2060/2061 Season - December
2060 #1 Draft Pick
Darwin pounced on 21 y/o university catcher Richard ‘Clank’ Page, who just screamed out ‘superstar.’ The majority opinion among the scouting community was that he would cope okay against major-league pitching already and would be a force to be reckoned with before all was done. He projected to be able to hit for both average and power, a guy with quick wrists who even if he was fooled would still be able to foul most of them off. Known as a ‘quiet dude’ amongst his teammates, Page apparently played primarily for the love of the game and was a good trainer, even if some things had to be explained to him a couple times.
Page would start off his pro-career in Darwin’s short-A affiliate, but nobody expected him to stay there long.
A quick look at how the previous 4 #1 draft picks were doing:
2059, Domenic Cook: Started the season in AAA but was now playing every day in the bigs for Brisbane. Hitting .262/.321/.460, with 6HR, he didn’t look out of place, and could certainly field his position at SS well.
2058, Callum McCabe: After a strong spring, McCabe nailed down a spot on the Adelaide bench. He looked a tad underdone, his .234/.265/.277 translating to an OPS+ of 44. At only 20 y/o McCabe still had plenty of time to develop and Adelaide’s scouts were positive he’d be the next power-hitter off the Venom conveyor belt.
2057, Miguel Ibanez: Currently injured, but lighting up the league before that happened, his .266/.282/.601 from 164PA accompanied by 15HR. Low-average, high-power was the general consensus, as well as an excellent defensive CF.
2056, Andre Wiltshire: At 22 y/o, already Auckland’s everyday 2B. Looking the goods at major-league level, with a .309/.349/.462 stat-line, and 9HR. He still hadn’t reached either his power or contact ceilings yet but when he did Auckland’s scouts reckoned he might be the guy to break the .400 duck.
Notable Performances
1 Dec: Tomas Zartuche went 2-3, with 1 triple, 2 walks, and 3 runs, in Adelaide’s 6-3 defeat of Brisbane. He also swiped 4 bases, stealing 2 in the 1st, 1 in the 7th, and another in the 9th, the last part of a successful double-steal. The feat saw Zartuche become one of 12 players to have stolen 4 bases in a game. So far nobody had accomplished it twice.
2 Dec: Blair Toohey signed a 1-year deal with the Blue Sox in July. He made the Opening Day team, where he went 2-2, with 2 walks and 3RBI, in a 7-0 victory over Darwin. He then warmed the pine for a few days before getting optioned to AAA. At the time he was sent down he was on 1999 career hits, but was optimistic he’d get the chance this season to reach the 2000-hit milestone. He was recalled to the big-league squad on the 1st and started today’s game against Hobart. In his 2nd at-bat, in the 4th, Toohey drove the 1st pitch he saw into shallow left for a single. His 116kg frame carried him down the line to 1B and he raised his arms in triumph. He’d made it, and at a young 41 years and 94 days old, too! Toohey collected another hit in the 7-2 triumph. Sydney’s victory saw Hobart’s winning streak snapped at 8. For the losers, 22 y/o Gordon Ladds went 4-4, with 2 doubles and 1HR.
6 Dec: Axel Nankervis went .481/.500/1.000 on his way to PotW. He hit 4HR as well.
7 Dec: Adelaide might’ve got outmuscled 15-7 by Perth, but Gary Young would remember the night for a different reason. His solo HR in the 6th was career jack number 300.
9 Dec: John Zglinicki kept Hobart in check, conceding just 7 hits while walking none and striking out 3, to help Central Coast to a 4-0 shutout victory.
10 Dec: Melbourne’s offense clicked all at once and they went on a rampage against the Sluggers, destroying them 23-4. Marcos Lopez, Vern Bull and Luis Cesta each collected 4 hits. Every starter reached base safely at least twice. The Sluggers still managed 13 hits but that didn’t amount to much against 26 hits and 5 walks.
