The Around the Horn League (AtHoL)

[luckymann]

[luckymann]

The Herrings have a pitching staff other clubs can only aspire after, led by James Paxton, Old Hoss Radbourn, Mad Dog Maddux and this guy, who you may have heard of - not a bad SP4, as he shows with this pearler that gives Taunton a 2 1/2 game lead in the tight Chandler Band race with 30 to play.

[luckymann]

I can't complain about a 16-9 month, which we manage despite still underperforming for the most part. Our pitching is keeping us in games and our bats doing just enough to get us home, but we still have unproductive holes all over the place and our patchy middle relief leaves us vulnerable in frames 6 and 7. That said, Pink Hawley has been fantastic in a long relief / sixth starter role, and wins the monthly award for his efforts.

Williams might well be the worst trade I've ever made - he is slashing 216/320/252 with zero homers and a grand total of 9 RBI. Devers has really cooled off as well. But on the flip side, Mize is back to his best and Castilla is repaying our patience with a breakout year.

We're a dozen clear and so look all but assured of playoff action, so our focus is to get that offence where it needs to be, top-to-bottom.

Here's how the races look as we enter the stretch run:

The August award winners were as follows:

• LA Batter: Ripper Collins (PENS) 341 / 11 HR / 22 RBI
• KA Batter: Mike Schmidt (WISA) 356 / 13 HR / 26 RBI
• LA Pitcher: Pink Hawley (CHIC) 5-0 / 0.49 / 1 SV / 8 K / 18.1 IP
• KA Pitcher: Rube Marquard (WISA) 6-0 / 1.60 / 28 K / 50.2 IP
• LA Rookie: Mickey Lolich (KEOK) 4-1 / 2.93 / 55 K / 43 IP
• KA Rookie: Fred Glade (BROO) 3-0 / 0.51 / 7 SV / 8 K / 17.2 IP

Here are the current leaders in each Association, with Pensacola's Ripper Collins still an outside chance for the LA Triple Crown:

And finally, here are the AAA standings, with our Egyptians looking almost guaranteed of top spot and post-season action again.

[luckymann]

[luckymann]

No post-season action again this year for the Colonels, who are still yet to make the playoffs. Still, they can sure do some damage on their day, as is the case here against Dayton.

[luckymann]

Well the 1951 AAA 3BL regular season has come to an end, with our Cairo club finishing atop the Greenlee Group and ready to defend its title.

Here are the final standings:

And the playoff tree as the post-season begins:

Finally, here are the individual stat leaders for the year:

[luckymann]

The 3BL Wild Card games have been decided, with the Albany Babies and Mayfield Clothiers onto the next round.

[luckymann]

The Colt .45s won't be enjoying playoff action in their first AtHoL season, but their fans have been enjoying another excellent campaign from sophomore Daryl Strawberry, who properly gets amongst it against the Terriers here.

[luckymann]

A remarkable streak for The Big Cat comes to an end.

[luckymann]

Our AAA Cairo Egyptians just sneak past Memphis and will now take on the red-hot Albany Babies in the Championship Series round.

[luckymann]

It looks as if Ripper Collins and Mike Schmidt - currently on 55 and 54 respectively - are going to fight out another close HR battle, but other guys are not far behind and looking to make it to 50, including our own John Mize (49), Reggie (47) and big Dolph Camilli (46).

With this outstanding game, Mo jumps to 49 as well. Perhaps more importantly, it earns his Herrings a tight 10-9 win over the Cupids, keeping Taunton level with Pittsburgh in the Chandler Band with just four games left.

[luckymann]

Apologies, IMGUR is still being a nightmare so I am having issues adding pics.

Our Egyptians have made it to another 3BL World Series after seeing off the Babies in six and, after dropping the first two games at home, have fought back to be now locked 2-2 with the Schenectady Blue Jays. Final result to come.

[luckymann]

Once again there is plenty to be decided on the final day of the 1951 AtHoL regular season, with the Knickerbockers and Red Wings tied at 95-70 atop the O'Malley and the Stogies and Herrings also on equal terms at 93-72 in the Chandler.

Amazingly, no tiebreakers will be required after the following results.

That is Rochester's 6th straight win and New York's third loss on the bounce, with Taunton winning three straight as Pittsburgh loses their last two. These two losing sides will now meet in the KA Wild Card game.

So the final standings are as follows:

Once again we limp into the playoffs, going 3-7 over our last 10 as our fickle bats go AWOL.

Batting titles to Buffalo's Chuck Klein (346, his 2nd) and Walden 1B Joey Votto, who wins his first by hitting 336. Ripper Collins just edges out Mike Schmidt 57 to 55 in the HR race, although Mike does lead the league with 129 RBI.

Glenn Liebhardt, also of Buffalo, has the most wins with 24, while Rochester's Jack Jones once again leads the league with 325 K. Montgomery Closer Phil Reccius sneaks home for the most saves, with his 36 just one more than Dick Donovan of Philadelphia.

No new seasonal marks are set this year.

[luckymann]

More heartbreak for Columbus fans as the Red Birds bow out in an absolutely epic game in which they come back after falling behind in both the 12th and 13th innings, only to lose it in 19. Meanwhile, the Knickerbockers' title defence comes to an ignominious end with another loss.

Which sets up the playoffs proper as follows:

[luckymann]

In an astounding series that sees all seven games won by the visiting team and three runs the widest margin, our Cairo Egyptians can't get it done, losing Game 7 1-0 as the Blue Jays win their maiden 3BL Championship.

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[luckymann]

We exit early yet again after coming back from 0-2 in a series where the away team wins every game.

The Buckeyes do it easy, a slight upset perhaps with the Stogies knocking off the Red Wings, and the Herrings sneak past the Twins with a walkoff win in the decider.

[luckymann]

Cincy finally sees off a brave Pensacola in a riveting series that goes the distance, while Pittsburgh's dream run continues.

[luckymann]

An utterly ridiculous series, very much reminding me of the IRL 1991 WS. Pittsburgh has every chance to put the Buckeyes away numerous times, blowing 9th-inning leads in games 3 and 5, then claw back from the brink with a huge win in Game 6 in Cincy, setting up the decider.

This game is scoreless until the bottom 11th, when Joe Sewell singles home series MVP Jackie Robinson with two out for a walkoff win, giving the Buckeyes their second AtHoL title.

Game 1




Game 2




Game 3




Game 4




Game 5




Game 6




Game 7

[luckymann]

I've been struggling for motivation with this league for a couple seasons now and just want to step back from managing for a bit.

There is much evolution in store, but for now I'm just going to revert to Commish and let the next few seasons play out without my direct involvement in the running of any one franchise.

Here are the screenshots from my final season with the Whales. Despite the lack of silverware, I think I've left them in pretty good shape.

My overall record with the club was 489-341 (.589).