2038 ABL PLAYOFFS
October baseball had arrived in the ABL, with the 24-team league having been whittled down to four clubs vying for the crown. No frequent champions would take part in this edition of the postseason.
The 102-60 Canadiens entered the postseason with the most runs scored and fewest runs allowed, as well as a +207 run differential, in the Continental League. They had led the CL in batting average, on-base percentage, starters’ ERA, and bullpen ERA, and quite few lesser categories. Jerry Outram (.377, 32 HR, 113 RBI) was the likely Player of the Year, with a capable supporting cast that included Ryan Phillips (.283, 18 HR, 97 RBI) and probable Rookie of the Year Glenn Sprague (.300, 14 HR, 69 RBI). The rotation was strong and led by Eric Weitz (21-8, 2.94 ERA) and Matt Sealock (19-7, 3.34 ERA). Tim Zimmerman had closed out 52 games. The lineup leaned quite a bit to left and that would only help them in the CLCS. They had a few injuries, mainly missing SP Corey Booth (7-2, 3.19 ERA) and MR Marcos Ochoa (3-4, 3.27 ERA, 1 SV).
Opposite them were the 84-78 Falcons, the only winning team in a lackluster CL South. They had come fourth in runs scored and second in runs allowed, but had only managed a +49 run differential, not only a quarter of the Canadiens’ mark. They were *fine* in many categories, but *fine* was not likely going to cut it. Their rotation was all right-handed, which would not mesh well with the Canadiens’ lineup. Their own lineup was mostly right-handed, and the Canadiens would bring in three righty starters. Charlotte’s pen was full of holes, and they had three outfielders on the DL, mostly missing Dave Trahan, a .285 batter. Ruben Esperanza had hit .283 with 20 homers between Topeka and Charlotte this year and was batting cleanup, supported by a few more double-digit bombers. Mike Sawyer behind the plate was hitting .278 with 19 homers. Jose Farfan chipped in 11 on a .295 clip. Towards the bottom, the lineup became soft though, and the group was also barely average on defense.
The 91-71 Pittsburgh Miners won the FL East by two games. They placed third in runs scored, but allowed the fourth-most runs, amounting to a +84 run differential. Pittsburgh came third in batting average and on-base percentage in the Federal League, but lagged behind in homers (5th) and stolen bases (dead last). Their pitching was sort of average, and consistently undermined by shaky defense. Danny Santillano (.282, 25 HR, 110 RBI) kept being the main man in the lineup at age 32, with Adrian Wade (.308, 13 HR; 84 RBI) and Kurt Wall (.290, 10 HR, 76 RBI) providing valuable support. Third baseman Omar Lastrade hit .381 in 66 games, missing most of the year with ankle and finger injuries, and kept being the worst defensive third baseman in the league. Roberto Pruneda (18-7, 3.07 ERA) and Matt Peterson (15-8, 3.06 ERA) led the rotation, but after that it god mushy fast, including all of the bullpen. The Miners entered without significant injuries.
They would face the 102-60 Wolves, who won the division on the final day of the season. They clocked in with the second-most runs in the FL, but the fewest runs conceded. Their run differential was +207, same as the Canadiens from the other end of the Pacific Northwest. The Wolves were second-worst to the Miners in stolen bases, but had led the FL with 138 homers and had the best rotation, with Phil Harrington (18-4, 1.96 ERA) remaining to be the best pitcher of his generation, and well supported and challenged by Brandon Nickerson (18-7, 2.32 ERA) – they had the top 2 ERA’s in all of the ABL. Their bullpen was also shaky and they could not source better than a 4.22 ERA for their closer Rico Sanchez, who saved 41 games. The Wolves’ offense fielded three players with 20+ homers, led by Jose Rivera (.321, 29 HR, 93 RBI), with Bill Jenkins (.289, 25 HR, 105 RBI) and Morgan Kuhlmann (.261, 21 HR, 71 RBI) not far behind, and Kyle Weinstein (.261, 19 HR, 83 RBI) narrowly missed out on the 20-club. Armando Herrera (.315, 2 HR, 79 RBI) was also an on-base threat ahead of all the power.
