The Mountaineer League @ The All-Star Break
Current Standings
Here are the Mountaineer League season standings through 58 games:
Code:
Blue Division W L PCT GB
Parkersburg Patriots 34 24 0.586 --
Beckley Bears 33 25 0.569 1
WhilHuntington Hawks 32 26 0.552 2
Kanawha Valley Vipers 26 32 0.448 8
Bluefield Bullfrogs 22 36 0.379 12
Gold Division W L PCT GB
Fairmont Engineers 40 18 0.690 --
Clarksburg Cardinals 29 29 0.500 11
Morgantown Monsters 29 29 0.500 11
Martinsburg Spirit 24 34 0.414 16
Wheeling Owls 21 37 0.362 19
League Leaders
Below are the current Mountaineer League statistical leaders in selected categories:
Code:
Batting Average:
0.439 D. Lowry, Fairmont
0.375 G. Rice, Parkersburg
0.368 J. Acord, Kanawha Valley
0.366 J. Griesck, Wheeling
0.365 O. Goeble, Morgantown
Homeruns:
17 M. Weaver, Fairmont
16 J. Rogers, Bluefield
14 C. Bagnold, Parkersburg
14 T. Tarriman, Clarksburg
13 4 tied with
Runs Batted In:
70 M. Weaver, Fairmont
50 D. Thacker, Kanawha Valley
48 O. Esparaza, Wheeling
47 C. Bagnold, Parkersburg
45 2 tied with
Wins:
11 D. Slater, Morgantown
10 J. Williams, Parkersburg
9 A. Cuecuecha, Fairmont
9 O. Pérez, Parkersburg
8 4 tied with
ERA:
1.00 D. Slater, Morgantown
2.05 J. Williams, Parkersburg
2.77 O. Pérez, Parkersburg
3.00 L. Butlin, Huntington
3.04 A. Searle, Clarksburg
Strikeouts:
165 D. Slater, Morgantown
108 O. Pérez, Parkersburg
83 S. Squire, Huntington
81 E. Davis, Clarksburg
81 J. Williams, Parkersburg
Saves:
16 W. Holland, Huntington
15 J. Reguejado, Beckley
15 S. von Tettau, Morgantown
14 B. Grayer, Clarksburg
13 J. Costello, Martinsburg
All-Star Selections
Below are the players selected by fan voting for the 2nd Annual Blue-Gold All-Star Classic. This year's mid-season classic will be played at
Appalachian Power Park, home of the
Kanawha Valley Vipers.
Blue All-Stars Starting Lineup- J. Acord 1B, Kanawha Valley
- K. Kingsley C, Huntington
- Sc. Hutton CF, Parkersburg
- St. Hutton LF, Bluefield
- J. Rogers 3B, Bluefield
- S. Hoskinson 2B, Huntington
- J. Cablleno RF, Beckley
- V. Broughall SS, Beckley
- O. Pérez P, Parkersburg
Gold All-Stars Starting Lineup- R. Lain CF, Fairmont
- M. Weaver 1B, Fairmont
- J. Casto C, Wheeling
- D. Lowry 3B, Fairmont
- T. Moore LF, Clarksburg
- O. Esparaza RF, Wheeling
- J. Griesck SS, Wheeling
- K. Solomon 2B, Wheeling
- A. Cuecuecha P, Fairmont
Controversial All-Star Voting Has One Team Asking Questions
MORGANTOWN, WV - Forgive the Morgantown Monsters if they are monstrously upset. Fans in Morgantown apparently feel the same way, as they have been barraging Mountaineer League headquarters in Charleston with angry calls, conveying their displeasure with the starting lineups for the upcoming All-Star Classic. Even Monsters team management has joined the disgrunted chorus.
"We are not pleased," team GM John Archer stated bluntly when asked about the brewing controversy. "This is supposed to be an All-Star Game, and to have the best pitcher in this league not starting only diminishes the whole thing. It's a joke, really. Slater'll tell you that he's not concerned about it, but I can tell you this - this team isn't happy right now. It feels like we've been disrespected, and to some extent, that's how this entire city feels, too."
David Slater, they collectively say, was robbed.
And they have a case. "Slice" as he is called in Morgantown, is, quite frankly, dominating the league. His ERA of 1.00 is more than a run per game better than the next closest hurler. He leads the lead in wins with 11 and strikeouts with 168. He has struck out 57 more batters than his closest competitor. He's also tops in the league in Innings Pitched, Strikeouts Per 9 IP, Complete Games, and WHIP.
"How can he not be the starting pitcher in the All-Star game?!?" an incredulous fan proclaimed outside the Morgantown Mall, his buddies all nodding in agreement. "This guy is killing everyone, and he's not the starter? Probably people in Fairmont double-voting to keep him out!"
While there is no evidence to suggest that fans in Fairmont are to blame, Mountaineer League fans, however, are apparently guilty. The official tally shows that "Slice" fell just short of Gold Division All-Star starter Arturo Cuecuecha from Fairmont by just 121 votes.
"Cuecuecha is a joke," an editorial in the
Dominion Post recently chided. "He's not even on the same planet in terms of talent as half the Monsters pitching staff. His ERA is nine times higher than Slater's, and that stat alone should tell you where the minds of these so-called "West Virginia baseball" fans are, for they certainly aren't on legitimate baseball talent!"
"It's not really that big of a deal to me," Slater admits, somewhat sheepishly. "I appreciate that the fans here in Morgantown support me and think I deserve the starting nod, but in the end, if we don't win the championship, I'm not going to worry about it. I just want to go out, make my pitches, and get this team to the playoffs."
In Their Own Words
"Let the belly-aching begin. I think we'll send them a case of Tums."
-- Fairmont Engineers GM Elvin Park, regarding the announcement that David Slater of the Morgantown Monsters was not the starting pitcher for the Gold All-Stars.
"I'm going for 150. Not to brag or sound too over-confident, but yeah, I think 150 is a good round number for the record books."
-- Fairmont Engineers 1B Mark Weaver replying to a question about how many runs he thinks he can bat in for the season. He currently leads the league with 70 in 58 games.
"They still around? Seriously, I had no idea. With any league that has a team named the Crickets, you have to ask that question."
-- Huntington Hawks RF Jeff Derenberger replying to a question regarding the comparison of talent in the ML and WVIL.