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

[Izz]

2044/2045 Season - November

Notable Performances

1 Nov: Karl Bell celebrated his October Hurler of the Month award by pitching a no-hitter today against the Thunder! He took a perfect game into the 5th before walking leadoff hitter Larry Faulkner. That was the only baserunner he allowed, striking out 12 in the 4-0 victory.

2 Nov: Sterling Duff was promoted to the head of Whangarei’s rotation for 2044 and he was making the most of a difficult assignment. This day he recorded win number 4 for the season, doing so by shutting out the Cavalry on the back of 4 hits and 0 walks. He fanned 5 as the Sluggers danced their way to a 10-0 victory.

13 Nov: Duff notched up his 2nd shutout in 3 starts in November, restricting the Thunder to 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7. Whangarei eased to a 6-0 victory.

14 Nov: After losing his last 4 decisions, Dylan Cully threw a strong 7.2 innings to help Whangarei get up 3-2 over the Thunder and record his 3rd W for the season. Even more importantly, this gave Cully win #190 for his career, moving him to 3rd-equal with Fu Lao on the career leaderboard. Asked whether he thought he could make it to 200 wins, Cully chuckled and said, “Looking at my 1st 9 starts of the season, you’d have to say ‘not likely,’ wouldn’t ya? But I’ve got confidence I can. The arm’s getting a bit tired, but I’ve learned to be crafty along with all the rest, so yeah, I think so.” There had been a noticeable drop in Cully’s velocity in 2044, and he’d been tagged so far for 55 hits in 45.0 IP, but if anybody deserved to hit 200 wins, it was Cully. Since coming to Whangarei in 2040 he’d yet to record a winning season in Sluggers’ colours, which was certainly not down to his pitching. If his win-loss columns of the last 4 seasons were reversed, he’d already hold the all-time win record.

26 Nov: Alastair Mildren’s 4th-inning solo HR in a 3-1 win over Wellington was his 15th HR of the year. It was also career HR #440. Only 10 more to get to 450!

30 Nov: The Roos lost in extra innings to the Aces, 7-6, but Mildren got them off to a great start with a 3-run jack in the 1st inning. He moved onto 441 career HRs. He was in 3rd place on the season leaderboard at the end of November.

Notable Injuries

5 Nov: Alastair Tierney (.291/.360/.418, 3HR) was turning into one of those guys who always seemed to be picking up some sort of the injury. The talented 26 y/o had this time been diagnosed with a rotator cuff strain, which would keep him sidelined for at least 6 weeks.

9 Nov: Mike Wurfel only made it back from injury for 5 games before he was struck down again. This time it was a fractured finger that would put him on the DL. He expected to miss 4 weeks.

11 Nov: Cairns and Daniel Jervis (6-2, 2.10 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.97 WHIP) got some bad news today. Jervis required surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. The best case scenario would be 4-5 months recovery time, meaning he would most likely miss the rest of the regular season.

14 Nov: Veteran Cowboys’ OF Charlie Buckland (.236/.294/.350, 1HR), who at 33 y/o was still making a habit of pulling off spectacular outfield plays, found out his season was over. He had a broken bone in his elbow and would be on the DL 8-9 months.

15 Nov: The Metros suffered another infield blow, losing Bill Makepeace (.303/.339/.494, 7HR) for 6 weeks with shoulder inflammation.

16 Nov: Canberra’s Phillip Tinter (.304/.360/.481, 6HR) would be out at least 2 months with a broken bone in his wrist.

21 Nov: October Rookie of the Month Benjamin Ziersch (.337/.355/.528, 7HR) faced 8-9 weeks out of the game thanks to a hamstring strain. Ziersch was leading the league in RBI, with 41.

30 Nov: Martin Valentin (.298/.348/.488, 8HR) fractured his foot and would miss 5 weeks.

Notable Trades/Signings

6 Nov: 28 y/o Brodie Backhouse (3-0, 4sv, 1.20 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) would be eligible for free agency at season’s end, but Hobart locked him in for another year, the 2 parties agreeing to terms on a 1-year extension.

26 Nov: The Sluggers were doing far better than expected, with a 28-24 record, but their focus was still on rebuilding, as demonstrated by today’s trade. 27 y/o Francisco Cortez (.289/.388/.448, 6HR) had been one of their better performers, but he was off to Perth in exchange for 2 prospects.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: While he only played 17 games in the month before being hit by injury, Benjamin Ziersch did enough to win this award for the 2nd month running. He hit .394/.429/.704 in 77PA, 28-71, with 10 doubles, 4HR, 21RBI and 4BB.

Hurler of the Month: The Sluggers’ new closer, 25 y/o Bailey Cleaver, put together an awesome month to win this award. He was 2-0, with 9 saves, in 11 appearances. His ERA was 0.75, his FIP 3.28, his WHIP 0.83. He struck out 15 in 12.0 IP. He was tied for the league lead in saves, with 18 so far for the season.

Slugger of the Month: Melbourne’s Matt Davidson was .340/.445/.650 in November to win SotM. 35-103, with 5 doubles, 9HR, and 22BB, as well as 6SB.

Media Watch

Alastair Mildren: Mildren wasn’t hitting for average in 2044, with a season stat-line so far of .233/.331/.476, but he was hitting them over the fence fairly regularly, averaging 1 HR every 16.44 PA, and 1 HR every 14.19 AB. He had 16 on the year, 9 of those coming in November, and only needed 9 more to be the 1st AUNZBL player to reach 450 career HRs.

Other Notes

Southwest Division: The Venom (18-10) had risen to the top of the Southwest by the end of November, holding a 1-game lead over Hobart (18-10), and a 4-game lead over Canberra (11-17), who had a slippery kind of month.

Northeast Division: This whole division was struggling, with no team over .500 after 2 months. Brisbane were horrible, sinking to a 17-40 record to be playing under .300. The Roos (18-10) had recovered from their terrible start to have the division lead and be 1 game shy of the .500 mark, while Sydney (10-18) had a bad month to fall into 2nd, 1 game off the pace. Cairns (11-17) and the Thunder (13-15) were 2 games back.

NZ Division: Auckland and Christchurch (both 18-10) were still locked at the top of the division, while the Sluggers (16-12) were the surprise NZ packet of November, pushing above .500 and at one stage challenging for the division lead. They finished the month 5 games back. The Fury (10-18) were poor, slipping below .500 and into last spot.

Wildcard: The Prospects were 3 games back, the Sluggers 5, and the Cavalry 6. Auckland and Christchurch had one hand on the wildcard and one hand on their division lead.

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Hong-bin Bao (.353/.415/.556, 10HR) was pushing his free agency value up, leading the league in BA.

Richard Lewis (.344/.443/.488, 6HR) had taken the OBP lead, and had the most hits (74). His career BA was now .322.

Brock Wakely (.330/.436/.614, 17HR) was still the man to beat in the batting stakes. He led the league in SLG, OPS, wOBA (.429), ISO (.284), TB (132), and batter’s WAR (3.9). He was tied with teammate Glen Aitken (.274/.357/.558, 17HR) for the HR lead.

Young Ismael Aguirre (.284/.331/.523, 14HR) had exploded to the front of everybody’s consciousness in 2044. He led the league in RBI (44) and extra-base hits (30). He also led the league in strikeouts, having registered 81 so far.

In his 1st 4 starts of the month, Sterling Duff (6-2, 1.75 ERA, 2.87 FIP, 0.88 WHIP) didn’t allow a single earned run. He came back down to earth a little over his last 2 starts, but was still a league leader in plenty of categories: ERA, WHIP, shutouts, and pitcher’s WAR (2.9).

Takashi Takeuchi (4-5, 3.31 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) was continuing to prove to be a wily campaigner. He was the only qualified pitcher in the league allowing less than 1 walk per 9 innings, just, at 0.99.

Mario Campos had 18 saves, to be tied with Bailey Cleaver at the top of that leaderboard.

Standings, Dec 1

[Izz]

Rumours

A couple rumours began to persistently circulate in December 2044.

The first was that the ASN had launched a colony ship to Mars. A few images had surfaced on the net over the past year of what looked like a sturdy spacefaring vessel in various stages of construction alongside one of the ASN space-stations. Official response from the ASN had been that it was a prototype mining ship. Now, according to interested stargazers, the ship was no longer alongside the space-station, and had been tracked on a path that would take it into Mars orbit. The ASN would neither confirm nor deny.

The second rumour was a lot more anxiety-inducing. Word was a recently-formed European coalition was in the initial stages of WMD (nuclear and biological) manufacture. The coalition hadn't even given itself a name yet, but had already aired a bevy of grudges against all and sundry. Europe, decimated in The War, was still in the very early stages of recovery and could ill afford any setbacks. The Australian military, always on high alert, became even more active, increasing its long-range drone flyovers of Europe to 4 a day.

[Izz]

2044/2045 Season - December

2044 #1 Draft Pick

Canberra had this year’s 1st draft pick, and they went with 19 y/o Tyler Pratly. Pratly was out of Hamilton, and hit over .500 in the 2044 high school year. A catcher, he possessed solid defensive skills, was exceptionally smart and had an amazing work ethic. According to scouts, he breathed baseball. He projected to hit .300 and 25-30HRs a season. Canberra slotted him into their rookie league team.

A quick look at how the previous 4 #1 draft picks were doing:

2043: Rob Lane finished the 2043 season in short-A, and started 2044 in A-ball. He was hitting .287/.360/.437, with 3HR, and may have been looking at a call-up to AA, but the day before this year’s draft he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and would miss the rest of the season as a result.

2042: Sean Carr also finished 2043 in short-A, but started 2044 in AA. He was hitting .267/.323/.467 after a slow start, and on the 28th November had a 5-hit game, including 3HR.

2041: Jack Hale was struggling in his 2nd full season in the majors. Hitting .202/.325/.337, with 7HR, it increasingly appeared that he would be a hitter with a good eye but a limited swing and average power.

2040: Jacob Blanksby was Melbourne’s regular catcher and cleanup hitter. Hitting .298/.403/.543, with 11HR, he was maturing into an excellent all-round hitter, if only average defensively.

Notable Performances

7 Dec: Today was Five-Hit Day. First, 20 y/o Cavalry rookie Manuel Salinas went 5-6, including 2 doubles, as the Cavalry thrashed the wretched Bandits 16-6. The Bandits had lost their last 8.

7 Dec: Then 2 Venom batters cracked the 5-hit mark in a 17-9 drubbing of the Metros. Manuel Gonzales was 5-7, including a solo HR, in the victory. He drove in 5 and scored 3 times. Along with him...

7 Dec: ...Adrian McHugh got in on the act, too, going 5-6, his 1st hit being a triple. For all of that, he only drove in 1 and scored once.

15 Dec: Kane Crossingham went 5-5 to help his Blue Sox overcome the Cowboys 5-4 in extra innings.

17 Dec: There was 16 games in between, but Mildren finally hit HR #442. It was a 3-run effort in a 9-8 Newcastle victory over Adelaide.

21 Dec: Logan Neilson allowed just 6 hits and 1 walk, K’ing 7, to lead the Thunder to a 7-0 shutout victory over the Venom.

23 Dec: Mildren slugged #443 in a 5-3 win over Cairns. His 2-run HR in the bottom of the 8th broke the deadlock and provided the eventual winning margin.

25 Dec: #444 came for Mildren in a 4-0 victory over Hobart. His 2-out 3-run jack in the 8th was the 1st scoring hit of the match.

26 Dec: In most respects, Dylan Cully was having a season to forget. His ERA was over 6.00, and with 10 losses he was right up near the top of that dreaded pitching leaderboard. Today, though, he had a strong 8 inning outing against Perth, conceding only 2 earned runs in a 4-2 victory. The win gave him #191 for his career, moving him into a tie for 2nd on the all-time wins leaderboard.

27 Dec: Mildren had a wow of a game today, going 3-4 with 6RBI in a 12-2 spanking of Hobart. In the 7th inning he hit HR#20 for the season, a 2-run affair. He now only needed 5 to reach the 450 mark.

