Games of 9/23

We're slowly catching up here...

Rosengard 10, O'Connor 2
This game was tied at 2-2 going into the top of the 7th, when Rosengard's team erupted for 8 runs. Sam Melendez's infield single scored the go-ahead run. Ian Parfrey was 4-for-4 with 2 RBI, and Eric Schulman added 3 hits. Dave Rosengard allowed one earned run on 7 hits for the win.

Melendez 8, Lawrence 5
Freddie Melendez was staked to a 6-0 lead after 2 innings, and cruised to a win. He helped his cause with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Phil Ciccone was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI for Lawrence's team.

Mishkin 7, Hewes 7 (5-inning tie)
In the third game, Mishkin's team led 7-5 after 2 innings, but the pitchers eventually regained control. Nel Yomtov was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, and 4 RBI for Mishkin's squad, and Havelock Hewes backed his own pitching with 3 hits and 2 RBI.

Games of 9/16

It looks like I'm never going to find the boxscores for Sept. 9 (don't worry, the stats were already entered), so we'll skip to the 16th.

Rosengard 9, Parfrey 3
Phil Ciccone had 3 hits, and Eric Schulman drove in 3 more runs. Dave Rosengard scattered 11 hits for the win. Ian Parfrey backed his "pitching" by going 3-for-4 with 2 triples.

Melendez 4, Hewes 3 (10 innings)
In an extremely hard-fought game, Freddie Melendez singled home Ian Parfrey (3-for-5) in the top of the 10th for the winning run. Melendez allowed 3 runs, none earned, on 10 hits, and struck out five. Havelock Hewes was almost as good, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 12 hits. Hewes's team scored the tying run in the bottom of the 7th, and stranded the winning run on third base.

Batting Titles

With the 2012 batting race currently featuring 4 players within 16 points of each other, I thought I'd go back and find other close batting titles in SFL history. Surprisingly, there weren't many, but this is what I found:

1985-- John Decker and Tony Connor tie at .500.
1987-- Bill Weinberg beats Rich Rowlands by 4 points, .452 to .448
1992-- Dan Schneider beats Kurt Hettler by 4 points, .486 to .482
1996-- Joe Gerber beats Phil Kotik by 8 points, .484 to .476
2003-- Ian Lebowitz beats Chris Hall by 7 points, .500 to .493

Here are the widest margins of victory:

1983-- Bill Weinberg (.605) by 114 points over Jose Balento
2007-- Phil Ciccone (.558) by 85 points over Dave Sommers
2005-- Chris Hall (.580) by 80 points over Carl Weinberg
2000-- Larry Savell (.623) by 78 points over Ian Lebowitz
2008-- Carl Weinberg (.541) by 75 points over Ian Parfrey

Players who won multiple titles:

Phil Kotik, 3-- 1994, 1995, 1999
Bill Weinberg, 2-- 1983, 1987
John Decker, 2-- 1985 (tie), 1986
Dan Schneider, 2-- 1992, 1997
Joe Gerber, 2-- 1996, 1998
Ian Lebowitz, 2-- 2001, 2003
Carl Weinberg, 2-- 2002, 2008
Chris Hall, 2-- 2004, 2005
Phil Ciccone, 2-- 2006, 2007
Ian Parfrey, 2-- 2010, 2011

Players who were runners-up multiple times:

Larry Savell, 4-- 1989, 1990, 1991, 1999 (won in 2000)
Phil Kotik, 4-- 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 (won in 1994, 1995, 1999)
Dan Schneider, 2-- 1993, 1994 (won in 1992, 1997)
Carl Weinberg, 2-- 2005, 2006 (won in 2002, 2008)

One time runners-up:

Jose Balento, 1983
John Decker, 1984
Austen Ruse, 1985
Bill Weinberg, 1986
Rich Rowlands, 1987
Mark Allen, 1988
Kurt Hettler, 1992
John Grieco, 1995
Ian Lebowitz, 2000
Bob Holzwasser, 2001
Chris Hall, 2003
Gil Schmerler, 2004
Dave Sommers, 2007
Ian Parfrey, 2008
Derek Martinez, 2009
Freddie Melendez, 2010
Eric Schulman, 2011

Games of August 5

Hewes 7, Rosengard 5
Eric Schulman homered and drove in 2, and Sam Magnus was 3-for-4 with an RBI double to lead the Havelocks past the Rosengards. Phil Ciccone was 3-for-3 with 3 RBI for Rosengard's team. Defensive play of the game: Marvin Cohen catches a popup and initiates a 3-2 DP.

