S8 Draft

1.Spud Fields

Spud Fields Hartford Sluggers Age: 19 B/T: R/R Born: Langley, BC Position(s): C View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The first pick of the draft Hartford took Canadian catcher Spud Fields. He grew up a poor potato farmer in Langley, BC. In one season in a Oklahoma junior college he impressed scouts enough to get the number one pick for his power and game calling ablilty. ML Comparision: WIlt Reed(Jac)

2) Tony Milton

Tony Milton Oklahoma City Dusters Age: 20 B/T: R/R Born: Carver, MA Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

If you were looking for starting pitching in this years draft, then Tony Milton was the best out there. He has alot of pitches but not good with control or lefties. Instead of a Big East school he went to Ben Franklin Institute of Technology to play for the Shockers. MLComparision: Jose Gutierrez(Bur) or if reliever Chad Greenwood(NAS)

3)Midre Olivares

Midre Olivares Indianapolis 500s Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Peninsula, OH Position(s): SS View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Drafted by the ghost team the 500's Midre is still unsigned and threatening to go to college. Which is too bad since he is the best all-around players in the draft. Playing for the West Geauga high school Wolverines in Chesterland Ohio Midre showed high power, speed and fielding. ML Comp:Enrique Lee(SAC)

4) Vernon Kelly

Vernon Kelly Burlington Ice Creams Age: 18 B/T: L/L Born: Sullivan, MO Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Ice Creams took the next best starting pitching prospect in the draft at 4. Kelly is younger and bigger than Milton but they have similar weaknesses: control and one split. Since he is coming out of an undefeated season at Union High school he is ready to start developing.
Ml Comp: Phillip Aspormonte(SJU)

5) Calvin Hasegawa

Calvin Hasegawa Huntington seawolves Age: 21 B/T: L/L Born: Maria Stein, OH Position(s): RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Pac-10 MVP from the University of Arizona Calvin Hasegawa goes pro and is selected 5th by the seawolves. Watch out leage this OF can hit like the best of them, and will be a future allstar. His only major weakness is a low health rating from a high school knee injury. He says it is fine. ML Comp: Julian Aguilar(Por)

S8 Top Free agents sign for big money

3B Luis Viriato
$84.5 M for 5 years.
4-time allstar Luis took the biggest paycheck of all free agents by signing with the Cobalt Cobras, In interviews he talked about playing with SS Sonny Conner and how the young Cobras are poised to compete in the AL.

OF Jamey Curtis
$68M for 4 years.
Power hitter Curtis moves out to the NL North for big money. The Chiefs needed this guy after last season, when they had the second lowest OPS in the NL. 17 Million a year can you get you alot in South Dakota.

2B Tito Hiro
$63.5M for 5 years.
Leadoff hitter Hiro decides to play for division rival Portland instead of staying near the beaches in Hawaii. He played alot of OF in the past but with ROY Chul Chung, GG CF Piedra and MVP contender Aguilar in the huge OF at PGE park he will have to play 2B. Portland has always been a couple of big players aways from toppling Honolulu, is Hiro that hero?

CF Rico Benitez
$60M for 5 years.
Former MVP Benitez only getting $60M is a steal in this market. While his speed and power have already started to decline he should still be feared power hitter that can play center. Adding Benitez into an already stacked team will make the move from Cheyenne to Sacramento easy; as easy as moving from the worst franchise in the in the world to the AL West champs.

Closer Jorges Olivares
$47M for 5 years.
The rebuild in Burlington just added a stud closer. The 2-time world series champ decides to leave Nashville after they did not want to pay him for blowing saves anymore. In interviews he says it is all for the best, he loves the ballpark and is reunited with his old pitching coach Kevin Lazzeri.

SS Miguel Alvarez
$35 M for 3 years.
While Honolulu's former leadoff hitter Hiro was shopping his talents around, the Waverunners quietly replaced him with the best hitting SS out there. Alvarez should not miss a step with the Waverunner offense after he decided to play in the warm sun instead of being forced to 3B and the cold in Vancouver, who was also after his services.

Closer Ignacio Rivas
$32M for 4 years
Rivas Island ends his hold out and signs with Cleveland Steamers. Cleveland spend alot this offseason to bring in some talent, buying top of the line catcher Tim Osbourne, and Rivas' Dominican National teammate Luis Flores. The Rivas signing ends the experiment with Lyle Valdes as a closer. And gives a team with the 2nd lowest inherited runners total in the NL a great guy to close out the game.

