Home of the Friendship League
In an unusual circumstance, we do not have any roll offs to break ties between teams this season. For Draft Night, here is the order that will be used for all rounds except for the first (bingo balls will determine that!)
The pre-season favorite Toronto Thunder fulfilled their destiny and earned the 2024 World Series title, paced by a powerful offense (a league-leading 133 HRs) and a dominant pitching staff (second best team ERA of 3.22 and team opposing batting average (.217), and a league low 72 HRs allowed). The Holy Triumvirate of Aaron Judge (6.8 WAR), Bobby Witt (5.2) and Tanner Houck (5.2) paced the Thunder to their historic season.
Aaron Judge won the MVP award easily. I think he led the league in leading the league in stat categories! He slashed .328/.465/.715, clubbed 32 HRs, and racked up 62 RBIs and led in many other categories. His attempt to claim the Triple Crown, however, was thwarted by Mount Pleasant's Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who crept past Judge in RBIs in the last games of the season (finishing with 63). Judge's 74 walks (15 intentional) are now the highest single-season total of walks in the "modern era" of the last 17 years that were all played on computer. He is tied with 2011 Miguel Cabrera. Juan Soto's 73 walks this season puts him 3rd on that list.
Tanner Houck was the ace for the Thunder all season long, including the playoffs. His 1.69 era this year is officially now one of the best ever! He ranks 4th all-time in league history, behind only Kyle Bradish (2023), Roger Clemens (1989), and Jim Palmer (1980)!. Houck went 9-2.in the regular season and was 4-0 with an 0.91 ERA in the playoffs.
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| Judge wins his second FL MVP! |
Some other tidbits from the season...
We had THREE no-hitters this year, a feat likely never done before! You have to go back to 2014 to find a season where we had two no-hitters, yet alone three. The Boston Bobcats had two of them, as Aaron Civale turned the tick against Michigan and Cole Ragans did it against Pittsburgh. Toronto's Tanner Houck threw his against Maine.
Wichita led the league with a 3.05 team ERA, putting them third all-time!
Bobby Witt (TOR) and Vladimir Guerrero (MTP) were the only players with 100 hits (107 and 101 respectively)
Juan Soto, we hardly knew ye! The Lake Erie one-year phenom slashed .263/.414/.544, knocked 20 HRs, and collected 73 walks.
Maine's Carlos Rodon (CAW!!) led the league in wins with 11, and was the only hurler in double digit wins
Wichita's Ryan Pepiot logged the highest winning percentage at .875 winning percentage, with his 7-1 record
Logger skipper Steve Willnus won Manager of the Year award for an outstanding regular-season campaign.
In a controversial vote, Logan Gilbert (WIC) edged Tanner Houck for the Cy Young. Gilbert went 9-5 with a 2.38 ERA. He dazzled voters with his 133 Ks in 125 innings. He also led the league in Ridiculous Faces Made While Pitching, as seen below...
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| Logan Gilbert throwing gas, or possibly just releasing some "gas", judging from that expression! |
Dairon Blanco may have led the league in steals, but it was Pawtucket Patriot Cedric Mullins with the biggest single day of thievery, swiping 6 bases in one game against Mount Pleasant.
Las Vegas closer Justin Slaten won the Rolaids Relief Award with his league-leading 24 saves. Wichita reliever Brant Hurter made the all-time list, tying Chaz Roe (KC) for 2nd best single-season reliever ERA of all time, at 0.30. Nate Jones of Michigan set the all-time mark in 2016 with 0.23!
Cole Ragans (BOS) led everyone with 139 K's, rolled up in just 111 innings. His 11.27 K's per 9 innings was also tops in the league.
Blowout City! Toronto beat Pawtucket 21-8, racking up 29 hits in the biggest offensive output of the season.
Fremont legend Jose Ramirez had 6 hits in 6 at bats in a game against Pittsburgh. Several other players accumulated 5 hits in a game but only Jose got to six (or seis, for all you bilingual folks out there!)
Three players had three HR games this year: Aaron Judge (TOR), Carlos Correa MTP, and Logan O'Hoppe (MIC).
Mount Pleasant led the league with 12 complete games! That sort of abuse of a pitching staff may lead to some Tommy John surgeries, but it also gives me a chance to repost the meme referencing my favorite fictional ballplayer of all time, Tungsten Arm O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen!
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| Herb Washington, the OG and patron saint of pinch runners back in the early 1970's |
Thanks to all for another exciting and fun season! Looking forward to seeing you all for the Draft!
