Post by Commish on Apr 19, 2019 15:40:04 GMT
The year is 1993; it has been one year since we witnessed the magic that was the 1992 Springfield
Power plant championship team, where countless future HBLA stars went to strut their stuff before the
many of them returned to enter in the inaugural HBLA draft.
Welcome all to the first (and hopefully one of many) HBLA draft recaps. I will be taking a serious, (but
not too serious look), at each teams draft and how I feel they grade out. With that said, we have tossed
all the data into the HBLA’s “Shredder” and here are the results.
The Winners:
Colorado Rockies – (73.5) Overall, 2.94 out of 5 Stars – Out of the gate the Rockies GM went and
grabbed what could be one of the elite pitchers in the HBLA with the 3rd pick in the first round, Greg
Maddux. He then followed that up with top five CF in Marquis Grissom in round two. When asked about
playing in the “Mile High” state, Greg Maddux said “...That’s not the only thing that will be high this
year...” His agent quickly reminded him that weed would not be legal in this state for another 20 years.
This has led to an early call to the commissioner’s office. Although he was only able to grab only one of
the OSA’s top 40 ranked players this team has some depth with a high player mean at a solid 2.72. With
all this “ready to win now” talent on the 25-man roster, they do rank in the bottom tier of the league for
“potential player growth”, at a meager .06. This team is built to win now, and on paper, anything short
of a trip to the World Series would be a disappointment for the fans in Colorado.
New York Mets (70.5) - Overall 2.82 out of 5 Stars – Who says the Mets are second fiddle in the Big
Apple? Coming in at #2 in our rankings, the ever-loving Mets! With their first round pick, (15th overall),
they thought long-term, and took the youngest player drafted in the first round, a 20 years old Manny
Ramirez. As Manny walked to the podium, and donned his new Mets cap and jersey, he was heard
saying “...what?! No...I’m just gonna be me being me.” Hmm, I sure hope the Mets GM put in a call to
‘Crash Davis’ to mentor Manny. As the chants of Nuke LaLoosh already started to come down from the
balcony during the pick. The Mets followed up in round two by taking the #1 ranked 3B in the draft
Robin Ventura. The Mets have three of the top 40 ranked players on the OSA big board, which includes
a top five-ranked CF in Lenny Dykstra. Another team built with depth in mind; overall, they average
2.76 per player.
Philadelphia Phillies (70.5) – Overall 2.82 out of 5 Stars -- Not so fast say the “Philly Faithful” regarding
their division opponents up the turnpike. With the Phillies first selection (20th overall), they chose the
24 year old, #1 ranked RF Gary Sheffield. They quickly followed up in round two, with future Silicon
Valley CIO Curt Shilling. When asked, Curt said his dream after baseball would be “...to make Rhode
Island the Silicon Valley of the east coast.” Here’s hoping all your dreams come true Curt! In what could
be the steal of the draft, the Phillies selected C Chris Hoiles in the fifth round (132nd overall). Asked what
happened in the Phillies war room when this four star player was still on the board in round five? The
HC said “Are you f-in kidding me?!? I spit out my Zima all over the Fanatic when we saw he was
available!” After hearing this news, the Philadelphia brass is in talks with Zima for the naming rights to
the stadium. More on that story later. The overall depth of this team is why the shredder dropped
them to third in the polls. Coming in at a low 2.59 average per player. Let us hope the injury bug does
not hit the city of brotherly love too bad this season.
