Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Baseball League

[StLee]

1.4.2286 - Injury (Creature attack)

What could turn a #1 overall pick into a nightmare in just under a month? Try the top overall pick being attacked by a nightkin amped up on a Stealth Boy hallucination.

Camp McCarran’s (formerly Nuka Cola) Keith Heard, the #1 overall draft pick in the first Mojave draft, was mauled by the nightkin, which was summarily executed. Camp McCarran staff hurried Heard to an NCR medical facility.

Heard will have to use chems to recover his arm. Otherwise, his career would be over. Still, with recovery, Heard may take three months or more to recover, definitely not enough time to participate in spring training nor be ready for the season.

Heard is expected to get started with the newly formed Nuka Cola Westerners of the Prospects League.

1.15.2286 - Trade

The Sunset Sarsaparilla Fire Ants traded 29-year-old shortstop Tim Bradley to the Freeside Kings, getting 18-year-old minor league left fielder Brad Gecko in return.

1.20.2286 - Trade

The Camp McCarran Brahmin traded 29-year-old starting pitcher Joe MacIntyre to the Atomic Wrangler Wranglers, getting 19-year-old reliever Armor Hammer in return.

2.5.86 – Injury (Creature attack)

Jason Wilson, Freeside Kings

You remember Wilson, right? He was attacked by a bark scorpion on the Nellis AFB last season and later was released by Sunset Sarsaparilla. Well, this offseason, after moving to the Freeside Kings, he has now suffered an animal attack, this time by a supposedly rabid dog.

Unfortunately, there are no good chems for rabies, and we will have to see what happens to Wilson. It doesn’t look good, though, for the 39-year-old. The dog was put down. Maybe Wilson will have to be, too.

3.1.86 - Player Suspension (Major chem use)

Novac catcher Eli Smith must have had a wild offseason. On the first day of league-mandated chem testing, Smith tested positive for Fixer. Fixer itself is not so bad; it’s what it hides that is probably bad. Because of testing positive for Fixer, Smith will have a 15-game break to start the season.

3.5.86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

Sunset Sarsaparilla ace Angel Polanco will miss his first start of the season thanks to a positive chem test. Polanco was found to have Mentats in his system and his back pocket, meaning the pitcher will be out the first five games of the 2286 season.

3.10.86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

Being a first round pick must be tough. First it was the number one overall player having a brush with danger, and now fifth overall pick Paul Strong of Tops has been found guilty of chem use.

The star-capable rookie didn’t go with the hard stuff, but thanks to his Steady use, the babe is now in the league’s drug program and won’t see the first four games of his Mojave Baseball League career.

3.18.86 - Player Suspension (Major Chem Use)

For the second time this season, a player was caught with Fixer in his system. This time its Freeside second baseman Jimmy Robinson. Robinson will now sit out 15 games to fix his chem problem.

3.27.86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

It may have really been a lover’s quarrel that forced his hand, but Tops outfielder Bob Anderson has been suspended five games after using a Stimpak. Anderson claimed his girlfriend injured him, which would have cost him time when he is trying to make it big in baseball. We do not know if it was worth a first offense, but Anderson will not make a debut in the first five games. And he only has two more strikes with chems.

4.1.86 - Player Suspension (2nd offense chem use)

Sunset Sarsaparilla is having bad luck with preseason chem testing. First they lost staff ace Angel Polanco to start the season. Now closer Carlos Colon has tested positive for using a Doctor’s Bag, despite no reported injury.

Worse yet, Colon has suffered his second offense chem positive. Since he has tested positive for minor chems, he has one more “freebie” before he suffers a possible permanent ban.

Colon will now sit out 10 games to start the 2286 season.

4.1.86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

Someone needs to clue in the Tops franchise that chems are illegal in the league. Already Tops has lost its third player to a chem suspension this preseason. This time its minor league pitcher Billy Robertson, who tested positive for Rocket.

Rocket is considered to be one of the major chems, so Robertson will sit for 15 games and be entered into the major chem users watch list. That means he has a short leash on future chem use and even minor offenses could lead to his permanent dismissal.

4.2.86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

Vault Tec went through the first season of its existence without a single chem positive player. Now, right before the start of the second season, a 16-year-old ****ed it all up.

Rookie Tyler White was found Turbo-positive, boosting his ass straight to a five game suspension to start the season.

White was an undrafted free agent and may soon find himself back on the free agent market.

4.4. 86 - Player Suspension (Chem Use)

It’s only two days before the start of the regular season, and another knucklehead has emerged. Jeremiah Morgan, a seldom-used player in the 2285 season, who is expected to emerge as a premier player in 2285 for the Freeside Kings, was suspended five games to start the season for using a Stimpak.

[StLee]

As the 2286 season approached, Michael Angelo was able to reveal the newest uniforms, as well as updating some of the old uniforms. All uniforms would be worn for the first time starting on Opening Day.

Every MBL team had both a home and away uniform.

The PL teams had only one uniform, except for Nuka Cola and H&H Tool Company since they were using the 2285 major league team uniforms. The NCR Cubs were using the home uniform for the major league club. Aerotech Tops used the road Tops uniform. RobCo only had one uniform in 2285, so the RobCo PL team was using that uniform.

Overall Michael Angelo and his crew did a great job of making each uniform look unique without huge color overlaps from team to team.

[Tyke]

Love those unis and logos! Despite being a Lucky 38s fan, I think my favourite uni and logo is the 188 Traders. It has a real retro feel to it and I love the handshake. Great work on these

[StLee]

Originally Posted by Tyke

Love those unis and logos! Despite being a Lucky 38s fan, I think my favourite uni and logo is the 188 Traders. It has a real retro feel to it and I love the handshake. Great work on these

I really like the 188 unis, but I am leaning a little more to the Cottonwood Cove uni. I don't know why, but the dark and light greens work for me. My favorite logo of all is the Atomic Wrangler. The cowboy riding an atom is a cool concept.

