COBRA: Consolidated Organisation of Baseball and Railways of Amelia: A History

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Jon Jackson wins his second straight batter of the month title. It wasn't quite as a herculean effort in August as it was in July but Jackson still proved himself a critical player in the push for a playoff spot.



Max Steel, amazing all season finally wins this award. It's fitting as well, with a 15K haul on the 31st he hits 402 strikeouts for the year -- about 50 ahead of anyone else. His 26 wins also eclipse anyone else and he's so very close to a triple crown season. He's got 2.28 ERA for the season, while Jaxon Darnall has 2.17. Could be an interesting race to watch.

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September 1, 1920
Three teams. One spot. All three win their game today so the situation hasn't changed too much.

The Turtles and Penguins will play four games against each other. The Penguins have to sweep the Turtles if they want to make the playoffs. Every game is do-or-die at this point.

The Polar Bears have four games to go. One against the Broncos and three against the Ducks. They need to win at least two more games than the Turtles do to at the very least force a tiebreaker game or if the Penguins do sweep the Turtles, then they need to have won three games to force a tiebreaker.

So, at minimum , the Polar Bears have to win three games. They might need to win more if the Turtles are successful but they're not out quite yet if they drop one.

Some other battles that'll go down to the wire.

The batting title! 2B Curtis Ripley (Spice District) has .366, so does C Kian Lehn (Dustland) (though if you do the math then Ripley has the ever so slightly higher average but I don't know if that's considered). In 3rd spot is CF Sean Newton (Sugar Factory) with .363

Home Runs! LF Jon Jackson (Northlands) has a slim lead with 51 home runs over LF Odin Bendig (Spice District) with 48 and 1B Richard Maxwell (Northlands) with 47. There's a few more close behind but let's take the gamble and not bother mentioning them.

RBIs! LF Odin Bendig (Spice District) and 1B Vladik Zavalin (Whiskeytown) are tied with 128

ERA Crown! Jaxon Darnall (Dustland) has 2.21, Wesley Stebbins (Dustland) has 2.25, and Max Steel (Spice District) has 2.28. Each should pitch one more game. If Steel can somehow get there then he'll have a triple crown.

Wins! Max Steel (Spice District) has 26 and Jared Way (also Spice District) has 25. Each should pitch one more game so possibility of there being a tie.

So here we go... drumroll.

September 2, 1920
Boom. Lets take the Penguins out of the equation as the Turtles just demolish them 9-0. The Polar Bears also get a big win over the Broncos 12-4.

So, three games left. The Polar Bears must win at least two of them to stay alive. If the Turtles win just one of their games, then the Polar Bears will need to win every game... and that'll just force the tiebreaker. If the Turtles win two, then it's all over for Northlands.

But first, let's take a moment to reflect back on the Salt Quarter Penguins. They'll likely fall slightly short but pre-season predictions pretty much nailed it with 76-68. Shawn Marsh was god-tier throughout the season, as he currently sits with a 15-15 record, 2.50 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 2.55 FIP. Highlights include a no-hitter against the Turtles, three additional complete game shutouts, and 16 10+ K games.

So let's talk about that 15-15 record. Marsh got 3.4 run support a game. Someone like Max Steel got 5.6. The Penguins were near the bottom in all of the offensive and defensive categories. It was by the sheer grit of their pitching staff that they got this far. If you're taking notes Penguins GM man, get some better hitters.

September 3, 1920
The Polar Bears keep their hopes alive with a 6-2 win over the Ducks. Unfortunately for them, the Turtles grabbed a last minute victory over the Penguins after a comedy of errors at the top of the 9th. A walk, wild pitch then walk, sac bunt (hey look, an out), passed ball then walk, a hit by pitch, a fielder's choice (hey look, an out), and then a double saw 4 runs score with only one hit and saw the Turtles get a 6-4 win. They just had to get the three outs!



So what does that mean for the Polar Bears? Their only option is force the tiebreaker and to do that they need to win both games and hope that the Turtles lose both of theirs. Not looking good!

Meanwhile, Spice District 2B Curtis Ripley has taken a lead in the batting average race, after going 1-5 against Sugar Factory. Luckily, Dustland C Kian Lehn went 0-4 against Amelia City.

Spice District LF Odin Bendig and Whiskeytown 1B Vladik Zavalin both got 1 RBI today so they remain tied.

It was also the deadline for signing your draft picks yesterday. Here are the results of our first rounders.



September 4, 1920
The Penguins do their bit for the Polar Bears by beating the Turtles in walk-off fashion but the Polar Bears run comes to an end when they get hammered by the Ducks 9-2. So the Turtles lose but they clinch a spot in the playoffs!

Let's hear it for the Northlands Polar Bears. Big believers in the long ball, they hit more home runs than anyone. 31 more than Spice District and then an absurd 70 more than the next best on the list: Whiskeytown Ducks. The two big believers were 1B Richard Maxwell with 47, and LF Jon Jackson, who currently leads the league in home runs with 51. But live by the home run, die by the home run. Unfortunately they had no other tricks up their sleeve as they were one of the worst pitching and defensive teams out there.

The sole exception is their #1 guy in the rotation: Elijah Shumate. He boasted a 23-8 record, 2.69 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2.00 FIP, 361 strikeouts, and a 164 ERA+. The Bear Pit is a very tough environment to pitch in so those numbers are probably overstated if anything.

September 5, 1920
Some exciting games to finish off the regular season. Spice District and Sugar Factory go to 13 innings before a pair of home runs in the 13th is enough to get Spice District the win.

The Ducks beat the Polar Bears 8-7 with a Vladik Zavalin walk-off home run.

The Sharks need walk-off magic of their own to get past the Amelia City Metros after 13.

And the Penguins had the tying run on 3rd and the winning on 2nd against the Turtles at the bottom of the 9th but couldn't finish it off.

So the final standings for 1920.



