2063 Sharks in Review - Drought Over

[thatboynicecoast]

2063 Sydney Sharks In Review

Record: 87-75
Finish: 2nd, 6 GB

Sydney's season came to an end in the opening round of the GBC playoffs.

But there's weight to that sentence. The Sharks played postseason baseball for the first time since 2056 and only the second time in Sydney franchise history. It also snapped a five-year skid spent below .500.

Sydney was ousted four games to one to division champion Johannesburg in a series that saw its weaknesses bubble to the surface. Three of the losses came by one run. Each was an all too familiar sting. The Sharks were an abysmal 13-26 in games decided by one run during the regular season, leaving a journey littered with what if's.

Though the lights are off at Blacktown International, the moments linger. There's Slawomir Trzcinsky closing the door on a rallying Sao Paulo in a mid-April battle that snapped a five-game losing streak and sparked a 12-4 run through the end of the month.

Then there was the eighth inning on June 16. The team had been sputtering through the dog days of winter and found itself trailing 4-1 to a hapless Athens club. Wattas Hondo
slowed the early exits with a leadoff home run. Miguel Montero doubled. Bob McPherson doubled. Four hits, two walks culminating in four runs to complete a sweep of the Centaurs.

A month later, on July 18, Sydney was on the wrong side of the scoreboard against the division-leading Gold. It was 7-3 and the Sharks had nine outs remaining in what appeared to be a mundane loss. Two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth. The Fins only needed six outs. It clinched a four-game series against Johanesburg and established the Sharks as a legitimate threat.

The lights are out at Blacktown, indeed. The crackled air can't be replaced, though. The sound of the crowd reverberating off the inbound centerfield winds can still be heard in the quiet dark.

What Sydney accomplished in seven months awakened a people. Alerted an enemy. Laid a foundation.

The Blacktown Fins will return.

From the FO

"We set out in 2061 with a clear plan to develop from the ground up, to draft with purpose and to invest in young men we believe in. It's not a coincidence our return to the playoff featured heavy contributions from six rookies. There are still two prospects among the top 10 in the league working toward their debuts and more behind them taking shape. What was witnessed this year was not a flash. The Sharks are here."


Team Awards

Shark Teeth Trophy
Best positional player.

OF Jose Marquez
143 G | 519 AB | 156 H | 43 2B | 3 3B | 22 HR | 73 RBI | 89 R |
.301/.382/.522/.904 | 3.2 WAR

Shark Fin Trophy
Best pitcher.

SP Jean-Sebastien Mangin
38 G | 33 GS | 172 K | 13-8 |
4.37 ERA | 4.54 FIP | 4.25 SIERA | 3.3 WAR

Pup Trophy
Best prospect.

SP Norman Durney (No. 1 org./No. 3 GBC)
22 GS | 94 K | 5.2 K/BB | 10-5
3.47 ERA | 3.78 FIP | 3.91 SIERA | 3.1 WAR


Notes

The total attendance of 1.71 million was the most at Blacktown since 2053.

Jose Marquez moved into second on the franchise career doubles list with 207.

Ari Ernalia swiped 41 bags, good for third in Sydney franchise history and giving him 98 for his career - more than any other Shark before him.

Sydney rewrote the AfSAmOc record book. The 2063 team produced the highest mark in divisional history for the following stats: Batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, WPA, wOBA, wRC, hits, runs, RBIs.