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!!

12-1-24 How many of you can name the baseball player that won 16 straight gold gloves. 16 straight, that's amazing. It's also a record for a non pitcher (Jim Kaat also won 16 straight). I'm talking about perhaps the best defensive third baseman of all time, Brooks Robinson. He could hit too but it was his defense that was special. One of my earliest baseball memories is watching Brooks in the World Series make incredible play after incredible play. Here is a nice video "Brooks Robinson's defense was SPECIAL (16 straight Gold Gloves, one of best third basemen ever)".

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:

The Blue Grass Blues are 2024 FBN Champions!

Details of the series can be found in the link below.

Click here to for the playoff results... as of 11/10/2024

Attached is a file with the draft order for the first 12 rounds of the draft with the current owner of each pick. Obviously this is subject to change based on future trades and the protected rosters. You will see a couple of new abbreviations. "NB" is National Bohemians, the new name for the Taxachusetts Chiefs (TX). Also new (kind of) is "SP" for the Southboro Psychics which has taken over the FoggyMountain (FM) team.

Click here to for the 2025 draft order in pdf format... updated as of 12/4/2024

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TEAM NOTES:

DEVIL DOODLES - 9-27

Connecticut completed its 38th season in the FBN with a 106-56 record - tied for the 2nd most wins in franchise history behind the 116 wins in 1995. The Blue Devils also won 106 games in 1992 and 1993. This will be the teams' 20th playoff appearance and 33rd season with a winning record. After taking over 1st place in the NL from the Klubbers at the beginning of May, Connecticut held the top position for the remainder of the season.

Freddie Freeman was clearly the team MVP batting .335 with 110 runs, 62 Doubles, 31 HR's and 130 RBI while making just 3 errors in the field. Also had a 1.001 OPS. His biggest competition for League MVP would be Ronald Acuna of the Jarheads.

Other Notable offensive performances:
-Thairo Estrada batted .330 with 30 doubles, 18 HR's, 76 runs and 14 Stolen bases
-Bobby Witt Jr led the team with 37 HR's along with 116 RBI, 104 Runs and 30 SB's
-Corey Seager was solid at .287 with 29 doubles, 31 HR's and 101 RBI
-Brandon Drury in just 290 AB's hit 22 HR's with 66 RBI
-Gary Sanchez hit 16 HR's with 34 RBI in just 171 AB's

The pitching staff was excellent all season long finishing with a Team ERA of 3.56 which was the lowest since 1993.

Top Pitching performances:
- Evan Phillips established himself as the Closer with 41 saves in 60 games 2.15 ERA
- Jon Gray led the team with 15 wins but was somewhat fortunate with a 4.29 ERA
- Clayton Kershaw performed as expected going 12-6 3.33 ERA
- Merrill Kelly got the least run support as he had a 3.49 ERA but only a 14-12 record
- Aaron Civale (11-5 3.57) and Zach Eflin (13-10 3.82) rounded out the rotation

The Blue Devils will now rest up and get ready to face the winner of the NL Wild Card Series between Zanti and Norwich. The Blue Devils went 6-6 vs Zanti and 8-4 vs Norwich during the regular season. However, Connecticut didn't have Gerrit Cole when facing those teams so we'll see if Cole can make a difference. Cole went 3-1 2.34 in his 5 starts in the last block.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL PLAYOFF TEAMS - HAVE FUN!

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DEVIL DOODLES - 9-14

Connecticut broke the 100 win mark in a recent series vs. the Powderkegs moving their record to 101-49 with 12 games left to play. This is the first time the Blue Devils have won 100 games since winning 102 in 2004. Overall, this is the franchises' 7th time with over 100 wins. The team won't catch the highest win total of 116 in franchise history back in 1995 but should become the 2nd winningest team in their history needing to surpass 106 wins for 2nd place.

