Final weekend pennant race

 Boston and Denver, last year's pennant winners, have clinched their divisions.

In the Superior League East, Louisville holds the first wildcard spot with 87 wins. They finish the year by playing Baltimore, who have one of the 2 remaining wild card spots. Baltimore has had a rough patch lately after being power swept by the Miami Stars. Miami is playing with an edge, not like a team looking for their third straight top 2 draft pick. In the 4 game sweep, Miami threw three shutouts and outscored Baltimore 17 to 1.

Toledo has the central division, and no other team there remains alive in the playoff hunt. In the west, Mars holds a 2 game lead for the division and Las Vegas, with 85 wins, is tied with Baltimore for the last 2 spots. Texas, with 84 wins, is the only team left that could overtake a playoff team. They will find a difficult opponent as they play Boston to end the season. Boston will not go easy or hold back, because they are playing for home field advantage in the Superior League. They can use their best starters, who are assured of full rest after the wild card round is over.

In the major league, the Rabbits have clinched the central and St. Louis has one wild card spot. The Rabbits have no chance at catching Bay Area or Philadelphia, so they will rest their top starters in a meaningless series against Green Day.

Philadelphia has one thing left to play for. They have clinched the best record in baseball, but will start Tom Weaver (23-5) one more time as he attempts to reach 400 strikeouts. He needs only 11 more.

The last 2 wild card spots will go to crappy teams who all had chances to put this race away several times, but through their own mediocrity stayed right in the middle of the pack. Nobody really seems to want the playoff spots, but 2 will get them anyway. The most likely scenario is that in two series, best of 3 will decide the race.

Portland hosts New York, and Toronto plays in Orlando.

Three of the teams have 78 wins, and Orlando has 79.

The weird thing would be if Toronto takes 2 out of 3 from Orlando, and the other series does not result in a sweep. That would give 3 teams 80 wins and force us to bring out the tiebreakers. Further complicating things would be if Hollywood (77 wins) sweeps its final series against Bay Area. This is a Hollywood team that had a chance to take control of this race but has lost their last 6 games against 4th place Hawaii and last place Los Angeles.

One week to go for season

 In the division races, Toledo has joined Philadelphia and Bay Area as division champions. The latter two teams have dominated their divisions all year long, are 20+ games up on the second place teams, and have clinched first round byes.

The Denver Rabbits have clinched a playoff spot. They hold a 3.5 game lead over St Louis for the division but have already clinched a playoff spot. They hold the tiebreaker, so any combination of 2 Denver wins or St Louis losses gives the division to Denver. The Rabbits however have no chance to catch the top 2 teams in the league for a first round bye, so one way or another they will play in the wild card round next week.

The other 2024 World Series team, Boston, has also clinched a playoff spot. They are 5 games ahead of Baltimore for the division title. Their magic number is 3 over Baltimore, and 2 over Louisville.

The closest division race features the surprise Mars team against the veteran Las Vegas Gamblers. The Gamblers started the season strong but had a rough stretch with multiple injuries. They are mostly healthy now, but still playing inconsistent baseball. They lost 2 in a row to a terrible Cleveland team, however they were able to hold their wild card spot with help from Utah, who won 2 against Texas.

Las Vegas is 2.5 behind Mars and 1.5 ahead of Texas. The Charlotte Hawks, at 80-76, have not been eliminated yet. Las Vegas has a favorable schedule, playing Phoenix and Utah. Mars faces the same two teams in reverse order. Texas finishes the year with a road trip to New York and Boston. Charlotte finishes against Cleveland and St. Louis.

The odds are in favor of Mars and Las Vegas taking the division and final wild card spot.

 The biggest unknown is the major league wild card jumble. For the last several weeks we have seen 7 to 8 teams play close to .500 ball and put themselves into the mix. Even at this late date, only Los Angeles and Florida are mathematically eliminated. Several other teams are out for all intents and purposes, as they are at least 9 games under .500 and would need to win all of their games will their opponents lose all. This is not possible as they are chasing multiple teams, some of who have to play each other. The virtually eliminated group is:

Alaska, Hawaii, Detroit, Green Day

The New York Cobra, at 75-81, are on their last legs. They would need to sweep their last 6 games to have a chance. They will play Florida before finishing the season in Portland.

