Season 13 Wrap Up

Arizona Sweatbacks (AL) mrhands17 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Arizona is your Season 13 Champion!

The top two teams in the final power rankings, Oklahoma City and Arizona, clashed in the Season 13 World Series, and the matchup lived up to the hype.  In the end, it was Arizona edging out defending champion Oklahoma City 4 games to 2 to take the World Series crown.  Arizona's bats got it done in the post season crushing 38 home runs in 15 games with dependable slugger Al Soto leading the attack with 7 postseason round trippers. Carlos Rondon was the bright spot for an otherwise shaky Arizona pitching staff, going 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 5 starts.  Rondon stepped up in lieu of surprisingly poor pitching throughout the playoffs from 4-time Cy Young Award winner Clyde Hurst, who got rocked almost every postseason outing and did not register a postseason win.

It's another disappointing end to an odd numbered season for Oklahoma City, who came in to the World Series undefeated in the playoffs.  They could not overcome the red hot Arizona bats to go back-to-back for the first time.   Heading into Season 14, they look incredibly solid again, and having won the last three even-numbered season championships, they could very well do it again in Season 14.

Well, that concludes Season 13, thanks all for another great season.  Hopefully we'll have a quick rollover and be on to Season 14 soon.  Tell all your other worlds, friends, family, etc that now is the time to join Kenny Powers!   See you next season!

Season 13 Award Winners

While the battle for the Season 13 World Series Trophy is going on, the award winners for Season 13 were crowned.  Let's see who took home the hardware!

Most Valuable Player
American League - Alan McDill, Dover - .323 AVG 51 HR 129 RBI
McDill's dominant season where he led the league in AVG, SLG, OBP and OPS, with home run and RBI totals amongst the best was enough to earn him this season's AL MVP honors.  This was his first MVP win.  The 30 year old also took home a Silver Slugger Award this season.  McDill had an offensive season to remember, one of the best in recent Kenny Powers history. 

National League - Bob Cambridge, Louisville - .334 AVG 31 HR 119 RBI
Cambridge was the NL batting champ and hits leader on top of winning Season 13's NL MVP award.  It was the first MVP award for the 32 year old Cambridge, who won MVP despite not making the All Star team or winning a Silver Slugger.  His offensive numbers were extremely impressive, however, and the honor is well deserved. 

Cy Young Award
American League - Ted Wagner, Toronto - 15-6 2.88 ERA 124 K
Wagner, the AL ERA leader and Complete Games leader took home the Cy Young award in the AL with a stellar season for Toronto.  This is Wagner's 2nd Cy Young award, as he also took home the AL Cy Young in Season 9.  Wagner's peripherals were so outstanding, that he was able to take the Cy Young in a season in which he won only 15 games.  That says a lot.  Wagner also made the All Star team this season

National League - Jimmie Soto, Buffalo - 21-7 2.33 ERA 232 K
Soto was clearly the most dominant pitcher in Kenny Powers Season 13 with an impressive strikeout total, the most quality starts, and 21 wins.  He now has three straight 20 win seasons, although this is his first Cy Young win. At only age 27, it may not be his last, however.  Soto also made the All Star team this season, his 3rd career appearance in the mid-season classic.   

Rookie of the Year
American League - Nicholas Miller, New Britain - 13-7 3.28 ERA 186 K
The 22 year old Miller has the potential to be a stellar pitcher for seasons to come.  His first season in the majors was an absolute success, taking home the AL Rookie of the Year award.  It's hard to pinpoint any weaknesses in Miller's makeup.  He should be a tremendous arm for seasons to come, and we may even see him in the Cy Young Award section in the near future. 

National League - Don Kojima, Oklahoma City - 15-3 3.13 ERA 124 K
For the third time in four seasons, the NL Rookie of the Year comes out of Oklahoma City.  This year's winner, the 22 year old Kojima, is a crafty lefty who gets a lot of ground balls, has a great arsenal of pitches and decent control and splits.  His win total was boosted by playing for the best team in the world this season, which helps.  We can't see Kojima as a future Cy Young winner, but he will continue to be a solid middle of the rotation guy for seasons to come. 

