October 8, 2033: ALDS Game 2
 

Well it's not going be exactly like 2031 or 2032...

https://i.imgur.com/Hd6LZPs.png

The Rays finally broke through for a Game 2 ALDS win after losing the pivotal game in each of the last two seasons with a 4-0 win over the Angels. Nate Schultz got the start and he didn't have his best stuff but he gutted his way through 6 innings despite walking 4, hitting a man, and only getting 4 strikeouts. A couple of double plays and and some clutch pitches by Schultz kept the Angels off the board as they were at least in this one nominally throughout. Tim Siqueiros was flat-out brilliant with 3 Ks in the 7th, Jordan Diaz made things interesting as usual by putting the first two men on but getting a couple of big Ks of his own, and Kikuo Kawase continued to struggle with lefties as he allowed a double and a single but struck out the three righties he faced to end the game. The offense struck early again if not as often, with Dayle Jenkins having another big day including a 4th-inning homer. Vlad had a big RBI single in the first and after an Angel error extended the 3rd inning Omar Rodriguez came through with an RBI single. Rodriguez was in there since Bo Angeac's DtD back spasms are described as "moderate" and the hope is we get through the ALDS without him and then have him back for the ALCS. Leo Ortega will face Christian Little in Anaheim in two days' time with a chance for the sweep.

https://i.imgur.com/c2Rxsn7.png

In the other ALDS, the Rangers got even with Detroit thanks to a 9-1 rout with Bobby Owens coming through big for Texas again with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Owens was the Rangers' top hitter in their championship run last year, hitting .389 with 5 HR and 14 RBI in 15 games, and he's picking up where he left off. Wil Diaz was dominant as well, going 6.2 4 1 1 0 6 for the win.

October 9, 2033: NLDS Game 3
 

https://i.imgur.com/wojhxiE.png

One LA team down 2-0 stays alive in the series at home as the Dodgers took a 5-3 with Fernando Tatis Jr's 7th-inning sac fly breaking a 3-3 tie. Meanwhile despite getting 9 strikeouts in 4 1/3, Marc Wagner was bombed by the Cardinals for four homers (recall that that was a problem with him in his Rays days) and St. Louis took a 2-1 series lead behind yet another former Ray, Jeremy Bienick.

Meanwhile to no one's surprise:

https://i.imgur.com/5ho5D8E.png

Coming soon to a Rays lineup near you.

October 10, 2033: ALDS Game 3 & NLDS Game 4
 

How sweep it is...

https://i.imgur.com/C6KnTVM.png

The Rays took their first step toward exorcising the ghosts of 2031 and 2032 by sweeping the Angels thanks to a 6-2 win tonight and advancing to the ALCS against either Texas or Detroit. From 2023-2030 the ALDS was an afterthought, a speed bump on the road to a championship, but after bowing out at the first stage despite dominant regular seasons the past two years, it meant something again. Tonight it was a dominant performance from Leo Ortega and a big home run from a relatively unlikely source which propelled them to victory. Ortega didn't allow a hit until the 4th, and didn't allow another one until Francisco Lindor led off the 8th with a solo homer which ended his day. Ortega was 7 2 1 1 2 4 with the quirky thing the fact that he walked 2 batters, something he did in two of his first three starts and didn't do again the rest of the season (he only walked 18 all year). Meanwhile the Rays were up against their former long-time ace Christian Little, the guy they'd normally be relying on this time of year and who won their only playoff game last season. But the one flaw in Little's game has been the gopher ball and Alex Buitrago, getting a start because Bo Angeac is hurting, took Little deep in his first-ever postseason at-bat with a man on in the 2nd inning to make it 2-0 Tampa Bay. And four innings later longtime former teammates Nate Clark and Rodolfo Rivas each took Little pitches into the seats at the Big A to make it 4-0 and put the game largely out of reach. Dayle Jenkins added an RBI single and Clark a sac fly in the 7th to make the lead commanding, and after Mike Wherry put two men on with two out in the 8th after coming in for Ortega, Tim Siqueiros got a big strikeout of Mike Trout to nip any thoughts of an Angels comeback in the bud, and he stayed on to finish the game even though he was touched for a homer. So now it's wait-and-see as to who comes to Publix Park in several days and we'll have the big 3 of Aparicio, Schultz and Ortega, who combined to allow LA only 2 runs in this series, waiting for them.

