NABL a History

[JayW UK]

2043 Playoffs

World Series

The 2043 World Series between Indianapolis and Las Vegas was repeat of the 2031 edition in which the Racers prevailed in seven games, and just as in that series Indianapolis held home advantage. The key to winning the series lay in the battle between the Racers potent offense and the Gamblers lockdown pitching and whichever team “won” that matchup would be favourites to go on and win the Championship.
Game one was a see-saw struggle, a late flurry of runs sparked by LF Vaughan Snyder’s eighth inning homerun, allowed Las Vegas to emerge victorious and stun their hosts to take a 1-0 series lead. The following night was a similar back and forth game but this time roles were reversed, Indianapolis LF Allen Hood was the home hero, smashing a game winning 2-RBI double in the eighth as the Racers tied the series with a 4-2 victory. Continuing the theme, game three was another defensive battle with Indianapolis edging ahead in the top of the seventh on a Mitch Higgins homerun, with the Gamblers throwing everything they had at them over the final two frames the Racers held firm to sneak ahead in the series. After three closely contested matchups, game four saw the Las Vegas bats wake up, Indianapolis starter Elmer Chambers struggled (4.2 IP, 8H, 7ER, 4BB, 1K) before exiting the game in the fifth inning with Las Vegas comfortably ahead 7-2. Indianapolis 1B Mitch Higgins drilled a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Racers hope of a comeback but LV 3B Joseph Floores answered with a homerun of his own (his second of the night) next inning to wrap up proceedings in favour of the home side. The following night Gil Wallace’s dominant pitching performance (7.1 IP, 4H, 1ER, 8K) paved the way for a 5-2 Gamblers victory in game five, edging Las Vegas one step closer to winning their third World Championship. With the series returning to Indianapolis, the hometown Racers knew they would have no second chances to force a winner-takes-all game seven and in their best overall game of the playoffs that is exactly what they did, chasing Las Vegas starter Jose Vazquez from the game early and cruising to a 9-2 victory. Game seven played in front of a packed Raceway Stadium was decided in a single inning… the seventh. With one out and men on the corners in the top of the inning and Las Vegas ahead 2-1, Catcher Manny Mendoza entered the batters box and proceeded to hit a screaming line drive up the middle that for all the world looked to be extending the Las Vegas lead. Star shortstop Pancho Sousa then made possibly the best defensive play in NABL World Series history, making a sprawling full stretch catch, robbing Mendoza of a likely extra base hit, and then from his knees firing the ball to first baseman Mitch Higgins to complete the inning-ending double-play by retiring Jorge Morroquin who had set off for second and had no chance of getting back. Indianapolis then completed the turnaround on Nicholas Tate’s pinch-hit 2-RBI double which put the Racers ahead 3-2, and shutdown innings from pitchers Lance Harris and Sam Johnson Jr which finally shut the door on Las Vegas. When CF Rafael Cedeno caught Vaughan Snyder’s flyball to end the game it signaled wild celebrations in the stands and closed the book on Indianapolis’ fifth World Championship, tying them with Boston for most in NABL history, it also gave Las Vegas the unwanted distinction of becoming the first team to suffer back-to-back World Series defeats.

2043 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Indianapolis 3-1 Tampa Bay, St. Louis 3-0 Philadelphia
WL: Las Vegas 3-0 Denver, Omaha 3-1 Sanfrancisco
Championship Series
EL: Indianapolis 4-1 St. Louis
WL: Las Vegas 4-2 Omaha
World Series
Indianapolis 4-3 Las Vegas

[JayW UK]

2043 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
210 David Evans (CHI)
208 Pancho Sousa (IND)
206 Allen Hood (IND)
Batting Avg
.358 John Salazar (BAL)
.356 Claudio Laquenas (CHI)
.351 Robbie Crespo (STL)
Homeruns
49 Jim Hopkins (NO)
41 Jerry Wright (NY)
40 Roberto Saldana (NY)
RBI
130 David Browne (CLE)
130 Jim Hopkins (NO)
122 Allen Hood (IND)
Stolen Bases
34 Rafael Cedeno (IND)
25 Desmond Starks (PHI)
20 Jorge Luna (CHI)

EL Pitching
Wins
19 Mariano Rojo (PHI)
18 Juan Cuesta (IND)
17 Mike Bradley (TB)
ERA
2.49 Steve Gream (CHA)
2.68 Les Scott (STL)
2.80 Mariano Rojo (PHI)
Strikeouts
326 Les Scott (STL)
285 Heinrich Kronburger (NY)
251 Cristobal Chapa (TB)
Saves
42 Pablo Hernandez (STL)
41 Jeremiah O’Hearne (PHI)
39 Enrico Rodriguez (CHI)

