NABL a History

[JayW UK]

2030 Season Notes

Spring Training – The Las Vegas Gamblers vaunted rotation took a huge hit when newest recruit Marc Birstall suffered a torn UCL ruling him out for 12 months, the Gamblers saw their odds of winning the World Series plummet in one fell swoop.
March 31st - On the eve of the season Minneapolis learned that pitcher Lester Swindell, the No2 overall pick in the draft, would not be signing for them and instead would attend college, enrolling at USC the next day.
April 2nd – On opening day, after Las Vegas had blown a 5-1 lead in the top of the ninth, LF Claude Cummins blasted a walk-off Grand-Slam to give the Gamblers a 9-5 victory and spare the blushes of closer Rolando Cerny.
April 3rd – Denver starter Franklin Keyes collected his 2000th career strikeout with his first victim of the new season.
April 10th – In only his fourth appearance of the season, Washington’s veteran reliever Beau Bass suffered a torn UCL shelving him for at least 13 Months.
April 11th – Indianapolis starter Angel Castro spun a masterpiece, NO-HITTING New York on 127 pitches.
April 18th – LA’s SS Ignacio Castro suffered a separated shoulder in a collision with teammate 2BLucio Martinez, the injury would side-line him for the next four weeks.
April 20th – Cleveland SS Richie Rambeaux was held hitless against Charlotte, ending his 25-game hitting streak.
May 17th – Denver pitcher Pedro Escobar collected his 2500th strikeout in a losing effort against Kansas City.
June 6th – Sanfrancisco SS Gonzalo Jiminez suffered a torn hamstring sending him to the DL for six weeks.
June 11th – RF Julian Torres hammered three homeruns including a Grand-Slam collecting 7 RBI’s on the way to leading San Diego to a 10-5 victory over division rivals Seattle.
June 24th – Sanfrancisco’s disastrous season took a turn for the worse with the loss of star 3B Wes Lauderdale for three months with a quad injury and CF Salvador Colon for six weeks with a high ankle sprain.
June 25th – Detroit SS Bo Southall was hit by a pitch breaking his elbow and ruling him out for five months. The Giants placed Southall on the 60-day DL the following day and called up Luis Pena in his place.
June 26th – Detroit 2B John Ladbrooke hit for the CYCLE in a losing effort against Chicago.
June 27th to July 4th – Indianapolis 1B Nelson Vasquez set the NABL record for consecutive games hitting a homerun with seven.
June 28th – Los Angeles pitcher Roman Diaz suffered a fractured thumb ruling him out for upto six weeks.
June 29th – Charlotte traded pitcher Chris McInnes to Washington for catcher Bill Sanders and prospects SS Lawrence Smith and 3B Roberto Garcia.
June 30th – Indianapolis CF Shawn Neeley became Cleveland star Eric Parker’s 3000th career strikeout victim.
July 2nd – Sanfrancisco suffered another key injury, this time to SP Carlos Burgos who sprained his elbow keeping him out of the line-up for up to six weeks.
July 4th – Sanfrancisco raised the white flag on their season, trading away SS Jesus Garza to OKC for catcher Miguel Leyva and RF Craig Graham.
July 5th – Denver superstar Dixon Bodean continued his attack on the NABL record books when he collected his 1500 RBI.
July 7th – in a pure salary dump, Detroit sent veteran 1B Clarence Davis along with $3M to Atlanta for two prospects, LF Michael Moore and pitcher Jacob Cunningham.
July 10th – frustrated with his play, Los Angles packaged 39-year-old pitcher Felipe Sanchez (4-12, 3.60 ERA) along with $3M and sent him to Philadelphia for LF Clarence Thomason and outfield prospect Dick Ledoux.
July 11th – Miami sent veteran SS Chris O’Neil to in-state rivals Tampa Bay for pitching prospects Roger Badger and Kevin Northmore.
July 12th – New York’s Vince Little, having successfully returned from 10 months on the sidelines, collected his 3000th career strikeout in a victory over Philadelphia.
July 13th – Shoulder inflammation ruled Detroit starter Jamie Berry out until October, effectively ending his season. Berry, a frontrunner for the EL Outstanding Pitcher Award was in the midst of an outstanding season at the time of his injury having made 19 starts with a record of 13-0 and a miniscule 1.64 ERA.
July 14th – another day, another key injury, this time LA’s bullpen took a hit losing closer Tomas Freitas for the season with bone spurs in his throwing elbow. Freitas was leading the WL in saves with 27 at the time of his injury.
July 30th – St. Louis ace Matt Powell joined the 2000K club, striking out 10 in a victory over Tampa Bay.
July 31st – Dallas starter Kurt Banks suffered a torn Labrum putting him out of action for the next four months.
August 2nd – St. Louis closer Chuck Patrick provided the finishing touches to an impressive 9-8 Reds comeback victory over Charlotte and in doing so claimed his 300th career save.
August 12th – Las Vegas starter Will Spencer was lost for the season with shoulder inflammation, the Gamblers turn to their AAA franchise for his replacement, calling up Mike Cooper for his first taste of the big leagues.
August 16th – Los Angeles SS Ignacio Castro’s frustrating injury hit campaign came to an end when he tore his hamstring shelving him for the next three months.
August 22nd – San Diego traded CF Jorge Sanchez to Phoenix for two prospects, 3B Max Kirk and 2B Mike Springer.
August 24th – Cleveland’s Eric Parker became the latest player to reach 200 career wins.
September 2nd – Detroit 3B Florentino Garcia smashed four doubles and was responsible for driving in both the Giants runs in their 2-1 victory over Atlanta.
September 3rd – Denver star LF Dixon Bodean scored his 1500th career run, but it was all in vain as the Wildcats collapsed to a 7-4 defeat against Houston after leading 4-0 in the eighth.
September 6th – Los Angeles SS Alejandro Pichardo collected hits number 2499 and 2500 in victory over Denver.
September 7th – Kansas City 3B Gary Lee suffered a shoulder sprain sending him to the DL and likely ending his season robbing KC of their starting third baseman.
September 10th – Atlanta RF David Barnett provided the offense in an 8-6 Flames victory over New Orleans, smashing five hits including three homeruns and driving in six.
September 16th – Dallas 2B Will Moore suffered a back strain, the injury ended Moore’s season giving understudy Tom Wells his chance to shine.
September 17th – Detroit catcher Jorge Maldonado entered the NABL history books when he became the first player to hit two Grand-Slams in the same game!! going 2-for-5 with 8-RBI’s helping the Giants down division rivals Chicago 11-6.
September 19th – another injury for Las Vegas, as third baseman and key infield defensive-sub Jose Rodriguez, fractured his ankle making a defensive play. After successful surgery the following day, the Gamblers placed Rodriguez onto the 60-day DL ending his season.
September 20th – Washington CF Marc Smith stole four bases helping the Generals to a 5-3 victory over Philadelphia.
September 21st – a third key injury in less than a month saw Las Vegas lose starting pitcher Holden Willis to a hamstring strain, the injury, although not deemed too serious, would never-the-less cost Willis three weeks and force him to miss the first round of the playoffs.
September 25th – Miami 3B Juan Montoya suffered a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay’s Larry de Meza, ruling him out for the season.
September 26th – Washington starter Frank Wilcox was lost for the rest of the season with Shoulder tendonitis.
October 1st – After a disappointing campaign, in which he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen and collected his first career saves, 42-year-old Anthony Barrett called time on his career (he retired with a record of 222-129 with 3 saves, an ERA of 2.85 and 3230 career strikeouts), a three-time Outstanding Pitcher Award winner, his seventeen-year career took in stops at five clubs where he played in four World Series, winning three championship rings. Another veteran pitcher who struggled in 2030 was Phoenix’s Carlos Correa (6-16, 5.88 ERA), after back-to-back disappointing campaigns Correa found himself once again entering free agency with few suitors and a decision on retirement to make.
November 1st – Cleveland manager Pedro Garcia announced his retirement from the game after 9 years as manager of, first San Jose, then Cleveland with a career record of 741-718. His one and only time leading any of his teams to the postseason (2027 with Cleveland) ended with a Manager-of-the-year nod and a Championship.

[JayW UK]

2030 Playoffs

Divisional Round

The playoffs saw seven out of the eight teams from the previous year return, the lone exception was Los Angeles who were making their first postseason appearance in six years. In the east Washington drew Detroit while Southeast division champs Miami faced off against wildcard entry, and hottest team in baseball, Indianapolis (winners of eight of their last ten games). In the west LA’s reward for making the playoffs was a matchup with defending champs Dallas, while Las Vegas and Kansas City would renew their playoff rivalry, meeting each other for the second consecutive year.

In game one, Miami ace Octavio Cortal didn’t have his usual control, surrendering homeruns to 3B Matt Romero and 1B Nelson Vasquez to give Indianapolis an early three run lead they would not relinquish. Racer’s starter Will Christopher, in contrast, was on fire, striking out eleven and allowing just three hits through eight scoreless innings before handing over to Jorge Flores to complete the shut-out. In game two the partisan crowd saw a pitching matchup between the two Angels (Castro for Indianapolis and Pacheco for the hometown Everglades). Once again, the Racers jumped out to a fast start, plating runs in the second and third innings before a 2-run homer from rookie Anthony Williams put them up 5-0. Miami finally scored a run when LF Pantaliao Igreja smashed a solo homer off Angel Castro in the seventh, but the home fans were left disappointed as the Everglades couldn’t add any further runs against the Racers bullpen falling to a 5-1 defeat. With the Everglades in a 2-0 hole the series moved to Indianapolis for game three but Miami’s fearsome offense was nowhere to found when needed, as Indianapolis shut the door on the Everglades season with a hard fought 6-4 victory sending the Racers onto the ELCS, where they would meet the winner of the Washington and Detroit series.

On the eve of the Detroit vs Washington series the Giants had to re-jig their pitching rotation as original game one starter Rajion Samit was a late scratch when his wife went into labour. Bradley Starks got the call and didn’t disappoint, holding Washington scoreless through six innings and only surrendering a solo homerun to 3B Lee Emery to lead off the seventh, it didn’t really matter as by that time the Giants were out of sight going on to comfortably win the game 8-1. Game two saw Gonzalo Tellez get the nod for the Giants while Washington countered with Stan Fleming. The two pitchers engaged in a private battle with Fleming getting the better of Tellez as Washington recorded their first playoff shutout in their history. Game three saw Detroit ace Rajion Samit take the mound after the birth of his son, facing him was Washington’s young star Caden Duncan, the game was a case of the master and his apprentice as Washington cruised to a 4-1 victory. Game four saw both offenses stuck in neutral until in the bottom of the ninth when with the score 1-1, an error by Detroit 3B Ryan Scott put Washington speedster Marc Smith on base, Smith stole second, narrowly beating Maldonado’s throw, before forgotten man Jason Wilson looped a single into right field for his first hit of the playoffs, Smith raced home from second giving the Generals the walk-off 2-1 win to tie the series. The series moved back to raucous Detroit for the deciding game where the Giants bullpen held off Washington in the later innings to put Detroit back in the EL Pennant series, where they would get another crack at Indianapolis, the team who knocked them out of the playoffs at the same stage in 2029.

With the Tornadoes holding homefield advantage for the second year in a row, Kansas City and Las Vegas renewed their playoff rivalry, this was the third meeting between the two teams with LV having won both previous series. Game one was a tight battle which Las Vegas won late when PH Michael Carroll smashed a 2-RBI triple in the top of the ninth to give the Gamblers a 5-3 victory. Robert Warwick took the mound for KC in game two while Las Vegas named veteran Max Castle as their starter. Castle struggled only lasting five innings throwing over 100 pitches in doing so while Kansas City starter Robert Warwick went the distance allowing a single run on five hits in a 3-1 Kansas City victory. Game three was a classic pitcher’s duel between Juan Villa (KC) and Stevie Lopez (LV) with both men going eight innings and surrendering two runs, Villa struck out nine while Lopez went one better striking out 10. The bullpens took over from there and kept the game scoreless through twelve innings, Kansas City eventually finding a way to win in the 13th putting them just one win away from their first WLCS appearance. After their tough-luck loss the previous night, Las Vegas turned to staff ace Dave Cahill hoping to extend the series to a deciding game five. Kansas City ace Mark Fort was on his game striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced and keeping the Gamblers off the board through six innings. Cahill on the other hand had his troubles early handing KC a 4-0 lead. The Gamblers halved the lead when catcher Chris Coates belted a 2-Run homer in the seventh but an Alberto Rangel RBI single in the eighth pushed the lead to three before Jerry Crane pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to end Las Vegas’ season and finally give KC their first playoff series victory in their history.

