Snow, Freezing Cold, Wind: First Pitch in 64 Days

written by TWIF

Today the Capital is getting blanketed with snow and sub-20 degree temperatures. But wiffleball fans can hold on to hope because just nine Sundays from tomorrow is the first pitch of the Spring 2010 season.

The PWL will celebrate its 10th season as 2010 league play kicks off on Easter. The Commissioner’s office has been careful not to imply any connection between Opening Day and the return of wiffleball to any other resurrection. However, quietly, unnamed sources close to the Commissioner have heard the phrase “bigger than Jesus” more than once.

Offseason talk has been dominated by the usual debate over rules changes (the strike zone), free agents, teams, and where in the hell we are going to play.

  • Rules Changes: Radar guns, strike boards, underhand pitching…the debate over the strike zone will never end. The Commissioner has promised a Winter Summit on the strike zone to test options, and scrimmage with some new models. Look for that in March.
  • Free Agents: The biggest news free agent wise last off-season led to a return to World Series form for the Canvassers as they picked up Nick DiCrosta and Matt Dreyfus from the defunct Scared Hitless. Will the Canvassers be able to hold onto these two stars, or will the building of their trophy display cause mirror the rebuilding of the franchise? After the Alcoholics drank themselves out of the playoffs last season their nitwit pitcher Andrew Martin declared himself a free agent for any teams looking for a decent pitcher who hits a buck eighty. Even if your GM doesn’t want to sign him, check him out on eharmony.com to make him feel better. Two former stars are rumored to be considering returns to the PWL this season. Steve Dubois, a staple of the London All Star team, has been retired from the league since Spring 2008 when he dominated at the plate, missing out on the triple crown by a ground ball with eyes. He is thought to be up for grabs with no team loyalty and the best offer might get his services. Only one guy in league history has won more Player of the Week Awards than Tony Cani, and while that guy isn’t coming back, the rumors of Cani’s return after a year and half in rehab have been fierce. A career Canvasser who won three World Series titles, he had a falling out with Commissioner Gallaway after his disastrous final season. Is there still room for him on the Canvassers with the new talent, or is he up for grabs as well?
  • Teams: The Barnburners squeaked by with a World Championship in Spring 2009 but disappeared for the summer season, settling many opinions that they were one-hit wonders who couldn’t really build a franchise. They have pledged to come back and face the critics this spring. Former Gnats manager Kathryn Poindexter, who played on the only team in history to go winless, has been working secretly to bring in some fresh talent to take the cellar dweller title away from the Rossi Posse this season. After building an annual contender, Kris Garcia’s inability to keep a team name became an inability to win games. Will he be back at the table, and if so, with a playoff team, or whatever it was he had last season?
  • Field Location: The Commissioner met with officials from the DC Parks and Recreation Department in November and did a tour of the new facilities at Ft. Reno Park. No details were finalized, but the Commissioner was cautiously optimistic that the newly completed fields might be made available for the Spring 2010 Season.

Color Commentary [6] - posted 2010-01-30 12:44 in News

Champions Dinner: No Surprises Except the Snow (Su09)

written by Commissioner Gallaway

Margaritas flowed freely at the 2009 “Summer” Season Champions Dinner hosted by the World Champion Canvassers Monday night. Year end awards were given out, but there were no upsets from the vote leaders following the nomination round.

  • Alexander Filides of Clubber Lang won the MVP award by the skin of his teeth.
  • Jesse Contario of Flaglove had better luck in the Rookie of the Year Voting than he did in the batter’s box during the World Series to claim the hardware.
  • Tony Ragano picked up the Cy Young Award, after not being nominated for it last year in a controversial decision from the league office.
  • Gold Glove Awards were given to Matt Dreyfus for Fielding, John Bernard for Catching, and Kris Garcia for Pitching.

In addition to picking up three of the six year end awards, Clubber Lang also had two Triple Crown winners who were recognized, in absentia; Tony Ragano for Pitching and John Bernard for Fielding as a Catcher. No one from Clubber Lang made an appearance at the dinner, leading some to believe that they confused it with the World Series, thinking they had no reason to attend.

Turnout was low compared with previous dinners, which previously have taken place before the first snowfall of the season, and not ten weeks following the regular season’s final pitch.

League leaders in each of the nine statistical categories were honored with certificates, and the Canvassers officially took possession of the Commissioner’s Trophy. The trophy, presented for the first time this year, will be given to the World Series Champions each season.

Potential rules changes as well as an update on the Ft. Reno playing field situation were discussed, as well as the Commissioner’s two week trip to Europe to attend the World Wiffleball Federation meetings in Prague.