11 Dec: Jason Brewster had thrown well so far for Whangarei, but been unlucky as evidenced by his 2-7 record. The win column gained an extra notch after today’s performance, however. Auckland could only manage 7 hits, 2 walks and no runs, Brewster fanning 3 in a 94-pitch outing. Whangarei won 7-0, Danny Chatfield contributing 2 solo HRs.
11 Dec: Brisbane’s Domenic Cook today demonstrated against Canberra that it didn’t matter where in the lineup you hit, if guys got on base in front of you it was possible to bring them home. He was batting at 9 in the order, and got his 1st at-bat in the 2nd, with 2 runners aboard. His groundball double down the 3B line and into the corner scored both. In the 7th he came to the plate with the bases loaded and deposited a 1-1 fastball into the leftfield stands. Grand Slam and 6RBI to his name so far. But he wasn’t done batting runners in just yet! In the 8th he got his turn to bat with the bases loaded once again. His deep fly to centre caromed off the base of the wall and all 3 runners scored, Cook stopping at 2nd standing up. 9RBI for the 9-hole guy! He joined 3 other players who’d collected 9RBI in a game, but only shrugged when asked about it. “Today it just worked out, like it does some days. I was seeing and hitting the ball well, and guys were on-base in front of me. It’s special, I guess, but I could’ve been seeing the ball just as well with nobody on and come away with no ribbies.” Brisbane won the game 15-2.
12 Dec: Elijah Deas kept the Crocs guessing all night, conceding only 6 hits and 2 walks in Christchurch’s 6-0 victory. He also struck out 5.
12 Dec: Central Coast prevailed over Darwin 7-6 in a 13-inning, 4-hour epic. In the process, Patrick Wigmore set a new extra-inning game record for walks, drawing 6 from 7 plate appearances. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the 1st player to earn 6 walks in a game. Dean McKinna had done so in a regulation-length game back in the 2028 season.
13 Dec: Marcos Lopez won his 2nd PotW award of the season with a .519/.533/.741 effort, 2HR amongst his 14 hits.
20 Dec: Sean Carr hit .500/.536/.846 over the last week to win PotW. His 13-26 included 6 doubles and 1HR.
21 Dec: Ismael Aguirre had been going through perhaps the leanest patch of his career in December, his BA for the month on the 14th less than .100. But he’d picked things back up in the last week, even if he was still only hitting .175 for the month. Today he slugged his 2nd HR in his last 2 games. This one, a 2-run effort in the 8th that gave Hobart some insurance in their 4-1 defeat of Newcastle, was career HR #650.
22 Dec: Sean Carr, 36 y/o, was looking as good this season as he ever had. He went 5-5, with a double and 2RBI, in Darwin’s 5-4 loss to the Cowboys. Darwin scored 2 in the top of the 9th to break a 2-all deadlock, only to see closer Rupert Mansfield implode and Christchurch score 3 to walk off winners. This was the 7th time Carr had posted a 5-hit match but his 1st since the 2054 season.
22 Dec: Hobart opened up on Newcastle with both barrels, scoring ten 2-out runs in the 2nd inning and not letting up, demolishing the Roos 23-8. Aguirre went 4-6, with a double, triple, walk, 2 runs and 5RBI. Maurice Clemens also went 4-6, with a HR, walk and 4RBI, while Gordon Ladds was 3-5, with 2HR, 5RBI, 2 walks and a Hobart record-equalling 5 runs. Norman Ladds was injured diving home (safe) in the 2nd, breaking his nose on the plate. He’d get a couple days rest for that.
25 Dec: Jorge Diaz was hitting .396 for the season, leading the league in a ton of offensive categories. His 2-5 in Adelaide’s 14-2 spanking of Wellington maintained his BA, and his 4th-inning 3-run dinger gave him 22 on the year, and 300 for his career. The 28 y/o, who hadn’t breached 40HR in a season since his record-breaking 55 in 2056, said he was just focusing on “having a nice stroke.” That was helped, he continued, by the might of the lineup around him. “Everybody in this lineup is scary for opposition pitchers,” he said. “That takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. I can just go out there and have fun, and not worry too much about having to be the ‘big man’ at the plate. I’m loving it!”
