Baseball's Rebirth in the Old North State (1945- )

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The year is 1945. The Allies have turned the tide in World War II, and baseball is making a comeback in North Carolina after a couple of idle seasons.

Welcome to my latest OOTP dynasty story: Baseball’s Rebirth in the Old North State.

This is a project I have been dreaming about for a long time.

I’ll be using fictional players but tying them to historical teams and leagues from North Carolina's actual baseball past.

I started something similar once before, many versions of OOTP ago. I called that dynasty “Baseball in the Tar Heel State: A Fictional Experience” and launched play with six teams in the 1913 season. I posted about eight or nine seasons worth of results before the inevitable computer crash killed the game file. (Alas, it was fun while it lasted).

I picked 1945 as my starting point for this story because of how much – and how quickly – baseball expanded in North Carolina as the war drew to a close. Teams and leagues sprang up everywhere, from the mountains to piedmont to coast, from the biggest cities to small textile and tobacco-farming towns, and many points in between.

We’ll be doing the same here!

Alas, many of North Carolina’s professional baseball clubs didn’t make it long term – we shall see how they fare in this story – but a strong foundation was built that still exists today in our state’s college programs and minor-league franchises.

My plan for this dynasty is two-fold:

• Create a baseball universe contained entirely in North Carolina and report on all the comings and goings of players, teams and leagues from a big-picture perspective.
• AND – try my hand at managing a club and see what kind of legacy my manager can carve out for himself in this ecosystem.

Feel free to pick a team(s) to follow – or root against! Feel free to second-guess my managing skills. Feel free to steal any good ideas I may have stumbled upon or to borrow any of the logos/graphics (because I probably borrowed many of them myself).

Most of all, thanks for reading along!

(Fade out to Appalachian bluegrass music)...

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Baseball is back in North Carolina!

Plans in the works for two leagues in 1945

In October 1944, a group of baseball organizers met in Durham to announce the launch of the new Carolina League the following spring. They set play to start in April 1945 and noted that the league will replace the Bi-State League that had operated before the war.

The new circuit planned to launch with eight clubs at the outset, based mostly in North Carolina’s largest cities and towns like Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham and Winston-Salem. The Carolina League would use a 138-game schedule lasting from April to September, concluding with a best-of-seven championship series between the top two teams.

Meanwhile, by May 1945, the North Carolina State League had reorganized itself after a two-year hiatus. This league also will feature eight teams, with clubs from smaller mill and textile towns in the piedmont and western part of the state (places like Concord, Hickory, Statesville, Thomasville). The NCSL will employ a shorter 120-game slate, also sending its top two teams to a best-of-seven championship series…

In real life, the Carolina League and North Carolina State League existed as lower-level minor leagues, with several clubs having Major League affiliates. Here, they’ll stand as major leagues in their own right – two parallel baseball worlds sharing the same state, trading players, building rivalries and, eventually, battling for statewide supremacy.

The Carolina League will serve as the flagship circuit, with bigger stadiums, bigger budgets and bigger stars (presumably). The North Carolina State League will operate on a smaller scale – more intimate ballparks, tighter finances (about 65-70 percent of the Carolina League) and more blue-collar roots.

If this were modern college football, you could think of it like this:

• Carolina League = FBS level
• North Carolina State League = FCS level

I’ve never really created a world with multiple “major leagues” before, so it will be intriguing to watch how things play out, especially considering the built-in financial disparity between the two leagues. (Praying I get the settings correct).

OK, time to meet the teams!



Devereux Meadow ballpark, home of the Raleigh Capitals in the 1940s. (Courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina)

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The Carolina League: Familiar names join new circuit

These eight clubs will form the backbone of professional baseball in North Carolina in the spring of 1945:

Asheville Tourists
Burlington Bees
Charlotte Hornets
Durham Bulls
Greensboro Patriots
Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets
Raleigh Capitals
Winston-Salem Twins

A quick history check: In real life, neither Charlotte nor Asheville fielded teams in 1945 after pausing for the war. And when both returned to organized play in 1946, they joined the Class B Tri-State League rather than the Carolina League. But for the purposes of this dynasty – and to keep my universe entirely North Carolina-based – I’ve folded them into this circuit instead. And a year early.

That also means I’ve left out Danville and Martinsville, the two Virginia clubs that actually played in the 1945 Carolina League. I’ll let someone else build a Virginia-based universe to give them their due.

