News 08.04

Large crowds mark Holyoke Giants' first year
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
By RICK LAJOIE

HOLYOKE - The New England Collegiate Baseball League was well received in Holyoke and our own Holyoke Giants did indeed give us a summer to remember, even if they didn't make the playoffs. The post season chances came down to the last game and the Giants lost on the road, 5-3, against the Newport, R.I. Gulls to seal their fate. But regardless of the outcome, the season was very successful and hopefully only the start of long relationship. The team finished with a 17-25 record.

Holyoke controlled its own destiny and was cruising into the final week of the season winning five of seven games to overcome a seven game losing streak. The Giants were locked in a battle for the final playoff spot with Torrington, and with the Twisters on a four game losing streak, Holyoke needed only to go .500 and clinch the final slot. It was not to be as the Giant bats again were silent, the team losing three games before making a last ditch effort with a solid win in their last home game last Friday against Manchester. Needing a combination of two more Twister losses and a Holyoke win was too much to overcome and so the cry is wait until next year.

The year began back in June with college players repainting MacKenzie Stadium and preparing for their first summer in Holyoke. The city welcomed the young players with wooden bats on opening night with a huge turnout and the fans remained loyal throughout the year, with a total home attendance of 12,358, for an average of 618 fans per game for 20 home games. The Giants rewarded their faithful followers with a strong home record of 12-9, the Giants downfall being their lack of success on the road where they were just 5-16 in everyone else's ballpark.

An analysis of the team shows the team's biggest downfall being its not adapting to the wooden bats, the team batting average 13th in the 14-team league at .239. No Giant was among the leaders in any of the league's major hitting categories, but Nate Moffie was third in the league in triples with four. Holyoke also lacked power, with the lowest home run total in the league at six, (Friday night's home finale marked the first time a Giant hit a home run at MacKenzie), and the team was also last in RBI's with 113. The homer was stroked to left field, up and into the trees, by catcher Matt McBride.

The league's best hitting team was Newport at .280, while Danbury had the biggest punch with 35 home runs. But, the NECBL is considered a pitcher's league anyway because of the players using wooden bats instead of aluminum, most of the players having never used them before. League stats show that there were nearly as many strikeouts (4,073) as there were hits (4,257). Holyoke's staff was effective for the most part, the team posting an ERA of 3.35, good enough for 7th place overall, while Torrington has the lowest ERA at .271.

Other teams were successful hitting Holyoke hurlers, the opposition batting average of .268 higher only than that of Berkshire and Danbury. Still, the Giants were second in the league in strikeouts with 100. Fielding was not a real big problem either as the team had a very respectable .957 fielding percentage. The Giant catchers were the envy of every other team as Holyoke led the league in nailing base stealers behind Jeff Mayo and McBride, the pair combining to throw out 28 runners in 82 attempts. Unfortunately, they also let 16 passed ball go by, fourth highest in the league and the Giant pitchers were first in the league in balks and hit batsmen.

Next year will undoubtedly bring a lot of new players as only guys who have college eligibility left can play in the NECBL, but Holyoke will fondly remember this year's Giants. From hometown favorite Joe Westcott to local friends Justin Vincent and Jon Davis to all-stars Wilson Matos and Isidro Fortuna and the Pennsylvania Quakers Nate Moffie, Bryan Graves, Brian Winings and Josh Appell, Holyoke thanks you all and wish you the best of luck.