#WP9 Stats - Batting

FLAPACS                             AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Matt Bocchese                        .429      7     3    3    1       2       1      3      6

Jake Lambert                          .500     14   10   7    4       9       0      4      19

Ryan Ricci                               .438     16   6    7    3       9        0     4      16

Pat Ney                                   .000     6     0    0    0       0       0      4      0

Al Etter                                    .625    16    7   10   2       6       0      3      16

Kris Lapsley                            .250     4     1    1    0       0        0     1       1

Ryan Hutchings                       .500     12    5    6    4       9        1     2      18

Kerry Cerana                          .333     6     3    2     1      1        1     2        5

Perry Barse                             .500     4     1    2     0      0        3     2        2

CUBAN RAFT RIDERS       AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
John Bergen                            .100     10    1    1     0      2       1      2      1

Chris Sheldon                          .000      5     0    0     0     0        0      4      0

Pete Polo                                .555      9      5    5     1     4       3      1      8

Matt Wallace                          .154     13     2    2     0     1       1      1       2

Eric Roig                                .167       6     1    1     0      0       0      2      1

Troy Cervini                           .438       7     1    3     0      0       5      2      3

Nelson Denan                        .364      11    2     4    2      6      2       5      10

Vinnie Foschi                         .143       7      1    1    1     1       1       2       4

GOODFELLAS                    AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Rocco Lombardo                   .471      17    9   8     4       8      6      6     20

Allen Rivera                           .667      18    8   12   2        6      5      6    12

Mike Mazzochi                      .700      10    4    7     2      5      2       2    14

Brian Stanzione                      .550      20   12  11    5      8      3       6    26

Jeff Lunsford                         .364       11    5    4     2      6      4       2    10

Justin Geri                             .611       18    12  11    8     18     5     0     35

Ernie Scoma                         .375        8      3    3     0      0      2      2     3

Mike Tedesco                      .200        5      2     1     1      3     5      3     4

MANDINGOS                     AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Jeremy Wright                        .438     16    5    7    2       6       1      5     11

Dustin Graiff                           .500     16    4    8    1       2       0      1      9

Dimitri Paraskevas                 .000       2     0    0    0       0       0      1      0

Emory Pierson                       .385      13    2    5    0       4       0      2      6

Kyle Lunsford                       .462      13    4    6    0        3      0       1      6

GOON SQUAD                  AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Tyler Martini                          .389     18    8   7     3       8      7       5     16

Dylan Burns                           .158     19    2   3     1       5      3       6      6

Johnny Malatesta                   .500     20    9   10   5       7      5       6     25

Tom Derer                            .600     10    1    6     0      1       2       3      6

Danny Martini                       .267     15    1     4    0      0       2       7      4

Eddie Parks                          .154     13     1    2     0      0      2       6      2

Rocco Lupi                           .450     20     4    9     2      5      3      7      15

HIGH & DRY                     AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Billy Errig                              .267     15    7   4     2       3      4      3      10

Earl Errig                              .750      12   4    9     2      7      5       1      15

Joey Ingram                          .385     13    6    5     2      4      7      1      11

Greg Kuhlen                         .091     11    1    1     0      1      2      4       1

Sean Friel                             .200      5     1     1    1      4      4       2      4

Ryan Savage                        .375      8      4     3    2      5      4      4      9

Danny Errig                          .636     11     6     7     2     5      5      3     13

BELGIAN WIFFLES         AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Justin Sampson                     .261     23    5   6     1       3      3      6      8

Rich Suhr                             .478     23    9   11    2      5      1       5      15

Tommy Rullo                       .667     27   15   18   9     16      2      2      44

Nick Manger                       .423     26    8    11   4      8       1      8      23

Kevin Fischer                      .750     20   10    15   6     10     5      3      33

Kyle Stevenson                   .348     23    9      8    7     12     5      3      29
 
BALCO BOMBERS         AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Shawn Strubeck                 .250      16    4    4    1       3      4      4      7

Eric Bomenblit                   .545      22  11   12    8      17     1      2     36

Paul Nyitray                       .471      17   6     8    5      10     4      4     23

Mike Sheridan                   .474      19    7    9     4      11     4      3     21

Rob Humes                       .800      20    11  16    3     3       4      2     25

