[Izz]

2039/2040 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Mar: Alistair Mildren belted HR #44, a Grand Slam, as the Sluggers hammered the Crocs 17-3. Baseball outlets immediately began asking whether he could make it to the magic 50.

3 Mar: Weichard's hit streak stopped at 22 games.

4 Mar: Mildren went 3-4 in a 4-2 victory over the Bandits. 2 of his hits were of the HR variety, 1 a 2-run blast, the other a solo shot. He now had 46HRs on the season.

5 Mar: Mildren's 2-run shot in the 4th inning gave him 47HRs on the year. The Sluggers lost a high-scoring affair against the Bandits 12-10.

7 Mar: The Sluggers clinched their division, to give them their 1st-ever trip to the postseason!

13 Mar: Roland Matheson collected his 2nd 20-game hit streak of the season.

13 Mar: He mightn’t have hit a HR in 7 games, but that didn’t mean Mildren was in a slump. He drove in RBI numbers 150 and 151 today in a 9-0 thrashing of Adelaide, to become the first player to ever drive in 150 or more runners in a season!

14 Mar: The Bandits clinched the Northeast.

15 Mar: Matheson’s hit streak was chilled at 21 games.

18 Mar: HR #48 for Mildren, a solo shot in a 3-4 night. The Sluggers won the game 4-2. Mildren was awarded the Player of the Week the next morning, having gone 14-28 over the week.

20 Mar: Mildren’s 2-run HR was the difference in a Sluggers 7-5 victory over Hobart. It was also HR #49.

22 Mar: The Roos clinched the wildcard. The Southwest was still undecided.

23: On the last day of the season, the Cavalry secured the Southwest Division title, beating Perth 5-1.

23 Mar: Leading off the 2nd inning in their game against the Prospects, Mildren was taking huge licks, trying to pull everything. The 5th pitch looked like it might stay fair for a while, but sailed well foul in the end. On the 7th pitch of the AB Mildren made decent contact. The ball again toyed with the foul line, this time just staying fair and just having the legs. 331 feet was pretty short for a HR, but Mildren didn’t care. It was number 50!

It was his only hit in the game, but it was possibly the only hit that mattered. The Sluggers busted out with 9 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead and put the game out of reach, thus securing win number 100 for the season, but nobody wanted to talk about that after the game.

Mildren gamely tried to deflect the praise, but it was impossible. Finally he said, “Yeah, an amazing year. Unbelievable, really. And I just realized something: the last 4 years, my HRs have gone up in lots of 5. Does that mean I’ll hit 55 next season?”

Notable Injuries

5 Mar: The Cowboys lost Tipping (.260/.333/.412, 14HR) for the rest of the season after he sprained his knee.

5 Mar: In a double-whammy, dampened only by the fact Christchurch wasn’t in playoff contention, Kelvin Anderton (.288/.357/.472, 10HR) was diagnosed with a partially torn labrum, thus sending him on an early holiday as well.

6 Mar: The Cavalry were dealt a real blow today, with the news that Allan Koka (4-9, 3.59 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) would be out of the game for 5 months while he had and recovered from surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. While Koka had a poor win-loss record, that was in no way down to his pitching, but rather due to his teammates not pitching up when he was on the mound.

7 Mar: 30 y/o Central Coast bench player Quan ‘Checkmate’ Chang resigned on his baseball career today. He’d been diagnosed with a fractured skull after taking a ball to the head in the outfield on the 3rd of March. Doctors said Chang needed a metal plate inserted and that the physical exertion of baseball was not advised. Chang had a career .244/.302/.362 stat-line in the majors, having played pieces of 7 seasons.

7 Mar: In a further blow to their pennant race, the Cavalry would be without Pi-ao Ming (.302/.332/.450, 14HR) for the rest of the regular season after he herniated a disc in his back.

