#1 Dukes (16-6) vs. #8 Giants (11-11)
Season Head to Head:
Teams Split season series 1-1, Dukes won 4-2, Giants won 10-5
2024 Leaders
Dukes:
Duncan Elgert .489 Avg, .787 Slug%, 8 2B, 17 RBI, 17 R
Colin Rintoul 434 Avg, .561 OBP%, 19 RBI, 25 R, 4 SB
Cal Tecklenburg 6-1, 45.2 IP, 1.83 ERA, 78 K
Giants:
Ben Swennumson .490 Avg, .824 Slug%, 7 2B, 2HR, 15 RBI, 17 R, 9 SB
Matt Stebner .390 Avg, .467 OBP%, 30 H, 5 3B, 27 RBI, 17 R
Steven Latos 3-3, 2 SV, 39.0 IP, 2.15 ERA, 68 K
I can’t believe it but we’re already near the end of the regular season. Been a battle in the standings to say the least as the 8th place team is only 3 games behind first. Anyone could win any given night, I think it’s the tightest race we have seen in the standings, possibly ever. Seven of eight teams have qualified for playoffs already with the last spot mathematically still not clinched. There are a handful of makeup games left, but we’re basically playing for playoff positioning now. Can’t wait to see what happens.
In July we also saw the Trevor Freeman Home Run Derby take place this past Saturday and it was amazing. Big shoutout to the Wolfpack for hosting that event. It saw 24 entrants, a ton of bombs, maybe a drink or two, and lots of laughs and memories. Trevor would have been glad to see it. Congrats to Andrew Malone of the Diamondbacks on taking home the title.
July was also our last full month of regular season games and thus will be our final “Studs of the Month” for the year. However stay tuned as we will be doing end of season awards towards the end of playoffs.
Been a lot of fun this year guys.
We’ve played two months and things are tight at the top of the FMBA standings, with only two games separating the top 6 teams. Still lots of baseball left, but only eight teams get in the dance so there is no time to wait around!
One mentionable is we are really seeing a shortage of umpires the past couple seasons. The guys who have been out are typically working several games a week at all levels. Where am I going with this? Well, much like teams can (and do) make 5+ errors a game, or individuals can strike out 4 times some nights, some of the boys in blue miss a call from time to time. No one is in the MLB, and we’re all adults here, let’s remember to give ’em some respect because it sure ain’t easy.
Moving along, June saw a lot of great individual performances, it was really hard to narrow it down to only 3. But let’s take a look at who was most “studly”
Despite having an entire week postponed due to rain, the 2024 FMBA season is off to a great start. We’re seeing lots of competitive games, several new faces in the league, and even a few fans attending games! You love to see it. With the good comes the bad: one sour note that continues to creep up is waiver infractions – there have been three this year, one of which affected a game result. Teams – let’s clean this up so we can keep the focus on the field!
A key statistic jumping out early is an increase in home runs not seen since the COVID-shortened 2021 season where there were 0.9HR/game. In 2023 those numbers were down to 0.54HR/game, but in May we saw that number spike back to 0.85HR/game. Maybe performance enhancement testing could be a topic for the 2025 league meetings? 🤔😂
Speaking of performance, the league is introducing something new in 2024: the “Studs” of the Month. Each month we’ll highlight the top 3 hitters and pitchers. To paraphrase the late great St. Louis Cardinal & Cincinnati Red prospect “Macho Man” Randy Savage, these players are “the cream who have risen to the top“.
The FMBA has completed their spring AGM, and the 2024 season schedule will be released shortly.
An important date to note is Saturday April 27th starting at 9:00am, which is when the annual Work Bee to prep Glen Hansen Field for the upcoming season will take place. To any and all FMBA members who can spare even an hour of time that day, your help would be greatly appreciated.
It is shaping up to be another great season of baseball!
Hopefully everyone enjoyed a great offseason! With some team’s winter workouts underway, and our younger players college seasons nearing (or for some already begun), another exciting season of FMBA summer baseball is on the horizon.
Interested in playing baseball this summer? Any new players to our league are encouraged to submit the “Prospective Players” form above. This is submitted to all team managers. Don’t sell yourself short!
As well, an early reminder to ALL returning players: please fill out the “Player Waiver” form so that you can be added to your team’s roster.
Stay tuned for winter updates soon.