Appell 9, Parfrey 3
Russ Rivera's 2-run opposite field double broke a 3-3 tie in the 5th inning, after which the wheels came off for Parfrey's team. Appell scattered 6 hits in a strong pitching performance.

Games of 6/3

Hewes 7, Rosengard 2
Havelock Hewes scattered 8 hits in his return to action, and Alex Rivera was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored. Phil Ciccone and Robert Rodriguez drove in 3 runs apiece.

Nilva 5, Melendez 3
Ed O'Connor hit a go-ahead 3-run HR in the 6th inning, and then made a tough catch in center field to preserve the win for Zach Nilva. Zach and Freddie Melendez each had three hits.

Games of May 20

Melendez 11, O'Connor 9
Freddie's team battled back from a 6-0 deficit, scoring 6 times in the bottom of the 6th for the win. The go-ahead runs came in on Marvin Cohen's bases-loaded grounder to first, as Sam Magnus threw a 3-3-6 DP attempt into centerfield. Phil Ciccone and Chris Hall homered for O'Connor's team.

Parfrey 6, Holzwasser 2
Sam Melendez had 2 hits and 2 RBI in a three-inning second game.

Awards and Results of Winter Meeting

Awards

Gold Gloves:
Pitcher-- Ian Parfrey
Catcher-- Josh Balsam
First Base-- Sal Cipriano
Second Base-- Ben Indek
Third Base-- Freddy Melendez
Shortstop-- (tie) Ian Parfrey and Phil Ciccone
Outfield-- Zach Nilva, Alex Rivera, Eric Schulman, Brian Hernandez

Best Pitcher-- Freddy Melendez
Rookie of the Year-- Sam Melendez
MVP-- Alex Rivera


Rule Changes:

1. When there are 22 players at a game, it is closed to
non-duespayers. Dues payers have a right to play no matter how large
the teams are. This rule takes effect when we move to Heckscher.
Non-duespayers cannot be displaced from a game they are already in,
and have the option of paying on the spot.

2. Due to the rising cost of permits, the league has raised annual dues to $40.

3. The league has banned alcoholic beverages at the games. Any
player drinking during a game will be subject to immediate ejection
and possible additional penalties.

4. The league has decided that outfielders will be required to play a
certain distance (to be determined) behind the infield basepaths.
This distance will be marked with a small orange cone on each foul
line. This is to discourage (but not eliminate) throws to first from
the outfield, and will eliminate the possibility of turning a double
play through the centerfielder.

5. A grievance committee has been elected for one year. Members are
Josh Balsam, Zach Nilva, and Alex Rivera.

6. Selection of pitchers-- Havelock, or whoever is making teams in
his rare absences, cannot tell a manager who to pitch. Regular
pitchers should not act as managers, unless no one else present is
willing to. It is hoped that this will result in an equitable
distribution of pitching innings.

There are two other items which will soon be presented to the league
for voting, as there was not a 2/3 majority at the meeting.

Thanks to Anne Atkinson and Gil Schmerler for hosting.

Games of 9/4

Back in action after multiple rainouts, SFL played a tripleheader this morning.

Rosengard 3, Hewes 2
Dave Rosengard allowed only 6 hits, and retired Havelock with the bases loaded to end the game. Ian Parfrey was 3-for-3 to back Rosengard's pitching.

Nilva 2, Parfrey 1
Zach Nilva scattered 5 hits, allowing only a solo HR to Eric Schulman, and Phil Ciccone's 2-out single up the middle in the 3rd inning scored Paul Geoghan with the go-ahead run.

