With Opening Day of the 1975 WPK season upon us it is time for the annual publication of prognostications for the upcoming season.
Here is how the experts see things unfolding in the SJL this season:
Interestingly, even with the league having two new expansion clubs, the experts don't see any team winning 100 games and only see one of the new clubs- the Chicago Fire- losing 100. It is predicted that the reigning SJL champs, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, will sink to the middle of the standings. Of course, that was also predicted at the beginning of the 1974 season and instead the Wolf Pack held on to win the league, only to fall to the Denver Brewers in the World Series. This year's surprise pick to win: the Boston Berserkers, who finished in 8th last season, 12 games under .500. The Berserkers are expected to win based upon the best run scoring team in the WPK (narrowly ahead of the Phoenix Speed Devils), led by Justin Vargas and Kasey O'Neil.
There aren't really any big surprises among the players expected to be batting leaders this season, although it might surprise some that three grizzled veterans, Nate Bennett, Nick Haran, and particularly the 39-year old Jamison Bash, are still expected to be among the best. The pre-season prognosticators also see veteran Columbus starting pitcher Jake Harris as having one of his finest seasons in a while and likely being the leading candidate for another Pitcher of the Year award. The big surprise among the pitchers expected to be at the top is Ross Welch. Having had very limited appearances the past 4 seasons out of the Baltimore bullpen, the belief is that as a member of the starting rotation for the expansion Fire he will, in spite of playing on a very poor team, be among the better pitchers in the SJL.
And here are the pre-season predictions for the MGL:
As you can see, the reigning WPK champs, the Denver Brewers, are expected to finish in second this season, with the Brooklyn Aces over-taking them for the MGL title. The Aces are seen as once again having dominant pitching but also scoring more runs in 1975 than they did in 1974 and are expected to finish with the most wins in the WPK. The Brewers are still expected to be contenders and among the top teams in the WPK in runs scored but they are expected to hit fewer HR's than last season and the thought is that their pitching will be solid but unspectacular. The usually woeful Detroit Falcons are expected to finish last.
Among the players expected to be batting leaders in 1975 in the MGL are Bobby Erbakan and Ryan Rodgers but reigning MVP Joe McPhillips is conspicuous in his absence. A resurgence at the plate is expected for veteran Brooklyn center fielder (and future HOF'er) Felix Lopez, which will help to key their healthier offensive production. Among pitchers, Cheol-han Lee is expected to once again be one of the best and very possibly vie for another Pitcher of the Year award. The feeling is that Japanese import Sadahige Kawasaki will have a very fine season, even if not quite POY caliber. Aaron McNally is expected to be quite excellent again. And Charlotte's Lienhart Brown is thought to be likely one of the best in the MGL, but this is always dependent upon the fragile Brown staying healthy for a full season.