A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL, 2019-2119) - Page 14

Izz · 12-24-2014, 04:55 AM

2038 Leaderboards

Izz · 12-24-2014, 10:56 PM

Hall of Fame - Dermott ‘Fats’ Ford, Vinnie ‘Rip’ Egan & Karl ‘Dragoon’ Rice

3 players were inducted into the AUNZBL Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the 2038 season.

The 1st of these was Dermott ‘Fats’ Ford. Ford, a 2B who didn’t field that well and didn’t have much power, but who got himself an awful lot of hits (including the still-standing career record for singles), started playing at the league’s inception at the age of 28 and continued until he was 42. He spent 10 of his 15 seasons in the majors playing for Newcastle and was inducted in a Roos uniform. His best season came at 35 years of age, where he went .341/.384/.447, with 214 hits and 99 runs. His 10HRs that season was his 3rd-best mark.

Vinnie ‘Rip’ Egan had transitioned seamlessly from player to commentator. Also a below-average 2B, Egan had a great eye, and while he didn’t have HR-power, he hit the gaps pretty well. He had his best season while playing for Perth in 2029, going .347/.441/.461, collecting 211 hits, 9 of which were triples. He was inducted wearing an Aces uniform, and said his proudest moment as a player was holding the Championship Trophy aloft in 2025 with the rest of his Melbourne teammates. Interestingly, while he was born and raised in Sydney, he never played for either the Blue Sox or the Roos.

Unfortunately, Karl ‘Dragoon’ Rice’s career was cut short by a terrible hamstring injury. Still, in 11 years, he racked up numbers worthy of the Hall. Another player who didn’t field all that well at his preferred position (SS), and without much HR power, Rice’s best overall season was in 2026, when he hit .338/.389/.456, with 221 hits and 14HR. He was inducted in Venom colours.

(Note: the baseball cards below don't always accurately reflect that player's ML-stats)

Izz · 12-25-2014, 12:02 AM

Retirement Class of 2038

The following players retired at various stages during the 2038/2039 season:

Elliot Wilkins. 38 y/o, 1B. 2022-2037. .280/.349/.487, 2205 hits, 1179 runs, 376 doubles, 404HR, 1350RBI, 802BB. Won the Rookie of the Year award in 2023, and was a 7-time All Star. Collected 5 rings with the Roos (2022, 2024, 2029, 2034, 2037), the only major league team he played for. Finished with the 2nd most HRs, the 4th-best VORP (575.99), the most games (2128), the 4th-most ABs (7878), the most runs (1179), the 4th-most hits, the 2nd-most total bases (3835), the most RBIs. Led the league in total bases and RBI in 2026, and in slugging in 2029.

Wendell Baxter. 38 y/o, C. 2023-2037. .292/.336/.439, 2155 hits, 887 runs, 392 doubles, 222HR, 1016RBI. 1 Gold Glove, 7 All Star Games. Won a ring in 2036 with the Fury. Retired 7th on the all-time hits leaderboard. Led the league in batting average in 2025.

Bruce Pickford. 37 y/o, CF. 2024-2037. .269/.326/.440, 2078 hits, 1115 runs, 384 doubles, 98 triples, 248HR, 1006RBI, 247SB. A whopping 6 Gold Gloves to go with 6 All Star appearances. Retired with the 8th-most career hits, 10th-most RBI, 8th-most stolen bases, the 5th-best WAR (53.05), and the most triples, 14 more than next closest Egan. Led the league in hits in 2031, 4 times in triples (2025, 2030, 2031, 2037). Was reportedly very surprised not to pick up a contract in 2038, but also had no wish to play in the minors.

Gavin Dethridge. 37 y/o, 3B. 2026-2037. .269/.314/.397, 1675 hits, 697 runs, 140HR, 727RBI. 3 Gold Gloves, 2 All Star Teams, 1 Championship, in 2031 with the Thunder.

Stefan Ballard. 31 y/o, 2B. 2028-2037. .316/.340/.385, 1606 hits, 679 runs, 6HR, 417RBI, 159BB. 3 All Star selections, 2 rings, both with the Venom, in 2033 and 2035. Led the league 3 times in hits (2030, 2035, 2036) and once in hitting (2035). While he wasn’t the type of guy to draw many walks, most were surprised he didn’t pick up a team for 2038, as he had some extra-base pop, and could field all the infield positions well, plus leftfield. Retired 3rd on the all-time batting average leaderboard.

Nathaniel Lovett. 37 y/o, 2B. 2022-2036. .277/.342/.424, 1594 hits, 725 runs, 162HR, 693RBI, 575BB. 1 Gold Glove, 4 All Star teams, 1 Championship with the Thunder in 2031. Led the league in slugging in 2028.

Elliot Browne. 39 y/o, SP. 2021-2037. 169-162, 4.06 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.38 WHIP. 1 All Star Game, 2 Championships, both with the Bandits, in 2026 and 2028. Retired with the 5th most strikeouts (2082).

Walter Wilkins. 37 y/o, CL. 2025-2037. 50-52, 271 saves, 3.09 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.16 WHIP. Never made an All Star team, but did win 2 Championships, with the Cowboys (2030), and the Roos (2034). Wilkins retired with the 7th-most saves, but would be remembered more as a guy who courted drama when on the field, getting into memorable clashes during the postseason more than once.

Izz · 12-25-2014, 06:41 AM

2038 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Sterling Dunlop (Whangarei Sluggers)
Catcher: Vince Braddock (Melbourne Aces)
First Baseman: Ashley Snijders (Canberra Cavalry)
Second Baseman: Edward Bebbington (Auckland Metros)
Third Baseman: Ramiro Madrigal (Perth Heat)
Shortstop: Jarod Atkins (Christchurch Cowboys)
Left Fielder: Michael Robinson (Whangarei Sluggers)
Centre Fielder: Marcello Hynes (Canberra Cavalry)
Right Fielder: Richard Lewis (Wellington Fury)

Rookie of the Year

With all the hubbub surrounding him, somehow most forgot that Takashi ‘The Tremendous’ Takeuchi was a rookie. So while it should’ve come as no surprise that he won RotY, it did surprise a fair few, but pleasantly, rather than the usual reaction to unexpected award winners. In his maiden AUNZBL season, the Japanese import put up very impressive numbers, going 19-8, with a 3.10 ERA, a 3.72 FIP, and a 1.08 WHIP. He also proved durable, throwing 241.1 innings. He struck out 137, and had a WAR of 5.9 and a VORP of 57.9.

2nd in the voting was 25 y/o Bandit Benjamin Barclay (.272/.313/.407, 10 triples, 12HR), and 3rd 22 y/o Metros LF Tommy Weichard (.290/.329/.404, 7HR).

Skipper of the Year

John Saunderson. Who? The quiet skipper of the Bandits, who had taken them to 90-win seasons 3 of his 4 years in charge. While they lost to division rivals Newcastle in the Championship, Brisbane’s second-half surge to win the division and then easily dispatch Auckland in the Division Finals kept everybody talking, even once the season was over. Unlike many of the other managers in the big show, Saunderson didn’t provide many sound-bites for media, and generally didn’t make waves. He’d been involved at the top level either as a manager or bench coach since 2024. The Bandits were his 4th major league managing assignment, and the 1st he’d had any real success with.

Hurler of the Year

Whispers raced around the tables at the Awards’ Dinner that Takeuchi would snare this award too, to become the 1st pitcher to win both RotY and HotY the same year.

The whispers weren’t entirely accurate. Takeuchi did make the final ballot, but 20-game winner Allan Koka was the winner. Aside from going 20-5, Koka had a 2.21 ERA, a 3.30 FIP, and a 1.22 WHIP. He struck out 187 in 207.2 innings, and had a 5.6 WAR and a 68.3 VORP.

Teammate Brayden Allomes (19-7, 2.44 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) finished 2nd, while Takeuchi was comfortably 3rd.

Slugger of the Year

There was plenty of debate surrounding this award, with Cavalry fans torn between Snijders and Mildren (some making a case for Ming also), while Rees, Richard Lewis, and Beau Riseley also had a strong group of support.

Snijders grabbed the award, marking a Cavalry double-double for HotY and SotY. Snijders played in every game of the Cavalry campaign, hitting .332/.438/.561, with 195 hits, 31 doubles, and 34HR. He also scored 122 runs and drew 105 walks. His WAR was 9.5 and his VORP 85.4.

Rex Rees (.332/.456/.576, 33HR) came 2nd, and Alastair Mildren (.305/.388/.562, 45HR) 3rd.

Izz · 12-25-2014, 06:48 AM

2038 Career Leaderboards

Izz · 12-26-2014, 06:32 PM

Offseason

2038 Notes

League ERA dropped 10 points in 2038, to 4.16. Batting average remained static, at .264.

Notable Club Happenings

Cairns Crocs: Interim manager Harrison Baldwin didn’t have his short tenure with the Crocs extended. He, along with the eccentric Clint Blenkhorn, would need to find a new job.

Christchurch Cowboys: The Cowboys found themselves in need of a new manager, after Mitch Cornell, who'd skippered the team for 11 years, hung up his strategy board.

The 64 y/o said, "I can retire holding my head high, having accomplished nearly everything a manager can accomplish in this great game. It is a bit sad that my final season was the only season the Cowboys had a losing record under my care, but every club has one of those now and again. Despite the drubbing we continually got in the media, I can say with absolute certainty that my lads always did the best they could, and often better than even I expected. It is also with some pride that I retire having only managed at one ball club, but having done so successfully and for over a decade."

Cornell had a 1003-780 record as a manager. His only job before coming to Christchurch had been as bench coach of the Aces, where he saw them win the Championship in 2025. While Cornell was regarded as one of the greats, even by begrudging media, he retired with only 1 ring as a skipper.

Newcastle Roos: Jit-wei Jiang surprised everybody by announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the season. While Jiang had only managed in the majors 2 years, he had an enviable, and nearly impossible to replicate, 100% success record. Bench coach Cooper Jacobs, who’d been with the Roos for their last 2 Championship wins, and BC with the Venom for 4 years of their impressive stretch prior to that, would take over as manager. In his time managing the Heat, he had led them to 4 of their 6 overall postseason appearances.

Sydney Blue Sox: Didn’t renew the contract of their manager, but it didn’t look as if GM Brian Tipping wanted to elevate current BC and 4-time Manager of the Year Gareth Torley into the role either.

Wellington Fury: The Fury were on the lookout for a new skipper, pitching coach, and trainer.

#

19 Aug: Roos’ owner Vince Jarvis died in a tragic boating accident, shocking all and sundry. His son, Vince Jarvis Jr., immediately announced he would be taking over the reins of the ball club, as well as asking the media and public to give the Jarvis family their space at this difficult time. 45 y/o Jarvis Jr. was said to be lenient and generous, and likely to spend more of his time on the jet-setting circuit than behind a desk. He was certainly in the news more for his romantic liaisons than his business achievements.

Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions

1 Apr: Blake Willey (.279/.319/.415, 38HR) agreed to terms on a 4-year extension with Adelaide that would see him there past the 1st year of free agency.

15 Apr: The Thunder and 27 y/o SS Zong-ming Hung (.254/.335/.368, 31HR) worked out a 4-year extension to buy out his arbitration years plus 1st year of free agency.

27 Apr: 29 y/o Axel Kent (25-28, 137 saves) signed on the dotted line to extend his stay with Brisbane for 3 more years.

3 May: This year’s free agents included:

26 y/o Richard Lewis
30 y/o Alistair Mildren
31 y/o Gavin Liddell
25 y/o Burt Bargenquast
32 y/o Joshua Cheadle
31 y/o Russell Puckeridge
29 y/o Haechen Lee
31 y/o Rowan Tamblyn
34 y/o Rodney Bannon
30 y/o Dermott Lawson
35 y/o Roger Wood
34 y/o Yu-hsui Guang
35 y/o Dan Vankrimpen
27 y/o Cameron Waymouth
38 y/o Neil Okolita
33 y/o Charlie Sheelah
36 y/o Arnold Chappell
32 y/o Randolph Anderson
35 y/o Sterling Caporn
32 y/o Marcello Doig
27 y/o Kyle Pratly
35 y/o Stefan Blythe
31 y/o Bradley Hibbert
30 y/o Maurice Toohey
40 y/o Fu Lao
26 y/o Cain Blenkhorn

The Fury were the biggest losers, dropping a whopping 15.3 WAR! The Metros lost 12.9.

#

11 May: Joshua Cheadle (100-50, 151 sv, 2.97 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) re-signed with the Venom for 3 years. Early indications were he would be in their rotation rather than closing. He had started 5 games for Adelaide in March, going 0-2.

15 May: Gavin Liddell (.295/.356/.382, 45HR) signed with Cairns for 4 years, for big money according to word from insiders, surprising many, as Cairns had registered a 4 million dollar loss at the end of the 2038/2039 season (the AUNZBL required that overall organization accounts be made publically available at the end of each season, though salary specifics remained private).

17 May: The Prospects snared Maurice Toohey (.264/.314/.350, 33HR) on an affordable 2-year deal.

23 May: Charlie Sheelah (50-54, 295 sv, 2.79 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) signed on the dotted line with the Fury. If he saw out the term of his contract he would be in the NZ capital 3 years.

1 Jun: The Bandits went nuts in the Rule 5 draft, acquiring 5 players, most of whom had potential at major league level.

4 Jun: Neil Okolita (143-128, 3.76 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) would get to go around at least one more campaign after signing a 1-year deal with the Fury.

14 Jun: The Cowboys presented closer Dan Vankrimpen (76-69, 313 sv, 3.25 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.15 WHIP), the games active saves leader, to the media. He had signed a 3-year deal, and the 35 y/o said he hoped to hold down the closer’s role for the duration.

18 Jun: Rodney Bannon (121-111, 3.71 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) signed with Melbourne for 2 years.

21 Jun: Stefan Blythe (.272/.319/.424, 142HR) re-signed with the Metros for the 2039 season.

28 Jun: The Prospects continued their tradition of signing the free agents nobody else wanted, inking a 2-year deal with Randolph Anderson (42-70, 4.85 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.43 WHIP).

2 Jul: Arnold Chappell (141-144, 3.97 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.25 WHIP), who’d lost 22 games in 2038, signed with Newcastle for 1 season. He was confident he would put up numbers similar to his 18-9 season in 2035 with the Roos.

16 Jul: The Metros signed Yu-hsui Guang (46-38, 4.45 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.36 WHIP) to a 2-year deal.

31 Jul: Cairns signed 29 y/o SP Gavin Jiang (53-61, 4.72 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 1.42 WHIP) for the 2039 season.

4 Aug: A well-known Auckland-based media personality made the joke on his late night show that “perhaps the Metros had shares in the retirement village industry” after they announced the signing of Fu Lao (183-188, 3.95 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.28 WHIP), who was only a couple weeks off 41 years of age. Asked what kept him playing, Lao replied, “I’d love to be the 2nd pitcher to break the 200-win mark. I know it seems unlikely, but the thought keeps me training and playing hard.” Lao had gone 8-12 in 2038.

4 Aug: As the preseason got underway, the big talking points in baseball media were Richard Lewis and Alastair Mildren, and that they were yet to sign anywhere. Nobody had any inside info on what clubs were talking to them, either.

7 Aug: Kyle Pratly (39-33, 4.17 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.45 WHIP) would wear an Aces uniform for the next 3 years.

13 Aug: Auckland signed Cameron Waymouth (48-64, 55 sv, 4.58 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) to a 2-year deal.

15 Aug: Perth concluded a deal with Rowan Tamblyn (.283/.327/.391, 85HR) for 1 year.

15 Aug: The Fury announced that Burt Bargenquast (.244/.328/.312, 4HR) would wear their colours in 2039. The experts predicted Bargenquast was on the verge of breaking out.

18 Aug: Auckland presented Cain ‘Cheese’ Blenkhorn, nephew of the former Cairns GM, to the media, announcing he’d signed a 1-year deal. Blenkhorn had been plying his trade for Hobart, so had gone mostly unnoticed, but he was said to be very talented, even if his numbers didn’t quite stack up to that assessment at this stage. He was 32-46, with a 5.03 ERA, a 4.79 FIP, and a 1.48 WHIP.

20 Aug: Russell Puckeridge (.270/.328/.499, 78HR) signed with the Aces for the 2039 season. While he hadn’t appeared to have much to say the last couple seasons, most were of the opinion that was more because of the Fury tightening the leash on player interactions with the media than Puckeridge going into his shell.

25 Aug: Cairns signed Marcello Doig (114-94, 3.47 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) to a 1-year contract.

31 Aug: Haechen Lee (.265/.319/.470, 145HR) signed with the Venom for the season.

3 Sep: Lewis and Mildren were still unsigned as spring training kicked off.

16 Sep: Bradley Hibbert (.216/.300/.401, 162HR) signed with Newcastle for the 2039 season.

1 Oct: It took until Opening Day, but Alistair Mildren (.286/.365/.492, 227HR) finally signed a contract. The Sluggers were extremely excited to present him to media wearing their uniform. While he had only agreed to a 1-year deal, they and the media couldn’t stop gushing about what a batting lineup with Rees and Mildren in the meat of it might produce.

Notable Trades

28 Mar: Hobart and the Thunder used the furor over the moon base as well as the usual distractions with the playoffs to push through a waiver-wire trade. Hobart sent 27 y/o 3B Lachlan Aitcheson (.261/.307/.358, 27HR career) and their 2037 3rd round draft pick to the Thunder in exchange for 31 y/o SP Bernie Limeburner (86-69, 3.28 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.19 WHIP).

16 Apr: The Cowboys sent 28 y/o 2B Oliver Sharp (.284/.343/.438, 35HR), the 2036 Rookie of the Year, to the Heat in return for 27 y/o RF Phillip Darcy (.264/.316/.384, 16HR) and a pitching prospect.

19 Apr: The Sluggers and Aces reached an agreement whereby Whangarei sent 27 y/o 1B Matthew Tanner (.263/.338/.441, 58HR) to Melbourne in return for a rookie-baller whose potential evened out as below average.

21 Apr: Newcastle agreed to what many called a ‘questionable’ trade with Cairns, sending 25 y/o RF Connor Palmer (.307/.337/.416, 19HR), to the Crocs in exchange for 34 y/o 1B Beau Tyson (.292/.344/.501, 340HR) and a decent pitching prospect. While Tyson certainly had superstar status, his numbers the past 2 seasons had been steadily declining, and it seemed plain to most that he no longer had the power he once had. It was possible Newcastle were hoping Tyson would have a similar effect around the clubhouse that Wilkins had had.

24 May: The Metros acquired 27 y/o Crocs’ backup infielder Phil Acret (.283/.326/.352, 3HR) in exchange for 2 prospects.

26 May: Making the most of the Winter Meetings (though technically they were usually held at the end of autumn), the Metros wheeled a deal with Perth. They sent 29 y/o injury-prone SP Jerry Meehan (46-34, 4.01 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) to the Heat, getting 28 y/o 2B Marcello Bond (.290/.339/.436, 25HR) and a minor leaguer in return.

12 Sep: Hobart and Wellington consummated a trade. Wellington would receive 35 y/o MR/CL Bryan Chin (50-42, 165 sv, 3.51 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) and an 18 y/o international prospect who Hobart had moved from their international complex straight to their AA team. Hobart would get 29 y/o SS Drew Geoghegan (.263/.326/.332, 22HR).

Notable Injuries

5 Aug: Next time someone asked Arnold Chappell to be best man at their wedding, he might now think twice before saying yes, or at least review his speech strategy. Chappell mounted the wedding table to give the best man speech at a friend’s wedding this day, but slipped on a plate and crashed to the floor. While the injury to his back wasn’t severe, team doctors restricted him to light activities until spring training.

22 Sep: The Bandits would be without Harley Puckeridge (.256/.309/.434, 265HR) for the season after he tore his posterior cruciate ligament.

26 Sep: Pi-ao Ming (.314/.367/.516, 92HR) would miss at least the 1st month of the season thanks to a fractured rib.

27 Sep: Cowboys’ 2B Kelvin Anderton (.281/.351/.417, 43HR) would sit out up to 5 weeks of the season with a sprained ankle.

Other Notes

1 Oct: As of Opening Day, Richard Lewis (.296/.395/.404, 41HR) still hadn’t signed with anyone. Rumour had it 4 teams were chasing his signature, the Sluggers’ amongst that number. Still, the question on everybody’s lips was: why was he taking so long to sign?

Izz · 12-26-2014, 07:12 PM

September 22, 2039

The number of people watching the activities of the residents of Victorev's Landing had diminished in the close to 6 months since the base's establishment but, according to official figures, over 500,000 people still tuned in at least once a day to check what was happening.

Those who happened to be watching at 10:15 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time (official figures were never released) witnessed one of the biggest tragedies to strike Australian citizens post-War.

The remaining footage in the archives (most of it was seized and sealed off by court order) tells a very different story to the movies made on the topic. The movies show the residents of Victorev's Landing fighting to fix the dome breach, sealing the base off section by section, and dying one by one, heroes all.

That was not how it happened. While the reason for the breach is accurately portrayed - a meteoroid shower strike - what transpired from there was quite different. In fact, in what was probably a comfort to relatives on Earth, death came quickly to the residents of Victorev's Landing. While there were mechanisms to seal off sections of the base, the strike happened too fast and with too much force for the occupants to have time to seal themselves into a safe place. The atmosphere within the dome was lost in a matter of seconds, and only a few moments later all 25 residents were dead.

It was a horrible thing to watch.

While the Australian Government managed to distance itself from the tragedy - they emphasized that they held only a minor share in the company who had built the base - they were quick to launch an investigation and point out flaws in the base and dome design. Within the following weeks, measures were passed in Parliament that limited the influence of commercial enterprises in space, and the Australian Space Navy was given much greater authority and room for enterprise.

A memorial to the intrepid pioneers who'd built, lived, and died in Victorev's Landing was built outside Kununurra, a town that'd become a thriving city thanks to it being the centre of most space-related research and endeavour.

Looking back through the veil of time, we see that Victorev's Landing was primitive and basic. To the people of the 2030's, however, it was a leap forward, challenging many of the preconceptions held about low-atmosphere engineering. While it ended in tragedy, what it accomplished was of great value and in many ways shaped what was to come. And those who built and lived in it? Heroes all, without question.

Izz · 12-26-2014, 10:46 PM

2039 Preseason Predictions

The Venom were predicted to return to the top of the Southwest, battling it out for the Division title with, of all teams, the Prospects. The Cavalry, minus Mildren, were picked to finish near the bottom of the heap.

In the Northeast, the Roos would take it out easily, according to the experts, with their closest competitors being the Thunder. The Bandits would finish below .500, hampered by all their Rule 5 picks.

The NZ would be won at a canter by the Metros, who would finish with the best record in baseball. The Cowboys and Fury would play at .500 or above, but wouldn't challenge. Whangarei would finish at the bottom of the heap. Of course, the preseason predictions were published on the evening of September 30th, before Mildren finalized his deal with the Sluggers.

According to the analysts, the Prospects would snare the wildcard to make their 2nd-ever postseason appearance.

Bransington, Snijders, and Rees would battle it out for SotY, with Bransington bouncing back from his down 2038 to win the award. Brock Wakely and Young-tae Lee would also have big seasons.

29 y/o Cowboys' SP Brock Humphries (14-11 in 2038, 39-36 overall) would have an outstanding year, winning 17 and the HotY award. Xing-hua Ling of the Roos would have a breakout year, too, as would Metros' signing Cain Blenkhorn.

As always, of course, the proof would be, as the old saying went, in the pudding. Or, in baseball terms, 162 games was a long season, and a lot of unexpected things would happen between Opening Day and the end of March.

Izz · 12-27-2014, 04:54 AM

2039/2040 Season - October

Notable Performances

1 Oct: Dylan Cully picked up his 2039 season where he’d left off his 2038 season, bewildering the Aces and leading the Bandits to an 8-0 shutout victory. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 4.

5 Oct: Bailey Pugsley went 5-6, scoring 3 runs and driving in 5, as well as drawing a walk, as his Roos absolutely decimated the Crocs 26-4. No player on the Roos starting lineup got less than 2 hits.

10 Oct: Burt Bargenquast helped the Fury to a 7-5 victory over Newcastle with a 5-5 effort.

17 Oct: Logan Neilson allowed 4 hits and 4 walks, K’ing 6, to lead the Heat to 4-0 shutout victory over the Bandits.

20 Oct: Randolph Anderson conceded only 3 hits while striking out 6 to ensure the Prospects overcame the Thunder 5-0.

21 Oct: Tristan Dryden went 5-6 as the Venom paralyzed the Cavalry 19-3. He hit 2HR, one of which was a Grand Slam, driving in 7 runs, and scoring 3 of his own.

24 Oct: Clint Gordam went 5-6 in extra innings as his Venom fell to the Heat 7-6.

26 Oct: Hobart’s Brock Blondell picked up his 1st win of the season in style, blanking the Bandits 8-0 on the back of 2 hits and no walks. Blondell took a perfect game into the 6th before Scotty Sheppard doubled. Blondell struck out 5 and threw exactly 100 pitches.

27 Oct: Rhys England shut out the Metros 6-0 on the back of 8 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4.

31 Oct: Randolph McHugh conceded 7 hits and 2 walks, but no runs, as he led the Blue Sox to a 12-0 battering of the Prospects. His shutout drew almost no media attention.

Notable Injuries

1 Oct: Vaughan Lockrey would miss 2 weeks after straining his hamstring.

2 Oct: Neil Okolita strained his hamstring also, and would miss a month as a result.

3 Oct: The Metros would be without Chuk-yan Chin for 3-4 weeks after he joined the hamstring strain list.

5 Oct: Carlos Frost sprained his back while pitching for the Thunder and would be out 2-3 weeks.

7 Oct: Canberra SP Ian Zglinicki would be out 4-5 months with a torn labrum.

10 Oct: Closer Brendon Dwyer, the 25 y/o reason why the Venom had moved Cheadle back into the rotation, was set to miss 4 weeks with elbow inflammation.

12 Oct: The Blue Sox would be without RF Wes Norris for 4 weeks after he suffered an oblique strain.

15 Oct: Bailey Pugsley strained his Achilles and would be on the DL 3 weeks.

21 Oct: Rodney Bannon had been moved into the closer role at the Aces, but his new role would be rehab and recovery after he tore a flexor tendon in his elbow. A 7-month DL stint awaited the veteran, who had last pitched as a reliever in 2029. Even he admitted that his time as a ballplayer might nearly be up, saying, “When your fastball is barely hitting 135 kilometres an hour, and you used to throw 150+, you hafta start asking, is it time to move on?”

