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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-12-2024, 04:41 PM

Ciudad Guayana set a franchise record at 108-54 for the top mark in the Bolivar League and winning them the Venezuela Division for the third straight year. Valencia was a distant second in the division at 93-69, but that got them the wild card for their first playoff berth since their 1978 Copa Sudamerica crown. Lima was a repeat Peru-Bolivia Division champ at 94-68. La Paz was 91-71, three short of the division crown and two away from the wild card. Medellin took the Colombia-Ecuador division at 92-70 for their first playoff berth in three years. Defending Copa Sudamerica champ Cali was 88-74, ending their four-year playoff streak. Bogota, the wild card last year, also missed out by falling to 85-77.

La Paz designated hitter Lincoln Ruvalcaba won his third Bolivar League MVP in four seasons. The 28-year old switch hitting Bolivian was the leader in runs (130), RBI (140), total bases (427), slugging (.693), OPS (1.066), wRC+ (184), and WAR (8.5). Ruvalcaba added a .331 average and 56 home runs; both second in the league. Medellin’s Vennacio Rodriguez picked up Pitcher of the Year. The 29-year old Colombian righty had a 22-9 record and 2.54 ERA over 269.1 innings with 297 strikeouts and 8.5 WAR.

Both Divisional Series matchups went 3-1 with Ciudad Guayana downing wild card Valencia and Medellin scoring the road upset over Lima. This gave both the Mutiny and Giants their second Bolivar League Championship Series appearance in four years. Ciudad Guayana would cruise to the pennant 4-1, giving the 1974 expansion squad its second pennant (1984).

Recife matched its best record in its 16 year history, winning the North Division at 101-61 and posting the top record in Liga Cono Sur. The Retrievers ended a four year playoff drought and got their third berth of the 1980s. They had tough competition from Fortaleza (96-66), Belo Horizonte (90-72), and Brasilia (88-74). The Foxes ended up with their second playoff berth in three years. Sao Paulo’s playoff streak was extended to four seasons as they won the Southeast Division at 98-64. Rosario, the league runner-up last year, was 93-69, missing the division title by five games and the wild card by three. Two-time defending league champ Concepcion fell off from 102 wins to only 84, but their 84-78 record allowed them to win a weak South Central Division. The Chiefs got their fourth straight playoff berth and fifth in six years. Santiago was three back at .500 and Cordoba was five behind for the division.

Veteran first baseman Emanuel Ajanel won the MVP for Rosario, having joined the Robins as a free agent that offseason. The 35-year old Argentine lefty had a banner year, leading in runs (108), home runs (54), RBI (129), total bases (392), slugging (.653), OPS (1.024), and wRC+ (202) with 9.1 WAR. While Ajanel had been a solid slugger previously, he had never led the league in anything prior to 1989.

Ajanel managed to take the MVP over Fortaleza’s Caco Gallegos despite a record setting season. He set a single-season record with 257 hits in 1989, topping his own BSA record of 240 from the prior year. Gallegos’ mark was a world record, besting Franco Gilbert’s 254 the prior year in the EBF. This stood as the Beisbol Sudamerica hits record until 2018 and is still third best in BSA as of 2037. Gallegos also had a .394 average, 46 doubles, 26 triples, and 9.4 WAR. He also posted a 35 game hit streak early in the season, the second-longest streak in BSA history to that point behind Remberto Borja’s 43 in 1955.

Sao Paulo’s Andres Ramirez won back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors. The fifth-year Bolivian righty was the leader in wins (22-9), ERA (2.12), FIP- (66), and WAR (8.6). He added 314 strikeouts over 279.2 innings and was second in strikeouts in the league. It was a big gap though to strikeout leader Pepito Cortina of Rosario with 431. He became only the fourth BSA player to fan 430+ in a season, although it was the 15^th best season (Mohamed Ramos did it ten times and Lazaro Rodriguez did it thrice).

Despite their weak regular season record, defending league champ Concepcion got a road sweep of Sao Paulo in the divisional round. Recife downed division foe Fortaleza 3-1, setting up a rematch of the 1984 Southern Cone Championship. The 1989 final was an all-time classic that went seven games. The finale needed 15 innings for the Chiefs to earn a 2-1 road win over the Retrievers. Concepcion becomes the third Southern Cone team to three-peat as champs, joining Buenos Aires (1945-47) and Sao Paulo (four-peat from 1957-60).

It was the second time that Copa Sudamerica had two teams from the 1974 expansion facing off for the title, as Ciudad Guayana beat Recife in the 1984 edition. The Giants had the big advantage by record over Concepcion, but the Chiefs carried their playoff hot streak through to a 4-1 series win in the 59^th Copa Sudamerica. Concepcion is now two time cup winners, having also won two years earlier.

Other notes: Pasquale Martin became the eighth BSA batter to 600 career home runs. He also crossed 1500 RBI, the 14^th to do so. Carlos Rodriguez became the sixth to 400 career saves. Catcher Sancho Sanchez won his eighth and final Silver Slugger.

Rule changes made it so the 1980s were the highest scoring yet in Beisbol Sudamerica. The Bolivar League had a cumulative batting average around .258 and ERA of 3.66, while the Southern Cone was at 3.43 and .252. Both were considered around average for the overall history of baseball and compared to other leagues in the era. The 1990s would look similar in South America, followed by a jump to above average marks beyond that.