The first round of the playoffs (a best of 5) will have the Spice District Roosters agains the Saffron Turtles and the Sugar Factory Elephants vs Dustland Sharks.

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Hopefully the Roosters will prevail! Root for the Roosters!

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The Sugar Factory Elephants are in the business of manufacturing luck, not sugar. Preseason predictions put them at 74-70 and out of the playoffs, as their pitching crew (including Ace Connor Kyle) suffered brutal injury after brutal injury everyone thought they'd start picking up the losses.

But an elephant is stubborn.

In one run games, the Elephants went 37-12. That's insane. They went 12-6 in extra inning games as well. These guys were experts at delivering the critical hit or pitch when it was needed.

You could look at the top of the lineup and see a bunch of guys that simply refuse to strike out but the true cause lies with Stopper Max Collins. His services were called upon 88 times over the 144 game season and he delivered. He picked up 13 wins as a reliever and accumulated 26 saves, with the key stat being that over 127.1 innings of work he didn't concede a single home run. You're going to see a lot of Max Collins over this five game series.



The 1-2 punch of Jaxon Darnall and Wesley Stebbins has been devastating all season. Combined, these two got three pitcher of the month awards and their stats make opposition batter's eyes water.

The star of the batting lineup is catcher Kian Lehn who is impossible to pitch to. He walks a ton and hardly ever strikes out. He's got the power to really punish you if need be as well. He's only 23, and earlier this year signed a massive $146k/8yr extension that'll keep him in Shark colours until 1928.

Also of note is fellow 23 year old CF Sid van Kranenburg who looks set to be a five-tool player. His matchup with Sugar Factory's Sean Newton should be a good one.

Our final note will be on two mid-season acquisitions. 1B Zeke Reynolds was struggling on the Crimson Forest Falcons but has flourished in the Sharks environment. His burst of power behind Lehn in the lineup provides some nice protection for the star youngster. A less successful acquisition came from the Elephants themselves: Johnny Ralph. His production fell off a cliff when he arrived at the Sharks. From an OPS+ of 131 to 58. He'll be hoping to turn it around right now against his former team.

There's a surplus of lefties on the Shark batting lineup and they absolutely feast on right handed pitchers. Throughout the season, they went 61-40 against RHP but looked a little more human against LHP with a 22-21 record.

So that's the teams. The Spice District bookies are offering these odds for who's going to win the series, anointing the Elephants as favourites (guess they've been burned enough times!)



(to clarify I'm using the New Zealand way of expressing odds which is the total return you get from betting $1. So, if you put $100 on the Elephants you'll get $160 back -- $100 being your original bet and $60 your winnings.)

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The Turtles busted out of the gate early in the season, when the all-star game rolled around they were 47-31 and top of the West but it was a different story as the fond memories of the All-Star game came to fade, they only just made it to the playoffs by the skin of their teeth as they were able to fight off challenges from the Penguins and Polar Bears. Maybe it was just a regression to the mean, pre-season predictions put them at 69-75 after all.

Maybe they're just not that good.



A team that is beyond the doubt good is the Spice District Roosters. By the end of April, the Roosters had the lead in the East Division and they never gave it up.

The team is stacked. 6 All-Stars make the list, and the player listed at the start of the season as their best (Tommy Glass) didn't even make that cut. Their original starting CF, Johnny Pfiefer was also selected to the All-Star game but a broken kneecap in May (was that really a baseball injury Johnny???) took him out for the rest of the season.

But that parade of All-Stars at the start of the lineup is one designed to destroy pitchers. Each of those first five guys are top-ten in some stat category (except stolen bases, weirdly frowned upon in the Spice District).

And we haven't even started on the pitching. My lord it is beautiful. Wunderkid Max Steel is a wizard of the strikeout. If you get hit with his splitter then you are done. Throughout the season, he struck out 15 or more hitters in 5 different games, and pitched a complete game shutout in 3 other instances.

Then you've got #2 in the rotation, Jared Way is like a mini Max Steel but with much better home run prevention. Hank Reilly is also a very effective man to close the games out.

The bookies have put the Roosters in as heavy favourites for this series.

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As a bonus, our favourite Spice District bookie is also offering odds for who's going to win the playoffs outright. Surprisingly, she's not as hot as on her home team as the rest of us are. Still favourites, but very slim.

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Saffron Turtles @ Spice District Roosters (Game One)

Pitching for Saffron: RHP Adam Brookshire (17-12, 3.09 ERA)
Pitching for Spice District: RHP Jared Way (25-8, 2.49 ERA)

Rooster manager Kurt Newsom threw a curveball with his pitcher selection when he put out #2 in the rotation Jared Way to open the series against the Turtles rather than Max Steel but the point is largely moot. On almost any team, Jared Way would be your #1 guy and he played that point out perfectly in the first inning when he required just 8 pitches to dispatch the top three Turtle hitters.

The contrast continued into the bottom of the 1st when Tommy Glass hit the first pitch he saw for a single and then Neil Spurrier blasted a home run to get the Roosters up to an early 2-0 lead.

Jared Way in even got into the hitting himself in the 3rd with a single of his own. Tommy Glass followed up with one of his own and then Curtis Ripley sent the very next pitch to the stands for a 5-0 lead.

Saffron's Spike Evener was the only hitter to provide Jared Way with any trouble. Evener was able to get a single in the top of the 6th, stole second base and then made his way to third on a fly out. His adventures ended there though when Way was able to collect the out he needed on the next at-bat.

Evener came up again in the 8th, the Roosters now up 8-0, and made a mad dash to 1st with an infield hit. Unfortunately injuring himself in the process. Those were the only two hits Way conceded, as he racked up 13 K's over 8.1 shutout innings.



Sugar Factory Elephants @ Dustland Sharks (Game One)

Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Nolan McLeod (16-9, 2.96 ERA)
Pitching for Dustland: RHP Jaxon Darnall (24-10, 2.21 ERA)

Jaxon Darnall was the hero in the middle for the Sharks in the opening game of the series. He threw 12 innings of 2-run ball but he was up against a worthy opponent in Nolan McLeod who was even more effective at keeping runners off the bases and runs off the scoreboard.

