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KCRoyals15 · 01-17-2025, 05:12 PM

1995

At the turn of the 20th century, naming a baseball team in Atlanta after the whip-cracking cattle ranchers who first settled Georgia known as "Georgia crackers" made sense. (EDITOR'S NOTE: the real-life Atlanta minor league team was known as the Crackers from 1902 until being displaced by the Braves in 1965)

However, a century later, the connotation had turned much more negative and Atlantans were ready for a new team name. Given that the Atlanta team had an active 17-year playoff drought (with no winning seasons) and four seasons with 111 or more losses in the past decade, the negative association with losing was all the more reason to change the name. And so, in an equally fitting name for Georgia, the Atlanta Peaches they would now be.

Additionally, the newly-christened Peaches would welcome in a new manager. Trey Skipper had gone 178-146 in two years in Tulsa with a pair of playoff berths and the 1993 National Championship. Looking for a new challenge, he looked to bring a new culture of winning to join the new identity.

The 1995 season saw a titan stand tall over the Northern Conference, as the Manhattan Yankees roared to a 108-54 record, their fourth-straight 100-win season and most wins since 1939. They romped to a 19-game victory in the New England League over the second-place Philadelphia A's, who edged out Brooklyn for second, ruining the Dodgers' first season at brand-new Citi Field.

In the Midwest Association, the Cleveland Spiders had also moved into a new stadium the previous year, christening Jacobs Field. Their second year in their digs saw them win the MWA pennant, finishing three games clear of Toronto, who took second.

In the postseason, Toronto dealt Cleveland a minor upset in the first round, defeating the Spiders in five games. Meanwhile, Manhattan made quick work of Philadelphia, winning in five games. The Yankees then took the Maple Leafs to the woodshed, earning their first conference title in five years in a five-game series victory.

In the Southern Conference, Baltimore won their second-straight Eastern League pennant, finishing five games of Norfolk, who finished second for the second year in a row. The Western League was won by Pittsburgh, who won a competitive league with 99 wins, their most in two decades. Finishing second was Kansas City, just two games back, earning their first playoff bid in eight years.

In the League Finals, both leagues saw upsets. In the EL, Norfolk took down Baltimore, avenging a playoff defeat from the year before with a six-game series win. Kansas City, meanwhile, dispatched Pittsburgh in five games to win the WL. The Blues were a clear favorite, but Norfolk was up to the task, and the Admirals took a seven-game series, winning their first Conference Championship since 1987.

Once more, the Pacific Coast League was led by the San Francisco Seals, who won their fifth-straight North Division title with the league's best record. Oakland finished second for a third year in a row and earned a playoff spot, though Portland's first winning season in 15 years applied some pressure. San Diego won the South, also for the fifth-straight year (18th-straight playoff berth overall), with San Jose cruising to a second-place finish.

The Division Series had few surprises as both champions, San Francisco and San Diego, won in six game series. In the PCL Finals, the Padres were searching for a repeat and they came up with it, defeating the Seals in a tight seven-game set.

The Texas League saw Tulsa post the best season in franchise history winning 95 games and their third-straight North Division title. For the fifth-consecutive season, Wichita finished second, and with it, earned a playoff spot. Austin rebounded from a fourth-place finish last season to win the South, clearing Houston by seven games, as the Buffs finished second for the second year in a row.

In the Division Finals, Tulsa made short work of Wichita, downing the Aeros in five games. Austin made even shorter work of Houston, bludgeoning the Buffaloes in a four-game sweep. The Wranglers faced a stiffer test in the Oilers, but came through with a seven-game victory to earn their second Texas League title and first since 1980.

The national tournament had a pair of clear favorites entering the tournament, but they both went down early, as the Norfolk Admirals (SOU) defeat the Manhattan Yankees (NOR) in one upset, and in another, the Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the San Diego Padres (PCL). In their only previous tournament appearance, the Wranglers took the National Championship, and this time they made it 2-for-2, as the Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the Norfolk Admirals (SOU), 4-1 for their second national title.

Manhattan's dominant regular season was led by sparkplug outfielder Jeremy Barry. In his fourth season, Berry was limited to 120 games, but he slashed .347/.437/.580 with 161 hits, 117 runs, 33 doubles, 9 triples, 19 homers, 77 RBI, and a conference-high 72 steals to earn Northern Conference MVP. Though just 28 at the end of the season, Barry's numbers cratered across the board the following season and he never came particular close to matching the production of his first four seasons.

