by Gordon Johnson for Uplantica Sport
September 28, 1928
GATEWAY PARK, ROLAND, AFTON — The Roland Stags and the Salvation Brothers meet today in game 1 of the inaugural Windsor Cup Finals. Both teams led their divisions all year and won them easily. The West Division Champion Brothers looked invincible in the first half of the season, but began to show vulnerability in the second half. The East Division Champion Stags were able to surpass the Brothers in the standings on September 8 and hold onto the league’s best record for an automatic bye to the Finals.
Both teams had great seasons, but the Stags were truly outstanding. The UA is a brand new endeavor, but many baseball folks believe we may never see another team like them. They ended the year leading in every team statistical category except stolen bases. But when a team is driving in runs like the Roland Stags did in 1928, there’s not much need to steal bases. They were first in runs scored, first in batting average, first in home runs, and first in on-base percentage. Somehow they were even better on the pitching side. The Stags allowed only 313 runs over the course of the season. The Brothers and Stars are next, tied with 393. The Stags starters, relievers, and defense were better than the rest of the league and in most categories it wasn’t very close.
The Brothers find themselves as the underdogs in this Windsor Cup series, which is not a role they are familiar with. They dominated the league for most of the year despite the Stags superior final statistics. When it comes to baseball fans rooting against their least favorites, the Brothers are possibly the league’s most reviled team. On top of their league-wide dominance, their association with the Harmonyc Brotherhood church and the hoary traditions of bygone centuries has brought the ire of many Uplanticans who are focused on building a united nation, something that the Brotherhood is often viewed as working against. For their part, the team says they are promoting the inclusivity of the new nation and are “a symbol of the HB’s place in the diverse quilt of the USU, looking forward to a bright future of cooperation, service, and prosperity for all.” For as many detractors as the Brothers team may have, they also boast one of the most far-reaching fanbases in the league.
The Salvation Brothers might be the only team that can take down the mighty Stags. They won the season series against them, 5 games to 4. But they’ll have to do it without their star CF Andy Thompson. He is out with a hamstring strain and and recurring back tightness. They are also missing SP Ed Austin due to a sore wrist, but SP Albert Gacoki has been uncharacteristically brilliant thus far in the playoffs. CF Howard Tenney picked up the slack on offense in the Delle series, and Brothers fans hope fe’ll continue to hit a ton in the Finals.
The Stags hope to gallop to victory on the hooves of starting pitchers Salim Mujer, Rich Smith, and Jose Verdier, who all ended the season red-hot. Their batting order is stacked front-to-back as well, with the likes of Albert Pentana, Jose Lia Tinta, and Ramon Zuniga crushing baseballs and rounding infields all season long. Dan Knox and Jesus Rojatas headline the regular season’s best bullpen. The only variable unaccounted for may be the rust factor. Due to the playoff bye, the Stags haven’t played a real game in ten days. Since this is the first Windsor Cup series of all time, we don’t know how this might affect them. Stags manager Mark Davis has kept the team working out all week, and playing full scrimmage games against the reserve roster. The Brothers will try to take advantage of any rust the Stags might be carrying and ride the momentum of their series win over the Stars to an early advantage.
The winners of this best-of-seven series will take home the beautiful Windsor Cup, which will be engraved with their names to be remembered by future generations. May the best team win!
Uplantic Sports Today 