Top 10 highest paid International signings from last year (06)

1)

Hardball Dynasty's

Brian Chang

Brian Chang 24.0M - Projects as a number 2/3 starter in the show. Overpaid, but was one of the two best starting pitchers on the market. Projected pick: 10 – 15

2)

Hardball Dynasty's

Wilfredo Benitez

Wilfredo Benitez 20.0M – Probably the best player in the class he should be a great hitter, even though he lacks great power and the ability to play other positions. He was quickly traded to this year to Americas dump, OKC. Projected pick: top 5

3)

Hardball Dynasty's

Wilfredo Velazquez

Wilfredo Velazquez 15.0M – The other good looking pitcher from this group. He looks very impressive with mid 80’s splits, but you got to worry about how many starts this guy can make in a season. If that durability comes up, you have to say he maybe is the biggest steal in the international free agency. Project pick: top 10

4)

Hardball Dynasty's

Julio Rodriguez

Julio Rodriguez 12.2M – Very solid looking SS with a good right split. Looks like a solid .270 hitter. I really like this guy if he fills out to his projections, shit I like him now. Projected Pick : 10 - 15

5)

Hardball Dynasty's

Harry Garces

Harry Garces 11.5M – Well the red bulls took a pretty large gamble and Harry got fat and couldn’t play SS anymore. Overpaid for an average third baseman. Projected Pick: late first

6)

Hardball Dynasty's

Tomas Velazquez

Tomas Velazquez 11.1M – Really good looking RP. The money is right where it should be for him. Should be top 10 closer one day. Projected Pick: top 20

7)

Hardball Dynasty's

Louis Sadler

Louis Sadler 8.9M – He will be getting on base for the most part with his great eye, but the splits leave me a bit worried about his over value. I think he ends up being a very solid player. Projected Pick: Late First

8)

Hardball Dynasty's

Al Cedeno

Al Cedeno 7.6M – This guy won’t have the control needed to be much of anything and is probably a AAAA pitcher. Projected Pick: late second/ early third

9)

Hardball Dynasty's

Shin-Soo Zhang

Shin-Soo Zhang 7.4M – Another career minor league player. Projected Pick: 4th Round

10)

Hardball Dynasty's

Midre Cruz

Midre Cruz 7.1M – Well he almost looks like he could be a major league player with that nice right split. Sadly, like Cedeno earlier, he sucks and will never be an impact on a decent ml club. Projected Pick: 4th Round

S7 World Series features two teams that are very close

Update: Nashville took the series in 7, earning the trophy back. Congrats to owner Decks, who also takes over as commish in s8. We will all be gunning for you.

Louisville Bats(101-61) vs. Nashville Troubadours(102-60)
Nashville is looking to repeat as champs agian this season. But in order to do that they have to beat a team just up I-65 the Bats. Both team feature the best batting lineups in their league wchich why they went one and two in team OPS and runs scored. Pitching is going to be the difference.
Nashville has 3 elite pitchers in Starters Santiago Lee, Preston Towers(Both came in trades from Kansas City), and closer Jorge Olivares. If Tony Martinez wakes up from a season long slump and the relievers get the game to Olivares they will win it again.

Louisville's pitching lacks the studs like Nashville. But has some solid guys that could turn it up right now. Nashville knows all about Louisville closer Bonk Hart, since he spent the first four seasons in the NL powerhouse Honolulu franchise helping to bring them two rings. But they will learn more about guys like Alvin Wilkins who has won 117 games as a starter without a single award(s7 is his first Allstar apperance) and Eugene Darwin a very solid Setup man.

Changing History

Nashville's Michael Lee and Honolulu's Morris Koehlert are on pace to break the Shows single season hits record set by Kid Baxter of 215 way back in season 1.

Michael Lee Nashville Troubadours Age: 29 B/T: R/R Born: Kobe, JP Position(s): 1B/LF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Morris Koehlert Honolulu Wave Runners Age: 26 B/T: R/R Born: Houlton, ME Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Both are currently at 143 hits in 106 team games played. Keeping this pace will get them to 218 at the end of the season. But will fatigue or managers resting them for the playoffs prevent them from breaking the long standing record? Lee ended the season with 197, and Koehlert ended with 195.