Milwaukee Brewers (69.5) - Overall 2.78 out of 5 Stars – Fire up the grills and toss on those Brats! The
Brew Crew is back, and they are the American League’s top rated team. The Brew Crew has two of the
HBLAs big board top 40 players on their roster for 1993. Their first round selection, SS John Valentin
(26th overall), and their fourth round selection P, Juan Guzman (87th overall). However, their round two
selection (31st overall) sent the Brewers fans, (and) Bob Uecker himself running and screaming like a 12-
year-old girl at a Back Street Boys concert, when the commissioner walked to the podium and called out
Deion “Prime Time” Sanders name. Sanders comes to the HBLA with plenty of quickness, he rates
perfect 10s in speed, stealing and base running, couple that with a 9 CF rating, and this guy will cover a
lot of ground for the Brewers. Bold move Milwaukee, bold move <insert slow clap>. Milwaukee, like
Philadelphia drafted players mostly maxed out at their current levels. Only five of their draftees on their
25-man roster have some “potential” room to grow. This makes Milwaukee’s player average come in at
a 2.76
Baltimore Orioles (66) - Overall 2.64 out of 5 Stars—Rounding our top 5 selection from the land of Crab
Cakes and the birthplace of the David Hasselhoff, are the Orioles. With their first three selections, they
picked up #2 ranked CF Kenny Lofton (12th overall), a top five ranked SP Jose Rijo (45th overall), and a top
10 SP in Charles Nagy (68th overall). This team will definitely give the Brewers a run for their money in
the AL east this season. However It was their eighth round selection (213th overall) of 33-year-old 4 start
2B Ryne “Don’t call my Ryan” Sandburg that really jumped out to the Shredder. He was one of the last
four star players on the board this late in the draft. He brings plenty of leadership and ton of hardware
to the O’s from his 12-year career. The Orioles have three of the HBLAs top 40 players on their roster,
which helps to move them this high in the draft rankings. The Shredder learned it has been that is has
been announced that the “Hoff” himself would throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sing the
National Anthem on opening day. I cannot wait to get my tickets!
What were they thinking?
Chicago Cubs (51.5) – Overall 2.06 out of 5 Stars & Houston Astros (47.5) – Overall 1.9 out of 5 Stars –
The shredder doesn’t know where to begin with these two. We have to choose one, so let us start with
the Astros. With their first round selection the Astros picked 3B Edgar Martinez (21st overall), their
highest rated / ranked player at 3.5 stars. After that, they selected an aging Tony Gwynn (36th overall) in
round two. The Astros are also one of the oldest teams in the league, with a player average age of 32
years. Couple that with little room for potential growth as well, only three of their current players on
their 25-man roster have any growth potential. They also do not have a single player listed on the
HBLAs top 40-player board. When interviewed after being drafted in the eighth round (204th overall),
Bobby Bonilla realizing his former Mets contract was just nullified was seen huddled in the fetal position
in the Astros locker room rocking slowly back and for muttering to himself “...What happens to Bobby
Bonilla day? ...What happens to Bobby Bonilla day?” The Chicago Cubs did not fair must better in this
year’s draft, although they are a much younger team with an average age of 26 years old, even with
aging players Yount (37), Winfield (41) and Kirk Gibson (35) on the 25-man roster. With their first round
selection (10th) overall they chose CT native 1B Jeff Bagwell, and followed up with what could be future
All-Star in the HBLA, OF Carlos DelGado, who surprisingly enough is not on their 25 man roster. Perhaps
an early season call up. The Cubbies do have some hope though; having six players on their active 25-
man roster with some potential for growth. The consensus back at HQ is it will be a few more years
before this team sniffs the playoffs. Odds are high on one of these two teams winning the #1 pick in
next year’s amateur draft. The Shredder hears some good things about a kid named “A-Rod”.
Notable mentions
Big things to come in 1994? In what could be a sign of things to come, both the Braves & White Sox –
have the HBLAs biggest jump in “potential” on their 40-man rosters. The Braves with an 8.5 overall
ratings jump and the White Sox at 6.5. These teams are also young side as well, averaging 26 years old
per player on the White Sox and 27 on the Braves. These rosters are inexperienced, between the two
teams, they only have a single player on the HBSAs top 40, the White Sox’s SP Randy Johnson (8th
overall). Could this be a potential World Series match-up within the next 5 years? The Shredder is
excited to find out.
Mr Irrelevant – The shredder has a soft spot for players like these, and we will be keeping a close on
1993’s Mr. Irrelevant, the Chicago White Sox SP Andy Cook. Taken with the 1184th overall pick, he was
announced at the podium by the overnight cleaning crew supervisor. His mom was the only one left in
the gallery. With a 1⁄2 star rating for potential, the sky is the limit for this kid. He is currently assigned to
the White Sox AAA club, we will be keeping our eye on this kids career!
