RealGMs 2014 MLB Be The GM Contest

RealGM Analysis

RealGM's 2014 MLB 'Be The GM' Contest

Nov 20, 2014 10:41 AM

More than any other sport, baseball is full of optimism. There's something about the changing of the seasons, freshly cut grass and fundamental drills of spring training that infuses every franchise with positivity.

Even if your favorite Major League team is struggling, you can focus on any one of several prospects that are perennially lauded over. The increased attention farm systems have received in recent years had led fans to don their general manager hats more than ever. Everyone thinks they can construct the best 25-man roster, spot the best platoons and identify which prospect is most ready for stardom.

When fantasizing about building your own Major League roster, you must start at the top. What superstar would you build around? Would you pick a power hitter or power pitcher? Do you want an established star with several seasons of success or a young stud on the rise?

That's where RealGM and Retro Brand come into play.

We've partnered with the Original Retro Brand to give you the chance to crown RealGM's 2014 Franchise Cornerstone and have some extra fun while doing so. We've compiled a field of 32 Major League players (one from each team and two Wild Cards) and assembled an NCAA-style bracket in search of the player best suited to build around.

If you're a long-time fan of RealGM, you're familiar with the concept. We've had numerous 'Be The GM' contests in the past, across all four major sports.

Over the next several weeks we'll be holding the contest on RealGM Baseball. Make sure to bookmark this page, as it will serve as a guide for all matchups, dates and results. We will provide a short blurb outlining each matchup, beginning on Monday, May 5. In addition, we'll use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to get the word out on each matchup.

Retro Brand is on board to help spice up the pot for you, the reader. They've been making quality t-shirts, in the United States, since 1962 and will be giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky winner at the conclusion of the contest. The gift card will give you the ability to choose your prize, including shirts featuring the logos of dozens and dozens of current and defunct Minor League clubs.

All you have to do to participate is check RealGM daily for new matchups, vote using our polls and then tweet your choice using #BeTheGM.

For example, our first matchup will pit Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles against Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox. Log on, vote and then tweet 'Bogaerts #BeTheGM' or 'Machado #BeTheGM.' You can tweet once per matchup and each tweet earns you an entry to win a $50 Retro Brand gift card.

If you vote and Tweet each matchup, you'll accumulate 31 entries in our contest and have the best odds at snagging some Retro Brand swag.

You can check out the full bracket here: 2014 RealGM 'Be The GM' bracket. Don't forget to begin voting on May 5!

Here is a full schedule for the first round:

May 5: Manny Machado, Orioles vs. Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox

May 7: Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees vs. Evan Longoria, Rays

May 9: Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays vs. Chris Sale, White Sox

May 12: Jason Kipnis, Indians vs. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers

May 14: Salvador Perez, Royals vs. Kyle Gibson, Twins

May 16: George Springer, Astros vs. Mike Trout, Angels

May 19: Sonny Gray, Athletics vs. Felix Hernandez, Mariners

May 21: Yu Darvish, Rangers vs. Robinson Cano, Mariners (Wild Card)

May 23: Freddie Freeman, Braves vs. Jose Fernandez, Marlins