Melendez 13, Nilva 7
The bats finally came alive in the third game. Nilva's team scored 4 in the top of the first, but couldn't hold the lead. Ian Parfrey was 4-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI to back Freddie. Nilva was 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored.

Games of 6/12

Hewes 15, Appell 1
Havelock Hewes (11-4) cruised to a blowout win behind the hitting of Phil Ciccone (4-for-5, 5 RBI) and Brian Hernandez (4-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI).

Parfrey 11, O'Connor 8
Parfrey's team scored 11 times in the bottom of the 1st, and barely held on for the win. Brian Hernandez (2-for-2, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) and Solomon Sarway (4-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) led the way. Alex Rivera was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI for O'Connor's side.

Games and Notes of 5/1

1. Lee Lowenfish event:

Peanuts, Popcorn, Crackerjacks & Branch Rickey
A Salute to Baseball with Noted Baseball Writer, Lee Lowenfish

Tuesday, May 17th
6:00 pm Reception & Book Signing
6:45 pm Ballpark Dinner & Remarks
$25 per person, Chit Bar


He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881-1965) finished with baseball, he

had revolutionized the sport – not just once but three times. Famed baseball writer Lee Lowenfish, author of the definitive biography

of Rickey, will talk about the man sportswriters dubbed “The Brain,” “The Mahatma,” and, on occasion “El Cheapo.”


As the mastermind behind the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942 Rickey created the farm system, which allowed smallmarket

clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940’s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first “America’s team.” By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Come listen to Lee speak about a man whoselife is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sports and society.


Lee Lowenfish is a historian, journalist, broadcaster, jazz commentator and the author of four outstanding baseball books. For reservations, please email Jessica Lyon at events@unionleagueclub.org.


2. Games of 4/24
Heckscher was closed but SFLOI headed over to West 54th Street, and played a ghost runner doubleheader extravaganza in the beautiful weather. Appell beat Rosengard 5-4 in Game 1, coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the final frame. Eric Schulman's 2-run double tied it, and Freddie Melendez's single won it. Alex Rivera was 4-for-5 with a solo HR, and Schulman was 4-for-6 with 3 RBI. In the nightcap, Melendez shut out Hewes 12-0. Rivera homered again and drove in 4, and Schulman, Appell, and Scott Weir each added 4 hits.

3. Games of 5/1
Again, a close game and a laugher. O'Connor beat Parfrey 5-4 in the opener, singling in the winning run himself in the top of the 7th. Alex Rivera homered yet again, and Eric Schulman had 3 hits. Chris Hall was 4-for-4 for Parfrey's side. In the second game, Hewes revenged his earlier defeat by trouncing Melendez 19-6. Rivera and Phil Ciccone each homered twice and drove in 5 runs. Sam Melendez homered and drove in 3, and Bill McLaughlin was 5-for-5. Chris Hall homered in a losing cause.

Games and Notes of 9/12

Courtesy of Brian Hernandez and ABC News, here's a brief video of this morning's action. What you're seeing is Phil Ciccone's 3rd inning double to left-center off of Dave Rosengard in Game 1, advancing Zach Nilva to third. The infielders are Fred Lang (2b), Sam Magnus (3b), and Dave Sommers (ss).

Found at field: One righty Mizuno Premier glove, tan with dark brown trim, and an improvised relacing between the second and third fingers.

In last week's comments section, we learned that IF Bob Holzwasser is on the 60-day DL. Hope to see you on the field again soon, Bob.

Games of 9/12:

O'Connor 15, Rosengard 4
Jim O'Connor picked up his 10th win behind the batting heroics of Phil Ciccone (3-for-4, 3 doubles, 2 RBI), Ian Parfrey (2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI), Zach Nilva (3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), and Tony Connor (3-for-3, 3 RBI).

