March 15, 2024
One in the Books
OCALA, FL - The Flagstaff Peaks (21-7), Lake Norman Monsters (19-9), Akron Ryche (18-10), and Los Altos Undertakers (18-10) dominated Chapter One of the 2024 season. All six division races are tight for the moment, with Flagstaff (+5) owning the largest lead in the league. Flagstaff's Mookie Betts had a monster chapter (.458/.511/.805), leading the BDBL in several categories.

February 1, 2024
Let's Try This Again
OCALA, FL - Season number twenty-six is about to begin! The 2024 season promises to be an exciting one, with several teams in each division looking like contenders on paper, including three teams that lost 100 or more games last season. The Darien Blue Wave and Lake Norman Monsters are the prohibitive favorites to win the OL and EL, but as we've seen before, anything can happen. Let's play ball!

January 3, 2024
Chicago Lands the Biggest Fish
OCALA, FL - The Chicago Black Sox walked away with the grand prize of the auction when they signed Matt Olson to a $13.5 million deal on the first night of the auction. Lake Norman added of the top arms in the auction, Aaron Nola, for just $7 million. Nolan Arenado ($6M to Myrtle Beach) and Bryan Reynolds ($7M to Florida) also went Type H.

November 25, 2023
Los Altos Does It Again
OCALA, FL - The Los Altos Undertakers have won the 2023 BDBL championship. It is the record-tying fifth championship trophy for Jeff Paulson, tying Tom DiStefano's record as an owner, and also tying Virginia's record as a franchise. The Undertakers defeated the Lake Norman Monsters in five games in the World Series, winning the last two games in extra innings.

November 20, 2023
History in the Making
OCALA, FL - The Los Altos Undertakers will attempt to become the first franchise in BDBL history to win FIVE BDBL championships. In order to do so, they will have to get past just one more team: the Lake Norman Monsters. The Monsters, led by third-year owner Joe Demski, won a trophy under John Duel in 2012. Both teams won their Championship Series in five games.

November 10, 2023
LCS Match-ups Are Set
OCALA, FL - The four-time-champion Los Altos Undertakers and defending-champion Akron Ryche will square off for the OL title in the OLCS. In the EL, the Lake Norman Monsters will take on the Charlotte Mustangs as Tony Chamra looks to win his second BDBL trophy and Joe Demski fights for his first World Series appearance.

October 31, 2023
Let the TOR Begin!
OCALA, FL - For the first time in league history, two one-game playoffs are necessary to determine which teams will advance into the BDBL postseason! The Ravenswood Infidels and Cleveland Rocks will play for the OL wildcard, and the Kansas Law Dogs and South Philly Gritty will play for the Higuera title. The rest of the field is set, with Los Altos and Lake Norman owning the top seeds in the OL and EL, respectively.

September 15, 2023
Down to the Wire
OCALA, FL - With only 28 games remaining in the 2023 season, both wildcard races are wide open, and one division remains too close to call. Four teams are within two games of each other in the OL wildcard hunt. The Myrtle Beach Hitmen and Niagara Locks are battling it out in the EL wildcard. The brotherly race in the Higuera Division took an unexpected turn in Chapter Five. South Philly now leads by two.

August 1, 2023
Playoffs Picture Clearing Up
OCALA, FL - Chapter Four was a turning point for several teams, providing the inspiration needed to wave the white flag or go for it. In the former category, the first-place South Philly Gritty's owner decided to hand the division to his brother after a 10-14 chapter. The Florida Mulligans had such a disastrous chapter (10-14) that they managed to convince two teams (Ravenswood and Bear Country) to go for it. Meanwhile, the Los Altos Undertakers (19-5) are running away with it all yet again.

June 15, 2023
Halfway There
OCALA, FL - Heading into the all-star break, there are still many tight division races happening. The Florida Mulligans (12-12) fell apart in Chapter Three, allowing Darien (16-8) to pull ahead in the McGowan Division. Niagara and Lake Norman (both 15-9) remain tied atop the Wilkie. Ravenswood (15-9) expanded their lead in the Benes thanks to a 12-12 showing by Akron in Chapter Three.

April 30, 2023
Tight Races Throughout
OCALA, FL - We are now 35% of the way through the 2023 season and we're seeing several tight races in the BDBL. In the McGowan Division, the Mulligans leapfrogged over the Blue Wave in Chapter Two thanks to a league-best 21-7 Chapter Two. The Ryche (19-9) are now tied with the Infidels atop the Benes Division. In the Wilkie Division, not a single team played above .500 in Chapter Two, leaving Lake Norman and Niagara tied atop the the division. Myrtle Beach managed to gain ground on the Mustangs in the Hrbek Divison, and are now separated by just one game.

March 15, 2023
One Done
OCALA, FL - Chapter One of the 2023 season is officially over. The Darien Blue Wave (20-8) and Los Altos Undertakers (20-8) led the way with the best records in the league. Ravenswood (19-9) has shocked the establishment with a strong start. The Luhning brothers are within one game of each other in the Higuera Division. Lake Norman and Niagara are all tied up at 17-11 in the Wilkie Division. The Myrtle Beach Hitmen (16-12) are still trying to find their footing in the Griffin, and trail the Charlotte Mustangs (18-10) by two games.

February 1, 2023
Opening Day, 2023!
OCALA, FL - Opening Day is just around the corner! Our 25th season promises to be unusually exciting for a number of reasons. Realignment has created many new natural division rivalries. Expanded interleague play will allow us to interact with every team in the league. Several teams that haven't reached the postseason in years should be contenders in '23. Monster starting rotations are all the rage. Get ready for an epic season!

January 10, 2023
The Year of Monster Rotations
OCALA, FL - On Tuesday night, the Los Altos Undertakers officially signed ace Max Scherzer. He joins fellow aces Sandy Alcantara, Shane Bieber, and Luis Severino in a ridiculously bloated rotation of Cy Young candidates. Los Altos is not alone in that regard. Tony DeCastro has signed both Justin Verlander and Joe Musgrove in this auction. They join Julio Urias and Zac Gallen in an equally bloated rotation of Cy Young candidates. It's going to be a long year in the Ozzie League.

January 3, 2023
Lake Norman Lands Machado
OCALA, FL - Manny Machado, the offensive prize of the 2023 auction, has signed with the Lake Norman Monsters at a salary of $15 million. Machado instantly becomes the best hitter in the Monsters lineup, which also includes Seiya Suzuki, Starling Marte, Alejando Kirk, and Brandon Drury. Several other big bats have flown off the shelves during the first four days of the auction, including Paul Goldschmidt ($11M to Cleveland), Freddie Freeman ($11M to Bear Country), and Jose Altuve ($13M to South Loop.)

November 30, 2022
Walk-off!
OCALA, FL - The Akron Ryche are our new reigning BDBL champions following a dramatic 10th inning walk-off home run by Ronald Acuna in Game Six of the World Series. Akron GM/skipper D.J. Shepard, one of the original founding members of the BDBL, has won his first-ever BDBL championship! Kansas GM Chris Luhning won it all in 2007, and has now appeared in four BDBL World Series. This is the second BDBL World Series in the past four years to end with a walk-off home run in extra innings.

November 20, 2022
2022 World Series: Akron vs. Kansas
OCALA, FL - The Kansas Law Dogs nearly blew a three-games-to-none lead in the ELCS, but eked out an EL title by taking Game 7 from the Chicago Black Sox. Akron also needed seven games to defeat the Salem Cowtippers in the OLCS. This is Akron's first second World Series appearance in the past three seasons. For Kansas, it is their third, and first since 2017. Kansas won it all in 2007. Akron is still looking for that elusive first BDBL championship.

November 10, 2022
LCS Matchups Are Set
OCALA, FL - Both the Akron Ryche and Salem Cowtippers swept their way into the OLCS. They will now face each other in a series that seemed predestined to happen. In the EL, the Chicago Black Sox needed seven games to beat the Niagara Locks. They will face the Kansas Law Dogs, who defeated Charlotte in five games in the ELDS.

November 1, 2022
Let the Playoffs Begin!
OCALA, FL - The top-seeded Akron Ryche will face off against their division rivals, Ravenswood, in the OLDS. The winner will face either Salem or Bear Country in the next round. In the EL, Charlotte will square off against Kansas in their EL Division Series, with Niagara taking on Chicago in the other ELDS. This is Mike Ranney's first appearance in the BDBL postseason!

September 15, 2022
Akron Makes a Statement
OCALA, FL - The Akron Ryche cranked the dial to eleven in Chapter Five, going 23-5, sweeping the Ravenswood Infidels, and taking a commanding five-game lead in the Benes Division race. The Higuera Division race is a tight race, with Buckingham leading the way, with Kansas (3 GB) and Great Lakes (6 GB) trailing close behind. The EL wildcard race is wide open, with Chicago, Myrtle Beach, and Kansas all within two games of each other.

July 31, 2022
Four Down, Two to Go
OCALA, FL - Chapter Four is officially in the books. Several playoff spots remain up for grabs. Akron and Ravenswood remain tied atop the Benes Division. Buckingham owns a 2-game lead over Kansas in the Higuera. Three teams are within two games in the EL wildcard race. All three races will come down to the wire!

June 15, 2022
Halfway to the Finish Line
OCALA, FL - We are now halfway through the 2022 season and five of the six divisions are still up for grabs. The Akron Ryche and Buckingham Sovereigns hold slim one-game leads in their divisions. The Niagara Locks hold a two-game lead over two teams in the Wilkie Division. The Bear Country Jamboree (4 G) and Charlotte Mustangs (6 G) own slim leads as well.

April 30, 2022
All Tied Up!
OCALA, FL - Fifty-six games into the 2022 season, we have ties atop the Benes and Griffin Divisions. Akron and Ravenswood continue to battle it out in the Benes, while Blacksburg surged into a tie with Bear Country in the Griffin. Great Lakes still (somehow) holds a slim lead in the Higuera over the surging Buckingham. Niagara clings to a tenuous 3-game lead in the Wilkie.

March 15, 2022
One Down
OCALA, FL - One-sixth of the way into the 2022 season, two division races are tied, and two others are led by fewer than three games. In the Benes Division, the Akron Ryche and Ravenswood Infidels are tied at 18-10. In the Wilkie Division, the Niagara Locks and D.C. Memorials are knotted at 16-12. The Salem Cowtippers (23-5) and Charlotte Mustangs (20-8) own the best records in the league.

February 1, 2022
The 2022 Season Has Arrived!
OCALA, FL - Opening Day of the 2022 BDBL season officially kicks off on Tuesday, February 1st. Although there are several strong teams on paper this year, there is not one that stands out among the crowd as the early favorite to win it all. The field is set, and the trophy is up for grabs!

January 3, 2022
Akron Reels In the Big Fish
OCALA, FL - The Akron Ryche's $14 million bid for Gerrit Cole somehow stood without any competition on Monday night, allowing Akron to walk away with the biggest free agent of the winter. Cole joins NL Cy Young Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Cal Quantrill, and Kenta Maeda in a rotation that ranks among the best in league history.

November 30, 2021
Joplin Wins!
OCALA, FL - The Joplin Miners, led by BDBL Founding Father Billy T. Baseball, are the new BDBL champions of the 2021 season! Joplin swept the Black Sox in four games, which marks the fifth World Series defeat for the Chicago franchise. This is Joplin's first World Series victory in five trips to the Show.

November 20, 2021
BDBL World Series 2021
OCALA, FL - Neither the Chicago Black Sox nor the Joplin Miners franchise has ever won a BDBL championship in five total trips to the World Series. That is about to change. Chicago is 0-for-3 in the World Series, losing in 2000, 2004, and 2015. The Joplin franchise was swept in both the 2006 and 2018 World Series. One of these two teams is about to break their losing streak and become the 12th franchise in 23 seasons to win the BDBL championship.

November 10, 2021
LCS Matchups Set
OCALA, FL - The top-seeded Great Lakes Sphinx will face off against the Chicago Black Sox in the ELCS in a matchup between the league's only two 100-win teams. In the EL, the Las Vegas Flamingos will face the Joplin Miners. During the regular season, Great Lakes went 9-3 against Chicago, while Vegas and Joplin split their season series. If Great Lakes or Vegas wins their series, it will be the first BDBL World Series appearance for either franchise.

November 1, 2021
Let the Playoffs Begin!
OCALA, FL - The 2021 regular season has officially come to an end. The Great Lake Sphinx have earned the #1 seed in the playoffs. They will be facing the Highland Freedom in the ELDS, while the Chicago Black Sox will face off against the Buckingham Sovereigns. In the OLDS, the top-seeded Las Vegas Flamingos will face the Bear Country Jamboree, and the Allentown Ridgebacks will play the Joplin Miners.

September 15, 2021
Don't Worry; It's Almost Over
OCALA, FL - Five chapters down, one to go. Three races remain: the McGowan Division (where Joplin owns a two-game lead over Salem), the OL wildcard (where Los Altos leads Bear Country by one game), and the EL wildcard (where Buckingham owns a one-game lead over Cleveland.) But wait! What's this? Has Jeff Paulson, leader of the OL wildcard, thrown in the towel? With only 28 games left?!

July 31, 2021
Races Heating Up
OCALA, FL - McGowan Divisin rivals Joplin and Salem both added big impact players at the
Chapter Four trading deadline. Joplin added Cody Bellinger and Corey Knebel, while the Cowtippers added Jose Altuve to the lineup. Joplin currently leads the division by four games. The Highland Freedom moved into a tie with the Carolina Saints atop the Wilkie Division. The Griffin Division (where Allentown holds a four-game lead) and both wildcard races remain tight as we head into Chapter Five.

June 15, 2021
Gimme a Break
OCALA, FL - Yet another wild and wacky chapter came to an end, and the 2021 season heads into the all-star break. The Cleveland Rocks came out of nowhere to post the league's best record at 18-6. The Eck League once again topped the Ozzies in interleague play. Several big names (Patrick Corbin, Mike Clevinger, Asdrubal Cabrera, Daniel Murphy, Khris Davis) traded uniforms. Three division races are led by a margin of four or fewer games. What on earth does the second half have in store for the BDBL?

April 30, 2021
Topsy-Turvy Chapter Two Ends
OCALA, FL - The wildest and craziest chapter in recent league history has come to
an end, thankfully. Great Lakes (22-6) added to their league-best record. Joplin (18-10) and Niagara (18-10) practically reversed their Chapter One performances, with the schizophrenic Miners taking over first place in the McGowan Division. A flurry of trades, many involving major impact players, will shake up the pennant races the rest of the way.

March 15, 2021
Chicago Throws Out the Towel
OCALA, FL - John Gill did practically everything he could to make 2021 a rebuilding
year, but his Chicago Black Sox have refused to go along with that plan. Chicago finished Chapter One with the best record (21-7) in the BDBL, and own the
largest lead (7 games) of any division leader. Salem (18-10), Carolina (18-10), Las Vegas (17-11), and Great Lakes (17-11) also had a successful chapter.
Allentown, currently one game behind Los Altos in the Griffin Division, made the biggest move of the chapter, adding Chris Sale and Matt Carpenter.

February 1, 2021
Opening Day, 2021!
OCALA, FL - The most unique and challenging season in BDBL history has arrived! For the first time in league history, the stats we use will not be the actual MLB stats from the previous season. This will have a major effect on our game play this season, both positive and negative. Without question, 2021 will be our most challenging season to date, and perhaps our most competitive. Play ball!

January 3, 2021
Darien Catches the Big One
OCALA, FL - Darien Blue Wave GM Lee Scholtz busted open the piggy bank and shattered the BDBL record for salary, signing free agent Mike Trout to a whopping $26.5 million salary with a guaranteed three-year contract of $79.5 million. The previous record was set back in 2009, when C.C. Sabathia was signed at a salary of $22 million by the Los Altos Undertakers

January 2, 2021
Draft Day, 2021!
OCALA, FL - The Myrtle Beach Hitmen officially kicked off the 2021 draft season by selecting 17-year-old prep outfielder Elijah Green with the first pick of the farm draft. The Hitmen loved the draft pool so much this year, they traded for the second pick as well, using that slot to select high school senior Jordan Lawlar. Day One of the auction has already resulted in a record-tying bid of $22 million for Mike Trout.

December 20, 2020
Hot Stove on Fire!
OCALA, FL - A lot of big names traded places this winter during the BDBL's Hot Stove Season. Chicago and Los Altos traded young superstars, with Fernando Tatis, Jr. heading to Chicago and Shane Bieber and Eloy Jimenez joining Los Altos. South Loop added Freddie Freeman, Tim Anderson, and Madison Bumgarner. Joplin welcomed Josh Donaldson and Luis Severino. Allentown snagged Matt Olson and an entire bullpen. Cleveland landed Zack Greinke and Ketel Marte. And the newly-named Highland Freedom added Manny Machado.

December 3, 2020
The BDBL Has Been Slymed!
OCALA, FL - Bob Sylvester and the Southern Cal Slyme are our new BDBL Champions of the World! The Slyme defeated the tough-as-nails Akron Ryche in six games in the BDBL World Series, winning the last two games after splitting the first four. This is Sylvester's second BDBL championship, which comes seven years after his first. He is only the fourth person in league history to win more than one title.

November 30, 2020
For All the Marbles
OCALA, FL - Founding fathers of the BDBL, Bob Sylvester and D.J. Shepard, will face off against each other in the 2020 BDBL World Series. This is the fourth World Series appearance for Sylvester's SoCal Slyme, which includes one championship win in 2013. For Shepard's Ryche, this is their first appearance in The Show.

November 20, 2020
Upset!
OCALA, FL - The Akron Ryche shocked the BDBL universe by sweeping the top-ranked Los Altos Undertakers in the OL Championship Series, winning Game Four on a walk-off homer by series MVP Ronald Acuna. For the first time in 22 seasons, D.J. Shepard and the Akron Ryche are heading to the BDBL World Series.

November 15, 2020
LCS Match-ups Set
OCALA, FL - The Los Altos Undertakers easily defeated the division-rival Bear Country Jamboree in the OLDS, setting up a OLCS match-up against the Akron Ryche, who easily defeated Salem. The Kansas Law Dogs' defeat of the Chicago Black Sox was anything but easy. Kansas needed 12 innings in the seventh and final game to advance to an ELCS face-off against the SoCal Slyme.

October 29, 2020
All Over But the Crying
OCALA, FL - The Bear Country Jamboree defeated the Ravenswood Infidels in a one-game showdown to determine the OL wildcard winner. They now advance to the OLDS against the Los Altos Undertakers. The Salem Cowtippers will face Akron in the other OL Division Series for the second year in a row. In the EL, Cleveland won the wildcard on the final day of the season to advance to an ELDS matchup against the Southern Cal Slyme. Chicago will face Kansas in the other Division Series.

October 20, 2020
All Tied Up!
OCALA, FL - Bear Country's winter investment, Hyun-Jin Ryu, paid major dividends when he pitched his team to a win over Akron, which secured a tie for the OL wildcard. Bear Country will now play a winner-take-all game against the Ravenswood Infidels, with the winner to play the top-seeded Los Altos Undertakers in the OLDS. Salem will face Akron in the other OLDS series.

September 15, 2020
One to Go
OCALA, FL - As we head into the final chapter, only two playoff races remain in doubt. In the Benes Division, the Akron Ryche hold a slim one-game lead over the Ravenswood Infidels. And in the OL wildcard battle, the Bear Country Jamboree hold a four-game lead over Ravenswood. Five teams managed to win 20+ games in Chapter Five: Salem (21), Southern Cal (21), Bear Country (21), Kansas (20), and Chicago (20).

July 30, 2020
Surging and Stumbling
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four was a defining chapter for several BDBL teams and multiple playoff races. The Chicago Black Sox stumbled to a 11-13 chapter, yet maintained a three-game lead over the suddenly surging Cleveland Rocks in the Hrbek Division. The Akron Ryche finished with an OL-best 16-8 record to pull into a tie with the Ravenswood Infidels atop the Benes Division. First place teams Southern Cal (17-7) and Kansas (16-8) built on their leads, while the Salem Cowtippers (12-12) have seemingly ground to a halt.

June 15, 2020
Halfway Home
SALEM, NH - The strangest midseason draft in league history wrapped up on Tuesday. Prep star Zac Veen was the #1 pick by the Myrtle Beach Hitmen. The Ravenswood Infidels and Los Altos Undertakers shared the best record of Chapter Three at 16-8. Ravenswood barely staved off Akron, who went 15-9. For the first time since 2017, the Eck League bested the Ozzie League in interleague play, 100-92.

April 30, 2020
Two Down
SALEM, NH - Chapter Two is a wrap. The Chicago Black Sox (19-9) led the way, pushing ahead of the Cleveland Rocks to claim sole possession of first place in the Hrbek Division. Salem, Kansas, and the surprising South Carolina Sea Cats all went 18-10 on the chapter. The Iron Spider Pigs (8-20) and Myrtle Beach Hitmen (6-22) pulled up the rear.

March 15, 2020
One in the Books
SALEM, NH - The 2020 season is officially 17.5 percent complete. To the surprise of no one, the Los Altos Undertakers ended the first chapter with the best record (21-7) in the BDBL. The Salem Cowtippers (20-8), Bear Country Jamboree (20-8), and Great Lakes Sphinx (19-9) also enjoyed a stellar start to the season.

January 15, 2020
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!
SALEM, NH - The newly-enhanced BDBL free agent auction process has officially ended. A total of $295.5 million was spent on the 50 free agents in the auction, the most since 2014, and second-highest total in the past ten years. Bear Country was a big winner, signing five players, including Hyun-Jin Ryu, J.D. Martinez, and Paul Goldschmidt. The Great Lakes Sphinx added Christian Yelich (at $18M) and Mike Minor ($9.5M) among others. Kansas added Jacob deGrom ($17.5M) and Salem added Max Scherzer ($15.5M).

December 18, 2019
The Return of the Emperor
SALEM, NH - Five-time BDBL champion Tom DiStefano officially returned to the BDBL on December 18th, taking over the franchise formally known as the Flagstaff Outlaws. It was the third change in ownership for the franchise since Greg Newgard stepped down at the end of the 2019 season. DiStefano won four league titles as the owner of the Allentown Ridgebacks from 2001-2013. He then teamed up with Gene Patterson to win title #5 in 2014 before finally stepping down after the 2015 season.

November 14, 2019
They Did It!
SALEM, NH - Game Seven. Two outs. Two strikes. Bottom of the 10th inning. Down by three runs. Bases loaded. In this impossible-to-believe scenario, Enrique "Kike" Hernandez hit a walk-off grand slam home run to give the Salem Cowtippers their first BDBL championship in six tries. Yes, that actually happened.

November 12, 2019
World Series, 2019: Salem vs. Charlotte
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers and Charlotte Mustangs will go head-to-head for all the marbles in the 2019 BDBL World Series. The Cowtippers are 0-5 in their previous attempts to capture the elusive trophy. Tony Chamra of the Mustangs is a perfect one-for-one, as he won the championship 13 years ago at the helm of his previous franchise.

November 7, 2019
Underdogs Rule!
SALEM, NH - Out of the four Division Series played this November, three were won by the team with the lower playoffs seed. The EL wildcard Charlotte Mustangs defeated the team that won their division this season to advance to the ELCS against a Southern Cal team that defeated the heavily-favored Kansas Law Dogs. In the OL, the wildcard-winning Joplin Miners upset the Los Altos Undertakers, who were favored to win it all. Joplin will face their division rivals, Salem, in the OLCS.

November 5, 2019
Upset!
SALEM, NH - The Los Altos Undertakers, holding the #1 seed in the postseason after a 112-win season, lost in seven games to the Joplin Miners in the OLDS. Series MVP Charlie Morton tossed a pair of gems in the series, and Joplin managed to hold the BDBL's top offense to a batting line of just .179/.262/.275 with only 15 runs scored. The Joplin franchise advances to the OLCS for the sixth year in a row.

November 1, 2019
St. Louis Collapses!
SALEM, NH - The St. Louis Apostles completely choked in Chapter Six, going 9-19 on the chapter. Not only did they lose the division title to the Southern Cal Slyme, but they fell into a tie with the Great Lakes Sphinx for the second EL wildcard. This forces a one-game playoff between the two teams just to get the one-game Wildcard Game!

September 15, 2019
One to Go
SALEM, NH - Heading into the final chapter of the 2019 season, the five Ozzie League playoff spots appear to be locked up. The only remaining question is whether Los Altos or Salem will capture the coveted #1 seed. In the Eck League, six teams are still chasing four playoff spots, including two division titles and both wildcards.

July 31, 2019
Playoffs Picture Still Unclear
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers went a BDBL-best 20-4 in Chapter Four to climb into a tie with the Los Altos Undertakers for the #1 seed in the OL playoffs. The Joplin Miners own a commanding 12-game lead for the OL wildcard, and the Ravenswood Infidels and Bear Country Jamboree are within a game of each other for the second wildcard. In the EL, Kansas, St. Louis, and Chicago own comfortable division leads, and five teams are within six games of each other in the battle for the two wildcard spots.

June 15, 2019
Halfway There
SALEM, NH - The 2019 season is offically half done. The only movement in the standings this past chapter was the Apostles taking over first place from the slumping SoCal Slyme in the Wilkie Division. Great Lakes (17-7) also made strides in the EL wildcard race. Several big-name players were traded in Chapter Three, including Christian Yelich (to Charlotte), Scooter Gennett (to Akron), Travis Shaw (to Salem), Gio Gonzalez (to Joplin), and Brandon Nimmo (to Salem.)

April 30, 2019
Another Chapter In the Books
SALEM, NH - The surprising Cleveland Rocks surged to 17 wins in Chapter Two and pulled themselves to within five games of the Hrbek Division lead. The SoCal Slyme managed to hold onto their lead over the St. Louis Apostles in the Wilkie Division. Salem and Joplin (both 18-10 in Chapter Two) continue to battle it out for the McGowan title.

