[damientheomen3]

It's October 1st and all teams have played 161 games. It's been a hell of a ride, and quite the unpredictable one too. Wasn't Kansas City the best team in the league? Wasn't Charlotte supposed to be better than Austin and Baltimore? Well, none of that happened, but hey, parity is good for the league, right? It's been a tight race most of the way, with Austin and Baltimore flip flopping for the lead, Detroit moving in on top for a little bit and even San Fran leading it all for a couple of days. Here are how the standings look now that each team has completed 161 games.

 
STANDINGS
 
team                            wins     losses      win %      GB
Baltimore Colonels               92        69        .571       -
Austin Steelers                  91        70        .565       1
Detroit Maroons                  90        71        .559       2
San Francisco Terror             88        73        .547       4
Memphis Pirates                  78        83        .484       14
Kansas City Mastodons            75        86        .466       17
Tucson War Dogs                  71        90        .441       21
Charlotte Bulldogs               59        102       .366       33

Five players were hitting over .400 at the midway point, but only Dennis Hewlett of Baltimore could maintain it, and he even missed 6 weeks with a leg injury. He was, however, able to hit .412, and maintain his lead in all of those top row categories that he led in besides slugging percentage. He finished .016 lower than Columbus Perry in that category. Speaking of Perry, he kept on his pace of leading the league in homers and RBI, hitting 49 over the wall and driving in 174. If Baltimore can win their season closer today, Hewlett will definitely win the OBA (outstanding batter award). But if they don't, who knows what'll happen?

Ralph Perry was not able to keep up his big first half, in which he led the league with a 3.75 ERA. He is currently 22-12 with a 4.40 ERA, but he hasn't lost in a month, while his teammate, Lawrence Burns, led the league with a 4.33 ERA. Ronald French leads the league in wins by a mile with 29, and will start Baltimore's final game of the season to attempt to win his 30th. How amazing would it be for him to become the first player to win 30 games, and for him to win the pennant clinching game for his team, all in the same game? Anyway, Jim Fogg of San Francisco led the league with 43 saves, while Snoopy Joseph of Austin had 42.

The biggest dominance of one team over another this season was Baltimore's 18-5 record versus Charlotte. Baltimore finished at or above .500 against every team besides Austin, against whom they went 11-12. Austin also went .500 or better against all teams besides Detroit, who drubbed Austin for a 16-7 record. Since Detroit was the only team that could figure out Austin's pitching staff, does that make them the best team in the league? Well, maybe if they didn't struggle against lower tier teams (they went 11-12 against Kansas City and 12-12 against Tucson) they'd be in a position to win the league right now. But this isn't a time for 'what ifs' and 'maybe ifs', this is a time to reflect on what did actually happen.

Baltimore led the league in most all hitting categories, including batting average and runs scored. They did, however finish 7th in home runs. They were also run-of-the-mill pitching-wise, causing them to be in the position they're in now. Austin remains the only team in the league with a sub- 5.00 team ERA, as well as the only team to allow opponents to hit at a rate below .300. If they weren't so run-of-the-mill hitting-wise, they wouldn't be in the position they're in now either. Anyway, let's get on to the reports for each team before we detail the (potentially) last day of the season.

Austin Steelers
first half record- 47-34
first half position- 1st (t)
record since- 44-36
current position- 2nd (1 GB)

Well, Austin didn't really do anything wrong, they're just up against a consistent Baltimore team. Eric Childress leads the team in homers with 32, but he only got playing time because of a lot of injuries to outfielders (none of the current starting OFs have 500+ ABs). John Wetherall leads the team with a .369 batting average, while John Stevens leads the team with 123 RBI. Walt Hill had a spectacular season, hitting .345 with 30 homers and 118 RBI, in just 490 at bats. The pitching remained as solid as it's been, as Lawrence Burns leads the league with a 4.33 ERA, but a 13-16 record shouldn't get his hopes too high for the OPA. Ralph Perry is 22-12 with a 4.40 ERA, 3rd in the league, while Andrew Kinsler is one of two players in the league with 20 wins AND 20 losses. 36 year old reliever Marlin Nelson leads all relievers with 10 wins as well. Austin enters their season closer, at Memphis, with Ralph Perry on the mound. He hasn't lost since September 1st, but can he keep that going when his team desperately needs him to?

