IAL Accomplishments:

• 7th all-time in career triples with 82
• 1269 career runs and 961 rbis

IAL Accomplishments:

• 9th all time in career homeruns with 475
• 2nd all time in career walks with 1372
• 6th all-time career OBP with .390
• Highest all time single season OBP with a .501 mark in 1995
• 7th highest all time single season in rbis with 162 in 1998
• Third highest all time single season in walks with 151 in 1995
• World Series Championships:  1998, 2006

Rookie pitchers

Mike’s dog has as big an appetite as he does :)

Brando and I went to the lovely town of Colona to both play Papa Bunch and son on Saturday.  In both series, our team got off to a good start but ended up on a losing note.  We ended up losing 3-6 to Marcus and 4-5 to Mike.

That puts us at 61-83 and deeper in the basement, I’m sure. 

Some highlights:

In three straight games against the Bombers, Troy Tulowitzski went 9 for 13 with 5 rbis and 7 runs scored on three homeruns. 

Ryan Zimmerman had 3+ rbis in four separate games including Game 8 against the Bombers when he hit two homeruns and drove in five.  For the 18 games, he drove in 20.

Some lowlights:

Albert Pujols hit .222 with 0 homers with 1 rbi in 14 games and 45 at-bats.

In three straights starts, Manny Parra gave up a total of 39 runs and 21 walks. 

We have Molly Putts and the Beanos left.  We only need to two wins to avoid a 100-loss season.  Unless Albert picks it up, I’m only fairly certain we can do this.  Limit are good though if by good you mean I can pitch Manny Parra.

Greg Maddux Gets the Call

Greg Maddux was inducted into the IAL Hall of Fame. He finished his career with a record of 354 wins versus 232 losses. Besides leading all time in wins, Greg also tops the charts in starts 749, complete games 193, 63 shutouts, and innings pitched 5,086’. Maddux is 2nd all time in strikeouts 3,925, compared to only 1,271 bases on balls, over a 3-to-1 ratio. His career ERA of 3.59 is just out of the top ten, #10 currently stands at 3.57.

In 1988 the Chicago Champions drafted Greg Maddux as D-Y, after he’d posted a 5.61 ERA, a 6-14 record, and allowed 181 base hits over 155” innings of work for the Chicago Cubs. He started 42 games for the Champs in his rookie season, finishing with a 4-15 record and a 6.83 ERA, who knew of the greatness that was to come. Maddux was one of several Champions drafted, who shared their birthday, April 14th, with Chicago skipper Tedd Mallasch.

The six-time Cy Young Award winner, relied on guile, grit, determination, along with competitiveness, but his pinpoint control was what defined Maddux as a pitcher. In 1997 he walked only 13 batters in 245 innings worked. In fact from 1996-98, he only issued 59 free passes over 712’ innings pitched. Greg was a winner, winning twenty or more games 1993-96, and then again in 2001.

It wasn’t just about personal performance for Maddux, if the team wasn’t winning Greg wasn’t happy. Fortunately the Champions finished in 1st place in his rookie year and then again in his last season in the bigs, with a lot of reasons to celebrate in between. Four times Chicago finished in first place and five times they won it all.

It’s kind of neat to compare his MLB numbers with his IAL numbers. Here are his real life stats compared to his in the Illowa APBA League:

He came in as the Batboy and went out as the Professor. Here’s to the greatest pitcher in the history of the Illowa APBA League, Greg Maddux!

- Tedd Mallasch, manager of the Chicago Champions

Tom Glavine had a pretty unexciting start in the Illowa APBA League.  Winning just two games in his first years, I’m not sure anyone paid much attention to him.  After a ten-win season in his third season in 1990, his trade value was as high it would ever get so it seemed.  So Chicago Champion management traded him for an aging Kirk Gibson to the Twin City Thunderchickens.  After that he never looked back. 

After a mediocre 7-9 season, Glavine put together a string of 12 seasons of double digit wins (after a season of injuries in 2004, he won 10 or more for three more years).  That first year in 1996, he showed his talent winning 17 with a 2.96 ERA and struck out 219.  Glavine was a workhorse. For 14 out of 15 years, he threw at least 210 innings for Twin City explaining why he’s in the top ten in so many pitching categories. 

