Heavy Metal Softball

A Circle of Friends...A Gathering of Athletes...A Team of Good Men

Greetings, players, fans, and wanderers! We are Heavy Metal Softball, a San Joaquin Valley men's softball league/tournament team, dedicated to representing the best the Valley has to offer in terms of accomplishment, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Unity! has always been considered Heavy Metal's greatest strength, as well as its established guiding principle, as evidenced by the solid core of original members that still sustain the nucleus of this proud, long-standing team. Life is sport, and sport is Life: Just do it! -- this seems to be the consensus attitude we all strive to express. If you have any questions, or you simply wish to interact by way of the calendar, photo albums, guestbook, forum, or chat room, do not hesitate to do so, as most sections of the website are open to everyone. May you find what you seek!

This is Heavy Metal Softball's only official team site. It is the main headquarters for team organization info, such as team history, news-stories, schedules, game scores and summaries, league division standings, player and team statistics, tournament information, and so forth.

Team Members Only: I will consistently update and remind team members of any information related to Team Heavy Metal. Look frequently in your e-mail inboxes, especially after league games, or just browse when the mood comes upon you. Furthermore, check out the new calendar, roster, photo albums, links, guestbook, forum, and chat room features, making our website truly interactive. I have enjoyed being the founder and a long-time participant of this team since its inception, and, as another long-timer, newcomer, or potential prospect -- whomever you may be -- I hope you will too.

May Spirit always guide your paths,

Vernon Amaro
Heavy Metal Softball
Founder/Team Manager

First Tournament Effort Of The Year A Rust-Shaker Of Sorts 

First, as always, I want to thank all of the players who represented Heavy Metal Softball this weekend for their effort, help, and cooperation in making our first tournament of the year a somewhat successful effort -- in the sense that we were fairly competitive against some roughly comparable teams.  Here are some final tournament statistics for those who actually visit our website and are truly interested in such things.  I would like to state here again that unlike previous seasons a couple of years ago -- when I published an extensive summary of each tournament regardless of the outcome -- I will only do so if we achieve playoff status or have a winning record, with just a bare-bones tournament rundown for those events of little distinction.  So, without further adieu, I present some facts from this particular contest:

Slugfest Super 7 Series, Tournament #2 Summary --

Tournament Record:  0-3 (we will change this...)
                                1st game:  Lost 5-7 vs. Hammerheads
                                2nd game:  Lost 0-15 vs. Team Punishment
                                3rd game:  Lost 8-17 vs. Softball Junkies 

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Vern Amaro -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 10 points.
Rich Avery -- 1 for 5; .200 BA; 3 points.
Wes Avery -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 14 points.
Eric Ferguson -- 1 for 5; .200 BA; 6 points.
Lee Garcia -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 2 points.
Brian Hollingshead -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 9 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 3 points.
Mike Lujan -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 6 points.
Robert Matthews -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 13 points.
Joaquin Perez -- 2 for 8; .250 BA; 4 points.
Steve Stafford -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 11 points.
Nelson Vieira -- 1 for 7; .143 BA; 3 points.

Team Batting Average:  .312 (24 for 77; we averaged 4.3 runs/game for the whole tournament.  We need to definitely improve our team batting average, as this current one won't win games, much less tournaments....)

Tournament MVP:  Wes Avery (14 points -- Sizzlin' Stick award!)

Manager's Award:  I would like to take this time now to recognize two other players who shined just as brightly this weekend with their contributions to the team:  Robert Matthews and Vern Amaro. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their consistency throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to both of you!  

2010 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Vern Amaro -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 10 points (1 tournament)
Rich Avery -- 1 for 5; .200 BA; 3 points (1 tournament)
Wes Avery -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 14 points (1 tournament) 
Eric Ferguson -- 1 for 5; .200 BA; 6 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 2 points (1 tournament)
Brian Hollingshead -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Johnny Lopez -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 3 points (1 tournament)
Mike Lujan -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 6 points (1 tournament)
Robert Matthews -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 13 points (1 tournament)
Joaquin Perez -- 2 for 8; .250 BA; 4 points (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 11 points (1 tournament)
Nelson Vieira -- 1 for 7; .143 BA; 3 points (1 tournament) 

Year-End Award Progress:  Vern Amaro initially leads the race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on his single tournament batting average of .500 -- but Robert Matthews is close behind during this 2010 tournament tour with a tournament batting average of .444 (Wes Avery is third with a single tournament batting average of .375). Please remember -- just in case everyone forgets -- a player must have played in a minimum of 5 tournaments to earn this recognition, which is something to think about when I ask everyone next time if they want to play some more ball in an upcoming tournament....

And, once again, that's all, folks!!!

Congratulations, Lucio Cobos, for officially winning the 2009 season race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on your final tournament batting average of .549 over 5 tournaments!  Your name will be the third to be engraved upon this annual award -- great job, buddy!  Other eligible players were, in the order of their final batting averages:  Steve Stafford, .547; Donny Aguiar, .538; Lee Garcia, .462; Vern Amaro, .456; Wes Avery, .444; Mike Lujan, .434; Brian Hollingshead, .404; and Rich Avery, .260 -- good job, guys!

