After 21 weeks, three playoff places were still up for grabs going into the final week of the regular season in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Which teams made it and who just missed out at a shot at the title?
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| NE Riverkings | 35 | 7 | 23 | 4 | .259 | .794 | 3 | 7 | 44 | 2 | 3.77 | 1.19 | 10 |
| Richie’s RBI’s | 25 | 6 | 20 | 6 | .260 | .752 | 2 | 5 | 33 | 1 | 6.13 | 1.31 | 2 |
The Riverkings picked a great time for a big win, defeating the RBIs 10-2 and securing seventh place in the standings and a playoff place. The pitchers had a sweep, as King Felix and deGrom each had a win and help take ERA and WHIP, while Smith had a win and two holds and Familia had four saves. Khris Davis had three homers, joined Choo in driving in six and stole a base. Choo also scored six runs, as did Bogaerts. The RBIs salvaged steals thanks to three from Votto while Burns helped take average by a point.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Newcastle Knights | 27 | 12 | 33 | 5 | .274 | .823 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 0 | 5.19 | 1.37 | 3 |
| Weston-Super-Sox | 41 | 11 | 39 | 4 | .299 | .900 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 2 | 4.89 | 1.26 | 9 |
The Sox warmed up for the playoffs by defeating the Knights 9-3 and knocking them from top of the standings. In a matchup packed with offense, Cain scored eight times and Cespedes knocked in 12 and teamed with Escobar to take average and OPS. Koehler had a win and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Smyly struck out 14 and Betances had a hold. Donaldson, Encarnacion, Correa and Betts each hit two homers for the Knights, while Mookie also swiped two bases. Street had three saves.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Norwich No II | 34 | 10 | 27 | 0 | .280 | .878 | 2 | 4 | 46 | 0 | 4.93 | 1.30 | 8 |
| Bits & Bytes | 24 | 6 | 15 | 1 | .198 | .617 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 4.91 | 1.42 | 3 |
Norwich secured their playoff place with an 8-3 win against Bits & Bytes. The offense took five out of six categories as Schwarber hit three homers and Granderson scored nine times and joined Lindor in helping to take average and OPS. Bryant knocked in six runs. Rondon and Jansen had two saves each and Syndergaard struck out eight and made the difference in WHIP. Bits & Bytes salvaged wins and ERA thanks to Teheran, while Ellsbury had the lone steal.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Jesmond Dennings | 32 | 9 | 31 | 2 | .273 | .820 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 3.68 | 1.09 | 7 |
| Batteries Essential | 24 | 8 | 27 | 3 | .237 | .740 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 4.46 | 1.09 | 4 |
Jesmond finished the regular season in first place after defeating Batteries Essential – who grabbed the final playoff place as other results went their way – 7-4. Chris Davis scored eight runs, homered twice and drove in six, batting .471, while McCutchen (6 R, 2 HR, 7 RBIs) also had a good week. Chapman and Giles had two saves each and Medlen helped take ERA and force a tie in WHIP. MadBum had a win and nine strikeouts for Batteries Essential, while Romo had a hold and Revere stole three bases.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Becknam Lollygaggers | 27 | 5 | 17 | 8 | .238 | .683 | 5 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 3.06 | 1.14 | 4 |
| Cheshunt Maltsters | 24 | 9 | 31 | 0 | .283 | .820 | 6 | 5 | 51 | 0 | 4.35 | 1.15 | 7 |
The Lollygaggers fell just short (ONE game back in the standings) in the race for the playoffs, losing 7-4 to the Maltsters. Calhoun had two homers (as did Cano) and knocked in six (as did Longoria, who batted .391) while Greinke had two wins and led the staff with 13 strikeouts. Ramos had four saves. For the Lollygaggers, Segura scored six runs (as did Frazier) and stole four bases, while Lewis and Kershaw helped take ERA and WHIP.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Iron Men | 26 | 8 | 28 | 2 | .250 | .756 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 1.20 | 1.13 | 5 |
| The Cheddar Chasers | 18 | 3 | 20 | 1 | .262 | .686 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 0 | 4.10 | 1.49 | 7 |
The Chasers ended the regular season with a win against Iron Men, who surprisingly failed to meet the 20-inning minimum, therefore forfeiting all six pitching categories. Kyle Seager had a multi-homer week for the Chasers and teamed up with Rendon to take average, while Gray did not allow an earned run while picking up a win. Allen had a win and two saves and Martinez struck out eight. Kang homered twice for Iron me, scoring and driving in seven, while Gomez also homered twice and had a steal.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Orpington Isotopes | 24 | 10 | 41 | 2 | .294 | .890 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 3 | 6.75 | 1.66 | 5 |
| Mighty Slugs | 24 | 4 | 28 | 7 | .278 | .774 | 5 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 3.59 | 1.16 | 4 |
Finally, my Isotopes finished a disappointing regular season with a 5-4 win against the Slugs. Ortiz hit three homers, knocked in nine and batted .444, while Beltre and Jones each had two homers and seven RBIs. Cruz also went deep twice. Clippard had three holds. For the Slugs, Peavy was the pick of the pitchers with a win, and helped take ERA and WHIP. Bautista and Turner each had two steals.
THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN
The top eight are through to the Championship playoffs, with the first round matchups as follows:
Jesmond (1st) v Batteries Essential (8th)
Knights (2nd) v Riverkings (7th)
Iron Men (3rd) v Norwich (6th)
Sox (4th) v Slugs (5th)
The semi-finals will begin next week, with the final the week after that. To all of the teams left standing, good luck and play hard. For the teams that didn’t make it this time, thanks for taking part and there’s always next year.
