Backyard Baseball League Season 8 (CrazyLegs)

==The Beginnings==
For the first time since Season 5, the league format returned to 2 leagues (conferences), each with 3 divisions of 4 teams. The teams had a draft to determine their field and division slot, unlike the previous two seasons where the leagues were divided by the experience of the coaches. 
A first-time rule this season was that batting power ups could only be used by a team's ninth round draft pick. If a team had multiple 9th round picks, they could choose which one received the power ups, but they must stick with that choice for the whole season. If a team traded out of the ninth round, they were not allowed any batting power ups. If a player was dropped after the draft and an undrafted player was picked up in their place, the undrafted player could use the power ups. 
This season was colloquially called the "Crazy Legs" league, keeping up with the Season 5-6 theme of naming leagues after Backyard Kids and their nicknames. 
==Setting Up the Season==
The 24 coaches signed on to Season 8 were as follows: 
AL WEST 	Coach 		AL CENTRAL 	Coach 		AL EAST 	Coach
Crazy Hornets 	mbless1415 		Milwaukee Cardinals	DevanWolf 		Tampa Bay Devil Rays 	T-Boz
Minnesota Mariners	aesnop 		Green Monsters 	Yurya 		Little Giants 	SilverBullet102
San Diego Padres 	jyknight 		Baltimore Pirates 	QuestionMonkey		Super-Duper Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott
Texas Rangers 	areyoutyler		Mighty Tigers 	JibboDaHibbo 		Minnesota Twins 	Toast
---
NL West 	Coach 		NL Central 	Coach 		NL East 	Coach
Crazy Athletics 	crazyei8hts 		Atlanta Braves	Natetastic28 		Anaheim Angels 	Nodakkian
Junior Blue Jays	GSchlim 		Chicago Cubs 	Wizard 		Baltimore Bombers	Repub92
Tampa Bay Expos 	shrewsbury91		Seattle Fishes	elchrisblanco 		Atlanta Orioles 	Mavfatha
Colorado Rockies	MartianMan 		Atlanta Royals	Eauxps I. Fourgott		Mighty Wombats 	Marco
==The Draft==
The players were assigned in a 24-team, 9-round draft. The format is known as a "scattered snake" draft, where each team gets one pick per round, but the order of each round is different in order to make each team's total draft positioning relatively even. 
Coach JorgesBankAccount of the Red Sox took the draft slot with the #1 overall pick. However, he soon left the server after a disagreement, and Eauxps I. Fourgott temporarily took over to draft. Eauxps selected Julie Dunkel with the first overall pick, and his tenure as coach eventually became permanent. The Red Sox were later renamed the Atlanta Royals 
The last pick of the draft was Esmarelda Heimann, selected by coach Vissery of the Hornets, another coach who eventually left his team. Esmarelda was also eventually released into free agency.
==The Season==
This season was notable for having very few coaching changes. The only coaching changes this season were already mentioned: Eauxps I. Fourgott taking over for JorgesBankAccount before the draft, and Vissery giving up the Hornets after one week to coach mbless1415. While looking for a substitute, the Hornets were coached by GSchlim for game 1. Other than that game, every coach had perfect attendance for the entire season.
===Players of the Week===
Keeping up with last season's new tradition, the Batter of the Week and the Pitcher of the Week awards were given weekly to the in-game players who made the biggest impact at the plate and on the mound. The winners were as follows:
======American League Players of the Week======
Week	Batter of the Week	Team 	Coach 	Pitcher of the Week	Team 	Coach
1 	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop 	Carlos Delgado 	Pirates 	QuestionMonkey
2 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott	Amanda Hellerman 	Cardinals 	DevanWolf
3 	Henri Deschenes 	Padres 	jyknight 	Fernando Diaz 	Monsters 	Yurya
4 	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop 	Jay Green 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott
5 	Zena Fromme 	Hornets 	mbless1415 	Fernando Diaz 	Monsters 	Yurya
6 	Leah Wayne 	Devil Rays	T-Boz 	Fernando Diaz 	Monsters 	Yurya
7 	Jessica Wassersas 	Pirates 	QuestionMonkey 	Ramona Bennett 	Devil Rays	T-Boz
8 	Troy Glaus 	Devil Rays	T-Boz 	Tiffany Bosworth 	Twins 	Toast
9 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott	Tiffany Bosworth 	Twins 	Toast
10 	Zena Fromme 	Hornets 	mbless1415 	Fernando Diaz 	Monsters 	Yurya
11 	Claudia Villarta 	Monsters 	Yurya 	Henri Deschenes 	Padres 	jyknight
12 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott	Randy Johnson 	Tigers 	jibbodahibbo
13 	Dmitri Petrovich 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott	Ray Tran 	Giants 	SilverBullet102
14 	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop 	Randy Johnson 	Tigers 	jibbodahibbo
