NABO48 w/ MLBPA ... Updated for '26

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St Louis wins the division for the 3rd straight season, and 7 times over 9 years. The Shires have qualified for the playoffs 7 times, more than any other franchise in the West .... but have not yet even made the NABO series, let alone win the darn thing.

One would expect major market Windy City to dominate the division along with St Louis, but it has been the small market Oklahoma Outlaws that have filled that role. Oklahoma won the division in 2031 and qualified for the playoffs 2 other times ... including s postseasons where they eliminated the rival St Louis squad.

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Texas faltered down the stretch and Mexico City took the division and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Matadors hope that a deep playoff run will energize the fans in NABOs largest market.

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It looks like Briseno will top teammate Lopez in the MVP race, to win back to back MVP awards. Indiana introduces a 3rd MVP candidate, giving them 4 potential candidates (Wiggins had an off year).

I have always added WAR (Neutral) and WPA (context specific) to rank the candidates in the order I will vote for them in, at the end of the season.

OOTP selects the actual winner.

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Malone surges in the 2nd half to overtake Jane Jr in the MVP race.

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If one thought Briseno had a dominant season in the MVP race, Crosson did that one better in the CYA chase. The distance between Crosson and 2nd best candidate is TWICE as great as the distance between the 2nd best candidate and the 9th best candidate.

After finishing 2nd in CYA last year, Crosson left nothing to chance and dominated the league like very few ever have.

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In a close CYA race between Lara and Suarez, it looks like the 2x All-Star closer should win the West CYA in his 1st season as a starting pitcher.

Edit: I did not change the headers from the MVP format when doing the "CYA Points". WPA should be bWAR. I add fWAR (FIP-based war) and rWAR (runs allowed based WAR, or rally WAR for you old-timers) for CYA Pts, giving the pitcher some credit for runs allowed results. It is my preferred method.

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St Louis leads NABO in fan attendance.

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Merrill and DeLauter are off the IL, and onto the postseason roster. Credit to Esparza and Rivera for filling in admirably.

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GAME OF THE MONTH - SEPTEMBER 2034

With a 3 game lead in the division, St Louis hosts Oklahoma for a 4-game series. The Shires need to win 1 game to lock up the division and a 1st round bye. Both teams qualify for the postseason, with Oklahoma being the highest rated wild card team.

Kemp Alderman's 7th inning triple seals the deal for the Shires.

The Shires rest their key position players for the last 3 games.

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Not going to go through each batter this time ... you guys can read ... and I'm excited to get on with the playoffs.

I will say Nelson Rada has to be one of the greatest 2nd half acquisitions leading to a postseason appearance in NABO history.

Trading away two minor league players that do not fit in StL future, the Shires got Rada to fill in for an injured Merrill and DeLauter ... and he produced 2.4 WAR in 1/3rd of a season for StL ... possibly the team's best player over that span.

It's an interesting situation ... Rada is a FA at the end of the season and is asking for 17M/y for 4 years ... while StL will be paying Merrill 38M per year over the same span.

It's tempting to try and trade Merrill in the offseason to free up budget room, even if a couple of prospects need to be thrown into the mix ... to retain Rada, a speedy CF wearing #51 in StL (Willie McGee everyone) ... I'm not convinced that would be all that realistic. Merrill still has value as an above average CF and GG caliber defender, but it would probably take more prospects than I am willing to trade ... just for a feel good story, or a storyline for next year's dynasty reports. We'll see ... postseason performance can change narratives one way or the other.

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Lara will be a FA after next season. Realistically, a 27yo SP winning the CYA and leading his team to the postseason would get an obvious extension. Lara is wanting 44M/y for 5-6 seasons ... which is probably fair.

I'm going to wait and see how he does in his 2nd season as a SP. If he reasonably repeats his 2034 performance and/or has postseason heroics ... it would likely be unrealistic to let him walk.

If StL does let him walk, hitting him with a QO should result in another 1st round pick.

Honestly, I'm looking to splash the draft every year, and not really seek to extend anyone past their arbitration years ... as sort of a new challenge after playing ~30 seasons as the Mesa Monsters and St Louis Shires GM. We'll see.

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Since this is the 10th NABO Season, let's look back at the postseasons of the past.

Acuna Jr and Clayton Kershaw win 2 close matches on their way to dismantling the Montreal Mounties in NABO's 1st World Series.

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San Diego makes it back to the WLCS and knocks off St Louis before dropping the WS to Roki Sasaki and the Orlando Orcas.

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Phoenix goes on an improbable postseason run ... winning all 3 series 4-3 ... before running into emerging juggernaut, Montreal, led by the best player in the game, CF Julio Rodriguez.

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San Diego makes it to the WLCS for the 3rd time in 4 years, but is dropped by Elly De La Cruz and the Monterrey Monsters .... who lose to Montreal, winning back to back NABO titles in a matchup between players that will both win 4+ MVPs.

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Mile High bounces St Louis in the wildcard round.

San Diego makes it back to the WS for the 2nd time.

But the story of the season is Jacksonville winning the title with their young middle infield combo of Arias and Holliday.

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With many of annual contenders missing the postseason, Mile High, led by Masyn Winn goes on an unlikely run to the title.

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In the offseason, NY signs SS Elly De La Cruz and the annual MVP candidate leads the Naturals to their 1st title in NABO against an underdog Phoenix squad.