In the other games:

https://i.imgur.com/GQesJ4T.png

Advantage Texas in the other ALDS as Edwin Harty outdueled Shohei Ohtani, who just signed a big 2-year, $48.4M extension with Detroit. Ohtani wasn't bad, but Harty was better and Edgar Medina was 3-3 with an RBI to pace the Ranger offense. Meanwhile both NLDSes will go the distance as Mike Kovalak was 4-5 with an RBI to lead Washington to a Game 4 win while Colby Halter was brilliant for the Dodgers and Fernando Tatis Jr had a huge 3-run homer as LA seeks to come back from 0-2 down in the series.

October 11, 2033: ALDS Game 4
 

We're going the distance!

https://i.imgur.com/R4eoISc.png

High drama in Detroit as Sam Brewer singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th and then stole second and third before scoring on a Pat Rose single to give the Tigers a 2-1 walk-off win and force a 5th and deciding game in Texas. Detroit knuckleballer Derek DeGolyer and Tony Cardoso had an epic pitchers' duel before the Rangers' bullpen blinked first.

October 12, 2033: NLDS Game 5
 

Congrats to the Dodgers, coming all the way back from down 0-2:

https://i.imgur.com/elXZY3l.png

And congrats to the Cardinals, who won Game 5 thanks to a pair of 2-run homers from old friend Jasson Dominguez:

https://i.imgur.com/WX9Ss0o.png

October 13, 2033: ALDS Game 5
 

And it will be Rays-Rangers again, as it was in 2028-2030:

https://i.imgur.com/wSmeyn1.png

Interestingly enough, Texas used both of their aces to get through this game, Victor Presas and Wil Diaz. So we don't see either of them until at least Game 3, which works fine for me.

October 14, 2033: NLCS Game 1
 

October 15, 2033: ALCS Game 1 & NLCS Game 2
 

Let's go...

https://i.imgur.com/rtY9Acr.png

The Rays have been known this season for their relentless record-setting offense but so far in this postseason it's been the pitching that's carried them and today was a great example as Andy Aparicio and two relievers combined on a 3-0 shutout of Texas to open the ALCS. Aparicio was dealing with baserunners all game, never getting a 1-2-3 inning but limited the damage going 6.1 7 0 0 1 7. Tim Siqueiros was his usual dominant self over 1 2/3 and speaking of dominant, Kikuo Kawase came in and struck out the side in the 9th for his first MLB postseason save. Kawase will definitely be a weapon in this series as Texas has an almost exclusive righty-hitting lineup. Meanwhile the bats generated just enough offense against Edwin Harty, a pretty darn good pitcher. A two-out rally in the 3rd produced a pair of runs when Jaiden Hardaway singled and stole second, scored on Dayle Jenkins' double, who in turn scored on Victor de Jesus's double. Vlad Guerrero Jr hit his first postseason homer as a Ray in the 4th to make it 3-0 and that's where we finished. Nate Schultz will look to give the Rays a 2-0 advantage tomorrow.

https://i.imgur.com/pA60WPp.png

The Dodgers evened it up as I have a feeling this series is going to go 7 games. Today's game turned in the 7th inning when former Ray Daniel Espino walked consecutive batters with the bases loaded in the 7th to put the Dodgers up 5-3.

October 16, 2033: ALCS Game 2
 

https://i.imgur.com/bOFQdQk.png

Once again it was the pitching to the rescue against a Texas team that probably has the best offense this side of the Rays as Nate Schultz got the job done in a 4-2 win over the Rangers to go up 2-0 in the ALCS. It didn't look good early for Schultz when Texas took a 2-0 lead thanks to former Rays Carlos Perez (an RBI double) and Wander Franco (a homer). But the key in all that was in the 2nd as Perez's double also put men on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out but Schultz pitched out of it without allowing further damage. He then settled in to go 7 3 2 2 3 5 and got a couple of big double plays. Jordan Diaz then took over in the 8th with Tim Siqueiros unavailable, and as always he put a couple of men on but he too got a big double play to keep the game at 3-2. And Kikuo Kawase was excellent again, pitching around a 2-base error from Bo Angeac for another save. Like yesterday the offense was fairly muted but Nate Clark delivered the big blow of the game, a 3-run homer in the 4th to put the Rays ahead to stay 3-2. Victor de Jesus added some insurance in the 8th when he doubled in Jaiden Hardaway, who had walked and stole second. Leo Ortega will get the call in a couple of days in Arlington to try and give the Rays a near-insurmountable 3-0 lead.

