My three teams have had an interesting week, one way or another...
Birmingham Combined Authority (P.420), 74-88
Finishing at .457 & 4th place? In this division, BCA will take it. The Everett Aqua Sox ran away with 132 wins, and the teams in 2nd & 3rd took both of the conference's wildcard spots. We actually finished in the top third of the conference for a bunch of batting stats, which was nice; notable performances include a .303/.359/.426 line from Stan Musial (80) in the leadoff spot, and Babe Ruth (94) bringing in 97 RBI from the cleanup, while 1B John O'Neil (88) managed a 24 game hitting streak mid-season.
Pitching was more of a struggle, perhaps predictably. Cy Young (97) went 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA, but the rest of the rotation struggled. In the pen, Satchel Paige (95) held a 3.32 ERA over 95 IP, and Wilcy Moore (93) helped too, but to little avail. Closer Vean Gregg (90) struggled with a .794 SV% (27/34).
Walsall All-Stars (G.379), 108-54
A chance to flex their muscles awaited Walsall this week, with a rare foray down to Gold level. They didn't disappoint, with their best record in PT '20. Pitching didn't struggle on this team - 4 of the 5 starters carried a sub-4 ERA, they led the league in Quality Starts with 104, and Luis Severino (94) took the Pitching Wins crown with 19 from the 4th spot. Will Harris (81) carried a 31 game Save streak through mid-September, and finished with 41.
The offense for Walsall was symbolised by a remarkable HR/RBI output between the 3rd & 6th spots in the lineup - Gehrig (85) 21/99, Trout (100) 31/110, Heilmann (87) 17/104, & Kaline (84) (15/114). Kaline also hit .323 from the 6th spot, and must be a contender for MVP.
The All-Stars await a Division Series against the winners of the Wildcard, either the Damariscotta Mariners or Omaha Cowpatties. At the very least, they'll be hoping to secure an immediate return to Diamond, though rarely have they been in such a strong position to challenge for the title. Greg Maddux (95) will pitch Game 1 of the DS, coming off his last performance where he.... well, threw a Maddux.
Uecker's New Clothes (D.425), 86-76
It couldn't have been a much odder week for this team - they started the week with a new identity (see here
https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=310228) and in a 20 team league. They end with a Wildcard spot that sees them one series away from promotion.
A tight division race all season saw the Ottawa Expos finish 4 games ahead, but it's the individual performances that will be most remembered in Milwaukee. Prince Fielder (95) is the new Home Run Champion of the league, dropping 32, while Jeff Fassero (92) took Most Pitching Wins with an 18-11 record. Christian Yelich (100), long-term hero in these parts, may well be in contention for another MVP award with his .306/.384/.522 line, 29 HR, 115 RBI, and 29 SB for good measure. Ryan Braun (91) hit 26 Homers in a career year from the
leadoff spot.
Perhaps the most exciting acquisition of the season was Ben Sheets (97) to the starting rotation. While his 6-12 record and 4.30 ERA were somewhat disappointing by year's end, his electrifying stuff on the mound certainly was not - Ben threw 141 K's to just 22 BB's, a 6.4:1 ratio. Keep that up, and he should be just fine.
The Division Series matchup sees a divisional repeat - the Ottawa Expos. A tight race all year will result in a presumably tight battle to secure promotion to Perfect level. It would be the first appearance there since a 2 year stint in 2051-52 for the club. Of course, quite what Bob Uecker plans to do with this team
regardless is yet to be seen....