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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-03-2025, 10:29 AM

The National Association was very competitive in 2024 as only seven wins separated the top seed from the lowest wild card. Philadelphia came out as the #1 squad at 99-63 atop the East Division, ending a four-year playoff drought. The Phillies only won the division by two games with Washington right behind at 97-65. The Admirals got the first wild card for repeat playoff trips and their third in four years. Philadelphia allowed the NA’s fewest runs at 552.

Detroit was the #2 seed by winning the Upper Midwest Division at 97-65, finishing five ahead of Chicago and seven better than Minneapolis. The Tigers won the division for the 12^th time in the last 17 seasons. In the Lower Midwest Division, defending World Series champ Cincinnati prevailed at 95-67. The Reds grabbed their fifth consecutive division title, edging out St. Louis by two games.

Montreal had a remarkable recovery after winning only 64 games in 2023, taking the Northeast Division in 2024 at 93-69. The Maples ended an eight-year playoff drought, topping Quebec City by two games and Ottawa by five. Last year’s division winner Toronto fell to 79-83.

For the remaining two wild cards, St. Louis (93-69) and Chicago (92-70) advanced with Quebec City (91-71), Minneapolis (90-72), Ottawa (88-74), and Milwaukee (85-77) as the first teams out. The Cubs extended their playoff streak to five and led in runs scored at 742. The Cardinals ended a three-year playoff skid. Notably wild cards from last year Virginia Beach and Brooklyn dropped off at 82-80 and 76-86, respectively.

National Association MVP went to Milwaukee 1B Gilbert Windemere, who led in home runs (63), RBI (135), total bases (411), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (220). The 27-year old from Wadena, Minnesota had 109 runs, 193 hits, 9.7 WAR, and a .334 average. He was second in batting average to Chicago’s Milton Ramirez (.353) and was only four homers short of the MLB single-season record. Windemere was the 7^th MLB slugger to hit 63+ dingers in a season. The Mustangs locked him up prior to the season at eight years and $136,500,000.

In his lone season with Cincinnati, Paxton Watson won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old righty from Somers, New York had been mostly strong with Baltimore, but got traded in the last year of his deal after struggling in 2023. He bounced back with an ERA title at 2.12, posting a 13-5 record in 216.1 innings, 203 strikeouts, and 6.9 WAR. This effort earned Watson a six-year, $168,200,000 deal in the offseason with Los Angeles. Major injuries would ultimately make the deal a bust as he’d never pitch another full season.

Cincinnati swept St. Louis and Detroit edged Chicago 3-2 in the first round, while Washington was the lone wild card winner 3-1 over Montreal. The Admirals ousted their divisional foe and top seed Philadelphia 3-1 in the second round, earning their first National Association Championship Series trip since 2008. The Reds swept the Tigers, giving them a shot at a historic three-peat. They were also hoping for a fourth title in five years, which had only happened once ever in NA history.

Washington played spoiler to Cincinnati’s aspirations, winning the NACS 4-1 to end a 57-year pennant drought for the American capital. It was the fifth National Association pennant for the Admirals (1912, 1914, 1930, 1966, 2024). They’re the first team from the East Division to win the pennant since the Phillies in 2013.

The American Association was far more top heavy with two teams battling for the #1 seed by the end. The top spot went to Houston at 106-56 for their second South Central Division title in three years. The Hornets outraced defending AA champ San Diego, who repeated in the Southwest Division at 103-59. Houston led all teams in scoring with 826 runs. Although they were sixth in runs allowed, the Hornets’ pitching staff set new AA single-season records for strikeouts (1457) and K/9 (8.83).

Seattle repeated as Northwest Division champ at 99-63. There was a steep drop to the fourth division winner as Orlando (85-77) was the only team above .500 in the Southeast. This was only the second time (2003) that the Orcas made the playoffs since joining MLB in the 1982 expansion. Orlando had been as bad as 59-103 only three years prior. Last year’s Southeast Division champ Atlanta fell to 78-84.

Austin took the first wild card at 96-66, ending a 12-year drought for the Amigos. San Francisco at 93-69 picked up the second spot for their third wild card in four years. The final slot had a tie at 91-71 between Calgary and Salt Lake City. Both Phoenix and Portland fell one short at 90-72, while Denver (88-74), Las Vegas (86-76), and New Orleans (86-76) each were in the mix much of the year.