24 Oct: Harry Leseberg was fast becoming the most injury prone man in baseball. His latest injury, a sore back, would keep him out of the lineup for 1-2 weeks.

29 Oct: Carlos Frost hurt himself again, this time straining his hamstring. He would miss a further 3 weeks.

31 Oct: Maurice Downes, the league leader in walks with 26, would miss 5-6 weeks of the Venom’s campaign while he recovered from a strained oblique.

Notable Trades/Signings

5 Oct: The Sluggers were fired up, announcing they’d snared Richard Lewis to a 1 season deal. Lewis took the field for them that night, going 2-5 in a 6-1 victory over Hobart.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: 25 y/o Venom 2B Alan Cobb. .314/.351/.382, 32-102, with 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 7BB.

Hurler of the Month: Dylan Cully. 4-1 in 6 starts, with a 0.81 ERA, a 1.95 FIP, and a 0.67 ERA. He struck out 31 in 44.2 innings, and didn’t give up an earned run in 4 of his 6 starts. He also didn’t concede a single HR all month, and only 1 walk, for a whopping 31.00 K/BB ratio.

Slugger of the Month: Adelaide’s Manuel ‘Tigger’ Mendoza. The Venezualan had a monster month, hitting .438/.467/.705, 49-112, with 10 doubles, 4 triples, 4HR, 7BB, and 7SB.

Media Watch

Kelvin Ackland: After a terrible start to the month, he picked it up a bit, finishing with the following stat-line: .239/.269/.409. He collected 21 hits, 6 of those doubles and 3 of the others homers. At month’s end he had 2574 hits, 62 short of seizing top spot from Dermott Ford.

Other Notes

The Heat and Venom both started off red-hot in October, the Heat finishing the month 1 game ahead.

In the Northeast, the Thunder and Bandits were duking it out, the Thunder holding a 1-game advantage. The Roos started off slow, only 1 game off the bottom of the division.

Auckland, Whangarei and Christchurch all had a turn in the lead of the NZ at some stage during the month, but it was Auckland who had a 1-game lead over the Sluggers at month’s end, with the Cowboys 1 further game back.

Richard Lewis (.365/.466/.542) might’ve had a late start to the season, but his 5 triples led the league, as did his 27 runs scored.

Teammate Alistair Mildren (.393/.477/.652, 6HR) led the league in OBP.

Perth’s Jing-Zhong Ling (6-0, 1.31 ERA, 1.85 FIP, 1.02 WHIP) won each of his starts in October.

Rowan Kalman (2-0, 1.86 ERA, 2.19 FIP, 0.91 WHIP) fell 4 strikeouts short of registering 50 for the month.

Thunder closer Vinnie Acheson saved 11 games during the month.

Standings, Nov 1

Izz · 12-28-2014, 03:15 PM

2039/2040 Season - November

Notable Performances

2 Nov: Richard Lewis became the 1st player in several seasons to hit for the cycle, doing so in a 5-3 Sluggers’ victory over the Heat. His 2-run HR in the 7th tied the game up.

17 Nov: Edward Delaney put out any fire the Heat had this day, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks in a 5-0 Blue Sox shutout victory. He struck out 8 for only his 2nd win of the season.

18 Nov: The Heat got revenge over the Blue Sox the following day, completing a 14-2 trouncing. Vaughan Skuse was one of the batters who cashed in, going 5-5.

Notable Injuries

8 Nov: Brisbane 3B Hwen-thiang Guo (.309/.397/.545, 7HR) would be out of commission 5-6 weeks with a sprained knee.

16 Nov: Marcello Bond (.280/.347/.465, 2HR) took a pitch to the face in a Metros' loss to the Bandits. The impact fractured his cheekbone and would see him on the DL for at least 6 weeks.

21 Nov: Luigi Crabtree (4-1, 2.32 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) landed awkwardly attempting to field a ball hit back at him and sprained his ankle. He would miss 4 weeks.

22 Nov: Vaughan Skuse (.302/.361/.439, 3HR) would be out about 4 weeks with a fractured thumb.

24 Nov: Wellington SP Todd Fry (4-3, 3.96 ERA, 4.99 FIP, 1.13 WHIP) was diagnosed with a strained triceps and placed on the DL. He would need 3 weeks recovery.

26 Nov: Marcello Stuart (.327/.360/.506, 6HR) would need 5-6 weeks on the sideline for his fractured rib to mend.

29 Nov: Harry Leseberg (.284/.309/.503, 7HR) would miss another 2 weeks thanks to a latissimus dorsi strain.

30 Nov: Randolph Anderson’s (5-2, 4.24 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.29 WHIP) season was over. He would need 8-9 months to recover from a fractured elbow.

Notable Trades/Signings

19 Nov: Auckland and Marcello Bond worked out a 4-year contract extension.

30 Nov: Wes Norris finalized a 4-year extension with the Blue Sox.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb snared this one again. He was better in November than October, too, going 35-103, with 12 doubles and 1HR. His stat-line: .340/.361/.485.

Hurler of the Month: 25 y/o Sluggers’ SP Sterling ‘Fearless’ Dunlop. The number 1 draft pick from 2037 went 5-0 from 6 starts in November, with a 1.42 ERA, a 2.99 FIP, and a 1.00 WHIP. He struck out 30 in 38 IP.

Slugger of the Month: Newcastle’s Young-tae Lee. Only 23, but already with over 2 years of major league service time, the 3B went .371/.476/.667 in the month, 39-105, with 8 doubles, 4 triples, 5HR, 20BB, and 3 stolen bases.

Media Watch

Kelvin Ackland: Picked it up in November, going .338/.356/.487. He collected 27 hits, including 3 doubles and 3HR. He now only needed 35 hits for the all-time lead.

Other Notes

The Venom (14-14) had a par month, at one stage losing 9 on the trot. That being said, at the end of the month they had a 5-game lead in the Southwest, thanks to Perth (8-20) playing like a AAA-team - not helped by a massive injury list. Meanwhile, Canberra went 17-11 to sneak into 2nd spot.

In the Northeast, the Thunder (13-15) weren’t terrible but the Bandits (20-8) were great, as were the Roos (19-9). On the morning of December 1, the Bandits held a 5-game lead over the Roos, with the Thunder a further game back.

The Sluggers went on a tear in the NZ, going 21-7 to charge out to an 8-game lead. The Metros (12-16) struggled, to fall below .500.

The Roos held a 1-game lead over the Cavalry and Thunder in the wildcard, with the Heat 2 games back from 1st.

Sluggers’ hitters dominated the batting leaderboards. Richard Lewis (.365/.444/.567, 4HR) led the league in average, OBP, and triples (7), while Alastair Mildren (.339/.424/.665, 18HR) had a league-best slugging, OPS, weighted on-base average (.449), doubles (19), RBI (55), runs (46), isolated power (.326), XBH (37), TB (149), and batter’s WAR (4.1). He was also tied for the lead in HR.

Joe Murray Jr. (.311/.351/.469, 5HR), also a Slugger, had 13 stolen bases, also a league best.

The pitching leaderboards were a more varied affair.

Joshua Farrell (6-2, 2.00 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) had the league’s best ERA, while Rowan Kalman (3-2, 2.63 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 1.10 WHIP), as per usual, had best FIP. He also led the league in strikeouts (81), K/9 (10.13), and pitcher’s WAR (3.0).

Dylan Cully (7-1, 2.38 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 0.89 WHIP) had the best WHIP in the AUNZBL, as well as the best BB/9 (0.86), and K/BB (8.25).

Allan Koka’s (0-3, 3.53 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.01 WHIP) offense hadn’t backed him up, which was a pity, as opponents were only hitting .198 against him.

Central Coast’s Vinnie Acheson continued to lead the league in saves with 18. He had also registered 4 losses.

Standings, Dec 1

Izz · 12-29-2014, 01:34 AM

2039/2040 Season - December

2039 #1 Draft Pick

5 Dec: This year’s number 1 draft pick was 22 y/o OF Lindsay ‘Dutch’ Colson. While a very smart guy with a high work ethic, his college teammates didn’t get on with him that well. Not that Colson would’ve cared. The lefthander would go straight into Cairns’ starting lineup, bypassing the minors completely. According to scouts, the kid was major-league ready, with a high contact, power, and patience ceiling.

To quickly recap the number 1 draft picks for the last 4 seasons:

2038: SP Sterling ‘Tuna’ Duff. Drafted by Whangarei, and currently closing for their AAA-affiliate. Had already picked up 20 saves, with a 0.45 ERA, a 2.64 FIP, and a 0.84 WHIP. Played A, AA, and AAA in 2038 and would likely find himself in the majors before long.

2037: December 2039 Hurler of the Month, Sterling ‘Fearless’ Dunlop. Drafted by Whangarei. While he wasn’t the hardest trainer out there, he threw 6 pitches, all above average, and had potential to be one of the greats.

2036: SP Bruno ‘Mauler’ Watters. Drafted by the Crocs, and currently in their rotation, but not yet panning out to be the pitcher they’d hoped for. He also had a 6-pitch armory, but 3 of them were average to poor, and he struggled to hit his spots.

2035: OF Marcello Stuart. Drafted by the Aces. A fixture in their lineup, though out injured a bit. Had 2 Gold Gloves to his name in 3 qualifying seasons, as well as an All Star appearance in 2038. Made the jump in 2035 from A-ball to the majors. Had a career stat-line of .283/.327/.459, with 71HR.

Notable Performances

7 Dec: Rhys England neutralized the Venom, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk to lead the Aces to a 3-0 shutout victory. He struck out 6 along the way.

9 Dec: Pi-ao Ming went 5-5, including a triple and HR, but his Cavalry succumbed 9-8 to the Bandits.

9 Dec: In the same game, but for the opposite team, Bill Buffey also went 5-5, but his postmatch interview was significantly chirpier seeing as his team won.

18 Dec: Arnold Tipping collected 5 hits from 5 at-bats, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Cowboys narrowly losing to the Roos 5-4.

27 Dec: Blue Sox SS Craig Hardy did his All Star chances no harm, going 5-5 in a 12-2 ransacking of the Prospects. He scored 3 of those runs and drove in 4.

29 Dec: Cain Blenkhorn made the Cavalry look silly this day, restricting them to only 3 hits to help the Metros to an 8-0 victory. He struck out 3 and walked none, and threw only 83 pitches, inducing weak contact on almost every at-bat.

30 Dec: 34 y/o Charlie Sheelah, in a setup role for the Fury in 2039, recorded save number 300, helping Wellington to a 3-1 victory over Hobart. He was the 4th pitcher to make the 300 save mark, and 2nd on the active saves leaderboard behind Vankrimpen.

Notable Injuries

8 Dec: Bandits’ 3B Bryan Redelius (.337/.379/.440, 1HR) would be out 2 months with a broken hamate bone.

9 Dec: Zechariah Hutchinson (.320/.381/.577, 16HR) would miss 3 weeks with a strained groin.

12 Dec: Mike Wurfel (.246/.309/.421, 10HR) would be out at least 6 weeks with a hamstring strain.

13 Dec: The Thunder would be without Carlos Frost (1-2, 2.86 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.30 WHIP in 7 starts) for the rest of the season after he tore his labrum.

22 Dec: Tommy Weichard (.287/.346/.459, 8HR), Metros CF, fractured his wrist when he couldn’t drop his hands quick enough on an inside pitch. He faced 4-5 weeks on the DL.

28 Dec: Brisbane’s Benjamin Barclay (.303/.351/.468, 10HR) would miss 2 weeks with a forearm strain.

31 Dec: Manuel Mendoza (.337/.367/.493, 8HR) had reason to be aggrieved after fracturing his foot. He would need 3 weeks recovery but that wasn’t his biggest peeve. 3 days earlier he’d been selected to his 1st All Star Game, but would now be restricted to sitting in the dugout with a moonboot on throughout the festivities. He told reporters, only half-jokingly, that while he was happy he would still get to attend and wear the uniform, he might have to avoid All Star teammate Dylan Cully, who’d thrown the injury-causing pitch, for the duration.

31 Dec: Roland Matheson (.296/.327/.408, 3HR) had been called ‘unlucky’ by commentators, in reference to missing out on the 2039 Australian All Star team. He would also be wearing a moonboot for a few weeks, after getting hit by a pitch in a Heat-Sluggers game.

31 Dec: Bill Bransington (.304/.403/.598, 25HR) would also be watching but not partaking at All Star time after he was diagnosed with knee tendinitis. He would be out 2-3 weeks, which had the potential to rub him out of the HR race.

Notable Trades/Signings

3 Dec: 32 y/o Chuk-yan Chin (4-3, 3.90 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.37 WHIP in 2039) signed a 2-year contract extension with the Metros.

12 Dec: In a trade that at first glance significantly favoured the Aces, Whangarei agreed to send 27 y/o LF Joe Murray Jr. (.313/.349/.456, 5HR) and a prospect to Melbourne in return for 26 y/o backup C Vince Braddock (.175/.267/.250, 1HR in 90PA). Sluggers’ GM Sterling Okolita said Braddock was better than his numbers suggested, and would also contribute a lot on the defensive end to improve their pitching.

28 Dec: Wellington sent 25 y/o 1B Li Delzoppo (.268/.307/.333 in 225PA) and a pitching prospect to Perth in exchange for 26 y/o C Glenn Macdormond (.228/.253/.367, 5HR in 186PA). Delzoppo projected to be an excellent contact hitter, but unfortunately lacked the power most clubs wanted their 1B to possess, and didn’t have the defensive skills to play anywhere else.

2039 All Stars

Australian All Stars

SP Jing-zhong Ling - PER - 10-4, 2.90 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 1.24 WHIP
SP Marcello Greenway - ADE - 10-4, 3.57 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.26 WHIP
SP Joshua Farrell - ADE - 8-4, 2.45 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.08 WHIP
SP Rowan Kalman - CAI - 4-5, 3.30 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 1.12 WHIP
SP Bradley Lundgren - WHA - 9-7, 3.62 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 1.32 WHIP
SP Randy Coulton - CHR - 8-6, 2.95 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.13 WHIP
SP Xing-hua Ling - NEW - 7-3, 3.05 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.04 WHIP
MR Rowan Belgrove - CAN- 8-2, 2 sv, 2.94 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 0.98 WHIP
MR Steven Atteridge - NEW - 6-0, 2.56 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.14 WHIP
CL Luigi Chin - WHA -2-2, 20 sv, 1.93 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 0.73 WHIP
CL Axel Kent - BRI - 5-0, 19 sv, 2.70 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.25 WHIP
CL Dan Vankrimpen - CHR - 2-1, 13 sv, 2.06 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.19 WHIP
C Leo Jiang - NEW - .242/.354/.428, 10HR
1B Alastair Mildren - WHA - .343/.418/.673, 28HR
1B Patrick Gulledge - SYD - .297/.384/.525, 16HR
1B Rich Bannon - WEL - .280/.318/.495, 15HR
2B Bill Bransington - NEW - .301/.403/.599, 25HR
2B Connor Rowling - HOB - .299/.389/.577, 22HR
2B Wally Stapleton - WHA - .317/.345/.425, 4HR
3B Brock Wakely - AUC - .313/.445/.531, 18HR
SS Phillip Tinter - CAN - .289/.344/.460, 11HR
SS Lou Stapleton - NEW - .289/.371/.401, 5HR
LF Beau Riseley - CAI - .304/.348/.518, 19HR
LF Joe Murray Jr. - MEL - .314/.351/.474, 7HR
LF Alexander Webber - SYD - .276/.326/.497, 15HR
CF Blake Willey - ADE - .324/.370/.416, 5HR
RF Zachariah Hutchinson - CAN - .320/.381/.577, 16HR
RF Harris Baldwin - PER - .287/.348/.451, 7HR

NZ & Overseas All Stars

SP Dylan Cully - BRI - 9-3, 2.32 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 0.87 WHIP
SP Sterling Dunlop - WHA - 9-3, 2.73 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
SP Jorge Juarez - BRI - 9-4, 3.06 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.05 WHIP
SP Brock Humphries - CHR - 8-4, 2.88 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 0.95 WHIP
SP Luigi Kinnear - CEN - 8-4, 2.68 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 1.17 WHIP
SP Bernie Limeburner - HOB - 7-3, 2.90 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.18 WHIP
SP Brendan Pengilly - AUC - 6-3, 3.72 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 0.98 WHIP
SP Takashi Takeuchi - AUC - 6-7, 3.45 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.13 WHIP
MR Quon Chan - WHA - 3-0, 2 sv, 2.72 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 0.97 WHIP
MR Andres Romero - CEN - 5-3, 1 sv, 3.20 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
CL Vinnie Acheson - CEN - 2-5, 24 sv, 3.25 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.31 WHIP
CL Ben Franks - NEW - 2-2, 19 sv, 3.18 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 1.15 WHIP
C Haechan Lee - ADE - .286/.338/.518, 16HR
C Danny Goodwin - BRI - .305/.358/.463, 10HR
C Russell Saunders - CAI - .273/.349/.477, 11HR
1B Ashley Snijders - CAN - .294/.386/.497, 15HR
1B Beau Tyson - NEW - .296/.332/.457, 8HR
2B Alan Pye - MEL - .304/.331/.385, 2HR
3B Rex Rees - WHA - .292/.418/.500, 17HR
3B Rex Hagerty - WEL - .284/.369/.582, 21HR
3B Young-tae Lee - NEW - .270/.397/.467, 11HR
3B Connor Palmer - CAI - .322/.345/.420, 4HR
SS Calvin Garland - SYD - .299/.346/.369, 3HR
LF Richard Lewis - WHA - .372/.459/.571, 7HR
LF Manuel Mendoza - ADE - .345/.375/.506, 8HR
CF Harry Hancock - AUC - .238/.345/.349, 8HR, +14.5 ZR
RF Bailey Pugsley - NEW - .292/.348/.345, 1HR
RF Olivier Despres - WHA - .279/.358/.394, 4HR

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: 23 y/o Thunder 1B Dean Warner. He was .294/.333/.510 in the month, 30-102, with 7 doubles and 5HR. He also sparked a bench-clearing brawl on the 29th of December, charging Arnold Chappell, who got a couple of good punches in before the rest of players arrived. Both Warner and Chappell were currently serving 12-game suspensions.

Hurler of the Month: Axel Kent. Going 4-0, with 5 saves in 11 appearances in December, he stood out above all the rest, starting pitchers included. His ERA was 3.09, his FIP 3.46, and his WHIP 1.29. He struck out 14 in 11.2 innings.

Slugger of the Month: Sydney SS Will Mossop. While he didn’t quite have the ABs to qualify for the All Star game, he certainly made an impression in December, going 47-118, with 8 doubles, 4 triples, and 10HR. His stat-line was an impressive .398/.419/.788.

Media Watch

Kelvin Ackland: Dipped in December, going .206/.206/.333 for the month. Still managed to collect 21 hits, though, to take him to 2,622 career. He only needed 14 hits in January to reach top spot. For the season, he was hitting .256/.273/.404, with 69 hits, 13 doubles, and 9HR.

Other Notes

13 Dec: In a surprising move, 1st-year Fury skipper Lou Lawman found himself without a job. The Fury were 28-40, and many of the analysts were of the opinion Sterling Pryor was looking to protect his own job. However, signing up Clint Blenkhorn as interim manager might not be Pryor’s best path towards self-preservation. Blenkhorn had never managed a professional baseball team, and his tenure as the inaugural Crocs’ GM didn’t give reason for much hope he would be a successful manager.

#

The Southwest was turning into an exciting division to watch, with the Cavalry (18-11) continuing their charge to be only 1 game behind the Venom (14-15) by January 1st. The Heat (13-16) continued to slip.

The Roos (17-12) were also closing in on the Bandits (15-14) in the Northeast, to be only 3 games off the pace, while the Thunder (14-15) continued to lag, now 7 games back.

In the NZ, the Sluggers (18-11) continued to dominate, extending their lead to 11 games. The Metros (15-14) and Cowboys (17-12) both had winning months to push themselves to .500.

The Roos and Cavalry were tied in the wildcard stakes, with the Thunder 4 games back, and the Metros and Cowboys a further game behind.

Richard Lewis (.367/.458/.576, 8HR) and Alistair Mildren (.336/.412/.658, 29HR) now owned even more of the batting leaderboard top spots. Lewis had the best avg., OBP, the most doubles (26), triples (8), and runs (71), and was tied with Mildren for most hits (116). Mildren owned the lead in the following categories: SLG, OPS, wOBA (.443), HR, RBI (87), ISO (.322), XBH (53), TB (227), and batter’s WAR (5.8).

In the other 2 categories, Ramiro Madrigal (.224/.376/.328, 4HR) had the most walks, with 72, and was only 3 walks off 1,000 careers bases bought.

Bailey Pugsley (.283/.340/.333, 1HR) had 20 stolen bases to his name, a league-best.

Rex Rees (.294/.424/.498, 17HR) was asked his opinion on how the Sluggers’ new recruits were going, and could barely keep still during his answer. “Mate,” he said, “it’s unbelievable. The club did an amazing job to entice these 2 guys here, and you can just see what an effect they’re having on the lads. Everybody’s just feeding off of them, and we’re going from strength to strength. If we keep playing like this, then who knows what we can achieve?”

The pitching leaderboards continued to be a varied affair, with all the top performers headed to the All Star Game.

Standings, Jan 1

Izz · 12-29-2014, 08:20 PM

2039/2040 Season - January

Notable Performances

3 Jan: Logan Neilson shut down the Metros on the back of 5 hits, 2 walks, and 6 Ks. The Heat eased to an 8-0 victory.

9 Jan: Takashi the Tremendous allowed only 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 3, to lead the Metros to 3-0 shutout victory over the Crocs.

10 Jan: David Ladd conceded 2 hits and walked 4 to help the Bandits shut out the Metros 7-0. He struck out 7 along the way.

12 Jan: Xing-hua Ling was sublime on the mound this day, sitting down 15 Prospects' batters on strikes in 7 innings. He allowed only 2 hits (both singles, and both to the same hitter), and walked none. The Roos charged to a 12-0 victory.

12 Jan: 39 y/o Metros' SP Damian Neill, in his 18th season in the bigs, showed he still had a bit left in his arm, shutting down Brisbane 4-0. He allowed only 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 4.

15 Jan: With his single in the top of the 1st, Kelvin Ackland tied Dermott Ford on 2,635 hits. With his 1st-pitch leadoff double in the 8th, Ackland made the top spot on the all-time hits leaderboard his own! 35 y/o Ackland, who’d been having his worst hitting season since his rookie campaign in 2025, was typically tightlipped about the feat. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s nice, I guess. Wish the bat didn’t feel so heavy in my hands, though.”

17 Jan: Richard Lewis was having a year to remember. He went 5-5 this day, including a HR, as his Slugger’s got beat 11-6 by the Venom.

24 Jan: Ashley Snijders became the 1st player since the 2036 season to hit 3HRs in a game. Unfortunately for him, the Cavalry went down 9-8 to the Heat, but fans would remember Snijders’ performance for years to come.

31 Jan: Stephen Snell held his nerve for the Thunder versus the Cowboys, pitching 9 innings of shutout ball, allowing only 6 hits and 1 walk, with 4 strikeouts. The Thunder only won the game in the bottom of the ninth with Kyle Pride’s walk-off single scoring Dean Warner, who was the only runner to cross home plate in the entire game.

Notable Injuries

3 Jan: Rex Hagerty (.275/.361/.557, 21HR) twisted his ankle on the basepaths and would need a couple weeks to recover.

4 Jan: Vince Braddock (.219/.306/.325, 2HR), acquired by the Sluggers’ in December, would miss 5 weeks with a latissimus dorsi strain.

11 Jan: All Star Joe Murray Jr. (.318/.350/.477, 9HR) would be on the DL 2 weeks with a strained oblique.

12 Jan: Bruce Acheson (.263/.297/.322, 1HR) also suffered a strained oblique. His was more severe an injury, however, with team medics saying he faced at least 6 weeks on the sidelines.

15 Jan: Zachariah Hutchinson (.305/.367/.542, 18HR) twisted his ankle when fielding a ball and would be out 1-2 weeks as a result.

23 Jan: The Roos would be without the services of 2B Lou Stapleton (.292/.376/.414, 7HR) for about 3 weeks while he recovered from a torn thumb ligament.

Notable Trades/Signings

19 Jan: Brisbane moved to lock in 29 y/o Hwen-thiang Guo’s (.270/.345/.446, 8HR in 231PA) arbitration years at an affordable rate, signing him to a 4-year extension. Even so, if rumour was to be believed, he’d be making a tidy packet, with the 4th year apparently a player option if he wanted to test the market.

27 Jan: The Blue Sox shipped 25 y/o All Star SS Calvin Garland (.316/.357/.416, 6HR) to Hobart in return for 2 minor leaguers.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb again. The youngster went .327/.364/.442 for the month, 37-113, with 10 doubles, 1HR, and 6BB. His season average of .344 put him only behind Richard Lewis on the batting average leaderboards.

Hurler of the Month: Blue Sock Adam Parsons. In 5 starts the southpaw went 4-0, with an ERA of 1.73, an FIP of 2.65, and a WHIP of 0.96. He threw 36.1 innings and struck out 30.

Slugger of the Month: It couldn’t be anyone other than Richard Lewis. The 27 y/o was phenomenal in January, hitting .423/.548/.588, 41-97, with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2HR, 23BB and 7SB. On the year he was hitting .380/.481/.579, with 157 hits, 93 runs, 32 doubles, 10 triples, 10HR, 72BB and 23 stolen bases.

Last Year’s Top Players Watch

2038’s Top Rookies

2038 Rookie of the Year, Takashi Takeuchi: While not quite at the giddy heights of his rookie year, Takeuchi was still holding his own. He was 10-9 from 24 starts, with an ERA of 3.67, an FIP of 3.61, and a WHIP of 1.22.

Benjamin Barclay: His season had been somewhat disrupted by injury, but Barclay was still putting up decent numbers. .295/.342/.451, 102-346, 57 runs, 11 doubles, 5 triples, 11HR, 47RBI, 24BB, 374PA.

Tommy Weichard: Had also had injury issues. .287/.348/.453, 85-296, 48 runs, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 8HR, 32RBI, 19BB, 14SB, 328PA.

2038’s Top Pitchers

2038 Hurler of the Year, Allan Koka: 4-6, 3.48 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.00 WHIP from 24 starts. Not getting the run support he did in 2038. 130 Ks in 137.0 IP.