26 Dec: 23 y/o Javier Garcia was notable mainly for the fact his moustache was already grey. Today he put his name up in lights for another reason. He went 5-5, with 3 runs scored, in Auckland’s 8-3 win over Perth.
27 Dec: It surprised no-one when Diaz snared PotW. He hit .500/.500/.867, 15-30, with 2 doubles and 3HR. The next day, he went 3-5, with 2 doubles, in Adelaide’s 10-5 win over Wellington to raise his BA above .400, to .401.
28 Dec: It was a big afternoon for Hobart, up against Marty Okolita and the Whangarei Sluggers. Brock Lawless celebrated his All Star selection - announced in the morning - with a masterful performance, conceding only 2 hits and 2 walks and striking out 8 for the 2nd shutout victory of his big-league career. And in the 8th, 35 y/o Norman Ladds bashed the 300th HR of his career, the icing on the cake in the 7-0 victory. Elsewise, Maurice Clemens slugged 2HR, giving him 26 for the season and 2nd outright on that leaderboard, while Jay Saunderson was 4-4, with a double and a HR.
29 Dec: Jayden Pye had been on a HR tear the last few days, today launching 2 in Melbourne’s 12-4 shellacking of Wellington. His 2nd effort, a solo shot in the 4th, was career dinger number 300 for the 39 y/o journeyman, who’d played for 10 of the 16 AUNZBL teams, and been at 2 of them twice.
31 Dec: It was themonth of 300. 34 y/o Manuel Alou became the 5th player to that career milestone in December, and the 4th in the last 7 days, his 3-run shot in the 5th part of a 4-run Newcastle rally that was enough to see them squeeze past Sydney 4-3. Alou was the 39th AUNZLB player to the mark and would likely be the last for a little while. 39 y/o Martin Valentin was on 299, and playing for Sydney’s AAA-affiliate, but while he’d already had an injury call-up game in the majors this season, that was likely as much as he was going to get.
Notable Injuries
4 Dec: Baseballers had a knack for injuring themselves in the most bizarre ways. Heat SP Dylan Edwards (0-6, 5.67 ERA, 5.77 FIP, 1.70 WHIP) had a lot weighing on his mind, in regards to his on-field performance at least, so perhaps that was one reason why he wasn’t paying much attention while chopping up some onions to go in a dinner stew. According to his flatmate, Edwards had his eyes shut tight and his head tilted towards the ceiling in an effort to avoid the inevitable tears that accompanied the dissection of the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Whatever the reason, Edwards wasn’t watching where his knife was going and before he knew it he’d sliced half his index finger off. When he realized what’d happened he promptly fainted, but his flatmate was made of stern enough stuff to leap into action, calling an ambulance and thrusting the severed digit into a jug of ice cubes.
Unfortunately, the reattachment surgery had complications and the two finger halves were unable to be reunited. All was not lost, however, and work immediately began on re-growing the lost portion of the finger. A tedious process, Edwards would need to stay attached to the growing apparatus for at least 3 months and it would be another 3 months - if all went well - after that before he’d have full movement. Perth’s medical staff estimated it would be another 2-3 months beyond that before Edwards could begin pitching competitively again, though they were optimistic the accident wouldn’t adversely affect his pitching long term.
Edwards, well, he was just glad he’d “only chopped off a finger.” With wide eyes he continued, “Just imagine if the knife had slipped a bit further and got all up in my jewel box. I wonder how long I’d have to stay attached to a machine for that one!”
16 Dec: Gordon Appleby (.245/.311/.365, 4HR) would be at least 6 weeks on the DL with a sprained ankle. He’d just looked like he was hitting form too, going 11-23 over his last 6 games.
