World Baseball League: Following the Sheffield Mountain Hares

[dinosauryoshi]

Mumbai Directors at Sheffield Mountain Hares (20th - 22nd June, 2059)



Team Profile: Mumbai Directors
Banners: West & South Asia Divisional Champions (2050, 2051)
Playoff appearances: 5
Last season: 68-94 (16th)
This season: 37-32

Having made the playoffs in each of the first 5 years of the WBL, the Directors haven’t appeared since, though they’re having they’re on course for their best finish for numerous years as they sit in 5th place.

Game 1

SP: Alois Herzog

The Mumbai Directors defeated the Sheffield Mountain Hares, 3-2, in a tight 10 innings at Kingfisher Park. Mumbai pitcher Khachatur Pashazade had a standout performance. The Azeri power pitcher went 7 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Tony Camarillo was the hero for the Directors, contributing a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top of the tenth inning to put Mumbai up, 3-2. Both of Sheffield’s runs came from a towering Sergio Rutz home run in the 4th. Herzog gave up 2 runs in 5 innings in a solid start.

Player of the game: Khachatur Pashazade



Game 2

SP: Isaac Saville

Sheffield earn a hard-fought 4-3 win despite only getting 7 hits. Isaac Saville put in a solid start, giving up 3 runs in 6.1 innings, while Motoyanagi, Ochoa and Barrios shut the Directors out for the remainder of the game. Jesus Morales got a crucial home run in the 5th, but it was Schilchegger’s run scoring single in the tenth that won the Hares the game and got the home crowd dancing.

Player of the game: Isaac Saville



Game 3

SP: Giobbe Marinello

The Hares seem to be having a lot of extra-innings games this year, and unfortunately this one ended in a 6-3 loss, as the Directors racked up three runs in the 10th inning to take the series, all started by a Tim McCormick sacrifice fly which put them up 4-3. Morales hit his second and third home run is 2 games, going 3 for 3, while Rutz increased his season home-run tally to 17. Marinello was superb on the mound too, going 6.1 innings and giving up just 1 run - but it all wasn’t enough, as the Hares dropped to 44-28, remaining in 3rd in the Division.

Player of the game: Jesus Morales

[dinosauryoshi]

Phnom Penh Jackhammers @ Sheffield Mountain Hares (23rd - 25th June, 2059)



SMH logo by @20_range, PPJ logo from @cephasjames' pack

Team Profile: Phnom Penh Jackhammers
Banners: West & South East Asia Divisional Champions (2057)
Playoff appearances: 3
Last season’s record: 80-82 (6th)
This season’s record: 39-33 (3rd)

Having won their division a couple of years ago the Jackhammers continue to be a force in the WBL, competing for their second divisional title.


Game 1

In what was always going to be a tough series, the Jackhammers came out swinging to down the Hares 9-1 in Sheffield. Dessalegne El Borolossy was unflappable on the mound, going 7 innings while giving up no runs and striking out 7. On the Hares side, Eskinder Ali had a nightmare on the mound, giving up 5 runs in 3.1 innings before being pulled. Offensively he did manage to get the Hares’ only RBI however.

Player of the game: Dessalegne El Borolossy

Game 2

SP: Yushua bin Saqr

Sheffield’s home fans were delivered another humbling trouncing at the hands of the Jackhammers, this time losing 15-4 on their home turf. The less said about the Hares’ performance the better, especially bin Saqr’s 7 runs given up in 3.1 innings, though Jesus Morales 3 for 5 performance deserves a mention. Nigerian shortstop Dagne Shabana was 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, and a walk, while scoring 3 and driving in 5 in a superb Jackhammers offensive performance all round.

Player of the game: Dagne Shabana

Game 3

SP: Alois Herzog

The Jackhammers completed an impressive clean sweep of the Hares with a tighter 4-3 win in game 3, in a series that has made evident that the Hares are some way off being World Series contenders, despite their 3rd place in the European Division. 6’4 Chinese pitcher Huang-fu Lau gave up two runs in 5.1 innings before the bullpen came in and held the Hares to just one more, which was enough to get the Jackhammers another win. The Hares fought valiantly, getting their first home runs of the series from Sergio Rutz and Adam Koehler - but it was another disappointing outfield for the Sheffield faithful. Herzog had the Hares’ best start of the series, in that it was the first to not end in complete disaster - giving up 4 runs in 5.1 innings.

