[j.tom]

"THE HUNT FOR THE HOME RUN CYCLE"
Wide World of Baseball Newsletter -- 06.14 - 06.20.60


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WWoB PLAYER OF THE WEEK (06.07 - 06.13)

OF Honesto Defensor 🇵🇭 -- Medan Warisan








PLAYOFF COVERAGE


2060 SAUDI SERIES (Continued)



The series so far.


Game Five -- Khobar looks to be in good shape in the 6th, tying the game, but it's short lived as Dubai OF Clive Sargent's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 go-ahead RBI single gives the Dodgers a lead they never relinquish.





Game Six -- The 2060 Saudi Series Champions have been crowned! The Dubai Dodgers win their 9th title, behind a big performance from Saudi Series MVP 1B 浜村託児 / Takuji Hamamura JPN. Needing a win in Game Six, Khobar's offense hits rock bottom, failing to get anything going, falling behind early, and losing their fourth straight game.








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MIDDLE EAST LEAGUE -- Semifinals

SEMIFINALS

(4) بغداد لاماسو 🇮🇶 VS. (1) बेंगलुरु टेराबाइट्स 🇮🇳






Baghdad starts the week off strong, with their first win of the series in Game Three. However, the momentum is short lived as Bengaluru regroups to win the next two and head back to the Middle East Series. Terabytes OF मुरलीधर सुग्रीव / Muralidhara Sugriva 🇮🇳 is named series MVP.










(3) شغال های تهران 🇮🇷 VS. (2) ذئاب جدة 🇸🇦






Tied 1-1 in the series, Jiddah and Tehran split the first two games of the week, but the momentum swings the Jackals way in Game Five and stays there with a blowout in Game Six. OF عمير علاء الدين / Umair Ala' al Din 🇦🇪 hits .455 to win series MVP.












The MEL playoffs continue next week with the 2060 Middle East Series...





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INDIA LEAGUE -- Pennant Race, Semifinals

PENNANT RACE

06.14 -- Surat, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur are in a three-way battle for the third and fourth spots in the INL playoffs. The latter two play a classic that's decided by a fielding error and a walk-off run scored on a passed ball in the 9th inning charged to Sabarmatis C Sacha Vodchak 🇱🇻. Meanwhile, Surat goes down 11-7 to Delhi and is mathematically eliminated. With Ahmedabad and Jaipur's spots locked up, tomorrow's game between them will be for seeding.





06.15 -- Jaipur locks up the #3 seed with their second straight walk-off win, this time courtesy of one of their own players, 3B श्रीधर मारिता / Sridhar Marita 🇮🇳





SEMIFINALS -- Games 1-3

(4) अहमदाबाद साबरमती VS. (1) कोलकाता टाइफून




After dominating the regular season, Kolkata continues the trend, building a 3-0 series lead to end the week. The only close game so far, Game One, is won via OF राजीव रसिया / Rajeev Rasiah's 🇮🇳 walk-off solo home run.










(3) जयपुर राजपूत VS. (2) दिल्ली सुल्तान




Jaipur and Delhi end the week with the Rajput ahead two games to one, looking for the upset. Jaipur gets a big boost in Game One, which goes 12 innings before 3B आर्यमन सुथार / Aryaman Suthar 🇮🇳 brings in two runs with a go-ahead base hit.










The India League semifinals wrap up next week...






WORLDWIDE NEWS

WWoB -- Another week, another new league in the Wide World of Baseball. The Australasia League starts play this November, with five teams each in Australia and New Zealand.




06.14

Major League -- Fairfax RHP Arturo Dominguez 🇨🇺 becomes the fourth pitcher in ML history with 16 strikeouts in a game, throwing eight one-hit innings versus Boise.





Liga Domini-Cubana -- After coming close the past two seasons, Holguin 3B Kees Bakker hits his 29th home run of the year, to set a new DCL record.





Balkan League -- Zagreb clinches the 2nd of six BKL playoff spots. Cluj mathematically clinches the #1 seed.






06.15








Liga Domini-Cubana -- In a night for the ages, Este 1B Jerry Herrera 🇻🇪 steps up to the plate in the 8th inning with a shot at the unthinkable. He's already 5-5 on the night with a solo, two-run, and three-run homer. A home run cycle has never happened in the WWoB, and it seems like Herrera's chance is over when he bats in the 7th with only a runner on 1st, whom he doubles home for his 7th RBI of the day.

But, almost like La Romana LHP Daniel Escobedo DR wants to see the same thing we do, the stars align, and Herrera gets his chance...