It was Dustland's 23 year old CF Sid van Kranenburg who provided the magic moments that tipped the game in favour of the Sharks.

In the top of the second, Darnall had gotten into trouble. He walked the first hitter, gave up a single to the second, and a double to the third. The Elephants had gone up 1-0, had runners on second and third, and had no outs. Sugar Factory Catcher Jim Dertinger swung and missed for the first out and then LF Finn Komoroski sent a flyball out to van Kranenburg. The runner on third tried to make a run for home but van Kranenburg sent a bullet of a throw to beat him it to it.

As we move to the bottom of the third, van Kranenburg draws a walk to make a rare on-base appearance for any Shark hitter. He immediately steals second and then, at the very next pitch makes the trip home when 2B Justin Seehusen hits a single out to Center Field. van Kranenburg beats out Newton's throw with seconds to spare to tie the game up.

The Elephants don't give in though, Jaden Tenneh sends Darnall deep with a solo home run in the top of the 6th. The Sharks bite back in the bottom of the 7th when SS Solomon Markham hits a triple (his first of the season) and then gets the run in the next at-bat when McLeod hurls a wild pitch to his catcher.

Base runners get even rarer from here as McLeod and Darnall exchange innings. As the game goes to extras, McLeod is pulled for Max Collins but Darnall stays put in the middle.

The game finally breaks open in the bottom of the 12th. The bases are loaded for Sid van Kranenburg and Collins is throwing everything he can at the hitter. van Kranenburg fouls the ball off 7 times before frustrating Collins to throw enough balls to throw a ball and get the walk-off... walk.

It was messy and not easy but the Sharks have gone up 1-0.



Saffron Turtles @ Spice District Roosters (Game Two)

Pitching for Saffron: LHP Gabriel Bork (19-13, 2.92 ERA)
Pitching for Spice District: RHP Max Steel (26-6, 2.29 ERA)

Max Steel seems intent on leaving a pile of destruction wherever he goes. The Turtles are utterly hapless against him as he pitches a complete game shutout. Giving up only one hit and two walks with 13 strikeouts.

The Roosters piled on the runs. Roman Karabanov putting the cherry on the cake with a three run blast in the 7th to take the game out to 7-0. The Turtles have just gone 18 innings with only three hits and no runs. They need to go back to the drawing board.



Sugar Factory Elephants @ Dustland Sharks (Game Two)

Pitching for Sugar Factory: LHP Lawrence Fick (15-11, 4.66 ERA)
Pitching for Dustland: RHP Wesley Stebbins (20-14, 2.21 ERA)

It's a pitcher's duel as neither side is able to string together what's necessary to get runs on the board. Fick, a Dustland boy, may have double the ERA of his competition but he put on a clinic today.

The deadlock isn't broken until the 6th when Sugar Factory SS Cooper Rose hits a triple to put runners in scoring position for the first time this game. The Sharks intentionally walk 3B Jaden Tenneh to have a crack at RF Patrick Wright. The gamble doesn't pay off as he slaps the ball over the head of the First Baseman and Rose gets home easily for the lead.

Fick remains rock solid and doesn't allow any baserunners. Stebbins on the other hand gets into trouble in the 8th. Two singles to lead the inning off have runners in first and second but Patrick Wright grounds into a double play. Cooper Rose is on third with two outs. Stebbins intentionally walks someone else to get 1B Elias Ballard into the batter's box. The gamble doesn't pay off again as Ballard hits a triple to get both baserunners home. 3-0 to the Elephants.

No one will score again until the bottom of the 9th as Fick gives up his second hit of the night with a solo home run from Pinch Hitter Spencer Quinn. He shrugs his shoulders, gets the final two outs and the Elephants tie it up: 1-all.

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Spice District Roosters @ Saffron Turtles (Game Three)

Pitching for Spice District: LHP Sylas Lang (13-13, 4.13 ERA)
Pitching for Saffron: RHP Luke Zuidgeest (15-13, 3.90 ERA)

The Drop.

It's the bottom of the 6th and the Turtles are up 2-0. They've finally broken through their scoring drought but they're not expecting anything here.

There's two outs and no one on base. Pitcher Luke Zuidgeest is up to bat and has got it to a full count. He hits it weakly to SS Dex Kruys, goes to run it out but trips, 1B Neil Spurrier gets momentarily distracted and the ball goes into his glove and jumps right out behind him. Zuidgeest realises what's happening and makes the dash to first before Spurrier can recover.

Roosters Pitcher Sylas Lang is steaming. It should have been a routine end to the inning but now he's got a runner to deal with. He then proceeds to give away a single, a walk, and two more singles and the Turtles now have a 5-0 lead. Lang gets pulled, and the Turtles score another run for good measure. 6-0

The Roosters never recover and the Turtles notch up a win to avoid elimination.



Dustland Sharks @ Sugar Factory Elephants (Game Three)

Pitching for Dustland: RHP Nick Pettersen (11-13, 4.33 ERA)
Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Gabe Wallman (10-17, 5.03 ERA)

The series shifts to Sugar Factory but the runs are still scarce. The game is decided in two moments: an boomer of a home run from 1B Elias Ballard who sends the ball 431ft to get the Elephants on the board in the 2nd, and the 6th when RF Patrick Wright (him of 22 speed 6'2" and 210 pounds) runs faster than he ever has before for an inside-the-park home run that sends the crowd into a tizzy.

In between these times, the Sharks hit two doubles in succession to score a run but they can't get the hits to flow and lose the advantage in the series. The Elephants now lead 2-1.



Spice District Roosters @ Saffron Turtles (Game Four)

Pitching for Spice District: RHP Jared Way (25-8, 2.49 ERA)
Pitching for Saffron: RHP Adam Brookshire (17-12, 3.09 ERA)

Jared Way and Adam Brookshire put on a show. Unlike the last time Brookshire took the mound the runs don't flow easily from the Rooster bats. The game is devoid of extra base hits, a double from each team is the only exception.