======National League Players of the Week======
Week	Batter of the Week	Team 	Coach 	Pitcher of the Week	Team 	Coach
1 	Sophie Meyer 	A's 	crazyei8hts 	Chucky Flinder 	Royals 	Eauxps I. Fourgott
2 	Davy Marian 	Bombers	Repub92 	Dominic Hoskins 	Braves 	Natetastic28
3 	Davy Marian 	Bombers	Repub92 	Melissa Waters 	Bombers 	Repub92
4 	Petra Chekov 	Orioles	Mavfatha 	Nancy Chin 	Cubs 	Wizard
5 	Peggy Heffernan 	Braves 	Natetastic28 	Christina Beattie 	Wombats 	Marco
6 	Maynard McElroy 	Bombers	Repub92 	Chucky Flinder 	Royals 	Eauxps I. Fourgott
7 	Sarah Maxwell 	Fishes 	elchrisblanco	Nancy Chin 	Cubs 	Wizard
8 	Chico Pappas 	A's 	crazyei8hts 	Colleen Klinker 	Expos 	shrewsbury91
9 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian 	Christina Beattie 	Wombats 	Marco
10 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian 	Jerry Winchell 	Blue Jays	GSchlim
11 	Peggy Heffernan 	Braves 	Natetastic28 	Dominic Hoskins 	Braves 	Natetastic28
12 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian 	Esther French 	Fishes 	elchrisblanco
13 	Mr. Clanky 	Rockies	MartianMan 	Dominic Hoskins 	Braves 	Natetastic28
14 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian 	Chad Koppel 	Royals 	Eauxps I. Fourgott
===Match of the Week===
Another upheld tradition continued this season, as one game per week was featured as the Match of the Week on various league members' Twitch accounts. Both opponents recorded video of their games, sent it to the MotW organizers, who then spliced the videos together and provided commentary over them. Match of the Week became notable for featuring many close games throughout the season, even though the matchups were not always selected by how evenly matched the opponents were. 
===Final Standings===
At the end of the season, the final standings were as follows. Teams in bold made the playoffs.
American League Season 8 Final Standings
AL WEST 	Record		AL CENTRAL 	Record		AL EAST 	Record
Minnesota Mariners	13-1 		Mighty Tigers 	9-5 		Super-Duper Melonheads	9-5
Crazy Hornets 	9-5 		Green Monsters 	7-7 		Tampa Bay Devil Rays 	8-6
Texas Rangers 	7-7 		Baltimore Pirates 	6-8 		Minnesota Twins 	6-8
San Diego Padres 	7-7 		Milwaukee Cardinals	3-11 		Little Giants 	0-14
National League Season 8 Final Standings
NL WEST 	Record		NL CENTRAL 	Record		NL EAST 	Record
Crazy Athletics 	10-4 		Seattle Fishes 	11-3 		Baltimore Bombers	12-2
Tampa Bay Expos 	7-7 		Atlanta Braves 	10-4 		Mighty Wombats 	9-5
Junior Blue Jays	5-9 		Chicago Cubs 	8-6 		Atlanta Orioles 	5-9
Colorado Rockies	0-14 		Milwaukee Cardinals	3-11 		Anaheim Angels 	4-10
===Stats===
The stats were well-kept throughout the season. The league leaders are listed below: (ERA and WHIP are minimum 28 innings pitched)
American League Leaders
Stat 	# 	Player 	Team 	Coach
H 	58 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott
1B 	40 	Star Moonbeam 	Monsters 	Yurya
2B 	13 	Kathy Wolf 	Mariners 	aesnop
3B 	8 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott
HR 	26 	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop
RBI 	76 	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop
R 	44 	Lindsy Felgate 	Melonheads	Eauxps I. Fourgott
SB 	20 	Stuart Sullivan 	Monsters 	Yurya
Avg. 	0.891	Pete Wheeler 	Rangers 	areyoutyler
SLG 	2.224	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop
OPS 	3.000	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop
RC 	100.6	Cheryl Reynolds 	Mariners 	aesnop
K 	94 	Tiffany Bosworth	Twins 	Toast
ERA* 	0.17 	Yvonne Carter 	Mariners 	aesnop
WHIP*	0.33 	Carlos Delgado 	Pirates 	QuestionMonkey
National League Leaders
Stat 	# 	Player 	Team 	Coach
H 	55 	Maynard McElroy 	Bombers 	Repub92
1B 	46 	Maynard McElroy 	Bombers 	Repub92
2B 	14 	Ken Griffey, Jr. 	Wombats 	Marco
3B 	9 	Jane Davis 	Blue Jays	GSchlim
HR 	27 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian
RBI 	90 	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian
R 	47 	Maynard McElroy 	Bombers 	Repub92
 	47 	Davy Marian 	Bombers 	Repub92
SB 	19 	Gwen Sears 	Fishes 	elchrisblanco
Avg. 	0.860	Chico Pappas 	A's 	crazyei8hts
SLG 	2.538	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian
OPS 	3.346	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian
RC 	106.6	Zenon Estrada 	Angels 	Nodakkian
K 	106 	Christina Beattie	Wombats 	Marco
ERA* 	0.09 	Melissa Waters 	Bombers 	Repub92
WHIP*	0.50 	Melissa Waters 	Bombers 	Repub92
==The Playoffs==
===Structure===
With the return of the tradition Backyard Baseball season format, the playoff format returned too. The division winners all earned a playoff berth, as well as the best-performing non-division-winner, the wild card, in each league. If the top overall seed and the wild card were from the same division, then the #1 team would play the #3 team in the first round.
