A fictional league in a fictional country

[Bliketa]

2001 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Only one year after their rivals won their second championship, Linga Bay took back its advance with a third champion ring. Boss Oberdan Diaz completely put the team on the right tracks since his appointment 10 years ago. RF Alex Montes just delivered his best season last year at 27. People will expect more from him now. He batted for .305/.362/.465 with 188 H, 24 HR, 108 RBI, 6.0 WAR

The Big Green Machine almost started the new century perfectly. Green District only stumble on the last step last season, they still have the firepower to contend for the title this season. In Green District since his debuts in the league in 1992, SP Leen Roumen pitched li he never pitched in the 2000 season. The Dutchman won his first Golden Ball with 17-5, 1.92 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 205 K, .227 BABIP in 238.2 IP. He led the league in ERA, WHIP and BABIP.

Has the time to shine finally come for Kuronga ? The franchise established in 1988 aimed to become the most successfull team in its city. With the Black&Yellows being at the bottom of the league, the Bears can now aim for the championship. Drafted in 1995 as the 6th pick overall, 2B Friedrich Kircher has been a key player since 1996, winning 3 Sapphire Awards and 2 Ruby Awards and 3 ASG selections. Last season, he had .271/.350/.445, 166 H, 24 HR, 98 RBI, 5.7 WAR.

Impressive 3rd place for Hinterlands last year. The Rhinos was led by their newly acquired ace, Tobias Tengonciang. The Filipino led the league in K for the 7th straight season with 345, in K/9 for the 6th time with 13.0 and in WAR for the 3rd time with 7.4. For his first year in Unkünft, Tengonciang also had 17-10 record, 2.68 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 59 BB, .268 BABIP in 238.1 IP

After a couple of average seasons, it looks like the Nang Nius are now ready to seek to end their 14 years-drought without a championship. Last season, Rio McGrath had put unbelievable numbers : .279/.428/.600, 149 H, 48 HR, 105 RBI, 106 R, 134 BB, 156 SO, 8.8 WAR. He was the leader in R, HR, BB, OBP, SLB, & OPS and his season has set the record for most HR in a single season.

Missing the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker, Lingalia has been quite average for the three last seasons. The front office struggles to build a winning team.2B Bobby Diaz didn't have any opportunities when he was playing for the Diamonds, nonetheless he has improved as a Green Goblins player. In 2000, he batted for .273/.331/.399 with 171 H, 17 HR, 79 RBI, 5.4 WAR

Transactions/ FA :

- Claude Muller, 23 yo LF, signed as a FA (BUL --> RHI) a contract of 59 800 000 € in 8 y
- Fernando Nieto, 33 yo RF, signed as a FA (SEAG --> GRE) a contract of 13 200 000 € in 2 y
- Anthony Gill, 30 yo RP, signed as a FA (BEA --> SST) a contract of 2 320 000 € in 1 y
- Eskinder Aziz, 25 yo SS, signed as a FA (LGG --> GDD) a minor league contract
- Jakub Novak, 25 yo CF, signed as a FA (BOB --> THU) a contract of 102 100 000 € in 8 y
- Matous Kovar, 27 yo RF, signed as a FA (WHE --> FRE) a contract of 68 900 000 € in 8 y
- Rhys Lawless, 32 yo LF, declined a contract and signed as a FA(THU --> TEX(MLB)) a contract of 37 400 000 € in 6 y
- Enrique Chango, 29 yo CL, signed as a FA (MAP --> LNN) a contract of 10 800 000 € in 3 y
- Henry Romero, 31 yo C, signed as a FA (BEA --> SST) a contract of 44 800 000 € in 4 y
- Kealani Marawarpina, 27 yo SS, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (SST --> SEAG) a contract of 38 100 000 € in 4 y
- Ricky Leyva, 34 yo RF, signed as a FA (GDD --> LNN) a contract of 47 600 000 € in 3 y
- Tom Chittum, 26 yo 3B, was traded (ARI(MLB) --> LGG) for RP W.Escobar, RP L.Picotti with 1 year of contract left.