The first run came at the top of the 2nd as SS Dex Kruys hammers a ball hard for a double perfectly in between the Left and Center Fielder. It gives enough time for RF Roman Karabanov to make it home from 1st, beating the throw from Turtles CF Jayden DeNiro.

Run number two comes at the top of the 8th when Tommy Glass smacks a groundball straight past the first baseman. C Jack Bevilacqua makes the run home and has so much time that the Right Fielder doesn't even bother making the throw. 2-0 Roosters.

The Turtles strike back in the bottom of the 8th. Jared Way, well past 100 pitches at this point hits 2B Russ Gawlick with the pitch. CF Jayden DeNiro gets him over to a third with a nicely placed single and Gawlick is able to score on the very next pitch on a sac fly.

Way is still pitching at the bottom of the 9th and visibly tiring. He gets one out, but after 9 pitches in one at-bat ends it with a walk. He strikes out the next on three pitches but gets another hit by pitch to get another runner on base. He finally gets pulled and reliever Hank Reilly makes his post-season debut and the final out of the night. That's it. A 2-1 victory for the Roosters and a trip to the COBRA Cup.

Jared Way is awarded the Series MVP trophy.



Dustland Sharks @ Sugar Factory Elephants (Game Four)

Pitching for Dustland: RHP Jaxon Darnall (24-10, 2.21 ERA)
Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Nolan McLeod (16-9, 2.96 ERA)

Jaxon Darnall has been a force of nature all season. A no-hitter, the ERA crown, and two pitcher of the month awards speak for themselves. Unfortunately his main takeaway of the season is probably only going to be the Bottom of the Fourth in this elimination game.

Something snapped in this inning and the unhittable became plain-old hittable. He was suddenly been hit all over the field, as nearly every hitter that came up sent a hit everywhere there wasn't a fielder. They were only singles but a death by a thousand cuts is still a death. Soon. A 1-all game was 6-1 to the Elephants and Darnall still had two outs to get to end the inning. He was pulled.

The Elephants will get one more run in the game to make it 7-1 but the Sharks were stunned. And they were eliminated.



Darnall fought back tears as he tried to explain what happened to the press.

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Well, here we are. The first iteration of the COBRA Cup. Best of seven. Winner takes it all. On one side we've got the star-ladden Spice District Roosters, they've dominated all season. They boast of the best 1-2 punch in any pitching rotation and their batting lineup is simply stacked with All-Stars.

The Elephants on the other hand will happily take on the mantle of plucky underdogs. They've done so all season and their continued success continues to baffle the experts. If this was one of those Hollywood movies then the Elephants will win in increasingly unlikely scenarios but this isn't Hollywood. It's Amelia and the city is never kind to the plucky underdogs, not forever.

In a shocker though, the bookies in Spice District have made the Elephants slim favourites. So maybe Hollywood might come knocking?

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Sugar Factory Elephants @ Spice District Roosters

Pitching for Sugar Factory: LHP Lawrence Fick (15-11, 4.66 ERA)
Pitching for Spice District: RHP Max Steel (26-6, 2.29 ERA)

Is there an answer for Max Steel?

The Sugar Factory Elephants had nothing as Steel dismissed the lot of them in 100 pitches. It didn't matter what he threw: fastball, curveball, slider, splitter. Chances were you either miss it completely or it glides softly -- like a dream -- into the hands of a Rooster fielder.

In the end. Steel got a complete game shutout, 3 hits, no walks (but 2 hit by pitches), and 8 K's.

Not that it without some difficulty. Two of the hits and one of the hit by pitches came at the top of the 2nd. Steel would have faced a bases loaded, no outs scenario if RF Patrick Wright hadn't tried his luck -- and failed -- against the arm of Rooster RF Roman Karabanov with a dash from third to home. Steel stayed calm and 8 pitches later, had the three outs with no damage done to the scoreboard.

That would be the last time the Elephants posed a threat. From that point on, the top of each inning belonged to Steel.

The Roosters will keep the scoreboard turning over throughout. 2B Curtis Ripley pounced on Lawrence Fick's first pitch of the day for a double, advanced to third when 3B Tommy Glass made it on an error and scuttled on home when 1B Neil Spurrier grounded into a double play.

They'd break through again in the 4th. A Tommy Glass single, followed by a Neil Spurrier double put the pair in scoring position. RF Roman Karabanov will send a hit to the Center Fielder that'll give enough time for the pair to make it home for a 3-0 lead.

The 8th saw the Roosters secure their final run of the night when Curtis Ripley, on base via a walk and advanced to second through a Tommy Glass single, made the run from second to home after another Roman Karabanov hit to Center Field. The throw from CF Sean Newton not arriving in time.

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Sugar Factory Elephants @ Spice District Roosters

Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Gabe Wallman (10-17, 5.03 ERA)
Pitching for Spice District: RHP Sylas Lang (13-13, 4.13 ERA)

If you're the Elephants then this is the game you've gotta win. This is the most glaring weakness of the Roosters. Sylas Lang, with his 102 ERA+ is merely average and not some outer worldly pitching talent like Max Steel or Jared Way. Lose this and you're facing a sweep at the hands of those maniacal little pitching wizards.

It's not looking good until 2B Glenn Reinhard happens. It's the top of the 4th, with one out on the board. Reinhard watches the first fly by for a strike, nods, and then smashes the next one for a home run. The Elephants now have their first run for the series.

A spark of energy goes through the Elephants, 3B Jaden Tenneh hits a single the very next pitch, and then CF Sean Newton hits a fly ball out to RF Roman Karabanov -- he should catch it -- but he loses it in the sun and it drops right by him harmlessly. Suddenly, the Elephants have a runner in scoring position.

