[Izz]

2051/2052 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Mar: A new contender for Strikeout King had appeared on the horizon. 24 y/o Thunder SP Ted Heathcote racked up 15 Ks in 8.0 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball. Newcastle were the unfortunate recipients, going down 10-1.

1 Mar: A 10-2 win over Kununurra took Canberra into a tie with Cairns in the wildcard, the Crocs losing 5-3 to the Fury.

2 Mar: Both Canberra and Cairns lost, leaving them both jousting for the 2nd wildcard slot.

3 Mar: Allen Pyle helped Cairns out no end, keeping the Thunder scoreless. He allowed just 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6 to see the Crocs coast to a 5-0 victory. With Canberra dropping their game 7-3 to Whangarei, Cairns moved into the outright wildcard lead.

4 Mar: Gary Young was awarded PotW after a strong .385/.448/.923 display. 4 of his 10 hits were homers, and he also managed 2 doubles.

4 Mar: Canberra beat Whangarei 5-1, while Cairns were beaten 6-3 by the Thunder, putting them both level in the wildcard again. Hobart lost 6-3 to Wellington, meaning Canberra were now also only 1 game back in their division.

4 Mar: Clohessy hit HR #44 in Canberra’s win. The majority opinion now was that he wouldn’t make it to 50.

5 Mar: Whangarei scored 2 in the bottom of the 9th to snatch victory from the Cavalry, the final score line 9-8. Cairns beat Central Coast 4-1 to pull a game ahead. Hobart also won, opening up a 2-game advantage over Canberra.

5 Mar: Canberra might’ve gone down, but Clohessy was making the experts revise their opinions on whether he'd reach 50. His 3-run HR in the 1st gave him 45 on the year. He drove in 1 more runner too, meaning he needed just 5 more RBI to make it to 150. If he kept on at this rate he would break Mildren’s 2039 record of 159RBI.

5 Mar: After his shutout to begin the 2051 campaign, Matt Hanscombe had once again had a horrid year, racking up 17 losses in a Perth team that might go down as 1 of the worst ever (47-98 before today). It was no surprise that Hanscombe, who’d picked up 21 losses in 2050, had rarely been seen with a smile this year. His scowl did lighten a little today, though, as he recorded his 2nd shutout of the season. Hanscombe was impressive, allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5, to help the Heat grind down Adelaide 6-0.

7 Mar: Canberra swatted aside Perth 10-5, while the Crocs were wrestled into submission by the Prospects in a 10-3 game. All tied up in the wildcard again.

7 Mar: Clohessy was certainly barreling down the home straight. His 6th-inning solo effort put him at 46 and 146.

8 Mar: Cairns once again poked their noses in front, getting it done 8-6 against Hobart thanks to a 2-run walk-off HR from Carl Bristcoe in the bottom of the 10th, while Canberra succumbed 11-8 to Perth.

8 Mar: Clohessy was 3-4 in Canberra’s loss. He hit a solo HR in the 2nd to take him to 47, and drove in 2 other runners, finishing the game with 149RBI for the season.

8 Mar: Angelo Spear beat Wilson Lara to 20 wins, getting #20 in a 5-3 win over Auckland. The Thunder ace allowed 10 hits and walked 1 in 7.1 innings, giving up 2 earned runs. He struck out 6.

9 Mar: Hobart beat Cairns to the tune of 9-5, 7 of those runs coming in the 4th, while Canberra edged past Perth 3-1 (Clohessy went 2-4, but didn’t clear the fence or bring anyone across home plate). Back to level pegging.

10 Mar: Whangarei’s 6-3 win over Darwin saw them clinch the NZ, the 1st team to secure their division in 2051.

10 Mar: 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th saw Cairns beat Hobart 3-2, while Canberra gave Perth a 12-7 slapping.

10 Mar: For Canberra fans and Rick Clohessy, it was both a great day and a sad one. Clohessy’s 4th-inning rbi-double saw him reach the fabled 150RBI mark. Then came the downer. In the top of the 9th, Clohessy hurled the ball to 1st and immediately dropped to his haunches. He came from the field and after the game it was revealed he’d suffered an oblique strain. Best bet on recovery time? 5-6 weeks, meaning he’d have no chance to either equal or break Mildren’s HR and RBI records, or to help Canberra in the postseason, should they make it. Clohessy wasn’t available for comment after the game, or in the days that followed.

