Season 18 Award Winners

With the World Series under way, awards are official, so let's take a look at who took home the hardware in Season 18 of Kenny Powers!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Sherman Dunston, San Francisco - .346 AVG 49 HR 129 RBI
It was a much closer race this season, but Dunston managed to nab his 3rd consecutive AL MVP trophy after lighting up the stat sheet with tremendous numbers yet again.  He led the AL in Slugging and OPS, and put up spectacular numbers elsewhere, which was good enough to give him the nod, even though he didn't make the All-Star team.  He becomes the 5th player in Kenny Powers history to win at least 3 MVP awards.

National League - Jeremy Randall, Buffalo - .354 AVG 35 HR 111 RBI
It was a truly epic season for Randall, winning the batting title, and leading the NL in OBP, Slugging and OPS.  His .509 OBP and 141 walks are new Kenny Powers single season records.  Hard to argue with Randall as the NL MVP, and in winning the award, he sets another Kenny Powers record, becoming the first player in Kenny Powers history to win 4 MVP awards.  Randall is certainly making his case to be called the greatest offensive player ever in Kenny Powers.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Valerio Baez, New Britain - 20-12 3.20 ERA 179 K
Baez edged out teammate Tony Gwynn to win a very close AL Cy Young vote.  Baez led the AL in Innings Pitched, Complete Games, and tied for the lead in Wins.  He also made his 4th All-Star appearance this season.  This is his 3rd Cy Young Award, going back-to-back, and winning 3 out of the last 4 in the AL.  At only age 26, he has the chance to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats in upcoming seasons.

National League - Alberto Campos, Syracuse - 18-1 1.76 ERA 142 K
Campos was out of this world good this season in route to his 2nd Cy Young win, posting the 4th best ERA and 3rd best WHIP in Kenny Powers history.  In going 18-1, he has also set a new Kenny Powers record for Winning Percentage in a single season for those with at least 15 decisions.  He made his 8th All-Star team this season as well, inching him closer to sure-fire Hall of Fame status.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Wendell Myatt, Oakland - .320 AVG 30 HR 105 RBI
Myatt had a fantastic rookie campaign that won him the AL Rookie of the Year trophy by a landslide.  His excellent contact, batting eye and splits indicate he will be a great hitter for seasons to come.  30 Home Runs may be near the ceiling of his power capabilities, but he will be a great bat either way.

National League - Norberto Morales, Richmond - 17-5 2.50 ERA 145 K
Morales also won Rookie of the Year by a wide margin, which is not a surprise given his numbers.  In a lot of seasons, the numbers would be good enough to contend for the Cy Young Award, but there seemed to be many spectacular pitching performances in the NL this season.  Morales is the real deal and it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see him contending for the Cy Young soon.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Zachrey Coleman, Toronto - 1.95 ERA 35 SV, 3rd win
National League - Jamie Mancuso, Memphis - 2.87 ERA 56 SV, 5th win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League

DH	Bernie Jackson	New York	1st
C	Livan Espinoza	Little Rock	2nd
1B	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	3rd
2B	Mo Ferguson	Little Rock	1st
3B	David Frias	Boston	5th
SS	Delino Santana	Little Rock	1st
LF	Jose Reyes	Pawtucket	2nd
CF	Clay Neal	Nashville	1st
RF	Max Acevedo	Oakland	1st

National League

P	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	1st
C	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	8th
1B	Alex Sanchez	Tucson	1st
2B	Adrian Skinner	Honolulu	1st
3B	Jimmy Fox	Oklahoma City	5th
SS	Darryl Matthews	Cleveland	2nd
LF	Ivy Mench	Honolulu	6th
CF	Brendan O'Neil	Honolulu	1st
RF	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	6th

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League

P	Anthony Wilkinson	Nashville	1st
C	Heinie Pecina	New York	4th
1B	Albert Aardsma	Toronto	1st
2B	Mark Wallace	Toronto	2nd
3B	Orber Pena	Little Rock	2nd
SS	Delino Santana	Little Rock	2nd
LF	Gabe Palmer	Boston	2nd
CF	Rex Kennedy	Helena	1st
RF	Gerald Moore	New Orleans	1st

