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2044 Regular Season
Western League Review
Omaha cruised to the Midwest division title winning 99-games, the achievement was truly a team effort for the Braves with Catcher Luis Guerra (.277, 25 HR, 99 ERA) topping their offense (2B Tom Lockhart was the only other player to hit more than 20 HR’s but eight others hit 10+) while Kanko Ota (16-7 2.89 ERA) and Mike Mayfield (14-8, 2.73 ERA) paced the WL’s #2 pitching staff. Minneapolis (82-80) were similar offensively to Omaha in that not one player stood out statistically, but as a team the Bears produced the WL’s #4 scoring offense, however unlike the Braves their pitching was lacklustre, with only Sueng-Jae Park (12-10, 5.11 ERA) reaching double figures in the win column. Denver finished level with Minneapolis on 82-wins, the Wildcats offense clubbed 184 homeruns (4th most in the NABL) with 2B Solomon Slaughter (26) 3B Jotaro Shimizu (25) OF Patrick Richardson (22) and OF Fernando Diaz (20 in just 77 games before injury) all hitting 20+ homers but their pitching, much like Minneapolis, was below average and was the main reason why the Wildcats failed to build on a strong first half of the season (52-39 at the All-Star break). Continuing the theme of strong offense and below-par pitching was Oklahoma City, with LF Rob Penney (30 HR) and 3B Xavier Cisneros (29 HR) providing the scoring punch, OKC could live with anyone offensively but as with the Bears and Wildcats it was their sketchy pitching that held them back as they finished the season with a 78-84 record, while bringing up the rear were Kansas City, winning only 64-games and matching Washington for the worst record in the NABL.
Phoenix blasted their way to the Southwest division crown, led by 1B Domingo Vargas (.351, 41 HR, 138 RBI) and a supporting cast featuring RF Brandon Spence (.347, 36 HR, 119 RBI) and LF Adrian Ramirez (.325, 30 HR, 102 RBI) the Eagles slugged 210 round-trippers and a scored a league high 913 runs. On the down side their pitching staff struggled keeping the ball in the park, surrendering a WL high 199 homeruns and was a big reason why the Eagles won only 86-games instead of being closer to 100. Austin finished the season 81-81, with LF Clarence Davis (31 HR) and 2B Jackie Young (28 HR) providing some pop on offense it was a lack of pitching depth that cost the team a run at the division crown. Las Vegas suffered a World Series hangover, after losing back-to-back fall classics the Gamblers fell back to finish a disappointing 75-87, their first losing season in twenty-one years. Dallas ended their campaign one game further back, the Mustangs problems stemmed from their league worst starting rotation, no starter won more than 7-games and their best pitcher was reliver Jesus Tobias (9-2, 33 SV, 1.67 ERA in 66 games), whilst Houston (73-89) improved their performance over 2043, they still ended the season with their sixth trip to the division basement despite somehow producing the WL’s #3 offense.
Sanfrancisco collected their fourth consecutive Pacific division title, the Gold rode their excellent pitching (with off-season acquisition Bryan Marburg (18-4, 1.94 ERA) particularly impressive) to a 98-64 record. San Diego followed the same formula to finish second with 92-wins, however the Mariners were forced to use their top-rated bullpen, anchored by Rob Kearton and Lucious Sandford far more than they would have liked due to their listless offense (they scored a league low 606 runs and clubbed just 100 homeruns during the season). Seattle, with new manager Juan Campos pulling the strings, surprised everyone by finishing third with an 86-76 record (their first winning campaign in 14-seasons) whilst in Los Angeles, strong seasons from RF Stu Leach (33 HR, 97 RBI) and P Joe Taylor (14-10, 3.06 ERA) could not prevent the Lynx (78-84) from limping home fourth. Vaughan Laursen’s first season in San Jose wasn’t a success but it was also not the abject failure many had predicted, to their credit the Spartans remained competitive throughout the season and players such as C Jorge Garcia (32 HR), LF Mike Carson (31 HR) and pitcher Javier Valencia (13-5, 1.67 ERA in 27 games) all staked claims to be part of Laursen’s plans moving forward.
Final Standings
Midwest Division
Omaha 99-63 *
Minneapolis 82-80
Denver 82-80
Oklahoma City 78-84
Kansas City 64-98
Southwest Division
Phoenix 86-76 *
Austin 81-81
Las Vegas 75-87
Dallas 74-88
Houston 73-89
Pacific Division
Sanfrancisco 98-64 *
San Diego 92-70 *
Seattle 86-76
Los Angeles 78-84
San Jose 74-88
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