31 Dec: Mildren hit HR #446 as Newcastle beat Sydney 8-3.

31 Dec: Melbourne’s Gabriel Villegas responded to his All Star snubbing in the best possible way: he shut out the Thunder 6-0 on the back of only 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8. It was his 11th win for the season.

Notable Injuries

7 Dec: 24 y/o Metros 1B/DH Terence Bansfield (.242/.353/.343, 1HR) tore his latissimus dorsi swinging the bat and would be out the rest of the season.

8 Dec: Mike Wurfel (.353/.405/.676, 2HR in 38PA) was having a horror year. Just 3 games back from his last injury he sprained his ankle and would be on the DL another 6 weeks. The 32 y/o said to media he “couldn’t believe his bad luck.” Truth be told, the 145 games he played in 2043 was his highest season total ever, and the last time he’d played over 130 games was in 2035.

9 Dec: Until now, Edward Delaney (7-5, 3.71 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.38 WHIP) had avoided serious injury, no mean feat for a starting pitcher with nearly 13 years of major league service time. However, that streak was over. He found out today he would be out of the game at least 10-11 months while he had and recovered from Tommy John surgery. 36 y/o Delaney, off contract at the end of the season, had just a week prior been talking to media about how he was sure he still had 2-3 years of top flight pitching left in him.

10 Dec: The Metros received another devastating blow today, learning that the usually hardy Richard Lewis (.343/.433/.487, 6HR) would be on the DL 8-9 months while he recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. At the time of his injury, Lewis had a league-best BA.

14 Dec: Wellington’s Angelo Brewster (.284/.367/.442, 5HR) would be out 5 weeks with a torn meniscus.

16 Dec: Aces CF Matt Davidson (.278/.397/.522, 16HR) would miss a large chunk of the rest of the season thanks to a partially torn labrum. Team doctors estimated a 2-3 month recovery time.

Notable Trades/Signings

4 Dec: Still dogged by those domestic abuse claims, 31 y/o Connor Rowling (.238/.314/.422, 9HR) would have to contend with them in a new city. He was off from Hobart to Cairns, along with a suitcase of moolah, in return for 36 y/o MR Paddy Ivory (1-1, 2 sv, 2.86 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.66 WHIP) and a 22 y/o SP prospect who looked like he’d be a gun in a season or 2.

16 Dec: Adelaide and Christchurch reached an agreement, Christchurch shipping 27 y/o 1B Bernie Grinter (.289/.367/.489, 10HR) and cash across the ditch, and receiving 26 y/o CF Clint Ford (.332/.355/.473, 6HR) and a pitching prospect.

2044 All Stars

Australian All Stars

SP Sterling Duff - WHA - 9-3, 1.91 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 0.93 WHIP
SP Xing-hua Ling - SYD - 8-5, 3.44 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.02 WHIP
SP Richard Avery - AUC - 11-5, 3.94 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.30 WHIP
SP Cain Blenkhorn - AUC - 10-3, 2.93 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 0.96 WHIP
SP Cooper Gerlach - HOB - 5-6, 3.66 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
SP Allan Spear - CEN - 6-5, 3.86 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
SP Kelvin Ziersch - WEL - 5-5, 2.01 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 0.92 WHIP
MR Ashley Barry - WEL - 1-0, 1 sv, 0.41 ERA, 2.46 FIP, 0.90 WHIP
MR Danny Chatfield - CAI - 1-1, 1 sv, 0.66 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 0.79 WHIP
CL Bailey Cleaver - WHA - 3-2, 21 sv, 2.08 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.09 WHIP
CL Rowan Belgrove - CEN - 3-3, 17 sv, 3.23 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 1.08 WHIP
CL Lien-ying Lung - CAI - 2-0, 14 sv, 2.20 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.26 WHIP
C Jacob Blanksby - MEL - .300/.393/.531, 13HR
C Zachary Woollett - WHA - .288/.365/.500, 14HR
1B Lindsay Colson - CAI - .344/.419/.590, 19HR
1B Quentin Stennings - WEL - .313/.392/.516, 16HR
1B Alastair Mildren - NEW - .245/.332/.472, 20HR
2B Oliver Sharp - CEN - .297/.340/.421, 2HR
2B Adam Hunt - SYD - .304/.368/.396, 5HR
3B Brock Wakely - CHR - .322/.421/.590, 22HR
SS Benjamin Barclay - NEW - .300/.368/.434, 6HR
LF Hong-bin Bao - BRI - .322/.381/.508, 13HR
LF Greg Stanley - MEL - .326/.379/.522, 14HR
LF Alec Brajak - CHR - .297/.342/.492, 15HR
CF Glen Aitken - CHR - .273/.357/.524, 20HR
CF Nelson Saggers - SYD - .293/.338/.459, 10HR
CF Clint Ford - CHR - .324/.350/.480, 8HR
RF Rhett Kelly - AUC - .309/.390/.376, 3HR, 26SB

NZ & Overseas All Stars

Injury issues meant the NZ All Stars could only name 3 outfielders, and 1 of those outfielders had only played 1 innings in the OF this season. The imbalance of IF to OF drew plenty of chuckles in Australian media, and a couple of the position player inclusions drew outright criticism.

SP Karl Bell - WEL - 12-4, 2.89 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 0.99 WHIP
SP Ramon Dieguez - ADE - 8-4, 3.81 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.18 WHIP
SP Sterling Dunlop - PER - 6-2, 3.20 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.21 WHIP
SP Logan Neilson - CEN - 4-5, 3.12 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
SP Brendan Pengilly - CHR - 7-3, 3.78 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
SP Steven Kadow - CAI - 7-5, 2.83 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.36 WHIP
SP Angelo Pagan - MEL - 10-5, 4.00 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.30 WHIP
MR Arthur Hammer - CEN - 4-1, 2 sv, 2.25 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 0.91 WHIP
MR Jose Cruz - HOB - 3-0, 1 sv, 3.82 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.38 WHIP
CL Mario Campos - MEL - 2-1, 27 sv, 1.66 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.24 WHIP
CL Mario Hernandez - PER - 1-1, 25 sv, 1.33 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 0.89 WHIP
CL Mauro Contreras - AUC - 6-2, 16 sv, 1.85 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 0.69 WHIP
C Kane Crossingham - SYD - .288/.356/.400, 5HR
C Jacob Lindner - CEN - .339/.389/.579, 7HR
1B Matt Panther - AUC - .335/.448/.605, 21HR
1B Ismael Aguirre - CEN - .289/.343/.574, 23HR
1B Ashley Snijders - CAN - .320/.392/.476, 12HR
1B Dean Warner - CEN - .292/.351/.495, 11HR
2B Young-tae Lee - HOB - .291/.403/.440, 7HR
2B Vinnie Widdison - CAN - .318/.341/.527, 13HR
2B Bailey Pugsley - NEW - .310/.348/.364, 0HR
2B Anibal Martinez - AUC - .252/.358/.465, 14HR
3B Manuel Gonzales - ADE - .274/.359/.347, 3HR
3B Juan Salazar - CAI - .234/.322/.456, 16HR
SS Gavin Liddell - ADE - .332/.429/.382, 0HR
LF Manuel Salinas - CAN - .326/.404/.438, 4HR
CF Tommy Weichard - WHA - .277/.336/.399, 9HR
RF Francisco Cortez - PER - .293/.394/.446, 8HR

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Manuel Salinas not only made the All Star Team in his debut season, he also won RotM. He had an incredible month, hitting .415/.488/.528, 44-106, with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 1HR, 16BB and 9SB (he also got caught stealing 8 times).

Hurler of the Month: Melbourne closer Mario Campos. He didn’t allow a single earned run in December, going 1-0, with 10 saves, in 12 appearances. His FIP was 2.39, his WHIP 0.81, and he struck out 14 in 12.1 IP. For the year Campos had 28 saves, 3 clear of the next closest closer.

Slugger of the Month: Lindsay Colson. After a quiet 2043, Colson was having a big 2044. In December he hit over .400, going .402/.454/.735, 47-117, with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 10HR, 26RBI, and 8BB.

Media Watch

Rex Rees: Rex Rees didn’t even get a chance to go to the plate on Opening Day of the BL season. In the top of the 1st inning of the Piratas 1st fixture of the season, against the Rebeldes, Xing-peng Da slid in hard at 2B in an attempt to break up a possible double play. It worked, butu nfortunately for Rees his 39 y/o legs didn’t get as high off the ground as they might’ve a few seasons ago and he clipped Da’s knee and fell, twisting awkwardly in the process. He was helped from the field, the few Piratas fans who’d travelled to watch the game clasping their heads in grief. Fortunately the injury wasn’t severe, the team doctor immediately diagnosing it as ‘back tightness.’ However, it would be enough to keep Rees sidelined until the 16th December.

In his 1st proper game for the Piratas Rees went 1-3, driving in the tying run in the bottom of the 4th. The Piratas went on to win 2-1. He finished December hitting .306/.393/.510, his 15 hits including 3HR.

Other Notes

10 Dec: Connor Rowling wasn’t in a good frame of mind. He not only wasn’t hitting well (.230/.313/.410, 9HR), he’d been forced to pack his bags and move all the way from his beloved Hobart to Cairns, and fans were still booing him every time he went out to bat. In fact, the general consensus among Cairns’ fans following news he was coming to their club was negative.

Whether all that triggered his brain snap or not, we’ll never know. Whatever the case, he charged the mound against Christchurch in the bottom of the 8th with his team ahead 6-1. 33 y/o Randolph McHugh, who’d been enjoying a return to ML-ball after 3 seasons in the minor league wilderness, hit Rowling with his 1st pitch. Rowling didn’t waste time exchanging pleasantries. He just threw the bat down and ran at McHugh. And McHugh didn’t duck. He stood his ground and got a couple body blows in before Rowling tackled him to the dirt. The pair scuffled, both dugouts emptied, and soon there was a pile of grass-stained uniforms and angry expressions where the mound should be.

The end result was a 6-game suspension for both Rowling and McHugh, McHugh adamant after the sentence was handed down that he would appeal. Management must’ve talked him out of it, though, because nothing was never lodged with the Commissioner’s Office.

#

Southwest Division: The Venom (20-9) had jumped out to a 6-game lead at month’s end, the Aces (19-10) and Heat (20-9) also having big months to jump into a tie for 2nd, while the Prospects (13-16) slid into 4th, 8 games back. The Cavalry (12-17) fell below .500 and into last place.

Northeast Division: There were still no teams above .500 in the Northeast, though the Thunder (16-13) were at one stage 6 games above .500 before ending the month on a slide. Regardless, they shared the division lead with the Blue Sox (15-14). The December 1st leaders, the Roos (12-17), had slipped to 4th, 2 games behind.

NZ Division: The Metros (17-12) broke the deadlock with Christchurch (13-16) to have a 4-game lead at month’s end.

Wildcard: The Cowboys led this race by 1 over the Aces and Heat, with the Prospects 3 games back.

#

Rhett Kelly (.301/.381/.373, 4HR) led the league in stolen bases, with 26. Auckland’s signing of him from the wilderness of minor league free agency in 2043 was turning out to be a masterstroke.

Brock Wakely (.334/.431/.619, 24HR) was still topping the league in several categories (SLG, OPS, wOBA (.432), batter’s WAR (5.8)) but was finding Ismael Aguirre (.284/.337/.574, 24HR) to be tough competition. Aguirre topped the league in RBI (73), ISO (.290), XBH (52), TB (206), and was tied with Wakely for most HRs. Aguirre had also recorded the most strikeouts, with 113. He was the only player to have struck out more than 100 times.

Sterling Dunlop (7-2, 3.13 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 1.21 WHIP) led the league in FIP and in K/9 (9.31).

Xing-hua Ling (8-6, 3.92 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) had the league’s best K/BB, with 6.50.

Standings, Jan 1

[Izz]

Kelvin Ackland

Via a press release from his agent, Ackland announced his retirement from professional baseball in early January at 40 years of age, 18 hits shy of 3000. His quest to be the 1st AUNZBL player past the 3000 hit mark meant his career average fell below .300 in his last 2 seasons, and saw him play at 4 clubs across the course of his career instead of just 2 (the majority of his career was spent in Auckland colours).

