NABL a History

[JayW UK]

2032 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
233 Pedro Escoriaza (CLE)
220 Matt Romero (IND)
194 Gene Robinson (IND)
Batting Avg
.365 Matt Romero (IND)
.351 Pedro Escoriaza (CLE)
.338 Matt Henderson (CHI)
Homeruns
43 Jose Cintron (IND)
40 David Barnett (ATL)
39 Julio Ramirez (ATL)
RBI
120 Jose Cintron (IND)
120 Todd Louthian (MIA)
113 Anthony Williams (IND)
Stolen Bases
50 Adam Bailey (STL)
42 Marc Smith (WAS)
39 Lucio Rodriguez (BOS)

EL Pitching
Wins
17 Larry de Meza (TB) *
16 Will Christopher (IND)
16 Anastasio Perez (TB)
ERA
2.76 Larry de Meza (TB) *
2.90 David Reyes (CHA)
2.92 Ieyoshi Matsumoto (MIA)
Strikeouts
286 Larry de Meza (TB) *
251 Jim Champion (ATL)
229 Greg Marshall (ATL)
Saves
43 Josh Renshaw (TB)
39 Alberto Vela (WAS)
36 Pablo Arellano (PHI)

WL Batting
Hits
209 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
195 Roberto Paz (LV)
193 Cesar Salazar (MIN)
Batting Avg
.341 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
.335 Jose Diaz (OKC)
.331 Stephen Thomas (PHO)
Homeruns
39 Wayne Radke (DAL)
38 Stephen Thomas (PHO)
35 Jamie Boden (DEN)
RBI
120 Dixon Bodean (DEN)
115 Jamie Boden (DEN)
110 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
Stolen Bases
49 Cesar Salazar (MIN)
41 Jose Diaz (OKC)
30 Ronnie Butler (PHO)

WL Pitching
Wins
20 Juan Rangel (DAL)
20 Arturo Rodriguez (PHO)
19 Guy Pot (SD)
ERA
2.17 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
2.25 Juan Rangel (DAL)
2.48 Yasutoki Sugiyama (DAL)
Strikeouts
258 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
243 Juan Rangel (DAL)
236 Kade Blackford (LA)
Saves
51 Luis Torres (DAL)
46 Harvey Widdowes (SD)
40 Raul Herrera (HOU)

Batting Champion – Indianapolis 3B Matt Romero (.365) picked up his second straight EL batting title while Denver superstar Dixon Bodean (.341) took home his seventh batting title in the west.
Homerun Champion – Indianapolis star Jose Cintron (43) held off Atlanta teammates David Barnett (40) and Julio Ramirez (39) to take the title in the east while Dallas 3B Wayne Radke (39) pipped Phoenix LF Stephen Thomas (38) to the title in the west.
Outstanding Hitter – Indianapolis LF Jose Cintron (.316, 43 HR, 120 RBI) held off teammate Matt Romero (.365, 12 HR, 84 RBI) to pick up the EL award. In the west Dallas CF Alfonso Sosa (.304, 32 HR, 110 RBI) collected his second consecutive award, holding off a strong claim from resurgent Phoenix LF Stephen Thomas (.331, 38 HR, 109 RBI), who many people believed should have won the award.
Outstanding Pitcher – Tampa Bay star Larry de Meza (17-10, 2.76 ERA, 286K) became the first player in league history to win a pitching triple crown twice and picked up his fourth OPA when he took home the EL award. Over in the west, Dallas ace Juan Rangel (20-5, 2.25 ERA) picked up his second consecutive award holding off teammate Cristobal Chapa (16-5, 2.17 ERA)
Rookie of the Year – Cleveland 1B Pedro Escoriaza (.351, 21 HR, 89 RBI) held off a strong challenge from Chicago C Eduardo Moreno (.249, 27 HR, 88 RBI) to capture the EL award. In the west Austin 1B Fred Heath (.319, 17 HR, 92 RBI) was top of the pile.
Manager of the Year – Tampa Bay manager Jose Ayala took home the EL award after leading the Hurricanes to the ELCS in just his second year in charge while in the west Dallas manager Mike Holdsworth picked up his third award for his stellar work in leading the Mustangs to their second World Series championship.
Glove Wizard Awards EL – P Mike Harden (CHI) – C Gregg Connolly (STL) – 1B Pedro Escoriaza (CLE) – 2B Brad Miller (NY) – 3B Luis Pena (DET) – SS Travis Rutherford (MIA) – LF John Binet (NO) – CF Danny Hewes (NO) – RF Mike Massey (CHA)
Glove Wizard Awards WL – P Salvador Martinez (DEN) – C Chris Coates (LV) – 1B Eric Finley (HOU) – 2B Malcolm Jones (SJ) – 3B Tom Sterling (SJ) – SS Roberto Paz (LV) – LF Stephen Thomas (PHO) – CF Manuel Ruiz (KC) – RF Cooper Dean (SD)

Interesting Facts – Dallas 3B Wayne Radke set career bests in batting average (.251) homeruns (39) and plate appearances (682) but all the positives came at a cost, Radke struck out 226 times on the season (an incredible 33.1% strike out rate)
During their playoff series with Las Vegas the San Diego Mariners set an unwanted record, becoming the first team to be swept out of the playoffs without scoring a run and batting an abysmal 9 for 89 (.101) as a team.

[JayW UK]

Interlude – Player Profiles

Vince Little (Retired)
College – N/A
Drafted – 2014 Inaugural Draft – 2nd Round - #42 Overall by Atlanta Flames
Current Team – None (Retired)
Previous Teams – ATL (2014-2027), TB (2028), NY (2029-2030), DET (2031), PHO (2032)

The 24-year-old South Forks (SC) native Vince Little was taken by Atlanta with the 41st pick in the inaugural draft, the lefty knuckleballer quickly established himself as one of the premier pitchers in the NABL winning the first of four Outstanding Pitcher Awards in 2014 as Atlanta missed the playoffs in agonising fashion (losing to Washington in the play-in game). Led by Little, Atlanta reached the playoffs in 2015 before missing them again in 2016, after which the Flames re-grouped and with Little pitching as well as ever made the postseason four seasons in a row, including two world series (winning one and losing one) between 2017-2020. After losing several key contributors the Flames settled into a period of relative mediocrity only broken by their 2023 run to the World Series until, after the 2027 season, the all-time franchise leader in wins (233) and now 38-year-old Vince Little announced he would test free-agency. Eventually he settled on Tampa Bay, playing one season in Florida finishing with a 16-10 record with Hurricanes falling to Detroit in the playoffs. New York came calling next and Little signed on for two years at almost $20M per season with many people questioning the wisdom of paying a 39-year-old pitcher that kind of money. On the 3rd May 2029 Little became the first pitcher to collect 250 wins and followed that on the 26th June by collecting his 40th career shutout against New Orleans. On 22nd July disaster struck as Little suffered the first serious injury of his career, a torn elbow flexor tendon shelving him for 10 months, when he returned in June 2030 he tried to pick up where he left off, collecting his 3000th career strikeout in July but struggled to a 5-5 record over the remainder of the season. At seasons end he moved on to Detroit, signing with the Giants for one year and performing well, helping Detroit reach the playoffs, but in his lone postseason appearance he was poor as the Giants were swept aside by Miami. Once again, rather than retire Little was looking for a new team and finally Phoenix offered the all-time NABL leader in wins (275) one last hurrah, signing the 42-year-old to a 1 year $1M deal to pitch out of their bullpen, it was not a success as hampered by injury and ineffectiveness Little struggled, despite collecting win number 276 and his first two career saves, his ERA of 6.29 in 29 appearances was a career worst by a long way, leading Little to accept the inevitable, that father time had caught up with him, and announce his retirement after the season. With a career WAR of 110.8, over 3100 strikeouts, NABL records for wins (276), complete games (101), and shutouts (41) along with four Outstanding Pitcher awards, Vince Little leaves the game as one of the best ever to grace the NABL and will almost certainly be a first ballot hall of famer when his time comes.

Career Stats
Regular Season
G - 608 GS - 579 W/L – 276-179 SV - 2 ERA – 2.88 IP – 4311.1 BB - 1231 K - 3170 WHIP – 1.13 ERA+ 141 WAR – 110.8
Post Season
G - 28 GS - 25 W/L – 15-5 SV - 0 ERA – 3.84 IP – 182.2 BB - 54 K - 142 WHIP – 1.23 ERA+ 122


David Barnett - LF (Active)
College – Wisconsin-Whitewater
Drafted – 2019 - Undrafted
Current Team – Atlanta Flames (2025-2032)
Previous Teams – None

In contrast to Vince Little’s career path, David Barnett’s route to the NABL is a classic case of “if at first you don’t succeed, then try and try again”. The 18-year-old Barnett went undrafted out of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2019 eventually landing with Baton Rouge Showboats (LV’s Rookie league affiliate) an underwhelming season saw him cut at the end of the campaign, for the next two years Barnett bounced around the minor leagues including stints at Galveston Barons (TB) and Reno Raccoons (PHO) and although he washed out at every stop, he did not give up on his dream of playing in the NABL. Next up to give him a chance were Orlando Rockets (MIN) where he lasted two years playing a total of 40 games during that time, before once again being released. Barnett’s time in Orlando had not been in vain as Atlanta area scout Joe Dixon had spotted him playing for the Rockets and believed there was more to come from the 22-year-old eventually persuading GM Robert Reyes to give Barnett a chance. Assigned to Atlanta’s single A franchise, Greenville Grasshoppers, Barnett quickly showed Dixon’s faith not to be misplaced finishing the 2023 season playing in AA, his steady rise through Atlanta’s farm system resulted in a September call up to the Flames at the end of the 2025 season, playing in 22 games over the final month. Barnett failed to secure an opening day roster spot for 2026 and returned to AAA Charleston to open the season, injuries to several outfielders on the big-league roster meant a call up for Barnett but after playing in just 9 games he also fell victim to the injury bug, a sprained knee ending his season. A strong spring training in 2027 earned Barnett the starting LF position and the now 26-year-old played in 141 games and showed he belonged in the big leagues, he followed his rookie season with an even better sophomore campaign in 2028, playing 156 times and collecting 105 RBI’s along with 41 doubles and 37 homeruns. Barnett, now 31, has continued to produce power numbers amassing 549 RBI’s and hitting over 200 career homeruns including a pair of 40 homer campaigns, (leading the EL in HR’s in 2031) positioning himself for a decent payday when he hits the open marked after the 2033 season, not bad for an undrafted kid out of Wisconsin-Whitewater no-one wanted.

Career Stats
Regular Season
G -924 AB - 3647 AVG - .245 RS - 472 H - 893 2B - 201 3B - 8 HR - 205 RBI - 549 BB - 243 K - 1195 SB - 0 CS - 1
Post Season
--- No Stats ---

[JayW UK]