March 15, 2019
And We're Off!
SALEM, NH - One full chapter is officially in the books. The Los Altos Undertakers and Kansas Law Dogs both dominated the first chapter with records of 21-7. Southern Cal (20-8), Salem (19-9), Akron (19-9), and St. Louis (19-9) also enjoyed a healthy chapter. On the flip side, Niagara (6-22), Darien (8-20), Kansas City (9-19), Myrtle Beach (9-19), and Cleveland (9-19) can begin looking toward 2020.

February 1, 2019
Are You Ready For Some Baseball?
SALEM, NH - Opening Day of the 2019 season officially begins February 1st! The St. Louis Apostles look to become only the third team in history to win back-to-back championships. This winter, they added Tommy Pham, James Paxton, and Yuliesky Gurriel, among others, to help with that effort.

November 26, 2018
Apostles Win!
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles became the first team in BDBL history to sweep all three series in the postseason. Apostles GM/manager Bobby Sylvester captured his first BDBL championship (the second in his family) by sweeping the Joplin Miners in the BDBL's 20th World Series.

November 20, 2018
Joplin vs. St. Louis in BDBL World Series
SALEM, NH - The Joplin Miners fought back from a three-games-to-one deficit in the OLCS and upset the Flagstaff Outlaws, extending Jim Doyle's fairytale season into the World Series. Doyle's Miners will face the St. Louis Apostles, who swept their way through both the Division and League Championship Series, including a record-setting 26-9 rout of the Great Lakes Sphinx in Game Two of the ELCS.

November 1, 2018
Let the TOR Begin!
SALEM, NH - The 2018 Tournament of Randomness kicks off this month with the Flagstaff Outlaws sitting as the heavy favorites to win it all. Flagstaff will face South Loop in the OLDS, while Joplin takes on Kansas City. In the Eck League, Charlotte matches up against Great Lakes while the Buckingham Sovereigns take on the St. Louis Apostles.

September 15, 2018
Vegas, Joplin, Akron Make Their Moves
SALEM, NH - The Las Vegas Flamingos went 22-6 in Chapter Five, launching themselves back into the Benes Division race. They now sit two games behind South Loop. Joplin also went 22-6 on the chapter, and won their last twelve in a row to increase their McGowan Division lead to nine games. Akron's 19-9 chapter placed them into a tie with Great Lakes for the EL wild card lead.

August 28, 2018
Busy Chapter Four
SALEM, NH - There were a many trades made before the final deadline, but only one involving an impact player. Joey Votto heads to the Las Vegas Flamingoes, who trail their division by seven games. BDBL Weekend in Minnesota saw the second-largest turnout (10) in BDBLWE history. Joplin and Flagstaff (17-7) had the most productive Chapter Four in the league. Buckingham (15-9) led the EL.

June 15, 2018
Halfway Home
SALEM, NH - Flagstaff, Buckingham, Akron, and St. Louis all went 16-8 in Chapter Three. Salem pulled into a tie with Joplin atop the McGowan Division. The Ozzie League narrowly defeated the Eck League in interleague play, 97-95. Joplin added a starting pitcher, Jake Arrieta, in trade, while division rival Salem added Sonny Gray. The league said goodbye to Ryan Glander and welcomed back Mike Ries.

April 30, 2018
Division Races Tighten
SALEM, NH - The Great Lakes Sphinx (19-9) reduced the Buckingham Sovereigns (17-11) lead to just two games in the Higuera Division. In the McGowan Division, Salem (16-12) managed to gain a game on the Joplin Miners (15-13). In the Benes Division, South Loop (18-10) overtook the Las Vegas Flamingoes (10-18), and now hold a three-game lead in the division.

March 15, 2018
Flagstaff, St. Louis Dominate Chapter One
SALEM, NH - The St. Louis Apostles won a league-leading 22 games in Chapter One, and have already racked up a seven-game lead in their division. Flagstaff went 21-7, winning four more games than any other team in the Ozzie League. Buckingham won 18 games, and Las Vegas, Joplin, and Kansas City each went 17-11. Granite State (7-21) and Cleveland (8-20) were the league's only 20-game losers.

February 1, 2018
Season 20 Set to Begin
SALEM, NH - The 20th season of BDBL baseball is set to begin! Will this be the year that Jim Doyle finally makes it to the playoffs? Will his former franchise, the Myrtle Beach Hitmen, also make it to the postseason? Will Jeff Paulson finally let someone else win the BDBL championship? What whacky strategy will Bobby Sylvester employ this year? Will all of Greg Newgard's wheeling and dealing pay huge dividends in November? We'll find out soon enough!

January 2, 2018
Draft Season Underway
SALEM, NH - Switch-hitting catching prospect for the Dodgers, Keibert Ruiz, officially became the first player selected in the 2018 draft when the Granite State Lightning became the first team in history to forgo the #1 overall pick in the Farm Draft, handing that first overall selection to the Myrtle Beach Hitmen. Ruiz was followed by prep star Ethan Hankins, San Diego flamethrower Michel Baez, and yet another Milwaukee Brewers prospect (Monte Harrison) added to the mini-Brewers farm system of the Akron Ryche.

December 20, 2017
Winter Trading Season Ends
SALEM, NH - A somewhat subdued winter trading season officially came to an end Thursday night with eight trades announced just prior to the 10:00pm deadline. Among the biggest trade acquisitions of the winter were Chris Sale (to Flagstaff), Justin Verlander (to Joplin), Justin Turner (to KC), Dallas Keuchel (also to KC), and Corey Kluber (to Kansas.) Next up on the BDBL docket: Cutdown Day.

November 25, 2017
Three-Peat
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have done it again. With a sweep of the Kansas Law Dogs in the BDBL World Series, Los Altos becomes the first franchise since the Stamford Zoots to win three championships in a row. It is the fourth championship for Jeff Paulson, which ties him with Marazita and DiStefano as managers, and is one fewer trophy than DiStefano won as a GM. It is only the second time in league history that the winning team swept the World Series.

November 20, 2017
For All the Marbles
SALEM, NH - Los Altos defeated the New Milford Blazers in the OLCS (prompting Blazers owner Anthony Peburn to quit.) This gives the Undertakers a chance to become the first team since the 1999-2001 Stamford Zoots to win three BDBL championships in a row. To get there, they will have to get past the Kansas Law Dogs, who defeated the Charlotte Mustangs in a hard-fought ELCS six-game series.

November 1, 2017
Let the TOR Begin!
SALEM, NH - The 2017 regular season officially came to an end on Sunday. The New Milford Blazers became only the second team in league history to finish a season with 120 wins. Los Altos (113) and St. Louis (103) also joined the 100-win club yet again. The earlier-than-usual BDBL postseason officially kicks off on the week of the 16th. The Division Series will include matchups between New Milford and Ravenswood, Los Altos and Salem, St. Louis and Kansas, and Great Lakes and Charlotte.

September 15, 2017
Final Chapter
SALEM, NH - Only one race remains in the 2017 BDBL season. Two games separate three teams in the Eck League wild card race. The Chicago Black Sox went 19-9 in Chapter Five to creep within two games of the wild-card-leading Kansas Law Dogs. The Buckingham Sovereigns also trail by two games in that race. The Los Altos Undertakers have already won more than 100 games with a full chapter remaining, and the New Milford Blazers are one win away from winning 100+ games six years in a row.

August 1, 2017
Running Away With It
SALEM, NH - The New Milford Blazers began the second half clinging to a four game lead over the Salem Cowtippers. Twenty-four games later, their lead stands at fourteen games. Their 21-3 performance in Chapter Four tops even the Los Altos Undertakers (20-4), who won twenty or more games in a chapter for the fourth chapter in a row. Both teams are now on pace to win more than 120 games this season. In the EL, Kansas (16-8) and Chicago (14-10) each picked up ground in their division races, and now trail by one and six games, respectively.

June 15, 2017
Halfway There
SALEM, NH - There was little movement in the standings in Chapter Three, but some big trades could change that. The Great Lakes Sphinx greatly upgraded their starting rotation, adding Carlos Carrasco and Jeff Samardzija. But the biggest impact was the acquisition of Cy Young-caliber ace Jose Fernandez by the St. Louis Apostles. The Los Altos Undertakers led the way with 19 wins in Chapter Three, followed by Salem (17), New Milford (16), and St. Louis (16).

April 28, 2017
Two in the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Two featured four 20-win teams: St. Louis (23), New Milford (20), Los Altos (20), and Great Lakes (20). The Apostles and Sphinx captured first place, and the Charlotte Mustangs managed to hang on to their lead despite a 14-14 chapter. The firesale in Bear Country began, while the firesales in Chicago and Niagara have been put on pause.

March 15, 2017
One Done
SALEM, NH - Chapter One of the 2017 season officially ended on Wednesday. The New Milford Blazers (22-6), Salem Cowtippers (20-8), and Los Altos Undertakers (20-8) led the way in the first chapter, and the Granite State Lightning (8-20) and Western Kansas Buffaloes (8-20) took up the rear. The biggest surprises of the chapter were the first-place standings of the Niagara Locks and Charlotte Mustangs, both of whom went 17-11.

January 30, 2017
Splitsville
NEW MILFORD, CT - After a one-year hiatus, the Salem Cowtippers and New Milford Blazers resumed their long-standing BDBL tradition by playing the first series of the season. Salem's bullpen blew a lead in the first game, and New Milford's Masahiro Tanaka shut down the Salem offense in Game Two, giving New Milford a 2-0 start to the season. The Cowtippers then rallied and won the final two games to earn the split. It is the first time since 2012 that the Blazers did not win the Opening Day Series.

December 30, 2016
And the First Draft Pick of 2017 Is...
SALEM, NH - ...some 16-year-old punk named Kumar. With the #1 selection in the 2017 farm draft, the Southern Cal Slyme selected 16-year-old high school junior Kumar Rocker. This is the third time in league history that Southern Cal has owned the #1 overall farm pick, but the first time since 2004. SoCal selected Jose Contreras in 2003 and Maels Rodriguez in 2004. Rocker is the third youngest player to be selected with the #1 overall pick, trailing Bryce Harper (2004) and Lazaro Armenteros (2016).

December 20, 2016
Winter Trading Season Comes to an End
SALEM, NH - Winter is coming. But the BDBL Winter Trading Season officially came to an end on Tuesday night. A whopping 63 trades were made this winter, including big names such as Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Jose Altuve, Miguel Sano, Giancarlo Stanton, Zack Greinke, Jake Arrieta, Andrew McCutchen, Justin Verlander, Jean Segura, Jose Bautista, Matt Harvey, Justin Upton, and Buster Posey.

November 27, 2016
Back to Back
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers defeated the St. Louis Apostles in six games in the BDBL World Series, giving them their second BDBL championship in a row. They are the first franchise to win back-to-back championships since the 2001 Stamford Zoots. The Undertakers now look to equal that team's feat of winning three in a row. Los Altos wrapped up the 2017 season with an astounding 140 wins.

November 22, 2016
David vs. Goliath
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles have done it again. The team that won just 82 games during the regular season defeated their highly-favored, 100+ wins opponent yet again in the postseason. This time, the Apostles SWEPT the highly-favored Great Lakes Sphinx to give Bobby Sylvester his second BDBL World Series appearance in his career. To win the championship, all the Apostles have to do is defeat the greatest, most dominant team in BDBL history.

November 15, 2016
ELCS: GLS vs. STL
ST. LOUIS, MO - The Great Lakes Sphinx defeated the Chicago Black Sox in six games in the ELDS, which advances them to the ELCS for the second time in franchise history. They will face the St. Louis Apostles, who pulled off a major upset of the Kansas Law Dogs in the ELDS, defeating the highly-favored, 115-win team in seven games.

November 8, 2016
OLCS Matchup Set
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - To the surprise of no one, both the Los Altos Undertakers and New Milford Blazers barely broke a sweat in the OL Division Series, and will advance to the Championship Series for an epic, instant-classic, battle. The Undertakers easily dispensed with the Ravenswood Undertakers in five games, while the Blazers swept the Flagstaff Outlaws in the Division Series. This is the second year in a row these two teams will face each other in the OLCS, and the third time in the past six seasons.

October 30, 2016
Flagstaff Wins Wild Card
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - The Flagstaff Outlaws bested the Bear Country Jamboree by a score of 9-7 in a hard-fought one-game battle to decide the winner of the OL wild card. Gerardo Parra (3-for-3, 4 RBI's) and Ben Paulsen (4-for-4, 2 RBI's) did most of the damage against Matt Harvey and the Jamboree bullpen. Flagstaff used a total of eight pitchers to hold off the Bear Country attack, which ended with the tying run on first base. Flagstaff will now face the New Milford Blazers in the OLDS.

October 13, 2016
Kershaw Makes History
NEW MILFORD, CT - The pitcher formerly known as Asswipe made BDBL history on Wednesday by tossing the league's first-ever perfect game. The Blazers' ace was previously involved in two no-hitters, but was pulled in the fifth and sixth innings of those games. This time, he was allowed to finish what he started. Facing the Kansas City Boulevards, Kershaw whiffed eleven batters and needed to throw only 104 pitches. In the process, he won his 21st game -- his fifth season in a row with 20+ wins.

October 12, 2016
Record-Breaking Season for NMB, LAU
SALEM, NH - The New Milford Blazers set a new record by clinching their division for the sixth year in a row. New Milford has now won the division in seven out of the past eight seasons. The Los Altos Undertakers extended their BDBL record as well, winning their twelfth division title in eighteen seasons.

September 15, 2016
Five Down, One to Go
SALEM, NH - The Los Altos Undertakers continued to make a laughingstock of the BDBL in Chapter Five, going 22-6 on the chapter and blazing past 100 wins on the season with an entire chapter left to play. Kansas (21-7), Buckingham (20-8), and St. Louis (20-8) also had wildly successful chapters. The Chicago Black Sox snuck past the Cleveland Rocks in the Hrbek Division, and the Flagstaff Outlaws eked past the Bear Country Jamboree in the OL wild card race.

July 30, 2016
Chapter Four in the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four of the 2016 season officially ended on Thursday. To no one's surprise, the Los Altos Undertakers finished with the best record (20-4) in the league. They are now playing nearly .800 baseball, and are on pace to win 128 games this season. The Chicago Black Sox went 19-5 on the chapter, and have cut Cleveland's division lead down to one game. The Kansas Law Dogs also went 20-4, and hold a three game lead over the Great Lakes Sphinx in their division.

June 15, 2016
Hail to the Ozzie
SALEM, NH - The 2016 season is officially half over. To the surprise of no one, the Los Altos Undertakers head into the all-star break with the best record in the league, with the New Milford Blazers trailing closely behind. In the Eck, the surprising Great Lakes Sphinx own that distinction. The Undertakers (19-5), Sphinx (19-5), Blazers (18-6), and Flagstaff Outlaws (19-5) enjoyed an outstanding chapter, and for the first time in six years, the Ozzie League defeated the Eck League in interleague play.

June 1, 2016
Jamboree Adds a Pair of Aces
BEAR COUNTRY - The Bear Country Jamboree added both David Price and Garrett Richards to their rotation through a trade with the Niagara Locks. The Jamboree currently lead the OL wild card race by three games over the Flagstaff Outlaws. The Outlaws have been equally busy at the trading table this chapter, adding both Alex Rodriguez and Justin Grimm.

April 26, 2016
Bryant, Sano Swap Teams
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers and Chicago Black Sox continued their tradition of making bold trades when the two clubs swapped franchise players Kris Bryant and Miguel Sano just minutes before the Chapter Three trading deadline. Along with Bryant, Chicago acquired closer Ryan Madson. Salem also added top prospect Andrew Benintendi along with several other players, including Alex Rodriguez.

March 15, 2016
Break Up the Sphinx!
SALEM, NH - The Great Lakes Sphinx shockingly emerged with the best record in the Eck League after the end of the first chapter of the 2016 season. The Kansas Law Dogs, who are heavily favored to win the division, trail the Sphinx by two. In the Ozzie League, to the surprise of no one, the Los Altos Undertakers (21-7) and New Milford Blazers (20-8) own the best records in the league.

February 20, 2016
BDBL HOF Expands by Two
SALEM, NH - Jim Thome and Chipper Jones have officially become the newest members of the BDBL Hall of Fame, joining an elite group of eight. Thome, who compiled a .980 OPS in his fifteen year career, captured ninety percent of the votes. Jones, who batted .288/.390/.503 during his stellar fifteen year career, was enshrined with 85 percent of the vote. Salem legend Lance Berkman fell just two votes short.

January 3, 2016
Giants Sign Votto
SALEM, NH - Joey Votto, the #1-seeded free agent in the 2016 auction class, was signed to a $12.5 million salary, with a three year, $37.5 million commitment, by the New York Giants. It is a record-high salary for a BDBL first baseman. New York also signed Adam Lind, another first baseman, to a $5.5 million "Type H" salary. With that, the Giants now have just $6.6 million remaining to spend on 18 roster spots.

January 1, 2016
Farm Draft Kicks Off
SALEM, NH - Cuban phenom Lazaro Armenteros became the first overall pick of the 2016 season when he was selected by the Mississippi Meatballs. To the surprise of no one, he will be traded to the St. Louis Apostles prior to Opening Day. The Apostles have now traded for the #1 overall pick in five of the last nine farm drafts.

November 28, 2015
Winter Trading Season Begins
SALEM, NH - It was a relatively calm winter trading season in the BDBL. A total of 48 trades were made, which pales in comparison's to last winter's 73 trades. Among the biggest names switching uniforms were Max Scherzer, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Donaldson, Cole Hamels, and Carlos Carrasco. Next up on the BDBL calendar is Cutdown Day, which is scheduled for December 27th. The free agent auction begins just five days later, on New Years Day.

November 27, 2015
Los Altos for the Win!
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers became the 2015 BDBL champions by clinching a hard-fought World Series win over the Chicago Black Sox on Saturday night. The series ended with back-to-back extra innings games - only the second time in league history a World Series has included two extra innings games. This is the second BDBL championship for Jeff Paulson.

November 20, 2015
For the Trophy
SALEM, NH - The World Series matchup has been set, following a Monday evening packed with excitement in both the OL and EL Championship Series. In the OL, the Los Altos Undertakers overcame a Game One defeat by winning the next four games in a row in relatively easy fashion. Over in the EL, the Chicago Black Sox continued their hot streak by taking the ELCS in six games over the Cleveland Rocks. Los Altos now look to capture their second BDBL trophy, while the underdog Black Sox hope to win their first.

November 7, 2015
History Repeats in Southern Cal
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - Another SoCal Upset
The top-ranked team in the Eck League has been upset in the Division Series once again. The SoCal Slyme went down in defeat at the hands of the Chicago Black Sox in just five games. SoCal managed just one win, in a 17-inning marathon, and were limited to just ten runs in the series. Chicago pitching held the powerful Slyme to a .217/.251/.313 batting line. Chicago will now face the Cleveland Rocks in the ELCS.

November 1, 2015
Let the Tournament of Randomness Begin
SALEM, NH - The seventeenth annual BDBL Tournament of Randomness is scheduled to begin on Sunday. In the Eck League, the SoCal Slyme will have a chance for redemption against the Chicago Black Sox, while the Cleveland Rocks look to win their first playoff game ever in a battle with Kansas. In the OL, division rivals New Milford and Salem go at it once again, and the Los Altos Undertakers will spar with the Las Vegas Flamingos.

October 20, 2015
Vegas, Baby!
LAS VEGAS, NV - The Las Vegas Flamingos officially captured the Benes Division title on Tuesday night with a sweep against the Bear Country Jamboree. It is the third division title for Vegas GM John Bochicchio. The Flamingos will face off against the Los Altos Undertakers, who are now four games away from tying the all-time record for wins, with eight games remaining. Also this week, the Kansas Law Dogs and Southern Cal Slyme officially clinched their divisions, while the Chicago Black Sox edged to within one game of the EL wild card.

September 15, 2015
Down to the Wire
SALEM, NH - With one chapter remaining, only two close races remain. In the Benes Division, the final spot in the OL playoffs is down to two teams separated by just one game. The Las Vegas Flamingos went 17-11 last chapter and finished on top of the New York Giants. In the Eck League, the wild card spot is now a two team battle between the Charlotte Mustangs and Chicago Black Sox. The 'Stangs currently lead that race by four games.

July 30, 2015
Four Down, Two to Go
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four is officially in the books. As always, there were a flurry of trades made before the final trading deadline of the season. The Niagara Locks added slugger Lucas Duda, the Giants acquired Zach Wheeler, and their division rivals, the Vegas Flamingos, added Ryan Braun, Jhonny Peralta, and two relievers. The top three teams in the Benes Division are separated by just one game.

June 15, 2015
Halftime in the BDBL
SALEM, NH - The 2015 season has reached its halfway point, and to no one's surprise, the Los Altos Undertakers and Southern Cal Slyme own the best records in their leagues. The Undertakers went a BDBL-best 16-8 in Chapter Three to up their record to a BDBL-best 54-26 (.675). The Slyme went 15-9 last chapter, and own a 51-29 (.637) record. Making the situation even more dire for the Undertakers' opponents, they added Chapter Three Hitter of the Chapter Michael Brantley to their lineup in a deal with the Granite State Lightning.

May 30, 2015
Niagara Rotation Gets a Facelift
NIAGARA - Mike Ranney has completely transformed his starting rotation with the acquisitions of dual aces Johnny Cueto and Garrett Richards. They join a rotation that includes David Price, Chris Tillman, and Jorge de la Rosa. Ranney's Niagara Locks went 12-12 in Chapter Three, and are now three games behind in the EL wild card race.

May 29, 2015
Chicago Hope
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox may have had a disappointing season, and they may be eight games below .500, and thirteen games out of the division race, but they have not given up yet. On Friday, the Sox added Miguel Cabrera in a deal with the Bear Country Jamboree, in the hope that he can turn his season around and carry the team back into the race in the second half of the season.

May 13, 2015
New Milford Gives Away the Entire Farm!
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers made a bold and risky move on Wednesday, trading away their entire farm system, including two of the top 120 prospects in the entire world, in exchange for three players with a combined age of 100 years old! Meanwhile, the beneficiaries of this lopsided deal, the Akron Ryche, are now set up nicely for 2016 and well beyond, and will likely win numerous BDBL championships over the next decade thanks to this core of talented young prospects.

April 25, 2015
Dogs Dominate
KANSAS - Chapter One came to an official end on Monday night, and the Kansas Law Dogs emerged as the top performer of the chapter, finishing with an impressive 23-5 record. Despite a record of just 10-18 in Chapter One, they now hold a four game lead over the Wyoming Ridgebacks in the Higuera Division.

April 15, 2015
Sphinx Riddled
GREAT LAKES - The impressive and inexplicable streak of success appears to have run its course after seven chapters. After a four game sweep at the hands of the division rival Kansas Law Dogs, the Great Lakes Sphinx have fallen to 7-17 on the chapter, and have dropped from first to last place in the Higuera Division. Great Lakes has hit .227/.290/.366 as a team this chapter, and their vaunted pitching staff has posted an ERA of 4.77.

March 13, 2015
Fee Fi Fo Fumble
NEW YORK - The New York Giants took a tumble down the beanstalk when they lost three of four to the Ravenswood Infidels this week. That series loss places the Giants two games behind the Infidels in the division race. They wrapped up Chapter Two with a 14-14 record. At 9-7 so far this chapter, Ravenswood still has a dozen games remaining before the chapter ends.

March 13, 2015
Who Are These Guys?
GREAT LAKES - Don't look now, but the Great Lakes Sphinx are doing it again. The surprise team of 2014 has continued their surprising success into the first chapter of the 2015 season. After 28 games of play, the Sphinx lead the Higuera Division with a 17-11 record, three games ahead of the Wyoming Ridgebacks and Big River Beavers. Chapter One came to a close on Wednesday night, with the Southern Cal Slyme (21-7) and Los Altos Undertakers (20-8) enjoying the most successful chapter, to the surprise of no one.

March 10, 2015
Slyme Off to a Fast Start
SOUTHERN CAL - The Southern Cal Slyme wrapped up their first chapter with an impressive 21-7 record. They are hitting .281/.344/.421 as a team, and own a team ERA of just 2.17. So far, they have outscored their opponents by 63 runs, second to only the ridonkulus Los Altos Undertakers.

February 9, 2015
GIANTS UPGRADE
BEDFORD, NH - In a deal with the Kansas City Boulevards, the first place New York Giants have upgraded at closer and catcher at the expense of two top-25 prospects. Craig Kimbrel takes over as closer for the departed Junichi Tazawa, and Derek Norris becomes the new catcher, replacing Travis D'Arnaud, who was also included in the deal. The Giants currently lead the Benes Division with a 13-15 record.

January 30, 2015
Blazers Wins Opening Day Series
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers took three of four in their traditional Opening Day Series against the rival Salem Cowtippers. New Milford began the series with back-to-back wins in extra innings. After getting shut out in the third game, Kyle Lohse held the powerful Salem offense in check to earn the series win.

January 3, 2015
Tulo Signs With New Milford
NEW MILFORD, CT - Russell Martin was the #1-ranked free agent on the market this winter, but it is Troy Tulowitzki who has (so far) earned the biggest paycheck. The all-star shortstop, whose MLB season was cut short by injury, was signed to a $13 million salary by the Blazers on the second day of the auction. Six days into the ten day auction, Tulo is one of nine players to be signed to a "Type H", guaranteed three-year-minimum contract.

November 28, 2014
2015 Starts With a Bang
SALEM, NH - The 2015 season began with a whirlwind of trades that completely changed the faces of several teams. Among the many names traded during the winter trading period were Yasiel Puig, Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright, Michael Brantley, Johnny Cueto, Buster Posey, Freddie Freeman, Chris Sale, Jose Abreu and Robinson Cano. The league now takes a rest before the auction begins.

