2013 Season: League Leaders & Award Winners

LEAGUE LEADERS FOR 2013 MMDA                                          

 ----BATTING AVERAGE----   --------AT BATS--------   ------RUNS SCORED------  
 B.Posey       HOR  .335   A.Jones       NWS   675   M.Trout       BRK   133   
 T.Hunter      GOL  .322   A.Gordon      NWS   667   M.Cabrera     BRK   112   
 M.Cabrera     LCN  .317   E.Andrus      NWS   666   R.Braun       GOL   111   
 D.Freese      STL  .314   M.Scutaro     DVD   661   A.McCutchen   MVL   110   
 M.Trout       BRK  .313   A.Pagan       SPO   658   M.Bourn       LCN   106   
 J.Altuve      LCN  .313   M.Prado       HOR   650   D.Wright      RAZ   105   
 D.Jeter       BRK  .308   M.Cabrera     BRK   649   A.Jackson     RAZ   104   
 A.Ethier      SPO  .307   J.Rollins     WSB   648   E.Andrus      NWS   104   
 D.Wright      RAZ  .306   R.Braun       GOL   648   C.Headley     MVL    99   
 J.Mauer       HOR  .306   A.McCutchen   MVL   645   J.Reyes       HUS    98   
 R.Braun       GOL  .306   A.Hill        CAL   645   D.Jeter       BRK    98   
 B.Phillips    GOL  .305   A.Beltre      ROC   643   A.Pujols      DVD    97   

 ----------HITS---------   --------DOUBLES--------   --------TRIPLES--------  
 R.Braun       GOL   198   N.Cruz        CLP    56   T.Colvin      LCN    14   
 D.Jeter       BRK   195   R.Cano        HUS    53   M.Bourn       LCN    13   
 A.McCutchen   MVL   191   N.Swisher     CCB    50   A.Jackson     RAZ    13   
 M.Prado       HOR   190   A.Jones       NWS    48   M.Trout       BRK    12   
 D.Wright      RAZ   189   B.Posey       HOR    47   E.Andrus      NWS    12   
 M.Cabrera     BRK   187   C.Headley     MVL    46   A.Rios        HOR    11   
 A.Beltre      ROC   185   D.Pedroia     CCB    45   A.Hill        CAL    11   
 A.Gordon      NWS   183   J.Bruce       ROC    45   J.Reyes       HUS    10   
 R.Cano        HUS   181   M.Prado       HOR    43   M.Prado       HOR    10   
 J.Altuve      LCN   180   C.Gonzalez    RAZ    43   W.Venable     MVL    10   
 A.Jones       NWS   178   A.Gordon      NWS    43   A.Pagan       SPO    10   
 OTHERS TIED WITH    177   OTHERS TIED WITH     42   OTHERS TIED WITH      9   

 --------HOMERUNS-------   -----RUNS BATTED IN----   ---------WALKS---------  
 R.Braun       GOL    47   R.Braun       GOL   140   A.Dunn        SPO   103   
 A.Pujols      DVD    46   M.Cabrera     BRK   134   J.Votto       LCN    96   
 M.Cabrera     BRK    45   A.Dunn        SPO   127   C.Santana     NWS    94   
 A.McCutchen   MVL    45   A.Pujols      DVD   119   D.Uggla       NWS    93   
 A.Dunn        SPO    42   A.McCutchen   MVL   118   E.Encarnacion WSB    86   
 E.Encarnacion WSB    40   A.Jones       NWS   117   C.Pena        SPO    85   
 M.Trout       BRK    38   C.Headley     MVL   111   P.Fielder     WSB    80   
 G.Stanton     FIR    37   D.Wright      RAZ   109   C.Headley     MVL    80   
 J.Reddick     WSB    36   E.Encarnacion WSB   108   M.Bourn       LCN    78   
 C.Granderson  STL    36   H.Pence       EFD   107   J.Mauer       HOR    78   
 J.Bautista    WSB    35   Y.Molina      RAZ   106   E.Andrus      NWS    77   
 A.Beltre      ROC    34   R.Cano        HUS   105   B.Zobrist     WSB    76   

World Series: Northeast 4, Northwest 3

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In the World Series, the No. 1 Northeast Huskies (115-47) had home-field advantage versus the No. 7 Northwest Stars (90-72). 

Game One 
Stars 6, Huskies 5

First baseman Carlos Santana had 2 base hits as the Northwest Stars topped the Northeast Huskies by a score of 6 to 5 at Huskie Park.

Northwest took the lead off Adam Wainwright in the first inning scoring one runner. After two outs Jason Heyward single-handedly provided the offense with a solo home run. Adam Jones was next to bat, but he was a strikeout victim.  Northeast made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across. 

Madison Bumgarner (3-0) allowed 2 runs in 5 innings, and picked up the victory. Rafael Soriano earned the save, his 1st. Wainwright (2-1) was charged with the loss. He pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing 5 hits and 3 walks.

Round Two: Northeast 4, Goldenrod 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 1 Northeast Huskies (115-47) had home-field advantage versus the No. 4 Goldenrod Gators (94-68).

Game One 
Huskies 7, Gators 4

In a good matchup it was the Northeast Huskies 7, the Goldenrod Gators 4 at Huskie Park.

