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06/09/2053
We went from Pittsburgh to Dallas to Seattle to New Orleans...as the PR just keeps on a churning. This past week the Voodoo posted the 7-0 unicorn as New Orleans has now won nine straight games. With a 39-20 record they have the best record in the league, and lead Dallas by 1.5 games in the Lager. The other top week was the Denver Bulls who went 6-1. They are now only a game under .500 and upped their postseason odds to 51%. Some other big winners were Maine, California, and Washington who all went 5-2. On the other side of the pillow New York, Indy, and Windy City all went 1-6.
Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Voodoo (136.0, ++)
2) California Kodiaks (124.0, +)
3) Pittsburgh Millers (116.9, -)
4) Washington Bats (116.9, +)
5) Seattle Pilots (115.0, --)
6) Dallas Drillers (113.0, -)
7) Pawtucket Patriots (104.4, ++)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (101.7, -)
9) Maine Guides (100.0, +)
10) Denver Bulls (94.5, ++)
11) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (90.6, --)
12) Hartford Whalers (87.4, ++)
13) Carolina Tobs (85.9, -)
14) Syracuse Snappers (84.8, -)
15) Philadelphia Freedom (82.3, +)
16) Windy City Blues (81.4, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (79.9, o)
18) Baltimore Bulldogs (76.3, ++)
19) Montreal Exports (75.3, -)
20) Toronto Canadians (72.8, o)
21) Indianapolis Clowns (65.3, --)
22) Batavia Muckdogs (59.0, +)
23) Wilmington Wildcats (55.0, -)
24) New York Cyclones (43.8, o)
Performance of the Week
P JaQuan Wamugunda - The terror from Togo has turned into a legit Pale Ale candidate, and last week posted the #1 pitching performance of the season so far. On June 5th against Phoenix he threw a complete game 3-hit shutout that featured two walks and an amazing 17 strikeouts. He is now 7-1 on the season with a 1.64 ERA and 240 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
P Tommy Tisthammer - Known as 'Fist' around the locker room, the 2nd round pick from 2049 by the Pilots has turned into the 19th overall prospect in the league. At 6'7 the 21 year old throws a 101 mph fastball that is as intimidating as it is deadly. In A ball this year he is 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA, but he has 37 K's in 41 IP. He also has a lot of room to get better, especially on his control, and if he does it could make him a true #1 down the road.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We missed last week due to watching the Eagles perform. Let's just say that Don Henley looks and sounds great at 105 years old. We didn't get a chance though to go over the winners of May. Without further ado lets dive in. The top billing went to Seattle, who went 23-7. They posted a 3.01 ERA (2nd best) while hitting a leagues best .309. Their +96 run difference was also tops. We then had four teams tie at the 20-9 mark. California, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and LAD. The not so great month was had by New York who went 8-21. The Cyclones have the worst record in the league and are looking to lock up the #1 pick in next years draft. They still have the first ranked minor league system so not all is lost. Brighter days are ahead.
2. How impressive was Wamugunda's performance against Phoenix? In the history of the BLB only four players have struck out more batters in a game. The all-time leader is Hall of Fame member D.J. 'The Brick' Engstrom. On September 19th, 2019 he struck out 20 batters against Syracuse. That was the same season he won what would be his third out of five Pale Ale's. The other three gunslingers all had 18 K's in one game. Denver's Brendan Linnett has done it twice (2049, 2050), Alex 'Beast of Burden' Torres did it for SDR in 2015, and Edgar Mejia did in 2011 while playing for Carolina.
3. We must have jinxed the UCLA Bruins as they were up 1-0 in the College World Series, and a perfect 7-0 in the NCAA postseason, last we checked in. Then the unlikely happened and the Baylor Bears beat them 6-1 and 7-0 to win their first ever NCAA championship. Baylor finished the season 26-22, lost four straight to close it out, but got hot and won their first three playoff series 2-0. After falling behind 1-0 they racked up 13 runs and 23 hits to UCLA's one run and six hits to take the title. Talk about a bad time for the then 38-17 Bruins to fall apart.