Leaksville-Draper-Spray is the obvious outlier in this group. While most of the league is anchored by large cities like Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham, the Triplets represent three small mill towns in Rockingham County that banded together to support one club. The “Tri-City” team first appeared in 1934 and played in the Bi-State League until operations paused for the war in 1942.

They weren’t just a novelty act, either. The Triplets won league titles in 1935 and 1941 and finished as runner-up in 1939. They serve as a reminder that baseball in North Carolina has always thrived beyond just its biggest population centers.



The Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets, also known as the Tri-City Triplets.

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The North Carolina State League: Roots in the Early 1900s

Running parallel to the Carolina League will be the North Carolina State League—a grittier, more intimate circuit built around smaller cities, mill towns and deeply local (passionate!) fan bases.

These are the eight clubs that will make up the 1945 NCSL:

Concord Weavers
Hickory Rebels
Landis Millers
Lexington A’s
Mooresville Moors
Salisbury Pirates
Statesville A’s
Thomasville Dodgers

The original North Carolina State League operated from 1913 to 1917 and featured six teams that are now in our Carolina League – Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham and Asheville.

A second version of the NCSL ran from 1937 to 1942, and that incarnation leaned heavily into smaller towns and textile communities. Every team in this 1945 relaunch fielded a club at some point during that pre-war stretch.

A few teams that did not return to play in 1945 but who played in the NCSL before the war – and who may appear here at a later date!! – include the Kannapolis Towelers (still one of my all-time favorite nicknames), the Cooleemee Cools/Cards, the Gastonia Cardinals, the Newton-Conover Twins and the Shelby Cardinals.

Yes, we like our Cardinal nicknames in North Carolina. It is our state bird after all.



The Mooresville Moors played in the North Carolina State League in the 1940s.

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My manager’s name is Boone Tucker. He’s just 24 years old in the spring of 1945. He is a native of Rowan County and has some history with the North Carolina State League, catching for the Landis club from 1939-41.

Tucker had a powerful bat and a sharp eye behind the plate – but a bit of a temper. Fans filled up Landis High School Park for those couple of pre-war summers hoping to see “Boomer” pound a ball into the gaps – or maybe even into the bleachers.

But then the war intervened. Tucker joined the growing enlistment surge and traded his baseball uniform for an Army one. He served in the European Theater, and while he made it home, the fighting took its toll. By late 1944, he was medically discharged—alive and grateful, but physically not his old self. His shoulder never fully recovered. Neither did his knees. And just like that, his playing career ended before it ever really had a chance to unfold.

Little did he know that baseball – and his hometown – weren’t quite done with him yet...

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Ed Cross had managed the Landis teams from 1938 until 1942. Boone had liked playing for him. Cross was a good man and got the most out of his guys. Landis, which had gone by the nicknames Sens, Senators and Dodgers, made the NCSL championship series in 1942, falling in seven games to Thomasville.

When the league revived in 1945, most thought Cross would just assume his old role as the Landis manager. But when his face showed up on the front page of the Salisbury Post smiling and sporting a Salisbury Pirates manager’s jersey – and making about four times the salary as before – suddenly the Landis team found itself without a skipper.

That’s when things took an unexpected turn.

Someone – depending on who you ask – half-jokingly suggested Boone take over the team. He was local. He knew the game. And he wasn’t going anywhere.

The joke stuck.

A few conversations later, it wasn’t a joke anymore.

By late January of 1945, Boone Tucker found himself signing papers (and also getting his mug in the Salisbury Post) to become the youngest manager in the newly revived North Carolina State League. His starting pay: $288 per year.

And away we go, with Boone (me) at the helm of the Landis Millers!



The Landis, NC, ball club circa 1940s. The team was known as the Landis Millers at the start of the 1945 North Carolina State League season.

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Building the rosters for 1945 debut



I had a lot of ideas for how I wanted to stock rosters at the outset of this play-through. I finally settled on the most simple, using a full inaugural draft with all 16 teams together. I randomized the draft order and stopped when I got one that had the more prominent Carolina League teams mostly at the top.

I created Landis as one of the smallest franchises in this world, and I actually gave away their first-round pick to a Carolina League team to simulate the bigger clubs having a competitive edge. The Millers’ first player selection wouldn’t come until No. 21 overall.

When it was finally time for Boone Tucker to pick, he didn’t hesitate to go with the best available pitcher. Remember this name: John “Pokey” Twitty, age 18, from Charlotte (pictured first above). Not sure how he dropped this far. Most teams went for hitters in the opening round and beyond. Twitty doesn’t have much of a fastball but he’s got a NASTY splitter, sinker and forkball. He may end up the ace of the staff from the get-go.

