1902 MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE POST SEASON REPORT
(Report Date - 1/16/03)
LEAGUE REPORT
Code:
1902 FINAL STANDINGS
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec
Obregon Orangemen 48 20 .706 - 43-25
Mazatlan Black Hawks 43 25 .632 5.0 45-23
Guasave Hippies 35 33 .515 13.0 35-33
Hermosillo Victorians 34 34 .500 14.0 35-33
Mochis Wranglers 32 36 .471 16.0 33-35
Culiacan Moths 31 37 .456 17.0 34-34
Navojoa Chameleons 31 37 .456 17.0 31-37
Mexicali Leopards 18 50 .265 30.0 18-50
PENNANT RACES:
There really was no surprise or suspense in Mexico this year, as the 2 teams at top at the mid-way point easily walked away with playoff honors. Both Obregon & Mazatlan clinched early and expanded their leads in the 2nd half. The only semi-suspense would be which team would win home field for the Championship series, but even that was decided early as Obregon finished a full 5 games better than the Black Hawks.
1902 PLAYOFFS
MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:
"ORANGEMEN GET EMBARASSED IN TRY FOR REPEAT"
The Orangemen were the defending champs, had home field and were generally consider the better of the 2 teams in the MWL Championship, but don't tell the Black Hawks that. Mazatlan swept away Obregon 3 games to 0 in a series that no game was even close. Winning by scores of 6-2, 5-1, and 6-3, the Black Hawks ended the repeat bid by the Orangemen and won their first Championship in their first post-season trip. Team leader, and one of the top hitter in all of the MWL, 1b Diego Huincho was named series MVP, hitting 5 for 12 in the series with 1 hr and 5 rbi.
Code:
1902 LEAGUE LEADERBOARD
Batting AVG
J. Sheckard HER .389
H. Wolverton GUA .358
J. Anderson MEX .354
G. Davis OBR .351
A. Allen CUL .345
On-Base + Slugging
K. Inokuma MOC 1.048
J. Sheckard HER 1.040
D. Huincho MAZ .925
A. Allen CUL .890
H. Wolverton GUA .875
Homeruns
K. Inokuma MOC 20
D. Huincho MAZ 17
S. Verala NAV 16
J. Verdon MEX 15
A. Quispealaya GUA 13
Runs Batted In
D. Huincho MAZ 51
S. Verala NAV 50
L. Drye GUA 47
J. Verdon MEX 45
K. Inokuma MOC 44
Runs
G. Davis OBR 46
K. Nishida GUA 43
V. Herrera MAZ 43
A. Allen CUL 42
C. Ritchey CUL 42
Stolen Bases
J. Sheckard HER 26
G. Davis OBR 23
K. Nishida GUA 21
L. Herradon MOC 17
D. Green MAZ 16
ERA
S. Cortez OBR 1.84
H. Salazar GUA 2.03
V. Willis CUL 2.06
B. Dineen MOC 2.50
K. Ohayashi MOC 2.52
Wins
S. Cruz OBR 10-3
J. Furnaguerra OBR 9-4
S. Cortez OBR 9-2
V. Willis CUL 9-4
E. Oscio OBR 8-5
Saves
G. Watkins OBR 22
R. Esparragoza MAZ 20
S. Gazzard HER 18
K. Mitsui MOC 17
A. Ryan GUA 16
Strikeouts
J. Nealy GUA 93
J. Furnaguerra OBR 91
E. Oscio OBR 87
V. Willis CUL 84
C. Manzanaras MOC 75
AWARD WINNERS
MVP AWARD - SS Jimmy Sheckard (Hermosillo Victorians)
- 25yo / USA - MWL MVP Awards: 2
- Season Stats: 63 g - 226 ab - .389 avg - 5 hr - 19 rbi - 42 r - 26 sb - 1.040 ops
- Career Stats: 131 g - 469 ab - .390 avg - 13 hr - 48 rbi - 90 r - 60 sb - 1.077 ops (winter/2 yrs)
562 g - 2038 ab - .325 avg - 34 hr - 280 rbi - 390 r - 208 sb - .889 ops (career/5 yrs)
- Overview: Sheckard became the 2-time MWL MVP winning in a tight 3 way race with HR king Koto Inokuma & RBI machine Diego Huincho. While Sheckard's numbers were down from last year, most notably in the RBI column, he still led the league in Avg, Vorp and SB while again flirting with .400 but coming up just short for the 2nd season. As he accepted his award he made a shocking announcement, stating that he and Hermosillo have agreed on a 3 yr contract extension. Most thought the 2-time MVP would be headed to the states and the MLB, but with his extension, he will be back to try to make it a 3rd straight MVP, and even more hopefully, get his team into the playoffs.
