Great Games in the Major League - 2010 Edition

The following pitchers threw no-hitters in the Major League this year:
Xavier Esquivel (Bay Area) 9-0-0-0-2-5
David Mulder (Los Angeles) 9-0-0-0-2-7
Floyd Brennan (Hawaii) 9-0-0-0-4-6

The following players hit at least 3 HR in a game this year:
Brett Solo (New York) 6-5-4-7 4 HR
Keith Lee (New York) 5-3-3-6 3 HR
George Kird (Portland) 3-3-3-4 3 HR, 2 BB
Gerald White, Jr. (Florida) 5-3-3-6 3 HR
Chad White (New York) 5-3-3-6 3 HR
Andy Steward (Hawaii) 4-3-3-6 3 HR

The following players hit for the cycle this year:
Robert T. Bruce (St. Louis) 6-3-5-5 2 singles
Jermain Moore (Detroit) 5-2-4-3

The following pitchers struck out 15 or more batters in a game:
C.C. Salbacca (Alaska) 9-3-1-1-0-17
C.C. Salbacca (Alaska) 9-5-4-4-2-15

2010 Major League West Wrap-Up - Part 3 of 3

Around the League:
West:

Bay Area Bandits (91-71): New manager Eric Cartman took control of this team and division early on, and almost went to wire to wire, except for a few days in the middle of the season when they were caught by Hollywood. Everyone clearly had to respect his authority. This team won with overall solid pitching, and for much of the year, operated with a 6-man rotation. This was done primarily to keep the pitchers fresher, and it seemed to work pretty well for Cartman. On offense, big years from Ryan Harris and Jack Collins led the way. Optimus Minor was also solid at catcher, batting .286 with a .367 OBA from the #2 spot.

Hollywood B's (89-73): Hollywood just missed the playoffs, fading at the end mainly due to injuries. Willis Brusstar was the best pitcher, going 17-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 225 IP. On offense, the left side of the infield (both jawas and both free agents at the end of the year) Elvis Dixon and Miguel Tejawa had nice years. Dixon perhaps had his best year ever, hitting .300 with 20 HR to go with his usual high OBA self. Tejawa hit .292 with 24 HR and 107 RBI. Geoff Favre had a brilliant if injury plagued season, going .281-.395-.575 in 292 at bats.

Portland Decepticons (88-74): Portland came up just short of the playoffs, but may be able to contend again next year as the core of the team is fairly young. Willie Rivera, .274-27-92 may leave via free agency, but young OF Dante Henderson .293-.347-.414 in 297 at bats is ready to step in and play full time. Roger Lewis didnt have his greatest season, but finished strong down the stretch, going 17-9 3.55 with 225 K's in 203 IP. Free agent to be Jong-Soo Tso will be one of the most sought after pitchers on the market, coming off a very typical strong season which included a 9-9 record with a 3.11 ERA and a 179-46 K/BB ratio in 193 IP.

Hawaii Hounddogs (87-75): Count the dogs as another Major League West team who would have qualified for the post-season had they played in the Superior League. Jake Cisco had a great bounceback season, hitting .321-31-108 while Yoda Skywalker played his usual stellar 2B with a line of .284-.357.474 with 18 HR and 20 SB. Free agent signee Mike Solar was incredible, hitting .330-.388-.517 with 26 HR and 96 RBI. Catcher Wiki Diaz hit .315 in 426 at bats out of nowhere. On the mound, the unquestioned ace was Jared DeMario, who went 16-7 3.15 and 163 K's in 237 IP.

Los Angeles Shockers (79-83): LA contended for much of the year, but faded towards the end. Their offense was led by Hank Crowell, who went .303-25-98 and 1B Brent Johnson (who is staking his claim to be the Frank Lewis of the Major League) who went .331-.421-525. On the mound, David Mulder was very ace-like, going 15-6 2.80 with 171 K's and 56 walks in 212 IP.

