Season 20 Wrap Up

Colorado Springs From My Loins (AL) topoftheworl View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Colorado Springs takes it all in Season 20!

The top two teams in the final regular season rankings battled it out in the Season 20 World Series, and it was # 2 Colorado Springs who bested # 1 Dover in a tough six game series.  Welington Aquino was a major factor in the playoffs for Colorado Springs, belting six home runs and driving in 11.   Arthur Camilli has to be considered the playoff MVP for Colorado Springs.  While the Starting Pitching got roughed up at times, whenever they had the lead, Camilli slammed the door shut, going 6 for 6 in save opportunities, with a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings. 

Dover played well, but the big trophy eluded them once again, as they have been runner-up in the World Series 4 times (S4, S7, S19, S20) without winning.  The playoffs can be brutal.  But Dover definitely has the talent to get back to the Series again next season for sure, and in the meantime, jiml60 can be consoled by reminiscing on his 11 other championships in other worlds.

Thanks to all for making it a great season.  Hopefully we'll have another quick rollover, and get going on Season 21 soon.  Spread the word, and let me know if you have any good candidates for what should be our very few openings this offseason.  See you next season!

Season 20 Awards Recap

While Dover and Colorado Springs are battling it out for the World Series crown, the Season 20 Award Winners were announced, let's take a look to see who took home the honors!

Most Valuable Player
American League -  Dustan Jackson, Kansas City -.309 AVG 45 HR 130 RBI 43 SB
Jackson had an incredible season leading a potent Kansas City offense by leading the AL in Runs and RBI and also posting a 40/40 year.  Pretty hard to argue against him with those numbers.  He won his second Silver Slugger award as well this season, but surprisingly, did not make the All Star team.  This is his first MVP award, and it is well deserved indeed.

National League - Greg Riley, Texas - .316 AVG 54 HR 159 RBI
After showing promise in his rookie year, Riley had a break out sophomore season, leading the NL in in Home Runs, RBI, Hits, SLG and OPS.  It's a pretty safe bet when you do that, you're going to win MVP.   He made the All Star team and won a Silver Slugger award as well.  At only 24, this could be the first of many MVP's for him, if he can avoid the injury bug.

Cy Young Award
American League -  James Haselman, Tampa Bay - 22-2 2.19 ERA 225K
Every superlative has been exhausted in describing Haselman, and I think everyone knows how great he is by now.  Haselman becomes the first ever 5 time Cy Young Award winner in Cobbfather history, and this is his 3rd consecutive win as well.  It doesn't look like he's showing any signs of slowing down either, so it's likely he'll continue to raise the bar for pitching excellence for seasons to come.

National League - Don Monahan, Dover - 21-2 2.90 ERA 194 K
Monahan had an extremely strong year as part of the league's best regular season team to capture his first Cy Young Award, edging out teammate Willie Arredondo for the trophy.  Monahan was acquired last season, and has been lights out for Dover ever since.  He definitely could be back in the winners circle again in future seasons, but will have strong competition, a few on his own team, amongst others.

Rookie of the Year
American League -  Paulie Flynn, Atlanta - 18-7 3.07 ERA 176 K
Flynn was the winner of the AL Rookie of the Year honors by a wide margin.   He proved to be quite the workhorse, with 10 Complete Games, and setting a new Cobbfather record by tossing 5 shutouts.  This could be just the start for Flynn, as he has the makeup to win several more awards throughout his career, although competing with Hasleman for Cy Youngs won't be an easy task.

National League - Willie Cerda, Little Rock - .277 AVG 44 HR 107 RBI
The long awaited debut in the majors of Willie Cerda has a big success, as he captured the NL Rookie of the Year honors this season.  An international signee from two seasons ago, Cerda is an amazing hitter, with incredible power, that should allow him to win multiple awards throughout his career.  His numbers this year might be the low end of what he see from him throughout his career

Fireman of the Year
American League -  Arthur Camilli, Colorado Springs - 2.58 ERA 38 SV - 4th win
National League - Marvin Walsh, Pittsburgh -1.26 ERA, 43 SV - 2nd win

