Friday, April 15, 2016

Season 21 Wrap Up - Richmond Goes Back to Back

Richmond
Richmond Manamfasha (NL)
TXLnghrn
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Richmond successfully defends their World Series crown in Season 21!

The Season 21 World Series is in the books, and after a hard fought 6 game series against New Britain, it's Richmond coming out ahead, claiming their 2nd consecutive Kenny Powers title.  The preseason #1 in the Power Rankings, Richmond never held the spot during the regular season, although never drifted far from the top.  As the NL's #2 seed, they lost one game in each of the Divisional Series vs. Tampa Bay and the NLCS vs. Oklahoma City.  In the World Series, Richmond took Games 1, 2 and the clinching Game 6 at New Britain and also Game 5 at home. Marc Towers led the way for the Richmond offense with a 1.220 OPS in the playoffs.  The entire team put up an impressive .350 OBP during the postseason. Norberto Morales went 4-0 in 6 starts throughout the playoffs with a 2.79 ERA, and the bullpen was solid as rock, allowing the team to post a 3.28 ERA in their championship run.

It was a great season for New Britain, as their #5 preseason ranking proved to be too low, never dropping below #2 in the regular season.  They had a lot of momentum going into the playoffs, putting together a 32-9 stretch run to finish with the world's best record and #1 ranking.  They breezed through Seattle in the Divisional Round, and Helena in the LCS, but couldn't crack the magical playoff formula Richmond has going for them in the World Series.  A very nice season, nonetheless.

Thanks to everyone for playing in Season 21, hope to be back soon for Season 22, after a hopefully quick rollover!  

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Season 21 Award Winners

Award season is here in Kenny Powers, so let's see who took home the hardware for Season 21!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Sherman Dunston, Boise - .292 AVG 60 HR 141 RBI
It was another phenomenal season for Sherman Dunston, reaching 60 Home Runs, which was good enough to earn him a Kenny Powers record 5th MVP award.  Even more impressive is that he's earned his 5 MVP trophies in the past six seasons!  He led the majors in Home Runs and the AL in Slugging and OPS this season, and won his sixth consecutive Silver Slugger Award.  He's truly one of the all-time greats already at age 29.

National League - J.C. Ganzel, Honolulu - .354 AVG 52 HR 153 RBI
Although Ganzel fell just short of winning the triple crown, his incredible season was good enough to win the NL MVP in a landslide, becoming only the third player in Kenny Powers history to win 4 MVP trophies.  He led the NL in Batting Average, RBI, Hits, OBP, Slugging and OPS, won his 9th Silver Slugger Award and made his 9th All-Star team.  No doubt Ganzel is also an all-time great in Kenny Powers.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Nicholas Miller, New Britain - 21-5 2.70 ERA 202 K
The 30 year-old Miller took home his first Cy Young Award in a landslide, leading the way for a strong New Britain team.  He led the AL in Wins, Strikeouts and WHIP, and tied for the lead in Shutouts.  He also made his 3rd All-Star appearance.  The 8 year vet finally put it altogether this season, topping the 20 win mark for the first time.

National League - Tommy Stoddard, Honolulu - 16-2 1.32 ERA 151 K
It was a tight NL Cy Young Award race, but in the end Honolulu's Stoddard got the nod by posting an outstanding record, and a new Kenny Powers single season record for ERA.  This is the 32 year-old's first Cy Young win, and he also made his 3rd All-Star appearance this season.  It was a tight race, but it's hard to argue that Stoddard didn't deserve the win with the outstanding numbers he posted.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - C.C. Knott, Charlotte - .272 AVG 52 HR 123 RBI
The 28 year-old Knott finally got the call this season after toiling away in the minors for several seasons, and he didn't disappoint, knocking out an impressive 52 Home Runs to earn him AL Rookie of the Year honors.  He has an elite power bat, but questionable hitting skills otherwise, which probably resulted in his long minor league stint.  It's a good bet with these numbers, he's not headed back down any time soon.  He also took home a Silver Slugger Award this season.

National League - Alex Rosa, Chicago - 20-8 3.53 ERA 182 K
Rosa stepped up big time in his first season in the big leagues, leading the charge for Chicago, and the NL in Wins.  This was good enough to earn him NL Rookie of the Year by a wide margin.  Rosa is a workhorse with great control, good splits and solid velocity.  He should continue to post great numbers for Chicago, a squad that was in the thick of the NL pennant race all season.  