November 27, 2014
Trophy Number Six
WYOMING - 0" height="260"> Trophy Number Six
The Wyoming Ridgebacks Superfriends team of GM Tom Distefano and manager Gene Patterson have won the 2014 BDBL championship. It is the fifth trophy for DiStefano, which breaks Paul Marazita's BDBL record, and is the second trophy for Patterson. The Ridgebacks took the series in five relatively easy games, with the Flagstaff Outlaws winning only Game Two. Koji Uehara saved all three of the final three games to earn the series MVP.

November 21, 2014
Outlaws Sweep the Meatballs
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - After twelve years and four attempts, Greg Newgard is heading to the BDBL World Series at last. Newgard's Flagstaff Outlaws made short work of the Mississippi Meatballs in the franchise's first OLCS appearance. The Outlaws swept the Meatballs, outscoring them by a total of 19-7. Flagstaff will now face the Wyoming Ridgebacks in the BDBL World Series.

November 20, 2014
Superfriends Return to World Series
WYOMING - The Superfriends team of Tom DiStefano and Gene Patterson are returning to the BDBL World Series for the seventh time in the past thirteen seasons. The Ridgebacks defeated the Chicago Black Sox in the ELCS in six games, thanks to their pitching and defense, which held Chicago to just 15 runs in the series. The bullpen combo of Grant Balfour, Randy Choate, Mike Dunn, Darren O'Day and Koji Uehara didn't allow a single run in the series in 13 innings combined. Wyoming now awaits the outcome of the Flagstaff/Mississippi series.

November 12, 2014
Blazers Eliminated
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers played .800 ball at home this season for the second year in a row. And for the second year in a row, that homefield advantage meant nothing in the post-season, as the Blazers were eliminated by the Mississippi Meatballs in the OLDS in seven games. New Milford lost two of the four home games in the series, including a Game Seven shutout in which series MVP Chris Sale and four relievers held the Blazers to just five hits. The Meatballs will face the Flagstaff Outlaws in the OLCS.

November 8, 2014
Flagstaff Wins!
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - For the first time in franchise history, the Flagstaff Outlaws have won a post-season series. Down three games to one in the OL Division Series, the Outlaws managed to win all three of their final games, including a 16-inning nail-biter in Game Five. That game was won on a pinch hit single by pitcher Tyson Ross, who also won two games in the series on the mound, and shared co-MVP honors with Salem's Max Scherzer.

November 6, 2014
Chicago Pulls Off an Upset!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The Chicago Black Sox delivered a stunning upset of the 106-game-winning Southern Cal Slyme in the ELDS. Chicago's pitching held the powerful SoCal lineup to just 24 runs in six games. Series MVP Bryce Harper clubbed four home runs in the first three games, and the Black Sox rallied for three runs in the eighth inning of Game Six to walk away with the improbable win. Chicago will now face the Wyoming Ridgebacks in the ELCS.

November 5, 2014
Wyoming Wins
WYOMING - The Wyoming Ridgebacks Superfriends team defeated the underdog Great Lakes Sphinx in the Division Series in four games. Likely EL Cy Young winner Anibal Sanchez racked up two wins in the series, and likely EL MVP Mike Trout hit .389/.542/1.056 with two homers, five runs scored and four RBI's. Wyoming will now face the Chicago Black Sox in the ELCS. It is the sixth trip to the ELCS for this franchise.

October 29, 2014
One Game Showdown
RAVENSWOOD, IL - Ravenswood's Chris Davis launched a pair of home runs in the final game of the season, forcing a one-game playoff with the Mississippi Meatballs for the Benes Division title. The Infidels and Meatballs finished the season with identical 84-76 records. They will play on Tuesday night to decide which team will face the New Milford Blazers in the Division Series. It is the first one-game playoff in BDBL history since 2000.

October 18, 2014
Clinchers!
SALEM, NH - This past week, several teams clinched a spot in the post-season. The Salem Cowtippers wrapped up their third straight OL wild card, the Chicago Black Sox clinched their fifth Hrbek Division title, the Wyoming Ridgebacks took their third straight Hrbek Division title, the Great Lakes Sphinx officially captured their second wild card win, the Flagstaff Outlaws finally won their first division title, and the New Milford Blazers offically won their fourth straight division title.

September 25, 2014
SoCal First to Clinch
SOUTHERN CAL - The defending champion Southern California Slyme are the first team in 2014 to capture a spot in the playoffs. This past week, the Slyme officially clinched their seventh Person Division title, which was inevitable from Opening Day. They will more than likely face the Chicago Black Sox in the Division Series next month.

September 15, 2014
One to Go
SALEM, NH - Only one chapter remains in the 2014 season, and there are still two playoff spots up for grabs. In the Benes Division, the Ravenswood Infidels capitalized on a 15-13 chapter to overtake the Mississippi Meatballs and capture sole possession of first place. They now lead by one game. The Bear Country Jamboree went a remarkable 21-7 in Chapter Five, yet failed to gain ground in the division. They did, however, pick up several games in the OL wild card race, and trail Salem by two games.

August 15, 2014
Outlaws Create Some Space
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - The Flagstaff Outlaws have put some distance between themselves and the second place Bear Country Jamboree in the Griffin Division race, winning 16 of their first 20 games this chapter. They now hold a seven game lead in the division. Despite a 10-2 record this chapter, the Jamboree have lost ground in the division, but are now just four games behind in the OL wild card race.

July 30, 2014
Four in the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four officially came to a close on Monday night, and the final trading deadline of the season passed with barely a whimper. As the league heads back into head-to-head divisional play, only two likely pennant races remain. In the Benes Division, the Mississippi Meatballs lead the Ravenswood Infidels by a game. In the Griffin Division, Flagstaff enjoys a comfortable five game lead over Bear Country.

June 25, 2014
Sphinx Still On Top
GREAT LAKES - This is definitely no fluke. After more than half a season, the Great Lakes Sphinx still remain in first place in the Higuera Division. Thanks to a 10-2 start in Chapter Four, their lead over the Wyoming Ridgebacks now sits at two games. Great Lakes leads the entire BDBL with a team ERA of 3.04 and an opponent's OPS of just .633.

June 15, 2014
Halfway Home
SALEM, NH - The first half of the 2014 season officially came to a close on Thursday night. The big winners in Chapter Three were the Bear Country Jamboree (17-7), New Milford Blazers (16-8), Ravenswood Infidels (15-9), Flagstaff Outlaws (15-9), SoCal Slyme (15-9), St. Louis Apostles (15-9) and Cleveland Rocks (15-9). And for the sixth year in a row, and ninth time in the last ten years, the Eck League trounced the Ozzie League in interleague play by a tally of 104-88.

June 10, 2014
Cowtippers Add Votto
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers made a move today to bolster an offense that was shut out six times in Chapter Three. In a deal with the division rival Corona Confederates, Salem sent Mark Teixeira, Michael Conforto and Justin Smoak to Corona in exchange for Joey Votto. The Cowtippers finished Chapter Three with a 12-12 record, and now trail the New Milford Blazers in the Butler Division by four games.

June 3, 2014
The Best Get Better
SOUTHERN CAL - The Southern Cal Slyme are not only the defending champions of the BDBL, but they also currently own the best record in the BDBL at 45-23 (.662). Today, the best got even better when they added all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to a lineup that already leads the Eck League in runs scored. In exchange, the Slyme sacrificed pitching prospect Kevin Gausman, who becomes the latest prospect in the stockpile of prospects on the St. Louis Apostles roster.

May 3, 2014
Ravenswood On the Rise
RAVENSWOOD, IL - The Ravenswood Infidels have leapfrogged the Mississippi Meatballs, and have captured sole possession of first place in the Benes Division. Ravenswood is 14-6 on the chapter, while Mississippi is 4-4 after only eight games. The Infidels have smacked around the Eck League in interleague play, winning ten of twelve.

April 18, 2014
Chicago Steps It Up
CHICAGO, IL - Traditionally, the Chicago Black Sox have been slow starters, and this season was no exception. After one chapter, the 'Sox were two games below .500 and trailed the first-place Akron Ryche by three games. But it seems they have righted the ship in Chapter Two, as they finished with a 20-8 record, and now sit four games ahead in the Hrbek Division.

April 2, 2014
Flagstaff Flies into First
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - After one chapter of play, the Flagstaff Outlaws, Bear Country Jamboree and Los Altos Undertakers were all tied atop the Griffin Division. So far this chapter, it appears as though the Outlaws are breaking away from the pack. They took three of four from the Jamboree, and then took three of four from the New Milford Blazers, and now hold a two game lead in the division. This, despite the fact that their best hitter, Paul Goldschmidt, is still in a massive slump, and is hitting just .222/.311/.354 on the season.

March 3, 2014
Three-Way Tie
BEAR COUNTRY, USA - The Bear Country Jamboree dropped three of four to the Salem Cowtippers this week, temporarily resulting in a three-way tie at the top of the Benes Division. In the second game of the series, Salem slugger Yadier Molina hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning. Salem then had two outs and nobody on base in the top of the 13th inning, and scored a run on three straight walks (including Salem's pitcher) and an error through the legs of second baseman Jeff Bianchi. Bear Country (20-20), Los Altos (14-14) and Flagstaff (14-14) all own .500 records at this point.

February 27, 2014
BDBL Weekend, Arizona
SALEM, NH - The 15th annual BDBL Weekend festivities were held in Arizona this past weekend. Eight league members, and two non-members, soaked in the sun and watched three spring training games. A second BDBL Weekend is tentatively scheduled for Toronto in July. Full story.

February 22, 2014
Quinn Rides Off into Sunset
SALEM, NH - Michael Quinn announced his resignation from the league, abandoning the Cuenca Strangegloves franchise he took over in October of 2012. Quinn departs with a career record of 57-103. When the next owner is announced, it will be the fifth owner for this beleaguered franchise since the start of 2012.

February 15, 2014
Another Shameful Start
BEDFORD, NY - After fourteen straight sub-.500 seasons, the New York Giants have begun the 2014 campaign with a pathetic record of 8-20. New York lost five of the seven series they played in Chapter One, and have already been outscored by more than 50 runs this season. Perhaps it's time for another name change.

February 13, 2014
BDBL HOF Welcomes Three More
SALEM, NH - Manny Ramirez was unanimously elected to the BDBL Hall of Fame on his first ballot, and Gary Sheffield and Curt Schilling were also enshrined by a razor-thin margin. Ramirez played for fourteen different teams during his 13-year BDBL career, and retired just one home run shy of the 500-homer club. Sheffield posted a .941 career OPS, and Schilling was a three-time 20-game winner and owns a 149-96 career record.

February 10, 2014
Nestle's Nonsense
NEW MILFORD, CT - A dozen games into the season, the New Milford Blazers are sporting a 10-2 record, with all twelve games played at their home, Cartoon Network Park. As a team, the Blazers are hitting .311/.360/.477, with 14 home runs in 12 games, and 61 runs scored and a .364 BIP average. On the mound, New Milford is sporting a 2.08 team ERA. Joe Nathan, Caleb Thielbar, Chris Withrow, Clayton Kershaw and Jose Quintana have allowed just four runs allowed in 54+ innings.

January 23, 2014
Free At Last!
SALEM, NH - After 22 grueling days of pressing the Refresh button over and over and over and over again, the 2014 draft officially came to an end with the traditional picking of Draft Poster Boy, Jeff Bianchi. A total of 297 free agents and 106 farm players were drafted during that 22-day span. The 2014 season is now just around the corner!

January 5, 2014
Salem to the Max
SALEM, NH - The defending Ozzie League champion Salem Cowtippers made a big move today, adding AL Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer to their starting rotation. Signed at a salary of $14 million -- the second-largest ever in franchise history -- Scherzer joins a formidable rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg and Derek Holland.

January 3, 2014
Cano Re-signs With Blazers
NEW MILFORD, CT - The reigning Ozzie League MVP was re-signed by the New Milford Blazers on the first day of signings for free agents in the auction. Cano, who hit .314/.383/.516 in MLB last season, signed for $12.5 million, which amounts to a $2.5 million pay cut. In the same auction lot, former Cowtipper Ryan Zimmerman signed with Chicago for a salary of $8 million. With Evan Longoria already manning the hot corner in Chicago, Zimmerman is penciled in to start at first base. Nick Swisher ($5MM to Cleveland), Miguel Montero ($4MM to Wyoming) and Ryan Doumit ($2.5MM to Las Vegas) rounded out the lot.

December 31, 2013
Farm Draft Has Begun
SALEM, NH - East Carolina right-hander Jeff Hoffman has been selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2014 Farm Draft. Although the pick belonged to the Mississippi Meatballs, it is no secret that Hoffman will be traded to the St. Louis Apostles. In the 2013 season, Hoffman allowed 99 hits and 39 walks in 109+ innings for East Carolina, with 84 strikeouts. After a brilliant Cape League campaign, he is generally considered to be among the top candidates for the #1 overall pick in the 2014 MLB amateur draft.

November 27, 2013
Chicago Adds Another Franchise Player
CHICAGO, IL - New Charlotte Mustangs owner Tony Chamra has wasted no time making his mark on his new franchise. After several days of bidding, Chamra sent franchise cornerstone Bryce Harper to the Chicago Black Sox as part of an 8-player trade. In exchange, the Mustangs received Justin Upton, Brett Lawrie and Andrelton Simmons, among others. With the acquisitions of Harper and Yasiel Puig, the Black Sox have added two major long-term franchise players this winter.

November 22, 2013
Trading Season Has Begun
SALEM, NH - In the first week of the 2014 pre-season, several major trades were announced, setting the table for yet another thrilling season. The Granite State Lightning made several deals, swapping AJ Burnett, Mike Moustakas and Bartolo Colon for Gio Gonzalez, Matt Cain, Andy Pettitte, Martin Prado and Junichi Tazawa (among others.) The Bear Country Jamboree added MVP Miguel Cabrera and Matt Holliday at the expense of young phenom Yasiel Puig and ace Lance Lynn. And for the second year in a row, Kansas has unloaded more than $20 million in salary, dealing Zack Greinke and Hiroki Kuroda. Keep up with all the latest trades on the Transactions page.

November 21, 2013
Slyme Win It All
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The SoCal Slyme easily defeated the Salem Cowtippers in six relatively uneventful games, earning Bob Sylvester his first BDBL championship trophy. After Salem won the first game of the series, the Slyme took the next three games in a row. The Cowtippers managed to eke out a win in Game Five, and when the series shifted back to SoCal for Game 6, the Slyme nailed it down by scoring 7 runs off of Stephen Strasburg. For Salem, it is their 5th World Series loss in 5 tries.

November 14, 2013
Slyme Top Ryche
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The SoCal Slyme defeated the Akron Ryche in five relatively easy games to advance to a World Series match-up against the Salem Cowtippers. SoCal's starting pitching dominated Akron throughout the series. MVP Kyle Lohse and staff ace Felix Hernandez each won two games in the series, and the SoCal pitching staff posted a 1.81 ERA in the five games, holding Akron to just 26 hits in 44+ innings. This will be the third World Series appearance for SoCal GM Bob Sylvester, and his first since 2009.

November 5, 2013
Redemption!
SALEM, NH -  The Salem Cowtippers were a woeful team with a sub-.500 record early in this season, but they eventually caught fire and captured the OL wild card on the last day of the season. They defeated the heavily-favored Los Altos Undertakers in a thrilling seven-game OLDS, and they were the overwhelming underdogs heading into the LCS against the New Milford Blazers. But somehow, some way, the Salem Cowtippers are now heading to the World Series for the fifth time in franchise history. After losing Game One of the series, the Cowtippers took the next four in a row in a series where all five games were decided by two runs or less.

November 3, 2013
Salem Wins OLDS Thriller
LOS ALTOS, CA - It was the only Game 7 in league history to ever go extra innings, and it ended on a wild pitch. The Salem Cowtippers defeated the Los Altos Undertakers in the post-season once again, and are heading to the LCS against the New Milford Blazers. On the same night, the Southern Cal Slyme, working without their star center fielder Andrew McCutchen, defeated the Kansas Law Dogs in six games, earning an ELCS match-up against the Akron Ryche.

November 1, 2013
Allentown Upset
ALLENTOWN, NJ - The Akron Ryche pulled off one of the biggest upsets in BDBL playoffs history when they defeated the Allentown Ridgebacks in the ELDS in seven games. The series began with a 1-0 win by the Ridgebacks. After Akron won Game Two, they made a surprise decision by starting ace (and Game One starter) Justin Verlander in Game 3. The move didn't pay off, as they lost, but they tied the series in the next game behind the pitching of Cole Hamels. Game 5 was an epic 15-inning battle that Akron won on a walk-off homer by Elliot Johnson. After both teams' aces were forced out of game in the second inning of Game 6, Allentown managed to win, forcing a Game 7. Akron then entered the 9th inning down by a score of 4-1. They scored four runs off a tired Koji Uehara. Akron reliever Joe Nathan then struck out MVP candidate Mike Trout to end the series.

October 27, 2013
All Over But the Crying
SALEM, NH - The 2013 regular season officially came to a close on Monday night, and the post-season is set to begin November 1st. The Allentown Ridgebacks will begin their quest for title #5 against the Akron Ryche, while the SoCal Slyme will face the Kansas Law Dogs in the other EL Division Series. In the OL, New Milford will face off against Ravenswood, while long-time rivals Los Altos and Salem will go head-to-head in November once again.

October 23, 2013
Down To the Wire
SALEM, NH - The Flagstaff Outlaws needed three wins in their final series of the season against the Los Altos Undertakers in order to force a three-team tie for the final two spots in the playoffs. Instead, they lost Game Two in heartbreaking fashion, on a two-run home run by Chris Nelson in the top of the 9th. Then, they lost Game Three, as starter Tommy Milone fell apart. That loss gave the Undertakers their 10th division title (the most titles won by any franchise in BDBL history), and also clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Salem Cowtippers, who won their third OL wild card in the past four seasons.

October 2, 2013
Allentown, Akron Clinch
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Both the Allentown Ridgebacks and Akron Ryche solidified their spots in the post-season this week. This is the 7th division title for the Ridgebacks in the 13 years since Tom DiStefano took over the helm. For Akron, it is division title #5, and their first title since 2006. If the season were to end today, these two teams would face each other in the EL Division Series.

September 25, 2013
Infidels!
RAVENSWOOD, IL - The Ravenswood Infidels easily captured their 5th Benes Division title this week -- their first since 2010. They currently own a 14-game lead in a division where no other team has been outscored by fewer than 100 runs this season. The only question remaining is whether the Infidels will face the Los Altos Undertakers, Salem Cowtippers, Flagstaff Outlaws or Granite State Lightning in the Division Series.

September 22, 2013
Blazers Clinch Butler
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers officially clinched the Butler Division title on Tuesday night in the first game of a series against the Salem Cowtippers. It was also their 100th win of the season. New Milford won three out of four in that series, sending Salem into second place (by one game) in the OL wild card race. It is the third division championship in a row for the Blazers, and fourth in the past five seasons.

September 20, 2013
SoCal Reclaims the Title
SOUTHERN CAL - The Southern Cal Slyme officially clinched the Person Division title this week after winning 9 of their first 12 contests. It is the fourth division championship for Bob Sylvester, and first since 2010.

August 28, 2013
One to Go
SALEM, NH - With just one chapter remaining in the 2013 season, the Salem Cowtippers closed out their impressive Chapter Five with a league-best record of 22-6, culminating with a sweep of the Corona Confederates, which gave Salem a three-game lead in the OL wild card race. The Allentown Ridgebacks matched Salem's record last chapter, and the New Milford Blazers (19-9) and Chicago Black Sox (18-10) enjoyed a successful chapter as well. At the other end of the spectrum were the lowly New York Giants, who went 7-21. Unless the Giants go 25-3 in the final chapter, they will finish with a sub-.500 record for the 14th season in a row.

August 22, 2013
Flagstaff On Fire
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - The Flagstaff Outlaws won three out of four against the New Milford Blazers this weekend, marking only the fourth time all season that New Milford has lost a series. Flagstaff has now won 9 of their last 12, and has re-taken the OL wild card lead by one game ahead of Salem. They have also moved to within two games of the Los Altos Undertakers in the Griffin Division.

August 15, 2013
Salem Busts Out
SALEM, NH - After four chapters of slumbering disappointment, the Salem Cowtippers have caught fire in Chapter Five, winning 10 of their first 12 games while sweeping both the lowly New York Giants and the division-leading Ravenswood Infidels. Salem now owns a two game lead over the Flagstaff Outlaws in the OL wild card race, with the division rival Granite State Lightning trailing by three games in that race.

July 27, 2013
Four Down, Two to Go
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four of the 2013 BDBL season officially ended on Saturday, with the Granite State Lightning closing out their chapter with 8 wins in a row. They now trail the Flagstaff Outlaws in the OL wild card race by just one game. Their 15-9 record in the chapter was second only to the New Milford Blazers, who continue to defy all logic this season. They went 16-8 on the chapter, and own the best record in the BDBL (71-33) by five wins. New York, Ravenswood, Kansas and SoCal also had successful chapters, each going 15-9.

July 3, 2013
Kansas Ties It Up
KANSAS - The hottest team in the BDBL is the Kansas Law Dogs, who are sporting a .700 record since the beginning of Chapter Three. After a 10-6 start to the second half, the 'Dogs are now tied with the Allentown Ridgebacks atop the Higuera Division. While all the attention went to their $34.7 million starting rotation in the pre-season, it has been their bullpen that has carried them. The quartet of Josh Kinney, Jim Johnson, Aaron Crow and Fernando Rodney have pitched 152 innings this season with a collective ERA of just 1.36.

June 28, 2013
BDBL Weekend, 2013
BOSTON, MA - Although the attendance was pathetic, BDBL Weekend 2013 was a rousing success filled with laughter (mostly at Jim Doyle's expense) and good times. The league returned to Boston (for the first time since 2001), where we experienced a New Hampshire Fisher Cats game, a fascinating walking tour of the Freedom Trail and a game at historic Fenway Park.

Read all about it.

June 22, 2013
Flagstaff Faulters
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - The Flagstaff Outlaws were leading the OL wild card race by a comfortable three-game margin heading into this chapter, and had just added a couple of key players in trade to make a strong run toward their first division title. But something went terribly wrong along the way, as the Outlaws are now just 1-7 to start the second half of the season. The Outlaws were swept by the New Milford Blazers, and lost three of four to the Salem Cowtippers, who have now taken over the wild card lead. Personifying the team's failure is Adam Jones, who is just 1-for-34 so far this chapter.

June 13, 2013
Eck League Takes Midsummer Classic
MANCHESTER, KANSAS, NY - The Eck League took advantage of the Ozzie League's ill-fated decision to allow Jim Doyle to represent the league as manager, leading to a 3-2 loss for the Ozzies. A three-run blast by SoCal's Andrew McCutchen off of Doyle favorite Matt Cain was all the scoring the Eck League would get -- or need -- in this game. Regardless of the loss, the Ozzie League still maintains a slim 8-7 record in all-star games in league history.

June 15, 2013
Halfway There
SALEM, NH - The 2013 BDBL season officially reached its halfway point on Wednesday. The Allentown Ridgebacks were the big winners in Chapter Three, as they sported a league-best 20-4 record. Southern Cal (18-6), Kansas (18-6) and New Milford (16-8) all enjoyed successful chapters as well. For the fifth year in a row, the Eck League dominated interleague play, going 110-82 against the pathetic Ozzie League.

May 23, 2013
Asswipe Does It Again
ATLANTA, GA - Clayton Kershaw added another combined no-hitter to his resume when he tossed six no-hit innings against the Atlanta Fire Ants this week. Last chapter's POC Something Quintana then added three innings of hitless relief to give the Blazers their second combined no-hitter in franchise history. New Milford went on to win three out of four to push their record to a ridiculous 16-4 for the chapter. Good for them.

May 15, 2013
Zook Rejoins BDBL
SALEM, NH - Scot Zook, former owner of the Phoenix Predators (now known as the Flagstaff Outlaws) has re-joined the BDBL after a 10-year absence. Zook compiled a record of 237-243 during his three-year BDBL career, which included two Eck League wild cards. He inherits the Dieppe Marauders franchise, who won the BDBL championship last season (believe it or not.)

April 27, 2013
Not Dickey-ing Around
SALEM, NH - Fresh on the heels of a 7-1 run that ended the second chapter, the Salem Cowtippers made a move to bolster their starting rotation today, adding National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey to the staff. In exchange, Salem parted with Andy Pettitte, Andrew Bailey and first round farm pick Hiroyuki Nakajima.

Full story

April 27, 2013
The Spastic Swapper Strikes Again
ST. LOUIS, MO - St. Louis GM Bobby Sylvester has a long history of endless trading, and that pattern of addictive behavior continued this week when he four more trades, involving 30 players. When all the dust settled and the VORP was finally untangled, the Apostles ended up with Pablo Sandoval and a plethora of prospects, the Allentown Ridgebacks walked away with Justin Morneau, and the Mississippi Meatballs inexplicably took on the $30 million remaining on Joe Mauer's contract.

April 17, 2013
Tillman No-Hits the Slyme
NIAGARA - Chris Tillman of the Niagara Locks became the first pitcher to hurl a no-hitter this season when he held the first-place SoCal Slyme hitless on Wednesday night. He threw just 103 pitches, and allowed three walks, striking out five. It was his first win of the season.