188's logo is the only one that has my hands on it at all. Well, I guess the poorly added "Freeside" to the Kings' logo is also my doing. But for 188, I used one of the circle logos from the retro thread in the uniform mods section and personalized it to the 188 Trading Post way. I wanted to put caps on the logo at first, but I couldn't find any appropriate images, so I went with the handshake.

[StLee]

4.6.2286

At 6 AM on the first day of the season, there was a knock at my door. Outside it was Poseidon Last Name, the center fielder for Novac (RobCo). I asked him what he was doing at my place in New Vegas when he had a game in Novac later that day.

"Don't worry about that," he said. "Lee told me to be here. Besides, I'm trying out one of those prototype motorcycles by that guy out in Nellis. I'll be there as soon as I leave here."

The reason Lee told Last Name to be at my place was because of a disk. Last Name asked me to use my computer, so I powered it on. I was sleepy and cranky but curious.

"It's something my team at RobCo was working on. We just finished it about three hours ago, so I rushed it here. It's the baseball screen."

My eyes lit up with fascination as more behind-the-scenes information was unfolding before my eyes. With the use of a few computer programs, Last Name and his team input data and created a screen of that data with all of the possible outcomes of the league averaged into a final output. Last Name called it the Preseason Predictions Report, so that's what it is.

I asked to get my camera to take a picture of my computer.

"I have one even better for you," Last Name said. He pressed a button on my keyboard I had never used before, at least with any results. It was the "PrtSc" button. "Now, let me just open this up and... bam! Now you can load this straight to your PipBoy and save it to your fancy computer journal."

It was beautiful. I don't know how Boone and Last Name and the rest of the team at RobCo was doing it, but they may have created the single most important thing ever in the history of man: the RNC.

Here's my PipBoy version of the first ever glimpse of the Mojave Baseball League RNC screen:




I was so happy with how much easier this creation was going to make my life that I could not help it but to throw my arms around Last Name. He was really uncomfortable and turned red and shook himself out of my grasp. I felt bad about that, but I was genuinely happy.

We talked about what was on the page a little. It looked like there could be a Mojave Series rematch between the Lucky 38s and the Bears, though Sunset Sarsaparilla was geared to make a run. We also talked about the prediction that Novac would be the worst team in the league.

"Don't you worry about that," Last Name said. "We'll surprise everybody, even our master computer."

Thanks for the predictions, Mr. Last Name. Now it was time for baseball.

[StLee]

April Awards

Batter of the Month

The Mojave Baseball League Batter of the Month has been chosen for April and the trophy was presented to George O'Kill of the North Vegas Radscorpions.

He stood out this month with a .379 batting average, 22 hits and 10 home runs, along with 22 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

Pitcher of the Month

Tom Nelson hasn't been around the big leagues long enough to know that youngsters shouldn't be winning Mojave Baseball League Pitcher of the Month. But when you put up numbers like his, you're going to get some notice.

In April the Vault-Tec starter earned a 5-0 mark in 5 starts. He threw 36.1 innings, struck out 29 and compiled a solid 0.99 ERA.

Rookie of the Month - The rookie award will be based on any player under 23 years old who is a true first year player or deemed to be a small time player in the first year of the MBL.

Sunset Sarsaparilla's Dave Griffin collected 22 hits to snare the Mojave Baseball League Rookie of the Month for April.

He batted .289 with 3 home runs, 12 RBIs and 7 runs scored.

The 21-year-old is barely old enough to shave, but he could definitely contend for Rookie of the Year if he keeps up this pace.

News and Notes

4.7.86 – Player Suspensions (Major Chem Use – 2nd Offense AND Major Chem Use – 1st Offense)

The Freeside Kings’ Jeremiah Morgan may want to get his act together if he ever wants to be the breakout star he predicts he will be. At this rate, Morgan may have to be the breakout king of the NCR Correctional Facility.

Morgan, who we may rename Moron, just three days removed from his Stimpak positive, went the serious route and tested positive for Psycho. Now the Freeside infielder will have to sit an additional 20 games. Not only that, but if he tests positive again for anything, Morgan will be out of the league.

Apparently it was a team party since Tim Bradley also tested positive for Psycho. Bradley’s first test was mixed with some other unknown substance, so he was allowed to play. However, after the game a second test came up with a Psycho positive, meaning Bradley will serve a 20-game suspension just like Moron.

4.8.86 – Player Suspension (Major Chem Use)

Minor leaguer Josh Carr got himself into trouble by testing positive for Rocket. The young second baseman can now sit for the next 15 games revving his engine but going nowhere to start the season.

4.9.86 – Team Low

Atomic Wrangler may want to find its bats! Hell, its pitching, too!

The Wranglers have not scored a run in its first three games, losing 3-0 and 13-0 to Vault-Tec, and now 6-0 to New Vegas. Atomic Wrangler has hit just .128 (9 for 70) with Scary Danny Parker getting the only extra base hit and leading the team with three hits.

4.12.86 – Player personal leave

Novac minor leaguer Ken Clark has left the team for personal reasons. His return is unknown.

Reports from an unnamed team source was that Clark, who was adopted by a family, had apparently found his birth parents, and they were set to reunite. He was reportedly born to Jor and Lara El. A series of letters came to him, and he thought he would meet them. Unfortunately, the reunion was all a ruse by a 13-year-old boy who read an old comic book in the Novac library.

4.14.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

The NCR’s Troy Caldwell, a second-year minor leaguer, was found to have used Buffout. Because of the scrawny first baseman’s sudden need for power, he will sit out 10 games. Maybe during that time he can, you know, actually lift weights.

4.19.86 – Player trade

The North Vegas Radscorpions traded 25-year-old right fielder Zack Cameron to the Tops Mutants, getting 33-year-old catcher L'il Tony T-Snizzle Hensley in return.

4.20.86 - Player suspension (chem use)

The NCR lost another player. This time minor leaguer Artie Dennis left the league for a three-game vacation for using Rebound.

