September II Sim Done -- on to the postseason!

Game Date: September 24, 2026

It's time for the 25th postseason in SDMB League history! Competing in the league championship series are:

Seattle Monarchs (113-49 record) against the Antelope Valley Raptors (90-72)

Brick Barracudas (99-63) against the London Dragons (92-70)

London clinched their ticket for the postseason in the final sim, eliminating Brooklyn in the final week of the season. They join Brick and Antelope Valley as first-time (for their owners) playoff contenders. The other team in the postseason need not be mentioned.

League News:

• The Batting Champ for 2026 was Katsuhiko Jouda of Brooklyn, who batted .357, besting Norman Kuhn of Seattle and Adrian Cisneros of Atlanta.
  
• David Seibel of Shackamaxon was the home run champ for 2026, with 56 home runs, tying Luis Jeon's 2020 campaign for the most in a single season in league history. This is Seibel's second home run title, and second time eclipsing 50 home runs in a season.
  
• Mark Smith of Atlanta had the most RBIs, 154, this season.
  
• For the pitchers, Jim Knowles of Antelope Valley bested his teammate Ernest Metcalf and London's Victor Rivera for the ERA title, with 2.78 ERA this season.
  
• Metcalf won 21 games, the most this season, and Maui's Emilio Romero led the league with 261 strikeouts.
  
• Petero Hokaulohi of Antelope Valley set the single season record for base hits with 242, breaking Andy Robinson's record of 239 set last season.
  
• Seattle's Terry Hubbard was the Player of the Week for 9/21/2026.

Injuries:

• Seattle SP Juan Villatoro will miss 3-4 weeks with a herniated disk.
• London 2B Jesus Alvarez will miss 2 weeks with a sprained finger.

Administrative Note:

Since the AA season is over, I completed the Gallardo trade between Shackamaxon and Brick by naming Don Jones of Brick's AA team as the former Player To Be Named Later. He was acquired by Shackamaxon for $1.

Draft Order:

For the eight teams not in the postseason, their offseason has begun with the sorting of the first eight spots in the draft:

1. Houston Armadillos (54 wins)
2. Hickory Huskers (56 wins)
3. Philadelphia Crushers (63 wins)
4. Maui Mashers (73 wins)
5. Atlanta Hurricanes (79 wins)
6. Ohio Buckeyes (81 wins)
7. Brooklyn Wolves (85 wins)
8. Shackamaxon Lenape (87 wins)

(Yes, the entire Zotti League finished at or above .500 again. This isn't the first time it's happened.)

Postseason Schedule:

I have simmed up until the opening day of the postseason. Zev will set the schedule for the postseason and take things over from here. Good luck to Bill, Fred, Scott, and Mack! Don't forget to set your 25-man playoff rosters!