Back in the playoffs after a six-year hiatus, Los Angeles’ reward was a matchup with defending champions Dallas. Mustang rookie starter Cristobal Chapa (making his playoff debut) pitched superbly and only a late bullpen collapse robbed him of an impressive victory and gifted LA the win in game one. In game two, Dallas found themselves in an early hole of starter Juan Rangel’s making as LA built a five-run lead, but after the early outburst LA’s offense dried up while Dallas got going, with 3B Wayne Radke’s monster 3-run homer in the eighth capping the Mustangs 7-5 come-from-behind victory. In game three, starters Alwin Roozen (DAL) and Mitch Woodroffe (LA) engaged in a pitching duel with both men working on shutouts through six innings. Roozen carried his shutout into the eighth where, with his pitch count rising, he ran into trouble surrendering a two-run bomb to catcher Mike Willis giving LA the lead. Dallas threatened in the ninth but LA’s Vaughan Laursen held his nerve to strike out Wayne Radke to end the game and put LA one win away from the WLCS. The key moment in game four came in the seventh inning, with the game tied at one apiece and with two out, an error by LA shortstop Tom Brennan crucially allowed Dallas to extend the inning before next man up SS Aurelio Delgado launched a 2-run homerun to give the Mustangs the lead. LA’s bullpen then got in on the act in the eighth, allowing four more runs to score ending any hopes the Lynx had of winning the game, sending the series back to Texas for a deciding game five. In a tight game in which Dallas scraped home, LA’s hitters had trouble all night with Mustangs starter Juan Rangel (8IP, 4H, 1ER, 8K), and they fared no better against Carlo Tagros who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to collect his second save of the series to send Dallas onto the WLCS and a date with Kansas City.

[JayW UK]

2030 Playoffs

Championship Round

The Eastern League Championship series saw Detroit (making their third straight appearance in the ELCS) face off against Indianapolis, the series was a repeat of the 2029 ELCS with Detroit looking to gain revenge on the Racers. Detroit had the homefield advantage and boasted a dominant defense (best in the east) but Indianapolis possessed one of the best offenses in the league and although the Racers form had been indifferent for most of the season, they were hot right now, winners of seven in a row. Game one in Detroit saw the return to the mound of Jamie Berry after nearly four months out injured, Berry pitched well through seven innings (7IP, 1ER, 8K) but Indianapolis pitcher Will Christopher pitched even better (8IP, 1ER, 9K), a late Juan Miranda RBI single gave Indianapolis a narrow 2-1 victory and the series lead. Game two was the Shawn Neeley show, the Indianapolis centerfielder smashed an NABL playoff record three homeruns, playing a big part in the Racers come-from-behind 9-7 victory, leaving series favorites Detroit Giants in a 2-0 hole. Things got no better for the Giants in game three as a dominant pitching performance from Jerry Wood left Indianapolis knocking on the door of the World Series and Indianapolis completed the sweep the following night, with another solid pitching performance, this time from Guy Pot, with late homers from Anthony Williams and Matt Romero seeing them home.

The Western League pennant series saw Dallas take on Kansas City. Making their second straight WLCS and owners of the best pitching in the league, led by ace Alwin Roozen and super rookie Cristobal Chapa, the 100-win Mustangs were seen as the heavy favorites. Kansas City also possessed quality pitching (#3 in the NABL) and a similar offense to Dallas but the big game experience of the Mustangs meant KC would have to play out of their skins to progress to the World Series. Game one saw Dallas Ace Alwin Roozen cruise to victory barely breaking sweat as Dallas dominated from start to finish. Kansas City tied the series the following night with a 5-4 victory and took the lead in game three, when Dallas closer Alonso Torres surrendered a two-run homer to George Shipp in the ninth blowing the save and handing KC a 4-3 walk-off victory. Game four seemed to be heading the way of KC until an eighth inning bullpen implosion allowed Dallas to send the game to extra innings and eventually claim victory in the 12th when Wayne Radke slammed a 3-run homer. Dallas reliever Jason Casham held off a furious KC rally in the home half after the Tornadoes had plated two runs against Luis Torres to pull within one run, the 9-8 hard fought victory tied the series at two and left many Kansas City fans wondering how the team had managed to blow a 6-1 lead. Still smarting from the late collapse the previous night, Kansas City built a 5-1 lead in game five only to blow it again, a ninth inning Wayne Radke homerun handing Dallas the victory and the series lead. Kansas City had the look of a team who was already beaten in game six and never troubled Dallas, a pair of Wayne Radke homeruns (his fourth and fifth of the series) paced the Mustangs to a comfortable 7-2 series clinching victory.

[JayW UK]

2030 Playoffs

World Series

The 2030 World Series was a rematch of the previous year’s series pitting Dallas and their top pitching staff (only conceding 518 runs on the season) and Indianapolis and their top three offense (scoring 749 runs and hitting 176 homeruns on the season). Entering the series Dallas had flipped the script, still possessing excellent pitching their offense had exploded slamming 18 homers during the playoffs (2 away from tying the NABL record set by Indianapolis the previous year) and were the many people’s favorites to repeat as champions, although Indianapolis were working on an eleven game winning streak so an upset couldn’t be ruled out. A first inning two-run blast by Wayne Radke (his seventh of the postseason) gave Dallas the perfect start, but from then on, the Indianapolis pitchers clamped down on the Mustangs offense holding them scoreless the rest of the way and giving their own hitters the chance to do some damage. Two late homers, one each from 3B Matt Romero and LF Jose Cintron completed the turn-around as Indianapolis scraped home 3-2, to make matters worse for Dallas offensive sparkplug Wayne Radke left the game with an apparent hamstring injury. The following night the Mustangs confirmed the worst, Wayne Radke’s season was over with a torn hamstring robbing Dallas of their most dangerous hitter. Radke’s absence didn’t hurt Dallas early on as they built a 4-0 lead only for Indianapolis to storm back and win late for the second game in a row, a Roberto Guzman RBI triple doing the damage (it was Guzman’s only hit of the playoffs so far, bringing his record to 1 for 14). Dallas opened game three with their 21st homerun of the postseason (setting a new NABL playoff record) when Nick Robbins took Jerry Wood deep in the second inning, Indianapolis replied in kind in the third to tie the game and proceeded to cruise to a comfortable 6-1 victory leaving them just one game away from their second World Series title. Game four saw the offenses come to life, in a back-and-forth game in which both teams slammed a pair of homeruns it was Indianapolis rookie Anthony Williams who broke Dallas Fans hearts when he smashed a 2-RBI double in the eighth to give the Racers an 8-6 lead. Indianapolis reliever Jason Bin Talib put the final nail in the coffin when he enticed Dallas 1B Cristobal Martinez to ground out to end the game and complete the stunning series sweep, bringing to a close a magical postseason for Indianapolis who became the first team in NABL history to not lose a single playoff game.

2030 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Detroit 3-2 Washington, Indianapolis 3-0 Miami
WL: Dallas 3-2 Los Angeles, Kansas City 3-1 Las Vegas
Championship Series
EL: Indianapolis 4-0 Detroit
WL: Dallas 4-2 Kansas City
World Series
Indianapolis 4-0 Dallas

[JayW UK]

2030 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
224 Matt Henderson (CHI)
198 Daniel Garcia (NO)
192 Jared Guest (BOS)
Batting Avg
.365 Matt Henderson (CHI) *
.347 Jared Guest (BOS)
.320 Will Nicholas (CLE)
Homeruns
49 Matt Henderson (CHI) *
42 Nelson Vasquez (IND)
36 Vincent Drew (MIA)
RBI
123 Matt Henderson (CHI) *
107 Nelson Vasquez (IND)
106 Aaron Harris (WAS)
Stolen Bases
53 Lucio Rodriguez (BOS)
48 Adam Bailey (STL)
32 Juan Gutierrez (DET)

EL Pitching
Wins
19 Orlando Vicenteno (NY)
16 Gerald Helton (CLE)
16 Rajion Samit (DET)
ERA
2.20 John Ford (PHI)
2.34 Matt Powell (STL)
2.55 Earl Stone (BOS)
Strikeouts
250 Larry de Meza (TB)
238 Greg Bailey (CHA)
230 Rajion Samit (DET)
Saves
48 Greg Gray (DET)
42 Bill Thompson (ATL)
40 Josh Renshaw (TB)

WL Batting
Hits
197 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
196 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
191 Michael Ford (PHO)
Batting Avg
.332 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
.322 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
.313 Michael Ford (PHO)
Homeruns
37 Chris Coates (LV)
36 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
31 Gregg Bambridge (SJ)
RBI
102 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
97 Chris Coates (LV)
95 Michael Ford (PHO)
Stolen Bases
48 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
32 Brian Talbot (DEN)
29 Steve Blanton (HOU)


WL Pitching
Wins
19 Domingas Fidi (SEA)
18 Bill Boyce (OKC)
18 Vaughan Laursen (LA)
ERA
2.13 Cristobal Chapa (DAL
2.43 Holden Willis (LV)
2.60 Domingas Fidi (SEA)
Strikeouts
277 Mark Fort (MIN)
245 Arturo Rodriguez (PHO)
238 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
Saves
49 Jerry Crane (KC)
46 Kikaku Aoki (OKC)
42 Rolando Cerny (LV)


Batting Champion – Chicago 1B Matt Henderson (.365) held off Boston’s Jared Guest (.347) to pick up his third EL batting title while in the west Denver superstar Dixon Bodean (.332) ended a five year wait for his sixth title.
Homerun Champion – Chicago’s star 1B Matt Henderson slammed a career high 49 homers finishing seven ahead of nearest rival Nelson Vasquez (IND). In the west the race was much closer as Las Vegas catcher Chris Coates (37) held off Dixon Bodean (36) for his first title.
Outstanding Hitter – There was only ever going to be one winner of the award in the east, Chicago 1B Matt Henderson (.365, 49 HR, 123 RBI) also became only the third player to achieve a batting triple crown. Denver’s Dixon Bodean (.332, 36 HR, 102 RBI) pipped Austin SS Pancho Souza to the award.
Outstanding Pitcher – New York’s Orlando Vicenteno (19-7, 2.57 ERA) collected the award in the east, although John Ford (PHI) pushed him hard. In the west Holden Willis (16-4, 2.43 ERA, 230K) picked up his second consecutive award ahead of Dallas pair Alwin Roozen and Cristobal Chapa.
Rookie of the Year – Indianapolis RF Anthony Williams (.288, 20 HR, 72 RBI) took home the EL award while Houston’s Eric Finley (.271,24 HR, 90 RBI) won in the west.
Manager of the Year – Miami manager Fancisco Cerda picked up his second consecutive award pipping Indianapolis skipper Leonard Miller to the award. Miller was most people’s favourite for the award after leading the unfancied Racers to the World Series. Dallas manager Mike Holdsworth collected his second straight award for leading his charges to 102 wins and a second consecutive World Series appearance.
Glove Wizard Awards EL – P Earl Stone (BOS) – C Curt Pitts (MIA) – 1B Len Kelley (CLE) – 2B Alonso Gonzales (DET) – 3B Alfonso Alvarez (NO) – SS Eduardo Ruiz (BOS) – LF Jared Guest (BOS) – CF Paul Bryan (ATL) – RF Raymond Helms (BOS)
Glove Wizard Awards WL – P Raul Vazquez (HOU) – C Bob Stone (OKC) – 1B Eric Finley (HOU) – 2B Travis Olsen (KC) - 3B Tom Sterling (SJ) – SS Ruben Serkin (DEN) – LF Claude Cummins (LV) – CF Manuel Ruiz (KC) – RF George Shipp (KC)

Interesting Facts – Las Vegas’ failure in the playoffs cost them financially, as the team announced an operating loss of $29M on the season.
Dallas smashed an NABL playoff record 23 homeruns during their playoff run eclipsing the previous record of 20 set by Indianapolis in 2029.
Indianapolis had caught lightening in a bottle at the end of the season, winning 17 games in September and eight of their last ten entering the playoffs. The Racers then got white hot during the postseason becoming the first team to go undefeated throughout the playoffs, winning all eleven games on the way to winning the World Series.

