Motor City Madmen

Madmen primary logo

Steam League (2014-2038)

East (2014-2038)

## Team Names

* **Motor City Madmen (2036–present)**
* Motor City Mad (2021–2035)
* Motor City Madmen (2014–2020)

**Other Team Nicknames**: MC

### Divisions

**(28)** 2022-2025, 2027-2034, 2036-2039, 2051, 2052, 2055, 2058, 2059, 2060, 2067-2069, 2074, 2078-2079

### Wild Cards

**(8)** 2020, 2021, 2026, 2045, 2057, 2070, 2077

## Front Office

### Manager

Miguel Garza

The **Motor City Madmen** are a Reddit League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Madmen currently compete in the Great Lakes Division as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team has alternated between the use of the name "Mad" and "Madmen" throughout its history.

 Franchise History

One of the most successful franchises in baseball history, the Madmen have won 5 The Rings, tied for the second-most most in RLB history along with the Roswell Greys and division rival Shadowland Reapers. Their 7 division pennants rank second-most behind the Charlotte Sugar Dwarves franchise and their 22 playoff appearances rank third in the league. Their 7 inducted Hall of Famers is the most in Reddit League baseball.

The pinnacle of the Madmen franchise was from 2020 through 2039 when the team made the playoffs 19 times during that 20-year span, including a run of thirteen straight 100+ win seasons. During this era, the "Mad" (as they were named at the time) won 4 The Rings and finished runner-up twice. The powerhouse was led by Hall of Famers Nick Moore, Ricardo Ortega, Felipe Rios, Jeff Cannon, Tim Ware, Jaake van der Ban, Will Taylor, Matt Mueller and Ganya Nimbuev as well as 2042 MVP winner Chris Sparks.

After a brief intermission and a quick rebuild, the Motor City Madmen found itself back on its feet. Adding players like Nathan Hall, Mason Wallington, Kendrick Noden, and Pedro Fernandez, the team finally saw the light and began to find success for a time. With the rise of perennial talent Jose Apodaca, the team ended up with two division wins, yet failed to break into the Ring series after losses to the Gamblers and the Brawlers.

This led to a sudden change in decision with the departure of Jose Apodaca after concerns over his pliability and his struggles during the offseason. In turn, the Madmen added Chandler Garcia, Tiger Fordyce, and Rich Craig to fill the void Apodaca left and gave way to Hector Valentin to fill the ace role. With new talents like Jorge Lozano and Alexander Larsen along with veterans like Jeff Cook, the Madmen managed to scrounge enough wins to secure a division win against the Chicago Railmen and the Shadowland Reapers in 2055. However, the Madmen struggled during the playoffs and lost to the Portland Pines, ending a successful season with an unfortunate end.

Though, the team remained vigilant in its attempts to reach the big stage. A superb 2058 season ended in an intense Game 7 in the Championship Round against the Miami Manatees after a costly 3-run home run. A rematch happened next season in 2059. This time, the Madmen made an impressive run to come back against the Manatees in Game 3 and Game 7 to bring home the pennant after 22 years. The 2059 Ring Series ended with the Madmen on top against the Colorado Dodos.

After 2059, the Ring Winning Team managed to make it back one last time against the same team they played previously, the Colorado Dodos. Only this time, the Dodos triumphed against the Madmen. The departures of Jason Scarborough, Nicholas Giraud, Oscar Martinez, and last year's retirement of Garrison Richards left the team's future in limbo. Thus, followed several years of mediocrity and disappointment with players leaving for better pastures or retiring off. A few years of rebuilding the farm and developing players soon began. As of now, players like Kurt Stroud, Thomas Jones, and Denver Portside are the new hopefuls in a new era while veterans Jethro van Zoolingen and Eric Hanson hope to carry the final vestiges of that championship run they had.

Six years of mediocrity later, the Madmen finally found themselves a foothold in their new conference after the league realigned. Cornerstone players Kurt Stroud, Thomas Jones, and Denver Portside fill the lineup with hopefuls like Zach Lawson and Clement van Hulst. In the rotation, reliever-turned Ace Emmitt Vroom leads the charge followed by a group of rookies like Carson Edwards and Randy Pennington with veterans Brendan Gotwood and Santiago Rivera at the backend. The 2068 season saw some of these players hit their stride and other prospects got better, yet the team floundered under pressure in the Division Series (3-2) against the Woonsocket Moongeese. With a new season coming up and new players joining the roster, only time will tell whether this team can make it back once again.