Dennis has been reportedly been dealing with an illness in his family. Team reports say it is his three-year-old daughter who is suffering from severe radiation poisoning.

4.20.86 – Mojave incident

A small group of Powder Gangers blew up the press box of Primm Community Field in the middle of the night. They were caught and are being held in the Primm prison awaiting an NCR investigation.

The sticks of dynamite completely destroyed the press box, meaning that the teams had to make an emergency trip to South Vegas to play in the Vault Boys’ minor league facility at the Vault 3 Grounds. Vault-Tec’s headquarters are located inside Vault 3.

Lee announced that Vault-Tec would share the field with its minor league team while the Primm Community Field press box was rebuilt. Lee would also work on adding more seats to the Vault 3 Grounds facility to allow more fans into the games.

While Vault-Tec and South Vegas are sharing the field, all Prospect League games that interfere will be played in the morning and all MBL games in the late afternoon.

[Tyke]

Presumably, instead of changing in his office before the game, minor league manager Ken Clark will use the phone booth just in front of the ballpark!

[StLee]

Standings




May Awards

Batter of the Month

May's Hitter of the Month has been selected by the Mojave Baseball League. This month's trophy was presented to the Novac shortstop, Bobby McGuire.

He starred by hitting .320 with a .509 on-base percentage, totaled 24 hits in 75 at-bats, 2 home runs, 13 RBIs and scored 25 runs.

A look at his current stats shows McGuire with a .350 average, 4 home runs, 19 RBIs and 37 runs scored. He has played in 45 games.

Pitcher of the Month

Ron Heath was the anchor in the Ultra Luxe bullpen last month and snatched up the Mojave Baseball League Pitcher of the Month honors for May. The 28-year-old is in the prime of his career and pitching like he intends to stay around baseball for quite some time to come.

He threw 10.2 innings over 11 relief appearances and collected a 2-0 record with 10 strikeouts and 6 saves while etching his 0.84 ERA.

This season Heath has notched 7 saves with 16 strikeouts and 3 walks in 16.1 innings while registering a 4.41 ERA and a 3-0 won-lost record.

Rookie of the Month

A veritable toddler to the Mojave Baseball League, Tom Junktown Junkie just sewed up the Rookie of the Month trophy for May.

Over the past month the 19-year-old first baseman for Gomorrah hit .324 with 35 hits, no home runs and 8 runs batted in. He also logged 2 walks and compiled a .336 on-base percentage.

Currently Junktown Junkie is batting .311 with no home runs and 9 RBIs.


News and Notes

5.1.86 - Player personal leave

We reported at the time of his suspension that New California Republic minor leaguer Artie Dennis has a sick daughter. Now Dennis has a chance to take care of her.

Dennis is taking a personal leave from the NCR Cubs to see a radiation sickness expert visiting from Shady Sands. Reportedly Radaway has been ineffective in curing his daughter’s radiation poison and her voice is starting to take on a ghoul’s tone.

The radiation expert is supposedly very good at preventing the onset of ghoulism in people in the early stages of transformation.

5.1.86 – Players suspension (fighting)

A post-game bar fight turned nearly deadly and cost one player his eye.

Following RobCo’s 11-4 victory at Cottonwood Cove, the teams went out together to at The Tit on the Lake. There Lakelurks third baseman Andrew Zimmerman and RobCo shortstop Chris Parker got into an argument that eventually became a fist fight.

Zimmerman then picked up a whiskey bottle and hit Parker with it, severing Parker’s left eye from the socket.

Both players are considered top prospects in the Mojave Baseball League and the incident may have been one of egos colliding. Parker is the 18th ranked prospect, while Zimmerman is the 13th ranked prospect.

Parker will miss about a month to get eye reparation or replacement surgery in the New Vegas Medical Clinic. Zimmerman was automatically suspended 30 games for using a weapon in a fight with a league member.

5.7.86 - Player return

Good news for New California Republic minor leaguer Artie Dennis. After taking a leave to see radiation sickness and ghoulism expert Dr. Salty Van Gina, Dennis is happy to report that his daughter is cured of all radiation sickness.

“She’s laughing and playing and sounds like a three-year-old again, not a 98-year-old chain smoker,” Dennis said.

Dennis returns to the lineup tonight for the NCR Cubs’ game at Bitter Springs.

5.13.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

It took a while in May for there to be a positive chem test. And the sweepstakes winner is . . . a nobody. Shane Danior of the Tops organization and who is probably destined to spend the entirety of his career in the minors tested positive for Med-X. He will now sit five games. Yawn. Wake us up when a major player gets busted.

5.15.86 – Player suspension (major chem use)

Tony Ocasio has only been with the Atomic Wrangler organization for two weeks after being picked up as a street free agent. Now the occasional minor league player will be suspended the next 15 games for testing positive for Fixer. He may also find himself back on the street.

5.19.86 – Team suspension (alcohol incident)

Young people can be pretty stupid when it comes to alcohol. Sunset Sarsaparilla’s Jeffery Thomason is an outright idiot.

Just two days after winning the Prospect Leagues Player of the Week award with Bitter Springs and the same day that the Fire Ants awarded him by promoting him to the big league club, Thomason got drunk in celebration and destroyed the team’s batting cage.

Sunset Sarsaparilla then suspended the youngster for the next nine games and will probably have to call Tom Somerset, whom they just demoted, back to the big league club.

5.23.86 – Death

Sad news in the Mojave Baseball League today as minor leaguer Ben MacDougall, signed just two weeks ago by the Ultra Luxe organization, has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found at the Cottonwood Cove Overlook.

The youngster was not drafted in the 2285 draft. Reportedly he was working hard to make a team, but only recently was signed and then assigned to Hidden Valley. However, he could not earn his way onto the field and was close to being released.

The team was considering canceling today’s game against the Lakelurks, but owner Marjorie Hand denied that request. She said that death is a part of the Mojave, so the games must go on even if a player dies.

