2230: Knuckleheaded Twins

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Well, I'm happy to report that the state of the league is once again strong! New owner nextyearcubs moved the Baltimore franchise to as close to the Cubs as he could get: Chicago's south side in the AL park, as the "Machine" and took his rebuilding team to an almost .500 record. Mike in SF stepped out of the league and possibly out of the site and Brett (hanny2042), who is returning to the site after some time away, stepped right in and took over. He'll be returning the team to Brooklyn. The fans there haven't had a team to root for since 2018 (the Brooklyn Boltz), a span of more than 200 SimYears! And Craig (CJefcoat) announced he was no longer the chaperone in Kansas City, he was becoming the full time owner of that squad, which warmed the cockles of my heart, (zero innuendo implied). Well, on to our playoff teams and annual review!

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The playoff picture this season remained nearly unchanged from last year. Same four teams, same order of regular season finish: TB-LA in the AL, LA-Philly in the NL. But then things got interesting in the League Championship series.

Our regular season top team this year was the Beach in Tampa Bay, with 115 wins. That's a +6 over last season and yet another franchise record for the BlondeBombshell. Congratulations! I put that in red because that's also an ALL TIME franchise record. Not even Jim (jchart302) managed to do that when he held the team as the Washington Nits. **10** TB players were on the All Star team, they ran the Awards category except ROY. This was clearly the most dominant team in the American League, rolling into the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Until October 5 rolled around, anyway, when the Beach hit their expiration date, apparently. They may have been hurt more than we know by the injury of big RF All Star Mark Hayes in Game Three.

The LA Smog were back for their *eighth* straight year, and fourth consecutive first place finish in the National League, with 103 wins. That's a nine game drop from last season as a couple of new contenders popped up to take those wins in the Senior Circuit. Nine All Stars including the NL MVP dotted the Smog roster but though they bested Philadelphia 16 out of 24 times during the regular season, the Knuckleheads made short work of LA in the LCS, denying them a fourth straight Series appearance.

The AL version of a Los Angeles team was next with 101 wins, two off last years mark but their second year in a row of triple digit victories, something they haven't done in two decades. Once again LA could only boast of four All Stars, but they did land the American League Rookie of the Year, as well.

Rounding out the playoff teams once again was Philadelphia, with 99 victories, a +3 mark over last year and their third straight trip to the postseason. They put five players on the All Star team and the NL MVP runner-up. But they stuck it to the Smog, batting with HEPA filters or something that allowed them to pitch and hit clearly, needing just five games to move on.

In the ALCS, the Beach won their first game at home, and the last game in Los Angeles, while the Twins won the other four to shock Tampa Bay fans and send the Twins back to the Big Dance to defend their SYL Crown in a Wild Card World Series.

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As I write, the Series is a bit of a slugfest, with Game One going to Philadelphia 8-4 over LA. The Twins bounced back, downing the Knuckleheads 7-2 in Game Two, then Philadelphia's Paul Balaz (a former Lonestar, I'm so proud) shutout the Twins 8-0 to give Philly a 2-1 lead in the Series.

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WON-LOSS VARIANCE FOR THE REST OF US:
Cincinnati - +18 and fourth place -- NL MANAGER of the YEAR
Jumped from seventh to fourth and is now a **+40** over the last four years. We've harped on Cincy's disappointing results but finally, at long last, you can't argue with this. Two All Stars and the NL ROY.

Chicago = +14 and sixth place -- AL MANAGER of the YEAR
Last year I said the new owner had "a good start" on the rebuild. More than made up for what they lost last year, and climbed a spot in the standings, to boot. Two All Stars and the FOY runner-up.

Atlanta = +13 and third place
Last year I said they were ready to bloom. This makes a +28 over the last two seasons. Let's call that a full on blossom. Two All Stars with the NL Cy Young and FOY winners.

New York = +4 and eighth place
Last year I said if the Titans finished last again, "improbable things would happen." Well, for the first time in history, the road team won all the games in the real World Series. And the Nationals won for the first time since 1924 when they were the heavy underdogs. Considering what was happening here in the SYL, we should all have seen that coming. Thanks, Titans. This year, however, the Titans managed to roster an All Star. The behemoth is stirring itself. It will not be long before it begins to rise from the deep.

Arizona = +2 and eighth place
Once again in last place but now a +10 over the last two seasons. Two All Stars. I smell growth out in that desert.

Kansas City = +2 and fourth place
The new manager did a fine job. Only a five game swing in variance, but moved the team up a spot, and turned them into a winning ball club much to the delight of the fan base.

Boston = <1> and third place
Third place for the second year in a row and four All Stars. Their window may be closing unless someone blinks and they can sneak into the playoffs.

San Francisco (soon to be Brooklyn) = <2> and sixth place
Last year I said a .500 club was within sight. Well, wave goodbye to that. The owner lost interest and the club suffered for it. But time will tell what a fresh start, bright new uniforms, and an enthused new fan base will do.

Milwaukee = <10> and seventh place
Well, the Marauder have finally broken the +/- pattern with two straight years of negatives, sad to say, making a <32> over the last two seasons. Is a rebuild in the works for the Cheese State Warriors? Two All Stars and a pair of NL ROY candidates.

Texas = <11> and fifth place
Still a winning ball club, still rebuilding. One lonely All Star.

Cleveland = <12> and seventh place
The Cuyahoga must have been really good at one point, for this makes <38> over the last three seasons since they announced their rebuild and another notch lower in the standings though they did land two All Stars and a couple of ROY candidates.

Pittsburgh = <15> and fifth place
Bit of a tumbling going on in the Steel City as this makes a <21> over the last three seasons and a fall from third place last year. Seems like a decision to rebuild may be in the wind, time will tell, though they did roster four All Stars.

[frankum]

New York = +4 and eighth place
Last year I said if the Titans finished last again, "improbable things would happen." Well, for the first time in history, the road team won all the games in the real World Series. And the Nationals won for the first time since 1924 when they were the heavy underdogs. Considering what was happening here in the SYL, we should all have seen that coming. Thanks, Titans. This year, however, the Titans managed to roster an All Star. The behemoth is stirring itself. It will not be long before it begins to rise from the deep.

This made me LOL. Hilarious. We have the pieces. Probably one more year in the minors and all our stud pitching will get called up. Shouldn't be long now for NY.

[ptech]

Didn't expect to win this year....but I'll take it.

[hanny2042]

I loved reading through that season wrap-up, thanks for doing that Commish Mark! As a newbie to the league, that is such an awesome idea and look forward to reading them each year!!

Congratulations to the Knuckleheads!!!

Congrats to the runner-up Twins as well