On the mound, Philadelphia Athletics lefty Ben Vallee had been excellent in his first five big-league seasons, including two 20-win seasons. He fell just short, going 19-9, but posted a conference-leading 3.31 ERA and also led the North in innings (269.1), strikeouts (229), and complete games (9), winning Pitcher of the Year.

For the second year in a row, Jacksonville infielder T.J. Matern was king of the Southern Conference, slashing .325/.375/.585 with 201 hits, 118 runs, 39 doubles, 13 triples, 32 homers, and a conference-leading 142 RBI to take the MVP trophy once more.

On the mound, Norfolk's Charles Hawkins enjoyed a breakout rookie year, going 18-8 with a 3.55 ERA, striking out 157 over 220.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year and held his squad to national runner-up status. Despite this, Hawkins wouldn't even finish the following year with the Admirals, being dealt to San Francisco midseason, where he remains over half a decade later.

Kansas City's Ben Dotson was out of has and would end his 19-year career after the season. However, on April 22, he would record his 3,000th career strikeouts, the final exclamation point on a career in which he won 280 games and struck out 3,050 batters.

In the Pacific Coast League, Portland's Jon Babylon repeated as MVP with a stellar follow-up to his excellent rookie campaign. The 25-year-old outfielder slashed .324/.402/.558 with 244 hits, 128 runs, 53 doubles, 11 triples, 34 homers, and 130 RBI, while stealing 60 bases to claim another piece of hardware. Babylon would post a ridiculous 47 homers, 157 RBI, and 52 steals the following year, but his power mysteriously vanished after that, putting a damper on his overall production.

The mound also had a repeat winner, as San Diego's Jody Hintz notched his third-straight Pitcher of the Year award. The 29-year-old went 19-14 with a 3.25 ERA, leading the PCL in strikeouts (237), innings (296.1) and complete games (7) in his award-winning campaign.

In the Texas League, Austin's National Championship was powered in part by rookie outfielder Jose Jimenez. The 23-year-old slashed .298/.416/.563 with 168 hits, a league-high 115 runs, 32 doubles, and a league-leading 37 homers and 113 RBI, earning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Wichita right-hander Kyle Whitman capped off a stellar six-year run by going 20-10 with a league-leading 2.86 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 251.2 innings, as well as a league-high 6 complete games and 3 shutouts. It earned him the 25-year-old his third Pitcher of the Year award, though he would begin a noticeable decline with following year.

The Eastern Baseball Federation had a rather quiet Hall of Fame weekend, with a ten-time All-Star catcher being the only one making an induction speech:

C Sebastien Clark (1964-84), 79.5%

Meanwhile, the Pacific Coast League inducted a five-time batting champion and two-time MVP:

2B Javon Beavers (1976-91), 98.2%

Finally, the Texas League inducted a member of the 3,000-hit club and the league's first-ever catcher to earn induction:

OF Josh White (1969-89), 97.5%
C Alan Rutledge (1973-89), 94.0%

---

In the American Baseball League, the East finally saw some stronger teams after a couple lean years, with Columbus winning a club-record 95 games and their first-ever division title. Syracuse, Indianapolis, and Memphis filed in behind them, with the Hoosiers and Kings both barely boxing Richmond out of the playoffs. The West was won by Anaheim, one game ahead of Minneapolis, with Denver and Tucson just three and five games back, snagging the other playoff spots.

In the playoffs, Columbus and Syracuse won their first-round series in the East, while Anaheim and Minneapolis did the same out West. Syracuse, though, pulled a six-game upset of Columbus in the semis, while Anaheim survived a seven-game tussle with Minneapolis. The Chiefs then ruled over the ABL with a four-game sweep of the Millers to win their second American Baseball Cup.

In the East, Columbus' rise was aided by catcher Jamie Carter, who slashed .300/.367/.513 with 22 doubles, 22 homers, and 94 RBI to win MVP, a true outlier in a a career that fell off extremely fast. Syracuse's Andres Lopez went 18-11 with a 3.81 ERA, striking out 182 in 255.1 innings in his fifth-straight excellent season, though he finally earned his first Pitcher of the Year.

In the West, Tucson's Paul Gravel had an excellent rookie year, slashing .324/.425/.547 with 191 hits, 123 runs, 45 doubles, 7 triples, 24 homers, 117 RBI, and 28 steals, winning Rookie of the Year and MVP. Longtime Denver ace Jim Puricelli won his third Pitcher of the Year, going 14-11 with a 3.95 ERA, striking out 138 in 214.1 innings.

