Season 40 Wrap Up - Cleveland Rocks!

Cleveland Naps (AL) douglasdao View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Cleveland brings home the title in Season 40!

It was just another Cleveland-Chicago World Series matchup, but simulation did not mirror reality as it was the AL Champion Cleveland Naps taking the World Series this time around.  Cleveland, who had the 2nd best record in Cobb this season, did not lose a game in route to the World Series, beating Chicago in the Divisional Round, and the team with the best record, Detroit, in the ALCS in clean sweeps.  Cleveland went down 2-1 in the World Series, before taking 3 straight to win in 6 games.  The Cleveland offense was clicking all postseason, mashing 23 Home Runs in 13 games with a team OPS of .808.  Despite a few rocky Starting Pitching performances, they finished with a 3.71 team ERA this postseason, thanks to a solid bullpen.  This is Cleveland's and douglasdao's 2nd Cobb title, as they also won it all in Season 36.  Congrats!

Now, for this year's major award winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Jerry Johnson, Cleveland - .350 AVG 38 HR 106 RBI 19 SB
It was a phenomenal year for the 28 year-old Cleveland slugger, who put forth his best numbers of his career to help Cleveland win the World Series title.  For his efforts, he gets the AL MVP trophy, although it was a tight race.  It's hard to argue against Johnson winning though, given his most impressive stat line.  He also won his 3rd Silver Slugger award this season and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him back as a strong MVP candidate in future seasons.

National League - Jim Burnett, Chicago - .304 AVG 56 HR 143 RBI 11 SB
It's just another spectacular season for Burnett, who now has 8 straight seasons of 40+ HR and 100+ RBI, and the fact that he produces those numbers while playing a solid CF makes him extremely valuable.  The 30 year-old made his 6th All-Star team and won his 7th Silver Slugger award in Season 40 as well.  This is his 2nd MVP win, also taking the trophy in Season 35.  Burnett is on his way to becoming one of Cobb's all-time great Center Fielders.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Scott Schafer, Detroit - 26-8 3.18 ERA 220 K
It was a runaway win for the 30 year-old Detroit right-hander in the AL Cy Young race, and looking at his numbers it's not hard to see why.  You don't see pitchers winning 26 games that often.  Schafer also made the All-Star team this past season, his third appearance.  Schafer is a true workhorse who eats up innings with excellent splits and control.  Despite mediocre pitch command, he continues to post impressive numbers.

National League - Al Osoria, San Jose - 17-6 1.24 ERA 212 K
The San Jose righty goes back-to-back in Cy Young award wins with another spectacular season, posting the 2nd best ERA in 40 seasons of Cobb history.  He also made his 3rd All-Star appearance this seasons.  There aren't enough superlatives to describe Osoria's performance this past season.  It's hard to pick out any flaws in his makeup.  At just 26 years old, Osoria should continue to be one of the best pitchers in Cobb for seasons to come.

Season 39 Wrap Up - San Francisco is your champion!

After a back-and-forth battle in the World Series, it was San Francisco who came away with the crown after a 7-game World Series classic.  San Francisco, the NL's top team with 110 wins, didn't have an easy path to the title, going the full 7 games in both the NLCS and the World Series.  Despite some pitching staff implosions throughout the playoffs, it was Louie Concepcion and Willie James who were able to reel it in for an otherwise shaky San Francisco pitching staff to lead them to the title.  With their top two starters stepping up, to go with a steady and consistent offense, it was enough to put San Francisco over the top this season.  Richmond had another great playoff run, trying to win their 2nd title in 3 years, but the HBD gods determined it was not meant to be.  Still it was a tremendous season for them, and they are truly establishing their squad as one of Cobb's best teams.

Now, let's take a look at the major individual awards for Season 39!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Glenallen Good, Seattle - .332 AVG 49 HR 133 RBI
It was all good for good in Season 39, taking home the AL MVP trophy with a phenomenal season at the plate.  The 25 year-old's numbers are even more impressive taking into account that he plays in Seattle's pitcher friendly park.  Good also made his 2nd straight All-Star game and took home his 2nd straight Silver Slugger award in Season 39.  He's establishing himself as one of Cobb's top sluggers at an early age in his career.

