Llamaphant Pro Baseball (CLOSED) -> Season 4 Posted

by **Llamaphant Pro Baseball** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:46 am

Llamaphant Pro Baseball (LPB) is a collaborative, multinational baseball league organized by South Newlandia, Super-Llamaland, and formerly Chromatika and Ko-oren. In this thread, you’ll find original, never-before-seen LPB roleplays along with roleplays previously posted in other threads. If you are not authorized by the owners of the league, please refrain from posting in this thread.

By the way, if you want the information, results, rosters and much more before everyone else, join the Llamaphant Pro Baseball Discord!

There are currently twenty-four Teams, competing in two national leagues and six divisions. After a 160-game schedule, the division winners reach the LDS (League Divisional Series). The two highest-finishing teams in each association that failed to win their division play a wildcard game to determine the fourth team reaching the LDS. The winners of the Best-of-5 LDS advance to the LCS, determining the champion of each league. The Esportivan league winners face off in the Multiverse Series to determine the overall champion. If you are familiar with the RLStates MLB, the formats are very similar.

South Newlandian League

SNL North
--- Elephant Valley Homers
--- Elephant Valley Snow Bears (starting Season 6; formerly Elephant Valley United)
--- Jaffro Drawks (starting Season 5; formerly Masmow Dragons)
--- Ruditown Dachshunds

SNL Central
--- Newport Dolphins
--- Newport Owls
--- Rüsselsheim Blue Sox
--- Sophie City Monarchs

SNL South
--- Ratzupalfu Rhinos (starting Season 3; formerly Malidridad Mariners)
--- St. Riecarn Saints
--- Sun City Flames
--- Walstreim Stingrays

Super-Llamanean League

SLL North
--- Apple Valley Vipers
--- Denison Dynamo
--- Emerald City Greens
--- South Falls Athletics

SLL Central
--- Kyrinson Cosmos
--- New Llama Cyclones
--- New Llama Wizards
--- Vargas City Lions

SLL South
--- Nikcoro Suns
--- Peninsulara Kingfishers
--- Corbin Island Chariots (starting Season 6; formerly South Bryant Chariots)
--- Xingcheng Renaissance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

by **Llamaphant Pro Baseball** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:47 am

PAST CHAMPIONS

Season	Champion	Runner-Up	Series Result
LPB1	Newport Dolphins	Apple Valley Vipers	4-0
LPB2	New Llama Wizards	Rüsselsheim Blue Sox	4-3
LPB3	Xingcheng Renaissance	Chromia Comets	4-1
LPB4	Echizen Dragons	Xingcheng Renaissance	4-3
LPB4	New Llama Cyclones	Lanar Rangers	4-1

by **Llamaphant Pro Baseball** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:48 am

Award History: Super-Llamaland

Season	MVP	Evan Masorka (Best Pitcher)	Rookie of the Year	Manager of the Year	Reliever of the Year	Llamanean Champion
LPB1	Summer Huang (SLL, Wizards)	Clara Ayonara (CMT, Lions)	Schuyler Duffy (SLL, Renaissance)	Dinesh Mohn (PHR, Vipers)	Evangeline Lu (SLL, Vipers)	Apple Valley Vipers
LPB2	Edith Ponce (CMT, Lions)	Solveig Jørgensen (SLL, Renaissance)	Will Gutierrez (SLL, Chariots)	Fu Webb (SNL, Athletics)	Kaspar Wahl (QOD, Cyclones)	New Llama Wizards
LPB3	Luxolo Mbeki (BNJ, Athletics)	Maike Bookmer (SNL, Cyclones)	Maddie Benitez (SLL, Kingfishers)	Jacinta MacRaun (ZWZ, Renaissance)	Evangeline Lu (SLL, Lions)	Xingcheng Renaissance
LPB4	Maia Tennons (MCH, Cyclones)	Maike Bookmer (SNL, Cyclones)	Jasmine Xu (SLL, Greens)	Leo de la Cruz (SLL, Kingfishers)	Urkyen Bharadwadj (PHR, Athletics)	Xingcheng Renaissance
LPB5	Jeff Huang (SLL, Renaissance)	Eric Ha'Adomim (MCH, Lions)	August Tai (SLL, Dynamo)	Bobby Mohs (HAN, Cosmos)	Darlene Le (SNL, Vipers)	New Llama Cyclones
LPB5	Sadiiq Xoosh (BNJ, Cyclones)	Maddie Benitez (SLL, Kingfishers)	RJ Hall (RAN, Suns)	Franklin Bell (DRK, Kingfishers)	Evangeline Lu (SLL, Cyclones)

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:48 am

(quick note on amateur draft grades: S is best, followed by A, B, C, D, F)

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 1

SNL North

Elephant Valley Homers

Offseason Movements:
After missing the playoffs yet again last season, Daniel Nunez was sacked and replaced by Llamanean manager Tanya Ericsson. She was formerly with the Apple Valley Vipers and New Llama Cyclones and won championships with each. On the field, the Homers were one of very few teams not to add any pieces in free agency. Ownership wants to trust the process and wanted to add via the draft.

Draft: (held: 6th, 30th)
Starting in the redraft, the Homers held the 6th overall pick, but they instead chose to trade down. They found a trade partner in the Denison Dynamo, and got the 9th and 33rd pick from them. At 9th, they selected former Lexen City Rebel Jack Beard to bolster their pitching staff. Beard was a welcome addition, a valuable starter next to Darien Rodriguez. Soon after, they found yet another draft day trade, swapping picks with the Emerald City Greens. For their 17th pick in the redraft, they gave up the 6th and 30th picks in the amateur- and redraft respectively, also receiving the 17th pick from the Greens in the redraft. They did that to select Albert Vaughn, a Llamanean corner infielder who will start at third for them. Later, they spent the 33rd pick in the redraft they’d gotten from the Dynamo on Llamanean reliever Kyle Fang.
With the 17th pick in the amateur draft, the Elephant Valley Homers selected Val Thornton; quite a steal considering the A-grade on the rookie. After being passed up by half the league, the 22-year-old will start at second for the Homers. The 30th pick was spent on Myron Pacheco, a starting pitcher from nearby who had also been dropping a bit further than expected given her C-grade. Later on, they made one last trade-day move, getting the Masmow Dragons’ 46th pick in a rare inter-division trade. They gave up their second-round pick in the upcoming draft in return to select Michael Kennedy, a D-graded Left Fielder from Super-Llamaland.

Elephant Valley United

Offseason Movements:
United had a couple of important movements. For one, they brought back Jacob Conroy. The South Newlandian ace had spent the previous years in Ko-oren with the Intermare Admirals, but will be back at the top of the rotation for the upcoming season. They also signed 31-year-old Connor Harris, a relief pitcher from Brookstation, to strengthen their pen, but lost reliever Reed Harper, who signed a contract to play in Ko-oren.

Draft: (held: 8th, 32nd)
In the redraft, United selected former Ratzupalfu Rhino third baseman Yousuf Henry 8th overall, and later selected Harper Yumizuka, Diarcesian Center Fielder who was with the Kinjestad Peacocks previously.
In the amateur draft, United stunned everyone with a blockbuster trade. They traded to move all the way up to the number one spot, giving up their 8th pick and the third baseman they just got, Yousuf Henry, to the Xingcheng Renaissance. They used that number one overall pick to select a generational prospect at catcher, S-ranked Llamanean Hansel Eriksen. Despite being only 19, he is showing signs of being elite. Later on, they selected D-graded Mollie Lloyd, a South Newlandian starting pitcher, with the 32nd pick.

Masmow Dragons

Offseason Movements:
The Dragons got quite a few new pieces to help them for another playoff run. They gave free agent contracts to a duo of elite players from Newmanistan; namely Starting pitcher Julia Donaldson and the one and only third basewoman Lexi Burrows, who received one of the biggest contracts in league history.

Draft: (held: 22nd, 46th)
In the redraft, the Dragons selected Drawkian catcher Bradley Jenkins with the 22nd pick. The former Rebel and multi-time all-star is another great addition to the Dragons. With the 46th pick, they added Bucephalus “Bucky” Jiminez, a first baseman who is not expected to see the field much.
In the amateur draft, the Dragons added another starting pitcher in Nico Cagliari, a 21-year-old Llamanean C-grade with the 22nd pick, and traded the 46th away to the Homers for a future second round selection.
After the draft was over, the Dragons also struck up a deal with the New Llama Cyclones. They gave up Starting Pitcher Leif Best and two future second round picks in the upcoming draft, their own and the one they just got from the Homers, to acquire an elite reliever in Llamanean Justin Frazier, setup man of the Llamanean national team.

Ruditown Dachshunds

Offseason Movements:
The Dachshunds really went off-season shopping. They signed free agents from all over, including ace Brianna Fitch, reliever Tori Fuller, and shortstop Hannah Mitchell from Newmanistan, starter Gene Almac and Right Fielder Pedro Moires from TJUN-ia, and Samuel Winter from Ethane, all of them WBC level pieces from their respective countries. They didn’t stop there, also adding Right Fielder Peyton Arias from Bollonich to bolster up their depth. Clearly, the Dachshunds were willing to spend a ton of money to shoot up to contend in the absolutely stacked North. The only notable loss was Carlos Rosario, their former 1B/DH, who went to play in Ko-oren.

Draft: (held: 20th/44th)
With the 20th pick of the redraft, the Dachshunds selected Ko-orenite Mason Bennett, the first selected player over 30. Bennett had previously been with the Kinjestad Peacocks, and the Left Fielder had started for the Dragonflies in WBC52. They signed another experienced player in Alfredo Swanson from Bollonich, a shortstop, previously with the Ratzupalfu Rhinos.
With the 20th pick of the amateur draft, the Dachshunds selected Llamanean third-basewoman Angela Bengtsson. The B-graded prospect will be offering day-one help to the team as well. They decided to trade the 44th pick to the Xingcheng Renaissance, and will receive a swap of second-round picks in the upcoming draft in return, unless the Renaissance have the worse pick, in which case the Dachshunds will not have to give up their second, and simply receive the Renaissances’ second-round pick.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:49 am

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 2

SNL Central

Newport Dolphins

Offseason Movements:
The Dolphins, coming off of a playoff run cut short, were prepared to go all in for the first LPB season. They acquired some elite free agents, with top-class reliever Benoît Beaufils and Outfielder Luka Chevalier, each from the runners-up team of the last WBC, Quintessence of Dust, leading the charge; but Adam Gilchrest, their newest star pitcher from Ethane, will be a big help as well. In addition to those signings, they also shelled out for the Sun City Flames’ ace Ryan Hunter, sending their 38th pick in the redraft along with two first round amateur draft picks, the upcoming one and the one after that. With those additions and the players already there, Goodman unquestionably has one of the, if not the best, teams in the South Newlandian League to work with.

Draft: (held: 14th/38th)
With the 14th pick in the redraft, the Newport Dolphins added another top tier starting pitcher in young stud Garry Gordon, who was previously with the Chekar Tigers.
They also still had their second-round pick for the amateur draft, which they spend on D-graded reliever Sung Kim to add some depth to the bullpen. They finished out their preseason with a trade for another reliever, sending their young Ranorian Vincent Veltrone to the New Llama Wizards, along with an optional second-round swap in the upcoming draft, acquiring the services of another top reliever in Llamanean Y.P. Ying. The Super-Llamanean Tiger will be a second experienced option from the bullpen behind Beaufils.

Newport Owls

Offseason Movements:
The Owls, seeing the Dolphins signing a ton of free agents, surely weren’t going their big brother get away that easily. The smaller Newport team added lots of pieces themselves, signing a trio of fantastic national team players from Newmanistan: Paige Bell for the bullpen, Chelsea Harlow at first and Brooke Sauter in center field. As if that wasn’t enough, they also added a national team player from Eshialand: Harry Brentwood will play second for the Owls. Along those signings, the Owls also got a new home – they would be moving on from their old stadium in Soaring Wings Field, which will almost double the old capacity with 10,000 seats.

Draft: (held: 16th/40th)
The Owls chose to sign a Llamanean starting pitcher in Tina Calibri in the redraft with the 16th pick. She had previously been with the Svenssonfjord Dynamo. Later, they added Nova Anglican reliever Matt Townsend, who has an IBS under his belt and was previously on the Lexen City Rebels.
In the amateur draft, the Owls used a second-round pick from next year in order to trade up from the 16th to the 11th pick, which they used to sign B-graded starting pitcher Isabella Hart from Super-Llamaland. With their 40th pick, they added some depth to the infield, drafting C-graded second basewoman Mia Cole, quite a few picks later than most experts had predicted her to go.

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Offseason Movements:
The Sox were one of the teams that got themselves a new coach after a truly awful season. They managed to get Ember Marshall, who was previously managing the Kohnheadian U21-team, to try and improve on a truly awful last season, and the team was willing to sign a ton of players to make something happen. They brought in an ace in Juzo Sakaguchi and a fantastic shortstop in Jack Theriault, each from Quintessence of Dust. To the surprise of many, they will only have Sakaguchi at the 3rd spot in their rotation; that’s what can happen when you have four ace-calibre pitchers on the roster. Sakaguchi, according to Marshall, will likely move up to the first spot if he adjusts well to the new environment. The signings didn’t stop there, they also added a pair of Hannasean stars in pitcher Noah Harris (who will be at the 4-spot!) and Jason Mathis in Left Field.

Draft: (held: 4th/28th)
With the fourth pick in the redraft, the Sox selected Emil Hurley a Center Fielder previously with the Rebels, first overall pick of the previous draft. Don’t hold your breath on him just yet. Later, they selected Tom Abbott, Sanford, to play first baseman for the team, with the 28th pick.
In the amateur draft, the Sox also held the fourth overall pick. They spent in on yet another brilliant pitcher. A-graded Griffin Gonzalez from Super-Llamaland will, amazingly, be all the way down in the 5-spot in what has to be the LPB’s best pitching staff. With the 28th pick, they added the last B-graded player on the board; Jordan Frazier, reliever, also from Super-Llamaland, to strengthen their bullpen as well.
And the Blue Sox also made a deal with the Peninsulara Kingfishers. The Kingfishers offered them their next first-round selection for Emil Hurley, even throwing Right Fielder Will Rentería, national team player from Super-Llamaland, in the mix. The Blue Sox happily accepted what was likely the most one-sided trade of this year and/or decade. Or ever.

Sophie City Monarchs

Offseason Movements:
Coming off of a championship last year, the Monarchs changed the name of their stadium to Sophie City Field, and pretty much called it a day after that.

Draft: (held:24th/48th)
With the worst draft stock in the league, the Monarchs weren’t expected to do much in the offseason. They did, however, trade for the 5th pick in the redraft from the Apple Valley Vipers. Alongside, they got the Vipers’ 29th pick in the amateur draft. For the package, they send starting pitcher Emily Innis, their 24th picks in both the re- and amateur draft, and their 48th selection in the amateur draft as well. They wound up spending that 5th pick on Fiona Niemi, a top-tier Llamanean outfielder. With the 48th pick in the redraft, they added to their bullpen, choosing 33-year-old Patrick Kenyon, Super-Llamaland, previously with the Northhampton Stars.
With the 29th pick in the amateur draft, the Monarchs selected C-graded South Newlandian rookie starting pitcher Bethany Riddle.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:50 am

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 3

SNL South

Malidridad Mariners

Offseason Movements:
The Mariners, coming off of a surprise SNL South Championship appearance, were trying to sustain momentum. They tried, but as all other teams around them got better, they only lured one free agent; at least it was a good one. Right Fielder Emily Crater, known from the national team of Ethane, would be joining the team, but that would be it.

Draft: (held: 18th/42nd)
While the other teams made trades, the Mariners were having none of those. They just calmly tried to improve on their team with the draft. It has to be added that the M’s are a very young team, and with every year, they’ll be gaining experience. Having said that, they went for another young piece in Frank Chavez with the 18th pick of the redraft. The young reliever from the Lexen City Rebels, actually the first reliever to be taken in the redraft, is a developmental piece, no day-one impact for the team. Jason Fletcher, the Llamanean starter from the Derrierton Surge, is also only 27, but the 42nd pick will likely at least partially be into a mentorship role for this team. Ownership is trying to slowly, but surely, build a team full of superstars.
In the amateur draft, the M’s went for another development project in the bullpen with B-graded Anastasia Zhu. She was the second reliever, the first of those out of Super-Llamaland, to be taken in the draft. Later, the team reached a bit for F-graded Henrietta Chang, only 19 from South Newlandia, and yet another long-term project for the pen. Whether all of those prospects work out for the Mariners remains to be seen.

St. Riecarn Saints

Offseason Movements:
The Saints were one of the big losers of the off-season period. They failed to make much of a splash in free agency, and didn’t build a good supporting cast for the few stars they did have. The only player they managed to pick up was shortstop Josh Malouf from Brookstation, but that’s hardly a big signing, especially not for a team that just drafted a shortstop in the first round last year.

Draft: (held: 10th/34th)
In the redraft, the Saints had the last top-10 pick, and they used it on Caitlin Rosario, a flexible middle infielder from Super-Llamaland. She’s been on the roster for then national team and mainly is extremely fast. She’d been with the East Llama Kings previously, but now she’s with the clergy instead. With the 34th pick, the Saints added Neil Persson, center fielder, also from Super-Llamaland, from the Svenssonfjord Dynamo. To most, it had been a surprise that Persson dropped as far as he did, so this can be considered quite the steal for the Saints.
In the amateur draft, the Saints had set their target on Pamela Sullivan, Left Field. However, with her having been only a C-graded prospect, the 10th pick was not something you’d want to spend so early. Instead, the Saints traded down. First, they got a trade going with the New Llama Cyclones. They would swap first rounders this draft, but next year, the Saints would get the Cyclones’ first for their own second. This way, they held the 19th pick, but they traded again with the New Llama Wizards, receiving the 23rd pick and Right Fielder Josh Ludwig in return. Ludwig certainly is nothing special, but he can be a mentor for some of the young players on the team. They spent the 23rd pick on Sullivan, just like they’d hoped. With the 34th pick, they were also able to get Raphael Boyer, a D-graded relief pitching project.

Sun City Flames

Offseason Movements:
The Flames did something shocking in making a smart baseball thing. They got a new stadium; their new home, Desertfire Stadium, will seat 12,275. However, the smart baseball things didn’t last long. Instead, they signed Sylestonian cricketers with cricket obligations (Talvin Mankira at pitcher and Yash Ubuni at catcher) and a Sevendian. Seriously, Flames? How is anyone supposed to take you seriously like that. They also traded face of the franchise Ryan Hunter to the Dolphins for a pair of first round picks and the 38th in the redraft.

Draft: (held: 2nd/26th)
You’d think it couldn’t get worse. It got worse. In the redraft, they held the second pick. After Tyson Long was passed up by the Renaissance as expected, the Flames drafted him. Everyone knew Long belonged on a Llamanean team. What the Flames hoped was that they’d get a good trade going. The problem was that no one was willing to do that. In the end, they traded him to the Nikcoro Suns, getting their 21st pick in the amateur draft, their first pick next year, and first baseman Alvin Jimenez, and they were lucky they even got that. With the 26th and 38th pick, the Flames took Ayo Abe and Dennis Miles, two relievers, South Newlandian and Ko-orenite respectively. There were certainly better options.
In the amateur draft, the Flames held three first-rounders now, including second-overall. They spent that on the very highly regarded S-graded first basewoman Tiffany Grey, who will no doubt be ruined by the Flames in a few years time. They took starting pitcher Zachariah Dean, B-graded, another South Newlandian, and center fielder Ella Carlson, C-graded, 14th and 21st respectively, and rounded out their draft with C-graded starter Rickie McBride 26th overall.

Walstreim Stingrays

Offseason Movements:
The Stingrays were one of the three teams to find a new home in the offseason. They moved to Seaside Park, which, at 14,000 seats, instantly become one of the biggest South Newlandian stadiums. Aside from that, they also signed plenty of free agents. Kyle McNash from Tjun-ia will be the new ace of the team, while Matoko Kagawa, also part of the same national team, will start at second. They also got a trio of Thrashers in pitcher Nolan Jefferson, famous gas station enjoyer, and Grady Elliott, famously boring catcher, and Aiden Beasley at third base. All of these free agents instantly catapulted the Stingrays to the clear front-runner in the South.

Draft: (held: 12th/36th)
The Stingrays had a fairly boring draft. Erin Guthrie for the outfield was an excellent pickup at 12th, previously with the Talahita Tigers, and Emma Loizzo is a solid middle infielder, previously on the Svenssonfjord Dynamo, despite being injury prone.
In the amateur draft, the Rays added B-graded starting pitcher Felix Correa from Super-Llamaland and C-graded Right Fielder Alejandro Rivera. Whether the refusal of the team of Diego Lowe to draft a South Newlandian means anything? Probably not.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:50 am

LPB 1 PREVIEW: THE NORTH
"wow these guys suck"
Alice Kim, LSN Baseball

The first season of the highly-anticipated Llamaphant Pro Baseball is set to kick off next week, as the world waits with bated breath to see what the future of Esportivan baseball will hold. However, with a whirlwind free agency period recently coming to a close, it's time to consider what the actual teams on the field will look like, as we consider each of the twelve teams on the Llamanean half of the LPB. Today, we start with the LPB North. While it's largely considered to be one of the weakest divisions in the entire LPB, the lack of a frontrunner amongst these four historic rivals means that the north could be anybody's game. Expect all four teams to at best hover around .500, which could lead to a photo finish! But which also means that there certainly aren't any 100-game winners in this group.