Portland is one game back, but in a position where they mostly control their destiny. Before hosting New York, they play 4 games against Orlando, who currently holds down the #3 wild card spot.

Hollywood is a half game back. After starting the season strong, they have been under .500 for the last 4 months. They play Hawaii, followed by the mighty Bay Area.

Orlando, currently 1 game under .500, plays 4 against Portland and then finishes against Toronto. Toronto, at .500, is the #2 wild card at this moment. The Orlando schedule will decide one way or another which of these teams gets to the postseason.

Before the finale, Toronto will have a major challenge with a 3 game series in Philadelphia. They need to win a few more games to move on, but their first matchup is against the pitching triple crown leader who needs 7 more strikeouts to break Nolan Ryan's best single season mark.

St Louis has the first wild card spot with a 4 game lead over second place. They have at the very worst one of the wild card spots since several of the teams behind them have to play each other.

Tiebreakers? Too difficult to make sense of at this point. We'll see if we need them.

Lifelong Cobra fan named pitcher of the month

The year 2000, known as the Year of the Penguin, was also the starting point of the long running New York Cobra dynasty. Brad was not yet the team owner. He was in his second season of managing the team and posted his first winning record, largely thanks to a 149 RBI MVP season from Joltin Joe Thomas.

The previous season New York finished with a 71-91 record. Late in the year they made a rare managerial trade, swapping Dennis "the duck" Williams to St. Louis for Brad Boomer. One year later, Brad led the team to 90 wins and a playoff spot. Before he could get started on the job however, Brad had one more obligation to fulfill.

Several years earlier he had sold the rights to his likeness and image to be used as the logo for the Florida Penguins team. Included in the deal was a clause that called for Brad to start the Year of the Penguin as the leadoff batter for the Penguins. The Cobra would open their season one day after the Penguins, so Brad traveled to Denver to join the Penguins as they took on the Rabbits.

Brad had not batted in a game in nearly a decade at that point and was 43 years old. He took his place in the batter's box, facing Denver ace and future Hall of Famer Sunsurf. Sunsurf, a 38 year old legend, was a traditionalist who strongly objected to anyone making a mockery of the game. He considered Brad's token appearance to be a mockery and made his objection known by firing a high and tight fastball that knocked Brad's helmet off and took him out of the game. Brad's OBP for the season would be a perfect 1.000. The Penguins pinch ran for him, he went back to New York, and would never enter the game as a player again.

This year was the start of an intense rivalry between the Penguins and Cobra. They would meet in the playoffs with the Penguins gaining the upper hand on their way to the World Series. The Cobra would begin a streak of 22 years with winning records in which their lowest win total was 88 and included 6 world championships.

The family of Anthony and Maxine Stephens watched Cobra games that year, some at the ballpark, but most from their home in Long Island. That summer the Stephens had their 5th child, a boy they named after Brad's beloved third base coach, Elmer Fudd.

Twenty-two years later, the Stephens family celebrated a dream come true as Elmer was selected by his hometown team in the first round. After working his way up through the minors, Elmer has used his 100 MPH sinking fastball to become the team's closer. In June 2025 he pitched 14 innings over 12 games without allowing a run. He won 2 games, saved another 7, and was named Major League pitcher of the month. 

Nutkin adjusting well to second base

 Squirrel Nukin Jr. had been a shortstop his entire life, until he moved to second base last season.

"At first, it was tough. I didn't have an offseason to prepare for it or a spring training to work through my mistakes. It was like, you're playing second now, move over there."

Nutkin rated four runs below average on the season, making 9 errors in 125 games. He improved his technique throughout the season, and came into 2025 fully prepared to stay at second base.

"I've played shortstop since senior first brought us out of the trees and onto the baseball field. Billy always played second base when we were little." I gave Billy a call last year and little brother helped me with a few things. One suggestion he had was to wear a smaller glove. That helps me make a quick transfer when turning a double play."

This season, Nutkin has made only 3 errors through his first 67 games at second. His fielding percentage has improved to .990, his range factor is up to 4.51, and his zone rating is +5.4 runs. Nutkin has a chance to win a gold glove award this season.

