A Trip Down Memory Lane (Bernie's Bombers)

[Seeitsaveit13]

Domingo Vargas was one of the ratings anomalies if I remember correctly. Don't think he ever got about 35 or 40 but always hit .300-.330 it seemed with good production. Never anything flashy, but seemed to always be above his ratings

[Bernie32]

Jaime Cruz wins his third trophy, first since 2011.Cruz that year on Memorial Day was batting .200 with 6HR and 14RBI before going on a memorable 4-month tear. Nolan Gibbons and Alex Rodriguez win their first awards. Some guys named Alfonso Vega, Michael Patterson, Luis Rodriguez, and Dorian Mapleton take home some hardware. Jose Lopez wins TWO trophies. Esteban Jimenez matches his 2015 totals of 36doubles/10triples/28homers exactly. Pancho Escobar drives in 106 runs in 104 games to earn his second straight nod.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B William Abbott, New England .295avg 26hr 90rbi .907ops
AL 3B Bruce Duncan, Port Orange .287avg 14hr 76rbi .846ops
AL OF Keisuke Ando, New York .271avg 28hr 102rbi .928ops
PL 2B Albert Vasquez, Chicago .323avg 17hr 109rbi .874ops
PL 3B Pat Johnson, Albany .290avg 25hr 120rbi .892ops
PL SS Koshiro Nishiyama, Las Vegas .322avg 13hr 76rbi .857ops
PL OF Chris Kennedy, NorCal .313avg 11hr 81rbi .908ops



More expansion in 2017. Expanded to 24 teams with Detroit, SoCal, Kentucky, and Chicago Sandstorm entering the league. Gustavo Alvarez returned to the NDL with some skills. Set a record with 251 hits that season that still stands. A trend starting as Rodriguez, Gibbons, Ruiz , and Cole are starting to become regulars. Cruz wins his fourth, 1 behind Rojas and Douglas.

Notable Snubs:
AL SS Alex Amaya, New York .299avg 22hr 85rbi .887ops
AL C Jose Suarez, New England .242avg 26hr 80rbi .825ops
PL 1B Dave Huggins, Albany .328avg 18hr 93rbi .932ops
PL 1B Pedro Cisneros, SoCal .307avg 28hr 116rbi .900ops
PL OF Paco Barron, Chicago .326avg 16hr 95rbi .886ops
PL C David Durham,. SoCal .248avg 15hr 69rbi .744ops

[Uuaww]

awesome stuff. I'm really starting to see just how shitty though catchers have been in our league. They may have a brief spell of greatness but fall off quickly. Is that normal for catchers?

[ajalves]

very nice

[Cnasty]

Well in the majors there are only maybe 2-3 top flight, super star catchers so it seems pretty realistic.

A once in a lifetime catcher like Pudge of recent doesnt come along that often. The last big one was Mauer and he has had his own issues.

[ajalves]

i can say without hesitation I've never even heard or run accross Sifal Imarika

interesting

[Uuaww]

i can say without hesitation I've never even heard or run accross Sifal Imarika

interesting

I totally remember this guy mostly because his nickname was "Rock and Roll"

[shel311]

i can say without hesitation I've never even heard or run accross Sifal Imarika

interesting

He spent a little time with Sheltown. Stole a lot of money from me!!!

[Bernie32]

We expanded from 24 to 26 in 2018. Louisville Bats entered the league, while we also got the whole New England moves to Colorado, but stays in New England at the same time as well scenario. We had some monster years, making most of the decisions pretty cut and dry. Four batters posted seasons of 200+ hits, at least a .300 avg and greater than 1.000ops. While Jaime Cruz and Alex Rodriguez would probably be the first two guesses of many and correct they would be, Eduardo Cruz and Chris Kennedy would probably be way down the list. A 5th batter, Nolan Gibbons, also posted above 1.000ops. While 2015 may have been the year of the newcomer with 14 first-timers, 2018 we only saw 5 first-timers as 13 batters bring home their multiple-th [sic] award.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Louie Gaudreau, New York .270avg 34hr 110rbi .844ops
AL 1B Bill O'Higgins, Miami .285avg 42hr 130rbi .861ops
AL 2B Randy Lawrence, Pittsburgh .311avg 13hr 58rbi .801ops
AL 3B Leonard David, Hartford .289avg 21hr 107rbi .759ops
AL OF Ramon Ruiz, Port Orange .260avg 29hr 124rbi .799ops
AL C Seiichi Shini, Houston .328avg 13hr 70rbi .843ops
PL 1B Dave Huggins, Albany .344avg 27hr 134rbi .969ops
PL 2B Albert Vasquez, Chicago .331avg 24hr 119rbi .931ops
PL C Pancho Escobar, Albany .236avg 28hr 96rbi .755ops



