Top teams rule the record books

The final tally of the top baseball players is in, and with another week and a half before the boys of fall take part in the Saipan Major League playoffs, the divide between the upper crust and the lower rung is as glaring as the afternoon sun at the Kan Pacific Baseball Field.

The Hustlers secured the pennant in a thrilling 7-4 victory over the Pirates in Marpi to close out the regular season. The win gave them the league’s best record at 7-2, but they left one on the table when they were forced to forfeit a few weeks back to the last place D-9ers due to outstanding registration fees.

Were it not for a couple of key losses at costly times, the Pirates could have swapped spots with the Hustlers, but they dropped a 7-5 contest to the Tanapag No Zone two weeks before the end of the season that could have at least gave them another shot at the pennant with a tie-breaking playoff game.

Instead, the Pirates had to settle for second best at 6-3, but that was still head and shoulders above the rest of the pack as combined wins of the No Zone and the D-9ers fell one short of the Bucs.

The Tanapag No Zone managed just three wins in nine attempts during the season, but that was one better than the D-9ers, who finished the regular season slate with a pair of victories—one via forfeit.

One look at the team batting statistics makes it clear why the Hustlers and Pirates were above the curve. The Pirates topped the power rankings with a league-leading .489 combined slugging percentage, .373 batting average, and an overwhelming outpouring of offense that accounted for 122 singles, 23 doubles, six triples, a homerun, and a total of 85 runs scored—firsts in every category.

The Hustlers were a close second in all but one category, as they combined for a .419 slugging percentage, a .330 batting average, and stunning display of hits with 96 base knocks, 15 doubles, four triples (third), a home run, and 96 total runs scored.

The Pirates also enjoyed the some of the league’s top pitching on paper, as their hurlers recorded a 1.54 Earned Run Average in a combined effort. The swashbuckling ball servers allowed the fewest runs (34)—13 of which were earned—allowed the second fewest hits (75), and fanned the most would be hitters (69). The Hustlers gave up six more runs, but allowed a league low 60 hits to finish with a combined 3.55 ERA.

Despite taking the runner-up role in the stats, the Hustlers played solid team ball all around the field to get them the top billing in the playoffs when they face the D-9ers on Jan. 8, 2006. The action continues at noon when the pennant runner-up Pirates tango with the Tanapag No Zone.