November 12, 2054
Alomogordo, Somewhere – The Yellow Springs Nine are pleased to congratulate the 2054 Alomogordo Road Runners for being the 2054 Spike Nolan Rookie League League Champions. With a record of 41-27, the team finished second in the Cowboy Division of the league behind Port Arthur Pythons of the Jacksonville organization, who were 51-17. As the wild card for the Horizon League section, their odds were long, but they overcame the top teams to become the reigning champions for the BBA's newest players.
In the first round, the Road Runners faced off against the Pythons, who they'd lost the regular season series to, 3-1. The odds were long, but they were able to squeeze out a victory in the playoffs, knocking off their division rival 4-2. Interestingly, the team's losses were both blowouts, 7-2 and 6-1, but in the closer games, the underdogs came out on top, 4-1, 3-0, 1-0, and 4-2 in the clincher.
The second round found the team facing the Chestermere Lunkers, Calgary's team in the league. They were 43-25, finishing first in the Waves of Grain Division. Was this to be the end? No, the Lunkers were clunkers, getting swept in 4 games by the Road Runners, who sped past them en route to the Championship Series.
Ironically, their foe in the final was the Denison Monarchs, the wild card for the Frontier League section of the Nolan. The Monarchs were 56-12 and easily the better team on paper. They'd only finished second because of Pheonix's powerhouse Traverse City Talons, who were a staggering 64-4 but lost in the first round in a matchup against the second best team in the Monarchs. The Monarchs belonged to frequent Nine trading partner Omaha, an organization that's incredibly solid from top to bottom but can't quite make the Brewster.
It shouldn't have even been close.
And it wasn't.
The Road Runners treated them like they were the old cartoon Wil E. Coyote, tossing them off a cliff in a 4-1 series win, including shut outs in game one and the clinching game five, a beautiful 1-0 combined shutout.
Series MVP, SS Felix Abernathy, the first round draft pick of the Nine in 2054, batted .328 with 2 home runs in the playoffs, to cap a season of .364 with 20 home runs in 66 games for the Road Runners. "I won the championship in 2052 with Microsoft. That was an amazing feeling. This is even better. I can't wait to do this at the top level and win the Brewster."
Abernathy wasn't alone in his success, for sure. Starting pitcher Tyler Rodriguez, the Nine's second round pick in 2054, was 4-0 with a 0.38 ERA (not a typo) in 23.2 innings across 4 starts, which was amazing because he was just 3-3 in the regular season in 14 starts, though his ERA was just 2.24 in 72.1 innings. What changed? "I don't think a whole lot, actually," said the young man. "I just bore down a little harder. I was doing good before but it wasn't showing in the win column. By the time September came around, we were locked in."
Manager Angel Cuevas was all smiles at the ceremony. "I couldn't be prouder of these kids. They're a great group. Some of them were with me when we made the playoffs last year and I told them, 'keep playing the right way and you'll win a championship, either with me, or further on down the line.' I'm beyond thrilled that we were able to do this together, along with all the new players Mac [GM Rob McMonigal] has picked up for us.
Cuevas is in his second year as Road Runners manager, with a record of 84-52, with 2 straight playoff runs. "Here's hoping I can make it three in a row!" he quipped when this was pointed out to him. His career record as a manager is 229-187. Asked if he every wished to manage at a higher level, he deferred. "I wouldn't say no to an opportunity, but I really like working with players right out of high school."
"I'm so proud of what Angel is doing here with the Road Runners," said McMonigal. "He's coaching these players to their fullest potential and showing that despite the comments, these draft classes have some really strong players in them, like Jim [Kantor, who was on the playoff-run 2053 team], Felix, and Rodriguez, just to name a few. There's also players like Jim McQuadeJim McQuade, who was a 6th round pick who hit .347 for us. Or Bin-Martadi, who was picked by our team in the 10th round and went on to get 15 saves, plus another seven in the playoff run. It's not just the stars that matter – it's the hidden gems, And Angel can coach them all.
Closing the conference, McMonigal announced that the management team of Cuevas, itching coach Miguel Datiz, and hitting coach Serge Gueguen had all received extensions. "Well deserved," said McMonigal. "Well deserved."
The Road Runners, founded in 1997, will celebrate their first ever championship all off-season and look to take on new teammates and new challenges in 2055.