The 2070s saw the Madmen return to form with ROTY winners like Carson Edwards, Emmitt Vroom, and Pedro Benavides paving the way for the team's pitching success. Acquisitions like Randy Pennington, William Knight, and Mike Rodick along with draft picks like Jeremy Clarkson helped strengthen the burdening rotation. Kurt Stroud resurged after several lackluster seasons following the additions of Yuri Andropov, Jeremiah Thompson, and James Walker to the mix; in short, the team began to look younger and stronger than ever. In 2074, the team finally put it together by reaching the Ring for the ninth time, facing off against the dynastic pitching powerhouse, the St. Louis Outlaws. Against Xiang and Janszen, Benavides and Company beat the dynasty to take the sixth ring in Madmen history. After the season, the rotation remained similar, yet changed with the departure of William Knight and other bullpen arms. The team would break into the playoffs and crash out or barely miss the threshold for the next few years until the emergence of the young draftees that came from the Madmen farm system. This culminated in the 2078 season where the Madmen found themselves back in the Ring against the Colorado Dodos, for the third time. Unfortunately, this resulted in an almost complete reverse sweep from 3-1 to 4-3, which left the Madmen players wondering what had happened.

Next year, in 2079, Pedro Benavides went down with back problems for a while, leaving the rotation in the hands of young Jeremy Clarkson and the two veterans, Carson Edwards and Randy Pennington. All three of them carried the team forward with help from FA acquisition Lance Church, who filled in for Benavides as a southpaw. The team won the division, then reached the playoffs with Benavides back to the full strength. This helped the team move forward back into the Ring for another shot at the title against the same team they beat five years past, the St. Louis Outlaws. It took until Game 7 when Jeremy Clarkson and Jeremiah Thompson both came up big for the Madmen and secured the seventh title in team history, pulling off a historical season that had players provide clutch moments and keep the team alive in the playoffs.

The Madmen's home venue is the famous Mad House which has undergone multiple renovations over the years. At one point in time, the Mad House was Reddit League Baseball's largest stadium by capacity and was regarded as being the most hitter-friendly stadium in the league.

## Notable Current and Former Players

### Notable Players

The Soap Era/Period (2044-present)

* Garrison Richards, 2B (2044-2052; 2056-2059) HOF Member, 2059 DS MVP
* Jose Apodaca, SP (2050-2054; 2060-2062)
* Hector Valentin, SP (2054-2064)
* Jason Scarborough, SP (2054-2060)
* Oscar Martinez RF/Utility (2054-2060) 2059 CS MVP
* Arthur Morgan, DH (2056-2063)
* Nicolas Giraud LF (2059-2061) 2059 Playoff Hero
* Kurt Stroud COF/DH (2064-present) two time ring winner, current team captain
* Randy Pennington (2070-2079) two time ring winner, workhorse mainstay
* Carson Edwards, SP (2068-present) roty and two time ring winner, workhorse mainstay
* Dave Armstrong, 2B (2072-2076; 2079-present) 5-time Gold Glove and two time ring winner
* Pedro Benavides, SP (2074-present) two time brodie, roty, and two time ring winner, ace material
* Yuri Andropov, LF/DH (2074-present) 2-time playoff MVP, two time ring winner
* Jeremy Clarkson, SP (2077-present) ring winner, front/ace material

### Hall of Famers

* Ken Graham
* Manny Guzman
* Jonathan Hughes
* Steve Jackson
* Herb Johnson
* Garry MacNeill
* **Nick Moore**
* **Ganya Nimbuev**
* **Ricardo Ortega**
* Jose Reyes
* **Felipe Rios**
* **Will Taylor**
* **Jaake van der Ban**
* Tim Ware
* **Garrison Richards**

*Players and managers listed in **bold** are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Madmen cap insignia.*

### Retired Numbers

Jaake van der Ban
 C
 Retired Apr 1, 2045Felipe Rios
 LF
 Retired Apr 1, 2045Ricardo Ortega
 SP
 Retired Apr 1, 2040Matt Mueller
 3B
 Retired Apr 1, 2040Nick Moore
 SP
 Retired Apr 1, 2035Ganya Nimbuev
 LF/CF
 Retired Apr 1, 2050
## Historical Logos and Uniforms

Motor City Madmen primary logo 2014-2020, 2036-2038Motor City Madmen Primary Logo 2021-2035, 2039-PresentMotor City Mad Alternate Logo 2021-2035Motor City Madmen Home Uniform 2014-2020, 2036-2038Motor City Madmen Home Uniform 2021-2035, 2039-Present
 GM History

 Beisbol
 Kafka