2033 Off Season

As soon as the book closed on the 2032 season a number of teams were in the market for new managers, some by choice and others not. Denver’s Frederic Lemaire joined Minneapolis manager Jesus Espinoza in announcing his retirement while Austin’s Allan Fullerton (much to owner Bill Hannigan’s disappointment) and Boston’s Bruce Weaver both left their posts to pursue other opportunities. Charlotte moved on from manager Eddie Shearin after just one season while Kansas City fired Ben Young after the club’s disappointing 66-win campaign. In a move that caught many by surprise Miami chose to dismiss two-time manager of the year Francisco Cerda after missing the playoffs in 2032, a much more predictable dismissal came in Los Angeles as the club let Ramon Ortega go. Two seasons on from leading the Lynx to the Pacific division crown, Ortega had overseen the team’s descent into chaos and their worst record in seven years resulting in the inevitable parting of ways. The first domino to fall in the managerial merry-go-round was Bruce Weaver landing in Los Angeles, Denver quickly followed suit picking up ousted Miami manager Francisco Cerda. Charlotte chose Allan Fullerton as the man to replace Eddie Shearin who didn’t have to wait long to find a home in Washington, while the Kings hired former KC manager Ben Young to take the reins in Austin. A number of teams chose to stay in house to keep some continuity with their players and coaching staff, Boston went with bench coach Pancho Gamez while Miami promoted Joe Hart to the top job. Midwest division rivals Kansas City and Minneapolis chose to stay out of the managerial rat race and promoted from within, KC elevated the well-respected bench coach Jim Scheid with Minneapolis choosing former manager Jesus Espinoza’s right-hand man, Richard Goodwin as their skipper for 2033.
The biggest story leading into free agency was the will-he won’t-he saga of whether aging superstar Dixon Bodean would re-sign in Denver or test the market, in the end, after nine ultimately frustrating years in Denver (only three playoff campaigns and one World Series loss in that time span) he chose to dip his toe in the choppy waters of free agency and not even the very public pleading of new manager Francisco Cerda could dissuade him. Clearly looking for a championship ring Bodean would only entertain offers from a select few clubs, eventually settling on Tampa Bay, signing for two years and $36M, buoyed by the addition of Bodean owner Hidalgo Simon announced that he would do everything in his power to give Bodean the one thing he coveted the most, a championship ring. True to his word Simon opened the chequebook as the Hurricanes added starting pitchers Angel Castro from Indianapolis for $62M over four years, former Cleveland man Nick Grant also for four years and San Jose’s Kyle Key on a 6-year $95M deal, then also lured 2B Andres Montoya from OKC on a 3-year $34M deal before announcing the that star shortstop Jose Mendoza had signed a 6-year extension with the club. Lost in all the good news was the club’s release of four-time pitcher of the year Larry de Meza, who after elbow surgery would now begin the long arduous task of rehabbing as a free agent, according to his doctors he would miss the entire 2033 season so it was unlikely he would receive any interest from teams for his services until next season. Defending champions Dallas said goodbye to three-fingered star pitcher Alwin Roozen who swapped Texas for the Bay area, signing a 5-year, $60M deal with Safrancisco, the Gold also lured star shortstop Dustin Polk to town for 2-years at $17M per year. Division rivals San Diego lost two of their stars, catcher Dan Matterby and shortstop Mario Cristo, who both signed on with Oklahoma City (Matterby for four years and $56M and Cristo of 5 years and $90M) to re-unite with former manager Roberto Rodriguez. New York strengthened their pitching staff by adding former Seattle starter Domingas Fidi on a 6-year $82M deal while division rivals Washington added pitcher Will Christopher from Indianapolis on a bargain 2-year $25M deal and veteran slugging first baseman Nelson Vasquez from KC for two years. Las Vegas set out to rebuild their bullpen after several high profile collapses in the past two postseason campaigns, Davis Robinson was removed as closer and packed off to OKC and while the return of Rolando Cerny after 18-months out with injury would certainly help, the additions of former San Diego man Alfredo Hernandez and hard throwing Japanese righty Michinori Morita were expected to pay immediate dividends and stabilise the back end of the bullpen. A trade with Cleveland landed the Gamblers 22-year-old reliever Philip Redmond who regularly touched 100mph on the radar gun, Redmond who was not expected to contribute immediately would instead spend the season at AAA Jackson Comanches and be groomed as the club’s future closer. Another team adding to their bullpen was Minneapolis, who lured former Washington and Philadelphia closer Pablo Arellano on board with a $15M 2-year deal.
The 2033 draft class included several quality prospects but only one true blue-chip player in third baseman Bryant Deshields, he had been drafted with the 2nd overall pick the previous year by OKC but failed to sign and instead attended Cal-State Fullerton. The other top position players available in the draft were high school outfielder John Salazar who projected as a high contact hitter with the chance to develop some power down the line, Arizona’s defense first catcher Stephen Hart, the most complete backstop in the draft, and Loyola’s Rob Penney, a power hitting outfielder who would be limited to playing leftfield in the majors due to his below average defense and poor arm. A trio of pitchers, high school star Jose Vasquez, Gil Wallace from Michigan and Pepperdine’s Ike Singleton all profiled as future mid-rotation starters.
Omaha, who owned two picks in the top ten, including the first overall pick, surprised a few people when they chose not to draft Deshields and instead took high school outfielder John Salazar at #1. Houston grabbed Bryant Deshields with the second pick before Kansas City nabbed high school pitcher Jose Vasquez third, Oklahoma City made catcher Stephen Hart the fourth pick before Boston called the name of LF Rob Penney fifth. Omaha used their second top ten pick on California pitcher Grant Copeland, a talented but injury prone prospect, Los Angeles kept Pepperdine product Ike Singleton in California while in an unexpected turn of events, Gil Wallace had to wait until the 23rd pick before he heard his name called, Miami nabbing the Michigan alum to end his fall.
Philadelphia were once again favorites for the Atlantic division although Washington would give them a run for their money and New York had a punchers chance at taking the division. In the central Indianapolis were no longer seen as automatic division winners after several high-profile players left in free agency, their biggest challengers according to BNN were Cleveland but many observers believed Chicago, with their roster full of young stars, posed a bigger threat. Tampa Bay, after their off-season additions were installed as the favourites to represent the EL in the World Series leaving Miami and the fast-improving Atlanta Flames to join the battle for the EL wildcard spot.
In the west Oklahoma city’s off-season wheeling and dealing made them heavy favourites to repeat as Midwest division champions with Minneapolis and Denver as the only teams expected to have any chance of pushing them, Kansas City and Omaha were both being tipped as two of the teams most likely to land the No1 pick in the 2034 draft. In the Southwest division, the usual suspects Dallas and Las Vegas were set to do battle once again with the balance of power edging towards the Gamblers after their offseason moves and while Phoenix and Austin would be hard pushed to stay in touch with the two powerhouses in the division, if any one of them faltered they would be ready to pounce. The Pacific division was wide open, defending champions San Diego, reeling from the loss of two key starters during free agency, were there for the taking and both Sanfrancisco, with World Series winner Alwin Roozen and all-time steals leader Dustin Polk on board, and San Jose with their young and hungry roster, were the teams poised to profit most.

[JayW UK]

2033 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Led by the dynamic duo of 1B Matt Henderson (.323, 39 HR, 118 RBI) and Marc Baxter (.284, 31 HR, 99 RBI) Philadelphia stormed back to the top of the Atlantic division with 94 wins, their most since winning 95 in 2016. Washington (87-75) finished as runners up mainly down to their clutch play in close games with 25-year-old first year closer Steve Berg (5-5, 2.28 ERA & 48 saves) anchoring a bullpen that surrendered a ninth inning lead only twice all season. New York (81-81) struggled with consistency all campaign (19 wins in April and just 8 in May setting the precedent for the rest of the season) leading to the firing of manager Christian Eberlein, Baltimore matched their 73 wins from 2032 with their anaemic offense launching just 83 homeruns (RF Jack Duncan and 1B Roy Stahlman tied for the team lead with just 9!!) while Boston also matched their 2032 win total with 68.
In the Central division, Chicago led by young stars Julio Cruz (.333, 23 HR, 80 RBI), Josh Deric (.281, 18 HR, 93 RBI) and ace in the making 21-year-old Eugene Fey (12-5, 2.69 ERA) finished the season at 87-75, the only Central division club with a winning record, their nearest challengers Detroit, stumbled down the stretch, going just 9-19 during September finishing the season 79-83. Cleveland, despite being many peoples favourite to unseat Indianapolis, failed to take advantage of strong seasons from 3B Richie Rambeaux (.295, 26 HR, 92 RBI) and CF Alberto Rangel (.296, 23 HR, 83 RBI) finishing with just 74 wins while Indianapolis slumped to a 72-90 record, ending a four year reign as the premier force in the EL. Bringing up the rear were St. Louis who ended the season 67-95 and found ever more interesting ways to lose as the campaign wore on, leading the league in both Errors and Blown saves.
The additions of Dixon Bodean (.326, 32 HR, 116 RBI), 2B Andres Montoya (.304, 25 HR, 95 RBI) and pitcher Angel Castro (18-7, 3.09 ERA) paid immediate dividends as Tampa Bay cruised to the best record in the NABL, winning a franchise best 106 games and wrapping up the Southeast division by the beginning of September. Miami (87-75) held off New Orleans (86-76) with a dramatic final day Todd Louthian inspired come from behind victory, to tie Washington in the standings and force a one game playoff for the EL wildcard place. Atlanta failed to build on their previous two seasons, and despite receiving 67 homeruns between C Paul Campbell (33) and RF David Barnett (34) slid to a disappointing 79-83 finish, while Charlotte (71-91) languished at the foot of the division for the fourth straight season, they at least had some hope for the future in the shape of LF Daron Murphy (.297, 19 HR, 73 RBI) the clubs first round draft pick from 2030.

The EL playoff play-in game saw Washington host Miami and in an entertaining contest a late 1B Anibal Trueba homerun helped the Generals slip past the Everglades 5-4 to make the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 94-68*
Washington 88-75* (+)
New York 81-81
Baltimore 73-89
Boston 68-94

Central Division
Chicago 87-75*
Detroit 79-83
Cleveland 74-88
Indianapolis 72-90
St. Louis 67-95

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 106-66*
Miami 87-76 (+)
New Orleans 86-76
Atlanta 79-83
Charlotte 71-91

Play-In game
(+) Washington defeats Miami to claim EL Wildcard

[JayW UK]

2033 Regular Season

Western League Review

After winning their first division title in a decade Oklahoma City didn’t rest on their laurels, instead spending the off-season strengthening their already loaded roster. One of those additions Mario Cristo (.320, 23 HR, 89 RBI) along with rookie slugger Jesus Alarcon (.265, 28 HR, 93 RBI) were key contributors in the league’s top scoring offense while their top four pitchers (Antonio Valdes, Rafer MacNeil, Chris McInnes and Ronald Shockley) combined to go 64-21 with a 2.87 ERA on the season as the Outlaws rolled to their second consecutive division title winning 104 games. Minneapolis (90-72) led by pitcher of the year frontrunner Ramon Schoof (22-7, 3.07 ERA) improved to their best record for 11 years but still couldn’t live with OKC while Denver’s addition of manager Francisco Cerda did not have the desired effect as the club slumped to a 76-86 record. Kansas City struggled once more, finishing 66-96 for the second year in a row while Omaha endured their second consecutive 100-loss season, despite the best efforts of veterans, RF Daniel Garcia (.303, 10 HR, 31 RBI) and 1B Pedro Arevalo (.268, 20 HR, 72 RBI) the majority of the Braves young players were just not ready to compete.
The Southwest division was a three way battle all season long between Las Vegas, Dallas and Austin. With RF Danny Wheeler (.344, 29 HR, 107 RBI) driving the offense and strong pitching down the stretch from the likes of Holden Willis, Mike Cooper and Marc Birstall the Gamblers separated themselves from their rivals to take the division crown, finishing the season with a 101-61 record. The battle between Austin (96-66) and Dallas (97-65) came down to the final day of the season with Austin slipping up against Kansas City when an Uncharacteristically poor start from Leo Wright (17-7, 3.23 ERA) put them in a bind they couldn’t escape while Dallas left it late (3B Wayne Radke’s eighth inning homerun proving the difference) as they scraped past Houston 2-1 to claim second spot in the division and the WL wildcard spot. Phoenix who clubbed 191 homeruns on the season with 2B Roy Knight (32), 1BRick Flynn (27), LF Stephen Thomas (26) and 3B Michael Ford (24) responsible for 109 of them, couldn’t stop the opposition from scoring and dropped back to just 77 wins while Houston (74-88) whose young stars SS Steve Blanton (.291, 24 HR, 81 RBI) and 1B Eric Finley (.262, 29 HR, 84 RBI) continued to improve, bettered their 2032 record by 12 wins but still finished in last place.
The fairy-tale story of the season came in the bay area where Gary Hatcher’s influence on a young roster was in full effect, as he led San Jose to the franchise’s first playoff berth winning the Pacific division crown with a 95-67 record. Their offense was driven by home grown players such as LF Gregg Bambridge (.329, 51 HR, 126 RBI) and 3B Tom Sterling (.311, 38 HR, 99 RBI) while Pedro Rosario (21-7, 3.24 ERA), Julio Torres (18-4, 2.71 ERA) and 22-year-old Rick Sauer (7-2 in 76 games out of the bullpen) headed a fast-improving pitching staff. Los Angeles (75-87) finished second a full twenty games off the pace after struggling through another disappointing season, the performance of pitcher Kade Blackford (15-6, 1.61 ERA the third lowest ERA total in NABL history) the lone bright spot. Sanfrancisco (73-89) continued their playoff drought (extending the run to sixteen years) with another below par campaign while Seattle (72-90) continued their slide from relevancy with a frustratingly inconsistent season resulting in manager Melvin Barr’s dismissal. By far the biggest story of the season was San Diego’s sudden decline, after three division titles in four years the Mariners fall to the foot of the Pacific division was nothing short of astonishing, although the offense was hurt by the loss of stars Mario Cristo and Dan Matterby to OKC the biggest issue that the Mariners faced was poor pitching. The disastrous season top starters Mike Anderson (9-18, 4.26 ERA) and Dan Rogers (6-16, 4.90 ERA) endured, only further highlighted the Mariners shortcomings.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Oklahoma City 104-58*
Minneapolis 90-72
Denver 76-86
Kansas City 66-96
Omaha 62-100

Southwest Division
Las Vegas 101-61*
Dallas 97-65*
Austin 96-66
Phoenix 77-85
Houston 74-88

Pacific Division
San Jose 95-67*
Los Angeles 75-87
Sanfrancisco 73-89
Seattle 72-90
San Diego 61-101

[JayW UK]

