Nifty Fifties

		Your Junk my Happy Zone
		by Brandon Corbett

This offseason Wiffleball100, who runs the NWLA, has been putting out top 50 lists for NWLA teams and players on Twitter. Since 2006, he has always kept track of top teams on the season, and until this past year was also responsible for ranking the websites. With these latest lists, though, he is ranking based on all-time careers. So far, he has done the top 50 NWLA teams of all time and just yesterday finished running down the top 50 NWLA pitchers of all-time. It is a remarkably monumental task Hundy takes on developing each list, and these are definitely something we all can get excited about - even if you only know the names in this league. One thing to keep in mind is that longevity plays a large role in the rankings. Makes sense; a longer career leaves a larger imprint behind. Who do think made the cut from WSEM, and where do you think they fell? Read on to find out, and follow the NWLA on Twitter to be kept in the loop for new lists when they come out.

 TOP 50 NWLA ALL-TIME TEAMS 

Longevity, both in terms of being a young league and having frequent team name changes, hurt us in this list. Only one team broke into the top 50. They never won a championship and only played one year, but they put up a 26 win season and did not lose over the last 10 weeks. They went 5-1 in games played during the playoffs before forfeiting the Championship Series. Had those last five words not had to be said, the Manchester Punchouts likely would have come in much higher than #47. They finished their only season in WSEM as the number four team in the NWLA.

Team

W

L

PCT

RS

RA

DIFF

GB

DIV

iDIV

STRK

L5

Punchouts 4

26

2

.929

171

11

+160

--

15-1

11-1

W25

5-0

 TOP 50 NWLA ALL-TIME PITCHERS 

It is no shock that we fare much better on this list. Pitching ran the show in 2012; nine pitchers had an ERA below 1.00, and 13 had a WHIP below 1.50. On top of that, there were SEVEN perfect games thrown! 2011 was more forgiving for the offense by comparison, but soaring strike out numbers stole the show in the pre-rotation era. Impressively for a young league, WSEM snagged 4 spots of the top 50.

Counting down, our first hit comes at #46, Evan Bortmas. He has only played one season in the NWLA with us, but was one of the most veteran players in the league immediately upon his arrival. Evan had been doing it for years in the Manchester Wiffleball Association, and had developed filthy stuff over that time. The break on his curve/slurve could only be matched by his Punchout teammate. He also featured a nice riser, and a demented screwball that baffled opponents even at the NWLA Tournament. Most worthy of accolades, though: he taught any pitcher willing to learn the grip he used to throw his pitches. Stand up guy, who sat down batters. Evan adds another dominant arm to an already stocked Wicked Aces rotation in 2013.

	G	IP	R	H	BB	K	W	L	S	ERA	WHIP
2012:	12	50	7	13	34	136	10	1	0	0.70	0.94

WSEM's second pitcher on the list is another Punchout, Sam Hatt, at #38. Coming into his first season, most saw him as Manchester's number two behind Bortmas. Sam's swooping riser dazzled everyone at the first satellite tournament, but his fastball and breaking pitches did not leave as impressive a mark. The, the season happened. Hatt's drop-ball and cutter outshined the previous amazement of his riser. He was neck-and-neck in the Clown Shu race and proved to be WSEM's ace at the NWLA Tournament. For the 2013 season, Sam has tossed his hat into the ring with the Westside Warriors, and is penciled in as their ace to start the year.

	G	IP	R	H	BB	K	W	L	S	ERA	WHIP
2012:	11	55	3	13	39	138	10	1	0	0.27	0.95

At #35, Mike Constanti is a guy who benefits from having two years under his belt. Don't get me wrong, he is very deserving of a spot on the list. But if offered the choice of pitcher to take an at-bat off of, nine out of ten WSEM hitters would choose Mike over the two guys behind him. That said, Constanti is absolutely an ace through and through. He features a fantastic cut fastball and is dominant with it, paired along with his off-speed and breaking stuff. He is one of only two pitchers to defeat the potent Punchouts offense in the 2012 season, afterall. In 2013, Mike will join the next name on this list in a Ducks rotation that aiming to repeat as Garcia Division champs.

	G	IP	R	H	BB	K	W	L	S	ERA	WHIP
2012:	9	45	5	37	21	79	7	2	0	0.56	1.29
2011:	13	61.2	19	49	42	121	9	3	0	1.54	1.48

Dennis Pearson, 2011 NWLA Strike-out King, is our highest ranked pitcher on this list, coming in at #19. Twenty wins and 363 strike outs over two seasons is an impressive body of work, and the NWLA is paying attention. Dennis puts up those numbers by being the hardest thrower in WSEM, able to climb over 80 mph. His bread-and-butter pitchers are a pair traveling that fast: one breaks away from right handed hitters, while the other cuts back in. During the 2012 season he also brought an off-speed riser into his repertoire to keep hitters off balance. You can bet 2013 for Pearson will be all about taking the Ducks back to the WSEM Championship and reclaiming the Clown Shu.

	G	IP	R	H	BB	K	W	L	S	ERA	WHIP
2012:	11	49	11	16	61	128	6	3	1	1.12	1.57
2011:	19	80.2	21	18	97	233	14	4	1	1.30	1.43

This, of course, will leave a question hanging on the lips of most WSEM players: "No Austin Bischoff?" Austin was our 2012 Clown Shu with a 0.49 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 141 K. Over 4 games pitched late in the 2011 season Austin also had a 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 56K. Wiffleball100 explained Bischoff's omission on a post at the NWLA boards:

Austin Bischoff- WSEM gets a bit shorted like several other leagues for limited playing seasons. - Wiffleball100

It may seem puzzling, then, that Bortmas and Hatt make it, but not Bischoff - with an additional half-season played to his name. However, all other WSEM pitchers on this list have a season on their resumes in which they pitched in 11+ games. Since, the Aces threw a three (and sometimes four) man rotation, Austin only pitched 9 games this season. That lends the appearance of him being a less active player, especially when looked at alongside a 4 game season, and that seems to be the reason he was not held in as high of regard as Pearson, Constanti, Bortmas or Hatt. Even if you think Austin was "snubbed", you cannot give anything but respect and kudos to Wiffleball100 for the effort he puts into this: looking over thousands of players and tens of thousands of stats to give us something to talk about during the dead of winter.