[Dukie98]

After a few hiccups, I finally was able to get my 48-team random debut league off the ground (thanks again to David Watts and actionjackson for their help). The creatively-named Historic Random Debut League began its inaugural season in 2011 (but using 1975 parameters) with two 24-team leagues - the Frontier League and the Continental League, each of which consists of four six-team divisions. The inaugural draft lasted 27 rounds, which gave most teams a core of 2-3 very good players, a handful of solid role players, and plenty o' holes in the lineup. Because of the tight roster parameters, injuries were turned off for year one; I'm adding a 9-round draft for next year (which should more than offset retirements, and give most teams a semblance of a reserve roster), and will slowly ramp up injuries. After conducting the initial draft for the New Orleans Crawfish (picking 23rd out of 48), I stepped aside, handed over the reins to the AI, and have simply been an intrigued observer. Because of the lack of depth in the league, there were plenty of superlative performances on both sides of the ball, and the WAR stats were a little inflated, but presumably will stabilize once the talent level in the league increases.

And without further ado... the 2011 year in review:

Frontier League: The Buffalo Fighting Elk, led by slugging infielders Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Abreu, rode an early season hot streak (starting 33-11) to a playoff berth, winning the Northeast Division by 15 games. Although the Cincinnati Spiders (led by southpaw Hippo Vaughn and outfielder Jackie Bradley) led the Great Lakes division for most of the season, a late season fade allowed the Detroit Purple Gang, led by Craig Biggio and Hernan Perez, to steal the division title by a game on the last day of the year.

Southpaw Billy Pierce struck out 355 hitters, and young righthander Kyle Freeland went 23-8 with a 2.08 ERA, as the St. Louis Pilots won 97 games on their way to the Great Plains division title, as they edged out the Minneapolis Penguins, who were led by third baseman Andy Van Slyke and righhander Bill Bevens. The Vancouver Viceroys matched St. Louis with 97 wins, as first baseman Nate Colbert ripped 54 homers and Jakie May had a stellar 1.58 ERA. The Viceroys edged out the Calgary Cattle Rustlers, who were led by righthander Jake Weimer's 22-6 record and 1.98 ERA, and first baseman Frank Chance, who hit .354 with 87 steals. The Portland Skunks, led by David Cone's 21-5 record with a 1.38 ERA, took the final wild-card slot.

Continental League: Unlike the Frontier League, the Continental League lacked compelling pennant races, with only one division being decided by less than six games. The Hartford Huskies coasted to the Atlantic Division title, as Sandy Koufax went 22-7 with a 1.74 ERA, 358 strikeouts, and twelve shutouts, and Greg Vaughn bopped 40 homers. The Birmingham Steelers led the Southeast Division for nearly the entire season, as their league-best offense was led by slugging outfielders Jim Northrup (.359/ 46 homers/ 130 RBI's) and Rich Reese (.341/ 44 homers/ 136 RBI's). The Steelers held off a late rush by Joey Votto's Atlanta Ducks, who finished just three games out of first.

The 99-win Houston Pythons won the hard-fought Texas Division, which at one point had all six teams above .500, as shortstop Bill Hall hit .342 with 35 homers and 135 RBI's, while Paul Molitor hit .373 and scored 121 runs. The Austin Mustangs won 91 games behind 46 homers and 147 RBI's from Hank Thompson, while Jim Kaat won 23 games. The San Antonio Marksmen behind strong pitching performances from Phil Niekro (1.97 ERA) and Ted Blankenship (21 wins with a 2.26 ERA). In the Southwest Division, the San Diego Zookeepers won a league-best 102 games, led by Pete Rose, who hit .395 while scoring 139 runs, and slugging first baseman Ed Morgan, who hit 46 homers and drove in a HRDL-best 162 runs. The Los Angeles Kangaroos took the final wild card, as Torii Hunter hit .356 with 117 RBI's and Mike Krukow went 20-9 with a 2.11 ERA.

Playoff report: Frontier League: Vancouver swept Portland, behind the power-hitting bats of Luis Gonzalez and Nate Colbert, while St. Louis swept Cincinnati on the strength of their pitching staff. Minneapolis came from behind to beat Buffalo in 7 games, while Calgary coasted over Detroit in 6 games. In the Divisional Series, Vancouver prevailed over Minneapolis in five games, and St. Louis shut down Calgary in five games. Vancouver advanced to the World Series after dispatching the Pilots in five games.

Continental League: San Diego blew a 3-games-to-1 lead, allowing San Antonio to storm back, as Phil Niekro threw a one-hitter in Game Six. Joey Votto singlehandedly carried Atlanta to a seven-game series win over Birmingham. Los Angeles came from behind, winning Games 6 and 7 against Hartford, which rode Sandy Koufax's left arm as long as it could. Although Houston blew out Austin in the first two games, Austin stormed back and won the final four games of the Wild Card Round. Los Angeles shut down the overmatched San Antonio offense in five games in the Divisional Series, while Atlanta needed just six games to knock off Austin. Los Angeles then swept the overmatched Ducks in the League Championship Series.

World Series: In a back-and-forth series, the Los Angeles Kangaroos and Vancouver Viceroys traded victories, with the Kangaroos prevailing in the decisive game 7, 5-3, as Jimmy Anderson outdueled Omar Daal. Torii Hunter hit a crucial eighth-inning homer to extend the lead to two runs, while Mel Rojas nailed down the series-clinching save. Pitching dominated the series, as the powerful Viceroys scored just 18 runs in 7 games, never scoring more than four runs, and the Kangaroos scored more than five runs just once.