OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-19-2025, 05:35 AM

Fresh off winning Copa Sudamerica and the Baseball Grand Championship at 114-48, Caracas had a lot of eyes on them for 2023. The Colts couldn’t replicate the win total, but still narrowly had the Bolivar League’s best record at 100-62. They also set a new Beisbol Sudamerica record for runs scored with 917. Caracas also had the second-best season attendance in BSA history at 2,728,861, behind only their 2,859,209 from the prior year.

Caracas claimed a seventh consecutive Venezuela Division title and became the first team in Beisbol Sudamerica history to win 100+ games in seven consecutive seasons. They had close competition in the division with Ciudad Guayana at 96-66. That earned the Giants the second wild card for their third playoff appearance in six years. CG’s offense was also impressive at 870 runs scored and an even better OPS than Caracas (.832 vs .822). Valencia missed out on a third straight wild card with an 87-75 finish.

Meanwhile for the top seed, both Barranquilla and Cali were close behind Caracas as they battled for the Colombia-Ecuador Division. The Blues and Cyclones were both 98-64 after 162 games with Barranquilla winning the tiebreaker game. The Blues repeated as division champs and Cali repeated as a wild card. Quito was also in the mix for a bit at 89-73, allowing the fewest runs in the league at 631.

Lastly in the Peru-Bolivia Division, Arequipa (90-72) prevailed over Santa Cruz (86-76). This was the Arrows’ first winning season and division title since 2013. Last year’s division winner Callao struggled to 71-91. Since BSA doesn’t give division winners seeding preference, Arequipa is the #5 seed and must travel to Ciudad Guayana in the first round.

The Giants swept the top awards with Bolivar League MVP going to LF R.J. Zavaleta. It was the second MVP for the 30-year old Venezuelan, who also won back in 2017. Zavaleta scored 138 runs, only three short of the BSA single-season record 141 set in 1976 by Jasper Saucedo. Zavaleta also led in total bases (429), and slugging (.725). He had 47 homers, 113 RBI, .360 average, 1.120 OPS, and 8.9 WAR. Zavaleta stayed one more year with Ciudad Guayana, then took a mammoth five-year, $160 million deal with MLB’s Los Angeles Angels.

Pitcher of the Year went to veteran journeyman Lope Martinez, who signed for just 2023 with Ciudad Guayana. The 34-year old Bolivian lefty had previous stints with La Paz, Asuncion, and Santa Cruz with mostly average production. In 2023, Martinez led in wins (23-6) and innings (263.2). He posted a 2.70 ERA, 239 strikeouts, 157 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. This was the only season of his career above 4+ WAR. Martinez would play two more seasons with Brasilia before retiring.

Ciudad Guayana edged Arequipa 2-1 and gave their Venezuelan rival Caracas a fight in the divisional series. However, the Colts survived 3-2 to earn their fourth Bolivar League Championship Series trip in six years. Barranquilla had beaten Cali in the tiebreaker game for the division, but the Cyclones got playoff revenge with a surprising road sweep. The BLCS had a rematch for the first time since Medellin/Santa Cruz in 2009-10. Caracas held on in a seven-game classic over Cali to pull off the repeat. The Colts became 15-time Bolivar League champs, leading all teams.

Santiago repeated as the Southern Cone League’s top seed, winning the South Central Division for the fourth straight year at 104-58. Concepcion gave them a tough challenge again at 96-66, easily earning the first wild card. The Saints earned their eighth playoff berth in nine years, while the Chiefs nabbed their 11^th in 13 years.

Two-time defending league champ Fortaleza was the #2 seed at 101-61 to repeat as North Division champ. The Foxes got their fourth berth in five years and led the league with 799 runs. In the Southeast Division, Rio de Janeiro (88-74) squeaked by both Buenos Aires (87-75) and Sao Paulo (84-78). The Redbirds got their second division title in three years.

The Atlantics were one back in the division, but luckily one ahead of Belo Horizonte (86-76) for the second wild card. BA got repeat wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 568. They were one game better than the Hogs, three over the Padres, and four better than Recife.

Concepcion 1B Julio Saucedo had a remarkable debut, winning both Southern Cone League MVP and Rookie of the Year. He joined Ynilo Zapata (1952) as the only BSA players to win both in the same season. Saucedo wasn’t even a highly touted prospect, getting taken 66^th by the Chiefs back in the 2019 draft. The Chilean led in RBI (123), and total bases (390) while adding 44 homers, .372 average, 1.091 OPS, 214 wRC+, and 9.6 WAR. His WAR was the second-best by a BSA ROTY winner behind only Timoteo Caruso’s 9.9 on the mound in 1936.

Santiago’s Brayan Campos won Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins at 22-4. The 27-year old Chilean righty had a 2.32 ERA over 248.1 innings, 208 strikeouts, 161 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. Also of note, Sao Paulo’s Tony Montes won his fourth Reliever of the Year in five seasons. He became the eighth in BSA history to win the award 4+ times. Sadly, Montes’ blew out his elbow in 2025 to essentially end his career just after his 30^th birthday

Rio de Janeiro beat Buenos Aires 2-0 in the first round, then shocked top seed Santiago 3-2 in the divisional series. The Redbirds earned their first Southern Cone Championship trip since their 2016 pennant. Concepcion ousted defending champ Fortaleza with a 3-1 road upset, giving the Chiefs their first LCS since their 2018 title. Concepcion bested Rio 4-2 for their fourth pennant since 2012 and seventh overall; an impressive haul for a 1974 expansion team.

