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
Most Valuable Player Award Nominees (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
Wiffleball is an offensive sport, and the five nominees for this award are determined largely by offensive power, though voters should consider overall performance in making their selections.
- Alexander Filides (Clubber Lang) – Filides hit 12 homers, drove in 22 runs, and slugged 1.083 as he lead the league in most offensive categories leading his team to a division championship.
- Craig Mann (Flea Bitten Varmits) – Mann picked up his second POTW award this season, hit 7 homers, drove in 15, and slugged 1.032.
- Nicholas DiCrosta (Canvassers) – DiCrosta slugged an even 1.000, with 5 dingers and 15 driven in leading his new team to a division championship.
- Jesse Contario (Flaglove) – Contario is the only rookie to get a MVP nomination this season. 7 homers, 14 RBI, and slugging percentage of .933 helped lead Flaglove to the postseason with an amazing late season run.
- Kris Garcia (Rough Riders) – Garcia picked up another POTW keychain this season but couldn’t keep up his batting triple crown numbers from last season. He hit 6 homers, drove in 8, and slugged .927 in a rebuilding year for the Rough Riders.
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Most Valuable Player (Su09)
Alexander Filides
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-22 21:16 in Awards
Rookie of the Year Award Nominees (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
This award is for the Rookie player (defined as a player not eligible for nomination in any prior year’s stats) who had the most impact on the PWL.
- Jesse Contario (Flaglove) – Contario started off the season strong getting a POTW keychain right after joining the league. He slugged .933, hit 7 homers, and drove in 14 runs to send Flaglove to the playoffs.
- Mike Lemaire (Joe Buck Yourself) – Lemaire picked up POTW hardware this season, but hit a paltry 2 dingers and slugged .821. He did lead rookies in batting average at .436.
- Zachary Carter (Holey Balls!) – Carter was the best of the worst on the Holey Balls! squad. He managed four homers, and somehow two of his teammates got on base as he drove in two runs on top of himself for 11 RBI.
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Rookie of the Year (Su09)
Jesse Contario
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-22 21:11 in Awards
Cy Young Award Nominees (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
The Cy Young Award honors the finest pitching performance for the season.
- Tony Ragano (Clubber Lang) – Ragano struck out an amazing 83, and kept opponents batting .132 with an ERA of 0.23 and is the only veteran nominated.
- Andrew Martin (Alcoholics Anonymous) – Martin won’t win any personality contests, but with a .205 OBA and 0.58 ERA along with a second place (by a long way both directions) 57 strikeouts, he might be able to pitch.
- Paul Costello (Flaglove) – Costello was a late bloomer on the mound in his rookie season, but managed to keep opponents at .223 with an ERA of 1.17. He only struck out 6, but it’s not all about K’s is it?
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Cy Young Award (Su09)
Tony Ragano
Color Commentary [6] - posted 2009-10-22 21:07 in Awards
Gold Glove Award Nominees - Pitcher (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
This award honors performances in the field. There is one award per position, Pitcher, Catcher and Fielder.
- Kris Garcia (Rough Riders) – Garcia putout 54 without committing an error.
- Dallas Brown (Joe Buck Yourself) – Brown putout 43 without an error in his rookie season.
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Gold Glove - Pitcher
Kris Garcia
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-22 21:05 in Awards
Gold Glove Award Nominees - Catcher (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
This award honors performances in the field. There is one award per position, Pitcher, Catcher and Fielder.
- John Bernard (Clubber Lang) – Bernard had 70 putouts with the luxury of catching for Tony Ragano. (Strikeouts are scored as a putout for the catcher.)
- Austin Bernardo (Alcoholics Anonymous) – Bernardo had 40 putouts in his rookie season.
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Gold Glove - Catcher
John Bernard
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-22 21:03 in Awards
Gold Glove Award Nominees - Fielder (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
This award honors performances in the field. There is one award per position, Pitcher, Catcher and Fielder.
- Matt Dreyfus (Canvassers) – Dreyfus won the Triple Crown for Fielding at the Catcher’s spot last year, but gets the nod for Gold Glove in the field this time putting out 15 with 8 assists without an error.
- Alexander Filides (Clubber Lang) – Filides committed just one error while putting out 10 with 11 assists.
Nominees were selected by a vote of the league players. They are listed in order of preference from the nomination voting.
Gold Glove - Fielder (Su09)
Matt Dreyfus
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-22 20:58 in Awards
Summer 2009 Award Nominees (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
The votes are in!
For the first time in league history nominees for the season end awards were picked by the players themselves. 27 of of the rostered players in the league (52%) used ranked pair voting over the past week to determine the nominees.
Public voting, (simple plurality), will begin next week to choose the winners. Winners will be announced at the Champions Dinner following the World Series. (Likely the first week of November.)
