A's Win 2021 WFBL Championship!

The Athletics edged out the Cleveland Spiders by 7-5 in a thrilling Whitey Week in front of the frenzied crowd at Libery Bell Park. As a result of winning it all for a second time in four years, the organization became the fourth in the history of the league to capture four WFBL Championships.

Cleveland struck first, bursting to a big Monday lead. But Philly answered with strong Tuesday-Wednesday performances that put them in front. The Spiders battled back, and the two teams were tied entering play on Saturday, each with three starting pitchers remaining.

The A's went on top on Saturday night, but despite trailing by 8-3 the Spiders had a 3-1 starting pitching edge heading into Sunday.

It appeared as if that final day SP edge would be enough, category-wise, to get Cleveland a victory, or at least a tie which would give them the title by virtue of the regular season win over the A's. But it wasn't to be, as Philadelphia held on and then put it away at the end.

It was the A's offense that proved the difference, taking all six categories. Then a narrow 3-2 margin of victory in the Wins category despite beginning the week down two scheduled starts made for the seventh category taken by Philly.

Leading the offensive explosion was right fielder Bryce Harper, who was named winner of the Chuck Klein Award as the WFBL playoffs Most Valuable Player. Harper hit .450 with a .571 OBP, driving in eight runs, scoring six times, and adding a homer and steal during Whitey Week.

Also strong for the A's offense were second baseman Jean Segura (.320/.393, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R), shorstop Trea Turner (.320/.393, 5 R, 3 SB), and left fielder Ian Happ (.435 OBP, 4 RBI, 4 R, 2 SB). Catcher J.T. Realmuto produced five RBIs and center fielder Whit Merrifield chipped in with six runs scored.

On the mound, Adam Wainwright turned in a pair of Quality Starts and a Win to lead the rotation. Both Aaron Nola and Julio Urias turned in solid outings to earn key Wins as well, while Aroldis Chapman was strong out of the bullpen.

The Spiders were led offensively by Schmidt Award winner Vlad Guerrero Jr, Jose Altuve, Andrew Benintendi, and Luis Robert. On the mound, Sandy Alcantara, Clayton Kershaw, and Josh Hader paced a solid overall performance for Cleveland.

The Athletics had advanced to the Finals by defeating the Owens/East Division rival Boston Bulldogs by a 9-3 final score at Liberty Bell Park in the WFBL Semi-Finals. That victory gave the club a berth in Whitey Week for the second straight season, the A's third time in four years and fourth in the last seven to have an opportunity to compete for the title.

Leading for most of those Semi-Finals , the Athletics opened up a huge 11-1 lead by mid-afternoon on the final day of play. But Boston kept chipping away, narrowing that lead and going into Sunday night with a genuine shot at coming all the way back. In the end, a strong final night from third baseman DJ LeMahieu clinched the victory.

The week-long bye while Boston was upending Montreal in the Wildcard Game failed to slow down A's right fielder Bryce Harper, who had been named as the A's 2021 Jimmy Foxx Award winner and also as a WFBL All-Star earlier in the week. Harper hit .409/.552 with five home runs, eight RBIs, and six runs scored to pace the A's offense vs Boston.

Also contributing strong numbers at the plate vs Boston were first baseman Freddie Freeman, second baseman Jean Segura, and last-minute roster addition Ian Happ, who was given the opportunity to start in left field and made the most of it. Center fielder Whit Merrifield scored seven times and stole a pair of bases to round out the offensive attack.

On the mound, Julio Urias continued his excellent season with a strong start in which he went seven shutout innings, striking out seven to earn a Win and Quality Start. Rookie find Carlos Hernandez remained solid, tossing six shutout frames to also earn a Win and QS, while Adam Wainwright provided another solid Win and Aaron Nola struck out 14 across a pair of outings.