JOPLIN MINER MAGAZINE

634 PA/ LH 359/581 RH 367/573                                                                             # 9 National Prospect                                        #31 National Prospect  After a 2018 World Series appearance and a 2019 trip to the Ozzie League Championship, it is time for the Miners to begin a rebuilding process which is necessary for the long term health of the organization.  Given the up...

                       Mookie Betts MVP:  (329/427/616)  30 HRs/20 SBs                                        Pitcher of the Year ( 175/259/292) The 2019 Joplin Miners finished 95-65 and made the playoffs as one of two wildcard teams.  Manager Billy Martin decided to start Hyjun-Jin Ryu against Ravenwood's Walker Buehler.  Joplin took a 1-0 lead into the 8th inning then Chris Sale threw 2 shutout innings for a 1-0 lead and a ticket to the playoffs against the Los Altos Undertakers.  Charlie Morton came up with 2 key wins and Masa Tanaka won game 7 by a 5-1 margin to propel the Miners to the Ozzie League championship against the Salem Cowtippers.  ...

                                Los Altos King of the Hill  1. Los Altos 286 2. Salem  259 3. Kansas 234 4. Akron 219 5. Joplin 199 6. Chicago 157 7. Charlotte 119 8. Ravenwood 102 9. South Carolina 43 10. Southern Cal 41 11. St Louis 16 12. Great Lakes 10 13. Buckingham 4 14. Cleveland ( 55) 15. Flagstaff ( 59) 16. Las Vegas (89) 17. South Loop ( 103) 18. Saskatoon ( 109 ) 19. North Carolina (135) 20. Niagara (153) 21. Kansas City (160) 22. Bear Country (168) 23. Darien (296) 24. Myrtle Beach (362)

WHO BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME  As I stated in a previous post, my formula for entering the Hall of Fame is a two tiered process.  The first tier is just to look at bWAR.  Relief pitchers need 50, Starter/Reliever need 62.5 while Starting Pitchers and all Hitters must post a 75 bWAR.  If you fail to qualify under the WAR test, then you must accumulate 10 points based on the following point scale: 2 points for each MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year 1 point for each All Star selection and each World Series appearance.    Here is how the numbers add up for the new nominees:                                               LOU WHITAKER : 75.1 bWAR             ...

Jesse Chavez Chapter 5 MVP The Joplin Miners finished 15-13 in Chapter 5.  As a result, the Miners are now 14 games behind the Salem Cowtippers in the McGowan Division and 12 games ahead of the Ravenwood Infidels in the Wildcard race in the Ozzie League. The Top Pitchers: Jesse Chavez:  3-0-0-1.13 ( 17/1) Charlie Morton: 2-1-0- ( 24/12) Hyun-Jin Ryu: 3-1-2.42 ( 32/6) The Top Hitters: Freddie Freeman: 270/ 344/ 426 David Peralta: 340/ 413/ 651 Mookie Betts:  370/ 511/ 658 Series Results: Salem 1-3 Darien 4-0 NCISP: 2-2 KCB: 2-2 BCJ: 4-0 SLF: 2-2 Flagstaff: 0-4 Chapter Notes: Usage issues factored into the 15-13 record.  The best rotation of Sale, Ryu, Morton and Tanaka gave way in many series to cannon fodder under the names of Duffy, Garcia, Estrada, etc.  In addition, a number of hitters like Betts and Iglesias spent time on the bench to rest up so they can play in the playoffs.   While the divisional title is too far out for a repeat,...

CH 5: Power Rankings 1. Salem 236 2. Los Altos 205 3. Kansas 199 4. Akron 183 5. Joplin 168 6. Chicago 101 7. Charlotte 92 8. St Louis 89 9. Ravenwood 70 10. Southern Cal 33 11. Great Lakes 22 12. Buckingham 3 13. So. Carolina (25) 14. Flagstaff (43) 15. Las Vegas ( 57) 16. Cleveland ( 57) 17. Saskatoon ( 62) 18. South Loop (78) 19. North Carolina ( 113) 20. Bear Country ( 124) 21. Niagara ( 131) 22. Kansas City ( 134) 23. Darien ( 258) 24. Myrtle Beach ( 389)