National League

P	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	1st
C	Carson Fossum	San Juan	1st
1B	Jhonny Martinez	Burlington	1st
2B	Phil Hardy	Cleveland	3rd
3B	Hawk Carew	Tampa Bay	3rd
SS	Takumi Lee	San Juan	1st
LF	Joey Aumont	Santa Cruz	1st
CF	Winston Harvey	Tampa Bay	2nd
RF	Davy Kendrick	Buffalo	1st

Minimum Win Requirement Update

We have had a Minimum Win Requirement in this world since Season 12.  I'm glad to say no one has earned a strike under our three strikes rule prior to this season.  Unfortunately, a few teams fell short this season and earned a first strike. 

Just as a refresher of the rule, you need to win at least 55 games every season and also maintain a 185 win total over the past three seasons.   You are allowed up to 3 strikes against the policy, and then, unfortunately, you are out, no exceptions. 

The below table shows win totals over the last three seasons, and also indicates if you have to win more than the single season requirement of 55 games in Season 19 to avoid a strike.   The strikes for this season are also listed at the bottom. 

					Wins
				3-Season	Needed in
AL	S16	S17	S18	Win Total	S19 for 185
dierickx3		83	91
themarlyman	71	82	82	235
goodtymes31		59	72
area5151			61
lfkbibanul	97	81	72	250
bluebaran	66	57	65	188	63
frae	91	89	97	277
Ghostrunner	89	85	83	257
merott	96	111	113	320
msmsales		67	52		66
jamesp469	73	79	83	235
jnosek	75	76	84	235
uustal	97	92	88	277
bubbleboy	67	76	72	215
alogman1	97	92	81	270
Fantasy Frea	89	86	89	264
					Wins
NL				3-Season	Needed in
Owner	S16	S17	S18	Win Total	S19 for 185
AceCards	96	104	107	307
breezee	77	70	79	226
dh0220	61	78	62	201
dodgersrays	86	91	95	272
nicbase2	67	68	73	208
winepimp	68	70	97	235
tisi29	112	98	94	304
TXLnghrn		72	88
jimt14120	82	83	73	238
playboy33	77	86	89	252
evil_twin	75	57	33	165	95
cosborn	98	91	79	268
groth911	76	92	100	268
dmurphy104	89	91	85	265
trinitybants	96	98	92	286
tdfactory	57	57	61	175	67

Strikes in S18

	Cause	Strike
evil_twin	Failed to win 185 over 3 seasons	1st
tdfactory	Failed to win 185 over 3 seasons	1st
msmsales	Failed to win 55 games in S18	1st

Season 18 League Leaders

With the regular season in the rear view mirror, let's pause and look back at the Season 18 league leaders!

OFFENSE
In the AL, it was another dominant season for Sherman Dunston of San Francisco who led the AL in Slugging and OPS.  Bernie Jackson of New York took the batting tied and led the AL in on-base percentage, while Boston's David Frias led the AL in hits and runs.

In the NL, powerful, young slugger Alex Sanchez of Tucson led the NL led the league in home runs, hits, and runs, quite the impressive feat, but perhaps outdone by Buffalo's Jeremy Randall, who won the batting title, and led the league in slugging, on-base percentage, and OPS.  That's not all, his OPS of 1.145 is the third highest in world history, while his .509 OBP is a new Kenny Powers single season record!

Here are the complete offensive league leaders!

American League
Batting Average	Bernie Jackson	New York	.357
Home Runs	Jose Reyes	Pawtucket	54
RBI	Albert Aardsma	Toronto	142
Stolen Bases	Weldon Rando	Toronto	87
Hits	David Frias	Boston	202
Runs	David Frias	Boston	129
OBP	Bernie Jackson	New York	.449
SLG	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	.654
OPS	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	1.098
National League
Batting Average	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.354
Home Runs	Alex Sanchez	Tucson	60
RBI	Richard Brohawn	Honolulu	140
Stolen Bases	Patrick Grieve	Louisviile	69
Hits	Alex Sanchez	Tucson	206
Runs	Alex Sanchez	Tucson	134
OBP	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.509
SLG	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.636
OPS	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	1.145

PITCHING
In the AL, Matty Posada of Nashville grabbed headlines by leading the league in ERA, WHIP and tying for the lead in quality starts. Valerio Baez of New Britain led the AL in innings pitched, complete games and tied for the lead in wins. Atlanta's Ubaldo Merced tied for the league in wins and quality starts, while Pawtucket's Ted Wagner led the league in strikeouts and shutouts.  Looks like it will be quite the race for the AL Cy Young, with no one dominant contender!  Surprisingly, of the above only Baez is listed on the ballot.

