[MAW] Winter Classic III Preview & Predictions

By Colin Pollag

Colin Pollag runs down the 16-teams at the 3rd annual MAW Winter Classic.

NORTH CANTON MASTODONS

ROSTER- Dave Roehrenbeck, Jeff Roehrenbeck, Nate Roehrenbeck, Jeffy Roehrenbeck

PROJECTED- 16th Place

BACKGROUND- The Mastodons are an all family team from North Canton Ohio. I don’t know much about these guys but if they’re travelling five plus hours to play, they must be pretty serious.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- Not being known by the other teams in the tournament will help their cause because it’ll be tough for their opponents to strategize. Also playing with family can often bring out the best in players. Twins Tim and Ryan McElrath are a great example of this as you constantly see them communicating and picking each other up during the course of a game and tournament.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Not having any MAW experience will hurt them in strategy and game play. MAW’S fielding rules usually screw up new teams and the two-strike count can be tough to adjust to. Their long car drive may also lead to a fatigued performance.

BALLS DEEP

ROSTER- John Kotsko, Brett Caladie, Brett Rooney, Anthony Caladie, Stew Caladie, James Canesso

PROJECTED- 15th Place

BACKGROUND- Balls Deep is traveling from Wilkes-Barre coming off their 2019 Backyard Wiffle Ball League Championship. The BWBL has produced some great NWLA Tournament talent over the years with players like Zach Artim, Steve Dotzel, and Mark Belles, so coming out on top in that league is a huge accomplishment.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- Brett Rooney has played in many tournaments and will bring a smart game plan. They will get all around performances from the Caladie brothers who dominated the BWBL from both sides of the ball.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Besides Rooney who only played in one tournament in 2018, it'll be the first MAW event for the rest of them. Like I said before, it’s tough to win games when you don't have full knowledge of the rules. The BWBL players also do not necessarily see a lot of cut wiffle balls, so they will most likely see some pitches they've never seen before.

CATEGORY 4

ROSTER- Jerry Hill, Chris Owen, Carson Lee, Jackson Lee

PROJECTED- 14th Place

BACKGROUND- Category 4 are a combination of the Barrel Bruisers from Virginia and the Connecticut Hurricanes. The Bruisers have played all three years of MAW with their best season coming in 2017. The Canes are a group of younger players who just competed in the Battle of Boston Tournament hosted by MLW.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- Jerry Hill and Chris Owen are wiffle ball veterans that know how to compete and will be perfect mentor’s for Jackson and Carson. The 2019 MAW Bruisers did a great job of blending with some fill-in players from the RPWL (Pecko, Volpone) so I think it’ll be the same case with the Canes. The combination of Jerry’s pop at the plate and Owen’s nice overhand curveball could also lead to some victories. 

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Owen and Hill are both solid and accurate pitchers, but they are eventually going to give up some runs. It’s a tough task for a newcomer but Jackson or Carson will have to step up on the mound if this team wants to make a run.

YAKS

ROSTER- Dan Potter, Jarod Bull, Jared Laird, Nick Shirey

PROJECTED- 13th Place

BACKGROUND- The Yaks are from York, Pennsylvania and have been together for a while. They were the first-place finishers in the 2017 MAW regular season led on the carpet by eventual Rookie of the Year winner Jarod Bull. The Yaks roster has been altered around but got a key player back in Potter.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- These guys know the game better than anyone as three of their members are on the rules committee. Bull has what it takes to win a big game and Dan is a big-time threat to any pitcher.  Potter must've had ten hits in like three games at the fall draft tournament - the guy simply rakes.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- The reason I have them low on this list is they have a big problem on this team. Losing Adam Milsted to the Carps makes this team very low on pitching with only Bull and Laird. Jarrod Bull can run into control issues from time to time and I don't see Laird as an ace. Laird will consistently pound the zone but you’re going to need a strong number two to compete.

OG GOON SQUAD

ROSTER- Andrius Fink, TJ Kish, Steven Simcox

PROJECTED- 12th Place

BACKGROUND- This is another Pennsylvania team that is coming off a big indoor tournament. They finished fourth in the Battle of Boston and beat some top ranked teams like the New England Cannons and MLW All Stars. I don’t know any of these guys personally, but they can mash with the classic yellow bat so who knows what they can do with a moonshot?