Northeast tallied 3 runs in the 4th inning when they came up with 3 base hits. It was enough scoring to earn the victory. Northeast banged out 9 hits on the night. 

The win went to Adam Wainwright (2-0) who allowed 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Wilton Lopez earned the save, his 1st. Jeff Samardzija (1-1) ended up with the loss. He pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up 9 hits and 4 walks.

Round Two: Northwest 4, Mohawk Valley 3

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 3 Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions (98-64) had home-field advantage versus the No. 7 Northwest Stars (90-72).

Game One
Stars 3, Lions 1

Doug Fister (2-1) and David Price (1-2) treated the Mohawk Valley fans to a fine pitching duel at Van Slyke Field. The Northwest Stars eventually emerged as victors over the Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions by the score of 3 to 1.

Fister looked very much in control throughout the night. He allowed only 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 2/3 innings seeing his ERA drop from 4.70 to 3.52 for the playoffs. Craig Kimbrel earned the save with a perfect ninth, his 4th save.

Round One: Goldenrod 4, St. Louis 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 4 Goldenrod Gators (94-68) had home-field advantage versus the No. 5 St. Louis Maulers (92-70).

Game One
Maulers 3, Gators 2

Zack Greinke racked up an impressive total of 12 strikeouts as the St. Louis Maulers topped the Goldenrod Gators by a score of 3 to 2 at Gator Grounds.

Greinke (1-0) pitched a solid game. He surrendered only 6 hits and no walks in 8 innings. Goldenrod made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across. 

Matt Thornton earned his 1st save. David Phelps (0-1) was the losing pitcher. He pitched 5 innings and surrendered 5 hits and no walks.

'I had my good stuff tonight.' Greinke said. 'As the game went along I started to get the feeling that I was going to strike out a bunch of hitters.'

Roune One: Northeast 4, West Side 1

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 1 Northeast Huskies (115-47) had home-field advantage versus the No. 8 West Side Bluejays (87-75).

Game One
Huskies 6, Bluejays 4

Salvador Perez hit one over the fence and had 3 RBI as the Northeast Huskies outscored the West Side Bluejays 6 to 4.

In the bottom of the 6th inning Northeast scored 5 runs when they came up with 5 base hits. The crucial at-bat was provided by Perez who made the home-town crowd a happy bunch when he doubled scoring two baserunners.  Casey Janssen relieved and was untouched by West Side as he recorded the save, his 1st.

Adam Wainwright (1-0) got the win allowing 4 runs in 7 innings. Chris Sale (0-1) was charged with the loss. Northeast scored big getting 6 runs off him in 5 2/3 innings.

Draft Order For 2014

With the close of the market on Oct. 7, the order of the top 3 picks in our draft next February have been determined. Here's how things came out:

DOW (Manatees, 57-105) - 14936.24
NASDAQ (Roadrunners, 59-103) - 3770.38
S&P 500 (Dutchmen, 60-102) - 1676.12

Per the constitution, we use the last decimal place, putting the teams in order from highest to lowest. So ...

Congratulations to the Roadrunners, who are now on the clock. The rest of the order follows.

Round One: Mohawk Valley 4, Spokane 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 3 Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions (98-64) had home-field advantage versus the No. 6 Spokane Hooded Crows (90-72).

Game One
Crows 6, Lions 1

The Spokane Hooded Crows put 4 runs on the scoreboard in the 6th inning and easily topped the Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions; the final score was 6 to 1.

Clayton Kershaw (1-0) earned his pay with a solid performance for Spokane. He allowed 10 hits and no walks in 8 innings. Spokane totaled 8 hits on the night.

David Price (0-1) was the losing pitcher. Despite taking the loss, he whiffed 9 batters in 6 innings.

Round One: Northwest 4, Wilmington 3

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 2 Wilmington Razorbacks (112-50) had home-field advantage versus the No. 7 Northwest Stars (90-72).

Game One
Stars 4, Razorbacks 2

Right fielder Jason Heyward had 2 base hits and 2 RBI at The Razordome as the Northwest Stars beat the Wilmington Razorbacks 4 to 2.

Northwest took the lead for good in the top of the 5th inning plating an isolated run using 2 hits. Northwest and Wilmington each finished the night with 9 hits. 

Doug Fister (1-0) allowed 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings, and picked up the victory. Craig Kimbrel was credited with his 1st save. The losing pitcher was Felix Hernandez (0-1).

MMDA Awards Voting For 2013

Here are the MMDA award winners as selected by the Strat-O-Matic game engine.

MVP
Player	Team	AB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
McCutchen	Lions	645	13	6	45	118	.296	63	146	13	1	.366	.544	.910
Cano	Huskies	611	53	4	26	105	.296	53	100	1	0	.353	.524	.877
Braun	Gators	648	37	1	47	140	.306	55	148	26	6	.365	.583	.949
Dickey	Razors	see Cy Young balloting below
Headley	Lions	617	46	1	32	111	.277	80	171	11	0	.361	.511	.872

Ryan Braun led the MMDA with 47 homers, 140 RBIs and 198 hits, but those screwy voters elected for Andrew McCutchen and Robinson Cano, a pair of up-the-middle players.

