Hello Fellow Managers, 

Congratulations to manager Franky Guttman and the Pampered Birds on winning Baldelli’s Modern Life XVI ! 

Coming into the finals Franky had to knock out two of his best friends, Dark Matters podcast co-host and Gavin Polonanism manger Michael Bilow, followed by The Beekeepers manager Hunter Catfish Altman. 

jags, a perennially good team, made their first appearance in in the championship since 2018. The path was forged through second year manager of T t t today Junior Rich Hardwick and the always dangerous Nolan Jonestown Massacre. 

This year’s championship week looked like a blow out going into Sunday but ended as the closest championship in Baldelli’s Modern Life history. The Birds held a commanding 9-1 lead category lead until Lawrene Butler (Oak OF) 2HR and Corey Seager (TEX SS) 1HR chipped in with long balls. Cal Quantrill and Payton Tolle pitched gems; each with a quality start and 11Ks between them. Jags TIED the championship at 5-5 by taking the lead in HR, ERA WHIP, and S+H. Only 2Ks or 1SB separated winning the BML title and a long off-season. Pampered Birds held the tie break. 

The final MLB game left still playing was between the Padres and Giants. Jags needed Tatis (who was 3/4 in the game) to get on and steal a base in the 9th. In that faithful inning the lead runner got on base. Tatis Jr, now in the hole with a runner on, looked on as the Padres next batter hit into a double play. Tatis would end the game, and jag’s season in the on-deck circle. So close, and yet so far. 

The commissioner’s office would also like to congratulate The Nolan Jonestown Massacre for winning the 3rd place game. The match against The Beekeepers also came down to tiebreaks, ending 5-5. Both championship games ended 5-5, the narrowest margins of victory in league history. The Massacres who made waves coming into the playoffs with 3 trades bringing in 10 new players. An unbelievable effort that got tripped up only in the semi-finals. 

As another season has come to a close the Commissioner’s Office would like to thank you all for participating in the 16th season of the BML modern era. I do not anticipate any rule changes during the off season. We are also looking for new reserve managers for next season, let me know if you have someone in mind. 

It has been my honor to be the league’s commissioner for the 7th time. I’m still a long way from filling the shoes of the man I replaced, Daniel Lyons who acted as the boss for 9 years plus three in the per-Baldelli times. It’s crazy to me that we’ve kept the train moving for this long. But we have. Choo-choo. 

CoMeesh