[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: 2083 is here!
Not much to report at the moment. It's the day after the IHOF Bowl and you know what that means: various players will fill their retirement papers and a bunch of others will get their names called for induction into the hall of fame.

Tom Anaya, our center from the 2065 through the 2078 seasons has been elected into that Hall Of Fame. We retired the #77 jersey at the beginning of the 2079 season and now Anaya gets the complete picture. He missed 11 games in those 14 seasons, playing a grand total of 213 regular season and 18 playoffs games. The IHOF Bowl LXIV victory being his most important game. He racked up 40+ key run blocks in 5 different seasons. His 1433 key run block opportunities ranks third all-time. No, not just for us, for the entire league history.

Two other former Merchantmen players got their enshrinement today. Defensive end Zachary Tompkins spent the 2076 season with us. A far from spectacular season for him, but it kept him in the league and set him up for a move to the Toronto Lake Monsters the season after where he won his only championship ring in the 2077 season. Quarterback Bennett Morris inspired our offense in the 2078 season into new highs, but sadly he decided to retire after we lost the AOC championship game and just a single season in Maassluis.

Four of our players from last season retired. Long snapper Chris Bertolone was the most surprising one, quitting at the age of 33 after just 5 seasons with us. Guard Leon Wooden quit the game after a single season on our bench. Tight end Randal Curtis spent 11 season on our roster, being active in the first 160 games of that timespan, but sitting out the entire 2082 season. He scored 22 touchdowns, which is pretty good for a goal line formation tight end.

Cornerback Alonzo Hitchcock was the most established Merchantmen player to leave the game. 11 seasons on roster, the second through tenth as a starter. 34 interceptions and 96 defended passes put him in the top ten in both figures for our franchise.

The draft order was also published. As announced earlier, we're holding the #9 overall pick, as well as the 12th and 23rd picks in the second round. Then a couple of fifth rounder picks and our own sixth and seventh round picks to complete the septet.

Season number 80. Let's see what it has in store for us.