Eric Leonard                     .231      13     6    3     1      1      8       8     6




TEAM OFFENSIVE STATS
                                         AVG.   AB    R   H    HR  RBI   BB   SO   TB
GOODFELLAS                .533    107   55  57   24    54     32    27    124
BELGIAN WIFFLES       .486    142   56  69   29    54     19     27   152
BALCO BOMBERS        .486    107   45   52   22    45     25    23   118
FLAPACAMINGOS       .447      85    36  38   15    36     6      25    83
MANDINGOS                 .433     60    15   26    3    15      1     10     32
HIGH & DRY                   .400     75    29   30   11   29     31    18    63
GOON SQUAD               .357    115   26   41   11   26     24    40     74
CUBAN RAFT RIDERS  .250     68    14   17    4    14     13    19     29


Notes:
Offensive records were broken all over the place. Tommy Rullo (9), Justin Geri (8), Eric Bomenblit (8) & Kyle Stevenson (7), ALL broke the previous single tournament Home Run record (Al Etter-6, WP1), which was set in the first tournament and had not been touched since. Justin Geri tied the single tournament RBI record, also set by Al Etter in WP1, with 18. Rob Humes set a new single tournament Batting Average mark, at .800, previously held by Tyler Martini in WP7 (.700). Tommy Rullo also broke the single tournament hits and runs scored records, 18 & 15 respectively. The previous hits record was held by Jacob Bertonazzi (12, WP6) and the previous runs scored record was 12, held by multiple players.

Multiple offensive team records were broken. Both the Belgian Wiffles and Goodfellas broke the previous HR record, as well as the Runs Scored & RBI records. Also the Belgian Wiffles became the first team to reach 150 Total Bases in a single tournament.


MVP- Tommy Rullo (Belgian Wiffles)
Cy Young- Mike Tedesco (Goodfellas)
Title Game MVP- Kevin Fischer (Belgian Wiffles)
Most Improved Player- Nelson Denan (Cuban Raft Riders)
Top Rookie- Eric Bomenblit (Balco Bombers)

WP9 All-Star Team
P Mike Tedesco (GF) (Cy Young)
P Kevin Fischer (BW)
P Allen Rivera (GF)
IF Justin Geri (GF)
IF Eric Bomenblit (BAL)
IF Brian Stanzione (GF)
OF Tommy Rullo (BW) (MVP)
OF Johnny Malatesta (GS)
OF Rob Humes (BAL)
UT Jake Lambert (FLA)
UT Rocco Lombardo (GF)
UT Paul Nyitray (BAL)

# of all-stars by team
Goodfellas - 5
Balco Bombers - 3
Belgian Wiffles - 2
Goon Squad - 1
Flapacamingos - 1
Mandingos - 0
High & Dry - 0
Cuban Raft Riders - 0

Goodfellas tie for most amount of all-stars in a single tournament with 5 (Flapacamingos in WP5, WP8)

First time in tournament history that the Goon Squad & Flapacamingos have had less than 2 all-stars


*-pitching stats to be posted soon

Full Schedule and Initial Insights

WIFFLEPALOOZA IX SCHEDULE

The day-of pregame festivities include the following

8:30- MLW Today Pregame starts

9:45 – Optional BP on Field 2 & 3

10:30- All Players Arrive

10:45- Opening Ceremonies

              Team Introductions

              Ceremonial First Pitch

              National Anthem (Whitney Houston)

(all games on the Fox family of networks)

It's unconfirmed that the National Anthem playing will be Whitney Houston's version. Apparently there is still a possibility it will be the same Carrie Underwood version from last year, but other options are still being weighed. Additionally there has been no word or rumor on who will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The commissioner's office announced today that public address announcer Kevin Read will once again take the mic for the pregame ceremonies and beyond. This is Read's third tournament as PA announcer.

GAMES

11:00

Field 1- Flapacamingos v. Cuban Raft Riders 

    The rematch is set. For the 3rd year in a row, these two teams will open the tournament and continue to grow their rivalry. While the Flapacs won it all last year, the Raft Riders have won the only two matchups between these squads, including a walk off double last year. There has been much talk from the Flapacs side about refusing to lose this game. They wanted this matchup, and they've got it.

