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Old 05-20-2018, 02:55 AM   #16
Dukie98
All Star Reserve
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 902
2012 Year in Review

Frontier League: The worst-to-first Baltimore Robins won 94 games, winning a tough Northeast Division where all six teams finished at or above .500, as center fielder Rick Monday hit .342 with a team-high 20 homers and 95 RBIs, and Clay Buchholz and Patrick Corbin led a stingy pitching staff which finished second in the league in runs allowed. The Robins edged out the Buffalo Fighting Elk, as Jose Abreu hit .320 with 20 homers, 86 RBIs, and 104 runs scored, and rookie catcher Dave Nilsson sparkled with a .304 average and slugged .467. The Detroit Purple Gang returned to the postseason after winning the Great Lakes Division with 96 wins. Rookie first baseman Travis Lee hit .339 with 23 homers and scored 127 runs, and four other regulars, including Craig Biggio and Ryan Braun, topped .300. The Cleveland Rocks, led by MVP candidate Jose Reyes, who hit .362 with 109 runs scored, 67 steals, and 94 RBI's, nearly matched the Purple Gang before fading in the final week to finish with 92 wins. Ace Jack Chesbro nearly matched his stellar season from the prior year, going 22-8 with a 2.27 ERA and 268 strikeouts. The London Werewolves rode a hot start (43-16) to seize another wild card with 91 wins, as third baseman Bill Sudakis hit .313 with 35 homers and a league-leading 123 RBI's, while George Earnshaw anchored the pitching staff, going 17-8 with a 2.36 ERA and a league-best 302 strikeouts.

The St. Louis Pilots, after scuffling below .500 for the first four months, returned to the postseason, riding the left arm of Billy Pierce, who went 23-9 with a 1.92 ERA and 299 strikeouts, and the legs of Deion Sanders, who ripped 17 triples, 17 homers, and stole 63 bases. The Vancouver Viceroys won a league-best 99 games, allowing a league best 506 runs, as Jakie May went 17-9 with a 2.04 ERA, and Omar Daal won his first 13 decisions on his way to a 21-6 season with a 2.54 ERA. The Calgary Cattle Rustlers took the final wild card slot, as Jake Weimer went 24-6 with a league-best 1.66 ERA, and Frank Chance hit .362 and drove in 86 runs.

Continental League: The Washington Ambassadors took the Atlantic Division title with 93 wins, led by southpaws Ray Collins and Hippo Vaughn, who won a combined 45 games, with Collins sporting a 2.02 ERA and Vaughn finishing at 2.37. The Charlotte Aviators finished a close second, with a deep pitching staff and an offense led by sluggers Bill Freehan and Richard Hidalgo, but they were eliminated from the playoffs on the last day of the year after falling to the flailing Jacksonville Gulls. The Atlanta Ducks won 105 games and ran away with the Southeast Division title by 28 games, building up an improbable 20 game lead at the All-Star break. The Ducks led the HRDL in runs scored, as Troy Tulowitzki hit .332 with 35 homers and 113 RBIs, and Joey Votto hit .346 with a .468 on-base percentage and 29 homers of his own, allowing Daniel Cabrera to win 24 games despite a middling 3.68 ERA.

The Dallas Wildcatters won a strong Texas division with 106 wins, as Dave Parker effectively won the MVP by the All-Star Break. Parker won Player of the Month for April, May and June, winning the triple crown with a ridiculous .415 average, with 54 homers and 173 RBI's- 48 more than any other player in baseball. He also stole 35 of 41 bases. Remarkably, at the end of June, Parker was hitting .433 with 35 homers, 106 RBIs, and 19 steals. Three divisision-mates qualified for the wild card, as the Austin Mustangs won 91 games, and the Houston Pythons and El Paso Armadillos both won on the final day of the year to clinch spots in the postseason. The Mustangs were led by sluggers Hank Thompson, who hit 41 homers with 120 RBI's, and Rocky Colavito, who ripped 27 homers and drove in 97 runs of his own. Houston was led by rookie centerfielder Kirby Puckett, who hit .332, scored 103 runs and provided elite defense (+42.5 zone rating), and slugging shortstop Bill Hall, who hit .340 with 23 homers and 98 RBI's. El Paso rode the best defense and pitching staff in baseball to the postseason, allowing just 465 runs, although their offense was the worst in the Continental League; Sheriff Blake sported a 1.87 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, despite just a 13-11 record, and Don Newcombe went 16-8 with a strong 2.57 ERA and league-best 0.91 WHIP.

The defending champion Los Angeles Kangaroos returned to the postseason after winning 100 games, as they were led by free agent signee David Ortiz, who hit .342 with 33 homers and 107 RBIs, and rookie slugger John Flynn, who hit 37 homers with 123 RBI's. Joe Panik slugged .488 and provided Gold Glove-caliber defense. The 96-win Phoenix Lizards took the final wild-card spot, as rookie Wade Boggs hit .375 with a .474 on-base percentage, and Shawn Green hit .302 with 19 homers and a team-high 109 RBI's
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