2033 Season Notes

April 8th – Austin 3B Jose Montoya collected his 300th career homerun in a losing effort against Denver.
April 12th – Las Vegas starter Jerry Wood suffered an elbow injury sending him to the DL for the next two months.
April 14th – OKC starter Rafer MacNeil struck out 15 Omaha batters in seven innings of work, OKC went on to win 4-3 in extra innings.
April 21st – Detroit held Indianapolis 3B Matt Romero hitless in four attempts to end his hitting streak at 29 games.
April 22nd - Houston’s Angel Valdez belted his 300th career homer while St. Louis pitcher Matt Powell collected his 2500th career strikeout.
May 5th – CF Mark Greensberry helped OKC to victory over LA hitting for the CYCLE and driving in six of OKC’s 8 runs.
May 9th – despite 1B Richard Norway’s big day (3-for-5, Grand-Slam and 8-RBI’s) Minneapolis still found a way to lose to Kansas City, going down 13-12 in 10 innings.
May 15th – Denver slugger Rizalino Nolasco collected his 2000th career hit against Houston.
May 22nd – New Orleans starter Howard Schultz hurled a NO-HITTER in a victory over Atlanta, Schultz capped off his special day by belting a homerun as well.
May 23rd – Tampa Bay star Dixon Bodean saved his best for last against Baltimore, hitting a game tying 2-RBI double in the bottom of the eighth before smashing a walk off Grand-Slam to win the game 9-5.
May 26th - St. Louis 2B Adam Bailey had his 28-game hitting streak ended by Detroit.
May 27th – in a losing effort against Atlanta, New York’s Jose Velasquez collected two hits the first of which was career hit number 2000.
May 31st – Dallas CF Carlos Martinez had a field day against Cleveland collecting six hits two of which were doubles and driving in five runs helping the Mustangs to a 9-4 win.
June 1st – Washington 2B Jack Underwood scored his 1000th career run as the Generals battered Philadelphia 17-4.
June 2nd – In a surprising move San Diego traded closer Harvey Widdowes to Chicago for 23-year-old reliever Willie Hampton and 21-year-old LF Larry Hall.
June 11th – San Jose CF Manny Chavez stole 4 bases in the Spartans victory over Austin.
June 13th – Denver 3B Rizalino Nolasco drove in his 1000th career run helping Denver down Minneapolis 6-4.
June 16th – Jack Underwood collected his 1000th RBI in Washington’s loss to Baltimore.
June 29th – St. Louis chose to trade speedy outfielder Willie Ingle, sending him to New York for a pair of prospects, catcher Tommy Adams and RF Miguel Angel Alvarez
July 7th – Washington’s veteran slugger Nelson Vasquez smashed the 300th homerun of his career as the Generals saw off Baltimore 5-3.
July 8th – OKC’s Rafer MacNeil certainly enjoyed playing Omaha, he struck out 15 Braves for the second time during the season.
July 9th – Austin 3B Jose Montoya scored his 1000th career run as the Kings squeezed past Phoenix 3-2.
July 10th – stuck in neutral, Boston signaled their desire to build for the future sending 1B Randy Harrington to New York for a haul of four international prospects, third baseman Roberto Lopez and pitchers Pedro Zamora, Luchino Perez and Jose Castillo.
July 15th – Phoenix shortstop Joseph Davis collected his 1000th career run as the Eagles fell to Dallas.
July 17th – Washington 1B Nelson Vasquez was the center of a media storm as news broke that he had been caught in a compromising position with the young wife of Generals owner Howard Steinberg. Infuriated by the lurid stories in the press, Steinberg vowed Vasquez would never play another game for his beloved Generals and demanded his proverbial head on a platter, leaving GM Bryan Kerridge no choice but to try and find a trade partner for Vasquez.
July 22nd – in the game between Denver and Austin several milestones were reached, Denver slugger Rizalino Nolasco scored for the 1000th time in his career and Austin 3B Jose Montoya collected his 2000th career hit as the Wildcats scraped home 4-3.
July 23rd – Boston 2B Lucio Rodriguez was a force in the Pilgrims victory over Philadelphia, going 5-5 scoring three times and stealing four bases.
July 24th – Chicago trade for infield re-enforcements, sending unhappy veteran 2B Greg Hopper and relief pitcher Jesus Martinez to Denver for 3B Ed Cole.
July 30th – after several weeks of media speculation Washington GM Bryan Kerridge found a willing trade partner for Nelson Vasquez, Southwest division leaders Dallas. The Mustangs chose to part ways with pitcher Yasutaki Sugiyama whose impending contract demands had more than doubled since his stellar performance in 2032, as part of the package Washington also sent $2M and pitching prospect Dave Lockhart to Dallas for them to take Vasquez off their hands.
July 31st – Atlanta 3B Julio Ramirez Slammed three homeruns and collected 5-RBI’s on the way to leading the Flames to a 12-3 victory over Boston.
August 3rd – Sanfrancisco 2B Dustin Polk suffered a torn pectoral muscle ending his disappointing season.
August 8th – Tampa Bay’s veteran superstar Dixon Bodean became the first member of the 3.5k hit club collecting three hits in TB’s 3-1 victory over New Orleans and taking his career hits total to 3501.
August 10th – Atlanta’s Jim Champion pitched a NO-HITTER against Chicago taking just 99 pitches to accomplish the feat.
August 14th – Sanfrancisco LF Craig Graham hit for the CYCLE in a losing effort against OKC.
August 19th – OKC’s off-season acquisition, pitcher Davis Robinson suffered a hamstring injury ruling him out for the rest of the season.
August 24th – Washington 2B Jack Underwood joined the 2000-hit club during the Generals victory over New York.
August 15th – Boston 2B Lucio Rodriguez also hit for the CYCLE, completing the feat with a solo homerun in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Pilgrims to a 2-1 victory over division rivals Washington.
August 26th – Seattle signed pitcher Larry de Meza for the remainder of the season with the aim of seeing if he had anything left in the tank after Tommy John Surgery.
September 4th – Atlanta’s Jim Champion set the NABL record for strikeouts in a single game when he struck out 18 Charlotte batters, helping Atlanta to an 8-2 victory.
September 9th – Dallas closer Luis Torres joined the 300 save club.
September 10th – Miami’s LF Todd Louthian slammed a Walk-Off Grand-Slam in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift Miami to a 10-6 victory over Atlanta.
September 15th – Las Vegas pitcher Marc Birstall struck out 10 Dallas batters taking his career strikeout total to 3003.
September 18th – OKC’s injury woes continued as catcher Dan Matterby sprained his thumb, ruling him out for up to three weeks, meaning he would likely miss the first round of the playoffs.
September 21st – Tampa Bay’s star 3B Bryant Manton tore his hamstring making a defensive play against Atlanta, ruling him out for at least two months.
September 24th – Dallas relief pitcher Luis Lagunas suffered a separated shoulder against Houston ending his season.

[JayW UK]

2033 Playoffs

Divisional Round

The 2033 edition of the playoffs saw Chicago, making their playoff return after a seven-year absence, face off against Philadelphia while Washington would once again take on the east’s #1 team, Tampa Bay. Over in the west, Oklahoma City and Dallas were set to renew their playoff rivalry with Las Vegas facing a San Jose team experiencing the rarefied air of postseason baseball for the first time in franchise history.

With home advantage and led by superstar and ex-Zephyr Matt Henderson, Philadelphia were seen as favourites for their series with a young Chicago team who, despite their underdog status, arrived in the city of brotherly love in confident mood. Game one saw an impressive pitching display from Chicago, as Logan Jones and Harvey Widdowes combined to allow just a single run on six hits as the Zephyrs squeezed past Philadelphia 3-1 to take the series opener. Philadelphia starter John Ford laboured through five innings the following night, surrendering four runs including a towering three run homer to C Eduardo Moreno, even after Ford left the game the Philadelphia bullpen didn’t help matters, allowing Chicago to plate four more runs in a wild sixth inning. Zephyr starter Eugene Fey was in total control until injury forced him from the game in the sixth, but relievers Daniel Samuels and Justin Babbitt saw Chicago home to leave Philadelphia reeling. Two nights later back in Chicago the teams faced off once again with the Independence needing a minor miracle to advance, starter Bernie Baldwin was strong through five innings (3H, 1 ER) but Chicago starter Mike Harden was stronger, pitching a shutout through five. With two out and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth and with Bernie Baldwin up next, Philadelphia manager Raul Aguilar chose to send Broderick Hill to the plate to pinch hit for his pitcher, the move failed as Hill tamely ground out to end the inning. To cap things off the Philadelphia bullpen imploded next inning with Stan Fleming and Larry Hoffman coughing up homeruns to put Chicago in the driving seat and with the home fans partying in the stands, Terry Anthony and Phil Hopkins finished off the Independence, sending Chicago on to the EL pennant series for the third time in their history.

Washington travelled to Tampa Bay determined to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes the previous year, but the series didn’t start well for the visitors as a 2-run Jose Muniz homer and an Andres Montoya RBI single were all the runs Tampa Bay needed. Angel Castro was masterful, scattering five hits and one run over eight innings before closer Josh Renshaw wrapped things up for Tampa Bay with a clean ninth. After slipping to defeat in game one Washington once again found themselves behind, 5-0 down after starter Yasutoki Sugiyama struggled early. Homeruns from C Aaron Harris and 1B Anibal Trueba sparked a furious comeback from the Generals sending the game to extra innings where in the top of the fourteenth, SS Christian Moore scored on a Bob Hall sacrifice fly to seemingly complete the comeback. With regular closer Steve Berg back in the clubhouse having already pitched, the Generals turned to Francisco Perez to finish the game, Perez proceeded to retire the first two hitters he faced before surrendering back-to-back singles leaving men on the corners with two out. With the pitcher’s spot next up and their bench empty, Tampa Bay had no choice but to send pitcher Anastasio Perez to the plate, in the biggest moment of his career, Perez (a lifetime .056 hitter) smashed the second ball he saw into the right-field corner for a bases clearing walk-off double, giving the Hurricanes a dramatic 7-6 win. With the series moving back to Washington the Generals needed to up their game, but game three opened in a familiar pattern, starter Will Christopher fell behind early surrendering homeruns to C Marcos Ocasio and RF Dixon Bodean to put his team behind the eight ball. Even a big day from catcher Aaron Harris (3-4, HR, 4 RBI) couldn’t help Washington as try as they might the Generals couldn’t find a way back into the game and when TB closer Josh Renshaw took the mound for the ninth, even the most diehard Washington fans knew that their season was over. Renshaw blew through the Generals lineup sending Tampa Bay on to the ELCS at the expense of Washington for the second consecutive year.

The pick of the divisional round matchups was between 104-win Oklahoma City and defending champions Dallas, a strength-on-strength matchup pitting OKC’s #1 scoring offense against the Mustangs #1 defense. In a pitching battle of the highest calibre game one went to the visiting Mustangs, as ace Juan Rangel outlasted OKC’s Rafer MacNeil, the critical score being a veteran 1B Nelson Vasquez RBI double in the seventh before reliever Luis Torres finished the job, closing out a 2-1 victory. OKC returned the favour the following night as Ronald Shockley and Kikaku Aoki held off Dallas in a hard fought 3-1 series tying win, Dallas starter Cristobal Chapa struck out 10 in just five innings but did surrender a 2-run homer to Chance Merritt in the fifth to earn the loss. In a wild game three which saw six lead changes it was Dallas who held their nerve to sneak home 7-5, veteran 1B Nelson Vasquez was once again the hero, collecting 3 hits (2 doubles, 1 HR) and driving in three runs including the go-ahead 2-run bomb in the eighth. The following night with a chance to clinch the series Dallas turned to ace Juan Rangel to get the job done, after six innings he appeared on their way to doing just that as OKC were held off the board while the Mustangs built a narrow two run lead. An unfortunate error by 1B Nelson Vasquez opened the door for OKC and they took advantage, tying the game in the eighth before pinch hitter Clyde Christian’s clean single in the ninth scored Desi Wright for what turned out to be the winning run, OKC closer Kikaku Aoki cruised through an uneventful ninth inning to set up a deciding game five. Looking to avenge their game five defeat to Dallas the previous year OKC started fast plating three runs in the first inning off Cristobal Chapa and with their nerves calmed not even a massive 2-run homerun from Nelson Vasquez could deny the Outlaws, as they ran out 4-2 winners to book their place in the WL Pennant series.

Las Vegas, making their sixth straight playoff appearance were the hot favourites to despatch postseason newbies San Jose who, with no expectations or pressure on them, were just determined to enjoy the entire playoff experience. In game one the Spartans played fast and loose but were given a lesson in playoff baseball by their more experienced opponents with Holden Willis and Rolando Cerny working a five-hit shutout between them. Game two saw 21-game winner Pedro Rosario on the mound for San Jose facing off against all-star Marc Birstall, both starters pitched well but neither of them made it out of the sixth inning, Birstall leaving in the fifth inning with a blister while Rosario took a sharp liner to the ankle in the sixth ending his night. With the game still scoreless the wheels fell off for Las Vegas in the seventh, as first Mike Cooper then Rolando Cerny surrendered homeruns to give San Jose the lead before things got worse for the home side when Rolando Cerny left the game with his own injury as the Spartans cruised to a series tying 5-1 victory. With the news that Rosario’s injury was not serious San Jose proceeded to hammer Las Vegas starter Jerry wood in game four, chasing him from the mound after just four innings, down 6-0 the Gamblers mounted a spirited fightback cutting the lead to two but the Spartans bullpen led by Rick Sauer, held the Gamblers at bay to preserve the vital 6-4 win. San Jose’s game three victory came at a cost as starting CF Many Chavez (elbow) joined Pedro Rosario (ankle) in the treatment room, although unlike Rosario the prognosis for Chavez was not good. Game four saw both starters from game one back on the mound, Holden Willis for LV and Julio Torres for San Jose, in a classic pitching duel neither player gave up much, both going seven innings and surrendering two runs apiece. San Jose broke Las Vegas hearts and the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth, when 1B Don Clark drilled a Michinori Morita fastball over the fence for a 2-RBI homerun to spark pandemonium in the stands, the party continued through the ninth as a stunned Las Vegas team went down meekly to end the series.

