In three weeks, the Illowa APBA League will convene for its annual All-Star Game. Votes have been cast and the ballots have been tabulated. We now have the starting lineup for the City Boys and the Country Gents.
League voting is done by a simple ranked 5-3-1 weighted voting method in which we all vote for three players who deserve to be in the All-Star Game. Generally speaking, we tend to agree on who is having a good season in the league. There were seven unanimous choices. But take a look at the voting for City Boys’ catcher…
Dennis went with Contreras rather than his own player, Will Smith. It is interesting to me that the player who received the most first place votes not only did not win but came in third place! Gary Sanchez must be a love ’em or hate ’em type of guy.
Thanks to the diligence of All-Star managers Don Smith and Dennis Jennings, the full roster of both teams have been announced.
With my Thunderchickens on a nine-game losing streak, will any make the team? Let’s find out.
Starting lineup
For the second year in a row, Molly Putts’ Shohei Ohtani (9-2, 3.28 ERA) is starting the All-Star game. He doubles as the designated hitter.
Northside’s Luis Castillo gets the nod for the City Boys. He’s clocking in with a 7-5 record with a 2.88 ERA.
And no, we don’t see any Twin Thunderchickens in the starting lineup. I wasn’t too surprised. That’s okay because Coach Don Smith has my back.
Bench
Don tabbed Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado and a surprise pick, rookie Michael Massey to represent the T-Chix.
Finally, a look at the bullpen.
Bullpen
Hunter Greene makes his first appearance on an Illowa All-Star roster for the Thunderchickens. So does Tom Cosgrove but most likely it will be his last.
The Illowa APBA League will meet up September 27-28 and play 30 games in addition to our All-Star Game festivities.