And Congrat's to Kansas City's Harvey Sexson. He has already tied his own single season triple record of 13. Any more this season just makes his record harder to beat. He ended the season with 15!

Harvey Sexson Kansas City Stars Age: 31 B/T: L/L Born: Martinez, CA Position(s): RF/1B/LF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

S7 Draft

1) Hartford SP Vernon Person

Vernon Person Hartford Sluggers Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Scranton, PA Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The star and future ace is from a small private high school near Scranton, PA. Some of his $4M bonus might help keep Bishop OReilly HS from closing. He might end up with 3 pitches above 80. His only weakness is his durability, but that can still develop too. ML comparison: NAS Preston Towers.

2) San Francisco SP Wilson McLaughlin

Wilson McLaughlin San Francisco Crabs Age: 20 B/T: S/R Born: La Grange, IL Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Wilson dominated the junior college ranks from southside Chicago JC Kennedy-King College with his control and velocity. He was teamed with Sioux Falls picks Joel Mercedes in college. His major weaknesses are pitches that might not even reach 75. ML Comparison: MNT Julio Gonzalez

3) Cleveland RP Rabbit Paronto

Rabbit Paronto Cleveland Steamers Age: 19 B/T: L/L Born: Beaufort, SC Position(s): P (ClA) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Rabbit is one of the highest rated pitchers ever drafted. Definite closer in the majors very soon. He spent one season in a Texas junior college to show he is ready to be drafted. If his slider works out he will be much more dominate. ML comparison: KC Albert Pescado

4) Burlington SP Malachi Ducey

Malachi Ducey Burlington Ice Creams Age: 22 B/T: L/L Born: Albion, NY Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

U-Dub Husky Ducey is a huge lefty that can dominate the mound. As he gets control of his sinker he will be hard to beat. He is already 22, so he should be in the majors soon. ML comparison: JAC Esteban Palmeiro.

5) Cheyenne 2B Virgil Ayala

Virgil Ayala Cheyenne Wolves Age: 22 B/T: R/R Born: Hopkinsville, KY Position(s): 2B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The best of the 3 MSU bulldog infielders that were drafted. He is already a better hitter than current Wolf 2B Randy McGrady. He projects to an average bat with a bit of power and good speed. His fielding will be top notch. Will he ever remove the shades? ML comparison: SXF Patrick Greene

The Rookies s7

The Rookies
Watch out for these guys this season
They might just be Rooks,but they can play.

Catcher

Adrian Kolb San Diego Red Ball Express Age: 24 B/T: S/R Born: Clyde, OH Position(s): C View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1B

Jonathan Haywood Sioux Falls Chiefs Age: 22 B/T: S/L Born: Gardena, CA Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2B

Yannick Hanson San Juan Badasses Age: 26 B/T: R/R Born: Vancouver, BC Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

SS

Ezdra Gandarillas Florida Marlins Age: 21 B/T: R/R Born: Marlboro, NJ Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

3B

Don Rapp Detroit Tigers Age: 25 B/T: S/R Born: Churchville, NY Position(s): 3B/1B/2B/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LF

Melvin Lee Louisville Bats Age: 24 B/T: L/R Born: Edgard, LA Position(s): LF/1B/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

CF

Pat Park Pawtucket Primetimers Age: 22 B/T: L/L Born: Macon, MS Position(s): CF/1B/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

RF

Chul Chong Portland Vodoo Hippies Age: 21 B/T: L/L Born: San Francisco, CA Position(s): RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

SP

Max McDonald Cheyenne Wolves Age: 24 B/T: L/L Born: Winston-Salem, NC Position(s): P (SP5) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

RP

Bronson Martin Monterrey ChiChi's Age: 22 B/T: L/L Born: Westminster, CA Position(s): P (SuA) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Begining S7

Congrats to the S6 Champs!!!

Tacoma Aviators






New Owners


Burlington Ice Creams
Vet Owner hinz57 takes over the old Helena team and moves the franchise to pitcher-friendly Burlington, Vermont. Hinz57 has 15 complete seasons in 9 worlds. The franchise is coming off of their worst year ever so a change is needed.



Louisville Bats
The powerhouse franchise gets another owner. They have been to the playoffs every single year yet they cannot keep an owner. They should really try to keep reddman311, who has a WS title from Riley and only one losing season in 14.

