It was almost certain that the National League was going to make it nine straight.
Starting with the JimmyJam Slammers pair of World Series titles and ending with the Cheese Steaks three titles in four years, the National League had been the dominant force in September.
But then, the team that had found itself on the wrong side of the World Series boxscore in 2017, took down a Cinderella Canadian 12-7-3 to win his first World Series title and the first for the American League since 2010.
Breakfast is finally a champion.
This certainly didn't look possible just 30 days ago.
In early September, the Dude and Cheese Steaks entered the playoffs after having combined for 520 wins during the regular season. Quad Eh, who was only 12 games over .500, took down both in the well-noted tie-breakers, and it was up to him to keep the streak going.
And early on, it was looking good. He led after Week 1 of the first two-week JLB World Series, but Big Ol' Country Breakfast's second week was a testament to the team that dominated the American League during the regular season.
Breakfast won 239 games during the 2019 regular season — his third straight season of 224-plus wins — and won 13-7-2 over Choo in the ALCS to advance to the World Series.
There, Trea Turner (5 homers, 10 RBIs, 19 hits, 13 runs, 3 SBs) and deadline trade acquisition Charlie Blackmon (4 HRs, 8 RBIs, 10 hits, 6 runs) led the way as Sam took runs by 2, singles by 16 and homers by 7. In total, Sam won 6 of 11 categories on the batting side.
He did the same on the pitching side with the closest battle coming in strikeouts, which he held on to win 168-166. Quad Eh tied wins on the final day to keep Sam from recording back-to-back 13-7-2 wins.
The bullpen for Sam was far superior with 8 saves and 8 holds to Quad Eh's 1 save and 3 holds.
Marco Gonzalez, who had 3 of Sam's 10 quality starts, played a key role with a 1.29 ERA over 21 innings. Robbie Ray hurt the ERA with a 4.67 in his 17.1 innings of work, but he torched the competition for 27 strikeouts in his three starts.
As it turned out, Sam needed every one of those strikeouts.
Zack Wheeler also chipped in with 2 quality starts, 16 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings. Kenley Jansen had 4 of the 8 saves, and Drew Pomeranz had 3 of the 8 holds, and they combined for 16 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.
Altogether, Sam made a bunch of great moves to get to this point and it paid off. He may have gotten a little lucky in avoiding the monster that was slain by the Canadian wonder, but that is the name of the game.
And right now, Sam is going to get a rather large trophy to hold for the upcoming season. It's almost complete, but he'll have to wait a few months to get it because I am going to let three-time JLB Champion Jim Vaughn hold it for a little bit.
He has certainly earned some time with the trophy.
Sam, however, has earned the right to hold it for the full 2020 season.
Congrats, Sam. Congrats, AL.
It's about time.
Starting with the JimmyJam Slammers pair of World Series titles and ending with the Cheese Steaks three titles in four years, the National League had been the dominant force in September.
But then, the team that had found itself on the wrong side of the World Series boxscore in 2017, took down a Cinderella Canadian 12-7-3 to win his first World Series title and the first for the American League since 2010.
This certainly didn't look possible just 30 days ago.
In early September, the Dude and Cheese Steaks entered the playoffs after having combined for 520 wins during the regular season. Quad Eh, who was only 12 games over .500, took down both in the well-noted tie-breakers, and it was up to him to keep the streak going.
And early on, it was looking good. He led after Week 1 of the first two-week JLB World Series, but Big Ol' Country Breakfast's second week was a testament to the team that dominated the American League during the regular season.
Breakfast won 239 games during the 2019 regular season — his third straight season of 224-plus wins — and won 13-7-2 over Choo in the ALCS to advance to the World Series.
There, Trea Turner (5 homers, 10 RBIs, 19 hits, 13 runs, 3 SBs) and deadline trade acquisition Charlie Blackmon (4 HRs, 8 RBIs, 10 hits, 6 runs) led the way as Sam took runs by 2, singles by 16 and homers by 7. In total, Sam won 6 of 11 categories on the batting side.
He did the same on the pitching side with the closest battle coming in strikeouts, which he held on to win 168-166. Quad Eh tied wins on the final day to keep Sam from recording back-to-back 13-7-2 wins.
The bullpen for Sam was far superior with 8 saves and 8 holds to Quad Eh's 1 save and 3 holds.
Marco Gonzalez, who had 3 of Sam's 10 quality starts, played a key role with a 1.29 ERA over 21 innings. Robbie Ray hurt the ERA with a 4.67 in his 17.1 innings of work, but he torched the competition for 27 strikeouts in his three starts.
As it turned out, Sam needed every one of those strikeouts.
Zack Wheeler also chipped in with 2 quality starts, 16 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings. Kenley Jansen had 4 of the 8 saves, and Drew Pomeranz had 3 of the 8 holds, and they combined for 16 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.
Altogether, Sam made a bunch of great moves to get to this point and it paid off. He may have gotten a little lucky in avoiding the monster that was slain by the Canadian wonder, but that is the name of the game.
And right now, Sam is going to get a rather large trophy to hold for the upcoming season. It's almost complete, but he'll have to wait a few months to get it because I am going to let three-time JLB Champion Jim Vaughn hold it for a little bit.
He has certainly earned some time with the trophy.
Sam, however, has earned the right to hold it for the full 2020 season.
Congrats, Sam. Congrats, AL.
It's about time.
Comments