2013 Statistical Update

All statistics, leaderboards, and lifetime stats are updated with final 2013 totals.

The All-Time Pennant Race by Havelock Hewes

Following is the list of winning percentages of every player who has played 200 or more Softball For The Love Of It games.   As the person who has the most input into the making of teams, the ultimate result would be everyone tied at .500.  It turns out that Jeff Appell is my Mona Lisa.  I have difficulty explaining the success and failure of many of those near the top and bottom of this list.  However, I do have a theory about why Jorge Loarte and Vinny D’Allesio are at the top and bottom, respectively.

   Jorge was a complainer.  That doesn’t set him apart from the many other whiners in the league who protest that their team is weaker than the other team.  What set Loarte apart is that he would complain about his ailments.   In the beginning it was subtle – “boy did I hang one on  last night,”  “I was up with the baby all night,”  “my stomach hurts.”  In the beginning I bought into this and when I divided the teams thought of him not as the excellent player he was but as about average because of his condition.  But each game he would play very well, seeming to overcome his ailments.  After awhile, I caught on and ignored Jorge’s complaints.  In response, Jorge escalated his ailments – he brought doctors notes, limped, and, once, I remember, he showed up in a hospital robe.   Each time, I would give in just a little, but once he was on the field, Jorge overcame his handicap!

   Vinny was often arriving late or leaving early.  At the time, I was the statistician and I enforced the rule that if a player did not play the entire game he would be pinned with his team’s loss, but if his team won he would not get credit for a win.  I credit this rule with making several people late for jobs, weddings and funerals. 

   My opinion is that, without going to the extremes that Vinny and Jorge did, it is virtually impossible to have a winning percentage above .580 or below .420. The number in parenthesis represents pennants won...

.580     Jorge Loarte (2)

.577    Ben Indek (1)

.570    Phil Ciccone

.565    Rich Inserro (1)

.554    Carl Weinberg (2)

.541    Henry Blaukopf

.540    Sam Melendez

.539    Derek Martinez

.537    Fred Melendez (2)

.534    Seung Lee

.530    John Grieco

.529    Peter Bochan (2)

.525    Bobby Naranjo (3)

.522    Bill Vernick (2)

.521    Mike Palma

.520    Ian Parfrey (1)

.519    Dan Schneider

.518    Eric Schulman

.517    Ian Lebowitz

.517    Tony Connor (2)

.512    Gil Schmerler (1)

.511    Alex Rivera

.510    Phil Kotik

.509    Paul Geoghan (1)

.507    Garth Kravitz

.506    Dave Sommers

.500    Jeff Appell

.498   Chris Hall (1)

.496   Larry Savell

.496   Peter Traub (1)

.494   Dave Metzger (1)

.492   Havelock Hewes (2)

.489   Richard Rowlands

.488   Joe Gerber

.485   Zach Nilva

.483   Josh Geller

.473   Glen Lawrence

.471   Sue Kostner

.470   Jose Balento

.456   Joe Geller

.454   Dave Rosengard

.450   Bob Holzwasser (1)

.448   Marvin Cohen (1)