Brayden Allomes: 6-6, 3.94 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.31 WHIP from 23 starts. 107 Ks in 146.1 IP. As with Koka, not getting the run support he had the previous year, and both pitchers didn’t have the same defense behind them either.

Takashi Takeuchi: see Rookie notes, above.

2038’s Top Hitters

2038 Slugger of the Year, Ashley Snijders: Fresh off hitting 3HR in a game, Snijders was having a decent, if not game-shattering, year. .294/.388/.518, 128-436, 65 runs, 23 doubles, 25HR, 79RBI, 64BB, 508PA.

Rex Rees: Playing for the best team in baseball, alongside the two hottest hitters in baseball, Rees was actually down on his 2038 form. .288/.412/.488, 118-410, 74 runs, 16 doubles, 22HR, 71RBI, 72BB, 498PA.

Alistair Mildren: Arguably hotter than last year, though hit a bit of rough form in January. .319/.401/.635, 144-452, 88 runs, 32 doubles, 37HR, 103RBI, 62BB, 516PA.

Other Notes

While the race in the Southwest continued to look tight, at no time was Adelaide’s (14-14) place atop the pile threatened. Canberra (12-16) dropped back 2 games, while Perth (15-13) climbed their way back to .500.

The Bandits (17-11) extended their lead in the Northeast by 1 more game over the Roos (16-12), while the Thunder (18-10) continued to hover within striking distance.

In the NZ the Sluggers (17-11) continued on their merry way, even though Auckland’s 16-12 month put them above .500. The Cowboys (9-19) were dismal, dropping into last place in the division.

The Roos and the Thunder were the primary teams duking it out for the wildcard, with the Roos holding a 2-game advantage on February 1st. The Cavalry were a further 2 games back. The Metros were 5 games off the Roos, and the Heat 7.

Interestingly, the Blue Sox had the 2nd best batting average behind Whangarei's .287, with .281.

The batting leaderboards continued to be painted in the colours of the Whangarei Sluggers, with Lewis and Mildren hogging the limelight. Lewis had overtaken Mildren on the batter’s WAR leaderboard, with 7.5 to Mildren’s 6.8.

22 y/o Hobart CF Walter Kneale (.192/.293/.265, 3HR), who had no place anywhere near a major league lineup, had clocked up 162 strikeouts, by far and away the worst mark in the league.

Brock Wakely (.289/.428/.499, 23HR) had 90 walks, the AUNZBL’s best mark.

Bailey Pugsley (.299/.350/.371, 1HR) had stolen 29 bases, 6 better than his closest competitor.

Rowan Kalman (6-6, 2.89 ERA, 2.36 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) had the league’s best FIP, most Ks (162), best K/9 (10.41 - to be the only qualified pitcher above 8.55), and best pitcher’s WAR (5.8).

Sterling Dunlop (11-4, 2.92 ERA, 3.25 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) was only allowing 0.40 HR per 9 innings.

Acheson continued to lead the league in saves, with 34. He’d also collected 4 wins, but lost 8 games.

Standings, Feb 1

Izz · 12-29-2014, 11:32 PM

2039/2040 Season - February

Notable Performances

3 Feb: Roland ‘Hardrock’ Matheson of the Heat recorded the season’s 1st 20-game hit streak.

6 Feb: Cairns’ 3B Jian-zhang Kui hit in his 20th straight game.

6 Feb: Matheson’s hit streak was snapped at 22 games.

8 Feb: Kui couldn’t extend his hit streak past 21 games.

11 Feb: Aces’ SP Rex Weichard allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4, to help Melbourne ease past the Sluggers 7-0.

14 Feb: Crocs’ rookie SP, 23 y/o Ted Murray, threw his 1st big-league shutout, allowing 6 hits and no walks for no runs to help Cairns overcome Wellington 4-0. The #3 pick in the 2038 draft struck out 2.

15 Feb: Blue Sox RF Alexander Webber went 5-5 as Sydney beat the Thunder 9-4.

15 Feb: That Blue Sox victory marked their 10th win on the trot. They had a 66-62 record, which was still only good enough for 4th in their division.

18 Feb: The Blue Sox winning streak ended at 12, but they now found themselves in 3rd spot in the Northeast and only 4 games back in the wildcard race.

26 Feb: Ashley Snijders became the latest player to hit in 20 straight games. His streak ended the following night.

27 Feb: Raul Gomez got there, finally! Where? To homerun number 300! He became the 10th player to reach that mark. Earlier in the season he would've been forgiven for wondering if he would ever make it after the Aces consigned him to AAA-ball, before bringing him back to the bigs, and then sending him down again. After getting recalled in late February he decided to get there in a rush, hitting the 5HR he needed in 8 games. He became the 1st foreign-born player to reach the 300 HR milestone.

28 Feb: Will Mossop went 5-5 for the Blue Sox against the Roos, driving in 5 of the Roos’ 8 runs, and helping them to a narrow 8-7 victory. His hits included 2 doubles and a 2-run HR.

28 Feb: February was the month of the 20-game hit streak. Auckland’s Tommy Weichard was the latest player to indulge, reaching the mark in a 6-1 icing of the Heat.

Notable Injuries

5 Feb: Canberra closer Kade DeJong (8-4, 19 sv) would play no further role in the Cavalry’s season after he was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. He would be on the DL 2 months.

6 Feb: Venom CF Blake Willey (.309/.353/.397, 6HR) would be out 3 weeks with a strained hamstring.

7 Feb: Mike Wurfel (.248/.306/.416, 10HR) succumbed to injury again, in his only his 9th game back, this time fracturing his finger. He faced another month on the DL.

7 Feb: Prospects SP Jayden Guthrie (8-12, 3.32 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) would miss a month thanks to a sore elbow.

17 Feb: Alan Cobb (.363/.392/.470, 2HR) was likely to miss most of the rest of the regular season due to chronic back soreness.

18 Feb: Marcello Stuart (.344/.390/.550, 12HR from 328PA) was struck down with another injury, this time fracturing his hand. His season was over.

27 Feb: It was possible Rex Hagerty (.275/.362/.531, 27HR) had played his last game of the season after tearing a ligament in his thumb. Team doctors estimated recovery time as 3-4 weeks.

Notable Trades/Signings

6 Feb: There was something about Newcastle that its players loved. 29 y/o C Leo Jiang, who would’ve been a free agent at season’s end, signed on the dotted line to extend his stay with the Roos for 4 more years. While Jiang wasn’t having a standout season (.246/.360/.440, 16HR), the Roos rated him highly.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb did it again, despite injuring himself halfway through the month. In his limited playing time he hit .490/.509/.608, 25-51, with 6 doubles, 2 walks and 1 stolen base.

Hurler of the Month: Adam Gillorn. The Bandits’ SP went 4-0 in 5 starts, with a 2.19 ERA, 2.47 FIP, and a 0.97 WHIP. He only walked 4 batters in 37.0 IP, and struck out 29.

Slugger of the Month: While Alastair Mildren was fading a bit in the backend of the season, Rex Rees was heating up. In February he went .422/.492/.696, 43-102, with 4 doubles, 8HR, 23 runs scored, and 15BB.

Other Notes

2040 was a leap year, and so the killer month of February was a day longer than usual.

Southwest Division: The Cavalry (15-12) made their move in February, finishing the month on equal footing with the Venom (12-15). The Heat (15-12) also came a-looking, leaving many commentators wondering if the young Venom team would be able to handle a down-to-the-wire pennant race.

Northeast Division: The Bandits (15-12) solidified their spot at the top of this pile, finishing the month 7 games ahead of the Roos (12-15), with the Thunder (12-15) and Blue Sox (20-7) a further 2 games back.

NZ Division: The Sluggers (15-12) started the month slow, but finished fast, their magic number down to 7 on March 1st. The Metros (12-15) slipped and, while not out of the running for the wildcard, would need a big month with several other teams faltering to be any chance of postseason ball.

Wildcard: The Roos headed the wildcard standings, with the scrapping teams in the Southwest Division facing the prospect of missing out entirely if they didn’t win their division. The Thunder and Blue Sox were only 2 games behind Newcastle, with the Heat a further 2 games back and Auckland another after that. March was shaping up to be an intriguing race to the finish line.

Young-tae Lee’s (.309/.428/.514, 22HR) breakout season was being overshadowed somewhat by the Sluggers’ Mildren and Lewis show, but he was still the 1st player to reach the 100 runs-walks double-double. He had scored 101 runs and drawn 105 walks. Lewis (.360/.463/.538, 10HR) and Rees were both good chances of making it, too.

Mildren (.314/.392/.614, 43HR) continued to falter in February, only hitting 6HR, to find former teammate Ashley Snijders (.301/.393/.556, 37HR) almost within striking distance. Snijders hit 12HR in February, to go with his haul of 10 in January.

Patrick Gulledge (.299/.379/.535, 29HR) might’ve been a little low on the HR boards for his liking for the 2nd season in a row, but he did lead the league in doubles now, with 38.

Bradley Lundgren (17-9, 3.49 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) looked likely for 20 wins.

Acheson recorded his 40th save for the year on the 24th of February. In his next outing, on the 26th, he blew a save and recorded his 10th loss of the season.

Brock Humphries (14-8, 2.93 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) had logged the most innings of anyone in the AUNZBL, having thrown 205.2 by March 1. He was also the 1st pitcher past 200 innings.

Standings, Mar 1

Izz · 12-30-2014, 04:33 AM

2039/2040 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Mar: Alistair Mildren belted HR #44, a Grand Slam, as the Sluggers hammered the Crocs 17-3. Baseball outlets immediately began asking whether he could make it to the magic 50.

3 Mar: Weichard's hit streak stopped at 22 games.

4 Mar: Mildren went 3-4 in a 4-2 victory over the Bandits. 2 of his hits were of the HR variety, 1 a 2-run blast, the other a solo shot. He now had 46HRs on the season.

5 Mar: Mildren's 2-run shot in the 4th inning gave him 47HRs on the year. The Sluggers lost a high-scoring affair against the Bandits 12-10.

7 Mar: The Sluggers clinched their division, to give them their 1st-ever trip to the postseason!

13 Mar: Roland Matheson collected his 2nd 20-game hit streak of the season.

13 Mar: He mightn’t have hit a HR in 7 games, but that didn’t mean Mildren was in a slump. He drove in RBI numbers 150 and 151 today in a 9-0 thrashing of Adelaide, to become the first player to ever drive in 150 or more runners in a season!

14 Mar: The Bandits clinched the Northeast.

15 Mar: Matheson’s hit streak was chilled at 21 games.

18 Mar: HR #48 for Mildren, a solo shot in a 3-4 night. The Sluggers won the game 4-2. Mildren was awarded the Player of the Week the next morning, having gone 14-28 over the week.

20 Mar: Mildren’s 2-run HR was the difference in a Sluggers 7-5 victory over Hobart. It was also HR #49.

22 Mar: The Roos clinched the wildcard. The Southwest was still undecided.

23: On the last day of the season, the Cavalry secured the Southwest Division title, beating Perth 5-1.

23 Mar: Leading off the 2nd inning in their game against the Prospects, Mildren was taking huge licks, trying to pull everything. The 5th pitch looked like it might stay fair for a while, but sailed well foul in the end. On the 7th pitch of the AB Mildren made decent contact. The ball again toyed with the foul line, this time just staying fair and just having the legs. 331 feet was pretty short for a HR, but Mildren didn’t care. It was number 50!

It was his only hit in the game, but it was possibly the only hit that mattered. The Sluggers busted out with 9 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead and put the game out of reach, thus securing win number 100 for the season, but nobody wanted to talk about that after the game.

Mildren gamely tried to deflect the praise, but it was impossible. Finally he said, “Yeah, an amazing year. Unbelievable, really. And I just realized something: the last 4 years, my HRs have gone up in lots of 5. Does that mean I’ll hit 55 next season?”

Notable Injuries

5 Mar: The Cowboys lost Tipping (.260/.333/.412, 14HR) for the rest of the season after he sprained his knee.

5 Mar: In a double-whammy, dampened only by the fact Christchurch wasn’t in playoff contention, Kelvin Anderton (.288/.357/.472, 10HR) was diagnosed with a partially torn labrum, thus sending him on an early holiday as well.

6 Mar: The Cavalry were dealt a real blow today, with the news that Allan Koka (4-9, 3.59 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) would be out of the game for 5 months while he had and recovered from surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. While Koka had a poor win-loss record, that was in no way down to his pitching, but rather due to his teammates not pitching up when he was on the mound.

7 Mar: 30 y/o Central Coast bench player Quan ‘Checkmate’ Chang resigned on his baseball career today. He’d been diagnosed with a fractured skull after taking a ball to the head in the outfield on the 3rd of March. Doctors said Chang needed a metal plate inserted and that the physical exertion of baseball was not advised. Chang had a career .244/.302/.362 stat-line in the majors, having played pieces of 7 seasons.

7 Mar: In a further blow to their pennant race, the Cavalry would be without Pi-ao Ming (.302/.332/.450, 14HR) for the rest of the regular season after he herniated a disc in his back.

10 Mar: The injury blows for the teams fighting it out for postseason berths continued. This time the Roos got hit with a double-whammy. First, Andre Maybury (.269/.353/.374, 10HR) was gone for the season with a sprained ankle.

10 Mar: And then they learned Leo Jiang (.244/.354/.441, 20HR) was also out for the rest of the season while he was treated for recurring back spasms.

10 Mar: The Heat lost Luigi Crabtree (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) for the season with a strained hamstring.

13 Mar: Bruce Rollings, an average reliever in the Metros bullpen, didn’t like a story a local news-site published about him. While the actual story is long lost in the ethers, the gist given in other reports was that it was a very negative take on both his talent, drive, greed and people skills. Rollings got so enraged he sought out the reporter. A verbal altercation ensued, and then escalated. Unfortunately for Rollings, the reporter’s chin proved stronger than his hand and he broke his hamate bone. He would be out of action for 7 weeks, just long enough for the assault charges the reporter pressed to pass through the courts.

17 Mar: Gavin Liddell (.278/.345/.337, 2HR) became the latest player to book an early holiday, thanks to a strained back muscle.

24 Mar: Gutting news for Rex Rees (.322/.432/.530, 32HR). He had injured his ankle sliding into base on the 20th Mar and the diagnosis was in: torn ligaments. He would miss the postseason. Rees was understandably upset when talking to press. “This season’s been huge,” he said. “What a ride! But to not be there for the climax of it, well, I’m sure you can think of some comparisons. Me, I’m just gutted. Absolutely gutted. I’ll be cheering the lads on, of course, but I can’t believe I won’t be playing.”

Other Notes

The following records were broken in the 2039 season:

HR - Alistair Mildren, 50
RBI - Alistair Mildren, 159
Total Bases - Alistair Mildren, 407
OBP - Richard Lewis, .463
Runs - Richard Lewis, 135
Triples - Richard Lewis, 16

Alistair Mildren (.330/.408/.637, 50HR) topped the league in SLG, OPS, wOBA (.432), doubles (42), HR, RBI, ISO (.307), XBH (94), total bases (407), and batter’s WAR (10.1). He was 2nd in batting average, hits (211), and runs (122).

Richard Lewis (.361/.463/.537, 12HR) topped the league in average, OBP, hits (213), triples, and runs. He was 2nd in OPS, wOBA (.428), and batter’s WAR (9.3).

Any other year, Young-tae Lee (.314/.432/.521, 182 hits, 117 runs, 121BB, 29 doubles, 8 triples, 25HR, 29SB, 8.8 WAR) would’ve been a favourite for SotY, but he wasn’t on any analysts’ lips this season.

Both Lee and Lewis achieved the runs-walks double-double.

Brock Wakely (.274/.409/.482, 31HR) drew the most walks of anybody in the AUNZBL, with 123.

Beau Riseley (.302/.350/.491, 32HR) was the other player to reach the 200 hit mark, recording 201 hits for the season.

Thunder rookie Italian Niccolo Ciaro (.336/.370/.390 in 308PA) showed a propensity for stealing, finishing with 35 stolen bases from 43 attempts in only 77 games. Bailey Pugsley (.282/.338/.360, 2HR) finished 1 better, with 36SB, but that was in 138 games.

Bradley Lundgren (19-10, 3.52 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) only won 2 games in March to fall short of the 20-win mark. He still recorded 4 more wins than his closest rival. He also broke the 200 K mark, finishing with 201 strikeouts.

Rowan Kalman (10-7, 2.92 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) had the league’s best FIP, most Ks (218), best K/9 (10.27), best K/BB (6.23), and best pitcher’s WAR (8.1), however it was doubtful he would make the final HotY ballot. Who would, though, was up for much debate. Lundgren was the favourite, but not outstandingly.

Acheson finished with 43 saves, only recording 3 in March. Whangarei’s Luigi Chin had caught up to him by the end of the regular season, also finishing with 43, plus the chance to strut his stuff in the playoffs.

Standings, EORS

Izz · 01-04-2015, 06:19 AM

2039 Division Finals - Newcastle Roos vs Whangarei Sluggers

The 2039 season was a fairy tale for the Sluggers. In only their 4th season in the AUNZBL they won 100 games to finish with the best record in the bigs, which easily got them to their 1st ever postseason, with their players smashing records left, right and centre.

Owner Larry Diprose, an unabashed baseball fanatic, got himself a ton of airtime over the second half of the season, mostly semi-quoting his own words from the beginning of 2036, when the Sluggers’ arrived in the AUNZBL: “I have no doubt we will be a Championship-calibre team within 5 years.”

Diprose, though, could take no credit for being the architect of this remarkable run, but to his credit he was more than willing to lavish praise on GM Sterling Okolita and 1st-year manager Nigel Lumby, though a lot of the experts were uncertain they deserved much credit either.

Whatever the case (debate still raged at season’s end over whether the signings of Mildren and Lewis was a ‘perfect storm’ scenario - though positive rather than catastrophic - or whether their 1-year contracts were the result of savvy manoeuvring by the management of a small-market team), the Sluggers had scored the most runs in 2039 by a long way (892), had the best batting average (.289), best OBP (.369), and most HRs (192).

Their opponents, the Newcastle Roos, had an 88-74 regular season record, but they had something the Sluggers didn’t: Championship victories the previous 2 years. They were 2nd behind the Sluggers in runs scored (827), and had the 9th-best defense to the Sluggers’ 7th-best. The 1 area they excelled was stealing bases, their mark of 194 the best in the AUNZBL. The Sluggers weren’t a stealing team, even though Richard Lewis was 1 of the best. They’d stolen a total of 67 bases, 29 of those to Lewis.

Even with the Sluggers’ amazing season, most analysts predicted the loss of Rees would upset the team balance too much, and the Roos’ team, who knew how to get it done, would get this one done in 4 or 5 games.

Game 1

Newcastle put underperforming Edwin Haynes (7-13, 5.15 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.51 WHIP) on the mound against Sterling Dunlop (14-6, 3.30 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.31 WHIP), in his first ever postseason appearance.

Both starting pitchers were up for this one. Neither team scored until the 4th inning, when Young-tae Lee punched one 430 feet over left centre to make it 1-0. The score stayed at that mark until the bottom of the 7th, when the Sluggers manufactured an equalizer (BB, popup F2, single, F8 - runner tags up at 2nd, rbi-single, K).

Haynes left in that 7th inning, having thrown 6.1, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5. Dunlop lasted 7 full innings, also allowing only 5 hits, plus 1 walk. He struck out 7, and looked right at home on the playoff mound.

The scores remained locked through 9, before Newcastle's Michael Robinson pulled one into the leftfield stands in the top of the 10th to make it 2-1. Arnold Chappell, moved from the rotation to closer for this series, as was Newcastle’s tradition, needed only 5 pitches for the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the inning. Then a run of 3 singles (Wally Stapleton, Lewis, Mildren) broke up Chappell’s save and tied the score again.

Top of the 12th, the score still 2-2, and Michael Robinson belted another one deep to left centre. More than deep enough, as it turned out, for his 2nd HR of the night, once again giving Newcastle the lead. Wally Stapleton led off the bottom of the inning with a triple wide of the centrefielder. Regular season Roos’ closer Ben Franks was on the mound now and struck Lewis out swinging. He fought with Mildren for 7 pitches (4 of them fouled off) before Mildren popped up to 2nd. Mid-inning substitute Xavier Cutler then struck out to end the game. 3-2 victory to the Roos.

Bailey Pugsley pulled up sore in the 11th after leading off with a double. He was diagnosed with a tight back, and would be day-to-day for a few days.

Game 2

Cody Wood (11-12, 3.81 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) v Bradley Lundgren.

Mid-season acquisition Vince Braddock got the scoring underway in the bottom of the 2nd with a solo shot. The Sluggers would’ve added another but pinch runner Wesley Waterson got thrown out at home trying to score from 2nd. He was in the game because Mario Martinez pulled up short after hitting a double and had to leave the game. No diagnosis was immediately forthcoming from medical staff.

The Roos went ahead in the top of the 3rd, scoring 2 runs before Whangarei evened it up in the bottom of the inning. Wally Stapleton gave the Sluggers the lead in the 4th with a solo HR. The scoring dried up until the 7th, when the Roos scored 2. Bailey Pugsley, playing in spite of his sore back, got thrown out at home to end the inning and leave the score 4-3 in the Roos' favour.

In the 8th the Roos jumped ahead, going single, K, double, IBB, runner scoring off wild pitch followed by 2-rbi single, pitching change, K, K. 7-3 Roos.

The Sluggers couldn’t bring any back in the bottom of the inning, and Newcastle couldn’t add any in the top of the 9th. Franks came out to pitch the bottom of the 9th, Vince Braddock leading off. He doubled down the rightfield line, then Wesley Waterson singled to put runners at the corners. Franks was pulled, replaced by Chappell. Will Dempster struck out swinging, then Xavier Cutler doubled along the ground past 3rd, brining Braddock home. Alan Lumsden, a rookie who’d hit .350/.420/.650 with 8HR in 119 late season PAs, came out as a pinch hitter. He socked the 2-1 pitch deep, deep, deep, gone over right-center for a 3-run HR. Suddenly the game was tied, and 2 batters later was heading to extra innings.

Joe Grant went through the Roos’ lineup in order, then Steven Atteridge got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the inning before Vince Braddock swung the 1st pitch of his AB over the leftfield fence for a walkoff HR, his 2nd longball of the night. 8-7 Sluggers to even the series.

Lundgren threw 6.1 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk for 3 earned runs. He struck out 8. Wood struck out 6 in 7 innings, conceding 7 hits and 3 walks for 3 earned runs.

Game 3

Xing-hua ‘Fury’ Ling (12-7, 3.44 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.15 WHIP), probably the Roos’ best pitcher, would face off against 22 y/o Allan ‘Fate’ Spear (13-11, 5.36 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.53 WHIP) who, while he wouldn’t win it, qualified for Rookie of the Year consideration.

Ling was dominant, walking none and only allowing 4 hits in 8 innings. He struck out 6 and only 1 runner made it to 2nd base.

Michael Robinson singled Lee home in the 1st to open the scoring, and that was it until the 6th, when Lee led off with a double, and came home off the back of Bransington’s follow-up double.

While the Roos had 11 base runners, they could only manage 2 runs, which was enough, as Chappell retired the side in order in the bottom of the 9th to record the save. 2-0 Roos.

Spear gave up 9 hits and a walk in 6.2 innings, conceding both earned runs. He struck out 6.

Game 4

Prior to the game, Sluggers’ fans got the news that Mario Martinez faced at least 5 months recovery time after scans showed he'd ruptured a tendon in his foot.

Haynes v Dunlop, round 2, the Sluggers’ postseason on the line, the Roos on their home court.

Lumsden got the Sluggers off to a great start with a 427 foot 3-run blast in the top of the 1st. The Roos chipped away at the lead, scoring in the bottom of the 1st, 2nd and 4th to finally even things up.

Haynes left the mound after the 2nd rubbing at his shoulder and didn’t come back out for the 3rd. Medical staff said the injury wasn’t severe, and they would monitor it over the next few days.

Richard Lewis led off the 5th with a single. Mildren followed with a double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Lumsden drew a walk, loading the bases with 0 outs. Olivier Despres was sat down on strikes, then Braddock flied out to left. Leo Akhurst, though, singled through the hole between 3rd and short to bring 2 home and make the score 5-3 Whangarei.

Tyson led off the bottom of the 7th with a solo HR. Later in the inning Pugsley doubled, then came home on Lee’s single to tie the scores up. In the top of the 9th the Sluggers got 2 baserunners, but couldn’t bring them home. In the bottom of the inning Pugsley singled, but was left at 1st. Into extra innings again!

The 10th passed without score. Chappell, who’d thrown the top of the 10th, came out again in the 11th. Stapleton doubled to lead off and Lewis drew a walk. Mildren singled, bringing Stapleton home to give the Sluggers the lead. Lumsden followed with an rbi-single of his own to end Chappell’s stint. Xavier Cutler ground into a double-play, but Braddock launched his 3-2 pitch over right centre for a 2-run HR. 9-5 Whangarei. Regular season starter Mark Jacobs came to the mound in the bottom of the inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Travis Bright, then fought for 10 pitches with Bradley Hibbert before inducing a groundball to 3rd. The double play was turned and Beau Tyson looked spent, striking out on 3 pitches to see the Sluggers win.

This was turning into an epic series, the nearly 45,000 in attendance at this game loving every moment. Dunlop was worked over for 77 pitches in 3.2 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 walk for 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. He struck out 2. Luigi Chin picked up a well-deserved win, throwing 2 scoreless innings, while allowing 1 hit.

Game 5

Wood v Lundgren, round 2.

If ever there was a game for a champion player to leave his mark this was it. Would it be Bransington, Lee, Lewis, Mildren, Lundgren, or nobody?

The Sluggers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the 1st, Mildren singling home Lian-wei Chua. In the bottom of the 3rd, they extended their lead further. Vince Braddock’s 1-out single brought Lewis to the plate and he got a pitch to hit, lofting the ball deep to right centre, but Pugsley, recovered from his back issues, climbed the wall to rob Lewis of the HR. Not to worry. Mildren, next up, crushed his 1-0 pitch 446 feet over straightaway centre for a 2-run blast.

Lee scored in the 4th, off a 2-out Travis Bright double, to make the score 3-1. The Roos got another back in the 6th (E5, BB, wild pitch advancing runners followed by K, sac-fly, popup F7), but the Sluggers restored the 2-run buffer in the bottom of the inning (double, IBB, rbi-single, 4-6-3 double play, K). In the bottom of the 7th, Chua led off with a solo HR, and 2 outs later Mildren belted his 2nd HR of the night, this one into the top tier of the leftfield stand. 6-2 Whangarei.

