This was a monumental week in the EFL, but not because of anything that happened on a baseball field. No, it was because two of our esteemed members – John Johnson and Mark Weinert – retired from George Fox after a combined 76 years teaching.
For 39 years (Weinert) and 37 years (Johnson), these two mustachioed men have roamed the Quad, dined in the dining halls, lectured in classrooms, and, though it might not be common knowledge to many in our community, dominated in the EFL.
Commissioner Mock commented on my Facebook post about my dad’s retirement, saying: “Congratulations, John. I hate to think what you’re going to do in our baseball fantasy league with all your freed-up time.” Similar sentiments can be offered to Mark, as well. The Haviland and Pittsburgh monikers litter the sides of the EFL trophy, and that damage was done while these two gentlemen were employed full-time.
We already have an indication of the danger these newly retired owners could wreak upon the league, as Ron, though forced to end his George Fox tenure too soon (in my humble opinion, one I know many others share), has spent the majority of the 2021 season in first place. These new retirements, though certainly well-earned by each of them, might be the end of any of us having a chance to win EFL titles for the foreseeable future.
The Triumvirate has become the Triumretirement and now the rest of us have only so long before we must suffer (as surely they will need to inflict suffering on someone without students to torture) at their hands.
But for now, they have been gracious, allowing the rest of us to celebrate them without worry, for they have both slipped in the standings for a moment, no doubt due to the emotional fatigue they have experienced in teaching our their final full-time contracts. A small grace, but one we will accept before their reign of terror in consummated.
So here’s to Mark and John (and also to Ron), for serving others so selflessly, with integrity and love. You have taught thousands of students (I am one of them!) to think deeply and love boldly. You have shown what it means to live your lives in service to Jesus, and the fruit that comes from such devotion. And all of us will be ok if you spend some time (a lot of time?) reflecting on the past and dreaming of the future, so that your present work in the EFL takes a back seat.
Because while we certainly look up to you, we don’t like looking up at you.
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 22 | 8 | .723 | — | 178.5 | 110.5 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 21 | 9 | .692 | 0.9 | 132.4 | 82.4 |
| Peshastin Pears | 21 | 9 | .690 | 1 | 137.0 | 91.7 |
| D.C. Balk | 20 | 10 | .678 | 1.4 | 168.6 | 119.8 |
| Haviland Dragons | 20 | 11 | .661 | 1.7 | 126.5 | 91.2 |
| Kaline Drive | 17 | 14 | .564 | 4.7 | 144.0 | 126.4 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 16 | 14 | .528 | 5.8 | 157.7 | 148.1 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 13 | 15 | .474 | 7.4 | 112.5 | 129.6 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 14 | 16 | .463 | 7.8 | 162.9 | 176.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 13 | 16 | .450 | 8.1 | 173.0 | 190.8 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 12 | 16 | .443 | 8.3 | 121.5 | 136.3 |
Old Detroit: W (2), L (1), 16-11; 148PA, 22.3IP
| AVG: 0.271 | OBP: 0.345 | SLG: 0.414 | OPS: 0.758 |
| ERA: 2.83 | WHIP: 1.256 |
With the beginning of May upon us the Wolverines are still in first place. Though their offense has cooled off a bit from its torrid April pace, the pitching was stronger by .2 runs leading to a 2-1 beginning to the month. The offensive cooling was directly related to April’s hottest hitters, Rafael Devers and Byron Buxton, combining to go 4 for 22 with 2 doubles and 1 HR. But some others picked up the slack, namely Tommy Edman and Austin Riley, who together collected 11 hits in 25 ABs (.440 BA). Eight pitchers appeared in the first three games of the month, a good sign that the Ws will not have to wait long to get 10 appearances this month. The best performance was from Jameson Taillon, who tossed 5 innings and gave up 1 run. The newest additions, Duane Underwood and Andrew Kittredge pitched 1.7 innings and gave up 0 runs.
Flint Hill: W(3), L(0), 27-8; 144PA, 43.4IP
| AVG: 0.254 | OBP: 0.364 | SLG: 0.516 | OPS: 0.880 |
| ERA: 5.18 | WHIP: 1.267 |
At first glance it doesn’t appear the Tornadoes should have won 3 games with those stats. But the beauty of the month beginning 4 days late is that the bad performances can sometimes be benched. So the actual Tornado slash line was .284/.400/.578 and the pitching line was even better, with 33.7 innings pitched and a 2.41 ERA. April ended with the Tornadoes in 5th place, and May begins with them in 2nd. April ended with FH in last in RC/G, May begins with them in 1st (9.10 RC/G). The hitting was led by Anthony Rendon who was 5 for 11 with a double and 2 home runs, and Austin Meadows who had three hits in three games, all of them home runs. Oh, and Keibert Ruiz was called up for one AB and hit a HR on the first pitch he saw. The pitching was led by Julio Urias and Zach Eflin, who together pitched 13 innings and gave up 3 earned runs. Newcomers Deolis Guerra and Adam Plutko chipped in 5 innings and no earned runs.