.444   Jim O’Connor

.426   Fred Lang

.379   Vinny D’Allessio

Majors Follow SFLOI Precedent by Havelock Hews

   The major league baseball rules committee recently came to the same conclusion that Softball For The Love Of It had.  It is going to stop home plate collisions.  Or try to.  The committee is now conjuring what set of rules and regulations will be employed.
   Judging from our experience, it will not be without controversy.  Despite our rule against collisions (the runner is out if he collides with the catcher) there has been a running "dialogue" between the more adventurous runners in the league and the catchers.  Our rule has worked to the extent that we have eliminated full-body contact and the worst of the injuries. Still, there is a physical battle between the hard-sliding runner and the catcher. The runners (think Alex Rivera) claim that the catchers (think Havelock Hewes)  must give an open pathway to home plate and, if there is no pathway, the runner has no choice but to push the catcher out of the way with a hard slide.  Having been the catcher on many occasions, I know that in order to make an effective tag the catcher must hold the ball in front of home plate, the same way an infielder does in front of a base.  If the throw beats the runner, the runner is pretty much out.  This is not how the runners see it.  The runners believe that the catcher needs to stand to the side of the base and swing his arm, pendulum-like across where he hopes the runner will be.  The result of the two interpretations has been, in my case, several bruised shins and one trip into orbit.  The orbit occurred a couple of years ago when Alex's sliding foot kicked my stationary foot so hard that my body spiraled 360 degrees and I landed, on my feet, right where I had been.
  It will be interesting to see what the major leagues come up with.

Glen Lawrence Gets 1,000th Hit

A major SFL milestone occurred in the second inning of the November 10 game, when Glen Lawrence's single (off of Havelock) gave him 1,000 career hits.

Glen is the 8th player in SFL history to get to 1,000. The others are Havelock, Tony Connor, Gil Schmerler, Bill Vernick, Jose Balento, Bobby Naranjo, and Phil Kotik.

2013 Season, Second Half

Game 33: 7-4-13, DeWitt Clinton
Score: 5-3
WP-- J.Appell (4-1)
LP-- D.Martinez (0-2)
HR-- B.Hernandez (1)

Game 34: 7-4-13, DeWitt Clinton
Score: 7-6
WP-- I.Parfrey (3-1)
LP-- D.Rosengard (2-3)

Game 35: 7-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-10
WP-- H.Hewes (8-4)
LP-- Z.Nilva (2-4)

Game 36: 7-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-3
WP-- S.Melendez (6-1)
LP-- F.Melendez (6-5)

Game 37: 7-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- J.O'Connor (2-4)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-5)

Game 38: 7-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-3
WP-- S.Melendez (7-1)
LP-- F.Melendez (6-6)
HR-- E.Schulman (3)

Game 39: 7-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-2
WP-- F.Melendez (7-6)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-6)

Game 40: 7-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- I.Parfrey (4-1)
LP-- S.Melendez (7-2)
HR-- P.Ciccone (2)

Game 41: 7-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-1
WP-- F.Melendez (8-6)
LP-- D.Rosengard (2-4)

Game 42: 7-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- S.Melendez (8-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-7)

Game 43: 8-4-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-5
WP-- H.Hewes (9-7)
LP-- J.O'Connor (2-5)

Game 44: 8-4-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-6
WP-- S.Melendez (9-2)
LP-- I.Parfrey (4-2)

Game 45: 8-11-13, Heckscher
Score: 4-2
WP-- H.Hewes (10-7)
LP-- F.Melendez (8-7)

Game 46: 8-11-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-2
WP-- G.Schmerler (1-0)
LP-- S.Melendez (9-3)
HR-- C.Rivera (5)

Game 47: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-2
WP-- I.Parfrey (5-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-8)

Game 48: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-7, 8 innings
WP-- S.Melendez (10-3)
LP-- J.Appell (4-2)

Game 49: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- F.Melendez (9-7)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-9)

Game 50: 8-25-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-4
WP-- J.O'Connor (3-5)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-10)
HR-- E.Schulman 2 (5)

Game 51: 8-25-13, Heckscher
Score: 9-8, 8 innings
WP-- F.Melendez (10-7)
LP-- S.Melendez (10-4)
HR-- E.Chayevsky (1)

Game 52: 9-1-13, Great Lawn
Score: 12-5
WP-- J.Appell (5-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-11)
HR-- C.Rivera (6)

Game 53: 9-1-13, Great Lawn
Score: 6-4, 13 innings
WP-- J.Appell (6-2)
LP-- I.Parfrey (5-3)

Game 54: 9-2-13, Great Lawn
Score: 5-4
WP-- S.Melendez (11-4)
LP-- A.Garcia (0-2)

