Strolz has been a leader for the Outlaws for the last 5 years after a long and distinguished career in the GBC. He played 5 years for Manama (yes, I had to google it, I don’t think I learned about this place in 3rd grade social studies) and 1 season for Tokyo before coming over to the BBA. It seems like Manama moved to Tokyo, but I need to dig into this a bit more. That’s a goal for another day. Strolz had 3 years with more than 4.0 WAR during his stretch overseas and had a career best .384 avg in 2050. He totaled 16.5 WAR over the 6 seasons and made himself available for free agency after the 2051 season. San Antonio jumped at signing him that offseason and brought him stateside with a 5 year deal for $71.2 million.
His stats over the last 5 years in the main league have almost matched his GBC success. Out of the 5 seasons with the Outlaws he has had two with WAR more than 4, 2053 when he hit .348 and this season when he hit .337. His power has been a bit lower and his wRC+ is a tad lower as well but that could be due to the competition difference since he came over to the states. At any rate he has enjoyed success.
Why am I telling you all of this?
Well, this year he was having a superb season, hitting .361 in April and .409 in May. Then June struck and he was injured for 3 weeks. Essentially one day derailed what was going to be a career year and the veteran player was placed on the DL until mid July. He started up again slowly, hitting .247 over the remainder of the month. In August he started knocking the seams off the ball again batting .317 and getting back into the groove. Then September hit and he hit his stride once again, batting .387 for the month. His hitting streak of 12 games to end the season was a key push for him to overtake Resurrection Santos for the Johnson League batting crown.
So how does 1 atbat matter in the grind of a 6-month long season? Well, during game 162, in the bottom of the 9th inning in what was a 9-1 Rocky Mountain Oyster lead in a basically meaningless game for the Outlaws, and which the Oysters basically guaranteed that they would reach the century mark for wins in ’56, Strolz came up to the plate with a .3360 batting average. A hit would push him past Santos, who was getting a much needed day off prior to the playoff push. The possible MVP was sitting at .3358 for the year. With a hit, Strolz would have a final average of .3374 and with an out he would have an average of .3353 and miss out on the batting title. Strolz zeroed in on the 2nd pitch from Jae-Ho Chang and launched the ball 381 feet into the right centerfield stands for a homerun and the batting title.
Strolz could have been pinch hit for and have won the title outright. Or he could have made an out and lost the title. He decided to finish off the craziest year of his professional career in a way that only made sense in the movies, launching the ball far into the night sky. In the grand scheme of things the batting title isn’t what meant the most to those players watching him round the bases that night. It was the efforts he displayed over the course of the last 6 months that lead him to the title.