Peshastin: W(3), L(1), 19-12; 115PA, 39IP
| AVG: 0.232 | OBP: 0.348 | SLG: 0.442 | OPS: 0.790 |
| ERA: 2.54 | WHIP: 1.103 |
The Pears finished April in 4th, and opened up May in 3rd, now just 1 game behind the Ws. However, they did receive bad news for the second time in this short season, with Dustin May joining James Paxton (now a former Pear) on the Tommy John list. That’s a big blow to the Pears, but their team responded with some fortitude. Willie Calhoun performed almost twice as well as any other hitter on the team, collecting 6 hits (2 home runs and 1 double) in 16 ABs. Mitch Haniger only got two hits in 4 games, but both were HRs. And Juan Soto returned from the IL, but only got one AB (a strikeout). The pitching really upped its game in the wake of May’s Mays news. 10 pitchers appeared (not sure if all were allocated or not) and threw 39 innings with a 2.54 ERA. Justus Sheffield and Huascar Ynoa went 13 innings giving up only one 1 run combined.
DC: W(2), L(2), 36-32; 129PA, 26IP
| AVG: 0.357 | OBP: 0.419 | SLG: 0.548 | OPS: 0.966 |
| ERA: 7.27 | WHIP: 1.269 |
The Balk dropped a couple of spots in the standings, ending April in 3rdd place but beginning May in 4th. If it were only offensive stats we were counting, the Balk could have been in first. Xander Bogaerts, quietly having another excellent season, went 7 for 14 with a double and 2 home runs. Pete Alonso joined in the fun, going 6 for 13 with 4 doubles. And Nico Hoerner went 5 for 7 with 2 doubles. But the pitching was another story. To start with the good, Dylan Cease (who also went 3 for 3 from the plate) threw 6 innings and gave up 0 runs. Matt Wisler and Drew Steckenrider (new to the Balk this month) combined for 3 innings of scoreless relief. But the good news ends there. The rest of the pitchers combined to give up 21 runs in 12 innings pitched. The Balk only lost .4 games despite their problems from mound.
Haviland: W(1), L(3), 15-17; 157PA, 24.3IP
| AVG: 0.204 | OBP: 0.255 | SLG: 0.374 | OPS: 0.629 |
| ERA: 3.70 | WHIP: 1.193 |
The Dragons fell a bit from April to May, losing a game off the leaders and falling into 5th place (from 2nd). The Dragon hitters did not use a new month to restart their season. Well, except for hitting home runs, of which 7 were swatted. 3 of them by Ramon Laureano, 2 from Harrison Bader, and one each from JT Realmuto and new Dragon Nelson Cruz. In 157 PA, the Dragons only walked 9 times and struck out 37 times, which makes it difficult to score runs. The pitching was good, though not as good as it was in April. New Dragon Ryan Hendrix tossed 1.3 scoreless innings, and fellow reliever Michael Kopech, Jose Alvarez and Alex Reyes combined for 6.7 innings of scoreless pitching. But the allocated starters did not do their part, giving up 6 runs in 11 innings.
Kaline: W(2), L(2), 18-17; 169PA, 20IP
| AVG: 0.221 | OBP: 0.290 | SLG: 0.403 | OPS: 0.693 |
| ERA: 1.80 | WHIP: 1.350 |
The Drive were perhaps the most consistent team from the end of April to the start of May, in 6th place at both historical points. Like the Dragons above them, they suffered through some difficult hitting, but did an even better job than the Dragons with their pitching. Hunter Renfroe is the hottest hitter this month for the Drive, going 6 for 12 with 1 double and 2 HRs. Michael Conforto was not too far behind, going 5 for 12 with 1 double and 1 home run. But new Drive Yermin Mercedes turned into a Dodge, going 0 for 5. The pitching was excellent, with 7 pitchers appearing and only two of them giving up any runs. Jose Urquidy turned in the best performance, tossing 7 innings with 0 earned runs. And Dinelson Lamet came back from injury to throw 2 scoreless innings.
