BOSTON'S ANTHONY VARGO HURLS FIRST SIMBL NO-HITTER IN NEARLY THREE SEASONS IN 2063 SIM 8

Boston's Anthony Vargo (above), the 32nd overall pick in the 2052 SIMBL Draft by the Patriots, celebrates the last out of his no-hitter against Oregon in 2063 SIM 8.  Vargo's gem was the first in the SIMBL in nearly three seasons and the first since New York's Julian Bustamante no-hit Montreal on September 30, 2060.

In a dominant outing, Anthony Vargo of the Boston Patriots totally silenced the bats of the Oregon Pioneers, finishing with a no-hitter.

In the Patriots' 4-0 victory, Vargo faced only 29 batters, surrendered no hits, had 5 strikeouts and 2 walks.

"Honestly, I didn't even know the situation was what it was until the seventh inning," Boston manager JD Schloss said. "I happened to look up there to see how many hits we had gotten, and I happened to notice that they hadn't gotten any."

Commenting on the defeat, losing manager Jim Harasek had a "pretty simple" analysis of the game.

"The Patriots had all the hits and all the runs, so they won," he snapped. "But yeah, Vargo pitched a heck of a ballgame."

This year Vargo has posted a 3-5 mark in 10 starts and has a 3.77 ERA.

SIMBL CAREER WINS LEADER BOARDS
SIMBL CAREER STRIKEOUTS LEADER BOARDS

TORONTO'S PAUL THOMPSON BECOMES 14TH PITCHER IN SIMBL HISTORY WITH 250 CAREER WINS

Stalwart Rush Ace Also 29 Ks Away From Becoming 26th Member Of 3000 Strikeout Club

Longtime Toronto starting pitcher Paul Thompson (above) zeroes in during what would become his 250th career win in 2063 SIM 7.  The former #3 overall pick by longtime Rush GM Eric Savard in the 2042 SIMBL Draft is in his 18th SIMBL season and 17 of them of have been with the Rush.  Thompson is a seven-time All-Star who has finished second in Union League Hurler Of The Year voting twice, has won 15+ games in nine seasons and is off to a strong start early in the 2063 season.  The 18th-year veteran is only 29 strikeouts away from becoming the 26th pitcher in league history to strikeout 3000 career batters.

Monday May 14, 2063

It was a special day at Toronto Ballpark Center for Toronto's Paul Thompson. The Rush ace logged his 250th career win against the Patriots. In the 4-2 decision Thompson tossed 8 innings, surrendered 4 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts.

"I'm real fortunate that I had the opportunity to play with such good players during my career," said Thompson. "I just couldn't have drawn it up any better. I'm glad I did it in this uniform, too. Toronto is a great organization to play for."

In his career stats Thompson has a record of 250 wins and 190 losses and a 3.62 ERA. He has struck out 2971 in 3961 innings.

250+ Career Wins In SIMBL History
As Of The 5/21/2063 League Date

*- Indicates Active Player
#- Indicates Inducted Into SIMBL Hall Of Fame

335 Alan Alexander Anderson Las Vegas/Chicago 2020-2038 #
331 Jimmy Wagner Chicago 2025-2046 #
314 Bobby Grimes San Diego 2007-2018, 2021-2022 #
281 Eddie Batista Bend 2046-2063 *
281 Kenji Sato San Diego/Chicago 2046-2063 *
277 Richard Dicks Jr. Texas/Cleveland/Deer Lake/San Diego/Sacramento 2019-2036 #
270 Michael Martin San Diego/Austin/Indianapolis/Hawaii 2030-2048 #
266 Michael Kilbane Texas/River City/Ann Arbor 2030-2049 #
264 Billy Lynch Sacramento 2034-2052 #
261 Richard Nagy Boston/Seattle-Ann Arbor/Indianapolis/Cleveland/Oregon 2040-2058 #
255 Brock Vinci Seattle/Las Vegas/Calgary/Bristol 2027-2045 #
253 Ross Brooks Asheville/Dallas/Westbury/Deer Lake/Hollywood/Boston 2020-2039
251 Joe Tarnowsky Sacramento/Chicago 2025-2040 #
250 Paul Thompson Toronto/Knoxville 2046-2063 *