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Shawn Melhuse, Boston - 3.70 ERA, 56 SV - 1st Win
National League - Bo Edmonds, Chicago - 2.79 ERA, 47 SV - 1st Win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League
DH Nick Spence Helena 1st
C Richard Tateyama New Britain 1st
1B Sherman Dunston Boise 6th
2B Ken Ingram New Britain 3rd
3B Luis Diaz Helena 1st
SS Delino Santana Jacksonville 3rd
LF C.C. Knott Charlotte 1st
CF Sidney Forbes New York 2nd
RF Heathcliff Davis New York 1st
National League
P Bryan Cordova Oklahoma City 1st
C Jeremy Randall Buffalo 10th
1B Brett Leach Las Vegas 2nd
2B Albert Valenzuela Buffalo 5th
3B Dingo Price Chicago 2nd
SS Brendan O'Neil Louisville 2nd
LF Shane Curtis Rochester 2nd
CF Greg Rivers Honolulu 1st
RF J.C. Ganzel Honolulu 9th

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League
P Allan Blackley New York 2nd
C Wayne Sherman Oakland 1st
1B Joaquin Gonzales Jacksonville 1st
2B Ken Ingram New Britain 2nd
3B Andy Minor Atlanta 1st
SS Banana Bergeron New Britain 3rd
LF Will Burkhart Iowa City 1st
CF Rex Kennedy Helena 3rd
RF Walt Silva Boise 1st
National League
P Jim Forbes Huntington 1st
C Julian Butera Rochester 2nd
1B Vasco Correa Chicago 1st
2B Miguel Armas Syracuse 1st
3B Lenny Brinkley Huntington 1st
SS Beamer Healy Durham 2nd
LF Hipolito Mesa Burlington 1st
CF David Meng Huntington 2nd
RF Jason Douglas Cleveland 1st


Season 21 League Leaders

All-Time Top 5 Performances in Season 21
ERA - Tommy Stoddard, Honolulu - 1.32 - New Kenny Powers Single Season Record
Stolen Bases - Manuel Paez, Iowa City - 110 - 2nd All-Time
Saves - Shawn Melhuse, Boston - 56 - Tied for 2nd All-Time
Hits - J.C. Ganzel, Honolulu - 224 - Tied for 3rd All-Time
Shutouts - Nicholas Gil, Las Vegas; Jim Forbes, Huntington - 4 - Tied for 4th All-Time
Strikeouts - Nicholas Gil, Las Vegas - 262 - Tied for 5th All-Time

LEAGUE LEADERS
Offense
American League
Batting Average Benj Cassidy Pittsburgh .324
Home Runs Sherman Dunston Boise 60
RBI Nick Spence Helena 146
Stolen Bases Manuel Paez Iowa City 110
Hits David Frias Boston 205
Runs Sean Lewis Helena 121
OBP Richard Tateyama New Britain .401
SLG Sherman Dunston Boise .636
OPS Sherman Dunston Boise 1.029
National League
Batting Average J.C. Ganzel Honolulu .354
Home Runs Vasco Correa Chicago 53
RBI J.C. Ganzel Honolulu 153
Stolen Bases Howie Hooper Burlington 75
Hits J.C. Ganzel Honolulu 224
Runs Albert Valenzuela Buffalo 129
OBP J.C. Ganzel Honolulu .426
SLG J.C. Ganzel Honolulu .649
OPS J.C. Ganzel Honolulu 1.075
Pitching
American League
ERA Stewart Mouton Jacksonville 2.52
Wins Nicholas Miller New Britain 21
Strikeouts Nicholas Miller New Britain 202
Saves Shawn Melhuse Boston 56
WHIP Nicholas Miller New Britain 0.99
Innings Pitched Valerio Baez New Britain 266.2
Quality Starts Ham Sampson Seattle 26
Complete Games Ham Sampson Seattle 9
Shutouts Nicholas Miller New Britain 2
Valerio Baez New Britain 2
Robert Dimaggio Helena 2
Ham Sampson Seattle 2
National League
ERA Tommy Stoddard Honolulu 1.32
Wins Alex Rosa Chicago 20
Strikeouts Nicholas Gil Las Vegas 262
Saves Bo Edmonds Chicago 47
WHIP Justin Jordan Tucson 1.03
Innings Pitched Nicholas Gil Las Vegas 258.1
Quality Starts Norberto Morales Richmond 29
Complete Games Nicholas Gil Las Vegas 8
Shutouts Nicholas Gil Las Vegas 4
Jim Forbes Huntington 4

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Player Payroll Cap Rule Clarification

Here is the player payroll cap rule clarification for Season 22, and a structured penalty scale so that such penalties will be transparent and consistently applied going forward.

