Heavy Metal Softball

Congratulations, Frank Fletcher, for officially winning the 2008 season race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on your final tournament batting average of .581 over 5 tournaments!  Your name will be the second to be engraved upon this annual award -- great job, buddy!  Other eligible players were, in the order of their final batting averages:  Mike Lujan, .531; Paul Lawrence, .462; Lee Garcia, .441; Gene Hitt, .435; Vern Amaro, .417; Joaquin Perez, .405; Wes Avery, .386; Rich Avery, .275; and Johnny Lopez, .219 -- good job, guys!

Let's see who sets the tone next year in vying for the 2009 season crown...!

Our Team's Highest Award Goes To A Real "Iron" Man -- Pure Metal!!!

After the recently concluded Visalia Summer 2008 league campaign, Frank Fletcher will once again get his name etched in small gold lettering, marking a record seventh individual time he has earned this award since our team was born in 1990. 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, old friend!

 

Some Bragging Rights From Our Summer 2008 Visalia City League Campaign!!!

At the end of each league season, some recognition is always given to those individuals who contributed to the team in some way. The following categories -- most real, some intended for a few laughs -- are mostly from the offensive part of softball; some are just plain offensive! (Have a little sense of humor, guys! Don't get defensive. Get it -- defensive! Oh, never mind....)  So, for what it's worth, here we go:

Visalia City League, Thursday Night, summer 2008
2-7-1 record:  No team award; MVP selected solely by offensive/defensive points 

Offensive Categories --

Most Plate Appearances:  Mike Lujan (42)

Most At-Bats:  Mike Lujan (38)

Most Runs:  Mike Lujan (15)

Most Singles:  Mike Lujan (19)

Most Doubles:  Frank Fletcher (3)

Most Triples:  Wes Avery (4)

Most Home Runs:  Bryan Phillips, Steve Stafford (tie, 3)

Most RBIs:  Steve Stafford (15)

Most Walks:  Steve Stafford (5)

Most Sacrifices:  Mike Lujan, Bryan Phillips, Steve Stafford (tie, 2)

Highest On-Base Percentage:  Vern Amaro (.640)

Highest Slugging Percentage:  Bryan Phillips, Steve Stafford (1.053)

Highest Batting Average:  Vern Amaro (.652)

Most Hits:  Mike Lujan (23)

Most Single-Game Points:  Steve Stafford (31)

Most Offensive Points:  Frank Fletcher (84)

Defensive Categories -- (Sorry, but no defensive stats were kept this league)

All of which leads to, if the above stats were used primarily in making our choice...

Most Valuable Player (Visalia City League, Men's D-Blue, summer 2008):  Frank Fletcher (84 offensive/defensive points) 

And for our special categories...

Most Non-Appearances (regular members):  Matt Soares (8) (Once again, Where In The World Is Matt Lauer...er...Soares! is a new Thursday evening sports segment showing primarily at Plaza Park!  Just kidding, of course, big guy!  Bryan Phillips was a distant second (4), while Vern Amaro and Steve Stafford took third (3).  Some others also were considered, even though their physical bodies actually made it to the games!)

Perfect Attendance (regular members):  Donny Aguiar, Frank Fletcher, Johnny Lopez, Mike Lujan, and Joaquin Perez (All 10 games; gold stars to everyone!)

Most Memorable Performance:  In our eighth game of the league season, we played a team that goes by the name Team X -- unfortunately for our opponent, it was our own Steve Stafford who made a brand name for himself!  On this night, Steve went 4 for 4, with 2 singles, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, plus scoring 3 runs himself.  His individual offensive output was 31 points, nearly half of his entire league total!  Like I've been saying lately, big green guy, stay angry!  Remember, keep that familiar mantra in mind for future games:  Hulk smash!       

Greatest Increase in Batting Average from Last League (spring 2008; minimum 5 games):  Wes Avery (+.125, from .375 to .500) (Lee Garcia came in second with a +.123 increase; Vern Amaro was third with a +.088 increase.)

Biggest "Plunge" in Batting Average from Last League (spring 2008; minimum 5 games):  Rich Avery (-.245, from .541 to .296) (Johnny Lopez came in second with a slightly smaller -.067 decrease; Mike Lujan was third with a -.036 decrease.)

Best Player Quote:  "...#$@%...."  (attributed to several players, after being reminded about wearing the "O-Fer Shirt"!)  

Best Acting Performance by a Player/Manager:  Drum roll, please...Vern Amaro!!! (11th time in a row!  An eleven-peat!  Incredible!  Can this person run the career table!  This is for impersonating, once again, the second baseman -- and spokesperson -- of a pretty darn-good softball team!  By the way, were there any other eligible candidates on the team?)