11 Mar: In a gesture that was either cruel or kind, depending on who you spoke to, Clohessy won PotW. He’d gone .440/.444/1.000 over the last week, slugging 4HR. For the year, he was hitting .273/.307/.545, with 47 dingers.

11 Mar: Clohessy’s teammates picked up the slack for him, defeating Sydney 3-1. Cairns also tasted victory, seeing Auckland off 3-0 to keep things level in the wildcard. However, Hobart lost their 2nd on the trot, falling 8-5 to Christchurch, giving Canberra a tie of the Southern Division lead, too.

11 Mar: Martin Boston went 4-5 in Canberra’s victory, boosting his current hit streak to 20 games.

12 Mar: The Diggers secured a maiden postseason appearance to go with a maiden pennant by beating Perth 3-2.

12 Mar: Cairns was shut out 2-0 by Auckland, Canberra was defeated 12-6 by Sydney, and Hobart got beat 6-2 by Christchurch.

13 Mar: Brisbane beat rivals Central Coast 8-7 in 10 innings to win the East-West pennant.

13 Mar: Canberra trounced Sydney 11-1, Jacob Blanksby celebrating his return from injury with a 2-6 effort, including a solo HR and 3RBI. Hobart eased past Christchurch 8-3, pushing the Cowboys back to 3 games off the wildcard pace, alongside Newcastle. Meanwhile Cairns tripped up 4-2 against Auckland, putting them a game back.

14 Mar: The Crocs lost 8-2 to Auckland, while both Canberra and Hobart won. Cairns thus dropped 2 games back in the wildcard, though they certainly weren’t out of the race yet, as a win tomorrow and a loss to either of Canberra or Hobart would put them just 1 game in arrears.

14 Mar: While Canberra defeated Sydney 4-2, Martin Boston went 0-4, ending his hit streak at 22 games.

15 Mar: Patrick Maggs was coming home with a wet sail. He’d hit 6HR in his last 4 games, and his 2-4 effort in today’s 9-4 thumping of Newcastle put him atop the BA leaderboard, with .355. He thus displaced teammate Yong-jun Chu, who went 1-5 to see his BA drop to .354.

15 Mar: Cairns couldn’t pull out a win, dropping their 4th straight, the final score of today’s game vs Christchurch 8-5. Canberra and Hobart, however, continued on their winning ways. Now with 3 games between themselves and the Crocs, it seemed likely that whoever lost the Southern Division race would still sneak into the postseason on a wildcard.

15 Mar: The Prospects won their game on the back of a standout performance from Vince Delaney. The southpaw allowed 6 hits and 2 walks, but Adelaide couldn’t score any runs, Hobart running out 5-0 victors. Delaney fanned 6 hitters.

15 Mar: Brisbane made it two 100+ win seasons in a row, marking the century with an 8-2 victory over Auckland.

16 Mar: The Thunder fought off a spirited 9th-inning comeback by Kununurra to win 8-7, thus securing the 1st wildcard berth.

16 Mar: Canberra beat Wellington 5-1, while Hobart succumbed 3-1 to Adelaide. This put the Cavalry a game up in the Southern, while Hobart held the 2nd wildcard slot, 2 games ahead of Cairns, who defeated Christchurch 5-2.

17 Mar: Canberra kept their noses at the top of the Southern with a 6-5 win over Wellington. 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th sealed a comeback victory. Hobart also came from behind to beat Adelaide 7-5, tying the game with a 4-run 7th and winning it with a 2-run 8th. Cairns went down 3-2 to Christchurch, putting them 3 back in the wildcard.

18 Mar: Maggs might’ve gone 0-4 in yesterday’s 6-1 loss to Newcastle, but he’d still done more than enough to earn the season’s last PotW. Maggs went .467/.529/1.100 in a monster week, hitting 6 homers.

18 Mar: Brisbane weren’t putting their feet up, despite being assured a postseason appearance. Today they beat Auckland 6-1 to mark a 10-game winning streak.

18 Mar: Canberra hiccupped, allowing Wellington to score 5 runs in the top of the 9th on their way to a 7-4 win. Hobart slid past Adelaide 3-0 to see things tied up at the top of the Southern again.

