The Best of 2013 Writing Awards recognize the best writing from those who cover the PEBA and LRS on a daily basis.  Writers provide fans of the game an invaluable service, yet their efforts taken for granted far too often.  The Writing Awards are a chance to stop and thank those who cover our national pasttime for their amazing work.

221 articles were contributed during the 2013 season.  Through these pieces, fans of the PEBA were informed about their favorite teams, made to laugh or cry, and ultimately came away with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the game of baseball.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the PEBA’s standout articles for 2013!

The PEBA’s Best of 2013 Writing Awards

Season Preview: A Crock of Gunt: Aurora Pre-season Outlook (Aurora). Mark Gunter, minus his normal co-host George Crocker, speaks with Northern Lights News baseball writer Francis Ferry, getting her thoughts on the upcoming season and whether Aurora can hold off Tempe for the division crown (hint: they can, but it won’t help them come playoff time).  Honorable Mentions: Connecticut Nutmeggers – Ways Off / Spring Preview (Connecticut); Calzones Corner: Spring 2013 Preview – Pitchers / Hitters (San Antonio).

Season Recap: Anatomy of a Failure (Manchester). Ever-impugning Manchester Boutique beat writer and resident cynic L.H. Thompson examines the anatomy of the Great Maulers Collapse of 2013, as only L.H. can.  As Thompson points out: “But posterity – cruel master, that! – demands an explanation, if not an apology, for the dashed hopes and dreams of an entire region.”  Indeed it does, and while L.H. offers no apologies, he does get to the heart of the matter.  Honorable Mentions: Stunned Borealis Eye Changes for 2014 (Aurora); A Sit-down in Seoul – Part 1 / Part 2 (Seoul).

Season Update: Kawaguchi Transmitters – First Wave / Public Chat / Appreciation Week (Kawaguchi). Ron Collins didn’t let the fact that he joined us in mid-season deter him from hitting the ground running.  There is no better way to connect with your team than to write about it.  This series of articles simultaneously got him up to speed with the organization he took over and sent a clear message that the Transmitters were adopting a new, more hands-on style of management.  Honorable Mention: Omaha Makes Move to Stop the Bleeding on the Mound (Omaha); Breaking News: RF Eitoku “Mjølnir” Yamada Released (Seoul); John Collins Milestones – Promotional Dates / 1,000 Hits / 200 Home Runs (Kalamazoo).

Different Team: Where is David Goode? – Where in the World / Please Step Up / Private Investigator / Where is Yuma, AZ (Yuma). David Goode may now play for Reno, but that doesn’t mean his ties to Yuma have been severed.  Dashiell Hammett Jr., Professor of Criminology at San Francisco St. University, is drawn into an investigation against his will by some shady characters and discovers that Mr. Goode may have ties to the mob.  Honorable Mention: Kiyoshi Shinohara – “Evas Treated Me like Garbage.” / Shin Seiki Responds (Kure & Shin Seiki); The Unexpected Goes Unnoticed (Connecticut).

Game Preview/Recap: Quotes in Advance of the Kure Arsenal/Shin Seiki Evas Wasei Junkesshou Match-up (Kure). The SSG Wasei Junkesshou was an anticlimactic 4-0 sweep for Shin Seiki, but there was plenty of buildup beforehand for this contest of two bitter rivals.  Honorable Mentions: “Kudo and Kimura in the Morning”: Championship Edition, November 2, 2013 (Niihama-shi); Arlington Bureaucrats – Just One More / PEC Champions (Arlington).

Minors: Badgers’ Short Breaks Down BA’s Top Prospects (Kalamazoo). Creative presentation adds so much to a piece.  Here, American Baseball Perspective’s Nate Manuel uses a series of slides to compare strength of PEBA teams’ minor league systems. Honorable Mention: A Cup of Coffee to Go: The Top BBG Call-ups of 2013 (Niihama-shi); Fargo Dinosaurs Mid-Season Minor League Report (Fargo).
 

Trade Analysis: Bayou Brief: Talking Trends & Trade Winds (New Orleans). New Orleans GM Cooper Scott made a couple of controversial deals late in 2012.  The first brought over Alexandre Poirier for touted prospect Kane “Dingus” Talley.  The second netted a package centered around Roberto Holguín and Danny Williams.  Both moves paid off for the Trendsetters, but as you will see, there was hardly consensus over the trades at the time they announced. Honorable Mention: Shigekazu Takahashi Trade Press Conference (Fushigi Yugi); LRS Trade Trivia (Lupin).

Draft Analysis: 2014 Draft Outlook: High School Players – Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 (San Antonio). It is never too early to begin preparing for next year’s draft.  Steve Dallas breaks down each and every 2014 draft-eligible high schooler.  This is required reading If you’re a PEBA general manager.  Honorable Mention: LRS 2013 Draftee Signing Bonuses (Lupin); Draft Signing Bonuses Cause New Tension (Connecticut).

Statistical Analysis: Go Big or Go Home (Connecticut). “Fat” or “Phat”?  The Connecticut Post’s Samuel Platt gives us the PEBA All-BMI team.  They don’t call William Petersen “Pork and Beans” for nothing! Honorable Mention: Does Ground Ball Percentage Matter? (Fargo); LRS 2013 Most Improved – Batters / Starting Pitchers / Relief Pitchers (Lupin).

