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2050/2051 Season - November

Notable Performances

6 Nov: Rob Lane went 5-5, including 2 doubles, in Melbourne’s 6-2 win over Perth. It was Lane’s 3rd 5-hit game in his major league career.

7 Nov: Philip Burton was the biggest hit in the AUNZBL this week. He went .481/.563/.963, with 3HR, on his way to PotW.

7 Nov: Allen Pye restricted Canberra to 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5, to lead Cairns to a 7-0 victory.

14 Nov: Mike Wurfel hit .519/.552/.741 on his way to PotW. His hits included 3 doubles and 1HR, and he only struck out once in 29PA.

15 Nov: Reality TV star Christos Hutchinson hit a triple in the 3rd inning of Wellington’s 14-inning 5-4 loss to the Cowboys. While it was his only hit of the game (1-7), it marked a 20-game hit streak. This was the 2nd time Hutchinson had hit in 20 straight games.

16 Nov: Aucklander Rhett Morrow brought up his 1st career 20-game hit streak in style, slamming a solo HR in Auckland’s 9-6 victory over Hobart.

19 Nov: Morrow’s hit streak ended at 22 games. In worse news, he fractured his foot slipping over when chasing a linedrive and would likely miss a month. He was hitting .343/.429/.587, with 12HR, at the time of the injury.

20 Nov: Hutchinson made it 25 straight games with a hit.

20 Nov: Sydney beat Perth 5-1 to win their 10th on the trot. They were now tied for 1st in their division with Canberra.

21 Nov: Keiran Pickford won PotW. He hit .517/.548/.966, with 4HR.

22 Nov: Hutchinson’s hit streak ended at 26 games.

24 Nov: Jay Cummins threw his 2nd shutout of the year, holding the Cavalry to 5 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3 and Wellington won 2-0.

24 Nov: The off day might’ve thrown Sydney off, as their winning streak ended at 12 games with them going down 2-1 to Darwin. Sydney now had a 1-game lead in the Southern Division.

28 Nov: Ismael Aguirre collected PotW on the back of a .407/.448/.889 stat-line. His 11-27 hits included 2 doubles, 1 triple and 3HR.

Notable Injuries

1 Nov: Auckland starter Marshall Whiffin (4-1, 3.30 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) would miss about 3 months thanks to acute elbow soreness.

3 Nov: Brodie Backhouse (2-1, 6 sv) had strained his hammy. He wouldn’t be pitching for Brisbane for 8-9 weeks.

13 Nov: Rookie 3B Joshua Moore (.282/.333/.380, 2HR) would be on the DL for the next 3 months with a torn labrum. The 24 y/o joined 5 other Metros’ players on the DL.

19 Nov: Already languishing down the bottom of the NZ, Wellington didn’t need to hear that Marcos Lopez (.294/.337/.455, 5HR) would miss the next 6 weeks with a strained hammy. But hear it they did, and on to the DL he went.

22 Nov: Melbourne would be without first-choice closer Bailey Cleaver (0-1, 10 sv) for at least 2 months. He had a herniated disc in his back.

30 Nov: Vince Hudswell (.320/.374/.519, 11HR) was looking at 4-5 weeks on the sideline while his shoulder inflammation settled down.

Notable Trades/Signings

25 Nov: 28 y/o SP Jay Cummins (5-5, 3.30 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) had proved his worth over the last 2 seasons, and today Wellington committed to a 3-year contract extension, which would likely see him in a Fury uniform for the 1st 2 years of his free agency eligibility.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: 25 y/o Bandits’ OF Norman Ladds made it clear to media during his March call-up in 2049 that he’d heard more than enough jokes already in his young life about ‘being one of the lads.’ He was November’s best rookie, hitting .343/.427/.562 during the month, 36-105, with 20 runs, 10 doubles, 2 triples, 3HR, 13RBI, 16BB, and 4 stolen bases (he was also caught stealing 5 times).

Hurler of the Month: Justin Trembath was earning the pay packet Adelaide were supposedly dishing out to him, winning HotM on the back of a 5-0 from 5 starts performance. He had a 1.47 ERA, 2.71 FIP, and 0.76 WHIP, striking out 27 batters in 36.2IP. He led the league in wins, with 9 so far in 2050.

Slugger of the Month: 38 y/o Mike Wurfel snared SotM. He hit .409/.473/.617 in November, collecting 47 hits from 115 at-bats, with 12 doubles and 4HR in that mix. He scored 21 runs, drove in 18 runs, and walked 7 times.

