"Get to Know a GM" Volume #2 - blanch13

The first to reply to my query is the current GM of the World Series Champion New York Mets. blanch13 originally joined Kinsella as the GM of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays back in Season 5. The team had been completely gutted by previous management and he took the team from the depths to be a powerhouse in the AL, but unfortunately our version of the Buffalo Bills as they lost 3 straight WS. He left the Rays at the top of their game for a 7 season sabbatical until returning to take over a hapless Mets team. The Mets fortunes quickly improved and he now sits atop the league as the defending champion.

Kinsella Blog (KB):  Who is blanch13?

blanch13 (b13):  Soon-to-be 60 yo divorced guy, 1 daughter aged 25 in Madison WI. I've lived in Austin for 7 years now. I run a business coaching practice an internet marketing agency.

KB:  Where does your username come from?

b13:  Partly from my last name - Blanchard - and partly from the number I wore in high school sports - 13.

KB:  Besides sports, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

b13:  Who are your favorite players of all-time (any sport)?

Basketball - Havlicek
Baseball - The Mick
Football - Joe Willie and Snake Stabler

KB:  Which are your favorite teams?

b13:  The LSU Tigers

KB:  Did you play sports growing up?

b13:  All growing up, baseball and football in HS, a bit of rugby in college.

KB:  What is the top sports related thing you want to do in life that you have not yet done?

b13:  Hike the Milford Track  (KB:  Had to google this. FYI it is a famous hiking trail in New Zealand.)

KB:  What would you consider your greatest WIFS accomplishment?

b13:  Had some good ones, but improving the Mets for 7 straight years and finally winning the WS right here in Kinsella is probably tops 

KB:  Do you have any favorite players from any of your HBD teams?

b13:  The best player I've ever had has been Oscar Young, a power-hitting IF who has won 6 MVP's in 10 seasons in Summer of '49. Unfortunately, he's leaving me for greener pastures after this season.

KB:  What is your favorite aspect of HBD?

b13:  The overall depth and complexity of the sim.

KB:  What is your least favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?

b13:  The predictability/linearity of the ratings/development system.

KB:  If you were in HBD, what position would you play? And, what would you be rated?

b13:  I'd be what I was as a high-school baseball player - a power-hitting, strong-armed, bad-fielding SS. Something like con-pwr-vL-vR-eye of 56-99-60-70-90 and range-glv-armS-ArmA of 87-79-99-88

"Get to Know a GM" Volume #1 - overeasy

I am reviving a blog series that I started doing years ago, but unfortunately only went out a few times. Over the course of this season, the plan is to publish these fairly regularly so that very quickly we will know a bit about the folks who have been sharing this obsession with us for a few years now. I couldn't start this up without re-doing it myself, so here you are as the first in the series it is a self interview in our first entry in the "Get to Know a GM" with your league founder and commissioner.

Kinsella Blog (KB):  Tell us a little about yourself

overeasy (OE):  I'm a 40 year old married father of 3 young boys (8, 6, and 4). I've been with my college sweetheart since I was an 18 year old freshman at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. We currently reside in Spokane, WA where I work as an electrical engineer for a small consulting firm.

KB:  Where does your username come from?

OE:  It is how I like my eggs. Every morning (and I mean EVERY morning) I get woken up by the boys by 5:30 am and start cooking breakfast. I make eggs for all 5 of us every morning which is sometimes complimented with oatmeal and/or sausage.

KB:  Besides sports, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

OE:  Most days it pretty much feels like all I do is work at home to help keep our household going, work at work to make the money, and sleep. When I do try to make time for something else, I like to play tournament style Texas Hold'Em poker. I feel like I am good for a hobbyist player and have a lifetime net positive over $1000, nice since I've never played with a buy-in over $50. 

KB:  Which are your favorite teams?

OE:  Baseball - Despite having grown up in northern CA where almost everyone was a Giants or A's fan, I am an Atlanta Braves fan. It happened because the first two little league teams I was on were both called the Braves and since every Braves game was shown on WTBS I was able to see them even more than the local teams.

Football - It was impossible not to be a 49er fan growing up within walking distance of the park where they had their in-season practice camp and having my first season paying attention to the sport be the year of their first Super Bowl title.

Basketball - Growing up in the 80s, I am fairly certain that everyone in the state of CA was a Laker fan, but after the Magic era ended they pretty much lost all appeal. While I pay attention to the sport, I am not a big fan of the style of play that came into vogue from the Jordan era and like watching March Madness more than the NBA.

Hockey - ?  I grew up in Northern CA years before the San Jose Sharks came around and hockey was not on the radar. I never learned much about it until my sophomore year of college when the floor of my dorm did a league of NHL '94 on Sega Genesis.