Field 2- Goon Squad v. High & Dry

    The other finalists from last year open up against one of the highly touted expansion teams. The newly renovated Goon Squad will be up against a stiff test early, but if they can consistently put the ball in play they'll test High & Dry, who's league is less defensive oriented. Both teams need a good start to the day in this divisional matchup

 

Field 3- Balco Bombers v. Mandingos

    It's rare that a team enters Wifflepalooza for the first time with as high a set of expectations as the Bombers have. But they certainly should have the talent to deal with it, and they get to showcase it right out of the gate. The Mandingos, having recently had a roster shakeup, should not be expected to do much more than settle in in this game, play hard, and hope to catch the right breaks.

12:00

Field 1- High & Dry v. Balco Bombers

   Battle at high noon, as the two new sets of gunslingers face off in a divisional matchup on the main field.

Field 2- Goodfellas v. Mandingos

   The Goodfellas finally take the field, as they look to rebound from last year's crushing semi-final extra-inning loss to the Goon Squad. A rare off first game will give this team of all-stars and veterans an extra chance to prepare for the Mandingos, who if they set up their pitching will have a good shot to earn their first all-time win

 

Field 3- Cuban Raft Riders v. French Toast Mafia

   The last of the new expansion teams finally get to take the stage. French Toast Mafia, who requested a first-game bye due to a possible travel conflict, will take on the Cuban Raft Riders who will already be on their second game of the day. Advantage may lie with CRR here as they are certainly more familiar with the field and structure of the tournament.

1:00

Field 1- French Toast Mafia v. Goodfellas

  Goodfellas & FTM play the middle of their three divisional games, and this one will be crucial for tiebreakers

 

Field 2- Flapacamingos v. Goon Squad

  The rematch of last year's championship game, as both squads continue their path through the gauntlet

2:00

Field 1- Mandingos v. French Toast Mafia

   This is the point in the day where teams with pitching depth could begin to seperate themselves, and on paper the advantage here goes to FTM. But if the Mandingos can get more offense from both ends of the lineup they can challenge everyone

 

Field 2- Goodfellas v. Cuban Raft Riders

  The final divisional matchup for the Goodfellas pits them against another experienced squad. And a rematch of an absolute slaughtering in last year's tournament that saw the Goodfellas hit 7 homers in the same game. Same field as last year also.

 

Field 3- Flapacamingos v. High & Dry

  The first and only trip over to Field 3 of the day for both squads. A matchup of highly prepared squads should bring a quality contest in another important divisional matchup

3:00

Field 1- Cuban Raft Riders v. Mandingos

   Both of these teams wrap up their days on the mainstage, hoping to still be battling for a playoff spot. While neither squad made the elimination rounds last year, being in the same division gives at least one of these teams an edge, and it may all come down to this matchup

 

Field 2- Balco Bombers v. Flapacamingos

  In talking about possible winner-take-all games, this one shapes up as another possibility. The Bombers will still have another game to work with, but the Flapacs may need this one to keep or gain control of their destiny. A big matchup for sure.

 

Field 3- Goon Squad v. Goodfellas

  The Goodfellas day wraps up with their inter-division matchup against the Goons. Both teams could easily be in playoff contention, and will be looking to add to the other tiebreaker, run differential.

4:00

Field 1- Balco Bombers v. Goon Squad

   Final game for both squads, and will finalize the playoff picture for at least one side of the bracket.

Field 2- High & Dry v. French Toast Mafia

  The final pool play game of the day, an interdivision matchup that could be all or nothing.

5:00- PLAYOFFS

Field 2- East Div Winner v. Wild Card

Field 3- West Div Winner v. Wild Card

6:15 – CHAMPIONSHIP

Field 1-  for the 9^th Wiffleball Championship of the World

Goon Squad Shake-Up Leaves Organization's Future in Question

PITTSBURGH- Rumors started to swirl Tuesday morning about a coming re-structuring, albeit possibly just temporarily, within the Goon Squad organization. Wednesday the team confirmed, that former all-star and current Goon Squad member Tyler Martini is now the captain, and will need to add, or promote from the minor leagues, new talent to fill the roster, after it was announced that Mark Ronchetti, Jeff Ronchetti and Nino Bonanno will not be on the roster this year. The front office announced it will most likely be just a one year hiatus for the core 3 franchise owner/captains, but Martini is confident he will be able to field a quality team. It's important to keep in mind that the Goons farm system was the top rated crop of prospects in all of Major League Wiffleball last year by Wiffleball America. If there are any further updates on this story we will bring them to you as they happen.

