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Nuka News Update
Reporting on the NWL, APL, NWLR, and BBL Leagues
by Evan Guy
3 June 2307
NWL
We're still early in the NWL season, but the excitement is already ramped up just 24 games in. Right now, the Grape Painted Ghouls are the NWL's best, with the Victory Cave Crickets close behind.
The South Bradberton Division is a close race of teams around .500 with the Cherry Ghoulrillas leading with a 13-11 mark. The Orange Tourists are a game back.
Victory Cave Crickets fans may just have witnessed a star player blossoming before their eyes in May. Jesse Salloum put up a remarkable month at the age of 25 and has been named the Nuka World League Batter of the Month. For the month, Salloum hit .398 with 5 home runs, 30 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
Salloum is in his third season with the Cave Crickets, with a career .341 mark with 20 home runs and 115 RBI. He was an all-star in 2306. He was originally a 5th-round pick of the Starlight Lady Killers in the CBO in 2300. In 2304, he was sent to Victory in a trade that sent a well-known player, Jarrett Metalbox, to Starlight. Metalbox twice hit over .400 in the early years of the CBO for the Egret team.
Matty Lamplight is the latest Nuka World League Pitcher of the Month trophy winner. The Grape starter sparkled on the diamond time and again last month and finished May with an outstanding 5-0 record. In 5 starts he tossed 39.1 innings, posted 14 strikeouts, and sported a 1.60 ERA.
Lamplight is in his 8th season with Grape and has posted a career record of 54-55 with a 4.40 ERA. He led the NWL in victories with 11 in 2301. He was originally drafted by the Warwick Mirelurks of the CBO in the 2296 Rookie Draft. In 2300, he was traded by the Mirelurks to Grape for CL Chemmy Good, who now plays for Dalton Farm of the Vim! League.
Edgar Virus wreaked havoc on Nuka World League pitching last month and led the charge for the Rookie of the Month Award. In May he batted .437 for the Cave Crickets, lashing 38 hits and 4 home runs. The Victory left fielder also drove in 15 runs and scored 24 times to round out a most impressive month.
Virus joined the NWL this offseason, coming to Victory in a trade with Echo Lake of the Vim! League. With this season and his combined career with the Harbormen, Virus has a career .316 average with 65 home runs and 294 RBI in seven seasons. He was Echo Lake's 6th-round choice in the Vim! League's Inaugural Draft in 2300.
Virus is in early contention for both the Nuka King Award and the Nuka Baby Bottle Award.
NWL Minors and Youth Round Up
The Amusement Park League's divisional leaders are currently the Safari Adventure Gazelles (19-9, 3-game lead) and the Nuka Town Operators (15-13, 1-game lead).
It's perhaps an award he'll win many more times through his career, as at age 24 Phil Dot has a lot of baseball ahead of him. But for now the young Bradberton Disciples star can enjoy the numbers he put up in May, which have garnered him the nod as the Amusement Park League Batter of the Month. His breakout month featured a .438 average with 9 home runs, 27 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
May's standout hurler was Loop Bikameal of Safari Adventure. He muzzled Amusement Park League hitters and held them in check the entire month to capture the Pitcher of the Month award. To win the honor Bikameal compiled an impressive 5-0 mark and 2.20 ERA in 7 starts. The Gazelles star hurler also rung up 29 strikeouts in 41 innings.
In the NWLRL, the Red Rocket Radrats (20-11, 4-game lead) and Dunmore Ferris Wheels (19-12, 2-game lead) are the division leaders.
In May, Shill Gehrig swung a sweet bat and put together a solid month to win the NWL Rookie League Batter of the Month. The Dunmore left fielder batted .364 with 11 home runs, 42 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
The spotlight today is on RP Smooth Finger Harper of the Red Rocket Radrats. The bullpen ace was acclaimed the best pitcher in the NWL Rookie League for May. He compiled a 4-1 mark and an ERA of 2.08 in 17.1 innings with 18 strikeouts and 5 saves in 6 save opportunities.
The BBL is nearing its season's end with just nine games to play. Right now, the King Cola Youths hold a slight lead at 19-12 with the Ol' Sugartop Buckaroos and the Starport Nuka Hubologists trailing by just a game and tied for the wildcard spot. The Youths control their own destiny with their season series completed with the Buckaroos (3-3) and two games to finish the season with the Hubologists (3-1 lead for King Cola).
Jester Wrexel may be much younger than other hitters in the Bradberton Boys League, but he performed like a seasoned veteran in May to win the Batter of the Month award. The 15-year-old Starport Nuka first baseman hit .374 with 8 home runs, 24 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
The premier pitcher this past month in the Bradberton Boys League was Icy Summers of the Fizztop Mountain Conquerors. He was one mighty tough pitcher, finishing May with a sensational 5-1 record and a 1.57 ERA. The Conquerors star made 8 starts and surrendered 23 hits in 40 innings. He struck out 49 and walked 20.
Vim! View
Veracious, Vivacious, Vainglorious Vision of the Vim! Leagues
by Vikky Vail
3 June 2307
ViM! League Updates
There is still a lot of season left, but a big surprise so far have been the struggles of the forever champions, the Dalton Farm Fog Crawlers (11-13). Winners of the past four Vim! Series and Season Pass Series, the Fog Crawlers are the Vim! League's top offense (173 runs scored), but the worst pitching staff (177 runs allowed). Their lowest starter ERA is Phil Cecil (2-2, 5.72) who went 15-2 with a 3.15 ERA, both league bests in 2306.
