NABL a History

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2039 Playoffs

Championship Round

The Eastern League Championship Series was the third season in a row that Boston would take on Indianapolis in the playoffs (but was their first meeting at this stage). Between them the two teams had been the EL representative in seven of the last ten World Series (IND 5, BOS 2), for Indianapolis this was their tenth appearance in the Pennant series whilst for Boston this was number five with the Pilgrims unbeaten in their four previous appearances. Game one was an interesting study of the two teams different offensive philosophies, Indianapolis out hit Boston 12-6 but where all twelve of the Racers hits were singles resulting in just three runs, half of Boston’s six hits were homeruns (one each for Jared Guest, Eduardo Moreno and Rob Penney) as the hometown Pilgrims blasted their way to an 8-3 victory in the series curtain raiser. The feast or famine nature of Boston’s offense showed itself during game two as once again the Pilgrims were out hit (10-7) but this time none of their hits went over the fence and Indianapolis used their speed on the bases to eke out a tough 4-2 win. With the series tied and the next three games in Indianapolis the advantage was firmly in the hands of the Racers, game three was a pitching duel between Dave Lockhart (IND) and Gerald Helton (BOS) with neither team able to break through until both were back in the dugout. An RBI single from Jose Villalobos and a bases loaded walk gave Indianapolis a 2-0 lead entering the ninth but a disastrous outing from Pedro Rosario (0.1 IP, 2BB, 3H 4R) put Boston in the driving seat. Despite Randy Harrington hitting a solo homerun to give the Racer fans hope, Armando Cuzzocrea stood firm as Boston stole ahead 2-1 in the series. Boston’s Steve Raines had a night to remember in game four, blasting a pair of homeruns and driving in six of the Pilgrims nine runs, a late rally from Indianapolis (sparked by a Jim Mailes homer) almost snatched the game away from Boston but Armando Cuzzocrea came out of the bullpen to save the day, and secure the 9-7 Pilgrims victory. Facing elimination, Indianapolis turned to veteran pitcher Ramon Schoof to matchup against Boston ace Brett Knight, entering the seventh with the Racers holding a 2-0 lead and Schoof proving difficult to score against the decision looked to be a good one. At that point Boston’s dormant offense woke up, battering Schoof and reliever Barry Hayden for six runs, keyed by a 2-RBI homerun from 41-year-old 2B Jack Underwood. Indianapolis tried for one last rally cutting the lead to two on Pancho Sousa’s 2-run homer, but Armando Cuzzocrea and Ralf Conrad saw Boston safely home as the Pilgrims secured their place in the World Series for the third time in four years and kept alive their 100% record in EL pennant series (now 5-0).

The Western league pennant series saw playoff newbies Omaha continue their dream postseason debut with a matchup against 98-win Houston. Pitching dominated game one with both starters hurling seven innings of one-run ball, Omaha LF Vincent Drew's eighth inning homerun off Houston reliever Alex Allenby proved the difference in a cagey 2-1 Braves victory. Houston RF Wolfgang Worns' first inning homerun set the tone for game two as Omaha starter Jacobie Harksdale imploded early, surrendering six runs before exiting after four innings. Houston's starter, Wes Pierson on the other hand was masterful before he left the game with an injury, as the Stars cruised to 9-4 win. With the series finely balanced at one apiece and the next three games all in Omaha, the Stars would need to win at least one road game to take the series back to Houston, something they had not accomplished in the last two regular seasons (0-8 in Omaha during that spell) and that record duly became 0-9 as a late 2-RBI Luis Ortiz homerun propelled Omaha to victory in game three. The following night Houston starter Dave Martinez was pitching well until a mistake in the seventh (he surrendered a go ahead 2-run homer to SS Sixto Castro), turned the game in Omaha's favour. With the home fans daring to dream of a World Series appearance the two teams took to the field for game five, Houston starter Jose Vasquez struggled through 4.2 innings, giving up six runs including homeruns to 1B Carl Stokes and SS Sixto Castro before being relieved, leaving Houston with a mountain to climb. Led by Bryant Deshields and Hector Soto Houston mounted an impressive rally cutting the lead to just one run entering the ninth inning, where after putting two men aboard and with the home fans getting decidedly nervous, Omaha pitcher Sergio Olivarez held his nerve to close out the game and send Omaha to their maiden World Series.

[JayW UK]

2039 Playoffs

World Series

The 2039 World Series saw Boston making their fifth appearance face off against first timers Omaha, and despite the western league champs having the home advantage, Boston were seen by many as the favourites to lift the trophy. For the first six innings game one was a pitching duel between starters Jacobie Harksdale (OMH) and Gerald Helton (BOS) with both teams combining for just three hits and one run apiece. Then came the seventh inning, in the top half Boston turned four hits into four runs to take 5-1 lead before in the home half, the Braves battered Gerald Helton to the tune of six runs including back-to-back homeruns from CF Luis Ortiz and LF John Salazar putting Omaha on top 7-5. Neither team added to the score in the eighth before Omaha closer Sergio Olivarez took just eight pitches to wrap up the series opener in favour of the Braves. Game two was a similar story to the series opener with a single inning making the difference, this time it was the sixth. With Omaha holding a 3-1 lead Boston pummelled a trio of Braves pitchers for five runs including a Grand-Slam from George Shreeve to turn the game on its head as Boston went on to tie the series with a 7-4 victory. Two nights later back in Beantown, a sixth inning Rob Penney homerun put Boston ahead for good as the Pilgrims withstood a ninth inning Omaha rally to take game three. A pitching duel of the highest quality between Omaha's Pedro Flores and Boston ace Brett Knight was the story of game four, where despite allowing just four hits Knight ended up the loser as the Pilgrims dropped a tight one to leave the series once again all-square. Boston had the chance to put game five to bed early, entering the bottom of the fourth 3-1 to the good the Pilgrims proceeded to load the bases before anyone was out, but completely failed to take advantage allowing Omaha to escape the inning still only 3-1 down. Spurred on by stellar defense (including an unassisted double play by 1B Carl Stokes) and timely hitting culminating in 3B Sergio Romo’s ninth inning RBI double, Omaha turned the tables on their hosts with a come from behind 4-3 victory. After the disappointing way they lost game five Boston arrived in Omaha up against it, knowing they had to win both of the final two games on the road to claim their third World Series title, their hosts on the other hand were full of confidence after back-to-back road wins and were secure in the knowledge that they would have two bites at the cherry. Omaha had plenty of opportunities to wrap up the World Series in game six, they put men on base in all but the seventh inning and held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but couldn’t find that knockout blow, Boston fought back to take the lead with homeruns from CF Weldon Render and 1B John Herman before closer Armando Cuzzocrea worked around a ninth inning Michael Hoover double to collect the save and ensure the series would go to a deciding game seven. In the biggest game in franchise history Omaha’s players seemed to freeze in the spotlight, coming up short in game seven, Boston starter Mike Mayfield went the distance holding the Braves to a single run on five hits while the Pilgrims offense blasted three homeruns (C Eduardo Moreno, CF Weldon Render and little used outfielder Won-Sub Park) on their way to a comfortable 6-1 series clinching win. The victory gave Boston their third World Series title putting them one behind Indianapolis for the most Championships in NABL history and to many people this had been their most impressive (recovering from disappointing home losses in games four and five to win the final two games on the road).

2039 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Boston 3-2 Chicago, Indianapolis 3-1 Atlanta
[B]WL: Houston 3-0 Sanfrancisco, Omaha 3-1 Las Vegas
Championship Series[/B]
EL: Boston 4-1 Indianapolis
WL: Omaha 4-1 Houston
World Series
Boston 4-3 Omaha

[JayW UK]

2039 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
220 David Evans (CHI)
215 Jose Villalobos (IND)
201 Joe Scott (TB)
Batting Avg
.361 Chad Hammond (CLE)
.349 David Evans (CHI)
.344 Joe Scott (TB)
Homeruns
44 Rick Flynn (NO)
43 Jerry Wright (NY)
35 Steve Blanton (TB)
RBI
119 Steve Blanton (TB)
114 Randy Harrington (IND)
114 Joe Scott (TB)
Stolen Bases
32 Valentin Gonzalez (MIA)
31 Marcos Casas (WAS)
30 Luis Garza (CHA)

EL Pitching
Wins
19 Eugene Fey (CHI)
19 Brett Knight (BOS)
17 Seung-Jae Park (CHI)
ERA
2.60 Dillon Parsons (NY)
2.61 Seung-Jae Park (CHI)
2.82 David Adams (PHI)
Strikeouts
316 Les Scott (STL)
268 Cristobal Chapa (BAL)
246 Jim Jacques (CHA)
Saves
44 Barton Rogers (CHI)
40 Vince Luscombe (MIA)
40 Javier Ramirez (WAS)

WL Batting
Hits
217 Francisco Perez (SF)
214 Fernando Diaz (DEN)
210 Matt Romero (SF)
Batting Avg
.363 Francisco Perez (SF)
.354 Joaquin Corona (LV)
.346 Matt Romero (SF)
Homeruns
36 Joe Clark (SJ)
35 Mike Brown (PHO)
33 Herminio Azurara (SF)
RBI
124 Mike Brown (PHO)
111 Francisco Perez (SF)
108 Bryant DeSheilds (HOU)
Stolen Bases
45 Tom Carter (KC)
44 Joaquin Corona (LV
44 Jeff Hardy (KC)

WL Pitching
Wins
20 Nick Ford (PHO)
19 Jacobie Harksdale (OMH)
17 Wes Pierson (HOU)
ERA
2.66 Floyd Wilson (SJ)
2.76 Jacobie Harksdale (OMH)
2.78 Lucious Sandford (AUS)
Strikeouts
244 Carlos Flores (MIN)
242 Bryan Marburg (SEA)
231 Rafer MacNeil (OKC)
Saves
44 Philip Redmond (LV)
39 Jesus Espinoza (SD)
39 Jeremiah O’Hearne (PHO)

Batting Champion – In the east Cleveland’s Chad Hammond (.361) held off Chicago SS David Evans (.349) to claim his maiden title, while Sanfrancisco star Francisco Perez (.363) won his second straight WL batting title.
Homerun Champion – New Orleans 1B Rick Flynn (44) just held off New York 1B Jerry Wright (43) to win the title in the east, denying Wright his third consecutive crown. San Jose’s LF Joe Clark (36) just pipped Phoenix 2B Mike Brown (35) to claim the western league title.
Outstanding Hitter – Tampa Bay star LF Joe Scott (.344, 34 HR, 114 RBI) capped off his impressive season pipping both Rick Flynn (NO) and David Evans (CHI) to the EL award. In the west Houston 3B Bryant DeShields (.342, 27, 108 RBI) collected the award ahead of Sanfrancisco teammates Francisco Perez (.363, 18 HR, 111 RBI) and Herminio Azurara (.303, 33 HR, 106 RBI)
Outstanding Pitcher – in the EL Chicago’s Eugene Fey (19-9, 3.09 ERA) finished ahead of Boston’s Brett Knight (19-10, 3.16 ERA) in the voting to win his first award. Phoenix’s Nick Ford (20-5, 3.05 ERA) claimed the WL award holding off strong challenges from Omaha ace Jacobie Harksdale (19-7, 2.76) and LV’s Gil Wallace (17-8, 2.88 ERA).
Rookie of the Year – Charlotte’s Haden Bowden (.328, 32 HR, 95 RBI) ran away with the award in the east, while in the west it was a close race between Austin’s 22-year-old CF Raul Cruz (.270, 29 HR, 75 RBI) and San Diego’s young 3B Don Campbell (.295, 9 HR, 63 RBI). While Cruz was impressive and many peoples favourite, it was Campbell who won the WL award.
Manager of the Year – In the east it was Boston’s Christian Eberlein who collected the award (his second) for leading his charges to their third World Series title. Over in the west the result was somewhat controversial as Houston manager Cipriano Gonzalez collected his second award ahead of Omaha’s Michael Bradshaw, even though it was Bradshaw and his Braves who defeated Houston in the WLCS.
Glove Wizards EL – P – Dillon Parsons (NY) C – Mike Willis (TB) 1B – Randy Harrington (IND) 2B – Norberto Rivera (CLE) 3B – Marc Stephens (DET) SS – Robert Kendall (NY) LF – Rob Penney (BOS) CF – Alex Bayley (CLE) RF – Mike Hicks (ATL)
Glove Wizards WL – P – Benton Hartman (AUS) C – Tom Walsh (MIN) 1B – Mike Bonner (OKC) 2B – Mike Brown (PHO) 3B – Tom Sterling (SJ) SS - Brandon Buck (PHO) LF - Alfonso Sosa (DAL) CF – Derius Bedford (LV) RF – Glenn McGhee (MIN)

Interesting Facts – With 36 Homeruns and 32 stolen bases, San Jose LF Joe Clark became the fifth member of the 30 HR / 30 SB club, and the first since Chicago’s Jose Munoz in 2025. Washington, as a team hit a total of 108 homeruns on the season while their pitchers surrendered 203, a difference of -95 the largest differential in NABL history. Boston created some history of their own as during their run to the World Series title, the Pilgrims clubbed an NABL playoff record 28 homeruns.

