The 1972 WPK World Series begins today at Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark, when the MGL champion Charlotte Sting host the SJL champion Columbus Whalers.
As is well known, the match-up is between a 2-time WPK Champ in the Whalers and a perennial doormat, up until this breathtakingly surprising season, in the Sting.
The Sting finished with by far their best season record, at 101-61 while the Whalers 96-66 record gave them a rather narrow SJL pennant over the Jacksonville Wolf Pack.
But it's a new season now- the post-season. And it's anybody's guess who will prevail in the end.
Here though are some keys to watch for and a bit of a break-down of each teams strengths and weaknesses.
The Columbus Whalers: The Whalers primary strength, especially in a short series, is their dominant, veteran front end of the pitching rotation. In Jake Harris and Jaime Schardein they have two of the most celebrated pitchers in the game and 27-year old Bobby Garrity is a very strong #3. The rotation gets a bit tentative after that but in a 7-game series it might not matter. And if it does, should some unforeseen tragedy befall one or more of their big three, they do have the luxury of having a veteran former starter, lefty Chris Pollack, and a young Derrick Morant, who would likely be a mid-rotation starter on most teams, lurking in the bullpen. If Harris, Schardein, and Garrity just keep doing what they have did during the regular season, it could be the end of the line for the Sting.
The Charlotte Sting: The Sting have a solid rotation of their own, though quite a bit younger and less experienced. Jalen Cotton, in particular, had a break-out season this year and if he can carry that into the World Series it could somewhat counteract the Columbus big three advantage. Mike Hiatt, who has hurled two no-hitters in his career, including throwing a perfect game against the Brewers this season, is a bit hit and miss. If he's on, as has been shown, he can be dominating. But on a bad day the Whalers may be able to take advantage and which Hiatt shows up in the series may be the biggest key of all for the Sting's chances of taking home their first championship trophy.
So let's break it down a bit:
Pitching: While the Sting's rotation goes a bit deeper, with #4 starter Nate Tolbert a very solid option (while the Whalers #4 Decheng Lei's more than the most fleeting involvement in the series would probably be a sign of great desperation on Columbus part), the fact is that the starting pitching edge has to go to Columbus.The Sting appear to have the bullpen edge, including having probably the most dominant closer in WPK history in Jamel McNeil. McNeil, who threw 140 innings this season over the course of 77 appearances, can come in often and early if need be, and can pitch multiple innings. If the Sting can get out to early leads, this is real weapon in their arsenal. Columbus' young closer Alvaro Hernandez also had a tremendous season, even if he doesn't have the outrageous talent of a Jamel McNeil. But the Whalers bullpen is a bit weaker on the whole, other than the aforementioned presence of pitchers who would be starters in most rotations in the WPK.
I'm giving the edge to the Whalers, by a slight margin. (Again, Harris and Schardein. Hard to beat that.)
The Lineups: Although Charlotte ended up leading the MGL in batting average (barely beating out Denver, in spite of what I erroneously reported here earlier), neither of these teams is particularly dominant offensively. Columbus' best offensive skill is good power from 4 through 7 in the lineup. Charlotte does a decent job of getting on base, though more through hits than walks, and has one very good power hitter (Cody Kane) and few sluggers they acquired mid-season (Jamison Bash and Jim Decker.) Neither team has much team speed and they both have some weak spots in the lineup. Columbus is without their one true speedster, Leo Gavilla, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in March and isn't expected to be able to play again until Spring Training 1973 or later. Gavilla is the team captain of the Whalers and a really fine contact hitter with a bit of power. With Gavilla the edge in this category would go to Columbus. Without him though, I'll call it a draw.
Defense: Neither of these teams is top of the line defensively. But Charlotte does have a great defense up the middle, with shortstop David Flesh and second baseman Matt Sisk forming one of the best keystone combos in the WPK (both Gold Glove winners in the past) and center fielder Bill Adams the winner of the Gold Glove award the last 2 seasons. Charlotte is shaky on the corners (outfield more than infield) and solid but unspectacular behind the plate. Columbus is very decent up the middle, just not to the level of the Sting. Otherwise they are pretty similar to Charlotte. But on the basis of that great up-the-middle defense, I give the edge to Charlotte.
Bench: The Whalers have a young power hitting left fielder in Ricky Oliva and a defensively gifted back-up shortstop in Travis Kibler. Oliva can't field and Kibler can't hit. So depending upon how they are used they could be helpful, but with limitations. Veteran Dan Moore provides them with a speedy, defensively gifted outfielder off the bench. As a hitter he is mediocre, but with their corner outfield defense issues, his role could be an important one.
Charlotte's ace-in-the-hole is Blake Reese. Actually, it is hard to figure how Reese isn't a starter, as he has been, mostly quite successfully, for the past 3 years. At age 25, Reese is a fan favorite who has all the tools. Another 25-year old, Mike Potter, provides insurance in case something happens to David Flesh, as he is also a very fine defensive shortstop, though with fairly limited offensive value, other than good speed on the base paths. Not much for Charlotte beyond that, though former Brewer farmhand Brian Coppola does provide great speed also and is a capable right field back-up.
I'm going to give Charlotte a slight edge in this one just because of Reese.
All-in-all, it seems like a series where the pitching strengths of the two teams might make the biggest difference so I'm going to predict Columbus in 6 games with Harris and Schardein shutting down the Sting.