4. With the BLB draft happening next Monday that also means that All-Star voting is going on strong. So far Cory 'Boy Scout' Petit leads the Domestic, while Colby 'Mirror' Hullinger leads the Import. Talk about a tale of two decades. Hullinger is almost 36 years old and is one of the most decorated players in league history. This will more than likely be his 9th All-Star game selection, to go alongside his three Stout Sluggers, seven Designated Driver's, and one DWI. Meanwhile 'Boy Scout' is 26 and coming off his rookie year that saw him win the Stout Slugger, New Brew, Designated Driver, and go to his first All-Star game. He's regressed a little but he could end up just as dominant as 'Mirror' over the next decade.
5. What's on tap? We are back to interleague as we get some top flight match-ups this week. Two of them feature all four division leaders as California travels to Pittsburgh, and New Orleans travels to Washington. How things worked out that well for the fans we'll never know. Another fun series is up and coming Carolina at Pawtucket. Can rookie Evan Turner keep it up? The 19 year old has taken the league by storm as he's currently tied for the league lead with 18 home runs. Some streaks we currently have: New Orleans has won nine in a row, Indy has lost five in a row, Aubrey 'Gypsy' Albano (TOR) and Rice Mesyan (SEA) have 14 game hitting streaks, and Montreal rookie Justin Knight has knocked in a run in six straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Common First Names Among Active Players (Top 25 Names) |
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Most Middle IF (2B / SS) Double Plays since 2028
| Player Javy Gudino |
Teams BAT,HAR,MAI,MON,PHI,SDR,WIL |
Years 2028-2044 |
Total 1813 |
| Dusty Schmidl | BAT,CAL,DAL,MIA,NYK,PHO,SDR,SEA,TOR,WIL | 2029-2046 | 1792 |
| Oscar D'Addona | BAT,DAL,MON,NYC,PAW,PHO,PIT,WAS | 2029-2049 | 1769 |
| Edwin Meck | CAR,DEN,IND,NO,NYK,PHI,PHO,SDR,SYR | 2032-2048 | 1604 |
| Jonathon Valenti | BAL,LAD,NYK,SDR,SYR | 2028-2042 | 1495 |
| Jimmy Brabec | BAT,CAL,PHO,SEA,SYR | 2033-2052 | 1481 |
| Dusty Kocurek | CHI,HAR,NO,SEA | 2031-2045 | 1472 |
| Brenden Santoro | CAL,SYR | 2035-2048 | 1397 |
| Dave Bickford | CHI,NYK | 2028-2041 | 1350 |
| Jimmy Doss | BAT,CHI,PAW,PHI,PIT,SDR | 2035-2048 | 1348 |
| Omar Jones | CAL,DEN,PHI | 2036-2051 | 1280 |
| Dave Cohen | BAT,PHO | 2031-2042 | 1243 |
| Aubrey Albano | PAW,SYR,TOR | 2041-2053 | 1238 |
| Gil Porter | BAL,IND,NYK,PAW,SDR | 2028-2039 | 1229 |
| Zeus Alder | BAL,CAR,DAL,NYC,PHO | 2036-2052 | 1210 |
| Jon Santiago | BAL,CAR,MAI,PHI,PIT | 2028-2042 | 1199 |
| Pat Pierce | CAR | 2028-2038 | 1195 |
| Dave Davis | BAT,NYK,PHO,WIL | 2028-2040 | 1147 |
| Elias Shelton | IND,MON,PIT | 2035-2050 | 1130 |
| Asa Wyman | HAR,IND,PHI,SDR | 2038-2050 | 1072 |
| Nehemiah Daniel | CAL,LAD,SEA | 2028-2042 | 1063 |
| Antonio Melendez | DEN,MIA,NYK,PAW,PHI,PHO,SDR,SEA,SYR | 2028-2040 | 1051 |
| Pat Holes | BAT,PHO,SEA | 2035-2049 | 1050 |
| Timmy Ungureanu | BAT,MAI,PHI | 2040-2051 | 1045 |
| Jamie Hutter | BAL,CHI,NO,SYR,TOR | 2028-2040 | 1019 |