Season 36 Wrap Up - Cleveland hoists the trophy!

Cleveland Naps (AL) douglasdao View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Cleveland wins the Season 36 World Series!

In a tightly contested Season 36 World Series, it was Cleveland that emerged as the Season 36 champion, edging out Atlanta, which had won 4 of the previous 6 titles.  A 4-run top of the third in Game 7 was too much for Atlanta to overcome, as Cleveland took the decisive game 5-3.  Cleveland made quick work of Montreal, Detroit and defending champion Tacoma in the AL playoffs before engaging in a tough World Series battle.   It was a truly impressive run for the AL East Champs, entering the playoffs as the #4 seed.  The bats were rolling, as they cranked 37 Home Runs in 19 games and posted an .836 team OPS in the playoffs, while the pitching maintained a steady 3.77 ERA.  Congrats to douglasdao on his first Cobb Championship, and 4th overall!

Now, let's take a look at this season's individual award winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Sam Decker, Montreal - .368 AVG 38 HR 116 RBI
In an extremely close race it's Montreal's Sam Decker taking home the AL MVP trophy.  Decker certainly had an impressive season, having the best batting average in the Majors by 53 points, and leading the Majors in OBP and OPS.  It might have been a tight race because Decker is a DH, but still it's hard to argue with those numbers.  He also made his 3rd All-Star team this season and won his 2nd Silver Slugger award.  This is his first MVP win.

National League -  Vic Guillen, San Francisco - .292 AVG 60 HR 154 RBI
The NL MVP race wasn't as close as the AL race, and looking at winner Vic Guillen's numbers it's not hard to see why.  He had 12 more home runs than any other player this season, and also led the Majors in RBI and Slugging.  Despite some outstanding previous seasons, this being his 5th consecutive with 47+ HR and 123+ RBI, this is his first MVP win.  He also made the All-Star team, won a Silver Slugger and even won the Home Run Derby this season, solidifying his status as one of, if not the, elite power bat in Cobb.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Wilmer Duran, Tacoma - 27-3 2.72 ERA 140 K
The only multiple-time major award winner this season, Duran took home his second consecutive Cy Young Award with an outstanding record and a very good ERA.  It's a somewhat controversial pick, as his role as a tandem starter allows him to vulture wins, leading to inflated totals.  He is one of the most talented relievers in Cobb, that is not in doubt.  He also made the All-Star team this season.

National League - C.C. Gryboski, Jacksonville - 21-4 2.65 ERA 213 K
Gryboski is a more conventional Cy Young award winner, putting together an extremely impressive season, topping both the 20 win mark and the 200 strikeout mark.  He also made his 2nd All-Star team this season.  The 28 year-old appears to have several more seasons ahead as one of Cobb's best pitchers, as it's hard to pinpoint any weaknesses in his makeup.  We tried to reach team owner colewharton for comment, but he could not be located.

That's it for this season's wrap up, see you back for Season 37 after a hopefully quick rollover!

Season 35 Wrap Up - Tacoma takes the crown!

Tacoma Jerry Gang (AL) dwoolery View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Tacoma takes the title in Season 35!  

In one of the most exciting World Series in recent memory, Tacoma edged out Jacksonville with a 1-0 win to take the Season 35 crown in 7 games.   This is Tacoma's second championship, the previous coming in Season 21.  After finishing as the runner-up in Seasons 32 and 34, Tacoma was finally able to bring home another title in Season 35.   The World Series was a battle of the two number one seeds.  Tacoma swept Cleveland in the DCS and then topped Richmond in a hard fought 6-game series in the LCS.  Slugger Ozzie Simon led the offense, posting an OPS over 1.000 in the post season, not an easy feat when playing most of your games in an extreme pitchers' park.  Stud hurler Pat Nakajima led the pitching staff was a 4-1 mark in the playoffs, and Tacoma's bullpen was nearly flawless, helping the team to post an outstanding 2.94 ERA in the post-season.

