[Archelirion]

APRIL 2017

BEST TEAM RECORD: Brooklyn Knights, 18-10
WORST TEAM RECORD: Bronx Phoenix/Syracuse Maples, 9-19

1st April: Opening Day saw a 9-2 win for Albany over Syracuse, which saw Matt Baratta claim the first home-run in NYBL history, with a 3-run HR, no less. Other scorelines saw 3-1 for Yonkers over Brooklyn, and a 5-4 win for Manhattan versus Buffalo, settled in the 9th. Brad Bromer recorded the first SO of the season in Staten Island’s edgy 1-0 win over the Bronx, but the game against Rochester and Queens was postponed for technical issues.

Also, Opening Day claimed not one, but two stars pitchers. Knuckleballer Marcus Lunsford’s start to the season lasted a mere inning, in Buffalo’s eventual 4-5 defeat to Manhattan today. Pitching against 1B Mike Kelly, Lunsford seemed to be in a lot of pain, and was taken off for reliever Joe Hedstrom. He will likely be out for 6 weeks with bone chips; when asked about the injury, he responded “I just hope that it doesn’t put kids off learning the knuckleball pitch. The timing looks bad, but it’s really no worse than any other pitch out there, really.”

The other casualty, arguably more serious, is the devastating blow to the Brooklyn Knights of losing Jose Martinez, pipped as a candidate for the pitchers’ award at the end of the season. Similarly to Lunsford, after only one inning Martinez shook his head violently to the bench, obviously in a lot of pain. It took several days, but Martinez was confirmed to have torn his UCL – a season-ender. “I’m gutted,” said manager Jon Aguirre, “we have a talented pitching roster, but there’s no one quite like Jose.” There was no comment about how this would affect his chances of signing an extension to his contract, due to expire at the end of the year.

3rd April: Bronx 3B Quincy Kennedy becomes the first man to hit more than one home-run in a single game, as the Phoenix cruise to a 7-2 victory over the Staten Island Bulls. “Having a man like Quincy on your team really boosts everyone,” Bronx manager Josh Simpson said. “That’s 3 games and 3 home runs now. Couldn’t be happier!”

7th April: Justin Howard batted an absolute masterclass for the Albany Dragons today, going 5-for-5, hitting 5 singles and scoring a run, going some way to helping his team to a 4-2 victory over the Bronx Phoenix – settled eventually in the 10th by a 2-man homer from Matt Baratta. “It’s nice to be recognised today but it’s not just me,” the first-baseman from Hempstead said. “Obviously everyone put a lot of work in, and it was Matt that saved the day in sudden-death hour.”

10th April: Shane Allen claims the inaugural player-of-the-week award. The shortstop for the Yonkers Sixers pulled a performance no one expected, recording a 0.520 AVG, 13-from-25, 1 HR and 4 RBIs. “I’m delighted to be recognised this way, for sure,” the Lackawanna native explained. “I barely expected it myself!” The Brooklyn Knights sit top of the power rankings on 149 points, trailed by the Albany Dragons on 148. Syracuse are failing to surprise at the bottom, on 31, after going 2-8.



14th April: Brooklyn’s Bill Williams had an almighty game against the Bronx Phoenix today, but was unable to prevent the Knights getting thrashed 11-3 at Phoenix Park. Recording 5 hits, including 4 singles and a solo home run, Williams said afterwards “I had a pretty good game out there today. The win would’ve been nice, but it is what it is I suppose. That’s baseball.” Manager Jon Aguirre later said “Bill’s a humble guy and would never say a bad thing about the team, and for that we can only thank him. But he delivered the goods today, and we let him down, and for that, I can only apologise to both Bill and the fans.” Williams is currently sat on a 0.388 batting average.

In other news, Rochester slugger Keith Schmeling becomes the first NYBL player to hit 5 home runs today – and then the first to hit 6, as his second home run was the deciding factor in the Union’s 13 inning, 6-5 death match against the Syracuse Maples. When asked about the moment, the 31-year-old workhouse said “to be honest, I’m happier to win the game than to have hit the first 5! But, I’ll admit it’s a nice accolade. What’s important now is to keep focused – there’s guys here expecting to hit 30, 35 home runs this year, and 5’s a long way off that yet!”

15th April: Oscar Carrera rightly got player of the day today, after his own 5-hitter for the Bronx over Brooklyn went a long way to helping the Phoenix come back from 1-5 down in the 7th to win 7-6. After already hitting two doubles in the game, his 2-man RBI double in the 8th propelled his team into the eventual winning position – a feat which he described as ‘just doing what I needed to do for the team’. 24-year-old Carrera, already being touted as a Bronx captain for the future, is currently on a 0.328 batting average, with 6 RBIs and 9 runs from 14 games.

16th April: Syracuse left-fielder Oscar Hernandez looked a bit sheepish today, as he watched his team lose 2-4 to Rochester Union from the sidelines, and rightly so; earlier that day, it was reported that he had an ‘unfortunate incident’ involving a coffee table. While the x-rays look good, according to Syracuse physios, he is still unlikely to be available for the rest of the week.

17th April: Manhattan right-fielder Fred Greenwood claims Player of the Week this week, after hitting .462 with 12 hits from 26, 3 home runs, and 11 RBIs. “My highlight was definitely Saturday’s game against Staten Island,” said Greenwood after hearing the news. “4 hits, 4 RBIs and a home run, and we go 14-7 in front of our home crowd. What more could a man want.”



