Any Given Sunday

[NYY #23]

One of the interesting dynamics of playing one game per week seems to be the increase in hitting streaks. In test leagues I've seen two of the longest hitting streaks that I've seen in OOTP. We'll see if that trend continues, but with 10 games in the books there are at least 8 players with a hitting streak of 10 games -

Travis Losch, SYR
Kevin Riesenberg, BRK
Matt Maddock, SYR
Chris Ashby, STL
Cal McVey, MIL
Jon Morse, MIL
Kyle Forsythe, WAS
Andrew Winkler, BRK

David Pritchett of the Brooklyn Gladiators has driven in a run in all 10 games, while Bill Craver of Buffalo, John Levine of New York, and Corey Loomis of Cleveland have scored in all 10 games.

The New Orleans Crescents opened up a 3 game lead in the AL South with a 10-1 win over Syracuse and lowered their magic number to 4.

The Detroit Wolves dropped their second straight game when they fell 12-9 to the Baltimore Canaries. In the three games that the Wolves have lost Ross Barnes has gone 1-12 at the plate with 9 errors in the field. In the Wolves' seven wins Barnes hit 17-37 with 2 errors in the field.

Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Crescents (177.0)
2) Pittsburgh Keystones (153.0)
3) Milwaukee Bisons (152.0)
4) Philadelphia 76'ers (134.0)
5) Providence Grays (129.0)
6) Detroit Wolves (128.0)
7) Chicago White Stockings (113.0)
8) Cincinnati Reds (112.0)
9) Rochester Broncos (112.0)
10) Boston Americans (112.0)

[NYY #23]

The American League Wild Card race is definitely getting interesting, with the Rochester Broncos, Brooklyn Atlantics, and Baltimore Black Sox tied at 7-4, and the Cleveland Lakers, Chicago White Stockings, Buffalo Bisons, and Boston Rebels tied at 6-5.

With Mark Batch out four weeks the New Orleans Crescents have given the starting job to Chris Hendricks with mixed results. He's 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in two starts, but more importantly the Crescents have won both games. This week they came back from a 9-1 deficit after 7 innings to win 12-9 over the Washington Capitols. Shortstop David Abner won the AL Batter of the Month after hitting .455 this month with 9 runs and 9 RBI.

The Philadelphia 76'ers fell to the Brooklyn Atlantics 11-5 while the Boston Americans won their third straight game 12-6 to tie up the NL East.

27 year old Dan Anderson of the Cleveland Lakers went 3-0 with a 1.43 ERA to win the American League Pitcher of the Month. In the National League Micah Joles went 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA to win the National League Pitcher of the Month.

Paul Boykin of the Cleveland Spiders became the first player in history to go 6-6 in a game as the Spiders won 16-13 over St. Louis. The Spiders now sit just one game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL West.

Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Crescents (179.6)
2) Pittsburgh Keystones (157.3)
3) Detroit Wolves (135.9)
4) Milwaukee Bisons (133.9)
5) Boston Americans (121.5)
6) Indianapolis Hoosiers (119.5)
7) Rochester Broncos (119.5)
8) Baltimore Black Sox (117.5)
9) Brooklyn Atlantics (117.5)
10) Providence Grays (116.5)

[NYY #23]

With just four weeks remaining four of the eight divisions have two teams tied atop the divison, while three of the other four divisions have three teams within 1 game of first place. The Providence Grays and Boston Rebels are tied at 7-5 in the AL East, with the Rochester Broncos and Brooklyn Atlantics are both 8-4 in the AL North, the Philadelphia 76'ers and Boston Americans are both 7-5 in the NL East, and the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds are tied at 6-6 in the NL West.

Despite a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Boston Rebels, the New Orleans Crescents hold a two game lead in the AL South. With a 3-1 lead heading into the seventh the Rebels scored a run in each of the final three innings.

With Amir Dorsey out for the year Robert Brown has stepped up and gone 3-2 with a 2.41 ERA for the Athletics and appears to have earned the starting job for Philly.

