The “Best Of” Writing Awards are unique in that they recognize out-of-game achievements; the most important kind.  It’s all well and good to be able develop a player statistically, but to be able to develop him fictionally takes true talent.

Over 250 articles were written by PEBA owners during our most recent season.  This averages out to over an article a day.  Our members have helped ensure that people can turn to the PEBA website and expect to see new and compelling content on a regular basis.  My hat is off to all of you.  I only wish there was enough space and time to award everybody for their writing contributions.  Even if you don’t see your team listed here, know that your work has been counted, read and appreciated.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the PEBA’s stand-out articles for 2011!

“Best Of” Writing Awards

Season Preview: Calzones Corner 2011: Calzones Season Preview – Part 1 / Part 2 (San Antonio). Not only did we get an interview with Calzones GM Matt Higgins, but manager Manny Aguilar and head scout Héctor Nieves were along for the ride.  Aguilar dropped this nugget on us: “Well, if I can’t win with this squad, I need to find a new line of work.”  105 losses later, we await the fulfillment of this prophecy.  Honorable Mentions: Intrigue Abounds as Confidential Maulers’ Memo Leaked; (Manchester); Bright Blade Group Winter Recap (Kuwana).

Season Recap: NLN: Aurora State of the Franchise (Aurora). In addition to a look back on a season that came just one win away from a Rodriguez Cup, Michael gives us another chapter in the ongoing Tophams vs. Christopher Rodriguez tug-o-war.  Will control of the Borealis really be determined by a game of H-O-R-S-E?  Honorable Mentions: Warriors Just Miss Playoffs (Fushigi Yugi); Disappointing Season in Fargo Comes to a Close (Fargo).

Season Update: Knights Notes – May 30 / June 14 / July 2 (Tempe). It was a magical season in the desert.  The successful culmination of GM Chris Van Hauter’s 5-year plan resulted in Tempe’s first-ever playoff berth.  The Knights Notes series allows readers to join along for the ride as the Knights push into previously uncharted territory.  Honorable Mention: Calzones Corner – Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 (San Antonio); Bureaucrats 2011 Season Update – April / May (Arlington).

Different Team: Midseason Shining Star Group Review – Part 1 / Part 2 (Lupin). Two months into the season, Bob Hamilton of Field Reports Daily gives us a look at how the teams of the SSG are doing.  The Niihama-shi Ghosts were 5 games back of the Shin Seiki Evas at this point.  They would ultimately catch the Evas at the end of the season and defeat them in the SSG Wasei Junkesshou.  Honorable Mention: What Happened to the Sandgnats? (Yuma); Prospect Smackdown (London).

Game Recap: Suicide Squeeze: PEC Edition (Florida). It was a promising start to the Planetary Extreme Championship for Florida.  They split Games 1 and 2 – the excellent recaps of which you can read here – at Northern Lights Park and returned to Jacksonville with hopes of a home sweep and a quick end to the series.  Instead, Aurora took the next two at Farmer Field, setting up an improbable 3-game run to the Rodriguez Cup for the Featherheads.  Honorable Mentions: There is No Joy on the Front Range (Aurora); NLN: Borealis Take Second Sovereign Crown (Aurora).

Minors: Bakersfield Minor League Review: Top 10 – Pitchers / Batters (Bakersfield). When Jon and Aric are involved, you know you’re not going to get just a straightforward minor league review.  In addition to the standard info on the top Bears farmhands, we are treated to a fun fact about each one.  Did you know that Phil Anderson is the illegitimate love-child of TV’s Dr. Phil?  Neither did anyone else (Dr. Phil included).  Honorable Mention: Omaha Farm System Defines “Average” (Omaha); Fargo 2010 Prospect Review (Fargo).

Trade Analysis: Naha’s Big Day (Naha). During the 2010-11 off-season, Naha GM Tom Fees engaged in a wholesale housecleaning.  Four major trades were pulled off; one with Edo, one with Kure and two with Shin Seiki.  Two months into the season, Wat Duino grades how these trades have worked out so far.  The results?  An “A+”, and “A-“, a “B-“ and a “D+”.  Not too shabby, overall.  Honorable Mention: A Busy Two Weeks for the Evas, With an Eye to the Future (Shin Seiki); San Antonio Purge Steals Draft Day Thunder (Aurora).

Draft Analysis: Arlington’s Amateur Draft Review (Arlington). In January, Jonathan C. Castillo looked back at every Arlington Bureaucrats draft to that point.  He assessed the merits of the Top 5 from each draft class.  Current GM Dan DiVincenzo was at the helm for only the most recent of these drafts, so this is largely a retrospective of the success and failures of previous Arlington regimes.  Honorable Mention: LRS Mock Draft – Round 1 (Kure); Neo-Tokyo Announces Draft Picks (Neo-Tokyo).

