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2045 Regular Season
Western League Review
Riding the western league’s #2 offense, Omaha (96-66) cruised to their sixth Midwest division crown in seven years, but with a pitching staff that largely underperformed (apart from two-time pitcher-of-the-year Jacobie Harksdale 13-13, 3.58 ERA and break-out star Russell Harris 17-8, 3.94 ERA) the Braves would be hard pressed to mount a deep playoff run. Minneapolis finished ten games back, but losing four of their final six games of the season dropped them out of the Wildcard race and put a dampener on a season in which the Bears looked playoff bound for much of it. Pitcher Bartolo Garcia (14-5, 2.91 ERA) was a shining light for Denver but inconsistent play from a majority of the team throughout the season meant the Wildcats could only finish the season at .500 while Kansas City quietly had their best season in seven years, finishing the campaign at 77-85. Oklahoma City had a year to forget slumping to just 70-wins, their problems stemmed from an inability to get on base (a league low OBP of .302 a testament to their issues) and score enough runs to support their league average pitching.
Phoenix (87-75) successfully defended their Southwest division title, with offense their calling card despite RF Brandon Spence (.301, 20 HR, 51 RBI in 68 games) missing significant time through injury and RF Adrian Ramirez (.304, 19 HR, 45 RBI in 82 games) being traded away. Las Vegas under the stewardship of first-time skipper Fernando Lopez were the Eagles nearest rivals finishing the season nine games back at 78-84, Austin finished the season third with a 75-87 record with pitcher Juan Brito’s fantastic 18-8, 1.97 ERA campaign being a particular highlight in the Kings ultimately disappointing season. Dallas (74-88) finished the season strong (17-10 in September) unlike Houston who slumped to an ugly 9-19 last month to finish their campaign at 68-94, both clubs chose to wield the axe at the conclusion of the season, with skippers Angel Romero (DAL) and Matt Tate (HOU) receiving their walking papers.
Sanfrancisco continued their dominance over their Pacific division rivals, cruising to their fifth consecutive title with a franchise record equaling 100-62 record. The Gold dominated their opponents with pitching (tops in the NABL), led by star Bryan Marburg (19-7, 2.37 ERA) and strong offense paced by outfielders Jesus Diaz (.293, 31 HR, 102 RBI) and Maximo Macias (.314, 25 HR, 88 RBI), making them many peoples favorite to repeat as World Series Champions. Seattle made it two winning seasons out of two for manager Juan Campos, finishing the season with 88-wins to claim their first postseason berth since 2028, San Diego disappointed in the first year of Tomas Mendez’s reign as manager, the Mariners only real threat on offense was CF Jonah Covington (33 HR, 89 RBI) who provided a third of the team’s homeruns (no other player hit more than 7!!). San Jose (77-85) in contrast hit 164 long balls on the season, led by C Jorge Garcia (41 HR), 1B Troy White (23 HR) and LF Gunnar Davis (23 HR) but gave up just as many to their opponents while landing in the division basement were Los Angeles, the Lynx struggled mightily on offense (a league low batting average and slugging %) and were just as disappointing on the mound surrendering the fourth most runs in the entire NABL.
Final Standings
Midwest Division
Omaha 96-66 *
Minneapolis 86-76
Denver 81-81
Kansas City 77-85
Oklahoma City 70-92
Southwest Division
Phoenix 87-75 *
Las Vegas 78-84
Austin 75-87
Dallas 74-88
Houston 68-94
Pacific Division
Sanfrancisco 100-62 *
Seattle 88-74 *
San Diego 80-82
San Jose 77-85
Los Angeles 64-98
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