Merry Christmas, Whifflers!

A Look Inside the Wiffle Vault

Faced with uncountable Saturdays until one can return to the asphalt of Nance Bradds, how can a Whiffler pass the time of winter?  Well, if you're not into playing hockey in your sneakers, then another possibility is to read books about Wiffle Ball.

One such tome is Michael Hermann's Wiffle Ball: The Ultimate Guide.  Written enthusiastically by the "brand manager" for Wiffle Ball, Inc., this book has all the history, as told by the family that lived it, of one of America's top-ten all time toys. Hermann also wends his way through wiffle's place in popular culture, the science of wiffle pitching, and the recent surge in wiffle leagues and tournaments.  Along the way, sidebars give the reader wiffle recollections from such diverse folk as Grady Sizemore, Julius Erving and Nick Jonas (!).  And trivia: guess how much the Wiffle Ball, Inc. has spent on marketing since 1975?  (Answer below)

The evolution of the leagues had me most interested, because it reminded me of Oakwood Whiffle and Ale at certain points.  Each of these organizations (and by this book's use of the term OW&AC is not a league, but more of a regular pick-up game) found their pitchers rapidly outpacing their batters, and needed to find ways to get away from the 1-0 games and the 0-0 ties.  Comfortingly, they drew upon the same solutions we considered at our rules committee: moving back the mound and homerun derbies.

Mind you, as the book points out, wiffle ball was invented to be a strikeout game: for suburban backyards where it can be a pain to retrieve a ball if it is hit too far, and window breaking is a serious possibility.

I have no idea if it's an accident or by design of the OW&AC Founders, but it seems that most "leagues" start at about a 40 to 42 foot pitching distance, and then gradually extend to about 48 feet.  OW&AC is right in there with our 41 foot mound - part of the great national fabric of wiffle.

There.  That should keep you warm for a few more weeks.

Wiffle Ball: The Ultimate Guide, by Michael Hermann and The Wiffle Ball, Inc. Triumph Books, 2010.

(Marketing budget since 1975: $0)

And then came the Whiffies!

The diligent work of the Rules Committee was rewarded with plentiful plates of Tank's food: there were burgers with and without cheese, wings and fries galore, plentiful pitchers and large cups of water with lemon.  Once gastronomically sated, Master of Ceremonies, Commissioner Peter Berwald began the main program of the evening: The Whiffies.

Peter holding a Whiffie

Fashioned by hand as a joint effort of Glen Cebulash and da Commish, this year's Whiffies feature a brown glass bottle and a whole, genuine OW&AC game-used wiffle ball!  Glen cut, glued, and nailed the plaque frames; Peter added the photos, inscriptions and the bottle/balls.  Truly, works of art.

Honoring each Whiffler that took to the asphalt in the 2010, Peter read the inscription on each plaque.  They combined humor and a fair sprinkling of statistics to capture the flavor of each one's season.  Here we see Laura Hume finding something a great deal funnier than Dave Bush.

After encapsulating 16 players' seasons, it came time for the Commissioner to honor a player who had an exemplary season with the League MVP Trophy.  The recipient was a clear choice in Peter's words: Kurt Mosser, who's league-leading batting was coupled with a pitching ERA just north of 1.

Note that this photo caught the boyish charm of Eric Zamonski and his lovable sidekick, Disembodied Hand.  Such zanies, they are.

Here's the MVP with his hardware.  This trophy is a one of a kind likeness of Tank Killabrew, the League mascot, modeled in clay and fabric, the work of Commissioner Peter Berwald.  It was announced that this trophy will be the permanent MVP trophy for the OW&AC, passing from one MVP to the next each year.    Who doesn't want this in their house next December, huh?

Peter then turned the proceedings over to Glen Cebulash, who fashioned the "Commissioner's Award" for 2010, pictured below.

Inspired by the legend of the sword in the stone, this piece features the bat in the asphalt plus another genuine, OW&AC game-used wiffle ball.  Immediately nicknamed the John Kruk Trophy, it was awarded to Matt Lindsay for statistical and bloggical contributions to the League.  Asked to say a few words, a genuinely surprised Matt thanked the players for tolerating his evident need to keep score and quantify what really should just be a morning's fun. And thus the ceremonies came to a close.

But the merriment continued...

.. until the room looked like this.