Superior League Highlights

Baltimore once again finishes with the best record in the league, winning 96 games. Joe Young had another monster season, with a .334 average, 49 homeruns, and 143 RBI. Joe also scored 141 runs. Wellington Gehrig Bear hit .329 with 29 homers, 134 RBI. Kobe Jones hit .324 with 34 homers and 58 doubles. Leadoff hitter Darin Elam had a breakout season with 20 homers, 33 steals, and 128 runs scored. Storm Morris went 15-8 with a 3.32 ERA, but Jason Baret was the big winner, winning 20 games despite a 4.71 ERA, making the most of his team's offensive support.

Miami, with 85 wins, took the wild card on the last day by one game over Utah. Brian Kaat hit .316 and stole 50 bases, and Tom Vercetti established himself in the rotation with a 16-6 record and 3.30 ERA. Boston's Sam Robinson hit 48 homeruns and knocked in 141 runs.

Charlotte won the central division with 86 wins, as they were the only central team with a winning record. Charlie Zito lead the league with 20 wins and a 2.86 ERA. Springfield's LeRoy Brown hit 50 homeruns to go with a .284 average and 130 RBI. Chicago's Rocky Sorenson threw a no-hitter against Charlotte.

Mark Crawford did it all for Western champion Texas. The gold glove center fielder led the league with a .348 average, and added 33 homers and 135 RBI. Utah just missed the playoffs, with Frank Lewis posting another .450 OBP and Ryan Ballard knocking in 143 runs.

Louisville's Juan Biras hit for the cycle. Mark Crawford, LeRoy Brown, Andy Moore, Charlie Howard, and Marcos Trujillo all had 3 homer games.

2010 Major League Central Wrap-Up - Part 2 of 3

Around the League:
Central:

Denver Rabbits (94-68): Denver has the best record in the league by virtue of their head-to-head tiebreaker over New York. Denver won this division in a route (again) by virtue of some dominant starting pitching and a dominant closer. On the mound, Kei Ijawa goes 18-6 3.00 with 226 K's, Derek Howe goes 10-10 3.08 and allowed only 6 HRs in 219 IP, Ruben Ramirez goes 11-9 3.28, Bartolo Fatone goes 14-9 3.56, and #5 starter Clint Meyers goes 13-9 2.62 with a 168-50 K/BB ratio. In the bullpen, Paul Williamson leads the league with 47 saves and posts a 2.18 ERA. On the field, Stan Marsh has a nice comeback season, going .306-27-78, and Alex Maldonado, after the trade with Toronto, posts a .317-.380-.596 line for Denver. With Maldonado, Denver finally has the dominant outfielder and cleanup hitter they have lacked in past seasons. They hope he is the difference that puts them over the top, and back into the World Series for the 1st time since 1994. On a milestone note, Mahatma Russell returned to Denver this season in a reserve role and picked up the 3,000th hit of his career.

Detroit Devils (79-83): There were very few highlights in Detroit this season. Unless they had a late flourish, they would not have been this close to Denver, as they were in 3rd place most of the year. Jose Isales has a nice offensive season, proving he is not through, going .303-.354-.501.

S. Louis Robins (71-91): Another non-contending team...on the plus side, youngsters Derek Tufnel and Robert T. Bruce look to be the two dominant hitters the team can build around for years to come. Tufnel goes .294-.410-.460 in 354 at bats (he needs to learn how to hit lefties better at this point in his career). Bruce goes .309-.374-.573 with 20 HR in 330 at bats (also needs work with the lefties). On the mound, Javier Mercedes had a nice season at 14-6 2.75.

Green Day Dukes (69-93): Jek Lewis finally breaks through, going .268-18-79 with 31 doubles, 14 triples, and 100 stolen bases. The other two jawas (BJ Lewis and Ezekial Duke) don't have great years, but should be a solid outfield trio next year.