Bransington got 1 back in the 8th with a solo HR over left, but that was all the scoring, the Sluggers winning 6-3 to make it to the Championship!

Mildren was the hero of the day, but Lundgren did his part, too, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5, letting 2 runs score. Only 1 of those runs was earned. Wood got the loss, giving up 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, for 4 earned run.

Hurler of the Series went to Lundgren for his Game 5 performance. Xing-hua Ling of the Roos could still consider himself unlucky after his masterful Game 3 performance.

Alistair Mildren picked up Slugger of the Series. He was .440/.440/.760, with 2HR and 2 doubles. Braddock hit 3HR to go with a .364 BA, certainly justifying his mid-season acquisition while, for Newcastle, Lee went .476/.522/.762.

#

The morning after the series loss, injured Roos’ reliever Thomas Gulledge announced his retirement from the game after suffering a setback in his recovery from a torn labrum. The 27 y/o suffered the injury in November, and after his 3rd corrective surgery failed decided enough was enough. The Roos hired him on in an administrative capacity, saying they hoped he'd stay with the organization and learn the business-side of baseball.

Izz · 01-04-2015, 07:21 PM

2039 Division Finals - Canberra Cavalry vs Brisbane Bandits

The Cavalry were average in most aspects of the game in 2039, but were still good enough to scrap their way to a division win in a 3-horse race. While they conceded 757 runs, to be ranked 10th out of 14 teams, they only allowed 1417 hits (2nd best) for a .255 opponents’ average (also 2nd best). The issue their staff had was with control: they gave up 555 walks, to be ranked 11th in the league.

They would be without Pi-ao Ming for the series, but still had the dangerous Ashley Snijders (.301/.395/.559, 42HR) and Zachariah Hutchinson (.292/.354/.505, 27HR), as well as Phillip Tinter (.282/.333/.459, 23HR), who always seemed to perform better than the experts felt he should.

Their opponents, the Brisbane Bandits, finished with the 2nd-best record in the majors, and ended the season on a 6-game win streak. Above-average at the plate, where they really excelled was on the mound. They had the best ERA (3.75), had allowed the least runs (645), the least hits (1392), and opponents were only hitting .252 against them, also a league best. To back this up they were a great defending team, with a defensive efficiency of .703, the best in the AUNZBL.

They had no major injuries to report, and Bill Buffey (.266/.317/.457, 32HR), who hadn’t made an All Star squad since 2036 despite consistently hitting 30+ HRs a season, was bullish about what he wanted to get out of this postseason. The fiery 1B, who’d been suspended twice during the 2039 season for arguing strike calls, said, “Nothing less than a Championship ring will do. It’s what we deserve.”

Game 1

Brayden Allomes (10-11, 3.94 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) took the mound for Canberra, facing off against Adam Gillorn (14-11, 3.43 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.24 WHIP).

It wasn’t a happy night for Gillorn. In the 2nd, Tinter led off with a single. Maurice Fowler and Maurice Trew both drew walks to load the bases. Then Zhang Tsao lofted his 2-1 pitch deep over leftfield for a Grand Slam! In the 3rd, Trew hit a solo shot to make it 5-0, and when Tsao reached in the 4th, thanks to an error, Gillorn made his way to the showers. An out later, Tsao would score thanks to a Marcello Hynes triple. Snijders would single Hynes home, and then Hutchinson launched 1 into the centrefield bleachers to make it 9-0, Brisbane’s heads hanging as they left the field at inning’s end.

Buffey hit the centrefield wall in the bottom of the 4th, and scored later in the inning, and Brisbane scored 2 more in the 7th, but the game never felt like a contest, the Cavalry running out 9-3 winners.

Allomes went 6, conceding 6 hits and 3 walks for 2 earned runs. He struck out 3. Gillorn gave up 5 hits and 2 walks in his 3 innings, for 6 runs, 5 of which were earned. He struck out 2.

Cavalry reliever Hayden Henderson slipped while on the mound in the 8th inning and came from the field. He had sprained his ankle, and would be hampered over the next week, but okay to pitch if necessary.

Game 2

Baden Piper (8-12, 4.64 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) versus Dylan Cully (14-9, 3.10 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.07 WHIP).

The Cavalry got on board in the 1st, in part thanks to an outfield error, though the run was credited to Cully as earned. Neither team was having much luck getting the ball off the plate, and both teams were skittish in the field. 2 more errors in the 5th led to another Cavalry run scoring. The Bandits could only manage 3 more baserunners in the game (double, single, BB, all in separate innings). Bill Buffey’s 2-out infield single in the 9th was a result of sheer determination, as the 6’4” Buffey ran like most people walked.

Final score: 2-0 Canberra to win the 1st 2 away games and put themselves in a very strong position for their home leg.

Piper gave up 2 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings, striking out 1, to get the win. 27 y/o closer Rowan Belgrove, who’d moved fulltime into the role in November, notched the save. Belgrove had a regular season record of 10-4, with 22 saves. He also blew 9 save/held opportunities in 2039, most of those when he was a setup man. Cully was as good as usual, allowing only 5 legitimate baserunners in his 7 innings (no walks), striking out 7, but got tagged with the loss.

Game 3

Word from supposed Bandits’ insiders was that Buffey and a couple of other senior players spent much of the off-day (travel and all) reading the riot act to the team. Brisbane, the best defensive unit in the comp, had made 6 errors in the 1st 2 games, and generally looked sluggish in the field. Now, in Canberra’s house, they needed to pick it up more than a notch to be a chance.

Jorge Juarez (13-10, 3.93 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.13 WHIP) mounted the hill for Brisbane, while Ian Zglinicki (4-2, 3.46 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 1.20 WHIP in 7 starts) did so for Canberra.

Both pitchers owned the field during the 1st 6, neither team able to get multiple baserunners on during the same inning.

Finally, in the 7th, the dam broke, Zglinicki the unhappy leak. Danny Goodwin hit the 1st pitch of the 7th, a sinker that didn’t sink very much, over the leftfield wall to get the scoring underway. Next up, Bill Buffey followed with another solo HR, also over leftfield, this one making it into the lower half of the 2nd tier. Benjamin Barclay struck out looking, but Hwen-thiang Guo singled between 1st and 2nd to keep the momentum going. Trent Cashmore singled into shallow centre and Guo took on the CF’s arm to hustle into 3rd. Not that his hustle mattered in the end. Bryan Redelius latched onto a 2-0 curveball and sent it 429 feet over right centre for a 3-run HR. Suddenly the score was 5-0, and Zglinicki was trudging off to the showers.

The Cavalry scored in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-1, but they couldn’t pull any closer, and the Bandits couldn’t pull any further away. 5-1 Bandits, and they weren’t out of it yet.

Zglinicki’s figures were blown out by that 7th inning. He gave up 6 hits and 2 walks in 6.1 innings, striking out 1. Juarez, on the other hand, was great, going the whole game, allowing only 2 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4.

Game 4

Gillorn and Allomes would start once more.

Allomes got off to a nervous start. Hong-bin Bao led the game off with a double, advanced to 3rd on Callum Blake’s single, and then scored on a wild pitch. Goodwin ground out, advancing Blake to 3rd. Buffey singled to score Goodwin to make it 2-0. Allomes settled down to strike out the next 2, and left the mound shaking his head and muttering to himself.

Gillorn wasn’t much better. Marcello Hynes led off the bottom of the 1st with a single into the hole at short. Nathan Sweetman struck out, but Snijders singled put runners at 1st and 2nd. Hutchinson did better than single, though, driving a 1-0 fastball into the leftfield bleachers for a 3-run HR. 3-2 Canberra.

Brisbane evened it right back up in the top of the 2nd, and then the scoring settled down until the 5th. Dermott Lawson singled to start the inning off. Bao ground out, and Blake’s single saw runners at the corners. Goodwin hit a strong line drive, but only as far as the rightfielder’s glove. Rookie Yue-jiu Chin came out to relieve Allomes, and saw the 3rd pitch of his outing rocket off Buffey’s bat and into the leftfield stands. 3-run HR, and the score was now 6-3 Brisbane.

The Cavalry continued to struggle offensively, unable to score another run. The Bandits added 1 more in the 9th to finish up 7-3 winners, evening the series.

Allomes conceded 8 hits and no walks in 4.2 innings, striking out 2 and giving up 5 earned runs. Gillorn got the win, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk in 6.1 innings. 3 Ks and 3 earned runs.

Game 5

Back in Brisbane for the decider, both teams closed themselves off to media, the Bandits hoping to continue their momentum, the Cavalry hoping to regain some.

Piper and Cully would renew their series rivalry.

Both teams remained locked at zero through the 1st 4. In the 5th, the Cavalry put together a run of single, single, single, rbi-single, K, rbi-single, rbi-single, sac-fly, rbi-single, ground-out U6 to bat around and score 5. But any confidence they might’ve got from gaining a sizeable lead disappeared in a hurry. In the bottom of the inning Barclay led off with a double, and came home on Guo’s single. Then Cashmore thumped the 1st pitch of his AB 413 feet over rightfield for a 2-run HR, followed by Redelius lofting the 1st pitch of his AB 414 over right-centre for a solo HR, bringing the score back to 5-4.

Both teams continued jousting without adding to their tallies until the 8th. Bao led off with a double, and came home 2 batters later off a Buffey single. They then loaded the bases, but couldn’t manufacture a go-ahead run.

The Cavalry got 2 baserunners in the top of the 9th, but couldn’t score, a feat replicated in the bottom of the inning by Brisbane. 5-5, and into extra innings in Game 5!

The epic battle continued. 10th: no score. 11th: no score. 12th: no score. 13th: no score. 14th: no score. Top of the 15th: Trew singles with 2 outs, but Zhang Tsao grounds out back to the pitcher to end the inning. Bottom of the 15th: Buffey leads off with a single wide of the shortstop. Barclay grounds out, advancing Buffey to 2nd. Guo is intentionally walked. Pinch-hitter Naozane Suzuki strikes out. Pinch-hitter Scotty Sheppard walks on 4 pitches. Dermott Lawson hits the 1st pitch of his AB into the hole between 3rd and short. It gets through and Buffey charges home, raising both hands to the fans as soon as he touches home plate, before getting mobbed by his teammates. A 6-5 victory to Brisbane in a 15-inning marathon sees them head to the Championship round for the 2nd successive year!

Piper threw 7 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks, K’ing 4, for 4 earned runs. The Cavalry used 7 relievers, Drew Stretton throwing 4 innings and picking up the loss. Cully only threw 4.2, getting worked over for 7 hits and 5 earned runs. He struck out 7, throwing 86 pitches. Brisbane used 5 relievers, with Dan Maltman, a rookie and regular season starter, staying on the mound for 4.2 innings.

Hurler of the Series went to Jorge Juarez for his complete game effort which saw Brisbane back into the contest.

Bill Buffey won Slugger of the Series. He was .381/.458/.714, with 1 double and 2HR, hitting in each game of the Division Finals.

Izz · 01-05-2015, 07:51 PM

2039 Championship Series - Brisbane Bandits vs Whangarei Sluggers

The Sluggers’ bandwagon was full to bursting. Could the overwhelming crowd favourites win it all in only their 4th year in the competition?

Prior to the offseason beginning, fans were canvassed as to which matchup they’d most like to see in the Championship Series. The majority answer was Cavalry-Sluggers. Rumours had abounded throughout the year that Mildren had fallen out with his Cavalry teammates, hence why he’d decided to leave. While Mildren, several of his former teammates, and Cavalry management all come out vehemently denying such a thing, the rumour persisted, and so the fans were keen to see some form of grudge match.

However, that wasn’t to be. Still, anticipation for the Championship was high, both teams having fought great battles to get their chance. The best offense versus the best defense, Bill Buffey, who’d hit 5HR against the Sluggers during the regular season, versus Alistair Mildren, who’d homered 4 times against Brisbane during the regular season.

The Bandits had won 9 of 12 games against the Sluggers during 2039, and found themselves favourites with the experts heading into the series.

Richard Lewis, known for being far less than articulate, had this to say when asked about the Sluggers’ chances: “Yeah, well, y’know, we’ll just have to see how, y’know, it all, uh, goes, like, and, well, let our playing kinda, y’know, talk for us.”

Game 1

Brisbane put Juarez on the mound for Game 1, while Whangarei started Jiu-Ling Liao (12-7, 4.83 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 1.27 WHIP), who’d blown 2 save/held opportunities in the Division Finals.

Brisbane got the scoring underway in the top of the 1st, Callum Blake doubling, stealing 3rd, then coming home on Danny Goodwin’s single. In the bottom of the 2nd, the Sluggers drew 3 walks to load the bases, but Juarez got out of the jam unscathed.

Lian-wei Chua led off the bottom of the 3rd with a double. He thought about going for 3rd but decided against it, in the process pulling up sharply. He limped from the field with, medical staff declared later, a mild calf strain, which would be day-to-day for the next 4 or so days. Olivier Despres subbed on for him. Braddock singled to put runners on the corners, but it looked as if Juarez would get out of this one again as he whiffed Lewis and sat Mildren down on 3 pitches. Wally Stapleton, though, worked the count to 3-2 before singling into leftfield. Despres scored and Braddock, running with the contact, made it to 3rd. He would come home the very next pitch, as Juarez threw one over the catcher’s head to the backstop. 2-1 Whangarei.

In the bottom of the 4th, with 1 out, Leo Akhurst singled, Xavier Cutler doubled, then Despres made the most of his entry into the game, lofting his 1-1 pitch 411 feet over rightfield for a 3-run HR. 5-1 Whangarei and Juarez’s night was done.

Hwen-thiang Guo got 1 back in the 5th with a solo effort, and the Bandits scored another in the 8th to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the 8th Despres pulled another 1 over rightfield for another HR, this 1 a solo effort. The Bandits (Buffey, Barclay, Guo) surrendered in order to Luigi Chin in the top of the 9th - all 3 outs were groundballs to 2nd - to see Whangarei win 6-3.

Liao got the win, giving up 7 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings, for 3 earned runs. He struck out 5. There was a 35-minute rain delay in the top of the 8th. The Bandits ground into 4 double-plays.

Game 2

Gillorn versus Dunlop, both players in their 2nd full year in their respective rotations.

Both pitchers looked commanding on the mound. The nil-all deadlock was finally broken in the bottom of the 4th. Lewis doubled, advanced to 3rd on Mildren’s ground out, and then Lumsden, who was making a habit of big HRs, launched a 3-1 fastball over rightfield and into the bleachers for a 2-run HR.

In the 6th, Dunlop found himself in trouble. Dermott Lawson led off with a single. Bao drew a walk, and Blake singled to load the bases, bringing the meat of the lineup to the plate. However, Dunlop lived up to his nickname of ‘Fearless’, throwing a changeup 1st up to Goodwin, who was late on it, hitting it along the ground directly to the 3B. They went for the triple-play, Akhurst forcing 1 out before flipping it to 2nd. Unfortunately, Blake was too quick and slid in safely, but 2nd still had time to throw it to 1st for a double-play. Lawson did score, but when Buffey hit a weak grounder to 2nd to end the inning, Dunlop walked off looking pleased as punch. 2-1 Whangarei.

The score remained 2-1 until the top of the 9th, when Callum Blake got a pitch to pull off Chin, and scraped it over the leftfield fence. Axel Kent retired the Sluggers in order in the bottom of the 9th and the game headed to extra innings.

Redelius got on-base for Brisbane in the 10th, but couldn’t get past 1st. Cutler and Chua got on in the bottom of the inning, but Stapleton struck out on 9 pitches and Lewis popped out to keep the game alive. Bao drew a walk to lead off the 11th. An out later, Goodwin singled to shallow right centre. Bao decided to take on Despres’ arm and go for 3rd but was thrown out. He wasn’t happy with the decision, but replays showed it was the correct one. Next up, Buffey hit a firm line drive, but only as far as Despres’ glove. Mildren led off the bottom of the 11th, and fell behind 1-2. However, he patiently watched the next 2 pitches go past outside the zone, and then got a chest-high fastball which he pulled down the leftfield line. He stood watching it, waving it fair, and the ball obliged. Walk-off HR! Final score: 3-2 Sluggers!

Gillorn threw 7, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 9, and gave up 2 earned runs. Dunlop only allowed 4 hits in his 6.2 innings, but also conceded 4 walks, for 1 earned run. He struck out 2.

Game 3

Whangarei had negotiated their 1st home leg for the best possible outcome, and travelled to Brisbane full of confidence.

This pitching battle had all the makings of something spectacular. It would be Lundgren versus Cully.

Richard Lewis and Alistair Mildren combined with a single and double to get the scoring started in the top of the 1st. Next up, Lumsden was called out on strikes, frozen up by a massive Cully curveball. He didn’t like the call, though, and got all up in the umpire’s grill. End result: Lumsden got ejected from the game. Moral of the story: You can never win an argument with an umpire.

The bottom of the 1st was also full of action. Bao led off with a walk, and Blake followed suit. Lundgren was having real trouble finding his spots as Goodwin also walked to load the bases. Buffey didn’t have the patience of the 1st 3, hitting his 1st pitch to rightfield for a regulation out. Bao tagged up to come home, but once again Despres’ arm proved too strong and he was tagged out. Barclay then tripled over Despres’ head and into the corner, bringing both remaining baserunners home to give Brisbane a 2-1 advantage.

Mildren hit a 2-out solo HR in the 3rd to even up the scoreline, and then both teams went into their shells. The Sluggers’ looked like they might break the deadlock in the top of the 9th. With 1 out, Will Dempster singled, and then Akhurst doubled to put the go-ahead run at 3rd, but neither Chua or Stapleton could get the ball outside the infield.

In the bottom of the inning, Cashmore singled to lead off, stole 2nd an out later, and advanced to 3rd on a deep fly to right. But Goodwin struck out, and once again the teams headed to extra innings.

Lewis singled to lead off the 10th, and stole a base 2 outs later. However, he was left stranded at 2nd as Rory Henderson struck Despres out swinging. Buffey, 1st up in the bottom of the inning, singled to left. He advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, then to 3rd on Barclay’s single. Guo ground-out, the infield playing in, so giving Buffey no chance to head for home. Sheppard was intentionally walked. Redelius hit a loopy fly into shallow right. Despres made a great diving play to catch the ball, but couldn’t get off the ground in time to throw home and Buffey scored to win the game. 3-2 Brisbane!

Lundgren walked 6 in 5.1 innings, giving up 4 hits. He struck out 2 and threw 98 pitches. Cully threw 110 pitches in 7.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 walks, with 7 Ks. Henderson got the win, Chin the loss.

Game 4

Dan Maltman (10-11, 4.76 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.61 WHIP), who’d thrown 4.2 innings of scoreless ball in the epic Game 5 Division Finals victory, would start for Brisbane. Allan Spear was Whangarei’s choice.

Spear only faced 2 batters, recording 1 out, before leaving the mound clutching his wrist. Initial diagnosis was that it wasn’t a major injury, but would hamper his performance for a couple days. Harris Wicks came out to relieve and immediately allowed his inherited runner to score via sac-fly. He then walked Buffey, and watched Barclay slug one into the rightfield stand to make the score 3-0.

That was all the scoring until the 6th, Whangarei creating some half chances but unable to convert any of them. In the bottom of the 6th, facing hard-throwing reliever Lien-ying Lung, Goodwin and Buffey both deposited back-to-back fastballs into the bleachers, extending the score to 5-0.

Finally, in the top of the 8th, the Sluggers got on the board, Lewis doubling and coming home on Mildren’s single. But that was all they could muster, the Bandits winning 5-1 in a convincing fashion.

Maltman got through 5 innings, only coming out of the game thanks to a 58-minute rain delay. He allowed only 2 hits and 3 walks, fanning 2.

Game 5

Fans got a chance to see Juarez and Liao lock horns again, this enthralling series tied at 2 each.

The Bandits wasted no time in getting on top of Liao, though 2 1st-innings errors by the Sluggers (3B, SS), allowing the 1st 2 hitters (Bao, Blake) onbase, didn’t help. Especially not when Danny Goodwin cracked a 1-1 fastball 433 feet over centre-right to make it 3-0. They added another in the 2nd, another in the 3rd, and 4 more (single, K, BB, single, rbi-BB, F7 after which runner tags up and scores thanks to a wild throw, 2-rbi single, ground out 3-1) to make it 9-0.

Did this mean game over for the Sluggers? They came out to bat next inning angry and went BB, steal followed by K, K, rbi-double, BB, rbi-single, rbi-double, 2-rbi single, ground out 5-3. While not bringing it back to neck-and-neck 9-5 was a whole lot better than 9-zip.

The Bandits scored another in the bottom of the inning, and then the teams retired in order through the 6th and 7th. In the 8th, Lewis led off with a single, and Mildren hit his 5th HR of the postseason to make it 10-7, and still a game. But Brisbane immediately extended the lead to 4, and Axel Kent only needed 6 pitches to finish the game. 11-7 Brisbane, and they now had a 3-2 advantage heading back to Whangarei.

Liao lasted 2.2 innings, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 2, giving up 5 runs, 3 of them earned. Juarez threw 101 pitches in 4.2 innings, conceding 7 hits and 2 BBs for 5 earned runs. He struck out 5.

Game 6

Gillorn and Dunlop would renew their acquaintance, the Sluggers finding themselves in an entirely different situation at home this time around.

Both pitchers duelled for the 1st 5 before Brisbane went single, single, BB, sac-fly (Goodwin, Buffey, Barclay, Guo) to score in the top of the 6th. Whangarei immediately responded, Akhurst reaching on an error by the 3rd-baseman, and advancing to 3rd on Chua’s single. Stapleton’s double scored both runners, and he came home 2 outs later thanks to a Despres double. 3-1 Whangarei.

Bao singled with 1 out next inning, and advanced to 3rd on a Blake double. Dunlop went to the showers, and reliever Alan Harney gave up a 1st-pitch single to Goodwin that saw 2 runners score. Buffey hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, the score 3-3.

The scoring stopped again, and when the 9th inning was finished, both teams were still tied. Once more into the breach! The Bandits were retired in order in the 10th, though Guo fought for 10 pitches before popping up to 2nd. The Sluggers only faced 7 pitches in the bottom of the inning. In the 11th, Redelius led off with an infield single. Lawson’s single to right advanced Redelius to 3rd. Bao grounded out to 2nd, who was playing too shallow for Redelius to think about coming home. Blake walked to load the bases, but Goodwin’s liner went straight to short, and Buffey grounded out to 3rd to end the threat. The meat of the Sluggers’ lineup was up in the bottom of the inning, but were retired in order on 12 pitches.

Barclay singled to start the 12th inning. Guo attempted a sac-bunt which popped up nicely to the catcher. Cashmore struck out and Redelius hit a regulation fly to left. Despres and Braddock were both out on their 1st pitches in the bottom of the inning, before Dempster showed a calm head and drew a base on balls. Akhurt flied out to center and the game headed to inning 13.

Lawson walked, Bao became the 2nd player in as many innings to attempt a sac-bunt only to see it lob to the catcher, and Blake singled. Goodwin crushed 1 to deep center, but not quite out of the yard. It hit the wall and he got himself a double, but more importantly, both runners scored. Buffey went down swinging on strikes, before Barclay singled into shallow left to score Goodwin. Guo ground out, but the damage was done. 6-3 Brisbane.

Chua ground out, but Cutler singled. Could Lewis and Mildren get the Sluggers back into this? No. Both grounded out and the game, series and Championship was Brisbane’s!

Gillorn threw 5.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 walk, sitting 8 down on strikes. Of the 3 runs scored off him, only 1 was earned. The real hero, though, was Rory Henderson, who threw 3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 2 to get the Championship-defining win. Dunlop conceded 7 hits and 4 walks in 6.1 innings, for 3 earned runs. He struck out 2.

Lumsden struck out 5 times, setting a postseason extra-innings game record. Lewis, Mildren and Lumsden were 0-16 in this game.

Hurler of the Series went to Rory Henderson, for his game-winning efforts in Game’s 3 & 7.

Slugger of the Series was awarded to Goodwin, who went .464/.467/.714, including a 4-7 effort in Game 6. He hit 2HR and drove in 12 runners.

For the Sluggers, Mildren hit .320/.393/.800, with 3HR.

Izz · 01-05-2015, 08:05 PM

2039 Leaderboards

Izz · 01-05-2015, 08:34 PM

Hall of Fame - Stewart 'Cricket' Warwick

Only 1 player was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the end of the 2039 season, but it was fitting that the ceremony was all about him. Stewart Warwick, an enthusiastic cricketer who'd turned to baseball post-War, had been in a class of his own for the first few seasons of the AUNZBL.

He still held the season records for batting average (.380), slugging (.685), OPS (1.135), WAR (12.2), and VORP (111.5), all reached during his stellar 2022 season, when he also led the league in HR with 46.

Stewart was inducted wearing a Cavalry uniform, the team he spent his 1st 7 seasons with, and where he reached heights not replicated elsewhere.

Izz · 01-07-2015, 04:34 PM

Retirement Class of 2039

Among the 2039 retirees were:

Roger Wood. 36 y/o, LF. 2026-2038. .297/.339/.439, 2016 hits, 860 runs, 409 doubles, 14 triples, 176HR, 886RBI, 424BB. 6-time All Star, but never collected a ring. Retired as a member of the 2000-hit club, and with the 6th most doubles. Led the league in doubles in 2031. Appeared in 3 postseasons, hitting .319/.373/.489 in 51PA.

Gareth Cobb. 40 y/o, RF. 2023-2038. .257/.326/.402, 1809 hits, 918 runs, 332 doubles, 50 triples, 197HR, 917RBI, 698BB, 115SB. 2 Gold Gloves, 2 All Star appearances, 2 Championships (2027, Metros; 2030 Cowboys). Appeared in 11 postseasons, hitting .253/.324/.419 with 11HR. Had 7 career Grand Slams in the majors.

Sean ‘Stubblebeard’ Morrow. 39 y/o, CL. 2024-2038. 72-62, 250 saves, 3.22 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 850 Ks in 1069.0 IP. 8 time All-Star and a Championship with the Metros in 2027. Retired 8th on the all-time saves leaderboard, and had appeared in the 9th most games (770). Recorded 49 saves twice in a season (2028, 2031) to sit at 3rd on the season saves record list. Was 2-2, with 7 saves, in 18 postseason games, over 5 campaigns.

