LIBERTY BELL MEN'S BASEBALL LEAGUE

Another season, another championship for the Dirt Dawgs.

The 2021 season is over, and after their 4th championship in a row, the rest of the teams in the Liberty Bell League are looking at their watches, wondering "when will the Dirt Dawgs get old?"  The seven other managers and their players have all fall and winter to contemplate their future destiny of possible champions!

2021 LBMBL CHAMPS: Dirt Dawgs (def. Marlins 8-0, 8-4)

SEASON AWARDS:

MVP: #15 Wes Baylor (Dirt Dawgs)

CY YOUNG: #20 Brian Maher (Red Sox)

Let’s look back a bit on the year that was…

The mighty Kris Sharp, who started this great league in 2013, stepped away from the Commissioner’s chair early season to focus on family and life.  Everyone who has ever played in this league owes a great deal of gratitude to Sharp’s bravery and chutzpah for making The Liberty Bell Men’s Baseball League the premier Sunday league in the Philadelphia area.

Jack Eller, the manager of the Red Sox and a relative new comer to the league, stepped up and took the reins from Kris to keep the league moving forward for the 2021 season.

This off season saw the managers’ decision to experiment with the schedule’s length, playing 30+ regular season games from April-August, with the playoffs/championship played into mid-September. This marked one of the longest seasons in recent memory for the Liberty Bell League.  It was a long haul, and major challenge for teams to keep the rosters afloat week to week during the extended season, but everyone survived, and it ultimately made for an interesting challenge for the eight managers in the league who were all hungry for baseball after a shortened 2020 campaign.

RECAP:

Dirt Dawgs (25-6)- Dennis Higgins lead his Dirt Dawgs to their 4^th straight Championship, beating the mighty Conshy Marlins for a second year in a row. Considering the pressure to continue the high level of excellence the Dawgs have displayed throughout the years, as well as losing beloved teammate, friend, and overall gentle giant Mark McAllister, there were a lot of question about how this year’s team would perform; they preserved to another championship title with determination and depth.  On the verge of being knocked out in the semi-finals of the playoffs by the Muckdogs - down 9-1 going into the 5^th inning of the final game of the series, they pulled off the near impossible by storming back to win the series on a walk off grand slam by Wes Baylor.

Standouts this year: MVP Wes Baylor (OF), manager Dennis Higgins (UTIL), Dan Gavlick (1B), Ant Kelly (DH), Chip Champman (OF), Stanton Tentnowski (OF). and ace Matt Edmondson.

Marlins (17-11)- Nick Sun’s Marlins once again pushed through to the championship.  This year the team’s greatest strength was hitting, as they lead the league with a .352 batting average and a second best .857 team OPS.  Despite losing their previous season’s Aces to injuries, Dan Stauffer, James Brown and Anthony Civitello kept things challenging for opposing batters to go along with their continued solid defense. 

Standouts this year: Steve Wallace, Scott Seiple, Matt Seiple, Kevin Case, James Brown Jr, Dan Stauffer, and manager Nick Sun.

Wookies (16-14)- Matt and Bill Gill’s Wookies continue to make the most with small roster.  After a superb 19-7 record the previous year, the Wookies continue to be rock solid with dominant pitching, superb defense, and timely hitting.  After a rough start to the 2021 season, the Wookies proved themselves to be fighters ‘til the end, making it down to the semi-final round Game 3 of the playoffs but losing a heartbreaker 8-7 to the Marlins.  With the core roster the Wookies have, they will continue to be contenders for years to come.

Standouts this year:  Danny Moore (SS), co-Managers Bill Gill and Matt Gill, Kevin Zebluim (OF), Pat Reilly (OF/P), Pat Carney (INF/P), and Ace Zach Welsher.

Muckdogs (10-15)- Jamey Cooper’s lead Muckdogs surprised everyone this year, coming a breath away from the championship before ultimately falling to the defending and future champs.  Those in the know, knew Coop’s roster (after a merger with last year’s DelVal Tigers) was potentially monstrous, when everyone showed up that week.  Still, they were able to run out three of the top pitchers in the league on any given Sunday, including newcomer Seth Regensberg who turned in a dominant 2021 campaign, backed up by solid defense and enough hitting that kept them afloat during much of the regular season.  When playoffs came, they played well beyond their record in what felt like more than a first round matchup, knocking out the #2 Red Sox in the upset of the year, and then being 9 outs from taking the Dirt Dawgs spot in the Championship.