[JayW UK]

2033 Playoffs

Championship Round

The Eastern League pennant series between Chicago and Tampa Bay was the first playoff meeting between the two teams, both having previously appeared in the World Series but with different outcomes, Tampa Bay had fallen to LA in 2021 while Chicago had knocked off Denver three years later. The Hurricanes with the home advantage were seen as the hot favourites to reach their second fall classic and with Angel Castro and Josh Renshaw in supreme form they took game one 3-1, Chicago’s Logan Jones went the distance in the loss, his only blemish a three-run homer in the fifth. Determined not to allow the previous night’s loss affect them Chicago attacked from the start in game two, building a four-run advantage only to see the Hurricanes, led by Andres Montoya and Dixon Bodean storm back to take the lead. An error by Dixon Bodean in the seventh opened the door for Chicago and they seized their opportunity, punishing the slip up by scoring four times and re-taking the lead, although Tampa Bay threatened several times down the stretch Chicago pitcher Justin Babbitt held them at bay seeing out the 8-5 victory. Game three two nights later was a wild game in which the fans were treated to almost everything, homeruns, fantastic defensive plays, errors, stolen bases even a triple play turned by Chicago in the sixth, but to all that were there two moments stood out above all else. First in the top of the ninth with Tampa Bay trailing 7-6 and two out, catcher Marcos Ocasio launched a Harvey Widdowes fastball into the seats to tie the game instantly silencing the raucous Chicago crowd, then in the Bottom of the 13th with one out and a runner on second, Chicago’s Loren Delgado drilled a double down the line into left field allowing Gustavo Reyes to come home and score the winning run barely beating the throw from Dixon Bodean. After the drama of game three, the rest of the series was an anti-climax for Chicago fans as Tampa Bay dominated, destroying the Zephyrs 8-1 in game four to once again tie the series, before shutting Chicago down again the following night, another dominant pitching performance from Angel Castro (7.1 IP, 3H, 1R, 0BB, 8K) the key as they ran out 4-1 winners. Tampa Bay wrapped up the series two nights later back in Florida as this time Kyle Key (7 IP, 5H, 2R, 8K) held Chicago in check as the Hurricanes cruised to a series clinching 5-2 win.

The WLCS saw surprise package San Jose face off against Oklahoma City, both teams possessed high scoring offenses, while the Outlaws worked the bases well collecting a .280 team batting average, hitting an NABL record 356 doubles and stealing over 100 bases, the Spartans relied more on the long ball, amassing 208 homeruns on the season. The underdog Spartans turned the series on its head by taking the opening two games on the road in OKC, Julio Torres shutting down the fearsome Outlaw offense in game one while a late 2-RBI double from 3B Tom Sterling stole game two from under OKC’s noses. Oklahoma showed their mettle in game three as Ronald Shockley throttled the San Jose offense allowing a single run in eight innings and while the OKC offense found the going tough against Walt Lake they did get the job done, game four was more of the same as once again strong pitching from both teams held the offenses in check, the breakthrough coming from an unlikely source when Oklahoma City’s little used backup catcher Clyde Christian plated the winning runs with a sixth inning 2-RBI double. With momentum firmly back in OKC’s hands their offense exploded in game five scoring eight runs early with Jesus Alarcon (2 HR, 3-RBI’s) and Chance Merritt (2 doubles, 4-RBI’s) causing most of the damage. Despite being handed a big lead OKC starter Chris McInnes didn’t have things all his own way surrendering runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning to give San Jose hope and when McInnes surrendered back-to-back homeruns to begin the seventh the Spartan fightback was on, two innings, three pitchers and six runs later the stunning comeback was complete. After the collapse in game five OKC turned to Rafer MacNeil to save their season, in a tight hard-fought game it was the visitors who made the critical breakthrough when LF Gregg Bambridge hit a 3-run homer (his first of the postseason) in the sixth, a lead that the Spartans would not relinquish as they ran out 4-2 winners completing one of the biggest upsets in NABL history and booking their place in the World Series.

[JayW UK]

2033 Playoffs

World Series

The 2033 fall classic featured two closely matched teams with great feel-good stories, the EL Champions Tampa Bay with their prolific offense (#1 in the NABL) led by NABL royalty Dixon Bodean who was chasing his first championship ring versus the WL champs San Jose who led by manager Gary Hatcher had finally got the monkey off their back and qualified for the playoffs, then stunned everyone by knocking off both LV and OKC to reach the world series. Tampa Bay starter Nick Grant pitched a gem in game one (8.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 10K) but somehow still ended up the loser, as Julio Torres and Ivan Castro combined to hold the dangerous Tampa lineup to five hits and more importantly zero runs as the Spartans took game one. Game two saw Tampa ace Angel Castro (8.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 7K) pitch as well as teammate nick Grant had the previous night, but crucially he received run support in the form of a Don Bridges 2-RBI homer to lift the Hurricanes to victory and even the series. In front of a packed house, San Jose’s pitching once again stymied the Tampa Bay hitters as Walt Lake and Eric Hastings allowed only five baserunners and one run between them, RF Tomas Leider (2-RBI double) and Greg Bambridge (3 hits, 1-RBI) provided all the offense needed as the Spartans regained the series lead. Julio Torres and Kyle Key battled themselves to a standstill in game four, both pitchers working on a shut-out through six innings, San Jose 2B Billips Johnson broke up Key’s shut-out bid and ended his night with an RBI double in the seventh before Tampa Bay’s LF Ed Thomas broke San Jose hearts in the next inning with a 2-run blast to put the Hurricanes ahead, Closer Josh Renshaw stumbled through the ninth but got the job done, once again tying the series. The following night, three Tampa Bay pitchers, Nick Grant, Felix Martinez and Josh Renshaw combined for a four-hit shut-out as the Hurricanes took the game 2-0 to leave them just one win away from their maiden World Series, and with games 6 and 7 back in Florida, San Jose had a mountain to climb. Dixon Bodean chose game six to remind everyone that he was playing, belting a solo Homerun in the first and collecting 4-RBI’s during the game as the Hurricanes offense woke from its slumber to score six times. The Spartans offense on the other hand, had no answer for Tampa Bay starter Angel Castro who hurled seven innings of shut-out ball before Dave Cramer took over and saw the Hurricanes home. In winning the World Series the Hurricanes finally laid to rest the ghost of losing to LA in 2021 (they lost 4-3 after leading the series 3-2) and in doing so helped Dixon Bodean finally fulfil his dream of winning a world championship ring. Although San Jose had fallen at the final hurdle, they had gained many friends along the way with their exciting brand of baseball and with a Roster chock full of young talent many people believed their time would come.

2033 Playoff Recap

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

[JayW UK]

2033 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
209 Dixon Bodean (TB)
205 Pedro Escoriaza (CLE)
205 Willie Ingle (NY)
Batting Avg
.333 Julio Cruz (CHI)
.332 John Binet (NO)
.326 William Hinton (NY)
Homeruns
39 Matt Henderson (PHI)
34 David Barnett (ATL)
33 Paul Campbell (ATL)
RBI
118 Matt Henderson (PHI)
116 Dixon Bodean (TB)
112 Jared Guest (BOS)
Stolen Bases
62 Willie Ingle (NY)
46 Adam Bailey (STL)
41 Gustavo Reyes (CHI)

EL Pitching
Wins
18 Angel Castro (TB)
17 Jose Ibanez (NO)
17 Rajion Samit (DET)
ERA
2.62 Greg Bailey (CHA)
2.80 Anastasio Perez (TB)
3.00 Jose Ibanez (NO)
Strikeouts
264 Jim Champion (ATL)
251 Will Spencer (NY)
224 Greg Marshall (ATL)
Saves
48 Steve Berg (WAS)
47 Josh Renshaw (TB)
45 Garrett King (DET)

WL Batting
Hits
217 Jose Diaz (OKC)
208 Mario Cristo (OKC)
203 Roberto Paz (LV)
Batting Avg
.344 Danny Wheeler (LV)
.338 Billips Johnson (SJ)
.329 Gregg Bambridge (SJ)
Homeruns
51 Gregg Bambridge (SJ)
38 Rizalino Nolasco (DEN)
38 Tom Sterling (SJ)
RBI
126 Greg Bambridge (SJ)
116 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
107 Danny Wheeler (LV)
Stolen Bases
57 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
45 Jose Diaz (OKC)
44 Wolfgang Worns (HOU)

WL Pitching
Wins
22 Ramon Schoof (MIN)
21 Pedro Rosario (SJ)
18 Julio Torres (SJ)
ERA
1.61 Kade Blackford (LA)
2.11 Juan Rangel (DAL)
2.20 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
Strikeouts
265 Rafer MacNeil (OKC)
264 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
256 Juan Rangel (DAL)
Saves
45 Pablo Arellano (MIN)
44 Pedro Alvarez (SJ)
44 Kikaku Aoki (OKC)


Batting Champion – Chicago’s 24-year-old 1B Julio Cruz (.333) held off New Orleans LF John Binet (.332) by the narrowest of margins to take the EL award. The WL award went to Las Vegas star Danny Wheeler (.344), San Jose SS Billips Johnson (.338) finished as runner up after a disastrous 1-for-28 run to end the regular season.
Homerun Champion – Philadelphia star 3B Matt Henderson (39) finished ahead of Atlanta pair David Barnett (34) and Paul Campbell (33) to win his third EL homerun title. In the west Gregg Bambridge was the runaway winner with 51 long balls on the season, the first player to reach the milestone in eight years.
Outstanding Hitter – Matt Henderson (.323, 39 HR, 118 RBI) held off TB teammates Dixon Bodean and Andres Montoya to collect his fifth award. San Jose LF Gregg Bambridge (.329, 51 HR, 126 RBI) won the WL award narrowly beating Las Vegas RF Danny Wheeler (.344, 29 HR, 107 RBI, 120 Runs)
Outstanding Pitcher – Tampa Bay’s Angel Castro (18-7, 3.29 ERA) pipped Charlotte’s Greg Bailey and Atlanta’s Jim Champion to the EL award while Minneapolis star Ramon Schoof (22-7, 3.07 ERA) took home the WL award despite strong challenges from LA’s Kade Blackford and San Jose pair Pedro Rosario and Julio Torres.
Rookie of the Year – Indianapolis 1B Randy Whitley (.282, 24 HR, 66 RBI) got the better of Boston 1B Keith Fairchild (.291, 19 HR, 70 RBI) to win the award in the east and at 28-years old became the oldest player in NABL history to be named rookie of the year. In the west electrifying OKC LF Jesus Alarcon (.265, 28 HR, 93 RBI) took home the award.
Manager of the Year – in the EL, Tampa Bay manager Jose Ayala collected his second consecutive award for leading the Hurricanes to their first World Series win while in the west, the only name in running was San Jose manager Gary Hatcher, who won his third manager of the year award for leading the Spartans, not only to the playoffs for the first time in their history, but all the way to the World Series.
Glove Wizard Awards EL – P Lucio Castillo (MIA) – C Aaron Harris (WAS) – 1B Pedro Escoriaza (CLE) – 2B Jorge Manuel (IND) - 3B Marc Baxter (PHI) – SS Travis Rutherford (MIA) – LF Gabriel Nestor (BAL) – CF Josh Deric (CHI) – RF Gustavo Reyes (CHI)
Glove Wizard Awards WL – P William Clark (OMH) – C Paul Heard (AUS) – 1B Eric Finley (HOU) – 2B Malcolm Jones (SJ) – 3B Mario Cristo (OKC) – SS Cameron Toscano (KC) – LF Alfonso Sosa (DAL) – CF Manuel Ruiz (MIN) – RF Danny Wheeler (LV)

Interesting Facts – Baltimore reported an operating profit of $71M during the 2033 season while at the other end of the spectrum were Atlanta who lost over $26M.
Seattle’s gamble on Larry de Meza failed miserably as the former Atlanta and Tampa Bay ace looked broken (3 starts, 0-2, 5.84 ERA). After being released by Seattle at the end of the season, de Meza announced that he would rather retire from baseball than play on as a shadow of his former self.

[JayW UK]

