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

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2052 Championship Series - Brisbane Bandits vs Central Coast Thunder

Preview: This was the series everybody wanted to see. The 2 best teams in the competition, by some margin, duking it out. Central Coast had a swell of neutral fan support as all who weren’t Brisbane fans wanted an end to the Bandits’ chokehold on supremacy. The Thunder had already won the 1st battle, snaring the division by 1 game with a March surge. That surge also gave them the best regular season record, meaning they had home ground advantage for the series, too.

The Thunder were the top pitching unit in the league, with the best overall ERA (3.55) and starter’s ERA (3.57). Their bullpen was also really good, their ERA of 3.50 2nd-best in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Thunder had allowed the least runs (624), hits (1310), and OAVG (.239). The 160HRs they’d allowed was 4th-best, as was the 447 batters they’d walked. They’d struck out 1082 hitters, 5th-best. Defensively, their fielders backed up whoever was on the mound, the team’s defensive efficiency of .715 easily the best in the league.

Offensively, they had the 6th-best BA (.270) and OBP (.338), but had scored the 3rd-most runs (852). They’d struck out the least of any team (916), and drawn the 5th-most walks (551). However, power-wise, apart from the meat of their line-up, they were a bit down the tree, hitting only the 9th-most HRs (179) and 5th-most (tied) XBH (500). They had no injury issues to concern them.

Brisbane were still the most balanced team in the league. Their pitching staff ranked 2nd behind Central Coast, their overall ERA (3.81), starter’s ERA (3.76), runs allowed (645), hits allowed (1375), and OAVG (.250) all 2nd-best. Their bullpen was a potential weak spot, with a 6th-best ERA of 3.93. They’d only walked 433 batters (3rd-best), and had struck out the most (1187), even with Ralston gone for half the season. Defensively, their efficiency of .700 was 2nd.

Offensively they weren’t quite as dominant as they had been in 2051. They’d scored the 2nd-most runs (860), recorded the 2nd-most hits (1569), with the 2nd-best BA (.280), and 3rd-best OBP (.352). They had the best SLG (.468) and OPS (.820), thanks in part to their 1st-ranked XBH (564), and HR (232). They’d shown the 3rd-best patience in the box, walking 584 times, and for all their power only struck out the 8th-most (1025 times).

They’d had various players on the DL over the course of the season, Brock Wakely only playing 109 games due to injury, Norman Ladds 106, Gordon Appleby 110, Ismael Aguirre 126. They did have almost everybody back from injury now, though, and had an incredible 11 players on their playoff roster who’d hit 10+ HRs.

The analysts’ pick? It’d go to Game 7, but Brisbane would win their 4th in a row.

Game 1

Marcos Gallo (16-11, 3.82 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) would start Game 1 for Brisbane, while Heathcote who, by virtue of the extra few days rest the Thunder had received, hadn’t pitched in 8 days would start for Central Coast.

A Lee double off the wall in the 2nd drove Lance Fookes home, opening the scoring. That was it until the bottom of the 7th when Bert Maggs slugged a 2-run HR to put Central Coast ahead. Lee’s solo HR in next half-inning levelled the scores again, and Brisbane snuck ahead that same inning thanks to a wild pitch scoring Timothy Browne. Back-to-back doubles from Manuel Alou and Sean Carr tied things up once again. With the bottom of the lineup coming up in the bottom of the 9th for Central Coast it looked like the game was headed to extra innings. Jacob Lindner ground out to 3rd, but Rhys Jolly got a pitch in his wheelhouse and sent it 385 feet over left for a walk-off HR. Final score: 4-3 Central Coast.

Both starters were good. Gallo (7.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 4K) threw 107 pitches, while Heathcote (8.0IP, 4H, 3ER, 0BB, 8K) only threw 99. Thurley got the win, Armando Ruiz the loss.

Game 2

Lance Ralston would come out to the mound for Brisbane in this one. He would duke it out with Connor Chapman.

The Bandits scored a run before an out had been recorded, Ladds scampering home off a Gadsden double. Ralston hit the 1st batter he faced, and allowed a single to the 3rd, but got out of the inning unscathed. Brisbane took to Chapman in the 3rd, Gadsden leading off with a HR. Aguirre got caught at the CF wall before Hudswell and Fookes doubled, Hudswell scoring. Wakely singled, and Lee continued his hot start to the series, jacking one deep, deep, deep, gone over left field to score 3. It became 8-0 in the 4th before the Thunder got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Brisbane scored 2 more in the 5th before Central’s usually impeccable bullpen kicked in. The Thunder scored a consolation run in the 8th but were never in the game. Final score: 10-2 Brisbane to level the series.

Ralston (6.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K) picked up his 3rd win of the postseason, while Chapman (2.1IP, 8H, 6ER, 1BB, 2K) got sent to the showers quick smart. Sean Carr came off injured in the 8th, with no immediate diagnosis, though he was clutching his elbow, in obvious pain.

Game 3

Back at home for a 3-game stretch, Brisbane refused to talk big, while Central Coast were also similarly quiet. Adrian Duggan, who was 2 from 2 so far this season (1 regular, 1 playoff), would take on Clint Aitcheson (14-8, 3.60 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.16 WHIP).

Aguirre hit his 3rd HR of the postseason in the bottom of the 1st, putting Brisbane up by 2. Alou drove home Rory Budd in the 4th to get the Thunder in the game. Ladds belted a 2-run HR in the 5th and it looked like this might be a repeat of Game 2. It wouldn’t be. Central Coast wiped a run off the deficit in the bottom of the inning and that was all the scoring until the top of the 9th.

Ruiz came to the mound and got ahead of Maggs before throwing 2 pitches in the dirt to let him on base for free. Rhys Jolly singled and Abraham Farley advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Bert Arnott doubled into the gap at right centre, scoring both runners, and cutting the deficit to 1. Ruiz was yanked but replacement Yu-hsui Chin didn’t do much better, walking Budd, but not before Arnott stole 3rd. The 2nd out was finally recorded when Auger hit a groundball deep to short but was thrown out at 1st. Unfortunately for Chin and Brisbane Arnott scampered home to score the go-ahead run. Alou hit a soft ground ball to 3rd to end the inning but Brisbane’s bullpen was proving a problem again.

However, the top of the order was coming up, and Brisbane could score from anywhere in the lineup. Thurley was the exact opposite of Ruiz though, commanding and direct. Ladds flied out to centre and Gadsden and Aguirre both went down swinging. Final score: 5-4 Thunder.

Aitcheson (7.1IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) could rightly feel robbed, while Duggan (6.2IP, 10H, 4ER, 2BB, 5K) was probably lucky not to give up more runs. Ruiz picked up his 2nd loss of the series. Brisbane’s Paul Colenutt came off injured after his 3rd relief pitch. No word was given as to his injury.

Game 4

Colenutt had a strained back muscle. He’d be day-to-day for a few days. There was no word on Carr’s injury yet.

Wilson Lara (15-7, 4.32 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.33 WHIP), who’d been used in relief in the Preliminary Finals, would start for Brisbane. Heathcote would turn out for Central Coast on short rest as they looked to gain a decisive advantage.

All the scoring for this was done in 2 innings, and Central Coast’s usually impeccable defence let them down big time. Lara gave up 4 runs in the 3rd, walking Jolly, surrendering a linedrive single to Farley (each runner advancing thanks to the CF bobbling the pickup), and watching Jolly score off a deep ground-out to 2nd. Budd singled wide of Aguirre at 1st to score Farley, stole 2nd, and advanced to 3rd on Auger’s ground out. His aggression on the basepaths was unnecessary, though, as Alou lofted one into the leftfield bleachers to make it 4-0.

Heathcote looked in command until the 5th. Wakely hit a weak fly to left for the 1st out. Lee singled into shallow centre, and Browne hit a regulation fly to right. 2-out, no drama. Right? Ryan Bell singled past a diving 2nd-baseman and Lee took on the throw to advance to 3rd. Ladds took a pitch on the shin to load the bases. Heathcote seemed ruffled by the turn of events, his 0-1 to Gadsden thrown way over everybody’s heads. It hit the backstop at pace, and Lee slid into home, also at pace. Gadsden hit the next pitch towards the hole at 3rd. 3B Budd, one of the few poor fielders in the Central team, got across quickly enough, but muffed the pickup. Bell scored and Gadsden was safe at 1st. Heathcote’s 1st 2 pitches to Aguirre didn’t find the zone and Aguirre wasn’t swinging. The 2-0 pitch was a fastball Aguirre could pull, and pull he did, sending it over the leftfield fence for a 3-run HR, giving Brisbane the lead.

Lara loaded the bases in the 6th and was replaced by Chin, who today looked in good form, striking out Arnott swinging to end the inning. He allowed 2 runners in the 7th but got out of the inning okay. Ruiz came out in the 9th in another pressure situation, his last 2 outings undoubtedly playing on his mind. Arnott grounded out to 2nd on the 1st pitch of the inning. Budd struck out looking and Auger struck out swinging to see Brisbane win 5-4.

Heathcote (8.0IP, 7H, 5R, 1ER, 0BB, 4K) pitched a complete-game loss, but if nothing else he gave the bullpen some rest. Lara (5.2IP, 6H, 4ER, 5BB, 5K) was all over the place, as he had been all season, but got the win.

Game 5

Bad news for Sean Carr and Central Coast. He’d broken his elbow, and would be on the DL 4-5 months.

Gallo would take on Chapman.

The Thunder didn’t clear the fences at all today, but added runs at regular intervals to ensure the game was never in doubt. Rhys Jolly, 3-4 on the night, tied the AUNZBL playoff game record for triples, hitting 2, in the 6th and in the 8th. Ladds homered for Brisbane in the 5th, but those were the only runs the Bandits would score. Final score: 7-2 Central Coast, and they were 1 win away from a 2nd Championship, having last won 21 years ago.

Chapman (7.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K) kept the Brisbane offense quiet today, while Gallo (4.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 3BB, 3K) struggled in picking up the loss.

Game 6

On the ropes and away from home, Brisbane put a rested Ralston on the mound. He would take on Duggan, who would be hoping he’d throw like he did against Wellington, and not like he had earlier in this series.

Ralston certainly looked like he was quickly back near his best. He still had the odd problem locating his pitches, walking 3 in his 7.2 innings, but he only allowed 1 hit, a 4th-inning single, while striking out 10. That being said, CF Timothy Browne made 2 great plays at the wall in the 1st to rob Budd and Alou of XBH hits. Brisbane scored 1 in the 2nd and another in the 5th. Wakely hit his 3rd HR of the playoffs in the 6th, Duggan once again giving up plenty of hits but not getting punished too badly. Brisbane’s relievers came to the party today, not allowing any baserunners. Final score: 3-0 Brisbane and we were headed to Game 7.

Duggan (5.2IP, 10H, 3ER, 1BB, 4K) took the loss, Ralston his 4th win from 4 postseason outings.

Game 7

Heathcote would make his 3rd start of the series, up against Aitcheson who admitted pre-game that he was “pretty nervous, yeah, very, very nervous, actually.”

A series of singles in the bottom of the 3rd saw Central Coast draw first blood, scoring 2. Lance Fookes halved the deficit in the top of the 4th with a 434 foot solo shot over right centre. Scoring dried up until the 8th. Bell led off the top of the inning with a single, Ladds followed up with another single. Gadsden flied out to centre and Aguirre crunched one deep, deep to centre. But only as far as the warning track, a swirling breeze keeping this one in the yard. Bell tagged up and made it to 3rd without a throw, scoring off Gordon Appleby’s pinch-hit single (this was Appleby’s 1st AB of the series).

The bottom of the 8th to bottom of the 9th passed in 3-up, 3-down fashion. Bell singled to lead off the 10th but was left stranded at 1st. Rhys Jolly flied out to right in the bottom of the inning, bringing Farley to the plate. A lanky 6’4”, 25 y/o Farley had power potential once he grew into his frame, but had only hit 2HR in 364PA during the regular season. But the big games bring out the big stuff in some players sometimes, and Farley smoked his 2-1 pitch 441 feet over straightaway centre for an extra-innings walk-off, Championship-winning HR!

Final score: 3-2 Thunder and they celebrated at home plate for a good twenty minutes before starting on the 1st of several laps of honour. Brisbane closer Ruiz also took a long time to leave the field, but out of dejection rather than delight. Heathcote (7.1IP, 6H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) was quality again, while Aitcheson (8.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 4K) did his best for his team. A fitting game to end a hard fought series. With Aguirre, Lara, Lee, and Lang likely to file for free agency, was this the end of an era for Brisbane?

Hurler of the Series: It was hard to go past Heathcote, even though he was 0-1 on the series. He threw 23.1 innings across 3 starts, allowing just 17 hits and 1 walk, striking out 16. One commentator cheekily suggested Central Coast’s best pitcher was Brisbane’s Armando Ruiz.

Slugger of the Series: Apart from his series-winning HR, Farley had an awful series, so wasn’t considered for this award. The honour went to Alou (.357/.419/.571, 1HR).

[Izz]

2052 Championship-winning Thunder

[reds1]

"Touch'em all, Abe....!"

Now, that's the way to win a championship!

[Izz]

Originally Posted by reds1

"Touch'em all, Abe....!"

Now, that's the way to win a championship!

Even though the Thunder had won the East-West division in 2052, their record 1 game better than the Bandits, the media took to calling them "Giant-Killers," with 1 news-site labeling Farley's HR the "lightning in Central Coast's thunder." Essentially, the nation rejoiced.

Central Coast had also won Game 1 with a walk-off HR, meaning they'd ended the series just like they'd started it.

Brisbane were effusive in their praise of their division rivals, with skipper Ferreira hoping the 2053 Championship would be a rematch.

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2052 Season Leaderboards

(Don't forget you can click on/tap the image to enlarge it)

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2052 Awards

Gold Gloves

Pitcher: Wayne Lewis (Christchurch Cowboys)
Catcher: Tyler Pratly (Newcastle Roos)
First Baseman: Justin Auger (Central Coast Thunder)
Second Baseman: Owen Delaney (Melbourne Aces)
Third Baseman: Alan Dulihanty (Melbourne Aces)
Shortstop: Gordon Appleby (Brisbane Bandits)
Left Fielder: Norman Ladds (Brisbane Bandits)
Center Fielder: Ben Dalley (Adelaide Venom)
Right Fielder: Russell Watters (Whangarei Sluggers)

Rookie of the Year

30 y/o Tommy Hillson snared this year’s Rookie award. He wasn’t overwhelmed by the step up from the semi-pro leagues he had been playing in, hitting .313/.370/.475, 180-575, with 80 runs, 31 doubles, 1 triple, 20HR, 97RBI, 52BB, and 1SB. His WAR was 4.0 and his VORP 50.2.



24 y/o Thunder SS Bert Arnott (.251/.332/.411, 18HR) came 2nd, and 22 y/o Aces C Gary Baker (.306/.365/.532, 19HR from 85 games) picked up the bronze.

Skipper of the Year

It was hard to go past Thunder skipper Hayden Stanley. He’d been manager of the Thunder for 5 years and had never missed a postseason, this year finally winning it all. He’d already won Skipper of the Year once, in 2049.



Hurler of the Year

As predicted, Ted Heathcote was this year’s runaway winner. Not only did he show his remarkable stamina by starting 3 of the Championship Series 7 games, he went 20-5 in the regular season, throwing 255.2 innings along the way. He had an ERA of 2.75, an FIP of 2.89, and a WHIP of 0.99. He struck out 190 hitters and only allowed half a HR every 9 innings. His WAR was 7.9, his ERA+ 160.