We start off with Dinesh Mohn's Apple Valley Vipers. Fresh from The Sherpa Empire to replace the departed Tanya Ericsson, Mohn is a big-name signing, formerly being the manager of his nation's NT at the World Baseball Classic, but has decided to seek a greater challenge abroad. He'll certainly have an uphill climb ahead of him - while the Vipers went 90-63 last season in a weak LBL division, they were exposed as pretenders in the playoffs, with the pitching staff, in particular, choking in humiliating fashion. While the small-market team continues to punch above their weight, rebuilding the starting pitching was priority number one for GM Kevin Weiss. And Weiss has delivered, creating a top of the rotation that can hold its own. He packaged the #5 pick in the redraft with other picks in exchange for Sophie City ace Emily Innis, before flipping talented reliever Noah Spencer to trade up and select Jason McAllister of Rogers. Finally, stud prospect Carter Wilkinson was taken fifth in the LBL draft. While the bullpen remains weak outside of NT reliever Evangeline Lu, the pitching should be greatly improved. On the offensive side of things, the Vipers are led by shortstop Emery Wu and flashy free-agent signing Rose Dawson from the Felswyr Fire. They've also taken a pair of promising young talents from South Newlandia in the draft, namely ex-IBS second baseman Charlie McCray and outfielder Celina Lang. However, the team lacks power-hitting threats and is relatively weak defensively, meaning that for all of Weiss's retooling, they might still struggle out of the gate.

Meanwhile, up north, the newly-named Denison Dynamo are hoping to make their mark as the real Team of the North after a merger with ex-LBL club Svenssonfjord Dynamo. While Elisa Kristiansen's managing career has gotten off to an underwhelming start, after a late slump saw them fall below .500 last season, there is hope that the former shortstop and club legend can turn things around. The "Triple Js" of TJUN-ian international José Almas, stud draft pick Jonathan Roe, and the quietly excellent Jaden Calderón form a decent enough pitching core, and the signing of star reliever Kathryn Riggins will bolster one of the league's weakest bullpens. However, while the pitching now has the front-end talent, there are serious question marks about depth that could cost them dearly over the 160-game grind of the regular season. The ones to watch with the bat include Eshialand's Rebecca Saunders at first base, outfielder Killian O'Malley of TJUN-ia, and redraft pick Tod Pittman, a power hitter that the Dynamo opted to trade up for. But the lineup beyond those three also has serious questions, with catcher Giancarlo Ghiggia and shortstop Megan Herrera both defensively-oriented role players that are being thrown into the deep end. There is talent here - but there are far more questions for Kristiansen to handle, lest she find herself unemployed.

Back south in Emerald Springs, the retirement of fan-favorite manager Shaun Chu has led management to seek a new direction for a historically excellent club that has spent the past few years stuck in neutral. Enter Ernest Telyatin from Zwangzug - while his taciturn nature and legendary disdain for anyone associated with the concept of journalism, his Will To Win (TM) and focus on retooling over rebuilding has endeared him to GM Kathleen Osman. Telyatin has prioritized the team's weak pitching staff as the primary place to improve, and true to form, he's decided to do so by throwing money at free agents. Kohnhead ace Ralphie Bloggs and Hapilopper NT starter (and knuckleballer, a rarity in the LPB) Eddie Headley anchor a completely-retooled starting rotation, with Wesley Reid and South Newlandian Jairon Suarez - both second-round picks in the redraft - filling things out. Telyatin also pushed for the team to trade up for slugging first baseman Jason Lamb in the amateur draft. Lamb joins third baseman Miranda Gray, formerly of Rogers, and Delaclav shortstop Valery Robiquet in a frightful top of the order. Not so terrifying are the team's incredibly thin bullpen - although Rockets reliever Lauren Allen will be doing a lot of carrying - and the rest of the batting order.

Finally, the South Falls Athletics have endured tough times as of late, but are hoping the appointment of ex-Rhinos manager Fu Webb can shake things up. While Webb has largely struggled in the regular season, his SNBL championship does indicate some managing acumen that the people of Ruby Falls hope can translate into a return to form. South Falls' first, second, and third strengths are all run prevention - national team players Savanna Wladecki and Simon Chu and exciting prospect Wayne Dawson form a solid starting corps. The bullpen doesn't have a lot of big names, but Knetyohai Dynamo's Joseph Edward Jr. should be more than enough to ensure leads are preserved. The team's defense is also quietly excellent, with former South Newlandian NT player Korban Pitts and 13th overall pick Sylvi Vermark both strong defenders, and Charlotte Valdes shoehorned into third base despite also being drafted as a shortstop. The star of the team, Hapilopper NT starter and splashy free agent signing Bill Parent, is also a strong defender in addition to his contact and speed-oriented skillset. Unfortunately, the team just has no balance - the position players aren't particularly good at hitting for power or contact, and while run prevention should be fine, the offense outside of Parent might drag things down.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:51 am

LPB 1 PREVIEW: THE CENTRAL
"rip cosmos 1991-2056"
Alice Kim, LSN Baseball

The first season of the highly-anticipated Llamaphant Pro Baseball is set to kick off next week, as the world waits with bated breath to see what the future of Esportivan baseball will hold. However, with a whirlwind free agency period recently coming to a close, it's time to consider what the actual teams on the field will look like, as we consider each of the twelve teams on the Llamanean half of the LPB. Next up, we consider the SLL Central. The central division has been historically the best division in Llamanean baseball, and there are three big reasons why - the Cyclones, Wizards, and the Lions are absolute juggernauts who have 11 of the final 20 LBL championships between them. Kyrinson, who had lobbied to be let into the softer SLL North (and are, in fact, further north than Emerald Springs), is the odd team out here, unfortunately. But for fans of the other three clubs and neutrals, the historical rivalries and high-stakes playoff battle will make this a division to watch. Don't be surprised if both wild card teams come from the central.

Hannasean Bobby Mohs is known for his belief in youth and his reputation as a turnaround expert forged with the Pearl City Purple Sox. With an aging Cosmos team in desperate need of a youth movement, Mohs' pitching and defense-centric approach make him exactly the right man for the job. The Cosmos retooled in the draft, using their pair of #3 overall picks on young outfielder Kieran Fletcher from Tikariot and talented if injury-prone starter Madison Verdugo. They also committed absolute robberies with their #27 picks, snagging IBS-capped Zarah Yu and the under-the-radar but surprisingly studly Ian Zhuang to bolster the infield. The young core is supplanted with some experienced international hands signed in free agency - outfielder Christian Hanks of Ethane and Quodite utilityman-turned-shortstop Teijo Watanbe are both excellent all-around players. On the mound, Mohs has splashed the cash on Chromatik reliever Vette Beux and TJUN-ian second starter Davis Johnson. However, while the team's rebuilding progress is impressive, that doesn't mean this season will be smooth sailing. For all of Mohs' pitching wizardry, there hasn't been enough time to fill in the gaps in the pitching staff, and Johnson, Verdugo, and Beux will have to do a lot of heavy lifting. The offense is also based on a lot of young and/or unproven talent, and while the new faces' defensive talents will undoubtedly carry over, there may be an adjustment period to LPB pitching that could prove costly. Still, while this season may be written off in such a tough division, there's no reason to think the Cosmos' young guns won't be contenders soon.

The New Llama Cyclones have also had to retool somewhat, but after a surprising 93-60 finish last season, their rebuild is undoubtedly done, and the window opens now. Former NT bench coach Jackson Feliz has done an excellent job forming a championship core, but now it's time for him to show that he's actually a winner. The starting pitching, formerly a weakness, has been shored up with the additions of Hanai Heroes ace Jerome Delapier and Masmow's Leif Best, acquired for reliever Justin Frazier, to reinforce the dominant April Bendtner. He's also built a bullpen that won't even remember they used to have an NT setup man - closer Kennedy Schumacher, Quodite Kaspar Wahl, and redraft selection Sukemichi Kamiizumi can compete with (almost) any bullpen in this league. The offense has also been greatly improved by international free agency. The slugging Angel Enrique and the speedster Jenna Schuster, both starters on elite NT programs, have joined Ivy Werner to form a formidable outfield. At shortstop, to replace retired cult hero Dante Wen, Feliz saw a chance to grab blue-chip shortstop prospect Rene Corbin and took it, trading up nine places to get his man. And while Hapilopper's Lonnie Hayter may be an absolute dumbass, his athleticism and speed could make him the Cyclones' newest star alongside Corbin. It's an well-built, well-balanced team with more than its fair share of star power - but in this division, that may not be enough.

And here's one of two reasons why. Nikki Wang's New Llama Wizards were already defending champions - and then they went out and signed Kelsie Carmichael, Bedin Egozhevy, Jan Scherer, Joe Gregory, Vincent Veltrone, and George fucking Ducat - all either NT starters or future stars for well-regarded national teams. Wang was right to upgrade - while the Wizards did win last season, they did so with a pedestrian 89-64 record and only came alive late in the season. Now, there's absolutely no doubt that they are top-to-bottom stacked, and one of the favorites to win the Llamanean side of the bracket. The rotation is stacked, with Rockets star Carmichael, Tigers second starter Söderstrom, and young Delaclav phenom Egozhevy a formidable trio - but it might be too stacked, as dissatisfied ex-ace Cedric Wei, relegated to fourth starter duties, is reportedly on his way out. Llamanean internationals Sam Vandenberg and Courtney Mikkelson flank Quodite international Scherer in the bullpen, although there aren't many arms after them. The infield is packed with power, with TJUN-ia starting catcher Gregory anchoring for Ranorian phenom Veltrone (flipped for NT reliever Y.P. Ying), playoffs hero Devon Jimenez, and arguably Super-Llamaland's best player right now, Summer Huang. The one hole may be at third base, where first-round pick Esther Martinez is having troubles adjusting to the Llamanean leagues. The one hole might be outfield defense, especially with a pitching staff that isn't especially ground ball-heavy. Ducat is a whiz with the glove in addition to immediately becoming one of the league's most dangerous cleanup hitters. Nikko Norsholm and Jayce Duncan are both primarily corner outfielders, but one of them will have to play center. It's one of few holes in the champions' roster, though, and another playoff run seems almost inevitable...

...but not if Vargas City can say anything about it. The team, fueled by new owners OuranosTech and Banijan manager Abraham Kakay (yes, from that Kakay family), threw all their money into free agency, and have emerged from a protracted rebuild possibly the betting favorites to win the entire thing. It starts from the top of the rotation, where the Lions have by far the best 1-2-3 punch in the league. WBC52 MVP and Chromatik phenom Clara Ayonara, Llamanean ace Isaac Colón, and Newmanistan's Megan Reardon will be an utterly unstoppable combination in the postseason, with first-round pick Anna Guo expected to provide competent cover. The bullpen might be a relative weakness, but that doesn't mean they're bad by any means - Kris Headley is an NT setup man, and the team reached with their #7 pick to take South Newlandian Darlene Le in the draft. Niko Frandsen is also a former NT setup man but has been more volatile as of late, and the arms after Frandsen are even more of a question mark.

Where this team truly shines, though, is with a bat in their hands. Everywhere you look, there's a new NT star - the slugging 21-year-old Marius Mcneesh of Milchama slots neatly into first, Tigers right-fielder Trevor Mikkelson-Yao is one of the best hitters in the league, DH Noah Slater inexplicably fell to #7 in the redraft despite slugging thirty home runs last season, and Nicole Larkin averaged .330 with 30 home runs for over a decade with the Putnam Lake Eagles. She also idolized former Rockets/Lions star Kayla Carey growing up, making her a natural successor for Carey in the #2 spot in the order. Not to mention Edith Ponce, also just 21 years old, who led Chromatika in home runs and RBI for the Hanai Heroes before batting cleanup for the WBC champions. In short, the Lions have five legitimate threats to hit thirty home runs this season, with Mikkelson-Yao, Larkin, Slater, Ponce, and Mcneesh forming nothing short of a Murderer's Row at the top of the lineup. "Oh, so that must be all the international stars you were talking about?" Not even close. Quodite catcher Yazhu Long offers a steady pair of hands behind the plate, Rachel Estrada is a defensive whiz for the Llamanean national team, and despite likely being the team's sixth hitter, center fielder Lucas Robinson is one of the best players in Ethane. The team is almost disgustingly stacked - and while they may need some time to adjust to all the egos, there's no reason why they shouldn't win this season.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:51 am

LPB 1 PREVIEW: THE SOUTH
"can anyone stop the suns?"
Alice Kim, LSN Baseball

The first season of the highly-anticipated Llamaphant Pro Baseball is set to kick off next week, as the world waits with bated breath to see what the future of Esportivan baseball will hold. However, with a whirlwind free agency period recently coming to a close, it's time to consider what the actual teams on the field will look like, as we consider each of the twelve teams on the Llamanean half of the LPB. Before switching over to the South Newlandian side of things, we consider the final four of the SLL half's twelve teams, the SLL South. While the North is sort of universally mediocre, and the Central has three possible 100-game winners, the South is the most "normal" of the divisions in the league, with a clear frontrunner, two teams scrapping for a wild card spot, and Peninsulara.

The first of our teams is also the best, as star manager Michael Shelby's second act came within two games of winning it all in the LBL's final season. While they're by no means juggernaut like their central counterparts, Shelby has still developed a strong young core and smartly supplemented it with solid foreign pieces, ensuring that this team should be a contender for years to come. GM Marcia Persson started strong, flipping postseason hero Alvin Jimenez and picks for slugging outfielder Tyson Long, who the Flames were a little too willing to give up. They also drafted a few solid complementary pieces in South Newlandian starter Ahmed Mendez and Ko-orenite outfielder Nalivalu Amakusa. But this team is still one of the most Llamanean teams in the league, making very few splashes in free agency. Instead, their rotation is built around the one-two punch of NT starter Edward Zhuang and former IBS starter Danielle Nørregaard, and their best position players are mostly Llamanean as well - Long and the cannon arm of Liam Desjardins in the outfield, and Tigers utilityman Ian Hart nominally playing second base but taking on a more Zobrist-y role (named after Enrico Jefferson-Zobrist, a Llamanean infielder in the 1980s). There is one exception - the literally ageless Momoko Komura, a living legend from the earliest days of the WBC, is inexplicably in playing condition and ready to bat second and play shortstop. Overall, Shelby's team has strong starting pitching, excellent defense, and a surprisingly solid attack. If there's one weakness, it's the same one that flared up in the playoffs last year, and that Shelby has done shockingly little to solve - the bullpen.

In contrast, while beleaguered GM Sebastian Weiss genuinely seems to believe that he's built a contender, the Kingfishers are an absolute mess - and even worse, they're a mess that don't own their first-round pick next year, meaning that Rüsselsheim could be very lucky next season. The Blue Sox, of course, flipped star center-fielder Emil Hurley to the Kingfishers for the marginally worse Will Rentería and a first-round pick, probably one of the worst deals of the offseason. But if South Newlandian Daniel Nuñez can whip his team into shape, maybe the trade won't be so costly. That's not to say the team is completely devoid of talent - in addition to Hurley, Nuñez has slugging corner infielder Alana Gonzalez and sprightly center-fielder Harry Bond, who the team reached to take fifteenth in the draft. Third baseman Terry Myers and outfielder Oliver Landry, plucked out of South Newlandia in the redraft, are also solid. After that? Well, the rotation is anchored by Oscar Calderón, who is admittedly pretty good but who has never managed to pitch 100 innings in a season due to injuries, and Angela Tu, she of the career 4.63 ERA. And their only free-agent pickups were a pair of national teamers from Montaña Verde, the distinctly average reliever-turned-LPB closer Facundo Saavedra Calderón and second baseman Oscar Villacrés Chaote. It could be a very long season in the white cliffs of Los-Juantos - but maybe Nuñez can turn it around? If not, at least they'll have a great pick next seas-fuck, never mind.

With his previous team being squeezed out of the SNL half of the league, Erick Iglesías, ex-Suns manager and former Shortlist To Manage The SLL NT member has returned to the south. He inherits a distinctly average team, far from the consistent semifinalists of Michael Shelby's team a few years ago. Gone are the days of Summer Huang, who has since signed a megadeal with the Wizards - although Iglesías has picked up former child prodigy Miles Villeneuve to replace her at shortstop. Gone also is ace April Bendtner, who has also headed to New Llama City. In her place, South Bryant has drafted young fireballers Jarred Li and Adam Freeman, in addition to signing veteran Quodite and de facto ace Haakon Kalberg. The rest of the roster is one clearly in transition between older, better stopgaps and a young, developing future core. Iglesías has signed a pair of Ethanians, Daniel Peterson and Edward Jordans, to lead a surprisingly solid bullpen, while the infield contains of Villeneuve, middling draft pick Alec Christopher, Quodite reserve Kaori Yutani, and young Bollonichian catcher Roland Harlow. Meanwhile, the outfield corners are occupied by young redraftee Yousuf Conway and Drawkian NT star Victoria Irving, with a fairly massive hole in center-field until raw prospect Damien Chun can develop. Overall, it's a fine team, but they may need to rebuild for a few more years before they can truly contend.

Are the Renaissance...good again? While GM/coach Jason Wu never got a chance to finish his rebuild, his replacement, Zwangzug's Jacinta MacRaun, has Xingcheng at least in position to compete for a wild card spot after nine seasons out of the playoffs. We don't know how she got results at the Weegham Rainmakers, since most of her justifications for her actions were complete nonsense, but she has at least shown the ability to take these kinds of teams to the first round, and that's all Xingcheng are asking for. Still, some of her personnel choices have been odd. For instance, the Renaissance held the first overall pick in both the redraft and the amateur draft last season, and she demanded to have control over these picks if the Renaissance were to hire her. With the first redraft pick, she wanted South Newlandian IBS star Nicolas Perez to play first - a perfectly reasonable choice, Perez being a consensus top-3 pick. With the first amateur pick, she wanted...outfielder Schuyler Duffy, who was mocked in the 10-15 range? (MacRaun's reasoning for drafting Duffy: "they'll be the first non-binary player on the Renaissance, which means they have main character energy." We don't fucking know either.) The front office was at least able to trade down to #8 to pick Duffy and get promising third baseman Yousuf Conway out of it, but Conway immediately tore his ACL for the season.

In terms of the rest of the team, it's pretty well-balanced but with few standout options. The rotation, with TJUN-ian ace Chris Harris, young fireballer and NT starter Solveig Jørgensen, and Drawkian starter Syd Masterson, is very good at the top but weaker in terms of depth. The relief corps are fine, with free-agent signing Urkyen Bharadhwaj a former Sherpa star whose stock has fallen since a suspension for doping, closing in front of NT reliever Eliza Guo and young gun Martiño Siqueiros. Ethanian backup catcher Ben Wilden, Perez, Conway, and 20-year-old Newlandian shortstop Billy Kemp form a well-rounded infield, but Perez is the only real star. Finally, Duffy's company in the outfield is Chromatik reserve outfielder Dane Gilbert and left fielder-turned-DH Annie Wladecki, taken after MacRaun demanded the team buy the forty-fourth pick in the draft. Overall, the Renaissance are Fine. Expect them to finish at .500, give or take a few games - and if it's give, maybe they'll even snag that second wild card spot.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:52 am

THE TOP SNUBS FROM THE LPB ALL-STAR GAME
Jebediah Wong, LSN Baseball

NEW LLAMA CITY -- with the official rosters for both the Llamanean and Newlandian sides of the inaugural LPB All-Star Game set, and the game itself set to kick off in Cyclone Park in just two weeks, things seem to be going smoothly. But the novel process by which the fans, managers, players, and media combined to vote for the 18 position players and 11 pitchers on each team seemed to produce quite a few shocking snubs, which the likes of Miranda Gray and Tyson Long have referred to as an "outrage" and "complete bullshit", respectively. Long may not have much of a case this year with his .241 batting average, but the fact remains that the multiversal talent infusion that the LPB has been hit with has resulted in a lot of very tough decisions for ASG pickers this season. You only need to look at first base on the Newlandian side, where the selection committee had to choose between international regulars Matthieu Gammond (Chromatika), Adam King (South Newlandia), Bronson Ghirardello (Tikariot), Gabriel Acosta (Super-Llamaland), Chelsea Harlow (Newmanistan), and Luxolo Mbeki (Banija) for two spots. Here, we break down the top eight snubs from both sides in the LPB All-Star Game Rosters.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
T-9: RP Darlene Le (South Newlandia, Vargas City Lions), 2B Korban Pitts (South Newlandia, South Falls Athletics), 1B Chelsea Harlow (Newmanistan, Newport Owls), 1B Adam King (South Newlandia, Elephant Valley Homers)

Even in the honorable mentions we're already getting NT starters - that's how you know how much quality is in this league. In short - Darlene Le had a sub-2 ERA, eleven strikeouts per nine innings pitched, and generally shone on the mound, but was overshadowed by Kris Headley getting the higher-leverage outings for Vargas City. Korban Pitts hit .320, albeit diminished by his lack of plate discipline, but with Savanna Wladecki earning Evan Masorka consideration, there just wasn't room for two all-stars on such a bad team. Chelsea Harlow was quietly excellent on a struggling Owls team, with an OPS pushing .900, but just couldn't find space amongst all the superstars playing first base in the SNL half of the league. Finally, Adam King was even better than Harlow with the bat, but had a slow start that may have tempered voters' reactions to his play.

QUESTIONABLE

8. C Hugh Marquez (South Newlandia, New Llama Cyclones)

Cyclones fans were sorely disappointed to see their starting catcher and fan-favorite miss out, although it's unclear whether he had a better start to the season than Joe Gregory of TJUN-ia or NT starter Derrick Armstrong. Still, Marquez hit a solid .281, far outpacing anything Armstrong's ever done in the league, with eleven home runs and a few highlight-reel clutch hits. Defensively he wasn't up to the level of Gregory or Armstrong, owing to a recent freak injury that he's only recently fully recovered from, but held his own and proved a savvy veteran leader for a retooling Cyclones team.

7. C Brad Moore (South Newlandia, Newport Dolphins)

A veteran leader of one of the most successful teams in the league, internationally-recognized Brad Moore has an even stronger case than Marquez does on the other side of the league. While he wasn't spectacular with the bat, there's a reason the Dolphins' pitching staff blew the opposition away to a league-leading ERA. His framing, composure, and arm all contributed to an excellent run prevention game that deserves at least some recognition.

