PVBL: Punxatawney Groundhogs
Grounhogs End Season With a Win
Oct 7, 1997

After dropping the first game on the final day tripleheader, the Groundhogs won twice and will head into the postseason high on a two game winning streak, giving them a final record of 105-57, 1 game worse than the 106-56 Galena Hamsters but 3 better than the Motor City Madmen, and a full 7 ahead of Vero Beach, the second best DL team.

The first game marked the return of Roberto Kelly, Jason Giambi, and Tony Batista into the Hogs lineup after injuries and rehab and rest. They combined to go 3-10 with 2 runs and 2 RBI in the 6-3 loss. However, the next two games were both Hogs wins.

First they crushed Donovan Osborne 7-2 while Mike Hampton got back on track with his 14th win of the year in 5 2/3 innings of 1 earned run pitching. Jason Giambi homered in that game, bettering his season stats once again.

The final game of the season was far closer. The Hogs won 3-2 with 1 run in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie. Rick Aguilera, who may end up starting in the playoffs, took the win and ended with a 5-4 regular season record. Scott Ruffcorn got the hold, his 14th, and Ricky Bottalico got his 8th save.

Now that all is said and done, the Hogs inaugural season was certainly one for the record books. Following is the breakdown of average, homers, and RBI for the Hogs starters and backups who got a decent amount of playing time (80 or more at bats)
                      AVG       HR        RBI
 C Greg Myers        .259       27         87
1B Ryan Klesko       .322       51        151
2B Tony Batista      .288       14         44
SS Jose Valentin     .327       35         88
3B Scott Rolen       .285       33        100
LF Marty Cordova     .309       31         88
CF Rondell White     .312       28         76
RF Roberto Kelly     .312       23         68
DH Jason Giambi      .302       36        118 (in 113 games)
1B Wilton Guerrero   .237       4          17
LF Damon Mashore     .242       5          15
SS Roy McPheeters    .239       6          16
LF Billy Ashley      .198       3          11
2B Jack Jackson      .238       3          12 (and 3 triples in 80 at bats!)
In addition, the pitching staff did a great job getting the Hogs into the playoffs. (20 IP or more)
                         W-L    S     ERA       IP      Holds
LHP Mike Hampton       14-11    0    3.41    192.2        0
RHP Jon Lieber          17-5    0    3.08    190.0        0
RHP Bobby Thomas        13-4    2    2.94    168.1        3
LHP Scott Aldred        10-4    0    5.39    155.1        0
RHP Dustin Hermanso     10-8    1    5.11    123.1        0
RHP Rocky Coppinger      9-8    1    5.51    114.1        0
RHP Sean Bergman         3-6    4    2.77     97.1        8
RHP Rick Aguilera        5-4    1    4.87     94.1        0
RHP Bobby Munoz          5-5    7    4.52     79.2        7
RHP Scott Ruffcorn       4-3    8    2.54     67.1       14
RHP Tim Worrell          3-4    6    4.97     63.1        7
RHP Ricky Bottalico      3-2    8    3.62     27.1        4
LHP Henry Neale          3-0    1    2.82     22.1        3
At the conclusion of today's games, the Hogs were in a jubilant yet restrained mood. A brief closed team meeting was held after the final game was over and then the press entered to meet with the players. Ryan Klesko and Scott Rolen drew the most attention. Klesko had taken how the RBI title, setting the standard and etching his name into the record books of the PVBL with 151. He also broke the 50 homer mark, hit over .300, and scored over 125 runs, a group of numbers that may not be achieved again for some time.

Scott Rolen ended his first full season in the PVBL by driving in a run in one of today's games to bring him to 100 on the year to go with 33 homers and a .285 average. "I'm not sure how the rookie of the year proceedings go here, but I certainly hope I get considered if I still qualify," said the young 3B.

Team owner Dan Shapiro also had an annoucement to make about Rolen--he confirmed that Rolen had signed a lifetime deal with the team that included a no-trade clause that only Rolen could waive. Shapiro refued to comment on whether or not this contract also included a clause that stipulated Rolen be protected in the upcoming "talent re-organization" draft.

However, the press was dismissed from the team's locker room fairly quickly as Shapiro knew his players would want a day of rest before the playoffs, which are slated to start on October 7th.

"I can't say much about my strategy yet," Shapiro said. "I'll be having a meeting tonight with GM Corwin, coaches Schmidt, Hernandez, Bream, Carbo, Tekulve, Fidrych, McGraw, Stengel (and Dionne Warwick), and Bucker to discuss the best possible rotation, lineup, and bullpen configuration for the playoffs. We don't even know who we're playing yet, and I'm hoping the commissioner lets us know soon so we can figure something out."

Punxatawney would also like to formally congradulate Vero, Phoenix, Chicago, Motor City, Brooklyn, Galena, and Hartford on making the playoffs.

May the team with the second best regular season record win!

--written by Dan Shapiro