Teammate Connor Chapman (17-11, 3.04 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) was runner-up, with Wellington’s Jay Cummins (18-13, 3.27 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) taking home 3rd.

Slugger of the Year

This was the most hotly debated of the awards leading up to Awards Night. Would Snijders’ phenomenal 1st-half be enough to see him become the oldest-ever SotY winner? Would Marcos Lopez snare a maiden title? Aguirre had to be up there, too. And what about Alan Sneddon, who’d posted his 3rd 7+ WAR season in a row?

In the end, there was no going past Lopez. The Wellington 1B won the award thanks to a .317/.368/.572 season, where he went 197-621, scoring 89 runs, hitting 26 doubles and 44HR, driving in 114 runners and drawing 48 walks. He had a 7.9 WAR and an 80.9 VORP.



Snijders (.314/.429/.549, 37HR) finished runner-up, perhaps a concession to his age. 3rd-place was a bit of a surprise, though. It went to Esteban Madrigal (.328/.404/.661, 39HR), who’d had easily his best season in the AUNZBL, even if it had been disrupted by injury.

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2052 Career Leaderboards

The big talking points following the 2052 season were all around Snijders. Did he have enough in the tank to last 2 more seasons in the top flight? If so, that should be enough time for him to get to 3000 hits and 600HR. If the 2nd half of 2052 was anything to go by, he'd be unlikely to reach either mark. That being said, Mildren had played 2 seasons (at least) past his prime, so Snijders had the potential to stick around for a while yet. Likely to file for free agency, there was already word of several teams sniffing at Snijders' door.

Bodkin was looking increasingly unlikely to reach 200 wins, and the odds of Contreras getting to 400 saves had increased markedly, too.

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BL Wrap-up

2052 Champions

The Managua Monos de Lucha took out the 2052 BL Championship, beating the Cali Destructores 4-2. It was the Monos de Lucha’s maiden title.

Awards

Novato del Ano & Bateador de Oro

31 y/o Kent deJong had played in the AUNZBL from 2044-2051, beginning his career with Cairns and spending 2 seasons with Hobart before heading to the sunny shores of the Lower Americas to play for Lima. A HR hitter in the AUNZBl who struggled to hit for average, deJong enjoyed the pitching in the BL much better. He hit .305/.430/.548, with 22HR to win both the BL’s rookie award and their slugger award. He led the league in SLG, OPS, wOBA (.405), and HR. DeJong also won a Gold Glove for his work at 1B.



Jarra de Oro

DeJong’s teammate, 29 y/o Joshua Kershaw, who’d played in the AUNZBL for 3 seasons across 2047-2049, was in his 3rd season in the BL, and was dominant. He was 17-3, setting a new season win record, with a 2.83 ERA, 3.51 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP. He struck out 118 hitters in 162.1IP.



Prospect Watch

24 y/o catcher Juan Rodriguez had bounced around between A-ball, AA-ball and the BL bigs since being drafted in 2049 by Asuncion. Above average defensively, he projected to be a good contact hitter, though with the free swing many kids in the Lower Americas had. He was still over a year away from free agency, and in that time he might mature into his bat and get some AUNZBL teams interested.

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NABA Wrap-up

Champions

The Warwick Reds finished the regular season 3 games ahead, and played the inaugural NABA Cup against the runner-up Evansville Peacemakers. The Reds won the best of 3 series 2-0, a walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the 9th doing the trick in Game 2, as well as being the 1st scoring act of the game.

Awards

North Cascades Award & Yellowstone Award

36 y/o Francisco Cortez had the complexion of a corpse, but he was still healthy as an ox. He’d played in the BL in its 1st season, 2041, before heading to the AUNZBL where he played from 2042-2046, for Christchurch, Central Coast, Whangarei, Perth and back to Central Coast. He then moved back to the BL, from 2047-2049, before another stint in the AUNZBL, this time for Melbourne, for the 2050 and 2051 seasons. He then signed with the Memphis Academics in the NABA, playing all 80 games of the 2053 season, going .305/.411/.529, with 17HR. He led the league in OBP, OPS, wOBA (.404), HR, RBI (53), runs (61), and total bases (163). His season was deemed good enough to not just win the NABA rookie award, but also its slugger award.



Yosemite Award

35 y/o Bob Hesketh was in his 4th season for the Sioux City Rampage, having played from 2042-2047 in the AUNZBL and 2048-2049 in the BL. He was an incredible 11-1 in 2053, with an ERA of 2.47, an FIP of 2.91, and a WHIP of 0.92, on his way to winning the Yosemite Award.



Prospect Watch

20 y/o Bill Parrish was Sioux City’s #1 draft pick in 2053. He remained on their reserve roster all season, but scouts had him pegged as a guy who would blow batters away once he matured. He threw a fastball and a curveball and would likely be a starter in the NABA, but in a year or two an AUNZBL bullpen might look at him as a possible setup guy.

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Offseason

2052 Notes

ERA dropped 4 points to 4.40, while league average remained static at .266.

Notable Club Happenings

Auckland: Owner Wes Cartwright had a full scale cleanout, firing GM Rupert Goudie, skipper Fraser Edlich, and bench coach Jose Guerrero. Goudie had been GM since 2047, when the Metros last won the Championship, which was also the last time they finished a season above .500, while Edlich had skippered the side for the last 2 seasons and been BC the 2 seasons before that. Beloved by the playing group, Edlich had to go, according to inside reports, and needed to be replaced by someone who would “get hard” when it was warranted.

Brisbane: To the surprise of everybody, particularly after his impassioned post-Championship speech where he stated he was “immensely looking forward to a rematch,” Cisco Ferreira announced his retirement. The 3-year big league manager, who’d skippered the Bandits to 3 consecutive 100+ win seasons as well as 2 rings and 3 Championship appearances, said with a twinkle in his eye, “Yes, I’m still immensely looking forward to a rematch between the Bandits and the Thunder. Only I’m looking forward to watching from the stands. Much less stressful that way.” He would be replaced by BC Carlos Sosa, who’d been backup for the last 5 seasons. Sosa had also been a big league pitcher from 2026-2034, having pitched for Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Canberra, with an unenviable career record of 51-100. He was hoping his managerial career wouldn’t turn out the same way.

Cairns: GM Declan Morgenstern got the boot. He’d spent 4 years at the helm, the Crocs not once finishing above .500. At the time of his appointment he’d caused a stir as he had no previous baseball background, either as a player or in the minor league or school systems. He’d come from a purely business background, principally in the space sector, and hinted that was where he might head back to now that “this adventure” was over.

Christchurch: Interim manager Gary Cummins, who’d lead the team to a 7-4 record during his short time in charge, was offered a contract extension which he “gobbled up” according to insider reports. If he managed to avoid the ire of GM or owner he’d be skipper until at least the end of the 2055 season.

Hobart: GM Si Chin didn’t have his contract renewed. Chin, known as an ‘outside the box’ GM, had been at the helm of the franchise for 8 years, during which time they’d won 1 Championship (his 1st year in charge) and made the playoffs 2 other times. Skipper Oliver Chambers had already announced his retirement. The 2040 Skipper of the Year had an overall record of 911-871, and had skippered Hobart to a Championship in 2042. He’d been Whangarei’s inaugural manager before heading to Hobart for a very successful 4-year stint. He’d then spent 2 years as manager of the Aces, before going back to Hobart, where he’d been BC for 5 years before assuming the role of manager once again in 2051.

Melbourne: GM Keith Shanahan announced his retirement, going so far as to say, “I think I might head to a remote island somewhere where the only sport played is relaxing under an umbrella.”

Sydney: Sterling Anglesey didn’t have his contract as manager renewed, a move he said was “harsh, considering we were the 6th-best team in the competition this year and only missed out on the playoffs due to technicalities.” He would be replaced by BC Juan Espinoza, whose only other big-league managing experience was a 68-94 season as skipper of the Thunder in 2047.

#

28 Apr: Brisbane owner Edward Tamburrino passed away after a long battle with cancer. He would be succeeded by his son Tye, who apparently had been playing the role of owner for the last couple years anyway. Tye Tamburrino was said to be a patient man, but very tight-fisted. How this would affect budgets for the league’s biggest payroll remained to be seen.

Notable Free Agent Signings/Player Contract Extensions

10 May: The Roos offered 39 y/o Ashley Snijders (.306/.404/.540, 545HR) arbitration, which he accepted. He would be in Newcastle colours for another season.

13 May: This year’s top 5 free agents, according to OotPB TV, were:

29 y/o 1B Ismael Aguirre
28 y/o SS Manuel Salinas
33 y/o C Zachary Woollett
35 y/o SP Allan Spear
32 y/o RF Carl Bristcoe

Other free agents included:

35 y/o SP Al Dunlop
33 y/o 1B Blair Toohey
31 y/o C Bill Baxter
31 y/o SS Angelo Rankin
29 y/o C Bob Bowden
36 y/o 3B Young-tae Lee
39 y/o 2B Craig Hardy
29 y/o CL Rex Herbert
31 y/o LF Jayden Pye
35 y/o CL Kade Clark
35 y/o SP Angelo Pagan
30 y/o 1B Manny Gallo
39 y/o C Danny Goodwin
33 y/o 1B Quentin Stennings
29 y/o 1B Vic Gerlach

The Bandits were the biggest WAR losers, dropping a total of 14.3. According to GM Victor Leseberg the only reason they’d let players like Aguirre and Lee go to free agency was because they couldn’t afford to keep them. He said, “Of course we’d like to see Ismael in a Brisbane uniform for the rest of his career. When all’s said and done he’ll be regarded as one of the greatest to ever play the game. But we can’t pay him what he deserves, or even a quarter of it, so we’ll have to let him go. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be back one day.”

On the other side of the coin, somehow the Thunder ended up with a net gain of 2.2 WAR.

21 May: Sydney was excited to announce they’d re-signed 33 y/o Zachary Woollett (.310/.381/.525, 280HR) for a further 2 years.



25 May: Canberra called a presser to announce the signing of 36 y/o Young-tae Lee (.285/.394/.453, 285HR) on a 3-year deal...

25 May: ...Before any fans could say, “3 years is a year too long,” Canberra unveiled another signing, one which took everybody by surprise: 29 y/o Ismael Aguirre (.314/.371/.567, 379HR) would be joining the capital’s Cavalry regiment, having agreed to terms on a 4-year contract. In 2052 Canberra had hit .294 as a team, 2nd-best all-time, but now they were just overflowing with offense. The thought of Aguirre and Blanksby hitting one after the other made Cavalry fans drool and the fans of other teams shudder.



2 Jun: 36 y/o Brendan Sheppard (39-38, 134 sv, 3.29 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.15 WHIP), Canberra’s closer for the last 2 seasons, inked a 2-year deal with Hobart.

2 Jun: 39 y/o Mauro Contreras (56-52, 359 sv, 2.30 ERA, 2.78 FIP, 0.99 WHIP) ended up in the place most aging stars ended up when they were looking to stick around for another season or 2 in hope of reaching some milestone: Christchurch. The veteran had signed a 2-year contract (2nd year a vesting option), and apparently had been promised the closing role.

6 Jun: Wellington signed 35 y/o Al Dunlop (65-53, 4.35 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.34 WHIP) for 2 years.

13 Jun: 31 y/o Angelo Rankin (.276/.317/.429, 109HR) was headed to Darwin. He’d signed a 6-year deal.

15 Jun: 28 y/o Manuel Salinas (.327/.423/.407, 28HR) would turn out for Central Coast for the next 5 years. They had a powerful looking lineup heading into 2053.



18 Jun: Wellington signed 29 y/o Bob Bowden (.269/.327/.428, 106HR) on a 5-year deal.

26 Jun: The Cavalry snared another big signing, tying 29 y/o Rex Herbert (25-31, 201 sv, 2.96 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 1.22 WHIP) up for 3 years.

28 Jun: 40 y/o Mike Wurfel (.302/.357/.432, 196HR) was likely still capable of playing to a high level in the AUNZBL, but had instead opted to sign for the 2053 season with Managua in the BL. With a sly grin he said, “I’ve still got a passion to play, but I also want to preserve my .300 average so maybe this is a decent compromise.” Wurfel had 2674 hits, 496 doubles, 1303 runs, 1153RBI, and 159 stolen bases to go with his 6 Championship rings.



8 Jul: Hobart signed 30 y/o Manny Gallo (.297/.333/.531, 224HR) to a 2-year deal.

22 Jul: 35 y/o Allan Spear (182-151, 4.15 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) finally signed with Sydney, doing so for 3 years, the 3rd-year being a vesting option. Spear was definitely a possibility of getting to 200 wins, needing only 18 more.



27 Jul: Newcastle and 33 y/o Carl Bristcoe (.268/.342/.495, 301HR) agreed to a 4-year deal, the 4th year being a team option.



29 Jul: The Thunder announced 35 y/o Kade Clark (51-56, 162 sv, 3.89 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.37 WHIP) was coming to town. He’d signed a 4-year contract.

7 Aug: 40 y/o C Danny Goodwin (.277/.336/.451, 297HR) signed with Darwin for the 2053 season. He’d be their backup, and provide “valuable mentoring” to the young players, according to team management.

10 Aug: 34 y/o Benjamin Ziersch (.298/.355/.503, 230HR) was criminally underrated, at least to teams other than Adelaide. He’d ventured away from the Venom for the 2052 season, playing with the Aces, but was now heading back to Adelaide, having agreed to a 3-year deal.

12 Aug: 32 y/o southpaw slugger Jayden Pye (.256/.341/.440, 140HR) signed with Christchurch for 4 years. The Cowboys were the 7th team he’d suit up for in 8 seasons. His goal, he joked, was “to play for every team in the league before he retired.”

15 Aug: Christchurch announced another signing today, that of 33 y/o Blair Toohey (.262/.367/.391, 109HR). Toohey had made a successful return from the BL last season, earning himself his 1st-ever AUNZBL All Star berth.

15 Aug: The Cowboys weren’t done announcing new players. Along with the signing of another player returning from the BL, 35 y/o Alec Tibbits, for 3 years, they also presented 37 y/o Brodie Backhouse (50-49, 401 sv, 2.66 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 1.08 WHIP) to media, GM Juan Alvarado introducing him with the statement, “Brodie’s back.” Backhouse had played in the BL for 2 seasons, compiling a 16-10 record, with 6 saves as he got moved back to closer in the latter half of the 2052 season. A cheap buy, there wasn’t too much downside for the Cowboys, though how Contreras felt about the situation, he looking for 400 saves himself, was yet to be determined.

19 Aug: Christchurch continued to make all the late running, though this signing wasn’t quite as... mature as their previous. 30 y/o Karl Lang (74-61, 4.05 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.33 WHIP) had signed on the dotted line for 6 years. A leftie with a conventional fastball as well as a cut-fingered fastball, a split-fingered fastball and a slider, Lang had gone 17-10 last season, in large part thanks to Brisbane’s offense, but was certainly a dependable addition to Christchurch’s rotation.

28 Aug: 33 y/o Quentin Stennings (.298/.356/.493, 277HR) wanted to extend his AUNZBL career by at least another season, and after a long offseason fretting over whether any teams would show any interest, signed a 1-year deal with the Roos. While he’d be playing second-fiddle to Snijders, Stennings remained optimistic, saying, “Look, hopefully this doesn’t happen, but a baseball season is a marathon effort, and even the best guys get injured, so perhaps I’ll get a chance to play a few in a row at some stage.”

