Nottinghamshire Outlaws: An Interview with William Atteberry

Welcome to the first in our interview series with the ABL ownership. We begin with the very interesting case of Nottinghamshire, the youngest team in the league. What is his plan to make it all work?  Is that really a 16-year old hitting the cover off the ball at the big league level? And what is his biggest concern going forward? The answers follow....

Around the ABL: May 7-May 20

It's a giant-sized edition as we look at some of the highlights of the past two weeks in the ABL. If we missed anything (and we missed plenty), let us hear about it in the comments.

• Craig O'Day of the Montgomery Mountain Cats stood in the on deck circle as teammate Juan Ramirez grounded to first for the game's final out. Dallas rallied in the eighth to beat Montgomery 7-6, and O'Day's hitting streak was snapped at 23 games. During the streak, O'Day hit .344: 93 AB, 15 R, 32 H, 4 D, 5 HR, 9 BB. His was the second 20-game hitting streak of the season. The first streak is still going but has been "on hold" as Brian Adams recovers from straining a rib cage muscle. Adams returns to action this week and will look to extend his 21-game hitting streak.

A Tale of Two Leagues

It was the best of leagues, it was the worst of leagues, it was the age of pitching, it was the age of hitting, it was the epoch of the longball, it was the epoch of smallball. . . . In short, we have two very different leagues.

At some point, some will argue which is better, and for a season at a time at least, we'll settle it during the all-star game and relive it in the league championships. Either way, though, the Roberto Clemente and Thurmon Munson Leagues are already as divergent as many of the teams within it.

In case you haven't had a chance to take notice, let's take a look at some statistics.

Single-A Report #1

The Structure of the ABL consists of 4 Divisions. They are the AHL Phillie Phanatic, AHL Mr. Met Division, BOL Mariner Moose Division, and the BOL San Diego Chicken Division. Each of the 24 franchises has a single affiliate on this the lowest level of our minor league system.

The BOL San Diego Chicken Division will be looked at today with the focus primarily on team accomplishments, or lack thereof. Future Single-A reports may take this form or may be written from a different perspective. As the season progresses we'll focus on the up and coming stars who are performing well and those that may be disappointing.

Meadows & Knox — Episode 1: Private Eyes

Derrick Meadows

It was drizzling that night, and my shoulder ached. It had been aching for a month now, ever since one William Kirby crashed into me at second base. He had broken up the double play alright, but he took out my legs and I had fallen forward and hit the dirt hard. Dislocated my shoulder. Torn my labrum, the doctors said. All I knew is that it hurt worse than a called strike three.

What I didn't know is what I was doing here. Walking down the streets on a rainy Seattle night, headed toward an empty stadium. The GM had called. Told me to get to the home team's clubhouse pronto. Didn't say why, but who am I to argue with the guy who cuts my paycheck?

Around the ABL: April 30-May 6

• The first round of interleague play is complete, and the Thurmon Munson League came away with the better record. Final tally: TML 78, RCL 66. The Tommy Lasorda division was the only RCL division with a winning record against their interleague opponents, edging out the Earl Weaver Division 25-23. But the Billy Martin and Sparky Anderson divisions took care of business against, respectively, the Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox divisions: BM 28 TLR 20 and SA 27, BC 21. The next interleague round will be in June, with Tommy Lasorda vs. Billy Martin, Tony La Russa vs. Sparky Anderson, and Bobby Cox vs. Earl Weaver.

Nippon Baseball League: My Brother is My Inspiration!

"My brother is my inspiration. Anyone that can enjoy great American food and do it fast is awesome!" replies Takanibu Kobayashi. See story here. One thing is for sure, this hitter coming out of the Nippon Baseball League will be a very high draft pick in the ABL. When he does, his signing bonus will buy his brother all the American cheese steaks he wants, and he can take his time to eat it too!

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
19	74	33	7	1	2	18	19	9	.446	.551	.649	7

CBL Update, Eh? Prescription Please!