2019 was a fun season, the Year of the Wu. A lot of people almost got their wish for a restart with the whole Wu debacle. Batted .415 in just 99 games, injury hurt his chance at qualifying for a record, but he still brought home the ROTY award. Lots of great seasons made the decisions tough. Wu won over a quartet of great seasons in the AL DH race. Hitter of the Year winner Gustavo Alvarez doesn't win an award as Jaime Cruz gets the nod at AL 1B. Both leagues had tough decisions at both 2B and C while the OF slots were littered with worthy candidates as well. I could probably field an adequate second team with all the offensive prowess we saw in '19. We also saw the greatest offensive season ever in my opinion as Alex Rodriguez batted .400 and drove in 170 runs. We will see a couple of seasons in the future that rival that season (Cruz in '20, Rodriguez again in '22, and Hernandez in '27), but for me, that was the best.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Gustavo Alvarez, Toronto .396avg 13hr 97rbi 1.012ops
AL 1B Luis Romero, Miami .274avg 40hr 116rbi .948ops
AL 2B Larry McDonald, Toronto .295avg 11hr 78rbi .840ops
AL OF Ramon Ruiz, Port Orange .254avg 34hr 104rbi .889ops
AL OF Danny Ford, Sheltown .300avg 34hr 127rbi .858ops
AL C Jose Suarez, Toronto .249avg 22hr 84rbi .798ops
AL DH Louie Gaudreau, New York .293avg 31hr 135rbi .894ops
AL DH Eric MacGregor, Toronto .326avg 31hr 140rbi .950ops
AL DH Bill O'Higgins, Miami .298avg 43hr 163rbi .848ops
AL DH Pablo Lopez, Carolina .327avg 29hr 125rbi .961ops
PL 1B Lawrence Franks, Sioux City .318avg 11hr 89rbi .883ops
PL 2B Jorge Reyna, Albany .287avg 29hr 115rbi .840ops
PL 3B Bill Hill, Chicago .310avg 11hr 75rbi .858ops
PL OF Jesus Rivera, Sioux City .284avg 27hr 88rbi .894ops
PL C Jose Andrade, Steel City .291avg 20hr 68rbi .776ops
PL DH Jim Scott, Albany .336avg 0hr 51rbi .858ops

[ajalves]

these are awesome Bernie

Pitching ones in the future?

[Baker]

these are awesome Bernie

Pitching ones in the future?

+1

Very well done!

[Bernie32]

In 2020 we saw more expansion, 26 to 28 with the addition of San Diego and Indianapolis, as each league moved to three divisions. We also saw more offensive fireworks than ever before. I didn't think 2011 or even 2019 could be topped, but in '20 we saw both leagues average over 1.000ops for the winners. The PL saw every winner with over 100 RBI's with the exception of Rodriguez. Rodriguez, oh he just drove in 96 in 93 games. Trent Beard was the only PL winner not to bat .300, a pittly .294. Wu and Rodriguez put OBP's of .547 and .523. Cruz had his best season, taking home the triple crown with an incredible slash line of .381/48/168. Gibbons and Amaya won their fifth award. We see international superstar Ando make his first visit. In another shocking tidbit, two of these guys (Ando and Burgos) and a snub (Valles) were traded not once, but twice during the season. Two different owners said, "Oh man, look at the season this guy's having. I gotta get rid of him!"

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Louie Gaudreau, New York .293avg 23hr 121rbi .874ops
AL 1B Gustavo Alvarez, Toronto/Hartford .377avg 9hr 78rbi .956ops
AL 1B Bill O'Higgins, Dallas/New England .307avg 41hr 127rbi .897ops
AL SS Chris Ford, Port Orange .320avg 22hr 103rbi .910ops
AL SS Jonathan Nash, Philadelphia .354avg 6hr 56rbi .949ops
AL OF Jorge Ramos, Hartford .287avg 37hr 129rbi .896ops
AL OF Felix Orosco, Toronto .317avg 20hr 89rbi .906ops
AL OF Christian Garcia, Sheltown .294avg 30hr 88rbi .944ops
PL 1B Domingo Valles, DAL/SHL/SoCal .320avg 31hr 146rbi .942ops
PL 1B Pedro Cisneros, SoCal .307avg 24hr 112rbi .945ops
PL 2B Jose Chavez, Louisville .331avg 9hr 49rbi .914ops
PL 3B Pat Johnson, Albany .300avg 25hr 110rbi .920ops
PL 3B Jose Rodriguez, Louisville .309avg 28hr 109rbi .944ops
PL 3B Esteban Jimenez, NorCal .291avg 26hr 83rbi .949ops
PL DH Pablo Lopez, Hawaii .311avg 29hr 120rbi .975ops
PL DH Jose Costello, Colorado ..299avg 36hr 133rbi .937ops

[shel311]

AL OF Christian Garcia, Sheltown .294avg 30hr 88rbi .944ops

I somehow have no recollection of this guy.

