County League baseball records revealed
To say that American sports fans are also a big group of “figure filberts” would be putting it mildly, as the saying goes. But really, and you can count me among them, how often do you hear sports fans get together that in a very short time they don’t start talking about this or that record, who hit what in whatever year, how many homers somebody hit a generation ago, or who gained however many yards away back when. Sports figures have long been the main point of discussion at watering holes all over the county, especially at this time of year with the World Series in progress. There are also times when baseball talk turns to the County League which enjoyed a banner season this year. The playoffs were as good as they have ever been, especially the semifinal series between Mill Run and eventual champion Carmichaels.
A while back, at one of the local clubs, discussion turned to baseball records, and eventually somebody asked who held what record in the County League. Well, you know the old saying, if you want to know something you ask an expert, and in this case who knows more about the County League and its achievements in recent years than Brownsville manager Dan Kupets, who doubles as league president and statistician. Dan had the necessary figures right at hand.
Brian Sankovich, first baseman for Bud Murphy’s Cokers, holds three records, all of them set in the 1999 season – for most hits (66), runs batted in (77), and runs scored (53). That RBI figure is impressive, since it is for regular season play and covers about 30 games. Compare that total with some accomplished by so-called major leaguers who are getting x-millions of dollars a year, and haven’t produced two-thirds of what Brian did.
Other records for county players include:
Batting Average – .622, by Brian Shipley, Bud Murphy’s, in 2000, and equaled by Jim Burns (Hopwood), 2001.
Singles – 39, Dan Kupets, LaBelle, 1989.
Doubles – 16, Rudy Pokorny, Leckrone, 1984.
Triples – 7, Dennis Santella, Leckrone, 1984, and Chad Ramsden, Charleroi Mavericks, 1999.
Homeruns – 25, Bob Oakes, Leckrone, 1980.
Extra-Base Hits – 32, Brett Shimek, Waynesburg Mudpuppies, 1997.
Pitching Wins – 10, Mark Hozak, Leckrone, 1984; Jory Coughenour, Mill Run, 1998; Mike Evans, Bud Murphy’s, and Jeff Herman, Charleroi Mavericks, 1999.
Strikeouts – 111, Bob Oldham, Connellsville Navigators, 1997.
Those records were gleaned from game reports filed with Kupets by the league managers, and involved a lot of personal time in their study. Naturally, somebody is going to say that so-and-so did such-and-such back in some other year, but these figures were taken from game reports made available to the league. Some season figures are missing, having been lost for various reasons. But if anybody has any figures to prove differently from these, Kupets would be happy to talk with you. In fact, he would welcome any and all help you might be able to give him involving league figures.
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If you think that major league baseball salaries haven’t gotten out of hand (any professional sports salaries, for that matter), consider the contract of Alex Rodriguez. His 25-million yearly salary averages out to something like 100,000 plus per game. All he has to do is play 10 games – or even go to the ballpark 10 days, for he gets paid whether or not he plays – and in those 10 days he will receive more than I have earned for almost 50 years in the newspaper business. Just 10 days!! And if you think that he works hard for what he gets, consider the words of ex-Pirate Willie Stargell, who once said, “Do you ever hear the umpire say ‘work ball?’ He always says ‘play ball.'”
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A recent statistical column noted how many “saves” some relief pitchers had accumulated this season, coming on in the late innings to protect the lead that a pitcher has already been given. Some had accumulated “saves” into the 30’s and 40’s and you have to wonder just how can the starters justify some of the big contracts they are getting, for going two-thirds of a game. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to do it in the first place, but if I ever did pay some player x-millions of dollars to pitch games for me, I would expect him to hold his own lead the last couple of innings. If he didn’t, then pay for the “save” pitchers would come out of his paycheck, for every inning he was on the bench.
That “saves” category makes you wonder about another guy who pitched for the Pirates a few years back.
Did anybody ever stop to figure out how many “saves” Elroy Face might have had. The feeling here is that it might be a major league record. At the same time, you have to wonder why Rollie Fingers can be put in the Hall of Fame as a relief pitcher, yet Face is never considered for similar honors.