[JayW UK]

2031 Off-Season

The winter meetings kicked off with an announcement from league commissioner Buddy McHugh, in which he stated that the NABL would introduce interleague play during the upcoming season for the first time in league history, and although the decision would be reviewed again in 2036 after a five-year trial, most observers believed that regular season interleague games were here to stay. The move was passed by a unanimous vote from the owners (with not a single dissenting voice) in response to findings from wide ranging questionnaire that had been sent out during the previous season, other discussion points that did not pass the vote were, expanded Rosters, moving the trade deadline and introducing Designated Hitters into the league with the aim of increasing scoring and therefore fan interest. In the end it was the idea of interleague play that gained the most traction, with the chance to create new rivalries, boost fan interest and of course open new revenue opportunities, the owners were won over. The meetings closed with the existing teams submitting their protected player lists before the expansion draft, due to be held the next day, and with the ceremonial coin tosses between Baltimore and Omaha to see who would hold the first overall pick in the upcoming expansion and amateur drafts.
Baltimore won the toss for the expansion draft and chose to raid close neighbours Washington for pitcher Frank Wilcox first overall, the Generals also lost SS/3B Rick MacDulothe and RP Chris McInnes to the Bulls while Omaha came calling for 1B Charlie Howell. Omaha’s first pick was also a pitcher, Kansas City’s Francisco Perez, in fact both teams chased pitching early in the draft with the Bulls picking up Ismael Martinez (SJ), Shane McDermott (OKC), Clemente Malaparte (MIA) and World Series winners Randy Bane (2029 with DAL) from Dallas and Denver’s Tony Quintero (2025 with BOS). Omaha’s haul of pitchers included former EL Pitcher of the Year Guillermo Medina from TB, Miami’s Shawn Fox, Jose Macias from Cleveland, Joseph Moore from LA and Bob Hampton who was fresh off a World Series win with Indianapolis. Baltimore’s top position players taken were the aforementioned MacDulothe, Austin shortstop Manny Rios and catcher Chris Waters from Philadelphia while Omaha picked up OF Al Phillips from New York and 1B Lee Snow from Phoenix.
A number of teams found themselves in the market for a new manager heading into the off-season, first up was Cleveland after manager Pedro Garcia retired who, in a somewhat surprising move, went with J.J Beck as their new skipper. Beck, who had managed both the Chesapeake Dockers and Tucson Heat to playoff success but had no experience above AAA level, was seen as an up-and-coming manager, but his appointment was still met with plenty of skepticism. One unforeseen consequence of this hire for Cleveland was the loss of Bench Coach Jose Ayala, who after being passed over for the top job resigned, the next day Ayala landed on his feet quickly being pursued by, and signing with Tampa Bay as their new manager after the Hurricanes previous skipper Eddie Grey had left town to take over the reins at Chicago. In Boston, Gary Hatcher’s seven year run as manager came to an end when neither party could agree on the terms of a new contract, the Pilgrims moved on from Hatcher and brought in Bruce Weaver the former Sanfrancisco boss. Weaver had just spent a year out of the game after leaving the Gold and with his “batteries recharged”, vowed to make Boston a force again. In San Jose manager Dan Stone received his marching orders from GM Larry Westheim after a disappointing 2030 campaign, it was the second time that Westheim had fired Stone, the first being in 2024 in Boston. Westheim wasted little time reaching out to Hatcher and offered him the vacant San Jose job, re-uniting the two men. Hatcher got his break at Boston when Westheim plucked him from AAA Anaheim in 2024 to replace the outgoing manager, who by a weird quirk of fate was Dan Stone. Seattle also found themselves needing a new manager after Ken Buckner, tired of owner Frank Hartmann’s meddling ways, quit and took up a management job in Japan, the Pioneers short on veteran options, chose another up-and-coming manager in the shape of Jamesport Voyagers skipper Melvin Barr to replace Buckner. Three assistant coaches would be getting their first chances at NABL management during the upcoming season, former Austin pitching coach Cipriano Gonzalez would cut his teeth in Houston while both expansion franchises chose first time skippers. Baltimore raided San Diego for well-respected bench coach Bubba Young while Omaha made former New Orleans batting coach Francisco Diaz, their first manager.
On December 28th, Dallas fans woke to the news that star pitcher Alwin Roozen had been rushed to hospital with serious injuries to his non-throwing hand following an accident at home, in the days that followed the extent of his injuries became known. Roozen had undergone several surgeries on his hand and severed fingers, but surgeons had only been able to save the index and middle fingers (but even then, he would only have limited use of these) and although Roozen vowed to return to pitching as soon as he could, he would still face a long an arduous road back to full health, and at this early stage it was still unknown if he would ever play again.
When free agency finally got into full swing, the class of 2031 contained a bumper crop of pitchers, with no fewer than six top hurlers on the market, headlined by Orlando Vicenteno (NY) the reigning EL pitcher of the year and Kansas City’s Mark Fort. Charlotte got things moving when they opened the free agency period by signing Minneapolis pitcher Wessel Oost to a lucrative 5-year $123M deal, not to be outdone, Minneapolis went big to replace Oost, blowing everyone away with a 7-year $152M deal for KC’s Mark Fort, strengthening their own rotation while weakening a division rival at the same time. Denver boosted their own pitching rotation when they added former Las Vegas starter Will Spencer, signing him to a 2-year $32.5M deal. Boston chased after, and got New York’s Orlando Vicenteno to jump ship, signing him to a deal worth $93M over the next five years, to replace Vicenteno, New York signed Atlanta’s Phil Drew to a 5 year $101.5M deal. New Omaha boss Francisco Diaz raided former team New Orleans for the Braves first major signing, bringing CF Daniel Garcia on board for six years at a cool $21M per season, while also persuading South Korean international free agent pitcher Uram Park to be the team’s closer. Fellow expansion team Baltimore were much quieter preferring to wait out the first wave of signings, eventually adding Veteran Minneapolis catcher Domingo Villanueva on a two year $35M deal while outfielder Pedro Arevalo (a World Series winner with Cleveland) and RP Reed Bush also joined, both on 1-year prove-it deals. Also signing deals during the second wave of free agency were pitcher Trevor Kaiser, who left Seattle for LA on a 5-year $56M contract, RP Jerry Crane who left Kansas City to join Mark Fort in Minneapolis on a 2-year deal and former Detroit starter Jermaine Diffin who signed on with Omaha for a year. Indianapolis lost several key squad players, catcher Richard Watson who left to join Chicago for 2 years at $14.5M and starter Jerry Wood who made the move to Las Vegas on a 3-year deal. Minneapolis continued their aggressive off-season wheeling and dealing by sending pitcher Ed Hill to St. Louis for catcher William Hinton (who would take over from the departed Domingo Villanueva as starting catcher) and 22-year-old outfield prospect Ryan Wright. Not to be outdone division rivals Kansas City pulled off a major coup when they agreed a deal with World Champions Indianapolis, sending pitcher Alfredo Rivas and 21-year-old 1B prospect Earl King to the Racers while receiving $3M and star 1B Nelson Vasquez in return. On the eve of spring training Detroit added to their pitching staff when they signed 41-year-old Vince Little to be their #4 starter. Little’s career record stood at 263-171 with an ERA of 2.78 from 551 games with all of them being starts, the Giants hoped that his experience would help them come playoff time.
The 2031 Draft class was a relatively weak one, lacking in star quality with the few talented prospects mostly from the collegiate ranks. The Class was headlined by pitchers Michael Arnold from UCLA and USC’s Lester Swindell (who had been drafted 2nd overall by Minneapolis the previous year, but had foregone the NABL to enroll at USC) and a pair of Californian position players, catcher Aaron Payton (Cal) and outfielder Josh Deric (Pepperdine). The top-rated high school prospects were catcher Tom Walsh, who was on par with Aaron Payton as a hitter but was already a better defensive prospect and still had room to grow, and second baseman Claude Greenaway, who some mock drafts had going in the top five. When the draft rolled around, the first overall pick belonged to Omaha (who had won the coin toss with fellow expansion team Baltimore for the pick) and who surprised no-one when they called the name of Lester Swindell, Baltimore chose Pepperdine outfielder Josh Deric as the franchise’s first draft pick. Minneapolis, after the loss of catcher Domingo Villanueva, picked catcher Tom Walsh third hoping to make him Villaneuva’s long term replacement behind the dish. Sanfrancisco pulled a surprise when they chose a pitcher fourth, passing up the chance to take UCLA’s Michael Arnold for Mississippi State’s Mark Cunningham, a high control low strikeout pitcher with a history of injuries. Chicago took catcher Aaron Payton at seven while Claude Greenaway was taken one pick later by Houston long before Atlanta ended UCLA pitcher Mark Cunningham’s unexpected slide, when they claimed him with the 13th pick. In the days that followed it became clear to most people, Baltimore had miscalculated when they drafted Josh Deric with the second pick, as he was demanding a massive signing bonus (much higher than Baltimore were willing to pay) and threatening that if the team didn’t meet his demands, he would not sign and instead return to college (which many people believed was his intention no matter what).
Dallas fans got some encouraging news on the eve of the season, as during manager Mike Holdsworth’s pre-season press conference he announced that pitcher Alwin Roozen had made significant progress in his recovery from his hand injury, enough for the doctors to be happy for him to begin rehab work. Roozen would return to the mound to continue his career once he had completed his rehab which he would start the next day and was expected to last until August at the earliest. Roozen was much more bullish when he met the press, insisting he would be ready by the all-star break, he also jokingly told the assembled journalists that he expected to be a candidate for the Glove wizard award.
Heading into the season Washington, despite losing key players in the expansion draft, were still BNN’s favorite to win the Atlantic division, although Boston, with new manager Bruce Weaver and shiny new ace pitcher Orlando Vicenteno on board, and New York (who had replaced Vicenteno in the rotation with FA signee Phil Drew) would no doubt push them hard. The Central division was Detroit’s to lose, while World Series winners Indianapolis, hot on the heels of losing several players during the off-season, would find themselves hard pressed just to make the playoffs again. Both Cleveland and St. Louis would be hoping to build on their promising 2030 campaigns and would no doubt feature in the EL wildcard race. In the Southeast, Miami were expected to rule the roost once again with Tampa Bay the most likely challenger from the other teams in the division.
In the Midwest division, Kansas City’s addition of slugger Nelson Vasquez and catcher William Hinton was expected to boost their already powerful offense and offset the loss of star pitcher Mark Fort, leaving KC as the team to beat. The rest of the division would need KC to implode to win the title, Minneapolis were still weak on offense but now were a much better pitching team after their off-season spending spree, Denver were the opposite of the Bears, a powerful offensive team held back by weak pitching and Oklahoma were expected to be average across the board, but average won’t win games come October. In the Southwest division, Las Vegas would welcome pitcher’s Marc Birstall (after a year away with injury) and World Series winner Jerry Wood (from IND) to their already loaded pitching staff making the Gamblers the early favorites to represent the WL in the World Series. Dallas was still a very good team, but after losing pitcher’s Alwin Roozen (through injury) and Randy Bane (to Baltimore in the expansion draft) the Mustangs were at a slight disadvantage in the division race although it was expected that whichever of the two teams that failed to claim the division crown, would most likely be the WL wildcard team. The rest of the division, Austin, Houston and Phoenix would do well to hang on to the coat tails of the other two. In the Pacific LA were seen as being in prime position to repeat as division champions, their closest rivals would most likely be Seattle or San Diego, but perennial dark horse team San Jose (with new manager Gary Hatcher and plenty of young talent bubbling up through their farm system) couldn’t be counted out.

[JayW UK]

2031 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Philadelphia (88-74) came from nowhere to claim the Atlantic division crown, riding a hot September to overhaul a four-game deficit and win the division by three games. New York gamely hung with Philadelphia but ran out of steam over the final week to finish three games back on 85-77. Washington (84-78) had a four-game lead over nearest rivals Philadelphia entering September, but fell apart during the month, winning just 12 games and slipping to third in the standings. Expansion team Baltimore surprised everyone finishing the season just two games under .500 at 80-82, a record for an expansion team in their first season. Boston, despite the addition of 2030 EL pitcher of the year Orlando Vicenteno (12-6, 3.18 ERA), struggled mightily finishing the season 78-84. Their biggest issue all season long was their pitching, with Vicenteno the only pitcher to reach double figures in wins.
Indianapolis followed the same blueprint as in 2030, staying in touch throughout the season and getting hot down the stretch to win the Central division. Using excellent seasons from Jose Cintron (.285, 36 HR, 106 RBI), Matt Romero (.402, 15 HR, 90 RBI) and pitcher Angel Castro (15-7, 2.86 ERA) the Racers finished the season at 90-72 pipping the Giants to the division crown by a single game. Detroit (89-73), led by the pitching of Jamie Berry (14-9, 2.40 ERA) and Rajion Samit (15-12, 3.02 ERA) looked to have the division sown up with just over a week to go but they lost their final six games to slip out of the division lead and see the Racers overtake them at the death. None of the other three teams threatened to be competitive, Chicago gave up on their season at the all-star break, trading superstar Matt Henderson for five prospects and eventually finishing the season, best-of-the-rest at 71-91. St. Louis struggled all year finishing at 69-93, the only thing they could do with any success was steal bases, setting the NABL season record with 168. Cleveland brought up the rear, stumbling their way to a 59-103 record, their fifth 100-loss season in team history, the Corsairs biggest issue on the season was starting pitching with their rotation combining for a dismal 38-74 record.
Despite suffering injuries to several pitchers down the stretch Miami, led by RF Todd Louthian (.269, 31 HR, 100 RBI) and CF Vincent Drew (.266, 34 HR, 83 RBI), cruised to their third straight division title finishing the season with an EL best 96-66 record. Atlanta (83-79), keyed by their explosive offense featuring RF David Barnett (.261, 42 HR, 103 RBI), 3B Julio Ramirez (37 HR, 95 RBI) and a young stable of pitchers (Jordy Veldesin, Jim Champion and Steve Walls chief among them) finished as runners up with their first winning season since 2024. Tampa Bay, equally explosive on offense (they had five players with 20+ homeruns) and with a pitching corps led by three-time pitcher of the year Larry de Meza (16-13, 3.47 ERA), were largely disappointing, ending the season tied with Atlanta on 83 wins. New Orleans matched their win total from 2030 with 79 to finish fourth while Charlotte finished at the bottom of the division with a 75-87 record.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 88-74*
New York 85-77
Washington 84-78
Baltimore 80-82
Boston 78-84

Central Division
Indianapolis 90-72*
Detroit 89-73*
Chicago 71-91
St. Louis 69-93
Cleveland 59-103