 

2025 Draft Round 2

1. Alaska 3B Ernesto Limon (Coastal Carolina)

2. Texas P Anibal Martinez (UCF)

3. Miami C Luis Ortega (HS)

4. Toronto P Raul Flores (Hofstra)

5. Detroit 1B Matthew Shrek (HS)

6. Portland OF Sergio Francisco (HS)

7. Louisville P Ramon Garza (NC-Wilmington)

8. Mars 1B Nelson Reyes (Virginia)

9. Green Day OF Hector Castillo (Coastal Carolina)

10. Phoenix P Castel Moran (HS)

11. Florida OF Alfredo Figueroa (HS)

12. Charlotte P Adrian Lopez (HS)

13. Orlando OF Fernando Anduray (Stetson)

14. St Louis 2B Tony Adame (HS)

15. Los Angeles P Jose Morales (HS)

16. Springfield P Luis Gonzalez (New Mexico)

17. NY Knights OF Antonio Melendez (HS)

18. Chicago 1B Juan Morales (HS)

19. Cleveland OF Jose Moran (St John's)

20. Toledo P Jorge Morales (Vanderbilt)

21. Hawaii SS Pedro Arce (HS)

22. Philadelphia 2B Francisco Aguila (HS)

23. Utah 1B Connie Barbarian (HS)

24. Hollywood P Jochen Jotten (James Madison)

25. Baltimore OF Antonio Torres (HS)

26. Las Vegas OF Ramon Benitez (HS)

27. NY Cobra

28. Bay Area

29. Denver

30. Boston

Comp picks

31. Detroit

32. NY Knights

33. Hollywood

34. Bay Area 

2025 Draft

 Here is the order for the first round:

1. Miami OF Kermit Langford, (HS)

2. Louisville 3B Ethan Maldonado (HS)

3. Green Day 1B Jadyn Coleman (Tennessee)

4. Alaska 1B Vinnie Pasquatch (HS)

5. Texas OF Anjali Raven (Schenectady CC)

6. Toronto SS Antonio Pagan (BYU)

7. Detroit 3B Gerardo Rivera (Trinity Bible)

8. Portland CF Luis Tapia (HS)

9. Mars CF Jesus Ortiz (HS)

10. Phoenix 2B Sancho Valdes (HS)

11. Florida OF Coby Cowman (North Carolina)

12. Charlotte SS Gerardo Rubio (Stephen F Austin)

13. Orlando RHP Jorge Mendez (Long Island)

14. St Louis OF Pedro Franco (HS)

15. Los Angeles RHP Hector Durango (HS)

16. Springfield CF Angel Gonzales (HS)

17. NY Knights 1B Orlando Rodriguez (Brevard)

18. Chicago 3B Manny Miranda (HS)

19. Cleveland OF Albert De La Cruz (HS)

20. Toledo OF Miguel Martinez (Puerto Rico)

21. Hawaii DH Rafael Sanchez (HS)

22. Philadelphia 2B Norberto Wilson (Kent State)

23. Utah P Alonso Rosales (HS)

24. Hollywood P Jesus Urbina (Bowling Green)

25. Baltimore P Hector Mena (Purdue)

26. Las Vegas OF Arturo Perez (San Diego St)

27. NY Cobra SS Kap Inokene (HS)

28. Bay Area P Luis Herrera (HS)

29. Denver OF Jose Garcia (HS)

30. Boston P Raul Huerta (Miami)

Supplemental Round

1. St Louis OF Jose Gomez (Edward Waters)

2. Philadelphia OF Jackson Vincent (Sam Houston St)

Katniss enjoying her trophy

 

Hall of Fame class of 2024

 With what has to be the most impressive class of talent since 1936, the Hall of Fame welcomes 8 players this year.

Over 19 seasons, Jake Cisco had 3001 hits, 549 home runs, and drove in 1801 runs. A left-handed swinger and right fielder, Jake rarely swung at a bad pitch. He had 6 seasons with more than 100 walks. In 2000 and 2001, he led the Florida Penguins to back to back world series appearances. In 2004, he won the triple crown with a .348 average, 42 homers, and 136 RBI. Jake played for the Florida Penguins, Hawaii Hounddogs, Baltimore Colts, and Mars Eyebiters.

