WEEKLY VIDEO

Our weekly feature, Baseball Videos! These are from YouTube or other sources and may have advertisements in them but they are usually worth it. Each week or so we will feature a different video. YouTube or other similar websites are the host for these video's and I assume the videos are not copyright protected if they are on the YouTube website. If a video is taken down it is done by YouTube. Enjoy!!

4-19-26 One of the games I used to play as a kid was "Pickle". No, not pickle ball but baseball pickle. That is basically doing a baserunner run down to see how long the runner can last. It was a fun easy game that just needed 3 players, two fielders and a runner. You could play as long as you wanted and did not need a baseball field or a lot of space to play. Organized teams practice run down plays and try to perfect getting the out. The defense is usually effective but sometimes the run down takes much longer than it should. Here is a video featuring "MLB, Longest Rundowns".

Click here to play this weeks video clip...

If you would like to replay an old video check out the Video Archive on the left side of the website.

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LEAGUE NOTES:

Here is the 2026 FBN League computer file. Download the file and install it on your computer. There are instructions for installing the file in the computer section on the left menu. If you find a problem with the file please let Bob Figella know about any issues. You must use this file for all league games.

Click here for the 2026 FBN computer file...

This is the only file that will be issued by the league unless we find a problem. Each member must do all their own transactions. Please do not move or trade players until the trade becomes effective. An example is if you make a trade that is effective the next block DO NOT MOVE THE PLAYERS UNTIL YOU HAVE PLAYED ALL GAMES IN THAT BLOCK. Moving players early is one major cause of problems. It can duplicate players or delete players. If you are creating a computer manager for the next block the same logic applies. Do not adjust your roster and create the computer manager until all your games are played for games involved before the trade become official. If you have a computer issue and need a new computer file during the season and do not have a file in your backups then email Bob Figella and he will supply the latest file with all transactions to that date but it will not include your stats.

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TEAM NOTES:

89ERS REPORT CARD - 3-30

Block 1 - C+

After a 1-3 start in Norwich, the team has bounced back with a 10-6 run. We are currently two games behind the Jarheads.

The team was hitting only .219 before the series in Illinois, where the bats came alive with a .265 average, raising the overall team average to .231. Key individual performances include Xavier Edwards, who hit .473 to raise his average to .262, and Isaac Collins, who hit .375 to raise his average from .171 to .228.

The team has only hit 14 home runs in the first 20 games. Wenceel Perez currently leads the team with three homers. The team has hit 34 doubles, led by Isaac Collins with 7. Jose Ramirez leads the team with 11 RBI.

Team offensive - D

Pitching has been the bright spot of the season to date. Shane Schwellenbach is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 25 Ks in 27.1 IP. Tyler Mahle is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 18 Ks in 18.1 IP, while Andrew Abbott is 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA and 22 Ks in 24.2 IP. Michael Wacha has been the hard-luck pitcher so far, sitting at 1-3 with a 3.42 ERA. Kevin Gausman is 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA and 40 Ks in 33.2 IP.

The bullpen is led by Dennis Santana (1-0, 5 saves, 1.04 ERA, 7 Ks in 8.2 IP). Also putting in strong work are Devin Williams (0.87 ERA and 11 Ks in 10.1 IP) and Carlos Estevez (0.87 ERA in 10.1 IP).

Team pitching - A

LOOKIN AHEAD
Going into Block 2 only one change will be made to the 26-man roster. Kyle Higashioka will be called up from AAA, West Broad Street Brunos to replace Danny Jansen. Jansen was hitting only .154 in his 11 games.

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DEVIL DOODLES - 3-29

The Blue Devils opened play in its 40th season in the FBN looking to make the postseason for the 4th year in a row but things got off to a rough start getting swept 4 games by Manatee County. Connecticut scored just 5 runs in the series. Since then, the Blue Devils have split each of its' next 2 series and currently sit at 6-10.

The offense has been pitiful with a Team BA of only .196. The Blue Devils have scored 2 runs or less in 9 of 16 games played. The highest BA on the team is .268 while 8 players have a BA of .200 or less . . . just brutal. The team is averaging 6 hits/game while striking out 8 times/game. Obviously, it is early so there is certainly hope of turning things around.

On the positive side, the overall pitching has been excellent with a Team ERA of 3.33. Starters Drew Rasmussen and Hurston Waldrep are a combined 5-0 0.52 ERA in 5 starts. Merrill Kelly on the other hand has been the "bad luck" starter. Despite a 2.19 ERA in 4 starts, Kelly is 0-3 getting 2 runs of offensive support in his 3 losses. Starter Andrew Heaney has been abysmal going 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA in 3 starts.

Connecticut wraps up Block 1 hosting the Klubbers before heading to play the NL East teams.

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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 3-20

Great pitching has propelled The Jarheads to early season success as evidenced by two starting pitchers earning Jarhead of the month honors. Miles Mikolas 3-0, 3.04 and Cole Ragans 3-0, 3.22 are the co-winners. Yamamoto 2-1, 2.73 and McLean 1-2, 1.93 pitched great as well but not as lucky in the outcomes.

Fifth starter Patrick Corbin has rebounded from his 1st start disaster. Blowing up early and chained to the mound Corbin was pounded for 9 runs on 17 hits in 8 innings. Since then in 3 starts: 1-2, 3.52 15.1ip, 15h, 7r, 6er, 6w,13k, 1hr, lowering his ERA to 5.79.

US Jarhead bats are cool so far with a .244 BA and several players struggling. But Jeff McNeil hit rock bottom and was sent to Motivation Platoon at Parris Island until the next block of games begin. In 74 ABs McNeil is "hitting" a Buck35. That's it! .135 and to boot, he has not had 1 walk. Not one! 0.

SHRAPNEL: USJ Rookie of the Month is reliever Braydon Fisher. He's appeared in 9 games and pitched to a 0.68 era. 13.1ip, 9h, 1hr, 4bb, 19k with a win and a save.

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Older team articles can be found in the Team Article Archive on the left side menu.

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2026 INSIDE THE FLY BY NIGHT
Written by Ed Griffin
March 2026

Hey guys,
Here you go. Another exciting FBN season about to roll. I have two prohibitive favorites. We’ll see how they do. Good luck to everyone and have fun playing the lowly but frisky FIGHTING KOI!

Ed