[JayW UK]

2030 Regular Season

Western League Review

In the Midwest division, Kansas City as expected cruised to the title winning a franchise best 99 games, the Tornadoes had the dubious honour of being the only WL team to score more than 700 runs on the season (702) but their stellar pitching with Robert Warwick (19-12, 2.73 ERA) playing a starring role allowed only 570 runs to be scored against them. The only threat to KC’s dominance came in the form of Oklahoma City who finished 86-76, they were the first team in the division other than KC to finish with a winning record in five years, Denver (70-92) despite the superhuman efforts of LF Dixon Bodean (.322, 44 HR, 117 RBI) and 1B Jamie Boden (.305, 30 HR, 113 RBI) still struggled to reach 70 wins. Minneapolis (66-96) brought up the rear, their struggling offense (the Bears only managed to muster a paltry 92 homeruns during the season) making things very difficult for their pitchers, with Wessel Oost (10-13, 2.84 ERA) the only pitcher to reach double figures for wins.
The Southwest division was a battle between the two best pitching teams in the entire NABL, Dallas (102-60), with a rotation featuring young superstar in the making Cristobal Chapa (13-6, 2.13ERA) who had returned from injury as good as ever, Juan Rangel (13-5, 2.62 ERA), Randy Bane (12-4, 3.22 ERA) Alwin Roozen (13-11, 2.65 ERA) and Kurt Banks (12-7, 2.33 ERA) held off the strong charging Las Vegas Gamblers (95-67) who also boasted a solid rotation headed by ace Holden Willis (16-4, 2.43 ERA) and the league’s most fearsome relief corps featuring Rolando Cerny (6-4, 1.72 ERA, 42 SV in 72G), Davis Robinson (9-4, 2.17 ERA, 15 SV in 75G), Jeffrey McKinnon (10-2,2.45 ERA, 2 SV in 69G) and Leland Watson (9-3, 2.76 ERA, 2 SV in 89G). With Leo Wright (18-8, 2.60 ERA) racking up the wins and LF Clayton Jones (27 HR) providing the offensive spark, Austin had themselves another strong season but had the misfortune to be in the same division as Dallas and Las Vegas, finishing third with an 87-75 record. Despite strong seasons from Arturo Rodriguez (16-11, 3.12 ERA) and 3B Michael Ford (.313, 28 HR, 95 RBI) Phoenix continued their struggles limping home fourth with a 74-88 record while Houston slumped to just 71 wins, their lowest total since 2021. Although the Stars endured a dismal season they did receive strong play from several young stars led by 24-year-olds SS Stave Blanton (.290, 28 HR, 85 RBI) and 1B Eric finley (.271, 24 HR, 90 RBI), however 23-year-old pitcher Darrell Haney (9-21, 3.74 ERA) found the going tougher.
The Pacific division saw the surprise rise of Los Angeles from their slumber, inspired pitching from the likes of Vaughan Laursen (18-8, 2.86 ERA), Roman Diaz (13-4, 2.67 ERA) and Mitch Woodroffe (15-10, 2.91 ERA) propelled the Lynx to a record of 89-73 their best since 2024. A pitching staff that played better than expected (especially Domingas Fidi 19-9, 2.60 ERA) had Seattle in contention, but an indifferent August (13-15) cost them as they finished in second place with an 86-76 record, San Diego never got going on the season and drifted to an uninspiring 80-82 third place finish. San Jose struggled to just 72 wins with their offense being the biggest culprit, scoring just 563 runs, the team’s struggles meant the end of manager Dan Stone’s tenure as he was fired at the end of the season, but the cupboard was far from bare in San Jose as the Spartans could call on the services of a plethora of young talented players with P Julio Torres, P Walt Lake, LF Gregg Bambridge, CF Kenny Henry and 3B Tom Sterling all 25-years-old or younger. Sanfrancisco, many people’s dark horse before the season, had a campaign to forget, injuries and poor form (their main five-man rotation of Mike Pickett, Mike Powell, Jeff Powell, Carlos Burgos and TJ Simms combined for a record of 37–70, 4.46 ERA, and as a team they amassed only a .236 batting average for the season) saw the Gold drop to the division basement with a disastrous 57-105 campaign.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Kansas City 99-63*
Oklahoma City 86-76
Denver 70-92
Minneapolis 66-96

Southwest Division
Dallas 102-60*
Las Vegas 95-67*
Austin 87-75
Phoenix 74-88
Houston 71-91

Pacific Division
Los Angeles 89-73*
Seattle 86-76
San Diego 80-82
San Jose 72-90
Sanfrancisco 57-105