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| Falcon Park, Auburn, New York |
It's almost playoff time in the the New York-Penn League. Eight games remain in the regular season, which concludes on September 7.
Only Brooklyn, Batavia, and Auburn have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
West Virginia appears to have run out of gas and are now five games from elimination in the Pinckney Division and four games from elimination in the Wild Card race. The Black Bears have lost seven games in a row and are 11-18 in August, after going 24-15 during the first two months of the season.
State College has won three in a row and is still in contention in the Pinckney Division, trailing Mahoning Valley by 2.5 games.
My picks for the playoffs: Staten Island Yankees (McNamara Division), Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Pinckney Division), Vermont Lake Monsters (Stedler Division), Hudson Valley Renegades (Wild Card).
Here are the playoff procedures:
Semifinal Championship Series (SFS) - Best two out of three
· Three Divisional Champions and one Wild Card will play in two separate Semi-Final Championship Series (SFS).
· The Wild Card shall play the
Division Champion with the best won/lost percentage in one SFS; and the
other two Division Champions shall play each other in the other SFS.
· The Division Champion playing the
Wild Card will host SFS Game 2 and SFS Game 3 (with the Wild Card
hosting SFS Game 1) in their series; and, as between the other two
Division Champions, the Division Champion with the best won/lost
percentage will host SFS Game 2 and SFS Game 3 (with the other Division
Champion hosting SFS Game 1) in their series.
· The Club winning two games first – in each SFS – is a SFS Champion.
League Championship Series (LCS) - Best two out of three
· The two SFS Champions will play in the League Championship Series (LCS).
· The Division Champion with the
best won/lost percentage will host LCS Game 2 and LCS Game 3 (with the
other Division Champion or the Wild Card hosting LCS Game 1).
· The Club winning two games first is the League Champion.
Notes:
If two or more Clubs have identical win/loss percentages,
a. the Division Champions will be determined by NYPL Rule 2.1;
b. the Wild Card will be determined by NYPL Rule 2.2; and
c. the determination of which Division Champion will:
i. play Wild Card is determined by NYPL Rule 2.2;
ii. host which SFS Games is determined by NYPL Rule 2.2; or
iii. host which LCS Games is determined by NYPL Rule 2.3.
Guidelines:
1. If a club is required to travel 500 or more miles, an OFF DAY will be added for travel.
2. If both SFS conclude on September
10th, then both SFS Champions will have an OFF DAY on September 11th
and the LCS will begin on September 12th.
3. If a SFS Game 3 would ordinarily
be played on September 11th at Staten Island, an OFF DAY will be
scheduled for September 11th for that SFS and SFS Game 3 will be played
on September 12th.
4. If more than three calendar days
are needed to complete a SFS (due to rainout, suspended game or OFF DAY
added under Notes 1, 2 or 3, above), the affected SFS Champion may NOT
have an OFF DAY between the SFS and LCS Game 1 (unless travel between
SFS and LCS Game 1 locations is 500+ miles).
5. Although changes to this Playoff
Schedule are subject to the above Guidelines, the ultimate decision of
the League President regarding any change shall be final. Potential
scenarios are not limited by the scenarios described above.
Legend:
SFS - Semi-Final Championship Series
LCS - League Championship Series
NYPL Rule - New York-Penn League Rules
Source: New York-Penn League website
Photo Credits: NY-Penn League News
NY-Penn League News is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.