Kevin Riesenberg of the Brooklyn Gladiators went 5-6 this week to raise his league leading batting average to .559.

Power Rankings
1) Pittsburgh Keystones (161.0)
2) New Orleans Crescents (155.0)
3) Detroit Wolves (141.0)
4) Milwaukee Bisons (140.0)
5) Rochester Broncos (128.0)
6) Baltimore Black Sox (126.0)
7) Brooklyn Atlantics (126.0)
8) Boston Rebels (112.0)
9) Indianapolis Hoosiers (106.0)
10) Buffalo Bisons (106.0)

[NYY #23]

The New Orleans Crescents rebounded from their second loss of the season last week with a 11-3 victory over the Boston Americans. Fred Waterman had his fifth multi-hit game of the season with a 5-5 night while Jelani Gideon stole three bases to move to the top of the stolen base leaderboard with 13 on the season. The Crescents magic number is now 1 and with 3 games remaining have the inside track on the number one seed in the American League.

The other 11-2 team, the Pittsburgh Keystones won their 6th straight game with a 13-0 shutout over the Providence Grays. Raul Phillips of the Grays committed 6 of the team's 19 errors in their loss. Phillips now has 26 errors on the season. While the Keystones currently hold the edge on the number 1 seed in the National League, they lead the Wolves by just one game and the Bisons by two in the NL North. The Keystones will host the Wolves next week, then travel to Milwaukee before closing out the season in New York against the 5-8 Rangers.

If the season ended today the Philadelphia 76'ers, Brooklyn Gladiators, and Boston Americans would be tied atop the NL East, and only one team would advance to the postseason.

Power Rankings
1) Pittsburgh Keystones (164.3)
2) New Orleans Crescents (161.3)
3) Detroit Wolves (147.5)
4) Rochester Broncos (133.6)
5) Milwaukee Bisons (125.6)
6) Brooklyn Atlantics (113.8)
7) Buffalo Bisons (112.8)
8) Baltimore Black Sox (111.8)
9) Baltimore Canaries (100.9)
10) Brooklyn Gladiators (99.9)

[NYY #23]

Four teams clinched postseason births as the playoff picture starts to become more clear.

The New Orleans Crescents punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 9-1 win over the Baltimore Black Sox with Mark Batch making his return from injury with a complete game 5 hitter.

The Detroit Wolves won their fourth straight game with a 10-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Keystones scoring all 10 runs in the final 4 innings. Ross Barnes was 2-4 with 2 RBI in the win. Despite their loss, the Keystones clinched a playoff berth. The Wolves did lose catcher Greg Thornton for the next 4 weeks with a pulled oblique muscle. Thornton is hitting .455 this year.

The Milwaukee Bisons defeated the New York Rangers 13-8 to also clinch a playoff berth. Jeremy Ellison, Matt Visser, and Cal McVey each picked up 3 hits in the victory.

Pittsburgh and Detroit are tied for the NL North lead with a 11-3 record, with Milwaukee one game back at 10-4. The two teams that come up short in the division will represent the NL as the two Wild Card teams.

In the NL East the Brooklyn Gladiators (8-6) hold a one game lead over the Philadelphia 76'ers (7-7) and Boston Americans (7-7).

The Reds lead the NL West with a 7-7 record with both the St. Louis Browns and Chicago Lincolns at 6-8. At 5-9 the Cleveland Spiders need to win their final two games and get some help to advance.

The NL South sees the Louisville Colonels and Baltimore Canaries tied with a 7-7 record, and the Washington Nationals with a 6-8 record.

The Providence Grays (8-6) lead the Boston Rebels (7-7) by one game in the AL East. The Rochester Broncos (10-4) need one more win to advance, or a loss by either the Buffalo Bisons (8-6) and the Brooklyn Atlantics (8-6).

In the AL West the Indianapolis Hoosiers (8-6) lead the White Stockings by 1 game and the Cleveland Lakers by 2.

The Baltimore Black Sox (8-6) have been eliminated from the AL South, but are tied with Buffalo and Brooklyn atop the AL Wild Card.