100 Points Plus Club:  Vern Amaro (1994 T.C.L. 130 pts./1999 T.C.L. 109 pts./2001 T.C.L. 103 pts./2002 T.C.L. 140 pts./2003 T.C.L. 106 pts./2004 T.C.L. 110 pts./2005 T.C.L. 103 pts.); Rich Avery (2000 T.C.L. 129 pts./2004 V.C.L. 102 pts.); Wes Avery (2005 T.C.L. 129 pts.); Matt Beltran (1999 T.C.L. 104 pts.); Gordon Caudle (2000 T.C.L. 120 pts.); Kurt Chambers (2004 T.C.L. 100 pts.); Frank Fletcher (1994 T.C.L. 115 pts./1999 T.C.L. 169 pts.*/2000 T.C.L. 134 pts./2002 T.C.L. 146 pts./2003 T.C.L. 113 pts./2004 T.C.L. 111 pts./2004 V.C.L. 112 pts./2005 T.C.L. 134 pts./2005 V.C.L. 109 pts./2006 V.C.L. 111 pts./2007 V.C.L. 105 pts./2008 V.C.L. 102 pts.); Gene Hitt (1994 T.C.L. 108 pts./2000 T.C.L. 138 pts./2002 T.C.L. 121 pts./2005 T.C.L. 100 pts./2005 V.C.L. 106 pts.); Mike Lujan (2005 V.C.L. 101 pts./2006 V.C.L. 113 pts.); Rene Regalado (1999 T.C.L. 109 pts./2000 T.C.L. 120 pts.); John Souza (1994 T.C.L. 122 pts.); Steve Stafford (2006 V.C.L. 106 pts./2007 V.C.L. 100 pts./2008 V.C.L. 103 pts.); Art Tabacco (2005 V.C.L. 116 pts.); Nelson Vieira (2002 T.C.L. 114 pts./2004 T.C.L. 112 pts./2006 T.C.L. 114 pts.) 

*[record for highest league total] 

Heavy Metal Softball rocks!  And I'm not joking here.  You've been a great bunch of guys to play side-by-side with, men! All kidding aside, I was really proud of our efforts, most especially the consistent team attitude displayed. I tip my cap off to all of you, as I know some of you come to play despite conflicting personal schedules, various aches and pains, balancing family and friends, and putting up with my managerial decisions. And so, in the meantime...keep rockin', guys -- and stay healthy for our next campaign!

A Day For Demonstrating Compassion Instead Of Chasing Glory 

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 sixth 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:

Jesus Banuelos Tribute Tournament Summary --

Tournament Record:  1-2 (competed!)
                                1st game:  Won 16-0 vs. Real Deal
                                2nd game:  Lost 4-7 vs. What If
                                3rd game:  Lost 13-15 vs. Ballistic 

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Donny Aguiar -- 6 for 8; .750 BA; 25 points.
Vern Amaro -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 7 points.
Rich Avery -- 0 for 10; .000 BA; 2 points.
Wes Avery -- 4 for 11; .364 BA; 17 points.
Lucio Cobos -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 15 points.
Frank Fletcher -- 8 for 10; .800 BA; 29 points.
Lee Garcia -- 1 for 8; .125 BA; 5 points.
Gene Hitt -- 2 for 8; .250 BA; 9 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 6 points.
Mike Lujan -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 23 points.
Steve Stafford -- 6 for 10; .600 BA; 24 points.
Mike Vanaalst -- 4 for 6; .667 BA; 21 points. 

Team Batting Average:  .417 (43 for 103; we averaged 11.0 runs/game for the whole tournament.  Of course, we need a much higher team batting average to get over the top in any future tournament games....)

Tournament MVP:  Frank Fletcher (29 points -- Sizzlin' Stick award for the second time in a row this year!)

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:  Donny Aguiar, Mike Lujan, Steve Stafford, and Mike Vanaalst. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their overall effort throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all four of you!  