Managerial changes :

LNN The collaboration between Ivan Julio and the Nang Nius ended. Ricardo Coronado was appointed to take the position.
THU Luis Mercedes Terrero was fired from Wayt Tides. The former bench coach of the Silver Eagles Marty Martinez will be his successor.
BUL Edgar Camaal only last two seasons as the manager of La Croisée. Newcomer in the league Gustavo Ferrer will replace him.
LGG Robert Salas was sacked after only two years. Rainer Diaz will try to do better than him.
GDD Jason White is no longer the manager of the Golden Dragons anymore. His bench coach Carlos Melo will take over the job.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
RHI Andres Fernandez (2000-)
THU Marty Martinez (2001-)
LNN Ricardo Coronado (2001-)
TOW Eric Jeffer (2001-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
SAL Ivan Leon (1999-)
GRE Enmanuel Rodriguez (1999-)
TSH Carlos Borrego(2000-)
JÄG Tadesse Malot (2001-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
B&Y Urtilan Agyeman (2000-)
BEA Elias Cortez (2000-)
BUL Gustavo Ferrer (2001-)
BUC Zhong-xian Zhan (2001-)

BOB Santo Vasquez (1999-)
SEAG Cristhian Lugo (1999-)
JDT Gerardo Juarez (2000-)
GDD Carlos Melo (2001-)
LGG Rainer Diaz (2001-)
IRW Wayto Estrada (2001-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

The Nang Nius completely dominated the Metro division this year. Acquired during the offseason from the Golden Dragons, Ricky Leyva proved that he is worth the investment as he won the Golden Glove. 19 games behind them, stood City, which was chased by Hinterlands. Wayt Tides finished 4th, while the Freros disappointed with a 5th place. New franchise Lutia lost exactly 100 games.

Green District also secured the division title quite easily. While being 33, Moussier De Jong showed why he is still an important part of the Expendables' rotation. A tiebreaker was played to decide which franchise would grab the second playoff berth between Pinehearth and Narballo. This ended with the Salamanders' win, they will play postseason for the first time. Stonegap and Orange played close to .500, while expansion team Hessia finished last.

Sun League

Tight race between four franchise in the ColVal: the two from Boubi Town, Lingalia and the Golden Dragons. In the end, the Green Goblins won the division with 3 more wins than the Jade Tigers. Tom Chittum was just acquired in a trade with the D-Backs, and he perfectly adapted to the LBL, as he was awarded the SL Golden Glove. The Silver Eagles and the Golden Dragons finished respectively 5 and 6 games behind the division champions. Wayt County managed to do even worse than the expansion team, Maykrafth, as they lost 104 games.

The division title was played at the last game : the Sea Stars was crown with only one more win than Kuronga. SP Bob Sloan impressed the observators as he perfectly accomplished his role in Linga Bay's rotation. The Diamonds were third and Lingalie North finally achieved a winning season after 5 disappointing years. Briggs was absolutely outclassed by the other teams and finished with the worst record in the whole league.

• Draft :
  

As an expansion franchise, Briggs was designated randomly to pick first in this year's draft. They choose a pitcher, Albert LLoyd, who was born in Lingalia.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Omar Alvarez(SAL), N'Golo Fenton(RHI), Claude Muller(RHI), Jakub Novak(THU) in the ML squad.
Return of Luis Loeza(FRE), Bayisa Adesola(LNN), Wei-sng Nao(WHE), Enrique Chango(LNN), Alex Nunez(LNN) after an absence.
Leen Roumen(GRE), Ricky Leyva(LNN), Soichi Tsuchiya(TSH), Caspar Olinger(GRE), Daniel Collado(LNN), Danny Rocha(CITY), Fergus Jarratt(FRE), Igider Garane(GRE), Rio McGrath(LNN), Matous Kovar(FRE), Tobias Tengonciang(RHI), Thomas Bonhomme(MAP), Miguel Estrada(WHE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Dean Cohen(GDD), Danny Miles Jr(GDD), Bretislav Jerabek(BEA)
Comeback of Bob Sloan(SST), Zhi-peng Li(DIA), Yoshio Inada(B&Y), Rudolf Palenik(DIA), Asaru Belqola(BEA) in the team.
This year again Estuo Yamazaki(BEA), Kealani Marawarpina(SEAG), Pascal Fontaine(SEAG), Anthony Gill(SST), Heller Glass(B&Y), Kwang-sub Son(BEA), Ruben Zamora(DIA), Friedrich Kircher(BEA), Henry Romero(SST), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Victor Morales(SEAG) will be part of the SL squad.

This year, the ASG was played in L'Amphithéatre, La Croisée's venue. The Moon League squad won over its Sun League counterpart to league the clash 7 to 5.

[Bliketa]

• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

SAL(ML Seed #4) vs SST(SL Seed #1)
CITY(ML Seed #3) vs BEA(SL Seed #2)
LNN(ML Seed #1) vs JDT(SL Seed #4)
GRE(ML Seed #2) vs LGG(SL Seed #3)

For their first playoffs participation, Pinehearth surprised the reigning champions, with a 3-1 victory in the first stage of the playoffs.
Like last year, City and Kuronga are opponents in a QFS. And the series was a a complete copycat as City defeated Kuronga on the same score as last year.
Another rematch from last year, as the Nang Nius face the Jade Tigers. This time, the franchise from Lingalie City was the one to win the series, with a sweep.
The Big Green Machine dominated another team that plays in green, Lingalia, to advance to the next round. Thus, all SL teams were defeated and a ML team will lay hands on the trophy.

