June, 2024

Chapter Three Recap

Players of the Chapter

This past winter, J.D. Luhning made Jeremy Pena a franchise player. He is now locked in all the way through the 2029 season. For one chapter, at least, that decision looks solid. Pena hit a whopping .432/.471/.654 in Chapter Three, and led the South Philly Gritty to an EL-best 17-7 record for the chapter. The Gritty now own the largest lead (9 games) in the BDBL. Pena is our EL Hitter of the Chapter.

No hitter was hotter in Chapter Three than Akron's franchise player, Ronald Acuna. Believe it or not, he hit .434/.500/.889 on the chapter. (Yes, that is a slugging percentage near .900!) He led the OL in all three triple-slash categories, and also led in home runs (10), runs scored (34), hits (43), doubles (13), stolen bases (11), and runs created (45.9). The second-most runs created in Chapter Three belonged to Mookie Betts, who created "only" 28.8 on the chapter. (Note: more on those two to follow.)

Lake Norman's Aaron Nola finished among the top two in opponent's batting average (.177), OBP (.244), and slugging (.274). He also posted a 2.60 ERA in Chapter Three. Yet, his record is only 2-1 for the chapter. It is a good thing for him that I don't use wins and losses to measure a pitcher's talent. He is our EL Pitcher of the Chapter.

Johan Oviedo was a 22nd round draft pick in 2022 by the Flagstaff Peaks. He blossomed overnight into a solid starter for one magical MLB season before he was shut down with Tommy John surgery. Pitching in his final season under contract, he spun a masterpiece in Chapter Three. He led the OL with a 1.20 ERA and held opponents to a .157/.235/.241 batting line. His performance helped to earn a spot on the all-star team along with two others (Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale) in the Peaks starting rotation.

Top Stories of the Chapter

Story #1: That Crazy McGowan Division

It wasn't supposed to be like this. The defending division champion Darien Blue Wave were supposed to run away with the McGowan Division. The Blue Wave swept the preseason polling, earning all fourteen votes cast. They also led the polling to win the Ozzie League championship (9 votes out of 14) as well as the entire enchilada (7/14).

Yet, here we are, halfway through the season, and the Blue Wave are in third-place, looking up at both the Florida Mulligans and Flagstaff Peaks. The problem isn't that the Blue Wave have been disappointing failures. They're sporting a .625 winning percentage, which would make them the leaders in every other BDBL division except one (plus the one they're in.) They're on pace for 100 wins. The problem is that Florida and Flagstaff simply won't stop winning.

Needless to say, no team in BDBL history has ever finished in third place with 100 wins. One team came close, however. Coincidentally, it was the same franchise. Way back in 2013, my son, Ryan, owned the Darien franchise. He lost a then-record 120 games in his first year at the helm, but bounced back big-time the following year and won 91 games. Unfortunately for him, I won 93 games in that same division, and Anthony Peburn somehow won 113 games, making poor Ryan a third-place, 91-win, team.

Flagstaff and Florida have their fair share of usage issues in the second half. Most notably, Aaron Civale has only 34 innings remaining for Flagstaff. Unfortunately, GM Greg Newgard is fresh out of WAR to acquire. Darien GM Lee Scholtz, on the other hand, made a big move this past chapter, adding Jose Altuve and Clay Holmes. And he still has some WAR room to add more.

This race isn't over. It's only just now beginning.

Story #2: The Whacky Wilkie

Lake Norman and Highland are the two best teams in the Eck League. Unfortunately for each, they play in the same division. As we head into the second half of the season, the Monsters own a slim one-game lead over the Freedom. Highland (15-9) barely edged out Lake Norman (14-10) in Chapter Three.

The Freedom have a much tougher schedule than the Monsters in Chapter Four. Not counting the two opponents they have in common, Highland will face three first-place teams (Akron, Chicago, and South Philly), while Lake Norman will face four sub-.500 teams. This could give Lake Norman a temporary boost in the standings, but it is a long season, and anything can happen down the stretch.

Story #3: The OL MVP Race

Florida's Shohei Ohtani is hitting .348/.429/.741 this season. He leads the OL in slugging and home runs (28), and ranks second in RBIs (74). He is having his best offensive season in the BDBL, and best overall season since he won the OL MVP in 2022. Yet, arguably, he's only the third-best hitter in the Ozzie League.

Akron's Ronald Acuna and Flagstaff's Mookie Betts are hitting out of their minds this season:

Acuna: .386/.467/.682, 22 HR, 104.6 RC
Betts: .385/.474/.680, 21 HR, 105.3 RC

It is impossible to pick one over the other for Most Valuable Player. Their numbers are nearly identical. A similar tight MVP race between three players happened in 2002. Incredibly enough, two of those players (Todd Helton and Sammy Sosa) played for the same team: the Salem Cowtippers.