Jacksonville had an outstanding season as well, coming out on top of a division that had 3 100-game winners, and then beating both of those squads in the playoffs.   They were both tough series that went the maximum number of games, defeating Atlanta in 5 in the DCS, and Chicago in 7 in LCS.  They just ran out of final game magic, and couldn't get the offense going in a tough game 7.  An outstanding season for them, nonetheless.

Let's look at who brought home the hardware this season for the major awards.  For the first time since Season 19, we have four first time winners!  Also interesting that the MVP and Cy Young winners came from the same team in both leagues!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Humberto Mercado, Tacoma - .279 AVG 54 HR 138 RBI
The 24 year-old slugger for the World Champions took home the MVP trophy as well.  Perhaps the most powerful bat in the league and perhaps the best all-around player in Cobb, Mercado didn't have much difficulty still crushing home runs in an extremely difficult park to hit home runs in.   He is one of the truly elite power hitters in Cobb, and should contend for many more MVP's, although playing in such a pitcher-friendly park may be a hurdle for future wins.

National League - Jim Burnett, Chicago - .313 AVG 53 HR 123 RBI
In one of the most closely contested NL MVP races in recent memory, Burnett came out on top by a single vote.   Burnett has shown tremendous power at the plate since hitting the majors, topping the 50 HR mark for the second time in his career in Season 35.  He is also known for a keen batting eye.  At just age 26, there should be several more outstanding seasons ahead for Burnett.  Burnett is the Pitbulls' first MVP since Season 9!

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Wilmer Duran, Tacoma - 25-1 2.47 ERA 109 K
Duran, also a member of the World Champions, took home the Cy Young award, being one of the youngest ever to earn the honor at age 21.  His unique role as a tandem starter allowed him to notch an impressive 25-1 record.   His 25 wins ties for second all-time, and his winning percentage is 2nd all-time as well.   If we continues to accumulate wins as a tandem starter, he has a shot to maybe keep contending for future awards.

National League - Ryan Post, Chicago - 21-6 1.91 ERA 146 K
Post, unlikely to be thought of as the best starter on his team coming into the season, stepped his game with 20+ Wins, a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP, which was good enough to take home the NL Cy Young Award.  Post has elite control and pitches and solid splits, and really came into his own in Season 35.   It will be interesting to see if he continues to be amongst the best in the league.

That concludes the Season 35 wrap-up.  See you soon for Season 36!

Season 34 Wrap Up - Atlanta wins again!

Atlanta Smackdown (NL) Lightman View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Atlanta is your Season 34 champion!

Atlanta has done it again, winning another World Series crown in Season 34, making it 4 in 5 seasons.  In a rematch of the Season 32 World Series against Tacoma, Atlanta conquered the Jerry Gang once again in 5 games, after making it past Rochester and Chicago in the NL playoffs.  Atlanta's pitching led the way to another title, posting an impressive 2.93 playoff ERA with 4-time Cy Young winner Gill Cochrane shouldering the load making 6 of Atlanta's 13 playoff starts and posting a 4-1 record.  The offense was solid, led by youngster Miguel Infante who was clutch in the playoffs with a .500 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI and an OPS of 1.496.  Congratulations to Atlanta and Lightman on the World Series win.

Here's a look at Season 34's major award winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League -  Santo Estrada, Montreal - .301 AVG 37 HR 115 RBI
In a tight AL MVP race, it was Estrada from Montreal who pulled out the win with an impressive stat line this past season.   The 30-year-old has put solid, consistent numbers throughout his career without many accolades before being awarded the AL MVP this season.  He also won his first Silver Slugger award and made his 3rd All-Star team in Season 34.

National League - Tony Koh, Omaha - .356 AVG 63 HR 169 RBI
Koh was the runaway winner of the NL MVP, and looking at his ridiculous stat line, it's easy to see why.  He not only won the NL triple crown, but led all of the Majors in Home Runs, RBI and Batting Average, a feat you don't see too often.  This is Koh's 3rd consecutive NL MVP win, further solidifying his place in Cobb history.  He also made his 10th All-Star team and won his 8th Silver Slugger award this season.  All we can say is, Wow!