Key Week 15 NL Games:
New York Rangers (5-9) @ Detroit Wolves (11-3)
Pittsburgh Keystones (11-3) @ Milwaukee Bisons (10-4)
New York Giants (5-9) @ Brooklyn Gladiators (8-6)
Boston Americans (7-7) @ Philadelphia 76'ers (7-7)
St. Louis Browns (6-8) @ Cincinnati Reds (7-7)
Cleveland Spiders (5-9) @ Chicago Lincolns (6-8)
Louisville Colonels (7-7) @ Washington Nationals (6-8)
Nashville Vols (4-10) @ Baltimore Canaries (7-7)

Key Week 15 AL Games:
Philadelphia Athletics (5-9) @ Providence Grays (8-6)
Hartford Blues (2-12) @ Boston Rebels (7-7)
Rochester Broncos (10-4) @ Buffalo Bisons (8-6)
Syracuse Stars (7-7) @ Brooklyn Atlantics (8-6)
Baltimore Black Sox (8-6) @ Washington Capitols (6-8)
Fort Wayne Farmers (3-11) @ Cleveland Lakers (6-8)
Atlanta Generals (7-7) @ New Orleans Crescents (12-2)
Indianapolis Hoosiers (8-6) @ Chicago White Stockings (7-7)

That's right, all 16 games have playoff implications in week 15.

Rich Tibbets of the Brooklyn Gladiators picked up 6 hits in the team's 15-7 win over the Americans. George Hall of the Chicago Lincolns hit for the cycle in an 18-12 victory over the Browns.

Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Crescents (164.3)
2) Detroit Wolves (151.4)
3) Pittsburgh Keystones (144.4)
4) Rochester Broncos (138.6)
5) Milwaukee Bisons (131.6)
6) Brooklyn Gladiators (108.9)
7) Indianapolis Hoosiers (105.9)
8) Providence Grays (105.9)
9) Brooklyn Atlantics (102.9)
10) Buffalo Bisons (101.9)

[NYY #23]

Let's take a look at the playoff picture with one more week remaining.

AL East
The Providence Grays (8-7) and Boston Rebels (7-8) each lost this week as the Grays remain a game ahead. Both teams will face off in Providence next week.

AL North
The Buffalo Bisons (9-6) defeated the Rochester Broncos (10-5) 10-4 this week and are now just one game back. Catcher Bill Craver had a big game going 4-5 for the Bisons. The Bisons are home against the Brooklyn Atlantics (8-7) while the Broncos are home against the Syracuse Stars (8-7).

AL West
The Chicago White Stockings (8-7) beat the Indianapolis Hoosiers (8-7) 11 to 7 to move into a tie for first place. Quinn Dowling was 4-5 with a home run, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored for Chicago. The Cleveland Lakers (7-8) beat Fort Wayne 4-2 to remain one game out.

The Lakers will travel to Chicago for the final game of the season, while Indianapolis will host Fort Wayne.

AL South
The Crescents won their third straight game and have already clinched the top seed.

AL Wild Card
Buffalo Bisons 9-6
Syracuse Stars 8-7
Indianapolis Hoosiers 8-7
Chicago White Stockings 8-7
Brooklyn Atlantics 8-7
Baltimore Black Sox 8-7

The Baltimore Black Sox are the only game that doesn't have division implications and will travel to Atlanta to take on the 7-8 Generals.

NL East
The Brooklyn Gladiators defeated the Giants 13-12 for their fifth straight win. The Americans defeated the 76'ers 6-4 to remain one game back.

The Gladiators host the 76'ers (7-8) next week, while the Americans travel to New York to take on the Giants (5-10).

NL North
The Detroit Wolves handily defeated the New York Rangers 11-1 to improve to 12-3. Ross Barnes drove in 3 runs, while Jason Hoffman and Chris Naill each picked up 3 hits.

The Milwaukee Bisons (11-4) defeated the Pittsburgh Keystones (11-4) 11-7. Cal McVey was 4-5 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored for the Bisons.