But they waste it. RF Patrick Wright slaps it weakly to Second Base who tags out Newton. Tenneh moves to third but 1B Elias Ballard can't get Tenneh home. Still, they move into the bottom of the 4th with a 1-0 lead. Could be worse.

Things got worse.

Elephants pitcher Gabe Wallman wrecked something. We're not totally sure what it was but it sounded bad. As he cautiously moved off the field, Seth Dudas took the mound. That's Seth Dudas of 6.54 ERA Seth Dudas.

He gets the final out of the 4th but he walks SS Dex Kruys, a Sylas Lang bunt gets Kruys over to second and then all Kruys needs is a Tommy Glass single out to Right Field to glide in for the game-tying run.

Shift to the next inning and Dudas is against the muscle of the order. 1B Neil Spurrier gets a single, LF Odin Bendig gets a single, and then RF Roman Karabanov makes up for his earlier error and sends the ball to the stands. The Roosters are up 4-1.

Damage done, Seth Dudas is benched for Max Collins. Collins is able to keep the Roosters under control but the Elephant hitters aren't making any headway. Finally, they run out of outs and the game is done.

The Roosters are up 2-0 in the series.

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Spice District Roosters @ Sugar Factory Elephants

Pitching for Spice District: RHP Jared Way (25-8, 2.49 ERA)
Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Nolan McLeod (16-9, 2.96 ERA)

Down 2-0 and the Elephants bring out their best pitcher for a start: Nolan McLeod but McLeod doesn't get the memo that's he the best that the Elephants have as he gets off to a nervous start.

He starts off conceding a single to 3B Tommy Glass, and then promptly moves Glass to second when a wild pitch scampers away from Catcher Jim Dertinger. He walks Ripley, and has two runners on. He takes a quick moment on the mound to remind him just what the [redacted] he is actually here for.

He throws three strikes a piece to 1B Neil Spurrier and LF Odin Bendig apiece for the outs and RF Roman Karabanov sends a harmless fly ball straight to CF Sean Newton. They get out for the 1st with no damage.

The same can't be said for the Roosters. CF Sean Newton uses his speed and lazy fielding from the Roosters to get on base after a rather weak infield hit. Anyone else would have been out but Newton can conjure hits from nowhere.

SS Cooper Rose comes up next, he watches the first go for a ball and then fouls off the next, he makes an adjustment and hits a strong line drive out to CF. Newton makes the run from first to third with no problem.

3B Jaden Tenneh pop ups harmlessly to the Second Baseman for the first out. RF Patrick Wright bangs a ball exactly in the middle between first and second basemen for his own single. Newton runs in for the first run while Rose beats the throw from Right Field to get to 3rd. 2B Glenn Reinhard flys out but 1B Elias Ballard keeps the momentum going with a line drive out to left field to bring Rose in for another run.

2-0 to Sugar Factory by the end of the 1st. The perfect start against a pitcher like Jared Way.

After the jitters in the 1st inning, Nolan McLeod dismisses the first three batters each time in the 2nd and 3rd but then LF Odin Bendig and RF Roman Karabanov smash a home run each back-to-back in the 4th to tie it all up.

McLeod comes out to bat in the bottom of the 4th. 2 Outs, and down 0-2 in the count he makes the ugliest swing you can imagine but, the ball falls awkwardly between the first and second basemen and McLeod has a hit. The top of the order comes out, and CF Sean Newton is up. He watches the first go for a ball and then has a go at the second pitch. He doesn't hit it cleanly but it might not matter, as it might just be enough for a home run. It hits the wall awkwardly and falls no where near the fielders. They scramble and Newton turns the gas on. He gets the signal from the 3B coach and runs home, narrowly beating the throw. An inside the park home run! The Elephants regain the advantage, 4-2.

The bottom of the 6th rolls around. LF Finn Komoroski hits a solo home run. McLeod comes out again and gets another hit. This one a much more confident strike out to left field. Sean Newton comes up and tries to sneak a groundball past the shortstop but no luck there as the ball heads straight to second to get McLeod out. Newton's still on base though over at first.

Two outs with a runner on first, and up next is SS Cooper Rose. He lets a pitch sail inside for a ball and then lets a low ball go for another ball and before we know it Newton has stolen second base. Tension goes up, and Rose fouls off the next pitch. Then Rose messes up his timing with the next one and it dribbles to Jared Way for an easy out.

But.

Way fumbles. He tries again, and the ball slips out of his glove as it tries to throw it to First. Rose is on first and Newton has made it home. It's 6-2 to the Elephants now.

That's the end of the day for Jared Way.

The two teams will exchange a run apiece but the day belongs to the Elephants. Newton even gets intentionally walked in the bottom of the 8th and finally finds a match for his speed when he gets beaten home by Odin Bendig's cannon for an arm but it's Sean Newton's day as he gets awarded the player of the game award. The three runs that Newton scored were all the result of his speed. Not many players could have made those plays.

So the Elephants grab a win off one of the best pitchers in the league to eat away at the Rooster's lead. Max Steel is next, if they can topple Way, can they do the same to Steel?

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Spice District Roosters @ Sugar Factory Elephants

Pitching for Spice District: RHP Max Steel (26-6, 2.29 ERA)
Pitching for Sugar Factory: LHP Lawrence Fick (15-11, 4.66 ERA)

Any delusions of grandeur bought on by the Elephant's win in game three are soon stamped out by Max Steel and the Spice District Roosters.

The Rooster hitters are the first to draw blood, A Tommy Glass single, followed by an Odin Bendig single,and finally a Roman Karabanov bases-clearing double brings two home. It could have gotten even worse as the bases loaded soon after but Jack Bevilacqua grounds out to the pitcher for an easy third out.

Max Steel comes out and gets the three outs, 1-2-3. The mood is set.

Rooster SS Dex Kruys gets a home run in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead out to 3-0.

