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

[Izz]

2051 Preliminary Finals

Game 1 - Whangarei Sluggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Ismael Aguirre got Brisbane off to a good start with his solo HR in the bottom of the 1st. The Sluggers equalized in the 3rd and briefly took the lead in the 4th, Tom Doig’s solo effort putting them up 2-1, but Brisbane rattled off 4 runs in the bottom of the inning (Hudswell’s solo HR and Ryan Bell’s 3-run effort doing the damage). The Bandits would add a few more to comfortably win 9-2. While they didn’t look rusty offensively or on the mound (Lance Ralston: 8.0IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K), they did struggle a bit defensively, committing 3 errors. Anglesey (3.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 2BB, 1K) didn’t have a happy night for the Sluggers. Alan Sneddon come off injured in the 4th, clutching his forearm, but to the relief of fans it was only a bit of soreness and he should be able to play through it.

Game 1 - Central Coast Thunder vs Darwin Diggers

While Darwin had more than earnt their week off, most were picking that the occasion would prove too much and the Thunder would easily dispatch them.

Brad King had other ideas, though. He rang up 5 strikeouts in the 1st 2 innings, and the Thunder offense looked bereft of ideas. Darwin didn’t run away with it though. They scored in the 1st, and Norman Lawless slugged a solo HR in the 3rd, but those were the only scoring acts of the game. Final score: 2-0 Darwin. Brad King (8.1IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 10K) was pulled within 2 outs of a playoff shutout, after looking tired in taking 11 pitches to strike out Daniel Wise to begin the 9th. Jose Diaz showed no nerves in recording the final 2 outs to get the save. Angelo Spear (8.0IP, 6H, 2ER, 0BB, 5K) went the whole game to pick up the loss.

Game 2 - Whangarei Sluggers vs Brisbane Bandits

The Sluggers scored 4 in the top of the 1st, Sneddon his typical self - drawing a walk, stealing 2nd, then 3rd, and coming home off a sac-fly - to open the account, and a Brisbane error then allowing a rally and 3 more to score. Patrick Maggs belted a 2-run HR in the 5th to further extend the lead. Brisbane got 1 back in the bottom of the inning. Aguirre and Hudswell hit back-to-back HRs to begin the bottom of the 7th (Hudswell’s travelling 437 feet) to make it a bit closer, but Brisbane couldn’t convert any other opportunities until Hudswell led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo HR. Gordon Anderton stayed on the mound to retire the next 3, though Russell Watters had to climb the wall to make the last out, and Whangarei had levelled the series. Final score: 6-4 Sluggers. Clint Aitcheson (4.1IP, 6H, 6R, 3ER, 1BB, 3K) took the loss, while Mangan (7.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 9K) made it 2-0 this postseason.

Game 2 - Central Coast Thunder vs Darwin Diggers

It seemed the Thunder didn’t know how to score runs in the postseason, and nobody they played against did either. Darwin scored 1 in the 3rd and that was all she wrote, the Thunder offense only capable of singles. Things did get interesting in the 9th when Diaz walked Alou to lead off the inning, and then walked Jay Keppell with 2 outs to put the go-ahead run at 1st. But Lindner could only hit a grounder to 3rd for an easy out at 1st to end the game. Final score: 1-0 Darwin, and they were just 1 win away from a Championship berth. Cooper Gerlach (6.2IP, 5H, 0ER, 2BB, 5K) did a good job, while Heathcote (7.1IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K) wasn’t terrible either.

Game 3 - Whangarei Sluggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Heading home for the next 2 days, the Sluggers were all confidence, repeatedly telling media they were “in no way overawed” by Brisbane’s roster.

The Bandits scored in the 1st, but Whangarei quickly struck back in the 2nd, Watter’s HR scoring 3. Alan Dulihanty homered in the 4th, neutralizing the run Brisbane had scored in the top of the inning. Whangarei added runs in the 6th and 7th and appeared to be cruising to victory. Brisbane weren’t laying down, though. Hudswell led off the top of the 9th with a 1st-pitch single, and Wakely followed up with a 1st-pitch double off the rightfield wall. The rebound was too powerful for Hudswell to attempt coming home, but now Brisbane had the tying run on deck. Out came Anderton. He walked Young-tae Lee, and gave up a single to Guiney, scoring Hudswell. Ryan Bell struck out, and Shiro Kondo hit a fly to left, Brock Wakely tagging up and beating out the throw to score. But with 2 outs and still behind by 2, could Brisbane keep the rally going? No, they couldn’t, Timothy Browne striking out to end the game. Final score: 6-4 Whangarei.

Allan Spear (7.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K) got the win and Anderton was credited with his 3rd save of the postseason. Wilson Lara (5.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 3BB, 6K) looked unsettled on the mound, and took the loss.

Game 3 - Central Coast Thunder vs Darwin Diggers

Both teams traded runs in the 2nd, Mitch Donahue homering for the Diggers, while Central Coast’s run was their 1st of the series. The scores stayed locked at 1 until the 6th, when Mike Wurfel’s double scored Lawless (Wurfel was then thrown out attempting to advance to 3rd while Lawless headed home). The Thunder got a runner to 2nd in the 8th, but that was as close as they came to crossing home plate again. Final score: 2-1 Darwin, and the Diggers had a tilt at a maiden Championship. Jesus Rodriguez (8.0IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 5K) looked nervous early but soon settled down. Chapman (7.2IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 4K) would’ve liked a little help from his offense, that was for sure. Diaz recorded his 3rd consecutive postseason save, none of them easy.

Game 4 - Whangarei Sluggers vs Brisbane Bandits

The Sluggers had the opportunity to end Brisbane’s title defence in front of their home crowd, but Brisbane showed immediately why they were the big guns in the league, Carlo Gadsden’s 2-run HR putting them ahead before an out had been recorded. Ralston was again hitting his spots, though Whangarei did draw a run closer in the 3rd. But with Brisbane seemingly getting on-base at will it was only a matter of time before they extended their lead. They did so in the 6th, scoring 2 more. The Sluggers kept it tight, scoring an unearned run in the 7th, but the Bandits added an insurance notch in the 8th and closed the game out to win 5-2.

Ralston (6.1IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 7K) again proved to be a difference-maker, while Anglesey (6.1IP, 9H, 4ER, 1BB, 5K) threw too many pitches up in the zone.

Game 5 - Whangarei Sluggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Brisbane had home field advantage for the decider, and all the experts were hoping the offenses of both sides would bust out. To quote one such: “A pitching duel? Hell no! Let’s see the fans’ gloves behind the CF wall getting a good workout!”

The experts got 1 half of what they wanted: Brisbane’s hitters were in good form, but Whangarei’s weren’t. That being said, it did look like it would be a pitcher’s duel through the first 3 1/2 until the Bandits scored 3 2-out runs in the bottom of the inning to take the advantage. They scored regularly after that, Guiney contributing a solo HR in the 5th, and Gadsden a 3-run blast in the 8th. The Sluggers did manage a run against a tiring Aitcheson in the 7th but that was all they could muster. Final score: 9-1 Bandits and they had a shot at 3 consecutive Championships!

Aitcheson (7.2IP, 7H, 1ER, 1BB, 5K) fared much better this time out, while Mangan (5.0IP, 8H, 5ER, 4BB, 3K) had a poor performance at the worst possible time. Gadsden was 3-5, with a HR and a double, driving in 5.

Sorry, reds1, but there’s always next season!

[Izz]

2051 Championship Series - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Preview: Darwin were floating on air, having finished the regular season with the 2nd-best record and then dispatching the Thunder in straight sets after a week off. In only their 4th season in the league they were competing for the grand prize, so no wonder the confidence. They’d got so far on the back of some astute offseason buys (Christos Hutchinson, Rhett Morrow, Mike Wurfel, Jesus Rodriguez) and some emerging stars (Brad King, Norman Lawless).

This balanced roster meant they finished 2051 with the 4th-best offense and 2nd-best pitching. Their BA of .280 was also ranked 4th, though they’d led the league the entire season until a lean, injury-hit March. Their OBP of .350 was 2nd-best and their runs scored of 829 4th-most. One thing Darwin hadn’t done much of during the regular season was hit HRs, the 145 they’d managed 2nd-last in the AUNZBL. Their overall ERA of 3.79 was ranked 2nd in the league, while their bullpen were a notch above everybody else, conceding only 3.16 runs every 9 innings. They’d given up the 2nd-least runs (674), while striking out the 5th-most hitters (1085).

Could this team play? Certainly. Would they stop Brisbane’s bid for a three-peat? Unlikely, according to most. The Bandits had won 107 regular season games on the back of the best offense and defense in the competition. Their BA of .284 ranked them 2nd, while their OBP of .361, runs scored of 955, hits of 1588, XBH of 600, and BB of 630 were all best in the league. Not only that, but they hit 279HR over the course of the year, a new season record, crushing the previous record of 242 set by Cairns in 2047. Their SLG of .495 was also a new season record, and also top of the pops in 2051.

On top of that, their pitching ERA of 3.78 was a league-topper, as were the combined ERA of their starters at 3.79. They’d allowed the least runs (638), least hits (1339), and least HR (141), as well as striking out the most hitters (1233). One small area of potential weakness was their bullpen, whose ERA of 3.77 was only 6th-best. But to get to them Darwin would need to get through their formidable starters first.

In a real boost for the Bandits, Norman Ladds had recovered from his rib cage muscle strain and would be on their roster for this series. That meant all 9 of Brisbane’s preferred starting hitters for the series had hit 14+ HRs for the season, with 4 (Ladds, Aguirre, Hudswell, Wakely) hitting 30+. This also meant only Gordon Appleby wasn’t available for Brisbane this series due to injury.

Diggers’ SS Damon McKinna suffered an unusual injury on the eve of the series. Already known in media and player circles as a hothead (Hutchinson’s reality series certainly highlighted that this season), his temper really came to the fore after 1 reporter pushed the issue during a studio interview, continuing down a line of questioning regarding McKinna’s love life for too long, at least according to McKinna. A push-and-shove scuffle ensued, during which time McKinna whacked his hand against a camera station. The ensuing bruise was bad enough that he wouldn’t be able to play for the next week, and would thus take no part in the Championship Series.

No charges were filed, but Diggers’ GM Juan Ornelas took to the datawaves to say how upset his teammates, and the Diggers’ organization as a whole, were with the SS, though Ornelas went on to say, “Not as disappointed as McKinna is with himself, that’s for sure. Some players never get to play in a Championship Series, and to rob yourself of that opportunity through sheer foolishness, well, that’s a pretty distressing thing, isn’t it? I’m sure McKinna will learn from this, and we’re taking appropriate action to give him the support he needs to overcome his anger issues.”

McKinna joined Bartolo Gonzales (acquired midseason from Christchurch) and Christos Hutchinson as injured Diggers watching from the bleachers.

The analysts’ pick? Brisbane in 5.

Game 1

Darwin would roll out a rested Brad King but all those who were hoping for another matchup with Lance Ralston were disappointed. Instead, Brisbane sent out Wilson Lara, who was also capable of a few strikeouts (and a few walks) on his day, to take on Darwin’s young wizard.

Norman Lawless got the series underway by hitting the 1st pitch into shallow right-centre for a single. Lara made matters interesting by plunking Mitch Donahue with a 1st pitch slider but with 2 outs Darwin couldn’t bring either runner home. King started his game off in great fashion, freezing up Ladds for a 1st-out K. Next batter, Gadsden, hit the ball deep, deep to centre but it didn’t quite have enough gas to go out of the yard and was snaffled by the CF.

Lara struck out the side in the 2nd and the crowd erupted. Lee drew a 2-out walk in the bottom of the inning before Guiney doubled over the head of the rightfielder to bring Lee home and open the scoring. 1-0 Brisbane.

The next couple of innings passed in scoreless fashion, King either looking unhittable or out of control. In the bottom of the 4th Aguirre and Wakely got on-base with 1 out, but King turned up the heat to strike out both Lee and Guiney (1 swinging, 1 looking) to get out of the jam. In response, Robin Herbert and Lachlan Whiffin got on-base (BB, single) for Darwin in the 5th with 1 out. Lara struck out Lawless but then surrendered a single to Mike Wurfel which brought Herbert home. Wurfel fans, all decked out as truckers, pantomimed blowing air horns as Wurfel set foot on 1st. Noah Blenkhorn followed up with a double deep to left, bringing Whiffin home and giving the Diggers the lead. King took 10 pitches to complete the bottom of the inning, recording 2 strikeouts.

The bottom of the 6th began in interesting fashion. Gadsden lined the 1st pitch of the inning into left for a single. Aguirre hit the 1st pitch of his AB straight to 3rd, starting a 5-4-3 double-play. And Hudswell completed the trifecta by cracking the 1st pitch of his AB into the upper rightfield tier to tie the game up. Wakely followed that up by latching onto a 2-1 fastball and sending it the distance over left. 3-2 Brisbane. King walked Lee but recovered to induce a groundball up the middle from Guiney that ended the inning.

The score stayed 3-2 until the bottom of the 8th when Hudswell’s double off the bottom of the centrefield wall drove Gadsden home. 4-2 Bandits.

Armando Ruiz, who’d recorded 41 saves in his 1st season as closer, came out in the top of the 9th. Whiffin singled between 3rd and short. PH Noah Akhurst struck out chasing a high fastball. Wurfel clobbered the 1st pitch of his AB into rightfield. It bounced away from the RF and he slid into 2nd. Meanwhile, Whiffin rounded 3rd and was waved home. His dive was good and the score was now 4-3. PH Hsi-men Zhu flied out to left. Donahue worked the count to 3-2, then shortened his swing on a fastball on the inside half of the plate, sending it wide of 2nd for a single. Wurfel, running with the pitch, barrelled around 3rd and down the home straight, diving home even though no throw from the RF was forthcoming. The pantomime air horns were going nuts! Game tied up at 4-4.

In the bottom of the inning Jose Diaz marched out to the mound, this time trying to preserve a tie rather than protect a lead. Guiney led off with a single that sneaked through the hole between 1st and 2nd. Next up, Timothy Browne launched a flyball deep, deep to left. Was it a walk-off HR? No, LF Rhett Morrow climbed the wall and brought it down. Out! Ryan Bell and Ladds were quick outs and the game headed to extra innings.

The Diggers got runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 10th and surprisingly opted to advance them via sacrifice bunt. The ploy worked, but they could’ve done with the extra out as Akhurst hit a sharp line drive straight to left to end the threat. The Bandits also managed 2 baserunners in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t score. Darwin was retired in order in the 11th. Brisbane wasn’t, though, loading the bases with 1 out. Surely this spelled the win? Gadsden got whiffed by Diaz, bringing Aguirre to the plate. There was no-one pitchers hatters to see more with the bases drunk than Aguirre. The 1st pitch was in the zone and he swung through it, the ball heading toward the hole at 3rd. However, the 3B swooped on it, and fired it to 2nd for the easy out to end the inning.

Perhaps inspired by this, Darwin went double, nubber resulting in 5-3 ground-out with runner advancing to 3rd, K, rbi-single to go ahead. The lead was short-lived, though. Hudswell led off the bottom of the 12th with a double to right-centre, and Wakely’s following double to left-centre drove him home. Lee was intentionally walked, but Guiney’s line-drive single to right saw pinch-runner Shiro Kondo round 3rd and head for home. The throw from the RF was on target, but an awkward bounce meant Donahue couldn’t gather it properly, and Kondo dove home safely. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane in an opening epic.

King (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 4BB, 10K) was his typically hard-to-handle self, while Lara (5.1IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K) got through 110 pitches in his 5.1 innings.

Game 2

After the excitement of Game 1, everybody was amped for Game 2. Cooper Gerlach (12-10, 4.60 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.24 WHIP, and 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA so far this postseason) would start for Darwin, while Ralston, who’d won both his playoff starts so far, was Brisbane’s starter.

And Ralston put on a masterclass, but more about that later.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Brisbane opened the scoring with Guiney’s single driving in Lee. 1-0. It became 2-0 in the 3rd, Aguirre sac-flying Ladds home. A Wurfel double and a Herbert walk saw Darwin get runners on the corners in the 4th with just 1 out, but Ralston fought his way to a K and shallow fly out to end the threat. In the bottom of the 6th, Hudswell hit his 5th HR of the postseason, and 2nd of the series, to take Brisbane out to a 3-nothing lead. And that was the final scoring act of the game. Final score: 3-0 Brisbane.

Ralston didn’t throw a complete-game shutout, but he was dominant in his 7.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 11. He got the win while Gerlach (7.0IP, 9H, 3ER, 4BB, 4K) picked up the loss. Aguirre was 0-8 after the 1st 2 games.

Off Day

The Diggers probably would've preferred to announce this after a win, but the fans still seemed mostly happy: 35 y/o Cooper Gerlach (138-134, 3.94 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.22 WHIP career) had signed a 1-year extension with the club. Reports were that Gerlach’s pay packet would drop by half next season.

Game 3

The Diggers were happy to be on home soil for the next few games, skipper Dylan Bruce excited about their prospects, even at 2-0 down. “They haven’t outplayed us, have they?” he said to media. “They won an extra-innings lottery in Game 1, and while we didn’t get much going in Game 2, they didn’t run away with it, either. So we’re confident, we’re ready, and I think we’ll win the next 3.”

Jesus Rodriguez (15-9, 3.94 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 1.33 WHIP) would start for Darwin, while Marcos Gallo (15-6, 3.79 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.29 WHIP), who’d thrown 2 innings of late relief for Brisbane in their series against Whangarei, would mount the mound for the Bandits.