Landis didn’t pick its second player until No. 44 overall. Boone stayed young with this one as well, nabbing 18-year-old right fielder Mike Andersen, also from Charlotte (pictured 2nd). He has a nice profile: solid skills, high in leadership, loyalty and work ethic. A total package (if he fulfills his potential of course). Hopefully, these two will become cornerstones of a long run of success in Landis.

The only other Landis draft picks to really jump off the page were centerfielder Phil Durham and second baseman Ross Stokes. Since both are older (26 and 30), I am just going to assume these guys had played for Landis before the war and were being re-signed to the club. Durham has great speed (lead off man?) and gap power. Stokes is more of a contact hitter and offers elite defense.

Brandon Windstein is the likely opening day starter at catcher, a position dear to Boone Tucker’s heart. The new manager isn’t quite sure what to make of him though. He’s only 21 and looks like a lightweight as a hitter. But Windstein is plus-plus defensively, and that’s a big deal with a young, inexperienced pitching staff.

Jeremy Morehouse stands ready as the backup backstop. He’s older and also solid defensively, but players have already started complaining that he’s unmotivated. Tucker grabbed two other young catchers as depth pieces just in case. Those two will start on Landis’ 15-player reserve roster (25 players on the active roster).

The most intriguing player on the Landis Millers roster is 39-year-old corner infielder Bruce Elliott. The grizzled vet of 18+ years on various professional circuits still looks like he can mash the ball, doesn’t strike out much and can play either third or first with high-end defensive ability. That his profile calls him a “sparkplug” is even better.

For the record, the Asheville Tourists got the first overall pick in the inaugural draft, taking 2B Nick “Pag” Harmon, 25, from Gastonia. “He knows the game inside and out.” The top overall pitcher also was taken by Asheville, 28-year-old Bob “Tom” Sustarsic from Charlotte (pictured third above). Watch out for the Tourists! (Bob? Tom? What?)

Two more notes: I started this dynasty in OOTP26 and hope to move it over eventually to the new version ... Also I set batter and pitcher development a tad faster than default. And I set aging for both batters and pitchers to be a little slower. So we could have a lot of long careers, guys continuing to rake into their late 30s and early 40s. I'm here for it.

Now, let’s play some baseball!

(Fade out to Take Me Out to the Ballgame played on banjos...)

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Carolina League Debuts! Triplets Top Twins in Opener



The first pitch of the first-ever Carolina League game came at 1:05 p.m. on April 26, 1945. It was thrown by Winston-Salem Twins hurler Brian Singleton and it went into the mitt of battery mate Jason Sumter. Leaksville-Draper-Spray shortstop Tim Blokzyl (pictured above) watched it sail by for a strike.

Blokzyl eventually got aboard on that at-bat with a double. He finished the day 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, helping the Triplets beat the Twins 7-3 (three is better than two, right?). The contest featured 28 hits in all. Baseball was back in the Old North State! And with a flurry of offense!

Later that day:
Greensboro clipped Charlotte 9-7
Burlington edged Asheville 5-4
Durham outlasted Raleigh 5-3 in 11 innings.

This is going to be fun!

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Spring Training in the North Carolina State League

On the same day the Carolina League celebrated its first-ever opening day, the Landis Millers found themselves playing their third exhibition of spring training. It wouldn’t get nearly the same amount of attention as Raleigh vs. Durham or Greensboro vs. Charlotte, but it was a HUGE deal in Rowan County.

Landis was facing county rival Salisbury for the first time. Boone Tucker vs. his old manager, Ed Cross. Preseason bragging rights on the line. A county divided!

The Millers had lost their first two exhibition games. There had been very few highlights. Landis hitters had whiffed at practically everything, even veterans like Phil Durham and Ross Stokes. Ugh.

Boone Tucker shook hands with Ed Cross about 30 minutes before the first pitch, his face all steel. The game didn’t count in the standings. It would be forgotten in a few weeks. But Tucker knew that some wins counted anyway...

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For four innings, neither side could break through. The crowd of roughly 800 filled the wooden bleachers at Landis High School Park, restless but attentive, sensing that this one mattered more than an ordinary exhibition had any right to. Each hard-hit ball drew a collective inhale. Each strikeout earned a murmur of approval or disappointment, depending on the uniform.

Salisbury finally cracked the stalemate in the top of the fifth. Two runs crossed the plate, and the Pirates’ dugout stirred with confidence.
But Landis answered immediately. And it started with a decision that made more than a few people blink (including me after I looked at the game play-by-play log).