CH4 MVP: MOOKIE BETTS 333/433/705 The Miners went 16-8 in Chapter 4 but the Salem Cowtippers went 20-4 to drop Joplin 9 games out of first place.  Nevertheless, the Miners hold the lead for the first wildcard spot 12 games ahead of the next wildcard contender. Mookie Betts ( 333/433/705) continued to make his case for Ozzie League MVP.  In addition to his hitting, Betts continues to make outstanding defensive plays and went 5/6 in steal attempts in chapter 4.  Freddie Freeman (289/372/505) and Yan Gomes ( 342/372/562) forced teams to pitch to Betts.   The starting rotation earned its pay in Chapter 4: Chris Sale ( 1-2-4-2.38-36/10) Charlie Morton ( 1-1-0-1.90-27/11) Hyun-Jin Ryu ( 2-2-0-2.34-34/12) Masa Tanaka ( 3-0-0-2.38- 16/9) The most interesting stat was the fact Sale earned 4 saves basically because Craig Kimbrel needed some rest.  In fact , Kimbrel only has 24 innings left to pitch over the final 56 games.   The rest of the bull...

SALEM COWTIPPERS TOP DOG     CHAPTER FOUR POWER RANKINGS  1. SALEM COWTIPPERS 181 2. KANSAS LAW DOGS  154 3. AKRON RYCHE 153 4. LOS ALTOS UNDERTAKERS 147 5. JOPLIN MINERS 129 6. CHICAGO BLACK SOX 78 7. RAVENWOOD INFIDELS 59 8. ST LOUIS APOSTLES 48 9. CHARLOTTE MUSTANGS 47 10. SOUTH CAROLINA SEA CATS 29 11. SOUTHERN CAL SLYME 17 12. GREAT LAKE SPHINX 13 13. BUCKINGHAM SOVERIGNS 12 14. CLEVELAND ROCKS  (27) 15. FLAGSTAFF OUTLAWS  (46) 16. LAS VEGAS FLAMINGOS (49) 17. BEAR COUNTRY JAMBOREE (52) 18. SOUTH LOOP FLURIES(64) 19. SASKATOON SASQUATCH (68) 20. KANSAS CITY BOULEVARDS (95) 21. NORTH CAROLINA ISP ( 114) 22. NIAGARA LOCKS ( 115) 23. DARIEN BLUE WAVE ( 194) 24. MYRTLE BEACH HITMEN ( 229)

Gerrit Cole throws 6 Innings of No Hit Baseball Los Altos' Press Room issued the following report: Game 1: Chris Sale vs. Gerrit Cole It was the current Undertaker ace going against the former Undertaker ace to open things up today. Sale was greeted rudely, a two run shot in the first by Steve Pearce. Sale really settled in after that, going 7 innings, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 10. Gerrit Cole did him one better - he went 6 innings without giving up a hit, walking two and striking out 10. Joplin's first hit of the day came in the 8th as Austin Wymns singled off Seranthony Dominguez. Jose Iglesias singled with one out. Adam Engle pitch ran for Wymns and both runners moved into scoring position on a double steal - on a hit and run. However, Jeremy Jeffress saved the day by striking out the next two. In the 9th with one out, Sean Doolittle got the call against two lefties. He hit Freedie Freeman, then walked David Peralta - and the pitch on ball 4 was so wild...

Hyun-Jin Ryu shines in Joplin Debut  The Miners opened the second half of the season by sweeping the #19 ranked Las Vegas Flamingos. The first two games were played in Las Vegas and the last two were played back in Joplin.    Game 1: Joplin 7-8-0 LVF:  4-8-2 Jamie Garcia vs. Mike Minor David Peralta cranked out a 2 run HR in the 2nd to for a 2-0 Joplin lead.  Andrew McCutchen hit a solo shot in the 3rd to cut the score to 2-1.  Joplin added another run in the 4th on a Francisco Lindor error.  Sean Rodriguez hit a bases loaded double which cleared the bases and gave the Miners a 6-1 lead after 4 innings.  Austin Wynn added another run with a pinch hit RBI single to give Joplin a commanding 7-1 lead.  Miner pitcher Adam Warren gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to cut the lead to 7-4.  Chris Sale took the mound in the 9th and struck out the side to save the 7-4 win.   John Brebbia picked up the win in relief while Mike M...

