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Old 04-28-2019, 10:24 PM   #1
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The Green and the White

Several northern New England collegiate baseball clubs had been considering making the jump to an independent league when nonagenarian mutimillionaire Artemas Philpott donated $50 million to serve as a perpetual endowment for a new league in the region.

The league would be called the Green and White League after the mountain ranges stretching from west to east across the region. There would be eight clubs in two divisions, East and West, playing 108 games a year from May to September. These were the teams that played the league's inaugural 2017 season.

GWL East Division


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Old Orchard Beach Surge - Old Orchard Beach, Me.
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Seacoast Humpbacks - Dover, N.H.
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Bangor Barons - Bangor, Me.
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Concord Wild - Concord, N.H.
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Old 04-28-2019, 10:36 PM   #2
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GWL West Division

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Rutland Marblebreakers - Rutland, Vt.

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Upper Valley Nighthawks - Lebanon, N.H.

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Plattsburgh Redbirds - Plattsburgh, N.Y.

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Nashua Silver Knights - Nashua, N.H.

One quirk in this league is the fact that two of the teams, Rutland and Seacoast, played on refurbished recreational fields that lacked outfield fences. Beyond the field were, in the former case, a large earthen embankment in front of a road, and in the latter, a forest. Balls hit into the road or the forest were considered home runs, but they were so far from home plate it was expected few balls would be hit so far. These parks were expected to prevent home runs and boost doubles and triples. Most of the parks had little foul ground and thus batting averages on balls in play were expected to be higher, with fewer foulouts.
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Old 04-29-2019, 10:54 PM   #3
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Buzz and Chaos


The league's unusual beginnings - particularly the endowment that ensured its longevity - ginned up talk in the sports world. NPR's "This American Life" did a special on the quirky upstart league and its seemingly quixotic quest to bring professional baseball to the small-town North Country.

When the time for tryouts came in late March and early April (just after most of the snow had melted), thousands of local men between the ages of 16 and 45 showed up all across New England for their chance at playing a boy's game for a minimum salary of $600 for the summer. Several of the teams had pre-existing contacts in the collegiate network, and college ballplayers also negotiated to join the league, which would start play in mid-May just as classes were ending at most schools. Some of them would have to join their teams a little late, but they would be a needed influx of talent.

More surprisingly perhaps, even some washed-up major league veterans placed calls to the "front offices" run out of evening cell-phone minutes, hearing the buzz and looking for a shot to show they still "had it." Some of them even signed contracts for princely sums of $20,000 or more. In some cases, teams hoped they would be the faces of their franchises and drive ticket sales. In other cases, owners wanted to invest in the hopes of flipping contracts to major-league clubs for a hefty profit. The Surge actually managed to make a tidy profit in this way, especially by signing the rights to younger players who had been released by major-league organizations over the winter.

All in all, it was a chaotic spring as teams struggled to fill their rosters and competed with each other for the best players willing to play in the league. Some teams overspent and others underspent - but most overspent. Since the league was new, every team wanted to come out of hte gates with a strong team to establish fan loyalty. The result was a bidding war for the best players, as teams spent down their cash reserves and committed to expenses well beyond projected revenues.

The Silver Knights probably overextended themselves the most. They had the largest payroll in the league, and most of the contracts they extended were multiyear. (The longest contract allowed in the league was five years.) The smallest-market team, the Marblebreakers, also had the smallest payroll, less than half that of the Silver Knights.

Beginning in late April, despite the fluctuating rosters, teams had started to train formally and play some scrimmages against each other. "It's a good brand of high school baseball," Concord Monitor sportswriter Jack Horne quipped. But audiences came out to the games to watch their own. Most teams had at least a handful of local men on the squad - at least for the preseason.

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Old 05-01-2019, 09:49 PM   #4
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Opening Day Previews

When the league officially opened to season play on Saturday May 20, 2017, each team in the league had to finalize its 25-man rosters. Teams could also hold the rights of up to 50 players in reserve, but few professionals had an interest in waiting around to play in a podunk league - they wanted action on the diamond to get a look from big-league clubs. As a result, former big-leaguers and older players with big-league hopes generally opted out of their contracts if they were not placed on opening-day rosters, and the reserve scrimmage squads were almost entirely comprised of college students, young players, and a handful of unusually talented locals for whom the league was more or less an evening hobby.

Here is a team-by-team 2017 preview.

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Bangor Barons

The Barons play in the Mansfield Sports Complex, a fairly neutral park by league standards.