Full box score

April 16, 2013
SoCal is All Shook Up
SOUTHERN CAL - The first-place SoCal Slyme added a defensive wizard and a hot-hitting catcher to the mix in a deal with the Great Lakes Sphinx on Tuesday. In exchange for Elvis Andrus and John Jaso (along with Bobby Parnell), the Slyme parted with top prospects Jackie Bradley, Jr. and George Springer, and replacement bats Jhonny Peralta and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

April 9, 2013
Chicago Addds Shields, Reyes
CHICAGO, IL - Despite their awful 13-19 start to the season, the Chicago Black Sox are just five games behind in the division race. Today, GM John Gill made a move to push his team to the top, adding James Shields and Jose Reyes in a deal with the Salem Cowtippers. Heading in the other direction are Starlin Castro and Gavin Floyd.

Full story

March 25, 2013
Flagstaff Ambles Into First
FLAGSTAFF, AZ - After a surprising slow start to the season, the Flagstaff Outlaws have picked up the pace in Chapter Two, winning 7 of their first 8, to pull into a tie for first place atop the Griffin Division.

March 15, 2013
First Chapter in the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter One of the 2013 season officially came to a close on Thursday night.  The New Milford Blazers (22-6), Ravenswood Infidels (20-8) and Kansas Law Dogs (19-9) had their way with the league, while the New York Giants (8-20), Great
Lakes Sphinx (9-19) and Salem Cowtippers (11-17) struggled.

March 1, 2013
Infidels Bolt Out of the Gate
RAVENSWOOD, IL - The Ravenswood Infidels wasted no time separating themselves from the pack, winning 14 of their first 20 games. Their major off-season signing, Chase Headley, has made an immediate impact, hitting .325/.433/.625 with 6 homers
in 20 games. David Murphy (.382/.414/.564), Jerry Hairston (.378/.415/.622), Ryan Doumit (.362/.422/.655), Jason Kipnis (.339/.373/.554) and Coco Crisp (.310/.400/.643)
are also off to blazing starts. And Chris Davis (.308/.341/.679) leads the entire BDBL in home runs, with 9.

February 5, 2013
BDBL Hall of Fame Welcomes New Members
SALEM, NH - The elite BDBL Hall of Fame added three new members on Tuesday. Randy
Johnson, winner of five Cy Young awards, became the first and only member of the BDBL Hall of Fame to be unanimously selected. He was joined by long-time Akron mainstay (and four-time Cy Young winner) Pedro Martinez and slugger Carlos Delgado. Gary Sheffield barely missed enshrinement with 68% of the vote, and Sammy Sosa saw his vote percentage shrink from 65% to 59%.

January 27, 2013
Blazers Sweep Opening Series
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers not only swept their traditional Opening Day series against their division rivals, the Salem Cowtippers; they DOMINATED. New Milford outscored Salem 35-10 in the series, and held a lead in all but one inning the entire series.  New Milford hit .343/.399/.600 overall, with 9 home runs, while Salem hit just .189/.226/.339 with 4 homers.

January 26, 2013
Kansas Loads Up
KANSAS - After buying an entire starting rotation filled with Cy Young candidates thanks to a generous $40 million donation from Nic Weiss, the Kansas Law Dogs became the benefactors of yet another generous donation on Saturday when they received Fernando Rodney from the Akron Ryche. Rodney posted the lowest ERA in MLB history last season.

January 9, 2013
All Aces in Kansas
KANSAS - After purging his roster of all expensive salaries this winter, Kansas Law Dogs GM Chris Luhning has gone on a shopping spree. On Wednesday night, Luhning signed his third ace of the auction, locking up Zack Greinke to a salary of $12.5 million. Greinke joins newly-signed aces Hiroki Kuroda and Jered Weaver in a $31.5 million starting rotation. Even after signing the three aces, Kansas still has more than $15MM remaining to purchase a lineup to go with that star-studded rotation.

January 4, 2013
The $14 Million Man
RAVENSWOOD, IL - Chase Headley became the second highest-paid player in the BDBL on Friday night when the Ravenswood Infidels signed the slugging third baseman to a salary of $14 million, which guarantees him at least $42 million over three seasons. Headley becomes the centerpiece of an Infidels lineup that includes Dexter Fowler and Chris Davis. Ravenswood also re-signed Daniel Murphy at a salary of $4.5 million. With more than $20 million remaining under their payroll cap, Ravenswood has plenty more cash to spend this winter.

January 3, 2013
Beltre Signs with Niagara
NIAGARA - Adrian Beltre, the top-ranked free agent on the market this winter, officially signed with the Niagara Locks on Thursday night, agreeing to a salary of $12.5 million, and -- at minimum -- a $37.5 million contract over three seasons. Beltre hit .321/.359/.561 in MLB last season, while flashing an above-average glove at third base. At the age of 34, he becomes the highest-paid player on the Niagara roster.

December 31, 2012
There Goes Frazier!
SALEM, NH - Clint Frazier officially became the first player drafted in 2013 when the Granite State Lightning selected him. Frazier, an 18-year-old high school outfielder from Loganville, Georgia, is expected to be among the top players chosen in the MLB amateur
draft this summer. He is the first high school player to be selected #1 overall in the BDBL farm draft since the Atlanta Fire Ants selected 15-year-old Bryce Harper with the #1 pick in 2009.  He is, however, the first high school senior to ever be selected with the #1 pick.

December 25, 2012
Christmas Comes Early for St. Louis, Kansas
SALEM, NH - The 2013 winter trading deadline officially passed on Christmas Eve, and both the St. Louis Apostles and Kansas Law Dogs managed to slip in another deal just before the deadline.  It was yet another busy winter for the reigning Eck League champ Bobby Sylvester, as he managed to make eight trades this winter, involving 48 players (and who knows how many draft picks.)  With the dust finally settled, the defending champs appear to have another very strong contending team for 2013.  Their powerful lineup includes Jose Altuve, Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Brandon Moss, Troy Tulowitzki and David Wright.

Kansas Law Dogs GM Chris Luhning was also busy this winter.  He made a total of 12 trades, involving 42 players. In the final hours before the deadline, Luhning managed to add closers Jim Johnson and Aaron Crow.

December 15, 2012
Allentown Retools
ALLENTOWN, NJ - The BDBL waited all year last year for Allentown Ridgebacks GM Tom DiStefano to trade one of his four all-star starting outfielders.  Instead, he hung onto all four of them, and finished the season with more wins than any other team in the Eck League.  On Friday, DiStefano finally traded one of the four, Jay Bruce, to to Flagstaff Outlaws, along with another outfielder, Tyler Colvin and a prospect.  In exchange, the Ridgebacks received three young pitchers in A.J. Griffin, Travis Wood and Robbie Ross, and another outfielder, Shin Soo Choo.  Choo, who would be a full-time player against right-handers for any other team in the league, now joins a crowded outfield that consists of Ryan Braun, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Ridgebacks continued to add to their starting rotation by acquiring ace Gio Gonzalez on Saturday.  Gonzalez was picked up from division rival Great Lakes in exchange for Elvis Andrus, Jeremy Hellickson and longtime Allentown mainstay Tim Lincecum.  The Allentown starting rotation now includes Gonzalez, Wood, Josh Beckett and Tim Hudson.

December 8, 2012
Atlanta Joins the Fun
ATLANTA, GA - With the Chicago Black Sox (Madison Bumgarner) and Akron Ryche (Cole Hamels) loading up this week, it was the Atlanta Fire Ants' turn to make a big splash in what is quickly becoming a very exciting division battle.  On Saturday, Atlanta acquired both Prince Fielder and Adam Wainwright from the Great Lakes Sphinx.  Wainwright joins Mat Latos, Max Scherzer and Ross Detwiler in a loaded Atlanta rotation, and Fielder becomes the centerpiece of a Fire Ants lineup that includes Bryce Harper and Alfonso Soriano.

December 8, 2012
Arbitrage!
SALEM, NH - Mississippi Meatballs GM Nic Weiss introduced the league to the term "arbitrage" a couple of years ago.  This week, Weiss continued to implement his strategy.  In late November, Weiss acquired both Matt Cain and Cole Hamels from the Kansas Law Dogs.  In exchange, he parted with a couple of prospects (John Lamb and Yordano Ventura) and took on a whopping $25 million in salary (via Roy Oswalt and Kevin Youkilis.)  On Wednesday, Weiss unloaded Hamels to the Akron Ryche, getting Dustin Ackley and Domonic Brown in return.  Then, on Saturday, Weiss flipped Cain to the Los Altos Undertakers in exchange for Devin Mesoraco, Randall Delgado and Sonny Gray.

So basically, Weiss paid $25 million in salary, and traded John Lamb and Yordano Ventura, in exchange for five players who ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball a year ago: Dustin Ackley, Domonic Brown, Devin Mesoraco, Randall Delgado and Sonny Gray.

December 5, 2012
Award Winners Named
SALEM, NH - The 2012 award winners were announced on Wednesday afternoon, with the champions of each league well represented as usual.  OL (and BDBL) champion John Duel and EL champion Bobby Sylvester won both the GM of the Year and Manager of the Year awards.  New Milford slugger Adrian Gonzalez took home the OL MVP and Babe Ruth awards, while teammate Clayton Kershaw won the OL Cy Young award.  In the EL, Kansas' Jose Bautista won both the MVP and Babe Ruth awards, and Akron ace Justin Verlander replicated his MLB feat by winning his first BDBL Cy Young award.

Full voting results

December 5, 2012
Lefty Aces Switch Uniforms
SALEM, NH - A pair of left-handed ace pitchers switched teams on Tuesday as teams continue to jockey for position heading into Cutdown Day.  Mississippi Meatballs GM Nic Weiss acquired Cole Hamels less than a week ago in exchange for prospects.  Yesterday, Weiss flipped Hamels to the Akron Ryche in exchange for other prospects.  Hamels now joins Justin Verlander and Johnny Cueto in a rotation that is shaping up to be the best in the league.

The league's newest owner, Don Woodworth, also made his first BDBL trade, sending former franchise player Madison Bumgarner to the Chicago Black Sox in exchange for Angel Pagan, Mike Leake and prospects.  Already, the Hrbek Division race is shaping up to be an interesting one.

December 3, 2012
Several Rule Changes Passed
SALEM, NH - In recent league voting, several rule changes have passed for the 2013 season.  Among them are several changes to our usage limits, a new rule that changes the limit on the amount of talent that can be traded during the season, and a rule allowing for "franchise players" (players with cheaper long-term contracts that cannot be traded.)  For a full list of all rule changes to be implemented going forward, please see the Rules page.

December 1, 2012
Trading Floodgates Open
SALEM, NH - With the conclusion of the World Series (on the latest date in league history), several trades were officially announced.  New York Giants GM Jim Doyle is at it again, trading several players (including Alfonso Soriano, Josh Reddick, Carlos Gomez, Alex Cobb and Billy Butler) in exchange for several players of dubious value.

Kansas GM Chris Luhning unloaded a pair of aces in Matt Cain and Cole Hamels, and received a couple of prospects from the Mississippi Meatballs in addition to some salary cap relief.  The Los Altos Undertakers also added some cap space by dealing Haney Ramirez, Justin Morneau and Luke Hochevar in exchange for prospects.

November 30, 2012
Congratulations (and Farewell) to Sylmar
SYLMAR, CA - The Sylmar Padawans are the 2012 BDBL champions following an impressive four game sweep of the St. Louis Apostles in the BDBL World Series.  It was only the second World Series sweep in BDBL history, and the first series to end with a walk-off home run.

Sylmar pounded out 8 runs in the first game of the series, with three scoring on a home run by Series MVP Lance Berkman.  The Padawans then came from behind in Game Two, and scored four runs in the 8th inning (two on another home run by Berkman) to take a 2-0 series lead as the series shifted to Sylmar.

Sylmar and St. Louis battled for 11 innings in Game Three before St. Louis reliever Michael Stutes issued a bases loaded walk with one out in the bottom of the 11th.  Game Four was then tied at a score of 5-5 when Mark Reynolds stepped to the plate with one out and delivered the game-winning, and series-winning, walk-off blast.

With the champagne still stinging his eyes, Sylmar owner John Duel announced his resignation from the BDBL after nine years as owner.  Duel retires with a regular season record of 756-844, three division titles...and one trophy.

November 19, 2012
St. Louis Tops Chicago, Heads to Series
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles bested the Chicago Black Sox in the ELCS, and are now heading to the BDBL World Series for the first time in franchise history.

The Apostles belted out 10 runs in Game One, including a 6-run rally in the 8th inning, in a come-from-behind win to start the series.  In Game Two, Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano continued to deal a hot hand, and held the mighty St. Louis offense scoreless through 6+ innings en route to a 6-0 Chicago win.

Chicago took the series lead in Game Three, as they scored three runs in the top of the first and never surrendered that lead.  The Apostles then evened the series in Game Four when Paul Konerko, Allen Craig and Mike Morse delivered back-to-back-to-back RBI hits in the 7th inning.  They then carried that momentum into Game Five, where they scored eight runs -- seven against Chicago ace Jered Weaver -- en route to an 8-6 win.

Finally, in Game Six, St. Louis managed to solve the post season mystery of Zambrano, scoring four runs against him in five-plus innings.  The Apostles carried a slim 4-2 lead into the 9th inning of that game, but then tacked on three more in the top of the 9th to cruise to an easy 7-2 win.  St. Louis will now face the Sylmar Padawans in the BDBL World Series.

November 19, 2012
Padawans Topple New Milford
SYLMAR, CA - The Sylmar Padawans are heading to the BDBL World Series for the first time in franchise history after an upset victory over the New Milford Blazers in the OL Championship Series.

Likely OL Cy Young Clayton Kershaw began the series with an impressive 6-inning effort, allowing just 1 run on 1 walk and 8 hits, striking out 8 in an eventual 7-3 win.  In Game Two, Sylmar catcher Miguel Olivo hit a three-run homer off of C.J. Wilson in the second inning, giving the Padawans a 3-2 lead.  They then held on to that lead throughout the remainder of the game to tie the series.

Sylmar trailed by a score of 5-2 heading into the 8th inning of Game Three, but then mounted a three-run rally that inning to tie the score.  The game then extended into extra innings, where Matt Holliday delivered with a walk-off RBI double, giving Sylmar the series lead.

Game Four also went into extra innings, and Sylmar won that one as well, thanks to a pinch hit RBI triple by Jason Donald.  New Milford managed to extend the series another game thanks to another stellar outing by Kershaw in Game Five.  Finally, in Game Six, Holliday once again came through with a clutch three-run double in the 5th inning, giving Sylmar a 5-0 lead.  They extended that lead to 7-0 in the 7th inning, and held on for a 7-3 win.

November 8, 2012
Chicago Heads to ELCS
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox out-slugged the Kansas Law Dogs in the ELDS, launching 10 home runs in the 6-game series, and out-scoring Kansas by a tally of 30-25.

Chicago took the first game of the series on a walk-off homer by Miguel Cabrera.  They then took a two game lead when series MVP Anibal Sanchez tossed five innings and allowed just two unearned runs in an eventual 5-2 win.  Chicago took an imposing 3-0 series lead with a 6-0 shutout in Game Three, as unlikely ace Carlos Zambrano allowed just one hit and one walk through nine innings.

The Law Dogs avoided the series sweep when Miguel Montero delivered a walk-off two-run double in a come-from-behind victory in Game Four.  And in Game Five, Kansas' 20-game winner Doug Fister tossed the second complete game shutout of the series, giving Chicago a series lead of three games to two.

Finally, in Game Six, Kansas ace Cole Hamels, starting on just two days rest, got spanked around for 6 runs on 10 hits in just 5 2/3 innings.  Sanchez, meanwhile, won his second game of the series, and Chicago cruised to a 9-4 win.  They will now face the St. Louis Apostles in the ELCS.

November 3, 2012
Allentown Upset
ALLENTOWN, NJ - With two outs in the top of the 11th inning, Andre Ethier delivered with a key hit against lefty closer Johnny Venters, giving the St. Louis Apostles an upset victory over the Allentown Ridgebacks in the EL Division Series.  It was a series dominated by pitching, as the Apostles staff posted a 2.29 ERA for the series, while Allentown's record-setting staff posted an ERA of just 2.67.

This was the 7th playoffs appearance in 12 seasons for Allentown owner Tom DiStefano.  In those 7 seasons, the Ridgebacks played 18 series, and won 15 of them.  Allentown had won 9 straight playoff series heading into this one.

November 2, 2012
New Milford, Slymar Advance
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers took both Games Five and Six on Friday night, capturing a spot in the OL Division Series.  New Milford outscored the Salem Cowtippers by 10 runs in the series, and hit .285/.349/.421 as a team.

The Sylmar Padawans also earned their way to the OLCS on the strength of their pitching staff, which held the depleted Mississippi Meatballs to a .190/.264/.304 average.  Sylmar ace Roy Halladay tossed a pair of gems in the series, allowing just 8 hits, 2 walks and 1 runs through 14 innings combined, with 13 K's, earning the OLDS MVP award.

October 27, 2012
Granite State Sets New Mark for Infamy
NEW HAMPSHIRE - The Granite State Lightning have set a new BDBL record for infamy, losing 120 games in a single season.  The Lightning were outscored by 495 runs, allowed 1,041 runs on the season, scored just 546 runs, lost 26 (scheduled) games in a row at one point, and 6.20 team ERA.  All are either BDBL records or close to it.

October 26, 2012
Salem Captures Final Spot
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers needed three wins in their final series of the season against the Bear Country Jamboree, and that's exactly what they got.  With a decisive 21-5 victory in Game #160, the Cowtippers officially captured the final spot in the playoffs by winning the OL wild card.  It is the second wild card title in franchise history, coming two years after the first.  The Cowtippers will now face the New Milford Blazers in the OLDS, with the Sylmar Padawans and Mississippi Meatballs facing off in the other OLDS series.

October 25, 2012
Record Breakers!
SALEM, NH - The Cleveland Rocks set a new BDBL record for stolen bases as a team, swiping #253 in a series against the Chicago Black Sox on Friday.  The old record of 252 was set by the Los Altos Undertakers in 2003.

Also, the Allentown Ridgebacks set a new BDBL team record by finishing with an ERA of just 3.00.  This shatters the old mark of 3.10 set by the 2010 Ravenswood Infidels.

October 25, 2012
Chicago Captures Hrbek
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox officially clinched the Hrbek Division title this week after a hard-fought, season-long campaign.  This is the fifth division title for Black Sox owner John Gill, one of the founding owners of the BDBL.  Chicago fought a tough battle against the Akron Ryche throughout the year, and overcame an 11-17 start to the season, to eventually finish five games ahead in the division.

October 24, 2012
Doyle Finishes Below .500...Again
MANCHESTER, NH - Jim Doyle's amazing streak of sub-.500 seasons was officially extended to THIRTEEN YEARS this week, when Doyle's New York Giants wrapped up the 2012 season with a record of 79-81.  Sadly, this represents the best record Doyle has ever owned in the BDBL.  Better luck next year, Big Jim.

October 24, 2012
Worst to First
ALLENTOWN, NJ - The Allentown Ridgebacks lost 105 games a year ago, but have concluded the 2012 season with the best record in the Eck League at 107-53.  This is the sixth division title for Tom DiStefano, and the fifth time he has won 100 or more games in a season.

Allentown's division rivals, the Kansas Law Dogs, also officially captured the EL wild card this week, finishing with a record of 106-54.  This marks the third time in BDBL history that a wild card team won 100 or more games.  The last time this happened was in 2001, when the Chicago Black Sox finished with 106 wins -- one shy of Akron's total.

October 23, 2012
Villanova Gets a New Owner...Again
SALEM, NH - The Villanova Mustangs have endured a tumultuous year to say the least.  That tumult continued (and hopefully ended) this week when Michael Quinn was introduced on Tuesday as the newest owner of the franchise.  Quinn is a veteran Diamond Mind player who was highly recommended by an undisclosed BDBL owner.  He currently lives in Ecuador, which makes him the BDBL's first internationally-located owner since Dean Ashley of the Perth Breeze (2001).

October 18, 2012
Meatballs, Apostles Clinch
SALEM, NH - The Mississippi Meatballs clinched the Benes Division this week in relatively easy fashion, giving the franchise their second straight division title.  With 92 wins on the season, the Meatballs need just 3 more wins in their final 12 games to tie their all-time franchise record.  Mississippi held the Benes Division lead from the first week of the season, and never let up.  They currently own an 18-game lead over the New York Giants and Ravenswood Infidels.

The St. Louis Apostles also clinched their division this week, giving owner Bobby Sylvester his second straight title and sixth in thirteen seasons.  The Apostles were tied with the Southern Cal Slyme atop the division after four chapters.  But SoCal GM Bob Sylvester then made several trades, dumping his star players for future considerations.  Since then, St. Louis has posted a 34-16 (.680) record, while SoCal has gone just 17-27 (.386).

October 11, 2012
Sylmar Clinches the Griffin
SYLMAR, CA - The Sylmar Padawans officially clinched the Griffin Division title on Wednesday, giving John Duel his third division title, and his first since 2006.  Sylmar's 91 wins ties their all-time franchise record.  They are on pace to win 96 games this season.

September 29, 2012
New Milford First to Clinch
NEW MILFORD, CT - The feel-good story of the year continued on Saturday when the New Milford Blazers became the first team this season to clinch a division title.  It is New Milford's third division title in the past four seasons.  How special.

September 14, 2012
Entering the Home Stretch
SALEM, NH - Chapter Five of the 2012 season came to an official conclusion on Thursday night, leaving just 28 games to decide several exciting pennant races.  In the Eck League, the Chicago Black Sox and Allentown Ridgebacks each went 21-7 in Chapter Five, and each now hold a commanding lead in their respective divisions: four games for Allentown, and SIX for Chicago.  The Black Sox entered the chapter trailing the Akron Ryche, who went just 12-16 in the chapter.  Not only did Akron lose ground in the division race, but they also now trail the Law Dogs by five games in the EL wild card race.

After deliberately tanking his team prior to Chapter Five, Bob Sylvester's SoCal Slyme now trail by six games in their division, and appear to be out of the race.  Meanwhile, over in the Ozzie League, the Salem Cowtippers shared the best record in the league (19-9) with the New Milford Blazers and Mississippi Meatballs, and now own a three-game lead in the OL wild card race over the Corona Confederates.  With the best record (.682) in the BDBL, the Blazers' magic number is now in the single digits (9).

August 30, 2012
All Tied Up in the Hrbek
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox remain on fire in Chapter Five, winning 9 of their first 12 games to pull into a tie for first place atop the Hrbek Division.  Chicago took three of four games in all three series they've played this chapter against the Akron Ryche, Great Lakes Sphinx and South Carolina Sea Cats.  Akron, meanwhile, is 6-6 through their first dozen games.  Since the all-star break, Chicago is playing .722 baseball (the best record in the league), while Akron is just 21-15 (.583.)

August 13, 2012
Chicago & Akron Battle Royale
CHICAGO, IL - With the division title -- and a playoffs spot -- on the line, all eyes are focused on the intense Hrbek Division rivalry between the Chicago Black Sox and Akron Ryche.  The Ryche entered this chapter with a three-game lead over Chicago, but the Black Sox had all of the momentum, having posted a .700 winning percentage since the end of their disastrous first chapter.

This week, the two teams faced off for four games in Chicago.  The first game was a pitcher's duel between Akron's Justin Verlander and Chicago's Jered Weaver, which resulted in a 2-2 tie after nine innings of play.  In the top of the 15th, Akron's Will Venable singled home the go-ahead run with a clutch two-out hit.  Chicago then faced defeat in the bottom half of the inning.  With the bases loaded and two outs, and with their bench depleted, the Black Sox sent Carlos Zambrano to the plate as a pinch hitter.  The result: a hit by pitch, forcing the tying run across the plate.

In the top of the 16th, Chicago reliever Zach Britton allowed base hits to the first two batters he faced.  One of them scored on a wild pitch, and the other scored on a fielder's choice, giving Akron a two-run lead.  Hiroki Kuroda then closed out the bottom of the 16th for the Akron win.

Game Two was also forced into extra innings, but this time, Chicago emerged on top thanks to an 11th inning walk-off single by Matt Kemp.  In Game Three, Miguel Cabrera and Evan Longoria drove home five runs combined in a 6-3 Chicago win.  And the Black Sox then took the series with a Game Four win, as Chicago pounded out 8 runs on 10 hits against Akron's Johnny Cueto and Blake Wood.

Chicago now trails Akron by two games in the division.

August 9, 2012
Nichols Joins BDBL
SALEM, NH - Kevin Nichols, a 47-year-old medical center supervisor from Ashland, Kentucky, was named the new(est) owner of the Villanova Mustangs franchise.  Nichols becomes the third owner of the franchise this year, following Tony Chamra and Matt Decrevel.  Decrevel resigned from the league on July 28th, after just 73 days in the league.  Nichols inherits a franchise that is stocked with quality youngsters, but has little in the way of short-term assets.

July 29, 2012
Four Down, Two to Go
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four of the 2012 season came to an end on Saturday night, with the New Milford Blazers and Chicago Black Sox sporting the best records of the chapter at 17-7.  The Blazers continue to be the feel-good story of 2012, as they own the best record in the BDBL (71-33, .683), own the highest runs differential in the BDBL (214), and have a magic number of just 39.  The Black Sox have now crept to within three games of the Akron Ryche in the Hrbek Division thanks to their stellar chapter.

The Person Division is once again a tight race between the Sylvesters, who each owns a 59-45 record atop the division.  Unfortunately, the senior Sylvester once again threw in the towel and gave some of his best players to the team he is tied with atop the division.

Another great race is taking place in the Ozzie League, where six teams are now separated by just five games.  This was made possible by the Salem Cowtippers' inexplicable 7-17 record for the chapter (tied with the lowly Granite State Lightning for second-worst record in the league in Chapter Four.)