Alaska Snow Sox (66-96): Alaska had the top-line talent to do better than this record, and possibly should have challenged Denver more. Regardless, some of the hitters lived up to the hype (Reggie Stocker .846 OPS & Rey Nunez .326 average), but too many of the hitters disappointed and didnt put numbers on the scoreboard. On the mound, Alaska has a really good young pitching rotation headed by 3 lefties. Andy Roughton (24) battles thru injuries but still manages to go 5-7 3.31 and only 80 hits allowed in 108 IP. Free agent signee Mike Cottrell (27) goes 11-5 3.20 in 152 IP. 2nd year man Odis Robinson (23) goes 13-6 and finishes 2nd in the league with a 2.57 ERA in 192 IP. But the story of the season for Alaska is rookie CC Salbacca (23). The huge and hairy lefthander goes 9-14 2.73 with 191 IP, 152 hits allowed, 105 walks, and strikes out 221 batters. The wookie also managed to hit 9 extra base hits and steal 4 bases, and was one of the most exciting players in the game, with the majority of his pitches registering over 100 MPH.

2010 Major League East Wrap-Up - Part 1 of 3

Around the League:
East:

New York (94-68): New York wins the East, behind the tremendous performances of Pedro Lewis, Steven Hyde, Keith Lee, Brett Solo, and Chad White. Chad led the league in HR & RBI, while Brett Solo may have had the best season of his career. Brett hit 40 HR, batted .310, and knocked in 125 runs. Late in the year, he also tied a record by hitting 4 HRs in a single game, in a crucial victory over eventual wild card winner Philadelphia. Pedro won the pitchers triple crown, and was dominant thru the entire season, as evidenced by his league high 5 shutouts. Late in the year, New York reshapes their team by acquiring OF Peter Gibson and RP Jonathan Papelbrad in exchange for a minor league prospect and #4 starter Brad Pearce. Gibson gives the team speed and defense in the outfield, and replaces the underachiving group of Roy Brown and Sammy Swopa. Papelbrad augments New York's already fierce bullpen. New York will host Bay Area in the first round of the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years.

Philadelphia (90-72): Philly claims the wild card for the 4th straight year. This year, they do it with solid starting pitching, a dominant closer, and an MVP caliber year (albeit in not enough at bats) from their catcher Matt Bulger. Bulger hits .340 in 406 at bats with a .547 slugging percentage. The ageless Roscoe Savage (38) has a dominant season going 15-6 3.09 in 166 IP. Converted starter to bullpen ace Alex Devarez may be the MVP of the team, with his 45 saves, 2.01 ERA, and 55-10 K/BB ratio. Philadelphia will travel to Denver to begin the 1st round of the playoffs.

Florida Penguins (73-89): Florida wasnt expected to contend this year, and they didnt disappoint. The good news was the play of George White, Kenny Anderson Jr., and Conn the Barbarian. George went 10-10 3.22 with a 192-56 K/BB ratio. Rookie Clayton Lewis showed promise, going 11-12 3.38 and 141 K in 176 IP. Conn was much better in the 1st half than in the 2nd half, but still finished with 28 HR, 45 SB, and 98 RBI. He should be a 40-40 man in his 3rd year. Kenny had a nice season that reminded us of a vintage season from his father. Kenny Jr. hit .299 with 111 SB and 0 HR. For all you math majors and sabremetricians out there, that a zero power-speed score.

Toronto Seagulls (64-98): Toronto was easily the most disappointing team in the league this season. After getting the #1 draft pick, signing the Garciajawa brothers, and trading for Alex Maldonado, much more was expected. Michael G. hit only .245, but did manage 44 doubles, 10 triples, and 17 homers. However, in 689 at bats, those numbers were not up to par. His older brother, Nomad, seemed to have lost his power stroke (13 HR) and hit only .289. The good news in Toronto is that John Hafner had a career season. The gold glove 1B led the league with a .352 avg and also hit 12 HRs and 38 doubles. Maldonado hit only .247 with 9 homers in half a season, before being traded to Denver (more on that later). On the mound, their best pitcher was Danny Almonte, who went 14-8 2.79 with 184 K's in 206 IP. The worst pitcher in the leauge was by far Jean-Luc Lewis, who had a historically bad season. The young jawa went 1-15 6.38 with 138 IP, 168 hits, 42 walks, and 126 K's. The dominant pitcher of the future is still expected to be Stephen Hamburg. Hamburg showed signs of dominance this year with 215 K's and 41 walks in 212 IP. However, he was erratic at times and finished 9-12 3.82 and allowed 22 HR. Scouts say that once he gets the gopher ball under control, he will be the best pitcher in the league.