Brentwood Bearcats






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Team: Brentwood Bearcats [ID #628] Bookmark Brentwood Bearcats

Location: Brentwood, CA (West)

League: III.1 - West

Owner: Eric83 send message
          [since February 06th 2018 | last seen April 18th 2024]

Manager: Dave Blair

Ballpark: The Bear Cave

Rank: #137 - Rating: 135.55

Fan Mood: 70.78

Prestige: 38

Color: Blue & Gold

Team Notes:

• Mar 20 2064: Gary Seal was claimed off of waivers.
• Mar 15 2064: Vince Walsh was signed as a free agent.
• Mar 15 2064: Gene Gardner was released.
• Feb 19 2064: Lorenzo Lemus was claimed off of waivers.
• Feb 19 2064: Deshawn Andrews was claimed off of waivers.
• Jan 22 2064: Miguel Moreno was claimed off of waivers.
• Jan 13 2064: Haruto Yoshida was selected to the national team of Japan.
• Jan 13 2064: Pedro Fuentes was hired as the new coach.
• Jan 13 2064: Coach Will Ritter was let go.
• Nov 02 2063: Will Ritter was hired as the new coach.


League Record:

Wins: 3     Losses: 7     Pct: .300     Last10: 3-7     Streak: W1

Ave: 4.2 - 4.7     RS: 42     RA: 47     DIFF: -5         Power Index: 103.7

Cup:

Group 30 [0 | Still Alive]

Press Releases:

Jan 13 2062: After 27 seasons, Bearcats promote to Legends for first time - by Eric83 on October 28th, 2023

While clawing their way through one of the most competitive conferences in recent memory, the Brentwood Bearcats had arguably its best season in team history. With an 87 win team relegating in the tough II.2 West, the Bearcat’s 92-68 record was just barely enough to punch a ticket to Legends for the first time.

Led by league MVP Haruto Yoshida (.313/.380/.604, 31 HR, 115 RBI, 32 SB) and Cy Young winner Reece Worthington (19-9, 2.37 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 171 K, 12 CG), the Bearcats’ workhorse pitching rotation and versatile offense defined the team in 2061.

At 34 years old, Worthington had perhaps his most dominant season en route to an unprecedented 9th Cy Young award. But finally, he had plenty of help. 3rd year pro Satoshi Tanaka (16-10, 3.24 ERA, 8 CG), had a breakout season, finishing 3rd in the Cy Young voting. Will Fuller (15-11, 3.64 ERA, 9 CG) was consistently dominant and Chris Nishimoto (14-13, 4.51 ERA, 157 K) reliably chewed through innings to keep the ball out of a leaky bullpen. Each member of that 4-man rotation finished in the top eight of the league leaderboard for innings pitched and had at least 17 quality starts. Closer Jorge Versalles earned an All-League award after leading the league with 51 saves.

Three position players also earned top honors. 26-year-old Aaron Lucero was named an All-Star for the 3rd time, accumulating 51 doubles and a .365 OBP in the leadoff spot. Jorge Rodriguez made a massive jump in his 2nd season as an everyday outfielder, finishing in 2nd place in the MVP voting. The 24-year-old showed an impressive balance of speed, hitting, and power accumulating 51 stolen bases, 45 doubles, a .337 batting average with a .934 OPS. But both of those were overshadowed by the sheer dominance of franchise cornerstone Yoshida, who elevated his game to become a true elite superstar. Yoshida led the league in SLG and OPS and was among the top 3 in batting, runs, and RBI, leaving no doubt that he would earn his first league MVP award.

Although the team will face unprecedented competition in Legends, the future remains bright for the Bearcats. Worthington has carried the team for more than a decade, but even if age finally catches up to him, he finally appears to have a young core of support both on offense and in the pitching staff to help shoulder the load.



May 31 2060: Worthington throws 1st career no-hitter - by Eric83 on June 30th, 2023

Reece Worthington had seemingly accomplished it all during his storied career, but it wasn't until his 383rd career game that he notched his first career no-hitter. The 7-time Cy Young award winner only needed 116 pitches to shut down Mount Prospect, limiting the Skeletons to three walks while striking out 10. It was Worthington's 13th career shutout and 71st career complete game.

