In the American League, the A.L. East Division is up for grabs, while four teams are fighting for the remaining two playoff spots; The Chicago Nine (John "Stray" Corrado) clinched the Amercian League West for their first playoff (of probably many) & first division title in franchise history. The Nine dominated their division, leading the division by a commanding 14 games, while beating up on its three division rivals with a 37-18 record.
The American League East, currently is led by the South Side Spartans (rookie Manager - Matt Hoeppner) by a small margin of two games. The Swatara Eliminators (Brandon Matlock) turned up the heat the last month of the season, and jumped into the race along with the Spartans & the Corktown Tamales (ran by the other rookie manager Chris Demercurio). This division race is likely going down to the final day, and we may even see a tie-breaker game before its all decided. The Spartans' magic number sits at 10.
The defending BoS World Champions - Fairgrove Tigers' repeat hopes are still alive, as they find themselves on the edge of the race at 76-75. The Tigers (led by Robert Mosher) won the A.L. West in its first two seasons in 2013 & 2014, and even though they lost the division title this season, they still have a shot at the A.L. Wild Card slot. The Tigers find themselves two games out from that playoff spot, currently held by the A.L. East Eliminators (78-73); The Tamales (75-76) currently in 3rd place in the A.L. East, are a game behind Fairgrove & 3 games behind Swatara in the Wild Card race.
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| David Ortiz (of the Chicago Nine) on quest to return to World Series (once with Portland). |
Only a game separates the Hitchhikers (82-69) & Locos (81-70), for that last playoff spot (A.L. Wild Card) -- with both teams still having a solid shot at the division title as well; Traverse City's magic number sits at 8 games (with 11 to play).
The tight playoff races can be summed up, like this...
Just like the western division of its league counterpart, the N.L. West was decided pretty early on by the Portland Microbrewers (Brad Stark). The Brewers are the only franchise in the history of the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League (BoS) to win their division all three seasons of its existence, and the only team (unless Fairgrove reaches the playoffs this season) to make the post-season, all three seasons as well. Stark has led his Portland ballclub to both World Series, he is still seeking that World Championship.
The Microbrewers (91-60), by the way, are winning their division by 22 games over the next team in their divison -- which is constantly altering between the other three teams, all separated by a game from the cellar.
This season also may mark the only season where no team won 100 games, and where no team lost 100 games -- There seemed to be more parity than in the past, batting average was definitely down all across the league, and even the "powerhouses" or strong teams looked human or vulnerable; Some teams could play great against great teams, while they would turn around and lose to a team that many would have thought they would spank.
Triple Crown Watch - Update
The latest on the Triple Crown possibilities for the Corktown Tamales' Jose Abreu, who at one time was leading all three major categories (AVG, HR & RBI). Abreu, barring a hitting slump, should win the A.L. Batting Title (.311) over Victor Martinez (.295) of the Swatara Eliminators; Abreu also sits comfortably in RBI category with 101 ribbies, ahead of the Chicago Nine's David Ortiz (92). It's Ortiz of Chicago, that could prevent Abreu from winning the Triple Crown in his rookie season -- Ortiz leads the American League with 40 HR, while Abreu trails by only two homers at 38.
Jose Abreu also has a chance to win the American League Rookie-of-the-Year Award and the American League Most Valuable Player Award in the same exact season -- which has only happened in the Majors twice (Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki).
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