Article by: Sam Skibbe
Well, it’s a smoldering 105 degrees here in St. Louis. Too hot to play some wiffleball, so why not write about it? One question seemed to have floated around for a while after the NWLA Tournament, then disappeared in the wake of our wiffle hangovers:
“Will there ever be a list for an All-NWLA Tournament Team?”
When I heard this, I thought to myself what a fantastic idea this would be to bring to our tournament. Since it was not already established, I believe that 2015 should be the pilot year of the all-tournament team’s lists. As for this year though, we don’t want everything to go unnoticed and as we near September, and the NWLA Tournament is many, many more weeks away, I bring to you my version of the 2014 NWLA Tournament All-Teams List.
As a disclaimer, this is solely MY OPINION and of course, it probably would not be the official All-Tournament team’s list for the 2014 weekend, in fact, Gallaway probably wouldn’t even like the format, let alone the picks. Nonetheless, it still is something wiffle to read as we head deeper into no wiffleball (unless you are Tampa).
I broke it down into three categories: Pitching, Hitting, and Fielding. In each category there are three teams (1st Team, 2nd Team, 3rd Team) and in each category, I named three players. I tried to find a spot for at least one person per league, but alas, it could not be done and I only got eleven teams represented. SO, I decided to include at least one player from the other four leagues in an honorable mention and what category they maybe could have broken into...maybe. Now, enough small talk, here is the Official Unofficial (Possibly Bias) 2014 NWLA Tournament All- Tournament Teams Lists, ENJOY!
PITCHING
1st Team:
Stephen Farkas (WSEM) – 2 Wins, 30 K’s, 0.00 ERA, .053 OBA
Chris Roeder (OCWA) – 1 Win, 63 K’s, 0.43 ERA, .088 OBA
Kyle Lidster (GBL) – 2 Wins, 33 K’s, 0.00 ERA, .105 OBA
2nd Team:
Tyler Flakne (HRL) – 2 Wins, 34 K’s, 2.50 ERA, .027 OBA
Chris Harley (TBW) – 1 Win, 44 K’s, 0.33 ERA, .098 OBA
Jack Shannon (PWL) – 1 Win, 35 K’s, 1.71 ERA, .067 OBA
3rd Team:
Bryan Rojas (TBW) – 4 Wins, 42 K’s, 2.19 ERA, .159 OBA
Sam Skibbe (SWBL) – 2 Wins, 36 K’s, 1.50 ERA, .113 OBA
Ryan Bush (OCWA) – 3 Wins, 46 K’s, 2.00 ERA, .114 OBA
HITTING
1st Team:
Gus Skibbe (SWBL) – 14 Hits, 7 HR, 33 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.406 OPS
Travis Heyda (HRL) – 14 Hits, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .583 AVG, 1.579 OPS
Chris Roeder (OCWA) – 16 Hits, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .340 AVG, 1.151 OPS
2nd Team:
Jack Shannon (PWL) – 13 Hits, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .317 AVG, 1.169 OPS
Chris Meador (SWBL) – 23 Hits, 0 HR, 13 RBI, .479 AVG, 1.153 OPS
Ty Butler (SWBL) – 15 Hits, 3 HR, 24 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.094 OPS
3rd Team:
Devin Nelson (MNWA) – 11 Hits, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.453 OPS
Tyler Flakne (HRL) – 10 Hits, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .370 AVG, 1.343 OPS
Jeremy Ratajczyk (GBL) – 10 Hits, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.283 OPS
FIELDING
1st Team:
NateCruz (HVWBL)–19PO,12A,0E
Chris Meador (SWBL) – 16 PO, 13 A, 0 E
BryanRojas (TBW)–27PO,2A,0E
2nd Team:
Kevin Haynes (CWBC) – 17 PO, 7 A, 0 E
SamSkibbe (SWBL)–17PO,7A,0E
KrisMorse (HVWBL)–21PO,3A,0E
3rd Team:
Chris Harley (TBW) – 15 PO, 12 A, 2 E
BillReznak (SRL)–25PO,3A,0E
Chris Roeder (OCWA) – 19 PO, 2 A, 0 E
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Pitching:
1. Mike Hogan (KWL) – 2 Wins, 26 K’s, 2.73 ERA, .083 OBA
Hitting:
Mike Boyles (MWLWI) – 7 Hits, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .304 AVG, 1.208 OPS
Jacob Fischer (HWL) – 7 Hits, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .389 AVG, .1061 OPS
Regis Pollard (WWL) – 6 Hits, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .316 AVG, .954 OPS