[JayW UK]

Interlude – 2040 Hall of fame Inductees

Upon completion of the 2039 season and before the winter meetings kicked off the 2040 campaign, the NABL Hall of Fame opened its doors to its newest members, Inductees #7 and #8. Four-time Pitcher of the Year Eric Parker, and three-time World Series Winner Max Castle, two of the very best to take the mound in NABL history.

Eric Parker
College – Pepperdine
Drafted – 2015 – 1st Round - #10 overall by Indianapolis Racers
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – IND (2015-2026), CLE (2027-2031), SD (2031), STL (2032-2033)

Originally drafted by Dallas with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, but when the two sides couldn’t agree on a signing bonus Parker chose to return to college to complete his studies. One year on and with his Mechanical Engineering degree in his pocket, Parker once again declared for the draft, eventually being picked 10th overall by Indianapolis who immediately agreed to a $5.6M signing bonus. Parker quickly rose through the Racers minor league system breaking into the big leagues in 2017, finishing the season with an 8-3 record in thirteen starts. Earning a rotation spot the following year Parker posted a respectable 12-12 record as Indianapolis missed out on the postseason, he played a big part in helping the Racers win the World series in 2019 before a phenomenal triple crown season in 2020 resulted in his first Outstanding pitcher award. Despite strong pitching performances from Parker, including back-to-back Outstanding Pitcher Awards in 2022 and ’23, Indianapolis struggled in the playoffs only once advancing beyond the divisional round in four attempts. After a pair of underwhelming seasons in which the Racers missed the postseason, Parker chose to seek a new challenge, joining Cleveland on a five year $112M deal. The move proved a shrewd one, as Cleveland caught lightening in a bottle and went on to win the World Series with Parker once again excellent in winning his fourth Outstanding Pitcher award. 2027 proved to be the high-water mark of Parker’s time in Cleveland, as despite his solid play the Corsairs never got close enough the sniff the playoffs in any year apart from his first before eventually cashing in on their prized asset, sending him to San Diego in a deadline day deal for four prospects. At the end of the season San Diego and Parker failed to agree to a new deal leaving St. Louis a free run at the pitcher, signing him to a 2-year deal. However, Parker’s time in the Gateway city was not a success, his first season ending with Parker pitching out of the bullpen and a disappointing 6-19 record, he pitched exclusively in relief his second year which resulted in a 1-5 record and the highest ERA of his career. With little interest in his services after two underwhelming years in St. Louis, Eric Parker, now 37, chose to step away from baseball and announced his retirement in an emotional press conference.

Career Stats
Regular Season
G - 590 GS - 521 W/L – 219-174 SV -2 ERA – 3.21 IP – 3563.2 BB - 825 K - 3439 WHIP – 1.14 ERA+ 134 WAR – 115.3
Post Season
G - 29 GS - 26 W/L – 12-12 SV - 0 ERA – 3.29 IP – 175.1 BB - 42 K - 165 WHIP – 1.17 ERA+ 174

Career Achievements
Outstanding Pitcher Award x 4 (2020, 2022, 2023, 2027)
Pitching Triple Crown x 1 (2020)
8-time All-Star
2-time World Series Winner (2019, 2027)


Max Castle
College – Washington State
Drafted – 2016 – 1st Round - #5 overall by Los Angeles Lynx
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – LA (2016-2024), LV (2025-2030), MIN (2031), CLE (2032-2033), KC (2034)

Max Castle was the first pitcher off the board when he was drafted fifth overall by Los Angeles in 2016 and the Washington State alum proved to be worthy of the pick, blitzing through LA’s minor league system and earning a major league call up by the end of 2017. Castle impressed enough during his stint to earn a place in LA’s rotation to open the 2018 season, an excellent 19-11 record with a 2.16 ERA put him contention for both the WL Outstanding Pitcher and Rookie of the year awards, but he eventually had to settle for the runners up spot in both. Over the next four years Castle was superb, his sparkling 69-24, 2.53 ERA record was the best in the majors over that span and culminated in the 2022 Outstanding Pitcher Award. As a team Los Angeles were also tops with a phenomenal 409-239 record, making three World Series appearances and winning back-to-back titles. Castle’s final two years in LA were frustrating for both player and franchise with both campaigns ending in Pennant series defeats at the hands of Denver. Seeking a new challenge Castle hit free agency and landed in Las Vegas, where he joined with Anthony Barrett and Dave Cahill to form “the three amigos”, one of the most potent pitching trios of all time. The two season’s the three spent together in Las Vegas resulted in a pair of playoff appearances and the 2026 World Series title, however the rest of Castle’s stay in Nevada was a story of missed opportunities for the team and declining play for him. Prior to the 2031 season Castle was on the move again signing with Minneapolis on a 3-year deal, after the most disappointing season of his career in which he was demoted to the bullpen after struggling as a starter, he was dealt to Cleveland. Castle, now aged 36 proved to be a model citizen and embraced his role as veteran leader on Cleveland’s young team, where despite the roster’s limitations he still produced solid play through 2032 and started the following year well until his campaign was cut short by injury. After being released by Cleveland and recovering from injury, Kansas City offered Castle a chance to play on a one-year prove it deal, not ready to retire Castle leapt at the chance, but father time had caught up with him as he produced by far the worst season of his career forcing him to face the inevitable. At the end of the campaign and despite being offered another one-year deal by KC, Max Castle announced his retirement after 18-years at the top.


Career Stats
Regular Season
G - 527 GS - 497 W/L – 218-141 SV - 2 ERA – 3.24 IP – 2993.1 BB - 822 K - 2894 WHIP – 1.12 ERA+ 122 WAR – 70.2
Post Season
G - 31 GS - 31 W/L – 11-14 SV - 0 ERA – 2.83 IP – 209.2 BB - 42 K - 202 WHIP – 0.96 ERA+ 154

Career Achievements
Outstanding Pitcher Award x 1 (2022)
6-time All-Star
1-time Glove Wizard
3-time World Series winner (2021, 2022, 2026)

[JayW UK]

2040 Off-Season

Since buying the Austin Kings back in June, new owner Lorenzo Collazo had spent the intervening months observing the running of the franchise, after promising on-field play and the strong performance of GM Jerry Phillips, he decided not to make drastic changes. Both Phillips and manager Ephraim Bonekamp were retained but with one change, Collazo‘s son Albert Jr was named as assistant GM, with many observers wondering how this arrangement would play out in the long run. Although Austin made no managerial changes a number of teams would be joining Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis in the market for new management. Las Vegas skipper Bruce Weaver called an end to his career quickly followed by Miami’s Joe Hart and OKC’s Jim Scheid, Baltimore did not offer Allen Long an extension with Minneapolis following suit when they let Allen Richardson leave. New Orleans lost both manager Rob Nava, who left to manage in Japan, and Hitting coach Steffen Hurtado who departed to take the vacant OKC job, another assistant coach getting a chance was Detroit Pitching coach Andrew Simpson who was named the new Miami manager. Las Vegas lured Gomes Solano away from Seattle to take over from Bruce Weaver, while Seattle moved quickly to replace Solano, naming former Minneapolis skipper Allen Richardson as their manager. New Orleans settled on Allen Long as the man to replace Nava, while Dallas named Omaha bench coach Angel Romero as their manager for 2040, after missing out on several of the top candidates, Minneapolis decided to stay in house and promoted bench coach Jose Diaz to the top job. Baltimore, Detroit and St. Louis all chose to raid the minor leagues for their new skippers, Keith Key (BAL), Mike Anderson (DET) and Jesus Velasquez (STL) were the men to make the leap.
The big losers of free agency were Charlotte, with the club having to balance the books after losing $34M in 2039, the Express were unable to prevent several key players from leaving. Pitchers Greg Marshall (2-year $32M deal with Tampa Bay) and Jim Jacques (4-year $64M with Boston) joined superstar third baseman Brandon Townsend (7-year $140M superdeal with Sanfrancisco) in leaving North Carolina for pastures new. Their limited resources were spent on securing the services of former Houston starter Wes Pierson on a two year $43M contract. At the other end of the spectrum were Sanfrancisco who in addition to star 3B Brandon Townsend also secured the services of veteran pitcher Cristobal Chapa from Baltimore on a 2-year deal and brought back former star closer Barton Rogers after he opted out of his Chicago contract, these moves bolstered their already stacked roster and made the Gold one of the favourites to win the WL pennant. OKC were also busy, luring star pitcher Shane Olson away from Philadelphia on a 4-year $76M deal and bringing back 1B Randy Harrington from Indianapolis a year after letting him go, signing him for 2-years at $18M per year. Tampa Bay raided division rivals New Orleans for slugging 1B Rick Flynn (4-years and $77M) adding his power bat to an already explosive offense and making the Hurricanes a strong contender to unseat Atlanta as kings of the Southeast division.
The 2040 draft class was all about pitching, with no fewer than five pitchers who could realistically be taken first overall, three high school stars and a pair of college arms. Willard Murray and David Hills, both hard throwing, high control all-American high school stars, were the leading underclassmen while Todd Morgan (Vanderbilt) and Pat Rogers (Mississippi State) were the top college arms. High school phenom Felipe Morales was the fifth pitcher, a late riser on draft boards after a stellar senior year saw him go from relative unknown to likely top five selection. The top position players in the class were South Carolina’s star CF Michael Stewart and high school 3B Earl Roberts who possessed a budding power bat and the eye to match.
With the first pick Detroit selected pitcher Felipe Morales, the move was seen by some as a risk due to his late rise up draft boards. Austin added to their stable of young building blocks by picking pitcher David Hills next while Baltimore took pitcher Willard Murray third overall. Cleveland maintained the theme of drafting pitching when they nabbed Vanderbilt’s Todd Morgan fourth before Miami broke the trend, selecting South Carolina centerfielder Michael Stewart with the next pick. Washington landed 3B Earl Roberts sixth while Mississippi State ace Pat Rogers slid down to ninth, where LA were more than happy to end his fall.
In a surprising move that caught Boston and the NABL world off-guard, Pilgrim manager Christian Eberlein, frustrated with team owner Tex McGuinness and his unwillingness to discuss a contract extension, announced he was stepping down with immediate effect. The resignation threw Boston’s title defence into disarray, with barely three weeks to the start of the season the Pilgrims were left scrambling to replace the man who had led them to three World Series appearances and two titles in five years at the helm. After a whirlwind search, Eberlein’s understudy Terry Nelson was the man chosen to step into his mentor’s shoes, a tall order if ever there was one.
Even after Eberlein’s departure Boston were still seen as the cream of the Atlantic division and unless things imploded for new man Terry Nelson, the Pilgrims were expected to remain at the top of the standings. New York were expected to be their only rivals for the division crown as the other three teams, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington were all predicted to finish the season below .500. In the Central, Chicago and Indianapolis were once again set to contest the title, only St. Louis with new manager Jesus Velasquez were given any chance of un-seating the pair. The Southeast was looking to be a battle between defending champions Atlanta and big-spending Tampa Bay, while Miami and New Orleans were widely expected to battle for the #1 pick in the 2041 draft.
Over in the west, defending WL champions Omaha were predicted to come under pressure from OKC for the Midwest division crown while in the Southwest Las Vegas were clear favourites, but both Houston and Phoenix were in the running for the wildcard spot. Sanfrancisco, after adding star 3B Brandon Townsend and P Cristobal Chapa to their already loaded roster, were in prime position to claim the Pacific division crown, while San Jose and dark horses Los Angeles would be waiting in the wings for any slip-ups.

[JayW UK]

2040 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Boston battled adversity and injuries all season long to claim their fifth consecutive Atlantic division crown winning 89 games, New York (86-76) with Mariano Rojo (17-6, 3.17 RA) heading their strong pitching staff and 1B Jerry Wright (.292, 39 HR, 108 RBI) driving the offense, finished as runners up for the fourth straight year, but crucially ended their fourteen-year playoff drought by claiming the EL Wildcard slot. Philadelphia stumbled to a 77-85 record with second year catcher Carlos Arenas (.284, 29 HR, 83 RBI) and mid-season acquisition 1B Diego Pagan (.291, 26 HR, 67 RBI in just 73 games) giving the Independence hope for the future. Baltimore improved from 68 to 75 wins but had little else to cheer while Washington (73-89) found themselves back in the division basement but with several young players led by catcher Santiago Melendarez (.336, 20 HR, 76 RBI) providing the promise of better days ahead.