Southeast Division
Miami 96-66*
Atlanta 83-79
Tampa Bay 83-79
New Orleans 79-83
Charlotte 75-87

[JayW UK]

2031 Regular Season

Western League Review

In the west, Dixon Bodean did Dixon Bodean things (.318, 40 HR, 132 RBI) in leading Denver (93-69) to their first division title since 2025, ending Kansas City’s five-year stranglehold on the Midwest division. Minneapolis (82-80), led by new signing Marc Fort (18-8, 2.85 ERA) finished as runners up to Denver with their first winning record since 2025, five games ahead of Kansas City (77-85), the Tornadoes fall from grace was accelerated by injuries to key performers throughout the season. Expansion team Omaha ended their inaugural season at 68-94 good enough for fourth as bringing up the rear were Oklahoma City, who wasted a stellar season from pitcher Bill Boyce (18-10, 3.93 ERA) to finish the season a dismal 63-99.
In the Southwest division a season long battle developed between Dallas and Las Vegas with both teams topping 100 wins. The Mustangs (107-55), buoyed by superb pitching (Juan Rangel 18-6, Kurt Banks 17-8 and Edward Williams 11-1 before being traded to Houston) used a fantastic first half of the season (61-20) to hold off the Gamblers for the division title. Las Vegas (101-61), with their own excellent pitching staff headlined by ace Holden Willis (19-7, 2.81 ERA) leading the way, and a young core (1B Ed Matthews 24, CF Danny Wheeler 24, SS Roberto Paz 25 and RF Michael Carroll 26) of up-and-coming stars rallied from an indifferent start to the season to push Dallas all the way. Austin, led by star LF Clayton Jones (.310, 37 HR, 115 RBI) and pitcher Leo Wright (18-11, 3.12 ERA) improved their record from the previous year, yet still somehow finished 13 games behind Las Vegas, finishing the season in third place with an 88-74 record, Houston (72-90) and Phoenix (66-96) both struggled offensively and were two of the worst pitching teams in the west, a recipe for disaster. One bright spot for Houston was the play of 26-year-old shortstop Steve Blanton, who finished one homerun shy of a 30/30 campaign, hitting .280 with 29 HR and stealing 35 bases.
In the Pacific division San Diego bounced back after their disappointing 2030 campaign to take their third division title, finishing with a 90-72 record. Los Angeles, despite strong seasons from Mitch Woodroffe (16-11, 2.97 ERA) and Kade Blackford (13-6, 3.17 ERA), failed to build on their strong showing the previous year, slumping back to 82 wins, Sanfrancisco led by young star-in-the-making catcher Paul Ewing (.301, 37 HR, 89 RBI) finished 79-83, a big improvement on 2030’s 57-win campaign. Seattle struggled offensively all season also finishing with 79 wins while San Jose flattered to deceive once again finishing with a 74-88 record, the one positive for the Spartans was the emergence of several young prospects led by 23-year-old 3B Tom Sterling (.294, 24 HR, 73 RBI) and 24-year-old pitcher Walt Lake (11-7, 2.65 ERA).

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Denver 93-69*
Minneapolis 82-80
Kansas City 77-85
Omaha 68-94
Oklahoma City 63-99

Southwest Division
Dallas 107-55*
Las Vegas 101-61*
Austin 88-74
Houston 72-90
Phoenix 66-96

Pacific Division
San Diego 90-72*
Los Angeles 82-80
Sanfrancisco 79-83
Seattle 79-83
San Jose 74-88

[JayW UK]

2031 Season Notes

Spring Training – Denver broke off contract negotiations with star 1B Jamie Boden after the two sides couldn’t agree on a suitable deal, leaving Boden extremely disappointed and with the disgruntled star likely to look at his free agency options come the end of the season.
April 2nd – Minneapolis’ off-season acquisition Mark Fort immediately endeared himself to his new fans by hurling an opening day NO-HITTER, to make the accomplishment all-the-more-sweeter, it was against his old team Kansas City.
April 3rd – in his first start of the season Cristobal Chapa lasted just one inning before leaving the game with a shoulder injury, the ailment turned out to be a partially torn Labrum ruling Chapa out until August.
April 6th – Los Angeles 3B Jose Munoz slammed a trio of homeruns, helping the Lynx to a comfortable 11-3 victory over San Jose. Over in Cleveland 3B Will Nicholas collected his 2000th career hit.
April 9th – Minneapolis starter Max Castle (in his second start for the club) collected 6 strikeouts against Houston, the last of which was the 2500th of his career.
April 20th - on this day, Seattle’s Michael Jennings scored his 1000th run while Cleveland SS Richie Rambeaux slugged his 300th career homerun.
April 30th – Tampa Bay fireballer Larry de Meza became the fourth player to reach 3000 career strikeouts.
May 4th – OKC 2B Dustin Polk scored his 1000th career run in a loss against Kansas City.
May 12th – SS Richie Rambeaux smashed three homeruns, but despite his heroics his Cleveland team slumped to defeat against rivals Detroit.
May 16th – Las Vegas closer Rolando Cerny suffered a torn UCL ruling him out for the next 14 months forcing the Gamblers to move former closer Davis Robinson back into the role.
May 20th – Dallas LF Alfonso Sosa clubbed three homeruns driving in six runs and helping the Mustangs down Sanfrancisco 9-6. While in Denver Dixon Bodean collected career hit number 3000, becoming the first player in league history to reach the milestone.
May 22nd – San Jose CF Anthony Hopkins belted three homers and was responsible for all four Spartans runs in a losing effort against Seattle.
May 31st – LF Bob Hall hit for the CYCLE helping Washington down Denver 3-1 for the Generals first ever interleague victory (they had lost their first five)
June 1st – Denver starter Will Spencer dominated against Houston striking out 15 in just 7 innings of work.
June 2nd – Dallas star Alfonso Sosa hit a walk-off homerun against OKC for the second consecutive day (he hit 9th inning 2-run homer the previous day)
June 3rd – the matchup between Las Vegas and Phoenix saw two pitchers reach the 2500K milestone, Earl Stone for Phoenix and Marc Birstall for LV.
June 8th – LF Stephen Thomas collected three homeruns on the way to leading Tampa Bay to an 8-4 victory over Atlanta.
June 13th – Frank Wilcox hurled a NO-HITTER for expansion franchise Baltimore, taking just 95 pitches to see off New Orleans.
June 16th – Cleveland star Richie Rambeaux continued his assault on the Franchise record books collecting his 1000th run scored in a win over Philadelphia.
June 20th – OKC’s Dustin Polk goes 0-for-4 against Kansas City ending his 31-game hitting streak.
June 22nd – New York sent SS Eduardo Ruiz and $3M to Philadelphia for a pair of prospects, SS Darby Dominguez and SP Carlos Sanchez. The deal helped both teams, as New York got out from under Ruiz’s contract while Philadelphia gained a valuable locker room presence in Ruiz.
July 3rd – Detroit closer Greg Gray throws nine pitches on the way to collecting his 300th career save.
July 5th – Indianapolis 3B Matt Romero has a great day (5-for-5, 2 HR, 8 RBI) leading the Racers to a convincing 15-4 victory over Philadelphia.
July 6th – disgruntled Denver 1B Jamie Boden (who was struggling at the plate on the season, hitting a disappointing .244, 10 HR, 33 RBI), suffered a fractured foot sending him to the DL for the next 6 weeks and left the Wildcats in a quandary, whether to wait on the clearly de-motivated and struggling Boden returning, or make a move. In the end they chose to wait it out putting a call into AAA Aurora Hornets for Eric Randall.
July 7th – Omaha LF Daniel Garcia collected his 2000th career hit in a losing effort against Seattle.
July 8th – New York traded starting pitcher Yasutoki Sugiyama (13-3, 2.48 ERA in 16 starts) to western league powerhouse Dallas for BNN #84 prospect 1B Phil Newton.
July 16th – Miami made a move to shore up their starting pitching, sending CF Jorge Rivera and prospect 1B Christos Warner to New York for SP Ieyoshi Matsumoto.
July 25th – In a move that shocked everyone Chicago dealt all-star 1B Matt Henderson to Denver for five prospects (1B Ramiro Sanchez, CF Ricardo Machado, CL Phil Hopkins, SP Carlos Robledo and BNN #17 prospect CF Dave Cantrell). The Wildcats move paired Henderson with Dixon Bodean giving them a potent one-two punch in the heart of their line-up and added more fuel to the fire with regards Jamie Boden’s future with the club.
July 26th – With Alwin Roozen and Cristobal Chapa due to return from injury in the coming weeks, Dallas traded from a position of strength for some much-needed depth elsewhere, sending SP Edward Williams, who was having a career year (11-1, 2.28 ERA) to Houston for 3B Colt Norman and C Danny Lunnard.
July 28th – Detroit 3B Ryan Scott suffered a torn MCL ruling him out for the rest of the campaign, for the second time in three years Scott would end the season on the DL.
July 29th – with a pair of trades OKC effectively give up on their season, first they sent catcher Bob Stone and $3M to Atlanta for SP Matt Kelly and 3B Michael Murphy then they sent newly acquired pitcher Matt Kelly along with Dustin Polk to New York for SP Hunter Thomas.
July 30th – Las Vegas sent star 1B Arlan Bresnahan and depth outfielder Norm Morrison to Kansas City for 24-year-old 1B Ed Matthews.
July 31st – in a deadline day deal Cleveland sent veteran pitcher Eric Parker to San Diego for four prospects, CF Greg Berry, CF Joey Johnson, MR Pete Snyder and 1B Bruce Miller.
August 2nd – Dallas pitcher Alwin Roozen returned to the mound, hurling two shutout innings from the bullpen for his first NABL game action after severing fingers in a domestic accident back in December.
August 3rd – Washington speedster Marc Smith hit three triples against Boston, the Pilgrims had the last laugh though taking the victory.
August 5th – Houston’s Eric Finley became the sixth player on the season to hit three homers, he exploded for a Grand-Slam and eight RBI’s in an 13-6 Houston victory over Austin.
August 8th – Miami suffered a blow losing starting pitcher Juan Lopez (12-3, 3.20 ERA) to a torn UCL, ending his season.
August 13th – Dallas 3B and offensive sparkplug Wayne Radke, suffered a broken Kneecap ruling him out for the rest of the season.
August 17th – Dallas OF Alfonso Sosa tore into San Jose, hitting for the CYCLE and scored the winning run on his eighth inning homer.
August 22nd – legend in the making, Dixon Bodean became only the second player in league history to hit 500 homeruns, joining Juan Santos in the exclusive club.
August 28th – Dallas suffered another injury to one of their starting infield, this time 1B Cristobal Martinez who tore his hamstring trying to avoid a double play.
September 4th – Austin star Jose Montoya drove in two, the second of which was his 1000th career RBI, to cap his day off he scored the winning run in the Kings 5-4 victory over Houston.
September 5th – Indianapolis’ Angel Castro shuts down division rivals Detroit, NO-HITTING the Giants on 107 pitches.
September 16th – Richie Rambeaux reached 1000 RBI with the winning hit in Cleveland’s 6-5 win over Indianapolis.
September 22nd – Miami suffered another pitching injury, this time SP Tyler Thomas was the victim, straining his elbow ruling him out for the season.
September 23rd – Dallas were down to their third string 1B after Dave Edwards broke his wrist. Leaving the Mustangs scrambling to fill the spot for their upcoming playoff run.
September 25th – Minneapolis pitcher Max Castle joined the 200-win club with victory over Denver.
September 26th - during St Louis' win over division rivals Chicago, Reds 2B Adam Bailey stole two bases, No’s 59 and 60 setting the NABL single season record and becoming the first player to reach sixty steals in a single campaign (he would go on to finish the season with 62)
September 30th – Indianapolis 3B Matt Romero went 4-for-4 against Chicago, ensuring he finished the campaign as the first player to hit over .400 in a single season.

[JayW UK]

2031 Playoffs

Divisional Round

The playoff field saw three teams make their postseason return after missing out in 2030, in the east, Philadelphia, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2023 drew defending champions Indianapolis while Southeast division champions Miami would meet the struggling Detroit Giants. In the west Denver, making their return to the playoffs, faced off against 100-win wildcard team Las Vegas, while two-time defending WL champions Dallas drew San Diego in a repeat of their 2029 matchup.

Indianapolis entered the playoffs as the hottest team in baseball for the second year in a row and were looking to keep up their winning ways against Philadelphia, in game one the Indianapolis bats were on fire early, chasing Independence starter Bernie Baldwin after just three innings and building a 7-0 lead after six. Brad Wright went seven strong innings for Indianapolis before the bullpen took over and allowed 3 late runs in a comfortable 8-3 Racers win. Game two was a much tighter affair, both starters went seven innings surrendering just two runs apiece, Craig McKillop gave Philadelphia the lead with a solo homer in the top of the ninth before LF Gene Robinson’s RBI double tied the score in the bottom half and sent the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth Indianapolis pinch hitter Juan Miranda won the game with a two-out walk off solo homer off the pitching of Robin Bishop putting the Racers 2-0 up in the series. Back in the city of brotherly love for game three Indianapolis scored early, plating two runs in the first off starter John Ford, but it was all the Racers could muster, as aided by slick defense and the bats of Craig McKillop (3-4, 3RBI’s) an 2B Jesus Garza (3-3, 2RBI’s) Ford shut Indianapolis down going the distance in a 5-2 Independence victory keeping the series alive. The following night it was Philadelphia’s turn to score early, building a 3-0 lead after the first two innings. Indianapolis starter Brad Wright settled down after the early barrage to pitch seven strong innings and by the time he handed the ball over to the bullpen the Racers were in the lead, a solo homerun from 3B Matt Romero and a four out save from Alfredo Rivas, capped off the comeback and sent Indianapolis on to the ELCS for the third consecutive season.

