The Chicago Champions ended the regular season strong, finishing with 99 wins on the year. Never in the history of the IAL have the Champions reached the coveted century mark. Ace Greg Maddux, the all time winningest pitcher in league history won his 19th game in his second to last start, a one hit shutout. The veteran failed to win in his final start before the playoffs, missing the 20 win plateau by one win. Some other notable achievements are as follows, leadoff man Jimmy Rollins stole 56 bases, scoring 112 times, with power numbers of 41-12-12, to go along with a .282 batting average, all the while playing Gold Glove caliber shortstop. Grady Sizemore was the #2 hitter for the Champs, all he did was score 118 runs & drive in 109, with 47 steals, walking 80 times, with big time power of 35-6-35, a batting average of .250, he was an excellent fielder in the outfield, if there was a chink in his armor it was the fact that he fanned 134 times. Answering the bell everyday for Chicago at Firstbase was Justin Morneau, Paul Bunyan led the team in ribbies with 124 knocked in on 49 doubles, five triples, & 17 home runs, often times shortening up his swing on the hit & run. El Caballo, Carlos Lee was injured much of the season, but really turned it loose down the stretch, taking over the cleanup spot, launching 30 long balls in only 113 games played, he even held his own with the glove in the outfield. ARod provided the big stick in the middle of the order, leading the ballclub with 44 homers, driving in 111, scoring 100 runs, hitting a respectable 284, with 76 bases on balls, for a nearly .400 on base percentage of .397. The catching tandem of Ryan Doumit & Miguel Olivo provided solid production, with 55 doubles & 27 long balls, with a batting average above .250. B.J. Upton was the third member of the outfield, the youngster didn’t disappoint, as the speedster had 48 SB’s to go along with 31 doubles, patiently walking 75 times, batting .250, scoring 67 runs. Newcomer Felipe Lopez turned it up as the season wore down, ending the year with a .220 batting average, after batting below the Mendoza line for much of the campaign. Buckeye Nick Swisher was often the first man off the bench and the switch hitter used his good eye to walk 40 times, although his batting average was just .193, he did manage 11 doubles & five home runs in 171 at bats, with an onbase mark of .346. Rookies Ian Stewart & Matt Joyce combined for good power, filling in at third & the outfield respectively, with power numbers of 26-6-18. Victor Martinez was relegated to bench duty by a series of nagging injuries throughout the season, but that didn’t stop this veteran from batting .310 in very limited action. Jose Guillen brought his potent bat to the plate, when a home run or a double was in order, he notched 3 of each in 76 at bats, driving in 14 runners. Bobby Crosby was the team’s pinch runner, along with playing shortstop when JRoll needed a blow.
In addition to Maddux, his mound mates were stellar when their turns came to toe the rubber. Tim Lincecum, assumed the #1 spot in the rotation, striking out 234 men in 227 innings, with a mark of 17-6, and an ERA of 2.74, allowing only 140 base hits. Following The Freak was lefthander Mark Buehrle, who narrowly finished above .500 with a record of 15-14. Righthanded hard throwing Matt Cain won nearly twice as many games as he lost, finishing with 17 wins against nine defeats, striking out 170 men. The aforementioned Maddux held down the 4th spot in the rotation. That left the five hole to be plugged by the talented Josh Beckett, who won 15 while losing seven. Rookie relievers Joey Devine & Cory Wade shared the closer’s role, saving 38 ballgames. Jose Valverde brought the heat to the setup role, fanning 66 out of the pen. Another rook, Sergio Romo joined Matt Capps in middle relief. Last, but not least, was Brett Allen Myers, known by his teammates as BAM, who pitched magnificently in long relief, coming up big with an ERA of 3.67, logging 162 innings, almost exclusively out of the pen, starting one ballgame.
So now it’s time for the second season to begin, while the postseason has not been kind to the Champions in recent years, there’s not the same sense of angst or urgency that has been there for many Chicago teams of the past. The Champions have shown themselves to be a quality baseball team, over the long haul of a 162 game season. Anything can happen in the playoffs, still the Champions are looking for more, a fitting end would be to be crowned with the IAL Championship, #11 for the Champs, still it has been a long time, and they’re not taking anything for granted & will certainly savor victory, if it were to come over the painful sting of defeat.