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Pat Nakajima, Tacoma - 18-5 2.80 ERA 206 K
The staff ace of the AL Champion Tacoma Jerry Gang took home his 2nd AL Cy Young Award this past season, as he also won the trophy in Season 31.  In addition to the stat line noted above, he also posted a microscopic 0.96 WHIP.  Nakajima also made his 2nd All-Star team this season.  At just 25 years of age, Nakajima is sure to be a contender to keep racking up Cy Young awards for many seasons to come.

National League - Ivan Fernandez, Atlanta - 19-4 1.71 ERA 176 K
While not the dominant pitcher in Atlanta's latest World Series run, due to injury, Fernandez sure dominated the regular season in taking home his 1st Cy Young Award.  His 1.71 ERA is the 4th best in Cobb world history.  In a most epic season for Fernandez, he also made his 1st All-Star team, and perhaps more importantly, picked up his 2nd World Series ring.  Fernandez will be only 27 years old next season, so it will be interesting to see what else he will accomplish for a dominant Atlanta squad.

That concludes this season's wrap up!  Looking forward to a great Season 35 after a hopefully quick rollover!

Season 33 Wrap Up - Memphis claims the crown!

Memphis Confederates (AL) snides45 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Memphis takes the crown in Season 33!

Memphis is the Season 33 Champion in Cobb, but it wasn't an easy path.  The top seed in the AL had to battle through a 5 game series in the division round against Baltimore and a 7 game series in the ALCS against Tacoma to make the World Series.  From there, they kicked it into high gear taking the crown in 5 games against a tough San Francisco team.  Memphis made their run through the playoffs thanks to great pitching, posting a 2.97 team ERA against some of the world's top teams, while putting up consistently solid offensive numbers to back it up.  This is the first Cobb title for snides, his squad had made the World Series in Season 26, but came up short against Omaha.  Congrats to snides on taking home his first Cobb title! In addition, awards were handed out, so let's see who took home the major individual honors!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Don Nation, Baltimore - .333 AVG 50 HR 159 RBI
Nation put forth another tremendous season for Baltimore, putting up impressive power numbers to go with a great batting average.  Nation claims his 3rd MVP trophy, also winning the honor in seasons 28 and 30.  He also made his 5th All-Star team and won his 6th Silver Slugger this season.  Seems like a Hall of Fame resume already, and at age 31 next season, he still has some very productive years ahead.  

National League - Tony Koh, Omaha - .339 AVG 65 HR 133 RBI
Given Koh's amazing offensive numbers, it's not much of a surprise that he walked away with the MVP award, his second consecutive win.  Koh has stepped it up the past two seasons with back-to-back 60 HR seasons.  He also made his 7th All-Star team and won his 5th Silver Slugger this season. Seems like another sure fire Hall of Famer, and he will also be just 31 at the start of next season, meaning more productive seasons to come.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Eddie Blasingame, Memphis - 17-7 1.99 ERA 161 K
Blasingame stepped it up for World Champion Memphis this season leading them to the top seed in the AL and the World Series title.  With a microscopic ERA and WHIP, he seemed like an easy choice for AL Cy Young.  He also made his 2nd All-Star team this season.  He'll be 27 next season and looking to help Memphis repeat as champions, in addition to repeating his Cy Young performance.

National League - Gill Cochrane, Atlanta - 25-7 1.87 ERA 280 K
What an incredible season for Cochrane!  He broke the single season strikeout record and put up the 2nd most wins in Cobb history, to go with a most impressive ERA and WHIP.  Winning his 4th Cy Young Award, this was likely his most impressive season yet.  He also made his 7th All-Star team this season.  Cochrane came just short of leading Atlanta to their 4th straight World Series title, but certainly earned his 4th Cy Young Award.

That concludes this season's wrap up!  See you back for next season after a hopefully quick rollover!