Historical Analysis: Seasons that Should Live in Infamy (West Virginia). New York Times sportswriter Andrew Parker shares his list of the five worst individual season performances in PEBA history.  It seems that Omaha and Yuma have a monopoly on truly terrible performances – the five players listed here each compiled their miserable seasons playing for those two organizations.  Honorable Mention: Passing the Torched (Connecticut); The Class of 2011: A Look at the Top Twelve LRS Draftees Two Years Later (Niihama-shi).

Interview: Kirby’s Dream Land (Kuwana). Late in 2012, a 6-year-old Kuwana Steel Dragons fan named Hideki Matsubara started a viral YouTube hit with his “Bring Kirby to Kuwana” video.  Three months later, Kuwana GM Alan Ehlers made Matsubara’s dream a reality.  But was Kirby Gibson the hero Matsubara had been dreaming of?  Honorable Mention: Interview With Hideo Suzuki, Head of Nisshin Steel (Kure); “The Best Chance to Win It All” (Niihama-shi & Shin Seiki); A Crock of Gunt – Bob Keller and George Crocker / Bill “Slappy” Bradley (Aurora).

Drama: “In a Flash, He Was Gone.” (Niihama-shi). For seven seasons, Shigochiyo Memoto has been the face of the Niihama-shi Ghosts.  That run came to a tragic end during an Aug. 10 game against Hyakujuu.  The 41-year-old Memoto fractured his knee sliding into third base, an injury that prematurely ended his season and, quite possibly, his career.  Memoto was gone but not forgotten, as these touching quotes show. Honorable Mention: The Lost Woods – Part I (Arlington); Bayou Brief: Road to Opening Day (New Orleans); Mjølnir Returns to Shin Seiki (Shin Seiki).

Humor: Codgers Seek Submersible Success (Palm Springs). How do you turn around a franchise’s flailing fortunes?  Simple: Supply a submersible.  Your home team may jet around from park to park, but only the Palm Spring Codgers travel by submarine.  Honorable Mentions: Janitor Throws Out First Pitch at Nutmeggers Game (Connecticut); “Kudo and Kimura in the Morning” – Introduction / March 2 (Niihama-shi).

Most Original: George Crocker Caught in Mexican Drug Bust – Dream Come True / Drug Bust / Escape / Travels with Georgie (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4) (Aurora). George Crocker has arguably surpassed now-retired Jack Cobb as the PEBA’s most infamous buffoon.  Crocker is dangerous enough when he’s in the studio working with his partner Mark Gunter.  But Cobb in Mexico, with a stash of drugs in his luggage?  Big trouble.  Honorable Mention: LR-X-Files (Naha); Limerick Contest Finalists Revealed (Niihama-shi); Visit Farmer Field – 3,501,416 Cannot be Wrong (Florida).

Special Achievement in Art/Video: Tribe Fan Rallies Up (Florida). There’s a theory that rejection from art school played a role in Adolph Hitler’s ambition to gain dominion over Europe.  Now we know what really set him off: not being able to procure Florida Featherheads tickets.  This is quite possible the single most hilarious work that’s been produced about the PEBA – you owe it to yourself to watch.  Honorable Mention: Ex-Coal Sox Player George Riley Thanks Fans (Florida); Who’s Running Your Ballclub? (Connecticut).

Special Achievement in Writing: See the PEBA on $25 a Day (Kawaguchi). The Academy of Baseball Writers wishes to give special recognition to Ron Collins, who published a series of articles chronicling the travels of Casey Neal and his friend Don-o.  These two recent graduates and general slackers shirked their looming adult responsibilities in favor of a road trip to visit all 24 PEBA ballparks.  They are drawn into a much larger plot along the way, one that threatens the integrity of the league, but at its heart, this is a classic coming-of-age tale.  Even if you have no interest in baseball at all, you can appreciate Casey’s journey into manhood.

Ron has revised his initial articles, compiled them and released them as a free ebook titled See the PEBA on $25 a Day.  If you’ve yet to read it, what are you waiting for?  You can start with the online version.  If you’ve already read the individual articles, consider rereading the compiled work, as it has been touched up and improved in numerous areas.

If you enjoyed See the PEBA on $25 a Day, please promote the book to your friends and family.  The book is free and available in a wide range of formats, so there is no barrier to entry.  Again, the universal themes of this story will resonate with anyone, baseball fan or no.  But most importantly, you will be helping an independent author to raise his profile.  Ron has authored numerous stories, many science fiction related, in publications like Asimov’s, Analog and Nature.  His compilation book Picasso’s Cat & Other Stories can be purchased from Amazon or Smashwords.  Make sure to let your friends know about Ron’s work, and direct them to his blog, Typosphere.

If you’ve ever tried to get a project off the ground, you know how difficult it can be to get it rolling.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a community standing ready to support you?  We can be that pillar of support.  Making a living as a writer is incredibly hard work.  Please, take a moment of your time to recommend Ron’s work and website to your friends and family.  The next time, it may be your own project that we support!