‘It was the best of times . . . .it was the worst of times.’
The REAL Kansas GM
So begins one of Charles Dickens’ most beloved works of
literature. But it could well describe
what Kansas baseball fans are encountering this year in BARB: two clubs from different divisions, going in
different directions, but forever linked by past rivalry and common geography.
One club, Scott Hatfield’s St. Francis Kansans, is enjoying
a renaissance. One year after leading
all of BARB in runs scored, the 2014 wild-card club has taken up right where
they left off: leading the newly-formed
Grapefruit Division in scoring, taking an early lead in wins with a 10-2 mark,
and in general looking ready to compete for their fourth playoff berth in five
seasons. The 2009 expansion club
endured 164 losses in its first two seasons, but with more than 360 wins since
2010 is now well over .500 in its history.
“We hope the best is yet to come,” Hatfield beamed.
Meanwhile, headed the other direction, the
newly-rechristened Kansas City Rebels of Ronald Melkonian have set a league
mark for futility: the 2012 expansion
club has averaged 100 losses a year since entering the league, and their 2015
campaign began with the club giving up a BARB-high 62 runs while dropping the
first 11 games of the year. “It’s the
middle of the April, and they are nine games out,” marveled a rookie reporter
tasked to cover the club’s nearly-empty stadium.
Hatfield had no sympathy for his in-state rival, who during
2014 conducted a ‘fire sale’ that lifted last year’s edition of the Casselton Horned
Toads to a division title, relegating the Kansans to a wild-card spot and an
eventual early playoff exit to the Yuma Firebirds. “That was a tough pill to swallow,” admitted
Hatfield. “The GM in question wanted half my club for Justin Upton, and when I
turned him down flat, he (in his words) ‘powered up’ my chief rival. And now, like a carpetbagger, he has once
again abandoned his previous fans and set up in my territory. So, sympathy? Not a chance. But I’ll talk trade if it serves the
franchise’s interests.”
MAJOR TURNOVER SINCE 2011 PLAYOFF RUN
“Anyway,” Hatfield said, “in retrospect that 2011
stretch-drive collapse was the best thing that happened to the Kansans. It was one of the more improbable moments in
our league’s history, and certainly the best achievement of any club associated
with that GM. He got a remarkable hot
streak from OF Andre Ethier, and that taught me a lesson: don’t set your goals
so low. Making the playoffs in our third
year after expansion was our goal back then, but from that moment on we set our
sights on building a stronger, deeper, more durable organization. By and large, we achieved that, but it wasn’t
easy?”
As a mark of that, consider that only a handful of players
on the 2011 Kansans are still BARB regulars:
former cleanup man Jose Bautista now starts in RF for the Moabs, backup
IF Todd Frazier is the starting 3B in Pottsylvania, and 2B Neil Walker has
found regular duty in Casselton. RHP Joaquin Benoit is a setup man in Oakland.
What happened to the rest?
Retired since then: C
Jason Varitek, 1B Paul Konerko, IF Kevin Youkilis, OF Vernon Wells and Johnny
Damon, and P Roy Oswalt, Brett Myers, Heath Bell.
Injured and possibly never to play in BARB again: P Bronson Arroyo, Rafael Betancourt, Matt
Guerrier and DH Jesus Montero
Hanging on as a bench player in BARB: IF Alexei Ramirez, 1B Mark Reynolds, OF Chris Young, P Rafael Delgado
No longer on a BARB roster:
U Kelly Johnson, P Ricky Nolasco, Scott Downs and Joe Saunders.
“When you get down to it,” admitted Hatfield, “while we were
able to earn a berth in a so-so division, the 2011 edition of the Kansans was never that strong a
club. We had to get younger, stronger
and deeper across the board. That was the turning point for our club, and I think we’ve
done that. We're deep behind the plate, off the bench and in the rotation. We finally have some starters that are comparable
to the best in the league, and our offense is obviously clicking.”
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