When asked by a reporter if there was anything left for him to accomplish on a baseball diamond, Worthington responded with one word: "Legends." The 33-year old has pitched 8 seasons in LL2 but has never made it to the top division. With the Bearcats currently in 5th place and 8.5 games out of 1st, the team may need Worthington to keep pitching like this to pull them back into the promotion race and make that final goal a reality.

Box score


Jan 13 2059: 2058 recap: Bearcats ride league’s top two pitchers to clinch championship - by Eric83 on March 10th, 2023

After 2nd place finishes in 5 of the last 6 seasons, the Bearcats were able to seal the deal in 2058. The 92 wins were the team’s best at Level III or higher. Brentwood will now return to II.2 for the first time under manager Dave Blair and try to advance to Legends for the first time in franchise history.

Reece Worthington (20-13, 3.39 ERA, 264 K, 286 IP) once again fulfilled his role as franchise anchor, earning an unprecedented 7th Cy Young award. The 31-year-old was as good as ever, setting career highs in strikeouts and innings pitched. He led the league in both categories, as well as wins and POTG awards, and finished 7th in ERA. But as dominant as Worthington was, arguably teammate Wendell Fuller (19-7, 2.82 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 21/30 QS) was even better. The southpaw led the league in both ERA and WHIP, and was 2nd in wins and POTG awards. Despite starting the season in the bullpen, he finished 3rd in the league in innings pitched. Voters were clearly torn but seemed to reward Worthington’s additional 8 starts and 60 IP, as he narrowly won the Cy Young by a measure of 35-33.

When you have the league’s top two pitchers, the rest of the pitching staff may feel inconsequential. But the instability of the rest of the rotation did contribute to the team’s slow start. Riva (5.62 ERA, 18 GS) and Nishimoto (6.55 ERA, 21 GS) were both dreadful and were eventually removed from the rotation. Herrera (2.61 ERA, .188 BAA, 16 GS) was added to the rotation midseason and became a reliable 3rd starter. Davila (4.81 ERA, 26 GS) was uninspiring but at least chewed up innings to keep the ball out of the bullpen, which also was inconsistent. Closer Versalles had a franchise record 54 saves, but also frustrated with 17 blown saves and a middling 4.15 ERA. All told, nine pitchers started at least 3 games for Brentwood.

Pitching garnered most of the buzz, as the team’s offense was deep, consistently productive, but largely unspectacular. Catcher Chris O’Connell (.301, 86 R, 77 RBI, 21 SB) earned his 2nd All-League award. And 25-year-old All-Star Haruto Yoshida (.284/.384/.470, 15 HR, 99 R, 80 RBI, 38 SB) continued to show why he is expected to be the franchise cornerstone for the next generation. 24-year-old Aaron Lucero (.832 OPS) also earned his 1st All-Star appearance, giving the two a couple young batters to build the team around. The team’s stellar defense was also quietly instrumental to the team’s success. The team’s 64 errors were the fewest in franchise history.



Jan 13 2058: 2057 recap: Worthington wins 6th Cy Young as Bearcats finish 2nd yet again - by Eric83 on December 23rd, 2022

In what’s become an annual tradition, the Brentwood Bearcats once again were carried by All-Universe pitcher Reece Worthington to a close-but-not-really-that-close 2nd place division finish. It’s the 5th time in the last 6 years that the Bearcats were runners-up and the 6th time in 8 seasons that Worthington finished as the league’s top pitcher. Overall, Brentwood finished with a strong 87-73 record, 4 games out of first.

Outside of Worthington (16-8, 3.12 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 21/29 QS) the pitching rotation never found consistency. 10 players started at least one game, and the bullpen was especially vulnerable. The team added 34-year old Davila (7/11 QS, 3.50 ERA) late in the season to help shore up the rotation, but it remains to be seen if he will return next year. Riva has shown promise but was wildly inconsistent. Herrera, Fuller and Jean all posted ERAs at or above 5. The team’s biggest hope is that top pitching prospect Chris Nishimoto lives up to his hype and can be a key contributor going forward. The 22-year old remains raw but had success (3-2, 3.69 ERA) in his brief professional exposure, finishing 3rd in Rookie Pitcher of the Year voting, despite only pitching 46 innings across 11 appearances (5 starts).