Mighty Joe Young was born in the mountains of central Africa and raised by a human primatologist, Jill Young. As an infant gorilla, he discovered his love of baseball through his friend Bernie Carbo, and spent time in the dugout of the 1975 Boston Red Sox, learning how to catch from Carlton Fisk. This part of the story is mentioned in a book by Luis Tiant, Son of Havana. Joe Young was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Gamblers. He hit .315 with 35 homeruns as a rookie and only got better from there. After 5 years he was traded to Baltimore, where he moved to first base. In 2009 he hit .351 with 55 homers and 153 RBI, good for a triple crown. Baltimore would win up to 106 games with Joe, but could never advance far in the playoffs. In 2011, Joe took his talents to South Beach in pursuit of a ring after manager RJ Duke guaranteed a championship and vowed to retire if he could not deliver. Joe hit .365 in his first season with the Stars, and they did indeed win the championship. Joe finished his career with 710 homers, 2101 RBI, a .322 average, and a .601 slugging percentage, the highest in league history. He was a 7 time MVP. In 2014, he won his second triple crown with a .351 average, 37 homers, and 120 RBI.

When it came to getting on base, Frank Lewis was the greatest ever. He had a .449 OBP over 18 years. Frank hit for average (.313), and drew a ton of walks with 13 seasons over 100 and a career high of 152. In addition, he was willing to take one for the team and was hit by 329 pitches. Frank won 2 MVP awards and was a 3 time world champion with the Utah Utes. After 2 years in Portland and 2 in Hollywood, Frank went to Utah where he played his last 14 seasons with manager Battletrap. Frank hit 434 homers, had 3000 hits, and scored 2016 runs. 

Roger Lewis won 297 games, 5th all-time, and struck out 4561 batters, second on the all-time list. Roger went 21-4 as a rookie, helping his team to a world series appearance. He played all 20 of his seasons with the Portland Decepticons. He was a 3 time 20 game winner. He struck out 300 batters in 2007 and 200 or more in 17 seasons. He was a 4-time Cy Young award winner and a world champion in 2004. In 2013 he threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Robins. In the 2004 World Series, he shut out Boston in game one, allowing only one hit over 8 innings. He won his second start of that series in game 4, allowing 3 runs and striking out 8 over 7 2/3 innings. Roger swung the bat well for a pitcher, helping his cause with 31 career homers.

Adama Dunn hit 530 homeruns over 14 seasons. He hit 58 and drove in 151 for the 2007 Springfield Isotopes, winning the MVP award. After 6 seasons he joined the Louisville Sluggers. He hit another 55 homers in 2012. In 2014 he was traded late in the year to the Utah Utes, who won the World Series in 5 games over the Denver Rabbits. Dunn did not start in games 3-5 as the DH was not used in Denver, but in game 5 delivered a 2-run pinch hit double in the 6th inning to tie the game. Utah would end up winning the game by one run and clinching the series. After that season, Dunn returned to Louisville for his final 3 seasons. 

Over 17 seasons, all with the New York Cobra, Chad White had 2831 hits, 502 homers, and stole 426 bases. He was a 5 time world champion, rookie of the year in 2002, and MVP in 2009 and 2013. Chad was a 12-time gold glove winner in center field. He had tremendous range and one of the best outfield arms ever. Over his career he was 183 runs above average defensively, second among outfielders only to Peter Rabbitt. 

Paul White, the Big Show, hit 619 homers over 19 years. He played his best seasons with the Philadelphia Grays. In 2005 he hit 47 homers, and 49 in 2007. In 2010 helped the team to their only world championship. White homered in games 1 and 4 of that series. He had 100 or more RBI 7 times and 30 or more homers 13 times.

Yoda Skywalker played his entire career for the Hawaii Hounddogs. He was an all-around player in the mold of a Bobby Grich, Lou Whitaker, or Chase Utley. He had 2107 hits, 258 homers, and 197 stolen bases. He was a 3 time gold glove winner. His best season was 2011 when he hit .315 with 27 homers, 90 RBI, 200 hits, 47 doubles, and 31 steals. Hawaii however could never put the right supporting cast around him and only won 81 games that year.

The following players also received votes and will remain on the next ballot: Jason Baret, Prince Coleman, Gerald White, Rufus Anderson, Jaret Benser, Alex Maldonado, and Kenny Anderson Jr.