Baltimore Colonels
first half record- 47-34
first half position- 1st (t)
record since- 45-35
current position- 1st

Ah, the Colonels. They play a gritty, tough game of baseball and are now in prime position to win the league because they do it so well. They lead the league in runs despite ranking second to last in home runs, thanks to a high team batting average and a high team OBP. Dennis Hewlett leads the team (and the league) with a .412 batting average, while ranking second on the team in homers with 23, and RBI with 123. Right fielder Dan Harper is second on the team (and in the league) with a .390 batting average, while leading the team in homers (29) and ribbies (138). Less known players Chris Dorton and Henry Ballentine also drove in over 100 runs each. Ace Ronald French leads the league with 29 wins, and will try for his thirtieth today, against Kansas City. Rick McGinnis went 22-17, and led the league in innings pitched with 377.2, as well as complete games, with 18. All eyes will be on this team tonight, as a win will win them the league pennant.

Charlotte Bulldogs
first half record- 30-51
first half position- 8th (18 GB)
record since- 29-51
current position- 8th (33 GB)

Well, at least they were able to stay consistent. The Bulldogs finish the season with 3 starting fielders, a backup, and a reliever on the DL, and those on the DL include star Todd Hawk and shortstop John Labbe. Gary Stewart was able to turn in a good season, hitting .341 with 16 homers and 96 RBI, while Jack Miliner led the team in homers with 28, and tied for the team lead for RBIs with exactly 100. While the rotation was overall abysmal, ace Raymond Nall was able to pitch phenomenally when he could pitch. In 18 starts, he went 10-4 with a 3.16 ERA. Imagine what could have been had he never missed four months with shoulder inflammation...

Detroit Maroons
first half record- 44-38
first half position- 2nd (3½ GB)
record since- 46-33
current position- 3rd (2 GB)

A terrific second half goes to waste as Detroit finishes the season empty handed. The Maroons' hitters played as well as expected, the only problem is that the pitching also did as bad as expected. Shortstop Nick Beeman and left fielder Brendan Hixson finished third and fourth in the league in batting average, respectively, while first baseman Columbus Perry led the league in homers with 49, and RBI with 179. It's not often that the team that has the player with the most homers in the league finishes third to last in total team homers, but that's what happened here. Ace Sam Pickard is only 25, and looked it, with his inconsistency. He won pitcher of the month back in May, but has not had a good month since. He is currently 24-12 with a 5.13 ERA. Ethan Porter went 15-16 with a 5.77 ERA while Randy Hagood went 18-12 with a 5.34 ERA. If the team could have had a consistent ace, they could be in Baltimore's situation right now!

Kansas City Mastodons
first half record- 39-43
first half position- 6th (8½ GB)
record since- 36-43
current position- 6th (17 GB)

It has been a tough season for the Elephants. Two of the teams' top 3 in starts are currently on the DL, with the one who isn't being the worst one. Their current #3 starter, Michael Johnson, should enjoy his time in the bigs, because I'm pretty sure a 2-12 record and a 9.51 ERA won't land him a job anywhere else. The team has been terrific offensively, ranking top 3 in every offensive category, but they also rank dead last in about 90% of all pitching categories. 26 year old shortstop Harry Steele led the team with a .377 batting average, while Alan Gibbons hit .363, led the team in homers with 35 (also good for second in the league), and he led the team in RBI with 142 (also second league-wide). He also walked over 110 times, the only player in the league to walk a triple digit amount of times, and led the league in runs scored. Plenty of other players deserve mention, but I've spent enough time on this team. Next!

Memphis Pirates
first half record- 40-40
first half position- 5th (6½ GB)
record since- 38-43
current position- 5th (14 GB)

Ace Bobby Button has had a terrific season, going 23-17 with a 4.36 ERA, second in the league. Too bad he's the only starter on the team that had an even remotely good season. The team was top 3 in most pitching categories, but most of them are driven up by Button and closer Jason Peters, who posted 31 saves and a 2.49 ERA. Just like the pitching, there isn't much mentioning on offense after the team's 2 best hitters. Third baseman Danny Hearne led the team in batting average (.369), homers (29), and RBI (113), while Dan Southerland hit .365 with 21 home runs. Memphis is a good team, all they need is better fielding and a few upgrades on offense to be legit contenders.

San Francisco Terror
first half record- 35-44
first half position- 7th (11 GB)
record since- 43-29
current position- 4th (4 GB)

Well, when a 7th place team at the midway point can become the top team in the league standings at the start of September, you know you have yourself either a weak league, or a damn competitive one. San Fran WAS able to build on the 15-12 June, going 21-6 in July, 16-11 in August and 16-12 in September. Chalk this one up as 'too little, too late', because this team was really the only team that played like a champion throughout the stretch. Little known third baseman Ben Little led the team in batting average, hitting .371, and RBI with 120, while hitting 26 homers. Shane Labbe ranked fourth on the team with a .329 batting average, while leading the team in homers with 29 and ranking second in RBI with 117. The rotation has remained amazingly healthy, with all 3 starters logging at least 40 starts. Earl McCafferty led the way with a 23-18 record and a 4.97 ERA, while Cecil Street went 22-12 with a 5.05 ERA. If only the team could start as strong as they finished...

