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Nuka News Update
Reporting on the NWL, APL, NWLR, and BBL Leagues
by Evan Guy
1 August 2308
Orange In, All North Bradberton Alive
The Orange Tourists have clinched the South Bradberton Division, giving them a spot in the 2308 Nuka Series. They will have to wait to see who they'll meet as the season still has 16 games to play.
In the North Bradberton Division, it is a different story where all four teams are in contention to go to the Series. Quantum leads the division by a game over Grape, but the Nukalurks are also up only two games over Victory and four games over Wild. The chance for Quantum to hold on to that lead next week is slim since they have a three-game trip to the Tourists.
A hot-hitting Curt Toth punished NWL pitchers in July, hitting .388 in 24 games while racking up 9 home runs, 25 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
With those numbers it came as no surprise that Dark's 26-year-old third baseman earned Nuka World League Batter of the Month honors.
This year Toth is hitting at a .374 pace with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. He has played in 71 games and scored 46 times.
Allen Puckett left little doubt in the minds of Nuka World League officials that he should be named July's Pitcher of the Month for his outstanding performance.
"I wasn't always confident at the start of a game," said Puckett. "Sometimes it's hard to get into the flow -- the calls aren't going your way or you're trying to spot your pitches too much. You just have to relax and use what you've been taught all your life -- get back to basics -- good mechanics, control, location, keep the ball down."
The 29-year-old tossed 53.1 innings of quality baseball -- going 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA and 35 strikeouts.
This year Puckett has 14 wins and 1 loss and a 2.81 ERA.
Youngster Denn Verr emerged as the latest Nuka World League Rookie of the Month today. The young man from Dark deserved the honor, batting .437 with 1 home run and 18 RBI. Is the month of July a harbinger of things to come or just a fluke? We'll find out someday, but for now, we'll just let Verr enjoy the limelight.
This season Verr has banged out 105 hits in 293 at-bats for a .358 average with 2 home runs. He is getting on base at a .375 pace and his totals also include 42 RBIs and 34 runs scored.
NWL Minors and Boys Ball
In the APL, the division leaders remain the Nuka Bottling Plant Pack and the Dry Rock Gulch Convicts.
Even though he is a newcomer to Amusement Park League, Jake Roth put up some good numbers in July and earned the APL Batter of the Month award.
He was one of Nuka Bottling Plant's offensive leaders with a .277 average in 27 games. He also racked up 10 home runs, 23 RBIs, and 22 runs scored.
This season Roth is swinging the bat at a .324 rate with 91 hits in 281 at-bats. To date he has hit 27 home runs, scored 65 runs and driven in 76.
Tough in the clutch -- that's a bullpen specialist. And one of the best in the league is Mike Grubb of the Nuka Town Operators. Grubb was outstanding in July and was named the Pitcher of the Month in the Amusement Park League.
Nuka Town's star reliever held the opposition to a .360 average and put up 8 saves and 6 strikeouts in 12.1 innings with a 2-1 mark and a 5.84 ERA.
This season Grubb has recorded a 4-7 won-lost mark, pitched in 19 relief appearances and rung up 9 saves. He has a 8.43 ERA and has allowed 73 hits over his 47 innings of work, struck out 17 batters and walked 19.
The Dunmore Ferris Wheels are champions, today and forever. The Ferris Wheels topped the Wixon Cola Kings 7-3 at Lake Monsters Field today to claim the NWL Rookie Series crown.
"Nobody can take this away from us, not ever," said series MVP and first baseman Melvin Trujillo after his club had sealed the victory. "We worked hard and we accomplished our goal."
The atmosphere was electric as the newly-crowned champs stormed the field at the conclusion of the game. Fans cheered, gloves flew in the air, high fives and hugs were the order of the day.
"From day one of spring training, I could see it in their eyes," said Dunmore manager Greg Hammerberg. "The players had that look of intensity, of hunger, of a desire to accomplish something great, and today they did that. They're champions of the world."
The Ferris Wheels took the series 3-0. The new titleholders completed the regular season with a first-place finish in the South Bradberton Division and a 44-26 record.
The vote is in and Crazy Claws Revere, the 19-year-old center fielder for Dunmore, is the winner. Today he was honored with the NWL Rookie League Batter of the Month award.
In July, Revere wowed voters with a .375 average while posting 7 home runs, 27 RBIs, 13 runs scored and a .431 on-base percentage.