1. SALARY CAP - $100 MIL. (Updated for Season 22)
At no time may player payroll exceed $100 million.  The means for determining compliance will be the Payroll Number that appears under Payroll Information upon clicking the team name link on the Standings page.   You are not permitted to accept players in a trade that will put your Payroll number over $100 million, even if cash is included to cover the player's salary.   The commissioner will make every effort to monitor deals to ensure they are in compliance with the Salary Cap rule, and urge owners to veto deals that are not, but if a deal slips through putting a team at over $100 million in payroll, it is a violation, as ultimately it is each owner's responsibility to ensure compliance with the rule.

WIS has ruled in past inquiries that a Player Payroll budget above $100 million is not an enforceable violation (it has to be actual payroll); however, Player Payroll budgets over $100 million are strongly discouraged to prevent accidental violations.

Penalties for Non-Compliance:
Owners will have 7 days from the date of discovery of the violation to get back under the $100 million payroll cap.  If unable to do so, the owner will face the following penalties:

Violations of $2 million or less
1st Offense:  Owner receives a cap penalty for the following season of 3 times the amount over the cap, rounded up to the nearest million.
2nd Offense:  Owner receives a cap penalty for the following season of 6 times the amount over the cap, rounded up to the nearest million.
3rd Offense:  Owner will be removed from the world.

Violations of more than $2 million
1st Offense:  Owner will be removed from the world.

Rule Objective: The rule somewhat minimizes the # of max salary contracts that can be offered and to guard against having to find an owner for a team with bad contracts if the original owner bails.

Rule V Exception: It is possible that payments from having rule V players drafted from your team will put you over the cap. You will not be forced to transfer $ in this case, however, your player payroll will not be allowed to exceed $100 million.  

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Minimum Win Requirement Update

Our minimum win rule in Kenny Powers is 55 wins in one season (50 if you are a first season owner) and 185 wins over 3 seasons. You get 2 "strikes" against the policy, and on the third strike, you're out. If you don't earn any strikes over 3 consecutive seasons, all previous strikes are wiped out.

Only one strike was earned in Season 21, by peerishere, which was a 2nd strike, for failure to 185 games over three seasons.  Needing to win above the single season minimum win requirement of 55 games in Season 22 to avoid a strike is goodtymes31, needing 73 wins, msmsales, also needing 63 wins, and peerishere, needing 78 wins.

Additionally, a $3 million salary cap penalty is issued to New Britain in Season 22 for accidentally exceeding the $100 million player payroll cap.  They will not be permitted to exceed $97 million in Player Payroll.  I will be clarifying the player payroll cap rules and penalties soon, as there seems to be a need for clarification on the rule, as well as a need to determine firm penalties, which have not been established in the past.

In the meantime, here is the minimum win requirement summary for Season 21.

Wins
3-Season Needed in 
American League
S19 S20 S21  Win Total S22 for 185
Atlanta Aardvarks dierickx3  90 94 85 269
Boise Taters bubbleboy 77 80 82 239
Boston SlamPigs themarlyman  81 87 79 247
Charlotte StarLords goodtymes31  65 50 72 187 63
Detroit FC Dinamo lfkbibanul  77 90 94 261
Helena Bighorns bluebaran 67 86 90 243
Iowa City Zumwalts peerishere 56 51 61 168 73
Jacksonville Landsharks Frozenherd 85
Nashville Neutron Bombs Ghostrunner 73 74 78 225
New Britain Frothing Walruses merott 111 101 109 321
New Orleans Zephyrs msmsales  68 64 58 190 63
New York Yankees lets_try 71
Oakland Invaders jnosek 90 91 81 262
Pittsburgh Pirates buckdeep 83
Seattle SuperSonics alogman1 91 90 87 268
Wichita Wankers jamesp469 99 79 82 260
Wins
National League
3-Season Needed in 


