A SIX PACK, FOUR BASES & TWO CENTS

Old SIMBL Stars Never Die, They Just Fade Away While Only A Few Head To The Hall

A stalwart in Las Vegas for 11 of his 18 SIMBL seasons, catcher Micah Irwin (above left) is a current free agent looking to play his 19th season.  Irwin's 11 Gold Glove Awards are a SIMBL record and along with a career .261 batting average, 306 home runs, 1161 RBI and 2305 hits, the former #2 overall pick of the 2020 SIMBL Draft appears headed to the SIMBL Hall Of Fame regardless of how and where he ends his solid SIMBL career.

CURRENT SIMBL HALL OF FAMERS:

SIMBL First File Era 2005-2018:

3B Daryl Ryles San Diego 2005-2017 (Inducted 2021)
2B Lucas Espitia San Diego 2005-2016 Birmingham 2016-2017 New Orleans 2018 (Inducted 2021)
SP Pedro Ramirez Oregon 2006-2015 Birmingham 2015-2016 Chicago 2016-2018 (Inducted 2021)
1B Taitarou Harnaobu Oregon 2005-2007 Toronto 2007-2011 Calgary 2011-2017 (Inducted 2021)
SP Bobby Grimes San Diego 2006-2018, 2021-22 (Inducted 2029)
SP James Sousa Los Angeles 2005-2018 Lowell 2018 (Inducted 2029)
SP Richard Dicks Sr. Marin-Sacramento 2005-2017 Las Vegas 2018 (Inducted 2029)
OF Dominick Lund Boston 2005-2016 (Inducted 2029)
CL Bill Hyer San Diego 2008-2018 Lowell 2028 (Inducted 2029)

SIMBL New File Era 2019-Current Pitchers:

SP Alberto Tovar San Diego 2019-2023 Rochester 2024-2026 (Inducted 2026)
SP Craig Byrd Calgary 2019-2024 Chicago 2025-2027 Tampa Bay 2028 (Inducted 2028)
SP Justin Montgomery Rochester 2019-2029 (Inducted 2030)
SP Bobby Bruno Manhattan Beach-Hollywood 2019-2027 Whitby 2027-2028 Las Vegas 2029-2030 (Inducted 2031)
CL Andrew Stephens Oregon 2019-2027 Dallas 2028-2030 (Inducted 2031)
SP Oki Okada Bristol 2019-2024 Chicago 2024-2029 Hollywood 2030-2031 Asheville 2032 (Inducted 2032)
SP Vinny Corleone Knoxville 2019-2020 Calgary 2020-2025 Asheville 2026 Deer Lake 2027-2028 Boston 2029 Whitby 2030-2032 (Inducted 2034)
SP Michael Gambino Oregon 2019-2028 Knoxville 2029-2030 Las Vegas 2031 Oregon 2032 Deer Lake-Bellingham 2033-2034 (Inducted 2034)
CL Barret Jenkins Calgary 2019-2024 Asheville 2025-2026 Bristol 2027-2031 Rochester 2032-2033 Bristol 2034 (Inducted 2034)
CL Willie Roger DeMarco San Diego 2019-2025 Seattle 2026-2035 (Inducted 2037)
SP Richard Dicks Jr. Texas 2019-2025 Cleveland 2025-2028 Deer Lake 2029-2031 San Diego 2031-2032 Sacramento 2033-2036 (Inducted 2037)

SIMBL New File Era 2019-Current Positional Players:

1B Colt McAlister Calgary 2019-2034 (Inducted 2034)
1B Artie Bradley New York 2022-2031 Dallas 2032-2033 Rochester 2034 Sacramento 2035 (Inducted 2036)
OF Ty Brown Oregon 2020-2034 (Inducted 2036)
OF Zachery Dye New York 2019-2027 Hollywood 2028-2029 Hawaii 2029 Hollywood 2030-2033 New York 2034-2035 (Inducted 2037)
OF Miguel Espinoza Tacoma-Cleveland 2019-2034 (Inducted 2034)
OF Matt Kramer Chicago 2019-2024 Bristol 2024-2032 Chicago 2033-2034 (Inducted 2036)
3B Logan Raynes Sacramento 2022-2030 Deer Lake-Bellingham 2031-2036 (Inducted 2036)
OF Leonard Williamson Colchester-Boston 2020-2022 Astoria-Seattle 2022-2031 Boston 2032-2034 (Inducted 2036)
OF Michael Lonewolf Tacoma 2020-2021 Calgary 2022-2026 Toronto 2026-2037 (Inducted 2037)
OF Carlos Molina Calgary 2019-2027 Hawaii 2028-2030 Las Vegas 2031-2034 Sacramento 2035-2037 (Inducted 2037)
2B Dante Dawson Dallas 2020-2021 Hawaii 2022-2029 Cleveland 2030 San Diego 2031-2033 Whitby 2034 Sacramento 2035-2036 (Inducted 2037)
C Taki Taketo San Diego 2019-2023 Rochester 2023-2024 Knoxville 2024-2030 Hollywood 2030-2031 Knoxville 2032 Boston 2033 Knoxville 2034 Hollywood 2035 Bend 2036 (Inducted 2037)
OF Kendrick Templeton Sacramento 2022-2028 Hawaii 2029-2032 Bristol 2033-2036 (Inducted 2037)