A Gadsden double in the 1st was the only base hit until the bottom of the 3rd, when Herbert opened the scoring with a 427 foot jack over right off a rare poor pitch by Gallo. The lack of offense continued until the bottom of the 5th when Whiffin’s 2-out single sent Herbert (who'd earlier singled) scampering from 2nd towards home. LF Ladds had a +17.9 ZR on the season for a reason, though, quickly covering ground to scoop up the ball in his bare hand and powerfully throw at perfect height to the catcher for an easy tag out.

Ladds then tied the game up in the 7th, pulling 1 over the leftfield fence. In the bottom of the 8th, Gallo still pitching, Whiffin doubled deep to centre with 1 out, and then came home an out later thanks to a Wurfel single. Wurfel even tooted an imaginary air horn when he got to 1st.

Jose Diaz came out in the 9th, the hometown crowd already on their feet in anticipation. A few sat down when Lee singled to open the inning, but they were back on their feet 3 pitches later when Guiney ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Browne fought his way to 3-2, then got an 8th pitch over the heart of the plate. He made good contact, the crack of the bat sounding like a HR crack, but the ball got caught in the wind and fell into the CF’s glove, his back up against the wall. Final score: 2-1 Darwin.

Rodriguez (8.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 6BB, 3K) was hard to hit, but also had trouble finding the zone, while Gallo (8.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 6K) had reason to be pleased with his performance even though he copped the loss. Aguirre finally got a hit, going 1-3 with a walk.

Game 4

Darwin chose to go with 36 y/o Damian Gilder (3-3, 5.65 ERA, 4.96 FIP, 1.27 WHIP), who’d only come back from a ruptured UCL in February, and who hadn’t pitched since March 21st. Brisbane had been holding Clint Aitcheson (15-8, 3.85 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) back, but today he would get the start.

Gilder would prove to pitch the game of his life. He walked 2 in the 1st but escaped unscathed and thereafter wouldn’t allow a runner to 2nd base until the 6th, when back-to-back 2-out singles gave Brisbane a sniff at a run. Gilder shut that down, though, and would pitch another scoreless inning before heading off for a well-deserved shower.

In the meantime, Darwin hadn’t shown much offense either, but had got themselves on the board in the 4th, Rhett Morrow singling home Noah Blenkhorn. The Bandits looked sure to equalize in the 8th, with Gilder off the mound. Ryan Bell led the inning off with a single, Ladds walked, Gadsden flied out to centre, Aguirre singled and Bell took on LF Morrow’s arm, sprinting for home. And lost. Hudswell walked to load the bases but Wakely was only able to hit a soft grounder to 2nd for an easy force out. Browne doubled in the top of the 9th with 2 outs, but Bell struck out to end the game, Darwin squeezing home 1-0 winners.

Gilder (7.0IP, 4H, 0ER, 2BB, 7K) looked every inch the ace he wasn’t today, while Aitcheson (7.0IP, 7H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K) got no help from his offense.

Game 5

King up again, and he wouldn’t get to go toe-to-toe with Ralston today, either, but would replay his Game 1 match-up with Lara.

So far, the relative lack of offense from the 2 teams had surprised most, with many wondering if we were due for the dam to burst in Game 5 or 6. While Aguirre was robbed of a HR in the 1st thanks to Morrow again showing uncharacteristic athleticism, it again looked like pitching would prevail, both King and Lara trading strikeouts through the 1st 2 innings. In the 3rd Browne drew a leadoff walk, stole 2nd, and scored off Bell’s follow-up double. An error by RF Matt Davidson saw Bell score and Brisbane had an early 2-run lead.

Ladds and Gadsden both hit monster HRs in the 5th (449 foot, 447 foot respectively) to increase Brisbane’s advantage, and Lee added a 428 foot effort in the 6th to make it 5-0. Darwin finally got a run in the 6th, Wurfel again in the thick of it, this time scoring off a Sam Stubbs' single after earlier singling between 1st and 2nd. In the top of the 9th Brisbane were denied a run by another great outfield play, Browne being thrown out at home. Ruiz had no trouble in the bottom of the inning, finishing the game in 10 pitches. Final score: 5-1 Brisbane, and they were just 1 game away from creating history.

King (7.0IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, 2BB, 8K) picked up a loss, while Lara (5.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K) seemed to be pitching a little within himself in getting the win.

Game 6

Brisbane were telling all and sundry how excited they were at the possibility of winning 3 in a row in front of their home crowd, an attitude Lachlan Whiffin described as “arrogant and dismissive.” But, he went on to say, that "only added fuel” to Darwin's fire. Ralston, who would start for Brisbane, was unusually quiet at the pre-match media gig, refusing to engage in any of his usual theatrics. Gerlach had the weighty responsibility of keeping Darwin in with a sniff of Game 7. Most of his answers to journo questions were short and included, "Focused, mate, focused."

The Bandits backed up their arrogance with evidence, though, smashing the Diggers into submission in the bottom of the 1st. Ladds led off with a single. Gadsden lined out to 2nd. Aguirre got hit - it looked like it might’ve been intentional, but neither Aguirre or his skipper made any fuss - and then Brisbane pulled out an unexpected play: the double-steal. Aguirre ran like a brick but the throw went to 3rd and Ladds was judged to have dived in safe. Hudswell hit a fly to deep right centre, and his sacrifice scored Ladds. Then came the boomstick. Wakely crushed 1 into the leftfield bleachers, scoring 2 more. Lee singled, as did Guiney, and then Browne pulled one down the LF line. It stayed fair and went the distance and just like that the score was 6-0.

Perhaps buoyed by his successful steal, Aguirre tried to turn a double into a triple in the 2nd, but was easily tagged out. The score stayed 6-nil until the 5th when Gadsden launched a 2-run shot that bounced off the 2nd tier behind LF. In what was now certainly a cakewalk, Brisbane added 3 more in the 7th, going single, BB, rbi-single, K, K, 2-rbi single from man of the moment Browne, 4-3 ground out.

Darwin looked like they might break their duck in the 8th, getting runners on 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out, but Karl Lang dialled up his fastball a few notches to strike out the next 2 hitters. With 2 outs in the top of the 9th Davidson singled but was left forlorn at 1st base as Whiffin flied out deep to centre. Game, set and match to Brisbane, to the tune of 11-0, thus putting themselves in the record books as the 1st team to ever win 3 Championships in a row.

Ralston (7.0IP, 5H, 0ER, 0BB, 11K) might’ve been quiet before the game, but he certainly wasn’t afterwards, this time attending the press conference not only wearing a crown, but also a purple cape. Gerlach (2.1IP, 7H, 6ER, 0BB, 1K) and the rest of his team didn’t dally after the match, the team bus pulling out minutes after the mandatory press conference.

Bandits skipper, Cisco Ferreira, who’d only been an AUNZBL manager for 2 years after having been a pitching coach in the BL, made this point in Brisbane’s presser: “We’ll have basically the same team next season, so why not 4 in a row?” However, with a reported $28 million dollar loss for the 2051 campaign, there was always the possibility of cash dumps during the offseason.

Hurler of the Series: This could only go to 1 man, the undisputed Championship King, at least this year, Lance Ralston. He didn’t concede a run, earned or otherwise, across 2 starts, allowing just 10 hits and 2 walks in 14.1 innings, striking out 22 hitters.

Slugger of the Series: A tossup between Hudswell (.350/.462/.800, 2HR), and Wakely (.375/.444/.667, 2HR), with the gong being given to veteran Wakely who, in his 1st season as a Bandit, said he was even more excited than he’d been as a 25 y/o when he snared a ring with the Metros: "After 16 years in the league I appreciate how much harder it is to get 1 of these now." He paused before continuing with a smile, "Unless you're Youngy." This Championship win was Young-tae Lee's 7th.

[Izz]

2051 Championship-winning Bandits

[Izz]

2051 Season Leaderboards

Ah, i think you need to click on the attachment to enlarge it (click twice to go to fullsize). Cool

[Izz]

2051 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Jay Cummins (Wellington Fury)
Catcher: Sterling Brear (Cairns Crocs)
First Baseman: Edwin Hayes (Kununurra Pioneers)
Second Baseman: En-guo Cai (Melbourne Aces)
Third Baseman: Alan Dulihanty (Whangarei Sluggers)
Shortstop: Bryce Rice (Wellington Fury)
Left Fielder: Norman Ladds (Brisbane Bandits)
Center Fielder: Angelo Pinney (Perth Heat)
Right Fielder: Alan Sneddon (Whangarei Sluggers)

Rookie of the Year

25 y/o Kununurra 1B Edwin Hayes got the callup from AAA on the 1st of December, playing that night against Perth in the 4-hole. A weighty responsibility for a man on debut, but not too heavy for Hayes, who went 4-5 with 1RBI and 1 run scored. It quickly became apparent that his first-up performance was no fluke, Hayes securing the cleanup role permanently after a few weeks. Before getting injured in the backend of March, Hayes was .335/.399/.545, 129-385, with 55 runs, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 19HR, 63RBI, and 32BB from 429PA. He accumulated a 4.7 WAR and a 38.2 VORP. He was also skilful at 1B, winning this year’s Gold Glove with a +8.4 ZR. A worthy RotY winner, out of an otherwise weak pool.



2nd-place went to 26 y/o Roos’ LF Marshall Tipping (.251/.351/.401, 15HR), while the bronze winner was Aces’ corner outfielder Will Glasson (.281/.349/.404, 13HR).

Skipper of the Year

This managing thing was easy! Or so Cisco Ferreira, Bandits’ skipper, likely thought. In his 2nd year managing Brisbane, Ferreira walked away with his 2nd Skipper of the Year trophy. His acceptance speech was a touch on the rambling side, but he did make one interesting prediction. Next year, he said, Vince Hudswell would hit “at least 55 home runs.”



Hurler of the Year

The fan favourite to win HotY in 2051 was Lance Ralston, with teammate Wilson Lara also in the running, as well as Brad King. However, the fans didn’t have a vote in this, and after last year’s Awards ceremony nobody knew what to expect.

This year’s winner was... Wilson Lara. His WAR for the season was 4.5, and his ERA+ 143, to go with a 19-4, 3.11 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.17 WHIP stat-line.



Angelo Spear (20-10, 4.02 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) came 2nd thanks to his 20-win season, while Ralston (18-10, 3.62 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.05 WHIP) got himself on the podium this year, snaring 3rd.

Slugger of the Year

Had Aguirre, or even Patrick Maggs, done enough in their second-half dash to steal this award from Justin ‘Crazy Eyes’ Auger? How about 150RBI-man Clohessy, or 43HR, .322BA Keiran Pickford? Nope, it was all Auger. The 25 y/o phenom, who was yet to register 2 years of major-league service time, picked up the award on the back of a .323/.397/.586, 37HR, 8.9 WAR, 84.8 VORP season.



Patrick Maggs (.350/.414/.622, 38HR) added a SotY runner-up to his batting title. 3rd-place went to Auger’s forgotten teammate, Manuel Alou (.331/.416/.554, 35HR). To the surprise of many, Aguirre didn’t even make the final ballot.

ETA: Big thanks to Hankyu Braves for his card set, which can be found along with his other Japanese-based card sets here: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...e-leagues.html

ETA2: It's interesting to see the influence of Japanese culture on Australia. Japan bounced back strongly post-War, perhaps helped by their initial insularity. Currently Japan has the strongest economy of all the standalone Asian country, and have yet to engage in any of the conflicts raging on the Asian continent. In the late 2030's they signed a free trade agreement with Australia, and visa conditions for travel between both countries by citizens of either are relaxed. In Australia, Japanese is the 3rd-most spoken language after English and Indonesian.

Baseball-wise, Japan has a strong local competition, though the governing body of said competition is very aggressive in restricting foreign players, and if a player leaves to play overseas they are not welcome back. Because of this, there are few Japanese players in the AUNZBL, BL or NABA.

[Izz]

2051 Career Leaderboards

There were a few new entrants on the BA career leaderboard. Brock Wakely only needed 5HR to become the 3rd player past 500 (to think, not so long ago 400 was such a hurdle!). Luke Bodkin was the bookie's favourite as the next pitcher to reach 200 wins. At 36 y/o, most felt he still had a couple good seasons left in him, and he only needed 15 more wins to reach the milestone.

[Izz]

2051 BL Wrap-up

2051 Champions

The Piratas won the Serie de Campeonato, defeating San Jose 4-1. It was their 4th win in the BL’s 11 seasons.

Awards

Novato del Ano

Novato del Ano went to 31 y/o Adrian Bonaddio (.318/.358/.513, 14HR) who’d made the move to San Jose in 2051, having played from 2042-2050 in the AUNZBL for Hobart and Darwin.



Jarra de Oro

Bruno Watters had never scaled the great heights in the AUNZBL that most had expected after Cairns’ drafted him as the #1 overall pick in 2036, but he was certainly at the top of the BL crop. He was now in his 3rd BL season, and his 1st with Havana. His 15-4, 3.23 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.25 WHIP record in 2051 led to him winning Jarra de Oro.



In a numbering error, Bonaddio and Watters shared the same card number.

Bateador de Oro

Watters’ teammate Hidekazu Tashima was also loving the BL. Tashima, who’d chosen to leave the National Japanese League to pursue his dreams of playing in the AUNZBL, had been respectable without being sensational in his 4 seasons in Australia, with his peak being in 2047, when he went .284/.347/.516, with 43 doubles, 34HR, and 111RBI. When Melbourne didn’t offer him arbitration at the end of the 2049 season, and with no prospect of playing in Japan again, he’d headed to the Lower Americas. Last season he’d won Novato del Ano and Bateador de Oro. This season he was even better, winning the Bateador de Oro again with a .334/.396/.606, 30HR season.



Prospect Watch

24 y/o Armando Santos, playing for Havana, was raising plenty of eyebrows among scouts assigned to the BL. The kid had power, 25 of his 91 hits (from 316 ABs) HRs. His approach to the plate was all about aggression too, and while most believed his deficiencies were too great to fix, his raw power kept them coming back. A free agent after next season, it was likely some AUZNBL teams would be a-knocking at his door.



21 y/o Ricardo Santos (no relation to Armando) had 5 pitches, 3 of which he threw well, and while he’d been used exclusively out of the bullpen thus far by the Esmeraldas, most had wraps on him being a good starter in a season or 2. Already eligible for free agency, it was yet to be seen if any AUNZBL teams would make a play for him, perhaps thinking he’d develop better in their farm systems than in the BL.

[Izz]

NABA Wrap-up

Champions

It came down to the final day of the season. Warwick and Sioux City were locked at the top of the NABA ladder, both with 50-29 records. Would the competition head to a playoff game to decide its champion for the 1st time in its history?

Up against Midland, Warwick scored 2 in the 1st and held on for a 2-1 victory. Sioux City were playing Canon City. Canon City got the early advantage, scoring 2 in the 4th. Sioux City pulled the runs back, equalizing in the 7th, only to fall behind in the bottom of the inning. And 3-2 was how the score would stay, Sioux City falling just short.

The 2052 NABA Champions were the Warwick Reds. It was their 1st title win.

Awards

North Cascades Award

32 y/o Nathan Malone had debuted in the AUNZBL for Newcastle in the 2047 season, playing in 37 games. He would appear in 20 games in 2048, but only make 1 appearance in 2049, as a pinch-hitter. On 13th May 2052, after 2 more seasons stuck in AAA, he was granted free agency and headed to the Upper Americas, signing with Evansville. Playing the majority of his rookie NABA year at DH, he also won the batting title with a .349/.432/.476 showing, hitting 8HR along the way.



Yosemite Award

26 y/o Marshall Brusnahan was drafted by Sydney out of high school in 2043 as a 17 y/o and had worked his way up to AAA by 2048, finishing 3rd in the AAA HotY voting. But he wanted to travel, so when Sydney didn’t offer to extend his minor league contract he upped stakes and headed to Canon City. This year was his 4th in the NABA, and he stood above his peers, going 10-4, with a 2.00 ERA, 2.90 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP. Would he ever try to make it in the AUNZBL again? “Probably not,” he said candidly. “I’m good here.”



Yellowstone Award

24 y/o Jeff ‘Freak’ Moore was the #1 pick in the NABA 2048 draft, going to Canon City. This season it looked as if he were maturing into his bat. He hit .266/.358/.536, with 20HR - the most HR of anybody in the league in 2052. A free agent at the end of the season, it remained a possibility that he might be a late pickup for an AUNZBL team.



Prospects

19 y/o Gerald Tschiffely was the #2 overall 2052 draft pick. With 5 pitches, he projected to be a top flight NABA starter. Could he find a spot in an AUNZBL rotation? Only time would tell. The thing that concerned most scouts was that none of his pitches danced.



Notes

Following the conclusion of the 2052 season it was announced that from next year onwards the NABA would have a postseason. Of sorts. Called the NABA Cup, the 2 top teams at the end of the regular season would face off in a best of 3 series to determine a winner. However, the regular season remained the competition of prime importance. To emphasize that, a cash prize would be awarded to the winners of the regular season, while the winners of the NABA Cup would only benefit from the extra merchandising revenue.

[Izz]

Offseason

2051 Notes

League ERA was up drastically on last season, but not to all-time record highs, finishing up on a 4.44 mark. BA was up a notch, too, at .266.

Beau Riseley announced his retirement at season’s end. The 40 y/o had had a long and productive career, though he’d never managed to snag a Championship. He finished with a .295/.345/.464 ML stat-line, recording 2726 hits, 4th-best all-time, 445 doubles, 362HR, and 1391RBI. He had a habit of hitting walk-off HRs, doing so 9 times in his career, to go with 12 career Grand Slams. During the 2051 season Riseley had been the active leader in career hits. Had he done enough to get into the Hall? Only time would tell.



(Note: The ‘Career Numbers’ portion of Riseley’s card contains the stats of his overall pro-ball career, not just his time in the majors.)