(Author’s note: Sorry if this part of the dynasty offends anyone. I am trying to stay true to the Mojave world, so death is a very real part of the game. However, suicide doesn’t have to be. I have a chart I am using. I rolled snake eyes, meaning player injury event; random numbered self injury, meaning something done to himself; and then another snake eyes equaled death, thus suicide. Again, if this is offensive, let me know—you can PM me—and I will make sure this type of random event never happens again. Likely it won't, but it could.)

5.25.86 – Player suspension (major chem use)

Greg Greer probably thought he would be having a better year. But the youngster has been struggling from the Goodsprings pen with a 6.11 ERA. Now he has been suspended 15 games and entered into the league’s major chem use program after testing positive for Jet.

5.31.86 – Player absence

The Goodsprings organization probably panicked when they were missing a key player for his start today: Earl Robinson, the staff ace.

Instead, it was a case of bad timing and bad luck. Robinson made a quick trip to Goodsprings from the series against Atomic Wrangler in Westside to help his wife move to their new place.

Unfortunately, help meant doing it alone, and Robinson found himself locked in a bathroom that locked from the outside only. Team officials were aware that Robinson was in Goodsprings, so a search for him discovered him in his unfortunate situation. As a third unfortunate event, Robinson missed the game against the Wranglers.

Thankfully for Robinson, Buck Buckley stepped in and the Lucky 38s offense cruised to an 11-3 victory. Goodsprings has the day off today, but Robinson is expected to get the start tomorrow at Gomorrah.

5.31.86 – Team suspension

Collin Kotb of Gomorrah has been suspended by the team for habitual alcohol abuse. The team will give him a two-week break to get his act together. With travel time to and from the rehabilitation facility, Kotb is expected to miss the next 12-14 games.

[Tyke]

Very interesting set of notes - and not in the least offended by the MacDougall storyline. As you say it comes with the backstory.

[StLee]

Standings




June Awards

Batter of the Month

The #1 hitter in the Mojave Baseball League in June was North Vegas first baseman George O'Kill. He was selected the Batter of the Month.

O'Kill starred with a .352 batting average, 8 home runs and 17 RBIs.

This year O'Kill has socked 72 hits in 205 at-bats for a .351 average with 23 home runs. He is getting on base at a .466 pace and his totals also include 57 RBIs and 46 runs scored.

Pitcher of the Month

North Vegas' Nate Camp has made fans throughout Mojave Baseball League take notice over the past month with an exceptional 6-0 record. No pitcher in the Mojave Baseball League threw better in June, garnering him the Pitcher of the Month award today.

In 6 starts Camp compiled a 1.35 ERA, putting up a 6-0 record, striking out 31 and tossing 46.2 innings.

Currently Camp has a 11-2 won-lost record in 15 starts with a 2.42 ERA. He also has 71 strikeouts in 108 innings.

Rookie of the Month

Dave Griffin earned June's Rookie of the Month honors in the Mojave Baseball League for last month's performance. The boyish Sunset Sarsaparilla shortstop might be wet behind the ears, but he's proving that he has what it takes to play at this level.

Griffin hit .242 with 6 doubles, 4 home runs, 19 RBIs and 11 runs scored this past month on his way to winning the award.

Griffin currently has a .239 batting average with 65 hits, 8 homers, 45 RBIs, 22 runs scored and a .261 OBP.


News and Notes

6.4.86 – Player suspension (Major chem use)

North Vegas minor league outfielder Ben Bell has been having an excellent year with the H&H Tool Company Reds. He has batted .344 (21 for 61) with 6 doubles, 6 homers, 23 RBI, and 12 runs.

However, now that he has tested positive for Rocket, the 30-year-old has to sit the next 15 games, maybe costing him any chance to move up to the big club for the second half of the season in their playoff run.

6.7.86 – Player suspension (Major chem use)

Ultra Luxe was once known as a place of … unusual tastes. Now it is a Lee-forced classy joint with an owner who keeps her Hand in everything.

Well, today, the club that keeps stockpiling players to sit the bench in the minors will have 20 games to give some players some work.

Middle reliever Wilford NCR, a first-year player who earned his way onto the big league club, went cuckoo for Psycho chems and got caught. Now the White Gloves will be without one of their better young relievers and the team’s current best-performing reliever for a good chunk of the second half of the season.

6.7.86 – Team suspension (Insubordination)

Vault-Tec starting pitcher Greg Thompson had a terrible performance in yesterday’s come-from-behind 8-6 victory over Goodsprings.

Thompson left the game behind 4-2 after giving up four runs in five innings. After he was pulled, he reportedly told the manager and pitching coaches to “Go **** yourselves with centaur cocks.”

Because of his insubordination, the team is giving him a five-game break to reconsider his attitude.

6.8.86 – League change (Playoffs)

Commissioner Lee mentioned it a few days ago. Now the Mojave Baseball League has made it official.

Beginning this postseason, the first round of the playoffs will be a seven-game series instead of the five-game series it was a year ago.

According to Lee, the popularity of the league is increasing, and it’s time to award the best teams with an opportunity to play more games.

Reacting to the possibility of adding a fourth team to the playoffs, Lee said, “Not yet, not this year anyway. But we are already talking expanding the league, so if we add two or more teams to the league, we will definitely have four teams in the playoffs.”

6.8.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

Camp McCarran middle reliever Dan Barlow has had some considerable control issues in his time in the Mojave Baseball League. This year the Brahmin pitcher has walked 28 batters in 52.1 innings pitched.

That may explain why Barlow took some Steady. Still, steady is an illegal chem and Barlow will now sit the next four games.

6.14.86 – Player trade

The Camp McCarran Brahmin traded 25-year-old center fielder Ricardo García to the Atomic Wrangler Wranglers, getting 18-year-old minor league first baseman Don Weeks in return.

6.21.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

Sunset Sarsaparilla minor leaguer Eric Fuller was suspended five games for using a Stimpak.

