Two Legends Join Bakersfield as Coaches

[Ghosts]

Bakersfield, 26 December 2028 – In a 2028 season rife with turnover, the Bears are looking to the past to provide fans a sense of continuity. Bears GM Dan Vail today announced the hiring of two former players as part of their developmental machine: future Hall of Fame starter Markus Hancock and the lesser known former third basemen Nobuhito Hasegawa. Both will take positions in the SA Cold Bay organization, but sources say the Bears organization anticipates their future involvement at higher levels of play very quickly.

After spending over two years away from the game, the work ethic that helped grant Markus “Fireworks” Hancock so much success in PEBA would no longer allow him to sit idly by while the game moved on without him. Prospects entering the Bakersfield system via the Cold Bay Eleven will now have access to the mind and mentorship of one of the craftiest and most accomplished pitching talents of the modern era. Hancock won 143 games for Bakersfield in ten seasons and posted an incredible 2.48 ERA over that span. He also accumulated over 130 WAR in his 17 year PEBA career, striking out 3,349 batters and winning a total of 253 games. A 13-time all-star, Markus won an astonishing 7 pitcher of the year awards. Future Bears pitchers could ask for no more accomplished of a mentor, but they may have to recover from being star-struck first. The Louisiana native had only this to say about teaching his craft to the youth of today, “Long as everything they say ‘bout post-millenials being lazy and full of themselves is completely wrong, I reckon everything will go great up there in Alaska. If not, there’s always the fishin’.”

A household name in Japan and a former giant of the now defunct League of the Rising Sun, Nobuhito Hasegawa brings 3 MVP trophies and memories of 8 all-star appearances to his new home in Alaska. He also brings a distinctive professionalism that will help set the tone for a Cold Bay squad filled with youth from all over the world transplanted to an Alaskan environment foreign to most. Hasegawa, at first glance, has no obvious ties to the Bakersfield organization, as his time in PEBA during the twilight of his career was spent in Canton, Florida, Neo Tokyo, and Shin Seiki – never in Bakersfield. GM Dan Vail, however new to PEBA, is not a rookie GM. Unknown to many, Vail managed the Niihama-Shi Ghosts briefly during their time in the LRS before moving on the other pursuits. It was here that Vail came to appreciate the baseball acumen of his then MVP-caliber third basemen. Hasegawa, the career leader for the Ghosts in batting average (.325), OBP (.416), WAR (41.5), as well as hits, walks, runs, and total bases, knows he is a relative unknown in PEBA, but relishes the opportunity to excel in both a new arena and in a new profession. When reached for comment, Nobuhito proclaimed happily, “It is a great honor to be granted the opportunity to guide the young players of tomorrow to glory. I will take this opportunity to rise by teaching my skills to the talented youth of the Bears, so that they may strike down all their opposition, from Aurora to Shin Seiki!”

[Lions]

Can you imagine being just drafted and having the greatest pitcher of all-time as your first pitching coach in Short Season A ball? That's like a dream come true.

What will be interesting is whether or not Hancock can pass on his knowledge or if he's just like, "You throw it and they miss, what's so hard about that?"

[Arroyos]

Can you imagine being just drafted and having the greatest pitcher of all-time as your first pitching coach in Short Season A ball? That's like a dream come true.

Or your darkest nightmare. How do you live up to your hero's expectations? Can you even speak his name or are you too tongue-tied to talk?

[Leones]

It's been a banner year for former players coming into the coaching ranks! To paraphrase Frank; "You sign them and they coach, what's so hard about that?"

[Vic]

Very cool to have these great names from the past back in the league. Well done, Dan!

[DrewV]

Great moves for Bakersfield. Fun to see a continuation of PEBA/LRS lore!