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FuzzyRussianHat · 05-11-2024, 10:54 AM

The National Association again was very competitive in 2002 as only six games separated the #1 overall seed from the weakest division winner. Fresh off having snapped their 41-year playoff drought last year with a NACS appearance, Milwaukee earned the #1 seed. The Mustangs took the Upper Midwest Division at 98-64. Cincinnati won the Lower Midwest at 97-65 for the #2 seed, snapping a playoff drought back to 1989. The Reds edged Indianapolis by only one game for the title. The Racers easily were the first wild card, bouncing back from a 70-win 2001. This gave Indy its sixth playoff berth in seven years.

Ottawa repeated as Northeast Division champ at 94-68. The Elks finished three games ahead of Hartford. The Huskies at 91-71 took the second wild card for their first playoff spot since winning the 1992 World Series. New York picked up the East Division at 92-70 for their third division title in five years. Defending National Association champ Philadelphia was 90-72, finishing two games short in the division and one game behind Hartford for the second wild card. Two notable swings came from Boston and Virginia Beach, who narrowly missed the playoffs the prior season with 90 and 89 wins, respectively. Both plummeted to below 70 wins in 2002.

Leading Milwaukee to the top seed was National Association MVP Ulysses Aweau. The 26-year old center fielder was the WARlord at 10.1, adding 36 home runs, 122 RBI, a .302/.361/.571 slash, and 189 wRC+. The Mustangs gave Aweau an eight-year, $69,500,000 extension prior to the 2002 season. He’d shock them by opting out after the 2003 season, then inking a seven-year, $72,500,000 deal with Philadelphia.

Despite Boston’s collapse, they had Pitcher of the Year Jeremiah Murray. Murray had twice suffered major injuries and had spent 2001 in the minor leagues for Montreal. He was the minors’ POTY, which inspired the Red Sox to trade for him in February 2002. The 27-year old Canadian led in strikeouts (277), WAR (9.5), FIP- (64), and innings pitched (290.2). He added a 2.63 ERA and 18-14 record. Murray would go onto be a fine starter for the next few years in Boston.

Wild card Indianapolis upset New York 2-1 in the first round and Ottawa outlasted divisional foe Hartford 2-1. The Elks continued to roll, shocking Cincinnati with a round two sweep. Ottawa hadn’t been in the National Association Championship Series since 1986. Meanwhile, Milwaukee earned a repeat NACS berth, although they had to survive a spirited five games against the Racers. In the NACS, Milwaukee prevailed 4-2 over Ottawa for their fifth pennant. It had been a long while though, with the previous NA wins in 1904, 34, 35, and 60.

Seattle had the American Association and MLB’s best record for the third consecutive season. The Grizzlies were 104-58, giving them the Northwest Division title and a fifth straight playoff berth. Phoenix nabbed the #2 seed at 100-62. Although it was the third consecutive playoff berth for the Firebirds, they hadn’t won the Southwest Division since 1989. Defending division champ Albuquerque was close behind at 98-64, easily securing the first wild card slot. Defending World Series champion Nashville repeated as Southeast Division champs at 95-67. The Knights were 12 games better than Tampa.

In the South Central Division, Houston ended a two-year drought with a 94-68 mark. The Hornets were 11 games ahead of Memphis, while defending division champ Austin dropped to 78-84. For the second wild card, the Northwest Division’s Salt Lake City prevailed at 91-71. It was the second berth in three years for the Loons, but an impressive rebound from an abysmal 67-win 2001. SLC narrowly beat out Las Vegas (90-72) as well as divisional rivals Edmonton (88-74) and Portland (87-75) for the spot.

Worth noting that leading Salt Lake City’s bounce-back was Rookie of the Year Morgan Short. Nicknamed “the Machine,” the 10^th overall pick debuted with a 6.0 WAR season and AA-best .417 OBP. While that debut certainly showed he had greatness incoming, few may have realized at the time that Short would ultimately become MLB’s all-time WARlord once his 21-year career was over.

