Old Versus New: Orioles Still Got It

In the 95th Franchise Ball World Series, 2 very different teams faced off for the title.

The Baltimore Orioles were founded in Season 20 and have had monumental success, amassing 51 division titles, 12 league championships, and World Series wins in 64 and 73. They’ve been doing really well since the new playoff system was implemented, getting to the World Series twice in row... and got swept by the Spitters and the Bombers. They came into this World Series after beating a stacked field, featuring defending world champ Calgary Fire Birds, the San Jose Panthers, and the Providence Franzes, among others. The did this with Ocean Star’s best offense, which hit .322, and the 8th best pitching staff, registering a 3.66 ERA in pitcher-friendly Ocean Star.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Lightning Badger, who were founded just slightly after me in late Season 88, had only had 2 40-win seasons prior to this year, when they figured it out and went 51-9. In homer-happy Delta Premier, the Badgers kept up with a .328 AVG, which ranked 5th, but their pitching lead the league with a suffocating 3.46 ERA. To get here, they had to go through the DBucs and the legendary hitters, the Codfish.

Now, in Game 1, the Orioles started things off with a RBI single by Montrel Hernadez in the 1st, added another run courtesy of an RBI double by Rahul Lacy, and extended their lead with another double by Alonso Iglesias and Hernadez’s 2nd RBI single of the night in the 5th to make it 4-0. Milwaukee was determined to come back, and got RBI singles by Brady Cooney and Arnoldo Quinones, but Ginessa Samaniego came in and shut down the Badgers for 2 innings, and the Orioles got the 4-2 dub.

In Game 2, Cooney got red-hot, going 2-4 with 1 2B, a homer, and 4 RBIs, Quinones added a solo homer, Jonathan Pham hit a solo shot of his own, and Kyler Lerner chipped in with a sac fly, giving the Lightning Badger plenty enough run support to fuel them to a 7-2 win, evening the series.

Game 3 looked like it would be high-scoring Teodor Teran hit a 2-run bomb with 0 outs in the 1st, but that turned out to be all the scoring action, as Samaniego got another save and Baltimore went up 2-1 with a 2-0 victory.

Game 4 looked like it would be the game where it all ended, as the Orioles had a 2-0 lead going into the 5th, but the Badgers remembered that this was the World Series, scoring 4 in the 5th and 5 in the 6th, which got them an easy 11-4 win, which set up the decisive Game 5.

After 2 scoreless innings, the Orioles struck first, with Damario Baca knocking in a run with a double and Genersob Najera smashed a 2-run homer to make it 3-0. Randall Livingston extended the lead in the 4th with an RBI triple, and Najera doubled home his 3rd RBI in the 5th, giving Baltimore a seemingly insurmountable 5-0 lead. However, the Badgers didn’t want to go down without a fight, and got their rally started with a 2-run homer by Lerner in the bottom of the 5th, and 3 innings later, got a triple from Blanco and a sac fly from pinch hitter Sabastian Whitworth to make it 5-4. However, in the 9th, Palben Chacon couldn’t get through the inning, and allowed Iglesias to hit a dagger of a 2-run home run. The demoralized Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 in the 9th, and that was that! The Orioles won their first World Series in 22 seasons.

The Orioles attack was so balanced that it was really hard to name 1 MVP, so the World Series co-MVPs are Ginessa Samaniego (5 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 4 K, 1 BB, 3 SV, 1.80 ERA, 0.200 WHIP) and Genersob Najera (8-17, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, .471 AVG, .706 SLG, .550 OBP, 1.256 OPS).

Congrats to the Orioles, and All Star results will be announced tonight!