SIMBL HALL OF FAME PAGE
SIMBL STATSPLUS HALL OF FAME METRICS

JORDAN LEEK, PEDRO DELGADO, MARK COCHRAN, MICHAEL PRICE, MANUEL AYALA & FRANKLYN BORBA ELECTED TO SIMBL HALL OF FAME AS CLASS OF 2063

Longtime Ann Arbor star Franklyn Borba (above), who spent his entire 20-season career with the Wolverines, addresses the crowd at his induction, along with longtime teammate Manuel Ayala, Michael Price, Jordan Leek, Pedro Delgado and Mark Cochran, into the SIMBL Hall Of Fame as the Class Of 2063 as voted on by SIMBL GMs.

RF Jordan Leek
Drafted In 2043 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 11 By New York Enforcers
2044-2061
New York Enforcers 2044-2057
Boston Patriots 2058-2061
.273 AVG 536 HR (21st) 1585 RBI (22nd)
2618 G (36th) 10171 AB (30th) 2772 H (34th) .811 OPS
.342 OBP .469 SLG 59.3 WAR (56th)
4769 TB (29th) 911 EBH (45th) 361 2B 14 3B
1480 R (36th) 913 BB (101st) 127 SB
.996 Right Field Fielding Percentage (1726 G)

Postseason:
106 G 409 AB .271 AVG 21 HR 54 RBI .822 OPS

4-Time All-Star
4-Time Silver Slugger
4-Time Gold Glove
9-Time Player Of The Week
1-Time Player Of The Month
2-Time SIMBL Champion (2052, 2061)
2051 ULDS Most Valuable Player

48.6 SIMBL JAWS (AVG HOF RF 47)
4 Black Ink
65 Black Ink
49 Hall Of Fame Standards
104 Hall Of Fame Monitor

The way Jordan Leek played baseball made the word "superstar" seem inadequate. He played the game at an even higher level and that's why he is now one of the immortals in the SIM Baseball League Hall of Fame.

Leek played in 2618 games with a .273 lifetime batting average. Among his 2772 hits were 361 doubles, 14 triples and 536 home runs. He also scored 1480 runs and drove in 1585 runs. Leek was 37 when he retired.

One of his teammates described the talented right fielder this way: "The greatness of Jordan Leek was something that had to be seen... and to see him was to remember him forever."

Jordan Leek was inducted into the Hall of Fame today after being elected by the Baseball Writers Association.

The new Hall of Famer told the audience, "I just went out and did my job every day... and I guess I must have done it well. Thank you for the honor you have given me today."

SP Pedro Delgado
Drafted In 2040 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 3 By Texas Roadrunners
2041-2061
2041-2057 Texas Roadrunners
2057-2060 Hawaii Pineapples
2060-2061 Texas Roadrunners

242-200 3.63 ERA 1.21 WHIP
3970.1 IP 3286 K 1193 BB 70.8 WAR
694 G 526 GS 110 CG 29 SHO 313 QS 59.5 QS%
8.21 H/9 7.45 K/9 2.7 BB/9 2.75 K/BB

Postseason:
29 G 21 GS 6-8 3.99 ERA 1.40 WHIP 5 SV
151.0 IP 60 BB 129 K 3 CG 57.1 QS%

7-Time All-Star
1-Time Gold Glove
3-Time Pitcher Of The Month

66.2 SIMBL JAWS
13 Black Ink
149 Gray Ink
41 Hall Of Fame Standards
127 Hall Of Fame Monitor

What a way to cap a glorious career -- get elected to the SIM Baseball League Hall of Fame. That's exactly what happened to pitching star, Pedro Delgado. The Baseball Writers Association rewarded him for his sensational seasons on the mound and today he took his place among the baseball immortals.

Delgado told the audience at the ceremonies, "Baseball has been my life ... and what a wonderful life it has been. The truth is I would have played it for almost nothing -- but I wouldn't have told any of the owners that."

