[MAW] 10 Random Observations from the Philly Special

By: Nick Schaefer

Lots of times the sequel does not live up to the first one. But like the local legend Rocky movies, the second Mid Atlantic Wiffle Tournament, The Philly Special, was just as much of a classic as the Opening Day Tournament in York.

1. The more things change, the more they stay the same

ERL has had many changes the past few years, including roster changes in the middle of a season. But one thing that hasn’t changed is their winning ways. ERL was able to once again beat their arch-rival, the Juggernauts, in the semifinals on their way to defeating the Aces to capture the title belt. ERL has its eyes on a 3-peat!

2. Aces bats come up clutch

The team’s name implies great pitching, but their hitting is what stood out. With his team down to their last out, Teddy Drecher hit a 2-out game tying homerun in the quarterfinals against Ryan Bush of the Meats. Drecher’s teammate, Dennis Donegan hit an extra inning grand slam to propel the Aces to victory. Earlier in the day, Donegan and Drecher reversed thing, with Dennis hitting the game tying home run against the Stompers and Drecher providing the game-winning an inning later.

3. Swiss Army Knife of pitching

Just like the pocketknife, Connor Young is a multi-tool pitcher. He is both an effective starting and relief pitcher. He can also pitch in different scenarios ranging from pool play games to championship games. This time, Young came in relief of Dan Whitener after the Juggernauts tied the semi-final game in the 4th inning. Young didn’t give up the ball after that—finishing the semis and pitching the entire finals. Young seems to be on a mission this year to show the world he is still an elite pitcher. On a side note, his bat was big too, especially his game tying homerun against the Longballs.

4. Anything you do I can do better

The pool play game between the Great Lakes Legion and the Shortballs featured a lot of late drama and emotion. In extra innings, Great Lakes took a lead in the top half, after getting a grand slam from Nate Thompson. You would think that would be enough to win the game, but the Shortballs battled back to win after some late dramatics led by Nate Smith, who hit a grand slam of his own. The two Nates battled all game on both sides of the ball, with the Shortballs edging Great Lakes out in nine innings on a bases loaded wild pitch.

5. Gold hands

As usual, the bats and arms on display really stood out. However, the fielding was equally as impressive. There were a number of highlight reel plays on balls in the air and ground in some difficult weather conditions that featured high grass, divots, wind and rain. Jordan Reichard played great defense as usual, there were a couple of home run saving catches in the finals (see below), and several teams benefitted from turning difficult double plays throughout the tournament to escape jams.

6. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

The finals between ERL and the Aces produced some breath-taking moments. There were nearly 3 homeruns — 2 by Kenny Rodgers, Jr. from ERL, and 1 by Teddy Drecher from the Aces. But like the saying goes, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. None of the balls made it out, thanks in large part to terrific defensive plays by Dan Whitener from ERL and Zane Johnston of the Aces. Dan pulled back what looked to be a home run off the bat of Teddy Drecher, while Zane astutely swatted a definite home run back into the play field for what amounted to nothing more than a long single.

7. Voodoo needs some voodoo

Once again, the tournament favorites didn’t win the title. In fact, they have yet to make an appearance in the finals. Things were looking great for Voodoo with their top pitchers getting rest with Ed Packer pitching early in the tournament. However, with Sean Steffy on the mound, Voodoo lost to ERL, one to nothing in the quarterfinals.

Although the cream usually rises to the top, Voodoo may be in need of some sorcery, such as some timely dominant pitching and hitting in the late playoff rounds. Expect Voodoo to win a tournament title in the near future.

8. Sooner or later

Sooner or later, Johnny Costa is gonna get ya. Costa struggled most of the day at the plate, but came through in a huge way in the finals. With the game tied at zero in the top of the 6th inning, Costa crushed an opposite field 2-run homer off Cam Farro to lead ERL to a 2-0 victory.

9. Where have you gone, Longballs

MAW turns its lonely eyes to you. Back-to-back underperforming tournaments have left the Longballs out the of the playoff round. This squad will need to start putting it together sooner than later if they want to make a deep run in the post-season come September.

10. Cinderella stories

Similar to the NCAA’s March Madness, the Philly Special had its own Cinderella Teams. The finals showed that you don’t have to be a top seed to win it. The title game featured a 9 seed (ERL) and a 6 seed (Aces). In fact, ERL had to win a play-in game against the Wifflaholics and the Aces were not expected by most to make it this far. This shows how deep MAW is. You never know who is going to make a run in any given tournament!