Statistical Analysis: RE: Enrique Ortega – Friend or Foe? (Charleston). Back in June, a carless member of the Statesmen scouting department dropped a USB flash drive in the parking lot of a Raleigh-area Taco Bell.  The drive contained a detailed look at one Enrique Ortega.  Apparently GM Jon Constantine had requested this analysis of how Ortega matched up with his Imperial League counterparts.  Ortega is ultimately determined to be doing acceptably enough to hold off prospect Shi-ping Joo.  Honorable Mention: Evaluating Catcher Defense (Fargo); On the Perception of Injuries (Niihama-shi).

Historical Analysis: Dessert, Anyone? (Crystal Lake). Writing for American Baseball Perspective and with generous contributions from Sandgnats co-owner Bill Hewitson, Pip Hellshave provides us with a retrospective on the career of West Virginia Coal Sox GM Tyler Babcock.  Mr. Babcock is one of the PEBA’s youngest GMs.  Mr. Hellshave’s analysis shows us that, while some errors in judgment have inevitably been made along the way, Mr. Babcock has acquitted himself quite well amongst his (mostly older) peers.  Honorable Mention: Examining the Business of Baseball: Payroll vs. Wins (Florida); Reno and Cinderella – ?#*%? (Reno).

Interview: Shooting it up with a Hitman (New Jersey & Florida). Collaborative articles usually result in something special, and so it was with this team-up between Michael Czosnyka of New Jersey and Kevin Lewis of Florida.  Featherheads radio duo A.K. and Nelly go 1-on-1 with GM Czosnyka on The Fan AM 1060.  Czosnyka is probably having second thoughts over granting this interview about the time that Nelly starts harping on the albatross that is Daniel Ríos.  Honorable Mention: Plack v. Parks series – 1-on-1 / Second Opinion (New Orleans); Getting to Know the Fishermen: Gregory Arnold (Gloucester).

Drama: Swapping Jerseys & Attitude (Florida). Long-time PEBA readers will remember the story of Jerry Wallace.  Jerry, who plays high school ball for the Sarasota Sailors and lives and breathes Florida Featherheads baseball, was crushed when he received a Mark Richardson jersey for Christmas ’09.  His former hero had just been traded to the Borealis a week earlier, you see.  A year and a half later, we catch up with Jerry as he’s finally putting the sting of that betrayal behind him.  Honorable Mention: Moving On… (Neo-Tokyo); Tophams Take Over Aurora series – Aurora Moves To Golden / Christopher Explodes / Opening Night (Aurora).

Humor: Pexego Meltdown series – Fireworks / Suspended / Address (San Antonio). Octávio Pexego can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble with the league office.  Last year it was a case of mistaken identity when Pexego took a bat to a confused Jack Cobb.  This year it was a tirade over the Calzones’ deplorable start to the season.  Once again, a suspension ensued.  We’ll see if Pexego can stay on the field now that he’s a member of the Borealis.  Honorable Mentions: Move Over Duggers… Meet the Yasudas! (Naha); Beach Wars: The Tribe Strikes Back (Florida).

Most Original: Personal Journal of Private Investigator Julian Nizinski – Vol. 1 / Vol. 2 / Vol. 3 / Vol. 4 / Vol. 5 (New Jersey). One of the most enjoyable series to read in our league’s history.  Gumshoe Julian Nizinski digs into the shady past of newly appointed New Jersey Hitmen GM Michael Czosnyka and discovers that “Hitmen” may now be an apt moniker for the franchise.  He also discovers quite a bit more than he bargained for in the process.  Honorable Mention: The Kuwana Bus Tour series – Baseball Team Trades Cook for a Bus / Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 (Kuwana); Bug series – Fly On the Wall / Cockroach on the Floor / Bug on a Lapel / Pests in the Room (Aurora).

Special Achievement in Art: Shisa Toons – Ed. 1 / Ed. 2 (Naha). New for 2011 is the Special Achievement in Art award.  Tom Fees deservedly wins the inaugural edition of this award for his stellar cartooning of the foibles of the Naha Shisa.  The effort that goes into creating such work is extremely commendable, and the comics themselves are hilarious.  Honorable Mention: Topps Cards series – PEBA Deal / ’08-’09 Sets / ’10-‘11 Sets (Aurora); Sudden Impact – Part 1 / Part 2 (Florida).

Special Achievement in Writing: “A Crock of Gunt” – highlights include Duo Signs / Mark Richardson / Alexandre Poirier / The Tophams / Rodriguez Cup (Aurora). When it was announced that ex-Badger George Crocker and ex-Mauler Mark Gunter would become the unlikely new pre-game radio hosts for the Aurora Borealis, who knew what amazing stories the two would provide us with?  A slew of Borealis have sat down to be interviewed by the off-beat duo, often with hilarious results (thanks in no small part to the lingering neurological damage from Crocker’s career-ending skull injury).  Crock and Gunt are the PEBA’s brightest new personalities, and they take their place alongside Florida’s A.K. and Nelly as off-the field stars of the PEBA.