Fireman of the Year
American League - Zachrey Coleman, Toronto - 3.17 ERA 40 SV - 1st Win
National League - Jamie Mancuso, Memphis - 2.35 ERA, 46 SV - 3rd Win

Silver Slugger Awards

American League
DH	Achilles Sadler	Detroit	1st
C	Benji Estrada	Arizona	1st
1B	Alan McDill	Dover	3rd
2B	Sherman Perez	Pawtucket	3rd
3B	Jimmy Fox	Texas	2nd
SS	David Frias	Dover	1st
LF	Butch Borland	Dover	2nd
CF	Pascual Nunez	Chicago	1st
RF	Anthony Xavier	Seattle	6th
National League
P	Karim Duran	St. Louis	1st
C	Russell Berry	Tampa Bay	1st
1B	Richie Lombard	Cincinnati	1st
2B	Joaquin Valverde	Oklahoma City	6th
3B	Jose Alonso	Oklahoma City	5th
SS	Frank Davis	Cincinnati	1st
LF	Bob Cambridge	Louisville	5th
CF	Cesar Perez	Kansas City	2nd
RF	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	1st

Gold Glove Awards

American League
P	Hank Sellers	Nashville	1st
C	Heinie Pecina	New York	2nd
1B	Trent Glynn	Toronto	1st
2B	Edgar Olivares	Toronto	1st
3B	Jose Toregas	New Britain	1st
SS	Emil Servet	Oakland	1st
LF	Weldon Rando	Toronto	1st
CF	Pepe Mendoza	Little Rock	4th
RF	Tony Escobar	Nashville	1st
National League
P	Yuniesky Gutierrez	Portland	1st
C	Chance Harmon	Chicago	1st
1B	Mike Oquist	Memphis	2nd
2B	Jim Tanner	Cincinnati	2nd
3B	Tony Bonifacio	St. Louis	2nd
SS	Bryant Swift	St. Louis	5th
LF	Alex Gonzalez	St. Louis	1st
CF	P.T. Henriquez	Honolulu	4th
RF	Nate O'Brien	Burlington	1st

Season 13 League Leaders

It's time to look back at Season 13 and recognize this year's league leaders!  Let's get right into it.

Offense

In the American League, Alan McDill led the league in Batting Average (.323), OBP (.412),  SLG (.644), and OPS (1.056).  A very impressive year for him indeed.  Weldon Rando was also feature multiple times, leading the league in Runs (131) and Stolen Bases (105).  His 105 SB was the 2nd most in Kenny Powers history for a single season, and Rando now owns all 5 of the top 5 individual seasons in Stolen Bases!

In the National League,  Russell Berry led the league in OBP (.417), SLG (.571) and OBP (.989).  Louisville's Bob Cambridge took home the batting title (.334) and had the most hits (217).  His 217 hits are tied for 3rd best ever in a single season in Kenny Powers history.

Here are the complete Offensive League Leaders!

American League

Batting Average	Alan McDill	Dover	.323
Home Runs	Achilles Sadler	Detroit	54
RBI	Chipper Nippert	Arizona	128
Stolen Bases	Weldon Rando	Toronto	105
Hits	Clay Neal	Nashville	202
Runs	Weldon Rando	Toronto	131
OBP	Alan McDill	Dover	.412
SLG	Alan McDill	Dover	.644
OPS	Alan McDill	Dover	1.056
National League
Batting Average	Bob Cambridge	Louisville	.334
Home Runs	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	48
RBI	Antonio Liang	Louisville	131
Stolen Bases	Luis Estalella	Indianapolis	51
Hits	Bob Cambridge	Louisville	217
Runs	Joaquin Valverde	Oklahoma City	111
OBP	Russell Berry	Tampa Bay	.417
SLG	Russell Berry	Tampa Bay	.571
OPS	Russell Berry	Tampa Bay	.989

Pitching

On the pitching side in the American League, Ted Wagner of Toronto led the league in ERA (2.88) and Complete Games (7), while Benito Lucano of Texas led the league in Wins (17) and Quality Starts (25).