League News

19 Apr: A rule change kicked off the offseason. From the 2052 season onwards, the waiver length period would be shortened to 2 days. This was a surprising move, not least given the PU’s vocal opposition to it. News of the proposed change had been ‘leaked’ to media several weeks before the vote, and while no sources were named, it was assumed to be from PU representatives.

The Commissioner’s Office framed the change thusly, “This will be to the advantage of all involved, enabling the clubs to move through the waiver process more efficiently, and with players not being in playing-limbo for any longer than necessary.” The waiver length was decreasing from the 4-day wait it had been raised to prior to the 2028 season.

The PU were opposed to the move as they felt it would mean more players slipping through the gaps into the minors rather than being picked up by opposition clubs.

The owners said that was unlikely, as all clubs typically knew if a player had been placed on waivers within 24 hours, and having to wait 3 extra days to sort out claims was a waste of everybody’s time. They also pointed out that only a small number of players were claimed off waivers during a season, and were of the opinion the PU was just making noise for the sake of it.

Notable Club Happenings

Canberra: Despite his charges never having played below .500 across a season in his 4 years in charge, and having made the playoffs for the 1st time in 11 years in 2051, Tony Ochoa didn’t have his contract renewed. The 54 y/o was keen to continue managing in the AUNZBL. There was no immediate word on his replacement.

Kununurra: In the only official firing of the offseason, Pioneers’ GM Hector Rodriguez got his contract torn up after just 1 year in charge. The Pioneers were also on the lookout for a new BC, pitching coach and trainer after deciding not to renew any of those contracts.

Wellington: 63 y/o Benjamin Stennings, who’d pitched for 4 seasons in the bigs from 2020-2023 in the Cowboys’ and Prospects’ bullpens, and who just this season had graduated to big-league manager, decided to retire. He’d led Wellington to an awful 73-89 record but was adamant that hadn’t factored into his decision. “My goal,” he said, “was to manage a big league team, and I couldn’t be prouder of having done so for the Fury.”

3 Aug: The day the preseason began, the Perth Heat announced an “ownership transition.” 89 y/o Tom Fyfe, long-suffering owner, had sold the team to Chico Henners, a businessman based in South Australia but with strong ties to the Perth area.

6 Aug: 3 days later, Henners sold the team on to Best West, a company primarily known as the franchiser of a line of budget motels that were popular throughout Western Australia. Eyebrows began to rise.

8 Aug: It took a couple more days for the rest of the story to find its way into public domain. The Best West’s primary shareholders had been bought out, not 2 weeks earlier, by a group of businesspeople who all happened to have ties to the Australian Government.

9 Aug: Naturally, uproar immediately followed, from both the PU and the non-government affiliated owners.

12 Aug: The AUZNBL released a statement saying they weren’t happy at “the lack of transparency” in this change of club ownership, and they “had launched an immediate investigation.” While most thought the ‘investigation’ would amount to nothing more than a canned press release in 2 month’s time, saying something to the effect of “nothing to see here, move along,” that wasn’t the case. A group of AUNZBL auditors were ensconced in the Perth offices within a week, and while the AUNZBL weren’t saying much, it appeared that they were threatening to pull out a clause in every club’s contract that said the league could take over day-to-day operations if a club was either unable to support itself or its players, or was engaging in illegal activities.

3 Sep: Spring Training kicked off with the Australian Government’s Minister of Sport releasing a video statement, in which he said, in part, ‘that any apparent ‘meddling’ on the part of the government was anything but. Instead, it was a reflection of the government’s dedication to the sport of baseball and a desire to see it thrive.’ This was a statement it might’ve been better for him not to make, as it reignited a firestorm that had been settling down as the season approached.

30 Sep: The auditors and other members of AUNZBL officialdom involved in the dispute with the new owners of the Heat were still at Heat HQ, with no sign of resolution forthcoming. How this controversy would affect the players would only be seen as the season progressed, though all towed the same line: “We’re paid to play baseball and that’s what we’re going to do - the politics of the game don’t concern or involve us.”

Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions

28 Mar: Brisbane, enjoying their week off before entering the postseason, signed 24 y/o Marcos Gallo (37-18, 21 sv, 3.59 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) to a 4-year extension. Bandits’ management saw Gallo as a staple of their rotation for the foreseeable future.

28 Mar: The Bandits also signed 26 y/o Norman Ladds (.275/.384/.489, 65HR) to a 5-year extension. The only Bandit to hit more HR during 2051 than Ladds, who got 37, was Brock Wakely, with 38. Thanks to both transactions, Bandits’ GM Victor Leseberg was privately sure that Brisbane would save a fair amount of arbitration money.

30 Mar: 28 y/o Damon McKinna (.258/.338/.418, 37HR) signed a 4-year extension with Darwin, who were apparently “all business” while they waited for the Division Finals to end and their 1st ever postseason to start.

13 May: This year’s top 5 free agents (ranked by OotPB TV) were:

1. 27 y/o RF Alan Sneddon
2. 28 y/o SP Angelo Spear
3. 31 y/o SP Blair Wurfel
4. 37 y/o SP Luke Bodkin
5. 30 y/o 3B Owen Delaney

Some of the other players on the market included:

35 y/o RF Lindsay Colson
31 y/o 3B Alan Dulihanty
29 y/o 3B Tommy Hillson (international free agent, from an independent league in the Upper Americas)
32 y/o SP Rory Lowe
35 y/o SP Yue-jiu Chin
29 y/o SP Jerry Fitchett
40 y/o SP Jing-zhong Ling
29 y/o CL Gordon Anderton
39 y/o LF Mike Wurfel
33 y/o 1B Benjamin Ziersch
27 y/o C Michichiro Kanda (BL)
38 y/o CL Mauro Contreras
27 y/o C Wesley Tindale (BL)

The Sluggers were the biggest losers heading into the offseason, shedding 12.1 WAR. Sydney, Kununurra and Perth actually gained some WAR. Champions Brisbane were in prime position to add more depth to their already superb roster, as they let 5 players go to free agency and only lost 0.8 WAR in the process.

23 May: Brisbane were excited to announce they and 27 y/o Lance Ralston (76-61, 3.75 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.28 WHIP) had agreed to terms for a 5-year extension. The fans were ecstatic.



25 May: Darwin management were of the vocal opinion that they could win it all in 2052 and, they said, they were prepared to do whatever it took to get the right players to finish their Championship puzzle. Today they announced 29 y/o 3-time All Star CL Gordon Anderton (20-33, 174 sv, 3.55 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) had signed a 3-year deal.

27 May: 2 days later Darwin announced a much bigger coup, also a former Slugger. 27 y/o Alan Sneddon (.300/.424/.416, 43HR), a player Diggers’ GM Juan Ornelas proclaimed as being “at the peak of his powers,” was coming to Darwin, having signed the dotted line on a 6-year contract. A roster containing both Christos Hutchinson and Sneddon promised plenty of hustle on the basepaths as well as in the outfield. Darwin fans were over-the-moon (especially the large contingent of Darwin fans actually on the Moon).



27 May: Canberra announced the signing of just-turned 30 y/o 3B Tommy ‘Grandpa’ Hillson. Hailing from an independent league in the Upper Americas, the scouts were saying Hillson would have a strong power game and be able to field almost anywhere.

1 Jun: Melbourne thought Ricardo Santos was a sound investment, signing him to a minor league deal and assigning him to their AAA-affiliate, where he would compete for a rotation spot.

2 Jun: 32 y/o Rory Lowe (81-62, 4.08 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) re-signed with Canberra on a 5-year deal.

2 Jun: Immediately after announcing the signing of Lowe, Canberra brought out 31 y/o Blair Wurfel (76-51, 3.70 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) from the back room. He’d be a Cavalryman for the next 4 years.



13 Jun: Melbourne made a couple of low-key trades during the Winter Meetings, but gave no indication ahead of time of today’s signing. That signing being 30 y/o gun infielder Owen Delaney (.272/.311/.372, 55HR), who had agreed to terms on a 4-year contract.



14 Jun: 38 y/o Mauro Contreras (53-46, 352 sv, 2.19 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 0.98 WHIP) had just come off a fantastic season with the awful Fury, going 4-2, with 39 saves and an ERA of 1.34. He felt he still had a couple of good years left in him, and he also had an eye on 400 saves. Hobart also felt he was still a star, signing the southpaw to a 2-year deal.

20 Jun: Canberra pulled off their 2nd big pitching signing of the offseason, snaring 28 y/o Angelo Spear (105-75, 3.98 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) on a mammoth 6-year deal. Reports were the guaranteed value for Spear was in excess of $100 million. 2-time 20-game winner Spear would be Canberra’s #1 starter.



23 Jun: The Diggers added another cog to their rotation: 37 y/o Luke Bodkin (185-153, 3.51 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.16 WHIP). He’d be in Darwin for the next 2 years, and was “super-excited” at the opportunity he’d have to “get to 200 wins while playing for a Championship-calibre team.”



9 Jul: Darwin continued throwing money around, this time signing 35 y/o Lindsay Colson (.288/.355/.491, 344HR) on a 2-year deal. While the other military-affiliated teams - Cairns and Kununurra, both reputed to be in grave financial difficulties - hadn’t made many offseason moves, reports began to come out of rival organizations that many felt Darwin’s big spending was a flexing of muscles on the part of their owners. While that may have had some truth to it, the facts showed a lot of clubs were digging themselves out of (or further into) financial holes, meaning the few clubs that did have money, like Darwin, would get the best of this season’s crop of free agents.

22 Jul: 32 y/o Alan Dulihanty (.254/.326/.401, 132HR) would turn out for the Aces for the next 3 years.

23 Jul: Newcastle extended 29 y/o Brody Cheadle (.266/.341/.442, 148HR) for another 5 years.

3 Aug: 29 y/o Jerry Fitchett (59-68, 4.79 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) signed with Hobart for 5 years.

7 Aug: 35 y/o Yue-jiu Chin (150-136, 4.32 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.36 WHIP) was going to Melbourne. He’d signed a 3-year deal.

21 Aug: 41 y/o Logan Neilson (197-199, 3.84 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.32 WHIP) wanted 200 wins, even if meant also getting 200 losses. After, in his own words, “talking to everybody and all their pets” this offseason, the Cowboys finally extended a 1-year offer, which he gladly snapped up. Neilson was far better than his 199 losses might suggest, having primarily played in poor teams across this career. He'd appeared in 3 postseasons during his 20-year career (though he was also injured for Adelaide’s 2049 and 2050 finals campaigns), and had never been part of a Championship-winning side.

21 Aug: 40 y/o Jing-zhong Ling (184-156, 3.79 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.27 WHIP) wouldn’t be going around again in the AUNZBL, though. He’d upped stakes and headed to the BL, signing a 1-year deal with Santiago. Ling, who’d never lived outside Australia, said he just wanted to “see what it was like on the other side.”

22 Aug: Just 2 days before his 40th birthday, Mike Wurfel (.303/.359/.434, 187HR), Darwin's standout in last year’s Championship Series, signed to play the 2052 season with Canberra.

25 Aug: Melbourne were cleaning up the remaining free agents heading towards ST. Today they announced 33 y/o Benjamin Ziersch (.299/.354/.510, 215HR) had signed for the 2052 season.

Notable Trades

10 Jul: While there had been plenty of trading this offseason, the trades had mostly involved fringe MLers or prospects. Today’s was the 1st trade that generated much talk in media circles. Auckland sent 30 y/o journeyman Jayden Pye (.256/.344/.440, 123HR), who’d played for 5 different clubs since his debut in 2046, to Sydney in exchange for 29 y/o SP Bob ‘Bod’ Davies (61-41, 4.07 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.33 WHIP), a prospect, and cash. Davies had been beaten up in 2051 (10-15, 5.95 ERA, 5.48 FIP, 1.58 WHIP), but most experts thought that was just an aberration, and he’d go okay as long as there was a good defense behind him. However, Auckland's ballpark was a hitter's park, so it was possible Davies might get beat up on again this season.

Notable Injuries

3 May: 29 y/o Cong Chaim (.272/.312/.442, 133HR) re-fractured his fibula and decided to call time on his career. The catcher, who’d won Championships with Brisbane in 2049 and 2050, had been an All Star twice, in 2046 and 2050. He’d played 7 years in the majors, 6 of those with the Bandits and the last with Melbourne.



6 Sep: Norman Ladds would likely miss all of October after breaking his hand.

8 Sep: Brody Cheadle faced 3 months on the DL after tearing the meniscus in his knee.

21 Sep: Ismael Aguirre’s strained hip muscle would keep him out of Brisbane’s lineup for most of October.

22 Sep: 39 y/o Danny Goodwin was 3career HR shy of 300. He wouldn’t hit any of those in October, though, a strained quad likely to rule him out until November.

22 Sep: In more bad news for Hobart fans, Mauro Contreras wouldn’t be suiting up for 2-3 months while he recuperated an inflamed elbow. The 38 y/o’s chances of getting to 400 saves weren’t dashed, but they had taken a hit.

24 Sep: Sterling Dunlop was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. The veteran would miss around half of the season.

Other Notes

The Diggers and Aces were the big offseason movers, both gaining sizeable WAR from their signings and trades. Brisbane, Cairns, Perth and Whangarei made absolutely no major league moves or any trades, leaving the Sluggers as this offseason’s biggest loser.

[Izz]

2052 Preseason Predictions

Coastal Division: This would be all Darwin again, as it had been in 2051. The Heat would once more be awful.

East-West Division: There was no stopping the juggernaut known as Brisbane, though many felt next year might be the beginning of a downturn in fortunes (though only 3 players of note - Aguirre, Lee, Lara - weren't contracted beyond this season). The Roos and Thunder would jockey it out for 2nd and 3rd, with Kununurra projected to lose 100 games.

NZ Division: This was still Whangarei's to lose, though Auckland would provide some stiff competition this year, and Christchurch wouldn't be too far back either.

Southern Division: The Cavalry's offseason spend would see them in good stead, according to the experts, and they would win the Southern handsomely, no other team in the division playing above .500 ball.

Slugger of the Year: Ashley Snijders, now 39 y/o, continued to get a lot of love from the stats-heads, and would become the oldest ever player to win SotY if they got their way. Manuel Alou and Vince Hudswell were also in the mix, with Justin Auger predicted to have only an average year. Somewhat surprisingly, Ismael Aguirre made barely anyone's top 10, many feeling he was about to hit the injury wall and wouldn't play much part in the season.

Hurler of the Year: Lance Ralston topped nearly everybody's lists, many predicting he would break the 300K mark this season, even though his previous best was 226 in 2050. Teammate Clint Aitcheson was also a possibility, as was Whangarei's Walter Anglesey. Luke Bodkin would have a great year and cross into 200-win territory, while teammate Brad King would fan a lot but walk a lot, too, and wouldn't be in the mix for any awards.

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - October

Notable Performances

1 Oct: Walter Anglesey certainly started the season off like a HotY contender. He allowed Christchurch just 4 hits, walking none and ringing up 7 strikeouts, to help Whangarei cruise to a 6-0 victory.

1 Oct: Lance Ralston might’ve picked up the L as Brisbane lost their Opening Day shootout with Auckland 2-1, but he showed why so many thought he would be the 1st player since Tyler Silk in 2022 to get to 300Ks. In 6.2 innings he fanned 10, and a couple of the walks he issued might’ve been strikeouts at home.

4 Oct: Adam Guiney stepped up to the plate big-time for Brisbane today, going 5-5, including a triple, as the Bandits trounced Auckland 11-1.

6 Oct: Jacob Blanksby’s 5-6, including a double and a HR, helped Canberra douse the Heat 13-9. Blanksby scored 3 runs and drove in 3 runners during the game.

7 Oct: 40 y/o Mike Wurfel, still trucking, won the season’s 1st PotW. The Cavalryman was .450/.542/.700 over the 1st week of the season, his 9-20 including 2 doubles and a HR. He also drove in 13 runners.

10 Oct: Wurfel’s 6th-inning single, his 2nd hit of a 2-3 night in Canberra’s 4-2 victory over Darwin, was career hit number 2500! Wurfel was the 10th player to reach this milestone, and 2nd on the active hits list behind Ashley Snijders. Wurfel’s career had spanned 21 seasons, but he ‘only’ had 18 1/2 years of major league service time, thanks to injury. After the game Wurfel said he was “ecstatic” to have reached the milestone but, more than anything, hoped he would finish his career having maintained a .300 average. However, when asked if that meant he would retire at the end of this season, Wurfel became coy: “We’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we? May is a long time away yet.”

11 Oct: Ralston made it two 10-strikeout games in 3 appearances, fanning 10 Cowboys’ hitters in 6.2 scoreless innings. He didn’t get the win, though, Brisbane not scoring the game’s solitary run until the top of the 9th. Unfortunately for Christchurch’s Logan Neilson, in his 1st start of the year, a brave 8 innings of no-run ball was ruined by an error from his shortstop in the 9th, which lead 2 outs later to a run scoring, and resulted in career loss #200 for Neilson.

12 Oct: Marcos Lopez’s 1st-inning single in tonight’s 5-2 win over the Prospects marked his 20th consecutive game with a hit.

12 Oct: There was a rush on 2500 hits, or so it seemed, with Brock Wakely reaching the feat today in Brisbane’s 9-3 toweling of Christchurch. He got to the mark with his 1st-inning single. Wakely was poised on the threshold of another milestone, too, needing only 4 more HR to get to 500. Wakely was the current all-time leader in WAR, having racked up 103.26 over the course of his career so far.

13 Oct: Karl Bell shut out Kununurra, giving up just 5 hits and 0 walks. He struck out 3 and Adelaide rubbed salt in the wound, piling on 10 runs in the victory.