Again, many thanks to Peter Berwald for a season's worth of work supporting the games and the Whiffies, Glen Cebulash for the same, Tim Baker for rounding up our tables for the banquet, and Brent Mackintosh for a season's worth of Theory Session umpiring, and working to arrange the venue for the Whiffies.

Gentlemen, it was a hit.

The sweet righty swing of Tim "Boog" Baker

Witness to the Committee

Last night at Tank’s the luminaries of the Oakwood Whiffle and Ale League had before them a transformational opportunity.  “Opportunity” because for that shining moment, they gathered for the first time in memory as a “Rules Committee” empowered to re-imagine Whiffle as we know it.  “Transformational” because the slate of rules before them, if adopted, promised to re-make Saturday Morning into an exuberant, joyful exhibition of sporting bat-and-ball play.  There were eight carefully crafted rule proposals, each designed in their own way to increase run production, and all merited consideration.  

It seemed that all were united in purpose: that there should be more offense, so that 2-0 leads do not feel insurmountably large. But the Whiffle Sages, the Founders if you will, prevailed upon the committee to consider the import of the "history" and the "traditions" that are the foundation of our Whiffle and Ale Club.  They urged the assembled to be wary of the easy attraction of "run production" and "offensive stats."

And their guidance did hold sway as proposal after proposal was voted down, to the delight of the gallery.

So what was achieved?  Passing on the chance to revolutionize the game, the committee chose to subtly embroider the edges.  It was agreed to add a new “Groundout Line” at about the distance of the pitching rubber.  To record a ground out, pitcher must field the ball inside this new, smaller area.  Balls passing through this area will be recorded as singles, as in the past (the doubles line will remain further back, unchanged).  This will have the effect of marginally increasing singles (which are already the result of over 27% of all at-bats) and marginally decreasing ground outs (which are already only 12% of at-bats).

And then, the most controversial proposal of the meeting: The Automatic Grand Slam.  Currently if a foul ball passes through the basketball hoop at the east end of the backstop wall, it is an automatic grand slam (regardless of the actual runners on base at the time), four RBI.  This proposal would award the same ruling to a foul ball through the hoop at the west end of the backstop as well.  OH.  MY.  GOD.  You would have thought we were discussing using mitts.  The “East Hoopers” waged a furious argument to keep the west hoop out of the game.  They even went so far as to distract the committee over whether the proposal should read “both hoops” or “either hoop.”  An evenly divided committee left Commissioner Berwald in the uncomfortable position of the tie-breaking vote.  The committee fell silent to hear his decision; “either hoop” was the call.  And thus the infinitesimally unlikely possibility that a foul ball would pass through the basketball hoop for a grand slam (it has never happened before) just got imperceptibly more possible with the addition of the West Hoop.

So there we have it.  More singles and another virtually impossible shot at a grand slam.  Only 16 weeks until opening day!

On this day we give thanks

Remember to give thanks for Friends, Whiffle and folding chairs.

A Whiff of Indian Summer

Five whifflers came to the Aberdeen Avenue Grounds this morning to enjoy what seems surely to be the last opportunity to play in 2010 (but you never know).  Before the start of play it was agreed that for this game no stats would be kept, and no stats would count.  So to protect the innocent, the names have been changed in this game story.

Despite the fact that we weren't keeping score, most players still pitched like it was game seven, and more than a couple of players watched strike three like it was game seven, too.  What should have been played like an exhibition, ended up a 3-0, six inning final, though it ended with some drama.  To wit....

Visitors "Kant" and "Eisenhower" each pitched three shut out innings, getting meaner and meaner with each successive turn at the rubber.  I guess nothing less should have been expected as they are the two best pitchers in the league.

They got all their runs in the third off  "Bowie," the only pitcher who was using the stats-free environment to work on his pitches.  "Kant" doubled, then singled one out later, then homered with two outs for three RBI.  He and "Eisenhower" would proceed then to load the bases, but failed to score again.

A long boring string of three up/three down innings would follow until the bottom of the sixth, with "Kant" in to protect a three-run lead (but no save to be earned).  The home side managed to load the bases thanks to a single from "Bowie" and two from "Han Solo."  However, in the midst of this threat "Henry Chadwick" was quietly striking out twice, and now "Henry Chadwick" was up with two out and the bases loaded.  I'm pretty sure "Kant" felt he had to get "Henry Chadwick" out because if he didn't the next two batters had a real shot at working a walk-off win.  So the velocity came up a couple of notches, and the chatter went silent.  In an earlier inning "Kant" hit "Henry Chadwick" square in the left cheekbone with a wicked fast ball, and he used that to his advantage now with crazy breaking pitches all on the inside and up.  "Henry Chadwick" didn't have a prayer.  Ball. Game.

