CCJBL Tournament Preview

The time is here! This coming Monday the CCJBL Tournament begins!

Parity ruled in the CCJBL this regular season, with Savanna's Indians winning the regular season title with a 6-4 record. Chadwick was the lone bunch finishing sub-.500, with Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Shannon, and Lanark all finishing even at 5-5. Obviously the Indians secured the top seed and one of the first round byes for the tourney (also Chadwick is the 6 seed with their last place finish) but we had to go to a tie-breaker to determine the 2-5 seeds. The first tie-breaker is head-to-head and the second, in case there is a tie in head-to-head, is scoring differential. Without getting into all the details this is how it worked it's way out: Milledgeville by virtue of having the best head-to-head record against the other three became the tourney 2 seed with the all-important first round bye. Mt. Carroll ended up with the 3 seed and will play Chadwick in the first round. Finally, Lanark (4) will take on Shannon (5) in a first round matchup.

Mt. Carroll (3) vs. Chadwick (6)

The Hawks come in having won their last three in a row. Some early season offensive struggles appear to be a distant memory. Led by the leading home run slugger in the league, Mike Trout (4 HR, 7 RBI), and solid lead-off man Willie Wells (.375, 7 R, 6 RBI, 4 SB). Austin Jackson and Javier Baez have both contributed monster performances during the season. The pitching staff is anchored by eccentric Ebby Calvin LaLoosh (2.81, 2-2, 18 K). "Old Hoss" Radbourn finished the season strong but Johnny Vander Meer (5.87) struggled most of the summer.

The Streaks had a difficult summer with the bats, finishing with a team average of .226 and scoring only 25 runs. Dangerous lead-off man Vince Coleman (.273, 6 SB) is a huge key that could be his squad's biggest hope for an upset. Kirk Gibson cooled a bit after a hot start but still batted .360 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. But the rest of the bats did not come through often during the season. Jered Weaver could single-handedly hurl his team to victory after a stellar campaign featuring a currently league-leading 1.48 E.R.A. Charlie Root and Steven Karsay had their moments but were primarily inconsistent.

If Weaver pitches and dominates and Coleman can get on and cause havoc Chadwick has a chance but if not Trout and company should roll into round 2.

Lanark (4) vs. Shannon (5)

The Beavers looked like a team to beat early on but limped a bit to the finish. They hit for a high average (.271) with three guys hitting .394 or higher (Craig Grebeck, Johnny Ward, and Joshua Hamilton) but not a lot of pop. Ward did steal 6 bags at the top of the order so he can definitely make things happen. On the mound "Dizzy" Dean was an effective workhorse and piled up 4 wins. David Price (3.00 E.R.A., 3 saves) and Chuck Finley (2.70) both were at times spectacular.

The Eagles are led by the stellar Roberto Clemente (.448, 6 R, 6 RBI) and Adrian Gonzalez (.423, 3 HR). Kenny DeNunez is probably their most reliable hurler (4.05, 3-1) and also contributed a couple huge late-inning hits on the plate. Lawrence French was steady (2.70 E.R.A.) and "Satchel" Paige had a late-season great start to make up a bit for a real rough season on the hill.

If Lanark can get the win in this one they have the pitching staff most likely to have a shot at taking down Savanna, but they have to get there first. Can Clemente and Gonzalez come through? Can DeNunez (most likely) hurl a gem or deliver a clutch hit? The only thing for sure is a good team is going to be going home.

Milledgeville (2) vs ?

The Missiles won the tie-breakers against the other three .500 teams and have a first-round bye as a result. They will play the first round winner that is the highest seed. At the top of their order is the mystifying Rickey Henderson. Despite hitting only .120 he managed to spark Milledgeville's offense by drawing seven walks and stealing a ridiculous 10 bases during the regular season. "Dixie" Walker was effective out of the 2 spot, hitting .379 and scoring 6 runs with 2 home runs. The rest of the team didn't hit much, however, as they were under .200 as a team most of the season and currently have a team average of .215 and only three dingers.

Fernando Valenzuela won four games and was the Missiles most reliable pitcher. Ray Brown and Hilton Smith both were steady if unspectacular.

The Missiles defense is particularly stingy with only three errors. Despite not being dominant on offense or on the mound they found a way to the two seed. They just win. But they are vulnerable.

Savanna (1) vs. ?

Savanna's record is not indicative of how good they truly are. They have a very solid lineup and easily the most feared pitching staff in the CCJBL. Offensively the Indians are led by Mike Kingery (.393, 7 R, 7 RBI, 2 triples) and Frankie Frisch (.367, 6 R, 5 RBI). Cleanup hitter Mickey Mantle did not have great numbers (.217, 2 HR, 4 RBI) but is feared by opposing pitchers, as evidenced by his 8 walks.

The jewel of the team is their pitching, however. They sport a wonderful 2.44 E.R.A. led by the arguably the ace of the league, Greg Maddux. Maddux had a 2.32 E.R.A. 3-3 record, with one save. "Candy" Cummings was also impressive, with a 3-1 record and a 2.65 E.R.A. "Windy" McCall worked primarily out of the bullpen, saving 3 games with a 2.45 E.R.A. Teams will likely need a dominant performance from their pitchers to match this staff.

Savanna does have a weakness: defense. They have committed a league high ten errors with "Pee Wee" Reese committing five errors alone at shortstop.

The Indians will play the the first round winner who is the lowest seed.


Well there you have it. The first round games will be played at the home field of the top seed, in this case Mt. Carroll and Lanark. After that the semi-finals and finals will be played at the league's crown jewel ball field, Chadwick's Handel Park. The post-tournament All Star contest will also take place at Handel Park.

Milledgeville and Savanna gain a huge advantage with their byes because pitchers are limited to six innings per game and nine per week, just as in the regular season. But any team playing in the championship that did not get the bye will be on their third game of the week. They will have to manage their pitchers much more carefully than the top two seeds.

Let's get this party started!!!