In the National League, Jimmie Soto of Buffalo tied for the league lead in Wins (21), and had the most Strikeouts (231) and Quality Starts (29).   His 29 Quality Starts tied for 5th most in Kenny Powers history.

Ralph Moseley and Jeff Jennings each tossed 3 shutouts this season which ties for 5th best in any single season in World history.

Here are the complete pitching leaders!

American League

ERA	Ted Wagner	Toronto	2.88
Wins	Benito Lucano	Texas	17
Strikeouts	Stewart Mouton	New Britain	220
Saves	Zachrey Coleman	Toronto	40
WHIP	Will Scott	Charleston	1.07
Innings Pitched	Clyde Hurst	Arizona	247.0
Quality Starts	Benito Lucano	Texas	25
Complete Games	Ted Wagner	Toronto	7
Shutouts	Ralph Moseley	Detroit	3
National League
ERA	Alberto Campos	Vancouver	2.10
Wins	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	21
	Dwight Flynn	Buffalo	21
Strikeouts	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	232
Saves	Markus Nelson	Rochester	47
WHIP	Tuck Huff	Burlington	1.01
Innings Pitched	Jim Forbes	Burlington	252.0
Quality Starts	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	29
Complete Games	Spud Wheeler	Indianapolis	7
Shutouts	Jeff Jennings	St.Louis	3

Season 13 Final Power Rankings

Another regular season is in the books, and it's time for the final edition of the power rankings.  Good to see that there weren't any truly atrocious teams this season.  Even the teams on the bottom showed some positive signs this season.  In the end, it was Oklahoma City taking the top spot followed by Arizona and Honolulu, all with identical 28-12 finishes.  It's set up to be a very interesting a competitive playoff picture, good luck to the playoff teams, and see you next season everyone else!   Here are the complete final rankings:

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	111	51	1	Another great regular season, not much else to say
2	Arizona	102	60	3	Very nice stretch run, definitely hot going into playoffs
3	Honolulu	101	61	4	Pitching stepped it up down the stretch, looking good
4	Buffalo	97	65	2	Pitching got it done all season, and bats weren't bad at all
5	New Britain	92	70	6	#2 AL seed, pitching not quite elite, but could make a run
6	Toronto	92	70	11	Nice season here for this well balanced team
7	Seattle	90	72	15	Very good down the stretch, as pitching came into its own
8	Pawtucket	87	75	7	Monster offense, but pitching could be issue in playoffs
9	Dover	86	76	12	Nice turnaround here, offense was amongst the best
10	Rochester	87	75	13	Mediocre down the stretch, but a solid staff for sure
11	Memphis	87	75	14	One of the worst offenses, but then 19 runs in game 1, wow!
12	Nashville	82	80	18	Team is built around offense, which is solid, nice finish
13	Cincinnati	87	75	5	Really fell off down the stretch, but still won division
14	Little Rock	81	81	10	A lot of bad luck this season, as the numbers were there
15	Kansas City	80	82	19	Great finish shows a lot of promise for next season.
16	Charleston	82	80	8	Stumbled a bit down the stretch, but a nice season overall
17	Texas	87	75	9	Horrible the last quarter, but up 2-1 in the first round
18	Tampa Bay	82	80	16	Getting there, probably just a player or two away
19	St. Louis	75	87	21	Nice stretch run, so there is something to build on here
20	Louisville	78	84	20	Rough season for them, but capable of bouncing back
21	Vancouver	78	84	17	A few more bats could turn them into a contender
22	Burlington	67	95	24	Played over .500 the last 40, certainly a good sign
23	Detroit	73	89	22	Not bad down the stretch, this team is still building
24	Jacksonville	66	96	25	.500 the last 40, good job with not much to work with
25	Chicago (AL)	73	89	26	Offense did well this season, and decent the last 40
26	Chicago (NL)	73	89	28	Showed some signs of life down the stretch, which is good
27	New York	73	89	23	Rebuild coming along, did improve a lot this season
28	Philadelphia	68	94	27	Very good pitching here, could use a few more bats
29	Anaheim	66	96	32	Played better down the stretch, digging out of last spot
30	Portland	63	99	29	Another rebuild coming along, their numbers were decent
31	Oakland	65	97	31	Offense not bad, but pitching could use some work
32	Indianapolis	61	101	30	Very rough stretch run, but not a horrible team at all