WL Batting
Hits
227 Domingo Vargas (PHO)
208 Liam Ayliffe (MIN)
204 Vaughan Snyder (LV)
Batting Avg
.351 Liam Ayliffe (MIN)
.337 Domingo Vargas (PHO)
.335 Jose Aguilar (OMH)
Homeruns
41 Pancho Delgado (SJ)
40 Julian Morin (OKC)
34 Joseph Floores (LV)
RBI
125 Vaughan Snyder (LV)
112 Julian Morin (OKC)
106 Pancho Delgado (SJ)
Stolen Bases
51 Jaime Perez (SD)
38 Liam Ayliffe (MIN)
35 Tom Carter (SF)

WL Pitching
Wins
21 Jacobie Harksdale (OMH)
17 Bartolo Garcia (DEN)
17 Francisco Sierra (SD)
ERA
2.67 Patrick Casey (MIN)
2.74 Gil Wallace (LV)
2.89 Jacobie Harksdale (OMH)
Strikeouts
252 Shane Olson (OKC)
244 Jesus Delgado (LV)
235 Carlos Flores (AUS)
Saves
45 Barry Hayden (OMH)
39 Philip Redmond (LV)
38 Josh Renshaw (OKC)

Batting Champion – Baltimore CF John Salazar (.358) edged out Chicago’s Claudio Laquenas (.356) to win the EL batting title. The WL title was won by Minneapolis LF Liam Ayliffe (.351) ahead of Phoenix 1B Domingo Vargas (.337).
Homerun Champion – New Orleans LF Jim Hopkins (49) finished well ahead of New York teammates 1B Jerry Wright (41) and C Roberto Saldana (40) in the EL race whilst San Jose RF Pancho Delgado (41) edged OKC LF Julian Morin (40) to take the WL title.
Outstanding Hitter – New Orleans star LF Jim Hopkins (.345, 49 HR, 130 RBI) topped the EL voting ahead of Cleveland 3B Blake Hanson (.324, 36 HR, 117 RBI). In the west Omaha’s star RF Felipe Peralta (.319, 30 HR, 101 RBI) picked up his second award pipping Las Vegas LF Vaughan Snyder (.331, 28 HR, 125 RBI) in the voting.
Outstanding Pitcher – Mariano Rojo (19-4, 2.80 ERA) capped off a superb debut season in Philadelphia by taking home the EL award while Omaha ace Jacobie Harksdale (21-10, 2.89 ERA) picked up his second award in three years in the west.
Rookie of the Year – St. Louis SS Antonio Flores (.281, 28 HR, 104 RBI) was the standout youngster in the EL. Over in the west, Seattle’s mid-season trade acquisition 3B Morihiro Makino (.254, 26 HR, 81 RBI) took the award ahead of 21-year-old San Jose pitcher Steve Beaubien (11-3, 1.92 ERA in 86 games).
Manager of the Year – in the east St. Louis manager Jesus Velasquez picked up his second award for leading the Reds to a franchise best 98-wins. In the west there could only ever be one winner, after leading Omaha to a team record 109-wins and a WLCS appearance, Pat Acosta capped off his phenomenal first season as manager with a well-deserved MOY award.
Glove Wizards EL – P – Robert Woodruff (TB) C -Gabriel Lopez (IND) 1B – Mitch Higgins (IND) 2B – Percy Sterrenburg (IND) 3B – David Evans (CHI) SS – George Shreeve (BOS) LF – Francisco Valencia (MIA) CF – Tom Perkins (DET) RF – Mike Robinson (ATL)
Glove Wizards WL – P – George Buchanan (SF) C – Manny Mendoza (LV) 1B – Jorge Reyna (MIN) 2B – Curt Carver (SJ) 3B – Jotaro Shimizu (DEN) SS – Joe Parker (OKC) LF – Juan Rodriguez (DAL) CF – Carl Crawford (SF) RF – Guillermo Altagracia (KC)

Interesting Facts – OKC 3B Xavier Cisneros (.218, 30 HR, 84 RBI, 123 BB, 226K) joined Nelson Vasquez as only the second player in NABL history with multiple 200+ strikeout and 100+ walk seasons. Los Angeles 3B Pancho Fernandez set the NABL record for strikeouts in a single season when he struck out a whopping 242 times, topping Wayne Radke’s previous record. New York slugger, 1B Jerry Wright’s 41 homeruns gave him five 40+ campaigns in his career, putting him second all-time behind Dixon Bodean’s eight. New Orleans pitcher Carlos Rodriguez endured a disappointing follow-up to his 2042 Outstanding Pitcher campaign, struggling to an 8-18, 4.39 ERA record.