Hubert Munoz, CF for Trois Rivieres leads the league with 45 whiffs (!) in just 30 games. Hubert watched Major League and decided to learn from that educational movie by visiting his eye doctor. Munoz learned that he had 20-500 vision in both eyes. He will be wearing his new -8.5 contact lenses starting in Week #5 of the CBL. Let's hope for his baseball career it works! His YTD stats shown below:

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
30	114	29	6	0	5	18	14	45	.254	.331	.439	2

NCAA Update: What Did I Do to You?

Alberto Reyes of the University of Michigan leads the NCAA in "hit by pitch". Roberto has been pegged 7 times in 116 ABs. When asked why he thought he was being hit so much he replied, "I believe my batting stance has something to do with it!" Alberto is majoring in biology in Michigan. He plans to go back to his home in the Dominican to work in the Fisheries Department within the Government if he doesn't get drafted in the ABL. His YTD stats are below:

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
31	116	37	11	2	3	16	20	22	.319	.438	.526	4

ABL's First 20-Game Hitting Streak on Hold

Brian Adams

Brian Adams of the Kansas City Tornadoes certainly lived up to the term "designated hitter" in the month of April for the team from the Midwest. Adams batted .363 in the month of April for the Tornadoes and took the ABL's first-ever 20-game hitting streak into the first day of May.

On May 1, Adams continued his torrid hitting, going 3-for-5 against the team from So Cal with a single, double, and his 5th homer, raising his batting average to .374 and extending his hitting streak to 21 games. Unfortunately for Adams, the continued pursuit of this hitting streak is going to be on ice for awhile. On his seventh inning double, Adams strained a rib cage muscle and had to be removed for a pinch-runner. Further diagnosis determined that injury was serious enough to land him on the 15-day disabled list.

The Dark Side

L.A., California (AP) - Tonight in Ann Arbor the sixth overall pick Evan "The Emperor" Warner looks to prove he's deserving of that pick and OSA's ranking as the #6 SP in ABL. "The Emperor" has gotten off to a rough start (1-2, 5.12 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 22 K's, 8 BB, 36 HA in 31 2/3 IP) to begin his ABL career, but GM Hays has all the confidence in him: "He's young and only has five starts under his belt. He has the stuff and tools to be an Ace in this league. He will be fine."

A win tonight will give the Evil Empire a very impressive 19-9 record in April.  Win or lose the Evil Empire will finish the first-ever month in ABL history with the lead in the Earl Weaver Division.

Ray Lester Finally Gives One Up

Ray Lester

But that's it, just one. A single run over 36 2/3 innings pitched.

Ray Lester, of the San Francisco Earthquakes, started the inaugural ABL season throwing 31 shutout innings, a record that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon.

It took Minnesota's Dale Watson crushing a home run for 415 feet to break the streak. Predictibly, it was Minnesota's only hit of the inning and their only run of the game. The Earthquakes answered the home run resoundingly, scoring six runs in the top of the following inning.

Nottinghamshire Best in the League

I know that sounds like a strange title, but Nottinghamshire is the best team in the Roberto Clemente League in one offensive statistic, and second in all the ABL. That statistic is stolen bases. The Outlaws have stolen 31 in the first 26 games and have been caught only 9 times. The New York Mafia is second with 22 and the Montreal Bandits third with 18.

So the top three teams in stolen bases in the RCL are the Outlaws, Mafia and Bandits. 

Maybe it is something with the team nickname.

Around the ABL: April 23-April 29

• South Carolina took two of three from rival Greenville, slugging their way to 8-2 and 9-4 victories. Greenville's Joe Russell silenced the Bombers' bats in the third game, pitching eight innings of shutout baseball.
• Dallas and Boston played the closest game of the year: it took 11 innings, but the Cardinals squeaked out a 1-0 victory when Abel Baker singled home Ed White. Boston's Norm Jackson pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up only three hits and one walk while striking out 11. The pitchers' duels continued in the next two games, but Dallas won both: 2-1 and 2-0.