Player of the game: Huang-fu Lou

Box Scores for all games can be found here:https://postimg.cc/gallery/hTNJ3XH

[dinosauryoshi]

Does anyone know of a way I can get this thread moved to the OOTP 26 section? I won't be actually moving to OOTP 26 until the end of this in-game season to be safe - but thought I'd ask ahead of time if this is possible?

I'm also thinking of moving to a weekly/fortnightly reporting format rather than the per-series approach I've been taking - just to make it less time consuming for me now that I have much less time on my hands!

[dinosauryoshi]

Berlin Bears at Sheffield Mountain Hares (27th to 29th June)


Both logos by @20_range

Game 1

SP: Isaac Saville

The Sheffield Mountain Hares won out agains the Bears, 4-3, in another extra-innings game. The standout performance belonged to English pitcher Isaac Saville who gave up just one run in 5.1 innings.

Santiago Padilla delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth to win it for the Mountain Hares, sending the home fans into pandomonium.

Player of the game: Isaac Saville

Game 2

SP: Giobbe Marinello

Ilyas Muraguri had a good game, but he could not keep the Sheffield Mountain Hares from falling, 7-6, to the Berlin Bears at Kingfisher Park. The Sheffield shortstop was 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk, while adding 4 RBI and scoring once in the loss. Giobbe Marinello went 6 innings giving up 3 runs in one of his more average performances.

Berlin used a timely hit from Frank Shaw to get the win. The catcher stroked a run-scoring double in the top of the tenth inning to put the Bears ahead, 7-6. It was his only hit in 5 at-bats, but it made an impact.

Player of the game: Ilyas Muraguri

Game 3

SP: Eskinder Ali

It was time for another 2-way outing for Ali, who had a decent game at the plate, going 5 innings and giving up 3 runs, but didn’t manage a hit in 5 at bats offensively, though he did take two walks. Saetgaliev, Cooper and Graham got the Hares’ only RBIs.

Melvin Ayala, the former first round draft pick and silver slugger in 2054, contributed a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning to put Berlin up, 4-3.

Player of the game: Tony Pugh (Berlin Bears)

The Hares are now 45-33, sitting in 5th, as they fall out of the top positions.

All box scores available here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/pyGMcHw

[dinosauryoshi]

As stated previously, since the birth of my second son I've had less time to do this so trying to make it a little less time consuming, hence trialing these posts covering a week rather than a series. Any feedback welcome.

June 30th to July 6th, 2059

Results

Sheffield Mountain Hares at St Petersburg Pelicans (6th): (Loss 3-7, Win 2-1, Loss 1-5)

Moscow Blizzard (15th) at Sheffield Mountain Hares: (Loss 1-2, Win 2-0, Win 7-3)

Sheffield Mountain Hares record and standing: 5th (48-36)

A good week for…

Yushua bin Saqr, who gave up just 3 hits and 1 run in a six inning outing against the Pelicans in the Hares’ 2-1 win.

Adam Koehler, who posted a 1.5 WAR with an OPS of .965 and 2 home runs in 19 at bats thanks to solid work at catcher as well as at the plate.

Jason Portman, who racked up an 11.4 zone rating with some superb fielding throughout the week at centre-field.

Alois Herzog, who posted a 2.38ERA over two starts.

Eskinder Ali, who gave up no runs in 5 innings pitched while also hitting a home run at the plate in the Hares’ 2-0 defeat of the Blizzard. Though his batting performances in the rest of the games left a little to be desired.

A less good week for…

Kolya Saetgaliev, who posted only 3 hits in 21 at bats.

Isaac Saville, who was hit for 4 runs in 3 innings in the 5-1 loss to the Pelicans before being taken off.

Home Run Watch (season total in brackets)

Adam Koehler - 2 (16)
Werner Schilchegger - 2 (7)
Eskinder Ali - 1 (5)
Abdul Karim bin Jameel - 1 (6)

Thoughts

Going 3-3 is never a disaster but it would have been nice to post a winning week against a couple of opponents below us in the division. Two heavier losses against the Pelicans were particularly concerning, especially now that they’re only one place below us. It felt like the offence was the main letdown this week, only managing over 3 runs in 1 of the 6 games. We’re now 8 wins behind the division leading Mallards, but only 1 win off the pace for an EAA wildcard slot.

Box scores for all games are here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/r5dvgR6

[dinosauryoshi]

Monday 7th to Friday 13th July

Results

Budapest Red Squirrels (12th) at Sheffield Mountain Hares: Loss 2-6, Win 3-2 (10), Loss 5-9
Lisbon Caravels (14th) at Sheffield Mountain Hares: Win 3-1, Win 8-6, Loss 5-6 (10)

Record and standing: 51-39 (6th)

A good week for…

Isaac Saville, who tied the Hares single game strikeout record with 12 in a superb performance as he led Sheffield to a 3-2 win over Budapest with a 7.1 inning start giving up just 1 run.