WHY THEY’LL WIN- They’ve played and succeeded in a big tournament, so they know how to rotate pitching. It’s not that important if you have a big roster and some emergency pitchers but with a three-man squad they’ll have to use their pitchers efficiently. The three-man lineup is definitely going to help them at the dish and is a pitcher's worst nightmare.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- One of their pitchers will run out of gas and be unable to pitch deeper into the tournament. New to fielding rules is tough as it is but they’ll also be down a fielder and that might be critical in a close game. They also may not be used to hitting cut wiffle balls which can be harder than just a sidewalk scuff.

MOTHMEN

ROSTER- Brice Clark, TJ Hannon, Tyler Roush, Tom Gannon, Blake Hoffman

PROJECTED- 11th Place

BACKGROUND- The Mothmen were originally founded by Brice Clark and made up of the best players from the Huntington Wiffle Ball League in 2018 and Wild & Wonderful Wiffle in 2019, both located in West Virginia. They competed as a three-man team (Clark, Roush, Zuspan) in last year's Winter Classic and struggled mightily with pitching. Brice did a great job of adding some arms for the 2020 tournament by adding a nasty southpaw duo in Hoffman and Gannon. He also grabbed BWBL’s TJ Hannon who will look to provide some power.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- Lefties only make up ten percent of the world’s population and this team has four of them. Since lefties are so scarce it’s hard to get a feeling pitching to them and hitting off them so I believe this will pose as a nice advantage for the Mothmen. They have a solid rotation on the carpet with three quality arms. Blake Hoffman is probably their number one and he’s got a nice arsenal. I don’t think their lineup will be great, but Tom Gannon is a highly underrated hitter. Gannon travels and plays more wiffle than anyone and frequently takes stud pitchers deep. He took one of the McElrath’s deep in a 2019 MAW event, but his most notable shot was his tournament winning grand slam against the Meat’s Kyle Vonschleusigen.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- The Mothmen's pitching is good but I don't think they have a true ace. Can the 2018 MAW rookie of the year Blake Hoffman be an ace? Sure he can, but missing the whole 2019 wiffle season will definitely put him at a disadvantage against his opponent’s. However, I think their bigger issue is going to come from the plate. They don’t specifically have a weak hitter in their lineup, but I don’t think they have enough firepower to string together hits and put runs up on the board.

CARPS

ROSTER- Lou Worthington, Mike Soltesz, Noah Silverman, Adam Milsted

PROJECTED- 10th Place

BACKGROUND- The Carps are a squad consisting of wiffle vets and a rising star named Noah Silverman. They played in the first ever Winter Classic and beat a good Backdoor Sliderz team (Cole, Loftus, LaValley, VanNostrand) in pool play thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by Milsted. They suffered a heartbreaking loss against the same team later in the tournament but played a very solid game.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- I’m warning the new coming teams now, don’t let Lou and Mike’s ages fool you. They’ve been playing since the early 90’s and can absolutely mash. Also, the combination of Milsted and Silverman is enough to beat any team at any time. Silverman is another one of those underrated pitchers mostly from the York Yak’s lack of recent success, but this kid throws gas.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- I see this team on paper and know they can do it all but looking down the list I don’t believe they’re as talented as the remaining teams. Also losing Dan Potter to Yaks is a big hurt to their offense.

LONGBALLS

ROSTER- Colin Pollag, Sean Bingnear, Dylan Harshaw, Austin Berger

PROJECTED- 9th Place

BACKGROUND- The Longballs play out of Ridley Park Wiffle Ball League and started by playing in local tournaments. They started to get recognition when they finished 6th as a rookie team in the 2017 NWLA Tournament. In 2018, the Cooke brothers reached out to the squad and invited them to a MAW event. They made a few other tournaments that summer and eventually finished 4th in the championship tournament losing to the Stompers. They went and balled out in the 2019 season, finishing 3rd in the NWLA Tournament and came super close to winning the MAW championship. They’ll be missing Tommy Loftus, Cam Farro, and Tyler Nachbar for this year's Winter Classic, but they added a 2018 NWLA Champion Austin Berger from the Wiff is Life League.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- The Longballs play the game so often in so many different styles and just have a great feel for the game. The tandem of Colin Pollag and Sean Bingnear will be a threat for opposing arms. Pollag, the Longballs lead-off man, finished third in the 2019 MAW hitting award by constantly hitting for contact and taking walks.  Later down the lineup is Sean Bingnear who hits for power and excels in high pressure scenarios. These two played on different teams in the MAW Draft Tournament and hit a combined five home runs and four doubles with Bingnear winning the championship and Pollag taking MVP honors. Alongside Colin in the draft tournament was the WILL Wave’s ace Austin Berger. Berger will be a huge addition for the Longball’s winter classic team for his ability to pound the zone. He’s mostly a one pitch pitcher but makes up for with his high velocity and good pitch location. 