Standouts this year:  Mark Gervasi (OF/1B), Mike Ross (OF), Kyle Jackson (OF), Avery Perez (C), Jordan Lee (INF), and Aces Seth Regensberg, Kevin Elwell and Kyle Werman

Red Sox (20-10)- Jack Eller’s Red Sox had a very strong year, dominating much of the season to claim the second-best record in the league before falling to their old GPMABL rivals, the Muckdogs, in the first round playoff upset.  An impressive 2021 season, it being the first full year for the Red Sox in the Liberty Bell League, combined with an 8-2 run and semi-final playoff appearance in 2020 proves the Sox have a strong foundation and have hit the ground running with their transition into the league.  The team displayed a well-rounded roster, boasting top tier run prevention led by Ace Brian Maher and a strong defense to go with above average hitting.  

Standouts this year: Gio Contreras (INF/P), manager Jack Eller, Jake Lenkiewicz (C), Cam Goodell (1B), Brian Suprenant (C), rookies Martin Fedun (INF) & George Armentani (OF), and Pitcher of the Year Brian Maher.

Mudskippers (13-16)- Kris Sharpe’s Mudskippers did well, blending all the new talent brought on in 2021 with an existing core and running out an 8 game win streak and sat tied for second place a third of the way through the year. They were dealt a tough a hand with injuries, however, leading to a second half slide.  Still, they managed to give the Wookies a good scare in the first round of the playoffs by taking them the full three games, with a 7-4 win in Game 2, before eventually falling.

Standouts this year: Matt Sompel (C), Jon Martinez (INF), Kevin Sompel (OF/P), Kevin Jones, Sean Jones (OF/P), Andrew Rodriguez (INF), Steve Drake, and ace Julio Viera

Comets (13-17)- Manager Pete Harper and the Comets came into the year with higher expectations than ever before after adding some top talent to an already solid core. However, they couldn’t quite put it all together and despite big production from the trio of Ryan Levito, Marquise Woods, and Jabair Khan, a disappointing regular season was followed up with a first round knockout in the 2021 playoffs.

Standouts this year: Adam Oddo (OF), Jabair Khan (OF), Rob Tomkinson (INF), manager Pete Harper, Marquise Woods (INF), Demetrius DeRamus (OF), and ace Ryan Levito.

Royals (2-27)- Nickel Heimann and the Royals are the quintessential band of brothers.  Formed in 2013 they are the fourth and most recent Liberty Bell team to come over from the GPMABL, and many players on that 2013 roster continue to play for the team including Greg Moyer, Russel Kessinger, Danny Tarng, Mark Stehle, Derek Schauer, Jay Ganski, Adrian Jackson, George Miller, Jesse Engaard, Dave Gavigan, Josh Grace, and Nickel.  Others not mentioned from the ’13 roster have been connected to the team for many years.  The Royals had a tough opening season in the Liberty League, but showed that they had some components that could be built on when the full roster was there and should continue to get better heading into 2022.

Standouts this year: Mike Coll (INF/P), Greg Moyer (1B/P), Derek Schauer (C/OF), Jesse Engaard (3B), Russell Kessinger (OF/P), Johnny Szczesniak (C), and ace Jesus Ramirez

Next up: The Winter Meetings!

After another cold winter in the City of Brother Love, the Liberty Bell Men’s League is excited to announce the official start of the 2019 season this Sunday, April 7th! The 2018 season was a rainy one, but the weather so far this spring looks very promising. As the temperatures start heating up, so has the anticipation and excitement for what promises to be another action packed season in one of the most competitive Men’s Baseball Leagues Philadelphia has to offer. 

As is the case every year, the 2019 season is not lacking in compelling storylines. The League has a very different look this year, having welcomed three new teams into the mix. The Philly Muckdogs and Philadelphia Comets both transferred over from the GPMABL Baseball League, and the Montgomery County Marlins from the Perkiomen area. The league will be eight teams deep this year, with every team making the playoffs and being promised at least one best of three playoff series. 

