We don’t have a lead story this month, but in its stead we have something even better - a SUPER SIZED edition of “Here & There”!

HERE AND THERE – SUPER SIZED EDITION!

In the first Offseason News & Notes of this winter, we mentioned that the Juggernauts could be pursuing a sixth player to join Red, Stant, the McElraths, and Ray Lutick in 2022. The 2021 Mid Atlantic and National champions had been inquiring about the in-tournament roster rules for six players which led to that speculation. As it turns out, the Juggernauts were not looking to add, but rather will retain the services of veteran Brian DiNapoli, who was a big contributor in the team’s two 2021 MAW regular season tournament titles. DiNap’s 2022 status is up in the air following a late season ACL injury but IF he plays this year and IF he competes in a MAW tournament, it seems he will once again do so as a member of the defending champs.

In other injury and Juggernauts-related news, the defending champions will be without Ben Stant for at least the first few months of the season. In February, Stant will undergo long overdue surgery to repair his right arm and will likely not be cleared to swing a bat until the end of June.

Jimmy Cole has found a new MAW home. With his NY Meats no longer a going-concern in MAW, Cole will join the New School Risers for the spring & summer. Cole joins Dave Capobianco, Jerry Hill, and Chris Owen to form a strong core four. There has long been mutual admiration between Jimmy and his new teammates. Cole had at least one other offer out from a contending team, but the ability to take on a larger pitching role with the Risers is said to have played a major role in his decision.

The Great Lakes Legion are “official” – or as close to official as these things get in January – to return to MAW for several tournaments in 2022. Their roster has been finalized but its exact composition has yet to be announced. You can write Grant Miller and Mike Hogan’s names in with permanent market. Nate Thompson and Kyle Owen are likely team members as well. Although also not official, it is believed that the Legion will be an all Kalamazoo Wiffle®Ball League – and therefore all-Michigan – team in 2022.

It was previously reported within these pages that the Yaks/Way Too Beautiful contingent were planning a similar approach for 2022 as last season with a combined “A” and “B” team. While that was definitely on the table at one point, it fell off right around the time the first “News & Notes” was published. Ian Crosby relocating out of Pennsylvania was the final nail in the two-team structure. There will be a singular Yaks team this year with 2021 members Dan Potter, Adam Milsted, and Chris “Skip” Scipione being joined by 2021 Y2B players Jarod Bull and Jared Laired. Bull slides into replace the departing Noah Silverman in the Yaks’ rotation, returning to the team he spent his first four MAW seasons with. Bull and Skip are a more-than-solid 1-2 punch atop the rotation.

There is a hope among MAW officials that this year’s tournament season will see a few non-regular, but experienced, teams pop in for a tournament or two. The organization is planning a few bells & whistles to place a renewed emphasize on the importance & prestige of individual tournaments while not taking anything away from the season-long arch. More than a half-dozen teams (experienced and newcomers) have expressed an interest in going the 1-3 tournament route, but whether it materializes is always another story.

One team said to be eyeing an Opening Day Tournament appearance and *possibly* one additional MAW tournament is Louisiana’s Anarchy. The club is trying to finalize a roster for April’s kick off and could also potentially be a landing spot for a player looking to play in just one or two tournaments this spring & summer.

One such player that could be a fit for Anarchy – or any other team looking for a single tournament add – is Jackson Richardson of Austin, Texas-based Punishment. Jackson has put his name on the Available Player tracker and is looking to get in one tournament worth of MAW action this summer.

In addition to Richardson, there are several other interesting players currently on the tracker. 2018 Mid Atlantic Rookie of the Year award recipient, Blake Hoffman, is looking to get back into the game after a couple of years away. Veterans Derek Radek and Mike Sidorov of Dinos and K-9s fame are looking to latch onto a team as a pair. Teams looking for veteran pitching help might be interested in longtime Palisades WBL player and 2021 East Coast Elite member, Mike Weiner, while clubs in search of a full-time bat and part-time arm might want to check out Andrew Montero.

There is one player that has already come off the tracker and found a home for 2022. Young Dougie Baker will join the OG Goon Squad for the 2022 MAW tournament season. Baker bounced around a couple of different squads in 2021 and hooked up with the Goon Squad for United Wiffle®Ball in the fall.

Thus far, the addition of Baker has accounted for all of the Goon Squad’s offseason movement. With an upper tier pitcher in Colin Prentiss and a tremendously consistent hitter in Andrius Fink, the Goon Squad clearly have the foundation of a successful team, which they demonstrated in 2021. Although Prentiss is often willing and able to throw all day, his team could use a secondary pitcher that they could rely on for one or two solid games a tournament. Baker, Fink, and (current) part-timer TJ Kish are all options to fill that vacant spot and its just a matter one of them stepping up and grabbing the opportunity.

A couple of other quiet teams thus far this winter are the Dragons and ERL. Word is that the Dragons currently sit at three players with Nick Lea, Mike Bucci, and John Polanco all returning. That makes them a prime candidate to add from inside or outside of the player tracker as they attempt to shore up their roster later this winter. ERL, meanwhile, has played things exceptionally close to the chest this winter. The two-time Mid Atlantic champions have barely made a peep since the fall, with the exception of bringing Rob Longiaru on as their sixth player (which has yet to be officially announced). Some vague questions posed by ERL’s captain to the MAW front office indicate that there is perhaps more going on behind the scenes than any of us can see from our vantage points but nothing that has found its way out into the open.

Teams looking players for might want to keep an eye on the newly-announced “Training Day” event, which take place March 26th at Spooky Nook in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The combination mini-draft tournament/work out day/media day is tailor-made for scouting purposes. There are several players in search of or potentially in search of a team who have already expressed an interest in attending.