This is the third of a series of season wrap ups for the Giants’ system. Before we start looking forward, it’s always good to look back and remember the year that was, especially when banners and rings are involved! Next up, we move to the High-A West league champion Eugene Emeralds. Stay with me to the end — I’ll also have a quick AFL update.
2021 Eugene Emeralds
69-50 (1st place in High-A West League, Won League Championship Series)
Overview
Their season may not have been an unending series of triumphs — there were a few down notes along the way, after all — but when all was said and done, Eugene’s inaugural season as a Giants’ affiliate AND inaugural season as a full-season affiliate couldn’t have been gone any better.
Yes, as I said, there were some tense moments. For much of the year, the Emeralds were in a Sisyphean contest of mounting attacks on 1st place, only to be rolled back down the hill when the summit was in sight. A home series in early July versus the dominant Everett AquaSox turned into an embarrassing rout, with Eugene being outscored 54-17, and losing five of six games in front of the home crowd. A month later, with Everett reeling, Eugene had just pulled into a tie for first when they went on a shocking 2-7 stretch against two of the worst teams in the league. That skid briefly made their playoff lives flicker before their very eyes, as a lead over third place Spokane that had once been as large as 14 games dropped to a mere 1.5 games going into the final two weeks.
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