In the Central division the expected showdown between Chicago and Indianapolis did not materialise, instead St. Louis, under the stewardship of first-time manager Jesus Velasquez, stormed the top of the standings winning a franchise record 93 games and claiming the club’s maiden division title. Instrumental in the Reds success was the Eastern league’s #1 pitching staff, with ace Les Scott (20-8, 2.27 ERA) and McKenzie Ransford (19-9, 2.94 ERA) leading the way allowed a league low 631 runs and combined for 22 shutouts. Chicago and Indianapolis finished the season tied with 84-wins, both squads possessing plenty of star quality, Chicago calling on C Aaron Payton, SS David Evans and P Eugene Fey while the Racers boasted stars such as SS Pancho Sousa and Jose Cintron. But despite the obvious talent available both teams failed to catch St. Louis for the division or challenge New York for the wildcard spot. Skipper Pat Bennett continued to work his magic in Cleveland (83-79), as the Corsairs led by star 2B Chad Hammond (.349, 30 HR, 99 RBI) finished with above .500 for the first time in thirteen years, while in Detroit the Giants struggled to just 67-wins in manager Mike Anderson’s first year on the job.

Spurred on by star slugger 1B Rick Flynn (.288, 41 HR, 133 RBI) and 2039 Outstanding Hitter Joe Scott (.298, 32 HR, 91 RBI) Tampa Bay took the Southeast division, winning 86 games. Despite strong performances from pitcher David Adams (14-7, 2.73 ERA), RF Mike Hicks (.277, 20 HR, 77 RBI) and Rookie of the Year favourite SS Juan Reyes (.270, 10 HR, 79 RBI), Atlanta fell short of a third consecutive division crown, finishing two games back while Charlotte also ended the season on 84 wins, with second year star Haden Bowden (.294, 35 HR, 115 RBI) and 3B Luis Garza (.280, 26 HR, 108 RBI) providing plenty of runs, Charlotte boasted one of the EL’s top offenses, but an underperforming pitching staff ultimately held the Express back. New Orleans finished with a 71-91 record their best for seven years, while Miami slumped to just 60 wins with pitching the main culprit for their poor record.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Boston 89-73*
New York 86-76*
Philadelphia 77-85
Baltimore 75-87
Washington 73-89

Central Division
St. Louis 93-69*
Chicago 84-78
Indianapolis 84-78
Cleveland 83-79
Detroit 67-95

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 86-76*
Atlanta 84-78
Charlotte 84-78
New Orleans 71-91
Miami 60-102

[JayW UK]

2040 Regular Season

Western League Review

In the Western league, Omaha (95-67) followed up their maiden playoff appearance with another impressive campaign, Felipe Peralta was the driving force on offense (.349, 36 HR, 115 RBI) while solid pitching from the likes of Jacobie Harksdale and youngster David Lyons coupled with excellent team defense allowed the Braves to defend their Midwest division crown without too much trouble. Shane Olson (21-6, 2.68 ERA) was everything he was expected to be when he was brought over to OKC, unfortunately the rest of the team underperformed, with only RF Luis Flores (.315, 27 HR, 96 RBI) anywhere near the needed level of play, as the Outlaws finished a distant second to Omaha in the standings. Denver (84-78) ended the season one game further back with inconsistency dogging their play all season long, Minneapolis once again underperformed, as despite strong seasons from RF Glenn McGhee (.324, 31HR, 82 RBI) and LF Stu Leach (.300, 25 HR, 81 RBI) the Bears stumbled to a mediocre 76-86 finish. Bringing up the rear were Kansas City who slumped to a franchise worst 59-103 record, dogged by a pedestrian offense and a pitching staff that threw away late game leads like they were going out of fashion, highlighted by the season endured by closer Michael Kapsburg who blew 13 saves while finishing with a dismal 1-16 record and an ERA of 6.57.

In the Southwest Las Vegas recorded their fifth 100-win campaign in the last 10 seasons, claiming their ninth division title with a 104-58 record, third baseman Joseph Floores (.325, 43 HR, 117 RBI) was once again the star of the show putting himself firmly in the conversation for the WL Outstanding Hitter Award. Phoenix (98-64) made their long-awaited return to the postseason by claiming the WL wildcard spot fourteen years on from their last appearance. With 1B Domingo Vargas (.312, 36 HR, 120 RBI), RF Adrian Ramirez (.292, 39 HR, 96 RBI) and 2B Mike Brown (.269, 29 HR, 103 RBI) leading the charge the Eagles boasted the NABL’s most potent offense, clubbing 217 homeruns and scoring at 5.6 runs per game, their pitching on the other hand was just middle of the pack, although Nick Ford (17-7, 3.72 ERA) did put together another excellent season. In Austin the decision to retain manager Ephraim Bonekamp proved an excellent one, as he led his youthful charges to an 88-74 record, with young pitcher Lucious Sandford (15-3, 2.72 ERA) in particular standing out. Dallas (74-88) finished fourth in the standings only improving incrementally from the previous year while Houston fell off the proverbial cliff, finishing a whopping 26-games below their 2039 total, winning just 72 times, their worst output for eight years.

Los Angeles returned to the top of the pile in the Pacific division for the first time in a decade, winning 92 games, but with only star catcher Andrew Lewis (.295, 30 HR, 77 RBI) driving in more than fifty runs the Lynx were forced to rely on their pitching and defense to get the job done. Sanfrancisco on the other hand were all about offense, with the trio of rookie sensation 2B Dennis Brooks (34 HR, 104 RBI), catcher Sancho Guerra (.296, 29 HR, 99 RBI) and star LF Francisco Perez (.343, 22 HR, 100 RBI) leading the way, SF scored at over five runs per game and slugged 194 homeruns on the season. What cost the Gold in the end were untimely injuries to key players and a penchant for sloppy mistakes, their bullpen blew a number of critical games down the stretch and as a team they led the league in errors. Seattle finished 81-81 their first non-losing season since 2030, a good return considering the Pioneers leaned heavily on a young pitching staff (average age of 23) with the expected mixed results, San Diego (70-92) tried the same tactic with altogether different returns, 24-year-old Robert Ferdinand (8-15, 4.72 ERA) and 23-year-old Vicente Baronez (4-14, 5.84 ERA) their leading young arms, while in San Jose injuries played a major role in their disappointing season as the Spartans fell to a 68-94 finish.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Omaha 95-67*
Oklahoma City 85-77
Denver 83-79
Minneapolis 76-86
Kansas City 59-103

Southwest Division
Las Vegas 104-58*
Phoenix 98-64*
Austin 88-74
Dallas 74-88
Houston 72-90

Pacific Division
Los Angeles 92-70*
Sanfrancisco 89-73
Seattle 81-81
San Diego 70-92
San Jose 68-94

[JayW UK]

2040 Season Notes

Pre-season – in the aftermath of Christian Eberlien stepping down as Boston manager, a clearly disappointed Jack Underwood decided to sign with New York rather than return to Boston. Underwood put pen to paper on a one-year $12M deal with the Senators despite Boston offering a two-year contract to retain the well-liked veteran second baseman. Chicago added veteran pitcher Rajion Samit to their roster on a bargain $6M 1-year deal.
April 2nd – St. Louis ace Les Scott dominated Los Angeles in the Reds season-opener, Scott hurled a 2-hit shutout while racking up 17 strikeouts. Whilst in Atlanta, Flames starter David Adams collected career win number 200 against Charlotte.
April 5th – in his first start for Chicago Rajion Samit suffered a shoulder injury ruling him out until August.
April 8th – Denver LF John Binet blasted three homeruns against Dallas, but his heroics proved in vain as the Mustangs downed the Wildcats 7-5.
April 17th – Boston LF Rob Penney set a new NABL record by collecting seven hits against Tampa Bay, his 7 for 7, two homerun and six RBI performance helped lift the Pilgrims to a 12-11 extra inning victory.
April 22nd – Sanfrancisco pitcher Cristobal Chapa collected the 2500th strikeout of his career against division rivals Los Angeles.
April 24th – for the second time in the month of April St. Louis ace Les Scott struck out 15 batters, this time the hapless victims were Indianapolis as the Reds rolled to a 5-1 victory.
April 26th – NABL legend Dixon Bodean collected the 2500th RBI of his career as Sanfrancisco got the better of San Jose in a hard fought 3-2 victory.
May 28th – Indianapolis star LF Jose Cintron had a field day against Austin collecting four hits including a Grand-Slam and driving in 7 runs, as the Racers cruised to a 16-4 victory.
June 5th – Boston star LF Rob Penney suffered a hamstring injury making a defensive play in the Pilgrims loss against New Orleans. To make matters worse after the game the full extent of the injury became apparent, Penney had suffered a torn Hamstring and was ruled out for the next two months.
May 7th – Omaha RF Felipe Peralta led the Braves to victory over Minneapolis hitting for the CYCLE, including a three-run homerun that proved the difference in a 6-4 victory.
May 11th – Indianapolis SS Pancho Sousa hit for the CYCLE and drove in all five of the Racers runs in their narrow 5-4 win over Washington.
May 16th – New York held New Orleans CF Jim Parkes hitless in four at-bats ending his 27-game hitting streak.
May 20th – Atlanta CF Alec Hoff became the third player to hit for the CYCLE during the month of May, accomplishing the feat in the Braves 6-4 loss to New York.
June 1st – Houston LF Robert Harris tied an NABL record by hitting four doubles against Austin.
June 5th – Las Vegas 1B Ed Matthews proved the difference against Kansas City, collecting three hits including a pair of doubles whilst driving in seven of the Gamblers 10-runs in their 10-8 victory.
June 6th – Seattle RF Patrick Richardson hit for the CYCLE going 4-for-5 with 2 RBI in the Pioneers 8-3 defeat at the hands of OKC.
June 7th – with both of their incumbent catchers struggling (Aaron Harris, .186, 2HR, 11RBI and Guillermo Nodal .236, 3HR, 13RBI) Indianapolis pulled the trigger on a trade with Detroit, sending four prospects (3B Claudio De Lange, P Burl Jackman, SS Erik Witton and P Ismael Ortiz) to the Giants for catcher Gabriel Lopez (.308, 10HR, 40RBI).
June 8th – Boston pulled the trigger on a trade with Washington, sending RF Cullen Wilhelm and SS Angel Guerrero to the Generals for 2B Marcos Casas.
June 13th – RF Gerald O’Colitaran smacked a trio of homeruns and drove in six runs to help Detroit beat Boston 11-6.
June 19th – Indianapolis LF Jose Cintron collected hit number 2000 of his illustrious career, but the Racers fell to Cleveland, only managing three hits on the day.
June 29th – Charlotte’s star LF Daron Murphy suffered a fractured wrist after being hit by a wayward Heinrich Kronburger pitch ruling him out until August.
July 1st – 41-year-old Anastasio Perez came out of LA’s bullpen to pick up the 200th win of his career.
July 6th – Tampa Bay’s Steve Blanton hit his 300th career homerun as the Hurricanes rallied to beat Las Vegas 8-6.
July 10th - after an injury hit start to the season, star San Jose CF Joe Clark found himself traded to LA for CF Lee McDale and RF Luis Morquecho.
July 11th – Philadelphia sent a pair of highly rated prospects, P Carlos Quinzero and 1B Jose Guerrero to LA for 1B Diego Pagan.
July 12th – Sanfrancisco’s big ticket free agent 3B Brandon Townsend suffered a quad injury sending him to the DL for the next five weeks.
July 16th – looking to strengthen their relief corps, Tampa Bay sent 3B Doug Daniels and CF Juan Rosado to Phoenix for closer Jeremiah O’Hearne.
July 17th – in a move clearly designed to free up playing time for up-and-coming young 1B Rodger Comber, St. Louis sent starting 1B Glenn Hansen to Atlanta for CF Alec Hoff.
July 18th – in a move that was widely questioned, Chicago sent pitcher Seung-Jae Park (9-5, 3.82 ERA) to OKC for 3B Mike Bonner and SS Gerald Ross.
July 19th – New York 1B Jerry Wright launched an eleventh inning walk-off Grand-Slam, lifting New York to a 6-2 victory over bitter rivals Boston.
July 20th – San Jose 3B Tom Sterling suffered a partially torn labrum resulting in a six-week trip to the DL.
July 21st – 3B Alfonso Alvarez collected the 1000th RBI of his career when he hit a walk-off RBI single to give New York a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
July 28th – after being demoted to bench duty Boston 3B Steve Raines demanded a trade and got his wish when LA packaged young 1B Jose Guerrero (recently picked up in trade with PHI) and reliever Alejandro Trujillo to obtain his services.
July 30th – New York pitcher Heinrich Kronburger suffered a shoulder injury ruling him out for the season.
July 31st – Philadelphia’s Jonathan Albert hurled a NO-HITTER against Boston, taking just 96 pitches do dispatch the Pilgrims.
August 5th – Houston SS Roberto Paz collected the 2000th hit of his career against Charlotte, he ended the day 3-for-5 and was a homerun shy of hitting for the Cycle.
August 7th – San Diego CF Pedro Altagracia (4-for-6, 2B, HR, 7RBI) was instrumental in the Mariners 9-6 win over OKC.
August 9th – Cleveland 2B Chad Hammond went 6-for-6 and drove in a pair of runs as the Corsairs fell to a narrow 4-3 defeat to Philadelphia.
August 12th – in just his fourth game back from injury, Boston LF Rob Penney faced another injury blow, this time suffering a strained back that would keep him out of the lineup until mid-September.
August 13th – in his first visit to Charlotte since leaving for Tampa Bay, pitcher Greg Marshall shutout the Express on five hits.
August 15th – Charlotte pitcher Julio Torres struck out six against Atlanta to end the day with 2501 career strikeouts.
August 17th – Boston SS George Shreeve suffered a back injury ruling him out until mid-September.
August 18th – OKC pitcher Shane Olson blitzed Denver, holding them to just three hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out 15!! As the Outlaws blew the hapless Wildcats away.
August 22nd – veteran New York 2B Jack Underwood collected his 1500th career RBI in the Senators disappointing loss to Chicago, New York led 7-4 entering the ninth inning only to blow the lead and lose in extras.
August 29th – Miami CF Augusto Alabar (5-for-5, 2B, 3HR, 9 RBI) was the driving force for the Everglades in their 12-10 victory over in-state rivals Tampa Bay.
September 9th – Sanfrancisco pitcher Julio Lara had a nightmare against Denver, surrendering ten walks, eleven hits and was responsible for fourteen runs as the Gold were demolished 17-1 by the Wildcats.
September 24th – Boston pitcher Jess McGregor’s season ended when he was placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
September 29th – in a blow for their postseason plans, LA lost CF Joe Clark to a broken ankle, while on the same day St. Louis starter McKenzie Ransford suffered a season ending shoulder injury forcing the Reds to shuffle their planned rotation for the playoffs.

