Spring training superstars

Spring training is complete and the regular season awaits. Let's take a look at the stars of spring training, 30 games over two weeks to determine who makes your squad.

PITCHING

Five starting pitchers earned five victories but only Alexi Ogando of Bridgewater and Sardine City's Ubaldo Jimenez were unbeaten. Among five-win starters with just one loss were Marietta's Colby Lewis and the Blue Ridge odd couple of 38-year-old Bartolo Colon (thanks to 9.3/game in run support) and heralded rookie Jeremy Hellickson.

Lewis, a 7th-round pick by Marietta, was tops in ERA at 1.79, followed by Hopatcong's Josh Tomlin (2.11), Carolina's C.C. Sabathia (2.33) and Doug Fister of Bridgewater (2.42). Lewis and Fister also led the league in quality starts (5) along with Hellickson and Newark's Justin Masterson and Hellickson. Behind four complete games, Fister logged a league-high 48.1 innings, followed by Homer Bailey of Sardine City (47.1), Sabathia (46.1) and Lewis (45.1). Carolina's Tim Hudson tied Fister for the league lead in complete games.

Ogando tied for the league lead in strikeouts at 31, with Tommy Hanson of Las Vegas who had a league-best 8.1 K/9.
 
Philly's Joakim Soria, acquired in a mid-season deal from Arkansas last year, had the most saves, with 11, just better than Jonathan Papelbon of Hopatcong, who finished with 10. Both blew just one save. Daniel Bard of Sardine City was the only perfect closer, going 8-for-8.

BATTING

Blue Ridge's Hunter Pence overtook Nyjer Morgan of Marietta and Carolina's Prince Fielder in the final days to take the spring training batting crown with a .395 clip. Fielder also was second in the league in RBIs, with 31 (with Sardine City's Evan Longoria), behind only teammate Troy Tulowitzki, with 32. Fielder also led the league in OPS, at 1.038, ahead of Tulowitzki (1.003) and Philly's David Wright (.995).

Livingston's Mark Reynolds mashed 11 home runs in the spring to lead the league, ahead of Adrian Beltre of Marietta (9), and five others with 8. Beltre led the league in total bases, with 73, thanks to a league-high 12 doubles (tied with Guzman).

Pence also led the league in hits, with 51, a healthy lead over Bridgewater rookie Jesus Guzman (43). Emilio Bonifacio of Hillsborough's first-round pick, tied Matt Kemp of Bridgewater for the league lead in steals with 8, but was caught 5 times while Kemp was perfect in the spring.

Reigning Mitchell Award winner Joey Votto of Hopatcong showed no signs of slowing down, boasting the longest hitting streak (18 games) to end the spring.

Marietta and Philadelphia finished with the best spring training record, at 19-11 (.633), just slightly better than Amityville at 18-12 (.600) and Newark at 17-13 (.567). All but four squads finished with a record of .500 or better.

Andy's Back!

Fans were thrilled with the surprise announcement that Andy Pettitte plans a comeback to the DMBL in 2013.

The 39-year-old lefthander went 147-143 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his 16-year career spent mostly with the Jerusalem Rabbis (1996-2000) and the Stanhope Mighty Men (2001-2002). He also pitched for the Newark Sugar Bears (2003-2004), Carolina Mudcats (2005-2007), Tampa Bay Plunkers (2008) and New Jersey Team Buddah (2009-2011).

His best season was probably 1998 (his only year as an All-Star) when he went 15-7 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.50 WHIP; his worst was last year (7-13, 6.41 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), which probably explained his abrupt retirement. He appeared on seven post-season teams and won World Series rings with the Rabbis (2000) and Sugar Bears (2004).

Fans are already asking: Is his comeback an attempt to make the DMBL Hall of Fame? Possibly! A solid season from Pettitte could help him move up the career leader charts in several categories.

If he makes just one appearance next season, he'll tie Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux for most seasons by a pitcher (17).

He also needs just 3 wins to become just the 11th player in DMBL history to reach 150 wins. But he'll have a tough time catching the guy ahead of him on the list -- Philly's Roy Halladay at 153. It would take an 24-win season from Pettitte to catch the next guy on the list -- Tom Glavine at 170. But at least a few more wins would help him stay ahead of the guy in 12th place -- Carolina's Tim Hudson, who is 19 wins behind at 128. The all-time Maddux with 232.

Pettitte ranks 5th in career starts with 421; he needs 30 starts in 2013 to pass Randy Johnson (450), 32 to pass Clemens (452) and 35 to eclipse Glavine in 2nd place. But he's still a long way away from Maddux, who ranks #1 at 497.

Pettitte also ranks 10th in most innings pitched (2,430); he needs just 10 innings to pass John Smoltz for 9th place, but moving up farther would be tough -- he'd need 181 innings next season to catch Kevin Brown at 2,610, and 213 to pass Pedro J. Martinez at 2,642. Even at 200 innings a season, he'd need five to break the all-time record -- Maddux's 3,415.