12-24-2014, 04:55 AM	#261
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2038 Leaderboards 2038 Leaderboards Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-24-2014, 10:56 PM	#262
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	Hall of Fame - Dermott ‘Fats’ Ford, Vinnie ‘Rip’ Egan & Karl ‘Dragoon’ Rice Hall of Fame - Dermott ‘Fats’ Ford, Vinnie ‘Rip’ Egan & Karl ‘Dragoon’ Rice 3 players were inducted into the AUNZBL Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the 2038 season. The 1st of these was Dermott ‘Fats’ Ford. Ford, a 2B who didn’t field that well and didn’t have much power, but who got himself an awful lot of hits (including the still-standing career record for singles), started playing at the league’s inception at the age of 28 and continued until he was 42. He spent 10 of his 15 seasons in the majors playing for Newcastle and was inducted in a Roos uniform. His best season came at 35 years of age, where he went .341/.384/.447, with 214 hits and 99 runs. His 10HRs that season was his 3rd-best mark. Vinnie ‘Rip’ Egan had transitioned seamlessly from player to commentator. Also a below-average 2B, Egan had a great eye, and while he didn’t have HR-power, he hit the gaps pretty well. He had his best season while playing for Perth in 2029, going .347/.441/.461, collecting 211 hits, 9 of which were triples. He was inducted wearing an Aces uniform, and said his proudest moment as a player was holding the Championship Trophy aloft in 2025 with the rest of his Melbourne teammates. Interestingly, while he was born and raised in Sydney, he never played for either the Blue Sox or the Roos. Unfortunately, Karl ‘Dragoon’ Rice’s career was cut short by a terrible hamstring injury. Still, in 11 years, he racked up numbers worthy of the Hall. Another player who didn’t field all that well at his preferred position (SS), and without much HR power, Rice’s best overall season was in 2026, when he hit .338/.389/.456, with 221 hits and 14HR. He was inducted in Venom colours. (Note: the baseball cards below don't always accurately reflect that player's ML-stats) Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report Last edited by Izz; 12-24-2014 at 11:02 PM.

12-25-2014, 12:02 AM	#263
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	Retirement Class of 2038 Retirement Class of 2038 The following players retired at various stages during the 2038/2039 season: Elliot Wilkins. 38 y/o, 1B. 2022-2037. .280/.349/.487, 2205 hits, 1179 runs, 376 doubles, 404HR, 1350RBI, 802BB. Won the Rookie of the Year award in 2023, and was a 7-time All Star. Collected 5 rings with the Roos (2022, 2024, 2029, 2034, 2037), the only major league team he played for. Finished with the 2nd most HRs, the 4th-best VORP (575.99), the most games (2128), the 4th-most ABs (7878), the most runs (1179), the 4th-most hits, the 2nd-most total bases (3835), the most RBIs. Led the league in total bases and RBI in 2026, and in slugging in 2029. Wendell Baxter. 38 y/o, C. 2023-2037. .292/.336/.439, 2155 hits, 887 runs, 392 doubles, 222HR, 1016RBI. 1 Gold Glove, 7 All Star Games. Won a ring in 2036 with the Fury. Retired 7th on the all-time hits leaderboard. Led the league in batting average in 2025. Bruce Pickford. 37 y/o, CF. 2024-2037. .269/.326/.440, 2078 hits, 1115 runs, 384 doubles, 98 triples, 248HR, 1006RBI, 247SB. A whopping 6 Gold Gloves to go with 6 All Star appearances. Retired with the 8th-most career hits, 10th-most RBI, 8th-most stolen bases, the 5th-best WAR (53.05), and the most triples, 14 more than next closest Egan. Led the league in hits in 2031, 4 times in triples (2025, 2030, 2031, 2037). Was reportedly very surprised not to pick up a contract in 2038, but also had no wish to play in the minors. Gavin Dethridge. 37 y/o, 3B. 2026-2037. .269/.314/.397, 1675 hits, 697 runs, 140HR, 727RBI. 3 Gold Gloves, 2 All Star Teams, 1 Championship, in 2031 with the Thunder. Stefan Ballard. 31 y/o, 2B. 2028-2037. .316/.340/.385, 1606 hits, 679 runs, 6HR, 417RBI, 159BB. 3 All Star selections, 2 rings, both with the Venom, in 2033 and 2035. Led the league 3 times in hits (2030, 2035, 2036) and once in hitting (2035). While he wasn’t the type of guy to draw many walks, most were surprised he didn’t pick up a team for 2038, as he had some extra-base pop, and could field all the infield positions well, plus leftfield. Retired 3rd on the all-time batting average leaderboard. Nathaniel Lovett. 37 y/o, 2B. 2022-2036. .277/.342/.424, 1594 hits, 725 runs, 162HR, 693RBI, 575BB. 1 Gold Glove, 4 All Star teams, 1 Championship with the Thunder in 2031. Led the league in slugging in 2028. Elliot Browne. 39 y/o, SP. 2021-2037. 169-162, 4.06 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.38 WHIP. 1 All Star Game, 2 Championships, both with the Bandits, in 2026 and 2028. Retired with the 5th most strikeouts (2082). Walter Wilkins. 37 y/o, CL. 2025-2037. 50-52, 271 saves, 3.09 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.16 WHIP. Never made an All Star team, but did win 2 Championships, with the Cowboys (2030), and the Roos (2034). Wilkins retired with the 7th-most saves, but would be remembered more as a guy who courted drama when on the field, getting into memorable clashes during the postseason more than once. __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report Last edited by Izz; 12-25-2014 at 06:44 AM.

12-25-2014, 06:41 AM	#264
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2038 Awards 2038 Awards Gold Gloves Pitcher: Sterling Dunlop (Whangarei Sluggers) Catcher: Vince Braddock (Melbourne Aces) First Baseman: Ashley Snijders (Canberra Cavalry) Second Baseman: Edward Bebbington (Auckland Metros) Third Baseman: Ramiro Madrigal (Perth Heat) Shortstop: Jarod Atkins (Christchurch Cowboys) Left Fielder: Michael Robinson (Whangarei Sluggers) Centre Fielder: Marcello Hynes (Canberra Cavalry) Right Fielder: Richard Lewis (Wellington Fury) Rookie of the Year With all the hubbub surrounding him, somehow most forgot that Takashi ‘The Tremendous’ Takeuchi was a rookie. So while it should’ve come as no surprise that he won RotY, it did surprise a fair few, but pleasantly, rather than the usual reaction to unexpected award winners. In his maiden AUNZBL season, the Japanese import put up very impressive numbers, going 19-8, with a 3.10 ERA, a 3.72 FIP, and a 1.08 WHIP. He also proved durable, throwing 241.1 innings. He struck out 137, and had a WAR of 5.9 and a VORP of 57.9. 2nd in the voting was 25 y/o Bandit Benjamin Barclay (.272/.313/.407, 10 triples, 12HR), and 3rd 22 y/o Metros LF Tommy Weichard (.290/.329/.404, 7HR). Skipper of the Year John Saunderson. Who? The quiet skipper of the Bandits, who had taken them to 90-win seasons 3 of his 4 years in charge. While they lost to division rivals Newcastle in the Championship, Brisbane’s second-half surge to win the division and then easily dispatch Auckland in the Division Finals kept everybody talking, even once the season was over. Unlike many of the other managers in the big show, Saunderson didn’t provide many sound-bites for media, and generally didn’t make waves. He’d been involved at the top level either as a manager or bench coach since 2024. The Bandits were his 4th major league managing assignment, and the 1st he’d had any real success with. Hurler of the Year Whispers raced around the tables at the Awards’ Dinner that Takeuchi would snare this award too, to become the 1st pitcher to win both RotY and HotY the same year. The whispers weren’t entirely accurate. Takeuchi did make the final ballot, but 20-game winner Allan Koka was the winner. Aside from going 20-5, Koka had a 2.21 ERA, a 3.30 FIP, and a 1.22 WHIP. He struck out 187 in 207.2 innings, and had a 5.6 WAR and a 68.3 VORP. Teammate Brayden Allomes (19-7, 2.44 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) finished 2nd, while Takeuchi was comfortably 3rd. Slugger of the Year There was plenty of debate surrounding this award, with Cavalry fans torn between Snijders and Mildren (some making a case for Ming also), while Rees, Richard Lewis, and Beau Riseley also had a strong group of support. Snijders grabbed the award, marking a Cavalry double-double for HotY and SotY. Snijders played in every game of the Cavalry campaign, hitting .332/.438/.561, with 195 hits, 31 doubles, and 34HR. He also scored 122 runs and drew 105 walks. His WAR was 9.5 and his VORP 85.4. Rex Rees (.332/.456/.576, 33HR) came 2nd, and Alastair Mildren (.305/.388/.562, 45HR) 3rd. __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-25-2014, 06:48 AM	#265
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2038 Career Leaderboards 2038 Career Leaderboards Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-26-2014, 06:32 PM	#266
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	Offseason Offseason 2038 Notes League ERA dropped 10 points in 2038, to 4.16. Batting average remained static, at .264. Notable Club Happenings Cairns Crocs: Interim manager Harrison Baldwin didn’t have his short tenure with the Crocs extended. He, along with the eccentric Clint Blenkhorn, would need to find a new job. Christchurch Cowboys: The Cowboys found themselves in need of a new manager, after Mitch Cornell, who'd skippered the team for 11 years, hung up his strategy board. The 64 y/o said, "I can retire holding my head high, having accomplished nearly everything a manager can accomplish in this great game. It is a bit sad that my final season was the only season the Cowboys had a losing record under my care, but every club has one of those now and again. Despite the drubbing we continually got in the media, I can say with absolute certainty that my lads always did the best they could, and often better than even I expected. It is also with some pride that I retire having only managed at one ball club, but having done so successfully and for over a decade." Cornell had a 1003-780 record as a manager. His only job before coming to Christchurch had been as bench coach of the Aces, where he saw them win the Championship in 2025. While Cornell was regarded as one of the greats, even by begrudging media, he retired with only 1 ring as a skipper. Newcastle Roos: Jit-wei Jiang surprised everybody by announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the season. While Jiang had only managed in the majors 2 years, he had an enviable, and nearly impossible to replicate, 100% success record. Bench coach Cooper Jacobs, who’d been with the Roos for their last 2 Championship wins, and BC with the Venom for 4 years of their impressive stretch prior to that, would take over as manager. In his time managing the Heat, he had led them to 4 of their 6 overall postseason appearances. Sydney Blue Sox: Didn’t renew the contract of their manager, but it didn’t look as if GM Brian Tipping wanted to elevate current BC and 4-time Manager of the Year Gareth Torley into the role either. Wellington Fury: The Fury were on the lookout for a new skipper, pitching coach, and trainer. # 19 Aug: Roos’ owner Vince Jarvis died in a tragic boating accident, shocking all and sundry. His son, Vince Jarvis Jr., immediately announced he would be taking over the reins of the ball club, as well as asking the media and public to give the Jarvis family their space at this difficult time. 45 y/o Jarvis Jr. was said to be lenient and generous, and likely to spend more of his time on the jet-setting circuit than behind a desk. He was certainly in the news more for his romantic liaisons than his business achievements. Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions 1 Apr: Blake Willey (.279/.319/.415, 38HR) agreed to terms on a 4-year extension with Adelaide that would see him there past the 1st year of free agency. 15 Apr: The Thunder and 27 y/o SS Zong-ming Hung (.254/.335/.368, 31HR) worked out a 4-year extension to buy out his arbitration years plus 1st year of free agency. 27 Apr: 29 y/o Axel Kent (25-28, 137 saves) signed on the dotted line to extend his stay with Brisbane for 3 more years. 3 May: This year’s free agents included: 26 y/o Richard Lewis 30 y/o Alistair Mildren 31 y/o Gavin Liddell 25 y/o Burt Bargenquast 32 y/o Joshua Cheadle 31 y/o Russell Puckeridge 29 y/o Haechen Lee 31 y/o Rowan Tamblyn 34 y/o Rodney Bannon 30 y/o Dermott Lawson 35 y/o Roger Wood 34 y/o Yu-hsui Guang 35 y/o Dan Vankrimpen 27 y/o Cameron Waymouth 38 y/o Neil Okolita 33 y/o Charlie Sheelah 36 y/o Arnold Chappell 32 y/o Randolph Anderson 35 y/o Sterling Caporn 32 y/o Marcello Doig 27 y/o Kyle Pratly 35 y/o Stefan Blythe 31 y/o Bradley Hibbert 30 y/o Maurice Toohey 40 y/o Fu Lao 26 y/o Cain Blenkhorn The Fury were the biggest losers, dropping a whopping 15.3 WAR! The Metros lost 12.9. # 11 May: Joshua Cheadle (100-50, 151 sv, 2.97 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) re-signed with the Venom for 3 years. Early indications were he would be in their rotation rather than closing. He had started 5 games for Adelaide in March, going 0-2. 15 May: Gavin Liddell (.295/.356/.382, 45HR) signed with Cairns for 4 years, for big money according to word from insiders, surprising many, as Cairns had registered a 4 million dollar loss at the end of the 2038/2039 season (the AUNZBL required that overall organization accounts be made publically available at the end of each season, though salary specifics remained private). 17 May: The Prospects snared Maurice Toohey (.264/.314/.350, 33HR) on an affordable 2-year deal. 23 May: Charlie Sheelah (50-54, 295 sv, 2.79 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) signed on the dotted line with the Fury. If he saw out the term of his contract he would be in the NZ capital 3 years. 1 Jun: The Bandits went nuts in the Rule 5 draft, acquiring 5 players, most of whom had potential at major league level. 4 Jun: Neil Okolita (143-128, 3.76 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) would get to go around at least one more campaign after signing a 1-year deal with the Fury. 14 Jun: The Cowboys presented closer Dan Vankrimpen (76-69, 313 sv, 3.25 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.15 WHIP), the games active saves leader, to the media. He had signed a 3-year deal, and the 35 y/o said he hoped to hold down the closer’s role for the duration. 18 Jun: Rodney Bannon (121-111, 3.71 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) signed with Melbourne for 2 years. 21 Jun: Stefan Blythe (.272/.319/.424, 142HR) re-signed with the Metros for the 2039 season. 28 Jun: The Prospects continued their tradition of signing the free agents nobody else wanted, inking a 2-year deal with Randolph Anderson (42-70, 4.85 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.43 WHIP). 2 Jul: Arnold Chappell (141-144, 3.97 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.25 WHIP), who’d lost 22 games in 2038, signed with Newcastle for 1 season. He was confident he would put up numbers similar to his 18-9 season in 2035 with the Roos. 16 Jul: The Metros signed Yu-hsui Guang (46-38, 4.45 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.36 WHIP) to a 2-year deal. 31 Jul: Cairns signed 29 y/o SP Gavin Jiang (53-61, 4.72 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 1.42 WHIP) for the 2039 season. 4 Aug: A well-known Auckland-based media personality made the joke on his late night show that “perhaps the Metros had shares in the retirement village industry” after they announced the signing of Fu Lao (183-188, 3.95 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.28 WHIP), who was only a couple weeks off 41 years of age. Asked what kept him playing, Lao replied, “I’d love to be the 2nd pitcher to break the 200-win mark. I know it seems unlikely, but the thought keeps me training and playing hard.” Lao had gone 8-12 in 2038. 4 Aug: As the preseason got underway, the big talking points in baseball media were Richard Lewis and Alastair Mildren, and that they were yet to sign anywhere. Nobody had any inside info on what clubs were talking to them, either. 7 Aug: Kyle Pratly (39-33, 4.17 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.45 WHIP) would wear an Aces uniform for the next 3 years. 13 Aug: Auckland signed Cameron Waymouth (48-64, 55 sv, 4.58 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) to a 2-year deal. 15 Aug: Perth concluded a deal with Rowan Tamblyn (.283/.327/.391, 85HR) for 1 year. 15 Aug: The Fury announced that Burt Bargenquast (.244/.328/.312, 4HR) would wear their colours in 2039. The experts predicted Bargenquast was on the verge of breaking out. 18 Aug: Auckland presented Cain ‘Cheese’ Blenkhorn, nephew of the former Cairns GM, to the media, announcing he’d signed a 1-year deal. Blenkhorn had been plying his trade for Hobart, so had gone mostly unnoticed, but he was said to be very talented, even if his numbers didn’t quite stack up to that assessment at this stage. He was 32-46, with a 5.03 ERA, a 4.79 FIP, and a 1.48 WHIP. 20 Aug: Russell Puckeridge (.270/.328/.499, 78HR) signed with the Aces for the 2039 season. While he hadn’t appeared to have much to say the last couple seasons, most were of the opinion that was more because of the Fury tightening the leash on player interactions with the media than Puckeridge going into his shell. 25 Aug: Cairns signed Marcello Doig (114-94, 3.47 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) to a 1-year contract. 31 Aug: Haechen Lee (.265/.319/.470, 145HR) signed with the Venom for the season. 3 Sep: Lewis and Mildren were still unsigned as spring training kicked off. 16 Sep: Bradley Hibbert (.216/.300/.401, 162HR) signed with Newcastle for the 2039 season. 1 Oct: It took until Opening Day, but Alistair Mildren (.286/.365/.492, 227HR) finally signed a contract. The Sluggers were extremely excited to present him to media wearing their uniform. While he had only agreed to a 1-year deal, they and the media couldn’t stop gushing about what a batting lineup with Rees and Mildren in the meat of it might produce. Notable Trades 28 Mar: Hobart and the Thunder used the furor over the moon base as well as the usual distractions with the playoffs to push through a waiver-wire trade. Hobart sent 27 y/o 3B Lachlan Aitcheson (.261/.307/.358, 27HR career) and their 2037 3rd round draft pick to the Thunder in exchange for 31 y/o SP Bernie Limeburner (86-69, 3.28 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.19 WHIP). 16 Apr: The Cowboys sent 28 y/o 2B Oliver Sharp (.284/.343/.438, 35HR), the 2036 Rookie of the Year, to the Heat in return for 27 y/o RF Phillip Darcy (.264/.316/.384, 16HR) and a pitching prospect. 19 Apr: The Sluggers and Aces reached an agreement whereby Whangarei sent 27 y/o 1B Matthew Tanner (.263/.338/.441, 58HR) to Melbourne in return for a rookie-baller whose potential evened out as below average. 21 Apr: Newcastle agreed to what many called a ‘questionable’ trade with Cairns, sending 25 y/o RF Connor Palmer (.307/.337/.416, 19HR), to the Crocs in exchange for 34 y/o 1B Beau Tyson (.292/.344/.501, 340HR) and a decent pitching prospect. While Tyson certainly had superstar status, his numbers the past 2 seasons had been steadily declining, and it seemed plain to most that he no longer had the power he once had. It was possible Newcastle were hoping Tyson would have a similar effect around the clubhouse that Wilkins had had. 24 May: The Metros acquired 27 y/o Crocs’ backup infielder Phil Acret (.283/.326/.352, 3HR) in exchange for 2 prospects. 26 May: Making the most of the Winter Meetings (though technically they were usually held at the end of autumn), the Metros wheeled a deal with Perth. They sent 29 y/o injury-prone SP Jerry Meehan (46-34, 4.01 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) to the Heat, getting 28 y/o 2B Marcello Bond (.290/.339/.436, 25HR) and a minor leaguer in return. 12 Sep: Hobart and Wellington consummated a trade. Wellington would receive 35 y/o MR/CL Bryan Chin (50-42, 165 sv, 3.51 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) and an 18 y/o international prospect who Hobart had moved from their international complex straight to their AA team. Hobart would get 29 y/o SS Drew Geoghegan (.263/.326/.332, 22HR). Notable Injuries 5 Aug: Next time someone asked Arnold Chappell to be best man at their wedding, he might now think twice before saying yes, or at least review his speech strategy. Chappell mounted the wedding table to give the best man speech at a friend’s wedding this day, but slipped on a plate and crashed to the floor. While the injury to his back wasn’t severe, team doctors restricted him to light activities until spring training. 22 Sep: The Bandits would be without Harley Puckeridge (.256/.309/.434, 265HR) for the season after he tore his posterior cruciate ligament. 26 Sep: Pi-ao Ming (.314/.367/.516, 92HR) would miss at least the 1st month of the season thanks to a fractured rib. 27 Sep: Cowboys’ 2B Kelvin Anderton (.281/.351/.417, 43HR) would sit out up to 5 weeks of the season with a sprained ankle. Other Notes 1 Oct: As of Opening Day, Richard Lewis (.296/.395/.404, 41HR) still hadn’t signed with anyone. Rumour had it 4 teams were chasing his signature, the Sluggers’ amongst that number. Still, the question on everybody’s lips was: why was he taking so long to sign? __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-26-2014, 07:12 PM	#267
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	September 22, 2039 September 22, 2039 The number of people watching the activities of the residents of Victorev's Landing had diminished in the close to 6 months since the base's establishment but, according to official figures, over 500,000 people still tuned in at least once a day to check what was happening. Those who happened to be watching at 10:15 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time (official figures were never released) witnessed one of the biggest tragedies to strike Australian citizens post-War. The remaining footage in the archives (most of it was seized and sealed off by court order) tells a very different story to the movies made on the topic. The movies show the residents of Victorev's Landing fighting to fix the dome breach, sealing the base off section by section, and dying one by one, heroes all. That was not how it happened. While the reason for the breach is accurately portrayed - a meteoroid shower strike - what transpired from there was quite different. In fact, in what was probably a comfort to relatives on Earth, death came quickly to the residents of Victorev's Landing. While there were mechanisms to seal off sections of the base, the strike happened too fast and with too much force for the occupants to have time to seal themselves into a safe place. The atmosphere within the dome was lost in a matter of seconds, and only a few moments later all 25 residents were dead. It was a horrible thing to watch. While the Australian Government managed to distance itself from the tragedy - they emphasized that they held only a minor share in the company who had built the base - they were quick to launch an investigation and point out flaws in the base and dome design. Within the following weeks, measures were passed in Parliament that limited the influence of commercial enterprises in space, and the Australian Space Navy was given much greater authority and room for enterprise. A memorial to the intrepid pioneers who'd built, lived, and died in Victorev's Landing was built outside Kununurra, a town that'd become a thriving city thanks to it being the centre of most space-related research and endeavour. Looking back through the veil of time, we see that Victorev's Landing was primitive and basic. To the people of the 2030's, however, it was a leap forward, challenging many of the preconceptions held about low-atmosphere engineering. While it ended in tragedy, what it accomplished was of great value and in many ways shaped what was to come. And those who built and lived in it? Heroes all, without question. __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report Last edited by Izz; 12-26-2014 at 07:50 PM.