He did reach the 300 HR milestone, though, and retired as the career leader in games, at-bats, hits, total bases, and doubles. Earlier in the year Mildren overtook him as the all-time RBI leader. Ackland also finished with the 2nd-most singles (2061), to be only the 2nd player to hit more than 2000.

A man who spent most of his career avidly avoiding media attention, the opinion of all who played with or managed him seemed to be that he was "an ordinary guy." He didn't make waves, cause controversy, or really do anything other than play his guts out on the field. He was drafted out of high school in 2023 and finished that season at short-A. He opened the 2024 season at long-A, and then was promoted straight to AAA, before making his big-league debut in 2025. He won Slugger of the Year in 2028, leading the league that year in hits, total bases, RBI, and BA. He won 2 rings, both with Auckland, in 2027 and 2040, and 3 times won the 1B Gold Glove. He also was selected to 8 All Star Games.

Where he'll rank among the greats in generations to come, who knows? But it's safe to say he'll be in the Hall of Fame in 5 years, and when someone does surpass his hits record, well, they'll have earned it. As of his retirement, the closest active player in the AUNZBL (Gavin Liddell) was 580 hits behind and already 37 y/o. Of the other active players, many felt Richard Lewis was a chance to reach 3000 hits, but it remained to be seen how the 32 y/o would return from injury. Ackland had earned his place in AUNZBL history due to longevity and an iron constitution. Indeed, the only injury he ever had that forced him to sit out games was not really an injury at all, but a stomach virus suffered in 2033.

[Trebro]

Ackland looks very much like the type of player that traditional marks would put in the Hall, but how do the AUNLBL feel about advanced metrics? Will they see him as merely a counting stats player? Seems as if his career WAR is a bit low.

[Izz]

Originally Posted by Trebro

Ackland looks very much like the type of player that traditional marks would put in the Hall, but how do the AUNLBL feel about advanced metrics? Will they see him as merely a counting stats player? Seems as if his career WAR is a bit low.

It will be interesting to see how the league views him in 5 years. The tributes flowed upon his retirement, certainly, but once time has passed? We'll have to wait and see.

As of now, he is the all-time hit leader by nearly 350 hits. There are only 2 other players who've made the 2500 hit mark, though there are a couple active players approaching that milestone. Neither of them are a chance to catch Ackland, though. If he'd retired 2 seasons ago he would've still been the career leader in hits, but his average would've been above .300.

Advanced metrics-wise? Only above-average. Interestingly, he ranks 6th all-time on the career WAR board, though he's very likely to get overtaken in the near future by Wakely, and next season by Snijders. Ackland's RC/27 was 5.19, though he ranks 2nd overall in runs created (1443.50), thanks primarily to his longevity. He has a WPA of 12, which ranks him 23rd all-time amongst hitters with over 3000 PA. His OPS+ was only 118. His career strikeout % was 10.4, impressive considering he tops the all-time PA leaderboard with 10779 (being the only player so far to have have over 10000 PA).

The likelihood is he will get into the Hall. At the moment, the AUNZBL is still celebrating achievements more than anything else, and Ackland retired a league-leader in several important categories.

[Izz]

2044/2045 Season - January

Notable Performances

1 Jan: The All Star Game was won 8-3 by the Australian All Stars.

2 Jan: Typically, Mildren seemed to homer in games the Roos won. Not today, though. He got the Roos off to a good start with a 2-run shot in the 1st, but Newcastle went down 5-4 to the tenacious Heat. Mildren now had 447 career HRs.

2 Jan: Andy Scammell of the Roos hit in his 20th straight game. What made his streak really interesting was that he’d only played 20 games in the majors this season, having been called up from AAA on the 10th of February.

2 Jan: Yue-jiu Chin shut down the Fury, conceding just 4 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 4, to help the Aces to a 2-0 victory.

4 Jan: Scammell’s hit streak came to an end at 21 games.

7 Jan: Yang-cheng Liang went 5-5 for the Aces as they cantered to a 10-3 victory over the Venom.

9 Jan: Vinnie Widdison compiled a 20-game hit streak.

10 Jan: In a game that saw 8HRs but no other extra-base hits, Mildren went yard in the 3rd and again in the 7th. His Roos went down 11-9 to the Bandits, but Mildren found himself poised on 449 career HRs.

13 Jan: Juan Ruiz was in command today for the Cavalry versus the Crocs. He struck out 10, allowing only 3 hits and 0 walks in a 6-0 shutout.

16 Jan: Vinnie Widdison made it 25 consecutive games with a hit.

19 Jan: Widdison hit in his 28th straight game, to put him 3rd all-time on the hit streak list.

21 Jan: Widdison fell one short of equaling the 2nd-longest hit streak, ending his run at 29 games.

21 Jan: Mildren did it! His 3-run HR in the 5th inning of an eventual 6-3 victory over Wellington gave him HR #450. He had 60 more HRs than the next-best active AUNZBLer, Patrick Gulledge. After the game, Mildren said, “Y’know, it’s nice to still be able to put them over the fence. I’m getting a bit old now, and I guess I haven’t been hitting overall all that well for the last few seasons, but that feeling when the ball hits the sweet spot... man, I’m sure as hell still glad I can feel that fairly regularly.”

21 Jan: Dylan Cully crept ever closer to 200 wins. He threw 6.1 innings, allowing only 3 hits and 1 ER in a 9-1 victory over the Cowboys, giving him win #5 for the season and #192 for his career. He now owned 2nd spot on the all-time leaderboard outright.

24 Jan: The Prospects were surging, winning their 10th straight, and pushing to within 1 game of the Southwest Division leaders, Adelaide. They lost the following night to break their streak.

26 Jan: Quentin Stennings hit in his 20th straight game. He was currently leading the league in BA.

28 Jan: Perhaps the off-day wasn’t a good thing for Stennings, as he went 0-3 against Hobart, ending his hit streak.

29 Jan: Victor Beltran was one of the bevy of SP the Venom had recruited from the BL. And while the Venom rotation wasn’t blowing everyone away, their ERA of 4.02 was good enough for 2nd in the AUNZBL, and Adelaide currently sported the best record in the league. At any rate, Beltran was on form today, restricting the Cavalry to 3 hits, 1 walk and 0 runs to see the Venom win 4-0. He struck out 4.

Notable Injuries

4 Jan: Auckland were struck with another serious injury blow, this time losing Rhett Kelly (.307/.386/.379, 4HR, 27SB). He strained a hamstring beating out the throw on an infield hit and would likely miss the rest of the season.

21 Jan: Sterling Duff’s (10-7, 3.17 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) stellar season was over. He needed surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow, and was looking at spending at least 4 months on the DL.

23 Jan: Greg Stanley (.322/.370/.539, 21HR) would be gone until sometime in March thanks to a bone spur in his elbow.

30 Jan: Canberra weren’t in the playoff hunt, despite their big offseason, but news that Ashley Snijders (.311/.391/.474, 16HR) wouldn’t play again this season was still a blow to fans. The fan favourite had broken his kneecap. Team doctors estimated a 4-5 month recovery.

Notable Trades/Signings

9 Jan: 28 y/o Yue-jiu Chin (6-7, 4.87 ERA, 4.84 FIP, 1.44 WHIP) must’ve really impressed Roos’ management in his recent shutout win over them, because 1 start later he found himself wending his way from Melbourne to Newcastle. Likely passing him going the other direction were the 2 prospects the Roos traded to get Chin.

10 Jan: Melbourne quickly answered questions as to who would replace Chin in their rotation, today acquiring 31 y/o Juan Reyos (6-8, 5.40 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.59 WHIP) from Whangarei in a straight swap for 31 y/o Jake Mekville (.234/.327/.416, 16HR).

15 Jan: The Aces continued to wheel and deal at the trading table, trying to juggle a rebuilding focus with the fact they were only 3 games back in the pennant race. Today they might’ve achieved a tick on both by trading 34 y/o RF Beau Trew (.256/.309/.400, 7HR in 269PA) and cash to the Heat in exchange for 27 y/o LF Wayne Kneale (.266/.373/.439, 11HR).

29 Jan: The Blue Sox were 2 games back in the low-achieving Northeast and determined to reach the postseason. The Fury were 10 games back in the NZ and while they surely would’ve liked to make the playoffs too, were realistic about their chances. To that end, they agreed to send high-paid 30 y/o Ian Zglinicki (8-8, 4.73 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 1.50 WHIP) and a goodly sum of cash to Sydney in return for average-paid 29 y/o OF Carlos Camba (.210/.234/.319, 2HR in 145PA) and a pitching prospect who had potential to be there or thereabouts in a season or two.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Phil Blanch. The 25 y/o Cairns catcher, acquired partway through the month from the Thunder, went .281/.312/.472 in January, 25-89, with 5 doubles, 4HR, 18RBI, and 3BB.

Hurler of the Month: When asked whether his All Star snub was a driving force in his strong January, Takashi Takeuchi didn’t use his interpreter to reply, immediately responding in English, “Of course.” His defense backed him up, too, and all up he was 6-0 for the month, with a 1.69 ERA, 3.08 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP. He struck out 32 in 42.2 IP, allowing just 10 walks (surprisingly, this was the most he’d allowed in any month so far in the 2044 season).

Slugger of the Month: Would a Crocs’ hitter take this out, to make the treble? No. Quentin Stennings won SotM for January, going .378/.451/.694, 37-98, with 7 doubles, 8HR, and 8BB.

Media Watch

Rex Rees: In what had to be a surprise, Rees didn’t get selected to the 2044 BL All Star Game. He also found himself batting leadoff for the Piratas, a new experience for the veteran. However, Rees was adaptable and, as he said to media, “I’m really only leadoff hitter for the 1st at-bat of the game. After that, depending on how the game goes, I could be hitting anywhere.”

At any rate, Rees was hitting .292/.400/.410, with 4HR, for the year. His Piratas were recovering from a slow start to be only 3 games off the Division lead, trailing the Santiago Agricultores.

Last Year’s Top Players Watch

2043’s Top Rookies

2043 Rookie of the Year, Christos Hutchinson: Currently out injured, Hutchinson was having a solid, if unspectacular, second year. He was hitting .266/.318/.346, 107-402, 49 runs, 15 doubles, 7 triples, 1HR, 26RBI, 22BB, 23SB, 439PA. He was tied for the league-lead in triples hit.

Jacob Blanksby: He was the goods, helping an injury-riddled Aces stay competitive in the Southwest. He was hitting .287/.383/.532, 104-363, with 56 runs, 21 doubles, 1 triple, 22HR, 68RBI, 57BB, from 420PA.

Carl Bristcoe: While scouts said he could hit for average, Bristcoe hadn’t last season, and wasn’t this season. .224/.299/.418, 91-407, 55 runs, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 19HR, 65RBI, 45BB, 3SB, 459PA.

2043’s Top Pitchers

2043 Hurler of the Year, Luke Bodkin: After a terrible start to the year (he lost his 1st 5 decisions) and subsequently missing out on the All Star Game, Bodkin was turning things around, having a strong 5-0 January. For the year he was 11-8 from 24 starts, with a 3.73 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.11 WHIP, and 140 Ks in 152.0 IP.

Cain Blenkhorn: Typically a slow starter, the 2040 and 2043 HotY runner-up made his 1st All Star Game in 2044. He was 11-6 from 24 starts, with a 3.12 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, and 141 Ks from 161.1 IP.

Edward Delaney: The Sydney ace found himself facing a potential year on the DL in early December. Until then he was 7-5 from 14 starts, with a 3.71 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, and 83 Ks from 94.2 IP.

2043’s Top Hitters

2043 Slugger of the Year, Wayne Carson: After starting the year strong, Carson began sliding back down to reality. Still, his 2044 stats were adequate: .292/.342/.423, 129-442, 61 runs, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 11HR, 69RBI, 31BB, 11SB, 488PA.