Delgado had a career record of 242 victories and 200 losses with 3286 strikeouts in 3970.1 innings and a 3.63 ERA. He was 41 when he retired from baseball, and he appeared in 694 games.

SP Mark Cochran
Drafted In 2040 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 8 By Norfolk Buccaneers
2045-2061
2045-2061 Norfolk Buccaneers-St. Petersburg Admirals

244-183 3.56 ERA 1.21 WHIP
3833.7 IP 3321 K 997 BB 89.1 WAR
552 G 552 GS 86 CG 34 SHO 344 QS 62.3 QS%
8.56 H/9 7.80 K/9 2.34 BB/9 3.33 K/BB

Postseason:
23 G 23 GS 15-6 2.69 ERA 1.17 WHIP
167.3 IP 36 BB 150 K 5 CG 4 SHO 69.6 QS%

7-Time All-Star
3-Time Pitcher Of The Month
2-Time SIMBL Champion (2047, 2056)

63.9 SIMBL JAWS
4 Black Ink
178 Gray Ink
46 Hall Of Fame Standards
144 Hall Of Fame Monitor

He is one of the most dominant starters ever to stand on the mound, and now Mark Cochran will join the other baseball legends as a member of the SIM Baseball League Hall of Fame. He will be inducted this weekend.

Tongue in cheek, he told reporters at the press conference, "I want to thank all my teammates who scored so many runs and my fleet-footed outfielders, who ran down so many of my mistakes. Without them, I would have never made it to the Hall of Fame."

He added, "It's like a dream...and yet it's something I never dreamed would happen. It is truly an honor to have your name and your statue among the all-time greats."

He retired at age 40 and in his legendary career Cochran accumulated a 244-183 lifetime record with 3321 strikeouts in 3833.2 innings. In 552 starts, baseball's newest immortal recorded a 3.56 ERA.

LF Michael Price
Drafted In 2036 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 9 By Seattle Seawolves
2039-2062
Seattle Seawolves 2039-2044
Boston Revolution-River City Rascals 2044-2051
AC Kansas City 2052
Sacramento Giants 2053-2055
Cleveland Brownies 2056-2057
Ann Arbor Wolverines 2058
Indianapolis Rams 2059
Cleveland Brownies 2060
River City Rascals 2061-2062

.290 AVG 568 HR (11th) 1896 RBI (7th)
3369 G (4th) 12802 AB (4th) 3711 H (2nd) .865 OPS (20th)
.381 OBP (32nd) .484 SLG (59th) 94.7 WAR (7th)
6191 TB (2nd) 1258 EBH (5th) 604 2B (6th) 86 3B (33rd)
2246 R (2nd) 1799 BB (6th) 1281 SB (5th)
.991 Left Field Fielding Percentage (1012 G)

Postseason:
133 G 480 AB .304 AVG 26 HR 79 RBI .934 OPS

2056 Union League Most Valuable Player
11-Time All-Star
5-Time Silver Slugger
2-Time Gold Glove
4-Time Postseason Series Most Valuable Player
9-Time Player Of The Week
5-Time Player Of The Month
6-Time SIMBL Champion

67.7 SIMBL JAWS
22 Black Ink
159 Black Ink
66 Hall Of Fame Standards
139 Hall Of Fame Monitor

"He simply produced -- game after game after game. That's what I loved about him."

Those sentiments were expressed by one of Michael Price's managers from his River City Rascals days at the gifted left fielder's Hall of Fame induction ceremony yesterday. On a cloudy, but comfortable afternoon, he took his rightful place among the best SIM Baseball League players of all-time.

The newest Hall of Famer assessed his career in these words: "I did my best to contribute to the team -- in the field, at the plate, in the dugout. I didn't care about personal numbers. I just went out there to win."

Price spent his best years playing for the River City Rascals, playing in 3369 games with a .290 career batting average and 3711 hits. He also scored 2246 runs and drove in 1896 runs with 568 home runs.

Price retired from baseball when he was 45.

