My 2009 season in the Illowa APBA League is proof that a good, or at least decent, offense isn’t everything. My Twin Cities Thunderchickens just finished the year in last place out of ten teams.
| 2009 ILLOWA LEAGUE | W | L | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Champions | 99 | 63 | .611 | 0 |
| 2 | Rising Bamm Beano’s | 88 | 74 | .543 | 11 |
| 3 | Molly Putts Marauders | 87 | 75 | .537 | 12 |
| 4 | Three Rivers Gamblers | 86 | 76 | .531 | 13 |
| 5 | Chicago Highlanders | 83 | 79 | .512 | 16 |
| 6 | Northside Hitmen | 82 | 80 | .506 | 17 |
| 7 | Green Rock Bombers | 77 | 85 | .475 | 22 |
| 8 | Moline Upperdeckers | 71 | 91 | .438 | 28 |
| 9 | Kentucky Kernels | 70 | 92 | .432 | 29 |
| 10 | Twin Cities Thunderchickens | 67 | 95 | .414 | 32 |
The interesting part? The Thunderchickens led all ten teams in runs scored.
| Team | Runs |
|---|---|
| T-Chicks | 833 |
| Upperdeckers | 826 |
| Hitmen | 823 |
| Gamblers | 822 |
| Champions | 816 |
| Bamm Beano | 812 |
| Bombers | 755 |
| Highlanders | 739 |
| Marauders | 719 |
| Kernels | 677 |
When the Thunderchickens did win, we had a proclivity to manage some high scoring games which certainly helped. The league high ERA of 5.17 probably contributed to this anomaly, as well.
Another slight oddity… our last place team has a good chance of having someone win the league MVP award. Albert Pujols ended the season leading the IAL in batting average, RBIs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage not to mention coming in second in runs.
He has some stiff competition (Ryan Howard hit 50 dingers this seaosn in the IAL) but we’re hoping.
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