6. SP José Almas (TJUN-ia, Denison Dynamo)

The Dynamo may be absolute garbage, as reflected in Almas' 4-7 record, but voters shouldn't have let that distract them from the TJUN-ian's superb pitching. A 2.81 ERA over ninety-four innings made Almas one of few things that went right for the Dynamo in an abysmal start to the season, but pitching in the freezing north did little to raise the debutant's national profile. With five equally good aces ultimately taken ahead of him, it's hard to say he should've been a lock - but this kind of performance doesn't come often for Dynamo fans, and it's a shame that it wasn't acknowledged.

CONTROVERSIAL

5. SP Jacob Conroy (South Newlandia, Elephant Valley United)

Conroy has struggled in his past few seasons in SNBL, but moving to the LPB has proved to be somewhat of a cure for the NT starter's struggles. A 3.16 ERA and one hundred strikeouts (one of just a handful of starters to reach that mark so early) prove that although he may not be The Guy anymore, he's still quietly one of the best pitchers in the nation. But maybe "quiet" is the wrong thing to be when you're going for the all-star team, and there's no denying that there were some great pitchers in South Newlandia this season.

4. OF Rose Dawson (Chromatika, Apple Valley Vipers)

The Chromatik star and key figure in the team's WBC52 run followed up that sterling international performance with an equally strong domestic one. Her combination of patience and doubles power made her a dangerous - if sometimes underestimated - presence in the Vipers' dominant lineup (I mean, the team's on pace to win 110), with a .284/.373/.465 slash line a testament to her discipline and batting ability. She was also quietly excellent in the field, notably robbing all-star Tod Pittman of a game-tying home run in the ninth inning in a game against the Dynamo. The likes of Larkin and Mikkelson-Yao may have been bigger names (and free of Chromatik voter fatigue), but it's hard to say Dawson didn't deserve this. Confusingly, much of the discourse here has suggested Dawson should replace Ethane's Lucas Robinson, who has been nothing short of spectacular for the Lions as a bottom-of-the-order threat and defensive whiz.

3. CF Shawn Zimmerman (South Newlandia, Elephant Valley Homers)

Homers and Elephants star Zimmerman, though, is arguably an even worse snub in the outfield. His combination of flashiness and genuine five-tool talent make him a favorite every year for the all-star team, yet six other outfielders found their way in ahead of him? On pace for another 30-30 season, and hitting over .300 with excellent defense, it's not really clear why Zimmerman didn't make the team. Perhaps with two teammates having objectively better seasons (including Chromatik superstar Alisen Moyamoto), there just wasn't room for a third guy from a middling team.

INEXCUSABLE

2. SP Rudolph Vicar-Dijo (Zwangzug, Rüsselsheim Blue Sox)

Sure, Zwangzug's third starter was injured for a few starts, but the fact remains that Vicar-Dijo was a shutdown starter and one of few bright spots in Rüsselsheim's inexplicably sub-.500 start to the season. While he suffered from some poor BABIP luck, he still managed to post a sparkling ERA of 3.26 while all his teammates hemorrhaged runs and/or tore ligaments in their pitching arms. Vicar-Dijo earned the respect of both the statheads (thanks to his sublime peripherals and sub-2.70 FIP) and the old guard (for his workhorse nature and grind-it-out style while all the other starters crumpled like a wet paper bag) - but not, apparently, the selection committee. I mean, they took someone from Drawkland over him - really?

1. 3B Miranda Gray (Super-Llamaland, Emerald City Greens)

We genuinely considered putting Miranda Gray in her own tier, but this is somewhat on brand for arguably the most overlooked star in Llamanean history. Gray has been quietly putting up 6-WAR seasons since the dawn of time, but has seemingly never gotten the recognition she truly deserves due to her taciturn nature and succession of awful teammates, and this is just another unfortunate instance of this phenomenon. Gray slashed .283/.360/.510 with eighteen home runs in the first half of the season, pairing this phenomenal offensive output with the Gold Glove-level defense that we've come to expect of her. And while we can't fault the voters for taking the big bat of Edith Ponce, who has been invaluable in Vargas City so far, ...Ian Zhuang? seriously? Hitting .421 in your first month is really impressive for the young Kyrinson star, but Zhuang has been distinctly average since that scorching start.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:55 am

All-Star game

Recap

South Newlandian League All-Stars      2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3
Super-Llamanean League All-Stars       0 0 1 2 5 0 0 0 X  8

The first Llamaphant Pro Baseball All-Star game featured the top players from each of the two leagues. Both the South Newlandian League and the Super-Llamanean League had five starting pitchers, six relief pitchers and two players for each field position, including two Designated Hitters for each team.

The game was played in Cyclone Park, home of the New Llama Cyclones, and thus, the Llamanean side had home advantage for the All-Star game. Clara Ayonara of the Vargas City Lions was the starter for the Llamanean team, and while she had an outstanding season, this was not one of her better innings, as she allowed a 2-RBI double to Alisen Moyamoto, one of her teammates on the Chromatik national team. Faraba Conateh, the Flames’ ace and starter for the South Newlandian All-Stars, managed to get through the first without issue. In the third inning, a solo shot for TJUN-ian catcher Joe Gregory off Ryan Hunter pulled the SLL squad closer, but it would be Elephant Valley Homers’ Drawkian ace Darien Rodriguez who squandered the lead.

In the fourth inning, he allowed two runs to score, one of them earned, each of them scoring on a single for Super-Llamanean Noah Slater. In the fifth inning, the South Newlandian team tied the score at three thanks to an RBI-hit for Mike Larsen off of Savanna Wladecki, the Athletics’ ace; however, Wladecki would go down in history as the first pitcher to be credited with the win in an All-Star game nevertheless, as an avalanche came down on Maike Bookmer in the fifth, where she allowed five baserunners, all of whom did eventually end up scoring to give the Super-Llamanean team an insurmountable 8-3 lead. These were the final runs scored in the game. Selected as the All-Star game MVP was Joe Gregory, the TJUN-ian catcher who added a single to the aforementioned home run later in the game.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:56 am

Disclaimers:
- Players are South Newlandian unless otherwise stated.
- The Evan Masorka is the LPB version of the Cy Young.
- Scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB (because our ball isn’t juiced). Keep this in mind when reading about stats.
- If you’re interested in seeing the entire list of results for your team, I do have that. Just dm me and I’ll send you a copy, but across the LPB, it’s 1920 total regular season games, which I thought to be a little much to feature here in its entirety.

South Newlandian League

Result Recap – Part 4

SNL North

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Elephant Valley Homers   160   90  70   713  624  +89    0.562
 2 Masmow Dragons           160   88  72   779  662 +117    0.550
 3 Ruditown Dachshunds      160   87  73   717  628  +89    0.544
 4 Elephant Valley United   160   85  75   700  644  +56    0.531

Elephant Valley Homers

Last seasons:

Season 2: 49-23, 1st in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)
Season 3: 48-24, 1st in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dachshunds)
Season 4: 38-34, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 38-34, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs

Roster:

Coach: Tanya Ericsson, 59, Super-Llamaland
SP: Darien Rodriguez, 31, Drawkland
SP: Jack Beard, 23
SP: Myron Pacheco, 22 (Rookie)
RP: Bert Hoosier, 24
RP: Kyle Fang, 30, Super-Llamaland
C: Horace Choo, 32, Quebec and Shingoryeo
1B: Adam King, 28
2B: Val Thornton, 22 (Rookie)
SS: Alisen Moyamoto, 28, Chromatika
3B: Albert Vaughn, 26, Super-Llamaland
LF: Michael Kennedy, 21, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
CF: Shawn Zimmerman, 24
RF: Fabio Ventura, 30

Expectations
Coming off of two good seasons without a playoff appearance and with the third coach in as many seasons, the Homers were tired of waiting. They knew their window around Ventura and King was slowly closing, and they were going to do just about everything to win the North in this season. Everyone expected the pitching staff to be slightly shaky around Rodriguez, but the bullpen had two lockdown elite players, and the batting was going to be among the best in the league.
Recap: Overview
The Homers won 90 games and won the North. It was an extremely close race – the entire division was within five games, it was everyone’s game heading into the final stretch, but the Homers had been in the lead for a while. Since game 137, they had been in the lead of the SNL North, but they’d been good across the year. They stood 45-35 at the All-Star break, tied for first with the Dragons at the time, but they managed to keep their pace and win out the extremely difficult and competitive division. They were by far the last division winner to clinch their playoff spot, taking until game 157, but a win there at home against the Walstreim Stingrays (6-5) propelled them to their first playoff appearance since their first-round exit against the Dachshunds three seasons ago.
Recap: Pitchers
The expectation of pretty much everyone was that the Homers would beat opposing teams with their awesome batting. That was not the case. The Homers only allowed 624 runs across the season, a mark only beaten by two teams. Darien Rodriguez had a career year, finishing with an ERA of 2.46 with a 19-6 record, starting in 32 games. He also collected 10.3 strikeouts per game. Jack Beard also contributed a sub-3 ERA, while second-round rookie Myron Pacheco kept an ERA under 4. In addition to that, the bullpen played very well. Bert Hoosier finished with 31 saves across 36 opportunities, and Kyle Fang finished with an ERA of 2.28 on the season. Despite lacking contributions from the rest of the pen, this 1-2 punch allowed the Homers to win lots of close games. According to run differential, the Homers should have had a 91-69 record.
Recap: Fielders
The extremely good batting was quite as good as expected, but still produced 713 total runs, 10th across the LPB, but worst among division winners. To be fair, they had to face some of the toughest competition out there. Horace Choo had a mediocre year with the bat, Adam King only managed 28 Home Runs, Alisen Moyamoto had a relatively decent year with the bat as well, slashing .276/.560/.876; which was the one of the best marks for shortstops this season. Additionally, Moyamoto led the league in D-War, accumulating 3.4, which brought her to the top total WAR mark across the SNL. Moyamoto is one of the reasons why the pitching staff looked so good all season. Nearly all the pitchers had a higher FIP than ERA, because Moyamoto led the league in putouts and turned double plays. Shawn Zimmerman and Fabio Ventura were the two other big contributors, as expected, but the clearly best player on the team was Moyamoto. The efforts of rookie Val Thornton are also not to be underestimated; she slashed an above-league average .240/.366/.634 along with playing very well with Moyamoto defensively.
Awards
There was no shortage of awards for the Homers this season. Darien Rodriguez and Alisen Moyamoto were the only two all-stars for them, but after heating up in the second half, Rodriguez finished top-10 in Evan Masorka voting, while Thornton was up in the top 5 of Rookie of the Year voting. More importantly, Zimmerman won a silver slugger, while Alisen Moyamoto cleaned house with the silver slugger, golden glove, and SNL Most Valuable Player awards – well deserved honors for the WBC champion, who, according to WAR, brought the Homers from last to first in the North.
The future
Short term, the Homers have made the SNLDS, and will play their first playoff games in three years. Long term, this team can continue to compete for a while. While the core of King, Ventura, Rodriguez, and Moyamoto is all above 28, they surely still have a few good years in them.

Masmow Dragons

Last seasons:

Season 2: 48-24, 1st in NE; lost in SNBL Final Series (2-5 Rhinos)
Season 3: 45-27; 1st in NE; lost in Divisional round (2-3 United)
Season 4: 47-25, 1st in NE; won SNBL Final Series (5-0 Blue Sox)
Season 5: 46-26, 1st in NE; lost in SNBL Final Series (3-5 Monarchs)

Roster:

Coach: Jack Kingsman, 62
SP: Jay Kramer, 25
SP: Julia Donaldson, 27, Newmanistan
SP: Nico Cagliari, 21, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
RP: Barnaby Butt, 28
RP: Justin Frazier, 30, Super-Llamaland
RP: Kerry Mercer, 32, Nova Anglicana
C: Bradley Jenkins, 28, Drawkland
1B: Gabriel Acosta, 29, Super-Llamaland
1B: Bucky Jiminez, 26, Super-Llamaland
2B: Len Pijpenbroek, 27, Ko-oren
SS: Jason Valbuena, 28, Super-Llamaland
LF: Daryl Dunlop, 29
CF: Marcia McMahon, 29, Super-Llamaland
RF: Denis Caamano, 28, Ko-oren
DH: George Webber, 33

Expectations
The Dragons are used to the playoffs. They’ve made three SNBL Finals in the last four years, including a championship, despite residing in a difficult division. Now, it got even harder, as they were shoved into what was basically the SNL Northwest, with three regular playoff teams already there. Nevertheless, the team of Kingsman was confident. The pitching was going to be led by the South Newlandian ace Kramer, with Julia Donaldson from Newmanistan the new star; the bullpen featured Frazier, setup man for the Tigers, and Butt, closer for the Elephants; and the lineup features stars all around, including but not limited to Acosta, Dunlop, Caamano and, of course, Lexi Burrows. The bookmakers had the Dragons as the third team overall and top of the SNL North for good reason.
Recap: Overview
After a good start to the season, standing 45-35 at the break, the Dragons slowed down a bit, being only 42-38 in the second half of the season. Finishing with 87 wins was good for the first wildcard in the SNL, but the season was dangerously close to spiralling out of control. They dropped to 62-52 at one point, getting caught up to by the Dachshunds due to a six-game losing streak including series against Xingcheng and at United and the Vipers. They immediately picked it back up, winning their next eight straight, including series against the Greens and at the Owls, Cosmos and Homers. Nevertheless, they struggled toward the end. With two games to play, they were tied for the second wildcard spot; but a series win at the Homers including a 14-3 demolition pushed them back up to the first wildcard spot.
Recap: Pitchers
The Dragons surrendered 662 runs across the season, good for 10th in the LPB, but also worst across the SNL North. Kramer had a mediocre year with an ERA of 3.04, despite a 2.45 ERA in the first half of the season. He was one of the players, especially South Newlandian ones, who seemed to struggle with the increased workload. Julia Donaldson was better, getting an ERA of 2.83, but the entire rest of the pitchers were mediocre at best. Barnaby Butt led the league in blown saves, and Justin Frazier missed about 40 games with various small injuries in his throwing arm. Even when he played, his effectiveness was inconsistent. This led to the Dragons losing winnable games – they finished with five fewer wins than they were expected to have by their run differential, the most in the SNL.
Recap: Fielders
The batting was awesome, however. 779 total runs, despite facing some of the best competition in the league, stood as the 6th-best mark across the LPB. Of course, Acosta was a key contributor again, slashing .309/.559/.912 with 37 Homers, the most in the SNL; while Lexi Burrows managed to nearly reach all of those numbers at third base. Denis Caamano also eclipsed a .300 average, and his defensive contributions have to be mentioned as well.
Awards
The Dragons had a couple of All-Stars, including Lexi Burrows and Denis Caamano, with Daryl Dunlop being the second Left Fielder. Despite getting no pitchers near the top of the awards, Denis Caamano won a Gold Glove, while Burrows won both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove; the only player beside MVP Moyamoto to pull this off. Acosta, meanwhile, missed out on awards at the extremely competitive first base.
The future
The Dragons will get to host the wildcard game. At home, they have decent chances to win it, but the path to a Championship seems to be an unlikely one.
Nevertheless, the Dragons can hope to compete in the future. All key contributors are still under 30, and they remain a very good team that will be able to improve further in the off-season.

Ruditown Dachshunds

Last seasons:

Season 2: 29-43, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs
Season 3: 41-31, 3rd in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 United)
Season 4: 40-32, 2nd in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)
Season 5: 46-26, 1st in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)

Roster:

Coach: Lee Bradley, 48, Nova Anglicana
SP: Brianna Fitch, 27, Newmanistan
SP: Gene Almac, 29, TJUN-ia
SP: Blake Robbins, 31
SP: Phil Dunn, 22
RP: Tori Fuller, 32, Newmanistan
RP: Erik McGuire, 30, Nova Anglicana
RP: Mario Small, 24
RP: Mark Robertson, 31, Nova Anglicana
C: Jean-Jacques Duplante, 32, Nova Anglicana
1B: Fred Hodgson, 25, Bollonich
2B: Samuel Winter, 30, Ethane
SS: Hannah Mitchell, 25, Newmanistan
SS: Alfredo Swanson, 31, Bollonich
3B: Angela Bengtsson, 22, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
LF: Mason Bennett, 30, Ko-oren
CF: Rufus Salas, 22
RF: Pedro Moires, 32, TJUN-ia
RF: Payton Arias, 26, Bollonich
DH: Alain Gosselin, 31, Nova Anglicana

Expectations
After their new coach, Lee Bradley, turned the Dachshunds into a competitive playoff team, they even won their old division for the first time in the most recent season. Despite this, they never represented the North in the Final Series, falling short at the final hurdle three consecutive times. Many experts believed that this could be the team that finally breaks the barrier; this is one of the most complete teams in the league. The pitching features two international stars in Fitch and Almac, the bullpen is spearheaded by Fuller, and the lineup features great players along the lines of Winter, Mitchell, Bennett and Moires; along with having some of the best depth of any LPB team.
Recap: Overview
Everything started out well for the Dachshunds. They were 37-22 early in the season, with a solid lead over the North. Then came a backbreaking stretch of eleven consecutive losses for the Dachshunds. They were against tough competition, sure, but when they met the same schedule again in the second half, they at least went 5-6 against the same teams. They dropped to third in the division, and they struggled to get back on their feet. 42-38 at the break, and they just barely got back to 15 more wins than losses at the end of the season. Nevertheless, they seemed to have at least recovered the playoff spot late in the season. With two to play, they were in sole control of the first wildcard spot, but losing a series at Elephant Valley United, they ended up only tied for the second spot. Neither of the losses at United were close – they were shut out in the game entirely – and would have to play the very first 161st game in LPB history to decide whether they would make the playoffs.
Recap: Pitchers
The Dachshunds conceded only 628 runs all season. Only three teams in the entire league managed to outdo this. For the entire season, the pitching had been borderline untouchable, with Fitch, Almac and Robbins all managing an ERA under 3; the best pitching trio in the North. Fitch led the trio with an ERA of 2.33, the best in the SNL North. She also struck out 12.3 batters per game. The bullpen, meanwhile, was just about average. Fuller played a decent season at a 2.78 ERA, but McGuire, Small and Robertson all hovered around league average.
Recap: Fielders
717 runs scored are good, but not comparable to the pitching; finishing 9th in the LPB. Still, a few players had exceptional seasons; Winter was great, Mitchell had elite stats for a shortstop as well. Along this, they were both very solid defensively; helping the pitching staff be as good as it was. Angela Bengtsson also had an extremely good rookie season, easily outpacing the average for third baseman with the bat. The outfield also shined; Bennett, Salas and Moires combined for more than 60 homers. Only at DH, the Dachshunds struggled.
Awards
Strangely, the Dachshunds hardly got any awards. Almac joined Fitch in the top ten of Evan Masorka voting, while Bengtsson was top five in Rookie of the Year voting. However, Bennett was the only gold glover on the team; and he was joined by Winter, Moires and Gosselin in the second team of the All-Star selection.
The future
The Dachshunds will host game 161 due to their Head-to-Head record, but even if they win, a tough wildcard game in Masmow would follow; and even then, it would be a tough path in the playoffs.
With Robbins, Fuller, Winter, Bennett, Moires and Gosselin all above 30, the window may be slowly closing on the Dachshunds. The next generation around players like Bengtsson is only just growing, so if they don’t manage a deep run soon, it will only get more difficult in the future.