There will be a moment in silence for the first game of the 2025 season for Montreal as GM Mike Walter will fondly reminiscence about his 2nd year draftee in Alex Verdugo
finally moving on from the wilderness of Montreal to the Atlanta Braves, to
being a free agent.
In a move that shocked the baseball world at the start of July, was the "Gambler" Emmanuel Clase being chased out of Cleveland by the Feds. In hurts the team in Montreal as he was a foundational draft pick, and the pick acquired from the Maine Loggers in the infamous "DJ Lemaitheu" trade, as Montreal was laughed at for trading the then-American league hitting champion for 2 first round draft picks. One of those first round draft picks was used on Clase and the other, Baseball quiet quitter, Anthony Rendon.
After a career filled with laser-line doubles and a surprise
detour north of the border, Alex Verdugo is officially hanging up the spikes.
From racking up hits in the big leagues to becoming a beloved cornerstone of
the fictional-but-forever Montreal Grizzlies, Verdugo gave
fans everything: steady bats, strong arms, and vibes. Baseball won’t be the
same without No. 99 roaming the outfield—especially in Montreal, where the
grizzlies always growled a little louder when he stepped to the plate.
Alex Verdugo's Speech from his retirement presser
“Since 2020, baseball has taken me places I never
imagined—including Montreal. I’m proud of what I did in the majors: a Gold
Glove, big regular-season swings, and years of showing up as a reliable bat and
defender. But my time with the Montreal Grizzlies will always be
special—playing hard, winning friendships, and feeling the love of a city that
adopted me like one of its own. I’ll never forget GM Mike Walter believing in
me enough to take me in the first round of the Friendship League Draft back in
2020. Montreal, thank you for giving me a second baseball home.”
Somber notes as Verdugo does not have a card in the upcoming
draft, so Montral bids "Au revoir" to number 99.
A bad bet on himself - Free agent Presser (Emmanuel Clase's)
The cutter has finally stopped cutting. After years of broken bats, frozen hitters, and ninth innings that ended right on time, Emmanuel Clase is officially riding into free agency. Since 2021, he wasn’t just one of the most dominant closers in Major League Baseball—he was also the quiet force behind the Montreal Grizzlies, slamming doors and striking fear with every appearance. Montreal never needed extra innings when Clase was on the mound.
Emmanuel Clase's Speech from his "bad bet" Presser and into Free agency for the first time:
“Baseball gave me everything—All-Star nods, a lot of broken bats, and the privilege of sweating through the ninth inning for an entire city. But Montreal… that one hurts. Since 2021, every save felt like it belonged to the Grizzlies, not me. I’ll always be thankful to GM Mike Walter for taking a chance on a skinny kid with a fast arm in the first round of the Friendship League Draft. Now I’m heading into free agency, which is basically the ninth inning of life with no lead and no closer. Montreal, thanks for trusting me with the last three outs—and for making it so hard to say goodbye.”
These cuts hurt the team deeply but had to be made. My love for the game trumped the stats Clase had in his limited usage in 2025. I do not want to be remembered as the GM who let a guy thump a button on live pitch bets, just to make a few bucks.
With a bright future predicted by the robots that be, here are the cuts ahead for the soon to be good Montreal Grizzlies.
Key: NC=No Card.
1.) Dairon Blanco, (OF) - NC, 2.) Vaughn Grissom, (2B), - NC, 3.) Richie Palacios, INF/OF, 4.) Alex Verdugo (OF), NC, 5.) Michael Kopech (RP), - NC, 6.) Corbin Burnes -(SP) - NC, 7.) Freddy Fermin (C), 8.) David Fry (UTL), 9.) Cristin Javier (SP), 10.) Emmanuel Clase (RP), 11.) Ezequiel Duran (UTL), 12.) Greg Weissert (RP)
Keepers: Pitchers: 1.) Tarik Skubal (LHP), 2.) Garrett Crochet (LHP), 3.) George Kirby (RHP), 4.) J. Leiter (RHP), 5.) Taj Bradley (RHP), 6.) Brayan Abreu, (RP), 7.) Josh Hader (RP).
Keeping Batters: 8.) Jacob Wilson (SS), 9.) Zach Neto (SS), 10.) Julio Rodriguez (OF), 11.) Spencer Torkelson (1B), 12.) Gleyber Torres (2B), 13.) Alejandro Kirk (C) 14.) Maikel Garcia (3B/2B, 15.) Jake Meyers (OF) 16.) Davis Schneider (2B/LF).