12-26-2014, 10:46 PM	#268
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039 Preseason Predictions 2039 Preseason Predictions The Venom were predicted to return to the top of the Southwest, battling it out for the Division title with, of all teams, the Prospects. The Cavalry, minus Mildren, were picked to finish near the bottom of the heap. In the Northeast, the Roos would take it out easily, according to the experts, with their closest competitors being the Thunder. The Bandits would finish below .500, hampered by all their Rule 5 picks. The NZ would be won at a canter by the Metros, who would finish with the best record in baseball. The Cowboys and Fury would play at .500 or above, but wouldn't challenge. Whangarei would finish at the bottom of the heap. Of course, the preseason predictions were published on the evening of September 30th, before Mildren finalized his deal with the Sluggers. According to the analysts, the Prospects would snare the wildcard to make their 2nd-ever postseason appearance. Bransington, Snijders, and Rees would battle it out for SotY, with Bransington bouncing back from his down 2038 to win the award. Brock Wakely and Young-tae Lee would also have big seasons. 29 y/o Cowboys' SP Brock Humphries (14-11 in 2038, 39-36 overall) would have an outstanding year, winning 17 and the HotY award. Xing-hua Ling of the Roos would have a breakout year, too, as would Metros' signing Cain Blenkhorn. As always, of course, the proof would be, as the old saying went, in the pudding. Or, in baseball terms, 162 games was a long season, and a lot of unexpected things would happen between Opening Day and the end of March. Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-27-2014, 04:54 AM	#269
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - October 2039/2040 Season - October Notable Performances 1 Oct: Dylan Cully picked up his 2039 season where he’d left off his 2038 season, bewildering the Aces and leading the Bandits to an 8-0 shutout victory. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 4. 5 Oct: Bailey Pugsley went 5-6, scoring 3 runs and driving in 5, as well as drawing a walk, as his Roos absolutely decimated the Crocs 26-4. No player on the Roos starting lineup got less than 2 hits. 10 Oct: Burt Bargenquast helped the Fury to a 7-5 victory over Newcastle with a 5-5 effort. 17 Oct: Logan Neilson allowed 4 hits and 4 walks, K’ing 6, to lead the Heat to 4-0 shutout victory over the Bandits. 20 Oct: Randolph Anderson conceded only 3 hits while striking out 6 to ensure the Prospects overcame the Thunder 5-0. 21 Oct: Tristan Dryden went 5-6 as the Venom paralyzed the Cavalry 19-3. He hit 2HR, one of which was a Grand Slam, driving in 7 runs, and scoring 3 of his own. 24 Oct: Clint Gordam went 5-6 in extra innings as his Venom fell to the Heat 7-6. 26 Oct: Hobart’s Brock Blondell picked up his 1st win of the season in style, blanking the Bandits 8-0 on the back of 2 hits and no walks. Blondell took a perfect game into the 6th before Scotty Sheppard doubled. Blondell struck out 5 and threw exactly 100 pitches. 27 Oct: Rhys England shut out the Metros 6-0 on the back of 8 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4. 31 Oct: Randolph McHugh conceded 7 hits and 2 walks, but no runs, as he led the Blue Sox to a 12-0 battering of the Prospects. His shutout drew almost no media attention. Notable Injuries 1 Oct: Vaughan Lockrey would miss 2 weeks after straining his hamstring. 2 Oct: Neil Okolita strained his hamstring also, and would miss a month as a result. 3 Oct: The Metros would be without Chuk-yan Chin for 3-4 weeks after he joined the hamstring strain list. 5 Oct: Carlos Frost sprained his back while pitching for the Thunder and would be out 2-3 weeks. 7 Oct: Canberra SP Ian Zglinicki would be out 4-5 months with a torn labrum. 10 Oct: Closer Brendon Dwyer, the 25 y/o reason why the Venom had moved Cheadle back into the rotation, was set to miss 4 weeks with elbow inflammation. 12 Oct: The Blue Sox would be without RF Wes Norris for 4 weeks after he suffered an oblique strain. 15 Oct: Bailey Pugsley strained his Achilles and would be on the DL 3 weeks. 21 Oct: Rodney Bannon had been moved into the closer role at the Aces, but his new role would be rehab and recovery after he tore a flexor tendon in his elbow. A 7-month DL stint awaited the veteran, who had last pitched as a reliever in 2029. Even he admitted that his time as a ballplayer might nearly be up, saying, “When your fastball is barely hitting 135 kilometres an hour, and you used to throw 150+, you hafta start asking, is it time to move on?” 24 Oct: Harry Leseberg was fast becoming the most injury prone man in baseball. His latest injury, a sore back, would keep him out of the lineup for 1-2 weeks. 29 Oct: Carlos Frost hurt himself again, this time straining his hamstring. He would miss a further 3 weeks. 31 Oct: Maurice Downes, the league leader in walks with 26, would miss 5-6 weeks of the Venom’s campaign while he recovered from a strained oblique. Notable Trades/Signings 5 Oct: The Sluggers were fired up, announcing they’d snared Richard Lewis to a 1 season deal. Lewis took the field for them that night, going 2-5 in a 6-1 victory over Hobart. Month Awards Rookie of the Month: 25 y/o Venom 2B Alan Cobb. .314/.351/.382, 32-102, with 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 7BB. Hurler of the Month: Dylan Cully. 4-1 in 6 starts, with a 0.81 ERA, a 1.95 FIP, and a 0.67 ERA. He struck out 31 in 44.2 innings, and didn’t give up an earned run in 4 of his 6 starts. He also didn’t concede a single HR all month, and only 1 walk, for a whopping 31.00 K/BB ratio. Slugger of the Month: Adelaide’s Manuel ‘Tigger’ Mendoza. The Venezualan had a monster month, hitting .438/.467/.705, 49-112, with 10 doubles, 4 triples, 4HR, 7BB, and 7SB. Media Watch Kelvin Ackland: After a terrible start to the month, he picked it up a bit, finishing with the following stat-line: .239/.269/.409. He collected 21 hits, 6 of those doubles and 3 of the others homers. At month’s end he had 2574 hits, 62 short of seizing top spot from Dermott Ford. Other Notes The Heat and Venom both started off red-hot in October, the Heat finishing the month 1 game ahead. In the Northeast, the Thunder and Bandits were duking it out, the Thunder holding a 1-game advantage. The Roos started off slow, only 1 game off the bottom of the division. Auckland, Whangarei and Christchurch all had a turn in the lead of the NZ at some stage during the month, but it was Auckland who had a 1-game lead over the Sluggers at month’s end, with the Cowboys 1 further game back. Richard Lewis (.365/.466/.542) might’ve had a late start to the season, but his 5 triples led the league, as did his 27 runs scored. Teammate Alistair Mildren (.393/.477/.652, 6HR) led the league in OBP. Perth’s Jing-Zhong Ling (6-0, 1.31 ERA, 1.85 FIP, 1.02 WHIP) won each of his starts in October. Rowan Kalman (2-0, 1.86 ERA, 2.19 FIP, 0.91 WHIP) fell 4 strikeouts short of registering 50 for the month. Thunder closer Vinnie Acheson saved 11 games during the month. Standings, Nov 1 Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-28-2014, 03:15 PM	#270
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - November 2039/2040 Season - November Notable Performances 2 Nov: Richard Lewis became the 1st player in several seasons to hit for the cycle, doing so in a 5-3 Sluggers’ victory over the Heat. His 2-run HR in the 7th tied the game up. 17 Nov: Edward Delaney put out any fire the Heat had this day, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks in a 5-0 Blue Sox shutout victory. He struck out 8 for only his 2nd win of the season. 18 Nov: The Heat got revenge over the Blue Sox the following day, completing a 14-2 trouncing. Vaughan Skuse was one of the batters who cashed in, going 5-5. Notable Injuries 8 Nov: Brisbane 3B Hwen-thiang Guo (.309/.397/.545, 7HR) would be out of commission 5-6 weeks with a sprained knee. 16 Nov: Marcello Bond (.280/.347/.465, 2HR) took a pitch to the face in a Metros' loss to the Bandits. The impact fractured his cheekbone and would see him on the DL for at least 6 weeks. 21 Nov: Luigi Crabtree (4-1, 2.32 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) landed awkwardly attempting to field a ball hit back at him and sprained his ankle. He would miss 4 weeks. 22 Nov: Vaughan Skuse (.302/.361/.439, 3HR) would be out about 4 weeks with a fractured thumb. 24 Nov: Wellington SP Todd Fry (4-3, 3.96 ERA, 4.99 FIP, 1.13 WHIP) was diagnosed with a strained triceps and placed on the DL. He would need 3 weeks recovery. 26 Nov: Marcello Stuart (.327/.360/.506, 6HR) would need 5-6 weeks on the sideline for his fractured rib to mend. 29 Nov: Harry Leseberg (.284/.309/.503, 7HR) would miss another 2 weeks thanks to a latissimus dorsi strain. 30 Nov: Randolph Anderson’s (5-2, 4.24 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.29 WHIP) season was over. He would need 8-9 months to recover from a fractured elbow. Notable Trades/Signings 19 Nov: Auckland and Marcello Bond worked out a 4-year contract extension. 30 Nov: Wes Norris finalized a 4-year extension with the Blue Sox. Month Awards Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb snared this one again. He was better in November than October, too, going 35-103, with 12 doubles and 1HR. His stat-line: .340/.361/.485. Hurler of the Month: 25 y/o Sluggers’ SP Sterling ‘Fearless’ Dunlop. The number 1 draft pick from 2037 went 5-0 from 6 starts in November, with a 1.42 ERA, a 2.99 FIP, and a 1.00 WHIP. He struck out 30 in 38 IP. Slugger of the Month: Newcastle’s Young-tae Lee. Only 23, but already with over 2 years of major league service time, the 3B went .371/.476/.667 in the month, 39-105, with 8 doubles, 4 triples, 5HR, 20BB, and 3 stolen bases. Media Watch Kelvin Ackland: Picked it up in November, going .338/.356/.487. He collected 27 hits, including 3 doubles and 3HR. He now only needed 35 hits for the all-time lead. Other Notes The Venom (14-14) had a par month, at one stage losing 9 on the trot. That being said, at the end of the month they had a 5-game lead in the Southwest, thanks to Perth (8-20) playing like a AAA-team - not helped by a massive injury list. Meanwhile, Canberra went 17-11 to sneak into 2nd spot. In the Northeast, the Thunder (13-15) weren’t terrible but the Bandits (20-8) were great, as were the Roos (19-9). On the morning of December 1, the Bandits held a 5-game lead over the Roos, with the Thunder a further game back. The Sluggers went on a tear in the NZ, going 21-7 to charge out to an 8-game lead. The Metros (12-16) struggled, to fall below .500. The Roos held a 1-game lead over the Cavalry and Thunder in the wildcard, with the Heat 2 games back from 1st. Sluggers’ hitters dominated the batting leaderboards. Richard Lewis (.365/.444/.567, 4HR) led the league in average, OBP, and triples (7), while Alastair Mildren (.339/.424/.665, 18HR) had a league-best slugging, OPS, weighted on-base average (.449), doubles (19), RBI (55), runs (46), isolated power (.326), XBH (37), TB (149), and batter’s WAR (4.1). He was also tied for the lead in HR. Joe Murray Jr. (.311/.351/.469, 5HR), also a Slugger, had 13 stolen bases, also a league best. The pitching leaderboards were a more varied affair. Joshua Farrell (6-2, 2.00 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) had the league’s best ERA, while Rowan Kalman (3-2, 2.63 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 1.10 WHIP), as per usual, had best FIP. He also led the league in strikeouts (81), K/9 (10.13), and pitcher’s WAR (3.0). Dylan Cully (7-1, 2.38 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 0.89 WHIP) had the best WHIP in the AUNZBL, as well as the best BB/9 (0.86), and K/BB (8.25). Allan Koka’s (0-3, 3.53 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.01 WHIP) offense hadn’t backed him up, which was a pity, as opponents were only hitting .198 against him. Central Coast’s Vinnie Acheson continued to lead the league in saves with 18. He had also registered 4 losses. Standings, Dec 1 Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-29-2014, 01:34 AM	#271
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - December 2039/2040 Season - December 2039 #1 Draft Pick 5 Dec: This year’s number 1 draft pick was 22 y/o OF Lindsay ‘Dutch’ Colson. While a very smart guy with a high work ethic, his college teammates didn’t get on with him that well. Not that Colson would’ve cared. The lefthander would go straight into Cairns’ starting lineup, bypassing the minors completely. According to scouts, the kid was major-league ready, with a high contact, power, and patience ceiling. To quickly recap the number 1 draft picks for the last 4 seasons: 2038: SP Sterling ‘Tuna’ Duff. Drafted by Whangarei, and currently closing for their AAA-affiliate. Had already picked up 20 saves, with a 0.45 ERA, a 2.64 FIP, and a 0.84 WHIP. Played A, AA, and AAA in 2038 and would likely find himself in the majors before long. 2037: December 2039 Hurler of the Month, Sterling ‘Fearless’ Dunlop. Drafted by Whangarei. While he wasn’t the hardest trainer out there, he threw 6 pitches, all above average, and had potential to be one of the greats. 2036: SP Bruno ‘Mauler’ Watters. Drafted by the Crocs, and currently in their rotation, but not yet panning out to be the pitcher they’d hoped for. He also had a 6-pitch armory, but 3 of them were average to poor, and he struggled to hit his spots. 2035: OF Marcello Stuart. Drafted by the Aces. A fixture in their lineup, though out injured a bit. Had 2 Gold Gloves to his name in 3 qualifying seasons, as well as an All Star appearance in 2038. Made the jump in 2035 from A-ball to the majors. Had a career stat-line of .283/.327/.459, with 71HR. Notable Performances 7 Dec: Rhys England neutralized the Venom, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk to lead the Aces to a 3-0 shutout victory. He struck out 6 along the way. 9 Dec: Pi-ao Ming went 5-5, including a triple and HR, but his Cavalry succumbed 9-8 to the Bandits. 9 Dec: In the same game, but for the opposite team, Bill Buffey also went 5-5, but his postmatch interview was significantly chirpier seeing as his team won. 18 Dec: Arnold Tipping collected 5 hits from 5 at-bats, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Cowboys narrowly losing to the Roos 5-4. 27 Dec: Blue Sox SS Craig Hardy did his All Star chances no harm, going 5-5 in a 12-2 ransacking of the Prospects. He scored 3 of those runs and drove in 4. 29 Dec: Cain Blenkhorn made the Cavalry look silly this day, restricting them to only 3 hits to help the Metros to an 8-0 victory. He struck out 3 and walked none, and threw only 83 pitches, inducing weak contact on almost every at-bat. 30 Dec: 34 y/o Charlie Sheelah, in a setup role for the Fury in 2039, recorded save number 300, helping Wellington to a 3-1 victory over Hobart. He was the 4th pitcher to make the 300 save mark, and 2nd on the active saves leaderboard behind Vankrimpen. Notable Injuries 8 Dec: Bandits’ 3B Bryan Redelius (.337/.379/.440, 1HR) would be out 2 months with a broken hamate bone. 9 Dec: Zechariah Hutchinson (.320/.381/.577, 16HR) would miss 3 weeks with a strained groin. 12 Dec: Mike Wurfel (.246/.309/.421, 10HR) would be out at least 6 weeks with a hamstring strain. 13 Dec: The Thunder would be without Carlos Frost (1-2, 2.86 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.30 WHIP in 7 starts) for the rest of the season after he tore his labrum. 22 Dec: Tommy Weichard (.287/.346/.459, 8HR), Metros CF, fractured his wrist when he couldn’t drop his hands quick enough on an inside pitch. He faced 4-5 weeks on the DL. 28 Dec: Brisbane’s Benjamin Barclay (.303/.351/.468, 10HR) would miss 2 weeks with a forearm strain. 31 Dec: Manuel Mendoza (.337/.367/.493, 8HR) had reason to be aggrieved after fracturing his foot. He would need 3 weeks recovery but that wasn’t his biggest peeve. 3 days earlier he’d been selected to his 1st All Star Game, but would now be restricted to sitting in the dugout with a moonboot on throughout the festivities. He told reporters, only half-jokingly, that while he was happy he would still get to attend and wear the uniform, he might have to avoid All Star teammate Dylan Cully, who’d thrown the injury-causing pitch, for the duration. 31 Dec: Roland Matheson (.296/.327/.408, 3HR) had been called ‘unlucky’ by commentators, in reference to missing out on the 2039 Australian All Star team. He would also be wearing a moonboot for a few weeks, after getting hit by a pitch in a Heat-Sluggers game. 31 Dec: Bill Bransington (.304/.403/.598, 25HR) would also be watching but not partaking at All Star time after he was diagnosed with knee tendinitis. He would be out 2-3 weeks, which had the potential to rub him out of the HR race. Notable Trades/Signings 3 Dec: 32 y/o Chuk-yan Chin (4-3, 3.90 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.37 WHIP in 2039) signed a 2-year contract extension with the Metros. 12 Dec: In a trade that at first glance significantly favoured the Aces, Whangarei agreed to send 27 y/o LF Joe Murray Jr. (.313/.349/.456, 5HR) and a prospect to Melbourne in return for 26 y/o backup C Vince Braddock (.175/.267/.250, 1HR in 90PA). Sluggers’ GM Sterling Okolita said Braddock was better than his numbers suggested, and would also contribute a lot on the defensive end to improve their pitching. 28 Dec: Wellington sent 25 y/o 1B Li Delzoppo (.268/.307/.333 in 225PA) and a pitching prospect to Perth in exchange for 26 y/o C Glenn Macdormond (.228/.253/.367, 5HR in 186PA). Delzoppo projected to be an excellent contact hitter, but unfortunately lacked the power most clubs wanted their 1B to possess, and didn’t have the defensive skills to play anywhere else. 2039 All Stars Australian All Stars SP Jing-zhong Ling - PER - 10-4, 2.90 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 1.24 WHIP SP Marcello Greenway - ADE - 10-4, 3.57 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.26 WHIP SP Joshua Farrell - ADE - 8-4, 2.45 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.08 WHIP SP Rowan Kalman - CAI - 4-5, 3.30 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 1.12 WHIP SP Bradley Lundgren - WHA - 9-7, 3.62 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 1.32 WHIP SP Randy Coulton - CHR - 8-6, 2.95 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.13 WHIP SP Xing-hua Ling - NEW - 7-3, 3.05 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.04 WHIP MR Rowan Belgrove - CAN- 8-2, 2 sv, 2.94 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 0.98 WHIP MR Steven Atteridge - NEW - 6-0, 2.56 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.14 WHIP CL Luigi Chin - WHA -2-2, 20 sv, 1.93 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 0.73 WHIP CL Axel Kent - BRI - 5-0, 19 sv, 2.70 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.25 WHIP CL Dan Vankrimpen - CHR - 2-1, 13 sv, 2.06 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.19 WHIP C Leo Jiang - NEW - .242/.354/.428, 10HR 1B Alastair Mildren - WHA - .343/.418/.673, 28HR 1B Patrick Gulledge - SYD - .297/.384/.525, 16HR 1B Rich Bannon - WEL - .280/.318/.495, 15HR 2B Bill Bransington - NEW - .301/.403/.599, 25HR 2B Connor Rowling - HOB - .299/.389/.577, 22HR 2B Wally Stapleton - WHA - .317/.345/.425, 4HR 3B Brock Wakely - AUC - .313/.445/.531, 18HR SS Phillip Tinter - CAN - .289/.344/.460, 11HR SS Lou Stapleton - NEW - .289/.371/.401, 5HR LF Beau Riseley - CAI - .304/.348/.518, 19HR LF Joe Murray Jr. - MEL - .314/.351/.474, 7HR LF Alexander Webber - SYD - .276/.326/.497, 15HR CF Blake Willey - ADE - .324/.370/.416, 5HR RF Zachariah Hutchinson - CAN - .320/.381/.577, 16HR RF Harris Baldwin - PER - .287/.348/.451, 7HR NZ & Overseas All Stars SP Dylan Cully - BRI - 9-3, 2.32 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 0.87 WHIP SP Sterling Dunlop - WHA - 9-3, 2.73 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.29 WHIP SP Jorge Juarez - BRI - 9-4, 3.06 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.05 WHIP SP Brock Humphries - CHR - 8-4, 2.88 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 0.95 WHIP SP Luigi Kinnear - CEN - 8-4, 2.68 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 1.17 WHIP SP Bernie Limeburner - HOB - 7-3, 2.90 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.18 WHIP SP Brendan Pengilly - AUC - 6-3, 3.72 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 0.98 WHIP SP Takashi Takeuchi - AUC - 6-7, 3.45 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.13 WHIP MR Quon Chan - WHA - 3-0, 2 sv, 2.72 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 0.97 WHIP MR Andres Romero - CEN - 5-3, 1 sv, 3.20 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.20 WHIP CL Vinnie Acheson - CEN - 2-5, 24 sv, 3.25 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.31 WHIP CL Ben Franks - NEW - 2-2, 19 sv, 3.18 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 1.15 WHIP C Haechan Lee - ADE - .286/.338/.518, 16HR C Danny Goodwin - BRI - .305/.358/.463, 10HR C Russell Saunders - CAI - .273/.349/.477, 11HR 1B Ashley Snijders - CAN - .294/.386/.497, 15HR 1B Beau Tyson - NEW - .296/.332/.457, 8HR 2B Alan Pye - MEL - .304/.331/.385, 2HR 3B Rex Rees - WHA - .292/.418/.500, 17HR 3B Rex Hagerty - WEL - .284/.369/.582, 21HR 3B Young-tae Lee - NEW - .270/.397/.467, 11HR 3B Connor Palmer - CAI - .322/.345/.420, 4HR SS Calvin Garland - SYD - .299/.346/.369, 3HR LF Richard Lewis - WHA - .372/.459/.571, 7HR LF Manuel Mendoza - ADE - .345/.375/.506, 8HR CF Harry Hancock - AUC - .238/.345/.349, 8HR, +14.5 ZR RF Bailey Pugsley - NEW - .292/.348/.345, 1HR RF Olivier Despres - WHA - .279/.358/.394, 4HR Month Awards Rookie of the Month: 23 y/o Thunder 1B Dean Warner. He was .294/.333/.510 in the month, 30-102, with 7 doubles and 5HR. He also sparked a bench-clearing brawl on the 29th of December, charging Arnold Chappell, who got a couple of good punches in before the rest of players arrived. Both Warner and Chappell were currently serving 12-game suspensions. Hurler of the Month: Axel Kent. Going 4-0, with 5 saves in 11 appearances in December, he stood out above all the rest, starting pitchers included. His ERA was 3.09, his FIP 3.46, and his WHIP 1.29. He struck out 14 in 11.2 innings. Slugger of the Month: Sydney SS Will Mossop. While he didn’t quite have the ABs to qualify for the All Star game, he certainly made an impression in December, going 47-118, with 8 doubles, 4 triples, and 10HR. His stat-line was an impressive .398/.419/.788. Media Watch Kelvin Ackland: Dipped in December, going .206/.206/.333 for the month. Still managed to collect 21 hits, though, to take him to 2,622 career. He only needed 14 hits in January to reach top spot. For the season, he was hitting .256/.273/.404, with 69 hits, 13 doubles, and 9HR. Other Notes 13 Dec: In a surprising move, 1st-year Fury skipper Lou Lawman found himself without a job. The Fury were 28-40, and many of the analysts were of the opinion Sterling Pryor was looking to protect his own job. However, signing up Clint Blenkhorn as interim manager might not be Pryor’s best path towards self-preservation. Blenkhorn had never managed a professional baseball team, and his tenure as the inaugural Crocs’ GM didn’t give reason for much hope he would be a successful manager. # The Southwest was turning into an exciting division to watch, with the Cavalry (18-11) continuing their charge to be only 1 game behind the Venom (14-15) by January 1st. The Heat (13-16) continued to slip. The Roos (17-12) were also closing in on the Bandits (15-14) in the Northeast, to be only 3 games off the pace, while the Thunder (14-15) continued to lag, now 7 games back. In the NZ, the Sluggers (18-11) continued to dominate, extending their lead to 11 games. The Metros (15-14) and Cowboys (17-12) both had winning months to push themselves to .500. The Roos and Cavalry were tied in the wildcard stakes, with the Thunder 4 games back, and the Metros and Cowboys a further game behind. Richard Lewis (.367/.458/.576, 8HR) and Alistair Mildren (.336/.412/.658, 29HR) now owned even more of the batting leaderboard top spots. Lewis had the best avg., OBP, the most doubles (26), triples (8), and runs (71), and was tied with Mildren for most hits (116). Mildren owned the lead in the following categories: SLG, OPS, wOBA (.443), HR, RBI (87), ISO (.322), XBH (53), TB (227), and batter’s WAR (5.8). In the other 2 categories, Ramiro Madrigal (.224/.376/.328, 4HR) had the most walks, with 72, and was only 3 walks off 1,000 careers bases bought. Bailey Pugsley (.283/.340/.333, 1HR) had 20 stolen bases to his name, a league-best. Rex Rees (.294/.424/.498, 17HR) was asked his opinion on how the Sluggers’ new recruits were going, and could barely keep still during his answer. “Mate,” he said, “it’s unbelievable. The club did an amazing job to entice these 2 guys here, and you can just see what an effect they’re having on the lads. Everybody’s just feeding off of them, and we’re going from strength to strength. If we keep playing like this, then who knows what we can achieve?” The pitching leaderboards continued to be a varied affair, with all the top performers headed to the All Star Game. Standings, Jan 1 Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-29-2014, 08:20 PM	#272
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - January 2039/2040 Season - January Notable Performances 3 Jan: Logan Neilson shut down the Metros on the back of 5 hits, 2 walks, and 6 Ks. The Heat eased to an 8-0 victory. 9 Jan: Takashi the Tremendous allowed only 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 3, to lead the Metros to 3-0 shutout victory over the Crocs. 10 Jan: David Ladd conceded 2 hits and walked 4 to help the Bandits shut out the Metros 7-0. He struck out 7 along the way. 12 Jan: Xing-hua Ling was sublime on the mound this day, sitting down 15 Prospects' batters on strikes in 7 innings. He allowed only 2 hits (both singles, and both to the same hitter), and walked none. The Roos charged to a 12-0 victory. 12 Jan: 39 y/o Metros' SP Damian Neill, in his 18th season in the bigs, showed he still had a bit left in his arm, shutting down Brisbane 4-0. He allowed only 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 4. 15 Jan: With his single in the top of the 1st, Kelvin Ackland tied Dermott Ford on 2,635 hits. With his 1st-pitch leadoff double in the 8th, Ackland made the top spot on the all-time hits leaderboard his own! 35 y/o Ackland, who’d been having his worst hitting season since his rookie campaign in 2025, was typically tightlipped about the feat. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s nice, I guess. Wish the bat didn’t feel so heavy in my hands, though.” 17 Jan: Richard Lewis was having a year to remember. He went 5-5 this day, including a HR, as his Slugger’s got beat 11-6 by the Venom. 24 Jan: Ashley Snijders became the 1st player since the 2036 season to hit 3HRs in a game. Unfortunately for him, the Cavalry went down 9-8 to the Heat, but fans would remember Snijders’ performance for years to come. 31 Jan: Stephen Snell held his nerve for the Thunder versus the Cowboys, pitching 9 innings of shutout ball, allowing only 6 hits and 1 walk, with 4 strikeouts. The Thunder only won the game in the bottom of the ninth with Kyle Pride’s walk-off single scoring Dean Warner, who was the only runner to cross home plate in the entire game. Notable Injuries 3 Jan: Rex Hagerty (.275/.361/.557, 21HR) twisted his ankle on the basepaths and would need a couple weeks to recover. 4 Jan: Vince Braddock (.219/.306/.325, 2HR), acquired by the Sluggers’ in December, would miss 5 weeks with a latissimus dorsi strain. 11 Jan: All Star Joe Murray Jr. (.318/.350/.477, 9HR) would be on the DL 2 weeks with a strained oblique. 12 Jan: Bruce Acheson (.263/.297/.322, 1HR) also suffered a strained oblique. His was more severe an injury, however, with team medics saying he faced at least 6 weeks on the sidelines. 15 Jan: Zachariah Hutchinson (.305/.367/.542, 18HR) twisted his ankle when fielding a ball and would be out 1-2 weeks as a result. 23 Jan: The Roos would be without the services of 2B Lou Stapleton (.292/.376/.414, 7HR) for about 3 weeks while he recovered from a torn thumb ligament. Notable Trades/Signings 19 Jan: Brisbane moved to lock in 29 y/o Hwen-thiang Guo’s (.270/.345/.446, 8HR in 231PA) arbitration years at an affordable rate, signing him to a 4-year extension. Even so, if rumour was to be believed, he’d be making a tidy packet, with the 4th year apparently a player option if he wanted to test the market. 27 Jan: The Blue Sox shipped 25 y/o All Star SS Calvin Garland (.316/.357/.416, 6HR) to Hobart in return for 2 minor leaguers. Month Awards Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb again. The youngster went .327/.364/.442 for the month, 37-113, with 10 doubles, 1HR, and 6BB. His season average of .344 put him only behind Richard Lewis on the batting average leaderboards. Hurler of the Month: Blue Sock Adam Parsons. In 5 starts the southpaw went 4-0, with an ERA of 1.73, an FIP of 2.65, and a WHIP of 0.96. He threw 36.1 innings and struck out 30. Slugger of the Month: It couldn’t be anyone other than Richard Lewis. The 27 y/o was phenomenal in January, hitting .423/.548/.588, 41-97, with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2HR, 23BB and 7SB. On the year he was hitting .380/.481/.579, with 157 hits, 93 runs, 32 doubles, 10 triples, 10HR, 72BB and 23 stolen bases. Last Year’s Top Players Watch 2038’s Top Rookies 2038 Rookie of the Year, Takashi Takeuchi: While not quite at the giddy heights of his rookie year, Takeuchi was still holding his own. He was 10-9 from 24 starts, with an ERA of 3.67, an FIP of 3.61, and a WHIP of 1.22. Benjamin Barclay: His season had been somewhat disrupted by injury, but Barclay was still putting up decent numbers. .295/.342/.451, 102-346, 57 runs, 11 doubles, 5 triples, 11HR, 47RBI, 24BB, 374PA. Tommy Weichard: Had also had injury issues. .287/.348/.453, 85-296, 48 runs, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 8HR, 32RBI, 19BB, 14SB, 328PA. 2038’s Top Pitchers 2038 Hurler of the Year, Allan Koka: 4-6, 3.48 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.00 WHIP from 24 starts. Not getting the run support he did in 2038. 130 Ks in 137.0 IP. Brayden Allomes: 6-6, 3.94 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.31 WHIP from 23 starts. 107 Ks in 146.1 IP. As with Koka, not getting the run support he had the previous year, and both pitchers didn’t have the same defense behind them either. Takashi Takeuchi: see Rookie notes, above. 2038’s Top Hitters 2038 Slugger of the Year, Ashley Snijders: Fresh off hitting 3HR in a game, Snijders was having a decent, if not game-shattering, year. .294/.388/.518, 128-436, 65 runs, 23 doubles, 25HR, 79RBI, 64BB, 508PA. Rex Rees: Playing for the best team in baseball, alongside the two hottest hitters in baseball, Rees was actually down on his 2038 form. .288/.412/.488, 118-410, 74 runs, 16 doubles, 22HR, 71RBI, 72BB, 498PA. Alistair Mildren: Arguably hotter than last year, though hit a bit of rough form in January. .319/.401/.635, 144-452, 88 runs, 32 doubles, 37HR, 103RBI, 62BB, 516PA. Other Notes While the race in the Southwest continued to look tight, at no time was Adelaide’s (14-14) place atop the pile threatened. Canberra (12-16) dropped back 2 games, while Perth (15-13) climbed their way back to .500. The Bandits (17-11) extended their lead in the Northeast by 1 more game over the Roos (16-12), while the Thunder (18-10) continued to hover within striking distance. In the NZ the Sluggers (17-11) continued on their merry way, even though Auckland’s 16-12 month put them above .500. The Cowboys (9-19) were dismal, dropping into last place in the division. The Roos and the Thunder were the primary teams duking it out for the wildcard, with the Roos holding a 2-game advantage on February 1st. The Cavalry were a further 2 games back. The Metros were 5 games off the Roos, and the Heat 7. Interestingly, the Blue Sox had the 2nd best batting average behind Whangarei's .287, with .281. The batting leaderboards continued to be painted in the colours of the Whangarei Sluggers, with Lewis and Mildren hogging the limelight. Lewis had overtaken Mildren on the batter’s WAR leaderboard, with 7.5 to Mildren’s 6.8. 22 y/o Hobart CF Walter Kneale (.192/.293/.265, 3HR), who had no place anywhere near a major league lineup, had clocked up 162 strikeouts, by far and away the worst mark in the league. Brock Wakely (.289/.428/.499, 23HR) had 90 walks, the AUNZBL’s best mark. Bailey Pugsley (.299/.350/.371, 1HR) had stolen 29 bases, 6 better than his closest competitor. Rowan Kalman (6-6, 2.89 ERA, 2.36 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) had the league’s best FIP, most Ks (162), best K/9 (10.41 - to be the only qualified pitcher above 8.55), and best pitcher’s WAR (5.8). Sterling Dunlop (11-4, 2.92 ERA, 3.25 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) was only allowing 0.40 HR per 9 innings. Acheson continued to lead the league in saves, with 34. He’d also collected 4 wins, but lost 8 games. Standings, Feb 1 Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-29-2014, 11:32 PM	#273
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - February 2039/2040 Season - February Notable Performances 3 Feb: Roland ‘Hardrock’ Matheson of the Heat recorded the season’s 1st 20-game hit streak. 6 Feb: Cairns’ 3B Jian-zhang Kui hit in his 20th straight game. 6 Feb: Matheson’s hit streak was snapped at 22 games. 8 Feb: Kui couldn’t extend his hit streak past 21 games. 11 Feb: Aces’ SP Rex Weichard allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4, to help Melbourne ease past the Sluggers 7-0. 14 Feb: Crocs’ rookie SP, 23 y/o Ted Murray, threw his 1st big-league shutout, allowing 6 hits and no walks for no runs to help Cairns overcome Wellington 4-0. The #3 pick in the 2038 draft struck out 2. 15 Feb: Blue Sox RF Alexander Webber went 5-5 as Sydney beat the Thunder 9-4. 15 Feb: That Blue Sox victory marked their 10th win on the trot. They had a 66-62 record, which was still only good enough for 4th in their division. 18 Feb: The Blue Sox winning streak ended at 12, but they now found themselves in 3rd spot in the Northeast and only 4 games back in the wildcard race. 26 Feb: Ashley Snijders became the latest player to hit in 20 straight games. His streak ended the following night. 27 Feb: Raul Gomez got there, finally! Where? To homerun number 300! He became the 10th player to reach that mark. Earlier in the season he would've been forgiven for wondering if he would ever make it after the Aces consigned him to AAA-ball, before bringing him back to the bigs, and then sending him down again. After getting recalled in late February he decided to get there in a rush, hitting the 5HR he needed in 8 games. He became the 1st foreign-born player to reach the 300 HR milestone. 28 Feb: Will Mossop went 5-5 for the Blue Sox against the Roos, driving in 5 of the Roos’ 8 runs, and helping them to a narrow 8-7 victory. His hits included 2 doubles and a 2-run HR. 28 Feb: February was the month of the 20-game hit streak. Auckland’s Tommy Weichard was the latest player to indulge, reaching the mark in a 6-1 icing of the Heat. Notable Injuries 5 Feb: Canberra closer Kade DeJong (8-4, 19 sv) would play no further role in the Cavalry’s season after he was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. He would be on the DL 2 months. 6 Feb: Venom CF Blake Willey (.309/.353/.397, 6HR) would be out 3 weeks with a strained hamstring. 7 Feb: Mike Wurfel (.248/.306/.416, 10HR) succumbed to injury again, in his only his 9th game back, this time fracturing his finger. He faced another month on the DL. 7 Feb: Prospects SP Jayden Guthrie (8-12, 3.32 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) would miss a month thanks to a sore elbow. 17 Feb: Alan Cobb (.363/.392/.470, 2HR) was likely to miss most of the rest of the regular season due to chronic back soreness. 18 Feb: Marcello Stuart (.344/.390/.550, 12HR from 328PA) was struck down with another injury, this time fracturing his hand. His season was over. 27 Feb: It was possible Rex Hagerty (.275/.362/.531, 27HR) had played his last game of the season after tearing a ligament in his thumb. Team doctors estimated recovery time as 3-4 weeks. Notable Trades/Signings 6 Feb: There was something about Newcastle that its players loved. 29 y/o C Leo Jiang, who would’ve been a free agent at season’s end, signed on the dotted line to extend his stay with the Roos for 4 more years. While Jiang wasn’t having a standout season (.246/.360/.440, 16HR), the Roos rated him highly. Month Awards Rookie of the Month: Alan Cobb did it again, despite injuring himself halfway through the month. In his limited playing time he hit .490/.509/.608, 25-51, with 6 doubles, 2 walks and 1 stolen base. Hurler of the Month: Adam Gillorn. The Bandits’ SP went 4-0 in 5 starts, with a 2.19 ERA, 2.47 FIP, and a 0.97 WHIP. He only walked 4 batters in 37.0 IP, and struck out 29. Slugger of the Month: While Alastair Mildren was fading a bit in the backend of the season, Rex Rees was heating up. In February he went .422/.492/.696, 43-102, with 4 doubles, 8HR, 23 runs scored, and 15BB. Other Notes 2040 was a leap year, and so the killer month of February was a day longer than usual. Southwest Division: The Cavalry (15-12) made their move in February, finishing the month on equal footing with the Venom (12-15). The Heat (15-12) also came a-looking, leaving many commentators wondering if the young Venom team would be able to handle a down-to-the-wire pennant race. Northeast Division: The Bandits (15-12) solidified their spot at the top of this pile, finishing the month 7 games ahead of the Roos (12-15), with the Thunder (12-15) and Blue Sox (20-7) a further 2 games back. NZ Division: The Sluggers (15-12) started the month slow, but finished fast, their magic number down to 7 on March 1st. The Metros (12-15) slipped and, while not out of the running for the wildcard, would need a big month with several other teams faltering to be any chance of postseason ball. Wildcard: The Roos headed the wildcard standings, with the scrapping teams in the Southwest Division facing the prospect of missing out entirely if they didn’t win their division. The Thunder and Blue Sox were only 2 games behind Newcastle, with the Heat a further 2 games back and Auckland another after that. March was shaping up to be an intriguing race to the finish line. Young-tae Lee’s (.309/.428/.514, 22HR) breakout season was being overshadowed somewhat by the Sluggers’ Mildren and Lewis show, but he was still the 1st player to reach the 100 runs-walks double-double. He had scored 101 runs and drawn 105 walks. Lewis (.360/.463/.538, 10HR) and Rees were both good chances of making it, too. Mildren (.314/.392/.614, 43HR) continued to falter in February, only hitting 6HR, to find former teammate Ashley Snijders (.301/.393/.556, 37HR) almost within striking distance. Snijders hit 12HR in February, to go with his haul of 10 in January. Patrick Gulledge (.299/.379/.535, 29HR) might’ve been a little low on the HR boards for his liking for the 2nd season in a row, but he did lead the league in doubles now, with 38. Bradley Lundgren (17-9, 3.49 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) looked likely for 20 wins. Acheson recorded his 40th save for the year on the 24th of February. In his next outing, on the 26th, he blew a save and recorded his 10th loss of the season. Brock Humphries (14-8, 2.93 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) had logged the most innings of anyone in the AUNZBL, having thrown 205.2 by March 1. He was also the 1st pitcher past 200 innings. Standings, Mar 1 Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