6.24.86 – Player trade

The North Vegas Radscorpions traded 25-year-old first baseman Kevin Murphy to the Camp McCarran Brahmin, getting 18-year-old minor league reliever Dan Huff and 18-year-old minor league left fielder Alvin Miller in return.

6.25.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

Catcher Weldon Brown was having such a great season at Prospects League H&H Tool Company that the North Vegas Scorpions recently brought him up to the bigs.

Brown was batting an impressive .380 (70 for 184) with 11 doubles, a triple, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, and 61 runs, meaning he was already in minor league player of the year contention.

But the Radscorpions could use him as a solid-hitting backup catcher for a team that has a real offensive weakness at the position. And that is just what he did. In four games, Brown was 4 for 6 with an RBI for the MBL club.
However, Brown was caught today with Steady in his system, and he will miss the next four games of his MBL career.

6.26.86 – Players suspended (fighting)

Gomorrah and Camp McCarran played a stellar game yesterday with two stellar performances for the Devils in the 6-4 10-inning win.

In the game, Gomorrah pitcher John Harrison pitched the complete game victory, racking up 10 innings and giving up four runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts. Harrison also hit a two-run homer in the game. The game was won on a walk-off two-run homer by Frederick Sharpe, his second of the game.

That is when the problem started. Camp McCarran left fielder Jason Hartman took exception to Sharpe’s homerun trot and charged the player as he crossed the plate. The two scuffled for a minute before being broken up.

The league office was not happy with a great game ending on such a bitter note. Still, the fight was minor, and so were the penalties. Hartman will now be suspended 6 games for starting the fight, and Sharpe will sit 3 games.

6.30.86 – Player injury

Goodsprings fans and Jimmy LaRue fans are in mourning today. Yesterday LaRue was injured in the Lucky 38s 3-1 loss at Novac.

LaRue attempted to catch a deep home run drive to straight away center field by Dinosaurs third baseman Ted Snyder, but slammed into the outfield fence. He was replaced by Jim Welch after the play.

It appears that LaRue’s injury may be serious, which could mean extensive time missed for the star player. League rules state that players injured playing baseball and without life-threatening injuries cannot use chems to return to action. That means LaRue will have to heal in his own time or sacrifice the season to be able to use chems. Updates coming soon.

6.30.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

New California Republic second baseman Rich Hall was suspended five games for using Mentats. In 16 games for the Bears, he is hitting .053 (1 for 19) after being called up from the NCR Cubs.

[StLee]

These stats were compiled at the exact midway point of the season. All teams had played exactly 50 games at this point.

Batting Leaders



Pitching Leaders

[Tyke]

Kill by name, Kill by nature - that's certainly what he's doing to the opposition pitching! If he carries on like that, and without LaRue, I can't see the Lucky 38's making the play-offs again this year.

[StLee]

Final Standings



Playoffs

First Round

Game 1: Sloan 8 at South Vegas 4
Player of the Game: Mark Henson, CF, Sloan - 2 for 5, 3B, 3 RBI, R

Game 2: Sloan 7 at South Vegas 3
Player of the Game: Mark Henson, CF, Sloan - 3 for 4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R

Prospects League Championship

Game 1: Sloan 9 at Nuka Cola 6
Player of the Game: Barry Wilson, C, Sloan - 2 for 4, HR, 4 RBI, R

Game 2: Sloan 2 at Nuka Cola 10
Player of the Game: Julio Soto, SP, Nuka Cola - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K

Game 3: Sloan 9 at Nuka Cola 14
Player of the Game: Zviad Taghiyeva, 2B, Nuka Cola - 3 for 4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Game 4: Sloan 1 at Nuka Cola 4
Player of the Game: Gary Last Laugh, SP, Nuka Cola - 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Statistical Leaders

Batting Leaders



Pitching Leaders



Season Awards

Hitter Award



Jesús Martínez of H&H Tool Company had the sweet swing of success this year in the Prospects League and captured the Hitter of the Year.

The Reds first baseman stung opposing pitchers with a .423 batting average, collecting 40 home runs, 9 doubles, no triples, 120 hits, 98 RBIs and scored 81 runs.

Other votes: 2. George Benson, Cottonwood Cove; Barry Wilson, Sloan

Pitcher Award



He's in the early phase of his career, but this past season Lee Weathers performed like a veteran on the hill for the South Vegas Cazadores and walked away with the Prospects League Pitcher of the Year in the process.

The 20-year-old Cazadores star fashioned a 12-3 won-loss record in 2286 with a 2.55 ERA. In 127 innings of work and 19 starts, Weathers struck out 121 while giving up 120 hits and 33 walks. He held opposing batters to a .240 average.

Other votes: 2. Pat Huber, Sloan; 3. Wilton Woods, Sloan

Best Rookie (Drafted player or unsigned free agent in first eligible year)



The top rookie in the Prospects League was Aerotech center fielder Paul Strong. He impressed voters so much that they named him the 2286 Top Rookie recipient.

Strong put up some pretty fair numbers, including a .288 batting average and .326 on-base percentage, while racking up 12 home runs, 56 RBIs and 45 runs scored.

Other votes: 2. Nick Little Pecker, Aerotech; 3. Henry Jones, Hidden Valley

Postseason Award



Nuka Cola slammed its way to the first ever Prospects League championship thanks in large part to its leadoff hitter, Zviad Taghiyeva.

Now the 20-year-old can claim to be the most valuable player in his team's 3-1 Prospects League Championship win over Sloan. Taghiyeva went 10 for 17 (.588) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI, seven runs, a walk, two strikeouts, and a stolen base. He led the team in hits, batting average, extra base hits, RBI, and runs in the series.