Best of luck to the remaining teams in this inaugural season!
~The Shredder Team (MIKE A's)
Power plant championship team, where countless future HBLA stars went to strut their stuff before the
many of them returned to enter in the inaugural HBLA draft.
Welcome all to the first (and hopefully one of many) HBLA draft recaps. I will be taking a serious, (but
not too serious look), at each teams draft and how I feel they grade out. With that said, we have tossed
all the data into the HBLA’s “Shredder” and here are the results.
The Winners:
Colorado Rockies – (73.5) Overall, 2.94 out of 5 Stars – Out of the gate the Rockies GM went and
grabbed what could be one of the elite pitchers in the HBLA with the 3rd pick in the first round, Greg
Maddux. He then followed that up with top five CF in Marquis Grissom in round two. When asked about
playing in the “Mile High” state, Greg Maddux said “...That’s not the only thing that will be high this
year...” His agent quickly reminded him that weed would not be legal in this state for another 20 years.
This has led to an early call to the commissioner’s office. Although he was only able to grab only one of
the OSA’s top 40 ranked players this team has some depth with a high player mean at a solid 2.72. With
all this “ready to win now” talent on the 25-man roster, they do rank in the bottom tier of the league for
“potential player growth”, at a meager .06. This team is built to win now, and on paper, anything short
of a trip to the World Series would be a disappointment for the fans in Colorado.
New York Mets (70.5) - Overall 2.82 out of 5 Stars – Who says the Mets are second fiddle in the Big
Apple? Coming in at #2 in our rankings, the ever-loving Mets! With their first round pick, (15th overall),
they thought long-term, and took the youngest player drafted in the first round, a 20 years old Manny
Ramirez. As Manny walked to the podium, and donned his new Mets cap and jersey, he was heard
saying “...what?! No...I’m just gonna be me being me.” Hmm, I sure hope the Mets GM put in a call to
‘Crash Davis’ to mentor Manny. As the chants of Nuke LaLoosh already started to come down from the
balcony during the pick. The Mets followed up in round two by taking the #1 ranked 3B in the draft
Robin Ventura. The Mets have three of the top 40 ranked players on the OSA big board, which includes
a top five-ranked CF in Lenny Dykstra. Another team built with depth in mind; overall, they average
2.76 per player.
Philadelphia Phillies (70.5) – Overall 2.82 out of 5 Stars -- Not so fast say the “Philly Faithful” regarding
their division opponents up the turnpike. With the Phillies first selection (20th overall), they chose the
24 year old, #1 ranked RF Gary Sheffield. They quickly followed up in round two, with future Silicon
Valley CIO Curt Shilling. When asked, Curt said his dream after baseball would be “...to make Rhode
Island the Silicon Valley of the east coast.” Here’s hoping all your dreams come true Curt! In what could
be the steal of the draft, the Phillies selected C Chris Hoiles in the fifth round (132nd overall). Asked what
happened in the Phillies war room when this four star player was still on the board in round five? The
HC said “Are you f-in kidding me?!? I spit out my Zima all over the Fanatic when we saw he was
available!” After hearing this news, the Philadelphia brass is in talks with Zima for the naming rights to
the stadium. More on that story later. The overall depth of this team is why the shredder dropped
them to third in the polls. Coming in at a low 2.59 average per player. Let us hope the injury bug does
not hit the city of brotherly love too bad this season.