Some potential team records that could be broken:
Saves - team record: 55 - currently have 52
Shutouts - team record: 17 - currently have 16
Hits allowed - team record: 1,215 - currently at 1,145 with 12 games left
Least Errors made - team record: 55 - currently at 52

One potential individual record that could be broken:
Saves - Darren Holmes 43 in 1994 - currently Evan Phillips with 39

For the playoffs, the Blue Devils acquired Gerrit Cole to be their ace. So far, Cole has made 2 starts winning both allowing 2 runs in 14 innings with 12 K's. The playoff rotation behind Cole will be a difficult decision as 4 starters have ERA's under 3.72 and another starter Jon Gray 4.07 leads the team with 15 wins. There will certainly be a couple disappointed pitchers come the playoffs.

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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-9

BROKEN RECORD
Ronald Acuna has set a new Jarhead record for hits in a season. His 4 hit game vs The Blue Devils pushed him to 229 hits, surpassing Travis Fryman's 2001 mark of 228. Acuna's BA is .365 with 8 games remaining as he chases Fryman's USJ BA record of .361.

AGAIN I ASK, HOW DID HE DO IT?
MLB 2-4, 5.82 Card.
Strat = LH 41 OB - RH 34 OB

Ryan Feltner, recently re-signed as a temp player, was put right into the starting rotation by Manager Jeff Kent. His first start was on the road at Burlington. Unbelievably, Feltner fired a CG 1 hit Shutout. He walked 4 and struck out 10 batters. The only hit was a clean single by Polanco in the 3rd inning. Feltner faced a tough jam in the 7th. A walk, error and walk loaded the bases with 0 outs. But he bore down and fanned Castellanos. Then got Marsh on a soft liner and then fanned PHer Velasquez to get out of trouble. Feltner finished strong striking out 5 of the last 7 batters. Feltner joins Jordan Lyles 5-17, 6.56 and Patrick Corbin 3-16, 5.85 as the only Jarheads with CG Shutouts in 2024. Amazing!

SHRAPNEL:
Jeff McNeil had 7 straight hits in a recent series vs the Chiefs. He singled in his last AB in game 1, went 4-4 in game 2, and began game 3 with a HR and a single before striking out to end the streak. In game 4 McNeil struck again with a HR. His next plate appearance he was drilled in the ribs and had to leave the game.

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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-1

40-40 Man
US Jarhead MVP Candidate Ronald Acuna became the first Jarhead to record over 40 HRs and 40 Steals in a season. At the end of block 7 Acuna has 41 HRs and 45 steals. With 20 games to go Acuna is also flirting with the all-time USJ Batting Average mark of .361 set by Travis Fryamn in 2001. Currently he is at .365 and leading the entire FBN. Acuna also leads the FBN in runs scored with 124. His 41 HRs is currently 2nd in the NL and is just one off of his career high in HRs of 42 in 2020. With 210 hits he needs 19 more to surpass Fryman's USJ record of 228 hits in a season.

SHRAPNEL:
HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
With "Brootal" cards and records to match, Patrick Corbin 3-14, 5.94 and Jordan Lyles 5-15, 6.25 have each fired a CG shut-out this season. Corbin's gem came against the AS 89ers. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and fanned 4 in a dominating 2-0 win.

Jordan Lyles was even more dominant vs The Powderkegs, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 9 Ks, again in a 2-0 win. Without the shut-outs Corbin's era would be 6.35 and Lyles 6.60.

JARHEADS RE-SIGN RYAN FELTNER
The Jarheads re-acquired right handed Starting Pitcher Ryan Feltner from the in-season Temporary Player Draft. He was originally drafted by USJ in 2023 and he posted a 4-11, 5.55 record. He was released by the team just before the 2024 draft. Manager Jeff Kent said Feltner will go right into the starting rotation for the final block.

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DEVIL DOODLES - 8-15

After going 29 series in a row from the start of the season not losing a series, Connecticut recently lost 4 of their last 8 series. The Blue Devils have still not been swept this season and currently sit at 85-41 heading down the stretch run. The team is currently on pace for 109 wins which would be 2nd most in franchise history behind the 116 wins in 1995.

Offensively, the team continues to maintain a .275 team BA - the highest since batting .295 in 2004 during the "juiced" ball era. Team is scoring almost 6 runs/game.

