All-NECBL Team

This years NECBL regular season was filed with frantic playoff chases, pitchers throwing gems and hitters having incredible performances. Newport's Benny Roberts broke the doubles record. Keene went from 3-11 and finished 27-17. The season was filled with excitement from the first pitch on June 6th to the last playoff tiebreaker game. Here is my All-NECBL team, as dictated by my player rankings.

Hitting

Pos	Player	Team	AVG	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB
C	Boyd, T	MSC	0.270	27	40	9	7	24	6
1B	Shaw, C	NBS	0.335	24	52	11	5	39	1
2B	Landi, J	NSC	0.348	27	48	8	0	6	22
SS	Tam Sing, T	NG	0.312	36	58	17	0	14	18
3B	Bailey, C	OSW	0.298	32	48	2	3	24	7
LF	Torres, J	LMR	0.315	31	51	9	0	9	28
CF	Sportman, J	KSB	0.340	24	50	13	4	31	12
RF	Roberts, B	NG	0.312	43	53	18	5	35	5
DH	Gerber, M	OSW	0.340	26	50	10	7	30	0

Imagine facing off against this team. You wouldn't exactly want to if you were a pitcher. Here's my recommended batting order.

1- Joe Torres-LF

• Very fast, he led the league in stolen bases with 28 for the Muskrats. High average hitter, few strikeouts and can work the walk very well, 33 walks which leads this team.

• Not a RBI guy, but did score 31 runs and is a very smart baserunner. No home run power, but can hit doubles frequently (9).

• Consistent, playing in every game. 33:17 strikeout to walk ratio, 28-31 stolen bases.

• One of the top fielders on the team, his speed allows him to cover a lot of ground in the outfield, but playing in the confines of Robbie Mills Field doesn't say a lot.

2- Ben Roberts-RF

• A machine, Roberts is one of the best pure hitters on the team.

• Has some power, as he cranked 18 doubles (NECBL record) as well as five home runs. Strikes out a lot as well, a common power trait.

• Took advantage of his location in a potent Gulls lineup to score a lot of runs. Having him in front of Steve Anderson was crucial to his success.

• Good defensively, can cover ground and make the play.

3-JP Sportman-CF

• Back for his second year as a Swamp Bat, this one is arguably just as good. Hitting .340 and all around just good.

• Can hit for power as well as for average, and had 13 doubles this summer and four home runs. Also swiped 12 bases and worked more walks than strikeouts.

• Knocked in a lot of runs batting out of the three spot for Keene, which is the perfect location for him.

• Huge part of the Swamp Bats #1 offense in the league.

4- Chris Shaw-1B

• Shaw is an unconventional power hitting first baseman. He's good defensively, almost walks as much as he strikes out, and doesn't even go down on strikes that much.

• Has power, which is intriuging. A patient hitter, Shaw can look for pitches he wants and drive them in the gaps. 11 doubles and 5 home runs this year.

• Knocked in 39 runs for an Bay Sox team that finished right near the bottom of the Eastern Division standings.

5- Michael Gerber-DH

• Normally he would be in the three or four spot, but in this lineup he fits right behind Shaw. A great hitter, Gerber has considerable power which comes with K's.

• A .340 hitter, he hit seven home runs and ten doubles and didn't swipe a single base. A generic power hitter, he can crush the ball but misses just as frequently.

• Huge part of the Waves home run offense that hit 30 this year, Gerber hit almost a quarter of them.

6- Tyler Boyd-C

• You normally expect the 4-5-6 part of the lineup to do a couple of things. Knock runners in, hit home runs and doubles as well as strike out a lot. That may be the case with Gerber, but neither Boyd or Shaw K frequently,

• Boyd has serious power and despite only holding a .270 average, he walks more than he strikeouts out and has hit 16 extra base hits this year, including seven home runs.

7- Trace Tam Sing-SS

• Tam Sing is fast, good at defense, hits for average and for doubles. He has a lot of tools.

• First of all, speed. He has swiped 18 stolen bases but doesn't draw the walks while striking out a lot.

• He's also not a 4-5-6 hitter because even though he hits for doubles, he fits in better in the 2-3 spots, which are occupied...So having a guy like this is the seven spot shows just how deep this team is.

8- Caden Bailey-3B

•  Imagine having a .298 hitter who has played almost every game, has a 1:1 K-BB ratio and hits single after single after single, getting on nonstop. 

