Railcats beat Wingnuts in four to earn the American Association Championship

The Gary-Southshore Railcats have become the second team to win the wildcard and roll through the playoffs en route to the American Association Championship. 

After a close series with Fargo-Moorhead, the Railcats stayed hot, and were able to get enough wins for their first championship since 2007. 

This marks the second time in as many years that a wildcard team had won the American Association championship. Last year the Goldeyes went 6-0 on their way to the 2012 championship, and this year the Railcats went 6-2 en route to this seasons title. This is also the second time in as many years that the Wichita Wingnuts have lost in the finals.

I had the pleasure of seeing this Railcats team play here in Winnipeg earlier in the season twice during their four game set against the Goldeyes. It was hard not to see that there was something special, but strange about the way they played. They play a weird style of ball, something that other team's in the league have come to call "Railcatting."

By that, they mean that this team plays small ball. Instead of hitting home-runs they get on base, and use their speed to score runs. They go six innings without scoring a run, then they'll put up eight in the seventh. They don't have a lot of home-run hitters, but they have a balanced lineup that can drive the ball into the gaps, lay down bunts, steal bases, capitalize on their chances and make next to no errors. They also made great use of their pitching staff during the season.

After taking game one of the series 9-4, Gary dropped game two 6-4 which evened the series at one a piece. From there the Railcats took control of the series, beating Wichita twice in a row, wrapping up the series in Wichita on Saturday night. The second time in as many years the Wingnuts have lost the deciding game at home.

The Railcats outhit the powerful Wingnuts 49-40 in the series, and were led by lead-off man Adam Klein who was named MVP of the championship series. Klein went 8 for 15 in the series (.533) scoring five runs and racking up five RBI's in the four games. This capped off a fantastic playoff for Klein who went 12 for 30 (.400) with three doubles.
   The Railcats returned to Gary the night after to have a meet and greet with the fans and media.