14 Oct: Cowboys’ 3B Brodie McCarthy won PotW, going .375/.444/.656, his 12-32 including 3 doubles and 2HR.

16 Oct: Lopez’s hit streak ended at 22 games.

18 Oct: Beau Snell went 5-6 for the Prospects as they swept away the Heat 13-6.

19 Oct: In a game totally bereft of pitching, Central Coast edged Melbourne 16-14. The Aces’ Rob Lane was 5-6 in the offense-fest, hitting a triple and a HR, as well as scoring 4 runs.

21 Oct: Adam Guiney went .550/.625/1.150, 11-20, with 3 doubles and 3HR, on his way to PotW.

23 Oct: Keiran Pickford recorded a 20-game hit streak. It was the 3rd time in his ML career he’d done so.

25 Oct: Pickford’s streak ended at 21 games.

26 Oct: Beau Snell of the Prospects hit in his 20th straight game. His streak would come to a halt the following night.

26 Oct: In an epic that lasted 16 innings, Christchurch were helped no end by Jordan Blackford’s 5-7. All 5 hits were singles (as were all the Cowboys’ hits this game), but he did drive in the winning run. The final score was 4-3, though Canberra loaded the bases in the bottom of the 16th with 1 out before and for a moment with 2 outs it looked as if Tristan Lawson had hoiked his fly over the head of the rightfielder and possibly into the stands. But the ball dropped into the RF’s glove and that was all she wrote, the Cowboys coming away with a memorable win.

27 Oct: Another epic took place today, Brisbane and Cairns’ battle lasting 17 innings. It was a pitchers’ duel the whole way through, neither side scoring in regulation time. Ralston threw 8 innings of 4-hit, 1-walk ball, only striking out 5, while Domenic Eastick hurled 7 innings, also allowing no runs, even though he gave up 4 hits and 5 walks. He outfanned Ralston, notching up 11 strikeouts, much to the delight of the home crowd. Timothy Browne’s solo HR put Brisbane ahead in the 10th, but Cairns equalized in the bottom of the inning, and it wasn’t until the top of the 17th that another run was scored, Brisbane’s Luke Dunn, who’d subbed into the game in the 10th and was now having his 4th AB, singling Gordon Appleby home with 2 outs. 2-1 Bandits and with Cairns having had more baserunners over the game, many home fans thought Brisbane had stolen it from them.

28 Oct: Brain Waddington went .375/.400/.906, with 5 of his 12 hits HRs, on his way to PotW.

Notable Injuries

5 Oct: Manuel Alou was expected to miss the next 5 weeks of the Thunder’s campaign thanks to a strained lat.

8 Oct: 2051 Rookie of the Year, Edwin Hayes, had started this year off strong, too, hitting .500/.615/1.200, with 2HR, in the 1st 4 games. Then he slid awkwardly into base and faced a 4-day wait while his injury was assessed. The diagnosis was finally in today: he’d torn ligaments in his ankle and was looking at 5-6 weeks on the DL.

13 Oct: The Aces would be without Ryan Monck (2-0, 2.37 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 1.42 WHIP) for the next month while he battled with shoulder bursitis.

19 Oct: Andre England (.297/.318/.391, 0HR) could expect to be on the DL at least 6 weeks after he tore his quad.

27 Oct: Heat closer Caspar Buffey (0-0, 4 sv) had an inflamed shoulder and wouldn’t be back for 2-3 months.

29 Oct: On the 26th Austin Allan (.240/.300/.410, 4HR) collided headfirst with a wall. Today it was revealed to media that he’d been diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. He wouldn’t be back this season and while team medics were hopeful he’d make a full recovery, there was no hiding the worry on their faces.

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 30 y/o Tommy Hillson, who’d earned the nickname ‘Grandpa’ from his Cavalry teammates, was looking every inch the major-leaguer, despite having only played in low-level independent leagues prior to this year. In October he hit .317/.383/.490, 33-104, with 21 runs, 6 doubles, 4HR, 14RBI, and 11BB.

Hurler of the Month: Cooper Gerlach was #4 in Darwin’s rotation this stated, but shrugged it off by saying that where you pitched in the rotation didn’t matter, only what your results were. He definitely got good results in October, going 5-1, with a 2.89 ERA, 4.60 FIP, and 1.19 WHIP on his way to HotM. He recorded 27Ks in 43.2IP, and shared the league lead in wins.

Slugger of the Month: Ashley Snijders didn’t appear to be diminishing with age at all, some commentators even suggesting his swing looked smoother this season than it had 4 or 5 ago. Snijders, more than happy to talk a big game, said he had Alastair Mildren’s HR record in his sights. With 516 so far, Snijders needed another 114 to surpass Mildren. If Snijders’ body held up for the next 2 seasons after this one he’d get there, but most doubted it would, noting how Mildren himself began to slide at a similar age to Snijders. In winning SotM, Snijders hit .364/.474/.636, 40-110, with 21 runs, 6 doubles, 8HR, 25RBI, and 25BB. He led the league in OBP, OPS, wOBA (.460), was tied for most walks (25), and his 2.2 WAR placed him 2nd on that leaderboard.

Other Notes

3 Oct: Central Coast was rocked by news today of the passing of Andy Cresswell Jr., owner of the Thunder. While no official cause of death was released, sources out of the private hospital he died at said it was a heart attack, though the sources also hinted that a cocktail of drugs had been found in his system. Cresswell had been known as a hard-living man, but hadn’t made too many front pages over the last few years. His 37 y/o son, Brock, would take the reins of the small-market club. Brock, who’d spent most of his life in his father’s shadow, was said to be a patient man, as well as an economizer. In the press release announcing his taking over the club he made a point of saying, “This club was Dad’s pride and joy, his crowning accomplishment, and it is my wish that it will stay in the family for a long time. We will certainly never sell to anyone remotely connected to government interests. Sport and politics should always remain separate.”

10 Oct: Christos Hutchinson fronted media to inform them that it was all over. His reality TV series, that was. Ratings had been steadily declining since his move to Darwin, and with current public opinion of the government-affiliated teams very low, there didn’t seem much hope of everything picking back up. He’d enjoyed the ride, he said, but was glad in a way that this chapter off his life was over so he could move on. While nobody quite believed that, his teammates were all very happy about the turn of affairs - though all comments were on condition of anonymity.

23 Oct: 30 y/o Justin Trembath (2-2, 4.05 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.31 WHIP) failed a drug test and faced an 80-game suspension. The Venom SP still had 3 more years on his contract after this season. Adelaide made no public comment about the suspension, but it was assumed he would continue to be a part of their playing roster once he’d served his time.

#

Coastal Division: Darwin’s star-studded team were taking some time to click, their 15-14 record for October leaving them just 2 games ahead of the Venom (13-16) and 3 ahead of Perth (12-17).

East-West Division: The Roos (21-8) hopped out of the gate at a furious pace, finishing the month 4 games in front of Brisbane and Central Coast (both 17-12).

NZ Division: The Fury (17-12) got off to a strong start, the other 3 teams faltering. The Cowboys (13-16) were closest, 4 games back. Auckland (9-20) were the worst team in the league.

Southern Division: Canberra (20-9) showed why they held the favourites tag in the Southern with a strong opening stanza. Sydney (16-13) were 4 games in arrears.

#

Wellington’s Marcos Lopez (.393/.419/.639, 8HR) had always been a very good player but never got much media time. No surprise, when the league had players such as Alastair Mildren, Ashley Snijders, Ismael Aguirre and others at 1B. Lopez was making a statement so far in 2052 though, leading the league in BA, hits (48), TB (78), and WAR (2.5).

Gary Young (.277/.359/.644, 10HR) led the league in SLG and ISO (.366), and had a share of the HR lead with Stefan Lock (.310/.382/.638, 10HR). Lock also led the league in RBI with 28.

Newcastle 3B Joshua Moore (.339/.410/.444, 0HR) had scored the most runs of any player in the AUNZBL with 27.

Lance Ralston (0-2, 3.41 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) mightn’t have won a game yet, but he hadn’t got much help from his offense so far. He led the league in FIP and K/9 (9.73), but was only 2nd-equal on the K board with a bunch of other pitchers, with 40.

Roger Mangan (3-2, 3.02 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) topped the K leaderboard, by 1 whole strikeout, with 41.

Angelo Spear (3-1, 2.81 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 0.86 WHIP) had the best WHIP and K/BB (8.00).

Baden Henderson (4-0, 2.18 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 0.97 WHIP) of the Crocs had the league’s best ERA.

Bryan 'Bashful' White led the AUNZBL in saves, with 10.

Standings, Nov 1

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - November

Notable Performances

4 Nov: PotW Jerry Skuse crunched his way to a .462/.481/.923 stat-line over the last 7 days, his 12-26 including 3 doubles and 3 triples.

4 Nov: Central Coast rookie CF Bruce Galpin started his ML career toughing it out. Today, though, he played an essential part in the Thunder’s 11-inning 8-7 victory over Kununurra, going 5-6, including 2 doubles. His 2nd double, a fly that hit the base of the CF wall, was of the walk-off variety.

6 Nov: Marcos Lopez had played all 35 games so far this season, and had only gone oh-fer in 1 of them. Today he was 2-4, marking his 2nd 20-game hit streak of 2052.

6 Nov: Today was Ralston’s 8th start for the season, and he was yet to register a win. 0-2 so far for the year, he wouldn’t get a win today either as Brisbane went down 9-3 to Central Coast. He didn’t get the loss either, but more noteworthy to the baseball programs were the 12 strikeouts he put up in 7 innings. That was 1 more than Brad King managed on the day, though King didn’t concede any runs and got a W, thanks to Darwin eking out a 2-1 win over Christchurch. Ralston was back at the head of the K leaderboard, with 61. Christchurch’s Nathan Beckett, who’d racked up 13 Ks in his last October start, was 2nd with 52, and King 3rd with 50.

11 Nov: 22 y/o Melbourne catcher Gary ‘Dusty’ Baker, a rookie who’d picked up everyday duties only thanks to Cong Chaim’s injury-enforced retirement, went .611/.682/.889 over the last week to earn PotW. His 11-18 included 2 doubles and a HR.

11 Nov: Ralston finally had a win! He went 7.1 innings against Whangarei, conceding just 3 hits and 1 walk, leading to 1 earned run. Brisbane waltzed away with an 8-2 win, but the bigger news was Ralston fanning 11, meaning he’d struck out 10 or more hitters in 4 of his 9 starts so far this season.

13 Nov: Tomorrow, Venom 1B Clint Gordam would turn 38. He’d spent the previous 2 seasons in the BL but signed a minor league deal with Adelaide during ST, stating that he had “some things left to achieve at the highest level.” He’d played 25 games in Adelaide’s AAA-affiliate before getting the call-up to the bigs in early November. Today was his 9th game of the season. In the 6th inning he hit a 2-run jack, his 1st HR of the season and the 299th of his career. In the 7th he came up with the bases loaded and responded by crushing 1 into the top tier of the leftfield stand. Grand Slam and career HR #300. He couldn’t stop grinning during the aftermatch presser, continually saying, “Nice birthday present, eh?”

17 Nov: Lopez sat out 6 days with a sore back and continued his hit streak for 1 game thereafter before going 0-4 in a 2-1 win over Whangarei, thus ending the run at 23 games.

18 Nov: Ismael Aguirre went .483/.545/1.138, 14-29, with 4 doubles and 5HR, over the last 7 days to earn PotW.

18 Nov: Brock Wakely clubbed a solo HR in the 5th inning of Brisbane’s 13-7 win over Kununurra, and in the 6th he hit another, this 1 a 2-run effort. That 2nd HR was the 500th of his career, making him just the 3rd AUNZBL player to reach that mark. It would be a while before another player scaled those heights, with the next-highest active player Aguirre, on 354.

19 Nov: Ashley Snijders was on fire. Prior to today’s game he’d homered in his last 4 outings and jumped to the head of the HR leaderboard with 16HRs. Could he keep the streak going today? Yes, he could. While his Roos went down 6-3 to a resurgent Auckland (still terrible, but not as terrible, having won their last 4), Snijders was still crushing everything he saw. In the 3rd he hit a 2-out solo HR, and in the 6th he did the same. 6HRs in his last 5 games, and a season stat-line of .382/.500/.740. The 39 y/o was definitely continuing the career-best form he’d displayed over the last 2 seasons.

20 Nov: Could Snijders equal the all-time record of 6 consecutive games with a HR? No, he couldn’t, only managing a single in Newcastle’s 6-4 win over the Metros.

21 Nov: The Fury were riding high at the top of the NZ, and Dan Pankhurst today helped them added another win to the belt, blanking the Pioneers on the back of just 2 hits and 2 walks. He took a no-hitter into the 7th before Esteban Madrigal singled. Pankhurst K’d 5 and Wellington romped to a 10-0 win.

22 Nov: Andy Foley was great for the Blue Sox against the Venom, conceding only 2 hits and 2 walks to help Sydney shut out their opposition 7-0. He struck out 5.

25 Nov: Gordon Appleby snared PotW, going .520/.600/1.400, 13-25, with 12 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple and 5HR. His Bandits had won 6 straight.

Notable Injuries

3 Nov: The dire Metros would be without star Brendon Stennings (.330/.372/.500, 1HR) for 5-6 weeks after he strained his MCL. At the time of his injury Stennings led the league in triples, with 4.

7 Nov: Angelo Rankin (.224/.291/.327, 1HR in 55PA) had only been 12 games back from injury, a fractured finger suffered during ST. Now he faced at least 5 more weeks on the DL, thanks to another fracture. This time around he’d fractured his ulna. “I feel like I’ve got glass arms at the moment,” he said when interviewed, “but I’m sure I’ll be right and firing by the pointy end of the season.”

12 Nov: Cody England (.291/.327/.411, 5HR) would be out of action for the next 5 weeks. The Aces' SS had a torn meniscus.

13 Nov: Mitch Donahue (.296/.353/.511, 6HR) would be watching the Diggers from the sidelines for the next month while he recovered from a fractured finger.

18 Nov: Veteran Craig Hardy (.275/.364/.359, 1HR) always spent some portion of the season on the DL. This year would be no different, with news he’d be inactive for at least 5 weeks after straining his PCL.

19 Nov: Canberra’s Martin Boston (.376/.409/.478, 0HR) wasn’t just a ball-player, he was also a hero. Why? In the early hours of this morning he smelled smoke and jumped out of bed to discover his neighbour’s house was on fire. “Without thinking,” he said afterward, he rushed over, clad in nothing more than his boxers, and helped both the elderly inhabitants to safety. Unfortunately, in the process he strained his oblique and would miss the next 2 weeks worth of games. But he didn’t care, saying, “It’s a tiny price to pay to still be able to see Jan and Bill’s smiling faces every morning.” There was talk from Canberra’s governor of a bravery medal but Boston wasn’t buying into the hype. “It’s just what anybody would’ve done,” he said.

20 Nov: Rory Lowe (6-2, 2.67 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) had to wait 5 days for a diagnosis of his injury. Turned out he had a strained biceps tendon which would see him out of Canberra’s rotation for the next month.

21 Nov: After inexplicably only starting 89 games in 2051, Manny Gallo (.305/.340/.552, 11HR) appeared to be back in favour and was Cairns’ 1st-choice 1B in 2052. However, he might have to once again fight for his spot after returning from injury. He’d be on the DL 6 weeks with a torn abdominal muscle.

28 Nov: Sean Carr (.363/.413/.491, 4HR) had a herniated disc in his back and expected to be on the DL for 3 weeks.

28 Nov: 38 y/o Sterling Dunlop inflamed his shoulder during ST, and had been looking at a January return. Today, however, he fronted media to inform them of his decision to retire from the game. The #1 overall 2037 draft pick had “no regrets,” having put together an impressive 173-133 record, often on poor teams. His career ERA was 3.48, his FIP 3.52, and his WHIP 1.21. In 2895.0 IP he’d struck out 2675 hitters (2nd all-time), striking out more batters than he’d allowed hits (2656). He’d won 1 ring, with Auckland in 2047, and been invited to 12 All Star games, including a string of 10 in a row between 2041 and 2050. He’d also snared a Gold Glove in 2038. His career WAR was 72.4 (2nd all-time) and his career ERA+ 127.



Notable Trades/Signings

1 Nov: Central Coast 26 y/o Connor Chapman (2-4, 3.38 ERA, 4.70 FIP, 0.92 WHIP) agreed to a 4-year extension, neatly tying up his 1st 2 years of free agency.

21 Nov: 29 y/o Trent Allan (.246/.369/.380, 5HR) was having somewhat of a slow start to the season, and Sydney meant to benefit from that. Today they announced the 4-time All Star had signed a 4-year contract extension, which could potentially see him be a Blue Sock for the 1st 12 years of his career. The Townsville native said he loved his adopted city, and couldn’t be happier to remain at the club for the foreseeable future.

29 Nov: Newcastle had developed a reputation in recent seasons for odd trades, and this was another example. They sent 29 y/o LF Elliot Cleaver (.297/.354/.524, 9HR), a guy who was expected to contribute 30+ HR in a full season, plus cash, to Sydney in exchange for a fringe-ML SS and a pitching prospect who might break into the bigs one day, but only as a reliever.

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 26 y/o Randy Matheson, Perth’s rookie SS, hit .324/.392/.535 in November on his way to RotM. His 23-71 included 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3HR. He scored 7 runs, walked 7 times, stole 4 bases, and drove in 11 runners.