[JayW UK]

Interlude – Manager Profiles

At the conclusion of the 2043 season, two of the NABL’s premier managers announced their retirements, Cleveland skipper Pat Bennett and San Jose’s Gary Hatcher, so I thought we’d take a look at their careers.

Pat Bennett
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – SF (2014-2019), LV (2022-2034), CHI (2036-2038), CLE (2039-2043)

Bennett (whose brother Keith also managed in the NABL) began his career in 2014 as Sanfrancisco’s inaugural skipper, his six-year run in the Bay area included a manager-of-the-year nod and leading the Gold to the2017 World Series championship. After the 2019 campaign Bennett moved on signing with Las Vegas as bench coach but stepped up to the top job prior to the 2022 campaign, the Gamblers struggled to a 64-98 finish with a talent deficient roster, the first losing season of Bennett’s career, a second losing campaign followed before Las Vegas broke .500 in 2024 with an 82-80 record. A playoff appearance in 2025 was followed by a magical run to the clubs first (and Bennett’s second) World Championship in 2026, being named WL Manager-of-the-Year for his performance. Over the next eight years Bennett led the Gamblers to six further playoff trips and another World Series appearance (in which they fell to Indianapolis), earning two further Manager-of-the-Year nods along the way. At the conclusion of the 2034 season Bennett and his bench coach Billy Jackson were unceremoniously dismissed by Las Vegas, an unsatisfactory end to a very successful 13-year run in Nevada. After spending a year away from the game Bennett took up the reigns in Chicago, a 273-213 record over the next three years disappointingly resulted in only a single playoff appearance before Bennett was once again on the move, landing in Cleveland as part of owner Edwin Colon’s overhaul of his moribund franchise. His five-year stay in Ohio netted three winning seasons and one playoff appearance (the Corsairs first in fifteen years), at the conclusion of the 2043 season the now 68-year-old Bennett announced his retirement from baseball after a 30-year career, his 2358 career wins and 21 winning seasons against only four losing campaigns make him the most successful manager in NABL history.

Career Record
Regular Season
2358 wins – 2016 Losses
Post Season
47 Wins – 40 Losses

Career Achievements
2x World Series wins (2017, 2026)
4x Manager-of-the-Year (2017, 2026, 2028, 2031)


Gary Hatcher
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – BOS (2024-2030), SJ (2031-2043)

After leading Anaheim Titans to the AAA championship Hatcher landed his first big league managerial role with Boston inheriting a struggling 70-win team. Few could have foreseen the impact Hatcher would have, leading the Pilgrims to a 17-game turnaround and a division title in his first season, 2025 saw Boston once again win the Atlantic division before embarking on a run to the World Series, sweeping WL champs Seattle aside to win the title earning Hatcher the EL Manager-of-the-Year. The following season he led Boston to a franchise best 104-wins and his second manager-of-the-Year award, but that was scant consolation as the Pilgrims fell to Chicago in the playoffs. 2026 proved to be the high-water mark of his time in Boston as the team failed to reach the playoffs in any of the next four seasons, after the 2030 season Hatcher called time on his stay in Boston returning to California to take the reins at San Jose. Once again his man-management was on full display as he turned around the fortunes of the Spartans leading the team to their first ever playoff appearance in 2033, a remarkable postseason run resulted in a World Series berth where the Spartans fell victim to Dixon Bodean and the Tampa Bay Hurricanes. The following season Hatcher led San Jose back to the fall classic where this time the Spartans carried the day sweeping Chicago in an entertaining series. A third World Series appearance followed two years later where Hatcher’s former team Boston proved too much for San Jose, taking the series 4-2, two further playoff appearances followed including a 100-62 franchise best campaign in 2038. As the core of the championship squad began to age and with no reinforcements of a similar quality on the horizon, fortunes for the Spartans began to change with the club missing the playoffs in each of the next five years (recording a single winning season during that span). At the conclusion of the 2043 season Hatcher announced his retirement, joining Pat Bennett in leaving the game as the most successful managers in NABL history.

Career Record
Regular Season
1702 wins – 1538 losses
Post Season
51 wins – 38 losses

Career Achievements
2x World Series wins (2025, 2034)
4x Manager-of-the-Year (2025, 2026, 2033, 2034)

[JayW UK]

