The 1985 WPK regular season has come to an end and here are the final standings:
In the end, the Philadelphia Mud Hens gave the Washington Night Train a run for their money, and Washington didn't clinch the SJL East until the penultimate day of the regular season.
No team, as you can see, won as many as 100 games and two teams- the Montreal Royals and Milwaukee Cadets- lost 104 games, the only teams to reach triple digits in losses.
The Houston Cavaliers got hot towards the end of the season to move into second place in the SJL West, which Chicago easily won.
The Los Angeles Spinners and Phoenix Speed Devils also finished strong, and the Denver Brewers fell in the final week of the season to finish in 5th place in the MGL West, with the 3rd worst record in the MGL (although, it should be pointed out, only 2 games below .500).
Oklahoma City ran away with the MGL East.
Looking towards the playoffs, if you like underdogs, you might want to be pulling for the Chicago Fire, even though they did finish tied for the best regular season record. The 1975 expansion club won 88 games two seasons ago, and up to now that was their high-water mark. They are a small budget team, tied for 20th highest budget and with the 19th highest payroll. They have below average fan loyalty and only slightly above fan interest, though that certainly should be improving soon. They are a well-balanced team, having finished with the 2nd highest run total in the SJL and also allowing the 2nd fewest runs. They have a fine starting rotation and excellent defense (+35.6 ZR). They aren't a power-hitting club, having finished 11th in home runs with 127, but they get on base (best in OBP at .359), they steal bases (3rd with 139), and they had the second best team batting average- while playing their home games in an extreme pitchers' park- at .269.
They will face a definite over-dog in Washington in the SJL Championship Series. Washington has the 3rd biggest budget in the league (they historically have generally been 1st in this area), they play in a huge market, have good fan loyalty and very high fan interest. They were one of the dominant teams in the SJL in the first decade of the WPK and are looking to be one of the dominant teams as we get the third decade going. They won championships in 1967 and 1971 and have made the playoffs now for the 4th straight year, though they don't have a third championship to show for that yet. They were first in the SJL in both home runs (194) and stolen bases (161), and scored the 3rd most runs in the SJL. They were 6th in the SJL in runs allowed, but their starting rotation was 1st in ERA at 3.93 collectively. The bullpen is a weakness, though (11th, with a 4.72 ERA). Their defense is mediocre at best (+3.9 ZR).
In the MGL, San Francisco, like Chicago, play their home games in a great pitchers' park and this suppresses their offensive numbers. Although they have a deep and talented lineup, they finished 4th in the MGL in runs scored and 3rd in batting average, with their young second baseman, Seth Garone, winning the batting title with a .365 average. They don't hit homers (86, 12th most in the MGL) but they are a pretty good base stealing team (5th, 131) and a quite good base running team (3rd, +23.6). The fact that they finished 3rd in runs against in the MGL is a bit surprising, given their home park advantage in this regard, and the presence of Ace, and 2-time Harris/Lee award winner (the past 2 seasons), Jon Harrington at the top of the rotation, and a very good bullpen led by veteran closer Joe Hall (a 2-time Reliever of the Year). Their defense wasn't great (7th, +2.9 ZR).
The Oklahoma City Diamond Kings have the best starting rotation in the game (arguably). They do play their home games in a good pitchers' park but Chickasaw Brickyard Ballpark isn't nearly as offense suppressing as San Fran's Bank of the West Ballpark. Oklahoma City finished 1st in fewest runs scored, 1st in starting pitching ERA (3.36) and 1st in bullpen ERA (3.01). They were 3rd in Zone Rating at +26.1. Don't look for the MGL Championship Series to be a slugfest. The Diamond Kings were 5th in the MGL in runs scored and 11th in home runs (105). They did finish 2nd in batting average (.277) and OBP (.335) and they were 1st in stolen bases (185) so they can generate some runs, perhaps enough to support their great pitching staff.
As for health/significant injuries going in the postseason, Chicago is probably best off, with only 24-year old reliever Beau Fundingsland, who will be unavailable for the entire post-season with recurring back spasms. Fundingsland has decent potential but he isn't a significant member of the bullpen yet.
Washington lost veteran starting pitcher Parker Rayfield back in early June with a torn UCL. He was off to a great start to the season at age 35, but they were without him more than half the season so while it would be great for them to have him available this shouldn't hurt them much. More concerning is that their staff ace, and the likely SJL Harris/Lee award winner this offseason, Rich Freeman, is currently nursing a back injury (herniated disc). He is scheduled to start Game 3 but the Night Train will need him to be at 100%. They also lost 36-year old reliever Ozzie Gonzales at the end of August with shoulder inflammation but he had a 6.55 ERA at the time, so not a real problem that he won't be back.
San Francisco is without veteran reliever Jeff Chaffee, a 2-time Reliever of the Year, as he suffered a torn flexor tendon in late May and is still expected to be out for another 8 months. Chaffee is a jerk (disruptive) but has remained a pretty useful bullpen arm, even if not as good as at his peak.
And Oklahoma City isn't sure when they might have full health for 25-year old Gold Glove right fielder Juan Hernandez. He has been dealing with a strained oblique since September 7th and while he's considered day-to-day and is on the post-season roster, he is not in optimal health at this time.