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Independent Ball

WildThings Miss Out on Elusive Frontier League Championship

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20 seasons of baseball.
19 seasons (thanks COVID season) of trying to win a Frontier League Championship.
20 seasons of frustration, defeat and heartbreak.
10 playoff appearances.
7 Divison Championships.
4 Championship Series Appearances.
0 Frontier League Championships.

In Game 5 of the 2021 Frontier League Championship, the Washington WildThings were defeated by the Schaumburg Boomers 10-4.

After splitting the first two games, the series headed back to Washington.

Game 3 went to the WildThings, and it appeared that the championship that had eluded them for so long would finally find a home in Washington, PA.

But the runs just wouldn’t come for the WildThings in Game 4, and the Boomers forced a Game 5 at WildThings Park.

The runs came in Game 5, but once again not for the WildThings. The Boomers put up 10 runs on 13 hits while Washington, even with a little 9th inning magic, only managed 4 runs on 5 hits.

Honestly, I had a completely different article prepared before Game 4 even began. It chronicled my 20 seasons and how much seeing the WildThings bring home the championship really meant to me. I was THAT confident that it would finally be THE year. All I had to do was hit “publish” while I was celebrating.

I poured my heart into that article just as I’ve poured my heart into this team for 20 seasons. Hopefully one day, the article will see the light of day. The guys I highlighted deserve that much.
But here I am crushed and defeated for another season as I see yet another visiting team celebrate a championship at my home field.

It’s been said that “losing builds character.” If that’s the case… this organization and their fans sure have a lot of character built up.

I know I do. I know that without a doubt, without this team, without this stadium, without the constant ups and downs of following Frontier League baseball… I would not be the person that I am today.

Without 20 seasons of Washington WildThings baseball, there would be no baseball Coach Thompson. There would be no Kayla Thompson – NASM certified personal trainer. There would be no Indy Ball Island.

This blog was built around my love for independent baseball. A love that grew year after year. And yes… even loss after loss. The highs are never truly high if you don’t suffer through the lows. And every single season has brought some pretty big highs… and ultimately every single season has brought the lowest of lows.

But I am thankful for my time at this ballpark and following this team.

I’m grateful for all the friendships I’ve made and for all the people that have turned into a second family to me.

I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned and endured through the years and years of heartbreaking defeat.

I was 12 when the WildThings played their first season and lost their first championship series. And 31 year old me is just as disappointed and heartbroken as 12 year old me was… more so actually.

Because now I know everything these players and coaches go through to get here. I know the struggles, the politics, the dedication, the sacrifice, and yes I sure know the heartbreak.

But damn do I just want to know what it’s like to win a Frontier League championship.

Well, just like the other cliché goes… “there’s always next year.”

And if there isn’t a next year for some of you… Zach Strecker in particular… good luck and thank you. Thank you for the years of excitement, character building nights, Frontier League record breaking celebrations, meet the team preseason drinks, a season of way too many selfies, and every single save. Guys like Streck are the reason I keep coming back. Thank you for putting your whole heart and soul into a kids game.

Independent Ball

Atlantic League Mound Movement Results Are Not As Noticeable As Expected

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Earlier this year, there was an uproar in the baseball world when it was revealed that the Atlantic League would go ahead with MLB’s experimental movement of the mound.

When Indy Ball Island first reported the change in August, players were concerned about how much it would change the game and if the move would ultimately injure pitchers.

There were even a few players who ended up on the inactive list or were contemplating retirement over their concern and issues.

It was also rumored that if players or coaches were to speak out negatively about the changes, they would be banned from playing in the MLB or in any of the partner leagues. Clearly, the MLB was expecting a lot of outrage when they decided to continue with their experiment.

But as the New York Post reported, all of the concern was blown out of proportion as not much has really changed in the Atlantic League.

There are a few slightly noticeable differences…

Courtesy of Long Island Ducks & The New York Post

From the adjustment’s implementation on Aug. 3 through Sept. 19, as per MLB (reported by the NYPost):

• Run scoring is up by .22 runs per game.

• Slugging percentage is up 26 points, a by-product of home runs being up from 2.9 percent of all outcomes to 3.6 percent. “I think that’s probably the most meaningful thing that has happened,” Sword said. “Twenty points of slugging is not a lot, but directionally, it’s what we were hoping for.”

• Strikeouts are up a tick, from 18.3 percent to 18.4. “I couldn’t explain that one to you,” Sword said In conjunction with that, the batting average on balls in play has dropped from .324 to .320.

• There’s a “slight increase” in the percentage of fastballs thrown and a “very small decrease” in the number of sliders and curveballs thrown.

But overall, the one foot increase from the mound to the plate seemed to bring little changes and no directly reported injuries (that I have seen) – a big concern of a lot of players over a month ago.

Most players, pitchers and hitters alike, didn’t seem to notice.

Said Scott Harkin, who pitched six innings of one-run ball for the Ducks that night, picking up a 4-2 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs: “Honestly, I don’t even notice it.”

Said Ducks outfielder LJ Mazzilli: “I think a lot of people got ahead of themselves before it actually happened. They really were opinionated early on, and I was just trying to take it in and let me see for myself. And then as soon as I got in, that first game, that first fastball I saw, it was like the exact same as what I’ve been seeing my whole life. I was like, ‘This is not as crazy as people were making it seem.’ ”

NY Post

And even when some pitchers reported a slight difference, such as Long Island Ducks RHP Joe Iorio, he was able to overcome it quickly because that’s always the goal of the game.

Ducks pitcher Joe Iorio, a native of West Islip, said he had to adjust his arm slot to throw his off-speed pitches: “I’m trying to get it to a different spot now, because he’s a foot back. The hitter obviously has a little more time to see it.”

Yet Iorio added: “It’s definitely an adjustment, but at the end of the day, we’ve been pitching our whole lives, so you feel like you can figure it out pretty quickly. But once you get in the game, it’s a constant adjustment, and that’s pitching, anyway. Whether it’s the regular distance or not, you’re always adjusting and trying to fine-tune your pitches.”

NY Post

If you would like to read more about the effects and responses to the movement of the pitcher’s mound or about the other rule changes put into place in the Atlantic League, check out Ken Davidoff’s in-depth article, MLB’s mound experiment an underwhelming minor league innovation, from the New York Post HERE.