Next week the Bisons travel to Detroit to play the Wolves, while the Keystones travel to New York to take on the Rangers (5-10).

NL West
The Cincinnati Reds (8-7) and Chicago Lincolns (7-8) each won this week setting up a week 16 showdown in Chicago.

NL South
The Louisville Colonels won their fifth straight game with a 8-3 victory over the Washington Nationals (6-9) while the Baltimore Canaries fell to the Nashville Vols 10-3.

The Canaries (7-8) will take on the Nationals next week, while the Colonels (8-7) host the Vols.

NL Wild Card
Both NL Wild Cards will come from the NL North this year, with the two teams that don't win the division capturing the Wild Card.

Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Crescents (167.0)
2) Detroit Wolves (155.0)
3) Milwaukee Bisons (138.0)
4) Pittsburgh Keystones (132.0)
5) Rochester Broncos (123.0)
6) Brooklyn Gladiators (117.0)
7) Buffalo Bisons (111.0)
8) Louisville Colonels (103.0)
9) Cincinnati Reds (100.0)
10) Syracuse Stars (100.0)

[NYY #23]

AL East
Chris McKeehan pitched a 6 hitter while allowing just 1 run as the Providence Grays defeated the Boston Rebels 2-1 to clinch the AL East.

AL North
The Buffalo Bisons fell to the Brooklyn Atlantics 5-4 to allow the Rochester Broncos to capture the AL North, despite their 10-9 loss to the Syracuse Stars.

AL West
The Indianapolis Hoosiers defeated the Fort Wayne Farmers 3-1 to capture the AL West title.

AL South
Having already clinched the top seed the Crescents fell 7-3 to the Washington Capitols.

AL Wild Card
With two spots available, the Syracuse Stars, Buffalo Bisons, and Brooklyn Atlantics each finished with a 9-7 record. We'll talk about tie breakers next.

NL East
The Brooklyn Gladiators won their six straight game to clinch the NL East, defeating the Philadelphia 76'ers 15-10.

NL North
The Milwaukee Bisons entered the day one game behind the Detroit Wolves, and scored 9 runs in the 7th-9th inning to defeat the Wolves 16-7 and finished tied with the Wolves with a 12-4 record. The Pittsburgh Keystones missed an opportunity to make it a three way tie when they lost to the New York Rangers 13-9.

NL West
In a must win game the Cincinnati Reds trounced the Chicago Lincolns 17-6 to capture the NL West with their third straight win. If the Reds lost they would have been forced to play a tie-breaker game against the Lincolns, but the win sent them to the playoffs.

NL South
It took 11 innings, but the Louisville Colonels won their sixth straight game defeating the Nashville Vols 15-13 in a wild game. Alex Cooper was 4-6 with a home run, triple, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored in the Colonels win.

NL Wild Card
The Pittsburgh Keystones and the loser of the Milwaukee Bisons-Detroit Wolves game will capture the wild card in the National League.

----------
Well, I knew a tie would happen sooner or later, but since it happened the first year let's talk about tie breakers. I mentioned this before, but there are basically two options to break the ties - use the NFL tie breaking procedures , disable the playoffs, and edit the schedules and keep track of championships and playoff appearances outside the game, or to let OOTP schedule the tie breakers. Both have their pros and cons, but I think that the biggest pro to letting OOTP handle the tie breakers is having a record of the league champions.

I will adjust the schedules to move the tie breakers and playoff series back, so everyone will be operating on a normal week's rest.

[NYY #23]

With the first regular season done I wanted to ask an opinion question. I originally didn't plan to move week to week, but once I started I wanted to go through at least the first season that way. So I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on whether that was good, or if moving to more of yearly updates would be better?

[NYY #23]

One thing that I did do was make a mistake that I caught late, and corrected the number of wild card teams from 4 to 2, but I think that it caused a couple of tie breaker games to be scheduled that wouldn't normally be scheduled.