Revised: Yu Darvish: Ben Joyce. (Flamethrower, come back in good shape, please).
The Toronto Thunder battled toe to toe with the Las Vegas Fremonts but ultimately hung on for a World Series victory in Game 6! Congrats to Chuck for a great regular season AND post-season. The Fremonts had the Thunder on the ropes a few times, they were a break or two away from winning it themselves.
Special congratulations to Steve Tufte for putting together this juggernaut and getting them off to a great start!!! I felt a bit like Steve Fisher in 1989 taking over Michigan Basketball for their eventual NCAAA title ("A Toronto Man will coach Toronto"? :-)) . Very happy I didn't blow this for him. Sincerely hope to see Steve back in the Thunder Front Office again!
Game 1: After the Royal Canadian Air Force fly by, the Thunder took the field. Tanner Houck was a machine this game, tossing eight shutout innings before tiring in the 9th. Tanner Scott got the last two outs to preserve the shutout. Aaron Judge hit a HR to lead off the bottom of the 1st and there was no looking back. Thunder win 3-0.
kcbutchers.drivehq.com/2024fl/BOX 10-16-2024 LAS @ TOR.htm
Game 2: Las Vegas' bats were again flummoxed and hopeless against the Thunder's arms. Bryan Woo tried valiantly to get the complete game shutout, but yielded the last out to Tim Herrin. Bobby Witt and Shea Langeliers each homered to provide all the scoring for Toronto. Another game, another 3-0 shutout win for the Thunder. They couldn't be faulted for thinking that this Series would be a laugher and contemplating the first ever complete Series shutout, but the Fremonts had other ideas, as we would soon see.
kcbutchers.drivehq.com/2024fl/BOX 10-17-2024 LAS @ TOR.htm
Game 3: The 'Monts Strike Back! Going back home to Vegas immediately invigorated the Fremonts. They needed to breathe more of that unique mix of cigarette smoke, stale beer, and 80-year old grandparents sweating profusely from pulling the arms on the slot machines. Las Vegas drew first blood, scoring in the first two innings. Thunder starter Grayson Rodriguez got injured in the second, leading to a parade of relievers trotting out of the Toronto bullpen. Meanwhile, Tristan Casas launched two home runs. Vegas took a 3-2 lead in the 4th and held on for dear life to win the game and make the series 2 games Toronto to 1 game Vegas. The Fremont bullpen of Austin "The Goth" Voth, Garrelt Cleavinger, and Justin Slaten blacked the Thunder for the last three innings.
kcbutchers.drivehq.com/2024fl/BOX 10-19-2024 TOR @ LAS.htmThe Toronto Thunder defeated the Wichita Bandits in five games to advance to the World Series.
Game 1: Tanner Houck and Logan Gilbert began this one by throwing goose egg after goose egg. Toronto drew first blood in the bottom of the 5th when Bobby Witt Jr. smacked a two-run homer. Witt drove in two more runs in the bottom of the 7th and Toronto wraps up the win by a 5-1 score.
Bandits......... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 5 0
Thunder......... 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 - 5 9 2
Game 2: Revenge Of The Bandits! Wichita came out guns a-blazing, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings to take a quick 4-0 lead. Aaron Judge and Shea Langeliers each homered off of Seth Lugo but Wichita holds on for a 4-3 win and a 1 game to 1 game series.
Bandits......... 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 8 1
Thunder......... 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 - 3 7 1
Game 3: This one was epic, going 11 innings before Shea Langeliers hit another home run to give Toronto a 5-3 win and a 2-1 series advantage.
Thunder......... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 - 5 9 1
Bandits......... 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 11 0
Game 4: Another game, another extra-inning epic! Grayson Rodriguez and Ryan Pepiot squared off and left the game tied at 3 when the bullpens took over. Thunder scratched out two runs in the top of the 11th and watched in terror as Matt Wallner crushed a home run to narrow the lead to 5-4. Wichita got a couple more base-runners but David Robertson shut the door. Thunder up 3 games to 1.
Thunder......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 - 5 10 1
Bandits......... 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 4 11 1
Game 5: Toronto could taste the World Series at this point, and Wichita had their backs against the wall. Toronto racked Logan Gilbert, putting up 11 hits and 5 runs before the 6th inning was over. Tanner Houck was magnificent, throwing 8 shutout innings and David Robertson again closed it out, this time it was 5-0 and Toronto punched their ticket to the World Series.
