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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-26-2024, 05:51 AM

With the 2021 expansion, getting the #1 seed became even more important with only one bye now in the expanded playoffs. Three teams were in the hunt in the National Association with Boston (105-57) narrowly beating out Detroit (104-58) and Cincinnati (101-61). After struggling to 76-86 in 2020, the Red Sox bounced back for their fourth Northeast Division title in five years. The Tigers resumed a similar streak in the Upper Midwest Division, allowing the fewest runs at 529.

The defending NA champion Reds repeated as Lower Midwest Champs and got their third berth in four years. The fourth division winner was far weaker, but in the playoffs all the same. At 90-72, Washington won the East Division and ended an 11-year postseason drought. Baltimore was their closest foe at 83-77, falling seven short in the division and eight away from the final wild card.

Each wild card came from a different division with the slots going to Chicago (94-68), Columbus (93-69), and Ottawa (91-71). The next closest competitors were Minneapolis at 86-76 and 85-77 finishes by Winnipeg, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The Cubs got a repeat berth and led the NA in scoring with 790 runs. The Chargers ended an eight-year playoff drought and the Elks snapped a nine-year skid.

Chicago and Cincinnati were the only National Association teams to make it back to the playoffs from 2020. Kansas City saw a five-year streak snapped while last year’s top seed Quebec City fell from 103-59 to 80-82. Of note, expansion Halifax had a solid debut at 83-79. The Hound Dogs would be the only of the new squads to have a winning record in their debut. Also notable was as shocking 63-99 record for Philadelphia, who had been among the best teams of the last 20 years. The last time the Phillies fared worse was a 62-100 effort back in 1954.

Repeating as National Association MVP was Cincinnati 1B Mike Rojas. The 26-year old from Harrison, Michigan led in runs (129), home runs (60), RBI (139), total bases (433), slugging (.716), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (236), and WAR (11.1). He was second in batting average (.354), missing repeat Triple Crowns by .015. It was only the 15^th time in MLB history that a player hit 60 home runs. Rojas also became only the third MLB position player to have multiple 11+ WAR seasons, joining Morgan Short and Elijah Cashman. The Reds locked him up in April with an eight-year, $161,700,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year went to an eighth pitcher in as many years, this time to Minneapolis lefty Kipp Semykin. The 25-year old from Springfield, Missouri led in wins (22-10) and shutouts (6). Semykin posted a 2.38 ERA over 261.1 innings, 219 strikeouts, 142 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR.

Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year were both notable in 2021. Halifax RF Dylan Huff posted the sixth-highest WAR ever by NA’s top rookie at 8.5, adding 39 homers, 87 RBI, and a .884 OPS. The 5^th overall pick out of Ohio helped the Hound Dogs post a winning season in their debut.

Columbus closer J.J. Fuller meanwhile set the MLB record for most WAR by the Reliever of the Year at 7.2. The 24-year old lefty broke his own record of 6.6 from two years prior. Fuller struck out 169 over 80.1 innings with 35 saves, a 1.46 ERA, and 238 ERA+.

The new first round of the playoffs was officially a best of five with the division champ getting a one game advantage built in. Each division champ used that to advance to round two. Incidentally, the one division champ (Washington) who had a weaker record than the wild card (Chicago) was the only one to sweep. Cincinnati beat Columbus and Detroit topped Ottawa, both 3-1.

Top seed Boston rolled to a sweep Washington in round two, giving the Red Sox their fourth National Association Championship Series trip in five years. The Tigers outlasted the Reds in a 3-2 battle, giving the Tigers their first NACS since 2012. Both teams had been playoff regulars in the 21^st Century, but had seen limited luck in the postseason.

For Boston since 2004, they had ten playoff berths, nine division titles and six NACS trips, only winning one pennant with their 2017 World Series win. Detroit had 12 playoff berths and ten division titles in the same stretch, but had zero pennants and lost their lone prior NACS in 2012. The series was the first NACS to go all seven since 2016 with the Tigers finally getting over that hump on the road. Detroit ended an 67-year pennant drought by winning their fifth National Association title (1902, 1911, 1932, 1953, 2021)

New Orleans emphatically took the American Association’s top seed for their fourth South Central Division title in six years. The Mudcats’ previous division crowns came with 87, 95, and 86 wins. They took a huge jump in 2021 with a franchise record 112-50. New Orleans led all teams in runs scored (864) and allowed the second-fewest runs in the AA at 593.

The #2 seed was Los Angeles at 100-62 atop the Southwest Division, ending a three-year playoff drought. It was the Angels’ first division title since 2015 with LA allowing the fewest runs in the AA at 584. San Francisco gave them a run at 95-67 with both Las Vegas and Oakland in the mix.

