Hi! It’s Flyingj138 here! In our Reddit Backyard Baseball League (rBBL for short) it’s been a very busy season. We’ve had a ton of exciting changes, such as a second 2001 league (dubbed “2002”) and custom logos for the 2001 leagues. As of this writing we just finished Week 10. So let’s see what’s happening in our leagues!
First, I introduce the 2001 league, where Week 10 brought a shocker in the form of our first ever tie since Season 10! The specifics behind this are very particular -- you have to have the same score difference (which is already difficult because the home team gets bonus runs to account for the lack of a bottom 6th), and have to have the same runs allowed AND the same hits allowed (including walks!). It was certainly a point of discussion this week.
Vissery’s Bunnies lead the AL Central and the league as a whole, having just clinched playoff berth recently. Solid play hinging on Nomar with a high on-base percentage has led this team so far. Loba’s Marlins and Itaniium’s Boss lead their respective divisions using their familiar strategies of groundering and homering, respectively. After that, Yurya’s Squids have the top Wild Card spot at the moment, with hciii’s Beers and cantwait2fly’s Giants rounding out the playoff spots. The Ghosts are at the doorstep, along with the winner between Chellow’s Cheesewheels and HaloTW’s Melonheads. After that, it’s pretty messy as everyone has a fighting chance.
Over on the National League side, the Brats of LA, headed by lillwaws26, headlines the conference and the NL East, with custom kid Deidre Labrutto at the head of the team’s scoring. Personizzle’s Reds and Heinz’s Knights lead their own divisions, each with their own stories in the making. The Knights are being pursued by Crazy’s Blimps and AnjouPays’s EEEEEEEEEEEE[a]EEEEEEVIL Rays, the two teams at the top of the wild card hunt. The Rays swept the Blimps in head-to-head and have the advantage. Next is jyknight’s Whitecaps, who have the edge over alex7456’s Jayhawks of Kansas and psanchez55’s Unintentional Cheese, who still have one more game in Week 13. The Twins, Villains, Fishes, and Grimaces follow.
Next is the 2002 league. Whereas the 2001 league has veterans, the 2002 league is more for the new players and some veterans who have struggled in the past. Their games tend to be less high-scoring but that does not mean that they are not entertaining! Starting with the Skyway League, the Naptown Nine, coached by jakerthesnak, are in control of the Skyway League Central. They are not particularly known for their offense, but their defense and field of Cement Gardens has been doing wonders for them. After this is Navycap’s Ostriches, who command the SL West. The SL East is where it really gets interesting, as adamfrombuffalo’s Rockers, flyingj138’s Dragons, and Disky’s Trojans have a three-way tie! They all play each other in the last few weeks, making things very exciting, especially with SilverBullet101’s Bells in the mix too! As for the other Wild Card entrants, GeorgeBonouki’s Penguins are out in front, a little roughed up after an upset loss to the Trojans but not in too bad shape. The second wild card spot belongs to Doodle grim reaper OP’s Reapers, a team that has gone beyond expectations. The Blue Jays, Mets, and Gauchos are still in the mix, and the Oxs are looking to play spoiler and get their first win.
In the Metro League, Whiffspree01’s Dice are high rollers. The team, which hails from the ML East, has relied on a speedy offense to carry them so far. Ferb Fletcher’s Grebes narrowly have a lead on the ML West over jr2604’s Oysters, who hold the top wild card spot at the moment. And it’s Cherry’s Skeeters who have control of the ML Central. DEPaf679’s Teens are next in the Wild Card position, followed Wow.i.ex1st’s Hornets, who narrowly edged out tculler’s Giants all the way in Week 2. The Mariners and Iguanas are just behind them, followed by the Athletics, Red Sox, and Vaqueros, the last of whom is out of contention.
The final league, 2003, is a blend of old and new. It also is the only league to have two unbeaten teams after ten weeks of play! The first one, Vissery’s Tigers of the FL West, has done plenty to impress so far. Despite the coach’s doubts early on, the team has been strong on offense and especially defense, thanks to Dubois Diamond, and have already clinched a playoff spot. Also clinching a spot are Personizzle’s all-blonde, FL Central-leading Twins with only one loss against DEPaf679’s Wombats, the top wild card team. And in the FL East, AnjouPays’s decidedly sweeter Angels are in reaching distance of clinching the division. MikeMadness’s Blue Jays and alex7456’s Royals both have the remaining Wild Card spots, with a Week 12 showdown determining who has the advantage. After that, it gets messy, as the Rockies and Giants follow, and have another important game after the Rockies edged the Giants on a tiebreaker. Next are the Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Melonheads (the latter two ALSO have a crucial game in the future), and the Rangers after, who have the full confidence in their new head coach.
In the Backyard League, we have sky’s Indians on top of the BL West and the conference. Another perfect team thus far, they’ve been good at adapting to their situation, though having Henri Deschenes doesn’t hurt. The one-loss Astros, coached by Psanchez55, are in control of the BL Central. And in the rather messy BL East, it’s crazyei8hts’ Athletics who are taking charge. lillwaws26’s Expos and CRK’s Bombers from the West hold two of the Wild Card spots, with GeorgeBonouki’s Marlins holding the other one. Mattitude’s Monsters and iamslm22’s Hornets are close behind, followed by the Mariners, Yankees and Devil Rays. The latter two of these play this week. And finally there are the Brewers, who are on the verge of getting knocked out.
Well, that’s all I have to write about. There sure is a lot of excitement to be had in the final weeks, no matter if a team is about to clinch a division or wanting to play spoiler. Keep an eye on things as the season starts to wind down!