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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-05-2025, 06:58 AM

Ottawa ran away with the National Association’s top seed in 2028 at 105-57, finishing 12 games better than the next team. The Elks were second in both runs scored (818) and fewest allowed (618). The Canadian capital also set a new world season attendance record at 3,431,240, besting the previous high of 3,426,361 by Los Angeles in 2013. Although Ottawa earned repeat playoff berths, it was their first Northeast Division title since 2022.

The #2 seed was Upper Midwest Division champ Cleveland at 93-69, which ended a 19-year playoff drought and 22-year division title drought. Chicago was a close second at 91-71 and earned the first wild card. The Cubs’ playoff streak grew to three years and was their eighth playoff berth of the decade.

The East Division had Raleigh (91-71) survive against Philadelphia (90-72), Washington (89-73), Virginia Beach (87-75), and Baltimore (85-77). The Raptors got their third berth in four years and second division title. Meanwhile the Lower Midwest Division went to 89-73 Indianapolis, topping Wichita by three and Louisville by seven. The Racers earned back-to-back playoff berths, but it was their first division crown since 2013.

The Phillies at 90-72 got the second wild card to end a three-year playoff drought. Washington and the Northeast’s Halifax were tied for the last spot at 89-73. The Hound Dogs won the tiebreaker game to secure repeat playoff trips. The Admirals’ playoff streak ended at five despite leading in scoring with 830 runs. Grand Rapids allowed the fewest runs at 86-76.

Toronto (87-75), Virginia Beach (87-75), Wichita (86-76), Grand Rapids (86-76), Baltimore (85-77), Buffalo (85-77), and defending National Association champ Montreal (85-77) were all right in the mix, but fell just short. The Maples notably saw a four-year playoff streak end. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s eight-year streak snapped as the Reds fell to 79-83. That was their first losing season since 2017, which had been the longest active streak of winning campaigns. For the Blue Sox, they notably had their first winning season in a decade.

Indianapolis 1B Thomas Rich repeated as National Association MVP. The 29-year old lefty from Westlake, Ohio led in runs (120), total bases (410), OPS (1.088), and wRC+ (201). Rich had 211 hits, 34 doubles, 51 homers, 130 RBI, a .347/.414/.678 slash, and 9.2 WAR.

Pitcher of the Year also had a repeat with Grand Rapids ace Callum McGonagal. The 26-year old Irish righty led in ERA (2.33), WHIP (0.95), complete games (17), shutouts (7), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.3). McGonagal added a 20-9 record, 259.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and 170 ERA+. He was only one win and six strikeouts short of a Triple Crown season. Among his shutouts was a no-hitter on September 1 with 11 Ks and two walks against Brooklyn.

Two division winners got first round sweeps with Indianapolis over Chicago and Cleveland over Halifax. Philadelphia meanwhile upset their divisional foe Raleigh 3-2. The Phillies gave top seeded Ottawa a fight in round two, but the Elks escaped with a 3-2 series win. The Racers then rolled to a sweep over the Cobras.

For Ottawa, it was their first National Association Champion ship Series trip since their 2003 pennant. Indianapolis hadn’t been there since their 1999 trophy. The Elks lived up to their top seed and cruised to a 4-1 NACS win over the Racers. Despite the drought, it was Ottawa’s 12^th pennant (1924, 25, 29, 38, 40, 56, 65, 75, 83, 86, 2003, 28). Philadelphia was the only NA squad with more at 14.

The two-time defending World Series and Baseball Grand Champion San Diego again led the American Association atop the Southwest Division at 108-54. The Seals led all of Major League Baseball in runs scored (927) and led the AA in fewest allowed (602). San Diego picked up its fifth playoff berth in six years. Southeast Division champ Charlotte gave them a run for the top seed at 104-58. The Canaries earned their second division crown in three seasons and their first 100+ win season since 2012. Last year’s division champ Nashville dropped from 100 wins down to 77-85.