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Bangor can expect to garner the whole Maine market north and east of Portland, but only if they do well. They spent heavily, completely draining their small cash reserve, and it's not clear whether they spent wisely. They focused on hitting rather than pitching.

The rotation is fairly weak. Number one starter Myung-ho Jin, age 28, has some not terribly inspiring professional experience in Korea. The number two starter, Jaheem McConner, is a high school coach out of Bridgewater, Massachusetts - he has never played professionally at any level before, and he's 33 years old.

The bullpen is a little deeper but hardly awe-inspiring. Lefty Jeremy Bleich works down in the zone and has reached AAA three times. He finished up last year with the Somerset Patriots of the ATL. 32-year-old Anthony Claggett is a hard thrower and a fixture of the independent league circuit, also pitching 3 2/3 hapless innings for the Yankees and Pirates back in 2009.

Offensively, the team has more to offer. Power-hitting left fielder Jake Goebbert, who had a cup of coffee with the Padres in '14, slashing just .218/.313./.317, is probably the biggest standout. In the infield, the Barons have sacrificed defense for hitting ability, featuring 35-year-old shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who has a .700 OPS in 5505 major-league plate appearances, almost all with the White Sox, 32-year-old second baseman Scott Sizemore, who tallied 1.9 WAR in 614 PA at the major-league level, and 33-year-old Mike Costanzo, who slashed .211/.275/.366 with the ATL's New Britain Bees last year, at the hot corner.

Unlike some of the other clubs, Bangor has not done well to line up young collegiate players or recent graduates for short- or long-term contracts. Their prospect pool is thin.

Projected record: 53-55. If that comes to pass, Bangor will likely face significant financial problems next year.

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Old 05-02-2019, 08:07 PM   #5
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Concord Wild

The Wild enjoy one of the larger markets in the league with their location in the centrally located capital city of New Hampshire. They play at Memorial Field, which has small dimensions and is especially friendly to left-handed hitters.

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The Wild spent heavily out of cash reserves and expect to spend a lot more than they make this year. But they also have a lot to show for their efforts.

The rotation is led by control wizard Sam Lecure, 33, who pitched at the major-league level for the Reds as recently as two years ago. He's making close to $20,000 for spending the summer in the Granite State. Kisho Kagami, 28, who has only ever played professionally in Japan, has come to the States for the new league - and to take classes at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. His performance at home may suffer due to his tendency to work up in the zone. Number three starter In-wook Jung comes out of Korea, where his career ERA is 4.73. He barely knows English, but his agent is an entrepreneurial sort who arranged a tryout in Boston last month after his client failed to land a Korean or Japanese contract.

The Wild have a solid lineup at all positions. The biggest star may be 26-year-old Max Muncy, whom the A's let go after his struggles last year. He will play the hot corner, and with a career slash line of .260/.366/.413 at all levels, he is expected to perform well in this low-status league. Other keystones of the lineup include 32-year-old second baseman Nate Spears, who hit .255/.332/.319 for Somerset in the ATL last year, and 29-year-old left fielder Mike O'Neill, a lefthanded on-base machine who hit an eye-popping .338/.426/.438 for the New Jersey Jackals of the CAAA, a higher-quality league than the GWL.

The Wild boast a solid but not spectacular crop of collegiate players and other prospects. They will play scrimmages to try to develop their skills for official game play.

Preseason prediction: 56-52. But in my view this understates their chances somewhat.

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Old 05-02-2019, 10:26 PM   #6
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Nashua Silver Knights

Nashua's club is an ex-collegiate ball franchise playing in historic Holman Stadium, which once "hosted the first integrated U.S. baseball team in the modern era when Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe played for the Nashua Dodgers in 1946." As the franchise located in the most densely populated area of the region, the Silver Knights enjoy quite a financial advantage over the other clubs, which they have parlayed into a $205,000 payroll, easily eclipsing everyone else in the league.

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The Knights have focused heavily on pitching, defense, and to a lesser extent right-handed hitting to fit the quirks of their home park.

The top four starters in the rotation are all worthy of mention here. Ace Cole Johnson throws in the mid-90s with control. He's never pitched in the majors but is making more than $20,000 this year. He had a 2.70 ERA with New Britain last year. Number two Aaron Northcraft, age 26, has a 3.96 career ERA in 813 minor-league innings. Jim Divine, 34 years old, pitches third in the order. He's a local working in landscaping who has never played professionally, but he sports a lively knuckleball. Number four Mike DuBois lives in North Adams, Massachusetts, near where he went to college, and has also never played professionally, but is strong and can throw a fastball as hard as 98 miles an hour - just not with great control.