There were more than a few concerned faces in Buffalo’s South Park Stadium today – at least, from Bronx Phoenix fans, as star man Luis Ventura was seen to grimace and start limping after throwing a ball in the Phoenix’s 4-3 win over the Bruisers. Thankfully for him (and for the Bronx) scans revealed no lasting damage to the ankle – he was placed on the DtD list as a precaution.

20th April: The Bronx Phoenix humiliated the Rochester Unions today in a 13-1 drubbing, but it was the performance of Queens Diamonds’ RF Manny Cortez that really got tongues wagging. Cortez managed a 5-from-5 in a performance that helped the Diamonds beat the Staten Island Bulls 14-6 today, scoring 3 runs and hitting an RBI single in the 6th. After the game, Cortez seemed a little taken aback by the media enthusiasm, stating that “it’s flattering, but we still would have won even without my input. Praise should really go to Jeff [Michaux] and Edward [Sanchez]; without their slugging, we’d have lost 7, 8 fine runs.” Cortez is currently hitting .392 with 12 RBIs, 14 runs and 1 home run.

22nd April: Miguel Hernandez did the damage in the Albany Dragons’ away victory over the Manhattan Victory, restricting Manhattan to only 3 hits and 2 walks in the entire game. Despite umpires called the game off in the 6th due to bad weather, Hernandez was still happy with his performance – but had something to say about his opposing number too: “Even a game that’s as short as this one feels good when you record a shutout, you know – it’s a sign that you, as a pitcher, have done your job. But we only won 1-0, and Miguel [Martinez, the Manhattan no. 1] did a fine job out there. That said, hopefully I can keep this going.”

24th April: Ten days after hitting number five, Keith Schmeling hits home-run number 10 today. However, he didn’t seem in much mood to celebrate, as the Rochester Union were beaten 3-2 in the 10th inning today by the Brooklyn Knights – funnily enough, by a number-5 home run from Brooklyn’s Harry Jolly. “Hitting home runs is great,” Schmeling said afterwards, “but I had 4 at-bats today. I could’ve done more.” Rochester manager Manuel Flores later said to press “Schmeling hit a home-run and was responsible for our only other point. I’d tell him to not be so hard on himself, but that’s the way he is.”

In other news, Bryan DeMond of the Syracuse Maples was the unanimous winner of the Player of the Week award, after slamming no fewer than 6 home runs and 7 RBIs in over the past seven days. When pressed for comment, the 25-year-old Staten Island native said, “it’s always good to be recognised, especially when you know you’ve put a good shift in.” DeMond is currently .391 with 10 home runs.



Finally, bad news for Buffalo Bruisers fans, as confirmation of Dwayne Russell’s injury came through today – cracked ribs. While his offensive contribution has been muted (0.235 with 1 HR), his defensive qualities were remarked on by manager Angel Molina, who said “he’s quick on the double play and is just generally the kind of guy you need on second base. Bryan Jergens can cover for sure, but we’ll miss him.” Russell will be out for an estimated 5 weeks.

29th April: In a league already accustomed to home-runs being hit in most games, today was unusual for its complete lack of crushers. Only Rochester (6) and Staten Island (5) managed 5 or more runs, although curiously, there were no shutouts seen either. A day for the fielders, one supposes.

31st April: Gabe Ramirez of Manhattan Victory was awarded Player of the Week this time around, seeing a .455 batting average (10 from 22), 3 home runs and 7 RBIs go his way in a surprisingly lean week for the league. Gabe was unable for comment in person, but was said to be “delighted and surprised” at the nomination.



Batter of the Month was won by the winner of Week 3’s Player of the Week award, Bryan DeMond, who over April has hit 0.368, with 10 home runs, 18 RBIs and 20 runs to his name. DeMond seemed in good spirits about his award, but was surprisingly reserved in his approach, noting that “winning the award is a wonderful thing, and I’m grateful. But we’re 9-19, last overall in the competition, and I can't rest on my laurels just because I’m supposedly doing better than anyone else.”

Ramiro Mendez of the Albany Dragons won the Pitcher of the Month award; the closer, known as ‘Skull’ among his teammates for his fondness of listening to death metal before games, managed 8 saves, an ERA of 0.54, 24 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.96 in April. “What, you mean I’m not down for Best Batter? Shame,” he said upon receiving his award, before adding “well, I suppose this is alright. We’re mid-table right now but I reckon we can change that. Just gotta keep doing my job!”

Rookie of the month went to starlet Andrew Wheeler of the Buffalo Bruisers, who managed 0.310, 10 doubles, a triple and 6 home runs, alongside 25 runs and 17 RBIs. “Getting best rookie’s nice, but in all honesty it’s even better being considered to be first-team standard,” said the 23-year-old wonderkid. “I’m knocking on the door of a 1.000 OPS and that’s my next target.”



Finally, to cap off a frustrating month for Staten Island, mid-rotation starter Rich Lee had the results back from the loud ‘pop’ heard during the Bulls’ 5-2 victory over the Albany Dragons – and it’s bad news, as he will miss the rest of the season with a torn shoulder labrum. “It’s annoying to be honest, as I might have prevented it,” said Lee, 33. “I wasn’t feeling great against Syracuse on the 23rd and gave up 5 runs in 3 innings before coach rightly pulled me. I should’ve said something then, but I just put it down to an off-day. Guess I should trust my gut.”


Standings at the end of April 



Team batting and pitching stats



Player batting, pitching and fielding stats