2004  BPLA
Championship
 
Winston-Salem Slam Calgary Crusaders
The Slam are lead by a strong pitching staff and the powerful bat of Manny Ramirez.

The team was second overall in the BPLA with a 3.80 team ERA and fourth with a .234 OBA.  Steven Campbell and Dean Irick will lead the way for the staff against the Crusaders.  While neither pitcher put together a fantastic record, due mostly to run support, both had a season ERA under 3.40, and Campbell struck out 270 hitters in 248 2/3 innings.

The offense, while not the league's strongest, was pretty much middle of the pack for the length of the season.  Potential Silver Slugger Ramirez led the team with 37 homers and 105 RBI, while winning the Eastern Conference batting title.

Other notables include John Prada, the EC saves leader for 2004, 2B Carlos Cordova and CF James Williams, both with OBP's over .350.

The Slam's biggest concern is their catching duties, as Edmundo Perez went down in game 3 against Richmond with a broken hand.  Outfielder William Castillion did the catching for the rest of the series, and no one is really sure who will do it in the championship series.

 Calgary won the Midwest with the strength of offense and pitching coming on strong after the break.

Calgary scored 159 more runs than its opponents on the season, and its 846 runs scored were better than all but four teams.  Daniel Steelman and Oscar Torres combined for 80 home runs and 217 RBI, and with the exception of bases stolen, the team was in the top 5 in most offensive categories.

The pitching staff was a true strength in the hitter friendly West.  For a homer-friendly park, the Crusaders gave up very few homers.  The starting three of Ulysses Mann, Michael Contreras and James Aguiar combined for 57 wins and could very well be among the top 3 starting rotations.

Several players represented Calgary in the 2004 All-Star game, as the team is loaded top to bottom in talent, and should be a tough challenge for the Slam to overcome.

The 2004 BPLA saves leader pitches in the ninth for the Crusaders in the trusty right arm of Bart Huang.  The trio of William Hughes, Albert Pujols and Stephen Spielman all hit over .320.  And this team loves to reach second, as all players that went to bat at least 400 times hit at least 24 doubles on the season.