Pi-ao Ming: Like Carson, he was having an adequate season, but wasn’t his typically brilliant self. .281/.326/.454, 104-370, 46 runs, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 15HR, 57RBI, 26BB, 3SB, 403PA.

Mike Wurfel: Wurfel had so far spent 15 weeks of the season on the DL with various injuries. Currently fit, he had a .371/.421/.714 stat-line, 26-70, with 13 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 5HR, 11RBI, 2BB, from 78PA.

Other Notes

Southwest Division: The Venom (13-15) maintained their lead in the Southwest, but by month’s end it had shrunk to 1 game, the Prospects (20-8) charging hard, and the Aces (16-12) only another 2 games back. The Heat (15-13) were also in the hunt, 1 further game behind.

Northeast Division: Cairns (19-9) had a strong month to push themselves above .500 and 4 games ahead of the Thunder (14-14), who remained 2 games below .500.

NZ Division: The Metros (12-16) had a poor month to drop into 2nd in the NZ, with Christchurch (17-11) taking a 1-game lead.

Wildcard: This was beginning to get interesting, with most of those vying for the wildcard from the Southwest Division. Hobart held a 1 game lead over Auckland, with the Aces 2 games back, and the Heat 3.

#

Francisco Cortez (.297/.387/.486, 16HR), traded from Whangarei to Perth in November, was leading the league in runs scored, with 87.

Another BL import, Manuel Gonzales (.289/.369/.374, 5HR) led the league in stolen bases, having successfully done so 30 times to date. The 35 y/o’s closest non-injured rival was a 37 y/o, Gavin Liddell (.318/.412/.368, 0HR), who’d stolen 26 bases, already more than he’d stolen in a season since 2033.

Sterling Dunlop (12-2, 3.01 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 1.05 WHIP) was on track for a career-defining season. Not only had he only lost 2 games, he led the league in Ks (160), K/9 (9.84), FIP, and pitcher’s WAR (4.6).

Steven Kadow (9-6, 3.47 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.51 WHIP) had conceded more walks (99) than he’d allowed hits (93). The man threw hard and complimented his fastball with a good curve, an excellent changeup and a below-average slider, but he had real trouble finding the plate. No other pitcher had walked as many as him.

Campos continued to lead the league in saves, with 34.

Standings, Feb 1

[darkcloud4579]

This thing is epic

[Izz]

2044/2045 Season - February

Notable Performances

2 Feb: Jerry Meehan found himself back in a starting rotation after several seasons operating out of various bullpens, and was relishing the role. This day he gave up just 5 hits and 1 walk to lead Cairns to a resounding 8-0 victory. He struck out 3.

6 Feb: Wayne Carson’s 5-6, including 2 doubles and a HR, helped the Metros avenge a heavy loss to the Roos the previous night. This game, Auckland ran out 12-1 winners, Carson scoring 2 of those runs and driving in 4.

14 Feb: Thunder OF Larry Faulkner hit in his 20th straight game.

17 Feb: The Venom won 10 straight, in the process regaining the lead in the Southwest from the Prospects. They would lose the following night.

19 Feb: Faulkner made it 25 games in a row with a hit. When his streak began he was hitting .233. Now he was hitting .269.

21 Feb: Michael Fenton went 5-6, including a 2-run jack, as the Prospects pulverized the Roos 24-7.

26 Feb: Faulkner became the 2nd player in 2044 to hit in 29 straight games. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite make it to 30. He finished the game hitting .280 for the year.

28 Feb: 34 y/o Bill Bransington had never looked the same since leaving Newcastle, and 38 y/o Dylan Cully was having a wretched year, his chances of picking up a contract in 2045 looking slimmer and slimmer by the start. Maybe the February heat pushed things over the edge, because today the 2 veterans got themselves in a fight. The dugouts emptied, but it was more because everybody wanted to get a close-up view of the 2 old codgers wrestling. Even though it was all a bit of a jovial affair, the AUNZBL still slapped both of them with 5-game suspensions.

Notable Injuries

21 Feb: The Heat were still very much in the hunt for the postseason, 4 games back in the division race, and 2 games back in the wildcard. Unfortunately Francisco Cortez (.291/.384/.474, 17HR) wouldn’t be in any position to assist in the team’s efforts. He’d ruptured a foot tendon and expected to spend at least 5 months on the DL.

24 Feb: Glen Aitken (.267/.351/.501, 28HR) was potentially out for the rest of the regular season after straining a rib cage muscle.

Notable Trades/Signings

23 Feb: 27 y/o Adam Hunt (.302/.366/.413, 9HR in 2044) signed a 3 year extension with the Blue Sox. Hunt was 40 days off 5 years of ML-service time, so would likely be with the Sox for the 1st 2 years of his free agency eligibility.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: 25 y/o Blair Toohey was the 276th overall pick in the 2038 draft (Round 20, Pick 10). A bit of a late bloomer, he’d flirted with the majors via March call-ups the last 3 seasons, but won a spot as Brisbane’s starting 1B during spring training this year. And at the end of February he was named Rookie of the Month. He hit .333/.412/.515, 33-99, scoring 22 runs, and hitting 9 doubles and 3HR. He also drew 13BB. Bandits management said Toohey hadn’t reached his power ceiling yet, and once he did would be a fearsome prospect for opposition pitchers as he already showed excellent plate discipline.

Hurler of the Month: Logan Neilson was having a fine season. In February he went 4-1 from 6 starts, with a 1.69 ERA, a 3.32 FIP, and a 1.22 WHIP. He struck out 31 in 42.2 IP. He was only allowing 0.41 HR per 9 innings, to be the best pitcher in the league in that category.

Slugger of the Month: Mike Wurfel stayed healthy the whole month, and deservedly won SotM. He went .434/.496/.689, 46-106, with 21 runs, 6 doubles, 7HR, and 10BB. He also stole a base, apparently against his skipper’s orders.

Media Watch

Rex Rees: The Piratas were 4 games back in their division, and Rex Rees found himself back in a more familiar position in the lineup, batting 5th. For the year he was .297/.407/.428, 70-236, with 7HR.

Other Notes

Southwest Division: The Venom (16-10) and Prospects (17-9) finished the month locked together at the top of the Southwest. The Heat (15-11) were 5 games back, but still in the hunt, while the temperature might’ve accounted for the Aces’ (10-16) slide.

Northeast Division: The Crocs (14-12) managed to hold onto the lead in the Northeast, though the Blue Sox (17-9) were finishing the season strongly, closing the gap to 2 games. The Thunder (14-12) made it to .500 by month’s end, and were also still a chance to snatch the division, only 4 games back.

NZ Division: The Cowboys (9-17) wilted under the pressure of the short month, finishing it 8 games behind Auckland (18-8).

Wildcard: The wildcard would probably go to whoever out of the Prospects and Venom missed out on their division crown. The Heat were 5 games back, the Cowboys 8, Melbourne 9, Sydney 10, and the Thunder 12.

#

Brock Wakely (.316/.422/.571, 33HR) still led the league in batter’s WAR (8.5), and wOBA (.413), but had surrendered his lead in the other categories.

The hitter who’d picked up most of those leads was Matt Panther (.328/.434/.576, 30HR), who was fulfilling the promise he’d shown in 2042. The big American 1B led the league in OBP, SLG, OPS, hits (180), and BB (102), and was tied for the league in BA. He needed only 5 runs to make the runs-walks double-double, and also was a near certainty to get 200 hits as well.

Ismael Aguirre (.279/.331/.552, 38HR) was a chance of hitting more HRs than he’d draw walks (38HR to 44BB). He had a 5-run lead in the HR race, as well as leading the league in RBIs (116), ISO (.274), XBH (79), TB (321), and also in strikeouts (174).

Richard Avery (18-10, 3.59 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) notched 19 wins for Cairns in 2043, and looked to go a bit better this season, on track to reach 20 wins.

Cain Blenkhorn (16-7, 3.23 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.04 WHIP) was also an outside chance to hit 20.

Kelvin Ziersch (8-12, 2.64 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 0.95 WHIP) led the league in ERA and WHIP, as well as H/9 (5.74) and OAVG (.183).

Campos had 40 saves, but Perth’s Mario Hernandez was hot on his heels, with 39.

Standings, Mar 1

[Izz]

2044/2045 Season - March

Notable Performances

9 Mar: Bill Bransington brought up HR #300 in memorable fashion: with a Grand Slam! His Bandits’ teammates celebrated the feat by thrashing Newcastle 16-0.

9 Mar: Xadreque Neiva was the starting pitcher in that Brisbane-Newcastle game. He went the whole way, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 10, and said afterwards he wished the rest of his season had been like today. On the year, he’d lost 17 of 30 starts.

10 Mar: Blair Morris went 5-5, including a double and a 3-run HR, but his Aces went down 12-5 to Christchurch nonetheless.

10 Mar: The Bandits lost their 100th game of the season to be an abysmal .329 for the year. On the plus side, they were actually in the red in 2044 as opposed to the last few years, where they’d posted massive financial losses. A couple of astute offseason purchases could well put them back in the mix.

12 Mar: The Metros locked up the NZ Division title, doing so with a 12-6 win over Wellington.

12 Mar: While Wellington might’ve lost against Auckland, young Fury RF Roy Andrews was holding his head high after he put together a 5-5 night.

13 Mar: Richard Avery celebrated Auckland’s clinching of the division title by registering win #20 for the season the following night. In an 8 inning outing, he allowed 7 hits and 1 walk for 4 runs, 3 earned, striking out 3, doing enough to help the Metros get home 5-4.

13 Mar: The Venom and Prospects were having a real dogfight in the Southwest. The Venom held a 1-game lead, and both teams were on a 7-game tear. While each organization was virtually assured of a postseason berth (Hobart would have to lose 9 of the remaining 10 to miss out on the wildcard), it seemed each camp had its eyes firmly on the division prize.

14 Mar: The Venom finally lost one. The Prospects didn’t though, romping to an 11-3 victory over Canberra. Both teams were now locked at the top of the Southwest.

15 Mar: The Prospects lost, and the Venom won, putting Adelaide 1 game closer to the division title. Perth also lost, meaning that both Hobart and Adelaide were guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. The fight for home advantage still raged on.

16 Mar: The Aces went nuts today against the Metros, smashing their way to a 24-11 victory. Wan-ling Tan was one of the chief aggressors, going 5-6, with 2 doubles and a triple, scoring 6 runs and driving in 3. However, he wasn’t the biggest star on the night...

16 Mar: ...Greg Stanley became only the 9th player in AUNZBL history, and the 1st since the 2038 season, to get 6 hits in a game. He was 6-7, including a double and a HR. All up, he scored 5 times and drove in 8.

16 Mar: Things were tied up again atop the Southwest, with the Venom going down 5-4 to Perth thanks to a Burt Lipinski blown save, and Hobart getting up 5-0 over Brisbane, only allowing 3 hits and 2 walks all game.

17 Mar: Hobart and Adelaide remained neck and neck, Adelaide downing Perth 5-0 (SP Ramon Dieguez was pulled 1 out away from a shutout), and Hobart slapping Brisbane down 8-4.

18 Mar: Adelaide routed Perth 10-3, while Hobart overcame Brisbane 4-1. Neither team was giving an inch!

19 Mar: This would probably be Dylan Cully’s last start of the season, and perhaps his last start as a Slugger, and he finished the season on a good note, getting the W next to his name even though he gave up 12 hits and 1 walk in 7.1 IP. He only allowed 3 runs and Whangarei backed him up to see him to an 8-3 victory. Cully now had 193 wins for his career. Would he reach the coveted 200 mark? Most were of the opinion that it was now a bridge too far.

19 Mar: Adelaide finished their series with Perth with a 6-3 win, while Hobart dropped their last game against Brisbane 3-1. Once again, Adelaide had a 1-game lead. There were 4 games left in the regular season.

21 Mar: The Venom kept their noses in front in the Southwest, squeaking past Whangarei 3-2. The Prospects beat the Thunder 7-1 to remain only 1 game back.

22 Mar: Greg Stanley was having a booming March, his 5-5 in this 4-0 win over Newcastle leapfrogging him above Quentin Stennings to the top of the BA board.

