Heavy Metal Softball

A Day For Demonstrating Compassion Instead Of Chasing Glory 

First, as always, I want to thank all of the players who represented Heavy Metal Softball this weekend for their effort, help, and cooperation in making our sixth tournament of the year a somewhat successful effort -- in the sense that we were very competitive against some roughly comparable teams.  Here are some final tournament statistics for those who actually visit our website and are truly interested in such things.  I would like to state here again that unlike previous seasons a couple of years ago -- when I published an extensive summary of each tournament regardless of the outcome -- I will only do so if we achieve playoff status or have a winning record, with just a bare-bones tournament rundown for those events of little distinction.  So, without further adieu, I present some facts from this particular contest:

Jesus Banuelos Tribute Tournament Summary --

Tournament Record:  1-2 (competed!)
                                1st game:  Won 16-0 vs. Real Deal
                                2nd game:  Lost 4-7 vs. What If
                                3rd game:  Lost 13-15 vs. Ballistic 

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Donny Aguiar -- 6 for 8; .750 BA; 25 points.
Vern Amaro -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 7 points.
Rich Avery -- 0 for 10; .000 BA; 2 points.
Wes Avery -- 4 for 11; .364 BA; 17 points.
Lucio Cobos -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 15 points.
Frank Fletcher -- 8 for 10; .800 BA; 29 points.
Lee Garcia -- 1 for 8; .125 BA; 5 points.
Gene Hitt -- 2 for 8; .250 BA; 9 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 2 for 6; .333 BA; 6 points.
Mike Lujan -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 23 points.
Steve Stafford -- 6 for 10; .600 BA; 24 points.
Mike Vanaalst -- 4 for 6; .667 BA; 21 points. 

Team Batting Average:  .417 (43 for 103; we averaged 11.0 runs/game for the whole tournament.  Of course, we need a much higher team batting average to get over the top in any future tournament games....)

Tournament MVP:  Frank Fletcher (29 points -- Sizzlin' Stick award for the second time in a row this year!)

Manager's Award:  I would like to take this time now to recognize a few other players who shined just as brightly this weekend with their contributions to the team:  Donny Aguiar, Mike Lujan, Steve Stafford, and Mike Vanaalst. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their overall effort throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all four of you!  

2008 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 21 for 34; .618 BA; 74 points (4 tournaments)
Vern Amaro -- 20 for 48; .417 BA; 39 points (6 tournaments)
Rich Avery -- 11 for 40; .275 BA; 33 points (5 tournaments)
Wes Avery -- 17 for 44; .386 BA; 62 points (5 tournaments)
Lucio Cobos -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Frank Fletcher -- 25 for 43; .581 BA; 86 points (5 tournaments)
Aaron Dawes -- 2 for 7; 286 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 15 for 34; .441 BA; 52 points (5 tournaments)
Gene Hitt -- 20 for 46; .435 BA; 62 points (6 tournaments)
Paul Lawrence -- 18 for 39; .462 BA; 80 points (5 tournaments)
Johnny Lopez -- 7 for 32; .219 BA; 24 points (5 tournaments)
Mike Lujan -- 26 for 49; .531 BA; 84 points (6 tournaments)
Cruz Onsurez -- 7 for 23; .304 BA; 19 points (4 tournaments)
Joaquin Perez -- 17 for 42; .405 BA; 97 points (5 tournaments)
Bryan Phillips -- 3 for 9; .333 BA; 7 points (1 tournament)
Matt Soares -- 0 for 9; .000 BA; 1 point (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 13 for 23; .565 BA; 66 points (3 tournaments)
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Mike Vanaalst -- 6 for 13; .462 BA; 41 points (2 tournaments)
Nelson Vieira -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 17 points (2 tournaments)

Year-End Award Progress:  Congratulations, Frank Fletcher, for officially winning the race for the Batting Champions: Metal Men perpetual award bat, based on your final tournament batting average of .581 over 5 tournaments!  Your name will be the second to be engraved upon this annual award -- great job, buddy!  Other eligible players were, in the order of their final batting averages:  Mike Lujan, .531; Paul Lawrence, .462; Lee Garcia, .441; Gene Hitt, .435; Vern Amaro, .417; Joaquin Perez, .405; Wes Avery, .386; Rich Avery, .275; and Johnny Lopez, .219 -- good job, guys!  Please remember -- just in case everyone has forgotten -- a player must have played in a minimum of 5 tournaments to earn this recognition, which is something to think about when I ask everyone next time if they want to play some more ball in an upcoming tournament...!  

And, once again, that's all, folks!!!