July 28, 2012
Final Deadline Passes with a Yawn
SALEM, NH - The final trading deadline of the season is usually a cause for excitement and controversy.  But this season, it seemed the most exciting and controversial trades were already made before the deadline approached.  Several ace pitchers changed hands this chapter, including Ted Lilly and Matt Garza (both to the New York Giants), Chris Carpenter (Sylmar), Yovani Gallardo and Dan Hudson (Salem) and Zack Greinke and Hiroki Kuroda (Akron.)

July 10, 2012
Kansas Surges
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs aren't letting all the talk about Allentown inevitability get in the way of their quest for a division title.  The 'Dogs are now 9-3 on the chapter, and breathing down the necks of the Ridgebacks, whose lead is now down to just two games.  Allentown owns the best record in the Eck League at 58-30 (.659), but Kansas is one of two other teams in the EL with a winning percentage above .600.  And three other teams own a winning percentage of .575 or better.  Amazingly, two of those teams will not make it to the playoffs this season.

July 2, 2012
The Curse of the Kempbino
SALEM, NH - Apparently, trading Matt Kemp has caused the entire Salem starting rotation to quit trying.  Or something.  Despite playing a Chapter Four schedule that includes only one series against a .500 team, the Cowtippers are just 4-8 so far this chapter.  The Salem pitching staff has gone into the toilet, allowing 82 runs in those dozen games -- nearly 7 runs per game.  Wandy Rodriguez (8.22 ERA), Colby Lewis (6.60) and Paul Maholm (5.68) have been atrocious, but no one has been worse than staff ace James Shields (12.12 ERA), who apparently is so depressed by Kemp's departure that he's taking it out on his team.  Despite the awfulness, Salem owns a share of the OL wild card with the division rival Corona Confederates.

June 13, 2012
Wild Ending to First Half
SALEM, NH - The first half of the 2012 season came to an end on Tuesday, capping a frenzied chapter of trading.  22 out of the league's 24 teams made at least one trade in the chapter.  A total of 24 trades were made, which may just be a Chapter Three record.

The Allentown Ridgebacks owned the best record of the chapter at 18-6.  St. Louis (17-7), New Milford (15-9), Kansas (15-9) and Great Lakes (15-9) also had productive chapters.  And for the fourth year in a row, interleague play was a bloodbath for the Ozzie League, who went 81-111 against the Eck.

June 8, 2012
A Flurry of Activity
SALEM, NH - As the third chapter winds down, and we approach the mid-point of the season, the trade table is burning with activity as teams jockey for position in the second half.  In the past few days, St. Louis Apostles acquired Josh Willingham from the San Antonio Broncs, and then immediately flipped him to the Granite State Lightning in exchange for prospects.  St. Louis also acquired Nolan Reimold from the Cleveland Rocks, and swapped Dustin Pedroia to the Salem Cowtippers for Jamey Carroll and Darren Oliver.

The Ridgebacks added Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson, Southern Cal finally landed a third baseman in Chase Headley (in a negotiation from Germany!), and the Lightning picked up top prospect A.J. Cole from Kansas in exchange for Eric Thames and Alex Presley.

And there are still four days remaining before the trading deadline!

June 6, 2012
Kemp Goes to Chicago
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox made a bold move toward building a championship-caliber team in the second half when they acquired MVP-caliber slugger Matt Kemp from the Salem Cowtippers as part of an 11-player trade.  Kemp joins Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria and Justin Upton in a loaded Chicago lineup.

For Salem, who currently lead the OL wild card by three games, this trade is an attempt to become more competitive in 2013 while remaining competitive this season.

May 29, 2012
Sylmar Lands an Ace
SYLMAR, CA - The Sylmar Padawans made a huge move to bolster the team down the stretch, acquiring ace Roy Halladay from the towel-waving Niagara Locks.  In exchange, Sylmar parted with youngsters Peter Bourjos and Juan Nicasio, and veteran shortstop Rafael Furcal.  And "just to make things even", the Locks also threw in slugger Ryan Howard and innings-eater Jake Westbrook.

May 16, 2012
Decrevel Joins BDBL
SALEM, NH - The league officially welcomed our newest member, Matt Decrevel, to the league on Wednesday afternoon.  Matt replaces long-time BDBL owner and former league champion Tony Chamra, who resigned in April after 12 years in the BDBL.  Decrevel is a 24-year-old web designer and application developer from St. Louis, and a friend of St. Louis Apostles owner, Bobby Sylvester.

May 1, 2012
Another Chapter in the Books
SALEM, NH - The second chapter of the 2012 season officially came to a close, with the Chicago Black Sox dominating the chapter with an impressive 23-5 record.  New Milford (19-9), Sylmar (19-9), Kansas (18-10) and South Carolina (18-10) also enjoyed a successful run in the second chapter.  Trailing the league were the Villanova Mustangs, who not only lost 23 games, but their owner as well.  The Granite State Lightning (7-21) continued to suck, and the Great Lakes Sphinx (8-20) and Niagara Locks (9-19) weren't much better.

April 29, 2012
Chamra Resigns
VILLANOVA - Villanova Mustangs GM Tony Chamra resigned from the BDBL on Sunday after struggling to find time to devote to the league in recent months.  Chamra joined the BDBL in September of 2000, making him #13 in seniority.  Chamra retires with a lifetime record of 846-998 -- a .459 winning percentage that ranks #42 all time (out of 59 owners in BDBL history.)  But there is one thing that Chamra owns that most of the 41 owners ahead of him on that list do not: the coveted BDBL championship trophy.

April 9, 2012
Kansas Keeps Pace
KANSAS - Despite NOT making a blockbuster trade with the Cowtippers on April 1st, the Kansas Law Dogs have managed to keep pace in the Higuera Division, and trail the heavily-favored Allentown Ridgebacks by just two games.  Kansas and Allentown faced off head-to-head (well, head-to-MP) this week, resulting in the Law Dogs emerging with a series victory.

Matt Cain outdueled Josh Beckett in the first game, as Beckett allowed a pair of homers to Jose Bautista and Gaby Sanchez, giving Kansas the win.  In Game Two, Kansas fought back from a 3-0 deficit by scoring 5 runs in the 8th and 9th innings off of Jeremy Hellickson and Johnny Venters.  Kansas then made it three in a row with an improbable win over Tim Lincecum, with a Sanchez RBI double in the 7th providing the one-run cushion.  Faced with a series sweep, the Ridgebacks sent Chien Ming Wang to the hill in the fourth game, and he allowed just one run through seven innings while scattering ten hits.  Allentown scored all the runs they would need with a three-run first against Roy Oswalt, spoiling the sweep.

March 28, 2012
Blockbuster!
SALEM, NH - After a disappointing start to Chapter Two (including a four-game sweep by the lowly Granite State Lightning), the Salem Cowtippers made a blockbuster, 22-player trade with the Kansas Law Dogs that completely changes the face of each franchise.  The Cowtippers completely rebuilt their farm system by adding top prospects Dylan Bundy, A.J. Cole and Yasmani Grandal, as well as youngsters Logan Morrison, Lorenzo Cain, Jose Tabata and Travis Wood.  The Law Dogs loaded up for a run at the 2012 title by adding Matt Kemp, James Shields, Yadier Molina and Rafael Betancourt (among others.)

UPDATE: APRIL FOOLS!

March 13, 2012
Chapter One: That's a Wrap
SALEM, NH - Chapter One of the 2012 season officially came to an end on Monday night with the Granite State Lightning finally splitting their first series of the season.  Find out who were our Players of the Chapter, and get a summary of the top ten stories of the chapter in the brand new feature: Chapter Wrap-up.

March 6, 2012
Lilly Throws BDBL's "Worst No-Hitter"
CLEVELAND, OH - Facing a lineup that was dubbed the best in the league during the pre-season, Cleveland Rocks lefty Ted Lilly tossed the first no-hitter of the 2012 season, and first no-hitter since 2010.  It was an unusual no-hitter, to say the least.  Lilly threw 133 pitches, walked 8 batters, and won by a final score of 5-2.

Full details and box score

February 29, 2012
Meatballs On a Roll
MISSISSIPPI - After a 5-3 start to the season, the Mississippi Meatballs have won 11 of their next 16 games.  With an overall record of 16-8, the Meatballs share the best record in the Ozzie League with the New Milford Blazers.  Pitching has carried them this far, as they own the best ERA (3.09) in the OL, and have held opposing hitters to just 7.4 hits per nine innings on average.

February 27, 2012
BDBL Hall of Fame Unveiled
SALEM, NH - The Big Daddy Baseball League officially unveiled the opening of the league's brand new Hall of Fame, located in beautiful, downtown Salem, New Hampshire. Dignitaries from far and wide attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including former Salem legend Mike Magnante, first-ever Cowtipper Greg Maddux, New Hampshire's own Adam Sandler, Manchester kingpin Jim Doyle, and "Big Daddy" himself, Rick Reuschel. Commissioner Mike Glander was also on-hand to announce the league's first (and only) inductee into the brand-new Hall of Fame: Barry Bonds.

In his nine-year career, Bonds won five MVP awards, four Babe Ruth awards, and led the Allentown Ridgebacks to two BDBL championship titles. He smashed 407 home runs in his career, including a career-high 66 in 2002, and walked over 1,200 times. He was also the league's first-ever $20 million player.

Surprisingly, Bonds was not a unanimous selection, as he received 19 of the 20 votes cast. Just missing the 75% threshold for induction were Sammy Sosa (65%) and Roger Clemens (60%.) Curt Schilling drew surprisingly little support with just 55% of the votes.

February 23, 2012
Break Up the Jamboree
BEAR COUNTRY - The Bear Country Jamboree were predicted to finish with 100+ losses in 2012, but they are off to a blazing 6-2 start to the 2012 season.  Of course, it's only 8 games, but optimism reigns supreme!

Over in the Eck League, the Akron Ryche own the best record in the league at 7-1, while the St. Louis Apostles are a shocking 1-7 in their first 8 games.  And the Villanova Mustangs?  They're at 0-0.  But hey, it's only February 23rd.

February 7, 2012
Hot Starts for New Milford, Sylmar, Allentown
SALEM, NH - The New Milford Blazers have wasted no time wrapping up the division title.  After 20 games, New Milford owns a 13-7 record and is outscoring their opponents by 35 runs.  The Sylmar Padawans are also off to a blistering start, winning 9 of their first 12 games, and outscoring their opponents by 19 runs.  And over in the other league, the Allentown Ridgebacks have surprised no one by getting off to a 6-2 start.  In just 8 games, Allentown has outscored their opponents by 25 runs (an average of more than 3 runs per game, for the mathematically-challenged.)

January 27, 2012
Another Eck League Blockbuster
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles were about to begin this season with the best starting rotation in the BDBL, but not a lot of offense.  The Chicago Black Sox had the opposite "problem": the league's best offense, but not enough quality pitching.  The two teams solved both of their problems on Friday night, just minutes before the deadline, with one blockbuster trade.  Heading to Chicago are Jered Weaver, Justin Upton and three others.  In exchange, St. Louis receives Pablo Sandoval, Curtis Granderson, Scott Baker and two top prospects (Jarrod Parker and Brandon Belt.)

January 20, 2012
Kansas Gets Fisted
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs added a third ace to their starting rotation today, acquiring Doug Fister from the San Antonio Broncs in exchange for Anibal Sanchez and top prospect Archie Bradley.  Fister joins a stacked Kansas rotation that includes Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Roy Oswalt.  Sanchez becomes the #2 starter behind Michael Pineda for a San Antonio team that GM Greg Newgard has boldly predicted will win the division.

January 11, 2012
Wilson Signs with New Milford
SALEM, NH - C.J. Wilson, the cream of the 2012 free agent pitching crop, was signed today by Anthony "Mayor McCheese" Peburn at a bargain-basement salary of just $8 million.  Wilson will join Clayton "Asswipe" Kershaw, Gavin Floyd, Josh Collmenter and Guillermo Moscoso in what has to be the best pitching staff in New Milford history (which really isn't saying much.)

The previous day, Peburn signed David Ortiz at a salary of $6 million...to play right field.  Yep.

January 6, 2012
Berkman to Wear the Purple
SALEM, NH - The biggest hitter of the free agent Class of 2012, Lance Berkman, was signed today by the Sylmar Padawans at a salary of $8.5 million.  Berkman will team with Matt Holliday and Hunter Pence in the middle of the Padawans lineup this season.  Sylmar GM John Duel also signed Carl Pavano ($3.5MM), Jason Hammel ($3.5MM) and Miguel Olivo ($3MM) earlier in the auction.

January 5, 2012
Blockbuster!
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Los Altos Undertakers today, adding both Evan Longoria AND Curtis Granderson to their lineup, along with catching prospect Tommy Joseph.  In exchange, Los Altos received Drew Stubbs and top prospects Brett Lawrie, Devin Mesoraco and Gavin Cecchini.  This deal completely revamps the Chicago lineup, giving them perhaps the strongest offense in the league.

In addition to Longoria and Granderson, the Black Sox lineup will include MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera and potential all-stars Rickie Weeks, Matt Wieters and Starlin Castro.  The trade also relegates Pablo Sandoval (Vg-ranged 3B, and Av 1B, with a 909 overall OPS) to the bench, giving Chicago some prime trade bait to swing another major deal at some point this season.

January 5, 2012
C.C. Rides to Corona
SALEM, NH - Corona GM Ed McGowan made a big splash last month by trading for Albert Pujols and Joey Votto.  Today, he made another splash by adding ace starter C.C. Sabathia at a salary of $13.5 million.  Sabathia, who took a huge pay cut from the $22 million he made in each of the last three seasons, will anchor a starting rotation that includes Tim Stauffer, Derek Holland and Chris Narveson.

January 3, 2012
Napoli Sets Records
SALEM, NH - The 2012 auction began today in record-setting fashion when Mike Napoli was signed by the New York Giants for $13 million.  That is the highest salary ever for a catcher OR a first baseman in BDBL history.  Napoli, who stepped to the plate just 432 times in MLB, figures to hit in the middle of a New York lineup that includes just one other hitter with an OPS over 800 (Billy Butler, at 822.)  After signing Napoli, the Giants have just $2.3 million remaining to fill 13 spots on their roster.  They still have no third baseman, only half a shortstop, and no #4 starting pitcher.  But they have Mike Napoli, so that's something.

January 1, 2012
Cubans Invade Farm Draft
SALEM, NH - The 2012 Farm Draft officially began on New Year's Eve when Bobby Sylvester (on behalf of the Bear Country Jamboree) selected Cuban YouTube sensation Yoennis Cespedes.  Two picks later, Sylvester selected another Cuban import, Jorge Soler, with yet another traded pick.  This marks the fourth time in BDBL Farm Draft history that the first pick of the draft was a refugee from Cuba.  That club includes Aroldis Chapman (#1 pick in 2010), Maels Rodriguez (2004) and Jose Contreras (2003).  If you include three Japanese imports (Kaz Ishii, Kei Igawa and Hiroki Kuroda), the #1 overall pick in the BDBL Farm Draft has gone to a foreign import 7 times in 14 years.

December 19, 2011
Deadline Fever Rips Through BDBL
SALEM, NH - The entire league contracted a nasty case of Deadline Fever on Sunday night, as teams scrambled around frantically to consummate deals before the final winter trading deadline.  A total of 11 trades were made on Sunday, with many big names (and big salaries) changing hands.

Among the more frantic GM's was New York's Jim Doyle, who traded Joey Votto for Mike Moustakas earlier this winter, and then traded Moustakas on Sunday in exchange for Zack Greinke...and then traded Greinke to Southern Cal for Josh Reddick and Julio Iglesias.  (In other words, Doyle turned Joey Votto into Julio Iglesias.)

After a quiet (too quiet) winter of inactivity, New Milford villain Anthony Peburn made a pair of deals on Sunday, ultimately acquiring Adrian Gonzalez at the expense of his entire farm system.  And the St. Louis winter trading frenzy officially ended on Sunday when GM Bobby Sylvester added Dan Haren to a starting rotation that already includes Cliff Lee and Jared Weaver.

December 1, 2011
McGowan Lands a Few Punches
CORONA, CA - After a quiet off-season, Corona GM Ed McGowan delivered the two biggest shockers of the off-season, all in one night.  First, he added MVP candidate Joey Votto in a trade with the New York Giants (sacrificing Billy Butler and Mike Moustakas.)  Then, he acquired future BDBL first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols from the St. Louis Apostles (as well as Mariano Rivera) in exchange for Joe Mauer, Mark Trumbo and Allen Craig.  Pujols, who has spent his entire career as a member of the Apostles franchise, will be moving to third base to accommodate Votto.  With that one-two punch batting in the middle of the Corona lineup, the Confederates now have to be considered instant contenders (though they still have a little work to do.)

December 1, 2011
Superstar Shuffle
SALEM, NH - We're just a week into the 2012 trading season, and already several big names have traded hands.  The Sylmar Padawans added Matt Holliday, Chicago acquired Starlin Castro, Akron swapped Logan Morrison for Corey Hart and Jason Motte, Salem has added Ubaldo Jimenez, Jair Jurrjens, Yadier Molina and Michael Cuddyer, Allentown picked up Josh Beckett, and New York traded Gio Gonzalez and the great Phil Humber to St. Louis for Chris Carpenter and Jesus Montero.

November 23, 2011
Atlanta Wins!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants fought off the Los Altos Undertakers in six games to capture the 2011 BDBL championship on Wednesday afternoon.  Atlanta's pitchers held the powerful Undertakers lineup in check throughout the series, holding Los Altos to just 19 runs on 45 hits.  Atlanta's 9-2 win in Game Six came on the heels of a 12-inning marathon, which was won by Los Altos.  Despite nagging usage issues, the Fire Ants clinched the series with help from starter Clay Buchholz, who allowed just two runs on seven hits in 6+ innings.

November 19, 2011
World Series Primed for Pitchers Duel
SALEM, NH - The 2011 BDBL World Series will feature two of the greatest pitching staffs in league history when the Atlanta Fire Ants square off against the Los Altos Undertakers.  Atlanta is no stranger to pitchers duels, as they captured their first Eck League title by defeating the Great Lakes Sphinx in a series filled with pitchers duels.  The two pitching staffs combined to hold the opposition to just 42 runs in 6 games, and a .230/.289/.392 average.  Atlanta pitchers whiffed 62 batters in just 54 innings in that series, while issuing only 15 walks.

The road to the World Series was much easier for the Undertakers, who captured their second Ozzie League championship with an easy sweep of the lackluster New Milford Blazers.  Los Altos outscored New Milford 24-14 in the series.

November 8, 2011
Cheesetastic
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers, and their roster full of pinch hitters and guys your wife has never heard of, won the OL Division Series on Tuesday, setting up an OLCS matchup against the Los Altos Undertakers.

Three of the five games in the series were decided by one run, including the final two games.  In the end, San Antonio's vaunted pitching staff proved to be no match for the high-powered Blazers offense, led by series MVP Wilson Betemit.  (You'll have to explain to your wives who he is.)

November 6, 2011
Undertakers Overtake Mississippi
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have advanced to the OL Championship Series for the fourth time in franchise history after defeating the Mississippi Meatballs in five relatively uneventful games.  Los Altos pounded the Meatballs for 14 runs in Game One, and easily won Game Two by a score of 7-2.  Mississippi eked out a one-run win in Game Three, but Los Altos then took the lead in the first inning of Game Four, and didn't surrender that lead the rest of the series.  C.C. Sabathia closed out the final game with a complete game six-hit shutout.

November 5, 2011
Fire!  Fiiiiire!!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants are heading to the EL Championship Series after a six game series victory over the St. Louis Apostles on Saturday afternoon.  The Fire Ants won the first two games of the series despite losing their Game One starter, Clay Buchholz, to a stiff arm following a third inning rain delay.  When the series shifted to St. Louis, the Apostles evened the series with two straight wins -- one by one run, and another a 2-0 win.

Atlanta then took the series lead once again with a 4-0 Game Five win behind the stellar pitching of Buchholz.  The Fire Ants then wrapped up their second-ever ELDS victory with a convincing 11-1 win in Game Six.  Atlanta will now face the Great Lakes Sphinx in the ELCS.

November 1, 2011
Sphinx Advance!
GREAT LAKES - It took the Great Lakes Sphinx franchise 12 years to get to the BDBL post-season, and they're in no hurry to leave the party.  On Tuesday night, the Sphinx upset the Kansas Law Dogs four games to one in the EL Division Series to advance to the ELCS.  Great Lakes pitching held the stacked Kansas offense to just a .190/.237/.335 average, with only 13 runs scored.  The Great Lakes offense pummeled Kansas pitching, and posted a .516 slugging percentage in the series, with 16 doubles, 8 home runs and 28 runs scored.

October 29, 2011
That's a Wrap
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season officially came to an end at 9:42pm on Friday night.  The St. Louis Apostles needed to win one game in their final series in order to secure a tie for the division lead, but instead won three of those games to clinch the final spot in the playoffs outright.

The Apostles will now face the Atlanta Fire Ants in the EL Division Series, while the Kansas Law Dogs will face their division rivals, the Great Lakes Sphinx, in the other EL Division Series.

In the OL, the Los Altos Undertakers and Mississippi Meatballs will square off in one OL Division Series, and the New Milford Blazers and San Antonio Broncs will battle in the other.

October 28, 2011
Meatballs Roll into Playoffs
MISSISSIPPI - The Mississippi Meatballs went just 15-13 in Chapter Six, but it was good enough to capture the Benes Division.  On Thursday night, the penultimate night of the 2011 season, the Meatballs swept the Bear Country Jamboree to overtake the Las Vegas Flamingoes and clinch their third division title in franchise history.  It is the first division title for Nic Weiss, who took over the franchise in 2008.

October 25, 2011
Ryan Glander Joins BDBL
SALEM, NH - Ryan Glander, the 15-year-old son of Commissioner Mike Glander, was officially announced as the newest owner of the Buckingham Badgers franchise.  Glander will take over immediately as the GM of the team, and will begin managing in 2012.  To honor both the franchise's legacy and his "Uncle Geisel," Glander renamed his team the "Granite State Lightning", which was the franchise's original name.

October 24, 2011
Badger Resigns
SALEM, NH - Citing difficulties with his schedule, Tony Badger resigned from his position as owner of the Buckingham Badgers franchise.  Badger joined the BDBL in June of 2009, taking over the hallowed Litchfield Lightning franchise from one of the BDBL's founding fathers, Phil Geisel.  Geisel led the Lightning franchise to three straight OL wild card wins in the league's first three seasons, but then let the franchise rot into a state of disarray.  By the time Badger took over, Litchfield was en route to a 99-loss season with no hope for the future.

Incredibly, however, Badger's franchise (which was aptly named after his hometown of "New Hope") reeled off an 89-win season in his first full year, barely missing the playoffs by just two games.  After a 79-win season in 2006, Badger then performed another miracle, winning 95 games and capturing the OL wild card in 2007.  That season, New Hope's MVP David Ortiz hit a BDBL record 79 home runs, and Badger won both the OL GM and Manager of the Year awards.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.  Work and family consumed most of Badger's time, and the franchise suffered as a result, going just 189-291 (.394) over the next three seasons.  This season, Buckingham is just 52-96 (.351) with 12 games remaining.

October 24, 2011
Apostles Take Over
ST. LOUIS, MO - We've been waiting all season long for the St. Louis Apostles to finally make their move.  The pre-season favorites to win the Person Division have struggled this season, often appearing in last place in the ever-shifting four-team race for the division title.  All four teams were separated by just one game heading into the final chapter of the season, with three teams tied and the Apostles in last place by one game.  But since the start of the chapter, St. Louis is 9-3, including three wins in a crucial series against their division rivals, the SoCal Slyme.

St. Louis now owns a two-game lead in the division.  But in true Eck League style, each team in the Person Division has at least eight games remaining in the season, with just four days left in the season.  So it is still very much anyone's division at this point.

October 20, 2011
#9 for Los Altos (But Who's Counting?)
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have officially clinched their NINTH division title by splitting a series with the San Antonio Broncs on Wednesday night.  Those nine titles represent a new BDBL record, as the Undertakers were previously tied with the Salem Cowtippers in that department.

October 19, 2011
Broncs Capture the Wild Card
SAN ANTONIO, TX - For the fifth time in franchise history, the San Antonio Broncs are heading to the playoffs as the OL wild card winners.  The Broncs officially clinched their spot on Wednesday night in dramatic fashion.  Leading the wild card race by just one game over the Salem Cowtippers, San Antonio faced their division rivals, the Los Altos Undertakers, who had owned the Broncs all season long with a 10-2 record in head-to-head match-ups.  At the same time, the Cowtippers were playing their final series of the season as well -- a home series against the 60-84 Corona Confederates.

Both the Broncs and Cowtippers took the first games of their series, and both teams then lost the second game.  Salem took Game Three of their series with Corona, which gave them a virtual tie for first in the wild card race when San Antonio fell to Los Altos in their third game.  It all boiled down to Game Four.  A Salem win would result in either a tie for the wild card (if San Antonio won their fourth game) or a wild card victory (if San Antonio lost.)

But there was one thing stopping Salem from taking that victory lap: Lou Marson.  Corona's backup catcher, who sports a 488 OPS against righties, was mysteriously placed in the #2 spot in the Corona lineup for Game Four against right-hander John Lackey.  Marson's final line on the day: 4-for-4 with a walk, TWO triples and a home run.  Each of Marson's four hits came with two outs, and he plated four runs all by himself.  As a result, Corona walked away with an 8-5 win.

The San Antonio dugout erupted in cheers when the Salem score was announced.  With the score tied at 1-1 in their final game of the season, the Broncs knew a win would clinch their spot in the post-season.  Tyler Colvin then broke that tie in the 7th inning with a two-run homer, and the San Antonio bullpen nailed down the win, sparking a massive mid-field celebration.  The Broncs will now likely face the New Milford Blazers in the OL Division Series.