2034 Off-Season

At the conclusion of 2033 Atlanta’s Mario Sanchez announced his retirement after 14 years in the game including two Manager-of-the-Year nods and two World Series titles, also stepping away from the dugout was three-time Manager-of-the-Year Mike Holdsworth, who left Dallas after a very successful 8-year run (750-546 regular season record, 32-23 playoff record, 4 division titles, 3 World Series appearances and two wins). Baltimore manager Bubba Young and Omaha’s Francisco Diaz found themselves joining Christian Eberlein (NY) and Melvin Barr (SEA) on the managerial scrapheap after being fired in the wake of disappointing seasons, also on the move were Leonard Miller who couldn’t agree a new deal with Indianapolis, Sergio Vasquez who left St.Louis and Jim Scheid who left Kansas City after just one season in the hot seat. The annual Winter Meetings kicked off with an announcement from Commissioner Buddy McHugh in which he revealed plans to build a NABL Hall of fame complex which would include a museum dedicated to the history of the NABL. Several cities including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York had put forward bids to host the Hall of fame complex but the plan chosen by McHugh was from Memphis, the city had lost their franchise when the Kings had been lured to Austin prior to the 2021 season and the decision to place the Hall of fame complex there, was well received.
At the conclusion of the winter meetings the business of preparing for 2034 began to gather pace, first New York broke the bank to bring in manager Leonard Miller, hoping to capture some of the magic he had produced in Indianapolis (three straight World Series appearances winning two), Miller’s old team Indianapolis named Dave Johnstone as their new manager, plucking Johnstone from the relative obscurity of Colorado Springs. Jim Scheid was the next man to find a home as Atlanta tabbed the former KC manager as the man to replace the retired Mario Sanchez while Kansas City brought in James McDonald (the younger brother of New Orleans manager William) from Philadelphia where he had been bench coach for five years. Another Atlantic division team losing their bench coach was Washington, who lost Hugh Little to Dallas, and although the Mustangs were one of the best teams in the NABL Little would have his work cut out for him following in Mike Holdsworth’s footsteps. Baltimore turned to former St. Louis manger Sergio Vasquez to replace Bubba Young while the Reds named former Austin bench coach Saverio Bordon as their new manager, Omaha chose Yakima Beavers manager Jose Perez as their new skipper, despite his never having managed above AA before. Seattle interviewed several of the top candidates for their opening but watched as one by one they chose other jobs, eventually the Pioneers gave up trying to bring in a top manager and promoted bench coach Michael Bradshaw to the job (not the ideal vote of confidence for new man Bradshaw).
Free agency began with Baltimore owner John Rockwell (after his clubs healthy $71M operating profit in 2033) finally opening his chequebook and splashing the cash, bringing in Former Philadelphia 3B Marc Baxter on a 5-year $97M deal and a pair of World Series winning pitchers, starter Jerry Wood from Las Vegas and reliever Alfredo Rivas from Indianapolis, both on one year deals to provide veteran leadership that was sorely missing from the Bulls roster. Another former Las Vegas star on the move was shortstop Roberto Paz who wound up in Indianapolis for four years at $19M per year, after the addition of Paz the Racers sent both of their incumbent shortstops away, starter Connor Brantley who along with pitching prospect Javier Valencia landed in San Jose via a trade, with the Spartans sending starting pitcher Walt Lake the other way, while career backup Jamie Henson hoping for a chance to start, signed with Charlotte on a four year $18M deal. Miami lost a pair of stars, veteran catcher Curt Pitts who joined Oklahoma City on a two-year deal and Pantalio Igreja who signed with Cleveland for six years and $98.5M, the Corsairs said goodbye to star infielder Richie Rambeaux, who signed on in Boston for two years at a reasonable $14M per season. Former Boston 2B Jose Rodriguez made the move to Philly, signing for four years and $26M while David Barnett, the ultimate underdog, left Atlanta to sign a two year $27M deal with Austin more than doubling his salary in the process. Denver pursued international free agent LF Ramon Vega, eventually getting their man to sign on the dotted line for $65M over four years, the Wildcats meanwhile said goodbye to pitchers, Mike Fulton who landed in New York and Pedro Escobar who chose to sign with Tampa Bay on a one year $6M deal. With training camp fast approaching several trades were announced, Dallas sent young pitcher Dave Lockhart to Indianapolis for veteran starter Brad Wright while Minneapolis and Tampa Bay pulled off a blockbuster deal, young stars in the making 3B Mark Sheffield and RF Carlos Alarcon went to Minneapolis, while $3M and 2033 WL pitcher of the year Ramon Schoof headed to Florida adding to an already loaded roster. Meanwhile Kansas City pulled off a major coup, sending catcher JR Charles and 20-year-old SS Antonio Martinez (#87 on BNN’s top 100 prospect list) to Boston for first baseman and Rookie of the year runner up Keith Fairchild. The fiery Fairchild was only available after multiple run-ins with teammates and management had soured his relationship with the Pilgrims and KC hoped a change of scenery would calm the young man down.
The 2034 draft was top heavy with pitching talent (rated as one of the best ever by BNN) with five pitchers in the conversation for the number one overall pick, College duo Jose Vasquez (Mississippi State) who had been drafted by KC the previous year but had decided to attend college, and Arkansas fireballer Brett Knight were top of the pile with high schoolers Nathan Cortez, David Lyons and Bryan Marburg nipping at their heels. The top position players available were New Mexico’s 2B Tom Carter (also getting some love for the #1 overall pick) and a pair of high school outfielders Adam Hardesty and Allen Hood. San Diego, owners of the first overall pick, surprised everybody on draft night foregoing the chance at possible franchise pitchers and taking high school outfielder Adam Hardesty instead, Hardesty a power hitter with a good eye for getting on base had the potential to hit 50+ homeruns but had holes in his swing that would need to be ironed out if he was going to reach that potential. Omaha made high school pitcher David Lyons the second overall pick before New Mexico’s Tom Carter, a good defensive 2B with excellent plate discipline, went to Kansas City third. The next three picks were all pitchers, Nathan Cortez went fourth to St. Louis, Brett Knight was tabbed next by Boston before Seattle named Bryan Marburg as the sixth overall selection. Surprisingly both LF Allen Hood and SP Jose Vasquez fell out of the top ten, Hood landing with Indianapolis (11th) while Vasquez heard his name called by Houston with the 12th pick. At the conclusion of the draft the big debate was centered on whether San Diego had made the right choice taking Hardesty or if they should have picked one of the top pitchers like Cortez, Knight, Lyons, Marburg or even Vasquez, only time would tell who had been right and who got their picks wrong.
With spring training in the rear-view mirror and the season fast approaching BNN’s annual predictions were released, favorites to repeat as Atlantic division champions were Philadelphia while Washington and New York would need everything to go right for them to truly challenge for the division, or so the experts believed. Boston on the other hand were once again being tipped as Eastern league bottom feeders and were among the favorites to land the #1 pick in the 2035 draft. Chicago and Indianapolis were again set to battle it out for the central division with most people agreeing that the Racers disastrous 2033 campaign was just a minor bump in the road rather than the new norm for them. The overwhelming favorite for the southeast division crown was Tampa Bay, the defending champion Hurricanes with their loaded roster and league high payroll ($204M) were being tipped to dominate the east again and were hot favorites to repeat their as World Series winners. Both Miami and Atlanta were expected to push for the EL wildcard spot as, unless the wheels fell off spectacularly for Tampa Bay, the division crown was out of reach for them, while Charlotte were an enigma, tipped by some to push for the wildcard while others had them as struggling to reach 70-wins.
In the west OKC were expected to come under severe pressure from Minneapolis for the Midwest division title with the loser being in prime position for the WL wildcard, the other three teams Denver, Kansas City and Omaha would all find it difficult to break .500 for the season with Omaha looking to avoid their third consecutive 100-loss campaign. The Southwest division looked likely to be the closest of all, as with Phoenix predicted to bounce back from their disappointing 2033 season there were four teams (Austin, Dallas, Las Vegas and Phoenix) primed to challenge for the division crown, only Houston were being tipped to win less than 80 games. The question being asked about the Pacific division was whether San Jose could build on their fantastic 2033 or would they slip back to mediocrity and allow Los Angeles or Sanfrancisco to take the crown, with opinions split evenly, the race for the Pacific division was one worth watching.

[JayW UK]

2034 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

With 1B Matt Henderson (.314, 31 HR, 81 RBI) and LF Lee McDale (.298, 21 HR, 93 RBI) firing on all cylinders and David Adams (17-8, 2.75 ERA) heading their rotation, the Philadelphia Independence (88-74) cantered to their third division title in four years, easily seeing off Washington (81-81) who lost their way midseason when a series of injuries hit them hard. Losing big ticket free agent Marc Baxter to a season ending elbow injury early in the campaign disrupted Baltimore’s plans, and even though rookie RF Sul-Shik Choi (.303, 21 HR, 73 RBI) and Baxter’s replacement Jose Montoya (22 HR, 85 RBI) did their best to carry the offense, it wasn’t enough to propel the bulls into playoff contention as they finished the season with just 76 wins. Although Boston (69-93) played better than most people expected, they still recorded their third straight sub-70 win season while New York (68-94) slumped to their worst record since winning just 66 games in 2017, there was reason for optimism in the big apple though as several young players (LF Scott Perrett and 2B Carl Scott in particular) had the makings future building blocks.
The Central division was a season long battle between Chicago, with their young guns, 1B Julio Cruz (.283, 33 HR, 86 RBI), CF Josh Deric (.316, 16 HR, 90 RBI) and C Eduardo Moreno (.260, 35 HR, 107 RBI) in fine form and Indianapolis whose tried and tested formula of 2B Jose Villalobos (.338, 5 HR, 74 RBI) and 3B Matt Romero (.332, 14 HR, 84 RBI) setting the table for sluggers RF Anthony Williams (.255, 30 HR, 106 RBI) and Jose Cintron (.273, 30 HR, 90 RBI) to bring home, drove an offense that was second only to Tampa Bay in runs scored. In the end it was pitching that was the difference between the two teams, Chicago with Eugene Fey (16-9, 2.78 ERA) and Logan Jones (17-10, 3.62 ERA) atop their rotation held off Indianapolis, who’s best pitcher was Walt Lake (15-13, 3.88 ERA) to take the division by eight games. None of the other three teams broke even on the season, Detroit (78-84) led by pitcher Rajion Samit (15-11, 3.33 ERA) and young star RF Gerald O’Colitaran (.289, 23 HR, 70 RBI) were the best of the bunch, while Cleveland (72-90) who, despite an offense led by 1B Pedro Escoriaza (.351, 20 HR, 92 RBI), CF Alberto Rangel (.294, 24 HR, 89 RBI) and RF Raymond Helms (.309, 21 HR, 71 RBI) couldn’t stop the opposition from scoring and St. Louis (68-94) who even with the best efforts of veteran pitcher Matt Powell (17-8, 4.04 ERA) couldn’t climb out of the division basement.
The Southeast division was home to the juggernaut that was Tampa Bay, the favourites to repeat as Champions swept the opposition aside winning 105-games and cruising into the playoffs clubbing an NABL record 228 homers along the way. Their fearsome offense was led by the ageless Dixon Bodean (.333, 49 HR, 138 RBI) and up and coming star LF Bryant Manton (.275, 34 HR, 86 RBI) also featured three other players (3B Andres Montoya, 1B Ryan Porter and C Marcos Ocasio) who hit 25+ homeruns, while the pitching staff headlined by Angel Castro (17-5, 3.01 ERA) and Dave Cramer (15-4, 2.67 ERA) quietly went about their business of winning games. It took a win over division rivals Atlanta on the final day of the season to guarantee surprise package Charlotte (89-73) the wildcard spot, the Express boasted the EL’s best pitching, with Greg Bailey (18-7, 2.29 ERA) and Wessell Oost (15-9, 3.62) atop the rotation while their offense with star LF Daron Murphy (.282, 31 HR, 90 RBI) leading the way was only middle of the pack. Miami (87-75) faltered when offensive sparkplug Todd Louthian missed time with injury (he still managed to club 24 homeruns despite missing over a third of the season) as their young pitching staff led by 24-year-olds, Cris Bastillo and Jonathan Albert, was not able to carry the team. Clearly missing David Barnett’s power bat, Atlanta clubbed just 118 homeruns (down from 2033’s total of 168) and struggled to a 79-83 finish while New Orleans slumped to a seven-year low, winning just 70 games.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 88-74*
Washington 81-81
Baltimore 76-86
Boston 69-93
New YorK 68-94

Central Division
Chicago 96-66*
Indianapolis 88-74
Detroit 78-84
Cleveland 72-90
St. Louis 68-94

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay 105-57*
Charlotte 89-73*
Miami 87-75
Atlanta 79-83
New Orleans 70-92

[JayW UK]

2034 Regular Season

Western League Review

Oklahoma City rode their luck and their explosive offense to the Midwest division crown, with LF Jesus Alarcon (.293, 39 HR, 122 RBI) having a sophomore season to remember and 1B Chance Merritt (.297, 31 HR, 105 RBI) having a career year, the Outlaws led the WL in scoring (at 5.1 per game) on their way to winning 102 games. Minneapolis (95-67) on the other hand rode their pitching to the WL wildcard spot with Mark Fort (14-5, 1.85 ERA) and Steve Gream (16-7, 3.41 ERA) in particular shutting the opposition down, Kansas City stumbled to their fourth losing season in a row but their future looked rosy after picking up Keith Fairchild (.375, 37 HR, 91 RBI) in a trade with Boston, clearly a win for KC. Denver continued their slide winning just 68 games much to the frustration of 1B Jamie Boden (.270, 25 HR, 74 RBI) while Omaha failed to avoid their third straight 100-loss season, ending the campaign on a six game skid to finish 61-101.
Led by the pitching of Cristobal Chapa (12-4, 2.48 ERA), Juan Rangel (11-5, 2.84 ERA) with Manny Espinoza (12-7, 3.19 ERA) out of the bullpen and with the offense of Alfonso Sosa (.336, 37 HR, 108 RBI) Dallas finished the season on a tear, sitting fourth in their division with a record of 45-47 at the all-star break the Mustangs went 49-21 the rest of the way to top the Southwest division with a 94-68 record. With Danny Wheeler (.333, 24 HR, 102 RBI) and C Chris Coates (.247, 30 HR, 90 RBI) both struggling down the stretch Las Vegas (90-72) couldn’t maintain their division lead, as a critical series sweep at the hands of Dallas in the final week of play allowed the Mustangs to overhaul them in the standings. Phoenix lived up to expectations and bounced back from their disappointing 2033 to finish one game behind Las Vegas, the Eagles belted 181 homeruns, enough to lead the WL but their pitching was the weak link conceding the eighth most runs in the NABL. Houston climbed to .500 on the season with youngsters SS Steve Blanton (.272, 33 HR, 93 RBI), 1B Eric Finlay (.248, 26 HR, 84 RBI) and 22-year-old RF Wolfgang Worms (.304, 18 HR, 77 RBI with 48 SB) providing the fireworks, Austin had a season to forget, slumping from a franchise best 96 wins to just 69, the addition of David Barnett (.256, 32 HR, 99 RBI) provided power but he alone could not lift the team.
The race for the Pacific division went to the wire, featuring Los Angeles, with C Andrew Lewis (.310, 32, 90 RBI) the main offensive threat and pitcher Mitch Woodroffe (14-10, 2.57 ERA) at the head of a strong rotation, and San Jose with an offense starring 3B Tom Sterling (.297, 31 HR, 87 RBI), LF Gregg Bambridge (.258, 23 HR, 75 RBI) and RF Lucio Guerrero (.290, 24 HR, 67 RBI). With both teams entering the final week tied and due to play each other the division title would likely come down to who won the critical series, in the end San Jose took the series 2-1 and then swept Sanfrancisco to finish the campaign 89-73, two games ahead of LA. Finishing the season on a five game losing streak, Sanfrancisco (80-82) continued their playoff drought, although the play of 22-year old rookie catcher Sancho Guerra (.288, 33 HR, 102 RBI) caught the eye and fan favorite Alwin Roozen (14-7, 3.30 ERA) turned in another solid season to at least give the long suffering bay area fans something to cheer. San Diego (74-88) showed improvement from the disaster that was 2033 while Seattle (61-101) took the Mariners place as most disappointing team of the season, pitcher Salvador Martinez’s lacklustre performance (4-18, 4.05 ERA) a microcosm of the Pioneers season, as the club slumped to 100+ losses for the fourth time in franchise history.