Reigning World Series and Baseball Grand Champion Denver had their lowest win total in eight years, but that was still 97-65. The Dragons’ MLB record playoff and division title streak grew to 12 seasons. They had tough competition in the division with Seattle three games back and Salt Lake City six away. Denver got the #3 seed over Southeast Division champ Nashville on a tiebreaker with both at 97-65. The Knights got their third division title in four years, finishing eight ahead of Atlanta.

In the wild card race, seven teams fighting for three spots were separated by four wins. The 95-67 Gold Rush got the first spot to end a two-year playoff drought. At 94-68, the Grizzlies got the second spot to end a seven-year skid. There was a three-way tie for the final spot at 93-69 between Las Vegas, Houston, and Dallas. Oakland (92-70), Salt Lake City (91-71) and Atlanta (89-73) all fell just short. The Loons’ bid for a third straight berth fell short, although they had their ninth straight winning season. The Owls had rough luck, underperforming their expected win/loss by ten games.

Two tiebreaker games were played to determine the final playoff team. In the first game, Houston eliminated division rival Dallas. Then in game two, the Hornets were ousted by the Vipers. With that, Las Vegas extended their playoff streak to five years. The Vipers also earned a 14^th consecutive winning record, the longest active run in MLB.

The American Association had its seventh different MVP in as many years. It went to a San Diego player in back-to-back years though despite the Seals again being below .500. LF Ben Conlee was deserving though as the 27-year old from Ben Lomand, California led in batting average (.345), slugging (.674), OPS (1.087), wRC+ (193), and WAR (10.3). Conlee added 52 homers, 129 RBI, and 118 runs. His Seals teammate Jason Perazzo had a case for a repeat, leading in both home runs (60) and RBI (143). They set the foundation for San Diego’s eventual dominance later in the decade.

Expansion Anchorage had the Pitcher of the Year in MLB newcomer Ilie Kursinsky. The 29-year old Moldovan lefty had pitched six years for Dnipro in the European Second League, then spent 2020 in the EBF Elite for Madrid. His results had been good in Europe, but not award winning. Kursinsky took a chance by moving to Alaska, signing with the new Avalanche franchise at $53,600,000 over four years.

In his MLB debut, Kursinsky led in wins (21-10), ERA (2.30), innings (282.1), quality starts (27), and shutouts (8). He added 196 strikeouts, 8.1 WAR, and 169 ERA+. Kursinsky’s unique career would see one more year with Anchorage, followed by a trade to Las Vegas. After four strong MLB seasons, he would finish out his career back in Europe with Kharkiv and Lodz. Kursinky was a unique “Hall of Good” type journeyman who was a very popular at each stop.

Two division champs beat divisional rivals in the first round with Denver over Seattle and Los Angeles over Las Vegas, both by 3-1 margins. San Francisco was the lone wild card to advance in the first year of the expanded playoffs, outlasting Nashville 3-2. The Gold Rush took 112-win New Orleans to the limit in the second round, but the Mudcats survived 3-2. The defending Grand Champion Dragons swept the Angels on the other side.

Denver was looking to establish a dynasty and repeat, even if they weren’t as strong as the arguably best-ever 2020 squad. New Orleans hadn’t made it to the American Association Championship Series since their dynasty days of the early 1970s. Despite the Mudcats winning 15 more games and having home field advantage, some still favored the Dragons. The series was a seven-game classic with the Mudcats surviving for their fifth pennant (1935, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2021).

The 121^st World Series had two teams looking to end lengthy title droughts. New Orleans was a perfect 4-0 in the Fall Classic, but it had nearly 50 years since their 1970s three-peat. Detroit was 1-3 in their tries with the lone win back in the second-ever World Series of 1902. With a victory, the Tigers would’ve set a world record with 122 wins between titles.

New Orleans denied Detroit that bit of history as the Mudcats won it 4-2. Despite having only 16 total playoff berths, New Orleans became only the eighth MLB franchise with 5+ titles. World Series MVP was MLB newcomer Ange Ndikuriyo, who had won three MVPs with Cape Town of the African Association of Baseball. The 29-year old Rwandan RF came to the Bayou in 2021 on a four-year, $81,400,000 deal.

Ndikuriyo delivered in his first taste of postseason baseball, starting 18 games with 19 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, and 17 RBI. The 2021 Mudcats had a case as one of MLB’s best-ever teams. They were the fourth squad to win 112+ regular season games and the claim the World Series. Denver from the prior season and 1907 Phoenix both won it all at 114-48 and 1956 San Diego matched the Mudcats’ 112-50 mark.