He is 11th in career Ks with 1,694, but he'll have a tough time moving up the list -- Halladay is ahead of him at 1,732, and he'll likely be adding a couple hundred more to his total this season. But perhaps they can both pass Johan Santana in 9th place at 1,747. Johnson's all-time record of 3,408 appears safe.

He ranks 7th in career shutouts (16), one behind Brad Radke, two behind Curt Schilling and three behind Pedro. But right in the middle of that pack is Halladay with 18, who will likely be moving up the leaderboard himself. Brown ranks 2nd with 24, while Maddux is the all-time leader with 32.

Pettitte also ranks 3rd in hits allowed (3,023), behind Glavine (3,277) and Maddux (3,597); 3rd in earned runs allowed (1,400), behind Maddux (1,478) and Glavine (1,523); 5th in walks allowed (879), behind Al Leiter (952), Clemens (984), Johnson (1,052) and Glavine (1,053).

So, would hanging on another year or two help Pettitte's HOF chances? Probably not, unless he's a lot more effective than he has been the last few years.

In fact, some would argue that Pettitte should have retired several years earlier if he wanted a shot at a plaque in East Hanover. Over the last three years of his career, all with New Jersey Team Buddah, Pettitte went 29-40 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Forget about those years, and Pettitte is 118-103 (.534 W%) with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 325 starts -- a better ERA and WHIP than Hall of Famer David Cone (4.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), and more wins than Hall of Famer Dennis Martinez (84).

Pitching, pitching, pitching

A record-tying eight starting pitchers were selected in the first round of the 2012 draft, including four consecutive picks from fourth to seventh overall. It's the most starters taken in round one in five years, when half the league's 14 franchises also took starters. The 2000 draft featured eight starters taken, led by Tim Hudson taken No. 1 by Carolina.

This year's record first-round run started with Brandon Beachy at No. 2, taken by the Bridgewater Mallers, and ended with the final pick of the round, 16th overall, by the Hopatcong Floating Fish in Josh Collmenter. The 2007 draft also featured four straight starters taken, that time the first four picks: Jered Weaver, Anibal Sanchez Cole Hamels and Josh Johnson.

Javier Vazquez became at least the fourth starting pitcher to be chosen twice in the first round, and likely the longest time between the selections. Edinson Volquez was taken third overall by New Jersey (now Hopatcong) in 2009 and 12th in 2011 by Bridgewater. Johnson was selected fourth overall twice -- in 2007 by Philly and in 2009 by Sardine City, where he still plays. Juan Guzman went first overall in 1992 to Maine, and again in 2000, sixth overall by Hillsborough.

Vazquez was taken ninth overall by the Kentucky Hillbillies in 2001 and this year was grabbed by the Sardine City Straphangers with the 12th overall selection. Also taken in round one of the 2001 draft? Freddy Garcia, fifth overall by the Honolulu Sharks, who was also selected this year by the Hillsborough Hit Men in the supplemental seventh round.

3/8 Spring Training Roundup

Brennan Boesch had a huge game for the Hitmen in yesterday's 6-5 win over the Mudcats. Boesch hit two homers and drove in 4 runs.

The aptly-named Livingston Last Place remains the only team without a win so far. Livingston was crushed by the Mallers 10-5 in the first game. Josh Hamilton had 6 RBIs in the game for Bridgewater and Victor Martinez had 3. At least Jimmy Rollins had a good game for Livingston, going 4-5 with 3 runs scored. Second pick overall, Brandon Beachy was solid in his spring debut for the Mallers, pitching 7.2 innings and allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. In their second game, reigning Listach Award winner Travis Wood pitched a solid 6-innings to record an 8-5 win. Rollins was 2-4 in this game, pushing his average to .471 this spring.

C.C. Sabathia pitched a complete game shutout of the Ant Slayers. Sabathia held Amityville to 6 hits and struck out 6 in the 4-0 victory. The Mudcats outhit the Ant Slayers 15-6.

An even more dominant pitching outing was turned in by Sardine City's Ubaldo Jimenez, who held the Mighty Men to just 3 hits in a 10-0 shutout. The Straphangers gathered 17 hits, including 4 by Michael Bourn.

Blue Ridge's Hunter Pence was 5-8 in yesterday's games (both losses) to raise his league-leading average to .588.

Final divisions for realignment were released yesterday by the Commissioner's Office. They are as follows:
Van Slyke Division: Marietta, Hoboken, Carolina, St. Louis
Fisk Division: Vancouver, Sardine City, Blue Ridge, Livingston
Kruk Division: Philadelphia, Newark, Bridgewater, Hopatcong
Drabek Division: Las Vegas, Hillsborough, Arkansas, Amityville
The teams were allocated based on 3-year aggregated records.

R.I.P, Gary Carter

Baseball lost a legend yesterday with the death of Gary Carter.

"The Kid" was a long-time manager for the Honolulu Sharks. He also managed the Columbia Rattlesnakes and, most recently, the D.C. Bushslappers.

Carter was eligible in the first three seasons of the DMBL, but he never got the call. His best year during that stretch was the inaugural season of 1991, when he hit .254/.324/.406 in MLB.