That year, Helton, Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez all crushed the ball:

Helton: .331/.442/.617, 46 2B, 41 HR, 152 R, 124 RBI, 170.6 RC
A-Rod: .319/.418/.672, 33 2B, 57 HR, 131 R, 130 RBI, 165.2 RC
Sosa: .324/.443/.702, 39 2B, 60 HR, 151 R, 171 RBI, 188.5 RC

In the end, the MVP voting wasn't even close. Sosa ran away with it, earning 18 of 19 first-place votes. A-Rod finished a distant second, and Helton was an even more distant third. (Note: eight voters even left Helton off their ballot completely!)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, despite having two of those three players, the Cowtippers lost the World Series to the Allentown Ridgebacks that year.

Story #4: Those Meddlesome Furies

Every chapter review, it seems, I write something about how the South Loop Furies aren't a factor this season, they will soon fade into the distance, and the Los Altos Undertakers will run away with their division yet again. But then another chapter passes and I'm forced to write the same thing. Maybe I should stop doing that.

The Furies weren't spectacular in Chapter Three. They went 12-12 and were outscored by 11 runs. The problem is that the Undertakers were even worse. They went just 11-13 and were outscored by seven runs. The Bear Country Jamboree (13-11) were the only team over .500 in the Griffin Division.

The problem with Los Altos in Chapter Three was their pitching. Max Scherzer (1-2, 5.32 ERA in Chapter Three) has had his head up his ass for most of this season. The $11 million man owns a 2-6 record on the season, with an ugly 4.72 ERA. Shane Bieber (8.18 ERA last chapter, 6.57 on the season) has been even worse than Scherzer. Seth Lugo (9.56 ERA last chapter, 5.21 on the season) hasn't been much help, either.

Someone named Zach D. Thompson was allowed to make six starts last chapter. He went 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA, and is now done for the year. That leaves a starting rotation of Kenta Maeda (3-2, 3.96 this season) and...uh...well...that's it.

GM Jeff Paulson seems reluctant to pull the trigger on any trade that would add a much-needed starting arm to this rotation, so this is probably it, folks. Which means we must turn our attention to the Furies.

All-star Bryce Elder (12-4, 2.96 ERA) leads the BDBL in wins, and has now matched his MLB record perfectly, achieving that 12-4 record in 53 fewer innings. Dane Dunning (9-6, 3.97 ERA) has been perfectly fine as a #2 starter. After that, there is a massive drop-off in quality. Offensively, the Furies are very much middle-of-the-pack in nearly every category. And in nearly every category, the Undertakers far outperform South Loop's offense.

I really don't know what to make of this race. Los Altos seems doomed given their pitching situation, but it's not as if the Furies are lighting the world on fire, either. Neither team's GM seems interested in making a big move, so it is what it is. This will be a war of attrition, with the "winner" being the team that imploded the least.

Story #5: Are the Sea Cats For Real?

Like the Furies, it seems like every chapter I am forced to write something about how the Sea Cats can't possibly keep pace with the Akron Ryche in the Benes Division. Then another chapter passes, I take a look at the standings, and there they are, still hanging in there.

Akron went 15-9 in Chapter Three to put some sliver of distance between the two teams. The Sea Cats (12-12 last chapter) now sit three games back in the division. They are staying in this race almost entirely because of their pitching. South Carolina ranks behind only one team (the team they're chasing) in fewest runs allowed. Their 3.77 team ERA ranks third in the league behind the Flagstaff Peaks and that team they're chasing.

The stark difference between these two teams is on offense. Akron currently ranks #4 in the Ozzie League with 412 runs scored. South Carolina also ranks fourth...from last. They have scored 49 fewer runs than Akron this year, and have hit just .247/.325/.394 as a team.

I hate to say it yet again, but the distance between the Ryche and Sea Cats in this division will continue to grow each chapter. In the end, I expect Akron to win this division by double digits.

Story #6: OL > EL

While filling in the reserves for the all-star game I could not help but notice the stark difference between the OL and EL in terms of pitching quality. Virginia ace Zack Wheeler is completely dominating the league this year. He's a perfect 10-0 on the mound, owns a sparkling 1.81 ERA, and has held opponents to a .207/.245/.323 batting line. Other than him, however, nearly every other EL pitcher sucks a rat's ass.

Ozzie League pitchers have allowed a total of 4,269 earned runs this year (an ERA of 4.47). Eck League pitchers have allowed a whopping 4,568 earned runs (4.77). That's a seven percent difference!

This difference has resulted in an ass-whipping by the Ozzie League in interleague play. Currently, the OL enjoys a 200-184 (.521) winning percentage in those games. We all knew the Ozzie has always been the superior league. This only proves it. [Insert smartass emoji.]