CY YOUNG
Pitchers	Team	W	L	ERA	GS	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	H9	BB9	SO9	HR9
Dickey	Razors	21	6	3.10	34	0	264	223	67	238	32	7.6	2.3	8.1	1.1
Kershaw	Crows	18	6	2.08	32	0	251	159	75	248	21	5.7	2.7	8.9	0.8
Rodney	Razors	3	2	2.17	0	43	66	38	9	65	10	5.2	1.2	8.8	1.4
Shields	Huskies	18	6	3.69	33	0	227	222	56	230	36	8.8	2.2	9.1	1.4
Kimbrel	Stars	4	5	0.98	0	37	64	24	21	101	4	3.4	3.0	14.2	0.6

R.A. Dickey led the MMDA with 21 wins and 264 innings, ranking second to only Clayton Kershaw with 238 strikeouts.

Crows, Huskies & Lions Etch Names In MMDA Recordbook

The MMDA recordbook runs back through 2002, the so-called Internet era for our league.  

With offense down across the league, no team made a run at any of the team batting records. This year's Wilmington Razorbacks led the MMDA with 928 runs scored, but they would have needed to score an additional 89 runs to crack the top 10. At their run-scoring rate, Wilmington would have required 16 more games to score those 89 runs.

A number of teams broke into the top 10 for various pitching categories, however. The staffs for Mohawk Valley, Northeast and Spokane made multiple appearances on the updated pitching leaderboards, while four other clubs made single appearances.

Of course, when compared with the current league average, none of these performances are as impressive (in context) as some of the earlier feats. Here are the teams that cracked the pitching top 10s:

Runs Allowed
4. Spokane, 586 (3.62 per game)
6. Northeast, 592 (3.65 per game)

ERA
5. Northeast, 3.28
6. Spokane, 3.35 

WHIP
8. Mohawk Valley, 1.190
9. Northwest, 1.197

Strikeouts
1. Mohawk Valley, 1,462 (8.91 per nine)
4. Goldenrod, 1,358 (8.25 per nine)
7. Fighting Irish, 1,323 (8.08 per nine)

Home Runs Allowed
3. Spokane, 122 (0.74 per nine)
10. Columbus, 134 (0.83 per nine)

MMDA Power Rankings For The 2013 Season

An attempt to rank the league's best teams after six blocks and all 162 games.

Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order.

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Northeast	115	47	Northeast	5.50	3.65	+299
2	Wilmington	112	50	Atlantic	5.73	4.17	+252
3	Mohawk Valley	98	64	Atlantic	5.18	3.89	+209
4	Goldenrod	94	68	Central	4.91	4.33	+95
5	St. Louis	92	70	Central	4.44	4.24	+33
6	Northwest	90	72	Pacific	4.75	4.00	+121
7	Spokane	90	72	Pacific	4.19	3.62	+93
8	West Side	87	75	Northeast	4.84	4.44	+64
9	Brooklyn	85	77	Atlantic	5.59	4.87	+116
10	Fighting	84	78	Northeast	4.59	4.66	-11
11	Rosehill	83	79	Central	4.29	4.07	+35
12	Jersey	77	85	Northeast	4.14	4.34	-33
13	Lake County	73	89	Central	4.46	5.16	-113
14	Death Valley	68	94	Atlantic	4.43	5.41	-158
15	Columbus	67	95	Pacific	3.96	5.03	-173
16	Rochester	65	97	Atlantic	4.31	5.33	-165
17	Cape Cod	64	98	Northeast	4.22	4.85	-102
18	Elysian Fields	60	102	Central	4.02	5.06	-168
19	California	59	103	Pacific	3.83	4.71	-142
20	Miami	57	105	Pacific	3.77	5.33	-252

Top Run-Creation Teams (R/G)

Wilmington (5.73)
Brooklyn (5.59)
Northeast (5.50)
Mohawk Valley (5.18)
Goldenrod (4.91)

Top Run-Prevention Teams (RA/G)

Spokane (3.62)
Northeast (3.65)
Mohawk Valley (3.89)
Northwest (4.00)
Rosehill (4.07)

Playoff Bracket A 

No. 1 Northeast (115)

No. 8 West Side (87)

No. 4 Goldenrod (94)

No. 5 St. Louis (92)

Playoff Bracket B

No. 2 Wilmington (112)

No. 7 Northwest (90)

No. 3 Mohawk Valley (98)

No. 6 Spokane (90)

Huskies dominate regular season once again, but can they get it done in October?

The Northeast Huskies have done it again. John Tresca's club led the league with 115 wins during the regular season, landing in a familiar place: atop the Northeast Division (named for its geographic location, though it could just as well be in honor of its dominant team). This marks six consecutive seasons in which the Huskies have either won the division outright or tied for first.

Since bringing up the rear with a 54-108 record in 2007, the Huskies have gone 659-313, good for a .678 winning percentage. During that span they have posted the best record in the league three times (2009, 2012, 2013). For all that dominance, however, there is one thing that has eluded them: a title. Over the past five years the Huskies have advanced to the final series only once, falling to the Bulldogs in seven games in 2009.

Can they do it this year? Their road to the World Series runs first through division rival West Side Bluejays, who are making their first-ever appearance in the MMDA postseason. Vegas likes the Huskies here. Northeast led the MMDA with a 3.28 ERA and ranked third in runs scored with 891. By contrast, the Bluejays posted a 3.97 ERA (9th) and crossed the plate 784 times (6th). But as the Huskies have learned, these games aren't played on paper.

