It's time for the final edition of the power rankings for Season 5. Down the stretch, the top teams really showed why they are there, for the most part. Leading the way was #1 Tampa Bay, holding on to the top spot with a 10-2 record down the stretch. #2 Jackson (10-2), #3 Sacramento (10-2) and #4 Vancouver (11-1) all jumped up one spot with impressive stretch runs. #5 Rochester faltered in their last 12, falling 3 spots in the final poll. Atlanta, New York (NL), San Francisco, Burlington and Memphis round out the final Top 10.
This being the end of the regular season, it's good time to go back and compare the final rankings with the preseason predictions. Here are the top five that most outperformed their predictions, the top five that most underperformed, and those that finished where they started.
Most Improved Teams from the Preseason Rankings: #23 Little Rock (+9, preseason #32), #8 San Francisco (+8, preseason #16), #11 Honolulu (+8, preseason #19), #15 Hartford (+7, preseason #22), #4 Vancouver (+6, preseason #10), #19 Buffalo (+6, preseason #25)
Most Decline from the Preseason Rankings: #27 Syracuse (-13, preseason #14), #13 New York Pride of the Yankees (-9, preseason #4), #12 Florida (-9, preseason #3), #24 Oakland (-7, preseason #17), #21 St. Louis (-6, preseason #15)
Finished Where they Started: #2 Jackson, #6 Atlanta, #30 Ottawa
Interesting to see those preseason comparisons, indeed.
And now the complete last edition of the Power Rankings for Season 5!!
Rank | Team | Record | Prev |
1 | Tampa Bay | 112-50 | 1 |
2 | Jackson | 103-59 | 3 |
3 | Sacramento | 102-60 | 4 |
4 | Vancouver | 102-60 | 5 |
5 | Rochester | 98-64 | 2 |
6 | Atlanta | 96-66 | 6 |
7 | New York (NL) | 92-70 | 9 |
8 | San Francisco | 91-71 | 10 |
9 | Burlington | 92-70 | 7 |
10 | Memphis | 91-71 | 8 |
11 | Honolulu | 87-75 | 13 |
12 | Florida | 86-76 | 14 |
13 | New York (AL) | 85-77 | 15 |
14 | Dover | 86-76 | 11 |
15 | Hartford | 84-78 | 16 |
16 | Austin | 84-78 | 12 |
17 | Boston | 83-79 | 17 |
18 | San Juan | 82-80 | 19 |
19 | Buffalo | 80-82 | 18 |
20 | Cleveland | 76-86 | 20 |
21 | St. Louis | 71-91 | 21 |
22 | Detroit | 70-92 | 22 |
23 | Little Rock | 69-93 | 26 |
24 | Oakland | 69-93 | 23 |
25 | Charleston | 69-93 | 25 |
26 | Cheyenne | 66-96 | 24 |
27 | Syracuse | 64-98 | 29 |
28 | Durham | 65-97 | 28 |
29 | Wichita | 64-98 | 27 |
30 | Ottawa | 59-103 | 31 |
31 | Kansas City | 59-103 | 30 |
32 | Los Angeles | 55-107 | 32 |
That's it for the Power Rankings for Season 5, good luck to the playoff teams!