In the 'pen, 31-year-old Brooks Brown, who has a 3.97 ERA in 59 major-league innings, looks to be lights out in the Green and White League. He could be a team captain type and boasts iron-man durability.

In the field, third baseman Marquez Smith, 32, is notable for both his defense and hitting. In limited time, he put up a .770 OPS in the Mexican League last year and will make just over $20,000 this year. Rangy, twenty-nine-year-old left fielder Thomas Neal put up 2.8 WAR for the Somerset Patriots two years ago and could be interesting, even though he's been out of baseball for a year and a half. Finally, catcher Luke Montz, 33, should be steady behind the plate and can also mash. He has over 4000 career plate appearances, almost all of them in the minor leagues (he played very briefly for the A's and Nats), but was injured all of last year.

However, the Knights do have a couple of holes in the lineup - the starting center fielder and designated hitter do not impress - and it is surprising they could not get more for the money they've spent. They do have a solid group of young players on the reserve roster.

Preseason prediction: 60-48. That seems about right, but the funny thing is that their solvency is in real question given salary commitments beyond this year.

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Old 05-03-2019, 12:18 AM   #7
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Old Orchard Beach Surge

The Surge are another franchise out of collegiate ball, which helped give them a slightly larger financial base to work with than the brand-new franchises. They play in The Ballpark at Old Orchard Beach, which is slightly larger than most of the other stadiums in the league.

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The Surge shrewdly sealed contracts with young players first, some of whom were later bought by major-league clubs, yielding extra cash. As a result, the Surge were able, despite their smallish market, to put up the second-highest payroll in the league while signing players to short-term contracts.

The Surge rotation goes at least three deep with solid, above-average pitchers. Number one is 28-year-old southpaw Chris Jones, who has a career 3.80 ERA in the minors but has not made it above AAA. Mickey Storey is number two. Thirty-one years old, Storey has a 4.19 ERA in 34 innings and is especially noted for his control. Thirty-year-old Ki-Tae Kim comes next; he has a career 5.35 ERA in Korea. Boone Whiting, 31, starts the season on the DL with an oblique strain; he has a 3.91 career minor league ERA and is vulnerable to the big fly.

The Surge bullpen is definitely a weak point. Vic Black, 28, is the stopper. He has a 2.96 ERA in 52 major-league innings, but he sat out 2016 due to a PED suspension and is attempting to make a comeback.

Right fielder Christian Marrero, 30 years of age, is probably the main slugging threat on the Surge. He's never made it to the majors but has had a lengthy minor league career. He has plenty of pop and a great eye.

Also noteworthy are 3B Ryan Wheeler, 28, who's slashed a .641 OPS in 183 major-league appearances, and rangy 2B Alden Carrithers, 32, who boasts a 113 OPS+ in a long minor-league career. The best-paid hitter on the team, making just over $20,000, is actually first baseman Brett Harper, 35, who amassed a .956 OPS in the Mexican League last year.

Projected record: 58-50. If they can stay healthy, they should have even more upside than that.

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Old 05-03-2019, 11:35 PM   #8
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Plattsburgh Redbirds

Plattsburgh will play on Chip Cummings Field at SUNY-Plattsburgh. They are one of the smallest-market teams in the league but could pick up some support from the Burlington area across Lake Champlain.

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The team largely focused on signing younger players, some of whom are locals. The rotation lacks both aces and obvious holes. The number one starter is Brian Baker, aged 34, who retired from baseball after 2015 and lives in Lake George. He never played in the majors but has over 1100 innings of professional experience. Number three starter, Joe Gandy, is another local. He's 24 and has never played professionally but was a standout on the SUNY-Plattsburgh team a couple of years ago.

The bullpen is pretty shallow, but stopper Brad Lincoln could be pretty dominant. He had a 4.74 ERA in 222 major-league innings but is now 31 and a little rusty.

The lineup is anchored by right fielder Jeremy Hermida, a former major leaguer who missed all of 2016 due to injury and couldn't get a contract this year. He has slashed .257/.333/.415 at the MLB level. Bryan Peterson, 31-year-old center fielder, could also be dangerous, especially as an OBP man. He was replacement-level for the Marlins from 2010 to 2012.

The Redbirds have some talented youngsters on their scrimmage squad, and if they are willing to stay and aren't bought out by major-league clubs, they could represent a strong future for the club.

Projected record: 60-48. This seems a little high to me. The club has no extra room to sign new guys during the season.