2044 Off-Season

After several months of speculation surrounding the deteriorating relationship between Austin GM Jerry Phillips and his assistant (owner’s son) Alberto Collazo Jr, the situation reached breaking point when, unbeknownst to Phillips, several pending free agents had their contract offers withdrawn by Collazo Jr (evidently, with the full support of team owner and father Edwin). The next day Phillips announced he was resigning with immediate effect and told the gathered press he was unable to carry out his role to the best of his abilities due to being “undermined at every turn”. Clearly frustrated with the situation team owner Edwin Colon called into question his former GM’s abilities and professionalism and in a move meant as a final slap in the face, named his son Albert Collazo Jr as the Franchise’s new GM. Another team making changes at the top was Seattle, who had sent both Manager Brian Walter and GM Luis Almiron packing after yet another disappointing campaign in 2043, but possibly more significant, was the fact team owner Frank Hartmann announced he was stepping down from the day-to-day running of the club, naming his son Sam as his successor. Sam’s initial tasks were to find a new GM and Manager, his first call was to Jerry Phillips, and after productive talks the two men came to an agreement. The next day Phillips was unveiled as Seattle’s new GM charged with making Seattle “winners again”, his choice of manager was somewhat surprising, as he chose promote bench coach Juan Campos to the top job, maintaining some continuity for the players. A number of other teams were also in the market for new managers, Cleveland and San Jose, after the retirements of Pat Bennett and Gary Hatcher respectively, Chicago, who lost manager Jeffrey Orr to the college ranks and Minneapolis and Washington whose incumbent skippers both walked at the end of their contracts. First to land their new skipper were Chicago who tabbed Jorge Castro as their man for 2044 while Cleveland named former Minneapolis skipper Jose Diaz, as replacement for Pat Bennett. Washington raided divisional rivals New York for Jorge Castro’s replacement, giving Senators bench coach Malcolm Usama his first managerial gig. Minneapolis chose to give Brian Walter another chance at managing, hoping for better results than what he achieved with Seattle, while in a surprising move San Jose chose to replace Gary Hatcher with the unproven UCLA coach Vaughan Laursen. A former big-league pitcher, Laursen had played for seven different teams (including LA, SD and SEA so was familiar with the Pacific division) and appeared in almost 500 games during his 14-year career, however following in the footsteps of Gary Hatcher would be a huge challenge and many observers were expecting Laursen to struggle.
Free agency opened with a bang, Tampa Bay handed out two mammoth contracts, first defending EL batting champion John Salazar was signed for $144M over seven years and then former Phoenix star and 2042 WL Outstanding Hitter, Brandon Buck put pen to paper on a seven year $140M deal. Defending World Champions Indianapolis joined in the fun, landing former Chicago star infielder David Evans on a six-year $120M contract and also luring former TB pitcher Cristobal Chapa on board for $34.5M over two-years. Two-time Western League champions Las Vegas lost several key players, veteran RF and franchise stalwart Danny Wheeler, signed with OKC on a 1-year $12M deal, whilst All-Star Catcher Manny Mendoza landed in Boston on a four-year $70M pact. The Pilgrims also added former Indianapolis SS Pancho Sousa for two years and veteran slugger 1B Rick Flynn (2-yrs $25M) while saying goodbye to one of their own, LF Rob Penney, who swapped leagues to join OKC on a lucrative 4-year $77M deal. Three-time Pacific division winners Sanfrancisco, bolstered their already loaded roster by raiding division rivals San Jose and Seattle, adding C Jorge Garcia (6yrs, $110M) from the Spartans and up-and-coming pitcher Bryan Marburg (4yrs, $84M) from the Pioneers. The last big deal consummated before the teams switched their focus onto the upcoming draft involved New York adding former Los Angeles RF Michael Miller for 7-years and $131.5M after protracted contract talks.
A pair of college players and no-less than six high school stars dominated the top of the 2044 Draft board, the clear-cut favourite to be taken #1 overall was St. Johns power hitting catcher Dennis McComish, but after him it was anyone’s guess as to who would come off the board next. UCLA outfielder Dale Everhart (who was one of new San Jose manager Vaughan Laursen’s star pupils) was the next best college player, while All-American high schoolers (Pitchers Michael Fearon, Jon Hoover and Marc Walker along with outfielders Kent Johnson, Scott Lewis and Ryan Nattingly) made up the rest of the top prospects.
On Draft night Washington surprised no-one when they named McComish as the #1 pick, Dallas picking second, chose high ceiling pitcher Marc Walker who possessed a developing arsenal of four quality pitches but needed to work on his control to reach his full potential. Seattle, owners of both picks #3 and #4 doubled down on outfielders, taking Scott Lewis with the third pick and UCLA star Dale Everhart at four before Houston named pitcher Michael Fearon as the fifth pick. Detroit picked up possibly the best power hitter in the draft Kent Johnson sixth, while San Jose added a pair of quality prospects, CF Ryan Nattingly (#8) and pitcher Jon Hoover (#11).
BNN’s prediction model listed Philadelphia as the odds-on favourite to win the Atlantic division ahead of Boston (aiming for a bounce-back season after their poor 2043), New York and Baltimore who were all expected to be in the hunt for the EL wildcard spot whilst division doormat Washington, with first time manager Malcolm Usama in charge, would in-all-likelihood be yet again in the mix for the #1 draft pick. In the Central, Indianapolis were the overwhelming favourite to defend their title with 2043 runners-up St. Louis, Chicago and Cleveland all anticipated to be in the frame for the EL wildcard, and while improvement was expected from Detroit, it would take a monumental job from second-year manager Ramon Acosta for the Giants to even reach .500 on the season. Tampa Bay, after their free agency spending spree, were tipped to win their fourth Southeast title in five years, while Miami were expected to improve but not by enough to push for anything but the wildcard spot.
In the Midwest division, Omaha were once again looked upon as the cream of the crop, none of the other four teams were in a position to challenge the Braves and only OKC could be reasonably expected to be in the mix for the WL wildcard spot. In the Southwest, Las Vegas were predicted to come under pressure from Austin and Phoenix for the division crown with whipping boys Dallas anticipated to continue their decade long dalliance with the top of the draft. The Pacific division was Sanfrancisco’s to lose with only San Diego in a position to challenge them for supremacy, the Mariners however were the tipsters favourite for the WL wildcard spot if they couldn’t unseat Sanfrancisco.

