The longest-tenured member of the 28+ Bay State Pirates, Paul Aseltine, has decided to hang up his spikes after 16 seasons.

Aseltine joined the Pirates all the way back in 2007 when they were known as "We Got Corn" (WGC) of the Royal Rooters Baseball League.

Mostly a pitcher, Aseltine also filled in regularly as a utility player all over the diamond. When on the mound, he quickly became known as a crafty pitcher who would make hitters look foolish with his signature, looping curveball.

In his first year with the squad, Aseltine helped lead the Pirates to a league championship, winning the decisive game on the mound 3-2 over the Junkyard Dogs, while also plating the game-winning RBI.

Aseltine would go on to win back-to-back league Cy Young awards in 2009 and 2010, becoming a mainstay as a top pitcher and the Pirates' opening day starter for 14 straight seasons.

Longtime teammate Nate Fishman recounts a pitcher who was rarely rattled. "If he or his defense had a bad inning, the next inning was a new inning."

It became typical that Aseltine would go the full 7 innings on any given Sunday without anyone ever warming up behind him. He was a wily veteran who would just find ways to make outs.

"His pick-off move to 2nd base was by far the best I've ever seen", Fishman continued. "And always on the money with his throws. How the **** does he do that?"

Unfortunately, there are no stats capturing just how truly effective some of his pickoff moves were. Current manager Brian Benulis elaborated. "It felt like he'd get one per game. Sometimes I swear he'd let a guy on base just because he knew he'd be able to pick him off."

More than just a crafty ballplayer, multiple teammates recall Paul Aseltine as just an all-around great teammate. He was good at keeping the team loose, the vibes high, and quick to dish out praise after a game.

In his last playoff series with the Pirates in 2022, the decision was made that he wouldn't be starting Games 1 or 2. "Considering he told me he was retiring and him being one of my best friends, it was probably the hardest team decision I ever had to make as a manager", Benulis explained. "As a competitor, I'm sure he wasn't happy, but he still drove an hour and a half each way to be ready on the bench for both games, helping the team in any way he could."

Aseltine miraculously found a way into game 2, but as a pinch hitter, delivering a walk-off sac fly in the 7th to finish an epic late-game comeback. It forced a Game 3, where Aseltine got the starting nod and kept the Pirates in the game with a vintage performance that saw him only give up 1 ER.

Unfortunately, the Pirates' offense came up short and they were eliminated from the 2022 postseason. "We were all very disappointed we couldn't get that win for him, but I was still extremely happy that his career didn't end with him sitting on the bench", Benulis concluded.

In total, Aseltine pitched 980.1 innings throughout his amateur career, 969.1 of which were with the Pirates/WGC. He amassed 967 strikeouts, 71 wins, 1 no-hitter, and compiled a career 2.79 ERA.

If you were to ask him his favorite stat of all, it would probably be his 155 career hit-batsmen. Congratulations Paul on a great career and good luck on all future endeavors!