---

Over the past few seasons, discontent had been bubbling up between the American and Canadian clubs in the Big Sky League, primarily over the Canadian clubs (who were in bigger markets) wishing to aim higher. This culminated in the four northern teams splitting away from the BSL, taking a fifth club, the Ogden Railroaders, with them. They then raided the Rocky Mountain League for Billings, Colorado Springs, and Ft. Collins, then snagging Albuquerque from the Southwest League. In a surprising move, longtime affiliated club Amarillo elected to go the independent route, forfeiting their spot in the Lone Star League to Wichita Falls and becoming the tenth club in the brand-new North American League, which aimed to be the pre-eminent minor league in the west:

North American League

This chain reaction led to two remaining BSL teams joining the Rocky Mountain League, a third (Idaho Falls) becoming home to a Northwest League affiliated club and the Big Sky League going out of business after 30 years of play, with two ten-team leagues, the RML and the new NAL remaining in the region.

All told, 10 teams changed leagues, 7 relocated (3 of which were immediately replaced), and 2 brand-new clubs were founded.

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Savannah Cardinals, 92-62, defeats Baton Rouge
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 85-55, defeats Scranton-Wilkes Barre
River Valley League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 87-53, defeats Erie
Rocky Mountain League: Twin Falls Timbers, 75-45, defeats Missoula (2nd straight, 1st in RML)
Coastal League: Charlotte Hornets, 96-58, defeats Macon
Northern League: St. Paul Saints, 89-51, defeats Duluth-Superior
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 82-58, defeats Bakersfield
Southern Association: Joplin Jaspers, 81-59, defeats Springfield
Northwest League: Pocatello Gatekeepers, 93-61, defeats Boise
Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 73-53, defeats London
Mid-Atlantic League: Worcester Tornadoes, 82-58, defeats Raleigh-Durham
Lone Star League: San Angelo Colts, 81-59, defeats Northwest Arkansas
Great Plains League: South Bend Silver Sox, 98-42, defeats Salina
Florida Coast League: Huntsville Stars, 93-47, defeats St. Petersburg (3rd straight)
Heartland League: Youngstown Steelers, 77-64 defeats Cedar Rapids
Atlantic Coast League: Petersburg Generals, 69-51, defeats Fayetteville
North American League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 74-66, defeats Colorado Springs

The Rocky Mountain League wound up with a strange twist, as both finalists, Twin Falls and Missoula, were in the Big Sky League the previous year. The final BSL champions, Twin Falls, won the RML, joining the rare club of repeat champions in different leagues.