16 Dec: Jacob Blanksby (.287/.399/.530, 14HR) couldn’t drop his hands fast enough on an inside pitch and left the game with a fractured finger. 6 weeks on the DL if recovery went according to plan.
19 Dec: Central Coast would have to do without SP Luis Nunez (3-4, 4.78 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) for the rest of the season. He had torn his labrum.
20 Dec: Young Brisbane OF Larry Booth (.275/.340/.328, 0HR) would miss the next 4-5 weeks with plantar fasciitis.
23 Dec: Kununurra RF Nick Ahern (.252/.339/.524, 18HR), popular with Pioneers’ fans even though he hadn’t done all that much of note in his 3 prior big-league seasons, would miss around a month with a hamstring strain.
25 Dec: The defending champs took another hit to their rotation. Umashankar Meenakshi (9-5, 5.31 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 1.60 WHIP) came from a game on the 22nd - after throwing his best innings of the season - clutching at his hamstring. Today the injury was confirmed, a severe strain. He’d miss over 2 months, with medical staff hopeful he’d return to the mound in the middle of March.
31 Dec: Roderick Beresford (9-6, 3.33 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.14 WHIP) was selected to the NZ & Overseas All Stars team the morning of the 28th. He threw the same day, looking like an All Star (2 hits, 0 walks, 7 punch-outs) until partway through the 6th when he came from the field clutching his elbow and moaning in agony. Today the news was in, and it wasn’t pretty. Ruptured UCL, and something like 11 months on the DL. His skipper, Matthew Throsby, fronted the presser and could only shrug and glance heavenward. “Gutted for the young fellah, absolutely. But there’s not a whole lot you can do. It’s not a case of overthrowing, or arm fatigue, or anything like that. It’s just one of those freak baseball injuries. We’ll make sure he’s got support and friends by his side every step of the way and hopefully he’ll come back wiser for the time off.”
31 Dec: Whangarei LF James Bacosa (.315/.365/.453, 5HR) had a fractured foot. 4 weeks on the pine.
Notable Trades/Signings
1 Dec: Hobart acquired 28 y/o SS Jay Saunderson (.235/.284/.422, 6HR in 109PA) from Sydney in exchange for 2 relievers, 27 y/o Martin Silva (2-2, 1sv, 3.16 ERA from 22 appearances) and 23 y/o Rory Karsumaatmaja (0-1, 1sv, 1.33 ERA from 21 appearances). Saunderson, signed by the Blue Sox to a 3-year deal in June, had struggled to hold down a big-league spot in Sydney, but Hobart were enthusiastic about how he would slot into their infield.
2 Dec: Auckland and Newcastle wrangled themselves a trade deal. The Metros parted with 28 y/o Gao Chin (.297/.329/.522, 14HR), who could play catcher or 1B but had spent the season so far at DH. Chin was known around the league as a real joker. This season’s baseball cards showed him with a thick handlebar mustache... a fake, of course, worn only during that photoshoot. To acquire him, Newcastle gave up 27 y/o 1B Troy Jamieson (.251/.344/.409, 7HR), who’d hit .299 with 36 doubles and 24HR last season.
6 Dec: 30 y/o Fei-hsien Chang (.263/.391/.632, 2HR from 23PA) was only just back from a concussion, but Perth obviously didn’t feel the hard-hitting corner outfielder had lost any value. Today they wrapped him up with a 7-year extension at what they felt was “an affordable rate for us and a nice guaranteed income for him.” Chang, whose last 2 seasons had also been affected by injury, was ecstatic to re-sign with the club. He said, “This is a great organization and we’ve got a great bunch of guys here too. I hope a few more stick around so we can put some more silverware in that cabinet.”
21 Dec: Wellington and 30 y/o Luigi Dempster (.279/.342/.508, 18HR) put pen to paper on a 4-year extension. Dempster had got a relatively late start in the majors, only nailing down an everyday spot in the lineup in 2057 at age 26. He’d impressed both fans and management since then, hitting at least 33 homers in each of the last 3 seasons. This year he was again on track to repeat those efforts.