Notable Trades

24 Apr: Brisbane sent 26 y/o RF Ryan Bell (.267/.337/.452, 26HR in 2 seasons) to Christchurch in return for a washed-up pitcher (38 y/o Teddy Barry, who’d spent last season in AAA after 3 seasons in the BL) and a kid who projected to be a good reliever. Barry was assigned to AA.

16 Jun: 29 y/o 2B Daniel Wise (.271/.330/.366, 25HR) was quickly becoming the definition of journeyman, now on his way to his 4th team in 2 years. Christchurch had sent him, a prospect and cash to Cairns in return for 26 y/o pitcher Brandon McMullen (19-17 across over 4 seasons of relief). The Cowboys saw 5-pitch McMullen as a middle of the rotation starter, who might even be a bit better than that if he was prepared to put the work in.

Notable Injuries

16 Sep: Central Coast’s new acquisition Manuel Salinas could miss up to the 1st month of the season with an oblique strain.

Other Notes

The only move Brisbane made during the offseason was their late April trade. Other than that, nada, meaning they remained the biggest WAR losers by far. Central Coast had a net gain of 6.5 WAR to just beat out the Cowboys (+6.3 WAR) as the best offseason movers. Christchurch were the busiest team in the offseason, seemingly announcing pressers a couple times a week to show off new signings.

[Izz]

2053 Preseason Predictions

Coastal Division: The Diggers would win their 3rd straight pennant, though not without some competition from Adelaide. Perth would be awful once again.

East-West Division: Brisbane would still be the team to beat, even with Aguirre and Lee gone (Lara had accepted arbitration and would remain a Bandit in 2053). They'd win 100 again, with the Thunder hot on their heels. Newcastle would also win 90+.

NZ Division: Once again, the NZ division would furnish a postseason competitor who lost more than half their games in the regular season. That postseason competitor would once again be Wellington, though Christchurch would push them until the final day. The Metros, who'd lost 96 in 2052, would be even worse in 2053 and lose 100+ games in a season for the 1st time in their history.

Southern Division: Thanks to their new acquisitions, Canberra would be the best team in the AUNZBL in 2053, running away with the Southern. Sydney would be competitive but not even close.

Wildcard: Thunder and Roos all the way, the Blue Sox to once more be the 6th-best team but not play in the postseason.

Hurler of the Year: Ted Heathcote would be hard to go past, though 22 y/o Cavalry pitcher Eddie Raynor would stamp his mark on the competition too (thanks in part to Canberra's glorious offense). Connor Chapman and Clint Aitcheson would also be in the mix. Lance Ralston was predicted to have a strong season, but not be the destructive force he was prior to his injury.

Slugger of the Year: Justin Auger and Manuel Alou would fight it out for this award, with Gary Young, Aguirre and Keiran Pickford making up the chasing group.

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - October

Notable Performances

4 Oct: Karl Lang got off to a good start for his new team, Christchurch, blanking the Thunder 5-0 on the back of 3 hits, 0 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

5 Oct: Marcos Lopez went 5-5 (all singles) as Wellington overcame Whangarei 6-1.

6 Oct: Lopez won the 2053 season’s first PotW. He was 15-20 over the 1st 6 days, his stat-line an astonishing .750/.783/.900.

6 Oct: Bradley Courcha recorded 5 hits from 5 at-bats to help Auckland to a 7-3 victory over Christchurch.

12 Oct: Melbourne were having a forgettable start to the season. Today they lost their 10th straight, slipping up 5-2 against Whangarei. They would end the streak the following night, beating the Sluggers 4-3 in 10 innings.

13 Oct: Patrick Maggs snared the season’s 2nd PotW award. He was .516/.559/1.000, with 6 doubles and 3HR in his 16-31.

18 Oct: Andre England went 3-4 to help Newcastle squeak past Canberra 7-6. More importantly, he’d now hit in 20 games straight. This was the 3rd time in his ML career he’d made it to that milestone. His longest hit streak was 28 games, recorded last season.

20 Oct: 24 y/o Roger Griffin, Fury outfielder, announced he had arrived in the AUNZBL with a .478/.478/.870 week, 11-23, with 3 doubles and 2HR. His efforts netted him PotW.

20 Oct: England’s hit streak came to an end at 21 games.

22 Oct: Jay Cummins recorded his 4th win of the season by shutting out the Heat. He allowed just 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6, as Wellington clobbered their hapless opponents 16-0. Jean-Louis Villard was 3-3, with 2 walks, in the win, scoring 5 runs, hitting 2HR, and driving in 5.

22 Oct: Vince Delaney seemed like an old hand, though this was only his 5th season in the big show. Today he kept Sydney scoreless, giving up only 4 hits and 0 walks, while fanning 9. Hobart cruised to a 7-0 victory.

25 Oct: Sean ‘Music Man’ Carr rapped out 5-5, including 2 doubles and a HR, to help the Thunder (7-16 before today) pull off a 7-4 victory over Adelaide.

25 Oct: Today was only the 11th game of Ashley Eykelbosch’s season but he put a strong case forward to play plenty more, going 5-5, with 2 doubles, as well as scoring the winning run, as Sydney out-hustled Wellington 3-2 in 10 innings.

27 Oct: Philip Burton did a stand up job for the Fury over the past week, his stat-line .522/.542/1.043. His 12 hits included 3 doubles and 3HR, and he won PotW.

Notable Injuries

6 Oct: Sam Ross’s move from Cairns to Sydney lasted all of 6 days. On the 3rd he suffered a nasty head knock trying to tag a runner out and had to be assisted from the field. Today, Sydney's medical staff announced they were "unsure when, or if," he would be fit to return, scans showing “fairly major injury to the brain.” There were no immediate comments from Ross’s agent or from Sydney management regarding his future, though most insiders were of the opinion he would choose to retire. He’d hit .269/.313/.417, with 90HR, over the course of an 8-year career.

12 Oct: Brisbane catcher Carlo Gadsden (.314/.395/.571, 3HR) would be out the next month with a strained oblique.

16 Oct: Christchurch’s resident daywalker, LF Austin Allan (.442/.478/.558, 0HR) had partially torn his labrum and was expected to need 5-6 weeks on the DL.

19 Oct: Bradley Courcha (.356/.465/.407, 0HR) was looking at several weeks on the sidelines after straining a muscle in his ribcage.

22 Oct: 40 y/o Ashley Snijders (.315/.447/.479, 3HR) would be out at least 6 weeks with a sprained ankle.

25 Oct: Esteban Madrigal (.288/.358/.397, 2HR) could miss up to a month with a fractured thumb.

25 Oct: Christos Hutchinson (.276/.376/.310, 0HR) was looking at a month on the DL with shoulder tendinitis.

30 Oct: In 2052, Thunder SP Matt Juhl (0-5, 4.40 ERA, 5.03 FIP, 1.37 WHIP) won 18 games. This season wasn’t going so well, especially now that he’d be spending at least 7 weeks on the DL with a strained shoulder. Though, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. During that time the Thunder might rediscover their mojo and Juhl might come back to pitch on a winning team.

Notable Trades/Signings

21 Oct: Brisbane announced they and 27 y/o SP Clint Aitcheson (1-2, 5.88 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.50 WHIP), who was having a torrid start to the season, had agreed to terms on a 2-year extension. 88-54 lifetime, Aitcheson was excited to be continuing his career as a Bandit, as were the majority of Brisbane’s fan-base. He and Ralston were commonly referred to in media as “the best starting 1-2 punch in the league.”

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: Roger Griffin snared this one. He was .281/.317/.469 in the month, 27-96, scoring 9 runs, hitting 3 doubles and 5HR, driving in 13 runners, drawing 5 walks, and stealing 2 bases.

Hurler of the Month: Veteran Wilson Lara went 4-0 from 6 starts in October, with a 2.23 ERA, 3.00 FIP, and 1.06 WHIP. In 44.1 IP he struck out 31 hitters. Lara’s FIP was best in the league, as was his WAR of 1.4.

Slugger of the Month: 29 y/o Crocs 1B Joshua Angwin, who many said had more than a passing resemblance to baseball legend/myth Babe Ruth, hit .342/.384/.684 in the month, 39-114, with 23 runs, 3 doubles, a whopping 12HR, 29RBI, and 9 walks. He led the league in SLG, OPS, HR, RBI, and total bases.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Thanks a 6-game winning streak to finish the month, Darwin snuck into 1st, 1 game ahead of the fast-starting Crocs.

East-West Division: Brisbane won 20 games to go into November with a 5-game lead over Newcastle, who’d started hot but faded at the back end of the month, having lost 6 straight to end it. The Thunder were quickly discovering that being reigning premiers was often a difficult task. They currently had the equal-worst record in the league, not helped by Auger and Alou both failing to fire many shots in the opening month.

NZ Division: Christchurch and Whangarei were tied at the top of the NZ, 1 game ahead of Wellington, with Auckland predictably languishing in the cellar.

Southern Division: The Blue Sox jumped out to an early lead, with Canberra’s new combinations taking time to click. Sydney led Canberra and Hobart by 3 on the morning of November 1.

#

Central Coast's 27 y/o Brayden Ziersch (.408/.479/.553, 1HR) led the league in BA and OBP, with Andre England (.405/.461/.517, 0HR) also above .400. England’s 47 hits was also a league-best.

Marcos Lopez (.393/.454/.598, 4HR) led the league in wOBA (.449), and WAR (2.3).

Martin Boston (.345/.369/.403, 0HR) stole 13 bases in the month to top that category.

Blair Toohey (.257/.385/.297, 0HR) was one of the veteran brigade steering the Cowboys’ ship this season. He led the league in walks, having earned 21.

Rookie Fury SP Cody Watts (1-2, 1.67 ERA, 4.55 FIP, 0.90 WHIP) had to be feeling good, leading the league in ERA, WHIP, H/9 (5.26), K/BB (7.75), and OAVG (.167).

Marcos Gallo (4-1, 2.63 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 1.12 WHIP) led the league in Ks, with 41, but it was Brad King (3-2, 6.07 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.58 WHIP) who had the best K/9, with 10.92.

34 y/o Bailey Cleaver hadn’t occupied the closing role since 2044, when he recorded 36 saves pitching for Whangarei. Since then he’d been a setup guy and injury fill-in at closer. This season, however, Darwin gave him the role and he was very nearly lights-out all month, recording 12 saves (best in the league) at an ERA of 0.71, allowing only 1 run, earned or otherwise in 14 appearances.

Standings, Nov 1

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - November

Notable Performances

3 Nov: Rick Clohessy, best known for having served an 80-game suspension in the 2050 season for failing a drug test, would be a free agent at season’s end. While he’d started the season poorly, the week he’d just had might drive up his price some. He went .524/.524/.905, with 2HRs, on his way to PotW.

3 Nov: Aguirre was 1-4 in Canberra’s 3-2 win over Auckland. That hit, a single in the 2nd, was career hit number #2000 for the big man. At only 29 y/o there was plenty of time, most analysts felt, for him to chase down both Mildren’s hit and HR records. He needed 13 more HR to reach 400.

4 Nov: Martin Boston went 5-5, including a triple, as Canberra cantered to a 10-1 victory over Auckland.

7 Nov: Hobart got beat up 10-2 by Cairns, marking their 10th straight loss. They were yet to win a game in November yet. The next night they beat the Crocs 3-1.

10 Nov: Marcos Lopez snared another PotW, this time on the back of a .500/.514/.813 effort. He hit 4 doubles and 2HR in his 16-32.

14 Nov: Wei-liang Chang whitewashed the Metros, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6. The Roos bobbed to a 4-0 victory.

15 Nov: Marcos Lopez jagged his BA back above .400 thanks to his 2nd 5-hit game of the season. He was 5-5 as Wellington dismantled the Aces 11-1. His hits included a HR, and he ended the night hitting .404 for the season, well ahead of all competitors.

16 Nov: Ryan Bell went blammo against the Cavalry today, slugging 3HRs to help Christchurch get up 9-6. He drove in 4 of those 9 runs in a 3-4 night.

17 Nov: Beau Snell went .448/.467/.724 over the last 7 days to grab PotW. His 13 hits included 4 doubles and 2 triples.

18 Nov: Bob Bowden had a great night for Wellington against the Aces, going 5-5, including a double and a HR, but was unable to inspire his team to victory. The Aces scraped past the Fury 4-3 in 12 innings.

21 Nov: Young Eddie Rayner had a great night, allowing just 5 hits and 0 walks, fanning 4, to help Canberra keep the Prospects scoreless to the tune of 4-0.

24 Nov: Marshall Tipping won PotW with a .423/.464/.731 effort, including 2HR.

25 Nov: Jesus Hernandez struck out 6, allowed 6 hits and walked 1 on his way to a shutout victory over Melbourne. Darwin won 7-0.

Notable Injuries

7 Nov: A torn thumb ligament would keep Gordon Appleby (.306/.345/.485, 4HR) out of Brisbane’s lineup for up to a month.

7 Nov: On the same day, Bandits management learned that SS Yok-sing Guao (.299/.372/.636, 11HR) would be out a similar amount of time with an oblique strain.

7 Nov: Lindsay Colson (.273/.369/.508, 7HR) had a fractured hand and would be on the DL at least 5 weeks.

11 Nov: Blair Toohey (.269/.380/.336, 1HR) faced a month on the DL with a hamstring strain.

13 Nov: Hot Cowboys SP Bernie Phillips (3-3, 2.93 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) would need a month to recuperate a strained shoulder. At the time of his injury he led the league in FIP and strikeouts (58).

17 Nov: More bad news for the Cowboys’ rotation. Karl Lang (4-4, 4.06 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.20 WHIP) was gone for the season with a torn flexor tendon. He was likely to miss some of next season, too.

18 Nov: Darwin would be without Norman Lawless (.348/.391/.402, 1HR) for 5-6 weeks while he tended to a fractured finger.

20 Nov: Rob Lane (.319/.385/.588, 9HR) was gone for the season with a broken elbow.

21 Nov: Brisbane’s new everyday 1B, Lance Fookes (.253/.292/.513, 11HR), was looking at a month off with a hip strain.

21 Nov: The Sluggers would be without utility IF Dan Miners (.315/.333/.412, 3HR) for 5 weeks. He’d strained his hammy.

21 Nov: November was turning into an injury-fest. Esteban Madrigal (.310/.383/.536, 5HR), not long back from a fractured thumb, was headed to the DL again. This time he’d fractured a rib, and expected at least 6 weeks in civvies.

Notable Trades/Signings

3 Nov: 31 y/o Jay Cummins (5-2, 1.92 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) declared at today’s press conference that he wanted to be known at the end of his career as a “one-team player.” He’d just signed a 6-year extension with the Fury. He was in his 8th season in the majors.

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 21 y/o Jorge “Three Finger” Diaz was indeed missing 2 fingers, on his left hand, thanks to a forestry accident when he was 13 years old. Discovered in Brazil by Kununurra’s scouts, Diaz was a RH 1B who projected to be a .330 hitter with plus power. He’d played 86 games of AA-ball last season before getting a March call-up, and this season had won a spot in Kununurra’s top 25. He still had some ways to go developmentally, but won November’s RotM with a .381/.394/.629 effort in 23 games. His 37-97 included 13 doubles, 1 triple and 3HR. He also scored 20 runs, but only walked twice.

Hurler of the Month: Roos’ SP Brock Casey snared this honour. He went 5-0 from 6 starts in the month, putting together a 2.08 ERA, a 3.23 FIP, and a 0.97 WHIP. He also fanned 29 in 39.0 IP. For the season he led the league in wins by 2, with 9, and in FIP, with 3.13. He was also tied atop the WAR board, with 2.2.

