The Team: Oakland Athletics
The Year: 2052
W/L Record: 109-53
Run Differential: 968 RS vs. 582 RA +386 Runs
Awards: AL Home Run (47) and RBI Leader (146): Darryl Szubinski, AL SB Leader: Bart Ahearn (57), AL Strikeout Leader: Mike Madden (240), AL Win Leader: Speedy Canamar (22), AL Cy Young: Mike Madden, AL MVP Darryl Szubinski, OF Gold Glove: Tom Veilleux
All Stars: SS Craig White, CF Tom Veilleux, LF Sean Palm, 1B Darryl Szubinski, SP Mike Madden, SP Joel Abell
League Leading Stat Categories: 58 Away Wins, .824 Team OPS, 968 Runs Scored, .469 Team Slugging Percentage
Lineup/Bench Rotation/Bullpen
2B Bart Ahearn Mike Madden
SS Craig White Speedy Canamar
CF Tom Veilleux Joel Abell
DH Darryl Szubinski Randy Hoddell
1B Rick Pickle Beau Bush
LF Sean Palm CL James Segall
RF Jason Duffie SU Erik Taylor
3B Tommy Bixby SR Philip Stephens
C Paul Tramel SR Dave Siciliano
MR Carlos Perrera
LR Darryl Kraus
C Ric Vallependo
OF Alan Williamson
1B Chris McJmes
IF James Coughlan
IF Scott Ogden
The Key Players: This is a team with excellent balance, but their strength was hitting and that attack was lead by a young third year player who was about to break out and win an MVP award. That man was the Polack that inspired this tease: Darryl Szubinski. Szub's 2052 managed to match, in one year, what he had done in his first two years. He hit .324 with 47 HR, 40 2Bs, 146 RBI, 121 runs scored, 105 walks to only 44 strikeouts, and an OPS of 1.058. To save him from little injuries the natural 1B played primarily DH but his offensive production made him a triple crown candidate if not for three other AL West players that exceeded him. (Bart Ahearn, Hank Eldred, and Max Henderson) It was a breakout year that he struggled to ever achieve again but on his back the A's went on to score the most runs in the majors.
Supporting him was an excellent group of table setters: Switch hittting 2B Bart Ahearn hit .349 on the year with 5 HR, 57 SB, 108 runs, 55 RBI, and a .430 OBP. SS Craig White hit .318 with 6 HR, 15 SB, 107 runs, and 74 RBI, and in the 3 hole was CF Tom Veilleux who hit .313 with 17 HR, 33 SB, 107 runs, 116 RBI, and a .363 OBP. Not only did those three set the table brilliantly, but they also played outstanding defense up the middle.
The power component of the lineup, after Szubinski, came from 1B Rick Pickle, LF Sean Palm, and 3B Tommy Bixby. Pickle was in his first full season with Oakland and was playing some excellent baseball - batting .290 with 29 HR, 88 runs, 126 RBI, and a .361 OBP. Palm had his last significantly productive season, hitting .275 with 28 HR, 75 runs, and 103 RBI. Bixby was largely ineffective at the plate, hitting just .209 but he contributed 29 HR, 78 runs, and 86 RBI.
The lineup was rounded out with switch hitter Jason Duffie, a rookie who hit .306 with 17 HR, 83 runs, 69 RBI, and a .358 OBP. Catcher Paul Tramel was hurt for part of the year, but combined with backup Ric Vallependo put up a .240 avg, 29 HR, 98 runs, 76 RBI, and a .300 OBP.
The pitching staff was lead by eventual Cy Young winner Mike Madden. Madden had his best year of his career, sporting a 2.09 ERA in a whopping 249 innings with 240 Ks and a 20-6 record. He held his opponents to a meager .177 OBP and walked only 51 batters the entire season. He took the Ace mantle for the team and ran with it all year as one of the league's best workhorses. Supporting him were two young stalwarts - Speedy Canamar and Joel Abell. Canamar managed a 2.80 ERA on his way to a 22-5 record in 212 innings. Abell finally reversed some early career struggles and went 16-4 with a 2.42 ERA in 178 innings. The team also got a very solid effort from rookie Beau Bush who had a 3.98 ERA and a 9-11 record in 171 innings before suffering a catastrophic injury. The rotation was rounded out with Randy Hoddell who pitched 200 innings and went 14-7 with a 4.34 ERA.
The bullpen was patchworked and was the weakest part of this young team. Third year reliever James Segall was the closer and managed to pick up 32 saves in 53 innings. Erik Taylor was active in a lot of decisions - sporting a 12-10 record and pitching 101 innings from the setup role. Dave Siciliano and Philip Stephens handled the short relief outings, with Stephens struggling to a 5.49 ERA, but Siciliano pitched 66 very good innings for the team with a 3.27 ERA and 9 saves. Youngster Carlos Perrera debuted mid-year and posted a 3.41 ERA in lower leverage situations. Long relief and spot starter Darryl Kraus pitched 94 innings and had a 5-3 record with 4 saves and a 4.71 ERA.
What Sets Them Apart: There aren't many teams that can sport a run differential of nearly 400. In fact, you can count the number of FCM campaigns that exceeded their run differential on one hand. They had the Cy Young, the MVP, and the best record in baseball. The only thing stopping this team from finishing higher was a very disappointing three game sweep at the hands of division rival Seattle. Had this team gone deeper, they may have appeared much higher on this list. But in the end this young team's hopes were dashed and their brilliant regular season effort came to a screeching halt.
Interview with the Owner: Andy
Coming Next: 18th Best Team in FCM History: Light the Lamp
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