As indicated, this year’s playoff field did not have the richest track record in the postseason. The teams had a total of four championships between them and nobody had more playoff appearances than the Miners, who were in their 12th postseason. The Falcons were in October for the ninth time, the Canadiens for the seventh time, and the Wolves escaped a three-way tie for fewest playoff appearances (with the Loggers and Gold Sox) by making their fifth show.
The Canadiens were the only team with multiple championships in the fray, but hadn’t won since *1984* and hadn’t won their division since equally long-ago 2012. The Falcons’ only title had come in 2005, and they were in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. These two teams had met in the CLCS once, in 1982, with Vancouver prevailing on the way to their first championship. The Canadiens won the season series with the Falcons, 7-2. Reviews of the Falcons’ chances were rough, somewhere between an ice cube in Death Valley and outright zilch.
The Wolves seem to have the upper hand against the Miners in most categories, but often just by a small margin, except for the clear advantage in the rotation. If Harrington and Nickerson perform up to snuff, they should have a very good chance of making it to the World Series. The Wolves beat the Miners in the season series, 6-3. Historically, the 1989 champs from Salem and the ringless Miners had never met in the FLCS. The Wolves were the only team that also featured in the 2037 playoffs. The Miners won their division for the fifth time in the 2030s, most recently coming up short in the 2036 World Series against the Titans.
There was only one possible World Series rematch in this field; the 1982 Canadiens-Miners series, which Vancouver had won in six games.
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2038 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
CHA @ VAN … 5-9 … (Canadiens lead 1-0) … CHA Tony Aparicio 3-4, RBI; VAN Johnny Lopez 1-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI;
The Falcons enter the ninth leading, 5-4, but blow the lead even before Lopez hits a walkoff slam off Raul de la Rosa (0-1, 135.00 ERA).
PIT @ SAL … 0-2 … (Wolves lead 1-0) … SAL Phil Harrington 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K;
CHA @ VAN … 4-5 … (Canadiens lead 2-0) … VAN Matt Sealock 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (1-0);
PIT @ SAL … 4-3 … (series tied 1-1) … PIT Mark Vermillion 2-4, 2B, RBI;
VAN @ CHA … 7-3 … (Canadiens lead 3-0) … VAN Johnny Lopez 2-4, BB, RBI; VAN Jerry Outram 2-5, 2 2B, RBI;
SAL @ PIT … 2-4 … (Miners lead 2-1) … SAL Bill Jenkins 3-5; PIT Mark Vermillion 4-4, HR, 2 RBI; PIT Jose Alaniz 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (1-0);
VAN @ CHA … 3-17 … (Canadiens lead 3-1) … CHA Oscar Aguiree 2-6, 2 RBI; CHA Mike Sawyer 2-4, 2 BB; CHA Tony Aparicio 2-3, 2 RBI; CHA Jose Farfan 3-5, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; CHA Jonathan Reyna 4-5, 2 RBI;
If the Falcons had spread those riches out, they’d be in the World Series now.
SAL @ PIT … 8-3 … (series tied 2-2) … SAL Jeremy Camden 4-5; SAL Kyle Weinstein 2-5, 2B, RBI;
VAN @ CHA … 1-3 … (Canadiens lead 3-2) … CHA Jose de Lucio 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (1-0) and 2-3, 2B;
While de Lucio is the only Falcon with multiple base hits, Eric Weitz, who loses the game in six innings of 3-run ball, hits a home run for the only Canadiens offense.
SAL @ PIT … 3-2 (19) … (Wolves lead 3-2) … SAL Matt Huf 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K, W (1-0) and 1-1, HR, RBI; PIT Gualter Cymbron 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;
Scoring stops after the fourth inning before Matt Huf (1-0, 0.00 ERA) in long relief breaks the tie in the 19th inning of a 5:45 game, going deep off Pat Okrasinski (0-1, 2.45 ERA).