Eskinder Ali, who put up an OPS of 1.333 in 15 at bats during the week and pitched 5.1 innings without giving up a run in his start against Lisbon, a game the Hares won 3-1.

A bad week for…

Eskinder Ali who injured himself throwing the ball in the Hares’ 8-6 win against the Caravels and will be out for 3-4 weeks. He was not pitching, which has led to some fans calling for him to be given a designated hitter role on days when he isn’t pitching.

Rob Graham, who managed only 3 hits in 23 at bats as his disappointing season continues.

Home run watch (year total in brackets)

Jesus Morales - 2 (13)
Adam Koehler - 1 (17)
Ilyas Muraguri - 1 (9)
Werner Schilchegger - 1 (8)
Eskinder Ali - 1 (6)

Thoughts

I think the fans were hoping for more than a 3-3 record for a week with series against two teams outside the division’s top 10, but the Hares’ recent mediocre form continues. Offensively, we looked better than last week, but on the pitching front we looked worse, giving up more than 5 runs in the majority of games this week. The Eskinder Ali injury is also bad news, though his 3-4 weeks out does conveniently fall partially over upcoming the all-star break. The Hares are dropping down in the wildcard standings, but they're still well in contention, only 1 win behind the last wildcard berth.

All the week’s boxscores are available here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/jd5dC7N

[dinosauryoshi]

14th to 20th July, 2059

Results:

Sheffield Mountain Hares vs Shenzhen Peanuts (17th in Central and East Asia Division): Loss 2-4, Win 3-2, Win 7-1.

A good week for:

Alois Herzog, who went 5.1 innings giving up just 1 run in the Hares 7-1 thrashing of the Peanuts.

Tuan Sumual, who started his Hares career with a home run in his debut in a 4-2 loss to the Peanuts. The Hares acquired Samual in a trade with the Port Moresby Manatees for second baseman Sadatumi Fujita. The move perplexed many fans given Sumual’s advanced age at 38, and his only just replacement level production since last year.

Jesus Morales, who went 4 for 4 in the Hares’ 3-2 win over the Peanuts.

Home run watch

Werner Schilchegger - 1 (9)
Tuan Sumual - 1 (1)

Thoughts

Just the one series to report on this time, with the all-star break (EAA won 11-5 by the way, with Chinese superstar Right Fielder, Chi-ju Shao winning the MVP honours) taking up much of the week.

A 2-1 series win against the Peanuts is unspectacular given their struggles near the bottom of their division, but we’ll take it. No real clunker performances on the team this week, though there were a lot of errors spread about by the defence.

The weeks’ box-scores are available here: https://postimg.cc/gallery/s2pqXyL

[dinosauryoshi]

21st to 27th July 2059

Results

at Bucharest Sounds (2nd): Win 7-2, Loss 1-2, Loss 0-2
vs Zurich Mountaineers (18th): Loss 2-10, Win 4-1, Win 5-2

Position and record: 5th - 56-43

A good week for

Jesus Morales - the right fielder had an OPS of 1.205 for the week with 8 hits in 20 at bats including 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.

Adam Koehler - his superb defensive catching performances continued, and he also equalled the injured Sergio Rutz’ team leading 18 home runs.

Jason Portman, who as well as looking great in the field as usual, put up an OPS of .935 with 6 hits in 19 at bats.

Yushua bin Saqr - the Algerian pitcher hasn’t been on the best form, but put in two important performances this week, going an impressive 14.2 innings while giving up only 3 runs.

A bad week for

Giobbe Marinello, the Italian was hit for 8 runs in just 2.2 innings before being taken off in the team’s 10-2 thrashing by the Mountaineers.

Abdul-Karim bin Jameel, the first baseman went 3 for 23 at the plate. One was a home run, but his paltry OPS of .429 left a lot to be desired, as did his defensive mishaps.

Home run watch

Jesus Morales - 2 (15)
Adam Koehler - 1 (18)
Werner Schilchegger - 1 (10)
Abdul-Karim bin Jameel - 1 (7)
Rob Graham - 1 (5)
Jason Portman - 1 (3)

Thoughts

Another 3-3 week. I think most fans will take the 2-1 loss to the 2nd placed Sounds, but that 10-2 defeat against the team with the worst record in the entire EAA, the Mountaineers, was a bit of an embarrassment, especially as it felt like a good opportunity for a much needed sweep.