[ajalves]

Nice Bernie

[Bernie32]

More expansion. We finally filled up 30 spots in 2021 with the addition of Evansville and short-lived Round Rock. These two new teams come in at the height of our live-ball era as the offenses are just unbelievable at this point. Maybe all the rapid expansion watered down the pitching and it will take time to catch up. If you look at the Top 100 seasons of OPS, 13 came from 2021. Here's a chart to illustrate by season. As you can see, 2018 until 2022 are all above average and those 5 years account for 43 of the 100 spots. Further breaking it down to 3 years from '19 to '21, those 3 alone make up 29.



Jaime Cruz takes home his 8th award as he broke the single-season HR mark that year that would stand until 2027. Amaya and Rodriguez bring home their 6th trophy. Pedro Cisneros wins his second award. In doing so accomplishes something that can only be matched, if that. He won his first award his rookie season in 2013 and now bookends his career with an award in his final season. Yes, after posting those incredible numbers at the age of 34, he went to free agency and no one picked him up. We had four winners in 2021 older than 34, Cruz hit 57 HR's at 38, surely Cisneros could have contributed, but we will never know.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Louie Gaudreau, New York .305avg 31hr 99rbi .927ops
AL 1B Alfonso Diaz, Port Orange .329avg 25hr 85rbi .901ops
AL 3B Lawrence Thayer, New England .298avg 25hr 84rbi .911ops
AL OF Derrick Lutz, New York .304avg 24hr 82rbi .904ops
AL OF Felix Orosco, Toronto .333avg 36hr 113rbi .996ops
AL OF Orlando Rocha, Washignton .305avg 41hr 134rbi .967ops
AL C Bill McMinn, Louisville .308avg 8hr 74rbi .803ops
AL DH Pablo Lopez, Ohio .332avg 43hr 149rbi 1.024ops
AL DH Luis Romero, Sheltown .301avg 41hr 140rbi .975ops
AL DH Eduardo Cruz, Atlanta .265avg 43hr 111rbi .924ops
PL 1B Dave Huggins, Albany .345avg 21hr 101rbi .961ops
PL 1B Bill O'Higgins, New England/Dallas .282avg 43hr 112avg .843ops
PL 1B Mateus Feio, Steel City .282avg 45hr 115rbi .939ops
PL 2B Alfredo Medina, SoCal .315avg 2hr 63rbi .788ops
PL 2B Jorge Reyna, San Diego .248avg 32hr 98rbi .786ops
PL 2B Gonzalo Martinez, Las Vegas .311avg 8hr 75rbi .796ops
PL 3B Pat Johnson, Albany .257avg 45hr 114rbi .839ops
PL DH Paco Barron, Chicago .324avg 31hr 114rbi .933ops

[shel311]

Sweet graph!!!!

Love this stuff.

[DRiccio21]

our very own steroid era!

[Bernie32]

Alex Rodriguez moves to 2B in 2022, good news for all PL shortstops looking to make the list, bad news for all the second basemen. Alex Rodriguez takes home his 7th trophy with a 1.200ops. Misses another .400 season by .0008. 3rd greatest season of all-time imo. Maybe 2nd if you throw in that he did it at 2B. Juan Siago is the first benefactor of his move as he takes home the PL SS in a tough decision over Manuel German. As we move into the final six over our 18 seasons, we see another new cycle of up and comers make their debuts. Wayne Washington and Joe Vance headline our first-time winners. Eric Johnson, Justin Fairchild, Damian McDaniel, Dave Ward, and Jose Andrade also join Siago.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Bill O'Higgins, Dallas/Hartford .298avg 38hr 122rbi .866ops
AL 2B Raul Reyes, Port Orange .304avg 23hr 114rbi .875ops
AL 3B Steve Bryan, New York .326avg 24hr 99rbi .915ops
AL 3B Stephen Garant, New England .291avg 34hr 90rbi .896ops
AL SS Chris Ford, Port Orange .312avg 19hr 78rbi .872ops
AL OF Derrick Lutz, New York .335avg 21hr 92rbi .960ops
AL OF Jorge Ramos, Hartford .313avg 32hr 124rbi .917ops
AL OF Orlando Rocha, Washington .273avg 41hr 130rbi .845ops
AL C Bill McMinn, Louisville .299avg 19hr 92rbi .823ops
PL 1B Hilton Lehman, Colorado .285avg 35hr 109rbi .880ops
PL SS Manuel German, SoCal .293avg 3hr 72rbi .738ops
PL OF Javier Guerra, Evansville .318avg 27hr 90rbi .919ops
PL OF Marty Crow, SoCal .349avg 15hr 76rbi .948ops
PL C Rafael Medine, NorCal .228avg 31hr 95rbi .813ops
PL DH John Stephens, Albany .301avg 33hr 121rbi .890ops
PL DH Gerardo Vazquez, Chicago .310avg 27hr 112rbi .883ops



