MCALISTER BELIEVES CLIPS ARE 'CHAMPIONSHIP-CALIBER' THIS SEASON

Calgary 13-Year Captain Trying To Dismiss Attempts At Dissension With Additions Of Rookies Hue Henderson & Justin Sandy Unseating Productive All-Star Nathan Stokes and Last Season's UL Rookie Of The Year Runner-Up Harley Pipp In Talented Clippers Lineup

The call-up and insertion into the Calgary Clippers lineup of highly-touted rookies Hue Henderson (left) and Justin Sandy (right) has caused some disruption and angst in the team locker room.  Sandy replaced Nathan Stokes, who was an All-Star last season and finished fifth in the entire SIMBL with a .298 batting average.  Henderson replaced Harley Pipp who finished runner-up in last season's UL Rookie Of The Year voting while hitting .263 with 22 HR and 78 HR in only 105 games.  13-year Clippers veteran Colt McAlister is trying to hold the always colorful Calgary locker room together while the soon-to-be 37 year-old future SIMBL Hall Of Famer is vying for one more SIMBL championship as he enters the twilight of his illustrious SIMBL career.

Playing into the twilight of his future SIMBL Hall Of Fame career, Calgary's nine-time All-Star, eight-time All-SIMBL Team selection, two-time Gold Glove and former 2019 UL Rookie Of The Year Colt McAlister has enjoyed personal success also winning two UL MVP awards in 2023 and 2027 and has been part of two Clippers SIMBL championship squads in 2023 and 2025.

But the fire still burns the 13-year veteran who has manned first base since the team that drafted him #1 overall in the 2019 SIMBL New File Era Inaugural Draft.

McAlister thinks often of the seasons that got away.  The ten seasons out of the last twelve that the Clippers made the postseason, many favored to win SIMBL championships, but left emptied handed and disappointed in eight of those postseasons.  In seven of those seasons McAlister led the Clippers to the ULCS though the team only prevailed on to the SIMBL CS three times in 2019, 2023 and 2025.

The player who leads the SIMBL New File Era with 1399 RBI, which stands second in SIMBL history to SIMBL Hall Of Famer Daryl Ryles' 1581, and is currently fourth in SIMBL history with 461 career home runs, still yearns for the lost opportunities when the Clippers yielded perennial 100-win teams in the last decade and choked in the postseason most times than not.

"Yes, it bears on me a lot to this day," said the usually reserved McAlister.  "I'll be 37 years-old on May 4th and I definitely hear the clock ticking.  I would consider it a failure to end my SIMBL career without another championship.  I prefer to go out on top if it's in the cards."

McAlister and the Clippers last made it to the SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series in 2025 and squandered another chance two seasons ago when they were upset by the Oregon Pioneers in five games in the 2029 ULCS.

The Clippers became one of the few defending SIMBL champions to not make the postseason the season after their championship in 2025 and began a financial and team rebuild after losing stars and SIMBL Hall Of Famer SP Craig Byrd and future SIMBL Hall Of Famers SP Vinny Corleone, OF Carlos Molina and closer and SIMBL New File Era career saves leader Barrett Jenkins among others in their primes to free agency and fiscal reasons and also had to deal All-Star Michael Lonewolf to division rival Toronto in another cost-saving deal that landed Calgary eventual 2028 UL Hurler Of the Year Hayden James.

The rebuild brought a lot of higher draft picks and more importantly a bevy of free agent compensation draft picks that Clippers GM Christian DeMarco used wisely to extensively rebuild his pitching rotation which has bloomed into one of the best young rotations in the SIMBL.

"It's time now," said the impatient DeMarco in an online interview recently.  "We feel we have a championship-caliber team again and expect nothing short of a run this season.  It would be good for Colt, it would be good for the organization.  We feel we have paid our dues, drafted wisely and have the talent again to contend seriously in this league."

The Clippers boast a starting rotation of three former first round draft picks: Hayden James (#3 2024 by Toronto), Mohammed Alvarez (#21 2026) and Ramon Vasquez (#23 2024).  Former 2022 supplemental round draft pick Rafael Morales (#28 2022) has already made an All-Star team and won 18 games two seasons ago.  Emerging star and power pitcher Jason Chapman, acquired in a trade with Seattle in 2026, went 17-9 last season.  An already formidable rotation that all are 28 years-old or younger outside James who is 29.  With all of that talent heading into final arbitration years shortly, outside James who is signed through 2034, the hard financial decisions that come with the SIMBL's eventual 'paying of the piper' reformed and unforgiving financial system will face DeMarco again shortly as it did six seasons ago having to breakup a championship team in 2025 due to financial balance.

