Season 33 Wrap Up - Houston Takes the Crown

Houston Space Cowboys (AL) rawdk27 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Houston is your Season 33 Champion!

Another tough, hard fought Cobbfather postseason is in the book, and it's Houston that has emerged from the fray as the Season 33 Champion!  rawdk, one of the two owners who has played all 33 seasons in Cobbfather, takes home his 5th championship by outlasting Florida in a back-and-forth six game duel in the World Series.  The Houston win marks the continuation of an interesting trend.  Each of the last four Cobbfather champions were never ranked #1 in the Power Rankings in the season they won.  Houston, who moved to Arlington this past offseason, held the top spot in 4 out of the 5 power rankings in Season 32, and had been #1 at some point over the past 5 seasons.  In Season 33, they flew under the radar, starting and finishing the season ranked #2.

Perhaps it was being free of having to carry the torch of the #1 ranking that got them their first title since Season 28.  They didn't hit all that well in the postseason, striking out alot and having an OBP under .300, but they connected with the long ball when they needed to.  Their pitching and defense was outstanding in the postseason, as it has been all season, which ultimately was too tough for any of their opponents to overcome.

It was another disappointing World Series loss for Florida, marking their 4th World Series loss in the last 8 seasons.  Hats off dodgersrays, however, as making the World Series four times is an extremely impressive feat.  He's fielded some excellent teams that have deserved to win it all.  As many of us know, the playoff gods can be quite cruel.

That does it for Season 33, see you back for Season 34 after a hopefully very quick rollover!

Season 33 Award Winners

Here's your recap of the Season 33 Award Winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Francis King, Salem - .348 AVG 34 HR 137 RBI
The winner of the Season 33 AL MVP by a single vote, it would still be tough to argue that he's not a deserving winner.  King was the AL batting champ and also led the league in RBI and OPS.  This is the 31-year old's first MVP win, although he has had a number of impressive seasons where he warranted consideration.  He also won a Silver Slugger Award this season.   Congrats to King on breaking through and winning the MVP in a very tight race!

National League - Julian Barber, Colorado - .340 AVG 43 HR 112 RBI
Yes, OK, Barber plays in Colorado, which helps the offensive stats a bit, but when a player wins the batting title and leads the league in Hits, Runs, Slugging, OBP, and OPS, it's hard to ignore regardless of where he plays, and NL MVP voters felt the same way, resulting in the 26 year-old Barber taking home his first MVP crown.  On top of the aforementioned accomplishments, he also was an All-Star starter and won a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.  What a season indeed!

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Carlos Colome, Salem - 26-3 2.25 ERA 175 K
And yet another award decided by one vote, this season has emphasized that your vote matters! Colome takes home the AL Cy Young with a tremendous season setting new Cobbfather records in Quality Starts and Innings Pitched and tying the all-time mark for Wins.  He also won the AL ERA title and was a 2-time Pitcher of the Week, on top of making his 3rd All-Star team.  Not a bad season for the 25 year-old lefty who is showing that pitch ratings aren't everything!

National League - Red Collins, Florida - 18-7 2.33 ERA 194 K
The only repeat winner in the major awards this season, Collins takes home his 2nd Cy Young trophy, also having won in Season 30.  He was the NL leader in ERA, Strikeouts and WHIP and tied for the lead in Quality Starts and Shutouts, making him quite the strong candidate.  The voters agreed, awarding him a landslide win.  He also made his 4th All-Star appearance this season.  The 34 year-old righty is still going strong, and another Cy Young push next season wouldn't be surprising.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Sean Gosling, Charlotte - .268 AVG 40 HR 108 RBI 20 SB
The 23 year-old Charlotte 3rd Baseman lived up to the hype of being the #1 overall draft pick in Season 30, putting forth an excellent campaign that earned him AL Rookie of the Year honors. Gosling is the total package, with elite fielding ability for a 3B, plus-plus power and very nice hitting splits, with some upside, as this is only his 3rd pro year.  Indeed, it would not be a surprise to see Gosling further up the awards chart in the future.

National League - Benny Romano, Monterrey - .303 AVG 37 HR 123 RBI
Romano, also in his 3rd pro year, came from the International circuit out of the Dominican.  He was able to post equally impressive numbers this season on his way to earning the NL Rookie of the Year. The 22 year-old played in all 162 games, posting an excellent batting average and elite power numbers.  There's little doubt that he has the ability to be one of the major power bats in Cobbfather for seasons to come.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Troy Hudek, Charlotte - 2.31 ERA, 37 SV, 1st win
National League - Andre Harper, Richmond - 4.63 ERA, 52 SV, 1st win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League

DH	Robert Hamilton	Houston	1st
C	Sean Dahl	Colorado Springs	3rd
1B	Albert Cruz	Milwaukee	10th
2B	Wandy Guillen	Cheyenne	2nd
3B	Tony Cassevah	Salem	2nd
SS	Jaret Miller	Atlanta	4th
LF	Ubaldo Alvarez	Little Rock	1st
CF	Raul Galvez	Salem	4th
RF	Francis King	Salem	3rd

National League

P	Renyel Beato	New York	1st
C	Seth Robinson	Nashville	1st
1B	Julian Barber	Colorado	1st
2B	Gerry Camilli	Florida	1st
3B	Yasmany Cubillan	Florida	1st
SS	Willie Tejeda	New York	2nd
LF	Wiki Unamuno	Montgomery	5th
CF	George Dubler	Nashville	1st
RF	Ahmed Ratliff	Cleveland	2nd

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League

P	Thomas Lyon	Milwaukee	4th
C	Rick Rigby	Salem	1st
1B	Alex Mercedes	Atlanta	3rd
2B	George Flores	Charlotte	1st
3B	Javy Melian	Fargo	1st
SS	Oswaldo Cubillan	Little Rock	1st
LF	Bruce Lambert	Detroit	1st
CF	Jon Curtis	Detroit	1st
RF	Patrick Browne	Little Rock	2nd

National League 

P	Hugh Sexton	Nashville	1st
C	Felix Yosida	Florida	2nd
1B	Julian Barber	Colorado	1st
2B	Orel Sveum	Kansas City	1st
3B	Benj Clemens	New York	1st
SS	Jumbo Camacho	Buffalo	1st
LF	Trever Serafini	Cleveland	1st
CF	J.T. Constanza	Minnesota	3rd
RF	Louie Bennett	Buffalo	1st