Slugger of the Month: Patrick Maggs was unabashedly looking for a big payday next season and beyond. Winning November’s SotM wouldn’t have hampered his prospects any. He was .351/.443/.667 in the month, 39-111, with 28 runs, 11 doubles, 8HR, 29RBI, and 19BB. Maggs, .332/.405/.629 for the season, led the league in OPS, wOBA (.433), and XBH (37).

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Darwin (17-11) extended their lead to 6 games as Cairns (12-16) dropped off the boil.

East-West Division: Brisbane (16-12) found their lead chopped to 2 games as Newcastle (19-9) accelerated. Meanwhile Central Coast (14-14) played .500 ball across the month to haul themselves off the foot of the division ladder. They were still 9 games below .500 for the season, though.

NZ Division: Christchurch (13-15) slid, ending the month in 3rd, 7 games behind leaders Wellington (21-7), who were phenomenal in November, and 2 games back from Whangarei (15-13) who continued to play above expectations.

Southern Division: Sydney (14-14) held onto the division lead, Canberra (15-13) 2 games in arrears.

Wildcard: Newcastle were comfortably in front in slot 1, with Whangarei in the 2nd slot, holding a 1-game advantage over Cairns, and 2 games in front of Canberra and Christchurch.

#

Marcos Lopez (.375/.422/.575, 9HR) had a BA above .400 on 7 days in November, on the 11th, from 15th-17th, and 20th-22nd. A poor final week dropped his BA to only 5 points ahead of Martin Boston (.370/.413/.434, 0HR). Lopez’s 90 hits was also a league-best, as was his WAR of 4.1.

Boston was 2nd in the WAR race, with 3.2, and his 87 hits was also 2nd only to Lopez. Boston did lead the league in steals, though, with 26, 8 more than Alan Sneddon (.288/.439/.369, 1HR). Boston had his eyes on Sneddon’s season steals record, saying he wanted to be the 1st player to nick 70 in a season.

Sneddon might not have led the league in steals, but he was at his usual place atop the walks board, having drawn 53, 10 more than anybody else.

Joshua Angwin (.320/.359/.649, 22HR) led the league in HRs, by 2, as well as in SLG, ISO (.329), and total bases (148).

Yong-jun Chu (.307/.347/.447, 6HR) had scored the most runs of any player, with 51 so far.

Stefan Lock (.316/.361/.577, 13HR) had hit 22 doubles, 1 more than anybody else, and driven in 57 runners, 3 more than anybody else.

Edwin Kerr (7-3, 2.43 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 0.95 WHIP) led the league in WHIP, H/9 (6.64), and opponents’ AVG (.202).

Adelaide’s Karl Bell (4-5, 3.26 ERA, 3.25 FIP, 1.31 WHIP) and Cairns’ Domenic Eastick (7-4, 3.51 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 1.22 WHIP) were tied with Casey atop the WAR board, all with 2.2. Bell was also tied for the best HR/9, with a 0.35 mark.

Brad King (7-3, 4.24 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.31 WHIP) had 76 strikeouts, top of the league, and a 10.06 K/9, also a league-best.

Hen-to Ling, 35 y/o, was being used as a closer for the 1st time in his 12-year career. He had 18 saves for Cairns, the most of any closer in the league.

Standings, Dec 1

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - December

2053 #1 Draft Pick

Perth went with 19 y/o OF Calvin Hodnett. He projected to be a .300+ hitter with massive power, who could also steal a base. He was known in his high school team as a smart, hard worker who would be a good influence on the guys around him. Perth sent him to their rookie league team, but after 4 games he got promoted to long-A.



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

2052, Quentin Welch: He made 5 starts at single-A in before get called up to AA, where he went 2-6, but mainly because he got no run support. He’d started 2053 in AAA where he’d made 10 starts, going 2-5, again getting little run support. He’d just been called up to the majors, with Perth planning on using him in their rotation. Welch also had potential as a hitter, with Perth scouts said to be keeping a close eye on how that developed.

2051, Josh Gladstone: Had spent most of the season as Perth’s starting CF (a job he wasn’t really equipped to handle). Hitting .246/.329/.377, with 3HR. If Perth had more depth he’d still be learning his trade in the minors.

2050, Zachariah Pond: Destroying AAA this year, winning all 10 of his starts so far. Won the November AAA HotM award and had a 1.82 ERA, 2.98 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP. The Diggers seemed in no hurry to promote him to the majors, having just called up 26 y/o Fa-tang Chin ahead of him.

2049, Brad King: 8-3, 4.08 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 84 K in 75.0 IP. Leading the league in strikeouts and K/9 (10.08). Currently the only pitcher striking out more than 1 hitter an inning.

Notable Performances

1 Dec: 25 y/o Pioneers’ RF Damian Krajancic hit .423/.483/1.038 over the last 7 days, including 2 doubles, 1 triple and 4HR, to win PotW.

2 Dec: Eddie Rayner made it 2 shutouts from 3 starts, this time allowing only 4 hits and walking none. He struck out 6 and Canberra eked out a 2-0 victory over Melbourne.

7 Dec: Gordon Appleby was 5-5 as Brisbane tore Melbourne apart 12-0.

8 Dec: Vince Hudswell had been abysmal in October, hitting .169, a bit better in November, hitting .256, but he’d started December off great guns. He picked up PotW with a .524/.565/1.143 effort, 11-21, with 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 2HR.

13 Dec: Despite the loss of Aguirre and Lee at the end of last season, Brisbane were still dominating the league. Today they won their 10th in a row, disposing of Adelaide 5-3. At 47-22 they had the best record in the AUNZBL.

15 Dec: Elliot Cleaver bashed his way to PotW with a .435/.458/1.087 stat-line. 4 of his 10 hits were HRs.

15 Dec: It seemed only fitting that Brisbane’s winning streak should come to an end at the hands of Canberra in a narrow 5-4 defeat. The streak had lasted 11 games.

20 Dec: No-hitter!! Clint Aitcheson kept Darwin frozen to the plate today, not allowing a single hit as Brisbane asserted their authority in a 7-0 victory. Aitcheson allowed 2 walks (the 1st in the 2nd inning) and only struck out 2 hitters. He said after the game, “I got lucky a couple times there, with the wind keeping fly balls in the yard.” The no-hitter was only the 3rd shutout of Aitcheson’s big league career.

21 Dec: Keiran Pickford went 5-8 in Adelaide’s 16-inning duel with Whangarei. Unfortunately for him his side went down 6-5.

22 Dec: Edwin Hayes took home PotW, having hit .478/.538/.870 over the last week. His 11 hits included 3 dingers.

24 Dec: Darwin romped to victory today against the Cowboys, demolishing them 14-3. In amongst all of that, Alan Sneddon was 4-5, with a double, a HR, and 3RBI. More noteworthy, though, was Sneddon’s 6th-inning steal of 2nd. It was his 22nd stolen base of the season, leaving him 7 behind season leader Martin Boston. However, it was the 408th steal of his career, meaning Sneddon had now stolen more bases than any other hitter ever. Richard Lewis was the previous record holder, with Christos Hutchinson back in 3rd, with 377 successful swipes and counting. Sneddon had only been caught stealing 181 times. At only 28 y/o he still had a fair few stolen bases in him, so would likely set a large target for those who followed in his speedy footsteps.

25 Dec: 37 y/o Adam Fitchett had returned to the AUNZBL this season after spending the last 2 seasons in the BL. He’d signed a minor league deal with Brisbane’s triple-A affiliate, but found himself back in the Show thanks to injuries to Gordon Appleby and Vince Hudswell. A guy who had never been able to nail down an everyday spot in any AUNZBL team’s lineup, primarily due to a lack of patience at the plate, Fitchett nevertheless boasted a lifetime BA of .286. Today he did that career BA no harm, going 5-5, with 3 doubles, as Brisbane put the hurt on division rivals Newcastle 6-2.

26 Dec: Roger Griffin smoked 5 hits from 5 at-bats, including a triple and 2HR, driving in 5, as Wellington cruised to a 7-0 victory over Perth.

27 Dec: 3 days in a row and 3 5-hit games. This time it was Christos Hutchinson, whose partner had been making headlines in Darwin over the last couple weeks for some disparaging remarks about the city. Hutchinson might have distracted some fans today, though, with a 5-6 performance as Darwin romped to a 9-1 victory over Christchurch. He hit 2 doubles and drove in 4 runs.

27 Dec: The Thunder were getting back into their groove, winning their 7th straight, shooting the Aces down in flames 17-7. In amongst that, Manuel Alou equaled the AUNZBL HR streak, clearing the fence in his 6th straight game. He had 22HR on the year, suddenly equal-3rd.

28 Dec: Could Alou jack it up 7 games in a row? Unfortunately not. Central Coast lost 11-4 to the Venom, with Alou managing 1 single in a 1-4 night.

29 Dec: Norman Ladds picked up his first ever PotW award after a fantastic .609/.677/1.652 effort. He hit an astonishing 7HR during the week, doing so in 2 3-game stretches.

29 Dec: The Cavalry got edged out 3-2 by the Pioneers, but Aguirre still had reason to grin after the game. His 9th-inning solo bomb gave him 400 for his career. He was the 9th player to reach that mark, and by far the youngest, at only 29 years of age. Currently he was 3rd on the active hitters HR board, 134 behind next best, Brock Wakely.

31 Dec: Noah Blenkhorn tagged the Roos 5 times from 5 ABs, including a double and a HR, as the Diggers danced to a 10-4 victory.

Notable Injuries

1 Dec: 26 y/o Diggers SP Wes Robinson (5-2, 3.13 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) had 5 pitches (fastball, curve, slider, change, forkball) that all left the hand soft - his fastball topped the scales at 145 km/h. However, he had pinpoint control and had subtle yet deceptive movement on his pitches that meant a lot of weak contact, and ensured him a place in Darwin’s rotation. That being said, he had an inflamed elbow, and wouldn’t be pitching for 5-6 weeks.

4 Dec: The Diggers would be without another core member of their rotation for some time. Jesus Rodriguez (6-5, 4.81 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 1.35 WHIP) was looking at a March return after being diagnosed with shoulder inflammation.

4 Dec: Ryan Bell (.328/.378/.557, 9HR from 188PA) was going great guns for new team Christchurch, but he’d have to cool those guns for at least 5 weeks thanks to an oblique strain.

12 Dec: The struggling Thunder got bad news today. Manuel Salinas (.317/.417/.396, 2HR) had a fractured ankle and wouldn’t play again this season.

15 Dec: Trent Allan (.304/.405/.458, 7HR), one of Sydney’s favourite adopted sons, received news he’d be on the DL at least 5 weeks with a torn meniscus.

31 Dec: It was unlikely Andre England (.333/.385/.417, 0HR) would play any further part in this season, having just been diagnosed with a torn calf muscle. The hugely talented but extremely injury-prone England had played 80 games this season, already almost twice as many as last year (49), and the year before (43). He was 4th on the BA board at the time of his injury.


2053 All Stars

Note: We’ve gone back to the old way of presenting. While I thought the pictures turned out awesome last year, they took way too much time for me and my limited skills to make.

Australian All Stars

SP Brock Casey - NEW - 11-3, 2.81 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.22 WHIP
SP Brad King - DAR - 10-4, 3.96 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.28 WHIP
SP Lance Ralston - BRI - 8-5, 3.22 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.20 WHIP
SP Domenic Eastick - CAI - 9-7, 3.67 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.25 WHIP
SP Eddie Rayner - CAN - 7-5, 3.09 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.03 WHIP
SP Blair Wurfel - CAN - 9-4, 3.94 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.32 WHIP
SP Connor Chapman - CEN - 9-6, 3.17 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.22 WHIP
MR Leo Long - BRI - 3-0, 6 sv, 1.10 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 0.95 WHIP
MR Logan Dale - CHR - 7-2, 4.07 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.12 WHIP
CL Caspar Buffey - PER - 3-2, 19 sv, 1.46 ERA, 1.44 FIP, 0.65 WHIP
CL Robert Bywaters - NEW - 2-2, 21 sv, 1.77 ERA, 2.61 FIP, 0.87 WHIP
CL Isaac Hodgson - KUN - 2-1, 18 sv, 2.73 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 1.09 WHIP
C Zachary Woollett - SYD - .323/.390/.560, 14HR
C Mitch Donahue - CAI - .310/.386/.522, 12HR
1B Joshua Angwin - CAI - .305/.348/.576, 25HR
1B Stefan Lock - SYD - .293/.351/.554, 21HR
1B Ed Geoghegan - CHR - .299/.373/.551, 19HR
2B Gary Young - ADE - .294/.379/.542, 19HR
3B Damon Liao - CAI - .321/.397/.530, 10HR
3B Brock Wakely - BRI - .277/.390/.527, 16HR
3B Vinnie Webber - SYD - .332/.411/.411, 0HR
SS Mitchell Swan - HOB - .303/.351/.517, 12HR
LF Norman Ladds - BRI - .284/.400/.537, 20HR
LF Elliot Cleaver - SYD - .304/.362/.612, 20HR
CF Martin Boston - CAN - .361/.400/.419, 0HR
CF Terence Kerr - CAN - .329/.416/.524, 7HR
RF Sean Carr - CEN - .332/.383/.539, 14HR
RF Alan Sneddon - DAR - .300/.432/.422, 4HR


NZ & Overseas All Stars

SP Marcos Gallo - BRI - 10-3, 2.56 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.09 WHIP
SP Jay Cummins - WEL - 10-3, 2.80 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.23 WHIP
SP Edwin Kerr - NEW - 8-4, 2.66 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.10 WHIP
SP Clint Aitcheson - BRI - 7-4, 3.13 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 0.99 WHIP
SP Dan Pankhurst - WEL - 7-7, 3.29 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.25 WHIP
SP Damian Flemming - KUN - 8-3, 2.82 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.21 WHIP
SP Wilson Lara - BRI - 8-4, 3.41 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
MR Kent Tillet - SYD - 6-1, 3 sv, 2.18 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 0.97 WHIP
MR Rory Dennis - CAI - 4-1, 1.59 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 1.24 WHIP
CL Rex Herbert - CAN - 3-2, 18 sv, 1.89 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 1.16 WHIP
CL Brodie Backhouse - CHR - 4-1, 16 sv, 2.80 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.13 WHIP
CL Armando Ruiz - BRI - 3-2, 20 sv, 2.80 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.13 WHIP
C Tyler Pratly - NEW - .309/.344/.456, 10HR
C Jerry Skuse - WHA - .278/.363/.530, 13HR
1B Marcos Lopez - WEL - .355/.403/.569, 16HR
1B Ismael Aguirre - CAN - .332/.384/.574, 20HR
1B Patrick Maggs - WHA - .322/.390/.594, 22HR
1B Matt Panther - PER - .260/.394/.421, 10HR
2B Beau Snell - HOB - .306/.351/.385, 3HR
3B Angelo Rankin - DAR - .283/.331/.365, 1HR
SS Young-tae Lee - CAN - .274/.395/.402, 8HR
SS Yong-jun Chu - WHA - .292/.333/.422, 7HR
LF Keiran Pickford - ADE - .328/.360/.578, 21HR
LF Brayden Ziersch - CEN - .325/.398/.452, 3HR
CF Jean-Louis Villard - WEL - .290/.356/.477, 13HR
RF Manuel Alou - CEN - .281/.366/.516, 22HR
RF Jayden Pye - CHR - .270/.374/.488, 16HR
RF Rhett Morrow - DAR - .280/.384/.413, 6HR

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: Jorge Diaz made it 2 months in a row. He was .330/.348/.585 in December, 35-106, scoring 22 runs, hitting 9 doubles and 6HR, driving in 14 runners, and earning 4 free passes.