Miner CH3 Batting Champ (363/402/712) The Joplin Miners went 13-11 in Chapter 3, dropping 5 games behind the Salem Cowtippers, the McGowan Division leader.  The Miners ended Chapter 1 with the second best power ranking in the BDBL but have fallen to 5th in the power rankings at the All StarBreak. Much of the decline can be attributed to the lack of pitching depth.  True, Chris Sale went 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 29/6 K/BB ratio but the Miners were forced to use Marco Estrada ( 1-2- 6.06 ERA) and Danny Duffy ( 1-1-8.84 ERA) which should explain why the Miners have started to sink in the standings. Joplin continued to hit the ball thanks to the following standouts: David Peralta ( 363/402/712) Chad Pinder  ( 327/352/ 712) Mookie Betts ( 366/443/548) Carlos Santana ( 304/390/598) The Miners will add Hyun-Jin Ryu and Gio Gonzalez to the rotation and Adam Warren to the bullpen in Chapter 4 which will hopefully help Joplin reverse course. All Star Selections ...

1. Akron Ryche- 132 2. Los Altos Undertakers- 124 3. Kansas Law Dogs- 116 4. Salem Cowtippers- 97 5. Joplin Miners- 84 6. Charlotte Mustangs- 80 7. Ravenwood Infidels- 79 8. Chicago Black Sox- 71 9. Great Lake Sphinx- 29 10. St Louis Apostles- 18 11. Southern Cal Slyme- 17 12. Buckingham Soverign- (8) 13. South Carolina Sea Cats (13) 14. Bear Country Jamboree ( 30) 15. Saskatoon  Sasquatch ( 35) 16. Cleveland Rocks ( 38) 17. Flagstaff Outlaws ( 43) 18. South Loop Furies ( 55) 19. Las Vegas Flamingos ( 58) 20. Kansas City Boulevards ( 65) 21. North Carolina ISP ( 83) 22. Darien Blue Wave ( 127) 23. Niagara Locks ( 135) 24. Myrtle Beach Hitmen ( 157)

Javier Baez Launches 4 Bombs  June 9th: Charlie Morton vs. Clayton Kershaw  Joplin: 6-7-0 Chicago: 7-15-0 WP:E. Ramos LP: C. Sale This game was the most gut wrenching loss of the season. The Black Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to Javier Baez's blast in the first.  Carlos Santana led the Miner comeback with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs off Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw went 6 innings and left after surrendering 5 earned runs. The teams traded runs to give the Miners a 6-4 lead going into the 9th inning.  Craig Kimbrel was on the hill to pick up another save but the Black Sox' Jed Lowrie and Javier Baez launched bombs in the 9th to tie the game 6-6.  Joplin brought in ace Chris Sale to win the game in extra innings but Tyler White knocked in the winning run in the 10th, leaving the Miner faithful crying in their beer.    June 10th:  Danny Duffy vs. Carlos Martinez Joplin 12-18-0 Chicago 5-11-0 WP:  Jesse Chavez LP:   C...

                                  FREEMAN (667/667/1.167) SAVES SPLIT WITH ROCKS   June 13th: Verlander v. Morton Cleveland:  2-5-1 Joplin: 10-11-1 W: Charlie Morton 4-2 L: Justin Verlander 4-9 HR: Peralta  Justin Verlander returned to the Mine in a new uniform to face Charlie Morton and other old teammates.  Memories of the 2018 world series were quickly erased from his mind as the Miners touched up Verlander for 3 runs in 7 innings.  While Verlander was tagged with his 9th loss on the season, Morton improved his record to 4-2. Freddie Freeman led off the scoring in the Joplin 3rd with a 2 run double.  David Peralta added a RBI single to give the Miners an early 3-0 lead.  The Rocks cut the lead to 3-2 in the 6th on a RBI double by Trey Story and Alex Gordon's SF.  Joplin pun...