Nominees, listed in order of preference from the nomination voting are:
Most Valuable Player
- Alexander Filides (Clubber Lang)
- Craig Mann (Flea Bitten Varmits)
- Nicholas DiCrosta (Canvassers)
- Jesse Contario (Flaglove)
- Kris Garcia (Rough Riders)
Rookie of the Year
- Jesse Contario (Flaglove)
- Mike Lemaire (Joe Buck Yourself)
- Zachary Carter (Holey Balls!)
Cy Young Award
- Tony Ragano (Clubber Lang)
- Andrew Martin (Alcoholics Anonymous)
- Paul Costello (Flaglove)
Gold Glove – Fielder
- Matt Dreyfus (Canvassers)
- Alexander Filides (Clubber Lang)
Gold Glove – Catcher
- John Bernard (Clubber Lang
- Austin Bernardo (Alcoholics Anonymous)
Gold Glove – Pitcher
- Kris Garcia (Rough Riders
- Dallas Brown (Joe Buck Yourself)
Thank you to everyone who voted. If you have comments on the new voting process, or want to start the trash talk for or against the nominees, use the color commentary link.
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-16 13:24 in Awards
Year End Awards: Now You Pick the Nominees! (Su09)
written by Commissioner Gallaway
It’s time to start selecting the 2009 Summer Season Year End Award Winners. We give out four awards for full season play. Unlike Player of the Week awards, these winners are kept secret and announced at our annual Champions Dinner hosted by the World Series Champions at the end of each season.
The playoffs this season are getting a late start, and should be wrapped up the last week of October. The extra time has given the league an opportunity experiment with a new voting process for year end award winners. Instead of the nominees being chosen by the Commissioner, this season all official roster players will get to vote to determine the nominees. That’s right, YOU pick the nominees.
VOTES FOR NOMINEES ARE DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 AT 12:00 PM.
Those nominees chosen by the players will then be put up for a final, public vote, to determine the winner.
Each player in the league has been emailed instructions on completing their ballot, which is being hosted by BallotBin. Emails were sent to the address used when the player paid their registration fee. If you did not receive your email notification contact the Commissioner.
Voting for the nominees is being done by ranked pairs voting. Once the nominees are chosen, a standard plurality vote will choose the winner.
VOTES FOR NOMINEES ARE DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 AT 12:00 PM.
The awards to be voted on, as well as the number of nominees that league players will select are:
- Most Valuable Player – Wiffleball is an offensive sport, and the five nominees for this award are determined largely by offensive power, though voters should consider overall performance in making their selections. (5 nominees)
- Rookie of the Year – This award is for the Rookie player (defined as a player not eligible for nomination in any prior year’s stats) who had the most impact on the PWL. (3 nominees)
- Cy Young Award – The Cy Young Award honors the finest pitching performance for the season. (3 nominees)
- Gold Glove Award – This award honors performances in the field. There is one award per position, Pitcher, Catcher and Fielder. (2 nominees per position)
Every player in the league who qualified for the minimum number of appearances is on the ballot to choose the nominees. Ballots are initially sorted based on a single stat performance. MVP and Roookie of the Year by SLG. Cy Young by OBA. Gold Glove by F%.
Color Commentary - posted 2009-10-07 11:30 in Awards
Champions Dinner: Blaze of Glory for Burners
written by Commissioner Gallaway
The World Series Champion Blandsford Barnburners broke a two season trend and picked up a majority of award hardware in addition to the Commissioner’s Trophy for winning the World Series at the Champions Dinner Monday night.
Tony Ragano of Clubber Lang and Matt Dreyfus of Scared Hitless were the only non-Barnburner vote winners.
- Tony Ragano picked up league Most Valuable Player honors by just five votes over Triple Crown winner Kris Garcia.
- Jack Shannon won Rookie of the Year honors beating out his twin brother Jim.
- Jacob Tomko narrowly defeated last years Cy Young Award winner Brian Ford for top pitching honors. Tomko also topped Ford in the Gold Glove for a pitcher for his second trophy of the night.
- Matt Dreyfus finished up his fielding Triple Crown season by winning the Gold Glove for the catcher’s position.
- Colin Gannon won his first Gold Glove as a fielder, overcoming an error this season to do it.
| The Commissioner presented the trophy to the World Series Champion Barnburners, who were immediately assaulted with silly string, largely by the Rossi Posse.
League leaders in each of the three triple crown categories for pitching, hitting and fielding received certificates, and the two Triple Crown winners, Garcia and Dreyfus split time wearing the official PWL Triple Crown “Crown”. |
Deputy Commissioner Clapp also surprised Commissioner Gallaway with a presentation from the Rossi Possie of a replica lawnmower in the tall weeds. A fitting gift as the league battled the long grass this season.
Ross Nover (Rossi Posse) and Jack Shannon (Barnburners) each picked up additional PWL t-shirts in a league drawing, and the grand prize, two club seats to this Saturday’s Nationals/Padres game went to the Justin Smith (Wackazoids).
The Barnburners also made the rumors official, announcing that they will not be returning for the Summer 2009 season.
Color Commentary [2] - posted 2009-07-20 23:43 in Awards