Thunder......... 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 - 5 13 0
Bandits......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 2
Toronto showed great power this series, with Shea Langeliers, JJ Bleday, and Aaron Judge each slugging two homers. However, Toronto's pitching really carried the day. Toronto only allowed 12 runs in 48 innings (2.25 team ERA). Tanner Houck was named Series MVP with two great starts, getting two wins, striking out 9 in 13 innings, and earning a 0.68 ERA.
Congrats to Randy for a great season and a Mr. Potato Head Division Title!!!! Was a fun series with mostly very close games.
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| Toronto ace Tanner Houck wins again! |
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| Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. pace the Thunder offense |
Game one saw Fremont ace Reese Olsen, 4-1, 2.81 ERA, 2.0 WAR face the Logger’s Luis Castillo, 9-2 / 3.38 / 2.1. Back-to-back two-out solo home runs from Jose Ramirez and Austin Wells in the first gave the ‘Monts a solid start. Oswaldo Cabrera put the men from New England on his back, single handedly evening the score with a two-out single in the first and a two-out solo home run in the third. In the fourth, Maine catcher Ben Rortvedt fumbled a Marcus Seimen foul pop-up giving the .151 hitter a second chance at the plate. Seimen then walked and the Las Vegas manager may have said out loud that that might come back and bite the Loggers. And bite it did, as Taylor Ward followed with a double, and Ernie Clement brought them both around with a single for a 4-2 lead that the desert men would not relinquish. Austin Wells knocked two more home runs to extend the lead eventually to 6-2 by the seventh. Maine gave the Fremont pen a scare scoring single runs in each of the last three innings, but fell short as Las Vegas took game one, 6-5.
Fremonts........ 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 - 6 11 0
Loggers......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 - 5 10 2
W: Olson (1-0) L: Castillo (0-1) S: Slaten (1st)
HR: J.Ramirez(1st), A.Wells-3(3rd), K.Carpenter(1st), O.Cabrera(1st), T.Soderstrom(1st)
Game two saw the Fremont’s Nick Pivetta 5-2 / 3.10 / 2.2
face lefty Carlos Rodon 10-4 / 4.63 / 0.5. The Loggers pummeled Pivetta, plating
seven runs over the first four inning with home runs from Ceddanne Rafaela,
Kerry Carpender, Issac Paredes. The ‘Monts caused the Logger’s manager to quickly
order another beer after a Ramirez grand slam closed the gap to 8-6 in the sixth.
But that was the final score as the Maine bullpen held, Griffin Jax retiring
the next four in a row after the home run and Tyler Holton going six-up,
six-down to even the series at 1-1.
Fremonts........ 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 - 6 6 0
Loggers......... 0 0 2 5 1 0 0 0 - 8 11 0
W: Rodon (1-0) L:Pivetta (0-1) S: Holton (1st)
HR: J.Ramirez(2nd), J.McCann(1st), I.Paredes(1st), G.Henderson(1st), K.Carpenter(2nd), C.Rafaela(1st)
After two high scoring games, we were due for a nail-biter.
Game three didn’t disappoint as the two teams traveled to the more hospitable climate.
The visitors sent Joe Ryan 5-4 / 4.22 / 1.0 to the bump --- Kutter Crawford 4-6
/ 3.36 / 1.6 for the downtowners. Maine and Las Vegas traded single runs like middleweights
trade jabs in the early rounds of a championship fight. There were home runs,
run scoring singles and even a bases loaded walk to knot the score at 3-3 after
five. The bullpens scattered seven hits between them, but no more runners
crossed in regulation and the game went to extra innings. Auston Voth had come
on in the ninth for the ‘Monts striking out 4 of six batters he faced. But with
two out in the eleventh, Ceddanne Rafaela stepped up and launched a homer to
put the Loggers up 3-2. Jason Adam put the home team down quietly in the ninth
and the visitors were up 2-1 in the series.