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Old 05-04-2019, 09:07 PM   #9
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Rutland Marblebreakers

Named for the now-defunct quarrying industry in the area, the Marblebreakers enjoy the smallest natural market in the league and play on a high school field, St. Peter's Field. It has no walls, but balls hit beyond the earthen embankment are considered ground-ruled doubles.

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Like Plattsburgh, Rutland has mostly focused on youth, but they do have a grizzled vet leading their rotation: 36-year-old Tony Benson, a high school coach in the area who played for URI in college but never professionally. But he has a naturally quick fastball and decent control. The majority of the rotation looks shaky, but the club is hoping that 25-year-old Ian Drapcho, also a local, comes along quickly with good coaching. About the bullpen, the less said the better.

The lineup is decent but hardly fear-inducing. Thirty-three-year-old second baseman-left fielder Steve Tolleson is probably the biggest bat. He has an 88 OPS+ in 363 major-league plate appearances with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and A's. Another second baseman, Brad Boyer, aged 33, is also worthy of mention. He starts the season with a hamstring strain, but he has a 96 OPS+ in his minor- and independent-league career. On the defensive side, speedy center fielder Darin Mastroianni should add a lot of value. At 31 years of age, he has played in the majors before with little success, and slashed .256/.327/.300 with an 8-3 SB-CS in 203 plate appearances for the AAA Rochester Red Wings last year.

Projected record: 43-65. If that prediction materializes, it will be a wonder if they can get 100 people to buy tickets for their games.

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Old 05-08-2019, 12:04 AM   #10
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Seacoast Humpbacks

The Humpbacks are a brand-new franchise and play in Dover at, believe it or not, a converted little league park (Maglaras Ball Field). This is one of the two fields with no fence: balls hit into the forest are ground-ruled doubles. With a potential market stretching over Strafford and Rockingham Counties, Seacoast could be well-positioned financially for the future - provided, that is, the league has a future.

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The Humpbacks rotation is remarkably weak. The number one starter is one of the strongest in the league, but after him everyone else is decidedly subpar. That ace is Matt Buschmann, 33 years old, strong in all points of the pitching game, and boasting a 4.20 career minor league ERA, most of it in AAA. Last year he pitched four and a third innings for the D-Backs, but he was jobless after spring training this year.

The bullpen, by contrast, is one of the strongest in the GWL, with three potential relief aces. Brandon Gomes, 32, is the stopper. He has a 4.20 MLB ERA in 167 innings, with 61 walks and 144 strikeouts. Dana Eveland, 33, is a lefthanded groundballer who pitched for 10 different major-league clubs, posting 3.7 Fangraphs WAR in 446 IP, yielding just 34 homers. Aaron Thompson, 30, has a quite similar profile to Eveland on the mound, but he couldn't be more different in the clubhouse. Eveland sticks to himself and has a tendency to blunt to the point of rudeness, while Thompson is a real student of the game and unselfish with his knowledge. He has a 4.54 career ERA in 40 major-league innings.

The Humpbacks are a little weak in the outfield and have only one true slugger in the lineup: first baseman Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., who at 34 is moving up from the Mexican League, where he hit .321/.373/.459 in 2014 (he was injured in most of 2015 and all of 2016). Catcher Ryan Ortiz, 29, is a defensive wiz and certainly competent as a hitter as well. He's a career minor leaguer who un-retired to try his hand in the GWL.

Financially, the team is in decent shape but without much padding. It's unclear they've done enough to make themselves a contender.

Projected record: 49-59. That looks about right.

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Old 05-11-2019, 11:07 PM   #11
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Upper Valley Nighthawks

The Nighthawks are another ex-collegiate club, but they have moved from White River Junction, Vt. to Dartmouth College's Red Rolfe Field. The college baseball season ends just two weeks before the GWL starts play. Leasing the field for the games is another expense for the UV ballclub, but it helps open their market to a wealthy Hanover, New Hampshire clientele. Their market is still pretty small, however.

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The Nighthawks rotation is a little worse than average. They have two pretty good starters but also two really dire ones. The pretty good ones are Willie Warren, 32, a construction contractor who has never played professionally, and Justin Berg, also 32, who relies on finesse and threw 64 innings with a 4.08 ERA for the Cubs years ago.

The bullpen is all-around strong, but with only one potential star, southpaw Michael Kirkman, who boasts dominant stuff and movement but sometimes-erratic control. He amassed 109 MLB innings, mostly with the Rangers, and posted a 5.28 ERA with 56 walks and 104 K's.