Detroit making their sixth playoff appearance in club history, but their first as the wildcard entry, travelled to South Florida to take on the Everglades, the two teams had met twice before in the playoffs with Detroit triumphant on both occasions, but this time the Giants entered the playoffs riding a six-game losing streak and looking to change their fortunes. Miami were in no mood to play along though, taking game one with a comfortable 7-2 victory, but the result did not come without cost for both teams, Miami lost LF Pantaliao Igreja to broken ribs sustained in a collision with the outfield wall while Detroit lost CF Orlando Gonzalez to a hamstring injury. Game two the following evening was much closer, but a strong seven innings from Detroit starter Gonzalo Tellez (7 IP, 2 ER) was not enough for the Giants as Jonathan Albert and Ken Maynard combined to restrict the Detroit batters to only five hits and one run in a 3-1 Miami victory. Back home in Detroit with their backs firmly against the wall and facing elimination, the home side announced a change at pitcher, as Jamie Berry was given the nod over ace Rajion Samit, who was still not fit enough to pitch after a late season injury. The move failed spectacularly, as Berry was chased from the game in the fourth buried under a barrage of hits and conceding seven runs, including a Grand-Slam from RF Ron Rummell, in desperation Detroit called on veteran Vince Little to stop the bleeding, but Miami kept on hitting, battering Little for four runs in just one inning of work. Miami rookie SS Travis Rutherford hit an eighth inning triple to complete the Cycle (becoming the first player in league history to accomplish the feat in a playoff game) before, with the result beyond doubt Bo Southall drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to avoid an embarrassing shutout for Detroit, but the 13-2 thrashing was still a humiliating playoff exit for the Giants.

In the west, San Diego had the unenviable task of taking on 107-win Dallas who despite losing key players to injury were still a formidable team (No1 pitching, conceding only 523 runs on the season). The Mariners game one starter was 35-year-old veteran Eric Parker while the Mustangs countered with their 25-year-old ace Cristobal Chapa. In a classic pitching duel, it was Parker who came out on top going the distance in a 3-1 San Diego victory, all the Mariners runs coming from solo homeruns, one each from LF Kirby Watts, SS Jose Mejia and 3B Mario Cristo. Game two was another pitching duel, and despite an excellent game from Dallas starter Alwin Roozen (9 IP, 2 ER, 9 K), once again it was San Diego who came out on top as Guilherme Malagueira and Harvey Widdowes kept the Dallas batters in check as the Mariners squeezed past the Mustangs 2-1. Needing to win in to keep their World Series dreams alive, Dallas came to play in game three, behind a five-hit shutout by Juan Rangel and a steady stream of runs sparked by a C Carlos Barron’s 3-run homer, Dallas ran out easy 10-0 winners. Buoyed by their demolition job the previous night, Dallas took an early lead in game four, before Mariner’s pitcher Eric Parker, using all of his experience and knowhow, put the brakes on the Dallas offense while San Diego, spurred on by a Paul Sellick 2-RBI homerun, turned the tables on Dallas to take the game and series 3-1.

The Denver versus Las Vegas matchup was an intriguing one, featuring surprise team of the season Denver, with their powerful offense led by two of the league’s very best players, LF Dixon Bodean and mid-season acquisition 1B Matt Henderson, taking on Las Vegas, the league’s first 100-win wildcard team, and their stable of young stars. Game one swung back and forth with momentum going first one way then the other, until a Chris Coates 2-run homer in the top of the eighth gave Las Vegas the lead for good, the Gamblers eventually taking the game 8-6. In game two, both starters, Marc Birstall (LV) and Pedro Escobar (DEN) pitched well, lasting into the eighth and surrendering only four hits apiece, but whereas Denver could only muster a single run against Birstall, Las Vegas slugged a pair of homeruns and plated five runs against Escobar on the way to a 6-1 victory. With the Wildcats facing elimination Jose Cuesta drew the starting assignment, facing off against World Series winner Jerry Wood. Homeruns from Dixon Bodean and Matt Henderson coupled with an impressive 7.2 innings of 1-run ball from Cuesta and a four out save from Mike Fulton were all Denver needed to take the game 4-1 and stave off elimination… at least for one night. Game four saw Las Vegas ace Holden Willis back on the mound facing former teammate Will Spencer and in an entertaining game Las Vegas turned a 4-2 seventh inning deficit into a 6-4 victory with a four run eighth inning outburst, sparked by 1B Ed Matthews’ 3-run homer, sending the Gamblers onto the WL Pennant series for the third time in their history.

[JayW UK]

2031 Playoffs

Championship Round

The Eastern league pennant series between Indianapolis and Miami got off to a dramatic start, a pair of SS Connor Brantley homeruns and a LF Gene Robinson 2-RBI Triple had helped the Racers into a commanding 7-1 lead only for the hometown Everglades to come roaring back and tie the game on a Curt Pitts homerun sending the game into extra innings. Indianapolis used a four-run outburst in the top of the 11th, sparked by homeruns from Jose Cintron and Matt Romero, to regain the lead only for Curt Pitts to belt his second homerun of the game and cut the lead in half, Miami put two more men aboard before LF Ron Rummell struck out, ending the game and giving the Racers a dramatic 11-9 series opening win. After the drama of the previous night game two was snoozefest with the two teams combining for only nine hits and three runs in a 2-1 Indianapolis win leaving Miami needing to win at least two of the next three games in Indianapolis to bring the series back to South Florida. The Miami offense came to life in game three blitzing Racers starter Brad Wright early, including homeruns from RF Todd Louthian and CF Vincent Drew helping the Everglades build a 6-0 lead after just two innings, despite a pair of homeruns from Matt Romero Indianapolis couldn’t recover and slipped to a 7-5 defeat. Miami continued their assault on Indianapolis pitching the following night, smashing three more homeruns and building another early lead on their way to a convincing 8-3 series tying win. With momentum firmly in Miami’s favour, Indianapolis turned to ace Angel Castro to matchup with Everglades star Octavio Cortal, in a tight pitching duel between the two it was Castro who came out on top, aided by a late 2-run homer from Jose Cintron, to give the Racers a 3-1 victory. Back in Miami for game six it was the home town Everglades who struck first when Curt Pitts then Vincent Drew hit homeruns staking Miami to a 4-0 lead, Indianapolis were not about to lie down and chipped away at the lead eventually tying the game in the eighth before completing the turnaround in the top of the ninth on C Juan Lara’s homerun (his first hit of the series). Indianapolis would now head to their third consecutive World Series (their fourth overall) becoming the first team to achieve the feat.

The WLCS matched San Diego, after their stunning series victory over the league’s best team Dallas, with wildcard team Las Vegas and with little to choose between the teams offensively the series would likely come down to pitching, giving the advantage to the Gamblers. Marc Birstall took the mound for the Gamblers in game one, pitching eight innings and surrendering just two runs but the Las Vegas offense had no answer to the San Diego pitching as the Gamblers slipped to a 3-0 defeat. The Gamblers bats woke up in game two, collecting fifteen hits and slugging two homeruns as Las Vegas evened the series with a comfortable 6-2 victory, a late San Diego rally fell just short in game three, as Las Vegas held on to win 4-3 with reliever Davis Robinson collecting the final out when he struck out dangerman Mario Cristo with the bases loaded. San Diego struggled offensively in games four and five, managing just nine hits and two runs combined against starters Holden Willis and Marc Birstall and despite bullpen wobbles in both games, the Gamblers prevailed comfortably sending Las Vegas on to their second World Series appearance.

[JayW UK]

2031 Playoffs

World Series

Indianapolis, making their third consecutive World Series appearance, held the home field advantage by virtue of winning their division despite their opponents Las Vegas having the better regular season record. With so little to choose between the two sides Indianapolis, with the home advantage and recent big game experience, were installed as very slight favourites. In the very first meeting between the two teams, game one featured an epic comeback, Indianapolis entered the ninth down 5-0 but a Jose Cintron 2-run blast sparked a five run inning taking the game to extras, where in the twelfth an Anthony Williams RBI-single gave Indianapolis a stunning 6-5 come from behind walk-off win. Another late game meltdown by the Las Vegas bullpen cost Holden Willis the win in game two, with Willis almost unhittable through seven innings the Gamblers built a 4-1 lead only for, first Leland Watson and then Mike Cooper to squander the lead and hand Indianapolis a 5-4 victory putting the Racers 2-0 ahead in the series. Back in the desert for games 3, 4 and 5 Las Vegas needed a result after late pitching collapses cost them the opening two games, the Gamblers got their wish, as starter Marc Birstall kept the Racers in check while the Las Vegas offense dominated from start to finish and even another bullpen mishap (3 runs conceded in the ninth) couldn’t deny the Gamblers a comfortable 8-4 victory. The following night, a strong start from former Racer Jerry Wood and homeruns from Roberto Paz and Claude Cummings (his 16th career postseason homer) put Las Vegas ahead 5-2 and this time the bullpen closed the deal without trouble, tying the series at two games apiece. Indianapolis broke the trend for the series by winning on the road in game five, behind Jason Bin Talib’s eleven strikeouts and another Jose Cintron homer the Racers cruised to a 6-2 win putting them on the verge of back-to-Back World Series triumphs. Las Vegas chose game six to play their best game of the playoffs, starter Holden Willis pitched eight innings of 1-run ball and Davis Robinson struck out the side in the ninth to send the series on to a game seven (the first World Series game seven since Atlanta v Denver in 2023). As in 2023 it was the home team who prevailed, with Indianapolis starter Brad Wright the beneficiary of several Las Vegas defensive miscues and three homeruns, including Jose Cintron’s third in as many games (and fourth of the series) as the Racers demolished the Gamblers 9-3 to claim their second consecutive World title (joining LA as only teams to achieve the feat). Indianapolis LF Jose Cintron slugged 4 homeruns, batted .421 and had an OPS of 1.461 to take home series MVP while the normally reliable Las Vegas bullpen struggled, collectively pitching 14.1 innings and surrendering 17 runs (an ERA of 10.68, a far cry from their regular season ERA of 2.41).

2031 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Indianapolis 3-1 Philadelphia, Miami 3-0 Detroit
WL: Las Vegas 3-1 Denver, San Diego 3-1 Dallas
Championship Series
EL: Indianapolis 4-2 Miami
WL: Las Vegas 4-1 San Diego
World Series
Indianapolis 4-3 Las Vegas

[JayW UK]

2031 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
237 Matt Romero (IND)
197 Travis Rutherford (MIA)
191 Raul Maes (NY)
Batting Avg
.402 Matt Romero (IND)
.335 Jared Guest (BOS)
.320 Travis Rutherford (MIA)
Homeruns
42 David Barnett (ATL)
38 Aaron Harris (WAS)
37 Julio Ramirez (ATL)
RBI
106 Jose Cintron (IND)
103 David Barnett (ATL)
100 Todd Louthian (MIA)
Stolen Bases
62 Adam Bailey (STL)
58 Willie Ingle (STL)
49 Marc Smith (WAS)

EL Pitching
Wins
16 Larry de Meza (TB)
15 David Adams (PHI)
15 Angel Castro (IND)
ERA
2.34 Mike Thomas (TB)
2.40 Jamie Berry (DET)
2.77 Jim Schultz (STL)
Strikeouts
292 Larry de Meza (TB)
247 Rajion Samit (DET)
239 Greg Bailey (CHA)
Saves
44 Josh Renshaw (TB)
38 Bill Thompson (ATL)
37 Ken Maynard (MIA)

WL Batting
Hits
206 Roberto Paz (LV)
205 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
197 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
Batting Avg
.334 Roberto Paz (LV)
.329 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
.329 Cesar Salazar (MIN)
Homeruns
41 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
41 Nelson Vasquez (KC)
40 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
RBI
132 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
119 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
115 Clayton Jones (AUS)
Stolen Bases
51 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
44 Cesar Salazar (MIN)
35 Steve Blanton (HOU)

WL Pitching
Wins
19 Holden Willis (LV)
18 Bill Boyce (OKC)
18 Juan Rangel (DAL)
ERA
1.98 Juan Rangel (DAL)
2.38 Marc Birstall (LV)
2.58 Kyle Key (SJ)
Strikeouts
242 Juan Rangel (DAL)
241 Kade Blackford (LA)
237 Will Spencer (DEN)
Saves
48 Harvey Widdowes (SD)
46 Luis Torres (DAL)
42 Davis Robinson (LV)