22 Mar: Whangarei got up 6-2 over the Venom, while Hobart lit up the Thunder 10-1 to put things back at even.

22 Mar: While all the attention had been on the race in the Southwest, things had been close in the Northeast too, with Sydney always in Cairns' rearview mirror. Today, Sydney were kept scoreless by Brisbane, going down 5-0, while Cairns got up over Wellington 8-6, thus securing the Crocs the Northeast pennant.

23 Mar: Once again the Venom jumped ahead, their 1 run in the 7th enough to beat the Sluggers. The Prospects, meanwhile, blew a 5-run lead in the bottom of the 9th, going down to the Central Coast 8-7. Ismael Aguirre drilled 2HRs in the victory, moving him to 47 for the year.

24 Mar: The equation was simple for Adelaide: win and they snared the Southeast Division title. That’s all they had to do. If they did lose, they had to hope Hobart lost too. The Venom lost, going down 8-1 to a Sluggers team with nothing to play for. And Hobart won, Bodkin throwing a complete game to help his team to a 5-1 victory. A one-off playoff, then, to settle who would get 1st-round home advantage.

25 Mar: All the scoring was done in the 1st 4 innings, Adelaide's 6 runs enough to get them home 6-3 and win the pennant.

Notable Injuries

5 Mar: The slumping Cowboys got some bad news today, learning that OF slugger Alec Brajak (.290/.333/.516, 32HR) would miss the rest of the season thanks to a sprained thumb.

15 Mar: Matt Panther (.323/.431/.568, 32HR) suffered an intercostal strain, thus putting him in doubt for the postseason.

18 Mar: Kelvin Ziersch (9-13, 2.78 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 0.99 WHIP) faced at least a year on the sidelines after tearing his UCL.

Notable Trades/Signings

13 Mar: The Prospects locked in 29 y/o Luke Bodkin (13-11, 3.92 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) for the next 5 years. If he stayed in Hobart for the duration of the contract extension Bodkin would be a 12-year Prospect player.

Media Watch

Rex Rees: On the 15th of March, with 2 and a 1/2 weeks left in the regular season and Georgetown 7 games outside top spot, Rees strained a muscle in his rib cage. He would miss the rest of the season. He was hitting .288/.393/.435, with 10 of his 80 hits of the HR variety.

Other Notes

Greg Stanley’s March charge got him the batting title, and he finished with the stat-line of .337/.380/.562, with 26HR.

Quentin Stennings fans said that he was the real winner, although his BA was 3 points lower (stat-line .334/.403/.568, 36HR) as he’d had around 140 more PA than Stanley. The overall consensus was that the batting title was only a feel-good thing anyway, especially as it didn’t even come with an award.

Brock Wakely (.303/.413/.541, 35HR) sagged in March, but still finished with the best batter’s WAR (8.8), though it was argued that had Panther not injured himself he might’ve run Wakely down. Hypotheticals, hypotheticals! Whatever might’ve happened, it was true that the WAR category was the only one Wakely topped come season’s end.

Aguirre (.282/.333/.570, 47HR) did finish with more walks than HRs, but only by 3. His 47HR was 11 better than the next best. He also finished with the best SLG, most RBI (133), best ISO (.288), most XBH (94), and most bases (380). He fell 3 short of registering 200 strikeouts. At only 20 y/o, analysts and scouts alike were drooling over the possibilities.

Melbourne’s Wayne Kneale (.266/.365/.460, 22HR) scored the most runs in the AUNZBL (118) and hit the most triples (13).

Matt Panther’s injury meant he fell short of 200 hits (193), but he did make the runs-walks double-double (104-112) to be the only player to do so. He also led the league in OBP, OPS, and wOBA (.408).

Quentin Stennings was the only player to break the 200-hit mark, registering 202.

36 y/o Alan Delaney (.302/.339/.451, 7HR) had put together a very strong career, though at times had slipped under the radar. He was heading for 2500 hits, having 2449 career so far, and also had half an eye on the doubles lead, his 520 doubles 80 short of Ackland’s 600. He hit 58 doubles in 2044 to lead the league.

Richard Avery (22-11, 3.69 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) was the only pitcher this season to make it to 20 wins. He also threw the most innings, racking up a total of 258.2.

While Avery would certainly be in the running for HotY, he had stiff competition from Perth’s Sterling Dunlop (17-4, 2.91 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 1.08 WHIP), who had the best pitcher’s WAR (6.4), the best FIP, the most Ks (227), and the best K/9 (10.00).

Campos notched up 46 saves, to top the league. Mario Hernandez was next closest with 45. Neither pitcher would feature in the postseason.

Standings, EORS

[Izz]

2044 Division Finals - Previews

Cairns Crocs vs Adelaide Venom

Cairns: Like last season, the Crocs had reached the playoffs thanks to the league’s best overall defense. They’d allowed the least runs (649), had the best ERA (3.66), and the league’s best rotation (3.73 ERA). Their defensive efficiency (.708) was 2nd-best, and they were known as a team that played defense as a unit, and weren’t afraid to get dirt and grass on their uniforms.

On the other side of the coin, their offense was mediocre. Their BA (.259) was only 10th best, and their OBP (.324) was 12th or, to reverse the standings, 3rd-worst. However, their 205 regular season HRs had them tied for 1st in that category.

Manager Elijah Oliver, in his 1st year skippering the club (he’d been BC the last 2 seasons), was certain they could go one step further this postseason than they had in 2043, saying, “We’ve got a hungry bunch of guys who’ll scrap until the last out is called. We got this.”

Adelaide: Adelaide had won the Championship as recently as 2041, and this year had finished 10 games ahead of their Pythagorean expectation. Venom skipper Mike Barrowcliff, who’d been pitching coach at Canberra the entire time Oliver had been manager, pointed to that fact when questioned about Cairns’ fighting qualities. He said, “If anything, the data suggests they lost a couple they should’ve won. On the other hand, we won a whole lot the stats say we should’ve lost. If it comes down to a wrestling match we’ve got them covered in spades.”

The Venom were indeed middle of the road in a lot of statistical categories. They did have the 4th best BA (.271) and OBP (.335), but they were only ranked 11th in extra-base hits (440), and 9th in HRs (155).

Their bullpen was also a weakness, with an average ERA of 4.72, though their imported rotation (3.82 ERA) ranked 2nd behind Cairns. One area their pitchers excelled at was finding the strikezone; they’d walked only 422 batters during the regular season, the best mark in the league.

Regular season matchups: 7-5 Cairns.

Verdict: Adelaide 3-2.

Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

Hobart: The Prospects were appearing in their 5th straight postseason, and were eager to add another Championship trophy to the one in their cabinet.

With an offense consisting of the likes of Young-tae Lee, Pi-ao Ming, Danny Goodwin (who’d had his worst ever season in 2044), Bob Goldsmith and Alastair Tierney, it was little wonder that Hobart ranked near the top in most offensive categories. Their .272 BA, .340 OBP, and .434 SLG were all good enough for 3rd-best in the league, and their 205HRs put them equal with Cairns as the best longball hitters of 2044.

Their pitching was good, too. They’d allowed the 5th-least runs (708), and had the 3rd-best rotation (4.09 ERA). Overall, Hobart’s pitchers had struck out 1290 batters, more than any other pitching staff.

Auckland: The Metros wanted to go back-to-back. Skipper Vince Dickson, who’d won the Championship his first year at the helm, didn’t duck away from that desire when talking to media. “Yep,” he said, “for sure it’s a driving force. And we’re going to do it, too.”

He had a right to be confident. While his charges didn’t quite reach the same offensive heights as in 2043, and had been without stars Richard Lewis and Mike Wurfel for large parts of the season, they were still the best offensive team by some margin. They had a team stat-line of .290/.361/.445, good enough for 1st in the first 2 categories, and 2nd in the last. They scored 917 runs, more than anybody else, and recorded 1682 hits and 610 walks, also better than any other team. That being said, Auckland would be without the services of Matt Panther for this series, at least, and were also missing livewire Rhett Kelly for the entirety of the postseason.

Where the Metros had a weakness in 2044 was defensively. Their pitching staff was only the 9th-best in the league, with a combined ERA of 4.32. They’d allowed 742 runs (8th-best), and 1561 hits (4th-worst). They’d only walked 423 batters (2nd-best) and had struck out 1141 (3rd-best), but their fielders had a habit of letting their pitchers down, the team’s defensive efficiency only .680, to be ranked 10th out of the 14 teams.

Regular season matchups: 9-3 Auckland.

Verdict: The blockbuster series of the postseason, and one which the Metros would eventually win 3-2.

[Izz]

2044 Division Finals

Game 1 - Cairns Crocs vs Adelaide Venom

The Crocs got on the board 1st, scoring 2 in the 1st and 2nd, before Adelaide evened the score in the 5th. In the 7th, though, Cairns busted out with 4 runs, including a Colson 3-run HR, to put the game out of Adelaide’s reach. The final score was 7-2 Cairns. Ted Murray (8.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K) got the win, while Adelaide’s Pancho Aguilera (6.1IP, 7H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K) took the loss. Bernie Grinter homered for Adelaide, while Terence McLaren also went deep for Cairns.

Game 1 - Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

Game 1 of this series was the Bob Goldsmith show. The strapping young 1B became only the 3rd player in AUNZBL history, and the 1st since 2030, to hit 3HRs in a game. Goldsmith went deep in the 5th, 7th, and 8th innings, driving in 5. He also scored 4 times. Michael Fenton also homered, as did Lee, in the rout. Final score: 14-1 Hobart. Cooper Gerlach’s (8.0IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 6K) fine outing was overshadowed by Goldsmith, and Blenkhorn (4.2IP, 7H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K) was knocked out of the game early.

Game 2 - Cairns Crocs vs Adelaide Venom

Colson’s 2nd HR of the series kicked off the scoring in the 1st, but the game was locked at 3 after 3, thanks to a 2-run Alfredo Carrillo shot. It remained that score until the 8th when Cairns bullied in 2 runs and while Adelaide’s Axel Wakefield hit a solo HR in the bottom of the inning, Cairns would hold on to win 5-4. Teddy Barry (7.0IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 6K) got the W, while 4 pitchers combined to throw the last 2 innings. Ramon Dieguez (7.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 2BB, 4K) had a decent outing, and avoided getting tagged with the loss. Every starting Crocs batter got a hit.

Game 2 - Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

Hobart hit 5HRs in this game in contrast to the Metros’ 1, but found themselves 1-run short in the final accounting. After 5, the Metros led 9-4, and while the Prospects chipped away every inning, Auckland did enough to finish 11-10 winners. Lee hit 2 solo shots, and Adrian Bonaddio, Tierney and Goodwin also all homered. Wayne Carson’s 2-run shot in the 7th proved to be the winning hit. Auckland wore Jing-zhong Ling (3.2IP, 8H, 5ER, 2BB, 2K) down and he exited the game early, and while Richard Avery (5.2IP, 9H, 7ER, 2BB, 2K) didn’t have a great night either, he did enough for the win. Wayne Carson set an AUNZBL playoff record by scoring 5 runs. He was 4-5, with 4RBI.

Off Day

Auckland announced 26 y/o Matt Panther (.302/.393/.494, 63HR) had signed a 5-year extension. Panther had 3 years and 103 days of ML service time, and was looking forward to spending a great deal more time on the team who had taken a chance on him as a baseball refugee.

Game 3 - Cairns Crocs vs Adelaide Venom

Faced with the prospect of sweeping the series in front of their home crowd, the Crocs had an ace up their sleeve: Takashi the Tremendous. And while he had his struggles (6.0IP, 10H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 4K) the Crocs were in a tenacious mood. In the bottom of the 6th, down 4-2, they took advantage of a throwing error in the outfield to score a runner, then added 3 more by virtue of a Connor Rowling HR (the fans even cheered a little bit as he rounded the bases) to make it 6-4 Cairns. There was no more scoring in the match, and as soon as the final out was recorded the entire Cairns squad plus management gathered on the mound for rapturous celebrations. Eddie Chambers (5.1IP, 3H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) left with the lead, but reliever Jose Gonzalez blew the held opportunity and took the loss.