KB:  Who are your favorite players of all-time (any sport)?

OE:  Baseball - Dale Murphy as he was the best player for my team during some very lean years. It is a shame that he is not in the Hall of Fame. So what if his career practically dropped off a cliff in his early thirties, anyone who is ever in the conversation as best player in the game for about a decade deserves to be in. If he had tragically died in an accident in the late 80s, he would have been voted in. So why do his horrid years cancel out the greatness of his first decade?

KB:  Did you play sports growing up?

OE:  I played baseball and basketball growing up. In baseball, my best skill was fielding ground balls as a second baseman. I think my problem at the plate was all mental as I over thought everything. My best ever hitting game was one where our regular SS was missing and they moved me there. I was so freaked out playing SS that I proceeded to make 3 errors in the field while going 4 for 4 at the plate. My baseball playing days ended with Colt league in 9th or 10th grade.
Playing basketball, I had a decent outside shot and did my best to hustle and play as fundamentally sound as I could. My lack of height (5'11") and speed ended my basketball career with the high school freshman team.
Needing something to do athletically, I picked up tennis as a sophomore and earned a varsity letter as a junior and senior. One interesting fact of this is that my doubles partner my senior year was Adam Carson, the drummer for the band A.F.I. (If you haven't heard of them, ask a teenager. They actually appeared on Saturday Night Live and won an MTV VMA.)

KB:  What is the top sports related thing you want to do in life that you have not yet done?

OE:  I have no aspirations for any physical events, but if poker is considered a sport I would someday like to play at the World Series in Vegas.  I would love to visit the Field of Dreams in Iowa and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

KB:  What would you consider your greatest WIFS accomplishment?

OE:  The individual success has been fun, with my happiest moment being in HD when I led my alma mater, the Pacific Tigers, to the NCAA title game. But my greatest WIFS accomplishment has been starting and maintaining this league as one of the top tier leagues of HBD.

KB:  Do you have any favorite players from any of your HBD teams?

OE:  I'll stay with talking about Kinsella for this one. My favorite player is still Brandon Sutton. The guy was huge for our first run of success. It drives me a bit crazy that his two teammates of that era were able to get elected to the Hall and he is still waiting. He was the guy who kept being league MVP runner-up year after year and was the best of the three. Part of it was my own fault, since most of those seasons we clinched the division and bye very early and I just benched him to make sure he was healthy for the playoffs, being scared of an injury to my most important offensive player. So I probably shorted him close to 150 games for his career, costing him the opportunity for 3000 hits and 500 home runs. At the same time, I also played him at DH to save on fatigue even though he was fine at 1B, better than most of the other current HOF candidates who spent more time there.

KB:  What is your favorite aspect of HBD?

OE:  As a kid who used to use his baseball cards to create fictional seasons, even tracking the statistics of the players, HBD is basically a dream come true. Back then, I many times ignored the real life capability of the players and gave them their attributes based on how they looked in their baseball card picture. Dave Stewart was actually a multiple Cy Young winner in my imaginary world when he looked like a bad ass on his Rangers baseball card and Glenn Bragg was a monster slugger for the Reds.

KB:  What is your least favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?

OE:  This used to be coach hiring, but I suppose by now I've grown accustomed to the lameness. My least favorite thing now is when people decide to leave this league as finding good folks to replace them has become more challenging as the popularity of the game has waned.  The whole HBD maintenance activity to change the game to a new server has provided a glimmer of hope that there might be something happening again to renew interest. My stronger belief though is that they changed the server to get things more consolidated and save money on their data center expenses.

KB:  If you were in HBD, what position would you play? And, what would you be rated?

OE:  In my younger days, I would have been a mediocre range and arm, high glove 2nd baseman with a bat made for the tryout camp.

Hall of Fame Polling Results

Season 29 Hall of Fame Official Candidates:
Vic Gonzales - 10
Diego Wilfredo - 9
Damian Brantley - 8
Hiram Abbott - 6
Fred Lewis - 6

Wait Until Next Year:
James Hunter - 5
Bernard Springer - 5
Brandon Sutton - 4
Hersh Taylor - 4
Juan Miro - 3

Season 27 Hall of Fame Candidates - The Frontrunners

Hersh Taylor, 1B:  4 AS, 1 MVP, 3 SS (1 1B, 1 LF, 1 DH)
              Hersh spent all but his final season in the homer suppressing Kauffman Stadium with the KC Royals.  While better suited for DH, he spent most of his seasons attempting to field at 1B. Hersh earned all of his paychecks at the plate where he was a home run and RBI machine. Despite his home ball park, Hersh finished his career with over 500 homers, almost 1700 RBI, and a 0.900 OPS.  The stars aligned for him perfectly in Season 17 when he set career marks in almost every category (114 runs, 222 hits, 55 homers, .350 BA, 1.080 OPS) on his way to his only MVP award. He had many other fine seasons, but never anything else close to the magic of Season 17.