Elephant Valley United

Last seasons:

Season 2: 37-35, 2nd in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Homers)
Season 3: 43-29, 2nd in NW, won SNBL Final Series (5-3 Flames)
Season 4: 41-31, 1st in NW, lost in divisional series (1-3 Dachshunds)
Season 5: 40-32, 2nd in NW, missed playoffs

Roster:

Coach: Raymond McFadden, 50, Tikariot
SP: Hillary Angelou, 29, Chromatika
SP: Jacob Conroy, 29
SP: Mollie Lloyd, 21 (Rookie)
RP: Jang Hyo-Seung, 31, Quebec and Shingoryeo
RP: Marcel Adams, 31
RP: Connor Harris, 31, Brookstation
C: Hansel Eriksen, 19, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
1B: Bronson Ghirardello, 28, Tikariot
2B: Igor White, 32
SS: Carlton Baines, 29, Tikariot
LF: Mac Jefferson, 24
CF: Harper Yumizuka, 25, Diarcesia
RF: Julian Breit, 20, Ranoria

Expectations
Elephant Valley United has been one of the better teams in South Newlandia ever since Raymond McFadden came to town. Despite good play and results, they only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once, and missed them entirely in the most recent season despite playing very well. Everyone expected the SNL North to be a tough division, and bookmakers had United as, by a small margin, worst team in the division. Nevertheless, Hillary Angelou is probably the best pitcher in the league, they got Conroy back, they had a solid bullpen, first overall pick Eriksen, along with Ghirardello, Baines, and Breit in the lineup.
Recap: Overview
United played a solid, above .500 season. Despite this, they were barely above .500 at the break, dropped below it for a decent amount of time, and were only brought up to 85 wins by a late-season surge when they were all but out of the playoffs. They struggled against the rest of their division, going .500 against them, but many of those were hard-fought wins that ultimately cost them in the games against weaker opponents. There were simply only so many play-off spots, and United lacked the overall productions and depth to get one.
Recap: Pitchers
Hillary Angelou was the best pitcher in the SNL. With an ERA of 1.95, she led the league by a decent margin, striking out 12.6 batters a game. Hillary also had the lowest WHIP of qualified pitchers. Conroy had a good season too, finishing with an ERA of 2.45. The bullpen was average; Jang Hyo-Seung wasn’t the elite closer other teams had, but he was decent enough. Harris notably had the closest-to-average ERA of qualified pitchers (4.12). In total, United finished with 644 runs allowed, good for 5th in the LPB.
Recap: Fielders
Eriksen, the first-overall pick United made, was playing extremely well in his rookie season. Not only proved he to have a great connection with Angelou and Conroy, but he also picked up skills with the bat quickly, slashing .229/.402/.672 in his rookie season. Aside from that, the 700 total runs (12th in the LPB) United scored were mostly contributed to by Bronson Ghirardello and Carlton Baines; while the rest of the lineup largely struggled. White had a bad year, and young stud Breit was the only other notably good hitter.
Awards
Hillary Angelou took home the Evan Masorka this season, with a sizable lead. She was joined in the top 10 by Jacob Conroy. In addition to this, Hansel Eriksen won the vote for Rookie of the Year with a slim lead. Angelou was the only all-star of the Elephant Valley United, although quite a few players fell just short.
The future
United will have to decide what they want. The two top pitchers are 29, the bullpen is getting up there, the best hitters are also slowly starting to age. They will have to decide whether they want to fight for a championship soon or decide to start a rebuild around their young stars in Breit in Eriksen.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:57 am

South Newlandian League

Result Recap – Part 5

SNL Central

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Newport Dolphins         160  104  56   820  589 +231    0.650
 2 Rüsselsheim Blue Sox     160   87  73   776  705  +71    0.544
 3 Newport Owls             160   79  81   664  721  −57    0.494
 4 Sophie City Monarchs     160   69  91   595  686  −91    0.431

Newport Dolphins

Last seasons:
Season 2: 43-29, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (1-3 Dragons)
Season 3: 38-34, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 35-37, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 5: 41-31, 3rd in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dachshunds)

Roster:

Coach: Vincenco Goodman, 30
SP: Ryan Hunter, 27
SP: Ben Gonzalo, 23
SP: Adam Gilchrest, 28, Ethane
SP: Garry Gordon, 21
RP: Benoît Beaufils, Quintessence of Dust
RP: Y. P. Ying, 28, Super-Llamaland
RP: Montaro Wakajoshi, 25, Ko-oren
RP: Sung Kim, 23 (Rookie)
C: Brad Moore, 25
2B: Stuart Hernandez, 26, Tikariot
SS: David Drum, 26
3B: Kelly Tallis, 27, Zwangzug
LF: Addison Paterson, 24, Ko-oren
CF: Kendra Annovar, 27, Chromatika
RF: Luka Chevalier, Quintessence of Dust
DH: Mike Larsen, 25

Expectations
Heading into the season, the Dolphins hadn’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs in four years. However, they always had to share a division with the powerhouse Dragons, which they were now rid of – and the team was massively improved from the Dolphins of the past. On paper, this was the best team in the SNL. They had an elite pitching staff around Hunter, the South Newlandian ace, and Glichrest; an elite bullpen around Beaufils and Y. P. Ying, and, by common opinion, by far the best line-up; if not in the LPB, definitely in the SNL. With coach Goodman expected to improve on his rocky rookie coaching season, the Dolphins were the SNL Central favourites.
Recap: Overview
The Dolphins were the best team in the LPB by a decent chunk. It wasn’t always easy; they struggled out of the gate for a 10-10 start, and suffered a six-game losing streak just before the All-Star break. Despite this, they headed to the All-Star break 49-31, the second-best record in the SNL at the time, and they just kept riding the wave after that, becoming the first SNL team to win more than 100 games in a single season. One notable game, even though it was a loss, was a 13-14 defeat at home to the division rival Sox; where the Dolphins scored the most runs of any team in a loss all season.
Recap: Pitchers
The Dolphins had the best pitching staff on the season. They collectively gave up just 589 runs, the lowest rate in the LPB, and only 3.68 runs per game. Hunter had a phenomenal 2.26 ERA, Gonzalo stood at 2.88 even though he struck out more batters, while Gilchrest, their other new top-tier pitcher, limited batters to a 2.61 ERA as well. The bullpen, even though not as overwhelming as the starting rotation, had Benoît Beaufils, who had an ERA of 2.31 and led the league in saves, along with Y. P. Ying, who struck out 11 batters per 9 and was a nearly unmovable object himself. Wakajoshi, who basically had to carry the bullpen in the past, took a slight step back, but still had better-than-league average numbers.
Recap: Fielders
Moore continued his dominance as one of the best catchers in the league defensively, while he remained below average with the bat in his hand. The infield had two phenomenal defenders in Hernandez and Drum, who certainly each helped the pitching staff plenty – nearly all pitchers had better ERAs compared to their FIP – while Kelly Tallis continued to be a force with the bat along with good defensive play. She slashed .267/.413/.749, extremely good numbers for third base. The outfield really shined as well. Addison Paterson was solid, while Kendra Annovar was borderline unfair. Since coming into the LPB, she has made a name for herself as not only a great defender, but a fantastic hitter as well. She managed to hit .317/.447/.849, also leading the league in walks. Luka Chevalier managed to out-do that, slashing .282/.543/.889, along with hitting 36 home runs, second in the SNL. Mike Larsen moved to the DH spot, which didn’t slow him down either. He still hit for a .283 average. This lineup of Annovar, Tallis, Larsen, and Chevalier was a key factor for Annovar leading the league in runs, Chevalier leading the league in RBI, and the Dolphind leading the league with 820 scored runs. The Dolphins, scoring 231 runs more than they allowed, had the best run differential in the LPB along with outscoring their opponents by nearly 1.5 runs on a game-to-game basis.
Awards
It should come as no surprise that there was no shortage of awards for the Dolphins. They had five all-stars, tied for most in the league, including Hunter as a starter, Beaufils and Y. P. Ying in the pen, and Annovar and Larsen in the field. Chevalier, who had only 15 home runs and a worse average to his name at the break, was snubbed from the list, while Tallis fell victim to the rule that all teams needed to have at least one all-star. Nevertheless, the Dolphins were one of just two SNL teams to have an all-star in the field, in the starters, and the bullpen. At the end of the season, Annovar came away with the SNL batting title and a golden glove, while narrowly missing out on the silver slugger. That award was instead won by Larsen and Chevalier. Gilchrest and Hunter also each finished in the top ten of Evan Masorka voting.
The future
The Dolphins have a bright future ahead between the SNL one-seed in the short-term, and a young phenomenal core in the future. Even though they will not have their first round-pick, they have barely any weaknesses to address. The Dolphins could become the first real SNL dynasty with the core they have right now.

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Last seasons:

Season 2: 35-37, 2nd in SW; missed playoffs
Season 3: 44-28, 1st in SW; lost in divisional round (1-3 Flames)
Season 4: 39-33, 2nd in SW; lost in SNBL final series (0-5 Dragons)
Season 5: 30-42, 3rd in SW, missed playoffs

Roster:

Coach: Ember Marshall, 46, Kohnhead
SP: Rudolph Vocar-Dijo, 26, Zwangzug
SP: Fletcher Crouch, 25, Kohnhead
SP: Juzo Sakaguchi, Quintessence of Dust
SP: Noah Harris, 27, Hannasea
SP: Griffin Gonzalez, 22, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
RP: Tom DiVincenzo, 27, Hannasea
RP: Gostaf Sjabard, 26
RP: Jordan Frazier, 23, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
RP: Patrik Bryant, 25
C: Videtake Aoyama, 24, Ko-oren
1B: Tom Abbott, 20, Sanford
2B: Carolyn Sexton, 23
SS: Jack Theriault, Quintessence of Dust
3B: Placido Taboada, 30, Ko-oren
LF: Jason Mathis, 30, Hannasea
CF: Lucca Hahn, 28, Kohnhead
RF: Will Rentería, 28, Super-Llamaland
DH: Bob Flowers, 27

Expectations
Heading into the season, the Sox had spent the four most recent seasons mostly being mediocre. They had one strong season, which ended when they were flushed out in the first round of the playoffs, and a wildcard run where they got swept in the SNBL final series. After a terrible performance in the previous season, the Blue Sox hired a new coach in Ember Marshall. The experts were very much divided on the Sox – some believed that they would have no chance whatsoever in this more difficult environment, but others saw a massively improved Blue Sox squad that could give the Dolphins a run for their money, especially with a top rotation.
Recap: Overview
It was a tale of two halves for the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox. They were just 38-42 at the All-Star break, and the injury-riddled team hadn’t shown much. They were 50-61, a full ten games out of the second wildcard spot, with less than 50 games to play. And then, they started marching. They went 34-9 over the next stretch including three independent streaks of seven or more wins after another. This was enough to pull them level with the Dachshunds, who had gone a respectable 24-19 over the same time, but they Sox, against all odds, still caught up with them. With three difficult series (@Vipers, @Dragons, vDolphins) to close out, the Sox couldn’t lose momentum. They ended up splitting each series, just good enough to remain level with the Dachshunds.
Recap: Pitchers
Going into the season, people expected the Sox to win by good pitching. That didn’t happen. The Blue Sox gave up 706 runs, incredibly, which definitely is more than any (other) playoff team. The why is questionable; they had four good pitchers and a fourth-overall pick on their roster, along with a good defensive infield. The main reason was that they just kept getting hurt. All in all, of the 160 scheduled starts, 68, nearly half, had the planned starter missing. Griffin Gonzalez had nearly the entire season wiped out with shoulder problems, and Noah Harris missed 12 starts near the middle of the season. The other three were also all missing at least 5 starts to various reasons. When they were pitching, they were all good – the four main starters each finishing with an ERA below 3.50. Still, they were expected to be better, and just weren’t. They were all seemingly hit by the injury bug at the wrong times. The bullpen was decent, Tom DiVicenzo had an ERA under 3 and all those good things, but it was ultimately uneventful.
Recap: Fielders
The fielders produced 782 total runs, good for 6th in the LPB. This was spear-headed by the terrific outfield; Jason Mathis had a terrific season, slashing .275/.462/.783, while Lucca Hahn continued his path with another awesome season as well. Will Rentería, the ex-Kingfisher, rounded out the outfield. From the rest of the team, Jack Theriault at shortstop was the biggest contributor. Slashing .277/.480/.807, he was the best hitter on the squad. The rest of the squad was good as well, but the three outfielders and Theriault were the main producers of the good record.
Awards
Due to the bad first half of the team, Jack Theriault was the only All-Star on the team. By the end of the season, all four of the main pitchers were in the top 15 of Evan Masorka voting. The Sox were the only team with such a quartet. Additionally, Mathis won a silver slugger, while Theriault was stuck being at the same position as MVP Moyamoto. Ember Marshall, by being a major part of the turnaround, secured Manager of the Year.
The future
The Sox will have an extremely difficult playoff path. They will have to win in Ruditown to even make them, as they had a 2-6 record against them on the season, before travelling to the wildcard game in Masmow. Even then, they would have to play against their division-rival Dolphins in the SNLDS.
Long term, however, these Sox have a bright future. The last 50 games on the season showed that this team can rival the Dolphins, and the core is still not old; none of them are above 30.

Newport Owls

Last seasons:

Season 2: 34-38, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 3: 39-33, 2nd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 39-33, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dragons)
Season 5: 42-30, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Dragons)

Roster:

Coach: Rick Shepherd, 34
SP: Miles Savey, 29, Chromatika
SP: Tina Calibri, 23, Super-Llamaland
SP: Isabella Hart, 21, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
RP: Brayden Colhusion, 28
RP: Paige Bell, 26, Newmanistan
RP: Ian Capan, 26
RP: Matt Townsend, 30, Nova Anglicana
C: Wilson Moore, 22
1B: Chelsea Harlow, 27, Newmanistan
2B: Harry Brentwood, 23, Eshialand
2B: Mia Cole, 20, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
SS: Jeremy Moss, 23
CF: Brooke Sauter, 30, Newmanistan
RF: Gary Promises, 21
DH: Wota Radinka, 26

Expectations
Heading into the season, the Owls looked fairly promising. Even though they never won their division or a playoff series, they had three consecutive winning seasons in the extremely strong Northeast. They also brought in a bunch of stars from Newmanistan, but the pitching still seemed very much suspect outside of Miles Savey. The Central was seen as a pretty strong division, and most experts had the Owls around .500.
Recap: Overview
That’s pretty much exactly what the Owls ended up doing. They had 38 wins at the All-Star break, and despite a 12-1 stretch a bit later that brought them back into the wildcard race, they ultimately finished below .500 with a 79-81 record. Ultimately, the team simply lacked the game-to-game consistency to make a dent in the playoff race.
Recap: Pitchers
The team finished with 721 runs given up, which ranks 9th-worst among LPB teams. As expected, the pitching staff was shaky outside of Savey, who finished with an 2.78 ERA. However, the shining star was Paige Bell, who finished the season with an ERA of 2.05. She took the closing job from Colhusion early. He also kept an ERA under 3.50, just like Ian Capan. The bullpen was a key reason why the team won 79 games; based on run differential, they would be expected to win just 73 games.
Recap: Fielders
The batters produced 664 runs throughout the season, which ranks 10th-worst among LPB teams. The two key contributors, by any means, were Chelsea Harlow and Brooke Sauter, who each played brilliant seasons, while the rest of the lineup struggled. Brentwood slashed .231/349/.649, which is decent; Promises had a poor season by his standards with just 16 homers on the season.
Awards
Paige Bell made the all-star team along with Brooke Sauter. By season’s end, Bell won the Reliever of the Year award, while the rest of the team went empty-handed, partially because both Harlow and Sauter play positions full of talent.
The future
For the Owls, this is a fork in the road. They can choose the build around Savey, Sauter and Harlow, and try to get on the same level as the Sox and Dolphins; however, managing to do this seems unlikely. Both of the blue teams are just miles ahead right now; and the Owls may also choose to attempt a rebuild around players like Isabella Hart and Promises, along with players like Cole and Brentwood.

Sophie City Monarchs

Last seasons:
Season 2: 30-42, 4th in SE, missed playoffs
Season 3: 28-44, 4th in SE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 36-36, 3rd in SE, missed playoffs
Season 5: 40-32, 1st in SE, won SNBL Final Series (5-3 Dragons)

Roster:

Coach: Michelle Knox, 53
SP: Maike Bookmer, 24
SP: Bethany Riddle, 21 (Rookie)
RP: Abby Conrad, 23
RP: Sally Rivera, 22
RP: Jasmine Daniels, 20
RP: Patrick Kenyon, 33, Super-Llamaland
C: Alice Wheeler, 22
1B: Sophia Smiths, 28
2B: Malika Bains, 24
SS: Alicia Broughton, 20
LF: Tina Ross, 22
CF: Fiona Niemi, 22, Super-Llamaland
RF: Sophie Lawrence, 31
DH: Phoebe Roth, 22

Expectations
The Monarchs had just won a championship after multiple seasons of mediocrity, however, this was seen as a fluke by most experts. They did little to sustain momentum, only getting Niemi in and nothing else. Most experts had them below .500 and without a real chance to repeat or even make the playoffs in a competitive Central division. The team has a young core, so they can take a championship and continue to build anyway.
Recap: Overview
It went poorly for the Monarchs. They were looking bad at the break with a 38-42 record, but hey, the Sox recovered from there, right? The Monarchs didn’t. They fell, and fell, and ended up with a 69-91 record. Not nice. This placed them last in the division. Lowlight was an 0-10 stretch that they never even came close to recovering from. The Monarchs were without a chance this season.
Recap: Pitchers
The pitchers actually weren’t too bad. They held teams to 686 runs in total, which is 12th in the LPB – above average – thanks to good seasons from Maike Bookmer and rookie Bethany Riddle, along with good contributions from the young bullpen. However, they were also the team that, according to advanced statistics, got fairly lucky on that front.
Recap: Fielders
At the plate, the Monarchs got just 595 runs together – Third-worst in the LPB and beaten by just one team in the SNL. The only players that were not atrocious were Smiths and Niemi. There isn’t much more to say – it was bad.
Awards
Maike Bookmer and Abby Conrad managed to make the all-star team, and Malika Bains won a gold glove; but Bookmer and Conrad each were better in the first half, while the SNL has notoriously few good second baseman, at least compared to some of the other positions.
The future
The Monarchs will continue rebuilding. They were smart enough not to fall for their championship trying to deceive them into thinking they were an elite team. They have plenty of young players, and will eventually be back to the playoffs – just not very soon.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:57 am

South Newlandian League

Result Recap – Part 6

SNL South

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Walstreim Stingrays      160   93  67   776  652 +124    0.581
 2 Sun City Flames          160   75  85   618  712  −94    0.469
 3 Malidridad Mariners      160   67  93   632  730  −98    0.419
 4 St. Riecarn Saints       160   66  94   580  773 −193    0.412

Walstreim Stingrays

Last seasons:

Season 2: 44-28, 1st in SE; lost in Conference round (2-4 Rhinos)
Season 3: 44-28; 1st in SE; lost in Conference round (3-4 Flames)
Season 4: 41-31, 1st in SE; lost in divisional round (1-3 Saints)
Season 5: 37-35, 2nd in SE, lost in divisional round (1-3 Mariners)

Roster:

Coach: Diego Lowe, 41
SP: Kyle McNash, 31, TJUN-ia
SP: Nolan Jefferson, 30, Hapilopper
SP: Larry Cain, 30
SP: Felix Correa, 22, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
SP: Crissey Battey, 22, Sanford
RP: Hine Salle, 28, Chromatika
RP: Ralph Ewing, 23
RP: Marcus Cobb, 20
C: Grady Elliott, 26, Hapilopper
1B: Mattieu Gammond, 29, Chromatika
2B: Matoko Kagawa, 29, TJUN-ia
SS: Emma Loizzo, 27, Super-Llamaland
3B: Aiden Beasley, 25, Hapilopper
LF: Chan Ford, 32, Drawkland
CF: Erin Guthrie, 23, Super-Llamaland
RF: Alejandro Rivera, 21, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
DH: Dave Holmes, 21

Expectations
Heading into the season, the Stingrays had made the playoffs in each of their previous four seasons, and they were widely regarded as the best team in the Southern conference. Nevertheless, they had failed to make the SNBL finals in each of their attempts; they barely fell at the final hurdle twice before embarrassing themselves in the first round the two seasons prior. However, in the newly realigned Southern division, they were away from the best teams, and the clear favourites to win the South by popular opinion. They had two phenomenal new free agent pitchers; TJUN-ian McNash and the famous gas station aficionado Nolan Jefferson from Hapilopper. Hine Salle is all you could ever need for a brilliant bullpen, and the field looked great as well, with one of the best infields in baseball.
Recap: Overview
The Stingrays took care of business, won 93 games and were 18 wins ahead of their competition at the end of it, which was the most of South Newlandian division winners. It wasn’t always that close, however. They were in sole possession of the SNL South lead since a win on matchday 51, but were just six games ahead at the All-Star break. Nevertheless, they stayed strong, and a powerful 12-game winning streak (which, to be fair, included zero games against playoff teams) made their division title a foregone conclusion.
Recap: Pitchers
652 runs given up were good for 7th in the LPB, which was pretty accurate. They didn’t have the best pitching staff, but Kyle McNash and Nolan Jefferson each kept their ERA under 3 while they got a reasonable, although injury-shortened season from Larry Cain, along with two decent performances from their younger weapons in Correa and Battey. The bullpen, led by Hine Salle, blew fewer saves than any other and allowed the Stingrays to win many close games. Salle, of course, was brilliant, as expected.
Recap: Fielders
The Stingrays combined for 776 runs, which, although one run short of what Chan Ford would’ve liked, was good for 7th in the LPB, which Ford must’ve liked better. Grady Elliott was among the key contributors to this. Despite few flashy plays across the season, the catcher from Hapilopper managed to build together the best catching season at the plate; even when he was bested according to DRS behind it. Mattieu Gammond had a strong season at the plate along with committing just a single error through the entire season; and even that miss was arguably on Larry Cain. Matoko Kagawa and Aiden Beasley also had strong numbers to their names. With Emma Loizzo with a solid defensive season as well, the Rays also had one of the lowest BABIP in the league against them. Chan Ford was also there.
Awards
The Stingrays had five All-Stars, tied for most in the SNL. Hine Salle was an obvious pick, and the Rays had four fielders, more than any other SNL teams: Gammond, Kagawa and Ford in the first team and Grady Elliott in the second team. In addition to that, while Salle missed out on the Reliever of the Year award, Elliott and Kagawa each won a silver slugger while Gammond predictably won the golden glove. McNash also was in the top-10 of Evan Masorka voting.
The future
The Rays are going to have home advantage in a difficult SNLDS against the Elephant Valley Homers, a team they went had some entertaining games against. They were 3-5 against them on the season, but that includes a late-season series where the Rays already had the division under wraps that ended in a sweep against them. Long term, the Stingrays are looking at contending for a title the next few years. All of their key contributors not from Hapilopper are 28 or older, and even though Felix Correa had a promising rookie season, the championship window for the Rays will close eventually.