Hurler of the Month: 29 y/o Bandits southpaw Felipe Corona had an interesting December. Two-thirds of way through the month he was moved from the rotation to the bullpen. In total he appeared in 8 games, starting 4. He was 5-0, with a 1.06 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP. He pitched 34 innings and struck out 28. This was good enough in the eyes of the judging panel for HotM, but Corona was probably just happy his December didn’t turn out like his November: 0-4, 10.30 ERA, 5.53 FIP, 2.61 WHIP.

Slugger of the Month: Norman Ladds might’ve only hit .323 during the month, but the rest of the stat-line certainly grabbed attention: .419/.798. He was 32-99, scoring 24 runs, hitting 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 13HR, driving in 26 runners, drawing 17 walks, and stealing 2 bases. Ladds led the league in runs scored (66), and wOBA (.417).

Other Notes

12 Dec: Melbourne sent manager Clint Voigt on his way. The Aces had a 24-43 record at this date, and had failed to play .500 ball Voigt’s 2 previous seasons in charge. There was no immediate word on who would replace him, except that it wouldn’t be BC Arthur Hudson.

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Coastal Division: Darwin (19-10) kept the pedal to the metal, doubling their lead over the wheel-spinning Crocs (13-16).

East-west Division: Brisbane (23-6) remained unstoppable, putting together one of the best months on record to leave the Roos (11-18) sputtering in their wake. Meanwhile, Kununurra (19-10) had climbed to .500 and into wildcard contention, with Central Coast (18-11) also becoming competitive.

NZ Division: Wellington (18-11) found themselves 12 games ahead of the rest of the division, with Christchurch (13-16) 12 games back, and Whangarei (8-21) in freefall and 15 games off the pace.

Southern Division: Sydney (15-14) extended their lead over Canberra (14-15) by 1 game.

Wildcard: The Roos’ hold on the top wildcard slot looked nowhere near as strong as it had a month ago. They now had only 2 games in the bank, with Cairns, Canberra and Kununurra all equal 2nd. Central Coast and Christchurch were 1 game behind that trio.

#

Joshua Angwin (.309/.353/.577, 26HR) held onto the HR lead, though it had been reduced to 2, with Manny Gallo (.246/.277/.500, 24HR) in hot pursuit, and Manuel Alou (.282/.367/.517, 23HR), Norman Ladds (.295/.410/.577, 23HR), and Keiran Pickford (.336/.366/.595, 23HR) also close behind. 4 other players were back on 22HRs.

Martin Boston (.363/.401/.422, 0HR) grabbed the BA lead from Marcos Lopez (.358/.406/.567, 16HR). Lopez still led the league in hits (129) and WAR (5.5), while Boston had stolen 30 bases, 6 more than next best.

Next best was Alan Sneddon (.291/.427/.417, 5HR), who had the league’s best OBP and had drawn the most walks (73).

Manny Gallo (10-3, 2.56 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) had the league’s best ERA, H/9 (7.14), and OAVG (.213).

Domenic Eastick (10-7, 3.72 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) led the strikeout race, having notched up 117. Brad King (11-4, 3.98 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.30 WHIP), however, had the best K/9, at 9.28.

Bailey Cleaver had 24 saves, a lead of 3.

Poor Yue-jiu Chin (5-11, 5.29 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) was throwing much better than his W-L suggested. He had the league’s best WAR, at 3.1.

Standings, Jan 1

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - January

Notable Performances

1 Jan: This year’s All Star Game was a tight affair, the Australian All Stars eventually breaking their losing streak with an 8-7 win, a walk-off double to mid-game sub Alan Sneddon driving in Vinnie Webber to win the game.

3 Jan: Tim Sverdloff shut down Sydney, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks, fanning 7. Cairns eased to a 6-0 victory.

4 Jan: Norman Lawless went 4-4 today, marking the 20th consecutive game he’d recorded a hit.

6 Jan: Lawless’s hit streak ended at 21 games.

8 Jan: Vern Roneberg’s 5-6 was a vital part of Adelaide’s 17-6 destruction of the Heat.

12 Jan: Youngster Jack Qualtrough made PotW a no-contest with a .630/.688/1.111 performance. His 17-27 included 5 doubles, 1 triple and 2HR. The 23 y/o played 3B for Adelaide.

12 Jan: Keiran Pickford went 5-5, including a double and HR, to help Adelaide overcome Sydney 7-4. This marked the 3rd 5-hit game of his career.

15 Jan: Alan Sneddon went 5-5 to help Darwin edge past expansion rivals Kununurra 8-7. 2 of Sneddon’s hits were doubles and he drove in 3 of Darwin’s runs.

15 Jan: Perth lost their 10th straight, to be only 4 games away from Auckland in the contest of who was worst in 2053. Brisbane were the architects of their downfall, defeating them 5-2.

17 Jan: Brisbane handed Perth their 12th straight defeat, whipping them 8-2. The win also marked Brisbane’s 10th in a row.

19 Jan: Roland Beckett of the Metros won PotW with a .480/.552/1.040 stat-line. He had 4HRs amongst his 12 hits.

19 Jan: Sydney beat Brisbane 5-2, thus ending the Bandits' 11-game win streak.

20 Jan: Jacob Blanksby collected 5 hits in a game for the 5th time in his major-league career. He was 5-6, including a double and a HR, scoring 3 runs and driving in 5, as Canberra thrashed Christchurch 15-3.

20 Jan: Perth made it 15 losses on the trot, going down 7-6 to Newcastle. In what was an incredible effort, Perth scored all 6 of their runs in the top of the 9th, tying the game up, but Ashley Snijders won it for the Roos in the bottom of the inning with a walk-off solo HR.

22 Jan: HR leader Joshua Angwin (33HR) got into a bit of argy-bargy with Darwin’s Rupert Mansfield. The end result: a 5-game suspension for both players. Angwin’s response: “Totally unfair. He was the one trying to break my nose.”

23 Jan: Jay Cummins continued his superb season, recording his 2nd shutout of the year. This one came versus the Venom. He allowed a measly 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 9, as the Fury rampaged to an 11-0 win. The win was Cummins’ 15th of the year.

24 Jan: Zachary Woollett boosted career HR# 300 in Sydney’s 6-5 loss to Newcastle. He became the 3rd catcher to reach the 300HR milestone.

25 Jan: 23 y/o Fraser Willis got the call-up to the bigs on the 7th of January. Today he did his best to ensure he’d get more than a few cups of coffee in his career, going 5-6 as Melbourne shot down the Crocs 12-1. His hits included a double and a Grand Slam.

25 Jan: Perth finally broke the skid, beating Whangarei 6-5. The Heat had lost 19 in a row before this game.

26 Jan: Jacob Blanksby had a fine week, hitting .455/.520/1.091, with 4HR, to win PotW.

28 Jan: Alastair Chapman went 5-5, including a HR, but couldn’t spark Hobart to victory. They succumbed 11-8 to Brisbane in a 12-inning affair. 7 of the game’s 19 runs were scored in extra-innings.

30 Jan: The Cowboys had definitely fallen off their horse, today’s 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle their 10th straight loss.

31 Jan: The Bandits finished January in style, beating up Hobart 11-6, giving them their 2nd 10-game win streak of the month.

Notable Injuries

10 Jan: The Roos, fighting with all they had to hold onto a wildcard spot, were devastated to hear that Brock Casey (12-3, 2.84 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) was gone for the season with ulnar nerve irritation.

20 Jan: In a massive shock to all and sundry, 25 y/o Norman Lawless (.367/.403/.434, 2HR from 283PA) fronted media to announcement his immediate retirement from the game. He’d been diagnosed with a torn labrum, which was, according to medical staff, “on the very upper end of the bad spectrum.” Lawless said he might contemplate a return to baseball in the future, if the injury healed well, but with him currently looking at 18-24 months of rehab, including surgery, with no guarantee his arm would return to full use, “that was just too long to sit around hoping, especially when I’m the type of guy that always has to be moving, moving, moving.” Darwin management said Lawless would be employed in their front office for the time being, and continue to front some of their charity work. Over his nearly 4 seasons in the bigs, Lawless had hit .306/.330/.400, with 23 triples and 26HR out of 651 hits.

Notable Trades/Signings

3 Jan: This marked the 1st trade of the season, and for that reason got a lot more airtime than it probably deserved. The Metros sent 25 y/o SS Nick Bourke (.281/.374/.430, 3HR from 155PA) to Newcastle in exchange for 25 y/o rookie CF Trent Burton (.326/.396/.465, 1HR from 48PA), who’d already made the highlight reels a couple times with athletic outfield plays.

3 Jan: In the evening, another trade was consummated. The Diggers acquired 31 y/o SP Jason Rawnsley (6-5, 3.45 ERA, 4.82 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) and cash from Melbourne in return for 29 y/o fringe MLer Hsi-men Zhu (.357/.419/.464, 1HR in 31PA) and a prospect.

4 Jan: The Diggers added another piece for their premiership push. That piece was 27 y/o SP Xuan-ling Wong (3-4, 4.63 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 1.44 WHIP), along with some cash, from Adelaide. In return, the Venom got 2 prospects. Wong was a groundball pitcher who possessed a superb sinker and cutter, complemented by an improving splitter and a below average changeup. Some analysts also thought he was a far better pitcher than his numbers thus far indicated, and would become an important part of the Diggers’ rotation.

8 Jan: The Thunder wanted another big bat in their lineup as they fought for a wildcard, while Canberra needed some strong hands in the bullpen as they also tussled for a playoff spot. So a trade was agreed upon. 32 y/o Rick Clohessy (.247/.290/.403, 13HR), a free agent at season’s end, would head to the Central Coast, while 36 y/o Kade Clark (1-5, 5 sv) and a good OF prospect would head to the nation’s capital.

14 Jan: 2 days after his 5 hit blitz, 31 y/o Keiran Pickford (.336/.370/.590, 26HR) signed a 4-year extension with Adelaide. For his career he was hitting .303/.347/.511, with 216HR.

17 Jan: Brisbane, already stacked to the rafters with power, added another slugger to their lineup. In what was a surprising move on the part of Sydney, only 3 games behind in the Southern, the Blue Sox sent 30 y/o corner outfielder Elliot Cleaver (.295/.362/.588, 24HR), in career-best form, to the Bandits, getting 25 y/o rookie Ivan Morris (.269/.324/.434, 10HR), who’d signed with Brisbane in the offseason from an independent league in Western Australia, and a prospect in return.

27 Jan: With Lawless gone, Darwin needed another guy to fill in at the top of the order. They found that guy in 34 y/o Blair Toohey (.266/.374/.388, 7HR) who might not hit for high average, but had a very good eye. To acquire him from Sydney they had to send 31 y/o MR/CL Gordon Anderton (2-2, 2 sv), who’d been relegated to the bullpen this season, and a prospect.

27 Jan: The previous deal was majorly overshadowed by this one Sydney made the same day. Central Coast were only 3 games back in the wildcard, but appeared to have given this season away. Why draw that conclusion? Well, they were prepared to send 29 y/o Sean Carr (.319/.370/.495, 16HR) and cash to the Blue Sox - who were only 1 game back in the wildcard, and 4 in their division - in return for All Star reliever Kent Tillett (7-2, 4 sv) and a pitching prospect. Across the 2 trades, Sydney looked to have come out way on top. Carr, a free agent at season’s end, said, “Yeah, I’d have liked to see my time out with the Thunder, and I wasn’t against staying there a bit longer. To be honest, I think we still had a shot this season, and I’m sure the rest of the lads would agree.”

30 Jan: The trade rush continued, with Central Coast making another move. They acquired 26 y/o CL Caspar Buffey (3-7, 22 sv) from Perth in exchange for 5 prospects. Buffey had 1 more year of arbitration before free agency, and many fans felt stripping the farm system bare in return for a closer, especially when the Thunder already had the more than capable Rhett Thurley, was bad management.

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 25 y/o Crocs’ 1B Arthur Fingleson. He was .355/.395/.628 in January, 43-121, with 20 runs, 9 doubles, 8HR, 21RBI, and 8BB.

Hurler of the Month: Cavalry SP Eddie Rayner. The baby-faced 23 y/o was 4-1 in January, with a 0.74 ERA, a 3.28 FIP, and a 0.99 WHIP. He fanned 27 in 36.1 IP, and the only runs he allowed all month were 3 solo HRs. For the season he led the league in WHIP, with a 1.01 mark.

Slugger of the Month: Jacob Blanksby, who said batting behind Ismael Aguirre was “like a fairytale.” The catcher went .365/.441/.779 in January, 38-104, scoring 31 runs, hitting 5 doubles, 1 triple and 12HR, driving in 35 runners, and earning 14 walks.

Media Watch

Allan Spear: 36 y/o Spear recorded career win number 190 on the 8th of January, and 191 on the 18th, meaning he needed only 9 more wins to reach that mythical 200. Because of his career ERA of 4.16 and career FIP of 4.20 there were some stats-heads who didn’t want him to get there, saying that he wasn’t good enough. His overall record for 2053 was 9-10, and he clearly didn’t have the stuff he had 5 years ago, though he’d never been a pitcher who overpowered hitters anyway. Would he get to 200? Nobody seemed quite willing to go either way on that one yet.

Last Year’s Top Players Watch

2052’s Top Rookies

2052 Rookie of the Year, Tommy Hillson: Grandpa was batting 5th in Canberra’s lineup, doing a decent if not spectacular job. .272/.339/.466, 91-335, 53 runs, 11 doubles, 18HR, 53RBI, 32BB, 2SB, 375PA.

Bert Arnott: Playing below potential. .253/.334/.375, 110-435, 54 runs, 20 doubles, 3 triples, 9HR, 49RBI, 49BB, 16SB, 495PA.

Gary Baker: .302/.364/.493, 111-367, 50 runs, 25 doubles, 15HR, 59RBI, 22BB, 1SB, 407PA.

2052’s Top Pitchers

2052 Hurler of the Year, Ted Heathcote: Had the record one might expect of a starting pitcher in a team struggling to play .500 ball. 7-14 from 24 starts, 4.02 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 113 strikeouts in 161.0 IP. Led the league in BB/9 (1.01), and K/BB (6.28).

Connor Chapman: Faring a bit better than his teammate. 11-10 from 23 starts, 3.60 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 103 K from 152.2 IP.

Jay Cummins: Having another excellent season, and looked set to finally breach the 20-win mark. 15-5, 2.50 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 108 K from 162.0 IP. Tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts (2).

2052’s Top Hitters

2052 Slugger of the Year, Marcos Lopez: Dipped a bit in January after a great first-half. .341/.388/.527, 163-478, 28 doubles, 2 triples, 19HR, 69RBI, 36BB, 523PA. No longer at the head of any league boards, but still 2nd in WAR (5.8), and 3rd in BA.

Ashley Snijders: Despite early injury, the 40 y/o was still going strong, though his power numbers were down a bit on last year. .327/.424/.489, 89-272, 39 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 11HR, 39RBI, 43BB, 321PA.

Esteban Madrigal: Two fractures (thumb, then rib) had kept him out of Kununurra’s lineup for a large portion of the season so far. .276/.357/.509, 45-163, 24 runs, 11 doubles, 9HR, 27RBI, 15BB, 185PA.