National League - Vic Guillen, San Francisco - .318 AVG 53 HR 146 RBI
Speaking of Cobb's top sluggers, the 30 year-old Guillen did it again with another outstanding season posting a ridiculous line to earn his second straight NL MVP trophy and third in four years.  The leading slugger for the Season 39 World Champions, Guillen also made his 5th straight All-Star appearance and won his 4th straight Silver Slugger award this season.  Guillen is establishing himself as one of the all-time great hitters in Cobb history, and still has more productive years ahead.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Gordon Ward, Detroit - 25-5 3.17 ERA 183 K
The workhorse lefty who anchored the staff for the American League's best regular season team is this season's AL Cy Young winner, earning his first trophy at age 33.  His 25 wins are tied for third for the most in a single season in Cobb history.  He made his 4th All-Star appearance in Season 39 as well.  This is his 5th straight season of outstanding numbers, so it's nice to see it finally pay off with a Cy Young trophy for the Detroit hurler.

National League - Al Osoria, San Jose - 19-6 2.05 ERA 240 K
The 25 year-old flame-throwing righty from San Jose is Season 39's Cy Young Award winner.  On top of an outstanding strikeout rate, Osoria eclipsed the minimum innings threshold and is now Cobb's all-time career leader in ERA.  Osoria made his 2nd straight All-Star team this season and even won a Silver Slugger!   It will be interesting to see how he builds on one of the best starts to a career for a starting pitching in Cobb history going forward.

That's it for the Season 39 Wrap Up.  See you back soon for Season 40!

Season 38 Wrap Up - Syracuse takes the crown!

Syracuse Sycamores (NL) hatton98 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Syracuse is your Season 38 champion!

The Season 38 World Series has concluded, and in a battle of underdogs, NL #4 seed Syracuse defeated AL #6 seed Chicago in thrilling 7 game battle to take the crown. Ray Fick broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 9th with a walk off 2-run homer to bring the World Series trophy to Syracuse. Syracuse went through the entire NL East gauntlet to get to the World Series, taking out Scranton in the Play-In Round, Atlanta in the Divisional Round and Chicago in the NLCS.  Syracuse had a well balanced attacked throughout the playoffs, posting a solid .776 team OPS and 3.70 team ERA.  This is hatton98's first Cobb championship, congratulations!   It was a great run by grissom97's Chicago squad this postseason as well, nearly pulling of the World Series win as the #6 seed, knocking off three teams with 99 or more wins on their way to the Series, including defending champ Richmond. It's great to see so many new teams in the championship mix, as we have our 3rd consecutive season with an owner winning their first Cobb championship.  

Now for a recap of this season's major award winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Alejandro Trevino, Richmond - .323 AVG 42 HR 129 RBI 35 SB
Trevino put together another spectacular season for the AL's top regular season team, earning himself a second consecutive MVP trophy.  He also repeated as an All-Star starter and a Silver Slugger award winner.  The 28 year-old is clearly one of Cobb's most talented players and in the middle of his prime, is likely to continue to compete for more awards in seasons to come.

National League - Vic Guillen, San Francisco - .333 AVG 56 HR 142 RBI
Guillen's most impressive power numbers earned him a 2nd MVP win in Season 38, as he was also the Season 36 NL MVP winner.  Oddly enough, his Home Run and RBI totals are his lowest out of the past three seasons.   It's clear Guillen is one of the most feared hitters in Cobb, and will go down as an all-time great.  Guillen was also an All-Star starter and won a Silver Slugger award in Season 38.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Ryouta Irabu, Richmond - 20-5 2,92 ERA 239 K
Irabu completed the Awards sweep for Richmond for the 2nd straight season, as he goes back-to-back as AL Cy Young winner as well.  Irabu posted a career high in strikeouts, and reached the 20 win mark for the 2nd time.  He also made the All-Star team and won a Gold Glove award.  That's a lot of hardware going to Richmond, and it's scary for the rest of the AL that both players are still in their prime.