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Pollag, Bingnear, and Berger have proven they can chuck but they have also all shown that they can be wild at times. Colin pitched poorly his whole MAW career on the mound until last year's final three tournaments and Bingnear struggled heavily early in the 2019 season. Not having Farro and Nachbar hurts the rotation but also will kill them on defense. Dylan Harshaw will be forced to play infield and has a very tough time hitting the backstop and fielding a clean ground ball.

CHICKEN & WIFFLES

ROSTER- Gerard Fitzgerald, Andrew Stone, Rich Tyler Mike Sidorov, John Polanco

PROJECTED- 8th Place

BACKGROUND- Chicken & Wiffles is a team from Georgia who competes in the National Wiffle Tournament. But for the Winter Classic, Rich Tyler from Atlanta Wiffle put together a team of free agents from all over the country. Gerard “Ice in his Veins” Fitzgerald is a New York Native Palisades’ vet who is infamously known for hitting clutch dingers. Andrew Stone is the commissioner of the Has Been Field Wiffle Ball League and has a beautiful lefty swing. The Florida man Chris Harley is an NWLA Tournament legend who helped the Tampa Bay Wiffle Ball League a title back in 2013. John Polanco is a young slim high schooler that throws smoke out of Morganville, New Jersey. They also have Mike Sidorov who spent most of his career playing in the Massachusetts Golden Stick League.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- This is a very well-balanced team. Chris Harley has tons of talent from both sides of the ball and will be their main player to look out for. Gerard, Sidorov, and Stoney will add some pop to line up and drive in the runs. Along with Harley, these guys have another ace pitcher in Polanco. I usually don't classify pitchers as ace’s when I've only seen them throw once. But this kid is good, and I mean really good, and mark my words he’ll be an absolute stud later down the road in his wiffle career.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- The variety of players is a good thing, but this team is going to lack chemistry. I don’t think they’ll be putting each other down but individually they may be nervous to make a mistake because of the unfamiliarity with their teammates. Rich Tyler is also going to have the toughest managing job of the tournament. Not knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his players will be tough to set pitching and batting lineups.

[Editor’s Note: Harley was scratched from Chicken & Wiffles roster after this article was submitted for publication.]

SHORTBALLS

ROSTER- Austin Bleacher, Joey Van Houten, Teddy Drecher, Frankie Campanile, Nate Smith

PROJECTED- 7th Place

BACKGROUND- The Shortballs are another team out of the Ridley Park Wiffle Ball League but have younger talent. The Shortballs only played in one 2018 MAW Tournament but performed well. They pitched well enough to stay in games, but their main issue was hitting. They shocked everybody in MAW by making the Opening Day Tournament championship, only losing to ERL in the finals one-to-nothing. The word fluke must not be in their vocabulary because the very next tournament they beat the super team ERL on a walk off home run. They were unable to get back to a tournament final, but they did play well the rest of the year with their season eventually ending with a loss to their rivals the Longballs in the MAW Championship Tournament semi-final.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- They have a three headed monster on the rubber with Nate Smith, Teddy Drecher, and Frankie Campanile all on their Winter Classic roster. Campanile usually gets the big games but Smith and Drecher can easily step up and be the man. They played in twenty-five games in 2019 MAW and only allowed fifteen runs. They were one of the weaker hitting teams but that’ll change for 2020. Smith was a big part of the team's offense having multiple game winning hits including a walk off home run against one of the nation’s best, Dan Whitener. I believe Drecher is their best all-around hitter and had a ton of hits in the MAW Playoffs. Campanile was awful at the plate in MAW and the RPWL regular season, but he came around and launched 4 clutch home runs in the RPWL Playoffs. What do you do when your team struggles with hitting? You add a pure hitter. Those aren’t easy to find but the Shortballs got one in Austin Bleacher. Bleacher is a perfect fit for the Shortballs and will swing a huge bat in the Winter Classic.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- You would think being high school friends these guys would have great chemistry, but that's not the case here. They constantly argue when they’re losing games and blame each other for little mistakes. The arguing definitely shows up on the field and they become a sub-par team when playing from behind. Drecher and Campanile are the main personalities on the team and Smith is too quiet to intervene. I’m hoping Austin Bleacher steps up and becomes the leader this team needs.