Silver Slugger Awards
American League

DH	Joey Ryan	Kansas City	2nd
C	Vic Martinez	Burlington	1st
1B	Kendry Lunar	Boston	1st
2B	Dustan Jackson	Kansas City	2nd
3B	Carlos James	Kansas City	3rd
SS	Edgar Castro	Colorado	1st
LF	Crash Meacham	Atlanta	1st
CF	Vic Crowe	Colorado Springs	1st
RF	Stubby Shaw	Boston	1st

National League 

P	Juan Seanez	Little Rock	1st
C	Mark Martin	Little Rock	5th
1B	Greg Riley	Texas	1st
2B	Calvin Decker	Little Rock	3rd
3B	Pepe Guillen	Minnesota	2nd
SS	Albert Pineda	Dover	2nd
LF	Sammy Torres	El Paso	2nd
CF	Hub Petrov	Buffalo	1st
RF	Al James	Pittsburgh	6th

Gold Glove Awards
American League

P	Ron Gross	Detroit	2nd
C	Albie Lind	Charlotte	1st
1B	Vern Connelly	Kansas City	1st
2B	Benjamin Delcarmen	Cleveland	3rd
3B	Roberto Bennett	Vancouver	9th
SS	Walter Palmer	Charlotte	1st
LF	Clarence Loney	Cleveland	3rd
CF	Aaron Kennedy	Boston	4th
RF	Mike Worthington	Tampa Bay	3rd

National League

P	Carl Levis	Philadelphia	1st
C	Ron Murphy	Texas	1st
1B	Garrett Patrick	Dover	1st
2B	Ken Stammen	Philadelphia	2nd
3B	Joe Foster	Buffalo	1st
SS	Esteban James	Pittsburgh	7th
LF	Vic Gonzales	Dover	1st
CF	Jose Ortiz	Omaha	1st
RF	Donaldo Cordero	Los Angeles	3rd

Season 20 League Leaders

The regular season is in the books for Season 20, so let's take a look at the league leaders!

Offense
In the American League, Kansas City duo Joey Ryan (Batting Average, OBP and OPS) and Dustan Jackson (RBI and Runs) dominated the leader board, while Luis Alarcon also led multiple categories (Home Runs and SLG). In the National League, Greg Riley had a most impressive season, leading the NL in Home Runs, RBI, Hits, SLG and OPS.  Wow!  Pepe Guillen captured the batting title, while leading the NL in OBP. Here's the complete offensive league leaders.

American League

Batting Average	Joey Ryan	Kansas City	.344
Home Runs	Luis Alarcon	Colorado Springs	50
RBI	Dustan Jackson	Kansas City	140
Stolen Bases	Khalil Floyd	Helena	56
Hits	Lastings Morris	Colorado	210
Runs	Dustan Jackson	Kansas City	129
OBP	Joey Ryan	Kansas City	.433
SLG	Luis Alarcon	Colorado Springs	.619
OPS	Joey Ryan	Kansas City	.996

National League

Batting Average	Pepe Guillen	Minnesota	.326
Home Runs	Greg Riley	Texas	54
RBI	Greg Riley	Texas	159
Stolen Bases	Ken Stammen	Philadelphia	85
Hits	Greg Riley	Texas	203
Runs	Garrett Patrick	Dover	127
OBP	Pepe Guillen	Minnesota	.404
SLG	Greg Riley	Texas	.616
OPS	Greg Riley	Texas	.993

Pitching
In the American League, the dominant pitcher once again was James Haselman,who lead the league in ERA, Wins, Strikeouts, WHIP and Quality Starts.  His 0.90 WHIP was the 5th best all time, and his 28 quality starts tied for 5th best all time.  I think it's safe to say, a record breaking 5th Cy Young Award is in his future.  Also worth a mention, Paulie Flynn tied for 2nd best all time in Complete Games with 10 and set a new record for shutouts with 5.  Very impressive!  In the National League,  Willie Arredondo tied the mark for 5th most Wins with 23, while Rusty Hogan led the league in ERA and WHIP. Here are the complete pitching league leaders!