Defense Awards

It's been said that the best offense is a good defense. That's why contending teams are always looking to improve on the defensive side of the game. Keeping runs from scoring is just as good as driving them in. The top fielders have been chosen in the Prospects League for 2286. Here are the Defense Award winners:

Pitcher: Darby Watson (Bitter Springs Refugees)
Catcher: Dustin Durward (NCR Cubs)
First Baseman: Pedro Pérez (Nipton Phoenix)
Second Baseman: Bob Morris (South Vegas Cazadores)
Third Baseman: Chris Andrews (Bitter Springs Refugees)
Shortstop: Héctor Ortíz (Bitter Springs Refugees)
Left Fielder: Matt Franklin (NCR Cubs)
Center Fielder: Steve Mann (Sloan Quarriers)
Right Fielder: Dennis Edwards (Aerotech Tops)

[StLee]

Originally Posted by Tyke

Kill by name, Kill by nature - that's certainly what he's doing to the opposition pitching! If he carries on like that, and without LaRue, I can't see the Lucky 38's making the play-offs again this year.

Without LaRue, the Lucky 38s are dead in the water. You can't lose your superstar and make a playoff run. Well, I guess you could. But LaRue is a difference maker in getting on base in the three hole and then scoring runs or knocking players into scoring position for McDowell.

[StLee]

Standings



July Awards

Batter of the Month

Hot-hitting catcher Frederick Sharpe of the Gomorrah Devils really pounded Mojave Baseball League pitchers in July, winning the Batter of the Month award.

He hit .337 with 7 home runs, 23 RBIs, 15 runs scored and 10 walks to finish with a .393 on-base percentage.

This year Sharpe has socked 107 hits in 356 at-bats for a .301 average with 25 home runs. He is getting on base at a .358 pace and his totals also include 74 RBIs and 52 runs scored.

Pitcher of the Month

"The kid had it all working last month," a veteran Sunset Sarsaparilla teammate told reporters. "He keeps up those kind of numbers, we might have to start inviting him out with us after the games."

Carlos Colón put together a very solid month to take home the Mojave Baseball League's top pitching honor in July.

The 25-year-old reliever threw like a veteran. In 14 relief appearances he raked in 10 saves and 22 strikeouts in 14.2 innings as he put together his 3-0 record and 1.23 ERA.

His season stats show Colón has 21 saves in 36 relief appearances with a 6-0 mark and 0.72 ERA.

On the downside, Colon has two offenses against him in the league chem program. One more, and he will not be winning anymore awards.

Rookie of the Month (Author's note: ootp put a 30-year-old second year player here. GRRRRRR!!!!!! I keep having to change the rookie award. I wish I would have implemented it later in the dynasty or that it could be turned off or have a list of rookie eligible players... off to the ootp 15 suggestion boards I go!!!)

Novac's Francisco Riveria got hot in July in his first Mojave Baseball League season. Today he was hailed as the Mojave Baseball League Rookie of the Month.

He put up a .333 average with 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 17 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

Riveria is hitting .311 this year with 16 doubles, 25 home runs, 79 RBIs and 66 runs scored. He has 102 hits in 328 at-bats, 27 walks and a .376 on-base percentage. Riveria has played in 89 games.


News and Notes

7.2.86 – Player injury (Update)

Jimmy LaRue was placed on the 60-day disabled list. The Goodsprings center fielder told reporters that he expects to be "out of commission" for 7-8 months because of a broken bone in the elbow. He hasn't played since 06/29/2286 and, he said, he's "itchin' to get back out there” but he’ll “let it heal naturally.”

In 2286 LaRue has hit at a .373 clip with 103 hits, 5 home runs, 34 RBIs and has scored 45 times.

7.11.86 – Player fight

We are not sure what they’re past relationship is or what caused it exactly, but Cottonwood Cove and RobCo had to make last-minute scratches to their starting lineups due to a pre-game scuffle.

Cottonwood Cove’s Malcolm Jenkins, who has really turned it on this season despite not considering to be very talented, approached Willis O’Quinn during team warm-ups. The two exchanged words and eventually started fighting. They were then both asked to leave the field and could not play in the game.

Jenkins was with the Lucky 38 (now Goodsprings) reserve squad last season but was released after the season. He was then picked up by Atomic Wrangler on April 8, having missed all spring training practices with an organized team. He is batting .326 (110 for 337) with 25 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 79 RBI, and 62 runs. He was the Prospect League Player of the Week on April 26 and is considered in the running for PL Player of the Year.

O’Quinn was drafted in the second round, 20th overall, by RobCo. The young outfielder has batted .306 (108 for 353) with 13 doubles, a triple, four home runs, 61 RBI, and 48 runs.

7.19.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

Perhaps it should not be a chem offense, or maybe it should be a more serious one. Whatever the case, using Cateye garners a one-game suspension. The person caught with it was New California Republic first baseman Clyde Martin.

Martin claimed the Cateye use was not for baseball at all, which would make sense since the Bears had the day off. Instead, he claimed he volunteered for one of his mandatory NCR duty days on his off day and had night patrol at Camp McCarran. Because of not being out in the dark in a while, he wanted to ensure he could see well. Unfortunately, a league test found the chem, and he must now sit out the NCR’s next game.

Maybe the NCR could assign more favorable environments to its MBL soldiers?

7.24.86 – Team achievement

Last season, the New California Republic was the first team to clinch its division. The Bears went on to clinch the best regular season record and win the first Mojave League Series in seven games.

This season North Vegas (formerly H&H Tool Company) is the first team to clinch its division. The Radscorpions accomplished it by beating Ultra Luxe 12-4 coupled with Camp McCarran’s 8-5 loss to the NCR.

North Vegas (56-32) currently has a two-game lead on Vault-Tec (54-34) for the best record in the Mojave. The Vault Boys look to be close to clinching their division with 2 being the magic number. Vault Tec leads Gomorrah (43-45) by 11 games with just 12 games to play.

7.27.86 – Team achievement

Vault-Tec (54-36) can celebrate being division champions now, though the Vault Boys backed into the West Division title after losing 10-4 to New California Republic. Thanks to Gomorrah’s (43-47) 6-2 loss to North Vegas, Vault-Tec is now champions.

