The first week of the 2025 season is complete, and there are already epic performances, drama, and upsets happening.  If the first week is any indication, the season will be a fantastic battle for the coveted Dirt Mountain title.

RK Possums vs. CP Kraken

The week’s best performance came from the Kraken.  Their offense outpaced the rest of the league with ease.  They led the league in home runs, RBI, and OPS by a substantial margin.  Aaron Judge did most of the damage with four home runs and 11 RBI.  Kyle Tucker added two home runs of his own and 6 RBI.  The Possums enjoyed a three home run showing from Jazz Chisholm Jr, and the team tied for the league lead in steals.  They also were tied for second in runs.  Despite Chris’s power numbers, he held only a 3-2 advantage before accounting for pitching.

Here, the Possums were competitive and led the league in ERA.  However, Rick’s pitchers didn’t manage to throw enough innings to win the counting categories, and Chris was able to take saves and secure the win.  The lack of innings will prove to be a theme for the week with many teams, as MLB managers looked to ease their pitchers into the season.  For now the Kraken start the season with a win, and Rick will have to hope for better luck in his next contest.

KK Wolf Spiders vs. LK Armadillos

The Wolf Spiders and Armadillos met in a battle of former champions, and the Armadillos once again came out on top.  However, the victory was rather workmanlike, with low offensive totals on both sides.  Neither team could get much going, and combined for few home runs than the Kraken alone.  Mookie Betts was the only Armadillo with more than one home run, but it was enough for Larry to sweep the offensive side of the ledger.

The Armadillos enjoyed a league-leading WHIP, but the Wolf Spiders took saves.  Larry scored more innings and strikeouts, and also had better rate stats than Kyle’s squad.  However, like all the other teams, the pitching showing was distorted by the low inning counts.  This won’t be any consolation to Kyle, who struggled to get much going for the week on either side.  Both teams will try to improve next week.

CM Skyline Sluggers vs. KG Capital City Goofballs

The Skyline Sluggers celebrated the recent weeding of the manager with a nice win versus the Goofballs.  I doubt either manager would call the win pretty, but a win is a win nonetheless.  The sluggers relied on Cody Bellinger for a home run and 6 RBI.  Kyle Schwarber had 2 home runs for the Goofballs.  The teams tied in steals, and Kevin took OPS.  This was enough for a 3-1-1 lead, but pitching would turn ugly for both squads.

Neither team had an ERA or WHIP that was competitive with the rest of the league.  Both teams had ghastly figures of ERAs over 6.66 and WHIPS north of 1.30.  However, the Sluggers were the best of the worst, and also threw far more innings than the Goofballs despite the overall ineffectiveness of both sides.  This helped Charlie pull to a 4-1 lead in pitching, and secure the narrow 5-4-1 win.  This is a great start for the Sluggers, who hope to build some early momentum.

JK Hares vs. HP PhoeGnomes

The week’s final battle saw the PhoeGnomes defeat the Hares in a strange contest.  Neither team was able to field many innings but Heather’s team was far more effective,  Logan Gilbert was especially strong in his one outing, and threw 7.0 IP.  Normally this isn’t that great, but in a week as strange as this one, any solid outing is a success.

Heather also enjoyed a strong week on offense Jordan Westburg leading the way.  He had 3 home runs, and Teoscar Hernandez added 5 RBI.  The Hares struggled mightily with a horrific OPS and only 3 total home runs.  This put far too much pressure on a pitching staff that struggled to throw many innings with any level of effectiveness.  Jeff will need to look for answers on offense, or it will be a long season.

Next Week

After a strange start to the year, each team will try to find a more normal rhythm in Week #02.  The Possums and Armadillos will be an interesting match, with Rick needed to pick up a victory.  The Kraken and Goofballs will also be an interesting battle.  Both teams struggle with pitching, so anything can happen.  The PhoeGnomes and Skyline Sluggers pair up two teams with victories in week one.  Finally, the Wolf Spiders and Hares will do their best to get their first wins of the season.