              Miners Acquire Ryu and Gio Gonzalez for another run at the Title                              Gio Gonzalez to add Depth to the End of the Rotation Joplin's front office continued to hear Salem management  chirp about the lack of depth in  the Miner's pitching staff, specifically the fact ace Chris Sale has used up 50% of his usage limits after just 2 chapters.  Moreover, although underreported, the Miners have to deal with the fact Mashi Tanaka also has used 50% of his innings even though only 33% of the schedule has been played. In order to correct the problem, the Miners obtained Hyun- Jin Ryu and Gio Gonzalez from the South Loop Furies in exchange for Matt  Liberatore, a high end lefty ranked #52 on the MLB.com top 100 prospect list. ...

KANSAS LEADS POWER RANKINGS  1. KANSAS 82 2. CHAROLETTE 79 3. JOPLIN 73 4. AKRON 67 5. LOS ALTOS 65 6. SALEM 58 7. RAVENSWOOD 43 8. CHICAGO 38 9. SO. CAL. 36 10. GREAT LAKES 19 11. ST LOUIS 14 12. BUCKINGHAM 0 13. BEAR COUNTRY -5 14. SOUTH CAROLINA -8 15. SOUTH LOOP-15 16. SASKATOON -27 17. CLEVELAND -32 18. KANSAS CITY -34 19. FLAGSTAFF-53 20. LAS VEGAS -58 21. NORTH CAROLINA -59 22. DARIEN -82 23. NIAGARA -85 24. MRYTLE-116

Chris Sale Earns His 16 Million Dollar Salary  Chris Sale won 6 games and saved 2 more to lead the Miners to a 18-10 chapter 2 record. Sale struck out 67 batters while walking just 17 batters. Sale ended the chapter with a 1.81 ERA.              Mookie Betts added some more ammunition to his pursuit for the MVP award in 2019.  Betts had outstanding splits ( 339/411/732).  Mookie hit 11 home runs, scored 28 runs and drove in 26.  Freddie Freeman (367/444/596) added 5 homers and 19 RBIs and scored 19 runs.  Here are the series results from the chapter. Akron 2-2 Los Altos 1-3 South Loop 4-0 Flagstaff 4-0 Salem 2-2 Darien 3-1 NC Pigs 2-2              

                                           Charlie Morton fans 7 in Game 3  Game 1: Gerrit Cole (LAU) vs. Marco Estrada ( Joplin ) LAU : 6-10-0 JOP:  3-6-1 Matt Carpenter led off with a home run and showed Joplin management his disgust in failing to sign the versatile All Star.  Matt Kemp showed his gratitude to LAU management for taking a gamble by hitting a 2 run shot in the 4th and a sacrifice fly in the 8th.  Nolan Arenado singled in the LAU 2 run 9th for the 6-3 win. Marco Estrada dropped to 1-2 on the year while LAU's Gerritt Cole raised his record to 7-1 by striking out 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings while only allowing 3 hits and 1 run.  Game 2: Seth Lugo (LAU) vs. Chris Sale ( Joplin) LAU: 5-10-1 JOP: 1-6-0 Jesus Aguilera cranked out 2 homers drove in 3 whi...

Report from Flagstaff says it all: http://outlaws.newgards.com/2019/04/15/outlaws-swept-by-miners/

     Mookie Betts ( 438/500/1.063) Steals Home / Miners Salvage Split  Mookie Betts stole home plate and cranked out 3 home runs and knocked in 7 runs as the Miners split with the Akron Ryke.  The Ryke entered Chapter 2 with the second ranked team in the BDBL.  Jose Iglesias ( 471/500/882) also delivered a solo shot and 3 RBIs during the series. Jesse Chavez picked up 2 wins and a save while striking out 8 and walking 1.   Akron had a couple of all star performances.  Rookie Ron Acuna ( 311/393/589) stroked 2 dingers and drove in 5.  Catcher Wil Ramos ( 293/333/862) cranked out 2 shots and drove in 7. Game 1: Joplin: 4-7-2 Akron: 5-7-0 WP: Mychel Givens (2-2) LP: Jesse Chavez ( 5-2) Akron knocked out Chris Sale by taking a 4-0 lead in the 4th.  Acuna launched a 2 run rocket in the 1st and Ramos and Dahl each hit run scoring doubles.  Joplin fought back with a Peralta Sacrifice Fly in the 2nd,  Betts RB...

