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Philadelphia won the National Association title in 2005, but struggled to only 74 wins in 2006. The Phillies bounced back in 2007 with the best record in MLB at 104-58. Philly won the East Division for the fifth time in the 2000s. Washington was second at 95-67, which was good enough for the second wild card. The Admirals ended an 11 season playoff drought. Last year’s division winner Pittsburgh plummeted from 91 wins to 72.

Reigning NA champ Winnipeg and Detroit tied at 97-65 for the Upper Midwest Division. The Wolves won the tiebreaker game to win the division and the #2 seed, earning a third division title in four years. The Tigers got the first wild card for their second berth in three years. Over in the Lower Midwest, Cincinnati was first at 97-65 to end a four year playoff drought. Louisville was second at 92-70, three games short of Washington for the second wild card.

Boston won the Northeast Division at 95-67, joining Winnipeg as the only National Association teams back from last year’s playoff field. The Red Sox held off Hartford (93-69) and Quebec City (91-71) to advance with both just short in the wild card hunt. The Nordiques had been the #1 seed in 2006 at 102-60.

Philadelphia’s Murad Doskaliev won National Association MVP and made history in his second MLB season. The 31-year old Tajik first baseman had been a two-time MVP for Asgabat in the Asian Baseball Federation and joined the short list of guys with a MVP in multiple leagues. In 2007 for the Phillies, he did it and became MLB’s new single-season home run king.

Doskaliev smacked 65 homers, passing Emmanuel Kao’s record of 63 set in 2001. Doskaliev would hold the top spot until 2012. Doskaliev also led in runs (124), hits (207), RBI (141), total bases (445), slugging (.697), OPS (1.068), wRC+ (222), and WAR (10.2). The 445 total bases was the third-best MLB season to that point.

Louisville’s Joshua Williams won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 24-year old righty led in strikeouts (330), walks (92), quality starts (28), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.1). Williams also had a 2.46 ERA over 263.1 innings and an 18-10 record. The Lynx spent big in the offseason, giving Williams a seven-year, $85,100,000 extension.

Sadly, he was never quite the same after a torn labrum in 2008. Williams had a few more good years after, but very quickly regressed and was out of MLB by age 32. Still, his 39.6 WAR and 1258 strikeouts in his first four years remain one of the all-time great starts to a career. He’d only get another 1162 Ks and 28.5 WAR over the remaining seven years of his career.

In the first round of the playoffs, Boston edged Detroit 2-1 and Washington edged Cincinnati 2-1. The top seeds prevailed in round two with Philadelphia over the Admirals 3-1 and a Winnipeg sweep of the Red Sox. It was the fifth year in a row that the National Association Championship Series had the Phillies or the Wolves, but the first time they met in the NACS. Winnipeg had beaten Philly in the second round of 2004.

The 2007 NACS was a seven-game thriller with Winnipeg outlasting Philadelphia on the road. The Wolves were the first team to repeat as National Association champ since Montreal in 1972-73. Winnipeg also won their third pennant in four years. That had only previously happened in the NA when the Phillies won seven straight from 1941-1947 and when St. Louis three-peated from 1908-1910.




Seattle had finally won their first World Series in 2005, but then missed the playoffs in 2006 at 82-80. In 2007, the Grizzlies reclaimed the top seed in the American Association at 102-60. Seattle won the Northwest Division and earned an eighth playoff berth in ten years.

Portland was second at 97-65, which secured the first wild card. The Pacifics ended the second-longest active playoff drought in MLB dating back to 1979. The only longer skid was Miami’s 35 years of ineptitude back to 1972. Salt Lake City’s three-year playoff streak ended, as the Loons went from 100 wins the prior year to a middling 78-84 in 2007.

Atlanta at 98-64 earned the Southeast Division title and the #2 seed, ending a six-year postseason drought. Defending World Series champ Nashville was second at 92-70, which was good enough for the second wild card. It was a tight battle as the Knights finished two ahead of both Austin and New Orleans, three better than Dallas and Oakland, four better than Jacksonville, six ahead of Tampa, and seven ahead of Albuquerque and Los Angeles.

San Diego won the Southwest Division at 96-66, besting the Owls by seven games. The Seals earned back-to-back playoff berths. For the Isotopes, their playoff streak ended at six years, meaning no one in the 2007 playoff field had a longer streak than two seasons. Phoenix had won the World Series in 2003 and 2004. After back-to-back 80-82 seasons, the Firebirds fully collapsed to 58-104 in 2007. Only the inaugural 1901 season (54-108) was worse for them.

A very tight South Central Division had Memphis on top at 92-70. The Amigos and Mudcats were both two behind and Dallas was three back. It was the second berth in three years for the Mountain Cats, but their first division title since 1974. Houston’s five-year playoff streak concluded as the Hornets dropped to 77-85.

American Association MVP also went to a foreign export in 1B Ju-Won Yoo. The 29-year old South Korean had come to the Seals on an eight-year, $93,000,000 deal in 2006 after being an EAB all-star. In 2007, he led the AA with 60 home runs, 151 RBI, 123 runs, and a .673 slugging percentage. Yoo added a .319 average, 188 wRC+, and 10.2 WAR. Yoo was only the second MLB slugger in the last 25 years with a 150+ RBI season.

Pitcher of the Year was Calgary veteran Daniel Grondin. It was the second POTY for the 30-year old Canadian righty, who did it back in his second season in 1999. Grondin led in strikeouts (283), quality starts (23), shutouts (5), FIP- (57), and WAR (10.2). He also had a 2.57 ERA over 266.1 innings and 18-10 record.

It was Grondin’s sixth time leading in WAR, ninth time leading in FIP, and fourth time leading in Ks. He had almost flown under the radar despite being great with the Cheetahs. It was Grondin’s last year in Calgary, as he was sent to Boston in a five prospect haul in the winter. The Red Sox gave him a six-year, $86,700,000 extension, but a torn flexor in 2010 and torn UCL in 2011 ended his impressive run.

Memphis edged Portland 2-1 and San Diego swept defending MLB champ Nashville in the first round. Seattle survived a five-game battle with the Mountain Cats, while the Seals upset Atlanta 3-1. It was the fifth time in eight years with the Grizzlies in the American Association Championship Series.

Although San Diego had numerous playoff berths in recent memory, they hadn’t gotten to the AACS since 1971. Like the adjacent NACS, the 2007 AACS was a seven game classic. San Diego upset Seattle on the road for the Seals’ first pennants since their 1966-67 repeat. It was the seventh overall title for San Diego.



The 107^th World Series lacked drama as San Diego swept Winnipeg. The two franchises had very different luck in the Fall Classic as the Seals were now 6-1 all-time (winning in 1936, 55, 56, 58, 66, and 07) and the Wolves were now 0-3 in the last four seasons. This was the fifth straight title win for the American Association over the National Association.



RF Errol Jordan was World Series MVP in his San Diego debut, having signed after eight years in Cincinnati. In 17 playoff starts, he had 19 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI, and 18 walks. Jordan drew 130 walks in the regular season, the seventh-most in a MLB season. No one had taken 130 BBs since 1933.

Other notes: Memphis’ Sutee Phanbua threw MLB’s 21^st Perfect Game on May 13, striking out 13 against San Antonio. LF Tito Infante won his seventh straight Gold Glove. 2B Adrian Vega won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Bryson Wightman became the fifth member of the 2000 RBI club and the 20^th to reach 600 homers. He would play one more year in MLB and end with 2167 RBI, retiring second to Stan Provost’s 2271. As of 2037, Wightman is 4^th all-time in RBI.