Small victories: Twin City Thunderchickens avoid 100 losses

Sometimes depending on the situation, the bar for elation is lowered.  For example, in the Boys of Summer League, I’m thrilled that I’m in the NL playoffs against tough Shawn Baier. 

On the other hand, I just rolled my last dice roll for the 2015 season for the Illowa APBA League.  We won the last two games against Chuck Lucas’ Northside Hitmen to narrowly avoid a 100-loss season.  We ended up 63-99.  In a way, I’m happy about that I guess.

It’s been another tough year for the Thunderchickens who will most likely end up in last place but we still have some highlights to share. 

Hitting

Outfielder JD Martinez made his presence known from the start once we acquired him in a trade.  He led the team in batting (.301) in a pitching-rich Illowa League.  He also paced the team in rbis (73) and slugging (.559). 

Jose Reyes started the season off slow but he came out of his slump and led the team in runs scored (74), stolen bases (29) and even hits (143). 

Who led the team in homers?  Well, Martinez did for most of the season.  Around the 144 game mark, catcher Yan Gomes caught fire and hit seven dingers in eleven games.  He ended up with 30 homeruns and eclipsed Martinez by just two.  Gomes also came in second in rbis with 72, one behind leader Martinez. 

Pitching

Stephen Strasburg was our main force in the Thunderchicken rotation all year.  The only pitcher in double figures in wins, he led the team with a 14-6 record and ERA with a 2.89 mark.  He also led the Chickens in strikeouts (212), innings pitched (212), and was tied with Francisco Liriano with three shutouts. 

Jeurys Familia was our go-to guy in the pen when the game was on the line.  He racked up 17 saves and had a 2.69 ERA.  Curiously, Aaron Crow (CW) had the second best ERA from the pen (2.69).  Even curiouser, Jeremy Hellickson our mop-up guy, put together a 2.72 ERA in 36 1/3 innings as a DY. 

Final thoughts

Earlier on in the season, I wrote that our team batting average was down and “nobody was hitting”.  Well, we must have picked things up.  I remember most/many hitters were hitting a buck-something.  By the end of the season, only three hitters were hitting under .200.  Either I was rolling better or other teams were looking at their limits and were forced to go to their C pitching more often. 

Here are the full stats for the 2015 Twin City Thunderchickens.  Good luck to the IAL teams who go the playoffs.