We’re still well on track to beat the team’s current season win record of 81, which was set last season, and I think most fans would have considered that a success at the start of the season. And while we're looking on the bright side the Hares are still well in the playoff wildcard race as we approach the final 60ish games of the season.

[dinosauryoshi]

28th July to 3rd August, 2059

Results

at Rome Legion (9th): Loss 4-6, Win 5-4, Loss 2-11
vs Quito Cinchonas (6th in South America): Win 7-3, Loss 2-3 (10), Win 5-4, Loss 2-6

A good week for

Tuan Sumual, the 38 year old Thai trade deadline pickup went 7 for 22 at the plate with a home run, a walk and 5 RBIs and was the Hares’ best offensive performer in the week.

Isaac Saville pitched 11 innings over 2 games, giving up a couple of runs in each game - which were some of the week’s most inspiring performances in a week of fairly average pitcher outings.

Aladdin Ngunda, the Moroccan reliever racked up 3 innings over 2 games, giving up no runs.

A bad week for

Giobbe Marinello who lasted only 2.1 innings in his start against Rome Legion, having given up 5 runs in a game the Hares went on to lose 11-2.

Jesus Morales managed only 2 hits in 24 at bats, with a lowly OPS of .237.

Home run watch

Adam Koehler - 1 (19)
Ilyas Muraguri - 1 (10)
Kolya Saetgaliev - 1 (9)
Abdul Karim bin Jameel - 1 (8)
Tuan Sumual - 1 (2)
Tony Ramirez - 1 (1)

Thoughts

The Hares gave up a lot of runs this week as a usually reliable pitching core was somewhat leaky. Again, a 3-4 week isn’t terrible, but we’re falling back slowly but meaningfully in the wildcard race, where we’re now 11 places back from the final slot. Eskinder Ali’s hamstring strain recovery has been slower than expected, and the team is really missing Sergio Rutz, both as a fielder and hitter.

It feels like it might be a bit of a limp over the line to beat last season’s record of 81 wins, but I still think we'll make it. What that means for next season rests a lot on whether Eskinder Ali signs an extension this year or heads elsewhere...

[dinosauryoshi]

4th to 10th August, 2059

at Quito Cinchonas (7th in South America): Loss 2-3 (10), Win 5-4, Loss 2-6

At Mogadishu Seashells (13th in Africa): Loss 4-7, Loss 3-7, Win 9-1.

Sheffield Mountain Hares record and standing: 62-50, 7th

A good week for

Adam Koehler, Werner Schilchegger, Ilyas Muraguri and Tuan Samual all racked up OPS’ over 1.000. Schilchegger did this over an impressive 21 at bats.

Rob Graham showed some signs of getting out of his extended slump, hitting for a .333 average and an OPS of .845.

Yushua bin Saqr put in probably the best start of the week, going 6 innings and giving up just 1 run, with an impressive 0.67 WHIP in the Hares’ 9-1 win against Mogadishu.

Moroccan reliever Aladdin Ngunda gave up no runs in 4 innings over 2 games.

A bad week for

Jesus Morales, the centre-fielder managed only 2 hits in 24 at bats.

The Swedish top prospect Espen Aas’ first week in the majors didn’t go as planned, as he hit for a paltry average of .071.

Alois Herzog, the generally reliable starting pitcher was hit for 6 runs in just 3.2 innings before being taken off in his start this week, a 7-3 loss to the Mogadishu Seashells.

Home run watch

Tuan Samual 2 (4)
Jason Portman 1 (4)
Santiago Padilla 1 (4)
Werner Schilchegger 1 (11)
Ilyas Muraguri 1 (11)
Adam Koehler 1 (20)
Tony Ramirez 1 (2)

Thoughts

2 series lost in a row is never good, and a 2-4 record for the week is disappointing. Although one loss was in extra-innings, the rest weren’t particularly close, usually thanks to both pitching and hitting being poor. I hope we bounce back from this week, which has us in 7th place for the first time in a long time and well back from any hope of a wildcard spot to the playoffs. I take some positivity from Rob Graham's good week though, and am not too worried about Espen Aas disappointing start, it's early days yet!

[dinosauryoshi]

11th to 17th August, 2059

Results

vs Vienna Whistlers (4th): Loss 1-4, Win 4-1, Loss 4-7
vs Paris Black Cats (11th): Win 11-9, Win 7-3, Loss 2-9

Sheffield record and standing: 65-53, 7th.