AL Tie-breaker

The Baltimore Black Sox (9-8) defeated the Washington Capitals (8-9) by a score of 7-5. A two run double by Adrian Miller in the seventh inning broke the 5-5 tie and gave Baltimore the victory.

The Cleveland Lakers (9-8) defeated the Chicago White Stockings (8-9) in a 6-4 game. Gabe Swailes drove in a pair of runs for Cleveland.

The Brooklyn Atlantics blew out the Buffalo Bisons by a score of 15-5. Jim Woods drove in 4 runs for Brooklyn.

Both the Atlantics (10-7) and the Syracuse Stars (9-7) will advance as the Wild Card teams.

NL Tie-breaker

The Milwaukee Bisons scored early and often, scoring 6 in the first on their way to a 16-10 victory over the Detroit Wolves to capture the NL North title. Al Waddington was 4-5 for the night while driving in 7 runs for the Bisons.

AL Playoffs:

1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3) - Bye

5)Brooklyn Atlantics (10-7) vs. 4)Providence Grays (9-7)

6)Buffalo Bisons (9-8) vs. 3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7)

2)Rochester Broncos (10-6) - Bye

NL Playoffs:

1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4) - Bye

5)Detroit Wolves (12-5) vs. 4)Louisville Colonels (9-7)

6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) vs. 3)Cincinnati Reds (9-7)

2)Brooklyn Gladiators (10-6) - Bye

[NYY #23]

AL Playoffs:
1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3) - Bye

5)Brooklyn Atlantics (10-7) @ 4)Providence Grays (9-7)

The Atlantics didn't look like a Wild Card team today, out-hitting, out-pitching, and out-fielding the Grays in a 19-3 blowout. Andrew Winkler picked up 4 hits for Brooklyn, while John Hatfield, Tim Nagy, and the pitcher, David Hallquist, each picked up 3 hits. Hallquist picked up the win with a complete game 6 hitter.

6)Buffalo Bisons (9-8) @ 3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7)

The Hoosiers chased Bison's starter Adrian O'Shields from the game in the fifth inning with a 11-1 lead, and went on to win the game 11-5. Ed Pinkham drove in three runs for the Hoosiers.

2)Rochester Broncos (10-6) - Bye

NL Playoffs:
1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4) - Bye

5)Detroit Wolves (12-5) @ 4)Louisville Colonels (9-7)

I'm not sure why, but I've taken a rooting interest for the Detroit Wolves this year, and even though they entered the game as the lower seed it was hard to not call them favorites. The Colonels got hot at the right time though winning their final six games of the regular season. Despite their sloppy defense the Colonels got the big hits when they needed them and advance after knocking off the Wolves 5-4.

6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) @ 3)Cincinnati Reds (9-7)

The Keystones jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Reds came back to tie up the game in the bottom of the sixth before the game eventually went to extra innings with the score tied at 3. A.J. Lucas singled home the winning run for the Keystones, who advance to the next round of the playoffs.

2)Brooklyn Gladiators (10-6) - Bye

Next week's games
AL:
5)Brooklyn Atlantics (10-7) @ 1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3)

3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7) @ 2)Rochester Broncos (10-6)

NL:
4)Louisville Colonels (9-7)@ 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) @ 2)Brooklyn Gladiators (10-6)

[StLee]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

With the first regular season done I wanted to ask an opinion question. I originally didn't plan to move week to week, but once I started I wanted to go through at least the first season that way. So I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on whether that was good, or if moving to more of yearly updates would be better?

I really like the week-to-week setup. With such a short season, it gives us a chance to root for a team, NFL-style.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by StLee

I really like the week-to-week setup. With such a short season, it gives us a chance to root for a team, NFL-style.

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely felt pretty good going week-to-week, but wanted to see if everyone thought that was too much. I've got a few ideas that I'm going to try and work in over the next couple years too as things evolve, and see how they work out.