[JayW UK]

2040 Playoffs

Divisional Round

Only three teams from the previous season’s playoff field made a return to the 2040 postseason (Boston, Omaha and Las Vegas), while three others were back after extended periods in the wilderness (Los Angeles, Phoenix and New York). Boston would kick off their title defence with a matchup against TB and the EL’s most potent offense whilst wildcard entry New York, back after a fourteen-year hiatus matched up with the EL #1 seed St. Louis. In the west defending WL champions Omaha drew Phoenix and their powerful offense while Las Vegas would meet Los Angeles who were enjoying their first playoff run in ten years.

Boston’s quest to reach their third straight World Series got off to the perfect start against Tampa Bay in game one, a pair of first inning homeruns put the Pilgrims ahead 4-0 and that lead stretched to 5-0 before the Hurricanes finally came to life with a CF Michael Sleigh 2-RBI homerun sparking a rally that tied the score and sent game to extra innings. Neither team could muster much offense until the bottom of the eleventh, when with one out CF Weldon Render launched a Jeremiah O’Hearne fastball deep into the stands to give Boston a thrilling walk-off win. Greg Marshall’s playoff debut for Tampa Bay did not go as planned in game two, getting the hook in the second inning having surrendered more runs (6) than he had retired batters (4), the situation never improved for the Hurricanes as behind strong pitching from Brett Knight and Alejandro Trujillo, Boston rolled to a comfortable 10-1 victory. With the Pilgrims eying a sweep the series moved to Florida where game three started in similar fashion to the first two with Boston jumping out to an early lead, 1B Rick Flynn’s three-run homer in the sixth gave the home fans some hope but Boston’s bullpen held Tampa Bay’s potent offense in check as the Pilgrims completed the series sweep with a 6-4 victory.

The second EL divisional matchup between St. Louis and New York saw two of the top three pitching staffs face off while neither of the two teams featured prolific offenses. The home town St. Louis Reds got the perfect start to game one, homeruns from1B Rodger Comber, 3B Carlos Gonzales and LF Ramon Vega helped St. Louis open an 8-0 lead and chase New York starter Mariano Rojo after five one sided innings. Despite 3B Brad Miller giving the Senators fans hope with a seventh inning homerun the St. Louis bullpen remained strong as the Reds took game one 8-3. The following night saw an altogether different game, both starters were excellent carrying no-hitters into the fifth inning where it was New York starter Brent Brown who broke the deadlock with an RBI single to give the Senators the lead. In the home half a walk and consecutive errors tied the score without St. Louis still not having registered a hit, that all changed in the next inning as SS Jake Moore singled to break up the no-hit bid before next man up RF Tim Rodriguez slammed the ball deep into the leftfield bleachers to put the home team ahead. New York still could not find a way to answer against Reds relievers Mark Madison and Brandon Stanton as St. Louis put themselves in the driving seat with a tight 3-1 victory. Game three ended early for New York starter Mark Hoffman when he left the game in the second inning after suffering a sprained ankle, his loss put pressure on the Senators relief corps which allowed St. Louis to take advantage and work over the bullpen as the they comfortably wrapped up the series and booked their date with Boston in the ELCS.

Over in the west, the matchup between Las Vegas and Los Angeles saw the teams who possessed the two most dominant relief corps in the league face off, neither team had lost a game during the season when they carried a lead into the ninth inning. The pair split the opening two games of the series with game one going the way of the hometown Gamblers who used a four run seventh inning, sparked by a 1B Ed Matthews homerun to put the game away while LA answered the following night using a strong pitching performance from starter Ike Singleton and timely hitting to secure a 7-2 victory. Game three saw LA turn to 22-year-old Joe Taylor, to matchup against the Gamblers wily veteran Domingas Fidi, with both starters faring well through the opening three frames. LV's star 3B Joseph Floores gave the Gamblers the lead in the fourth with an RBI-single (his first hit of the series) before LA answered in kind and then took the lead in the sixth when SS Jose Perez blasted a 2-run homer. Once the LA bullpen got in on the act there was no way back for Las Vegas as the Lynx completed a comfortable 4-1 victory. With LA looking to wrap up the series, game four was an entertaining back and forth battle with neither team able to take command. Entering the ninth with the scores tied LA turned to veteran 41-year-old reliever Anastasio Perez, but the move backfired when Perez gifted Las Vegas the lead surrendering a homerun to CF Derius Bedford, two batters later Perez’s colleague Ramon Torres put the Gamblers in complete control when he gift-wrapped a two-run homer to LF John Smyth, Las Vegas duly closed out the 7-4 victory when Philip Redmond took just nine pitches to retire the side. The series decider back in Las Vegas was another hotly contested matchup with the old adage that cream always rises to the top very apt for LV star 3B Joseph Floores. Having collected a single hit through the first four games, Floores exploded to life going 4 for 4 including a crucial seventh inning go-ahead 2-RBI double as Las Vegas saw off Los Angeles to book their place in the WLCS for a record eighth time.

Defending WL champions Omaha had their work cut out for them in their matchup, going up against Phoenix and their prolific high-scoring offense. Game one proved to be the story of two bullpens, with the game tied at five and with both teams turning to their relief corps heading into the sixth inning it was the visitors pen who held their own shutting Omaha’s offense down while the hometown relievers struggled, eventually surrendering ten runs and using five pitchers as Phoenix comfortably took game one 13-6. Pedro Flores took the mound for Omaha in game two and put forth a strong outing allowing three runs through eight plus innings of work, his only blemish was a three-run homer surrendered to Phoenix RF Adrian Ramirez, unfortunately for Flores and the Braves, Phoenix starter George Buchanan pitched a gem (8.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 3BB, 8K) and Al O’Brien was unhittable in the ninth as the Eagles eased home 3-1 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Omaha arrived in Phoenix with something to prove, early returns were not encouraging though as starter David Lyons lasted just 4.2 innings however, unlike game one the Braves bullpen clamped down on their opponents while the Omaha offense went to work. Homeruns from 1B Carl Stokes, CF Luis Ortiz and backup catcher Jeremy Barlow carried the Braves to an 8-4 victory keeping alive their World Series ambitions. Game four saw both clubs’ aces take the mound, Jacobie Harksdale (OMH) and Nick Ford (PHO), just as in game one Harksdale struggled and found himself getting the hook in the fourth inning with his team in a five-run hole. Phoenix’s hitters kept up the pressure plating further runs against Omaha’s beleaguered relief corps whilst Nick Ford serenely pitched into the seventh before Brent Griffith and Jorge Oliva combined to see Phoenix safely home to send the Eagles on to the WL Pennant series for the second time in their history.

[JayW UK]

2040 Playoffs

Championship Round

The EL Championship series saw top seed St. Louis face off against defending champions Boston, for St. Louis this was their first trip to the Pennant series while their opponents were making their third straight and fourth in the last five years.
A full house at St. Louis' Gateway stadium witnessed an excellent outing from ace Les Scott (8.0 IP, 5H 1R, 10K) propel the home town Reds to a series opening 5-1 victory. The following night Mitch Woodroffe picked up where Scott left off, hurling six innings of 1-run ball before exiting with an ankle injury. Boston 1B John Herman's seventh inning Grand-Slam signaled a pitching meltdown, turning a comfortable 7-1 St. Louis lead into a nervous 8-6 win for the Reds. With the series moving to Boston the hometown Pilgrims would need to dig deep to find a way back into the series. Game three could not have started worse as St Louis plated three runs off Boston starter Jim Jacques in the first, before adding a fourth run in the third, leaving Boston with a mountain to climb. But climb it they did, in the fourth they finally broke their scoring duck before tying the game on 3B Eric King's 3-run homer in the sixth. The seventh brought another homerun Boston's way, this time solo shot from catcher Eduardo Moreno which signaled the end of the night for Reds starter Nathan Cortez. Boston kept on hitting against the St. Louis bullpen racking up eight hits and five runs in the eighth to lift the Pilgrims to an impressive 10-4 victory. A flurry of runs saw Boston fall behind early in game four, but just like the previous night the Pilgrims refused to buckle mounting a fight back and cutting the Reds lead to one entering the sixth inning. St. Louis pushed the lead back up to three on LF Ramon Vega's 2-run homer, but in the home half Pilgrims veteran LF Vincent Drew blasted a go ahead Grand-Slam (his first hit of the postseason) to give Boston the lead, but the Pilgrims were not done as over the next two innings they added five more runs as they ran out 13-8 winners. After back-to-back offensive outbursts, game five was the turn of Boston's pitchers to put on a show. Mike Mayfield, Louis Mack and Patrick Evans combined for a 3-hit shutout, giving Boston the series lead and all the momentum ahead of the final two games back in St. Louis. With Mitch Woodroffe unable to go due to his ankle injury St. Louis turned to Brandon Stanton for the start in game six. Stanton produced a solid performance holding Boston to three runs over seven innings but received precious little help from the Reds offense or bullpen once he left the game. The pilgrims scored six times over the final two frames against the beleaguered St. Louis relief corps as they eased to a comfortable 9-3 series clinching win. Boston's victory pushed their record in EL pennant series to a perfect six of six and gave them a place in their third straight World Series.