Portland: W(3), L(1), 27-17; 175PA, 36.3IP
| AVG: 0.296 | OBP: 0.371 | SLG: 0.480 | OPS: 0.852 |
| ERA: 4.46 | WHIP: 1.488 |
The Rosebud offense led them to a solid May start. Andrew Benintendi caught fire for the surprisingly hot Royals, going 8 for 17 with 2 home runs and only 1 strike out. Four other hitters added a home run – Luis Urias, Willians Astudillo, Travis Shaw, CJ Cron – and the entire team collected 17 walks with Corey Seager getting 3 of those. Overall the Rosebuds had 45 hits in their 4 games, an average of over 10 a game, and that’s the main reason they won 3 games. Their pitching was average, with 9 pitchers appearing and all 9 of them giving up at least one run. Thanks to the 4 day delay, the Rosebuds were able to bench Sean Newcomb and his 27.00 ERA. The best performances came from Mike Foltynewicz, Dylan Bundy and Matt Harvey, who combined for 17.7 innings pitched and 6 earned runs (3.05 ERA).
Bellingham: W(0), L(4), 15-38; 129PA, 30IP
| AVG: 0.217 | OBP: 0.295 | SLG: 0.391 | OPS: 0.686 |
| ERA: 8.40 | WHIP: 1.633 |
The Cascades may want to call a mulligan on the first 4 games of this month. Every hitter but 2 got a hit, and as a team they collected 2 doubles and 6 home runs. Jacob Nottingham got hot with the long ball, hitting two home runs in 8 ABs (his only hits). Ronald Acuna, Jr. joined in on the fun, swatting two home runs of his own, along with a double. Tim Anderson went 3 for 13 with a home run and Rhys Hoskins went 4 for 12 with a double and two walks. The pitching, however, struggled in these first four games. 9 pitchers appeared, led by some really good performances from Justin Dunn (5.3 innings, 1 er), Kevin Gausman (6 innings, 1 er), and AJ Minter (2 innings, 0 er). But from there it got bad. Five different pitchers combined to give up 26 runs in 15.7 innings. Here’s to new beginnings for those guys, who are likely looking forward to their next appearance to prove the last was a fluke.
Canberra: W(2), L(2), 26-32; 150PA, 20.4IP
| AVG: 0.265 | OBP: 0.333 | SLG: 0.500 | OPS: 0.833 |
| ERA: 7.06 | WHIP: 1.373 |
There were 12 Canberra hitters who appeared in 4 games, and all of them (but one – Jackie Bradley, Jr.) collected 2 or more hits. They were long on power, with 7 of their 12 batters hitting a homerun (or two, as Mike Trout and Javier Baez did). Manuel Margot led the team in hits with 5 in 15 ABs, Mike Trout led the team in walks with 5, and JBJ led the team in Ks with 6. New Roo Camilo Doval did not begin his tenure very well, giving up 5 runs in 1.7 innings pitched. If you remove his performance along with Joey Lucchesi (2.7ip, 6er), the Roo line would look pretty good (5 runs in 15 innings). Rich Hill looked most impressive, pitching 3 scoreless innings.
Cottage: W(2), L(1), 24-13; 165PA, 34.4IP
| AVG: 0.302 | OBP: 0.406 | SLG: 0.446 | OPS: 0.852 |
| ERA: 4.19 | WHIP: 1.337 |
It must be time for a party, because the Cheese is out of the cellar! Break out the wine glasses and toast to a new day. Cottage hitters stayed hot, with 6 of their 14 hitters collecting at least 5 hits apiece. Yandy Diaz led the way, going 6 for 12 (all singles) with 3 walks. Trea Turner, Marcus Semien, Alex Verdugo, Jeff McNeil and Alec Bohm all collected 5 hits. Additionally, the Cheese hitters collected 21 walks led by Randy Arozarena’s 4. The pitching was, when compared to April, fantastic! New Cheese Steven Matz did not well, but it was no problem because he didn’t do well early enough in order to be benched. But Aaron Sanchez did start, and gave up 4 runs in 4 innings even though he was spotted a 10-0 lead before he threw a pitch. But the old Cheese guys picked up the slack in ways they didn’t do in April. Giving up only 13 runs in 3 games has to feel refreshing to Cheese management as the calendar turns to May.
