Pitchers, not batters, win games.

The Toronto Star

TORONTO— I don’t care what anybody says. Pitchers, not batters, win games in the BPLA. A good pitcher on a bad team can take the team all the way, however, a bad pitcher on a really good team will result in the team crumbling. Why? The answer is simple. Good pitching will shut down good hitting any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

So far this season, many teams have had unfathomable results due to some very impressive pitching. Teams that were predicted to not even make the playoffs have temporarily taken control and/or are only a few games back of a playoff spot. These sensational results can be attributed to great pitching not batting. Teams such as the Indianapolis CarJackas, Columbus Conquest, Winston-Salem Slam, Orlando Predators and Richmond Nighthawks are having a great pitching season. Of the five teams only the Slam and Nighthawks have a batting average that is higher than .250. The other three teams are all under .250 and the CarJackas have the lowest batting average in the league at .205. Despite the crappy display by the bats, the Slam and Conquest are tied for first in the Central division. Indianapolis is only 3 games behind in the division. The Predators on the other hand, remain 7.5 games behind Richmond in the Atlantic division. In addition. Richmond bodes the second best record in the BPLA and have the pleasure of owning the best pitching staff in the league. The pitching staff gives up a full run less than the second place team in earned runs. With this kind of pitching success all five of the teams mentioned could prove to be serious contenders in the league.

After looking at the numbers, it’s safe to say that the conference with the better pitching numbers has the teams with the better overall records. If you don’t believe me take a look yourself. The Eastern Conference has an ERA of 4.09 and a batting average of .239. The Western Conference has an ERA of 4.98 and a batting average of .274. Despite the solid batting numbers the Western Conference doesn’t prove a significant advantage over the Eastern Conference. The combined record of all Eastern Conference teams is 102-102. A combined .500 record, the combined record of all Western Conference teams is 103-103. This too combines for a .500 record. Considering the numbers good batting doesn’t necessarily mean a better record. However, good pitching does mean better results. To greater display this. One needs to compare the 5 best pitching teams in the West with the ones in the East. The top 5 pitching teams in the West (Indianapolis, Portland, Winston-Salem, Hartford and Columbus) equal the top 5 in the East (Oklahoma City, Portland, Winnipeg, Calgary and Wichita.) The combined records of the top 5 in the West equals 72-56 a combined .563 winning percentage. On the other hand, the top 5 pitching teams in the East have a combined record of 73-54 a combined .570 winning percentage. All of you are probably thinking what the heck is Moe babbling about now? The answer is this. Regardless of hitting, pitching is what allows for a winning record. After comparing the East to the West. It’s safe to say that the successful teams all have great pitching but not all have solid hitting. If you analyze the numbers closely one easily can see that teams that are batting over .250 are also near the bottom of the standings because of poor pitching. Just so you don’t think I’m lying here are a couple of examples for your own educational purpose. Use this info and impress your friends at your next gathering, while eating low-fat muffins and drinking coffee at 7 pm in the evening.  Mexico City has a batting average of .293 and an ERA of 7.06. This puts them in last place in the entire league with a record of 9-18. Wichita has a batting average of  .270 and an ERA of 4.91. This display has them in last place in the Midwest division, third worst in the Eastern Conference and fifth worst in the entire league.

After giving you all this proof, need I say more? It’s obvious that pitching equals winning and it is not necessary for a team to have abundant bats. However, if a team didn’t have enough pitching, this could cause a problem. If you don’t believe me, analyze the league yourself and then tell me I’m lying. I bet you right now that you couldn’t tell me I’m lying? I know and everybody else knows that I’m always right.

Moe is a writer for the BPLA and does a weekly column. Email him at smoothe_sack@hotmail.com if you have any concerns.