The #2 seed Baltimore Comets did the near impossible…They upended the #1 Dynasty Tempe Tempers.  When Tempe sniffs a World Series appearance, they have no let downs, they kick it into high gear.  To put that in perspective, the last time Tempe lost a League Championships Series was in 2012 to Sacramento (4-3).  In Tempe’s 25-year history, that was the ONLY loss in the League Championships Series, and it was in 7 games.  So, to dispatch them in only 5 games was a monstrous feat.  And, to top it all off, this is the same team they traded expected Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander (28-2) to two weeks before the Annual Draft.  Baltimore put together the core of this team prior to the season.  Miles Mikolas & eventual draft pick David Robertson came back in the Verlander deal, along with potential superstar Jasson Dominguez.  #1 starter Tyler Anderson and bullpen piece Jake Woodford came over via an offseason trade with Triple Creek, but the most notable trade was the one made on January 25, 2023, linking Hollywood and Baltimore this season.  The two teams swung a deal that was expected to make Hollywood the favorite in the American League and just help Baltimore compete, possibly making the playoffs.  Baltimore sent Aaron Judge (with Mike Clevenger and a late pick) to Hollywood for what turned out to be three key bodies vaulting Baltimore to the World Series, Nick Castellanos, Cristian Vasquez & Matt Olson. The combination of Castellanos, Vazquez & Olson combined for 54 home runs and 181 RBIs.  While Judge hit 55 homers, driving in 136 for Hollywood.  It’s a trade was one of those rare ones that saw both teams reap the benefits.  That’s 7 pieces via trade.  Then you consider that in the draft they also added their closer in Evan Phillips and secondary starter Jose Quintana, makes 9 significant adds prior to the season.

The #2 Hollywood Werewolves led the AL all season, but faltered down the stretch, losing a late series to Chicago, which lost the #1 seed and home field advantage.  In the end it didn’t matter as Hollywood took out Chicago in 5 games.  The last time the two teams faced off in a League Championships Series was 2020, where Hollywood won in 5 games (as well) and eventually the World Series.  Now looking back at the Judge trade, some view that the biggest of the acquisition in Hollywood’s offseason, but while that was significant, the answer would be, it was not.  There were a series of bullpen acquisitions that turned a sad looking bullpen to stellar.  Hollywood added Cinel Perez (and Lane Thomas), Adam Ottavino, Peter Fairbanks and Jordan Romano in several trades.  Hollywood’s starting staff is some of the best in the game, but they cannot pitch long as they are often injured, so they need to be careful with their handling.  That was the reason they needed to shore up the bullpen.  Without that bullpen, Hollywood doesn’t win the division and is not in the League Championships Series.