Thursday, October 06, 2022

End of regular season

 Top MVP candidates in the major league:

Hollywood center fielder Eric Valentin led the league in hitting (.320), hits (202), stolen bases (69), and WAR (7.6). Shortstop Will Daughterty had 7.3 WAR, 102 walks, and 86 RBI WAR for the league's best team. A .247 batting average however will probably keep him from winning a second straight MVP.

Miguel Cruz of Bay Area is still going strong at age 38. He led the league in RBI (106), finished second in walks with 101, and third in homers with 35. A late season slump dropped his average to .273, he had been over .290 in mid-September.

Green Day's Jim Jackson hit .290 with 25 homers, 37 steals, and a league leading 99 runs scored. He was second in position player WAR with 7.4, and added another 0.8 in 110 innings on the mound. Jackson was removed from the rotation to concentrate on center field everyday starting in August.

Several pitchers had memorable seasons. Nate Brown was 14-6 for Green Day, leading the league with a 1.89 ERA. He struck out 229 in 229 innings. Bay Area's Anthony Henderson, a 22 year old second year player, was 18-5 with a 2.02 ERA, striking out 282 in 209 innings. Jason Richardson and Cristobal Rangel of Hollywood also won 18 games. Richardson had a 2.01 ERA in 179 innings. Rangel had 266 strikeouts and a 2.72 ERA in 235 innings. 

Portland's Andrew Clayton had one of the best control seasons in league history. He was 15-5, with a 2.10 ERA, and walked only 15 batters in 184 innings. Joe Pinches of Hollywood led the league with 49 saves and had a 1.85 ERA. Among pitchers with 162 or more innings, this was the second lowest walks per 9 innings ever, after Wampa's 1988 season.

Kelsey Lester should have rookie of the year in hand after hitting .287 with 27 homers and 76 RBI while playing strong defense in right field. Among rookies, Lester led the league in just about every offensive category.

In the Superior league, Raul Saldana led in WAR (9.0) while hitting 30 homers, 106 RBI, and stole 40 bases in 47 attempts. Miami's Jerry McDonald was second in WAR (8.5) while leading in total bases (331) and runs scored (120). McDonald and Saldana play for the league's best two teams. Louisville's Jimmy Walker hit 35 homers while shutting down the running game behind the plate. Yoon-tae Kim missed some time due to injuries, but won the batting title (.316) and hit 32 homers. Cale Black (.308-39-107) and Mark Lee (.316-38-105) each made a run at the triple crown.

The best player of them all, however, might be Cary Lee of Toledo. He hit .254 with 27 homers and 76 RBI while playing strong defense in right field, good for 5.2 WAR. And every 5th day he went to the mound, where he won 17 games, had a 2.78 ERA, and struck out 221 batters in 217 innings, good for another 5.2 WAR. Combining his batting and pitching feats, Lee is the only player in the league to top 10 wins above replacement. His best start was his first game of the year, when he pitched a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and no walks. He missed a perfect game by hitting the first batter, who was then thrown out trying to steal. Lee set down the next 26.

Lee is also a Roger Chillingworth award contender, with the second most wins in the Superior League. Carsen Olson didn't have the greatest record (15-15) but led the league in innings (253) and his 348 strikeouts are the second highest ever, after only his 2021 season. Malcolm Sherman (11-9) led in ERA with 2.09, but only pitched 168 innings. Dorian Ivey had a 2.20 ERA along with 300 strikeouts. Shawn Finley led both leagues in wins (19), finished 5th in ERA (2.63), and struck out 237 batters. He also pitched 38 consecutive scoreless innings.

Among rookies, Cleveland's Jorge Solis (13-13, 2.56) was one of the few bright spots on the league's worst team. Texas's Gerald Thomas hit .308 with 11 homers, and Baltimore's Lou Cook led rookies with 24 homers and 72 RBI. Louisville's Ryan Jones hit .293 while splitting time between second and short, and teammate Melvin Walton stole 58 bases. Utah's Ben Jones hit 21 homers with 59 RBI and played strong defense in right field.

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