Sun City Flames

Last seasons:

Season 2: 36-36, 2nd in SW, lost in divisional round (1-3 Rhinos)
Season 3: 36-36, 2nd in SW, lost in SNBL Final Series (3-5 United)
Season 4: 32-40, 3rd in SW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 29-43, 4th in SW, missed playoffs

Roster:

Coach: Al Krauss, 57, Drawkland
SP: Faraba Conateh, 28, Banija
SP: Zachariah Dean, 23 (Rookie)
SP: Rickie McBride, 20 (Rookie)
SP: Talvin Mankira, 28, Sylestone
RP: Ayo Abe, 22, Ko-oren
RP: Grady Reuters, 28, Drawkland
RP: Dennis Miles, 31
C: Laure Valle, 28, Chromatika
C: Yash Ubuni, 35, Sylestone
1B: Tiffany Grey, 20 (Rookie)
1B: Alvin Jiminez, 25, Super-Llamaland
2B: Micael Ogas, 28, Ko-oren
SS: Mesuli Calata, 25, Banija
3B: Manoel Candia, 26, Ko-oren
LF: Seanna-Seven Joudlven, 35, Sevendia
CF: Ella Carlson, 22, Super-Llamaland (Rookie)
RF: Nelson Avila, 23
DH: Wesley Reid, 24

Expectations
After a relatively good start as an expansion franchise, the Flames slowly seemed to burn out. After a surprise run to the Finals three years ago, they failed two make the playoffs twice, and finished with the worst record in the SNBL last season. So, why didn’t this team get completely burned? Well, they key reason is that they actually have a few surprisingly good players. Also, they played in the SNL South, which is pretty bad.
Recap: Overview
The Flames were actually looking pretty competent early in the season. They were 44-36 at the All-Star break, which was good for sole possession of the wildcard at the time, as well as being very much alive in the SNL South race. They soon spiralled out of control, and finished 75-85; but from the start, there had been indicators that the Flames were worse than you’d think. Even at the All-Star break, they had a negative run differential, and by the end of the season, they ended up 94 runs in debt. After briefly gathering a bit of momentum and making fans hope, they suffered a 7-game losing stretch that included getting swept by the Kingfishers and Mariners. However, we would like to take you to one specific game. It is matchday Matchday 129, and the 62-66 Flames are still technically alive in the wildcard hunt. They went 3-7 over the last 10, but today, they visit the 50-78 Saints, who are probably the worst team in the SNL. They take a big lead early, it’s 8-3 when Mesuli Calata takes a 2-1 pitch deep to add two runs in the top of the 8th. The Saints eventually end the inning, and the next two half-innings remain scoreless. With a 10-3 lead, the Flames send out Dennis Miles, who prompty allows 2 hits and two walks without getting anyone out. Grady Reuters comes out to safe the 10-5 lead with two on. Instead, he walks a batter and gets a flyout before allowing consecutive singles. The game is now 10-8 with runners on the corners. Ayo Abe comes out to close the game, with the chance to actually record a save. What he did instead was allow Luxolo Mbeki to take him deep on a full count.
Recap: Pitchers
Other than that game, the Flames’ bullpen was usually really solid. The Flames would be expected to have 69 wins to their name based on run differential, and the pen had a big effect on why they actually had 6 more. 712 runs given up weren’t too many, either; good for 14th in the SNL, although only Faraba Conateh was actually good. The Banijan ace finished with an ERA of 2.23, while both rookie pitchers largely underwhelmed.
Recap: Fielders
At the plate, the Flames produced 618 runs. That was the 6th-worst figure in the LPB, which is surprising given their lineup: The face of the franchise, Laure Valle, had another elite season for the Flames on both sides of the ball, including leading the league at thrown-out would-be base-stealers, while Tiffany Grey lived up to her hype as a rookie. The right side of the infield, Candia and Calata, were each playing well, and so was rookie Ella Carlson in center field. What may have been problematic for the Flames were the constant disruptions by Joudlven, who repeatedly complained about 7-related issues, and the Sylestonians asking them for the nearest cricket team. Still, the lacking production at the plate was the key problem for the Flames, who could’ve contended for the wildcard spots with better production.
Awards
The Flames were the only team to have an all-star in the starters, the bullpen, and the field; Conateh, Abe, and Valle respectively. Nevertheless, they all regressed a bit in the second half, and while Conateh, who started the All-Star game, still finished top-5 in Evan Masorka voting, and Valle won a golden glove, there wasn’t much to celebrate.
The future
The Flames hold three first-round picks in the upcoming draft, but with the Flames, you never know what’s next. Maybe they go for a rebuild, maybe they ship out all those three first-rounders for some reliever no one’s ever heard of. Who knows.

Malidridad Mariners

Last seasons:

(as Southwestern Baselanders)
Season 2: 30-42, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
Season 3: 14-58, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
(as Malidridad Mariners)
Season 4: 30-42, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 32-40, 1st in SW, lost in conference round (1-4 Monarchs)

Roster:

Coach: Luis Pinalla, 44
SP: Kristen Osborn, 25
SP: Michael Michaelson, 24
SP: Jason Fletcher, 27, Super-Llamaland
RP: Dhruv Webber, 21
RP: Frank Chavez, 21
RP: Anastasia Zhu, 22, Super-Llamaland, Rookie
RP: Henrietta Chang, 19 (Rookie)
C: Luigi Kelley, 22
1B: Kurt Sweet, 22
SS: Jack Goodson, 21
3B: Hugo Brock, 22
LF: Jake Guthrie, 22
CF: Emily Crater, 23, Ethane

Expectations
The Mariners are clearly rebuilding. No member of the team is over 27; the Mariners are working on the future. They certainly understood that their unlikely run to the Conference Round last year was a fluke that isn’t repeatable, and they planned accordingly. They have prospects all over, and will be looking to add more before truly becoming a contender in roughly 3-7 seasons. The seasons up to then will be filled with testing and experimentation to see what works.
Recap: Overview
Predictably, it didn’t go too well for the M’s. They lost 93 games, the second-most in the SNL, and were hopelessly out of any sort of contention by the all-star break, and a late-season slide including a 4-23 stretch, ensured the Mariners got absolutely nowhere. As mentioned, they weren’t really trying to reach the playoffs yet.
Recap: Pitchers
The Mariners gave up 730 runs, which is the 17th-best mark in the LPB. They have a couple of decent pitchers on the roster – second-year player Kristen Osborn is developing along Michael Michaelson. The bullpen, featuring Dhruv Webber and Frank Chavez among lower-level prospects, has overall been pitching solidly. However, besides Webber, there’s not really a national team-level prospect in there.
Recap: Fielders
The lineup produced 632 runs, good for 18th in the LPB. There are far more promising pieces on that side of the ball, even though they largely failed to produce this season. Former first-overall pick Jack Goodson is developing nicely, and Hugo Brock had a decent season, but outside of that, there wasn’t much to write home about except for their newest free agent, Emily Crater, who proved to be extremely good on both sides of the ball, and remains pretty much the only good news for the M’s this season.
Awards
While Hugo Brock made the All-Star team (as every team had to have one), the Mariners failed to win a single award at seasons’ end, the only team to do so.
The future
The rebuild continues. At some point, the Mariners will have a dangerously good team, surely, but now is not that time.

St. Riecarn Saints

Last seasons:

Season 2: 35-37, 3rd in SE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Stingrays)
Season 3: 37-35, 2nd in SE, lost in divisional round (2-3 Stingrays)
Season 4: 38-34, 3rd in SE, lost in conference round (3-4 Sox)
Season 5: 33-39, 3rd in SE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Monarchs)

Roster:

Coach: Mo Darrell, 35
SP: Ienaga Vineno, 27, Ko-oren
SP: Tovi Niva, 25, Ko-oren
SP: Robert O’Conner, 24
RP: Ethan Ress, 22
RP: Stef Svojarnsson, 23
RP: Richie Higgins, 22
RP: Raphael Boyer, 21 (Rookie)
C: Elias Nilssen, 27, Super-Llamaland
1B: Luxolo Mbeki, 26, Banija
2B: Caitlin Rosario, 29, Super-Llamaland
SS: Anthony Hancock, 23
SS: Josh Malouf, 28, Brookstation
3B: Mitch Sneider, 25
LF: Pamela Sullivan, 20 (Rookie)
CF: Neil Persson, 24, Super-Llamaland
RF: Terry Soto, 21

Expectations
The Saints were the only expansion team in the South Newlandian Baseball League to make the playoffs every team. They never won their division and made it out of the first round only once, but still, they and their almost .500 record across their first four seasons were still a regular playoff fixture. It was clear to everyone that the Saints would have a tougher time in the realigned conference, with limited playoff spots, but many still expected the Saints to be decent, to maybe even have an outside chance at making the playoffs; especially with players like Vineno and Niva alongside young players like Sullivan and Soto, not to mention the stars of the show, Mbeki and Rosario.
Recap: Overview
It did not go well for the Saints. They finished with the fewest wins in the SNL, with the fewest runs scored, and the most runs given up in the SNL. They started poorly, were wired in a 7-33 stretch around the All-Star break, were the worst SNL team at that time, and then didn’t improve in the second half. The only thing they really had to cheer about was the biggest comeback win in a game at home against the Flames, as previously mentioned there.
Recap: Pitchers
773 runs surrendered was not only the lowest point for SNL teams, but also the 4th-worst figure in the LPB.
Recap: Fielders
580 scored runs were an LPB-worst figure. The only good player on the team was Luxolo Mbeki, who probably wants out ASAP, as the entire rest of the team failed to produce anything of note. It was a lost season for the Saints.
Awards
Mbeki was the lone Saints’ all-star. He also won a silver slugger for his season; he was pretty much the only thing keeping the Saints above water.
The future
The future is uncertain for the Saints. They will have to consider a full rebuild in the offseason, but whatever they do, it will not involve Mo Darrell. The Saints decided to resign the only coach the expansion franchise ever had until this point; the seat is yet to be filled.

SNL Wildcard hunt:
(showing all teams either currently in a wildcard spot, or no more than 5 games behind. Excludes division-leading teams unless that lead is tied)

Playoffs:

Game 161: Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (87-73) @ Ruditown Dachshunds (87-73)

SNL Wildcard Game: [Game 161 winner] @ Masmow Dragons (88-72)

SNLDS: [Wildcard winner] - Newport Dolphins (104-56) Best of 5
Elephant Valley Homers (90-70) – Walstreim Stingrays (93-67) Best of 5

SNLCS: [SNLDS Winners] Best of 7

Multiverse Series: [SNLCS Champion] – [SLLDS Champion]

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:58 am

PANIC INDEX: THE PENULTIMATE EDITION
Jake McQuimberton, LSN Sports

We’re now 140 games into the historic first season of Llamaphant Pro Baseball, and while the Newlandian half of the league is going down to the wire, the Llamanean half is…well, all but decided. A shockingly strong Apple Valley will win the North, the defending champion Wizards will take the Central (barring a massive collapse), and the Nikcoro Suns will gut it out in the south. The two wild-card spots, as we all expected before the season started, will head to Cyclone Park and Vargas City, and the other half of the league ranges from “mathematically still contenders” to “forty games out”.

As usual, the Panic Index is an attempt to gauge the long-term prospects of each team. We start at 12, representing the team in the best shape to win a championship within the next few years, and count down to 1, representing the Peninsulara Kingfishers. Rankings depend not only on each team’s record and playoff hopes (although that’s still the most pertinent factor), but where they are in the competing/rebuilding process, and the projected future development of their players.

12. APPLE VALLEY VIPERS (95-45, -35 GB, LPB NORTH, prev: 12)

Who saw this coming, huh? Certainly not any of us. The Vipers have continued to blow the socks off the collective rest of the LPB North, consistently turning in .700 baseball since the start of the season. The starting pitching may be outperforming their peripherals, but is still turning in a phenomenal performance, and a series of breakouts from the position players have made the Vipers dominant on both sides of the ball. With the Wizards six games behind and with a much tougher upcoming schedule, it’s all but certain that the Vipers will be the #1 overall seed in the playoffs. The only question is whether this success can continue into the postseason for Dinesh Mohn, Emily Innis, Emery Wu, and the rest of these stars.

KEY PLAYERS: Innis may not really be a 2.35 ERA sort of talent, but she’s anchored the Vipers rotation from start to finish, making her all-star start well-deserved. Evangeline Lu’s injury would be catastrophic for a shallow Vipers bullpen, but she’s been a shutdown reliever over her sixty-one innings already pitched (including eighty Ks). Emery Wu, the third of three all-star game starters, has slashed .312/.375/.499 and is on pace to join the 30-30 club, and is the odds-on favorite to win the Silver Slugger.

ONES TO WATCH: Third starter Carter Wilkinson has pitched like an ace since recovering from an early injury and ensuing slow start - this year’s #4 draft pick has struck out more than a batter per inning while getting his walks under control and his ERA sub-3. Fellow first-round pick Charlie McCray has proven a steal with the twenty-ninth pick of the redraft, becoming one of three starters with an on-base percentage north of .370 (the others being Wu and Chromatika’s Rose Dawson, who has quietly put up a fantastic season in her LPB debut).

STRAGGLERS: Bullpen depth is a relative weak point, with the likes of Jake Schuster and Felicity Bang struggling all season to get out of Evangeline Lu’s monstrous shadow. And while Derrick Armstrong’s defense remains good as ever, he’s starting to catch the injury bug, and his .209 average is the worst of his career.

11. NEW LLAMA WIZARDS (89-51, -6 GB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 11)

The defending champions haven’t hit the heights of last year’s President’s Cup, but Nikki Wang and co. are still very much in cruise control despite the strength of their division. While the Lions have been starting to gain on them after a slow start, the Wizards remain firmly in control of the division and have a roster experienced with postseason glory. This side of the LPB Playoffs will be wide open, but the Wizards have as good of a shot as anybody - and while their roster is starting to feel the effects of age, smart young offseason pickups should be able to secure their long-term success.

KEY PLAYERS: Ace Kelsie Carmichael has come and absolutely lived up to the hype, finding another level recently with consecutive 7 IP/0 ER, 8 IP/2 ER, and 7.2 IP/1 ER starts (and a combined thirty-one strikeouts in said appearances). She’s not the most likely to win the Evan Masorka given Ayonara’s general existence, but would be a deserving winner in any other year. Summer Huang has continued to show why she’s the best Llamanean player in the world right now, continuing to churn out .300/.400/.500 seasons like clockwork (she’s actually hitting .329 this year). Chromatik slugger George Ducat isn’t one of the nation’s biggest stars, but the WBC52 champion started in the all-star game, is on pace for forty home runs, and is the odds-on favorite for the Gold Glove.

ONES TO WATCH: Ranorian first baseman Vincent Veltrone, acquired from Newport for NT reliever Y.P. Ying, has been a revelation in his age twenty season, struggling with injuries early in the season but slugging home runs at a 35-a-year rate since then. And Bedin Egozhevy, in his first season from Delaclava, has been quietly excellent, with a sub-3 FIP and a dominant strikeout record. But those are the only core players under 25, which has to give Nikki Wang some pause.

STRAGGLERS: Cedric Wei has been in free fall over the past few seasons since his dropping from the national team, and he’s struggled to maintain effectiveness even in the LPB this season. His command remains excellent, but his stuff has become eminently hittable, and he gives up home runs at one of the worst rates in the league. Vandenberg, Scherer, and Mikkelson were billed as a shutdown top of the bullpen, but Scherer is the only one of the three to live up to expectations, which could be a weakness in the postseason.

10. NEW LLAMA CYCLONES (77-63, 12 GB, 0 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 8)

Expectations were relatively low for the LPB’s most successful historical franchise coming off of a rebuild, but the young core appears to be ahead of schedule and cruising towards the playoffs. Anchored by the best young middle infield in the league, with Lonnie Hayter and René Corbin both surpassing expectations, an experienced bullpen and outfield studded with international stars, and a rotation rapidly coming into their own, the Cyclones look as dangerous as they’ve been in a few seasons despite the younger setup. While these playoffs may be a season too early for them, the future is bright at Cyclones Park.

KEY PLAYERS: He may be a dumbass who was suspended by the team after trying to climb through the clubhouse vents and getting stuck there, but Lonnie Hayter is undeniably the Cyclones’ second baseman of the future. He hit .288, stole the most bases of any infielder in the league, and dazzled with his flashy fielding. The team’s other all-star, veteran Newmanistani outfielder Jenna Schuster, was just as good, leading the team in on-base percentage (.377), stolen bases (41), and home runs robbed at the wall (5, somehow).

ONES TO WATCH: René Corbin was a bit of a polarizing prospect entering the draft, allowing the Cyclones to trade up to take him tenth at a relatively cheap rate, but he’s silenced the doubters this season. While his approach to hitting remains a work in progress, he’s managed to hit for decent power and get on base frequently, and his defense has been elite. Also key have been the team’s second and third starters, 22-year-old Jerome Delapier and Leif Best, who have combined for thirty wins and three hundred strikeouts so far. There’s not much youth on the team, with most of the rebuilt Cyclones in their prime - but there’s a definite core to work around.

STRAGGLERS: April Bendtner hasn’t been terrible, but her season has been plagued by injuries as well as the occasional stinker - you’d expect more than 87 innings given how much they’re paying her. While Delapier and Best have propped up the aging ace, and there’s reason to believe she’ll turn it on in the playoffs again given her track record, the Cyclones should be looking for top-end starting pitching to replace their ace in the offseason. But this team is surprisingly deep, and there have been very few weaknesses displayed this season - if their ace is back, they should be ready to at least put up a good fight.

9. XINGCHENG RENAISSANCE (71-69, 6 GB, 6 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 10)

They’ve never really been convincing this season despite being neck and neck with last season’s runners-up in the division, but Xingcheng will be more than happy with this season’s progress. While their earlier lead in the division was more a function of Nikcoro’s sluggish start than anything Jacinta MacRaun’s team did, being en route to a playoff spot at the halfway point is always an accomplishment. They’ve kept up a roughly .500 pace since then, but a resurgent Suns have doomed them to be the odd team out this season. Still, their flourishing young core is far ahead of schedule, and ownership will have to be pleased with their first over-.500 season in a few years.

KEY PLAYERS: The Renaissance largely took the division lead off the strength of their pitching, with a staff anchored by TJUN-ian ace Chris Harris, who turned in a borderline all-star showing, Drawkian veteran Syd Masterson, and a shutdown bullpen. Sherpa closer Urkyen Bharadhwaj showed he doesn’t need PEDs to be dominant and Eliza Guo was as solid as ever, but the real surprise was Ko-oren’s Martiño Siquieros turning into an absolute flamethrower and earning an all-star spot as a middle reliever - his volume likely wasn’t enough to surpass Evangeline Lu in the Reliever of the Year sweepstakes, but an ERA under 1.50 has to be recognized. The offense got off to a slower start, but all-star starter Nicolas Perez proved himself worthy of the #1 redraft pick, slugging thirty-six home runs and anchoring the team’s lineup.

ONES TO WATCH: Schuyler Duffy has been a revelation for the Renaissance, showing genuine five-tool ability after the Renaissance traded down to take them at eighth (manager MacRaun reportedly had them first on her big board). It’s hard for a rookie to have an on-base clip north of .360, hit 23 home runs, steal 20 bases, and play elite defense at center field without winning Rookie of the Year, so…expect some silverware in Duffy’s trophy cabinet soon. Chromatik outfielder Dane Gilbert, two years younger than Duffy, also showed tremendous potential with his bat. And Solveig Jørgensen, again just twenty-one despite being a WBC starter, was somewhat inconsistent but also threw a 13-strikeout no-hitter - expect her to be the team’s ace soon.

STRAGGLERS: The hope in Xingcheng was that second-round picks Billy Kemp and Annie Wladecki could join the likes of Duffy, Perez, and Ethanian catcher Benjamin Wilden in the young core, but neither has impressed so far. Wladecki, given a rare start at first base when Perez came down with food poisoning, seemed to forget that she could step on first base to retire wily shortstop Miles Villeneuve when the latter hit a chopper down the first-base line with two outs and ran backward to evade a tag. The ensuing wild-goose chase resulted in two runs scoring, Villeneuve on third base, three injuries, and a small fire started in the outfield.

8. NIKCORO SUNS (77-63, -6 GB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 7)

Despite an early challenge from the surprising Renaissance, it’s been business as usual for Michael Shelby’s young Suns. Nikcoro continue to hold serve in the LPB South, not really widening the gap between them and Xingcheng but refusing to let the Renaissance narrow it either, and are poised to cruise to a playoff berth. The magic of last season’s run to the President’s Cup finals isn’t quite there, and the core may be starting to age, but things are still comfortable for now. That being said, their sub-.500 start to the season (they were still under that watermark at the halfway point) should raise at least minor concerns, especially if the slow starts continue next season with an aged core.

KEY PLAYERS: The corner outfield spots brought a lot of joy to Suns fans this season - Tyson Long and Liam Desjardins, former partners in crime in the Tigers outfield, both got off to slow starts but had scorching second halves. Long in particular hit just nine home runs in the first half, owing to off-the-field concerns and a nagging shoulder injury, but a power surge has seen him triple that count in the last sixty games. Meanwhile, Desjardins has been the consensus pick for the Gold Glove at right-field since Game One, but a recent series of cannon throws home to beat the runner and leaping catches at the wall have cemented this spot, and his bat has woken up a bit as well. The infield pairing of Ian Hart and the timeless Momoko Komura, the team’s lone all-star, have impressed as well with their on-base and defensive capabilities, while Edward Zhuang remains a dominant top-of-the-rotation starter.

ONES TO WATCH: Ahmed Mendez wasn’t exactly a top prospect in the redraft but has eaten up innings reasonably well (although his peripherals indicate he may just be incredibly lucky). The team’s only other U-25 player, catcher Isidro Short, is slashing .187/.231/.300.

STRAGGLERS: The pitching has been relatively weak after Zhuang - Mendez has done well, but Danielle Nørregaard is beginning to decline, and the bullpen outside of Morgan Hedegaard has been atrocious - the team is well below .500 in games decided in the final three innings. It’s hard to call Tricia Moreno a disappointment given that she’s actually been doing alright with the bat, but she’s never had a reputation as a good framer or manager of pitchers, and it’s worth wondering how much of the pitching underperformance can be pinned on the team’s veteran catcher.

7. VARGAS CITY LIONS (83-57, 6 GB, +6 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 9)

Having the third-best record in the league might not sound so bad, but with the amount of offseason spending that Abraham Kakay was afforded, it’s championship or bust in Vargas City, and an underwhelming second half has fans starting to sweat. The fact of the matter is that a team with no less than seven WBC starters in the starting lineup, and a rotation frontlined by Megan Reardon, Isaac Colón, and fucking Clara Ayonara, should not be twelve games behind the Vipers. And while all this star power has gelled more of lately, and should prove more dangerous than ever in the playoffs, it’s undeniable that you’d expect the Lions to look a lot more, well, unstoppable juggernaut-y. The team is surprisingly young given the wealth of international experience they have, and there’s more than enough time for chemistry to develop. But it will take time, and unfortunately for the Lions’ hopes this season, that’s not something they can buy.

KEY PLAYERS: Where to start? Clara Ayonara has a sub-two ERA, over ten strikeouts per nine innings pitched, a 16-2 record, and almost certainly the Evan Masorka award. Nicole Larkin, despite playing through injuries, has thirty-one stolen bases and seems to be magnetically attracted to the ball as an outfielder. And the team sent five other players to the all-star game, including lockdown reliever Kris Headley, slugging third baseman Edith Ponce (the Chromatik looks on track to break forty home runs, ranking her amongst the league leaders), arguably the best hitter in the league in the first half, Noah Slater, and defensive dynamos Lucas Robinson and Trevor Mikkelson-Yao in the outfield.

