Passing the Torched
9/8/2013: Bridgeport, CT – A remarkable thing happened this past Monday that most baseball fans didn’t notice. In fact, it’s likely that only the more astute Nutmeggers fans picked up on it. Starting pitcher Carlos Cervantes became the first Nutmeggers pitcher to win 13 games in a single season. This doesn’t sound so remarkable until you realize that the Nutmeggers were the last team in the PEBA to have a pitcher accomplish the feat (which lets Cervantes bookend this list). Perhaps even more embarrassing to Connecticut fans is that, until this season, only three times has a Nutmeggers pitcher won more than 10 games. However, that has changed now, and while the Nutmeggers still have plenty of past history to be embarrassed about, here’s a look at several teams in the league and one stat they’d rather forget.
26 – Yuma Bulldozers – There are probably a lot of numbers you could pick for the Bulldozers, but we’ll go with the PEBA’s record-low win total for a season, set in 2012.
22 – Duluth Warriors – No Duluth pitcher has more than the 22 wins that John Wright collected during his two seasons with the Warriors. Amazingly, the Warriors got a 14-win season out of Alberto Semblano and a 13-win season out of Rocky Reed, which just goes to show that this is as much about keeping quality pitchers and putting a quality offense in front of them as anything else.
78 – Connecticut Nutmeggers – Juan Otero’s 78 walks in 2010 is the franchise record. No other team is below 90, and four teams have had individuals double this walk total in a single season. Actually, the most fascinating thing about single-season franchise records for walks is that Yoshino Miyata holds the record for four different teams.
84 – Kentucky Thoroughbreds – The only team to never have a player score 100 runs in a season lists Jamie Boyd as the team’s single-season runs scoring record holder. He had 84 last year and, given his youth and propensity for drawing walks, looks like he should break that mark at some point. It may not be this year, though – he’s on pace to fall two short.
29,567 – Omaha Cyclones – No offense has made more outs than the Omaha Cyclones, who should record their 30,000th out sometime later this month. Smart money has it coming on September 25th in Canton.
.432 & .035 – Canton Longshoremen – Coming into 2013, the Longshoremen were the boring-est team in the PEBA. Their .432 franchise win percentage was lousy, and the .035 deviation in win percentage indicates they were consistent. Crystal Lake has actually been slightly more consistent, with a .034 deviation in win percentage, but they’ve been good (the only PEBA franchise to never win less than 100 games).
6 – Reno Tenpinners – You’re in the same division with Yuma. You’re 6th in the standings. This. Is. Not. Good.
296 – San Antonio Calzones of Laredo – This is the number of players you’ve used in franchise history. That’s 82 more players than the next team, or just under the total number of players that Aurora has used in their history. Heck, you used 74 players in 2011 alone!
5 – Manchester Maulers – The Maulers are the only team to ever go from 1st to 6th in any division, which they did from 2009 to 2010.
42, or 27.8% – Palm Springs Codgers – It could be argued that the Codgers are the worst drafting team in the PEBA. Of the 151 players they’ve drafted over the past several years, just 42 of them have played at the major league level. That’s the lowest of any team, with Bakersfield next. Hopefully the team can watch Kevin Johnson and Tom Rose change that.
55.2% – New Jersey Hitmen – It must have been quite a strange experience for the Hitmen in 2011 to see their stadium barely half as full as it had been in 2010, but that’s exactly what happened. The team drew nearly 1.3 million fewer fans.
15 – Charleston Statesmen – Charleston batters have a grand total of 15 sacrifice hits in franchise history. London is next on the list, with 125. Organizational philosophy or selfish hitters? For what it’s worth, they’re also notoriously shy of stealing bases, with the lowest stolen base total of any team. At least it appears to be working.
0-for-6 (aka 35) – Crystal Lake Sandgnats – Despite being the only team to have made the playoffs during every PEBA season, the Sandgnats have yet to win it all. With several tight series, the team has lost a total of 35 post-season games.
426 – Aurora Borealis – Borealis base runners are a daring bunch – they’ve attempted more stolen bases than anyone. In the same vein, the 426 times they’ve been caught is more than any other team.