117 days until first pitch of the Spring 2010 season.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-12-07 23:56 in Awards

Champions Dinner (Su09): Don't Call It a Holiday Party

written by Commissioner Gallaway

The Canvassers formally request your presence at the 2009 Summer Champions Dinner.

  • Monday, December 7, 2009
  • 7:00 PM
  • Guapo’s Restaurant, 4515 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016

The dinner will include the presentation of the brand new World Series Trophy (officially Commissioner’s Trophy) to the Canvassers, but will also recognize other league leader and award winners.

The leader in each of the “league leader” categories will be presented a PWL certificate. Awards will also be presented to the winners of the six awards that were voted on online.

  • Most Valuable Player
  • Rookie of the Year
  • Cy Young Award
  • Gold Glove Award

Color Commentary [1] - posted 2009-11-19 13:58 in News

Complete Game Videos (Su09): World Series

written by Commissioner Gallaway

Complete game videos from the 2009 Summer World Series featuring the Canvassers and Flaglove. The World Series was played at night, under temporary lighting for the first time in league history. The home plate camera angle was filmed in HD, and a seperate commentary track by Brian Ford (formerly of Scared Hitless) will be posted with the batter/pitcher camera angle.

Read the full entry - Color Commentary - posted 2009-11-19 10:34 in News

World Series: And One for the Thumb (Su09)

written by Commissioner Gallaway

The Canvassers swept Flaglove in the best of three game series to claim their 5th World Series Championship in franchise history. The Canvassers have won five of the nine World Series contests, and appeared in each of the first six played, but have been shut out the last two seasons.

Controversial pre-season moves by the Canvassers from the free agent pool have led some to call for restrictions on the signing of free agents, or a waivers system for the PWL. The regular season ended with the Canvassers at a 13-1 record giving them the top overall seed in the playoffs. Flaglove dealt the Canvassers their only regular season loss during the last week of the season. However, they couldn’t stop the Canvassers from picking up the newly created Commissioner’s Trophy.

The Canvassers scored 13 runs, compared to just 3 for Flaglove, all of which were unearned.


Flaglove at Canvassers
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Flaglove 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 2
Canvassers 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 8 3


Canvassers at Flaglove
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Canvassers 0 5 3 1 0 0 9 14 1
Flaglove 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 3

Brian Ford, formerly of Scared Hitless, but serving a one year suspension this season for an altercation with a ball boy, served as the game color commentator.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-11-18 23:37 in Scoreboard

World Series: The Thanksgiving Classic (Su09)

written by Commissioner Gallaway

Rain postponed the World Series last week, and the Canvassers and Flaglove have settled on a make-up date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

Games will be played under the lights. First pitch for Game 1 is tentatively scheduled for 6:35 PM.

The Champion’s Dinner to announce year end award winners and honor the World Series Champions is usually held the week after the World Series. With the late games this year it could be Thanksgiving Dinner instead of the traditional Mexican fare at Guapos.

Color Commentary [2] - posted 2009-11-05 13:17 in News

WORLD SERIES POSTPONED!

written by Commissioner Gallaway

Due to standing water in the outfield, the World Series has been postponed and will not be played Sunday, November 1.

The recently constructed field has excellent drainage and the ground is firm. If not for the standing water in a few places a little sand in the batters box and pitchers mound would make the field playable.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-11-01 11:58 in News

Weather Dodging

written by Commissioner Gallaway

What looked like a perfect forecast yesterday has taken a turn for the worse overnight as storms have not moved out of the area.

There is a decent chance of getting the World Series in today, and league officials are optimistic that a planned break in the weather may coincide with the Series, scheduled for a best of three games at 1:00 PM today.

Check the Twitter Feed for the most up to date game information.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-11-01 10:14 in News

World Series: The N Word (Su09)

written by Commissioner Gallaway

You never like to hear the N word when you talk about wiffleball…November. But the 2009 Summer Season (keyword Summer) will be played in November for the first time. The World Series featuring the Canvassers and Flaglove will start at 1:00 PM on Sunday, November 1st. Games two and three (if necessary) will follow immediately after.

Live updates will be posted to the twitter account @potomacwiffle and box scores will be posted every half inning. The games will be recorded in HD, but a live video stream will not be available.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-31 10:15 in Scoreboard

Awards Voting Closes Friday!

written by Commissioner Gallaway

Voting will close Friday for the 2009 Summer Season Awards.

Votes must be cast by Friday, October 30, 2009, at 11:59 PM.

Award winners will be announced at the season ending Champions Dinner the first week of November.

Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-29 21:15 in News

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