CF Manuel Ayala
Drafted In 2041 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 3 By Seattle Seawolves
2043-2062
Seattle Seawolves -Ann Arbor Wolverines 2039-2062

.265 AVG 605 HR (8th) 1722 RBI (16th)
2905 G (14th) 11033 AB (14th) 2929 H (26th) .823 OPS (89th)
.334 OBP .489 SLG  (43rd) 94.3 WAR (9th)
5393 TB (11th) 1186 EBH (10th) 513 2B (22nd) 68 3B (64th)
1707 R (16th) 1135 BB (50th) 810 SB (37th)
.996 Center Field Fielding Percentage (2651 G)

Postseason:
91 G 367 AB .240 AVG 16 HR 51 RBI .722 OPS

2053 Union League Most Valuable Player
7-Time All-Star
7-Time Silver Slugger
12-Time Gold Glove
6-Time Player Of The Week
3-Time Player Of The Month
1-Time SIMBL Champion

77.1 SIMBL JAWS
15 Black Ink
114 Black Ink
67 Hall Of Fame Standards
179 Hall Of Fame Monitor

"From the first time I saw him play, I knew he had the potential to be one of the best," Manuel Ayala's first manager said, "and the more I saw him play, the more certain I was that he would reach that potential."

He was just one of the people there at Ayala's enshrinement in the SIM Baseball League Hall of Fame. It was a celebration of the career of one of the shining stars of his generation. His former teammates loved him and opposing fans loved to hate him, but respect followed him everywhere, as evidenced by the large crowd at the ceremony. Not only were many of his former Ann Arbor Wolverines friends there, but opposing players and managers as well, along with a large throng of fans.

The man of the moment was overcome with emotion when he finally took his turn at the podium to speak. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life and to share it with all of you here is... simply amazing. I would just like to thank my family and all my teammates for their support during my journey here. Individual honor was never my goal, winning was, but this is more than I could have ever dreamed."

Ayala retired at the age of 40 with a .265 career batting average. He mainly played center fielder, participated in 2905 games, hit 605 home runs and batted in 1722 runs.

3B Franklyn Borba
Drafted In 2043 SIMBL Draft Round 1 Pick 4 By Seattle Seawolves
2043-2062
Seattle Seawolves -Ann Arbor Wolverines 2039-2062

.278 AVG 604 HR (9th) 1751 RBI (14th)
2862 G (16th) 10690 AB (20th) 2976 H (20th) .841 OPS (48th)
.340 OBP .501 SLG (20th) 72.9 WAR (23rd)
5356 TB (14th) 1143 EBH (12th) 510 2B (24th) 29 3B
1503 R (32nd) 1000 BB (82nd) 49 SB
.953 Third Base Fielding Percentage (1792 G)

Postseason:
91 G 364 AB .280 AVG 30 HR 61 RBI .909 OPS

2048 Union League Most Valuable Player
2052 Union League Most Valuable Player
2044 Union League Rookie Of The Year
9-Time All-Star
6-Time Silver Slugger
1-Time Gold Glove
7-Time Player Of The Week
5-Time Player Of The Month
1-Time SIMBL Champion
2045 ULCS Most Valuable Player
2047 ULDS Most Valuable Player

63.3 SIMBL JAWS
32 Black Ink
124 Black Ink
63 Hall Of Fame Standards
201 Hall Of Fame Monitor

The SIM Baseball League Hall of Fame just added a fine third baseman and hitter to its number. The newest member of baseball's most elite group is Franklyn Borba, who retired at the age of 41.

"I always knew I was good enough to play, but the Hall of Fame was one of the few things I never even dreamed of," said Borba at his induction ceremony. "For me to focus a lot on the individual, that's not the way I learned to play the game. Baseball is a team game. You win as a team, you lose as team. You also do so many things together, but it is not an 'I' thing."

During his illustrious career, Borba had 604 home runs among his 2976 hits, while batting .278. He played in 2862 games, scored 1503 runs and knocked in 1751 runs.