It's not until the bottom of the 6th that the Elephants make an impact. Sean Newton gets a single, and then gets bunted over to second. The next batter swings and misses but then Patrick Wright delivers the goods with a hard hit ground ball that's past the First Baseman before he can blink. Newton makes the run from second to home and finally, Max Steel has given up a run in these playoffs.

The celebrations are shortlived, the game shifts to the top of the 7th and Odin Bendig blasts a 2-run homer. It's 5-1 and Max Steel shuts it down, only letting on one more base runner for the rest of the game.

It's now do-or-die for the Elephants as the Roosters take a 3-1 lead in the series.

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Spice District Roosters @ Sugar Factory Elephants

Pitching for Spice District: RHP Sylas Lang (13-13, 4.13 ERA)
Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Gabe Wallman (10-17, 5.03 ERA)

Let's just skip to the bottom of the 9th. The Game is tied 2-all. There's two outs and Elephant SS Cooper Rose is on second. LF Finn Komoroski is in the batter's box with a full count.

Not a single person is sitting down at the Sugar Factory Grounds.

Sylas Lang goes with his changeup and Komoroski sends it to the air and Rose sets off running. It looks routine for Rooster RF Roman Karabanov, we're about to go into extras.

But he drops it.

Komoroski makes it to first and Rose slides in at home. The Elephants have walked it off!

Staring down elimination the Elephants walk it off with a gift of a fielding error from the Roosters.

Player of the game goes to Elephant pitcher Gabe Wallman who pitched through injury for 7 innings. He gave up a 2-0 lead after only 6 pitches but he was spotless for the rest of his time on the mound.

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Sugar Factory Elephants @ Spice District Roosters

Pitching for Sugar Factory: RHP Nolan McLeod (16-9, 2.96 ERA)
Pitching for Spice District: RHP Jared Way (25-8, 2.49 ERA)

After hitting Jared Way for 9 hits and 6 runs in his last outing, the Elephants waste no time as they quickly run up a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st. It's not without casualty though, as they lose RF Patrick Wright to injury after a collision at first when he tried to rush to first on an infield hit. The game continues and they keep picking up the hits (and a few fielding errors from the Roosters) but they can't convert the hits into runs.

The Roosters get on the board in the bottom of the 6th when LF Odin Bendig monsters a ball into the crowd for a 2-run home run. They strike again in the nick of time in the bottom of the 9th when with two outs on the board, they rally together enough hits to get the runs to tie the game and force extra innings.

The Elephants get runners to scoring position in both the 10th and 11th but can't convert. That leaves us to the bottom of the 11th. 2 outs on the board and runners on second and third. 2B Curtis Ripley is up against Sugar Factory Stopper Max Collins.

Collins sends three fastballs in succession. One inside for a ball, one clipping a corner for a strike, and another low for a ball. He goes in for a slider next but it goes haywire. It veers way off course. Catcher Jim Dertinger dives for it but it's too much. The runner in third, Pinch Hitter Yevgeni Palubov runs in for the winning run.

That's it folks.

The Spice District Roosters are your 1920 COBRA Cup Champions.

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September 22, 1920
As the dust settles on the inaugural COBRA and as the Roosters take their victory lap no one is surprised when Crimson Forest Falcons GM Tripp Chancey gets fired. The Falcons went 44-100 in 1920. Not great.

September 30, 1920
It's award season so don your best garment and hit the red carpet. The Great Gloves are the first on the list and our recipients are:

P Tijs Oudenkerk (Unicorn Point Athletic Club)
C Jaxen Crouch (Port Magnolia Dolphins)
1B Ron Stubbs (Port Magnolia Dolphins)
2B Noah Means (Hadestown Broncos)
3B Oscar Newsome (Northlands Polar Bears)
SS Dex Kruys (Spice District Roosters)
LF Augie Hanson (Crimson Forest Falcons)
CF Sid van Kranenburg (Dustland Sharks)
RF Kaiden Martin (Unicorn Point Athletic Club)

Noah Means is the recipient of the Diamond Glove award. Given to the most impressive overall defender of the year.

October 1, 1920
The next award up is reliever of the year. Max Collins (Sugar Factory Elephants) is an unanimous pick... and it really wasn't close.



October 2, 1920
Today we have the Platinum Stick awards.

Pitcher
Wesley Stebbins (Dustland Sharks)
.250/.300/.262, 84 AB, 34 wRC+, -0.6 WAR

Catcher
Kian Lehn (Dustland Sharks)
.358/.446/.612, 461 AB, 27 HR, 198 wRC+, 8.5 WAR

First Baseman
Neil Spurrier (Spice District Roosters)
.292/.377/.597, 544 AB, 46 HR, 101 R, 119 RBI, 6.3 WAR

Second Baseman
Curtis Ripley (Spice District Roosters)
.363/.446/.488, 553 AB, 11 HR, 104 R, 164 wRC+, 7.3 WAR

Third Baseman
Jaden Tenneh (Sugar Factory Elephants)
.350/.454/.530, 394 AB, 15 HR, 14 SB, 170 wRC+, 5.0 WAR

Shortstop
Max Roberts (Port Magnolia Dolphins)
.296/.402/.469, 493 AB, 19 HR, 14 SB, 153 wRC+, 6.5 WAR

Left Fielder
Odin Bendig (Spice District Roosters)
.233/.392/.579, 497 AB, 50 HR, 120 R, 131 RBI, 6.2 WAR

Center Fielder
Sean Newton (Sugar Factory Elephants)
.362/.427/.542, 594 AB, 16 HR, 24 SB, 111 R, 166 wRC+, 8.7 WAR

Right Fielder
Jon Jackson (Northlands Polar Bears)
.330/.415/.658, 549 AB, 51 HR, 18 SB, 119 R, 112 RBI, 8.6 WAR

October 3, 1920
Today, we'd normally have the Rookie of the Year award but seems a bit silly to give out a Rookie of the Year in the first year of a competition but here's a few other awards that we're going to go track here at COBRA.

