By Dr. Rug
Good afternoon to all my fans out there in this great world,
I hope you’re all surviving this harsh winter of ours and that you’re able to see the light at the end of the tunnel… aka the 2019 fastball season. I know it can be a struggle to get through the long, cold, dark months without fastball, so to help you alleviate some of that pain, Dr. Rug is here today to distract you from the meaninglessness of winter.
My goal during these never-ending winter months was to break out the 2018 PTV rankings… unfortunately, as a group we are apparently 1,000 times worse than Jimmy at doing stats so there are no stats from the 2018 season.
Pathetic. And definitely something we need to remedy for 2019.
With no 2018 PTV rankings able to be created, I dawdled away the hours, clicking about on www.ykfastball.ca, reliving the glory of the season, when inspiration hit me. Our stats actually go back quite a ways these days; we’ve got 7 full seasons worth of YK Fastball stats to dig through. Instead of just looking at 2018, it was time to look at the entire picture. Who is the best of the best since the dawn of time… or at least since 2011, when we started tracking stats on the website?
I bring to you today Dr. Rug’s Historic Player Trade Value Rankings!!
If you’re new to the league, or the website, or the internet itself, you might want to go back and check out the previous versions of the PTV Rankings from 2012 (1 & 2), 2013 (1 & 2), and 2017 (1, 2 & 3) (or if you just want to kill a few hours of your work day, this is a very convenient method of accomplishing that).
This time around, we’re changing up the rules and scoring slightly in order to accommodate the fact that we’re looking at almost a decade of play as opposed to a moment in time. This version of the PTV rankings is looking at it from this perspective: If you had a Delorean and could get it up to 88 MPH but the time travel clock was stuck on 2011, who would you pick up on your fastball squad to give yourself the best possible chance to win over the next decade? A pretty simple concept.
Another change that we’re making to these rankings is that we’re going 100% offensive here. I realize that moneyball age is being fully embraced in the MLB these days but unfortunately Jimmy’s stats don’t allow me to track fWAR, UZR, or wRC. And considering that there are only 15 unearned runs total on the pitching stat page for 2017 (I scorekept a Thunder/Slades game in 2018 with more unearned runs than that), trying to integrate pitching numbers into the algorithms was a little too untrustworthy.
Which brings me to another point that I like to remind everyone of every year… these are Jimmy’s stats. I can only use the numbers I have; I am in no way responsible for the accuracy of those numbers.
And, one final disclaimer, these are regular season only numbers from 2011 to 2017, the tourney stats have not been included (maybe next year if the league will hire me an intern) and the 2018 stats were a hodgepodge of nothingness so they are not included either.
I eliminated anyone with fewer than 5 total at bats so essentially you had to play at least 2 games to make the list, and that left me with a nice round 200 players to choose from.
(Dr. Rug Note: Allow me to sidetrack for a minute to discuss the players with fewer than 5 ABs. There were 32 names total ranging from Rick Moses at the top of the list to Ryan Bell at the bottom. Some notable stat names and stat lines from the list include:
Rick Moses – 1/1 with a triple, a walk, 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs
Andrew Hunter – Infamously 1/1 in his career
Steve Vallillee – 3/4 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs, and a stolen base
Joel Campbell – 1/3 with 3 RBIs and a K
Jared Moshenko – 0/4 with 3 Ks
Dave Hurley – 0/3 with a run scored
Drew Williams – 0/3 with 3 Ks
In total, they had 83 at bats and put up a line of .352/.523/.497 and combined they would have slotted in around the 100 mark in the rankings. Right about average. Not too shabby.)
So with that entire preamble out of the way, let’s dive right into the mix and look at some of the highlights (?) from the lower half of the rankings. For the most part, these are players that only played a season or two in the league. While some may have had a moment or two of glory, they just don’t have the overall numbers to help with long term championship aspirations.
200: Taylor Clarke – Someone had to finish last and unfortunately the only stats I’ve got for Taylor are 0/7 with 1 walk.
197. Cynthia Duffy – The first of 5 women to make the list, Dr. Rug is hoping that the recent rise in female participation at the wood bat tournaments will lead to more ladies joining the ranks of the YK Fastball league. Reilly, I’m looking at you for starters. You know you’re more talented than both of your brothers and (SPOILER ALERT) they each managed to make the top 50 of this list.
