Friday, September 2, 2022

S52 Record Books

 Jack Torrance - Contributing Reporter




Winner Winner....Chicken Dinner 

After two eventual LCS's that both went 7 games, we found ourselves with the Philadelphia Harpers making their first ever World Series appearance facing the top of the NL, Chicago Gunslingers who hadn't made an appearance since their 4 straight appearances from Seasons 9-12 that saw them winning 3 of them. But Philly wasn't playing around and ended up sweeping the series. Congrats to them on their franchise first!

Congrats again and let's get ready for the start of Season 53!

Major League

All-Star Weekend

American League shut out the National League, 2-0.
All Star Game MVP - Leo Wood (Dover)
Home Run Derby Champ - Al Perez (Dover) - 30 total HRs (16 - 6 - 8)
Longest HR - 528' - Kyle Crain

American League 

Division Titles
AL North: Philadelphia Harpers (3rd straight)
AL East: Atlanta Expos (3rd straight)
AL South: Monterrey Stoics (3rd straight)
AL West:  Colorado Cab Blast (2nd straight)
Wildcards: New York Empire & Minnesota North Stars


League Leaders
Batting
Hits: Al Cervantes (Phi Harpers) - 228
Average: Al Cervantes (Phi Harpers) - .340
Home Runs: Kyle Crain (Atl Expos) - 62
Runs: Matt Turner (Col Cab Blast) - 128
Runs Batted In: Kyle Crain (Atl Expos) / Alex Perez (Mty Stoics) - 156
Stolen Bases: Al Munson (Min North Stars) - 86
Longest Hit Streak: Josias Albaladejo (Mty Stoics) - 23

Pitching
Wins: J.C. Wall (Atl Expos) | William Thompson (Atl Expos) - 23
Quality Starts: J.C. Wall (Atl Expos) - 26
Saves: Ted Torres (EP Jabbering Jabronis) - 45
ERA: Nigel White (Dov Hazmats) - 2.31
Strikeout: Zephyr Gross (Atl Expos) - 185
OAV: Nigel White (Dov Hazmats) - .199
WHIP: Nigel White (Dov Hazmats) / William Thompson (Atl Expos) - 1.00

Fielding
Plus Plays: D'Angelo Estrada (Hel Hot Dogs) - 26
CS%: Cyrus Simmons (Bos Baseball Team) - .350
C ERA: Chuck Herndon (Atl Expos) - 3.08

Awards
MVP: Kyle Crain (Atl Expos) - 17 votes
Cy Young: William Thompson (Atl Expos) - 17 votes
Rookie of the Year: Carlos Soto (Hou Space Cowboys) - 17 votes
Fireman of the Year: Ted Torres (EP Jabbering Jabronis)

National League

Division Titles
NL North: Chicago Gunslingers (3rd straight)
NL East: Columbus Corgis (4th straight)
NL South: New Orleans Old Fashioneds (2nd straight)
NL West: Vancouver Canucks
Wildcards: Buffalo Bisons & Hartford Rising Stars

League Leaders
Batting
Hits: Bey Combs (SJ Fudds) - 204
Average: Leury Barcelo (Wash DC Nations) - .323
Home Runs: Omar Gonzales (Tuc Tubas) - 52
Runs: Omar Gonzales (Tuc Tubas) - 129
Runs Batted In: Shea Crowe (Chi Gunslingers) - 135
Stolen Bases: Corky Jones (Aus Son's of Odin) - 47
Longest Hit Streak: Bernie Mendez (Buf Bisions) - 23

Pitching
Wins: Bennie Swann (NO Old Fashioneds) - 20
Quality Starts: Rico Bonilla (NO Old Fashioneds) - 28
Saves: Rafael Amaro (Aus Son's of Odin) - 41
ERA: Louis Combs (NO Old Fashioneds) - 2.57
Strikeout: Rico Bonilla (NO Old Fashioneds) - 233
OAV: Rico Bonilla (NO Old Fashioneds) - 2.08
WHIP: Rico Bonilla (NO Old Fashioneds) - 1.02

Fielding
Plus Plays: Bruce Sager (Aus Son's of Odin) - 26
CS%: Braulio Guardado (Buf Bisons) / Gregorio Cordero (NO Old Fashioneds) - .400
C ERA: Gregorio Cordero (NO Old Fashioneds) - 3.35

Awards
MVP: Alex Tarraga (Buf Bisons) - 15 votes - 9th career
Cy Young: Rico Bonilla (NO Old Fashioneds) - 16 votes
Rookie of the Year: Francis Jefferson (Buf Bisons) - 17 votes
Fireman of the Year: Jayson Roof (Buf Bisons)

Trivia

Retired pitcher and Hall of Fame hopeful Jair James is the only pitcher with 300+ strikeouts in a single season, doing so S41 with 314.  He is also #4 highest with 274; yet he is not a top 5 for his (15 year) career. 

There have been (9) nine #1 picks to be inducted into our Hall of Fame. On the flip side, the latest pick to be selected is Johnny Sherman (S1), Douglas Banks (S14), and Howard Greer (S9) at pick #10. In the International market, Tony Lopez received the lowest bonus money and still be inducted at $3.3M in Season 10. Props to opie5 for such a good find. Surprisingly it wasn't to late into the season either; though overall it w as a cheap IFA season with only 3 players going for above $15M and one above $20M. $22M Albert Pineda won 4 World Series rings and likely belongs in the Hall of Fame as a Shortstop but for some reason he was passed over. Makes it even stranger when you realize he has the power bat many HoF voters drool over, so what kept him out?

