[FuzzyRussianHat]

For the second straight year, it was the Eastern League dominating the Midwest League in the National Association with all four wild cards coming from the East. The best overall record in Major League Baseball belonged to Hartford at 107-55, earning their fourth straight playoff berth. The 107 win tally was a franchise record for the Huskies. Boston was next at 101-61 for their fourth berth in five seasons. Philadelphia was third at 100-62 for their first playoff spot since 1952.

The final two spots had five times in the mix with Pittsburgh taking the first one at 96-66. For the Pirates, it is only their fourth-ever playoff appearance and first since 1928. The final spot saw Washington and Baltimore finish tied at 94-68. The Admirals won the tiebreaker game to earn back-to-back wild cards. Brooklyn (91-71) and defending NA champ Ottawa (89-73) fell just short. Meanwhile, Indianapolis at 97-67 took the Midwest League title by 10 games with Minneapolis (87-75) the closest competitor. It is an impressive turnaround for the Races, who were an abysmal 64-98 the prior year, getting their first playoff spot since winning the NA title in 1952.

National Association MVP went to OF/SP Casen Shaw, a journeyman two-way player that had played with Houston and Kansas City prior. He was traded to Boston for the 1957 season, but the 30-year old found himself cut in mid May. Indianapolis picked him up at the end of the month and he managed to go on a tear. In 117 games, he had a .391 average, 150 hits, 71 runs, 14 home runs, 66 RBI, and 6.2 WAR. As a pitcher, he was an unremarkable 14-10, 4.38 ERA, 207.1 innings, 110 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. Combined, he put together enough to help the Racers to the ML title. The next year would be his last as a pitcher and he’d spend another decade as a respectable bat with five other teams. But his 1957 will be remembered as an incredibly unique case of a guy who got cut midway and apart from a solid 1954 at the plate with Kansas City, had been mid-tier even if two-way.

Indianapolis also had a notable debut in RF R.J. Clinton, the sixth overall pick in the prior draft out of Washington State. The future Hall of Famer was the Rookie of the Year and third in MVP voting with 38 home runs, a .320 average, and 7.2 WAR in 128 starts. Pitcher of the Year was more traditional in going to Brooklyn’s John Delaney. The 26-year old righty was the NA leader in wins (21), and ERA (2.21), adding 204 strikeouts over 276.2 innings with 7.6 WAR.

In the first round of the playoffs, Pittsburgh upset Philadelphia 2-0 and Washington surprised Boston 2-1. In round two, Indianapolis dispatched the Pirates in a sweep and Hartford topped the Admirals 3-1, sending the league champs to the National Association Championship Series. The Racers claimed the series in a seven-game classic over the Huskies, giving Indy its second NA title of the decade and fourth total.



The Western League yet again saw success over the Southern League in the American Association with all four wild cards out of the West. The best overall record went to Vancouver, who were the last team in last season. The Volcanoes finished 103-59, a franchise record season. Next in line were Las Vegas (99-63), Denver (96-66), and two-time defending World Series champ San Diego (96-66). For the Vipers, it was their seventh playoff berth of the 1950s, while the Dragons snapped a drought that dated back to 1944.

The final wild card spot went to Portland at 92-70, finishing one ahead of Los Angeles and four ahead of Oakland. The Pacifics had the second-longest playoff drought in MLB, having last made the playoffs in 1921. The longest drought was snapped in 1957 well with Tampa winning the Southern League title at 92-70, finishing four ahead of the three-time defending SL champ Nashville at 88-74. The Thunderbirds hadn’t been to the postseason since the Taft Administration in 1909; a nearly 50-year gap. It was the second longest drought in MLB history, the longest going to Oklahoma City’s 54 years from the franchise debut to their first wild card.

Leading the Thunderbirds to snap their streak was 1B Martin Medina, winning his third American Association MVP and first since 1953. The 30-year old lefty from Panama was the leader in RBI (137), OBP (.425), slugging (.616), OPS (1.041), and wRC+ (171), adding 40 home runs and 8.4 WAR. San Diego ace Spenser Emond won his fifth Pitcher of the Year, joining the elite company of Jeremy Frechette, Newton Persaud, and Ned Giles as the only five-time winners. The now 32-year old lefty had an AA and career best 2.32 ERA, also leading in WHIP at 0.98. He only made 24 starts because of a strained abdominal muscle, but still posted 209.2 innings, 205 strikeouts, and 7.2 WAR.

The Wild Card round had Portland defeat Las Vegas and Denver down San Diego, both in three games. Both league champs prevailed in round two in four games with Vancouver over the Pacifics and Tampa over the Dragons. The American Association Championship Series saw the Volcanoes defeat the Thunderbirds 4-2, giving Vancouver only its second-ever AA title (1939). The Volcanoes went onto add their first-ever World Series ring, defeating Indianapolis in a seven-game classic. The Racers are now 0-4 in the Fall Classic, sharing the unfortunate distinction with Dallas for most WS losses.





Other notes: Vancouver’s Dominic Lamoureux had a 37-game hitting streak, which is tied for the third-longest in MLB history. Alec Ebner became the 10^th MLB pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. Sebastian Lunde became the 13^th hitter to 600 career home runs.