Marriage And Jimenez Miss Final Series For Suwon

[ScottH]

Suwon Morning Swords (R) 66-24 1st Place 7 Games Ahead

People can say what they want for Suwon manager Waylon Hoekstra’s style but the man does not seem to care what other people think. He just goes out and wins ball games. After the 2031 season Hoekstra was wondering what he had to do to keep a job in baseball after being let go by the Bakersfield Bears who were bounced from the playoffs after winning 91 games. The controlling Hoekstra, known as “Undertaker” to his friends, has been known to stir the pot but whether it is working with major league talent or young rookie leaguers he has proven the ability to get the most out of players.

Suwon finished 2032 with a .733 win percentage and runner up trophy after losing to champion Bridgetown 3 games to 1. Fans have to get to Hwaseong Fortress Stadium early to find a seat, with 1.3 million people in the city and only room for only 5000 at games.

There was plenty of talent on the squad with Ben Farley (10-3), Quentin Marriage (10-1), and Roberto Ruiz (8-1) anchoring a deep pitching staff. Marriage would throw two playoff games totaling 14.2 scoreless innings before leaving game 2 with what turned out to be radial nerve damage causing him to miss the championship series. Ruiz would win IBC Pitcher of the Year while Farley ran his IBC win total to 19, three short of the league record. Rene Padilla went 10-5 and set a single season strikeout record with 146. All are still young enough to play another season with Suwon and management remains silent on advancing any of them.

Justin Jimenez was injured (torn labrum) during the final regular season game after putting together another fine season for the Morning Swords. Playing solid defense at both second and third, Jimenez fashioned a .317/.362/.408 slash line. After joining Suwon in 2030 as a 17-year-old the injury might keep him with the Morning Swords to begin the 2033 season.

First Baseman Raul Garcia won the Platinum Stick Award with 34 doubles and 11 homers while earning a slash line of .334/.410/.534. Over two seasons, Garcia now has more than 600 plate appearances with 74 strikeouts so he may move on to either Kailua or Rapid City for 2033.

Antonio Amabor advanced from the academy late in 2031 and split 2032 between third base and right field and put a nice second half together to finish at .274 with all 8 of his home runs coming in the last two months. He added two more during the playoffs.

Yin-Ti Hou (.340/.406/.425) was solid this season, leading the team in average, scoring 50 runs and driving in 49 while learning to play shortstop. With the defensive skills to play several positions and still 18, there is no hurry to lock him into one spot.

Outscoring opponents 508-268 on the season, the Morning Swords saw several promotions during the season and there will undoubtedly be more before the 2033 season.

[Sandgnats]

Raúl García has a bright future.