                      Charlie Morton fans 12 for 7-0 win over the Blue Wave Joplin won 3 out of 4 to win another series.  G1:  Joplin 5, Blue Wave 1 WP:  Chris Sale ( 7.4.1.1.2.8) LP:  Matt Harvey ( 4.1-8.5.5.1.2) David Peralta homered and the Miners scored 4 runs in the 5th to seal the win.  Chris Sale continued to earn his pay with 8Ks in 7 IPs. G2: Joplin 7, Darien 0 WP: Charlie Morton ( 6.2-3-0-0-2-10) LP: W.Miley  ( 0.1.1.1.0.0.0)   Mookie Betts hit a 3 run homer and Ender Inciarte tripled twice to back up the 3 hit pitching of Charlie Morton.  G3: Darien 5, Joplin 0 WP: Felix Hernandez ( 7-4-0-0-1-5) LP: Mashi Tanaka  ( 5.2-6-3-3-4-10) Jose Bautista hit 2 bombs and knocked in 4 runs while Felix Hernandez shutdown the Miners offensive attack.   Mashi Tanaka struck out 10. G4:  Joplin 5, Darien 3 ND: Danny...

                       Chris Sale Fans 12 and Saves Split with Salem  G1:  Salem 11, Joplin 3 WP: Anibel Sanchez ( 6.1-7-3-3-1-6) LP: Charlie Morton ( 4.8.9.5.5.5) Joplin played it's worst game of the season.  Charlie Morton gave up 3 consecutive home runs to Andrew Benintendi, Jose Ramirez and Justin Turner in the first inning and Joplin committed 3 errors, 2 by Carlos Santana.  The only bright spot in the game was the relief effort of Steven Wright ( 3.2.1.1.3.5).   G2: Joplin 6, Salem 1 WP:  Mashi Tanaka ( 6.3.1.1.1.6) LP:  Mike Montgomery ( 5.7.4.4.5.2) Freddie Freeman homered twice and Austin Wynns added another homer to back the efficient pitching performance of Mashi Tanaka.  G3:  Salem 4, Joplin 3 WP: Clay Buchholz  ( 6.1-5-3-3-3-8) LP: Dan Duffy  ( 1.2.2.2.1.0) The Miners left the bases loaded in the 7th which explains this loss.  Freddie F...

      Can Casey Kelly return to the majors via Korea ? The Miners added Taylor Williams, Sam Tuivialia, Fern Salas, Casey Kelly and Kazu Makita to the pitching staff.  In order to make room for these pitchers, Joplin released Bartolo Colon, Rosell Herrera, Pat Neshek and Chris Devenski. The release of Devenski was puzzling given he had a 1.54 ERA and the Miners were fined 1.1 million for his release. The Miners released Devenski because they knew he would regress to his 4.51 ERA.  The move reinforces Miner management focus on making the playoffs in the limited time window available to the franchise. 

Power Rankings based on Run Differential  1. Kansas 51 2. Joplin 48 3. Charlotte 46 4. Akron 43 5. Los Altos 31 6. Southern Cal 29 7. Buckingham 23 8. Salem 23 9. Ravenwood 14 10. St. Louis 9 11. Chicago 7 12. Las Vegas 5 13. Great Lakes 4 14. South Loop 2 15. Saskatoon -8 16. South Carolina -14 17. Flagstaff -16 18. Bear Country -24 19. Kansas City -30 20. Cleveland -32 21. North Carolina -42 22. Darien -54 23. Myrtle Beach -56 24. Niagara -59

The Joplin Miners entered the 2019 BDBL season as the defending Ozzie League Champions.  Their world series appearance was the first time in franchise history. Going into the 2019 season, several major adjustments were required and the consensus among the BDBL press was a second place finish in the McGowan Division and a possible playoff appearance as the second wildcard in the 2019 season.  Now that one chapter of the season is in the books, the Miners find themselves with a 17-11 record and 2 games behind the hated Salem Cowtippers and the first seed in the wildcard game.  Jesse Chavez won the Miner MVP award in Chapter 1.  Chavez finished the chapter with a 5-1 record and struck out 23 while walking only 7.  Chavez' performance was a complete surprise and came just at the right time.  Not to say the pitching staff was bad in Chapter 1.  A 17-11 record along with a 2.97 ERA  was respectable.  Chris Sale was signed as a free agent in ...