10 Mar: The injury blows for the teams fighting it out for postseason berths continued. This time the Roos got hit with a double-whammy. First, Andre Maybury (.269/.353/.374, 10HR) was gone for the season with a sprained ankle.

10 Mar: And then they learned Leo Jiang (.244/.354/.441, 20HR) was also out for the rest of the season while he was treated for recurring back spasms.

10 Mar: The Heat lost Luigi Crabtree (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) for the season with a strained hamstring.

13 Mar: Bruce Rollings, an average reliever in the Metros bullpen, didn’t like a story a local news-site published about him. While the actual story is long lost in the ethers, the gist given in other reports was that it was a very negative take on both his talent, drive, greed and people skills. Rollings got so enraged he sought out the reporter. A verbal altercation ensued, and then escalated. Unfortunately for Rollings, the reporter’s chin proved stronger than his hand and he broke his hamate bone. He would be out of action for 7 weeks, just long enough for the assault charges the reporter pressed to pass through the courts.

17 Mar: Gavin Liddell (.278/.345/.337, 2HR) became the latest player to book an early holiday, thanks to a strained back muscle.

24 Mar: Gutting news for Rex Rees (.322/.432/.530, 32HR). He had injured his ankle sliding into base on the 20th Mar and the diagnosis was in: torn ligaments. He would miss the postseason. Rees was understandably upset when talking to press. “This season’s been huge,” he said. “What a ride! But to not be there for the climax of it, well, I’m sure you can think of some comparisons. Me, I’m just gutted. Absolutely gutted. I’ll be cheering the lads on, of course, but I can’t believe I won’t be playing.”

Other Notes

The following records were broken in the 2039 season:

HR - Alistair Mildren, 50
RBI - Alistair Mildren, 159
Total Bases - Alistair Mildren, 407
OBP - Richard Lewis, .463
Runs - Richard Lewis, 135
Triples - Richard Lewis, 16

Alistair Mildren (.330/.408/.637, 50HR) topped the league in SLG, OPS, wOBA (.432), doubles (42), HR, RBI, ISO (.307), XBH (94), total bases (407), and batter’s WAR (10.1). He was 2nd in batting average, hits (211), and runs (122).

Richard Lewis (.361/.463/.537, 12HR) topped the league in average, OBP, hits (213), triples, and runs. He was 2nd in OPS, wOBA (.428), and batter’s WAR (9.3).

Any other year, Young-tae Lee (.314/.432/.521, 182 hits, 117 runs, 121BB, 29 doubles, 8 triples, 25HR, 29SB, 8.8 WAR) would’ve been a favourite for SotY, but he wasn’t on any analysts’ lips this season.

Both Lee and Lewis achieved the runs-walks double-double.

Brock Wakely (.274/.409/.482, 31HR) drew the most walks of anybody in the AUNZBL, with 123.

Beau Riseley (.302/.350/.491, 32HR) was the other player to reach the 200 hit mark, recording 201 hits for the season.

Thunder rookie Italian Niccolo Ciaro (.336/.370/.390 in 308PA) showed a propensity for stealing, finishing with 35 stolen bases from 43 attempts in only 77 games. Bailey Pugsley (.282/.338/.360, 2HR) finished 1 better, with 36SB, but that was in 138 games.

Bradley Lundgren (19-10, 3.52 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) only won 2 games in March to fall short of the 20-win mark. He still recorded 4 more wins than his closest rival. He also broke the 200 K mark, finishing with 201 strikeouts.

Rowan Kalman (10-7, 2.92 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) had the league’s best FIP, most Ks (218), best K/9 (10.27), best K/BB (6.23), and best pitcher’s WAR (8.1), however it was doubtful he would make the final HotY ballot. Who would, though, was up for much debate. Lundgren was the favourite, but not outstandingly.

Acheson finished with 43 saves, only recording 3 in March. Whangarei’s Luigi Chin had caught up to him by the end of the regular season, also finishing with 43, plus the chance to strut his stuff in the playoffs.

Standings, EORS