The Western League Pennant Series was a divisional matchup between Las Vegas and Phoenix, the two teams had met at the same stage 14-years previously with the Gamblers emerging victorious in five games on their way to winning the World Series. The visiting Eagles stunned the Gamblers faithful in game one, burying Las Vegas starter Adrian Knapp under an avalanche of runs early while only a late 3-run homerun from Vaughan Snyder gave the Gamblers anything to cheer about in a demoralising 9-3 defeat. Phoenix continued their dominance over their hosts in game two, starter Nick Ford pitched an excellent eight innings (4H, 1R, 10K) while homeruns from 2B Mike Brown and RF Adrian Ramirez powered the Eagles to a comfortable 7-1 victory. Las Vegas finally got on track in game three, shortstop Joaquin Corona’s third inning three-run bomb put the Gamblers in control before a determined Phoenix rally was stopped dead by star closer Philip Redmond to give Las Vegas life in the series. Game four began as a tight pitching duel with both starters George Buchanan (PHO) and Kade Blackford (LV) throwing well, with the Gamblers leading 2-1 in the seventh Phoenix’s bats came alive, with SS Brandon Buck drilling a 2-RBI double down the leftfield line to blow the game wide open, Donaldo Gonzalez’s 2-run homer provided the emphatic conclusion to a disastrous 7-run inning for Las Vegas. The Gamblers by contrast could only muster a single run in reply over the final two frames as Phoenix took a commanding 3 to 1 series lead. With the Gamblers facing elimination game five was a tense affair with neither team able to take control, Phoenix entered the ninth inning holding a slim 3-2 lead with closer Al O’Brien on the mound. With Joaquin Corona on second and two men out, the partisan crowd were on their feet anticipating sweet victory until Las Vegas RF Danny Wheeler drilled a 2-1 pitch deep into the stands to instantly silence the crowd and give the Gamblers the lead. Las Vegas turned to star closer Philip Redmond to finish the job, Redmond had been unhittable during the playoffs (allowing just a single hit through six innings of work), however he was not his usual dominant self, retiring two men but putting two others on base. Phoenix first baseman Domingo Vargas stepped into the batter’s box representing the winning run having never managed a career hit against Redmond (0-15 lifetime), this state of affairs looked to have changed when he connected on a 2-1 fastball sending it screaming down the leftfield line only for the ball to turn foul at the last moment, two pitches later Vargas hit another fastball deep down the same leftfield line that once again seemed destined to end up foul, until in a dramatic turn of events it clattered into the foul pole and to the delight of Phoenix fans everywhere, bounced fair for a game-winning 3-run walk-off homer to send the Eagles on to the World Series.

[JayW UK]

2040 Playoffs

World Series

The World Series pitted Boston, making their third straight appearance, against Phoenix who were playing in the fall classic for the first time. With big-game experience gleaned from their back-to-back runs to the World Series Boston were favoured to lift the trophy again, despite Phoenix owning the home-field advantage and possessing the league’s most prolific offense capable of lighting up the scoreboard on any given night. Boston’s title defence got off to a flying start with LF Rob Penney blasting a first inning homerun as the Pilgrims built an early lead in game one, Phoenix’s explosive offense was quiet most of the night but a seventh inning homerun from 2B Mike Brown lit the fuse for a six-run outburst which turned the game in the favour of the Eagles as they opened the series with a wild 8-5 come from behind win. Phoenix starter Nick Ford was in control for much of game two, striking out nine and allowing just two runs over eight innings while Boston starter Mike Mayfield was ineffective through his five frames of work. Phoenix 3B Doug Daniels ended the game as a contest with a grand-slam in the sixth as Boston succumbed to a lopsided 9-3 defeat. The Pilgrims found themselves in the same situation as they were in the ELCS, down 2-0 in the series after a pair of disappointing road defeats ahead of three crucial home games. Game three was a shootout from the off, Boston starter Armando Cuzzocrea surrendered homeruns in each of the first three innings to dig the Pilgrims into a hole that would prove too much to overcome. Big games from 3B Eric King (5-5, 2-RBI) and C Eduardo Moreno (4-5, HR, 3-RBI) propelled Boston back into the contest, but ultimately Cuzzocrea’s dismal start (3.1 IP, 12H, 4BB, 10ER, 5K) doomed the Pilgrims to defeat. The following evening Boston’s Brett Knight, Chris Miller and Alejandro Trujillo combined to hold the Phoenix offense in check, while homeruns from LF Rob Penney and 2B Marcos Casas helped the Pilgrims secure a comfortable 8-2 victory and avoid the ignominy of being swept. Game five was Boston’s last home game of the season no matter the result and with the Pilgrims in the last chance saloon their fans turned out in droves to cheer their heroes on. The two teams embarked on a hard-fought seesaw battle that saw five lead changes over the first six innings, a solo homerun from Adrian Ramirez in the top of the ninth put Phoenix 6-5 ahead and left them requiring just three outs to claim their maiden World Series title. With the home fans vocal in their encouragement Boston tied the game on a 2-out RBI single from Wolfgang Worns sending the contest to extra innings, Phoenix put men on base in both the tenth and eleventh innings but failed to take advantage, likewise Boston but two men aboard in the eleventh only for both Rob Penney and Eduardo Moreno to strike out, stranding the pair. The visitors got a huge slice of luck in the top of the thirteenth when with two out, Boston 2B Marcos Casas misplayed a Jose Campos groundball allowing the Phoenix speedster to reach first safely and extend the inning, next man up 1B Domingo Vargas drilled a double into the right-field corner scoring Campos and giving Phoenix the lead. With usual closer Al O’Brien back in the dugout the Eagles turned to Mark Lyons to seal the deal. Lyons earned the save the hard way, working around two baserunners before finishing the job in emphatic style, striking out Boston 3B Eric King to secure Phoenix their first World Championship with an impressive 4-1 series win.

2040 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Boston 3-0 Tampa Bay, St. Louis 3-0 New York
WL: Las Vegas 3-2 Los Angeles, Phoenix 3-1 Omaha
Championship Series
EL: Boston 4-2 St. Louis
WL: Phoenix 4-1 Las Vegas
World Series
Phoenix 4-1 Boston

[JayW UK]

2040 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
213 Percy Sterrenberg (DET)
195 Pancho Sousa (IND)
189 David Evans (CHI)
Batting Avg
.349 Chad Hammond (CLE)
.349 Pancho Sousa (IND)
.329 Percy Sterrenberg (DET)
Homeruns
41 Rick Flynn (TB)
39 Jerry Wright (NY)
36 Ferry Vogalsang (NO)
RBI
133 Rick Flynn (TB)
115 Haden Bowden (CHA)
114 Gabriel Lopez (DET)
Stolen Bases
31 Pancho Sousa (IND)
30 Hector Torres (MIA)
29 Rafael Cedeno (IND)

EL Pitching
Wins
20 Les Scott (STL)*
18 Ramon Schoof (IND)
17 Mariano Rojo (NY)
ERA
2.27 Les Scott (STL)*
2.47 Brett Knight (BOS)
2.73 David Adams (ATL)
Strikeouts
317 Les Scott (STL)*
243 Jim Jacques (BOS)
236 McKenzie Ransford (STL)
Saves
41 Rich Sutton (CHA)
40 Chris Miller (BOS)
40 Josh Renshaw (IND)

WL Batting
Hits
212 Francisco Perez (SF)
206 Domingo Vargas (PHO)
204 Brandon Buck (PHO)
Batting Avg
.363 Matt Romero (SF)
.349 Felipe Peralta (OMH)
.343 Francisco Perez (SF)
Homeruns
43 Joseph Floores (LV)
39 Adrian Ramirez (PHO)
36 Felipe Peralta (OMH)
RBI
120 Domingo Vargas (PHO)
117 Joseph Floores (LV)
115 Felipe Peralta (OMH)
Stolen Bases
47 Jaime Perez (SJ)
45 Julius Spencer (HOU)
44 Joaquin Corona (LV)

WL Pitching
Wins
21 Shane Olson (OKC)
18 Adrian Knapp (LV)
17 Cristobal Chapa (SF)
ERA
2.68 Shane Olson (OKC)
2.72 Lucious Sandford (AUS)
2.90 Mike Bradley (KC)
Strikeouts
251 Cristobal Chapa (SF)
240 Shane Olson (OKC)
232 Carlos Flores (MIN)
Saves
44 Philip Redmond (LV)
40 Barton Rogers (SF)
38 Larry Hoffman (AUS)

Batting Champion – the Eastern league title was split between Cleveland’s Chad Hammond and Indianapolis SS Pancho Sousa, both of whom managed to hit for a .349 average on the season. For the third season in a row a Sanfrancisco player claimed the WL batting title, this time 3B Matt Romero (.363) was the man, it was also the fourth batting title of Romero’s career.
Homerun Champion – switching teams did not slow down Tampa Bay 1B Rick Flynn who collected his second consecutive title belting 41 homeruns on the season. In the west Las Vegas 3B Joseph Floores (43) claimed his fourth title ahead of Phoenix RF Adrian Ramirez (39)
Outstanding Hitter – Cleveland’s Chad Hammond (.349, 30 HR, 99 RBI) finished atop the EL voting ahead of Percy Sterrenburg (DET), Jose Cintron (IND) and Haden Bowden (CHA) to win his first award. Omaha’s star RF Felipe Peralta (.349, 36 HR, 115 RBI) picked up the WL award ahead of LV 3B Joseph Floores (.325, 43 HR, 117 RBI)
Outstanding Pitcher – after his triple crown season, St. Louis ace Les Scott (20-8, 2.27 ERA, 317K) was the overwhelming winner in the east. OKC’s off-season acquisition Shane Olson (21-6, 2.68 ERA) was excellent in picking up the western league award ahead of Austin’s Lucious Sandford (15-3, 2.72 ERA).
Rookie of the Year – Atlanta shortstop Juan Reyes (.270, 10 HR, 79 RBI) claimed the EL award ahead of Miami 2B Hector Torres (.268, 20 HR, 65 RBI). The runaway leader in the WL voting was Sanfrancisco’s 23-year-old 2B Dennis Brooks (.252, 34 HR, 104 RBI).
Manager of the Year – the EL award was between two first time managers with STL skipper Jesus Velasquez pipping Boston’s Terry Nelson to the award. In the west Phoenix manager Joseph Noble picked up the award for leading Phoenix to the World Championship in just his second year in charge.
Glove Wizards EL – P – Dillon Furr (ATL) C – Santiago Melendarez (WAS) 1B – Jorge Reyna (ATL) 2B – Percy Sterrenburg (DET) 3B – Cameron Toscano (BAL) SS – Juan Reyes (ATL) LF – Mike Lancaster (CHI) CF – Jim Parkes (NO) RF – Mike Hicks (ATL)
Glove Wizards WL – P – Rafer MacNeil (OKC) C – Daniel Walker (AUS) 1B – Mario Balderas (KC) 2B – Mike Brown (PHO) 3B – Xavier Cisneros (OKC) SS – Brandon Buck (PHO) LF – Robert Harris (HOU) CF – Derius Bedford (LV) RF – Glenn McGhee (MIN)


Interesting Facts – Boston second baseman Marcos Casas blasted four Grand-Slams in the three months following his June trade from Washington. Another player enjoying life after a trade was first baseman Diego Pagan, in 73 games with LA prior to his move he hit .281, 9 HR with 24-RBI’s in the 73 games with Philly after the trade his numbers were, .291, 26 HR, 67 RBI. In July after 14 months out with a torn UCL San Jose pitcher Jim Champion returned to the fold with mixed results, on the plus side his elbow held up but on the downside his performance didn’t (4-10, 6.05 ERA in 18 starts).

[JayW UK]

Hi guys,
Thanks to everyone that has stuck with me it's much appreciated.

I am really enjoying the process of writing this dynasty report, be it re-discovering players or events from the past, to re-living certain games or moments that trigger trips down memory lane. I have to admit I am having a blast bringing my league to life.
Anyway, enough of that and on to 2041.

[JayW UK]

Interlude – Hall of Fame Inductee

At the annual winter meetings, the NABL Hall-of Fame unveiled its newest member, former Houston and Las Vegas pitcher Marc Birstall.

Marc “Presto” Birstall
College – N/A High School
Drafted – 2018 – 1st Round - #14 Overall by Houston
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – HOU (2020-2029), LV (2030-2035)


As an eighteen-year-old pitching phenom, Marc Birstall declared for the 2018 draft as soon as he graduated from High-School. Claimed with the fourteenth pick by Houston, Birstall was slow to adapt to the professional game, through his first two years he pitched to an 8-10, 3.73 ERA record in 34 games at both Rookie League and Short Season A level. However, by his third season (2020) the light had come on, splitting time between AA and AAA Birstall started 29-games and recorded a stellar 16-3, 2.19 ERA record and worked his way to the top of BNN’s prospect list. On the back of his excellent 2020 campaign Birstall earned a place on Houston’s opening day roster for the 2021 season and proceeded to take the league by storm with his play, producing a stunning rookie campaign (16-2, 1.81 ERA + 250K) earning an All-Star nod and winning WL Rookie-of-the-Year. A solid sophomore season was followed up by a superb near triple-crown season (he finished 8-strikeouts shy of Pedro Escobar for the WL lead), resulting in Birstall being named 2023 WL Pitcher-of-the-Year. The following four years saw Birstall firmly establish himself as one of the premier pitchers in the NABL (52-24, 2.35 ERA in 133 starts with a phenomenal 10/1 K/BB ratio). However, over the next two seasons Birstall took his play to another level, producing the most dominant spell of pitching in league history (65G, 36-11, 1.56 ERA, 60BB/576k) collecting the 2028 Outstanding Pitcher Award and finishing as runner-up the following season. At the conclusion of the 2029 campaign Birstall announced that he would be testing Free Agency after nine seasons in Houston where even with Birstall’s superior play, the Stars had only managed four playoff appearances (being eliminated at the first hurdle in three of them). Courted by a host of teams Birstall eventually chose Las Vegas, signing a lucrative six-year deal, but before he could throw a pitch in anger for his new team disaster struck, during spring training Birstall tore his UCL, an injury that saw him miss the entire 2030 season. After surgery and a grueling rehab, Birstall returned to the mound for the 2031 season, although he was not as dominating as he had been before his injury, he still pitched well enough to earn his tenth All-Star nod and helped the Gamblers reach the World Series where they fell to Indianapolis in seven games. The next two seasons were frustrating for Birstall as his play remained above average (garnering him another All-Star appearance) but both campaigns ended with Las Vegas falling in the postseason. A shoulder injury limited Birstall to just 17 games in 2034 and although he returned in 2035, injuries had caught up with the once dominant hurler as he produced a disappointing (6-6, 4.10 ERA) campaign before the injury bug bit him again and he ended the season on the DL. With his contract expiring and facing another grueling rehab on his shoulder, Marc Birstall announced his retirement from the game of baseball. The two-time Pitcher-of-the-year enjoyed a 15-year career in which for a large proportion of it, he was one of the best pitchers in the game, earning All-Star nods in eleven of his first twelve seasons (only missing out in 2030 due to injury), never losing more than eight games in a season and, apart from his final two years, also winning at least twelve games every year.