[NYY #23]

AL:
5)Brooklyn Atlantics (10-7) @ 1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3)

Today's game between the Atlantics and Crescents was a thrilling 13 inning game. The Crescents jumped out to and early 2-0 lead, and never surrendered the lead until the ninth inning when the Atlantics tied up the game at 6 apiece. In the bottom of the 13th Fred Waterman led off the inning with a triple for the Crescents, and came home to score on an error by pitcher Vince Whiteside who just entered the game.

Mark Batch pitched as well as he has all year, pitching 13 innings and picking up the win in his postseason debut. Batch allowed just 3 earned runs and left with a 2.08 ERA. Fred Waterman set a playoff record with a pair of triples.

3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7) @ 2)Rochester Broncos (10-6)

38 year old John Dempsey has been average at best as the starter for Indianapolis, going 7-7 with a 4.43 ERA, but he's managed to turn it up for the playoffs after winning his second game of the playoffs against the favored Rochester Broncos 11-4. The Broncos were plagued by 9 errors today that led to 6 unearned runs.

Jeremy Cook, Isaiah Grooms, Ed Pinkham, and Andy Jellinek each drove in 2 runs for the Hoosiers today. The Hoosiers will move on to face the Crescents in the ALCS.

NL:
4)Louisville Colonels (9-7)@ 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

I'm playing with a football schedule, and today's match-up between the Colonels and Bisons produced a football score. The Bisons held on for a 18-16 victory in a game that featured 34 hits and 15 errors.

I've been impressed with Micah Jones all year, but today he was chased from the game in the eighth. Jones allowed 10 runs, although just 3 were earned.

Cal McVey and Jon Morse were both 4-4 at the plate for the Bisons with Alex Reidhead driving in 3 runs and scoring another 5.

6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) @ 2)Brooklyn Gladiators (10-6)

The Keystones entered the game as the underdog based on seeding, but finished the regular season with a better record than the Gladiators, and didn't have much trouble advancing to the NLCS with a 7-4 win. A.J. Lucas was 4-5 at the plate, while Rick Wilson scored 3 of the Keystones 7 runs.

The Keystones will be taking on the Bisons, who defeated Pittsburgh twice this season by scores of 8-7 and 11-7.

-------------------------
Next week's games
ALCS:
3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7) @ 1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3)

NLCS:
6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) @ 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

[NYY #23]

ALCG:
3)Indianapolis Hoosiers (9-7) @ 1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3)

The Crescents struck first in the bottom of the first when they pushed one run across, then added 2 more runs in the bottom of the third. The Hoosiers finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the fourth, but New Orleans' offense kept adding to the lead all night and will advance to the World Series after defeating the Hoosiers 8-6.

Mark Batch allowed 6 runs in the complete game victory, but all runs were unearned. Fred Waterman tripled for the second straight playoff game and went 3-5 for the night with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

The Hoosiers made an interesting decision this week and named Matt Blanks their number one starter. While he did pitch a shutout during his only start this year, John Dempsey was pitching well in the playoffs going 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA. He was healthy and 100% rested, but since the Hoosiers made a change to their depth chart I didn't have any reason to interfere. They may have lost anyway, it's just questionable timing to make a change in the playoffs after two wins.

NLCG:
6)Pittsburgh Keystones (11-5) @ 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

The Bisons won the season series 2-0, scored more runs this year than Pittsburgh, and allowed just 5 more runs over the course of the year.

Pittsburgh jumped out to an early 2 run lead in the second though, but the Bisons scored 1 run in the second, third, and fourth innings to take the 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh battled back to tie the game in the eighth inning, but the Bisons broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth and held on for a 4-3 win.

Micah Joles picked up his first postseason win today, and Alex Reidhead continued his hot postseason going 3-4 with 2 RBI.
-------------------------
Next week's World Series

1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3) vs 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

[NYY #23]

World Series:
1)New Orleans Crescents (13-3) vs 1)Milwaukee Bisons (13-4)

I have to say that I'm pretty pleased that the first World Series featured the top seeds in both the American League and National League. Offensively both teams were fairly evenly matched, but New Orleans held the pitching advantage allowing 49 less runs this year.