In the place of Dalton Farm at the top of the Fog Division is the Echo Lake Harbormen (14-10). The Harbormen are 2nd in runs scored (161) and 6th in runs allowed (146), so they do not have a bid edge over Dalton Farm in success. C Chris Dominoes (.442/3/16) has been outstanding in leading the offensive charge.
In the Harbor Division, the Far Harbor Ghoul Whales lead with a 15-9 mark. They are tied for 3rd in runs scored (144) and 2nd in runs allowed (111) with the top Starters ERA of 4.61. SP Keith Lighthouse (3-1, 2.82) has been their top starter, though ace Alex Ruder (2-2, 4.60) and SP Noodle Green (2-1, 4.13) are doing OK.
Adam Crewmate is not used to being associated with Batter of the Month-caliber players, but today the Far Harbor first baseman joined that select company when the Vim! League announced the results of May's voting. Crewmate totaled 41 hits, 12 walks, 7 home runs, 22 RBIs and 18 runs scored last month to put together a .466 batting average and .530 on-base percentage.He finished 2306 with a .364/11/57 line.
In May, the elite pitcher in the Vim! League was CL Chris Waters, thanks to some great numbers coming out of the bullpen. The Far Harbor relief specialist posted a 3-1 mark and an ERA of 0.73 in 12.1 innings with 7 strikeouts and 5 saves in 5 save opportunities. His career best for saves in a season is 11.
Gladder Questseeker earned May's Rookie of the Month honors in the Vim! League for last month's performance. The boyish Grand Hotel first baseman might be wet behind the ears, but he's proving that he has what it takes to play at this level. Questseeker hit .380 with 6 home runs, 20 RBIs and 18 runs scored this past month on his way to winning the award. Questseeker, originally drafted by Sunshine Tidings in the 2nd round of the 2303 Draft, signed with the Atoms as a free agent in 2306 after bouncing around a few CBO teams. He batted .425 with 6 home runs and 30 RBI in 37 games with the Haddock Cove Engineers of the MDIL in 2306.
Minors and Youth Updates
In the MDIL, the Nucleus Radchickens (Small Bertha Division) and the Rayburn Point Patcheyes (Old Longfellow Division) lead the way, each up two games just 24 games into the 2307 season.
Mike Pigeonfoot put together a good May to earn the Mount Desert Island League Batter of the Month prize. A virtual unknown, he made the most of his chance to prove to Rayburn Point officials that he belongs on the big league roster. The Patcheyes center fielder posted a .350 batting average with 11 home runs, 25 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
In May, when the name of Catchy Clintock appeared on the Rayburn Point lineup card it was a virtual lock on a victory. He started 5 times and chalked up 4 wins and 1 loss. With those stats it was also a virtual lock that he would be named the Mount Desert Island League Pitcher of the Month. Clintock shackled opposing batters on 34 base hits and a .243 batting average. He rang up 19 strikeouts in 38 innings of work, surrendered 15 walks and fashioned a sparkling 3.55 ERA.
In the VRL, the Vim Factory Pops and the MS Azalea Shipwrecks are each two games up in their divisions. Vim Factory has won the first three Vim! Rookie League crowns, including defeating the Shipwrecks in 2304.
Marc Giddens has been the model of consistency over the past month and has been a tough out, claiming the VIM! Rookie League Batter of the Month trophy for May. The MS Azalea third baseman hit .400 with 14 home runs, 34 RBIs and 27 runs scored. He was also walked 9 times and posted a .459 on-base percentage.
The VIM! Rookie League scribes have selected May's Pitcher of the Month and have awarded the honor to Kevin Kohout of MS Azalea. He was outstanding on the hill last month and has the numbers to prove it -- a 4-3 record. The Shipwrecks star performer made 8 starts with a 2.72 ERA and surrendered 32 hits in 49.2 innings. He struck out 68 and walked 18.
In the MYL, there are only 11 games left on the season, but who will be there is anyone's guess. In the Mount Desert Island Four, three teams are tied for first place at 15-14: the National Park Rangers, the Cliff's Edge Wolves, and the Beaver Creek Bowlers. At 13-16, the Far Harbor Dockdwellers are very much still alive.
May's Batter of the Month Award has been given out by the Mount Desert Island Four. This month's trophy was presented to the Beaver Creek right fielder, Marty Gnome. He starred by hitting .322 with a .474 on-base percentage, totaled 29 hits in 90 at-bats, 8 home runs, 16 RBIs and scored 23 runs.
The hottest hurler in the Mount Desert Island Four last month was Hawk Dawson of the Cliff's Edge Wolves. He caught the attention of everybody in the league with some eye-catching stats, good enough to win the MDIF Pitcher of the Month. In May, Dawson starred with an impressive 3-1 record. In 7 starts he gave up 33 base hits and struck out 59 in 54 innings with a 3.00 ERA.
In the Great Diamond Island League, the Pleasant Cove Raiders and Diamond Cove Fort Knights are each tied at 18-11. Those two teams are likely battling for the one playoff spot with both Sunset Park and Echo Point six and eight games back, respectively.
The #1 hitter in the Great Diamond Island League in May was Diamond Cove first baseman Alex Telltime. He was selected as the Batter of the Month. Telltime starred with a .293 batting average, 10 home runs and 20 RBIs.
Fumblefoot Appling of Diamond Cove had an excellent May with a 5-1 record and was selected as the Pitcher of the Month in the Great Diamond Island League. He finished the month with a 2.00 ERA while piling up 53 strikeouts in 54 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average.