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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-23-2023, 06:35 PM

Mexico City yet again was the dominant force of the Mexican League with the now six-time defending league champ dominating the South Division at 108-54, leading in both runs scored (740) and fewest allowed (520). This extended their record postseason streak to eight seasons. Juarez took the North Division at 92-70 for their first playoff appearance in a decade. The wild card battle was intense and saw a three-way tie at 86-76 between Leon, Tijuana, and Queretaro, while Guadalajara was only one behind. The Terriers eliminated the Toros in the first one-game playoff tiebreaker, then the Lions ousted Queretaro. This ended a seven-year playoff drought for Leon.

Getting MVP was Aztecs RF J.J. Santin, who they acquired in a trade the prior summer from Nicaragua. In his final CABA season before leaving for MLB, the 29-year old lefty led in home runs (46), RBI (110), walks (95), OBP (.989), and wRC+ (190), adding 8.5 WAR and 106 runs scored. Guadalajara’s Mario Benitez won Pitcher of the Year with the tenth pitching Triple Crown in CABA history and only the third since the 1920s. It was the third PotY for the 31-year old righty, who had a 19-8 record, 1.84 ERA, and 342 strikeouts, while also leading with a 0.84 WHIP, 27 quality starts, 20 complete games, and 9.0 WAR.

Wild card Leon upset Juarez in the wild card round 3-2. The Lions ultimately ran into the Mexico City buzzsaw as the Aztecs took the Mexican League Championship Series in five games. This gave Mexico City an unprecedented seven straight league titles; which remains the longest streak in CABA as of 2037. This also tied MLB’s Philadelphia (1941-47) for the longest subleague title streak to that point in any professional league.

Haiti had the best record in the Caribbean League at 100-62 for their first Island Division title since 1965. Last year’s league champ Trinidad (81-81) and wild card Havana (75-87) both were non-factors in the division. Santo Domingo was second at 93-69 with Puerto Rico at 90-72; both ultimately short of the wild card. That spot went to the Continental Division where Honduras and Guatemala tied for first at 95-67. The tiebreaker game and division title went to the Horsemen, giving the Ghosts the wild card. This gave Honduras back-to-back division titles and put Guatemala in for the seventh time in nine years.

Guatemala CF Wesley Dubar won his eighth league MVP, tying him with Prometheo Garcia for second most in CABA history behind Kiko Velazquez’ ten. It was actually a down year by the incredibly high standard the 30-year old CF had set. Dubar still led in runs (124), RBI (123), total bases (384), OBP (.400), slugging (.681), OPS (1.081), and wRC+ (179), adding 9.2 WAR and 50 home runs. It was the eighth consecutive season he led in runs scored. Dubar also crossed 2000 hits and 400 home runs this season. Pitcher of the Year was Santo Domingo’s Deinis Alonso with the 27-year old Cuban lefty leading in ERA (1.87), strikeouts (299), quality starts (28), and FIP- (63), adding 7.7 WAR and a 18-4 record in 236.1 innings. This would be Alonso’s last year with the Dolphins, as he’d sign a big free agent deal in the offseason with Guatemala.

Honduras and Guatemala met again in the wild card round with the Horsemen taking the series 3-1. In the Caribbean League Championship Series, Haiti won 4-3 over Honduras. This was the third title for the Herons, whose only other wins were in 1937 and 1938.

In the 63^rd Central American Baseball Association Championship, Haiti got closer than many others to unseating Mexico City. The Aztecs ultimately won the series 4-2 for a fifth straight overall title and sixth in seven years. Finals MVP would be Belizean catcher Sanjay Kapur, who had 15 hits, 8 runs, 4 home runs, and 10 RBI in 11 playoff games.

This would mark the end of the Mexico City championship dynasty, but would go down as one of the all-time runs in any professional league. Never before had any team won five overall titles in a row or six in seven years. Only the 2008-2013 six-peat from Addis Ababa in the African Association of Baseball would match or top the five-peat as of 2037. The six in seven would get met by West African Baseball’s Kano from 1997-03, OBA’s Melbourne from 2004-10, and during Ahmedabad’s run of 12 titles in 17 years from 1986-2002 in the Asian Baseball Federation.

Other notes: Mexico City manager Spiro Santim has a case as the greatest manager of all-time. Not only did he win six rings with the Aztecs, but he also won two in the 1950s with Monterrey. The temperamental Mexico City native would retire after the 1974 season with eight rings and 13 playoff berths, a 1930-1311 record, and nine CABA Manager of the Year titles. Although he’d get passed for most CABA wins and there would be others with more wins and playoff berths in other leagues, the eight overall championships remains an all-time best as of 2037. The closest would be Pablo Salcedo, who would win seven OBA titles with Honolulu from 1982-90 and Geandris Frias with seven WAB titles for Kano from 1997-05. In his playing career, Santim was a shortstop who was worth -1.0 WAR over 101 plate appearances in the 1930s.

Ecatepec’s Johan Balli struck out 20 in 8.2 innings against Leon on August 19. This was the 11^th 20+ K game in CABA history and tied the regulation record (Nick Bermea had 22 Ks in 14.2 innings back in 1918, which to this point is the only game with more than 20.) Santiago Esquivel became the sixth CABA pitcher to reach 4000 career strikeouts. SS Ivan Marrero won his 10^th Gold Glove. SS Aaron Valencia won his tenth Silver Slugger. For the 1974 season, CABA lowered the active roster size from 25 to 24.