National League - Brent Gibson, San Jose - 22-9 2.70 ERA 205 K
Our only first time winner this year, Gibson was the anchor of the San Jose staff this season, tossing a hefty 281 innings while sporting impressive numbers throughout.  The 29 year-old righty lead the playoff push for San Jose that fell a couple of games short.   The Cy Young award win is a nice consolation prize, nonetheless.  Gibson also made the All-Star team this season, and will look to get San Jose over the playoff hump next season.

That's it for the Season 38 recap, see you back for Season 39 after a hopefully quick rollover!

Season 37 Wrap Up - Richmond takes the crown!

Richmond Rejects (AL) cabbagehead View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Richmond is your Season 37 Cobb Champion!

The Season 37 World Series has concluded, and it's the AL #1 seed, Richmond, who came out on top of the heap!  Richmond defeated Anaheim in 4 games in the Divisional Series, and Detroit in 6 in the ALCS on their way to the World Series, where they faced San Antonio, a team that toppled 3 opponents in the NL bracket with better records en route to the championship matchup.  But the 110 win Richmond team ended up being too much to overcome, as they won the title in 5 games.  Richmond posted solid offensive numbers throughout the playoffs with a .292 average and .779 OPS, and their pitching was good enough to put them over the top, sporting a 3.95 ERA.  It's the first Cobb championship for cabbagehead, and first overall, congrats on finally breaking through with a title!  Kudos to The__Kid as well on making their first World Series appearance with an excellent playoff run.

Now, let's see who this season's major award winners were!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Alejandro Trevino, Richmond - .336 AVG 48 HR 155 RBI 37 SB
The 27 year-old 5-tool player had previously put up some impressive seasons in the past, but still managed to take it to an even higher level in Season 37 with career highs in multiple categories.  This performance earned him his first MVP trophy.  He also was an All-Star starter, and won a Silver Slugger Award this season.  Although he had a fairly weak postseason at the plate, he still takes home a World Series ring this season, and we are sure he will bounce back and be a major force in the Richmond lineup next season, and for seasons to come after that.

National League - Harry Tracy, Atlanta - .334 AVG 50 HR 157 RBI
It was a far closer race for the NL MVP, but in the end it was the 31 year-old Atlanta slugger who took home the hardware.  It's hard to argue against the choice given his monster stat line this past season.  He now has nine straight seasons with 40+ HR and 110+ RBI, which he far exceeded this season.  This is Tracy's 2nd MVP win, as he also was the NL MVP in Season 30, becoming the 15th player in Cobb history to win multiple MVP's.  He also made the All-Star team this season.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Ryouta Irabu, Richmond - 25-1 2.26 ERA 199 K
Well, it looks like Richmond wins everything this season, as their staff ace, 28 year-old Japanese lefty Irabu, ran away with the AL Cy Young Award in a landslide.  Posting an amazing 25-1 record with a tremendous ERA, it's not hard to see why.  Irabu continued to dazzle in the postseason going 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA in leading his team to a World Series title.  He was an All-Star this season for the third time as well.  It will be interesting to see if he can repeat the season for the ages he had in Season 37 in seasons to come.

National League - Willie James, San Francisco - 20-5 2.99 ERA 220 K
In an extremely close NL Cy Young race, it was 33 year-old San Francisco hurler taking home the trophy.  The hard throwing righty led his team to the NL's best record while posting very impressive numbers.  This is the first Cy Young win for James, and he also made his 3rd All-Star appearance this season.  James has been extremely consistent his entire career, all with San Francisco, posting numerous solid seasons.  He finally got his Cy Young award this season, adding to an already impressive career.

That's it for the Season 37 wrap up, looking forward to Season 38 after a hopefully quick rollover.  See you then!