Dallas took the South Central Division at 98-64 in an impressive rebound from a 100-loss 2027 campaign. It was the Dalmatians’ first playoff trip since 2022 and first division title since 1998. Last year’s division winner Houston was second at 93-69. Seattle (97-65) sneaked by Denver (96-66) for the Northwest Division title, growing the Grizzlies’ division title and playoff streak to six seasons.

The Dragons and Southwest runner-up Los Angeles were the first wild cards at 96-66. Denver snapped a five-year drought and the Angels earned their third berth in four years. The Hornets nabbed the final slot at 93-69 for repeat playoff trips and their fifth in seven years. The first teams out were Oakland (89-73), Oklahoma City (88-74), San Antonio (87-75), Tampa (87-75), Calgary (87-75), Atlanta (86-76), and Birmingham (85-77). The expansion Boomers had their first-ever winning season. Fellow expansion teams El Paso and Anchorage were wild cards in 2027, but fell to 81-81 and 75-89 in 2028, respectively.

Orlando had MLB’s worst record at 55-107 and set a new franchise worst. Despite that, it was Orcas DH Jackson Brafford that won American Association MVP. Even as a DH on a trash team, it was hard to ignore breaking MLB’s single season home run record. Brafford smacked a nice 69 dingers, passing the record of 67 set in 2012 by Killian Fruechte and matched in 2022 by Dean Ott.

The 27-year old lefty from Frederick, Maryland also led in total bases (461), slugging (.720), OPS (1.117), and WAR (8.3). Brafford’s total bags ranked second in MLB history behind Sebastian Lunde’s 476 from 1949. He added 215 hits, 134 runs, 35 doubles, 146 RBI, .336 average, .397 OBP, and 180 wRC+. Brafford had stayed committed to Orlando, signing an eight-year, $162 million extension before the 2027 season.

Pitcher of the Year went to ninth-year Charlotte righty Dylan Reed. The 29-yaer old from Cocoa, Florida won the ERA title (2.68) and led in wins (23-8) and quality starts (24). Reed struck out 200 over 268.2 innings with a 165 ERA+ and 6.7 WAR. In February, Reed inked a five-year, $111,600,000 extension with the Canaries.

Charlotte swept Houston, Dallas downed Denver 3-1, and Los Angeles upset Seattle 3-2 in the first round. The Dalmatians then outlasted the Canaries 3-2 in round two while San Diego dispatched the Angels 3-1. For Dallas, they earned their first trip to the American Association Championship Series since their 1980 World Series win. This was an incredible accomplishment considering the Dalmatians were a putrid 62-100 the prior year.

They were the feel good story, but Dallas ran into the historic juggernaut that was San Diego. The Seals rolled to a 4-1 victory for their third straight pennant and fourth in six years. San Diego now had 13 American Association pennants (1936, 55, 56, 58, 66, 67, 2007, 08, 10, 23, 26, 27, 28), tying them with Phoenix for the most. The Seals were the fourth in AA history to three-peat, joining Houston (1910-12), Memphis (1913-15), and New Orleans (1970-72).

The 128^th World Series had two of the most successful MLB franchises squaring off for the second time. Back in 1956, San Diego won a 4-3 classic over Ottawa to repeat as MLB champs. The Seals ended up winning three titles in four years having also won in 1958. SD now had another shot at the elusive three-peat, an incredibly tough feat considering the number of teams and talent level in MLB. The only previous three-peats came from Houston (1910-12), Philadelphia (the lone four-peat from 1941-44), and New Orleans (1970-72).

San Diego joined that exclusive list, defeating Ottawa in a 4-3 thriller. The Seals became the first ten-time World Series winner (1936, 55, 56, 58, 66, 2007, 10, 26, 27, 28). They had been tied with Denver for the most titles at nine. In his 13^th season catching for SD, Jim Fisher earned World Series MVP. The three-time Gold Glover in 16 playoff starts had 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, and 16 RBI.

San Diego became the sixth franchise in all of pro baseball history to win at least 10 overall league crowns. With them were Minsk (14 in EPB), Kano (12 in WAB), Ahmedabad (12 in SAB), Mexico City (11), and Kyiv (8 in EPB, 2 in EBF). It was already a historic dynasty with the 119-win 2027 squad considered by many as the best team in baseball history. The Seals now had a shot at an unthinkable accomplishment, a third straight Baseball Grand Championship.