On the NL side, a number of hurlers broke top 5 single season marks. Jim Forbes of Burlington had the 5th most innings pitched in Kenny Powers history and tied the record for shutouts with 6! Syracuse's Alberto Campos posted the 4th lowest ERA of all-time with a microscopic 1.76 mark, while posting the 3rd lowest WHIP, but was topped by teammate Tim Blair who posted the 2nd lowest! Leading the league in wins was Jimmie Soto of Buffalo, who also tied for 5th all-time in Quality Starts. Tampa Bay's Ellis Brock tied for 4th most Complete Games with 11 and led the league in strikeouts. Finally, all-time saves leader Jamie Mancuso put together another gem of a season, tying for 2nd most Saves in Kenny Powers history with 56. What a season for pitching in the NL!

Here are the complete Pitching leaders!

American League
ERA	Matty Posada	Nashville	2.37
Wins	Valerio Baez	New Britain	20
	Ubaldo Merced	Atlanta	20
Strikeouts	Ted Wagner	Pawtucket	200
Saves	Mitch Cooper	Pawtucket	39
WHIP	Matty Posada	Nashville	1.10
Innings Pitched	Valerio Baez	New Britain	255.2
Quality Starts	Matty Posada	Nashville	24
	Ubaldo Merced	Atlanta	24
	Tony Gwynn	New Britain	24
Complete Games	Valerio Baez	New Britain	8
Shutouts	Ted Wagner	Pawtucket	3
National League
ERA	Alberto Campos	Syracuse	1.76
Wins	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	21
Strikeouts	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	238
Saves	Jamie Mancuso	Memphis	56
WHIP	Tim Blair	Syracuse	0.88
Innings Pitched	Jim Forbes	Burlington	270.0
Quality Starts	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	30
Complete Games	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	11
Shutouts	Jim Forbes	Burlington	6

Season 18 Final Power Rankings

The regular season is in the books for Season 18, and the playoffs are about to get under way!  But first, let's check in with the final power rankings of Season 18.  New Britain maintained their grip on the top spot, as they finished extremely strong down the stretch.  Buffalo held on to the #2 spot with another impressive season under their belt.  Honolulu, Syracuse and Tucson round out the top 5.   The best record over the last 40 games goes to #10 Memphis, however, going 28-12 over that span!

Biggest climbers: #22 Detroit (+5), #10 Memphis (+4), #16 Nashville (+4), #4 Syracuse (+3), #8 Pawtucket (+3), #19 Boston (+3)

Biggest falls:  #24 Rochester (-7), #18 New York (-6), #25 San Francisco (-6), #30 Chicago (-5), #14 Richmond (-4)

It will be an interesting postseason to see if the teams at the top will prevail, or if another team will emerge to go on a run and take it all.  Good luck to the playoff teams, here are the complete rankings!