[JayW UK]

2044 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Relying on the EL’s #1 pitching staff, headlined by ace Mariano Rojo (17-2, 2.07 ERA) and 22-year-old first-year starter Orlando Fernandez (15-7, 3.08 ERA), Philadelphia won their second consecutive Atlantic division crown finishing with a 93-69 record. New York (86-76) hung with Philly for most of the campaign, but several late-season injuries scuppered their chances of challenging for the playoffs while Baltimore (84-78) finished third with 23-year-old 3B Justin Shelby (.347, 45 HR, 130 RBI) staking his claim for the EL Outstanding Hitter Award. Boston finished a disappointing fourth with a 69-93 record, performing below par for much of the campaign before their season descended into Chaos and scandal. Bringing up the rear for the fifth year in a row were Washington (64-98), with the team fielding the worst pitching in the league (5.08 team ERA) an underpowered offense stood no chance of carrying the load.
Defending champions Indianapolis (93-69) edged surprise package Detroit (92-70) to the title by a single game, both the Racers and Giants possessed middling offenses and strong pitching, especially their bullpens (which were the top two in the NABL). Despite LF Ferry Vogalsang (29 HR) and 1B Dave Jones (29 HR) producing fireworks, Chicago (85-77) struggled to score enough runs to compensate for their underwhelming pitching with Glenn Owens (12-9, 3.66 ERA) the best of a disappointing bunch. After winning a franchise record 98-games in 2043 St. Louis fell all the way back to just 71-wins, with the league’s most anaemic offense (567 runs scored @ 3.5 per game) even a top three pitching staff couldn’t perform miracles. Although 1B Blake Hanson (.262, 29 HR, 85 RBI), SS David Browne (.253, 23 HR, 88 RBI) and pitcher Todd Morgan (12-7, 3.83 ERA) performed admirably, they alone couldn’t make up for the lack of team depth as the Corsairs slumped to a 69-93 finish, dropping into the division basement for the first time in six years.
In the Southeast, Tampa Bay won their fourth division crown in the last five years, despite losing star LF Joe Scott (.302, 23 HR, 76 RBI) for the season in July, the Hurricanes still produced the EL’s top scoring offense and with starter Robert Woodruff (18-7, 3.62 ERA) headlining a reliable pitching staff (unlike in 2043) the Hurricanes finished 94-68. Ten games back were Miami (84-78), strong offensive performances from RF Stephen Butler (.323, 35 HR, 105 RBI) and LF Francisco Valencia (29 HR) and solid pitching from the likes of Jonathan Furze (15-6, 2.94 ERA) helped the Everglades deliver their best season in a decade. Star RF Jim Hopkins (.305, 32 HR, 104 RBI) produced another award worthy season for New Orleans but with a mixture of injuries and poor pitching, the Blues never got going in the second half of the season and slumped to a disappointing 75-87 record. Atlanta finished tied with New Orleans having ended the season strong (17-11 record in September) with several young players getting valuable playing time in a lost season, whilst Charlotte dropped to the foot of the standings for the first time in a decade finishing a disheartening 74-88, one by-product of the disappointing season was the team got an extended look at several young players, tops among them was 22-year-old 1B Pete Daniels (.232, 22 HR, 65 RBI).