Jim Baker's Wilmington Razorbacks finished with the second-best record in the league, at 112-50, ending a postseason drought reminiscent of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Razorbacks were led by a stout offense that gets on base and scores lots of runs. They posted a .359 on-base percentage as a team, nineteen points better than the second-best club (Huskies), and scored a league-best 928 runs. Their pitching staff logged a 3.92 ERA, eighth best in the league.

The Razors will be going up against a playoff fixture, the Northwest Stars, who secured the No. 7 seed after losing the tie-breaker with division foe Spokane. The Stars are a balanced club that finished fourth in the league in ERA (3.63) and seventh in runs scored (769).

Spokane, the sixth seed, will face the third-seeded Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions, whose potent offense ranked fourth in runs (839) and pitching staff finished third with a 3.55 ERA. The Hooded Crows are a pitching oriented club. Led by ERA champion Clayton Kershaw (2.08), they finished second in the MMDA with a 3.35 ERA. Kershaw and his fellow rotation mates will have to shine, however, because Spokane's offense ranked just 15th in runs scored, with 679, the least of any playoff qualifier.

The final matchup features divisional foes Goldenrod and St. Louis. They met in the second round of last year's playoffs, with the Gators sweeping the Maulers on the way to capturing the league championship. The Gators, who won two more games in the regular season this year to take the division title, have the edge in both ERA (3.82 to 3.91) and runs scored (796 to 720).

Best of luck to all eight clubs and congratulations on advancing this far.

MMDA Power Rankings: Block Five Edition

An attempt to rank the league's best teams after five blocks (138 games). Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order.

After waiting patiently for four blocks, Central Division clubs got their first crack at the soft underbelly of the Pacific Division in Block 5. Goldenrod and St. Louis charged up the power rankings thanks to a schedule heavy on games against No. 15 Columbus, No. 19 California and No. 20 Miami. That trio of teams has combined to win 40 percent of its games to this point.

For the sake of comparison, the bottom three teams in the other three divisions have put up a much stronger fight. To wit, those cellar-dwelling win percentages are Northeast (.493), Central (.464) and Atlantic (.457).

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Northeast	97	41	Northeast	5.57	3.70	+258
2	Wilmington	95	43	Atlantic	5.71	4.16	+214
3	Mohawk Valley	84	54	Atlantic	5.33	3.96	+189
4	Goldenrod	81	57	Central	4.91	4.40	+70
5	St. Louis	79	59	Central	4.51	4.18	+46
6	Brooklyn	78	60	Atlantic	5.89	4.80	+150
7	Spokane	77	61	Pacific	4.23	3.59	+88
8	West Side	75	63	Northeast	4.76	4.37	+54
9	Northwest	73	65	Pacific	4.51	4.03	+67
10	Rosehill	71	67	Central	4.14	3.94	+27
11	Fighting	70	68	Northeast	4.37	4.59	-31
12	Jersey	66	72	Northeast	4.14	4.22	-11
13	Cape Cod	59	79	Northeast	4.15	4.54	-53
14	Lake County	58	80	Central	4.33	5.20	-119
15	Columbus	58	80	Pacific	3.77	4.86	-150
16	Death Valley	56	82	Atlantic	4.34	5.49	-158
17	Rochester	55	83	Atlantic	4.33	5.35	-141
18	Elysian Fields	53	85	Central	4.04	5.07	-142
19	California	49	89	Pacific	3.86	4.82	-132
20	Miami	46	92	Pacific	3.67	5.30	-226

Top Run-Creation Teams (R/G)

Brooklyn (5.89)
Wilmington (5.71)
Northeast (5.57)
Mohawk Valley (5.33)
Goldenrod (4.91)

The Gators enter the fray, supplanting West Side from last time

Top Run-Prevention Teams (RA/G)

Spokane (3.59)
Northeast (3.70)
Rosehill (3.94)
Mohawk Valley (3.96)
Northwest (4.03)

Wilmington drops out of the top five, replaced by Northwest

Divisional Races

Barring epic collapses, Northeast (22 games ahead of West Side) and Wilmington (11 games ahead of Mohawk Valley) have the Northeast and Atlantic divisions, respectively, locked down as they enter the sixth and final block.

That's not the case in the MMDA's other two divisions, where St. Louis trails Goldenrod by two games in the Central, and Northwest trails Spokane by four games in the Pacific.

MMDA Power Rankings: Block Four Edition

Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential after 108 games. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order. This is an attempt to rank the league's best teams to this point.

The Northeast Huskies maintain their place atop the power rankings with a league-best 77 wins and unsurpassed +203 run differential. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Miami Manatees have just 41 wins and have allowed 154 more runs than they've scored.

The Huskies may be best team to this point, but the next three—Wilmington, Mohawk Valley and Brooklyn—all play in the Atlantic division. What's notable here is that Brooklyn closed the run-differential gap on Mohawk Valley during Block 4 play. The Lions had a 15-run advantage entering the July.