Tucson War Dogs
first half record- 41-39
first half position- 4th (5½ GB)
record since- 30-51
current position- 7th (21 GB)

Well, for every San Francisco, there's a Tucson. The team looked so promising, but a pair of 8 win months couldn't be reprimanded with a 14-14 September. This team didn't look like a veteran team, it looked like an old team, and that's a problem for such a young offense. Everett Baker was the other pitcher in the league, besides Andrew Kinsler, to win 20 and lose 20, going 22-20 with a 4.68 ERA. Raw 25 year old first baseman George Price led the team in home runs and RBI, with 28 and 120 respectively. Shortstop Dustin Van led the team with a .346 batting average, while hitting 13 homers and driving in 87 runs. Star youngster Darin Bennett hit .341 overall, with 24 steals.


Well it's (possibly) the last day of the season and there are two matchups that everyone will keep their eye on: Austin at Memphis and Kansas City at Baltimore. If Austin loses, Baltimore clinches the league pennant (although they wouldn't know since all games are at 7:05 PM). If Austin wins and Baltimore loses, then a tiebreaker game will be played, and Baltimore ace Ronald French will be tired, since he'll be pitching today against Kansas City. Without further adieu, let October 1st begin!

The first game to sim is San Francisco at Detroit. Detroit was able to score 2 in the 8th to force a 4-4 tie into extras, where Nick Beeman drove in the game winning run in the 12th to give Detroit a 5-4 win. Austin at Memphis is the second game, but to increase the suspense, I'll sim Charlotte at Tucson first. Well, who knew that the two worst teams duking it out could be interesting? Charlotte jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back, winning 11-4. Mark Payton, who leads the league with 32 losses, won his 13th game. Now, Austin at Memphis.

Ralph Perry was starting for Austin in a suspenseful game that was a do or die situation. Perry is not only a solid pitcher, but a good hitter too, having hit .293 with 7 RBI. He went 1 for 4 in the game and drove in a run. Austin was able to string a bunch of hits together to score 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, only to see Memphis respond with 2 in the bottom half of the inning. Austin then scored 4 in the 4th, taking a commanding 7-2 lead. They made the lead 8-2 in the top of the 6th, until Memphis scored 3 in the bottom of the inning to close the gap. Austin scored 2 in the 7th to take a comfortable 10-5 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, two quick outs were gotten before a single and a walk put a guy in scoring position. Another single gave Memphis a run, and a double scores another run for the Pirates before a flyout. After 8, the score is Austin 10, Memphis 7. The top of the 9th featured just 10 pitches, as the Steelers were made to look foolish. Snoopy Joseph was in to try and shut the game down in the bottom of the 9th. His first pitch was a single for Jim Kiley. Four pitches later, an RBI double for Bill Mertens. Next pitch, a single to Danny Hearne, advancing Mertins to third. Luckily, Samuel Barber grounded into a double play, but the run scored, leaving Austin with just a 1 run lead and 1 out to go. Chris Harkey made sure to be patient, and was awarded with a walk. Bill Alderete was up to bat, with hit .386 batting average in close, late games. Snoopy kept his cool and got him to ground out to the second baseman and secure a 10-9 victory for Austin! Meanwhile...

Kansas City at Baltimore. Kansas City scored off of Ronald French in the first inning, but the Colonels responded with a run of their own. KC scored again in the top of the 2nd, but Baltimore scored 3 in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead. The Mastodons slimmed the lead to 4-3 after 3, and tied the game at 4 halfway through the fourth, but the Colonels scored 4 in the bottom of the 4th to take an 8-4 lead. That would be short lived, as Kansas City scored 7(!) runs in the top of the 5th to take an 11-8 lead! Baltimore scored 2 in the bottom of the inning, and both teams scored one in the 6th. KC didn't score in the 7th, while their counterparts scored one to tie it at 12 through 7. No one scored in the 8th, and KC was shut down in the 9th by Jimmy Hixson. The bottom of the 9th started with two quick outs before Carson Dorton singled. Henry Ballentine was up to bat now, with one more chance to keep this game from going into extras. Because of the runs scored, this was the longest game of the day, and thus, Austin gets to look on in. Anyway, Ballentine swung and missed, then looked at a strike. He would then foul off four of the next 6 pitches he saw, and then he saw a 2-2 fastball right up the alley, and his eyes lit up. He swung as hard as he could, and sent it flying, back, back, back... GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Henry Ballentine just walked off the season with a two run homer and Baltimore wins the league pennant!!!!! Incredible!!! Unbelievable!!! Unimaginable!!! WOW!!!!!

(I know it sucks, but I only have access to GIMP now)