01-17-2025, 05:12 PM	#107
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	Ship Wrangling 1995 At the turn of the 20th century, naming a baseball team in Atlanta after the whip-cracking cattle ranchers who first settled Georgia known as "Georgia crackers" made sense. (EDITOR'S NOTE: the real-life Atlanta minor league team was known as the Crackers from 1902 until being displaced by the Braves in 1965) However, a century later, the connotation had turned much more negative and Atlantans were ready for a new team name. Given that the Atlanta team had an active 17-year playoff drought (with no winning seasons) and four seasons with 111 or more losses in the past decade, the negative association with losing was all the more reason to change the name. And so, in an equally fitting name for Georgia, the *Atlanta Peaches* they would now be. Additionally, the newly-christened Peaches would welcome in a new manager. Trey Skipper had gone 178-146 in two years in Tulsa with a pair of playoff berths and the 1993 National Championship. Looking for a new challenge, he looked to bring a new culture of winning to join the new identity. The 1995 season saw a titan stand tall over the Northern Conference, as the Manhattan Yankees roared to a 108-54 record, their fourth-straight 100-win season and most wins since 1939. They romped to a 19-game victory in the New England League over the second-place Philadelphia A's, who edged out Brooklyn for second, ruining the Dodgers' first season at brand-new Citi Field. In the Midwest Association, the Cleveland Spiders had also moved into a new stadium the previous year, christening Jacobs Field. Their second year in their digs saw them win the MWA pennant, finishing three games clear of Toronto, who took second. In the postseason, Toronto dealt Cleveland a minor upset in the first round, defeating the Spiders in five games. Meanwhile, Manhattan made quick work of Philadelphia, winning in five games. The Yankees then took the Maple Leafs to the woodshed, earning their first conference title in five years in a five-game series victory. In the Southern Conference, Baltimore won their second-straight Eastern League pennant, finishing five games of Norfolk, who finished second for the second year in a row. The Western League was won by Pittsburgh, who won a competitive league with 99 wins, their most in two decades. Finishing second was Kansas City, just two games back, earning their first playoff bid in eight years. In the League Finals, both leagues saw upsets. In the EL, Norfolk took down Baltimore, avenging a playoff defeat from the year before with a six-game series win. Kansas City, meanwhile, dispatched Pittsburgh in five games to win the WL. The Blues were a clear favorite, but Norfolk was up to the task, and the Admirals took a seven-game series, winning their first Conference Championship since 1987. Once more, the Pacific Coast League was led by the San Francisco Seals, who won their fifth-straight North Division title with the league's best record. Oakland finished second for a third year in a row and earned a playoff spot, though Portland's first winning season in 15 years applied some pressure. San Diego won the South, also for the fifth-straight year (18th-straight playoff berth overall), with San Jose cruising to a second-place finish. The Division Series had few surprises as both champions, San Francisco and San Diego, won in six game series. In the PCL Finals, the Padres were searching for a repeat and they came up with it, defeating the Seals in a tight seven-game set. The Texas League saw Tulsa post the best season in franchise history winning 95 games and their third-straight North Division title. For the fifth-consecutive season, Wichita finished second, and with it, earned a playoff spot. Austin rebounded from a fourth-place finish last season to win the South, clearing Houston by seven games, as the Buffs finished second for the second year in a row. In the Division Finals, Tulsa made short work of Wichita, downing the Aeros in five games. Austin made even shorter work of Houston, bludgeoning the Buffaloes in a four-game sweep. The Wranglers faced a stiffer test in the Oilers, but came through with a seven-game victory to earn their second Texas League title and first since 1980. The national tournament had a pair of clear favorites entering the tournament, but they both went down early, as the Norfolk Admirals (SOU) defeat the Manhattan Yankees (NOR) in one upset, and in another, the Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the San Diego Padres (PCL). In their only previous tournament appearance, the Wranglers took the National Championship, and this time they made it 2-for-2, as the *Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the Norfolk Admirals (SOU), 4-1* for their second national title. Manhattan's dominant regular season was led by sparkplug outfielder Jeremy Barry. In his fourth season, Berry was limited to 120 games, but he slashed .347/.437/.580 with 161 hits, 117 runs, 33 doubles, 9 triples, 19 homers, 77 RBI, and a conference-high 72 steals to earn Northern Conference MVP. Though just 28 at the end of the season, Barry's numbers cratered across the board the following season and he never came particular close to matching the production of his first four seasons. On the mound, Philadelphia Athletics lefty Ben Vallee had been excellent in his first five big-league seasons, including two 20-win seasons. He fell just short, going 19-9, but posted a conference-leading 3.31 ERA and also led the North in innings (269.1), strikeouts (229), and complete games (9), winning Pitcher of the Year. For the second year in a row, Jacksonville infielder T.J. Matern was king of the Southern Conference, slashing .325/.375/.585 with 201 hits, 118 runs, 39 doubles, 13 triples, 32 homers, and a conference-leading 142 RBI to take the MVP trophy once more. On the mound, Norfolk's Charles Hawkins enjoyed a breakout rookie year, going 18-8 with a 3.55 ERA, striking out 157 over 220.