2060 All Stars
Australian All Stars
SP Ethan Humphries - CEN - 8-3, 3.55 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.17 WHIP
SP Jeremy Challinor - CHR - 2-5, 3.65 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.31 WHIP
SP Brock Lawless - HOB - 4-2, 2.82 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.10 WHIP
SP Marty Okolita - WHA - 7-1, 3.25 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
SP Raymond Eykelbosch - SYD - 7-2, 2.92 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.07 WHIP
SP John Zglinicki - CEN - 7-7, 3.54 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
SP Eddie Rayner - KUN - 7-6, 3.40 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.17 WHIP
RP Victor Doubleday - CAI - 3-3, 1 sv, 1.56 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
RP Sam Gaynon - WEL - 5-2, 2 sv, 2.23 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.09 WHIP
CL Isaac Canavan - HOB - 6-1, 22 sv, 1.81 ERA, 1.90 FIP, 0.96 WHIP
CL Jarrod Culaham - KUN - 0-0, 18 sv, 1.19 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 0.99 WHIP
CL Rhett Thurley - ADE - 1-1, 19 sv, 1.57 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 1.01 WHIP
C Gao Chin - NEW - .314/.356/.536, 15HR
C Yen-nien Liu - AUC - .309/.394/.457, 7HR
1B Ronald Aitken - CAI - .319/.457/.540, 15HR
1B Rich Downes - AUC - .355/.393/.573, 13HR
1B Ed Geoghegan - ADE - .294/.378/.538, 19HR
2B Dylan Glynn - CAI - .339/.381/.485, 8HR
2B Axel Nankervis - ADE - .283/.325/.566, 24HR
3B Malcolm Pickhills - ADE - .281/.360/.556, 23HR
3B Matthew Utting - CHR - .281/.364/.406, 9HR
SS Gary Young - ADE - .268/.338/.474, 14HR
LF Alan Sneddon - DAR - .351/.459/.536, 6HR
LF Cain Donaldson - SYD - .321/.409/.429, 3HR
CF Gordon Ladds - HOB - .326/.409/.519, 10HR
CF Mitchell Cox - NEW - .335/.419/.530, 9HR
RF Sean Carr - DAR - .319/.367/.513, 12HR
RF Tom Doig - CEN - .307/.374/.592, 16HR
NZ & Overseas All Stars
SP Barry Dean - PER - 12-2, 3.33 ERA, 3.23 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
SP Byron Moore - WEL - 9-2, 3.08 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.28 WHIP
SP Damian Flemming - CAI - 9-3, 3.46 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
SP Baskoro Subagja - WHA - 5-6, 3.50 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.24 WHIP
SP Wally Moylan - DAR - 7-6, 4.44 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.36 WHIP
SP Cameron Worsfold - CAI - 8-5, 3.70 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.37 WHIP
SP Roderick Beresford - WEL - 8-6, 3.49 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.18 WHIP
RP Brodie Tucker - SYD - 2-0, 1 sv, 3.12 ERA, 3.05 FIP, 0.88 WHIP
RP Vern Durrington - CAN - 0-0, 2.20 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.26 WHIP
CL Sterling Boston - CAI - 3-4, 24 sv, 2.70 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 1.23 WHIP
CL Domenic Purss - CEN - 2-3, 15 sv, 2.88 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.54 WHIP
CL Rupert Mansfield - DAR - 2-3, 17 sv, 4.08 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 1.33 WHIP
C Rowan Kimpton - KUN - .306/.333/.615, 30HR
C Vern Bull - MEL - .271/.404/.484, 14HR
1B Jorge Diaz - ADE - .401/.454/.688, 22HR
1B Richard Moore - BRI - .339/.460/.641, 25HR
1B Patrick Maggs - PER - .310/.405/.573, 18HR
1B Nigel Anderton - SYD - .283/.346/.554, 23HR
2B Bailey Kinnear - SYD - .293/.375/.414, 6HR
2B Carlos Aguilar - PER - .308/.377/.405, 3HR
3B Maurice Clemens - HOB - .250/.352/.532, 24HR
SS Dylan Thomas - SYD - .315/.353/.457, 8HR
SS Stephane Lecomte - CAI - .296/.361/.372, 2HR
LF Tomas Zartuche - ADE - .329/.370/.415, 0HR
LF James Bacosa - WHA - .326/.375/.470, 5HR
CF Guillermo Julio - NEW - .292/.358/.341, 1HR