Glavine’s best season was arguably 1999.  That was the year everything just came together for the Twin City Thunderchickens.  Glavine’s amazing performance was almost overshadowed by teammate Mark McGwire’s record breaking 70 homeruns but that year, he simply couldn’t lose.  With a record of 21-7 and a 3.23, he showed why Thunderchicken management had already deemed him “untradeable”.  By the end of the year, Glavine had not only helped the team to their first 100 win season under their current manager’s reign but also brought home a league championship.

After 19 years with the team, Tom Glavine retired a Thunderchicken in 2009.  He will forever epitomize what it means to be part of that team. 

Glavine’s accomplishments

• tied for 3rd all-time in wins with 247
• 5th in strikeouts with 2797
• third in shutouts with 36
• third in games started with 582
• fourth in complete games with 148
• third in innings pitched with 4231 2/3
• 12 years in a row with 10 wins or more
• World Series ring in 1999

Who’s new on the list?

Who cracked the single season top ten in 2010?  Good question.  There weren’t many and the ones that did might surprise you.  The Kentucky Kernels’ rookie Andrew Bailey did it with his 44 saves.  He’s tenth on the list.  The Green Rock Bombers’ Livan Hernandez found himself on a couple categories.  In 2009, he broke the all-time record for innings pitched in a season with 354 1/3.  This past year, he almost did again.  He logged 322 2/3 innings which is good for eighth all time.  Not only that, he comes in 3rd all-time in losses with 26 losses in 2010. 

Another Bomber pitcher, Francisco Lirano walked 171 batters which now ranks 3rd in the history of our league.  Manny Parra of the Twin City Thunderchickens wasn’t far behind in 2010.  He gave out 169 free passes and comes in 4th all time. 

Two pitchers ranked in the top ten in games pitched in 2010… and they both pitched for the same team.  Brad Lidge (88 games) and Kevin Jepsen (87 games) of the Molly Putts Marauders now are in the record books (5th and 6th place respectively).

That seems like a lot of pitchers but among the hitters, there was only one who cracked the single season top ten lists.  Chicago Highlander Miguel Tejada.  Shortstop Tejada hit 62 doubles which was one less than Nomar Garciaparra’s all-time record set in 2001.  Tejada will settle for a tie for second place with 1987 Wade Boggs and former Highlander 1995 Chuck Knoblauch.

What were the trends on the all-time career lists?

We’re starting to see a new class of players make their way into the IAL record books.  In 2010, Derek Jeter just made into the top ten of at-bats and runs as well as bolstering his lead in HBP.  Alex Rodriguez jumped up a few spots in the homerun category to fifth all-time with 563 dingers.   ARod also made his first appearance on the rbi chart.  He’s seventh all-time with 1489. 

Ivan Rodriguez is going to do his best bolster his numbers going into his last season in 2011.  Right now, he’s 8th all-time in hits with 2407, 4th in doubles (he’s giving tips to Miguel), and 9th in at-bats. 

Albert Pujols is now the all-time leader in slugging percentage and Joe Mauer’s OBP of .402 is nine points behind all-time leader Wade Boggs.  Upperdecker teammate Todd Helton is only three points behind Mauer and comes in at third all time. 

There are plenty more players making a splash… Chipper Jones, Jimmy Rollins, Manny Ramirez (if striking out is considered “making a splash”. Manny is now the all-time leader in Ks with 1748). 

Are there any old-timers still in the IAL record books?

Records are meant to be broken.  But do we have players from our early days still on our record books?  Plenty!  For example:

• 1981 Al Oliver is 3rd in hits with 231.  1978 Dave Parker clocks in at 9th with 224.
• 1982 Cecil Cooper ranks fifth with 61 doubles.
• 1982 Vince Coleman is the all-time leader in stolen bases with 119.  Tim aines is the all time career leader with 854.
• Andy Messersmith won 27 games in 1976 for the all time record.  Bryan Harvey saved 55 in 1992 again, no one has matched that.
• The top three in career ERA are all from a different era (no pun intended).  Catfish Hunter (3.11), Bert Blyleven (3.44), Jim Palmer (3.50), Ken Forsch (3.50) and Steve Carlton (3.50). 