Game 55: 9-2-13, Great Lawn
Score: 8-6
WP-- H.Hewes (11-11)
LP-- F.Melendez (10-8)
HR-- J.Davila (1)

Game 56: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 9-8
WP-- D.Rosengard (3-4)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-12)

Game 57: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- S.Melendez (12-4)
LP-- F.Melendez (10-9)

Game 58: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-3
WP-- I.Parfrey (6-3)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-13)
HR-- S.Melendez (3), F.Melendez (4)

Game 59: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-2
WP-- F.Melendez (11-9)
LP-- D.Rosengard (3-5)

Game 60: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-3
WP-- M.Beinhut (1-0)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-14)

Game 61: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- S.Melendez (13-4)
LP-- I.Parfrey (6-4)

Game 62: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 3-2
WP-- M.Beinhut (2-0)
LP-- F.Melendez (11-10)
HR-- M.Mishkin (4)

Game 63: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-7
WP-- H.Hewes (12-14)
LP-- S.Melendez (13-5)
HR-- J.Escobar (1)

Game 64: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-1
WP-- J.Sopiak (1-1)
LP-- M.Mishkin (0-2)

Game 65: 10-6-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-5
WP-- H.Hewes (13-14)
LP-- J.O'Connor (3-6)

Game 66: 10-6-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-4
WP-- I.Parfrey (7-4)
LP-- F.Melendez (11-11)
HR-- E.Schulman (6)

Game 67: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-2
WP-- J.Appell (7-2)
LP-- M.Beinhut (2-1)

Game 68: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-6
WP-- F.Melendez (12-11)
LP-- I.Parfrey (7-5)
HR-- I.Parfrey (2)

Game 69: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-4
WP-- J.O'Connor (4-6)
LP-- H.Hewes (13-15)

Game 70: 10-20-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-4
WP-- F.Melendez (13-11)
LP-- J.Appell (7-3)

Game 71: 10-20-13, Heckscher
Score: 12-11
WP-- S.Melendez (14-5)
LP-- H.Hewes (13-16)

Game 72: 10-27-13, East River
Score: 15-11
WP-- H.Hewes (14-16)
LP-- T.Connor (1-1)

Game 73: 10-27-13, East River
Score: 6-2
WP-- F.Melendez (14-11)
LP-- S.Melendez (14-6)
HR-- I.Parfrey (3)

Game 74: 11-3-13, East River
Score: 7-4
WP-- F.Melendez (15-11)
LP-- S.Melendez (14-7)

Game 75: 11-3-13, East River
Score: 10-8
WP-- G.Schmerler (2-0)
LP-- H.Hewes (14-17)
HR-- S.Melendez 2 (5)

Game 76: 11-10-13, East River
Score: 24-14
WP-- H.Hewes (15-17)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-6)
HR-- Z.Nilva (2), F.Lang (1)

Game 77: 11-17-13, East River
Score: 9-8
WP-- H.Hewes (16-17)
LP-- J.O'Connor (4-7)
HR-- B.McLaughlin (1), E.Schulman (7)

Game 78: 11-17-13, East River
Score: 17-7
WP-- F.Melendez (16-11)
LP-- I.Parfrey (7-6)
HR-- C.Rivera (7)

Game 79: 12-1-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 13-12
WP-- H.Hewes (17-17)
LP-- J.O'Connor (4-8)
HR-- S.Magnus (1), F.Melendez (5)

Game 80: 12-1-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 20-19
WP-- S.Melendez (15-7)
LP-- F.Melendez (16-12)
HR-- D.Patsalis 2 (3), F.Melendez (6), D.Martinez 3 (3)

We Move To East River Park

On Sunday, October 27 we move to East River Park (about 10th street) and we move back our start time to 10 am.   We'll be at East River Park through November.