Linga Semi-Final Series
SAL vs CITY
LNN vs GRE

The newcomer Pinehearth is opposed to the unlucky City. For the fans of the latter, the time has finally come to access the LBS, something they have been waiting for since the franchise foundation. However, nothing went as expected, indeed Pinehearth won in Game 7, giving City's fans another disappointment.
The other SFS was a classic confrontation between Green District and the Nang Nius. The franchise from Lingalie City has a slight advantage, as it was the best team in the regular season. But they weren't enough to stop the Green Fever to return to the LBS.

Linga Baseball Series
SAL vs GRE

It's the second LBS involving two franchises from the Outlands division, after the 1988 edition. Pinehearth surprised the whole league with their performance. Green District dominated them during the regular season and it intends to do it again in the LBS. No more surprise this year, as Pinehearth was defeated 4-1. Thus, Green District won their 7th championship !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: It might be difficult to believe it was Ricardo Coronado's first year as the manager of the Nang Nius, as his team was perfectly organized during the regular season and only fell against the future winners. His work is rewarded with the ML Manager of the Year award.

SL: Oberdan Diaz's team has failed to defend its crown, however it was again one of the best in the leagues. Diaz keep showing that he is one of the best, if not the best, managers of all-time.

[Bliketa]

• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : N'Boubi Specials (10th)
- l-LL Cyan : Arubastos Rockets (1st)
- l-DL Sapphir: Briggs Sailors (8th)
- l-DL Marine: Maykrafth Iron Horses (9th)

Playoffs :

Arubastos won its division for his first year in the league. It's the only expansion team that clinched a playoff berth. Chefecia accessed the LFS by defeating Emerald and Briggs. However they fell to N'Boubi, the defending champion, which swept Lutia, and defeated Maykrafth in the earlier stages.

r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Maskov Quest (1st)
- r-RL Heart : Arboria Herons (1st)
- r-BL Spade: Massia Guardians (4th)
- r-BL Club: Tsahd Majestics (1st)

Playoffs :

All four expansion teams qualified for postseason. 3 of them won their division : Maskov, Tsahd and Arboria. Nonetheless the other team, Tchopr, was able to go through all stages to meet with Tsahd in the Onion Series. These two cities are local rivals, located in Wayt County. In a fiercely disputed series, Tchopr was crowned champions in his first year of existence, tying Ape Rhill's record.

• MLB playoffs:

For this second edition of the MLB postseason with the Division Series, last year runner-ups the D-Backs won its first WS against the Yankees (like in real life ). On their way, the D-Backs defeated the Dodgers and the Marlins.

• International Championship Series:

In Pittsburgh, Green District won the ICS 4-2 against the D-Backs. It has won all of their 6th last ICS, and is the second best team in this competition.

• HoF Induction :

Three players joined the HoF in the 2001 class, all on their first ballot :

- SP Cesar Gomez (98.6%) the legendary pitcher motsly pitched for Linga Bay (76-88) where he won 2 Golden Balls (in 81 and 84) and his only championship (79). The "Road Runner" also noticeously played in Lingalia (89-93) and in Lingalie North (94) where he won his third Golden Ball. On top of that, the Aruban pitcher was elected 4 times to the ASG (who started in 88). His lifetime stats are 272-130, 2.92 ERA, 3255 K, 918 BB, 1.11 WHIP, .279 BABIP, 88.4 WAR in 3635.1 IP,

- CL Alfredo Sifuentes (97.8 %) is one of the best player that played for the Freros (79-93). He also played two seasons for other teams, the Nang Nius (in 94) and Narballo (94-95). The Dominican player won 4 championships with the Freros (81, 85, 90, 92), 2 Silver Ball (82 & 85) and 4 ASG selections. Throughout his career, Sifredo has compiled 411 SV, 73-59, 2.47 ERA, 1399 K, 504 BB, 1.15 WHIP, .286 BABIP, 33.1 WAR in 1077.0 IP

- CL Kei Shibuya (74,8 %) played for the Jade Tigers (77-84) and City (85-95). He is inducted as a City player. "The Artist" was elected 4 times in the ASG and was one of the best closer in the league for a couple of years. The Japanese pitcher finished his career with 346 SV, 92-95, 3.09 ERA, 1339 K, 543 BB, 1.27 WHIP, .294 BABIP, 21.1 WAR in 1251.0 IP