Other notes: In his second season, Chicago’s Milton Ramirez won the batting title and he’d go onto be an all-time contact hitter. Ramirez set a bad single-season record though in 2021, getting caught stealing 59 times. The previous MLB worst was Bill Tan’s 58 in 1944. As a team, Miami’s offense had 156 doubles, the third-lowest mark in American Association history.

Ed Willis threw his second no-hitter, striking out 16 with 3 walks for Austin against San Antonio on 5/31. Willis had tossed a no-no with Washington in 2018. Detroit’s Marty Allen also had his second no-hitter after a previous one in 2018. Allen struck out 15 with 2 walks against Kansas City on 9/16. Denver’s Omari Green had his first no-hitter in 2021 and became both the 26^th pitcher to reach 3500 career strikeouts and the 44^th to 250 wins. Vincent Lepp joined the 200 win and 3000 strikeout clubs.

Ryan Skramesto was the sixth to hit 700 career home runs, playing his final season with expansion Halifax and finishing with 710. He retired sixth, falling 48 short of Cody Lim’s record 758. Killian Fruechte and Isaac Cox both reached 1500 runs scored. Cox also got to 1500 RBI. 3B Graham Gregor won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Eight-time AAB MVP Mwarami Tale made his MLB debut at age 40 for Baltimore and hit 33 home runs, making him the fourth player in baseball history to reach 1000 pro homers. The Tanzanian center fielder hit five more in 2022 for the Orioles, finishing with 38 in MLB and 968 in AAB. Tale retired fourth in homers behind Majed Darwish, Nordine Soule, and Ratan Canduri. In 2021, he also scored his 2000^th career run, a mark met by only 33 players as of 2037.

Tale also ended with a combined 3002 games, 2070 runs, 505 doubles, 1006 home runs, 2345 RBI, 1609 walks, .302/.402/.665 slash, 184 wRC+, and 159.4 WAR. As of 2037, Tale is 7^th in homers, 12^th in RBI, 25^th in runs scored, 21^st in WAR among position players and 29^th in WAR amongst everybody. Among eventual Hall of Famers, Tale also sits 4^th in slugging percentage and his 1.067 OPS is 4^th. He’s undoubtedly a true hitting legend and on most top five lists for the best-ever African-born players.