The Vault Boys have some work to do with just 10 games left. They have now fallen behind Novac (55-38) for the second best record in the MBL and trail North Vegas (58-32) four games for the best record.

7.29.86 – Player suspension (chem use)

Fresh off winning the Prospects League championship, Tony Smith is still on call for the Mojave League club, Camp McCarran. However, after testing positive for Med-X, any chance for Smith to see the majors this year is over. He will now be suspended for his next five eligible games.

Smith claims that he was trying to recover from a nagging injury. However, all players in the Mojave Baseball League circuit are under the chem program rules until the last game of the Mojave Series is played.

7.29.86 – Team suspension

Perhaps it is the frustration for Goodsprings setting in. One year after being a won away from a championship, the Lucky 38s sit at 42-49 and are fighting just to get to .500 on the season.

Things did not help when newly promoted reliever Wilton Woods opened his mouth at the wrong time. Woods, who finished the Prospects League season at Sloan with a 4-2 record with 24 saves and a 3.38 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched, was called up yesterday when starting pitcher Bob Jackson was placed on the disabled list.

Today, while in team practice on an off day, Woods reportedly mentioned that he was going to help “knock the suck out of the 38s.” Backup outfielder Lee Peterson took exception to Woods’ words and started arguing. Soon, the two players started fighting.

Goodsprings responded by sitting Peterson for tomorrow’s game at Tops in Jacobstown and Woods for the next two.

7.31.86 – Trade deadline

The trade deadline came and went and not one trade occurred.

According to Commissioner Lee, the trade deadline is supposed to be a resource to help spark teams towards battling for those final playoff spots, if they’re still available at that time.

Only the East Division currently has a race going on with seven games to play. Novac at 57-36 leads Sunset Sarsaparilla (54-36) by three games and the New California Republic (52-38) by five games. Both the West and Central divisions have already been clinched.

[StLee]

Final Standings



Batting Leaders



Pitching Leaders



News and Notes

8.8.86 – Team achievements (Novac and North Vegas)

It was an exciting race to the finish, but Novac did what no one expected of them this season: win their division.

The Dinosaurs won in thrilling fashion yesterday, beating the New California Republic 10-9 in 11 innings to clinch the East Division over second place Sunset Sarsaparilla. Novac trailed 9-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, but a seven-run inning tied the game before winning on an error in the 11th.
North Vegas (61-38) leads both the Dinosaurs and Vault-Tec by one game going into the season finale. Because the Radscorpions won the season series against both Novac and the Vault Boys, they have clinched the league’s best record.

Novac (60-39) is now in a battle for the league’s second-best record entering the final game. Novac won the season series against Vault-Tec 5-3, so the Dinosaurs need any combination of a win or a Vault-Tec loss to clinch home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

8.8.86 – Player injury (Animal attack)

Vincent Aerotech found himself on the wrong side of a battle with a coyote. Aerotech reportedly had to fight off the hungry beast, suffering a refracture to his previously injured hand.

Aerotech will now miss the final game of the season and will have to spend part of the season recovering on his own until the playoffs end based on league chem rules.

8.9.86 – Team (un)achievements

What looked to be a thrilling final game by way of earning playoff placements turned into a lose-lose-lose affair.

North Vegas (61-39), which was the #1 seed regardless of Sunday’s results, lost its season finale 7-4 to Freeside.

The real race was for second place. Novac (60-40) won that distinction by default. The Dinosaurs lost 4-2 to the NCR, but Vault-Tec’s (60-40) 2-1 10-inning loss to Tops clinched second place for Novac.

Vault-Tec will now travel to Novac for the first two games of a seven-game series. The winner of that series faces North Vegas in the Mojave Series.

[StLee]

Series Preview

Before the season started, Vault-Tec was expected to be good and Novac was expected to be at the back of the Brahmin pack. That is not the case anymore.

The Dinosaurs took the league by storm, finishing only one game back of the best record in the league, and they will now host the Vault Boys in the first round of the 2286 Mojave Baseball League playoffs.

Vault-Tec, on the other hand, was good like expected, but they also got a boost from a heavily injured Goodsprings team, which loss team stars Earl Robinson and Jimmy LaRue for extended periods. Still, the Vault Boys took care of business and pulled away from the rest of the West to win the division.

When the playoffs begin, both teams will have to look forward, not back like we are doing in this preview. First, how did the teams do against each other?
Despite finishing with the same 60-40 record, Novac gets home field advantage thanks to a 5-3 season series advantage over the Vault Boys.

The teams’ first series was in Primm for a four-game set from May 13-16. Vault-Tec took the first two games 2-0, 2-0, but Novac won the next two 4-3, 9-3. In the first game, Willie Miller pitched 6.2 shutout innings before giving the ball up to his bullpen. They delivered by not allowing a base runner in the final 2.1 innings for the shutout. In the second game, Orlando Stephens pitched 6 shutout innings, and three relievers combined to complete the final three innings for the second-straight shutout victory. The Dinosaurs then swung momentum their way in the third game. Novac scored three runs in the first innings and held on to win the game. In the fourth game, Novac found its offense, exploding for nine runs, including a bases clearing double by pinch hitter Jeremy Stover that turned a close game into a blowout.

The second series took place July 22-25 in Novac. In the first game, the Dinosaurs won 8-7 on a game-winning RBI sacrifice fly by Bobby McGuire in the bottom of the ninth. McGuire finished with three RBI in the game to lead the Dinosaurs. Vault-Tec won the second game 4-3 thanks to Tony Donnellson’s MVP performance. Donnellson was 3 for 3 with a double, two RBI, a run, and two walks in the game. Game three was all Novac, winning 12-2. Rookie Francisco Riveria led the Dinosaurs’ charge by going 2 for 5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. Bruce Wilson pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The final game was a 3-2 win for Bob Ward and Novac. Ward pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

For the season series, Novac’s Bob Seymour was the most outstanding hitter, batting .382 with three home runs and 4 RBI. Seymour batted .331 on the season with 30 doubles, a triple, 16 homers, 60 RBI, 63 runs, 38 walks, and 40 strikeouts.