By Carl Hannah
Las Vegas Hustlers GM
SIMBL Contributor

Legends are fading from the SIMBL as we start the 2038 season. Some gracefully--others less so--as they face the never-ending onslaught of younger talent into the league. This past off-season saw the inductions of Taki Taketo, Dante Dawson, Michael Lonewolf and Kendrick Templeton along with pitcher and third on the SIMBL all-time wins list (277) Richard Dicks Jr.. All members that hung around the league long enough to collect 2000 hits and over 1000 RBIs but all that likely hung on a few seasons past their primes. Certainly, Taki Taketo had one of the best first halves of any career ever, winning the SL MVP Award for the 2019, 2022 and 2026 seasons, but succumbed to the wear and tear of catching all those games and hung around the league for a further nine seasons where he was far less effective. A SIMBL Hall Of Famer to be sure, but, certainly, some of the shine was worn off his career as he plugged away into his forties. Not everyone is Carlos Molina, who oddly enough despite ending his career first all-time in RBI (1963) and second in all-time home runs (645), never won a single MVP award during his illustrious 19-year career.

Amazingly, there are six members of the 2000 hit club currently on the phone with their agents and hoping for a phone call. Five-time UL MVP Tony Aguilar, three-time SL MVP Julian Winfield, Michael Caldwell, Joe Hayes, 11-time Gold Glove catcher Micah Irwin, and long-time Bend Bandit Eddie Gale. All will be shoe-ins for the SIMBL Hall or at least the Hall of Very Good. Tony Aguilar, perhaps the best player in SIMBL history and certainly the owner of the best single season during his 2025 60/60 campaign, is looking for one more shot at the SIMBL Coveted Cup as a current 42 year-old free agent but has received very little interest. The SIMBL's current all-time home run king's last season in Dallas he hit just 15 home runs despite being healthy for the first time in a decade. It's a shame that his career will end struggling to find a spot. He's won all the awards, he's made all the money, he won a championship, he set all the records. Why not ride off gracefully into the sunset?

Julian Winfield, perhaps the only one of the six with a legitimate gripe, had a slash line of .297/.400/.565 last season and must be wondering why not a single team is in need of a competent DH. He also has the best shot to be a mid-season pick-up. Rumor on the street is that he's willing to sign for just a few million and even a casual glance around the league shows a half dozen teams who are struggling to find a quality DH. I doubt we get to June before Winfield is helping out a contender.

There must be little love lost between Joe Hayes and Knoxville after a 15-year career with the Lumberkings after a big 2020 trade with Calgary that netted the L-Kings Hayes and future SIMBL Hall Of Famer 400 career save club closer Chris Ross and the Clippers three-time Hurler Of The Year and SIMBL Hall Of Famer Vinny Corleone who helped lead Calgary to SIMBL championships in 2023 and 2025. Hayes, who stands second all-time in SIMBL career stolen bases with 1011. Injuries have limited Hayes the past three seasons but he's not too far removed from his 199 hit campaign in 2034 and he's been the heart and soul of that Knoxville team for years. A thousand stolen bases (one of only two players to amass that in SIMBL history) might not mean much when they've never been accompanied by a ring, however, and we all know how Knoxville's fans have been frustrated time and again in the post-season. Losing his position to phenom and former #2 overall draft pick Michael Werner is understandable but there aren't a lot of kids lining up for RF Bobby Spence's autograph. Does Knoxville bring him back before the end of the season?

Michael Caldwell's knees probably can't take another season and he's bounced around the league the last four seasons. An ironman, he's only been on the disable list once but he's clearly played through many injuries and that took a toll on the lifespan of his career. Never a huge offensive threat he used to be an expert fielder that could generate gobs of singles in the batters box. But those days are over. Even a change to 3B isn't enough to get a team to bite.

Catcher Micah Irwin is one of the most underrated players in league history. The former #2 overall pick of the 2020 SIMBL Draft has played 11 of his 18-season career with Las Vegas. An expert defensive catcher that has been extremely consistent with a bat, he's had great success even while pushing 40 years of age. He still has one of the best arms in the league and it's somewhat baffling that a team hasn't picked him up. You'd think his SIMBL-record 11 Gold Glove awards would get him a backup job at the very least. The minors are replete with catching prospects but not many are ready to take the plunge. Irwin is another player to look to get picked up prior to the 2038 SIMBL All-Star Game. There will be an injury or poor performance by some team's catcher and he'll get the call.

Finally, we have Eddie Gale, Bend's longtime left-fielder, who suffered through many injuries in 2034 and 2035 and hasn't been the same player since. Very few players spend their entire careers with the same team but it appears that Gale's 15-year career in Bend is over. A three-time All-Star, it looks like he'll miss the SIMBL Hall of Fame but he'll certainly have a few fans pushing for induction. He just never quite lived up to his very high potential after being selected #11 overall in the 2022 SIMBL Draft. Still, time moves on and Bend has a young, great outfield. Like Caldwell and Aguilar, I don't see a team taking a chance on Gale. It's time for him to kick back and look back on a very good career with many great moments.

Aguilar. Winfield. Caldwell. Hayes. Irwin. Gale. I'd expect half of them to make the SIMBL Hall of Fame but perhaps they all would benefit if they would just be able to walk away from the game rather than looking for one last shot with one last team.