The Highly Coveted BDB Championship Trophy has made its way from Canada, to Brazil, to England and now to the country of Quebec … if Pauline Marois has her way. Marcel “Marse” Levac has been building for a long time for this moment and he did so by defeating the 2011 BDB Champions Hamilton Splitterz, well, now Redbirds.
Montreal built their Championship run on the top rated offence in the league. Newcomer Miguel Cabrera did not disappoint leading the team hitting .312-48-127. He was supported by Adam Jones .288-38-95 and Joey Votto .340-16-70 and everyone’s favorite druggie Ryan Braun .253-37-89.
Their pitching was led by another former Trapper Gio Gonzalez (16-6 3.88) along with Montreal’s Career top rated pitcher Cole Hamels (17-7 3.81). Youngster Jeff Samardzjia (11-7 4.55) had a good start to his career with Montreal being the only other Montreal pitcher with double digit wins.
Speaking of Career Performances, Hamilton’s Albert Pujols became the League’s Career active leader in Runs Scored, doubles and Total Bases, overtaking Alex Rodriguez (Runs & Total Bases) and Todd Helton (Doubles) respectively.
Roy Halladay (154-74 3.57) retires this season as the League’s number two overall wins leader. Halladay began his career with the Panama City Passion who soon traded him to the North Bay Trappers who then traded him in probably North Bay’s worst trades of their career to Sao Paulo where he performed for five fruitful seasons including his best win season in 2006 (2205 3.70). Halladay’s two most impressive records which may never be overcome are his record 60 complete games and 21 shutouts.
One change that we saw during the 2012 season is the entrance of another Wild card team. This added a lot of drama to the end of the season, actually on the final game of the season between Beaconsfield, Nassau and Yorkshire. It was Beaconsfield won the final game to send them to a one game Sudden Death playoff game with the Waterloo Wrath, led by new manager Scott Beauchamp. Scott promptly won the first card and threatened the Division leading Hamilton Splitterz … Redbirds.
Going into the new season … without much ado … Here are this year’s predictions:
Robinson Division:
- Bristol
- Beaconsfield
- Montreal
- Ottawa
Bristol’s starting pitching is just too tough to overcome and their offense is almost as dangerous. Their own weak link is an inferior defense. Montreal and Beaconsfield will be competing for the Wildcard. Ottawa might contend as well … they are a bit stronger than past seasons… so they might be in the dogfight at the end. Their weak team defense might make the difference in them not making the grade.
Jenkins Division
- Langley
- Hamilton
- North Bay
- Waterloo
Langley and Hamilton are pretty much neck and neck at the top. Langley has the better hitting, Hamilton the better pitching. The loser of the division will certainly contend for the one of the Wildcard positions. Unlike the previous years, North Bay will not be at the bottom of the division. The rebuilding plan is happening and the Trapper ownership is looking fro a .500 season. Look for Waterloo at the bottom of the loop contending for the #1 draft pick next season.
Walker Division
- Yorkshire
- Nassau
- Sao Paulo
- Sacramento
Yorkshire heads the top of the list in the Walker Division, for the very first time. Solid hitting, pitching and defense will allow this team to walk away with the Division crown. The only thing holding them back are the injuries that they will have to balance throughout the season. Nassau and Sao Paulo are neck and neck for the next position in the Division. The Team Defense will make the difference between the two, with Nassau’s one being superior and Sao Paulo’s hurting them. Sacramento will be competing with Waterloo for the First overall pick, but there is some young talent which should bring some hope to the Plaidsox faithful.
Good Luck to all