr
- Slam dunk of a pick here. The first IFA pick for GM Chad Nason was a homerun when he signed for $5 million in January of 2044 and was considered leftovers after missing the first IFA window. Bishr would get called up in 2050 to help the Bluebirds win their first title of the dynasty and became one of the league’s most feared players, taking home Silk Awards in ’51 and ’52. In 11 seasons, Bishr amassed 56.3 WAR with a .925 OPS and 233 SB. Unfortunately, it appears his time in Nashville has come to an end as he is expected upwards of $100 million in free agency.
2B Jesus Yan
- This was a tough one. Statistically, Helmut Grun and Colby Triska are better, but Yan was a good player in the early years who loved playing in Nashville. He was traded to Vegas in a blockbuster trade that landed Scott Bugbie and Adrian Custello, who would become important parts on the Bluebirds rotation, only to be traded back to the Bluebirds later that season after becoming homesick. He would depart again in the 2046 sell off, but came back in a trade deadline acquisition in 2050 to help the Bluebirds win the title. In all, Yan played 805 G for the Bluebirds, good for 9.8 WAR, but the spirit he brought to the clubhouse was unmatched.
SS Brooks Eliot
- Another easy selection, especially since the boss might not take too snubbing his son. Eliot has proved to be a class hitter since entering the BBA and held his weight at one of the most important positions defensively. The 28 year old infielder is coming off his best season after hitting .353 with 19 HR, but is most loved for his clutch playoffs performances. He has 4 playoff series MVPs and two Montys in his 7 seasons in Nashville and is locked up until 2065. Good news for Bluebirds fans considering he is averaging 5.2 WAR over the past 3 seasons and seems to be getting better.
3B Tony Frost
- The 2048 Silk Award winner was the franchise player for the Bluebirds and certainly was foundational in helping them win their first title since 2017. Frost survived the sell off in 2046 because there wasn’t an offer that would have been good enough to sway Nason from trading their best player and rewarded the Bluebirds faith with a 9.0 WAR season in 2048, batting .324 and a .976 OPS. He would back that up with consecutive 7+ WAR seasons and a Monty in 2050, but fell off dramatically in 2051. He was eventually traded to Vancouver after four seasons below expectations in favor of upcoming sensation, Jorge Cano. Frost was able to revitalize his career in Vancouver before heading to Portland to win a sham of a title in 2059. In 14 seasons in Nashville, Frost accumulated 62.1 WAR and an .825 OPS at the hot corner and should see himself in the Hall of Fame soon.
LF Juan Rivera
- The future first ballot Hall of Famer was acquired as part of Atlantic City’s salary dump in 2054. Although he’s only played 754 G for the Bluebirds, he’s remained one of the league’s elite hitters with a .987 OPS and 34.5 WAR. He won his 1st Silk (4th overall) with the Bluebirds in 2059 despite not leading the league in any statistical category except WAR. He is now a free agent and will be 43 in 2061, but he really put Nashville over the top and helped them win them win multiple titles.
CF Crissy Tingle
- It felt wrong snubbing Kidane Ata, but Tingle has been instrumental in the Bluebirds success and patrols the outfield with ease and has already out-WAR’d Ata in only 5 seasons. Not only does Tingle possess an elite glove in CF, but he is a fantastic leadoff hitter at the top of the potent Nashville lineup. He has a career .375 OBP and was on track to be a Silk finalist in 2059 before being injured, but has 3.9 WAR in 92 G. Nashville will have to find a way to lock him up long term.
RF Alfonso Gonzales
- The wunderkind. Gonzales signed as a minor league free agent in 2053 for $9,696,969 and grew into the type of prospect people dream about. He debuted at the end of 2057, just in time to help Nashville win a Monty and put up 3.1 WAR in just 188 AB. He followed that up with his first full season, winning a Silk after posting a .963 OPS and 8.4 WAR season. After a disappointing 6.3 WAR season in 2059, Gonzales came back strong in 2060 with another title and Silk Award. He is still in arbitration, but will surely require a king’s ransom when it comes time for a long-term deal.
DH Majd bin Nawaf
-This one was a little tougher to decide. Nashville spurns through DH pretty quickly and have had some great ones through the years, including Ernesto Sousa, Matt Garrison, Jorge Gutierrez, Roger Kidd. Bin Nawaf was the greatest of them all. He signed as a minor league free agent in 2052 for $725,000 and blossomed into a superstar. He debuted at the end of 2055 and had an 1.114 OPS in 81 AB and let the world know he was going to be a superstar. He followed that up with a .950 OPS in 416 AB in 2056, forcing the Bluebirds to play him full-time the next season. Well, the next 3 seasons he averaged 41 HR and 126 RBI. His best season was in 2059 when he slashed .311/.406/.586, leading the league with 40 HR and 145 RBI. Unfortunately, with other players on the docket to extend, bin Nawaf was traded to Yellow Springs to reload the farm system, so his impact on the Nashville organization is still paying dividends.
SP Barney Lindsay
- This future Hall of Famer was drafted in the 3rd round as a reliever, but developed into one of the league’s elite and picked up Nebraska awards in ’48 and ’52. He’s spent 16 seasons in Nashville giving comfort to the organization and its fans every time he stepped onto the mound. The southpaw has 230 wins with a 3.41 ERA and 2,681 Ks in his career, good for 63.4 WAR. He threw a no-hitter in 2048, but his best performance was a Cartwright Cup matchup versus Yellow Springs. On short rest, Lindsay started Game 1 and pitched 10 NO-HIT innings in a playoff game. He did allow a leadoff single in the 11th before being pulled, but unfortunately that runner eventually stole 3B and scored on an error trying to throw him out. The Bluebirds could not score any runs and lost 1-0 and eventually lost the series in 7 games. That performance alone is worthy of the Hall of Fame.
RP Lorenzo de’ Medici
- The king of stoppers helped popularize the role with his dominances throughout the 2040’s. de’ Medici pitched 8 seasons for Nashville and had a 2.71 ERA in 810.1 IP with 1,370 Ks and a 15.2 K/9. That’s not a typo. He was the most feared pitcher in baseball during his reign and was an unfortunate victim of the 2046 sell off, but the Bluebirds received a solid package in return, including Hasheem Makin, who would eventually be traded for Steven Clayton. de’ Medici became a pitching coach in Nashville’s minor league system upon retiring in 2056. He remains outside the Hall of Fame with only 52% of the vote because voters have their heads in the sand.