Boone Tucker sent relief pitcher Luke Wright to the plate to lead off the bottom of the fifth. A pitcher. Batting first in a crucial inning. In a tight ballgame.

There were puzzled looks in the stands. Then Wright lined a clean single, and suddenly no one was questioning anything. (Small town baseball!)

Four more singles followed. A walk with the bases loaded came next. The Millers, quiet all afternoon, surged ahead 4-2 before Salisbury could record the third out. The crowd, tense moments earlier, finally let loose. That would be enough.

Salisbury scratched out a run in the seventh, but Landis bent without breaking. When the final batter stepped in, it was 18-year-old Jay Sowers on the mound, a curve ball specialist and one of the youngest men on the roster, gripping the ball like it weighed more than it should.

Sowers reared back and delivered a sweeping bender that never found the bat. Swing and miss. Game over.

Landis had won its first game under manager Boone Tucker, 4-3.

It didn’t count in the standings.
It wouldn’t matter by mid-May.
It would barely register outside Rowan County.

But for Boone Tucker — and for the folks packed into that little ballpark — it counted all the same. Was this the start of something great? Perhaps, though it didn’t make the front page of the next Salisbury Post (buried on page 7).

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1945 Preseason Predictions



Boone Tucker was sitting in his favorite spot at his favorite diner, his trusty cane resting beside him. Someone had left behind a copy of the previous day’s Charlotte Observer, and Tucker was thumbing through the pages. He stopped when he reached the sports section. Above the fold on the first page were predictions for the upcoming NCSL season:

1. Hickory Rebels - “head and shoulders above the rest”
2. Mooresville Moors - “featuring Wade Hill, the league’s new young star catcher”
3. Thomasville Dodgers
4. Statesville Cubs
5. Lexington A's
6. Salisbury Pirates
7. Concord Weavers
8. Landis Millers - “too many unknowns, starting with a whole new staff”

Hickory had the projected top hitter in the North Carolina State League (Steve Martin, centerfielder) and the top three pitchers (Dan Hamilton, Kevin Hand and Pat Hostetter). Tucker had heard plenty about Hill. He broke into the NCSL during the 1942 season, just as Boone was shipping out to Europe. Hill stood on the edge of confidence and arrogance, and often crossed the line. But the kid could flat-out rake.

Landis only had one player mentioned among the most outstanding players in the league heading into the season: outfielder Phil Durham.

Another article in the same Charlotte Observer listed predictions for the Carolina League. The hometown Hornets ranked second behind the Tourists from Asheville:

1. Asheville Tourists
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Raleigh Capitals
4. Winston-Salem Twins
5. Burlington Bees
6. Greensboro Patriots
7. Durham Bulls
8. Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets

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1945 Landis Millers | Opening Day Lineup

Boone Tucker walked out of the dugout at Lenoir-Rhyne College Park and met the umpires with his first regular-season lineup card as manager of the Landis Millers. Here’s who Tucker penciled in as starters on Wednesday, May 16, 1945 against Hickory (clip it – this card might be worth something some day).

LANDIS MILLERS

1. CF Phil Durham, 26, lefty hitter, “tireless worker”
2. LF John Meeks, 19, switch hitter, “advanced approach at the plate, athletic”
3. 2B Ross Stokes, 30, righty hitter, “sweet swing … plus-defender up the middle”
4. 3B Joe Hayes, 22, switch hitter, “clubhouse leader”
5. RF Sergio Garcia, 19, lefty hitter, “cool under pressure”
6. SS Eric Gossett, 29, righty hitter, “quiet, introverted but steady”
7. C Brandon Windstein, 21, switch hitter, "serviceable at the plate but a bulldog behind the plate”
8. 1B Chris Vance, 19, righty hitter, “raw with potential to be a plus-plus power hitter”
9. Pitcher John Twitty, 18, “appears ready for the spotlight now … it is rare to see talent like this”

And away we go!

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More than 3,000 rooters crowded Lenoir-Rhyne College Park for the Hickory Rebels’ 1945 opener in the North Carolina State League against the visiting Landis Millers. Few people around Hickory were anywhere else except the ballpark – with much of the chatter centered on just how badly the Rebs were going to beat their visitors.

As it turned out, it was a lopsided game. The final score: 12-3, with the victors pounding out 19 hits and scoring eight runs during an eighth-inning salvo.