Game 3 - Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

Hobart might’ve used up all their offense in the 1st 2 games, because they could only manage 9 baserunners this game, and no extra-base hits. Auckland only had 2 more, but they converted their opportunities, and Bill Makepeace’s and Jon Werner’s HRs also helped things. 5-1 Auckland, with Stephen Snell (6.0IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 6K) getting the win, and Bodkin (7.0IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K) the loss.

Game 4 - Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

Hobart took the lead in the bottom of the 1st and never relinquished it, the Metros taking until the 8th inning to score via a 3-run Werner HR. While no Prospects’ player went deep, Lee set a postseason game record for triples, hitting 2. The Prospects won 7-4, though both Ming and Goldsmith left the game with injuries. At the aftermatch presser, Prospects’ manager Sterling Anglesey was quick to allay serious injury fears, saying both players would be listed day-to-day for the next week or so. Blenkhorn (6.2IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 3K) got tagged with his 2nd loss of the series, while Gerlach (6.1IP, 5H, 0ER, 1BB, 6K) got his 2nd win.

Game 5 - Hobart Prospects vs Auckland Metros

The Prospects started off the series strong, but it was Auckland who finished the strongest in front of a near 50K home crowd. Werner’s 3rd HR of the series, a 3-run effort in the 5th, made the score 7-1, and there was to be no comeback for Hobart as Auckland eventually ran out 8-2 winners. Lee hit his 4th HR of the series for Hobart, while Wally Stapleton also went deep for the Metros. Avery (8.0IP, 9H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) picked up his 2nd win of the series, while Ling (4.0IP, 10H, 7R, 5ER, 0BB, 2K) was pulled after only throwing 69 pitches.

Series Awards

Crocs vs Venom

Hurler of the Series: Ted Murray.

Slugger of the Series: Lindsay Colson (.600/.692/.1.400, 2HR).

Prospects vs Metros

Hurler of the Series: Cooper Gerlach. 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 10H & 4BB in 14.1 IP, 12K.

Slugger of the Series: Young-tae Lee (.455/.478/.1.182, 4HR).

The Prospects-Metros series’ awards marked the 1st time in AUNZBL history that both awards had gone to players on the losing team.

[Izz]

2044 Championship Series - Cairns Crocs vs Auckland Metros

Preview

Last year, the Metros had given an overawed Crocs team a whopping in the Division Finals. This year, the Crocs were hardened and ready to go to battle. Who would win in a matchup between the league’s best offense and the league’s best pitching? The Crocs had surprised a few by taking the Division Finals so convincingly, but most were of the opinion Auckland would once again be too strong.

Takashi Takeuchi would have the distinction of not only playing for 2 different teams in 2 consecutive Championship Series, but also playing against his previous team, with whom he’d won it all in 2043.

Regular season matchups: 8-4 Auckland.

Verdict: Auckland in 6.

Game 1

Daniel Jervis (6-2, 2.10 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.97 WHIP in 8 starts) hadn’t pitched since injuring himself on the 8th of November, but Cairns’ medical staff pronounced him fully fit and Cairns’ management decided he should be their starter for Game 1 of the Championship Series. On the other side of the mound, Blenkhorn (16-7, 3.35 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.07 WHIP), who’d lost both his games in the Division Finals, would start.

Neither pitcher gave an inch through the 1st 4 1/2 innings, Jervis showing little signs of rust. In the bottom of the 5th, however, the 1st 4 batters reached base (BB, single, single, RBI-single) to give Auckland a 1-0 lead. Wally Stapleton ground into a 6-4-3- double play, but Rhett Morrow was able to score to make it 2-0, then Carson singled off his 1st pitch to drive Wurfel home. 3-0 Metros.

Terence McLaren led off the top of the 6th with a solo HR, and back-to-back doubles by Colson and Clint Gordam made the score 3-2. The Crocs showed their scrappy qualities when equalizing in the 7th, Bruce Baker hustling home off Phil Blanch’s infield single between 1st and 2nd. Unfortunately for the Crocs that hustle was undone in the bottom of the inning, when a throwing error by the RF off a Eddie Larcombe single allowed Makepeace to score the go-ahead run.

Mauro Contreras came out to pitch the top of the 9th, and froze up Travis Bright with a 1-2 splitter at the knees to record the 1st out. Glen De san Miguel singled, but McLaren whiffed at a 160 km/h fastball to strike out, and then Cameron Wearne hit a grounder straight to 3rd for a 5-4 final out. 4-3 Auckland.

Jervis (6.1IP, 8H, 4ER, 5BB, 5K) did struggle a bit towards the end of his outing. He took the loss, while Blenkhorn (5.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 8K) was on track for the win when he went to the showers, but Al Dunlop subsequently blew the held, and ended up with the win himself after Auckland regained the lead.

Game 2

Takashi Takeuchi (12-12, 3.56 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) would start for Cairns in the familiar surroundings of Metros Ballpark for Game 2, while Auckland would start Stephen Snell (14-9, 4.97 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.39 WHIP).

When asked pre-match about how he felt starting against his old club, Takeuchi grinned and said, “Tremendous.” He might not have been feeling the same way at the end of the 1st inning, though. Cairns had started well, scoring 2 runs in the top of the inning, but Auckland showed no hesitancy against Takeuchi, going double, ground-out 3-1, rbi-single, single, single, wild pitch scoring batter followed by 2-rbi single, 6-4-3 double play to finish the inning up 4-2.

They added another in the 2nd to end Takeuchi’s night after 1.1 innings. In the 3rd they extended the score 2 more via a Makepeace HR, and scored 1 more in the 4th. Their offense dried up at that point, but unfortunately for Cairns, their offense never got going, and Auckland eased to an 8-2 victory.

Stephen Snell (5.2IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K) got the win, and reliever Marshall Cowell got credited with a save after throwing 3.1 scoreless innings. Auckland catcher Jon Werner went 4-5.

Game 3

Ted Murray (15-11, 2.93 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.14 WHIP) had the weighty responsibility of representing the Crocs as their starting pitcher in their 1st ever Championship game on home soil. His opponent would be 20-game winner Richard Avery, who was 2-0 in the postseason, but mostly thanks to his offense.

Colson got the scoring underway in the 1st with a 2-run HR. A 2-out RBI single by Matt Panther got Auckland on the board in the 3rd, but a 2-out Colson rbi-triple in the bottom of the inning restored the 2-run difference. Juan Salazar hit a solo HR in the 4th to make it 4-1, and it became 6-1 in the 5th thanks to another Colson 2-run HR.

Auckland stayed in the fight, reducing the lead to 4 in the 6th, and then reducing it to 2 thanks to a 2-run Werner jack. Steven Kadow, converted from starter to closer for the postseason, got himself in a bit of a jam in the top of the 9th, with runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs and the in-form Werner at the plate. But he struck Werner out to end the game and get Cairns into the series with a 6-4 win.

Avery (4.2IP, 8H, 6ER, 0BB, 2K) continued his mediocre postseason form, and this time was awarded a loss. Murray (7.2IP, 11H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K) had his moments, but got the win. Colson was 3-5, scoring twice and driving in 5.

Game 4

Auckland would start Blenkhorn on limited rest, while Cairns went with Teddy Barry (10-15, 4.60 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.43 WHIP).

Auckland jumped out of the gate, Werner hitting his 5th postseason HR, this one a 2-run effort, in the 1st to put the Metros up 2-0. This was followed up by a single, double, and 2-rbi triple to see the score move to 4-0. Werner singled in 2 more runners in the 2nd to make it 6-0 and suddenly this was looking like a rout.

Rowling got 2 back in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run shot, but Auckland extended their lead to 5 in the 3rd, and then to 7 in the 5th, thanks to a 2-run Stapleton HR. Clint Gordam’s solo shot to lead off the bottom of the 6th was followed by a 2-run Juan Salazar HR and Cairns had reduced the lead to 4. In the 7th, Gordam homered again, bringing 2 runs home and making it 9-7. In the 8th, a 2-out, 2-run Terence McLaren single tied the scores and Auckland looking like they were scrambling.

Auckland hadn’t had a runner on-base since the 5th, and couldn’t get anyone on in the top of the 9th. Mauro Contreras came out to pitch the bottom of the inning, hoping to extend the game into extra time. He got Colson to hit a regulation fly to right, but then walked Gordam on 4 pitches. Joel Dhu came out to pinch run, and scampered home on Rowling’s double. 10-9 Cairns to lock the series at 2!

Barry only lasted 1.2 innings, while Blenkhorn (5.0IP, 9H, 4ER, 1BB, 6K) only made it through 5. Contreras picked up the loss.

Game 5

Jervis again, taking on Brendan Knopp (11-12, 5.23 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 1.43 WHIP).

Colson’s 3rd triple of the postseason in the 1st went unrewarded. Auckland opened the scoring in the 2nd via a 2-run Wurfel homer. The HR theme of the series continued in the bottom of the inning, with Rowling hitting a leadoff solo shot. In the 3rd, both Carson and Werner went yard, and Cairns finally scored a run without putting it over the fence in the bottom of the inning.

McLaren evened the scores with a 2-run blast in the 4th, and then Panther returned the difference to 2 with another 2-run HR in the 5th. Auckland manufactured 3 more runs in the 6th, but remembering last game, they surely couldn’t let themselves get confident with a 5-run advantage. Colson cut into the lead with a solo effort in bottom of the inning, and Rowling scored off a 2-out Bruce Baker single in the 7th to make it 9-6.

Could Cairns pull off another incredible comeback? Panther had other ideas, socking his 2nd HR of the night in the 8th (again, a 2-run effort) to take the score to 11-6. The Crocs loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t score. Zong-ming Hung led off the bottom of the 9th with a double, but was left stranded at 2nd, Al Dunlop quickly retiring the next 3. 11-6 Auckland to take them within 1 game of back-to-back titles.

Jervis (4.2IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 4K) copped the loss, while Knopp (6.0IP, 11H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 6K) also struggled, but got the win.

Game 6

Back in Auckland, with their series on the line, Cairns put Takeuchi on the mound. He was (interpreted) “determined to atone for his last start.” He would go up against the man Auckland had signed to replace him, Richard Avery.

3 singles followed by a sac-fly got Auckland a run in the 1st, but Cairns evened things up quickly, Gordam leading off the top of the 2nd with a double, and coming home off Rowling’s follow-up single. Carson hit a solo HR in the 3rd to give Auckland the lead back, and a 2-out Stapleton single in the 4th drove another runner in.

Bruce Baker led off the top of the 5th with a walk, and De san Miguel followed that up with another walk. McLaren struck out on 4 pitches and Phil Blanch hit a grounder directly back to the pitcher. De san Miguel slid in hard enough to prevent the double-play and that intent proved invaluable, as Colson, next up, got a pitch to pull, depositing it over the right-field fence for a 3-run HR. 4-3 Crocs!

In the 6th, Takeuchi quickly retired the 1st 2 hitters, then got Wurfel to pop up. The ball swirled about a mile high behind 3rd and short, and when it eventually fell somehow picked a spot of grass where none of the 3 converging fielders could reach it. Meanwhile Wurfel was on his way to 2nd and slid in safely. Next up, Makepeace made war on a 1-2 slider that hung over the plate, lofting it 400 feet over right centre and into the spa pool behind the wall. 5-4 Auckland!

In the 8th Auckland went K, BB, single, rbi-single, IBB, rbi-fielder’s choice 4-6, F1 (great reflex catch by the pitcher) to go up 7-4. It turned out the insurance runs weren’t needed, as Mauro Contreras needed just 10 pitches to get 3 ground outs and see Auckland to a 7-4 win. The dream of back-to-back Championships was now a reality. Auckland were the 3rd team to achieve the feat, behind the Venom and Roos. It was their 3rd Championship.

