by Sarah Lamb-Tapper, Asheville Citizen-Times

August 25, 2017

ASHEVILLE, NC – Forget the race for the division titles – this year’s best baseball in the Imperial League is found in the free-for-all for the final two spots in the playoffs.

Kentucky, West Virginia, London, Manchester, and San Antonio are all currently bunched within 2.5 games of each other, and during the month of August each team except for Manchester has been in control of a playoff spot. With only one month left to play, the only guarantee is that the stakes will climb even higher.

The London Underground, in their second year under the direction of GM Nigel Laverick, burst out of the gate in April and turned the Pan-Atlantic into a fierce fight with New Jersey, a fight they lead at one point by 6.5 games. But a 14-24 second half, better than only last-place Connecticut, has sent London down into the fray with the four other squads.

On the opposite trajectory is West Virginia, who ended the first half a game over .500 but has since gone 24-15, the best record amongst the five wild-card contenders. It’s been a year of reunions and breakups for the Alleghenies, as former Coal Sox George Riley and Jon Wood returned to the team, and star pitcher Michael Ayers was dealt after six seasons with the team.

The rise of West Virginia has coincided with a contending season by Kentucky, finally giving weight to one of the natural geographic rivalries in the PEBA that has long lain dormant. The Thoroughbreds have been a model of consistency this season as rookie GM Shawn Rankins has guided a team mostly assembled by his predecessor, augmented it with players like Joel Swedlove, and put Kentucky in line for its second-ever winning season – a winning season that, if it were to end today, would have Kentucky in the playoffs.

The Manchester Maulers have been flying under the radar the entire season – never more than five games above or below .500. But that record still places them 1.5 games out of the playoffs. The Maulers were buyers at the trade deadline, bringing in Albert Bush from Connecticut to bolster their rotation. Though the Maulers have struggled to break away so far this year, their consistency could give them the edge as the other teams battle to a draw.

The final wildcard contender is San Antonio, whose fall from grace has been almost as sharp as London’s. San Antonio peaked at the All-Star break and is 15-23 since, only one game better than London. The ever trade-happy Calzones stole Randy Smith from Yuma at the deadline, and he has proved an anchor for San Antonio’s rotation – he’s 4-1 with a 222 ERA+ during his time in Texas. The Calzones have just as much a chance as any of the other teams – but with four other squads ahead of them, they have no margin for error.

However these five sort themselves out, the PEBA is guaranteed to see a team make the postseason for the first time in at least five years. Each team last tasted October baseball in 2011 (Manchester, West Virginia), 2010 (London), 2007 (San Antonio), and never (Kentucky). Combined with the chaos that is the Sovereign League (Reno in the playoffs, Aurora and Crystal Lake are out), one thing is for sure – this is the PEBA as you’ve never seen it before.