• He doesn't hit doubles (2) or home runs (3) but he gets the job done getting on. Basically another leadoff guy in this lineup, he and Landi (below) can get the ball rolling for when Torres and the top of the lineup rolls aroudn.

9- Joe Landi-2B

• What is the best hitter by average doing at the end of the lineup? Setting the plate, making this truly a circular lineup. Landi can knock in Bailey or Tam Sing and set it up for Torres to get on, and then you have two of the best hitters in the league follow him.

• Landi is also very fast (22 steals) and has walked seven more times than he's struck out, which he's only done 11 times.

• Doesn't hit for power but he gets on all the time

Pitching

Pos	Player	Team	G	GS	CG	IP	BB	SO	W	L	SV	ERA
SP	Burke, M	HOL	9	8	3	65	9	56	3	1	0	0.55
SP	Kirby, N	KSB	8	7	0	43	18	60	3	0	0	1.67
SP	Squier, S	NSC	10	10	3	69	18	70	4	5	0	2.74
SP	Miles, J	VM	8	5	0	37.2	11	32	3	1	2	1.2
SP	Hunter, B	KSB	8	8	0	38.1	17	52	3	2	0	1.88
RP	Hartnett, S	NG	11	3	0	34.2	5	38	3	1	0	1.82
RP	Rivera, J	NSC	15	0	0	17.2	2	19	3	0	5	1.02
RP	Wilcox, K	NG	16	0	0	18.2	8	27	1	0	7	0.48
RP	Powers, O	OSW	14	0	0	24.1	7	25	3	1	6	1.11
CL	Rice, S	SM	14	0	0	28.2	10	52	5	2	6	0.94

The lineup is above, so now the rotation. The writing in italics is statements provided by people who've been writing about the different teams.

1- Michael Burke (Holyoke)

Workhorse, threw 65 innings this summer after throwing 69 innings pitched at the University of Buffalo, plays shortstop as well, hit .290 in 54 games played at Buffalo, struck out 56 here in the NECBL, walked just 9, very accurate, 3-1, 0.55 ERA and THREE complete games, high stamina, tough to work against, doesn't allow a lot of extra base hits.

2- Nathan Kirby (Keene)

University of Viriginia product, threw 37 innings this spring and has started games in Keene instead of his traditional middle reliever role, excelling at this new spot, thrown 43 innings so far this summer and struck out 60, really can blow it by you, threw 24 games at UVA and has the stuff and stamina to become a starter when he goes back, 18 walks is a lot but he can work out of jams excellently

3- Scott Squier (North Adams)

He left to go back, but not before absolutely dominated the NECBL with 70 strikeouts over ten starts and 69 innings of work, averaging almost 7 innings a start, three complete games after starting 14 games as a freshman at the University of Hawaii, where he pitched 64 innings and went 3-4 with 55 K's, has done even better here with pinpoint accuracy, and also has great stamina and will go deep into games on a regular basis

4- John Miles (Vermont)

Has performed in multiple roles for the Mountaineers after throwing as a reliever for his whole college season, at the University of Missouri he had a team-leading 2.35 ERA in 23 innings pitched, and has transitioned to be a starter here in Vermont but has also appeared as a reliever and as a closer, roles which he has excelled at, doesn't get a lot of strikeouts (32 in 37 innings) but gets the job done, something that has been tough due to sub-par fielding behind him

5- Brian Hunter (Keene)

Hunter has been great for the Swamp Bats, played DH and 1B at the University of Hartford while also serving as a pitcher, a role he's excelled at in Keene, this spring he was 3-4 with a 4.71 ERA over 65 innings pitched and is 3-2 in Keene, with a 1.88 ERA over 38 innings pitched.

6- Bullpen

The bullpen is loaded with some of the most lockdown players in the league- Sean Hartnett, JoeAnthony Rivera, Kyle Wilcox, Oliver Powers and the closer Steven Rice. Here are some snippets on each player. Hartnett has done it all, from starting to relieving and is a huge part of their success; Rivera is great to slide in and know you can get the outs from him; Wilcox has a ridicoulously low ERA and doesn't give up anything; Powers has been perfect for Ocean State out of the pen with his ability to effectively quell any threat; and Rice has been the best closer the NECBL has seen for some time.