The Upper Valley lineup is also all-around strong with no obvious holes, but again no obvious stars. First baseman Casey Kotchman is a notable name, now 34 years of age and having hit .260/.326/.385 in 3412 plate appearances, mostly with the Angels. Center fielder Fred Lewis, 36, also has extensive major-league experience, hitting .266/.344/.403 in 1763 PA's, mostly with the Giants. His outfield range isn't what it used to be, though.

Financially, Upper Valley is one of the best-positioned teams in the league and still has extra cash to spend on one-year contracts if it seeks to contend. They also have some of the better collegiate players on their scrimmage squad.

Projected record: 55-53. This could be a team to watch for the long haul - if there is a long haul.
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:47 PM   #12
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Post Opening Day 2017

[FONT="Book Antiqua"]Rutland at Upper Valley

The very first game of the Green and White League took place at Red Rolfe Field in Hanover, N.H. at 1:05 PM on Saturday May 20, 2017, a sunny, warm, windy day. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu threw out the first pitch.

The game started about as well as possible for the home fans, as Willie Warren struck out the first batter he faced, Rutland's Darin Mastroianni, and after a scoreless top of the first, UV's leadoff man, Mike McCoy singled and stole second, later coming around to score on a sac fly. In the bottom of the second, the Nighthawks added more as Casey Kotchman launched a three-run homer just over the right-center fence.

But the Marblebreakers came back in the third with Eric Floro's RBI single and a two-RBI triple by switch-hitting first baseman Willie Carmona.

After that it turned into a pitcher's duel with the score 4-3 Upper Valley. But in the top of the 7th Carmona knocked in Steve Tolleson, who'd singled and stolen second, tying the game.

The game remained knotted at four through the regulation nine. In the bottom of the 10th, lefty Dan Meadows entered for Rutland and loaded the bases. But a strikeout and a forceout at home put the pressure back on the home team. Switch-hitting third baseman Jonathan Meyer then beat out a walk-off infield single to much rejoicing from the home crowd.

In other GWL action that day, home teams rolled, with Bangor beating Maine rivals Old Orchard Beach 4-2, Concord rolling Seacoast 8-3, and Plattsburgh topping Nashua 5-2.

Play ball![\FONT]

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Old 05-17-2019, 11:01 PM   #13
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Excitement in the Air

May 2017
The new league needed some heroes and some action if it was going to survive. It had the good fortune to get a little of both in its first two weeks of regular-season play.

There are few heroics in baseball quite like the walk-off hit. In just its second game, Concord got one from Erik Komatsu, a double going the opposite way that plated two and gave the Wild a come-from-behind, 4-3 win over the Humpbacks.

For full-game performances, it was hard to beat Nashua 3B Marquez Smith's 5-for-6 with a base on balls day, helping the Silver Knights to a 7-5 victory in 13 innings in Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh got their revenge the next day, though, crushing the Silver Knights 14-0 behind Joe Gandy's excellent, eight-inning pitching performance.

Even the weather cooperated those first two weeks; it was warm and dry, and the crowds came out.

The first pitcher to toss a complete-game shutout was Mickey Storey of the Old Orchard Beach Surge, who shut down the home Humpbacks on three hits and a walk on May 26.

The paucity of home runs relative to MLB (and abundance of doubles and triples) didn't keep scoring down too much, but it did make the games more exciting, because there were fewer blowouts. Any time you got some late-inning tension, that was good baseball, whether the home team won or lost. There were an abundance of one- and two-run games, as well as extra-innings affairs.

At the end of May, the standings looked like this:

East Division
Concord 9-3
Bangor 6-6
Old Orchard Beach 6-6
Seacoast 6-6

West Division
Plattsburgh 9-3
Nashua 6-6
Rutland 3-9
Upper Valley 3-9

In the early going, the East was looking better than the West, and there were some early warning signs for the small-market Rutland and Upper Valley clubs.

But bigger threats began to materialize on the first of June, when two things happened. First, the Concord Wild sold the contract of their best player, Mike O'Neill, to the Boston Red Sox. He'd been hitting .396/.482/.500, and after being bought was assigned just up the road to Portland. If teams started getting rid of their best players, how would the league ever build up fan loyalty? Was the league simply going to deteriorate into a player-flipping scheme, a training league for MLB?

The other big happening, although it didn't seem so big at the time, was the desertion of 26-year-old Concord Wild reserve roster center fielder Brandon Magee. Magee didn't want to wait around for an injury to have a shot at playing in the GWL. The whole reason pros from around the country came to play in New England was to, well, play. If they didn't get playing time, they couldn't get a major-league contract.