As many of the team’s long-time position players took reduced roles, a host of younger unproven players had surprisingly good production. 29-year old Tad Bianco was plugged into the lineup as the everyday 3B for the first time in his career primarily for his defensive skills, but he maximized the opportunity and earned his first All-Star nomination (.320/.360/.463, .823 OPS). A pair of 28-year olds – Jimmy "The Greek" Terry (.296/.353/.471, 15 HR, 75 RBI) and Roy “Rogers” Hardin (.276/.383/.460, 37 SB) - also made their 1st All-Star appearances. 31-year old Chris O’Connell (.330 AVG, .850 OPS, 15 HR, 85 RBI, 32 SB) has probably already solidified his status as the franchise’s best non-drafted player, and improved his AVG and OPS for the 6th straight year since the Bearcats nabbed him off the waiver wire. In addition to his offensive production, he also threw out 50% would-be base stealers this season. Veterans Wallace (.263/.374/.520) and Duarte (.286/.369/.503) also deserve honorable mentions for performing above expectations this year.

But all of those performances pale in comparison to the excitement generated by 23-year old sensation Haruto Yoshida, who took a major step forward in his sophomore season (.793 OPS, 20 HR, 98 RBI, 102 R, 27 SB). Defensively, last year's #1 draft pick transitioned from a DH role as a rookie to the team’s full-time second baseman, a position he is expected to hold for the next decade. Offensively, Yoshida led the team in runs and RBIs and finished 2nd in doubles and homers. His star power was in full display in a May game against Wailuku in which he finished with 3 HR, 10 RBI and 6 runs scored.

Draft update: 2nd round draftee Jorge Rodriquez looks like he could be the heir apparent to O’Connell behind the plate, but otherwise the latest draft class generated little excitement. Most notably, the team already cut its 1st round pick and didn’t draft any promising pitchers.

Looking ahead: The Bearcats’ success will heavily rely on Worthington dominating once again next season and also the development of rising superstars Nishimoto and Yoshida. But what might be most important is getting repeat performances from some of this year’s surprising offensive leaders and other unproven players. After an offseason in which the team's position players had an astonishing 49 skill drops, it's become increasingly clear that the time is now for next generation of Bearcat players to come in and contribute. With the right does of development and luck, perhaps they can do what the last generation hasn't done over the last eight seasons and claim a championship trophy.



Jan 13 2057: 2056 recap: After hot start, Bearcats fall short of promotion - by Eric83 on October 10th, 2022

For much of the season the Brentwood Bearcats looked like a team destined for promotion. On June 30, the team was 67-41 and had a nine-game conference lead over eventual champion Novi Doubledays. That’s when Novi started to surge and Brentwood started showing signs of weakness. The last 40 games became especially critical, as the Bearcats went 16-24 and lost their conference lead for good.

Despite the disappointing finish, several bright spots emerged.

Ace Reece Worthington won his 5th Cy Young award after leading the league in wins, strikeouts, innings, complete games and POTG awards. He also finished in the top 5 in ERA and WHIP. Worthington headlined a strong starting rotation that led the league in quality starts. Versailles led the league in saves, although he struggled down the stretch and the bullpen was generally considered a weakness throughout the year.

Many of the team’s position player veterans had breakout seasons, relishing playing in League III.3 after six grueling seasons facing II.2 pitching. Nathan Logan and Dwight Colley, who have been fixtures in the Bearcat infield for more than a decade, each had bounce back seasons as their careers reach its twilight stage. Logan (.326/.377/.491) earned his 3rd career All-League honor. Colley (.292/.370/.422) had his highest batting average in 8 years and was named an All-Star for the 3rd time. Fellow 33-year old Anthony Wallace (.302/.400/.592) had career highs in nearly every offensive category including 22 HR, 71 RBI and a .993 OPS. Catcher Chris O’Connell captured his first All-League award, with a team-leading 91 RBI to go along with a .301 AVG and 34 stolen bases. O’Connell has improved his AVG and OPS in each of the last 4 seasons.

Although every player mentioned above is in his 30s, and the franchise’ minor league system has been considered weak for years, the team’s long-term future did get a major boost. The team’s 1st round draft pick, 22-year old Haruto Yoshida, is their first ever 16-POT player. Yoshida was immediately promoted to the big leagues, playing DH most games. He likely will take over Colley’s 2B duties next season and could lock down that position for the next decade. Yoshida’s taking a major step in his sophomore campaign, as well as management’s ability to find replacements for some of the team’s aging stars, will be key as the Bearcats begin the new year once again with promotion as its goal.