October 17, 2033: NLCS Game 3
 

October 18, 2033: ALCS Game 3 & NLCS Game 4
 

Almost there...

https://i.imgur.com/5wPSGRm.png

For the first time this postseason the offense had to pick up the pitching as the Rays came back twice to defeat Texas 6-5 and take an overwhelming 3-0 lead in the ALCS. After they got on the board with a Luis Corpus 2-run double in the 4th and a Victor de Jesus homer in the 6th to go up 3-1, it looked like they'd follow their familiar formula, especially with Leo Ortega on the mound holding Texas to one run and 3 hits through 5 innings. But after getting the first out of the 6th, Ortega then suddenly started getting hit hard, allowing 4 straight hits to put Texas up 4-3. And ex-Ranger Jim Connors allowed a hit to score another run and the Rays found themselves behind 5-3. So the offense went to work. Corpus singled for his second hit, Jaiden Hardaway laced a triple to the RF corner to score Corpus, and Dayle Jenkins singled Hardaway home to tie it up. After Connors got through the 7th, Nate Clark greeted Rangers closer Jeff Lavender to lead off the 8th with a majestic blast to RF to hit his second game-winning homer in consecutive games to go up 6-5, and Tim Siqueiros took it from there, getting the Rangers on 10 pitches in the 8th and staying on to strike out the side in the 9th to pick up his first MLB postseason save. Kikuo Kawase was unavailable, and my faith in Jordan Diaz has wavered so I stuck with Siqueiros and it paid off. Those two will be available to close out Game 4 if needed, though. Speaking of Game 4, Nate Thompson will get the ball with a chance to close it out in his first postseason action but the Rangers are countering with their ace Wil Diaz. I'm not terribly optimistic but we have a 3-0 series lead to play with.

https://i.imgur.com/8QkJ6gy.png

My prediction of this series going 7 games is looking better and better as the Cardinals jumped all over Mike "Judge" Wampler to even the series at 2 and ensure a return to St. Louis.

October 19, 2033: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 5
 

Oops...

https://i.imgur.com/EmfJyEj.png

4 outs away from a sweep and a trip to the World Series for the first time in three years, and the Rays suffered a massive bullpen meltdown to blow a 6-2 lead and lose 7-6 to keep Texas alive in the ALCS. Jordan Diaz started the collapse by giving up 3 runs in the 8th on a double and an Edgar Medina 2-run homer. Kikuo Kawase got the final out but not after walking a man and then had nothing in the 9th, giving up a leadoff triple and then a walk. He got an grounder at the drawn-in infield for one out, but Adrian Ramos, who just signed a big contract extension with Texas, drilled a 2-run single to walk it off for Texas and improbably keep them alive. It all began so well as I'm sure nobody had "Nate Thompson outpitches Wil Diaz" on their bingo card but that's exactly what happened as Thompson was excellent, retiring the first 10 Rangers and going 6 3 2 2 2 4. Jim Connors had an easy 7th before the walls fell. Offensively they did their thing with solo homers from Vlad Guerrero Jr., Ricky Widmar and Jaiden Hardaway and a big triple from Victor de Jesus in the 4th, but it turned out to be in vain. The only consolation is the knowledge that Texas has to do this 3 more times, starting against Andy Aparicio tomorrow.

https://i.imgur.com/sMEmfra.png

The Dodgers got the big win in Game 5 to go up 3-2 behind Kyle Whitten (7 4 1 1 1 9) and the torrid HR bat of 39-year-old Joey Gallo, whose 3-run blast - his 7th of the postseason in 10 games - broke a 1-1 tie in the 6th.

October 20, 2033: ALCS Game 5
 

Well this was embarrassing...

https://i.imgur.com/XClppfU.png

Didn't expect anything like this, and suddenly we have a series on our hands. I don't think I've ever seen Andy Aparicio hit this hard and the game was over in the 2nd inning. There really isn't much to recap here except to note that going back to the 8th inning of Game 4, Texas scored 21 runs in the space of 9 innings. So here's hoping we're not the 2004 Yankees 2.0 as they too blew Game 4 and they never recovered. Nate Schultz gets the chance to right the ship in a couple of days at Publix Park.