Pittsburgh: W(1), L(3), 19-21; 128PA, 22IP
| AVG: 0.279 | OBP: 0.317 | SLG: 0.414 | OPS: 0.732 |
| ERA: 3.68 | WHIP: 1.136 |
It was only the first monthly owners meeting of the season, but the feeling of resignation emanated from Allegheny’s esteemed leader. The main culprit? Losing first round pick Luis Robert for the majority of the season. The Alleghenys cannot be blamed for feeling so morose over the news they received this weekend before this update was even completed. And here they are now, embodying their feelings by sinking to last place to begin the month. This is hardly the way for a team to reward the retirement of its owner from decades of service to George Fox, but perhaps they are storing up some energy to make a dramatic run as the season continues its long ambulation towards October. There are indeed some performances to applaud these first days of May. Every hitter, and 11 of them appeared, collected at least one hit. Dansby Swanson, Christian Vazquez and Garrett Hampson all got 5 hits apiece. Only 6 pitchers appeared, but they threw decently well, coughing up 9 earned runs in 22 innings. The best performance was Tyler Anderson’s 2 earned runs surrendered over 6.7 innings.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 22 | 8 | .723 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 21 | 9 | .692 | 0.9 |
| Boston Red Sox | 18 | 12 | .600 | 3.7 |
| New York Yankees | 15 | 14 | .517 | 6.2 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 16 | 15 | .516 | 6.2 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 14 | 14 | .500 | 6.7 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 14 | 16 | .467 | 7.7 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 20 | 10 | .678 | — |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 15 | 15 | .500 | 5.3 |
| Washington Nationals | 12 | 13 | .480 | 5.8 |
| New York Mets | 11 | 12 | .478 | 5.8 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 14 | 16 | .463 | 6.4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 13 | 16 | .448 | 6.8 |
| Miami Marlins | 12 | 16 | .429 | 7.3 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 16 | 12 | .571 | — |
| Kansas City Royals | 16 | 12 | .571 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 15 | 13 | .536 | 1 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 13 | 15 | .474 | 2.7 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 12 | 16 | .443 | 3.6 |
| Minnesota Twins | 11 | 17 | .393 | 5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 8 | 22 | .267 | 9 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 17 | 12 | .586 | — |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 17 | 13 | .567 | 0.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 14 | 16 | .467 | 3.5 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 13 | 15 | .464 | 3.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 13 | 16 | .450 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 13 | 16 | .448 | 4 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Haviland Dragons | 20 | 11 | .661 | — |
| Oakland A’s | 19 | 12 | .613 | 1.5 |
| Kaline Drive | 17 | 14 | .564 | 3 |
| Seattle Mariners | 17 | 14 | .548 | 3.5 |
| Houston Astros | 15 | 14 | .517 | 4.5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 13 | 15 | .464 | 6 |
| Texas Rangers | 14 | 17 | .452 | 6.5 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Peshastin Pears | 21 | 9 | .690 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 18 | 12 | .600 | 2.7 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 17 | 14 | .548 | 4.2 |
| San Diego Padres | 17 | 14 | .548 | 4.2 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 16 | 14 | .528 | 4.9 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 15 | 14 | .517 | 5.2 |
| Colorado Rockies | 11 | 19 | .367 | 9.7 |
When I saw the headline I expected to see the standings go Old Detroit, Haviland, Pittsburgh (not necessarily in that order). That would have been cool: the resurrection of the now-rather-long-dead-and-beginning-to-stinketh Triumvirate.
But these standings are also… inspiring. The old Triumvirate is atop the league, amid the league, and abottom the league. Our elder spirits have the league in their embrace, hoping to deliver it from the recent spell of rule by the young brothers grim.
Thanks for the lovely write-up. I’m certain that I was the longest-serving faculty member, and am pretty sure that John was second. I don’t know who the new longest-serving will be next year. Maybe one the founders of our first fantasy league, Don Powers.
I couldn’t figure out where you got the picture, but my son tells me it’s on Facebook. It’s at Conwy Castle in Wales, and he is now 27, so the picture is about 15 years old.
Finally, Old Detroit is correct about some of the old triumvirate beginning to smell a bit ripe. Let’s hope Jamie is correct that retirement will be the key to a successful rebuild. Meanwhile, the young whippersnappers are taking more and more lines on the trophy.
Very well spoken/written accolade to Mark W and John. Thanks, Jamie. I hope Mark and John enjoy their retirement as much as Michele and I have ours. We’ve traveled a lot, though without the nice benefit of Juniors Abroad support. We’ve enjoyed times with family in all their locations across the country. We’ve gone (though Scott Servais apparently says, “we’ve went”) to a lot of ball games. Congratulations, John and Mark, on serving well as well as serving long. I enjoyed being your colleague for more than a decade and get to be your friend for a lot longer, God willing. Continue your winning ways, in life and in the EFL. I’m always content in the middle and thankful for that. Best wishes on whatever you decide to enjoy next.