October 13, 2011
Flamingos Soar into First
LAS VEGAS, NV - The Las Vegas Flamingos took three out of four from the front-running Mississippi Meatballs to capture first place in the Benes Division with just three weeks left in the season.  Vegas pummeled Mississippi pitching in the final three games of the series, scoring 17 runs in Game Three and 15 runs in Game Four.  Aubrey Huff and Delmon Young each crushed three homers in the series, and Huff drove home 10 runs in just 4 games.

September 30, 2011
Locks Make Their Move
NIAGARA - It seems as if we've waited all season long for somebody in the Person Division to make a move toward the top of the division.  That moment finally arrived in Chapter Six, as the Niagara Locks have gone 6-2 in their first eight games, capturing a two game lead in the division with a little less than four weeks left to play in the season.

September 29, 2011
Swapping Sweeps
SALEM, NH - On September 23rd, the Salem Cowtippers swept the Sylmar Padawans to take over the OL wild card lead from the San Antonio Broncs for the first time this season.  Four days later, San Antonio returned the favor by sweeping the Benes Division leading Mississippi Meatballs to retake the lead.  That series not only helped the Broncs, but it put the Las Vegas Flamingos just one game out of the Benes Division lead.

Two days later, the Cowtippers faced the Bear Country Jamboree, and once again it resulted in a series sweep, putting Salem back in the driver's seat by one game.  The Cowtippers have 16 games remaining against the Los Altos Undertakers, New Milford Blazers, Corona Confederates and Buckingham Badgers.  San Antonio also has 16 games remaining, and will face the Blazers, Ravenswood Infidels, Undertakers and Jamboree.

September 15, 2011
Person of Interest
SALEM, NH - It is perhaps the most exciting pennant race in BDBL history.  With just one chapter remaining in the 2011 season, the entire Person Division is locked in a virtual tie.  Three teams (Southern Cal, Niagara and South Carolina) share the top spot with a record of 67-65, while the pre-season favorite St. Louis Apostles trail by just one game.  Oddly enough, the Apostles are the only team in the division that have outscored their opponents this season (+45).

September 14, 2011
Atlanta Clinches!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants officially clinched the Hrbek Division title on Wednesday, becoming the first team in the BDBL this season to do so.  It is the third straight division title for Atlanta, following a BDBL record 118 losses in 2008.

September 14, 2011
One More to Go
SALEM, NH - Chapter Five of the 2011 season officially came to an end Wednesday night.  The New Milford Blazers were on fire last chapter, going 22-6 to build their lead in the Butler Division to a all-but-insurmountable six games.  The Great Lakes Sphinx (19-9), Salem Cowtippers (18-10), Kansas Law Dogs (18-10) and Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) all had successful chapters as well.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Bear Country Jamboree went just 6-22.

Salem's Matt Holliday (.374/.425/.678) and Niagara's Josh Hamilton (.369/.432/.631) were the Hitters of the Chapter, and Sylmar's Jonathan Sanchez (4-1, 1.28 ERA, .121/.228/.236) and Great Lakes' Jered Weaver (1.75 ERA, .193/.254/.351) were named Pitchers of the Chapter.

September 7, 2011
Races Heating Up
SALEM, NH - With less than seven weeks remaining in the 2011 season, the races for the final spots in the playoffs are really beginning to heat up.  In the Ozzie League, the wild card race is now a virtual tie between the San Antonio Broncs and Salem Cowtippers.  And in the Eck League, the Person Division is also deadlocked in a virtual tie between the SoCal Slyme and St. Louis Apostles.  The two other teams in that division trail by just three games each, and the Las Vegas Flamingos also trail their division by three games.

August 21, 2011
Blazers Gain Ground
NEW MILFORD, CT - Thanks to a four-game sweep of the Ravenswood Infidels, the New Milford Blazers have opened up a three-game lead in the Butler Division over the Salem Cowtippers.  And thanks to a four-game sweep of the Las Vegas Flamingos by the San Antonio Broncs, Salem now trails in the wild card race by three games as well.

August 20, 2011
BDBL Parties in DC
SALEM, NH - The 12th annual BDBL Weekend festivities took place in Washington, DC on the weekend of August 20th, with eight members of the BDBL (and one aspiring member) attending.  The group took in the sights of our nation's capitol, visited a couple of museums, ate lots of unhealthy food, took in a ballgame, and busted relentlessly on Jim Doyle.  Good times.

Full recap

August 2, 2011
Another Chapter in the Books
SALEM, NH - Just a few short months after the New Milford Blazers threw in the towel and placed all of their players on the chopping block, New Milford finished with the league's best record (17-7) in Chapter Four, capturing sole possession of first place by two games over the sputtering Salem Cowtippers (12-12 in the chapter.)

The Los Altos Undertakers (17-7), Kansas Law Dogs (16-8) and Atlanta Fire Ants (16-8) continue to dominate this season, while the Bear Country Jamboree (6-18), Corona Confederates (7-17) and the "defending champion" Allentown Ridgebacks (7-17) continue to stink up the joint.

New Milford's Robinson Cano (.421/.475/.692) and Niagara's Josh Hamilton (.433/.493/.896) were your Hitters of the Chapter (each leading his division in all three triple-slash categories.)  And New Milford's Clayton "Asswipe" Kershaw (1.26 ERA, .129/.216/.161 against) and Akron's Jhoulys Chacin (1.74 ERA, .200/.271/.267) were the Pitchers of the Chapter.

August 1, 2011
Deadline Deals
SALEM, NH - Perhaps the most unexciting Chapter Five trading deadline passed on Monday night with the slightest shrug of the league's collective shoulders.  The biggest moves were made by the fire-selling Chicago Black Sox, who dealt away aces Cliff Lee (to Great Lakes) and Zack Greinke (to St. Louis) in a continuation of John Gill's all-or-nothing strategy.

In the Benes Division, the first place Mississippi Meatballs added C.J. Wilson and Wandy Rodriguez to their rotation, while the second-place Las Vegas Flamingos picked up Hiroki Kuroda and Freddy Garcia.  Otherwise, all was quiet in the most inactive trading deadline in league history.

July 31, 2011
Blazers Back on Top
NEW MILFORD, CT - It's the feel-good story of the year.  Their ace is a guy whose name is banned from the BDBL message boards.  Their #2 pitcher bats cleanup.  And their lineup is filled with superstars like Wilson Betemit, Casey Blake, Russell Branyan, Miguel Cairo, Jack Cust, Matt Diaz, Jim Edmonds, Tony Gwynn, Bill Hall, Wes Helms, Ronny Paulino and Andres Torres.  Ladies and gentlemen, these are your first-place New Milford Blazers.

July 18, 2011
The Division No One Wants to Win
SALEM, NH - The Person Division this year has been both the tightest divisional race in the league this year and the least exciting.  With Chapter Five just two weeks away, only four games separate all four teams in this division.  But in Chapter Four so far, none of those four teams owns a winning record on the chapter.  And the team currently in first place?  The white-flag-waving SoCal Slyme.  Could this be Bob Sylvester's second unintentional division title?

July 7, 2011
Out: Arbitrage; In: Going For It
MISSISSIPPI - After spending the past two and a half seasons practicing the art of arbitrage, perpetually building toward success at some undefined point in the future, Mississippi Meatballs GM Nic Weiss finally appears to be in "go for it" mode.  This past week, Weiss has added aces C.J. Wilson and Wandy Rodriguez to a pitching staff that currently ranks 10th out of 12 Ozzie League teams in ERA.

Despite their poor performance on the mound, and despite trading away star impact players like Cole Hamels, Mariano Rivera and Andre Ethier earlier in the season, the Meatballs currently hold a four-game lead in the Benes Division.  Mississippi owns a .575 winning percentage this season despite being outscored by 16 runs.

July 2, 2011
Benes Fit to be Tied
NEW MILFORD, CT - Thanks to a four-game sweep of the Manchester Irish Lame-Asses, the New Milford Blazers are now tied with the Salem Cowtippers atop the Butler Division.  The Blazers are now 22-10 -- a .688 winning percentage -- since they "threw in the towel" after two chapters of play.

June 14, 2011
Halfway Home
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season is officially half over.  As the all-star break approaches, the Salem Cowtippers and Mississippi Meatballs each own a three-game lead in their divisions, while the Los Altos Undertakers are six games ahead of the wild-card-leading San Antonio Broncs.

In the EL, the Kansas Law Dogs are running away with the Higuera Division with a 54-26 record (tied with the Undertakers for second-best in the BDBL) that is 11 games better than the EL wild-card-leading Great Lakes Sphinx.  The Atlanta Fire Ants own the best record in the BDBL at 57-23 (.712), and own a 22-game lead in their division.  And in the Person Division...we have a THREE-WAY TIE for first place between the SoCal Slyme, Niagara Locks and South Carolina Sea Cats!

In Chapter Three, the Broncs and Fire Ants each led the way with 18 victories, with the Sea Cats (17-7) and New Milford Blazers (13-8) also racked up the W's.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Buckingham Badgers and Cleveland Rocks each lost 17 games, while the Las Vegas Flamingos not only lost 16 games, but the Benes Division lead as well.

In interleague play, the Eck League once again bested their superiors for the third year in a row, by a tally of 99-93.  Salem's Matt Holliday (.385/.430/.648) and Kansas' Jose Bautista (.357/.464/.900) were the Hitters of the Chapter, and Salem's Barry Zito (3-1, 2.48 ERA, .171/.279/.243 against) and Villanova's Trevor Cahill (3-1, 1.67 ERA, .182/.239/.264 against) took home Pitcher of the Chapter honors.

June 6, 2011
Niagara Locks Up First
NIAGARA - In the hotly-contested Person Division, the Niagara Locks have emerged as the latest team to claim sole possession of first place thanks to a 12-8 start to Chapter Three.  Niagara now owns a one-game lead over the white-flag-waving SoCal Slyme, who are 10-10 on the chapter.

Despite their towel-throwing, the Slyme are now tied with the Great Lakes Sphinx for the EL wild card lead, as the Sphinx are just 9-11 this chapter thanks to a 5-7 spanking by the Ozzie League in interleague play.

Speaking of white-flag-waving, the New Milford Blazers are now 14-6 after their manager threw in the towel last chapter before issuing an Emily Litella statement to the press.  They now trail the Cowtippers by just three games.

April 30, 2011
Chapter Two in the Book
SALEM, NH - The second chapter of the season officially closed on Saturday.  It was a great chapter for the Atlanta Fire Ants, who went 21-7 to open up an 11-game lead in the division. The Kansas Law Dogs (19-9), Los Altos Undertakers (17-11), Las Vegas Flamingos (17-11) and Salem Cowtippers (17-11) all had successful chapters as well.  The Corona Confederates (9-19)?  Not so much.

Los Altos slugger Adrian Gonzalez (.409/.496/.634) and Chicago's Miguel Cabrera (.369/.414/.796) won the Hitter of the Chapter honors, while the Undertakers' C.C. Sabathia (3-0, 1.75 ERA, 40 K) and Atlanta's Clay Buchholz (5-1, 1.21 ERA) were the Pitchers of the Chapter.

April 30, 2011
Big Deals
SALEM, NH - Several major trades were made at the Chapter Three deadline, as some teams begin to wave the white flag, some load up for the stretch run, and others simply practice the latest fad to sweep the league: arbitrage.

In the first category, the Allentown Ridgebacks dealt no fewer than a dozen players this chapter, unloading a ton of unwanted salary and getting several possible 2012 stars in exchange.  The Corona Confederates added one of the best prospects in baseball, Mike Moustakas, in addition to young first baseman Billy Butler.  And the SoCal Slyme traded a couple of stars in exchange for potential 2012 stars Alex Gordon, Kyle Lohse and Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

In the second category, the Kansas Law Dogs added Cole Hamels, Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Young, Anibal Sanchez and Adam LaRoche to a team that was already beyond-stacked.  The Los Altos Undertakers added Martin Prado and Luke Scott to an already ridiculous starting lineup.  The San Antonio Broncs added Brett Myers to an already strong rotation.  And the St. Louis Broncs added Carlos Marmol to an already strong bullpen.

And in the last category, the wild-card-contending Mississippi Meatballs added Victor Martinez while sacrificing Hamels, and the Great Lakes Sphinx made five trades, acquiring Marcus Thames, Kelly Johnson and Heath Bell (among many others) while sacrificing Brett Myers and Martin Prado (among many others.)

April 16, 2011
Spanking
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers swept their most hated rivals, the New Milford Blazers, this week to establish a six-game lead in the Butler Division.  All four games were won by just one run, leading Blazers GM Anthony Peburn to post a towel-throwing post on the Selling forum.  New Milford now owns a sub-.500 record (23-25) on the season.

April 15, 2011
Kansas Adds Another Ace
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs are off to a 32-16 (.667) start this season, led by four aces: Roy Oswalt, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson and Travis Wood.  But apparently, that wasn't enough, as the 'Dogs just added a fifth ace in Cole Hamels.  In exchange for Hamels (who is under contract through 2014, at a salary well below market value), Kansas sent three prospects to the Mississippi Meatballs, and dumped the contract of Luke Hochevar (who is under contract through 2015) in the process.

The Meatballs are just one game behind in the OL wild card race, and were expected to run away with their division this season.  But Hamels got off to a slow start (a 6.31 ERA in a dozen starts), and with Hochevar now replacing Hamels' innings in the rotation, the Meatballs now seem destined for the cellar.

April 12, 2011
SoCal Firesale
SOUTHERN CAL - Following a disappointing 8-12 start to the second chapter, the SoCal Slyme have officially thrown in the towel.  The defending Person Division champs are now 21-27 on the season, but just four games behind the division-leading Niagara Locks and St. Louis Apostles (who are virtually tied with records of 15-13 and 17-15, respectively.)

March 30, 2011
Statement
ATLANTA, GA - Arguably, the two best teams in the BDBL this season squared off head-to-head this week when the Kansas Law Dogs (now 30-14 on the season) hosted the Atlanta Fire Ants (25-11) for a four game set.  No one could have expected the outcome, though, as Atlanta swept the series with relative ease.

In the first game, Atlanta threw their #5 starter, Jason Hammel, against Roy Oswalt.  Atlanta's circus clowns invaded the field during a four-run sixth inning, giving the Fire Ants a 6-3 victory.  In Game Two, Atlanta handed the ball to Mat Latos, who tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings despite walking five batters.  The Fire Ants scored a run in the first, second and third innings, giving them a 3-0 win.

In Game Three, it was Clay Buchholz's turn to shut down the Kansas offense.  Through seven innings, Buchholz allowed just one earned run on six hits and no walks, with seven K's.  Meanwhile, Kansas starter Tim Hudson was pounded for five runs through eight innings.  Atlanta then completed the sweep behind the stellar pitching of John Danks (5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K), who earned his fourth win of the season before handing the ball to five relievers who held the Law Dogs hitless the rest of the way.

March 13, 2011
One Done
SALEM, NH - The first chapter of the 2011 season officially ended Saturday night, with the Los Altos Undertakers not unexpectedly sporting the best record in the BDBL at 21-7.  The Kansas Law Dogs (20-8), Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) and the surprising Las Vegas Flamigos (18-10) have also enjoyed a hot start to the season.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Bear Country Jamboree and (shockingly) Chicago Black Sox have each stumbled out to a 9-19 start.

A pair of third basemen, Los Altos' Evan Longoria (.354/.403/.735, 9 HR, 40 RBI) and SoCal's Kevin Youkilis (.365/.446/.865, 11 HR, 28 RBI) took home the Hitter of the Chapter honors.  The Undertakers' Brian Duensing (4-0, 1.29 ERA, .185/.232/.261 against) and Kansas' Travis Wood (5-0, 2.53 ERA, .216/.262/.310) are the Pitchers of the Chapter.

February 25, 2011
More Arbitrage in Mississippi
MISSISSIPPI - Nic Weiss is at it again.  Less than four weeks into the season, the Mississippi Meatballs have jettisoned star outfielder Andre Ethier to their favorite trading partners, the St. Louis Apostles, getting only a middle reliever and prospects in exchange.  The Meatballs are currently two games behind the surprising Las Vegas Flamingoes in the Benes Division, and wrapped up the chapter with a record of 15-13 -- despite being outscored by 40 runs so far this season.

February 16, 2011
Cancel the Parade
NEW YORK - The question on everyone's mind this winter was: is this the year that Jim Doyle will finally assemble a winning team and enjoy some semblance of success in the BDBL?  And the answer, after 24 games, is a definitive: NO.

Doyle's "New York Giants" have stumbled out to a 6-18 start to the 2011 season, and have been outscored by their opponents by a whopping 45 runs.  They are hitting just .232/.314/.361 as a team, and their pitching staff owns a 5.00 ERA and is averaging 4.6 walks per nine.

January 29, 2011
Play Ball!
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season officially opened on Saturday night, with the Salem Cowtippers taking three of four games from the New Milford Blazers.  Rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg lost the first game to a lineup filled with eight left-handed batters.  In Game Two, Salem's winter free agent pick-up Colby Lewis struck out 13, but didn't get the decision, as Salem had to come from behind three times to get the win.  In Game Three, the newest Cowtipper, Francisco Liriano, helped the Cowtippers cruise to a 2-0 shutout win.  And in Game Four, Salem overcame New Milford's cheestastic strategy of batting Yovani Gallardo out of the leadoff spot by clinching the series victory with a thrilling come-from-behind win.

January 21, 2011
It's Over!
SALEM, NH - And with the 295th pick of the 2011 free agent draft, the Cleveland Rocks selected someone named Lucas Herrell.  And thus ended the longest draft in BDBL history.  (Or, at least, it seemed like it.)  On deck: Opening Day!

January 10, 2011
SoCal Adds a King
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The defending Person Division champion SoCal Slyme have landed a Cy Young candidate this week by adding Felix Hernandez from the Salem Cowtippers, along with #4 starter Scott Baker.  In exchange, the Slyme parted with all-star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and #5 starter James Shields.

Newly-acquired free agent Kevin Youkilis will take over for Zimmerman at the hot corner, while another free agent signing, Paul Konerko, takes over at first base.  And yet a third free agent pick-up, Adam Dunn, is slated to play out of position in left field.

January 5, 2011
Oswalt Goes to Kansas
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs made a huge splash in the free agent market this winter by signing ace Roy Oswalt to a $15 million salary, which will pay him a minimum of $45 million over three years.  Oswalt joins a rotation that already includes Matt Cain and Tim Hudson.  The 2007 BDBL champions are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009, when they won their fourth Higuera Division title.

January 3, 2011
New Milford Wins Cano Sweepstakes
NEW MILFORD, CT - In the first day of the 2011 free agent auction, the New Milford Blazers walked away with the biggest prize of the season in second baseman Robinson Cano.  And they paid a mind-boggling sum to do so: a $15 million salary, and a guaranteed $45 million over three years.

It is the highest salary awarded to any hitter since 2005, and the largest three-year contract ever awarded to a hitter in league history.

December 23, 2010
A-What?
BEAR COUNTRY, USA - The Bear Country Jamboree re-acquired former franchise mainstay Alex Rodriguez on Wednesday, following the winter trading deadline.  In exchange for the 34-year-old, $14 million slugger, Bear Country sacrificed 20-year-old lefty phenom Madison Bumgarner.

As if that weren't dubious enough, Bear Country also announced that they have signed Rodriguez to a ten-year, $140 million contract.  This contract (a new BDBL record) virtually ensures that A-Rod will remain a Jamboree through age 43.  It also virtually ensures that Bear Country won't be making the playoffs at any point over the next decade.

December 19, 2010
Trading Suspended for the Holidays
SALEM, NH - The 2011 winter trading deadline officially passed at 10:00pm on Sunday night.  A total of 51 trades were made this winter -- 7 more than last winter.  A few big names swapped uniforms over the closing weeks prior to the deadline, including Josh Willingham (twice, ending up in Los Altos), Rickie Weeks (now a Black Sock), C.J. Wilson (the newest ace of the Apostles staff), David Wright (also traded twice, ending up on the Sphinx) and Zack Greinke (now a Black Sock.)

Cutdown Day is scheduled for Thursday, the 23rd.  Cutdown Day forms should be posted by Monday night.

December 6, 2010
And the Winners Are...
SALEM, NH - The annual BDBL post-season awards gala was held this afternoon.  Black-tie affair, $1,000 a plate, celebrity guest speakers, yada yada.  There were few surprises.  St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols took home his first-ever BDBL MVP award and second Babe Ruth award.  Allentown's Tim Lincecum was the only unanimous winner of the evening, walking away with his first EL Cy Young award.

The Sylvester family once again swept the GM and Manager of the Year categories, with the old man winning his FOURTH straight EL MOY award, and junior winning the GM of the Year prize.

Over in the OL, Corona's Joe Mauer won both the MVP and Babe Ruth awards after becoming the first player in BDBL history to hit .400 on the season.  (The biggest shocker of the day was that he didn't win both awards unanimously.)  Jon Lester became the fourth Los Altos Undertaker in league history to win an OL Cy Young.  Mike Glander walked away with his fifth OL GM of the Year trophy (the only trophy he'll ever win in this league.)  And Ed McGowan won his first OL Manager of the Year award.

November 30, 2010
This Just In: 2011 OL Champion Crowned
LOS ALTOS, CA - The 2011 season officially became a formality at 4:00 on Tuesday afternoon.  At that precise moment, Los Altos GM Jeff Paulson giddily strode to the microphone and announced that he has acquired Hanley Ramirez (along with another closer, of course) from the Southern Cal Slyme in exchange for Matt Wieters, Matt Garza and three others.

The Undertakers will now feature an infield of Adrian Gonzalez, Rickie Weeks, Hanley Ramirez and Evan Longoria.  Yee-ha.

November 25, 2010
Trading Season Begins
SALEM, NH - With another season in the books, the first transactions of the 2011 season have already been reported.  A total of six trades have been made thus far, with the most significant being the trade of Joey Votto from the Mississippi Meatballs to their division rivals, the Kansas City Monarchs of Manchester.

November 24, 2010
Allentown Wins #4
ALLENTOWN, NJ - For the fourth time in BDBL history, champagne is flowing in the Allentown clubhouse.  Tonight, the Ridgebacks tied the BDBL record for championship trophies, defeating the Salem Cowtippers (yet again) in six games.

Allentown's relentless offensive attack proved too much for Salem's vaunted pitching staff, and Salem's offense managed to score just one run through the first 22 innings of the World Series against Allentown's pitching.

As expected, Tim Lincecum dominated the Cowtippers in Games One and Four.  Unexpectedly, Felix Hernandez was unable to go on short rest in Game Four, prompting a controversial decision to start lefty Jorge de la Rosa.  de la Rosa allowed TWELVE runs and FIVE homers in just four innings, putting his team in a deep hole.

Salem managed to push the series to six games despite de la Rosa's "effort," but Dan Haren continued his season-long slump in Game Six, and the Cowtippers' offense couldn't take up the slack.

November 20, 2010
An All-Too Familiar BDBL World Series Match-up
SALEM, NH - For the fourth time in nine years, the BDBL World Series will feature a match-up of the Allentown Ridgebacks against the Salem Cowtippers.  The Cowtippers overcame a three-games-to-two deficit in the OLCS to win their fourth Ozzie League title, despite being outscored by Ravenswood in the series.

Allentown, of course, won all three of their prior match-ups against Salem in the World Series, and are heavily-favored to win their fourth league championship trophy in 2010.

November 14, 2010
Ridgebacks in the World Series...Again
ALLENTOWN, NJ - For the fifth time in the past nine years, the Eck League's representative in the BDBL Championship Series will be the Allentown Ridgebacks.  Allentown earned their BDBL-record fifth league title by defeating the St. Louis Apostles in six games in the ELCS on Sunday.

The vaunted Allentown offense punished St. Louis pitching throughout the series, scoring 43 runs with 12 homers in the six games.  The Ridgebacks will now shoot for their fourth BDBL championship, which would be a non-asterisked BDBL record.

November 5, 2010
Playoffs Upset!
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers extended their Cinderella story for one more series after upsetting the heavily-favored Los Altos Undertakers in the OL Division Series.  Salem pitching kept the powerful Undertakers offense on its heels throughout the series, and emerged with a stunning series sweep.

The Cowtippers will now face the Ravenswood Infidels in the OL Championship Series, as the Infidels easily defeated the Corona Confederates earlier in the week.

Over in the other league, the SoCal Slyme were defeated in seven grueling games by the St. Louis Apostles in the All-Sylvester Series, while the Allentown Ridgebacks hardly broke a sweat en route to their fourth championship, sweeping the Atlanta Fire Ants in four easy games.

October 28, 2010
That's a Wrap
SALEM, NH - The wild and crazy 2010 season officially came to a close on Thursday, with the Allentown Ridgebacks (23-5), Los Altos Undertakers (22-6) and Salem Cowtippers (22-6) enjoying the best performances of Chapter Six.

Corona's Joe Mauer (.452/.529/.589) and St. Louis' Justin Upton (.415/.488/.698) won the final Player of the Chapter honors, while New Hope's Andy Pettitte (1.45 ERA, .173/.279/.212 against) and Great Lakes' Ubaldo Jimenez (1.72 ERA, .174/.246/.242) took home the Pitcher of the Chapter (virtual) trophies.

The BDBL post-season officially kicks off on Monday, with Los Altos and Salem going head-to-head in the OLDS, along with Ravenswood and Corona.  In that other league, Allentown will face Atlanta, while the Sylvester household will play the other ELDS.

October 27, 2010
Greatest.  Comeback.  Ever.
NEW MILFORD, CT - The Salem Cowtippers made BDBL history tonight by winning the OL wild card despite being seven games behind in that race earlier this month.  No team in BDBL history has ever come from so many games behind so late in the season to win a spot in the playoffs.  And only one team (the 1999 Massillon Tigerstrikes) have ever come from more games behind at ANY point in the season to win a spot in the post-season.