More debuts in 2023. 10 of 18 making their first appearance. Gaudreau, Va-Jay-Jay, and Banuelos lead the cast. Really down year, lowest average OPS since '16 & '17 for each league. It was the last season we had the Atlantic-Pacific alignment as we move to American-National in '24.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Walt Minty, Chicago .315avg 35hr 108rbi .896ops
AL 3B Gustavo Alvarez, Hartford .346avg 6hr 58rbi .839ops
PL 1B Dave Huggins, Albany .326avg 24hr 101rbi .892ops
PL 1B Hilton Lehman, Colorado .297avg 35hr 123rbi .874ops
PL SS Manuel German, SoCal .292avg 8hr 94rbi .772ops
PL OF Ben Donahue, Steel City .266avg 46hr 133rbi .847ops
PL C Bill McMinn, Louisville/Omaha .303avg 12hr 69rbi .795ops

[shel311]

My 2 rebuild years, Sheltown awfully quiet those 2 seasons.

[Bernie32]

Pretty lackluster year in 2024. Besides Rodriguez's year, nothing too spectacular. Cincinnati places 4 players on the NL squad.

Notable Snubs:
AL 2B Jeff Brady, Steel City .298avg 32hr 107rbi .910ops
AL SS Alex Amaya, New York .270avg 17hr 58rbi .825ops
AL SS Juan Valdevez, Chicago .306avg 8hr 64rbi .790ops
AL OF Ben Donahue, Steel City .283avg 37hr 130rbi .878ops
AL OF Benny Hamilton, Miami .310avg 20hr 97rbi .877ops
NL 2B Alexander Woods, Philadelphia .274avg 16hr 75rbi .850ops
NL OF Julio Burgos, Cincinnati .252avg 38hr 121rbi .843ops
NL C Melvin Gordon, Houston .277avg 20hr 88rbi .836ops
NL DH Ton Whitfield, Philadelphia .296avg 23hr 115rbi .804ops




Another lackluster year in 2025. Only two AL players break 100-RBI mark. Steve Burns takes home PL 1B award with lowest OPS we have seen at that position. While the AL 1B race had a logjam of worthy candidates. And in the redundancy department, once again, Rodriguez's year is the only thing that really stands out. Two others put up 1.000+ ops, but they played minimal games.

Notable Snubs:
AL 1B Louie Gaudreau, New York .305avg 29hr 89rbi .920ops
AL 1B Albert Vasquez, Miami .331avg 29hr 110rbi .904ops
AL 1B Lawrence Franks, Houston .373avg 8hr 82rbi .955ops
AL 1B Paul Holt, Texas .306avg 42hr 128rbi .913ops
AL 1B Jorge Vargo, Steel City .283avg 34hr 95rbi .957ops
AL 2B Jeff Brady, Steel City .274avg 27hr 83rbi .838ops
AL 3B Stephen Garant, New England .304avg 29hr 108rbi .853ops
AL C Cesar Flores, Las Vegas .289avg 24hr 89rbi .805ops
AL DH Steve Bryant, Omaha .379avg 3hr 72rbi .912ops
NL 1B Steve Corbin, Cincinnati .257avg 30hr 78rbi .791ops
NL 2B Fernand Sergerie, Phoenix .272avg 25hr 90rbi .808ops
NL 3B Jeffrey Henry, Vancouver .315avg 8hr 69rbi .843ops
NL OF john Sanders, Cincinnati .272avg 26hr 98rbi .885ops
NL OF Rory Thorpe, Chicago .337avg 7hr 76rbi .877ops
NL C Gary Murray, Cincinnati .288avg 28hr 86rbi .813ops
NL C Hunter White, South Park .303avg 17hr 61rbi .838ops
NL DH Pablo Lopez, Cleveland .306avg 25hr 112rbi .888ops
NL DH Tony Gallegos, Houston .285avg 36hr 126rbi .885ops