Reds-Bombers Part 1: By Cyclones

Reds-Bombers: A Historic FB Rivalry
Part 1 of 3

It was season 77. October of 2019, just mere months before the sickness and lockdown we now know as Covid-19. At the time, nobody knew what was to come. A terrible sickness that would kill millions, and the Bombers and Reds moving to Delta Premier NorthEast, beginning one of the greatest rivalries in FB history!
?FB: FB was fresh off an entertaining world playoffs that saw the #1 team, the Baltimore Orioles, cruise past the Boise Rumble Ponies (someone make this their name, PLEASE) and the Sunnyvale Clouds. After surviving against the Kobe Militia in the Epsilon Peak finals, the #10 L.A. Lions defeated the #18 River Rats, 6-0 before punching their ticket to the finals with a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Ricks. The Lions would go on to win Game 3, 7-3, to clinch their 1st and only World Series title.
?Reds: Season 77 was up and down for the Reds. Their 3.02 ERA held opposing teams to just 175 runs, but their offense only put up 4.25 RPG, dropping Cincinnati to 35-25. Conor Eldridge, despite being 36, led the team in AVG (.304), HR (16) and RBIs (40). Only 2 other players hit double digit homers, 38 year old Riley Aquino and 35 year old Samuel Turner. Graham Parsons was 7-3 with a 1.71 ERA, and Tristin Keller (9-1), Roque Delafuente (6-4) and Ambrosia Colunga (3-3) all had ERAs in the mid to high 2s.
?Bombers: The Bombers were the exact opposite of the Reds. They had a shaky pitching staff (4.78 ERA) but their 8.72 RPG propelled them to a 50-10 record. In contrast to the Reds, 8 Bombers had double digit homers, with Cornelius Jewett, Rodolfo Humphreys and Samir Hawes leading the way in the mid-20s. Humphreys was only 24, and hit .404 with 33 doubles and 25 homers. They also had a clear cut ace in 28 year old Brennon Fiore, who went 8-1 with a 2.83 ERA.
?Season 78: The Bombers brought in Cortez Isaacson (7-0, 1.98), Keenan Kuntz (8-0, 3.22) and Reilly Trujillo (7-2, 4.01) to bolster their staff, and with their perennially good hitting, they went 46-14, yet lost out on the division title, to the 47-13 Houston Nightcrawlers. Meanwhile, the Reds were acquiring hitting. Renato Lugo and Felippe Bravo were stellar in a timeshare at 3rd, and with Eldridge still producing, and the arrival of Conor Powell, the Reds offense was vastly improved. With Parsons, Colunga and Keller still pitching well, the Reds improved to 37-23. The #8 Delta Seed Kure Kantai went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the league finals, and the Daly City Admirals defeated the Philadelphia RipXXX to earn their only World Series.
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Season 79: Nobody knows how it happened, but the Nightcrawlers fell to 34-26 the next season. This opened the door for the Bombers. 31 year old Mauricio Sierra exploded for 36 homers, Hawes had 30 and Humphreys had 28 as the Bombers cruised to the division title at 49-11. The pitching, though better, was still a weakness, and it prevented them from going far, as they dropped their 2nd round matchup, 10-8, against the Ann Arbor Wolves. In contrast, the Reds, despite being on an upward trajectory, regressed in Season 79. Their already weak hitting dropped another 5 average points, and without an amazing rotation (4.32 ERA) to carry them, they fell to 32-28.
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Season 80: This is when the rivalry really started to heat up. Before, it was the Bombers and Nightcrawlers fighting for the top spot, with the Toronto Degenerates in 3rd. With the Nightcrawlers gone, and the Reds continuing to improve, the Bombers would not go unchallenged. Despite Sierra and Humphreys “regressing” to 19 and 16 homers respectively, Darien Rainey exploded for a .415 average and 31 homers. Yet he wasn’t the best hitter on the Bombers. The ‘80 Bombers hosted one of the greatest singular seasons of all time, Samir Hawes campaign as the starting SS. He hit .363 with 40 (yes, 40) homers and 102 RBIs. He would go on to hit 369 career homers and have the FB MVP award named after him. Anyway, the Bombers were on track to have their most well-rounded team in recent memory. Ronaldo Creighton, Gorane Roldan, Brennan Fiore and Godfredo Echevarria were set to lead a much-improved staff, and they led the Bombers to a 53-7 finish.
The Reds still had great pitching. That was a given with players like Keller, Parsons, Cortez Lambert and now they added Giovanny Ames and Elijah Hutcheson to the mix. Hitting was a weakness again, though, and Marquise Farias, Felippe Bravo and Dexter Pritchard led the team with just 12 homers each. However, the Reds did go 41-19, and it was a sign of things to come.
The Bombers flew through the league stage, putting up a run +/- of +17 in the 3 game stretch. They went into their first round game against the Minneapolis Schizophrenics as heavy favorites, and were up 6-3 heading into the final inning, before Riley Trujillo (1-1, 9.00) blew a save, and the Bombers lost, 7-6. The Schizophrenics actually beat the Little Rock Cougars before losing in the semis to the eventual champion, New Orleans Hot Rods.

Season 81: The Bombers were frustrated. They had had 3 great seasons in a row, and had missed out on glory, thanks to the Nightcrawlers, Ann Arbor Wolves and Riley Trujillo. This was their year. Cornelius Jewett (.346, 25 HRs), Misael Richey (.380, 35 HRs) and Samir Hawes (.341, 19 HRs) would again lead a strong starting lineup, but it was the additions of Gavin McCurry (8-3, 2.30) and Clifford Li (9-0, 2.44) who elevated the Bombers to contender status. Roldan, Fiore, and Creighton were back, and now it seemed that hitting was the weakness (what?). Meanwhile, the Reds were slowly becoming true challengers to the Bombers. In the ‘80 offseason, Cincinnati made some key moves. They bolstered their corner outfield, picking up Brycen Gray (.325, 24 HRs) and Iago Riojas (.327, 14 HRs). Along with Dexter Pritchard (17 HRs) and Felippe Bravo (15 HRs), the Reds RPG increased by .37, up to 5.18. They did, however, lose Graham Parsons, and though they replaced him with Morgan Woodward (9-3, 2.86) and Lee Kingsley (5-3, 3.58), Cortez Lambert wasn’t the same, and the Reds dropped to 37-23. The Bombers did win the division with a 49-11 record, but had a disappointing end to their season, as they dropped their first playoff game, 13-9 to the dead (25-11) San Diego Pandas.

Please share your thoughts in the comments! Parts 2 (seasons 82-88) and 3 (89-pres) will be coming soon!