Holzwasser and Melendez's Win Two

  Both games were won in the final inning.
  Behind 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh,  Tony Connor led off with a single,Bob  Holzwasser lined what seemed to be a hit to center, but turned into a  force-out at second.  Ray Hernandez followed with a hit, as did Glen Lawrence, plating the tying run.  Marvin Cohen grounded to first and Fred Lang threw a strike to the plate where Joe Escobar made the tag which stopped the winning run from scoring.   With two outs Alex Rivera (whose tardy arrival had placed him on the trailing team) came through with the walk-off hit.
   Freddy Melendez, the winning pitcher, had found himself  hole in the second inning after four errors led to four unearned runs.  Melendez gave up no earned runs on five hits and no walks.  His team scored three times in the second to stay close until the dramatic finish.
  In game two Sam Melendez, with ninth inning relief from his big brother, outlasted Havelock Hewes in a 12-11 slugfest.  Only 3 of the twelve runs which scored off Hewes were earned as his team committed at least 8 errors.  With the score tied in the top of the seventh and Alex Rivera (the tardy speedster) pinch-running on firstbase, Marvin Cohen hit a slow bouncer to Hewes who threw to Escobar at first for the out.  Rivera rounded second and headed for third, but Escobar sailed a throw over third baseman Jeff Appell's head which scored what turned out to be the winning run.
 

Learning the Game

One of the things I really appreciate about SFL is that you can learn a lot from watching the other players. I find that most of my attention is focused on hitting, and my hitting approach has changed drastically over the years. To my generation of players, Chris Hall is the pioneer of opposite field power hitting, and I decided to give that a try after watching Cid and Zach run down too many of my long flies to left center.

By late 2009, opposite field hitting had caught on everywhere. This is around when Freddie Melendez became a regular, and me & Zach both developed the ability to hit hard liners on the RF line. I should also mention Derek Martinez and Dave Sommers' ability to hit for power to both foul lines. When your team gets burned by something a couple of times, you look for a way to add it to your own bag of tricks.

Most of the other opposite field guys, while they're great hitters, aren't exactly patient. I watched Havelock and Gil and Don Weiss working deep counts, and I tried to do the same.

While Phil Ciccone is a great hitter, there wasn't much I could learn from him. I'm not that gifted a hitter. Not many folks are. Watching him field, I took away this: The most important thing a fielder can do is to be fundamentally sound. Always know where you're going with the ball. Never throw it before you catch it. That sort of thing. You lose games on the failure to make routine plays. Phil makes highlight plays, but he makes the routine ones too.

Of course, you learn from negative examples too. Best if I don't name names in this section, but there are batters who don't run out their hits, baserunners who make all sorts of easily avoidable mistakes, fielders who get tight on important plays. There are pitchers who try to dominate hitters instead of throwing strikes. I'm only learning how to pitch now. Once, a few years ago, I struck out Brian Hernandez swinging. I can't tell you how many times since then I walked him, or gave up a long home run on a 3-1 count, trying to strike him out again. Hard heat means nothing if you can't work ahead of the hitters.

It might have been our current rookie crop that made me think of this. Chris Pun is a guy who has impressive physical tools, though he has a tendency to play out of control sometimes. I played with him in Brooklyn for a few seasons before this, and SFL is an interesting test for him. There are a lot of guys here with great physical tools, and it can be hard to impact a game that way. Pun's a thinker, but also a cowboy. I guess that sounds a bit like Cid.

Greg Hilska already seems to be a much better player than the guy who started showing up in April. His outfield play is much more confident, and he's developed an interesting hitting style that consists mostly of bloops and liners to the exact same spot in shallow left center. He isn't letting Pun walk away with the award, and it will be interesting to see if Greg's game will continue to evolve.

I try to learn something every Sunday. I think I took away two things today. One, don't throw hanging changeups to Sam Magnus. Two, if you're hitless in five at bats, and you brought two bats with you, it's time to change to the other one.

