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