12-30-2014, 04:33 AM	#274
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039/2040 Season - March 2039/2040 Season - March Notable Performances 1 Mar: Alistair Mildren belted HR #44, a Grand Slam, as the Sluggers hammered the Crocs 17-3. Baseball outlets immediately began asking whether he could make it to the magic 50. 3 Mar: Weichard's hit streak stopped at 22 games. 4 Mar: Mildren went 3-4 in a 4-2 victory over the Bandits. 2 of his hits were of the HR variety, 1 a 2-run blast, the other a solo shot. He now had 46HRs on the season. 5 Mar: Mildren's 2-run shot in the 4th inning gave him 47HRs on the year. The Sluggers lost a high-scoring affair against the Bandits 12-10. 7 Mar: The Sluggers clinched their division, to give them their 1st-ever trip to the postseason! 13 Mar: Roland Matheson collected his 2nd 20-game hit streak of the season. 13 Mar: He mightn’t have hit a HR in 7 games, but that didn’t mean Mildren was in a slump. He drove in RBI numbers 150 and 151 today in a 9-0 thrashing of Adelaide, to become the first player to ever drive in 150 or more runners in a season! 14 Mar: The Bandits clinched the Northeast. 15 Mar: Matheson’s hit streak was chilled at 21 games. 18 Mar: HR #48 for Mildren, a solo shot in a 3-4 night. The Sluggers won the game 4-2. Mildren was awarded the Player of the Week the next morning, having gone 14-28 over the week. 20 Mar: Mildren’s 2-run HR was the difference in a Sluggers 7-5 victory over Hobart. It was also HR #49. 22 Mar: The Roos clinched the wildcard. The Southwest was still undecided. 23: On the last day of the season, the Cavalry secured the Southwest Division title, beating Perth 5-1. 23 Mar: Leading off the 2nd inning in their game against the Prospects, Mildren was taking huge licks, trying to pull everything. The 5th pitch looked like it might stay fair for a while, but sailed well foul in the end. On the 7th pitch of the AB Mildren made decent contact. The ball again toyed with the foul line, this time just staying fair and just having the legs. 331 feet was pretty short for a HR, but Mildren didn’t care. It was number 50! It was his only hit in the game, but it was possibly the only hit that mattered. The Sluggers busted out with 9 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead and put the game out of reach, thus securing win number 100 for the season, but nobody wanted to talk about that after the game. Mildren gamely tried to deflect the praise, but it was impossible. Finally he said, “Yeah, an amazing year. Unbelievable, really. And I just realized something: the last 4 years, my HRs have gone up in lots of 5. Does that mean I’ll hit 55 next season?” Notable Injuries 5 Mar: The Cowboys lost Tipping (.260/.333/.412, 14HR) for the rest of the season after he sprained his knee. 5 Mar: In a double-whammy, dampened only by the fact Christchurch wasn’t in playoff contention, Kelvin Anderton (.288/.357/.472, 10HR) was diagnosed with a partially torn labrum, thus sending him on an early holiday as well. 6 Mar: The Cavalry were dealt a real blow today, with the news that Allan Koka (4-9, 3.59 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) would be out of the game for 5 months while he had and recovered from surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. While Koka had a poor win-loss record, that was in no way down to his pitching, but rather due to his teammates not pitching up when he was on the mound. 7 Mar: 30 y/o Central Coast bench player Quan ‘Checkmate’ Chang resigned on his baseball career today. He’d been diagnosed with a fractured skull after taking a ball to the head in the outfield on the 3rd of March. Doctors said Chang needed a metal plate inserted and that the physical exertion of baseball was not advised. Chang had a career .244/.302/.362 stat-line in the majors, having played pieces of 7 seasons. 7 Mar: In a further blow to their pennant race, the Cavalry would be without Pi-ao Ming (.302/.332/.450, 14HR) for the rest of the regular season after he herniated a disc in his back. 10 Mar: The injury blows for the teams fighting it out for postseason berths continued. This time the Roos got hit with a double-whammy. First, Andre Maybury (.269/.353/.374, 10HR) was gone for the season with a sprained ankle. 10 Mar: And then they learned Leo Jiang (.244/.354/.441, 20HR) was also out for the rest of the season while he was treated for recurring back spasms. 10 Mar: The Heat lost Luigi Crabtree (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) for the season with a strained hamstring. 13 Mar: Bruce Rollings, an average reliever in the Metros bullpen, didn’t like a story a local news-site published about him. While the actual story is long lost in the ethers, the gist given in other reports was that it was a very negative take on both his talent, drive, greed and people skills. Rollings got so enraged he sought out the reporter. A verbal altercation ensued, and then escalated. Unfortunately for Rollings, the reporter’s chin proved stronger than his hand and he broke his hamate bone. He would be out of action for 7 weeks, just long enough for the assault charges the reporter pressed to pass through the courts. 17 Mar: Gavin Liddell (.278/.345/.337, 2HR) became the latest player to book an early holiday, thanks to a strained back muscle. 24 Mar: Gutting news for Rex Rees (.322/.432/.530, 32HR). He had injured his ankle sliding into base on the 20th Mar and the diagnosis was in: torn ligaments. He would miss the postseason. Rees was understandably upset when talking to press. “This season’s been huge,” he said. “What a ride! But to not be there for the climax of it, well, I’m sure you can think of some comparisons. Me, I’m just gutted. Absolutely gutted. I’ll be cheering the lads on, of course, but I can’t believe I won’t be playing.” Other Notes The following records were broken in the 2039 season: HR - Alistair Mildren, 50 RBI - Alistair Mildren, 159 Total Bases - Alistair Mildren, 407 OBP - Richard Lewis, .463 Runs - Richard Lewis, 135 Triples - Richard Lewis, 16 Alistair Mildren (.330/.408/.637, 50HR) topped the league in SLG, OPS, wOBA (.432), doubles (42), HR, RBI, ISO (.307), XBH (94), total bases (407), and batter’s WAR (10.1). He was 2nd in batting average, hits (211), and runs (122). Richard Lewis (.361/.463/.537, 12HR) topped the league in average, OBP, hits (213), triples, and runs. He was 2nd in OPS, wOBA (.428), and batter’s WAR (9.3). Any other year, Young-tae Lee (.314/.432/.521, 182 hits, 117 runs, 121BB, 29 doubles, 8 triples, 25HR, 29SB, 8.8 WAR) would’ve been a favourite for SotY, but he wasn’t on any analysts’ lips this season. Both Lee and Lewis achieved the runs-walks double-double. Brock Wakely (.274/.409/.482, 31HR) drew the most walks of anybody in the AUNZBL, with 123. Beau Riseley (.302/.350/.491, 32HR) was the other player to reach the 200 hit mark, recording 201 hits for the season. Thunder rookie Italian Niccolo Ciaro (.336/.370/.390 in 308PA) showed a propensity for stealing, finishing with 35 stolen bases from 43 attempts in only 77 games. Bailey Pugsley (.282/.338/.360, 2HR) finished 1 better, with 36SB, but that was in 138 games. Bradley Lundgren (19-10, 3.52 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) only won 2 games in March to fall short of the 20-win mark. He still recorded 4 more wins than his closest rival. He also broke the 200 K mark, finishing with 201 strikeouts. Rowan Kalman (10-7, 2.92 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) had the league’s best FIP, most Ks (218), best K/9 (10.27), best K/BB (6.23), and best pitcher’s WAR (8.1), however it was doubtful he would make the final HotY ballot. Who would, though, was up for much debate. Lundgren was the favourite, but not outstandingly. Acheson finished with 43 saves, only recording 3 in March. Whangarei’s Luigi Chin had caught up to him by the end of the regular season, also finishing with 43, plus the chance to strut his stuff in the playoffs. Standings, EORS Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

01-04-2015, 06:19 AM	#275
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039 Division Finals - Newcastle Roos vs Whangarei Sluggers 2039 Division Finals - Newcastle Roos vs Whangarei Sluggers The 2039 season was a fairy tale for the Sluggers. In only their 4th season in the AUNZBL they won 100 games to finish with the best record in the bigs, which easily got them to their 1st ever postseason, with their players smashing records left, right and centre. Owner Larry Diprose, an unabashed baseball fanatic, got himself a ton of airtime over the second half of the season, mostly semi-quoting his own words from the beginning of 2036, when the Sluggers’ arrived in the AUNZBL: “I have no doubt we will be a Championship-calibre team within 5 years.” Diprose, though, could take no credit for being the architect of this remarkable run, but to his credit he was more than willing to lavish praise on GM Sterling Okolita and 1st-year manager Nigel Lumby, though a lot of the experts were uncertain they deserved much credit either. Whatever the case (debate still raged at season’s end over whether the signings of Mildren and Lewis was a ‘perfect storm’ scenario - though positive rather than catastrophic - or whether their 1-year contracts were the result of savvy manoeuvring by the management of a small-market team), the Sluggers had scored the most runs in 2039 by a long way (892), had the best batting average (.289), best OBP (.369), and most HRs (192). Their opponents, the Newcastle Roos, had an 88-74 regular season record, but they had something the Sluggers didn’t: Championship victories the previous 2 years. They were 2nd behind the Sluggers in runs scored (827), and had the 9th-best defense to the Sluggers’ 7th-best. The 1 area they excelled was stealing bases, their mark of 194 the best in the AUNZBL. The Sluggers weren’t a stealing team, even though Richard Lewis was 1 of the best. They’d stolen a total of 67 bases, 29 of those to Lewis. Even with the Sluggers’ amazing season, most analysts predicted the loss of Rees would upset the team balance too much, and the Roos’ team, who knew how to get it done, would get this one done in 4 or 5 games. Game 1 Newcastle put underperforming Edwin Haynes (7-13, 5.15 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.51 WHIP) on the mound against Sterling Dunlop (14-6, 3.30 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.31 WHIP), in his first ever postseason appearance. Both starting pitchers were up for this one. Neither team scored until the 4th inning, when Young-tae Lee punched one 430 feet over left centre to make it 1-0. The score stayed at that mark until the bottom of the 7th, when the Sluggers manufactured an equalizer (BB, popup F2, single, F8 - runner tags up at 2nd, rbi-single, K). Haynes left in that 7th inning, having thrown 6.1, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5. Dunlop lasted 7 full innings, also allowing only 5 hits, plus 1 walk. He struck out 7, and looked right at home on the playoff mound. The scores remained locked through 9, before Newcastle's Michael Robinson pulled one into the leftfield stands in the top of the 10th to make it 2-1. Arnold Chappell, moved from the rotation to closer for this series, as was Newcastle’s tradition, needed only 5 pitches for the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the inning. Then a run of 3 singles (Wally Stapleton, Lewis, Mildren) broke up Chappell’s save and tied the score again. Top of the 12th, the score still 2-2, and Michael Robinson belted another one deep to left centre. More than deep enough, as it turned out, for his 2nd HR of the night, once again giving Newcastle the lead. Wally Stapleton led off the bottom of the inning with a triple wide of the centrefielder. Regular season Roos’ closer Ben Franks was on the mound now and struck Lewis out swinging. He fought with Mildren for 7 pitches (4 of them fouled off) before Mildren popped up to 2nd. Mid-inning substitute Xavier Cutler then struck out to end the game. 3-2 victory to the Roos. Bailey Pugsley pulled up sore in the 11th after leading off with a double. He was diagnosed with a tight back, and would be day-to-day for a few days. Game 2 Cody Wood (11-12, 3.81 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) v Bradley Lundgren. Mid-season acquisition Vince Braddock got the scoring underway in the bottom of the 2nd with a solo shot. The Sluggers would’ve added another but pinch runner Wesley Waterson got thrown out at home trying to score from 2nd. He was in the game because Mario Martinez pulled up short after hitting a double and had to leave the game. No diagnosis was immediately forthcoming from medical staff. The Roos went ahead in the top of the 3rd, scoring 2 runs before Whangarei evened it up in the bottom of the inning. Wally Stapleton gave the Sluggers the lead in the 4th with a solo HR. The scoring dried up until the 7th, when the Roos scored 2. Bailey Pugsley, playing in spite of his sore back, got thrown out at home to end the inning and leave the score 4-3 in the Roos' favour. In the 8th the Roos jumped ahead, going single, K, double, IBB, runner scoring off wild pitch followed by 2-rbi single, pitching change, K, K. 7-3 Roos. The Sluggers couldn’t bring any back in the bottom of the inning, and Newcastle couldn’t add any in the top of the 9th. Franks came out to pitch the bottom of the 9th, Vince Braddock leading off. He doubled down the rightfield line, then Wesley Waterson singled to put runners at the corners. Franks was pulled, replaced by Chappell. Will Dempster struck out swinging, then Xavier Cutler doubled along the ground past 3rd, brining Braddock home. Alan Lumsden, a rookie who’d hit .350/.420/.650 with 8HR in 119 late season PAs, came out as a pinch hitter. He socked the 2-1 pitch deep, deep, deep, gone over right-center for a 3-run HR. Suddenly the game was tied, and 2 batters later was heading to extra innings. Joe Grant went through the Roos’ lineup in order, then Steven Atteridge got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the inning before Vince Braddock swung the 1st pitch of his AB over the leftfield fence for a walkoff HR, his 2nd longball of the night. 8-7 Sluggers to even the series. Lundgren threw 6.1 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk for 3 earned runs. He struck out 8. Wood struck out 6 in 7 innings, conceding 7 hits and 3 walks for 3 earned runs. Game 3 Xing-hua ‘Fury’ Ling (12-7, 3.44 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.15 WHIP), probably the Roos’ best pitcher, would face off against 22 y/o Allan ‘Fate’ Spear (13-11, 5.36 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.53 WHIP) who, while he wouldn’t win it, qualified for Rookie of the Year consideration. Ling was dominant, walking none and only allowing 4 hits in 8 innings. He struck out 6 and only 1 runner made it to 2nd base. Michael Robinson singled Lee home in the 1st to open the scoring, and that was it until the 6th, when Lee led off with a double, and came home off the back of Bransington’s follow-up double. While the Roos had 11 base runners, they could only manage 2 runs, which was enough, as Chappell retired the side in order in the bottom of the 9th to record the save. 2-0 Roos. Spear gave up 9 hits and a walk in 6.2 innings, conceding both earned runs. He struck out 6. Game 4 Prior to the game, Sluggers’ fans got the news that Mario Martinez faced at least 5 months recovery time after scans showed he'd ruptured a tendon in his foot. Haynes v Dunlop, round 2, the Sluggers’ postseason on the line, the Roos on their home court. Lumsden got the Sluggers off to a great start with a 427 foot 3-run blast in the top of the 1st. The Roos chipped away at the lead, scoring in the bottom of the 1st, 2nd and 4th to finally even things up. Haynes left the mound after the 2nd rubbing at his shoulder and didn’t come back out for the 3rd. Medical staff said the injury wasn’t severe, and they would monitor it over the next few days. Richard Lewis led off the 5th with a single. Mildren followed with a double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Lumsden drew a walk, loading the bases with 0 outs. Olivier Despres was sat down on strikes, then Braddock flied out to left. Leo Akhurst, though, singled through the hole between 3rd and short to bring 2 home and make the score 5-3 Whangarei. Tyson led off the bottom of the 7th with a solo HR. Later in the inning Pugsley doubled, then came home on Lee’s single to tie the scores up. In the top of the 9th the Sluggers got 2 baserunners, but couldn’t bring them home. In the bottom of the inning Pugsley singled, but was left at 1st. Into extra innings again! The 10th passed without score. Chappell, who’d thrown the top of the 10th, came out again in the 11th. Stapleton doubled to lead off and Lewis drew a walk. Mildren singled, bringing Stapleton home to give the Sluggers the lead. Lumsden followed with an rbi-single of his own to end Chappell’s stint. Xavier Cutler ground into a double-play, but Braddock launched his 3-2 pitch over right centre for a 2-run HR. 9-5 Whangarei. Regular season starter Mark Jacobs came to the mound in the bottom of the inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Travis Bright, then fought for 10 pitches with Bradley Hibbert before inducing a groundball to 3rd. The double play was turned and Beau Tyson looked spent, striking out on 3 pitches to see the Sluggers win. This was turning into an epic series, the nearly 45,000 in attendance at this game loving every moment. Dunlop was worked over for 77 pitches in 3.2 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 walk for 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. He struck out 2. Luigi Chin picked up a well-deserved win, throwing 2 scoreless innings, while allowing 1 hit. Game 5 Wood v Lundgren, round 2. If ever there was a game for a champion player to leave his mark this was it. Would it be Bransington, Lee, Lewis, Mildren, Lundgren, or nobody? The Sluggers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the 1st, Mildren singling home Lian-wei Chua. In the bottom of the 3rd, they extended their lead further. Vince Braddock’s 1-out single brought Lewis to the plate and he got a pitch to hit, lofting the ball deep to right centre, but Pugsley, recovered from his back issues, climbed the wall to rob Lewis of the HR. Not to worry. Mildren, next up, crushed his 1-0 pitch 446 feet over straightaway centre for a 2-run blast. Lee scored in the 4th, off a 2-out Travis Bright double, to make the score 3-1. The Roos got another back in the 6th (E5, BB, wild pitch advancing runners followed by K, sac-fly, popup F7), but the Sluggers restored the 2-run buffer in the bottom of the inning (double, IBB, rbi-single, 4-6-3 double play, K). In the bottom of the 7th, Chua led off with a solo HR, and 2 outs later Mildren belted his 2nd HR of the night, this one into the top tier of the leftfield stand. 6-2 Whangarei. Bransington got 1 back in the 8th with a solo HR over left, but that was all the scoring, the Sluggers winning 6-3 to make it to the Championship! Mildren was the hero of the day, but Lundgren did his part, too, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5, letting 2 runs score. Only 1 of those runs was earned. Wood got the loss, giving up 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, for 4 earned run. Hurler of the Series went to Lundgren for his Game 5 performance. Xing-hua Ling of the Roos could still consider himself unlucky after his masterful Game 3 performance. Alistair Mildren picked up Slugger of the Series. He was .440/.440/.760, with 2HR and 2 doubles. Braddock hit 3HR to go with a .364 BA, certainly justifying his mid-season acquisition while, for Newcastle, Lee went .476/.522/.762. # The morning after the series loss, injured Roos’ reliever Thomas Gulledge announced his retirement from the game after suffering a setback in his recovery from a torn labrum. The 27 y/o suffered the injury in November, and after his 3rd corrective surgery failed decided enough was enough. The Roos hired him on in an administrative capacity, saying they hoped he'd stay with the organization and learn the business-side of baseball. Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report Last edited by Izz; 01-04-2015 at 04:34 PM.