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year and held his squad to national runner-up status. Despite this, Hawkins wouldn't even finish the following year with the Admirals, being dealt to San Francisco midseason, where he remains over half a decade later. Kansas City's Ben Dotson was out of has and would end his 19-year career after the season. However, on April 22, he would record his 3,000th career strikeouts, the final exclamation point on a career in which he won 280 games and struck out 3,050 batters. In the Pacific Coast League, Portland's Jon Babylon repeated as MVP with a stellar follow-up to his excellent rookie campaign. The 25-year-old outfielder slashed .324/.402/.558 with 244 hits, 128 runs, 53 doubles, 11 triples, 34 homers, and 130 RBI, while stealing 60 bases to claim another piece of hardware. Babylon would post a ridiculous 47 homers, 157 RBI, and 52 steals the following year, but his power mysteriously vanished after that, putting a damper on his overall production. The mound also had a repeat winner, as San Diego's Jody Hintz notched his third-straight Pitcher of the Year award. The 29-year-old went 19-14 with a 3.25 ERA, leading the PCL in strikeouts (237), innings (296.1) and complete games (7) in his award-winning campaign. In the Texas League, Austin's National Championship was powered in part by rookie outfielder Jose Jimenez. The 23-year-old slashed .298/.416/.563 with 168 hits, a league-high 115 runs, 32 doubles, and a league-leading 37 homers and 113 RBI, earning Rookie of the Year and MVP honors. Wichita right-hander Kyle Whitman capped off a stellar six-year run by going 20-10 with a league-leading 2.86 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 251.2 innings, as well as a league-high 6 complete games and 3 shutouts. It earned him the 25-year-old his third Pitcher of the Year award, though he would begin a noticeable decline with following year. The Eastern Baseball Federation had a rather quiet Hall of Fame weekend, with a ten-time All-Star catcher being the only one making an induction speech: C Sebastien Clark (1964-84), 79.5% Meanwhile, the Pacific Coast League inducted a five-time batting champion and two-time MVP: 2B Javon Beavers (1976-91), 98.2% Finally, the Texas League inducted a member of the 3,000-hit club and the league's first-ever catcher to earn induction: OF Josh White (1969-89), 97.5% C Alan Rutledge (1973-89), 94.0% --- In the American Baseball League, the East finally saw some stronger teams after a couple lean years, with Columbus winning a club-record 95 games and their first-ever division title. Syracuse, Indianapolis, and Memphis filed in behind them, with the Hoosiers and Kings both barely boxing Richmond out of the playoffs. The West was won by Anaheim, one game ahead of Minneapolis, with Denver and Tucson just three and five games back, snagging the other playoff spots. In the playoffs, Columbus and Syracuse won their first-round series in the East, while Anaheim and Minneapolis did the same out West. Syracuse, though, pulled a six-game upset of Columbus in the semis, while Anaheim survived a seven-game tussle with Minneapolis. The Chiefs then ruled over the ABL with a four-game sweep of the Millers to win their second American Baseball Cup. In the East, Columbus' rise was aided by catcher Jamie Carter, who slashed .300/.367/.513 with 22 doubles, 22 homers, and 94 RBI to win MVP, a true outlier in a a career that fell off extremely fast. Syracuse's Andres Lopez went 18-11 with a 3.81 ERA, striking out 182 in 255.1 innings in his fifth-straight excellent season, though he finally earned his first Pitcher of the Year. In the West, Tucson's Paul Gravel had an excellent rookie year, slashing .324/.425/.547 with 191 hits, 123 runs, 45 doubles, 7 triples, 24 homers, 117 RBI, and 28 steals, winning Rookie of the Year and MVP. Longtime Denver ace Jim Puricelli won his third Pitcher of the Year, going 14-11 with a 3.95 ERA, striking out 138 in 214.1 innings. --- Over the past few seasons, discontent had been bubbling up between the American and Canadian clubs in the Big Sky League, primarily over the Canadian clubs (who were in bigger markets) wishing to aim higher. This culminated in the four northern teams splitting away from the BSL, taking a fifth club, the Ogden Railroaders, with them. They then raided the Rocky Mountain League for Billings, Colorado Springs, and Ft. Collins, then snagging Albuquerque from the Southwest League. In a surprising move, longtime affiliated club Amarillo elected to go the independent route, forfeiting their spot in the Lone Star League to Wichita Falls and becoming the tenth club in the brand-new *North American League, which aimed to be the pre-eminent minor league in the west: North American League* This chain reaction led to two remaining BSL teams joining the Rocky Mountain League, a third (Idaho Falls) becoming home to a Northwest League affiliated club and the Big Sky League going out of business after 30 years of play, with two ten-team leagues, the RML and the new NAL remaining in the region. All told, 10 teams changed leagues, 7 relocated (3 of which were immediately replaced), and 2 brand-new clubs were founded. Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Savannah Cardinals, 92-62, defeats Baton Rouge Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 85-55, defeats Scranton-Wilkes Barre River Valley League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 87-53, defeats Erie Rocky Mountain League: Twin Falls Timbers, 75-45, defeats Missoula (2nd straight, 1st in RML) Coastal League: Charlotte Hornets, 96-58, defeats Macon Northern League: St. Paul Saints, 89-51, defeats Duluth-Superior Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 82-58, defeats Bakersfield Southern Association: Joplin Jaspers, 81-59, defeats Springfield Northwest League: Pocatello Gatekeepers, 93-61, defeats Boise Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 73-53, defeats London Mid-Atlantic League: Worcester Tornadoes, 82-58, defeats Raleigh-Durham Lone Star League: San Angelo Colts, 81-59, defeats Northwest Arkansas Great Plains League: South Bend Silver Sox, 98-42, defeats Salina Florida Coast League: Huntsville Stars, 93-47, defeats St. Petersburg (3rd straight) Heartland League: Youngstown Steelers, 77-64 defeats Cedar Rapids Atlantic Coast League: Petersburg Generals, 69-51, defeats Fayetteville North American League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 74-66, defeats Colorado Springs The Rocky Mountain League wound up with a strange twist, as both finalists, Twin Falls and Missoula, were in the Big Sky League the previous year. The final BSL champions, Twin Falls, won the RML, joining the rare club of repeat champions in different leagues. Last edited by KCRoyals15; 01-17-2025 at 05:16 PM.