What was the biggest lead??

Troy, NY: The Haymakers have embarked on what seems to be a historic season. Since the team has already mathematically won the Less Filling West, the sports department wondered if there was a record of how early a team has won a division. With that data not readily available, we thought we would take a look at the top 5 division wins in the history of the league. Here they are in reverse order:

5. 2008 Pocono Chin Music (87-75): Don't let the record fool you; the Chin Music who were lead by Prince Fielder and John Smoltz, coasted to a 23 game division win in the Less Filling central. Fielder carried the lineup with 57 homeruns and had 140 RBI's. John Smoltz was 18-7 with a 3.31 ERA.

4. 2004 Canyon Country Cannons (101-61): The Cannons powerhouse offense won the division by 25 games. With powerhouses like Jeff Kent (.332/37/112), Jason Giambi (.285/40/100), Vernon Wells (.306/23/92) and speedsters Kenny Lofton and Ichiro at the top of the lineup it's easy to see how this team could win 100 games. It also didn't hurt that Kerry Wood went 20-4 with a 2.81 ERA.

3. 2003 New Jersey Trash Heap (111-51): The '03 Trash Heap repeated as division winners, leading by a whopping 25.5 games. The team's 111 wins was also good for the third most in league history. There were very little weaknesses on this team who boasted an all-star lineup from top to bottom; with players like Roberto Alomar, Gary Sheffield, Luis Gonzalez and Fred McGriff. It was A-Rod though who was the star of the show; hitting .302 with 58 homers and an amazing 150 RBI's. With a lineup like that it's easy to see why Randy Johnson went an incredible 27-7 that season with 21 complete games. Even Jeff Weaver went 16-3, with a tepid 4.94 ERA.

2. 2002 New Jersey Trash Heap (114-48): The Trash Heap held a mini-dynasty back in 2002 and 2003 with two record seasons. Their 114 wins in '02 were good enough for the most in league history. With basically the same lineup in 2003, it was Luis Gonzalez's turn to be the star with 61 home runs and 173 runs batted in; although teammate A-Rod didn't disappoint by hitting 58 home runs and driving in 161. The Trash Heap also boasted three 20 game winners while every starting pitcher had at least 15 wins. Even though the team looked to have the best offense in the history of the league and ended up with the best regular season record in the history of the league, they didn't finish with the biggest division lead. That record went to:

1. 2006 Springfield Isotopes (112-50): The '06 Isotopes finished with the second best regular season record in league history and finished a whopping 37 games ahead of second place Lake Champlain. The team was a great mix of power, speed, pitching and defense with players like Rafael Furcal, Kenny Lofton, Brian Roberts, Eric Chavez and Lance Berkman it was a tough out up and down the lineup. Part-time player Tony Clark ripped 42 homeruns and drive in 105 in only 344 at bats! The pitching staff was great too as every starter pulled down 14 wins; AJ Burnett went 21-5 with a solid 3.43 ERA, while stud closer Joe Nathan saved 40 games while boasting an ERA under 2.00.

So where will the Haymakers fall on this list? Barring a monumental collapse, it seems somewhere in the top three.

More importantly, how do these big division leads translate into the playoffs? Without the information readily available, it's hard to tell...hopefully some of these record setting managers will share their stories of triumph or heartache.