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The
Plainville Wiffleball League was never meant to become THIS big. The
origins go all the way back to the late 1990's. Zoda Field at
the time was looked at as simply a backyard. However, in this
area of the town a lot of baseball players just happened to
reside. The pioneer crew consisted of Z, Corey, Scott, Ryan,
Ross, Jeff, and a few others. There were no stats, they just
found a nice backyard with a fence. With baseball too
dangerous in such isolated area, plastic balls and bats would
replace thier baseball counterparts. They had some great
battles, but very little people knew about it. Then the year
2000.
Taking a liking to playing Wiffleball, the crew decided
to organize a little bit better, form teams and actually play a
season. Keeping hitting stats in the process. The only
problem was, there wasnt nearly enough players to form enough
teams. So the Crew started a townwide recruiting assault on
the best players out there. Big stars such as hearalded right
hander Dan Procko, Defensive giant Shane Morse, and a Sophmores
class that is one of the most highly touted group in years.
With all these new players, the PWL had high hopes, but were still a
little shakey. This was a huge step from just random
games. The powerful Pinnacles Team would end up with a 11-1
record, there only loss, a 20-19 thriller in which Jeff Bores
launched 5 big flies. There were other teams, but hardly any
of them stuck together through the season. No other team even
finished 10 games. There was no Playoffs, but the
all-star game that year was famous for both Dan's 10
K performance, and the last time we may see Frank Zdunzyck play
wiffle ball. The seeds had been planted for the 2001 season,
and while by no means was the 2000 season a flop, it was just too
young to survive, but in 2001 it did that and much
more.
During the off-season of the 2001 season the interest
in the league was visibly growing. It became the topic of
conversation, and bragging and trash talking was shaping up.
Once spring training started, you could tell that the PWL would not
succumb to the same fall that happened in 2000. A year of
experience under most of the players and front office people would
prove to be huge. More stats were now able to be kept, and the
teams were now more solid than the year before. Although
problems would later occur. Opening day in 2000 was nothing
more than an afternoon with 2 games b/w the Pinnacles and the team
consisting of Corey/Ryan/Kevin. Just 2 games, and done.
The 2001 Opening WEEKEND was a spectacle like no other. The
opening game saw Brian McCarthy throwin heat, and a close game
between the Patti's and Tilcon teams, Patti's won 9-8. But the
main event between the Pinnacles and Firebarrels was a classic
see-saw battle. Finally a debated call opened up enough
breathing room between the teams for the Pinnacles to sneek a 11-6
victory. The Lil Banch's would defeat the Dawgs 9--8, and the
night cap had the Firebarrels beating Patti's 11-9. No game
was decided by more than 5 runs. The second day of the weekend was a
whole lot different. OFFENSE. In the first game the Pinnacles
outslugged the Tilcon team 23-18, 17 Homeruns were hit, 5 by Kevin,
4 by Scott and Dan. After a close one between the Firebarrels and
the Dawgs, the Pinnacles again put on a power display, Both Scott
and Procko hit 4 more homeruns, with Procko throwing a 3
hitter. The weekened ended, but what a HUGE 2 days for the
PWL. While the same magic was never caught, the season moved
forward. But there were problems, the Dawgs, Tilcon, and Lil
Banch's all fell apart, while the Pride and the Dave Peters lead
G.O.A.T.s came in, it was still a messy situation. The
highlight of the post-middle of the season was the G.O.A.T's late
victory over the Tilcon team, which disbanded the day after.
Good Move. The All-Star festivites were as live as ever, Scott
won the hitting contest, Justin nipped Procko for the HR Derby
title, while Marc was the star of the Rookie game. The Main
Event was a classic Power vs. Finesse battle. All the Power
was with the East, and the Speed and Creativity with the West.
The East struck first, but the West struck hardest. Lead by
the pair of Singles Kings Jon and Dan, who each hit 2 homeruns, and
the Youngsters, Corey and Ryan, the West pulled off a 12-7
victory. Procko won the MVP award. The 2nd half of the
season came about with the notion of night games. While the
PWL never got them right, it is a huge expanding possibility for the
league. The Pinnacles dream of a perfect season was cut short
when BMac pitched a classic game, and Patti's found a way to silence
the Pinnacles bats, and take a victory. But this just lead to
fuel the fire the Pinnacles playoff drive. They were the 1
seed, while the Firebarrels were the 2, Patti's the 3, and the Pride
the 4. Without 6 teams at the end of the season, the G.O.A.T.s
were the unfortunate odd man out. The Pinnacles held off a
very scrappy Pride team in 5 game, ending the series on
back-to-back-to-back homeruns by Dan, Z, and Scott. The other
series reach an intensity never matched before. Patti's and
the Firebarrels matched up well, and a lot of night clashes went
deep into the late hours. The Firebarrels would win, but not
without near fights and cussing. This set up the 1
vs. 2 mathcup for the series. The Pinnacles would not be
denied, and won the series sweeping the Firebarrels. The end to a
magical season for all.
Now the 2002 season awaits. new
teams, returning all-stars, and in all of it, the Pinnacles, who
were going to break up to try and even the league, decided to come
back and defend thier title, but it wont be easy. The
Firebarrels are back, after a big free agent siging BMac. Ryan
Snyder comes back with his cousin Mr Old School to create a very
formidable team. Then the two young stars of the League Ryan M
and Corey added Marc to there team. This leaves 4 serious
contenders for the PWL Championship, but only time will tell.
There is still a lot of time for things to happen in between, but
there is no doubt just how big PWL is getting, and the sky is the
limit to where it can go. This season should be special, you
should come down and enjoy it. But beware, when the
PWLers get mad, bats fly, so keep youre heads
up.
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