Other Notes

8 Jan: 82 y/o Metros owner Wes Cartwright exercised his famous temper today, booting not only 1st year manager Junior Munoz, but also 1st year GM Jordan Hurlson. The Metros were 32-60, by far the worst in the league, and Cartwright was emphatic: “We’re a proud team with a proud history and things need to change, and change quickly.” There was no immediate word on who would replace Hurlson and Munoz in their roles.

11 Jan: At 10 a.m. Wes Cartwright announced to media that 58 y/o Si Chin would be taking over the reins as GM, and 50 y/o Hal Dewar would be the Metros new skipper. Chin was already well known around the AUNZBL as an unconventional GM, who most recently had been the answer-guy for the Prospects. Dewar was a former minor league 1B who’d poked his nose into AAA before retiring at age 27. For the last 5 years he’d been the hitting coach for the Canon City Convicts in the NABA. It was widely expected he wouldn’t be Metros skipper next season.

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Coastal Division: Darwin (12-16) dipped a bit in January, allowing Cairns (16-12) to cut 4 games off their deficit, now just 8 games back.

East-West Division: The only word that could be used to describe Brisbane (24-4) was juggernaut, as they went even better in January than they had in December. Newcastle (18-10) recovered their sinking ship with a good month. Kununurra (11-17) dropped into last place, while Central Coast (13-15) remained mediocre and below .500.

NZ Division: Wellington (16-12) continued to dominate the NZ, their lead now 15 games. Whangarei (16-12), while still below .500, were now in wildcard contention.

Southern Division: Sydney (11-17) had a downer, falling 5 games behind Canberra (19-9) by the end of the month.

Wildcard: Newcastle had a 6-game buffer, while Cairns held onto the 2nd slot, 2 games ahead of Sydney and 4 ahead of the Central Coast and Whangarei. Killer February promised to sort out the could-be’s from the shouldn’t-be’s.

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Angwin (.321/.360/.600, 34HR) still led the league in homers, but Keiran Pickford (.338/.374/.606, 32HR) was hot on his tail, as was Manny Gallo (.271/.308/.521, 31). Pickford also led the league in slugging. An interesting factoid about Joshua Angwin: he’d been drafted by Cairns in round 14 of the 2046 draft; the AUNZBL draft ran for 20 rounds.

Martin Boston (.348/.387/.410, 0HR) was top of the pops in BA, hits (164), and steals (40).

Norman Ladds (.305/.423/.586, 30HR) was doing a fine job of anchoring the Brisbane lineup. He headed the OPS, wOBA (.424), runs (89), and WAR (6.2) boards.

Alan Sneddon (.320/.437/.451, 6HR) had the best OBP of any qualified hitter, but had surrendered his top spot on the walks board to Matt Panther (.259/.395/.411, 13HR), who had earned 90 free passes.

Ismael Aguirre (.326/.377/.562, 28HR) had collected the most bases of any hitter, with 272.

Kununurra’s Damian Flemming (11-4, 2.44 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) was having a season to remember. He led the league in ERA, H/9 (6.85), HR/9 (0.42), and OAVG (.212).

Lance Ralston (12-5, 2.96 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.14 WHIP) was still a fearsome prospect to face, but not the same pitcher as he had been before the partially torn labrum. He admitted as much, even saying he’d remodeled his action somewhat. In 23 starts he’d already walked as many hitters as he did in 34 starts in 2051 and probably wouldn’t get to 200 Ks, but he was still having a fine season. He led the league in FIP.

Brad King (12-5, 4.16 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.31 WHIP) looked set to make it 3 seasons in a row with 200 strikeouts. He had 152 so far, a league-best, as was his K/9 of 9.31.

Bailey Cleaver had 30 saves, best in the league.

Standings, Feb 1

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - February

Notable Performances

1 Feb: Cody Watts stopped Brisbane’s 10-game win streak in style. Allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks, he shut them down, helping Wellington to win 3-0. Watts struck out 6.

1 Feb: Christchurch ended their 11-game skid by dispatching Whangarei 8-4, thanks to a 5-run 8th.

2 Feb: Zachary Woollett had a .600/.619/.950 week on his way to PotW.

2 Feb: Jay Cummins made it shutout #3 for the year, and ensured the vaunted Bandits didn’t score a run 2 games in a row. He conceded just 2 hits and 3 walks, and while he only struck out 2, he induced a mammoth 18 groundball outs from 30 hitters faced. Wellington won 6-0. In 2050 Cummins recorded 4 shutouts, equaling the season record.

4 Feb: 32 y/o Martin Valentin’s 1st-inning double in Perth’s 8-6 win over Central Coast marked his 2000th career hit. Valentin, a free agent at season’s end, hadn’t been sighted all that much since heading over to Perth, though rumour had it that he was among the league’s top 10 paid players this season. For the season Valentin was .289/.339/.440, with 11HR. His career stat-line read .276/.321/.437, with 236HRs. The last 3 seasons he’d put up negative WARs.

5 Feb: Valentin celebrated his milestone the next night with a 5 hit performance, going 5-6 as Perth narrowly lost to Auckland 10-9.

6 Feb: Angelo Spear, rarely sighted on the highlight reels this season, took a perfect game into the 5th before surrendering a single. He saw out the game though, giving up just 1 more hit and no walks, striking out 4, as Canberra thrashed Melbourne 12-zip.

9 Feb: Christos Hutchinson won PotW. He was .485/.528/.636 over the last 7 days.

16 Feb: Ismael Aguirre was coming home with a wet sail. He crunched 4HRs in the last week, to go with a stat-line of .565/.633/1.130, earning PotW. He also found himself with a shot at a triple crown. He led the league in RBI (105), was 2nd in HR (35 - 3 behind Angwin), and 3rd in BA (.337 - Martin Boston led with a .343 mark).

21 Feb: Wayne Lewis dominated Perth today, allowing just 5 hits and a walk, striking out 4, to lead Christchurch to a 5-0 victory.

23 Feb: Sean Carr was settling into his new digs, going .524/.565/1.000, including 3HRs, over the last week to win PotW.

23 Feb: Wally Moylan gave up 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 4, as Kununurra shot down Melbourne 8-0.

27 Feb: The Bandits were set to smash some records this season. They recorded win number 100 today, seeing off the Diggers 6-4. The current season win record was held by both the Metros and Roos, who’d won 108 games in 2045 and 2024 respectively. The Bandits current best was 107 wins, in 2051.

27 Feb: And today the Bandits wrapped up the East-West division, downing Newcastle 5-1. It was their 7th win on the trot and there was still the better part of a month to go.

27 Feb: Aguirre jumped into the HR lead, hitting his 40th jack of the season in Canberra’s 10-1 smackdown of Whangarei.

Notable Injuries

2 Feb: Ted Heathcote (7-14, 4.02 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) was gone for the season with a herniated disc in his back.

2 Feb: Gordon Appleby (.330/.379/.559, 13HR from 311PA) also had a herniated disc in his back. He wouldn’t be back this season either, making it 3 seasons in a row where he’d failed to reach 502 plate appearances.

2 Feb: Promising Hobart rookie, just turned 26 years-old Lan-fang Liang (.284/.325/.426, 10HR), faced 9-10 months on the DL with a torn PCL.

10 Feb: Yok-sing Guao (.271/.324/.481, 16HR), who’d made headlines in October when he hit 11HR, could potentially miss the rest of Brisbane’s regular season thanks to elbow inflammation.

15 Feb: Martin Valentin (.294/.344/.448, 12HR) had an action-packed first half of the month, but his second half would be far more sedentary. He had knee tendinitis and might not make it back at all this season.

19 Feb: Manny Gallo (.277/.314/.523, 35HR) might make it back for a few games at the end of the regular season, or he might not. He’d suffered a high ankle sprain. Whatever happened, Gallo wouldn’t be taking home the HR crown this year.

20 Feb: All Star Mitchell Swan (.273/.319/.442, 13HR) joined Hobart’s growing injury ward. He’d be out at least 9 months with a ruptured MCL.

20 Feb: The Cavalry would be without the league’s leading hitter, Martin Boston (.347/.381/.413, 0HR) for a couple weeks while he healed a lacerated finger. As well as leading the league in BA, Boston had accumulated the most hits (190), and was equal top with Sneddon on the stolen bases board (45).

Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: Jorge Diaz had another strong month, going .320/.336/.573, 33-103, with 15 runs, 5 doubles, 7HR, 25 ribbies, and 3BB.

Hurler of the Month: Connor Chapman was a big part of Central Coast’s resurgence in February. He was 5-1 in the month, with a 2.91 ERA, 2.65 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP, striking out 40 batters in 43.1 innings.

Slugger of the Month: Ismael Aguirre was surging towards the regular season finish line, bashing February pitching to the tune of .396/.463/.811, 42-106, with 28 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 12HR, 28RBI, and 12 walks. For the season, he was .339/.393/.607, with 40HR, leading the league in SLG, OPS, HR, wOBA (.418), RBI (117), runs (109), hits (200), XBH (75), TB (358 - 44 more than anybody else), and WAR (7.9). He was 2nd on the BA board, meaning he was a chance at a triple crown if he kept his form up and Martin Boston struggled on return from injury.

Media Watch

Allan Spear: Spear went 0-2 in February from 5 starts, meaning he was no closer to 200 wins than he was a month earlier. His career record was 191-163. His ERA+ this season was an even 100 thus far.

Other Notes

26 Feb: Sydney Blue Sox owner Brodie Lang passed away after a long battle with cancer. His son, Brett Lang, would take over the organization. Brett was said to be very patient and generous. There had been talk last year of the family selling the club off, but that had died down in recent, especially as the backroom war with the Australian government became front page news. Brett Lang said he was “fully committed to supporting Australia’s brightest and best baseball team.”

#

Coastal Division: The Diggers (14-12) had a 10-game lead over the battling Crocs (12-14).

East-West Division: Brisbane (19-7) had already wrapped this division up, finishing the month on an 8-game tear. Newcastle (13-13) were par over the month. The Thunder (16-10), on the other hand, were rising from the grave, so to speak, fighting hard for a wildcard.

NZ Division: Wellington (16-10) were too far ahead to be troubled by Christchurch’s 18-8 month. The Fury’s magic number was 5.

Southern Division: Canberra (14-12) did enough to stay ahead, extending their lead over the sinking Blue Sox (11-15) to 8 games.

Wildcard: Newcastle had a 5-game advantage in the first slot, with Cairns and Central Coast locked up for the 2nd slot. Christchurch and Sydney were 3 games back, both with the potential to steal a postseason berth if they had a good month.

#

Joshua Angwin (.321/.362/.590, 39HR) might’ve lost the HR lead at the end of the month, but he still had the best isolated power of any hitter, at .269.

Alan Sneddon (.315/.445/.430, 6HR) now not only lead the OBP board, but also the steals ladder (48), and the walks board (116). He’d scored 99 runs, meaning he was a certainty, barring catastrophe, to make the runs-walks double-double.

Norman Ladds (.306/.424/.559, 32HR) already had, with 102 runs and 103 walks.

Damon Liao (.335/.405/.521, 14HR) had hit the most triples of anybody, with 12 so far.

Both Jay Cummins (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) and Marcos Gallo (19-4, 3.11 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.17 WHIP) looked set to rack up 20+ wins.

Clint Aitcheson (14-6, 3.25 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.00 WHIP) had the league’s best WHIP and best WAR (5.3).

Lance Ralston (16-6, 2.99 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) was right on his heels, with a 5.1 WAR. He also had the best FIP of any qualified pitcher.

Kununurra’s Isaac Hodgson had jumped into the saves lead, with 34.

Standings, Mar 1

[Izz]

2053/2054 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Mar: Aguirre’s 2-run 8th inning HR put the game out of reach for Whangarei, giving Canberra a 5-2 win, all their runs coming via the longball. It was Aguirre’s 41st HR for the year. Could he reach 50? Most were doubtful, but few seemed willing to bet against him.

2 Mar: Unsurprisingly, Aguirre won PotW. He was .448/.500/1.103 over the last 7 days, 6 of his 13 hits HRs.

4 Mar: Brent Gaynon was 5-5 for Kununurra against Canberra, with a double and HR included, but unfortunately the Pioneers fell 11-8 to the Cavalry.

4 Mar: In that same game Aguirre went yard twice, with a solo effort in the first and a 3-run shot in the 8th to seal the game. He now had 43HR for the year. His highest season total was 47, reached twice, in 2044 and 2046. This season was the 6th time he’d hit more than 40HR.

5 Mar: Wellington won their 1st game in March, dispatching the Blue Sox 12-2. The win saw them wrap up the NZ, Christchurch too far behind to catch up.

5 Mar: The Thunder beat the Venom 5-3, giving them a 2-game lead in the wildcard over the Crocs, who’d lost 4 straight.

8 Mar: The Cavalry beat the Thunder 9-7. In the 2nd inning, Aguirre slugged HR #44 for the season. For the Thunder, the loss also meant they now only held a 1-game advantage in the wildcard race.

9 Mar: Roos’ 3B Joshua Moore snared PotW with a .500/.520/.958 effort. His 12 hits included 1 double, 2 triples, and 2HR.

9 Mar: Aguirre went 0-5, while teammate Boston was 3-5, meaning Boston’s BA climbed to .346 and Aguirre’s dropped to .339. The triple crown was still in reach for the burly 1B, though. Canberra just edged past Central Coast 4-3, while the Crocs beat up the Blue Sox 11-5, evening things up in the wildcard.

9 Mar: Marcos Gallo won the personal battle between himself and Jay Cummins as to who would reach 20 wins first. He threw a complete game against Kununurra, allowing just the 1 earned run, to reach the milestone in a 6-1 Bandits victory.

10 Mar: Both the Crocs and Thunder lost, leaving them tied up in the wildcard, and dropping them both below .500 for the season.

11 Mar: The Diggers scraped past the Prospects 4-3 in 10 innings to wrap up the Coastal Division for the 3rd year running.

11 Mar: The Crocs beat Sydney 6-2, while the Thunder lost 4-2 to Canberra (completing a series sweep for the Cavalry). Cairns thus jumped back to .500 and back to a 1-game lead in the wildcard.

12 Mar: Canberra lost 6-4 to Auckland, but division rivals the Blue Sox also lost, meaning Canberra had secured the Southern pennant and a postseason berth.

12 Mar: While the Thunder dealt to Brisbane 10-3, the Crocs held their 1-game advantage by seeing off Christchurch 11-7.

12 Mar: Jay Cummins threw 7.2 innings of 2-run ball in Wellington’s 4-2 victory over Hobart, giving him his 20th W for the season.

13 Mar: Dan Pankhurst led Wellington to a 4-0 win over Hobart by allowing just 5 hits and 1 walk in a shutout performance. He struck out 6.

13 Mar: The Crocs thrashed the Cowboys 11-1, while the Thunder got beat 9-5 by Brisbane to put Cairns ahead by another game in the wildcard.

14 Mar: Brisbane’s 6-4 victory over the Thunder game them 108 wins for the year, equaling the season record and with plenty of time (9 more games) to leave it in their dust. Marcos Gallo was today’s winning pitcher, giving him 21 for the season.

15 Mar: The Roos handed out some pain to Kununurra, winning 10-5 to lock in the 1st wildcard slot.

15 Mar: Wellington won their 10th in a row, beating Hobart 7-4.

15 Mar: The Bandits were making life hard for the Thunder in their fight for a wildcard berth. Today Brisbane crushed Central Coast 9-2. Brisbane now had 109 wins, the most of any AUNZBL team in one season, ever.

16 Mar: Damon Liao propelled himself to top of the BA boards, and a PotW award, with a phenomenal .682/.759/1.227 stat-line over the last 7 days. He had 3 doubles, 3 triples, and 1HR in amongst his 15-22.

