Hammer Time - 7 Oct 2059

[Jess64]

The Jerusalem Hebrew Hammers have not provided a press update in over 3 months and the fans, as well as the media, felt that one has been long overdue. General Manager Jesse Stollings finally announced he would have one at the end of the 1st round of the playoffs, no matter the outcome.

The series against London was finally over, after 6 games, and Stollings approached the microphone for the first time since June.

Stollings was beaming as he confirmed that Ira Patterson, the 31-year-old 1st baseman for the Hammers had won the batting title for the recently concluded GBC season. Patterson ended the season with a .361 BA, 20 HRs and 95 RBIs. Stollings was happy to remind everyone present that Patterson had signed a 2-year extension earlier this season and everyone is looking forward to see what he is able to do next season.

As far as the playoffs go, The Hammers faced the London Monarchs in a best of 7 series to see who would advance to the GBC Championship and things didnt start for the Hammers as they lost the 1st game by a dismal score of 8-16. Gonzales, Riddle and Jones gave up a dismal 13 runs in a little over 3 innings. The 2nd game at the Holy Land was actually worse than that beat-down as the Hammers were hammered 2-12.

The series then moved to London with the Monarchs dominating the plate and putting the hopes of the Hammers in jeopardy. But the Hebrew Hammers finally remembered how to play baseball as they swept the Monarchs at home with a close game that ended 3-2, the next one saw the Hammers show why they won the division as the score ended 11-5. The final game in London ended with a 7-2 Hammers victory as the series headed back to Jerusalem with the Hammers holding a 3-2 series lead.

The final game of the series saw the Hebrew Hammers come out on top of a toughly fought contest with a 5-4 victory after 11 innings. The Monarchs had tied the game up in the top of the 9th inning before the Hammers were able to record the victory. In the bottom of the 11th, Kobayashi was facing a 1-3 count, with bases loaded and was able to smack a lin-drive single that drove Vogel in from 3rd to score the winning run.

The Hammers will face the Cairo Pharaohs who also advanced to the championship after their 4-2 series victory over the Buenos Aires Brisas. The Pharaohs had a league-best record of 107-55 so the series will start in Cairo for the 1st two games before heading to Jerusalem for a 3-game stint.

Hopefully we will be celebrating another Hebrew Hammers Grand Slam Cup by Denny's, Marko and Subaru championship.

When asked about our chances, Stollings replied, no one knows for sure how the ball will bounce in these games...but we know we will leave it all on the diamond, one way or another.