Hiram Abbott, 1B:  1 AS, 1 MVP, 5 SS (4 1B, 1 LF)
              Like Hersh, Hiram was another player at 1B who was best suited for DH and earned everything he got with his work at the plate. Since Hiram spent the bulk of his career in the NL, he had to play somewhere. He also had the disadvantage of playing in pitcher friendly home parks during his prime years in Shea and Dodger Stadium. He was a bit overshadowed early in his career playing 1B in the NL along with Hall of Fame Legends Dee Dee Hutton and Kevin Marte as well as the great Pedro Garrido and Pascual Martin. Not quite a slugger like the other 1B/DH types on the ballot, Hiram still slugged quite well with 384 homers and a great 0.933 OPS, but his forte was getting on base and had a career .410 OBP (5^th all-time). He had a huge season back in 13, bringing in his only MVP award.  His other MVP worthy season in Season 8 was in a league dominated by Hutton and Marte.

James Hunter, DH:  2 AS, 2 SS
              Of anyone on this list, James had the biggest disadvantage from his home ballpark, playing his entire career in Seattle’s pitching paradise, Safeco Field. Unlike the previous folks, he was able to avoid the embarrassment of looking foolish in the field for all but one season playing at his natural DH position. Other than a couple of big seasons where he OPS’d over 1, his annual numbers don’t look that impressive on the surface, but for those of you who have ever fielded a team in a pitching park, they look very impressive.  While his career was probably drug out a bit too long by a sentimental ownership group, averaging over 30 homers a season with an over 0.900 OPS for the first 15 years of his career was a Hall worthy feat.  Throw in the fact that he was #4 all-time in runs created and he feels like a lock.

Bingo Miller, 2B-LF:  8 AS, 2 SS (1 2B, 1 LF), 1 GG (LF), 3 WS Rings
              While he did not have quite the offensive prowess of Earl Jacobsen or Lorenzo Manto, Bingo is arguably the best all-around 2B in history combining offense and defense. While he wasn’t anywhere near GG level either, he covered the position well and gave a great boost at the plate providing offense from a key defensive position. With almost 400 doubles, over 300 homers, and a solid .384 career OBP, Bingo was a brilliant 2-hole hitter on some great Yankee and Marlins squads. He was also a major contributor to 3 championship teams.

Bernard Springer, C:  7 AS, 2 SS
              Bernard Springer is possibly the greatest right-handed hitter in league history, prior to the arrival of Ted Simpson. The only knocks on him are low durability and mediocre defense, which have been his greatest obstacles to easy induction.  Until Mr. Simpson, no right handed batter could touch his production in Season 1-6. Then in Season 7-8, OPSing almost .900 while playing in Petco is just as impressive.  Even with his lackluster defense, Springer is still probably the 2^nd best all-around catcher in league history, because his bat was that good.

Brandon Sutton, DH-1B:  4 AS, 4 SS, 1 WS Ring
              Primarily used as a DH in his career, he was actually a better fielder than the two 1B at the top of this list. But mediocre durability pushed him into his role at DH so his big bat could be in the lineup as much as possible. Brandon was the best hitter of a trio of Yankees (HOFers Cunningham and Guillen) that dominated the AL East for over a decade. The primary story of his individual career was of Sutton always being a bridesmaid and never a bride. He was a 7 time MVP candidate, which included 5 second place finishes. He is #5 all-time in runs created with great career averages. (.316 BA, .398 OBP, .930 OPS)

Season 27 Hall of Fame Hopefuls

Here are this season's top candidates for the hall of fame.  I have narrowed the nomination lists to the best 20 position players and the best 20 pitchers. If everyone votes for up to 10 players, then the top 5 vote getters will become our official ballot candidates.

