North Carolina APBA Baseball League REGISTER An Official Publication of the NCABL - Established 1992
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Vol. 8, No. 1 |
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August 12, 1999 |
Brett, Rice highlight draft as teams prepare for 1974
A month has gone by since George Brett's name was announced as the first pick in the1974 draft. In three weeks the first 5 rounds of the draft were completed and on August 8 the final rounds were done in an ICQ chat. Brett will benefit from studying under the master Brooks Robinson and will allow the teams' elder statesman a few days off every now and then.
With the 2nd pick South Shore selected James Edward Rice, a young slugger who will hopefully be ready to team with Ben Oglivie to give the Navigators a pair of 30-40 HR outfielders.
Flatbush picked up 19 year old Robin Yount to play shortstop. Yount will step in immediately for Dal Maxvill and learn on the job. He joins 1973 rookie third baseman Bill Madlock on the left side of the infield. Since taking over the reigns of the Flatbush team manager Jim Martin has added Yount, Madlock, Al Bumbry, Mike Tyson and traded for Thurman Munson. Combined with holdovers George Hendrick and Tony Perez and the Bums are starting too resemble a young Ridgewood team.
The middle rounds featured some interesting choices. Catcher was a favorite choice in the 2nd round. Rick Dempsey (Min) and Charlie Moore (Lou) were selected to provide depth at the position and to develop into future starters. Barry Foote (BC) was chosen to fill an immediate need. A little over half of the round 2 and 3 selections were pitchers, with young relievers Dale Murray (Win) and Mike Garman (Bel) expected to jump in at the major league level. Satellite Beach added three pitchers with their first three picks - Bob Forsch, Ed Halicki and Dan Spillner.
In the later rounds most of the selections were players who will spend much of the season either on the bench or in AAA. Several veteran pitchers were picked up in hopes of making a team as a long reliever. Lew Krausse (Ohio) and Jim Merritt (Hopewell) were added not only to provide depth but also to provide insight as they have been around the block a few times. Hopewell picked up a pair of veteran pinch hitters in Jim Hickman and Gates Brown.
Charlie Finley emulator Phil Preston made track star Herb Washington as his final pick. When asked if he could throw out the speedy Washington, Knarro catcher Dave Duncan replied, "You mean to ask by how much, right?" The final pick of the draft was a token gesture of appreciation as Wisconsin selected injured Ron Bryant. Bryant had won 20 games in 1973, but suffered a non-baseball injury this off-season and was released by the Rattlers. A few players were not chosen and can be claimed on a first come, first served basis.
NL News and Notes - Minnesota, Ohio look To dethrone old guard
It's time for a change in the NL. Or so say the fans in Minnesota. Having watched their team struggle for 3 years people are excited about the new Ostrogoth team. Brooks Robinson comments to Paul Blair that this team could be as good as the playoff contenders of the late 60s, and that Jeff Burroughs reminds him of a younger Harmon Killebrew. Burroughs, first baseman Willie Montanez and catcher Joe Ferguson were solid performers in 1973, and hope for a repeat in 1974. No matter what, the race between Minnesota and Knarro should be a good one.
Meanwhile in Ohio, a young pitching staff led by Bill Lee and Jerry Reuss carried the team to the playoffs last year. While the competition in the NL East is tough, the Buckeyes could be poised for a takeover at the top of the division. The infield of May, Rojas, Concepcion and Nettles is perhaps the best in the East. If outfielders Buckner, Gamble and Evans take another step forward, Ohio could unseat Mechanicsburg who has held the top spot for the past 4 seasons.
AL News and Notes - Ridgewood shoots for 4th consective AL flag
Dick Allen is back and Joe Morgan looks stronger than ever. Richie Hebner's looks like he's in mid-season form and the buzz around camp is that the rookie Hargrove could force his way into the lineup with his line drive bat. All of this spells trouble for the rest of the league as Ridgewood seeks to continue their run of consective AL titles. Both Hopewell and Berwyn have challenged the Redlegs the past two seasons and will do so again in 1974. The Barons were so impressed with rookie Rick Burleson that they shipped All Star SS Roger Metzger to Brooklyn Center. While not as polished a fielder as Metzger, Burleson has a better bat and fits well with the collection of young hitters already assembled in Berwyn. The Dutchmen badly needed a right handed bat and a lead off hitter and think they have both in rookie Ron LeFlore. LeFlore may be a year away but eventually should be the Hopewell center fielder playing along side Willie Crawford and Dave Winfield.
In the west Topeka stood pat in the off-season and returns with the Hunter-Holtzman-Carlton trio that has dominated during the past 4 seasons. Cooperstown decided to shake things up and traded Cy Young winner Gaylord Perry to Bellingham in a three way deal that saw the Cardinals get Dock Ellis, Grant Jackson and a first round pick in the 1974 draft. Fans reaction was not very positive so Ellis will need to get off to a good start to prevent a revolt. Winchester has a veteran roster that simultaneously seemed to have bad years in 1973. Bill Freehan and Jim Wynn have come to camp in terrific shape and Steve Garvey has been stinging the ball. The Rifles picked up Rico Petrocelli to add some punch to a listless offense, and Luis Tiant to go with Seaver and Blue, matching the Topeka trio in effectiveness. This race should go to the wire!
Preseason Exhibition Games
The pre-season franchise files are starting to arrive. As soon as a file is received for each team we will run a few weeks of practice with the new AIM and file transfer systems. All stats and usage will be reset for the regular season.
Newsletters, Yearbook and Dues
I've had to come to the realization that I'm just not going to be able to continue to do printed newsletters any more. They were one of the main items that seperated the NCABL from other leauges, but the 5 hours it takes each month to write and send one compared to the one hour it takes to write a few articles and upload to the net, I just couldn't justify the extra effort. I hope everyone understands. You will get a notification each month before I put up a new page in case you wish to print the current one for your records.
The Yearbook is slowly coming along. I am hoping to have it in your hands before the season starts. Several managers have yet to turn in the data sheets...if this is you, please do so this week.
Because of the discontinuation of the newsletters dues will be just $15 to cover the cost of printing and shipping the yearbook. If you paid $25 a $10 refund will be headed your way soon.
Series Reporting
Since we begin weekly play in 1974 the former monthly reports for teams will seem a bit out of date. I would like to see up post our reports to the message board each week as opposed to league wide e-mail. The weekly reports are not mandatory but do help us to enjoy each other's experiences on the ball field. I will try to include a paragraph or two here for each week of play, noting special individual performances and maybe a player of the week award for each league. If anyone wants to write an article about the season, an occurance, anything, please do so and send it to me or post it on the message board.