Men’s Baseball Divisions, if based on MLB

We’ve debated and bantered how to one day bring together the many different parts of North Central Alberta’s A/AA leagues for a true inter-league championship. Cold Lake tried to host its own provincial championship. We discussed doing a BCS format with points to rank teams, etc…

Well just for fun, I started thinking about jerseys and whether I could fit every team into a MLB jersey likeness to create the ultimate Central Alberta Baseball League based on MLB divisions. With so many Cardinals and A’s and black and red teams, it wasn’t easy, but here’s what I came up with, excluding most of the Parkland Baseball League and the Saskatchewan League:

AL East

The AL East is by far the weakest division this year. Unfortunately the Heisler Cardinals get dumped into the AL East because St. Albert, Cold Lake and Coronation are all the Cardinals. The red and navy montage is perfect for them to pick up the Red Sox moniker and run with it. Holden and Barrhead are obvious but then it’s a bit of a stretch again to chuck the Sherwood Park A’s, whom no one seems to like, hence the Yankees slot, and the Castor Raiders – who simply get the Rays being so far Southeast of everyone and having a ridiculous name just like the (Devil) Rays. The Heisler Cardinals win the division this year. PBL’s Holden Blue Jays just miss as do the Orioles and A’s in a tight wildcard race with the AL Central.

1. Heisler Cardinals (Red Sox)
2. Holden Blue Jays
3. Barrhead Orioles
4. Sherwood Park A’s (Yankees)
5. Castor Raiders (Rays)

AL Central

The AL Central on the other hand is pretty tough. The Edmonton Blackhawks, despite their unis, get the White Sox – because if you’re going to name yourself after a Chicago sports team, why name it after their hockey team? The Red Lions get the Tigers, well, because they are cats. Then the Royals and Indians make the most sense. Leduc’s traditional M logo makes them well-suited for the Twins although with maroon, navy and now baby blues, it’s hard to tell what colours Leduc actually is anymore. The Blackhawks win the division but the Royals and Red Lions square off in a wildcard contest.

1. Edmonton Blackhawks (White Sox)
2. Westlock Red Lions (Tigers)
3. Armena Royals
4. Edmonton Indians
5. Leduc Milleteers (Twins)

AL West

Then there’s the AL West. Wow, Beaumont is the league champion and gets home field whipping the likes of Amisk, Lougheed and the Slave Lake Heat who I’m not sure exist anymore. Lougheed’s blue jerseys and southern locale coupled with Slave Lake’s mariner themed location round out the west. Beaumont faces the winner of Westlock and Armena while the Blackhawks take on the Cardinals in this fake tournament.

1. Beaumont Angels
2. Bardo A’s
3. Amisk Astros
4. Lougheed Wildcats (Rangers)
5. Slave Lake Heat (Mariners)

NL East

The NL is a lot less of a stretch for this whole thing. Three of the five teams actually use MLB jerseys or team names in the Mets, Braves and Warriors – though the Warriors folded, we loved their “W” jerseys. The Paladins I wanted to use in several instances, but felt it best to use them for the Marlins since they are the only fish team in Central Alberta in the PBL, NCABL or BRBL. The Mets have had a good year so they’d win the division. The Braves are in the running for the wildcard.

1. Stony Plain Mets
2. Killam Braves
3. Sturgeon Paladins (Marlins)
4. Edmonton A’s (Phillies)
5. Edmonton Warriors – Defunct (Nationals)

NL Central

Probably THE best division in both leagues. All have perfectly matching jerseys except the Rebels, who get slotted in the NL Central for legacy sake since amazingly no one is named the Brewers anymore. Some of you might remember the Tofield/Ryley Brewers who won PBL titles in 1998 and 2001. The Axemen have been red hot and capture the division while Ryley grabs a wildcard spot. Cold Lake, always solid slips by Spring Lake but battles with the Killam Braves and Provost Combine Pilots for the final spot.

1. Camrose Axemen (Reds)
2. Ryley Rebels (Brewers)
3. Cold Lake Cardinals
4. Spring Lake (Pirates)
5. St. Paul Cubs

NL West

We had to dig deep for the NL West and just felt Lacombe could be included in this make-believe league. They are the only non-NCABL/BRBL/PBL team included.  A week half of the division sees Camrose and Coronation bow out and the Rosalind A’s become victim to a tough division. When the dust settles, the Combine Pilots and Ryley Rebels square off in a one-game playoff.

1. Lacombe Dodgers
2. Provost Combine Pilots (Padres)
3. Rosalind A’s (Giants)
4. Camrose Roadrunners (Rockies)
5. Coronation Cardinals (Diamondbacks)

Playoffs

It would be interesting actual one-game, best-of-fives and best-of-sevens how this would all shake down. In the absence of that, we take a swing at guessing how it’d go with a bit of bias toward the PBL. A Heisler/Camrose best-of-seven would be interesting, as well as the preceding series with Ryley playing Provost and the Axemen as there is a bit of crossover on each team. I guess this tournament would ultimately come down to which team each guy picks to play on!