Salem needed just one win in their final series against the New Milford Blazers to clinch the wild card, and ended up winning three out of four to finish with a record of 95-65 -- one game behind the Corona Confederates in the Butler Division.  After two chapters of play, Salem trailed Corona by 12 games in that race, so they were able to make up 11 games in just four chapters.

Of course, all this means is that Salem now gets the honor of losing to Los Altos in the OL Division Series.

October 27, 2010
Ravenswood Breaks Record
RAVENSWOOD, IL - The Ravenswood Infidels wrapped up their phenomenal 2010 season with a split against the Los Altos Undertakers, giving them a record of 110-50 -- 11 wins better than their previous franchise high.

In the process, Ravenswood shattered a long-standing BDBL record by posting a 3.10 team ERA this season.  The previous mark of 3.26 had been held by the Los Altos Undertakers since 2002.  Earlier this month, Ravenswood joined Los Altos in becoming the only franchises in BDBL history to feature three 20-game winners in their starting rotation, as Javier Vazquez (22-6) joined Wandy Rodriguez (23-7) and Mark Buehrle (21-8.)

Ravenswood will face the Corona Confederates in the OL Division Series.

October 26, 2010
Back-to-Back in Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA - After finishing in last place in their division eight times in nine seasons (from 2000-2008), including a BDBL record 118 losses in 2008, the Atlanta Fire Ants have turned it around in a big, big way.  On Monday, Atlanta officially clinched the Hrbek Division title -- their second consecutive title.  They will be facing the Allentown Ridgebacks in the Division Series, while father and son Sylvester will be facing each other in the other EL Division Series.

October 25, 2010
Blazers Swept!
NEW MILFORD, CT - Trailing by one game in the OL wild card race, the New Milford Blazers were unexpectedly SWEPT by the last-place New Hope Badgers in their penultimate series of the season.  They now head into their final series against the Salem Cowtippers on Wednesday needing a sweep in order to win the wild card.

October 20, 2010
Salem Takes the Lead!
SALEM, NH - In the history of the BDBL, no team has ever come from seven game behind in the final chapter of the season to take the lead in a pennant race...until now.

On September 28th, the Salem Cowtippers trailed the New Milford Blazers by seven games in the Butler Division standings.  Since then, Salem has gone on a tear, winning 14 out of 16 games to take a one game lead in the wild card.  The Cowtippers have just one series remaining -- against the Blazers.  New Milford has three series remaining, against New Hope, Mississippi and Salem.

October 18, 2010
Formula .409!
CORONA, CA - It's official: Joe Mauer is now the only player in BDBL history to bat .400 in the BDBL.  Not only did Mauer manage that feat, but he left no doubt about it whatsoever, finishing the season with a .409 average!  Mauer enjoyed the greatest season by a catcher in BDBL history, hitting .409/.498/.654 with 50 doubles, 28 homers, 134 runs scored, 116 RBI's and 184.4 runs created.

Mauer, Shin-Soo Choo, Kendry Morales and Chone Figgins accounted for over 67% of Corona's runs created this season.  The Confederates wrapped up the 2010 season with a 96-64 record.  With a magic number of four, they are simply waiting for the New Milford Blazers and Salem Cowtippers to wrap up their final series to claim the division title.

October 18, 2010
St. Louis is Wild
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles wrapped up the Eck League wild card this week, and will likely face their division rivals, the SoCal Slyme, in the Eck League Division Series.  This will mark just the second time in BDBL history that Bob Sylvester, Sr. and Jr. will face each other in the playoffs.  (Well, the third time, if you count the 1999 ELCS, when Jr. managed the Oakville Marauders.)

October 13, 2010
20/20/20
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers became the first team in BDBL history to have three 20-game winners in their starting rotation when Matt Garza (20-9) joined Jon Lester (21-5) and C.C. Sabathia (21-9) in the 20-win club after a series against San Antonio on Wednesday.

Before all is said and done, the Ravenswood Infidels could join that exclusive club, as Javier Vazquez (19-6) needs just one more win to join Wandy Rodriguez (22-7) and Mark Buehrle (21-6.)

Not coincidentally, the Undertakers (107-45) and Infidels (105-45) own the best records in the BDBL, and are battling for the #1 seed in the playoffs.

October 13, 2010
Mauer Still Holding Steady at .400
CORONA, CA - Corona MVP Joe Mauer is still holding steady with a .400 batting average, with just two weeks (and two series) remaining in the 2010 season.  The current single-season record for batting average (.396) was set by Albert Pujols of the Wapakoneta Hippos back in 2004.

Another single-season record may be in jeopardy, as the Ravenswood Infidels pitching staff owns a 3.10 team ERA with a dozen games remaining on their schedule.  The all-time record of 3.26 was set by the Los Altos Undertakers in 2002, and was nearly broken (by less than .001 of a point) by the Salem Cowtippers in 2008.

October 9, 2010
One Race Remaining
SALEM, NH - With only 19 days remaining in the 2010 season, only one true race remains to determine the final spot in the playoffs.  Ravenswood, Los Altos and Allentown have captured their divisions, and Corona and Southern Cal own comfortable leads in theirs.  And the St. Louis Apostles are just days away from capturing the EL wild card.

That leaves only the Butler Division and, by extension, the OL wild card, to be decided.  Corona has held the division lead all season, and remains three games ahead of the New Milford Blazers.  And on Friday night, the Salem Cowtippers pulled within three games of New Milford in the wild card race.

September 23, 2010
Allentown Clinches Higuera Title
ALLENTOWN, NJ - After a brief one-year hiatus, the Allentown Ridgebacks are returning to the BDBL playoffs after officially clinching their fifth Higuera Division title this week.  The Ridgebacks currently sport the best winning percentage in the Eck League (.664), and have outscored their opponents by an impressive 260 runs.

September 22, 2010
Yawn...Another Los Altos No-Hitter
LOS ALTOS, CA - A little more than two weeks after the New Milford Blazers threw the first multi-pitcher no-hitter in BDBL history, the Los Altos Undertakers did the same, shutting down the Bear Country Jamboree in the final game of a meaningless series.  Jon Lester combined with four of the Undertakers' countless closers to deliver the franchise's second no-hitter this year, and third in the past two years.  Lester also tossed a no-hitter in 2009, though he did that one all by himself.

Full box score

September 14, 2010
BDBL: The Final Chapter
SALEM, NH - Five chapters are now officially in the books, and several races look to be played out right down to the wire.  In the wild-and-wooly Butler Division, the Corona Confederates are tenaciously clinging to a three-game lead over the New Milford Blazers (who themselves own a four-game lead in the OL wild card race.)

In the EL, just three games separate the first-place SoCal Slyme and the St. Louis Apostles, with the loser of that division most likely becoming the EL wild card winner.

The Ravenswood Infidels led the way in Chapter Five, with a league-best 23-5 record.  They also own the best record overall this season, at 95-37 (.720).  The surprising Cleveland Rocks (20-8) owned the second-best record last chapter, and Los Altos and Allentown unsurprisingly went 19-9.

Your Hitters of the Chapter were SoCal's Jacoby Ellsbury (.405/.431/.552) and (surprise, surprise) Corona's Joe Mauer (.394/.500/.657.)  Pitcher of the Chapter honors went to SoCal's Josh Beckett (5-1, 0.91 ERA) and Undertaker Jon Lester (4-0, 0.55 ERA.)

September 14, 2010
Ho-Hum...Los Altos Wins Another Division Title
LOS ALTOS, CA - Chapter Six has not yet begun, yet the Los Altos Undertakers have already secured the Griffin Division title.  As expected, the defending champions have dominated their division once again, and hold a commanding 32-game lead in the division with just 28 games remaining.  This is the eighth division title for Los Altos -- a mark that ties the BDBL record held by the Salem Cowtippers.

September 6, 2010
A Team Effort
SALEM, NH - Pitching against a lineup that murders left-handed pitching, in a ballpark that also punishes lefties, lefty Clayton "Asswipe" Kershaw combined with FIVE suck-ass middle relievers to no-hit the Salem Cowtippers in the fourth and final game of a pivotal series between the OL's two wild card contenders.

That win made it a split series and preserved New Milford's four-game lead in the wild card over Salem.  It also closed out the chapter for both teams, who finished with identical 16-12 records.

Box score

August 30, 2010
One Game Away
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers unexpectedly swept the Bear Country Nine on Monday, putting them just one game out of first place in the Butler Division.  New Milford's cavalcade of stars (including Landon Powell, Maicer Izturis, Skip Schumaker, Ryan Roberts, Everth Cabrera, Dioner Navarro and the great Eli Whiteside) are now 13-7 on the chapter, and sport an overall winning percentage of nearly .600.

August 22, 2010
The "JA" Stands For Just Awesome
CORONA, CA - JA Happ became the 14th pitcher in BDBL history, first this year, and second in Corona franchise history to throw a no-hitter, which he did on Saturday evening against the San Antonio Broncs.  Happ (now 8-9 with a 4.55 ERA on the season) walked three and struck out ten.  His stellar effort helped Corona pad their lead in the Butler Division to five games.

Full box score...

August 2, 2010
BDBL Weekend, 2010
DENVER, CO - BDBL Weekend, 2010, took place in Denver this year, with eight BDBL GM's (and one future GM) participating in the festivities.  The game between the Rockies and Cubs was highlighted by a walk-off home run by Carlos Gonzalez (which completed the cycle), and the day was highlighted by a total of nine trades involving 56 players, including some huge names such as Evan Longoria, Justin Upton and Zack Greinke.

Read all about it.

July 26, 2010
Pulling Ahead
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants began this chapter tied with the Akron Ryche atop the Hrbek Division.  But thanks to a 12-6 start to Chapter Four, coupled with a 11-13 performance by the Ryche this chapter, the Fire Ants now own a comfortable four-game lead.

July 26, 2010
Spinning the Wheels
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers wrapped up Chapter Four with a 16-8 record, and are playing .646 baseball since the start of Chapter Three.  Yet, because New Milford (.591 during that time) and Corona (.568) refuse to stumble, the Cowtippers remain eight games back in the division with just two chapters left to play.

July 6, 2010
C.C. No No
LOS ALTOS, CA - Los Altos ace C.C. Sabathia became the 14th player in BDBL history to toss a no-hitter with a stellar effort against the Corona Confederates on Monday.  It was the third no-hitter thrown by a Los Altos pitcher in franchise history.  It was also the only win of the series (a 1-0 victory, won on a walk-off homer by Adrian Gonzalez) for the Undertakers in the series, as the Corona Confederates' stunning roll toward a division title continues unabated.

June 20, 2010
All-Star Festivities Celebrated
SOUTHERN CAL - The 12th annual BDBL All-star game took place on Father's Day, with Papa Glander managing the Ozzie League all-stars to a 17-6 win over the EL stars.  The OL's 17 runs scored and 22 hits are a new BDBL all-star record.

Read all about it.

June 17, 2010
Halftime
SALEM, NH - The 2010 season has officially reached its halfway point, with the conclusion of Chapter Three.  The big winners of the chapter were the always-dominant SoCal Slyme (19-5), Allentown Ridgebacks (17-7), Ravenswood Infidels (16-8) and Los Altos Undertakers (15-9.)  The surprising Salem Cowtippers also managed a 15-9 record for the chapter, as did the Atlanta Fire Ants.

The final tally for interleague play was a 101-91 victory by the Eck League, thanks in no small part to the woeful performances by Kansas City (3-13) and New Hope (2-14.)

Hitters of the Chapter were Corona's Joe Mauer (.404/.500/.649) in the OL and Allentown's Ryan Braun (.398/.495/.634) in the EL.  Salem's Felix Hernandez (surprise!) won the OL Pitcher of the Chapter award, thanks to a 4-0 record and 1.44 ERA, and Allentown's Scott Baker (4-0, 1.01 ERA) took home EL honors.

June 1, 2010
The Russian is Cut!
SOUTHERN CAL - For the past year and a half, the Los Altos Undertakers have rolled over the opposition unlike any team in league history.  But for one day, at least, the mighty Undertakers met their match in the Southern Cal Slyme.  Backed by pitching from guys with names like Stammen and Jabubauskas, the Slyme held the powerful Los Altos offense to just seven runs in four games, sweeping the Undertakers right out of town, and handing them their first series defeat of the season.

The Undertakers and Slyme now own identical 49-23 (.681) records on the season.  While Los Altos' lead shrunk to "just" 13 games over the second-place Padawans, the surprising Slyme now own a formidable seven-game lead over the heavily-favored St. Louis Apostles.

May 4, 2010
Two-Thirds to Go
SALEM, NH - For the second chapter in a row, the Ravenswood Infidels dominated the BDBL with a 21-7 record.  Division rival Mississippi (19-9) was right on the Infidels' heels, and the SoCal Slyme (20-8) dominated in that "other" league.

Corona's Shin-Soo Choo (.400/.512/.700) and South Carolina's Nick Swisher (14 HR, 27 RBI) won the Hitter of the Chapter awards, while Ravenswood's Javier Vazquez (5-1, 2.70 ERA) and Allentown's Tim Lincecum (4-1, 1.97 ERA) took home Pitcher of the Chapter honors.

May 3, 2010
Cleveland Loading Up
CLEVELAND, OH - Trailing by one game in the Hrbek Division, Cleveland Rocks GM Mike Stein has been the most active GM of the season thus far.  This past chapter, Stein made a total of four trades, adding Manny Ramirez, Phil coke, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Lowell, Leo Nunez and Mark Lowe in an effort to overtake the first-place Akron Ryche.

April 19, 2010
Like Father, Like Son
SOUTHERN CAL - Don't look now (okay, go ahead and look), but the Southern Cal Slyme are once again sitting on top of the Person Division with a three game lead over the St. Louis Apostles.  The Slyme, you may remember, won the division in 2008 with the best record in BDBL history.  But they then lost in the Division Series, while the Apostles (who won the wild card) also lost in seven games.

In 2009, St. Louis won the divison, and was heavily favored to win the EL title.  But they, too, lost in the Division Series, while SoCal took the wild card and rode it all the way to the BDBL World Series.

This year, the Apostles were expected to run away with the division.  But after an 18-8 chapter, the Slyme sit atop the division roughly one-third of the way into the season.

April 8, 2010
Ravenswood on a Roll
RAVENSWOOD, IL - 35% of the precincts have reported, and we are now calling this race.  The Ravenswood Infidels have won the Benes Division.  The Infidels have followed up their 20-8 first chapter with a 21-7 record in Chapter Two.  They now sit 15 games ahead in first place, with a runs differential of 131.  The next best record in the division belongs to the 18-22 Meatballs, who own a differential of -11.

April 8, 2010
Salem Continues to Slide
SALEM, NH - The worst record in the BDBL in Chapter Two belongs to the Salem Cowtippers, who are now 4-14 on the chapter.  Salem is now 15 games behind in the division, with a winning percentage of .391 despite being outscored by just one run so far this season.

The Cowtippers lineup, which includes the likes of Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, Chipper Jones, Brian Roberts, Matt Kemp and Josh Willingham, is batting just .242 on the season, with a .328 OBP and .379 slugging percentage.  Felix Hernandez owns an ERA of 5.31, and has allowed 11 homers in 12 starts.  Dan Haren owns a 4.55 ERA, with a whopping 21 homers in a dozen starts.  And Jeff Niemann has posted a rosy 6.04 ERA in 10 starts.

March 25, 2010
Who's #1?
SALEM, NH - The eleventh annual BDBL Farm Report has arrived.  This year, the #1 overall spot is shared between two players: Salem's Stephen Strasburg and Los Altos outfielder Jason Heyward.  The #1 overall farm system?  You'll have to click the link to find out...

March 13, 2010
One Done
SALEM, NH -Chapter One officially came to a close on Friday night, with the surprising Corona Confederates leading the way with a 21-7 record.  Ravenswood and Los Altos each went 20-8 on the chapter, and Akron went 19-9.  At the other end of the spectrum, the woeful New Hope Badgers went just 5-23.

The OL Hitter of the Chapter award is a no-brainer, as Corona's Joe Mauer (.479/.536/.677) completely dominated the competition.  In the EL, just about any one of the St. Louis Apostles could have won the award.  Eenie, meenie, miny...Nick Markakis (.396/.431/.673).

On the mound, Ravenswood's Wandy Rodriguez (7-0, 2.14 ERA) was just about perfect, while in the EL, Allentown's Tim Lincecum (7-0, 1.26 ERA) was even...errr...more perfect.

March 7, 2010
A-Rod Clubs #500
SYLMAR, CA - Sylmar star Alex Rodriguez joined an exclusive club on Sunday night when he hit his 500th career home run in a game against the Manchester Irish Monarchs.  After being stuck at 499 for several games, A-Rod then launched #501 and #502 shortly thereafter.  He now sits 57 home runs away from #2 on the all-time list, Manny Ramirez (445.)

March 5, 2010
An Historic Start for New Hope
NEW HOPE, PA - The New Hope Badgers are off to an historic start...but not in a good way.  Through their first 16 games, New Hope is sporting a record of 1-15.  The Badgers are hitting .210 as a team, own a 6.11 ERA, and have been outscored by their opponents by a margin of 75 runs (114-39) -- that's a difference of nearly five runs per game!

March 1, 2010
The .700 Club
SALEM, NH - With two weeks remaining in the first chapter, several teams are standing heads and shoulders above the rest with winning percentages north of .700.  The Corona Confederates lead the BDBL with an .800 mark (16-4), while Ravenswood (17-7, .708) and Los Altos (15-5, .750) have been equally dominant.  In the Eck League, the 19-9 Akron Ryche currently own the best record in the league, just missing the .700 mark at .679.

February 7, 2010
Break Up The Confederates
CORONA, CA - The Corona Confederates have gotten off to a blazing-hot 10-2 start to the 2010 season, including two series victories against division rivals New Milford and Salem.  The Corona pitching staff has carried the team thus far.  They own a 2.19 team ERA, and have allowed just 74 hits and only 3 homers in 107 innings.  And Joe Mauer has been a one-man wrecking machine offensively, as he is hitting .500/.540/.727 overall, with 4 doubles, a pair of homers, 11 runs scored and 9 RBI's.

January 26, 2010
Are You Ready for Some Baseball?
SALEM, NH - With the selection of Garrett Olson at 8:48pm on Saturday night, the 2010 free agent draft finally came to a conclusion.  Opening Day is now just around the corner, which means the annual Season Preview is here!

January 10, 2010
Black Sox Bonanza
SALEM, NH - The Chicago Black Sox went into the free agent auction with a BDBL-high $52.1 million to spend, and GM John Gill has taken advantage of that position by signing six players in the auction: Ryan Dempster, Cliff Lee, Paul Maholm, Victor Martinez, Carlos Zambrano and Jose Reyes.  Incredibly, the team still has more than $9 million left to spend, and only a dozen roster spots left to fill.

January 3, 2010
Halladay Falls to Niagara
SALEM, NH - The Niagara Locks made huge waves in the free agent market on Sunday night when they signed the #1 free agent available, Roy Halladay, to a $19 million salary.  Halladay will join a starting rotation that includes Kyle Lohse, Vicente Padilla, Ian Snell and David Price. (And yes, that is just the first of many corny headline puns you'll be seeing this season about the Locks franchise.)

January 1, 2010
Draft Day Has Arrived
SALEM, NH -The 2010 draft officially kicked off at 8:50am Eastern when Tony DeCastro of the South Carolina Sea Cats made Cuban refugee/phenom Aroldis Chapman the first pick of the farm draft.  Starlin Castro, Simon Castro, Jameson Taillon, Wil Myers, Chris Withrow and Jarred Cosart then followed with the next six picks.

December 23, 2009
Flurry of Deadline Deals
SALEM, NH - Wednesday night's winter trading deadline resulted in a flurry of trades, capped by the Chicago Black Sox dealing their MVP third baseman (and two relievers!) to the St. Louis Apostles in exchange for three minor league prospects.

The Apostles had a busy day, as that was just one of four trades made by GM Bobby Sylvester during the final day of winter trading season.  In another deal, Sylvester added all-star catcher Brian McCann from the Villanova Mustangs.  With a lineup filled with the likes of Albert Pujols, Longoria, McCann, Nick Markakis and Dustin Pedroia, the Apostles are nearly a lock to score 1,000+ runs for the second season in a row.  It will indeed by a merry Christmas (and happy birthday) for Sylvester this year.

December 6, 2009
And the Winners Are...
SALEM, NH - The Sylvester family dominated the 2009 BDBL awards balloting, as father Sylvester won his fourth Manager of the Year award, and third GM of the Year award, and son Bobby finished second and third (respectively) in the voting for each award.  The younger Sylvester also dominated the EL MVP balloting, as the three top vote-getters, including the winner, Dustin Pedroia, are all St. Louis Apostles.  Pedroia also captured the EL Babe Ruth award, while Atlanta ace Ervin Santana won the EL Cy Young award.

In the Ozzie League, the voting for Manager of the Year ended in a tie for the first time in league history, with division rivals Greg Newgard and Jeff Paulson sharing the honor.  Newgard does have the GM of the Year award all to himself, however.  Los Altos ace C.C. Sabathia, who set a new BDBL record with 29 wins in 2009, was the runaway winner of the Cy Young award, while New Milford overachiever Jack Cust took home both the MVP and Babe Ruth awards.

Full balloting results...

December 2, 2009
Blazers Also Add an Ace
NEW MILFORD, CT - After watching their division rivals add an ace at the trading table this week, the New Milford Blazers did the same, adding Gavin Floyd from the Great Lakes Sphinx at the expense of...Martin Prado??  Really??

Really.

November 30, 2009
Cowtippers Add an Ace
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers made a pair of announcements today to kick off the 2010 trading season.  In the first trade, Salem added ace Dan Haren from the San Antonio Broncs, along with Brian Roberts and John Baker, in exchange for prospects Brian Matusz, Aaron Hicks and others.  In another deal, Salem offloaded Josh Beckett's $17 million salary to Southern Cal, getting closer Trevor Hoffman in exchange.

Full story...

November 29, 2009
Undertakers are Your 2009 BDBL Champions
SALEM, NH - All too rarely, the team that is supposed to win actually wins in the end.  But in 2009, the Los Altos Undertakers fulfilled all pre-season expectations by defeating the Southern Cal Slyme in the BDBL World Series.

Los Altos jumped out to a two-games-to-none lead in the series, but then lost two out of three in Southern Cal.  When the series shifted back to Los Altos for Game Six, former Salem Cowtipper Justin Duchscherer took the hill and shut down the dangerous SoCal offense for five-plus innings.  The stellar Undertakers bullpen then took over and did what they have done all season, stifling the opposition to close out the Undertakers' 125th win of the season, clinching Jeff Paulson's long-overdue first BDBL championship trophy.

Full details available on the Playoffs page...

November 27, 2009
Slyme Advance to World Series
SALEM, NH - Ten years after their first BDBL World Series appearance, the Southern Cal Slyme are returning to the big stage after defeating the Atlanta Fire Ants in the ELCS in five games.

The Slyme pummeled Atlanta ace Ervin Santana for 11 runs on 17 hits in his two starts, and outscored the Fire Ants by a margin of 23-18.  SoCal will now face the Los Altos Undertakers for the 2009 BDBL championship trophy.

November 25, 2009
Undertakers Clear Another Hurdle
SALEM, NH -After losing two of the first three games of the OLCS to the woeful New Milford Blazers, the Los Altos Undertakers won the next three games of the series to advance to the BDBL World Series for the first time in franchise history.

Los Altos accomplished this feat despite hitting just .241/.288/.414 as a team, and despite outscoring the Blazers in the series by a margin of just 28-26.  Thankfully, another BDBL tragedy was averted when pinch hitter Ryan Shealy launched a walk-off, grand slam home run off of Brian Bruney in Game Six.  It seems we all have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

November 9, 2009
Stage is Set for LCS
SALEM, NH - The Los Altos Undertakers breezed past the Las Vegas Flamingos in four games in the OL Division Series, setting the stage for an OLCS match-up against the New Milford Blazers.  Los Altos outscored Las Vegas 32-15 in the series and hit .329/.404/.527 with 18 extra base hits in the four games.

November 8, 2009
Tragedy Strikes the BDBL
SALEM, NH - The New Milford Blazers have defeated the San Antonio Broncs in the OL Division Series.  After taking a three-games-to-two lead in the series, the San Antonio offense simply failed to show up for the final two games.  They were on the losing end of a 1-0, one-hit shutout in Game Six, and were then destroyed in the seventh game by a score of 10-2.

San Antonio hit just .220/.272/.313 in the seven games, with just four home runs, 19 runs scored and 15 walks.  New Milford's hitting (.229/.346/.330, 25 runs, 5 HR, 38 BB) wasn't much better, but in the end it was enough.

The Blazers now head to the OLCS for the second time in franchise history.  Once again, we're reminded that there is no such thing as justice in the BDBL.

November 6, 2009
ELCS Match-up is Set
SALEM, NH -On Thursday night, both the Atlanta Fire Ants and Southern Cal Slyme completed a four-games-to-one Division Series victory, sending the two teams into the EL Championship Series.

Atlanta defeated the favored St. Louis Apostles, as the Fire Ants' vaunted pitching staff stymied the powerful Apostles offense.  Although St. Louis scored over 1,000 runs during the regular season, they were held to just 17 runs in five games, as Atlanta's stellar pitching held them to a .207/.272/.348 batting line as a team.

Southern Cal's Division Series pitching performance was every bit as impressive, as the Slyme posted a 2.60 ERA in the series, and held Kansas hitters to just 13 runs in five games and a batting line of .229/.299/.318.

The Fire Ants and Slyme will meet in the ELCS for the second time in league history.  Their first meeting came during the league's very first season in 1999, back when the Fire Ants were known as the Oakville Marauders.