Divisions Reset- Tournament Picture Coming Into Focus

This afternoon in a private meeting at the MLW offices, the divisions were re-drawn and settled for Wifflepalooza IX. Each team draw in order was set in opposite divisions starting with the Eastern Division. Below are the results

EAST:
French Toast Mafia
Cuban Raft Riders
the Goodfellas
Monstars/Mandingos

WEST:
Balco Bombers
High & Dry
Goon Squad
Flapacamingos

Both divisions are heavy with talent, but let's take a closer look within each side

The East sets up nicely for former champions, the Goodfellas, as with the merger of the Monstars, there isnt a single other squad with a playoff win under their belts in the rest of the division. However, the unknown that's involved with French Toast Mafia, who has some obvious talent, could provide some excitement and a stiff challenge for the Goodfellas. Also give the Cuban Raft Riders their due, as they've shown to be more than capable the past two years. In fact, last year despite not even making the playoffs, they became the only team to ever beat BOTH finalists of the same tournament in that year. The biggest question of this division is definitely the combo squad of the Mandingos & Monstars, which still includes 3 current or former all-stars.

The West appears to be the much more competitive side. While it includes the defending champion Flapacamingos, the Balco Bombers and High & Dry are stocked full of new, young talent that is ready to take the stage. The one question here is the Goon Squad. After reaching the finals last year, it's been rumored (although not confirmed from management) that they will be undergoing a leadership shuffle, and needing to add new talent to fill out their team. While this means they'll likely be sober this year, it's unsure what the new talent will be able to accomplish.

The schedule for Wifflepalooza IX can now be created, and should be set in the coming day or two. Teams play every team in their division once, and one team from the opposite division. Once the schedule is made, teams can begin to plan out lineups and pitching strategies for the big day.

Mandingos & Monstars merge (at least for WP9), Settling All Questions

      An agreement was reached last Wednesday on the final competitors spot for Wifflepalooza IX, as the Monstars and Mandingos have agreed to merge the remaining players from each roster on to the same roster. Right now the squad includes both franchises captains, Rich Camacho & Pete Gervasio, as well as former all-stars Vinnie Foschi & Jeremy Wright (WP8 Top Rookie). The roster also includes experienced players such as Dustin Graiff, who had a walk off hit to win WP4, Luis Umana, and Steve Pistone. No official word on if the squad will change their name to accommodate their new situation. More details will be provided as they come.

Monstars May Fail to Quailify, Opening Door for Mandingos

MINNEAPOLIS- According to league sources, WP7 champions The Monstars may fail to submit a preliminary roster to the league office in time to qualify for this year's championship tournament. It appears that over the course of this past off-season, the team lost two of it's best and most important players, former MVP, Cy Young & Title Game MVP Matt Creamer, and former all-star Carlos Negron, to other opportunities elsewhere in the country. This leaves the Monstars with just 5 players on the active roster, and while two of them are former all-stars, it most importantly leaves the team with almost no pitching to speak of. The remaining players on the roster have a combined ERA of 10.78 over 38 innings pitched, and just 4 total wins.

The beneficiary of this opening could fall to the Mandingos, who despite finishing 0-3 and 6th in last year's tournament, could be much improved and have been bidding for another opportunity in Wifflepalooza. We should know the fate of both of these squads, as well as the preliminary rosters for all other teams no later than 4th of July weekend.

99 days: The Countdown Begins

We're now under 100 days until the greatest day of the sporting year arrives. This year's tournament, the 9th Wiffleball Championship of the World, was officially announced to take place on Saturday, August 1st. So with all of that in mind there are a few things that need to begin taking place. First being the building of the complex. This year is going to be different from almost every other year, first because it is scheduled to be an 8 team tournament, and second that there will be three fields build instead of just two. The only other year this was attempted was 2012 for WP6, but a freak overnight tornado/hurricane/apocalyptic thunderstorm wiped out any chance of holding an 8 team tournament. In that tournament, the only one played without electricity (no music, no announcing, nothing..), the Goodfellas were able to win their one and only trident, by beating the currently defunct He Man Woman Haters (a.k.a Fresh Cuts). This year we will be trying the 8 team format again, and will be counting on no freak weather occurrences to change that. Another new feature of the complex this year may be new and improved foul poles, an idea taken from another league's set up. 

