Season 46 Wrap Up - San Juan is your Champion!

San Juan Peloteros (NL) lcarmona76 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

San Juan Claims the Title as #6 seed from NL!

After sliding into the playoffs as the 2nd wildcard in the NL, San Juan went on a fantastic postseason run to claim to the Season 46 title!  It wasn't easy, as both of their first two series against 100-win teams went the maximum number of games before reaching the World Series, where they defeated the AL #5 seed, Vancouver in six games.  The pitching staff really stepped up for San Juan in the postseason with a solid 3.10 ERA in the playoffs, led by several tremendous performances from the bullpen.  The offense held its own with some timely steals on the basepaths and a steady stream of home runs to keep them ahead on the scoreboard.  Congrats to lcarmona76 and San Juan on taking the title!

Now to recap this season's major award winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Hector Rodney, Vancouver - .320 AVG 47 HR 116 RBI
Rodney slugged his way to his first AL MVP by putting up career high numbers in Batting Average, Home Runs, RBI, Slugging and OBP.  A tremendous season by one of the most powerful bats in Cobb for sure!

National League - Julio Ogando, Chicago - .355 AVG 35 HR 102 RBI
Chicago claims the NL MVP for the 5th consecutive season, thanks to an amazing season from Ogando.  This is Ogando's 2nd MVP win, as he also won in Season 42 to kick off the Chicago streak.  Ogando also made his 7th All-Star team and won his 2nd Silver Slugger award in Season 46.  Quite the impressive season for Ogando, indeed.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Harry Galvis, Cleveland - 16-9 2.50 ERA 243 K
The lefty hurler out of Cleveland nabbed his 2nd straight Cy Young, 3rd in 4 seasons, and 4th overall with another spectacular campaign in Season 46.  Although it was his lowest win totals of any of his Cy Young campaigns, the rest of Galvis' numbers were elite.  He also made his 7th All-Star appearance in Season 46. 

National League - Bernard Spencer, Portland - 22-2 2.11 ERA 148 K
Spencer picked up his 2nd Cy Young Award in Season 46, dominating hitters while tabulating a sparkling win-loss record.  Spencer, who previously won the Cy Young in Season 41, also made his 6th All-Star appearance in Season 46.  The ERA, winning percentage and WHIP combination put up by Spencer in Season 46 is rarely seen, so it was most definitely a deserving win.

That does it for Season 46, thanks to everyone who played!

Season 45 Wrap Up - Chicago Takes it All!

Chicago Pitbulls (NL) alogman1 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Chicago is Your Season 45 Champion!

It's been 25 seasons in the making, and it finally happened, the World Series trophy comes back to Wrigley Field, as Chicago defeated Florida in 4 games to clinch the crown.  Both Florida and Chicago swept their opening series, followed by grueling 7 game showdowns in the LCS.  Chicago managed to put together some solid pitching appearances (3.19 postseason ERA) and slug a few out of the park (22 HR in 14 playoff games) to put them over the top against Florida.  Chicago's latest rebuild finally paid off, as they had made the playoffs the previous 11 seasons without a title, losing in the World Series once over at that span.  It's been a nice run for Florida as well, coming off their 3rd straight division title, having won the World Series just two seasons ago.  Congrats to both teams on great seasons.

Now, let's look at the major award winners in Season 45!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Parker Counsell, Salt Lake City - .303 AVG 42 HR 108 RBI 38 SB
Chalk up another MVP win for the Salt Lake first baseman, his second straight and 3rd in 4 seasons at just age 25!  His Average, Home Run, RBI and Stolen Base totals all dropped from last season, yet he still won, what are the voters thinking?!?  Well, it's still an MVP worthy stat line, even if he missed out on a 40/40 season.  No question about his talent, the only question is how many more MVP awards will he win?

National League - Yadier Torres, Chicago - .295 AVG 46 HR 99 RBI 30 SB
We also have a back-to-back winner in the NL MVP, as the Chicago left fielder takes home his 2nd straight MVP trophy.  The 26 year-old failed to put up his 3rd straight 50 HR season, but did crack 30 steals for the first time.  He made his 4th All-Star team and won his 3rd Silver Slugger award this season as well.  Quite the career resumè, although he still trails Counsell by one MVP award is a year older!

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Harry Galvis, Cleveland - 27-6 2.52 ERA 233 K
The 26 year-old hard throwing lefty loves odd numbered seasons, as the Season 41 & 43 Cy Young Award winner also takes home the crown in Season 45!  Not that he's been terrible in the even seasons, he now has 5 straight 20+ win 220+ K strikeout seasons under his belt, with his highest ERA over that time being 3.21.  He also made his 6th straight All-Star appearance this season.  His ratings are phenomenal and no doubt will go down as an all-time great, and is definitely our favorite for the Season 47 award!

National League - Juan Trevino, Cheyenne - 19.6 2.27 ERA 186 K
A 26 year-old lefty like his AL counterpart, Trevino was awarded for his best season yet with the Cy Young trophy for the NL, his first win.  The Season 38 #1 overall draft pick has had some solid seasons, but in Season 45 he posted a career high in Wins, and a career best ERA by over a run.  He also made his first All-Star appearance in Season 45.  No doubt he should remain among the NL's top pitchers for some time, he was definitely worth taking #1 overall.

That's a wrap for Season 45, see you back for next season!