Thursday, August 17, 2017

Season 25 Wrap Up - Little Rock Claims the Title

Little Rock
Little Rock Little Necrophiliac Nine (AL)
ab90
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Little Rock is the Season 25 Kenny Powers Champion!

After a tremendous regular season that saw them win 127 games, Little Rock capped off their season with a decisive 4-0 sweep of Richmond, who was going for back-to-back titles and their 4th in 6 seasons, to take the World Series crown.  This is the first Kenny Powers championship for ab90 and Little Rock.  The champs only lost 2 games during the entire playoffs to rival Boise in the ALCS, who edged them out in the Season 24 Divisional Series.  The Little Rock bats were firing on all cylinders throughout the postseason, putting up an .863 team OPS with 29 home runs in 13 games.  That was good enough to support the pitching staff that posted a 4.03 team playoff ERA, resulting in a successful postseason run.  It was a season for the ages in Little Rock.  It will be interesting to see what teams will step up to challenge them in Season 26, there are certainly some very capable teams.

That's it for Season 25, see you back when we fill up and are set to go for Season 26!!

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Season 25 Awards Recap

Here's your recap of the Season 25 Award Winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Albie Latos, Nashville - .318 AVG 38 HR 143 RBI 53 SB
The 22 year-old Nashville 3rd Baseman followed up a solid rookie campaign by exploding on to the scene with an MVP season.  Latos led the AL in Hits and RBI, made his 1st All-Star appearance and won his first Silver Slugger Award in Season 25.  Latos can do it all, hit for average, power, run the bases and is an excellent fielder.  He should be in the conversation for future MVP awards without a doubt.

National League - Julio Park, Durham - .293 AVG 48 HR 145 RBI 20 SB
The 27 year-old went back-to-back, picking up his second MVP in a row, leading the offense for one of the NL's best teams, Durham.  He made his 5th All-Star appearance this season, and made it a season of back-to-back's by also winning the Home Run Derby for the second straight season.  He was also the NL RBI leader.  He'll look to three-peat in Season 26 by keeping up his streak of 5 straight seasons with at least 48 HR and 135 RBI, which he certainly appears capable of doing.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Jamey Spiers, Charlotte - 21-4 2.43 ERA 155 K
The 26 year-old righty had a breakout campaign in Season 25, exceeding the 20-win mark with an impressive ERA.  He led the AL in Wins, ERA and Quality Starts and made his 1st All-Star appearance as well.   The former #7 overall draft pick (Season 19) is a true talent, with very few weaknesses in his makeup and should be in the Cy Young conversation in future seasons, no doubt.

National League - Tim Blair, Syracuse - 23-3 1.63 ERA 229 K
It was another epic season for Blair, yet again posting phenomenal numbers, in route to his 3rd Cy Young Award, also having earned the honors in Seasons 19 and 24.  His ERA in Season 25 was 3rd best all-time in Kenny Powers and his WHIP was 2nd best in world history.  He also led the NL in Wins and Quality Starts and made his 6th All-Star team.  Blair is putting together a resume that will rank him among the all-team great hurlers in Kenny Powers.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Theo Reese, Little Rock - .292 AVG 35 HR 102 RBI 21 SB
The 23 year-old rookie for the world's leader in regular season wins brings an exciting combination of power, hitting ability and speed to the lineup.  He was used at 1B this past season, a position he is more than capable of excelling at, which resulted in him winning a gold glove.  Reese started the season in the minors, so it will be compelling to see what he can do when he gets in a full season in the bigs.  The results should be excellent.

National League - Justin Penny, Honolulu - .289 AVG 32 HR 83 RBI
The 22 year-old hitting specialist provided a nice boost to the Honolulu lineup this season, and in the process he earned NL Rookie of the Year honors.  Like his AL counterpart, he started the season in the minors, so expect some upside from his Season 25 numbers.  This is confirmed by taking a glance at his ratings, which show he has potential to be one of the great hitters in Kenny Powers.  Pretty good return for a player who has selected with 31st pick in the Season 22 draft.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Howie Lockwood, Nashville - 2.58 ERA, 50 SV - 1st Win
National League - Matty Prieto, Durham - 3.19 ERA, 50 SV - 2nd Win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League
DH Wendell Myatt Oakland 3rd
C Harry Young New Britain 2nd
1B Sherman Dunston Boise 8th
2B David Messmer Boise 1st
3B Albie Latos Nashville 1st
SS Deven Uribe Pawtucket 1st
LF Patrick Grieve New Britain 1st
CF Charles Gang Oakland 1st
RF Ernest Hancock Little Rock 3rd

National League
P Hector Conti Atlanta 1st
C Kazuhiro Ryu Burlington 1st
1B Ryan Moore Louisville 2nd
2B Trey Dawkins Burlington 1st
3B Dingo Price Chicago 5th
SS Chi-Chi Villa Durham 1st
LF Turner Lincoln Buffalo 1st
CF Ken Ingram Chicago 5th
RF Christopher Hamilton Rochester 1st

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League
P Cy Sanders Little Rock 2nd
C Robinzon Ramirez Ottawa 1st
1B Theo Reese Little Rock 1st
2B Jeremy Adams Pawtucket 1st
3B Marc Towers Seattle 2nd
SS Leon Wiltse Ottawa 1st
LF Adrian Skinner Charlotte 2nd
CF Rex Kennedy Helena 5th
RF Kennie Owen Boise 1st

National League
P Floyd Glenn Durham 2nd
C Ron Bailey New York 1st
1B Quilvio Limon Atlanta 1st
2B Tim Howard Durham 2nd
3B Jason Douglas New York 2nd
SS Burch Fontenot Syracuse 1st
LF Brendan O'Neil Chicago 2nd
CF Ken Ingram Chicago 4th
RF Willy Lester Salt Lake City 1st