I like to think Jerry came up to the plate daddy hacking, trying to etch his name in the history books. If that was the case, then he just barely missed one. The WWoB's closest bid yet to the home run cycle comes up just short, as Herrera hits a bloop single that scores an insurance run instead. The hunt for the home run cycle continues a little longer, and Jerry Herrera settles for the DCL's first-ever six-hit game...





Pacific SuperLeague -- Hanoi RHP Rick Ayala 🇨🇺 carries a perfect game bid into the 7th and faces the minimum in a one-hit shutout of Tokyo.





Pacific SuperLeague -- Incheon SS Matt Kraft 🇦🇺 makes it worth the while for Saucers fans, hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 14th to extend their lead in the ASL East to five games.





Major League -- Doesn't sound like Oakland 1B Adalberto Bobadilha 🇧🇷 will be back with the Stompers next year...






06.16

EuroLeague -- Amsterdam 2B Raul Figueredo 🇨🇼🇳🇱 hits for the cycle before the 7th inning stretch, then adds a grand slam in the 8th for good measure versus Bratislava.





India League -- With the regular season officially over, the INL batting champion is Jaipur 2B अयुतानायी मंगलवेधे / Ayutanayi Mangalvedhe 🇮🇳. The ERA crown goes to Delhi RHP カムリン・イトウ / Kamlyn Ito 🇯🇵, who is still sidelined another 2-3 weeks with a rotator cuff injury.

43 batters, 17 pitchers qualify.








Balkan League -- Sofiya and Bitola join Cluj and Zagreb in locking up BKL playoff spots. With three games left in the BKL regular season, two spots are still up for grabs. Beograd is the only team mathematically eliminated. Podgorica's tragic number is now 1.





UK League -- Heading into a 4-day break for the UKL, Sheffield is riding an eight-game win streak, while Birmingham is on a 12-game heater and an eye-popping 31-5 on the season.









06.17

Filip-Indo League -- With 15 games left in the season, Medan C Eric Hannemann, Parts Unknown has skipped right by .400 and is on .500 watch. This might be the greatest season I've seen on OOTP, period.








Africa League -- On a day where Johannesburg can't get anything going on offense, RHP Eddie Whittle 🇿🇦 beats Antananarivo himself with a 5-hit, 1-0 shutout.





Liga Domini-Cubana -- Este is the first Liga Dominicana team into the playoffs this year.





Thiy Lik -- Two spots in the inaugural THL playoffs have been claimed, Hat Yai and Khon Kaen will have a shot at the title.





Filip-Indo League -- Medan, nine games ahead of any other FIL team, is the first to clinch a playoff spot.





UK League -- Sheffield RHP Lewis Froggett 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 will be neither hang-gliding nor playing baseball for the next 6-7 months.





Liga Iberica -- The Amador Expresso, locked in a tight playoff race, lose star OF Rivelino Belino 🇵🇹 to a strained oblique, likely for the rest of the regular season.







06.18

T-II -- Cleveland SS Manny Ramos 🇻🇪 becomes the fourth player in Union League history with four homers in a game as the Lakers take Atlanta behind the woodshed. His teammates score plenty, but they never load the bases for him, so no home run cycle tonight.





Osterreich-Magyar Liga -- Villach RHP Guenther Stadlober 🇦🇹 throws the first no-hitter in OML history versus Szeged, striking out 7 and allowing only a 5th inning walk.






06.19

Filip-Indo League -- Two days after I put him on .500 watch, Medan C Eric Hannemann, Parts Unknown puts up an 0-for-5 against Surabaya to drop his average below .500, his slugging below 1.000, and ends his 21-game hitting streak. Nice going, j.tom.





Nordic League -- Oslo OF Jokum Kingo 🇫🇴 gets six hits to set the NOL record for extra innings games, but doesn't even come close to the 9-inning record set by C Vilfried Moesgaard 🇫🇴, who left for mandatory military service in 2046 and uh, never came back.

(Also, what are they feeding these dudes in the Faroe Islands? Good lord.)










06.20

Balkan League -- On the final day of the BKL regular season, Sarajevo and Prishtine enter the day tied for the last playoff spot, with Maribor close behind. Sarajevo, who plays the league's worst team, wins, while Prishtine, tasked with the league's best team, loses a close game to end their season. With Sarajevo's win, Maribor is eliminated anyways before the final out of their 6-2 loss to Tirane.
Coverage of the inaugural BKL postseason kicks off next week.








Balkan League -- Fans of the Balkan League will never forget RHP Arjan Agani's 🇽🇰 inaugural season, as he wins the triple crown. Zagreb 1B Slavko Raznjatovic 🇭🇷 wins the league's first batting title. Full league leaders for the BKL are listed below.










TOP PERFORMANCES BY DAY

06.14




06.15




06.16




06.17




06.18




06.19




06.20





STANDINGS (As of 06.20)