Congratulations to the Haviland Dragons on their fourth EFL Championship, ending an 8-year drought since they last won in 2016.
The Johnson family now ties the Weinert and Mock families with 7 EFL championships.
The trophy will be inscribed with its newest champions, and delivered at the next EFL event — potentially the Rule 5 Draft as early as December,
That draft, and all the spring 2025 drafts until Opening Day, will follow the following order…
… EXCEPT the Rookie Draft, which will follow the following order:
Sharp-eyed members will note a few things:
- The Kangaroos slipped one notch in the draft, having passed the Pirates in the standings yesterday. This is, of course, according to EFL tradition, which designates the Kangaroos as the victims of any arbitrary bad luck in the draft order.
- This draft order might change if we add and/or subtract members to the league. An expansion team will immediately be slotted into the first draft slot — although maybe we should make an exception if the MLB team sets a record for most losses in a year… Barring an exception, an expansion team causes the entire draft order to be recalculated, with most teams in the first half of the draft order dropping one notch… except the ‘Roos who, I believe, must drop two spots, if I recall the tradition correctly.
- There won’t be any rookies left by the time the Dragons get to draft. Maybe 2025’s Jose Caballero will go to the Dragons in Round 1, so no one will have to use their pre-emption on the first computer pick of the second round to snag a game changer like Sr. Caballero. I tell you what, John, I’ll trade you my computer pre-emption for your first round pick.
Lest I forget, here are the OFFICIAL FINAL STANDINGS for our 2024 EFL Season:
Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | WPct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haviland Dragons | 102.23 | 59.77 | .631 | 0.0 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 91.56 | 70.44 | .565 | 10.7 |
| Peshastin Pears | 89.92 | 72.08 | .555 | 12.3 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 83.26 | 78.74 | .514 | 19.0 |
| Salem Seraphim | 81.69 | 80.31 | .504 | 20.5 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 80.40 | 81.60 | .496 | 21.8 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 76.25 | 85.75 | .471 | 26.0 |
| D.C. Balk | 71.71 | 90.29 | .443 | 30.5 |
| Cascadia Glaciers | 70.89 | 91.11 | .438 | 31.3 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 67.51 | 94.49 | .417 | 34.7 |
| Kaline Drive | 62.81 | 99.19 | .388 | 39.4 |
Haviland: 0.56 [5.27 – 0.73] v. Portland: (-0.56) [0.73 – 5.27]
The Dragons end the 2024 campaign with a roar, getting a HUGE result for a bonus day with only two MLB games on the docket. There were only 2 Dragons in those games: Spencer Schwellenbach, who pitching 7 innings for only 1 earned run, and Pete Alonso. who went 2 singles for 8 PA. Schwellenbach’s work was the key for the Dragons, but the Rosebuds added a boost: Mark Vientos going 0 for 3 (the only Rosebud connection to Monday’s doubleheader.
Peshastin: (-0.46) 4.54 – 1.46 v. Canberra: 0.46 [1.46 – 4.54]
Peshastin’s two participants in the day 163 double-header could have been great, like Haviland’s. But they weren’t. Michael Harris III only went 1 for 8 with a walk — a similar to Alonso’s line — but Joe Jimenez did the opposite to Schellenbach, basically: only pitching a little (1 ip) and giving up a lot (3 er). For the Kangaroos, Brandon Nimmo also reached base twice, like Harris and Alonso, except Nimms other hit besides the single was a home run. A costly home, run the price of which we’ll know when John announces the Pirates’ pick just before Canberra’s. Nimmo might hear from his Kangaroo manager about
Pittsburgh: 0.12 [3.49 – 2.51] v. DC: (-0.12) [2.51 – 3.48
The Alleghenys skipped the pitching part, so they could concentrate on getting 2 hitters into the games. Ozzie Albies had a big day: 3 for 7 with a double, a homer, and two walks. JD Martinez added a single and a walk in 4 plate appearances. The A’s didn’t use any pitchers. The Balkan representatives both struggled. Harrison Bader went 0 for 5, but Tyler Megill managed to survive 5.7 innings, allowing 3 earned runs.
Salem: (-0.18). [4.17 – 1.83]. v. Kaline (0.18) [1.83 – 3.17]
Francisco Alvarez doubled in 4 AB for the Seraphim. Drives Jared Kelenic (a single in his only PA) and Tyrone Taylor (a double, a single, and a walk in 7 PA) did enough to cut a little hit into Salem’s margin of victory in their Week 27 series.
Flint Hill: (-0.04) [4.64 – 1.36] v. Cascadia: 0.04 [1;36 – 4.64].
Sean Murphy barely appeared in the stats for the Tornados yesterday, getting only 1 AB. But he walked twice, which is more than nothing. But not worth as much as Gio Urshela represented for Cascadia in the doubleheader, going 2 for 7 with a walk
Old Detroit: (-0.12) {3.25 – 2.75] v. MLB.
Wolverine goals were modest for the doubleheader day: watch Jose Iglesias get hits. Goal achieved: Iglesias got two hits (both singles) in 9 AB, He also stole a base. It was not enough to avoid a small slip in winning percentage, but it had no effect on standings, So the defending champions go out with barely a whimper, miles behind the leaders.