Fall Schedule

October 6, 13, 20:
Heckscher #1
9:00am

October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24
East River #7
FDR Drive at East 10th Street
10:00am

December schedule to be determined.

Pinch Runners by Havelock Hewes

  Our rule for pinch runners is that a player may have a pinch-runner from home or after he reaches a base safely if he has an injury which prevents him from running or makes it dangerous for him to run.  A player may not request a runner in order to get a strategic advantage for his team.
  This season we have had a precipitous rise in the number of pinch runners requested.  Does this represent a reflection of our aging and ailing community?  Yes and no.  Marvin Cohen was told by his doctor that it would be dangerous for him to run the bases and Gil Schmerler's MD has advised that he have his knee replaced.  So, I think we can accept their requests as necessary.  Some others I'm not so sure about.  One player, who I will not name, reached first but did not request a runner until several members of his team suggested "don't you need a runner" and he asked for one.  You might think one solution to this would be to allow the opposing manager to pick among the available players a pinch runner.  However, we now have so many players who "require" pinch runners that only the relatively good runners are left.
   I have thought of two solutions.  1) We could require the pinch runner to wear ankle weights in order to slow him down enough so that he would not be an improvement on the original runner, 2) We could shame the player by referring to him with a colorful nickname, such as "Gimpy,""Peg" or  "Poke."
 

Cut Me Some Slack by Havelock Hewes

  Sometimes one or two players cast dispersions my way during a game and I don't get a chance to respond.  Among those today was that I had myself pitch a second game when Dave Rosengard had still not pitched.  In making teams with twenty-seven players and also managing one team there are many factors I consider.  After the second game we had a number of players leaving.  I looked around and saw who was packing up and asked some players if they were leaving and made teams out of the remaining players.  I missed a couple of players who were urinating or buying a drink.  It looked to me like Bob Holzwasser was staying and I put him on one team as shortstop.  I made Ian Parfrey the other shortsop. When Matt Mishkin, the other manager, pointed  out  that Bob had left and his team had no shortstop, I gave him Ian because we had Sam Magnus who could play short and it was my mistake to not make sure Bob was staying.   In retrospect this was a mistake because it made Mishkin's team too strong.  I also made sure that each team had a pitcher who had not pitched yet. Fred Melendez and Dave Rosengard were on Matt's team.  However, Dave had told me "I don't know if I want to pitch today."  Zach Nilva was the pitcher on my team. However, after I made the teams Zach told me "I don't want to pitch today."  At the same time several players were successfully lobbying me to make the third game a five-inning game because they were pressed for time.  Perhaps I should have gone to Dave and urged him to pitch and made a trade for him, but I was concerned that we were not starting in a timely matter and also dealing with including a couple of players who I had missed and needed to include on a roster.  I decided to have Jeff Appell and I split the pitching.

Glen Lawrence waiting in the dugout to bat - in Turkey

Sunday's Second Game by Havelock Hewes

   At a few minutes past eleven on Sunday we were in the middle of our second game. Ian and Havelock (me) were the captains.  There was an empty field, so we moved the game in order to finish.  At that point Ian informed me that several of his players had a twelve o'clock game to get to.  As the other captain I graciously suggested we play an inning or two more and wrap it up then.  I did not consult my team.  My feeling was that because we usually end at eleven there was an expectation of the game ending at that time and that Ian was being sporting in agreeing to the changing of fields.
  On further thought, I should have consulted my team and, if a majority of players wanted to, required Ian's team to play seven innings, even if they were losing players.
  I am taking no action on this, as both captains came to an agreement. However, I don't want to set a precedent that a team quitting before the end of a game is acceptable.