01-04-2015, 07:21 PM	#276
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039 Division Finals - Canberra Cavalry vs Brisbane Bandits 2039 Division Finals - Canberra Cavalry vs Brisbane Bandits The Cavalry were average in most aspects of the game in 2039, but were still good enough to scrap their way to a division win in a 3-horse race. While they conceded 757 runs, to be ranked 10th out of 14 teams, they only allowed 1417 hits (2nd best) for a .255 opponents’ average (also 2nd best). The issue their staff had was with control: they gave up 555 walks, to be ranked 11th in the league. They would be without Pi-ao Ming for the series, but still had the dangerous Ashley Snijders (.301/.395/.559, 42HR) and Zachariah Hutchinson (.292/.354/.505, 27HR), as well as Phillip Tinter (.282/.333/.459, 23HR), who always seemed to perform better than the experts felt he should. Their opponents, the Brisbane Bandits, finished with the 2nd-best record in the majors, and ended the season on a 6-game win streak. Above-average at the plate, where they really excelled was on the mound. They had the best ERA (3.75), had allowed the least runs (645), the least hits (1392), and opponents were only hitting .252 against them, also a league best. To back this up they were a great defending team, with a defensive efficiency of .703, the best in the AUNZBL. They had no major injuries to report, and Bill Buffey (.266/.317/.457, 32HR), who hadn’t made an All Star squad since 2036 despite consistently hitting 30+ HRs a season, was bullish about what he wanted to get out of this postseason. The fiery 1B, who’d been suspended twice during the 2039 season for arguing strike calls, said, “Nothing less than a Championship ring will do. It’s what we deserve.” Game 1 Brayden Allomes (10-11, 3.94 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) took the mound for Canberra, facing off against Adam Gillorn (14-11, 3.43 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.24 WHIP). It wasn’t a happy night for Gillorn. In the 2nd, Tinter led off with a single. Maurice Fowler and Maurice Trew both drew walks to load the bases. Then Zhang Tsao lofted his 2-1 pitch deep over leftfield for a Grand Slam! In the 3rd, Trew hit a solo shot to make it 5-0, and when Tsao reached in the 4th, thanks to an error, Gillorn made his way to the showers. An out later, Tsao would score thanks to a Marcello Hynes triple. Snijders would single Hynes home, and then Hutchinson launched 1 into the centrefield bleachers to make it 9-0, Brisbane’s heads hanging as they left the field at inning’s end. Buffey hit the centrefield wall in the bottom of the 4th, and scored later in the inning, and Brisbane scored 2 more in the 7th, but the game never felt like a contest, the Cavalry running out 9-3 winners. Allomes went 6, conceding 6 hits and 3 walks for 2 earned runs. He struck out 3. Gillorn gave up 5 hits and 2 walks in his 3 innings, for 6 runs, 5 of which were earned. He struck out 2. Cavalry reliever Hayden Henderson slipped while on the mound in the 8th inning and came from the field. He had sprained his ankle, and would be hampered over the next week, but okay to pitch if necessary. Game 2 Baden Piper (8-12, 4.64 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) versus Dylan Cully (14-9, 3.10 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.07 WHIP). The Cavalry got on board in the 1st, in part thanks to an outfield error, though the run was credited to Cully as earned. Neither team was having much luck getting the ball off the plate, and both teams were skittish in the field. 2 more errors in the 5th led to another Cavalry run scoring. The Bandits could only manage 3 more baserunners in the game (double, single, BB, all in separate innings). Bill Buffey’s 2-out infield single in the 9th was a result of sheer determination, as the 6’4” Buffey ran like most people walked. Final score: 2-0 Canberra to win the 1st 2 away games and put themselves in a very strong position for their home leg. Piper gave up 2 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings, striking out 1, to get the win. 27 y/o closer Rowan Belgrove, who’d moved fulltime into the role in November, notched the save. Belgrove had a regular season record of 10-4, with 22 saves. He also blew 9 save/held opportunities in 2039, most of those when he was a setup man. Cully was as good as usual, allowing only 5 legitimate baserunners in his 7 innings (no walks), striking out 7, but got tagged with the loss. Game 3 Word from supposed Bandits’ insiders was that Buffey and a couple of other senior players spent much of the off-day (travel and all) reading the riot act to the team. Brisbane, the best defensive unit in the comp, had made 6 errors in the 1st 2 games, and generally looked sluggish in the field. Now, in Canberra’s house, they needed to pick it up more than a notch to be a chance. Jorge Juarez (13-10, 3.93 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.13 WHIP) mounted the hill for Brisbane, while Ian Zglinicki (4-2, 3.46 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 1.20 WHIP in 7 starts) did so for Canberra. Both pitchers owned the field during the 1st 6, neither team able to get multiple baserunners on during the same inning. Finally, in the 7th, the dam broke, Zglinicki the unhappy leak. Danny Goodwin hit the 1st pitch of the 7th, a sinker that didn’t sink very much, over the leftfield wall to get the scoring underway. Next up, Bill Buffey followed with another solo HR, also over leftfield, this one making it into the lower half of the 2nd tier. Benjamin Barclay struck out looking, but Hwen-thiang Guo singled between 1st and 2nd to keep the momentum going. Trent Cashmore singled into shallow centre and Guo took on the CF’s arm to hustle into 3rd. Not that his hustle mattered in the end. Bryan Redelius latched onto a 2-0 curveball and sent it 429 feet over right centre for a 3-run HR. Suddenly the score was 5-0, and Zglinicki was trudging off to the showers. The Cavalry scored in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-1, but they couldn’t pull any closer, and the Bandits couldn’t pull any further away. 5-1 Bandits, and they weren’t out of it yet. Zglinicki’s figures were blown out by that 7th inning. He gave up 6 hits and 2 walks in 6.1 innings, striking out 1. Juarez, on the other hand, was great, going the whole game, allowing only 2 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4. Game 4 Gillorn and Allomes would start once more. Allomes got off to a nervous start. Hong-bin Bao led the game off with a double, advanced to 3rd on Callum Blake’s single, and then scored on a wild pitch. Goodwin ground out, advancing Blake to 3rd. Buffey singled to score Goodwin to make it 2-0. Allomes settled down to strike out the next 2, and left the mound shaking his head and muttering to himself. Gillorn wasn’t much better. Marcello Hynes led off the bottom of the 1st with a single into the hole at short. Nathan Sweetman struck out, but Snijders singled put runners at 1st and 2nd. Hutchinson did better than single, though, driving a 1-0 fastball into the leftfield bleachers for a 3-run HR. 3-2 Canberra. Brisbane evened it right back up in the top of the 2nd, and then the scoring settled down until the 5th. Dermott Lawson singled to start the inning off. Bao ground out, and Blake’s single saw runners at the corners. Goodwin hit a strong line drive, but only as far as the rightfielder’s glove. Rookie Yue-jiu Chin came out to relieve Allomes, and saw the 3rd pitch of his outing rocket off Buffey’s bat and into the leftfield stands. 3-run HR, and the score was now 6-3 Brisbane. The Cavalry continued to struggle offensively, unable to score another run. The Bandits added 1 more in the 9th to finish up 7-3 winners, evening the series. Allomes conceded 8 hits and no walks in 4.2 innings, striking out 2 and giving up 5 earned runs. Gillorn got the win, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk in 6.1 innings. 3 Ks and 3 earned runs. Game 5 Back in Brisbane for the decider, both teams closed themselves off to media, the Bandits hoping to continue their momentum, the Cavalry hoping to regain some. Piper and Cully would renew their series rivalry. Both teams remained locked at zero through the 1st 4. In the 5th, the Cavalry put together a run of single, single, single, rbi-single, K, rbi-single, rbi-single, sac-fly, rbi-single, ground-out U6 to bat around and score 5. But any confidence they might’ve got from gaining a sizeable lead disappeared in a hurry. In the bottom of the inning Barclay led off with a double, and came home on Guo’s single. Then Cashmore thumped the 1st pitch of his AB 413 feet over rightfield for a 2-run HR, followed by Redelius lofting the 1st pitch of his AB 414 over right-centre for a solo HR, bringing the score back to 5-4. Both teams continued jousting without adding to their tallies until the 8th. Bao led off with a double, and came home 2 batters later off a Buffey single. They then loaded the bases, but couldn’t manufacture a go-ahead run. The Cavalry got 2 baserunners in the top of the 9th, but couldn’t score, a feat replicated in the bottom of the inning by Brisbane. 5-5, and into extra innings in Game 5! The epic battle continued. 10th: no score. 11th: no score. 12th: no score. 13th: no score. 14th: no score. Top of the 15th: Trew singles with 2 outs, but Zhang Tsao grounds out back to the pitcher to end the inning. Bottom of the 15th: Buffey leads off with a single wide of the shortstop. Barclay grounds out, advancing Buffey to 2nd. Guo is intentionally walked. Pinch-hitter Naozane Suzuki strikes out. Pinch-hitter Scotty Sheppard walks on 4 pitches. Dermott Lawson hits the 1st pitch of his AB into the hole between 3rd and short. It gets through and Buffey charges home, raising both hands to the fans as soon as he touches home plate, before getting mobbed by his teammates. A 6-5 victory to Brisbane in a 15-inning marathon sees them head to the Championship round for the 2nd successive year! Piper threw 7 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks, K’ing 4, for 4 earned runs. The Cavalry used 7 relievers, Drew Stretton throwing 4 innings and picking up the loss. Cully only threw 4.2, getting worked over for 7 hits and 5 earned runs. He struck out 7, throwing 86 pitches. Brisbane used 5 relievers, with Dan Maltman, a rookie and regular season starter, staying on the mound for 4.2 innings. Hurler of the Series went to Jorge Juarez for his complete game effort which saw Brisbane back into the contest. Bill Buffey won Slugger of the Series. He was .381/.458/.714, with 1 double and 2HR, hitting in each game of the Division Finals. Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

01-05-2015, 07:51 PM	#277
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039 Championship Series - Brisbane Bandits vs Whangarei Sluggers 2039 Championship Series - Brisbane Bandits vs Whangarei Sluggers The Sluggers’ bandwagon was full to bursting. Could the overwhelming crowd favourites win it all in only their 4th year in the competition? Prior to the offseason beginning, fans were canvassed as to which matchup they’d most like to see in the Championship Series. The majority answer was Cavalry-Sluggers. Rumours had abounded throughout the year that Mildren had fallen out with his Cavalry teammates, hence why he’d decided to leave. While Mildren, several of his former teammates, and Cavalry management all come out vehemently denying such a thing, the rumour persisted, and so the fans were keen to see some form of grudge match. However, that wasn’t to be. Still, anticipation for the Championship was high, both teams having fought great battles to get their chance. The best offense versus the best defense, Bill Buffey, who’d hit 5HR against the Sluggers during the regular season, versus Alistair Mildren, who’d homered 4 times against Brisbane during the regular season. The Bandits had won 9 of 12 games against the Sluggers during 2039, and found themselves favourites with the experts heading into the series. Richard Lewis, known for being far less than articulate, had this to say when asked about the Sluggers’ chances: “Yeah, well, y’know, we’ll just have to see how, y’know, it all, uh, goes, like, and, well, let our playing kinda, y’know, talk for us.” Game 1 Brisbane put Juarez on the mound for Game 1, while Whangarei started Jiu-Ling Liao (12-7, 4.83 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 1.27 WHIP), who’d blown 2 save/held opportunities in the Division Finals. Brisbane got the scoring underway in the top of the 1st, Callum Blake doubling, stealing 3rd, then coming home on Danny Goodwin’s single. In the bottom of the 2nd, the Sluggers drew 3 walks to load the bases, but Juarez got out of the jam unscathed. Lian-wei Chua led off the bottom of the 3rd with a double. He thought about going for 3rd but decided against it, in the process pulling up sharply. He limped from the field with, medical staff declared later, a mild calf strain, which would be day-to-day for the next 4 or so days. Olivier Despres subbed on for him. Braddock singled to put runners on the corners, but it looked as if Juarez would get out of this one again as he whiffed Lewis and sat Mildren down on 3 pitches. Wally Stapleton, though, worked the count to 3-2 before singling into leftfield. Despres scored and Braddock, running with the contact, made it to 3rd. He would come home the very next pitch, as Juarez threw one over the catcher’s head to the backstop. 2-1 Whangarei. In the bottom of the 4th, with 1 out, Leo Akhurst singled, Xavier Cutler doubled, then Despres made the most of his entry into the game, lofting his 1-1 pitch 411 feet over rightfield for a 3-run HR. 5-1 Whangarei and Juarez’s night was done. Hwen-thiang Guo got 1 back in the 5th with a solo effort, and the Bandits scored another in the 8th to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the 8th Despres pulled another 1 over rightfield for another HR, this 1 a solo effort. The Bandits (Buffey, Barclay, Guo) surrendered in order to Luigi Chin in the top of the 9th - all 3 outs were groundballs to 2nd - to see Whangarei win 6-3. Liao got the win, giving up 7 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings, for 3 earned runs. He struck out 5. There was a 35-minute rain delay in the top of the 8th. The Bandits ground into 4 double-plays. Game 2 Gillorn versus Dunlop, both players in their 2nd full year in their respective rotations. Both pitchers looked commanding on the mound. The nil-all deadlock was finally broken in the bottom of the 4th. Lewis doubled, advanced to 3rd on Mildren’s ground out, and then Lumsden, who was making a habit of big HRs, launched a 3-1 fastball over rightfield and into the bleachers for a 2-run HR. In the 6th, Dunlop found himself in trouble. Dermott Lawson led off with a single. Bao drew a walk, and Blake singled to load the bases, bringing the meat of the lineup to the plate. However, Dunlop lived up to his nickname of ‘Fearless’, throwing a changeup 1st up to Goodwin, who was late on it, hitting it along the ground directly to the 3B. They went for the triple-play, Akhurst forcing 1 out before flipping it to 2nd. Unfortunately, Blake was too quick and slid in safely, but 2nd still had time to throw it to 1st for a double-play. Lawson did score, but when Buffey hit a weak grounder to 2nd to end the inning, Dunlop walked off looking pleased as punch. 2-1 Whangarei. The score remained 2-1 until the top of the 9th, when Callum Blake got a pitch to pull off Chin, and scraped it over the leftfield fence. Axel Kent retired the Sluggers in order in the bottom of the 9th and the game headed to extra innings. Redelius got on-base for Brisbane in the 10th, but couldn’t get past 1st. Cutler and Chua got on in the bottom of the inning, but Stapleton struck out on 9 pitches and Lewis popped out to keep the game alive. Bao drew a walk to lead off the 11th. An out later, Goodwin singled to shallow right centre. Bao decided to take on Despres’ arm and go for 3rd but was thrown out. He wasn’t happy with the decision, but replays showed it was the correct one. Next up, Buffey hit a firm line drive, but only as far as Despres’ glove. Mildren led off the bottom of the 11th, and fell behind 1-2. However, he patiently watched the next 2 pitches go past outside the zone, and then got a chest-high fastball which he pulled down the leftfield line. He stood watching it, waving it fair, and the ball obliged. Walk-off HR! Final score: 3-2 Sluggers! Gillorn threw 7, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 9, and gave up 2 earned runs. Dunlop only allowed 4 hits in his 6.2 innings, but also conceded 4 walks, for 1 earned run. He struck out 2. Game 3 Whangarei had negotiated their 1st home leg for the best possible outcome, and travelled to Brisbane full of confidence. This pitching battle had all the makings of something spectacular. It would be Lundgren versus Cully. Richard Lewis and Alistair Mildren combined with a single and double to get the scoring started in the top of the 1st. Next up, Lumsden was called out on strikes, frozen up by a massive Cully curveball. He didn’t like the call, though, and got all up in the umpire’s grill. End result: Lumsden got ejected from the game. Moral of the story: You can never win an argument with an umpire. The bottom of the 1st was also full of action. Bao led off with a walk, and Blake followed suit. Lundgren was having real trouble finding his spots as Goodwin also walked to load the bases. Buffey didn’t have the patience of the 1st 3, hitting his 1st pitch to rightfield for a regulation out. Bao tagged up to come home, but once again Despres’ arm proved too strong and he was tagged out. Barclay then tripled over Despres’ head and into the corner, bringing both remaining baserunners home to give Brisbane a 2-1 advantage. Mildren hit a 2-out solo HR in the 3rd to even up the scoreline, and then both teams went into their shells. The Sluggers’ looked like they might break the deadlock in the top of the 9th. With 1 out, Will Dempster singled, and then Akhurst doubled to put the go-ahead run at 3rd, but neither Chua or Stapleton could get the ball outside the infield. In the bottom of the inning, Cashmore singled to lead off, stole 2nd an out later, and advanced to 3rd on a deep fly to right. But Goodwin struck out, and once again the teams headed to extra innings. Lewis singled to lead off the 10th, and stole a base 2 outs later. However, he was left stranded at 2nd as Rory Henderson struck Despres out swinging. Buffey, 1st up in the bottom of the inning, singled to left. He advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, then to 3rd on Barclay’s single. Guo ground-out, the infield playing in, so giving Buffey no chance to head for home. Sheppard was intentionally walked. Redelius hit a loopy fly into shallow right. Despres made a great diving play to catch the ball, but couldn’t get off the ground in time to throw home and Buffey scored to win the game. 3-2 Brisbane! Lundgren walked 6 in 5.1 innings, giving up 4 hits. He struck out 2 and threw 98 pitches. Cully threw 110 pitches in 7.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 walks, with 7 Ks. Henderson got the win, Chin the loss. Game 4 Dan Maltman (10-11, 4.76 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.61 WHIP), who’d thrown 4.2 innings of scoreless ball in the epic Game 5 Division Finals victory, would start for Brisbane. Allan Spear was Whangarei’s choice. Spear only faced 2 batters, recording 1 out, before leaving the mound clutching his wrist. Initial diagnosis was that it wasn’t a major injury, but would hamper his performance for a couple days. Harris Wicks came out to relieve and immediately allowed his inherited runner to score via sac-fly. He then walked Buffey, and watched Barclay slug one into the rightfield stand to make the score 3-0. That was all the scoring until the 6th, Whangarei creating some half chances but unable to convert any of them. In the bottom of the 6th, facing hard-throwing reliever Lien-ying Lung, Goodwin and Buffey both deposited back-to-back fastballs into the bleachers, extending the score to 5-0. Finally, in the top of the 8th, the Sluggers got on the board, Lewis doubling and coming home on Mildren’s single. But that was all they could muster, the Bandits winning 5-1 in a convincing fashion. Maltman got through 5 innings, only coming out of the game thanks to a 58-minute rain delay. He allowed only 2 hits and 3 walks, fanning 2. Game 5 Fans got a chance to see Juarez and Liao lock horns again, this enthralling series tied at 2 each. The Bandits wasted no time in getting on top of Liao, though 2 1st-innings errors by the Sluggers (3B, SS), allowing the 1st 2 hitters (Bao, Blake) onbase, didn’t help. Especially not when Danny Goodwin cracked a 1-1 fastball 433 feet over centre-right to make it 3-0. They added another in the 2nd, another in the 3rd, and 4 more (single, K, BB, single, rbi-BB, F7 after which runner tags up and scores thanks to a wild throw, 2-rbi single, ground out 3-1) to make it 9-0. Did this mean game over for the Sluggers? They came out to bat next inning angry and went BB, steal followed by K, K, rbi-double, BB, rbi-single, rbi-double, 2-rbi single, ground out 5-3. While not bringing it back to neck-and-neck 9-5 was a whole lot better than 9-zip. The Bandits scored another in the bottom of the inning, and then the teams retired in order through the 6th and 7th. In the 8th, Lewis led off with a single, and Mildren hit his 5th HR of the postseason to make it 10-7, and still a game. But Brisbane immediately extended the lead to 4, and Axel Kent only needed 6 pitches to finish the game. 11-7 Brisbane, and they now had a 3-2 advantage heading back to Whangarei. Liao lasted 2.2 innings, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 2, giving up 5 runs, 3 of them earned. Juarez threw 101 pitches in 4.2 innings, conceding 7 hits and 2 BBs for 5 earned runs. He struck out 5. Game 6 Gillorn and Dunlop would renew their acquaintance, the Sluggers finding themselves in an entirely different situation at home this time around. Both pitchers duelled for the 1st 5 before Brisbane went single, single, BB, sac-fly (Goodwin, Buffey, Barclay, Guo) to score in the top of the 6th. Whangarei immediately responded, Akhurst reaching on an error by the 3rd-baseman, and advancing to 3rd on Chua’s single. Stapleton’s double scored both runners, and he came home 2 outs later thanks to a Despres double. 3-1 Whangarei. Bao singled with 1 out next inning, and advanced to 3rd on a Blake double. Dunlop went to the showers, and reliever Alan Harney gave up a 1st-pitch single to Goodwin that saw 2 runners score. Buffey hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, the score 3-3. The scoring stopped again, and when the 9th inning was finished, both teams were still tied. Once more into the breach! The Bandits were retired in order in the 10th, though Guo fought for 10 pitches before popping up to 2nd. The Sluggers only faced 7 pitches in the bottom of the inning. In the 11th, Redelius led off with an infield single. Lawson’s single to right advanced Redelius to 3rd. Bao grounded out to 2nd, who was playing too shallow for Redelius to think about coming home. Blake walked to load the bases, but Goodwin’s liner went straight to short, and Buffey grounded out to 3rd to end the threat. The meat of the Sluggers’ lineup was up in the bottom of the inning, but were retired in order on 12 pitches. Barclay singled to start the 12th inning. Guo attempted a sac-bunt which popped up nicely to the catcher. Cashmore struck out and Redelius hit a regulation fly to left. Despres and Braddock were both out on their 1st pitches in the bottom of the inning, before Dempster showed a calm head and drew a base on balls. Akhurt flied out to center and the game headed to inning 13. Lawson walked, Bao became the 2nd player in as many innings to attempt a sac-bunt only to see it lob to the catcher, and Blake singled. Goodwin crushed 1 to deep center, but not quite out of the yard. It hit the wall and he got himself a double, but more importantly, both runners scored. Buffey went down swinging on strikes, before Barclay singled into shallow left to score Goodwin. Guo ground out, but the damage was done. 6-3 Brisbane. Chua ground out, but Cutler singled. Could Lewis and Mildren get the Sluggers back into this? No. Both grounded out and the game, series and Championship was Brisbane’s! Gillorn threw 5.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 walk, sitting 8 down on strikes. Of the 3 runs scored off him, only 1 was earned. The real hero, though, was Rory Henderson, who threw 3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 2 to get the Championship-defining win. Dunlop conceded 7 hits and 4 walks in 6.1 innings, for 3 earned runs. He struck out 2. Lumsden struck out 5 times, setting a postseason extra-innings game record. Lewis, Mildren and Lumsden were 0-16 in this game. Hurler of the Series went to Rory Henderson, for his game-winning efforts in Game’s 3 & 7. Slugger of the Series was awarded to Goodwin, who went .464/.467/.714, including a 4-7 effort in Game 6. He hit 2HR and drove in 12 runners. For the Sluggers, Mildren hit .320/.393/.800, with 3HR. Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

01-05-2015, 08:05 PM	#278
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	2039 Leaderboards 2039 Leaderboards Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

01-05-2015, 08:34 PM	#279
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	Hall of Fame - Stewart 'Cricket' Warwick Hall of Fame - Stewart 'Cricket' Warwick Only 1 player was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the end of the 2039 season, but it was fitting that the ceremony was all about him. Stewart Warwick, an enthusiastic cricketer who'd turned to baseball post-War, had been in a class of his own for the first few seasons of the AUNZBL. He still held the season records for batting average (.380), slugging (.685), OPS (1.135), WAR (12.2), and VORP (111.5), all reached during his stellar 2022 season, when he also led the league in HR with 46. Stewart was inducted wearing a Cavalry uniform, the team he spent his 1st 7 seasons with, and where he reached heights not replicated elsewhere. Attached Images __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

01-07-2015, 04:34 PM	#280
Izz Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,469	Retirement Class of 2039 Retirement Class of 2039 Among the 2039 retirees were: Roger Wood. 36 y/o, LF. 2026-2038. .297/.339/.439, 2016 hits, 860 runs, 409 doubles, 14 triples, 176HR, 886RBI, 424BB. 6-time All Star, but never collected a ring. Retired as a member of the 2000-hit club, and with the 6th most doubles. Led the league in doubles in 2031. Appeared in 3 postseasons, hitting .319/.373/.489 in 51PA. Gareth Cobb. 40 y/o, RF. 2023-2038. .257/.326/.402, 1809 hits, 918 runs, 332 doubles, 50 triples, 197HR, 917RBI, 698BB, 115SB. 2 Gold Gloves, 2 All Star appearances, 2 Championships (2027, Metros; 2030 Cowboys). Appeared in 11 postseasons, hitting .253/.324/.419 with 11HR. Had 7 career Grand Slams in the majors. Sean ‘Stubblebeard’ Morrow. 39 y/o, CL. 2024-2038. 72-62, 250 saves, 3.22 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 850 Ks in 1069.0 IP. 8 time All-Star and a Championship with the Metros in 2027. Retired 8th on the all-time saves leaderboard, and had appeared in the 9th most games (770). Recorded 49 saves twice in a season (2028, 2031) to sit at 3rd on the season saves record list. Was 2-2, with 7 saves, in 18 postseason games, over 5 campaigns. __________________ Not only do I play OOTP but I also write science-fiction: My Website A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report