DRAGONS

ROSTER- Nick Lea, Vin Lea, Mike Bucci, Gino Joseph

PROJECTED- 6th Place

BACKGROUND- The Dragons are a New York based team led by Vin Lea and started by playing in the Palisades Minor League system. They went on to win the 2018 Minor League Championship and moved up to the big leagues playing as the Red’s in 2019. They had a tough schedule in last year’s Winter Classic and were eliminated earlier than expected. Gino Joseph out of Pittsburgh will be joining the Drags and will be a nice companion on the mound for Vin.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- This is a very young team, but they’re made up of pure athletes. Vin Lea is one of the best players in the game right now and is only going to get better. The guy’s a workhouse on the mound with a large variety of pitches and can throw multiple games without getting fatigued. Lea was their only pitcher last year so getting Gino to play for them is a key add. In my opinion, Vin has the better arm, but Gino is right behind him and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. On the other side of the ball these guys all improved their hitting skills in 2019. Bucci raked for the Palisades Red’s by hitting .330 with eleven extra base hits. Joseph came through with some power hitting four home runs in MAW. Vin Lea did everywhere he played by hitting big home runs in the NWLA Tournament, MAW, Palisades, and the Fast Plastic NCT.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Although these guys got better at hitting in 2019, they still struggled at the plate in last year's Winter Classic. I don’t think the Dragons are bad at hitting but they aren’t as proven as the teams ranked above them.

POC

ROSTER- Johnny Costa, Tim Beck, Dan Whitener, Pete Slater, Phil Fresiello

PROJECTED- 5th Place

BACKGROUND- POC came halfway through MAW’s 2019 season and was a combination of the Jersey Lemonheads and ERL free agents Johnny Costa and Dan Whitener. The Lemonheads desperately needed pitching and Costa and Whitener wanted more offense, so I thought it was no-brainer these guys came together. They played decently in 2019 but definitely didn't play to their full potential. For the 2020 MAW Classic they added ATF’s Phil Fresiello and Pete Slater to help boost the slugging.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- When I see this team the first thing that comes to my mind is that they can all hit. Pete and Phil had a combined eight home runs in only fifteen games for ATF last season, and Whitener added seven of his own for ERL and POC. They also have a nice pitching duo with VA Ham and Johnny Wiffs. I think Dan is the best pitcher in the tournament with his ten-pitch arsenal and mid-90s velocity. Costa is also a polished number two man that can eat up some pool play games.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- It’s great all five men can hit, but that means all five have to bat and bigger lineups tend to struggle in MAW. This team reminds me a lot of the 2019 Juggernauts because they’re loaded with talent but maybe they have one too many players. Repetition is so important when facing a top-notch pitcher and I think it's going to hurt them batting all five but I don’t really know who’d they sit. I think two guys on the mound is enough to win a tournament, but I don’t know if these guys can do it. Whitener is more of a one game to two-game pitcher with how much energy he exerts to produce his high velo. I don’t think Costa will be able to throw all of pool play so Slater will need to chuck and I just don’t think he has it in him with the amount of quality teams.

NY MEATS

ROSTER- Kyle Vonschleusigen, Ryan Bush, Jimmy Cole

PROJECTED- 4th Place

BACKGROUND- This New York team was assembled for the MAW 2019 season and they sure showed they’re a top team. They weren't able to make every tournament but when they competed they dominated in pool play but never played well enough to win it all. The Meat’s played great in the MAW Wild Card Playoffs and were one win away from making the MAW Championship tournament. They almost defeated the highly favored ERL squad but were edged out by a late extra inning comeback. 

WHY THEY’LL WIN- They all hit, but Jimmy Cole is the one of, if not the, best hitters in the country. When he’s locked in at the plate there’s not a single pitch you can throw by him. He mashed four absolute bombs on Opening Day and had an astounding five homer Wild Card Tournament. He’s known mostly for his slugging, but he had an underappreciated season from the carpet. Cole usually got easier matchups but his 6-0 record along with his 0.18 earned run average was absurd. His unreal pool play pitching will help save Bush and K-Von for single elimination. They are another filthy tandem and are two really different types of pitchers. Kyle will beat you with his pitch selection and movement and Bush pounds the zone with his velocity.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- I only see this team losing one way and that’s giving up the big home run. It happened to them constantly throughout the 2019 season. I’ll give you the quick rundown:

• On Opening Day, an extra inning home run by Jordan Robles put ERL ahead. Although the Meats would come back to tie the game on a home run of their own, they eventually lost the game on total bases;

• In the Ridley Park tournament, Tom Gannon hit a go-ahead grand slam in the championship;

• The August tournament they lost their final pool play game (essentially a play-in game) on a walk-off dinger by Vin Lea; and

• Finally, they lost twice to ERL in the Wild Card Playoffs all because of late game bombs.