The one-game tiebreaker saw the Cheetahs victorious over the Loons, ending a lengthy 29-year postseason drought for Calgary. The only American Association team with a longer drought was Miami, which grew to 52 seasons. Despite missing the cut, the Firebirds allowed the AA’s fewest runs at 565. The Dragons fell short for back-to-back years, but still posted a 15^th consecutive winning season.

American Association MVP went to Calgary DH Kevin Juarez in his seventh season. The 27-year old Spaniard led in hits (214) and total bases (387). Juarez added 46 homers, 124 RBI, 125 runs, .963 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. This effort earned him one of the richest deals so far in MLB at $207,200,000 over eight years.

Seattle’s Kendrick Dodd took Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season for the Grizzlies. The 28-year old righty from Columbus, New Mexico had a 2.42 ERA over 278.2 innings, 21-8 record, 259 strikeouts, 162 ERA+, and 9.5 WAR. Dodd took second in both ERA and WAR to Denver’s Oscar Dissard (2.35, 11.3). Dodd never had a season this impressive again, but he remained a steady arm for the next decade in Seattle.

The big first round shock was #7 seed Calgary upsetting #2 San Diego 3-2. Austin was also a wild card winner, but that was more expected over a weak Orlando team 3-1. The lone division champ to advance was Seattle over San Francisco 3-1. The Cheetahs couldn’t keep the magic going as Houston swept them in round two. The Grizzlies meanwhile outlasted the Amigos 3-2.

Seattle earned back-to-back trips in the American Association Championship Series. For the Hornets, it was their first since winning the World Series in 2019. Houston showed why they had the top seed by beating the Grizzlies 4-1 for their 11^th pennant. (1905, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1922, 1952, 2019, 2024). They have the second-most behind Phoenix’s 13.

The 124^th World Series was the first to need all seven games since Houston’s 2019 win over Kansas City. This time, the Hornets were on the losing end to Washington, winning their third MLB title (1914, 1930, 2024). The Admirals had a 94-year gap between titles, the fourth-longest in baseball history behind Tampa (110), CABA’s Tijuana (102), and Milwaukee (98).

Sixth-year middle infielder Jude Hoffer had an all-time postseason run, winning MVP of the World Series, NACS, and second round. The 26-year old from Gibbstown, New Jersey in 19 playoff starts had 32 hits, 20 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 19 RBI, 1.332 OPS, and 2.2 WAR. Hoffer was only the 8^th in MLB history to score 20 runs in a playoff run, falling one short of Patrick White’s 1959 record. The 32 hits tied for 4^th most, becoming the 7^th player to get 32+ hits in one postseason. The already extremely popular Hoffer signed an eight-year, $197,100,000 extension in May to remain DC’s baseball icon for the long haul.

Other notes: Entering the season, Killian Fruechte, Isaac Cox, and Graham Gregor all hoped to make a run at Cody Lim’s all-time home run mark of 758. For Cox, he hit 29 homers in 2024 at age 37, which was a career low. But he still posted 5.4 WAR for the season for Detroit and got to 751 total homers, passing Elijah Cashman’s 750 for the #2 spot. Cashman had held the #1 spot for 85 years until passed by Lim in 2021. Lim’s hold of the crown at 758 seemed very likely to fall in 2025 to Cox barring a major setback.

Fruechte and Gregor officially came up short at 739 and 718 respectively in their final seasons. Fruechte hit 34 the prior year, but struggled and only got 9 over 71 games in 2024. He finished with 124.46 career WAR, retiring 11^th among MLB position players.

Gregor retired 2^nd in WAR for position players with 147.95 and was third among all players. He was one of the very select few in baseball history to play at age 45, starting all of 2024 with 1.5 WAR and 15 homers for Atlanta. Gregor became the 6^th to 2000 career RBI and he ended with 1956 runs, falling short of being the 2^nd to reach 2k. Gregor also retired with 3666 hits, ranking 4^th in MLB.

Ichisake Kawasaki became the 31^st to reach 600 home runs, while Fritz Louissi and Alberto Peron became the 94^th and 95^th members of the 500 home run club. Louissi won his 12^th Silver Slugger at shortstop, joining CF Morgan Short as MLB’s only 12+ Slugger winners at any spot. Vincent Lepp and Sunny Williams became the 45^th and 46^th pitchers to reach 250 wins.

Raleigh’s offense had only 139 doubles all season, tied for the 2^nd lowest in MLB history. Brooklyn’s Lindsey Crismond had a four home run game against Baltimore; the 30^th four homer game in MLB history. SS Ledell Pinnock, LF Max Baldwin, and CF Clark Patushi each became eight-time Gold Glove winners.