Living Legend: Sid van Kranenburg (Dustland Sharks)
(Awarded to the player who is Extremely Popular nationwide and has the highest JAWS)

Fan Favourite: Kian Lehn (Dustland Sharks)
(Awarded to the player who receives the most votes for the All-Star game)

Ultimate Baserunner: Gaby Williams (Crimson Forest Falcons)
(Awarded to the player with the best BsR, a stat that combines base stealing and base running.)

Clutch Player: Jaxon Darnall (Dustland Sharks)
(Awarded to the player with the best WPA)

Iron Man: Gabriel Bork (Saffron Turtles)
(Awarded to the player for a combo of innings pitched, complete games, pitches per game, and leverage index)

Golden Oldie: Clayton Fleming (Northlands Polar Bear) Age 40
(Awarded to one of the 12 oldest players in the league as long as they get at least 1.0 WAR or WPA)

Up next... Pitcher of the Year and MVP!

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Max Steel is the unanimous pick for Pitcher of the Year!



In a year full of great pitching performances, Max Steel rose above them all. The likes of Jaxon Darnall, Jared Way, or Elijah Shumate could have won this award themselves in any other year but will have to settle this time round.

Let's review Steel's achievements in 1920.

• Key member of the Championship winning Spice District Roosters
• COBRA Cup Series MVP
• Gave up only one run over 27 innings of the playoffs.
• Lead the league in Wins, IP, K's, WHIP, K/9, K/BB, rWAR, Opp Avg, and Win %.
• All-Star
• 5 Complete Game Shutouts
• 5 15+K Games
• 2 One-Hitters
• Pitcher of the Month in August.
• 11 game winning streak from 17 May to 6 July.

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The race for Pitcher of the Year may have been clear but MVP couldn't have been more confused. Kian Lehn took out the prize by the smallest margin possible. He even got less first place votes than his main competition -- Northlands RF Jon Jackson -- but a stronger showing in the secondary places tipped the balance to Lehn.

The case for Jackson is strong, Jackson was the home run champion and led the league in slugging and OPS. He also amassed a handy total of stolen bases and at the very least, neutral defensive value.

But alas, it'll be Lehn's name in the history books but Jackson is only 28 and will likely find himself back here one day.



Here's Lehn's achievements for the season.

• Key offensive component of the Dustland Sharks -- who made the playoffs this season!
• 23 game hit streak. Tied for best in the league (and first to do it)
• League leader in OPS+, wRC+
• Top 5 in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, WAR, Hits, Doubles, wOBA
• Selected for the All-Star game with the highest vote count of anyone
• 1x Batter of the Month Award
• Selected as the best hitter in his position.
• 1x 3 Home Run Game

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October 15, 1920
It's free agent filing day. A bunch of players elected to sign one year deals with this new league in the hope that the league becomes a success and they can cash in. We'll see if the gamble was worth it. Some of the top guys available...

Starting RHP Jared Way (27 years old)
Way had some struggles in the final games of the COBRA Cup but he is going to be hot property. He finished 3rd for Pitcher of the Year with a 25-8 record, 2.49 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 1.92 FIP. He's asking for $32k, 50% more than the current top paid player of the league (3B Dennis Sullenger at $21k) and well above the $5k he was paid by the Roosters.

First Baseman RHB Vladik Zavalin (31 years old)
Zavalin is a big boy (6'5" and 245lbs) and he produces big numbers. He delivered 47 home runs and 130 RBIs for the Whiskeytown Ducks while providing superb defense at First Base. He's asking for $20k, a tidy increase on the $15k that the Ducks paid. Unicorn Point has already been rumoured of being interested.

Third Basemen LHB Gavin Utter (29 years old)
Another member of the Whiskeytown Ducks. Utter is a solid force at the plate. He walks more often than he strikes out (63 to 55) and provides a good number of Home Runs (27). He's not particularly great defensively nor does he provide much speed on the basepaths but he's certainly one of the best Third Basemen out there. Injury ended his season early last year but he should be in good shape for 1921. He's asking for the rather particular figure of $19,714. A tidy increase on his previous $15k.

Shortstop RHB Tristan Lyngstrad (30 years old)
Well-rounded at the plate but a bit weak defensively, could possibly be better off shifted to Third but that's hardly my spot. Formerly of the Northlands Polar Bears he's asking for $19,222, a big increase on his $4,750 from 1920.

Left Fielder RHB J.R. Shouse (28 years old)
The third player that Whiskeytown has lost to free agency (and we've only covered five players!) Shouse packs a lot of power with 37 home runs in 1920 that got his OPS up over 1.000. He's a very positive influence in the locker room. He's asking for $17,143. Up from $12k.

Third Baseman LHB Tommy Glass (37 years old)
Our first player to be lowering their asking price. Glass got $18k last season from the Spice District Roosters but he's reportedly only asking for $16.4k at the moment. He's getting up there in age and the injury history is starting to pile up but Glass still has the skills for a major contribution. It's definitely a risky deal to be made though.

Shortstop RHB Nathan Crews (38 years old)
Crews is always trying to figure how he's going to get his next single. He lives and dies by the hit. His walks were higher than strikeouts in 1920 but you're not going to get much of either from him. He tied his teammate Kian Lehn for the hit streak record last year with 23 games. Dustland Sharks paid him $14k last season and he's now asking for $16,250

This free agency class is dominated by hitters though there are some solid pitchers further down the list that will prove useful for any team. Jared Way is the one that everyone is interested in though.

October 19, 1920
It seems that Amelia City isn't particularly interested in competing next season as they send off 32 year old RF Bryson James to Saffron for a couple of teenagers. James hit .302/.352/.487 over 102 games last season for a tidy 120 OPS+. He has a cannon for an arm as well. On the other hand, the Metros have lost their #1 starter so might just be freeing up payroll to make a play in free agency. I shouldn't judge so quickly.