American League

ERA	James Haselman	Tampa Bay	2.19
Wins	James Haselman	Tampa Bay	22
Strikeouts	James Haselman	Tampa Bay	225
Saves	Allen Cox	Kansas City	40
WHIP	James Haselman	Tampa Bay	0.90
Innings Pitched	Ned Meyers	Colorado Springs	255.1
Quality Starts	James Haselman	Tampa Bay	28
Complete Games	Paulie Flynn	Atlanta	10
Shutouts	Paulie Flynn	Atlanta	5
National League
ERA	Rusty Hogan	Los Angeles	2.22
Wins	Willie Arredondo	Dover	23
Strikeouts	Lewis Peterson	Pittsburgh	232
Saves	Marvin Walsh	Pittsburgh	42
WHIP	Rusty Hogan	Los Angeles	0.93
Innings Pitched	Lyle Wallace	El Paso	252.0
Quality Starts	Groucho Leiter	Austin	26
Complete Games	Mack Porter	Washington	6
Shutouts	Ben Lincoln	Omaha	3

Season 20 Final Regular Season Power Rankings

The Season 20 regular season is in the books and the playoffs are right around the corner, but first, let's take a look at the final power rankings.  Dover took the over top spot for the third time in a row, but the best records down the stretch were pitching heavy Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, so the playoffs will be interesting for sure.  These two teams came in at #8 and #6 respectively due to low offensive totals, but have to be considered strong contenders for the World Series title.  And you can't forget Vancouver, who is going for a three-peat, who played well down the stretch as well.  Good luck to the playoff teams, it will be fun to see who grabs the title with so many strong contenders!  Here are the complete final rankings.

		W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Dover	109	53	1	Looking solid heading into the playoffs, offense is firing
2	Colorado Springs	99	63	7	Great down the stretch, and well balanced all around
3	Tampa Bay	102	60	3	Played very well the last 40, earning AL's top seed
4	Little Rock	94	68	2	Struggled a bit towards the end, but numbers are strong
5	Buffalo	95	67	8	Pitching very solid, and getting enough on offense
6	Pittsburgh	106	56	6	Playing great, low offense hurt ranking, a top team for sure
7	Boston	96	66	4	Great offense, but pitching is a question mark in playoffs
8	Los Angeles	95	67	10	Best record in last 40, they are hot, incredible pitching
9	Vancouver	91	71	11	Playing better, and they know how to win in the playoffs
10	St. Louis	91	71	9	Great play down the stretch resulted in division title
11	Detroit	82	80	14	Probably a little unlucky this year, put up good numbers
12	Minnesota	89	73	13	Took steps forward this season, but just short of playoffs
13	Texas	94	68	5	Not great down the stretch, but made the playoffs
14	Atlanta	87	75	12	Back in playoffs after long absence, great young team
15	Kansas City	83	79	15	They have the offense, but pitching needs an upgrade
16	Boise	82	80	17	Better pitching and they could be a playoff contender
17	El Paso	72	90	22	A bit unlucky, good, but not great numbers all around
18	Cleveland	80	82	26	Above .500 last 40, made good strides this season
19	Charlotte	79	83	18	Good young talent here, could use a bit more offense
20	Burlington	72	90	25	Team was unlucky, a few moves, and could be in the mix
21	New York	73	89	24	Decent enough pitching, but more offense needed
22	Omaha	76	86	16	Rough stretch run, after good first three quarters
23	Durham	71	91	28	Rough season, offense didn't produce like you'd expect
24	Austin	71	91	20	Really bad the last 40, and offense struggled all year
25	Syracuse	72	90	23	Pretty average across the board, but some good talent
26	Helena	66	96	19	Fell off at the end, but offense was pretty good this season
27	Philadelphia	71	91	21	Continuing to take steps forward, not a bad season
28	Colorado	61	101	27	Their pitching staff needs major help, but good offense
29	Honolulu	67	95	29	Offense wasn't bad, but pitching needs some improvement
30	Seattle	59	103	31	Offense struggled, and pitching decent, but not enough
31	Washington	52	110	32	Not the worse down the stretch, but roster looks rough
32	Florida	55	107	30	Has some good, young players, but it hasn't come together