GWL players did have a non-compete clause in their contracts, and so Magee couldn't sign with another professional organization after skipping out on the scrimmage squad. But he could go back home and work in another field while he continued to work out and eventually try again next year. It seemed unlikely that many non-local guys would continue to stick around if they weren't given playing time. And if that happened, the quality of the league's play would fall as the season progressed and injuries took their toll on active rosters.

Last edited by Elendil; 05-19-2019 at 12:14 PM.
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Old 05-30-2019, 10:11 PM   #14
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June 2017


Hanover Woes


Things didn't get any better for the beleaguered Nighthawks franchise in the second month of the league. They kept finding new ways to lose.


On June 2nd, they had a 7-1 lead at the stretch in Old Orchard Beach. Joe Bircher had been pitching a gem. But after he gave up five consecutive baserunners and two runs with one out in the seventh, he yielded to the white-knuckle Nighthawk bullpen. The Surge put up another in the seventh, tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and won it in the 10th, 8-7.


The very next day, Upper Valley just decided to give it up early. They were down 11-1 after three frames and went on to lose 12-9. And to close out the series on the Maine shore, they managed to lose the final game 11-1.


It was getting ugly. By June 19, Upper Valley's 8-21 record put them eight games back in the West. [to be continued]
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Old 05-31-2019, 12:27 AM   #15
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Neat concept
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Old 05-31-2019, 07:24 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nymetsfan5 View Post
Neat concept

Thanks... It has some similarities to my old Bush League dynasty, which unfortunately petered out before I could give it a proper ending: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=142327.
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Old 05-31-2019, 07:54 PM   #17
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June 2017 (cont.)
But things only went worse from there for the beleaguered Upper Valley franchise. Their absolute nadir might have come when they were swept at home by the best team in the league, the Old Orchard Beach Surge, by scores of 9-1, 16-4, and 12-4.


But the franchise didn't give up trying to win. The GWL's trade deadline was June 30, before the halfway point of the season, and it came and went without any trades at all.

The Nighthawks weren't throwing in the towel; in fact, they used what free cash they had to sign more players to one-year contracts, most notably shortstop Alexi "Mighty Mouse" Amarista, who had been released by the Rockies after slashing .210/.246/.323 in 65 PA. Amarista made an immediate impact, helping the Nighthawks take two of three in the final series of the month in Nashua.

The Surge of the Surge
At the other end of the baseball spectrum lay the wealthy team from Maine, the Old Orchard Beach Surge. OOB wasn't wealthy because of the size of their market, at least not at first, but because they had savvily managed to sign several quality young players in the preseason and sell them to MLB clubs later.


By the end of June, the Surge stood at 28-11, good for a .718 winning percentage and a four-game lead in the East Division.


But they didn't stand still. Instead of trading for talent, they bought it. Outfielder Angel "Crazy Horse" Pagan, 35 years old and a standout for the MLB Giants last year (.277/.331/.418, 543 PA), though no longer so spry in center, signed on at a $14,200 per annum rate. He hit .364 in his first five games with the club.


Second baseman Adam Rosales, 34, was another major signing for the club. He'd hit .255/.320/.500 in 104 PA for the MLB A's before having been released. He signed for a per-year rate of $29,800. However, his early impact was limited, as he went just 7-for-28 with a homer, a walk, and nine strikeouts in his first six games with the Maine club.

July 1 Standings

Team W L WPct GB R RA
Old Orchard Beach Surge 28 11 .718 - 255 146
Seacoast Humpbacks 24 15 .615 4 221 186
Bangor Barons 21 18 .538 7 207 215
Concord Wild 21 18 .538 7 182 167

Team W L WPct GB R RA
Nashua Silver Knights 20 19 .513 - 188 166
Plattsburgh Redbirds 18 21 .462 2 191 179
Rutland Marblebreakers 13 26 .333 7 176 266
Upper Valley Nighthawks 11 28 .282 9 175 270


[to be continued...]


Last edited by Elendil; 05-31-2019 at 07:57 PM.
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Old 05-31-2019, 11:20 PM   #18
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June 2017 (cont.)

The most amazing thing about the standings is that all four teams of the East Division are outplaying all four teams of the West Division. Since the 108-game schedules are perfectly balanced, one may well wonder what the point of the divisions is. Why not one division with the top two teams going to a championship series?

Well, for one, the owners thought the two divisions would keep more fans interested in more cities. And that seemed to be right so far. Four teams were definitely in the hunt for a championship berth, and arguably as many as six - all but the hapless Rutland and Upper Valley squads.

Indeed, attendance figures suggested the league was becoming a success in most markets. Five clubs were seeing slow but steady ticket sales growth. With the tourist season in full swing and the weather now decidedly warm, there was every reason to expect a successful July.