October 21, 2033: NLCS Game 6
 

https://i.imgur.com/RgBUodG.png

So much for my prediction of 7 games. Congratulations to the Dodgers, back in the World Series for the first time since 2029 when they were swept by the Rays. Joey Gallo was named NLCS MVP although today it was a different former Ray (everyone's a former Ray, aren't they?) who led the charge as Lewin Diaz was 3-5 with a HR and 4 RBI. They'll await the Rays-Rangers winner.

October 22, 2033: ALCS Game 6
 

Bring on the Dodgers!

https://i.imgur.com/J3uVTc8.png

After suffering the most embarrassing postseason loss in club history, the Rays returned the favor by laying the wood to Texas to the tune of 13-1 to take the ALCS in 6 games and advance to the World Series against the Dodgers. It was over early as the Rays went up 10-1 by the 4th inning with the offense blasting 6 homers on the night, all of which you can look up above. Vlad's 2nd-inning shot calmed the nerves after the Game 4 meltdown and the Game 5 blowout loss, and he ended up being named MVP of the series. I would have given it to Nate Schultz, who was masterful again tonight and has won all 3 of his playoff starts with a 1.29 ERA, as he pitched 7 2-run innings for the win in Game 2 as well. It was also nice to give Kevin Kerstetter an opportunity to pitch in the postseason and his scoreless 9th meant he got to be on the bottom of the dogpile when the game ended. So next up are the Dodgers, and it looks like the rotation for the first 4 games will be Ortega-Aparicio-Schultz-Thompson, which should work out fine and will set up Schultz for a Game 7 if one is necessary.

October 25, 2033: World Series Game 1
 

One down, three to go...

https://i.imgur.com/KZrcxSc.png

The Rays picked up right where they left off in the ALCS with another ridiculous display of offense in a 14-3 drubbing of the Dodgers to take Game 1 of the World Series. They had 20 hits and drew 7 walks as the bases became their personal merry-go-round, and in all that offense there were only two homers. Everybody had at least one hit, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr who was the skunk at the party by whiffing 4 times. If the game wasn't over in the first inning, it was over by the second. Leo Ortega pitched well after putting the first two men of the game on, although he ran out of gas in the 6th and with the score what it was it's hard to say how much he was bearing down. Bob Sirna (who wild-pitched home an Ortega runner), Danny Medina and Kevin Kerstetter all pitched well in relief. The only consolation that the Dodgers can take from tonight is that it just counts as one loss.

October 26, 2033: World Series Game 2
 

Whoa, oh, we're halfway there....

https://i.imgur.com/1trZeCs.png

Once again the Rays jumped all over a Dodger starter in the early innings on their way to a comfortable win, tonight taking Game 2 of the World Series 8-2 and bringing a 2-0 lead with them to Chavez Ravine. Nate Clark stayed red-hot with a 2-run homer in the first inning and Vlad Guerrero Jr. turned a close 3-2 game into a much-less-close 6-2 one with a 3-run homer in the 3rd. All due respect to Omar Rodriguez and Alex Buitrago who had fine rookie seasons and have great futures ahead of them, but the addition of Vlad Jr. has taken this offense from ridiculous to ludicrous. This was all more than enough for Andy Aparicio, who bounced back from his bombing in Arlington to go 7 5 2 2 2 10. He only had one bad inning, the 2nd, when he walked a pair and then former Ray Brandon Marsh hit a 2-run double. But the turning point came on Nate Martin's single which saw Dayle Jenkins throw Marsh out at the plate to end the inning, keeping the Dodgers from grabbing the lead. After that it was smooth sailing for the Rays ace. With a day off coming up, Tim Siqueiros and Jordan Diaz got some work in with a scoreless 1-2-3 inning apiece. The Dodgers will now have the unenviable task of trying to get back in the series against our best pitcher this postseason, Nate Schultz, in two days' time.