Final Standings

Midwest Division
Oklahoma City 102-60*
Minneapolis 95-67*
Kansas City 76-86
Denver 68-94
Omaha 61-101

Southwest Division
Dallas 94-68*
Las Vegas 90-72
Phoenix 89-73
Houston 81-81
Austin 69-93

Pacific Division
San Jose 89-73*
Los Angeles 87-75
Sanfrancisco 80-82
San Diego 74-88
Seattle 61-101

[JayW UK]

2034 Season Notes

Pre-Season – On the eve of the season Las Vegas added veteran Shortstop and all-time stolen base leader (with 509) Dustin Polk, the Gamblers took a chance on Polk (who was returning from a serious knee injury) after he was released by Sanfrancisco for failing his medical. Las Vegas planned to move him to second base where it was hoped his diminished range wouldn’t hurt his fielding too much. Tampa Bay fans had cause to celebrate as fan favourite Larry de Meza was lured out of retirement, signing on for one year and $11.5M although many in the media thought the contract was way too much to pay a pitcher with huge question marks against his game after elbow surgery and his disastrous return with Seattle the previous year. On the other hand, the announcement in Los Angeles that the Lynx had agreed a four year $68.5M extension with star pitcher Mitch Woodroffe met with an altogether different vibe in the media.
April 2nd – Denver closer Greg Gray held Kansas City at bay collecting his 400th career save on opening day.
April 4th – Kansas City pitcher Vicente Morales hurled a NO-HITTER, taking just 96 pitches to dispose of Denver, an error by 1B Keith Fairchild in the sixth denied Morales a perfect game.
April 6th – Baltimore’s big-ticket off-season acquisition, 3B Marc Baxter suffered a broken elbow ruling him out for the season after just four games.
April 7th – Tampa Bay agreed terms with star 2B Bryant Manton on an extension that would pay him $85M over the next five years.
April 8th – Baltimore moved quickly to fill the void left by Marc Baxter by signing veteran Jose Mendoza for the season.
April 14th – Las Vegas pitcher Marc Birstall suffered a shoulder injury ruling him out for 4 months.
April 16th – Miami’s star LF Todd Louthian suffered a broken thumb when he was hit by an Allen Baardsen (ATL) pitch ruling him out for five weeks.
April 17th – San Jose LF Gregg Bambridge slammed 3 homeruns lifting the Spartans to a 6-4 victory over Los Angeles.
April 19th – Houston 2B Angel Valdez collected his 1000th run as the Stars beat San Jose, Valdez drove in his 1000th career RBI the following night.
April 20th – off season acquisition Mike Fulton hurled the second NO-HITTER of the season, taking just 93 pitches to lead New York to victory over St. Louis.
April 21st – Los Angeles catcher Andrew Lewis left it late against Las Vegas hitting a walk off homerun in the 11th helping LA to a 6-5 victory.
April 22nd – Andrew Lewis was at it again the following night, this time a 2-RBI walk off homerun in the 11th lifted LA to a 3-1 victory over Las Vegas.
April 23rd – Cleveland’s offense took a hit when star LF Pantalio Igreja (signed in the off-season from Miami) suffered a sprained knee sending him to the DL for eight weeks.
April 25th – LA’s veteran LF Lucio Martinez suffered a strained MCL when he collided with teammate Dick LeDoux attempting to make a defensive play. The injury would force him to the DL for 7 weeks.
May 1st – Austin effectively threw in the towel on their season when they pulled the trigger on a trade with Oklahoma City, sending catcher Paul Heard to the Outlaws for a pair of middling prospects, MR Tony Rivas and SS Chris McNeal.
May 10th - 1b Matt Henderson drilled his 300th career homerun, helping Philadelphia to beat New York.
May 31st – Denver sent star closer Greg Gray to Sanfrancisco for four prospects, pitchers Juan Pezina and Wilson Rodriguez along with outfielders Juan Saldana and John Collins.
June 11th – Oklahoma City 2B Ronald MacDane came up big for the Outlaws in their game against San Diego, belting a pair of homeruns, including a Grand-Slam and collecting 8-RBI's, the last of which (an eighth inning sacrifice fly) proved to be the winning run in OKC’s 11-10 victory. On the same day Minneapolis and Chicago announced a trade, the Bears sending LF Roberto Escobar and CF prospect Nelson Fonseco to Chicago for 1B/OF Loren Delgado.
June 12th – NABL Legend Dixon Bodean slammed his 600th career homerun, it was all in vain as sloppy play by Tampa Bay allowed Kansas City to come from behind and take the game 4-3 in extra innings.
June 16th – just three weeks after returning from injury, Miami LF Todd Louthian hit the DL again, a knee injury sidelining him for another five weeks.
June 20th – Chicago made another trade to fill a hole on their roster, sending MR Vincent O’Carey and 20-year-old LF Roberto Gonzales to San Jose for 2B/SS Billips Johnson.
June 17th – Las Vegas ace Holden Willis held Baltimore off the basepaths taking 110 pitches to throw a PERFECT GAME (the 7th in NABL history) as the Gamblers cruised to a 7-0 victory.
July 1st – 1B Jamie Boden scored his 1000th career run as Denver overcame division rivals Minneapolis 2-1.
July 7th – Washington’s star 2B Jack Underwood suffered a torn quad ruling him out for up to six weeks.
July 11th - Chicago 3B Alberto Florio hit for the CYCLE in a losing effort against Cleveland. While Seattle slugger Joey Buhler had reason to celebrate, he hit his 300th career homer and the Pioneers won.
July 12th – after a number of altercations between manager Pancho Gamez and SS Richie Rambeaux, Boston decided to enough was enough and shipped Rambeaux to St. Louis for five prospects including BNN top 100 entrants, C Luis Guerra (#76) and RF Weldon Render (#41)
July 17th – Washington made a push to improve their playoff chances, sending prospects SP Campbell Huysmans and 1B Jerry Wright to New York for pitcher Domingas Fidi. The Senators were happy to get out from under Fidi’s contract and by all accounts were ecstatic to lay their hands on 1B Jerry Wright who they believed had a bright future ahead of him.
July 22nd – Indianapolis 2B Jose Villalobos collected six hits (all of them singles) driving in three, as the Racers overran the Tamp Bay Hurricanes 11-4.
July 24th – Tampa Bay star LF Dixon Bodean collected his 2000th career RBI (becoming the first player in NABL history to reach the milestone) in helping the Hurricanes down the Racers 3-1.
July 26th – Los Angeles bolstered their pitching staff, adding starter Bernie Baldwin in a trade with Philadelphia with C Mike Willis and MR Norberto Alvarte heading in the opposite direction.
August 15th – Dallas suffered a massive blow when ace pitcher Juan Rangel was diagnosed with a stretched elbow ligament ending his season, the timescale for his recovery was put at 10 months meaning he would likely be out until the 2035 all-star break.
August 17th – another playoff bound team suffered an injury blow, this time Tampa Bay lost pitcher Kyle Key for the season with Torn Triceps.
August 20th – Philadelphia LF Lee McDale led the Independence to victory over Tampa Bay, hitting for the CYCLE and driving in six runs.
August 27th – Los Angeles LF Lucio Martinez suffered his second significant injury of the season, a shoulder injury prematurely ending his season having played a career low 84 games.
September 1st – St. Louis first round draft pick P Nathan Cortez suffered a rotator cuff injury whilst pitching in his first AA game ruling him out for the next six months. The young hurler had only been promoted the previous day after spending the season at single A Okanogan Chiefs where he had compiled a 7-6 record with a 3.40 ERA.
September 7th – Tampa Bay 2B Andres Montoya belted six hits, including a double and a solo homerun (TB’s only run of the game) as the Hurricanes fell 5-1 to Atlanta
September 8th – the following night it was the turn of Jim Champion to torture Tampa Bay, as the Atlanta hurler struck out 15 Hurricane batters while allowing only a single run on two hits as the Flames beat the Hurricanes 4-1.
September 11th – Minneapolis pitcher Mark Fort struck out six batters in a losing effort but still had cause to celebrate, as the sixth strikeout took his career total to 2500.
September 17th – Phoenix pitcher Marcos Rivera blasted his way through the Austin lineup, striking out 15 in only 6.2 innings of work. The Kings had the last laugh though, as they scored five runs against the Eagles bullpen to steal the game 6-5.
September 21st – Philadelphia’s star 1B Matt Henderson scored his 1000th career run in his sides 6-3 victory over Charlotte.
September 22nd – another Dallas pitcher hit the DL, this time Kurt Banks whose season ended with shoulder inflammation. Banks was the second Dallas starter to be lost for the season joining Juan Rangel and would leave their rotation dangerously exposed come playoff time.
September 27th – New Orleans pitcher Ken Francis threw the fourth NO-HITTER of the season, holding Miami hitless in a 5-0 Blues win that ultimately proved very damaging to the Everglades playoff hopes.
September 28th – Philadelphia 1B Matt Henderson collected RBI #1000 of his career as the Independence came from behind to beat New York.
September 30th – Chicago LF Dave Cantrell closed the regular season in style, hitting for the CYCLE in the Zephyrs 8-1 demolition of Washington.

[JayW UK]

2034 Playoffs

Divisional Round

In the east, heavy favorites Tampa Bay would begin their title defence against Philadelphia while Chicago matched up with playoff debutants Charlotte, in the west Oklahoma City would get a chance to avenge their 2033 WLCS defeat to San Jose and Dallas would take on Minneapolis in the first playoff meeting between the two teams.

In a tight pitching duel Charlotte’s Greg Bailey was the unlucky loser in game one, a seventh inning error by 3B Brandon Townsend allowed CF Josh Deric to score the go-ahead run. Chicago tacked on an insurance run in the eighth courtesy of 2B Ignacio Castro’s homer but Zephyr’s starter Logan Jones did not need it, hurling eight innings of three hit ball and striking out twelve before handing over to closer Harvey Widdowes to finish proceedings. Neither starter had their A-game the following night, Chicago’s Eugene Fey lasted only five innings and surrendered four runs while Charlotte’s Jim Jacques didn’t get out of the sixth inning, also giving up four runs, but whereas Chicago’s bullpen stopped the rot, Charlotte’s didn’t. The Zephyrs scored four more times including a monster 450-foot homer by Josh Deric (his second of the night) as Chicago took the game 8-4 and opened a commanding 2-0 series lead. Game three was another tight battle with both starters, Mike Harden (CHI) and Joe Downey (CHA) pitching seven strong innings. With the score tied at two Charlotte’s Tynan Ashley took the mound and proceeded to blow things up, surrendering back-to-back hits, the second of which was a towering 2-run blast to LF Roberto Escobar to put Chicago in the driving seat. Despite getting two men aboard in the ninth the Express were not able to complete the comeback, as Harvey Widdowes struck out both 3B Brandon Townsend and SS Jamie Henson before CF Josh Deric made a superb running catch for the final out, ending Charlotte’s playoff adventure and sending Chicago on to the ELCS.

Philadelphia arrived in Florida for their Date with Tampa Bay as heavy underdogs and were expected by most to play the part of plucky losers in the Hurricanes march to a second consecutive championship. In game one it was Tampa Bay’s ace Angel Castro who started the game as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders giving up a second inning Grand-Slam to Will Clayton to plunge Tampa Bay into an early 4-0 hole, Castro shrugged off his early struggles to show why he was one of the top pitchers in the league, pitching into the seventh without further trouble before handing over to fan favourite Larry de Meza to see out the game. Unfortunately for the Hurricane pitchers their teammates couldn’t lay a bat on Philly starter Shane Olson who pitched a sublime seven innings (2H, 0R, 1BB, 9K) and only a three-run outburst in the ninth inning made the game interesting as Philadelphia stunned the Hurricanes in their own backyard, taking game one 4-3. The following night was a classic pitcher’s duel with both starters, David Adams (PHI) and Ramon Schoof (TB) pitching eight innings while surrendering only a single run each, Philadelphia CF Will Clayton drove in the go-ahead run off Hurricane reliever Pedro Escobar in the top of the ninth before John Ford (a starter during the regular season) took the mound to close out the game and give the Independence an unexpected 2-0 series lead. Homeruns from 1B Matt Henderson and 3B Todd Gilliatt (2) paced Philadelphia to a 4-0 lead against Tampa starter Dave Cramer while the Hurricanes fearsome offense was once again held in check by inspired pitching from Philadelphia, a late Hurricane rally fell short when John Ford struck out 1B Ryan Porter to end the game and complete the stunning sweep. Entering the series no one had given Philadelphia a chance against the 105-win juggernaut that was Tampa Bay, but behind an offense that used timely hitting to do just enough and a pitching staff that held the NABL’s most explosive offense in check (allowing just 3 homeruns and 7 runs total in the series!!) the Independence pulled off the shock of the postseason and would head to the ELCS full of confidence.