Top 20 Position Players (In alphabetical order)

NAME	POS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Bernard Springer	C	1907	6322	1048	1932	207	12	497	1300	4	0.306	0.379	0.578	0.957
Bing Miles	LF	2428	9747	1459	2976	271	64	154	1016	327	0.305	0.382	0.394	0.776
Bingo Miller	2B	2193	8184	1328	2336	389	40	339	1194	3	0.285	0.384	0.467	0.851
Brandon Sutton	DH	2385	8959	1486	2827	430	31	481	1604	1	0.316	0.398	0.532	0.930
Bruce Lewis	CF	1951	7285	1124	1897	252	46	471	1337	145	0.260	0.329	0.502	0.831
Ching-Lung Chang	LF	1756	6900	1266	2046	431	57	277	1019	395	0.297	0.362	0.496	0.858
Cliff Rivers	CF	2243	8530	1321	2289	415	34	429	1243	16	0.268	0.333	0.476	0.809
Clyde Redmond	2B	2036	7665	1309	2239	412	41	340	1178	235	0.292	0.385	0.490	0.875
Enrique Gonzales	C	1690	6091	943	1989	352	28	215	976	2	0.327	0.394	0.499	0.893
Gene Simms	C	2122	7151	1144	2204	366	24	263	1175	8	0.308	0.410	0.476	0.886
Hersh Taylor	1B	2106	8297	1263	2429	374	34	506	1684	6	0.293	0.371	0.529	0.900
Hiram Abbott	1B	2133	7879	1280	2501	416	26	384	1303	21	0.317	0.410	0.523	0.933
James Hunter	DH	2701	10135	1426	2846	421	51	526	1679	125	0.281	0.369	0.488	0.857
Jason Walls	LF	2174	8257	1121	2487	399	19	263	1081	8	0.301	0.358	0.450	0.808
Jolbert Lopez	LF	2090	7393	1282	2264	447	62	279	1171	289	0.306	0.400	0.497	0.897
Jolbert Romero	C	1888	5691	813	1727	271	18	294	989	7	0.303	0.375	0.512	0.887
Juan Miro	LF	2690	10984	1675	3165	553	41	337	1491	213	0.288	0.355	0.438	0.793
Pascual Martin	1B	1870	6491	1103	2138	458	97	264	1124	158	0.329	0.396	0.552	0.948
Pedro Garrido	1B	1902	7407	1221	2307	339	28	462	1488	1	0.311	0.383	0.552	0.935
Willie Jose	RF	2165	8046	1109	2174	332	30	441	1303	33	0.270	0.329	0.483	0.812

Top 20 Pitchers (In alphabetical order)

NAME	G	W	L	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
Al Diaz	497	204	151	1	3124	3054	1428	1325	416	892	2109	0.252	0.308	0.400	1.26	3.82
Alan Long	464	215	118	2	2749	2520	1167	1051	354	876	1826	0.240	0.304	0.379	1.24	3.44
Alejandro Vazquez	717	242	209	4	4190	4099	1960	1822	550	1312	2966	0.253	0.314	0.398	1.29	3.91
Alfonso Trajano	1208	103	67	144	1754	1470	608	553	153	572	1313	0.225	0.293	0.329	1.16	2.84
Andres Alcantara	604	37	45	267	730	682	284	264	85	237	624	0.246	0.311	0.377	1.26	3.25
Cole Acker	358	123	100	2	2017	1988	894	782	206	567	1571	0.255	0.311	0.383	1.27	3.49
Cristian Simmons	1197	130	81	77	2083	2046	887	811	217	664	1472	0.254	0.315	0.373	1.30	3.50
Denny Rath	726	22	39	331	709.2	713	319	300	93	238	608	0.257	0.320	0.397	1.34	3.80
Dickie Howard	391	37	22	54	508	427	164	152	42	150	393	0.226	0.286	0.326	1.14	2.69
Enrique Cordero	1086	104	89	341	1438	1078	475	429	133	446	1258	0.206	0.274	0.312	1.06	2.68
Gerardo Rodriguez	903	56	44	180	1067	910	394	366	103	313	898	0.226	0.289	0.330	1.15	3.09
J.P. Taveras	451	182	106	0	2680	2474	1137	1040	298	762	2419	0.241	0.300	0.366	1.21	3.49
Ken Upshaw	1095	61	90	446	1082	1031	487	449	137	385	920	0.247	0.316	0.376	1.31	3.73
Kordell Becker	592	215	149	0	3391	3037	1437	1326	434	1097	2347	0.236	0.301	0.377	1.22	3.52
Luis Duran	658	195	150	9	2900	2585	1225	1107	324	1009	2490	0.236	0.306	0.367	1.24	3.44
Scot Pickford	658	204	153	5	3250	3039	1483	1374	423	1114	2766	0.244	0.312	0.385	1.28	3.80
Victor Lima	615	84	51	185	1327	1129	437	415	129	339	1163	0.227	0.283	0.339	1.11	2.81
Victor Torres	548	111	104	34	1991	1825	860	768	245	646	1689	0.240	0.305	0.377	1.24	3.47
Wes Roosevelt	731	78	55	56	1164	1041	412	383	126	293	934	0.236	0.289	0.351	1.15	2.96
Willie Wayne	237	62	42	4	986.1	934	427	381	143	312	649	0.247	0.308	0.401	1.26	3.48