Season 13 Power Rankings # 3

We're headed down the home stretch, but before we get there, let's take a look at the rankings.  Oklahoma City holds on to the top spot with continued great play.  Buffalo surges to # 2 with a great run.   There are many other solid contenders which should make the stretch run quite interesting.  Good luck, and here are the complete power rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	83	39	1	Great team all around, is the clear #1 so far
2	Buffalo	74	48	5	Best team in the last 40 games, rolling right now
3	Arizona	74	48	3	Holding steady, showing they are a quality team
4	Honolulu	73	49	8	Looking good as they've improved all around
5	Cincinnati	70	52	12	Coming on strong with solid pitching
6	New Britain	70	52	15	Big jump here with strong all around play
7	Pawtucket	66	56	11	Offense is rolling and their pitching is getting better
8	Charleston	64	58	22	On fire since the last rankings, playing very well
9	Texas	71	51	7	Still playing well, and pitching has done better
10	Little Rock	64	58	14	Pitching has been shaky, but offense is solid
11	Toronto	70	52	2	Rough going since last rankings, all around drop
12	Dover	63	59	16	Offense is one of the best, solid play as of late
13	Rochester	67	55	4	Offense fell off a bit, but pitching still solid
14	Memphis	67	55	9	Mediocre since the last rankings, but nice pitching
15	Seattle	66	56	10	Slumping as of late, offense dropped a bit
16	Tampa Bay	64	58	6	All around drop since last rankings
17	Vancouver	60	62	17	Not bad, if the bats wake up, look out
18	Nashville	61	61	13	Bats cooled off, and pitching isn't great
19	Kansas City	56	66	18	Getting better, pitching is picking it up
20	Louisville	58	64	19	Not getting much pitching, but the bats are good
21	St. Louis	54	68	23	Pitching staff has been solid as of late
22	Detroit	53	69	26	Hanging in there, about average across the board
23	New York	56	66	24	Pretty good pitching, but offense hasn't been there
24	Burlington	46	76	32	Solid pitching, and offense picked it up some
25	Jacksonville	46	76	28	Progress is being made in this rebuild
26	Chicago (AL)	55	67	20	Rough since last rankings, but offense is good
27	Philadelphia	52	70	21	Pitching is competitive, but need more offense
28	Chicago (NL)	54	68	25	Pitching has been roughed up so far
29	Portland	48	74	29	Improving some, as the rebuild continues
30	Indianapolis	49	73	30	The offense has not been there this season
31	Oakland	50	72	27	Pitching has been rough, but offense is decent
32	Anaheim	48	74	31	Seemingly in rebuild mode, but hanging in there