Earlier this month the Commissioner's office took a group of officials out to Indianapolis, to work with and learn from the NCAA, at the Final Four, on how to run such an extensive and elaborate event. Granted that the Final Four is a bigger event, always held in a town much better equipped to hold a large event, MLW still feels that they have taken some solid principles and practices that they can apply in regards to the event itself and crowd control.

Beginning sometime around Memorial Day, the complex is expected to be available for practices and other wiffleball activities. A full schedule of dates for these activities will be released in the coming month, as well as the schedule for #PaloozaWeek and the tournament game schedule. Maybe the most important date for teams, players and owners is the submission date for rosters. No team is technically officially qualified for Wifflepalooza until they submit a primary roster to the Commissioner's office. The roster can be modified anytime from the submission date until the night before the tournament, but in order to officially get on the docket for the tournament a preliminary roster must be sent in. The submission date this year is  Friday, June 19th. For now, we'll continue to countdown, and gossip.. and wait to finally get started on another beautiful season.

Start of the New League Year

Hello everyone, and welcome back for another wonderful season/summer of wiffleball across our great nation. Today is the start of the new league year for Major League Wiffleball. This means that teams can execute trades and begin signing free-agents. This year there is a particularly large number of free agents available, as well as more players being added to the union due to the league expansion. Two new franchises, one from North Jersey, one from the Toms River area, and one from Buena, will all join the league this year bringing the total teams to 8. The following is a list of each team's current players on each roster, with each team's remaining salary cap number. Also at the bottom is a list of current free agents.

Flapacamingos - 6.5 under the cap
Matt Bocchese
Jake Lambert
Ryan Ricci
Kris Lapsley
Al Etter
Pat Ney
Ryan Hutchings

Goodfellas - 2 under the cap
Rocco Lombardo
Allen Rivera
Mike Mazzochi
Brian Stanzione
Justin Geri
Ernie Scoma
Jeff Lunsford
Cody Freese

Goon Squad - 14.3 under the cap
Mark Ronchetti
Jeff Ronchetti
Nino Bonanno
Tyler Martini
Danny Martini
Patrick Hennessey

Monstars - 18.5 under the cap
Rich Camacho
Vinnie Foschi
Carlos Negron
Matt Creamer
Craig Chammings
Shawn Robinson
Jeff Pilla
Steve Pistone

Cuban Raft Riders - 25.2 under the cap
John Bergen
Matt Glogau
Chris Sheldon
Pete Polo
Matt Wallace
Matt Garvey
Dimitri Paraskevas

FREE AGENTS - value
Steve Gonzalez  - 12.3
Fernando Gonzalez - 12.1
Mark Rowan - 10.6
Jeremy Wright - 10.2
Jeff Rowan - 9.2
Jacob Bertonazzi - 5.9
Kyle Lunsford - 5.7
Dustin Graiff - 5.2
Tyler Day - 5
Kevin Smick - 4.6
Luis Umana - 4.2 
Zach Klaudi - 4.1
Brian Browne - 3.9
Mike Reilly - 3.9
Troy Day - 3.4
Mike Lapsley - 3.3
Bobby Gifford - 2.8
Kerry Cerana - 2.8
Pete Gervasio - 2.7
Jake Habina - 2.1
Lee Timmons - 2.1
Eric Roig - 2.1
Sean Lent - 1.9
Angel Santiago - 1.8
Mike Tedesco - 1.8
Luke Bencie - 1.5
Matt Lewis - 1.4
Emory Pierson - 1.1
Perry Barse - 0.8
Eric Ciancaglini - 0.8
Rafal Klepacki - 0.768
Eamonn Keenan - 0.75
Brandon Lipschultz - 0.7
Rich Cugini - 0.5
Alex Johnson - 0.5
Joe D'Amato - 0.49
Alexi Paraskevas - 0.25

Any new player with no previous MLW experience automatically gets a value of 7.5

An official date for Wifflepalooza IX has not yet been announced, but should be made in the coming week. May each of your teams have a successful new year.

- Office of the Commissioner