His career numbers show Revere has batted .264 and collected 111 hits, 28 home runs and 81 RBIs.
Jerry Cheesehead will be bringing July's NWL Rookie League Pitcher of the Month trophy home to Dunmore. He excelled all month long as he kept opposing hitters guessing, reaching and hoping.
Cheesehead started 4 games, going 4-0 with 21 strikeouts in 26 innings as he compiled his 2.08 ERA.
Since his debut in the league, Cheesehead has posted 12 victories and 4 defeats with an ERA of 3.75.
Vim! View
Veracious, Vivacious, Vainglorious Vision of the Vim! Leagues
by Vikky Vail
1 July 2308
Vim! League Winding Down
Dalton Farm looks to have earned their return to the Vim! Series. The Fog Crawlers own the best record in the Vim! League and hold an eight-game lead over Eden Meadows with just 13 or 14 games to play. In the Harbor Division, Grand Hotel has a two-game lead over Far Harbor.
Grand Hotel Atoms fans may just have witnessed a star player blossoming before their eyes in July.
Gladder Questseeker put up a remarkable month at the age of 22 and has been named the Vim! League Batter of the Month.
For the month, Questseeker hit .431 with 12 home runs, 28 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
In the current season, Questseeker has put up a .413 batting average with 62 hits, 14 home runs, 36 runs batted in and scored 27 runs.
In July Grand Hotel starter, Bossy O'Malley really put the strong arm on the other Vim! League teams and hauled in the Pitcher of the Month trophy. He did it with an impressive 5 wins and no losses.
In 6 starts and 46 innings of work, O'Malley limited opposing batters to 42 base hits and a .241 batting average. He fanned 36, issued 11 walks and had a 2.35 ERA.
So far this season O'Malley has a 9-7 record, 18 starts, 128.2 innings, 76 strikeouts and a 3.92 ERA.
Marc Giddens earned July's Rookie of the Month honors in the Vim! League for last month's performance. The boyish Eden Meadows right fielder might be wet behind the ears, but he's proving that he has what it takes to play at this level.
Giddens hit .346 with 8 home runs, 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored this past month on his way to winning the award.
Batting .354 to date, Giddens has 13 home runs and 47 RBIs.
The Mount Desert Island League also has tight races, though one is closer than the other. In the Small Bertha Division, Brooke's Head has surged ahead by four games, while both Eagle's Cove and Rayburn Point continue to be tied in the Old Longfellow Division.
Boss Ross put together a good July 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 Cliff's Edge officials that he belongs on the big league roster.
The Actors left fielder posted a .337 batting average with 13 home runs, 32 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Thus far this year Ross is batting .374 with 34 home runs, 86 RBIs and 70 runs scored.
Brent Fox really tore up the Mount Desert Island League this past month. He went 4-0 in July and won the Pitcher of the Month award.
In 5 starts he struck out 10 in 39.1 innings with a 3.20 ERA.
This season Fox has compiled a 9-3 record with a 3.63 ERA.
In the Vim! Rookie League, it was all about winning for the Fringe Cove Champions -- and win they did.
There was nothing fancy in how they went about it, players said, they just prepared mentally and physically and then went out and played baseball.
"We did the little things right and we did the big things right," said left fielder Oh My Takei, who was named series MVP. "Now we're the league champions."
Fringe Cove defeated the Glowing Grove Brainiacs by a score of 6-5 at The Lighthouse Beam to take the series 3-2.
"Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you make your own luck," said Fringe Cove manager Chris Frazee. "We got lucky a few times, but mostly we did the right things by being prepared for each game and playing the game the way it's meant to be played."
Gaia Earthdweller walked away with the VIM! Rookie League Batter of the Month award for his solid work with the stick in July.
The Huntress Island left fielder hit .492 with 9 home runs, 25 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
In a career spanning 127 games, Earthdweller has batted .317 with 146 hits, 34 home runs, 93 RBIs, and 101 runs scored.
Huntress Island starter Tophat Mayhall claimed the VIM! Rookie League Pitcher of the Month Award today with his strong performance in July.
The 18-year-old starter tossed 30.2 innings of solid baseball, putting up a 2.35 ERA, 31 strikeouts and a 4-0 record in 4 starts.
In his career, Mayhall has crafted a 7-1 mark with a 5.89 ERA and tossed 88.2 innings. Opposing clubs are batting .265 against him and he has 89 strikeouts.