01-12-2024, 04:41 PM	#874
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,452	1989 in BSA Ciudad Guayana set a franchise record at 108-54 for the top mark in the Bolivar League and winning them the Venezuela Division for the third straight year. Valencia was a distant second in the division at 93-69, but that got them the wild card for their first playoff berth since their 1978 Copa Sudamerica crown. Lima was a repeat Peru-Bolivia Division champ at 94-68. La Paz was 91-71, three short of the division crown and two away from the wild card. Medellin took the Colombia-Ecuador division at 92-70 for their first playoff berth in three years. Defending Copa Sudamerica champ Cali was 88-74, ending their four-year playoff streak. Bogota, the wild card last year, also missed out by falling to 85-77. La Paz designated hitter Lincoln Ruvalcaba won his third Bolivar League MVP in four seasons. The 28-year old switch hitting Bolivian was the leader in runs (130), RBI (140), total bases (427), slugging (.693), OPS (1.066), wRC+ (184), and WAR (8.5). Ruvalcaba added a .331 average and 56 home runs; both second in the league. Medellin’s Vennacio Rodriguez picked up Pitcher of the Year. The 29-year old Colombian righty had a 22-9 record and 2.54 ERA over 269.1 innings with 297 strikeouts and 8.5 WAR. Both Divisional Series matchups went 3-1 with Ciudad Guayana downing wild card Valencia and Medellin scoring the road upset over Lima. This gave both the Mutiny and Giants their second Bolivar League Championship Series appearance in four years. Ciudad Guayana would cruise to the pennant 4-1, giving the 1974 expansion squad its second pennant (1984). Recife matched its best record in its 16 year history, winning the North Division at 101-61 and posting the top record in Liga Cono Sur. The Retrievers ended a four year playoff drought and got their third berth of the 1980s. They had tough competition from Fortaleza (96-66), Belo Horizonte (90-72), and Brasilia (88-74). The Foxes ended up with their second playoff berth in three years. Sao Paulo’s playoff streak was extended to four seasons as they won the Southeast Division at 98-64. Rosario, the league runner-up last year, was 93-69, missing the division title by five games and the wild card by three. Two-time defending league champ Concepcion fell off from 102 wins to only 84, but their 84-78 record allowed them to win a weak South Central Division. The Chiefs got their fourth straight playoff berth and fifth in six years. Santiago was three back at .500 and Cordoba was five behind for the division. Veteran first baseman Emanuel Ajanel won the MVP for Rosario, having joined the Robins as a free agent that offseason. The 35-year old Argentine lefty had a banner year, leading in runs (108), home runs (54), RBI (129), total bases (392), slugging (.653), OPS (1.024), and wRC+ (202) with 9.1 WAR. While Ajanel had been a solid slugger previously, he had never led the league in anything prior to 1989. Ajanel managed to take the MVP over Fortaleza’s Caco Gallegos despite a record setting season. He set a single-season record with 257 hits in 1989, topping his own BSA record of 240 from the prior year. Gallegos’ mark was a world record, besting Franco Gilbert’s 254 the prior year in the EBF. This stood as the Beisbol Sudamerica hits record until 2018 and is still third best in BSA as of 2037. Gallegos also had a .394 average, 46 doubles, 26 triples, and 9.4 WAR. He also posted a 35 game hit streak early in the season, the second-longest streak in BSA history to that point behind Remberto Borja’s 43 in 1955. Sao Paulo’s Andres Ramirez won back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors. The fifth-year Bolivian righty was the leader in wins (22-9), ERA (2.12), FIP- (66), and WAR (8.6). He added 314 strikeouts over 279.2 innings and was second in strikeouts in the league. It was a big gap though to strikeout leader Pepito Cortina of Rosario with 431. He became only the fourth BSA player to fan 430+ in a season, although it was the 15^th best season (Mohamed Ramos did it ten times and Lazaro Rodriguez did it thrice). Despite their weak regular season record, defending league champ Concepcion got a road sweep of Sao Paulo in the divisional round. Recife downed division foe Fortaleza 3-1, setting up a rematch of the 1984 Southern Cone Championship. The 1989 final was an all-time classic that went seven games. The finale needed 15 innings for the Chiefs to earn a 2-1 road win over the Retrievers. Concepcion becomes the third Southern Cone team to three-peat as champs, joining Buenos Aires (1945-47) and Sao Paulo (four-peat from 1957-60). It was the second time that Copa Sudamerica had two teams from the 1974 expansion facing off for the title, as Ciudad Guayana beat Recife in the 1984 edition. The Giants had the big advantage by record over Concepcion, but the Chiefs carried their playoff hot streak through to a 4-1 series win in the 59^th Copa Sudamerica. Concepcion is now two time cup winners, having also won two years earlier. Other notes: Pasquale Martin became the eighth BSA batter to 600 career home runs. He also crossed 1500 RBI, the 14^th to do so. Carlos Rodriguez became the sixth to 400 career saves. Catcher Sancho Sanchez won his eighth and final Silver Slugger. Rule changes made it so the 1980s were the highest scoring yet in Beisbol Sudamerica. The Bolivar League had a cumulative batting average around .258 and ERA of 3.66, while the Southern Cone was at 3.43 and .252. Both were considered around average for the overall history of baseball and compared to other leagues in the era. The 1990s would look similar in South America, followed by a jump to above average marks beyond that. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)