ONES TO WATCH: Marius Mcneesh, the seventh all-star on the team, is incredibly just twenty-one years old - but hit far better than his age would suggest before a second-half slump, and should finish the season with twenty-five home runs. Ponce is just twenty-one, Rachel Estrada is probably the best defensive shortstop this side of the border (and is also twenty-three), Robinson and Mikkelson-Yao are twenty-four, Sayonara somehow twenty…this could be a bona fide murderer’s row very soon.

STRAGGLERS: The pitching outside of Ayonara and Headley has been shockingly pedestrian - NT ace Isaac Colón was saddled with a lengthy suspension for knocking out poor Jeb Ostertag when the latter charged the mound after being hit with a triple-digit fastball. Megan Reardon has been solid but slightly underwhelming, while Anna Guo has been atrocious when not injured, and the bullpen after Headley has blown a jaw-dropping number of games.

6. DENISON DYNAMO (60-80, 35 GB, 17 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 5)

It was never going to be Denison’s season, especially not after Apple Valley turned into unstoppable juggernauts - but there’s reason to believe in their future. Tod Pittman turned out to be a surprisingly patient power hitter, Kathryn Riggins was quietly one of the best relievers in the world, and the pitching staff was Not Terrible! There are absolutely pieces to work with here - now it’s just up to Elisa Kristiansen to put them all together, especially if the team drafts smartly over the offseason. On the field, they’re still pretty terrible, and have pretty much been playing .400 ball for the entire season - but Denison may be competitive sooner than imagined.

KEY PLAYERS: José Almas probably would’ve been an all-star if he’d pitched on any other team - his snub was a surprising show of traditionalism from the coaches, who may have been turned off by his losing record and lack of flash. Kathryn Riggins, despite the Dynamo handicap, was an all-star, and on the rare occasions when the Dynamo managed to take the lead in a game of baseball by scoring more runs than the other team, she was there to ensure it stayed that way. The offense was pretty poor across the board, but the aforementioned Pittman was a rare bright spot.

ONES TO WATCH: Megan Herrera showed good defense and a patient, consistent approach to the plate, both rarities amongst twenty-one-year-old rookie shortstops. She may not have much of a ceiling, but she can be here for a while. Rebecca Saunders had a slow start at first base, but has steadily grown into a solid starter at the LPB level. But the young core remains relatively sparse - this is definitely the start of a multi-year rebuild, not the conclusion.

STRAGGLERS: Giancarlo Ghiggia has been the Next Great Catching Prospect! for about five years now, and it may be time to admit that it’s not going to happen - his defense remains flashy but not particularly effective, and his bat has its moments but simply not enough of them. Jonathan Roe is also behind schedule - the ninth overall pick was good in limited time, but struggled with injuries.

5. KYRINSON COSMOS (54-86, 35 GB, 23 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 6)

The young core that the Cosmos assembled during the offseason got off to a slow start - but although it’s too late to salvage the season, they seem likely to turn it around if the rebuild continues to go well. They did get off to a strong start relative to expectations, buoyed by uncharacteristically good performances from the likes of Ian Zhuang, and entered the all-star break a surprisingly respectable 34-46 (just five games behind the Cyclones). But the second half has seen them enter absolute free fall, and they’ve played at a 53-win pace since the all-star break. There’s still lots of young talent to work with - but hopefully, next season looks more like the first half, and not whatever this is.

KEY PLAYERS: Chromatika’s Vette Beux, one of two all-stars on the team, had an excellent season, and veteran starter Davis Johnson was one of few bright spots in an otherwise patchy rotation. The infield pairing of the solid Zarah Yu, who started hot before tailing off after the all-star break (like basically everyone else), and the everyman Teijo Watanabe, who was one of few players to improve in the second half, was good as well. The real surprise, however, was young Ian Zhuang, who hit a scorching .421 in the first month of the season and was named in controversial fashion to the all-star team. He hasn’t achieved anywhere close to that since, but a .283/.345/.466 slash and good defense at the hot corner is something that can be built on.

ONES TO WATCH: The Cosmos had the third overall picks in both the amateur draft and the redraft, and it’s become clear that those picks were not wasted. Starting pitcher Madison Verdugo struck out 130 batters in 142 innings of work and managed to get her control issues fixed in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Tikariot’s Kieran Fletcher was quietly one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, and showed more pop than expected with twenty-six home runs - but again, eighteen of those came in the first half.

STRAGGLERS: The Cosmos in the second half hit almost thirty points lower than their first-half counterparts, and it’s hard to pin that on a specific player - basically everyone was worse across the board in the summer and fall months. Fletcher and Zhuang both tailed off, turning a really promising start into a so-so season. Christian Hanks, after an excellent start to the season, tailed off and ran into injury troubles as well. And with reports of dissent in the clubhouse, Bobby Mohs - adored by fans in the first half - could be feeling his seat heat up as well.

4. EMERALD CITY GREENS (60-80, 35 GB, 17 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 4)

Ernest Telyatin has done a much better job of assembling talent than the record indicates - but they’re not out of the woods yet, especially not with a resurgent Vipers for the foreseeable future. But the team was expected to at least give the Vipers a fight for the top spot, even if nobody was expecting them to actually make the playoffs this season, so it’s hard to call being thirty-five games behind as anything but a failure. The team’s offense has just been proven too feckless to really compete in the new LPB, and while their surprisingly deep rotation has held firm all season, it hasn’t had much in the way of highlights to make up for the Greens’ anemia. An offensive retooling will be critical if they want to even sniff the Vipers next year - and at this point in the season, next year is the only thing they can play for.

KEY PLAYERS: Miranda Gray has quietly put in another excellent season - but with how far out of the national spotlight she is - even a .300/30/100 season with Gold Glove defense wasn’t enough to get her an all-star nod - the Greens can only hope she doesn’t try to get herself traded somewhere higher-profile. The real strength of the team has been in its starting pitching, though. Kohnhead’s Ralphie Bloggs has proven himself a bona fide ace, even if there are better ones in the LPB, and hitters have had no answer for knuckleballer Eddie Headley all season long. Backed up by the surprisingly-solid Reid and Suarez, and with stud reliever Lauren Allen waiting in the wings and a stable of excellent defenders, it’s no surprise that the Greens did such a good job at run prevention.

ONES TO WATCH: It might’ve been a season too early for Delaclav shortstop Valery Robiquet, but there’s a lot of potential in the twenty-one-year-old international, who impressed with his speed and defense, although his hit tool remains a work in progress at this level. Slugging first baseman Jason Lamb, the sixth pick in the draft, impressed as well, and at twenty-two has plenty of room to grow.

STRAGGLERS: Emerald City had high hopes for Jeb Ostertag, and the front office internally viewed him as the steal of the draft. But the most noteworthy thing the young outfielder did was get knocked out by Isaac Colón after a misguided attempt to charge the mound.

3. SOUTH FALLS ATHLETICS (57-83, 38 GB, 20 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 3)

Below .500 for the first time in a decade, Ruby Falls is starting to feel the pressure - and without significant offseason improvement, GM Chris Elliott and Manager Fu Webb may be on the hot seat. They’ve shown flashes all season - most notably randomly going 15-5 immediately after the all-star break, leading fans to believe they’d turned the corner before nosediving again - but just haven’t been able to put what pieces they have together. It’s hard to know where to start on a team with so many holes - but Elliott’s hopes of a quick, “in and out” style rebuild are surely gone by now, and the future of the Athletics is as uncertain as it’s been in a while.

KEY PLAYERS: Savanna Wladecki was the team’s lone all-star, but even on a team that wasn’t contractually obliged to send someone she would’ve likely made the trip to Cyclones Park. The former Rookie of the Year may be an Evan Masorka dark horse next season after a strong all-around performance. Joseph Edward Jr. played well as the closer, while Hapilopper’s Bill Parent was easily the team’s best position player.

ONES TO WATCH: Sylvi Vermark raised some red flags despite being considered a blue-chip prospect for much of the college season, allowing the Athletics to swoop in and grab her with the #13 pick. But she showed a lot of promise, especially in contact hitting and defense, and should be a part of this team for years to come. Wayne Dawson, already on his second LPB team at age twenty, was surprisingly good as the team’s third starter, and may be moving up in the rotation very soon.

STRAGGLERS: One never would’ve expected Simon Chu, already a national team pitcher by the age of sixteen, to be a worse pitcher seven years later for no obvious reason. But the youngster has clearly stagnated and fallen into old habits this season, walking over five batters per nine innings pitched and seeming to lose his touch for inducing soft contact, and it’s harder than ever to imagine him becoming a star. His stuff still plays nicely as a reliever, but the Athletics won’t be satisfied with a long reliever after all they’ve invested in the former phenom.

2. SOUTH BRYANT CHARIOTS (47-93, 30 GB, 30 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 2)

The midseason firing of Erick Iglesías has led to a bit of a dead cat bounce, but the 47-93 Chariots are still playing much worse than expected. Iglesías was fired after an abysmal 27-63 start to the season, and while they haven’t played well since his departure, they’re at least not on track to be one of the very worst Llamanean teams of all time. That - and the bad luck that went into a start where they won just thirteen of their first fifty games - are some of the only good things we can say about them. At least they have the #2 pick next year?

KEY PLAYERS: Ethane’s Daniel Peterson was probably only an all-star because someone had to be, but the reliever had a quietly excellent season and will attract plenty of interest from within the league next season. Haakon Kalberg also pitched well after a brief adjustment period - but the Quodite did demand a trade before Iglesías was fired, and could be on the move as well. In the field, the lone bright spot was up the middle, where Koari Yutani and Miles Villeneuve both displayed defense, impressive speed, and on-base ability at the top of the order.

ONES TO WATCH: The pair of twenty-two-year-olds in the starting rotation, top-15 picks Adam Freeman and Jarred Li, both turned in respectable debuts. There are issues to be worked on - Freeman’s lack of control, and Li’s desperate need of a third reliable pitch - but both have the potential still to develop into aces.

STRAGGLERS: Victoria Irving was fine, but the Chariots were expecting stardom from the Drawkian right-fielder, and it’s hard to say that that’s what they got, as the outfielder blew hot and cold all season. Third baseman Alec Christopher was a prized prospect mocked in the top five just a year ago - but his underwhelming rookie season is just the latest event in his steep decline.

1. PENINSULARA KINGFISHERS (41-99, 36 GB, 36 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 1)

Well, at least they’ve got the number one pick, right - they what?

It’s impossible to see the Emil Hurley trade as anything but a complete miscalculation by Kingfishers management. Giving up a first-round pick to upgrade from Will Rentería to Hurley in the outfield is fine if you’re a middle-of-the-pack team looking for the final piece to compete, but inexcusable when you should be rebuilding and have one of the worst rosters in the entire LPB. The Kingfishers thought they were the former but immediately proved themselves to be the latter, at no point seriously threatening to even get to .500. The future is bleak, despite excellent seasons from Hurley and Alana Gonzalez. The team is bad now, has little young talent, and help is, after that trade, no longer on the way.

KEY PLAYERS: Hurley and Gonzalez are both likely to win Silver Sluggers in addition to their all-star nods. They’re likely to combine for north of sixty-five home runs, and are arguably the only two good players on the current roster. Both of them would like to be traded as soon as possible, although given the contract situations Gonzalez’s departure looks more likely.

ONES TO WATCH: First-round pick Harry Bond has shown promise in center-field, especially defensively. His bat has taken some time to develop, but there’s every reason to believe he has a future with this team, or preferably any other one. Redraft picks Oliver Landry and Terry Myers have been Fine.

STRAGGLERS: The two internationals (Chicote and Cicerón) have been passable, but…basically everybody else.

LPB LLAMANEAN: FINAL STANDINGS

LPB NORTH
--- APPLE VALLEY VIPERS: 105-55 (+172 RD)
--- EMERALD CITY GREENS: 72-88 (-47 RD)
--- DENISON DYNAMO: 66-94 (-154 RD)
--- SOUTH FALLS ATHLETICS: 64-96 (-100 RD)

LPB SOUTH
--- NIKCORO SUNS: 90-70 (+148 RD)
--- XINGCHENG RENAISSANCE: 78-82 (-33 RD)
--- SOUTH BRYANT CHARIOTS: 58-102 (-179 RD)
--- PENINSULARA KINGFISHERS: 49-111 (-263 RD)

LPB CENTRAL
--- NEW LLAMA WIZARDS: 102-58 (+154 RD)
--- VARGAS CITY LIONS: 95-65 (+176 RD)
--- NEW LLAMA CYCLONES: 89-71 (+43 RD)
--- KYRINSON COSMOS: 62-98 (-161 RD)

bolded teams advance to the playoffs as division winners; italicized teams advance to the playoffs as Wild Cards.

LPB LLAMANEAN: AWARD WINNERS

SILVER SLUGGERS

C: Joe GREGORY (Wizards, TJU)

1B: Alana GONZALEZ (Kingfishers, SLL)

2B: Emery WU (Vipers, SLL)

3B: Edith PONCE (Lions, CMT)

SS: Summer HUANG (Wizards, SLL)

LF: Tyson LONG (Suns, SLL)

CF: Jenna SCHUSTER (Cyclones, NEW)

RF: Emil HURLEY (Kingfishers, SNL)

DH: Noah SLATER (Lions, SLL)

GOLD GLOVES

C: Derrick ARMSTRONG (Vipers, SLL)

1B: Nicolas PEREZ (Renaissance, SNL)

2B: Lonnie HAYTER (Cyclones, HAP)

3B: Miranda GRAY (Greens, SLL)

SS: Rachel ESTRADA (Lions, SLL)

LF: George DUCAT (Wizards, CMT)

CF: Lucas ROBINSON (Lions, ETN)

RF: Liam DESJARDINS (Suns, SLL)

P: Cedric WEI (Wizards, SLL)

MVP: Summer HUANG (Wizards, SLL)
Huang hit .336 with twenty-nine home runs, thirty-six stolen bases, and near-flawless defense, leading her Wizards to a 100-win season and the division title just a year after their President's Cup trophy. The star shortstop continues to be one of the most polished and talented shortstops that the league has ever seen, and although she already has three MVPs, we wouldn't be surprised to see a fourth in the near future - baseball is a Summer sport, after all.
Evan Masorka Award: Clara AYONARA (Lions, CMT)
A sub-two ERA, eighteen wins to just two losses, and well over two hundred strikeouts as the linchpin of the Lions' rotation? Yeah, it's safe to say that this wasn't much of a contest. And the voters agreed: the first Evan Masorka award winner in the LPB era was a unanimous one.
Rookie of the Year: Schuyler DUFFY (Renaissance, SLL)
A trailblazer on and off the field (as the first non-binary Renaissance player); Duffy hit twenty-three home runs, stole twenty bases, reached base consistently, and adapted to a new outfield position on the fly. The future is bright in Xingcheng.
Manager of the Year: Dinesh MOHN (Vipers, PHR)
It's almost easy to forget that the world-beater Vipers weren't particularly favored at the start of the season. But while some pundits didn't even have them leaving the weak LPB North, former Sherpa Empire NT coach Dinesh Mohn led his team to a dominant 105-win season. Mohn's man-management and development capabilities have earned serious plaudits; he could have a legendary career with this Vipers team.
Reliever of the Year: Evangeline LU (Vipers, SLL)
ninety-two strikeouts is a decent return for a starter, so to reach it as a reliever is patently ridiculous. Combined with a sparkling 1.26 ERA, it's safe to say that Evangeline Lu had one of the most dominant seasons from a reliever in recent memory. While the Vipers' bullpen depth was tested at times, Lu was an absolute anchor who shut down every game she entered.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:59 am

After a tough season of 160 games, two teams would have to face off in one more game. Their 160-game schedule left the Ruditown Dachshunds and the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox with identical records of 87-73. This would neccesesitate a tiebreaking game 161 to decide which of those two teams would reach the Llamaphant Pro Baseball Postseason as the second wildcard team, and which team would have to watch the playoffs from their coach.

The two teams had a very different way to reach this spot. While the Dachshunds got off to a hot start, the Blue Sox only got back above .500 with 133 games already in the books. Even when the Dachshunds took their surprising slide around game 60 where they double-digit games in a row, they were still ahead of the Blue Sox in the standings. The Dachshunds were 42-38 at the All-Star break, two games behind the Flames for the second wildcard, but it seemed predictable that the Flames would flame out eventually. The Blue Sox, meanwhile, were 38-42, tied for last in the SNL Central, and seemed well out of a possible playoff spot. With 30 left to play, the Dachshunds had risen 73-57 and the first wildcard spot, while the Blue Sox were just 64-66. That’s better than when they were 50-61, but making the playoffs still seemed just about impossible. They then went on a 23-7 run to finish out the season, one of the best 30-game runs of any team at any point in the season, while the Dachshunds failed to use the chances they had. They had a chance to end it in Elephant Valley, but lost both games they played at Elephant Valley United to close out their season, while the Blue Sox managed to knock off the Newport Dolphins in game 160 to reach this point.

Coming into the season, most had expected the Dachshunds were expected to be a solid team capable of making the playoffs, although some said they lacked star-power. Coached by Lee Bradley, the coach that had turned this team into a playoff contender in the South Newlandian Baseball League, the team was very international – in fact, their starting lineup only featured one South Newlandian and one Super-Llamanean each. Instead, the key stars of the team came from Newmanistan, with ace Brianna Fitch, star reliever Tori Fuller and shortstop Hannah Mitchell leading the team. They featured several other stars, too, including great pitchers in Gene Almac from TJUN-ia, long-time Elephants starting pitcher Blake Robbins. The Dachshunds finished their season with the fourth-lowest runs allowed. On the other side of the ball, they featured plenty of talent as well, including WBC players Winter (Ethane), Bennett (Ko-oren), Moires (TJUN-ia), and a group of talented Bollonichians and Nova Anglicans. First-round pick Angela Bengtsson also played a great season, but despite a respectable run total, the Dachshunds often lacked the clutch plays, the killer instinct to end games.

The Blue Sox, meanwhile, were coached by Ember Marshall, in first year with the Sox, after previously having success with the Kohnheadian U21-team. Heading into the season, Marshall had arguably the best pitching group in the league at his disposal, featuring four regular WBC starters in Vocar-Dijo (Zwangzug), Crouch (Kohnhead), Sakaguchi (Quintessence of Dust) and Harris (Hannasea), along with fourth-overall selection Griffin Gonzalez for what was likely the best rotation on paper. Coupled with DiVicenzo from Hannasea, another regular WBC player, and Sjabard, frequent reliever on the Elephants, in the bullpen, the pitching should have been stacked.
Injuries and bad luck threw them back, and the pitching never was what everyone expected it to be. They mostly showed up for that last part, when the Sox went 37-12, but early in the season, not much was to be seen from this rotation. The batting picked up the slack, and it wasn’t like that didn’t feature plenty of stars as well. Elite players include shortstop Theriault (Quintessence of Dust), and the entire outfield – Mathis (Hannasea), Hahn (Kohnhead), and Rentería (Super-Llamaland) for a full group of WBC players at their disposal.

The Dachshunds would play host to the tiebreaker game, thanks to their superior head-to-head record against the Blue Sox. They had won 6 of 8 encounters in the regular season (8-5, 4-6, 1-0, 2-1, 11-3, 4-3, 4-0, 5-8), although none of these games happened in the remarkable last stretch the Blue Sox went on. Starting for the Dachshunds would be Gene Almac, while the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox would start Rudolph Vocar-Dijo on short rest. The two aces were about to deliver a great duel.

However, Almac started to show cracks as early as the top of the first inning, with a brutal RBI double by Mathis to score Hahn putting the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox up early.
The Dachshunds were not able to answer immediately, and instead fell further behind when Theriault went yard in the third inning to put the Blue Sox up 2-0. This was followed by a period of great pitching from both sides. Both pitchers played good games, and going into the sixth, Almac had allowed six hits, two runs, while Vocar-Dijo was pitching shutout ball with only three hits surrendered.
In the top of the sixth, it was Placido Taboada, the Ko-orenite third baseman for the Sox, who managed a clutch RBI single to score Sexton from second, just narrowly dodging the tag from Duplante to put the Blue Sox up three-nothing.
In the bottom half of that frame, the Dachshunds finally got on the board thanks to an RBI-hit off the bat of Mason Bennett. Was this the beginning of a big comeback?
Or was it too little, too late? Heading into the eighth inning, the Dachshunds still down 1-3, they went to the bullpen. Erik McGuire, who had played a good season up to that point, put two runners on with one walk and one hit by Theriault, before facing Lucca Hahn with two on and one out. McGuire threw a fastball that caught a little too much plate, and Hahn hammered it over the fence of Dachshund Stadium, for a three-run homer that put the Blue Sox up 6-1.
The Dachshunds would need a monumental effort now, trailing by five runs, but Vocar-Dijo just about ended those hopes immediately by pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth to complete his massive, clutch start. The Dachshunds kept the Sox off the board in the top of the ninth, and Gostaf Sjabard was tasked with holding the 5-run lead, with Marshall surely already thinking about preserving the arm of closer DiVincenzo for the wildcard game in Masmow.
Sjabard put two men on base, but got out of it, with Rufus Salas popping out to end the game. The Blue Sox had done it; a decisive 6-1 win in the tiebreaking game had put them back into the playoffs, the first LPB playoffs. Meanwhile, for the Dachshunds, there was heartbreak. They had played a strong season in the extremely tough SNL North, won 87 games despite one of the toughest schedules, and would come up short in the end anyways.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:59 am

Playing at the Dragon Island Arena always is especially difficult. It didn’t always show up during the season, with the Masmow Dragons finishing the season 45-35 at their home stadium. The 384-323 run differential might be making things a little clearer, but the fact remains that the Dragons were a force to take down at home. Taking both games of a series from the Dragons-road trip was extraordinarily difficult; it happened only a couple times, and only three South Newlandian teams managed to do it. Two of those happened very late in the season, though – from the last six home games, the Dragons won only one. The Blue Sox, however, had been fairly effective in Masmow, splitting both series for an even 2-2 record on the road. Meanwhile, in the reverse encounter, the Blue Sox were a perfect 4-0 when they were hosting the Dragons.