Carlos Santana goes Yard 3 times in Game 2 The Miners hoped to make up some ground on the Salem Cowtippers in this series against the North Carolina Spider Pigs.  The Pigs are rebuilding and have some young hitters who should reign terror on league pitching for many years but all the parts are not in place yet.   Game 1: Pigs 2 Miners 1 Jack Flaherty took the mound for the Pigs and held the Miners to 1 run in 6 innings but Miner starter Steven Wright held the Pigs to 1 run and no hits in 5 and 1/3.  The Pigs picked up the winning run in the 9th when TJ McFarland hit Rougned Odor with a pitch and gave up a game winning double to Matt Chapman. Game 2: Miners 10  Pigs 3 Carlos Santana put on another amazing performance for the Joplin fans as he hit 3 home runs and and knocked in 5 runs to lead the Miners to another victory.  Matt Chapman hit a dinger for the Pigs in the 8th but it wasn't enough.  Dan Jennings picked up th...

      Mookie Betts (316/480/632) uses Bat and Glove to lead Miners to 3 wins The Miners played a home and away series against the Bear Country Jamboree and were fortunate enough to take 3 out of 4 from BCJ in the series.  Game 1: Chris Sale (Jop) v. Luis Castillo ( BCJ) Joplin 5.11.2 BCJ    6.11.2 This game was a 22 inning marathon and was the most frustrating game I have ever managed in my BDBL career.  Chris Sale came out and had another great outing ( 7.2.2.2.3.12) but the Miners blew a 5-2 lead in the 9th when Craig Kimbrel not only made a two base error but gave up a 9th inning 3 run bomb to Daniel Palka.  The icing on the cake came in the 22nd inning when Tanaka walked in the winning run with the bases loaded.  The fact Sale has yet to win a game in Chapter 1 is troubling. Game 2: Charlie Morton ( Jop) v. Jose Urena ( BCJ) Joplin: 13.13.0 BCJ:    1.5.1 The Miners took out their frustration in ...

Franchy Cordero Cranks Out 2 Homers in 1 Game  Game 1: Bartolo Colon ( Joplin) v. Mike Minor ( LVF)   Joplin  2.8.1 LVF:   3.6.0 Bartolo Colon started for the Miners and Mike Minor took the mound  for the Flamingos. Minor ( 6.5.2.2.4.2) picked up the win while Colon ( 6 1/3. 6.3.2.0.3) took the loss. Las Vegas took an early 2-0 lead in the 1st  thanks mainly to an Adam Eaton 3B and a Mark Reynolds 1B. Joplin tied the score at 2-2 with a Logan Forsythe in the 3rd and a Jose Iglesias homer in the 3rd.  Joplin threatened to open up the game in the 5th when they loaded the bases only to have Chad Pinder line out to center.  Mark Reynolds hit a homer in the 6th to seal the win for the Flamingos. Game 2: Marco Estrada ( Joplin ) v. Chase Anderson ( LVF) Joplin: 0.2.0 LVF:   5.7.0 Chase Anderson threw a 2 hit shutout over 7 innings as Las Vegas mowed down the Miners 5-0.  Francisco Lindor homered to give LVF an early 1-0...

CARLOS SANTANA HITS FOR THE CYCLE  The Joplin Miners swept the Darien Blue Wave in a recent 4 game series. The Darien squad is basically an expansion squad and most league observers are impressed with the first year squad GM Lee Scholtz built for the 2019 BDBL season.  Despite the good press, the Miners took advantage of the Wave's major weakness:  starting pitching. GAME 1 Darien:  6.9.0 Joplin: 9.14.1 WP; McFarland LP: Cody Allen S: Craig Kimbrel HRs: Desmond, Betts, McCann Notes:Both starters were shelled throughout the game.  Zimmerman (6.12.6.6.2.7) and Chris Sale (6.5.4.4.1.8) had their worst outings of the young season.  Miner catcher James McCann hit a dinger in the bottom of the 8th to give the Miners a 7-6 lead.  Kimbrel came in the 9th and retired the Wave in order to pick up another save.   GAME2 Darien: 5.9.3 Joplin: 9.14.1 WP: Charlie Morton  (5.4.1.1.1.5) LP:  Matt Harvey ( 5.11.7.6.1.4) HRs: Matt Olson, Chris Ianet...