New Orleans got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first with 4 runs, and added 1 in the second, 1 in the third, 4 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, and 2 in the seventh in the 13-3 blowout.

The Crescents pounded out 13 hits, and took advantage of 10 errors by the Bisons. Mark Batch won his third game of the postseason and lowered his ERA to 1.16 allowing just 1 earned run and 3 total runs.

David Abner and Jelani Gideon each went 3-5 at the plate tonight with Gideon stealing a pair of bases and driving in 3 runs to win the World Series MVP.

Congratulations to the New Orleans Crescents on winning the first World Series!

[StLee]

Woohoo! Way to dominate, Crescents!!!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by StLee

Woohoo! Way to dominate, Crescents!!!

I was happy the Crescents pulled it off too. They should be well positioned to come back strong next year too and try and defend their title.

[NYY #23]

With year 1 now in the books I thought I'd take a look back at some of the interesting stats and end of year awards.

With a shortened season of 16 games there are some things that we'll never see - 3000 career hits, 300 wins, or 500 home runs. One thing that it appears that we'll see a lot more of is .400 hitters though. There have been 28 players in the history of baseball that hit over .400, and through year 1 there were 15 players who hit .400 or better:

Kevin Riesenberg, BRK - .551
Travis Losch, SYR - .468
Chris Ashby, STL - .457
Greg Thornton, DET - .455
Jordan Bernard, RCH - .444
Matt Maddock, SYR - .442
Joe Walsh, NAS - .434
Jeremy Ellison, MIL - .429
Cal McVey, MIL - .423
Ross Barnes, DET - .420
Tim Wright, BUF - .414
Jon Morse, MIL - .412
Alex Cooper, LOU - .411
Bill Craver, BUF - .410
Al Waddington, MIL - .405

So not only is there a slew of .400 hitters, we've seen our first .500 hitter.

There were also 6 hitters that hit safely in all 16 games. Losch, Riesenberg, Maddock, and Ashby from the list of .400 hitters, in addition to Aaron Sauer of the Boston Americans and David Abner of the New Orleans Crescents.

None of the end of year awards should come as much surprise. Ross Barnes won the NL Outstanding Hitter Award after hitting .420 with 34 hits, 16 RBI, 24 runs scored, and a .472 OBP.

Travis Losch of the Syracuse Stars won the AL Outstanding Hitter after hitting .468 with 37 hits, 6 doubles, 10 triples, 21 RBI, and 32 runs scored.

Mark Batch of the Crescents captured the AL Outstanding Pitcher Award after going 10-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 98 innings with 8 strikeouts.

Micah Joles of the Milwaukee Bisons won the NL Outstanding Pitcher Award after going 13-3 with a 4.28 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 134 2/3 innings.

[NYY #23]

November is when the amateur draft will take place and real life players will enter the league.

The Fort Wayne Farmers drafted first, and selected SP Tom Healey. Healey should have a pretty easy path to the majors.

Rounding out the top 5 picks -

Hartford Blues: C-George Miller
Cleveland Spiders: 1B - Doc Kennedy
Nashville Vols: 1B - Jake Goodman
New York Giants: RF - Mike Dorgan

Heading into the 1872 season I'll be making two small changes to the set-up. The first will be re-ordering by seed prior to each round in the playoff. This will make things consistent with how the NFL playoffs work. The second change will be turning on financials. The effect should be minimal, but as the league evolves I'd like that to play a factor in which team gets relocated. That won't be the only factor, but it'll play a part.

[CatKnight]

Echoing the earlier comment, I like the week to week setup.

If I could make a request/suggestion though, I'd include the standings a little more often. Perhaps at the quarter marks: 4, 8 and 12, with more standings in 14, 15 (focused on the playoff teams) and 16

How do you feel the 'players' adapted to the short schedule? Were 17 man rosters sufficient?

Finances...hm. I'll be very interested in hearing how that plays out. I'm worried the game will be expecting 70-80 home games when it prepares its budget and so every team winds up in the red.