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Week 14; Lisbon and Los Angeles capture the pennants as the postseason field is set Thursday, August 18th , 1955 The regular season came to a close with both pennant races finally settled. The Lisbon Seafarers (47-37) finished with a 5-1 week and pulled away late to secure the East Division crown by three and a half games over Iceland. After briefly surrendering first place two weeks ago, the Seafarers responded with an 8-2 finish to close out the season. Yukio Kotani caught fire at exactly the right time, batting .450 over his last five games, while the pitching staff finished the year on a dominant note behind Griff Murphy, Zee-loo Fan, and Fjodor Semchenko. The Los Angeles Stars (51-33) clinched the West Division despite cooling off late, finishing with a 1-5 week. Their excellent first half ultimately proved enough to withstand a late charge from New York, and Los Angeles enters October with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Chris Walker finished the regular season atop the league with 118 strikeouts, while Ryan Bowring led the offense with 60 RBIs. The New York Skyliners (45-39) stumbled to a 2-4 week, falling six games behind Los Angeles, but comfortably secured the top Wild Card berth. Jessy Kok closed another outstanding season with 112 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA, giving New York every reason to believe it can make another postseason run despite missing out on the division title. The Iceland Aurora (44-41) claimed the second Wild Card despite finishing 3½ games behind Lisbon. Ken Roberts once again led the league with 14 victories and a sparkling 2.59 ERA, while Josh McCrery continued his torrid finish at the plate. Iceland now faces New York in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the winner advancing to face Lisbon. The Providence Anglers (43-42) narrowly missed October after a 2-4 finish, falling just one game short of Iceland for the final playoff spot. It was a disappointing ending for a club that spent much of the second half charging up the standings, but Providence showed enough this season to believe it can contend again next year. The Sicily Mafia (37-47) closed the season on a high note with another 4-2 week, finishing fourth in the East. Zaccaria Cartellieri captured the TOBA batting title, hitting .338 while leading an offense that once again ranked among the league's best. Unfortunately, the club's commitment to building exclusively around Italian talent continues to leave it thin on the mound, and another promising offensive season ended without a playoff berth. The Paris Lions (35-49) finished fifth in the East after a 2-4 week, extending their postseason drought to four seasons. Meanwhile, the Mobile Monsters (35-49) matched Paris' record but finished last in the West. Mobile was officially eliminated the week prior but showed flashes of improvement late in the year behind Jamie McIntyre and Owen Bond. With the regular season complete, attention now shifts to October. The Wild Card Series will feature the defending champion New York Skyliners against the Iceland Aurora, with the winner earning a trip to Lisbon. At the top of the bracket, the Los Angeles Stars await the survivor after finally ending New York's reign atop the West. The chase for the 1955 Atlantic Series is officially underway. |
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