2025-04-28, 12:40 PM - Word count:
The Minor League Team of the Season has been announced, but one name was mysteriously absent: Hercule Hefeweizen. The Belgian led the league in distance run and successful passes, while showing up in the top 10 across a variety of phases of play (dribbles, interceptions, successful headers). If you’re looking for a single metric which captures his overall performance on the field look no further than the average rating of 7.42, top 10 among the minor league despite a relatively low number of goals and assists. And clear top among defensive midfielders.
![[Image: image.png]](https://i.ibb.co/tN20p6p/image.png)
Comparing his season totals to the midfielders chosen above him it’s unclear why his name was left off. They each had slightly better goal counts, but generally contributed far less across the pitch. You might argue that the high successful pass number was inflated with unimpactful simple passes or offset by a high number of failed pass attempts. But we see his pass completion rate is only slightly worse on the higher volume and a look at advanced stats shows the Kaapstad anchor had the most progressive passes among the 3 (97 compared to 90 for Ahmed and 82 for Gaisberg – closer but still advantage Hefeweizen). You might find fault a slightly lower tackle success rate or more wasted shots from Hercule, but looking at other stats the mustachioed midfielder clearly distances himself with dribbles, headers, and clearances being run away wins for the Belgian.
After earning player of the match honors in the game which clinched second place in the league for Kaapstad Hercule set about tasking his media team on preparing for his ascension to the top XI getting a puff piece placed in the local media. But it was not to be the case. Perhaps the cadre of voters felt spurned by the free agent either leaving their organization or opting for another home in free agency. Or maybe voters felt it was not sporting for someone with a few seasons in the majors to take a brief visit in the minors and pick up hardware. Maybe the team of the season is just geared toward attacking players too much for a player of Hercule's ilk to be recognized.
Perhaps the secret ballots will forever obscure the true reasons for this mysterious oversight. Or maybe you can be the judge yourself right here. Out of these three who would you vote for? If you did vote, why was Hefeweizen not among the top two? While this issue hits close to home for Hercule, maybe there were other snubs this season? Let’s have it out right here and now. The integrity of the league depends upon it.
Comparing his season totals to the midfielders chosen above him it’s unclear why his name was left off. They each had slightly better goal counts, but generally contributed far less across the pitch. You might argue that the high successful pass number was inflated with unimpactful simple passes or offset by a high number of failed pass attempts. But we see his pass completion rate is only slightly worse on the higher volume and a look at advanced stats shows the Kaapstad anchor had the most progressive passes among the 3 (97 compared to 90 for Ahmed and 82 for Gaisberg – closer but still advantage Hefeweizen). You might find fault a slightly lower tackle success rate or more wasted shots from Hercule, but looking at other stats the mustachioed midfielder clearly distances himself with dribbles, headers, and clearances being run away wins for the Belgian.
After earning player of the match honors in the game which clinched second place in the league for Kaapstad Hercule set about tasking his media team on preparing for his ascension to the top XI getting a puff piece placed in the local media. But it was not to be the case. Perhaps the cadre of voters felt spurned by the free agent either leaving their organization or opting for another home in free agency. Or maybe voters felt it was not sporting for someone with a few seasons in the majors to take a brief visit in the minors and pick up hardware. Maybe the team of the season is just geared toward attacking players too much for a player of Hercule's ilk to be recognized.
Perhaps the secret ballots will forever obscure the true reasons for this mysterious oversight. Or maybe you can be the judge yourself right here. Out of these three who would you vote for? If you did vote, why was Hefeweizen not among the top two? While this issue hits close to home for Hercule, maybe there were other snubs this season? Let’s have it out right here and now. The integrity of the league depends upon it.