Loggers......... 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 4 10 0
Fremonts........ 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 12 0
W: Adam (1-0) L: Voth (0-1)
HR: L.Jimenez(1st), C.Rafaela(2nd), J.Ramirez(3rd)Two high scoring games, an extra inning game. What would we
have next in game four. For Maine, Jon Gray 2-4/ 6.59 / -0.6, Las Vegas, Simeon
Woods-Richardson 4-1 / 2.91 / 2.3. The starters bossed the early action with
just five hits between the sides after five. The Fremonts struck first after a
Terry Sweeney pinch hit single scored Trevor Casas in the sixth. Kerry Carpenter
did it the easy way, knocking in his third home run of the series in top of the
seventh. The score was 1-1 all the way to the bottom of the eleventh. As they
had done all season, the Monts ground out a run. Rob Refsnyder doubled. The Loggers
called in Daniel Lynch from the pen. He proceeded to give up a single to Austin
Wells, sending Refsnyder to third. Ramirez was walked intentionally, loading the
bases with one out. James McCann stuck out and with no hitters left on the bench,
Chaz McCormick -- .171 average, 8 RBI in 111 AB Chaz McCormick – came to the
plate. And dear reader, you know what happens next, McCormick shoots a line
drive to right scoring Refsnyder. 2-1 Fremonts. Series even at 2-2.
Loggers......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 5 1
Fremonts........ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 2 8 1
W: Cleavinger(1-0) L: Ferguson(0-1)
HR: K.Carpenter(3rd)So now what. A rematch of game one starters Olsen and Castillo.
Maine kicked up their heals in the second when two doubles, a walk, and a
Jarren Duran triple staked them to a 3-0 lead. Las Vegas answered two innings
later when Wells’ fourth home run of the series made it 3-2. Castillo had been
strong enough for the Loggers to go out and start the sixth. He got the first two
hitters before giving up a single to Ramirez and a double to Wells to tie it
3-3. A Will Brennean home run followed, 5-3 Fremonts. Back-to-back singles from
Marcus Semien and Taylor Ward made it 6-3, five straight two-out hits and that was
that. Maine managed just a walk over the last three innings, Las Vegas added 2
in the eight to win 8-3, taking control of the series. headed back east, 3-2.
Loggers......... 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 3 0
Fremonts........ 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 2 - 8 13 0
W: Cleavinger(2-0) L: Castillo(0-2)
HR: A.Wells(4th), J.McCann(2nd), W.Brennan(1st)
Game six saw a rerun of the Pivetta/Rodon matchup, and balls
were flying though the cold winter sky. Ward led off with a home run for the
visitors. Then the teams traded long balls, Jimenez for Maine, Refsnyder for
Las Vegas, Garcia for Maine made it 4-2 for the home team by the bottom of the
fifth. The pace slowed until the top of the eighth when McCann’s two run home
run tied the score. The Loggers couldn’t drive in a runner from second with one
out in the eight, then Casas led off the top of the ninth with a walk. Griffin
Jax came in to pitch and was greeted with a sacrifice bunt moving Casas to
second. Wells was walked intentionally to bring Ramirez to the plate. In the clutch,
the greatest Fremont of them all smashed a double, bringing Casas in and
bringing home the lead, 5-4. Jorge Mateo followed with some insurance, a single
plus an error to extend the difference to 7-4. Nick Sandlin recoded the final
out and the ‘Monts move on taking the series 4-2.
Fremonts........ 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 - 7 9 0
Loggers......... 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 - 4 9 1
W: Slaten(1-0) L: Adam (1-1)
HR: T.Ward(1st), R.Refsnyder(1st), J.McCann(3rd), A.Garcia(1st), L.Jimenez(2nd)
There were MVP candidates everywhere. Caddanne Rafaela had a
.348 / .348 / .783 for Maine. A case can be made for Chaz McCormick, just for his
game winning RBI in game four --- possibly the difference between being tied
2-2 or down 3-1 in the series. Jose Ramirez .417/.517/.875 would have earned
the title most years, but --- Austin Wells, with clutch hitting in game five, a
.444/.500/1.167 and 4 HR – 3 in one game (probably tying the playoff record) is
the series MVP.
With the Holidays close to wrapping up, I am happy to see some more games being scheduled again. Want us to really try to wrap everything up in January so that we can have a little break before Draft Weekend 2026! Most teams are close enough for this to be a pretty realistic goal. Happy to help anyone who needs help completing games.
Still playing with AI, and I was pleased to see this stuff spew out after I uploaded our FL Standings into it. A pretty enjoyable read, have a look when you can...
kcbutchers.drivehq.com/2024fl/Friendship League AI Report.htm
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| AI Mitch Albom pens a typically moving and sentimental piece on the Friendship League at the end of this link! |
We had our second Strat-Fest at Joe Kool's in Novi and we got our second no-hitter there! On what was a dismal day for the Boston Bobcats, Cole Ragans put on a show and completed a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Phantoms!!! This was actually the third no-hitter of this season, which I believe is a record for this league.