A good week for

Fans of the Hares. Results aside, the surprise return of top prospect Eskinder Ali and Honduran star Sergio Rutz from injury in the same week had fans very excited for results to improve.

Fortunately for those fans, Eskinder Ali and Sergio Rutz both came back with a bang, rocking a 1.089 and 1.413 OP respectively. Admittedly Rutz only had 7 at bats, but their combined 3 home runs (2 for Ali, 1 for Rutz) had fans singing their names at the top of their lungs.

Eskinder Ali’s return on the mound also deserves a mention; he went 5 innings and gave up only 1 run in a 7-4 loss to the Whistlers.

Espen Aas found his WBL groove having struggled in his first week, netting his first home run for the team, and going 2 for 8 at the plate.

Jesus Morales also had an improved week at the plate, going 6 for 16, with 3 RBIS and an OPS just over 1.000

Nestor Berrios racked up two saves, giving up only 1 hit and no runs in 3 innings as the Hares’ most reliable closer.

Starters struggled this week, but Giobbe Marinello deserves a mention here. He went deep, going 7 innings while only giving up 2 runs in a 7-3 win against Paris.

A bad week for

Alois Herzog, who gave up 8 runs in 12 innings in his 2 starts with a WHIP of 1.9.

Rob Graham and Ilyas Muraguri both hit for OPS’ below .500, with .211 and .118 batting averages respectively.

Home run watch

Eskinder Ali 2 (8)
Santiago Padilla 2 (6)
Adam Koehler 2 (22)
Kolya Saetgaliev 1 (10)
Espen Aas 1 (1)
Jason Portman 1 (5)
Sergio Rutz 1 (19)

Thoughts

3-3 is fine if unspectacular for the week’s fixtures, however the return of Rutz and Ali, two of my favourite players, has me very much on a high, and hopeful for the final quarter of the season.

[dinosauryoshi]

18th to 24th August, 2059

Results

at Riyad Bedouins (6th in West and South East Asia): Loss 3-8, Win 4-1, Loss 7-9
vs Salt Lake City Skiers (10th in North America - West): Win 6-3, Win 7-4, Loss 8-16, Win 7-1.

Sheffield record and standing: 69-56, 7th


A good week for

Mototomi Motoyanagi, who in 2 starts and 12.1 innings pitched, gave up just 1 run as he led the Hares to two wins.

Sisal Maina, the Ethiopian is proving to be a reliable reliever since promotion into the big leagues. He ate up 7 innings in relief, giving up only 1 run, with a WHIP of 0.43.

Adam Koehler, who continues to show why he became the Hares’ first all star this year, with an OPS of 1.214, 2 home runs and 7 RBIs this week along with his continued top tier performances on defence.

Jesus Morales racked up an OPS of 1.077 in 25 at bats, including 3 home runs.

Espen Aas and Rob Graham both hit a couple of home runs in a good week at the plate.

Ilyas Muraguri (who makes another appearance below…) was superlative at shortstop this week, making a whole bunch of highlight plays on defence.

A bad week for

Yushua bin Saqr had an absolute nightmare week, giving up 14 runs in 3.1 innings as a starter over 2 games, both of which he was pulled in very quickly but which led to heavy losses for the Hares.

Eskinder Ali, who has been dropped back to the AAA Plymouth Wildcats (hopefully temporarily), seemingly due to Sergio Rutz’s return from injury, but fans are pressuring manager Carson Reynolds to make room for Ali, or to at least explain his reasoning…

Ilyas Muraguri and Jason Portman only batted for .182 in 22 at bats.

Home run watch

A mad week of home runs thanks to some high scoring games:

Jesus Morales - 3 (18)
Sergio Rutz - 2 (21)
Adam Koehler - 2 (24)
Espen Aas - 2 (3)
Rob Graham - 2 (7)
Santiago Padilla - 1 (7)
Mitch Cooper - 1 (2)
Marty King -1 (3)

Thoughts

I’m as confused with Eskinder Ali’s move to AAA as anyone, and I'm sure it's temporary, perhaps to take it easier on that hamstring a little longer, but we shall see over the next few weeks. That aside though, I’ll take any week over .500 at this point, and the team sure was entertaining this week racking up a heap of home runs. I’m slightly concerned about bin Saqr’s awful starts this week, but the bullpen has looked promising, particularly newbie Sisal Maina. We’re only 14 wins away from the 83 we got last season, with just under 40 games left, surely we can beat that?

