What Does The Fox Say? The Swamp Foxes’ Strange But True Statistical Feats of 2064 (2064-05)

[woods]

The Swamp Foxes are in last place in the JL Atlantic, and while not yet mathematically eliminated, have a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs, according to BNN. The team is ranked last in the JL in many statistical categories, including Starters' ERA, Defensive efficiency, and Wins against Phoenix.

But that doesn't mean there aren't a few positive individual performances to celebrate. No, we're not talking about Triple Crown contenders, ERA titles, or major achivements like that. These are weirder, but still all noteworthy in their own way. The weirder stats are more fun, anyway.



Kalaila Cobar

We'll start with a pretty obvious one, because it turns out a Swamp Fox does lead the league in something: holds. Setup man Kalaila Cobar's 23 holds are most in the JL, and the highest total by a Swamp Fox pitcher since Christian Walker had 26 in 2060. There's still three weeks left in the season, so barring an extreme meltdown, Cobar should clear Walker's mark easily.

*We should note that unlike with saves, holds can still be earned in a loss, which makes this the perfect stat for a Swamp Fox to excel in.


António Huerta

Outfielder António Huerta also leads the league in something. And not just the league — in fact, Huerta is leading the entire BBA in pitches seen per plate appearance, with a whopping 5.23 on average, well above second-place Austin Nolan (5.02).

That means that if there were a lineup of nine Huerta clones, it would make opposing pitchers throw 47 pitches each time through the order. 47! Some of Long Beach's starters aren't even throwing that many pitches per game.*

*I did not fact-check this; I just assumed.


Félix Parreno

Now we're getting to the point where we have to make some considerable leaps to say that a Swamp Fox leads the league in something. But here's one: on-base percentage.

What's that? That can't be, you say, because Phoenix's Mas'ud bin Salah al Din leads the Johnson League with a .390 OBP, and none of Cape Fear's players are anywhere close to that. And that would be true, if you abided by the standard plate appearances cutoff for qualified hitters.

But what if we lowered that minimum to, say, 5 plate appearances? In that case, Swamp Foxes' veteran first baseman, Félix Parreno, does indeed lead the entire JL with a .426 on-base percentage.

Louisville's Roberto Ramos is even better (an even .500!) in the Frick League, but we don't consider that a fair comparison, because they don't have real pitching over there.


Sam Butler

Surely we're running out of arbitrary qualifiers to put on stats that make the Swamp Foxes' achievements look impressive, right? Not even close!

With 20 doubles and 20 home runs, Cape Fear's catcher, Sam Butler, has now reached those milestones for seven seasons in a row. So, how many other Johnson League hitters have consecutive 20/20 seasons dating back to 2058? We checked, and of course Butler's the only one.

A few special mentions, however, first to Rosenblatt's Malik bin Mazin, who had done it for thirteen straight seasons going into this year, but currently sitting at just 12 home runs, looks like he won't make it to fourteen.

Wafid Bishr in the Frick League is the only other hitter in the BBA with an active 20/20 streak longer than Butler's, with his going strong at fourteen seasons and counting. But it's pretty easy when you get to feast on those Frick League meatballs.


Moananani Nana

Let's turn our attention to Cape Fear's newly appointed closer, Moananani Nana. Apart from having a really fun name to say, he's quietly been dominant as a middle reliever for most of the season.

How dominant?

Among Johnson League relievers with at least 70 innings pitched, only Nana and likely Egan winner, Phoenix's Ernesto Juárez, have at least a 160 ERA+. But the most impressive thing of all is the number of home runs Nana has allowed this season: just one. (Juárez has allowed nine, so Nana will gladly accept your Egan votes, since he's clearly the better pitcher.)

(In researching this fact, I also discovered the ridiculous year that Tommy Boele is having for Yellow Springs in the Frick League, before I handily filtered him out with my Johnson League qualifying filter. But can we please show some appreciation for the 33-year-old rookie?)


* * * * *
In losing seasons, it's important that fans still have something to root for, whether it's an individual achievement, a young player's development, or the well-chronicled Battle for Carolina (which will be decided tonight!). And we hope this collection of tidbits serves as a reminder that the Swamp Foxes have no shortage of quirks, even if the wins may be lacking this year.

[BaseClogger]

Has Cobar earned some starts? You’ve got the makings of a really good young bullpen.

Huerta’s power outage is a head scratcher.

[ae37jr]

I love players with high ps/pa. Even if they are not pulling their weight, they are at least contributing in getting the SP in "the red" quicker and even forcing a teams 7th or 8th RP into the game more so your big boppers can do their thing.

[woods]

Has Cobar earned some starts? You’ve got the makings of a really good young bullpen.

He expects a rotation spot, so I probably should. I'm just always a bit averse to starters with only 3 pitches.

[RonCo]

5 PA. Hehe.