Appell 2, Stoeth 1 (8 innings)
Jeff Appell (5-3) and Laura Stoeth locked up in a real pitcher's duel. In the bottom of the first, Phil Ciccone singled in Don Weiss to give Laura a 1-0 lead. Appell didn't allow another runner to reach third base the rest of the way. His own offense was stymied by Tony Connor's pitching protege until a pair of errors in the sixth inning tied the score. In the top of the eighth, Bill McLaughlin tripled up the left-center gap, and scored on Dave Sommers' sacrifice fly. Appell flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning, but retired Zach Nilva and Phil Ciccone after Don Weiss's one-out single to preserve the win. Appell allowed 8 hits, 1 walk, and struck out one. Stoeth allowed 6 hits, 5 walks, and struck out two.

GAMES AND NOTES OF 8/8

O'Connor 17, Stoeth 11
Jim O'Connor (9-6) prevailed in a wild slugfest of a game. O'Connor's team scored 7 two-out runs in the second inning to take a 10-6 lead. An Alex Rivera 2-run triple and a Phil Ciccone (2-for-3, 4 RBI) single brought Stoeth's team within 13-11 in the 5th, but that was as close as they would get. The winners were led by Jaime Orochena (3-for-3, 2B, 4 runs, 3 RBI). O'Connor and Don Weiss also drove in 3, and Ian Parfrey scored 4 runs. Eric Schulman had 3 hits in a losing cause. Stoeth's control issues finally caught up with her, as she walked 7 batters, and all but one came around to score.

Rosengard 4, Hewes 2
Dave Rosengard (3-4) pitched well, scattering 7 hits, and Don Weiss (2-for-2) hit a 2-run double in the third that proved to be the decisive hit. Phil Ciccone was 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and an RBI for Hewes's team, who stranded 5 baserunners over the final two frames.

GAMES OF 8/1

1. Hewes 4, Stoeth 2
Havelock Hewes (8-14) pitched a 9-hitter, and Laura Stoeth was almost as good against a tough lineup. Hewes's team led all the way, and Bill McLaughlin had a 2-run HR for the winners. Ian Parfrey had 3 hits in a losing effort.

2. Appell 10, Melendez 3
Jeff Appell (2-3) scattered 9 hits, and his team blew open a 3-3 tie with 3 runs in the 5th and 4 more in the 7th. Phil Ciccone (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) and Alex Rivera (3-for-4, 3-run HR) led the attack. Ciccone's 5th inning sac fly was the tiebreaker. Appell pitched out of difficult jams in the 1st and 3rd innings, and then settled down to retire the last 9 batters in order.

GAMES OF 7/18

Game 1: O'Connor 4, Hewes 1
Jim O'Connor (8-5) scattered 7 hits in another fine pitching performance. Freddy Melendez was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Havelock Hewes was touched for three runs in the first but recovered to pitch well and keep the game close.

Game 2: Melendez 6, Parfrey 4
Phil Ciccone (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) broke a 2-2 tie with a bases-loaded, 2-out, 2-run double. Freddy Melendez followed with a 2-run single, and that proved to be enough of a margin for the win. Ian Parfrey backed his own pitching by going 3-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. Melendez (8-4) retired Fred Lang as the winning run; there would be no Lang Bang walkoff today.

Also, earlier in the week, Riverdale thrashed SFLOI 13-4, getting 7 innings from long reliever and winning pitcher Jim O'Connor. Ken Walker was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and a 3-run homer, and Bill Vernick had 4 hits as well.

GAMES AND NOTES 6/27

Reminder: Bonus games Monday July 5th in addition to regular schedule. Great Lawn #8 at 5:00pm.

Games of 6/27:
Stoeth 7, O'Connor 1
Laura Stoeth (5-0) threw a 5-hitter, allowing a run in the first on an Ed O'Connor double, then completely shutting down a good lineup for the final 6 frames. She was backed by a balanced offensive attack led by Phil Ciccone (2-for-4, 2B, RBI), and Sam Magnus (2-for-4, 2 RBI).

Parfrey 7, Hewes 2
Ian Parfrey (7-3) scattered 7 hits and struck out 4, and was backed by Phil Ciccone (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), and 3 hits from Fred Lang. Alex Rivera (2-for-2, RBI, SF) led Hewes's team in a game that was close until Parfrey's team scored 4 times with 2 out in the top of the 7th.

