AL EAST REPORT, REGULAR SEASON COMPLETED

1. Augusta Vacationers (106-56, 13 games ahead, 11-6 since last report)

With an en fuego 2nd half of the season, the Vacs coast to their 7th consecutive AL East title. They captured the #2 seed for the playoffs and await the winner of the Seattle Spartans and Baltimore O’s series which is knotted up at a game each after 2 games. The 106 wins was 3rd best in the history of the franchise. They hope to win their 2nd World Series.

Major League Pitcher of the Year
Starter Rich May tied his career high with 19 wins and now owns a lifetime record of 99-43. His 3.04 ERA on the season was a career best as was his 1.10 WHIP. Incredibly, we won every one of his last 9 starts. The 3-time All Star finished 3rd in the Cy Young balloting.

Major League Player of the Year
Harold Martin played in 159 games hitting .278 with 44 HR’s and 124 RBI. Martin also scored 107 runs and added 7 stolen bases. Statistically, it wasn’t Martin’s best year but quite possibly his most consistent and like the Vacs, had a wonderful 2nd half of the season.

Minor League Playoff Watch

The AA Vacs are up 2-0 against the Charleston Trawlers in the AA AL Championship Series. It is the furthest the AA squad has ever advanced and their 100-44 record was also the best in their AA history. The HA Vacs lost 3 games to 1 against Toronto in the Division Play In Series. The Rookie Vacs were swept by the Seattle Spartans in the AL Championship series 4-0 after downing the Chicago Bruisers 4-1 in the Division Championship round.

2. Baltimore O’s (93-69, 13 games back, 11-6 since last report)

The streets of Baltimore were dancing as the franchise made the playoffs for the very 1st time with a franchise best 93 wins. They overcame a hellish beginning to the 2nd half of the season to capture the #6 seed and a 1st round match up vs the Seattle Spartans. The 93 wins are 10 more wins better than the previous franchise high of 83 set back in Season 5.

Major League Pitcher of the Year
Closer Felipe Cora was sensational all season long and finished the season with 49 saves in 53 chances. Cora appeared in 72 games and finished with a 6-6 record and a 2.99 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP. He struckout 64 hitters in 69.1 innings. His hardware includes a Pitcher of the Week award, an All Star appearance, Rookie of the Year and Fireman of the Year. Quite the beginning of a career for the 22 year old Venezuelan.

Major League Player of the Year
2B Walt Seneca provides stellar defense and a steady bat. Seneca hit .279 with 26 HR and 103 RBI in 143 games while fielding at a .980 clip. Seneca also came through when the team needed him the most hitting safely in 13 of the last 14 games of the season, hitting .345 over that stretch with 8 walks and 10 runs scored.

Minor League Watch

The AAA O’s, as the #6 seed have reached the League Championship series after a stunning upset sweep over #3 seed Charleston Trawlers in the 1st round and 3 games to 1 over the #2 seed San Juan Slugging Diablos in the 2nd round. They are up against it down 2-0 to the Toronto Thoroughbreds and have made it further than any previous AAA O’s team.

3. San Juan Slugging Diablos (68-94, 38 games back, 6-11 since last report)

The Season 9 Slugging Diablos could never get on track. The season started by winning 1 of their 1st 10 games and it never righted itself. There were some solid individual performances but the 68 wins was 2nd worst in franchise history as they recorded their 3rd straight losing season and 5th in their last 6.

Major League Pitcher of the Year
Veteran hurler Ben Walton takes home the award despite tiring out at the end of the year dropping his final 6 decisions. Walton went 13-16 with a 4.43 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He walked only 51 hitters in 197 innings pitched over 35 starts which matched his career high. Opponents hit just .267 against the 31 y/o Indiana native. Walton is set to become a Free Agent.

Major League Player of the Year
21 year old Rookie Lorenzo Perez takes home the honor. He was named the SS on the Silver Slugger team in the American League and deservedly so. Perez hit .328 with 34 HR’s and 123 RBI. He also finished with 36 doubles and a solid .965 OPS. Perez was extremely versatile starting at 6 different positions settling in at SS in the 2nd half.

Minor League Watch

The AAA Diablos were upset in the Division Championship Series by the Baltimore O’s 3 games to 1. It was the 1st time the AAA team made the playoffs in 3 seasons. The HA Diablos took care of the Toronto Thoroughbreds 3 games to 1 in the Division Championship series and now lead 2-0 over the Charleston Trawlers in the League Championship series. They have made the HA World Series in each of the previous 2 seasons only to lose.
The LA Diablos won a thrilling 1st round series over the New Orleans River Crashers 3-2 but then were swept by the Toronto Thoroughbreds 3-0 in the 2nd round. In 9 seasons, the LA squad has made the playoffs in every season.

4. Florida Beach Bums (51-111, 55 games back, 6-11 since last report)

The Bums were consistently inconsistent for most of the season. They had one 5-game winning streak and two 4-game streaks but at the same time captured seven losing streaks of 6 games or more. Shockingly though, they swept Detroit in a 3-game series in early September that the team should hang their hat on and build momentum for season 10.

Major League Pitcher of the Year
Don Lambert started 31 games and finished with a 7-13 record. His 4.60 ERA and 1.48 WHIP was tops on the staff as well as the opponents OBP of .349. The rookie, and former 1st rounder has a bright future and is a definite building block for future Bum seasons.

Major League Player of the Year
Designated Hitter Rob Towers is another young rising star for the Bums. The 22 yr old Georgia native hit .280-20-89 in his rookie campaign. The former 4th rounder of the Monterrey Cheese should only improve as a hitter as he matures and will likely dwarf the numbers he put up in season 9.

Minor League Watch

None of the teams in the farm system made the playoffs. The Season 9 season is all complete.

SEASON 9 ALL- AL EAST TEAM

C- Felipe Castro, Augusta .271-24-59
1b- Russ Flanagan, Augusta .270-41-123
2b- Walt Seneca, Baltimore .279-26-103
SS- Lorenzo Perez, San Juan .328-34-123
3b- Lawrence Grieve, San Juan .269-37-90
OF- Harold Martin, Augusta .278-44-124
OF- Fred Eyre, San Juan .295-35-119
OF- Chad Mercker, Baltimore .281-25-78
DH- Douglas Cardona, Baltimore .275-32-109

SP- Rich May, Augusta 19-4, 3.04
SP- Pablo Mesa, Augusta 17-6, 3.47
SP- Danys Vazquez, Augusta 12-0, 1.63
SP- Miguel Estrella, Baltimore 16-8, 4.08
RP- Felipe Cora, Baltimore 49 saves, 2.99
RP- Ryan Crosby, Baltimore 14-9, 85 appearances, 2.60
RP- Vic Ordonez, Augusta 9-4, 10 saves, 91 appearances, 2.68