20 Mar: Hobart’s final series of the season had them up against Canberra in a mouth-watering matchup. Hobart drew 1st blood, cruising to a 7-3 victory. The Roos pulled off an extra-innings 10-9 win over Perth after scoring 7 in the 9th to tie things up, meaning they were 3 games behind, still in with a slim shot if they kept winning and Canberra kept losing.

21 Mar: Canberra scored 4 in the 1st and never relinquished the lead, eventually winning 6-2. All even in the Southern again. The win also ensured both Canberra and Hobart would be heading to the postseason, regardless of who won the division.

22 Mar: Brad King needed 11 Ks to get to 250 for the year in his final start. He came close, notching up 8 to finish with 247 strikeouts for the regular season, the highest any pitcher had climbed since 2028, when Todd Thompson struck out 249. The only pitcher to have ever broken the 250 K barrier was Tyler Silk, who did so 4 times. His best season was in 2022 when he rang up 311 strikeouts. No pitcher had ever fanned as many batters in their 1st full season in the rotation as King had.

22 Mar: Hobart trailed going into the bottom of the 9th, down 4-3. Kent deJong’s 1-out solo HR put the game back on an even keel, but that didn’t last long as Terence Bansfield singled, Atony Mansfield doubled, and Gordon Pedley was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Baden Moore (yes, that Baden Moore) struck out swinging, but 21 y/o Beau Snell slapped his 1st pitch into leftfield for a walk-off single. Hobart had 1 hand on the division crown but they still had to win tomorrow to get it.

23 Mar: The Prospects won the division pennant for the 1st time since 2046, holding off Canberra 8-6. Both teams would appear in the playoffs, and both in the 1st round. This would be Canberra’s 1st playoff appearance since 2040.

23 Mar: Perth finished their season on a nice note, dispatching Newcastle 9-1. It was only their 53rd win of the season, which saw them equal Hobart’s dismal 2022 campaign, tying them for 2nd on the Worst Teams Ever board.

23 Mar: Brisbane’s season had been a polar opposite to Perth’s. They finished with a 10-4 thumping of Cairns, their 14th straight win, and their 107th for the season. This was good enough for 3rd-equal on the Best Teams Ever board. They were a far cry from the team of 2046, who only registered 2 more wins than this year’s Heat.

Notable Injuries

1 Mar: Darwin fans woke to bad news this morning. While their team was virtually assured a maiden playoff spot, they’d have to do without middle of the lineup cornerstone Rhett Morrow (.299/.388/.522, 22HR) who had torn ankle ligament and would take no further part in the season. Christos Hutchinson (.343/.405/.440, 0HR) had been injured in the same game, but no diagnosis was yet forthcoming, prompting plenty of nail-biting among fans, both of the Diggers and of Hutchinson’s reality TV series.

3 Mar: More bad news for Darwin fans. Hutchinson wouldn’t be taking any part in the rest of the season, regular or post. He had elbow tendinitis.

3 Mar: Jacob Blanksby (.321/.417/.602, 28HR) was headed to the DL for a couple weeks with a concussion. Interesting times for Canberra, who were in a dogfight for both the pennant and the wildcard.

9 Mar: The Bandits would have to do with Ismael Aguirre (.341/.404/.601, 30HR) for the next 2 weeks. He had tendinitis in his knee.

13 Mar: Esteban Madrigal (.257/.322/.523, 38HR) wouldn’t suit up again this season. He’d fractured his thumb.

15 Mar: Aces’ catcher Cong Chaim (.285/.329/.509, 32HR) had fractured his fibula and would be on the DL for a good chunk of the offseason.

18 Mar: Adrian Duggan (13-13, 4.27 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.29 WHIP) faced a long rehab. He needed Tommy John surgery, and would likely be out of the game a whole year. This meant, of course, that he wouldn’t feature for the Thunder in this postseason.

21 Mar: Brisbane won their 12th straight but it wasn’t as joyous an occasion as they might’ve hoped. Vital cog Norman Ladds (.274/.381/.509, 37HR) was gone for the rest of the season with a strained rib cage muscle. While the Bandits certainly had the depth to cover the loss, it would still be a blow as they looked to become the 1st to win the AUNZBL Championship 3 times in a row.

23 Mar: Thunder fans were holding their collective breath after Justin Auger (.323/.397/.586, 37HR) limped off during the last game of the regular season, a 12-inning 4-3 win over Whangarei. No word was forthcoming on his injury.