Media Watch

Alastair Mildren: What had happened to him? In 2049 he’d been an everyday player, and still seemingly in the baseball headlines every week, despite being 41 years of age. This season, so far, he’d had 3 PAs, walking in a runner on 1, striking out on another, and grounding out on the 3rd. When asked, he would just shrug and say, “Whatever’s best for the team.” Snijders, who’d usurped his position in the lineup, was having a whale of a season, and appeared to be quite happy to see Mildren warming the pine. He’d also only say, “Whatever’s best for the team,” when questioned by media, but his tone was a lot more smug.

Other Notes

3 Nov: Ed Geoghegan, currently leading the HR race by 1, having hit 11 dingers, and Blair Wurfel got into a bit of argy-bargy in the top of the 1st inning of today’s Cowboys-Prospects game. Wurfel had just given up a solo HR and seemed to be unhappy about the 1st 2 Cowboys’ hitters crowding the plate. Geoghegan did similar, and the 1-2 pitch that hit him on the shoulder had more than a touch of intention to it. Geoghegan charged the mound, waving his bat, and while the pair stopped short of exchanging blows, both dugouts emptied and a curious circle of nose-to-nose players emerged. Once the dust settled both Geoghegan and Wurfel were ejected, and that night the Commissioner’s Office handed down 5-game suspensions.

Both players suggested they might appeal, Wurfel saying, “A guy stands too close to the zone, he might get hit. That’s the way it is. Doesn’t mean I tried to hit him, does it? The pitch got away from me, is all.” Geoghegan said, “If I want to crowd the zone, I can. It’s within the rules. And yeah, if I get hit I get hit. But a guy aims for my head, that’s a different story. Lucky I got good reflexes and some meat on these shoulders to cushion the blow.”

No appeals were lodged and a few weeks later Christchurch skipper Ivan Munoz admitted his hitters’ stances were a deliberate tactic. “Blair’s a great pitcher,” he said, “and we were looking for a little something to put him off his game. Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

8 Nov: Blair Wurfel returned from suspension today. In the bottom of the 4th, Gary Young slammed a 2-out 3-run HR. Next up was Brett Worsfold. He leaned in over the plate and fouled the 1st pitch off. The next pitch hit him between the shoulder blades. This time there were blows exchanged, though neither man landed a punch. Once again a 5-game suspension was issued for both players. Worsfold complained, “What’s a 5-game suspension for a starting pitcher? It’s nothing. It’s his rest days, that’s all. It should be a 5-start suspension, especially if he’s got history for it.”

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Coastal Division: The Venom (16-12) doubled their advantage, leading Darwin (14-14) by 4 games on December 1st.

East-West Division: The Thunder (16-12) continued on their merry way, Brisbane (15-13) 6 games behind at the end of the month, and Newcastle (12-16) dropping to 10 games back.

NZ Division: Auckland (11-17) had an awful month, ending it on a 9-game skid. They were overtaken by Christchurch (18-10), who had jumped 5 games ahead. Whangarei (16-12) had drawn level with Auckland.

Southern Division: Sydney’s (19-9) strong mid-month run saw them move through the field, finishing the month a length ahead of Canberra (16-12).

Wildcard: Brisbane had a 3-game advantage, while Auckland, Canberra and Whangarei were tied for the 2nd slot, with Newcastle a game back.

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The BA lead changed hands on an almost daily basis throughout November, with Esteban Madrigal (.357/.410/.621, 11HR) finishing November atop this leaderboard.

Ismael Aguirre (.346/.384/.634, 17HR) hit 9HRs in the month, finishing 1 ahead in the HR race. He also led the league in SLG, hits (84), XBH (35), and TB (154).

Alan Sneddon (.297/.469/.443, 4HR) snatched the OBP lead in the last few days of the month, as well as the BB lead (54). He hadn’t scored nearly as many runs so far this season as he had last, and was still 1 stolen base back from Martin Boston (.311/.340/.349, 0HR, 20SB). Sneddon was also tied for the most triples so far, with 5.

Snijders (.335/.466/.569, 14HR) was loving his new home in Newcastle. The 37 y/o led the league in wOBA (.440), and WAR (3.4).

Adrian Duggan (5-0, 1.94 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) was yet to lose a game this season, and had the league’s best ERA.

Teammate Angelo Spear (8-3, 2.61 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) was demonstrating his 2049 HotY win was no fluke. He led the league in BB/9 (0.58), K/BB (10.83), FIP, and WAR (2.3).

Adelaide’s Russell Bywaters and Christchurch’s Carlo Rowlands were tied at the top of the saves ladder, both with 18. Rowlands had a 16-save streak going.

Standings, Dec 1