08-23-2023, 06:35 PM	#531
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,920	1973 in CABA Mexico City yet again was the dominant force of the Mexican League with the now six-time defending league champ dominating the South Division at 108-54, leading in both runs scored (740) and fewest allowed (520). This extended their record postseason streak to eight seasons. Juarez took the North Division at 92-70 for their first playoff appearance in a decade. The wild card battle was intense and saw a three-way tie at 86-76 between Leon, Tijuana, and Queretaro, while Guadalajara was only one behind. The Terriers eliminated the Toros in the first one-game playoff tiebreaker, then the Lions ousted Queretaro. This ended a seven-year playoff drought for Leon. Getting MVP was Aztecs RF J.J. Santin, who they acquired in a trade the prior summer from Nicaragua. In his final CABA season before leaving for MLB, the 29-year old lefty led in home runs (46), RBI (110), walks (95), OBP (.989), and wRC+ (190), adding 8.5 WAR and 106 runs scored. Guadalajara’s Mario Benitez won Pitcher of the Year with the tenth pitching Triple Crown in CABA history and only the third since the 1920s. It was the third PotY for the 31-year old righty, who had a 19-8 record, 1.84 ERA, and 342 strikeouts, while also leading with a 0.84 WHIP, 27 quality starts, 20 complete games, and 9.0 WAR. Wild card Leon upset Juarez in the wild card round 3-2. The Lions ultimately ran into the Mexico City buzzsaw as the Aztecs took the Mexican League Championship Series in five games. This gave Mexico City an unprecedented seven straight league titles; which remains the longest streak in CABA as of 2037. This also tied MLB’s Philadelphia (1941-47) for the longest subleague title streak to that point in any professional league. Haiti had the best record in the Caribbean League at 100-62 for their first Island Division title since 1965. Last year’s league champ Trinidad (81-81) and wild card Havana (75-87) both were non-factors in the division. Santo Domingo was second at 93-69 with Puerto Rico at 90-72; both ultimately short of the wild card. That spot went to the Continental Division where Honduras and Guatemala tied for first at 95-67. The tiebreaker game and division title went to the Horsemen, giving the Ghosts the wild card. This gave Honduras back-to-back division titles and put Guatemala in for the seventh time in nine years. Guatemala CF Wesley Dubar won his eighth league MVP, tying him with Prometheo Garcia for second most in CABA history behind Kiko Velazquez’ ten. It was actually a down year by the incredibly high standard the 30-year old CF had set. Dubar still led in runs (124), RBI (123), total bases (384), OBP (.400), slugging (.681), OPS (1.081), and wRC+ (179), adding 9.2 WAR and 50 home runs. It was the eighth consecutive season he led in runs scored. Dubar also crossed 2000 hits and 400 home runs this season. Pitcher of the Year was Santo Domingo’s Deinis Alonso with the 27-year old Cuban lefty leading in ERA (1.87), strikeouts (299), quality starts (28), and FIP- (63), adding 7.7 WAR and a 18-4 record in 236.1 innings. This would be Alonso’s last year with the Dolphins, as he’d sign a big free agent deal in the offseason with Guatemala. Honduras and Guatemala met again in the wild card round with the Horsemen taking the series 3-1. In the Caribbean League Championship Series, Haiti won 4-3 over Honduras. This was the third title for the Herons, whose only other wins were in 1937 and 1938. In the 63^rd Central American Baseball Association Championship, Haiti got closer than many others to unseating Mexico City. The Aztecs ultimately won the series 4-2 for a fifth straight overall title and sixth in seven years. Finals MVP would be Belizean catcher Sanjay Kapur, who had 15 hits, 8 runs, 4 home runs, and 10 RBI in 11 playoff games. This would mark the end of the Mexico City championship dynasty, but would go down as one of the all-time runs in any professional league. Never before had any team won five overall titles in a row or six in seven years. Only the 2008-2013 six-peat from Addis Ababa in the African Association of Baseball would match or top the five-peat as of 2037. The six in seven would get met by West African Baseball’s Kano from 1997-03, OBA’s Melbourne from 2004-10, and during Ahmedabad’s run of 12 titles in 17 years from 1986-2002 in the Asian Baseball Federation. Other notes: Mexico City manager Spiro Santim has a case as the greatest manager of all-time. Not only did he win six rings with the Aztecs, but he also won two in the 1950s with Monterrey. The temperamental Mexico City native would retire after the 1974 season with eight rings and 13 playoff berths, a 1930-1311 record, and nine CABA Manager of the Year titles. Although he’d get passed for most CABA wins and there would be others with more wins and playoff berths in other leagues, the eight overall championships remains an all-time best as of 2037. The closest would be Pablo Salcedo, who would win seven OBA titles with Honolulu from 1982-90 and Geandris Frias with seven WAB titles for Kano from 1997-05. In his playing career, Santim was a shortstop who was worth -1.0 WAR over 101 plate appearances in the 1930s. Ecatepec’s Johan Balli struck out 20 in 8.2 innings against Leon on August 19. This was the 11^th 20+ K game in CABA history and tied the regulation record (Nick Bermea had 22 Ks in 14.2 innings back in 1918, which to this point is the only game with more than 20.) Santiago Esquivel became the sixth CABA pitcher to reach 4000 career strikeouts. SS Ivan Marrero won his 10^th Gold Glove. SS Aaron Valencia won his tenth Silver Slugger. For the 1974 season, CABA lowered the active roster size from 25 to 24. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)