RF Neil Bellett - CAN - .279/.402/.459, 10HR
RF Armando Santos - WHA - .280/.335/.567, 22HR
Month Awards
Rookie of the Month: Rich Downes grabbed his 2nd RotM Award of the season, his December numbers eerily similar to his October numbers: .368/.415/.605, 42-114, 19 runs, 9 doubles, 6HR, 21RBI, 8BB, 123PA. For the year, Downes was hitting .350/.387/.573, his BA 2nd in the league, as were his 118 hits. The 31 doubles he’d struck had him in a tie for the lead in that category, with his total of 46 extra-base hits good enough for 2nd overall.
Hurler of the Month: Raymond Eykelbosch scored his 2nd All Star selection on the 28th and capped off a strong month with his first-ever HotM. He went 4-0 from 5 starts, with a 1.27 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 0.93 WHIP. He fanned 23 in 35.1 innings, the 5 runs he allowed by far the best among qualified starting pitchers.
Slugger of the Month: Jorge Diaz was playing in another stratosphere in the first half of 2060. He crushed opposition pitching to the tune of .446/.481/.777 in December, his 54-121 including 10 doubles and 10HR. He scored 27 times, brought 30 runners home and walked 9 times. The net result of this bruising offensive pace? He finished the month hitting .406/.456/.701, with 24HR, for the season, every analyst and commentator in the game drooling with excitement and anticipation. He finished December on a 14-game hitting streak, his last 9 games all multi-hitters. He dominated the batting leaderboards, sitting pretty atop the BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA (.489), hits (144), runs (83), XBH (56), total bases (249), and WAR (5.4) categories. He was tied with Downes for most doubles (31), and tied for best ISO (.296). He was also tied for 4th in homers, and tied for 3rd in RBI (81).
Adelaide fans had taken to waving three-fingered gloves at home games whenever he stepped up to the plate, and Diaz sometimes responded after a HR by waving his three-fingered hand at the crowd. “It’s great seeing the fans so involved,” he said. “And it’s contagious. We all talk about it in the changing sheds and in the dugout. When the crowd gets behind us we just get taller and taller.”
Media Watch
Ismael Aguirre: At the tail-end of Aguirre’s December slump, an interesting piece was aired on OotPB TV. The question, or questions, had been raised: Had the fractured hands Aguirre suffered in 2058 and 2059 impacted on his swing, or possibly, was age catching up to the current consensus for GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)? The analyst running the piece played 4 slow-mo captures of Aguirre’s swing side-by-side, from 2046, 2050, 2055 and this season. To the naked eye there was no discernible difference. He then slowed the shots down even further. Again, no difference.
He discarded the 2046 and 2050 captures, saying they were essentially identical to the 2055 capture. The remaining shots were played again, Aguirre’s wrists enlarged to dominate the screen. Were Aguirre’s wrists in 2060 marginally slower than in 2055? Yes, the analyst confirmed, but only by a fraction of a second.
What did this mean? Not a great deal, but still something. Aguirre’s swing was so mechanically sound, and his ability to read a pitch out of the pitcher’s hand so good, that a slight slowing of his wrists wouldn’t greatly impact his overall hitting ability. He could still hit .320+ with 35-40 doubles, no problem. The impact of the change would be felt, however, in his home run output. No more 40+ HR seasons, though age was a factor in play there, too. Could he hit 30+ homers in a season still? Yes, but as a righthanded hitter who spent half the season at Prospects Ballpark that many might even be a struggle.