Running Linescore 2013 Season

Game 1: 1-13-13, Dyckman
Score: 10-6
WP-- H.Hewes (1-0)
LP-- A.Garcia (0-1)

Game 2: 1-13-13, Dyckman
Score: 19-7
WP-- F.Melendez (1-0)
LP-- Z.Nilva (0-1)
HR-- F.Melendez (1)

Game 3: 3-24-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 12-5
WP-- S.Melendez (1-0)
LP-- J.O'Connor (0-1)
HR-- C.Weinberg (1)

Game 4: 3-24-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 10-5
WP-- F.Melendez (2-0)
LP-- H.Hewes (1-1)
HR-- Z.Nilva (1), D.Petalis (1)

Game 5: 3-30-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 20-7
WP-- H.Hewes (2-1)
LP-- J.O'Connor (0-2)
HR-- M.Sulyman 2 (2), E.Schulman (1), C.Rivera (1)

Game 6: 3-30-13, Van Cortlandt
Score: 17-14
LP-- D.Martinez (0-1)
SFL vs. the guys who already had the field

Game 7: 4-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-5
WP-- H.Hewes (3-1)
LP-- F.Melendez (2-1)
HR-- M.Mishkin (1)

Game 8: 4-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 13-4
WP-- J.O'Connor (1-2)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-1)
HR-- F.Melendez (2)

Game 9: 4-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-1
WP-- S.Melendez (2-0)
LP-- M.Sulyman (0-1)

Game 10: 4-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 20-12
WP-- H.Hewes (4-1)
LP-- Z.Nilva (0-2)
HR-- C.Rivera (2)

Game 11: 4-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-8
SP-- F.Melendez, I.Parfrey

Game 12: 4-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-7
WP-- F.Melendez (3-1)
LP-- I.Parfrey (0-1)
HR-- I.Parfrey (1)

Game 13: 4-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-7
SP-- S.Melendez, H.Hewes
HR-- M.Mishkin (2)

Game 14: 4-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 13-3
WP-- D.Rosengard (1-0)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-2)
HR-- P.Ciccone (1)

Game 15: 4-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 13-10
WP-- H.Hewes (5-1)
LP-- S.Melendez (2-1)
HR-- D.Sommers 2 (2)

Game 16: 5-5-13, Heckscher
Score: 20-9
WP-- F.Melendez (4-1)
LP-- H.Hewes (5-2)
HR-- F.Melendez (3)

Game 17: 5-5-13, Heckscher
Score: 13-4
WP-- J.Appell (1-0)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-3)

Game 18: 5-27-13, Great Lawn
Score: 15-4
WP-- H.Hewes (6-2)
LP-- D.Rosengard (1-1)
HR-- S.Melendez (1), C.Rivera (3)

Game 19: 5-27-13, Great Lawn
Score: 7-1
WP-- T.Connor (1-0)
LP-- F.Melendez (4-2)

Game 20: 5-27-13, Great Lawn
Score: 8-6
WP-- S.Melendez (3-1)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-4)

Game 21: 6-2-13, Heckscher
Score: 12-7 (10 innings)
WP-- S.Melendez (4-1)
LP-- J.O'Connor (1-3)
HR-- E.Schulman (2)

Game 22: 6-2-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-5
WP-- Z.Nilva (1-2)
LP-- F.Melendez (4-3)
HR-- C.Rivera (4)

Game 23: 6-9-13, Heckscher
Score: 15-2
WP-- J.Appell (2-0)
LP-- D.Rosengard (1-2)

Game 24: 6-9-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-1
WP-- I.Parfrey (1-1)
LP-- Z.Nilva (1-3)
HR-- M.Mishkin (3)

Game 25: 6-16-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-0
WP-- F.Melendez (5-3)
LP-- H.Hewes (6-3)

Game 26a: 6-16-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-2
WP-- D.Rosengard (2-2)
LP-- J.O'Connor (1-4)

Game 26b: 6-16-13, Heckscher
Score: 3-2
WP-- Z.Nilva (2-3)
LP-- J.Appell (2-1)

Game 28: 6-16-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-6
WP-- S.Melendez (5-1)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-5)