Other notes: Ottawa reliever Lucas Oldham had an awesome playoff run, setting playoff records for WHIP (0.36), and opponent’s OBP (.109) with a minimum 15 innings required. Oldham was also only the 11^th qualifying pitcher in MLB playoff history to post an ERA of zero. The 24-year old Englishman tossed 16.2 scoreless innings over eight appearances with four saves and 23 strikeouts.

61-101 Milwaukee had historically bad pitching with a 5.03 team ERA and 801 earned runs allowed. The only National Association team worse over 128 seasons was the 1912 Baltimore Orioles with a 5.22 ERA and 834 earned runs allowed. Detroit’s offense had 85 triples, tying the NA team record set in 1991 by Buffalo.

Despite the feat’s rarity, four players had hitting streaks of 30+ games in 2028. Miami’s J.C Wener was the best at 35, tied for the 12^th-longest in MLB history. The record remained Jayden Gagnon’s 49 from 1930. MLB home run king Isaac Cox became the first to 900 dingers and the 13^th to 3500 career hits. Through 2028, Cox was one of 20 sluggers in baseball history with 900+ professional homers.

Cox still looked good at age 41 with 39 homers, 115 RBI, .922 OPS, and 4.1 WAR. He now had 2264 RBI and 6981 total bases, putting him in very close to the #1 spot held by Stan Provost of 2271 RBI and 6989 total bases. Cox’s 2198 runs were second, but still 150 short of Provost. Cox also got to 138.2 career WAR, passing Elijah Cashman’s 136.6 for 3^rd among MLB position players. #2 Graham Gregor would still be a tough chase at 147.95, while the leader Morgan Short was almost certainly unreachable at 170.47.

The 600 home run club also grew from 33 members to 38 in 2028 as Titan Gormley, Itumeleng Sagandira, Jason Perazzo, Fred Hynes, and Peter Schon all reached the mark. Perazzo and Sagandira also reached 1500 RBI, achieved by 125 MLB sluggers. 111 had now reached 500 homers with the additions of Gilbert Windemere, Dennis Peters, and Jeff Bonner to the list. Alberto Peron became the 67^th member of the 3000 hit club.

In pitching notables, Vincent Lepp became the 6^th to 4500 strikeouts, finishing the year at 4539. The 39-year old had 5.5 WAR, but a 4.35 ERA and 131 Ks with Houston in 2028. Lepp would keep pitching in 2029 with Calgary, but Julius Jordan’s top Ks mark of 4988 was still a long way away. Lepp’s 321 wins were also still 40 away from Parker Harpaz’s top mark. At 140.6 WAR, Lepp was just behind Harpaz (141.8) for third among MLB pitchers. Ned Giles (151.7) and Newton Persaud (145.8) were also ahead.

In other pitching notables, Storm de Ruyter was the 50^th to reach 250 wins. LF Max Baldwin won his 12^th and final Gold Glove. He was the position leader and one of only five at any spot in MLB to win the award 12+ times. 1B Jan Rychtr won his 8^th Gold Glove. Remarkably winning his first MLB Gold Glove at age 41 was the legendary shortstop Harvey Coyle. This gave him 14 Gold Gloves total when combined with his 13 in the European Baseball Federation.

Coyle was in his second MLB season with Ottawa, having missed half of 2027 to injury. In 148 games, the Englishman was good for an AA-best 10.1 WAR along with 47 home runs, 105 RBI, and .947 OPS. The professional baseball all-time WARlord now had amassed 227.1 career WAR.

Coyle now had a combined 1051 homers, moving past Ratan Canduri (1049) and Antonio Arceo (1043) on the all-time list. Only still ahead were Majed Darwish (1271) and Nordine Soule (1073). Another milestone reached by Coyle in 2028 was 2000+ combined professional runs, a mark shared with only 27 others. Coyle was also up to 2383 RBI which placed him 7^th in the world leaderboard.