October 21, 1920
In an interesting move, the Northlands Polars Bears have moved 40 year old LF Clayton Fleming to the Sugar Factory Elephants in exchange for some decent looking minor leaguers. Fleming has an amazing eye and some decent power but he's useless defensively. That's a win for the Polar Bears I'd say.

October 23, 1920
We get our first move in the free agency market as J.R. Shouse signs with his old team, the Whiskeytown Ducks for a $69k/4yr deal. Pretty much exactly what he was asking for.

October 24, 1920
Vladik Zavalin is the next piece to fall as he signs a $76k/4yr deal with the Sugar Factory Elephants. Elias Ballard, who held the 1B slot for the Elephants in 1920 is expected to shift over to 3B to accommodate Zavalin. The contract is very friendly to Zavalin who can opt out after year two and three.

October 29, 1920
The Salt Quarter Penguins and Jared Way have just shattered the record books. Hang on while I get my jaw off the floor.

The Penguins have signed Jared Way to a $248k/7yr deal. That's $35,400 a year. The previous highest value of a total deal was $105k, and the previous highest annual salary was $21k. In a day, Way has reshaped the market.

October 30, 1920
Tristan Lyngstrad signs a $131k/7yr deal with Hadestown. Just a day ago this would have been the biggest contract in history and now it just evokes a shrug of the shoulders. This deal will take Lyngstrad to his age-37 season, the final year has a vesting clause. This also means that 24 year old SS Luke Boyer gets booted from his starting role and will start 1921 on the bench.

November 5, 1920
The Spice District Roosters make their first move of the offseason with a $106k/6yr deal with Gavin Utter. The deal makes a lot of sense for the Roosters who lost their current 3B (Tommy Glass) to free agency. Utter is on about the same level as Glass except he's 8 years younger.

November 8, 1920
The Penguins make another splash with the signing of 1B Kyle Lownes for a $53k/4yr deal. Their previous First Baseman (41yr old McKenzie Bellows) retired. Lownes, who led the leagues in doubles during his time with the Unicorns should slot in nicely.

November 15, 1920
It was quiet for a week in baseball and then everything got announced today.

Tommy Glass will make his way from the best team in baseball... to the worst. He signed a $40k/3yr deal with the Crimson Forest Falcons that'll keep him going until his age-40 season.

The Northlands Polar Bears get themselves young RHP Jeremiah Hinton for a $46k/3yr deal. That'll help shore up the Elijah Shumate led rotation.

Unicorn Point sign Nathan Crews to a $28k/2yr deal. The deal will take him to his age-40 season if he meets the vesting criteria for the second year. Their current Shortstop has left in free agency so Crews should slot right in.

The Unicorns also announced a $51k/4yr deal with 30 year old Matty Richey. They actually traded Richey to the Salt Quarter Penguins at the deadline last season, so welcome back Matty!

And final Unicorn Point news, they put $66k/4yrs into 27 year old pitcher Kellan Sullivan who comes over from Port Magnolia. It currently looks like he'll slot into the #3 spot on their rotation.

December 15, 1920
I said above that the Roosters had made a good deal for Gavin Utter but news came out today that made me look an idiot. Utter, injured but scheduled to be all good for opening day in 1921 reinjured himself in a light workout. He's going to undergo surgery and doctors don't expect him to return for four months.

Good work signing this guy to a 6 year deal.

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March 5, 1921
The university season is back which means that COBRA cannot be far away.

The Northlands College of Technology is keen to defend their title and they've got a fantastic array of hitters to do it. None better than Catcher Daniel Irvine who'll be hoping for a triumphant finish to his college career.





Hoping to disrupt that narrative is the Saffron School of Magic. After a dominant 30-6 season that was upended by the Northerners in the final, the Sluggers are hopeful they can right that wrong with a title.

Their bullpen features a pitcher that has baseball folk very excited.





Turner has stuff that projects out to 131 grade. The highest that anyone currently in COBRA grades out to is Max Steel, with 89 stuff. Heck, his current rating of 75 stuff is better right now than all but 5 pitchers in COBRA.

March 11, 1921
The march to summer continues as the High School season kicks off. Crimson Forest High School is hopeful of defending their title but they'll have some strong competition especially from Southern Salt Quarter Academy and Dustland Boy's High School.

Brewing some excitement from Dustland Boy's is First Baseman Kevin Ballard who's projecting out to a .448/.533/.713 slash line and will be batting lead-off despite his rather abrupt lack of speed. He won the Platinum Stick Award for 1B last year as a sophomore.





And Southern Salt Quarter Academy will be looking to the guy at their top of their rotation for success this season. The Albatross made it to the final last year so will be hoping to do one better this time round.

White is currently projecting to a 4.48 ERA with the best K/BB ratios in the league. He finished third in the voting for pitcher of the year as a sophomore so he'll be looking to improve on that in his junior year.





March 18, 1921
Spring training claims it's first big name as Whiskeytown LF J.R. Shouse goes down with injury. A fractured finger will keep him out of action for 4-5 weeks so he'll miss the start of the season.

March 28, 1921
Pitcher Fred Alltop, injured back in June last year with a torn flexor tendon (ouch)... and still injured for at least another two months joined the payroll of the Amelia City Metropolitans with a $14k/1yr deal.

March 29, 1921
And as we venture into opening day. More news as the Saffron Turtles picked up 37 year old 1B Zeke Reynolds with a $14k/1yr deal -- his third team in two seasons. The news came something as a shock to fellow 37 year old Hollie Huckabee who was expecting to play the spot.

And BNN published its list of the top prospects in Amelian baseball with Dustland's LF Steven Schueler named the most promising player.



Several on the list came in the draft from last season including Carson Mixon (#2 pick), Christian Tiggs (#1 pick), Asher Sunderland (#8 pick), and Robert Lowe (#9 pick).

Schueler is regarded as pretty raw and BNN doesn't expect him to make it to COBRA level until 1923. Carson Mixon and Christian Tiggs are already up there though with Mixon named as the team's stopper.