Overall, the fans needn’t worry, however. Aguirre wouldn’t stay slumping, and would remain a force to be reckoned with, at least until age turned its heavy hand towards him. By the end of the month Aguirre had recovered somewhat to be hitting .289/.363/.487, with 19 doubles and 16HR. He needed 58 hits to become the first player to 3500, and 25RBI to reach the top of that leaderboard. 29RBI would make him the first hitter ever to drive in 2000 runners.
Other Notes
Coastal Division: Adelaide (20-9) were being carried by their offense, their pitching and defence in the bottom half of the league. Even so, a bumbling month from Cairns (12-17) saw the Venom extend their lead to 9 games.
East-west Division: Kununurra (16-13) pushed themselves to the top of the East-West, Central Coast (9-20) having an awful month to fall below .500, tied with Newcastle (13-16) at 3 games off the lead.
NZ Division: Wellington (16-13) extended their lead over Whangarei (15-14) to 5 games.
Southern Division: Hobart (17-12) started the month off slow, but were humming along again by the end, their lead over Sydney (18-11) dropping 1 game, to 6.
Wildcard: This was all Cairns and Sydney, as only 6 teams in the league were playing better than .500 ball. Sydney had an 8-game buffer in the top slot, while Cairns led Central Coast, Newcastle and Whangarei by 4 games.
#
Rowan Kimpton (.303/.331/.598, 30HR) went homerless the last 7 days of the month, but still comfortably led the league, 4 better than next-best Maurice Clemens (.246/.345/.536, 26HR) and Richard Moore (.338/.455/.634, 26HR). Moore was tied with Diaz for best isolated power (.296) among qualified hitters.
Nigel Anderton (.299/.365/.569, 24HR) had edged ahead on the RBI board, with 83.
Tomas Zartuche (.331/.369/.415, 0HR) was one of the reasons Diaz was enjoying Adelaide so much. He hit 2 spots ahead of Diaz in the lineup and his league leading 10 triples put plenty of pressure on opposition pitchers.
Hobart’s Ignacio Maldonado (.239/.319/.356, 7HR) had an OPS+ of only 78 so far this season, but Hobart liked his speed and hustle. He led the league in steals, with 37, and had only been caught 4 times.
Ronald Aitken (.312/.454/.527, 15HR) had drawn 75 walks so far, 9 more than any other hitter.
Brock Lawless (5-2, 2.59 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.05 WHIP) had the league’s best ERA and WHIP.
Barry Dean (12-2, 3.33 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) led the league in wins (12), FIP, strikeouts (129), and WAR (3.7).
Sterling Boston had 25 saves, 2 clear of all other closers.
ABC Wrap-up
Brisbane now led the Northern by 8 games, while Melbourne had leapfrogged their way into the lead in the Southern, 3 games ahead of Sydney. Canberra had nosedived below .500 and 9 games off the pace.
Kalgoorlie had the Western by the scruff of the neck, their lead 12 games. Jakarta had overtaken Dunedin in the Overseas Division, with a lead of 2 games heading into the 2nd half. Port Moresby were still playing better than .500 but were now 6 games back.
Rowan Reardon had a monster month to win Golden Bat. He hit .450 with 9HRs. For the season, the 34 y/o soon-to-be free agent was hitting .344/.444/.689, with 28 jacks. He'd hinted that he'd like to give the AUNZBL a shot before he was "too old for it."
Brisbane’s Sigit Kawilarang (10-2, 0.96 ERA, 1.75 FIP, 0.68 WHIP) was a mound menace. The southpaw topped the ABC in ERA, FIP, WHIP, H/9 (5.00), HR/9 (0.18), and OAVG (.157). The #1 overall pick in the 2058 ABC draft still had room for growth, according to his coaches. He’d be a fixture in the ABC for some time to come.
AUNZBL Standings, Jan 1