Kant, Eisenhower - 3
Bowie, Han Solo, Henry Chadwick - 0

All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray.

 Another low scoring game where we spent most of our time watching guys strike out.  So come to The Whiffies and join the debate about how the rules should be changed to get some more offense:

December 10, 2010 @ 7:30

TANK'S

A Bill..

For the Consideration of the Rules Committee

of the Oakwood Whiffle and Ale Club

December 10, 2010

Proposed rules changes for the 2011 Championship Season

1. Game Rules:
1. Move the pitching rubber back - current distance to the wall is approximately 41 feet.
2. Ground balls must be fielded no deeper than the pitching rubber.
3. Runner at third (less than 2 outs) to tag and score on fly ball caught beyond the HR line - batter credited with 1 RBI, and charged with an out.
4. Self-toss HR derby to resolve tie games - specific rules of such derby to be determined at a later time.
5. Both hoops to count for automatic grand slam, rather than just the east hoop - it’s just common sense.
6. All players must wear sleeves - it is a gentleman’s game, after all.
7. A pitch that hits the batter shall count as a "Ball" and four "Ball"s shall count as a walk.

2. Scoring Rules:
1. Account for strike out looking separately from strike out swinging - Beltran!
2. Account for errors by Pitcher - errors will not count as hits, this will lower batting averages.
3. Account for errors by Fielders - errors will not count as hits, this will lower batting averages.
4. Determine un-earned runs, and factor into Pitcher ERA - this will lower ERAs.

Comments to these rule proposals are welcome.  Please also submit additional rule proposals for consideration in the comments to this post.

And finally, comment on how large a majority is needed to pass a new rule?  50% +1? two-thirds?  just Peter?

"Untitled"

No wiffle yesterday, but a good number of Whifflers gathered this week with the arts community at the Triangle Gallery on the campus of Sinclair Community College (4th Floor, Building 13, corner of Perry and Fifth, downtown Dayton) for a reception marking the opening of Glen Cebulash’s show: “Recent Work by Glen Cebulash.”

It was certainly a well rounded, complete reception.  There was art to contemplate:

There was excellent conversation:

There was live music:

There was food (not pictured).

The Artist himself was there and the opportunity for one-on-one conversation with Glen, on the topic of his oeuvre, was both engaging and enlightening.  Glen was a blur of motion and activity, as can be seen by this series of shots in which my camera (which is really more phone than camera) was unable to capture him clearly:

The pieces on display now through November 18 include collages, as well as works in other media (oils and inks) that affect collages.  There is a great variation in scale with pieces ranging from the sketch to the over-sized canvas.  Speaking as someone with no artistic outlet of my own, I was impressed by the evident energy and devotion that went into this “Recent Work.” This gallery show is a swell setting to see Glen’s work.  However, like most Whifflers, my favorite place from which to see Glen’s work is from the BATTER’S BOX.

Towards the end of the show Tim “The Whammer” Baker had the audacity to get out his camera.  

Let’s see what Tim is capturing on his phone here...

GASP!  So not only will The Artist not show up on film, neither will his work?  Glen, what kind of  Black Magic are you employing?

Well, anyway the Whiffle off season is off to a smashing start!  Can we look forward to wine and cheese tastings, poetry readings and foreign film noir??  Sounds .. uplifting.  On the other hand, some of us will be playing ice hockey in our sneakers.

Remember: The Whiffies banquet is December 10.

Sad Whifflers

The Commish has declared an end to the season: no Whiffle on Saturday.  Further, the post season banquet, The Whiffies, has been set for December 10.

Watch this space for occasional updates on whifflers' off season activities.

All stats are FINAL.

Trick or Treat

When the rules committee meets in the off-season, a number of proposals will be on the table, most of them geared toward generating more offense.  Games like today’s contest at Nance Bradds, though, may have the committee thinking everything is just fine, thank you.


