April 17, 2034
(AP)
And we're off as the 2034 season kicks off. So far so good for these teams as Wilmington, Santo Domingo, Indy and Seattle all started 5-1. On the other side of the life Montreal went 0-6 while New Orleans, Pawtucket and Windy City started off 1-5. The good news is that there are six down and only 156 to go.
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (159.0, ++)
2) Indianapolis Racers (158.0, ++)
3) Seattle Pilots (157.0, ++)
4) Wilmington Clowns (153.0, ++)
5) Miami Sharks (125.0, ++)
6) Los Angeles Dinos (124.0, +)
7) Phoenix Roadrunners (121.0, ++)
8) Pittsburgh Millers (121.0, ++)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (91.0, --)
10) Hartford Whalers (91.0, --)
11) Maine Guides (91.0, -)
12) New York Knights (91.0, +)
13) Washington Bats (91.0, ++)
14) Batavia Red Jackets (89.0, --)
15) Carolina Tobs (89.0, --)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (89.0, -)
17) Toronto Canadians (87.0, ++)
18) Denver BC (59.0, --)
19) Syracuse Snappers (59.0, +)
20) California Kodiaks (56.0, --)
21) Pawtucket Patriots (25.0, --)
22) New Orleans Dukes (22.0, --)
23) Windy City Blues (22.0, +)
24) Montreal Exports (-12.0, --)
Performance of the Week
P Tom Gowans - On April 12th against Miami he opened the year with a complete game shutout where he struck out seven and walked none. On April 14th he signed a 5 year contract extension worth $73,000,000 dollars. Yes it was a good week for Mr. Gowens.
Injury of the Week
P Yi Ou-yang - In a very quiet opening week the trainers and team doctors didn't have much to do. We scoured the injury wire and the only thing that caught the DK's attention was Ou-yang coming down with food poisoning after opening day. After coming to the BLB from China in 2029 he spent four season with New York where he played in 185 games and never made a single injury report. First day in California and he was already "puking his guts out" as fellow teammate Pat Wood told local media.
Prospect of the Week
CF Joey Robertson - The 17 year old for Poly Prep has played in 19 games this season and is hitting .375/.495/.667 with 5 HR's and 20 RBI's while also committing no errors in center field. He is a two time HS All-Star and is projected by many to be the first overall pick in the 2034 draft.
Five Things We Think
1. After one week the Bock looks like the train wreck it was last season. Have we ever seen a division where every team was 3-3 after opening day? Each team in this division could finish within 10 games of each other and no one would be surprised.
2. Hats off to Dylan Owens who recorded his 3000th hit on April 12th against Montreal when he singled to start out the 5th. The game was briefly stopped and he received a long ovation from the Montreal crowd. The 7 time All-Star and 2022 BLB champion is in his 18th BLB season after being drafted by Toronto with the 1st overall pick of the 2014 draft. He's now 12th all-time in hits and second among active players behind only Mike Morla.
3. CJ McVicker for Syracuse is making a cool $15 million and change this season. His first appearance was April 14th against Wilmington where he got the start. In 1.1 innings he allowed 10 hits, 8 runs, 6 earned, while striking out one. His first inning went single, single, home runs, ground out, strike out, error, double, double, fly out. His second inning went fly out, double, home run, single, single, single, shower.
4. In week one the Bulldogs swiped eight bases without being caught and the Rum Runners swiped seven without being caught. Meanwhile Wilmington stole five but got thrown out five times as well. On the individual side no single person was worse than New York's Ezekiel Redford who got thrown out three times in three tries.
5. The DK was once again on the road and missed their annual preview. Here is the quick and dirty.
Ale
xHartford
zPittsburgh
zSyracuse
Maine
Wilmington
Pawtucket
Lager
xSanto Domingo
zMiami
zIndy
New Orleans
Toronto
Montreal
Stout
xWashington
zBatavia
zNew York
zCarolina
Philly
Baltimore
Bock
xWindy City
zSeattle
California
Phoenix
LAD
Denver
Wild Card
Syracuse over Indy
Pitt over Miami
New York over Seattle
Carolina over Batavia
DS
SDR over Pitt
Syracuse over Hartford
Washington over Carolina
Windy City over New York
LCS
SDR over Syracuse
Windy City over Washington
Brewmasters Cup
SDR over Windy City
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Stout Slugger
Turell 'Two Ton' Morris, MAI - .300 with 58 HR's and 140 RBI's
Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, SEA - .315 with 54 HR's and 135 RBI's
Pale Ale
JJ Plumley, WIL - 18-6, 2.20 ERA, 0.90 WHIP
Dave Theisen, WAS - 17-5, 2.10 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
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Stars to Watch
Josh Wright, WIL - .295, 50 HR's, 110 RBI's
Sheng Jong, SDR - 20-5, 2.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
Seth Blankenship, SYR - .265, 40 HR's, 80 RBI's, 40 SB's
Tony Ramos, CAL - 15-5, 2.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
Tom Stark, WC - .290, 35 HR's, 100 RBI's
RJ Kapper, PIT - .360, 20 HR's, 75 RBI's
Pat Schick, NY - 18-7, 3.00 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
Nehemiah Daniel, SEA - .330, 25 HR's, 80 RBI's
Tom Dingman, BAT - 17-8, 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Killian Pena, WAS - .311, 30 RBI's, 105 RBI's
Stat of the Week
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Largest Single Season Increase In Home Runs (Top 25 Players, Maximum 100% Increase In Games Played) |
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