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Old 06-21-2019, 09:28 AM   #44
Litty
Minors (Double A)
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 138
2050

2050 began with a 6-team expansion that surprised many. Rumours of bringing the league in line with the MLB had been circling since around 2045 but the decision to go ahead with it without much warning due come as a shock to a majority of fans and pundits.

In the East, franchises were added in Bar Harbor, Maine (the Acadias) and Daytona Beach, Florida (Zesty Oranges (picked after a fan vote, beating out the Party People). In the Central, teams in Winnipeg, Manitoba (the Eagles) and Rapid City, South Dakota (the Railroaders) were created. In the West, teams 29 and 30 were added in Pomona, California (the Peaches) and Tijuana, Baja California (the Gold Rush).

Jayla Van Iderstine and Kenya Burch were added to the Hall of Fame between the expansion announcement and the expansion draft.

The expansion draft took place on January 17th. With the first pick, Rapid City took Peri Ginola, a starting pitcher from Salisbury who had joined the league in 2038. The biggest move saw Fiona Hurd go to Pomona.

The Zesty Oranges chose Jewel Jacobs out of Wichita State first overall. Jacobs hit .305 for the Shockers in her senior year. Last year’s number 1 pick, Sam Nilsen, went 1-1 in 23 games for Huntington, earning an 8.30 ERA.

Richmond took the East with 98 wins. They were joined by Salisbury, Charlotte and Asheville in the playoffs. Bar Harbor made an impressive started to their franchise, finishing with a winning record (80-70) and 5th in the East division, though it was not good enough to make the postseason. Jasper once again won the Central, this year with 103 wins. Beaver also made it back to the postseason, winning 92 games. Lakewood won the West with a 100-50 record while Seattle also made the playoffs with 93 wins.

Jasper started strong once again, sweeping Beaver. Meanwhile, Salisbury also swept Richmond. Charlotte and Asheville won in three. Both semi-final series went the distance. Jasper improved on the previous season, making the final after beating Charlotte. Meanwhile Salisbury beat Asheville to face Jasper in the final. However, after trading wins in the first two games, Salisbury won the next three games to take the series.

Elena Cortez once again won the batting title, though with a down year in her terms with an average of .434. Marcia Colon was the home run queen with 45. Roberta Flores of Jasper lead the league in RBIs with 148. Hamilton’s Ahri Yamaguchi led in ERA with 2.11. Hunter Vowels was the winningest pitcher with 19 wins in 30 starts. Jessie Noland was the strikeout queen with 224.

Wichita’s Tomiko Hashimoto won Rookie of the Year, hitting .288 and 20 home runs. Victoria de Jesus, formerly of Wichita and now of Richmond, won the Madeeha Baqri Award. She pitched a 14-9 record with a 2.29 ERA and 222 Ks. Elena Cortez, unsurprisingly, won the DeWilliams Award for the eighth time. Along with her .434 average, she also hit 34 home runs and 119 RBIs.

Ma Price retired at the end of the season. The right-fielder joined the league in 2039 and played there until 2049 before playing her last season in Huntington. In 1584 games, she hit .325 along with 382 home runs and 1168 RBIs.
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