Saturday, February 27, 1954
BRAND NEW SEASON IN ISLAND BASEBALL WITH NEW CHANGES
Wow, what a change for the new season in Island baseball circles... not only have some teams been promoted and demoted, some teams were just eliminated... 8 town teams lost their sponsorships and will not field teams this season... but 16 of them are still alive and well financially and ready to go at it again for the 1954 season... also among the changes are brand spanking new league names... gone are the North Island First Division and Second Division... gone are the South Island First League and Second League... in their places are the North Island Premier League, North Island Elite League, South Island Supreme League and the South Island Primary League... each league will have four teams instead of six... the season will consist of 18 games, down from 20 games last year... games will be played on a Sunday afternoon... promotion and relegation will only involve one team in each league this year... two teams were affected in previous seasons.
Get ready for baseball... coming to a ballpark near you tomorrow afternoon all across North and South Islands.
ISLAND BASEBALL PREVIEW
Move over, all of the Island baseball leagues have a big dog or two moving in... Theodore, the 1953 champion of the the NISL, has moved up to the North Island Premier League this season to take on last year's champ New Yerby, the '52 champ Joliet and the '5l title winner Dutton... the Coyotes also won the 1951 NI Second Division flag... Meraux, the '53 SI Second League winner, along with the runner-up Bar Harbor, have been promoted to the South Island Supreme League, joining last year's winner Guedon and last season's runner-up St. Dominic... and there are several relegated teams that will mix it up as well... Jackson and Kofa will make their debuts in the North Island Elite League, going up against holdover also-rans Avalon and Kinston... Claiborne and Des Allemands will now try the weaker atmosphere of the South Island Primary League, hoping to make life even more miserable for lesser-talented clubs like Mystic and Bayou Bleu, perhaps the worst teams on the Islands.
Let's look into EC's baseball crystal ball and peer into the future to see what all of these changes are going to make... let's look deeply into the endless sphere of proverbial and usually useless prognostications and sometimes plain old prevarications... ah, yes, it is all becoming quite clear and quite murky, if you know what I mean.
NEWCOMER BOBCATS FAVORED IN NI PREMIER
It will be crowded as heck in the North Island Premier League with the addition of a fine Theodore team... the Bobcats (14-6) easily outclassed everybody last season in the NI Second and they are poised to strongly challenge the likes of New Yerby (13-7), Joliet (11-9) and Dutton (10-11) this season.
1st Place:
Theodore is the same club as last year... the Bobcats can really bang the ball... and they have enough pitching to compete... not too sure anyone in the NI Premier can match the Theodore attack... only two rookies made the team in the spring... catcher Steve Anderson did not do well with the bat, but he is a fairly decent catcher... pitcher Jimmy Ernst will hold down the three spot in the pitching rotation... number-one starter Walter Johnson (11-2/3.02 ERA) holds the key to the Bobcats' season... if he can hold his own against the other teams, Theodore will do well... may even win the pennant... however, the Bobcats' defense might hurt them... they were last in the league last season (.936 FA).
2nd Place:
Joliet is the number-two choice in the NI Premier... the Green Giants have a good, all-round squad... good hitting, pitching and defense... two rookies could make quite an impact this season... portsider Gary Gibson (1-0/0.92 ERA) may have won the starter role in spring training... he looked really good in 6 appearances with 19 innings pitched and one start... Gibson beat out last year's top hurler, Mario Vespucci (9-3/3.27 ERA), who did not have a good spring... Outfielder Marty Masterson batted .367 in the spring and won a spot in right field, but he will miss the opening weekend with a vision problem... the Green Giants have improved this year and should contend for the pennant.
3rd Place:
New Yerby won the pennant last year with its pitching... Andy Breland (7-5/3.23 ERA) and John Metz (1-1/2.61 ERA) will be back for another go-around with possible help from rookie left-hander Rick Clark (2-1/4.13 ERA), who held his own in the spring... rookie center fielder Red Metcalf stood out with a .357 batting average, but did not beat out the returning outfielders... at least, not yet... the Yankees definitely need more runs on the scoreboard to hold off the Theodore Bobcats... offense was a problem last year... the Yanks batted a poor .236... but they survived with the best pitching (3.13 ERA)... New Yerby also had the best defense in the league (.964 FA).
4th Place:
The Dutton Coyotes almost got demoted last season, but managed to stave it off with a sudden-death playoff victory... the Coyotes had the best offense in the league last year and hit them most homers... pitching was the crux of their problem... Dutton did not get any help from the newcomers... this spring only one rookie made the squad, but center fielder Larry Craven is expected to be just a backup... the Coyotes are hoping pitcher Nick Walters will regain his form of 1952 when he stood out with a 7-4 mark and an impressive 2.53 ERA... if he could repeat those numbers, Dutton will contend... this spring Walters (0-0/0.54 ERA) looked especially good with 3 saves in 9 games and 17 innings... Dutton has a good offense... pitching is the most important element in Island baseball... you can win the pennant, if it's strong enough... New Yerby proved that last year... however, the Coyotes have trouble defensively with a very poor .935 FA, the worst in the league.
North Island Premier League Outlook:
4 good teams will battle it out long and hard... Theodore looks to be the best of them by a tad... could be a longjam at season's end... each team has its pluses and minuses... if the Bobcats get improved pitching, they will win hands down, no contest... Theodore can score runs against anybody.