The early season favorites in the league figure to be the reigning champion Philadelphia Dirt Dawgs, who finally secured their first title in 2018 and are returning a very strong core who want nothing more than to prove that last year was no fluke. The Dennis Higgins led Dawgs have a very deep and powerful lineup, coupled with a strong starting rotation and fundamentally sound defense. They like to put pressure on opposing defenses with their running game, as they stole 56 bases last year in 62 attempts, a 90% clip! 

Although he was stripped of his equipment managerial role, the Dawgs are returning left handed slugger Dan Gavlick, who is out to prove he can handle his teams’ equipment just as well as the pressure of batting in the middle of their order. Other names to watch out for in their lineup are Westyn Baylor, who slugged .943 last year, Devante Parker, who batted a gaudy .467, and Anthony Kelly, who can be seen in the gym most days trying to break the world squatting record of 1268 pounds. Rumor is that he’s been training hard and he hopes to see that pan out on the ball field as well. 

The team with the best offseason has to be the Philadelphia Bulls. Led by player/manager Billy Dove, and overseen by the flame throwing righthander, Kris Sharp, the Bulls came oh so close to spoiling the Dawgs 2018 playoff run in 2018. Up one game to none and 5-0 in the second game of the three game series, the Bulls lack of pitching depth ultimately doomed them as they blew the big early game lead and fell to the Dirt Dawgs two games to one in the series. Much like legendary manager Earl Weaver, Billy Dove’s grave will someday read, “The Sorest Loser There Ever Was…” He was determined this offseason to add the pieces he believes will put his team over the top, and they’ve done just that. 

The fourth seeded Bulls have now combined forces with last year’s two seeded Commodores, seemingly locked and loaded with talent and ready to give the Dawgs a run for their money. “It’s a two team race,” said Dove, who will retain his position in the middle of that lineup despite the infusion of talent. Dove is one of the most dangerous hitters in the league, and along with teammate Steve Drake, and the newcomers, they should have no trouble putting up runs in bunches. The also should have one of the deepest pitching rotations and more catchers than they can count on one hand. The talent is certainly there, but it remains to be seen whether they will gel and come together as a team. 

The new look Liberty Bell League may be very top heavy with the aforementioned powerhouse teams, but there are absolutely no pushovers in this league and it figures to be very competitive. The Wookies are led by the Bash Brothers (I mean Gill brothers) and have a very a formidable pitching staff, and cannot be overlooked. The Del Val Tigers shook off a slow start last year and came on very strong at the end of the year. New manager Mark Gervasi has taken over for Mike Anderson and hopes to pick up right where they left off. Mike Anderson is coming off a very strong year, in which he batted over .400, and the pesky Men’s League Vet, Adam Oddo, compiled 25 hits on the way to a .490 average, and struck out just twice in 74 plate appearances. The Indians are back as well, led by all star manager Steve Wallace, who led his team with a .451 average and also pitched his way to an impressive 1.98 ERA in 41 innings, while striking out 61 hitters over his 6 starts. 

As far as the new additions to the league, the dark horse may just be the Montco Marlins, led by manager Nick Sun. The Marlins are coming from the Perkiomen area and have played in very talented leagues in the past, so they are no strangers to good, hard, competitive baseball. They are an unknown coming into this year for sure, but are not to be taken lightly. The Comets and Muckdogs both won their divisions in the GPMABL last year and are a bit of a mystery to the league as well. Comets Manager Pete Harper has added a few new pieces to his squad that already has a strong pitching staff and a good hitting lineup one through nine. Led by second year manager Jamie Cooper, the Muckdogs are coming off two straight GPMABL titles and are eager to see if their success can translate into this new league. The Philly based Muckdogs have a deep roster of eighteen players and a core of all stars that have been together since the team won their first GPMABL title in 2014. 

It should be an exciting year for everyone, so good luck to all teams! Let’s make it a great season and remember to have fun, respect each other, the game of baseball, and live like kids for 5 hours every Sunday before returning to our mundane adult lives