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2043 Regular Season
Western League Review
Riding the league’s best pitching staff headed by ace Jacobie Harksdale (21-10, 2.89 ERA) and budding star Kanko Ota (15-5, 3.02 ERA) along with a sturdy offense with RF Felipe Peralta (.319, 30 HR, 101 RBI) leading the way, Omaha returned to the summit of the Midwest division winning a franchise record 109-games. Left far behind in their wake was Denver (86-76) with CF Fernando Diaz (.302, 26 HR, 101 RBI) playing a starring role in their hot finish to the season (7-3 over their final ten games) to enable the Wildcats to claim the WL wildcard spot. OKC slipped back from 95-wins to just 80 despite the best efforts of LF Julian Morin (.271, 40 HR, 112 RBI) and wily veteran pitcher Shane Olson (16-11, 3.59 ERA), matching the Outlaws with 80-wins were Minneapolis (their fifth straight sub .500 season). Kansas City improved from 63 to 71-wins but never-the-less still finished in the division basement attracting just 1.6M fans through the turnstiles.
With Gil Wallace (14-7, 2.74 ERA) and Jose Vazquez (15-7, 3.05 ERA) leading the WL’s #2 pitching staff and LF Vaughan Snyder (.331, 28 HR, 125 RBI) pacing a steady offense, Las Vegas (95-67) claimed the Southwest division title for the sixth time in eight years. Austin were runners up, not taking advantage of a strong start to the season (36-19 on May 31st) by playing .440 baseball from June onwards to finish with an 83-79 record. Even though Phoenix (79-83) could boast the WL’s most powerful offense led by star 1B Domingo Vargas (.337, 32 HR, 98 RBI), too many unforced errors and pitching breakdowns cost the Eagles any chance of challenging the Gamblers for the division crown. Houston were disappointing with their young rotation in particular struggling finishing 69-93, while Dallas (66-96) made it eight losing seasons in a row.
The Pacific division saw a battle to the wire between Sanfrancisco and surprise package San Diego with the two teams finishing locked at 85-77 at the top of the standings. Sanfrancisco, despite numerous injuries during the season still produced nearly five runs per game although no one player stood out statistically while San Diego’s pitchers led by Francisco Sierra (17-9, 3.06 ERA) carried the load for the Mariners. Los Angeles slipped back from 89 to 75-wins, with off-field distractions sapping their early season momentum, while San Jose finished with the same 74-88 record as they did in 2042. The Spartans were an interesting case, with wildly erratic pitching, 21-year-old reliever Steve Beaubien (11-3, 1.92 ERA) being the most impressive while 35-year-old veteran Jim Champion (3-16, 6.46 ERA) struggled, their offense was particularly hit or miss, clubbing 190 homeruns (led by RF Pancho Delgado’s 41) but batting at only .232 and striking out the most of any team in the league. Bringing up the rear were Seattle, who finished the season a disappointing 67-95, which led to both GM Luis Almiron and manager Brian Walter receiving their walking papers.
On October 1st Sanfrancisco and San Diego met to decide the destination of the Pacific division title, in an entertaining game a late rally, sparked by a RF Sul-Shik Choi homerun, handed Sanfrancisco a dramatic 7-5 win, securing the Gold their third consecutive division crown.
Final Standings
Midwest division
Omaha 109-53*
Denver 87-76*
Minneapolis 79-83
Oklahoma City 78-84
Kansas City 70-92
Southwest division
Las Vegas 95-67*
Austin 82-80
Phoenix 79-83
Houston 69-93
Dallas 66-96
Pacific division
Sanfrancisco 86-77* (+)
San Diego 85-78 (+)
Los Angeles 75-87
San Jose 73-89
Seattle 67-95
Play-in Game
(+) Sanfrancisco beat San Diego to win the Pacific division title.
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