American Association MVP honors went to Albuquerque veteran LF Lukas Warrell. The 30-year old lefty from Tucson, Arizona led in runs (124), walks (109), OBP (1.044), and WAR (9.6). Warrell added 46 home runs, 125 RBI, and a .293 average.

Austin’s Zigmund Spampinato repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his third season. He again led in ERA (2.21) and had the most quality starts at 28. The 23-year old lefty added a 19-11 record over 293.1 innings, 292 strikeouts, and 10.2 WAR. He again edged out Calgary’s Daniel Grondin despite Grondin’s 12.5 WAR and AA-best 335 strikeouts At this point, there had only been four 12+ WAR seasons by a MLB pitcher and Grondin had three of them. Calgary would re-sign their ace after the 2003 campaign for five years and $49,600,000.

Albuquerque won on the road 2-1 over Houston, while Nashville edged Salt Lake City 2-1 in the first round. Both the Isotopes and Knights rolled to round two upsets. Albuquerque shocked #1 seed Seattle with a road sweep, while Nashville popped Phoenix 3-1. The Isotopes hadn’t been in the American Association Championship Series since their 1975 World Series win, while the Knights were looking to repeat.

It would go all seven games in the AACS for the first time since 1994. It seemed like a sweep was in order as Albuquerque started ahead 3-0. Nashville won the next three, but the Isotopes claimed game seven to avoid the collapse. This was Albuquerque’s fifth pennant (1926, 34, 48, 75, 02).

In the 102^nd World Series, Milwaukee defeated Albuquerque 4-2 to win their second-ever MLB title. They set a record for longest gap between rings at nearly a century as their lone championship was back in 1904. This was a huge turnaround for the Mustangs, who only the prior year had snapped a four-decade playoff drought. RF Alfredo “The Sheriff” Ontiveros won finals MVP in only his second season as a full-time starter. In 17 playoff starts, the 25-year old from Mexico had 21 hits, 13 runs, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, and 8 RBI.

Other notes: Francis Saidi became the 22^nd MLB pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. SS Tanner Lipp won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Matteo Canetti won his ninth Silver Slugger.

