|
2018 - Regular Season
In the Atlantic division, Boston (82-80) despite losing their two best power hitters over the offseason (Sergio Woods to injury and Larry Peterson to retirement) still managed to win the division crown by being the only team with a winning record. New York (80-82) rose from the dead but still couldn’t find enough consistency to take the division from the Pilgrims. Washington (79-83) finished third ahead of Philadelphia (75-87) who despite a potent batting lineup boasting Juan Santos (.298, 39 HR, 103 RBI), struggled all season with their pitching.
The Central division was a two-horse race between Detroit and favourites Indianapolis who were led by star off-season acquisition 1B Gabriel Mendez (.342, 37 HR, 131 RBI). Detroit (92-70) eventually edged out Indianapolis (90-72) to take the division crown even though former ace Benedict Lewis lost a franchise record 17 games. Chicago were un-inspiring on their way to a disappointing 80-82 record while Cleveland bought up the rear, yet again losing more than 100 games. Edwin Colon proved to be a patient man as even though his Corsairs had their fourth straight 100 game losing season with a 55-107 record, he did not fire his manager instead choosing to allow the long-term plan to play out.
The Southeast division saw an unexpected challenge from New Orleans (97-65) who excited the neutrals with their care free style of baseball, but in the end, they fell just short of unseating Vince Little (19-11, 2.62 ERA) and Atlanta (99-63) for the division crown. Tampa Bay improved by one game from the year before to win 77 while Miami slumped to a franchise worst 66-96 record. The Everglades offense fell off a cliff after injuries hit their lineup while their pitching staff, who after an injury to Carlos Correa and the loss of David Rocha (to Sanfrancisco) were unable to pick up the slack.
Over in the west, Oklahoma City broke the 100-win barrier for the first time, winning 102 games behind excellent defense and a strong pitching staff featuring Alfredo Flores (17-7, 2.94 ERA) and World Series winner Juan Vazquez (16-3, 2.30 ERA). Minneapolis came in second with 97 wins, a disappointing total given their fearsome pitching rotation (Anthony Barrett 19-5, 2.23 ERA, Dave Cahill 17-8, 3.16 ERA) and plethora of quality hitters including CF Claude Cummins (.274, 33 HR, 104 RBI) and 3B Alberto Ortiz (.313, 29 HR, 111 RBI), Denver slumped from 91 to 83 wins to finish third and Kansas City came in bottom with an 81-81 record.
In the Southwest Division, behind the pitching of Isreal Beasley (20-10, 2.91 ERA) and hitting of Gary Wilson (33 HR) and Gerald Moran (29 HR), Las Vegas claimed their first division title, finishing with 90 wins. Houston were the only other team to break .500 on the season finishing eight games further back, Dallas (79-83) improved record wise but not near enough to challenge. Memphis slid back to below .500 winning just 72 games while Phoenix dropped from 77 to 61 wins after losing superstar Kevin Jones to a season ending injury in June.
Los Angeles rose to the top of the Pacific division behind an offense driven by CF Felix Santiago (.271, 26 HR, 77 RBI) and 2B Jeff Miller (.306, 17 HR, 74 RBI) and the pitching of Max Castle (19-11, 2.16 ERA) and Zander Pace (17-10, 2.52 ERA), they won 96 games, 2017 world champions Sanfrancisco dropped to 89 wins and missed out on the chance to defend their title. Seattle once again squeezed to an 82-80 record while San Diego climbed above 70 wins again finishing 75-87. San Jose had their worst season yet, riven by infighting and scandal they limped their way to a 45-117 record, the worst in NABL history.
|