Now in year 11 of Wombat baseball, some players in our history have had the misfortune of being in their prime at the start of our league. Due to this, it’s easy to forget some major seasons from very good players. Additionally, there have been some players who put up great numbers for a year or two, only to fall off a cliff. Here, we recognize them.
Tim Lincecum
Lincecum was the face of the Crab Cakes for a few years, even over the legendary Albert Pujols. Big Time Timmy Jim won back to back Boof Bonser Awards in 2008 and 2009, both of those years leading his team to championships. His 2010 and 2011 were good to average, but unfortunately starting in 2012 Lincecum lost his fastball and has never been the same since.
Vlad Guerrero
The most obvious example of a player being in his prime when our league started, Vlad was a monster in the first few years of WLB. His 2007 season with the Pez Sox saw him put up 27 bombs, 125 RBI’s and a .324 batting average. If not for his then Pez Sox teammate, David Ortiz, he might have won AWL MVP. Vlad would only play five years in our league though, with a sharp decline happening in year three, 2009. He had a mini resurgence with the Rangers in 2010, only to sign with the Orioles and finally retire after mediocre year. If our league had started just a few years prior, Vlad would most certainly be in the Wombat Hall of Fame.
Ichiro
This is how forgotten Ichiro’s greatness is – I assumed no one team had Ichiro for more than a few years each, as he’s seemed like a Wombat mercenary. I went back and looked every transaction involving him, including drafts, and it turns out he was a Ham Sandwich through draft or trade through the league’s first six years*. Had no clue, and it was my teams. Anyway, after those first four years his production and at bats dropped, and he’s been a fringe Wombat player the last few years. Those early years though were something to marvel at – in 2007 he hit .351, came across home plate 111 times and had 37 steals. While he was never going to be Wombat MVP due to the lack of power, he was a top outfielder in the league’s early days.
Future installments of the Wombat Hall of Very Good include, but not limited to:
Roy Halladay
Brandon Webb
Jake Peavy
Prince Fielder
Cliff Lee
David Wright
*Jon's Note: How is this true? I drafted Ichiro with my 3rd pick in the first draft.