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Northeast	77	31	Northeast	5.47	3.59	+203
2	Wilmington	77	31	Atlantic	5.84	4.13	+185
3	Mohawk Valley	64	44	Atlantic	5.21	3.86	+146
4	Brooklyn	63	45	Atlantic	6.15	4.80	+146
5	Spokane	61	47	Pacific	4.31	3.66	+70
6	West Side	60	48	Northeast	4.69	4.36	+35
7	Northwest	58	50	Pacific	4.63	4.31	+34
8	St. Louis	58	50	Central	4.43	4.28	+16
9	Fighting	57	51	Northeast	4.39	4.29	+11
10	Goldenrod	56	52	Central	4.67	4.56	+11
11	Jersey	52	56	Northeast	4.16	4.24	-9
12	Rosehill	51	57	Central	4.14	4.10	4
13	Cape Cod	48	60	Northeast	4.03	4.28	-27
14	Columbus	45	63	Pacific	3.56	4.65	-117
15	Death Valley	45	63	Atlantic	4.35	5.58	-133
16	California	42	66	Pacific	3.90	4.56	-71
17	Rochester	42	66	Atlantic	4.54	5.33	-86
18	Elysian Fields	42	66	Central	4.08	5.26	-127
19	Lake County	41	67	Central	4.09	5.36	-137
20	Miami	41	67	Pacific	3.66	5.08	-154

Top Run-Creation Teams (R/G)
Brooklyn (6.15)
Wilmington (5.84)
Northeast (5.47)
Mohawk Valley (5.21)
West Side (4.69)

Top Run-Prevention Teams (RA/G)
Northeast (3.59)
Spokane (3.66)
Mohawk Valley (3.86)
Rosehill (4.10)
Wilmington (4.13)

MMDA Power Rankings: Midseason Edition

Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential after 84 games. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order. This is an attempt to rank the league's best teams to this point.

Congratulations to the Northeast Huskies, who unseat Wilmington at the top of the charts thanks to a league-best +156 run differential. The Atlantic and Northeast divisions continue to be the most robust, with the top five teams in the rankings and with eight of 10 teams at .500 or better.

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Northeast	58	26	Northeast	5.60	3.74	+156
2	Wilmington	58	26	Atlantic	5.73	4.12	+135
3	Mohawk Valley	51	33	Atlantic	5.30	3.64	+139
4	Brooklyn	51	33	Atlantic	6.17	4.69	+124
5	West Side	47	37	Northeast	4.65	4.36	+25
6	Spokane	45	39	Pacific	4.12	3.77	+29
7	Northwest	44	40	Pacific	4.85	4.51	+28
8	Fighting	44	40	Northeast	4.48	4.27	+17
9	Jersey	43	41	Northeast	4.32	4.20	+10
10	St. Louis	43	41	Central	4.32	4.36	-3
11	Cape Cod	42	42	Northeast	4.29	4.23	+5
12	Goldenrod	42	42	Central	4.46	4.63	-14
13	Rosehill	41	43	Central	4.13	4.18	-4
14	Death Valley	39	45	Atlantic	4.30	5.05	-63
15	California	34	50	Pacific	4.14	4.73	-49
16	Columbus	34	50	Pacific	3.58	4.95	-115
17	Elysian Fields	33	51	Central	4.00	5.06	-89
18	Rochester	32	52	Atlantic	4.51	5.43	-77
19	Miami	30	54	Pacific	3.61	5.17	-131
20	Lake County	29	55	Central	3.98	5.44	-123

Top Run-Creation Teams (R/G)
Brooklyn (6.17)
Wilmington (5.73)
Northeast (5.60)
Mohawk Valley (5.30)
Northwest (4.85)

Top Run-Prevention Teams (RA/G)
Mohawk Valley (3.64)
Northeast (3.74)
Spokane (3.77)
Wilmington (4.12)
Rosehill (4.18)

Midseason Playoff Seeding
We have eight teams with 44 or more wins as our projected playoff field.

Bracket 1
No. 1 Wilmington (1)
No. 8 Northwest

No. 4 Mohawk Valley
No. 5 West Side

Bracket 2
No. 2 Northeast
No. 7 Fighting Irish (3)

No. 3 Brooklyn (2)
No. 6 Spokane

Notes on tie-breakers: (1) Wilmington wins the No. 1 seed based on a better  in-division record than Northeast—the two teams have not yet played; (2) Brooklyn wins the No. 3 seed based on a better head-to-head record versus Mohawk Valley; (3) Fighting Irish wins the No. 7 seed based on a better head-to-head record versus Northwest.

Midseason Awards
As selected by the Strat game engine.

MVP Award                             
M.Cabrera, Brooklyn
M.Trout, Brooklyn
D.Wright, Wilmington
R.Cano, Northeast
C.Headley, Mohawk Valley

Cy Young Award
C.Kershaw, Spokane
R.Dickey, Wilmington
J.Shields, Northeast
Y.Darvish, Mohawk Valley
C.Kimbrel, Northwest

First-Team All-Stars
CA—Y.Molina, Wilmington
1B—A.Pujols, Death Valley
2B—R.Cano, Northeast
3B—M.Cabrera, Brooklyn
SS—I.Desmond, Miami
LF—R.Braun, Goldenrod
CF—M.Trout, Brooklyn
RF—T.Hunter, Goldenrod
SP—C.Kershaw, Spokane
SP—J.Shields, Northeast
SP—Y.Darvish, Mohawk Valley
SP—D.Price, Mohawk Valley
SP—J.Weaver, St. Louis
SP—H.Kuroda, Columbus

Second-Team All-Stars
CA—B.Posey, Rosehill
1B—A.LaRoche, Mohawk Valley
2B—A.Hill, California
3B—A.Beltre, Rochester
SS—J.Rollins, West Side
LF—M.Prado, Rosehill
CF—A.McCutchen, Mohawk Valley
RF—G.Stanton, Fighting Irish
SP—R.Dickey, Wilmington
RP—C.Kimbrel, Northwest
SP—J.Verlander, Jersey
RP—R.Cook, Northwest
RP—F.Rodney, Wilmington
SP—J.Niese, Rosehill

MMDA Power Rankings: Block Two Edition

Here we present the second installment of the MMDA power rankings, with statistics through the first two months of the season. Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order. This is an attempt to rank the league's best teams to this point.

