Congratulations to the 2062 Weaver League Champions, the Cairo Scorpions!
Entering the 2062 Weaver season, pundits around the league made little mention of the chances of a Cairo Scorpions repeat. Usually when a team claims that “nobody respects us”, it’s just a motivational tactic to drive their own performers. In this case, though, preseason chatter around the league revolved around the Scorpions’ postseason competition. Sapporo looked “primed for a Cinderella run”, New York was “battle tested by the hyper-competitive Lockwood Division”, and Vancouver’s roster was stacked top-to-bottom with All-Timer level stars.
Confident in their skills, the Scorpions paid little heed to social media chatter and set off on their mission to lockdown a postseason berth. The team started off hot, posting an 18-5 record in April before tapering down in July, bottoming out at 14-13. Although Cairo led the Barnes Division tape-to-tape, Vancouver got most of the press as the Mounties led Weaver with 115 wins and made 2 impact trades in preparation for a revenge date in the BLCS.
Scorpions batters and pitchers pounded their Blizzard League counterparts during the regular season. Cairo’s starting lineup featured six everyday hitters that smashed 25+ homers each, and the core four members of the starting rotation all had ERAs hovering just around 2.00. Five Scorpions were named to the BL All-Star team: first basemen Buck Leonard and Scott Coffman, as well as RHP Jacob DeGrom, RHP Alan Jackson, and LHP Blake Snell.
Cairo jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the BLCS thanks to dominant pitching starts by DeGrom, Snell, and RHP Wayne Bigelow. After Game 3, Scorpions players went out to explore the nightlife along Robson Street in Vancouver and enjoyed themselves… perhaps a little too much. Vancouver rallied in Game 4, shutting out Cairo 8-0, and used a 5-run 7th inning to take Game 5.
Could the Mounties pull off a reverse sweep? It looked close, but Scorpions players realized the gravity of their situation and knew it was time to buckle down. Cairo won Game 6 behind 3 homers from the heart of their lineup, and late season acquisition RHP Walid Debbane shut the door on Vancouver’s late rally in the 9th inning at 4-3.
With four wins left for a title, 1B Buck Leonard knew that Cairo couldn’t afford another lapse in judgment versus a potent New York Nukes team. Incensed by the team’s lackadaisical play in Games 4 and 5 of the BLCS, Leonard took over Games 4 and 5 of the Weaver Series himself, hitting a home run in each game. Meanwhile, on the mound, RHP Jacob DeGrom notched 2 wins in Games 1 and 4, and the Scorpions collectively muzzled the Nukes offense to a grand total of 13 runs in 5 games.
With 2 consecutive Weaver Series wins, how long will Cairo’s run last? Is a 3-peat on tap, or maybe even more? Not 4, not 5, not 6… not 7? With the talent core in place and a skilled front office staff at the wheel, anything seems possible. Congrats Cairo!