05-11-2024, 10:54 AM	#1234
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,805	2002 in MLB The National Association again was very competitive in 2002 as only six games separated the #1 overall seed from the weakest division winner. Fresh off having snapped their 41-year playoff drought last year with a NACS appearance, Milwaukee earned the #1 seed. The Mustangs took the Upper Midwest Division at 98-64. Cincinnati won the Lower Midwest at 97-65 for the #2 seed, snapping a playoff drought back to 1989. The Reds edged Indianapolis by only one game for the title. The Racers easily were the first wild card, bouncing back from a 70-win 2001. This gave Indy its sixth playoff berth in seven years. Ottawa repeated as Northeast Division champ at 94-68. The Elks finished three games ahead of Hartford. The Huskies at 91-71 took the second wild card for their first playoff spot since winning the 1992 World Series. New York picked up the East Division at 92-70 for their third division title in five years. Defending National Association champ Philadelphia was 90-72, finishing two games short in the division and one game behind Hartford for the second wild card. Two notable swings came from Boston and Virginia Beach, who narrowly missed the playoffs the prior season with 90 and 89 wins, respectively. Both plummeted to below 70 wins in 2002. Leading Milwaukee to the top seed was National Association MVP Ulysses Aweau. The 26-year old center fielder was the WARlord at 10.1, adding 36 home runs, 122 RBI, a .302/.361/.571 slash, and 189 wRC+. The Mustangs gave Aweau an eight-year, $69,500,000 extension prior to the 2002 season. He’d shock them by opting out after the 2003 season, then inking a seven-year, $72,500,000 deal with Philadelphia. Despite Boston’s collapse, they had Pitcher of the Year Jeremiah Murray. Murray had twice suffered major injuries and had spent 2001 in the minor leagues for Montreal. He was the minors’ POTY, which inspired the Red Sox to trade for him in February 2002. The 27-year old Canadian led in strikeouts (277), WAR (9.5), FIP- (64), and innings pitched (290.2). He added a 2.63 ERA and 18-14 record. Murray would go onto be a fine starter for the next few years in Boston. Wild card Indianapolis upset New York 2-1 in the first round and Ottawa outlasted divisional foe Hartford 2-1. The Elks continued to roll, shocking Cincinnati with a round two sweep. Ottawa hadn’t been in the National Association Championship Series since 1986. Meanwhile, Milwaukee earned a repeat NACS berth, although they had to survive a spirited five games against the Racers. In the NACS, Milwaukee prevailed 4-2 over Ottawa for their fifth pennant. It had been a long while though, with the previous NA wins in 1904, 34, 35, and 60. Seattle had the American Association and MLB’s best record for the third consecutive season. The Grizzlies were 104-58, giving them the Northwest Division title and a fifth straight playoff berth. Phoenix nabbed the #2 seed at 100-62. Although it was the third consecutive playoff berth for the Firebirds, they hadn’t won the Southwest Division since 1989. Defending division champ Albuquerque was close behind at 98-64, easily securing the first wild card slot. Defending World Series champion Nashville repeated as Southeast Division champs at 95-67. The Knights were 12 games better than Tampa. In the South Central Division, Houston ended a two-year drought with a 94-68 mark. The Hornets were 11 games ahead of Memphis, while defending division champ Austin dropped to 78-84. For the second wild card, the Northwest Division’s Salt Lake City prevailed at 91-71. It was the second berth in three years for the Loons, but an impressive rebound from an abysmal 67-win 2001. SLC narrowly beat out Las Vegas (90-72) as well as divisional rivals Edmonton (88-74) and Portland (87-75) for the spot. Worth noting that leading Salt Lake City’s bounce-back was Rookie of the Year Morgan Short. Nicknamed “the Machine,” the 10^th overall pick debuted with a 6.0 WAR season and AA-best .417 OBP. While that debut certainly showed he had greatness incoming, few may have realized at the time that Short would ultimately become MLB’s all-time WARlord once his 21-year career was over. American Association MVP honors went to Albuquerque veteran LF Lukas Warrell. The 30-year old lefty from Tucson, Arizona led in runs (124), walks (109), OBP (1.044), and WAR (9.6). Warrell added 46 home runs, 125 RBI, and a .293 average. Austin’s Zigmund Spampinato repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his third season. He again led in ERA (2.21) and had the most quality starts at 28. The 23-year old lefty added a 19-11 record over 293.1 innings, 292 strikeouts, and 10.2 WAR. He again edged out Calgary’s Daniel Grondin despite Grondin’s 12.5 WAR and AA-best 335 strikeouts At this point, there had only been four 12+ WAR seasons by a MLB pitcher and Grondin had three of them. Calgary would re-sign their ace after the 2003 campaign for five years and $49,600,000. Albuquerque won on the road 2-1 over Houston, while Nashville edged Salt Lake City 2-1 in the first round. Both the Isotopes and Knights rolled to round two upsets. Albuquerque shocked #1 seed Seattle with a road sweep, while Nashville popped Phoenix 3-1. The Isotopes hadn’t been in the American Association Championship Series since their 1975 World Series win, while the Knights were looking to repeat. It would go all seven games in the AACS for the first time since 1994. It seemed like a sweep was in order as Albuquerque started ahead 3-0. Nashville won the next three, but the Isotopes claimed game seven to avoid the collapse. This was Albuquerque’s fifth pennant (1926, 34, 48, 75, 02). In the 102^nd World Series, Milwaukee defeated Albuquerque 4-2 to win their second-ever MLB title. They set a record for longest gap between rings at nearly a century as their lone championship was back in 1904. This was a huge turnaround for the Mustangs, who only the prior year had snapped a four-decade playoff drought. RF Alfredo “The Sheriff” Ontiveros won finals MVP in only his second season as a full-time starter. In 17 playoff starts, the 25-year old from Mexico had 21 hits, 13 runs, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, and 8 RBI. Other notes: Francis Saidi became the 22^nd MLB pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. SS Tanner Lipp won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Matteo Canetti won his ninth Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)