Congratulations to the 2070 Weaver League Champions, the Jamaica Rastafarians!
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” For Jamaica Rastas fans, this quote had become a recurring theme as each of the late 2060s seasons all seemed to end the same way: cruise to a Roehm Division title, then get stomped in the BLCS by the latest Barnes powerhouse. Why should 2070 be any different? Can we just fast forward to Thanksgiving Dinner?
While Rastas fans may have been resigned to a Sisyphean fate, 3B Joe Torre was intent on breaking Jamaica’s streak of playoff futility. Instead of flying home to New York to enjoy the holidays, Torre organized a series of grueling offseason workouts with the intention of hitting spring training at peak fitness, ready to excel. He invited the rest of the Rastas squad to join, but privately thought that only a small group would attend, maybe just enough to occupy a small section of Kingston’s Fort Clarence Beach. To his surprise, though, nearly everyone (minus C Jack Whitney) on the 40-man roster showed up for training, focused and ready to go. With such a large group, the location was forced to shift to the Hedonism resort in western Jamaica. At the spacious resort, the odd experience of mingling with other guests helped bond the team together for the long campaign ahead.
With a newfound spirit of team unity, the Rastas smoked their Roehm peers by posting an 18-3 record in April. The wins kept rolling deep into the summer until a glitchy August (13-17), but Jamaica soon rounded into playoff form by closing with a 24-9 record. At the plate, the dominant Rastas offense was powered by 1B Moises Alcala (.317/39/105), SS Paul Blaisdell (.301/32/101) and Torre (.321/30/77); nine players each hit over 20 HRs, combining for a team total of 271. On the mound, RHP Bullet Rogan (19-11, 2.46) was the unquestioned ace but RHP Junho Paik (21-8, 2.58) and RHP Ed Mielke (23-5, 1.84) helped fill out a formidable rotation that would prove to be tough to score on during postseason play.
Jamaica jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the BLCS by stealing G1 on the road, but their dream start quickly turned into a nightmare. 3B Joe Torre, firmly ensconced as the Rastas’ fiery leader, tore his thigh muscle running out a routine groundball and was declared OUT for the postseason by team doctors. On the field, Torre had taken a while to board the gurney and fans in the stands could be heard murmuring, “oh f@#$, what else is new?” Once play had resumed though, the vibe in the stadium started to shift as a leaked TikTok video of Torre imploring his teammates to push on started to go viral. Jamaica lost a heartbreaking G3 1-0 in 15 innings despite RHP Bullet Rogan striking out 9 in 11 IP, but the Rastas managed to rally at home to take G4 to setup a best-of-3.
Stockholm drew first blood with a 4-2 win in G5, but failed to seal the deal in G6 as Jamaica scored 4 runs in the 5th inning en route to a 4-2 victory. With a winner-take-all showdown setup for G7, the Swedes started ace RHP Mark Fidrych while the Rastas opted for RHP Ed Mielke. Mielke was ineffective and got pulled early, and the teams ping-ponged scoring runs until the 7th inning stretch arrived with the Swedes leading 5-4. As the resounding strains of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” echoed throughout Cruz Field, a powerful voice could be heard emanating from the Rastas dugout. Torre had gathered the troops to give one last final speech, and while reports of what he actually said were inconclusive, the results were not. Jamaica rallied in the top of the 9th, scoring 4 runs while taking advantage of a rare falter by Fidrych. Swedes fans could be heard calling for the bullpen coach: “why aren’t you pulling The Bird, he’s tired and has already given so much?!” but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Sometimes, fate just smiles on a team and tonight, it was all Rastas in a G7 8-6 win.
With their goal of advancing past the BLCS finally complete, Jamaica’s next challenge was to manage their adrenaline hangover and not let it ruin their shot at the Weaver Series. On the other side of the bracket, the upstart Cozumel Mayans were living out their own dream scenario after rallying from 5th place late in the season to eke out the Lockwood Division title. RHP Ed Mielke again got the call to start in G1 and was yanked early, but his ineffective performance had no consequence as the Rastas’ powerful offense plated home 10 runs in a decisive 10-4 win. Jamaica won G2 and G3 by identical 3-2 scores, but Cozumel managed to stave off a sweep and give the home fans something to cheer about in a 4-2 G4 win. With their rally experience vs Stockholm fresh, Jamaica was intent on closing out the Weaver Series in G5 and used a trademark late-inning rally to do it, scoring 4 in the top of the 9th to win 5-2.
The 2070 Jamaica Rastas had finally done what their late 60s peers could not: bring home the franchise’s 3rd Weaver Cup! As crowds lined the Norman Manley Highway to welcome their returning heroes home, the jubilant mood on the bus was punctuated by Rastas players recounting their favorite moments from preseason training camp: “sure, the playoffs were memorable but can you believe the stuff we saw going on during preseason workouts?!? Just absolutely wild…” Meanwhile, in the back of the bus, team captain 3B Joe Torre had a wry smile on his face and knew that all of this, the accolades, the glory, the unfettered joy everywhere on the island, was the direct result of a simple decision last winter. Rededicate himself, and by extension, the franchise, to playing great baseball. Pour your heart into training, get everyone to buy in, and with a little luck, even the hardest things are possible. Congrats again Jamaica!