195. Harley Lang – You have to respect Harley’s dedication to the game. Despite having a higher K% than OPS, Harley continues to show up game after game and have a great time at the field. My favourite Harley stat is that he has more triples than Jordan Griffin, Tyler Blewett, Chris Cahoon, Jaden Beck, Fletcher Stevens, and Matt Mossman combined. He may swing and miss a lot, but when he connects he’s lowering the head and going for third.
187. Matt Craig – Stick to basketball, Matt… actually, your basketball stats might not be that much better. Stick to coaching, Matt.
(Dr. Rug Note: I’m joking, of course, we encourage all players to come out and enjoy this great game of fastball, even if they do struggle at first.)
185. Mike Aumond – Mike is the highest rated player on the list with zero hits. He managed 3 walks in 6 plate appearances to soar to the top of that list. Great eye Aumond!
183. Steve Versteeg – Thankfully, after a brief stint with HBC, it appears that Versteeg has chosen to focus on his golf game.
181. Al Cardinal – A clear indication that pitching, longevity, and guitar skills have not been factored into the rankings this time around.
180. Corey Bond – I’m including Corey on the list in the hopes that it convinces his brother to throw on the spikes and join the league in 2019. Mark, you can definitely finish higher than 180th overall and win the Bond family bragging rights.
172. Kaeler Pagonis – Kaeler’s ranking suffers from the fact that no stats were available for the 2018 season as well as a mandatory point deduction for almost getting kicked off a Disney cruise. Please don’t hurt Mickey Mouse.
169. Adrian Lizotte – The sight of Boomer on the list brings back memories of the Pirates glory years. Good times for everyone involved… until the break-up. Some scars will never heal.
167. Ashley Brauweiler – Hopefully Weather Meteorology Girl is enjoying the east coast lifestyle and finds a fastball team to join out on the Rock. Be sure to keep an eye out for her next time you’re hitting up George Street.
159. Chris Greencorn – You’ll always have that inaugural wood bat tournament, Chris.
153. Dennis Marchiori – The stats tell me that Dennis has two home runs… can someone on the Trappers please confirm for me if this is in fact true? Or are these error-filled, Jimmy-special, in-the-park home runs that are listed?
If these are legitimate home runs, that’s as many as both Brandon and Jared MacNeil have hit in the same time frame. I no longer know what to believe.
152. Darcy Moshenko – I miss hitting against Darcy.
146. Braden Holick – I included Braden here for the sole purpose of comparison to Geno’s ranking which will come up later. It’s got to be embarrassing to be this much lower than Geno.
144. Terry Rowe – Speaking of families, Terry slots in as the highest rated Rowe on our list, a full 52 spots ahead of Curtis. Well done Terry.
141. Jim Karhut – Question for debate: is Karhut a better ball player or a better base coach?
133. Ray Risk – Since I’m asking questions, here’s another: is there a player in the league with a larger difference between their view of the world and reality than Ray Ray?
129. Darren Walsh – One of the few players who would appear on this list for 2011 – 2017 as well as 1981 – 1987.
123. Steve O’Hara – Rumour has it that Steve is contemplating coming out of retirement next year in an attempt to move up into the top 100.
122. Danny Graham – Number 122 on Dr. Rug’s Player Rankings list, Number 1 on Dr. Rug’s Beer Gardens Legends list.
(Dr. Rug Note: some other notables on that top 10 list include Mike Dove, Kelsey Gill, Burger Bob, and Lorne Gerwing. Every beer gardens needs a few Lorney specials from Bruno’s.)
120 – 115. This is the range where you apparently fall into if you’re a solid defensive outfielder with a barely average bat and above average speed. Between 115 and 120 in the rankings we have Pete Sheldon, Matt Walker, Aaron Laborde, Herb Mathisen, and Fletcher Stevens.
113. Steve Robertson – He may have put up rather pedestrian numbers over his time in the league, but the fire that Wildcard brings to the game (and to the beaches of Hay River) is unmatched.
108. Mike Broussard – Pretty good considering he’s only playing the game as a distraction during the hockey offseason and as an excuse to hit up the beer gardens.
107. Jaden Beck – Whether it’s on the ice or on the field, Jaden’s always just a little bit better than Broussard.
This is part 1 of a 5 part series! Check back in tomorrow to see who slots in from 100-51 on Dr. Rug’s list.
Yellowknife Fastball League 