The 93^rd Copa Sudamerica was not the first meeting between Concepcion in Caracas. Back in 1987, the Chiefs won their first Cup 4-1 over the Colts. The reigning Grand Champion Caracas repeated as Beisbol Sudamerica champ, although they needed all seven games to outlast Concepcion. It was the first Copa Sudamerica since 2017 to go the distance. Caracas was the first repeat champ since Bogota (2004-05).

2B Daniel Schafer won finals MVP with 19 playoff starts, 24 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 9 RBI. The signing of the two-time MVP was paying dividends, as Schafer had delivered two Cups in two years since leaving from Manaus. It was the Colts’ sixth cup (1933, 1959, 1960, 1962, 2022, 2023), tying them for the most along with Sao Paulo, Santiago, Salvador, Medellin, and Buenos Aires.

Other notes: Arequipa LF Paco Amorim set a new BSA record for walks drawn with 109, besting Claude Pena’s 108 that stood since 1978. Amorim also had the best-ever on-base percentage in BSA at .479, beating Bernaldo Lagasse’s .470 from 2006. Fortaleza’s Juan Carlos Rivera also topped Lagasse’s mark in 2023 with a .476 OBP.

On September 16, Santa Cruz’s Bartolo Flores had a remarkable 21 strikeout no-hitter against Barquisimeto, while walking one. This broke BSA’s record for Ks in a no-no, as 20 had been done twice. It was the 18^th time in BSA that a pitcher fanned 21+ in any outing, but that hadn’t happened since 1983. 14 of those 18 games are split between legendary aces Mohamed Ramos and Lazaro Rodriguez. In other pitching notables, Adrian Chacon became the 66^th to reach 200 wins.

Niccolo Coelho became the 4^th member of the 800 home run club. Daniel Schafer was the 70^th to 2500 hits. Cicero Lugo became the 32^nd to 1500 RBI. Lugo and Michael Escalante made the 500 home run club, now 54 members strong. Lugo also won his 15^th Silver Slugger at catcher, matching SS Diego Pena for the most in BSA history. Of the ten players in world history to this point with 15+ Sluggers, Lugo is the only catcher. SS Tajo Rios won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