Let's see who sets the tone next year in vying for the 2010 season crown...!

Hopefully, 2010 Will Bring Better Results... 

First, as always, I want to thank all of the players who represented Heavy Metal Softball this weekend for their effort, help, and cooperation in making our seventh tournament of the year a somewhat successful effort -- in the sense that we were very competitive against some roughly comparable teams.  Here are some final tournament statistics for those who actually visit our website and are truly interested in such things.  I would like to state here again that unlike previous seasons a couple of years ago -- when I published an extensive summary of each tournament regardless of the outcome -- I will only do so if we achieve playoff status or have a winning record, with just a bare-bones tournament rundown for those events of little distinction.  So, without further adieu, I present some facts from this particular contest:

Slugfest Super 7 Series, Tournament #7 Summary --

Tournament Record:  0-3 (We need to turn this around!)
                                1st game:  Lost 4-20 vs. Bad Boys
                                2nd game:  Lost 15-16 vs. Down & Dirty
                                3rd game:  Lost 1-9 vs. Back Again  

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Vern Amaro -- 5 for 7; .714 BA; 9 points. 
Rich Avery -- 1 for 8; .125 BA; 3 points.
Wes Avery -- 2 for 8; .250 BA; 10 points.
Dan Beck -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 7 points.
Nathan Berry -- 4 for 8; .500 BA; 21 points.
Bryan Ellis -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 9 points.
Gene Hitt -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 4 points.
Brian Hollingshead -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 17 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 3 points.
Mike Lujan -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 12 points.
Robert Matthews -- 5 for 8; .625 BA; 11 points.
Steve Stafford -- 3 for 7; .429 BA; 23 points. 

Team Batting Average:  .420 (37 for 88; we averaged 6.7 runs/game for the whole tournament.  We need to definitely improve our team batting average, as this current one won't win games, much less tournaments....)

Tournament MVP:  Steve Stafford (23 points -- Sizzlin' Stick award!)

Manager's Award:  I would like to take this time now to recognize a few other players who shined just as brightly this weekend with their contributions to the team:  Vern Amaro, Nathan Berry, Brian Hollingshead, and Robert Matthews. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their consistency throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all four of you!  

2009 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 28 for 52; .538 BA; 103 points (5 tournaments)
Vern Amaro -- 31 for 68; .456 BA; 81 points (7 tournaments)
Rich Avery -- 19 for 73; .260 BA; 78 points (7 tournaments)
Wes Avery -- 36 for 81; .444 BA; 120 points (7 tournaments)
Dan Beck -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 7 points (1 tournament)
Nathan Berry -- 4 for 8; .500 BA; 21 points (1 tournament)
Lucio Cobos -- 28 for 51; .549 BA; 97 points (5 tournaments)
Frank Fletcher -- 6 for 10; .600 BA; 20 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 24 for 52; .462 BA; 64 points (5 tournaments)
Gene Hitt -- 11 for 31; .355 BA; 38 points (4 tournaments)
Brian Hollingshead -- 21 for 52; .404 BA; 67 points (6 tournaments)
Paul Lawrence -- 7 for 26; .269 BA; 36 points (3 tournaments)
Johnny Lopez -- 7 for 15; .467 BA; 8 points (2 tournaments)
Mike Lujan -- 36 for 83; .434 BA; 105 points (7 tournaments)
Lencho Martinez -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 13 points (1 tournament)
Robert Matthews -- 8 for 15; .533 BA; 28 points (2 tournaments)
Steve McElmoyl -- 4 for 6; .667 BA; 10 points (1 tournament)
Joaquin Perez -- 6 for 16; .375 BA; 15 points (2 tournaments)
John Rodriguez -- 4 for 12; .333 BA; 12 points (1 tournament)
Devin Stafford -- 1 for 10; .100 BA; 10 points (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 29 for 53; .547 BA; 145 points (5 tournaments)
Mike Vanaalst -- 16 for 33; .485 BA; 86 points (3 tournaments) 

Year-End Award Progress:  Congratulations, Lucio Cobos, for officially winning the race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on your final tournament batting average of .549 over 5 tournaments!  Your name will be the third to be engraved upon this annual award -- great job, buddy!  Other eligible players were, in the order of their final batting averages:  Steve Stafford, .547; Donny Aguiar, .538; Lee Garcia, .462; Vern Amaro, .456; Wes Avery, .444; Mike Lujan, .434; Brian Hollingshead, .404; and Rich Avery, .260 -- good job, guys!  Please remember -- just in case everyone has forgotten -- a player must have played in a minimum of 5 tournaments to earn this recognition, which is something to think about when I ask everyone next time if they want to play some more ball in an upcoming tournament...!

And, once again, that's all, folks!!!

Our Team's Highest Award Couldn't Have Gone To A More Deserving Guy!!!

After the Tulare Summer 2009 league campaign, Wes Avery finally made it to the upper echelon of Heavy Metal elite by capturing his first league MVP award. In the near future, he will be presented with the coveted Heavy Metal Softball league MVP Circle of Honor plaque by team manager, Vern Amaro. MVP! MVP! MVP! -- you deserve it, my friend!