2008 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 21 for 34; .618 BA; 74 points (4 tournaments)
Vern Amaro -- 20 for 48; .417 BA; 39 points (6 tournaments)
Rich Avery -- 11 for 40; .275 BA; 33 points (5 tournaments)
Wes Avery -- 17 for 44; .386 BA; 62 points (5 tournaments)
Lucio Cobos -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Frank Fletcher -- 25 for 43; .581 BA; 86 points (5 tournaments)
Aaron Dawes -- 2 for 7; 286 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 15 for 34; .441 BA; 52 points (5 tournaments)
Gene Hitt -- 20 for 46; .435 BA; 62 points (6 tournaments)
Paul Lawrence -- 18 for 39; .462 BA; 80 points (5 tournaments)
Johnny Lopez -- 7 for 32; .219 BA; 24 points (5 tournaments)
Mike Lujan -- 26 for 49; .531 BA; 84 points (6 tournaments)
Cruz Onsurez -- 7 for 23; .304 BA; 19 points (4 tournaments)
Joaquin Perez -- 17 for 42; .405 BA; 97 points (5 tournaments)
Bryan Phillips -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 7 points (1 tournament)
Matt Soares -- 0 for 9; .000 BA; 1 point (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 13 for 23; .565 BA; 66 points (3 tournaments)
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Mike Vanaalst -- 6 for 13; .462 BA; 41 points (2 tournaments)
Nelson Vieira -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 17 points (2 tournaments)

Year-End Award Progress:  Congratulations, Frank Fletcher, for officially winning the race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on your final tournament batting average of .581 over 5 tournaments!  Your name will be the second to be engraved upon this annual award -- great job, buddy!  Other eligible players were, in the order of their final batting averages:  Mike Lujan, .531; Paul Lawrence, .462; Lee Garcia, .441; Gene Hitt, .435; Vern Amaro, .417; Joaquin Perez, .405; Wes Avery, .386; Rich Avery, .275; and Johnny Lopez, .219 -- 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!!!

Nice Facilities And Weather Make For A Pretty Good Day! 

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 fifth 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:

Die Hard NSA Softball Tournament Summary --

Tournament Record:  0-3 (tough losses!)
                                1st game:  Lost 6-10 vs. BAMF
                                2nd game:  Lost 8-15 vs. Team Dynasty
                                3rd game:  Lost 8-10 vs. Whazz Up 

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Donny Aguiar -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 10 points.
Vern Amaro -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 9 points.
Rich Avery -- 4 for 11; .364 BA; 9 points.
Wes Avery -- 3 for 10; .300 BA; 7 points.
Frank Fletcher -- 7 for 11; .636 BA; 23 points.
Gene Hitt -- 7 for 10; .700 BA; 19 points.
Paul Lawrence -- 1 for 7; .143 BA; 6 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 1 for 6; .167 BA; 4 points.
Mike Lujan -- 7 for 11; .636 BA; 19 points.
Joaquin Perez -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 15 points.
Mike Vanaalst -- 2 for 7; .236 BA; 20 points. 

Team Batting Average:  .423 (44 for 104; we averaged 7.3 runs/game for the whole tournament.  Of course, we need a much higher team batting average to get over the top in any future tournament games....)

Tournament MVP:  Frank Fletcher (23 points -- Sizzlin' Stick award for the first time this year!)

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:  Gene Hitt, Mike Lujan, Joaquin Perez, and Mike Vanaalst. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their overall effort throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all four of you!  

2008 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 15 for 26; .577 BA; 49 points (3 tournaments)
Vern Amaro -- 17 for 39; .436 BA; 32 points (5 tournaments)
Rich Avery -- 11 for 30; .367 BA; 31 points (4 tournaments)
Wes Avery -- 13 for 33; .394 BA; 45 points (4 tournaments)
Frank Fletcher -- 17 for 33; .515 BA; 57 points (4 tournaments)
Aaron Dawes -- 2 for 7; 286 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 14 for 26; .538 BA; 47 points (4 tournaments)
Gene Hitt -- 18 for 38; .474 BA; 53 points (5 tournaments)
Paul Lawrence -- 18 for 39; .462 BA; 80 points (5 tournaments)
Johnny Lopez -- 5 for 26; .192 BA; 18 points (4 tournaments)
Mike Lujan -- 22 for 40; .550 BA; 61 points (5 tournaments)
Cruz Onsurez -- 7 for 23; .304 BA; 19 points (4 tournaments)
Joaquin Perez -- 17 for 42; .405 BA; 97 points (5 tournaments)
Bryan Phillips -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 7 points (1 tournament)
Matt Soares -- 0 for 9; .000 BA; 1 point (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 7 for 13; .538 BA; 42 points (2 tournaments)
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Mike Vanaalst -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 20 points (1 tournament)
Nelson Vieira -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 17 points (2 tournaments)

Year-End Award Progress:  Donny Aguiar is still leading the race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on his three-tournament batting average of .577 -- but Mike Lujan is coming on strong in second with a five-tournament batting average of .550 (Lee Garcia and Steve Stafford are tied for third during the 2008 tournament tour with batting averages of .538 ). 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!!!