Game 29: 6-23-13, Heckscher
Score: 3-2
WP-- H.Hewes (7-3)
LP-- F.Melendez (5-4)
HR-- J.Orochena (1)

Game 30: 6-23-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-5
WP-- I.Parfrey (2-1)
LP-- M.Mishkin (0-1)
HR-- S.Melendez (2)

Game 31: 6-30-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-2
WP-- J.Appell (3-1)
LP-- J.Sopiak (0-1)

Game 32: 6-30-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-2
WP-- F.Melendez (6-4)
LP-- H.Hewes (7-4)

Recap of Games - April 28 - by David Rosengard

Recap of Games -  April 28  - by David Rosengard

Game 1: Rosengard 13 Lawrence 3 
Rosengard(1-0) pitching for the visitors scattered 5 hits in a 6 inning contest

while Lawrence(0-2) was tagged for 5 runs in the first inning.  Stars for the winners were Phil Ciccone on  offence going 4-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs and Sam Magnus going 4-4 with 2 RBIs.

Game 2  Hewes 13 Sam Melendez 10

  The lefty was tagged for 9 runs in the first and then settled down the rest of the way. Stars for the winners were Dave Sommers with 2 HR,6 RBIs going deep in the first with a grandslam to the oppositie field and Ian Parfrey 4-4,RBI.

  Playing all day with 3 outfielders saw some heroic catches on both teams;Nilva.Garth Fred Lang and Ian Parfrey and in the infield Ciccone ,Magnus,Sommers,Anthony Connor,Joey Escobar all starred on defense.

Hit Or Hit? by Havelock Hewes

   At the risk of sounding self-serving, the official scoring for the team I pitched against on Sunday seemed not to understand the concept of "error."  It is difficult enough for pitchers to live with the on-field consequences of mistakes behind them.  In the case of the game I pitched Sunday there were about five of them.  At the end of the game I expected that at least two of these would end up as E's.  I was wrong.  According to whoever(s) scored the game we played a flawless game.  For a pitcher, the experience is akin to being the bloodied victim of a mugging who appears at the police station only to be told it never happened.
 
 

Games Begin a Little After 8 by Havelock Hewes

   This Sunday, April 7, we move to Hecksher Fields in Central Park.  Games will begin as soon after 8 am as we get enough players.  Please remember to bring $40 for dues.  If we have over 22 players you will not be allowed to play if you have not paid. You may pay on Sunday and play on Sunday.

Summer Season Begins

Our first day at Heckscher is Sunday, April 7. Due to inclement weather, we only managed to play three weekends in 2013 so far. Stats and recaps will be posted soon.

MS 141 On Saturday

On Saturday, March 30 we will be playing at MS 141 in the Bronx, not in Van Cortlandt Park, as previously announced.  Game-time is 10 am.

Saturday Game at Van Cortlandt

260th Street and Broadway, this Saturday, 10:00am. Weather looks like it'll be great. This will be our last weekend before returning to the Heckscher fields in Central Park.

And The Winners Are by Havelock Hewes

  On Sunday Softball For The Love Of It announced the 2012 League Awards.  Eric Schulman and Sam Melendez shared the honor of winning the Weinberg Award for Most Valuable Player.  The award winner is determined by a weighed first, second and third place ballot (3 pts for first choice, 2 pts for second one point for third).  Following are the results...

Name                                      1st place votes(3)  2nd place votes(2)  3rd place votes(1) Total Points

Sam Melendez                                  5                             3                          1                       22

Eric Schulman                                  5                             2                          3                       22

Ian Parfrey                                        0                             5                          6                       16

Alex Rivera                                      3                             2                          1                       14

Freddie Melendez                             1                             3                          2                       11

Marvin Cohen                                  1                             0                          0                         3

Phil Ciccone                                     0                             0                          2                        2

  The Havelock Award for Best Pitcher went to Freddie Melendez in a landslide...