CHA @ VAN … 2-4 (16) … (Canadiens win 4-2) … VAN Jerry Outram 2-7, HR, 2 RBI; VAN Jeremy Bloedow 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K;
Outram homers off Vinny Olguin (0-1, 10.38 ERA) after nine innings of truce to send the Canadiens to the World Series.
PIT @ SAL … 3-4 (11) … (Wolves win 4-2) … PIT Mark Vermillion 3-5, HR, RBI; SAL Jose Rivera 1-2, BB, HR, RBI; SAL Bill McWhirter 2-5, 2B, RBI;
Bill McWhirter hits a leadoff double off Gualter Cymbron (0-1, 1.42 ERA), but will miss the World Series for straining his hip on the very play.
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2038 WORLD SERIES
In a Pacific Northwest matchup that would leave the Raccoons on the outside looking in, the Wolves were awarded home field advantage over the Canadiens. Both teams had won 102 games and posted a +207 run differential. Both had made it through the LCS in six games that had felt like seven.
While the Canadiens had not suffered additional injuries, the Wolves were now without Bill McWhirter, their starting second baseman, who had hit .249 with one homer during the season, but also knocked the Wolves into the World Series to begin with.
This was a tough series to call. Dominant pitching might give the Wolves a slight edge.
VAN @ SAL … 1-3 … (Wolves lead 1-0) … VAN Johnny Lopez 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; SAL Armando Herrera 3-4;
VAN @ SAL … 5-4 … (series tied 1-1) … VAN Jerry Outram 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; SAL Rhett West 2-3, BB, 2 2B;
Harrington (0-0, 1.40 ERA) allows three hits against 12 strikeouts while pitching into the seventh inning before the Wolves’ pen blows a 4-1 lead in the last two innings. Outram’s 2-out, 2-run double in the ninth against Rico Sanchez (0-1, 2.25 ERA, 2 SV) flips the score in Vancouver’s favor.
SAL @ VAN … 9-5 … (Wolves lead 2-1) … SAL Rhett West 3-5, 3 2B, RBI; SAL Oliver Witte (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; SAL Matt Porter (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; VAN Johnny Lopez 2-5, HR, RBI;
Brandon Nickerson (1-1, 2.25 ERA) goes six innings for the win, with six runs driven in out of the #9 hole for Salem on a pair of pinch-hit, 3-run homers. Porter’s bomb is entirely unearned after a critical throwing error by Vancouver’s Eric Morrow.
SAL @ VAN … 1-2 … (series tied 2-2) … VAN Jerry Outram 4-4, HR, 3B, 2 RBI; VAN Alexander Lewis 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (1-1);
Jerry Outram is a double shy of the cycle in dragging his team back into a tie in Game 4.
SAL @ VAN … 3-9 … (Canadiens lead 3-2) … SAL Jose Rivera 4-5, 2B; SAL Jose Castro 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; VAN Johnny Lopez 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; VAN Glenn Sprague 2-4, BB, 2 RBI;
VAN @ SAL … 4-5 … (series tied 3-3) … SAL Jeremy Camden 1-2, BB, 2B, 2 RBI;
Harrington gets a decision with six innings of 2-run ball for the win before the Wolves’ pen almost blows another one. Jerry Outram as the tying run is stranded on second base when Ryan Phillips strikes out in the ninth inning.
Game 7 will have Brandon Nickerson (1-1, 2.25 ERA) against Matt Sealock (1-1, 3.48 ERA).
VAN @ SAL … 6-3 … (Canadiens win 4-3) … VAN Eric Morrow 3-5; VAN Fernando Alba 3-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; VAN Matt Sealock 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-1); SAL Armando Herrera 2-3, 2B, RBI;
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2038 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
Vancouver Canadiens
(3rd title)