Off Topic
--Written by front office intern, Lila Thompson, last heard of in 2059.
A lot of that switcherooing on the lineup cards handed to the homeplate umpires by rookie manager Denie van Tiggelen throughout the season was because a handful of players, mostly rookies or sophomores, were rotated on and off, and back on again, the Injury List. I don't know where you find the "days lost to injury" report, but I imagine we lost more days in the season just completed than in 2063, when the DMO had one of the lowest number of such days.
Among the players who shuffled around the infield included, in order of WAR, were
3B Santiago "10-Arm" Quintanilla (2.6 in 56 games started). The 24-year-old hit .340 with a .959 OPS in 200 at-bats.
2B-SS Juan Sierras. The 21-year-old freshman compiled a 1.8 WAR in 100 games for the Tall-Corn State heroes. He hit .235 with 7 home runs, while fielding spectacularly at middle infield, whether at short (7.4 ZR in 71 starts) or second (5.6 ZR).
2B-3B Miguel Salazar (261-17-56). At age 22, started 110 games in between four injuries. Yes, he is working on conditioning.
3B-1B Kevin Hough, age 23, 0.1 WAR. He went .258-9-42 in 58 starts at third, 15 at first, and another 23 at DH.
2B Manuel Gutiérrez (.254-4-20). The 23-year-old started 22 games at second and five at designated hitter. He could be the fulltime DH soon, or could Hough, or Salazar, or ...
INF Alfredo Gonzáles, age 22. Used mostly as an injury replacement in July and September, yet himself suffering four injuries, this speedy, hustling 2061 pick finally broke into the major leagues.
2B-DH Jesús Rosito, the starting second baseman in 2063, started 2064 with a three-month injury. Because of all the above competition, this 23-year-old veteran was limited to 28 ML starts, in which he hit .255. At Class AAA El Paso, he started 38 games and compiled a 143 OPS+. He's said to be very unhappy about his role on the team, but prime time may have already passed him by.
3B Terry Pitzer. The Des Moines starting catcher, and now "Extremely Popular" at the national level, no doubt to his series of commercials for the local Kum & Go, Terry started nine of his 118 GS at the hot corner, where he was error-free.