Let's Play 2 update: LP2 split a doubleheader this week, losing 9-2 to the NYC Knights, but beating the Wallbangers 2-1 on a complete game gem by Jeff Appell and a 2-run, 2-out single by Nick Stefanides.

GAMES OF JUNE 13

Two dramatic finishes, and a 3-sac fly day for Jaime Orochena!

Game 1
O'Connor 6, Hewes 3
Jim O'Connor (6-3) scattered 11 hits for the win. Ian Lebowitz had 3 hits in a losing cause, and the game ended on the bizarre play described in detail below. Jaime's first sacrifice fly was a liner to shallow center in the bottom of the 1st.

Game 2
Parfrey 8, Appell 7
Ian Parfrey (6-3) managed to blow all of a 6-1 lead, and needed Phil Ciccone (3-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) to bail him out with a long blast down the LF line to lead off the top of the 7th. Parfrey stranded the tying run in scoring position in the bottom half. Freddy Melendez contributed 3 hits, and Derek Martinez was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Appell's team was led by Alex Rivera (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI). Jaime had sacrifice flies in each of his first two at-bats, the first on a popup to shallow left that Phil Ciccone made an excellent catch on.

Strange Plays I Have Seen

Sunday's Game One ended on one of the more bizarre plays I have seen in my SFLOI career. With one out in the top of the 7th, and runners on first and second, Bob Holzwasser-- the tying run-- hit a bloop to shallow center that fell in front of OF Derek Martinez. Martinez came up throwing to third, where runner Solomon Sarway was narrowly forced out. Trail runner Alex Rivera forgot how many outs there were, and wandered off of second base thinking the game was over. He was retired in a brief rundown.

Now, two obscure rules governed the putout at third base. Martinez's throw was low and into the runner, forcing the third baseman (me) to stretch towards home plate and inadvertently block the entire bag with my body. Solomon, rather than sliding into me and knocking me into next week, gave himself up. There was still a pretty strong collision. This is an interesting test of the no-collision rule. The runner would have been within his rights to slide into me. With Holzwasser, the batter, representing the tying run, it would have made good softball sense to slide, but perhaps bad common sense, because, as was mentioned a few weeks ago, there is nothing of vital importance at stake here, and we need to be able to go to work on Monday.

The other rule is the interference rule, which is widely debated and sometimes misinterpreted whenever it's called into play. As the fielder, I am allowed to go into the basepath to make a play, whether on a ground ball, popup, or attempting to field a throw. So the play was legit, the umpire made the correct call (assuming the ball actually beat the runner), the runner did the right thing by giving himself up, and the only unfortunate circumstance of the whole play is that it came in a situation of game-changing importance, and snuffed out a last-inning rally.

Before I recap this week's games, here are a few other strange plays from the last few years:

In the bottom of the 7th inning of the last game of the 2007 season, Phil Ciccone was on third base as the tying run with two outs. The next batter, John Pyne, hit a soft ground ball down the third base line. Phil remained on the bag, and made no effort to avoid the ball (and may have even leaned into it a little). It hit him and bounced into foul territory. Phil was called out for interference, and a long argument ensued. As I interpret the rules, the call was correct, even though being on the bag usually provides protection for the runner. I believe the hit-by-pitch rule in baseball is a reasonable parallel. If a batter leans into a pitch, he may not always be awarded first base.

Amusingly, while umpiring, I fucked up a similar call in early 2008. Phil was the batter this time, and smoked a line drive that hit runner Seung Lee on third base. I called Seung out, as he was in fair territory. This was probably the wrong call, IF he was still on the bag. I don't remember. Maybe Seung does.