===Participants===
The bracket was as follows:
*American League
**1 Mariners (13-1) vs. #3 Melonheads (9-5)
***The Mariners faced the Melonheads because the wild card winning Hornets were from the same division.
**2 Tigers (9-5) vs. WC Hornets (9-5)
***The Tigers earned the #2 seed over the Melonheads by defeating them head-to-head in Week 1
*National League
**1 Bombers (12-2) vs. WC Braves (10-4)
**#2 Fishes (11-3) vs. #3 A's (10-4)
===First Round===
*The Melonheads and Mariners each stole a game from each other's home field to tie the series 1-1. In the decisive Game 3, both teams turned in one of their best performances of the season, with the Mariners ultimately winning, 29-18.
*The Hornets dominated the Tigers in Game 1, 23-13. However, after coach mbless1415 was reminded there was a streaming or recording requirement, he streamed the final two games and struggled mightily. The Tigers came back to win the series two games to 1.
*The Bombers defeated the Braves very easily in two games, by scores of 39-6 and 25-1. However, coach Natetastic28 was still proud of his Braves for making the playoffs at all, after a 4-10 effort the season before.
*In an extremely exciting series, the Fishes got past the A's two games to one. All three games were recorded and broadcast side by side on Discord. The first two games were incredibly close and came down to tiebreakers.
===Second Round===
* In the ALCS, the Mariners offense showed up big time, blasting the Tigers 39-4 in Game 1. Game 2 was a little closer, but the Tigers left too many kids on base, and the Mariners won Game 2, 10-8, to advance to the World Series. 
* The Bombers and Fishes met in the NLCS with the World Series on the line. The Fishes were one of two teams to beat the Bombers this season, and they did it again in Game 2. However, the Bombers won the other two games and reached the World Series. 
===World Series===
* The World Series was a matchup of two of the most dominant teams throughout the season. The league was expecting a bloodbath. Both teams had great offense throughout the series, but the Bombers handled business swiftly, winning the three close games by scores of 15-13, 23-21, and 21-16. 
===Consolation Bracket===
All non-playoff teams were invited to play in the consolation bracket, called the Bonus Tournament. In a twist, teams who declined an invitation to the consolation bracket could have their teams coached by newcomers who were not BBL coaches yet. This happened twice, as Itaniium coached the Rangers and bobbybones2370 coached the Angels. Exactly 8 teams volunteered for the bracket, so the format ended up being the same as the big playoffs. The Expos won the Bonus Tournament after defeating the Angels, Royals, and Orioles. 
==League Awards==
The league awards were voted on by a panel of volunteer coaches.
* MVP: For the first time in BBL history, there was a tie atop the MVP voting, so the two tied contestants shared co-MVP honors. Zenon Estrada of the Angels was one of the MVPs, batting 0.808 with a league-leading 27 home runs and 90 RBIs. He was the main source of offense for the struggling Angels squad. The other MVP was Cheryl Reynolds of the Mariners. She batted 0.776 with 26 home runs and 76 RBIs and played stellar defense as the AI catcher in order to help the Mariners obtain a league-best 13-1 record. 
* Ace Wilson: The Ace Wilson award for best pitcher was awarded to Tiffany Bosworth of the Twins. Tiffany led the league in innings pitched with 84, struck out 94 batters, and posted an impressive ERA of 0.64, allowing just 9 runs on the season. Tiffany is the first player to win the Ace Wilson award twice, she also won it in Season 5 with the Yankees.
* Goldie Glove: The Goldie Glove award for best fielder was given to Pete Wheeler of the Rangers. Pete was a menace roaming the outfield, as he was fast enough to track down any fly ball, and his great height limited his drops compared to other outfielders. Pete is the first outfielder to win Goldie Glove since Raul Mondesi in Season 2. 
==Aftermath==