2043 ABL PLAYOFFS
Once more it had taken six months to whittle the 24 ABL teams down to just four and it would take most of October to find a winner between those.
Entering in the #1 position as far as seeding was concerned were the Pacifics, who had won 97 games and the FL West by four games. They had done so mostly on pitching, conceding the fewest runs in the Federal League with the best rotation and a bullpen that was not far behind. Offensively
eeeeh. They were tied for seventh in runs scored but due to the great pitching, that still made for a +124 run differential. They had the third-most homers with 129, but had not been able to steal many bases at all. The offense revolve around Juan Benavides (.339, 25 HR, 85 RBI), supported by two more 20-homer hitters in Mark Cahill and David Alvardo. Sergio Pena was also hitting .323 ahead of all the power hitters. The lineup was a bit thinner towards the bottom, but there was no such concern about the rotation. Led by 23-game winner Mike LeMasters (23-5, 2.81 ERA) the rotation didnt get worse than Joe Feltmans 3.38 ERA. In the pen, John Steuer (1-6, 3.24 ERA, 47 SV) had been acquired from the Buffaloes mid-season and had pitched to a 1.35 ERA with L.A.
Second to only the Pacifics in runs allowed were the Rebels, winning the FL East by one game over the Blue Sox and with 94 games overall. They were also second in runs scored in the FL, and had posted a +135 run differential. They had 140+ in both homers and stolen bases, sitting in the top 3 in both categories, and were also third in OBP with a .349 team on-base rate. Their rotation was second to the Pacifics in ERA, although the bullpen was softer with a 3.99 ERA, only eighth in the Federal League. Manny Liberos (.279, 26 HR, 101 RBI) led the offense on the playoff roster which already got us to a problem. Pablo Gonzalez had hit .371 with 27 homers by late August before suffering a severely strained hamstring, rendering him out for the year. The rotation was led by Ryan Person (16-5, 3.00 ERA) and Omar Lara (15-10, 3.44 ERA), but was missing Justin Kaiser (also on the DL), while the bullpen had a lot of pitchers hanging around the 4 ERA mark.
Over in the Continental League, the Canadiens had home field advantage for the CLCS, having beaten the Crusaders by one game with 95 wins overall. They had come out of the CL North with a +94 run differential, third in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed in the CL, which they ha led in home runs and had finished second in OBP in. Only eighth in stolen bases, agility was not their strongest suit they were also remarkably pedestrian in offense, ninth in defensive efficiency in the CL with a .689 percentage. It hadnt hurt their starters so much, who ranked third in ERA in the CL, but the pen had an ERA over four, well in the bottom half of the league. Jerry Outram (.330, 24 HR, 86 RBI) and Dan Schneller (.315, 20 HR, 72 RBI) were at the heart of the offense, while Matt Sealock (19-11, 3.35 ERA) had led the CL in wins, while Alex Lewis (11-9, 2.94 ERA) actually had a better ERA. The Canadiens were without backup outfielder Victor Vazquez.
Bottom seed with 89 wins, but three ahead of anybody else in the CL South, the Bayhawks had interestingly a +123 run differential, much better than the Canadiens, sitting second in both runs scored and runs allowed. Both starters and bullpen had strong ERAs, while the offense led the league in average and OBP, but with only 98 home runs they were third from the bottom in the power department. They were also down on personnel, having lost a score of regulars late in the season, including Danny Cruz, Ramon Sifuentes, and Jorge Gonzalez from he lineup, while starter Miguel Alvarado was also out. The injuries removed 31 of the teams 98 homers from the lineup, with Sifuentes leading the team in both home runs and RBI. Scott Martin (.300, 11 HR, 80 RBI) an Juan Brito (.297, 16 HR, 57 RBI) now had to carry whatever was left, while former Canadien Mike Mihalik (16-9, 3.21 ERA) was the best available starting pitcher.
Both CLCS teams seemed to bring one left-handed starter, with the Canadiens lineup leaning more to the left side than the Bayhawks. In the FL, the Pacifics seemed to have the advantage with at least four lefty batters against three right-handed Rebels starters. L.A. offered two left-handed starting pitchers against a slightly right-handed Rebels lineup.
Among the participating teams, the Pacifics had the most playoff entries with their 16th October participation. They also had the most championships in the field, with six. They ended a 10-year drought that had broken out after six playoff appearances in seven years from 2026-32, with titles in 2027, 2030, and 2032.
The Canadiens made their 11th playoff appearance and had three titles. It was their fifth division crown in six years, with one title in 2038.
Opposite them, the Bayhawks had one title and were trying to win a second one in their ninth playoff attempt. They had last participated in 2037, and their only championship had come in 1999.
The Rebels only were in October for the sixth time (more only than the Loggers and Gold Sox), but had two titles in the bank. It was their first postseason trip since 2019 (the tail end of the three straight FL West wins), and they had last won the whole shebang in 2017.
Rebels and Pacifics had previously met in the FLCS in 2018, with Richmond having the upper hand before losing to the Aces in the World Series. Bayhawks and Canadiens had never met in the CLCS before.
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2043 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
RIC @ LAP
3-8
(Pacifics lead 1-0)
LAP Aaron Foss 4-5, HR, 2 RBI; LAP Juan Benavides 3-5, RBI; LAP Mark Cahill 2-4, 2 RBI; LAP Kevin Clendenen 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, W (1-0);
RIC @ LAP
6-12
(Pacifics lead 2-0)
LAP Juan Benavides 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; LAP David Alvardo 2-2, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; LAP Kenny Leon 2-4, 3 RBI;
SFB @ VAN
3-4
(Canadiens lead 1-0)
SFB Kyle Lusk 1-2, BB, 2B, RBI;
The Canadiens overcome losing starter Paul Medvec to injury to grind out a Game 1 win with the bullpen.