Now, here's a couple of interference plays. While pursuing a popup in one of the Great Lawn bonus games last year, 1B Freddy Melendez collided with a runner. Both runners were declared safe because of Freddy obstructing the lead runner. This was an incorrect call, because Freddy was the fielder nearest the play, and HAS THE RIGHT TO ENTER THE BASEPATH TO MAKE A PLAY. The runner has the right to leave the basepath to avoid him, but the fielder has the right-of-way if he is pursuing the ball AND is the closest fielder. I believe the correct call would be that the runner should have been out, and the batter awarded first base. If the runner's interference were intentional (it was not), both would be out. In this case, the legendary vociferousness of Joe Gerber influenced the umpire's call, but the game was still won by Freddy's team.

The other case is Marvin's injury from last season. A slightly errant throw carried Marvin's momentum into the baseline, where Jim O'Connor collided hard with him. The umpire ruled Jim safe, and this was also correct, because Jim was in the baseline, and had no time to try to avoid Marvin-- when ball, fielder, and runner arrive at a base simultaneously, there is no interference.

Games and Notes of Memorial Day Weekend

Sorry this took so long to put up, but I was haunted by my epic meltdown in Game 4 (see below), and it wasn't until now that I was ready to focus on the positives. Despite the fatigue and occasional frustration of playing 5 games in a weekend, we managed to get some good ones in.

Game 1
Sunday 5/30
Rosengard 9, Appell 1
Dave Rosengard returned from the DL to baffle Appell's team with an 8-hit gem. Ben Indek and Bill McLaughlin were each 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. This game also marked the return of Phil Ciccone (ankle) and Marvin Cohen (eye surgery) to active duty.

Game 2
Melendez 5, Martinez 4
Melendez's double broke a 2-2 tie in the 4th, and Solomon Sarway drove in 2 runs. David Sommers had 2 hits and 2 RBI for Martinez's team.

Game 3
Nilva 7, Hewes 5
Zach Nilva recorded his first win as a pitcher, after going a hard luck 0-7 over the last two seasons. Fortunately, unlike 1990s Met hurler Anthony Young, Zach had his outfielding and hitting to fall back on. Derek Martinez backed Nilva with 4 hits including a solo HR. Jaime Orochena homered in a losing cause, and Ian Lebowitz drove in 2. Nilva stranded the tying run on base in the 7th.

Game 4
Monday 5/31
Stoeth 9, Parfrey 5
Crusing with a 5-1 lead in the 6th inning, Ian Parfrey surrendered 8 runs. The first 4 came on Ken Walker's grand slam. Freddy Melendez's 2-run single broke the tie later in the inning. Bill McLaughlin was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Parfrey's team, and Laura Stoeth ran her record to 3-0 on the year. Havelock Hewes recorded his 100th career sacrifice bunt in this game, on an amusing play where pitcher Parfrey accidentally kicked the ball right into the waiting glove of Marvin Cohen.

Game 5
Hewes 7, Martinez 2
Alex Rivera broke a 2-2 tie with a solo HR to lead off the 6th inning. Rivera was 3-for-4 in the game, snapping out of a slump. Hewes pitched masterfully, scattering 6 hits.

Dave Sommers' LP2 team dropped a 4-0 decision to the ridiculously named Lawyertime.com, and are now 5-1 on the year. LP2 is off this week, and resumes action Wednesday June 9th.

The Records Dep't: How We Got Here

Provided the weather and the pitchers cooperate, I fully expect several more single-season hitting records to join Phil Kotik's 25-HR mark by the wayside in 2010. First-- the possible record breakers: Ian, Alex, Zach, Freddy, Derek, and perhaps Bill McLaughlin, off to a 19-for-33 start in 2010. Second-- the records being threatened: Hits, runs, RBI, doubles. Lastly, how we got here.

Single season hits. Joe Gerber had 139 in 1995. Larry Savell held the record for only one year, when he had 132 hits in 1994. He superseded Phil Kotik, who had 116 hits in 1992. Phil was SFLOI's first 100-hit man, and he took the hit record from Jorge Loarte, who had 84 in 1990. Before that, the record belonged to Gary Alvarez (1989), Bobby Naranjo (1988), John Decker (1986), and the commish, Havelock Hewes (1985). Ian Parfrey (now referring to himself in the 3rd person) came closest to breaking Gerber's mark with 134 hits last season.