This is a very talented team, but this is a recurring flaw in their game.

FINGERBALLZ

ROSTER- Chris Sarnowski, Ben Stant, Devin Torres, Kenny Stengel

PROJECTED- 3rd Place

BACKGROUND- The Fingerballz have made the last two Winter Classic Championships. In 2018 they lost to a stacked Giants team on a walk off home run but almost got their pay back last year when Ben Stant came up just short of a game winning home run that was eventually robbed by Tim McElrath. They ended the 2019 tournament as co-champions but will try to win it outright this year with the addition of Devin Torres and Kenny Stengel.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- Stant and Torres were top notch at the plate in MAW 2019. The pair of lefties combined for nineteen home runs including the playoffs. Sarno didn’t quite match their numbers but he’ll still be a threat in the lineup. As far as pitching is concerned, they have a top five arm in the tournament with Torres. Last season he posted a 5-0 record and only allowed run in 23 innings of work. He also pitched well for Sueno at the Fast Plastic Natonal Championship and for the Palisade’s Diamondbacks. Sarno will be their number two man and he is the toughest pitcher I have faced. Now in terms of numbers he’s not the best but he’s just so hard to get a read on because he has four quality pitches that he mixes and locates effectively.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- My biggest concern is that Sarno and Torres will fatigue the back end of the tournament. Both are very great pitchers like I said before but are both known to get tired after a game or two. With Stant unable to pitch Kenny Stengel will be the next guy up. I haven’t seen Stengel throw a cut ball before, but he’ll have to pitch well in pool play if these guys want a championship.

CHAMPS HERE

ROSTER- Kevin Norris, Sean Steffy, Ty Wegerzyn, Rob Longiaru

PROJECTED- 2nd Place

BACKGROUND- The core members of Champs Here have also competed on the Blue Razrs, The Enemy, Cloud 9, and C4 in various combinations and may be the best wiffle ball team of all time. They have won both Yard and fast pitch Golden Stick National Championships and have won the Fast Plastic National Championship three years in a row. For the Winter Classic they’ll be missing a stud bat in Packer but will add another arm in Rob Longiaru.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- They’ll win because they do everything they absolutely need to do to win a tournament. It sounds very generic but it’s exactly what they do. When one player struggles, another one comes in and picks them up. Sean Steffy was having trouble hitting the zone in the FP National Championship and Norris - a guy who hasn’t had the same stuff he’s had in years past - came in and shut the door. Also, when they’re losing they don’t give up and play with a bigger chip on their shoulder. They were down by many runs in both the final four and championship game last year in Texas but they just strung together big hit after big hit and eventually fought their way back to a victory. I’ve personally never seen a wiffle ball team compete better in my life.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- Sean Steffy, the ace of this team, is one of the best pitchers of all time but accuracy will sometimes get the best of him. In Texas he was relying heavily on one pitch and it was getting smoked over and over. I also think they could make a mistake by pitching Rob and Norris in pool play. Although they’re both solid pitchers there're a good number of teams that will be able to score some runs off them.

HARDOS

ROSTER- Connor Young, Jordan Robles, Tim McElrath, Ryan McElrath

PROJECTED- 1st Place

BACKGROUND- This team is a combination of ERL’s Robles and Young and the Juggernaut’s McElrath brothers. They were the winner of the first annual MAW Winter Classic as they dominated almost any team in their way and last year they were co-champions with the Fingerballz.

WHY THEY’LL WIN- I could sit here for hours and type why they’ll win but I’m just going to give a very brief summary. The Hardos simply just have talented player after talented player. Every one of these guys is an ace pitcher so a shortage of arms is not an issue. All four members are also great all around hitters. Not only do they hit for contact and power, but they all have a clutch gene where they’ll hit the long ball in close game. Oh, and another reason why they’ll win is because thirteen of the last seventeen MAW Tournament Champions have had one of these players on their roster.

WHY THEY’LL LOSE- THEY WON’T!!!