Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder and Southern League MVP Max Kepler faced an uphill climb Monday afternoon in the race for the league batting title.
On the final day of the regular season, Kepler went 1-for-4 as a designated hitter in a 6-4 loss to Jackson at AT&T Field. He finished with a .322 average while Tennessee Smokies catcher Wilson Contreras went 4-for-4 in his finale and wound up at .333.
"I'm just proud of our team," Kepler said. "Are they in the playoffs? No. We are, and that's all that matters to me."
The Lookouts, who went 76-61 overall, will open the North Division playoff series Thursday night at AT&T Field against Montgomery, which went 77-61.
Chattanooga was swept by Jacksonville in the championship series last year, the Lookouts' sixth and final season as the Class AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year's team, affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, clinched a postseason berth by winning the first half with a 43-25 record.
Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder Max Kepler takes a swing during a home game against the Jackson Generals earlier this season. Kepler is in contention for the Southern League batting title with the regular season in its final few weeks.The Lookouts concluded a 33-36 second half after starting in a 3-13 hole, leaving manager Doug Mientkiewicz not quite sure what to take from the past two months.
"How about confusion?" Mientkiewicz said. "We realize how much further we have to go, and the alarming thing is that we're making a lot of the same mistakes that we made early in the year. Overall, though, it's been a great year for us."
Kepler became just the fourth Lookouts player to win the MVP honor since pro baseball returned to the city in 1976, joining Brady Clark (1999), Joey Votto (2006) and Scott Van Slyke (2011). Outfielder Adam Brett Walker II set a franchise record for home runs in a single season, collecting his 31st Monday afternoon.
Walker also became the first Lookouts player since Sal Rende in 1978 to lead the league in RBIs, collecting 106.
"I'm having some good at-bats," Walker said, "and hopefully that carries over and helps the team win."
The Lookouts had a better year on the field than in the seats, as the average home attendance of 3,414 was below the 3,516 average of last year. Chattanooga played just four home games in April, which is a strong month for attendance, and played 20 of its last 30 games at home, a stretch when crowds generally are sparse.
Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo said Monday that next year's schedule is far more balanced in that regard.
Trying to determine a playoff favorite is difficult. The Lookouts and Biscuits split their 16 regular-season meetings.
"We've had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, we're still the same team we were the first half," Kepler said. "We won a (Florida State League) ring last year with this team, so I think we're good. Even if we didn't do as well as we did in the first half, I still believe in this team just as much as I did last year."
Said Walker: "We didn't finish the regular season the way we wanted, but we're ready to come out Thursday and play some good baseball."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.