October 29, 2009
It's Over, Johnny
SALEM, NH - At long last, the 2009 season is officially over.  The season ended on Thursday night, with two races being decided on the final day of the season.  The Las Vegas Flamingos officially clinched the Benes Division after sweeping the Marlboro Hammerheads in their final series of the season, and the St. Louis Apostles officially clinched the Person Division after sweeping the South Carolina Sea Cats in their final series of the season.

The BDBL post-season is now set.  Please see the 2009 Playoffs page for all post-season match-ups and results.

October 27, 2009
Atlanta Out in Front, Vegas One Step Closer
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants took a major step toward the playoffs by taking three of four from the Chicago Black Sox on Tuesday night to take a one game lead in the division with just one day remaining in the season.  Each team has four games left to play.

In other news, the Las Vegas Flamingos have taken a commanding lead in the Benes Division, and now lead by three games over the Marlboro Hammerheads.  The two teams face off for one final series, and Marlboro must sweep that series in order to win the division.

October 25, 2009
Lester No-hits San Antonio
LOS ALTOS, CA - On Sunday night, Los Altos ace Jon Lester became the 13th pitcher in BDBL history -- and the first this season -- to pitch a no-hitter.  Lester's no-no came in the fourth game of a series against the San Antonio Broncs, giving Los Altos the series victory.  It was the final game of the season for the Broncs, who wrapped up a remarkable year with a record of 102-58.  Los Altos, at 109-47, have four games remaining.

October 25, 2009
Wade Breaks Saves Record
SAN ANTONIO, TX - San Antonio Broncs closer Cory Wade fulfilled his year-long pursuit of the BDBL single season saves record, notching #63 on the season with a win over the Los Altos Undertakers.  The record was formerly held by Undertakers legend Eric Gagne.

October 24, 2009
Go 'Dogs Go
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs wrapped up their fourth division title on Friday, after a 10-6 start to Chapter Six.  If the season ended today, Kansas would face the Eck League wild card winner (currently Southern Cal) in the EL Division Series.  But with several games left to play over the next week, the situation is far from decided.

October 24, 2009
Los Altos Captures the Flag
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers officially clinched their seventh division title on Friday night after taking three of four from the New Hope Badgers.  In Game One of the series, the Undertakers' $22 million investment from last winter, C.C. Sabathia, won his 27th game of the season, setting a new BDBL record.

Three of the four spots in the Ozzie League playoffs are now set, with only the Benes Division remaining undecided.  The Las Vegas Flamingos and Marlboro Hammerheads are deadlocked in that division race with identical 71-81 records.  The winner of that division will then face the Undertakers in the Division Series.

October 22, 2009
One Week to Go
SALEM, NH - Only one week remaining in this god-awful season, and there are a couple of interesting races still to be resolved.  In the Benes Division, the Marlboro Hammerheads own a slim one-game lead over the Las Vegas Flamingos.  Vegas has a dozen games remaining, while Marlboro has 16 left on the schedule.

In the Person Division, the SoCal Slyme and St. Louis Apostles are deadlocked with identical 93-55 records atop the Person Division.  With the EL wild card all wrapped up, the only thing at stake here is pride, with father and son battling for the title.  Both teams have a dozen games remaining.

And in the Hrbek Division, the Atlanta Fire Ants trail the Chicago Black Sox by one game, with a dozen games remaining for Chicago and 16 left for Atlanta.

October 5, 2009
Hey, Way to Go, Asshole!
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers officially clinched their first division title on Monday night, taking three of four from the Las Vegas Flamingos.  With a dozen games remaining in the season, New Milford owns an 88-60 record, which virtually assures that they will face the San Antonio Broncs in the OL Division Series.  Have fun, Greg.

September 27, 2009
First (Err...Second) One Into the Pool
SAN ANTONIO, TX - The San Antonio Broncs clinched a spot in the BDBL post-season after an 8-4 start to Chapter Six.  The Broncs own a 92-52 record overall (eight wins away from a new franchise record), and sit six games behind the Los Altos Undertakers in the Griffin Division.

In other important San Antonio Broncs news, closer Cory Wade now has 57 saves on the season, and needs just six more (in 16 games) to surpass Los Altos legend Eric Gagne for the all-time BDBL single-season saves record.

September 15, 2009
BDBL 2009: The Final Chapter
SALEM, NH - Chapter Five officially came to a close on Sunday night, with the Kansas Law Dogs (22-6), St. Louis Apostles (21-7) and Los Altos Undertakers (20-8) enjoying a big chapter.  With one chapter of the season remaining, the Marlboro Hammerheads are clinging to a two-game lead in the Benes Division, the Apostles have opened up a three-game lead in the Person Division, and the Chicago Black Sox and Atlanta Fire Ants are all tied up in the Hrbek Division.

Corona's Joe Mauer (.441/.512/.631) won the OL Hitter of the Chapter award, as he gears up for what is certain to be a monster 2010 season.  St. Louis' Aubrey Huff (.417/.461/.774) won the EL award for the chapter.

On the mound, C.C. Sabathia (5-0, 3.18 ERA) and Carlos Zambrano (6-1, 2.79) are your Pitchers of the Chapter.

September 5, 2009
All Tied Up
SALEM, NH - With just seven weeks remaining in the 2009 season, no fewer than three divisions are currently tied.  In the Benes Division, the Las Vegas Flamingos and Marlboro Hammerheads sport identical 58-70 records atop the division.  In the Person Division, the St. Louis Apostles (76-44 overall) have caught up with the Southern Cal Slyme (68-36) in a virtual tie for first.  And in the Hrbek Division, the Chicago Black Sox (67-49) and Atlanta Fire Ants (65-47) remain virtually tied atop the division.

August 20, 2009
Hot Pink
LAS VEGAS, NV - After a 9-7 start to Chapter Five, the Las Vegas Flamingos have captured a share of first place in the Benes Division.  With the Marlboro Hammerheads losing three of four against the Salem Cowtippers, Vegas owns a share of first despite an overall record of 55-65.

August 2, 2009
We Left Our Hearts (and Our Bellies, and Our Livers) in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The tenth (yes, tenth) annual BDBL Weekend festivities were held in Oakland and San Francisco this past weekend, featuring nine BDBL owners, two MLB ballparks and countless trades.

Full story...

July 29, 2009
Put It In the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four officially came to an end on Tuesday night, and for most teams in the BDBL it was a mediocre chapter.  15 of the 24 teams in the league finished the chapter with 11, 12 or 13 wins in the chapter.  Only the Los Altos Undertakers (20-4) enjoyed a dominant chapter, while the Sylmar Padawans (7-17) and South Carolina Sea Cats (7-17) brought up the rear.

Hitters of the Chapter were Jermaine Dye (BCJ, .406/.423/.740) and Manny Ramirez (NAS, .362/.439/.777), and Pitchers of the Chapter were A.J. Burnett (MAN, 5-1, 1.76 ERA, .186/.232/.297 against) and Andy Sonnanstine (ATL, 2.62 ERA, .197/.227/.339 against.)

With 56 games remaining in the season, plenty of playoff spots are still wide open, with only the Butler Division (where the New Milford Blazers have opened up an 11-game lead after seeing that lead dwindle to just five games earlier in the chapter) and Higuera Division (where Kansas owns an 8-game lead over Allentown) seemingly decided at this point.  The Marlboro Hammerheads cling to a two-game lead in the Benes Division, Los Altos has taken a three-game lead over San Antonio in the Griffin Division, St. Louis has closed the gap to four games behind the SoCal Slyme, and the Hrbek Division is all tied up between the Chicago Black Sox and Atlanta Fire Ants.

July 28, 2009
Sylvester (Sr.) Bulks Up
SOUTHERN CAL - The SoCal Slyme have enjoyed a commanding lead in the Person Division throughout the season, but with the St. Louis Apostles nipping at his heels, SoCal GM Bob Sylvester made a major move today to keep that division lead intact.  In exchange for top prospect Carlos Santana and two others, the Slyme have added ace Jake Peavy to the starting rotation, and relievers Will Ohman and Carlos Marmol to the bullpen.

Ridgebacks GM Tom DiStefano, who announced his desire to scrap his team less than 48 hours ago, has unloaded several superstar impact players in a very short amount of time, significantly altering several of the division races.

July 28, 2009
Broncs Get Hudson
SAN ANTONIO, TX - In their quest to keep pace with the world-beating Undertakers of Los Altos, the San Antonio Broncs announced today that they have acquired pitcher Tim Hudson from the Allentown Ridgebacks, along with three others.  In exchange, San Antonio has parted with five players, including a couple of prospects and a couple of middle relievers.  San Antonio currently trails Los Altos by three games in the Griffin Division race.

July 27, 2009
Atlanta Makes Their Move
ATLANTA, GA - With the Atlanta Fire Ants losing their lead in the division and falling into a tie with the Chicago Black Sox, many were wondering whether Atlanta GM Gene Patterson would loosen the grip on some of his good, young talent and acquire enough firepower to propel the team to its second playoffs appearance in the Patterson Era.  That question was answered today when Patterson acquired Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and three others from the white-flag-waving Allentown Ridgebacks in exchange for Gary Sheffield and four others (including recently-injured Kevin Slowey.)

UPDATE: Due to VORP cap rules, this trade has been nullified, but is currently being reworked.

July 14, 2009
Undertakers On Top (For Good?)
LOS ALTOS, CA - It took a lot longer than most people expected, but the Los Altos Undertakers officially captured first place in the Griffin Division after sweeping the Salem Cowtippers on Monday night.  The Undertakers easily won all four games against Salem, giving them a one-game lead over the San Antonio Broncs.  The Broncs, who are 10-10 so far this chapter, held onto the division lead with the best record in the BDBL throughout the first half of the season.

July 8, 2009
Hrbek Fit to be Tied
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox have slugged their way into a virtual tie with the Atlanta Fire Ants atop the Hrbek Division after taking three of four from the Great Lakes Sphinx this week.  Newcomers Ichiro Suzuki and Geovanny Soto hit a combined 18-for-28 (.643) in the series, with three homers and 15 RBI's. Atlanta continues to thrive on its pitching, but the team is just 15-13 since the start of Chapter Three (the third-best record in the division.)

June 14, 2009
Another New Owner for the Funk
SALEM, NH - Mike Ranney, a 53-year-old veteran of Diamond Mind Baseball, was introduced today as the new owner of the Nashville Funkadelic franchise.  Ranney takes over for Ryan Melosi, who came into the BDBL less than a month ago.

June 12, 2009
Halfway There
SALEM, NH - The 2009 season officially reached its halfway point on Friday afternoon.  The Eck League crushed the Ozzie League in interleague play during Chapter Three, going 106-86 against their league rivals.  The SoCal Slyme and San Antonio Broncs were once again the winningest teams in the BDBL with 17 wins in the third chapter, with Kansas going 16-8 and Akron and Chicago each going 15-9.

On the flip side, the South Carolina Sea Cats and Las Vegas Flamingos (8-16 each) were just plain awful.  Jack Cust (.359/.510/.962) and Albert Pujols (.385/.475/.626) took home the Hitters of the Chapter awards, while Wandy Rodriguez (1.13 ERA, .170/.236/.207 against) and Shaun Marcum (1.62 ERA, .202/.267/.286) earned the Pitcher of the Chapter awards.  The always-thrilling Chapter Four free agent pick-up will take place Saturday night at 9:00pm ET.

June 3, 2009
Chicago Hope
CHICAGO, IL - Chicago Black Sox GM John Gill made a pair of trades this week to help erase the two-game deficit he faces in the Hrbek Division.  In a trade with the Sylmar Padawans, the Black Sox added Ichiro Suzuki and Geovanny Soto, costing the team top prospect Cameron Maybin, Jeremy Hermida and others.  Then, less than an hour later, Gill announced that he'd also acquired Jimmy Rollins from the Marlboro Hammerheads in exchange for prospect Josh Reddick and others.

Chicago owns a .574 winning percentage this season, yet trails the underdog Atlanta Fire Ants.  The Black Sox are 8-4 this chapter, while Atlanta is 7-5.

May 25, 2009
The Emperor Has No Clothes
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Tom DiStefano has lost his ever-loving mind.  That is the only explanation for the trade he made on Sunday night with the New Milford Blazers, whereby he sent one of the top young pitchers in the game of baseball, Yovani Gallardo, to New Milford in exchange for a collection of 29-year-old pinch hitters.  DiStefano, who is currently nine games behind in his division, believes this collection of pinch hitters (and a #5 starter) will make up the ground necessary to get back into the Higuera Division race.  Good luck with that.

May 20, 2009
Out Goes the Funk
SALEM, NH - After seven seasons at the helm of the Nashville Funkadelic, GM/owner Steve Osborne has stepped down.  Osborne, who entered the league in 2002 as the owner of the New York Knights, compiled a career record of 556-566 (.496) in the BDBL, and won a Person Division title in '02 and another in 2007.  Best known for his love of Ty Cobb and for masterminding some of the best practical jokes in league history, Osborne will be missed.

The league also announced on Wednesday that Osborne's replacement as GM/owner of the Funkadelic will be Bobby Sylvester's college roommate, Ryan Melosi.  Melosi is a long-time follower of the BDBL and a self-described "baseball nut" who will now be competing in the same division as his roommate.

May 20, 2009
Salem Reaches Nadir
SALEM, NH - It's been a bad week for the Salem Cowtippers.  On Sunday, Salem lost three of four to the Southern Cal Slyme to fall nine games behind in the Butler Division race.  Less than three hours later, newly-acquired "ace" Ryan Dempster was sent packing to the Manchester Irish Rebels in the first of what is expected to be several "firesale" trades.  After being roundly panned by the BDBL press for the trade, Glander then watched in horror as the 20-40 South Carolina Sea Cats took three of four from Salem on Tuesday night.

The Cowtippers, who were universally predicted to win their division in the pre-season, are now 6-10 on the chapter and 33-39 on the season -- 10 games behind the Blazers.

May 1, 2009
Onto Chapter Three
SALEM, NH - The San Antonio Broncs and Los Altos Undertakers led the way in Chapter Two, each sporting 20-8 records, while the St. Louis Apostles (18-10) also enjoyed a successful chapter.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Villanova Mustangs (8-20) and Corona Confederates (9-19) stunk up the joint.

San Antonio's newest rent-a-stud, Alex Rodriguez, took home the OL's Hitter of the Chapter award, after leading the league in average (.380), OBP (.496), slugging (.860) and several other categories in Chapter Two.  In the EL, it was a toss-up between St. Louis teammates Albert Pujols (.400/.455/.740) and Dustin Pedroia (.368/.429/.658.)

On the mound, Sylmar's Jonathan Sanchez (0.94 ERA, .159/.238/.212 against) won the OL Pitcher of the Chapter award, while Atlanta's Ervin Santana (1.51 ERA, .168/.238/.289) took home the EL honor.

April 28, 2009
Halladay!  Celebrate!
NEW MILFORD, CT - The feel-good story of the 2009 season continued today when the New Milford Blazers acquired Roy Halladay from the Ravenswood Infidels, parting with several budding superstars in exchange.  The Blazers are riding high after another stellar chapter, in which they finished 16-12.  They now enjoy a comfortable seven-game lead in the Butler Division, which will undoubtedly grow even healthier thanks to the addition of their new ace.

April 28, 2009
Flamingos Back on Top
LAS VEGAS, NV - Despite a .500 chapter (14-14), the Las Vegas Flamingos still remain atop the Benes Division by a one-game margin over the Marlboro Hammerheads.  Marlboro went 16-10 in Chapter Two, but is just 26-30 on the season.

April 16, 2009
Allentown in the Dog House
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Despite pre-season predictions of greatness and a roster filled with the likes of Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy, Ryan Braun, Justin Morneau and Carlos Beltran, the Allentown Ridgebacks are wallowing in last place in the Higuera Division with a record of 15-25.  After a 3-9 start to the second chapter, Allentown now trails the division-leading Kansas Law Dogs by six games.

April 10, 2009
Parity Like It's 2009
SALEM, NH - Just five games separate all four teams in three different divisions in the BDBL, here in the middle of April.  The Benes, Higuera and Hrbek Divisions are all up for grabs, as five games or less separates the top team from last place.  Incredibly, only three teams in the Ozzie League own a record above .500, while the Hrbek Division includes three teams above the .500 mark.  Interleague play (which begins in Chapter Three) should prove interesting.

April 3, 2009
Just When You Thought It Was Safe...
MARLBORO, NJ - After a 12-4 start to Chapter Two, the Marlboro Hammerheads now own sole possession of first place in the Benes Division.  Marlboro (22-22 overall) is the only .500 team in the division, and the only team that has outscored their opponents.

In other news, the San Antonio Broncs (14-6 this chapter) continue to win, as their lead over the Undertakers now stands at three games.  And on the flip side of that coin, the Corona Confederates are off to a miserable 1-11 start to the chapter, and have now fallen 11 games out of first in the Butler Division.

March 13, 2009
One Away
SALEM, NH - The first chapter of the 2009 season mercifully came to an end on Friday with the SoCal Slyme in the familiar position of owning the best record in the league at 20-8.  The San Antonio Broncs (19-9), Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) and New Milford Blazers (18-10) also enjoyed successful chapters.  On the flip side, the South Carolina Sea Cats have gotten out to a miserable 6-22 start to the '09 season, and have scored just 87 runs (an average of 3.1 per game.)

Allentown's Tim Lincecum led the EL in ERA (2.33) and strikeouts (53), and captured the coveted EL Pitcher of the Chapter award.  Marlboro's Tim Hudson (.158/.234/.257 against, and a 2.57 ERA) took home the OL honors.

At the plate, the Hitter of the Chapter awards for the OL and EL, respectively, went to Los Altos 3B/RF Kevin Youkilis, who led the league in all three triple-slash categories (.400/.461/.791), and SoCal's surprising Ryan Zimmerman (.420/.473/.667), who nearly did the same.

March 11, 2009
San Antonio Swept
LOS ALTOS, CA - In the most anticipated match-up of the season so far, the pre-season favorite Los Altos Undertakers faced the red-hot San Antonio Broncs in a Griffin Division match-up that may be a preview of the OLCS.

Los Altos starter Ryan Dempster has been a disappointment throughout the season, but he finally put it all together in Game One of the series, tossing seven shutout innings en route to a 3-0 Los Altos victory.  Undertakers slugger Josh Hamilton hit a walk-off homer in extra innings to give Los Altos the win in Game Two.  After another one-run win in the third game, and a 12-6 laugher in the final game, the Undertakers walked away with a sweep.

Los Altos wrapped up the first chapter with a record of 18-10 -- one game behind the Broncs.

March 10, 2009
A-Robbed
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Alex Rodriguez played for the same BDBL franchise for ten seasons.  But for the third time in the past three months, Rodriguez has been traded.  On Tuesday, San Antonio Broncs GM Greg Newgard happily announced that he had just acquired the all-star third baseman as part of a nine-player trade with the Marlboro Hammerheads.

"We're giving up a lot here," stated Newgard (who really didn't give up a lot), "but we feel like we're getting the best bat in the league and will be a key piece in keeping us in the thick of the playoff hunt.  [A-Rod] is the biggest name we've acquired since I've been here, and we can't wait for [Chapter Two] to start so we can see this team in action."

The Hammerheads were expected to win the Benes Division this year, but after a disappointing 10-18 start to the season (despite a league-leading +16 runs differential), Marlboro GM Nic Weiss has announced that he has begun looking toward the future.

"At the start of the season, I didn't think I'd be trading away my best player," stated Weiss, "but a 10-18 chapter forced me to begin thinking toward next season.  This trade still allows me to compete this season, while getting building blocks for next season."

March 6, 2009
BDBL Farm Report
SALEM, NH - The tenth annual BDBL Farm Report has arrived.  And you'll never guess which player ranks #1, and which BDBL team he plays for!

March 4, 2009
Look Who's Back
SOUTHERN CAL - Guess who has the best record in the Eck League at 20-8?  Yep, it's the same team that set a new BDBL for wins last season: the Southern Cal Slyme.  With two weeks remaining in the chapter, other top performers include San Antonio (19-5) and Atlanta (12-4.)

March 4, 2009
Cheesing Their Way to Victory
NEW MILFORD, CT - With their collection of #4 starters, part-time middle relievers, fourth outfielders and career pinch hitters leading the way, the New Milford Blazers are once again off to a hot start, going 18-10 in the first chapter.  New Milford now holds a 5-game lead over the 9-11 Cowtippers in what has become the most pathetic division in the BDBL.

February 16, 2009
Dogs On the Hunt
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs have kicked off the season with an Eck League-best 13-7 record after taking three of four from the division rival Allentown Ridgebacks this weekend.  The Ridgebacks are now just 2-6 on the season -- tied with the Great Lakes Sphinx at the bottom of the Higuera Division.

February 14, 2009
Broncs Bust Out of the Gate
SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Broncs own the best record in the BDBL at 15-5 after taking three of four from the Marlboro Hammerheads this week.  As expected, their pitching has carried them.  In a year where the average BDBL team ERA is 4.67, the Broncs own a stellar 3.19 team ERA (second only to the Ridgebacks, who have only played four games thus far.)  San Antonio pitchers are allowing just 7.4 H/9 and 2.8 BB/9, and closer Cory Wade has already saved 11 games.

February 7, 2009
Hot Start for SoCal
SOUTHERN CAL - The Southern Cal Slyme, who set a record for wins last season, are off to another hot start in 2009.  Through their first dozen games, the Slyme are 9-3, and have outscored their opponents by a league-high 20 runs.  The only other teams in the BDBL sporting a record above .500 at this point are the Ravenswood Infidels (5-3), San Antonio Broncs (8-4) and Kansas Law Dogs (5-3.)

February 4, 2009
The Emperor Hires a New Apprentice
ALLENTOWN, NJ - BDBL defending champion Tom DiStefano (man, am I tired of typing that phrase) hired a new apprentice on Wednesday, announcing Kyle Mayes as his team's new manager, effective immediately.  Mayes, a 21-year-old industrial engineering student at the University of Missouri, is the second long-time friend of Bobby Sylvester's to join the BDBL over the past year.

January 22, 2009
Gearing Up for Opening Day
SALEM, NH - With the selection of Boone Logan in the 37th round of the free agent draft, the 2009 draft officially came to an end on Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for another exciting BDBL season.

Read all about it in the 2009 Season Preview!

January 8, 2009
Chicago Loads Up
CHICAGO, IL - After signing Vladimir Guerrero to a surprisingly low $7 million salary tonight, and Brandon Webb to an $18 million salary earlier this week, the Chicago Black Sox have positioned themselves to compete for another division title in 2009.  Webb becomes the ace of a rotation that includes Roy Oswalt, Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Francis, and Guerrero joins a lineup filled with the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, Placido Polanco and Alex Rios.

January 4, 2009
And Johan Santana Goes To...Great Lakes??
GREAT LAKES - Scott Romonosky, GM of the Great Lakes Sphinx, is apparently tired of competing every single year without making it to the playoffs.  In an effort to bring that ten-year streak to an end, Romonosky has spent $20.5 million on one player: Johan Santana.  Is Santana enough to push the Sphinx into the playoffs?  Time will tell.

January 3, 2009
Paulson Sets Another Record
LOS ALTOS, CA - Jeff Paulson has made a habit out of setting new BDBL records, and he did it again today by paying $22 million for C.C. Sabathia on the first day of the BDBL auction.  Sabathia's $22 million salary tops Johan Santana's single-season record by $1 million, and his guaranteed three-year/$66 million contract (with no escape clause!) also sets a new BDBL record.  Sabathia joins an Undertakers rotation that already includes Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Jon Lester, Shaun Marcum and Joba Chamberlain.

December 31, 2008
Atlanta Robs the Cradle
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants selected 16-year-old phenom Bryce Harper with the #1 pick of the 2009 farm draft on Monday.  At 16 years and 76 days, Harper becomes the youngest US-born player ever selected to a BDBL roster, beating Justin Upton's record by 53 days.

December 18, 2008
A-Rod Sent Packing Again
MARLBORO, NJ - After ten seasons of playing for the same BDBL franchise, Alex Rodriguez was traded for the second time this winter, landing on the Marlboro Hammerheads squad. Rodriguez was acquired along with Colby Rasmus, Mat Gamel and numerous other former St. Louis Apostles prospects in exchange for Aubrey Huff, Chris Ianetta, Chris Perez and Eric Hurley.

December 9, 2008
Three Ain't Enough
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Less than a month after winning his third trophy in seven seasons, Allentown Ridgebacks GM Tom DiStefano made a major move toward trophy #4, acquiring Carlos Marmol, Carlos Lee and Arthur Rhodes from the Great Lakes Sphinx in exchange for Cody Ross and six prospects.

November 19, 2008
Sylvester Stocks Up
ST. LOUIS, MO - St. Louis Apostles GM Bobby Sylvester made the biggest splash of the winter trading season thus far by announcing three major trades today.  In all, the Apostles added Alex Rodriguez, Kyle Lohse, Vernon Wells, Wily Mo Pena, Adam Wainwright, J.J. Hardy and Hunter Pence at the expense of several young stars including Joba Chamberlain, Julio Teheran, Hiroki Kuroda and Desmond Jennings.

November 15, 2008
Trading Season Has Begun
SALEM, NH - Just a few hours after the 2008 season ended, the 2009 season began when a series of trades were formally announced.  The Salem Cowtippers announced three deals -- in one of which, they reacquired former franchise player Mark Teixeira and two others at the expense of Miguel Cabrera and top prospect Cameron Maybin.

The Los Altos Undertakers announced their acquisition of ace relievers Scott Downs and Billy Wagner, plus catcher Mike Napoli.  The Great Lakes Sphinx added Jered Weaver from the Undertakers at the expense of Napoli.  And the San Antonio Broncs managed to unload Austin Kearns' contract while sacrificing Jeremy Guthrie.