Check out the all-time records yourself. 

All-time Hitting Records and the All-time Pitching Records. 

Here is the link to the 2011 IAL Player Register

The Champions losing streak reached ten games after losing the 1st game in Kentucky.  Keith’s Kentucky Kernels had to wait in their kar for the Armageddon rain to stop.  Smitty stayed ahead of the storm all the way from St. Charles, but an accident by Kimball enabled the storm to catchup.  The nimble skipper had to dodge raindrops & had to leap over the raging waters which were quickly approaching the curb top.

It was a very hard fought series with Kentucky taking the first game 4-3 in ten.  Game #1: Alfonso Soriano scored from third on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the tenth.  Game #2: Three Champ longballs, 2 by Swish & 1 by V-Mart, 3-2 Chicago.  Game #3: Andre Ethier crushes a Papa Grande fastball for a walkoff and another 10 inning Kentucky winner winner chicken dinner.  Game #4: Champs busted out the whopping sticks, scoring 12, 5 homers (including one by Buehrle, gotta love the pitcher’s hitting card), Mark also held the Kernels scoreless till allowing a 4 spot in the 9th.  Game #5: Three Kentucky first inning runs proved to be the difference in a 5-2 win as Joel Pineiro allowed 2 meaningless 9th inning runs.

Then it was time to bring it on home to Crackerjack Park.  Game #6: In a marquee pitching matchup Jered Weaver outdueled Tim Lincecum in the 6th game, 2-1, and Kentucky had a two game lead with three games to play.  It was time to suck it up, regroup, and grind out some wins.  The Champs took a win at all costs mindset to the ballpark.  Game #7: Brett Myers controlled the game for 7 innings, allowing two runs on a 4th inning Soriano big fly, the Champions scored five runs without the benefit of a home run, and won 5-2 (2 RBI’s from Fowler, 2 more from Escobar, & one from pinch-hitter Francoeur).

Game #8: This was a defining game.  Chicago was dead through seven innings, trailing 3-0.  Then Victor nailed a 2 run 8th inning tater off Mike Leake.  Carlos Lee lined a leadoff single to open the 9th, on came Andrew Bailey, with one out Gordon Beckham doubled, sending El Caballo to third base.  Head scratching time, why was Grady Sizemore not brought in to run for Lee with the tying run?  Now Sizemore was called on to run, would it be too little too late?  It was time for the team to pickup their manager and Alicides Escobar came through with a sac fly.  In the 10th, Buckeye Nick Swisher hit a second column walkoff to knot the series at four.  There was a point in this game (bottom of the 5th) when the plug was almost pulled on Matt Cain, in favor of long reliever mopup man, Josh Beckett.

In the series finale Chicago was leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, before busting the game wide open off Ryan Madson (a double by Swish, an RBI single by A-Rod, a single by Lee, and a three run bomb by Bombon Olivo, how big was that!?!  Pinch-hitter Ian Stewart tacked on another three run big fly, the Champs were signaled for piling on, and cruised behind rookie lefthander Madison Bumgarner to a 10-2 win, and a series 5-4 win, whew, that was easy!!!

I’m writing this on APBA Day, 6/6/11, Happy APBA Day to you all!  Three times a year the Illowa APBA League gets together, as a whole, twice in Naperville & once in Champaign.  This is when the Chicago teams play the out of Chicago teams.

I needed to get back home because I had a graduation party to attend on Sunday.  So I decided to take Amtrak to Champaign & arrive 10:30 AM.  My Amtrak hit a Metra as it was pulling out of Union Station, so on to Plan B.  Ended up getting a ride with Rob and we arrived at John’s house at 2:30 PM.

Things were going well for the Chicago Champions as we won 13 of our first 21 games.  Our record was 13 games over .500, 41-28.  That’s when the roof collapsed, not literally, but you never know, that might’ve been less painful.