SFB @ VAN
1-9
(Canadiens lead 2-0)
VAN Jerry Outram 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; VAN Melvin Hernandez 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI;
LAP @ RIC
4-3 (10)
(Pacifics lead 3-0)
LAP Juan Benavides 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; LAP Tony Romero 2-4, BB, 2B; RIC Alex Marquez 3-6, 2B, RBI; RIC Josh Frazier 3-5, RBI;
LAP @ RIC
5-2
(Pacifics win 4-0)
LAP Juan Benavides 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; LAP Jon St. Pierre (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;
VAN @ SFB
12-4
(Canadiens lead 3-0)
VAN Arnout van der Zanden 3-4, 2 BB, 2 2B; VAN Jerry Outram 3-6, 3B, RBI; VAN Dan Schneller 3-6; VAN Melvin Hernandez 3-6, HR, RBI; VAN Julio Diaz 4-6, 2 2B, RBI; VAN Ryan Johnston 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI;
VAN @ SFB
2-3
(Canadiens lead 3-1)
SFB Bob Nelson 2-2, 3B, RBI; SFB Noe Candeloro 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (1-0);
VAN @ SFB
0-2
(Canadiens lead 3-2)
SFB Mike Mihalik 7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, W (1-1);
Are the Canadiens out of offense?
SFB @ VAN
13-6
(series tied 3-3)
SFB Scott Martin 2-3, 2 BB; SFB Dave Martinez 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; SFB John Hill 2-4, 2 RBI; SFB Mel Castillo 2-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI; SFB Sergio Quiroz 3-5, 2B; VAN Jerry Outram 3-4, BB, RBI; VAN Melvin Hernandez 3-4, HR, RBI;
No, but two separate 6-spots by the Bayhawks serve to complete the comeback from 0-3 to 3-3 and a Game 7! John Roeder and Juan Dias take the worst of the abuse on the Vancouver side as the series goes the full distance.
SFB @ VAN
11-7
(Bayhawks win 4-3)
SFB Scott Martin 3-6, HR, 2 RBI; SFB Corey Caldwell 2-5, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; SFB John Hill 3-5, RBI; SFB Mel Castillo 3-5, 2 RBI; SFB Bob Nelson 2-5, 2 RBI; VAN Jerry Outram 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; VAN Dan Schneller 2-3, 2 BB;
No pitcher was granted quarter in Game 7, but the Bayhawks erase two early deficits before a 6-run seventh inning rips the series away from the Canadiens for good. As Jeremy Mann strikes out swinging to end the Canadiens season, Jerry Outram, who hit .517/.576/.759 in the series, is caught by the camera, standing on the dugout steps with watery eyes before dropping his bat and wordlessly disappearing into the clubhouse tunnel. Outram, 29, and a likely fifth-time Player of the Year, has two more years on his contract in Vancouver.
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With that stunning turnaround, the World Series had become a California-only affair the first time that had happened.
The Bayhawks, on a 4-game winning streak, had not gotten any of their regular players back, but had at least not lost anybody else while going the distance in dramatic fashion against Vancouver, but the Pacifics were also as healthy as ever and had been off for almost a week while the CL teams had beaten each others heads in.
The run differential of both teams was virtually the same. Additional rest, better defense, home field advantage, eight more wins in general, and those four lefty bats atop the order all hinted at the Pacifics having an advantage in the series.
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2043 WORLD SERIES
SFB @ LAP
6-5
(Bayhawks lead 1-0)
SFB Dave Martinez 2-3, 2 2B; LAP Tony Hunter 2-4, BB, RBI;
The Bayhawks almost blow a 6-0 lead in the last three innings after the Pacifics had been mostly silent in the first six.
SFB @ LAP
7-8
(series tied 1-1)
SFB Sergio Quiroz 3-5, 2 RBI; SFB Bob Nelson 2-2, BB; SFB Victor Acosta (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI; LAP David Alvardo 3-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; LAP Kenny Leon 1-2, 3 BB, HR, 2 RBI; LAP Tony Romero 2-5, 2 RBI;
This time, they blow it. San Frans Bryan Carmichael is taken apart for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Tony Romero driving in the tying and winning runs, Alvardo and Leon, with a single to right.
LAP @ SFB
5-7
(Bayhawks lead 2-1)
LAP Mark Cahill 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; LAP Kenny Leon 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; SFB Sergio Quiroz 4-4, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI;
A homer shy of the cycle, 22-year-old Sergio Quiroz is the playoff hero you never heard about. The rookie infielder and defensive wiz hit .301 in just 44 games in the regular season, and is now slapping it for a .457/.500/.629 slash line in the playoffs.
LAP @ SFB
6-3
(series tied 2-2)
LAP Mark Cahill 3-4, BB, 2 HR, 3B, 5 RBI;
LAP @ SFB
3-4
(Bayhawks lead 3-2)
SFB Dave Martinez 2-4, RBI; SFB Mike Mihalik 7.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (3-1);
SFB @ LAP
3-1
(Bayhawks win 4-2)
SFB Mel Castillo 3-4, 2B; SFB Juan Brito 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; SFB Bob Nelson 3-4, 2B; SFB Rafael Pedraza 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (2-1) and 2-3, RBI;
Except for a Mark Cahill home run, Rafael Pedraza suffocates the Pacifics, who are out-hit 12-3 in the deciding Game 6. The Bayhawks score their three runs in the first two innings before coasting on the wings of Pedraza (and Carmichael) for just 2 hours and 21 minutes.
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2043 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
San Francisco Bayhawks
(2nd title)