Name                               Votes

Freddie Melendez               10

Ian Parfrey                            2

Havelock Hewes                  1

Glen Lawrence                     1

Derek Martinez                    1

  The Davey for Rookie Of The Year went to Jorge Davila...

Name                              Votes

Jorge Davila                       9

Bobby Echevaria               1

Jerry Ramirez                     1

  The Gold Gloves went to Freddie Melendez at Pitcher, Seung Lee at Catcher, Gil Schmerler at First Base, Bob Holzwasser at Second Base, Ian Parfrey at Third Base, Phil Ciccone at Shortstop, and Alex Rivera, Eric Schulman, Zach Nilva and Sam Melendez in the outfield.

  

Winners And Losers...by Havelock Hewes

   Congratulations to Marvin Cohen on winning the pennant this season with the greatest number of wins over .500 of any season.  The accomplishment was the more remarkable for two factors...Marvin is 81 years old, and Marvin's lifetime record, coming into the season was the most games under .500 for any player (-140 games).
   Since I am the person most responsible for dividing the players onto "even" teams, it stands to reason that a player's winning percentage would reflect how much I overestimate them (more game lost than won) or how much I underestimate them (more games won than lost).  I looked through the lifetime records and found any players who are +50 or -50 wins/losses.  There are six players.
  There are only two players who are +50 wins, meaning that over a long period of time they have been underestimated...
Ben Indek         +56     210 - 154     .577
Jorge Loarte      +52     188 - 136      .580
  As you can see, Ben is the most games over .500 but Jorge has a higher winning percentage.  I think they can, for now, share the "most underestimated" crown.
  There are four players in the -50, or overestimated group...
Marvin Cohen       -121   506 - 627    .447
Dave Rosengard   -112   528 - 640    .452
Fred Lang             - 73    218 - 291    .428
Joe Balento          -  52    413 - 465    .470
  Another split decision, this time  for the "most overestimated" crown. Marvin, at -121 is the most losses over wins, but Fred, at .428, has the lowest winning percentage.
  2011 was not a great season for Marvin. He made many more errors than he had in the past.  This may have influenced me to bring down my estimation of him, as a player, a bit.  During the Summer I asked Marvin how it was possible that he could have such a great record this season? "I fooled you," he answered, "I got better."

Game OFF this Sunday

Dyckman Fields, Dyckman Street at Hudson River, 10:00am. Weather will be warm (for January)-- mid 50s. Please note: This announcement is for a game already played. There's nothing doing this weekend.

2012 SFL Season Ends, 2013 Begins

A strange game was played on December 15, where Havelock Hewes pitched for both teams, and won. And lost. On December 23, Hewes beat Freddie Melendez 27-25 in an offense-heavy game at Dyckman. Sam Melendez cranked 3 home runs and drove in 11 runs against his brother. I wonder if Freddie got him anything for Christmas.

SFL's 2012 season was a record-breaker. 105 games were played, due to an unusually mild winter and early spring. SFL batters came to the plate a record 7516 times, and scored 1647 runs on 2580 hits. Many individual records fell by the wayside. Sam Melendez scored 161 runs, got 197 hits, and batted 443 times, setting records in all three categories. After 29 seasons of no one driving in 100 runs, three players did. Eric Schulman drove in a record 147 runs (helped by 62 extra base hits and 22 sacrifice flies), Cid Rivera drove in 108 runs, and Freddie Melendez drove in 105. Cid also had 59 doubles, shattering his previous record of 36. Ian Parfrey won his third consecutive batting title at .514, and Marvin Cohen won his first pennant, winning 54 of the 89 games he appeared in.

Remember, our default setting from Christmas until Easter is "no game." When the weather, and player demand, are strong enough, we will play, and it will be announced here, as well as via facebook and email. The location until further notice will be the Dyckman fields.

There will be a winter meeting as always, date and time to be determined.