A great year for pitchers!

Just as MLB has seen its scoring "unexpectedly" drop since more rigorous PED testing went into effect several years ago, the DMBL also has seen a resurgence in quality pitching. This year really showed it, however, as some team pitching records fell and others were challenged for the first time in a decade. Let's take a look at the changes to the Team Season Records page.

The Philadelphia Endzone Animals set new league records in three categories in 2011 -- all marks that had been set by the 1998 Vancouver Iron Fist. The Animals set new marks in lowest team WHIP (1.16), lowest OPS allowed (.653), and highest quality start percentage (.691). The previous records were 1.20, .667, and .673, respectively.

The Endzone Animals just missed breaking an even older record -- best team ERA, set way back in 1992 by the Arkansas Golden Falcons. The Animals posted a 3.10 ERA, not quite good enough to knock out Arkansas's 3.08. But it still is good enough for 2nd all-time and the best team ERA of the DMB Era, breaking the record set by (who else) the 1998 Vancouver Iron Fist.

Not to be outdone, the 2011 edition of the Iron Fist also made a run at the record books. This year's Fisters tied their 1998 WHIP mark with a 1.20, and reached third place in lowest OPS at .671. The Sardine City Straphangers pitching staff also had a great season -- they posted a .676 OPS, now good enough for 4th all-time, and a 1.21 WHIP, now tied for 4th with the 2002 Newark Sugar Bears.

Also breaking into the top 5: The Iron Fist allowed just 624 runs, which now ranks 3rd all-time... and right behind them, at 629 runs, were the Straphangers. Previously, third place had been held by the 2003 Carolina Mudcats; their 639 runs allowed now drop to 5th. Now out of the top 5: The '04 Mudcats, at 647 runs, and the 1999 Toledo Mutthens, with 662.

One more addition to the leaderboard: The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen, behind closer Rafael Soriano, posted a .784 SV%, good enough to tie for fourth all-time.

Not surprisingly, no team came close to setting a record in any batting category.

Check out all the records on the Team Season Records page.

Kevin Appier: Hall of Famer?

Kevin Appier had a long DMBL career... but was it worthy of the Diamond Mind Baseball League Hall of Fame?

Looking at the 16 starting pitchers who are or were eligible for the DMBL Hall of Fame -- that is, leaving out the guys who haven't been retired long enough (Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez) and the two guys who are already in the Hall (David Cone and Dennis Martinez), but including pitchers who were eligible but are no longer on the ballot (Shane Reynolds, Pete Harnisch, Denny Neagle) -- Appier ranks first in several key categories.

Most wins (107) -- Appier, followed by Hideo Nomo (87)
Most strikeouts (1,470) -- Appier, followed by Nomo (1,370)
Most innings (1,810.0) -- Appier, followed by Andy Benes (1589.1)
Most starts (300) -- Appier, followed by Benes (274)
Most complete games (35) -- Appier, followed by Harnisch (29)
Most years played (11) -- Appier, tied with Benes (11)

On the other hand, he also ranks first in most hits allowed, most earned runs allowed, most walks allowed, and most losses.

But all this proves is that Appier had a long career. The question is, did he have a good one?

Appier's career ERA of 4.90 ranks puts him 6th out of the 16, between mediocrities Scott Erickson (4.86) and Kirk Rueter (4.96). (Bret Saberhagen leads at 4.35.) He's even lower in WHIP, ranking 10th. (Rick Reed leads with a 1.35; Appier's 1.55 puts him between Nomo at 1.52 and Pedro Astacio at 1.57.) He's just 8th in winning percentage (.471), between Juan Guzman and Reed. (Neagle leads at .565.) And despite having a huge lead in career starts and complete games, his 5 career shutouts leave him tied for 3rd with Reynolds. (Ismael Valdes leads with 8, followed by Nomo at 6.)

Appier is 6th in H/9 (10.2), 11th in BB/9 (3.8), 4th in K/9 (7.3) and 7th in K:BB (1.9). And remember, this isn't all-time... this is just out of the 16 starting pitchers who are or were eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Looking at his career season-by-season, you see Appier got off to a really bad start -- he was 6-28 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.87 WHIP in his first two seasons! If you throw out those two years, his career W% climbs to .523 (101-92) and his ERA drops to 4.78. He also had a brutal end to his career, with four years for the perpetually cellar-dwelling Columbia Rattlesnakes (28-44, 5.55 ERA). If you throw out those years as well, you really see why some people remember Appier as a solid DMBL pitcher -- 73-48 (.603 W%) with a 4.35 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 31 complete games, and 5 shutouts over five seasons with Tampa and Newark. Looking at him just over that stretch, he has almost as good a HOF case as Cone (109-81, .574 W%, 4.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP). He also was a two-time All-Star ('93, '98) and won a World Series ring with the 1997 Sugar Bears.

But can you ignore six bad years and focus only on five good years? Does a pretty good (but not great) peak warrant the Hall of Fame? Decide for yourself! Fill out your ballot today!