Milwaukee Brewers (69.5) - Overall 2.78 out of 5 Stars – Fire up the grills and toss on those Brats! The
Brew Crew is back, and they are the American League’s top rated team. The Brew Crew has two of the
HBLAs big board top 40 players on their roster for 1993. Their first round selection, SS John Valentin
(26th overall), and their fourth round selection P, Juan Guzman (87th overall). However, their round two
selection (31st overall) sent the Brewers fans, (and) Bob Uecker himself running and screaming like a 12-
year-old girl at a Back Street Boys concert, when the commissioner walked to the podium and called out
Deion “Prime Time” Sanders name. Sanders comes to the HBLA with plenty of quickness, he rates
perfect 10s in speed, stealing and base running, couple that with a 9 CF rating, and this guy will cover a
lot of ground for the Brewers. Bold move Milwaukee, bold move <insert slow clap>. Milwaukee, like
Philadelphia drafted players mostly maxed out at their current levels. Only five of their draftees on their
25-man roster have some “potential” room to grow. This makes Milwaukee’s player average come in at
a 2.76
Baltimore Orioles (66) - Overall 2.64 out of 5 Stars—Rounding our top 5 selection from the land of Crab
Cakes and the birthplace of the David Hasselhoff, are the Orioles. With their first three selections, they
picked up #2 ranked CF Kenny Lofton (12th overall), a top five ranked SP Jose Rijo (45th overall), and a top
10 SP in Charles Nagy (68th overall). This team will definitely give the Brewers a run for their money in
the AL east this season. However It was their eighth round selection (213th overall) of 33-year-old 4 start
2B Ryne “Don’t call my Ryan” Sandburg that really jumped out to the Shredder. He was one of the last
four star players on the board this late in the draft. He brings plenty of leadership and ton of hardware
to the O’s from his 12-year career. The Orioles have three of the HBLAs top 40 players on their roster,
which helps to move them this high in the draft rankings. The Shredder learned it has been that is has
been announced that the “Hoff” himself would throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sing the
National Anthem on opening day. I cannot wait to get my tickets!
What were they thinking?
Chicago Cubs (51.5) – Overall 2.06 out of 5 Stars & Houston Astros (47.5) – Overall 1.9 out of 5 Stars –
The shredder doesn’t know where to begin with these two. We have to choose one, so let us start with
the Astros. With their first round selection the Astros picked 3B Edgar Martinez (21st overall), their
highest rated / ranked player at 3.5 stars. After that, they selected an aging Tony Gwynn (36th overall) in
round two. The Astros are also one of the oldest teams in the league, with a player average age of 32
years. Couple that with little room for potential growth as well, only three of their current players on
their 25-man roster have any growth potential. They also do not have a single player listed on the
HBLAs top 40-player board. When interviewed after being drafted in the eighth round (204th overall),
Bobby Bonilla realizing his former Mets contract was just nullified was seen huddled in the fetal position
in the Astros locker room rocking slowly back and for muttering to himself “...What happens to Bobby
Bonilla day? ...What happens to Bobby Bonilla day?” The Chicago Cubs did not fair must better in this
year’s draft, although they are a much younger team with an average age of 26 years old, even with
aging players Yount (37), Winfield (41) and Kirk Gibson (35) on the 25-man roster. With their first round
selection (10th) overall they chose CT native 1B Jeff Bagwell, and followed up with what could be future
All-Star in the HBLA, OF Carlos DelGado, who surprisingly enough is not on their 25 man roster. Perhaps
an early season call up. The Cubbies do have some hope though; having six players on their active 25-
man roster with some potential for growth. The consensus back at HQ is it will be a few more years
before this team sniffs the playoffs. Odds are high on one of these two teams winning the #1 pick in
next year’s amateur draft. The Shredder hears some good things about a kid named “A-Rod”.
Notable mentions
Big things to come in 1994? In what could be a sign of things to come, both the Braves & White Sox –
have the HBLAs biggest jump in “potential” on their 40-man rosters. The Braves with an 8.5 overall
ratings jump and the White Sox at 6.5. These teams are also young side as well, averaging 26 years old
per player on the White Sox and 27 on the Braves. These rosters are inexperienced, between the two
teams, they only have a single player on the HBSAs top 40, the White Sox’s SP Randy Johnson (8th
overall). Could this be a potential World Series match-up within the next 5 years? The Shredder is
excited to find out.
Mr Irrelevant – The shredder has a soft spot for players like these, and we will be keeping a close on
1993’s Mr. Irrelevant, the Chicago White Sox SP Andy Cook. Taken with the 1184th overall pick, he was
announced at the podium by the overnight cleaning crew supervisor. His mom was the only one left in
the gallery. With a 1⁄2 star rating for potential, the sky is the limit for this kid. He is currently assigned to
the White Sox AAA club, we will be keeping our eye on this kids career!
Best of luck to the remaining teams in this inaugural season!
~The Shredder Team (MIKE A's)