Sorry about the break, I'm back with the 1975 Offseason!
1975 Offseason:
Player Movement:
Joestar swung a trade with the Carp, sending the Mexican RF Mario Duarte to Aorin for prospect Conrado Esmeriz and catcher Ryan Langer. Both teams hope that this will bolster their chances of making the playoffs.
Sol was busy on the trade market, making three different deals to different teams: one prospect-for-prospect deal with Aorin, sending a solid pitcher in Tony Velez to the Senators in exchange for two prospects, and a massive deal with Shinosaka, shipping star Denny Love to the Stars for three prospects.
Coaching Carousel:
Crescent City decided they needed a culture change around the club and fired GM Yoshihisa Yamaoka and Manager Yoriyoshi Beppu. The Ducks have replaced them with Manager Takao Okada, manager of the Robins beforehand and GM Hirohide Yamamoto, a newcomer to the GM world.
In addition, Aorin axed skipper Yasuharu Onizuka. Speaking to the press, he remarked something about the Carp's GM not giving him the pieces he needed to work with, a comment that cost him $1500 after the league determined it was "detrimental to the image of the Federation". He was replaced with Toshio Nakamoto, who spent the last decade acting as Batting Coach for the Grizzlies and Stars.
Retirements:
Carp star Steve Powers called it quits this year. Spending all 13 years of his service in Aorin, the Massachusetts native says he'll head back to the States and watch Red Sox games.
Vertlac legend Hirohisa Nakashima also hung up his cleats. The pitcher was a consistent defensive threat on the mound and also was no slouch as a pitcher, winning the 1967 Pitcher of the Year Award.
Popular Grizzlies player Yukiharu Shimizu has played his last game in the RIBF. Playing with Yosemite for almost their whole existence, he'll go out on top after finally winning a ring.
Identity Changes:
Three teams made changes this offseason: Hayakawa, Shinkyo, and Joestar.
Shinkyo didn't make any major changes, simply updating to the new template and adding names on the back of their jerseys. They don't have a manufacturer.
Joestar made some changes, updating their wordmark to be arched instead of arced, adding NOBs, and making their road jersey gray.
Finally, the biggest changes. Hayakawa refused to update to the new template because it didn't have a pullover vest option, sticking with the classic template. They made their gold jerseys their new home jerseys and added a red jersey for road games. The old white jerseys stick around as an alt, making them the first alt jerseys in the RIBF.
There it is! The 1975 offseason. What do you think? C&C Appreciated!