Batting Champion – Indianapolis 3B Matt Romero (.402) cruised to the title in the east, becoming the first player to successfully hit .400 for an entire season. He left everybody eating his dust his nearest challenger Boston’s Jared Guest finished .335 a full 67 points behind Romero. In the west Las Vegas SS Roberto Paz (.334) held off Austin’s SS Pancho Souza (.329) and Minneapolis youngster Cesar Salazar (.329) to take home the award.
Homerun Champion – Atlanta’s David Barnett led the way in the east with 42 homeruns four ahead of nearest rival Aaron Harris (WAS). The west saw a tie for top spot with Alfonso Sosa (DAL) and Nelson Vasquez (KC) both finishing the season with 41 one ahead of Dixon Bodean.
Outstanding Hitter – there was only ever going to be one winner in the east as Indianapolis star Matt Romero (.402, 15 HR, 90 RBI) was the unanimous choice. Dallas LF Alfonso Sosa (.323, 41 HR, 119 RBI) became only the third player in the last ten years to win the WL award, joining Dixon Bodean (8) and Mario Cristo (1)
Outstanding Pitcher – in a tight race in which any one of Mike Thomas (TB), Jamie Berry (DET), Angel Castro (IND) and John Ford (PHI) could have won, Angel Castro (15-7, 2.86 ERA) was the eventual choice in the east. In the west Dallas starter Juan Rangel (18-6, 1.98 ERA) was the obvious choice.
Rookie of the Year – Miami SS Travis Rutherford (.320, 12 HR, 74 RBI) was the overwhelming choice in the east while 22-year-old Los Angeles catcher Mike Willis (.293, 13 HR, 67 RBI) took home the WL award.
Manager of the Year – in his third year in charge, Philadelphia manager Raul Aguilar picked up the award in the east while Las Vegas manager Pat Bennett picked up the western league award. The award was Bennett’s fourth making him only the second manager along with Jeff Taylor to win the award four times.
Glove Wizard Awards EL – P Mike Thomas (TB) – C Sergio Moran (PHI) – 1B Randy Harrington (BOS) -2B Ron Lewis (ATL) – 3B Ramon Rodriguez (WAS) – SS Christian Moore (WAS) – LF John Binet – CF Danny Hewes (NO) – RF Anthony Williams (IND)
Glove Wizard Awards WL – P Mike Anderson (SD) – C Carlos Barron (DAL) – 1B Eric Finley (HOU) – 2B Cameron Toscano (AUS) – 3B Tom Sterling (SJ) – SS Pancho Sousa (AUS) – LF Alberto Rangel (KC) – CF Roy Knight (PHO) – RF Kenny Henry (SJ)

Interesting Facts – Kirby Watts certainly enjoyed playing Las Vegas, twice within the space of 10 days in May, Watts slugged Grand-Slams against the Gamblers, the unlucky pitcher on both occasions was Jim McKinley.
Dallas star LF Alfonso Sosa became the first player to record at least 40 homeruns (41), 40 doubles (44) and 10 triples (11) in a single season.
St. Louis Reds boasted a pair of outstanding baserunners, 2B Adam Bailey (62 SB) and Willie Ingle (58 SB) who stole more bases between them (120) than any other team in the NABL, only Sanfrancisco (119) and Charlotte (112) came close to matching the pair’s exploits.
During their run to the World Series title Indianapolis slugged a NABL playoff record 25 homeruns, it was the third straight season that the record had been broken. As the dust settled on Las Vegas’ game seven World Series loss, veteran outfielder Claude Cummins called time on his career leaving the game having appeared in 2138 games, collecting 1941 hits and slugging 453 homeruns. Cummins received seven all-star nods and was a three-time Glove Wizard award winner during his 17 years in the NABL, his career highlight was winning the 2027 World Series with Cleveland although he also tasted defeat twice.

[JayW UK]

2032 Off-Season

As soon as the 2031 season ended teams began planning in earnest for 2032, a number of teams made changes to their management led by Oklahoma City. After their disastrous season, Outlaws owner Jim Scottsdale, unhappy with his team’s performance fired both GM Frank Harkless and long-time manager Eddie Arnold, stating “the team needs a new direction”. Four other teams followed suit and fired their managers, Charlotte dismissed Dzevat Draskovic after the former scout failed to move the franchise forward, Mario Sanchez received his walking papers in Phoenix, Atlanta removed John Martin after he had several run-ins with the front office and St. Louis parted ways with Joe Barron. OKC filled their open GM position by hiring former Dallas front office assistant Bill Marcello, who had been instrumental in helping to build Dallas into one of the NABL’s best teams, Marcello in turn filled the manager spot by luring San Diego manager Roberto Rodriguez to town on a four-year contract. San Diego raided Denver’s coaching ranks for Rodriguez’s replacement, bringing the Wildcats hitting coach Allen Richardson on board, Phoenix also raided a rival for their new manager, giving Kansas City’s hitting coach Jon Cochran his first taste of management. Atlanta replaced Martin with ousted Phoenix manager Mario Sanchez while division rivals Charlotte brought in former New Orleans manager Eddie Shearin after the Blues did not renew his contract. New Orleans replaced Shearin by promoting bench coach and former New York and Seattle manager William McDonald to be the team’s manager for 2032, also promoting from within were St. Louis who chose to replace outgoing manager Joe Barron with bench coach Sergio Vasquez.
In a relatively quiet free agency period, the biggest story was Denver’s star 1B Matt Henderson opting out of the final year of his contract. The move caught the Wildcats by surprise as the team had traded five prospects away to Chicago for his services, hoping to pair Henderson with superstar Dixon Bodean for a run at the World Series. Henderson’s issue was that the team had broken off negotiations regarding an extension amid rumors of an ownership change and had shown no inclination to re-start discussions so Henderson chose to decline his player option and test Free Agency. A number of teams pursued Henderson but the list was soon whittled down to just three, Denver, Philadelphia and Washington with the Independence eventually enticing the star 1B to join on a five year $113M deal. With the loss of Henderson, Denver returned to the negotiating table with Jamie Boden, eventually the two sides hammered out an extension keeping Boden in town for the next 4 years at a cost of $88M. Philadelphia also brought in a new closer, stealing Pablo Arellano away from division Rivals Washington on a 1-year $14.5M deal. Veteran shortstop Eduardo Ruiz was allowed to move on by the Independence, finding a new home in Cleveland, signing for $25M over two years. Ruiz would likely slide over to 3B in Cleveland as the Corsairs lost incumbent 3B Will Nicholas to Baltimore who also raided Charlotte for pitcher Diego Camacho signing him for 2-years at $16M a year (a far cry from the $34.5M he earned in his final season at Charlotte). Defending champions Indianapolis brought in a new catcher, former New Orleans star Damon Massingham, signing him to a 4-year $76M deal, but the Racers lost starting pitcher Guy Pot who headed out west to join San Diego, however the Mariners also lost one of their own, as veteran pitcher Eric Parker left to join St. Louis on 2-year deal. Denver, smarting after the loss of Henderson in Free Agency chose to pursue another power hitter to pair with Bodean and Boden, eventually landing Tampa Bay 3B Rizalino Nolasco for 3-years while division rivals Oklahoma City with their new management team, chose to largely stay out of free agency only signing pitcher Ronald Shockley from Phoenix. With little money to spend Minneapolis had to let 2B Greg Hopper go after Chicago offered over and above what the Bears could, and in an obvious cost cutting move, veteran pitcher Max Castle was packed off to Cleveland for a pair of prospects, 2B Jeff Johnson and 1B Kyle van Obendorf. Another team tight against their budget was Phoenix who chose not to match contract offers to pitchers Ronald Shockley (who left to join OKC) and Earl Stone (who signed with New Orleans). The Eagles first off-season signing was 31-year-old former Boston and Tampa Bay LF Stephen Thomas, who joined on a 3-year team friendly deal, that Thomas was available to Phoenix at all was testament to how disappointing his play had been during his stay in Florida, culminating in a career worst .221 batting average during 2032. Hot on the heels of the Thomas signing, and in a move clearly designed to put bums on seats, the Eagles signed 42-year-old pitcher Vince Little for 1-year (although how much Little had left in the tank was anyone’s guess).
The 2032 draft class was an underwhelming one containing little in the way of college talent with only two players being projected as possible high draft picks, California pitcher Alex Allenby and Pepperdine outfielder Josh Deric who had been Baltimore’s first ever draft pick (taken #2 overall in 2031) before choosing to stay in college for another year. The bulk of the available talent were low-floor, high-ceiling high school players headlined by a pair of young pitchers, McKenzie Ransford, a power pitcher already possessing a mid-90’s fastball at only seventeen and Corvin Curry with decent stuff but huge potential. The top high school position players being 2B Chad Hammond, who had the potential to average .300+ and hit 30+ homeruns year-in year-out, but had a long way to go to reach that level, and slugging 1B Blake Hanson who, like Hammond, would have a long road ahead to reach the majors while 3B Bryant Deshields, who had possibly the highest ceiling in the entire draft class, was unlikely to sign if drafted and instead would attend college, although he was still high on several teams draft lists.
Cleveland, who owned the top pick, tried to trade out of the spot for extra picks but found no takers, so settled on taking 2B Chad Hammond first overall, new Oklahoma City GM Bill Marcello decided to make a statement with the second pick by chasing Bryant DeShields offering him a lucrative signing bonus in the hopes of persuading him to forego college. Baltimore drafted pitcher Corvin Curry third overall whilst Phoenix surprised many with their pick of high school 3B Eric Redding fourth, Redding graded out as an elite defensive prospect but only average offensively and according to a number of scouts, lacked the drive to succeed at the top level. In a draft day trade between Omaha and Cleveland, the Braves traded out of the first round sending their #5 overall pick to the Corsairs (who selected 1B Blake Hanson with the pick) for two pitching prospects and Cleveland’s 2nd, 3rd, and 6th round selections. St. Louis named pitcher McKenzie Ransford as the sixth pick while Chicago claimed Pepperdine OF Josh Deric with the seventh, Deric had been Baltimore’s first ever draft pick (2nd overall in 2031) before refusing to sign and returning to college. Houston made California’s Alex Allenby the first college pitcher selected when they drafted him 8th overall, Allenby who was born and spent his formative years in Houston, was said to be delighted at joining the Stars organization.
After the addition of star 1B Matt Henderson, Philadelphia were installed as hot favorites for the Atlantic division, with New York and Washington their most likely challengers while both Baltimore and Boston were not deemed realistic threats. Two-time defending champions Indianapolis were favorites to repeat as Central division champs with both Detroit and Chicago most pundits pick to push them whilst in the Southeast division, the crown would likely be fought over by Miami and Atlanta with New Orleans some people’s dark horses.
Over in the Midwest things were interesting, Denver with the addition of Rizalino Nolasco and the return of a healthy and motivated Jamie Boden along with the always reliable Dixon Bodean, were seen as favorites for the Midwest division, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Oklahoma City all had holes but also possessed the talent to challenge the Wildcats for the crown. The Southwest division was still seen as the class of the NABL with three teams capable of winning most other divisions, Dallas with their shutdown pitching were clear favorites but both Las Vegas and Austin would challenge the Mustangs with this three-way tussle most likely produce two playoff teams (division winner and wildcard). The Pacific division was wide open with Los Angeles, San Diego and Sanfrancisco all expected to push for a playoff berth while both San Jose and Seattle being seen as too inconsistent to mount a serious challenge.

