First Team All-Americans
Nate Tomko, The Sparkling Wiggles, 21 GP, 53 HR,
.658 Avg., 177 RBI, 15 Ast., 101 DP, 9 PSYCH
Obviously the 1st team All-Americans should
start with the years POTY. Nate won the POTY trophy for the 3rd
straight year and the 5th time in his career. The undoubted leader
and face of the Shenangahela Basketball League
continued to put up inhuman like numbers that may someday make it mandatory to
construct statues of him outside every SBL court. Tomko led a surprisingly
strong Sparkling Wiggles team to a 1st place finish in the American
Conference. He continued to shatter SBL records as he has done his entire
career. Not wanting to see his single season RBI record broken he stretched the
mark from 160 to 177. Finally, I am happy to say there are no worries of Nate
losing interest in his league as he set a new career high in at bats this year
with 231. This year marks Tomko’s 7th
All-American selection.
Terry Shernisky, Kathleen Turner Overdrive, 21 GP, 53
HR, .659 Avg., 176 RBI, 8 Ast., 79 DP
After tasting SBL glory by winning the championship in
2006 Sherry appeared to set his sights on the POTY trophy. He would have
undoubtedly won that trophy in any other year but 2007…setting new career highs
in every category listed above. What started out as a promising year for KTO
quickly turned sour by boasting one of the worst attendance records in league
history. Although often only playing alongside trusty captain Kip Corbett,
Sherry was able to take KTO to a potential playoff run. Some say KTO got beat
by the surging Double Stuffs in the 2007 playoffs, but I disagree. Sherry and Kippy simply lost out to Mathematics, unable to score
enough runs in the late innings because of Will Williamson. While Sherry missed
out on both POTY and Championship trophies he was able to win his first Home
Run Derby and All-Star MVP.
Bryan Frankovich, Hot Fuzz, 20 GP, 27
HR, .509 Avg., 120 RBI, 7 Ast., 88 DP
While many argue that the 2007 season should be erased
from the website and history books forever because of the earth shaking fluke
that allowed B. Frank to win a significant award in the SBL, its hard to argue
against the kid (Besides for his new found EMO ways…) Frankovich
was the glue the held Hot Fuzz together long enough to win him the championship
that seemed to elude him for so long. Whether it was B. Franks
solid play or the crack of his whip everything seemed to go Hott
Fuzz’s way in 2007. This is Bryans 4th
straight All-American selection
Aryn Christman, Double Stuff,
21
GP, 8 HR, .545 Avg.,
76 RBI, 11 DP
Aryn had high hopes in her first year as captain…and after
surrounding herself with some premier SBL hunks on draft day all seemed well.
But when biddle, big whitey,
and dank went MIA in 2007 many questioned double stuffs chances to beat out jukebox
for the final playoff spot. Aryn, with the help of
underrated Jamie Fabian and Bob Spohn, managed to
pull some minor upsets and keep their record respectable. It would be easy to
mistakenly give credit to the addition of roid raged Kovac (who greatly helped the team) for Double Stuffs
unexplained run to the championship game, but it was captain Christman who hit almost .800 Avg
in the playoffs and drove in an incredible 81 RBI’s in just 9 playoff games.
The girl simply could not miss!
Katie Kelly, The
Sparkling Wiggles, 21GP, 3 HR, .638
Avg., 79 RBI, 3 Ast., 7 DP
Somewhat of a surprise this year was the superb play
of this bombshell. Katie has always been known for her lethal accuracy form the
single line, but in 2007 she showed that she can step back and hit some big
shots when needed. Posting a career high 79 RBI’s and being one of only three
SBL players to post a season average above .600 Katie seemed poised for her
first 1st team selection. But to reassure her status Katie showed up
for a career high 21 games, as well as attending many of the weekly fires and
stopping down at the Lube on the occasional Friday night…all positive
attributes that go well beyond that stat book and look good to the selection
committee
2nd Team All-Americans
Pat Lackey, The Sparkling Wiggles,
18 GP, 9 HR,
.552 Avg., 73 RBI, 2 Ast., 13 DP
Possibly more shocking then the Pirates winning the
World Series in 2008 was the play of the eldest Lackey in 2007. In what appears
to be his last full season in the SBL, he wanted to prove once and for all that
he is the greatest Lackey ever to set foot on an SBL court. Plackey
tied a career high in homeruns and more importantly set a person best in
batting average at .552, good for 4th in the entire league of people
with over 100 AB’s. Lackey won his most coveted award in 2007 gaining the title
of “Lackey of the Year”
Billy Weisberg, PJ & The Ladies, 19 GP, 2 HR,
.505 Avg., 76 RBI, 4 Ast., 30 DP
While having a career low in home runs Billy had
arguably his best overall season to date with career highs in average and
RBI’s. ***As a note to the rest of the SBL world who may not know Billy has
purchased a home in
Ben Smith, Nappy Headed Ho’s, 21 GP, 16
HR, .423 Avg., 72 RBI, 5 Ast., 26 DP
Ben Smith’s attendance was at an all time high in 07
with 21 GP and 220 AB’s…and these were his most important stats for his often
understaffed Ho’s. Smith whose vertical jump has been recorded around 17
millimeters somehow shattered his career high in assists by tipping in 5 of his
teammates shots and recording 26 DP. Ben was the consistency the Ho’s were
looking for and captained them to an above .500 season
Terry Hall, Screaming Seagulls, 19 GP, 23
HR, .333 Avg., 66
RBI, 52 DP
Hall seemed to lead the disbanded and disgruntled
gulls in every statistical category setting career highs in GP, HR, AB, RBI, DP. Hall shoed his versatile talent in 07 showcasing his
skills from scrumming to defense to home run capability…this guy can do it all.
Hall proved that there is more than one star named Terry in the SBL
Mike Moroco, Hot Fuzz, 13 GP, 21
HR, .529 Avg., 66 RBI, 3 Ast., 24 DP, 5 Psych
While not making the 1st team as many had
predicted, the Asian sensation put together another strong year, helping Hot
Fuzz reach SBL glory. Attendance, not ability, was the knock on Moroco in 2007 playing in just 13 games. When in attendance
Moroco was able to not only set the table for B-Frank
but occasionally switch roles (which I hear these two love to do) and drive in
Brian as well.
Honorable Mention:
J. Fabian, Double Stuff, 20 GP, 5 HR,
.491 Avg., 50 RBI, 29 DP, 2 Psych
J. Moroco, Nappy Headed
Ho’s, 20 GP, 4 HR, .509 Avg., 59 RBI,
3 DP
R. Knight, PJ & The
Ladies, 19 GP, 4 HR, .445 Avg., 58 RBI, 32 DP, 8 Psych
K. Corbett, Kathleen Turner Overdrive, 22 GP, 2 HR, .407 Avg., 60
RBI, 5 DP
G. St. John, Hot Fuzz, 14 GP, 6 HR,
.550 Avg., 49 RBI, 9 DP