02-03-2025, 10:29 AM	#2035
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,892	2024 in MLB The National Association was very competitive in 2024 as only seven wins separated the top seed from the lowest wild card. Philadelphia came out as the #1 squad at 99-63 atop the East Division, ending a four-year playoff drought. The Phillies only won the division by two games with Washington right behind at 97-65. The Admirals got the first wild card for repeat playoff trips and their third in four years. Philadelphia allowed the NA’s fewest runs at 552. Detroit was the #2 seed by winning the Upper Midwest Division at 97-65, finishing five ahead of Chicago and seven better than Minneapolis. The Tigers won the division for the 12^th time in the last 17 seasons. In the Lower Midwest Division, defending World Series champ Cincinnati prevailed at 95-67. The Reds grabbed their fifth consecutive division title, edging out St. Louis by two games. Montreal had a remarkable recovery after winning only 64 games in 2023, taking the Northeast Division in 2024 at 93-69. The Maples ended an eight-year playoff drought, topping Quebec City by two games and Ottawa by five. Last year’s division winner Toronto fell to 79-83. For the remaining two wild cards, St. Louis (93-69) and Chicago (92-70) advanced with Quebec City (91-71), Minneapolis (90-72), Ottawa (88-74), and Milwaukee (85-77) as the first teams out. The Cubs extended their playoff streak to five and led in runs scored at 742. The Cardinals ended a three-year playoff skid. Notably wild cards from last year Virginia Beach and Brooklyn dropped off at 82-80 and 76-86, respectively. National Association MVP went to Milwaukee 1B Gilbert Windemere, who led in home runs (63), RBI (135), total bases (411), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (220). The 27-year old from Wadena, Minnesota had 109 runs, 193 hits, 9.7 WAR, and a .334 average. He was second in batting average to Chicago’s Milton Ramirez (.353) and was only four homers short of the MLB single-season record. Windemere was the 7^th MLB slugger to hit 63+ dingers in a season. The Mustangs locked him up prior to the season at eight years and $136,500,000. In his lone season with Cincinnati, Paxton Watson won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old righty from Somers, New York had been mostly strong with Baltimore, but got traded in the last year of his deal after struggling in 2023. He bounced back with an ERA title at 2.12, posting a 13-5 record in 216.1 innings, 203 strikeouts, and 6.9 WAR. This effort earned Watson a six-year, $168,200,000 deal in the offseason with Los Angeles. Major injuries would ultimately make the deal a bust as he’d never pitch another full season. Cincinnati swept St. Louis and Detroit edged Chicago 3-2 in the first round, while Washington was the lone wild card winner 3-1 over Montreal. The Admirals ousted their divisional foe and top seed Philadelphia 3-1 in the second round, earning their first National Association Championship Series trip since 2008. The Reds swept the Tigers, giving them a shot at a historic three-peat. They were also hoping for a fourth title in five years, which had only happened once ever in NA history. Washington played spoiler to Cincinnati’s aspirations, winning the NACS 4-1 to end a 57-year pennant drought for the American capital. It was the fifth National Association pennant for the Admirals (1912, 1914, 1930, 1966, 2024). They’re the first team from the East Division to win the pennant since the Phillies in 2013. The American Association was far more top heavy with two teams battling for the #1 seed by the end. The top spot went to Houston at 106-56 for their second South Central Division title in three years. The Hornets outraced defending AA champ San Diego, who repeated in the Southwest Division at 103-59. Houston led all teams in scoring with 826 runs. Although they were sixth in runs allowed, the Hornets’ pitching staff set new AA single-season records for strikeouts (1457) and K/9 (8.83). Seattle repeated as Northwest Division champ at 99-63. There was a steep drop to the fourth division winner as Orlando (85-77) was the only team above .500 in the Southeast. This was only the second time (2003) that the Orcas made the playoffs since joining MLB in the 1982 expansion. Orlando had been as bad as 59-103 only three years prior. Last year’s Southeast Division champ Atlanta fell to 78-84. Austin took the first wild card at 96-66, ending a 12-year drought for the Amigos. San Francisco at 93-69 picked up the second spot for their third wild card in four years. The final slot had a tie at 91-71 between Calgary and Salt Lake City. Both Phoenix and Portland fell one short at 90-72, while Denver (88-74), Las Vegas (86-76), and New Orleans (86-76) each were in the mix much of the