[dinosauryoshi]

25th to 31st August, 2059

Results

at London Gentlemen (6th): Win 3-1 Loss 0-1, Loss 0-2
vs Kyiv Terrapins (17th): Win 8-0, Loss 4-7, Loss 1-5

A good week for

Kolya Saetgaliev had the Hares’ best week as a hitter in a generally poor week where we were shut out twice. He had an OPS of 1.196 with an average of .497, a home run and 7 RBIs.

It feels pointless at this point to say Koehler played superbly as catcher, but that was once again the case, even if he had a bad week at the plate.

Jason Portman put up an OPS of just under 1.000, including a home run, while also being one of the team’s top defenders over the week.

It warms my heart that Yushua bin Saqr put together a great start after his nightmares on the mound last week, he put together 6.2 shutout innings as the Hares thrashed Kyiv 8-0, allowing only 2 hits in one of the best starts by any pitcher for the Hares this season.

Isaac Saville had two starts this week, putting together 11.2 innings and allowing just 1 run while notching 14 strikeouts.

A bad week for

Most of the offence was poor, but Rob Graham struggled the most, with only 2 hits in 19 at bats.

Abdul-Karim bin Jameel was unspectacular at the plate, but stood out for a few particularly poor defensive performances at first base.

Home run watch

Kolya Saetgaliev - 1 (11)
Jason Portman - 1 (6)
Adam Koehler - 1 (25)

Thoughts

An awful week, with a particularly gutting series loss to fellow English rivals the Gentlemen. I take heart in the fact our man Eskinder Ali is back on the WBL roster though, and so we’ll hopefully see him again next week.

[dinosauryoshi]

August - Monthly Report

And so as we’ve reached the end of August it’s time to give out a few awards, before taking a Quick Look across the league.

Position Player of the Month

Adam Koehler - this one is no contest, with superb performances behind the plate as well as at the plate throughout the month. The catcher from New Orleans racked up an impressive 2.5 WAR, .939 OPS, 7 home runs and 16 RBIs, putting him ahead of Ilyas Muraguri, who racked up 1.7 WAR mainly thanks to superb defensive play.

Pitcher of the Month

With no starters putting in a particularly outstanding month, the award has to go to closer Nestor Barrios, who has racked up 6 saves over the month, giving up only 1 run in 10 innings as a closer, with a WHIP of 0.7.

Notes from across the league

The Madrid Mallards are running away with the European division, with an astounding 91-39 record, a ridiculous 11 wins ahead of the next winningest World Baseball League team, the Honolulu Seahawks (who play in the other conference). Within our own conference (and division), the nearest team is Bucharest Sound, who have 80 wins so far. If the Mallards win the division, which they surely will, this will be their first European Division title, but they’ll be hoping for more than that…

Abhiyutaksikar Kumur leads both conferences in home runs, with 52. The 29 year old from India was an all-star this year, and also won the the Silver Slugger for first base last year. He’s currently hitting for an average of .333 with an OPS of 1.108, with a WAR of 5.9 for the season.

10 time all-star and likely future Hall of Fame Antonio Cardoza leads WAR rankings with a lofty 8.0. He’s hit for 44 home runs, 110 RBIs, a 3.87 average and a stupendous OPS of 1.238 in another sparkling season for the La Paz Doves, where he’s played since being drafted in the first round in 2048.

Maltese Kyiv Terrapins pitcher Luke Sanderson leads pitcher WAR, with 5.8, though it’s a tight race! He’s sitting on an ERA of 2.99 (3.02 FIP) with a WHIP of 1.13 with 144 strikeouts in 28 starts.

[dinosauryoshi]

1st to 7th September, 2059

Results

at Athens Philosophers (12th): Win 8-5, Loss 3-10, Win 2-1
at Berlin Bears (9th): Loss 2-13, Loss 1-8, Loss 0-5

Record and position: 73-64, 7th

A good week for

Eskinder Ali, who had an absolute cracker of a game in the Hares’ 8-5 win over the Philosphers. He went 3 for 3 with 2 home runs and 2 RBIs, but unfortunately picked up a niggling hip injury, which kept him out for the rest of the week.

Jason Portman and Rob Graham, who both racked up OPS’ of over .900, Graham also hit a home run.

Yushua bin Saqr put in another good performance, going 6 innings while only giving up 1 run in a 2-1 win over Athens.

Nestor Berrios racked up another 2 saves as a closer, as he threw two shutout innings across two games.

A bad week for

Abdul-Karim bin Jameel, who continued to be mediocre at the plate, and sloppy on defence at first base.