Hurler of the Month: Jay Cummins was a good pitcher, no doubt, but the last 2 seasons he’d lost 18 and 17 games respectively as the ace of an awful team. With Wellington busting out so far this season, Cummins’ life was a lot happier. In November he was 6 and oh, with a 0.94 ERA, 2.96 FIP, and a 0.81 WHIP. He threw exactly 8 innings in each of his starts, for a total of 48, striking out 37 batters along the way. Cummins had 9 wins for the year, tying him for the league lead, and had thrown the most innings (90.2).

Slugger of the Month: There was no stopping the Snijders’ train at the moment, as he dominated the league in nearly every major category. His November was even better than his October as he hit .410/.532/.810, 41-100, with 4 doubles, a whopping 12HR, 26 runs, 24RBI, and 23BB. For the year he was .386/.502/.719, leading the league in BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA (.504), ISO (.330), and WAR (5.3), and was tied for the league lead in HR (20), RBI (49), runs (47), BB (48), and total bases (151).

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Darwin (15-13) moved a game ahead of the pack in the Coastal, with Cairns (16-12) pulling themselves off the floor of the division to finish the month in 2nd, but still 3 games below .500.

East-West Division: Newcastle (16-12) couldn’t quite keep up the furious pace they’d set in October, and found themselves level with the insatiable Bandits (20-8) come month end. The Thunder (16-12) were 4 games back.

NZ Division: Wellington (17-11) continued to plow ahead, with the rest of the division majorly awful. The best of the rest was Whangarei (11-17), who had a 23-34 record going into December.

Southern Division: Canberra (15-13) held steady over the Blue Sox (15-13), while Hobart (15-13) picked up a couple of games to be 1 game below .500 at the end of the month.

Wildcard: Either Brisbane or Newcastle held 1 slot, while the Thunder was 2 games clear of Sydney in the 2nd slot.

#

Stefan Lock (.273/.340/.590, 20HR) hit a HR on the last day of the month to draw level with Snijders at the top of that leaderboard. Lock had also struck out the most of any player, getting sent back on strikes 60 times so far.

Justin Auger (.307/.384/.605, 17HR) was the player tied with Snijders at the head of the RBI and runs boards.

Joshua Moore (.346/.410/.450, 1HR) had recorded the most hits of any player, with 83.

Esteban Madrigal (.369/.448/.696, 15HR) had already swatted 26 doubles, only 1 off his season total last year. He’d hit the most doubles of anybody in the league, as well as the most XBH (41), and was tied with Snijders for most bases in total.

Alan Sneddon (.306/.444/.403, 2HR) was tied with Snijders for most walks, and had stolen more bases than anyone else, swiping 19 to date.

Lance Ralston (2-3, 2.78 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 0.99 WHIP) might not be getting the run support from the powerful Brisbane lineup that he deserved, but he was still having a great season. He led the league in FIP, Ks (96), K/9 (11.12), and WAR (3.2).

Angelo Spear (9-1, 2.72 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 0.95 WHIP) had the best WHIP of any qualified pitcher, as well as the best BB/9 (0.81), and K/BB (7.88). He was also tied for most wins.

Brad King (5-5, 3.62 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.35 WHIP) should consider changing his nickname to ‘Wild Thing’. He’d walked the most hitters of any pitcher (45), but had the best H/9 (6.33) and OAVG (.195).

Robert Bywaters (3-0, 17 sv) led the league in saves by 1.

Standings, Dec 1

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - December

2052 #1 Draft Pick

Perth had the #1 pick this year, and they went with 21 y/o pitcher Quentin Welch. Welch possessed 4 pitches and projected to be a top of the rotation guy able to go deep into games. He also had potential with the bat, with scouts reckoning if he went that way instead he’d be a .280, 30HR guy. Welch was a smart kid with a good work ethic but suffered from a problem that many talented young ballers had: he was too big for his britches. Perth sent him straight to single-A to develop as a starting pitcher.



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

2051, Josh Gladstone: Last season he went from college ball to short-A, to long-A, and then to double-A, where he played 1 game before getting a March call-up to the big-time. He looked underdone, as you’d expect, and Perth sent him back in 2052 to AA. So far in 2052 he’d hit .264/.380/.467, with 7HR, and had just earned another call-up to the bigs, once again bypassing AAA.

2050, Zachariah Pond: Not long back from a torn flexor, Pond still looked like he’d develop into something good. He’d had 1 start in A-ball before Darwin sent him to AA, where he’d also started once.

2049, Brad King: ‘Wizard’ was weaving his magic in the majors, going 15-9, with 247 strikeouts, in 2051. So far in 2052 he was 5-6, with a 3.39 ERA, 4.23 FIP, and 1.29 WHIP. He’d walked more hitters than anybody else, and perhaps that was making him even tougher to hit, with one well known player saying after facing him, “You just never know where it’s going. I don’t think he does, either.” Only 22 years old, King had plenty of time to work on that control, but probably wasn’t too worried about it at the moment, as he seemed able to get himself out of most jams.

2048, Mitch Donahue: Just about to return from a month-long injury layoff, Donahue was Darwin’s first-choice catcher. In 34 games this season he’d hit .296/.353/.511, with 6HR. Most scouts had revised their opinion of him, saying he’d nearly reached his ceiling and would prove to be a .260 career guy, contributing 20-25HRs a year.

Notable Performances

1 Dec: Luke Bodkin recorded career win #190 today, throwing 6.1 innings of 7-hit, 1-walk, 9K, 1ER ball. With it likely he would start around 20 more games this season he was definitely a chance of reaching 200 this year.

2 Dec: Jacob Blanksby was fast approaching 300 career HRs, needing only 4 more. He hit 3 in the last week, to go with a .500/.519/.885 stat-line, to earn PotW honours.

7 Dec: Lance Ralston was a machine, fanning 13 in 6.0 IP. He allowed 6 hits but conceded no runs as Brisbane beat Auckland 5-0. However, after striking out the last batter in the 6th Ralston walked off the field holding his arm and didn’t come back out in the 7th. There was no word after the game as to his health, and Brisbane fans were collectively holding their breath.

7 Dec: Newcastle went ballistic against Sydney today, walloping their geographical neighbours to the tune of 17-2. In amongst that Ashley Snijders went 4-4, slugging 2HR and driving in 4 runners, as well as drawing 2 walks. He also scored 5 runs, tying the Newcastle regular season record.

9 Dec: After some of his performances in the last 7 days, it was no surprise Snijders took out PotW. His stat-line was a tremendous .500/.593/1.136, his 11-22 including 2 doubles and 4HR. He scored 9 runs and drew 5 walks, driving in 13 runners. For the year, Snijders was hitting .394/.508/.750, to lead the league in all 3 categories. He also had 24 home runs and 62RBI, also league-bests. He sat at the head of the following season boards, too: wOBA (.518), hits (93), runs (57), ISO (.356), TB (177), and his 6.4 WAR put him on track for a record-smashing 16.1 WAR season. Could he keep up this tremendous pace? Only time would tell, though most analysts were sure he’d come down to earth in the second half of the season.

11 Dec: Ted Murray kept Darwin scoreless on the back of 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 2 and Melbourne won 4-0. This was Murray’s 10th career shutout, moving him into a tie for 2nd on the all-time shutouts list. Keiran Tennant topped that board, with 11.

13 Dec: An injury-depleted Brisbane had no answer to Hobart’s Hen-to Ling as the southpaw shut them down, permitting just 4 hits and 3 walks. Ling, who never threatened to overpower batters, only struck out 1 in the 9-0 slapping, but 15 of the 31 outs he recorded were ground balls.

15 Dec: Angelo Rankin went 5-5 in Christchurch’s 9-5 win over Brisbane. The plucky SS hit a double and a triple amongst 3 singles.

15 Dec: Snijders went 4-5 as Newcastle whipped Melbourne 16-4. He hit his 26th HR of the year in the 7th to extend his lead in that race but, more impressively, he finished the game with a .401 BA for the season.

16 Dec: Carlo Gadsden was picking up the slack in Brisbane, leading the team in the absence of injured teammates. He won PotW with a .500/.536/.962 effort, hitting 3 doubles and 3HR among 13 hits.

18 Dec: Perhaps the cancellation of his reality show was a good thing, for today Christos Hutchinson pounded out 6 hits for Darwin against Canberra. Unfortunately, Hutchinson’s heroics couldn’t inspire the Diggers to victory, the Cavalry outpacing them 18-9. Hutchinson was the 1st player to record 6 hits in a non-extra innings game since Benjamin Barclay in the 2046 season.

22 Dec: 31 y/o Jacob Blanksby hit career HR #300 today in Canberra’s 8-2 beating of Auckland. Blanksby was only the 2nd catcher to reach the 300HR milestone, though still had a fair ways to go to catch up to Axel Stennings, who finished his career with 397HRs.

23 Dec: Auckland backstop Matthew Schenkel won PotW with a .500/.571/1.786 stat-line. While he only collected 7 hits, 6 of them were HRs. He’d homered in his last 4 games.

27 Dec: Dan Pankhurst recorded his 2nd shutout of the season, taming the Venom to the tune of 3 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. Wellington eased to a 7-0 win.

30 Dec: Adelaide’s Bob Bowden scooped PotW with a .478/.520/.913 showing. 3 of his 11 hits were HRs.

Notable Injuries

5 Dec: Esteban Madrigal (.368/.444/.706, 17HR) was having a great year so far. Hopefully that would continue once he came back from injury. He’d strained an oblique and faced 5 weeks rest and recovery. At the time of his injury Madrigal led the league in SLG, doubles (26), ISO (.338), XBH (43), and total bases (161). The injury also meant ‘Shark’ wouldn’t be available for the All Star Game.

6 Dec: One of the few Perth players performing, Gareth Orpen (.302/.353/.563, 14HR), was looking at about a month off after he suffered a calf strain.

7 Dec: Young-tae Lee (.229/.362/.367, 5HR) started the year slow but had picked it up in the last 4 weeks. However he would now be on the DL at least that long after straining his groin.

11 Dec: In a gutting blow not only for Brisbane but also for baseball fans in general, Lance Ralston (4-3, 2.71 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 111 Ks) wouldn’t play any further part in this season after being diagnosed with a partially torn labrum. At the time of his diagnosis, Ralston was leading the league in ERA, FIP, Ks, K/9 (11.14), and WAR (3.7).

12 Dec: Brisbane had been hit with the injury bug. Now it was their leading HR hitter in 2052, Gordon Appleby (.337/.390/.609, 15HR), who’d only played 64 games last year thanks to injury. And once again it was his ankle causing the problem. Last season he’d fractured this same ankle. During ST this year he’d twisted it, and now he had torn ligaments. He’d likely be on the DL for 5 weeks.

17 Dec: Rob Lane (.278/.331/.441, 9HR) jokingly told media that his career goal was to “injure every bone and muscle” in his body before the end of his career. Brave face aside, Lane then honestly conceded he wasn’t looking forward to spending yet another stint watching from the stands. He had a fractured thumb and would be out at least 5 weeks.

27 Dec: Karl Bell (8-1, 3.26 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.22 WHIP) was gone for the season with a torn labrum. Adelaide, jousting with Darwin at the top of the Coastal, would sorely miss him.

31 Dec: 3 days previously, 22 y/o Gary Baker (.309/.366/.527, 16HR) was announced to the All Star Game, and could barely contain his delight. “Can’t believe it, mate,” he said when reporters caught up with him. “To be sitting on the bench with all those legends, mate, it’s just, well, legendary.” Now he wasn’t so happy, having today been diagnosed with a broken hand. He’d be out 8-9 weeks. Baker would still get to sit on the bench at the All Star Game in his All Star gear, which he was still “super-stoked” to be doing.

Notable Trades/Signings

6 Dec: The Roos made another interesting trade today, sending 30 y/o 1B Brian Waddington (.258/.362/.430, 9HR) and a wad of cash to Adelaide in return for 25 y/o 3B Alan Tennant (.262/.317/.411, 5HR) and 22 y/o Yoshiaga Yamane, who’d made his major-league debut this year, going hitless in 2 games.

12 Dec: Central Coast extended 29 y/o Sterling Powell (6-4, 4.08 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) for 2 years. Powell had a lifetime 53-70 record, with a 4.23 FIP, but he seemed to be a guy who coaches were always willing to take a punt on.

2052 All Stars

Australian All Stars

SP Baden Henderson - CAI - 8-3, 3.14 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
SP Andy Foley - SYD - 8-4, 2.89 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.10 WHIP
SP Connor Chapman - CEN - 9-6, 3.02 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 0.95 WHIP
SP Vince Delaney - HOB - 9-5, 3.57 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
SP Blair Wurfel - CAN - 8-7, 4.26 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.32 WHIP
SP Roger Mangan - WHA - 6-7, 3.69 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.18 WHIP
SP Brad King - DAR - 7-7, 3.56 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
MR Bailey Cleaver - DAR - 1-2, 4 sv, 1.78 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 0.88 WHIP
MR Logan Bowlby - CEN - 3-1, 3 sv, 3.68 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
CL Brendan Sheppard - CAN - 1-0, 18 sv, 0.53 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 0.88 WHIP
CL Robert Bywaters - NEW - 3-2, 24 sv, 1.23 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 0.98 WHIP
CL Logan Dale - WHA - 2-0, 21 sv, 1.64 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 1.06 WHIP
C Jacob Blanksby - CAN - .331/.410/.651, 21HR
C Zachary Woollett - SYD - .314/.386/.509, 12HR
C Gary Baker - MEL - .310/.363/.522, 15HR
1B Justin Auger - CEN - .312/.388/.588, 22HR
1B Stefan Lock - SYD - .283/.343/.578, 26HR
1B Blair Toohey - SYD - .296/.405/.475, 11HR
2B Vince Hudswell - BRI - .302/.374/.485, 12HR
2B Owen Delaney - MEL - .294/.317/.434, 7HR
3B Brock Wakely - BRI - .312/.416/.532, 13HR
3B Damon Liao - CAI - .312/.361/.426, 6HR
SS Gary Young - ADE - .277/.333/.554, 19HR
LF Alan Sneddon - DAR - .293/.433/.364, 2HR
LF Mike Wurfel - CAN - .279/.320/.373, 3HR
CF Martin Boston - CAN - .366/.407/.440, 0HR
RF Marshall Tipping - NEW - .292/.372/.503, 13HR
RF Adam Guiney - BRI - .314/.361/.451, 6HR



NZ & Overseas All Stars

SP Jay Cummins - WEL - 11-5, 3.13 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 1.19 WHIP
SP Clint Aitcheson - BRI - 8-4, 3.03 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.03 WHIP
SP Ted Heathcote - CEN - 9-4, 3.24 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 1.06 WHIP
SP Bruno Budd - DAR - 10-1, 3.07 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.14 WHIP
SP Walter Anglesey - WHA - 8-7, 3.87 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.31 WHIP
SP Angelo Pagan - NEW - 7-4, 3.31 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.22 WHIP
SP Marcos Gallo - BRI - 8-5, 4.07 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
MR Harrison Fitchett - CAI - 4-4, 4 sv, 2.08 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
MR Gary Schenkel - WEL - 0-0, 2 sv, 1.34 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 0.83 WHIP
CL Kade Clark - MEL - 1-1, 17 sv, 2.79 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.07 WHIP
CL Armando Ruiz - BRI - 2-1, 19 sv, 3.62 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.35 WHIP
CL Rex Herbert - CAI - 3-1, 15 sv, 3.55 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 1.33 WHIP
C Jerry Skuse - WHA - .295/.346/.544, 17HR
C Tyler Pratly - NEW - .303/.358/.490, 13HR
1B Ashley Snijders - NEW - .384/.499/.719, 29HR
1B Marcos Lopez - WEL - .355/.387/.606, 21HR
1B Ismael Aguirre - BRI - .344/.383/.611, 13HR
1B Patrick Maggs - WHA - .281/.342/.483, 16HR
2B Yong-jun Chu - WHA - .330/.359/.471, 9HR
2B Beau Snell - HOB - .314/.356/.375, 1HR
3B Joshua Moore - NEW - .322/.384/.405, 1HR
SS Randy Matheson - PER - .280/.348/.440, 5HR
SS Dan Miners - WHA - .287/.326/.441, 8HR
LF Tommy Hillson - CAN - .319/.371/.480, 10HR
LF Jean-Louis Villard - WEL - .263/.318/.429, 12HR
CF Timothy Browne - BRI - .240/.326/.385, 8HR
CF Larry Nelms - HOB - .357/.385/.591, 5HR *(didn’t meet the batting qualifiers so had to receive special dispensation from the AUNZBL to be selected, with one of the restrictions they put in place being that he can only be used as a pinch-hitter)
RF Kieran Pickford - ADE - .294/.333/.469, 14HR



Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: Tommy Hillson picked up his 2nd RotM with a .374/.424/.579 showing. His 40-107 included 7 doubles and 5HR. He scored 18 runs, drove in a whopping 30 runners, drew 10 walks and stole 1 base.

Hurler of the Month: 25 y/o Ted Heathcote topped off a memorable month, having been named to his 1st All Star Game, with his 1st HotM award. He’d announced himself last season, in his 1st full year in the rotation, with a 17-4 effort, and he was tracking along in a similar fashion in 2052. In December he went 5-1 from 7 starts, with a 2.65 ERA, 3.44 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP. Never throwing less than 7.1 innings in a start, he racked up 54.1 over the month, striking out 40 batters in the process. For the season, Heathcote led the league in IP (138.1), BB/9 (1.04), and K/BB (6.25).

Slugger of the Month: The AUNZBL remained the Snijders’ show in 2052, the veteran scooping his 3rd-straight SotM despite having a poor final week. While he wasn’t quite as dominant as he had been in November, he still put up impressive numbers: .356/.485/.654, 37-104, 27 runs, 4 doubles, 9HR, 28RBI, 24BB. For the season he was hitting .376/.496/.697, to top the league in all three categories. He was also at the head of the following boards: wOBA (.494), hits (118), HR (29), RBI (77), runs (74), ISO (.322), TB (219), and WAR (7.3).