2063 SIMBL HALL OF FAME VOTING RESULTS:

The full voting results are included here. Players require 66% of ballots cast to be elected to the Hall, may stay on the ballot for up to 10 years if they receive at least 0% of the votes. Players must be retired before they are eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame.

3B Franklyn Borba 100.0 (1st year) Inducted HOF
CF Manuel Ayala 100.0 (1st year) Inducted HOF
LF Michael Price 88.2 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SP Mark Cochran 76.5 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SP Pedro Delgado 76.5 (1st year) Inducted HOF
RF Jordan Leek 70.6 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SP Keith Barton 64.7 (2nd year)
CL Victor Kennedy 64.7 (3rd year)
2B Felipe Santana 58.8 (8th year)
CL Robert Eberly 58.8 (2nd year)
SP Wilson Castillo 52.9 (3rd year)
SS Ellisworth Holliman 47.1 (4th year)
SP William Branch 41.2 (1st year)
SS Chris Lueras 41.2 (1st year)
CF Richard Millsaps 41.2 (1st year)
SP Bennie Silva 35.3 (1st year)
2B Hector Colon 35.3 (3rd year)
2B Eladio Romriell 35.3 (2nd year)
3B Allen Walker 29.4 (1st year)
SS Casey Garner 29.4 (7th year)
3B Bernard Ortiz 29.4 (1st year)
1B Gene Smith 29.4 (1st year)
CL Robert Freed 29.4 (4th year)
CL Glenn Wilcox 29.4 (1st year)
SP Christopher Laux 23.5 (8th year)
CF Charles Arms 23.5 (7th year)
SP Ricky Stanley 17.6 (7th year)
SP Bo Ford 17.6 (5th year)
CF Pambo Rivera 11.8 (8th year)
1B Malcom Young 11.8 (3rd year)
LF Mike Lunder 11.8 (4th year)
SP Anthony Miner 11.8 (9th year)
C Ivan Balderas 11.8 (3rd year)
SP Jesus Castillo 11.8 (2nd year)
SP Burton Bailey 11.8 (2nd year)
SP Michael Bates 5.9 (7th year)
LF Cory Browning 5.9 (1st year)
CF Mike Zavala 5.9 (2nd year)
CL Steffano Rivera 5.9 (5th year)
SS Juan Solis 5.9 (8th year)
CL Kade Ratzlaff 5.9 (7th year)
CL P.J. Castle 5.9 (7th year)
1B Steve Levine 5.9 (1st year)
SP Anthony Carey 5.9 (6th year)

No other players received a vote.

CURRENT SIMBL TOP 20-RATED PLAYER LISTS

LANCE'S LISTS: A LOOK AT THE TOP-RATED CONTACT HITTERS IN THE SIMBL

Hot-Hitting Smokies Place Three On A Short List Of Nineteen Top-Rated Hitters

Asheville 27 year-old shortstop James Polanski (above left), the #1 overall pick in the 2056 SIMBL Draft, is one of three Smokies rated in the top 19 contact hitters in the league.  The three-time All-Star though is off to a rough start hitting only .237 while Asheville places in the top three in most of the major team offensive statistics through the first 27 games of the 2063 season.

By Lance Stanley
SIMBL Contributor

Hi again youngsters.  

The Old Man here, Lance Stanley, reporting for the SIMBL.

'10' is the number when it comes to the elite in the SIMBL when it comes to contact and great hitters.  In a league laden with talent, there are currently only 19 players out of 624 total players in the makeup of the league that possess the highly-coveted '10' contact rating or a league average of barely one (1.27) per team.

Asheville, which leads the SIMBL in runs scored, are second in team batting average and are second in on base percentage, possess three players out of the 19.  Cleveland, Indianapolis, Knoxville and Texas each have two players with the coveted contact rating. 13 teams possess at least one player while 11 teams do not even have one top elite contact hitter in the SIMBL.