04-05-2025, 06:58 AM	#2190
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,575	2028 in MLB Ottawa ran away with the National Association’s top seed in 2028 at 105-57, finishing 12 games better than the next team. The Elks were second in both runs scored (818) and fewest allowed (618). The Canadian capital also set a new world season attendance record at 3,431,240, besting the previous high of 3,426,361 by Los Angeles in 2013. Although Ottawa earned repeat playoff berths, it was their first Northeast Division title since 2022. The #2 seed was Upper Midwest Division champ Cleveland at 93-69, which ended a 19-year playoff drought and 22-year division title drought. Chicago was a close second at 91-71 and earned the first wild card. The Cubs’ playoff streak grew to three years and was their eighth playoff berth of the decade. The East Division had Raleigh (91-71) survive against Philadelphia (90-72), Washington (89-73), Virginia Beach (87-75), and Baltimore (85-77). The Raptors got their third berth in four years and second division title. Meanwhile the Lower Midwest Division went to 89-73 Indianapolis, topping Wichita by three and Louisville by seven. The Racers earned back-to-back playoff berths, but it was their first division crown since 2013. The Phillies at 90-72 got the second wild card to end a three-year playoff drought. Washington and the Northeast’s Halifax were tied for the last spot at 89-73. The Hound Dogs won the tiebreaker game to secure repeat playoff trips. The Admirals’ playoff streak ended at five despite leading in scoring with 830 runs. Grand Rapids allowed the fewest runs at 86-76. Toronto (87-75), Virginia Beach (87-75), Wichita (86-76), Grand Rapids (86-76), Baltimore (85-77), Buffalo (85-77), and defending National Association champ Montreal (85-77) were all right in the mix, but fell just short. The Maples notably saw a four-year playoff streak end. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s eight-year streak snapped as the Reds fell to 79-83. That was their first losing season since 2017, which had been the longest active streak of winning campaigns. For the Blue Sox, they notably had their first winning season in a decade. Indianapolis 1B Thomas Rich repeated as National Association MVP. The 29-year old lefty from Westlake, Ohio led in runs (120), total bases (410), OPS (1.088), and wRC+ (201). Rich had 211 hits, 34 doubles, 51 homers, 130 RBI, a .347/.414/.678 slash, and 9.2 WAR. Pitcher of the Year also had a repeat with Grand Rapids ace Callum McGonagal. The 26-year old Irish righty led in ERA (2.33), WHIP (0.95), complete games (17), shutouts (7), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.3). McGonagal added a 20-9 record, 259.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and 170 ERA+. He was only one win and six strikeouts short of a Triple Crown season. Among his shutouts was a no-hitter on September 1 with 11 Ks and two walks against Brooklyn. Two division winners got first round sweeps with Indianapolis over Chicago and Cleveland over Halifax. Philadelphia meanwhile upset their divisional foe Raleigh 3-2. The Phillies gave top seeded Ottawa a fight in round two, but the Elks escaped with a 3-2 series win. The Racers then rolled to a sweep over the Cobras. For Ottawa, it was their first National Association Champion ship Series trip since their 2003 pennant. Indianapolis hadn’t been there since their 1999 trophy. The Elks lived up to their top seed and cruised to a 4-1 NACS win over the Racers. Despite the drought, it was Ottawa’s 12^th pennant (1924, 25, 29, 38, 40, 56, 65, 75, 83, 86, 2003, 28). Philadelphia was the only NA squad with more at 14. The two-time defending World Series and Baseball Grand Champion San Diego again led the American Association atop the Southwest Division at 108-54. The Seals led all of Major League Baseball in runs scored (927) and led the AA in fewest allowed (602). San Diego picked up its fifth playoff berth in six years. Southeast Division champ Charlotte gave them a run for the top seed at 104-58. The Canaries earned their second division crown in three