The Lake Merced Goutfish completed a historic season Sunday, capturing their first Roger Dorn Baseball League Title in Franchise History in the same year General Manager Ryan Atkinson captured his second Executive of the Year honor.
The Goutfish were expected to be one of the top three teams in the league entering the season thanks in large part to a dominant offense and standout activation class led by superstar Fernando Tatis, Jr. Atkinson surprised many by sticking with the club's plan to hold back slugger Yordan Alvarez in his Minor League deal, confident that Tatis, Ronald Acuña, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Will Smith and Jose Berrios among others could hold down the fort and contend for a Regular Season Title with eyes on a Playoff activation.
While it wasn't easy sledding due to key injuries to Acuña and Tatis, the Goutfish fulfilled their goal by cruising to the Regular Season Title and the 2nd highest margin of victory in RDBL History.
The club stumbled a bit down the stretch, failing to post 300 point periods in each of the final four weeks of the Regular Season which had some asking if the Goutfish had peaked to soon. Atkinson's club quickly shook off those concerns, posting a league-high 357.0 points in Period 23 to kick off the Playoffs and never ceased control of 1st place from there.
The Spokane Fightin' Fish did everything in their power to make a run at their third RDBL Championship, but just as they approached a 30 point deficit, the Goutfish would go on another run to lengthen their lead.
The offense was led by some of the unheralded hitters on the roster as Ian Happ, Josh Bell and deadline acquisition Brandon Crawford led the way for the Goutfish while Lance McCullers, Anthony DeSclafani and Jose Berrios provided to be a strong three headed monster at the top of the rotation.
The scary part for the remainder of the RDBL is that the Lake Merced Goutfish appear far from finished. Tatis, Mullins and Alvarez return for a combined $9 with plenty of depth behind them making the Goutfish a threat to become the first franchise in RDBL History to capture back to back Titles.
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