The Dragons had been playing a decent season, but in the highly difficult SNL North, that was never going to be enough to just cruise into the playoffs. They were making steady progress, until a six-game losing streak dropped them to 62-52, dangerously close to whiffing on the playoffs entirely. They won their next eight in a row to put them back into a great position, but while the Blue Sox ascended, the Dragons pretty much had just put it in park. Hosting the Blue Sox, with both teams locked in at the exact same record, the Dragons failed to deliver a kill shot, splitting the series; they had to earn the first wildcard spot by sweeping the Homers, winning both of their final two games to reach an 88-72 record. This put them just one game ahead of each the Dachshunds and Blue Sox; the latter won their 88th game against the former to reach this do-or-die wildcard game.

While the Dragons had the luxury of starting their ace, Jay Kramer, who had been heating up lately in a pretty bad season for his standards, the Sox had just used Vocar-Dijo a couple of days ago in Ruditown to get them here. For the wildcard game, manager Ember Marshall gave the ball to his fellow Kohnheadian Fletcher Crouch.

Experts predicating the outcome saw the Dragons favoured to reach the SNLDS, which would hold a match against their rival Dolphins. It would be a match on the “old” rivalry for the Dragons, who would play their former SNL Northeast division rivals, while it would be a “new” rivalry game for the Sox, who are now joined with the Fins in the SNL Central division.
They believed this because Masmow had homefield advantage, the reigning home run leader, Super-Llamanean Gabriel Acosta, who was part of an excellent offense that got the Dragons the second-best runs scored in the SNL, trailing only the Dolphins, along with them having a solid infield.
There were advantages for the Sox, too. Crouch was a very good pitcher in his own right, and the Blue Sox were trailing the Dragons in runs scored by just three runs; half what they had just put on the Dachshunds.

The game started with Kramer immediately surrendering a run in the first, a solo-shot by Will Rentería, and another in the second, an RBI-double for Bob Flowers to score Videtake Aoyama. Both of them had been held hitless by the Dachshunds, but they went to work early here.
The Dragons immediately struck back, tying the game with a beautiful home run not by Acosta, who struck out looking an inning earlier, but by Len Pijpenbroek, becoming the second Ko-orenite to score a run in this one.
After both starters showed some cracks early, the game remained tied for a while. It took until the fifth inning, but the Sox managed to get on top once again; this time, it was again Rentería who drove in the game-leading score, represented by Hannasean Jason Mathis, who had been walked earlier in the inning.
Kingsman made an unusual decision after this. With the bullpen having been below average to bad all season, and even worse in the final couple of games, he pulled Kramer for another starter, Julia Donaldson of Newmanistan, to finish the game. Donaldson got out of the two-on none-out jam Kramer put her in thanks to a strikeout, a deep flyout and a groundout.
Crouch, meanwhile, remained solid, and held the lead when he was lifted for the bottom of the eighth. The Sox’ bullpen had been better throughout the season, and it was on Patrik Bryant to hold the lead. He rose to the occasion, pitching a hitless inning after initially dealing a walk to Acosta.
In the top of the ninth, the Sox added an insurance run. Jack Theriault went yard, prompting Donaldson to exit the game despite a good performance.
With a 4-2 lead to hold, the Blue Sox relied on closer Tom DiVicenzo again. DiVencenzo took only 12 pitches to retire the side, and deliver a crucial save for the Sox to reach the SNLDS, continuing their unlikely run. Next, they would be heading to Newport – could they upset the team that won 104 games that season, including 10 against them?

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:02 am

WILD CARD ROUND: NEW LLAMA CYCLONES @ VARGAS CITY LIONS

It is the day before opening day of the inaugural season of Llamaphant Pro Baseball, and in a glass tower somewhere in Vargas City, General Manager Jason Arguiz is presenting a summary of the team’s offseason to Owner and OuranosTech CEO Mark Donovan. The roster that Arguiz and manager Abraham Kakay have constructed is, in the GM’s words, airtight. But Donovan wants to make sure.

“So there are no problems with the roster at all?”

“Well, the game isn’t played on paper, so to speak. But we project this team to win between 102 and 109 games with ninety percent certainty. The playoffs are a crapshoot, but we’re in as good of a position as anyone.”

“How so?”

“We’re great from top to bottom, not just dependent on a few star players. Just look at our lineup. Larkin - fast as the wind, can outhit anyone, grew up idolizing Kayla Carey.”

“Who’s that?”

Lions still leading here in the sixth as Ayonara continues to shut down the young Cyclones. Runner on first, two outs, minimal danger as the Chromatik star faces Lonnie Hayter. Here’s the first pitch, fastball, swung on, turned on, deep into left, that’s gone! Lonnie Hayter slugs the Cyclones into a 2-1 lead!

“...A former Newmanistani star shortstop who played for the Lions. Mikkelson-Yao - national team starter, five-tool talent. Slater - can absolutely rake the ball, we project him for forty home runs. Ponce - Chromatika’s cleanup hitter and a proven champion at just twenty-one.”

“...Mcneesh - Milchama’s star player, another guy who can rake. Robinson - starting center-fielder for Ethane, brilliant defensively, another plus-plus hitter. Estrada - another national teamer, albeit a reserve, a real all-rounder. Long - you’ve seen how good Quintessence of Dust are at the WBC, so they’re the most overqualified eight-hole hitter in the league.”

Pressure situation for young reliever Sukemichi Kamiizumi, who faces runners on second and third with two out. Here’s the payoff pitch to Mcneesh - swing and a miss for strike three! The Cyclones escape and take their lead to the eighth!

“And the pitching?”

“Clara Ayonara is arguably the best pitcher in the world. Isaac Colón is the Tigers’ ace. Megan Reardon is a star for Newmanistan. They’re all proven in pressure situations. And the bullpen is wall-to-wall national team relievers as well.”

Cyclones clinging to a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth, Niko Frandsen in to face the bottom of the order…the pitch to Marquez and that’s sent deep into center field and outta here! A second home run for the Cyclones - Marquez’s first postseason home run - and the lead is doubled!

“What about chemistry? All these stars gelling together right away doesn’t seem likely, no?”

“We’ve got the best coaching staff money can buy. And Abraham Kakay has championships in his blood. Rudimentary psychoanalysis shows that all of these players are willing to defer for the greater good.”

The Lions really battling back from down three, and they’ve narrowed the lead to just one in the bottom of the ninth. Slater the runner on second, Kaspar Wahl looking to get the final out against Edith Ponce. The pitch and the high fastball, lined sharply into center field! Ponce with a single! Slater rounding third and heading home - this will tie it! Jenna Schuster cuts the ball off and throws it home, this is going to be close…

“Injury luck can hit at any time right?”

“Sure, but look at all this depth we have. This lineup is eight deep. There’s nothing to worry about here. If we don’t make the Championship Series at the very least, something will have gone horribly wrong.”

New Llama Cyclones     0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  4
Vargas City Lions      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  3
NLC advances to the SLL DS.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:03 am

South Newlandian Divisional Series (1)
Newport Dolphins – Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

The 104-win Dolphins had any reason to look forward to playing the Blue Sox. For one, Rüsselsheim had just been forced to use two of their top pitchers to even reach this spot, while the Dolphins were able to get fully rested. For another, they would have home advantage for the playoff series. Lastly, they had been good against the Sox on the season. That, admittedly, means only so much when you win 104 games, and were good against everyone, but still – a 10-6 H2H, including 9-3 during the time the Dolphins were not absolutely certain they would win their division with ease. The Blue Sox would be at a disadvantage for the series; then again, they were at a disadvantage at Ruditown and in Masmow as well, and they found a way to pull a rabbit out of their hat every time so far. In fact, the only reason Rüsselsheim was able to reach this series at all was the crucial game 160. Needing to beat Newport at home, they knocked them off 4-3, allowing them to pull even with the Dachshunds for the second wildcard.

Newport, a 104-game winner, had success at pretty much everything in the first LPB season. A run differential of +231 could have seen them winning even more games, but the fact remains that they had the best pitching staff in LPB, spearheaded by South Newlandian national teamers Ryan Hunter and Ben Gonzalo, along Adam Gilchrest, former WBC starter for Ethane, and a young Garry Gordon who is just coming into his own, along with a rock-solid bullpen with the pair of Benoît Beaufils (Quintessence of Dust) and Y.P. Ying (Super-Llamaland) running the place. Hunter, Beaufils and Ying each had been named All-Star for their contributions, and they were joined in the field by Kendra Annovar, the Chromtik WBC champion, playing arguably the best season of any Dolphin, and Mike Larsen, who the Dolphins couldn’t even use in the field. That’s how strong the outfield of Annovar, Addison Paterson (Ko-oren), and Luka Chevalier (Quintessence of Dust) is; while the infield featured stars in Stuart Hernandez (Tikariot), David Drum (South Newlandia) and Kelly Tallis (Zwangzug); along with South Newlandian catcher Brad Moore. Each of the named batters has experience for their respective national teams.

The Sox had stars as well, but objectively, the Dolphins were ahead in every department bar one – the Sox had Coach of the Year Ember Marshall. The Kohnheadian had led them on this amazing comeback, and proved to be able to navigate even the most dire straits. Meanwhile, the Dolphins were working with Vincenco Goodman; just 30 years of age, still unproven.

Game 1 saw the Blue Sox’ starter Juzo Sakaguchi matching the Dolphins’ ace, Ryan Hunter. Both of them held the line-ups to a single run in seven innings, with the crucial blast of Kelly Tallis in the bottom of the seventh tying the RBI-double of Jason Mathis from the top of the fourth. With both teams locked in a stalemate, they proceeded to the bullpen. There, the Dolphins would take the lead on the series. In the bottom of the ninth, with a man on, but two outs, Kendra Annovar came through clutch, sending a fastball of Gostaf Sjabard over the fence of Dolphin Stadium to get a 3-1 win in game one, handing the Dolphins game one of the series.

Game two saw the Dolphins’ Ben Gonzalo match up with the Sox’ Noah Harris. The matchup decisively went to the South Newlandian in this case, with the young pitcher delivering eight innings of shut-down ball, allowing zero runs on four hits and two walks. It was as dominating as a playoff performance gets, and six Dolphin-runs were enough to easily cruise to a 2-0 series lead on the back of a 6-0 win in front of their home fans in Dolphin Stadium.

The Sox, down 0-2, would have to win both games in Rüsselsheim to pull even and force a game 5 in Newport. With each of the best pitchers having just had lengthy outings, they went to the rookie, Griffin Gonzalez. Picked fourth overall in the draft, he proved to be a valuable asset for the Sox; and they had to think about games 4 and 5 as well. He would play against the Dolphins’ Gilchrest. The Ethanian had a couple of bumps in his road here, but was a good pitcher nonetheless, very capable of bringing this one home.

The Dolphins struck first, a two-RBI hit by Brad Moore in the top of the second delivering an early lead; but the Sox narrowed the deficit in the bottom of that inning with a sac fly that sent Placido Taboada home to make it an 1-2 ballgame. In the fifth, it was once again the Dolphins at the buzzer, with a two-run shot off the bat of Luka Chevalier giving them a big three-run lead, but again, the Sox answered with one run in the bottom of the same frame, this time with Lucca Hahn sliding home safely after a walk and stolen base, to speed home on a base hit. The 4-2 score stood until the top of the seventh, when a Kendra Annovar double brought home two more runs to make it a 4-run game, ending the day for Gonzalez. The Sox went into the bottom of the eighth facing Ying, and despite a homer by Will Rentería, went into the bottom of the ninth needing three runs against Dolphins’ closer Benoît Beaufils. Things can never come easy, however, and Beaufils allowed hits to allow runners on the corners with none out, bringing the tying run to the plate. With Carolyn Sexton up, Beaufils managed to force weak contact to third. With the runner on the move, Tallis made the decision to fire to second, and a 5-4-3 double play erased a base runner to make it 4-6 with none on and two outs. A risky play by Tallis, but it worked out nicely for them, as Beaufils forced a pop-fly from Tom Abbott (Sanford) to end the game.

The Dolphins had earned a sweep, moving on to the first SNLCS, where they would either face the winner of the North in the Homers, or winner of the South in the Stingrays.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:03 am

South Newlandian Divisional Series (2)
Walstreim Stingrays – Elephant Valley Homers

The Walstreim Stingrays had changed their appearance for the first season of Llamaphant Pro Baseball. Known as the Lions in the old South Newlandian Baseball League, they embraced the city animal and cut ties with their old links to the football team. Of course, one of the reasons to do that was to be easily differentiable from the Lions that play in Vargas City, but the Stingrays embraced their new identity with a new stadium. Seaside Park, seating 14,000, instantly became one of the most well-known and most attended ballparks in South Newlandia; and was selected for the Esportivan Baseball Trophy over other candidates.

Meanwhile, the product on the field, piloted by Diego Lowe remained similar for the Stingrays. They dominated the SNL South, and went on a 12-game win streak to dominated the SNL South by even more late in the season. Their pitching staff was led by two very exciting players in Kyle McNash, TJUN-ian WBC pitcher; and Nolan Jefferson, who is well known for his time with the Trashers, for good and not so good reasons. Anyhow, they were joined by a solid supporting cast in former South Newlandian international Larry Cain, Llamanean rookie Felix Correa and Crissey Battey of Sanford; alongside a bullpen that featured All-Star and WBC winning Chromatik Hine Salle at closer. Doesn’t need much more than that.

The other side featured a similarly big number of stars. Chromatik international Mattieu Gammond at first, TJUN-ian international Matoko Kagawa at second, Drawkian international Chan Ford in Left Field, and Hapiloppian Grady Elliott catching – and that’s just to name the All-Stars on the team, and leaves bats like third baseman Aiden Beasley, who also has international experience for Hapilopper, or the dynamic Llamanean duo in the outfield, Erin Guthrie and Alejandro Rivera, off the table. It also glances over the fact that the Rays won two Silver Sluggers (Kagawa and Elliott) and a Gold Glove (Gammond), a feat only matched by the Dolphins in the SNL. The Stingrays won 93 games, gaining home field advantage for the SNLDS.

They would have a worthy opponent in the 90-win Elephant Valley Homers. Managed by Tanya Ericsson, a well-known and very experienced Llamanean coach, playing in the storied Elephant Stadium, the biggest stadium in the nation. They came out the victor of the extremely challenging SNL North; the division that won more games than any other in LPB and saw every single team with at least 85 wins. In no other division did the last-placed team even reach seventy wins.

In order to win in this competition, the Homers needed some weapons, and they sure had them. Darien Rodriguez led their pitching staff, with the Drawkian even appearing in the All-Star game; alongside two promising South Newlandians in Jack Beard and Myron Pacheco. The bullpen featured Bert Hoosier, who has collected plenty of WBC experience as well, and the experienced Llamanean Kyle Fang. However, it was the batting lineup where the Homers had the real star power.

Horace Choo, Quebecois international, at catcher; Adam King, South Newlandian WBC first baseman who can go on home run tears without warning; second basewoman Val Thornton who emerged as a top-tier rookie, Alisen Moyamoto at shortstop, WBC winner, All-Star, Golden Glover, Silver Slugger, and have we mentioned MVP? Shawn Zimmerman, South Newlandian WBC Center Fielder, Fabio Ventura, the equivalent in Right Field? The Homers were underestimated, and, truthfully, some of the South Newlandians had rough seasons, but it seems criminal that this line-up only produced the above accolades for Moyamoto and a Silver Slugger for Zimmerman.

Two big forces in the South Newlandian League were about to collide.
In game one, the Stingrays managed to rock Darien Rodriguez early, with a two-run double in the bottom of the first by Mattieu Gammond putting the Rays up. The Homers answered against Kyle McNash, with Val Thornton scoring in the top of the second, but from there, McNash held the line. He delivered eight innings of one-run ball against one of the scariest line-ups in the league. An insurance run of a homer by Erin Guthrie meant that Hine Salle had a two-run lead closing in the top of the ninth – a trivial task for her. The Rays had taken the series lead at home.

Game two saw Nolan Jefferson battle against Jack Beard. The young South Newlandian might have lacked experience against the Hapiloppian star, but experts predicted a close matchup, and they were proven wrong; though not in the way the thought. Jack Beard delivered a complete-game shutout in one of the best playoff performances by a pitcher you will see. The Homers’ bullpen had been shaky all season, but this was made moot by Beard, who tied the series all on his own. The Homers scored five runs, two RBI by King, two by Moyamoto, the other by Thornton. The series was tied, and now heading to Elephant Stadium, Elephant Valley.

In the media, the Homers’ Rodriguez boasted that a return trip to Walstreim would not be necessary. He was sure that the Homers would edge out the Rays at home, and said that he would win game four himself. The Drawkian claimed that the Homers would prove superiority, and that the Rays never got seriously challenged in the SNL South; much different to the Homers. The Homers won 5 of their 8 games over the Rays in the regular season, two of them wins by Rodriguez, and including a crucial sweep late in the season.

In any case, game three saw the Homers’ rookie starter Myron Pacheco taking the mound. Myron would battle Larry Cain; the third starter the Rays would use that was already in his 30s. The Homers took an early lead when King went deep, but the Rays answered with an RBI-hit by Kagawa. The Homers took another lead with a run scored by Moyamoto in the bottom of the same frame, but the Rays answered again, this time thanks to an RBI-double by Guthrie. The game remained tied at 2; at least until the 9th inning. The Rays loaded the bases against Kyle Fang, and rookie Right Fielder Alejandro Rivera hit the grandest of slams to break the game wide open. With a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth, the Rays sent out Hine Salle, making the remainder of the game a foregone conclusion. The Rays led, and had a chance to end it in game four.

Said game four would see Rodriguez pitch his second start of the series on short rest, facing off against the Stingrays’ Felix Correa. They had picked the young Llamanean 12th-overall in the most recent draft. Rodriguez pitched a good game, but the game was lost when he gave up a run in the top of the first, with Chan Ford, his fellow countryman, coming all the way around. Correa, the rookie, facing one of the scariest lineups in baseball, pitched the game of his life. The young starter had been decent in the regular season, but he was throwing gas in this one. Seven scoreless, only three hits, about as dominating as a rookie can pitch. He handed it over to Ralph Ewing, up 2-0, who pitched a clean inning. Two run lead in the bottom of the ninth, Hine Salle, you already know how this ends. The Stingrays edge out the Homers, 3-1, thanks to two clutch Llamanean rookies – the Grand Slam by Rivera, and the pitching performance by Correa. A tough battle with the Newport Dolphins would await them in the SNLCS.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:03 am

SLLDS1: NEW LLAMA CYCLONES @ APPLE VALLEY VIPERS

Kennedy Schumacher had a pretty straightforward approach to judging her own performances. Either she’d fucked it up, or she hadn’t. It’d worked pretty well for her so far, and you had to have that sort of mentality as a reliever instead of nitpicking at yourself for eternity.

She hadn’t fucked it up in game one - that’d been entirely April Bendtner’s problem. By the time she’d come in to pitch the eighth, the team was down 4-1 already. So, sure, she’d given up a run, but it hadn’t really done anything.

She hadn’t pitched in game two as the Vipers jumped out to another five-run lead and held on, taking a 2-0 series lead. It was looking like a pretty easy sweep for Apple Valley, but that was all outside her control. All she could do was come in and not fuck it up.

She’d gotten the last five outs in game three - five up, five down to slam the door on a 3-1 win. That had mostly been on Leif Best turning in the performance of his young career, but she’d done what she could do.

Again, she hadn’t pitched in game four - hadn’t needed to with the team up 5-1 so early. That’s what Wahl, Kamiizumi, and Pacheco were for. So the Cyclones, left for dead against Apple Valley, and so nearly eliminated by Vargas City in the previous round, were, what, one game from the championship series? But again, nothing much to do with her.

Which brought them to game five - a tied game, at one apiece, in the eighth inning. Runners on first and second with two outs when she’d come in - all she needed to do was not fuck up against Rose Dawson, pitch a good ninth, and let the offense score when they needed to.

Her first pitch was sent 436 feet into left field. 4-1, Vipers. At the very least, she’d finally controlled how the game had gone.

New Llama Cyclones     0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Apple Valley Vipers    0 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 X  5

New Llama Cyclones       1 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0  5
Apple Valley Vipers      0 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 X  8

Apple Valley Vipers      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
New Llama Cyclones       1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Apple Valley Vipers      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
New Llama Cyclones       0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 X  5

New Llama Cyclones       0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Apple Valley Vipers      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 X  4

APV advances to the SLL CS, winning the series 3-2.

SLLDS2: NIKCORO SUNS @ NEW LLAMA WIZARDS

There was an air of finality in the dugout. The Michael Shelby of the past would’ve done something to cheer him up. This one just stared out into the distance, vaguely aware of some camera panning in as some announcer asked if this was as far as Shelby could take them.

They’d been so close a year ago. So close! On a shoestring budget, no less, without the star power that everyone else had. Taken for granted in the regular season, then knocking out Vargas City and South Bryant in consecutive series, making a run all the way to the President’s Cup. They’d managed to take a series lead, too, against Nikki Wang’s New Llama Wizards. And then, they’d just…collapsed, losing three games in quick succession to concede the finals 4-2.

But they’d be back! And after a slow start, they were back, and they were in the playoffs, with a chance for revenge. They’d done so much to improve too, trading for Tyson Long to get that bona fide middle-of-the-order bat, swinging a deal to get the ageless Momoko Komura on their team, picking up Ahmed Mendez and Nalivalu Amakusa in the draft. They were better. They had to be better. And yet the Wizards had beaten them into a bloody pulp three games running. Game one, Shelby could concede as a fluke - Edward Zhuang, so steady all season, giving up five runs in the first en route to a 10-2 loss? Game two had at least been close-ish. But game three, this beatdown, the Wizards hanging 11 on them? No, this was a curse. He could almost feel the window slamming shut.

It was almost a mercy when Moreno’s harmless pop fly settled in Jan Scherer’s glove. “Congrats to the Wizards, they fully deserved it,” he’d said in the post-game press conference, because what else was there to say? Maybe it was time to respond to that text from the LBA - maybe he had taken this team as far as they could go, and the severance packages the national team offered weren’t half bad.