2044 Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 93-69 *
New York 86-76
Baltimore 84-78
Boston 69-93
Washington 64-98

Central Division
Indianapolis 93-69 *
Detroit 92-70 *
Chicago 85-77
St. Louis 71-91
Cleveland 69-93

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 94-68 *
Miami 84-78
New Orleans 75-87
Atlanta 75-87
Charlotte 74-88

[JayW UK]

2044 Regular Season

Western League Review

Omaha cruised to the Midwest division title winning 99-games, the achievement was truly a team effort for the Braves with Catcher Luis Guerra (.277, 25 HR, 99 ERA) topping their offense (2B Tom Lockhart was the only other player to hit more than 20 HR’s but eight others hit 10+) while Kanko Ota (16-7 2.89 ERA) and Mike Mayfield (14-8, 2.73 ERA) paced the WL’s #2 pitching staff. Minneapolis (82-80) were similar offensively to Omaha in that not one player stood out statistically, but as a team the Bears produced the WL’s #4 scoring offense, however unlike the Braves their pitching was lacklustre, with only Sueng-Jae Park (12-10, 5.11 ERA) reaching double figures in the win column. Denver finished level with Minneapolis on 82-wins, the Wildcats offense clubbed 184 homeruns (4th most in the NABL) with 2B Solomon Slaughter (26) 3B Jotaro Shimizu (25) OF Patrick Richardson (22) and OF Fernando Diaz (20 in just 77 games before injury) all hitting 20+ homers but their pitching, much like Minneapolis, was below average and was the main reason why the Wildcats failed to build on a strong first half of the season (52-39 at the All-Star break). Continuing the theme of strong offense and below-par pitching was Oklahoma City, with LF Rob Penney (30 HR) and 3B Xavier Cisneros (29 HR) providing the scoring punch, OKC could live with anyone offensively but as with the Bears and Wildcats it was their sketchy pitching that held them back as they finished the season with a 78-84 record, while bringing up the rear were Kansas City, winning only 64-games and matching Washington for the worst record in the NABL.
Phoenix blasted their way to the Southwest division crown, led by 1B Domingo Vargas (.351, 41 HR, 138 RBI) and a supporting cast featuring RF Brandon Spence (.347, 36 HR, 119 RBI) and LF Adrian Ramirez (.325, 30 HR, 102 RBI) the Eagles slugged 210 round-trippers and a scored a league high 913 runs. On the down side their pitching staff struggled keeping the ball in the park, surrendering a WL high 199 homeruns and was a big reason why the Eagles won only 86-games instead of being closer to 100. Austin finished the season 81-81, with LF Clarence Davis (31 HR) and 2B Jackie Young (28 HR) providing some pop on offense it was a lack of pitching depth that cost the team a run at the division crown. Las Vegas suffered a World Series hangover, after losing back-to-back fall classics the Gamblers fell back to finish a disappointing 75-87, their first losing season in twenty-one years. Dallas ended their campaign one game further back, the Mustangs problems stemmed from their league worst starting rotation, no starter won more than 7-games and their best pitcher was reliver Jesus Tobias (9-2, 33 SV, 1.67 ERA in 66 games), whilst Houston (73-89) improved their performance over 2043, they still ended the season with their sixth trip to the division basement despite somehow producing the WL’s #3 offense.
Sanfrancisco collected their fourth consecutive Pacific division title, the Gold rode their excellent pitching (with off-season acquisition Bryan Marburg (18-4, 1.94 ERA) particularly impressive) to a 98-64 record. San Diego followed the same formula to finish second with 92-wins, however the Mariners were forced to use their top-rated bullpen, anchored by Rob Kearton and Lucious Sandford far more than they would have liked due to their listless offense (they scored a league low 606 runs and clubbed just 100 homeruns during the season). Seattle, with new manager Juan Campos pulling the strings, surprised everyone by finishing third with an 86-76 record (their first winning campaign in 14-seasons) whilst in Los Angeles, strong seasons from RF Stu Leach (33 HR, 97 RBI) and P Joe Taylor (14-10, 3.06 ERA) could not prevent the Lynx (78-84) from limping home fourth. Vaughan Laursen’s first season in San Jose wasn’t a success but it was also not the abject failure many had predicted, to their credit the Spartans remained competitive throughout the season and players such as C Jorge Garcia (32 HR), LF Mike Carson (31 HR) and pitcher Javier Valencia (13-5, 1.67 ERA in 27 games) all staked claims to be part of Laursen’s plans moving forward.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Omaha 99-63 *
Minneapolis 82-80
Denver 82-80
Oklahoma City 78-84
Kansas City 64-98

Southwest Division
Phoenix 86-76 *
Austin 81-81
Las Vegas 75-87
Dallas 74-88
Houston 73-89

Pacific Division
Sanfrancisco 98-64 *
San Diego 92-70 *
Seattle 86-76
Los Angeles 78-84
San Jose 74-88

[JayW UK]

