Tweet
(AP)
The final Power Rankings had the Washington Bats finish the season on top as they cruised to their most franchise wins since 2021. It's also the first time since 2028 that the league has only had one team win over 100 games. Meanwhile California finished off the season by losing seven straight and as a result the Batavia Red Jackets will have the #1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Power Rankings
..
| 1st (1st) | Washington | 108-54 | |||||||
| 2nd (5th) | Denver | 99-63 | |||||||
| 3rd (3rd) | Hartford | 97-65 | |||||||
| 4th (2nd) | New York | 97-65 | |||||||
| 5th (9th) | Philadelphia | 98-64 | |||||||
| 6th (7th) | New Orleans | 90-72 | |||||||
| 7th (4th) | Santo Domingo | 93-69 | |||||||
| 8th (10th) | Maine | 92-70 | |||||||
| 9th (6th) | Miami | 89-73 | |||||||
| 10th (8th) | Montreal | 91-71 | |||||||
| 11th (12th) | Los Angeles | 81-81 | |||||||
| 12th (11th) | Wilmington | 79-83 | |||||||
| 13th (13th) | Seattle | 89-73 | |||||||
| 14th (14th) | Windy City | 76-86 | |||||||
| 15th (15th) | Pittsburgh | 78-84 | |||||||
| 16th (17th) | Carolina | 70-92 | |||||||
| 17th (16th) | Batavia | 76-86 | |||||||
| 18th (24th) | Phoenix | 62-100 | |||||||
| 19th (18th) | Indianapolis | 70-92 | |||||||
| 20th (21st) | Syracuse | 70-92 | |||||||
| 21st (20th) | Pawtucket | 61-101 | |||||||
| 22nd (22nd) | Toronto | 62-100 | |||||||
| 23rd (23rd) | Baltimore | 58-104 | |||||||
| 24th (19th) | California | 58-104 |
Playoff Tree
Wildcard Series
vs 
New Orleans won the 1st game by the score of 5-2 and were up 4-3 in game two in the 9th inning before Montreal hit 3 solo home runs to come back and shock New Orleans 6-4. The final game was never close as the Dukes were still in shock and fell behind 5-0 in the 2nd inning and eventually lost 6-1. The MVP of the series was CJ Carlson who had six hits, stole three bases, scored three times and drove in one.
vs 
In the 1st game Maine scored 4 runs in the 5th inning and Tom Lewis hit two home runs as the Guides won easily 6-3. In the second game Maine once again exploded as they scored six runs in the 7th inning to take a 6-3 lead before Miami clawed back with one in the 7th and two in the 8th to tie it. In the 12th inning the home crowd was treated to a walk off home run by Erik LaBruzzo to tie the series at 1-1. In the deciding game Maine was absolutely shackled the entire game as they were down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th. After getting a quick out they went walk, walk, strikeout before game two hero Erik LaBruzzo booted a grounder hit to him at first. With the bases loaded and two outs JD Harrison walked Jayden Cooper to score Turell Moris and then gave up a walk off hit to Roberto Galindo to give Maine the series victory. Tom Lewis was named the series MVP.
vs 
In game one the Freedom needed a 9th inning two out single by pinch hitter Zheng-xin Yang to tie the game 2-2. It took exactly one batter though in the top of the 10th to break the tie as Ed Mossberg hit one 401 feet and Philly was unable to score in the bottom of the inning to go down 1-0 in the series. In the second game LAD jumped all over the Freedom early and took a 5-1 lead going into the 4th thanks in part to a 2 run Joey Cook home run. Neither team scored the rest of the way and the Dino's advanced to the division round with Mossberg winning the MVP.
vs 
Seattle had represented the IL in four of the last five Brewmaster's with New York being the only other team when they won it in 2029. The series started out strong for New York as they held Seattle to five hits and no runs and took game one 2-0. In the second game Seattle started out the 1st with a 3 run home run by Robby Caddell and held on to win 4-3. In the deciding game New York struck first this time by scoring two in the 1st inning. A grand slam by Jamie Hendon in the 5th ended almost all hope by Pilot fans before another two run home run in the 6th made it 9-0. The final score was 9-1 as the Knights advance and TJ Preddy was named series MVP.
Divisional Series
vs 
The season series went to the Exports as they won 8 of the 12 games, scored at least five runs in six of those games, and the Hartford starters posted a 5.46 ERA. This time though the Whalers are fully rested and starter TJ Broughton comes in hot after going 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA to finish off the season after missing five months with a torn biceps. Ron Hutchison also comes in hot for Hartford as he hit .400 with 3 HRs over the last week of the season. In the 12 games against Montreal he was pretty quiet for a guy who hit 54 home runs and drove in 125 on the year. Montreal won 91 games but with injuries to JD Fazlic (.250, 23 HR's, 78 RBI's) and Dave Maldonado (.303, 24 HR's, 75 RBI's) they are going to have a hard time generating an offense to keep up with Hartford this time. Hartford in 4.
vs 
This series sums up the DL this year as a 92 win wildcard Maine team goes against a 93 win division winner in Santo Domingo. The season series went to Maine 7-5 with seven of those games decided by either one or two runs. Turell Morris was big in those games as he hit 4 HR's and drove in 15 while starter Dave Short was 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA for Maine. The Rum Runners though come in hot and rested with starter Dave Taylor not giving up a run in his last two starts and Ian James hitting 8 HR's in his last 13 games. This series is a complete toss-up. Santo Domingo in 5.
vs 
New York just got past a super tough Seattle team to now look 'Death' straight in the eyes. Denver's pitching staff is ridiculously stacked with two of their starters, Enrique Bernardi (16-7, 3.20 ERA) and Manubu Hamada (19-1, 2.38 ERA), coming in on hot streaks. They also have several hitters on hot streaks with Jamie O'Hearn hitting 3 HR's in his last 6 games and Dusty Janson hitting 3 HR's in his last 7 games. New York did win 5 out of 12 though against Denver during the regular season and has Pat Schick (15-9, 2.65 ERA) fully rested and ready to start in two games if needed. Throw in a lineup where their 1-8 hitters all hit double digits in home runs and they might push Denver to the brink. Denver in 5.
vs 
The lowest win team in the playoffs against the team with the most wins during the season, what could possibly go wrong for the Bats? Well to be frank...everything. Everyone knows that in the playoffs teams can get hot and LAD has now won 10 out of their last 12, including the two game sweep of Philly in the Wildcard series. Washington though has won eight out of ten and did take eight out of 12 from the Dino's during the season. They also feature a hot Pat Arballo (17-7, 3.27 ERA) and a fully rested Dave Theisen (17-5, 3.16 ERA). The Bats have the top pitching staff in the IL in ERA, runs allowed, home runs allowed, and walks while boasting an offense that was first in slugging and OBS and 2nd in hits and home runs. These aren't your older brothers Geoff Yonke's Bat's anymore...Washington in 3.
Stat of the Week
.
| Longest Postseason Drought |
Comment