Career Stats
Regular Season
G – 464 GS - 410 W/L – 183-78 SV – 4 ERA – 2.20 IP – 2566.1 BB - 489 K – 3142 WHIP – 0.91 ERA+ 176 WAR – 111.9
Post Season
G - 17 GS - 17 W/L 6-4 SV - 0 ERA – 2.51 IP – 100.1 BB - 28 K - 110 WHIP – 0.95 ERA+ 204

Career Achievements
Outstanding Pitcher Award x2 (2023, 2028)
Rookie of the Year Award (2021)
Pitching Triple Crown (2028)
11x All-Star

[JayW UK]

2041 Off-Season

A trio of managers announcing their retirements kicked off the 2041 Off-Season, Arnold Spencer (DEN), James McDonald (KC) and 2038 EL Manager of the year Roberto Rodriguez in Atlanta. Indianapolis chose to move on from Dave Johnstone by not renewing his contract while in Tampa Bay the Blake Reese experiment came to an abrupt end after two years when the former Scouting Director stepped down to take the General Manager’s role at Kansas City. Reese’s first job was to find a new manager and much to the Hurricanes chagrin he lured his former bench coach Tucker Brown away from Florida to take the role. To replace Brown Tampa Bay chose to raid division rival Atlanta’s coaching tree, bringing the Flames bench coach Shaun Barber on board, Atlanta replaced retired veteran manager Roberto Rodriguez with first-timer and former big-league pitcher Jonathan Fliehman. Denver made waves by landing Christian Eberlein the former New York and Boston manager, the two-time manager of the year returning to management after a year out. Washington then stole the headlines when they pursued and landed Sanfrancisco manager Jorge Castro, the Generals in return surrendered several draft picks to the Gold in compensation for luring their manager away, Sanfrancisco moved quickly naming former Houston manager Cipriano Gonzalez as their new man. Two former minor league managers landed NABL jobs to begin their big-league careers, ex Tacoma Blue Sox manager Columbo Masolino in Indianapolis and Pensacola Pilots skipper Matt Tate with Houston.
In a somewhat depressed free agency Sanfrancisco were once again active, landing former Atlanta pitcher David Adams on a very reasonable three year $46M deal and also enticing Indianapolis infielder Jose Villalobos to join for $74M over four years. Indianapolis also said goodbye to star reliever Josh Renshaw who left town to join OKC on a lucrative three-year deal, it wasn’t all bad news for Racer fans as the club did lure veteran LF Alfonso Sosa away from Dallas on a 2-year $26M deal and also found a replacement for Villalobos in the form of former Detroit 2B Percy Sterrenburg, who signed for four years and $76M. Tampa Bay was the chosen destination for NABL legend Dixon Bodean (now 45 years old), who signed a one year deal which was expected to be his last, the Hurricanes also addressed their major weakness by adding a pair of pitchers in the form of Mike Bradley (KC) and Floyd Wilson (Charlotte), the Express also lost another pitcher to free agency when Wes Pierson left town to join Denver on a 2-year $31M deal. Although defending champions Phoenix were relatively quiet in free agency (veteran LF Gregg Bambridge at $6M their biggest addition) they did get together with Philadelphia to pull-off a blockbuster trade, the Eagles sent five prospects, RF Desmond Starks (BNN #3), 1B Vernon Hanna (BNN # 71), CF Cesar Rangel (BNN #83), RF Mike Hopper and SS Frank James to Philadelphia while star pitcher Steve Gream and a second-round pick in the upcoming draft, were packaged in return. Boston were also busy in the trade market, striking a deal with Las Vegas which sent a second round pick and pitcher Carel Roelands to the Gamblers in exchange for a third round pick, outfielder Khayn Triplett and a pair of relief pitchers (Alfred Matthews and Bradley Thomas).
The 2041 draft class was packed with potential all-stars, leading the way were college superstars CF Jonty Allen from San Diego State, Auburn 2B Norris Lindsey, Boston College 3B Justin Shelby, Oklahoma State’s CF Tom Perkins, pitcher Cameron Schwenke from Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Arizona pitcher Alex Greco. A pair of outstanding high-school talents (Jon-Joe O’Donnell and C Andruw Roman) rounded out the top names.
Owners of the first pick Kansas City with new GM Blake Reese in control, chose to swing for the fences drafting high school pitcher Jon-Joe O’Donnell, clearly looking to the future and banking on him reaching his full potential. Picking second, Miami also went with a pitcher, Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Cameron Schwenke, although with Schwenke making it abundantly clear he was less than happy to have been drafted by the Evergaldes, they would likely have a tough job to persuade him to sign. The first position player taken was Oklahoma State’s CF Tom Perkins, taken third by Detroit, fellow outfielder Jonty Allen (San Diego St) was nabbed fourth by San Jose before San Diego named Auburn 2B Norris Lindsey as the fifth pick. Surprisingly 3B Justin Shelby (#11 Baltimore), P Alex Greco (#12 Minneapolis) and catcher Andruw Roman (#17 Cleveland) all fell out of the top ten.
The way Boston folded in their World Series loss to Phoenix changed the perception of them to the point that BNN’s annual predictions no longer listed the Pilgrims as favourites for the Atlantic division, but instead had them locked in a three-way battle with New York and Philadelphia for the crown. In the Central, St. Louis, Chicago and Indianapolis were once again touted to battle it out with most people believing that the EL Wildcard entry would come from this tussle. In the Southeast the two best teams, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, were bedding in new managers and whoever hit the ground running would likely lead their team to the playoffs and however the season played out the pair were still anticipated to finish ahead of the other three teams come October.
Over in the west, Omaha were expected to go from strength to strength and claim their third straight Midwest division title, while division rivals Oklahoma City and Denver were being tipped as possible Wildcard teams. In the Southwest most prediction models were forecasting a changing-of-the-guard from Las Vegas to Phoenix, with the former expected to come under pressure from Austin and Houston in the Wildcard hunt whilst the fifth team in the division, Dallas were being tipped to have the worst record in 2041. The Pacific division would likely see a two-team race between defending champs Los Angeles and big spending Sanfrancisco while Seattle, fresh from their first non-losing season in a decade, were universally expected to regress back towards their comfort level in the division basement.

[JayW UK]

2041 Off-Season

A trio of managers announcing their retirements kicked off the 2041 Off-Season, Arnold Spencer (DEN), James McDonald (KC) and 2038 EL Manager of the year Roberto Rodriguez in Atlanta. Indianapolis chose to move on from Dave Johnstone by not renewing his contract while in Tampa Bay the Blake Reese experiment came to an abrupt end after two years when the former Scouting Director stepped down to take the General Manager’s role at Kansas City. Reese’s first job was to find a new manager and much to the Hurricanes chagrin he lured his former bench coach Tucker Brown away from Florida to take the role. To replace Brown Tampa Bay chose to raid division rival Atlanta’s coaching tree, bringing the Flames bench coach Shaun Barber on board, Atlanta replaced retired veteran manager Roberto Rodriguez with first-timer and former big-league pitcher Jonathan Fliehman. Denver made waves by landing Christian Eberlein the former New York and Boston manager, the two-time manager of the year returning to management after a year out. Washington then stole the headlines when they pursued and landed Sanfrancisco manager Jorge Castro, the Generals in return surrendered several draft picks to the Gold in compensation for luring their manager away, Sanfrancisco moved quickly naming former Houston manager Cipriano Gonzalez as their new man. Two former minor league managers landed NABL jobs to begin their big-league careers, ex Tacoma Blue Sox manager Columbo Masolino in Indianapolis and Pensacola Pilots skipper Matt Tate with Houston.
In a somewhat depressed free agency Sanfrancisco were once again active, landing former Atlanta pitcher David Adams on a very reasonable three year $46M deal and also enticing Indianapolis infielder Jose Villalobos to join for $74M over four years. Indianapolis also said goodbye to star reliever Josh Renshaw who left town to join OKC on a lucrative three-year deal, it wasn’t all bad news for Racer fans as the club did lure veteran LF Alfonso Sosa away from Dallas on a 2-year $26M deal and also found a replacement for Villalobos in the form of former Detroit 2B Percy Sterrenburg, who signed for four years and $76M. Tampa Bay was the chosen destination for NABL legend Dixon Bodean (now 45 years old), who signed a one year deal which was expected to be his last, the Hurricanes also addressed their major weakness by adding a pair of pitchers in the form of Mike Bradley (KC) and Floyd Wilson (Charlotte), the Express also lost another pitcher to free agency when Wes Pierson left town to join Denver on a 2-year $31M deal. Although defending champions Phoenix were relatively quiet in free agency (veteran LF Gregg Bambridge at $6M their biggest addition) they did get together with Philadelphia to pull-off a blockbuster trade, the Eagles sent five prospects, RF Desmond Starks (BNN #3), 1B Vernon Hanna (BNN # 71), CF Cesar Rangel (BNN #83), RF Mike Hopper and SS Frank James to Philadelphia while star pitcher Steve Gream and a second-round pick in the upcoming draft, were packaged in return. Boston were also busy in the trade market, striking a deal with Las Vegas which sent a second round pick and pitcher Carel Roelands to the Gamblers in exchange for a third round pick, outfielder Khayn Triplett and a pair of relief pitchers (Alfred Matthews and Bradley Thomas).
The 2041 draft class was packed with potential all-stars, leading the way were college superstars CF Jonty Allen from San Diego State, Auburn 2B Norris Lindsey, Boston College 3B Justin Shelby, Oklahoma State’s CF Tom Perkins, pitcher Cameron Schwenke from Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Arizona pitcher Alex Greco. A pair of outstanding high-school talents (Jon-Joe O’Donnell and C Andruw Roman) rounded out the top names.
Owners of the first pick Kansas City with new GM Blake Reese in control, chose to swing for the fences drafting high school pitcher Jon-Joe O’Donnell, clearly looking to the future and banking on him reaching his full potential. Picking second, Miami also went with a pitcher, Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Cameron Schwenke, although with Schwenke making it abundantly clear he was less than happy to have been drafted by the Evergaldes, they would likely have a tough job to persuade him to sign. The first position player taken was Oklahoma State’s CF Tom Perkins, taken third by Detroit, fellow outfielder Jonty Allen (San Diego St) was nabbed fourth by San Jose before San Diego named Auburn 2B Norris Lindsey as the fifth pick. Surprisingly 3B Justin Shelby (#11 Baltimore), P Alex Greco (#12 Minneapolis) and catcher Andruw Roman (#17 Cleveland) all fell out of the top ten.
The way Boston folded in their World Series loss to Phoenix changed the perception of them to the point that BNN’s annual predictions no longer listed the Pilgrims as favourites for the Atlantic division, but instead had them locked in a three-way battle with New York and Philadelphia for the crown. In the Central, St. Louis, Chicago and Indianapolis were once again touted to battle it out with most people believing that the EL Wildcard entry would come from this tussle. In the Southeast the two best teams, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, were bedding in new managers and whoever hit the ground running would likely lead their team to the playoffs and however the season played out the pair were still anticipated to finish ahead of the other three teams come October.
Over in the west, Omaha were expected to go from strength to strength and claim their third straight Midwest division title, while division rivals Oklahoma City and Denver were being tipped as possible Wildcard teams. In the Southwest most prediction models were forecasting a changing-of-the-guard from Las Vegas to Phoenix, with the former expected to come under pressure from Austin and Houston in the Wildcard hunt whilst the fifth team in the division, Dallas were being tipped to have the worst record in 2041. The Pacific division would likely see a two-team race between defending champs Los Angeles and big spending Sanfrancisco while Seattle, fresh from their first non-losing season in a decade, were universally expected to regress back towards their comfort level in the division basement.

