And here are your Old Line League regular season champions for 1980, the
Salisbury Emeralds:
- Seth Myers didn't set the league on fire like the experts thought he might, but the tools are all there. I'd be surprised to see him hit .268 again next season.
- Look how stable the Emeralds' lineup was. None of their key players missed more than a few days with injuries.
- Colby Lilly couldn't find a way to win a regular job, despite that .901 OPS. He was traded to the Oaks in July, where he got a chance to play every day. His OPS promptly dropped to .661.
- Rickey Francis is a legitimate ace, but he's not the only big gun in the Emeralds arsenal. Roy Stover or Tony Thompson would be a #1 guy on a lot of pitching staffs.
- No other Old Line League team has guys like Shane Lewis and Wynn Baker in the back of their rotation. They're both 24, and even if they never develop into more than they are right now, they'll help the Emeralds win a lot of ballgames.