NECBL Pace Setters

With the NECBL regular season nearing a close, now is one of the best times to look at the final week ahead and the records that may be broken. The ball hasn't been hit quite as well as last year, but several hitting records could still be broken. Records like Danny Collins home runs for Laconia last year (19), however, will stand for quite some time. A couple of records stand close to being broken- RBIs, doubles and runs scored.

Hits

Player	Team	P	H	PH
Sportman, J	KSB	CF	42	55
Roberts, B	NG	RF	42	54
Santomauro, A	PP	CF	42	53
Muscarello, C	OSW	IF	40	53
Spingola, D	DAN	OF	39	52

The record for hits sits at 72, by Sanford's Brian Kemp in 2007. It is unlikely that this record will be broken in 2013. Keene's JP Sportman will, by projections (updated July 23rd) fall 17 hits short. Newport's Ben Roberts is right behind Sportman, on pace for 54 while two others tie for third. Sportman and Roberts both rank near the top in a majority of the hitting categories, and appear frequently in this post.

Doubles

Player	Team	P	2B	P2B
Roberts, B	NG	RF	15	19
Guglietti, V	PP	1B	12	15
Sportman, J	KSB	CF	11	14
Lacey, B	PP	SS	10	13
Bielek, J	LMR	3B	9	12

We have our first player on pace to break a record! The NECBL record of doubles is held by various players at 16. The latest person to hit 16 was Lowell All-American infielder Effrey Valdez in 2010. Newport's Roberts (left) is on pace to beat that by three, and enter his name into the record books. Plymouth first baseman Vin Guglietti is on pace for 15, good for second in the league as well as in the record books. Sportman appears again, in third and on pace for 14.

Triples

Player	Team	P	3B	P3B
Roulis, T	VM	IF	2	3
Lee, J	LMR	OF	2	3
Sherburne, M	OSW	OF	1	2
Bruce, J	HOL	OF	1	2
Brock, C	VM	OF	1	2

The 2013 season hasn't exactly racked up the triples. Nobody is on pace to come anywhere close to the NECBL record of seven, held by several players as well.Vermont's Thomas Roulis and Laconia's Jordan Lee are both on pace for three, while several others have hit 1 or on pace for two. 

Home Runs

Player	Team	P	HR	PHR
Palmer, R	DAN	1B	5	7
Lucas, Z	KSB	IF	5	7
Taylor, B	SAR	OF	4	6
Cipolla, B	MSC	CF	4	6
Sebastian, N	OSW	C	4	6

No one can touch the home run record. Danny Collins hit 19 last year for the Laconia Muskrats, a record that won't be touched for quite some time. The closest players will come to that is 12 home runs, at least on the paces that have been set. Danbury's Riley Palmer (above left) and Keene's Zach Lucas lead the league with five home runs, and are on pace for seven. The closest person to Collins record since Pointstreak's been on NECBL.com (2010) is Newport's Yale Rosen who hit 12 last summer, seven shy of Collins.

Runs Scored

Player	Team	P	R	PR
Roberts, B	NG	RF	33	42
Bailey, C	OSW	IF	26	34
Plourde, R	NBS	OF	26	33
Tam Sing, T	NG	SS	25	32
Jones, C	NG	OF	25	32

The NECBL record is just three ahead of the pace Roberts is on, at 45 by New Bedford's Zach Stone last summer. Mix in a couple of added hits and RBIs by fellow teammates, and Roberts could possibly break his second record of the summer. He's on pace to have one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory, and could have his name in the record books twice. 

Runs Batted In

Player	Team	P	RBI	PRBI
Anderson, S	NG	1B	31	40
Sportman, J	KSB	IF	26	34
Shaw, C	NBS	1B	25	32
O'Grady, B	KSB	OF	21	31
Roberts, B	NG	RF	23	29

Another Gull with a chance to put his name in the record books, first baseman Steve Anderson (being congratulated at home plate). Anderson is on pace to fall just five RBIs short of the NECBL record, set by Vermont Mountaineer Rob Kelly last summer. Currently sitting with 31, Anderson has players like Ben Roberts, Trace Tam Sing and company in front of him in the lineup- giving him plenty of opportunities. Keene's JP Sportman appears again, on pace for 34 and right behind him New Bedford's Chris Shaw and teammate Brian O'Grady.

Stolen Bases

Player	Team	P	SB	PSB
Torres, J	LMR	OF	22	30
Santomauro, A	PP	CF	18	23
Jones, C	NG	OF	17	22
Landi, J	NSC	IF	15	20
Blanden, Z	DAN	OF	14	19

All-Star game MVP, Laconia's Joe Torres, leads the pack in stolen bases. On pace to finish with 30, Torres will come well short of a record that has stood for 16 years. The Middletown Giants Jason Maule finished with 44 steals in 1997, 14 ahead of Torres. Plymouth's Andrew Santomauro and Newport's Cody Jones are on pace for 23 and 22, respectively. 

A majority of these records are from last summer are due to what some writers referred to as a "juiced ball." Several articles were done about the increase (http://sbb.scout.com/2/1217488.html is a good one) and it was revealed that the ball had a harder center and a thinner, more densely packed outer layer let the ball fly off the bat.  This was prominent in the NECBL, with seven records set, including home runs, total bases and extra base hits.

The rise in offensive statistics was also evident in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where the teams combined for a 140% increase in home runs, from 159 in 2011 to 382 the next year. All across the NASCB (National Alliance of Summer Collegiate Baseball), home run totals were increased by huge margins.

This summer, the numbers are back to normal but the NECBL has still had several standout players. Anderson, Roberts, O'Grady and Sportman as well as Plymouth's Andrew Santomauro have all stood out on the offensive side. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Rick Ligi NECBL Most Valuable Player award ended up in one of their hands.