seasons and their first 100+ win season since 2012. Last year’s division champ Nashville dropped from 100 wins down to 77-85. Dallas took the South Central Division at 98-64 in an impressive rebound from a 100-loss 2027 campaign. It was the Dalmatians’ first playoff trip since 2022 and first division title since 1998. Last year’s division winner Houston was second at 93-69. Seattle (97-65) sneaked by Denver (96-66) for the Northwest Division title, growing the Grizzlies’ division title and playoff streak to six seasons. The Dragons and Southwest runner-up Los Angeles were the first wild cards at 96-66. Denver snapped a five-year drought and the Angels earned their third berth in four years. The Hornets nabbed the final slot at 93-69 for repeat playoff trips and their fifth in seven years. The first teams out were Oakland (89-73), Oklahoma City (88-74), San Antonio (87-75), Tampa (87-75), Calgary (87-75), Atlanta (86-76), and Birmingham (85-77). The expansion Boomers had their first-ever winning season. Fellow expansion teams El Paso and Anchorage were wild cards in 2027, but fell to 81-81 and 75-89 in 2028, respectively. Orlando had MLB’s worst record at 55-107 and set a new franchise worst. Despite that, it was Orcas DH Jackson Brafford that won American Association MVP. Even as a DH on a trash team, it was hard to ignore breaking MLB’s single season home run record. Brafford smacked a nice 69 dingers, passing the record of 67 set in 2012 by Killian Fruechte and matched in 2022 by Dean Ott. The 27-year old lefty from Frederick, Maryland also led in total bases (461), slugging (.720), OPS (1.117), and WAR (8.3). Brafford’s total bags ranked second in MLB history behind Sebastian Lunde’s 476 from 1949. He added 215 hits, 134 runs, 35 doubles, 146 RBI, .336 average, .397 OBP, and 180 wRC+. Brafford had stayed committed to Orlando, signing an eight-year, $162 million extension before the 2027 season. Pitcher of the Year went to ninth-year Charlotte righty Dylan Reed. The 29-yaer old from Cocoa, Florida won the ERA title (2.68) and led in wins (23-8) and quality starts (24). Reed struck out 200 over 268.2 innings with a 165 ERA+ and 6.7 WAR. In February, Reed inked a five-year, $111,600,000 extension with the Canaries. Charlotte swept Houston, Dallas downed Denver 3-1, and Los Angeles upset Seattle 3-2 in the first round. The Dalmatians then outlasted the Canaries 3-2 in round two while San Diego dispatched the Angels 3-1. For Dallas, they earned their first trip to the American Association Championship Series since their 1980 World Series win. This was an incredible accomplishment considering the Dalmatians were a putrid 62-100 the prior year. They were the feel good story, but Dallas ran into the historic juggernaut that was San Diego. The Seals rolled to a 4-1 victory for their third straight pennant and fourth in six years. San Diego now had 13 American Association pennants (1936, 55, 56, 58, 66, 67, 2007, 08, 10, 23, 26, 27, 28), tying them with Phoenix for the most. The Seals were the fourth in AA history to three-peat, joining Houston (1910-12), Memphis (1913-15), and New Orleans (1970-72). The 128^th World Series had two of the most successful MLB franchises squaring off for the second time. Back in 1956, San Diego won a 4-3 classic over Ottawa to repeat as MLB champs. The Seals ended up winning three titles in four years having also won in 1958. SD now had another shot at the elusive three-peat, an incredibly tough feat considering the number of teams and talent level in MLB. The only previous three-peats came from Houston (1910-12), Philadelphia (the lone four-peat from 1941-44), and New Orleans (1970-72). San Diego joined that exclusive list, defeating Ottawa in a 4-3 thriller. The Seals became the first ten-time World Series winner (1936, 55, 56, 58, 66, 2007, 10, 26, 27, 28). They had been tied with Denver for the most titles at nine. In his 13^th season catching for SD, Jim Fisher earned World Series MVP. The three-time Gold Glover in 16 playoff starts had 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, and 16 RBI. San Diego became the