The usual loaded Clippers bullpen has long been a trademark of the team and a heavy belief of DeMarco.  Four-time UL Middle Reliever Of The Year Bob Detty still leads the pen and is also in his 13th season with the team and long has been a main force to their contention.  Former Hollywood #8 pick in the 2019 SIMBL Draft, Francisco Domingo, was acquired in a 2026 trade with the Stars and is in his sixth season with the Clippers and also remains one of the top shutdown relievers in the SIMBL.  Add former 2029 first round draft pick rookie Russell Kirk (#22 overall) who is expected to be one of the most feared future relievers in the SIMBL with 9/9/9 drafted potential and the Clippers bullpen is again one of their strengths and perennially again one of the best in the SIMBL.  Closer John Coburn, acquired in a 2027 deal with Deer Lake, is in his fifth season with the Clippers and has already amassed 212 career saves by the age of 27 including five straight seasons of 34 or more.  Former 2025 supplemental pick (#38 overall) Jackson Myers is in his fourth year with the club and has also been a bullpen pillar with a 3.32 ERA in his first 110 SIMBL appearances.

The Clippers previous trademark of bashing offense has taken a backseat to a more speed-oriented lineup in recent seasons as the Clippers have led the SIMBL in stolen bases the past several seasons and included five players with 40+ stolen bases last season and three with 89 or more.  But the return to more power may return as perennial top-rated prospect and 2025 #25 overall pick Hue Henderson has finally emerged into the SIMBL after languishing and developing for six long seasons in the Clippers' farm system.  Henderson has such lofty expectations that he took the first base job away from last season's UL Rookie Of The Year runner-up Harley Pipp.  Pipp surprised many in the Clippers organization by producing solidy with 22 HR and 78 RBI while hitting .263 in only 105 games.  To save his body, the Clippers have relegated McAlister mostly to DH duties after he manned the first base corner for the past twelve consecutive seasons.

Another risky and controversial addition of power to the Clippers previously high-scoring offense is the call-up and insertion to the lineup of former 2027 supplemental draft pick (#27 overall) Justin Sandy who currently ranks as the 26th-rated prospect in the SIMBL.  Sandy has such lofty expectations and ratings against right-handed pitchers that he beat out Nathan Stokes who was a UL All-Star last season and finished fifth in the entire SIMBL with a .298 batting average.

These additions to the lineup are expected and intended to help add protection to McAlister while keeping him the focal point of the offense though he produced his worst season of his career in all statistics despite hitting 30+ home runs for the 11th time in his career. 'Big Mac' is still one of the top-rated offensive players in the SIMBL and has the ratings to prove it but has been in slight decline since the nine seasons he was followed in the Clippers lineup for protection by fellow future SIMBL Hall Of Famer Carlos Molina.

"I'm excited about this team again and our chances," said McAlister.  "Justin and Hue are being counted on a lot as rookies to help this team get to the next level.  So far, from what I've seen of these two, I have been impressed."

All the good talk by the 13th-year team captain masks out and is the antidote to the usual loud-mouth and controversial diatribes of six-time Gold Glover and all-time SIMBL stolen base leader Matthew Brown who has never been at a loss for words and has shown no quietness about the demotions of Stokes and Pipp who were solid contributors to a division-winning team last season.

"I am not too keen on rookies just coming in and taking positions from players who have proven what they can do and who have contributed," yelped Brown who did just the same thing when he entered the SIMBL at the ripe age 19 in 2019 and promptly led the SIMBL with a .334 batting average in the first of his eight All-Star Game seasons.

Stokes and Pipp have been quoted as visibly upset and have also hinted at asking for trades out of Calgary if they continue to lose their playing time to hot shot prospects and former first round draft picks after contributing in All-Star form last season to their club's wins.

All the while, McAlister tries to keep the peace and lead an again talented team as team captain and remains focused as recognizing a championship-caliber team with frontline pitching, an elite bullpen, ample lineup speed and power that has been patiently and methodically assembled again to contention status by DeMarco.

"There's no reason for us not to be 'in it to win it' this season," said Big Mac.  "I firmly believe we are again the team to beat. Why not us this season?"