2012 marked The South Florida Baseball League’s 20 year anniversary and 40th consecutive season of operation. Fall 2012 was a very exciting season.
Premier Division
The Premier Division’s playoff race came down to the wire, with The Miami Marlins, Miami Hurricanes, and Aventura Braves all fighting for the 3rd and 4th playoff positions. In the end, The Marlins and Hurricanes edged out The Braves. The Boca Red Sox clinched the 1st position, going undefeated in the regular season. The Miami Dodgers in their 1st season in the SFBL had a great season, finishing the regular season in a solid 2nd place.
Here were the final regular season standings:
|
Team |
W |
L |
T |
G |
Pct |
P |
|
Boca Red Sox |
12 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
1.000 |
24 |
|
Miami Dodgers |
8 |
4 |
0 |
12 |
.667 |
16 |
|
Miami Marlins |
6 |
5 |
1 |
12 |
.542 |
13 |
|
Miami Hurricanes |
6 |
6 |
0 |
12 |
.500 |
12 |
|
Aventura Braves |
5 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
.458 |
11 |
|
Miami Jays |
4 |
7 |
1 |
12 |
.375 |
9 |
|
Miami Brewers |
4 |
7 |
1 |
12 |
.375 |
9 |
|
Kendall Metz |
1 |
11 |
0 |
12 |
.083 |
2 |
In the 1st round of the playoffs, The Red Sox eliminated the Hurricanes 11-5, continuing their winning streak. The Marlins took down the upstart Dodgers 5-1. The championship series between The Marlins and Red Sox was “baseball at its best” according to Marlins manager Paul Guelmes. The Marlins swept The Red Sox in 2 games, 3-1 and 9-2. Congratulations to The Marlins, who repeated as champions in dynamic fashion!
Senior Division
The Senior Division playoff race came down to the final game of the season. The Miami Blues were undefeated in the division and went 11-1. Their only loss was against The Miami Brewers in the Premier Division. The Davie Tigers also had a great season, cruising to a 9-2-1 record for a solid 2nd place in the division. The final 2 playoff spots were fiercely contested all season by 4 teams – The Miami Bay Stars, The Miami Black Bats, The Southern Yankees, and The Dade Diamondbacks. On the 2nd to last week of the season, The Black Bats beat the Bay Stars and The Diamondbacks swept a double header from the Yankees to secure the last 2 playoff spots. It was a very exciting end to the regular season!
Here were the final regular season standings:
|
Team |
W |
L |
T |
G |
Pct |
P |
|
Miami Blues |
11 |
1 |
0 |
12 |
.917 |
22 |
|
Davie Tigers |
9 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
.792 |
19 |
|
Dade Diamondbacks |
8 |
4 |
0 |
12 |
.667 |
16 |
|
Miami Black Bats |
7 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
.625 |
15 |
|
Miami BayStars |
7 |
5 |
0 |
12 |
.583 |
14 |
|
Southern Yankees |
5 |
7 |
0 |
12 |
.417 |
10 |
|
South Florida Rays |
3 |
9 |
0 |
12 |
.250 |
6 |
|
Miami Red Sox |
3 |
9 |
0 |
12 |
.250 |
6 |
|
Deerfield White Sox |
0 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
.000 |
0 |
The playoffs produced some great quality baseball. In the 1st round, The Blues beat The Black Bats 5-1 in a throwback pitcher’s duel that only took 2 hours and 5 minutes! It was a well played game by both teams. The Diamondbacks then defeated The Tigers 4-1 in another very well played game by both teams. The Blues and Diamondbacks had a great game for The Championship, with The Blues coming out on top 9-1. The Diamondbacks left 16 runners on base and bases loaded 4 times! “The game was much closer than the score” said Blues’ manager James Giordano. “The Diamondbacks could have easily won this game”. Congratulations to The Blues on their 2nd straight championship!
Masters Division
The Masters Division also had a very tight race for the playoffs. The Hollywood Twins cruised to a 10-2 regular season record, while 4 teams battled for the other 3 playoff positions – The Florida Yankees, The Broward Blacks Sox, The Dade Nationals and The Miramar Rangers. In the final 2 weeks, The Yankees lost to The Nationals 9-3 and tied The Rangers 2-2 in a great game to miss the playoffs by the smallest margin! Yankees manager Alex Dickson was quoted as saying “We may not have made the playoffs, but it sure felt like one”.
Here were the final regular season standings:
|
Team |
W |
L |
T |
G |
Pct |
P |
|
Hollywood Twins |
10 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
.833 |
20 |
|
Dade Nationals |
7 |
5 |
0 |
12 |
.583 |
14 |
|
Miramar Rangers |
6 |
5 |
1 |
12 |
.542 |
13 |
|
Broward Black Sox |
6 |
6 |
0 |
12 |
.500 |
12 |
|
Florida Yankees |
5 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
.458 |
11 |
|
South Florida Dodgers |
1 |
11 |
0 |
12 |
.083 |
2 |
The Twins beat The Black Sox 8-5 behind a complete game by Bob Westheimer to advance to the finals. The Rangers beat The Nationals in a tight game 9-8 in a game down to the last out. The Rangers would go on to win their 2nd title in a row, defeating The Twins 10-4 in The Championship game. Rangers’ manager Felipe Florentino said “It was a complete team effort by The Rangers as the whole team played excellent baseball today” He went on to say “The Twins are a classy team that continues to be one of the best teams in the league” Congratulations to The Rangers as repeat champions!