Season 6 Am Draft

Season 6 Amateur Draft top choices

Pedro Terrero Hartford Sluggers Age: 19 B/T: R/R Born: Toronto, ON Position(s): SS View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Number 1: Pedro Terrero
Terrero was picked by the Sluggers out of Lew-Port HS in Youngstown, NY. Canadain born Terrero was sent to American high school for competetion and he dominated. He is the complete package amazing power, with speed, fielding, and batting tools. ML Comparision: Esteban Delgado(HON)

Huston Miller San Francisco Crabs Age: 19 B/T: L/L Born: Rancho Cordova, CA Position(s): P (P) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Number 2: Huston Miller
The Crabs selected local California high school pitching talent Miller out of Natomas HS in Sacramento. The lefty starter has a great fastball that can reach high 90s, and has potentials off the charts in stamina, control, and splits. He can also throw a curve, changeup and a cutter. Durablity is an issue. ML Comparison: Esteban Palmeiro(JAC)

Tim DeHart San Diego Red Ball Express Age: 20 B/T: L/L Born: Fremont, MI Position(s): LF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Number 3: Tim DeHart
San Deigo selected DeHart out of Junior college baseball champion Muskegon CC. He is 19 year old outfielder that can already hit. He projects to be a high average hitter with excellent contact and above average power. He will be limited as a lefty without fielding abilities. ML Comparision: Rico Dominguez(STL)

Spend to Contend: 12 Type A FA sign big contracts

Pitchers take most of the money. The big two from Nashville move on to the AL South. Vince Lee goes for the max to a strong Monterrey team that is looking to take back the AL South. But Kansas City also signed a new Star, Joe Rogers takes an $80 M contract to help the AL pennant winner. Other type A pitching signings include Donnie Newman getting over paid by Vancouver, Jim Reichert to be the ace of a rebuilding Crab team in San Francisco, RP's Tony Sauerbeck from Honolulu and Rob Watson from St Louis head to Trenton, NJ to get that bullpen on thier feet, Cleveland signed Lee early in the free agent signing period to a great deal, and Mexico City gets gold glove 18 win pitcher Pablo Saez for cheap.


Position players are slim pickings in the market. St. Louis makes the big news signing Ed Urich and Esteban Suarez from the perfect position. They had the 16th and last protected first round pick. Chicago pays bank for the versatile Ewell Stark, and Jackson gets the best CF on the market in Luis Flores.

S5 Awards

Gm of the Year: patterba of the Portland Voodoo Hippies

other nominees: decks, carlie1998, and ggd1022

Comeback player of the year: Walt Wilson

Walt Wilson Tacoma Aviators Age: 27 B/T: R/R Born: Lompoc, CA Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Roberto Clemente Award: Herbert Baxter

Herbert Baxter Wichita BlackSox Age: 36 B/T: R/R Born: Calgary, AB Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Playoffs

Season 5 Top Draft Picks

Kevin Lawrence Colorado Springs Cobalt Cobras Age: 22 B/T: R/R Born: Browning, MT Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Colorado Springs Selects Lawrence the senior from USC with the first pick. He projects to a pretty good ace for them with amazing control and above average splits. Since he is already 22 he should be able to help the Cobalt Cobras in a couple seasons. Comparable MLer: Quinton Bryant (PAW)

Garret Hammel Cheyenne Wolves Age: 21 B/T: R/R Born: Cheektowaga, NY Position(s): 2B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Wolves took 2B/LF Oral Roberts Junior Garrett Hammel. Currently he is still in negotiations with them, Hammel has said he wants to return to college for his senior year to help the Golden Eagles win an NCAA championship. His biggest asset is his ablilty to hit leftys and is one of the most ML-ready players in the draft. Comparable MLer: Michael Nation (JAC)

Cory Shermann Hartford Sluggers Age: 21 B/T: L/L Born: Salem, OR Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Lefty pitcher Shermann of Utah was selected as the third overall pick by the Hartford Sluggers. The Sluggers went all pitching this draft and Shermann is one of the best. Sherman projects as a crafty control pitcher with a sick changeup and deceiving curve but will not overpower many batters. Comparable MLer: Ben Brown (MTY)

Owner Interview with Carlie1998 of the Honolulu Waverunners

1.) Who is carlie1998? Hello, my name is Jamie H. (37 yrs old) from West (by God) Virginia. Carlie is my daughter, she was with me when I set this account up and wanted to be a part of it.

2.) How did you get started in HBD? I’ve always loved playing sim games, but always against computers. So when I came across this site one day while looking on fox sports, I thought I’d sign up and see how I could do against other people.

