Season 5 Recap

[eljefe]

After a breakthrough 7-5 performance in Season 4, expectations were high heading into Season 5. The George Jetsons began the season with 13 veterans on the roster. Our hopes and dreams were quickly deflated, however, when we lost 8 straight games to start the season. The losing streak included some close games (like a 15-13 loss against the Rastros), but mostly it consisted of blowouts (like the 20-2 loss against the Base Cadets). The offense was nearly nonexistent and the defense was subpar, as well. Fortunately, things would turn around at the end of the season.

Even in our worst seasons of the past, we had never been 0-8 before until now. The prospect of falling to 0-9 was staring us in the face when we took on Los Vatos on September 11. The Vatos hit their way to an early 10-0 lead, but the sleeping giant that was the GJ offense had yet to awaken. Later in the game, the George Jetsons had a 10 run inning of their own and the game was tied 17-17 at the end of regulation. GJ won the extra inning 2-1 and claimed their first victory of the season. This gutsy come-from-behind performance was the beginning of a 4-game winning streak with which the George Jetsons would finish the season.


The season ended on September 25 when the George Jetsons faced off against their rivals, the Rastros. All the games that these rivals had played in the past had been close, hard-fought games. Another tight matchup was expected this time, but instead the George Jetsons piled on 26 runs on 28 hits to crush the hapless Rastros into submission. Following a 14-12 win against a Patchy Ground Fog team with a bad attitude, the season ended with the George Jetsons claiming 5th place with a 4-8 record.

[b]MOST VALUABLE JETSON AWARD[/b]

First, two notes of interest:

There is no longer a separate Defensive MVJ Award, only a single overall MVJ Award that will mostly be based on offense, since that’s what we have stats for.

Also, the MVJ Awards will be based on regular-season performance (not including playoffs). If we ever advance deep into a playoff tourney, perhaps we could have a separate MVJ of the playoffs, but we’re not there yet.

The contest for the Season 5 MVJ Award was a close one between Randy Lillard’s power-laden output and Darby Vicker’s consitent offensive production. During the regular season, Lillard hit .632 with 3 homers and 29 RBI’s. He netted 46 total bases for a slugging percentage of 1.211. Vicker, however, led the team with an amazing .724 average, 4 triples, and 15 runs scored. The votes cast by the softball writers were very close, but in the end the award went to Darby Vicker. The award text reads:
[quote]For outstanding offensive contributions as a member of the George Jetsons during their 5th season, include these great regular-season statistics:

.724 Batting Average
1.172 Slugging Percentage
21 Hits
34 Total Bases
15 Runs
4 Triples

this Most Valuable Jetson Award is presented to:

Darby Vicker
Left Fielder, George Jetsons, Season 5
[/quote]
[b]MANAGER AWARDS[/b]

At the awards’ ceremony after our first season, the George Jetsons players gave me a nice, autographed game ball as a thank you gift from the team. After I presented the Season 5 awards, the team once again presented me with another unnecessary (but well-appreciated) gift. This time, they gave me a miniature wooden Louisville Slugger with “5 Great GJ Seasons!” inscribed on it. I’d like to thank the GJ players for these kind gestures.

A photo of the Season 1 game ball and the Season 5 mini-bat is attached.

[b]GAME LOG[/b]
[code]DATE OPPONENT RESULT AVG SLG OPS FLD
Jul 24 Patchy Ground Fog L 11-5 .391 .565 .965 .714
Jul 24 Rastros L 15-3 .615 .962 1.607 .682
Jul 31 Base Cadets L 20-2 .267 .267 .517 .516
Jul 31 Baby Brains L 21-9 .500 .875 1.337 .789
Aug 21 Base Cadets L 18-12 .543 .686 1.213 .862
Aug 21 Baby Brains L 12-5 .448 .586 1.070 .963
Sep 4 Los Vatos L 14-2 .300 .300 .600 .857
Sep 4 Team Hotel Bravo L 9-6 .419 .581 1.000 .833
Sep 11 Los Vatos W 19-18 .615 .949 1.530 .923
Sep 11 Team Hotel Bravo W 8-6 .429 .629 1.073 .900
Sep 25 Rastros W 26-12 .737 1.079 1.812 .900
Sep 25 Patchy Ground Fog W 14-12 .565 .870 1.470 .880
--------------------------------------------------------------
Oct 18 Rejects L 16-4 .364 .545 .937 .800
[/code]
[b]FINAL STANDINGS[/b]

The Baby Brains dominated the league standings once again. Their only loss came in a shocking upset at the hands of the Rastros. The Base Cadets followed closely behind the Brains, and the rest of the team were mediocre middle-of-the-pack performers. That includes the George Jetsons, who were one of three 4-win teams:
[code]# TEAM W L PCT
1 Baby Brains 11 1 .917
2 Base Cadets 9 2 .818
3 Patchy Ground Fog 5 5 .500
4 Los Vatos 4 7 .364
5 George Jetsons 4 8 .333
5 Rastros 4 8 .333
7 Team Hotel Bravo 3 9 .250
[/code]
Note: There are two games missing from the record because Patchy Ground Fog elected not to play on 9/11. It was my understanding that those games would be made up, but they never showed up in the standings. It doesn’t affect anything except for the possibility that Los Vatos might have fallen to 4-8, in which case we would have finished in a 3-way tie for 4th place.

[b]STATISTICS[/b]

This season ranks as one of our worst seasons in terms of offensive production. Hopefully, we can find a way to maintain the offensive and defensive consistency of the last 4 games throughout the next season:
[code]SEA AVG SLG OPS RPI W-L
1 .531 .711 1.243 1.67 2-6
2 .569 .711 1.291 1.98 1-7
3 .502 .767 1.269 1.66 1-7
4 .537 .814 1.359 2.05 7-5
5 .509 .734 1.250 1.98 4-8
[/code]
Darby Vicker returned as a full-time player this season and made an immediate impact. Vicker and Lillard dominated most offensive statistical categories:
[code] BATTING AVERAGE SLUGGING PERCENTAGE OPS (OBP + SLG)
Vicker .724 Lillard 1.211 Vicker 1.860
Lillard .632 Vicker 1.172 Lillard 1.826
Sostaric .571 Sostaric .762 Sostaric 1.333

HITS DOUBLES TRIPLES
Lillard 24 Lillard 9 Vicker 4
Vicker 21 McCann 5 Lillard 2
Peternell 17 Vicker 5 McCann 2
McCann 16 Harp 4 Peternell 2
Harp 15 Peternell 4 2 tied 1

HOME RUNS RUNS SCORED RUNS BATTED IN
Lillard 3 Vicker 15 Lillard 29
Lillard 14 McCann 15
Harp 11 Peternell 13
Kroeger 11 Vicker 11
3 tied 10 Harp 9

TOTAL BASES
Lillard 46
Vicker 34
McCann 25
Peternell 25
Harp 21[/code]