League Leaders and Team Stats

There were several storylines to watch as the GWL season headed toward the halfway point.

Alden Carrithers of OOB, who'd been released by the Dodgers organization in late May, was flirting with a .400 batting average (.394) and .500 on-base percentage (.488).

A lot of triples were being hit - 101 in 12,495 league plate appearances to be exact. The current leader was 1B Willie Carmona of Rutland, who had five and was projected to finish with 14 in 479 PA (162-game season equivalent: 21!).

So far this looked like an incredibly hitting-dominated league, mostly because BABIP was so high (.341). League ERA was 4.72. However, home runs were low: only 156 had been hit, compared with 591 doubles.

In that context, one starting pitcher's performances to date looked really impressive. Mickey Storey of OOB had a 2.68 ERA in 50 IP with a 0.99 WHIP and 1.2 WAR (tied for the league lead). He was projected to finish with 139 IP, 6 HR, 33 BB, and 111 K's.

On the relief side, Robbie Weinhardt of Rutland had started the season with 17 scoreless innings. Could he keep it up?

LEAGUE BATTING STATS

TeamR/GRGABH2B3BHRBBSOSBAVGOBPSLGOPS
Old Orchard Beach Surge6.5 255 39 1421 445 85 13 22 148 268 16 .313 .383 .438 .821
Seacoast Humpbacks5.7 221 39 1352 378 77 17 21 153 284 15 .280 .358 .408 .766
Bangor Barons5.3 207 39 1357 396 87 16 18 147 312 13 .292 .367 .419 .786
Plattsburgh Redbirds4.9 191 39 1324 359 56 7 19 151 259 26 .271 .355 .367 .722
Nashua Silver Knights4.8 188 39 1349 388 70 12 21 179 277 18 .288 .375 .404 .779
Concord Wild4.7 182 39 1336 369 66 12 16 163 271 10 .276 .361 .379 .740
Rutland Marblebreakers4.5 176 39 1396 369 74 14 19 122 297 24 .264 .331 .378 .709
Upper Valley Nighthawks4.5 175 39 1369 375 76 10 20 126 312 16 .274 .341 .388 .729
TOTALS5.1 1595 312 10904 3079 591 101 156 1189 2280 138 .282 .359 .398 .757
AVERAGE* 199 39 1363 385 74 13 20 149 285 17 * * * *

LEAGUE PITCHING STATS
TeamR/GRGCGSHOSVERAIPHAHRABBKWHIPOAVGBABIP
Old Orchard Beach Surge3.7 146 39 1 4 9 3.52 348.0 330 17 119 294 1.29 .251 .309
Nashua Silver Knights4.3 166 39 4 1 11 4.13 346.1 360 17 147 309 1.46 .268 .335
Concord Wild4.3 167 39 0 1 10 3.75 348.0 354 18 123 317 1.37 .263 .329
Plattsburgh Redbirds4.6 179 39 0 4 10 4.34 344.1 362 22 141 308 1.46 .270 .334
Seacoast Humpbacks4.8 186 39 0 1 12 4.56 351.0 376 14 160 288 1.53 .277 .338
Bangor Barons5.5 215 39 0 2 13 5.00 342.0 391 18 168 231 1.63 .287 .332
Rutland Marblebreakers6.8 266 39 0 0 8 6.16 350.2 458 17 168 278 1.79 .320 .380
Upper Valley Nighthawks6.9 270 39 0 0 7 6.33 341.0 448 33 163 255 1.79 .318 .364
TOTALS5.1 1595 312 5 13 80 4.72 2771.1 3079 156 1189 2280 1.54 .282 .341
AVERAGE* 199 39 1 2 10 * 346 385 20 149 285 * * *

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Old 06-25-2019, 11:34 PM   #19
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July 2017

July 2017


Nobody wanted to play the Surge. They were winning with style and dominance. They swept the top team in the West Division, Nashua, to start the month of July, and after dropping one to Bangor, went on a five-game tear.


Still, the Seacoast Humpbacks were keeping things remarkably close in second place. They went on their own nine-game tear in July, sweeping Concord and Upper Valley before taking two out of three from the Surge. Before July 13th's game, Seacoast (34-16) was just two games back of Old Orchard Beach (36-14).



Old Orchard Beach also continued to use their big pile of cash to lock down their dominance over the rest of the league by signing marquee players. Infielder Daniel Descalso signed a three-year, $63,000 deal with the Surge after being released by the D-backs. In 2016 he had hit .264/.349/.424 with the Rockies and was a decent fielder at third and second.