Freddie Freeman's latest numbers in his quest for MVP:
.336 170 hits, 91 runs, 46 doubles, 28 HR's 118 RBI .411 OB and 1.012 OPS
Bobby Witt Jr has taken over the team lead in HR's with a hot streak and now has 33 dingers and is close to the 100 RBI mark - currently with 94. Jake McCarthy was brought up from the minors during the last AL block and is pushing for playing time batting .413 over his first 21 games. Right now he is replacing Mike Tauchman who hit only .214.

The pitching staff, although not having big name guys, has continued to maintain an excellent Team ERA of 3.57. This would be the lowest ERA in franchise history since 3.18 all the way back in 1993. Jon Gray continues to pitch amazingly at 15-4 3.99 - a big surprise from the #3 starter slot. Merrill Kelly, a 20 game winner last year has started to come on lately and is now 13-9 3.39. Aaron Civale, the #4 starter has contributed a 10-4 record 3.42 ERA.

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DEVIL DOODLES - 7-10

Connecticut finished Block 5 play going 13-7 and now sit at 73-30. They have still not lost a series all season. They have won 18 series and split 11 series. A big reason for some of their success has been the close games. The Blue Devils are 18-9 in one run games and 6-1 in extra innings.

Freddie Freeman's latest numbers in his quest for MVP:
.341 142 hits, 75 runs, 36 doubles, 23 HR's 97 RBI .414 OB and 1.013 OPS

Bobby Witt Jr continues to have a spectacular sophomore season batting .289 with 75 runs, 22 doubles, 26 HR's 75 RBI 15 stolen bases and .873 OPS. He has also been outstanding on defense making only 7 errors in 101 games. Brandon Drury has slid under the radar as a part-time 2B/DH but has been incredibly productive. In only 176 AB's, he has 16 HR's and 51 RBI and Thairo Estrada is batting .335 with 14 HR's and 43 RBI as platoon 2B.

The pitching staff has continued to be solid overall with a 3.50 Team ERA. Jon Gray leads the team with 12 wins while Zach Eflin leads starters with a 3.18 ERA 10-4 record. After a bit of a rough start, closer Evan Phillips has rounded into form going 5-2 2.56 with 27 saves to lead a strong bullpen.

Finally, in the "I've never seen this before" category, in a recent series split vs Zanti Misfits, Zanti won 2 games with just 3 total hits!!! They won the first game 2-0 getting 1 hit - a 2 run HR after a walk. They won the last game of the series 1-0 with just 2 hits. Needless to say both offenses were terrible in the series. CT batted .195 with just 1 HR while the Misfits hit only .145 but blasted 4 HR's to help gain the split.

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

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2024 INSIDE THE FLY BY NIGHT
Written by Ed Griffin
March 2024

Here are my 2024 projections

Done in record time this year! I'm not retired yet but my new job does not require much effort so I've been working on my projections. Looks like lots of teams on the playoff bubble so good luck refuting my predictions. I'm looking forward to another fun season!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Projected Finish
1) Connecticut
2) Burlington
3) Taxachusetts
4) Hazardville
5) US Jarheads
6) Norwich
7) Zante
8) Allyn Street
9) Wall Street
10) FoggyMountain
11) Illinois
12) Klee's

It looks to be another very competitive season in the NL during 2024.

I do think that CT and BB are the two best teams. But after that it gets very challenging to determine who is likely to make the playoffs. The Blue Devils have an excellent rotation and one of the best closers in Phillips. Freeman and Seager lead a very solid offense. Just a solid team top to bottom. The Bucs are right there. Not the big names, but a very good lineup. Also, they probably have the league's best rotation. Good pen as well. Should be a real battle for the NL regular season crown. I'm going with Taxachusetts, Hazardville and US next. I put Norwich and Zante on the bubble. I see Allyn Street, Wall Street, FoggyMountain, Illinois and Klee's on the outside looking in. In this season of challenging pitching, I figure the Chiefs and Jarheads will slug their way into the playoffs. The Kegs are also a bit light on the pitching, but a fairly well balanced team. Wall Street is interesting as they have one of the NL's better starting rotations. However, a 3e25 at SS and crappy offense are not good things. Big question ... will the Klubbers get out of the basement?

....click here to see projected team details for the National League