Let's take a quick Lance's Lists look at the top-rated 10-contact hitters in the SIMBL and their current batting averages as of the April 30, 2063 league date:

Carson Blackwill Cleveland .241 (only 8 games played)
Dana Brown St. Petersburg .281
Steve Carver Texas .323
Jorge Cooper Asheville .216
Aaron Gryka Indianapolis .301
Gerald Harvey Texas .253
Ryoma Kota Asheville .361
Jesus Longoria Oregon .389
Alfredo Martinez Knoxville .345
Geraldo Martinez Sacramento .295
Lucio Molina Rochester .286
James Polanski Asheville .237
Carson Reese Calgary .404
Cliff Reid Cleveland .319
Francisco Rosado Hawaii .293
Jason Russell Ann Arbor .369
Corey Schmidt Bristol .242
Michael Schroeder Knoxville .311
Michael Thurman Indianapolis .300

SIMBL DRAFT HISTORY
SIMBL LIVE DRAFT BOARD

ROUND ONE OF 2063 SIMBL DRAFT IN THE BOOKS

Highly-Touted Son Of SIMBL Legend Manuel Ayala Taken #1 Overall By Toronto

Rush Held Top Pick For SIMBL-Record Third Consecutive Season

Phenom first baseman Manuel Ayala Jr. (above) the oldest son of SIMBL legend and future Hall Of Famer and longtime Ann Arbor center fielder and 12-time Gold Glover, 7-time All-Star, 7-time Silver Slugger and 2053 Union League MVP Manuel Ayala, was taken #1 overall by Toronto in the first round of the 2063 SIMBL Draft.  The Rush held the #1 overall top pick for the SIMBL-record third consecutive season.  No team had selected #1 overall for three straight seasons in the previous fifty-eight seasons prior.  Ayala looks to add to longtime GM Eric Savard's current stack of high-end top-rated farm system talent in the middle of a rebuild for the charter SIMBL franchise who will try to end losing 100-games for the fourth consecutive season this season.

The SIMBL has recently concluded the first round of the 2063 SIMBL Draft.

The annual draft continues live through Round Four when the live part of the draft will conclude.  Rounds Five through Ten then will be run as tradition on auto draft by the game on the June 15th league date.

2063 SIMBL DRAFT

ROUND ONE:
(Potential At Time Of Selection)

1. Toronto Rush- 1B Manuel Ayala Jr. 18 8/8/9/7/6
2. Oregon Pioneers- SP Connor Bryant 19 9/8/8
3. Hawaii Pineapples- CF Clemente Jackson 18 9/8/7/8/8
4. Bend Bandits- SS Jason Foster 22 7/6/8/7/5
5. Rochester Roosters- 3B Max Brown 22 8/7/9/7/8
6. Chicago Hitmen- C Bobby Romanelli 18 7/7/7/7/7
7. Montreal Mavericks- 2B Derek Shaw 18 8/6/3/10/9
8. Knoxville Lumberkings- SS Denver Proctor 17 9/7/8/7/8
9. Sacramento Giants- SP Andrew McCauley 18 8/7/8 LHP
10. AC Kansas City- C David Hansen 18 8/6/8/6/8
11. New York Enforcers- SP Anthony Tucker 18 8/7/9
12. Ann Arbor Wolverines- CF Jaxson Aldinger 18 8/8/9/6/6
13. Cleveland Brownies- CF Antonio Costa 17 7/8/3/10/8
14. St. Petersburg Admirals- SP Lorne Mitchell 21 7/7/10
15. Indianapolis Rams- SP Fernando Castro 18 9/6/8
16. Las Vegas Hustlers- SP Kent Maxwell 18 8/6/9
17. Bristol Owls- SP Jose Chacon 18 9/6/8 LHP
18. San Diego Warewolves- SS Jason Burchaski 21 7/7/7/6/7
19. Boston Patriots- SP Luis Balmon 18 7/7/8 LHP
20. Asheville Smokies- SP Bradley Montez 18 7/7/8
21. Calgary Clippers- SP Leonard Gilbert 21 7/7/8
22. Miami Sharks- 2B Enrique Cornier 21 8/9/6/7/7
23. Texas Roadrunners- 2B Ramon Ortiz 18 10/9/2/6/10
24. River City Rascals- SS Drew Day 18 8/9/6/4/9