16 Mar: Young-tae Lee hit career HR #300 today, a solo effort in the 2nd inning of Canberra’s 8-5 extra-innings victory over Perth. The 37 y/o needed a further 74 hits to reach 2500.

17 Mar: Jay Cummins notched up win #21 in a complete game outing. He allowed 1 earned run as Wellington beat up Darwin 11-1. It was Wellington’s 12th win on the trot.

19 Mar: With their 14th consecutive win, a tight 4-3 victory over Darwin, Wellington recorded their 100th win for the season.

19 Mar: Marcos Gallo made it 22 wins on the season, picking up the W in Brisbane’s 17-3 thrashing of Auckland.

20 Mar: Heading into the final series of the regular season, the only postseason berth not booked was the 2nd wildcard slot. Cairns, whose last playoff appearance was back in 2044, held a 3-game advantage over the Thunder and Blue Sox. However, their final series was against the runaway Fury. The Thunder’s final series was against the Sluggers, while Sydney faced off against Canberra. A few analysts were of the opinion Central Coast would pick the Crocs’ pocket.

21 Mar: Cairns showed they weren’t cowed by Wellington’s recent achievements, pulling off a 6-3 victory to put them only 1 game away from securing the wildcard berth, and ending the Fury’s win streak at 14. The Thunder left themselves a sniff with a 5-1 win over Whangarei.

22 Mar: Wellington came from behind to prevail over Cairns, winning the game 5-4 via a Jean-Louis Villard walk-off solo HR. Meanwhile the Thunder triumphed 5-2 over Whangarei, moving them a game closer to an improbable result.

23 Mar: The season’s final PotW award went to 26 y/o Crocs OF Angelo Wells. He hit .455/.478/1.000, with 4HR.

23 Mar: In another tight affair, the Crocs squeaked past Wellington 3-2 to wrap up the final wildcard berth with a game to spare.

Notable Injuries

4 Mar: Brisbane’s CF Timothy Browne (.244/.323/.393, 16HR, +8.6 ZR) would miss the rest of the regular season and probably all the postseason with a sprained ankle.

5 Mar: The Diggers would likely be without everyday catcher and cleanup hitter Mitch Donahue (.290/.350/.474, 20HR) for the postseason after he fractured his thumb. Darwin, dead last in the team HR stakes again this season, would miss his power come playoff time.

10 Mar: Isaac Blythe’s (.272/.323/.341, 1HR from 186PA) season had been very injury-interrupted. Now he was set to miss the postseason as well, after being diagnosed with a severe concussion after colliding with a wall on the 5th.

13 Mar: Martin Boston (.345/.378/.410, 0HR) only made it back from injury for 5 games before heading to the DL again. He was suffering from chronic back soreness and wasn’t expected to take any part in the postseason. At the time of his injury he held the BA lead by 1 point over Cairns’ Damon Liao.

18 Mar: Keiran Pickford (.322/.368/.561, 37HR) had recurring back spasms and wouldn’t turn out again for Adelaide this season.

Notable Trades/Signings

23 Mar: The Roos were excited to announce they’d locked up 32 y/o CL Robert Bywaters (6-7, 37 sv, 2.55 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) for a further 3 seasons.

Media Watch

Allan Spear: Finished with an 11-14 record, winning 2 games in March, to give him a 193-165 career mark. 37 y/o by the time next season began, he’d likely have to concentrate on winning a spot in the rotation before he could think about the 7 wins he needed to make 200.

Other Notes

Brisbane finished with a 112-50 record to hold the season team wins record outright. Of course, this also meant they’d lost the least games of any team in a season ever, too. Despite all of that, their BA for the season was only 4th overall, and their ERA 2nd.

Martin Boston (.345/.378/.410, 0HR) picked up the batting title, in large part thanks to having spent the better part of the last 2 months on the DL.

Aguirre (.335/.391/.593, 44HR) might’ve missed out on the triple crown - he finished 4th in the BA stakes - but he did end the season the HR leader, RBI leader (131), and with the best SLG, wOBA (.411), as well as most runs (121), XBH (85), and total bases (404). He also had the best WAR (8.7). He finished with the 2nd-best OPS, 2nd-most hits (228), and 5th-most doubles (38).

His primary competitor, in the eyes of most, for SotY was Marcos Lopez (.337/.381/.547, 33HR), last year’s winner. Lopez might’ve only topped the hits table (231), but he had the 3rd-best BA, 4th-most doubles (39), 4th-most XBH (75), 2nd-most bases (375), and 2nd-best WAR (8.3).

Zachary Woollett (.327/.395/.589, 32HR) finished with the best OPS, Elliot Cleaver (.292/.351/.561, 40HR) with the best ISO (.270).

Alan Sneddon (.308/.440/.420, 7HR) led the league in OBP, steals (56), and walks (133). He achieved the runs-walks double-double (110-133, and stole 50 bases for the 6th time in his career.

The only other player to make the runs-walks double-double was Norman Ladds (.299/.416/.545, 36HR), 117-116. He also drove in 100 runners, and was considered a potential smokey for SotY.

Damon Liao (.338/.410/.533, 16HR) slipped out of contention for the hitting award, but did hit the most triples of anyone this season, his 15 6 more than the next-best.

Vinnie 'Munchkin' Webber (.307/.382/.387, 1HR) set a new season record for being caught stealing. He was nabbed 38 times, to go with 38 successful steals.

Marcos Gallo (22-5, 3.19 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) finished with the most wins of any pitcher but didn’t lead any other significant categories.

Teammate Lance Ralston (18-8, 2.90 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.13 WHIP) did however. He had the best FIP, H/9 (7.22), OAVG (.219), and WAR (6.3). He had also made it to 200 strikeouts, finishing 2nd on that board with 210.

Brad King (14-8, 4.20 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) topped that board, with 217. He also had the best K/9, with a 9.70 mark, to finish as the only qualified pitcher striking out more than a batter an inning.

2 other pitchers made it to 200 strikeouts: Newcastle’s Edwin Kerr (14-8, 3.11 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.14 WHIP, 201 K), and Christchurch’s Nathan Beckett (10-18, 5.43 ERA, 5.17 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, 200 K). Beckett also racked up the most losses of any pitcher, and set a new season record for home runs allowed (46). Kerr, meanwhile, had the best K/BB mark, of 4.19.

Domenic Eastick (14-12, 3.98 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) finished agonizingly short, with 199 strikeouts.

Jay Cummins (21-7, 2.47 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.20 WHIP) had a league-leading ERA, and 3 shutouts on the season.

Clint Aitcheson (15-8, 3.60 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.09 WHIP) had the league’s best WHIP among qualified pitchers.

Dylan Cleaver and Isaac Hodgson finished tied for the most saves, with 39 each.

Standings, EORS

[Izz]

2053 Division Finals

Game 1 - Cairns Crocs vs Darwin Diggers

The Crocs had the edge over their division rivals during the regular season, winning 5 of 8 encounters. That meant squat today, though, as Eastick lasted only 1.2 innings (7H, 5ER, 1BB, 0K) before getting pulled. Nobody from either side homered, but Christos Hutchinson hit 2 doubles in a 3-4 night. King (6.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 8K) got the win. Final score: 8-1 Darwin.

Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

This promised to be a tight series, both teams with exactly the same regular season records, though Newcastle were a home team (52-29), while Canberra were equally good home or away (45-36, both). Newcastle got the home advantage thanks to a 7-5 regular season record.

It took until the top of the 9th to sort this one out, Blansbky scoring off a Terence Kerr sac-fly. Rex Herbert allowed a leadoff single in the top of the 9th, got a double play to clear the bases, then conceded 2 more baserunners before striking out Carl Bristcoe to secure the victory. Final score: 3-2 Canberra. Eddie Rayner (8.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 5K) had a fine outing to get the win, while Isaac Russell (6.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 3BB, 0K) gave up all his runs in the 5th via a 2-run Kerr HR. Joshua Moore and Quentin Stennings - remember him? - both homered for Newcastle.

Game 2 - Cairns Crocs vs Darwin Diggers

This one stayed locked at nought until the bottom of the 7th, when Cairns’ bullpen got the jitters and allowed 4 runs, 3 of those to a Blair Toohey HR. Cairns got 1 back in the 8th but Darwin added 3 more to their total in the bottom of the inning and that was all she wrote. Final score: 7-1 Darwin. Baden Henderson (6.0IP, 2H, 1ER, 1BB, 10K) had a great night, but allowed the leadoff man to reach in the 7th before he got pulled. When that runner scored, Henderson got the earned run and the loss. Jesus Rodriguez (7.2IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 6K) picked up the win.

Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

This one stayed tight until the 7th, too, both teams scoring in 1-run increments for the score to be 3-2 Canberra (Blanksby, Nicholas Ahernfeld, and Aguirre solo shots accounting for Canberra’s runs). Things went a little bit crazy in the 7th, Canberra sending 10 hitters to the plate and scoring 5. Jarod Newbold slugged a 3-run HR in the 8th and a 2-run jack in the 9th to make it a thrashing. Final score: 13-3 Canberra. Wei-liang Chang’s (6.1IP, 8H, 6ER, 0BB, 5K) figures made it look like he’d thrown a lot worse than he had, while Blair Wurfel (6.1IP, 10H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) didn’t have a great game but got the W nonetheless. Newbold set a new postseason record for RBI, driving in 7. All 11 Roos’ hits were singles. Newcastle CF Brody Cheadle left the game in the 7th. He had a mildly inflamed shoulder and would be out for the rest of the series, and possibly the beginning of the next if Newcastle progressed.

Game 3 - Cairns Crocs vs Darwin Diggers

The Crocs busted out big time today, scoring steadily throughout the game, with a 5-run 6th as punctuation. Darwin, on the other hand, offered little, 26 y/o Tim Sverdloff (8.0IP, 6H, 1ER, 4BB, 3K) too good. Final score: 10-1 Cairns and this one wasn’t over yet. Bruno Budd (5.1IP, 9H, 8ER, 2BB, 0K) took the brunt of the punishment and looked as tired as someone who’d thrown 238.1 innings during the regular season. Blake Lutz homered for Cairns. There were injury concerns for the Crocs, though, with both Damon Liao and Kent Dwyer leaving the game early. Dwyer was just dehydrated, it turned out, but Liao had ruptured a tendon in his finger and faced an offseason of recovery and rehab.

Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Angelo Spear had been only par during the regular season, eating up innings but giving up plenty of runs too. Today he was excellent, however, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk, fanning 8, through 7.1 innings. He left with the Cavalry ahead and that’s where they stayed, only scoring in the top of the 9th thanks to a throwing error. Final score: 4-1 Canberra for a conclusive series sweep. Edwin Kerr (5.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K) would’ve liked a bit more run support. He got the loss. Rex Herbert picked up his 2nd save of the series and Ahernfeld hit his 2nd HR of the series.

Game 4 - Cairns Crocs vs Darwin Diggers

Brad King was just too good again. He threw 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 5 baserunners (3 singles, 2 walks) and striking out 6. The bullpen followed up on his good work and Cairns’ postseason was over. Darwin scored 3 in the 2nd and adding icing in the 7th via a Matt Davidson solo HR. Final score: 4-0 Darwin. Eastick (6.0IP, 2H, 3ER, 4BB, 6K) could take some solace from the fact he was much better on the mound today, even if the nerves were still there. The future wasn’t all rosy for Darwin, though. Fan favourite and always dependable Alan Sneddon tore a thumb ligament taking an awkward catch to end the 6th and would miss the rest of the postseason.

[Izz]

2053 Preliminary Finals

Game 1 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Rodriguez and Ralston rattled through their respective opposition until the 6th (though Rodriguez did load the bases via free passes in the 3rd before striking out 2 in a row to end the inning). A Robin Herbert sac fly opened the scoring in the top of the 6th, giving Darwin a brief advantage. A run of walks and singles in the bottom of the inning saw Brisbane score 3 to take the lead. Lance Fookes slammed a 2-run HR in the 7th and that was all the scoring, Brisbane’s hitters looking a bit rusty but their pitchers looking well rested and well oiled. Rodriguez (6.0IP, 5H, 3ER, 6BB, 4K) had a couple innings where he couldn’t find the strike zone. He got the loss, while Ralston (7.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 6K) got the win.

Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

All the scoring in this one was completed before the 5th inning. Canberra scored 3 in the 1st, via a Willem Baldwin solo HR and a 2-run Aguirre blast, and added 3 more runs through the 2nd-4th (Tommy Hillson and Newbold contributing longballs). Wellington stayed close, scoring 4 in that time, but couldn’t come any closer, the Canberra pitchers hitting their spots. Final score: 6-4 Canberra. Rayner (6.2IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K) got the win, Jay Cummins (5.1IP, 8H, 6ER, 1BB, 6K) the loss. Bob Bowden cleared the fence for the Fury.

Game 2 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Neither starting pitcher had their best stuff today, but it was Darwin who made the most of the situation, running away with the game thanks to a 6-run 5th, the centrepiece of which was Hal Burrows' Grand Slam. In contrast, the only runs the Bandits could manage was via a 2-run Ladds HR in the 3rd. Final score: 8-2 Darwin. Clint Aitcheson (4.2IP, 9H, 8ER, 4BB, 4K) looked underdone, while Budd (7.0IP, 10H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K) had to be happy the Brisbane offense still appeared rusty from their opening series layoff.

Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

Byron Moore had a strong outing, containing the Cavalry offense apart from 2 runs scored in the 5th. The Fury offense scored braces in each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings to ease to victory. Final score: 6-2 Fury. Moore (7.1IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 5K) got a deserved win, while Blair Wurfel (4.2IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 2K) was worked over for 97 pitches in just 4.2 innings. Aaron Kay homered for Wellington.

Off day

Wellington announced that 26 y/o Jean-Louis Villard (.264/.327/.444, 25HR in 2053, .260/.317/.433, 73HR in 3 1/2 major league seasons) had signed a 5-year extension. The Canadian-born OF, whose 1st language was French, hadn’t quite played up to potential yet, Fury scouts said.

Game 3 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

9 of the 11 runs in this game were scored via HR. All the early scoring was Brisbane, Wakely going deep in the 1st, Yok-sing Guao (just back from injury in time for the postseason) putting one into the bleachers in the 2nd, and Ladds jacking in 2 runs in the 3rd. Toohey and Noah Blenkhorn got 2 back in 4th, both with solo HRs, and Darwin equalized in the 5th, Jayden Downes driving in 2 with a double into the gap between right and centre. That was all the scoring until the top of the 9th, neither team able to put runners on base. In the 9th Carlo Gadsden lofted a fastball 454 feet over leftfield and onto the stadium roof to put Brisbane 2 ahead. Danny Goodwin, stuck on 299 regular season HRs, led off the 9th with a solo shot down the leftfield line, but Leo Long retired the rest of the side in quick succession. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane.

King (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 7K) gave his bullpen some rest, while Gallo (7.0IP, 5H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) looked good and bad in turns. Neither starter got a decision out of this one.

Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

The Fury jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after 5, doubles seemingly the order of the day. Lee and Kerr hit HRs in the 6th, Lee’s a 2-run shot, to bring Canberra into the game. They nicked another 1 off the deficit in the 7th, but with them still 3 behind going into the bottom of the 9th it looked like Wellington’s game. Ahernfeld led off the inning with a single, then 23 y/o rookie Daniel Cassidy, who had all of 25 major league games under his belt, and no major league HRs, plonked a 1-2 slider into the rightfield bleachers to make it a 1-run ballgame. Closer Leo Pryor got yanked and Al Dunlop came to the mound. He got 2 quick outs, then Aguirre doubled into the rightfield corner, before Blanksby doubled into the rightfield hole to bring Aguirre home and tie it all up.