This morning the 3 Musketeers were hosted by the SmARTies for a six inning battle to the finish.  The drama came right away as Cebulash got into a one-out, bases loaded jam, with league leading hitter Mosser at the plate.  Accounts from all sides agree, Glen turned a gutsy double play on a deep grounder to squelch the threat and allow no runs.


But the visitors would not be held at Zero for long, scoring 1 in the second off Berwald (an RBI triple from Mosser) and another three off Cebulash in the third, courtesy of a bases loaded triple off the bat of one, Brent Mackintosh.


Down 0-4 in the bottom of the third, the SmARTies started their own offensive Starburst, at the expense of pitcher Tim Baker.  Berwald started the inning with a K, but then would hit a remarkable four straight 1-RBI hits in his next four at bats.  Cebulash Skittled hits in be-Twixt those and when Baker found the last out, we had a whole new game at 4-4.


The home SmARTies looked to continue their run scoring against Mackintosh in the 4th: Cebulash hit a 1-out double.  Berwald then tagged a low liner, a Twizzler that carried at maybe 2 feet off the ground all the way into Mosser’s hands as he fell and made the catch.  Cebulash followed with a Tootsie Pop into the hands of Tim Baker.  Candy corn, and the rally was over.

The visitors seemed to put the game out of reach in the 5th when Glen’s ill-advised attempt at another double play let a runner from third score when the throw hit the wall too low.  There were some Snickers when a dribbler passed through Glen’s Butterfingers for a single.  Four hits later, it was a three run inning and the visitors were sitting pretty, up 7-4.  The M&M boys, Mackintosh and Mosser combined for 7 RBI on this day.


But this game was not over.  The bottom of the sixth was Crunch time for closer, Tim Baker. Cebulash and Berwald combined on four straight singles to start the inning, closing the gap to 7-5.  In these situations, pitchers need to pull reserve will from a Special Dark place in their character.  With the winning run aboard, Baker induced a double play from Cebulash - turning the tables on him - and then a ground out from Berwald to end the contest.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	LOB
3 Musketeers - Brent, Kurt, Tim	0	1	3	0	3	0	7	17	9
SmARTies - Glen, Pete	0	0	4	0	0	1	5	15	9

W: Brent Mackintosh
L: Glen Cebulash
S: Tim Baker

Notes

• No Whoppers from our two Baby Ruths today and they remain tied at 5 HR a piece with few if any chances left to add to their totals.
• Big Payday for Brent Mackintosh today: 2IP, no runs allowed; 5-for-12 at the plate with 4 RBI.

The Net Effect

Many commentators remarked as the regular season wound down that the NL MVP race was between Joey Votto, Albert Pujols and Carlos Gonzalez.  And as the Rockies faded from post season contention, Gonzalez’s stock fell; many now predict that Votto, who had a very-good to great season for a division winner will get the award.

SABR-matricians will tell you that the real winner should be Roy Halladay, because his WAR stat is best in the NL.  WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is, in theory, a stat that allows for the comparison of all players, pitchers and position players, across all teams.  It is a grand unified stat.  

I suspect Votto will win, but predict that Roy Halladay will finish in the top 4.

A unique aspect of the whiffle stats is the fact that EVERY player is a batter and a pitcher.  This simplifies the issue of League MVP voting, because voters will not have to decide between a dominant pitcher and a dominant hitter.  So can one develop a single unified statistic that weighs a player’s contribution on the asphalt both as a pitcher and as a batter?

The “Net”

Following on from the concept that all plays are positive for one player and negative for another, could one sum up all a player’s positives, and the subtract out the negatives and get a single measure of the player’s effectiveness?

Say for instance we take a player’s positive stats, batting hits (bH) , batting RBI (bR), and pitching strikeouts (pK) and add them up.  Then subtract out the negatives, hits allowed as a pitcher (pH), runs allowed as a pitcher (pR) and batting strikeouts (bK).  So, we’d have:

bH+bR+pK-pH-pR-bK = Net

In the case of Matt Lindsay you’d have:

94+30+114-98-27-106 = 7

But we can get a little more detailed with the stats.  Instead of hits, how about total bases batted (bTB) and allowed (pTB)?

bTB+bR+pK-pTB-pR-bK = Net

Again, using Lindsay’s stats:

133+30+114-146-27-106 = -2

So, after a Spring and Summer of whiffle, the net effect of Matt’s play has been a negative 2.