2044 Season Notes

Pre-Season – Atlanta and Dallas consummated a trade of young talented players, Dallas sent BNN #21 prospect, 22-year-old pitcher Derrick Schmitt and 24-year-old RF Danny Reese to Atlanta for 24-year-old pitcher Carlos Santos (25-16, 3.09 ERA in 75 career games).
April 3rd – Las Vegas catcher Dylan Martin welcomed the new season by blasting three homeruns in the Gamblers 12-6 win over Oklahoma City.
April 7th – Indianapolis starter Cristobal Chapa pitched six innings and struck out 10 New Orleans batters, finishing the day on 3503 career strikeouts and joining Larry de Meza as the second member of the 3500K club.
April 8th – Las Vegas held Omaha 3B Jose Aguilar hitless in three at-bats ending his hitting streak at 37-games, one shy of the NABL record held by Jared Cross.
April 14th – Austin RF Freddie Sherman hit for the CYCLE (4-for-4, 6-RBI) as the Kings scraped home 9-8 against San Jose.
April 17th – Charlotte pitcher Steve Gream reached the 2500 career strikeout plateau, with five K’s in a losing effort as the Express fell to Indianapolis.
April 19th – Charlotte 3B Luis Garza had his 27-game hitting streak ended by Indianapolis.
April 20th – Boston SS Pancho Sousa’s 2-RBI a walk-off single in the 14th inning lifted the Pilgrims to an 8-7 victory over Detroit and gave Sousa 1500 career RBI’s.
April 22nd – Sanfrancisco ace Bryan Marburg struck out fifteen opponents in Sanfrancisco’s comfortable 7-1 victory over LA.
May 1st – Detroit’s star CF Tom Perkins pulled up lame in the Giants loss to Cleveland, the following day he was placed on the DL for the next six weeks with a quad strain.
May 5th – Philadelphia ace Mariano Rojo suffered a torn Abdominal muscle ruling him out for up to six weeks.
May 9th – Tampa Bay 1B Jorge Otero blasted a pair of homeruns (one of them a Grand-Slam) and accounted for eight of the Hurricanes twelve runs as Tampa Bay blew Denver away.
May 14th- New York pitcher Heinrich Kronburger took 106-pitches to NO-HIT New Orleans, surrendering a single walk and striking out 12, as the Senators rolled over the Blues 11-0.
May 23rd – San Diego LF Yves Tessier helped San Diego down Houston, sending the ball into the seats three times and driving in five runs in the Mariners 8-6 victory.
May 26th – Omaha pitcher McKenzie Ransford took a trip to the DL with shoulder tendonitis, the ailment would force him to sit for the next three weeks.
June 1st – San Jose LF Mike Carson almost singlehandedly carried the Spartans to victory over Dallas, collecting five hits, two of them homeruns including a 3-run walk-off blast in the 11th inning to give the Spartans a 10-7 victory.
June 5th – OKC CF Herminio Azurara collected the 1000th RBI of his career as the Outlaws beat Dallas 8-3.
June 6th – Charlotte pulled the plug on any playoff ambitions they may have harbored by trading star catcher Tom Walsh, sending him to Denver for a trio of prospects (BNN #84 LF Gabriel Franklin, 1B Chris Justice and 3B Jimmy Pearce).
June 7th – Washington sent star pitcher David Elder to Las Vegas for a package of 5 prospects (RF Danny Mitchell, SS Roberto Castellon, SS Aaron Joseph and pitchers Norm Pace and Rick Johnston) signaling the start of yet another rebuild for the Generals.
June 11th – St. Louis closer Pablo Hernandez collected the 300th save of his career in the Reds 2-1 victory over division rival Detroit.
June 17th – SS Pancho Sousa managed to collect the only hit for Boston in defeat to Charlotte, but for Sousa that hit was the 3000th of his career, making him just the second player to reach the milestone.
June 18th – a sprained ankle forced New Orleans LF Liam Hawkins out of action, sidelining him for six weeks.
June 29th – OKC pitcher Rafer MacNeil took his career strikeout total to 3002 with four against Las Vegas, as OKC held off a late charge from the Gamblers.
July 1st – Denver CF Fernando Diaz punched the dugout wall in frustration after striking out four times in the Wildcats defeat against Minneapolis, unfortunately for Diaz he did more damage to himself than the wall as the next day a red-faced Diaz hit the DL with a broken hand.
July 3rd- LF Francisco Valencia hit for the CYCLE in a losing effort, as Miami fell in extras to Minneapolis.
July 4th – Phoenix strengthened their weak pitching by trading for Cleveland hurler Harry Donahue, sending 2B Mike Brown to Ohio for Donahue and CF Joe Holland. On the same day Charlotte’s Steve Gream reached a personal milestone, picking up his 200th career win, hurling six shutout innings in Charlotte’s 4-0 victory over New York.