Neither side scored through the 10th. Wellington put runners on the corners with 1 out in the 11th but 2 strikeouts ended that threat. With a runner on in the bottom of the inning Aguirre slammed a pitch deep to centre, but only as far as the warning track. Rex Herbert struck out the side in the top of the 12th, and Hillson and Lee were quickly retired in the bottom of the inning. Terence Kerr walked, Ahernfeld singled, and then Cassidy was hero again, hitting a walk-off single wide of 2nd. Final score: 8-7 Canberra, in a robbery!

Spear (4.1IP, 12H, 7R, 5ER, 0BB, 3K) had an awful night, while Dan Pankhurst (8.0IP, 9H, 4ER, 3BB, 1K) looked certain to pick up a win until his bullpen got spooked.

Game 4 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

A Vince Hudswell HR in the 2nd put Brisbane ahead and there was no further scoring until the 7th, both pitchers in fine form. In the bottom of that inning, Felipe Corona loaded the bases with 3 consecutive walks, then a Hal Burrows nubber caught him off guard on the mound, with the end result a runner scoring and Burrows safe at 1st. A wild pitch scored the go-ahead run, and a Robin Herbert single 2 outs later gave Darwin a 4-run inning. Brisbane were retired meekly in the 8th and 9th to see this series go to a 5th game. Final score: 4-1 Darwin. Ralston (5.1IP, 2H, 0ER, 4BB, 4K) and Rodriguez (6.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) had themselves a good battle.

Game 4 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

A Baldwin Grand Slam gave Brisbane a 1st inning 4-run leg up. They added 4 more in the 5th and 3 in the 6th (via a Blanskby HR) to make it a rout. Wellington finally got some runs in the 8th, scoring 3, but it was a bridge too far. Final score: 11-3 Canberra, and they were off to their 1st Championship dance since 2037, giving them an opportunity to add to the solitary Championship they’d won back in 2021.

Rayner (7.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K) picked up his 3rd win of the postseason, while Cummins (4.0IP, 8H, 7ER, 3BB, 1K) looked awful again. Aguirre had collected 4 hits in each of the last 2 games, but hadn’t cleared the fence once.

Game 5 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Could Darwin do the improbable, and knock the Bandits off their perch? Hudswell did his best to dispel them of that notion, his 3-run shot in the 1st giving the Bandits an early buffer. But Darwin were a tenacious team, and they had confidence in their ‘hustle-ball.’ They pegged 2 runs back in the 3rd, unearned, and equalized in the 6th. Ladds gave Brisbane back their 3-run advantage with a HR in the bottom of the 7th, and after 2 quick outs in the 9th it looked like it was series over for Darwin. Hutchinson drew a walk, and then Blair Toohey pulled the 1st pitch of his AB over the leftfield fence to make it a 1-run ballgame. Unfortunately, Noah Blenkhorn lined out directly to the SS to end the game and Darwin’s series. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane, and they were headed to their 5th Championship series in a row.

Aitcheson (7.0IP, 5H, 3R, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) was much better this time around, while Budd (6.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K) toiled away, throwing 129 pitches. Brisbane’s Adam Guiney left the park in the 8th, with no immediate word from the team trainer as to the problem.

[Izz]

2053 Championship - Canberra Cavalry vs Brisbane Bandits

Preview: This was the Championship series everybody wanted to see. The unstoppable juggernaut that was Brisbane up against a Cavalry team boasting 2 former Bandits, and they didn’t get much bigger than Ismael Aguirre and Young-tae Lee. All 3 of Aguirre’s rings were acquired during his 4-year stint in Brisbane, while 3 of Lee’s 7 came his way as a Bandit.

While nobody had written Brisbane off preseason, many had said they wouldn’t be the same team without those 2 superstars. And they weren’t. They were better. Better than any team had ever been so far in the history of the league.

Could Canberra cruel the dream? Brisbane had struggled through the series against Darwin but that might just have served to blow out any cobwebs. Canberra, on the other hand, had dominated both their postseason series before now, sweeping the fancied Roos, and accounting for the season’s other 100-game winners, the Fury, in 4 games.

Canberra had the top-ranked offense in the league, with the best BA (.286), most runs scored (900), best OPS (.811), most hits (1635), and 2nd-best OBP (.356), SLG (.455), and walks (579). Their 210 HRs was the 3rd-most of all teams, as were their 520 XBH.

Where they struggled somewhat was their pitching, their ERA (4.29) only 5th overall, while their starters went for an 8th-best 4.44 runs per 9 innings. They had only walked 417 hitters, 2nd-best, but a 6th-best OAVG of .269 might’ve got the Brisbane hitters excited. Canberra had exactly 0 injury worries, and said they’d stick with a 3-man rotation (Rayner, Wurfel, Spear) for the series.

The Bandits had scored the 2nd-most runs (877), and predictably had the best SLG (.464), XBH (552), and HR (243) of all teams. Their BA of .274 was only 4th-best, and their OBP of .344 3rd. They struck out a lot, recording 1127 Ks in the season, 4th-most in the league, but they were a surprising menace on the basepaths, having stolen 101 bases in the season, 3rd-best.

While Brisbane’s lineup was certainly to be feared, their pitching staff was possibly even better. They’d allowed the least hits (1281) of any team, conceded the least HRs (117), and struck out the most hitters (1193). Their overall ERA (3.40) was 2nd, with their starters conceding a 3.58 ERA and their bullpen an impressive 2.95. They did walk a few, though, issuing 528 free passes in the season, only 10th-best. Defensively they were excellent, with an efficiency of .711, 2nd-best. They would go with a 4-man rotation (Ralston, Aitcheson, Gallo, Lara), and were missing SS Gordon Appleby, and RF Adam Guiney (diagnosed with a torn meniscus on the morning of Game 1). They did welcome Timothy Browne back, meaning 8 players on their playoff roster had 16+ HRs.

Would Brisbane be too good? Most thought so, primarily on the basis of their pitching, though the general consensus was this would be a high-scoring series, and perhaps go to 7 games for the 2nd year in a row.

Game 1

Eddie Rayner (16-12, 3.15 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, plus 3-0 in this postseason) would start for Canberra. He wasn’t completely rested, so would likely only be on the mound 5-6 innings if things went well. He would be up against Wilson Lara (12-10, 4.31 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.33 WHIP), who would definitely be heading to free agency at the end of this season, and who said he was keen for another season or 2 in the AUNZBL so was looking to showcase his best stuff to everybody watching.

Unfortunately Lara didn’t bring his best stuff in the 1st. Boston singled off a lollipop fastball to open the game. He stole 2nd an out later, then came home on Aguirre’s single. Blanksby flied out deep to rightfield, before a Hillson single sent Aguirre all the way to 3rd. Lee drove him home to give Canberra a 2-0 lead. Rayner, on the other hand, looked good, but was helped out by his LF in the 1st, who took a nice catch tracking back in the shadow of the LF wall.

The scoring well stayed dry until the top of the 5th, though each team had chances, when Hillson hit a 2-out solo HR to put Canberra further ahead. In the 7th, a 1-out Blanksby single ended Lara’s night (6.1IP, 8H, 4BB, 7K). Felipe Corona struggled from the outset, allowing Hillson to single. Lee’s following single drove Blanksby home, giving Lara 4ER on the night. But it wasn’t quite over yet. Terrence Kerr ground out to the edge of the infield at 2nd, and Hillson came home. Ahernfeld doubled over the head of 1B to score Lee, making it 6-0. Aguirre thumped a 2-run HR in the 8th to blow it out to 8-0, and it wasn’t until the bottom of the 9th that Brisbane got on the board, via a 2-run Elliot Cleaver bomb. Final score: 8-2 Canberra.

Rayner (7.0IP, 4H, 0ER, 2BB, 6K) got a well-deserved 4th postseason win.

Game 2

Blair Wurfel (16-8, 3.68 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) was Canberra’s starter. He had the unenviable task of duelling with Lance Ralston (18-8, 2.90 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.13 WHIP), who might’ve modified his action a tiny amount, but was still pretty hard to hit.

And today was no exception. He allowed a single in the 3rd, another in the 6th, and a double in the 8th, but that was all. He walked none and struck out 6, full of guile. Meanwhile Blair Wurfel wasn’t too bad either, taking a 2-hitter into the 5th before things came undone somewhat. Wakely walked to lead off and was singled to 3rd by Gadsden. Cleaver doubled deep to centre, scoring Wakely. Guao ground out to 1st and Browne was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Axel Vanderven singled past 2nd, but only Gadsden could make it home. Ladds singled too and Cleaver scored. Browne tried for home but was thrown out by the RF. Fookes flied out to right and the damage was limited to 3 runs. That was all the scoring Brisbane could muster, but it was enough. Final score: 3-0 Brisbane to even things back up.

Wurfel (6.0IP, 8H, 3ER, 3BB, 2K) took the loss. Only 2 Cavalry hitters got on-base the entire game.

Game 3

Angelo Spear (13-13, 4.90 ERA, 4.93 FIP, 1.29 WHIP), who’d had 1 great and 1 terrible outing so far this playoff campaign, would start for Canberra in their 1st home game. 22-game winner Marcos Gallo, who had been underwhelming in his start against Darwin, would take the mound for Brisbane.

The Cavalry dined out in the 3rd, sending 10 hitters to the plate, with thanks to Brisbane 3B Wakely, who fluffed a simple pickup early in the inning. Willem Baldwin had led the inning off with a HR and Aguirre had followed up with a single. Blanskby had flied out to the warning track and Hillson had walked when Wakely couldn’t gather Lee’s groundball straight at him. Gallo then walked in a run before Ahernfeld, who wasn’t hitting well this postseason but always seemed to come up with important hits, doubled 2 home. Vader sac-flied in another and Gallo headed to the showers. Boston singled Ahernfeld home before Baldwin flied out to left to finally end the inning. 7 batters had already entered the batter’s box in the 1st, only scoring 1 for their troubles, meaning Canberra had an early 7-run lead.

Vince Hudswell smoked a 3-run HR in the 4th to make a game of it. Canberra added another in the bottom of the inning and that was all the scoring until the bottom of the 8th, when Blanskby drove a fastball 454 feet over dead centre to bring 2 more home. Newbold followed up an out later with a solo shot and the game was out of Brisbane’s reach. Final score: 11-3 Canberra.

Gallo (2.2IP, 6H, 7R, 4ER, 3BB, 1K) had an unhappy night, while Spear (8.0IP, 8H, 3ER, 1BB, 8K) ate up some innings to mean Canberra had a nicely rested bullpen.

Game 4

Rayner would take on Clint Aitcheson (15-8, 3.60 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.09 WHIP), who’d looked much better in his 2nd start versus Darwin than he had in his 1st.

Rayner continued to look like he felt no pressure at all, though Aitcheson looked just as good, taking a no-hitter into the 5th before surrendering a 2-out single. In the bottom of the 6th Canberra scored 2. Vader singled, Boston doubled, Baldwin sac-flied Vader home, Aguirre was intentionally walked, and Blanksby’s single saw Boston head from 2nd to home. In the bottom of the 8th Armando Ruiz got a rude introduction to the Championship, giving up a leadoff single to Baldwin followed by an Aguirre double into the leftfield corner. Blanksby was put on the open base, but pinch-hitter Mike Pickford’s single into the hole at short drove Baldwin home. Newbold struck out, but Kerr hit safely into shallow centre and both Aguirre and Blanksby touched home safely.

Even though Canberra held a 5-run advantage closer Herbert came to the mound in the 9th to see the game out. He struck out the side, freezing up both Vanderven and Ladds with gigantic curves. Final score: 5-0 Canberra and they were on the verge of, not just toppling the giants, but dominating them.

Aitcheson (7.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 7K) took the loss, while Rayner (7.2IP, 3H, 0ER, 0BB, 8K) was only pulled due to an hour-long rain delay in the 8th.

Game 5

Could Canberra pull off a Championship victory in front of their home crowd? Blair Wurfel needed another day’s rest, according to pitching coach Ted Heathershaw, so Rory Lowe (10-10, 5.39 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.57 WHIP), who’d thrown 2 innings of relief in the Game 1 victory (giving up both runs, mind you), would be Canberra’s starter. He was “very excited.” Lara would get another go-around for Brisbane.

Lowe threw too many pitches over the heart of the plate, allowing regular runs. Ladds homered in the 1st, and his 2-out double off the CF wall in the 3rd scored another. He came home off Fookes’ follow-up single. Canberra got a run back in the bottom of the inning but Hudswell’s leadoff HR in the 4th returned the difference to 3. It became 5-1 in the 6th and then 5-3 in the bottom of the inning, Kerr and Ahernfeld driving the runners home. Browne led off the 7th with a triple and scored off Vanderven’s single to see Lowe head to the showers. A batter later Fookes singled home another. A Wakely sac-fly in the 9th made it 8-3.

Boston led off the bottom of the 9th with a double down the 3B line. Baldwin struck out swinging, and Aguirre drew a walk. Blanksby ground out but both runners advanced. Hillson walked to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Lee walked, scoring 1, but Kerr could only pop up to the catcher and that was the game. Final score: 8-4 Brisbane, and they were heading home only 1 game behind.

Lowe (6.0IP, 11H, 7ER, 1BB, 3K) wasn’t great, and while Lara (6.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K) wasn’t all that much better he did get to leave with the win. Ladds was 3-4, with 2 doubles and a HR.

Game 6

Wurfel, now fully rested, would take on Ralston again.

Aguirre thwacked a circle change into the leftfield bleachers in the 1st to put Canberra on the board. Another error from the typically-dependable Wakely in the 3rd saw Blanksby score and Reed single home Baldwin to make it 3-0. A Lee-Aguirre single-double combo to begin the 5th made it 4-0.

Brisbane came roaring back into it in the bottom of the inning, a 2-out Vanderven double scoring 2, and a Fookes single scoring another. 1-run ballgame. Neither side troubled the scorers until the 8th, when a Boston ground out saw Newbold score (a hard slide by Pickford broke up the double-play and kept the inning alive). Lee then hit a double deep to right centre and Boston went from 1st to 3rd and then towards home. But the throw was too good and he was tagged out.

Would that be the catalyst Brisbane needed? Not in the bottom of the inning, at least, Ladds, Fookes and Hudswell surrendering in order. Blanksby gave Canberra an insurance run in the 9th with a solo HR over right. Gadsden singled with 1 out in the bottom of the inning, but any potential rally was snuffed out by Herbert, who struck Cleaver out swinging at a sinker in the dirt, and induced a regulation groundball from Guao directly to Aguirre, who stepped on 1st himself to record the Championship-winning out.

Final score: 6-3 Canberra and the capital would be going wild tonight, as their lads won Canberra’s 1st Championship in 32 years.

Ralston (6.1IP, 8H, 4R, 2ER, 4BB, 7K) was a bit erratic and took the series-defining loss, while Wurfel (5.1IP, 7H, 3ER, 4BB, 5K) watched anxiously from the dugout as his bullpen held it together for 3.2 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief.

Hurler of the Series: This couldn’t go to anybody but Eddie Rayner, who was ready to throw Game 7 if required. He threw 14.2 innings in the series, striking out 14 while only allowing 7 hits and 2 walks for no earned runs.

Slugger of the Series: Jacob Blanksby. .400/.556/.750, with 2HR and 4RBI.