CFBL 2019, Year #30

New Rules:  A major change in the rules was a huge success:  Teams were allowed to replace a player who was placed on the Injured List (or paternal/bereavement lists) by their MLB team mid-week.  If the team had no replacements on their bench, they were allowed (for $5) to dip into the players' pool for a replacement.  It happened 24 times during the season (and playoffs); 18 times it was done with existing rosters; six times teams picked up a new player

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     DRAFT (1st found picks):

        Homeboys (Trout)

        Devil Rays (Betts)

        Clubbers (Judge)

        Fisherman (Arenado)

        Oakies (Scherzer)

        Lodi Crushers (JD Martinez)

        River Rats (Sale)

        Casuals (J Ramirez/deGrom)

REGULAR SEASON:  The defending champion Crushers started the year just as the Rats did the year before, going 7-0 in the first two weeks.  But the Homeboys started to catch up, and from weeks 8-12 the Homeboys posted a 32-3 record to move into first place - to stay.  It was a crapshoot for 3rd-5th, with the Rats, Casuals & dRays not really vying for the coveted #5 seeding.

Standings:

         70-42    Homeboys

          67-45   Crushers

          57-55   Oakies

          56-56   Clubbers

          55-57   Fishermen

          51-61   River Rats

          49-63   Casuals

          43-69   Devil Rays

PLAYOFFS:  The Rats & dRays had terrible weeks to start and were eliminated for the season; the Casuals, however, got hot and forced the #5-ranked Fishermen into a second playoff week, where the Casuals won out, 163.50-155.00.  The #3 Oakies & #4 Crushers both moved onto to the Final Five after one week of playoffs.

The Homeboys took advantage of their #1 seeding the first week when they were tied by the Oakies for best record; the 'Boys won the tie-breaker by virture of their higher seeding.

The next week, the Homeboys went 2-2 but expanded their lead to two games when the Oakies & Crushers faltered, making it difficult (but not impossible) to make a move on the Homeboys.  In fact, all five teams had a route to win the championship depending on how the five teams ranked in the 3rd week.  In the end, only 17 points separated the five teams, with the Homeboys winning the Rick Best Memorial Trophy with a 10-2 record; the #2 seeded Crushers finished 2nd with a 6-6 mark.

          #1  Homeboys       4-0     2-2     4-0     10-2

          #2  Crushers          2-2     1-3     3-1      6-6

         #3  Oakies             3-1     0-4     2-2       5-7

         #7  Casuals           0-4     4-0     1-3       5-7

         #4  Clubbers          1-3     3-1     0-4      4-8

Spring training baseball in Surprise, Arizona, home of the Rangers & Royals

Homeboys Dominate the Regular Season AND the Post-Season

1st Title for the Homeboys in 19 Years; Their 4th Overall