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Wilmington	36	18	Atlantic	5.65	3.96	+91
2	Northeast	35	19	Northeast	5.65	3.78	+101
3	Spokane	35	19	Pacific	4.39	3.76	+34
4	Mohawk Valley	32	22	Atlantic	5.15	3.67	+80
5	Goldenrod	32	22	Central	4.46	4.11	+19
6	Brooklyn	30	24	Atlantic	5.91	4.96	+51
7	Northwest	29	25	Pacific	4.69	4.24	+24
8	West Side	29	25	Northeast	4.57	4.30	+15
9	Cape Cod	27	27	Northeast	4.57	4.39	+10
10	Jersey	27	27	Northeast	4.17	4.07	+5
11	Rosehill	27	27	Central	3.91	4.15	-13
12	St. Louis	26	28	Central	3.98	4.24	-14
13	Fighting	25	29	Northeast	4.26	4.65	-21
14	Death Valley	23	31	Atlantic	4.33	5.28	-51
15	California	22	32	Pacific	4.26	4.56	-16
16	Columbus	22	32	Pacific	3.46	4.94	-80
17	Elysian Fields	21	33	Central	4.13	4.78	-35
18	Rochester	21	33	Atlantic	4.81	5.48	-36
19	Lake County	21	33	Central	3.70	4.94	-67
20	Miami	20	34	Pacific	3.61	5.41	-97

Top Run-Creation Teams
Brooklyn, 5.91 R/G
Northeast, 5.65 R/G
Wilmington, 5.65 R/G

Top Run-Prevention Teams
Mohawk Valley, 3.67 RA/G
Spokane, 3.76 RA/G
Northeast, 3.78 RA/G

MMDA Power Rankings: Block One Edition

A sample of 30 games doesn't tell us much about the true quality of baseball teams—but who cares! Ranking teams is fun, and the conclusion of Block One is a good vantage point to take stock.

Here we present the first installment of the MMDA power rankings. Teams sorted by wins, then by run differential. Note that this is not the official tie-breaking method for playoff seeding or draft order. This is an attempt to rank the league's best teams to this point.

No	Team	W	L	Division	R/G	RA/G	Diff
1	Northeast	19	11	Northeast	5.53	3.60	+58
2	Spokane	19	11	Pacific	4.00	4.07	-2
3	Mohawk Valley	18	12	Atlantic	5.20	3.20	+60
4	Brooklyn	18	12	Atlantic	5.97	4.30	+50
5	West Side	18	12	Northeast	4.67	3.40	+38
6	Wilmington	18	12	Atlantic	5.20	4.00	+36
7	Fighting Irish	16	14	Northeast	4.83	4.50	+10
8	Jersey	16	14	Northeast	3.93	4.03	-3
9	Goldenrod	16	14	Central	4.53	4.80	-8
10	Rosehill	15	15	Central	3.43	4.30	-26
11	Rochester	14	16	Atlantic	4.43	4.17	+8
12	Cape Cod	14	16	Northeast	4.43	4.20	+7
13	Northwest	14	16	Pacific	4.40	4.87	-14
14	Death Valley	14	16	Atlantic	4.23	4.87	-19
15	Elysian Fields	13	17	Central	4.83	4.70	+4
16	Lake County	13	17	Central	3.50	4.70	-36
17	California	12	18	Pacific	4.20	5.03	-25
18	Columbus	12	18	Pacific	3.93	5.50	-47
19	Miami	11	19	Pacific	4.00	5.57	-47
20	St. Louis	10	20	Central	3.43	4.90	-44

Top Run-Creation Team: Brooklyn, 5.97 R/G. 
Top Run-Prevention Team: Mohawk Valley, 3.20 RA/G.

MVP AWARD
A.Pujols (DVD) 373
A.Beltre (ROC) 371
M.Trout (BRK) 217         
M.Cabrera (BRK) 137
C.Kershaw (SPO) 100

CY YOUNG AWARD
C.Kershaw (SPO) 114
J.Shields (HUS) 103
A.Wainwright (HUS) 46
H.Street (JER) 16
C.Kimbrel (NWS) 8

All-Time Mohawk Valley Team

The recent blockbuster trade of Curtis Granderson, Zack Greinke and Mark Teixeira signals the end of an era in Mohawk Valley franchise history. All three players were crucial components to five playoff teams between 2006 and ’12,

With those ties severed, Rickie Weeks and C.C. Sabathia now stand as the only links to the ’06 team, the first playoff entrant in club history. As a new chapter opens, the time is nigh to look back at a Mohawk Valley all-time team.

All statistics run through the 2012 season.