The tiny-market Rutland club also got some cash when the Texas Rangers signed away one of their top young pitching prospects, Michael Wagner. The Marblebreakers used their extra money effectively, signing a slew of well-known former major leaguers, including RP Jonathan Papelbon (5.01 ERA in 41 IP with the BoSox in '17), IF Erick Aybar (.286/.348/.400 for the Padres in '17), OF-DH Wily Mo Pena (.238/.288/.418 with the Phillies year to date), and 3B Hector Luna (.217/.274/.374 with the Padres), as well as a promising 25-year-old local man with a wicked changeup-fastball combo, Dave Dykes.


All-Star Game


On July 13 the GWL All-Star teams were announced. From the West Division, Nashua unsurprisingly dominated the selections, sending six pitchers and seven hitters. Thirty-five-year-old Jim Divine of Nashua was the West fWAR leader with 1.5 due to strong peripherals (6.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, and a startling 0.1 HR/9) despite a 4.67 ERA. Mike DuBois, also of Nashua, was the #2 selection in the West for his 2.97 ERA and 1.2 fWAR in 61 IP. The top closer selection was Brad Lincoln of Plattsburgh (2.67 ERA, 8 SV, 0.5 WAR, 11.0 K/9 in 27 IP).


The top hitter in the West was undoubtedly 30-year-old Silver Knight shortstop Jeff Bianchi, who was smashing for a .360 average, .418 OBP, and 2.1 WAR in 203 AB. A couple of other top West hitters were injured and would miss the game: 3B Mike McCoy of Upper Valley and 3B Marquez Smith of Nashua.


In the East, OOB sent five pitchers and five hitters, while Seacoast sent five pitchers and four hitters, including two of the three catcher selections! Seacoast starting catcher Ryan Ortiz was slashing .333/.410/.474 with 3 HR and 141 wRC+ in 156 AB, while their backup catcher Matt M. Koch impressed sufficiently in just 49 AB with a .347/.385/.673 line, 3 HR, and 0.5 WAR.


The top starting pitcher in the East was probably Mickey Storey of the Surge, who had put up a sparkling 2.34 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and league-leading 1.8 fWAR in 65 IP. The top relief pitcher was debatable, but Jeremy Bleich of Bangor got the narrow nod as number one closer. He had a 2.38 ERA in 34 IP with 0.7 fWAR. Finally, the top hitter was a close contest between 1B Brett Harper of OOB (.335/.418/.526 with 8 HR in 194 AB, 2.0 WAR) and CF Erik Komatsu of Concord (.332/.451/.478 with 5 HR and 4 SB in 184 AB, 2.1 WAR).


The game would be played on July 15th at The Ballpark at Old Orchard Beach, but the West Division would be considered the home team. The owners hoped for a big turnout given the success of the game so far in the coastal Maine town.
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Old 06-26-2019, 09:57 PM   #20
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2017 All-Star Game

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Pier at Old Orchard Beach

The inaugural All-Star Game of the Green and White League took place on July 15, 2017 in Old Orchard Beach. Jim Divine took the ball for the West Division, while Mickey Storey held the mound for the East.


The scoring got started in the second when the East Division put together a single, double, and single that plated Cody Stanley and Blake Tekotte. But the West punched back hard in the bottom half with back-to-back singles by Jeremy Hermida and Thomas Neal, followed up by a 410-foot blast from the bat of Travis Ishikawa.


The West made it 4-2 in the fourth after getting to home favorite Rommie Lewis for a run. There the score remained until the sixth.


In that inning, the East managed to tie it up on a single, double, throwing error by third baseman Eric Floro (who would be lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom half of the frame), and an RBI single by Ryan Ortiz.


A couple of sac flies over the next few innings gave the West the lead again over the heavily favored East Division going to the ninth inning. Lefty Hyun-Jung Choi (Plattsburgh) came into the game to lock it down. The East hitters got to him quickly: after Tyler Colvin singled and advanced to second on a groundout, Brandon Boggs knocked him home with a double, and Boggs in turn scored on a wild pitch and Brett Jackson single. Choi got the last two outs, but the damage was done.


The West failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, and the game went to extras, creating nervousness among managers around the league. Choi stayed in there and was the goat in the 10-inning loss, giving up a triple to Scott Sizemore, an RBI double to Matt M. Koch, and a run-scoring wild pitch. Brandon Gomes locked it down with a 1-2-3 inning.


The East division had won an exciting All-Star game, 8-6 in 10 innings!

Last edited by Elendil; 06-26-2019 at 09:59 PM.
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