Vault-Tec’s best offensive performer against the Dinosaurs was Donnellson. He batted .280 in the eight-game series with two home runs and eight RBI. For the season Donnellson was a .318 hitter with 22 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 53 RBI, 54 runs, 34 walks, 43 strikeouts, and 11 stolen bases.

Wilson was the most impressive pitcher in the series, going 2-0 in 15.2 innings pitched with a 2.30 ERA in two starts versus the Vault Boys. Wilson was not as impressive against the rest of the league, though, going 7-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 104 innings pitched on the season.

No pitcher was particularly great for Vault-Tec in the season series, but Willie Miller was 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 12.2. innings pitched. He also added 11 strikeouts, which finished second in the series only to Novac’s Ward.
It’s time for the playoffs to begin. Before that, a prediction: Novac 4, Vault-Tec 2.

[Tyke]

Looking forward to this series - pulling for the Dinosaurs, naturally, as Vault-Tec are only there by default, due to Goodsprings injury issues!!!

[StLee]

Nelson Pitches Eight Scoreless Innings, Vault-Tec Wins 4-3

Tom Nelson has been a steady performer all season for Vault-Tec, finishing the regular season with a 13-7 record (tied for second in wins) and 3.42 ERA in 139.1 innings pitched this season.

What he had not done all season was to finish a game with only two outings of eight innings pitched. However, Nelson pitched eight shutout innings, allowing only two hits, in Game One of the first round series at Novac.

In the ninth, he finally looked vulnerable, giving up one run on one hit with two outs in the ninth. After Nelson allowed a two-out single to the Dinosaurs’ Cecil Houghton, he was replaced by Brian Sykes. Sykes only faced one batter, but allowed a double to Bob Seymour. John Rock then came in to try to finish the game. However, Novac’s Francisco Riveria tripled to cut the lead to 4-2 and David Lopez singled in Riveria to cut the score to 4-3 with the winning run at the plate. After a Bobby McGuire single put the tying run in scoring position, Posedion Last Name grounded out to finish the game.

The game was scoreless through five innings before a big inning swung the momentum the Vault Boys’ way. With Novac starting pitcher Fernando Ramirez pitching a great game with only one hit allowed, it looked like the Vault Boys would have a tough game, but Ramirez started to waver in the sixth. Raul Castro led off the inning with a double, followed by Arlen Vaughn walking on a full count. Nelson then moved the players over with a sacrifice bunt. After Angel Serrano was intentionally walked, Ramirez walked in a run to make it 1-0. James Sexton then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Vaughn. Joseph Dillon followed with a two-RBI single to score Serrano and give Vault-Tec a 3-0 lead. MC Mack Walt Williams then singled to score Tony Donnellson, and the Vault Boys took that 4-0 lead into the ninth.

Nelson (1-0) was the game MVP. His final stat lines read 8.2 innings pitched with one run allowed on three hits and nine strikeouts. John Rock earned the save despite allowing a run on three hits in the bottom of the ninth.

Ramirez (0-1) suffered the loss for Novac. He gave up four runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in six innings pitched. Dennis Wallace finished the game for the Dinosaurs, pitching three innings and allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts.

[StLee]

Stephens Keeps Dinos in Check, Vault-Tec with 2-0 Series Lead

Two games in, and the Vault-Tec pitching staff has gotten the best of the Novac batters. This time Orlando Stephens pitched seven solid innings, and the Vault Boys offense did their job in an 8-2 game two victory.

The series now heads to Primm, where Vault-Tec can put the series out of reach.

Stephens was the game’s MVP, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate with an RBI. Brian Sykes came on in relief to pitch the final two innings, giving up one run on one hit with a walk and strikeout in two innings pitched.

Bob Ward suffered the loss for the Dinosaurs. Despite leading the Mojave Baseball League in the regular season with a 1.60 ERA, Ward allowed five runs on 10 hits in 6.2 innings to suffer the loss.

The Vault Boys jumped out to a quick lead in the game. With two outs in the first inning, James Sexton doubled, followed by an RBI single by Joseph Dillon.
Vault-Tec again had a two-out rally in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Arlen Vaughn, Stephens, and Angel Serrano had consecutive singles for the lead. Serrano had the RBI, with Vaughn scoring.

In the fourth inning, Vault-Tec was able to extend its lead further. Anthony Savage led off with a walk, followed by a one-out double by Vaughn to move him to third. Stephens then hit an RBI groundout to score Savage.

Novac finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Noel Hanbridge and Cecil Houghton led off the inning with back-to-back singles, with Hanbridge advancing to third on Houghton’s single. Bob Seymour then hit into a 6-4-3 double play, allowing Hanbridge to score and cut the lead to 3-1.

Vault-Tec extended its lead even more in the seventh inning with yet another two-out rally. Serrano hit a one-out single and advanced on a stolen base. With two outs, Sexton doubled for the second time to drive in Serrano. Dillon then hit an RBI single to score Sexton. Ward was then pulled at this point, trailing 5-1.

In the ninth inning, the Vault Boys put the game out of reach. As you can probably guess, their runs came on a two-out rally. Bob Newsome started the ninth inning for Novac. Serrano led off with a single and was then out on a fielder’s choice by Tony Donnellson. After Donnellson advanced on a ground out, Dillon walked on four straight pitches. MC Mack Walt Williams then followed with a two-RBI double to make the game 7-1. After Claw Dog McKinney came in for the Dinosaurs, Savage hit an RBI single for an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.

Novac was able to scrap together a run in the ninth. Poseidon Last Name drew a two-out walk against Sykes. Ted Snyder then followed with an RBI double. Clyde Waller followed with a ground out to end the game.