Nikcoro Suns           0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2
New Llama Wizards      5 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 X 10

Nikcoro Suns           0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
New Llama Wizards      1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 X  6

New Llama Wizards      1 2 1 0 3 3 0 1 0 11
Nikcoro Suns           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

NLW advances to the SLL CS, winning the series 3-0.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:04 am

South Newlandian Championship Series
Newport Dolphins – Walstreim Stingrays

The Dolphins and the Stingrays were both surpiring teams to make the SNLCS, but at the same time, they were still fairly obvious candidates. This SNLCS would determine the best baseball team in South Newlandia. The predecessor of this, the South Newlandian Final Series, was never reached by either the Dolphins or the (then-Lions) Stingrays in the modern era. In fact, the Dolphins never even managed to win a playoff series in this era; and missed the playoffs multiple times because of the relative strength of their Northern conference. The Stingrays don’t have those excuse – they finished with the best record in the South multiple times, and made the playoffs every time in this era, but they never could pull themselves together for a playoff run. They fell at the final hurdle twice, once in six games and once in a seven, and were upset in the first round a couple of times.

Additionally, with the Dolphins as the champs of the Central division and the Stingrays as the winners of the South, the SNL North, the strongest division in LPB, was entirely out of the SNLCS, despite having had three teams with playoff hopes after game 160 ended.

On the other hand, the Dolphins had been the best team on the South Newlandian side in the regular season, winning 104 games. They were a complete team, with an all-around dominant pitching staff featuring Hunter and Gonzalo, two WBC stars from South Newlandia, a rock-solid bullpen starred by Benoît Beaufils, and a lineup that featured players like Kendra Annovar, Luka Chevalier and Kelly Tallis, stars in their respective corners of the multiverse, along with three players you will also find in the South Newlandian WBC line-up (Moore, Drum, Larsen).

The Stingrays were no scrubs, either, with a similarly strong pitching staff, featuring Kyle McNash, Nolan Jefferson, and more, including rookie Felix Correa, the Llamanean rookie that basically carried them here in game 4 of the SNLDS with an otherworldly performance. Hine Salle is all you need to know from the bullpen, and despite having zero South Newlandians in the field, they could easily match with the Dolphins there, too.

Two of the best teams in the South Newlandian League were about to divide a spot in the Multiversal Series between themselves. Seven games, first to four takes it.

Thanks to their superior record in the regular season, the Newport Dolphins were hosting game one, but you couldn’t see much of that in game one. The Rays’ starter Kyle McNash, TJUN-ian international, played one of his best games of his career, shutting down the Dolphins for eight innings, allowing zero runs, five hits, two walks in a dominating performance. The Stingrays added three runs thanks to a two-run shot by Chromatik star Mattieu Gammond in the 1st and an RBI-hit by Llamanean Erin Guthrie in the eighth. Bottom of the ninth, Stingrays lead by three, Hine Salle, the Stingrays take a one-nothing series lead.

Game two saw the Dolphins take the game back. Against Hapiloppian Nolan Jefferson, who was supposedly photographed in a Newport bar hours before the game, the Dolphins batted around in the second inning, scoring eight runs featuring three deep balls to chase Jefferson and take a 9-2 lead. The game ultimately ended 14-5, and the teams were all level heading into game three in Walstreim.

This game saw Ethanian Adam Gilchrest for Newport, while the Rays started Larry Cain, former South Newlandian WBC pitcher. Cain was shaken early, surrendering four runs in the first three innings, but the Stingrays rallied back at home, with Hapiloppian Aiden Beasley going deep in the bottom of the 6th to tie it. However, it was Kendra Annovar who broke the tie to get the Dolphins back on top, as the Dolphins hit Stuart Hernandez in for the game-leading score, making it 5-4, which stood into the bottom of the ninth. There, Benoît Beaufils proved that he can get a save, too, getting out of a man on second with one out situation to make it 2-1 for the Dolphins.

Game four saw a tight pitchers’ duel between the Dolphins’ Garry Gordon and the young Stingrays rookie Felix Correa. After the game being scoreless for five innings, the game stood 3-2 in favour of the Dolphins after 7 innings. Both teams, now working with the bullpen, managed to shut each other down late, with Benoît Beaufils getting another save to give the Dolphins another win, making it 3-1, with game five in Newport a chance to end it.

Against all odds, the Stingrays, who went back to number-one starter Kyle McNash for this game, rallied, winning a 5-2 ballgame thanks to a great game by McNash and a clutch two home runs by Llamanean Erin Guthrie and Hapiloppian Grady Elliott. In the bottom of the ninth, Hine Salle had a three-run lead, easy enough to make it only 3-2 in favour of the Dolphins.

Back in Walstreim for game six, Nolan Jefferson had a chance to redeem himself. And boy, he did, pitching a complete game, allowing only two runs on seven hits, to give the Rays a lead, while also meaning the second playoff loss for the Dolphins’ ace Ryan Hunter. He had to take a loss in the 6-2 game, and clearly was not pitching as good as he could have, while the Rays’ once again were clutch, easily outdoing the Dolphins with RISP especially. This teed up a do-or-die, winner takes all game seven in Newport.

The pitchers on either side would be the young star Ben Gonzalo for the Dolphins, while the Stingrays would be working with the experienced Larry Cain. Two South Newlandians would be fighting it out, for all the marbles.

The Rays’ went ahead in the bottom of the first, the Dolphins tied it in the bottom of the frame. The Rays’ got another run in the second, the Dolphins were there again. Already, both starters had taken some heavy blows, each surrendering a home run, to the Dolphins’ Luka Chevalier and the Stingrays’ Matoko Kagawa respectively. However, the game stood tied for now; until the fourth inning, when Gammond scored an RBI-hit to take a lead. In the sixth, they extended that lead, making it 4-2 thanks to an RBI-double for Dave Holmes, leading to a hook for Gonzalo.

The Fins’ bullpen got out of the sixth, and through the 7th, but in the eighth, Llamanean Y. P. Ying loaded the bases for Aiden Beasley with two out. The Hapiloppian jumped on the opportunity, crushing a bases-clearing double to make it a nearly insurmountable 7-2 lead. The Dolphins, now against the Stingrays’ Ralph Ewing, loaded the bases for themselves, and Larsen crushed the ball for a devastating grand slam. 7-6, the Stingrays’ lead had shrunken to one run. They brought in Hine Salle, with four outs to the Championship series. She got out of the eighth, and the bottom of the ninth would be next. Hine Salle on the mound, three outs to get, a one run lead – this would be it. Right?

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:05 am

South Newlandian Championship Series (Part 2)
Newport Dolphins – Walstreim Stingrays

“Ladies and gentleman, we are back for the bottom of the ninth inning, here in Newport, in Dolphin Stadium. The Walstreim Stingrays are clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, they are three outs away from the Multiversal Series, where they would play against the winners of the Super-Llamanean League. Hine Salle is back on the mound, the Chromatik WBC-winning closer, an All-Star, arguably the best reliever in the game, is tasked with getting these three outs. The Newport Dolphins will be looking to prevent that, and with the heart of the order due up, Hine Salle has a monumental task ahead of her.

At-bat is Kendra Annovar, another Chromatik All-Star and WBC champion. Annovar, who also won a gold glove this season, will be hoping to reach safely against her Chromatik teammate. On deck is Addison Paterson, Left Fielder for the Dolphins and part of the Ko-orenite Dragonflies. In the hole is Kelly Tallis, the third basewoman who is playing for the Zebras as well.

Hine Salle, against her fellow Chromatik star, Kendra Annovar, to lead of the inning. Annovar doesn’t bite on the first pitch. Nice frame job by Grady Elliott, the Hapiloppian is really coming in this department, but the ump calls it ball one. Next pitch, swing and a miss, no chance for the Annovar on that one. 1-1 count, Annovar lets it go, fastball way up high, 2-1 count. The 2-1, swing, and fouled back. 2-2. Crucial pitch now, Annovar, swings, connects, put in play toward third, Aiden Beasley scoops, throws, he makes the play! The Hapiloppian makes a great putout, getting Annovar out by a step with a perfect bare-handed grab! 1 down, the Stingrays are two outs away from the promised land!

Here’s Addison Paterson, who’ll be the next up to bat. Hine Salle, who has been great so far this series, has a chance to make history for the Rays. Two saves already, including in the crucial elimination game in game five; but manager Diego Lowe might be regretting sending Salle out there with a four-run lead in game six. First pitch to Paterson, laid off, ball one, breaking ball outside. The 1-0, Paterson stares at it, ump gives Hine Salle the call on the high fastball, beautiful pitch and another great frame job by Elliott. The 1-1, Paterson still doesn’t swing, lays off another breaking ball, this time below the zone. 2-1 count, Paterson swings, connects, and lines it down the first-base line for a base hit! Paterson, chugging, she’s going to go for two, and she’s safe! The throw by rookie Alejandro Rivera, just barely missing the out at second. Gammond had tried to make a full extension catch, but it was just out of reach; it would surely have gone down in history had he made that impossible play.

Man on second, one out. Here comes Kelly Tallis. The Zwangzugian has a chance to play the hero, but an out could be devastating. Now on deck is Luka Chevalier, the Dolphins’ Silver Slugger winner in Right, who has also been great with the Quodite national team. Anyway, here is Tallis. First pitch, swing and a miss, Salle gets ahead I the count early this time. The 0-1, swing, fouled off. Salle is looking great, 0-2 count, that’s ideal for any pitcher. The 0-2, that’s a ball, quite a bit below the zone, 1-2 count. Salle attempts a pickoff throw to second, but Paterson is undeterred. The 1-2, ball two. Salle misses the zone up high. The 2-2 pitch, fouled off, Tallis is battling against a nice piece of pitching, good high fastball by Salle. Still 2-2. The pitch, Tallis makes contact, high fly ball into left, Chan Ford is under it, he dropped it! Unbelievable! Chan Ford, Drawkian international, has dropped this routine fly ball, and the Dolphins now have runners on the corners, with only one out, and a chance to tie the game!

Luka Chevalier now in this extremely tough spot. The leverage index has spiked to 8.05, and we’re in game seven of the first SNLCS in history. Win expectancy gives the Dolphins almost even odds to win from here, but that can not account for Hine Salle. Salle, who has thrown 19 pitches so far today, after appearances yesterday and the day before that, will remain on the mound. The first pitch, Chevalier takes it for ball one. Breaking ball low. Keep it going, the 1-0, taken for ball two, breaking ball low and inside. The 2-0, fastball, called strike; and Chevalier knows that was his pitch to hit, a little too much plate on that one. The at-bat continues, 2-1 pitch, ball three, another breaking ball out of the zone, Chevalier doesn’t bite. He’s yet to take a swing. The 3-1 pitch, and Hine Salle was walked Luka Chevalier. Great plate discipline there by the power hitter, and the bases are now loaded! Meanwhile, Hine Salle looks completely gassed; she’s thrown 24 pitches tonight, more than 60 combined across the previous three games, but Diego Lowe hardly has a choice but to leave her out there; he has exhausted all of his good relievers. It’s do or die for Salle, in this monumental effort.

Into the batters’ box steps David Drum, the shortstop who hasn’t had a great season for the Dolphins this year, but has been dependable in the clutch. The South Newlandian WBC player will have a chance to bring the tying run home, or ground into potential disaster. Hine Salle, first pitch, strike one swinging, Drum whiffs way below the zone. Drum has been poor against Salle all season, he’s yet to get on base in 7 attempts including this postseason, and his numbers from years before aren’t prettier. The 0-1, Drum takes, ball one, below the zone again. The 1-1, the pitch, and [David Drum is hit by the pitch! Tie game![/b] A breaking pitch, just barely touched Drum’s elbow, tough luck for Hine Salle there; that brings Addison Paterson home, we have a 7-all game, and the bases are still loaded with one out! That Hit by Pitch may have just killed the Rays’ season.

Next up is Tikariotian second baseman Stuart Hernandez. The WBC player will only need to get the ball in the outfield, as long as the speedy Tallis can tag up from 3rd, the game is won. The infield is in, hoping to turn any ground ball into an easy double play to send this one to extras. Hine Salle, in a monumental effort, she’s thrown 27 pitches already, will try to send this one to extras. First pitch, taken for strike one, nice pitch by Hine Salle, she is not giving up yet. A strikeout would be monumental, with catcher Brad Moore on deck. The 0-1, swing, high fly ball, and the Dolphins will win the ballgame! Caught by Erin Guthrie, Tallis goes, and she’s home! Dolphins win! Dolphins win! The Newport Dolphins are going to the Multiversal Series!"

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:06 am

SLLCS: NEW LLAMA WIZARDS @ APPLE VALLEY VIPERS

It’s honestly pretty dumb how we decide who the champion is every season. Every season, without fail, we play 154 or 160 or 162 games of endless, relentless baseball, from one edge of the calendar to the other. It’s a thankless grind that people barely watch once we enter the dog days, where teams have to be at their best all season long if they want to make the playoffs. And then we throw away all of that, that massive sample size, hundreds of thousands of plate appearances of blood, sweat, tears, victory, heartbreak, so we can play like twelve games to decide who’s the best team in the (checks notes) multiverse. Apple Valley won 105 games, and New Llama City 102 - but it ultimately all came down to a few late-inning acts of heroism.

Most obviously, that of Rose Dawson and Emery Wu in the bottom of the ninth in game one - down 2-0 but with runners on first and second, back-to-back doubles saw the Vipers draw first blood. Sam Vandenberg had been basically unbeatable all playoffs long, but one slip and the Vipers were halfway to the championship series already.

Or that of young Vincent Veltrone in that faithful inning of game two - down 5-1, all but dead in the series, then uncorking a grand slam to start the runaway train of the Wizards offense en route to an easy - if not particularly comfortable - win.

In game three, it was Carter Wilkinson - a year out of college, literally just drafted onto the team - reaching into his back pocket and pulling out seven and two-thirds innings of shutout, shutdown pitching, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out twelve.

Then, Derrick Armstrong - maligned all season, the lone weak spot in the Vipers lineup, not good enough anymore - came out of nowhere to smash a bases-clearing, go-ahead double to break a ninth-inning deadlock. And suddenly, on the strength of a few at-bats, the Vipers were up 3-1 and on the cusp of the Multiverse Series.

And in game five - with Apple Valley clinging onto a one-run lead, with runners on second and third, Evangeline Lu suddenly mortal - it was Summer Huang to smash a fateful line drive into the gap - and rookie Celina Lang to fly in out of nowhere and make a game-saving, diving grab to give Apple Valley the Llamanean championship. Sometimes, even the giant lottery that is the playoffs gives you a winner you never would’ve thought possible over the long grind of the regular season. Other times, they agree.

New Llama Wizards        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2
Apple Valley Vipers      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

New Llama Wizards        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 10
Apple Valley Vipers      0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0  5

Apple Valley Vipers      2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
New Llama Wizards        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Apple Valley Vipers      3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5 11
New Llama Wizards        0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 0  6

New Llama Wizards        0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0  4
Apple Valley Vipers      1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  5

APV advances to the Multiverse Series, winning the series 4-1.

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Feb 07, 2022 6:00 pm

Multiverse Series
Apple Valley Vipers - Newport Dolphins

In a way, the Newport Dolphins and the Apple Valley Vipers were two very unlikely teams to reach the first Llamaphant Pro Baseball Final for having combined
for 209 wins. Newport, although liked by bookmakers heading into the season, had underwhelmed in previous seasons, especially in the playoffs – if they made
it there at all.

Nevertheless, the Dolphins were dominant, with the second-best offense in baseball, best in the SNL, powered by their hometown heroes in Moore or Larsen, but even more so by their foreign talents; Chromatik Kendra Annovar, Quodite Luka Chevalier, Ko-orenite Paterson, Zwangzugian Kelly Tallis, Tikariotian Stuart Hernandez; the lineup oozed star power, and hardly missed a beat, with 820 runs scored, including getting shut out just four times; while reaching double-digit runs 13 times on the season.
Clearly, stopping this high-powered offense was going to be a massive challenge, but what might have been even more difficult would be getting anything going against the Dolphins’ elite pitching. Two South Newlandian WBC stars, Hunter and Gonzalo at the start of the rotation, with Ethanian Gilchrest and Garry Gordon deeper in the rotation, meant that the Dolphins sported the best pitching in baseball, allowing just 589 runs on the season, leading the entire LPB by more than two dozen. 16 games, almost 10 percent, were shutouts, and they only allowed double digit runs totals to their opponents just seven times. Between the offense and defense, they tallied a run differential of +231, best in baseball.
One last key aspect to those Dolphins was their bullpen, led by Quodite Benoît Beaufils and Llamanean Y. P. Ying, a dynamic duo that had each earned All-Star berths that season (along their teammates Hunter, Annovar and Larsen). A 22-25 record in one-run ballgames is deceptive; looking at more advanced stats, this bullpen and especially Beaufils were located in the upper half of the league for sure.
In the playoffs, the Dolphins continued what they’d done in the SNLDS, sweeping their rival Blue Sox with little trouble; however, running into the Walstreim Stingrays in the SNLCS, the Dolphins had to win a furious duel to move on, barely coming away with a walk-off comeback in game seven in front of their own fans. In the end, they had prevailed from the SNL, and they were about to take on the SLL’s top dog in the first international playoff series in LPB history; the Final Series of Llamaphant Pro Baseball, the Multiverse Series.

Their opponent would be the Apple Valley Vipers. Like the Dolphins, they were quite an unlikely team to reach this place when the season started. Ranked 11th in the SNL North, the Vipers were favoured to win their division, but hardly anyone expected that the Vipers were about to win the Super-Llamanean League. They started as the hottest team in baseball, 18-2, and never really hit the rough patch experts kept predicting them to hit. Instead, they won 105 games, the most in baseball in this first LPB season.
The Vipers were star-powered by players like Dawson and Wu on offense, managing 786 runs on the season, good for the 5th in the LPB, but only 4th in the high-offense SLL. Meanwhile, their pitching was far better than anyone could’ve imagined, with Emily Innis proving to be a definite ace, while McAllister and Wilkinson were worthy additions to the rotation. This meant that the Vipers allowed just 614 runs all season, the top mark in the SLL, and second only to the Newport Dolphins across baseball. Additionally, their bullpen helped them over the edge, with Evangeline Lu contributing significantly, despite the Vipers only finishing 21-27 in one-run ballgames.

Head to Head, the Vipers had the edge – the first time these teams met, very early in the season, the Vipers took both games at home (4-3, 8-2), and when they met in Newport in the second half of the season, the Vipers were able to come up with a road win to start the series as well (2-4, 6-4); however, outside the 8-2 blowout (one of just 7 times that season the Dolphins lost by at least half a dozen that season) all the games were really close, with the 4-3 win for the Vipers only coming on a 14th-inning walkoff home run by catcher Derrick Armstrong.

What’s left to look at? Oh, right. They also played more baseball.

Game 1: The Vipers would have home advantage first, thanks to winning 105 games as opposed to the Fins, who finished with just 104 wins. With the aces duelling, Emily Innis for the Vipers and Ryan Hunter for the Dolphins, foreseeing a close, low-scoring game one would have been easy enough. In fact, both starters managed eight innings of shutout baseball. That’s the kind of thrilling, action-heavy baseball you love to see in an LPB Final, as both teams combined for just nine hits in those eight innings. However, in the top of the ninth, the Dolphins broke the game wide open, with Luka Chevalier stepping up with the bases loaded. He managed to hit it right between Charlie McCray and Emery Wu, with the ball going into the outfield, and while the run from third had no trouble putting the Fins ahead, Kendra Annovar managed to make a it a two-run lead by beautifully flying around the tag of Armstrong to score. Benoît Beaufils did what he does in the bottom of that inning, keeping the Vipers scoreless to give the Dolphins the lead on the road. Certainly a tough blow to the Vipers, but one they could still fight back from.

Game 2: With the series still in Hendricks Field, the Vipers were looking to even up the series with Redraft Acquisition Jason McAllister on the bump. However, he would be facing an uphill battle against Ben Gonzalo, almost certainly the best second starter of any team. The South Newlandian star went to work, pitching 8 innings of one-run ball, while the Dolphins were ahead since the first inning following a two run home run by Mike Larsen. With a 3-1 lead, Beaufils had another save opportunity, and despite the Vipers getting two on, the Quodite managed to take game two for the Fins, putting the Dolphins ahead far in the race, with the series about to head to Dolphin Stadium. This was about as much of a comeback the Vipers could be reasonably expected to make; both games had been very close, after all, so there was definite reason for hope.

Game 3: Game Three saw the Vipers roll out the rookie, Carter Wilkinson, who had been making big strides that season, against the Dolphins’ Ethanian Adam Gilchrest. It was yet another close, low-scoring affair, with the first run in the 6th inning putting the Vipers on top, thanks to a nice RBI-double for Rose Dawson, the Chromatik star of the Vipers. However, Wilkinson’s shutout could only remain so long, and in the bottom of the seventh, he gave that run back to Kelly Tallis, who hit a homer just over the fence, just out of reach of Celina Lang. With both teams going to their bullpens now, the game tied at one, one team had to crack eventually. Would this be the beginning of a Vipers’ comeback or the beginning of the end?
The game went to the bottom of the ninth still tied at one. Knowing that surrendering a run would put the Vipers in a 0-3 hole they would not climb out of, the Vipers opted to use Evangeline Lu for the first time that series. It would be the last time.
The hero for the Dolphins was Luka Chevalier, who came up clutch once again, hitting a home run on the very first pitch of the inning to walk off the game for the Dolphins. While the Fins were now leading the series 3-0, for the Vipers, this was probably impossible to come back from.

Game 4: And so, it was. 14-3 Dolphins, with Garry Gordon becoming the answer to the question of who would win the first championship-clinching game of Llamaphant Pro Baseball History. It was a fairly anticlimactic ending.

Llamaphant Pro Baseball (CLOSED) -> Season 4 Posted

Llamaphant Pro Baseball (CLOSED) -> Season 4 Posted

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