Trimming the fat off of the Grizzlies as we prepare for another bottom 5 finish in the Friendship League, as the Grizzlies shared some similarities with the 2025 Tigers, as we had some elite pitching, but could not get the bats going to save our season, and for some, their jobs as ball players.
Without further ado, here is Montreal's WAY TOO SOON, but probable cuts.
Key: NC=No Card.
1.) Dairon (1-18 STL) Blanco, (OF) - NC, 2.) Vaughn Grissom, (2B), - NC, 3.) Richie "The Kid" Palacios INF/OF, limited AB's, 4.) Alex Verdugo (OF), NC, 5.) Michael Kopech (RP), - NC, 6.) Corbin Burnes -(SP) - NC, 7.) Freddy Fermin (C), 8.) David Fry (UTL), 9.) Cristin Javier (SP), 10.) Greg Weissert (RP), 11.) Davis Schneider (2B). 12. ) Ben "Tommy John" Joyce, 13.) Zeke Duran (UTL).
Keepers: Pitchers: 1.) T. Skubal (LHP), 2.) G. Crochet (LHP), 3.) G. Kirby (RHP), 4.) J. Leiter (RHP), 5.) Taj Bradley (RHP), 6.) Brayan Abreu, (RP), 7.) J. Hader (RP), 8.) E. Clase (RP).
Keeping Batters: 9.) J. Wilson, 10.) Z. Neto, 11.) J. Rodriguez, 12.) S. Torkelson, 13.) G. Torres, 14.) Alejandro Kirk, 15.) M. Garcia, 16.) J. Meyers.
Yu Darvish: Alek Manoah.
The rest will be like if a Grizz can hear a tree fall in the woods. (Again way too early but more than likely this list will not change much).
Tanner Houck was dominant against the Maine Loggers, coming as close to a perfect game as you possibly could. Houck's perfect game attempt was thwarted in the 8th inning when Thunder 3B Jordan Westburg (a 2e5 fielding) booted a routine ground ball and was charged with an error. Houck recovered, though, and punched out the next four batters to earn his no-hitter!!!!
Houck only faced 29 batters, one over the minimum. He finished with 0 hits allowed, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts
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| Tanner Houck enjoys a freezing cooler shower after no-hitting Maine |
The Montreal Grizzlies are going through another tough season, but their rebuild continues and the Grizzlies are now the proud owners of SEVEN players just named to the Americal League All Star team!
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Boston's Adam Civale pulled off one of the more unexpected no-hitters in League history. Civale's real life stats didn't hint at that sort of dominant performance (5.07 ERA, 93 hits allowed in 87 innings) but he pushed through to complete a masterpiece. He only allowed one walk and faced the minimum of 27 batters. Civale tired in the 7th inning but STILL continued to baffle Mammoth batters. Congrats to Andy on a historic game!!!
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The 2024 Friendship League season began with an exciting battle of big offenses, as the Wichita Bandits came from behind to beat the Kansas City Butchers 12-9! KC started the season with a bang, rolling up five runs in the first inning. The Bandits were pretty quiet until the bottom of the 6th, when they narrowed the score to 5-4 in KC's favor. The Butchers answered immediately with a 4 run 7th, and felt in control as they went to the bottom of the 8th leading 9-4. The Bandits, though, summoned some hometown magic and exploded for EIGHT runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead. Randy brought in elite closer Mason Miller (the THIRD Bandit pitcher named Miller in this game!) and three quick strikeouts ended this crazy game and send the Wichita fans home happy! .
Including all of Scott's Friendship League mascots for your reference, or your use, or (for some of these!) as fuel for your nightmares!
Thanks to all for a great Draft Weekend! Extra thanks to Daniel Steines for setting us up at the hotel and to Scott Mallon for his multi-faceted role as host/AV support/AI story writer/hot dog chef extraordinaire!
Here are a few links from the weekend
Scott's AI Stories and Mascots
Sharing a few pictures from the weekend...
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| Bingo action was booming, much to the delight of Steve W. |
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| The Mall-O-Matic Hot Dog System! |
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| Draft Room Action #2 |
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| Draft Room Action #3 |
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| Draft Room Action #4 |
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PJ, Standy, and Steve |
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| The Rocco Cup proudly displayed at Train Wreck Headquarters |