23 Mar: Hobart fans were also worried. Alastair Chapman (.301/.348/.546, 32HR) left the field injured in their game against Canberra. Again, no diagnosis was forthcoming from the Prospects’ medical contingent.

Media Watch

Brodie Backhouse: How was the AUNZBL’s best ever closer going in the BL? Well, he had been going great guns, #1 in the Cali rotation, with a 10-4, 2.05 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, record from 21 starts, striking out 140 in 136.1 IP. He’d recorded 10 or more Ks in a game 4 times, and no-hit Asuncion on the 6th of Feb. Then, on the 19th of March, he partially tore his UCL and was looking at 6-7 months on the DL. Even with that injury, though, the 36 y/o had no regrets, saying to Aussie media a few days after his injury, “I’m loving it here. Absolutely, completely loving it. I might never come home.”

Other Notes

Patrick Maggs (.350/.414/.622, 38HR) stormed home during the final 2 months of the season to claim the batting title. He also finished atop the SLG, OPS, wOBA (.428), and ISO (.273) boards.

Justin Auger finished the season with the most XBH (90), and the best WAR (8.9).

Ismael Aguirre (.344/.405/.606, 31HR) had a shortened season due to injury, but still finished with the most doubles (54). He also registered the 2nd-best BA, 2nd-best SLG, 3rd-best OPS, 3rd-best wOBA (.426), 2nd-most runs (tied with 122), 2nd-most XBH (86), 4th-most bases (345), and 2nd-best WAR (8.3). While he hadn’t come into anybody’s SotY considerations for a large portion of the season, he certainly did during March, though some felt his lack of HR would count against him in the final ballot.

Alan Sneddon (.317/.455/.462, 10HR) finished with best OBP, the most runs (129), the most walks (139), and the most stolen bases (44).

Sneddon achieved the runs-walks double-double, as did Manuel Salinas (.306/.425/.376, 6HR) with a 104-111 effort.

Martin Boston (.333/.367/.410, 1HR) hit his 1st major-league HR in 2051. He also recorded the most hits of anyone, notching up 217.

4 other players made it to 200 hits in 2051. They were:

Yong-jun Chu (.343/.384/.490, 17HR), with 216
Marcos Lopez (.323/.363/.527, 31HR), with 212
Keiran Pickford (.322/.353/.584, 43HR), with 210
Justin Auger, with 208.

Of those 5 players, only Marcos Lopez played all 162 regular season games.

Angelo Spear (20-10, 4.02 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) reached 20 wins for the 2nd time in his career. Thunder fans would be a bit worried, however, at the fact he’d given up 10+ hits in each of his last 3 starts. Spear also had the best BB/9 rate (1.30), and had thrown the most innings (248.2).

Wilson Lara (19-4, 3.11 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) didn’t win a game in March, thus missing out on 20 wins. The 34 y/o finished with the league’s best ERA, and best H/9 (7.17).

Teammate Lance Ralston (18-10, 3.62 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.05 WHIP) had the best FIP, K/BB (4.70), and WAR (5.8). He’d also broken the 200K mark for the 2nd year running, ringing up 221 strikeouts. Last year he hadn’t even got a podium finish in the HotY Award, but surely he had to come into consideration this year.

Brad King (15-9, 3.13 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) had 5 starts in March, all no-decisions. His 247 strikeouts was clearly the best in the league, Ralston’s late season climb up the ladder notwithstanding. King also had the best K/9, with a 10.04 mark.

Allan Spear (15-11, 3.52 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.04 WHIP) had the AUNZBL’s best WHIP among qualified pitchers.

Logan Neilson (9-9, 6.34 ERA, 5.75 FIP, 1.81 WHIP) was certainly showing signs of age. However, the 41 y/o’s 9 wins during the season moved him to 197 for his career. He needed just 3 to become only the 2nd pitcher to reach 200. Neilson had over 19 years of major league service time, and had featured in each of the last 20 seasons. He’d also lost 199 games. Would he do a Dylan Cully and hang around the league for a few years too many in the hopes of snaring those final wins? He wasn’t ruling out another go-around, though he also admitted that he needed to be realistic, too.

The best closer of 2051 was Rex Herbert, who recorded 43 saves, beating out his closest competitors by 1.

Standings, EORS