[JayW UK]

2041 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Boston (83-79) stumbled to their sixth straight Atlantic Division crown, LF Rob Penney (.317, 34 HR, 96 RBI), CF Weldon Render (.271, 29 HR, 100 RBI) and C Eduardo Romero (27 HR, 94 RBI) led their high powered offense but their pitching proved to be problematic, as outside of Jess McGregor (17-7, 3.99 ERA) and Brett Knight (14-7, 3.10 ERA) no-one else stood out, the fact Boston claimed the division title at all was down to their rivals failing to take advantage rather than anything the Pilgrims accomplished themselves. New York boasted the EL’s #3 pitching staff headlined by ace Mariano Rojo (18-7, 2.63 ERA) but their offense was just middle of the road despite strong seasons from C Roberto Saldana (.297, 35 HR, 100 RBI) and 1B Jerry Wright (.287, 36 HR, 87 RBI), while Philadelphia featured the one-man wrecking crew 1B Diego Pagan (.316, 55 HR, 143 RBI) and not a lot else. Both teams finished the season four games back with identical 79-83 records and with more consistent play, either squad could have conceivably taken the division. Baltimore finished one game further back, their issues were twofold, a struggling offense and a young and inexperienced pitching staff, whilst new manager Jorge Castro’s first season in D.C was not the success the Generals hoped for as held back by underwhelming offensive play Washington ended the campaign in the division basement with a 73-89 record.
The Central division turned into a two-team race with Chicago edging Indianapolis for the crown. Chicago used the EL #1 offense paced by C Aaron Payton (.301, 31 HR, 98 RBI) and 3B David Evans (.329, 22 HR, 108 RBI) along with the EL’s top pitching staff led by ace Eugene Fey to claim their sixth division title finishing the season 98-64. Indianapolis, who possessed a pitching staff starring Ramon Schoof (19-9, 3.87 ERA) that was second only to Chicago in the EL and also a prolific offense that topped the league in batting average, finished four games back with a 94-68 record and claimed the EL wildcard spot. Despite excellent individual campaigns from 23-year-old pitcher Paul Everhart (19-7, 3.05 ERA), 2B Chad Hammond (.370, 27 HR, 92 RBI) and 3B Blake Hanson (.279, 38 HR, 119 RBI) Cleveland could only manage a 79-wins. Mike Anderson’s second season in charge in Detroit saw some improvement as the Giants finished in fourth place with a 76-86 record while Jesus Velasquez’s second year in St. Louis was an unmitigated disaster, as hit by the injury bug all season long, the Reds fell from 93-69 and top spot, to 59-103 and a last place finish.
With 3B Bryant Manton (.261, 37 HR, 103 RBI) and LF Joe Scott (.261, 35 HR, 104 RBI) leading the way Tampa Bay rolled to the Southeast division title finishing the season 93-69, nine games ahead of nearest challengers New Orleans (82-80). The Blues found a star of the future in the form of 22-year-old rookie LF Jim Hopkins (.317, 24 HR, 75 RBI) who helped them to a winning record for the first time in eight years, one game ahead of Atlanta (81-81), who despite the best efforts of 1B Glenn Hansen (.385, 11 HR, 56 RBI) and LF Mike Hicks (.288, 18 HR, 91 RBI) could only finish the season at .500. Charlotte could still call on the services of always reliable RF Daron Murphy (.309, 27 HR, 113 RBI) but with little support elsewhere he could only do so much, as the Express slumped to a 76-86 record while Miami (72-90) remained mired at the foot of the standings. There was a silver lining for Miami however, as apart from veteran 1B Keith Fairchild (.298, 29 HR, 100 RBI) most of their main contributors were under 25-years old.

Final Standings

Atlantic division
Boston 83-79*
New York 79-83
Philadelphia 79-83
Baltimore 78-84
Washington 73-89

Central Division
Chicago 98-64*
Indianapolis 94-68*
Cleveland 79-83
Detroit 76-86
St. Louis 59-103

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 93-69*
New Orleans 82-80
Atlanta 81-81
Charlotte 76-86
Miami 72-90

[JayW UK]

2041 Regular Season

Western League Review

With the WL’s #1 pitching staff headlined by Jacobie Harksdale (23-5, 2.40 ERA) and strong offensive contributions from the likes of RF Felipe Peralta (.340, 31 HR, 81 RBI) and 2B Tom Lockhart (.305, 21 HR, 101 RBI), Omaha cruised to their third straight Midwest division title, winning a franchise record 102 games along the way. OKC hung on to their coattails for most of the season only fading down the stretch, eventually finishing the season with a 91-71 record, even a strong season from free-agent-to-be C Tom Walsh (.281, 26 HR, 98 RBI) could lift Minneapolis as the Bears came in a distant third and with 79-wins. New manager Tucker Brown got a reaction from his Kansas City team as they finished the season with 73-wins, much better than the 59 they managed in 2040 while Christian Eberlein did not get the desired response in Denver, as the Wildcats slumped to just 68-wins, Denver still featured a top five offense with CF Fernando Hernandez (.300, 37 HR, 122 RBI) leading the way, but their pitching staff struggled with only off-season signing Wes Pierson (10-19, 4.38) reaching double figures for wins.
Phoenix (92-70) won the Southwest division despite not playing as well as they did in 2040, the Eagles still possessed their trademark powerful offense (196 HR) led by 2B Mike Brown (.240, 43 HR, 108 RBI) and RF Adrian Ramirez (.294, 34, 105 RBI) along with a strong pitching staff with Steve Gream (20-7, 2.46 ERA) standing out in his first season with the club. Las Vegas struggled with injuries to key players and a lack of consistency all season and slumped to just 85-wins their lowest total since 2024, not even another excellent season from all-star 3B Joseph Floores (.290, 50 HR, 118 RBI) could help the Gamblers overcome the adversity they faced. Austin (82-80) fielded one of the best pitching units in the league but at the same time their offense underperformed leaving the Kings struggling to break .500 for the season, Houston were very similar to Austin, with a struggling offense and solid pitching, only the Stars failed to break even on the season finishing the campaign at 80-82. Dallas (70-92) finished in the division basement for the first time since 2026, the Mustangs afflicted with a bottom three offense and pitching, if it wasn’t for closer Jesus Tobias and his NABL leading 45 saves, things could have been a whole lot worse in Texas.
With RF Francisco Perez (.344, 28 HR, 98 RBI) and 1B Herminio Azurara (31 HR, 110 RBI) leading the charge Sanfrancisco returned to the top of the Pacific division, winning a franchise best 100 games (the clubs first such campaign). Los Angeles finished as runners up a full 10-games back in the standings, falling just short of catching OKC for the wildcard spot, San Jose (80-82) were a middle of the pack team all season, never good enough to challenge for the playoffs and not bad enough to end up with a top draft pick. San Diego (74-88) once again disappointed with a spluttering offense their biggest issue and RF James Britt (.278, 16 HR, 61 RBI) their main threat, while Seattle (60-102) found themselves back in the division basement after another lacklustre campaign.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Omaha 102-60*
Oklahoma City 91-71*
Minneapolis 79-83
Kansas City 73-89
Denver 68-94

Southwest Division
Phoenix 92-70*
Las Vegas 85-77
Austin 82-80
Houston 80-82
Dallas 70-92

Pacific Division
Sanfrancisco 100-62*
Los Angeles 90-72
San Jose 80-82
San Diego 74-88
Seattle 62-100

[JayW UK]

2041 Season Notes

Pre-Season – on the eve of the season Austin sent young slugger George Thomas to Cleveland, obtaining the services of 2B Jose Concepcion and 20-year-old outfield prospect Jorge Pina.
April 3rd – Atlanta RF Mike Robinson clubbed a trio of solo homeruns as the Flames downed Tampa Bay 7-4.
April 4th – Kansas City 2B Eric Bernard hit for the CYCLE in a losing effort as the Tornadoes could only muster Bernard’s solo homerun as they fell 5-1 to Denver.
April 5th – Minneapolis 2B Jose Diaz scored twice as the Bears overcame OKC 4-2, Diaz’s second run was his 1000th of his career.
April 6th – Chicago’s star 2B David Evans became the second player on the season to hit three homeruns, going deep three times (including a Grand-Slam) and driving in eight of Chicago’s 13 runs in the Zephyrs impressive 19-3 victory over Charlotte.
April 18th – San Jose 3B Tom Sterling clubbed the 300th homerun of his illustrious career as the Spartans downed Los Angeles 5-3.
April 20th – Tampa Bay 3B Bryant Manton went deep twice in the Hurricanes 7-4 victory over New Orleans, Manton’s second homer was the 300th of his career.
April 21st – Seattle 3B Ernesto Bernal scored his 1000th career run in defeat to Denver.
April 23rd – Omaha’s veteran pitcher Rajion Samit collected his 2500th career strikeout against Kansas City.
May 1st – St. Louis starter McKenzie Ransford found himself headed for a lengthy stint on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.
May 11th – Chicago LF Mike Lancaster lit up Tampa Bay’s pitchers, clubbing three homeruns including a Grand-Slam and collecting 6-RBI’s in Chicago’s 10-4 victory.
May 23rd- Phoenix pitcher John Gates hurled a NO-HITTER, he walked three whilst striking out eight as the Eagles comfortably beat Kansas City 8-0. Veteran Phoenix LF Gregg Bambridge also collected the 300th homerun of his career in the rout.
May 25th – Aaron Payton became the third Chicago player to hit three homeruns in a game on the season (3-for-4, 3HR, 6 RBI’s) leading the Zephyrs to victory over division rivals St. Louis.
May 26th – Eric Bernard’s second CYCLE of the season helped Kansas City scrape past Las Vegas 4-3.
June 6th – Boston catcher Eduardo Moreno clubbed the 300th round-tripper of his career, but it was not enough to prevent the Pilgrims from losing.
June 18th – Indianapolis 1B Mitch Higgins destroyed St. Louis, collecting four hits, including a double and a pair of homeruns whilst driving in 8-RBI’s as the Racers cruised to a 12-1 victory.
June 21st – Los Angles rode a career day from 1B Jeffrey Davenport (3-for-5, 2 HR including a Grand-Slam and 9-RBI’s) to victory over Denver.
June 22nd – less than half a season into his Cleveland tenure 1B George Thomas found himself packaged together with 1B Ricardo Lara and sent to Washington for catcher Michael Meller.
July 2nd – Indianapolis LF Allen Hood hit for the CYCLE, going 4-for-4 and hitting a solo homerun in the eighth inning to provide the winning margin, as the racers edged Tampa Bay 3-2.
July 10th – Omaha’s 25-year-old pitcher David Lyons suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, forcing him to undergo season ending surgery.
July 13th – Denver SS Mario Cristo collected the 1000th RBI of his career as the Wildcats fell in extra innings to St. Louis.
July 15th – Detroit pitcher David Elder earned an all-star berth then found himself traded to Sanfrancisco for a bevy of prospects (3B Santiago Garcia, C Jesus Tovar, SS Michael Boucher, 3B Seihiro Sanu and SS Manolo Gutierrez).
July 20th – Indianapolis sent RF Jim Mailes and 1B prospect Kevin Robinson to New York for infield depth in the form of 2B Dan Robertson.
July 22nd – 25-year-old Miami pitcher Jonathan Furze held Cleveland hitless as he became the second player during the season to hurl a NO-HITTER.
July 28th – San Diego held Phoenix 1B Domingo Vargas hitless ending his 26-game hitting streak, the Eagles had the last laugh though, rolling to an easy 11-3 victory.
July 28-30th – St. Louis 3B Juan Torres was a thorn in Boston’s side, in the three-game series he hit four doubles on the 28th, another two doubles in a five hit, 4-RBI performance on the 29th, then capped off the series with a walk-off RBI-single on the 30th.
July 31st – OKC ace Rafer MacNeil reached the 2500K plateau in his clubs 4-2 victory over Houston.
August 2nd – St. Louis welcomed pitcher McKenzie Ransford back in the fold after injury, only to lose star pitcher Les Scott days later, a forearm strain ending his season.
August 3rd – What was meant to be a glorious farewell tour for living legend Dixon Bodean quickly descended into an injury ravaged campaign which limited him to just 41 games. His latest ailment, a hip issue that would require surgery, forced Tampa Bay to place Bodean on the DL thus ending his season and, in all likelihood, would also be the final act in his storied career.
August 13th – Phildelphia 2B Manuel Torres collected six hits and 4-RBI’s as the Independence edged past Atlanta 6-5 in extra innings.
August 18th – Las Vegas 3B Joseph Floores was instrumental in the Gamblers 13-11 victory over Seattle, going 3-for-4, while hitting a double and a pair of homeruns and collecting 8-RBI’s.
August 20th – Jonathan Davies became the second San Diego pitcher to throw a PERFECT GAME, joining Pedro Escobar who accomplished the feat back in 2023.
August 21st – Veteran shortstop Pancho Sousa collected career hit number 2500 in helping Indianapolis to overcome New York 2-1.
August 30th – Boston’s veteran outfielder Lucio Rodriguez suffered a torn back muscle ending his season prematurely.
September 3rd – San Jose 3B Tom Sterling scored his 1000th run on a ninth inning Lucio Guerrero sacrifice fly, but Seattle star Patrick Richardson had the final say, belting a walk-off Grand-Slam to lift Seattle to an 8-4 victory.
September 4th – Miami RF Stephen Butler drilled a first inning 3-run homerun to kick off the Everglades big day, Butler ended the day hitting for the CYCLE as Miami thrashed Atlanta 19-1.
September 8th – Washington 1B George Thomas blasted three homeruns and drove in eight runs as the Generals downed Boston 14-10. It was the second time Thomas had collected 8-RBI’s in a game, previously accomplishing the feat for Austin in 2039.
September 11th – Sanfrancisco 3B Matt Romero accumulated four hits in the Gold’s matchup with San Jose, Romero finished the day with his 2500th career hit but the Spartans ended the day with the win, taking the game 5-4 in extra innings.
September 12th – in an exciting shoot-out between Indianapolis and Cleveland, Racer 2B Carlos Olivares had himself a big day, hitting for the CYCLE and driving in five runs, the last two of which came on his walk-off 2-run homer that lifted Indianapolis to a wild 12-10 victory.
September 13th – Tampa Bay star, Bryant Manton had a game to remember scoring his 1000th career run, he ended the day 3-for-3 with a pair of homeruns and 6-RBI.
September 16th – Tampa Bay’s star 1B Rick Flynn suffered a torn abdominal muscle ending his season and forcing the Hurricanes to shuffle their lineup for the upcoming playoffs.
September 17th – Las Vegas 3B Joseph Floores clubbed the 300th homer of his career in a losing effort as the Gamblers fell to Los Angeles, all but ending their playoff hopes.
September 19th – Chicago star CF Josh Deric suffered a rib injury sending him to the disabled list, ending his season.
September 29th – just two days from the end of the season Chicago suffered another injury blow, this time starting LF Mike Lancaster the unlucky player, suffering a torn hamstring ruling him out of the playoffs.
September 30th – Washington closer Steve Berg collected career save number 300 against New York.