Takeuchi (6.2IP, 10H, 5ER, 1BB, 1K) appeared in the aftermatch presser holding an uncorked, half-empty bottle of Tremendous Wines. Through his interpreter, he said, “It wasn’t my night tonight. I tried as hard as I could but I just wasn’t good enough, tonight or in my last game. But I’m determined to come back stronger next year and help Cairns win.”

Avery (6.2IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 7K) said at the same presser, “It’s a weird feeling. I haven’t pitched very well, I’ll be the first to admit, but I’ve got a 3-1 record in this postseason, and I’m the winning pitcher in the deciding Championship game. I’ll take it.” This was Avery’s 1st Championship ring.

Series Awards

Hurler of the Series: No pitcher stood out as deserving this award in such a hitters’ series, but someone had to get it. That someone was Snell, who received the award for his Game 2 win.

Slugger of the Series: While the standout hitter was a Croc, Jon Werner received this award, and deserved it too, for a super hitting performance across both playoff series. He was .429/.429/.750 in the Championship, with 3 of 12 hits HRs.

Lindsay Colson (.600/.692/.1.450, 1 double, 2 triples, 4HR) was outstanding in a losing team.

[Izz]

2044 Championship-winning Metros

[Izz]

2044 Leaderboards

[Izz]

2044 Retirees

Joshua 'Pee Wee' Cheadle: On the 1st official day of the offseason, 38 y/o Cheadle announced his retirement. However, he wouldn't be retiring from the public eye. The former pitcher had plans to run for office, and not at a local level, either. He had his eyes on the Australian Senate, and from there, who knew?

Cheadle had been a loyal clubman, playing in the majors with Adelaide his entire career (2029-2044). He spent 4 years of that career as a closer, and a very successful one, at that. In that time he racked up 148 saves, and won Hurler of the Year in 2035, his 1st year in the closing role. For his career he was 165-97, with 155 saves, a 3.52 ERA, 3.44 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. In 2184.0 IP he struck out 2265 batters, and in 2032 recorded a still-standing season-best winning % of 89.5%. He made 7 All Star Games, and won 4 rings, all with Adelaide (2032, 2033, 2035, 2041). He led the league in strikeouts from 2031-2033, and had a league-best pitcher's WAR in 2033. Always feared by opposition hitters, Cheadle's one weakness was a lack of stamina, highlighted by his only recording 1 shutout and 2 complete games across his major-league career.

Raul 'Stilts' Gomez: 38 y/o, 1B. 2028-2042. After a season in the BL in 2043, and with no teams a-calling in 2044, Gomez announced his retirement partway through the 2044 season. One of the early successful baseball refugees, for his entire career Gomez was the tallest position player in the game, standing a lofty 6'8". Gomez hit .267/.344/.472 across his career, with 1789 hits, 973 runs, 316 doubles, 14 triples, 341HR, 1117RBI, and 713BB. The 1st foreign-born player to reach the 300HR mark, Gomez won RotY in 2029 and SotY in 2033. He also won 4 Gold Gloves, went to 5 All Star Games, and won 1 Championship, with the Cowboys in 2030. He led the league in HRs, RBI, runs, VORP and WAR in 2033.

[Izz]

2044 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Tome Caparica (Adelaide Venom)
Catcher: Jacob Blanksby (Melbourne Aces)
First Baseman: Dermott Gillett (Wellington Fury)
Second Baseman: Owen Bullock (Adelaide Venom)
Third Baseman: Alan Dulihanty (Central Coast Thunder)
Shortstop: Burt Bargenquast (Perth Heat)
Left Fielder: Roy Andrews (Wellington Fury)
Center Fielder: Harry Hancock (Canberra Cavalry)
Right Fielder: Carl Bristcoe (Wellington Fury)

Rookie of the Year

33 y/o Auckland SS Anibal Martinez had logged 3 years in the BL, but 2044 was his 1st year in the AUNZBL, so he was counted as a rookie and won RotY. He hit .259/.354/.487, 151-583, with 106 runs, 29 doubles, 1 triple, 34HRs, 125RBI, and 79BB. His WAR was 4.3, and his VORP 37.4.

20 y/o Canberra rookie Manuel Salinas (from the Lower Americas, but brought up through the AUNZBL system) came 2nd. He hit .306/.393/.383, 177-579, with 5HR.

33 y/o Aces closer Mario Campos (6-4, 46 sv, 3.34 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) came 3rd.

Skipper of the Year

Metros’ skipper Vince Dickson won this award for the 2nd year running, made even more impressive by the fact he’d only managed, at any level, the last 2 seasons. As he did at the 2043 Awards Dinner, Dickson heaped praise on his players and fellow coaching staff, deflecting attention from himself. Midway through his acceptance speech he said, “I know some said I was being arrogant when I said we were going to win back-to-back Championships before the Division Finals had even begun. I’d like to think that was confidence rather than arrogance. Confidence in the strength and talent within this team, confidence in their drive and passion, confidence in the coaching staff. It’s definitely nice to receive accolades like this, but believe me, this award should go to the players and other coaches, not me.”

Hurler of the Year

Would it be Avery or Dunlop? Would Avery’s 3-1 postseason play in his favour with the voters? While it would be impossible to determine, it’s likely it did. Whatever the case, 30 y/o Avery took home HotY for the 1st time, on the back of his 22-11 regular season, in which he had a 3.69 ERA, 4.02 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP. He threw 258.2 innings, the 6th-most in a season ever, and struck out 169 batters. He had a WAR of 5.4 and a VORP of 50.2.

Sterling Dunlop (17-4, 2.91 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 1.08 WHIP) came runner-up, while Auckland closer Mauro Contreras (10-3, 32 sv, 1.55 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 0.88 WHIP) came 3rd.

Slugger of the Year

Could the Metros sweep all the awards this year? Matt Panther was certainly a chance for SotY, though Brock Wakely and Quentin Stennings were given slightly more of a chance. Even 20 y/o Ismael Aguirre was being talked about as an option, though nobody seriously thought he’d snare it.

The presenter for SotY drew out the anticipation for as long as possible, before ripping open the envelope to reveal that... Quentin Stennings had won the gong. The 2042 Rookie of the Year only needed another 2 seasons in the bigs to win a Slugger of the Year crown. For 2044 he was .334/.403/.568, 202-604, with 103 runs, 31 doubles, 1 triple, 36HR, 112RBI, and 50BB. Stennings had a WAR of 8.4 and a VORP of 85.9.

Matt Panther (.323/.431/.568, 32HR) came 2nd, while Brock Wakely (.303/.413/.541, 35HR) finished 3rd, making this the 3rd time he’d made the final SotY ballot but hadn’t won.

[Izz]

2044 Career Leaderboards

[Izz]

Offseason

2044 Notes

ERA reached an all-time high in 2044, the season average 4.33. BA rose to .265, not all that different to the previous 7 years.

BL Wrapup

The Juarez Locos defeated the Santiago Agricultores 3-2 in the Serie de Campeonato to win their maiden title.

Novato del Ano went to 33 y/o Patrick Dempster, in his 1st year in the BL after playing for 5 AUNZBL teams from 2036-2043. He was .318/.398/.525, with 19HR, for the title-winning Locos.

Jarra de Oro went to 28 y/o Brendan Sheppard of the Agricultores. He was 13-3, with a 2.48 ERA, 3.28 FIP, and 1.01 WHIP.

Sheppard was an interesting, somewhat mysterious, character. His official records listed him as coming from Australia, but he gave no city of birth. When the BL was formed he was one of its inaugural players, and had been with Santiago his entire career to this point. Likely to file for free agency, theories as to Sheppard’s background ranged from him being born to Australians living in Chile before the War broke out (though that would mean he was older than his official age of 28, seeing as the War was already in full swing in 2016), to him having entered the continent illegally some years earlier to provide black-market aid to the locals, to him being retired (or perhaps still active) Australian Intelligence.

Seeing as media found it nearly impossible to contact Sheppard, nobody could separate the facts from the myths. He had undeniable talent as a pitcher, so all and sundry were wondering whether he would court interest from AUNZBL teams once a free agent, and if so, would the government let him into the country?

Bateador de Oro went to Locos’ 27 y/o CF Juan de la Hoya, who went .328/.407/.597, with 22HR. This was his 2nd consecutive batting award. Fans hoping to see him in the AUNZBL would have to wait, as the Locos had locked him up for another 3 years.

League News

1 May: The AUNZBL commissioner announced that the BL would now allow players to be purchased by the AUNZBL for an unspecified sum per player. All such transactions would have to be agreed upon by both teams in question, as well as both sets of commissioners’ offices. This was clearly a move made in the hope that the game’s best talent would be showcased and nurtured within the AUNZBL without teams having to wait for players to be eligible for free agency, even though the BL had reduced the required service years for free agency eligibility to 2 only last season.

Notable Club Happenings

Adelaide Venom: 2-time Skipper of the Year, Mike Barrowcliff, retired. After an inauspicious start with Hobart in 2021 and 2022, where the Prospects lost over 100 games each of those seasons, he moved on to the Cavalry, and then the Bandits, whom he helped to 2 Championships. After a long stint back at Canberra as a pitching coach, he returned to the managerial fray with the Venom, helping them to 2 playoff appearances and a division title in his 3 years at the helm. He retired with a 905-862 record as a manger. There was no immediate word from the Venom as to who would replace him.

Cairns Crocs: Elijah Oliver wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong. “All seemed to be going well,” he said. “We were in talks to extend my contract, our lads got all the way to the Championship series for the 1st time ever, and then suddenly, bam, I’m told they’ll be looking elsewhere for 2045.” GM Justin Bull was cagy when asked about Oliver’s replacement. “We’re considering several options, and we’ll announce a replacement in due course,” he said.

Christchurch Cowboys: The Cowboys missed out on the playoffs and that meant Ryan Jacoby was gone. The 1st-year skipper would offer no comment to any media service. He would be replaced by BC Juan Lopez, who was only hired at the beginning of the 2044 season. Lopez would become the first Lower American-born skipper in the AUNZBL.

Hobart Prospects: GM Mitchell Franks, who hadn’t seen the Prospects win less than 93 games a season over his 5 years wheeling and dealing, didn’t have his contract renewed. The 42 y/o was phlegmatic. With a shrug, he said, “There’ll be other jobs. This is all part of the fun, isn’t it?”

Newcastle Roos: 8-year GM Al Scammell got the flick, the penalty for a 71-91 season and the 3rd straight year of missing the playoffs.

Sydney Blue Sox: Manager Ian Spicer retired. Remembered for getting axed as interim Thunder manager in 2025 after getting called up from short-A, where he’d been a hitting coach, Spicer reappeared on the scene in 2038, managing at AA level, before getting asked to fill in as Blue Sox manager. Not put off by his 1st major-league stint, he took the job, and managed the team to their 1st playoff appearance in 18 years in 2042, the year he won Skipper of the Year. He retired with a 550-488 record.

Wellington Fury: Jose Carlos Muniz lasted only 1 year as Fury skipper before getting the axe. Nigel Lumby would step into the role. Along with that, the Fury were on the lookout for a new GM, Si Chin not having his contract renewed. Chin had been relatively successful in his 4 years in charge, using a more sabermetric approach than many of his rivals, and helping the Fury to the playoffs twice.

Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions

30 Mar: Sydney bought out the rest of 26 y/o SP Bradley Fouracre’s (33-37, 4.34 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.46 WHIP) arbitration years with a 3-year contract extension.

3 Apr: Sydney extended another of its young players, 25 y/o CF Nelson Saggers (.263/.321/.433, 72HR, +54.4ZR). Both parties agreed to a 4-year extension.

23 Apr: 28 y/o LF Tommy Weichard (.283/.336/.430, 94HR, +48.7ZR) was happy to have his future secured for the next 4 years, having agreed to an extension with Whangarei.