year. The one-game tiebreaker saw the Cheetahs victorious over the Loons, ending a lengthy 29-year postseason drought for Calgary. The only American Association team with a longer drought was Miami, which grew to 52 seasons. Despite missing the cut, the Firebirds allowed the AA’s fewest runs at 565. The Dragons fell short for back-to-back years, but still posted a 15^th consecutive winning season. American Association MVP went to Calgary DH Kevin Juarez in his seventh season. The 27-year old Spaniard led in hits (214) and total bases (387). Juarez added 46 homers, 124 RBI, 125 runs, .963 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. This effort earned him one of the richest deals so far in MLB at $207,200,000 over eight years. Seattle’s Kendrick Dodd took Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season for the Grizzlies. The 28-year old righty from Columbus, New Mexico had a 2.42 ERA over 278.2 innings, 21-8 record, 259 strikeouts, 162 ERA+, and 9.5 WAR. Dodd took second in both ERA and WAR to Denver’s Oscar Dissard (2.35, 11.3). Dodd never had a season this impressive again, but he remained a steady arm for the next decade in Seattle. The big first round shock was #7 seed Calgary upsetting #2 San Diego 3-2. Austin was also a wild card winner, but that was more expected over a weak Orlando team 3-1. The lone division champ to advance was Seattle over San Francisco 3-1. The Cheetahs couldn’t keep the magic going as Houston swept them in round two. The Grizzlies meanwhile outlasted the Amigos 3-2. Seattle earned back-to-back trips in the American Association Championship Series. For the Hornets, it was their first since winning the World Series in 2019. Houston showed why they had the top seed by beating the Grizzlies 4-1 for their 11^th pennant. (1905, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1922, 1952, 2019, 2024). They have the second-most behind Phoenix’s 13. The 124^th World Series was the first to need all seven games since Houston’s 2019 win over Kansas City. This time, the Hornets were on the losing end to Washington, winning their third MLB title (1914, 1930, 2024). The Admirals had a 94-year gap between titles, the fourth-longest in baseball history behind Tampa (110), CABA’s Tijuana (102), and Milwaukee (98). Sixth-year middle infielder Jude Hoffer had an all-time postseason run, winning MVP of the World Series, NACS, and second round. The 26-year old from Gibbstown, New Jersey in 19 playoff starts had 32 hits, 20 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 19 RBI, 1.332 OPS, and 2.2 WAR. Hoffer was only the 8^th in MLB history to score 20 runs in a playoff run, falling one short of Patrick White’s 1959 record. The 32 hits tied for 4^th most, becoming the 7^th player to get 32+ hits in one postseason. The already extremely popular Hoffer signed an eight-year, $197,100,000 extension in May to remain DC’s baseball icon for the long haul. Other notes: Entering the season, Killian Fruechte, Isaac Cox, and Graham Gregor all hoped to make a run at Cody Lim’s all-time home run mark of 758. For Cox, he hit 29 homers in 2024 at age 37, which was a career low. But he still posted 5.4 WAR for the season for Detroit and got to 751 total homers, passing Elijah Cashman’s 750 for the #2 spot. Cashman had held the #1 spot for 85 years until passed by Lim in 2021. Lim’s hold of the crown at 758 seemed very likely to fall in 2025 to Cox barring a major setback. Fruechte and Gregor officially came up short at 739 and 718 respectively in their final seasons. Fruechte hit 34 the prior year, but struggled and only got 9 over 71 games in 2024. He finished with 124.46 career WAR, retiring 11^th among MLB position players. Gregor retired 2^nd in WAR for position players with 147.95 and was third among all players. He was one of the very select few in baseball history to play at age 45, starting all of 2024 with 1.5 WAR and 15 homers for Atlanta. Gregor became the 6^th to 2000 career RBI and he ended with 1956 runs, falling short of being the 2^nd to reach 2k. Gregor also retired with 3666 hits, ranking 4^th in MLB. Ichisake Kawasaki became the 31^st to reach 600 home runs, while Fritz Louissi and Alberto Peron became the 94^th and 95^th members of the 500 home run club. Louissi won his 12^th Silver Slugger at shortstop, joining CF Morgan Short as MLB’s only 12+ Slugger winners at any spot. Vincent Lepp and Sunny Williams became the 45^th and 46^th pitchers to reach 250 wins. Raleigh’s offense had only 139 doubles all season, tied for the 2^nd lowest in MLB history. Brooklyn’s Lindsey Crismond had a four home run game against Baltimore; the 30^th four homer game in MLB history. SS Ledell Pinnock, LF Max Baldwin, and CF Clark Patushi each became eight-time Gold Glove winners. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)