[BirdWatcher]

The prognosticators have spoken and they believe that offense will be up in the WPK this season and that we won't have a repeat of the 1972 World Series.
In fact, they have predicted that the SJL's Columbus Whalers will go from first to worst. It is also expected that the reigning WPK Champs- the Charlotte Sting- will return to a more accustomed spot near the bottom of the MGL standings.

This year's surprise story- the 1973 version of the 1972 Sting- is expected to be the Boston Berserkers, who have never finished higher than 6th place in their SJL history. The MGL is predicted to be won by the Los Angeles Spinners. The Spinners won 101 games in 1971 but still finished in 3rd place and then dropped back to 4th place last year with only 85 wins. They were back-to-back MGL Champs in the first two seasons of the WPK- 1965-1966- and it is thought that they will once again reach that pinnacle this season.

Among the expected top hitters in the SJL are a few new faces. It is thought that rookie Pittsburgh rightfielder Bill Winchester, having jumped up to the big league club from AA, will be not only a strong Rookie of the Year candidate but also likely in the MVP mix. It is also believed that his fellow corner outfielder, 27-year old leftfielder Ron Hack, who has not yet reached 300 plate appearances in his 3 big league season, will have a breakout season and along with Winchester give the Roadrunners a pair of 30+ home run hitters.

Dan Bottom, who appeared in 11 games out of the bullpen for El Paso last year, is expected to be among the best pitchers in the SJL this season, putting him also in the mix for ROY. (Bottom also has the distinction of being #1 on the recently released Top 100 Prospects list. Winchester, interestingly, is listed as #92.)

The best predicted hitters in the MGL is a pretty unsurprising list (though with Felix Lopez and Bobby Erbakan starting the season on the IL, they are conspicuously absent), but one of the bigger surprises is Denver outfielder/first baseman Andrew Kennedy, who has been a good hitter in his career but is expected to kick it up to the next level this season.

Two young starting pitchers, who had good if not spectacular rookie seasons in 1972- Oklahoma City's Gary Marten (7-13, 2.88, 1.7 WAR in 1972) and Brooklyn's Aaron McNally (5-3, 2 saves, 2.86, 1.2 WAR)- are expected to be among the elite pitchers in the MGL in 1973.