CHAMPIONS! Stacks Dominate Playoffs to Capture First League Title

The Alamo Short Stacks spent the first four weeks of the RDBL Playoffs trading punches, and often haymakers, with the Spokane Fightin' Fish and Burlingame Blue Ducks as the three Franchises battled for the 2022 RDBL Title. As the final period opened, the Stacks were clinging to a 40.0 point lead with 10 days remaining in the season when their lineup took their production to another level, pushing the club to a 231.5 point margin over the second place Ducks and their first RDBL Championship in League History.

With the delay in the MLB CBA to start the 2022 season, the schedule changes resulted in a 10 day Period 26 which the Stacks took over. In the final period, the Stacks posted a league-high 622.0 points, an average of 62.2 points per day. Their pitching staff was the main story, allowing just 12 earned runs in 81 2/3 innings (1.33 ERA) while Emmanuel Clase, Liam Hendriks and Kenley Jansen combined for 10 saves and 92.0 points over that span.

While the Stacks added the likes of Corbin Burnes, Carlos Rodon and Jacob deGrom, their top three starters for the Playoffs were long-time Stack pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Julio Urias and Logan Gilbert.

The Stacks broke record for Total Playoff Points (2,039.0), breaking the mark 157.5 points previously set by the Mission Viejo Maulers in 2017. The Pitching Staff also set RDBL Records for Team Playoff Pitching Points (994.0), Playoff ERA (2.68), Playoff WHIP (0.96) and Playoff Saves (29).

The offense came to life down the stretch after a rough start to the Playoffs, posting the 7th most Team Hitting points in RDBL History while leading this year's Playoffs. Taylor Ward (105.0 points) locked in his Keeper spot for 2023 while Jeff McNeil (103.5 points) finished on a tear to win the National League Batting Title.

The Stacks became the third team in League History to win the Regular Season and Playoff title, joining the Spokane Fightin' Fish (2016) and Lake Merced Goutfish (2021). Their $3,760 in career earnings continues to rank second behind the Spokane Fightin' Fish, while their fourth division title and seventh cash finish both are tied for RDBL Records.

The Stacks will return much of their core for 2023 with hopes of being the first Franchise to win back-to-back RDBL Championships as the league celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The parade down Danville Blvd. is scheduled for Friday evening at 6pm starting at Norm's. For more information, contact the Alamo Short Stacks Front Office.

Executive of the Year: Greg Shelley, Stacks

For the second time in four seasons, Alamo Short Stacks President of Baseball Operations Greg Shelley has been named the Roger Dorn Baseball League's Executive of the Year. The Stacks captured their second RDBL Regular Season Title in 2022 while significant upgrades to the roster in June and July have club positioned to capture their first RDBL Title while shattering the record for most team points and pitching points in the Playoffs.

The Stacks were expected to be a contender in 2022, but took a firm hold of the top spot in the standings early in the season. That lead held strong until the club felt the heat from the Maltese Falcons and Spokane Fightin' Fish who each took hold of the lead themselves at points in June and July.

That sparked Shelley to pull off a pair of blockbuster deals with the Cloverdale Clovers and Honolulu Hammerheads to acquire Jacob deGrom, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers, Corbin Burnes, Carlos Rodon, Ryan McMahon, Bryon Buxton, Yoan Moncada and Luis Garcia.

While those names certainly stole the show, the Stacks heavily relied on their own activations mightily as Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. followed up his Hitter of the Year Award in 2021 with another strong campaign. The pitching staff was led by Julio Urias who has quietly posted more than 1,100 points over his first two seasons for the Stacks for a combined $4 while Logan Gilbert eclipsed 450 points in his activation season. After a shaky start, Brandon Woodruff returned to ace level with a 2.35 ERA after May 15th further strengthening the unit.

Shelley heavily invested in the club's bullpen and it paid off with the trio of Emmanuel Clase, Kenley Jansen and Liam Hendricks combining for almost 1,000 points and 117 saves with Clase earning the Reliever of the Year honors with 414.0 points entering the final three days of play. The three closers came up clutch when the Stacks needed them most, posting 80.0 points and eight saves combined over the last seven days to help grow the Playoff lead.

The Auction paid off nicely as well for Shelley as high-priced acquisition Manny Machado is firmly in the mix for the National League MVP Award while Jeff McNeil's $7 investment proved to be a steal as he fights for the National League Batting Title.

While the Stacks certainly pushed their chips in for 2022, the Amateur Scouting Department certainly deserves praise as the standout prospects used in their blockbuster deals were drafted in the 2nd Round (Marco Luciano), 3rd Round (Quinn Priester), 4th Round (Robert Hassell III) and 7th Round (Andrew Painter), allowing the club to retain expected 2023 activations Corbin Carroll, MacKenzie Gore and Miguel Vargas.

Shelley joins Ryan Atkinson (2014, 2021) and Jason Watson (2015, 2017) as two-time Executive of the Year winners with Terry Shelley, Michael Tirabassi and Nick Holz each winning the award once.

Honorable Mention: Gary Falzon (Falcons), Michael Tirabassi (Fish), Chris Ferraro, Jr. (Maulers), Garrett Shelley (Hops), Ryan Walsh (Ducks)

Pitcher of the Year: Sandy Alcantara, Fringe

The race of the RDBL Pitcher of the Year might be been the easiest call of any awards handed out in 2022 by the Commissioner's Office. Lunatic Fringe ace Sandy Alcantara dominated from start to finish, making it an easy call to award the right-hander the hardware for this season.

Alcantara led all pitchers in RDBL Regular Season scoring with 614.0 points, the second most in League History. His 185 2/3 innings pitched were the second most in RDBL Regular Season history, trailing only Madison Bumgarner from 2016 who also took home the Pitcher of the Year award.

The mind-blowing numbers don't stop there as Alcantara's 2.13 ERA was the third best in League History, trailing only Jacob deGrom (1.71, 2018) and Clayton Kershaw (1.79, 2016).

Alcantara wrapped up his full season of work last week, totalling 733.0 points which ranked 9th overall in RDBL History.

The Fringe ace is the 8th different winner of the RDBL Pitcher of the Year Award, joining Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Jake Arrieta, Madison Bumgarner, Max Scherzer (who won back to back in 2017 and 2018), Justin Verlander and Walker Buehler.

Honorable Mention: Justin Verlander (Maulers), Shane McClanahan (Hops), Aaron Nola (Ducks), Dylan Cease (Goutfish), Alek Manoah (Ducks), Tony Gonsolin (Ducks)