Only it wasn’t the Hickory dugout celebrating afterward. The Landis Millers had played absolutely out of their minds – surprising even their young manager Boone Tucker, who had never seen his guys play at such a peak level all spring. Reporters asked him after the game if his team had been sandbagging during exhibition season.

“If they were, they certainly didn’t tell me,” Tucker retorted.

Leadoff man Phil Durham set a franchise record with five hits in six at-bats. The veteran centerfielder tripled twice (also a franchise record), including a two-RBI race to the third sack in the eighth. John Meeks, Ross Stokes and Chris Vance each had three hits. Stokes added another triple. Eric Gossette doubled twice. It was a whitewash against Hickory ace Dan Hamilton, the preseason favorite for pitching MVP. Hamilton gave up 12 hits and eight earned runs before being chased.

At least for one day, the projected cellar-dwelling Landis Millers stood atop the North Carolina State League standings!

Other NCSL opening day results:
Salisbury 11, Statesville 1
Concord 7, Thomasville 2
Lexington 4, Mooresville 0

Phil Hennington pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout for Lexington. Six different Salisbury batters had at least two hits in the Pirates' pillaging of Statesville, even starting pitcher Zach Gardner (2-for-4)...

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Salisbury pitcher records first no-hitter in North Carolina State League since rebirth

May 30, 1945

Salisbury’s Jose Vinasco became the first pitcher in post-war professional baseball in North Carolina to record a no-hitter, keeping Thomasville bats quiet in an early season win. The Pirates’ hurler did not strike out anyone (!) and allowed two walks. Salisbury won 3-0.

(Update: Vinasco went on to finish the season 9-12 overall, with a 2.89 ERA. He did not give up a single home run all season … Also: I really do like Salisbury’s uniforms though I HATE their franchise on principle because they are county rivals to Landis).

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Checking in with the Landis Millers on June 1, 1945

Much to everyone’s surprise the Landis Millers were still in the thick of things as the calendar rolled into June. Boone Tucker’s club had won every series to that point: taking two of three games from Hickory, Thomasville, Concord and rival Salisbury(!).

Early standings:

• Concord 10-5
• Landis 9-5 (one game rained out)
• Salisbury 9-6
• Lexington 8-6
• Hickory 8-6

John Meeks (.321) and Phil Durham (.320) led the Millers in batting average during this stretch. Durham had 10 RBIs and Meeks 9. Pitcher John Twitty was 2-1 with a sub 3.00 ERA. Reliever Nick Midkiff had yet to give up an earned run in 9.1 innings pitched. Dave Hallstrom was 3-0 in relief with a save…

Over in the Carolina League on June 1, 1945:

• Charlotte Hornets 22-12
• Burlington Bees 19-15
• Asheville Tourists 19-15
• Raleigh Capitals 18-16

Charlotte pitcher Jonathan Hiestand already has six wins, with an ERA of 1.10.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I am really starting to like this Landis team. It’s a mish-mash group but with a lot of leaders and sparkplugs. So far, overachieving!

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North Carolina State League Check-In | Monday, August 13

Somehow Landis and Concord, picked to bring up the rear in the NCSL, held the standings lead with about five weeks remaining.

Here are the records:

Landis 46-31
Concord 44-33
Salisbury 44-33
Hickory 37-40
Mooresville 37-40

Landis pitcher John Twitty owned a 12-2 record, 1.85 ERA (told you to remember the name). Manager Boone Tucker moved reliever Nick Midkiff into a starter’s role a month earlier and he quietly built a 5-1 record with 1.87 ERA in the back half of the rotation. Phil Durham celebrated a 37-game on-base streak.

Per my assistant coaches our team chemistry is “off the charts”. We have two captains, five leaders and a couple of sparkplugs! Only one outspoken malcontent and one loafer. Is this the cheat code if you’re a small-town, low budget club? Load up on high-character guys?

A remark from one of my assistants: “Kudos to Bruce Elliott (our 39-year-old infielder) and the leadership you have assembled.”

Over in the Carolina League, Charlotte built a double-digit lead over every other club by Aug. 13. But it’s a middling mess after the Hornets. Everyone else is within a few games of each other except for Leaksville-Draper-Spray, which has fallen well off the pack.

Next post: Regular season recaps from both leagues...

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1945 Carolina League – Regular Season Recap



Stinging insects set the standard in Carolina League baseball debut

Final Standings
Charlotte Hornets 83-55
Burlington Bees 76-62
Greensboro Patriots 72-66
Raleigh Capitals 71-67
Winston-Salem Twins 69-69
Asheville Tourists 68-70
Durham Bulls 63-75
Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets 50-88

The Carolina League’s first season belonged to the bugs.