7 May: This year’s top free agents included:

31 y/o LF Hong-bin Bao
36 y/o SP Edward Delaney (still injured)
27 y/o SP Allan Spear
31 y/o CL Mauro Contreras
33 y/o LF Beau Riseley
32 y/o 3B Vinnie Widdison
29 y/o SP Steven Kadow
32 y/o SP Stephen Snell
28 y/o RF Michael Fenton
28 y/o SP Brendan Knopp
27 y/o CF Pedro Salas (BL)
34 y/o CF Armando Morales (BL)
36 y/o 2B Alan Delaney
34 y/o SS Phillip Tinter
35 y/o 1B Blair Ottaway (coming off stint in BL)
28 y/o SP Daniel Jervis
33 y/o SS Gomes Serieiro (BL)
36 y/o 3B Martin Romano (BL)
28 y/o SP Brendan Sheppard (BL)
33 y/o SP Caspar Greenway (coming off stint in BL)
32 y/o CL Zach Miners
36 y/o 2B Juan Salazar
28 y/o SP Adam Geoghegan
31 y/o RF Arturo Benitez (BL)
38 y/o LF Zachariah Hutchinson

All in all, the 2044 free agent class looked fairly weak. Cairns and the Metros were the biggest WAR losers, with Canberra not far behind.

#

12 May: Central extended 28 y/o 1B Dean Warner (.281/.345/.452, 124HR) for 5 more years.

16 May: Mauro Contreras (19-16, 118 sv, 2.14 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 0.93 WHIP) would be a Croc for 2045.

21 May: Phillip Tinter (.271/.330/.417, 124HR) signed a 3-year deal with the Thunder.

23 May: The Metros re-signed Stephen Snell (135-108, 3.98 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) for another 4 years.

25 May: Perth were excited to announce the signing of Beau Riseley (.293/.343/.469, 231HR) on a 4-year deal. While he was now 33 y/o, Heat management felt Riseley still had plenty to offer, both in terms of on-field performance and off-field mentoring.

26 May: Brendan Sheppard (43-22, 2.84 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.07 WHIP in 4 BL seasons) certainly wanted to fly under the radar, for whatever reason. As the government posed no objection to his coming back into Australia, it was unlikely it was illegal activities that’d landed him in the Lower Americas. But still, instead of courting the highest bidder he chose to sign a minor league deal with the Blue Sox. There was a signing bonus involved, of course, but once in the bigs he would only command league-minimum until he was arbitration eligible. Sydney cannily listed him as in their rookie-league team, but there was no doubt in anybody’s mind he would make the Blue Sox 24-man roster come Opening Day, though not likely as a starter as he only threw 2 pitches (fastball, curve). Theories that he had been somehow involved in the Australian Intelligence Service continued to gain traction.

9 Jun: Michael Fenton (.235/.344/.389, 103HR) signed with the Blue Sox on a 4-year deal.

14 Jun: Sydney signed Vinnie Widdison (.297/.337/.479, 117HR) to a 5-year deal. They had to be hoping he’d stay fit for the majority of it so as to get their money’s worth.

14 Jun: The Central Coast presented Steven Kadow (55-55, 4.26 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 1.42 WHIP) to media with the news he’d signed a 6-year contract with the club. Kadow had a fearsome armory of pitches, but consistently allowed the most batters a season to walk to 1st base.

15 Jun: Melbourne splurged on Pedro Salas (.304/.350/.499, 68HR in 4 BL seasons), signing him for 6 years. Most analysts agreed the deal was too long and Melbourne was likely paying too much.

21 Jun: Cairns made a dubious move today, re-signing 36 y/o Juan Salazar (.238/.330/.456, 42HR in 2 AUNZBL seasons) for 3 more years.

27 Jun: 32 y/o Cain Blenkhorn (125-96, 4.25 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.31 WHIP) had matured into a league-leading pitcher in the last 2 seasons, and was rewarded with a 3-year extension from the Metros. Blenkhorn said, “Auckland took a chance on me when I was potentially out in the baseball wilderness, and I’m so happy to continue to be a part of the organization, especially as we aim to win 3 titles in a row.”

29 Jun: Most analaysts couldn’t decide if former Metros’ pitcher Brendan Knopp (58-62, 4.51 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.35 WHIP) was an underperformer or overrated. The Venom organization obviously thought the former, signing him for 7 years, proclaiming that he would be a “staple of our rotation for the foreseeable future.” If one were to quibble, ‘foreseeable future’ really had no meaning, as humans can barely see past their own noses, let alone what is yet to come. Knopp wasn’t thinking semantics, though, and spent a good hour talking to the press about how excited he was to call Adelaide home.

15 Jul: Allan Spear (71-67, 4.17 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.29 WHIP) signed a 4-year deal with Whangarei, the team he’d started his career with.

5 Aug: Cairns signed Hong-bin Bao (.275/.351/.448, 131HR) for the next 4 years.

8 Aug: Veteran Alan Delaney (.309/.352/.427, 122HR) dispelled rumours he was heading to the BL for the twilight of his career by signing a 3-year deal with the Crocs. This meant he would almost certainly reach 2500 career hits.

9 Aug: Hobart added Zachariah Hutchinson (.282/.352/.471, 355HR), who would be 39 y/o before the season began, to their roster. He would be with the Prospects for the next 2 years, and would provide an older head for the younger guys to learn from. If he stayed healthy and remained a regular starter, he was an outside chance of reaching 400HR.

10 Aug: Daniel Jervis (47-38, 72 sv, 3.69 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) signed with the Fury for 2 seasons (the 2nd season being a player option). While the signing didn’t get a lot of media attention, Fury fans were excited to have him on board.

15 Aug: To the surprise of many, Dylan Cully (193-167, 3.46 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) found an AUNZBL home for the 2045 season, signing with Auckland. If he threw 180 innings he would be there in 2046 too. Cully, who hadn’t won more than 10 games in a season since 2039, said he felt certain he could reach the 200 win mark. Many analysts felt just as certain he wouldn’t make the starting rotation to begin the season.

4 Sep: Adam Geoghegan (41-45, 4.22 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.35 WHIP) must have one very good agent. He’d wrangled a 6-year deal with the Thunder, with no vesting or team options attached.

5 Sep: Cairns signed Caspar Greenway (45-46, 4.44 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.38 WHIP) for the 2045 season. He’d last played in the AUNZBL in 2040. Greenway said he was excited to be back playing in Australia, and that his stint in the BL had greatly enhanced “not only my understanding of baseball, but of the world outside our borders.”

12 Sep: After 2 seasons in the BL, 35 y/o Haechen Lee (.267/.318/.470, 209HR) would return to the AUNZBL, at least for the 2045 season. He’d signed with Hobart as backup to Danny Goodwin.

31 Aug: 39 y/o Maurice Downes (.236/.362/.413, 334HR over 16 AUNZBL seasons) would extend his career in the BL, signing a 2-year deal with the Agricultores. At the time of his leaving the AUNZBL, Downes was the all-time career leader in walks (1557), had played the 2nd-most games (2265), and scored the 2nd-most runs (1318). He had also recorded the most strikeouts (2330), being the only player to have struck out more than 2000 times. The 211 strikeouts he racked up in his rookie year of 2029 remained a season record and the only time a hitter had struck out more than 200 times in a season.

Notable Trades

22 Apr: Sydney sent 25 y/o catcher Kane Crossingham (.296/.360/.450, 19HR across 1 1/2 seasons) and a minor leaguer across to Perth in exchange for injury-prone 26 y/o OF Mark Donoghue (.273/.318/.424, 38HR) and a wad of high-denomination bills.

23 Apr: 28 y/o 1B Bernie Grinter (.281/.360/.473, 116HR) was only in Adelaide for half a season before being traded on, this time to Melbourne. In return, the Venom would receive 26 y/o LF Blair Morris (.304/.338/.430, 10HR in 2 seasons as a bench/platoon player) and a pitching prospect.

3 May: Magali Alcova (.266/.338/.378, 18HR) was about to head to his 3rd team in his 4th year in the AUNZBL. Brisbane traded him to Perth, along with a catching prospect, in return for 33 y/o SP Michael Paterson (100-78, 3.57 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.20 WHIP). The Bandits were of the opinion that while Paterson had suffered a couple major injuries over the last few seasons, that was more a result of bad luck than being injury-prone.

23 Jun: 31 y/o Ian Zglinicki (85-63, 3.96 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.33 WHIP) was traded by Wellington to Sydney midway through 2044, and now found himself, along with some cash, on his way to Christchurch. Sydney would receive 33 y/o Alec Brajak (.287/.329/.496, 176HR) in return. Brajak said to media, “I’d always hoped to be a 1-club player, but that isn’t to be. However, I was born in Sydney, so playing for my birth-team does have appeal.”

Notable Injuries

26 Apr: 30 y/o 3B Dan Lumsden (.249/.292/.388, 98HR), who would be filing for free agency in a few days, might be ruing his decision to mow his lawns himself. While his mower was automated, too much grass had collected around the blades, stopping them from turning. Lumsden decided to clear the debris himself, but forgot to turn the mower off, and suddenly found himself with 3 severed fingers.

He was rushed to hospital, where the index and middle fingers were successfully reattached, but unfortunately the ring finger had to be amputated at the knuckle. While a replacement could be grown, it would take some time before it was ready, and back in those early days of human tissue culture therapy, the chances of rejection were high. Both medical staff and baseball experts were reluctant to comment on how the loss of his ring finger would affect his swing.

8 Sep: Dylan Cully’s dream of reaching 200 wins just floated a little further away. He’d partially torn his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery. He’d miss the entire season, therefore missing out on his vesting option for the 2nd year of his contract.

26 Sep: The Blue Sox had to be disappointed, after learning that offseason trade acquisition Mark Donoghue would miss the entire season while he recovered from a broken elbow.

Other Notes

The Sluggers signed 7.8 WAR worth of players over the offseason, for a net-gain of 5.3. On the other hand, the Roos lost 8.1 WAR and only signed 1.1 WAR, for a net-loss of 7.1 WAR. All the other teams were somewhere in between those 2 numbers.

#

A nervous Australasia greeted the start of the 2045 AUNZBL season. L' Europe Libre, the European coalition who had been throwing threats around like confetti, continued to sound off, and appeared to be consolidating power, its territory now stretching as far east as what had been Romania pre-War, as far north as what had been Finland, and as far south as the top of Africa. The dominant force in Asia was still the Manchurian State, even though it had fragmented considerably since its inception (as an aside: the MS's interest in space appeared to have diminished as its governance realized just how difficult holding its holdings on Earth together was), and L' Europe Libre focused most of its attention on them. The Manchurian State seemed intent on returning serve, and the resulting word war was escalating.

Australia had responded by sending 'peace-keeping' troops to both countries, and daily reports of casualties from local skirmishes kept pouring in.

Locally, the Australian media was like a rampaging bull now that the Australian government had released it from its overseas-reporting shackles, and the government was unable to exert any control on what was broadcast. Media outlets were even publishing any cease-and-desist notices they received from the government, and most overseas reports were very negative towards the Australian military.

In amongst all of this, there was talk in the corridors of army and government that conscription might be a means to cover the increasing strain Australia's position as preeminent world power was placing on all branches of the military. Public opposition to this was high. A few in the media even suggested 'leveling' Europe and Asia again to quell any threats. Opposition to that was also high, but not as high as it was to the idea of conscription.

The public badly needed baseball, and its relative lack of violence and backroom intrigue, to distract it from other affairs.

[Izz]

2045 Preseason Predictions

Southwest Division: This was Hobarts to lose, with no other team expected to break .500.

Northeast Division: Despite some unusual offseason moves, Cairns were tipped to take this out comfortably, with the Thunder finishing well back in 2nd.

NZ Division: This would be the tightest of all the divisions, even though the Fury were expected to win close to 100 games. Whangarei and the Metros would finish with the equal-best wildcard records, forcing a sudden death playoff to determine who would progress to the postseason. The Cowboys would also be competitive, but ultimately miss out.

Slugger of the Year: Matt Panther would take this out, as well as the batting title. Ismael Aguirre was picked to break Mildren's HR record. Whether that was over-excitement amongst the analysts at his excellent 2044 season combined with his youth remained to be seen.

Hurler of the Year: If Sterling Duff remained healthy, the experts reckoned this was all his. Wellington's Karl Bell and Adam Gillorn would be hot on his heels.