Monday, February 1, 2016

Season 37 Wrap Up - Richmond takes the crown!

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!