Other Notes

21 Dec: News was finally filtering out of Perth that the AUNZBL and Perth’s government-affiliated owners were near to an agreement. In fact, rumour had it that an agreement had been brokered with the Australian government itself. Reports of what that agreement might be ranged from the terrified - ‘the AUNZBL had ceded control of the league to the military’ - to the fanciful - ‘the government was withdrawing ownership of all teams and placing them in the hands of a public ownership group in each respective city.’

29 Dec: In space news, a brief ASN press release today informed the general public that the construction of a space station in Europa's orbit was underway. While no hint was given as to its size, several anonymous sources who claimed to be involved in the space industry came forward, saying that his station would be in the 'mega class,' dwarfing any previous space construction. In a sentence at the end of the statement, the ASN also mentioned that they'd opened up the Moon and Mars fully to commercial interests, though that had been common knowledge for some time.

#

Coastal Division: The Venom (19-10) surged from 3rd to 1st in December, leapfrogging a sagging Diggers (12-17) and par Crocs (14-15) to lead the division by 2 games.

East-west Division: Brisbane (16-13) pulled a game away from Newcastle (15-14), while the Thunder (19-10) hauled themselves up into a tie with the Roos for 2nd.

NZ Division: The Fury (14-15) were average in December, to see their lead over the Sluggers (17-12) cut from 11 games to 8.

Southern Division: Canberra (14-15) were also just average, but the Blue Sox (15-14) had the same complaint and could only pull 1 game closer to the Cavalry.

Wildcard: The Thunder and Roos held a comfortable 6-game advantage over the Blue Sox, with no other teams above .500.

#

Jacob Blanksby (.331/.417/.642, 21HR) led the league in doubles (28), and XBH (49).

Hobart’s 24 y/o gun 3B Mitchell Swan (.262/.316/.370, 2HR) had the most triples of any AUNZBL player, with 7.

Alan Sneddon (.285/.426/.357, 2HR) wasn’t hitting the ball as well as everybody was used to in his new team colours - though perhaps hitting at #3 in the lineup meant he didn’t quite get the same pitches as he had at the top of the order - but his eye was as good as ever. He’d drawn 73 walks, to top the league. His stealing instincts were also still well-tuned, his 35 successful steals 11 more than anybody else.

With teammate Ralston injured, Clint Aitcheson (8-4, 2.98 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) had stepped up to the mound, and now led the league in WAR (4.2).

Nathan Beckett (5-10, 4.49 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.43 WHIP) was having a poor season in a poor team, but could take some solace from the fact he now led the league in strikeouts, with 116.

Auckland’s Jose Cruz (1-4, 25 sv) was judged not good enough for the All Star Game, despite leading the league in saves.

Standings, Jan 1

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - January

Notable Performances

1 Jan: The NZ & Overseas All Stars triumphed again, beating the Australian All Stars 8-5. Nobody was especially surprised by the result, as the Australian All Stars fielded one of the most inexperienced pitching lineups it ever had, but a few expressed surprise the Aussie team kept it so close, even threatening to steal it in the 9th, bringing the tying run to the plate with just 1 out before surrendering the last 2 outs without firing a shot.

2 Jan: Newcastle’s Andre England didn’t make the All Star Game thanks to not having enough plate appearances, but even though his season had been disrupted by injury, he was still going great guns. Today he hit in his 20th straight game, celebrating the milestone with a 3-4 night. This was the 2nd time he’d safely hit in 20 consecutive games.

3 Jan: Bob Crawford went 5-6 for Perth against Sydney, helping the Heat fire up for a 15-9 win. Crawford slugged 4 doubles in the game, tying the AUNZBL regular season game record.

4 Jan: Marcos Gallo allowed only 5 hits, walking none, in Brisbane’s 5-0 shutout win over Melbourne. He struck out 8.

6 Jan: Paddy Shearer, SS for the Crocs, won PotW, hitting .571/.625/1.071, with 2HR.

7 Jan: England extended his hit streak to 25 games.

9 Jan: England went 1-5 in Newcastle’s 6-2 loss to Brisbane, extending his hit streak to 27 games, good enough for a share of 6th on the all-time streaks board.

10 Jan: It was another 1-5 performance, in another loss, this time to Wellington 6-2, but it meant England kept his streak alive at least. He was now equal 5th on the all-time board, level with Manuel Salinas, who hit in 28 straight games in the 2048 season.

11 Jan: England was finally stopped, going 0-3 as the Roos finally won a game, defeating the Fury 9-7. However...

11 Jan: ...While one streak ended in the Newcastle camp, another continued. The 2051 RotY runner-up, Marshall Tipping, hit in his 20th straight game, the 1st time he’d achieved the feat at any level in his pro career.

13 Jan: Young-tae Lee was showing that any talk of age catching up with him was premature. He was .542/.621/1.000 over the last week to take home PotW honours. His 13-24 included 5 doubles and 2HR, and he also drew 2 walks.

13 Jan: Norman ‘Deranged’ Lawless was a bit of a poster boy in Darwin, a kid who’d been in their organization at the time of their entrance into the AUNZBL, and who’d progressed through their farm system to become an everyday player. At 24 y/o, Darwin’s scouts felt Lawless would really hit his straps over the next 2 or 3 seasons. Today he recorded his 1st pro 20-game hit streak, reaching the mark with a 3-5 performance as the Diggers uprooted the Cowboys 9-3.

13 Jan: Paul Colenutt found himself in Brisbane’s starting rotation thanks only to an injury to ace Lance Ralston. He’d recorded a 5-0 record from the bullpen but initially struggled starting games again (though until last season he was a starter through and through). However, he put it all together against the Thunder this day, conceding only 6 hits while walking none to help the Bandits cruise to a 7-0 victory. He struck out just 1 hitter but induced a mammoth 18 ground ball outs.

15 Jan: The off day cruelled Lawless’s mojo, his hit streak ending at 20 games with an 0-3 performance in Darwin’s 8-7 win over expansion rivals Kununurra.

16 Jan: Marshall Tipping’s streak ended at 23 games.

16 Jan: Jesus Rodriguez commanded the mound to lead the Diggers to a 6-0 shutout victory over the Pioneers. He conceded just 3 hits and 1 walk, fanning 7.

18 Jan: The Heat lost their 10th straight game, falling 5-1 to Newcastle. Their record for the year was an abysmal 30-72. They would pull out of their nosedive the following night, keeping the Thunder scoreless in a 2-0 win.

20 Jan: Jacob Blanksby was fast cementing himself as the best catcher to have so far played in the AUNZBL. He scooped this week’s PotW with a .500/.556/1.000 showing, his 12 hits including 1 double, 1 triple, and 3HR.

21 Jan: Young Brisbane 1B Lance Fookes was a player highly rated by the organization. The 24 y/o had played a handful of games last season, and had so far appeared in 44 big-league games this year, getting an extended run recently thanks to injuries. Today against the Pioneers he demonstrated why management had such big wraps on him. In the space of 3 innings (6th-8th) he slugged 3HRs, 2 over RF and 1 over left-centre. All up, the vaunted Brisbane offense hit 7HRs, but Fookes was the hero of the day, leading the team in a lap of honour as they thanked their visiting fans for traveling to watch them. The final score: 16-7 Brisbane in a real slugfest.

24 Jan: Esteban Madrigal gave the Fury pitching staff nightmares, going 5-5, including a HR, as Kununurra cracked on to a 10-3 win. Madrigal scored 3 runs, drove in 4 runners, and also drew a walk.

27 Jan: Newcastle CF/DH Brody Cheadle won PotW. He hit .455/.520/1.045, cracking 4HRs.

29 Jan: Canberra were unstoppable today, bashing the Sluggers to the tune of 14-2. 2 hitters in particular were on fire. Firstly, Manuel Salinas became the 2nd player this season to record 6 hits in a game, and even had an opportunity at 7, fouling off 3 consecutive pitches before leaving a pitch in the dirt and drawing the walk. Salinas was the 1st Cavalry hitter ever to grab 6 hits in a regulation-innings game. He also tied the Cavalry record for runs scored in a game, touching down on home base 5 times. He drove in 2 runners and hit 2 doubles.

29 Jan: Jacob Blanksby was the other hitter in fine form, going 5-6, including 3 doubles. He scored once and drove in 3. In an mostly-missed achievement, Martin Boston’s 4-7 put him at the head of the BA board.

Notable Injuries

9 Jan: Roger Mangan (7-8, 4.06 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) had a ruptured tendon in his finger. Apart from being incredibly painful, the injury also meant his season was over.

13 Jan: Dependable Crocs’ infielder Kent Dwyer (.281/.333/.394, 3HR from 243PA) found himself headed to the DL for the 2nd time this season. His 1st stay had been relatively short, but this time around he’d be disabled for 5-6 weeks with a lat strain.

16 Jan: The Sluggers had already lost ace Mangan, and now they’d have to do without their other top-of-the-rotation pitcher, Walter Anglesey (9-9, 3.43 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.26 WHIP). He was off to the surgeon’s table, needing a Tommy John. Team medical staff estimated he’d be back in 9 months. At the time of his injury Anglesey led the league in FIP.

23 Jan: Perth rookie Randy Matheson (.274/.338/.415, 6HR), the Heat’s sole representation at this year’s All Star Game, would be out for 6 weeks with a strained PCL.

27 Jan: Last season Andre England (.338/.369/.481, 2HR from 223PA this year) spent 16 weeks on the DL. This season he’d already been listed as disabled for nearly 9 weeks. Now the Roos’ fan favourite would be heading onto the DL for the rest of the season. He’d been diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome after slamming his head against the turf trying to field a line drive and was looking at a minimum 4 months rest and recovery. Newcastle weren’t deterred by the 26 y/o’s lengthy injury history, though, today signing him to a low-value 1-year extension. They might also have been motivated by the opportunity to get him cheap, as his arbitration estimate was a lot higher than might be expected given the lack of time he’d spent on the field the last 2 seasons.

Notable Trades/Signings

4 Jan: Cairns were desperate to reach the playoffs, and even though they were playing less than .500 ball, they were only 3 games back in the Coastal. They strengthened their pitching roster today, acquiring 34 y/o Hen-to Ling (4-6, 3.09 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) from Hobart in return for 28 y/o LF Keith D’Antonio (.211/.270/.331, 3HR in 148PA), who’d been up and down between the minors and majors like a yo-yo this season, and a 21 y/o OF prospect.

6 Jan: Today’s trade seemed at odds with the season goals of both teams involved. Sydney were chasing Canberra hard in the Southern, only 2 games back, while Auckland’s 39-51 record surely had them already out of contention in the NZ, though Wellington had just dropped 6 straight to perhaps give them a sniff (Auckland were 10 games back overall). Sydney were sending 33 y/o 1B Blair Toohey (.296/.407/.469, 11HR), who’d made a triumphal return from the BL this season, earning an All Star call-up, to Auckland in exchange for 26 y/o MR Alan Guerin (0-0, 2.57 ERA, 5.41 FIP, 1.36 WHIP in 7 appearances) and Auckland’s 2051 round 1 draft pick, a 20 y/o 5-pitch SP who projected to be an upper rotation guy in a couple seasons.

22 Jan: The Crocs made a move that sent 28 y/o CL Rex Herbert (4-2, 20 sv, 2.95 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.27 WHIP) from the heat of Cairns to the cool of Hobart. In return they would gain 2 youngsters, 1 of whom looked to be a good chance of being a #4 or 5 starter one day. Herbert, who’d been in Cairns his entire pro career before today, wasn’t available for comment, but his player agent said the NZ-born player was “unhappy” with the move. He’d be a free agent at the end of the season anyway, and would likely be able to choose his next destination, so it probably wasn’t worth getting too upset.

27 Jan: Division rivals Christchurch and Whangarei brokered a deal today, with the Cowboys sending declining 37 y/o Adrian Walsh (.210/.285/.327, 5HR) and a goodly sum of cash north, in return receiving 29 y/o CL Logan Dale (3-1, 28 sv, 2.74 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) and a pitching prospect who looked like he’d make the Show in the next season or 2.

30 Jan: It wasn’t quite a blockbuster, but Darwin and Wellington got some media attention with this near-deadline trade. Darwin shipped off 35 y/o Lindsay Colson (.277/.353/.456, 15HR), in the 1st year of a 2-year contract (the 2nd year a player option), and cash to Wellington, getting 30 y/o SP Gavin Harris (8-10, 4.67 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 1.40 WHIP), who was yet to register a full winning season as a starter, in return. While it was very likely both players would still feature in the postseason this year, reports were that neither one was happy with the move. Colson came right out and said so, telling media, “The wife and I had uprooted our whole family to move to Darwin. Bought a house and everything. And now we have to do the whole thing again on the other side of the ditch.” The response of the fans to that remark? ‘That’s baseball, Dutch. We’re sure your 10 million a year contract will find you a suitable home.’

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 23 y/o Metros’ CF Su-wu Zhang played 20 games in the majors in January, going .344/.366/.511 to win RotM. His 31-90 included 6 doubles and 3HR. He scored 15 runs, collected 8RBI, drew 1 walk, and stole 1 base. Unfortunately, Zhang injured his back in the last game of the month, and would likely miss all of February.

Hurler of the Month: Ted Murray hauled his season back on track in January, putting together a 5-0 record, with a 1.10 ERA, 2.52 FIP, and 0.90 WHIP. He threw 41.0 innings, striking out 26, and didn’t allow a single HR during the month.

Slugger of the Month: Zachary Woollett ‘only’ hit .333 in January, but the rest of the stat-line - .384/.765 - was what caught the eye of the Awards Committee. His 34-102 included a whopping 11 doubles and 11HR. He touched home plate safely 24 times, drove in 32 runners, and got 8 free passes.

Last Year’s Top Players Watch

2051’s Top Rookies

2051 Rookie of the Year, Edwin Hayes: Torn ankle ligaments meant he missed nearly 6 early weeks of the season, and if he looked a little tentative at the plate still, that was probably why. .253/.301/.497, 76-300, 39 runs, 22 doubles, 17HR, 47RBI, 18BB, 322PA.

Marshall Tipping: Won his 1st All Star berth, and was looking good in his sophomore year. .296/.369/.495, 129-436, 71 runs, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 17HR, 62RBI, 47BB, 490PA. 2nd-equal in the league in doubles.

Will Glasson: Also looking good 2nd time around. .293/.367/.480, 116-396, 56 runs, 21 doubles, 4 triples, 15HR, 62RBI, 40BB, 5SB, 450PA.

2051’s Top Pitchers

2051 Hurler of the Year, Wilson Lara: Lara was having a bit of a down season, but one of the great things about playing in a team as strong as Brisbane was that to the casual observer he still looked pretty good. 9-4 from 22 starts, 4.31 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 119 K from 135.2 IP.

Angelo Spear: Spearheading the Cavalry attack fairly well, even if his numbers were a bit high, and looked like he was a chance to record a 3rd 20-win season. 14-6 from 24 starts, 4.30 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 108 K from 161.0 IP. Tied for the league lead in wins.

Lance Ralston: Looked set to smash all kinds of strikeout records before injury savagely ended his season. 4-3 from 14 starts, 2.71 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 111 K from 89.2 IP.

2051’s Top Hitters

2051 Slugger of the Year, Justin Auger: ‘Crazy Eyes’ had burst onto the scene in a big way last season, with many pundits predicting he’d drop a few notches in 2052. He was holding his own pretty well through the 1st two-thirds of the season, though. .303/.378/.568, 138-456, 83 runs, 29 doubles, 1 triple, 30HR, 97RBI, 53BB, 4SB, 519PA. He led the league in RBI and was only 1 back in the HR race.

Patrick Maggs: In a team that kept on threatening to take off only to end up continually taxiing back around to the runway, Maggs was far from the dizzy heights of last season. .285/.341/.524, 130-456, 64 runs, 28 doubles, 27HR, 78RBI, 30BB, 499PA.

Manuel Alou: An early injury rubbed him out for the 1st 5 weeks of the season, and a down January had contributed to him remaining the forgotten man in the Thunder’s lineup. .291/.394/.447, 82-282, 51 runs, 17 doubles, 9HR, 44RBI, 46BB, 335PA.

Other Notes

16 Jan: The AUNZBL called a presser and made a formal announcement regarding the Perth Heat. Their owners would remain in charge, as would the government-affiliated owners of the Diggers, Pioneers and Crocs. After a lengthy pause which had most in attendance thinking the worst, the Commissioner continued, “The owners of the aforementioned teams are dedicated to the growth and success of their investments, of that we are sure. However, an agreement has been reached with the government of our country regarding further ownership. That agreement stipulates that there will be no further government investment in the AUNZBL.”

At this point, she had to raise her hands to quell the shouted questions from the gathered journalists before continuing, “While we have been assured, and believe it to be true, that our government is only interested in the welfare and continued success of the country’s most popular sport, they can also understand how their interactions to date could be taken the wrong way, so have agreed to take a step back from further ownership enquiries. We hope that puts to rest the ongoing and somewhat sensationalist rumours that have been doing the rounds over the last year or two. The AUNZBL will continue to be the world’s best and biggest sporting enterprise, and it will continue to do all of Australia’s citizens proud. We won’t be answering any questions at this time.”

With that the Commissioner headed off the stage. The announcement had little immediate effect in quieting down the rumour-mill, with the conspiracy theorists quickly fitting the information into whatever conspiracy they had going.

All Perth management had to say publicly was that they were glad the saga was over.

#

Coastal Division: The Diggers (21-7) were close to unstoppable in January, powering past the Venom (11-17) and Crocs (15-13) to finish 7 games ahead of Cairns heading into Killer February.