Sergio Rutz had an uncharacteristically bad week, going 3 for 24 at the plate, though thankfully one of those hits was a home run.

The rest of the starters except bin Saqr all had an ERA of above 6 for the week (all but Marinello had one above 10), with Motoyanagi, Herzog and Saville all getting pulled early in games due to awful starts.

Thoughts

It feels like we’re very much limping across the finish line, though we only need 9 wins to at least get a winning record, and 10 to equal last season’s 83 wins. With 24 games left that seems manageable, even on our current bad run.

Eskinder Ali lit up the place on his return, and I’m reassured his current niggle should be out the way in time for him to play next week. I think any hope of reaching the playoffs has gone - and so fans are all left holding their breath hoping Ali signs an extension. We know he loves it here, but does he love it enough?

It feels like our recent bad run has largely been due to the drop in our pitching, which had been one of the best in the European Division earlier in the season.

[dinosauryoshi]

15th to 21st September, 2059

Results

at Minsk Bison (5th): Loss 2-5, Win 9-3, Loss 1-3
at Lisbon Caravels (15th): Win 4-1, Loss 3-8, Loss 1-8

A good week for

Sergio Rutz had a barnstorming week, racking up an OPS of 1.394, with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs.

Jason Portman had a host of super performances on defence, while also hitting for an OPS of .789 at the plate.

Alois Herzog, who had the week’s best start on the mound, going 6.2 innings without giving up a run in a 4-1 win against the Caravels.

Joey Booth, who came in and pitched 4 hitless innings against the Bison in a 9-3 win.

A bad week for

Espen Aas and Jesus Morales managed just 1 hit each with 10 plate appearances.

Mototomo Motoyanagi gave up 4 runs in 2.2 innings before being pulled in a 5-2 loss against the Bison.

Eskinder Ali, who gave up 6 runs, including 2 homers in 4.2 innings against Lisbon.

Home run watch

Sergio Rutz - 3 (26)
Kolya Saetgaliev - 1 (12)
Eskinder Ali - 1 (11)
Mitch Cooper - 1 (3)
Chase Clem - 1 (2)

Thoughts

We need just 4 wins from the last 12 games to equal last year’s 83 wins, surely we can at least manage that? It would be a disappointing end given how well we started the season, but one I imagine many would have taken before it all began. The Madrid Mallards have all but won the division, with a 12 win lead with 12 left to play. We remain in 7th, 3 wins ahead of 8th, and 6 wins behind 6th, so it feels like this is where we'll likely end up!

[dinosauryoshi]

22nd to 28th September, 2059


Results

vs Warsaw Kings (14th): Win 2-0, Loss 6-9, Win 2-1
vs Madrid Mallards (1st): Loss 4-10, Loss 5-10, Win 7-5

Record and standing: 82-74 (7th)

A good week for

Espen Aas, he has time to work out his defensive frailties, and that’s why his progress at the plate is to be appreciated. He hit for a .938 OPS and .357 average this week in 15 at bats.

Nestor Berrios racked up 3 saves in 3 starts, while giving up no runs.

A bad week for

Eskinder Ali, a below average week at the plate, and the giving up of 6 runs in a 4 inning start on the mound do not a good week make for Sheffield’s two-way top prospect.

Having had a couple of very good weeks Yushua bin Saqr had another meltdown, giving up no less than 7 runs in 1.1 innings before being pulled in a 10-4 loss to the dominant Mallards.

Kolya Saetgaliev, a home run was not enough to hide the fact he hit for an OPS of .533, an average of .158, and had a terrible week at right field.

Home run watch

Adam Koehler - 1 (26)
Kolya Saetgaliev - 1 (13)
Meto Seta - 1 (1)

Thoughts

Well, we need just one win from the last week to equal last season’s record. A decent week, even if we were offensively pretty weak. I’ll take a win against the WBL’s best regular season team, and the series win against the Kings was nice too, if unspectacular. It felt like one of those grindy kind of weeks, where no one massively stood out, but everyone pitched in. With just one more week to go, I’m looking forward to wrapping up our year, and sitting back to enjoy the playoffs. As usual, in the Hares’ absence, we’ll follow another team in the playoffs. More on that next week!

[dinosauryoshi]

29th September to 5th October (final week of regular season)

Results

at Budapest Red Squirrels (12th): Win 2-0, Win 9-2
at Stockholm Orcas (9th): Win 9-2, Loss 2-8, Loss 4-12

End of season record and position: 85-77 (7th)

A good week for

In those with over 15 plate appearances, Sergio Rutz did the most damage, with an OPS of .935, 1 home run and 3 RBIs. Rob Graham managed the same amount of home runs and RBIs, while posting an OPS of .839.