Oklahoma City owners of the best record in the WL entered their series against San Jose as the overwhelming favorites and looking to avenge their 2033 playoff exit against the Spartans. With a pair of blowouts in the opening two games the Outlaws went a long way to realising that ambition, Rafer MacNeil and Antonio Valdes combined to four hit San Jose in a 6-0 game one victory while the Outlaws rolled over the Spartans in game two collecting ten runs on sixteen hits (even pitcher Chris McInnes got in on the act with a 2-RBI double), only a ninth inning RBI double by Armando Burrios denied the Outlaws a second shutout of the series. After being thoroughly humbled in Oklahoma the Spartans returned to California determined to avoid a series sweep, twice Oklahoma went ahead in game three and twice the Spartans tied things up before in the sixth inning that man Armando Burrios hit another RBI double to put the Spartans ahead for the first time in the series, although both teams put men on base neither of them could muster another score the rest of the way as San Jose scraped home 3-2 to stay alive. The following night OKC’s Rafer MacNeil was superb, scattering three hits over eight innings, his only blemish being a third inning solo homerun surrendered to 2B Emilio Mereno and with the Outlaws protecting a narrow 3-1 lead closer Kikaku Aoki took the mound for the ninth. Kikaku immediately ran into trouble as back-to-back doubles by RF Lucio Guerrero and Kenny Henry cut the Outlaws lead to one and when next man up Gregg Bambridge drew a walk it prompted a mound visit from manager Roberto Rodriguez. The pep talk seemed to galvanize Kikaku as he struck out star 3B Tom Sterling before enticing 1B Pablo Gonzales to ground out to 3B Levi Bute bringing SS Connor Brantley to the plate. Brantley a veteran of two World Series wins with Indianapolis used all of his experience to battle Kikaku to a standstill before (after an epic 11-pitch at bat) launching a bases clearing 3-run walk-off homer to hand the Spartans a stunning come from behind 5-3 victory, sending the series back to Oklahoma for a deciding game five. Fresh from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the Outlaws returned to Oklahoma determined to rediscover their free scoring form and finally put the series to bed. A first inning Chance Merritt homerun got OKC off and running and although they loaded the bases in the third and fourth inning, the Outlaws couldn’t find a way to add to their lead against a Spartan team playing inspired defense. San Jose tied the game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Gregg Bambridge (his first RBI of the series) before taking the lead in the seventh when C Eduardo Cabrera slammed a 2-run homerun. Clearly feeding off the inspired defensive play, the San Jose pitchers upped their game as from the fifth inning onwards a combination of Julio Torres, Rick Sauer and Vincent O’Carey kept OKC off the basepaths and off the scoreboard as the Spartans took the game 3-1 and sent OKC home for the second consecutive year. The disappointed OKC fans were left to wonder just how their team, who had outhit (49-31) and outscored (22-12) the Spartans, had managed to lose the series after winning the opening two games in such dominant fashion.

The other WL divisional series saw playoff regulars and the hottest team in baseball Dallas face off against Minneapolis who were making their postseason return after sixteen years in the wilderness. Game one saw two of the best pitchers in baseball, Cristobal Chapa (DAL) and Mark Fort (MIN) face off, the game didn’t start well for Fort as the Mustangs scored twice in the first before in the fourth, a 3-run homerun from 3B Wayne Radke sparked a five-run outburst which chased Fort from the game, although pitchers Blair Ford and Arnold silver held Dallas at bay from then on, the Mustangs were never in danger of losing as they rolled to an easy 7-1 win. Game two was the turn of Minneapolis to score early and coast, as homeruns from 1B Loren Delgado, CF Manuel Ruiz and SS Kyle Sheringham helped the Bears to a comfortable 8-3 series tying victory, Game three, saw Minneapolis host their first playoff game since game five of the 2018 World Series, however the party atmosphere didn’t last long as the visiting Mustangs trampled all over Minneapolis starter Steve Gream, hammering three homeruns en-route to a 7-2 victory. The following night the fans finally got to see some quality pitching as Mark Fort and Cristobal Chapa kept the opposition guessing, both pitched seven innings and struck out ten but, in the end, it was a 2-run homer from CF Manuel Ruiz that put Minneapolis ahead for good, catcher Mike Marshall’s RBI single in the eighth added an insurance run before closer Pablo Arellano cruised through the ninth to once again tie the series. Two nights later it was the turn of Munemitsu Kiyomizo (MIN) and Brad Wright (DAL) to take the mound, but unlike Chapa and Fort two nights before the duo did not pitch well surrendering a pair of homeruns each, but where Wright’s were solo efforts, Kiyomizo gave up a 2-run shot to C Carlos Barron and a three-run monster blast to LF Alfonso Sosa to scupper Minneapolis’ hopes. Dave Day and Luis Lagunas combined to shut out the Bears over the final four innings as the Mustangs added another run to give the final 6-2 scoreline a flattering look, Dallas would now head off to their fourth WLCS in six years where, awaiting them, were defending Western league champions San Jose.

[JayW UK]

2034 Playoffs

Championship Round

Chicago welcomed Philadelphia, the vanquishers of Tampa Bay to town for the opening stanza in the ELCS. In game one Philadelphia continued where they left off in Florida, building a four-run lead before a furious Chicago rally fell just short as the visiting Independence secured a narrow 4-3 win. The following night was a carbon copy with Philadelphia taking a four-run lead and Chicago rallying late, this time though the Zephyrs managed to send the game to extra innings when RF Diego Rangel drilled a 2-RBI single with two out in the ninth. Both teams scored in the tenth before blowing chances to win (Philadelphia leaving the bases loaded in the 12th and Chicago leaving two men in scoring position in the 13th) before in the 16th inning, Chicago’s hero of the night Diego Rangel squeezed a single past 1B and ex-Zephyr Matt Henderson to hand Chicago a dramatic walk-off win. With the series tied the two teams headed to Philadelphia for the next three games, the Independence started game three strong scoring twice in the first and plating another two runs in the second to build an early 4-0 lead, the Zephyrs came roaring back scoring three of runs of their own in the fifth and with the help of a pair of errors and general sloppy play from Philadelphia, forged ahead to take a commanding 9-4 lead. A ninth inning two-run homer from C Mike Willis cut Chicago’s lead to three, but the final 9-6 scoreline made the game seem closer than it actually was. Game four was a pitcher’s duel between Logan Jones (CHI) and John Ford (PHI) with the visiting Zephyrs edging over the line 2-1 courtesy of an eighth inning Josh Deric homer, leaving them on the verge of reaching the World Series, Chicago duly wrapped up the EL pennant the following night, after coming from 4-2 down in the sixth to win 6-4, with relief pitcher Justin Babbitt (4IP, 0H, 0BB, 0R, 5K) the Chicago hero.

The Western League Pennant Series saw many peoples World Series favourites Dallas, with the league’s best pitching staff and a dangerous offense, take on everyone’s favourite underdog and defending WL champion San Jose who, if judged strictly by the numbers, were just average across the board however where the Spartans separated themselves from the rest of the league was their superb team defense. This was on full display in game one as the Spartans stunned the heavily favoured Mustangs in their own back yard, allowing only four hits (one of them a 3-run homerun to Nick Richardson) while forcing Dallas to hit into four double plays, as the Spartans took the opening game 5-3. Dallas star Cristobal Chapa had things under control the following night pitching seven innings of 1-run ball, however a bullpen collapse allowed San Jose to tie the game in the ninth before completing the turnaround in the top of the tenth when 22-year-old Armando Burrios drilled a go-ahead homerun off Mustang reliever Carl Rodgers. Spartans closer Rick Sauer had no trouble finishing the game, retiring the Dallas batters in order as once again the home side were left stunned by the never-say-die Spartans. Early homeruns from 3B Wayne Radke and LF Alfonso Sosa set Dallas on their way in game three only for starter Brad Wright to give the runs straight back, surrendering three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth to put the Spartans ahead for good, both teams swapped runs in the seventh but San Jose held on to win 6-4 and put themselves one win away from back-to-back World Series appearances. That dream became reality the following night, homeruns from 3B Tom Sterling and 2B Emilio Mereno put the Spartans in the driving seat as Dallas crumbled under the pressure, 3B Wayne Radke’s homerun in the eighth gave the Mustangs hope only for Vincent O’Carey to shut the rally down, striking out the final four batters to secure the series clinching win.

[JayW UK]

2034 Playoffs

World Series

The 2034 World Series between Chicago and San Jose was not the series most people expected to see, that would have been Oklahoma City versus Tampa Bay, but the one they got was still intriguing. Featuring two young teams poised to become regular challengers for years to come, there was not much to choose between the two sides, both possessing middle of the road pitching staffs, middling offenses that on their day could be explosive, and superb team defense, however Chicago with the home advantage were seen as the slight favorites. Game one proved to be an entertaining shootout as the two teams took turns to hammer each other, combining for twenty-one hits and fifteen runs (including five homers), a ninth inning RBI-single from San Jose RF Lucio Guerrero proved the difference as the Spartans edged past Chicago 8-7. The victory came at a price for San Jose as star LF Gregg Bambridge pulled up lame with a hamstring injury early in proceedings and was ruled out for the rest of the series. After the fireworks of game one the second instalment was much more sedate, with Chicago starter Logan Jones working well as the Zephyrs built a 4-1 lead heading into the eighth. Things took a turn for the worse for Chicago from then on as Spartan CF Kenny Henry reached base via a walk, he then stole second much to the dismay of Logan Jones who thought he had him picked off, Jones clearly rattled then walked the next two batters before bringing home a San Jose run with a wild pitch. A change of pitcher for Chicago didn’t slow the San Jose momentum as SS Connor Brantley cleared the bases with a 2-RBI triple before scoring himself on 1B Pablo Gonzales sacrifice fly putting the Spartans ahead 5-4, former Zephyr Vincent O’Carey kept the Chicago bats quiet the rest of the way to put San Jose in the driving seat, leading the series 2-0 with the next three games at home. San Jose carried on where they left off in game three, hammering Chicago starter Eugene Fey to the tune of six runs through the first three innings on their way to opening up a 7-2 lead. A late Chicago rally fell just short when closer Rick Sauer struck out C Eduardo Moreno with two men in scoring position to give the Spartans a hard fought 7-6 win. Entering game four Chicago would have to accomplish something no team had managed in World Series history, overcome a 3-0 series deficit to become world champions, the dream appeared over for Chicago heading into the eighth inning, down 4-1 with precious little momentum going their way. A homerun from Eduardo Moreno sparked a 3-run rally that tied the game in the eighth and when 3B Alberto Florio drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, the first step of the comeback was within reach. Chicago closer Harvey Widdowes making his first appearance of the series, took the mound for the ninth and produced a mixed bag retiring two but also putting two men aboard before Spartans star 3B Tom Sterling drilled a 2-RBI walk-off double off the first pitch he saw to crush the Zephyrs dreams and deliver a first World Championship to San Jose. Although the series ended in a sweep, it was never-the-less an entertaining one, with every game being in the balance to the end, and all four games decided by a single run.

2034 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Chicago 3-0 Charlotte, Philadelphia 3-0 Tampa Bay
WL: Dallas 3-2 Minneapolis, San Jose 3-2 Oklahoma City
Championship Series
EL: Chicago 4-1 Philadelphia
WL: San Jose 4-0 Dallas
World Series
San Jose 4-0 Chicago

[JayW UK]

2034 Season Leaders and Awards

EL Batting
Hits
217 Dixon Bodean (TB)
216 Pedro Escoriaza (CLE)
204 Jose Villalobos (IND)
Batting Avg
.351 Pedro Escoriaza (CLE)
.338 Jose Villalobos (IND)
.333 Dixon Bodean (TB)
Homeruns
49 Dixon Bodean (TB)
35 Eduardo Moreno (CHI)
34 Bryant Manton (TB)
RBI
138 Dixon Bodean (TB)
107 Eduardo Moreno (CHI)
106 Anthony Williams (IND)
Stolen Bases
49 Marc Smith (WAS)
47 Gustavo Reyes (CHI)
38 Adam Bailey (STL)

EL Pitching
Wins
18 Greg Bailey (CHA)
17 David Adams (PHI)
17 Angel Castro (TB)
ERA
2.29 Greg Bailey (CHA)
2.67 Dave Cramer (TB)
2.75 David Adams (PHI)
Strikeouts
267 Jim Jacques (CHA)
254 Greg Marshall (ATL)
235 Greg Bailey (CHA)
Saves
44 Ken Maynard (MIA)
44 Harvey Widdowes (CHI)
42 Josh Renshaw (TB)

WL Batting
Hits
213 Manuel Ruiz (MIN)
212 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
200 Augusto Martinez (LV)
Batting Avg
.375 Keith Fairchild (KC)
.336 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
.333 Danny Wheeler (LV)
Homeruns
39 Jesus Alarcon (OKC)
39 Wayne Radke (DAL)
37 Keith Fairchild (KC)
RBI
122 Jesus Alarcon (OKC)
108 Alfonso Sosa (DAL)
105 Chance Merritt (OKC)
Stolen Bases
48 Pancho Sousa (AUS)
48 Wolfgang Worns (HOU)
47 Jose Diaz (OKC)

