ALOMAR DIVISION

The #2-seeded Thunderbirds defeated the #4 Horse Field Hammers 9-3-0 to win the coveted Alomar Division title. In two prior years, the T-Birds had never finished the regular season higher than 10th, but in 2005 they dominated the second half of the season and continued their newfound strength through the playoffs. The Hammers were down only 5-6-1 going into Sunday but lost leads in ERA and WHIP plus a tie in OBP on the final day. The Thunderbirds set the tone with offense, batting .293/.361/.532 with 94 runs and 98 RBI over the two-week final. Despite their loss, the Hammers completed an impressive two-year climb; after finishing dead last in 2003 (when the BBFL had only one division), they jumped to 7th in 2004 (including a Consolation Bracket championship) and 2nd in 2005.

In the battle for third, Rosterite and fourth-seeded Austin Senators overcame Box-founder and #1 Toronto Walrus 9-3-0. After another tremendous regular season, the Walrus just tired out, losing both playoff matches by large margins. Like the Thunderbirds, the Senators hit well (.302/.382/.503, 90 runs) and won all the rate categories in pitching to combat the Walrus’s high-inning attack. The Walrus has never finished worse than fourth in the three years of the BBFL, while the Senators have a title and a third-place finish to their credit.

The Consolation championship goes to the #9 Eastern Shore Birds, who held off the #11 Chatsworth Halos 7-5-0. The match provided an interesting contrast in styles, as the Birds won all six rate categories and the Halos took five of the “counting” stats. The difference maker proved to be the unheralded Jose Valverde, whose seven saves propelled the Birds to a victory in that category.

#7 Reykjavik Fish Candy defeated #8 Mebion Glyndwyr for ninth place by a 9-3-0 margin. The Candy earns the highest placement in its history, while Glyndwyr has never finished lower than eighth.

BARFIELD DIVISION

Schroedinger’s Bat completed an amazing playoff run by defeating Jay’s Ehs 8-4-0 for the Barfield Championship. By doing so, the fifth-seeded Bat earns promotion to the Alomar Division. WAMCO, the third-place team in the regular season, must try again next year. The margin was closer than it appeared; Bat won the innings category by a scant one-third of an inning and WHIP by 0.06. The Ehs can take solace in the guarantee of placement in the Alomar Division next season.

#3 WAMCO triumphed over the #1 Mighty Midgets 8-3-1 for third place. Strong hitting from Manny Ramirez and a heap of free-agent pitchers provided the difference. Both teams improved immensely from last year, when the Midgets finished dead last and WAMCO 17th.

In a another battle of Rosterites, #8 European Wannabe beat #7 Pistol Nine 9-3-0 for the Consolation Championship. Too many of the Nine hitters took an early vacation, while Wannabe enjoyed the manic finishes of David Ortiz and Travis Hafner.

#11 Monkeymen Cubed trounced #12 Jick’s Rays 9-3-0 for ninth place. The Cubed swept the hitting categories and threw in three more in pitching. They also won last year’s Consolation final.

CARTER DIVISION

The #3 Pohnpei Papayas wouldn’t settle for back-door entry to the Barfield Division, defeating #1 Baseball North 9-3-0 for the Carter Division title. North endured two weeks of weak offense and couldn’t get quite enough pitching to overcome it. Meanwhile, the Papayas rode the aforementioned Manny Ramirez and a stellar finish by Tom Glavine to victory. Baseball North will join the Papayas in Barfield in 2006 along with Magic 9.

#2 Magic 9 turned back #5 Three Bucks On A Hun 8-4-0 for third place. The contest was tighter than it seemed fro the score. Magic eked out a two-run margin in runs and .007 in slugging, and Hun won the ERA category by a mere 0.10.

In the Dungeons and Dragons Division, the #9 Garth Iorg Gremlins dismissed the #7 Angry Gnomes 8-4-0 for the Consolation Championship in yet another deceptively close matchup. The Gremlins won runs by two, batting average by .004, slugging by .004 and ERA by 0.10.

#10 @$$kickers beat #8 Team Balla 8-4-0 for ninth place.