Sergio Rutz and Adam Koehler both homered and so ended the season tied with 27 home runs, more than any other players for the Hares.

Jason Portman, who was spectacular on defence at centre-field, making a couple of highlight plays and generally being his reliable self, even if he was unremarkable at the plate.

Alois Herzog had the week’s best start, going 6.1 innings and giving up no runs, with a WHIP of 0.63 in Sheffield’s 2-0 win over Budapest. Yushua bin Saqr and Eskiner Ali both got a win each too, with solid starts.

A bad week for

Kolya Saetgaliev went 2 for 18 in a week he’ll be hoping to forget rather quickly.

Giobbe Marinello, who did not make his two starts count, chalking up losses in both while giving up 8 runs in 11.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.63.

Home run watch

Jesus Morales - 1 (20)
Sergio Rutz - 1 (27)
Rob Graham - 1 (8)
Adam Koehler - 1 (27)
Chase Clem - 1 (3)

Thoughts

Well, that’s it. I’ll do our regular season review, complete with awards, next, but this was a great week to end the season on. A 3-2 record for the week took for us to a new record 85 wins. Well off the playoff pace of 90 wins, but good nonetheless.

[dinosauryoshi]

Sheffield Mountain Hares - Regular Season Review and Awards

Overall record and position: 85-77 (7th).

A 7th position finish in the European division for two years in a row is not bad, and we did improve our record from last year by two wins. This was also the first season we’ve exceeded our expected record (by 2). 2059 also saw our highest attendance.

The bar for the playoffs in the European, Africa and Asia conference ended up being a high 92 wins, so we were some way off that in the end despite a very promising start to the season.

Overall our pitching far outperformed our hitting. We were generally in the top 10 teams in the conference (that’s 72 teams) for all defensive stats and were first in opponents average (.243).

On the offensive side we were hovering around the 60th mark in the conference on most stats, including 66th in batting average and 63rd in runs scored.


Position Players

Top 5 WAR and awards



Adam Koehler easily takes the team’s Golden Glove award, with superb performances as catcher throughout the season. Impressively, he was also second in the running for the Silver Slugger award, but that ended up going to Sergio Rutz, whose OPS was just slightly higher over the season due to more doubles and triples. Both were tied with 27 home runs, and now lie joint 6th in the home runs/season table, some way behind Willie Perez with 50 last year! While we’re talking about our hero Willie, you’ll be interested to know he hit 42 dingers for the St Louis Flycatchers this year, in another great season. Racking up 3.1 WAR at the age of 38.

Pitching

Top 5 WAR and awards



Herzog somewhat ran away with the Starter of the Year award, racking up a solid 4 WAR with an ERA of 3.36, the second lowest ERA posted by a Hare, below only his own record set last year. Bin Saqr and Marinello also had decent seasons, with the former still leading in most stats for the team from a career perspective, having played for them in every year of their existence so far.

Reliever of the Year has to go to Nestor Barrios, who racked up a massive 21 saves as our closer, with an ERA of 2.39 as he was consistently relied upon in high leverage situations. Rey Ochoa also deserves a mention, who was practically unhittable before he got injured, with 18 saves in only 36 starts, and an ERA of 1.89.

Eskinder Ali also deserves a mention, as despite a lengthy injury, he managed to put together a total of 3.1 WAR (2.0 as a position player, 1.1 as a pitcher) in his rookie season, easily winning the team’s Rookie of the Year. We’re all holding our breath hoping he signs an extension.

The MVP award has to go to Adam Koehler this season, who was super both offensively and defensively this season. From a WAR perspective it was the second best season ever by a Hare, behind only Abdul-Karim bin Jameel’s incredible 2057 all-star season, where he had a WAR of 5.9. He’s also moved up to 3rd in career home runs for the new team, with 62

Other records worth mentioning

Isaac Saville beat both the the team’s single-season strikeout (164) and home runs allowed (27) records this year. So he certainly made his mark… Nestor Barrios broke the team’s games pitched record with 70, as they turned to him again and again from the bullpen.

[dinosauryoshi]

End of regular season standings across the World Baseball League, 2059

As my second favourite team, the Havana Cafecitos, have made it to the playoffs, we'll be following them specifically, while also looking at the whole playoff bracket in the next post. But before we do that, here's the standings at the end of the season.