October 28, 2033: World Series Game 3
 

One more to go...

https://i.imgur.com/gnqBvLF.png

The Rays rode five solo homers, another great start from Nate Schultz, and withstood another near-meltdown of the bullpen to hold onto a 5-4 win over the Dodgers and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the World Series. Nate Clark and Vlad Guerrero Jr. can't stop hitting home runs and each of them had a pair today, giving Clark 8 and Guerrero 6 this postseason. And in the 6th Bo Angeac got in on the fun when he went back-to-back-to-back with Clark and Guerrero's 2nd homers of the game, quite possibly the first time this has happened in a World Series game. Schultz meanwhile turned his usual 6-7 dominant innings, going to 4-0, 1.33 this postseason. But then the bullpen nearly squandered the entire 5-1 lead. Tim Siqueiros, a paragon of consistency this season and this playoff, didn't have it at all, giving up 2 hits, walking 3 and allowing 2 runs and he couldn't finish the 7th. Mike Wherry got his biggest postseason out by whiffing Joey Gallo with the bases loaded and the score 5-3 to finish the inning, and then with Jordan Diaz having lost my trust, Jim Connors came in for the 8th. He wasn't much better, giving up a run on 3 hits to allow the Dodgers within one run but at least he got out of his own mess. So Kikuo Kawase made his series debut in the 9th, and he's been anything than reliable lately himself so when he gave up a leadoff single to Fernando Tatis Jr it was "here we go again". But Kawase rebounded to whiff LA's top hitter Kevin Crater, the always dangerous Gallo, and former Ray and 2032 NL MVP Nick Gonzales to end the game and pretty much end the Dodgers' hopes of winning this series. Nate Thompson will once again try to close out a series, and if he pitches as well as he did against Texas he should have a pretty good chance.

October 29, 2033: World Series Game 4
 

WORLD CHAMPIONS!

https://i.imgur.com/g6sRFu6.png

For the seventh time in club history and first time in three years the Tampa Bay Rays are World Champions after a 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to sweep the 2033 World Series. It was the second time the Rays have swept the Dodgers in the Fall Classic after doing so in 2028. Tonight's win followed a familiar formula: jump out to a big early lead courtesy of the home run ball, then watch the bullpen make it far too interesting in the late innings. In fact Nate Thompson in particular had to be wondering whether another excellent start would be for naught after the Game 4 fiasco in Texas when LA kept scoring in the late innings. And after they built a 7-0 lead on a solo homer from Luis Corpus (his 1st of the postseason) and 3-run jacks from Dayle Jenkins and Rodolfo Rivas, and Thompson pitched 6 shutout innings, things got dicey quickly. Thompson walked the leadoff man in the 7th and departed for Mike Wherry, who only got one out and gave up a run. Jordan Diaz came in, and he's always a dice roll but he came up sevens when he struck out the final two in the 7th and the first two in the 8th, looking to have things under control at 7-2. But then he rolled snake eyes and couldn't get the third out as the next 3 reached for two more runs and Kikuo Kawase came in to get the final out. He did but not before giving up a hit and a walk to score another run and it was 7-5. And in the 9th it got way too interesting as Kawase put the first two men on. But he got Nick Gonzales to fly out, struck out Brandon Marsh and then induced a fly ball to left where World Series MVP Nate Clark made the catch and jubilation ensued.

2033-34 Offseason: November
 

First of all, let's have a look at that World Series trophy:

https://i.imgur.com/bvx9hBZ.png

Word from on high as to our payroll for 2034:

https://i.imgur.com/6TrwmKD.png

$160M is reasonable. Even at that, though, players will have to go as I've alluded to earlier:

https://i.imgur.com/l7hZiJ9.png

These are the salaries we'll have to deal with; everyone not listed is making the minimum. The projected total keeping everyone is $172.4M, so there will be deals and non-tenders. We exercised our team option on Kikuo Kawase, despite his late-season struggles 4.3 WAR relievers don't grow on trees.

We'll go to arbitration with Aparicio, de Jesus, Schultz and Jenkins for sure. Clark is gone, we acquired his replacement in Danny Ayala. We're either dealing or non-tendering Jordan Diaz and Jim Connors so there's $23.5M off the top. Rivas is still a bargain at $5.1M projected but Jon Jimenez is ready so the smart move is to deal Rivas for something pretty good. The big quandary is Ricky Widmar, projected for $20M. We don't have another Ricky Widmar in the pipeline, but there are three reasons he could be dealt:

1. He's getting pricey at $20M and this is his last year of team control anyway.
2. He can't stay healthy, he missed 40 games in 2032 and 110 last year.
3. We showed we could score a ton of runs without him in those 110 games and our defense is better off with a slick glove like Melvin Gutierrez.