[JayW UK]

2032 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

After missing the playoffs altogether the previous year, Washington (91-71) rode strong pitching and timely hitting from the likes of 2B Jack Underwood (.286, 24 HR, 82 RBI) and CF Marc Smith (.313, 6 HR, 47 RBI along with 42 SB) to their fifth Atlantic division title in six years, while Philadelphia (88-74), despite strong seasons from two of their off-season acquisitions LF Matt Henderson (.338, 34 HR, 95 RBI) and former Generals closer Pablo Arrellano (10-5, 2.29 ERA and 36 saves), stumbled down the stretch to finish three games back, qualifying for the playoffs as the EL wildcard team. New York were uncompetitive early which led to a management change after which the team performed much better, but as a result of their early season struggles, they were too far back to challenge and eventually limped home third at 76-86. Baltimore were surprisingly stout defensively, but could only muster 563 runs on offense hitting a league low 108 homeruns to finish at 73-89 whilst bringing up the rear again were Boston, who despite the best efforts of 1B Randy Harrington (.291, 25 HR, 91 RBI) and RF Jared Guest (.297, 24 HR, 96 RBI) slumped to an eleven year low 68-94 record.
Indianapolis (99-63) dominated with offense, scoring a league high 846 runs, paced by the triple threats of 3B Matt Romero (.365, 12 HR, 84 RBI), LF Jose Cintron (.316, 43 HR, 120 RBI) and RF Anthony Williams (.268, 36 HR, 113 RBI) at the top of the lineup, the Racers cruised to the Central division title, winning by 18 games from their nearest challengers Cleveland (81-81). With the team still not ready to challenge, Chicago (77-85) took the opportunity to blood a number of promising youngsters with 21-year-old catcher Eduardo Moreno and 22-year-old CF Josh Deric (the 7th overall pick in the spring draft) in particular looking like stars of the future. St. Louis finished fourth, improving from 69 wins to 77 in their second season while Detroit slumped from 89 wins and a playoff spot to just 74 wins and a last place finish.
After three years in the wilderness Tampa Bay, paced by strong seasons from 1B Ryan Porter (.297, 29 HR, 100 RBI) and LF Bryant Manton (.297, 33 HR, 84 RBI), stormed back to the top of the Southeast division winning 99 games, Atlanta (85-77), with RF David Barnett (.275, 40 HR, 93 RBI), 3B Julio Ramirez (.283, 39 HR, 101 RBI) and LF Steve Murray (.324, 29 HR, 110 RBI) leading the way, finished with their best record in nine years, and while Miami (85-77) still possessed one of the top offenses in the EL with Pantaliao Igreja (.298, 33, 89 RBI) and Todd Louthian (.293, 29 HR, 120 RBI) having strong seasons, their pitching (with the exception of 22-year old Jonathan Albert 12-4, 3.21 ERA) was just middle of the road and ultimately cost them their chance of challenging for the playoffs. New Orleans could only finish 76-86 good enough for fourth in the division, while Charlotte could only muster 71 wins, a disappointing return for new manager Eddie Shearin.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Washington 91-71*
Philadelphia 88-74*
New York 76-86
Baltimore 73-89
Boston 68-94

Central Division
Indianapolis 99-63*
Cleveland 81-81
Chicago 77-85
St. Louis 77-85
Detroit 74-88

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 99-63*
Atlanta 85-77
Miami 85-77
New Orleans 76-86
Charlotte 71-91

[JayW UK]

2032 Regular Season

Western League Review

In the Midwest division, OKC’s new manager Roberto Rodriguez hit the ground running, leading the Outlaws to a 92-70 record and their first playoff appearance in eight years, Minneapolis (82-80) despite strong pitching from Ramon Schoof, Steve Gream and Marc Fort finished ten games back from division winners OKC. Denver with a re-energized Jamie Boden (.253, 35 HR, 115 RBI), Dixon Bodean (.341, 34 HR, 120 RBI) and off-season acquisition Rizalino Nolasco (.255, 35 HR, 89 RBI) pacing the offense, were the WL's top scorers, but inconsistent pitching cost the Wildcats who eventually fell away to finish third with an 80-82 record. Just two short seasons from winning 99 games and playing in the WLCS, Kansas City slumped to just 66 wins to finish fourth, while Omaha suffered a sophomore slump ending the season with an NABL worst 59-103 record.
Dallas owned by far the best pitching staff in the majors, with starters Juan Rangel (20-5, 2.25 ERA), Christobal Chapa (16-5, 2.17 ERA), Yasutoki Sugiyama (16-4, 2.48) and Alwin Roozen (15-9, 3.11 ERA) ably backed by Luis Torres (4-4, 2.20 ERA and 51 saves) out of the bullpen, but the Mustangs offense on the other hand relied heavily on two players, Wayne Radke (.251, 39 HR, 96 RBI) and Alfonso Sosa (.304, 32 HR, 110 RBI), only scoring 670 runs on the season (bottom third in the league), but with a pitching staff that conceded just 492, they did not need to be world beaters. Dallas cruised to their fourth straight division title winning 106-games (their third consecutive 100-win season) easily outpacing the Las Vegas Gamblers who finished as runners up for the fourth consecutive season. The Gamblers (91-71) led by young guns SS Roberto Paz (.305, 24 HR, 82 RBI) and RF Michael Carroll (.249, 24 HR 92 RBI) along with a strong pitching staff boasting the likes of Holden Willis (12-7, 2.61 ERA) and Marc Birstall (12-5, 2.81 ERA) held off a robust challenge from Phoenix, who used a bounce back season from LF Stephen Thomas (.331, 38 HR, 109 RBI) to finish with 88 wins their best return in six years. Leftfielder Clayton Jones (.306, 29 HR, 102 RBI) carried Austin’s offense, but with little support from the rest of the roster, the Kings fell back to 82-80 claiming fourth spot ahead of Houston (62-100) who slumped to the worst record in club history.
In the Pacific, led by new manager Allen Richardson and the WL’s #3 pitching staff featuring Guy Pot (19-10, 2.80 ERA), Mike Anderson (17-12, 3.50 ERA) and Gilherme Malagueira (16-8, 3.61 ERA), San Diego laid claim to their fourth division title, finishing with a 94-68 record well ahead of San Jose (82-80) who led by young stars 3b Tom Sterling (.294, 33 HR, 90 RBI), Gregg Bambridge (.269, 28 HR, 91 RBI) and pitcher Kyle Key (14-3, 2.28 ERA), posted a winning record for the first time in eight seasons. Seattle with Ken Kramer (18-9, 3.71 ERA) performing admirably in an unfamiliar role of staff ace, finished with 79 wins for the second year running while Sanfrancisco, hampered by subpar pitching ended with a 77-85 record. Bringing up the rear were Los Angeles (70-92) who found it tough sledding on offense all season with 3B Jose Munoz (.294, 21HR, 67 RBI) and 22-year-old CF Dick LeDoux (.228, 21 HR, 54 RBI) the only real threats.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Oklahoma City 92-70*
Minneapolis 82-80
Denver 80-82
Kansas City 66-96
Omaha 59-103

Southwest Division
Dallas 106-56*
Las Vegas 91-71*
Phoenix 88-74
Austin 82-80
Houston 62-100

Pacific Division
San Diego 94-68*
San Jose 82-80
Seattle 79-83
Sanfrancisco 77-85
Los Angeles 70-92

[JayW UK]

2032 Season Notes

Spring Training – with the regular season fast approaching several late trades were completed, first Houston pulled the trigger on a deal with division rivals Kansas City sending starting pitcher David Vaughan to the Tornadoes for 2B Walter Moore and talented but injury prone LF George Shipp, then Philadelphia raided Washington for backup catcher Granter Douglas, sending 3B Ron Massey and RF Kyle Wilson to the Generals in return.
April 13th – San Diego RF Cooper Dean was busy against Sanfrancisco, collecting six hits (6-6, 2B, 2HR, 5RBI’s) and helping the Mariners see off the Gold 7-5.
April 14th – Denver 1B Jamie Boden slammed his 300th career homerun in the Wildcats 4-2 victory over Minneapolis.
April 18th – Cleveland star Richie Rambeaux reached the 2000-hit plateau, going 1-4 against rivals Detroit.
April 24th – In just the eighth game of his fledgling career, Baltimore’s first round draft pick Corvin Curry suffered a torn UCL ruling him out for up to a year.
April 29th – Boston ace Orlando Vicenteno struck out 15 Indianapolis batters, but the Racers had the last laugh when, with one out in the bottom of the ninth of a scoreless contest, Vicenteno surrendered a walk-off single for the only run of the game.
May 12th – Baltimore catcher Domingo Villanueva collected his 1000th career RBI in a losing effort as the Bulls fell 5-3 to Miami.
May 15th – St. Louis starter Matt Powell struck out 15 Chicago Zephyrs leading the Reds to victory.
May 26th – Larry de Meza dominated Charlotte to the tune of 17 strikeouts in seven innings of work. The Tampa Bay bullpen managed to undo all the good work though, giving up six runs in the final two frames to hand Charlotte an unlikely 8-6 victory.
May 31st – Philadelphia RF Craig McKillop had a field day against KC’s pitching staff going 3-4 with a double and Grand-Slam along with 8 RBI’s, helping the Independence to a crushing 15-2 victory.
June 3rd – St. Louis 3B Dan Lee hit for the cycle against Detroit but the Giants still came out on top on the day taking the game 4-3.
June 4th – Minneapolis, determined to improve their infield defense, traded catcher William Hinton and pitching prospect Luchino Perez to New York for 25-year-old SS Ron Boyce.
June 10th – Dustin Polk became only the fourth player in NABL history to reach 2500 career hits, joining Juan Santos, Dixon Bodean and Alejandro Pichardo in the exclusive club.
June 11th – with his family having not settled in Atlanta catcher Bob Stone requested a trade. Former team Oklahoma City concluded a deal with the Flames the next day sending three prospects P Tom King, 1B Luis Paz and SS Benedetto Cibelli to Atlanta for Stone and $3M.
June 13th – Phoenix 2B Ronnie Butler was the Eagles only threat on the day, hitting for the cycle but still ending up on the losing side as Houston beat Phoenix 4-1.
June 19th – for the third time in the month of June a player hit for the cycle, this time Denver shortstop Jorge Rivera accomplished the feat and came out on the winning side as his Wildcats topped Minneapolis 3-1.
June 23rd – San Jose CF Jeff Tucker stole four bases equaling the NABL single game record.
June 24th – Miami LF Todd Louthian belted 3 homeruns collecting 5 RBI’s helping the Everglades to a 10-5 victory over division rivals Atlanta.
June 26th – Las Vegas’ Jerry Wood struck out 15 Omaha Batters, helping the Gamblers to a comfortable 7-1 win.
June 26th – with the New York Senators sitting at 31-42 manager Stu Owens was relieved of his duties, the Senators named AAA Okanogan Chiefs manager Christian Eberlein as his successor.
July 4th – Miami pulled the trigger on a trade that sent pitcher Juan Lopez to New Orleans for 20-year-old pitching prospect David Elder. Lopez had struggled since returning from elbow surgery (0-1, 5.87 ERA + 4 saves in 8 games)
July 9th - with their season going nowhere fast, Kansas City sent LF Alberto Rangel to Cleveland for prospects LF Larry Norton and pitcher Gabriel Carmona.
July 23rd – Dallas star Cristobal Chapa hurled the season’s first NO-HITTER, blanking the Houston Stars while surrendering a lone walk and striking out 15!!
July 27th – Austin’s outstanding rookie 1B Fred Heath clubbed four doubles during the Kings game against Dallas.
July 28th – Indianapolis pitcher Jason Bin Talib suffered a torn elbow flexor tendon shelving him for at least 12 months.
July 29th – in a trade to bolster their pitching after the injury to Bin Talib, Indianapolis sent starting RF Gene Robinson and a second-round draft pick in 2033 to Tampa Bay for pitcher Daniel Zanetti and prospect LF Humphrey Fontjin.
July 30th – with 37-year-old pitcher Earl Stone (3-10, 4.30 ERA) struggling in New Orleans, the Blues packaged him along with $3M to cover his contract and sent him to Detroit for a pair of marginal prospects (2B Manuel Acevedo and 3B Josh Woods). On the same day Denver’s veteran pitcher Pedro Escobar collected his 3000th career strikeout against Seattle.
August 7th – Minneapolis star Mark Fort claimed his 2000th career strikeout during the Bears victory over Dallas. Fort only recorded three strikeouts on the day all against Wayne Radke.
August 18th – Todd Louthian slammed three homeruns for the second time on the season, this time leading Miami to a 9-6 victory over New York. In doing so he became the first player in NABL history with multiple 3-homer games in the same season.
August 24th – Denver 1B Jamie Boden went just 1-5 against Kansas City, but his solitary hit was good enough to deliver him his 1000th career RBI.
August 25th – Philadelphia catcher Granter Douglas enjoyed his day against Cleveland, slugging a pair of homeruns and being responsible for 9-RBI in Philadelphia’s dominating 16-5 win.
August 29th – in the midst of his breakthrough season, Phoenix pitcher Arturo Rodriguez put pen to paper on a four year $66M extension.
September 1st – New Orleans SS Anibal Portillo saved his best for last, with the Blues down 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth against Tampa Bay’s star closer Josh Renshaw, he launched a walk-off Grand-Slam giving the blues a thrilling 6-4 win and sending the New Orleans fans home happy.
September 6th – Larry de Meza became the first player to reach 3500 career strikeouts, fanning 7 in victory over New Orleans.
September 11th – Philadelphia LF Craig McKillop suffered a fractured fibula, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
September 19th – Denver 3B Rizalino Nolasco became the second Denver player to reach 300 career homeruns during the season.
September 20th – Denver 1B Jamie Boden torched Omaha, blasting a pair of homeruns and driving in seven of the Wildcats twelve runs as Denver breezed past Omaha 12-1.
September 26th – Indianapolis SS Connor Brantley was hit by Cleveland pitcher Gerald Helton sparking a benches clearing brawl, when the dust settled both Brantley and Helton were ejected from the game and worse for the Racers it was discovered that during the melee Brantley had managed to break his wrist ruling him out of the postseason.
September 29th – in his last start of the season, Tampa Bay ace Larry de Meza left the field with an apparent elbow injury, the following day the Hurricanes worst fears were confirmed when de Meza was diagnosed with a torn UCL shelving him for 12 months and putting a de Meza sized dent in the Hurricanes playoff hopes.
September 30th – Indianapolis’ chances of defending their title suffered a major setback, when star LF Jose Cintron pulled up lame chasing a flyball, the damage was a torn hamstring ruling Cintron out of the playoffs.