3.) Who are your favorite real-life sports teams? WVU Mountaineers, Atlanta Braves (I think because they used to be on TBS all the time when I was younger).

4.) What is up with your team name? Who wouldn’t want to live in Hawaii. (I thought that I could lure some good players with that.) As for the Wave Runners? That was just the first thing that came to my mind.

5.) Who are your rivals? This was just my 3rd season and 1st in the Show II. I won my division by over 20 games so no rivals there, yet. If I had to pick one I would pick Primetime17. Went 5-5 in the regular season and thought we would meet in the NLCS. But unfortunately they didn’t even win one playoff game.

6.) Who is your favorite Show II player? And who is your favorite player on another team? My favorite player is the all-time HR and RBI king Esteban Delgado. Again, I’ve only been here 1 season, but the one guy that I would have love to have had this past season was Triple Crown/MVP Winner Ivan Harris.

7.) How does it feel to win a championship? It felt great, especially in my 1st season here. But that was my goal from the first day when I saw what kind of a team somebody had left me. I thought about going to Disneyland, but then I realized I couldn’t afford it.

8.) Many players play along time before they learn how to win the world series, so I have to ask, are you really a first time HDB owner? The only other HDB experience before this season was 2 seasons in foxx world. In my first season I took a team that had never won more than 81 games in 11 seasons to 105 wins but lost in the NLCS and then 84 wins my 2nd season. That was pretty much a 1 team world so I left to find something more competitive. I just went with the old saying that pitching and defense wins championships.

9.) Can you keep it rolling in season 5? I’m looking forward to the challenges of trying to repeat. I’ve got all the key players returning, and I’ll look to F/A or trades to try and improve.

10.) Any advice for new owners? My advice for new owners would be to use the help tab. I learned the hard way on some things that I thought I understood.

11.) What do you like best about HBD? And what would you change? I like the unpredictability and the realistic stats (most times), but I would like to fire and hire coaches during the season and also like to see more diamond in the rough players and higher rating increases.

02/04/10: Welcome New Owners

Yggdrasil(Cleveland Steamers) After a below average season, the NL north franchise turned to Foxx defector yggdrasil, who is a long time owner with 30 seasons mostly in Koufax.

Ratatat72(New York Yankees) vet owner ratatat takes over a contender and brings them to the Big Apple. This gives ratatat his seventh current team.

Apmcpm(San Diego Red Ball Express) The team no one would take gets picked up by one of the Foxx defectors, two time world series owner apmcpm. Hopefully they will not lose 100 games again this season.

Jamesb007(Helena Superbas) The former Twins franchise is still in good shape after the move to Montana under new owner jamesb.

Ewd330(Syracuse Express) 52 seasons, 52 playoffs, 47 division titles, and 12 world series titles are brought in by new ShowII owner ewd lookout American League.

Ripnsnort(Montgomery Biscuits) Foxx defector ripnsnort once led a team to a 17-145 record. With two stellar pitchers like Angel Miranda and Tony Myers he should definitely be better in Montgomery.

Amberjack34(Colorado Springs Cobalt Cobras) With only 3 seasons completed Foxx defector amberjack is taking over last season worst team, A lot of work needs to be done in Colorado Springs.

Leyenda(Cheyenne Black Feathers) Brand new to HDB leyenda takes over one of the worst team in the ShowII, but with some very young talents some patients and this team can be great.

02/08/10 MONEY MONEY MONEY

Bidding wars for the top free agents this year helped three players get RICH!!!

Albert Pescado Nashville Troubadours Age: 28 B/T: L/L Born: Santa Lucia, VE Position(s): P (SuA) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Top notch closer Pescado signed with Nashville for a whooping $62.5 Million 5 year deal. He teams with Jorge Olivares to make one of the best late inning pitching squads in the ShowII

Hardball Dynasty's

Karl Perez

The bidding on Perez almost hit the max salary, it ended with Pawtucket giving the 3-time all-star getting $98 Million five year deal. His signing pushes Sean Parrish to the bench and adds a 40 homer a year infielder to the already strong Primetimer lineup.

Don Webster Jackson Junkies Age: 30 B/T: R/R Born: Winsted, CT Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Former Daze 2B Webster persuades the Junkies to give him a $45 million deal that ends after his 35th birthday. His standout power is being used as a rightfielder in Jackson