CY YOUNG AWARD - SP Salvador Cortez (Obregon Orangemen)
- 35yo / USA - MWL CY YOUNG Awards: 1
- Season Stats: 15 g - 15 gs - 9-2 rec - 0 sv - 1.84 era - 102.2 ip - 31 bb - 63 k - 1.01 whip
- Career Stats: 30 g - 30 gs - 17-6 rec - 0 sv - 2.08 era - 212.1 ip - 52 bb - 134 k - 0.98 whip (winter/2 yrs)
56 g - 56 gs - 26-13 rec - 0 sv - 3.62 era - 351.0 ip - 114 bb - 212 k - 1.24 whip (career/3 yrs)
- Overview: The former SP for the Atlanta Braves in the MLB, Cortez realized his career was coming to an end and signed with Obregon in Mexico following the 1900 season. Since then he has gone 17-6 with nearly a 2 era and has been one of the league's top pitchers, winning the Cy Young this year. He led the MWL in ERA while ranking 2nd in wins & Vorp and in the top 5 in Opp Avg. He was 1 of 4 Orangemen pitchers on the wins leaderboard, so he might not have really deserved this award as much as their entire staff, but as the best pitcher on the team, he was awarded the trophy.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - SP Chale Bottach (Guasave Hippies)
- 21yo / USA - MWL ROY Awards: 1
- Season Stats: 11 g - 11 gs - 5-4 rec - 0 sv - 3.86 era - 81.2 ip - 29 bb - 47 k - 1.30 whip
- Career Stats: 13 g - 13 gs - 5-5 rec - 0 sv - 4.12 era - 91.2 ip - 32 bb - 52 k - 1.32 whip (winter/2 yrs)
55 g - 44 gs - 25-11 rec - 0 sv - 3.03 era - 335.1 ip - 100 bb - 186 k - 1.12 whip (career/3 yrs)
- Overview: Once considered one of the top pitchers on the Brooklyn Cyclones in the IRL, going 12-4 in 1900, Bottach suffered a serious injury early in the 1901 season and spent the year bouncing around the league before being shut down for the year with a Torn Rotator Cuff after signing on with the Hippies. He came back strong this year, and was the only rookie pitcher to crack any team's regular rotation and thus led the league in virtually all rookie SP stats. With there also being no real good rookie hitters, Chale was awarded the ROY in his comeback season. Now fully healthy, he figures to be a solid #4-5 SP in Mexico and hopes maybe one day, he will get another shot in the states.
GOLD GLOVE AWARDS:
P - Salvador Cortez (Obregon Orangemen) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
C - Juan Vaides (Mochis Wranglers) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
1b - George Davis (Obregon Orangemen) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
2B - Tom Darcy (Guasave Hippies) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
3B - Oro Terran (Culiacan Moths) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
SS - Jimmy Sheckard (Hermosillo Victorians) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 2
LF - Mike Conder (Culiacan Moths) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
CF - "Honest" John Anderson (Mexicali Leopards) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1
RF - Raul Tobias (Hermosillo Victorians) - MWL GOLD GLOVES: 1