East-West Division: Brisbane (18-10) did what Brisbane did, but were only able to pull 1 game further ahead as Newcastle (17-11) kept pace. Central Coast (15-13) were good, but still dropped to 4 games back.

NZ Division: Wellington (12-16) were poor, but nobody else in the division was close to good, so this was still theirs to lose.

Southern Division: Sydney (17-11) drew level with Canberra at one point during the month before the Cavalry (16-12) trotted back ahead, finishing January with a 2-length lead.

Wildcard: Newcastle had a 6-game buffer in the top slot, while Central Coast led Sydney by 4. Nobody else was really in the race, Cairns 11 games behind (and 2 below .500), and Adelaide a further game in arrears.

#

The Snijders’ show was beginning to fall away. While he still had an impressive stat-line (.348/.463/.616, 31HR) he held the outright lead in far fewer categories than a month ago. Those categories were: OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA (.453), runs (91), and WAR (7.3). He was tied for the lead in HR, only managing 2 during the month.

Stefan Lock (.271/.330/.535, 31HR) was the guy tied with Snijders in the HR race. He’d also struck out the most, recording 120Ks so far.

Martin Boston (.356/.395/.433, 0HR) now had the league’s best BA.

Marcos Lopez (.339/.382/.592, 30HR) led the league in hits, with 149. He had also rounded the most bases, with 260 so far.

Jacob Blanksby (.314/.403/.609, 26HR) had hit the most doubles of any batter (35), had the best ISO (.296), and the most XBH (62).

Alan Sneddon (.297/.435/.368, 2HR) continued to lead the league in steals (47), and walks (96).

Connor Chapman (12-9, 3.08 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 0.99) was having an extremely lucky season, as evidenced by his .210 BABIP. He led the league in ERA, WHIP, H/9 (6.11), and OAVG (.191).

Teammate Ted Heathcote (11-4, 3.15 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) was having a coming-of-age season, atop the league in K/BB (5.91), BB/9 (1.14), and WAR (4.7).

Brad King (11-8, 3.67 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) had notched 150 strikeouts by February 1st, and also had the league’s best K/9, of exactly 10.00.

Jose Cruz continued to lead the league in saves, with 34.

Standings, Feb 1

[reds1]

C'mon Whangarei - they don't publish those preseason predictions for nothing!

[Izz]

Originally Posted by reds1

C'mon Whangarei - they don't publish those preseason predictions for nothing!

With their 2 best starting pitchers on the DL, it's hard to see the Sluggers making a charge over the last couple months. But if Wellington continue to slide, then who knows what might happen...

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - February

Notable Performances

3 Feb: Manuel Salinas had somehow flown mostly under the radar the last couple seasons (apart from his 6-hit performance last month), but he was definitely having a good 2052. He won this edition of PotW with an astonishing .720/.774/.840 stat-line over the last 7 days (18-25). Salinas would be a free agent at the end of this year and while both Cavalry fans and management were vocal in their desire to see him stay in Australia’s capital, neither Salinas nor his agent had anything to say on the matter, leading many to think he’d be testing his market value come the offseason. Salinas was currently at the top of the all-time BA board, his career average .3268.

5 Feb: Sterling Bull went 5-6 as the Thunder rumbled their way to a 14-3 win over Christchurch. Bull’s hits included a double and a HR.

8 Feb: Ed Geoghegan had shown a lack of power this season, hitting only 12HR before today, causing many Cowboys’ fans to wonder if the 27 y/o had already hit his peak. He still had it, though, his 3-3 in Christchurch’s 10-5 loss to Central Coast all traveling over the fence. He went deep in the 1st, 4th and 8th, and was responsible for 4 of Christchurch’s 5 runs. It was the 2nd time in his major-league career Geoghegan had gone yard 3 times in a game.

10 Feb: February’s 2nd PotW went to another Cavalryman, Martin Boston. Dinky hit .565/.565/.739, his 13-23 including his 1st HR of the year. For the season Boston was leading the league in BA (.363), and hits (161).

10 Feb: Adrian Lane was Wellington’s backup catcher, playing his 1st full season in the bigs. He’d only appeared in 51 games so far, so the fact he hit in his 20th consecutive game today caught a fair few punters off guard.

14 Feb: Sydney’s Axel Frawley had a far better outing than fans were used to seeing, as he restricted the Thunder to 5 hits and no walks, striking out 5. His Blue Sox charged to a 10-0 victory.

14 Feb: Further up the country, in Kununurra, Cowboys’ SP Bernie Phillips was having an even better day. He walked a hitter in the 2nd but was otherwise unhittable, allowing no other Pioneers’ hitter on-base. He struck out 7 in the 3-0 victory and said after the game, “Unbelievable, really. I just kept picking my spots, and then kept nailing them, too. If only baseball was this easy every start!”

15 Feb: Adrian Lane suddenly found himself promoted to everyday duties but playing every day hadn’t put him off his stride. Today he extended his hit streak to 25 games.

15 Feb: Sterling Bull was lighting it up at the moment, recording his 2nd 5-hit outing in 9 games. This time he dished out a 5-5 performance against Sydney, helping the Thunder to an 11-6 victory. He hit a double and a HR, as well as scoring 3 runs.

15 Feb: Young Marshall Hooks, just 21 y/o and playing in the bigs, went 5-6 as Christchurch beat Kununurra 12-5. He hit 2 doubles and a HR, scoring 3 times.

17 Feb: Ed Geoghegan snared PotW with a .448/.500/1.000 week. His 13-29 included 4 doubles and 4HR.

17 Feb: The Fury gave Lane a day off yesterday, and that seemed to disrupt his mojo, as he went 0-4 in Wellington’s 10-3 loss to Auckland thus ending his run at 25 games.

20 Feb: An ignominious day! Whangarei lost 8-2 to Sydney, marking their 10th loss in a row. The club responded by firing its pitching coach. Unless things picked up dramatically between now and the end of the season that probably wouldn't be the only firing.

21 Feb: Whangarei regrouped to beat Sydney 7-4 and end their losing streak but the fans weren’t yet in a forgiving mood, talkback lines remaining clogged with callers demanding the head of GM Wesley Stephens & skipper Peter Massingham.

24 Feb: Sean Carr was .500/.517/.679 over the last 7 days to earn PotW.

Notable Injuries

17 Feb: Brock Wakely (.316/.411/.551, 23HR) would have a chance to rest up and return fresh and fit for the postseason. Maybe. He'd strained his PCL and was expected to miss the next 5 weeks, meaning he was a chance to make it back just before the postseason, providing all went smoothly.

25 Feb: Wellington corner outfielder Jean-Louis Villard (.266/.321/.420, 18HR) would miss the rest of the regular season, and possibly the postseason if Wellington qualified, thanks to back spasms.

26 Feb: The Thunder would have to do without Sterling Powell (10-9, 4.14 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) for the rest of the regular season while he recovered from a sore elbow. The 29 y/o SP was hopeful of returning in time for the playoffs.

28 Feb: The Cavalry were dealt a blow today, with news that Manuel Salinas (.339/.429/.412, 1HR) would be out at least 6 weeks with a strained PCL, meaning he definitely wouldn’t be available for the 1st 2 playoff rounds.

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 24 y/o Lance Fookes was benefiting from injuries to Brisbane’s regular starters, getting himself an extended run at 1B. He started every game in February, hitting .330/.393/.526, 32-97, with 12 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3HR, 10RBI, 4BB, and 1SB, to win the season’s last RotM award.

Hurler of the Month: Ted Heathcote picked up his 2nd HotM award for the season, stating a strong case for HotY by doing so. In February, the young Thunder ace was 4-1 from 5 starts, with a 1.93 ERA, 2.26 FIP, and a 0.86 WHIP. In 37.1IP he struck out 25 hitters. On the season, Heathcote (15-5, 2.93 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) led the league in ERA, FIP, BB/9 (1.11), K/BB (5.96), and WAR (6.2).

Slugger of the Month: Ed Geoghegan seemed back at his usual best in February, hitting .340/.416/.680 on his way to SotM. His 34-100 included 7 doubles and 9HR. He scored 18 runs, drove in 23 runners, and finagled 8 free passes.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Darwin (16-10) maintained their 7-game division lead, though it was Adelaide (17-9) who’d leapt into 2nd and fought their way above .500. Meanwhile, Cairns (10-16) sagged to 8 games below .500.

East-West Division: Brisbane (19-7) remained the AUNZBL powerhouse, with 10 of their hitters having clocked up 10 or more HRs so far in the season. That being said, they’d only managed to extend their lead in the East-West by 2, with the Thunder (19-7) keeping pace to move into 2nd ahead of Newcastle (12-14), who were having a few speed wobbles.

NZ Division: Wellington (9-17) got worse and worse, but every other team in the NZ was just as bad, and so the Fury found their lead heading into March exactly the same as it had been heading into February. They had dipped below .500 though, making it a very real possibility they might be the 1st ever team to qualify for the postseason with a worse than 50% record.

Southern Division: Canberra (16-10) strengthened their grip on the Southern, finishing the month 6 games ahead of a battling Sydney (12-14).

Wildcard: The Thunder were virtually assured of a wildcard slot, their buffer 11 games, while Newcastle had a 6-game advantage in the other slot. Sydney were that chasing team, with the Venom a further 3 games back.

#

Snijders (.324/.441/.586, 35HR) had an awful, injury-hit month, only managing a stat-line of .172/.284/.391. He still managed to hold the lead in some hitting categories though: OBP, OPS, wOBA (.432), and WAR (7.0).

Stefan Lock (.271/.337/.546, 41HR) catapulted into the HR lead, finishing the month 6 ahead of all comers. He had also rounded the most bases of any hitter, accumulating 302 so far. And he’d struck out 146 times, to lead that category too, though he probably wasn’t pointing that out to too many people.

Martin Boston (.351/.385/.429, 1HR) was duking it out with Sean Carr (.348/.394/.485, 11HR) for the BA lead, but held it heading into the final straight of the season. Boston also had 182 hits, 1 more than any other batter.

Right on both their tails was Ismael Aguirre (.346/.387/.622, 28HR), who led the league in slugging.

Jacob Blanksby (.317/.412/.594, 28HR) was top of the league in doubles (44), ISO (.277), and XBH (73).

Alan Sneddon (.300/.436/.379, 3HR) had 51 stolen bases and 117 walks, both league bests.

Jay Cummins (16-10, 3.25 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) was an outside chance of reaching 20 wins. He’d also thrown the most innings of any AUNZBL pitcher, clocking up 213.1 so far.

Brad King (13-11, 3.63 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.22 WHIP) was on track to record back-to-back 200K seasons. He had 189 to date, 6 more than anybody else. His 9.81 K/9 was also best in the league.

Connor Chapman (15-9, 3.00 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 0.98 WHIP) had the best WHIP in the league, as well as the best H/9 (6.38), and OAVG (.198).

Jose Cruz had 38 saves, 2 ahead of the pack.

Standings, Mar 1

[Izz]

2052/2053 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Feb: Stefan Lock’s Blue Sox might’ve succumbed 11-2 to the barnstorming Bandits, but Lock was still upbeat after the game. He’d scored both of Sydney’s runs, each lead-off HRs, to give him 43 homers for the season. Could he reach 50? History suggested not, but he certainly had baseball media talking.

3 Mar: Unsurprisingly, Lock won PotW with a .455/.552/1.182 effort. 5 of his 10 hits were HRs.

3 Mar: Jordan Blackford led the way for Christchurch as they dismantled the Cavalry 14-4. He went 5-6, including a HR, scoring 4 runs and driving in 3.

3 Mar: Aces SS Cody England was 2-3 as Melbourne overcame Kununurra 7-5. More importantly, his 2 singles meant he’d hit successfully in 20 straight games for the 2nd time in his career.

6 Mar: England went 0-4 as Melbourne fell to the Pioneers 10-7. His streak had lasted 22 games.

6 Mar: Sydney beat Wellington 6-3, 3 of those runs coming courtesy of Stefan Lock’s 44th HR of the year. What made it even sweeter was the fact it came in the 10th inning to put the Blue Sox ahead by their eventual winning margin.

10 Mar: Blair Toohey was .435/.536/.870 over the last week to be given PotW honours. His 10-23 included 1 double and 3HRs.

10 Mar: The Thunder disposed of Whangarei 4-1 to secure a wildcard berth. They’d also pulled to within 2 of Brisbane, meaning an unlikely pennant was also a possibility.

11 Mar: Trent Allan went 5-5 as Sydney tore apart Perth 14-6.

14 Mar: 23 y/o Brodie Tucker had had a tough introduction to the life of a big-leaguer, as one might expect when playing for Kununurra. Today, though, he made sure things couldn’t go against him, restricting the Thunder to just 4 hits and 1 walk, fanning 2, to see the Pioneers ease to a 5-0 victory.

14 Mar: Darwin got thumped 10-1 by Whangarei, but were still celebrating after the game, with news that Adelaide had also lost, meaning it was impossible for any teams in the Coastal to usurp their lead. It was Darwin’s 2nd division win in the last 2 seasons, and meant they were headed to the playoffs for the 2nd time, not bad considering they’d only come into the competition 5 seasons ago.

14 Mar: Canberra were headed to the postseason too, securing the Southern Division with a 9-4 win over rivals Sydney.

16 Mar: Newcastle beat Wellington 4-1, but after the game both teams were celebrating. The Roos had secured the 2nd wildcard slot, while Wellington, though having lost 4 straight, had won the NZ thanks to the Cowboys dropping their game against Darwin. Wellington’s record was 76-79, making it increasingly likely they would become the 1st team to qualify for the postseason with a sub-500 record.

16 Mar: Vince Delaney kept Adelaide to zero today to help Hobart to a 5-0 win. The leftie allowed just 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7.

17 Mar: Hobart’s 26 y/o 1B Kane Pond, who’d spent time in the bigs each of the last 4 seasons, was finally getting an extended run in the starting lineup. He was making the most of it, too, winning PotW with a .433/.433/.700 effort. He went 13-30, hitting 2 doubles and 2HR.

17 Mar: Hobart wouldn’t be playing in the 2052 postseason, but it was all their players hogging the media spotlight at the moment. Today 24 y/o 3B Mitchell Swan, known for his athletic plays in that infield corner, went 5-5 as Hobart took apart the Venom 8-3. He scored twice, drove in 5, and stole a base.

18 Mar: 22 y/o Canberra rookie Eddie Rayner had started the season in the Cavalry bullpen but had fought his way into the starting rotation. Able to throw 5 pitches, he was rated as a rising star by those in the Canberra organization. Today he showed a glimpse of what might be to come, shutting out Cairns on the back of 5 hits and 1 walk. He only struck out 2, but nobody had strong contact on him, Canberra eventually winning 3-0.

19 Mar: Neither Melbourne or Perth would be heading through the pearly postseason gates this year, but nobody would’ve picked that watching today’s game. They fought for 15 innings before Melbourne busted out with 6 runs to put themselves out of reach, the final score 8-2. In amongst all of that, 30 y/o Eduardo Flores, who’d been a March call-up each of the last 5 seasons (though in 2051 he got a bit more than a month’s service time covering injuries), went 5-7, including a 3-run HR in the 15th.

20 Mar: Heading into the final series of the season, the only division not locked up was the East-West, though 3 of its 4 contestants were assured a playoff spot. Central Coast had just drawn a series 2-2 with Brisbane and headed into their final series against Wellington only 1 game adrift of the all-conquering Bandits.

On the leaderboards, Stefan Lock and Marcos Lopez were tied with 44HRs, while Ismael Aguirre had forged his way into the BA lead, hitting .347.

21 Mar: Carl Bristcoe hit HR #35 for the year today, as his Crocs surrendered 6-4 to Auckland. It was also HR #300 for his career. The 32 y/o was “stoked” to have reached the milestone.

21 Mar: The Thunder notched up win #100 for the season, thumping Wellington 8-0. Brisbane, meanwhile, lost 4-0 to Whangarei, meaning things were now locked up at the top of the East-West.

22 Mar: The Sluggers scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat Brisbane 7-6, while the Thunder accounted for Wellington 10-zip to move into the division lead. Wellington, now 4 games below .500 but guaranteed a playoff spot, were “making a mockery of the finals system,” according to most Sydney-based media. The Blue Sox had an 84-76 record but no chance of making the postseason.

23 Mar: The Thunder squeezed past Wellington 3-1, while Brisbane beat Whangarei 6-5, Aguirre scoring the winning run in the top of the 9th thanks to a throwing error by the Whangarei CF. If the Thunder lost tomorrow and Brisbane won they’d be headed to a meaningless extra game to determine the division winner.

23 Mar: Ted Heathcote was the starting pitcher in the Thunder’s win, and got the W, marking his 20th win of the season.

24 Mar: The season’s last PotW award went to Esteban Madrigal, who’d gone .524/.545/1.286, 5 of his 11 hits HRs. He had a 4-game HR streak going.

24 Mar: Later this day, Madrigal would make it 5 games in a row with a HR, going deep with a solo effort as his Pioneers got beaten by the Diggers 11-6. He’d come back next season with an opportunity to equal the league’s longest HR streak on Opening Day.

24 Mar: In that same game, 22 y/o March call-up Jayden Downes went 5-5 for Darwin.

24 Mar: Jose Cruz would finish the season 1 save behind the top closer, registering 41, a remarkable feat really, considering he’d played in a team that had only won 66 games. The save he recorded today, though, would be one that stayed in his memory for a long time. It was career save #300, making him only the 8th closer in the history of the league to reach that mark.