July 7th – Las Vegas 3B Joseph Floores scored the 1000th run of his career as the Gamblers slipped to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Seattle.
July 8th – Chicago CF Josh Deric reached 2000 career hits with a 3-for-4 performance in the Zephyr’s defeat at the hands of Cleveland.
July 10th – Omaha lost 1B Alfredo Bloom to a season ending broken elbow, the irony was that Bloom was injured playing in the All-Star game.
July 12th – Phoenix lost their only reliable pitcher to injury when John Gates (10-1, 4.26 ERA) suffered a ruptured disc ending his season.
July 14th – Tampa Bay LF Joe Scott suffered a torn back muscle putting an end to his season and denting the Hurricanes playoff ambitions.
July 15th – St. Louis ace Les Scott became the quickest player to reach 2500 career strikeouts with eight more in the Reds 8-4 victory over Indianapolis.
July 26th – in a move clearly designed to send a message to several of his disgruntled players, Austin GM Alberto Collazo Jr let them know who was in charge by trading 2043 first round pick LF Coy Benton to Kansas City for pitcher Jorge Cisneros.
July 27th – Phoenix’s star 1B Domingo Vargas struggled at the plate against Sanfrancisco going 0-for-4 and ending his 32-game hitting streak.
July 28th – Sanfrancisco packaged underperforming outfielder Dennis Brookes with relief pitcher Michael Hawkins and sent the pair to New York, receiving RF Jim Mailes and $2.2M in return.
July 29th – two more players fell victim to Alberto Collazo Jr’s point making exercise, LF Carlos Gonzalez and CF Paul Johnson, who found themselves traded to OKC for pitcher Peter Thomson.
August 6th – Indianapolis LF Allen Hood hit for the CYCLE, including the winning runs on a 3-RBI homerun, as the Racers edged past Charlotte 7-6.
August 12th – Philadelphia Catcher Sancho Guerra reached 1000 career RBI’s by collecting a pair in Philly’s 5-3 defeat to Washington.
August 20th – San Jose pitcher Javier Valencia was forced to the DL with shoulder tendonitis, with doctors recommending a four-week layoff it was likely the Spartans would shut him down for the year.
August 21st – Denver LF Daron Murphy blasted the 300th homerun of his career as the Wildcats dropped a close game against Dallas.
August 22nd – OKC RF Danny Wheeler carried the Outlaws to victory against New Orleans, he went 3-for-4 at the plate going deep three times and collecting 7-RBI’s as OKC edged the Blues 9-7.
August 24th – Baltimore RF Nick Brady’s season ended with an oblique strain serios enough to send him to the DL for the remainder of the campaign.
August 29th – Philadelphia 3B Ryan Pittman suffered a strained hamstring ruling him out for upto six weeks, making him a major doubt for the start of the playoffs.
September 1st – San Diego Catcher Nathan Hathaway blasted a 2-run walk-off homerun to lift the Mariners to a 3-1 victory over Sanfrancisco.
September 2nd – Hathaway was at it again, this time hitting a walk-off RBI single in the 13th to lift the Mariners over Sanfrancisco 2-1.
September 6th – Alexandre Cotovia hurled a PERFECT GAME striking out ten, as San Jose cruised past San Diego 8-0.
September 12th – Las Vegas 3B Joseph Floores suffered a hamstring injury forcing the Gamblers star to the DL and ending his frustrating campaign (his .238, 18 HR, 51 RBI’s were all career lows) and with Floores ticketed to be a free agent at the conclusion of the season, his return to Vegas was far from certain.
September 14th – Minneapolis RF Cisco Villegas (4-for-4, 2HR, 1 Grand-Slam, 8-RBI’s) carried the Bears to victory over Denver.
September 19th – Omaha pitcher McKenzie Ransford (10-11, 4.43 ERA) suffered a partially torn labrum bringing to an end the most disappointing season of his career.
September 22nd – Washington 3B Levi Bute scored the 1000th run of his career as the Generals held off Philadelphia 2-1.
September 23rd – San Jose Catcher Jorge Garcia blasted a trio of homeruns including a Grand-Slam as the Spartans won a shootout against Phoenix 13-10.
September 28th – Indianapolis star outfielder Allen Hood suffered a concussion when he collided with the outfield wall making a defensive play, despite claiming he was good-to-go Hood was placed on the DL whilst he cleared the league’s concussion protocol, if everything went to plan, he would return in time for the World Series (assuming the Racers could reach the fall classic).
September 29th – Indianapolis pitcher Cristobal Chapa earned the 200th win of his career, pitching just five innings as the Racers crushed Cleveland 16-3.