Season 13 Power Rankings # 2

We're half way into Season 13, which means another edition of the power rankings is here!   Oklahoma City continues to roll as the top team, putting up outstanding numbers overall.  A few other teams have emerged as potential contenders as well, there are several solid teams this season.  Here's a look at the complete power rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	58	24	1	Putting up amazing numbers across the board
2	Toronto	52	30	7	On a roll, playing extremely well right now
3	Arizona	51	31	2	Still playing well, and a very well-balanced squad
4	Rochester	48	34	11	Nice improvement overall since last rankings
5	Buffalo	45	37	3	Playing well, since to a fantastic pitching staff
6	Tampa Bay	45	37	4	Still getting it done, their division is very tough
7	Texas	49	33	8	Numbers a down a bit, but still the top offense
8	Honolulu	49	33	10	Getting the wins, despite pretty average numbers
9	Memphis	47	35	15	Nice surge since the last rankings, great pitching
10	Seattle	48	34	5	Just average in the last 40, numbers are down
11	Pawtucket	42	40	17	Bounced back after a slow start, we expected this
12	Cincinnati	44	38	12	Not getting a ton of offense, but pitching improved
13	Nashville	44	38	13	Offense is lights out, and pitching improved some
14	Little Rock	41	41	14	Made it back to .500, and improving numbers wise
15	New Britain	45	37	16	Pitching hasn't been great, but getting wins
16	Dover	40	42	31	One of the best over last 40, new ownership helped
17	Vancouver	40	42	23	Solid pitching has kept their record near .500
18	Kansas City	37	45	18	Holding steady here, can they turn it up a notch?
19	Louisville	41	41	20	Brutal division, and pitching has been a tad suspect
20	Chicago (AL)	40	42	9	Fell off a bit since last rankings, but have a chance
21	Philadelphia	37	45	26	Playing better as of late, pitching has been solid
22	Charleston	37	45	6	Tough stretch the last 40, but capable of bouncing back
23	St. Louis	36	46	21	Pretty consistent team, numbers show potential
24	New York	38	44	25	Offense has struggled, but pitching is holding its own
25	Chicago (NL)	37	45	22	Pitching has been hit pretty hard as of late
26	Detroit	34	48	24	Struggling a bit this season, but numbers aren't bad
27	Oakland	35	47	27	Pitching has been getting lit up compared to first 40
28	Jacksonville	29	53	29	Still underperforming their numbers a bit, has potential
29	Portland	32	50	19	Rough patch since the last rankings, but offense is good
30	Indianapolis	32	50	30	Not getting much offense this season
31	Anaheim	32	50	32	Pitching is struggling, but the bats are improving
32	Burlington	27	55	28	Really struggling as of late, but pitching shows potential

Season 13 Power Rankings # 1

We're a quarter of the way into Season 13 already, and it's time for the first power rankings of the season.  These rankings were a bit more difficult, due to owner neglect in Dover skewing some of the stats.  Luckily we got a quality replacement for that owner, and it shouldn't be an issue going forward.  What wasn't difficult was identifying the top team, Oklahoma City remains #1 with the top record thanks to lights out pitching and steady offense.  Arizona and Buffalo round out the top 3, with Tampa Bay and Seattle right behind them.  Here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	30	11	1	Looking very strong, living up to preseason hype
2	Arizona	26	15	6	Well balanced team that is playing well so far
3	Buffalo	22	19	4	Putting up their usual strong numbers, pitching is great
4	Tampa Bay	23	18	7	Solid pitching and the offense is producing some
5	Seattle	27	14	18	Offense is surprising, even minus the games vs. Dover
6	Charleston	23	18	19	Pitching is very good so far, nice start to the season
7	Toronto	25	16	20	Looking good so far, we'll see if the pitching holds up
8	Texas	27	14	14	Great start, but not sure about the pitching staff here
9	Chicago (AL)	22	19	9	Holding steady, pitching is rough, but bats are good
10	Honolulu	24	17	10	Nice start, but need more offense to hang with NL's best
11	Rochester	22	19	12	Pitching has been outstanding, offense holding its own
12	Cincinnati	22	19	8	Pitching not great so far, so they fall some
13	Nashville	22	19	13	Dover effected stats, but keep spot for winning record
14	Little Rock	19	22	2	Rough start, bad luck plus pitching not as good as usual
15	Memphis	20	21	5	Usual story, pitching is great, but offense is lacking
16	New Britain	22	19	26	Surging up the rankings, but pitching hasn't been great
17	Pawtucket	17	24	3	A bit of a surprise here, pitching took a hit early on
18	Kansas City	18	23	11	Not  bad so far numbers wise, have a chance
19	Portland	18	23	21	Good numbers, but it hasn't resulted in a lot of wins yet
20	Louisville	21	20	28	Nice record so far, but pitching prevents higher jump
21	St. Louis	18	23	15	Hanging in there, capable of getting back over .500
22	Chicago (NL)	21	20	27	Good start, but numbers don't back it up, so we'll see
23	Vancouver	19	22	17	Offense seems to be an issue for this team
24	Detroit	17	24	25	Not a bad start numbers wise, but not getting wins
25	New York	20	21	32	Jury is still out, but pretty solid so far
26	Philadelphia	17	24	22	Need more offense to take the next step
27	Oakland	18	23	24	Looking just ok so far, mediocre across the board
28	Burlington	17	24	31	Outstanding pitching, bad offensive numbers so far
29	Jacksonville	13	28	23	Frustrating start, may be a little bit of bad luck.
30	Indianapolis	16	25	30	Offense has not produced at all so far
31	Dover	13	28	16	New owner will help improve, offense is actually solid
32	Anaheim	17	24	29	Not getting it done so far, may be a season or two away