12-26-2024, 05:51 AM	#1918
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,929	2021 in MLB With the 2021 expansion, getting the #1 seed became even more important with only one bye now in the expanded playoffs. Three teams were in the hunt in the National Association with Boston (105-57) narrowly beating out Detroit (104-58) and Cincinnati (101-61). After struggling to 76-86 in 2020, the Red Sox bounced back for their fourth Northeast Division title in five years. The Tigers resumed a similar streak in the Upper Midwest Division, allowing the fewest runs at 529. The defending NA champion Reds repeated as Lower Midwest Champs and got their third berth in four years. The fourth division winner was far weaker, but in the playoffs all the same. At 90-72, Washington won the East Division and ended an 11-year postseason drought. Baltimore was their closest foe at 83-77, falling seven short in the division and eight away from the final wild card. Each wild card came from a different division with the slots going to Chicago (94-68), Columbus (93-69), and Ottawa (91-71). The next closest competitors were Minneapolis at 86-76 and 85-77 finishes by Winnipeg, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The Cubs got a repeat berth and led the NA in scoring with 790 runs. The Chargers ended an eight-year playoff drought and the Elks snapped a nine-year skid. Chicago and Cincinnati were the only National Association teams to make it back to the playoffs from 2020. Kansas City saw a five-year streak snapped while last year’s top seed Quebec City fell from 103-59 to 80-82. Of note, expansion Halifax had a solid debut at 83-79. The Hound Dogs would be the only of the new squads to have a winning record in their debut. Also notable was as shocking 63-99 record for Philadelphia, who had been among the best teams of the last 20 years. The last time the Phillies fared worse was a 62-100 effort back in 1954. Repeating as National Association MVP was Cincinnati 1B Mike Rojas. The 26-year old from Harrison, Michigan led in runs (129), home runs (60), RBI (139), total bases (433), slugging (.716), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (236), and WAR (11.1). He was second in batting average (.354), missing repeat Triple Crowns by .015. It was only the 15^th time in MLB history that a player hit 60 home runs. Rojas also became only the third MLB position player to have multiple 11+ WAR seasons, joining Morgan Short and Elijah Cashman. The Reds locked him up in April with an eight-year, $161,700,000 extension. Pitcher of the Year went to an eighth pitcher in as many years, this time to Minneapolis lefty Kipp Semykin. The 25-year old from Springfield, Missouri led in wins (22-10) and shutouts (6). Semykin posted a 2.38 ERA over 261.1 innings, 219 strikeouts, 142 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year were both notable in 2021. Halifax RF Dylan Huff posted the sixth-highest WAR ever by NA’s top rookie at 8.5, adding 39 homers, 87 RBI, and a .884 OPS. The 5^th overall pick out of Ohio helped the Hound Dogs post a winning season in their debut. Columbus closer J.J. Fuller meanwhile set the MLB record for most WAR by the Reliever of the Year at 7.2. The 24-year old lefty broke his own record of 6.6 from two years prior. Fuller struck out 169 over 80.1 innings with 35 saves, a 1.46 ERA, and 238 ERA+. The new first round of the playoffs was officially a best of five with the division champ getting a one game advantage built in. Each division champ used that to advance to round two. Incidentally, the one division champ (Washington) who had a weaker record than the wild card (Chicago) was the only one to sweep. Cincinnati beat Columbus and Detroit topped Ottawa, both 3-1. Top seed Boston rolled to a sweep Washington in round two, giving the Red Sox their fourth National Association Championship Series trip in five years. The Tigers outlasted the Reds in a 3-2 battle, giving the Tigers their first NACS since 2012. Both teams had been playoff regulars in the 21^st Century, but had seen limited luck in the postseason. For Boston since 2004, they had ten playoff berths, nine division titles and six NACS trips, only winning one pennant with their 2017 World Series win. Detroit had 12 playoff berths and ten division titles in the same stretch, but had zero pennants and lost their lone prior NACS in 2012. The series was the first NACS to go all seven since 2016 with the Tigers finally getting over that hump on the road. Detroit ended an 67-year pennant drought by winning their fifth National Association title (1902, 1911, 1932, 1953, 2021) New Orleans emphatically took the American Association’s top seed for their fourth South Central Division title in six years. The Mudcats’ previous division crowns came with 87, 95, and 86 wins. They took a huge jump in 2021 with a franchise record 112-50. New Orleans led all teams in runs scored (864) and allowed the second-fewest runs in the AA at 593. The #2 seed was Los Angeles at 100-62 atop the Southwest Division, ending a three-year playoff drought. It was the Angels’ first division title since 2015 with LA allowing the fewest runs in the AA at 584. San Francisco gave them a run at 95-67 with both Las Vegas and Oakland in the mix. Reigning World Series and Baseball Grand Champion Denver had their lowest win total in eight years, but that was still 97-65. The Dragons’ MLB record playoff and division title streak grew to 12 seasons. They had tough competition in the division with Seattle three games back and Salt Lake City six away. Denver got the #3 seed over Southeast Division champ Nashville on a tiebreaker with both at 97-65. The Knights got their third division title in four years, finishing eight ahead of Atlanta. In the wild card race, seven teams fighting for three spots were separated by four wins. The 95-67 Gold Rush got the first spot to end a two-year playoff drought. At 94-68, the Grizzlies got the second spot to end a seven-year skid. There was a three-way tie for the final spot at 93-69 between Las Vegas, Houston, and Dallas. Oakland (92-70), Salt Lake City (91-71) and Atlanta (89-73) all fell just short. The Loons’ bid for a third straight berth fell short, although they