[JayW UK]

2041 Playoffs

Divisional Round

Boston entered the playoffs looking to emulate Indianapolis and reach a fourth straight World Series, the first obstacle in their quest was Chicago the EL’s #1 seed, the Zephyrs boasted the league’s best offense and best pitching making them heavy favourites to end the Pilgrims run. The eastern league’s wildcard team Indianapolis faced off against Tampa Bay in a series that was sure to be fun with both teams owning high scoring offenses. In the west World champions Phoenix would open their title defence with a tough matchup against 102-win Omaha, the series was expected to be a close hard-fought contest with both sides possessing top three offenses and excellent pitching, the other WLDS saw 100-Win Sanfrancisco and their explosive offense, take on wildcard entry Oklahoma City.

Game one between Boston and Chicago was a tight back and forth affair with neither team able to take control, Boston 1B John Herman provided the visitors with all of their runs, driving in all four as the Pilgrims carried a slim 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. However closer Chris Miller failed to deliver the save, allowing a pinch-hit RBI-single to Tom Russell to send the game to extra innings, a 12th inning RBI-single from 2B Marcos Casas gave Boston the lead and another chance to steal the game. This time Jacob Cunningham was up to the task, as he took just eleven pitches to retire the Zephyrs and give Boston a narrow 5-4 win. Game two the following night started much the same way as game one, the two teams swapped scores early but neither team looked capable of seizing control of the game. That all changed in the fifth Wolfgang Worns blasted a 3-run homerun breaking open the game in favour of Boston as the Pilgrims rolled to a convincing 10-4 victory. Chicago arrived in Boston for game three facing the possibility of being swept out of the playoffs by the underdog Pilgrims, their chances looked bleak as starter Mario Chavez lasted only until the fourth inning, surrendering five runs on nine hits as the Zephyrs found themselves in danger of meekly slipping out of the playoffs. An RBI-single from catcher Aaron Payton sparked a Chicago rally that cut Boston’s lead to one on SS Rico Lawson’s 2-RBI Homerun in the top of the eighth, Pilgrim LF Rob Penney drilled a solo homerun in the home half to push the lead back up to two before Boston closer Chris Miller took the mound for the ninth. Unlike in game one this time Miller came through for the Pilgrims, wrapping up the game and a remarkable series sweep which put Boston one step closer to the World Series.

The series opener between Indianapolis and Tampa Bay saw both starters, Dave Lockhart (IND) and Saikaku Yoshida (TB) pitch well holding the opposition scoreless through five innings, although once the relief corps got involved the game changed. Tampa Bay hit Indianapolis pair Pedro Rosario and Gabriel Acevedo for five runs but Indianapolis had the last laugh as they pummeled Hurricane reliever Floyd Wilson to the tune of six runs in just two innings of work as the visitors edged the hometown Hurricanes 6-5 in game one. Pitching once again held sway in game two with starters Ramon Schoof (IND) and Robert Woodruff (TB) both in control early, Tampa Bay finally broke through in the sixth, a solo homerun from Joe Scott and a 2-RBI double from Michael Sleigh giving the home team a 3-0 lead. Indianapolis couldn’t find a way to break through against Woodruff or relievers Frank Johnston and Billy Ray Sanders as the Hurricanes evened the series with a 3-0 shutout. Tampa Bay’s game three starter Mike Bradley lasted just 0.1 innings before exiting with an elbow strain leaving the Hurricanes bullpen dangerously exposed. In an exciting back and forth game Tampa Bay pulled ahead for good in the 8th when LF Joe Scott clubbed a 3-RBI Homerun (his second of the night) before Billy Ray Sanders shut the door in the ninth, preserving the Hurricanes wild 9-6 victory. Indianapolis starter Dave Lockhart was once again almost unhittable, holding Tampa Bay to a single run on just four hits through six strong innings, Hurricane starter Saikaku Yoshida on the other hand struggled, lasting just three frames and staking Indianapolis to a four-run lead. Once Dave Lockhart took a seat in the Indianapolis dugout Tampa Bay’s hitters began to make headway against the Racers bullpen, LF Joe Scott instrumental in a four run outburst that put the Hurricanes ahead 5-4, needing six outs to wrap up the series Tampa Bay turned to Devin Todd to navigate the eighth inning, Todd retired the first two batters before 2B Dan Robertson earned a walk on a questionable call, a clearly rattled Todd then served up a two-run homerun to C Gabriel Lopez turning the game on its head and giving Indianapolis a lead they would not relinquish. The series returned to Florida for a winner-takes-all game five, pitchers Robert Woodruff (TB) and Ramon Schoof (IND) held the opposition in check each giving up a single run through six innings of work. Tampa 3B Bryant Manton’s solo Homerun in the seventh gave the home side the lead only for Indianapolis veteran LF Alfonso Sosa to squeeze a game-tying single past a diving Jose Mendoza in the top of the eighth, RF Jose Cintron then broke the hearts of Hurricane fans everywhere when he launched a Devin Todd fastball deep into the stands to give the visiting Racers a ninth inning lead. Closer Jim Cummings was less than stellar but still got the job done as Indianapolis squeezed home 3-2 to book their place in the ELCS for the eleventh time.

In the west, 100-win Sanfrancisco were viewed as heavy favourites to deal comfortably with wildcard entry Oklahoma City, but bouyed by homeruns from 3B Xavier Cisneros and RF Luis Flores and superb outings from pitchers Rafer MacNeil (7.1 IP, 1ER, 8K) and Kevin Davies (1.2 IP, 4K) OKC turned the tables on their hosts and walked away with a dominant 9-1 series opening win. The following night Sanfrancisco starter David Elder was flawless in victory hurling a 4-hit complete-game shutout, homeruns from LF Sul-Shik Choi and 2B Dennis Brooks provided all the run support Elder needed as Sanfrancisco evened the series. Game three saw both starters (Cristobal Chapa for SF and Seung-Jae Park for OKC) pitch shutouts through five innings, with two out in the top of the sixth Sanfrancisco LF Sul-Shik Choi hit what looked to be a harmless flyball to rightfield for the final out, but OKC RF Luis Flores lost the ball in the lights and dropped the catch allowing Choi to reach first safely and extend the inning. Next man up 1B Herminio Azurara punished Choi for the error, slamming a two-run homer to give the Gold the lead and leaving the unlucky Park on the hook for the loss despite him only having surrendered three hits and zero earned runs. The Outlaws bullpen also fell foul of Sanfrancisco’s league leading offense, giving up six runs over the final two frames to leave the game out of reach for the home side and put Sanfrancisco 2-1 ahead in the series. Game four saw both opening night pitchers take the mound and just as in game one OKC’s Rafer MacNeil was superb, allowing a single run on four hits and also weighing in on offense with an RBI-single. MacNeil handed the Outlaw bullpen a 4-1 lead in the eighth, but just as the previous night they couldn’t corral the Sanfrancisco offense who proceeded to tie the game on SS Brandon Townsend’s 2-RBI double and 3B Matt Romero’s RBI-single. In the home half it was the turn of Sanfrancisco’s relievers to cough up the lead on back-to-back hits by LF Julian Morin and CF Gustavo Reyes. OKC’s star closer Josh Renshaw took the mound for the ninth and retired the visitors in order with the minimum of fuss to once again tie the series. In front of a full house at Sanfrancisco’s Bayside Ballpark the two teams played out a competitive winner-takes-all game five, heading into the ninth inning it was the visiting Outlaws who had the edge, leading 4-3 with all-star closer Josh Renshaw on the mound. In an uncharacteristically sloppy inning Renshaw retired two batters but surrendered a trio of hits culminating in RF Francisco Perez’s walk-off RBI-double to hand Sanfrancisco a thrilling 5-4 win and send the gold onto the WLCS for the first time since their 2017 championship season.

Defending champions Phoenix opened their postseason with a matchup against Omaha for the second year in a row. The Western League’s top pitcher, Omaha’s 23-win ace Jacobie Harksdale, was on song in game one, holding Phoenix scoreless through seven innings before handing the reins over to the bullpen. Phoenix’s batters fared better against the Braves relievers plating four runs over the final two frames, including SS Brandon Buck’s solo homerun in the top of the ninth that proved to be the winning run. Both starters were once again strong in game two, Steve Gream (PHO) and Pedro Flores (OMH) carrying shutouts into the seventh inning, Flores broke first allowing an RBI-double to Phoenix LF Jose de la Gracia to plate the first run of the contest. Just as in game one it was the bullpens that decided the outcome, but this time it was Phoenix’s relief corps that were found wanting, surrendering homeruns to LF Woody Tuttle and 2B Tom Lockhart to gift Omaha a 3-1 series tying victory. Omaha starter Sergio Olivarez was shelled for six runs (including first inning homeruns by 2B Mike Brown and 1B Domingo Vargas) in just 3.1 innings of work in game three, setting Phoenix on their way to a comfortable 6-1 win. It was Omaha’s turn to jump on Phoenix early in game four, as a pair of homeruns from RF Felipe Peralta put them in the driving seat, Omaha 1B Roberto Gonzales drilled a 2-run homer in the eighth to let the air out of Phoenix’s mini revival, as the visitors took the game 7-3 and ensured there would be a deciding game-five back in Omaha. Two nights later the teams reconvened to play the final installment of a hard-fought series, with neither team able to take control of a back and forth contest the two opponents found themselves locked in a 4-4 tie entering the ninth inning. Phoenix CF Miguel Rodriguez singled before stealing second and racing home on SS Brandon Buck’s soft single, two batters later 1B Domingo Vargas blasted an errant Alex Allenby curveball deep into the stands to increase the Eagles lead to three. The visiting Phoenix players took the field for the bottom of the ninth to a wall of noise but the partisan home crowd were left disappointed as Phoenix reliever Al O’Brien held his nerve to retire the three Omaha batters he faced using just twelve pitches, ensuring a return to the WLCS for the defending world champions.