01-19-2025, 05:35 AM	#1990
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,912	2023 in BSA Fresh off winning Copa Sudamerica and the Baseball Grand Championship at 114-48, Caracas had a lot of eyes on them for 2023. The Colts couldn’t replicate the win total, but still narrowly had the Bolivar League’s best record at 100-62. They also set a new Beisbol Sudamerica record for runs scored with 917. Caracas also had the second-best season attendance in BSA history at 2,728,861, behind only their 2,859,209 from the prior year. Caracas claimed a seventh consecutive Venezuela Division title and became the first team in Beisbol Sudamerica history to win 100+ games in seven consecutive seasons. They had close competition in the division with Ciudad Guayana at 96-66. That earned the Giants the second wild card for their third playoff appearance in six years. CG’s offense was also impressive at 870 runs scored and an even better OPS than Caracas (.832 vs .822). Valencia missed out on a third straight wild card with an 87-75 finish. Meanwhile for the top seed, both Barranquilla and Cali were close behind Caracas as they battled for the Colombia-Ecuador Division. The Blues and Cyclones were both 98-64 after 162 games with Barranquilla winning the tiebreaker game. The Blues repeated as division champs and Cali repeated as a wild card. Quito was also in the mix for a bit at 89-73, allowing the fewest runs in the league at 631. Lastly in the Peru-Bolivia Division, Arequipa (90-72) prevailed over Santa Cruz (86-76). This was the Arrows’ first winning season and division title since 2013. Last year’s division winner Callao struggled to 71-91. Since BSA doesn’t give division winners seeding preference, Arequipa is the #5 seed and must travel to Ciudad Guayana in the first round. The Giants swept the top awards with Bolivar League MVP going to LF R.J. Zavaleta. It was the second MVP for the 30-year old Venezuelan, who also won back in 2017. Zavaleta scored 138 runs, only three short of the BSA single-season record 141 set in 1976 by Jasper Saucedo. Zavaleta also led in total bases (429), and slugging (.725). He had 47 homers, 113 RBI, .360 average, 1.120 OPS, and 8.9 WAR. Zavaleta stayed one more year with Ciudad Guayana, then took a mammoth five-year, $160 million deal with MLB’s Los Angeles Angels. Pitcher of the Year went to veteran journeyman Lope Martinez, who signed for just 2023 with Ciudad Guayana. The 34-year old Bolivian lefty had previous stints with La Paz, Asuncion, and Santa Cruz with mostly average production. In 2023, Martinez led in wins (23-6) and innings (263.2). He posted a 2.70 ERA, 239 strikeouts, 157 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. This was the only season of his career above 4+ WAR. Martinez would play two more seasons with Brasilia before retiring. Ciudad Guayana edged Arequipa 2-1 and gave their Venezuelan rival Caracas a fight in the divisional series. However, the Colts survived 3-2 to earn their fourth Bolivar League Championship Series trip in six years. Barranquilla had beaten Cali in the tiebreaker game for the division, but the Cyclones got playoff revenge with a surprising road sweep. The BLCS had a rematch for the first time since Medellin/Santa Cruz in 2009-10. Caracas held on in a seven-game classic over Cali to pull off the repeat. The Colts became 15-time Bolivar League champs, leading all teams. Santiago repeated as the Southern Cone League’s top seed, winning the South Central Division for the fourth straight year at 104-58. Concepcion gave them a tough challenge again at 96-66, easily earning the first wild card. The Saints earned their eighth playoff berth in nine years, while the Chiefs nabbed their 11^th in 13 years. Two-time defending league champ Fortaleza was the #2 seed at 101-61 to repeat as North Division champ. The Foxes got their fourth berth in five years and led the league with 799 runs. In the Southeast Division, Rio de Janeiro (88-74) squeaked by both Buenos Aires (87-75) and Sao Paulo (84-78). The Redbirds got their second division title in three years. The Atlantics were one back in the division, but luckily one ahead of Belo Horizonte (86-76) for the second wild card. BA got repeat wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 568. They were one game better than the Hogs, three over the Padres, and four better than Recife. Concepcion 1B Julio Saucedo had a remarkable debut, winning both Southern Cone League MVP and Rookie of the Year. He joined Ynilo Zapata (1952) as the only BSA players to win both in the same season. Saucedo wasn’t even a highly touted prospect, getting taken 66^th by the Chiefs back in the 2019 draft. The Chilean led in RBI (123), and total bases (390) while adding 44 homers, .372 average, 1.091 OPS, 214 wRC+, and 9.6 WAR. His WAR was the second-best by a BSA ROTY winner behind only Timoteo Caruso’s 9.9 on the mound in 1936. Santiago’s Brayan Campos won Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins at 22-4. The 27-year old Chilean righty had a 2.32 ERA over 248.1 innings, 208 strikeouts, 161 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. Also of note, Sao Paulo’s Tony Montes won his fourth Reliever of the Year in five seasons. He became the eighth in BSA history to win the award 4+ times. Sadly, Montes’ blew out his elbow in 2025 to essentially end his career just after his 30^th birthday Rio de Janeiro beat Buenos Aires 2-0 in the first round, then shocked top seed Santiago 3-2 in the divisional series. The Redbirds earned their first Southern Cone Championship trip since their 2016 pennant. Concepcion ousted defending champ Fortaleza with a 3-1 road upset, giving the Chiefs their first LCS since their 2018 title. Concepcion bested Rio 4-2 for their fourth pennant since 2012 and seventh overall; an impressive haul for a 1974 expansion team. The 93^rd Copa Sudamerica was not the first meeting between Concepcion in Caracas. Back in 1987, the Chiefs won their first Cup 4-1 over the Colts. The reigning Grand Champion Caracas repeated as Beisbol Sudamerica champ, although they needed all seven games to outlast Concepcion. It was the first Copa Sudamerica since 2017 to go the distance. Caracas was the first repeat champ since Bogota (2004-05). 2B Daniel Schafer won finals MVP with 19 playoff starts, 24 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 9 RBI. The signing of the two-time MVP was paying dividends, as Schafer had delivered two Cups in two years since leaving from Manaus. It was the Colts’ sixth cup (1933, 1959, 1960, 1962, 2022, 2023), tying them for the most along with Sao Paulo, Santiago, Salvador, Medellin, and Buenos Aires. Other notes: Arequipa LF Paco Amorim set a new BSA record for walks drawn with 109, besting Claude Pena’s 108 that stood since 1978. Amorim also had the best-ever on-base percentage in BSA at .479, beating Bernaldo Lagasse’s .470 from 2006. Fortaleza’s Juan Carlos Rivera also topped Lagasse’s mark in 2023 with a .476 OBP. On September 16, Santa Cruz’s Bartolo Flores had a remarkable 21 strikeout no-hitter against Barquisimeto, while walking one. This broke BSA’s record for Ks in a no-no, as 20 had been done twice. It was the 18^th time in BSA that a pitcher fanned 21+ in any outing, but that hadn’t happened since 1983. 14 of those 18 games are split between legendary aces Mohamed Ramos and Lazaro Rodriguez. In other pitching notables, Adrian Chacon became the 66^th to reach 200 wins. Niccolo Coelho became the 4^th member of the 800 home run club. Daniel Schafer was the 70^th to 2500 hits. Cicero Lugo became the 32^nd to 1500 RBI. Lugo and Michael Escalante made the 500 home run club, now 54 members strong. Lugo also won his 15^th Silver Slugger at catcher, matching SS Diego Pena for the most in BSA history. Of the ten players in world history to this point with 15+ Sluggers, Lugo is the only catcher. SS Tajo Rios won his 8^th Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)