2001 BRASSball PLAYOFFS - NL DIVISIONAL SERIES

FLEETWOOD (92-70) VS. STANLEY (103-92) 

Facing off in this series were two NL Central division foes, the runner-up Fleetwood Walkers and the division champion Stanley Sioux.  Fleetwood earned its NLDS berth by taking the NL Wild Card series from another NL Central team, the Columbus Buckeyes, in five games. 

The regular season greatly favored Stanley in the series.  They finished with a 103-59 record, a full eleven games better than the runner-up Fleetwood Walkers’ 92-70 mark.  Perhaps more telling, though, was Stanley’s regular season dominance over Fleetwood.  During the 2001 season, Stanley won six of the seven head-to-head games played by these rivals. 

Leading Fleetwood into the series were its star third baseman Chipper Jones (.321, 30 HR, 117 RBI), its gold-glove outfielder Jim Edmonds (.299, 46 HR, 137 RBI), and its dominant reliever Derek Lowe (2.64 ERA, 95 IP, 31 SV). 

But Stanley’s roster featured star power like few others.  First were its tandem of Big Mac and the Big Unit.  Mark McGwire enjoyed a injury-plagued but strong season (.283, 24 HR, 91 BB in 233 AB) while Randy Johnson won the NL Cy Young Award (24-8, 2.93 ERA, 300 K).  But in addition to these two was a veritable Murder’s Row of hitters: LF Moises Alou (.343, 25 HR, 88 RBI), 1B Rafael Palmeiro (.303, 41 HR, 127 RBI), RF Jermaine Dye (.322, 31 HR, 116 RBI) and CF Bernie Williams (.286, 38 HR, 108 RBI). 

Stanley’s only noticeable weakness was a potentially suspect bullpen. Its closer, Antonio Alfonseca, was indeed third in the NL with 39 saves during the regular season, converting on all but three saves chances (a 93% save percentage).  But it would be hard to call Alfonseca dominant, as he also sported a rather gaudy 5.03 ERA. 

Would Stanley’s dominance of Fleetwood continue?  Or would the Walkers avenge their earlier defeats at the hands of the Sioux, perhaps by exploiting Stanley’s bullpen?  The BRASSball world would soon find out.