had their ninth straight winning season. The Owls had rough luck, underperforming their expected win/loss by ten games. Two tiebreaker games were played to determine the final playoff team. In the first game, Houston eliminated division rival Dallas. Then in game two, the Hornets were ousted by the Vipers. With that, Las Vegas extended their playoff streak to five years. The Vipers also earned a 14^th consecutive winning record, the longest active run in MLB. The American Association had its seventh different MVP in as many years. It went to a San Diego player in back-to-back years though despite the Seals again being below .500. LF Ben Conlee was deserving though as the 27-year old from Ben Lomand, California led in batting average (.345), slugging (.674), OPS (1.087), wRC+ (193), and WAR (10.3). Conlee added 52 homers, 129 RBI, and 118 runs. His Seals teammate Jason Perazzo had a case for a repeat, leading in both home runs (60) and RBI (143). They set the foundation for San Diego’s eventual dominance later in the decade. Expansion Anchorage had the Pitcher of the Year in MLB newcomer Ilie Kursinsky. The 29-year old Moldovan lefty had pitched six years for Dnipro in the European Second League, then spent 2020 in the EBF Elite for Madrid. His results had been good in Europe, but not award winning. Kursinsky took a chance by moving to Alaska, signing with the new Avalanche franchise at $53,600,000 over four years. In his MLB debut, Kursinsky led in wins (21-10), ERA (2.30), innings (282.1), quality starts (27), and shutouts (8). He added 196 strikeouts, 8.1 WAR, and 169 ERA+. Kursinsky’s unique career would see one more year with Anchorage, followed by a trade to Las Vegas. After four strong MLB seasons, he would finish out his career back in Europe with Kharkiv and Lodz. Kursinky was a unique “Hall of Good” type journeyman who was a very popular at each stop. Two division champs beat divisional rivals in the first round with Denver over Seattle and Los Angeles over Las Vegas, both by 3-1 margins. San Francisco was the lone wild card to advance in the first year of the expanded playoffs, outlasting Nashville 3-2. The Gold Rush took 112-win New Orleans to the limit in the second round, but the Mudcats survived 3-2. The defending Grand Champion Dragons swept the Angels on the other side. Denver was looking to establish a dynasty and repeat, even if they weren’t as strong as the arguably best-ever 2020 squad. New Orleans hadn’t made it to the American Association Championship Series since their dynasty days of the early 1970s. Despite the Mudcats winning 15 more games and having home field advantage, some still favored the Dragons. The series was a seven-game classic with the Mudcats surviving for their fifth pennant (1935, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2021). The 121^st World Series had two teams looking to end lengthy title droughts. New Orleans was a perfect 4-0 in the Fall Classic, but it had nearly 50 years since their 1970s three-peat. Detroit was 1-3 in their tries with the lone win back in the second-ever World Series of 1902. With a victory, the Tigers would’ve set a world record with 122 wins between titles. New Orleans denied Detroit that bit of history as the Mudcats won it 4-2. Despite having only 16 total playoff berths, New Orleans became only the eighth MLB franchise with 5+ titles. World Series MVP was MLB newcomer Ange Ndikuriyo, who had won three MVPs with Cape Town of the African Association of Baseball. The 29-year old Rwandan RF came to the Bayou in 2021 on a four-year, $81,400,000 deal. Ndikuriyo delivered in his first taste of postseason baseball, starting 18 games with 19 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, and 17 RBI. The 2021 Mudcats had a case as one of MLB’s best-ever teams. They were the fourth squad to win 112+ regular season games and the claim the World Series. Denver from the prior season and 1907 Phoenix both won it all at 114-48 and 1956 San Diego matched the Mudcats’ 112-50 mark. Other notes: In his second season, Chicago’s Milton Ramirez won the batting title and he’d go onto be an all-time contact hitter. Ramirez set a bad single-season record though in 2021, getting caught stealing 59 times. The previous MLB worst was Bill Tan’s 58 in 1944. As a team, Miami’s offense had 156 doubles, the third-lowest mark in American Association history. Ed Willis threw his second no-hitter, striking out 16 with 3 walks for Austin against San Antonio on 5/31. Willis had tossed a no-no with Washington in 2018. Detroit’s Marty Allen also had his second no-hitter after a previous one in 2018. Allen struck out 15 with 2 walks against Kansas City on 9/16. Denver’s Omari Green had his first no-hitter in 2021 and became both the 26^th pitcher to reach 3500 career strikeouts and the 44^th to 250 wins. Vincent Lepp joined the 200 win and 3000 strikeout clubs. Ryan Skramesto was the sixth to hit 700 career home runs, playing his final season with expansion Halifax and finishing with 710. He retired sixth, falling 48 short of Cody Lim’s record 758. Killian Fruechte and Isaac Cox both reached 1500 runs scored. Cox also got to 1500 RBI. 3B Graham Gregor won his seventh Silver Slugger. Eight-time AAB MVP Mwarami Tale made his MLB debut at age 40 for Baltimore and hit 33 home runs, making him the fourth player in baseball history to reach 1000 pro homers. The Tanzanian center fielder hit five more in 2022 for the Orioles, finishing with 38 in MLB and 968 in AAB. Tale retired fourth in homers behind Majed Darwish, Nordine Soule, and Ratan Canduri. In 2021, he also scored his 2000^th career run, a mark met by only 33 players as of 2037. Tale also ended with a combined 3002 games, 2070 runs, 505 doubles, 1006 home runs, 2345 RBI, 1609 walks, .302/.402/.665 slash, 184 wRC+, and 159.4 WAR. As of 2037, Tale is 7^th in homers, 12^th in RBI, 25^th in runs scored, 21^st in WAR among position players and 29^th in WAR amongst everybody. Among eventual Hall of Famers, Tale also sits 4^th in slugging percentage and his 1.067 OPS is 4^th. He’s undoubtedly a true hitting legend and on most top five lists for the best-ever African-born players. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)