Archers Overpower Mud Dogs for Third Title
The St. Louis Archers became the first team in Hardball Stitches history to win three World Series championships and brought their Franchise Temperature up to 153.8*F (67.7*C) in the process. Leading the way on offense was Arodys Esposito and his 0.996 post-season OPS, including a 0.333 batting average. Cy Young winner Derrek Cone also spearheaded the postseason pitching attack with a 2.14 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 46 1/3 innings to earn a 4-1 record.
All-Star Weekend: Hosted by Buffalo
- Chance Bierbrodt won the HR Derby with 32 total dingers, but it was OG Stitches MVP Liam Steinbech who won the prize for tape-measure shot of the night with a 524-foot blast.
- The NL beat the AL 5-4 in this year's midsummer classic thanks to a four-run bottom of the sixth where all of the scoring came on back-to-back home runs by Cincy teammates: game MVP Arquimedes Villanueva and Engel Velazquez.
- The all-time series stands at NL 3, AL 1 (with two games not recorded) and the aggregate score of those four games is AL 25, NL 25.
- Team World took care of Team USA by a score of 7-2 in the Futures Game. MVP honors went to Tacoma's AAA 2B Raimel Rivera who was 4-for-5 with 2 2B, 2 RBI and a run scored.
- This year and last year's 6-4 win by Team World are the only two editions of this matchup that have been recorded, so the all time series stands at World 2, USA 0, Unrecorded 4 and the aggregate total is World 13, USA 6.
American League
Division Titles
- AL North: Fargo (3rd straight)
- AL East: Boston (6th straight)
- AL Central: Montgomery (2nd overall)
- AL West: Los Angeles (3rd straight)
- Syracuse (3rd straight)
- New York Pizza Rats (1st ever playoff appearance)
National League
- NL North: Trenton (6th straight)
- NL East: Cincinnati (2nd straight)
- NL Central: San Antonio (4th straight)
- NL West: Fresno (3rd overall)
- St. Louis (2nd straight)
- Tucson (1st ever WC, 3rd straight playoff appearance)
League Leaders {Overall leaders in bold italics}
Batting
Hits: Bucky Ward 214 in AL, Matthew Corey 214 in NL
Average: Bucky Ward 0.360 in AL, Matthew Corey 0.342 in NL
Home Runs: Mateo Lopez 54 in AL, Ricardo Figueroa 56 in NL
Runs: Mickey Villegas 123 in AL, Vladimir Daniels 143 in NL
Runs Batted In: Mateo Lopez 140 in AL, Matthew Corey 158 in NL
Stolen Bases: JR Pagnozzi 61 in AL, Vladimir Daniels 108 in NL
Longest Hit Streak: Bucky Ward 26 in AL, Shin Shoo Ishi 24 in NL
Pitching
Wins: Vladimir Ordonez 22 in AL, Derrek Cone 24 in NL
Quality Starts: Vladimir Ordonez 26 in AL, Derrek Cone/Allen Maysonet/Louie Vizquel/Magglio Mieses 26 in NL
Saves: Jose Rios 45 in AL, Shelley Rivers 45 in NL
ERA: Vladimir Ordonez 2.31 in AL, Derrek Cone 2.38 in NL
Strikeouts: Vladimir Ordonez 283 in AL, Rolando Candelaria/Darwin Solis 228 in NL
OAV: Vladimir Ordonez 0.199 in AL, Bernard Moran 0.188 in NL
WHIP: Vladimir Ordonez 1.02 in AL, Bernard Moran 0.99 in NL
Fielding
Plus Plays: Clint Good 32 in AL, Santo Sanchez 24 in NL
CS%: Tim Linden 43% in AL, Tyler Stull/Vernon Cunningham 37% in NL
C ERA: Benny Lee 3.54 in AL, Vernon Cunningham 3.36 in NL
Awards
- AL MVP: Homer Knowles (1st career MVP)
- NL MVP: Matthew Corey (3rd career MVP)
- AL Cy Young: Vladimir Ordonez (2nd consecutive Cy Young)
- NL Cy Young: Derrek Cone (2nd consecutive Cy Young)
- AL Rookie of the Year: Victor Matos
- NL Rookie of the Year: Jorge Adrianza
Noteworthy Games
- Dustan Nevin vs Vancouver: 4-for-6, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 R in 20-8 win {84.75 Game Score}
- Chris Gutierrez vs Arizona: 4-for-5, 2 HR, 2B, 7 RBI, 2 R, SB in 12-4 win {83.75 Game Score}
- Wayne Wolf vs Philadelphia: 4-for-5, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, BB, CS in 9-8 win {82.25 Game Score}
- Brett Duda vs Buffalo: 4-for-6, 2 HR, 2B, 7 RBI, 2 R in 17-8 win {82.00 Game Score}
- Benji Richardson vs Philadelphia: 4-for-5, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, in 13-4 win {82.00 Game Score}
- Bart Mitchell vs Boise: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, K in 11-10 win {76.75 Game Score}
- Kendrys Fernandez vs Durham: 3-for-5, HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, K in 15-6 win {76.75 Game Score}
- Juan Carlos Nunez vs San Antonio: 4-for-4, Cycle, RBI, R in 2-0 win {76.75 Game Score}
- Bucky Ward vs Baltimore: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 7 RBI, 2 R, K in 13-4 win {75.00 Game Score}
Minor Leagues
- World Series: Portland def. Cincinnati 4-3 for its 1st AAA championship
- Best Record: Nashville (97-47)
- Worst Record: Arizona (3-141)
- World Series: Charlotte def. Boston 4-2 for its 1st AA championship
- Best Record: Texas (110-34)
- Worst Record: New York Necromancers (10-134)
- World Series: Charlotte def. Boston 4-0 for its 2nd High A championship
- Best Record: Charlotte (133-11)
- Worst Record: St. Louis (12-132)
- World Series: Charlotte def. Texas 4-3 for its 1st Low A championship
- Best Record: Charlotte (111-33)
- Worst Record: St. Louis (12-132)
- World Series: Nashville def. Texas for its 2nd Rookie League championship
- Best Record: Nashville (63-13)
- Worst Record: St. Louis (10-66)