sixth franchise in all of pro baseball history to win at least 10 overall league crowns. With them were Minsk (14 in EPB), Kano (12 in WAB), Ahmedabad (12 in SAB), Mexico City (11), and Kyiv (8 in EPB, 2 in EBF). It was already a historic dynasty with the 119-win 2027 squad considered by many as the best team in baseball history. The Seals now had a shot at an unthinkable accomplishment, a third straight Baseball Grand Championship. Other notes: Ottawa reliever Lucas Oldham had an awesome playoff run, setting playoff records for WHIP (0.36), and opponent’s OBP (.109) with a minimum 15 innings required. Oldham was also only the 11^th qualifying pitcher in MLB playoff history to post an ERA of zero. The 24-year old Englishman tossed 16.2 scoreless innings over eight appearances with four saves and 23 strikeouts. 61-101 Milwaukee had historically bad pitching with a 5.03 team ERA and 801 earned runs allowed. The only National Association team worse over 128 seasons was the 1912 Baltimore Orioles with a 5.22 ERA and 834 earned runs allowed. Detroit’s offense had 85 triples, tying the NA team record set in 1991 by Buffalo. Despite the feat’s rarity, four players had hitting streaks of 30+ games in 2028. Miami’s J.C Wener was the best at 35, tied for the 12^th-longest in MLB history. The record remained Jayden Gagnon’s 49 from 1930. MLB home run king Isaac Cox became the first to 900 dingers and the 13^th to 3500 career hits. Through 2028, Cox was one of 20 sluggers in baseball history with 900+ professional homers. Cox still looked good at age 41 with 39 homers, 115 RBI, .922 OPS, and 4.1 WAR. He now had 2264 RBI and 6981 total bases, putting him in very close to the #1 spot held by Stan Provost of 2271 RBI and 6989 total bases. Cox’s 2198 runs were second, but still 150 short of Provost. Cox also got to 138.2 career WAR, passing Elijah Cashman’s 136.6 for 3^rd among MLB position players. #2 Graham Gregor would still be a tough chase at 147.95, while the leader Morgan Short was almost certainly unreachable at 170.47. The 600 home run club also grew from 33 members to 38 in 2028 as Titan Gormley, Itumeleng Sagandira, Jason Perazzo, Fred Hynes, and Peter Schon all reached the mark. Perazzo and Sagandira also reached 1500 RBI, achieved by 125 MLB sluggers. 111 had now reached 500 homers with the additions of Gilbert Windemere, Dennis Peters, and Jeff Bonner to the list. Alberto Peron became the 67^th member of the 3000 hit club. In pitching notables, Vincent Lepp became the 6^th to 4500 strikeouts, finishing the year at 4539. The 39-year old had 5.5 WAR, but a 4.35 ERA and 131 Ks with Houston in 2028. Lepp would keep pitching in 2029 with Calgary, but Julius Jordan’s top Ks mark of 4988 was still a long way away. Lepp’s 321 wins were also still 40 away from Parker Harpaz’s top mark. At 140.6 WAR, Lepp was just behind Harpaz (141.8) for third among MLB pitchers. Ned Giles (151.7) and Newton Persaud (145.8) were also ahead. In other pitching notables, Storm de Ruyter was the 50^th to reach 250 wins. LF Max Baldwin won his 12^th and final Gold Glove. He was the position leader and one of only five at any spot in MLB to win the award 12+ times. 1B Jan Rychtr won his 8^th Gold Glove. Remarkably winning his first MLB Gold Glove at age 41 was the legendary shortstop Harvey Coyle. This gave him 14 Gold Gloves total when combined with his 13 in the European Baseball Federation. Coyle was in his second MLB season with Ottawa, having missed half of 2027 to injury. In 148 games, the Englishman was good for an AA-best 10.1 WAR along with 47 home runs, 105 RBI, and .947 OPS. The professional baseball all-time WARlord now had amassed 227.1 career WAR. Coyle now had a combined 1051 homers, moving past Ratan Canduri (1049) and Antonio Arceo (1043) on the all-time list. Only still ahead were Majed Darwish (1271) and Nordine Soule (1073). Another milestone reached by Coyle in 2028 was 2000+ combined professional runs, a mark shared with only 27 others. Coyle was also up to 2383 RBI which placed him 7^th in the world leaderboard. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)