Runs scored. Joe Gerber scored 103 runs in 1995. Phil Kotik scored 95 times in 1992, Bobby Naranjo 74 times in 1991, breaking his own records set in 1990 and 1988. Earlier record holders were John Decker (1986) and Havelock (1985). Bill Vernick's 99-run campaign in 1998 was the best attempt since Gerber's record.

RBI. Larry Savell drove in 92 in 1994. This broke Kurt Hettler's 1992 record of 84 RBI, which broke Jeff Miller's 1991 record (59 RBI), which broke Jose Balento's 1990 record (56 RBI). Earlier record holders were Gary Alvarez (1989), Jose Balento (1988), Bill Weinberg (1987 and 1986), and Joe Picciano (1985). Jose Balento almost took back the record when he drove in 88 runs in 1999.

Doubles. Phil Kotik had 34 in 1992. The only other 30-double season was Joe Gerber in 1995. The doubles record had belonged to John Decker (25 in 1986), breaking his own record from 1984. Doubles totals were very high in the early years of SFLOI. Was this due to a ground rule and a short fence?

And-- as a bonus feature, I present the SFLOI record that fell, and the one that's almost unbreakable. Derek Martinez hit 26 home runs in 2009, breaking Kotik's record of 25 (1995), which broke Kurt Hettler's record of 23 (1992), Jeff Miller's 11 (1991), and Jose Balento's 9 (1988). Prior to that, the record belonged to Joe Signore, who crushed 7 home runs in 22 at bats in 1987. Dave Metzger had 6 in 1986, and Joe Picciano hit 3 in 1985. Derek, by the way, broke Kotik's record on the last day of the season, with a line drive down the RF line at Hastings #2, and then he ran the bases backwards.

Lastly, in 2000, Larry Savell had 66 hits in 106 at-bats, for an average of .623. SFLOI played a significantly shorter season, so he was eligible for the batting title. In 1998, Joe Gerber had been 90-for-146 (.616), which broke Bill Weinberg's .605 mark, set in 1983. In 2006, Phil Ciccone was 64-for-106 (.604), and this has been the strongest challenge to Savell's record. Notice that all of these seasons are small samples. None of the .600 hitters batted 150 times. The highest batting average ever in 200+ at-bats is .565, by Carl Weinberg. I don't expect anyone will ever break Larry's record. Even Alex Rivera.

FROM THE STATS LAB

I've come up with a crudely effective season normalizer for SFLOI stats, and ran 357 batter seasons from 1985-2009 through it. The cutoff was 2.5% of each season's total plate appearances, and each batter's OPS was measured against the league-average OPS over the same number of at bats. Now, this season's MVP debate will probably hinge on an unresolvable statistical question: would you rather have 300 at bats of high quality, or 250 at bats of really high quality? The following list gives no credit for people who play more often--it simply measures who you'd want hitting 3rd or 4th for your team on any given day. So, here they are, SFLOI's top 25 seasons:

25. David Sommers, 2006: .550 BA, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 117 PA.
24. Manny Santiago, 1990: .525 BA, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 122 PA. Batting and home run titles.
23. Ian Lebowitz, 2001: .535 BA, 16 HR, 52 RBI, 141 PA. Batting title.
22. Tony Connor, 1985: .500 BA, 0 HR, 14 RBI, 57 PA. Batting title. One of the finest seasons of the pre-modern era.
21. Kurt Hettler, 1992: .482 BA, 23 HR, 84 RBI, 210 PA. Home run and RBI titles. The 1992 stats contain some errors, for example one player is listed as going 23-for-23. This simply couldn't be, and therefore you could make a case for moving Kurt up a few places.
20. Chris Hall, 2005: .580 BA, 5 HR, 53 RBI, 174 PA. Batting title, also led league in hits and runs scored. Chris had the misfortune of having his best seasons in SFLOI's second dead-ball era.
19. Larry Savell, 1989: .520 BA, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 106 PA. Rookie season.
18. Ian Lebowitz, 2000: .545 BA, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 102 PA. Rookie season.
17. Kurt Hettler, 1993: .548 BA, 9 HR, 55 RBI, 181 PA. Batting and RBI titles, led league in doubles and triples.
16. Derek Martinez, 2009: .493 BA, 26 HR, 87 RBI, 249 PA. Home run and RBI titles, also led league in runs scored. Alltime HR record.
15. Alex Rivera, 2009: .532 BA, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 232 PA. Batting title.
14. Carl Weinberg, 2007: .464 BA, 14 HR, 72 RBI, 197 PA. Home run and RBI titles, also led league in doubles and triples. This was the off year of mighty Carl's 2005-2008 prime.
13. Phil Kotik, 1995: .488 BA, 25 HR, 53 RBI, 240 PA. Batting and home run titles.
12. Phil Kotik, 1998: .564 BA, 21 HR, 78 RBI, 186 PA. Home run and RBI titles.
11. Carl Weinberg, 2006: .565 BA, 11 HR, 78 RBI, 217 PA. Home run and RBI titles, also led league in hits, runs, doubles, and triples.
10. Phil Kotik, 1994: .479 BA, 22 HR, 67 RBI, 236 PA. Batting and home run titles.
9. Phil Kotik, 1999: .600 BA, 21 HR, 73 RBI, 167 PA. Batting title. Also led league in runs scored and doubles. 1999 was the highest level of offense ever in SFLOI, that's how there are 8 seasons better than .600 with power.
8. Phil Kotik, 1996: .476 BA, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 193 PA. Home run title, also led league in runs scored.
7. Larry Savell, 2000: .623 BA, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 114 PA. Batting title. Highest single season average ever, but it came in the 2nd best season for offense ever, so read on.
6. Carl Weinberg, 2002: .507 BA, 15 HR, 65 RBI, 158 PA. Triple Crown. Also led league in hits, doubles, and triples, so it's more like the "Sextuple Crown."
5. Phil Kotik, 1997: .548 BA, 21 HR, 83 RBI, 182 PA. RBI title. Sixth and "last" appearance on this list.
4. Phil Ciccone, 2007: .558 BA, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 180 PA. Batting title. Led league in runs scored.
3. Carl Weinberg, 2008: .541 BA, 18 HR, 82 RBI, 209 PA. Batting and home run titles. Led league in doubles and triples. Had a 10-RBI game. I kept Carl from winning the triple crown in the 3rd best SFLOI season ever. I want that on my next baseball card.
2. Phil Ciccone, 2006: .604 BA, 9 HR, 53 RBI, 120 PA. Batting title. SFLOI's version of Ted Williams's .406 season. As a digression, do you have any idea how hard it is to hit .600? I've heard talk around the batting cages that all you need to do is be a mechanical line drive singles hitter, of the Boggs / Carew / Gwynn type-- which of course is a rather infrequent type to show up in our game-- but consider this. 5-for-9 is a bad day.

1. Dan Schneider, 1997: .598 BA, 22 HR, 68 RBI, 126 PA. Batting and home run titles. Why this season? First of all, Dan jacked a home run every 6 times up. Even more impressive, he came within one hit of .600. And '97 was a good season for offense, but not as good as 1998-2001 would be, and the league average becomes a powerful determinant when sorting through endless seasons of .550 and 20 home runs. Dan's SFLOI career contains some mighty strange seasons. He won batting titles in 1992 and '97, had power outbursts of 16 HR's in 114 PA (1998) and 13 HR's in 64 PA (2000), and from 1997 to 2001 hit 65 in 411 PA's, which is kind of like Babe Ruth playing in Coors Field, or Mexico City. However, he also batted 304 times in 1995, and hit only 2 home runs, but had 15 triples and 10 sac flies. Looks like 1995 was played in a spacious outfield without fences, where the outfielders could play what we now call the "Brian Hernandez" defense. Anyway, if I had to face this guy in 1997-2001, he's getting walked. I know that people come to swing the bats, but pitchers shouldn't be used like one of Mike Tyson's sparring partners either, should they?