We dropped the next nine straight games, to finish up the weekend with a 13-17 record, 41-37 record on the year.  We were outscored 59-17 and were out homered 18-5.  It’s definitely time to regroup.  This was a reality check and a gut check.

After dropping the last three games versus Molly Putts, things really went south for the Champs when Tim Lincecum stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, nobody out, in the 2nd inning of a 1-1 tie.  I rolled a 55-23 on a squeeze, missed the bunt, two runners tagged out in rundowns, runner on first holds.  We went on to lose that game 9-2, along with the next five games, for a 6-0 Upperdeckers series sweep.

Good news is, it can only get better!

Decided to fly to Pittsburgh to take on Todd Ventresca’s Gamblers.  Because Todd couldn’t make it to Chicago for the IAL Playoff & Draft weekend in March, it seemed like the thing to do.  On Friday after Todd picked me up from the airport & I checked into the motel, we headed over to Damon’s for dinner, and to watch hockey at the bar.  On Saturday Todd umpired a doubleheader then headed over to play shum APBA.

Game #1 featured Champs ace(?) Tim Lincecum matched up against C.C. Sabathia for Three Rivers.  Maggs Orodonez hit a one out first inning solo shot to give the Gamblers an early lead.  Matt Wieters for them & Gordon Beckham for us, traded late game 2-run blasts.  C.C. went the distance for the complete game win over The Freak, whose record stands at 0-6.

Chicago scored seven runs, without the benefit of a longball off reliever Nate Robertson (Is that you Nate? That’s the punchline to a joke, but what’s the joke?) in the 10^th inning of a 2-2 game to make a winner out of last year’s Cy Young Award winner Matt Cain.

Brett Myers left game #3 trailing 3-1 after six innings to John Lannon (my favorite Beetle).  Each team added five spots over the last three innings and the Gamblers had the series lead 2-1 at home.

On the bump for the Champs in the fourth game was Mark Buehrle, who threw a 2-hit shutout.  Gamblers rookie Jhoulys Chacin was the tough luck loser.  El Caballo squeezed home the game winner in the 7^th, 1-0 Good Guys.  Tied at two games apiece.

A funny thing happened in the 7^th inning of game five.  With the Champs leading eight to zip, rookie lefthander Madison Bumgarner was due to hit in the top of the 7^th.  Manager Mallasch looked down his bench, looking for a pnch-hitter, one was announced, however Manager Ventresca was good enough to let the clueless Champs skipper know his pitcher had a no-hitter going.  Todd let me call back my pinch-hitter.  Of course Bumgarner gave up a base-knock before retiring another batter and was lifted to get pen workhorse Josh Beckett some work.  Beckett only lasted 2/3 of an inning before giving way to closer Sergio Romo.  Romo pitched the rest of the way and Chicago managed to hang on to an 8-6 victory.

Game #6: A rematch of Sabathia vs Lincecum ended in the bottom of the 12^th when Carlos Lee nailed a three-run bomb off Gamblers lefty Andrew Laffey, for a walk-off dinger.  Big Boy Jose Mijares picked up the win.

Gamblers batters staked Brian Matusz to a first inning four to nothing lead in the 7^th game, tacked on a couple more runs, and Brian went the distance shutting out the Champs 6-0.  Prince Fielder launched two solo drives, Adrian Beltre added one of his own, and Shane Victorino clubbed a 2-run shot to pace the attack.

Howie Kendrick broke a 1-1 tie with a 6^th inning granny off Brett Myers, Chacin was masterful, and the Gamblers evened up the series at four, with a 6-1 win.

Frenchy Francoeur broke game #9 wide open with a three-run 6^th inning longball, putting the Champs up 7-2.  Mark Buehrle went the distance for the victory and series win.

On Sunday we went to PNC to see the Buccos play host to the Colorado Rockies.  Todd rooted for the Pirates, despite the fact that one of his APBA hurlers, Jhoulys Chacin started for the Rox.  Pittsburgh lost a close one to Colorado.  The weather was perfect, 80 degrees in April, can’t beat that!

Todd drove me back to the airport after the game.  Special thanks go out to Todd for everything, it was a great weekend, and I highly recommend a trip to the Burgh, lotsa funn!!!