24 Mar: Brisbane beat Whangarei 7-3 but to no avail. Central Coast coasted past Wellington 5-2 to win the division title. Both teams had won 100+ games and would get the 1st playoff round off. For Brisbane, Lance Ralston was surprisingly close to a return from his injury, and was even a chance to be rushed back into the side for the Preliminary Finals. Most experts were of the opinion though that it would be better to give him a full offseason of recovery and training rather than chuck him in the deep end. Already plenty were wondering whether he'd be the same devastating pitcher on his return.

Notable Injuries

3 Mar: Justin Trembath (4-6, 4.46 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.47 WHIP) had made a low-key return to Adelaide’s rotation following his 80-game suspension. He wouldn’t be seen on the mound for quite some time now though, after being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL. Tommy John surgery it was, a fair few fans saying the injury was his just desserts for cheating.

3 Mar: Newcastle’s Joshua Moore (.305/.375/.407, 3HR), tied for the league lead in triples with 10, would miss the rest of the regular season and at least the 1st round of the playoffs (if the Roos made it) with a sore elbow.

9 Mar: Adelaide’s Ben Dalley (.288/.312/.415, 11HR) wasn’t much chance of suiting up again this season. He had recurring back spasms.

Other Notes

11 Mar: Last night Christchurch lost their 6th straight, and it all got a bit much for GM Juan Alvarado, who sent manager Ivan Munoz packing. Munoz was in his 4th year as Cowboys’ skipper and had taken them to the postseason in 2050. He had no comment for media, while Alvarado said, “We’re in a results-based business, and he just wasn’t getting the results our squad is capable of.” A lot of Cowboys’ fans took umbrage with the latter part of his statement, though, saying the squad, primarily assembled by Alvarado, had no depth and the pitching staff especially was full of overpaid, declining veterans.

#

Ismael Aguirre (.346/.386/.612, 32HR) won the batting title and, while not leading any, was near the top of a lot of other categories.

Neither Stefan Lock (.271/.337/.530, 44HR) or Marcos Lopez (.317/.368/.572, 44HR) hit any HRs during the final series to finish tied for the HR crown. Lopez also finished with the league’s best WAR (7.9) and rounded the most bases (355).

Esteban Madrigal (.328/.404/.661, 39HR) finished the season with 512PA, making him eligible for all the leaderboards. He had the league’s best SLG, OPS, wOBA (.442), and ISO (.333).

Alan Sneddon (.318/.446/.412, 5HR) finished at the top of the OBP, SB (59), and BB (133) boards. He achieved the runs-walks double-double too, going 107-133.

The other player to achieve the runs-walks double-double was Ashley Snijders (.314/.429/.549, 37HR), who had the predicted 2nd-half fall-off and then some. He scored 111 runs and drew 109 walks, and finished at the top of no leaderboards. He managed to make it to 7.6 WAR, which placed him 2nd overall, after having at one point dropped to 6.6.

3 players recorded 200 or more hits in 2052. They were:

Norman Lawless (.322/.340/.420, 7HR, 205 hits)
Beau Snell (.320/.367/.397, 2HR, 203 hits)
Martin Boston (.333/.368/.404, 1HR, 201 hits)

Justin Auger (.285/.367/.525, 39HR) took home the RBI crown, driving in 130 runners during the regular season.

Jacob Blanksby (.316/.411/.570, 29HR) had a real drop off in power over the last 2 months of the season, but still hit the most doubles of any player, with 49, and recorded the most XBH, with 79.

Teammate Mike Wurfel (.285/.324/.402, 9HR) showed that age wasn’t slowing him down at all. For the 1st time in his 20-year career he played every game (though all but 1 at DH), finishing runner-up on the doubles leaderboard, with 46.

Sydney’s Trent Allan (.299/.390/.467, 22HR) scored the most runs of any player, touching home plate 115 times.

Mitchell Swan (.267/.311/.382, 7HR) hit 11 triples to top that leaderboard.

Ted Heathcote (20-5, 2.75 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 0.99 WHIP) was the only player to reach 20 wins, and was by far and away the premier pitcher of 2052. He led the league in wins, ERA, FIP, WHIP, BB/9 (1.09), K/BB (6.13), IP (255.2), and WAR (7.9). He also struck out 190 hitters. Before the sun could fully set on the regular season, Heathcote’s skipper, Hayden Stanley, said, “If Teddy doesn’t win Hurler of the Year it’ll be an absolute travesty.”

Teammate Connor Chapman (17-11, 3.04 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) also had a memorable year, finishing runner-up in the ERA and WHIP boards. He led the league in H/9 (6.60) and OAVG (.204).

2 players broke the 200K barrier:

Brad King (15-11, 3.65 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 219 Ks), who also finished with the best K/9 (9.86).
Nathan Beckett (15-14, 4.05 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.27 WHIP, 201 Ks)

Russell Bywaters snuck into the saves lead during March, finishing with 42.

Standings, EORS

[Izz]

2052 Division Finals

Game 1 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

1st year Fury skipper Rhett Maher, who’d been a pitching coach for the Diggers’ AAA-affiliate before landing the Fury gig, admitted his side “probably didn’t deserve to be here” when talking to media before Game 1. But then he shrugged and continued, “But we are here, and that’s that. And we’re planning on winning the whole thing.”

It was the Diggers who got off to the best start in Game 1, though, up 3-0 after 3. Wellington roared back in the 4th and 5th, Lopez’s 2-run HR in the 5th giving them a 4-3 lead. The Diggers scored 3 in the 8th to retake the advantage, but if they thought that was the game, they were wrong. Alec Dickson led off the 9th with a HR and the equaliser scored an out later. The 10th through top of the 13th passed in 3 batters up, 3 batters down fashion before Damon McKinna singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 13th. A batter later Christos Hutchinson singled and CF Isaac Blythe bobbled the pickup, leading to McKinna scoring the winning run. Final score: 7-6 Darwin. Both starters went deep, Darwin’s Bruno Budd (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 6K) going 8, while Dan Pankhurst (7.0IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 4K) left with the lead but didn’t get the win. Former Wellingtonian Gavin Harris (mid-season trade) ended up getting the W, much to his delight.

Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Both teams had exactly the same regular season record, but Canberra, who hit at a .294 rate, were favoured. They scored 5 in the 4th to take a 6-2 lead and looked set to hold the advantage, both teams trading single runs until the bottom of the 7th, when Newcastle exploded, 11 hitters coming to the plate and 7 runs scoring, though only 4 were counted as earned. They added another in the 8th to make it a no-contest, the final score 11-7 Roos. Angelo Spear (6.1IP, 11H, 6ER, 1BB, 3K) did what he often did: allow plenty of baserunners but still look like he would get the result. Brock Casey (3.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 2BB, 1K) didn’t last long, teammate Isaac Russell getting the win with an innings work. Willem Baldwin homered for Canberra, while Ronald Cowell did so for Newcastle.

Game 2 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

This one was another tight affair... until the 8th when Wellington busted out with 5 runs to take a 4-run lead. They scored 4 more in the 9th to make it a cakewalk, 3 of those runs coming via an Isaac Blythe HR. Final score: 10-2 Wellington. Interestingly, Darwin only had 2 less baserunners than the Fury, though all the Diggers’ hits came in singles. Jay Cummins (6.2IP, 12H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 6K) allowed all of Darwin’s men on base, while Brad King (6.0IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K) left with the lead only to see his bullpen implode.

Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Jacob Blanksby’s 2HRs accounted for 3 of Canberra’s runs and gave them a 4-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the 8th (all 3 Newcastle runs coming off the bat of Ruben Rosales, via 2 HRs). Then Connor Rowling, who’d snuck back into the AUNZBL, sporting a terrible mustache, this season after 2 years in the BL, crunched a 2-out line drive 397 feet down the LF line to put Newcastle ahead by 1. Robert Bywaters got 3 ground ball outs to save the game and Newcastle were up 2-nothing. Final score: 5-4 Newcastle. Al Dunlop (5.2IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K) threw some good stuff and some not-so-good stuff, while Wei-Liang Chang (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 4K) stayed on the mound long enough to get the W.

Off Day

Brad King (34-28, 3.63 ERA, 4.24 FIP, 1.28 WHIP career) signed a 5-year extension with Darwin. Fans were overjoyed at the prospect of seeing him in their colours until he’d served at least 1 of his free agent years.

Game 3 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

23 y/o Byron Moore had been a solid performer during the regular season, finishing with a 15-11 record. And today he showed veteran-like calm in his 1st ever ML postseason start, throwing 8 innings of 5-hit, 2-walk ball, allowing no runners to score. He struck out 5 and wasn’t let down by closer Edward Hewat, who recorded the easy save. Final score: 3-0 Wellington, for an unlikely series lead. Jesus Rodriguez (4.2IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 4BB, 4K) had an unhappy night for the loss.

Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Newcastle scored 6 in the 1st 2 innings (Marshall Tipping’s 3-run HR in the 1st helping things along), while Canberra scored 3 to keep themselves in the contest (Mike Wurfel hit a 2-run HR in the 1st). A 4-run 4th (including a 2-run Baldwin HR) saw Canberra momentarily pull ahead, but Ruben Rosales saw Newcastle back in front with a 2-run blast in the 7th. And that was how the score would remain, Newcastle winning 8-7 to move to the next round via a sweep. Blair Wurfel (2.1IP, 6H, 6ER, 3BB, 2K) took most of the responsibility for the loss onto his shoulders after the game, saying, “I really pitched badly today. If my catcher’s glove was at the knees that pretty much meant I’d throw at the shoulders.” Edwin Kerr (4.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 1BB, 2K) didn’t have a great outing either, but would get another chance to strut his stuff this postseason. Newcastle used 5 pitchers across the final 2 innings.

Game 4 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

Could Wellington do the unlikely, and knock the deserving Diggers out? Yes, they could. It was a tight game from start to finish, though, Wellington scoring 2 runs across the 2nd-3rd to take a lead they’d never relinquish. Lindsay Colson homered against his previous club in the 3rd and couldn’t resist an exultant bat flip once the ball left the yard. Darwin hustled a run back in the 5th, but Wellington regained the 2-run cushion in the bottom of the inning. Darwin again showed their never-say-die attitude in the 7th to manufacture another run but that was as close as they would get. Final score: 3-2 Wellington and they were off to ride their luck against Central Coast in the Preliminary Finals. Budd (8.0IP, 9H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K) threw a complete game loss, while Pankhurst (6.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) got himself a W.

[Izz]

2052 Preliminary Finals

Game 1 - Wellington Fury vs Central Coast Thunder

The Thunder showed no signs of rust, quickly jumping out to a 6-1 lead after 3 innings, 4 of those coming in the 3rd courtesy of a Justin Auger Grand Slam. Interestingly, he’d hit a slammer against the Fury on March 21st, too. They added 2 more in the 6th and another 2 in the 8th to make it a thrashing. Final score: 10-2 Thunder. Cummins (2.1IP, 5H, 5ER, 1BB, 0K) was quickly sent back to the sheds with his tail between his legs, while Ted Heathcote (8.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 7K) continued his dominant season.

Game 1 - Newcastle Roos vs Brisbane Bandits

The massive talking point before this game was that Lance Ralston was back, and Brisbane were putting him straight onto the mound. This would be his 1st time pitching competitively since his injury on December 7th. Master stroke or catastrophe?

It only took him 1 pitch to record his 1st out, Joshua Moore hitting a regulation fly to left. He struck out Glen Lock on 7 pitches, allowed a single to Tyler Pratly, then got Snijders to hit a grounder to 2nd for the final out of the inning. He looked tentative, which was fair enough, and didn’t throw a single splitter or slider, relying mainly on his fastball and circle change (though he struck out Lock with a looping curve). In the 2nd he looked a little more his old self, retiring the side in order.

Brisbane got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd, Shiro Kondo showing why he’d earned the start at RF ahead of Adam Guiney by delivering a Grand Slam just over the glove of the despairing rightfielder. A wild pitch scored Newcastle’s 1st run in the 3rd but they were never really in the contest, Brisbane scoring 3 more in the 4th and 2 more - via an Aguirre jack - in the 6th. The Roos got a rally going in the 8th off Wilson Lara, scoring 3 (2 earned) but Ruiz was safe as houses in the 9th to finish the game. Final score: 9-5 Brisbane. Ralston (7.0IP, 8H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K) was pleased with his 1st outing, though he admitted in the aftermatch presser that he’d “probably always be pretty worried about that arm from now on, but that’s part of the game, being mentally tough enough to get out there and get the job done.” Brock Casey (3.0IP, 6H, 7R, 6ER, 2BB, 4K) got beat up for the 2nd time this postseason. Aguirre went 4-5, with 3RBI, to get PotG.

Game 2 - Wellington Fury vs Central Coast Thunder

Wellington fought back, scoring 3 in the 1st and another in the 2nd to take an early lead. The Thunder responded with 2 homers in the 3rd to bring it back to 4-3. Wellington added another in the 5th but Sean Carr’s 2-run shot in the bottom of the inning tied things up. In the bottom of the 8th aggressive running saw the Thunder take the lead for the 1st time and Rhett Thurley needed only 10 pitches (including 2 Ks) to finish the game. Final score: 6-5 Central Coast. Moore (5.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 2BB, 4K) couldn’t repeat his heroics of last start, while Connor Chapman (6.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 0BB, 4K) also got beat up a bit. Philip Burton went long for Wellington in the 1st. Wellington’s Adrian Lane equalled the postseason game record for doubles, hitting 3.

Game 2 - Newcastle Roos vs Brisbane Bandits

Brisbane led 5-2 going into the 4th (Norman Ladds and Wakely homering amongst that), but Newcastle sent 8 hitters to the plate in the 5th, scoring 4 runs to take the lead. Reginald Sorensen would hit a solo HR in the 8th to put Newcastle ahead by 2 and they’d add another insurance run in the top of the 9th. In the bottom of the inning Brisbane fought their way to 2 batters on base with 1 out, but couldn’t do anything with those runners to see Newcastle level the series. Final score: 8-5 Roos. Wei-Liang Chang (3.2IP, 7H, 5ER, 1BB, 2K) got knocked out of the game early, and Clint Aitcheson (4.1IP, 8H, 6ER, 3BB, 4K) didn’t last much longer, though was out there long enough to get the loss.

Game 3 - Wellington Fury vs Central Coast Thunder

From the moment Auger hit a solo HR in the top of the 1st, this 1 was never in doubt. Wellington did draw level in the 2nd, but the Thunder quickly regained the advantage and never let go. Final score: 8-2 Central Coast, and they were off to the Championship. Carr and Alou also homered for Central Coast, while Adrian Duggan (8.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K), who’d only managed 1 start in the bigs in March after coming back from his torn UCL, looked comfortable and assured on the mound. Pankhurst (6.1IP, 9H, 5ER, 4BB, 2K) probably shouldn’t have come out for the 7th, though that really had no bearing on the result.

Game 3 - Newcastle Roos vs Brisbane Bandits

Newcastle took the early lead, scoring 2 in the bottom of the 1st. That was their last scoring action until the bottom of the 8th, when Sorensen hit his 2nd HR of the series, but it was enough as Brisbane lost their offensive mojo. They managed a run in the 2nd thanks to a 2-out error, but that was all for the night, Newcastle winning 2-1 to be on the verge of a trip to the Championship. Marcos Gallo (8.0IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB, 5K) had a good night and might’ve come away with a different result if not for his teammates lack of offense. Kerr (6.2IP, 6H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 5K) got the win, while Bywaters notched up his 4th save of the postseason.

Game 4 - Newcastle Roos vs Brisbane Bandits

Under pressure and away from home, how would the Bandits hold up?

Ralston walked 4 batters in the 2nd but didn’t give up any runs, thanks to a 1-6-3 double play in amongst the off target pitches. Newcastle RF Lock made 2 great plays in the 3rd, one climbing the wall and one backing into it, to rob the Bandits of certain runs, but they wouldn’t be denied in the 4th, finally getting on the board via a sacrifice fly. They’d score 3 in the 5th, 2 of those thanks to an Aguirre HR, and 2 more in the 6th to put the game firmly in their control. Newcastle would come out fighting in the 9th, though, scoring 2, but in the end a comfortable win to Brisbane. Final score: 6-2 Bandits. Ralston (6.0IP, 3H, 0ER, 5BB, 5K) obviously still had some rust but picked up his 2nd win of the series, while Casey (4.1IP, 7H, 3ER, 0BB, 2K) got his 2nd loss. Kondo left the field in the 7th with a fractured thumb. He would play no further part in the postseason.

Game 5 - Newcastle Roos vs Brisbane Bandits

On the morning of the series decider, Newcastle announced 27 y/o Tyler Pratly (.311/.365/.538, 31HR in 2052) had agreed to a 4-year extension. Pratly had 3 1/2 years of ML service time already, so he was likely to spend his 1st 2 years of free agency with the Roos.

All the runs in this one were scored by the end of the 3rd. Newcastle kicked it off via an unearned run in the 2nd and Brisbane immediately responded in the bottom of the inning via a 2-run Wakely bomb. Vince Hudswell also jacked a 3-2 fastball down the RF line for a 2-run HR in the 3rd and that was all she wrote. The Roos loaded the bases in the 7th but Aitcheson got out of the jam thanks to a routine 6-4-3 double play. In the 8th the Roos again loaded the bases, this time with 2 outs, but a regulation fly to left ended that threat. Final score: 4-1 Brisbane, and now with the chance to win 4 in a row they could be about to further etch themselves in AUNZBL history.

Chang (7.1IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 5K) took the loss while Aitcheson (7.0IP, 7H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 7K) got nervous on occasion but battled through it to get the win. Young-tae Lee hurt his ankle diving into 2nd to complete his 2nd-inning double but the injury wasn’t too serious, just a light sprain which he could play through for the next week.