Minor League

AAA: 
Vancouver tops Huntington 4-2 in a monster of a game 7 that lasted 14 innings. 
MVP: Earl Hawkins (AL - Wic, 22) & Ned Geer (NL - SJ, 23 - Back to Back)
Cy Young: Ricky Berkman (AL - Col, 24) & Ryan Cassidy (NL - SJ, 21)

AA: 
New Orleans over El Paso 4-2; back to back AA titles. 
MVP: Marty Romero (AL - Wic, 26 - Back to Back) & Ronald Wilson (NL - Wash DC, 22)
Cy Young: Earl Brenly (AL - Hel, 21) & Larry Barker (NL - NO, 23)

A+: 
El Paso wins again, this time sweeping Tacoma, 4-0 for his 3rd 2nd straight A+ title.
MVP: Joaquin Prieto (AL - Hel, 24) & Tony Lee (NL - Chi, 24)
Cy Young: Cesar Miro (AL - EP, 23) & Kyeong Aoki (NL - NO, 22 - Last year's A- Cy Young)

A-: 
Boston sweeps Vancouver. 4-0; lead by first year pro and the #179th pick in this year's draft, Quinton Kell with his .410 post season average, 3 HR and 5 stolen bases. 
MVP: Jeff Stein (AL - Ana, 29) & Ralph Rolle (NL - Austin, 25)
Cy Young: Aneury Amarista (AL - EP, 25) & Ruben Melendz (NL - Phi, 22 - Last year's Rookie Cy Young))

Rookie: 
San Jose has the most expensive Rookie team this writer has EVER seen. Nearly $5M in salary that saw the majority of it's roster with 6+ years of Pro experience.  This Rookie team cost more money than the S48 ML Wildcard Atlanta team, now that's something! They were pitted against a run of the mill Rookie team with many fresh faces. But ultimately 32 yr old, 13 year pro, 'rookie' Sal Scalici saw his team over power Boston,, 4-1 thanks to his .408 AVG and 8 post season HRs. 
MVP: Bruce Latham (AL - Ana, 29 - S42 Pick #13) & Charley Osbourne (NL - SJ, 26 - S44 Pick #128)
Cy Young: Ernie Gaetti (AL - Bos, 21 - S52 Pick #13) & Josh Henry (NL - NO, 20 - S52 Pick #45)

We see a mix bag of new teams in the minor league finals this seasons, looking forward to see each franchise build from there.  

Record Books

Look at the single season records, here is anybody who placed within the top 5 of a category. 

  • HITTING
    • GIDP: #2 - 48 - Lew Landrum (Was)
    • Hits: TIED #4 - 228 - Al Cervantes (Phi)
    • Pitch Hits: TIED #2 - 40 - Albert Purcel (Chi)
    • Strikeouts (worst): NEW RECORD #1 - 262 - Garabez Belliard (Har)
      • "Beat" his record from last season.
    • Triples: TIED #4 - 13 - Shea Crowe (Chi)
  • PITCHING
    • Batters Hit By Pitch: TIED #4 - 19 - Yuniesky Herrea (Wic)
  • FIELDING
    • Stone Base Attempts Against: NEW RECORD #1 - 206 - Leo Wood (Dov)
    • Plus Plays (LF): TIED #2 - 22 - Dane Castilla (Mty) / Juan Acosta (Bos)
    • Minus Plays (P): TIED #4 - 8 - Koyie Ward (Chi)
    • Minus Plays (LF): TIED #3 - 24 - Chuck Brinson (Tuc)
    • Minus Plays (1B): #4 - 32 - Olmedo Nunez (Was)
    • Assists (3B): #4 - 447 - Rip Bromberg (Pit)
Moving on to team records.
  • HITTING
    • None
  • PITCHING
    • None
  • FIELDING
    • None

Career Records

  • Batting
    • Batting Average: Al Samuel - .334
    • Home Runs: Albert Cruz - 771
    • RBI: Albert Cruz - 2,032
    • Hits: Yoenis Portillo - 3,245
    • Runs: Yoenis Portillo - 2,061
    • Stolen Bases: William Katou - 957
    • Hit Streak - Jose Pizzaro - 42
  • Pitching
    • Wins: Chick Munson - 334
    • Saves: Jace Sale - 758
    • Strikeouts: Chick Munson - 4,190
    • Quality Starts: Chick Munson - 462
    • Complete Games: Chick Munson - 105
    • ERA: Yeico Miranda - 2.21
    • WHIP: Gregor Lopez - 1.01
    • OAV: Yeico Miranda - .194

Award Winners
(* indicates Hall of Famer member)

Franchise Titles
(bold is recent winner)

  • 6 Titles
    • Atlanta (S3, 10, 26, 27, 29, 51)
  • 5 Titles
    • Houston (S4, 7, 8, 28, 33)
  • 4 Titles
    • Anaheim (S15, 18, 19, 32)
    • El Paso (S36, 41, 43, 44)
    • Oklahoma City (S40, 42, 45, 47)
    • Pittsburgh (S2, 21, 22, 23)
  • 3 Titles
    • Chicago (S9, 11, 12)
    • Buffalo (S24, 39, 49)
    • Monterrey (S17, 37,50)
  • 2 Titles
    • New Orleans (S31, 35)
    • Santa Fe (S1, 30)
    • Washington DC (S6, 14)
    • Colorado Springs (S20, 48)
  • 1 Title
    • Austin (S16)
    • Boston (S38)
    • Los Angeles (S13)
    • Helena (S46)
    • Milwaukee (S5)
    • Colorado (S34)
    • Vancouver (S25)
    • Philadelphia (S52)
  • 0 Titles
    • Minnesota
    • Columbus
    • Dover
    • Montreal
    • New York (AL)
    • Hartford
    • Tucson
    • San Juan
    • Scranton
    • Wichita

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