					Offense		Pitching		Last 40
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	New Britain	113	49	1	1	2	3	0	27	13
2	Buffalo	107	55	2	3	-1	5	-1	23	17
3	Honolulu	95	67	4	2	-1	5	7	23	17
4	Syracuse	100	62	7	10	-2	4	7	26	14
5	Tucson	92	70	6	6	0	10	-4	23	17
6	Little Rock	97	65	3	5	-1	17	-2	22	18
7	Oklahoma City	94	68	5	18	-4	2	0	22	18
8	Pawtucket	88	74	11	4	1	14	3	24	16
9	Salt Lake City	89	73	9	7	2	12	-6	22	18
10	Memphis	97	65	14	30	-1	8	4	28	12
11	Atlanta	91	71	8	8	2	13	1	20	20
12	Toronto	89	73	13	16	-6	18	3	20	20
13	Tampa Bay	85	77	15	29	0	1	0	20	20
14	Richmond	88	74	10	22	-3	7	-2	19	21
15	Seattle	81	81	16	14	1	10	-4	20	20
16	Nashville	83	79	20	12	3	22	-3	23	17
17	Oakland	84	78	18	9	-2	24	0	22	18
18	New York	83	79	12	10	2	20	-2	18	22
19	Boston	82	80	22	15	2	25	0	21	19
20	Santa Cruz	79	83	21	25	1	15	1	17	23
21	Burlington	79	83	23	31	0	9	-3	17	23
22	Detroit	72	90	27	27	1	21	1	22	18
23	Louisville	73	89	24	24	1	19	1	18	22
24	Rochester	73	89	17	21	1	16	-10	15	25
25	San Francisco	72	90	19	18	-5	23	0	16	24
26	Cleveland	62	100	28	13	7	31	-1	20	20
27	Helena	65	97	29	20	0	27	0	19	21
28	Charlotte	72	90	26	17	1	29	0	18	22
29	Vancouver	61	101	30	27	-4	26	2	16	24
30	Chicago	61	101	25	23	0	28	-2	12	28
31	New Orleans	52	110	31	26	1	30	1	16	24
32	San Juan	33	129	32	32	0	32	0	11	29

Season 18 Power Rankings #3

Season 18 is moving to the home stretch, but first, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  New Britain hangs on to the top spot in the rankings, posting a league best 30-10 since the last rankings.  Buffalo stays as a strong #2, continuing to post strong numbers and win games.  Defending champion Little Rock has surged up 8 spots to #3, as their pitching has improved significantly since the last rankings.  Honolulu drops one spot to #4, while Oklahoma City holds steady at #5.  

5 biggest climbers:  #12 New York (+10), #3 Little Rock (+8), #11 Pawtucket (+8), #19 San Francisco (+7), #17 Rochester (+6)

5 biggest falls: #23 Burlington (-10), #15 Tampa Bay (-9), #22 Boston (-7), #29 Helena (-5), #24 Louisville (-4), #13 Toronto (-4)

Here are the complete rankings, good luck down the stretch!

					Offense		Pitching		Last 40
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	New Britain	86	36	1	3	1	3	0	30	10
2	Buffalo	84	38	2	2	0	4	1	28	12
3	Little Rock	75	47	11	4	2	15	3	26	14
4	Honolulu	72	50	3	1	0	12	-2	22	18
5	Oklahoma City	72	50	5	14	3	2	0	23	17
6	Tucson	69	53	10	6	3	6	7	24	16
7	Syracuse	74	48	4	8	-5	11	0	22	18
8	Atlanta	71	51	7	10	-4	14	-5	23	17
9	Salt Lake City	67	55	8	9	1	6	0	21	19
10	Richmond	69	53	12	19	0	5	-1	22	18
11	Pawtucket	64	58	19	5	7	17	7	25	15
12	New York	65	57	22	12	3	18	5	27	13
13	Toronto	69	53	9	10	-5	21	1	22	18
14	Memphis	69	53	17	29	1	12	3	24	16
15	Tampa Bay	65	57	6	29	-6	1	0	17	23
16	Seattle	61	61	14	15	2	6	1	19	21
17	Rochester	58	64	23	22	0	6	8	24	16
18	Oakland	62	60	16	7	1	24	-4	20	20
19	San Francisco	56	66	26	13	7	23	-2	21	19
20	Nashville	60	62	18	15	-1	19	0	20	20
21	Santa Cruz	62	60	21	26	2	16	-5	20	20
22	Boston	61	61	15	17	-6	25	2	17	23
23	Burlington	62	60	13	31	0	6	2	16	24
24	Louisville	55	67	20	25	-4	20	-3	16	24
25	Chicago	49	73	28	23	5	26	2	18	22
26	Charlotte	54	68	25	18	-5	29	0	15	25
27	Detroit	50	72	27	28	-3	22	-6	16	24
28	Cleveland	42	80	31	20	4	30	1	20	20
29	Helena	46	76	24	20	-4	27	-1	11	29
30	Vancouver	45	77	29	23	4	28	-3	16	24
31	New Orleans	36	86	30	27	-1	31	-1	10	30
32	San Juan	22	100	32	32	0	32	0	5	35