Race for the Triple Crown
In seven seasons of wiffleball, there have been two batting triple crown winners. Certain first ballot Hall of Famers Ross Duenas in Summer 2006, and Stephen Zigmund in Summer 2007 have claimed the award. However, both of those were anti-climatic, and if the word can be used to describe someone putting on an amazing hitting display, kind of boring, expected, and uncontested.
This season, a fifth year veteran who hasn’t so much as led the league in a single hitting category prior to this year, let alone the three top, and a rookie straight off the farm are locked in a race to see if either, or neither, can win the triple crown.
Kris Garcia has put together two amazing weeks (and four unimpressive ones) as his team tries to defend their World Series crown. While it’s clear the Revolucion aren’t the team they were before, Garcia is in top form, and may earn his way back into the starting batting lineup for London 2009.
Jack Shannon impressed us on day one by hitting for the cycle in the first inning of his first game, even though we didn’t notice it at the time. Shannon and the Barnburners set fire to the league in their early games, but tougher opponents have slowed them down a little, if not stopped them as they remain undefeated sans a Week 1 technical forfeit. Shannon has the most work to do if he wants to win the award, but is certainly in a position to be a spoiler for Garcia even if he can’t claim it himself.
Though offense has taken a big dip this season (when Zigmund won the crown, he hit 24 homers and batted .812, double the homers and 220+ points higher of average than the likely potential winner), possibly due to wind, better pitching, or taller fences, a triple crown winner is still noteworthy.
When both players take the field at 11 AM, and then again at Noon on Sunday, we’ll be watching. And…just to make sure that there isn’t any field bias, both players are playing one game on each field. Now…if only they played the same opponents.
 |
Player |  |
| Kris Garcia | Name | Jack Shannon (or maybe Jim) |
| Catalista Revolucion | Team | Blandsford Barnburners |
| .576 (19 for 33) | Batting Average | .517 (30 for 58) |
| 22 | Runs Batted In | 24 |
| 10 | Home Runs | 9 |
| 4.85 | PWL Seasons | 0.85 |
| The Gnats (1-11) | Week 7 Opponent | Canvassers (7-5) |
| .481 | Opponent AVG Allowed | .275 |
| 66 | Opponent R Allowed | 26 |
| 10 | Opponent HR Allowed | 17 |
| Unknown | Citizenship | United States |
ya..., Jun 26, 03:42 AM:
jim hit for the cycle in the first inning of day 1, but i understand the confusion
Jack, Jun 26, 04:25 AM:
I am not afraid to hire someone to take a crowbar to a knee