[JayW UK]

2032 Playoffs

Divisional Round

Indianapolis, looking to become the first team to successfully three-peat as champions, entered the playoffs missing several key players because of injuries and would take on Philadelphia for the second year in a row while the other eastern league matchup between Washington and Tampa Bay would see the two teams meet for the first time in the postseason. Over in the west, Dallas the best team in baseball, were aiming for a return to the World Series after being unceremoniously dumped out of the playoffs by San Diego the previous year, their first hurdle was Oklahoma City, making their playoff return after an eight-year absence. The other WL matchup saw wildcard Las Vegas take on San Diego in what many expected to be an entertaining series.

Although Indianapolis had lost both Connor Brantley and Jose Cintron to injury on the eve of the playoffs, the Racers were still a fearsome offensive team and even though Philadelphia possessed one of the better pitching staffs in the league, Indianapolis were seen as heavy favorites for the series. As expected, game one went to the home team, with the Racers battering Philadelphia starter John Ford into an early exit and cruising to a 7-1 series opening win. Game two was the marc Baxter show as the Philadelphia third baseman put his team on his back and carried them to victory, clubbing a pair of homeruns and being responsible for all four Philadelphia runs, pitcher David Adams kept Indianapolis in check all night firing eight innings of four hit, one run ball, before Pablo Arellano blew through the Racer line-up in the ninth to finish the game and tie the series at one. With the series moving to Philadelphia for games three and four, the Independence struggled once again on offense in game three, mustering only a trio of hits and a solitary run in a disappointing 5-1 defeat, while game four started much the same for the Independence as Indianapolis starter Will Christopher controlled proceedings early as the Racers built a 6-0 lead. Not one to lay down Philadelphia 1B Matt Henderson sparked a furious eighth inning rally with an RBI double and two batters later Marc Baxter’s three-run homer made things interesting. Indianapolis manager Leonard Miller turned to his trusted bullpen to save the day, and they did not fail him, first Alfredo Rivas stopped the Independence rally dead in its tracks and then Rick Webb took just 7 pitches to collect the save and send Indianapolis onto the EL Pennant series for the fourth straight year. Lost in the celebrations was a season ending back injury to star 3B Matt Romero, meaning Indianapolis were now down three regular starters (SS Connor Brantley, LF Jose Cintron and Romero) for the remainder of the playoffs.

With two of the best pitching teams in the east facing off, the series between Tampa Bay and Washington was expected to be a tight affair. Game one was exactly that as both starters pitched well, Anastasio Perez (TB) giving up 2 runs through six innings of work while Bradley Starks (WAS) surrendered three through six. Washington forged ahead in the seventh courtesy of an Aaron Harris 2-run homer but Harris undid all his hard work in the eighth with an error which allowed Tampa Bay to extend the inning long enough for RF Gene Robinson (a mid-season trade addition from Indianapolis) to belt a 2-run homer of his own and give the Hurricanes a 5-4 lead. Closer Josh Renshaw shut the door on the Generals in the ninth as Tampa Bay escaped with the hard-fought game one victory. Game two was no less hard fought with both starters once again strong, Sean Nicholas (TB) 3 runs through seven and Washington’s Stan Fleming two runs in 7.2 innings, both runs coming with two out in the eighth when C Marcos Ocasio took Fleming deep prompting a pitching change, Steve Berg and Caden Duncan combined to deny the Hurricanes the rest of the way as the Generals held on to tie the series. A disastrous start by Washington’s Jose Roa (3.1 IP, 6ER) put the Generals behind the eight ball in game three, and despite a couple of late homeruns from Aaron Harris and Jack Underwood the Hurricanes held on to push Washington to the brink of elimination. In an entertaining back and forth game the next night, Tampa Bay overcame 3-1 and 4-2 deficits to take the game 5-4, with Josh Renshaw striking out the side in the ninth to preserve the victory.

The Las Vegas versus San Diego matchup was a repeat of the previous season’s Pennant series with the Gamblers aiming to get the better of the Mariners again. Eighteen game winner Guy Pot was on the mound for San Diego in game one and immediately ran into trouble as Las Vegas plated three runs in the first and added two more in the third to end his night, Gamblers starter Holden Willis on the other hand serenely pitched a 5-hit complete game shutout to hand Las Vegas the initiative in the series. Game two was a much tighter affair with both starters, Mike Anderson (SD) and Marc Birstall (LV) hurling seven shutout innings, both teams found offense hard to come by until the top of the ninth when normally reliable San Diego reliever Harvey Widdowes surrendered three runs to hand the game on a plate to Las Vegas. Two nights later the teams re-convened in Las Vegas with the Mariners in a 2-0 series hole, Guilherme Malagueira took the mound for San Diego facing Jerry Wood. The Gamblers offense didn’t let Malagueira settle, chasing him from the game after just four innings and clubbing four home runs on the night (including a pair from Danny Wheeler) on their way to a series clinching 8-0 victory, closing the book on the most one-sided playoff series in NABL history.

The consensus best team in baseball, Dallas, started slowly against Oklahoma City, falling behind early and resulting in ace Juan Rangel being pulled after just four underwhelming innings. With the Mustangs trailing 5-1, third baseman Wayne Radke blasted a homerun to spark a big five-run outburst in the seventh to turn the game on its head, there was still time for Carlos Martinez to tack on two more with a homerun in the eighth before Luis Torres closed the door on OKC in the ninth. Errors by both teams early in game two saw starters Alwin Roozen (DAL) and Rafer MacNeil (OKC) charged with two unearned runs apiece, a late Bob Stone RBI double plated the go-ahead run for the Outlaws and closer Kikaku Aoki mowed the Mustangs down in order in the ninth to tie the series. Superb pitching from both starters in game three saw both offenses stuck in neutral, the two men (Cristobal Chapa for Dallas and Antonio Valdes for OKC) combined to allow just 4 hits and two runs through seven innings, with Dallas finally pushing across the winning run in the eighth off the unlucky Chris McInnes, courtesy of an RBI single from Wayne Radke that deflected off McInnes’ heel, wrong footing 2B Jose Diaz. Oklahoma City tied the series once again in game four when Ronald Shockley and Aoki combined to limit the Dallas offense to just 6 hits and a single run in OKC’s 4-1 victory, during the game OKC 2B Jose Diaz set the NABL single game playoff record for steals when he swiped four. For the winner-takes-all game five, a packed JFK Memorial stadium witnessed a tight back and forth contest with both starters going the distance, it was Dallas’ Alwin Roozen who came out on top as the Mustangs slipped past OKC 3-2 to set up a WLCS matchup against division rivals Las Vegas.

[JayW UK]

2032 Playoffs

Championship Round

The EL Pennant series saw Indianapolis take on Tampa Bay, both teams entered the series banged up, Indianapolis missing 3 key starters and Tampa Bay without their ace Larry de Meza. Indianapolis owned the home advantage due to owning the head-to-head record during the regular season. It was the visiting Hurricanes who took game one when a four run seventh inning outburst, sparked by a RF Gene Robinson homerun, turned a 3-1 Indianapolis lead into a 5-3 Tampa Bay advantage and although the Racers cut the lead in half in the eighth, TB closer Josh Renshaw gave the Indianapolis hitters no chance in the ninth. Tampa Bay starter Sean Nicholas pitched well in game two lasting into the sixth before conceding a pair of runs to hand Indianapolis the lead, the Hurricanes plated a run in the bottom half but couldn’t find a way to score against the Racer bullpen the rest of the way. Indianapolis had no such trouble with the Hurricanes pen, plating six runs including a Jorge Manuel Grand-Slam to run the final score to 8-1. With the series tied, proceedings moved to Florida for games 3,4 and 5, a late homerun by Tampa Bay catcher Marcos Ocasio proved the difference in game three as the Hurricanes took a 2-1 series lead, only for Indianapolis to return the favour the following night, when catcher Damon Massingham drove home a pair in the eighth to give the Racers a 3-1 victory and knot the series at two. Jim McKinley and two relievers held Indianapolis to just one run on five hits and while the Hurricanes hitters didn’t fare much better, they did manage to break the deadlock on LF Bryant Manton’s solo homerun in the seventh, spoiling Indianapolis starter Angel Castro’s 13K performance and leaving him on the hook for the loss. With Indianapolis trailing 3 games to 2, the series returned to Indiana for a make-or-break game six, the Racers ensured there would be a game seven, as behind a four hit 2-RBI performance from CF Alfonso Lozano and homeruns from Shawn Neeley and Anthony Williams the Racers cruised to a 7-2 win. Tampa Bay turned to Anastasio Perez to pitch the winner takes all game seven while Indianapolis countered with former Hurricane Daniel Zannetti, in front of a full house the Racers turned on the style battering Perez for six runs in the opening two frames and routing Tampa Bay 10-3 to send them onto an unprecedented fourth straight World Series and keep their dreams of a three-peat alive.

In the WLCS Las Vegas were one out away from a series opening win when the bullpen frailties that had dogged their playoff run the previous year made another appearance, with two out in the bottom of the ninth closer Davis Robinson surrendered a two-run bomb to 3B Wayne Radke sending the game into extra innings, where in the twelfth inning CF Alfonso Sosa crushed a Leland Watson fastball deep into the stands for a 3-run walk-off homer completing the turnaround and handing Dallas a 6-3 game one win. The following night it was not the bullpen that wobbled but starter Jerry Wood, Dallas rocked Wood for five runs early which proved ample for Yasutoki Sugiyama as he cruised through seven shutout innings before Luis Torres surrendered a late homerun to Chris Coates allowing the gamblers to escape the shutout. Determined to avoid dropping further behind in the series, Las Vegas stormed into the lead in game 3, with Marc Birstall in total control the Gamblers built a 6-0 lead before Dallas scored three late consolation runs off the LV bullpen leaving manager Pat Bennett to ponder what to do with his relief corps. Yet another bullpen mishap cost the Gamblers victory in game four, as between Leland Watson and Jeffrey McKinnon they coughed up four runs turning a 4-2 eighth inning lead into a 6-4 loss and digging the Gamblers into a huge hole in the series. Game five saw a pitching duel between Holden Willis (LV) and Juan Rangel (DAL) in which both pitchers completed seven innings, with the Gamblers holding onto a slim 2-1 lead in the eighth CF Bryan Dale slammed a 2-run homerun to give the Gamblers some much needed breathing room. As it turned out, Davis Robinson didn’t need the extra runs, as he breezed through the ninth to secure the save and keep Las Vegas alive in the series. The Gamblers couldn’t pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat in game six even with Marc Birstall on the mound, as the Mustangs squeezed home 3-2 to oust Las Vegas from the playoffs and send Dallas to the World Series for the third time in four years.

[JayW UK]

2032 Playoffs

World Series

The best two teams in baseball, Dallas and Indianapolis, would face off for the third time in four seasons for the right to be called world champions. The World Series was a strength-on-strength matchup, Dallas with the best pitching staff in the NABL against Indianapolis and their top offense, although the Racers were at a slight disadvantage with two of their top three offensive threats (Jose Cintron and Matt Romero) sidelined due to injury. Dallas with the home advantage started game one with an early flurry of runs, taking a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Indianapolis fought their way back to tie the game after five innings, things remained tied until the Mustangs broke the deadlock in the bottom of the eighth on a SS Jose Gutierrez RBI-single, the Racers couldn’t find a way to extend proceedings and went quietly in the ninth as Dallas scraped home 4-3 in the series opener. The following night in game two the home team Mustangs once again scored early, but this time the Racers had no answer against starter Yasutoki Sugiyama, going down meekly to a 5-1 defeat. The teams took turns to score in game three as momentum swung back and forth until, down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth with their backs against the wall Indianapolis scored twice to take 4-3 lead. Rick Webb took the mound for the ninth with a chance to close out the game and keep the Racers three-peat dreams alive, but Dallas had other plans as with two out, back-to-back solo homers from LF Carlos Martinez and 3B Wayne Radke put the Mustangs ahead 5-4 and soured the party atmosphere inside the Raceway Stadium. Dallas turned to closer Luis Torres to finish the job, and although he was not sharp (allowing two men to reach base) Torres did entice 1B Hector Soto to hit into a game ending double play breaking the hearts of the Indianapolis faithful and putting Dallas on the verge of winning the World Series. After their crushing disappointment the previous night Indianapolis now needed to accomplish something special to become the first team in NABL World Series history to overturn a 3-0 deficit. Facing a mountain to climb the Racers turned to their ace Will Christopher while Dallas countered with Alwin Roozen, in a tense showdown the Mustangs were not about to allow Christopher and the Racers to build any momentum, as behind a superb complete game 3-hit shutout from Roozen and timely hitting, including a 3-run homer from 2B Will Moore, Dallas shut the door on Indianapolis’ three-peat dreams, taking the game and the series 4-0 and in doing so gained revenge for their own 2030 World Series sweep at the hands of Indianapolis.

2032 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Indianapolis 3-1 Philadelphia, Tampa Bay 3-1 Washington
WL: Dallas 3-2 Oklahoma City, Las Vegas 3-0 San Diego
Championship Series
EL: Indianapolis 4-3 Tampa Bay
WL: Dallas 4-2 Las Vegas
World Series
Dallas 4-0 Indianapolis