After the final set of games in mid-September, the Charlotte Hornets stood head-and-shoulders above the rest in the inaugural season of the Carolina League. The next six spots in the standings had remained pretty tight all summer and into fall. The Burlington Bees finally pulled away in the final few days to earn the other spot in the championship series (an all-stinging insect final!)

Greensboro, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Asheville finished within four games of each other. Only Leaksville-Draper-Spray struggled to keep pace. The Triplets may have been a good story before the war but they were outmatched in year one of the Carolina League (50-88 record, 33 GB, run differential of -213. Yikes). Would they even return in 1946?

Charlotte pitcher Jonathan Hiestand earned 17 wins. Matt Stokes (no relation to Landis 2B Ross Stokes) earned 14 wins, while teammates Ryan Alcala and Josh Patterson finished with 12 W’s apiece. A solid, balanced staff, with closer JD Warburton collecting 22 saves. Left-fielder Ryan Diddle led the Hornets at the plate, with a .312 average, 79 RBIs and nine homers.

Burlington 1B Tony Losana was the first Carolina League batting champ, posting a .333 average. He enjoyed a 5-for-5 game with 5 RBIs against the Tri-City Triplets. Asheville LF Matt Cote walked 98 times and stole 83 bases. No one else in the league came close to those numbers.

Greensboro LF Chris Latter had a 7-RBI game against Charlotte that included a grand slam and a three-run triple. There weren't any no-hitters in the Carolina League, but Charlotte’s Matt Stokes threw a pair of 1-hitters. Strikeout numbers were wonky in both of these leagues (very, very low). I don’t know if I messed up a setting or if K’s were just low in 1945 baseball. A five-strikeout game was a rarity…

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1945 North Carolina State League – Regular Season Recap



Ninth-inning rally on final day gives Landis regular season title

Final Standings
Landis Millers 67-47
Concord Weavers 66-48
Salisbury Pirates 62-52
Lexington A’s 59-55
Hickory Rebels 55-59
Mooresville Moors 53-61
Statesville Cubs 49-65
Thomasville Dodgers 45-69

One of the best ways to chase readers away from your dynasty story? Win a championship in your first season. I am not sure how this happened to be honest but Landis outlasted Concord and Salisbury to claim the 1945 regular season title in the North Carolina State League. The Millers nearly blew it, though, losing four of the final six games, and suffering 5- and 3-game losing streaks earlier in September.

The last day of the regular season was wild. Landis clung to a one-game lead. Concord then thumped Thomasville 6-1, so the Millers knew they had to beat Hickory to avoid a tie at the top. Hickory jumped to a 6-0 lead after four innings and held a commanding 7-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth.Game over, right?

Not so fast, my baseball friends.

The Landis Millers went ballistic in the bottom of the ninth, scoring 7 runs to win the game and the regular season crown! I’ve never seen anything like it. The rally started with one out and featured two hits by reserve infielder Brian Macklin (not even sure why he started TBH) in the frame as well as a pair of bases loaded walks. Macklin’s two-run drive to left field finally ended it, bringing home teammates Eric Gossett and Brandon Windstein as the dugout emptied in celebration.

I thought I was taking over one of the worst teams in the league. We had the lowest payroll and one of the smallest stadiums. My draft strategy was to load up on leaders, captains and sparkplugs as much as I could, other ratings be damned. That seemed to work, and my assistants told me the team chemistry was “off the charts” over the final few months, led by our 39-year-old 1B/3B Bruce Elliott. Interestingly, my coaching staff was unhappy and had little cohesion. We’ll see how this translates in the playoffs.

As for star players, our now 19-year-old ace pitcher John Twitty proved everything we hoped he would be. Twitty posted a 19-3 record with a 1.81 ERA. He only allowed one home run the whole season.

Outfielders John Meeks (.313) and Phil Durham (.307) had the first and third-best batting average in the league. Batting champ Meeks had a league-best 75 RBIs (didn’t win the triple crown however). Durham stole 26 bases and had the only five-hit game in the league – if you remember, in game one vs. Hickory..

Looking deeper at the standings, Landis played great under pressure. The Millers went 7-3 in extra inning games and 23-9 in one-run contests.

So go figure, the teams picked to finish seventh and eighth in the preseason by the OOTP in-game pundits will play a best-of-seven for the championship.

On to the playoffs!