With Braeland Armed Forces directly involved in ‘Operation Cartwheel’, the Allies’ major campaign to neutralize the Empire of Japan’s presence in the Solomon Islands, the United Leagues of Braeland nevertheless set about preparing for another baseball season. The loss of players due to the war effort did not dampen the excitement for Opening Day. But first, let’s check out the results of the ‘Coconut Leagues’ that took place in September. First up, the Eastern League results and predicted standings:
Like last season, the Embro Suns finished on top, the only team to surpass 20 victories in the “Coconut Leagues’. However, the Braeland City Monarchs and Wellington Athletics were not far behind.
But the predicted standings tell a different tale, as the Stratford Barons and the defending United Cup champions are projected to finish neck-in-neck at the top of the standings. That is interesting as the Barons took a hit with the loss of OF Steven WInstanley who enlisted and will not be back before the war’s end. But it appears that pitching will be Stratford’s strength, with three starting pitchers projected to have Top 10 performances: Joel Fearn (74/74), Donn Griffin (67/67 – 11th overall pick from 1939/40) and Ryan Borden (79/79 – No. 1 starter).
Brunswick looks to have a very balanced and strong team once again, with three Top 10 hitters and two Top 10 pitchers.
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The Western League saw a tight race, with only 7 wins separating top and bottom. In fact, 6 of the 8 teams finished within 3 games of each other. That would seem to indicate a ‘free-for-all’ with all teams having realistic chances of qualifying for the post-season.
The projected standings suggest otherwise, however. The Balmoral Giants are predicted to finish way ahead of the pack, 20 games up on the Cambria Cannons. At the very least, that suggests their qualifying for the playoffs last season was no fluke. With 3 hitters and 3 pitchers making the Top 10, the Giants appear primed for a break out season after the years spent drafting and developing prospects.
The Kingston Pelicans once again are not out of the playoff pitcher, projected to finish one game behind the second place Cannons. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that you can never count the Pelicans out until the very last day of the season.
The Cannons traded for LF Nicky Willis (76/80) in the offseason, and the Top 10 Hitter list confirms the postulate that the Cannons have the best outfield in the entire United Leagues. Besides Willis, both RF Ron Westmacott (80/80) and CF Clint Jones (73/75) are projected to have big seasons.
One team to keep an eye on is the Pulberry Trolleys, as they are projected to finish close to .500 and have four players appearing in the Top 10: LF Bruno Lapthorne (76/76), CF Yoshino Ito (66/72), RHP Bailey Keedwell (37/37) and RHP Patrick Tennant (51/59). If they can follow through on their projections and get some support from others, the Trolleys may surprise. But of course, everything is going to have to fall into place for that to happen.
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To round out the snapshot of the United Leagues, here are the top players and pitchers and top prospects as updated on Opening Day.
With the greatest crisis facing civilization playing out just off the shores of Braeland, it’s time to offer some diversion for all the hardworking men and women. It’s time to ‘play ball’ once again!
