With Eugene’s acceptance into the Police Academy he decided to go on sabbatical from the league.  This left Dan, Louis, John and Mike to battle it out.  And battle it out they did. 

Season VII featured a tight pennant race.  John drifted to the bottom of the standings but Dan, Mike and Louis were all in position to take first place.  When the dust had finally settled all three had identical 85-75 records.  For the first time the season ended in a three-way tie for first place.  And for the first time Mike would be going to the postseason.  All that needed to be determined was, would he be going to the playoffs or straight to the World Series? 

A round-robin playoff would be used to determine who would be crowned regular-season champion.  Three games would be played.  If one team beat the other two, that team would be crowned champion.  If each team went 1-1, another three game set would be played.  Game 1 of the regular-season playoff pitted Mike against Dan.  Mike won the game.  In Game 2 Louis also beat Dan.  Dan ended in third place.  Louis and Mike would play the final game to determine who would take first place and get a playoff bye.  And the winner was… Mike.  He had done it.  He had faced the Strato Gods and the ghost of Frank Howard straight on and emerged victorious.  He could sit back and collect his thoughts while Louis and Dan battled to determine his World Series opponent.

By this time the last few regular-season games had been played, the round robin playoff had been played, and the night was wearing on.  Eugene had arrived in a somewhat inebriated state to witness the goings-on.  He slept on Louis’ couch as the playoffs began.

The rule for the postseason has always been that a team can go to a three-man pitching rotation.  Prior to Game 1 of the playoffs, unbeknownst to Louis, Dan dropped his fourth starter, Bert Blyleven, and picked up another pinch hitter.  The series went six games with Dan besting Lou.  The hour grew later.  Eugene continued to sleep.  Mike could not wait another week for his first taste of postseason play so the World Series would be played then and there.  The series was a battle, going a full seven games, with Dan winning again. Dan became the first three-time champion as well as the first person to win back-to-back championships.  Eugene woke up around 2:00 AM, found out Dan had won, and headed home.  

Shortly after Dan’s victory, controversy struck.  Louis had gotten wind of Dan’s Blyleven move and felt it was unethical.  He resigned from the league.  The eldest the league elders walked away from the game.  

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A couple of statistical notes from Season VII:

·        Lou Gehrig, the Season VII MVP, had one of the greatest hitting seasons ever.  His 107 extra-base hits and 387 total bases records still stand today.  His 144 RBI (since broken) shattered Babe Ruth’s old record of 128.

·        Dennis Eckersly, the Season VII Cy Young award winner, became the first 30-game winner in league history.  He won 33 games that year.  His 130 games pitched tied Bruce Sutter’s record, although his 481 innings pitched fell 10 short of Sutter’s record.