WL Pitching
Wins
17 Ricardo Garcia (OKC)
17 Wes Pierson (PHO)
16 Steve Gream (MIN)
ERA
1.85 Mark Fort (MIN)
2.19 Jaime Buenafe (SF)
2.39 Holden Willis (LV)
Strikeouts
268 Rafer MacNeil (OKC)
253 Cristobal Chapa (DAL)
226 Mark Fort (MIN)
Saves
45 Eric Hastings (SJ)
43 Luis Lagunas (DAL)
40 Kikaku Aoki (OKC)

Batting Champion – In the east, Cleveland 1B Pedro Escoriaza (.351) claimed his first batting title ahead of Indianapolis’ 20-year-old rookie 2B Jose Villalobos (.338) while Keith Fairchild (.375) capped a dream first season in Kansas City by taking home the WL title comfortably ahead of nearest rival Alfonso Sosa (.336)
Homerun Champion – In the EL, evergreen Dixon Bodean left the opposition in his wake hitting 49 homers on the season, Chicago catcher Eduardo Moreno with 35 was his nearest challenger. The western league saw a tie at the top of the homerun charts, with both Oklahoma City’s Jesus Alarcon and Dallas 3B Wayne Radke belting 39 to share the title.
Outstanding Hitter - Tampa Bay’s legendary LF Dixon Bodean (.333, 49 HR, 138 RBI and 115 runs) proved age was no barrier, winning the EL award at the tender age of 38. In doing so he became the first player in NABL history to win an Outstanding Hitter award in both the eastern and western leagues. In the west Kansas City’s off-season trade acquisition, 1B Keith Fairchild (.375, 37 HR, 91 RBI) finished ahead of Dallas LF Alfonso Sosa and Los Angeles catcher Andrew Lewis in the voting to collect his first award.
Outstanding Pitcher – Charlotte’s Greg Bailey (18-7, 2.29 ERA) claimed the award in the east, finishing ahead of he likes of David Adams (PHI), Shane Olson (PHI) and Eugene Fey (CHI) in the voting while Minneapolis star Mark Fort (14-5, 1.85 ERA) took home the award in the west.
Rookie of the Year – Baltimore’s Sul-Shik Choi (.303, 21 HR, 73 RBI) won the EL award, while in the west Sanfrancisco catcher Sancho Guerra (.288, 33 HR, 102 RBI) won the award in a landslide.
Manager of the Year – Charlotte manager Allan Fullerton collected the EL award after leading the Express to their first ever postseason appearance while San Jose manager Gary Hatcher picked up the WL award (his fourth career award) after leading the Spartans to the World Series title.
Glove Wizard Awards EL – P Rajion Samit (DET) – C William Hinton (NY) – 1B Pedro Escoriaza (CLE) – 2B Carl Scott (NY) – 3B Eric King (BOS) – SS Jorge Mendez (ATL) – LF Lee McDale (PHI) – CF Josh Deric (CHI) – RF Gerald O’Colitaran (DET)
Glove Wizard Awards WL – P Kevin Sims (SF) – C Eduardo Cabrera (SJ) – 1B Eric Finley (HOU) – 2B Emilio Mereno (SJ) – 3B Tom Sterling (SJ) – SS Alfonso Alejo (PHO) – LF Alfonso Sosa (DAL) – CF Manuel Ruiz (MIN) – RF Danny Wheeler (LV)

Interesting Facts – 38-year-old outfielder Marshall Ayersome signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia in August and was added to the club’s expanded roster in September where it was hoped his experience would help the team reach the playoffs. Ayersome struggled mightily at the plate going 1 for 20 during the month but did help the Independence to reach the postseason. At the conclusion of the season Ayersome announced his retirement.

[JayW UK]

2035 Off-Season

Detroit manager Keith Bennett announced his retirement at the conclusion of the season with the Giants moving quickly, appointing bench coach Juan Vasquez as their new manager after the outgoing Bennett lobbied hard for his former protégé to succeed him. Unfortunately for Keith’s brother Pat, he didn’t get to leave his job on his terms, as along with bench coach Billy Jackson, he was dismissed by Las Vegas after failing to guide the Gamblers into the playoffs. Injuries were the overriding reason for Washington not challenging for a postseason berth but manager Eddie Shearin still paid the price, while Austin and San Diego also moved on from their managers after disappointing seasons. Boston skipper Pancho Gamez who had been involved in several public spats with players, chief among them Keith Fairchild (now tearing things up in Kansas City) and well-respected veteran Richie Rambeaux (now in St. Louis), was in the headlines again, this time criticizing GM Michael DeVries for his roster building strategy. Owner Tex McGuinness quipped that two sub-70 win seasons didn’t give Gamez the right to criticize and that he expected Gamez and DeVreis to “sort things out between them” the fiery Gamez didn’t take kindly to the remarks and chose to pick a fight he was never going to win, turning his ire on McGuinness and telling him to “leave the running of the team to the experts” practically guaranteeing the end of his time in Boston, sure enough the next day an incensed McGuinness summoned Gamez to a meeting and fired him on the spot. In the days following Gamez’s sacking Boston GM Michael DeVries reached out to former New York manager Christian Eberlein and persuaded him to take the reins in Boston for the upcoming season, another team in the running for Eberlein was Washington, who after missing out turned their attention to former LA manager Ramon Ortega, eventually bringing him on board with a three-year deal. Las Vegas turned to Luis Martinez to replace the departed Pat Bennett, the former Seattle, New Orleans and Chicago manager who had spent the last four years as San Diego’s bench coach, jumped at the chance to manage again. Martinez would have big shoes to fill in the desert, following on from Pat Bennett, owner of four manager of the year awards and two World Series rings. Bennett’s former bench coach in Las Vegas Billy Jackson landed on his feet, just a few short weeks after being fired by the Gamblers he was named as Austin’s new manager.
Free agency opened with Indianapolis announcing the signing of former Austin SS/2B Pancho Sousa on a 6-year $122M deal, the addition of Sousa paired him with SS Roberto Paz to form one of the best middle infields in the majors, the Racers also added pitcher Ken Kramer from Seattle on a 3-year $48M deal. Indianapolis didn’t have things all their own way though, after the addition of Kramer they failed to persuade pitcher Walt Lake to stay, with Omaha stealing him away for $71M over four years, and in a big blow to the Racers 3B Matt Romero bolted for Sanfrancisco, landing in the Bay area for $82M over the next four seasons. Baltimore owner John Rockwell once again opened the chequebook, throwing cash at several stars, first to sign was former Detroit pitcher Rajion Samit who arrived for $95M over 6-years to be the nominal staff ace, but the biggest name by far that Rockwell chased and eventually lured to Baltimore was Dixon Bodean, who even aged 39 showed no signs of slowing down, so the two-year $38M contract he signed seemed a small price to pay. To fill the void left by Bodean Tampa Bay brought in veteran LF Lucio Martinez with the former Boston and LA man expected to provide the same level of veteran leadership as the departed Bodean but at a fraction of the cost. With many Hurricane fans disappointed with the departure of Bodean and less than impressed with the signing of Martinez as his replacement, that sentiment turned to outright anger when the club announced that it was parting ways with pitcher and fan favourite Larry de Meza. The three-time pitcher of the year landed with Dallas on a one year $3.5M deal leaving many Tampa Bay fans to wonder why the Hurricanes couldn’t bring him back as his contract demands would not have broken the bank. Charlotte landed veteran LF Stephen Thomas from Phoenix on a two-year $32M deal, the former Boston man had undergone somewhat of a career resurrection in Arizona prompting the Express to pounce, the South Carolina outfit also made a move to shore up their pitching, signing ex-Chicago veteran Justin Babbitt to a 2-year deal before adding former Cleveland pitcher Gerald Helton on a $10M a year deal, although many experts felt the length of the contract (6-years) was far too long for the journeyman Helton. Cleveland also lost 1B Alberto Rangel, with Boston luring him away from Ohio with a 4-year $50M contract, Boston also had interest in 2B Jack Underwood who had left Washington but Denver beat them to his signature, signing him to a 3-year $52M deal. World Series winning pitcher Julio Torres left San Jose for the bright lights of Los Angeles, signing on the dotted line for $90M over five years while Sanfrancisco also lost one of their top pitchers when Jaime Buenafe chose to leave the bay area to become the de facto ace in Austin, landing a 3-year $47M contract.
Three players stood out at the top of the 2035 draft pool, all of them pitchers, Jacobie Harksdale a 17-year-old high school prospect with a deadly curveball, Mariano Rojo from Illinois-Chicago, a similar pitcher to Harksdale but with more control and South Carolina’s Les Scott, who possessed an MLB ready combination of overpowering fastball (regularly sitting in the upper 90’s) and devastating slider. The top position players were college centerfielders Todd Browning (Oklahoma State) and Fernando Diaz (Missouri) and high school RF Raul Cruz, all three projected to be able to hit .290+ and club 25+ homeruns with Diaz the best defensive player of the three but also demanding the highest signing bonus.
Omaha raised a few eyebrows on draft night when with the first pick they took high school pitcher Jacobie Harksdale ahead of the more polished college pitchers Rojo and Scott, Seattle raised those eyebrows even further when they passed on the two pitchers to name Oklahoma state CF Todd Browning as their pick. Les Scott didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called as St. Louis made him the third player taken, New York GM Danny DeCosta practically danced to the podium to nab pitcher Mariano Rojo fourth. Denver called the name of CF Fernando Diaz fifth while high school RF Raul Cruz went to Austin with the next pick.
Even after a relatively quiet off-season, the experts at BNN had Philadelphia as the team to beat in the Atlantic division while both Washington, with new manager Ramon Ortega on board and Baltimore, after the additions of Dixon Bodean and pitcher Rajion Samit were seen as the most likely teams to challenge the Independence. Boston also with a new manager (former New York skipper Christian Eberlein) and New York had too many question marks to challenge for anything except the #1 overall draft pick. In the Central division Chicago were being tipped to win their third straight division title with Detroit and Indianapolis both in the mix for the Wildcard spot while St. Louis were seen by many as dark horses to join them. After back-to-back 100-win seasons Tampa Bay were expected to take the Southeast division with Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami all in the running for the EL wildcard spot while New Orleans had done nothing during the off-season to move the needle, and would do well to avoid 100 losses on the season.
In the Midwest division OKC were widely tipped to take their fourth straight division crown while both Minneapolis and Denver would be in the thick of the Wildcard race, the Southwest division was once again seen as a battle between Dallas and Las Vegas with the other three teams, Austin, Houston and Phoenix not expected to break .500 on the season. Defending champions San Jose would have a fight on their hands to hold onto the Pacific division crown, with both Los Angeles and Sanfrancisco expected to push them hard while at the other end San Diego and Seattle would find the going tough with both teams expected to be in the sweepstakes for the #1 overall draft pick in 2036.

[JayW UK]

2035 Regular Season

Eastern League Review

Philadelphia (97-65) rolled to their third straight Atlantic division title boasting the top pitching staff in the EL and the #3 scoring offense, even injuries to pitcher John Ford and superstar 1B Matt Henderson (who missed over 50 games during the season) couldn’t slow the Independence down. Washington (86-76) trailed in second but buoyed by their pitching (#2 in the EL) led by their bullpen (33 wins, 2.97 ERA) the Generals claimed the EL wildcard berth. Boston, under new manager Christian Eberlein and led by RF Jared Guest (.322, 23 HR, 96 RBI) and 1B Alberto Rangel (.299, 22 HR, 81 RBI) surprised everyone climbing from 69-wins to finish the season with an 84-78 record, their best for six years. Baltimore (81-81) with off-season additions Dixon Bodean (.323, 28 HR, 105 RBI) and pitcher Rajion Samit (13-9, 3.09 ERA) joining forces with fit again 3B Marc Baxter and 2034 rookie of the year Sul-Shik Choi finished the season with the clubs first non-losing season while New York endured another disappointing campaign bringing up the rear with a 75-87 record.
In the Central division Chicago (91-71) claimed their third consecutive title pulling away from the pack courtesy of an 18-win September, with pitcher Logan Jones (13-4, 2.64 ERA) being named pitcher of the month after 4-0, 1.03 ERA stretch run. Detroit (85-77) fell away after a strong mid-season put them in position for a run at the playoffs. St. Louis with 24-year-old pitcher McKenzie Ransford (19-8, 3.06 ERA) and evergreen Richie Rambeaux (.256, 26 HR, 69 ERA) leading the way, posted the franchise’s first winning season, while Indianapolis despite boasting two players who clubbed 30 homers, Jose Cintron (31) and Anthony Williams (31), fell back to just 79 wins. Cleveland, with the league’s worst pitching and a struggling offense, slipped below 70-wins finishing with a 67-95 record.
In the Southeast division Charlotte (82-80) won on the final day to take the division crown by a single game over Miami (81-81) who lost 5 of their last 7 games to miss out on the playoffs. Atlanta completed their third straight 79-win campaign while Tampa Bay boasted the league’s most powerful offense (204 homeruns) led by 2B Bryant Manton (.273, 40 HR, 101 RBI) and RF Lucio Martinez (.289, 19 HR, 66 RBI in 102 games) but struggled all season long with below par pitching and slipped from 105-wins to just 77, bringing up the rear with their eighth losing season in the last ten years were New Orleans winning just 66 games.

Final Standings

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia 97-65*
Washington 86-76*
Boston 84-78
Baltimore 81-81
New York 75-87

Central Division
Chicago 91-71*
Detroit 85-77
St. Louis 85-77
Indianapolis 79-83
Cleveland 67-95

Southeast Division
Charlotte 82-80*
Miami 81-81
Atlanta 78-84
Tampa Bay 77-85
New Orleans 66-96