S19 S20 S21  Win Total S22 for 185
Buffalo Tiny Chickens AceCards 98 89 83 270
Burlington Giant Pumpkins breezee 75 61 69 205
Chicago White Sox slashtc 63 87 94 244
Cleveland Tribe jslipford916 70
Durham Screwballs oakman310 80 83
Honolulu Tiki Gods dodgersrays 97 89 100 286
Huntington Thundering Herd cbriese 88 77
Las Vegas Crap Shoot pbsilver11 92 95
Louisville Sluggers yanks21 74 82
Oklahoma City Bombers tisi29 90 98 92 280
Richmond Manamfasha TXLnghrn 86 88 97 271
Rochester Garbage Plates jimt14120 87 69 74 230
St. Louis Gunners Er' Back cosborn 79 76
Syracuse Blizzard groth911  98 85 65 248
Tampa Bay Mermen dmurphy104 75 83 83 241
Tucson Diamondbacks trinitybants 90 83 67 240


Strikes in S18 Cause Strike
msmsales  Failed to win 55 games in S18 1st
Strikes in S20 Strike
goodtymes31 Failed to win 55 games in S20 1st
peerishere Failed to win 55 games in S20 1st
msmsales Failed to win 185 over 3 seasons 2nd
Strikes in S21 Strike
peerishere Failed to win 185 over 3 seasons 2nd
Player Payroll Penalty Penalty
merott Exceeded player payroll cap in S21 $3 Mil

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Season 21 Final Power Rankings

A little bit late, sorry, but here are the end of regular season power rankings!

Biggest Climbers: #14 Durham (+8), #10 Jacksonville (+7), #12 Boise (+7), #26 Syracuse (+5)

Biggest Falls: #27 Nashville (-11), #16 Pittsburgh (-9), #18 Buffalo (-8), #19 Tampa Bay (-5)

Pitching Offense LAST 41
Team  W L PREV Rank Chg Rank Chg W L
1 New Britain  109 53 2 2 0 2 4 32 9
2 Honolulu 100 62 1 1 0 3 0 24 17
3 Richmond 97 65 6 3 2 10 1 24 17
4 Chicago 94 68 4 8 1 9 -2 25 16
5 Las Vegas 95 67 3 7 0 14 -2 22 19
6 Oklahoma City 92 70 5 5 -1 4 -2 20 21
7 Helena 90 72 9 15 3 7 3 26 15
8 Seattle 87 75 12 6 0 27 1 26 15
9 Atlanta 85 77 13 11 -3 14 5 25 16
10 Jacksonville 86 76 17 9 7 12 2 24 17
11 Louisville 82 80 8 20 0 6 -2 21 20
12 Boise 82 80 19 21 5 5 0 23 18
13 Detroit 84 78 11 4 -2 28 -2 19 22
14 Durham 83 79 22 22 5 18 0 26 15
15 Wichita 82 80 15 19 -4 13 8 19 22
16 Pittsburgh 83 79 7 25 -2 1 0 15 26
17 Huntington 77 85 20 9 1 24 3 21 20
18 Buffalo  83 79 10 16 -4 14 -6 17 24
19 Tampa Bay 83 79 14 14 -4 24 1 16 25
20 Oakland 81 81 18 17 -1 28 1 20 21
21 Boston 79 83 24 24 0 22 -5 20 21
22 Rochester 74 88 21 13 0 30 0 19 22
23 St. Louis 76 86 27 18 0 31 0 22 19
24 New York 71 91 25 28 -6 11 5 17 24
25 Cleveland 70 92 23 29 -1 8 1 16 25
26 Syracuse 65 97 31 27 4 21 -2 22 19
27 Nashville  75 87 16 23 -2 23 -1 14 27
28 Charlotte 72 90 28 30 -1 19 -4 19 22
29 Burlington 69 93 29 12 2 32 0 18 23
30 Tucson 67 95 26 26 -1 14 -1 15 26
31 New Orleans 58 104 32 32 0 20 3 16 25
32 Iowa City 61 101 30 31 -1 26 -2 13 28