[jaa36]

This was the year Haukea Kaikeapona finally came into his own as a player- hitting .284 with 36 home runs, 35 doubles, 106 RBI, 101 runs scored... and collecting a Giles Award as well. He easily led the hitters with 5.7 WAR. Jonathan Wilson was also outstanding in his second year as the starting catcher, hitting .278 with 27 home runs. Barend Schachte, Vincent Bowman, and Trevor Edwards rounded out our five 20-home run hitters, but deficiencies in other areas of their games limited their value. Bowman and Edwards were both calamities in the outfield. James Porter hit .342 in a season cut short by injury. Infielders Sergio DeNiro, Joe Dougherty, and Tom Quillen were all atrocious, especially DeNiro.

Herb Clark was once again the top pitcher, winning 23 games in a season nearly as good as his Dagger Award-winning 2003 campaign. He struck out 235 against only 57 walks and posted a 3.04 ERA and 7.8 WAR. No one else asserted themselves among the starting staff, with none of the other starters posting an ERA better than 4.40. Manasa Pualani had a 2.32 ERA and 38 saves, and will leave the Bulldogs with 237 career saves, easily the club record. The rest of the bullpen was awful, with only Johnny O'Quigley managing an ERA below 4.

Both AAA Willow Hill (80-65) and AA Fort Eunice (84-56) were very good this season. Our top prospect C Kirk "Bow Wow" Hoyt hit only .136 in single-season A ball. 23-year-old outfielder Tom Caldwell hit .276 with 18 home runs and 33 steals at Willow Hill and will join the club next season. Starter Rick Mosley was 9-15 with a 2.92 ERA at A ball. Future closer Joe "Trashmaster" Ames had a 1.45 ERA and 30 saves at Fort Eunice.

Among departed players, Doug Walter hit another 29 home runs and is up to 283 in his career, but hit only .222, so at 31 he may be slipping. I was right about outfielder Jack Cook, who was below replacement level after signing a big contract with Stephens. Gian-Carlo Panatta was decent with Marsh, hitting .244 and stealing 22 bases. And 20-year-old Gerald "Buck" Jeffery broke in with Sidney City, hitting .291 in 42 games- he projects as one of the top players in the game. I am going to regret that one. Dan Price had another decent season, going 11-11 with a 4.20 ERA for Timberton. Farani Feaunati continues to pitch well out of the bullpen, with a 2.79 ERA. Michael Rice, Bill Spurlin, and T.J. Moore did not play last season and are likely to retire.