Manager: Preston Wilson
Tenure: 2002-07.
Playoff Teams: Two.
Acquired: Drafted in 1999; inherited from previous regime.
Performance (for Mohawk Valley only): .245/.310/.465 in 2,535 PA (326 runs created).

Perhaps only Casey Stengel with the early-’60s Mets endured more bad baseball than Wilson did in the five seasons from 2000 through ’04. The center fielder played for clubs that lost an average of 118 games per season—and never fewer than 111. The nadir: 139 losses. That's not a typo—the Oklahoma City Cannon Dealers won 23 games and finished 81 games out of first place in 2000.

Those early Mohawk Valley clubs for which Wilson played featured a few worthwhile lineup fixtures—himself, third baseman Corey Koskie and left fielder Carlos Lee—but the secret to the Jive's poor showing in their inaugural ’02 campaign becomes apparent when you see the pitchers most responsible for the 5.77 team ERA: Bobby Jones, Brian Tollberg, Mac Suzuki, John Thomson, Paul Byrd, Dan Reichert, Danny Wright and Blake Stein. All made at least 10 starts.

Wilson occupies a unique position in Mohawk Valley franchise history as the only player inherited by the current front office who stuck around long enough to play for the first playoff team in ’06. For that he's earned the right to stand on the top step of the dugout and cuss at umpires.

Lions Welcome New Blood, Bid Fond Farewell To Franchise Icons Granderson, Greinke & Teixeira

Mohawk Valley beat reporters could sense an air of bewilderment in the Lions clubhouse as franchise icons Curtis Granderson, Zack Greinke and Mark Teixeira cleaned out their lockers as they prepared to meet their new employer halfway across the country.

The three distinguished veterans, plus the Lions' second-round pick in 2014, all belong to the St. Louis Maulers now, having been exchanged for center fielder Andrew McCutchen, first baseman Adam LaRoche and trade throw-in Javier Lopez, a lefty situational reliever. The transaction will take effect in time for Block 2 games in May.

Lions GM Matt Eddy acknowledged the difficult decision to part with three of the top talents in Mohawk Valley franchise history.

New Maulers righthander Zack Greinke

"Our rotation depth allowed us to make this trade," he said, referring to the starting-pitcher collective the local press corps had dubbed the $100,000 Rotation. "Trading Zack, Mark and Curtis hurts, but we knew our club's offense was deficient, and we feel that adding McCutchen and LaRoche makes it a little less so."

Following the trade, Derek Holland moves into the Lions rotation on a full-time basis, joining David Price, Yu Darvish, C.C. Sabathia and Stephen Strasburg.

Home Runs 'Go To Eleven' In Mohawk Valley

By Matt Eddy

UTICA, N.Y.—Their plans to co-occupy Citi Field this summer rebuffed, the Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions did the next best thing: they reconfigured Van Slyke Field to play just like the Mets' ballpark.

That means that singles will be scarce—a two factor for both righties and lefties—but that home runs will be somewhat common with a Spinal Tap-ian factor of 11 for both sides. The change in dimensions won't affect longball output at Van Slyke Field too much because the old yard played at 12 for lefties and nine for righties.

The frequency of singles, however, will be reduced dramatically, seeing as the previous dimensions played as a nine for lefties and a six for righties. For point of reference, the real-life Mets and their opponents hit .241 at Citi Field last year, compared with .258 away. That will be a harsh new reality for Lions batters, though club pitchers don't seem to mind the change.

"I prefer to be on the receiving end of one decisive death blow rather than succumb to one thousand paper cuts," Lions righty Yu Darvish said through an interpreter.

MMDA Unveils League Record Book

Spotty record keeping and lack of historical perspective are a thing of the past.

Following the unveiling of the playoff history archive last winter, the MMDA commissioner's office is pleased to announce the launch of a league record book that encompasses the past 11 seasons. There you can view top 10s for team categories such as runs scored and allowed, on-base average, ERA and home runs.

But wait—there's more.

Follow the link to the MMDA League Records Google doc and view top 10s for nearly 50 team categories, plus MMDA league averages and top 25s for those individual categories which are displayed on the statistics overview pages at mmdaoline.com.

Barry Bonds

The somewhat limited array of individual categories includes batting average, home runs, RBIs, wins, ERA and saves. This paints an incomplete picture, but at least now we know that the modern league leader for average is Albert Pujols (.409 in 2009). The leader for home runs and RBIs is Barry Bonds (82 and 180 in 2002).

Northwest's Craig Kimbrel set a modern league record for saves last season (56), but given MLB's downturn in run-scoring, might we see a pitcher challenge Roger Clemens' modern standard for ERA (1.91 in 2006)?

In the Google doc, users also will find headers for all teams batting and pitching. Feel free to paste the data into your own spreadsheet to conduct your own research.

New Dutchmen GM Lays Foundation For Long-Term Success

By Clyde Elkins

SAN DIEGO—There's no such thing as a pitching prospect.

That aphorism credited to Gary Huckabay, founder of Baseball Prospectus, is one taken to heart by the Elysian Fields Flying Dutchmen when making the first four selections of the club's introductory MMDA draft.

Bryce Harper

Given the option of assuming control of the Lakers or Clippers franchises when joining the league, Dutchmen GM Clyde Elkins opted for the Michigan roster, in part because the team held the fifth slot in the draft and also for the presence of the game’s top lefthander Clayton Kershaw. This was a fortuitous decision with Dodgers devotee Steve Frediani among MMDA ownership.