Season 13 Preseason Power Rankings

Spring Training is under way for Season 13, free agency is over and the regular season is right around the corner.  That means it's a good time to release the preseason power rankings.  These are always tough to do, since so much has changed from the previous season, but it's worth a shot.   The preseason # 1 is the defending champion Oklahoma City.   Although some might question that choice, since they seem to only win titles in even numbered seasons, the roster is strong again, and there's no reason to deny them the top ranking.  There will be some strong challengers this year.  Coming in at #2 is Little Rock, the only other team than OKC to hold the #1 spot over the past season.  Offensive juggernaut Pawtucket is #3, while Buffalo and Memphis round out the top 5.  Here's the complete preseason rankings!!

		Season 12
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	103	59	Champs have won 3 titles, but never back-to-back
2	Little Rock	102	60	Very strong roster, should be great again.
3	Pawtucket	103	59	Great offense, the pitching is above average too
4	Buffalo	100	62	Solid across the board, always seem to be in the mix
5	Memphis	97	65	One of the best pitching staffs, not sure about the bats
6	Arizona	99	63	Great roster, how will new ownership guide them?
7	Tampa Bay	76	86	Improved in the offseason, but in tough division
8	Cincinnati	79	83	Good team got better through offseason free agency
9	Chicago (AL)	89	73	This franchise is on the uptick, added a few FA's
10	Honolulu	84	78	Added a couple of pieces and were solid last season
11	Kansas City	83	79	Good roster here, we'll see what the new owner can do
12	Rochester	86	76	Very nice pitching, but do they have enough offense?
13	Nashville	91	71	Didn't do a lot in the offseason, but still pretty good
14	Texas	67	95	Very busy in free agency, we'll see if it leads to wins
15	St. Louis	92	70	Lost some talent in FA, but they could be all right still
16	Dover	89	73	Some players left in FA, and they declared a rebuild
17	Vancouver	85	77	We'll see how they do in a more hitter friendly park
18	Seattle	83	79	Offense needs to improve, and Seattle is tough for that
19	Charleston	81	81	Good pitching here, bats are key factor here too
20	Toronto	81	81	Pretty average overall, could be about the same
21	Portland	58	104	Great 2nd half last season and very active in FA
22	Philadelphia	73	89	Great pitching last season, but offense is a ?
23	Jacksonville	74	88	Not sure they have the pitching to contend just yet
24	Oakland	69	93	Did sign a few FA's so should be better
25	Detroit	67	95	Seems to be still in rebuilding mode
26	New Britain	69	93	Another team that is looking toward the future
27	Chicago (NL)	64	98	May still be a few seasons away from contending
28	Louisville	79	83	Took some hits in free agency, and division is brutal
29	Anaheim	72	90	Hard to predict what they will do after leaving Colorado
30	Indianapolis	79	83	Lost a couple FA's, so they may be impacted
31	Burlington	59	103	Seem to be in rebuild mode, so may be a down year
32	New York	59	103	Quiet in FA, so looks like another rebuild season