Instead of breaking down the games and playoff series, we will look at the roster as a whole. The first segment we will break down the offense.
With the addition of some young players, a FA acquisition and big time stars Jersey put up an offensive show for the ages in 2020. With a combined slugging percentage of .486, this Jersey Shore team slugged higher than anytime in the history of the BSA and it's 244 HR were 2nd only to the 2018 Greenville 84's. They lead the CL in batting average, OPS, hits, extra base hits and runs to go with the HR. In a league and especially in a division that is known for it's hitting Jersey bested them all. The team had 9 players in double digit HR's and 5 of them slugged 20 or more this season. The team also boasted 7 players who hit 29 or more doubles, a category in which they lead the CL with 327.
The Stars
The offense was led by the team's best player two-time MVP Mike Bryant. At age 32 he showed small signs of slowing down but still led the team with 40 HR and 133 RBI. It was the first year in his career that he failed to secure 200 hits and hit .300, but still managed 64.1 VORP and 6 WAR. Not to be out shined, but a slow first half "slowed" down up and coming superstar Dave Dodd hit 39 doubles, 37 HR and knocked in 117 runs to finish a little behind last year which was his best season in the pros. His 6.7 WAR was a team best and reduced his strikeouts for the 4th year in a row.
The Career Year
When you have an offense that helps break records you have to have career years as well. Jersey got just that from their 28 year old SS Lawrence Schroeder playing in his 4th full season as a starter. He had a career year across the board posting a .306/.341/.542 line with a career best 132 OPS+ and 4.7 WAR. His 50 doubles was a career high and good for the 2nd in the league and he hadn't missed a month during the year his HR and RBI totals would have been a career high as well. 2nd year starter
The Breakout Year
In his 2nd year as a full time starter, former 1st round pick, Fabrice Brodeur had that breakout year for the team. Starting mainly at 3B he played above average defense while posting a line of .325/.365/.465 and finishing the season with 155 hits and 52 extra base hits mainly hitting towards the bottom of the order. If he would have gotten just 18 more plate appearances he would have been eligible for the batting title and would have finished 5th in the CL in hitting.
The Rookie
What's a successful offense without a hot hitting rookie? For Jersey it was 1B Tadahisa Kisuki. After mashing in AAA over a span of 3 seasons he got the call and started from day 1. His 30 HR and 105 RBI both ranked 2nd on the team and he led the team with 189 hits. At only 24 years old he looks like he could be a force in the league for a long time. With his 30 2B and 30 HR, he becomes on the 4th player in franchise history to hit the 30-30 mark behind Bryant, Dodd and Matt Doyle
The Acquisition
After hitting 38 HR in 2019 it was a little surprising that D-Bags signed 31 year catcher Fernando Ramos formerly of the Boston Rebels. GM Swain must have seen something we didn't. While they split time very evenly behind the plate, Ramos had a career year while only getting 305 AB. He posted a line of .298/.396/.577 hitting 24 HR. A full season of that he is posting 6.5 WAR and hitting nearly 50 HR. With Goyer being a pending free agent, all signs point at Ramos being a full time starter next season.
GO D-BAGS
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