There actually is a top-notch SS prospect in the pipeline. While he's not the all-around hitter Widmar is, he's a better hitter than Gutierrez and almost as slick a fielder (70). That would be Jeff Baez, as seen below:

https://i.imgur.com/Yk3Wrxm.png

The more I think about while typing all this out, I more I think we'll go with Baez as our SS next year. Also is Dane Ayers worth $6.5M? Like Widmar he missed most of this year but that was more due to the flukiness of getting hit multiple times and suffering concussions. On the other hand his hit tool was downgraded by my scouts and he didn't hit much when he played every day for most of September. I still like his versatility (although Gutierrez and Baez can play the other infield positions too) but he may not be worth it. Finally, Mike McKee is more than ready to step in at catcher so I could go deal Luis Corpus or Will Quintana.

So it's quite possible I'm shipping out Clark, Rivas, Diaz, Connors, Widmar and maybe Ayers, Corpus or Quintana in trades this year.

So the starting lineup will look something like this:
C-McKee/Corpus/Quintana
1B-de Jesus
2B-Hardaway
SS-Baez?
3B-Angeac
OF-Ayala, Jenkins, Buitrago/O.Rodriguez
DH-V.Guerrero
Bench: Jimenez, McKee/Quintana, Ayers/Gutierrez, Buitrago/O.Rodriguez
Rotation: Aparicio, Schultz, Ortega, Soranno, Thompson
Middle Relief: Sirna, Wherry, Medina, Kerstetter
Setup: Siqueiros
Closer: Kawase

This still leaves two relief spots open, one or both could go to Chris Hicks/Eric Carter but that will be an area I'll target in trade. Wherry wasn't quite the dominant lefty reliever I'd hoped for so another lefty will be under consideration (I supposed David Sanchez is a possibility, too, he looked go in his second callup in September). Otherwise the deals will look to boost the farm system so we can keep the high-end cheap talent pipeline flowing.

Let the trades begin:

https://i.imgur.com/XYXxLQt.png

Gebers is a fine 3B prospect, and yes we have Bo for the next few years but you can never have enough cover.

And now Connors is gone, for a quality lefty reliever:

https://i.imgur.com/FeHEh1H.png

Hoyte is not overpowering, but he's not a soft tosser either and keeps the ball in the park. His numbers in MLB have been excellent:

https://i.imgur.com/plDFKF4.png

Can't field his position worth a damn, though.

I'm already getting messages about the fan interest decreasing notably with the trades of Diaz and Connors, what's going to happen when I deal Clark, Widmar and Rivas?

November 9: Leo Ortega won the AL Gold Glove for pitchers.

November 10: Upset!

https://i.imgur.com/XjVqITx.png

Fully expected Kawase to win this, I voted him 1, Siqueiros 2. But I can't complain as Siqueiros was our most consistent reliever from start to finish last year, unlike Kawase who was spectacular early but faded down the stretch.

November 11: Platinum Stick Awards were announced and Victor de Jesus (1B), Jaiden Hardaway (2B), Bo Angeac (3B) and Nate Clark (LF) were winners.

November 12: Devon Tuley, whom we traded last winter for Kevin Kerstetter, won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He had a great year, hitting 312/360/513 with 24 HR and 68 RBI, but I thought Kawase might win this one too. Instead it looks like I was the only one who voted for him despite his 4.6-3.1 WAR advantage over Tuley, Omar Rodriguez finished 3rd behind Tuley and another guy from our system, Jose Escobar whom Cleveland claimed in the Rule 5 Draft.

November 13: Unanimous, as it should have been:

https://i.imgur.com/kOuJKHv.png

Ironically while checking my player development report, the same day AA was a unanimous Cy Young Winner, my head scout had this to say:

https://i.imgur.com/G2t87wp.png

I appreciate the effort to hold Aparicio's salary down.

Arizona's young star Mario Rojo won the award in the NL, he was 17-9, 3.17 with 228 whiffs in 217 innings. He took 23 of 30 first-place votes.

November 14: No surprise here either:

https://i.imgur.com/Ptc2zdj.png

After having one of the greatest seasons of all-time, winning unanimously was fully expected. Nice to see de Jesus and Angeac finish 2-3, with the numbers they put up they would have won in most other years. I really don't pay attention to the runs scored stat and didn't even realize Hardaway had scored a whopping 153 times this year. That's #16 on the all-time list.

And the NL winner? None other than old friend Joe Barker, who hit .286-56-116 for Washington, he took 25 first-place votes with the other 5 going to teammate Juan Soto, who out-WAR'd him and whom I voted for.