With the 1974 WPK World Series set to begin later today, let's take a quick look at the two teams competing for the ultimate prize in the WPK. We'll start with the SJL's Jacksonville Wolf Pack.
As many of you may realize, the Wolf Pack are the most storied franchise in the SJL in the league's short history thus far. They collected their 5th SJL pennant this year and are in search of their 4th WPK Championship. Their team record in the 10 years the WPK has existed is a robust 961-659 for a winning percentage of .593, by far the best in the WPK up to this point. They are the reigning WPK champs, having won 103 games in 1973 and then survived a grueling 7-game series against the Los Angeles Spinners to take the title.
Things were much tighter in the SJL this season and the Wolf Pack just narrowly held off the surprising Philadelphia Mud Hens and a late-season surge from the Washington Night Train to win the SJL with just 93 wins. The Wolf Pack won largely on the strength of their power hitting lineup and their excellent starting rotation. They had a good offense, finishing near the top in most categories but only led in one- home runs. Their starting pitching was excellent and they finished with the best starter ERA in the league but with a porous bullpen they only managed to finish 4th in the SJL in runs allowed. Their team defense and running stats were middle of the pack and below.
The key for the Brewers in facing the Wolf Pack is to neutralize their powerful heart of the lineup, which is primarily left-handed with the exception of veteran third baseman (and future HOF'er) Jesus Casiano, who is a switch-hitter but hits much better from the left side of the plate and their best player of 1974, Ricky Salinas.
Another key will be to try to wear down the starters and get to the bullpen early in games. This might not be as difficult as it seems, as other than 4th starter Randy Cali, this rotation isn't particularly known for their great stamina. In fact, the lone right-hander, Eddie Osorio, who had a career year this season, is known to tire early in games.
A real wild card in this series that could have an impact is the fragility of several of the Wolf Pack's key players, including 1-3 of their starting rotation. An injury to one of these three, in particular, could lead to disastrous outcomes for the reigning champs.
A few notes about the Jacksonville ballpark- Fidelity Financial Stadium. It is a pretty good hitting park, especially for the long ball, and especially for right-handed batters. Left-handed batters will not struggle to hit the long ball here but over time their batting averages could suffer a bit.
The Wolf Pack, maybe partly because they are left-handed hitter heavy, actually put up a better road record than home record this season (.580 to .568.) They also fared better against right-handed starting pitchers (.580) than left-handed starters (.560)- again, not a surprise.
One last note: one member of the Wolf Pack roster is a former Brewer- relief pitcher Justin Bismark, who the Brewers took in the 1st round of the 1966 draft and traded to Jacksonville this past July. Bismark may have extra motivation to do well against his former club and is one of the more talented members of the Wolf Pack bullpen. Though that's not saying much. It's a pretty bad bullpen.