With the first two picks of the draft, acquired in exchange for Kershaw, the Dutchmen selected 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper and 20-year-old third baseman Manny Machado. After Yoenis Cespedes and Yu Darvish went off the board third and fourth, Elkins bypassed quality arms in Matt Moore and Jarrod Parker, opting to fill a void at shortstop with 22-year-old defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons.

While Harper and Machado are the consensus top selections in drafts excluding non-carded players, the presence of Pablo Sandoval at third base could have shifted Elysian Fields' attention from Machado to Darvish, a potential top-ten pitcher entering his prime. And while the young Oriole qualifies only at third, many believe that he’ll eventually return to his natural position of shortstop, which could make the selection of Simmons redundant.

Competitve Balance In The MMDA

By Matt Eddy

An infusion of experienced Strat managers, coupled with a four-team dispersal draft prior to the 2012 season appears to have brought parity to the MMDA.

Nothing attests to that quite like last year's World Series, which pitted No. 7 Mohawk Valley against No. 8 Goldenrod, the first crazy-eight playoff club to win the MMDA title in the league's recent history. The Yankee Clippers finished one game behind the Gators for the final playoff spot, while Lake County and Mount Ephraim finished three wins from breaking even.

All the postseason excitement appears to have encouraged a handful of clubs to choose card value in the early stages of the 2013 draft. For example, Wilmington grabbed Brandon Moss with the eighth pick in the draft, while Columbus selected Jordan Pacheco 12th overall, Rosehill drafted Ross Detwiler 13th (and Lucas Harrell 33rd) and Northeast nabbed Justin Ruggiano 16th. The strategy made sense this year, perhaps more than other years, given that the draft was bereft of elite talent beyond the first dozen or so prospects.

A playoff appearance in 2013 would validate any of those clubs' initial selections, but exactly how tightly clustered are the MMDA's teams? One way to approach the question is to examine the standard deviation between all 20 clubs' win totals and compare that separation with past seasons. Running the numbers through Excel yields the following chart, which dates back to the 2002 season.

Keep in mind, a low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be very close to the mean; a high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a large range of values. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Mohawk Valley GM Talks Draft Strategy, New Team Nickname

By Matt Eddy

UTICA, N.Y.—The Mohawk Valley franchise suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in the 2012 World Series, dropping three games in a row after jumping out to a two-games-to-one advantage. A clutch two-run homer by Goldenrod's Brandon Phillips in Game 5 proved to be the turning point from which M.V. did not recover.

Motivated to return to the Series, M.V. general manager Matt Eddy conducted all transactions—both trades and draft selections—this offseason with an eye toward making another deep playoff run and, with a little luck, winning the franchise's first title since entering the MMDA prior to the 2002 season.

A trio of winter trades brought closer Joe Nathan, corner outfielder Scott Hairston and the fourth pick in the 2013 draft to Mohawk Valley. The last of those acquisitions cost the club power lefty starter Chris Sale, while M.V. also sacrificed closer Chris Perez, catcher Josh Thole and its fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round draft picks in trade activity.

Mohawk Valley first-rounder Yu Darvish

In the draft, M.V. strategy could be distilled to three main tenants: 1) emphasize long-term impact potential in the first round, 2) load up on card value in the middle rounds, and 3) take fliers on overlooked young talent at the end of the draft. By taking righty Yu Darvish (fourth overall) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (19th), M.V. management believes it acquired players who can contribute immediately and for the foreseeable future. As an added bonus, both Darvish and Grandal can make an impact in a playoff series.

2013 MMDA Draft Supplemental Rounds

Results for the eighth through 15th rounds of the 2013 MMDA draft. For the first seven rounds visit the 2013 Draft Results.

EIGHTH ROUND
141 Drivers Alexi Amarista, 2b
142 Bluejays Ryan Mattheus, rhp
143 Dutchmen Christian Friedrich, lhp
144 Dodgers Joe Kelly, rhp
145 Razorbacks Quintin Berry, of
146 Hornets Alex Burnett, rhp
147 Pilots Alex White, rhp
148 Huskies Ronny Cedeno, ss
149 Maulers Russ Canzler, of
150 Breakers Xavier Paul, of
151 Jive Garrett Richards, rhp
152 Gators Nate Jones, rhp

Gators 10th-rounder Mark Rogers

NINTH ROUND

153 Bluejays Adam Kennedy, 2b
154 Dutchmen Tyler Pastornicky, ss
155 Hornets Kelly Johnson, 2b
156 Pilots Tyler Cloyd, rhp
157 Maulers Jose Iglesias, ss
158 Breakers Craig Breslow, lhp
159 Gators Jim Henderson, rhp

10TH ROUND
160 Bluejays Jerome Williams, rhp
161 Dutchmen Jason Marquis, rhp
162 Gators Mark Rogers, rhp

11TH ROUND
163 Bluejays Kevin Jepsen, rhp
164 Gators Jhoulys Chacin, rhp

12TH ROUND
165 Bluejays Cole DeVries, rhp
166 Gators Steve Johnson, rhp

13TH ROUND
167 Bluejays Jordan Norberto, lhp

14TH ROUND
168 Bluejays Bobby Abreu, of

15TH ROUND
169 Bluejays Carlos Corporan, c