Using this formula, here are the players with a positive net:

Name	Net
Mosser	161
Eldridge	105
Berwald	90
Ha	39
Simpson	27

That’s it.  That's the list.  And if you add up all 17 players’ Nets from this full season, naturally, you get zero.  So these five players have been feasting on the other 12 of us.  Or actually 11 of us, because in his one appearance Chris Diodoardo’s Net summed to zero.

But wait, these are cumulative stats.  What about a really good player that didn’t play very much (I’m looking at you, Brian Simpson)?  To really compare players, this stat should be a per-game measure.  So here is the per game Net for these players:

Name	Net	Games	Net/Game
Simpson	27	4	6.75
Mosser	161	29	5.55
Eldridge	105	19	5.53
Berwald	90	31	2.90
Ha	39	18	2.17

The last question is, “6.75 what?’  What does the number mean?  Might mean nothing as we are adding up net bases, net runs and net strikeouts.  I guess it means these are good players to have on your team - they do more good than harm.

Oh, I’m sure your anxious to know Stats’ Net/Game.  With 27 games played it calculates to -0.07.  Yep, it’s almost like he was never even there.

Whiffle World Series Time!

Henry Chadwick, deemed the “Father of Base Ball,” is also the ancestral progenitor of baseball official scorers.  Basing his system off the scorecard for cricket, Chadwick kept notes on games on which he wrote in the New York Clipper.  Chadwick’s scoring system and the modern system of today are, at their hearts, based on double-entry book keeping.  That is, every event on the diamond is a positive for one player, and a negative for another.  And the language of bookkeeping is woven throughout Baseball’s Rule 10:
Rule 10.04 (a) - The official scorer shall credit the batter with a run batted in...
Rule 10.12 - An error is a statistic charged against a fielder whose action has assisted the team on offense...
Rule 10.16 - An earned run is a run for which a pitcher is held accountable.
and the most explicit,
Rule 10.12(a)(7) comment - [T]he official scorer shall charge an error to an outfielder whose accurate throw to second base hits the base and caroms back into the outfield, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance, because every base advanced by a runner must be accounted for.

So too, in our cute whiffle version of base ball.  Each event captured on the scoresheet is a credit to one player, and a demerit to another.  This system makes explicit which players are responsible for achievement, and which are accountable for failure.  It is as the Tea Party folks say, “Karmic.”  But, in games like today’s we are confronted with the question, “Is it fair?”

The scoresheet shows that Stats led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer off The Artist.  To be sure, it was a high fly ball to straight away center.  High enough, in fact to get up in a swirling wind that was blowing out.  Swirling enough to put some tricky movement on the ball’s flight.  Tricky enough for the ball to come off the waiting center fielder's hand and land for a dinger.

Now I ask you, should this batter be “credited,” and this pitcher “charged” with a home run?  

Under our rules, “YES, YES, YES!!!”  But this is a cold and heartless rule, for sure.

The run proved to be just insurance anyway as the Home team took this game 2-0, having already plated a run in the bottom of the first off Peter.  Other than their dominating pitching the Homestanders were quite hospitable hosts.  Matt brought pumpkin bread and Kurt provided SUV-delivered Starbucks coffee (courtesy of Robyn).  Regarding these pleasantries the Visitors were heard to say that the bread was more like cake as one “could not make a sandwich with it,” and that the coffee tasted “Turkish.”

Well.  

No matter; Kurt and Matt went gaily about the business of pitching seven shut out innings, recording 18 of 21 outs by strikeout, enjoying coffee and cake throughout.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	LOB
Hansoo, Glen, Peter	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4
Kurt, Matt	1	0	0	0	1	0	X	2	7	5

W: Matt Lindsay
L: Peter Berwald
S: Matt Lindsay

Visitors	AB	H	RBI	IP	H	R	K
Hansoo	9	1	0	2.0	2	0	4
Glen	8	2	0	2.0	2	1	2
Peter	8	1	0	2.0	3	1	5

Home	AB	H	RBI	IP	H	R	K
Kurt	13	5	0	3.0	3	0	7
Matt	12	2	2	4.0	1	0	11

Notes:

• Both teams today, emulating the New York Yankees, announced that they would be cheating in today’s contest.
• Looks like we're week-to-week from this point forward, based on weather and all.  Stay tuned, and look for announcements about the end of season BBQ and the Whiffies @ Tanks.